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As filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on December 9, 2013

Registration No. 333-            

 

 

 

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

 

 

FORM S-1

REGISTRATION STATEMENT

UNDER

THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933

 

 

New Media Investment Group Inc.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

 

 

 

Delaware   2711   38-3910250
(State or other jurisdiction of incorporation or organization)  

(Primary Standard Industrial

Classification Code Number)

 

(I.R.S. Employer

Identification No.)

1345 Avenue of the Americas

New York, New York, 10105

212-479-3160

(Address, including zip code, and telephone number, including area code, of registrant’s principal executive offices)

 

 

Cameron D. MacDougall, Esq.

Fortress Investment Group LLC

1345 Avenue of the Americas

New York, New York 10105

212-479-1522

(Name, address, including zip code, and telephone number, including area code, of agent for service)

 

 

With a copy to:

Duane McLaughlin, Esq.

Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP

One Liberty Plaza

New York, New York 10006

(212) 225-2000

 

 

Approximate date of commencement of proposed sale to the public: As soon as practicable after this Registration Statement becomes effective.

If any of the securities being registered on this Form are to be offered on a delayed or continuous basis pursuant to Rule 415 under the Securities Act of 1933 check the following box:   ¨

If this Form is filed to register additional securities for an offering pursuant to Rule 462(b) under the Securities Act, check the following box and list the Securities Act registration statement number of the earlier effective registration statement for the same offering.   ¨

If this Form is a post-effective amendment filed pursuant to Rule 462(c) under the Securities Act, check the following box and list the Securities Act registration statement number of the earlier effective registration statement for the same offering.   ¨

If this Form is a post-effective amendment filed pursuant to Rule 462(d) under the Securities Act, check the following box and list the Securities Act registration statement number of the earlier effective registration statement for the same offering.   ¨

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, or a smaller reporting company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer” and “smaller reporting company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act. (Check one):

 

Large accelerated filer   ¨    Accelerated filer   ¨
Non-accelerated filer   x   (Do not check if a smaller reporting company)    Smaller reporting company   ¨

 

 

CALCULATION OF REGISTRATION FEE

 

 

Title of Each Class of

Securities to be Registered

 

Amount

to be
Registered (1)

  Proposed
Maximum
Aggregate
Offering Price
per Share
 

Proposed
Maximum
Aggregate

Offering Price (3)

 

Amount of

Registration Fee (3)

Common stock, par value $0.01 per share

  25,373,120   N/A (2)   $329,175,635   $42,397.82

 

 

(1) This prospectus (“Prospectus”) relates to shares of common stock, par value $0.01 per share, of New Media Investment Group Inc. (“New Media” or the “Registrant”) which will be distributed pursuant to a spin-off transaction to the holders of common stock, par value $0.01 per share, of Newcastle Investment Corp. (“Newcastle”). The amount of New Media common stock to be registered represents the maximum number of shares of New Media common stock that will be distributed to the holders of Newcastle common stock upon consummation of the spin-off. Immediately prior to the time of the spin-off, Newcastle will hold approximately 84.6% of New Media’s outstanding shares of common stock.
(2) Not included pursuant to Rule 457(o) under the Securities Act.
(3) Estimated solely for purposes of calculating the registration fee pursuant to Rule 457(f)(2) of the Securities Act. The Company estimates that the book value of the securities to be registered is equal to $329,175,635, which represents approximately 84.6% of the book value of New Media as of September 29, 2013.

 

 

Neither the Securities and Exchange Commission nor any state securities commission has approved or disapproved of these securities or passed upon the adequacy or accuracy of this prospectus. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.

The Registrant hereby amends this registration statement on such date or dates as may be necessary to delay its effective date until the Registrant shall file a further amendment which specifically states that this Registration Statement shall thereafter become effective in accordance with Section 8(a) of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or until the Registration Statement shall become effective on such dates as the Securities and Exchange Commission, acting pursuant to said Section 8(a), may determine.

 

 

 


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The information in this Prospectus is not complete and may be changed. We may not issue these securities until the registration statement filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission is effective. This Prospectus is not an offer to sell these securities and it is not soliciting an offer to buy these securities in any jurisdiction where the offer or sale is not permitted.

 

SUBJECT TO COMPLETION

PRELIMINARY PROSPECTUS DATED DECEMBER 9, 2013

New Media Investment Group Inc.

Common Stock

(Par Value, $0.01 per share)

 

 

This Prospectus is being furnished to you as a stockholder of Newcastle Investment Corp. (“Newcastle”) in connection with the planned distribution (the “Distribution” or the “spin-off”) by Newcastle to its stockholders of all the shares of common stock, par value $0.01 per share, of New Media Investment Group Inc. (“New Media”) (the “Common Stock”) held by Newcastle immediately prior to the spin-off. Immediately prior to the time of the Distribution, Newcastle will hold 84.6% of New Media’s outstanding shares of Common Stock.

At the time of the Distribution, Newcastle will distribute all of the outstanding shares of Common Stock held by Newcastle on a pro rata basis to holders of Newcastle common stock. Every              shares of Newcastle common stock outstanding as of 5:00 PM, Eastern Time, on                     , 2014, the record date for the spin-off (the “Record Date”), will entitle the holder thereof to receive              shares of Common Stock. The Distribution will be made in book-entry form. Fractional shares of Common Stock will not be distributed in the spin-off. Holders of Newcastle common stock will receive cash in lieu of fractional shares of New Media Common Stock.

The Distribution will be effective after the close of trading on the New York Stock Exchange (the “NYSE”) on                     , 2014, which we refer to hereinafter as the “Distribution Date.” Immediately after the Distribution is completed, we will be a publicly traded company independent from Newcastle.

No action will be required of you to receive shares of Common Stock, which means that:

 

    no vote of Newcastle stockholders is required in connection with this Distribution and we are not asking you for a proxy and you are requested not to send us a proxy;

 

    you will not be required to pay for the shares of our Common Stock that you receive in the Distribution; and

 

    you do not need to surrender or exchange any of your shares of Newcastle common stock in order to receive shares of our Common Stock, or take any other action in connection with the spin-off.

There is currently no trading market for our Common Stock, although we expect that a limited market, commonly known as a “when-issued” trading market, will develop on or shortly before the Record Date for the Distribution, and we expect “regular-way” trading of New Media Common Stock on a major U.S. national securities exchange to begin on the first trading day following the completion of the Distribution. New Media intends to apply to list its Common Stock on the NYSE under the symbol “NEWM.”

 

 

In reviewing this Prospectus, you should carefully consider the matters described under “ Risk Factors ” beginning on page 32 of this Prospectus.

 

 

NEITHER THE SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION NOR ANY STATE SECURITIES COMMISSION HAS APPROVED OR DISAPPROVED OF THESE SECURITIES OR DETERMINED IF THIS PROSPECTUS IS TRUTHFUL OR COMPLETE. ANY REPRESENTATION TO THE CONTRARY IS A CRIMINAL OFFENSE.

This Prospectus does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any securities.

 

 

The date of this Prospectus is                     , 2014.


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TABLE OF CONTENTS

 

     Page  

Questions and Answers About The Spin-Off

     1   

Summary

     7   

Risk Factors

     32   

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward Looking Information

     48   

The Spin-Off and Restructuring

     49   

Material U.S. Federal Income Tax Consequences of the Distribution

     55   

Certain U.S. Federal Income and Estate Tax Considerations for Non-U.S. Holders of Our Common Stock

     60   

Use of Proceeds

     62   

Determination of Offering Price

     62   

Market Price Information and Dividends

     62   

Selected Historical Consolidated Financial Data

     63   

Unaudited Pro Forma Condensed Combined Financial Information

     67   

Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations

     86   

Business

     114   

Our Manager and Management Agreement

     154   

Management

     159   

Compensation of Directors

     168   

Executive Compensation

     170   

Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management

     184   

Certain Relationships and Transactions with Related Persons, Affiliates and Affiliated Entities

     185   

Restructuring Agreements

     187   

Description of Our Capital Stock

     191   

Shares Eligible for Future Sale

     196   

Legal Matters

     198   

Experts

     198   

Where You Can Find More Information

     198   

Index To Financial Statements

     F-1   

 

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Presentation of Information

Except as otherwise indicated or unless the context otherwise requires, we have presented in this Prospectus the historical consolidated financial information of GateHouse Media, Inc. and its consolidated subsidiaries (“GateHouse” or our “Predecessor”). Unless the context otherwise requires, any references in this Prospectus to “we,” “our,” “us” and the “Company” refer to New Media Investment Group Inc. and its consolidated subsidiaries as in effect upon the completion of the Distribution. For periods prior to the Effective Date (as defined below) any references in this Prospectus to “we,” “our,” “us” and the “Company” refer to GateHouse, our Predecessor, and its consolidated subsidiaries, unless the context requires otherwise. Subsequent to the Effective Date, any references to GateHouse refer to GateHouse Media, LLC and its consolidated subsidiaries and any references to GateHouse Media Intermediate Holdco, Inc. refer to GateHouse Media Intermediate Holdco, LLC. References in this Prospectus to “Newcastle” generally refer to Newcastle Investment Corp. and its consolidated subsidiaries, unless the context requires otherwise. All figures included in this Prospectus are as of September 29, 2013, unless stated otherwise.

 

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QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS ABOUT THE SPIN-OFF

The following questions and answers briefly address some commonly asked questions about the spin-off. They may not include all the information that is important to you. We encourage you to read carefully this entire Prospectus and the other documents to which we have referred you. We have included references in certain parts of this section to direct you to a more detailed discussion of each topic presented in this section.

What will Newcastle stockholders receive in the spin-off?

To effect the spin-off, Newcastle will make a distribution of all of the outstanding shares of New Media Common Stock held by Newcastle to Newcastle’s common stockholders as of the Record Date, which will be 5:00 PM, Eastern Time, on                     , 2014. For every              shares of Newcastle common stock held on the Record Date for the Distribution, Newcastle will distribute              shares of New Media Common Stock. The Distribution will be made in book-entry form. Fractional shares of Common Stock will not be distributed in the spin-off. Instead, as soon as practicable after the spin-off American Stock Transfer & Trust Company, LLC, the distribution agent, will aggregate the fractional shares of our Common Stock and sell these shares in the open market at prevailing market prices and distribute the applicable portion of the aggregate net cash proceeds of these sales to each holder who otherwise would have been entitled to receive a fractional share in the spin-off. You will not be entitled to any interest on the amount of the cash payment made in lieu of fractional shares.

Newcastle stockholders will not be required to pay for shares of our Common Stock received in the Distribution, or to surrender or exchange any shares of Newcastle common stock or take any other action to be entitled to receive our Common Stock. The Distribution of our Common Stock will not cancel or affect the number of outstanding shares of Newcastle common stock.

Immediately after the Distribution, holders of Newcastle common stock as of the Record Date will hold 84.6% of the outstanding shares of our Common Stock. Based on the number of shares of Newcastle common stock outstanding on                     , 2014, Newcastle expects to distribute approximately              shares of our Common Stock in the spin-off. For a more detailed description, see “The Spin-Off and Restructuring” in this Prospectus.

Why is Newcastle spinning off New Media?

Newcastle’s board of directors periodically reviews strategic alternatives. Newcastle’s board of directors determined upon careful review and consideration in accordance with the applicable standard of review under Maryland law that the spin-off of New Media is in the best interests of Newcastle. Newcastle’s board of directors believes that media assets are currently undervalued and being sold at substantial discounts. Newcastle’s board of directors also believes that New Media’s value can be increased over time through a strategy aimed at acquiring local media assets and organically growing New Media’s digital marketing business. In addition, Newcastle’s board of directors believes New Media’s prospects would be enhanced by being able to operate unfettered by REIT requirements. Accordingly, Newcastle’s board of directors has determined that the separation of New Media from Newcastle, as opposed to a sale of New Media’s Common Stock or other transaction, will provide Newcastle’s stockholders with the best opportunity to benefit from the anticipated appreciation of New Media’s value over time. Moreover, Newcastle’s board of directors believes that the execution risk of a spin-off is lower than for other types of transactions. Newcastle’s board of directors’ determination was based on a number of factors, including those set forth below.

 

    Added focus and simplification . We believe the spin-off of New Media will enhance Newcastle’s focus on its primary strategy of opportunistically investing in, and actively managing, a variety of real-estate related and other investments. The spin-off will simplify Newcastle’s business by separating an asset class (media assets) that is unrelated to the remainder of Newcastle’s investment portfolio. As a result, we believe the spin-off will facilitate investor and analyst understanding of Newcastle’s core businesses. In addition, the spin-off will create a dedicated vehicle to pursue a significant investment opportunity in the media industry.

 

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    Tailored capital structure and financing options . New Media and Newcastle will have distinct and unrelated businesses, and the spin-off will enable each to create a capital structure tailored to its individual needs. In addition, tailored capital structures will facilitate each company’s ability to pursue acquisitions, possibly using common stock as currency, and other strategic alliances. Following the spin-off, each company may be able to attain more favorable financing terms on a stand-alone basis than Newcastle could obtain currently.

 

    Newcastle’s Real Estate Investment Trust (“REIT”) status . As a REIT, Newcastle is not suited to own an operating business indefinitely. Newcastle’s current investment in New Media originated with a 2007 debt investment in GateHouse. GateHouse became overleveraged in the financial crisis, and Newcastle determined to maximize the value of its investment by proposing and supporting a restructuring that resulted in the conversion of its debt into equity. Following the Restructuring, a spin-off will facilitate Newcastle’s compliance with the REIT qualification tests.

Additionally, in determining whether to effect the spin-off, Newcastle’s board of directors also considered the costs and risks relating to the spin-off, including: (i) potential costs and disruptions to the businesses as a result of the spin-off, (ii) risks of being unable to achieve the benefits expected from the spin-off, (iii) the reaction of Newcastle’s stockholders to the spin-off, (iv) the risk that one-time and ongoing costs of the spin-off may be greater than expected and (v) the tax impact of the spin-off to Newcastle and its stockholders. Newcastle’s board of directors determined that in the aggregate the potential benefits of the spin-off outweighed the potential negative factors. See “Risk Factors—Risks Related to the Distribution” and “The Spin-Off and Restructuring—Reasons for the Distribution.”

The anticipated benefits of the spin-off are based on a number of assumptions, and there can be no assurance that such benefits will materialize to the extent anticipated or at all. In the event that the spin-off does not result in such benefits, the costs associated with the transaction and the expenses New Media will incur as an independent public company, including management compensation and general and administrative expenses, could have a negative effect on each company’s financial condition and ability to make distributions to its stockholders. For more information about the risks associated with the separation, see “Risk Factors.”

What businesses will Newcastle engage in after the spin-off?

Newcastle will continue to be a real estate investment trust that focuses on opportunistically investing in, and actively managing, a variety of real estate-related and other investments.

Who is entitled to receive shares of our Common Stock in the spin-off?

Holders of Newcastle common stock as of 5:00 PM, Eastern Time, on                      , 2014, the Record Date for the spin-off, will be entitled to receive shares of our Common Stock in the spin-off.

When will the Distribution occur?

We expect that Newcastle will distribute the shares of our Common Stock on                     , 2014 to holders of record of Newcastle common stock as of 5:00 PM, Eastern Time, on                     , 2014, subject to certain conditions described under “The Spin-Off and Restructuring—Conditions to the Distribution.”

What do I need to do to receive my shares of New Media Common Stock?

Nothing, but we urge you to read this Prospectus carefully. Stockholders who hold Newcastle common stock as of the Record Date will not need to take any action to receive your shares of our Common Stock in the Distribution. No stockholder approval of the Distribution is required or sought. We are not asking you for a proxy, and you are requested not to send us a proxy. You will not be required to make any payment, surrender or

 

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exchange your shares of Newcastle common stock or take any other action to receive your shares of our Common Stock. If you own Newcastle common stock as of 5:00 PM, Eastern Time, on the Record Date, Newcastle, with the assistance of American Stock Transfer & Trust Company, LLC, the distribution agent, will electronically issue shares of our Common Stock to you or to your brokerage firm on your behalf by way of direct registration in book-entry form. The distribution agent will mail you a book-entry account statement that reflects your shares of New Media Common Stock, or your bank or brokerage firm will credit your account for the shares. If you sell shares of Newcastle common stock in the “regular-way” market through the Distribution Date, you will also sell your right to receive shares of New Media Common Stock in the Distribution. Following the Distribution, stockholders whose shares are held in book-entry form may request that their shares of New Media Common Stock held in book-entry form be transferred to a brokerage or other account at any time, without charge.

Will I receive physical certificates representing shares of New Media Common Stock following the Distribution?

No. Following the Distribution, neither Newcastle nor New Media will be issuing physical certificates representing shares of New Media Common Stock. Instead, Newcastle, with the assistance of American Stock Transfer & Trust Company, LLC, the distribution agent, will electronically issue shares of our Common Stock to you or to your bank or brokerage firm on your behalf by way of direct registration in book-entry form. The distribution agent will mail you a book-entry account statement that reflects your shares of New Media Common Stock, or your bank or brokerage firm will credit your account for the shares. A benefit of issuing stock electronically in book-entry form is that there will be none of the physical handling and safekeeping responsibilities that are inherent in owning physical stock certificates.

What will govern my rights as a New Media stockholder?

Your rights as a New Media stockholder will be governed by Delaware law, as well as our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and our amended and restated bylaws. A description of these rights is included in this Prospectus under the heading “Description of Our Capital Stock.”

Who will be the stockholders of New Media Common Stock after the Distribution?

Immediately following the Distribution, Newcastle stockholders as of the Record Date for the Distribution will own 84.6% of our Common Stock. The remainder of the outstanding Common Stock will be owned by holders of GateHouse’s Outstanding Debt (as defined below) who elected to receive Common Stock in the Restructuring (as defined below) of GateHouse. See “The Spin-Off and Restructuring,” “Restructuring Agreements” and Note 21 to GateHouse’s Consolidated Financial Statements, “Subsequent Events and Going Concern Considerations” in this Prospectus for more information.

Are there risks associated with the spin-off and our business after the spin-off?

Yes. You should carefully review the risks described in this Prospectus under the heading “Risk Factors” beginning on page 32.

Is stockholder approval needed in connection with the spin-off?

No vote of Newcastle stockholders is required or will be sought in connection with the spin-off.

Where will I be able to trade shares of New Media Common Stock?

There is not currently a public market for New Media Common Stock. New Media intends to apply to list its Common Stock on the NYSE under the symbol “NEWM.” We anticipate that trading in shares of our Common

 

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Stock will begin on a “when-issued” basis on or shortly before the Record Date and will continue through the Distribution Date and that “regular-way” trading in shares of our Common Stock will begin on the first trading day following the Distribution Date. If trading begins on a “when-issued” basis, you may purchase or sell our Common Stock up to and including through the Distribution Date, but your transaction will not settle until after the Distribution Date. We cannot predict the trading prices for our Common Stock before, on or after the Distribution Date. If the Distribution is cancelled, your transaction will not settle and will have to be disqualified.

What if I want to sell my Newcastle common stock or New Media Common Stock?

You should consult with your financial advisors, such as your stockbroker, bank or tax advisor. Neither Newcastle nor New Media makes any recommendations on the purchase, retention or sale of Newcastle common stock or the shares of New Media Common Stock to be distributed in the spin-off.

If you decide to sell any shares before the Distribution, you should make sure your stockbroker, bank or other nominee understands whether you want to sell your Newcastle common stock or the shares of Common Stock you will receive in the Distribution. If you sell your Newcastle common stock in the “regular-way” market up to and including the Distribution Date, you will also sell your right to receive shares of Common Stock in the Distribution. If you own Newcastle common stock as of 5:00 PM, Eastern Time, on the Record Date and sell those shares on the “ex-distribution” market up to and including the Distribution Date, you will still receive the shares of Common Stock that you would be entitled to receive in respect of the Newcastle common stock you owned as of 5:00 PM, Eastern Time, on the Record Date. See “The Spin-Off and Restructuring—Trading Between the Record Date and Distribution Date” in this Prospectus for more information.

Will I be taxed on the shares of New Media Common Stock that I receive in the Distribution?

Yes. The Distribution will be in the form of a taxable special dividend to Newcastle stockholders. An amount equal to the fair market value of the shares of our Common Stock received by you will be treated as a taxable dividend to the extent of your ratable share of any current or accumulated earnings and profits of Newcastle, with the excess treated as a non-taxable return of capital to the extent of your tax basis in Newcastle common stock and any remaining excess treated as capital gain. If this special dividend is distributed in the structure and timeframe currently anticipated, the special dividend is expected to satisfy a portion of Newcastle’s 2014 REIT taxable income distribution requirements. For a more detailed discussion, see “Material U.S. Federal Income Tax Consequences of the Distribution.”

How will the Distribution affect my tax basis and holding period in Newcastle common stock?

Your tax basis in shares of Newcastle held at the time of the Distribution will be reduced (but not below zero) to the extent the fair market value of the shares of our Common Stock distributed by Newcastle in the Distribution exceeds Newcastle’s current and accumulated earnings and profits, as adjusted to take account of other distributions made by Newcastle in the taxable year that includes the Distribution. Your holding period for such Newcastle shares will not be affected by the Distribution. See “Material U.S. Federal Income Tax Consequences of the Distribution.” You should consult your own tax advisor as to the particular tax consequences of the Distribution to you, including the applicability of any U.S. federal, state, local and non-U.S. tax laws.

What will my tax basis and holding period be for the stock of New Media that I receive in the Distribution?

Your tax basis in the shares of our Common Stock received will equal the fair market value of such shares on the date of the Distribution. Your holding period for such shares will begin the day after the date of the Distribution. See “Material U.S. Federal Income Tax Consequences of the Distribution.”

You should consult your own tax advisor as to the particular tax consequences of the Distribution to you, including the applicability of any U.S. federal, state, local and non-U.S. tax laws.

 

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Can Newcastle decide to cancel the Distribution or modify its terms if all conditions to the Distribution have been met?

Yes. Although the Distribution is subject to the satisfaction or waiver of certain conditions, Newcastle has the right to not to complete the Distribution if at any time prior to the Distribution Date (even if all such conditions are satisfied), its board of directors determines, in its sole discretion, that the Distribution is not in the best interest of Newcastle or that market conditions are such that it is not advisable to separate New Media from Newcastle.

The conditions to the Distribution are that (i) our registration statement on Form S-1, of which this Prospectus is a part, shall have become effective under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), and no stop order related to the registration statement shall be in effect; (ii) the listing of our Common Stock on the NYSE shall have been approved, subject to official notice of issuance; (iii) the Plan shall have been approved by the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware (the “Bankruptcy Court”) without any appeals by any parties; and (iv) no order, injunction or decree issued by any court of competent jurisdiction or other legal restraint or prohibition preventing consummation of the Distribution or any of the transaction related thereto, shall be in effect. We note that other than the federal securities laws, there are no federal or state regulatory requirements with which we must comply. If Newcastle’s board of directors were to waive a material condition to or abandon the Distribution, Newcastle would notify its stockholders of the decision by filing a Current Report on Form 8-K.

Does New Media plan to pay dividends?

We currently expect New Media to distribute a substantial portion of free cash flow as a dividend, subject to satisfactory financial performance and approval by New Media’s board of directors. The Board of Directors’ determinations regarding dividends will depend on a variety of factors, including the Company’s GAAP net income, free cash flow generated from operations or other sources, liquidity position and potential alternative uses of cash, such as acquisitions, as well as economic conditions and expected future financial results. However, our ability to pay dividends is subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, and there can be no assurance regarding whether we will pay dividends in the future. See, for example, “Risk Factors—Risks Related to Our Business—We may not be able to pay dividends in accordance with our announced intent or at all.”

Will the number of Newcastle shares I own change as a result of the Distribution?

No. The number of shares of Newcastle common stock you own will not change as a result of the Distribution.

What will happen to the listing of Newcastle common stock?

Nothing. It is expected that after the Distribution of New Media Common Stock, Newcastle common stock will continue to be traded on the NYSE under the symbol “NCT.”

Will the Distribution affect the market price of my Newcastle shares?

Yes. As a result of the Distribution, we expect the trading price of shares of Newcastle common stock immediately following the Distribution to be lower than immediately prior to the Distribution because the trading price will no longer reflect the value of New Media’s assets. Furthermore, until the market has fully analyzed the value of Newcastle without New Media’s assets, the price of Newcastle shares may fluctuate significantly. In addition, although Newcastle believes that over time following the separation, the common stock of the separated companies should have a higher aggregate market value, on a fully distributed basis and assuming the same market conditions, than if Newcastle were to remain under its current configuration, there can be no assurance, and thus the combined trading prices of Newcastle common stock and New Media Common Stock after the Distribution may be equal to or less than the trading price of shares of Newcastle common stock before the Distribution.

 

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Where can Newcastle stockholders get more information?

Before the Distribution, if you have any questions relating to the Distribution, you should contact:

Newcastle Investment Corp.

Investor Relations

1345 Avenue of the Americas

New York, NY 10105

Tel: 212-479-3195

www.newcastleinv.com

After the Distribution, if you have any questions relating to our Common Stock, you should contact:

New Media Investment Group Inc.

Investor Relations

1345 Avenue of the Americas

New York, NY 10105

Tel: 212-479-3160

 

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SUMMARY

This summary of certain information contained in this Prospectus may not include all the information that is important to you. To understand fully and for a more complete description of the terms and conditions of the spin-off, you should read this Prospectus in its entirety and the documents to which you are referred. See “Where You Can Find More Information.”

Our Company

We will be a newly listed company primarily focused on investing in a high quality, diversified portfolio of local media assets and on growing our existing online advertising and digital marketing businesses.

We are one of the largest publishers of locally based print and online media in the United States as measured by number of daily publications. We operate in 338 markets across 24 states. Our portfolio of products, which includes 435 community publications, 353 related websites, 329 mobile sites and six yellow page directories, serves more than 128,000 business advertising accounts and reaches approximately 10 million people on a weekly basis.

Our print and online products focus on the local community from both a content and advertising standpoint. As a result of our focus on small and midsize markets, we are usually the primary, and sometimes the sole, provider of comprehensive and in-depth local market news and information in the communities we serve. Our content is primarily devoted to topics that we believe are highly relevant and of interest to our audiences such as local news and politics, community and regional events, youth sports, opinion and editorial pages, and local schools.

More than 83% of our daily newspapers have been published for more than 100 years and 99% have been published for more than 50 years. We believe that the longevity of our publications demonstrates the value and relevance of the local information that we provide and has created a strong foundation of reader loyalty as well as a highly recognized media brand name in each community we serve.

We acquired our operations as part of the restructuring of GateHouse. On September 27, 2013, GateHouse commenced Chapter 11 cases in the Bankruptcy Court (the “Restructuring”) in which it sought confirmation of its Joint Prepackaged Chapter 11 Plan (as modified, amended or supplemented from time to time, the “Plan”) sponsored by Newcastle, as the holder of the majority of the Outstanding Debt (as defined below). The Bankruptcy Court confirmed the Plan on November 6, 2013. GateHouse effected the transactions contemplated by the Plan and emerged from Chapter 11 protection on November 26, 2013 (the “Effective Date”).

The Plan effectuated the Restructuring of GateHouse. On the Effective Date (1) reorganized GateHouse became a wholly owned subsidiary of New Media as a result of (a) the cancellation and discharge of the currently outstanding equity interests of Gatehouse (the holders of which received warrants issued by New Media) and (b) the issuance of equity interests in the reorganized GateHouse to New Media; (2) Local Media Group Holdings LLC (“Local Media Parent”), which was a wholly owned subsidiary of Newcastle, became a wholly owned subsidiary of New Media as a result of Newcastle’s transfer of Local Media Parent to New Media; and (3) all of GateHouse’s Outstanding Debt was cancelled and discharged and the holders of the Outstanding Debt received, at their option, their pro rata share of the (i) Cash-Out Offer (as defined below) and/or (ii) New Media Common Stock and the net proceeds of new credit facilities raised by reorganized GateHouse. Pursuant to the Cash-Out Offer, Newcastle offered to buy the claims of the holders of the Outstanding Debt (as defined below). As a result of these transactions, Newcastle owns 84.6% of New Media as of the Effective Date. See “—Recent Developments,” “The Spin-Off and Restructuring,” “Restructuring Agreements” and Note 21 to GateHouse’s Consolidated Financial Statements, “Subsequent Events and Going Concern Considerations.”

 

 

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As of the Effective Date of the Plan, New Media’s debt structure consists of multiple credit facilities. The Revolving Credit, Term Loan and Security Agreement (the “First Lien Credit Facility”) dated November 26, 2013 by and among GateHouse, GateHouse Media Intermediate Holdco, Inc. (“GMIH”), certain wholly-owned subsidiaries of GMIH (collectively with GMIH and GateHouse, the “Loan Parties”), PNC Bank, National Association, as the administrative agent, Crystal Financial LLC, as term loan B agent and each of the lenders party thereto provides for (i) a term loan A in the aggregate principal amount of $25 million, a term loan B in the aggregate principal amount of $50 million, and a revolving credit facility in an aggregate principal amount of up to $40 million (of which $25 million was funded on the Effective Date). Borrowings under the First Lien Credit Facility bear interest at a rate per annum equal to (i) with respect to the revolving credit facility, the applicable Revolving Interest Rate (as defined the First Lien Credit Agreement), (ii) with respect to the term loan A, the Term Loan A Rate (as defined in the First Lien Credit Agreement) and (iii) with respect to the term loan B, the Term Loan B Rate (as defined in the First Lien Credit Agreement). Amounts outstanding under the term loans and revolving credit facility will be fully due and payable on November 26, 2018.

The Term Loan and Security Agreement (the “Second Lien Credit Facility” and together with the First Lien Credit Facility, the “New Credit Facilities”) dated November 26, 2013 by and among the Loan Parties, Mutual Quest Fund and each of the lenders party thereto provides for a term loan in an aggregate principal amount of $50 million. Borrowings under the Second Lien Credit Facility bear interest, at the Loan Parties’ option, equal to (1) the LIBOR Rate (as defined in the Second Lien Credit Facility) plus 11.00% or (2) the Alternate Base Rate (as defined in the Second Lien Credit Facility) plus 10.00%. The outstanding principal will be fully due and payable on the maturity date of November 26, 2019.

Pursuant to the Plan, holders of the Outstanding Debt who elected to receive New Media Common Stock received their pro rata share of the proceeds of the New Credit Facilities, net of certain transaction expenses (the “Net Proceeds”). The Net Proceeds distributed to holders of the Outstanding Debt totaled $149 million. GateHouse’s entry into the New Credit Facilities was not a condition to the effectiveness of the Plan. The proceeds of additional drawings of the revolving credit facility under the First Lien Credit Facility after the Effective Date will be applied towards ongoing working capital needs, general corporate purposes, capital expenditures and potential acquisitions.

Additionally, the Credit Agreement dated September 3, 2013, by and among Local Media Parent, the borrowers party thereto, the lenders party thereto, Capital One Business Credit Corp., as successor to Credit Suisse AG, Cayman Islands Branch, as administrative agent and collateral agent and Credit Suisse Loan Funding LLC, as lead arranger (the “Local Media Credit Facility”) provides for a $33.0 million senior secured term loan which was funded on September 3, 2013 and a senior secured asset-based revolving credit facility in an aggregate principal amount of up to $10 million, whose full availability was activated on October 25, 2013.

The newspaper industry has experienced declining revenue and profitability over the past several years due to, among other things, advertisers’ shift from print to digital media and general market conditions. GateHouse, our predecessor, was affected by this trend and experienced net losses of $160.8 million during the nine month period ended September 29, 2013 and $29.8 million during the fiscal year ended December 30, 2012. Total revenue decreased by 1.9% to $356.2 million for the nine months ended September 29, 2013 and 5.1% to $488.6 million for the year ended December 30, 2012. The Restructuring significantly reduced New Media’s interest expense. In addition, New Media intends to focus its business strategy on building its digital marketing business and growing its online advertising business, which we believe will offset many of the challenges experienced by GateHouse. With its new capital structure and digital focus, we believe that New Media will be able to create stockholder value given its strengths and strategy. However, there can be no assurance that we will be profitable. See “Risk Factors.”

We intend to create stockholder value through growth in our revenue and cash flow by expanding our digital marketing business, growing our online advertising business and pursuing strategic acquisitions of high quality

 

 

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local media assets. However, there is no guarantee that we will be able to accomplish any of these strategic initiatives. Our strategy will be to acquire and operate traditional local media businesses and transform them from print-centric operations to dynamic multi-media operations, through our existing online advertising and digital marketing businesses. We will also leverage our existing platform to operate these businesses more efficiently. We believe all of these initiatives will lead to revenue and cash flow growth for New Media and will enable us to pay dividends to our stockholders. We expect to distribute a substantial portion of our free cash flow as a dividend to stockholders, subject to satisfactory financial performance and approval by our Board of Directors. The Board of Directors’ determinations regarding dividends will depend on a variety of factors, including the Company’s GAAP net income, free cash flow generated from operations or other sources, liquidity position and potential alternative uses of cash, such as acquisitions, as well as economic conditions and expected future financial results.

Our Manager

We will be managed by FIG LLC (our “Manager”), an affiliate of Fortress, pursuant to the terms of a Management and Advisory Agreement (the “Management Agreement”) dated as of November 26, 2013 between us and our Manager. We will draw upon the long-standing expertise and resources of Fortress, a global investment management firm with approximately $58.0 billion in fee paying assets under management as of September 30, 2013.

Pursuant to the terms of the Management Agreement, our Manager, subject to oversight by our Board of Directors, will be responsible for: (1) performing day-to-day functions, (2) determining investment criteria in conjunction with, and subject to the supervision of, our Board of Directors, (3) sourcing, analyzing and executing on investments and sales, (4) performing investment and liability management duties, including financing and hedging, and (5) performing financial and accounting management. For its services, our Manager will be entitled to an annual management fee and eligible to receive incentive compensation that is based on our performance.

Our Manager also manages Newcastle, a publicly traded REIT that pursues a broad range of real estate related investments. Our management team will not be required to exclusively dedicate their services to us and will provide services for other entities affiliated with our Manager, including, but not limited to, Newcastle.

Reasons for Distribution

Newcastle’s board of directors periodically reviews strategic alternatives. The Newcastle board determined upon careful review and consideration in accordance with the applicable standard of review under Maryland law that the spin-off of New Media is in the best interests of Newcastle. Newcastle’s board of directors believes that media assets are currently undervalued and being sold at substantial discounts. Newcastle’s board of directors also believes that New Media’s value can be increased over time through a strategy aimed at acquiring local media assets and organically growing New Media’s digital marketing business. In addition, Newcastle’s board of directors believes New Media’s prospects would be enhanced by being able to operate unfettered by REIT requirements. Accordingly, Newcastle’s board of directors has determined that the separation of New Media from Newcastle, as opposed to a sale of New Media’s Common Stock or other transaction, will provide Newcastle’s stockholders with the best opportunity to benefit from the anticipated appreciation of New Media’s value over time. Moreover, Newcastle’s board of directors believes that the execution risk of a spin-off is lower than for other types of transactions. Newcastle’s board of directors’ determination was based on a number of factors, including those set forth below.

 

   

Added focus and simplification . We believe the spin-off of New Media will enhance Newcastle’s focus on its primary strategy of opportunistically investing in, and actively managing, a variety of real-estate related and other investments. The spin-off will simplify Newcastle’s business by separating an

 

 

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asset class (media assets) that is unrelated to the remainder of Newcastle’s investment portfolio. As a result, we believe the spin-off will facilitate investor and analyst understanding of Newcastle’s core businesses. In addition, the spin-off will create a dedicated vehicle to pursue a significant investment opportunity in the media industry.

 

    Tailored capital structure and financing options . New Media and Newcastle will have distinct and unrelated businesses, and the spin-off will enable each to create a capital structure tailored to its individual needs. In addition, tailored capital structures will facilitate each company’s ability to pursue acquisitions, possibly using common stock as currency, and other strategic alliances. Following the spin-off, each company may be able to attain more favorable financing terms on a stand-alone basis than Newcastle could obtain currently.

 

    Newcastle’s Real Estate Investment Trust (“REIT”) status . As a REIT, Newcastle is not suited to own an operating business indefinitely. Newcastle’s current investment in New Media originated with a 2007 debt investment in GateHouse. GateHouse became overleveraged in the financial crisis, and Newcastle determined to maximize the value of its investment by proposing and supporting a restructuring that resulted in the conversion of its debt into equity. Following the Restructuring, a spin-off will facilitate Newcastle’s compliance with the REIT qualification tests.

Additionally, in determining whether to effect the spin-off, Newcastle’s board of directors also considered the costs and risks relating to the spin-off, including: (i) potential costs and disruptions to the businesses as a result of the spin-off, (ii) risks of being unable to achieve the benefits expected from the spin-off, (iii) the reaction of Newcastle’s stockholders to the spin-off, (iv) the risk that one-time and ongoing costs of the spin-off may be greater than expected and (v) the tax impact of the spin-off to Newcastle and its stockholders. Newcastle’s board of directors determined that in the aggregate the potential benefits of the spin-off outweighed the potential negative factors. See “Risk Factors—Risks Related to the Distribution” and “The Spin-Off and Restructuring—Reasons for the Distribution.”

Our Strengths

High Quality Assets with Leading Local Businesses . Our publications benefit from a long history in the communities we serve as one of the leading, and often sole, providers of comprehensive and in-depth local content. This has resulted in brand recognition for our publications, reader loyalty and high local audience penetration rates, which are highly valued by local advertisers. We continue to build on long-standing relationships with local advertisers and our in-depth knowledge of the consumers in our local markets.

Strong Value Proposition for Our Advertisers . Our portfolio enjoys a devoted readership in the local communities where we operate. By providing access to these communities, we help advertisers maximize the efficiency of their advertising spending. We offer advertisers several alternatives (daily, weekly, shopper, and niche print publications as well as an array of web, mobile and tablet products) to reach consumers and to tailor the nature and frequency of their marketing messages. We also offer advertisers the ability to target consumers based on their behavior online which is an effective and efficient way for businesses to market to their target customers.

Diverse Revenue Streams . Our revenue streams are diversified in terms of type of revenue, product source for revenue, geographic distribution of revenues and numbers of customers. We also benefit from our strong local franchises who serve local consumers and businesses in small to mid-size markets. During the twelve months ended September 29, 2013, we generated revenue in 338 markets across 24 states, serving a fragmented and diversified local customer base. During the nine months ended September 29, 2013, the Company generated approximately 41% of its total revenue in two states in the Northeast and approximately 28% of its total revenue in two states in the Midwest. For full year 2012, we served over 128,000 business advertising accounts in our

 

 

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publications, and our top 20 advertisers contributed less than 5% of our total revenues. Over 3.8 million classified advertisements were placed in our publications in 2012. Additionally, for the full year 2012 we generated 60% of revenue from print product advertising, 27% from subscription income from customers, 6% from digital advertising and 7% from commercial printing work for external customers and affiliated parties.

Scale Yields Operating Profit Margins and Allows Us to Realize Operating Synergies . We believe we can generate higher operating profit margins than our publications could achieve on a stand-alone basis by leveraging our operations and implementing revenue initiatives, especially digital initiatives, across a broader local footprint in a geographic cluster and by centralizing certain back office production, accounting, administrative and corporate operations. We also benefit from economies of scale in the purchase of insurance, newsprint and other large strategic supplies and equipment. Finally, we have the ability to further leverage our centralized services and buying power to reduce operating costs when making future strategic accretive acquisitions.

Local Business Profile Generates Significant Cash Flow . Our local business profile will allow us to generate significant recurring cash flow due to our diversified revenue base, operating profit margins, and our low capital expenditure and working capital requirements. As a result of the Restructuring, which extinguished GateHouse’s Outstanding Debt, our interest and debt servicing expenses are significantly lower than GateHouse’s interest and debt servicing expenses. As of the Effective Date, our debt structure consists of the New Credit Facilities and the Local Media Credit Facility. We estimate that we will have significant available cash flow totaling $50 to $70 million in 2014 which we believe will create stockholder value through our investments in organic growth, investments in accretive acquisitions and the return of cash to stockholders in the form of dividends, subject to approval by our Board of Directors. We further believe the strong cash flows generated and available to be invested will lead to consistent future dividend growth.

Large Locally Focused Sales Force . We have large and well known feet on the street local sales forces in the markets we serve. They are generally one of the largest locally oriented media sales forces in their respective communities. Our sales forces and their respective local media brands tend to have strong credibility and trust within the local business communities. We have long-standing relationships with many local businesses and have the ability to get in the door with most local businesses due to these unique characteristics we enjoy. We believe that these qualities also provide leverage for our sales force to grow additional future revenue streams in our markets.

Ability to Acquire and Integrate New Assets . We have created a national platform for consolidating local media businesses and have demonstrated an ability to successfully identify, acquire and integrate local media asset acquisitions. We have acquired over $1.7 billion of assets since 2006. We have acquired both traditional newspaper and directory businesses. We have a very scalable infrastructure and platform to leverage with future acquisitions.

Experienced Management Team . Our senior management team is made up of executives who have an average of over 20 years of experience in the media industry, including strong traditional and digital media expertise. Our executive officers have broad industry experience with regard to both growing new digital business lines and identifying and integrating strategic acquisitions. Our management team also has key strengths in managing wide geographically disbursed teams, including the sales force, and identifying and centralizing duplicate functions across businesses leading to reduced core infrastructure costs.

The newspaper industry has experienced declining revenue and profitability over the past several years due to, among other things, advertisers’ shift from print to digital media and general market conditions. GateHouse, our predecessor, was affected by this trend and experienced net losses of $160.8 million during the nine month period ended September 29, 2013 and $29.8 million during the fiscal year ended December 30, 2012. Total revenue decreased by 1.9% to $356.2 million for the nine months ended September 29, 2013 and 5.1% to

 

 

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$488.6 million for the year ended December 30, 2012. The Restructuring significantly reduced New Media’s interest expense. In addition, New Media intends to focus its business strategy on building its digital marketing business and growing its online advertising business, which we believe will offset many of the challenges experienced by GateHouse. With its new capital structure and digital focus, we believe that New Media will be able to create stockholder value given its strengths and strategy. However, there can be no assurance that we will be profitable. See “Risk Factors.”

Our Strategy

We intend to create stockholder value through growth in our revenue and cash flow by expanding our digital marketing business, growing our online advertising business and pursuing strategic acquisitions of high quality local media assets. However, there is no guarantee that we will be able to accomplish any of these strategic initiatives. Our strategy will be to acquire and operate traditional local media businesses and transform them from print-centric operations to dynamic multi-media operations, through our existing online advertising and digital marketing businesses. We will also leverage our existing platform to operate these businesses more efficiently. We believe all of these initiatives will lead to revenue and cash flow growth for New Media and will enable us to pay dividends to our stockholders, subject to satisfactory financial performance and approval by our Board of Directors. The Board of Directors’ determinations regarding dividends will depend on a variety of factors, including the Company’s GAAP net income, free cash flow generated from operations or other sources, liquidity position and potential alternative uses of cash, such as acquisitions, as well as economic conditions and expected future financial results. The key elements of our strategy include:

Maintain Our Leading Position in the Delivery of Proprietary Content in Our Communities. We seek to maintain our position as a leading provider of local content in the markets we serve and to leverage this position to strengthen our relationships with both readers and advertisers, thereby increasing penetration rates and market share. A critical aspect of this approach is to continue to provide local content that is not readily obtainable elsewhere and to be able to deliver that content to our customers across multiple print and digital platforms. We believe it is very important for us to protect the content from unauthorized users who use it for their own commercial purposes. We also believe it is important for us to develop subscription revenue streams from our digitally distributed content.

Stabilize Our Core Business Operations. We have four primary drivers in our strategic plans to stabilize our core business operations, including: (i) identifying permanent structural expense reductions in our traditional business cost infrastructure and re-deploying a portion of those costs toward future growth opportunities, primarily on the digital side of our business; (ii) accelerating the growth of both our digital audiences and revenues through improvements to current products, new product development, training, opportunistic changes in hiring to create an employee base with a more diversified skill set and sharing of best practices; (iii) accelerating our consumer revenue growth through subscription pricing increases and growth in our subscriber base, which we aim to improve by employing additional strategic customer acquisition techniques, driving digital only subscriber growth through our pay meter strategy and improving our customer retention programs; and (iv) stabilizing our core print advertising revenues through improvements to pricing (understanding and selling the unique value of our local audience reach and level of engagement, at the sales rep level), packaging of products for customers that will produce the best results for them (needs based selling), more technology and training for sales management and sales representatives and increased accountability through consistent setting of expectations and measuring against those expectations on a regular basis.

Grow New Digital Business and Revenue Streams Leveraging Key Strengths. We plan to scale and expand our two new recently created digital businesses, Propel Marketing and adhance media. Propel Marketing will allow us to sell digital marketing services to small and medium sized businesses (“SMBs”) both in and outside existing markets. The SMB demand for digital service solutions is great and represents a rapidly expanding opportunity. adhance media, our private advertising exchange, allows us to more fully monetize our (and third

 

 

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parties’) valuable unsold digital advertising space. Advertising bought programmatically through private exchanges is expected to grow rapidly over the next five years, especially in private exchanges where advertisers get priority access to the advertising space. We also aim to leverage our large local sales forces and strong local media brands to create new business opportunities at the local market level.

Pursue Strategic Accretive Acquisitions. We intend to capitalize on the highly fragmented and distressed newspaper and directory industries. We initially expect to focus our investments in the local newspaper and yellow page directory sectors, primarily in the United States. We believe we have a strong operational platform, which currently owns local newspaper and directory businesses, as well as a scalable digital services business, Propel Marketing. This platform, along with deep industry specific knowledge and experience that our management team has can be leveraged to reduce costs, stabilize the core business and grow digital revenues at acquired properties. The size and fragmentation of the addressable newspaper and yellow page directory market place in the United States, the greatly reduced valuation levels that exist in these industries, and our deep experience, make this an attractive place for our initial consolidation focus and capital allocation. Over the longer term we also believe there may be opportunity to diversify and acquire these types of assets internationally, as well other traditional local media assets such as broadcast TV, out of home advertising (billboards) and radio, in the United States and internationally.

Increase Sales Force Productivity. We aim to increase the effectiveness and productivity of our sales force and, in turn, help maximize advertising revenues. We also aim to shift the culture of our sales force from that of print-centric to multi-media and feel that is critical to our long term success. Our approach includes changes to sales force compensation to be more aligned with long term strategic goals, ongoing company-wide training of sales representatives and sales managers that focuses on strengthening their ability to perform needs based assessments and selling. We set expectations by sales representatives, manager and team and regularly evaluate the performance of our sales representatives and sales management against those expectations. We believe stronger accountability and measurement of our sales force, when combined with enhanced training and access to better technologies, demographic and marketing information, will lead to greater productivity and revenue from our sales force.

Introduce New Products or Modify Our Products to Enhance our Value Proposition to Local Businesses. We believe that our established positions in local markets, combined with our publishing and distribution capabilities, allow us to develop and customize new products to address the evolving interests and needs of our readers and local businesses. A primary source for product enhancement and growth we believe exists in the digital space. Product improvement and new product development across the web, mobile and tablets will be a key component to long term success. We are actively scaling web and mobile products, including deal platforms, digital service offerings, including Propel Marketing, mobile websites and applications, and we continue to expand on our offering of behavioral targeted and audience extension advertising options.

Pursue a Content-Driven Digital Strategy. As consumers continue to spend more time online especially with regard to consumption of news, we believe that we are well-positioned to increase our digital penetration and generate additional online audience and revenues due to both our ability to deliver unique local content online, and the relationship our local brand names have with readers and advertisers. We believe this presents an opportunity to increase our overall audience penetration rates and drive additional subscription revenues in each of the communities we serve. We have developed pay meters at most of our daily newspaper websites and several of our largest weeklies, which we use to charge customers fees for access to our content. These meters will enable us to grow our digital subscription income and capture revenues that shift to the web as consumers shift to the web. Finally, we intend to share resources across our organization in order to give each of our publications access to technology, digital management expertise, content and advertisers that they may not have been able to obtain or afford if they were operating independently.

 

 

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The newspaper industry has experienced declining revenue and profitability over the past several years due to, among other things, advertisers’ shift from print to digital media and general market conditions. GateHouse, our predecessor, was affected by this trend and experienced net losses of $160.8 million during the nine month period ended September 29, 2013 and $29.8 million during the fiscal year ended December 30, 2012. Total revenue decreased by 1.9% to $356.2 million for the nine months ended September 29, 2013 and 5.1% to $488.6 million for the year ended December 30, 2012. The Restructuring significantly reduced New Media’s interest expense. In addition, New Media intends to focus its business strategy on building its digital marketing business and growing its online advertising business, which we believe will offset many of the challenges experienced by GateHouse. With its new capital structure and digital focus, we believe that New Media will be able to create stockholder value given its strengths and strategy. However, there can be no assurance that we will be profitable. See “Risk Factors.”

Challenges

We will likely face challenges commonly encountered by recently reorganized entities, including the risks that:

 

    even under our new capital structure, we may not be profitable; and

 

    the Restructuring may cause our vendors and suppliers to stop providing supplies or services to us or to offer to provide such services or supplies only on unfavorable terms.

As a publisher of locally based print and online media, we face a number of additional challenges, including the risks that:

 

    the growing shift within the publishing industry from traditional print media to digital forms of publication may compromise our ability to generate sufficient advertising revenues;

 

    investments in growing our digital business may not be successful, which could adversely affect our results of operations; and

 

    our advertising and circulation revenues may decline if we are unable to compete effectively with other companies in the local media industry.

For more information about New Media’s risks and challenges, see “Risk Factors.”

Management Agreement

On the Effective Date, we entered into a Management Agreement with our Manager. Our Management Agreement requires our Manager to manage our business affairs subject to the supervision of our Board of Directors.

Our Management Agreement has an initial three-year term and will be automatically renewed for one-year terms thereafter unless terminated either by us or our Manager. From the commencement date of our Common Stock trading on the “regular way” market on a major U.S. national securities exchange (the “Listing”), our Manager is (a) entitled to receive from us a management fee, (b) eligible to receive incentive compensation that is based on our performance and (c) eligible to receive options to purchase New Media Common Stock upon the successful completion of an offering of shares of our Common Stock or any shares of preferred stock with an exercise price equal to the price per share paid by the public or other ultimate purchaser in the offering. In addition, we are obligated to reimburse certain expenses incurred by our Manager. Our Manager is also entitled to receive a termination fee from us under certain circumstances.

 

 

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The terms of our Management Agreement are summarized below and described in more detail under “Our Manager and Management Agreement” elsewhere in this Prospectus.

 

Type

  

Description

Management Fee

   1.5% per annum of our total equity calculated and payable monthly in arrears in cash, commencing from the Listing. Total equity is generally the equity transferred by Newcastle on the date on which our Common Stock trades in the “regular way” market on a major U.S. national securities exchange, plus total net proceeds from any equity capital raised (including through stock offerings), plus certain capital contributions to subsidiaries, plus the equity value of assets contributed to the Company prior to or after the date of the Management Agreement, less capital distributions and repurchases of common stock.

Incentive Compensation

   Our Manager is eligible to receive on a quarterly basis annual incentive compensation in an amount equal to the product of 25% of the dollar amount by which (a) the adjusted net income of the Company exceeds (b)(i) the weighted daily average total equity (plus cash capital raising costs), multiplied by (ii) a simple interest rate of 10% per annum. “Adjusted net income” means net income (computed in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles, (“GAAP”)), plus depreciation and amortization, and after adjustments for unconsolidated partnerships, joint ventures and permanent cash tax savings. Adjusted net income will be computed on an unconsolidated basis. The computation of adjusted net income may be adjusted at the direction of the independent directors based on changes in, or certain applications, of GAAP.

Reimbursement of Expenses

   Commencing from the Listing, we will pay, or reimburse our Manager’s employees for performing certain legal, accounting, due diligence tasks and other services that outside professionals or outside consultants otherwise would perform, provided that such costs and reimbursements are no greater than those which would be paid to outside professionals or consultants on an arm’s-length basis. We also pay all operating expenses, except those specifically required to be borne by our Manager under our Management Agreement.

 

 

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   Our Manager is responsible for all costs incident to the performance of its duties under the Management Agreement, including compensation of our Manager’s employees, rent for facilities and other “overhead” expenses. The expenses required to be paid by us include, but are not limited to, issuance and transaction costs incident to the acquisition, disposition, operation and financing of our investments, legal and auditing fees and expenses, the compensation and expenses of our independent directors, the costs associated with the establishment and maintenance of any credit facilities and other indebtedness of ours (including commitment fees, legal fees, closing costs, etc.), expenses associated with other securities offerings of ours, the costs of printing and mailing proxies and reports to our stockholders, costs incurred by employees of our Manager for travel on our behalf, costs associated with any computer software or hardware that is used solely for us, costs to obtain liability insurance to indemnify our directors and officers and the compensation and expenses of our transfer agent.

Termination Fee

   The termination fee is payable to the Manager under the circumstances described in the section entitled “Our Manager and Management Agreement—Term; Termination.” The termination fee is equal to the sum of (1) the amount of the management fee during the 12 months immediately preceding the date of termination, and (2) the “Incentive Compensation Fair Value Amount,” if such option is exercised by the Company or the Manager. The Incentive Compensation Fair Value Amount is an amount equal to the Incentive Compensation that would be paid to the Manager if our assets were sold for cash at their then current fair market value (as determined by an appraisal, taking into account, among other things, the expected future value of the underlying investments).

Grant of Options to Our Manager

   Commencing from the Listing, upon the successful completion of an offering of shares of our Common Stock or any shares of preferred stock, we will grant our Manager options equal to 10% of the number of shares being sold in the offering (excluding the shares issued to Newcastle in the Local Media Contribution (as defined below)), with an exercise price equal to the offering price per share paid by the public or other ultimate purchaser. For the avoidance of doubt, the listing of our Common Stock does not constitute an offering for purposes of this provision.

 

 

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Conflicts of Interest

Although we have established certain policies and procedures designed to mitigate conflicts of interest, there can be no assurance that these policies and procedures will be effective in doing so. It is possible that actual, potential or perceived conflicts of interest could give rise to investor dissatisfaction, litigation or regulatory enforcement actions.

One or more of our directors have responsibilities and commitments to entities other than us, including, but not limited to, Newcastle. For example, one of our directors is also a director of Newcastle. In addition, we do not have a policy that expressly prohibits our directors, officers, security holders or affiliates from engaging for their own account in business activities of the types conducted by us. Newcastle and other Fortress affiliates will not be restricted from pursuing other opportunities that may create conflicts or competition for us. However, our code of business conduct and ethics prohibits, subject to the terms of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, the directors, officers and employees of our Manager from engaging in any transaction that involves an actual conflict of interest with us. See “Risk Factors—Risks Relating to Our Manager—There may be conflicts of interest in our relationship with our Manager, including with respect to corporate opportunities.”

Transactions between the Manager and any affiliate must be approved in advance by the majority of the independent directors and be determined by such independent directors to be in the best interests of the Company. If any affiliate transaction involving the acquisition of an asset from the Manager or an affiliate of the Manager is not approved in advance by a majority of the independent directors, then the Manager may be required to repurchase the asset at the purchase price (plus closing costs) to the Company.

The structure of the Manager’s compensation arrangement may have unintended consequences for us. We have agreed to pay our Manager a management fee that is not tied to our performance and incentive compensation that is based entirely on our performance. The management fee may not sufficiently incentivize our Manager to generate attractive risk-adjusted returns for us, while the performance-based incentive compensation component may cause our Manager to place undue emphasis on the maximization of earnings, including through the use of leverage, at the expense of other objectives, such as preservation of capital, to achieve higher incentive distributions. Investments with higher yield potential are generally riskier or more speculative than investments with lower yield potential. This could result in increased risk to the value of our portfolio of assets and your investment in us.

On the Effective Date, we entered into a Management Agreement with an affiliate of Fortress pursuant to which our management team will not be required to exclusively dedicate their services to us and will provide services for other entities affiliated with our Manager, including, but not limited to, Newcastle.

The ability of our Manager and its officers and employees to engage in other business activities, subject to the terms of our Management Agreement with our Manager, may reduce the amount of time our Manager, its officers or other employees spend managing us. In addition, we may engage in material transactions with our Manager or another entity managed by our Manager or one of its affiliates, including Newcastle, that present an actual, potential or perceived conflict of interest. It is possible that actual, potential or perceived conflicts could give rise to investor dissatisfaction, litigation or regulatory enforcement actions. Appropriately dealing with conflicts of interest is complex and difficult, and our reputation could be damaged if we fail, or appear to fail, to deal appropriately with one or more potential, actual or perceived conflicts of interest. Regulatory scrutiny of, or litigation in connection with, conflicts of interest could have a material adverse effect on our reputation, which could materially adversely affect our business in a number of ways, including causing an inability to raise additional funds, a reluctance of counterparties to do business with us, a decrease in the prices of our equity securities and a resulting increased risk of litigation and regulatory enforcement actions.

 

 

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Recent Developments

Support Agreement

On September 4, 2013, GateHouse and its affiliated debtors (the “Debtors”) announced that GateHouse, the Administrative Agent (as defined below), Newcastle and other lenders (the “Participating Lenders”) under the Amended and Restated Credit Agreement by and among certain affiliates of GateHouse, the lenders from time to time party thereto and Cortland Products Corp., as administrative agent (the “Administrative Agent”), dated February 27, 2007 (as amended, the “2007 Credit Facility”) entered into the Restructuring Support Agreement (the “Support Agreement”), effective September 3, 2013, as may be amended, supplemented or modified from time to time, in which the parties agreed to support, subject to the terms and conditions of the Support Agreement, the Restructuring pursuant to the Plan.

In the Support Agreement, the parties agreed to support the Restructuring of GateHouse’s obligations under the 2007 Credit Facility and certain interest rate swaps secured thereunder (collectively, the “Outstanding Debt”) and GateHouse’s equity pursuant to the Plan. Under the Support Agreement, each of the Participating Lenders agreed to (a) support and take any reasonable action in furtherance of the Restructuring, (b) timely vote their Outstanding Debt to accept the Plan and not change or withdraw such vote, (c) support approval of the disclosure statement for the Plan (the “Disclosure Statement”) and confirmation of the Plan, as well as certain relief to be requested by Debtors from the Bankruptcy Court, (d) refrain from taking any action inconsistent with the confirmation or consummation of the Plan, and (e) not propose, support, solicit or participate in the formulation of any plan other than the Plan. The Support Agreement terminated on the Effective Date of the Plan.

Pursuant to the Restructuring, Newcastle offered to purchase the Outstanding Debt claims in cash and at 40% of (i) $1,167,449,812.96 of principal of claims under the 2007 Credit Facility, plus (ii) accrued and unpaid interest at the applicable contract non-default rate with respect thereto, plus (iii) all amounts, excluding any default interest, arising from transactions in connection with interest rate swaps secured under the 2007 Credit Facility (the “Cash-Out Offer”) on the Effective Date. The holders of the Outstanding Debt had the option of receiving, in satisfaction of their Outstanding Debt, their pro rata share of the (i) Cash-Out Offer and/or (ii) New Media Common Stock and Net Proceeds, if any, of the New Credit Facilities. All pensions, trade and all other unsecured claims will be paid in the ordinary course.

On September 20, 2013, GateHouse commenced a pre-packaged solicitation of the Plan (the “Solicitation”). Holders of Outstanding Debt sufficient to meet the requisite threshold of 67% in amount and majority in number (calculated without including any insider) necessary for acceptance of the Plan under the Bankruptcy Code (“Bankruptcy Threshold Creditors”) voted to accept the Plan in the Solicitation. 100% of the holders of the Outstanding Debt voted to accept the Plan and as a result, Debtors commenced Chapter 11 cases and sought approval of the Disclosure Statement and confirmation of the Plan therein. The Plan was confirmed by the Bankruptcy Court on November 6, 2013 and GateHouse emerged from bankruptcy on November 26, 2013.

On the Effective Date, the claims and interests against GateHouse were discharged primarily through the (a) issuance of 30,000,000 shares of Common Stock of New Media and/or payment of cash to holders of claims in connection with the 2007 Credit Facility and related interest rate swaps, as described above; (b) reinstatement of certain claims; (c) entry into the Management Agreement; (d) issuance of 1,362,479 warrants by New Media to former equity holders in GateHouse (“Former Equity Holders”); and (e) entry into the New Credit Facilities, the Net Proceeds of which, totaling $149,000,000, went to holders of the Outstanding Debt that elected to receive New Media Common Stock. In addition, 100% of the new equity interests in GateHouse were issued to New Media. On the Effective Date, GateHouse and certain of its subsidiaries converted into limited liability companies. As of the Effective Date, Newcastle owns 84.6% of New Media’s total equity.

Upon emergence from Chapter 11, we adopted fresh-start reporting in accordance with Accounting Standards Codification Topic 852, “Reorganizations.” Under fresh-start accounting, a new entity is deemed to

 

 

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have been created on the Effective Date of the Plan for financial reporting purposes and GateHouse’s recorded amounts of assets and liabilities will be adjusted to reflect their estimated fair values. As a result of the adoption of fresh-start accounting, our reorganized company post-emergence financial statements will generally not be comparable with the financial statements of our Predecessor prior to emergence, including the historical financial information in this Prospectus. See “Restructuring Agreements,” “The Spin-Off and Restructuring” and Note 21 to GateHouse’s Consolidated Financial Statements, “Subsequent Events and Going Concern Considerations.”

Investment Commitment Letter

On September 4, 2013, Newcastle and GateHouse entered into an Investment Commitment Letter, as amended (the “Investment Commitment Letter”) in connection with the Restructuring, effective September 3, 2013. Pursuant to the Investment Commitment Letter and the Plan, Newcastle agreed to purchase the Cash-Out Offer claims.

The Investment Commitment Letter provides that, on account of the claims purchased in the Cash-Out Offer, on the Effective Date of the Plan, Newcastle or the relevant affiliates or designees will receive its pro rata share of (a) New Media Common Stock and (b) Net Proceeds of the New Credit Facilities, if any, net of certain transaction expenses. The Investment Commitment Letter terminated on the Effective Date.

GateHouse Management and Advisory Agreement

On November 26, 2013, New Media entered into the GateHouse Management and Advisory Agreement (the “GateHouse Management Agreement”) with GateHouse, pursuant to which New Media will manage the assets and the day-to-day operations of GateHouse. New Media will be responsible for, among other things (i) the purchase and sale of GateHouse’s investments (ii) the financing of GateHouse’s investments and (iii) investment advisory services. Such services may be performed by the Manager.

The GateHouse Management Agreement has an initial three-year term and will be automatically renewed for one-year terms thereafter unless terminated by New Media or GateHouse. The GateHouse Management Agreement will automatically terminate if the Management Agreement between New Media and its Manager is terminated.

Commencing from the Listing, New Media is (a) entitled to receive a management fee equal to 1.50% per annum of GateHouse’s Total Equity (as defined in the GateHouse Management Agreement) and (b) eligible to receive incentive compensation that is based on GateHouse’s performance. In addition, GateHouse is obligated to reimburse certain expenses incurred by New Media in connection with the performance of its duties under the agreement. This description is a summary and is subject to, and qualified in its entirety by, the provisions of the GateHouse Management Agreement filed as Exhibit 10.32 to our registration statement on Form S-1.

Contribution of Local Media Group Holdings LLC

Newcastle acquired Local Media Group, Inc. (f/k/a Dow Jones Local Media Group, Inc.) (“Local Media”) on September 3, 2013 from News Corp. (the “Local Media Acquisition”) for approximately $82.6 million plus associated estimated transaction costs of $4.2 million. Newcastle made a total equity investment of $53.8 million and financed the remainder of the purchase price with $33.0 million of term loan debt provided under the Local Media Credit Facility. Newcastle contributed $2.5 million to Local Media on the closing of the Local Media Acquisition for working capital purposes, and Local Media can repay that amount as of October 25, 2013, when the full availability of the senior secured asset-based revolving credit facility of up to $10 million under the Local Media Credit Facility was activated.

 

 

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Local Media operates print and online community media businesses in seven states including daily, Sunday and weekly newspapers, Internet sites, magazines, other news and advertising niche publications and commercial print and household distribution services and had $33 million of real estate value as determined by third-party appraisals completed in the second quarter of 2012. Local Media publishes 8 daily community newspapers and 15 weeklies in the New England, Mid-Atlantic and Pacific Coast regions of the United States. Many of these publications have been providing local content to their respective communities for over 75 years.

Pursuant to the Plan, Newcastle contributed 100% of the stock of Local Media Parent and assigned its rights under the stock purchase agreement pursuant to which it acquired Local Media (the “Local Media SPA”) to New Media, on the Effective Date (the “Local Media Contribution”). Local Media is wholly owned by Local Media Parent. In exchange, Newcastle received New Media Common Stock equal in value to the cost of the Local Media Acquisition, subject to certain adjustments (the “Local Media Contribution Value”).

On the Effective Date, the Local Media Contribution Value was $53.8 million, consisting of approximately $82.6 million as the estimated cost of the Local Media Acquisition as adjusted to include $4.25 million in out-of-pocket transaction expenses of Newcastle and deduct $33.0 million in funded debt at Local Media Parent under the Local Media Credit Facility.

GateHouse manages the assets of Local Media pursuant to a management and advisory agreement. The agreement has a two-year term, with automatic renewal for successive two-year periods unless terminated. While the agreement is in effect, GateHouse will receive an annual management fee of $1.1 million, subject to adjustments (up to a maximum annual management fee of $1.2 million), and an annual incentive compensation fee based on exceeding EBITDA targets of Local Media.

Local Media Credit Facility

The Local Media Credit Facility provides for a $33 million senior secured term loan, which was funded on September 3, 2013, and a senior secured asset-based revolving credit facility in an aggregate principal amount of up to $10 million, whose full availability was activated on October 25, 2013 as a result of the accession of Capital One Business Credit Corp. as a lender thereunder and as the replacement administrative and collateral agent for Credit Suisse AG, Cayman Islands Branch. Borrowings under the Local Media Credit Facility bear interest, at the borrower’s option, equal to (i) the LIBOR Rate (as defined in the Local Media Credit Facility Credit Agreement) plus the LIBOR Rate Margin (i.e., 6.50% per annum) or (ii) Base Rate (as defined in the Local Media Credit Facility Credit Agreement) plus the Base Rate Margin (i.e., 5.50% per annum). Repayments of principal are due in an amount of $203,125 per quarter for each completed fiscal quarter through September 30, 2015 and repayments of principal are due in an amount of $406,250 per quarter for each completed fiscal quarter starting December 31, 2015, with the remaining balance of principal becoming fully due and payable on the maturity date of September 4, 2018.

New Credit Facilities

The First Lien Credit Facility provides for (i) a term loan A in the aggregate principal amount of $25 million, a term loan B in the aggregate principal amount of $50 million, and a revolving credit facility in an aggregate principal amount of up to $40 million (of which $25 million was funded on the Effective Date). Borrowings under the First Lien Credit Facility bear interest at a rate per annum equal to (i) with respect to the revolving credit facility, the applicable Revolving Interest Rate (as defined the First Lien Credit Agreement), (ii) with respect to the term loan A, the Term Loan A Rate (as defined in the First Lien Credit Agreement), and (iii) with respect to the term loan B, the Term Loan B Rate (as defined in the First Lien Credit Agreement). Amounts outstanding under the term loans and revolving credit facility will be fully due and payable on November 26, 2018.

 

 

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The Second Lien Credit Facility provides for a term loan in an aggregate principal amount of $50 million. Borrowings under the Second Lien Credit Facility bear interest, at the Loan Parties’ option, equal to (1) the LIBOR Rate (as defined in the Second Lien Credit Facility) plus 11.00% or (2) the Alternate Base Rate (as defined in the Second Lien Credit Facility) plus 10.00%. The outstanding principal will be fully due and payable on the maturity date of November 26, 2019.

GateHouse’s entry into the New Credit Facilities was not a condition to the effectiveness of the Plan.

Pursuant to the Plan, holders of the Outstanding Debt who elected to receive New Media Common Stock received their pro rata share of the Net Proceeds of the New Credit Facilities. The Net Proceeds distributed to holders of the Outstanding Debt totaled $149 million. The proceeds of additional drawings of the revolving credit facility under the First Lien Credit Facility after the Effective Date will be applied towards ongoing working capital needs, general corporate purposes, capital expenditures and potential acquisitions. New Media distributed to each holder of New Media Common Stock, including Newcastle on account of the Cash-Out Offer, its pro rata share of $149 million in Net Proceeds of the New Credit Facilities. No amount of the Net Proceeds were distributed to Newcastle on account of the Local Media Contribution.

New Media Warrants

On the Effective Date, New Media was deemed to have issued and distributed 1,362,479 10-year warrants to Former Equity Holders (the “New Media Warrants”). The New Media Warrants collectively represent the right to acquire New Media Common Stock, which in the aggregate will be equal to 5% of New Media Common Stock as of the Effective Date (calculated prior to dilution from shares of New Media Common Stock issued pursuant to the Local Media Contribution) at a strike price per share of $46.35 calculated based on a total equity value of New Media prior to the Local Media Contribution of $1.2 billion as of the Effective Date. Former equity interests were cancelled under the Plan. New Media Warrants will not have the benefit of antidilution protections, other than customary protections including for stock splits and stock dividends. This description is a summary and is subject to, and qualified in its entirety by, the provisions of the Warrant Agreement filed as Exhibit 10.27 to our registration statement on Form S-1.

Registration Rights

New Media entered into a registration rights agreement with Omega Advisors, Inc. and its affiliates (collectively, “Omega”). Under the terms of the registration rights agreement, subject to customary exceptions and limitations, New Media will be required to use commercially reasonable efforts to file a registration statement as soon as reasonably practicable, but not prior to the earlier of (i) 120 days following the Effective Date and (ii) 14 days after the required financials are completed in the ordinary course of business, providing for the registration and sale by Omega of its New Media Common Stock (the “Registration Statement”). During the first 12 months following the trading of New Media Common Stock on a major U.S. national securities exchange, subject to customary exceptions and limitations, Omega may request one demand right with respect to some or all of the New Media Common Stock held by Omega under the Registration Statement (the “Demand Registration”).

Once New Media is eligible to use Form S-3, New Media will be required to use commercially reasonable efforts to file a resale shelf registration statement providing for the registration and sale on a continuous or delayed basis by Omega of its New Media Common Stock (the “Shelf Registration”), subject to customary exceptions and limitations. Omega is entitled to initiate up to three offerings or sales with respect to some or all of the New Media Common Stock held by Omega pursuant to the Shelf Registration.

Omega may only exercise its right to request the Demand Registration and any Shelf Registrations if the New Media Common Stock eligible to be sold pursuant to such Registration Statement or Shelf Registration is at

 

 

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least 3% of the then-outstanding New Media Common Stock. This description is a summary and is subject to, and qualified in its entirety by, the provisions of the Registration Rights Agreement filed as Exhibit 4.5 to our registration statement on Form S-1.

Credit Amendment to 2007 Credit Facility

On September 4, 2013, GateHouse entered into an Amendment Agreement to the 2007 Credit Facility (“Credit Amendment”) with Newcastle and certain lenders under GateHouse’s 2007 Credit Facility, effective September 3, 2013, which improved certain terms of the 2007 Credit Facility, including: a clarified and expanded definition of “Eligible Assignee” (as defined therein); an increase in the base amount in the formula used to calculate the “Permitted Investments” (as defined therein) basket from $35 million to a base of $50 million; the removal of the requirement that GateHouse’s annual financial statements not have a “going concern” or like qualification to the audit; the removal of a cross default from any Secured Hedging Agreement (as defined therein) to the 2007 Credit Facility; the removal of a Bankruptcy Default (as defined therein), arising from actions in furtherance of or indicating consent to the specified actions; and a waiver of any prior Default or Event of Default, as defined therein, including without limitation from the negotiation, entry into, or performance of the Support Agreement or the Investment Commitment Letter.

In consideration of the changes described above, GateHouse agreed to pay each of the lenders party to the Credit Amendment that timely executed the Credit Amendment and the Support Agreement an amendment fee equal to 3.5% multiplied by the aggregate Outstanding Debt held (including through trades pending settlement) by such lender (the “Amendment Fee”), unless waived in writing. Newcastle and certain other lenders elected to waive their Amendment Fee.

Risk Factors

Our business is subject to various risks. For a description of these risks, see the section entitled “Risk Factors” beginning on page 32 and the other information included elsewhere in this Prospectus.

 

 

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Corporate Information

Our principal executive offices are located at 1345 Avenue of the Americas, New York, New York, 10105. Our telephone number is 212-479-3160.

Organizational Structure

The charts below represent a simplified summary of the key companies within our organizational structure prior to the Effective Date of the Plan and after the spin-off.

 

LOGO

 

 

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Summary of the Spin-Off

The following is a summary of the terms of the spin-off. See “The Spin-Off and Restructuring” in this Prospectus for a more detailed description of the matters described below.

 

Distributing company

Newcastle is the distributing company in the spin-off. Immediately following the Distribution, Newcastle will not own any capital stock of New Media.

 

Distributed company

New Media is the distributed company in the spin-off.

 

Primary purposes of the spin-off

For the reasons more fully discussed in “Questions and Answers About the Spin-off—What are the reasons for the spin-off?”, Newcastle believes that separating New Media from Newcastle is in the best interests of both Newcastle and New Media.

 

Distribution ratio

Each holder of Newcastle common stock will receive                 shares of New Media’s Common Stock for every                 shares of Newcastle common stock held on                     , 2014, the Record Date for the Distribution. Fractional shares of New Media’s Common Stock will not be distributed in the spin-off. Holders of Newcastle common stock will receive cash in lieu of fractional shares of New Media Common Stock.

 

Securities to be distributed

All of the shares of New Media Common Stock owned by Newcastle, which will be 84.6% of our Common Stock outstanding immediately prior to the Distribution.

 

  Based on the                 shares of Newcastle common stock outstanding on                     , 2014, and the distribution ratio of                 shares of New Media Common Stock for every                 shares of Newcastle common stock,                 shares of our Common Stock will be distributed to Newcastle stockholders. The number of shares of Common Stock that Newcastle will distribute to its stockholders will be reduced to the extent that cash payments are made or will be made in lieu of the issuance of fractional New Media Common Stock.

 

Record Date

The Record Date for the Distribution is 5:00 P.M., Eastern Time, on                     , 2014.

 

Distribution date

The Distribution Date will be                     , 2014.

 

The Distribution

On the Distribution Date, Newcastle, with the assistance of American Stock Transfer & Trust Company, LLC, the distribution agent, will electronically issue shares of our Common Stock to you or to your bank or brokerage firm on your behalf by way of direct registration in book-entry form. You will not be required to make any payment, surrender or exchange your shares of Newcastle common stock or take any other action to receive your shares of our Common Stock. If

 

 

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you sell shares of Newcastle common stock in the “regular-way” market through the Distribution Date, you will also sell your right to receive shares of New Media Common Stock in the Distribution. Registered stockholders will receive additional information from the distribution agent shortly after the Distribution Date. Following the Distribution, stockholders whose shares are held in book-entry form may request that their shares of New Media Common Stock be transferred to a brokerage or other account at any time, without charge. Beneficial stockholders that hold shares through brokerage firms will receive additional information from their brokerage firms shortly after the Distribution Date.

 

  Fractional shares of Common Stock will not be distributed in the spin-off. Holders of Newcastle common stock will receive cash in lieu of fractional shares of New Media Common Stock. American Stock Transfer & Trust Company, LLC, the distribution agent, will aggregate all fractional shares of Newcastle common stock into whole shares, sell the whole shares in the open market at prevailing market prices on behalf of holders entitled to receive a fractional share, and distribute the aggregate net cash proceeds of the sales pro rata to these holders.

 

Conditions to Distribution

The Distribution of our Common Stock is subject to the satisfaction or waiver of the following conditions:

 

    Our registration statement on Form S-1, of which this Prospectus is a part, shall have become effective under the Securities Act, and no stop order relating to the registration statement shall be in effect;

 

    the listing of our Common Stock on the NYSE shall have been approved, subject to official notice of issuance;

 

    the Plan is approved by the Bankruptcy Court without any appeals by any parties; and

 

    no order, injunction or decree issued by any court of competent jurisdiction or other legal restraint or prohibition preventing consummation of the Distribution or any of the transactions related thereto, shall be in effect.

 

  Newcastle has the right not to complete the Distribution if, at any time prior to the Distribution Date (even if all such conditions are satisfied), its board of directors determines, in its sole discretion, that the Distribution is not in the best interest of Newcastle or that market conditions are such that it is not advisable to separate New Media from Newcastle.

 

Stock exchange listing

We intend to apply to list our shares of Common Stock on the NYSE under the ticker symbol “NEWM.” We anticipate that on or prior to the Record Date for the Distribution, trading of shares of our Common Stock will begin on a “when-issued” basis and will continue up to and including the Distribution Date. See “The Spin-Off and Restructuring—Trading Between the Record Date and Distribution Date,” included elsewhere in this Prospectus.

 

 

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  It is expected that after the Distribution of New Media Common Stock, Newcastle common stock will continue to be traded on the NYSE under the symbol “NCT.”

 

Distribution agent

American Stock Transfer & Trust Company, LLC.

 

Tax considerations

The Distribution of our Common Stock will not qualify for tax-free treatment, and an amount equal to the fair market value of the shares of our Common Stock received by you on the date of Distribution will be treated as a taxable dividend to the extent of your ratable share of any current or accumulated earnings and profits of Newcastle. The excess will be treated as a non-taxable return of capital to the extent of your tax basis in the shares of Newcastle common stock and any remaining excess will be treated as capital gain. Your tax basis in the shares of Newcastle common stock held at the time of the Distribution will be reduced (but not below zero) to the extent the fair market value of the shares of our Common Stock distributed by Newcastle in the Distribution exceeds Newcastle’s current and accumulated earnings and profits, as adjusted to take account of other distributions made by Newcastle in the taxable year that includes the Distribution. Your holding period for such Newcastle shares will not be affected by the Distribution. Newcastle will not be able to advise stockholders of the amount of earnings and profits of Newcastle until after the end of the 2014 calendar year.

 

 

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Summary Historical Consolidated and Pro Forma Financial Data

The following selected financial data for the three years ended December 30, 2012 are derived from the audited consolidated financial statements of GateHouse, our Predecessor, which have been audited by Ernst & Young LLP, independent registered public accounting firm. Ernst & Young LLP’s report on the consolidated financial statements for the year ended December 30, 2012, which appears elsewhere herein, includes an explanatory paragraph which describes an uncertainty about GateHouse’s ability to continue as a going concern. The financial data for the nine month periods ended September 29, 2013 and September 30, 2012 are derived from the unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements of GateHouse, our Predecessor. The unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements include all adjustments, consisting of normal recurring accruals, which GateHouse considers necessary for a fair presentation of the financial position and the results of operations for these periods. The selected financial data as of and for the years ended December 30, 2012, January 1, 2012 and December 31, 2010, and the selected financial data as of and for the nine months ended September 30, 2012 have been revised to reflect one of GateHouse’s publications as a discontinued operation for comparability.

Operating results for the nine months ended September 29, 2013 are not necessarily indicative of the results that may be expected for the entire year ending December 29, 2013. Our core business performance, as presented in our revenue and our operating and selling, general and administrative expense amounts, is not anticipated to be materially impacted by the spin-off. However, as a result of the execution of the Support Agreement, all debt, including derivative liabilities and deferred financing assets, is expected to be eliminated on the Effective Date of the Plan. This will result in a significant reduction in our interest expense and the elimination of the gain (loss) on derivative instruments and deferred financing amortization. Upon the emergence from bankruptcy, fresh start accounting will lead to changes in the basis of our property, plant and equipment and intangible assets that will impact future depreciation and amortization expense levels. Other significant changes to our financial information include that we expect to become subject to federal and state income taxation and to pay fees to our Manager. In addition, the Local Media Contribution and the expected consolidation of Local Media by GateHouse as a result of the management agreement between GateHouse and Local Media Parent, which was assigned to Local Media, will impact the financial position and the result of operations. The impact of these changes is discussed in greater detail within the Unaudited Pro Forma Condensed Combined Financial Information section of this Prospectus. The data should be read in conjunction with the consolidated financial statements, related notes and other financial information included herein.

The following selected pro forma financial information as of September 29, 2013, for the nine months ended September 29, 2013 and for the year ended December 30, 2012 are based on (i) the audited financial statements of New Media which was formed on June 18, 2013 and subsequently capitalized, (ii) the audited consolidated financial statements of GateHouse for the year ended December 30, 2012 and the unaudited consolidated financial statements of GateHouse as of and for the nine months ended September 29, 2013, and (iii) the audited combined financial statements of Local Media as of and for the year ended June 30, 2013, each included in this Prospectus.

The pro forma financial information is provided for informational and illustrative purposes only and should be read in conjunction with “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations,” New Media’s historical financial statements and related notes thereto, GateHouse’s historical consolidated financial statements and notes thereto and Local Media’s historical combined financial statements and notes thereto, each included elsewhere in this Prospectus. In addition, the historical financial statements of GateHouse, our Predecessor, will not be comparable following its emergence from Chapter 11 due to the effects of the consummation of the Plan, as well as adjustments for fresh-start accounting. All tables are presented in thousands unless otherwise noted.

 

 

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The pro forma financial information gives effect to three categories of adjustments as if the transactions reflected in such adjustments had occurred on January 2, 2012 for the unaudited pro forma condensed combined statements of operations and on September 29, 2013 for the unaudited pro forma condensed combined balance sheet. The three categories of adjustments are summarized below.

GateHouse Effects of Plan Adjustments

 

    Approximately $1.2 billion of our Predecessor’s Outstanding Debt will be cancelled and exchanged for New Media Common Stock equal in value to 40% of the face amount of the Outstanding Debt;

 

    the equity interests in our Predecessor will be cancelled and discharged and 100% of the new equity in the reorganized GateHouse will be issued to New Media;

 

    the Former Equity Holders will receive New Media Warrants representing the right to acquire New Media Common Stock equal to 5.0% of the New Media Common Stock as of the Effective Date;

 

    commencing from the Listing, New Media will pay its Manager a management fee equal to 1.5% per annum of its Total Equity (as defined in the Management Agreement), calculated and payable monthly in arrears in cash; and

 

    the payment of additional estimated reorganization costs of $9.8 million.

GateHouse Fresh-Start and Other Adjustments

 

    The adoption by GateHouse of fresh-start accounting, in accordance with ASC 852 upon confirmation of the Plan.

Local Media Purchase Accounting and Other Adjustments

 

    Newcastle will contribute 100% of the common stock of Local Media Parent to New Media in exchange for New Media Common Stock equal in value to the cost of Newcastle’s Local Media Acquisition; and

 

    the impact of Local Media purchase accounting adjustments, in accordance with ASC 805. As Local Media was consolidated in GateHouse historical results beginning on September 3, 2013, the purchase accounting adjustments are already included in column “GateHouse Historical September 29, 2013” on the unaudited pro forma condensed combined balance sheet. The unaudited pro forma condensed combined statements of operations for December 30, 2012 and September 29, 2013 include a separate column for Local Media adjustments labeled as “Local Media Purchase Accounting and Other Adjustments.”

 

 

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    Nine Months
Ended
September 29,
2013
    Nine Months
Ended
September 29,
2013
    Nine Months
Ended
September 30,

2012
    Year
Ended
December 30,
2012
    Year
Ended
December 30,
2012
    Year
Ended
January 1,
2012 (4)
    Year
Ended
December 31,
2010
 
    Pro Forma     Historical     Historical     Pro Forma     Historical     Historical     Historical  
    (In Thousands, Except Per Share Data)  

Statement of Operations Data:

             

Revenues:

             

Advertising

  $ 281,877      $ 229,569      $ 246,010      $ 419,210      $ 330,881      $ 357,134      $ 385,579   

Circulation

    136,225        102,370        98,279        183,779        131,576        131,879        133,192   

Commercial printing and other

    41,605        24,233        18,872        50,114        26,097        25,657        25,967   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total revenues

    459,707        356,172        363,161        653,103        488,554        514,670        544,738   

Operating costs and expenses:

             

Operating costs

    259,480        200,824        202,644        350,662        268,222        281,884        296,974   

Selling, general and administrative

    153,381        121,254        107,059        206,744        145,020        146,295        154,516   

Depreciation and amortization

    26,741        30,383        30,006        36,915        39,888        42,426        45,080   

Integration and reorganization costs

    1,380        1,380        3,457        4,393        4,393        5,884        2,324   

Impairment of long-lived assets

    111,902        91,599        —          692        —          1,733        430   

(Gain) loss on sale of assets

    1,052        1,052        534        1,238        1,238        455        1,551   

Goodwill and mastheads impairment

    21,965        —          —          197,177        —          385        —     
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Operating income (loss)

    (116,194     (90,320     19,461        (144,718     29,793        35,608        43,863   

Interest expense, amortization of deferred financing costs, gain on early extinguishment of debt, (gain) loss on derivative instruments and other

    13,324        71,335        42,819        16,238        57,463        58,361        69,520   

Reorganization items, net

    —          9,843        —          —          N/A        N/A        N/A   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Loss from continuing operations before income taxes

    (129,518     (171,498     (23,358     (160,956     (27,670     (22,753     (25,657

Income tax expense (benefit)

    (50,706     (10,878     (207     (63,014     (207     (1,803     (155
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

(Loss) income from continuing operations

    (78,812     (160,620     (23,151     (97,942     (27,463     (20,950     (25,502

Income (loss) from discontinued operations, net of income taxes

    N/A        (1,034     (2,093     N/A        (2,340     (699     (542
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net (loss) income

    N/A        (161,654     (25,244     N/A        (29,803     (21,649     (26,044

Net (loss) income attributable to noncontrolling interest

    N/A        865        N/A        N/A        N/A        N/A        N/A   

Net (loss) income attributable to GateHouse Media

    N/A        (160,789     (25,244     N/A        N/A        N/A        N/A   

Basic net (loss) income from continuing operations attributable to GateHouse Media per share

    (2.63 ) (1)     $ (2.75 ) (2)     $ (0.40 ) (2)       (3.26 ) (1)     $ (0.47 ) (2)     $ (0.36 ) (2)     $ (0.44 ) (2)  

Diluted net (loss) income from continuing operations attributable to GateHouse Media per share

    (2.63 ) (1)     $ (2.75 ) (2)     $ (0.40 ) (2)       (3.26 ) (1)     $ (0.47 ) (2)     $ (0.36 ) (2)     $ (0.44 ) (2)  

Basic net (loss) income from discontinued operations, attributable to GateHouse Media, net of income taxes, per share

    N/A      $ (0.02     (0.04     N/A (1)       (0.04     (0.01     (0.01

Diluted net (loss) income from discontinued operations, attributable to GateHouse Media, net of income taxes, per share

    N/A      $ (0.02     (0.04     N/A        (0.04     (0.01     (0.01

Basic weighted average shares outstanding

    30,000,000 (1)       58,068,277 (2)       58,038,673 (2)       30,000,000 (1)       58,041,907 (2)       57,949,815 (2)       57,723,353 (2)  

Diluted weighted average shares outstanding

    30,000,000 (1)       58,068,277 (2)       58,038,673 (2)       30,000,000 (1)       58,041,907 (2)       57,949,815 (2)       57,723,353 (2)  

 

 

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    Nine Months
Ended
September 29,
2013
    Nine Months
Ended
September 29,
2013
    Nine Months
Ended
September 30,

2012
    Year
Ended
December 30,
2012
    Year
Ended
December 30,
2012
    Year
Ended
January 1,
2012 (4)
    Year
Ended
December 31,
2010
 
    Pro Forma     Historical     Historical     Pro Forma     Historical     Historical     Historical  
    (In Thousands, Except Per Share Data)  

Statement of Cash Flow Data:

             

Net cash (used in) provided by operating activities

    N/A      $ (9,737   $ 24,222        N/A      $ 23,499      $ 22,439      $ 26,453   

Net cash used in investing activities

    N/A        (2,499     (2,014     N/A        (1,044     (731     (624

Net cash used in financing activities

    N/A        (2,538     (4,600     N/A        (7,140     (11,249     (22,010

Other Data:

    N/A            N/A         

Adjusted EBITDA (3)

    N/A      $ 20,814      $ 49,500        N/A      $ 69,766      $ 80,547      $ 89,511   

Cash interest paid

    N/A        43,400        43,778        N/A      $ 55,976      $ 58,225      $ 59,317   

 

(1) Attributable to New Media during the applicable period.
(2) Attributable to GateHouse during the applicable period.
(3) We define Adjusted EBITDA as net income (loss) from continuing operations before income tax expense (benefit), interest/financing expense, depreciation and amortization and non-cash impairments. Adjusted EBITDA is not a measurement of financial performance under GAAP and should not be considered in isolation or as an alternative to income from operations, net income (loss), cash flow from continuing operating activities or any other measure of performance or liquidity derived in accordance with GAAP. We believe this non-GAAP measure, as we have defined it, is helpful in identifying trends in our day-to-day performance because the items excluded have little or no significance in our day-to-day operations. This measure provides an assessment of controllable expenses and affords management the ability to make decisions that are expected to facilitate meeting current financial goals as well as achieve optimal financial performance. Adjusted EBITDA provides an indicator for management to determine if adjustments to current spending decisions are needed.

Adjusted EBITDA provides us with a measure of financial performance, independent of items that are beyond the control of management in the short-term, such as depreciation and amortization, taxation and interest expense associated with our capital structure. This metric measures our financial performance based on operational factors that management can impact in the short-term, namely our cost structure or expenses of the organization. Adjusted EBITDA is one of the metrics used by senior management and the Board to review the financial performance of our business on a monthly basis.

Not all companies calculate Adjusted EBITDA using the same methods. Therefore, the Adjusted EBITDA figures set forth herein may not be comparable to Adjusted EBITDA reported by other companies. A substantial portion of our Adjusted EBITDA was dedicated to the payment of interest on our outstanding indebtedness and to service other commitments, thereby reducing the funds available to us for other purposes. Adjusted EBITDA does not represent an amount of funds that is available for management’s discretionary use. See “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” of this Prospectus.

(4) The year ended January 1, 2012 included a 53 rd week of operations for approximately 60% of the business.

The table below shows the reconciliation of loss from continuing operations to Adjusted EBITDA for the periods presented:

 

    Nine Months Ended
September 29, 2013
    Nine Months Ended
September 30, 2012
    Year Ended
December 30, 2012
    Year Ended
January 1, 2012 (g)
    Year Ended
December 31, 2010
 
    (In Thousands)  

Loss from continuing operations

  $ (160,620   $ (23,151   $ (27,463   $ (20,950   $ (25,502

Income tax expense (benefit)

    (10,878     (207     (207     (1,803     (155

(Gain) loss on derivative instruments (f)

    14        (1,639     (1,635     (913     8,277   

Amortization of deferred financing costs

    803        994        1,255        1,360        1,360   

Interest expense

    69,513        43,497        57,928        58,309        60,021   

Impairment of long-lived assets

    91,599        —          —          1,733        430   

Depreciation and amortization

    30,383        30,006        39,888        42,426        45,080   

Goodwill and mastheads impairment

    —          —          —          385        —     

Adjusted EBITDA from continuing operations

  $ 20,814 (a)     $ 49,500 (b)     $ 69,766 (c)     $ 80,547 (d)     $ 89,511 (e)  
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

 

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(a) Adjusted EBITDA for the nine months ended September 29, 2013 included net expenses of $22,419, which are one-time in nature or non-cash compensation. Included in these net expenses of $22,419 is non-cash compensation and other expense of $20,807, non-cash portion of postretirement benefits expense of $(820), integration and reorganization costs of $1,380 and a $1,053 loss on the sale of assets.

 

(b) Adjusted EBITDA for the nine months ended September 30, 2012 included net expenses of $7,684, which are one-time in nature or non-cash compensation. Included in these net expenses of $7,684 is non-cash compensation and other expense of $4,125, non-cash portion of postretirement benefits expense of $(432), integration and reorganization costs of $3,457 and a $534 loss on the sale of assets.

Adjusted EBITDA also does not include $593 from our discontinued operations.

 

(c) Adjusted EBITDA for the year ended December 30, 2012 included net expenses of $11,009, which are one time in nature or non-cash compensation. Included in these net expenses of $11,009 are non-cash compensation and other expenses of $6,274, non-cash portion of post-retirement benefits expense of $(896), integration and reorganization costs of $4,393 and a $1,238 loss on the sale of assets.

Adjusted EBITDA also does not include $255 of EBITDA generated from our discontinued operations.

 

(d) Adjusted EBITDA for the year ended January 1, 2012 included net expenses of $9,461, which are one time in nature or non-cash compensation. Included in these net expenses of $9,461 are non-cash compensation and other expenses of $4,226, non-cash portion of post-retirement benefits expense of $(1,104), integration and reorganization costs of $5,884 and an $455 loss on the sale of assets.

Adjusted EBITDA also does not include $432 of EBITDA generated from our discontinued operations.

 

(e) Adjusted EBITDA for the year ended December 31, 2010 included net expenses of $8,231, which are one time in nature or non-cash compensation. Included in these net expenses of $8,231 are non-cash compensation and other expenses of $5,005, non-cash portion of post-retirement benefits expense of $(649), integration and reorganization costs of $2,324 and a $1,551 loss on the sale of assets.

Adjusted EBITDA also does not include $463 of EBITDA generated from our discontinued operations.

 

(f) Non-cash (gain) loss on derivative instruments is related to interest rate swap agreements which are financing related and are excluded from Adjusted EBITDA.

 

(g) The year ended January 1, 2012 included a 53rd week of operations for approximately 60% of the business.

 

     As of  
     September 29,
2013
     September 29,
2013
    September 30,
2012
    December 30,
2012
    January 1,
2012
    December 31,
2010
 
     Pro Forma      Historical     Historical     Historical     Historical     Historical  
     (In Thousands)  

Balance Sheet Data:

             

Total assets

   $ 667,542       $ 426,975      $ 480,438      $ 469,766      $ 510,802      $ 546,327   

Total long-term obligations, including current maturities

     184,836         36,341        1,179,949        1,177,298        1,185,212        1,197,347   

Stockholders’ equity (deficit)

     390,197         (902,362     (829,106     (834,159     (805,632     (792,121

 

 

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RISK FACTORS

You should carefully consider the following risks and other information in this Prospectus in evaluating us and our Common Stock. Any of the following risks could materially and adversely affect our results of operations or financial condition. The risk factors generally have been separated into the following groups: risks related to our business, risks related to our Manager, risks related to the Distribution and risks related to our Common Stock.

Risks Related to Our Business

We depend to a great extent on the economies and the demographics of the local communities that we serve, and we are also susceptible to general economic downturns, which have had, and could continue to have, a material and adverse impact on our advertising and circulation revenues and on our profitability.

Our advertising revenues and, to a lesser extent, circulation revenues, depend upon a variety of factors specific to the communities that our publications serve. These factors include, among others, the size and demographic characteristics of the local population, local economic conditions in general and the economic condition of the retail segments of the communities that our publications serve. If the local economy, population or prevailing retail environment of a community we serve experiences a downturn, our publications, revenues and profitability in that market could be adversely affected. Our advertising revenues are also susceptible to negative trends in the general economy, like the economic downturn recently experienced, that affect consumer spending. The advertisers in our newspapers and other publications and related websites are primarily retail businesses that can be significantly affected by regional or national economic downturns and other developments. Continuing or deepening softness in the U.S. economy could also significantly affect key advertising revenue categories, such as help wanted, real estate and automotive.

Uncertainty and adverse changes in the general economic conditions of markets in which we participate may negatively affect our business.

Current and future conditions in the economy have an inherent degree of uncertainty. As a result, it is difficult to estimate the level of growth or contraction for the economy as a whole. It is even more difficult to estimate growth or contraction in various parts, sectors and regions of the economy, including the markets in which we participate. Adverse changes may occur as a result of weak global economic conditions, rising oil prices, wavering consumer confidence, unemployment, declines in stock markets, contraction of credit availability, declines in real estate values, or other factors affecting economic conditions in general. These changes may negatively affect the sales of our products, increase exposure to losses from bad debts, increase the cost and decrease the availability of financing, or increase costs associated with publishing and distributing our publications.

Our ability to generate revenues is correlated with the economic conditions of two geographic regions of the United States.

Our Company primarily generates revenue in two geographic regions: the Northeast and the Midwest. During the nine months ended September 29, 2013, approximately 41% of our total revenues were generated in two states in the Northeast: Massachusetts and New York. During the same period, approximately 28% of our total revenues were generated in two states in the Midwest: Illinois and Ohio. As a result of this geographic concentration, our financial results, including advertising and circulation revenue, depend largely upon economic conditions in these principal market areas. Accordingly, adverse economic developments within these two regions in particular could significantly affect our consolidated operations and financial results.

Our indebtedness and any future indebtedness may limit our financial and operating activities and our ability to incur additional debt to fund future needs or dividends.

As of the Effective Date, GateHouse’s outstanding indebtedness includes the First Lien Credit Facility consisting of term loans in the aggregate principal amount of $75,000,000 and a revolving credit facility in an

 

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aggregate principal amount of up to $40,000,000 (of which $25,000,000 was funded on November 26, 2013) and a Second Lien Credit Facility consisting of a term loan in the aggregate principal amount of $50,000,000. Additionally, in connection with the Local Media Acquisition, Local Media Parent entered into the Local Media Credit Facility, which consists of a $33 million senior secured term loan, which was funded on September 3, 2013, and a senior secured asset-based revolving credit facility in an aggregate principal amount of up to $10 million, whose full availability was activated on October 25, 2013. This indebtedness and any future indebtedness we incur could:

 

    require us to dedicate a portion of cash flow from operations to the payment of principal and interest on indebtedness, including indebtedness we may incur in the future, thereby reducing the funds available for other purposes, including dividends or other distributions;

 

    subject us to increased sensitivity to increases in prevailing interest rates;

 

    place us at a competitive disadvantage to competitors with relatively less debt in economic downturns, adverse industry conditions or catastrophic external events; or

 

    reduce our flexibility in planning for or responding to changing business, industry and economic conditions.

In addition, our indebtedness could limit our ability to obtain additional financing on acceptable terms or at all to fund future acquisitions, working capital, capital expenditures, debt service requirements, general corporate and other purposes, which would have a material effect on our business and financial condition. Our liquidity needs could vary significantly and may be affected by general economic conditions, industry trends, performance and many other factors not within our control.

We may not generate a sufficient amount of cash or generate sufficient funds from operations to fund our operations, pay dividends or repay our indebtedness.

Our ability to make payments on our indebtedness as required depends on our ability to generate cash flow from operations in the future. This ability, to a certain extent, is subject to general economic, financial, competitive, legislative, regulatory and other factors that are beyond our control.

If we do not generate sufficient cash flow from operations to satisfy our debt obligations, including interest payments and the payment of principal at maturity, we may have to undertake alternative financing plans, such as refinancing or restructuring our debt, selling assets, reducing or delaying capital investments or seeking to raise additional capital. We cannot provide assurance that any refinancing would be possible, that any assets could be sold, or, if sold, of the timeliness and amount of proceeds realized from those sales, that additional financing could be obtained on acceptable terms, if at all, or that additional financing would be permitted under the terms of our various debt instruments then in effect. Furthermore, our ability to refinance would depend upon the condition of the finance and credit markets. Our inability to generate sufficient cash flow to satisfy our debt obligations, or to refinance our obligations on commercially reasonable terms or on a timely basis, would materially affect our business, financial condition or results of operations.

GateHouse’s independent audit report includes cautionary language on its ability to continue as a going concern.

The audit report issued by GateHouse’s independent registered public accounting firm on its audited financials for the fiscal year ended December 30, 2012, contains an explanatory paragraph regarding GateHouse’s ability to continue as a going concern. This explanatory paragraph indicates there is substantial doubt on the part of GateHouse’s independent registered public accounting firm as to its ability to continue as a going concern due to its entrance into the Support Agreement. As discussed in Note 21 to GateHouse’s Consolidated Financial Statements, the Support Agreement required GateHouse to file a voluntary petition seeking to reorganize under chapter 11 of the U.S. bankruptcy code, which it did on September 27, 2013.

 

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GateHouse has prepared its financial statements on a going concern basis that contemplates the realization of assets and the satisfaction of liabilities in the normal course of business for the foreseeable future. GateHouse’s financial statements do not include any adjustments that would be necessary should it be unable to continue as a going concern and, therefore, be required to liquidate its assets and discharge its liabilities in other than the normal course of business and at amounts different from those reflected in its financial statements.

We may not be able to pay dividends in accordance with our announced intent or at all.

We have announced our intent to pay a substantial portion of our free cash flow as a dividend to our stockholders, subject to satisfactory financial performance and approval by our Board of Directors. The Board of Directors’ determinations regarding dividends will depend on a variety of factors, including the Company’s GAAP net income, free cash flow generated from operations or other sources, liquidity position and potential alternative uses of cash, such as acquisitions, as well as economic conditions and expected future financial results. Our ability to declare future dividends will depend on our future financial performance, which in turn depends on the successful implementation of our strategy and on financial, competitive, regulatory, technical and other factors, general economic conditions, demand and selling prices for our products and other factors specific to our industry or specific projects, many of which are beyond our control. Therefore, our ability to generate free cash flow depends on the performance of our operations and could be limited by decreases in our profitability or increases in costs, capital expenditures or debt servicing requirements.

Our Predecessor suspended the payments of dividends commencing with the second quarter of 2008. We will own substantially all of our Predecessor’s assets, and our Predecessor experienced revenue and cash flow declines in the years since 2008. In addition, we may acquire additional companies with declining cash flow as part of a strategy aimed at stabilizing cash flow through expense reduction and digital expansion. If our strategy is not successful, we may not be able to pay dividends.

As a holding company, we are also dependent on our subsidiaries being able to pay dividends to us. If our subsidiaries incur debt or losses, such indebtedness or loss may impair their ability to pay dividends or make other distributions to us. In addition, our ability to pay dividends will be substantially affected by the ability of our subsidiaries to provide cash to us. The ability of our subsidiaries to declare and pay dividends to us will be dependent on their cash income and cash available and may be restricted under applicable law or regulation. Under Delaware law, approval of the Board of Directors is required to approve any dividend, which may only be paid out of surplus or net profit for the applicable fiscal year. In addition, we or our subsidiaries may be subject to restrictions on the ability to pay dividends under instruments governing indebtedness. We may not be able to pay dividends in accordance with our announced intent or at all.

The collectability of accounts receivable under adverse economic conditions could deteriorate to a greater extent than provided for in our financial statements and in our projections of future results.

Adverse economic conditions in the United States have increased our exposure to losses resulting from financial distress, insolvency and the potential bankruptcy of our advertising customers. Our accounts receivable are stated at net estimated realizable value and our allowance for doubtful accounts has been determined based on several factors, including receivable agings, significant individual credit risk accounts and historical experience. If such collectability estimates prove inaccurate, adjustments to future operating results could occur.

Our Predecessor experienced declines in its credit ratings, which could adversely affect our ability to obtain new financing to fund our operations and strategic initiatives or to refinance our existing debt at attractive rates.

During 2008, GateHouse’s credit rating was downgraded to below investment grade by both Standard & Poor’s and Moody’s Investors Service. GateHouse’s credit rating was further downgraded in 2009 and 2010. These downgrades will negatively affect our cost of financing and subject us to more restrictive covenants than those that might otherwise apply. As a result, our financing options may be limited. Any future downgrades in

 

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our credit ratings could further increase our borrowing costs, subject us to more onerous terms and reduce or eliminate our borrowing flexibility in the future. Such limitations on our financing options may adversely affect our ability to refinance existing debt and incur new debt to fund our operations and strategic initiatives.

If there is a significant increase in the price of newsprint or a reduction in the availability of newsprint, our results of operations and financial condition may suffer.

The basic raw material for our publications is newsprint. We generally maintain only a 45 to 55-day inventory of newsprint, although our participation in a newsprint-buying consortium has helped ensure adequate supply. An inability to obtain an adequate supply of newsprint at a favorable price or at all in the future could have a material adverse effect on our ability to produce our publications. Historically, the price of newsprint has been volatile, reaching a high of approximately $823 per metric ton in 2008 and experiencing a low of almost $410 per metric ton in 2002. The average price of newsprint for 2012 was approximately $667 per metric ton. Recent and future consolidation of major newsprint suppliers may adversely affect price competition among suppliers. Significant increases in newsprint costs for properties and periods not covered by our newsprint vendor agreement could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.

Our Predecessor experienced declines in advertising revenue, and further declines, which could adversely affect our results of operations and financial condition, may occur.

Our predecessor, GateHouse, experienced declines in advertising revenue over the past few years, due primarily to the economic recession and advertisers’ shift from print to digital media. Advertising revenue decreased by $26.3 million, or 7.4%, in the year ended December 30, 2012, as compared to the year ended January 1, 2012. Advertising revenue decreased by $16.4 million, or 6.7%, in the nine months ended September 29, 2013, as compared to the nine months ended September 30, 2012. We continue to search for organic growth opportunities, including in our digital advertising business, and for ways to stabilize print revenue declines through new product launches and pricing. However, there can be no assurance that our advertising revenue will not continue to decline. Further declines in advertising revenue could adversely affect our results of operations and financial condition.

We compete with a large number of companies in the local media industry; if we are unable to compete effectively, our advertising and circulation revenues may decline.

Our business is concentrated in newspapers and other print publications located primarily in small and midsize markets in the United States. Our revenues primarily consist of advertising and paid circulation. Competition for advertising revenues and paid circulation comes from direct mail, directories, radio, television, outdoor advertising, other newspaper publications, the internet and other media. For example, as the use of the internet and mobile devices has increased, we have lost some classified advertising and subscribers to online advertising businesses and our free internet sites that contain abbreviated versions of our publications. Competition for advertising revenues is based largely upon advertiser results, advertising rates, readership, demographics and circulation levels. Competition for circulation is based largely upon the content of the publication and its price and editorial quality. Our local and regional competitors vary from market to market and many of our competitors for advertising revenues are larger and have greater financial and distribution resources than us. We may incur increased costs competing for advertising expenditures and paid circulation. We may also experience a decline of circulation or print advertising revenue due to alternative media, such as the internet. If we are not able to compete effectively for advertising expenditures and paid circulation, our revenues may decline.

We are undertaking strategic process upgrades that could have a material adverse financial impact if unsuccessful.

We are implementing strategic process upgrades of our business. Among other things we are implementing the standardization and centralization of systems and processes, the outsourcing of certain financial processes

 

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and the use of new software for our circulation, advertising and editorial systems. As a result of ongoing strategic evaluation and analysis, we have made and will continue to make changes that, if unsuccessful, could have a material adverse financial impact.

We have invested in growing our digital business, but such investments may not be successful, which could adversely affect our results of operations.

We continue to evaluate our business and how we intend to grow our digital business. Internal resources and effort are put towards this business and key partnerships have been entered into to assist with our digital business. We continue to believe that our digital businesses offer opportunities for revenue growth to support and, in some cases, offset the revenue trends we have seen in our print business. There can be no assurances that the partnerships we have entered into or the internal strategy being employed will result in generating or increasing digital revenues in amounts necessary to stabilize or offset trends in print revenues. In addition, we have a limited history of operations in this area and there can be no assurances that past performance will be indicative of future performance or future trends. If our digital strategy is not as successful as we anticipate, our financial condition, results of operations and ability to pay dividends could be adversely affected.

If we are unable to retain and grow our digital audience and advertiser base, our digital businesses will be adversely affected.

Given the ever-growing and rapidly changing number of digital media options available on the internet, we may not be able to increase our online traffic sufficiently and retain or grow a base of frequent visitors to our websites and applications on mobile devices.

Accordingly, we may not be able to create sufficient advertiser interest in our digital businesses and to maintain or increase the advertising rates of the inventory on our websites.

In addition, the ever-growing and rapidly changing number of digital media options available on the internet may lead to technologies and alternatives that we are not able to offer or about which we are not able to advise. Such circumstances could directly and adversely affect the availability, applicability, marketability and profitability of the suite of SMB services and the private ad exchange we offer as a significant part of our digital business.

Technological developments and any changes we make to our business strategy may require significant capital investments. Such investments may be restricted by our current or future credit facilities.

Our business is subject to seasonal and other fluctuations, which affects our revenues and operating results.

Our business is subject to seasonal fluctuations that we expect to continue to be reflected in our operating results in future periods. Our first fiscal quarter of the year tends to be our weakest quarter because advertising volume is at its lowest levels following the December holiday season. Correspondingly, our second and fourth fiscal quarters tend to be our strongest because they include heavy holiday and seasonal advertising. Other factors that affect our quarterly revenues and operating results may be beyond our control, including changes in the pricing policies of our competitors, the hiring and retention of key personnel, wage and cost pressures, distribution costs, changes in newsprint prices and general economic factors.

We could be adversely affected by continued declining circulation.

Overall daily newspaper circulation, including national and urban newspapers, has declined in recent years. For the year ended December 30, 2012, circulation revenue decreased by $0.3 million, or 0.2%, as compared to the year ended January 1, 2012. There can be no assurance that our circulation will not continue to decline in the future. We have been able to maintain our annual circulation revenue from existing operations in recent years through, among other things, increases in our per copy prices. However, there can be no assurance that we will be

 

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able to continue to increase prices to offset any declines in circulation. Further declines in circulation could impair our ability to maintain or increase our advertising prices, cause purchasers of advertising in our publications to reduce or discontinue those purchases and discourage potential new advertising customers, all of which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations, cash flows and ability to pay a dividend.

The increasing popularity of digital media could also adversely affect circulation of our newspapers, which may decrease circulation revenue and cause more marked declines in print advertising. If we are not successful in offsetting such declines in revenues from our print products, our business, financial condition and prospects will be adversely affected.

We have a history of losses and may not be able to achieve or maintain profitable operations in the future.

We experienced losses from continuing operations of approximately $27.5 million, $21.0 million and $25.5 million in 2012, 2011 and 2010, respectively. Our results of operations in the future will depend on many factors, including our ability to execute our business strategy and realize efficiencies through our clustering strategy. Our failure to achieve profitability in the future could adversely affect the trading price of our Common Stock and our ability to pay dividends and raise additional capital for growth.

The value of our intangible assets may become impaired, depending upon future operating results.

As a result of the Restructuring, which was considered a triggering event for the non-amortizable intangibles, the Company performed a valuation analysis to determine if an impairment existed as of September 29, 2013. The fair values of the Company’s reporting units for goodwill and newspaper mastheads were estimated using the expected present value of future cash flows, recent industry transaction multiples and using estimates, judgments and assumptions that management believed were appropriate in the circumstances and were consistent with the terms of the Plan. The estimates and judgments used in the assessment included multiples for revenue and EBITDA, the weighted average cost of capital and the terminal growth rate. Given the Restructuring, the Company determined that discounted cash flows provided the best estimate of the fair value of its reporting units. The estimated fair value of the Large Daily reporting unit exceeded its carrying value and Step 2 of the analysis was not necessary. The Small Community reporting unit failed the Step 1 goodwill impairment analysis. The Company performed Step 2 of the analysis using consistent assumptions, as discussed above, and determined an impairment was not present for this reporting unit. The estimated fair value of each reporting unit’s mastheads exceeded their carrying values, using consistent assumptions as discussed above. The masthead fair value was estimated using the relief from royalty valuation method. For further information on goodwill and intangible assets, see Note 9 “Goodwill and Intangible Assets” to GateHouse’s Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements.

Due to reductions in the Company’s operating projections during the third quarter in conjunction with the Restructuring, an impairment charge of $68,573 was recognized for advertiser relationships within the Company’s Metro and Small Community reporting units, an impairment charge of $19,149 was recognized for subscriber relationships within the Company’s Metro and Small Community reporting units, an impairment charge of $2,077 was recognized for customer relationships within the Company’s Metro reporting unit and an impairment charge of $1,800 was recognized for trade names and publication rights within the Directories business unit. Refer to Note 16 “Fair Value Measurement” for additional information on the impairment charge. For further information on the impairment charge, see Note 16 “Fair Value Measurement” to GateHouse’s Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements.

The newspaper industry and the Company have experienced declining same store revenue and profitability over the past several years. Should general economic, market or business conditions decline, and have a negative impact on estimates of future cash flow and market transaction multiples, the Company may be required to record additional impairment charges in the future.

 

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We are subject to environmental and employee safety and health laws and regulations that could cause us to incur significant compliance expenditures and liabilities.

Our operations are subject to federal, state and local laws and regulations pertaining to the environment, storage tanks and the management and disposal of wastes at our facilities. Under various environmental laws, a current or previous owner or operator of real property may be liable for contamination resulting from the release or threatened release of hazardous or toxic substances or petroleum at that property. Such laws often impose liability on the owner or operator without regard to fault and the costs of any required investigation or cleanup can be substantial. Although in connection with certain of our acquisitions we have rights to indemnification for certain environmental liabilities, these rights may not be sufficient to reimburse us for all losses that we might incur if a property acquired by us has environmental contamination.

Our operations are also subject to various employee safety and health laws and regulations, including those pertaining to occupational injury and illness, employee exposure to hazardous materials and employee complaints. Environmental and employee safety and health laws tend to be complex, comprehensive and frequently changing. As a result, we may be involved from time to time in administrative and judicial proceedings and investigations related to environmental and employee safety and health issues. These proceedings and investigations could result in substantial costs to us, divert our management’s attention and adversely affect our ability to sell, lease or develop our real property. Furthermore, if it is determined that we are not in compliance with applicable laws and regulations, or if our properties are contaminated, it could result in significant liabilities, fines or the suspension or interruption of the operations of specific printing facilities.

Future events, such as changes in existing laws and regulations, new laws or regulations or the discovery of conditions not currently known to us, may give rise to additional compliance or remedial costs that could be material.

Sustained increases in costs of employee health and welfare benefits may reduce our profitability. Moreover, our pension plan obligations are currently unfunded, and we may have to make significant cash contributions to our plans, which could reduce the cash available for our business.

In recent years, we have experienced significant increases in the cost of employee medical benefits because of economic factors beyond our control, including increases in health care costs. At least some of these factors may continue to put upward pressure on the cost of providing medical benefits. Although we have actively sought to control increases in these costs, there can be no assurance that we will succeed in limiting cost increases, and continued upward pressure could reduce the profitability of our businesses.

Our pension and post retirement plans were underfunded (accumulated benefit obligation) by $15.5 million at December 30, 2012. Our pension plan invests in a variety of equity and debt securities, many of which were affected by the recent disruptions in the credit and capital markets in 2009 and 2010. Future volatility and disruption in the stock markets could cause further declines in the asset values of our pension plans. In addition, a decrease in the discount rate used to determine minimum funding requirements could result in increased future contributions. If either occurs, we may need to make additional pension contributions above what is currently estimated, which could reduce the cash available for our businesses.

We may not be able to protect intellectual property rights upon which our business relies and, if we lose intellectual property protection, our assets may lose value.

Our business depends on our intellectual property, including, but not limited to, our titles, mastheads, content and services, which we attempt to protect through patents, copyrights, trade laws and contractual restrictions, such as confidentiality agreements. We believe our proprietary and other intellectual property rights are important to our success and our competitive position.

Despite our efforts to protect our proprietary rights, unauthorized third parties may attempt to copy or otherwise obtain and use our content, services and other intellectual property, and we cannot be certain that the

 

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steps we have taken will prevent any misappropriation or confusion among consumers and merchants, or unauthorized use of these rights. If we are unable to procure, protect and enforce our intellectual property rights, we may not realize the full value of these assets, and our business may suffer. If we must litigate to enforce our intellectual property rights or determine the validity and scope of the proprietary rights of third parties, such litigation may be costly and divert the attention of our management from day-to-day operations.

We depend on key personnel and we may not be able to operate or grow our business effectively if we lose the services of any of our key personnel or are unable to attract qualified personnel in the future.

The success of our business is heavily dependent on our ability to retain our management and other key personnel and to attract and retain qualified personnel in the future. Competition for senior management personnel is intense and we may not be able to retain our personnel. Although we have entered into employment agreements with certain of our key personnel, these agreements do not ensure that our key personnel will continue in their present capacity with us for any particular period of time. We do not have key man insurance for any of our current management or other key personnel. The loss of any key personnel would require our remaining key personnel to divert immediate and substantial attention to seeking a replacement. An inability to find a suitable replacement for any departing executive officer on a timely basis could adversely affect our ability to operate or grow our business.

A shortage of skilled or experienced employees in the media industry, or our inability to retain such employees, could pose a risk to achieving improved productivity and reducing costs, which could adversely affect our profitability.

Production and distribution of our various publications requires skilled and experienced employees. A shortage of such employees, or our inability to retain such employees, could have an adverse impact on our productivity and costs, our ability to expand, develop and distribute new products and our entry into new markets. The cost of retaining or hiring such employees could exceed our expectations which could adversely affect our results of operations.

A number of our employees are unionized, and our business and results of operations could be adversely affected if current or additional labor negotiations or contracts were to further restrict our ability to maximize the efficiency of our operations.

As of December 30, 2012, we employed approximately 4,565 employees, of whom approximately 691 (or approximately 15%) were represented by 23 unions. 95% of the unionized employees are in three states: Massachusetts, Illinois and Ohio and represent 27%, 38% and 30% of all our union employees, respectively. Most of our unionized employees work under collective bargaining agreements that expire in 2014.

Although our newspapers have not experienced a union strike in the recent past nor do we anticipate a union strike occurring, we cannot preclude the possibility that a strike may occur at one or more of our newspapers at some point in the future. We believe that, in the event of a newspaper strike, we would be able to continue to publish and deliver to subscribers, which is critical to retaining advertising and circulation revenues, although there can be no assurance of this.

Our potential inability to successfully execute cost control measures could result in greater than expected total operating costs.

We have implemented general cost control measures, and expect to continue such cost control efforts in the future. If we do not achieve expected savings as a result of such measures or if our operating costs increase as a result of our growth strategy, our total operating costs may be greater than expected. In addition, reductions in staff and employee benefits could affect our ability to attract and retain key employees.

 

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We may not realize all of the anticipated benefits of the Local Media Acquisition or potential future acquisitions, which could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Our ability to realize the anticipated benefits of the Local Media Acquisition or potential future acquisitions of assets or companies will depend, in part, on our ability to scale-up to appropriately integrate the businesses of Local Media and other such acquired companies with our business. The process of acquiring assets or companies may disrupt our business and may not result in the full benefits expected. Additionally, we may not be successful in identifying acquisition opportunities, assessing the value, strengths and weaknesses of these opportunities and consummating acquisitions on acceptable terms. Furthermore, suitable acquisition opportunities may not even be made available or known to us. In addition, valuations of potential acquisitions may rise materially, making it economically unfeasible to complete identified acquisitions. The risks associated with the recent Local Media Acquisition and potential future acquisitions include, among others:

 

    uncoordinated market functions;

 

    unanticipated issues in integrating the operations and personnel of the acquired businesses;

 

    the incurrence of indebtedness and the assumption of liabilities;

 

    the incurrence of significant additional capital expenditures, transaction and operating expenses and non-recurring acquisition-related charges;

 

    unanticipated adverse impact on our earnings from the amortization or write-off of acquired goodwill and other intangible assets;

 

    not retaining key employees, vendors, service providers, readers and customers of the acquired businesses; and

 

    the diversion of management’s attention from ongoing business concerns.

If we are unable to successfully implement our acquisition strategy or address the risks associated with the Local Media Acquisition or potential future acquisitions, or if we encounter unforeseen expenses, difficulties, complications or delays frequently encountered in connection with the integration of acquired entities and the expansion of operations, our growth and ability to compete may be impaired, we may fail to achieve acquisition synergies and we may be required to focus resources on integration of operations rather than other profitable areas. Moreover, the success of any acquisition will depend upon our ability to effectively integrate the acquired assets or businesses. The acquired assets or businesses may not contribute to our revenues or earnings to any material extent, and cost savings and synergies we expect at the time of an acquisition may not be realized once the acquisition has been completed. Furthermore, if we incur indebtedness to finance an acquisition, the acquired business may not be able to generate sufficient cash flow to service that indebtedness. Unsuitable or unsuccessful acquisitions could adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations, cash flow and ability to pay dividends.

Our future financial results will be affected by the adoption of fresh start reporting and may not reflect historical trends.

Pursuant to the Plan, we acquired substantially all of the assets of our Predecessor GateHouse. The Restructuring resulted in us becoming a new reporting entity and adopting fresh-start accounting. As required by fresh-start accounting, we will cause our Predecessor’s assets and liabilities to be adjusted to measured value, and we will recognize certain assets and liabilities not previously recognized in our Predecessor’s financial statements. Accordingly, our financial condition and results of operations from and after the Effective Date may not be comparable to the financial condition and results of operations reflected in our Predecessor’s historical consolidated financial statements, including those presented herein.

The bankruptcy filing may have a negative impact on our Predecessor’s image, which may negatively impact our business going forward.

As a result of the Restructuring, our Predecessor may be the subject of negative publicity which may have an impact on its image and the image of its operations and its reputation, stature and relationship within the

 

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community. This negative publicity may have an effect on the terms under which some customers, advertisers and suppliers are willing to continue to do business with us and could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

The Restructuring could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

The Restructuring could adversely affect our operations, including relationships with our advertisers, employees and others. There is a risk, due to uncertainty about our future, that, among other things:

 

    advertisers could move to other forms of media, including our competitors that have comparatively greater financial resources and that are in comparatively less financial distress;

 

    employees could be distracted from performance of their duties or more easily attracted to other career opportunities; and

 

    business partners could terminate their relationship with us or demand financial assurances or enhanced performance, any of which could impair our prospects.

Any of these factors could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

We cannot be certain that the Restructuring will not adversely affect our operations going forward.

We cannot provide assurance that the Restructuring will not adversely affect our future operations. Our suppliers and vendors could stop providing supplies or services to us or provide such supplies or services only on unfavorable terms such as “cash on delivery,” “cash on order” or other terms that could have an adverse impact on our short-term cash flows. In addition, the Restructuring may adversely affect our ability to retain existing readers and advertisers, attract new readers and advertisers and maintain contracts that are critical to our operations.

Risks Related to Our Manager

We are dependent on our Manager and may not find a suitable replacement if our Manager terminates the Management Agreement.

We are externally managed by our Manager. Our Manager does not have any prior experience directly managing our Company or media-related assets. We are completely reliant on our Manager, which has significant discretion as to the implementation of our operating policies and strategies, to conduct our business. We are subject to the risk that our Manager will terminate the Management Agreement and that we will not be able to find a suitable replacement for our Manager in a timely manner, at a reasonable cost or at all. Furthermore, we are dependent on the services of certain key employees of our Manager whose compensation is partially or entirely dependent upon the amount of incentive or management compensation earned by our Manager and whose continued service is not guaranteed, and the loss of such services could adversely affect our operations.

There may be conflicts of interest in our relationship with our Manager, including with respect to corporate opportunities.

We have entered into a Management Agreement with an affiliate of Fortress pursuant to which our management team will not be required to exclusively dedicate their services to us and will provide services for other entities affiliated with our Manager, including, but not limited to, Newcastle.

Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and amended and restated bylaws provide that if Newcastle or Fortress or any of their officers, directors or employees acquire knowledge of a potential transaction that could be a corporate opportunity, they have no duty, to the fullest extent permitted by law, to offer such corporate opportunity to us, our stockholders or our affiliates. In the event that any of our directors and

 

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officers who is also a director, officer or employee of Newcastle or Fortress acquires knowledge of a corporate opportunity or is offered a corporate opportunity, provided that this knowledge was not acquired solely in such person’s capacity as a director or officer of New Media and such person acts in good faith, then to the fullest extent permitted by law such person is deemed to have fully satisfied such person’s fiduciary duties owed to us and is not liable to us if Newcastle or Fortress, or their affiliates, pursues or acquires the corporate opportunity or if such person did not present the corporate opportunity to us.

The ability of our Manager and its officers and employees to engage in other business activities, subject to the terms of our Management Agreement with our Manager, may reduce the amount of time our Manager, its officers or other employees spend managing us. In addition, we may engage in material transactions with our Manager or another entity managed by our Manager or one of its affiliates, including Newcastle, that present an actual, potential or perceived conflict of interest. It is possible that actual, potential or perceived conflicts could give rise to investor dissatisfaction, litigation or regulatory enforcement actions. Appropriately dealing with conflicts of interest is complex and difficult, and our reputation could be damaged if we fail, or appear to fail, to deal appropriately with one or more potential, actual or perceived conflicts of interest. Regulatory scrutiny of, or litigation in connection with, conflicts of interest could have a material adverse effect on our reputation, which could materially adversely affect our business in a number of ways, including causing an inability to raise additional funds, a reluctance of counterparties to do business with us, a decrease in the prices of our equity securities and a resulting increased risk of litigation and regulatory enforcement actions.

The management compensation structure that we have agreed to with our Manager, as well as compensation arrangements that we may enter into with our Manager in the future (in connection with new lines of business or other activities), may have unintended consequences for us. We have agreed to pay our Manager a management fee that is not tied to our performance. The management fee may not sufficiently incentivize our Manager to generate attractive risk-adjusted returns for us. In addition, our Manager may be eligible to receive incentive compensation, which may incentivize our Manager to invest in high risk investments. In evaluating investments and other management strategies, the opportunity to earn incentive compensation may lead our Manager to place undue emphasis on the maximization of such measures at the expense of other criteria, such as preservation of capital, in order to achieve higher incentive compensation. Investments with higher yield potential are generally riskier or more speculative than lower-yielding investments. Moreover, because our Manager receives compensation in the form of options in connection with the completion of our common equity offerings, our Manager may be incentivized to cause us to issue additional Common Stock, which could be dilutive to existing stockholders. See “Description of Our Capital Stock—Corporate Opportunity.”

We may compete with affiliates of our Manager, including Newcastle, which could adversely affect our and their results of operations.

Affiliates of our Manager, including Newcastle, are not restricted in any manner from competing with us. After the Distribution, affiliates of our Manager, including Newcastle, may decide to invest in the same types of assets that we invest in. Furthermore, after the Distribution, we will have the same Manager as Newcastle and one of our directors will also be a director of Newcastle. See “—Risks Related to Our Manager—There may be conflicts of interest in our relationship with our Manager, including with respect to corporate opportunities.”

It would be difficult and costly to terminate our Management Agreement with our Manager.

It would be difficult and costly for us to terminate our Management Agreement with our Manager. The Management Agreement may only be terminated annually upon (i) the reasonable affirmative vote of a majority of at least two-thirds of our independent directors, or by a vote of the holders of a simple majority of the outstanding shares of our Common Stock, that there has been unsatisfactory performance by our Manager that is materially detrimental to us or (ii) a determination by a simple majority of our independent directors that the management fee payable to our Manager is not fair, subject to our Manager’s right to prevent such a termination by accepting a mutually acceptable reduction of fees. Our Manager will be provided 60 days’ prior notice of any termination and

 

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will be paid a termination fee equal to the amount of the management fee earned by the Manager during the twelve month period preceding such termination. In addition, following any termination of the Management Agreement, our Manager may require us to purchase its right to receive incentive compensation at a price determined as if our assets were sold for their fair market value (as determined by an appraisal, taking into account, among other things, the expected future value of the underlying investments) or otherwise we may continue to pay the incentive compensation to our Manager. These provisions may increase the effective cost to us of terminating the Management Agreement, thereby adversely affecting our ability to terminate our Manager without cause. In addition, our independent directors may not vigorously enforce the provisions of our Management Agreement against our Manager. For example, our independent directors may refrain from terminating our Manager because doing so could result in the loss of key personnel. Furthermore, we are dependent on our Manager and may not find a suitable replacement if our Manager terminates the Management Agreement.

Our Manager will not be liable to us for any acts or omissions performed in accordance with the Management Agreement, including with respect to the performance of our investments.

Pursuant to our Management Agreement, our Manager will not assume any responsibility other than to render the services called for thereunder in good faith and will not be responsible for any action of our Board in following or declining to follow its advice or recommendations. Our Manager, its members, managers, officers and employees will not be liable to us or any of our subsidiaries, to our Board, or our or any subsidiary’s stockholders or partners for any acts or omissions by our Manager, its members, managers, officers or employees, except by reason of acts constituting bad faith, willful misconduct, gross negligence or reckless disregard of our Manager’s duties under our Management Agreement. We shall, to the full extent lawful, reimburse, indemnify and hold our Manager, its members, managers, officers and employees and each other person, if any, controlling our Manager harmless of and from any and all expenses, losses, damages, liabilities, demands, charges and claims of any nature whatsoever (including attorneys’ fees) in respect of or arising from any acts or omissions of an indemnified party made in good faith in the performance of our Manager’s duties under our Management Agreement and not constituting such indemnified party’s bad faith, willful misconduct, gross negligence or reckless disregard of our Manager’s duties under our Management Agreement.

Our Manager’s due diligence of business opportunities or other transactions may not identify all pertinent risks, which could materially affect our business, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations.

Our Manager intends to conduct due diligence with respect to each business opportunity or other transaction it pursues. It is possible, however, that our Manager’s due diligence processes will not uncover all relevant facts, particularly with respect to any assets we acquire from third parties. In these cases, our Manager may be given limited access to information about the business opportunity and will rely on information provided by the target of the business opportunity. In addition, if business opportunities are scarce, the process for selecting bidders is competitive, or the timeframe in which we are required to complete diligence is short, our ability to conduct a due diligence investigation may be limited, and we would be required to make business decisions based upon a less thorough diligence process than would otherwise be the case. Accordingly, business opportunities and other transactions that initially appear to be viable may prove not to be over time, due to the limitations of the due diligence process or other factors.

Risks Related to the Distribution

The ownership by one of our directors, some of our officers and other employees of our Manager of shares of common stock, options, or other equity awards of Newcastle may create, or may create the appearance of, conflicts of interest.

Because one of our directors, some of our officers and other employees of our Manager also currently hold positions with Newcastle, they own         % of Newcastle common stock, options to purchase Newcastle common stock or other equity awards. Ownership by one of our directors, some of our officers and other employees of our

 

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Manager after our distribution, of common stock or options to purchase common stock of Newcastle, or any other equity awards, creates, or, may create the appearance of, conflicts of interest when the director, officers and other employees of our Manager are faced with decisions that could have different implications for Newcastle than they do for us.

The Distribution will not qualify for tax-free treatment and may be taxable to you as a dividend.

The Distribution will not qualify for tax-free treatment. An amount equal to the fair market value of the shares of our Common Stock received by you on the date of the Distribution will be treated as a taxable dividend to the extent of your ratable share of any current or accumulated earnings and profits, as determined under federal income tax principles, of Newcastle, with the excess treated first as a non-taxable return of capital to the extent of your tax basis in your shares of Newcastle common stock and then as capital gain. In addition, Newcastle or other applicable withholding agents may be required or permitted to withhold at the applicable rate on all or a portion of the distribution payable to non-U.S. stockholders, and Newcastle or any such agent would satisfy any such withholding obligation by withholding and selling a portion of the New Media stock otherwise distributable to non-U.S. stockholders or by withholding from other property held in the non-U.S. stockholder’s account with the withholding agent. Your tax basis in shares of Newcastle stock held at the time of the Distribution will be reduced (but not below zero) to the extent the fair market value of the shares of our Common Stock distributed to you in the Distribution exceeds your ratable share of Newcastle’s current and accumulated earnings and profits. Your holding period for such shares of Newcastle stock will not be affected by the Distribution. Newcastle will not be able to advise stockholders of the amount of current or accumulated earnings and profits of Newcastle until after the end of the 2014 calendar year.

Although Newcastle will be ascribing a value to the shares of our Common Stock distributed in the Distribution for tax purposes, this valuation is not binding on the Internal Revenue Service (the “IRS”) or any other tax authority. These taxing authorities could ascribe a higher valuation to the shares of our Common Stock, particularly if our Common Stock trades at prices significantly above the value ascribed to our Common Stock by Newcastle in the period following the Distribution. Such a higher valuation may cause a larger reduction in the tax basis of your Newcastle stock or may cause you to recognize additional dividend or capital gain income. You should consult your own tax advisor as to the particular tax consequences of the Distribution to you.

Newcastle’s board of directors has reserved the right, in its sole discretion to abandon the spin-off at any time prior to the Distribution Date. In addition, the spin-off is subject to the satisfaction or waiver (by Newcastle’s board of directors in its sole discretion) of a number of conditions. We cannot assure that any or all of these conditions will be met.

Newcastle’s board of directors has reserved the right, in its sole discretion to abandon the spin-off at any time prior to the Distribution Date. This means Newcastle may cancel or delay the planned Distribution of Common Stock of New Media if at any time the board of directors of Newcastle determines that the Distribution of such Common Stock is not in the best interests of Newcastle or that market conditions are such that it is not advisable to separate New Media from Newcastle. If Newcastle’s board of directors determines to cancel the spin-off, stockholders of Newcastle will not receive any Distribution of New Media Common Stock and Newcastle will be under no obligation to its stockholders to distribute such shares. In addition, the spin-off is subject to the satisfaction or waiver (by Newcastle’s board of directors in its sole discretion) of a number of conditions. See “The Spin-Off and Restructuring—Conditions to the Distribution.” We cannot assure you that any or all of these conditions will be met. The fulfillment of the conditions to the spin-off will not create any obligation on Newcastle’s part to effect the Distribution.

 

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Risks Related to our Common Stock

There is no existing market for our Common Stock and a trading market that will provide you with adequate liquidity may not develop for our Common Stock. In addition, once our Common Stock begins trading, the market price of our shares may fluctuate widely.

There is currently no public market for our Common Stock. It is anticipated that on or prior to the Record Date for the Distribution, trading of shares of our Common Stock will begin on a “when-issued” basis and will continue up to and including through the Distribution Date. However, there can be no assurance that an active trading market for our Common Stock will develop as a result of the Distribution or be sustained in the future.

We cannot predict the prices at which our Common Stock may trade after the Distribution. The market price of our Common Stock may fluctuate widely, depending upon many factors, some of which may be beyond our control, including:

 

    our business profile and market capitalization may not fit the investment objectives of Newcastle stockholders;

 

    a shift in our investor base;

 

    our quarterly or annual earnings, or those of other comparable companies;

 

    actual or anticipated fluctuations in our operating results;

 

    changes in accounting standards, policies, guidance, interpretations or principles;

 

    announcements by us or our competitors of significant investments, acquisitions or dispositions;

 

    the failure of securities analysts to cover our Common Stock after the Distribution;

 

    changes in earnings estimates by securities analysts or our ability to meet those estimates;

 

    the operating and stock price performance of other comparable companies;

 

    overall market fluctuations; and

 

    general economic conditions.

Stock markets in general have experienced volatility that has often been unrelated to the operating performance of a particular company. These broad market fluctuations may adversely affect the trading price of our Common Stock.

Substantial sales of Common Stock may occur in connection with the Distribution, which could cause our stock price to decline.

The shares of our Common Stock that Newcastle intends to distribute to its stockholders generally may be sold immediately in the public market. Pursuant to the registration rights granted to Omega, any sales by Omega may lower the market prices of our Common Stock. In addition, Newcastle stockholders may sell our Common Stock because our business profile or market capitalization as an independent company does not fit their investment objectives or because our Common Stock is not included in certain indices after the Distribution. The sales of significant amounts of our Common Stock or the perception in the market that this will occur may result in the lowering of the market price of our Common Stock.

Failure to maintain effective internal control over financial reporting in accordance with Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act could have a material adverse effect on our business and stock price.

As a public company, we will be required to maintain effective internal control over financial reporting in accordance with Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. Internal control over financial reporting is complex and may be revised over time to adapt to changes in our business, or changes in applicable accounting rules. We cannot assure you that our internal control over financial reporting will be effective in the future or that a

 

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material weakness will not be discovered with respect to a prior period for which we had previously believed that internal controls were effective. If we are not able to maintain or document effective internal control over financial reporting, our independent registered public accounting firm will not be able to certify as to the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting. Matters impacting our internal controls may cause us to be unable to report our financial information on a timely basis, or may cause us to restate previously issued financial information, and thereby subject us to adverse regulatory consequences, including sanctions or investigations by the SEC, or violations of applicable stock exchange listing rules. There could also be a negative reaction in the financial markets due to a loss of investor confidence in us and the reliability of our financial statements. Confidence in the reliability of our financial statements is also likely to suffer if we or our independent registered public accounting firm reports a material weakness in our internal control over financial reporting. This could materially adversely affect us by, for example, leading to a decline in our share price and impairing our ability to raise capital.

Your percentage ownership in New Media may be diluted in the future.

We may issue equity in order to raise capital or in connection with future acquisitions and strategic investments, which would dilute investors’ percentage ownership in New Media. In addition, your percentage ownership may be diluted if we issue equity instruments such as debt and equity financing.

Your percentage ownership in New Media may also be diluted in the future as result of the issuance of ordinary shares in New Media upon the exercise of the New Media Warrants. The New Media Warrants collectively represent the right to acquire New Media Common Stock, which in the aggregate will be equal to 5% of New Media Common Stock as of the Effective Date (calculated prior to dilution from shares of New Media Common Stock issued pursuant to the Local Media Contribution) at a strike price of $46.35 calculated based on a total equity value of New Media prior to the Local Media Contribution of $1.2 billion as of the Effective Date. As a result, New Media Common Stock may be subject to dilution upon the exercise of such New Media Warrants.

Furthermore, your percentage ownership in New Media may be diluted in the future because of equity awards that we expect will be granted to our Manager pursuant to our Management Agreement. Commencing from the Listing, upon the successful completion of an offering of shares of our Common Stock or any shares of preferred stock, we will grant our Manager options equal to 10% of the number of shares being sold in the offering (excluding the shares issued to Newcastle in the Local Media Contribution), with an exercise price equal to the offering price per share paid by the public or other ultimate purchaser. For the avoidance of doubt, the listing of our Common Stock does not constitute an offering for purposes of this provision. If our Board of Directors adopts an equity compensation plan and makes grants of equity awards to our directors, officers and employees pursuant to any such plan, any such grants would cause further dilution. Prior to the separation from Newcastle and the Record Date, we expect the board of directors of New Media to approve a Nonqualified Stock Option and Incentive Award Plan (the “Incentive Plan”) which will provide for the grant of equity-based awards, including restricted stock, stock options, stock appreciation rights, performance awards, restricted stock units, tandem awards and other equity-based and non-equity based awards, in each case to our Manager, to the directors, officers, employees, service providers, consultants and advisors of our Manager who perform services for us, and to our directors, officers, employees, service providers, consultants and advisors. We have initially reserved                      shares of our common stock for issuance under the Incentive Plan; on the first day of each fiscal year beginning during the ten-year term of the Incentive Plan and in and after calendar year 2014, that number will be increased by a number of shares of our common stock equal to     % of the number of shares of our common stock newly issued by us during the immediately preceding fiscal year. For a more detailed description of the Incentive Plan, see “Management — Nonqualified Stock Option and Incentive Award Plan.”

Provisions in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and amended and restated bylaws and of Delaware law may prevent or delay an acquisition of our company, which could decrease the trading price of our Common Stock.

Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, amended and restated bylaws and Delaware law contain provisions that are intended to deter coercive takeover practices and inadequate takeover bids by making

 

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such practices or bids unacceptably expensive to the raider and to encourage prospective acquirers to negotiate with our Board rather than to attempt a hostile takeover. These provisions provide for:

 

    a classified board of directors with staggered three-year terms;

 

    amendment of provisions in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and amended and restated bylaws regarding the election of directors, classes of directors, the term of office of directors, the filling of director vacancies and the resignation and removal of directors only upon the affirmative vote of at least 80% of the then issued and outstanding shares of our capital stock entitled to vote thereon (provided, however, that for so long as Newcastle and certain other affiliates of Fortress and permitted transferees (collectively, the “Fortress Stockholders”) beneficially own at least 20% of our issued and outstanding Common Stock, such provisions may be amended with the affirmative vote of a majority of the voting interest of stockholders entitled to vote or by a majority of the entire Board of Directors);

 

    amendment of provisions in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation regarding corporate opportunity only upon the affirmative vote of at least 80% of the then issued and outstanding shares of our capital stock entitled to vote thereon;

 

    removal of directors only for cause and only with the affirmative vote of at least 80% of the voting interest of stockholders entitled to vote in the election of directors (provided, however, that for so long as the Fortress Stockholders beneficially own at least 20% of our issued and outstanding Common Stock, directors may be removed with or without cause with the affirmative vote of a majority of the voting interest of stockholders entitled to vote);

 

    our Board to determine the powers, preferences and rights of our preferred stock and to issue such preferred stock without stockholder approval;

 

    provisions in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and amended and restated bylaws prevent stockholders from calling special meetings of our stockholders (provided, however, that for so long as the Fortress Stockholders beneficially own at least 20% of our issued and outstanding Common Stock, Fortress Stockholders may call special meetings of our stockholders);

 

    advance notice requirements applicable to stockholders for director nominations and actions to be taken at annual meetings;

 

    a prohibition, in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, stating that no holder of shares of our Common Stock will have cumulative voting rights in the election of directors, which means that the holders of majority of the issued and outstanding shares of our Common Stock can elect all the directors standing for election; and

 

    action by our stockholders outside a meeting, in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and our amended and restated bylaws, only by unanimous written consent (provided, however, that for so long as the Fortress Stockholders beneficially own at least 20% of our issued and outstanding Common Stock, our stockholders may act without a meeting by written consent of a majority of the voting interest of stockholders entitled to vote).

Public stockholders who might desire to participate in these types of transactions may not have an opportunity to do so, even if the transaction is considered favorable to stockholders. These anti-takeover provisions could substantially impede the ability of public stockholders to benefit from a change in control or a change in our management and Board and, as a result, may adversely affect the market price of our Common Stock and your ability to realize any potential change of control premium. See “Description of Our Capital Stock—Anti-Takeover Effects of Delaware Law, Our Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation and Amended and Restated Bylaws.”

 

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CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD LOOKING INFORMATION

Certain statements in this Prospectus may constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 that reflect our current views regarding, among other things, our future growth, results of operations, performance and business prospects and opportunities, as well as other statements that are other than historical fact. Words such as “anticipate(s),” “expect(s),” “intend(s),” “plan(s),” “target(s),” “project(s),” “believe(s),” “will,” “aim,” “would,” “seek(s),” “estimate(s)” and similar expressions are intended to identify such forward-looking statements.

Forward-looking statements are based on management’s current expectations and beliefs and are subject to a number of known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that could lead to actual results materially different from those described in the forward-looking statements. We can give no assurance that our expectations will be attained. Our actual results, liquidity and financial condition may differ from the anticipated results, liquidity and financial condition indicated in these forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are not a guarantee of future performance and involve risks and uncertainties, and there are certain important factors that could cause our actual results to differ, possibly materially from expectations or estimates reflected in such forward-looking statements, including, among others:

 

    general economic, market and political conditions;

 

    the potential adverse effects of the Restructuring;

 

    the risk that we may not realize the anticipated benefits of the Local Media Acquisition or potential future acquisitions;

 

    the availability and cost of capital for future investments;

 

    our ability to pay dividends;

 

    our ability to realize the benefits of the Management Agreement;

 

    the competitive environment in which we operate;

 

    our ability to grow our digital business and digital audience and advertiser base;

 

    our ability to recruit and retain key personnel.

Additional factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from our expectations include, but are not limited, to the risks identified by us under the heading “Risk Factors” and elsewhere in this Prospectus. Such forward-looking statements speak only as of the date on which they are made. Except to the extent required by law, we expressly disclaim any obligation to release publicly any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statements contained herein to reflect any change in our expectations with regard thereto or change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any statement is based.

 

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THE SPIN-OFF AND RESTRUCTURING

General

The board of directors of Newcastle has determined upon careful review and consideration in accordance with the applicable standard of review under Maryland law that the separation of New Media’s assets from the rest of Newcastle and the establishment of New Media as a separate, publicly traded company is in Newcastle’s best interests.

In furtherance of this plan, Newcastle will distribute all of the shares of our Common Stock held by Newcastle to holders of Newcastle common stock, subject to certain conditions. The distribution of the shares of our Common Stock will take place on                     , 2014. On the Distribution Date, each holder of Newcastle common stock will receive              shares of our Common Stock for every              shares of Newcastle common stock held as of 5:00 PM, Eastern Time, on the Record Date, as described below.

Immediately following the Distribution, Newcastle’s stockholders will own 84.6% of our Common Stock. You will not be required to make any payment, surrender or exchange your shares of Newcastle common stock or take any other action to receive your shares of our Common Stock.

The Distribution of our Common Stock as described in this Prospectus is subject to the satisfaction or waiver of certain conditions. We cannot provide any assurances that the Distribution will be completed. For a more detailed description of these conditions, see the section entitled “—Conditions to the Distribution” included elsewhere in this Prospectus.

The Number of Shares You Will Receive

For every              shares of Newcastle common stock that you owned as of 5:00 PM, Eastern Time, on                     , 2014, the Record Date, you will receive              shares of our Common Stock on the Distribution Date. Fractional shares of New Media’s Common Stock will not be distributed in the spin-off. Holders of Newcastle common stock will receive cash in lieu of fractional shares of New Media Common Stock.

Transferability of Shares You Receive

The shares of New Media Common Stock distributed to Newcastle stockholders will be freely transferable, except for shares received by persons who may be deemed to be New Media “affiliates” under the Securities Act. Persons who may be deemed to be affiliates of New Media after the Distribution generally include individuals or entities that control, are controlled by or are under common control with New Media and may include directors and certain officers or principal stockholders of New Media. New Media affiliates will be permitted to sell their shares of New Media Common Stock only pursuant to an effective registration statement under the Securities Act or an exemption from the registration requirements of the Securities Act, such as the exemptions afforded by Rule 144.

When and How You Will Receive the Distributed Shares

Newcastle will distribute the shares of our Common Stock on                     , 2014, the Distribution Date. American Stock Transfer & Trust Company, LLC will serve as distribution agent and registrar for our Common Stock and as distribution agent in connection with the Distribution.

If you own Newcastle common stock as of 5:00 PM, Eastern Time, on the Record Date, the shares of New Media Common Stock that you are entitled to receive in the Distribution will be issued electronically, as of the Distribution Date, to you or to your bank or brokerage firm on your behalf by way of direct registration in book-entry form. Registration in book-entry form refers to a method of recording stock ownership when no physical share certificates are issued to stockholders, as is the case in the Distribution.

 

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If you sell shares of Newcastle common stock in the “regular-way” market prior to the Distribution Date, you will also sell your right to receive shares of our Common Stock in the Distribution.

For more information see the section entitled “—Trading Between the Record Date and Distribution Date” included elsewhere in this Prospectus.

Commencing on or shortly after the Distribution Date, if you hold physical stock certificates that represent your shares of Newcastle common stock, or if you hold your shares in book-entry form, and you are the registered holder of such shares, the distribution agent will mail to you an account statement that indicates the number of shares of our Common Stock that have been registered in book-entry form in your name.

Most Newcastle stockholders hold their shares of Newcastle common stock through a bank or brokerage firm. In such cases, the bank or brokerage firm would be said to hold the stock in “street name” and ownership would be recorded on the bank’s or brokerage firm’s books. If you hold your Newcastle common stock through a bank or brokerage firm, your bank or brokerage firm will credit your account for the shares of our Common Stock that you are entitled to receive in the Distribution. If you have any questions concerning the mechanics of having shares of our Common Stock held in “street name,” we encourage you to contact your bank or brokerage firm.

Results of the Distribution

After the Distribution, we will be a separate, publicly-traded company. Immediately following the Distribution, we expect to have approximately              stockholders of record, based on the number of registered stockholders of Newcastle common stock on                     , 2014, and              holders who received our Common Stock pursuant to the Restructuring. Immediately following the Distribution, we expect to have 30,000,000 shares of our Common Stock outstanding. The actual number of shares to be distributed will be determined on the Record Date and will reflect any changes in the number of shares of Newcastle common stock between                     , 2014 and the Record Date for the Distribution. See “Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management.”

The number of shares of Common Stock that Newcastle will distribute to its stockholders will be reduced to the extent that cash payments are made in lieu of the issuance of fractional New Media Common Stock.

The Distribution will not affect the number of outstanding shares of Newcastle common stock or any rights of Newcastle stockholders.

Ownership of New Media

Immediately following the Distribution, Newcastle stockholders as of the Record Date for the Distribution will own 84.6% of our Common Stock. The remainder of the outstanding Common Stock will be owned by holders of the Outstanding Debt who elected to receive Common Stock in the Restructuring. For a description of the Restructuring, see “The Spin-Off and Restructuring,” “Restructuring Agreements,” and Note 21 to GateHouse’s Consolidated Financial Statements, “Subsequent Events and Going Concern Considerations” in this Prospectus. For further information about the ownership of New Media, see “Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management.”

Market for Common Stock

There is currently no public market for our Common Stock. A condition to the Distribution is the listing on the NYSE of our Common Stock. We intend to apply to list our Common Stock on the NYSE under the symbol “NEWM.”

 

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Trading Between the Record Date and Distribution Date

Beginning shortly before the Record Date and continuing up to and through the Distribution Date, we expect that there will be two markets in Newcastle common stock: a “regular-way” market and an “ex-distribution” market. Shares of Newcastle common stock that trade on the regular way market will trade with an entitlement to shares of our Common Stock distributed pursuant to the Distribution. Shares that trade on the “ex-distribution” market will trade without an entitlement to shares of our Common Stock distributed pursuant to the Distribution. Therefore, if you sell shares of Newcastle common stock in the “regular-way” market through the Distribution Date, you will also sell your right to receive shares of New Media Common Stock in the Distribution. If you own shares of Newcastle common stock as of 5:00 PM, Eastern Time, on the Record Date and sell those shares on the “ex-distribution” market through the Distribution Date, you will still receive the shares of our Common Stock that you would be entitled to receive pursuant to your ownership of the shares of Newcastle common stock on the Record Date.

Furthermore, beginning on or shortly before the Record Date and continuing up to and through the Distribution Date, we expect that there will be a “when-issued” market in our Common Stock. “When-issued” trading refers to a sale or purchase made conditionally because the security has been authorized but not yet issued. The “when-issued” trading market will be a market for shares of our Common Stock that will be distributed to Newcastle stockholders on the Distribution Date. If you owned shares of Newcastle common stock as of 5:00 P.M., Eastern time, on the Record Date, you would be entitled to shares of our Common Stock distributed pursuant to the Distribution. You may trade this entitlement to shares of our Common Stock, without trading the shares of Newcastle common stock you own, on the “when-issued” market. On the first trading day following the Distribution Date, “when-issued” trading with respect to our Common Stock will end and “regular-way” trading will begin.

Conditions to the Distribution

We expect that the Distribution will occur on                     , 2014, the Distribution Date, provided that, among other conditions described in this Prospectus, the following conditions shall have been satisfied:

 

    Our registration statement on Form S-1, of which this Prospectus is a part, shall have become effective under the Securities Act, and no stop order relating to the registration statement is in effect;

 

    the listing of our Common Stock on the NYSE shall have been approved, subject to official notice of issuance;

 

    the Plan is approved by the Bankruptcy Court without any appeals by any parties; and

 

    no order, injunction or decree issued by any court of competent jurisdiction or other legal restraint or prohibition preventing consummation of the Distribution or any of the transactions related thereto, shall be in effect.

Newcastle has the right not to complete the Distribution if, at any time, the board of directors of Newcastle determines, in its sole discretion, that the Distribution is not in the best interests of Newcastle or that market conditions are such that it is not advisable to separate New Media from Newcastle.

Reasons for the Distribution

Newcastle’s board of directors periodically reviews strategic alternatives. Newcastle’s board of directors determined upon careful review and consideration in accordance with the applicable standard of review under Maryland law that the spin-off of New Media is in the best interests of Newcastle. Newcastle’s board of directors believes that media assets are currently undervalued and being sold at substantial discounts. Newcastle’s board of directors also believes that New Media’s value can be increased over time through a strategy aimed at acquiring local media assets and organically growing New Media’s digital marketing business. In addition, Newcastle’s

 

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board of directors believes New Media’s prospects would be enhanced by being able to operate unfettered by REIT requirements. Accordingly, Newcastle’s board of directors has determined that the separation of New Media from Newcastle, as opposed to a sale of New Media’s Common Stock or other transaction, will provide Newcastle’s stockholders with the best opportunity to benefit from the anticipated appreciation of New Media’s value over time and that the execution risk of a spin-off is lower than for other types of transactions. Newcastle’s board of directors’ determination was based on a number of factors, including those set forth below.

 

    Added focus and simplification . We believe the spin-off of New Media will enhance Newcastle’s focus on its primary strategy of opportunistically investing in, and actively managing, a variety of real-estate related and other investments. The spin-off will simplify Newcastle’s business by separating an asset class (media assets) that is unrelated to the remainder of Newcastle’s investment portfolio. As a result, we believe the spin-off will facilitate investor and analyst understanding of Newcastle’s core businesses. In addition, the spin-off will create a dedicated vehicle to pursue a significant investment opportunity in the media industry.

 

    Tailored capital structure and financing options . New Media and Newcastle will have distinct and unrelated businesses, and the spin-off will enable each to create a capital structure tailored to its individual needs. In addition, tailored capital structures will facilitate each company’s ability to pursue acquisitions, possibly using common stock as currency, and other strategic alliances. Following the spin-off, each company may be able to attain more favorable financing terms on a stand-alone basis than Newcastle could obtain currently.

 

    Newcastle’s REIT status . As a REIT, Newcastle is not suited to own an operating business indefinitely. Newcastle’s current investment in New Media originated with a 2007 debt investment in GateHouse. GateHouse became overleveraged in the financial crisis, and Newcastle determined to maximize the value of its investment by proposing and supporting a restructuring that resulted in the conversion of its debt into equity. Following the Restructuring, a spin-off will facilitate Newcastle’s compliance with the REIT qualification tests.

Local Media was contributed to New Media as part of the Plan. Pursuant to the Support Agreement, negotiated with the Participating Lenders, Newcastle agreed to contribute Local Media to New Media in exchange for New Media Common Stock equal to the Local Media Contribution Value. The contribution of Local Media was part of the overall consideration that Participating Lenders who elected to receive Common Stock in the Restructuring received in exchange for the extinguishment of their Outstanding Debt claims of GateHouse pursuant to the Plan.

Additionally, in determining whether to effect the spin-off, Newcastle’s board of directors also considered the costs and risks relating to the spin-off, including: (i) potential costs and disruptions to the businesses as a result of the spin-off, (ii) risks of being unable to achieve the benefits expected from the spin-off, (iii) the reaction of Newcastle’s stockholders to the spin-off, (iv) the risk that one-time and ongoing costs of the spin-off may be greater than expected and (v) the tax impact of the spin-off to Newcastle and its stockholders. Newcastle’s board of directors determined that in the aggregate the potential benefits of the spin-off outweighed the potential negative factors. See “Risk Factors—Risks Related to the Distribution” and “The Spin-Off and Restructuring—Reasons for the Distribution.”

The anticipated benefits of the spin-off are based on a number of assumptions, and there can be no assurance that such benefits will materialize to the extent anticipated or at all. In the event that the spin-off does not result in such benefits, the costs associated with the transaction and the expenses New Media will incur as an independent public company, including management compensation and general and administrative expenses, could have a negative effect on each company’s financial condition and ability to make distributions to its stockholders. For more information about the risks associated with the separation, see “Risk Factors.”

 

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The Restructuring

On September 4, 2013, GateHouse announced that GateHouse, Newcastle (and certain of its affiliates), the Administrative Agent, and Participating Lenders entered into the Support Agreement in which the parties agreed to support, subject to the terms and conditions of the Support Agreement, the Restructuring pursuant to the consummation of the Plan.

Pursuant to the Support Agreement and Investment Commitment Letter:

 

    Newcastle offered to make the Cash-Out Offer;

 

    The holders of the Outstanding Debt would have option of receiving, in satisfaction of their Outstanding Debt (i) the Cash-Out Offer and/or (ii) (A) New Media Common Stock and (B) the Net Proceeds, if any, of the New Credit Facilities;

 

    Newcastle would contribute its interests in Local Media to New Media in exchange for, pursuant to the Plan, the issuance of New Media Common Stock equal in value to the cost of the Local Media Acquisition (as adjusted pursuant to the Plan);

 

    On account of any purchases of the Outstanding Debt in connection with the Cash-Out Offer, Newcastle would receive a pro rata share of (a) New Media Common Stock and (b) the Net Proceeds, if any, of the New Credit Facilities;

 

    GateHouse would use commercially reasonable efforts, in light of market conditions and other relevant factors, to raise the New Credit Facilities, if any. GateHouse’s entry into the New Credit Facilities was not a condition to the effectiveness of the Plan.

 

    Pension, trade and all other unsecured claims against GateHouse will be unimpaired by the Restructuring; and

 

    The Former Equity Holders’ interests would be cancelled, and the Former Equity Holders would receive 10-year warrants, collectively representing the right to acquire, in the aggregate, 5% of the common stock of New Media Common Stock (subject to dilution) as of the Effective Date, with the strike price per share for such warrants calculated based on a total equity value of New Media, prior to contribution of Local Media, of $1.2 billion as of the Effective Date.

On September 20, 2013, GateHouse commenced the Solicitation. Under the Support Agreement, each of the Participating Lenders agreed to (a) support and take any reasonable action in furtherance of the Restructuring, (b) timely vote their Outstanding Debt to accept the Plan and not change or withdraw such vote, (c) support approval of the Disclosure Statement and confirmation of the Plan, as well as certain relief to be requested by Debtors from the Bankruptcy Court, (d) refrain from taking any action inconsistent with the confirmation or consummation of the Plan, and (e) not propose, support, solicit or participate in the formulation of any plan other than the Plan. Holders of Outstanding Debt sufficient to meet the requisite threshold of 67% in amount and majority in number (calculated without including any insider) necessary for acceptance of the Plan under the Bankruptcy Code (“Bankruptcy Threshold Creditors”) voted to accept the Plan in the Solicitation. 100% of the holders of the Outstanding Debt voted to accept the Plan under the terms of the Support Agreement. As a result, Debtors commenced Chapter 11 cases and sought approval of the Disclosure Statement and confirmation of the Plan therein. The Plan was confirmed by the Bankruptcy Court on November 6, 2013 and GateHouse effected the transactions contemplated by the Plan to emerge from Chapter 11 protection on November 26, 2013. On the Effective Date, 100% of the new equity interests in GateHouse were issued to New Media. On the Effective Date, GateHouse and certain of its subsidiaries converted into limited liability companies. The Support Agreement terminated on the Effective Date. As of the Effective Date, Newcastle owns 84.6% of New Media’s total equity. New Media manages the assets and day-to-day operations of GateHouse pursuant to the GateHouse Management Agreement.

 

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Upon emergence from Chapter 11, we adopted fresh-start reporting in accordance with Accounting Standards Codification Topic 852, “Reorganizations.” Under fresh-start accounting, a new entity is deemed to have been created on the Effective Date of the Plan for financial reporting purposes and GateHouse’s recorded amounts of assets and liabilities will be adjusted to reflect their estimated fair values. As a result of the adoption of fresh-start accounting, our reorganized company post-emergence financial statements will generally not be comparable with the financial statements of our Predecessor prior to emergence, including the historical financial information in this Prospectus.

 

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MATERIAL U.S. FEDERAL INCOME TAX CONSEQUENCES OF THE DISTRIBUTION

The following is a summary of material U.S. federal income tax consequences of the Distribution that may be relevant to beneficial holders of Newcastle stock.

For purposes of this section under the heading “Material U.S. Federal Income Tax Consequences of the Distribution,” references to “New Media,” “we,” “our” and “us” mean only New Media Investment Group Inc. and not its subsidiaries or other lower-tier entities, except as otherwise indicated. This summary is based on the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”), U.S. Treasury regulations, published administrative interpretations of the IRS, and judicial decisions, all of which are subject to differing interpretations or to change, possibly with retroactive effect. We have not sought any ruling from the IRS with respect to the statements made and the conclusions reached in this summary, and there can be no assurance that the IRS will agree with such statements and conclusions. In addition, the discussion does not describe any tax consequences arising out of the laws of any state or local or foreign jurisdiction.

This summary does not constitute tax advice. The Code provisions governing the federal income tax treatment of REITs (such as Newcastle) and their stockholders are highly technical and complex, and this summary is qualified in its entirety by the express language of applicable Code provisions, Treasury regulations promulgated thereunder, and administrative and judicial interpretations thereof. This summary does not address all possible tax considerations that may be material to an investor and does not constitute legal or tax advice. Moreover, this summary does not purport to discuss all aspects of federal income taxation that may be important to a particular investor in light of its investment or tax circumstances, or to investors subject to special tax rules, such as:

 

    financial institutions;

 

    insurance companies;

 

    dealers in securities;

 

    regulated investment companies;

 

    entities taxed as partnerships and partners therein;

 

    trusts;

 

    persons subject to the alternative minimum tax;

 

    persons who hold Newcastle stock on behalf of another person as a nominee;

 

    persons who have a “functional currency” other than the U.S. dollar

 

    persons who received Newcastle stock through the exercise of employee stock options or otherwise as compensation;

 

    persons holding Newcastle stock as part of a “straddle,” “hedge,” “conversion transaction,” “synthetic security” or other integrated investment; and

 

    except to the extent discussed below, tax-exempt entities.

This summary assumes that investors will hold their Common Stock as a capital asset, which generally means as property held for investment.

For purposes of this discussion under the heading “Material U.S. Federal Income Tax Consequences of the Distribution,” a U.S. holder is a beneficial holder of Newcastle stock that is a citizen or resident of the United States, a domestic corporation or otherwise subject to U.S. federal income tax on a net income basis in respect of its Newcastle stock. A “Non-U.S. holder” is a beneficial holder of Newcastle stock that is not a U.S. holder.

 

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THE FEDERAL INCOME TAX TREATMENT OF THE DISTRIBUTION TO BENEFICIAL OWNERS OF NEWCASTLE STOCK DEPENDS IN SOME INSTANCES ON DETERMINATIONS OF FACT AND INTERPRETATIONS OF COMPLEX PROVISIONS OF FEDERAL INCOME TAX LAW FOR WHICH NO CLEAR PRECEDENT OR AUTHORITY MAY BE AVAILABLE. IN ADDITION, THE TAX CONSEQUENCES OF THE DISTRIBUTION TO ANY PARTICULAR BENEFICIAL OWNER OF NEWCASTLE STOCK WILL DEPEND ON THE BENEFICIAL OWNER’S PARTICULAR TAX CIRCUMSTANCES. YOU ARE URGED TO CONSULT YOUR TAX ADVISOR REGARDING THE FEDERAL, STATE, LOCAL, AND FOREIGN INCOME AND OTHER TAX CONSEQUENCES TO YOU OF THE DISTRIBUTION IN LIGHT OF YOUR PARTICULAR INVESTMENT OR TAX CIRCUMSTANCES.

Tax Classification of the Distribution in General

For U.S. federal income tax purposes, the Distribution will not be eligible for treatment as a tax-free distribution by Newcastle with respect to its stock. Accordingly, the Distribution will be treated as if Newcastle had distributed to each Newcastle stockholder an amount equal to the fair market value of the shares of New Media Common Stock received by such stockholder, determined as of the date of the Distribution (such amount, the “amount distributed pursuant to the Distribution”). The tax consequences of the Distribution for beneficial owners of Newcastle’s stock are thus generally the same as the tax consequences of a distribution of cash by Newcastle.

Although Newcastle will ascribe a value to the shares of New Media Common Stock distributed in the Distribution, this valuation is not binding on the IRS or any other tax authority. These taxing authorities could ascribe a higher valuation to the distributed shares of New Media Common Stock, particularly if, following the Distribution, those shares trade at prices significantly above the value ascribed to those shares by Newcastle. Such a higher valuation may affect the distribution amount and thus the tax consequences of the Distribution to beneficial owners of Newcastle’s stock.

Newcastle will be required to recognize any taxable gain, but will not be permitted to recognize any taxable loss, with respect to the New Media Common Stock that it distributes in the Distribution.

Tax Basis and Holding Period of New Media Stock Received by Holders of Newcastle Stock

A beneficial owner of shares of New Media Common Stock will generally have a tax basis in the shares received in the Distribution that equals the fair market value of such shares on the date of the Distribution, and the holding period for such shares will begin the day after the date of the Distribution.

Tax Treatment of the Distribution to U.S. Holders

Ordinary Dividends. The portion of the amount distributed pursuant to the Distribution that is payable out of Newcastle’s current or accumulated earnings and profits, as determined under federal income tax principles, and not designated by Newcastle as a capital gain dividend (as discussed below) will generally be taken into account by a U.S. holder as ordinary income and will not be eligible for the dividends received deduction for corporations. The Distribution will not be eligible for taxation at the preferential income tax rates for qualified dividends received by U.S. holders that are individuals, trusts and estates from taxable C corporations.

If any “excess inclusion income” (as defined for U.S. federal income tax purposes) from a taxable mortgage pool or REMIC residual interest is allocated by Newcastle to any U.S. holder, that income will be taxable in the hands of the U.S. holder and would not be offset by any net operating losses of the U.S. holder that would otherwise be available. As required by IRS guidance, Newcastle intends to notify its stockholders if any portion of the amount distributed pursuant to the Distribution is attributable to excess inclusion income.

Non-Dividend Distribution. If and to the extent that the amount distributed pursuant to the Distribution is in excess of Newcastle’s current and accumulated earnings and profits, it will generally represent a return of capital and will generally not be taxable to a U.S. holder. Rather, the Distribution will reduce the adjusted basis of the

 

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holder’s shares of Newcastle stock (but not below zero) by the extent to which the value of the amount distributed exceeds Newcastle’s current and accumulated earnings and profits. A U.S. holder will however recognize gain to the extent that this excess exceeds the adjusted basis of its shares of Newcastle stock. Any such gain will generally be long-term capital gain if the holder has held its Newcastle shares for more than one year at the time of the Distribution.

Capital Gain Dividends. Any portion of the amount distributed pursuant to the Distribution that Newcastle designates as a capital gain dividend will generally be taxable to U.S. holders as long-term capital gain, except to the extent that such distribution exceeds Newcastle’s actual net capital gain for the taxable year, without regard to the period for which the holder that receives such distribution has held its Newcastle stock. Certain U.S. Holders that are not corporations are eligible for preferential rates of U.S. federal income tax in respect of long-term capital gains.

Tax Treatment of the Distribution to Non-U.S. Holders

Ordinary Dividends. The amount distributed pursuant to the Distribution generally will constitute a dividend for U.S. federal income tax purposes to the extent of Newcastle’s current or accumulated earnings and profits, as determined under federal income tax principles, and not designated as a capital gain dividend by Newcastle. The amount treated as a dividend will be subject to U.S. withholding tax at the rate of 30%, unless reduced or eliminated by treaty. Income attributable to “excess inclusion income” allocable to the non-U.S. holder is not eligible for any exemption or reduction in the rates of applicable withholding taxes. Accordingly, Newcastle will withhold at a rate of 30% on any portion of a dividend that is paid to a non-U.S. holder and is or may be treated as attributable to that non-U.S. holder’s share of Newcastle’s excess inclusion income. As required by IRS guidance, Newcastle intends to notify its stockholders if a portion of a dividend paid by it is attributable to excess inclusion income.

Non-Dividend Distributions. The amount distributed pursuant to the Distribution, to the extent not made out of Newcastle’s current or accumulated earnings and profits, will not be subject to U.S. income tax. If Newcastle cannot determine at the time of the Distribution whether or not the amount distributed pursuant to the Distribution will exceed current and accumulated earnings and profits, the aggregate amount distributed will be subject to withholding at the rate applicable to ordinary dividends, as described above.

Notwithstanding the foregoing, if Newcastle’s stock constitutes a USRPI, if and to the extent that the amount distributed pursuant to the Distribution exceeds the sum of (a) the Non-U.S. holder’s proportionate share of Newcastle’s current and accumulated earnings and profits, as determined under federal income tax principles, and (b) the Non-U.S. holder’s basis in its Newcastle stock, it will be taxed under the Foreign Investment in Real Property Tax Act of 1980 (“FIRPTA”) in the same manner as if the Newcastle stock had been sold. In such situations, the non-U.S. holder would be required to file a U.S. federal income tax return and would be subject to the same treatment and same tax rates as a U.S. holder with respect to such excess, subject to applicable alternative minimum tax and a special alternative minimum tax in the case of non-resident alien individuals. It is not currently anticipated that Newcastle’s stock will constitute a USRPI and therefore the amount distributed pursuant to the Distribution is not likely to be subject to tax under FIRPTA. However, no assurance can be given that Newcastle’s stock will not become a USRPI.

Gain in respect of any non-dividend portion of the Distribution will nonetheless be taxable to a non-U.S. holder if the non-U.S. holder is a nonresident alien individual who was present in the U.S. for 183 days or more during the taxable year, and certain other conditions are met, or if the non-U.S. holder’s investment in Newcastle common stock is effectively connected with a U.S. trade or business conducted by such non-U.S. holder.

Capital Gain Dividends. Under FIRPTA, a dividend distribution by Newcastle to a non-U.S. holder, to the extent attributable to gains from dispositions of USRPIs that Newcastle held directly or indirectly through pass-through subsidiaries (such gains, “USRPI capital gains”), will, except as described below, be considered effectively connected with a U.S. trade or business of the non-U.S. holder and will be subject to U.S. income tax

 

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at the rates applicable to U.S. individuals or corporations. Newcastle will be required to withhold tax equal to 35% of the maximum amount that could have been designated as a USRPI capital gain dividend. In addition, such amount may also be subject to a 30% branch profits tax in the hands of a non-U.S. holder that is a corporation. A distribution is not a USRPI capital gain dividend if Newcastle held an interest in the USRPI solely as a creditor. It is not anticipated that any portion of the amount distributed pursuant to the Distribution will be attributable to USRPI capital gains. However, no assurance can be given in this regard.

Capital gain dividends received by a non-U.S. holder that are attributable to dispositions of Newcastle’s assets other than USRPIs are not subject to U.S. federal income tax, unless the non-U.S. holder is a nonresident alien individual who was present in the U.S. for 183 days or more during the taxable year and certain other conditions are met, in which case the non-U.S. holder will be subject to tax on his capital gains.

Withholding of Amounts Distributable to Non-U.S. Holders in the Distribution. If Newcastle is required to withhold any amounts otherwise distributable to a non-U.S. holder in the Distribution, Newcastle or other applicable withholding agents will collect the amount required to be withheld by reducing to cash for remittance to the IRS a sufficient portion of New Media Common Stock that such non-U.S. holder would otherwise receive or by withholding from other property held in the non-U.S. stockholder’s account with the withholding agent. Such holder may bear brokerage or other costs for this withholding procedure. A non-U.S. holder may seek a refund from the IRS of any amounts withheld if it is subsequently determined that the amounts withheld exceeded the holder’s U.S. tax liability for the year in which the Distribution occurred.

Tax Treatment of the Distribution to Tax-Exempt Holders

Tax-exempt entities, including qualified employee pension and profit sharing trusts and individual retirement accounts, generally are exempt from federal income taxation. Such entities, however, may be subject to taxation on their unrelated business taxable income (“UBTI”). While some investments in real estate may generate UBTI, the IRS has ruled that dividend distributions from a REIT to a tax-exempt entity do not constitute UBTI. Based on that ruling, and provided that (1) a beneficial owner of Newcastle stock that is a tax-exempt entity (such entity, a “tax-exempt holder”) has not held Newcastle stock as “debt financed property” within the meaning of the Code (i.e., where the acquisition or holding of the property is financed through a borrowing by the tax-exempt holder), and (2) such Newcastle stock is not otherwise used in an unrelated trade or business, the Distribution generally should not give rise to UBTI to a tax-exempt holder. To the extent that Newcastle (or a part of Newcastle, or a disregarded subsidiary of Newcastle) is a taxable mortgage pool for U.S. federal income tax purposes, or if Newcastle holds residual interests in a REMIC, a portion of the dividends paid to a tax-exempt holder that is allocable to excess inclusion income may be treated as UBTI. If, however, excess inclusion income is allocable to some categories of tax-exempt holders that are not subject to UBTI, Newcastle might be subject to corporate level tax on such income, and, in that case, may reduce the amount of distributions to those holders whose ownership gave rise to the tax. As required by IRS guidance, Newcastle intends to notify its stockholders if a portion of a dividend paid by it is attributable to excess inclusion income.

Tax-exempt holders that are social clubs, voluntary employee benefit associations, supplemental unemployment benefit trusts, and qualified group legal services plans exempt from federal income taxation under sections 501(c)(7), (c)(9), (c)(17) and (c)(20) of the Code are subject to different UBTI rules, which generally require such holders to characterize distributions that Newcastle makes as UBTI.

In certain circumstances, a pension trust that owns more than 10% of Newcastle’s stock could be required to treat a percentage of the dividends as UBTI, if Newcastle is a “pension-held REIT.” Newcastle will not be a pension held REIT unless (1) it is required to “look through” one or more of its pension stockholders in order to satisfy certain REIT requirements and (2) either (i) one pension trust owns more than 25% of the value of Newcastle’s stock, or (ii) a group of pension trusts, each individually holding more than 10% of the value of Newcastle’s stock, collectively owns more than 50% of Newcastle’s stock. Certain restrictions on ownership and transfer of Newcastle’s stock should generally prevent a tax-exempt entity from owning more than 10% of the value of Newcastle’s stock, and should generally prevent Newcastle from becoming a pension-held REIT.

 

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Time for Determination of the Tax Impact of the Distribution

The actual tax impact of the Distribution will be affected by a number of factors that are unknown at this time, including Newcastle’s final current and accumulated earnings and profits for 2014 (including as a result of the gain, if any, Newcastle recognizes in the Distribution), the fair market value of New Media’s Common Stock on the date of the Distribution, the extent to which Newcastle recognizes excess inclusion income during the year of the Distribution and sales of FIRPTA or other capital assets. Thus, a definitive calculation of the U.S. federal income tax impact of the Distribution will not be possible until after the end of the 2014 calendar year. Newcastle will notify its stockholders of the tax attributes of the Distribution (including the amount distributed pursuant to the Distribution) on an IRS Form 1099-DIV.

 

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CERTAIN U.S. FEDERAL INCOME AND ESTATE TAX CONSIDERATIONS FOR

NON-U.S. HOLDERS OF OUR COMMON STOCK

The following discussion is a summary of certain U.S. federal income and estate tax considerations generally applicable to the ownership and disposition of our Common Stock by Non-U.S. Holders. For purposes of this section under the heading “Certain U.S. Federal Income and Estate Tax Considerations for Non-U.S. Holders of our Common Stock,” a “Non-U.S. Holder” means a beneficial owner of our Common Stock that is a nonresident alien individual, a foreign corporation, or any other person that is not subject to U.S. federal income tax on a net income basis in respect of such Common Stock.

This discussion deals only with Common Stock held as capital assets by Non-U.S. Holders who received Common Stock pursuant to the Distribution. This discussion does not cover all aspects of U.S. federal income taxation that may be relevant to the purchase, ownership or disposition of our Common Stock by investors in light of their specific facts and circumstances. In particular, this discussion does not address all of the tax considerations that may be relevant to persons in special tax situations, including persons that will hold our Common Stock in connection with a U.S. trade or business or a U.S. permanent establishment, certain former citizens or residents of the United States, and persons that are a “controlled foreign corporation,” a “passive foreign investment company” or a partnership or other pass-through entity for U.S. federal income tax purposes, or are otherwise subject to special treatment under the Code. This section does not address any other U.S. federal tax considerations (such as gift tax) or any state, local or non-U.S. tax considerations. You should consult your own tax advisors about the tax consequences of the purchase, ownership and disposition of our Common Stock in light of your own particular circumstances, including the tax consequences under state, local, foreign and other tax laws and the possible effects of any changes in applicable tax laws.

Furthermore, this summary is based upon on the Code, U.S. Treasury regulations, published administrative interpretations of the IRS, and judicial decisions, all of which are subject to differing interpretations or to change, possibly with retroactive effect. We have not sought any ruling from the IRS with respect to the statements made and the conclusions reached in this summary, and there can be no assurance that the IRS will agree with such statements and conclusions.

Dividends

In the event that we make a distribution of cash or property with respect to our Common Stock, any such distributions generally will constitute dividends for U.S. federal income tax purposes to the extent of our current or accumulated earnings and profits, as determined under U.S. federal income tax principles. If a distribution exceeds our current and accumulated earnings and profits, the excess will be treated as a tax-free return of a Non-U.S. Holder’s investment, up to such Non-U.S. Holder’s tax basis in our Common Stock. Any remaining excess will be treated as capital gain, subject to the tax treatment described below in “—Sale, Exchange or Other Taxable Disposition of our Common Stock.”

Dividends paid to a Non-U.S. Holder generally will be subject to U.S. federal withholding tax at a 30% rate, or such lower rate as may be specified by an applicable tax treaty. Even if a Non-U.S. Holder is eligible for a lower treaty rate, we and other payors will generally be required to withhold at a 30% rate (rather than the lower treaty rate) on dividend payments to such Non-U.S. Holder, unless:

 

    such Non-U.S. Holder has furnished to us or such other payor a valid IRS Form W-8BEN or other documentary evidence establishing its entitlement to the lower treaty rate with respect to such payments and neither we nor our paying agent (or other payor) have actual knowledge or reason to know to the contrary, and

 

   

in the case of actual or constructive dividends paid on or after July 1, 2014, if required by the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act or any intergovernmental agreement enacted pursuant to that law, such Non-U.S. Holder or any entity through which it receives such dividends have provided the withholding

 

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agent with certain information with respect to its or the entity’s direct and indirect U.S. owners, and if such Non-U.S. Holder holds our Common Stock through a foreign financial institution, such institution has entered into an agreement with the U.S. government to collect and provide to the U.S. tax authorities information about its accountholders (including certain investors in such institution or entity) and such Non-U.S. Holder has provided any required information to such institution.

If a Non-U.S. Holder is eligible for a reduced rate of U.S. federal withholding tax pursuant to an applicable income tax treaty or otherwise, it may obtain a refund of any excess amounts withheld by timely filing an appropriate claim for refund with the IRS. Investors are encouraged to consult with their own tax advisors regarding the possible implications of these withholding requirements on their investment in our Common Stock.

Sale, Exchange or Other Taxable Disposition of our Common Stock

A Non-U.S. Holder generally will not be subject to U.S. federal income tax with respect to gain recognized on a sale, exchange or other taxable disposition of our Common Stock unless:

 

    in the case of an individual, such holder is present in the United States for 183 days or more in the taxable year of the sale, exchange or other taxable disposition, and certain other conditions are met, or

 

    we are or have been a United States real property holding corporation for federal income tax purposes and a Non-U.S. Holder held, directly or indirectly, at any time during the five-year period ending on the date of the disposition, more than 5% of our Common Stock.

In the case of the sale or disposition of our Common Stock on or after January 1, 2017, a Non-U.S. Holder may be subject to a 30% withholding tax on the gross proceeds of the sale or disposition unless the requirements described in the last bullet point under “—Dividends” above are satisfied. Investors are encouraged to consult with their own tax advisors regarding the possible implications of these withholding requirements on their investment in our Common Stock and the potential for a refund or credit in the case of any withholding tax.

We have not been, are not and do not anticipate becoming a United States real property holding corporation for U.S. federal income tax purposes.

Information Reporting and Backup Withholding

We must report annually to the IRS and to each Non-U.S. Holder the amount of dividends paid to such holder and the tax withheld with respect to such dividends, regardless of whether withholding was required. Copies of the information returns reporting such dividends and withholding may also be made available to the tax authorities in the country in which Non-U.S. Holders reside under the provisions of an applicable income tax treaty.

A Non-U.S. Holder may be subject to backup withholding for dividends paid to it unless it certifies under penalty of perjury that it is a Non-U.S. Holder or otherwise establish an exemption. Any amounts withheld under the backup withholding rules may be allowed as a refund or a credit against such Non-U.S. Holder’s U.S. federal income tax liability provided the required information is timely furnished to the IRS.

U.S. Federal Estate Tax

Any Common Stock held (or deemed held) by an individual Non-U.S. Holder at the time of his or her death will be included in such Non-U.S. Holder’s gross estate for U.S. federal estate tax purposes, unless an applicable estate tax treaty provides otherwise.

 

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USE OF PROCEEDS

New Media will not receive any proceeds from the Distribution of our Common Stock in the spin-off.

DETERMINATION OF OFFERING PRICE

No consideration will be paid for the shares of New Media Common Stock distributed in the spin-off.

MARKET PRICE INFORMATION AND DIVIDENDS

Market Price Data

There is no established trading market for shares of New Media Common Stock. At                     , 2014, there were 30,000,000 shares of our Common Stock outstanding, 84.6% of which immediately prior to the spin-off were owned by Newcastle. The remainder of the outstanding shares of our Common Stock are owned by holders of GateHouse’s Outstanding Debt who elected to receive Common Stock in the Restructuring.

In connection with the spin-off, Newcastle will distribute              shares of our Common Stock on a pro rata basis to holders of Newcastle common stock as of the Record Date for the spin-off. We intend to apply to list our Common Stock on the NYSE under the symbol “NEWM.”

Dividends

New Media expects to distribute a substantial portion of free cash flow as a dividend, subject to satisfactory financial performance and Board approval. The Board of Directors’ determinations regarding dividends will depend on a variety of factors, including the Company’s GAAP net income, free cash flow generated from operations or other sources, liquidity position and potential alternative uses of cash, such as acquisitions, as well as economic conditions and expected future financial results.

 

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SELECTED HISTORICAL CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL DATA

The following selected financial data for the five years ended December 30, 2012 are derived from the audited consolidated financial statements of GateHouse, our Predecessor, which have been audited by Ernst & Young LLP, independent registered public accounting firm. Ernst & Young LLP’s report on the consolidated financial statements for the year ended December 30, 2012, which appears elsewhere herein, includes an explanatory paragraph which describes an uncertainty about GateHouse’s ability to continue as a going concern. The financial data for the nine month periods ended September 29, 2013 and September 30, 2012 are derived from the unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements of GateHouse, our Predecessor. The unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements include all adjustments, consisting of normal recurring accruals, which GateHouse considers necessary for a fair presentation of the financial position and the results of operations for these periods. The selected financial data as of and for the years ended December 30, 2012, January 1, 2012, December 31, 2010, December 31, 2009 and December 31, 2008, and the selected financial data as of and for the nine months ended September 30, 2012 have been revised to reflect one of GateHouse’s publications as a discontinued operation for comparability.

Operating results for the nine months ended September 29, 2013 are not necessarily indicative of the results that may be expected for the entire year ending December 29, 2013. The historical financial statements of GateHouse, our Predecessor, will not be comparable following its emergence from Chapter 11 due to the effects of the consummation of the Plan, as well as adjustments for fresh-start accounting. The data should be read in conjunction with the consolidated financial statements, related notes and other financial information included in this Prospectus.

 

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    Nine Months
Ended 

September 29,
2013
    Nine Months
Ended 

September 30,
2012
    Year Ended
December 30,
2012
    Year Ended
January 1,
2012 (2)
    Year Ended
December 31,
2010
    Year Ended
December 31,
2009
    Year Ended
December 31,
2008
 
    (In Thousands, Except Per Share Data)  

Statement of Operations Data:

             

Revenues:

             

Advertising

  $ 229,569      $ 246,010      $ 330,881      $ 357,134      $ 385,579      $ 398,927      $ 477,993   

Circulation

    102,370        98,279        131,576        131,879        133,192        138,233        141,803   

Commercial printing and other

    24,233        18,872        26,097        25,657        25,967        30,960        37,700   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total revenues

    356,172        363,161        488,554        514,670        544,738        568,120        657,496   

Operating costs and expenses:

             

Operating costs

    200,824        202,644        268,222        281,884        296,974        324,263        368,345   

Selling, general and administrative

    121,254        107,059        145,020        146,295        154,516        159,197        179,198   

Depreciation and amortization

    30,383        30,006        39,888        42,426        45,080        54,237        69,897   

Integration and reorganization costs and management fees paid to prior owner

    1,380        3,457        4,393        5,884        2,324        1,857        7,011   

Impairment of long-lived assets

    91,599        —          —          1,733        430        193,041        123,717   

(Gain) loss on sale of assets

    1,052        534        1,238        455        1,551        (418     337   

Goodwill and mastheads impairment

    —          —          —          385        —          273,914        487,744   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Operating income (loss)

    (90,320     19,461        29,793        35,608        43,863        (437,971     (578,753

Interest expense, amortization of deferred financing costs, gain on early extinguishment of debt, (gain) loss on derivative instruments and other

    81,178        42,819        57,463        58,361        69,520        72,502        100,530   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Loss from continuing operations before income taxes

    (171,498     (23,358     (27,670     (22,753     (25,657     (510,473     (679,283

Income tax expense (benefit)

    (10,878     (207     (207     (1,803     (155     342        (21,139
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Loss from continuing operations

    (160,620     (23,151     (27,463     (20,950     (25,502     (510,815     (658,144

Income (loss) from discontinued operations, net of income taxes

    (1,034     (2,093     (2,340     (699     (542     (19,287     (15,162
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net (loss) income

  $ (161,654   $ (25,244   $ (29,803   $ (21,649   $ (26,044   $ (530,102   $ (673,306
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net (loss) income attributable to noncontrolling interest

    865        N/A        N/A        N/A        N/A        N/A        N/A   

Net (loss) income attributable to GateHouse Media

    (160,789     (25,244     N/A        N/A        N/A        N/A        N/A   

Basic net (loss) income from continuing operations attributable to GateHouse Media available to common stockholders per share

  $ (2.75   $ (0.40   $ (0.47   $ (0.36   $ (0.44   $ (8.90   $ (11.53

Diluted net (loss) income from continuing operations attributable to GateHouse Media available to common stockholders per share

  $ (2.75   $ (0.40   $ (0.47   $ (0.36   $ (0.44   $ (8.90   $ (11.53

Basic net (loss) income from discontinued operations attributable to GateHouse Media net of income taxes, available to common stockholders per share

  $ (0.02   $ (0.04   $ (0.04   $ (0.01   $ (0.01   $ (0.33   $ (0.27

Diluted net (loss) income from discontinued operations net of income taxes, available to common stockholders per share

  $ (0.02   $ (0.04   $ (0.04   $ (0.01   $ (0.01   $ (0.33   $ (0.27

Basic net (loss) attributable to GateHouse Media available to common stockholders per share

  $ (2.77   $ (0.44   $ (0.51   $ (0.37   $ (0.45   $ (9.23   $ (11.80

Diluted net (loss) attributable to GateHouse Media available to common stockholders per share

  $ (2.77   $ (0.44   $ (0.51   $ (0.37   $ (0.45   $ (9.23   $ (11.80

Basic weighted average shares outstanding

    58,068,277        58,038,673        58,041,907        57,949,815        57,723,353        57,412,401        57,058,454   

Diluted weighted average shares outstanding

    58,068,277        58,038,673        58,041,907        57,949,815        57,723,353        57,412,401        57,058,454   

 

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    Nine Months
Ended

September 29,
2013
    Nine Months
Ended 

September 30,
2012
    Year Ended
December 30,
2012
    Year Ended
January 1,
2012 (2)
    Year Ended
December 31,
2010
    Year Ended
December 31,
2009
    Year Ended
December 31,
2008
 
    (In Thousands, Except Per Share Data)  

Statement of Cash Flow Data:

             

Net cash (used in) provided by operating activities

  $ (9,737   $ 24,222      $ 23,499      $ 22,439      $ 26,453      $ 2,990      $ 20,309   

Net cash used in investing activities

    (2,499     (2,014     (1,044     (731     (624     8,400        11,675   

Net cash used in financing activities

    (2,538     (4,600     (7,140     (11,249     (22,010     (13,003     (37,533

Other Data:

             

Adjusted EBITDA (1)

  $ 20,814      $ 49,500      $ 69,766      $ 80,547      $ 89,511      $ 82,571      $ 102,664   

Cash interest paid

    43,400        43,778      $ 55,976      $ 58,225      $ 59,317      $ 67,950      $ 89,677   

 

(1) We define Adjusted EBITDA as net income (loss) from continuing operations before income tax expense (benefit), interest/financing expense, depreciation and amortization and non-cash impairments. Adjusted EBITDA is not a measurement of financial performance under GAAP and should not be considered in isolation or as an alternative to income from operations, net income (loss), cash flow from continuing operating activities or any other measure of performance or liquidity derived in accordance with GAAP. We believe this non-GAAP measure, as we have defined it, is helpful in identifying trends in our day-to-day performance because the items excluded have little or no significance in our day-to-day operations. This measure provides an assessment of controllable expenses and affords management the ability to make decisions which are expected to facilitate meeting current financial goals as well as achieve optimal financial performance. Adjusted EBITDA provides an indicator for management to determine if adjustments to current spending decisions are needed.

Adjusted EBITDA provides us with a measure of financial performance, independent of items that are beyond the control of management in the short-term, such as depreciation and amortization, taxation and interest expense associated with our capital structure. This metric measures our financial performance based on operational factors that management can impact in the short-term, namely our cost structure or expenses of the organization. Adjusted EBITDA is one of the metrics used by senior management and the Board to review the financial performance of our business on a monthly basis.

Not all companies calculate Adjusted EBITDA using the same methods; therefore, the Adjusted EBITDA figures set forth herein may not be comparable to Adjusted EBITDA reported by other companies. A substantial portion of our Adjusted EBITDA was dedicated to the payment of interest on our outstanding indebtedness and to service other commitments, thereby reducing the funds available to us for other purposes. Adjusted EBITDA does not represent an amount of funds that is available for management’s discretionary use. See “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” of this Prospectus.

(2) The year ended January 1, 2012 included a 53 rd week of operations for approximately 60% of the business.

The table below shows the reconciliation of loss from continuing operations to Adjusted EBITDA for the periods presented:

 

    Nine Months
Ended 

September 29,
2013
    Nine Months
Ended 

September 30,
2012
    Year Ended
December 30,
2012
    Year Ended
January 1,
2012 (j)
    Year Ended
December 31,
2010
    Year Ended
December 31,
2009
    Year Ended
December 31,
2008
 
    (In Thousands)  

Loss from continuing operations

  $ (160,620   $ (23,151   $ (27,463   $ (20,950   $ (25,502   $ (510,815   $ (658,144

Income tax expense (benefit)

    (10,878     (207     (207     (1,803     (155     342        (21,139

(Gain) loss on derivative instruments (h)

    14        (1,639     (1,635     (913     8,277        12,672        10,119   

Gain on early extinguishment of debt (i)

    —          —          —          —          —          (7,538     —     

Amortization of deferred financing costs

    803        994        1,255        1,360        1,360        1,360        1,845   

Write-off of financing costs

    —          —          —          —          —          743        —     

Interest expense

    69,513        43,497        57,928        58,309        60,021        64,615        88,625   

Impairment of long-lived assets

    91,599        —          —          1,733        430        193,041        123,717   

Depreciation and amortization

    30,383        30,006        39,888        42,426        45,080        54,237        69,897   

Goodwill and mastheads impairment

    —          —          —          385        —          273,914        487,744   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Adjusted EBITDA from continuing operations

  $ 20,814 (a)     $ 49,500 (b)     $ 69,766 (c)     $ 80,547 (d)     $ 89,511 (e)     $ 82,571 (f)     $ 102,664 (g)  
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

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(a) Adjusted EBITDA for the nine months ended September 29, 2013 included net expenses of $22,419, which are one-time in nature or non-cash compensation. Included in these net expenses of $22,419 is non-cash compensation and other expense of $20,807, non-cash portion of postretirement benefits expense of $(820), integration and reorganization costs of $1,380 and a $1,053 loss on the sale of assets.

 

(b) Adjusted EBITDA for the nine months ended September 30, 2012 included net expenses of $7,684, which are one-time in nature or non-cash compensation. Included in these net expenses of $7,684 is non-cash compensation and other expense of $4,125, non-cash portion of postretirement benefits expense of $(432), integration and reorganization costs of $3,457 and a $534 loss on the sale of assets.

Adjusted EBITDA also does not include $593 from our discontinued operations.

 

(c) Adjusted EBITDA for the year ended December 30, 2012 included net expenses of $11,009, which are one time in nature or non-cash compensation. Included in these net expenses of $11,009 are non-cash compensation and other expenses of $6,274, non-cash portion of post-retirement benefits expense of $(896), integration and reorganization costs of $4,393 and a $1,238 loss on the sale of assets.

Adjusted EBITDA also does not include $255 of EBITDA generated from our discontinued operations.

 

(d) Adjusted EBITDA for the year ended January 1, 2012 included net expenses of $9,461, which are one time in nature or non-cash compensation. Included in these net expenses of $9,461 are non-cash compensation and other expenses of $4,226, non-cash portion of post-retirement benefits expense of $(1,104), integration and reorganization costs of $5,884 and an $455 loss on the sale of assets.

Adjusted EBITDA also does not include $432 of EBITDA generated from our discontinued operations.

 

(e) Adjusted EBITDA for the year ended December 31, 2010 included net expenses of $8,231, which are one time in nature or non-cash compensation. Included in these net expenses of $8,231 are non-cash compensation and other expenses of $5,005, non-cash portion of post-retirement benefits expense of $(649), integration and reorganization costs of $2,324 and a $1,551 loss on the sale of assets.

Adjusted EBITDA also does not include $463 of EBITDA generated from our discontinued operations.

 

(f) Adjusted EBITDA for the year ended December 31, 2009 included net expenses of $9,289, which are one time in nature or non-cash compensation. Included in these net expenses of $9,289 are non-cash compensation and other expenses of $8,632, non-cash portion of post-retirement benefits expense of $(782), integration and reorganization costs of $1,857 and a $418 gain on the sale of assets.

Adjusted EBITDA also does not include $(855) of EBITDA generated from our discontinued operations.

 

(g) Adjusted EBITDA for the year ended December 31, 2008 included net expenses of $24,487, which are one time in nature or non-cash compensation. Included in these net expenses of $24,487 are non-cash compensation and other expenses of $18,638, non-cash portion of post-retirement benefits expense of $(1,499), integration and reorganization costs of $7,011 and $337 loss on the sale of assets.

Adjusted EBITDA also does not include $4,663 of EBITDA generated from our discontinued operations.

 

(h) Non-cash (gain) loss on derivative instruments is related to interest rate swap agreements which are financing related and are excluded from Adjusted EBITDA.
(i) Non-cash write-off of deferred financing costs are similar to interest expense and amortization of financing fees and are excluded from Adjusted EBITDA.
(j) The year ended January 1, 2012 included a 53rd week of operations for approximately 60% of the business.

 

    As of  
    September 29,
2013
    September 30,
2012
    December 30,
2012
    January 1,
2012
    December 31,
2010
    December 31,
2009
    December 31,
2008
 
    (In Thousands)  

Balance Sheet Data:

             

Total assets

  $ 426,975      $ 480,438      $ 469,766      $ 510,802      $ 546,327      $ 591,929      $ 1,149,621   

Total long-term obligations, including current maturities

    36,341        1,179,949        1,177,298        1,185,212        1,197,347        1,222,102        1,242,075   

Stockholders’ equity (deficit)

    (902,362     (829,106     (834,159     (805,632     (792,121     (753,576     (229,078

 

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UNAUDITED PRO FORMA CONDENSED COMBINED FINANCIAL INFORMATION

The following unaudited pro forma condensed combined balance sheet as of September 29, 2013 and the unaudited pro forma condensed combined statements of operations for the nine months ended September 29, 2013 and for the year ended December 30, 2012 are based on (i) the financial statements of New Media, which was formed on June 18, 2013 and subsequently capitalized, (ii) the audited consolidated financial statements of GateHouse for the year ended December 30, 2012, and (iii) the unaudited consolidated financial statements of GateHouse, including Local Media, as of and for the nine months ended September 29, 2013, each included in this Prospectus. New Media, GateHouse and Local Media, subsequent to the Restructuring, are collectively referred to in this section as ‘‘the Combined Company.’’

The pro forma financial information is provided for informational and illustrative purposes only and should be read in conjunction with “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations,” New Media’s historical financial statements and related notes thereto, GateHouse’s historical consolidated financial statements and notes thereto and Local Media’s historical combined financial statements and notes thereto, each included elsewhere in this Prospectus. In addition, the historical financial statements of GateHouse, our Predecessor, will not be comparable following its emergence from Chapter 11 due to the effects of the consummation of the Plan, as well as adjustments for fresh-start accounting. All tables are presented in thousands unless otherwise noted.

The pro forma financial information gives effect to three categories of adjustments as if the transactions reflected in such adjustments had occurred on January 2, 2012 for the unaudited pro forma condensed combined statements of operations and on September 29, 2013 for the unaudited pro forma condensed combined balance sheet. The three categories of adjustments are summarized below:

GateHouse Effects of Plan Adjustments

 

    Approximately $1.2 billion of our Predecessor’s Outstanding Debt will be cancelled and exchanged for New Media Common Stock equal in value to 40.0% of the face amount of the Outstanding Debt;

 

    the equity interests in our Predecessor will be cancelled and discharged and 100% of the new equity in the reorganized GateHouse will be issued to New Media;

 

    the Former Equity Holders will receive New Media Warrants representing the right to acquire New Media Common Stock equal to 5.0% of the New Media Common Stock as of the Effective Date;

 

    commencing from the Listing, New Media will pay its Manager a management fee equal to 1.5% per annum of its Total Equity (as defined in the Management Agreement), calculated and payable monthly in arrears in cash; and

 

    the payment of additional estimated reorganization costs of $9.8 million.

GateHouse Fresh-Start and Other Adjustments

 

    The adoption by GateHouse of fresh-start accounting, in accordance with ASC 852 upon confirmation of the Plan.

Local Media Purchase Accounting and Other Adjustments

 

    Newcastle will contribute 100% of the common stock of Local Media Parent to New Media in exchange for New Media Common Stock equal in value to the cost of Newcastle’s Local Media Acquisition; and

 

   

the impact of Local Media purchase accounting adjustments, in accordance with ASC 805. As Local Media was consolidated in GateHouse historical results beginning on September 3, 2013, the purchase accounting adjustments are therefore included in column “GateHouse Historical September 29, 2013” on the unaudited pro forma condensed combined balance sheet. The unaudited pro forma condensed

 

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combined statements of operations for the year ended December 30, 2012 and for the nine months ended September 29, 2013 include a separate column for Local Media adjustments labeled as “Local Media Purchase Accounting and Other Adjustments.”

Each of the transactions reflected in the adjustments is described in more detail below.

The pro forma financial information does not purport to represent what the Combined Company’s actual results of operations or financial position would have been had the Plan become effective or had the other transactions described above occurred on January 2, 2012 or September 29, 2013, respectively. In addition, the dollar amount of new equity and stockholders’ equity in the unaudited pro forma condensed combined balance sheet is not an estimate of the market value of the New Media Common Stock as of the Effective Date or at any other time. We make no representations as to the market value, if any, of the New Media Common Stock after the Effective Date.

GateHouse Effects of Plan Adjustments

The “GateHouse Effects of Plan Adjustments” column in the pro forma financial information gives effect to the consummation of the Plan and the implementation of the transactions contemplated by the Plan, including the recapitalization, upon emergence from Chapter 11 on the Effective Date.

The Plan provides for the issuance of new equity of reorganized GateHouse to New Media and the issuance of New Media Common Stock to the holders of GateHouse’s Outstanding Debt. The estimated reorganization gain resulting from the extinguishment of the Outstanding Debt pursuant to the Plan is approximately $721.8 million less $10.3 million accumulated other comprehensive income related to derivative instruments, $4.6 million reorganization expense on allowed claims recorded on Effective Date and less estimated reorganization costs of $9.8 million. These amounts are reflected in the unaudited pro forma condensed combined balance sheet in the “GateHouse Effects of the Plan Adjustments” column in stockholders’ deficit (total $697.1 million). These amounts are not reflected in the unaudited pro forma condensed combined statement of operations because the gain is non-recurring.

For additional information regarding the “GateHouse Effects of Plan Adjustments,” see the notes to the pro forma financial information.

GateHouse Fresh-Start and Other Adjustments

The “GateHouse Fresh-Start and Other Adjustments” column of the pro forma financial information gives effect to preliminary fresh-start accounting adjustments in accordance with ASC 852 and other pro forma adjustments as described in more detail below before consideration of the Local Media Contribution from Newcastle. The reorganization value of GateHouse will be allocated to the fair value of net assets in conformity with ASC 852, resulting in an estimated gain of $249.9 million upon emergence. This gain is reflected in the unaudited pro forma condensed combined balance sheet but is not reflected in the unaudited pro forma condensed combined statement of operations because this gain is non-recurring.

The total GateHouse enterprise value was estimated between approximately $385.0 million to $515.0 million, with a midpoint of $450.0 million as disclosed in the Disclosure Statement presented to the Bankruptcy Court and prior to giving effect to the Plan. Management used an enterprise value of $489.9 million as the basis for determining the reorganization value for the fresh start allocation rather than the $450.0 million midpoint of the range. This enterprise value was based upon the Cash-Out Offer and equity distribution plus estimated transaction fees and the reorganized GateHouse was ascribed this value throughout the Plan. Accordingly, fresh-start adjustments are based on this assumed enterprise value of $489.9 million. Under ASC 852, reorganization value is generally allocated first to tangible assets and identifiable intangible assets, and lastly to excess reorganization value (i.e., goodwill).

 

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GateHouse estimates its reorganization value at $559.1 million as of September 29, 2013, which consists of the following:

 

Present value of discounted cash flows of GateHouse (estimated enterprise value)

   $  489,931   

Less GateHouse transaction fees

     (7,073
  

 

 

 

Total consideration

     482,858   

Non-interest bearing liabilities not subject to compromise

     76,291   
  

 

 

 

GateHouse total assets (reorganization value)

   $ 559,149   
  

 

 

 

The fresh start adjustments are only related to GateHouse, however, the following table represents the Combined Company’s total assets on the unaudited pro forma condensed combined balance sheet. Refer to the following section “Local Media Purchase Accounting and Other Adjustments” for a more detailed description of the Local Media transaction.

 

GateHouse total assets (reorganization value)

   $ 559,149   

Local Media total assets

     108,393   
  

 

 

 

Combined Company total assets

   $ 667, 542   

In order to apply fresh-start reporting, ASC 852 requires two criteria to be satisfied: (1) that total post-petition liabilities and allowed claims immediately before the date of confirmation of the Plan be in excess of reorganization value, as outlined in the table below, and (2) that holders of our Predecessor’s voting shares immediately before confirmation of the Plan receive less than 50.0% of the voting shares of the emerging entity. The table below shows how the first criterion is met.

 

Estimated post-petition current liabilities

   $ 76,291   

Liabilities deferred pursuant to Chapter 11 proceeding

     1,200,023   

Additional allowed claim upon Effective Date

     4,636   
  

 

 

 

Total post-petition liabilities and allowed claims

     1,280,950   

Reorganization value

     (559,149
  

 

 

 

Excess of liabilities over reorganization value

   $ 721,801   
  

 

 

 

The second criterion is also satisfied because the equity interests in GateHouse will be canceled and the holders of the equity interests prior to the Restructuring are expected to own less than approximately 10.0% of the reorganized GateHouse equity subsequent to the confirmation, resulting in a change in control. As a result, GateHouse plans to apply fresh start reporting upon emergence from Chapter 11.

The determination of the estimated reorganization value was based on a discounted cash flow analysis. This value was reconciled to the transaction value as outlined within the Plan and was within a reasonable range of comparable market multiples. The discounted cash flow method reflects the following assumptions:

 

    Forecasted cash flows for the three months ended December 29, 2013 and the years ending 2014 through 2016. These projections are based on the following significant assumptions:

 

    Continued declines in print advertising revenue of 5.0% to 9.0% per year, which is expected to moderate in later years;

 

    Growth in circulation revenue of up to 2.0% per year;

 

    Declines in non-digital marketing services expenses of up to 4.0% per year; and

 

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    Significant growth in digital marketing services revenue, which represents approximately 2.0% of total 2013 revenues, is projected to be 13.2% of total revenues by 2016 with the digital marketing services expense projected to increase by 200% from 2013 to 2016.

 

    A terminal value, which was determined using a growth model that applied a long-term growth rate of 0.0% to GateHouse’s projected cash flows beyond 2016. The long-term growth rate was based on GateHouse’s internal projections as well as industry growth prospects;

 

    Discount rates that considered various factors including bond yields, risk premiums, and tax rates to determine a weighted-average cost of capital (“WACC”), which represents a company’s cost of debt and equity weighted by the percentage of debt and equity in a company’s target capital structure. A WACC of 13.5% was used; and

 

    An effective tax rate of 39.15% and an assumed carry-over tax basis of $673.7 million for fixed assets and intangibles. A deferred tax asset is not reflected within the fresh start opening balances given GateHouse’s history of losses.

The estimate of reorganization value assumes that forecasted cash flows will be realized, but future results may differ significantly. There can be no assurance regarding future financial results or actual reorganization value. The estimates and assumptions used are subject to significant uncertainties, many of which are beyond GateHouse’s control. The assumptions used in the discounted cash flow analysis that have the most significant effect on GateHouse’s estimated reorganization value are estimated WACC, estimated long-term growth rates, and estimated revenues.

GateHouse anticipates the digital market to continue to grow as small to medium businesses (“SMBs”) move from print to digital advertising, primarily in the areas of online and mobile websites. Recent studies indicate that 89.0% of consumers expect all businesses to have a website, while 52.0% of SMBs do not have a website and 90.0% do not have a mobile website. The Propel Marketing digital marketing business, which GateHouse launched in 2012, offers SMBs digital services, including website design, search engine optimization, mobile websites, social media, retargeting and other advertising services. GateHouse believes that Propel Marketing is well positioned to assist SMBs in the digital space and expects Propel Marketing to contribute meaningfully to revenue growth.

If our anticipated assumptions as to the factors vary significantly, they could have a significant impact on our estimate of the enterprise value.

 

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The following table summarizes the preliminary allocation of the reorganization value to the fair value of GateHouse’s assets and liabilities and the identified intangible assets pursuant to fresh start accounting based on pro forma values as of September 29, 2013. The excess of reorganization value over the amounts allocated to the identified intangible assets and the fair value of tangible assets and liabilities will be recorded as goodwill. No assurance can be given that the amount recorded as goodwill would be recoverable as part of the required annual test for goodwill impairment.

 

Current assets

   $ 72,278   

Other assets

     2,402   

Deferred financing fees

     6,152   

Property, plant and equipment

     202,902   

Advertising relationships

     62,470   

Subscriber relationships

     37,610   

Mastheads

     41,860   

Customer relationships

     5,940   

Other intangible assets

     338   

Goodwill

     127,197   
  

 

 

 

Total assets

     559,149   

Current liabilities

     60,900   

Long-term liabilities

     164,391   
  

 

 

 

Total liabilities

     225,291   

Stockholders’ equity

     333,858   
  

 

 

 

Total liabilities and stockholders’ equity

   $ 559,149   
  

 

 

 

The Company obtained third party independent appraisals to assist in the estimation of the fair values of the subscriber relationships, advertiser relationships and customer relationships related to the fresh start valuation. The appraisals used an excess earnings approach, a form of the income approach, which values assets based upon associated estimated discounted cash flows. A static pool approach using historical attrition rates was used to estimate attrition rates of 5.0% to 7.5% for advertiser relationships, subscriber relationships and customer relationships. The growth rate was estimated to be 0.0% and the discount rates were estimated to range from 14.5% to 17.0% for advertiser relationships and 14.5% to 15.5% for subscriber and customer relationships.

Estimated cash flows extend up to periods of approximately 30 years, which takes into account that a majority of GateHouse’s newspapers have been in existence for over 50 years and many have been in existence for over 100 years. The Company plans to amortize the fair values of the subscriber and advertiser relationships over the periods at which 90.0% of the cumulative undiscounted net cash flows are estimated to be realized. Therefore, the subscriber relationships, advertiser relationships and customer relationships are expected to be amortized over an approximate 15 year period, on a straight-line basis as no other discernible pattern of usage was more readily determinable. An effective tax rate of 39.15% and carry over tax basis of $673.7 million were used in the fair value calculation.

The appraisal utilized a relief from royalty method, an income approach, to determine the fair value of mastheads. Key assumptions utilized in this valuation include revenue projections, royalty rates of 1.3% to 2.0%, a long term growth rate of 0.0% and discount rates of 14.5% to 16.5%.

 

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The table below provides the estimated fair value and the fresh start fair value adjustment for each class of intangible assets:

 

     Fair Value      Fair Value Adjustment  

Goodwill

   $ 127,197       $ 113,456  

Mastheads

     41,860         6,619  

Advertiser relationships

     62,470         11,306  

Customer relationships

     5,940         3,160  

Subscriber relationships

     37,610         17,349  

Other (including Trade Names and Publication Rights)

     338         —    

The Company obtained third party independent appraisals to assist in the determination of the fair values of property, plant and equipment and intangible assets. The property, plant and equipment appraisal included an analysis of recent comparable sales and offerings of land parcels in each of the subject’s markets. The appraised value used the standard accepted appraisal practices and valuation procedures. Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice require that the appraiser consider three basic approaches to value: the cost approach (used for equipment where an active secondary market is not available and building improvements), the direct sales comparison (market) approach (used for land and equipment where an active market is available), and the income approach (used for intangibles). These approaches are based on the cost to reproduce assets, market exchanges for comparable assets and the capitalization of income. Useful lives range from 1 to 14 years for personal property and 10 to 30 years for real property.

The valuations used in this Prospectus represent current estimates based on data available. However, updates to these valuations will be completed as of the fresh-start accounting date based on the results of asset and liability valuations, as well as the related calculation of deferred income taxes. The differences between the actual valuations and the current estimated valuations used in preparing the pro forma financial information may be material and will be reflected in our future balance sheets and may affect amounts, including depreciation and amortization expense, which we will recognize in our statement of operations post-emergence. In addition, the Combined Company may recognize certain non-recurring expenses subsequent to the Effective Date related to its Chapter 11 reorganization. As a result, the pro forma financial information may not accurately represent our post-emergence financial condition or results from operations and any differences may be material.

For additional information regarding the “GateHouse Fresh-Start and Other Adjustments,” see the notes to the pro forma financial information. GateHouse anticipates that it will continue to have a full valuation allowance against its deferred tax asset upon emergence from Chapter 11 and no deferred tax asset is included on the pro forma balance sheet. In this regard, GateHouse will be required to reduce its tax attributes by the excess of the adjusted issue price of indebtedness satisfied pursuant to the Restructuring over the sum of (x) the amount of cash paid and (y) the fair market value of stock delivered to holders of such indebtedness (“COD Income”). As a result, New Media will not have any significant net operating loss carryovers (“NOLs”) from GateHouse after the taxable year which includes the Effective Date. The NOLs that are remaining after the taxable year which includes the Effective Date are subject to the limitations of Code Section 382, so that these NOLs are not expected to meaningfully offset taxable income going forward.

Local Media Purchase Accounting and Other Adjustments

On September 3, 2013, Newcastle completed the acquisition of Local Media from News Corp. The Local Media operations are managed by GateHouse, pursuant a management and advisory agreement. As a result of this agreement, management determined that Local Media is a variable interest entity and that GateHouse is the primary beneficiary because it has both the power to direct the activities that most significantly impact the

 

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economic performance of Local Media and it participates in the residual returns of Local Media that could be significant to Local Media. Because GateHouse is the primary beneficiary, it consolidated Local Media beginning September 3, 2013.

As part of the Plan, Newcastle has agreed to contribute 100% of the stock of Local Media Parent to New Media as of the Effective Date. The contribution is made to New Media to assign Newcastle’s rights under the stock purchase agreement to which it acquired Local Media as of the Effective Date. Consideration to be received by Newcastle will be the New Media Common Stock collectively equal to the cost of the Local Media Acquisition (as adjusted pursuant to the Plan) upon emergence from Chapter 11 on the Effective Date.

The Company will account for the consolidation of Local Media under the purchase method of accounting in accordance with ASC 805 as New Media will have a controlling financial interest in Local Media as of the Effective Date. Accordingly, the assets acquired and liabilities assumed will be recorded at their acquisition date fair values. New Media’s $56.3 million acquisition value as of the Effective Date is derived from the Local Media Acquisition Value of $53.8 million plus estimated additional working capital funding of $2.5 million made by Newcastle. Such acquisition value is not materially different from the acquisition value allocated upon GateHouse’s consolidation of Local Media in accordance with ASC 805 on September 3, 2013. Any excess of the acquisition value over the fair value of assets acquired and liabilities assumed was allocated to goodwill. As the numbers in the pro forma may change, the allocated goodwill is subject to significant change.

As Local Media was consolidated in GateHouse historical results beginning on September 3, 2013, the purchase accounting adjustments are therefore included in column “GateHouse Historical September 29, 2013” on the unaudited pro forma condensed combined balance sheet. The unaudited pro forma condensed combined statements of operations for the year ended December 30, 2012 and for the nine months ended September 29, 2013 include a separate column for Local Media adjustments labeled as “Local Media Purchase Accounting and Other Adjustments.”

The following table summarizes the preliminary allocation of the acquisition value of $56.3 million to the fair value of Local Media’s assets and liabilities and the identified intangible assets based on pro forma values as of September 29, 2013. The excess of acquisition value over the amounts allocated to the identified intangible assets and the fair value of tangible assets and liabilities will be recorded as goodwill. No assurance can be given that the amount recorded as goodwill would be recoverable as part of the required annual test for goodwill impairment.

 

Current assets

   $ 26,747   

Property, plant and equipment

     72,786   

Mastheads

     4,100   

Goodwill

     1,845   

Other Assets

     2,915   
  

 

 

 

Total assets

     108,393   

Current liabilities

     19,147   

Long term liabilities

     32,907   
  

 

 

 

Total liabilities

     52,054   
  

 

 

 

Net assets acquired

   $ 56,339   
  

 

 

 

The Company obtained third party independent appraisals to assist in the determination of the fair values of property, plant and equipment and intangible assets. The property, plant and equipment appraisal included an analysis of recent comparable sales and offerings of land parcels in each of the subject’s markets. The appraised value is supported by the consideration paid and was determined using standard generally accepted appraisal practices and valuation procedures. The appraiser used the three basic approaches to value: the cost approach (used for equipment where an active secondary market is not available and building improvements), the direct sales comparison (market) approach (used for land and equipment where an active secondary market is available) and the income approach (used for intangible assets). These approaches used are based on the cost to reproduce

 

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assets, market exchanges for comparable assets and the capitalization of income. Useful lives range from 1 to 7 years for personal property and 17 to 38 years for real property.

The appraisal utilized a relief from royalty method, an income approach, to determine the fair value of mastheads. Key assumptions utilized in this valuation include revenue projections, a royalty rate of 1.5%, a long term growth rate of 0.0%, a tax rate of 39.15% and a discount rate of 25.0%. Based on estimated discount rates, attrition levels and other available data, the advertiser and subscriber relationships were determined to have a fair value of $0.0.

Trade accounts receivable, having an estimated fair value of $13.4 million, were included in the acquired assets. The gross contractual amount of these receivables was $14.9 million and the contractual cash flows not expected to be collected was estimated at $1.5 million as of the acquisition date.

Local Media accounted for inventory using a weighted cost methodology, which was deemed to approximate fair value. The FIFO valuation method will be utilized after the acquisition and is consistent with GateHouse’s inventory valuation. The difference between the weighted average and FIFO methodology is not expected to have a material effect on the results of operations.

For tax purposes, the amount of goodwill that is expected to be deductible is $0.5 million for Local Media.

Local Media’s fiscal year ends on the last Sunday in June. The unaudited pro forma condensed combined statements of operations were created with a year end on the last Sunday in December, which is consistent with historical GateHouse consolidated financial statements. Local Media results from September 3, 2013 are included in the historical GateHouse results of operations. The historical results of Local Media for the eight months ended September 2, 2013 were derived by taking the historical results of operations of Local Media for the year ended June 30, 2013, and subtracting Local Media’s historical results of operations for the six months ended December 30, 2012, and adding the two months of historical results of operations from July 1, 2013 to September 2, 2013. The historical results of Local Media for the twelve months ended December 30, 2012, were derived by taking the historical results of operations of Local Media for the twelve months ended June 30, 2013, and July 1, 2012, and subtracting Local Media’s historical results of operations for the six month periods from December 31, 2012 to June 30, 2013, and July 4, 2011 to January 1, 2012.

To conform the fiscal periods of Local Media’s historical financial statements to that of New Media, the following amounts were excluded from the pro forma financial information. No amounts were included more than once in the preparation of the pro forma financial information. Local Media had revenue of $28,320 and net income of $1,505 for the two month period from July 1, 2013 to September 2, 2013.

 

     Local Media’s Fiscal Year Ended
June 30, 2013
    Local Media’s
Fiscal Year Ended
June 30, 2012
 
     Excluded from the
Nine Months Ended

September 29, 2013
     Excluded from the
Year Ended

December 30, 2012
    Excluded from the
Year Ended
December 30, 2012
 
     (In Thousands)  

Revenues

   $ 83,345       $ 75,214      $ 88,066   

Income (loss) from continuing operations

   $ 11,913       $ (39,820   $ 13,048   

 

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NEW MEDIA INVESTMENT GROUP AND SUBSIDIARIES

Unaudited Pro Forma Condensed Combined Statements of Operations

(In thousands, except share and per share data)

 

    Year Ended December 30, 2012  
    New Media
December 30,
2012
    GateHouse
Historical
December 30,
2012
    GateHouse
Effects of
The Plan
Adjustments
    GateHouse
Fresh Start
and Other
Adjustments
    GateHouse
Pro Forma
    Local Media
Historical
December 30,
2012
    Local Media
Purchase
Accounting
and Other
Adjustments
    Pro Forma
December 30,
2012
 

Revenues:

               

Advertising

  $   —        $ 330,881            330,881      $ 88,329        $ 419,210   

Circulation

    —          131,576            131,576        52,203          183,779   

Commercial printing and other

    —          26,097            26,097        24,017          50,114   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total revenues

      488,554        —          —          488,554        164,549        —          653,103   

Operating costs and expenses:

               

Operating costs

    —          268,222          (894 ) (g)       267,328        139,220        (55,886 ) (k)       350,662   

Selling, general, and administrative

    —          145,020        5,838  (a)         150,858          55,886  (k)       206,744   

Depreciation and amortization

    —          39,888          (14,317 ) (h)       25,571        7,975        3,369  (l)       36,915   

Integration and reorganization costs

    —          4,393            4,393            4,393   

Impairment of long-lived and intangible assets

            —          197,869          197,869   

Loss (gain) on sale of assets

    —          1,238            1,238            1,238   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Operating income (loss)

    —          29,793        (5,838     15,211        39,166        (180,515     (3,369     (144,718

Interest expense

    —          57,928        (45,624 ) (b)         12,304          2,475  (m)       14,779   

Amortization of deferred financing costs

    —          1,255        (93 ) (c)         1,162          382  (m)       1,544   

(Gain) loss on derivative instruments

    —          (1,635     1,635  (d)         —              —     

Other (income) expense

    —          (85         (85         (85
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

(Loss) income from continuing operations before income taxes

    —          (27,670     38,244        15,211        25,785        (180,515     (6,226     (160,956

Income tax (benefit) expense

    —          (207     7,370  (f)       2,932  (i)       10,095        (32,767     (40,342 ) (n)       (63,014
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

(Loss) income from continuing operations

  $ —        $ (27,463   $ 30,874      $ 12,279      $ 15,690      $ (147,748   $ 34,116      $ (97,942
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Loss per share:

               

Basic and diluted:

               

Loss from continuing operations

  $ —        $ (0.47               (3.26 ) (j)  

Basic weighted average
shares outstanding

    —          58,041,907                  30,000,000 (j)  

Diluted weighted average shares outstanding

    —          58,041,907                  30,000,000 (j)  

 

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NEW MEDIA INVESTMENT GROUP AND SUBSIDIARIES

Unaudited Pro Forma Condensed Combined Statements of Operations

(In thousands, except share and per share data)

 

    Nine Months Ended September 29, 2013  
    New Media
September 29,
2013
    GateHouse
Historical
September 29,
2013
    GateHouse
Effects
of The Plan
Adjustments
    GateHouse
Fresh Start
and Other
Adjustments
    GateHouse
Pro Forma
    Local Media
Historical
September 2,
2013
    Local Media
Purchase
Accounting
and Other
Adjustments
    Pro Forma
September 29,
2013
 

Revenues:

               

Advertising

  $   —        $ 229,569          $ 229,569      $ 52,308        $ 281,877   

Circulation

    —          102,370            102,370        33,855          136,225   

Commercial printing and other

    —          24,233            24,233        17,372          41,605   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total revenues

    —          356,172        —          —          356,172        103,535        —          459,707   

Operating costs and expenses:

               

Operating costs

    —          200,824          (571 ) (g)       200,253        93,358        (34,131 ) (k)       259,480   

Selling, general, and administrative

    —          121,254        (2,004 ) (a,e)         119,250          34,131   (k)       153,381   

Depreciation and amortization

    —          30,383          (11,205 ) (h)       19,178        5,351        2,212   (l)       26,741   

Integration and reorganization costs

    —          1,380            1,380            1,380   

Impairment of long-lived and intangible assets

    —          91,599            91,599        42,268          133,867   

(Gain) loss on sale of assets

    —          1,052            1,052            1,052   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Operating (loss) income

    —          (90,320     2,004        11,776        (76,540     (37,442     (2,212     (116,194

Interest expense

    —          69,513        (60,003 ) (b)         9,510          1,650 (m)       11,160   

Amortization of deferred financing costs

    —          803        101 (c)         904          255 (m)       1,159   

Loss (gain) on derivative instruments

    —          14        (14 ) (d)         —              —     

Other expense (income)

      1,005            1,005            1,005   

Reorganization items, net

    —          9,843        (9,843 ) (e)         —              —     
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

(Loss) income from continuing operations before income taxes

    —          (171,498     71,763        11,776        (87,959     (37,442     (4,117     (129,518

Income tax expense (benefit)

    —          (10,878     (20,237 ) (f)       (3,321 ) (i)       (34,436     (13,742     (2,528 ) (n)       (50,706
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

(Loss) income from continuing operations

  $ —        $ (160,620   $ 92,000      $ 15,097      $ (53,523   $ (23,700   $ (1,589   $ (78,812
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Loss per share:

               

Basic and diluted:

               

Loss from continuing operations

  $ —        $ (2.75             $ (2.63 ) (j)  

Basic weighted average shares outstanding

    —          58,068,277                  30,000,000 (j)  

Diluted weighted average shares outstanding

    —          58,068,277                  30,000,000 (j)  

 

GateHouse Effects of the Plan Adjustments

 

(a)

Commencing from the Listing, we will pay our Manager a management fee equal to 1.5% per annum of Total Equity (as defined in the Management Agreement) calculated and payable monthly in arrears in cash. Total equity is generally the equity transferred by Newcastle to the Company upon Listing, plus total net proceeds from any equity capital raised (including through stock offerings), plus certain capital contributions to subsidiaries, plus the equity value of assets transferred to the Company prior to or after the date of the Management Agreement, less capital distributions and repurchases of common stock. In addition to the management fee and commencing from the Listing, our Manager will be eligible to receive on a quarterly basis annual incentive compensation in an

 

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  amount equal to the product of 25.0% of the dollar amount by which (a) the adjusted net income of the Company exceeds (b)(i) the weighted daily average total equity (plus cash capital raising costs), multiplied by (ii) a simple interest rate of 10.0% per annum.

This adjustment reflects the impact of the management fee and is calculated based on the pro forma financial information. A Total Equity value of $389.2 million, which is equal to the New Media pro forma additional paid in capital line item as reflected in the unaudited pro forma condensed combined balance sheet, was used in the calculation and resulted in a management fee of $5.8 million for the year ended December 30, 2012 and $4.4 million for the nine months ended September 29, 2013. The adjusted net loss, which excludes depreciation and amortization and adjusts for cash taxes, was $124.0 million for the year ended December 30, 2012 and $102.8 million for the nine months ended September 29, 2013 and resulted in no incentive compensation for the year ended December 30, 2012 and nine months ended September 29, 2013, respectively. The table below sets forth the calculation of the incentive compensation:

 

     Year ended
December 30,
2012
    Nine months ended
September 29,
2013
 

New Media pro forma net loss

   $ (97,942   $ (78,812

Plus: income taxes

     (63,014     (50,706

Plus: depreciation and amortization

     36,915        26,741   

Less: cash taxes

     —          —     
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Adjusted net loss

     (124,041     (102,777

10% of pro forma Total Equity

     38,920        38,920   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Adjusted net income less 10% of pro forma Total Equity

     —          —     
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Incentive compensation at 25% of the excess of adjusted net income over 10% of pro forma Total Equity

   $ —        $ —     
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

(b) The Plan provided for substantial changes to our debt structure. The interest expense adjustments will result in a net decrease of $45.6 million for the year ended December 30, 2012 and $60.0 million for the nine months ended September 29, 2013. The table below provides the calculation of the pro forma interest expense:

 

     Year ended
December 30,
2012
    Nine months ended
September 29, 2013
 

Interest expense on New Credit Facilities at 8.06%

   $ 12,090      $ 9,068   

Original issuance discount accretion

     189        142   

Elimination of interest expense on prepetition claims

     (57,903     (69,213
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total decrease to interest expense adjustments

   $ (45,624 )     $ (60,003 )  
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

We estimate our weighted average interest rate on our New Credit Facilities to be approximately 8.06%. A 1/8% increase or decrease in our expected weighted average interest rate, including from an increase in LIBOR (excluding the impact of the LIBOR floor), would increase or decrease interest expense on our exit financing by approximately $0.2 million annually.

 

     Drawn      Rate     Weighted Average  

Revolving Credit Facility

   $ 25,000         3.45     0.58

Term Loan A

     25,000         5.00     0.83

Term Loan B

     50,000         8.75     2.92

Second Lien Credit Facility

     50,000         11.20     3.73
  

 

 

      

 

 

 
   $ 150,000           8.06 %  
  

 

 

      

 

 

 

 

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(c) The following table presents the pro forma impact of the deferred financing fees associated with the New Credit Facilities and those associated with the Outstanding Debt:

 

     Year ended
December 30,
2012
    Nine months ended
September 29,
2013
 

New deferred financing fees

   $ 1,162      $ 872   

Elimination of deferred financing fees on Outstanding Debt

     (1,255     (771
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total deferred financing fee adjustments

   $ (93 )     $ 101   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

(d) The Plan will discharge all derivative instruments that are secured pursuant to the 2007 Credit Facility. As a result, this adjustment eliminates any gain or loss on these instruments.
(e) Reflects the elimination of our bankruptcy-related restructuring expenses that were reorganized prior to the Chapter 11 filing of $6.4 million and reorganization items incurred during Chapter 11 of $9.8 million.
(f) This adjustment provides the estimated impact of income tax expense or benefit based on the Combined Company’s estimated effective tax rate of 39.15%.

The table below provides a calculation of the pro forma income tax expense for GateHouse for the year ended December 30, 2012:

 

Historical GateHouse pre-tax net loss

   $ (27,670

Effects of plan adjustments

     38,244   

Fresh start and other adjustments

     15,211   
  

 

 

 

GateHouse pro forma pre-tax net income

   $ 25,785   

Effective tax rate

     39.15
  

 

 

 

Income tax expense

   $ 10,095   
  

 

 

 

The table below provides a recalculation of the pro forma income tax benefit for GateHouse for the nine months ended September 29, 2013:

 

Historical GateHouse pre-tax net loss

   $ (171,498

Effects of plan adjustments

     71,763   

Fresh start and other adjustments

     11,776   
  

 

 

 

GateHouse pro forma pre-tax net loss

   $ (87,959

Effective tax rate

     39.15
  

 

 

 

Income tax benefit

   $ 34,436   
  

 

 

 

GateHouse Fresh-Start and Other Adjustments

(g) This adjustment will modify historical rent expense to the amounts computed based on recording leases at their fair value. The impact of resetting escalating lease terms to their new straight line expense recognition will increase rent expense by $0.2 million and $0.1 million for the year ended December 30, 2012 and nine months ended September 29, 2013, respectively. Three leases were rejected and six leases were modified which resulted in a reduction in rent expense of $0.7 million and $0.5 million for the year ended December 30, 2012 and nine months ended September 29, 2013, respectively.

 

    

As part of the fresh start valuation, leases were reviewed to determine if terms were favorable or unfavorable compared to current market conditions. Based on a comparison of contractual lease terms and

 

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  current market lease rates, six leases were identified as unfavorable and a $1.0 million liability, $0.4 million current and $0.6 million long term, will be recognized for the year ended December 30, 2012. The amortization of the unfavorable lease liability will result in a decrease in rent expense of $0.4 million for the year ended December 30, 2012 on an annual basis and $0.2 million for the nine months ended September 29, 2013. No leases were identified as having favorable terms.
(h) In accordance with ASC 852, the reorganization value of GateHouse is allocated to the fair value of its assets and liabilities. For purposes of the unaudited pro forma condensed combined statements of operations, the fair value of GateHouse’s property, plant and equipment exceeds its carrying value by approximately $97.1 million and its intangible assets carrying value exceeds its fair value by approximately $38.4 million based on the current estimate. This adjustment will modify historical depreciation and amortization expense based on the estimated fair value of property, plant and equipment and definite-lived intangible assets.

The amount of the reorganization value assigned to property, plant and equipment and intangible assets, and the related pro forma calculation of depreciation and amortization expense, are preliminary and subject to the completion of valuations to determine the fair market value of the tangible and intangible assets.

The following tables provide the details on the depreciation and amortization adjustments:

 

     Year ended
December 30,
2012
    Nine months ended
September 29,
2013
 

Estimated GateHouse Successor company depreciation

   $ 18,243      $ 13,682   

Elimination of GateHouse Predecessor company depreciation

     (16,305     (12,944
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total increase in depreciation adjustments

   $ 1,938      $ 738   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

     Year ended
December 30,
2012
    Nine months ended
September 29,
2013
 

Estimated GateHouse Successor company amortization

   $ 7,328      $ 5,496   

Elimination of GateHouse Predecessor company amortization

     (23,583     (17,439
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total decrease in amortization adjustments

   $ (16,255   $ (11,943
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

(i) This adjustment provides the estimated impact of income tax expense or benefit, related to fresh-start accounting adjustments, at an estimated effective tax rate of 39.15% for the Combined Company. Refer to note (f) for tax impacts.

 

(j) Our Predecessor’s existing equity interests outstanding as of the Effective Date were cancelled pursuant to the Plan. New Media issued 30,000,000 shares of New Media Common Stock (par value of $0.01 per share) with a value of $396.3 million, less transaction fees of $7.1 million. The pro forma basic and diluted loss per share for the year ended December 30, 2012 is estimated to be $3.26 and the pro forma basic and diluted loss per share for the nine months ended September 29, 2013 is estimated to be $2.63.

 

     Year ended
December 30, 2012
    Nine months ended
September 29, 2013
 

Pro forma net loss

   $ (97,942   $ (78,812

New Media Common Stock outstanding

     30,000        30,000   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Pro forma earnings per share (amounts in dollars)

   $ (3.26   $ (2.63
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

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In addition, on the Effective Date Former Equity Holders were deemed to have been issued 1,362,479 New Media Warrants with an estimated fair value of $1.0 million and exercisable for shares of New Media Common Stock at a price of $46.35 per share. The New Media Warrants expire ten years from the Effective Date. For further information about the New Media Warrants, refer to note (t) to the unaudited pro forma condensed combined balance sheet.

We did not include any potential shares issuable upon exercise of the Warrants in the diluted loss per share calculation as their effect would have been anti-dilutive to the per share calculations.

Local Media Purchase Accounting and Other Adjustments

(k) Historical results for Local Media reported operating expense, which includes both operating and selling, Local Media Purchase Accounting and Other Adjustments general and administrative expenses. This adjustment allocates expense to both categories to conform to our Predecessor Statement of Operations classification.
(l) In accordance with ASC 805, the purchase price of Local Media is allocated to the fair value of its assets and liabilities. The fair value of its property, plant and equipment exceeded its carrying value as of the acquisition date by approximately $9.4 million and the carrying value of its intangible assets exceeds its fair value by approximately $0.3 million. The unaudited pro forma condensed combined statement of operations reflects the depreciation and amortization adjustment based on the fair value. The pro forma adjustments to depreciation expense include an increase of $3.4 million for the year ended December 30, 2012 and $2.2 million for the nine months ended September 29, 2013. No adjustment was made for amortization expense.
(m) The financing of the Local Media Acquisition included $33.0 million of debt, which matures in September 2018 and has an interest rate of LIBOR, or minimum of 1.00%, plus 6.50%. Financing costs of $1.9 million were incurred related to this financing and will be amortized over the five year term. This adjustment estimates the impact of interest expense and the amortization of deferred financing costs for Local Media. Every 1/8 of a percent change in LIBOR, after the 1.0% minimum is exceeded, would result in a $41,000 change in interest expense.

The following table provides the interest expense and financing fee amortization.

 

     Year ended
December 30,
2012
     Nine months
ended
September 29,
2013
 

Interest expense on Local Media financing at 7.50%

   $ 2,475       $ 1,650   

Deferred financing fees amortized over 5 years

   $ 382       $ 255   

 

(n) This adjustment provides the estimated impact of income tax expense for Local Media at the Combined Company’s estimated effective tax rate of 39.15%.

 

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NEW MEDIA INVESTMENT GROUP AND SUBSIDIARIES Unaudited Pro Forma Condensed Combined Balance Sheet (In thousands)

 

    As of September 29, 2013  
    New Media
Historical
September 29,

2013
    GateHouse
Historical
September 29,

2013
    GateHouse
Effects
of The Plan
Adjustments
    GateHouse
Fresh Start
and Other
Adjustments
    Pro Forma
September 29,

2013
 

Assets

         

Current assets:

         

Cash and cash equivalents

  $   —        $ 19,753      $ (15,920 ) (o)       $ 3,833   

Restricted cash

    —          6,467            6,467   

Accounts receivable, net

    —          63,134            63,134   

Inventory

    —          7,071            7,071   

Prepaid expenses

    —          7,929            7,929   

Other current assets

    —          10,591            10,591   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total current assets

    —          114,945        (15,920     —          99,025   

Property, plant, and equipment, net

    —          178,625          97,063  (v)       275,688   

Goodwill

    —          14,204        1,382  (p)       113,456  (v)       129,042   

Intangible assets, net

    —          113,884          38,434  (v)       152,318   

Deferred financing costs, net

    —          1,891        6,152  (q)         8,043   

Other assets

    —          2,952            2,952   

Assets held for sale

    —          474            474   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total assets

  $ —        $ 426,975      $ (8,386   $ 248,953      $ 667,542   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Liabilities and Stockholders’ (Deficit) Equity

         

Current liabilities:

         

Current portion of long-term liabilities

  $   —        $ 700          $ 700   

Current portion of long-term debt

      609        2,625 (q)         3,234   

Accounts payable

    —          11,948            11,948   

Accrued expenses

    —          35,055          150  (w)       35,205   

Accrued interest

    —          186            186   

Deferred revenue

    —          31,399            31,399   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total current liabilities

    —          79,897        2,625        150        82,672   

Long-term liabilities:

         

Long-term debt

    —          32,391        146,375 (q)         178,766   

Long-term liabilities, less current portion

    —          2,641          (505 ) (w)       2,136   

Pension and other postretirement benefit obligations

    —          14,385          (614 ) (x)       13,771   

Liabilities subject to compromise

    —          1,200,023        (1,200,023 ) (r)         —     
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total liabilities

    —          1,329,337        (1,051,023     (969     277,345   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Stockholders’ Equity (deficit)

         

Common stock

    —          568          (568 ) (y)       —     

Common stock warrants

    —          —          995  (s)       —          995   

Additional paid-in capital

    —          831,369        389,202  (p,t)       (831,369 ) (y)       389,202   

Accumulated other comprehensive loss

    —          (17,241     10,302  (u)       6,939   (y)       —     

Accumulated (deficit) income

    —          (1,771,706     697,096  (u)       1,074,610   (y)       —     

Treasury stock

    —          (310       310   (y)       —     
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total GateHouse Media stockholders’ equity (deficit)

    —          (957,320     1,097,595        249,922        390,197   

Noncontrolling interest

      54,958        (54,958 (p)         —     
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total stockholders’ equity (deficit)

      (902,362     1,042,637        249,922        390,197   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total liabilities and stockholders’ (deficit) equity

  $ —        $ 426,975      $ (8,386   $ 248,953      $ 667,542   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

GateHouse Effects of the Plan Adjustments

(o) This adjustment to Cash and cash equivalents reflects the estimated payment of $9.8 million of additional reorganization related expenses and the estimated payment of $6.2 million of deferred financing fees on the New Credit Facilities.

 

(p)

As part of the Plan, Newcastle has agreed to contribute 100% of the stock of Local Media Parent to New Media as of the Effective Date. The contribution is made to New Media to assign Newcastle’s rights under the stock purchase agreement to which it acquired Local Media as of the Effective Date. Consideration to be

 

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  received by Newcastle will be the New Media Common Stock collectively equal to the cost of the Local Media Acquisition (as adjusted pursuant to the Plan) upon emergence from Chapter 11 on the Effective Date.

The Company will account for the consolidation of Local Media under the purchase method of accounting in accordance with ASC 805. Accordingly, the assets acquired and liabilities assumed will be recorded at their acquisition date fair values. Any excess of the acquisition value over the fair value of assets acquired and liabilities assumed will be allocated to goodwill. The non-controlling interest of $55.0 million will be eliminated and $56.3 million of additional paid in capital and a $1.4 million adjustment to goodwill will be recorded as New Media will obtain controlling financial interest in Local Media as of the Effective Date. Refer to notes (t) and (v) for further information.

The adjustment to goodwill results from New Media’s application of ASC 805 as compared to the previously recognized goodwill recognized by GateHouse upon the consolidation of Local Media on September 3, 2013. As the numbers in the pro forma may change, the allocated goodwill is subject to significant change.

 

(q) The Loan Parties entered into $165.0 million financing facilities (collectively referred to as the “New Credit Facilities”) consisting of:

 

    $40.0 million revolving credit facility (“Revolving Credit Facility”)

 

    $25.0 million first lien credit facility term loan A (“Term Loan A”)

 

    $50.0 million first lien credit facility term loan B (“Term Loan B,” collectively with Term Loan A and the Revolving Credit Facility, the “First Lien Credit Facility”)

 

    $50.0 million second lien term loan credit facility (“Second Lien Credit Facility” and together with the First Lien Credit Facility, the “New Credit Facilities”)

The following table summarizes the amounts drawn as of the Effective Date and the related interest rates. All of the tranches have options for interest at a LIBOR based rate or a prime based rate otherwise referred to as an alternative base rate. The Company selected the use of the LIBOR rate on the Effective Date .

 

     Drawn     

Rate

Revolving Credit Facility

   $ 25,000       LIBOR + 3.25%

Term Loan A

     25,000       LIBOR+ 4.25%, LIBOR floor of 0.75%

Term Loan B

     50,000       LIBOR + 8.0%, LIBOR floor of 0.75%

Second Lien Credit Facility

     50,000       LIBOR + 11.0%

Total drawn on the Effective Date

   $ 150,000      

Principal amounts outstanding under Term Loan A and Term Loan B of the First Lien Credit Facility will be payable in quarterly installments as follows: (I) four consecutive quarterly installments each in the amount of $875,000, commencing on January 1, 2014, (II) four consecutive quarterly installments each in the amount of $1,250,000, commencing on January 1, 2015, and (III) twelve consecutive quarterly installments each in the amount $2,000,000, commencing on January 1, 2016, followed by a final payment of all unpaid principal, accrued and unpaid interest and all unpaid fees and expenses which will be fully due and payable on November 26, 2018. The principal payments will be applied against Term Loan A until fully paid, and then to Term Loan B. The outstanding principal of the Second Lien Credit Facility will be fully due and payable on the maturity date of November 26, 2019. Only interest payments are due under the Second Lien Credit Facility until maturity.

Pursuant to the Plan, holders of the Outstanding Debt who elected to receive New Media Common Stock received their pro rata share of the proceeds of the New Credit Facilities, net of certain transaction expenses. The net proceeds distributed to holders of the Outstanding Debt totaled $149.0 million. The proceeds of additional borrowings of the Revolving Credit Facility under the First Lien Credit Facility after the

Effective Date will be applied towards ongoing working capital needs, general corporate purposes, capital expenditures and potential acquisitions.

 

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In addition, the New Credit Facilities contain customary restrictive covenants, including, but not limited to, restrictions on the ability to incur additional indebtedness, create liens, make investments or specified payments, give guarantees, pay dividends, make capital expenditures and merge or acquire or sell assets with usual and customary exceptions to such limitations.

The New Credit Facilities also contain certain customary events of default, including, without limitation, payment defaults, cross-defaults, breaches of representations and warranties, covenant defaults, certain events of bankruptcy and insolvency, certain customary ERISA events, judgment defaults, change of control and failure of any guaranty or security document supporting the facility to be in full force and effect.

The New Credit Facilities have a Fixed Charge Coverage Ratio, Maximum Leverage Ratio and Minimum EBITDA amounts which must be tested quarterly.

In conjunction with our new borrowings, we incurred approximately $6.2 million of deferred financing fees and approximately $1.0 million in original issuance costs. The deferred financing fees will be amortized on the straight-line method over the lives of the financing facilities as straight-line approximates the effective interest method. The original issuance costs associated with the financing facilities are reflected as a reduction to the carrying value of the debt. The carrying value is accreted up to face value over the term of the debt. The table below details these amounts and the related amortization period:

 

     Total Amounts      Amortization Period  

Deferred financing fees

   $ 6,152         5-6 years   

Original issuance costs

     1,000         5-6 years   
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total

   $ 7,152         5-6 years   
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

 

(r) This adjustment removes historical long-term debt, derivative instruments and accrued interest balances as a result of the Restructuring.

 

(s) Former Equity Holders will receive New Media Warrants representing the right to acquire equity equal to 5.0% of the issued and outstanding shares of New Media as of the Effective Date of the Plan, with the strike price for such warrants calculated based on a total equity value of New Media, prior to the Local Media contribution, of $1.2 billion as of the Effective Date, subject to adjustment. Existing Predecessor equity values will be cancelled under the Plan. The New Media Warrants were valued at $0.73 per share using the Black-Scholes valuation model. Significant assumptions used in determining the fair value of such warrants at issuance included an assumed dividend yield of 6.9%, share price volatility of 41.7% and a risk-free rate of return of 2.7% with a 10 year term. The dividend yield and volatility assumption were based on the implied volatility and historical realized volatility for comparable companies. The risk-free rate assumption was based on 10-year U.S. Treasury bond yields. On the Effective Date, Former Equity Holders were deemed to have been issued 1,362,479 New Media Warrants with a value of $1.0 million.

 

(t) This adjustment reflects the net additional paid in capital resulting from the exchange of approximately $1.2 billion Outstanding Debt at 40% for New Media Common Stock plus the contribution of Local Media, plus the estimated working capital funding provided by Newcastle, less the New Credit Facilities’ net proceeds distributed to Outstanding Debt holders as follows:

 

Exchange by Newcastle of $547.8 million Outstanding Debt acquired other than in the Cash-Out Offer for New Media Common Stock

   $ 219,125   

Exchange by Newcastle of $441.5 million Outstanding Debt acquired in the Cash-Out Offer for New Media Common Stock

     176,615   

Exchange by debtholders other than Newcastle of $215.3 million Outstanding Debt for New Media Common Stock

     86,123   

Contribution by Newcastle of Local Media for New Media Common Stock

     56,339   

Less New Credit Facility net proceeds

     (149,000
  

 

 

 

Total adjustment to additional paid in capital

   $ 389,202   
  

 

 

 

 

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(u) This adjustment reflects the net effect of the transaction related to the consummation of the Plan on our Predecessor’s accumulated deficit and accumulated other comprehensive loss.

The table below provides a summary of the adjustments to accumulated deficit as it pertains to the Plan:

 

Liabilities subject to compromise eliminated:

  

Secured indebtedness of $1,167,450 and accrued interest outstanding of $4,133

   $ 1,171,583   

Derivative instrument liability

     28,440   
  

 

 

 

Total liabilities subject to compromise eliminated

     1,200,023   

Additional allowed claim upon Effective Date

     4,636   

Consideration given:

  

Issuance of New Media common stock

     (332,863

Issuance of New Media warrants

     (995

Issuance of New Credit Facilities, net

     (149,000
  

 

 

 

Gain on extinguishment of debt

     721,801   

OCI derivative instruments

     (10,302

Reorganization expense on allowed claims recorded upon Effective Date

     (4,636

Payments of reorganization expenses related to professional fees, chapter 11 exit costs and bank fees

     (9,767
  

 

 

 

Total adjustment to accumulated deficit

   $ 6 97,096   
  

 

 

 

The adjustment to accumulated other comprehensive loss reflects the elimination of the derivative instruments which will be extinguished pursuant to the Plan.

GateHouse Fresh-Start and Other Adjustments

 

(v) In accordance with ASC 852, the reorganization value of GateHouse is allocated to the fair value of its assets and liabilities (including identifiable intangible assets). The amount of the reorganization value assigned to property, plant and equipment, goodwill and intangible assets is preliminary and subject to the completion of valuations to determine the fair value of the tangible and intangible assets. The reorganization value of assets in excess of amounts allocated to identified tangible and intangible assets will be recorded as Successor company goodwill. See “GateHouse Fresh Start and Other Adjustments” section for the discussion of the valuation of property, plant and equipment and intangible assets and the table below for how goodwill is estimated.

 

Business enterprise value

   $ 489,931   

Less: Transaction fees

     (7,073

Add: Fair value of liabilities excluded from enterprise value

     76,291   

Less: Fair value of tangible assets

     (283,734

Less: Fair value of identified intangible assets

     (148,218
  

 

 

 

Reorganization value of assets in excess of amounts allocated to identified tangible and intangible assets (Successor company goodwill)

   $ 127,197   
  

 

 

 

The remaining portion of the goodwill of $1.8 million represents Local Media goodwill, which is

compromised of $0.4 million in the historical balance as of September 29, 2013 and the Plan

Effect adjustment of $1.4 million. Refer to Note (p) for further discussion on the fair value

allocation of Local Media.

 

(w)

As prescribed in ASC 805, lease arrangements are recognized at fair value as of the Effective Date. This adjustment reflects the amounts estimated to record leases at their fair value. At September 29, 2013, accrued expenses and long-term liabilities, less current portion included $0.2 million and $1.1 million

 

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  related to leases with escalating payment terms. This adjustment eliminates those historical balances. The income approach was used to value the leases. Key assumptions included contract rent (the physical attributes of the lease location, lease commencement date, future rent adjustments, termination dates and relevant option terms), market rent, options, and discount rate. As part of the fresh start valuation, leases were reviewed to determine if terms were favorable or unfavorable. Based on a comparison of contractual lease terms and current market lease rates, eight leases were identified as unfavorable and a $1.0 million liability, $0.4 million current and $0.6 million long term, was recognized.
(x) In accordance with ASC 852, the reorganization value of GateHouse is allocated to the fair value of its assets and liabilities (including pension and post-retirement liabilities). The valuation assumptions were consistent with those used as of December 30, 2012. However, the discount rate for the pension plan is estimated at 4.5%, and the postretirement medical and life plan is estimated at 3.9%. The amount of the reorganization value assigned to pension and post-retirement liabilities is preliminary and subject to the completion of actuarial valuations to determine the fair market value.
(y) Our Predecessor’s stockholders’ deficit accounts have been eliminated in accordance with fresh- start accounting.

 

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MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS

Unless otherwise specified or the context otherwise requires, for purposes of this section under the heading “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations,” references to “we,” “our” “us” and the “Company” mean GateHouse Media, Inc. (“GateHouse,” or our “Predecessor”) and its consolidated subsidiaries.

Certain reclassifications have been made to prior period financial information to conform to the current period classifications. For further information on discontinued operations, see Note 19 to GateHouse’s Consolidated Financial Statements and Note 18 to GateHouse’s Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements.

The following discussion is based on the consolidated financial statements of GateHouse, included in this Prospectus (the “Prospectus”). The following discussion of GateHouse’s financial condition and results of operations should be read in conjunction with this entire Prospectus, including the “Risk Factors” section and GateHouse’s consolidated financial statements and the notes to those statements appearing elsewhere in this Prospectus. The discussion and analysis below includes certain forward-looking statements that are subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors described in “Risk Factors” and elsewhere in this Prospectus that could cause our actual future growth, results of operations, performance and business prospects and opportunities to differ materially from those expressed in, or implied by, such forward-looking statements. See “Cautionary Note Regarding Forward Looking Information.”

Comparability of Information

Our core business performance, as presented in our revenue and our operating and selling, general, and administrative expense amounts, is not anticipated to be materially impacted by the spin-off. However, as a result of the restructuring of GateHouse (the “Restructuring”), all debt, including derivative liabilities and deferred financing assets, was eliminated on November 26, 2013, the effective date (the “Effective Date”) of the pre-packaged plan under Chapter 11 of title 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code (the “Plan”). This resulted in a significant reduction in our interest expense and the elimination of the gain (loss) on derivative instruments and deferred financing amortization. Upon the emergence from bankruptcy, fresh start accounting will lead to changes in the basis of our property, plant and equipment and intangible assets that will impact future depreciation and amortization expense levels. Other significant changes to our financial information include that we expect to become subject to federal and state income taxation and to pay fees to our Manager, as defined below. The impact of these changes is discussed in greater detail within the Unaudited Pro Forma Condensed Combined Financial Information section of this Prospectus.

Overview

We are one of the largest publishers of locally based print and digital media in the United States as measured by number of daily publications. Our business strategy is to be the preeminent provider of local content and advertising in the small and midsize markets we serve. Our portfolio of products, including the acquisition of Local Media Group Inc. (f/k/a Dow Jones Local Media Group, Inc) (“Local Media”), which includes 435 community publications, 353 related websites, 329 mobile sites and six yellow page directories, serves over 128,000 business advertising accounts and reaches approximately 10 million people on a weekly basis.

Our core products include:

 

    86 daily newspapers with total paid circulation of approximately 771,000;

 

    252 weekly newspapers (published up to three times per week) with total paid circulation of approximately 324,000 and total free circulation of approximately 704,000;

 

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    97 “shoppers” (generally advertising-only publications) with total circulation of approximately 1.9 million;

 

    353 locally focused websites and 329 mobile sites, which extend our businesses onto the internet and mobile devices with approximately 96 million page views per month; and

 

    six yellow page directories, with a distribution of approximately 488,000, that covers a population of approximately 1.2 million people.

In addition to our core products, we also opportunistically produce niche publications that address specific local market interests such as recreation, sports, healthcare and real estate.

We were incorporated in Delaware in 1997 for purposes of acquiring a portion of the daily and weekly newspapers owned by American Publishing Company. We accounted for the initial acquisition using the purchase method of accounting.

On May 9, 2005, FIF III Liberty Holdings LLC, an affiliate of Fortress Investment Group LLC (“Fortress”), entered into an Agreement and Plan of Merger with the Company pursuant to which a wholly-owned subsidiary of FIF III Liberty Holdings LLC merged with and into the Company (the “Merger”). The Merger was effective on June 6, 2005, thus at the time making FIF III Liberty Holdings LLC our principal and controlling stockholder at that time. As of September 29, 2013, Fortress beneficially owned approximately 39.6% of our outstanding common stock.

Since 1998, we have acquired 416 daily and weekly newspapers and shoppers and launched numerous new products. We generate revenues from advertising, circulation and commercial printing. Advertising revenue is recognized upon publication of the advertisements. Circulation revenue from subscribers, which is billed to customers at the beginning of the subscription period, is recognized on a straight-line basis over the term of the related subscription. The revenue for commercial printing is recognized upon delivery of the printed product to our customers. Directory revenue is recognized on a straight-line basis over the period in which the corresponding directory is distributed and in use in the market, which is typically 12 months.

Our advertising revenue tends to follow a seasonal pattern, with higher advertising revenue in months containing significant events or holidays. Accordingly, our first quarter, followed by our third quarter, historically are our weakest quarters of the year in terms of revenue. Correspondingly, our second and fourth fiscal quarters, historically, are our strongest quarters. We expect that this seasonality will continue to affect our advertising revenue in future periods.

We have experienced on-going declines in print advertising revenue streams and increased volatility of operating performance, despite our geographic diversity, well-balanced portfolio of products, strong local businesses, broad customer base and reliance on smaller markets. We may experience additional declines and volatility in the future. These recent declines in print advertising revenue that we have experienced are typical in a soft economy. We believe our local advertising tends to be less sensitive to economic cycles than national advertising because local businesses generally have fewer advertising channels through which to reach their target audience. We also believe some of the declines are due to a secular shift from print media to digital media. We are making investments in digital platforms, such as online, mobile and applications, to support our print publications in order to capture this shift as witnessed by our digital advertising revenue growth.

Our operating costs consist primarily of labor, newsprint, and delivery costs. Our selling, general and administrative expenses consist primarily of labor costs.

Compensation represents just over 50% of our operating expenses. Over the last few years, we have worked to drive efficiencies and centralization of work throughout our Company. Additionally, we have taken steps to cluster our operations thereby increasing the usage of facilities and equipment while increasing the productivity of our labor force. We expect to continue to employ these steps as part of our business and clustering strategy.

 

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The Company’s operating segments (Large Community Newspapers, Small Community Newspapers and Directories) are aggregated into one reportable business segment.

Recent Developments

Industry

The newspaper industry and our Company have experienced declining same store revenue and profitability over the past several years. These trends eliminated the availability to GateHouse of additional borrowings under the 2007 Credit Facility, as defined below. As a result, we previously implemented plans to reduce costs and preserve cash flow. This includes the suspension of the payment of cash dividends by GateHouse, the continued implementation of cost reduction and restructuring programs, and the sale of non-core assets. We believe these initiatives, together with the Restructuring described below, will provide the appropriate capital structure and financial resources necessary to invest in the business and ensure our future success and provide sufficient cash flow to enable us to meet our commitments for the next year.

General economic conditions, including declines in consumer confidence, continued high unemployment levels, declines in real estate values, and other trends, have also impacted the markets in which we operate. Additionally, media companies continue to be impacted by the migration of consumers and businesses to an internet and mobile-based, digital medium. These conditions may continue to negatively impact print advertising and other revenue sources as well as increase operating costs in the future, even after an economic recovery. The Company expects that it will have adequate capital resources and liquidity to meet its working capital needs, borrowing obligations and all required capital expenditures for at least the next twelve months.

We periodically perform testing for impairment of goodwill and newspaper mastheads in which the fair value of our reporting units for goodwill impairment testing and individual newspaper mastheads were estimated using the expected present value of future cash flows and recent industry transaction multiples, using estimates, judgments and assumptions, that we believe were appropriate in the circumstances. Should general economic, market or business conditions decline, and have a negative impact on estimates of future cash flow and market transaction multiples, we may be required to record additional impairment charges in the future.

During 2008, our credit rating was downgraded to be rated below-investment grade by both Standard & Poor’s and Moody’s Investors Service and was further downgraded in 2009 and 2010. Any future long-term borrowing or the extension or replacement of our short-term borrowing will reflect the negative impact of these ratings, increase our borrowing costs, limit our financing options and subject us to more restrictive covenants than our existing debt arrangements. Additional downgrades in our credit ratings could further increase our borrowing cost, subject us to more onerous borrowing terms and reduce or eliminate our borrowing flexibility in the future.

Restructuring

On September 4, 2013, GateHouse and its affiliated debtors (the “Debtors”) announced that GateHouse, the Administrative Agent (as defined below), Newcastle Investment Corp. (“Newcastle”) and other lenders (the “Participating Lenders”) under the Amended and Restated Credit Agreement by and among certain affiliates of GateHouse, the Lenders from time to time party thereto and Cortland Products Corp., as administrative agent (the “Administrative Agent”), dated February 27, 2007 (the “2007 Credit Facility”) entered into the Restructuring Support Agreement, effective September 3, 2013, as may be amended, supplemented or modified from time to time (the “Support Agreement”), in which the parties agreed to support, subject to the terms and conditions of the Support Agreement, the Restructuring pursuant to the consummation of the Plan. The Support Agreement relates to the Restructuring of GateHouse’s obligations under the 2007 Credit Facility and certain interest rate swaps secured thereunder (collectively, the “Outstanding Debt”) and GateHouse’s equity pursuant to the Plan.

 

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On September 20, 2013, GateHouse commenced a pre-packaged solicitation of the Plan (the “Solicitation”). Under the Support Agreement, which terminated on the Effective Date, each of the Participating Lenders agreed to (a) support and take any reasonable action in furtherance of the Restructuring, (b) timely vote their Outstanding Debt to accept the Plan and not change or withdraw such vote, (c) support approval of the Disclosure Statement and confirmation of the Plan, as well as certain relief to be requested by Debtors from the Bankruptcy Court, (d) refrain from taking any action inconsistent with the confirmation or consummation of the Plan, and (e) not propose, support, solicit or participate in the formulation of any plan other than the Plan. Holders of Outstanding Debt sufficient to meet the requisite threshold of 67% in amount and majority in number (calculated without including any insider) necessary for acceptance of the Plan under the Bankruptcy Code (“Bankruptcy Threshold Creditors”) voted to accept the Plan in the Solicitation. 100% of the holders of the Outstanding Debt voted to accept the Plan under the terms of the Support Agreement. As a result, Debtors commenced Chapter 11 cases and sought approval of the disclosure statement for the Plan (the “Disclosure Statement”) and confirmation of the Plan therein. The Plan was confirmed by the Bankruptcy Court on November 6, 2013 and GateHouse effected the transactions contemplated by the Plan to emerge from bankruptcy protection on November 26, 2013. On the Effective Date, Newcastle owns 84.6% of New Media’s total equity.

On September 27, 2013, we filed voluntary petitions for relief under Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code, case number 13-12503. On November 6, 2013 the Bankruptcy Court confirmed the Plan. GateHouse effected the transactions contemplated by the Plan and emerged from Chapter 11 protection on November 26, 2013, the Effective Date.

The Plan discharged claims and interests against GateHouse primarily through the (a) issuance of shares of common stock in a new holding company, New Media Investment Group Inc. (“New Media,” and such common stock, “Common Stock”) and/or payment of cash to holders of claims in connection with the 2007 Credit Facility and related interest rate swaps, (b) reinstatement of certain claims, (c) entry into the Management Agreement (as defined below), (d) issuance of warrants by New Media to former equity holders in GateHouse (“Former Equity Holders”) and (e) entry into the New Credit Facilities (as defined below) the net proceeds of which were distributed to holders that elected to receive New Media Common Stock. See “The Spin-Off and Restructuring,” “Restructuring Agreements” and Note 21 to GateHouse’s Consolidated Financial Statements, “Subsequent Events and Going Concern Considerations.”

Pursuant to the Restructuring, Newcastle purchased the Outstanding Debt claims in cash and at 40% of (i) $1,167,449,812.96 of principal of claims under the 2007 Credit Facility, plus (ii) accrued and unpaid interest at the applicable contract non-default rate with respect thereto, plus (iii) all amounts, excluding any default interest, arising from transactions in connection with interest rate swaps secured under the 2007 Credit Facility (the “Cash-Out Offer”) on the Effective Date. The holders of the Outstanding Debt had the option of receiving, in satisfaction of their Outstanding Debt, their pro rata share of the (i) Cash-Out Offer and/or (ii) New Media Common Stock and the net proceeds, if any, of new debt facilities (the “New Credit Facilities”). Newcastle received its pro rata share of New Media Common Stock and the $149,000,000 in net proceeds of the New Credit Facilities for all Outstanding Debt it holds, including Outstanding Debt purchased in the Cash-Out Offer. All pensions, trade and all other unsecured claims will be paid in the ordinary course.

On August 27, 2013, GateHouse entered into a management agreement (the “Local Media Management Agreement”) with and among Local Media Group Holdings LLC (“Local Media Parent”) to manage the operations of its direct subsidiary Local Media. The Company has determined that the Local Media Management Agreement results in Local Media being a variable interest entity (“VIE”) and has consolidated Local Media’s financial position and results of operations from September 3, 2013. On September 3, 2013, Local Media Parent completed its acquisition of thirty three publications from News Corp Inc. Local Media is not part of the bankruptcy filing and will continue to operate in the ordinary course of business.

 

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Upon emergence from Chapter 11, New Media adopted fresh-start reporting in accordance with Accounting Standards Codification Topic 852, “Reorganizations.” Under fresh-start accounting, a new entity is deemed to have been created on the Effective Date for financial reporting purposes and GateHouse’s recorded amounts of assets and liabilities will be adjusted to reflect their estimated fair values. As a result of the adoption of fresh-start accounting, New Media’s reorganized company post-emergence financial statements will generally not be comparable with the financial statements of GateHouse prior to emergence, including the historical financial information in this Prospectus. See “Restructuring Agreements,” “The Spin-Off and Restructuring” and Note 21 to GateHouse’s Consolidated Financial Statements, “Subsequent Events and Going Concern Considerations.”

Critical Accounting Policy Disclosure

The preparation of financial statements in conformity with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”) requires management to make decisions based on estimates, assumptions and factors it considers relevant to the circumstances. Such decisions include the selection of applicable principles and the use of judgment in their application, the results of which could differ from those anticipated. Due to the bankruptcy filing, we have applied debtor-in-possession accounting as described in FASB ASC Topic 852, “ Reorganizations ” (“ASC 852”). The following accounting policies require significant estimates and judgments.

Goodwill and Long-Lived Assets

We assess the potential impairment of goodwill and intangible assets with indefinite lives on an annual basis in accordance with the provisions of the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) Topic 350 “ Intangibles—Goodwill and Other ” (“ASC 350”). We perform our impairment analysis on each of our reporting units, represented by our six regions. The regions have discrete financial information and are regularly reviewed by management. The fair value of the applicable reporting unit is compared to its carrying value. Calculating the fair value of a reporting unit requires us to make significant estimates and assumptions. We estimate fair value by applying third-party market value indicators to projected cash flows and/or projected earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization. In applying this methodology, we rely on a number of factors, including current operating results and cash flows, expected future operating results and cash flows, future business plans, and market data. If the carrying value of the reporting unit exceeds the estimate of fair value, we calculate the impairment as the excess of the carrying value of goodwill over its implied fair value.

We account for long-lived assets in accordance with the provisions of FASB ASC Topic 360, “ Property, Plant and Equipment ” (“ASC 360”). We assess the recoverability of our long-lived assets, including property, plant and equipment and definite lived intangible assets, whenever events or changes in business circumstances indicate the carrying amount of the assets, or related group of assets, may not be fully recoverable. Factors leading to impairment include significant under-performance relative to historical or projected results, significant changes in the manner of use of the acquired assets or the strategy for our overall business and significant negative industry or economic trends. The assessment of recoverability is based on management’s estimates. If undiscounted projected future operating cash flows do not exceed the net book value of the long-lived assets, then a permanent impairment has occurred. We would record the difference between the net book value of the long-lived asset and the fair value of such asset as a charge against income in our consolidated statements of operations if such a difference arose.

The fair values of our reporting units for goodwill impairment testing and individual newspaper mastheads are estimated using the expected present value of future cash flows, recent industry transaction multiples and using estimates, judgments and assumptions that management believes are appropriate in the circumstances.

The sum of the fair values of the reporting units are reconciled to our current market capitalization (based upon the stock market price) plus an estimated control premium.

 

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Significant judgment is required in determining the fair value of our goodwill and long-lived assets to measure impairment, including the determination of multiples of revenue and Adjusted EBITDA and future earnings projections. The estimates and judgments that most significantly affect the future cash flow estimates are assumptions related to revenue, and in particular, potential changes in future advertising (including the impact of economic trends and the speed of conversion of advertising and readership to online products from traditional print products); trends in newsprint prices; and other operating expense items.

We performed annual impairment testing of goodwill and indefinite lived intangible assets during the second quarter of 2012, 2011 and 2010. Additionally, we performed impairment testing of goodwill and indefinite lived intangibles during the first quarter of 2012 and the fourth quarter of 2011 due to operational management changes. As a result, impairment charges related to goodwill were recorded in fiscal 2012 and 2011, see additional information in Note 5 to GateHouse’s Consolidated Financial Statements “Goodwill and Intangible Assets.”

Newspaper mastheads (newspaper titles and website domain names) are not subject to amortization and are tested for impairment annually, or more frequently if events or changes in circumstances indicate that the asset might be impaired. The impairment test consists of a comparison of the fair value of each group of mastheads with their carrying amount. We used a relief from royalty approach which utilizes a discounted cash flow model to determine the fair value of each newspaper masthead. Our judgments and estimates of future operating results in determining the reporting unit fair values are consistently in determining the fair value of mastheads. We performed impairment tests on newspaper mastheads as of July 1, 2012, April 1, 2012, January 1, 2012, June 26, 2011 and June 30, 2010. See Note 5 to GateHouse’s Consolidated Financial Statements, “Goodwill and Intangible Assets,” for a discussion of the impairment charges taken.

Intangible assets subject to amortization (primarily advertiser and subscriber lists) are tested for recoverability whenever events or change in circumstances indicate that their carrying amounts may not be recoverable. The carrying amount of each asset group is not recoverable if it exceeds the sum of the undiscounted cash flows expected to result from the use of such asset group. We performed impairment tests on long lived assets (including intangible assets subject to amortization) as of July 1, 2012, June 26, 2011 and June 30, 2010. See Note 5 to the Consolidated Financial Statements, “Goodwill and Intangible Assets,” for a discussion of the impairment charges taken.

The newspaper industry and our Company have experienced declining same store revenue and profitability over the past several years. Should general economic, market or business conditions decline, and have a negative impact on estimates of future cash flow and market transaction multiples, we may be required to record additional impairment charges in the future.

Derivative Instruments

We record all of our derivative instruments on our balance sheet at fair value pursuant to FASB ASC Topic 815, “ Derivatives and Hedging ” (“ASC 815”) and FASB ASC Topic 820 “ Fair Value Measurements and Disclosures ” (“ASC 820”). Fair value is based on counterparty quotations adjusted for our credit related risk. Our derivative instruments are measured using significant unobservable inputs and they represent all liabilities measured at fair value. To the extent a derivative qualifies as a cash flow hedge under ASC 815, unrealized changes in the fair value of the derivative are recognized in accumulated other comprehensive income. However, any ineffective portion of a derivative’s change in fair value is recognized immediately in earnings. Fair values of derivatives are subject to significant variability based on market conditions, such as future levels of interest rates. This variability could result in a significant increase or decrease in our accumulated other comprehensive income and/or earnings but will generally have no effect on cash flows, provided the derivative is carried through to full term. We also assess the capabilities of our counterparties to perform under the terms of the contracts. A change in the assessment could have an impact on the accounting and economics of our derivatives.

 

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Revenue Recognition

Advertising revenue is recognized upon publication of the advertisement. Circulation revenue from subscribers is billed to customers at the beginning of the subscription period and is recognized on a straight-line basis over the term of the related subscription. Circulation revenue from single copy sales is recognized at the time of sale. Revenue for commercial printing is recognized upon delivery. Directory revenue is recognized on a straight-line basis over the period in which the corresponding directory is distributed.

Income Taxes

We account for income taxes under the provisions of FASB ASC Topic 740, “ Income Taxes ” (“ASC 740”). Under this method, deferred tax assets and liabilities are determined based on the difference between the financial statement and tax bases of assets and liabilities using tax rates in effect for the year in which the differences are expected to affect taxable income. The assessment of the realizability of deferred tax assets involves a high degree of judgment and complexity. Valuation allowances are established when necessary to reduce deferred tax assets to the amounts that are expected to be realized. When we determine that it is more likely than not that we will be able to realize our deferred tax assets in the future in excess of our net recorded amount, an adjustment to the deferred tax asset would be made and reflected either in income or as an adjustment to goodwill. This determination will be made by considering various factors, including our expected future results, that in our judgment will make it more likely than not that these deferred tax assets will be realized.

FASB issued Interpretation No. 48, “Accounting for Uncertainty in Income Taxes , an interpretation of SFAS No. 109 ” (“FIN 48”) and now codified as ASC 740. ASC 740 prescribes a comprehensive model for how a company should recognize, measure, present and disclose in its financial statements uncertain tax positions that a company has taken or expects to take on a tax return. Under ASC 740, the financial statements will reflect expected future tax consequences of such positions presuming the taxing authorities’ full knowledge of the position and all relevant facts, but without considering time values.

Pension and Postretirement Liabilities

FASB ASC Topic 715, “ Compensation—Retirement Benefits ” (“ASC 715”) requires recognition of an asset or liability in the consolidated balance sheet reflecting the funded status of pension and other postretirement benefit plans such as retiree health and life, with current-year changes in the funded status recognized in the statement of stockholders’ equity.

The determination of pension plan obligations and expense is based on a number of actuarial assumptions. Two critical assumptions are the expected long-term rate of return on plan assets and the discount rate applied to pension plan obligations. For other postretirement benefit plans, which provide for certain health care and life insurance benefits for qualifying retired employees and which are not funded, critical assumptions in determining other postretirement benefit obligations and expense are the discount rate and the assumed health care cost-trend rates.

Our only pension plan has assets valued at $18.2 million and the plans benefit obligation is $27.1 million resulting in the plan being 67% funded.

To determine the expected long-term rate of return on pension plan’s assets, we consider the current and expected asset allocations, as well as historical and expected returns on various categories of plan assets, input from the actuaries and investment consultants, and long-term inflation assumptions. We used an assumption of 7.75% for its expected return on pension plan assets for 2012. If we were to reduce its rate of return by 50 basis points then the expense for 2012 would have increased approximately $0.1 million.

 

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We developed our discount rate for our other postretirement benefit plans using the same methodology as that described for the pension. The assumed health care cost-trend rate also affects other postretirement benefit liabilities and expense. A 100 basis point increase in the health care cost trend rate would result in an increase of approximately $0.4 million in the December 30, 2012 postretirement benefit obligation and a 100 basis point decrease in the health care cost trend rate would result in a decrease of approximately $0.4 million in the December 30, 2012 postretirement benefit obligation.

Self-Insurance Liability Accruals

We maintain self-insured medical and workers’ compensation programs. We purchase stop loss coverage from third parties which limits our exposure to large claims. We record a liability for healthcare and workers’ compensation costs during the period in which they occur as well as an estimate of incurred but not reported claims.

 

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Results of Operations

The following table summarizes our historical results of operations for the following periods.

GATEHOUSE MEDIA, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations

(In thousands, except share and per share data)

 

    Three
Months
Ended
September 29,
2013
    Three
Months
Ended
September 30,
2012
    Nine
Months
Ended
September 29,
2013
    Nine
Months
Ended
September 30,
2012
    Year Ended
December 30,
2012
    Year Ended
January 1,
2012 (1)
    Year Ended
December 31,
2010
 
    (Unaudited)                    
                (In Thousands, Except Per Share Data)  

Statement of Operations Data:

             

Revenues:

             

Advertising

  $ 79,009      $ 80,140      $ 229,569      $ 246,010      $ 330,881      $ 357,134      $ 385,579   

Circulation

    36,857        33,165        102,370        98,279        131,576        131,879        133,192   

Commercial printing and other

    10,126        6,675        24,233        18,872        26,097        25,657        25,967   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total revenues

    125,992        119,980        356,172        363,161        488,554        514,670        544,738   

Operating costs and expenses:

             

Operating costs

    70,826        66,316        200,824        202,644        268,222        281,884        296,974   

Selling, general and administrative

    42,532        35,004        121,254        107,059        145,020        146,295        154,516   

Depreciation and amortization

    10,747        9,802        30,383        30,006        39,888        42,426        45,080   

Integration and reorganization costs

    422        1,597        1,380        3,457        4,393        5,884        2,324   

Impairment of long-lived assets

    91,599        —          91,599        —          —          1,733        430   

(Gain) loss on sale of assets

    9        379        1,052        534        1,238        455        1,551   

Goodwill and mastheads impairment

    —          —          —          —          —          385        —     
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Operating income (loss)

    (90,143     6,882        (90,320     19,461        29,793        35,608        43,863   

Interest expense

    40,627        14,500        69,513        43,497        57,928        58,309        60,021   

Amortization of deferred financing costs

    281        314        803        994        1,255        1,360        1,360   

(Gain) loss on derivative instruments

    4        5        14        (1,639     (1,635     (913     8,277   

Other (income) expense

    (3     7        1,005        (33     (85     (395     (138

Reorganization items, net

    9,843        —          9,843        —          N/A        N/A        N/A   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Loss from continuing operations before income taxes

    (140,895     (7,944     (171,498     (23,358     (27,670     (22,753     (25,657

Income tax expense (benefit)

    (10,878     (250     (10,878     (207     (207     (1,803     (155
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Loss from continuing operations

  $ (130,017   $ (7,694   $ (160,620   $ (23,151   $ (27,463   $ (20,950   $ (25,502

 

(1) The year ended January 1, 2012 included a 53 rd week of operations for approximately 60% of the business.

 

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Three Months Ended September 29, 2013 Compared To Three Months Ended September 30, 2012

Revenue . Total revenue for the three months ended September 29, 2013 increased by $6.0 million, or 5.0%, to $126.0 million from $120.0 million for the three months ended September 30, 2012. The increase in total revenue was comprised of a $1.1 million, or 1.4%, decrease in advertising revenue which was offset by a $3.7 million, or 11.1%, increase in circulation revenue and a $3.4 million, or 51.7%, increase in commercial printing and other revenue. Advertising revenue includes an additional $5.8 million from Local Media in 2013 while total company excluding Local Media (“Gatehouse Standalone”) declines were $6.9 million or 8.7%. Advertising revenue declines were primarily driven by declines on the print side of our business in the local retail and classified categories, which were partially offset by growth in digital advertising. The local retail print declines reflect both secular pressures and a continuing uncertain and weak economic environment. These secular trends and economic conditions have also led to a decline in our print circulation volumes which have been primarily offset by price increases in certain locations. Our circulation revenue was also impacted by approximately $0.5 million for a net to gross accounting change at two of our larger locations. The increase in circulation revenue was primarily due to circulation revenue from Local Media of $3.7 million. The increase in commercial printing and other revenue was primarily due to commercial printing and other revenue from Local Media of $2.5 million as well as increases in our small business marketing services within GateHouse Media Ventures. GateHouse Ventures is an operating subsidiary of GateHouse that develops high-growth business ventures that leverage GateHouse resources and access to local markets to expand the local services we offer, while also expanding our geographic reach. Propel Marketing, our digital marketing solutions company, is the primary business in GateHouse Ventures.

Operating Costs. Operating costs for the three months ended September 29, 2013 increased by $4.5 million, or 6.8%, to $70.8 million from $66.3 million for the three months ended September 30, 2012. The increase in operating costs was primarily due to operating costs of Local Media of $7.9 million, which was partially offset by a decrease in GateHouse Standalone compensation expenses, newsprint expenses, and professional and consulting fees of $1.5 million, $1.3 million, and $1.0 million, respectively. These decreases are the result of permanent cost reductions as we continue to work to consolidate operations and improve the productivity of our labor force.

Selling, General and Administrative. Selling, general and administrative expenses for the three months ended September 29, 2013 increased by $7.5 million, or 21.5%, to $42.5 million from $35.0 million for the three months ended September 30, 2012. The increase in selling, general and administrative expenses was primarily due to selling, general and administrative expenses of Local Media of $4.4 million and an increase in GateHouse Standalone outside services and compensation expenses of $2.9 million and $0.2 million. The increase in outside services is primarily from legal expenses of $2.6 million related to reorganization costs.

Depreciation and Amortization. Depreciation and amortization expense for the three months ended September 29, 2013 increased by $0.9 million to $10.7 million from $9.8 million for the three months ended September 30, 2012. Depreciation and amortization expense increased due to depreciation expense of Local Media of $0.9 million.

Integration and Reorganization Costs. During the three months ended September 29, 2013 and September 30, 2012, we recorded integration and reorganization costs of $0.4 million and $1.6 million, respectively, primarily resulting from severance costs related to the continued consolidation of our operations resulting from our ongoing implementation of our plans to reduce costs and preserve cash flow.

Impairment of Long-Lived Assets. During the three months ended September 29, 2013 we incurred a charge of $91.6 million related to the impairment on our advertiser relationships, subscriber relationships, customer relationships and other intangible assets due to reductions in our operating projections within our various reporting units. There were no such charges during the three months ended September 30, 2012.

Interest Expense. Interest expense for the three months ended September 29, 2013 increased by $26.1 million to $40.6 million from $14.5 million for the three months ended September 30, 2012, which primarily

 

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resulted from the reclassifications out of accumulated other comprehensive income related to the write off of the derivative instruments due to the termination of the swap agreements of $26.3 million.

Reorganization Costs, Net. During the three months ended September 29, 2013, we recorded reorganization costs, net of $9.8 million, which was comprised of credit agreement amendment fees of $6.8 million, the adjustment of the fair value of the swaps to the allowed claim value in the amount of $2.0 million, the write-off of deferred financing costs of $1.0 million, and bankruptcy fees of $0.1 million.

Income Tax Benefit. Income tax benefit for the three months ended September 29, 2013 was $10.9 million compared to $0.3 million for the three months ended September 30, 2012. The change of $10.5 million was primarily due to the tax effect of the current year’s termination of derivative agreements.

Net Loss from Continuing Operations. Net loss from continuing operations for the three months ended September 29, 2013 and September 30, 2012 was $130.0 million and $7.7 million, respectively. Our net loss from continuing operations increased due to the factors noted above.

Nine months Ended September 29, 2013 Compared To Nine months Ended September 30, 2012

Revenue . Total revenue for the nine months ended September 29, 2013 decreased by $7.0 million, or 1.9%, to $356.2 million from $363.2 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2012. The decrease in total revenue was comprised of a $16.4 million, or 6.7%, decrease in advertising revenue which was offset by a $4.0 million, or 4.2%, increase in circulation revenue and a $5.4 million, or 28.4%, increase in commercial printing and other revenue. Advertising revenue includes $5.8 million from Local Media in 2013 while Gatehouse Standalone declines were $22.3 million or 9.1%. Advertising revenue declines were primarily driven by declines on the print side of our business in the local retail and classified categories, which were partially offset by growth in digital advertising. The local retail print declines reflect both secular pressures and a continuing uncertain and weak economic environment. These secular trends and economic conditions have also led to a decline in our print circulation volumes which have been slightly offset by price increases in certain locations. Our circulation revenue was also impacted by approximately $1.4 million for a net to gross accounting change at two of our larger locations. The increase in circulation revenue was primarily due to circulation revenue from Local Media of $3.7 million. The increase in commercial printing and other revenue was primarily due to commercial printing and other revenue from growth of our small business marketing services within GateHouse Media Ventures combined with Local Media commercial print and other revenue of $2.5 million.

Operating Costs. Operating costs for the nine months ended September 29, 2013 decreased by $1.8 million, or 0.9%, to $200.8 million from $202.6 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2012. The decrease in operating costs was primarily due to a decrease in Gatehouse Standalone compensation expenses, newsprint expenses, professional and consulting fees, supplies, travel expenses, and repairs and maintenance expenses of $5.6 million, $3.5 million, $3.1 million, $0.8 million, $0.4 million, and $0.4 million, respectively. These decreases in operating costs were partially offset by operating costs of Local Media of $7.9 million and an increase in outside services of $4.5 million. These decreases are the result of permanent cost reductions as we continue to work to consolidate operations and improve the productivity of our labor force.

Selling, General and Administrative. Selling, general and administrative expenses for the nine months ended September 29, 2013 increased by $14.2 million, or 13.3%, to $121.3 million from $107.1 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2012. The increase in selling, general and administrative expenses was primarily due to an increase in GateHouse Standalone outside services, compensation expenses, and professional and consulting fees of $8.6 million, $0.8 million, and $0.5 million, respectively. The increase in selling, general and administrative expenses also includes selling, general and administrative expenses of Local Media of $4.4 million. The increase in outside services is primarily from legal expenses of $6.5 million related to reorganization costs.

 

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Depreciation and Amortization. Depreciation and amortization expense for the nine months ended September 29, 2013 increased by $0.4 million to $30.4 million from $30.0 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2012. Depreciation and amortization expense increased due to depreciation expense of Local Media of $0.9 million, which was offset by a reduction in depreciation expense due to the sale and disposal of assets.

Integration and Reorganization Costs. During the nine months ended September 29, 2013 and September 30, 2012, we recorded integration and reorganization costs of $1.4 million and $3.5 million, respectively, primarily resulting from severance costs related to the continued consolidation of our operations resulting from our ongoing implementation of our plans to reduce costs and preserve cash flow.

Impairment of Long-Lived Assets. During the nine months ended September 29, 2013 we incurred a charge of $91.6 million related to the impairment on our advertiser relationships, subscriber, customer relationships and other intangible assets relationships due to reductions in our operating projections within our various reporting units. There were no such charges during the nine months ended September 30, 2012.

Interest Expense. Interest expense for the nine months ended September 29, 2013 increased by $26.0 million to $69.5 million from $43.5 million for the three months ended September 30, 2012, which primarily resulted from the reclassifications out of accumulated other comprehensive income related to the write off of the derivative instruments due to the termination of the swap agreements of $26.3 million.

(Gain) Loss on Derivative Instruments. During the nine months ended September 30, 2012, we recorded a net gain on derivative instruments of $1.6 million, which was comprised of reclassifications of accumulated other comprehensive income amortization related to swaps terminated in 2008 that were partially offset by the impact of the ineffectiveness of our remaining swap agreements. The accumulated other comprehensive income reclassification for swaps terminated in 2008 was fully amortized in 2012 and the 2013 loss on derivative instruments relates only to the ineffectiveness of our remaining swaps.

Reorganization Costs, Net. During the nine months ended September 29, 2013, we recorded reorganization costs, net of $9.8 million, which was comprised of credit agreement amendment fees of $6.8 million, the adjustment of the fair value of the swaps to the allowed claim value in the amount of $2.0 million, the write-off of deferred financing costs of $1.0 million, and bankruptcy fees of $0.1 million.

Income Tax Benefit. Income tax benefit for the nine months ended September 29, 2013 was $10.9 million compared to $0.2 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2012. The change of $10.6 million was primarily due to the tax effect of the current year’s termination of derivative agreements.

Net Loss from Continuing Operations. Net loss from continuing operations for the nine months ended September 29, 2013 and September 30, 2012 was $160.6 million and $23.2 million, respectively. Our net loss from continuing operations increased due to the factors noted above.

Year Ended December 30, 2012 Compared To Year Ended January 1, 2012

Comparisons to the prior year were impacted by two factors around the number of days in the reporting period. First, there was a 53 rd week in 2011 for approximately 60% of the business already on a 52 week (5-4-4 quarterly) reporting cycle. Also in 2011, the remaining 40% of the Company changed its reporting cycle from a calendar year to a 52 week reporting cycle in order to be consistent with the rest of the Company. We estimate the 53 rd week in 2011 resulted in $4.8 million of revenue and $3.8 million of operating and selling, general and administrative expense. Comparisons below have not been adjusted for this calendar change.

Revenue . Total revenue for the year ended December 30, 2012 decreased by $26.1 million, or 5.1%, to $488.6 million from $514.7 million for the year ended January 1, 2012. The difference between same store revenue and GAAP revenue for the current period is immaterial, therefore, revenue discussions will be limited to

 

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GAAP results. The decrease in total revenue was comprised of a $26.3 million, or 7.4%, decrease in advertising revenue and a $0.3 million, or 0.2%, decrease in circulation revenue which was partially offset by a $0.4 million, or 1.7%, increase in commercial printing and other revenue. Advertising revenue declines were primarily driven by declines on the print side of our business in the local retail and classified categories, which were partially offset by growth in digital advertising. The local retail print declines reflect both secular pressures and an uncertain and weak economic environment. These secular trends and economic conditions have also led to a decline in our print circulation volumes which have been offset by price increases in select locations. Our circulation revenue was also impacted by approximately $1.5 million for a net to gross accounting change due to a change from a carrier to a distributor model at one of our largest locations. The $0.4 million increase in commercial printing and other revenue is primarily the result of the launch of our small business marketing services and the stabilizing of our commercial printing operations during 2012.

Operating Costs.  Operating costs for the year ended December 30, 2012 decreased by $13.7 million, or 4.8%, to $268.2 million from $281.9 million for the year ended January 1, 2012. The decrease in operating costs was primarily due to a decrease in compensation expenses, newsprint and ink, delivery and utility expenses of $12.4 million, $6.5 million, $3.3 million and $0.8 million, respectively, which were partially offset by an increase in outside services of $9.0 million. This decrease is the result of permanent cost reductions as we continue to work to consolidate operations and improve the productivity of our labor force.

Selling, General and Administrative Expenses.  Selling, general and administrative expenses for the year ended December 30, 2012 decreased by $1.3 million, or 0.9%, to $145.0 million from $146.3 million for the year ended January 1, 2012. The decrease in selling, general and administrative expenses was primarily due to a decrease in compensation of $1.6 million. We expect that the majority of these reductions will be permanent in nature.

Depreciation and Amortization.  Depreciation and amortization expense for the year ended December 30, 2012 decreased by $2.5 million to $39.9 million from $42.4 million for the year ended January 1, 2012. The decrease in depreciation and amortization expense was primarily due to the sale and disposal of assets in 2011 and 2012, which reduced depreciation expense.

Integration and Reorganization Costs. During the years ended December 30, 2012 and January 1, 2012, we recorded integration and reorganization costs of $4.4 million and $5.9 million, respectively, primarily resulting from severance costs related to the consolidation of certain print and other operations.

Impairment of Long-Lived Assets. During the year ended January 1, 2012 we incurred an impairment charge of $1.7 million related to the consolidation of our print operations and property, plant and equipment which were classified as held for sale. There were no such charges during the year ended December 30, 2012.

Goodwill and Mastheads Impairment. During the year ended January 1, 2012, we recorded a $0.4 million impairment on our goodwill due to an operational management change in the fourth quarter of 2011 which transferred a goodwill balance of $0.4 million to a reporting unit that previously did not have a goodwill balance. A similar operational change occurred in the first quarter of 2012 and resulted in a $0.2 million impairment that was subsequently reclassified to discontinued operations.

Interest Expense.  Total interest expense for the year ended December 30, 2012 decreased by $0.4 million, or 0.7%, to $57.9 million from $58.3 million for the year ended January 1, 2012. The decrease was due to declines in interest rates and their related impact on the unhedged position or our debt and a slight decrease in our total outstanding debt.

(Gain) Loss on Derivative Instruments.  During the years ended December 30, 2012 and January 1, 2012, we recorded a net gain of $1.6 million and $0.9 million, respectively, which was comprised of reclassifications of accumulated other comprehensive income amortization related to swaps terminated in 2008 that were partially offset by the impact of the ineffectiveness of our remaining swap agreements.

 

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Income Tax Benefit.  During the year ended December 30, 2012, we recorded an income tax benefit of $0.2 million due to a reduction in uncertain tax positions which was partially offset by a tax expense due to the elimination of the tax effect related to the expiration of a previously terminated swap that could be fully recognized for tax purposes in the current year. During the year ended January 1, 2012, we recorded an income tax benefit of $1.8 million primarily due to the elimination of the tax effect related to the expiration of a previously terminated swap that could be fully recognized for tax purposes in the current year.

Net Loss from Continuing Operations.  Net loss from continuing operations for the year ended December 30, 2012 was $27.5 million. Net loss from continuing operations for the year ended January 1, 2012 was $21.0 million. Our net loss from continuing operations increased due to the factors noted above.

Year Ended January 1, 2012 Compared To Year Ended December 31, 2010

Comparisons to the prior year were impacted by two factors around the number of days in the reporting period. First, there was a 53 rd week in 2011 for approximately 60% of the business already on a 52 week (5-4-4 quarterly) reporting cycle. Also in 2011, the remaining 40% of the Company changed its reporting cycle from a calendar year to a 52 week reporting cycle in order to be consistent with the rest of the Company, which resulted in a one additional day for the year. The discussion of our results of operations that follows is based upon our historical results of operations for the years ended January 1, 2012 and December 31, 2010.

Revenue . Total revenue for the year ended January 1, 2012 decreased by $30.0 million, or 5.5%, to $514.7 million from $544.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2010. The difference between same store revenue and GAAP revenue for the current period is immaterial, therefore, revenue discussions will be limited to GAAP results. We estimate the impact of the 53 rd week to be $4.8 million on total revenue, comparisons below have not been adjusted for this impact. The decrease in total revenue was comprised of a $28.4 million, or 7.4%, decrease in advertising revenue, a $1.3 million, or 1.0%, decrease in circulation revenue and a $0.3 million, or 1.2%, decrease in commercial printing and other revenue. Advertising revenue declines were primarily driven by declines on the print side of our business in the local retail and classified categories which were partially offset by growth in digital. The print declines reflect an uncertain economic environment, which continued to put pressure on our local advertisers. These economic conditions have also led to a decline in our circulation volumes which have been partially offset by price increases in select locations. Our circulation revenue was also impacted by approximately $0.5 million for a net to gross accounting change implemented at the beginning of the fourth quarter of 2011 at one of our largest locations which puts it more in line with the Company as a whole. The decrease in commercial printing and other revenue was due to declines in printing projects as a result of continued weak economic conditions as well as the strategic closure of certain of our print facilities.

Operating Costs.  Operating costs for the year ended January 1, 2012 decreased by $15.1 million, or 5.1%, to $281.9 million from $297.0 million for the year ended December 31, 2010. The decrease in operating costs was primarily due to a decrease in compensation, newsprint and ink, delivery and postage expenses of $9.4 million, $2.6 million, $1.8 million and $0.8 million, respectively. The majority of these decreases were the result of permanent cost reductions and were implemented as we continue to work to consolidate operations and improve the productivity of our labor force. We estimate the impact of the 53 rd week to be $3.8 million on operating costs and selling, general and administrative expenses.

Selling, General and Administrative Expenses.  Selling, general and administrative expenses for the year ended January 1, 2012 decreased by $8.2 million, or 5.3%, to $146.3 million from $154.5 million for the year ended December 31, 2010. The decrease in selling, general and administrative expenses was primarily due to a decrease in compensation of $10.4 million offset by an increase in professional and consulting fees of $2.0 million. The majority of the decrease in compensation relates to permanent cost reductions, which continue to be implemented as we consolidate operations and improve the productivity of our labor force. We believe the majority of these reductions are also permanent in nature.

 

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Depreciation and Amortization.  Depreciation and amortization expense for the year ended January 1, 2012 decreased by $2.7 million to $42.4 million from $45.1 million for the year ended December 31, 2010. The decrease in depreciation and amortization expense was primarily due to the sale and disposal of assets in 2010 and 2011, which reduced depreciation expense.

Integration and Reorganization Costs. During the years ended January 1, 2012 and December 31, 2010, we recorded integration and reorganization costs of $5.9 million and $2.3 million, respectively, primarily resulting from severance costs related to the consolidation of certain print operations.

Impairment of Long-Lived Assets. During the year ended January 1, 2012 we incurred an impairment charge of $1.7 million related to the consolidation of certain print operations and property, plant and equipment which were classified as held for sale. There was a $0.4 million of long-lived asset impairment charge during the year ended December 31, 2010.

Goodwill and Mastheads Impairment. During the year ended January 1, 2012, we recorded a $0.4 million impairment on our goodwill due to an operational management change in the fourth quarter of 2011 which transferred a goodwill balance of $0.4 million to a reporting unit that previously did not have a goodwill balance. There were no such charges during the year ended December 31, 2010.

Interest Expense.  Total interest expense for the year ended January 1, 2012 decreased by $1.7 million, or 2.9%, to $58.3 million from $60.0 million for the year ended December 31, 2010. The decrease was due to declines in interest rates and their related impact on the unhedged position or our debt and a slight decrease in our total outstanding debt.

(Gain) Loss on Derivative Instruments.  During the years ended January 1, 2012 and December 31, 2010, we recorded a net gain of $0.9 million and a net loss of $8.3 million, respectively, comprised of accumulated other comprehensive income amortization related to swaps terminated in 2008 partially offset by the impact of the ineffectiveness of our remaining swap agreements.

Income Tax Benefit. Income tax benefit for the year ended January 1, 2012 was $1.8 million compared to $0.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2010. The change of $1.6 million was primarily due to the elimination of the tax effect related to the expiration of a previously terminated swap that could be fully recognized for tax purposes in the current year.

Net Loss from Continuing Operations.  Net loss from continuing operations for the year ended January 1, 2012 was $21.0 million. Net loss from continuing operations for the year ended December 31, 2010 was $25.5 million. Our net loss from continuing operations decreased due to the factors noted above.

Liquidity and Capital Resources

The following represents the liquidity and capital resources disclosure of GateHouse. New Media’s primary cash requirements and cash flows are expected to be comparable to GateHouse, except that as a result of the Restructuring, New Media and its subsidiaries have significantly less leverage and therefore substantially less interest and debt servicing expenses.

Our primary cash requirements are for working capital, debt obligations and capital expenditures. We have no material outstanding commitments for capital expenditures. We expect our 2013 capital expenditure to total approximately $5.0 million. Historically, we had significant long term debt and debt service obligations that do not remain following the Restructuring. For more information on our previous long term debt and debt service obligations, see Note 8 of GateHouse’s Consolidated Financial Statements and Note 10 to GateHouse’s Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements. Our principal sources of funds have historically been, and are expected to continue to be, cash provided by operating activities.

 

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As a holding company, we have no operations of our own and accordingly we have no independent means of generating revenue, and our internal sources of funds to meet our cash needs, including payment of expenses, are dividends and other permitted payments from our subsidiaries.

In the future, we expect to fund our operations through cash provided by operating activities, the incurrence of debt or the issuance of additional equity securities. The Company expects that it will have adequate capital resources and liquidity to meet its working capital needs, borrowing obligations and all required capital expenditures for at least the next twelve months. We expect our 2013 capital expenditure to total approximately $5.0 million.

Our leverage may adversely affect our business and financial performance and restricts our operating flexibility. The level of our indebtedness and our on-going cash flow requirements may expose us to a risk that a substantial decrease in operating cash flows due to, among other things, continued or additional adverse economic developments or adverse developments in our business, could make it difficult for us to meet the financial and operating covenants contained in our credit facilities. In addition, our leverage may limit cash flow available for general corporate purposes such as capital expenditures and our flexibility to react to competitive, technological and other changes in our industry and economic conditions generally.

Local Media Credit Facility

Certain of Local Media’s subsidiaries (together, the “Borrowers”) and Local Media entered into a Credit Agreement, dated as of September 3, 2013, with a syndicate of financial institutions with Credit Suisse AG, Cayman Islands Branch, as administrative agent (the “Local Media Credit Facility”).

The Local Media Credit Facility provided for: (a) a $33 million term loan facility that matures on September 4, 2018; and (b) a $10 million revolving credit facility (subject to the activation condition that Credit Suisse Loan Funding LLC (“CS”), as lead arranger, assigns the revolving loan commitment to an unaffiliated lender), with a $3 million sub-limit for letters of credit and a $4 million sub-limit for swing loans, that matures on September 4, 2018. On October 25, 2013, CS assigned the revolving loan commitment to Capital One Business Corp and the revolving credit facility was activated.

Borrowings under the Local Media Credit Facility bear interest, at the borrower’s option, equal to the LIBOR Rate (as defined in the Local Media Credit Facility) plus 6.5% per annum for a LIBOR Rate Loan (as defined in the Local Media Credit Facility), or the Base Rate (as defined in the Local Media Credit Facility) plus 5.5% per annum for a Base Rate Loan (as defined in the Local Media Credit Facility). Under the revolving credit facility, the Borrowers will also pay a monthly commitment fee of 0.75% per annum on the unused portion of the revolving credit facility and a fee of 6.0% on the aggregate amount of outstanding letters of credit. No principal payments are due on the revolving credit facility until the maturity date. Principal payments are due on the term loan facility as follows: (a) $203,125 at the end of each fiscal quarter beginning with the fiscal quarter ending December 31, 2013 until the fiscal quarter ending September 30, 2015; and (b) $406,250 beginning with the fiscal quarter ending December 31, 2015 and at the end of each fiscal quarter thereafter. The Borrowers are required to prepay borrowings under the Local Media Credit Facility in amounts and under circumstances as set forth in the Local Media Credit Facility.

The Local Media Credit Facility imposes upon Local Media certain financial and operating covenants, including, among others, requirements that Local Media satisfy certain financial tests, including a total leverage ratio and a minimum fixed charge coverage ratio, and restriction on Local Media’s ability to incur debt, pay dividends or take other corporate actions. As of September 29, 2013, Local Media was in compliance with all applicable covenants and could draw on the revolving facility if it chose to do so.

 

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Cash Flows

Nine Months Ended September 29, 2013 Compared to Nine Months Ended September 30, 2012

The following table summarizes our historical cash flows for the periods presented.

 

     Nine months ended
September 29, 2013
    Nine months ended
September 30, 2012
 

Cash (used in) provided by operating activities

   $ (9,737   $ 24,222   

Cash used in investing activities

     (2,499     (2,014

Cash used in financing activities

     (2,538     4,600   

The discussion of our cash flows that follows is based on our historical cash flows for the nine months ended September 29, 2013 and September 30, 2012.

Cash Flows from Operating Activities. Net cash used in operating activities for the nine months ended September 29, 2013 was $9.7 million, a decrease of $33.9 million when compared to $24.2 million of cash provided by operating activities for the nine months ended September 30, 2012. This $33.9 million decrease was the result of an increase in net loss of $136.4 million and an increase in cash provided by working capital of $8.2 million, which was offset by an increase in non-cash charges of $110.7 million.

The $8.2 million increase in cash provided by working capital for the nine months ended September 29, 2013 when compared to the nine months ended September 30, 2012 is primarily attributable to an increase in prepaid, account receivable and accrued expenses.

The $110.7 million increase in non-cash charges primarily consisted of an increase in impairment of long-lived assets of $89.5 million, an increase in non-cash interest expense related to the termination of derivative instruments of $26.3 million, non-cash reorganization cost, net of $3.0 million, an increase in loss on derivative instruments of $1.7 million, and an increase in loss on sale of assets of $1.6 million. These increases were partially offset by an increase in the tax benefit of $10.3 million related to the termination of derivative agreements, a decrease in pension and other postretirement benefit obligations of $0.4 million, a decrease in depreciation and amortization of $0.3 million, a decrease in goodwill impairment included in discontinued operations of $0.2 million, and a decrease in amortization of deferred financing costs of $0.2 million.

Cash Flows from Investing Activities. Net cash used in investing activities for the nine months ended September 29, 2013 was $2.5 million. During the nine months ended September 29, 2013, we used $3.2 million for capital expenditures, which was offset by $0.7 million we received from the sale of publications and other assets.

Net cash used in investing activities for the nine months ended September 30, 2012 was $2.0 million. During the nine months ended September 30, 2012, we used $2.8 million for capital expenditures, which was offset by $0.8 million we received from the sale of real property and insurance proceeds.

Cash Flows from Financing Activities. Net cash used by financing activities for the nine months ended September 29, 2013 was $2.5 million. The net cash provided by financing activities resulted from additional paid-in capital of $4.1 million related to the VIE Local Media which was offset by a $6.6 million repayment under the 2007 Credit Facility, as amended.

Net cash used in financing activities for the nine months ended September 30, 2012 was $4.6 million due to a repayment under the 2007 Credit Facility, as amended.

Changes in Financial Position

The discussion that follows highlights significant changes in our financial position and working capital from December 30, 2012 to September 29, 2013.

 

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Accounts Receivable. Accounts receivable increased $8.4 million from December 30, 2012 to September 29, 2013, due to $14.3 million addition related to Local Media during the first nine months of 2013, which was partially offset by the timing of cash collections and lower revenue recognized in the 2013 nine month period compared to 2012.

Inventory. Inventory increased $1.1 million from December 30, 2012 to September 29, 2013, which primarily relates to the Local Media consolidation during the first nine months of 2013.

Prepaid Expenses. Prepaid expenses increased $2.1 million from December 30, 2012 to September 29, 2013, which primarily relates to the Local Media consolidation during the first nine months of 2013.

Property, Plant, and Equipment. Property, plant, and equipment increased $62.1 million during the period from December 30, 2012 to September 29, 2013, of which $73.8 million relates to the Local Media consolidation in the third quarter of 2013 and $3.2 million that was used for capital expenditures. These increases in property, plant, and equipment were partially offset by $12.9 of depreciation and $1.9 million related to assets sold and discontinued operations.

Intangible Assets. Intangible assets decreased $105.1 million from December 30, 2012 to September 29, 2013, of which $91.6 million relates to an impairment charge, $17.5 relates to amortization and $0.1 million relates to discontinued operations, which was offset by $4.1 million from the Local Media consolidation in the third quarter of 2013.

Current Portion of Long-term Debt. Current portion of long-term debt decreased $6.0 million from December 30, 2012 to September 29, 2013, due to a $6.6 million principal payment as required by the 2007 Credit Facility, as amended, which represented 50% of the Excess Cash Flow related to the fiscal year ended December 30, 2012, which was offset by $0.6 million in borrowings under the Local Media Credit Facility.

Accounts Payable. Accounts payable increased $2.6 million from December 30, 2012 to September 29, 2013, of which $1.3 million relates to Local Media consolidation during the first nine months of 2013 and $1.9 million primarily relates to the timing of vendor payments, which was partially offset by $0.7 million from the disposal of a non wholly owned subsidiary in Chicago, Illinois.

Accrued Expenses. Accrued expenses increased $8.8 million from December 30, 2012 to September 29, 2013, which primarily resulted from $5.4 million from the consolidation of Local Media during the first nine months of 2013 and $3.1 million due to payroll related expenses.

Accrued Interest. Accrued interest decreased $4.5 million from December 30, 2012 to September 29, 2013, which primarily resulted from a reclassification of the 2007 Credit Facility and derivative instrument accrued interest to liabilities subject to compromise in connection with the bankruptcy filing.

Long-term Debt. Long-term debt decreased $1,135.1 million from December 30, 2012 to September 29, 2013, of which $1,167.5 million resulted from a reclassification of the 2007 Credit Facility to liabilities subject to compromise in connection with the bankruptcy filing, which was offset by $32.4 million in borrowings under the Local Media Credit Facility.

Derivative Instruments. Derivative instrument liability decreased $45.7 million from December 30, 2012 to September 29, 2013, of which $19.3 million was due to changes in the fair value measurement of our interest rate swaps and $28.4 million resulted from a reclassification of the derivative instrument liability to liabilities subject to compromise in connection with the bankruptcy filing, which was offset by an increase in the fair value of the derivative instruments of $2.0 million.

 

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Accumulated Other Comprehensive Loss. Accumulated other comprehensive loss decreased $35.4 million from December 30, 2012 to September 29, 2013, of which $26.3 million resulted from a release of accumulated other comprehensive loss related to the termination of the derivative agreements and $19.3 resulted from the change in fair value of the interest rate swaps. These decreases were offset by an increase in the tax benefit of $10.3 million related to the termination of derivative agreements.

Accumulated Deficit. Accumulated deficit increased $160.8 million from December 30, 2012 to September 29, 2013, due to a net loss.

Non Controlling Interest. Non controlling interest increased $57.2 million from December 30, 2012 to September 29,2013 due to $55.8 million of equity related to the consolidation of Local Media, which was partially offset by $2.2 million related to the disposal of a non wholly owned subsidiary and $0.8 million of net loss from Local Media.

Year Ended December 30, 2012 Compared to Year Ended January 1, 2012 and Year Ended January 1, 2012 Compared to Year Ended December 31, 2010

The following table summarizes our historical cash flows for the periods presented.

 

     Year Ended
December 30,
2012
    Year Ended
January 1,
2012
    Year Ended
December 31,
2010
 
     (in thousands)  

Cash provided by operating activities

   $ 23,499      $ 22,439      $ 26,453   

Cash used in investing activities

     (1,044     (731     (624

Cash used in financing activities

     (7,140     (11,249     (22,010

Cash Flows from Operating Activities. Net cash provided by operating activities for the year ended December 30, 2012 was $23.5 million. The net cash provided by operating activities resulted from a depreciation and amortization of $40.6 million, a net increase in cash provided by working capital of $10.3 million, an impairment of long-lived assets of $2.1 million, a $1.3 million loss on the sale of assets, amortization of deferred financing costs of $1.2 million, a goodwill impairment charge of $0.2 million, and non-cash compensation of $0.1 million, partially offset by a net loss of $29.8 million, a gain of $1.6 million on derivative instruments, and an increase funding of pension and other post-retirement obligations of $0.9 million. The increase in cash provided by working capital primarily resulted from a decrease in prepaid expenses related to a newsprint pricing agreement that required a prepayment of $10 million in fiscal 2011. No such prepayment was required in fiscal 2012.

Net cash provided by operating activities for the year ended January 1, 2012 was $22.4 million. The net cash provided by operating activities resulted from a depreciation and amortization of $43.4 million, an impairment of long-lived assets of $2.1 million, amortization of deferred financing costs of $1.4 million, a $0.8 million loss on the sale of assets, non-cash compensation of $0.5 million, a goodwill impairment charge of $0.4 million, partially offset by a net loss of $21.6 million, an increase funding of pension and other post-retirement obligations of $1.9 million, a net decrease in cash provided by working capital of $1.6 million, and a gain of $0.9 million on derivative instruments. The decrease in cash provided by working capital primarily resulted from a decrease in accrued expenses and an increase in prepaid expenses related to a newsprint pricing agreement that allowed for fixed pricing in 2012 below market rates from December 31, 2010 to January 1, 2012 offset by a decrease in accounts receivable and an increase in accounts payable.

Net cash provided by operating activities for the year ended December 31, 2010 was $26.5 million. The net cash provided by operating activities resulted from a depreciation and amortization of $46.1 million, a loss of $8.3 million on derivative instruments, non-cash compensation of $1.7 million, a $1.5 million loss on the sale of assets, amortization of deferred financing costs of $1.4 million, an impairment of long-lived assets of $0.8 million, partially offset by a net loss of $26.0 million, a net decrease in cash provided by working capital of $6.0 million, an increase funding of pension and other post-retirement obligations of $1.4 million. The decrease in

 

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cash provided by working capital primarily resulted from an increase in prepaid expenses related to a newsprint pricing agreement that allowed for fixed pricing in 2011 below market rates from December 31, 2009 to December 31, 2010.

Cash Flows from Investing Activities. Net cash used in investing activities for the year ended December 30, 2012 was $1.0 million. During the year ended December 30, 2012, we used $4.6 million for capital expenditures, which was offset by $3.6 million received from the sale of publications, other assets and insurance proceeds.

Net cash used in investing activities for the year ended January 1, 2012 was $0.7 million. During the year ended January 1, 2012, we used $3.3 million for capital expenditures, which was offset by $2.6 million received from the sale of publications, other assets and insurance proceeds.

Net cash used in investing activities for the year ended December 31, 2010 was $0.6 million. During the year ended December 31, 2010, we used $4.8 million for capital expenditures, which was offset by $4.2 million received from the collection of a receivable due from a previous real estate sale and the sale of other real property.

Cash Flows from Financing Activities. Net cash used in financing activities for the year ended December 30, 2012 was $7.1 million due to repayments under the 2007 Credit Facility.

Net cash used in financing activities for the year ended January 1, 2012 was $11.2 million due to a repayment under the 2007 Credit Facility.

Net cash used in financing activities for the year ended December 31, 2010 was $22.0 million, which primarily resulted from a $2.5 million repayment under the 2007 Credit Facility, the repurchase of subsidiary preferred stock of $11.5 million and an $8.0 million repayment under the 2008 Bridge Facility.

Changes in Financial Position

The discussion that follows highlights significant changes in our financial position and working capital from December 30, 2012 to January 1, 2012.

Accounts Receivable. Accounts receivable decreased $4.5 million from January 1, 2012 to December 30, 2012, which relates to the timing of cash collections and lower revenue recognized in 2012 compared to 2011. An additional $1.4 million relates to assets sold during the current year.

Prepaid Expenses. Prepaid expenses decreased $9.7 million from January 1, 2012 to December 30, 2012, due to a $10.0 million prepayment during the year ended January 1, 2012 which related to a newsprint pricing agreement that allowed for fixed pricing in 2012 at below market rates. The pricing agreement for fiscal 2013 did not require a prepayment at December 30, 2012.

Property, Plant, and Equipment. Property, plant, and equipment decreased $14.4 million during the period from January 1, 2012 to December 30, 2012, of which $16.6 million relates to depreciation and $2.3 million relates to assets sold and held for sale, which was partially offset by $4.6 million that was used for capital expenditures.

Goodwill. Goodwill decreased $0.2 million from January 1, 2012 to December 30, 2012, due to an impairment charge included in income (loss) from discontinued operations.

Intangible Assets. Intangible assets decreased $27.7 million from January 1, 2012 to December 30, 2012, due to amortization of $24.0 million, $1.9 million due to an impairment of assets sold during the current year, which is included in income (loss) from discontinued operations, and $1.8 million which was sold during the current year.

Others Assets. Other assets increased $0.7 million from January 1, 2012 to December 30, 2012, due to an investment in joint ventures where our ownership is less than 10%.

 

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Long-term Assets Held for Sale. Long-term assets held for sale decreased $0.5 million from January 1, 2012 to December 30, 2012, due to proceeds of $0.3 million and a $0.2 million impairment of assets classified as held for sale as of January 1, 2012. Assets held for sale as of December 30, 2012 consist of real estate in Winter Haven, FL.

Current Portion of Long-term Debt. Current portion of long-term debt increased $2.0 million from January 1, 2012 to December 30, 2012 due to an increase in the estimated payment as required by the 2007 Credit Facility, which represented 50% of the Excess Cash Flow related to the year ended December 30, 2012. This amount increased from $4.6 million at January 1, 2012 to $6.6 million at December 30, 2012.

Accounts Payable. Accounts payable increased $1.2 million from January 1, 2012 to December 30, 2012, which was primarily attributable to the timing of vendor payments.

Accrued Interest. Accrued interest increased $1.8 million from January 1, 2012 to December 30, 2012, which was primarily attributable to the timing of interest payments.

Long-term Debt. Long-term debt decreased $9.2 million from January 1, 2012 to December 30, 2012 due to a $6.6 million reclassification to current portion of long-term debt of a principal payment due in 2013 as required by the 2007 Credit Facility, which represented 50% of the Excess Cash Flow related to the year ended December 30, 2012 and a $2.5 million repayment under the 2007 Credit Facility from the proceeds of the sale of our Suburban Chicago publications.

Derivative Instruments. Derivative instrument liability decreased $5.9 million from January 1, 2012 to December 30, 2012, due to changes in the fair value measurement of our interest rate swaps.

Accumulated Other Comprehensive Loss. Accumulated other comprehensive loss decreased $1.7 million from January 1, 2012 to December 30, 2012, which resulted from the change in fair value of the interest rate swaps of $5.9 million, which was offset by a $2.6 million change to the Company’s pension and post retirement plans, a gain on derivative instruments due to amortization of $1.6 million, and a $0.1 million reclassification of income tax benefit from accumulated other comprehensive loss.

Accumulated Deficit. Accumulated deficit increased $30.3 million from January 1, 2012 to December 30, 2012, due to a net loss of $29.8 million.

Indebtedness

As part of the Restructuring, our previous long term debt was extinguished pursuant to the Support Agreement on the Effective Date of the Plan.

The Revolving Credit, Term Loan and Security Agreement (the “First Lien Credit Facility”) dated November 26, 2013 by and among GateHouse, GateHouse Media Intermediate Holdco, Inc. (“GMIH”), certain wholly-owned subsidiaries of GMIH (collectively with GMIH and GateHouse, the “Loan Parties”), PNC Bank, National Association, as the administrative agent, Crystal Financial LLC, as term loan B agent, and each of the lenders party thereto provides for (i) a term loan A in the aggregate principal amount of $25,000,000, a term loan B in the aggregate principal amount of $50,000,000, and a revolving credit facility in an aggregate principal amount of up to $40,000,000 (of which $25,000,000 was funded on the Effective Date). Borrowings under the First Lien Credit Facility bear interest at a rate per annum equal to (i) with respect to the revolving credit facility, the applicable Revolving Interest Rate (as defined the First Lien Credit Agreement), (ii) with respect to the term loan A, the Term Loan A Rate (as defined in the First Lien Credit Agreement), and (iii) with respect to the term loan B, the Term Loan B Rate (as defined in the First Lien Credit Agreement). Amounts outstanding under the term loans and revolving credit facility will be fully due and payable on November 26, 2018.

The Term Loan and Security Agreement (the “Second Lien Credit Facility” and together with the First Lien Credit Facility, the “New Credit Facilities”) dated November 26, 2013 by and among the Loan Parties, Mutual

 

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Quest Fund and each of the lenders party thereto provides for a term loan in an aggregate principal amount of $50,000,000. Borrowings under the Second Lien Credit Facility bear interest, at the Loan Parties’ option, equal to (1) the LIBOR Rate (as defined in the Second Lien Credit Facility) plus 11.00% or (2) the Alternate Base Rate (as defined in the Second Lien Credit Facility) plus 10.00%. The outstanding principal will be fully due and payable on the maturity date of November 26, 2019.

Pursuant to the Plan, holders of the Outstanding Debt who elected to receive New Media Common Stock received their pro rata share of the Proceeds of the New Credit Facilities, net of certain transaction expenses (the “Net Proceeds”). The Net Proceeds distributed to holders of the Outstanding Debt totaled $149,000,000. The proceeds of additional drawings of the revolving credit facility under the First Lien Credit Facility after the Effective Date will be applied towards ongoing working capital needs, general corporate purposes, capital expenditures and potential acquisitions.

New Media distributed to each holder of New Media Common Stock, including Newcastle on account of the Cash-Out Offer, its pro rata share of the 149,000,000 in Net Proceeds of the New Credit Facilities net of certain transaction costs. GateHouse’s entry into the New Credit Facilities was not a condition to the effectiveness of the Plan.

The Local Media Credit Facility provides for a $33 million senior secured term loan, which was funded on September 3, 2013, and a senior secured asset-based revolving credit facility in an aggregate principal amount of up to $10 million, whose full availability was activated on October 25, 2013 as a result of the accession of Capital One Business Credit Corp. as a lender thereunder and as the replacement administrative and collateral agent for Credit Suisse AG, Cayman Islands Branch. Borrowings under the Dow Jones Credit Facility bear interest, at the Borrower’s option, equal to (i) the LIBOR Rate (as defined in the Dow Jones Credit Facility Credit Agreement) plus the LIBOR Rate Margin (i.e., 6.50% per annum) or (ii) Base Rate (as defined in the Dow Jones Credit Facility Credit Agreement) plus the Base Rate Margin (i.e., 5.50% per annum). Repayments of principal are due in an amount of $203,125 per quarter for each completed fiscal quarter through September 30, 2015 and repayments of principal are due in an amount of $406,250 per quarter for each completed fiscal quarter starting December 31, 2015, with the remaining balance of principal becoming fully due and payable on the maturity date of September 4, 2018.

The Local Media Credit Facility imposes upon Local Media certain financial and operating covenants, including, among others, requirements that Local Media satisfy certain financial tests, including a total leverage ratio and a minimum fixed charge coverage ratio, and restriction on Local Media’s ability to incur debt, pay dividends or take other corporate actions. As of September 29, 2013, Local Media was in compliance with all applicable covenants and could draw on the revolving facility if it chose to do so.

Summary Disclosure About Contractual Obligations and Commercial Commitments

The following table reflects a summary of our contractual cash obligations, including estimated interest payments where applicable, as of December 30, 2012:

 

     2013      2014      2015      2016      2017      Thereafter      Total  
     (In Thousands)  

2007 Credit Facility (1)

   $ 63,324       $ 1,204,780       $ —         $ —         $ —         $ —         $ 1,268,104   

Noncompete payments

     421         286         250         200         200         200         1,557   

Operating lease obligations

     4,640         4,616         3,447         2,523         2,203         2,551         19,980   

Letters of credit

     5,182         —           —           —           —           —           5,182   
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total

   $ 73,567       $ 1,209,682       $ 3,697       $ 2,723       $ 2,403       $ 2,751       $ 1,294,823   
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

 

(1) Pursuant to the Restructuring, the 2007 Credit Facility was extinguished on the Effective Date.

 

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The table above excludes future cash requirements for pension and postretirement obligations. The periods in which these obligations will be settled in cash are not readily determinable and are subject to numerous future events and assumptions. We estimate cash requirements for these obligations in 2013 totaling approximately $1,577. See Note 13 of the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements, “Pension and Postretirement Benefits,” included herein.

We do not have any off-balance sheet arrangements reasonably likely to have a current or future effect on our financial statements.

Contractual Commitments

Credit Amendment

On or around September 4, 2013, GateHouse and certain Lenders (including Newcastle) constituting the “Required Lenders” under the 2007 Credit Agreement entered into Amendment Agreement to the 2007 Credit Agreement effective September 3, 2013 ( the “Credit Amendment”). Pursuant to the terms of the Credit Amendment, GateHouse obtained the following improvement in terms: a clarified and expanded definition of “Eligible Assignee”; an increase in the base amount in the formula used to calculate the “Permitted Investments” basket from $35 million to a base of $50 million; the removal of the requirement that GateHouse’s annual financial statements not have a “going concern” or like qualification to the audit; the removal of a cross default from any Secured Hedging Agreement to the 2007 Credit Agreement; the removal of a Bankruptcy Default, as defined therein, arising from actions in furtherance of or indicating consent to the specified actions; and a waiver of any prior Default or Event of Default, as defined therein, including without limitation from the negotiation, entry into, or performance of the Restructuring Support Agreement or the Investment Commitment Letter.

In consideration of the changes described above, GateHouse agreed to pay each of the Lenders party to the Credit Amendment that timely executed and delivered its signature to the Credit Amendment and the Restructuring Support Agreement, an amendment fee equal to 3.5% multiplied by the aggregate outstanding amount of the Loans held (including through trades pending settlement) by such Lender, unless waived in writing. Newcastle and certain other Lenders elected to waive their amendment fee pursuant to the Credit Amendment. Newcastle indemnified other Lenders with respect to their entry into the Credit Amendment, subject to the limitations set forth in the Credit Amendment.

Derivative Instruments

The bankruptcy filing on September 27, 2013, was a termination event under our interest rate swap agreements.

No other material changes were made to our contractual commitments during the period from December 30, 2012 to September 29, 2013.

Recently Issued Accounting Pronouncements

In July 2012, the FASB Accounting Standard Update (“ASU”) 2012-02, “Intangibles-Goodwill and Other (Topic 350): Testing Indefinite-Lived Intangible Assets for Impairment.” The amendments in this update allow companies the option to perform a qualitative assessment to determine whether it is more likely than not that an indefinite-lived intangible asset is impaired. An entity is not required to calculate the fair value of an indefinite-lived intangible asset and perform the quantitative impairment test unless the entity determines that it is more likely than not the asset is impaired. The changes to the ASC as a result of this update are effective for annual and interim impairment test performed for fiscal years beginning after September 15, 2012. The adoption of ASU No. 2012-02 did not have a material effect on the Company’s Consolidated Financial Statements.

 

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In February 2013, the FASB issued ASC Update No. 2013-02 “Comprehensive Income Reporting of Amounts Reclassified Out of Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income (Topic 220),” which amends ASC Topic 220. The amendments require an entity to provide information about the amounts reclassified out of accumulated other comprehensive income (“AOCI”) by component. In addition an entity is required to present either on the face of the Statement of Income or in the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements significant amounts reclassified out of AOCI and should be provided by the respective line items of net income but only if the amount reclassified is required under GAAP to be reclassified in its entirety to net income in the same reporting period. For other amounts that are not required under GAAP to be reclassified in their entirety to net income, an entity is required to cross-reference to other disclosures require under GAAP that provide additional detail about these amounts. The changes to the ASC as a result of this updated guidance became effective for annual and interim reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2012. The adoption of ASU No. 2013-02 did not have a material effect on GateHouse’s Consolidated Financial Statements.

Non-GAAP Financial Measures

A non-GAAP financial measure is generally defined as one that purports to measure historical or future financial performance, financial position or cash flows, but excludes or includes amounts that would not be so adjusted in the most comparable GAAP measure. In this Prospectus, we define and use Adjusted EBITDA, a non-GAAP financial measure, as set forth below.

Adjusted EBITDA

We define Adjusted EBITDA as follows:

Income (loss) from continuing operations before :

 

    Income tax expense (benefit);

 

    interest/financing expense;

 

    depreciation and amortization; and

 

    non-cash impairments.

Management’s Use of Adjusted EBITDA

Adjusted EBITDA is not a measurement of financial performance under GAAP and should not be considered in isolation or as an alternative to income from operations, net income (loss), cash flow from continuing operating activities or any other measure of performance or liquidity derived in accordance with GAAP. We believe this non-GAAP measure, as we have defined it, is helpful in identifying trends in our day-to-day performance because the items excluded have little or no significance on our day-to-day operations. This measure provides an assessment of controllable expenses and affords management the ability to make decisions which are expected to facilitate meeting current financial goals as well as achieve optimal financial performance. We believe that it also provides an indicator for management to determine if adjustments to current spending decisions are needed.

Adjusted EBITDA provides us with a measure of financial performance, independent of items that are beyond the control of management in the short-term, such as depreciation and amortization, taxation and interest expense associated with our capital structure. This metric measures our financial performance based on operational factors that management can impact in the short-term, namely the cost structure or expenses of the organization. Adjusted EBITDA is one of the metrics used by senior management and GateHouse’s Board of Directors to review the financial performance of the business on a monthly basis.

 

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Limitations of Adjusted EBITDA

Adjusted EBITDA has limitations as an analytical tool. It should not be viewed in isolation or as a substitute for GAAP measures of earnings or cash flows. Material limitations in making the adjustments to our earnings to calculate Adjusted EBITDA and using this non-GAAP financial measure as compared to GAAP net income (loss), include: the cash portion of interest/financing expense, income tax (benefit) provision and charges related to gain (loss) on sale of facilities represent charges (gains), which may significantly affect our financial results.

Readers of our financial statements may find this item important in evaluating our performance, results of operations and financial position. We use non-GAAP financial measures to supplement our GAAP results in order to provide a more complete understanding of the factors and trends affecting our business.

Adjusted EBITDA is not an alternative to net income, income from operations or cash flows provided by or used in operations as calculated and presented in accordance with GAAP. Readers of our financial statements should not rely on Adjusted EBITDA as a substitute for any such GAAP financial measure. We strongly urge readers of our financial statements to review the reconciliation of income (loss) from continuing operations to Adjusted EBITDA, along with our Consolidated Financial Statements included elsewhere in this Prospectus. We also strongly urge readers of our financial statements to not rely on any single financial measure to evaluate our business. In addition, because Adjusted EBITDA is not a measure of financial performance under GAAP and is susceptible to varying calculations, the Adjusted EBITDA measure, as presented in this Prospectus, may differ from and may not be comparable to similarly titled measures used by other companies.

We use Adjusted EBITDA as a measure of our core operating performance, which is evidenced by the publishing and delivery of news and other media and excludes certain expenses that may not be indicative of our core business operating results. We consider the unrealized (gain) loss on derivative instruments and the (gain) loss on early extinguishment of debt to be financing related costs associated with interest expense or amortization of financing fees. Accordingly, we exclude financing related costs such as the early extinguishment of debt because they represent the write-off of deferred financing costs and we believe these non-cash write-offs are similar to interest expense and amortization of financing fees, which by definition are excluded from Adjusted EBITDA. Additionally, the non-cash gains (losses) on derivative contracts, which are related to interest rate swap agreements to manage interest rate risk, are financing costs associated with interest expense. Such charges are incidental to, but not reflective of, our core operating performance and it is appropriate to exclude charges related to financing activities such as the early extinguishment of debt and the unrealized (gain) loss on derivative instruments which, depending on the nature of the financing arrangement, would have otherwise been amortized over the period of the related agreement and does not require a current cash settlement.

 

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The table below shows the reconciliation of loss from continuing operations to Adjusted EBITDA for the periods presented (amounts in thousands):

 

    Three
Months
Ended
September
29, 2013
    Three
Months
Ended
September
30, 2012
    Nine
Months
Ended
September
29, 2013
    Nine
Months
Ended
September
30, 2012
    Year
Ended
December 30,
2012
    Year
Ended
January 1,
2012 (l)
    Year
Ended
December 31,
2010
    Year
Ended
December 31,
2009
    Year
Ended
December 31,
2008
 

Loss from continuing operations

  $ (130,017   $ (7,694   $ (160,620   $ (23,151   $ (27,463   $ (20,950   $ (25,502   $ (510,815   $ (658,144

Income tax expense (benefit)

    (10,878     250        (10,878     (207     (207     (1,803     (155     342        (21,139

(Gain) loss on derivative instruments (j)

    4        5        14        (1,639     (1,635     (913     8,277        12,672        10,119   

Gain on early extinguishment of debt (k)

    —          —          —          —          —          —          —          (7,538     —     

Amortization of deferred financing costs

    281        314        803        994        1,255        1,360        1,360        1,360        1,845   

Write-off of financing costs

    —          —          —          —          —          —          —          743        —     

Interest expense

    40,627        14,500        69,513        43,497        57,928        58,309        60,021        64,615        88,625   

Impairment of long-lived assets

    91,599        —          91,599        —          —          1,733        430        193,041        123,717   

Depreciation and amortization

    10,747        9,802        30,383        30,006        39,888        42,426        45,080        54,237        69,897   

Goodwill and mastheads impairment

    —          —          —          —          —          385        —          273,914        487,744   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Adjusted EBITDA from continuing operations

  $ 2,362 (a)     $ 16,677 (b)     $ 20,814 (c)     $ 49,500 (d)     $ 69,766 (e)     $ 80,547 (f)     $ 89,511 (g)     $ 82,571 (h)     $ 102,664 (i)  
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

(a) Adjusted EBITDA for the three months ended September 29, 2013 included net expenses of $14,777, which are one-time in nature or non-cash compensation. Included in these net expenses of $14,777 is non-cash compensation and other expense of $14,735, non-cash portion of postretirement benefits expense of $(392), integration and reorganization costs of $422 and a $9 loss on the sale of assets.

 

(b) Adjusted EBITDA for the three months ended September 30, 2012 included net expenses of $3,205, which are one-time in nature or non-cash compensation. Included in these net expenses of $3,205 is non-cash compensation and other expense of $1,417, non-cash portion of postretirement benefits expense of $(188), integration and reorganization costs of $1,597 and a $379 loss on the sale of assets.

 

     Adjusted EBITDA also does not include $428 from our discontinued operations.

 

(c) Adjusted EBITDA for the nine months ended September 29, 2013 included net expenses of $22,419, which are one-time in nature or non-cash compensation. Included in these net expenses of $22,419 is non-cash compensation and other expense of $20,807, non-cash portion of postretirement benefits expense of $(820), integration and reorganization costs of $1,380 and a $1,053 loss on the sale of assets.

 

(d) Adjusted EBITDA for the nine months ended September 30, 2012 included net expenses of $7,684, which are one-time in nature or non-cash compensation. Included in these net expenses of $7,684 is non-cash compensation and other expense of $4,125, non-cash portion of postretirement benefits expense of $(432), integration and reorganization costs of $3,457 and a $534 loss on the sale of assets.

 

     Adjusted EBITDA also does not include $593 from our discontinued operations.

 

(e) Adjusted EBITDA for the year ended December 30, 2012 included net expenses of $11,009, which are one time in nature or non-cash compensation. Included in these net expenses of $11,009 are non-cash compensation and other expenses of $6,274, non-cash portion of post-retirement benefits expense of $(896), integration and reorganization costs of $4,393 and a $1,238 loss on the sale of assets.

 

     Adjusted EBITDA also does not include $255 of EBITDA generated from our discontinued operations.

 

(f) Adjusted EBITDA for the year ended January 1, 2012 included net expenses of $9,461, which are one time in nature or non-cash compensation. Included in these net expenses of $9,461 are non-cash compensation and other expenses of $4,226, non-cash portion of post-retirement benefits expense of $(1,104), integration and reorganization costs of $5,884 and an $455 loss on the sale of assets.

 

     Adjusted EBITDA also does not include $432 of EBITDA generated from our discontinued operations.

 

(g) Adjusted EBITDA for the year ended December 31, 2010 included net expenses of $8,231, which are one time in nature or non-cash compensation. Included in these net expenses of $8,231 are non-cash compensation and other expenses of $5,005, non-cash portion of post-retirement benefits expense of $(649), integration and reorganization costs of $2,324 and a $1,551 loss on the sale of assets.

 

     Adjusted EBITDA also does not include $463 of EBITDA generated from our discontinued operations.

 

(h) Adjusted EBITDA for the year ended December 31, 2009 included net expenses of $9,289, which are one time in nature or non-cash compensation. Included in these net expenses of $9,289 are non-cash compensation and other expenses of $8,632, non-cash portion of post-retirement benefits expense of $(782), integration and reorganization costs of $1,857 and a $418 gain on the sale of assets.

 

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     Adjusted EBITDA also does not include $(855) of EBITDA generated from our discontinued operations.

 

(i) Adjusted EBITDA for the year ended December 31, 2008 included net expenses of $24,487, which are one time in nature or non-cash compensation. Included in these net expenses of $24,487 are non-cash compensation and other expenses of $18,638, non-cash portion of post-retirement benefits expense of $(1,499), integration and reorganization costs of $7,011 and $337 loss on the sale of assets.

 

     Adjusted EBITDA also does not include $4,663 of EBITDA generated from our discontinued operations.

 

(j) Non-cash (gain) loss on derivative instruments is related to interest rate swap agreements which are financing related and are excluded from Adjusted EBITDA.

 

(k) Non-cash write-off of deferred financing costs are similar to interest expense and amortization of financing fees and are excluded from Adjusted EBITDA.

 

(l) The year ended January 1, 2012 included a 53 rd week of operations for approximately 60% of the business.

Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures about Market Risk

We are exposed to market risk from changes in interest rates and commodity prices. Changes in these factors could cause fluctuations in earnings and cash flow. In the normal course of business, exposure to certain of these market risks is managed as described below.

Interest Rates

On August 18, 2008, we terminated interest rate swaps with a total notional amount of $570.0 million. At December 30, 2012, after consideration of the interest rate swaps described below, $570.0 million of the remaining principal amount of our term loans are subject to floating interest rates.

Our debt structure and interest rate risks are managed through the use of floating rate debt and interest rate swaps. Our primary exposure is to LIBOR. A 100 basis point change in LIBOR would change our income from continuing operations before income taxes on an annualized basis by approximately $5.6 million, based on average pro forma floating rate debt outstanding during 2012, after consideration of the interest rate swaps of $625.0 million described below, and average amounts outstanding under the revolving credit facility during 2012.

On February 27, 2007, we executed an interest rate swap in the notional amount of $100.0 million with a forward starting date of February 28, 2007. The interest rate swap has a term of seven years. Under this swap, we pay an amount to the swap counterparty representing interest on a notional amount at a rate of 5.14% and receive an amount from the swap counterparty representing, interest on the notional amount at a rate equal to the one month LIBOR.

On April 4, 2007, we executed an additional interest rate swap in the notional amount of $250.0 million with a forward starting date of April 13, 2007. The interest rate swap has a term of seven years. Under this swap, we pay an amount to the swap counterparty representing interest on a notional amount at a rate of 4.971% and receive an amount from the swap counterparty representing interest on the notional amount at a rate equal to one month LIBOR.

On April 13, 2007, we executed an additional interest rate swap in the notional amount of $200.0 million with a forward starting date of April 30, 2007. The interest rate swap has a term of seven years. Under this swap, we pay an amount to the swap counterparty representing interest on a notional amount at a rate of 5.079% and receive an amount from the swap counterparty representing interest on the notional amount at a rate equal to one month LIBOR.

On September 18, 2007, we executed an additional interest rate swap based on a notional amount of $75.0 million with a forward starting date of September 18, 2007. The interest rate swap has a term of seven years. Under the swap, we pay an amount to the swap counterparty representing interest on a notional amount at a rate of 4.941% and receive an amount from the swap counterparty representing interest on the notional amount at a rate equal to one month LIBOR.

 

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Commodities

Certain materials we use are subject to commodity price changes. We manage this risk through instruments such as purchase orders, membership in a buying consortium, fixed pricing agreements for certain newsprint purchases and continuing programs to mitigate the impact of cost increases through identification of sourcing and operating efficiencies. Primary commodity price exposures are newsprint, energy costs and, to a lesser extent, ink.

A $10 per metric ton newsprint price change would result in a corresponding annualized change in our income from continuing operations before income taxes of $0.4 million based on newsprint usage for the year ended December 30, 2012 of approximately 41,400 metric tons. In 2013, 95% of the companies’ newsprint is fixed through a pricing agreement, therefore only 5% of the usage would be impacted by a price increase.

 

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BUSINESS

Unless otherwise specified or the context otherwise requires, for purposes of this section under the heading “Business,” references to “we,” “our,” “us” and the “Company” mean GateHouse and its consolidated subsidiaries.

General Overview

GateHouse

We are one of the largest publishers of locally based print and online media in the United States as measured by number of daily publications. Our business strategy is to be the preeminent provider of local content and advertising in the small and midsize markets we serve. Our portfolio of products, which includes 402 community publications, 344 related websites, 313 mobile sites and six yellow page directories, serves over 128,000 business advertising accounts and reaches approximately 10 million people on a weekly basis.

Our core products include:

 

    78 daily newspapers with total paid circulation of approximately 557,000;

 

    235 weekly newspapers (published up to three times per week) with total paid circulation of approximately 276,000 and total free circulation of approximately 647,000;

 

    89 “shoppers” (generally advertising-only publications) with total circulation of approximately 1.5 million;

 

    344 locally focused websites and 313 mobile sites, which extend our businesses onto the internet and mobile devices with approximately 97 million page views per month; and

 

    six yellow page directories, with a distribution of approximately 488,000, that covers a population of approximately 1.2 million people.

In addition to our core products, we also opportunistically produce niche publications that address specific local market interests such as recreation, sports, healthcare and real estate.

Our print and online products focus on the local community from both a content and advertising standpoint. As a result of our focus on small and midsize markets, we are usually the primary, and sometimes, the sole provider of comprehensive and in-depth local market news and information in the communities we serve. Our content is primarily devoted to topics that we believe are highly relevant and of interest to our audience such as local news and politics, community and regional events, youth sports, opinion and editorial pages, and local schools.

More than 86% of our daily newspapers have been published for more than 100 years and 100% have been published for more than 50 years. We believe that the longevity of our publications demonstrates the value and relevance of the local information that we provide and has created a strong foundation of reader loyalty and a highly recognized media brand name in each community we serve. As a result of these factors, we believe that our publications have high local audience penetration rates in our markets, thereby providing advertisers with strong local market reach.

We have a history of growth through acquisitions and new product launches. Since our inception, we have acquired 420 daily and weekly newspapers, shoppers and directories. Due to the weak economic backdrop over the past several years and tough financing market we have not done an acquisition since 2009 and instead have focused on transforming our business to a multi-media content and advertising business while maintaining our local orientation and pursuing cost reductions and de-levering opportunities. As part of our cost reduction efforts, we have engaged in a series of individual restructuring programs, designed primarily to right size our employee base, consolidate facilities and improve operations.

 

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We operate in 313 markets across 21 states. A key element of our business strategy is geographic clustering of publications to realize operating efficiencies and provide consistent management practices. We share best practices across our organization, giving each publication the benefit of proven and executable revenue producing and cost saving initiatives. We regionally cluster functions such as ad composition, accounting and production and give each publication in a cluster access to top quality production equipment, which we believe enables us to cost-efficiently provide superior products and service to our customers. We are also centralizing certain functions across the entire company, particularly in the ad production and content areas in an effort to become more efficient and better serve our publications and customers. In addition, we believe that our size allows us to achieve economies of scale.

We believe that our below-average industry advertising revenue volatility is a result of our geographic diversity combined with our concentration of small markets. We have revenues coming from markets across 21 states, the large number of products we publish and our fragmented, diversified local advertising customer base. We also believe that local advertising tends to be less sensitive to economic cycles than national advertising because local businesses generally have fewer advertising channels in which to reach the local audience. We believe we are also less reliant than large metropolitan newspapers upon classified advertising, particularly the recruiting and real estate categories, which are generally more sensitive to economic conditions.

Our operating costs consist primarily of labor, newsprint, and delivery costs. Our selling, general and administrative expenses consist primarily of labor costs.

Compensation represents just over 50% of our operating expenses. Over the last few years, we have worked to drive efficiencies and centralization of work throughout our Company. Additionally, we have taken steps to cluster our operations thereby increasing the usage of facilities and equipment while increasing the productivity of our labor force. We expect to continue to employ these steps as part of our business and clustering strategy.

On September 4, 2013, Debtors and the Participating Lenders under the 2007 Credit Facility entered into a Support Agreement in which the parties agreed to support, subject to the terms and conditions of the Support Agreement, the restructuring of GateHouse pursuant to the consummation of the Plan. On the Effective Date the Plan discharged claims and interests against GateHouse primarily through the (a) issuance of shares of Common Stock of New Media and/or payment of cash to holders of claims in connection with the 2007 Credit Facility and related interest rate swaps, (b) reinstatement of certain claims, (c) entry into the Management Agreement (as defined below), (d) issuance of warrants by New Media to Former Equity Holders and (e) entry into the New Credit Facilities, the net proceeds of which were distributed to holders that elected to receive New Media Common Stock. See “The Spin-Off and Restructuring,” “Restructuring Agreements” and Note 21 to GateHouse’s Consolidated Financial Statements, “Subsequent Events and Going Concern Considerations.”

Local Media

Newcastle acquired Local Media on September 3, 2013 from News Corp. and contributed to New Media 100% of the stock of Local Media Parent (which owns all of Local Media’s stock) on the Effective Date of the Plan. In exchange for the contribution, Newcastle received shares of New Media Common Stock, equal in value to the cost of the acquisition of Local Media by Newcastle. Local Media Parent is now a wholly owned subsidiary of New Media.

Local Media is a publisher of locally based print and online media. Local Media publishes eight daily community newspapers and seventeen weekly papers in seven states in the New England, Mid-Atlantic and Pacific Coast regions of the United States. Local Media also publishes associated internet sites, magazines and other news and advertising niche publications and offers commercial print and household distribution services. During the period ended September 29, 2013, the Local Media portfolio of products had a combined average circulation of 208,000 daily, as well as 188,000 average daily unique visitors to its local websites.

 

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Local Media has five print production facilities which are located at Hyannis, Massachusetts; Middletown, New York; Medford, Oregon; Portsmouth, New Hampshire; and Stockton, California.

Industry Overview

We operate in what is sometimes referred to as the “hyper-local” or community market within the media industry. Media companies that serve this segment provide highly focused local content and advertising that is generally unique to each market they serve and is not readily obtainable from other sources. Local publications include community newspapers, websites, shoppers, traders, real estate guides, special interest magazines and directories. Due to the unique nature of their content, community publications compete for advertising customers with other forms of traditional media, including: direct mail, directories, radio, television, and outdoor advertising. We also compete with new digital and social media businesses for advertising customers. We believe that local print and online publications are the most effective medium for local retail advertising, which emphasizes the price of goods in an effort to move inventory on a regular basis, in contrast to radio, broadcast and cable, television, and the internet, which are generally used for image or branding advertising. In addition, we believe local print and online publications generally have the highest local audience penetration rates, which allows local advertisers to get their message to a large portion of the local audience.

Locally focused media in small and midsize communities is distinct from national and urban media delivered through outlets such as television, radio, metropolitan and national newspapers and the internet. Larger media outlets tend to offer broad based information to a geographically scattered audience, which tends to be more of a commodity. In contrast, locally focused media delivers a highly focused product that is often the only source of local news and information in the market it serves. Our segment of the media industry is also characterized by high barriers to entry, both economic and social. Small and midsize communities can generally only sustain one newspaper. Moreover, the brand value associated with long-term reader and advertiser loyalty, and the high start-up costs associated with developing and distributing content and selling advertisements, help to limit competition.

Advertising Market

The primary sources of advertising revenue for local publications are small businesses, corporations, government agencies and individuals who reside in the market that a publication serves. By combining paid circulation publications with total market coverage publications such as shoppers and other specialty publications (tailored to the specific attributes of a local community), local publications are able to reach nearly 100% of the households in a distribution area. As macroeconomic conditions in advertising change due to increasing internet and mobile usage and the wide array of available information sources, we have seen advertisers shift their focus to have a digital component to their local advertising strategy. To that end, in addition to printed products, the majority of our local publications have an online presence that further leverages the local brand, ensures higher penetration into the market, and provides a digital alternative for local advertisers.

Digital Media

The time spent online and on mobile devices each day by media consumers continues to grow and newspaper web and mobile sites offer a wide variety of content providing comprehensive, in-depth and up to the minute coverage of news and current events. The ability to generate, publish and archive more news and information than most other sources has allowed newspapers to produce some of the most visited sites on the internet. Newspaper websites have shown to be some of the most visited websites by online media news consumers.

We believe that our local publications are well positioned to capitalize on their existing market presence and grow their total audience base by publishing proprietary local content digitally; via the internet, mobile websites and mobile applications. Local digital media include traditional classifieds, directories of business

 

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information, local advertising, databases, audience-contributed content and mobile applications. We believe this additional community-specific content will further extend and expand both the reach and the brand of our publications with readers and advertisers. We believe that building a strong local digital business extends the core audience of a local publication.

The opportunity created by the digital extension of the core audience makes local digital advertising an attractive complement for existing print advertisers, while opening up opportunities to attract new local advertisers that have never advertised with local publications. In addition, we believe that national advertisers have an interest in reaching buyers on a hyper-local level and, although they historically have not been significant advertisers in community publications, we believe the digital media offers them a powerful medium to reach local audiences. This opportunity is further enhanced by our behavioral targeting products which allow advertisers to reach specific demographics of our audience. We also plan to hire a new digital only sales force to focus on digital growth in key designated market areas (“DMAs”).

We believe that a strong digital business will enhance our revenues. In addition, we believe that we have the knowledge and reach to help other businesses maximize their digital opportunities. Accordingly, we have launched two digital businesses designed to help others grow their digital presence: Propel Marketing and adhance media. Propel Marketing will allow us to sell digital marketing services to small and medium sized businesses (“SMBs”) both in and outside existing markets. adhance media, our private advertising exchange, allows us to more fully monetize our (and third parties’) valuable unsold digital advertising space. See “Risk Factors—Risks Related to Our Business—We have invested in growing our digital business, but such investments may not be successful, which could adversely affect our results of operations.”

Circulation

Overall daily newspaper print circulation, including national and urban newspapers, has been declining steadily over the past several years. Small and midsize local market newspapers have generally had smaller declines and more stability in their paid print circulation volumes due to the relevant and unique hyper-local news they produce. In addition, this unique and valuable hyper-local content allows smaller market newspapers to continue to raise prices, leading to stable circulation revenues.

Our Strengths

High Quality Assets with Leading Local Businesses . Our publications benefit from a long history in the communities we serve as one of the leading, and often sole, providers of comprehensive and in-depth local content. This has resulted in brand recognition for our publications, reader loyalty and high local audience penetration rates, which are highly valued by local advertisers. We continue to build on long-standing relationships with local advertisers and our in-depth knowledge of the consumers in our local markets.

Strong Value Proposition for Our Advertisers . Our portfolio enjoys a devoted readership in the local communities where we operate. By providing access to these communities, we help advertisers maximize the efficiency of their advertising spending. We offer advertisers several alternatives (daily, weekly, shopper, and niche print publications as well as an array of web, mobile and tablet products) to reach consumers and to tailor the nature and frequency of their marketing messages. We also offer advertisers the ability to target consumers based on their behavior online which is an effective and efficient way for businesses to market to their target customers.

Diverse Revenue Streams . Our revenue streams are diversified in terms of type of revenue, product source for revenue, geographic distribution of revenues and numbers of customers. We also benefit from our strong local businesses which serve local consumers and businesses in small to mid-size markets. During the twelve months ended September 29, 2013, we generated revenue in 338 markets across 24 states, serving a fragmented and diversified local customer base. During the nine months ended September 29, 2013, the Company generated approximately 41% of its total revenue in two states in the Northeast and approximately 28% of its total revenue

 

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in two states in the Midwest. For full year 2012, we served over 128,000 business advertising accounts in our publications, and our top 20 advertisers contributed less than 5% of our total revenues. Over 3.8 million classified advertisements were placed in our publications in 2012. Additionally, for the full year 2012 we generated 60% of revenue from print product advertising, 27% from subscription income from customers, 6% from digital advertising and 7% from commercial printing work for external customers and affiliated parties.

Scale Yields Operating Profit Margins and Allows Us to Realize Operating Synergies . We believe we can generate higher operating profit margins than our publications could achieve on a stand-alone basis by leveraging our operations and implementing revenue initiatives, especially digital initiatives, across a broader local footprint in a geographic cluster and by centralizing certain back office production, accounting, administrative and corporate operations. We also benefit from economies of scale in the purchase of insurance, newsprint and other large strategic supplies and equipment. Finally, we have the ability to further leverage our centralized services and buying power to reduce operating costs when making future strategic accretive acquisitions.

Local Business Profile Generates Significant Cash Flow . Our local business profile will allow us to generate significant recurring cash flow due to our diversified revenue base, operating profit margins, and our low capital expenditure and working capital requirements. As a result of the Restructuring, which extinguished GateHouse’s Outstanding Debt, our interest and debt servicing expenses are significantly lower than GateHouse’s interest and debt servicing expenses. As of the Effective Date, our debt structure consists of the New Credit Facilities and the Local Media Credit Facility. We estimate that we will have significant available cash flow totaling $50 to $70 million in 2014 which we believe will create stockholder value through our investments in organic growth, investments in accretive acquisitions and the return of cash to stockholders in the form of dividends, subject to approval by our Board of Directors. We further believe the strong cash flows generated and available to be invested will lead to consistent future dividend growth.

Large Locally Focused Sales Force . We have large and well known feet on the street local sales forces in the markets we serve. They are generally one of the largest locally oriented media sales forces in their respective communities. Our sales forces and their respective local media brands tend to have strong credibility and trust within the local business communities. We have long-standing relationships with many local businesses and have the ability to get in the door with most local businesses due to these unique characteristics we enjoy. We believe that these qualities also provide leverage for our sales force to grow additional future revenue streams in our markets.

Ability to Acquire and Integrate New Assets . We have created a national platform for consolidating local media businesses and have demonstrated an ability to successfully identify, acquire and integrate local media asset acquisitions. We have acquired over $1.7 billion of assets since 2006. We have acquired both traditional newspaper and directory businesses. We have a very scalable infrastructure and platform to leverage with future acquisitions.

Experienced Management Team . Our senior management team is made up of executives who have an average of over 20 years of experience in the media industry, including strong traditional and digital media expertise. Our executive officers have broad industry experience with regard to both growing new digital business lines and identifying and integrating strategic acquisitions. Our management team also has key strengths in managing wide geographically disbursed teams, including the sales force, and identifying and centralizing duplicate functions across businesses leading to reduced core infrastructure costs.

The newspaper industry has experienced declining revenue and profitability over the past several years due to, among other things, advertisers’ shift from print to digital media and general market conditions. GateHouse, our predecessor, was affected by this trend and experienced net losses of $160.8 million during the nine month period ended September 29, 2013 and $29.8 million during the fiscal year ended December 30, 2012. Total revenue decreased by 1.9% to $356.2 million for the nine months ended September 29, 2013 and 5.1% to $488.6 million for the year ended December 30, 2012. The Restructuring significantly reduced New Media’s interest expense. In addition, New Media intends to focus its business strategy on building its digital marketing business and growing its online advertising business, which we believe will offset many of the challenges experienced by GateHouse. With

 

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its new capital structure and digital focus, we believe that New Media will be able to create stockholder value given its strengths and strategy. However, there can be no assurance that we will be profitable. See “Risk Factors.”

Our Strategy

We intend to create stockholder value through growth in our revenue and cash flow by expanding our digital marketing business, growing our online advertising business and pursuing strategic acquisitions of high quality local media assets. However, there is no guarantee that we will be able to accomplish any of these strategic initiatives. Our strategy will be to acquire and operate traditional local media businesses and transform them from print-centric operations to dynamic multi-media operations, through our existing online advertising and digital marketing businesses. We will also leverage our existing platform to operate these businesses more efficiently. We believe all of these initiatives will lead to revenue and cash flow growth for New Media and will enable us to pay dividends to our stockholders. We expect to distribute a substantial portion of our free cash flow as a dividend to stockholders, subject to satisfactory financial performance and approval by our Board of Directors. The Board of Directors’ determinations regarding dividends will depend on a variety of factors, including the Company’s GAAP net income, free cash flow generated from operations or other sources, liquidity position and potential alternative uses of cash, such as acquisitions, as well as economic conditions and expected future financial results. The key elements of our strategy include:

Maintain Our Leading Position in the Delivery of Proprietary Content in Our Communities . We seek to maintain our position as a leading provider of local content in the markets we serve and to leverage this position to strengthen our relationships with both readers and advertisers, thereby increasing penetration rates and market share. A critical aspect of this approach is to continue to provide local content that is not readily obtainable elsewhere and to be able to deliver that content to our customers across multiple print and digital platforms. We believe it is very important for us to protect the content from unauthorized users who use it for their own commercial purposes. We also believe it is important for us to develop subscription revenue streams from our digitally distributed content.

Stabilize Our Core Business Operations . We have four primary drivers in our strategic plans to stabilize our core business operations, including: (i) identifying permanent structural expense reductions in our traditional business cost infrastructure and re-deploying a portion of those costs toward future growth opportunities, primarily on the digital side of our business; (ii) accelerating the growth of both our digital audiences and revenues through improvements to current products, new product development, training, opportunistic changes in hiring to create an employee base with a more diversified skill set and sharing of best practices; (iii) accelerating our consumer revenue growth through subscription pricing increases and growth in our subscriber base, which we aim to improve by employing additional strategic customer acquisition techniques, driving digital only subscriber growth through our pay meter strategy and improving our customer retention programs; and (iv) stabilizing our core print advertising revenues through improvements to pricing (understanding and selling the unique value of our local audience reach and level of engagement, at the sales rep level), packaging of products for customers that will produce the best results for them (needs based selling), more technology and training for sales management and sales representatives and increased accountability through consistent setting of expectations and measuring against those expectations on a regular basis.

Grow New Digital Business and Revenue Streams Leveraging Key Strengths . We plan to scale and expand our two new recently created digital businesses, Propel Marketing and adhance media. Propel Marketing will allow us to sell digital marketing services to SMBs both in and outside existing markets. The SMB demand for digital service solutions is great and represents a rapidly expanding opportunity. adhance media, our private advertising exchange, allows us to more fully monetize our (and third parties’) valuable unsold digital advertising space. Advertising bought programmatically through private exchanges is expected to grow rapidly over the next five years, especially in private exchange where advertisers get priority access to the advertising space. We also aim to leverage our large local sales forces and strong local media brands to create new business opportunities at the local market level.

 

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Pursue Strategic Accretive Acquisitions . We intend to capitalize on the highly fragmented and distressed newspaper and directory industries. We initially expect to focus our investments in the local newspaper and yellow page directory sectors, primarily in the United States. We believe we have a strong operational platform, which currently owns local newspaper and directory businesses, as well as a scalable digital services business, Propel Marketing. This platform, along with deep industry specific knowledge and experience that our management team has can be leveraged to reduce costs, stabilize the core business and grow digital revenues at acquired properties. The size and fragmentation of the addressable newspaper and yellow page directory market place in the United States, the greatly reduced valuation levels that exist in these industries, and our deep experience make this an attractive place for our initial consolidation focus and capital allocation. Over the longer term we also believe there may be opportunity to diversify and acquire these types of assets internationally, as well other traditional local media assets such as broadcast TV, out of home advertising (billboards) and radio, in the United States and internationally.

Increase Sales Force Productivity . We aim to increase the effectiveness and productivity of our sales force and, in turn, help maximize advertising revenues. We also aim to shift the culture of our sales force from that of print-centric to multi-media and feel that is critical to our long term success. Our approach includes changes to sales force compensation to be more aligned with long term strategic goals, ongoing company-wide training of sales representatives and sales managers that focuses on strengthening their ability to perform needs based assessments and selling. We set expectations by sales representatives, manager and team and regularly evaluate the performance of our sales representatives and sales management against those expectations. We believe stronger accountability and measurement of our sales force, when combined with enhanced training and access to better technologies, demographic and marketing information, will lead to greater productivity and revenue from our sales force.

Introduce New Products or Modify Our Products to Enhance our Value Proposition to Local Businesses. We believe that our established positions in local markets, combined with our publishing and distribution capabilities, allow us to develop and customize new products to address the evolving interests and needs of our readers and local businesses. A primary source for product enhancement and growth we believe exists in the digital space. Product improvement and new product development across the web, mobile and tablets will be a key component to long term success. We are actively scaling web and mobile products, including deal platforms, digital service offerings, including Propel Marketing, mobile websites and applications, and we continue to expand on our offering of behavioral targeted and audience extension advertising options.

Pursue a Content-Driven Digital Strategy . As consumers continue to spend more time online especially with regard to consumption of news, we believe that we are well-positioned to increase our digital penetration and generate additional online audience and revenues due to both our ability to deliver unique local content online, and the relationship our local brand names have with readers and advertisers. We believe this presents an opportunity to increase our overall audience penetration rates and drive additional subscription revenues in each of the communities we serve. We have developed pay meters at most of our daily newspaper websites and several of our largest weeklies, which we use to charge customers fees for access to our content. These meters will enable us to grow our digital subscription income and capture revenues that shift to the web as consumers shift to the web. Finally, we intend to share resources across our organization in order to give each of our publications access to technology, digital management expertise, content and advertisers that they may not have been able to obtain or afford if they were operating independently.

The newspaper industry has experienced declining revenue and profitability over the past several years due to, among other things, advertisers’ shift from print to digital media and general market conditions. GateHouse, our predecessor, was affected by this trend and experienced net losses of $160.8 million during the nine month period ended September 29, 2013 and $29.8 million during the fiscal year ended December 30, 2012. Total revenue decreased by 1.9% to $356.2 million for the nine months ended September 29, 2013 and 5.1% to $488.6 million for the year ended December 30, 2012. The Restructuring significantly reduced New Media’s interest expense. In addition, New Media intends to focus its business strategy on building its digital marketing business

 

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and growing its online advertising business, which we believe will offset many of the challenges experienced by GateHouse. With its new capital structure and digital focus, we believe that New Media will be able to create stockholder value given its strengths and strategy. However, there can be no assurance that we will be profitable. See “Risk Factors.”

Challenges

We will likely face challenges commonly encountered by recently reorganized entities, including the risks that:

 

    even under our new capital structure, we may not be profitable; and

 

    the Restructuring may cause our vendors and suppliers to stop providing supplies or services to us or to offer to provide such services or supplies only on unfavorable terms.

As a publisher of locally based print and online media, we face a number of additional challenges, including the risks that:

 

    the growing shift within the publishing industry from traditional print media to digital forms of publication may compromise our ability generate sufficient advertising revenues;

 

    investments in growing our digital business may not be successful, which could adversely affect our results of operations; and

 

    our advertising and circulation revenues may decline if we are unable to compete effectively with other companies in the local media industry.

For more information about New Media’s risks and challenges, see “Risk Factors.”

 

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Products

Our product mix consists of four publication types: (i) daily newspapers, (ii) weekly newspapers, (iii) shoppers and (iv) niche publications. Most of these publications have a digital presence as discussed in the following table. Some of the key characteristics of each of these types of publications are also summarized in the table below.

 

   

Daily Newspapers

 

Weekly Newspapers

 

Shoppers

 

Niche Publications

Cost:

  Paid   Paid and free   Paid and free   Paid and free

Distribution:

  Distributed four to seven days per week   Distributed one to three days per week   Distributed weekly   Distributed weekly, monthly or on annual basis

Format:

  Printed on newsprint, folded   Printed on newsprint, folded   Printed on newsprint, folded or booklet   Printed on newsprint or glossy, folded, booklet, magazine or book

Content:

  50% editorial (local news and coverage of community events, some national headlines) and 50% ads (including classifieds)   50% editorial (local news and coverage of community events, some national headlines for smaller markets which cannot support a daily newspaper) and 50% ads (including classifieds)   Almost 100% ads, primarily classifieds, display and inserts   Niche content and targeted ads (e.g., Chamber of Commerce city guides, tourism guides and special interest publications such as, seniors, golf, real estate, calendars and directories)

Income:

  Revenue from advertisers, subscribers, rack/box sales   Paid: Revenue from advertising, subscribers, rack/box sales   Paid: Revenue from advertising, rack/box sales   Paid: Revenue from advertising, rack/box sales
    Free: Advertising revenue only, provide 100% market coverage.   Free: Advertising revenue only, provide 100% market coverage   Free: Advertising revenue only

Internet Availability:

  Maintain locally oriented websites, mobile sites and mobile apps, for select locations   Major publications maintain locally oriented websites and mobile sites for select locations   Major publications maintain locally oriented websites   Selectively available online

Overview of Operations

GateHouse

We operate in three publication groups: Small Community Newspapers, Metros and Large Daily Newspapers. We also operate over 344 related websites and 313 mobile sites.

 

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The following table sets forth information regarding our publications.

 

     Number of Publications      Circulation (1)  
Operating Group    Dailies      Weeklies      Shoppers      Paid      Free      Total
Circulation
 

Small Community Newspapers

     59         105         70         302,953         1,158,234         1,461,187   

Metro Newspapers

     7         127         7         264,933         473,317         738,250   

Large Daily Newspapers

     12         3         12         265,359         514,887         780,246   

Total

     78         235         89         833,245         2,146,438         2,979,683   
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

 

(1) Circulation statistics are estimated by our management as of September 29, 2013.

Small Community Newspaper Group. Our Small Community Newspaper group encompasses publications typically located in communities have a population less than 35,000 people, in the states of Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, Michigan, California, Minnesota, Arkansas, New York, Louisiana, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Colorado, Nebraska, Oklahoma, North Dakota, Tennessee, and Iowa. There are a total of 59 daily newspapers, 105 weekly newspapers and 70 shoppers. In addition to a good geographic mix, we benefit from a diverse economic and employment base across this group.

From the western shore of Lake Michigan to the eastern shore of the Mississippi River and running over 400 miles north to south, Illinois is a picture of manufacturing, agricultural and recreational diversity. Coupled with major daily newspapers from our Large Daily Newspaper Group in Rockford, Peoria, and the state capital of Springfield, we are the largest publishing company in Illinois. 20 paid daily newspapers, 30 paid weekly newspapers, and 20 shoppers provide inclusive coverage across the state which are further supported by four print production facilities.

La Junta in the southeastern part of the state represents the Colorado properties. Along with La Junta we also serve Bent County and Fowler and produce the weekly agricultural newspaper, The Ag Journal .

We are represented in California by two daily newspapers in Ridgecrest and Yreka, five paid weekly papers in Dunsmuir, Mt. Shasta, Weed, Gridley and Taft, and five shoppers in Gridley, Mt. Shasta, Ridgecrest and Yreka. These publications reach from northern California through the southern desert and China Lake naval base in Ridgecrest.

The greatest concentration of circulation and market presence in Missouri is in the northern part of the state where we operate seven daily newspapers and four weekly newspapers and five shoppers. We serve the 22,000 square mile area from Hannibal, on the state’s eastern border, to the western border and from Columbia in the south to the Iowa border in the north. Local employers include the University of Missouri and other colleges, local and federal governments, State Farm Insurance and 3M.

Our southern Missouri operations are clustered around Lake of the Ozarks and Joplin. Located midway between Kansas City and St. Louis and approximately 90 miles from Springfield, Missouri, our three daily newspapers, seven weekly newspapers and three shoppers that serve the Lake of the Ozarks area reach approximately 165,000 people.

Located in southwest Missouri and southeast Kansas is our Joplin cluster with three daily and four weekly newspapers and four shoppers, serving a population of approximately 170,000. There are several colleges and universities in the area, a National Guard Fort, several large medical centers and a diverse mix of retail businesses, including the 120-store Northpark Mall.

This group also includes our Kansas City cluster with six publications (two daily and two weekly newspapers and two shoppers) located in the eastern Kansas cities of Leavenworth and Lansing and on the

 

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Missouri side, Independence and Blue Springs. The Leavenworth Times was one of our original daily newspapers and the balance of the cluster was acquired afterward. In addition, we secured the military publication, The Fort Leavenworth Lamp , in Fort Leavenworth. The Kansas City cluster is home to several prominent companies, including Hallmark, H&R Block, Interstate Bakeries, and the University of Kansas.

The Wichita cluster consists of three dailies, six weeklies and three shoppers in the towns of Andover, Augusta, El Dorado, Pratt, Wellington, Newton and McPherson near Wichita, Kansas. The clustering of the small dailies in this area allows the group to sell advertisers a package providing access to multiple communities. Major aircraft manufacturers Boeing, Bombardier, Cessna and Raytheon have facilities nearby and McConnell Air Force Base is a major component of the local economy.

We also have clusters in and around Grand Forks, North Dakota (home to the Grand Forks Air Force Base and the University of North Dakota) and near Mason City, Iowa, where Cargill, ConAgra, Kraft, Winnebago and Fort Dodge Animal Health, a division of Wyeth, each maintain significant operations.

We are represented in southwestern Minnesota through seven paid weekly newspapers and four shoppers. St. James, Redwood Falls, Sleepy Eye, Granite Falls, Cottonwood, Wabasso, and Montevideo are all communities with populations of 10,000 and under. These papers represent the primary local news and information source for these communities.

In Louisiana, we have an operating cluster in the southwestern part of the state, located between Lake Charles and Alexandria. This cluster consists of five publications located in the cities of Leesville, Sulpher, DeRidder and Vinton. Local employers include major manufacturers such as Alcoa, Firestone, International Paper and Proctor & Gamble.

Our Baton Rouge cluster consists of four weeklies and three shoppers in the southeastern Louisiana cities of Donaldsville, Gonzales, and Plaquemine. Numerous petrochemical companies such as BASF, Exxon Mobil and Dow Chemical, plus universities including Louisiana State, support the local economies.

In southwestern New York, our operations are centered around five publications based in Steuben County. In Corning, The Leader , a 7,083 circulation daily newspaper, dominates the eastern half of the county and shares its hometown namesake with Corning Incorporated. The Hornell Evening Tribune circulates daily throughout the western half of the county. Situated directly between these two dailies in the county seat of Bath is the 10,850 circulation Steuben Courier , a free-distribution weekly. The Pennysaver Plus , a standalone shopper, solidifies this flagship group.

We also have a strong presence in the print advertising markets in three other New York counties that surround Steuben. In Allegany County to the west, the Wellsville Daily Reporter and its shopper, the Pennysaver Plus , cover most households. In Livingston County to the north, the Pennysaver Plus and the Genesee Country Express complement one another with combined circulation of 32,450. In Yates County to the north and east, The Chronicle-Express and Chronicle Ad-Visor shopper distribute weekly to nearly 14,000 households centered around the county seat of Penn Yan.

In nearby Chemung County, the 17,736 circulation Horseheads Shopper anchors our presence in this area. The majority of the southwestern New York cluster parallels Interstate 86 across the central southern tier of New   York State, which is benefiting from continued improvement and expansion under an omnibus federal highway appropriations bill. Moreover, the cluster has several colleges and universities nearby, including Cornell University, Ithaca College, Elmira College and Houghton College.

Our Honesdale cluster, approximately 30 miles from Scranton, Pennsylvania, consists of seven publications in the cities of Carbondale, Honesdale and Hawley, Pennsylvania, along with Liberty, New York, located just across the Delaware River to the east. The cluster was created from our daily and shopper operations in

 

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Honesdale and later supplemented by our acquisition of weeklies and shoppers in Carbondale and Liberty. Local employers include General Dynamics, Blue Cross/Blue Shield, Commonwealth Telephone and various colleges and universities, medical centers and governmental agencies.

Our Pennsylvania/West Virginia cluster includes dailies in Waynesboro, Pennsylvania, Keyser and Ripley, West Virginia. We also have two weeklies throughout the group and a commercial printing operation in Ravenswood, West Virginia.

We have a strong presence in southern Michigan where five of our dailies, Adrian, Coldwater, Holland, Hillsdale and Sturgis, along with two weeklies and seven shoppers blanket the southern tier of the state and into Indiana. The 12,301 circulation Holland Sentinel is the flagship publication of the group. This area has several large employers, including Delphi, ConAgra, Tecumseh Products, Kellogg, JCI, Herman Miller, Hayworth, Gentex, Jackson State Prison, and a number of colleges and universities.

The communities we serve in the Small Community Newspaper group are largely rural but also support educational institutions, government agencies (including prisons and military bases), tourism, veterinary medicine and ethanol and agricultural chemical manufacturing. The area also includes automotive (including recreational vehicles), boat, home construction products and furniture manufacturing businesses.

The following table sets forth information regarding the number of publications and production facilities in the Small Community Newspaper Group:

 

     Publications      Production
Facilities
 

State of Operations

   Dailies      Weeklies      Shoppers     

Illinois

     15         30         13         2   

Missouri

     13         15         12         5   

Kansas

     5         10         7         1   

Michigan

     8         2         10         4   

California

     2         5         3         1   

Minnesota

     1         8         6         0   

Arkansas

     3         11         0         2   

New York

     3         4         7         0   

Louisiana

     1         8         4         1   

Pennsylvania

     2         4         2         2   

West Virginia

     1         2         2         2   

Colorado

     1         3         0         1   

Nebraska

     0         2         2         0   

Oklahoma

     2         0         1         2   

North Dakota

     1         0         1         1   

Tennessee

     1         0         0         0   

Iowa

     0         1         0         0   
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total

     59         105         70         24   

Metro Newspaper Group. Our Metro Newspaper Group includes publications that are typically within 50 miles of a metropolitan area with total population greater than 1.0 million people in the states of Massachusetts, New York, and Delaware. We are one of the largest community newspaper publishers in Massachusetts by number of daily publications and also publish a large concentration of weekly newspapers, serving 113 communities in markets across eastern Massachusetts. The three largest daily newspapers in this region are: The Patriot Ledger (founded in 1837 with circulation of 30,035), the Enterprise (founded in 1880 with circulation of 18,312) and the MetroWest Daily News (founded in 1897 with circulation of 14,408). We also have over 170 web sites, with more than 4.7 million average combined monthly unique visitors in Massachusetts.

 

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Many of the towns within our Massachusetts were founded in the 1600s and our daily and weekly newspapers in the region have long been institutions within these communities. In fact, our Massachusetts publications have 31 daily and weekly newspapers that are over 100 years old. The Boston DMA is the seventh largest market in the United States with 2.4 million households and 6.2 million people, and ranks first nationally in concentration of colleges and universities. Massachusetts has more than one million households in the region earning greater than $75,000, and a substantial homeownership rate. We reach 1.7 million readers in the eastern Massachusetts market. Eastern Massachusetts is also an employment center for technology, biotechnology, healthcare and higher education.

In New York we operate and own a combination of 16 publications in Suburban Rochester that span four counties and have a combined circulation of 123,275. This market has a tourism industry and is known for boutique wineries and recreational activities. The flagship of Messenger Post Media is the 7,600 circulation Daily Messenger in Canandaigua.

The Delaware cluster publishes six weekly newspapers, one shopper, and various specialty papers that cover most of the state of Delaware, and range from suburban Wilmington in the north to Georgetown, Delaware at the southern end of the state. The weekly Express shopper serves nearly all of lower Delaware and a good portion of the Eastern Shore of Maryland. Circulation for the cluster is primarily free, and totals approximately 95,102 weekly.

The following table sets forth information regarding the number of publications and production facilities in the Metro Newspaper Group:

 

     Publications      Production
Facilities
 

State of Operations

   Dailies      Weeklies      Shoppers     

Massachusetts

     6         110         2         2   

New York

     1         11         4         1   

Delaware

     0         6         1         1   
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total

     7         127         7         4   

Large Daily Newspaper Group. Our Large Daily Newspaper Group includes publication clusters in communities that typically have more than 35,000 people and are greater than 50 miles from a major metropolitan area. These publications are in Illinois, New York, Ohio, and Connecticut with a total of 12 daily newspapers, 3 weekly newspapers and 12 shoppers. In addition to a good geographic mix, we benefit from a diverse economic and employment base across this group.

Approximately 85 miles to the west of Chicago, Illinois is the Rockford Register Star supported by its 37,866 daily paid circulation base and its TMC product The Weekly, with six zoned editions. The Rockford Register Star operates successful web sites that have more than 1.0 million average monthly unique visitors.

The Journal (Freeport, IL) Standard is published Tuesdays through Sundays. The newspaper’s coverage area includes Caroll, Jo Daviess, Ogle and Stephenson counties. The newspaper has a daily circulation of 7,298 and a Sunday circulation of 7,896. The Journal Standard also publishes a website journalstandard.com and receives a monthly average of 1.1 million page views and monthly unique visitors over 159,000.

The Peoria Journal Star with its daily paid circulation of 57,822 is the dominant newspaper in Peoria, Tazewell and Woodford Counties and is also distributed in an additional 17 surrounding counties. There are two shoppers— JS Shopper and Pekin Extra —which have a combined weekly circulation of 66,664. The Peoria facility provides print services to our neighboring New Media publications and commercial printing for Lee Enterprises’ The Pantagraph . The market includes manufacturing facilities for Caterpillar and Komatsu, and higher education at Bradley University, Illinois Central College and Midstate College. Peoria has a large medical community including

 

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OSF Healthcare, Methodist Medical Center, Proctor Hospital, University Of Illinois College Of Medicine and St. Jude Children’s Hospital Midwest Affiliate. It has agricultural facilities Archer Daniels Midland, LG Seeds and the USDA Ag Lab. The Journal Star has pjstar.com and pjstar.mobi with combined page views of over 9.1 million per month. The combined average monthly unique visitors are over 1.0 million.

The Springfield State Journal-Register with a daily paid circulation of 32,122 and a Sunday paid circulation of 40,935 covers the state capital of Illinois. The daily paid circulation includes a branded edition of 3,060 of the Lincoln Courier. The State Journal-Register also has successful web sites with monthly unique visitors of more than 1.1 million.

The Ohio cluster is anchored in Canton, Ohio and covers Stark and Tuscarawas Counties. It is comprised of three daily newspapers, one weekly publication and two shoppers. The Repository is a 54,888 daily newspaper that covers the entire area of Stark County. The Dover New Philadelphia Times Reporter is a 17,016 daily publication located 40 miles south of Canton in Tuscarawas County. The Massillon Independent is an 9,067 circulation daily that circulates in western Stark County. The Suburbanite is a 32,600 weekly publication that circulates in the affluent northern Stark County area. The Ohio cluster has very successful web sites with more than 1.4 million combined monthly unique visitors. Together the newspapers and web sites dominate their local markets.

The Central New York cluster is anchored by the Observer-Dispatch in Utica, New York which has circulation of 27,214 Daily and 35,379 Sunday subscribers. The Utica operations include one daily and two shoppers and one weekly newspaper in Hamilton. Utica also has web sites with combined monthly unique visitors of more than 626,000. Other dailies in this group are located in Herkimer and Little Falls. The Utica and Herkimer County operations take advantage of numerous synergies in printing, circulation, and advertising.

Our Norwich, Connecticut publication diversifies the Large Daily Newspapers as the eastern Connecticut economy differs from the nation and New England markedly. Primary economic drivers include casinos, military submarine manufacture and pharmaceutical research. Major industrial employers in the region include General Dynamics, Pfizer, Dow Chemical, Dominion Resources and the United States Navy.

The following table sets forth information regarding the number of publications and production facilities in the Large Daily Newspaper Group:

 

     Publications      Production
Facilities
 

State of Operations

   Dailies      Weeklies      Shoppers     

Illinois

     5         0         7         2   

New York

     3         2         2         0   

Ohio

     3         1         2         2   

Connecticut

     1         0         1         0   

Total

     12         3         12         4   

Directories

The core of our directory portfolio is comprised of the three yellow page directories, which are located in and around the Sacramento, California area, primarily in Roseville, California. The three directories have an aggregate circulation of approximately 408,000 and service Roseville, Auburn/Grass Valley/Nevada City and Folsom/El Dorado/Placerville, reaching four counties within the Sacramento region.

Our SureWest portfolio is highlighted by the Roseville directory. The Roseville directory is the incumbent (with a circulation of approximately 250,000) and has served the local Roseville community for over 95 years and has achieved more than 50% market share.

We also own three additional directories including two Michigan and Indiana phone guides servicing St. Joseph County, Michigan and LaGrange County, Indiana, and Branch County, Michigan and Steuben County, Indiana, respectively, and one yellow page directory based in Mt. Shasta, California.

 

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Local Media

Local Media operates in five publication group clusters: the (1) New York/Pennsylvania Media Group, (2) Southeastern Massachusetts Media Group, (3) Seacoast Media Group (Coastal New Hampshire and Maine cluster), (4) San Joaquin Media Group (Stockton, California cluster) and (5) Southern Oregon Media Group. The following table sets forth information regarding our publications.

PUBLICATION SUMMARY

 

    

September 2013 Circulation

 

Operating

Group

   Location   

Newspaper

   Frequency    Paid      Daily         Weekly   

New York/

Pennsylvania

Media Group

   Middletown    Times Herald-Record    Daily    Y      58,642         —     
   Middletown    The Gazette    Weekly    N      —           5,165   
   Middletown    Pointer View    Weekly    N      —           6,300   
     Middletown    Extra/TMC    Weekly    N      —           137,248   
     Stroudsburg    Pocono Record    Daily    Y      16,895         —     
     Stroudsburg   

Pike & Monroe Life

   Weekly    N      —           10,576   
     Stroudsburg    Plus/TMC    Weekly    N      —           26,194   
                 
             
Southeastern    Cape Cod    Cape Cod Times    Daily    Y      43,666        
Massachusetts    Cape Cod    Barnstable Patriot    Weekly    Y      —           2,300   
Media Group    Cape Cod    DollarSaver/TMC    Weekly    N      —           51,559   
     Nantucket    Nantucket Inquirer and Mirror    Weekly    Y      —           7,632   
     New Bedford    The Standard-Times    Daily    Y      21,813         —     
     New Bedford    Spectator    Weekly    Y      —           3,442   
     New Bedford    Chronicle    Weekly    Y      —           1,885   
     New Bedford    Middleboro Gazette    Weekly    Y      —           3,520   
     New Bedford    Advocate    Weekly    Y      —           682   
     New Bedford    Middleboro Gazette EXTRA/TMC    Weekly    N      —           7,472   
     New Bedford    Fall River Spirit    Weekly    N      —           5,364   
     New Bedford    SouthCoast MarketPlace/TMC    Weekly    N      —           58,232   
                 
             
Seacoast    Seacoast    Portsmouth Herald    Daily    Y      9,432         —     
Media Group    Seacoast    Seacoast Sunday    Sunday    Y      —           —     
     Seacoast    Hampton Union    3 x per Wk    Y      —           2,179   
     Seacoast    Exeter News-Letter    3 x per Wk    Y      —           2,598   
     Seacoast    York County Coast Star    Weekly    Y      —           3,190   
     Seacoast    York Weekly    Weekly    Y      —           1,829   
     Seacoast    Beachcomber    Weekly
(Seasonal)
   N      —           5,500   
                 
San Joaquin    Stockton    The Stockton Record    Daily    Y      33,318         —     
Media Group    Stockton    VIDA    Weekly    N      —           22,012   
     Stockton    The Valley Marketplace/TMC    Weekly    N      —           50,390   
                 
             
Southern    Medford    Mail Tribune    Daily    Y      23,009         —     
Oregon    Medford    Ashland Daily Tidings    Daily    Y      1,486         —     
Media    Medford    Nickel    Weekly    N      —           25,550   
Group    Medford    A la Carte/TMC    Weekly    N      —           25,584   

 

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New York/Pennsylvania Cluster.  This cluster includes the Hudson Valley Media Group and the Pocono Mountains Media Group.

The Hudson Valley Media Group publishes one paid daily and three free weekly newspapers. The flagship publication of the Hudson Valley Media Group is the Times Herald-Record. The Times Herald-Record, with a daily circulation of 58,642, is the premier daily and Sunday local paper in Orange County, NY.

The Pocono Mountains Media Group publishes one paid daily and two free weekly newspapers. The flagship publication of the Pocono Mountains Media Group is the Pocono Record. The Pocono Record, with a daily circulation of 16,895, is the premier daily and Sunday local paper in the Pocono Mountains area.

Southeastern Massachusetts Cluster.  This cluster includes the Cape Cod Media Group, the Southcoast Media Group and the Nantucket Island Media Group.

The Cape Cod Media Group publishes one paid daily, one paid weekly and one free weekly newspaper. The flagship publication of the Cape Cod Media Group is the Cape Cod Times. The Cape Cod Times, with a daily circulation of 43,666 is the premier daily and Sunday local paper on Cape Cod. The Barnstable Patriot, the paid weekly newspaper, has a weekly circulation of 2,300.

The Southcoast Media Group publishes one paid daily, four paid weekly and three free weekly newspapers. The flagship publication of the Southcoast Media Group is the Standard-Times. The Standard-Times, with a daily circulation of 21,813, is the premier daily and Sunday local paper in the New Bedford, MA area. The other paid weeklies, the Spectator, the Chronicle, the Middleboro Gazette and the Advocate, have weekly circulations of 3,442, 1,885, 3,520 and 682, respectively.

The Nantucket Island Media Group publishes The Inquirer and Mirror. With a weekly circulation of 7,632, it has the largest circulation of any island newspaper.

Seacoast Media Group.  The Seacoast Media Group publishes one paid daily, one paid Sunday paper, two newspapers which are published three times a week and two paid weekly newspapers. The flagship publication of the Seacoast Media Group is the Portsmouth Herald. The Portsmouth Herald, with a daily circulation of 9,432, is the premier daily and Sunday local paper in coastal New Hampshire. Seacoast Sunday, the Sunday paper, has a Sunday circulation of 13,742. The Hampton Union and the Exeter News-Letter, the two newspapers published three time a week, have weekly circulations of 2,179 and 2,598, respectively. The two paid weekly newspapers, the York County Coast Star and the York Weekly, have weekly circulations of 3,190 and 1,829, respectively.

San Joaquin Media Group. The San Joaquin Media Group publishes one paid daily and two free weekly papers. The flagship publication of the San Joaquin Media Group is the Record. The Record, with a daily circulation of 33,318, is the premier daily and Sunday local paper in the Stockton, CA area.

Southern Oregon Media Group.  The Southern Oregon Media Group publishes two paid daily and two free weekly papers. The flagship publication of the Southern Oregon Media Group is the Medford Mail Tribune. The Medford Mail Tribune, with a daily circulation of 23,009, is the premier daily and Sunday local paper in southern Oregon. The other paid daily paper, the Ashland Daily Tidings, has a daily circulation of 1,486.

 

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Revenue

Our operations generate three primary types of revenue: (i) advertising, (ii) circulation (including home delivery subscriptions, single copy sales and digital subscriptions) and (iii) other (primarily commercial printing). In 2012, these revenue streams accounted for approximately 68%, 27% and 5%, respectively, of our total revenue. The contribution of advertising, circulation and other revenue to our total revenue in 2012, 2011 and 2010 was as follows:

 

     Year Ended
December 30, 2012
     Year Ended
January 1,
2012
     Year Ended
December 31,
2010
 
     (In thousands)  

Revenue:

        

Advertising

   $ 330,881       $ 357,134       $ 385,579   

Circulation

     131,576         131,879         133,192   

Commercial printing and other

     26,097         25,657         25,967   
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total revenue

   $ 488,554       $ 514,670       $ 544,738   

Advertising

Advertising revenue, which includes revenue generated from online and mobile products, is the largest component of our revenue, accounting for approximately 68%, 69% and 71% of our total revenue in 2012, 2011 and 2010, respectively. We categorize advertising as follows:

 

    Local Retail—local retailers, local stores for national retailers, grocers, drug stores, department and furniture stores, local financial institutions, niche shops, restaurants and other consumer related businesses.

 

    Local Classified—local employment, automotive, real estate, legal, obituaries and other advertising.

 

    Online—banner, display, classified, behavioral targeting, audience extension, search and other advertising on websites or mobile devices.

 

    National—national and major accounts such as wireless communications companies, airlines and hotels.

We believe that our advertising revenue tends to be less volatile than the advertising revenue of large metropolitan and national print media because we rely primarily on local, rather than national, advertising and we have less exposure to classified revenue than others within our industry. We generally derive 95% or more of our advertising revenue from local advertising (local retail, local classified and online) and less than 5% from national advertising. We believe that local advertising tends to be less sensitive to economic cycles than national advertising because local businesses generally have fewer effective advertising channels through which they may reach their customers. We are also less reliant than large metropolitan newspapers upon classified advertising, particularly the recruiting and real estate categories, which are generally more sensitive to economic conditions.

Our advertising rate structures vary among our publications and are a function of various factors, including local market conditions, competition, circulation, readership and demographics. Our corporate management works with our local newspaper management to approve advertising rates and a portion of our publishers’ incentive compensation is based upon growing advertising revenue. Our sales compensation program emphasizes digital and new business growth. We share advertising concepts throughout our network of publishers and advertising directors including periodic special section programs, enabling them to utilize advertising products and sales strategies that are successful in other markets we serve.

Substantially all of our advertising revenue is derived from a diverse group of local retailers and local classified advertisers, resulting in very limited customer concentration. No single advertiser accounted for more than 1% of our total revenue in 2010, 2011 or 2012 and our 20 largest advertisers account for less than 5% of total revenue.

 

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Our advertising revenue tends to follow a seasonal pattern, with higher advertising revenue in months containing significant events or holidays. Accordingly, our first quarter, followed by our third quarter, historically are our weakest quarters of the year in terms of revenue. Correspondingly, our second fiscal quarter, and fourth fiscal quarter, historically are our strongest quarters. We expect that this seasonality will continue to affect our advertising revenue in future periods.

We have experienced declines in advertising revenue over the past few years, due primarily to a combination of the economic recession and secular pressures on the business. We continue to search for organic growth opportunities, specifically in our digital advertising and ways to stabilize print revenue declines through new product launches and pricing.

Circulation

Our circulation revenue is derived from home delivery sales to subscribers, single copy sales at retail stores and vending racks and boxes, and digital subscriptions. We own 78 paid daily publications that range in circulation from approximately 500 to 57,000 and 168 paid weekly publications that range in circulation from approximately 100 to 10,000. Circulation revenue accounted for approximately 27%, 26% and 24% of our total revenue in 2012, 2011 and 2010, respectively.

Subscriptions are typically sold for three to twelve-month terms and often include promotions to extend the average subscription period or convert someone to become a subscriber. We also provide bundled print and digital subscriptions and employ pay meters for our website content at most of our daily publications. We implement marketing programs to increase readership through subscription and single copy sales, including company-wide and local circulation contests, direct mail programs, door-to-door sales and strategic alliances with local schools in the form of “Newspapers in Education” programs. In addition, since the adoption of the Telemarketing Sales Rule by the Federal Trade Commission in 2003, which created a national “do not call” registry, we have increased our use of “EZ Pay” programs, kiosks, sampling programs, in-paper promotions and online promotions to increase our circulation.

We encourage subscriber use of EZ Pay, a monthly credit card charge or direct bank debit payment program, which has led to higher retention rates for subscribers. We also use an active stop-loss program for all expiring subscribers. Additionally, in order to improve our circulation revenue and circulation trends, we periodically review the need for quality enhancements, such as:

 

    Increasing the amount of unique hyper-local content;

 

    Increasing the use of color and color photographs;

 

    Improving graphic design, including complete redesigns;

 

    Developing creative and interactive promotional campaigns; and

 

    Improving customer service and company wide customer retention efforts.

 

    Better use of demographic data to specifically target pricing and customer acquisition opportunities.

We believe that our unique and valuable hyper-local content allows us to continue to produce products of great relevance to our local market audiences. This allows us to be able to periodically raise prices, both for home delivery and on a single copy basis, resulting in increased circulation revenues. We also believe this hyper-local unique content will allow us to find ways to grow circulation revenues from our wide array of digital products.

Other

We provide commercial printing services to third parties on a competitive bid basis as a means to generate incremental revenue and utilize excess printing capacity. These customers consist primarily of other publishers

 

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that do not have their own printing presses and do not compete with our publications. We also print other commercial materials, including flyers, business cards and invitations. Other sources of revenue, including commercial printing, accounted for approximately 5%, 5% and 5% of our total revenue in 2012, 2011 and 2010, respectively.

Printing and Distribution

We own and operate 32 print facilities. Our print facilities produce 10 publications on average and are generally located within 60 miles of the communities served. As a result of Newcastle’s contribution of Local Media Parent to us, we now own an additional five print production facilities located at Hyannis, Massachusetts, Middletown, New York, Medford, Oregon, Portsmouth, New Hampshire, and Stockton, California. By clustering our production resources or outsourcing where cost beneficial, we are able to reduce the operating costs of our publications while increasing the quality of our small and midsize market publications that would typically not otherwise have access to high quality production facilities. We also believe that we are able to reduce future capital expenditure needs by having fewer overall pressrooms and buildings. We believe our superior production quality is critical to maintaining and enhancing our position as the leading provider of local news coverage in the markets we serve.

The distribution of our daily newspapers is typically outsourced to independent, locally based, third-party distributors that also distribute a majority of our weekly newspapers and non-newspaper publications. We continuously evaluate lower cost options for newspaper delivery. In addition, certain of our shopper and weekly publications are delivered via the U.S. Postal Service.

Newsprint

We are a member of a consortium which enables our local publishers to obtain favorable pricing when investing in newsprint by going to local mills at reduced rates negotiated by the consortium. As a result, we have generally been able to purchase newsprint at a price of $10 to $12 per metric ton below the market price. In addition we have an agreement with a newsprint vendor to supply certain of our properties with all their newsprint requirements at a fixed price. We generally maintain a 45 to 55 day inventory of newsprint. Newsprint is a readily available commodity.

Historically, the market price of newsprint has been volatile, reaching a high of approximately $823 per metric ton in 2008 and a low of $410 per metric ton in 2002. The average market price of newsprint during 2012 was approximately $667 per metric ton.

In 2012 we consumed approximately 41,400 metric tons of newsprint (inclusive of commercial printing) and the cost of our newsprint consumption totaled approximately $27.7 million. Our newsprint expense typically averages less than 10% of total revenue, which we believe generally compares favorably to larger, metropolitan newspapers.

For our 2011 and 2012 purchases of newsprint we negotiated a fixed price for approximately 75% of our newsprint tons which allowed us to eliminate some of the volatility of the market price.

Competition

Each of our publications competes for advertising revenue to varying degrees with traditional media outlets such as direct mail, yellow pages, radio, outdoor advertising, broadcast and cable television, magazines, local, regional and national newspapers, shoppers and other print and online media sources, including local blogs. We also increasingly compete with new digital and social media companies for advertising revenue. However, we believe that barriers to entry remain high in many of the markets we serve in terms of being the preeminent source for local news and information therein, because our markets are generally not large enough to support a

 

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second newspaper and because our local news gathering infrastructures, sales networks and relationships would be time consuming and costly to replicate. We also have highly recognized local brand names and long histories in the towns we serve.

We also provide our readers with community-specific content, which is generally not available from other media sources. We believe that our direct and focused coverage of the market and our cost effective advertising rates relative to more broadly circulated metropolitan newspapers allow us to tailor an approach for our advertisers. As a result, our publications generally capture a large share of local advertising in the markets they serve.

The level of competition and the primary competitors we face vary from market to market. Competition tends to be based on market penetration, demographic and quality factors, as opposed to price factors. The competitive environment in each of our operating regions is discussed in greater detail below.

Small Community Newspaper Group. The Small Community Newspaper Group operates in 164 markets and we believe our publications are the dominant print advertising media in the vast majority of these markets. There are radio stations in or within 20 miles of every market in which we operate, but we do not believe that any of these radio station operators pose a significant competitive threat to our publications. Yellow page advertising is prevalent in all of our markets with either a local phone book or a regional phone book. We believe that, in most cases, yellow page advertising is geared more towards the professional services advertisers such as attorneys and doctors and not the local retail advertisers, as is the focus with our non-directory publications. Lee Enterprises has the Southern Illinoisan that is located in Carbondale. This is a regional newspaper that competes with our dailies in Marion, Benton, West Frankfort and DuQuoin. In all four of these cases, we believe our publications are the dominant local daily, but do compete on a regional basis with the larger dailies. We also compete with shoppers or weekly newspapers. This competition comes from small independent operators and is not significant. We have very little television competition in this group because of our geographic location in relation to major markets. There are no local television affiliates in our markets.

In the southern regions of this group we believe our publications are generally the dominant media in those markets. Our major competition comes from regional daily newspapers, specifically: The Advocate in Baton Rouge, Louisiana; The American Press in Lake Charles, Louisiana; The Joplin Globe ; and the Wichita Eagle . We also face competition from numerous other daily and weekly papers, local radio stations, shopping guides, directories and niche publications.

In the Northeast market we believe our publications are generally the dominant media. The competition we face in this region are from major newspaper companies: daily newspapers owned by Gannett Company, Inc. ( The Star-Gazette in Elmira, NY and the Chambersburg (PA) Public-Opinion ); Times-Shamrock Company’s Scranton (PA) The Times-Tribune and Towanda Daily/Sunday Review ; Community Newspaper Holdings, Inc.’s (“CNHI”) Sunbury Daily Item ; and Ogden-Nutting’s Williamsport Sun-Gazette. We believe our publications tend to be the dominant local publication in those markets.

In our Great Lakes markets we believe our publications are generally the dominant media in those markets. Our only significant competition comes from regional television stations in Adrian, Michigan. We also face competition from dozens of other competitors such as other local daily and weekly papers and niche publications, as well as radio and television stations, directories, direct mail and non-local internet websites, but none of these have proven to be significant.

Metro Newspaper Group. In the Metro Newspaper Group, the Boston Globe and boston.com , a metropolitan daily and website, respectively, owned by the New York Times Company, compete with us throughout eastern Massachusetts. In addition, we compete in Massachusetts with more than 30 other weekly or daily newspaper companies (that publish a combined total of approximately 16 dailies and 50 weeklies), three major radio station operators, five local network television broadcasters, one cable company and numerous niche publications for advertising revenues. We believe that our publications generally deliver the highest household coverage in their respective markets.

 

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Large Daily Newspaper Group. In our Large Daily Newspaper Group we believe our publications are generally the dominant media in those markets. Daily newspapers owned by Gannett Company, Inc. ( Daily Sentinel in Rome, NY and The Dispatch in Oneida, NY) compete with in the New York market. We also face competition from other major newspaper companies in other regional markets such as Newhouse Newspaper’s Syracuse Post-Standard . Our competitors also include numerous other daily and weekly newspapers, local radio stations, shopping guides, directories and niche publications. We believe our publications, many of which have an extensive history in the relevant market, tend to be the dominant local publication.

Employees

GateHouse

As of December 30, 2012, we had approximately 4,131 full time equivalent employees, consisting of hourly and salaried employees. We employ union personnel at a number of our core publications representing approximately 612 full-time equivalent employees. As of December 30, 2012, there were 23 collective bargaining agreements covering union personnel. Most of our unionized employees work under collective bargaining agreements that expire in 2014. We believe that relations with our employees are generally good and we have had no work stoppages at any of our publications.

Local Media

Local Media employed 1,229 people as of December 2012, consisting of both hourly and salaried employees. Local Media has labor unions at three of its newspapers, the Cape Cod Times (Massachusetts), the Times Herald-Record (New York) and the Medford Mail Tribune (Oregon), representing 94 employees in total (71 in New York, 14 in Massachusetts, and 9 in Oregon). The Massachusetts unions consist of two different unions representing four and 10 employees, respectively. We believe that relations with Local Media employees are generally good and that Local Media has had no work stoppages at any of its publications.

Environmental Matters

We believe that we are substantially in compliance with all applicable laws and regulations for the protection of the environment and the health and safety of our employees based upon existing facts presently known to us. Compliance with federal, state, and local environmental laws and regulations relating to the discharge of substances into the environment, the disposal of hazardous wastes and other related activities has had, and will continue to have, an impact on our operations, but has, since our incorporation in 1997, been accomplished without having a material adverse effect on our operations. While it is difficult to estimate the timing and ultimate costs to be incurred due to uncertainties about the status of laws, regulations and technology, based on information currently known to us and insurance procured with respect to certain environmental matters, we do not expect environmental costs or contingencies to be material or to have a material adverse effect on our financial performance. Our operations involve risks in these areas, however, and we cannot assure you that we will not incur material costs or liabilities in the future which could adversely affect us.

Properties

GateHouse

We own and operate 32 print facilities across the United States. Our print facilities range in size from approximately 500 to 55,000 square feet. Our executive offices are located in Fairport, New York, where we lease approximately 15,000 square feet under a lease terminating in June 2014.

We maintain our properties in good condition and believe that our current facilities are adequate to meet the present needs of our business. We do not believe any individual property is material to our financial condition or results of operations.

 

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Local Media

Local Media has five print production facilities which are located in Hyannis, Massachusetts, Middletown, New York, Medford, Oregon, Portsmouth, New Hampshire and Stockton, California. These print facilities range in size from approximately 31,000 square feet to approximately 82,000 square feet (combined printing and office space). Local Media’s executive offices are in a 47,000 square feet owned building in Middletown, New York.

Local Media maintains its properties in good condition and we believe that Local Media’s current facilities are adequate to meet the present needs of Local Media’s business. We do not believe any individual property is material to our financial condition or results of operations.

Corporate Governance and Public Information

The address of New Media’s website is              . Stockholders can access a wide variety of information on New Media’s website, including news releases, Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) filings, information New Media is required to post online pursuant to applicable SEC rules, newspaper profiles and online links. New Media makes available via its website all filings it makes under the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), including Forms 10-K, 10-Q and 8-K, and related amendments, as soon as reasonably practicable after they are filed with, or furnished to, the SEC. All such filings are available free of charge. Neither the content of New Media’s corporate website nor any other website referred to in this Prospectus are incorporated by reference into this Prospectus unless expressly noted. The public may read and copy any information New Media files with the SEC at the SEC’s public reference room at 100 F Street, NE, Washington, DC 20549. The public may obtain information on the operation of the public reference room by calling the SEC at 1-800-SEC-0330. The SEC also maintains a website (http://www.sec.gov) where New Media’s filings filed with the SEC are available free of charge.

List of GateHouse’s Dailies, Weeklies, Shoppers, Websites and Directories

As of December 30, 2012, GateHouse’s dailies, weeklies, shoppers, websites and directories were as listed below. GateHouse maintains registered trademarks in many of the masthead names listed below. Maintaining such trademarks allows GateHouse to exclusively use the masthead name to the exclusion of third parties.

Small Community Newspaper Group

 

State

  

City

  

Masthead

  

Circulation
Type

Illinois    Benton   

Benton Evening News

www.bentoneveningnews.com

   Daily
   Canton   

Daily Ledger

www.cantondailyledger.com

   Daily
   Carmi   

The Carmi Times

www.carmitimes.com

   Daily
   Du Quoin   

Du Quoin Evening Call

www.duquoin.com

   Daily
   El Dorado    El Dorado Daily Journal    Daily
   Galesburg   

The Register-Mail

www.galesburg.com

   Daily
   Harrisburg   

Harrisburg Daily Register

www.dailyregister.com

   Daily
   Kewanee   

Star-Courier

www.starcourier.com

   Daily
   Macomb   

McDonough County Voice

www.mcdonoughvoice.com

   Daily

 

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State

  

City

  

Masthead

  

Circulation
Type

   Marion   

The Daily Republican

www.dailyrepublicannews.com

   Daily
   Monmouth   

Daily Review Atlas

www.reviewatlas.com

   Daily
   Olney   

The Olney Daily Mail

www.olneydailymail.com

   Daily
   Pekin   

Pekin Daily Times

www.pekintimes.com

   Daily
   Pontiac   

Daily Leader

www.pontiacdailyleader.com

   Daily
   West Frankfort   

Daily American

www.dailyamericannews.com

   Daily
   Abingdon   

Abingdon Argus-Sentinel

www.eaglepublications.com

   Paid Weekly
   Aledo   

The Times Record

www.aledotimesrecord.com

   Paid Weekly
   Augusta   

Augusta Eagle-Scribe

www.eaglepublicatons.com

   Paid Weekly
   Cambridge   

Cambridge Chronicle

www.cambridgechron.com

   Paid Weekly
   Carmi    The Weekly Times    Paid Weekly
   Chester   

Randolph County Herald Tribune

www.randolphcountyheraldtribune.com

   Paid Weekly
   Christopher    The Progress    Paid Weekly
   Du Quoin    Du Quoin News    Paid Weekly
   Du Quoin    Ashley News    Paid Weekly
   Fairbury    The Blade    Paid Weekly
   Flora   

Clay County Advocate Press

www.advocatepress.com

   Paid Weekly
   Galva   

Galva News

www.galvanews.com

   Paid Weekly
   Geneseo   

The Geneseo Republic

www.geneseorepublic.com

   Paid Weekly
   Murphysboro   

Murphysboro American

www.murphysboroamerican.com

   Paid Weekly
   Newton   

Newton Press Mentor

www.pressmentor.com

   Paid Weekly
   Oquawka    Oquawka Current    Paid Weekly
   Orion   

Orion Gazette

www.oriongazette.com

   Paid Weekly
   Roseville   

Roseville Independent

www.eaglepublications.com

   Paid Weekly
   Shawneetown    Ridgway News    Paid Weekly

 

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State

  

City

  

Masthead

  

Circulation
Type

   Shawneetown    Gallatin Democrat    Paid Weekly
   Steelville    The Steelville Ledger    Paid Weekly
   Teutopolis   

Teutopolis Press-Deiterich Gazette

www.teutopolispress.com

   Paid Weekly
   West Frankfort   

SI Trader

www.sitraders.com

   Paid Weekly
   Chillicothe   

Chillicothe Times Bulletin

www.chillicothetimesbulletin.com

   Free Weekly
   East Peoria   

East Peoria Times-Courier

www.eastpeoriatimescourier.com

   Free Weekly
   Galesburg   

Knox County Neighbors

www.galesburg.com

   Free Weekly
   Macomb    Daily Brief    Free Weekly
   Metamora   

Woodford Times

www.woodfordtimes.com

   Free Weekly
   Morton   

Morton Times News

www.mortontimesnews.com

   Free Weekly
   Washington   

Washington Times Reporter

www.washingtontimesreporter.com

   Free Weekly
   Aledo    Town Crier Advertiser    Shopper
   Canton    Fulton County Shopper    Shopper
   Carmi    White County Shopper News    Shopper
   Flora    CCAP Special    Shopper
   Galatia   

Money Stretcher

www.galatiamoneystretcher.com

   Shopper
   Geneseo    Henry County Advertizer/Shopper    Shopper
   Macomb    McDonough County Choice    Shopper
   Marion    This Week in Williamson County    Shopper
   Monmouth    Pennysaver    Shopper
   Olney    Richland County Shopper    Shopper
   Olney    Jasper County News Eagle    Shopper
   Pontiac    Livingston Shopping News    Shopper
   West Frankfort    Free Press    Shopper
Missouri    Camdenton   

Lake Sun Leader

www.lakenewsonline.com

   Daily
   Carthage   

The Carthage Press

www.carthagepress.com

   Daily
   Chillicothe   

Constitution Tribune

www.chillicothenews.com

   Daily
   Hannibal   

Hannibal Courier Post

www.hannibal.net

   Daily
   Independence   

The Examiner

www.examiner.net

   Daily

 

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State

  

City

  

Masthead

  

Circulation
Type

   Kirksville   

Kirksville Daily Express & News

www.kirksvilledailyexpress.com

   Daily
   Macon   

Chronicle Herald

www.maconch.com

   Daily
   Maryville   

Maryville Daily Forum

www.maryvilledailyforum.com

   Daily
   Mexico   

The Mexico Ledger

www.mexicoledger.com

   Daily
   Moberly   

Moberly Monitor Index

www.moberlymonitor.com

   Daily
   Neosho   

Neosho Daily News

www.neoshodailynews.com

   Daily
   Rolla   

Rolla Daily News

www.therolladailynews.com

   Daily
   Waynesville   

The Daily Guide

www.waynesvilledailyguide.com

   Daily
   Aurora   

Aurora Advertiser

www.auroraadvertiser.net

   Paid Weekly
   Boonville   

Boonville Daily News

www.boonvilledailynews.com

   Paid Weekly
   Brookfield   

The Linn County Leader

www.linncountyleader.com

   Paid Weekly
   Greenfield   

The Vedette

www.greenfieldvedette.com

   Paid Weekly
   St James   

St James Leader Journal

www.leaderjournal.com

   Paid Weekly
   Boonville    Weekly    Free Weekly
   Camdenton   

West Side Star

www.lakenewsonline.com

   Free Weekly
   Carthage    The Carthage Press Wednesday TMC    Free Weekly
   Hannibal    Salt River Journal    Free Weekly
   Neosho    The Neighborhood Showcase    Free Weekly
   Osage Beach    Lake Area News Focus    Free Weekly
   Osage Beach    Lake of the Ozarks Real Estate    Free Weekly
   Osage Beach    Tube Tab    Free Weekly
   Osage Beach    Vacation News    Free Weekly
   Rolla    Rolla Daily News “Plus”    Free Weekly
   Aurora    Big AA Shopper    Shopper
   Brookfield    Sho-Me Shopper    Shopper
   Camdenton    Penny Saver    Shopper
   Chillicothe    Chillicothe C-T Shopper    Shopper
   Greenfield    Lake Stockton Shopper    Shopper
   Joplin    Big Nickel    Shopper

 

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State

  

City

  

Masthead

  

Circulation
Type

   Kirksville    Nemo Trader    Shopper
   Kirksville    Kirksville Crier    Shopper
   Macon   

Macon Journal

www.maconch.com

   Shopper
   Moberly    The Shopper    Shopper
   Osage Beach    Lake of the Ozarks Boats    Shopper
   Waynesville    Pulaski County Weekly    Shopper
Kansas    Dodge City   

Dodge City Daily Globe

www.dodgeglobe.com

   Daily
   Leavenworth   

The Leavenworth Times

www.leavenworthtimes.com

   Daily
   McPherson   

McPherson Sentinel

www.mcphersonsentinel.com

   Daily
   Newton   

The Newton Kansan

www.thekansan.com

   Daily
   Pittsburg   

The Morning Sun

www.morningsun.net

   Daily
   Andover   

Andover America

www.andoveramerican.com

   Paid Weekly
   Augusta   

Augusta Daily Gazette

www.augustagazette.com

   Paid Weekly
   El Dorado   

The El Dorado Times

www.eldoradotimes.com

   Paid Weekly
   Greensburg   

Kiowa County Signal

www.kiowacountysignal.com

   Paid Weekly
   Pratt   

The Pratt Tribune

www.pratttribune.com

   Paid Weekly
   St John   

St John News

www.sjnewsonline.com

   Paid Weekly
   Wellington   

Wellington Daily News

www.wellingtondailynews.com

   Paid Weekly
   Dodge City    La Estrella    Free Weekly
   Leavenworth    Lansing This Week    Free Weekly
   Leavenworth   

The Fort Leavenworth Lamp

www.ftleavenworthlamp.com

   Free Weekly
   Dodge City    Shoppers Weekly    Shopper
   El Dorado    Shoppers Guide    Shopper
   Hiawatha    Penny Press 4    Shopper
   Leavenworth    Chronicle Shopper    Shopper
   McPherson/Newton    South Central Kansas Shoppers Guide    Shopper
   Pittsburg    The Sunland Shopper    Shopper
   Pratt    Sunflower Shopper    Shopper

 

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State

  

City

  

Masthead

  

Circulation
Type

Michigan    Adrian   

The Daily Telegram

www.lenconnect.com

   Daily
   Cheboygan   

Cheboygan Daily Tribune

www.cheboygannews.com www.mackinacjournal.com

   Daily
   Coldwater   

The Daily Reporter

www.thedailyreporter.com

   Daily
   Hillsdale   

Hillsdale Daily News

www.hillsdale.net

   Daily
   Holland   

The Holland Sentinel

www.hollandsentinel.com

   Daily
   Ionia   

Sentinel-Standard

www.sentinel-standard.com

   Daily
   Sault Ste Marie   

The Evening News

www.sooeveningnews.com

   Daily
   Sturgis   

Sturgis Journal

www.sturgisjournal.com

   Daily
   Coldwater   

Bronson Journal

www.thebronsonjournal.com

   Paid Weekly
   Coldwater    Jonesville Independent    Paid Weekly
   Adrian   

Adrian Access Shopper

www.accessshoppersguide.com

   Shopper
   Allegan   

Flashes Shopping Guide (Allegan/Lakeshore)

www.flashespublishers.com

   Shopper
   Cheboygan    Shopper Fair    Shopper
   Coldwater    The Reporter Extra    Shopper
   Coldwater    Coldwater Shoppers Guide    Shopper
   Hillsdale   

Tip Off Shopping Guide

www.tipoffonline.com

   Shopper
   Holland   

Flashes Shopping Guide (Holland/Zeeland)

www.flashespublishers.com

   Shopper
   Ionia    Sentinel-Standard TMC    Shopper
   Sault Ste Marie    Tri County Buyers Guide    Shopper
   Sturgis    Sturgis Gateway Shopper    Shopper
California    Ridgecrest   

The Daily Independent

www.ridgecrestca.com

   Daily
   Yreka   

Siskiyou Daily News

www.siskiyoudaily.com

   Daily
   Gridley   

Gridley Herald

www.gridleyherald.com

   Paid Weekly
   Mt Shasta   

Weed Press

www.mtshastanews.com

   Paid Weekly
   Mt Shasta   

Dunsmuir News

www.mtshastanews.com

   Paid Weekly

 

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Table of Contents

State

  

City

  

Masthead

  

Circulation
Type

   Mt Shasta   

Mt Shasta Herald

www.mtshastanews.com

   Paid Weekly
   Taft   

Midway Driller

www.taftmidwaydriller.com

   Paid Weekly
   Gridley   

Gidley Shopping News

www.gridleyherald.com

   Shopper
   Mt Shasta    Spotlight    Shopper
   Mt Shasta    Super Saver Advertiser    Shopper
   Ridgecrest    Super Tuesday    Shopper
   Yreka   

Siskiyou Seen

www.siskiyoudaily.com

   Shopper
Minnesota    Crookston   

Crookston Daily Times

www.crookstontimes.com

   Daily
   Cottonwood    Tri-County News    Paid Weekly
   Granite Falls   

Granite Falls Advocate-Tribune

www.granitefallsnews.com

   Paid Weekly
   Montevideo   

Montevideo American News

www.montenews.com

   Paid Weekly
   Redwood Falls   

Redwood Gazette

www.redwoodfallsgazette.com

   Paid Weekly
   Sleepy Eye   

Sleepy Eye Herald Dispatch

www.sleepyeyenews.com

   Paid Weekly
   St James   

St James Plaindealer

www.stjamesnews.com

   Paid Weekly
   Wabasso    The Wabasso Standard    Paid Weekly
   Halstad    The Valley Journal    Free Weekly
   Crookston    Crookston Valley Shopper    Shopper
   Halstad    The Shopper    Shopper
   Montevideo   

The Star Advisor

www.montenews.com

   Shopper
   Redwood Falls    Redwood Falls Livewire    Shopper
   Sleepy Eye    Brown County Reminder    Shopper
   St James    Town and Country Shopper    Shopper
Arkansas    Arkadelphia   

Daily Siftings Herald

www.siftingsherald.com

   Daily
   Hope   

Hope Star

www.hopestar.com

   Daily
   Stuttgart   

Stuttgart Daily Leader

www.stuttgartdailyleader.com

   Daily
   Gurdon   

Gurdon Times

www.thegurdontimes.com

   Paid Weekly
   Heber Springs   

The Sun Times

www.thesuntimes.com

   Paid Weekly

 

141


Table of Contents

State

  

City

  

Masthead

  

Circulation Type

   Helena   

The Daily World

www.helena-arkansas.com

   Paid Weekly
   Hope   

Nevada County Picayune

www.picayune-times.com

   Paid Weekly
   Newport   

Newport Independent

www.newportindependent.com

   Paid Weekly
   White Hall   

The White Hall Journal

www.whitehalljournal.com

   Paid Weekly
   Arkadelphia   

Arkadelphia Extra

www.siftingsherald.com

   Free Weekly
   Helena   

Daily World TMC

www.helena-arkansas.com

   Free Weekly
   Hope   

Star Extra

www.hopestar.com

   Free Weekly
   Stuttgart   

The Xtra

www.stuttgartdailyleader.com

   Free Weekly
   White Hall    The Arsenel Sentinel    Free Weekly
New York    Corning   

The Leader

www.the-leader.com

   Daily
   Hornell   

Evening Tribune

www.eveningtribune.com

   Daily
   Wellsville   

Wellsville Daily Reporter

www.wellsvilledaily.com

   Daily
   Dansville   

Genesee Country Express

www.dansvilleonline.com

   Paid Weekly
   Penn Yan   

The Chronicle-Express

www.chronicle-express.com

   Paid Weekly
   Saugerties   

Saugerties Post Star

www.poststarnews.com

   Paid Weekly
   Bath   

Steuben Courier-Advocate

www.steubencourier.com

   Free Weekly
   Corning    Corning Pennysaver    Shopper
   Hornell    Pennysaver Plus    Shopper
   Horseheads    The Shopper    Shopper
   Liberty    Catskill Shopper    Shopper
   Penn Yan    Chronicle Ad-Visor    Shopper
   Saugerties    Saugerties Pennysaver    Shopper
   Saugerties    Mountain Pennysaver    Shopper
Louisiana    Bastrop   

The Bastrop Daily Enterprise

www.bastropenterprise.com

   Daily
   DeRidder   

Beauregard Daily News

www.beauregarddailynews.net

   Paid Weekly
   Donaldsonville   

The Donaldsonville Chief

www.donaldsonvillechief.com

   Paid Weekly

 

142


Table of Contents

State

  

City

  

Masthead

  

Circulation Type

   Gonzales   

Gonzales Weekly Citizen

www.weeklycitizen.com

   Paid Weekly
   Leesville   

Leesville Daily Leader

www.leesvilledailyleader.com

   Paid Weekly
   Plaquemine   

Post South

www.postsouth.com

   Paid Weekly
   Sulphur   

Southwest Daily News

www.sulphurdailynews.com

   Paid Weekly
   Sulphur    Vinton News    Paid Weekly
   Sterlington    North Quachita Weekly    Free Weekly
   Gonzales   

The Marketeer

www.weeklycitizen.com

   Shopper
   Gonzales   

Nickel Ads

www.weeklycitizen.com

   Shopper
   Plaquemine   

West Bank Shopper

www.postsouth.com

   Shopper
   Sulphur    Calcasieu Shopper    Shopper
Pennsylvania    Honesdale   

The Wayne Independent

www.wayneindependent.com

   Daily
   Waynesboro   

The Record Herald

www.therecordherald.com

   Daily
   Carbondale    The Villager    Paid Weekly
   Carbondale   

Carbondale News

www.thecarbondalenews.com

   Paid Weekly
   Greencastle   

The Echo Pilot

www.echo-pilot.com

   Paid Weekly
   Hawley   

News Eagle

www.neagle.com

   Paid Weekly
   Hawley    The Pike Pennysaver    Shopper
   Honesdale    The Independent Extra    Shopper
West Virginia    Keyser   

Mineral Daily News Tribune

www.newstribune.info

   Daily
   Ripley   

The Jackson Herald

www.jacksonnewspapers.com

   Paid Weekly
   Ripley   

The Jackson Star News

www.jacksonnewspapers.com

   Paid Weekly
   Keyser    Today’s Shopper    Shopper
   Ravenswood   

Star Herald Weekender

www.jacksonnewspapers.com

   Shopper
Colorado    LaJunta   

LaJunta Tribune Democrat

www.lajuntatribunedemocrat.com

   Daily
   LaJunta   

Ag Journal

www.agjournalonline.com

   Paid Weekly

 

143


Table of Contents

State

  

City

  

Masthead

  

Circulation Type

   LaJunta   

Fowler Tribune

www.fowlertribune.com

   Paid Weekly
   Las Pimas   

Bent County Democrat

www.bcdemocratonline.com

   Paid Weekly
Nebraska    Nebraska City   

Nebraska City News Press

www.ncnewspress.com

   Paid Weekly
   Syracuse   

Syracuse Journal Democrat

www.journaldemocrat.com

   Paid Weekly
   Nebraska City    Penny Press 1    Shopper
   Syracuse    Penny Press 2    Shopper
Oklahoma    Ardmore   

The Daily Ardmoreite

www.ardmoreite.com

   Daily
   Shawnee   

The Shawnee News-Star

www.news-star.com

   Daily
   Ardmore    Entertainment Spotlight    Shopper
North Dakota    Devils Lake   

Devils Lake Daily Journal

www.devilslakejournal.com

   Daily
   Devils Lake    The Country Peddler    Shopper
Tennessee    Oak Ridge   

The Oak Ridger

www.oakridger.com

   Daily
Iowa    Hamburg   

Hamburg Reporter

www.hamburgreporter.com

   Paid Weekly

Metro Newspaper Group

 

State

  

City

  

Masthead

   Circulation
Type
Massachusetts    Brockton   

The Enterprise

www.enterprisenews.com

   Daily
   Fall River   

The Herald News

www.heraldnews.com

   Daily
   Framingham   

The Metrowest Daily News

www.metrowestdailynews.com

   Daily
   Milford   

The Milford Daily News

www.milforddailynews.com

   Daily
   Quincy   

Patriot Ledger

www.patriotledger.com

   Daily
   Taunton   

Taunton Daily Gazette

www.tauntongazette.com

   Daily
   Abington   

Abington Mariner

www.wickedlocal.com/abington

   Paid Weekly
   Acton/Roxborough   

The Beacon

www.wickedlocal.com/acton

   Paid Weekly
   Allston   

Allston/Brighton Tab

www.wickedlocal.com/allston

   Paid Weekly

 

144


Table of Contents

State

  

City

  

Masthead

   Circulation
Type
   Amesbury   

Amesbury News

www.wickedlocal.com/amesbury

   Paid Weekly
   Arlington   

The Arlington Advocate

www.wickedlocal.com/arlington

   Paid Weekly
   Ashland   

Ashland Tab

www.wickedlocal.com/ashland

   Paid Weekly
   Bedford   

Bedford Minuteman

www.wickedlocal.com/bedford

   Paid Weekly
   Belmont   

Belmont Citizen-Herald

www.wickedlocal.com/belmont

   Paid Weekly
   Beverly   

Beverly Citizen

www.wickedlocal.com/beverly

   Paid Weekly
   Billerica   

Billerica Minuteman

www.wickedlocal.com/billerica

   Paid Weekly
   Bolton   

The Bolton Common

www.wickedlocal.com/bolton

   Paid Weekly
   Boxford   

Tri-Town Transcript

www.wickedlocal.com/boxford

   Paid Weekly
   Braintree   

Braintree Forum

www.wickedlocal.com/braintree

   Paid Weekly
   Brewster   

The Cape Codder

www.wickedlocal.com/capecod

   Paid Weekly
   Burlington   

Burlington Union

www.wickedlocal.com/burlington

   Paid Weekly
   Cambridge   

Cambridge Chronicle & Tab

www.wickedlocal.com/cambridge

   Paid Weekly
   Carver   

Carver Reporter

www.wickedlocal.com/carver

   Paid Weekly
   Chelmsford   

Chelmsford Independent

www.wickedlocal.com/chelmsford

   Paid Weekly
   Clinton   

The Lancaster Times & Clinton Courier

www.wickedlocal.com/clinton

   Paid Weekly
   Cohasset   

Cohasset Mariner

www.wickedlocal.com/cohasset

   Paid Weekly
   Concord   

The Concord Journal

www.wickedlocal.com/concord

   Paid Weekly
   Danvers   

Danvers Herald

www.wickedlocal.com/danvers

   Paid Weekly
   Dedham   

Dedham Transcript

www.wickedlocal.com/dedham

   Paid Weekly
   Dover   

Dover/Sherborn Press

www.wickedlocal.com/dover

   Paid Weekly
   Easton   

Easton Journal

www.wickedlocal.com/easton

   Paid Weekly

 

145


Table of Contents

State

  

City

  

Masthead

   Circulation
Type
   Framingham   

Westwood Press

www.wickedlocal.com/westwood

   Paid Weekly
   Georgetown   

Georgetown Record

www.wickedlocal.com/georgetown

   Paid Weekly
   Halifax   

Halifax/Plympton Reporter

www.wickedlocal.com/halifax

   Paid Weekly
   Hamilton   

Hamilton-Wenham Chronicle

www.wickedlocal.com/hamilton

   Paid Weekly
   Hanover   

Hanover Mariner

www.wickedlocal.com/hanover

   Paid Weekly
   Harvard   

Harvard Post

www.wickedlocal.com/harvard

   Paid Weekly
   Harwich   

Harwich Oracle

www.wickedlocal.com/harwich

   Paid Weekly
   Hingham   

The Hingham Journal

www.wickedlocal.com/hingham

   Paid Weekly
   Holbrook   

Holbrook Sun

www.wickedlocal.com/holbrook

   Paid Weekly
   Holliston   

Holliston Tab

www.wickedlocal.com/holliston

   Paid Weekly
   Hopkinton   

Hopkinton Crier

www.wickedlocal.com/hopkinton

   Paid Weekly
   Hudson   

Hudson Sun

www.wickedlocal.com/hudson

   Paid Weekly
   Hyannis   

The Register

www.wickedlocal.com/barnstable

   Paid Weekly
   Ipswich   

Ipswich Chronicle

www.wickedlocal.com/ipswich

   Paid Weekly
   Kingston   

Kingston Reporter

www.wickedlocal.com/kingston

   Paid Weekly
   Lexington   

Lexington Minuteman

www.wickedlocal.com/lexington

   Paid Weekly
   Lincoln   

Lincoln Journal

www.wickedlocal.com/lincoln

   Paid Weekly
   Littleton   

Littleton Independent

www.wickedlocal.com/littleton

   Paid Weekly
   Malden   

Malden Observer

www.wickedlocal.com/malden

   Paid Weekly
   Mansfield   

Mansfield News

www.wickedlocal.com/mansfield

   Paid Weekly
   Marblehead   

Marblehead Reporter

www.wickedlocal.com/marblehead

   Paid Weekly
   Marion   

The Sentinel

www.wickedlocal.com/marion

   Paid Weekly

 

146


Table of Contents

State

  

City

  

Masthead

   Circulation
Type
   Marlborough   

Marlborough Enterprise

www.wickedlocal.com/marlborough

   Paid Weekly
   Marshfield   

Marshfield Mariner

www.wickedlocal.com/marshfield

   Paid Weekly
   Maynard/Stow   

The Beacon-Villager

www.wickedlocal.com/maynard

   Paid Weekly
   Medfield   

Medfield Press

www.wickedlocal.com/medfield

   Paid Weekly
   Medford   

Medford Transcript

www.wickedlocal.com/medford

   Paid Weekly
   Melrose   

Melrose Free Press

www.wickedlocal.com/melrose

   Paid Weekly
   Natick   

Natick Bulletin & Tab

www.wickedlocal.com/natick

   Paid Weekly
   North Andover   

North Andover Citizen

www.wickedlocal.com/northandover

   Paid Weekly
   Northborough/Southborough   

The Northborough/Southborough Villager

www.wickedlocal.com/northborough

   Paid Weekly
   Norton   

Norton Mirror

www.wickedlocal.com/norton

   Paid Weekly
   Norwell   

Norwell Mariner

www.wickedlocal.com/norwell

   Paid Weekly
   Norwood   

Norwood Transcript & Bulletin

www.wickedlocal.com/norwood

   Paid Weekly
   Pembroke   

Pembroke Mariner & Express

www.wickedlocal.com/pembroke

   Paid Weekly
   Plymouth   

Old Colony Memorial

www.wickedlocal.com/plymouth

   Paid Weekly
   Provincetown   

The Provincetown Banner

www.wikedlocal.com/provincetown

   Paid Weekly
   Reading   

The Reading Advocate

www.wickedlocal.com/reading

   Paid Weekly
   Rockland   

Rockland Mariner

www.wickedlocal.com/rockland

   Paid Weekly
   Roslindale   

Roslindale Transcript

www.wickedlocal.com/roslindale

   Paid Weekly
   Saugus   

Saugus Advertiser

www.wickedlocal.com/saugus

   Paid Weekly
   Scituate   

Scituate Mariner

www.wickedlocal.com/scituate

   Paid Weekly
   Sharon   

Sharon Advocate

www.wickedlocal.com/sharon

   Paid Weekly
   Shrewsbury   

Shrewsbury Chronicle

www.wickedlocal.com/shrewsbury

   Paid Weekly

 

147


Table of Contents

State

  

City

  

Masthead

   Circulation
Type
   Somerville   

Somerville Journal

www.wickedlocal.com/somerville

   Paid Weekly
   Stoughton   

Stoughton Journal

www.wickedlocal.com/stoughton

   Paid Weekly
   Sudbury   

The Sudbury Town Crier

www.wickedlocal.com/sudbury

   Paid Weekly
   Swampscott   

Swampscott Reporter

www.wickedlocal.com/swampscott

   Paid Weekly
   Tewksbury   

Tewksbury Reporter

www.wickedlocal.com/tewksbury

   Paid Weekly
   Wakefield   

Wakefield Observer

www.wickedlocal.com/wakefield

   Paid Weekly
   Walpole   

The Walpole Times

www.wickedlocal.com/walpole

   Paid Weekly
   Waltham   

Waltham News Tribune

www.wickedlocal.com/waltham

   Paid Weekly
   Wareham   

Wareham Courier

www.wickedlocal.com/wareham

   Paid Weekly
   Watertown   

Watertown Tab & Press

www.wickedlocal.com/watertown

   Paid Weekly
   Wayland   

The Wayland Town Crier

www.wickedlocal.com/wayland

   Paid Weekly
   Wellesley   

The Wellesley Townsman

www.wickedlocal.com/wellesley

   Paid Weekly
   West Roxbury   

West Roxbury Transcript

www.wickedlocal.com/west-roxbury

   Paid Weekly
   Westborough   

Westborough News

www.wickedlocal.com/westborough

   Paid Weekly
   Westford   

Westford Eagle

www.wickedlocal.com/westford

   Paid Weekly
   Weston   

The Weston Town Crier

www.wickedlocal.com/weston

   Paid Weekly
   Weymouth   

Weymouth News

www.wickedlocal.com/weymouth

   Paid Weekly
   Winchester   

The Winchester Star

www.wickedlocal.com/winchester

   Paid Weekly
   Bellingham   

County Gazette

www.wickedlocal.com/franklin

   Free Weekly
   Boston   

Boston Homes

www.linkbostonhomes.com

   Free Weekly
   Bourne   

Bourne Courier

www.wickedlocal.com/bourne

   Free Weekly
   Bridgewater   

Bridgewater Independent

www.wickedlocal.com/bridgewater

   Free Weekly
   Brookline   

Brookline Tab

www.wickedlocal.com/brookline

   Free Weekly

 

148


Table of Contents

State

  

City

  

Masthead

   Circulation
Type
   Canton   

Canton Journal

www.wickedlocal.com/canton

   Free Weekly
   Danvers    North Shore Sunday    Free Weekly
   Duxbury   

Duxbury Reporter

www.wickedlocal.com/duxbury

   Free Weekly
   Fall River   

OJornal

www.ojournal.com

   Free Weekly
   Falmouth   

Falmouth Bulletin

www.wickedlocal.com/falmouth

   Free Weekly
   Framingham   

Framingham Tab

www.wickedlocal.com/framingham

   Free Weekly
   Gloucester    Cape Ann Beacon    Free Weekly
   Needham   

Needham Times

www.wickedlocal.com/needham

   Free Weekly
   Newburyport   

The Newburyport Current

www.wickedlocal.com/newburyport

   Free Weekly
   Newton   

Newton Tab

www.wickedlocal.com/newton

   Free Weekly
   North Attleborough   

The North Attleborough Free Press

www.wickedlocal.com/northattleborough

   Free Weekly
   Randolph   

Randolph Herald

www.wickedlocal.com/randolph

   Free Weekly
   Raynham   

Raynham Call

www.wickedlocal.com/raynham

   Free Weekly
   Salem   

Salem Gazette

www.wickedlocal.com/salem

   Free Weekly
   Sandwich    Sandwich Broadsider    Free Weekly
   Stoneham   

Stoneham Sun

www.wickedlocal.com/stoneham

   Free Weekly
   Wilmington   

Wilmington Advocate

www.wickedlocal.com/wilmington

   Free Weekly
   Woburn   

Woburn Advocate

www.wickedlocal.com/woburn

   Free Weekly
   Fall River    South Coast Life    Shopper
   Taunton    Yellow Jacket    Shopper
   Avon    www.wickedlocal.com/avon    On-line Only
   Bellingham    www.wickedlocal.com/bellingham    On-line Only
   Berkley    www.wickedlocal.com/berkley    On-line Only
   Boxborough    www.wickedlocal.com/boxborough    On-line Only
   Brewster    www.wickedlocal.com/brewster    On-line Only
   Brockton    www.wickedlocal.com/brockton    On-line Only
   Chatham    www.wickedlocal.com/chatham    On-line Only
   Dennis    www.wickedlocal.com/dennis    On-line Only

 

149


Table of Contents

State

  

City

  

Masthead

   Circulation
Type
   Dighton    www.wickedlocal.com/dighton    On-line Only
   East Bridgewater    www.wickedlocal.com/bridgewatereast    On-line Only
   Eastham    www.wickedlocal.com/eastham    On-line Only
   Essex    www.wickedlocal.com/essex    On-line Only
   Fall River    www.wickedlocal.com/fall-river    On-line Only
   Foxborough    www.wickedlocal.com/foxborough    On-line Only
   Gloucester    www.wickedlocal.com/gloucester    On-line Only
   Hanson    www.wickedlocal.com/hanson    On-line Only
   Hopedale    www.wickedlocal.com/hopedale    On-line Only
   Hull    www.wickedlocal.com/hull    On-line Only
   Lakeville    www.wickedlocal.com/lakeville    On-line Only
   Lancaster    www.wickedlocal.com/lancaster    On-line Only
   Manchester    www.wickedlocal.com/manchester    On-line Only
   Mashpee    www.wickedlocal.com/mashpee    On-line Only
   Mattapoisett    www.wickedlocal.com/mattapoisett    On-line Only
   Medway    www.wickedlocal.com/medway    On-line Only
   Mendon    www.wickedlocal.com/mendon    On-line Only
   Middleborough    www.wickedlocal.com/middleborough    On-line Only
   Middleton    www.wickedlocal.com/middleton    On-line Only
   Milford    www.wickedlocal.com/milford    On-line Only
   Millis    www.wickedlocal.com/millis    On-line Only
   Milton    www.wickedlocal.com/milton    On-line Only
   Nantucket    www.wickedlocal.com/nantucket    On-line Only
   Norfolk    www.wickedlocal.com/norfolk    On-line Only
   North Boston    www.wickedlocal.com/northofboston    On-line Only
   Orleans    www.wickedlocal.com/orleans    On-line Only
   Plainville    www.wickedlocal.com/plainville    On-line Only
   Plympton    www.wickedlocal.com/plympton    On-line Only
   Quincy    www.wickedlocal.com/quincy    On-line Only
   Rehoboth    www.wickedlocal.com/rehoboth    On-line Only
   Rochester    www.wickedlocal.com/rochester    On-line Only
   Rockport    www.wickedlocal.com/rockport    On-line Only
   Sandwich    www.wickedlocal.com/sandwich    On-line Only
   Sherborn    www.wickedlocal.com/sherborn    On-line Only
   Somerset    www.wickedlocal.com/somerset    On-line Only
   Southborough    www.wickedlocal.com/southborough    On-line Only
   Stow    www.wickedlocal.com/stow    On-line Only
   Swansea    www.wickedlocal.com/swansea    On-line Only
   Taunton    www.wickedlocal.com/taunton    On-line Only
   Topsfield    www.wickedlocal.com/topsfield    On-line Only

 

150


Table of Contents

State

  

City

  

Masthead

   Circulation
Type
   Truro    www.wickedlocal.com/truro    On-line Only
   Upton    www.wickedlocal.com/upton    On-line Only
   Wellfleet    www.wickedlocal.com/wellfleet    On-line Only
   Wenham    www.wickedlocal.com/wenham    On-line Only
   West Bridgewater    www.wickedlocal.com/bridgewaterwest    On-line Only
   West Port    www.wickedlocal.com/westport    On-line Only
   Whitman    www.wickedlocal.com/whitman    On-line Only
   Wrentham    www.wickedlocal.com/wrentham    On-line Only
   Yarmouth    www.wickedlocal.com/yarmouth    On-line Only
New York    Canandaigua   

Daily Messenger

www.mpnnow.com

www.mpnnow.com/commercialprinting

   Daily
   Newark/Palmyra   

Wayne Post

www.waynepost.com

   Paid Weekly
   Brighton/Pittsford   

Brighton-Pittsford Post

www.brightonpittsfordpost.com

   Free Weekly
   Canandaigua    Canandaigua Community Post    Free Weekly
   Fairport   

Fairport-ER Post

www.fairport-erpost.com

   Free Weekly
   Gates/Chili   

Gates-Chili Post

www.gateschilipost.com

   Free Weekly
   Greece   

Greece Post

www.greecepost.com

   Free Weekly
   Henrietta   

Henrietta Post

www.henriettapost.com

   Free Weekly
   Irondequoit   

Irondequoit Post

www.irondequiotpost.com

   Free Weekly
   Penfield   

Penfield Post

www.penfieldpost.com

   Free Weekly
   Victor   

Victor Post

www.victorpost.com

   Free Weekly
   Webster   

Webster Post

www.websterpost.com

   Free Weekly
   Lyons    Lyons Shopping Guide    Shopper
   Newark    Newark Pennysaver    Shopper
   Sodus    Sodus Pennysaver    Shopper
   Wayne County    Timesaver    Shopper
Delaware    Dover   

Smyrna/Clayton Sun Times

www.scsuntimes.com

   Paid Weekly
   Dover   

The Middletown Transcript

www.middletowntranscript.com

   Paid Weekly
   Dover   

The Sussex Countian

www.sussexcountian.com

   Paid Weekly

 

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State

  

City

  

Masthead

   Circulation
Type
   Dover   

Dover Post

www.doverpost.com

   Free Weekly
   Dover   

Community Publication

www.communitypub.com

   Free Weekly
   Dover   

Milford Beacon

www.milfordbeacon.com

   Free Weekly
   Dover   

The Express

www.delmarvaexpress.com

   Shopper

Large Daily Newspapers

 

State

  

City

  

Masthead

  

Circulation
Type

Illinois    Freeport   

The Journal Standard

www.journalstandard.com

   Daily
   Lincoln   

The Courier

www.lincolncourier.com

   Daily
   Peoria   

Journal Star

www.pjstar.com

   Daily
   Rockford   

Rockford Register Star

www.rrstar.com

www.rockfordwoman.com

   Daily
   Springfield   

The State Journal-Register

www.sj-r.com

   Daily
   Freeport    The Scene    Shopper
   Lincoln    Logan County Shopper    Shopper
   Peoria    JS Shopper    Shopper
   Peoria    Pekin Extra    Shopper
   Rockford    The Weekly    Shopper
   Springfield    Springfield Advertiser    Shopper
   Springfield    Springfield Shopper    Shopper
New York    Herkimer   

The Evening Telegram

www.herkimertelegram.com

   Daily
   Little Falls   

The Evening Times

www.littlefallstimes.com

   Daily
   Utica   

Utica Observer-Dispatch

www.uticaod.com

   Daily
   Hamilton    Mid-York Weekly    Free Weekly
   Utica    The Pennysaver    Free Weekly
   Herkimer    Your Valley    Shopper
   Rome    Rome Pennysave    Shopper
Ohio    Canton   

The Repository

www.cantonrep.com

   Daily

 

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State

  

City

  

Masthead

  

Circulation
Type

   Dover/New Philadelphia   

The Times-Reporter

www.timesreporter.com

   Daily
   Massillon   

The Independent

www.indeonline.com

   Daily
   Green   

The Suburbanite

www.thesuburbanite.com

   Free Weekly
   Canton    Stark Values    Shopper
   Dover/New Philadelphia    TMC-ExTRa    Shopper
Connecticut    Norwich   

The Bulletin

www.norwichbulletin.com

   Daily
   Norwich    Bulletin Deals    Shopper

Legal Proceedings

We become involved from time to time in claims and lawsuits incidental to the ordinary course of our business, including such matters as libel, invasion of privacy, intellectual property infringement, wrongful termination actions and complaints alleging discrimination. In addition, we are involved from time to time in governmental and administrative proceedings concerning employment, labor, environmental and other claims. Insurance coverage mitigates potential loss for certain of these matters. Historically, such claims and proceedings have not had a material adverse effect upon our consolidated results of operations or financial condition. While we are unable to predict the ultimate outcome of any currently outstanding legal actions, we believe that it is not a likely possibility that the disposition of these matters would have a material adverse effect upon our consolidated results of operations, financial condition or cash flow.

On September 4, 2013, Debtors entered into a Support Agreement, effective September 3, 2013, with Newcastle, the Administrative Agent and the Participating Lenders relating to a Restructuring of the Outstanding Debt and GateHouse’s equity pursuant to the Plan.

Pursuant to the Restructuring, Newcastle made the Cash-Out Offer. The holders of the Outstanding Debt had the option of receiving, in satisfaction of their Outstanding Debt, their pro rata share of the (i) Cash-Out Offer and/or (ii) New Media Common Stock and the Net Proceeds, if any, of the New Credit Facilities. On the Effective Date, November 26, 2013, Newcastle received its pro rata share of New Media Common Stock and the Net Proceeds of the New Credit Facilities for all Outstanding Debt it holds, including Outstanding Debt purchased in the Cash-Out Offer. All pensions, trade and all other unsecured claims will be paid in the ordinary course.

GateHouse commenced the Solicitation on September 20, 2013. Subject to the terms of the Support Agreement, the Bankruptcy Threshold Creditors voted to accept the Plan in the Solicitation. Under the Support Agreement, each of the Participating Lenders agreed to (a) support and take any reasonable action in furtherance of the Restructuring, (b) timely vote their Outstanding Debt to accept the Plan and not change or withdraw such vote, (c) support approval of the Disclosure Statement and confirmation of the Plan, as well as certain relief to be requested by Debtors from the Bankruptcy Court, (d) refrain from taking any action inconsistent with the confirmation or consummation of the Plan, and (e) not propose, support, solicit or participate in the formulation of any plan other than the Plan. 100% of the holders of the Outstanding Debt voted to accept the Plan under the terms of the Support Agreement. As a result, Debtors commenced Chapter 11 cases and sought approval of the Disclosure Statement and confirmation of the Plan therein. The Plan was confirmed by the Bankruptcy Court on November 6, 2013 and GateHouse effected the transactions contemplated by the Plan and emerged from Chapter 11 protection on November 26, 2013. The Support Agreement terminated on the Effective Date. See additional discussion in “The Spin-Off and Restructuring,” “Restructuring Agreements” and Note 21 to GateHouse’s Consolidated Financial Statements, “Subsequent Events and Going Concern Considerations.”

 

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OUR MANAGER AND MANAGEMENT AGREEMENT

This description is a summary and is subject to, and qualified in its entirety by, the provisions of the “Management Agreement,” filed as an exhibit to our registration statement on Form S-1.

General

New Media will be externally managed by FIG LLC (our “Manager”), an affiliate of Fortress, pursuant to the terms of a Management and Advisory Agreement (the “Management Agreement”) dated as of November 26, 2013 between us and our Manager. Our Manager also manages Newcastle and is an affiliate of Fortress.

Management Agreement

On the Effective Date, we will enter into a Management Agreement with our Manager, which will provide for the day-to-day management of our operations. Our Management Agreement will require our Manager to manage our business affairs subject to the supervision of our Board of Directors.

Our Manager will be responsible for, among other things, (i) the purchase and sale of our investments, (ii) the financing of our investments, and (iii) investment advisory services. Our Manager will be responsible for our day-to-day operations and will perform (or cause to be performed) such services and activities relating to our assets and operations as may be appropriate, which may include, without limitation, the following:

 

  (i) serving as the Company’s consultant with respect to the periodic review of the investment criteria and parameters for investments of the Company (“Investments”), borrowings and operations;

 

  (ii) investigation, analysis, valuation and selection of investment opportunities;

 

  (iii) with respect to prospective Investments by the Company and dispositions of Investments, conducting negotiations with brokers, sellers and purchasers and their respective agents and representatives, investment bankers and owners of privately and publicly held companies;

 

  (iv) engaging and supervising, on behalf of the Company and at the Company’s expense, independent contractors that provide services relating to the Investments, including, but not limited to, investment banking, legal advisory, tax advisory, accounting advisory, securities brokerage, real estate advisory and brokerage, and other financial and consulting services as the Manager determines from time to time is advisable;

 

  (v) negotiating on behalf of the Company for the sale, exchange or other disposition of any Investments;

 

  (vi) coordinating and managing operations of any joint venture or co-investment interests held by the Company and conducting all matters with the joint venture or co-investment partners;

 

  (vii) providing executive and administrative personnel, office space and office services required in rendering services to the Company;

 

  (viii) administering the day-to-day operations of the Company and performing and supervising the performance of such other administrative functions necessary in the management of the Company as may be agreed upon by the Manager and our Board of Directors, including, without limitation, the collection of revenues and the payment of the Company’s debts and obligations and maintenance of appropriate computer services to perform such administrative functions;

 

  (ix) communicating on behalf of the Company with the holders of any equity or debt securities of the Company as required to satisfy the reporting and other requirements of any governmental bodies or agencies or trading markets and to maintain effective relations with such holders;

 

  (x) counseling the Company in connection with policy decisions to be made by our Board of Directors;

 

  (xi) evaluating and recommending to our Board of Directors modifications to the hedging strategies in effect on the date hereof and engaging in hedging activities on behalf of the Company;

 

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  (xii) counseling the Company regarding the maintenance of its exemption from the Investment Company Act of 1940 (the “Investment Company Act”) and monitoring compliance with the requirements for maintaining an exemption from the Investment Company Act;

 

  (xiii) assisting the Company in developing criteria that are specifically tailored to the Company’s investment objectives and making available to the Company its knowledge and experience with respect to its target assets;

 

  (xiv) representing and making recommendations to the Company in connection with the purchase and finance, and commitment to purchase and finance, of its target assets, and in connection with the sale and commitment to sell such assets;

 

  (xv) monitoring the operating performance of the Investments and providing periodic reports with respect thereto to our Board of Directors, including comparative information with respect to such operating performance, valuation and budgeted or projected operating results;

 

  (xvi) investing and re-investing any moneys and securities of the Company (including investing in short-term Investments pending investment in Investments, payment of fees, costs and expenses, or payments of dividends or distributions to stockholders and partners of the Company) and advising the Company as to its capital structure and capital raising;

 

  (xvii) causing the Company to retain qualified accountants and legal counsel, as applicable, to assist in developing appropriate accounting procedures, compliance procedures and testing systems with respect to financial reporting obligations and to conduct quarterly compliance reviews with respect thereto;

 

  (xviii) causing the Company to qualify to do business in all applicable jurisdictions and to obtain and maintain all appropriate licenses;

 

  (xix) assisting the Company in complying with all regulatory requirements applicable to the Company in respect of its business activities, including preparing or causing to be prepared all financial statements required under applicable regulations and contractual undertakings and all reports and documents required under the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, (the “Exchange Act”);

 

  (xx) taking all necessary actions to enable the Company to make required tax filings and reports, including soliciting stockholders for required information to the extent provided by the provisions of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”);

 

  (xxi) handling and resolving all claims, disputes or controversies (including all litigation, arbitration, settlement or other proceedings or negotiations) in which the Company may be involved or to which the Company may be subject arising out of the Company’s day-to-day operations, subject to such limitations or parameters as may be imposed from time to time by our Board of Directors;

 

  (xxii) using commercially reasonable efforts to cause expenses incurred by or on behalf of the Company to be reasonable or customary and within any budgeted parameters or expense guidelines set by our Board of Directors from time to time;

 

  (xxiii) performing such other services as may be required from time to time for management and other activities relating to the assets of the Company as our Board of Directors shall reasonably request or the Manager shall deem appropriate under the particular circumstances; and

 

  (xxiv) using commercially reasonable efforts to cause the Company to comply with all applicable laws.

Indemnification

Pursuant to our Management Agreement, our Manager will not assume any responsibility other than to render the services called for thereunder in good faith and will not be responsible for any action of our Board of Directors in

 

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following or declining to follow its advice or recommendations. Our Manager, its members, managers, officers and employees will not be liable to us or any of our subsidiaries, to our Board of Directors, or our or any subsidiary’s stockholders or partners for any acts or omissions by our Manager, its members, managers, officers or employees, except by reason of acts constituting bad faith, willful misconduct, gross negligence or reckless disregard of our Manager’s duties under our Management Agreement. We shall, to the full extent lawful, reimburse, indemnify and hold our Manager, its members, managers, officers and employees and each other person, if any, controlling our Manager, harmless of and from any and all expenses, losses, damages, liabilities, demands, charges and claims of any nature whatsoever (including attorneys’ fees) in respect of or arising from any acts or omissions of an indemnified party made in good faith in the performance of our Manager’s duties under our Management Agreement and not constituting such indemnified party’s bad faith, willful misconduct, gross negligence or reckless disregard of our Manager’s duties under our Management Agreement.

Our Manager will, to the full extent lawful, reimburse, indemnify and hold us, our stockholders, directors, officers and employees and each other person, if any, controlling us, harmless of and from any and all expenses, losses, damages, liabilities, demands, charges and claims of any nature whatsoever (including attorneys’ fees) in respect of or arising from our Manager’s bad faith, willful misconduct, gross negligence or reckless disregard of its duties under our Management Agreement. Our Manager carries errors and omissions and other customary insurance.

Management Team

Following the commencement date of “regular-way” trading of Common Stock on a major U.S. national securities exchange (the “Listing”), the Manager will be responsible for the compensation and benefits of our Chief Executive Officer. Our Chief Executive Officer’s compensation and benefits will be subject to the review and approval of the Compensation Committee of the Board of Directors. Any increase to our Chief Executive Officer’s compensation and benefits in effect as of the date of the Management Agreement will either be approved by the Manager or be paid for by the Company.

Devotion of Additional Time; Conflicts of Interest

Our management team will not be required to exclusively dedicate their services to us and will provide services for other entities affiliated with our Manager, including, but not limited to, Newcastle.

In addition, Newcastle and other Fortress affiliates will not be restricted from pursuing other opportunities that may create conflicts or competition for us. However, our code of business conduct and ethics prohibits, subject to the terms of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, the directors, officers and employees of our Manager from engaging in any transaction that involves an actual conflict of interest with us. See “Risk Factors—Risks Relating to Our Manager—There may be conflicts of interest in our relationship with our Manager, including with respect to corporate opportunities” and “Description of Our Capital Stock—Corporate Opportunity.”

Assignment

Our Manager may generally only assign our Management Agreement with the written approval of a majority of our independent directors; provided, however, that our Manager may assign our Management Agreement to an entity whose day-to-day business and operations are managed and supervised by Mr. Wesley R. Edens (the “Principal”), provided, further, that such transaction is determined at the time not to be an “assignment” for purposes of Section 205 of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, as amended, and the rules and regulations promulgated under such act and the interpretations thereof issued by the SEC. We may not assign our Management Agreement without the prior written consent of our Manager, except in the case of an assignment to our successor, in which case such successor organization shall be bound under our Management Agreement and by the terms of such assignment in the same manner as we are bound under our Management Agreement.

 

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Term; Termination

The initial term of our Management Agreement will expire on the third anniversary of the Distribution and will be renewed automatically each year for an additional one-year period unless (i) a majority consisting of at least two-thirds of our independent directors or a simple majority of the holders of outstanding shares of our Common Stock, reasonably agree that there has been unsatisfactory performance that is materially detrimental to us or (ii) a simple majority of our independent directors agree that the management fee payable to our Manager is unfair; provided, that we shall not have the right to terminate our Management Agreement under clause (ii) foregoing if the Manager agrees to continue to provide the services under the Management Agreement at a fee that our independent directors have determined to be fair.

If we elect not to renew our Management Agreement at the expiration of the original term or any such one-year extension term as set forth above, our Manager will be provided with 60 days’ prior notice of any such termination. In the event of such termination, we would be required to pay the termination fee described below. We may also terminate our Management Agreement at any time for cause effective upon sixty (60) days prior written notice of termination from us to our Manager, in which case no termination fee would be due, for the following reasons:

 

  (i) the willful violation of the Management Agreement by the Manager in its corporate capacity (as distinguished from the acts of any employees of the Manager which are taken without the complicity of the Principal) under the Management Agreement;

 

  (ii) our Manager’s fraud, misappropriation of funds, or embezzlement against us; and

 

  (iii) our Manager’s gross negligence of duties under our Management Agreement.

In addition, our Manager may terminate our Management Agreement effective upon sixty (60) days prior written notice of termination to us in the event that we default in the performance or observance of any material term, condition or covenant contained in our Management Agreement and such default continues for a period of thirty (30) days after written notice thereof specifying such default and requesting that the same be remedied in such 30 day period.

If our Management Agreement is terminated by our Manager upon our breach, we would be required to pay our Manager the termination fee described below.

Management Fee

Commencing from the Listing, we will pay our Manager an annual management fee equal to 1.5% per annum of our total equity calculated and payable monthly in arrears in cash. Total equity is generally the equity transferred by Newcastle on the date on which our shares trade in the “regular way” market on the NYSE, plus total net proceeds from any equity capital raised (including through stock offerings), plus certain capital contributions to subsidiaries, plus the equity value of certain assets contributed to the Company, less capital distributions and repurchases of Common Stock.

Our Manager shall compute each installment of the management fee within 15 days after the end of the calendar month with respect to which such installment is payable.

Incentive Compensation

Commencing from the Listing, our Manager will be eligible to receive on a quarterly basis annual incentive compensation in an amount equal to the product of 25% of the dollar amount by which (a) the adjusted net income of the Company exceeds (b)(i) the weighted daily average total equity (plus cash capital raising costs), multiplied by (ii) a simple interest rate of 10% per annum.

“Adjusted net income” means net income (computed in accordance with U.S. GAAP plus depreciation and amortization, and after adjustments for unconsolidated partnerships,

 

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joint ventures and permanent cash tax savings. Adjusted net income will be computed on an unconsolidated basis. The computation of adjusted net income may be adjusted at the direction of the independent directors based on changes in, or certain applications, of GAAP.

Upon any termination of our Management Agreement by either party, we shall be entitled to purchase our Manager’s right to receive incentive compensation from our Manager for a cash purchase price equal to the amount that would be distributed to our Manager if all of our assets were sold for cash at their then current fair market value (taking into account, among other things, expected future performance of the underlying investments) or otherwise continue to pay the incentive compensation to the Manager. In addition, if we do not elect to so purchase the Manager’s right to receive incentive compensation, our Manager will have the right to require us to purchase the same at the price described above. In either case, such fair market value shall be determined by independent appraisal to be conducted by a nationally recognized appraisal firm mutually agreed upon by us and our Manager.

Our Board of Directors may request that our Manager accept all or a portion of its incentive compensation in shares of our Common Stock, and our Manager may elect, in its discretion, to accept such payment in the form of shares, subject to limitations that may be imposed by the rules of the NYSE or otherwise.

Commencing from the Listing, upon the successful completion of an offering of shares of our Common Stock or any shares of preferred stock, we will grant our Manager options equal to 10% of the number of shares being sold in the offering (excluding the shares issued to Newcastle or its affiliates in the Local Media Contribution), with an exercise price equal to the offering price per share paid by the public or other ultimate purchaser. For the avoidance of doubt, the listing of our Common Stock does not constitute an offering for purposes of this provision.

Reimbursement of Expenses

Because our Manager’s employees perform certain legal, accounting, due diligence tasks and other services that outside professionals or outside consultants otherwise would perform, on the date on which our shares trade in the “regular way” market on the NYSE, our Manager will be paid or reimbursed for the cost of performing such tasks, provided that such costs and reimbursements are no greater than those which would be paid to outside professionals or consultants on an arm’s-length basis.

We also pay all operating expenses, except those specifically required to be borne by our Manager under our Management Agreement. Our Manager is responsible for all costs incident to the performance of its duties under the Management Agreement, including compensation of our Manager’s employees, rent for facilities and other “overhead” expenses. The expenses required to be paid by us include, but are not limited to, issuance and transaction costs incident to the acquisition, disposition, operation and financing of our investments, legal and auditing fees and expenses, the compensation and expenses of our independent directors, the costs associated with the establishment and maintenance of any credit facilities and other indebtedness of ours (including commitment fees, legal fees, closing costs, etc.), expenses associated with other securities offerings of ours, the costs of printing and mailing proxies and reports to our stockholders, costs incurred by employees of our manager for travel on our behalf, costs associated with any computer software or hardware that is used solely for us, costs to obtain liability insurance to indemnify our directors and officers and the compensation and expenses of our distribution agent.

Termination Fee

The termination fee is a fee equal to the sum of (1) the amount of the management fee during the 12 months immediately preceding the date of termination, and (2) the “Incentive Compensation Fair Value Amount,” if such option is exercised by the Company or the Manager. The Incentive Compensation Fair Value Amount is an amount equal to the Incentive Compensation that would be paid to the Manager if our assets were sold for cash at their then current fair market value (as determined by an appraisal, taking into account, among other things, the expected future value of the underlying investments).

 

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MANAGEMENT

Officers of New Media

The following individuals serve as the officers of New Media:

Michael E. Reed, age 47 , is our Chief Executive Officer, interim Chief Financial Officer and interim Chief Accounting Officer. He became GateHouse’s Chief Executive Officer in January of 2006. He was a member of the board of directors of GateHouse since October 2006. He was formerly the President and Chief Executive Officer of Community Newspaper Holdings, Inc., or “CNHI,” a leading publisher of local news and information and had served in that capacity since 1999. Mr. Reed served as CNHI’s Chief Financial Officer from 1997 to 1999. Prior to that, he worked for Park Communications, Inc., a multimedia company, located in Ithaca, New York. Mr. Reed formerly served on the Board of Directors for the Newspaper Association of America. He currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Minneapolis Star Tribune, on which he has served since 2009. Mr. Reed formerly served as a director of the Associated Press and Chairman of the Audit Committee for the Associated Press. Mr. Reed was also a member of the Board of Visitors of the University of Alabama’s College of Communication and Information Sciences and was a member of the Grady College Journalism School’s Board of Advisors. Mr. Reed has a deep understanding of our operations, strategy and people, as well as our industry, serving as our Chief Executive Officer for over seven years. He has also served in senior executive capacities with other companies in the newspaper and publishing industries. Mr. Reed also has extensive corporate board experience.

Cameron MacDougall, age 37 , is our Secretary. He has served as the Secretary of New Residential Investment Corp. since April 2013. Mr. MacDougall is a managing director at Fortress. He joined Fortress in February 2007. Prior to joining Fortress, Mr. MacDougall was an associate at Sullivan & Cromwell LLP from 2006 to 2007. Prior to that, Mr. MacDougall was an associate at Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP from 2001 to 2006. At both firms, Mr. MacDougall’s practice focused on a broad array of capital markets and corporate governance matters. He is a member of the Board of Directors of Mapeley Limited, a UK commercial real estate company, and Shanghai Starcastle Senior Living Services Ltd, a Sino-foreign joint venture company formed in Shanghai, China to engage in senior living residential and eldercare services. Mr. MacDougall graduated Phi Beta Kappa,  magna cum laude   from Yale College with B.A. in history and received a J.D. from Harvard Law School.

 

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Directors of New Media

In accordance with the terms of our Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation, from and after the date of the first meeting of the Board of New Media following the Listing, the Board of New Media will be divided into three classes of directors (designated Class I, Class II and Class III) of the same or nearly the same number to the extent practicable. At each annual meeting of stockholders, one class of directors will be elected for a three-year term to succeed the directors of the same class whose terms are then expiring. As a result, absent extenuating circumstances, a portion of the Board will be elected each year.

Our Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation authorizes a Board consisting of at least three, but no more than eleven, members, with the exact number of directors to be fixed from time to time by a resolution of the majority of the Board (or by a duly adopted amendment to the Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation). Any additional directorships resulting from an increase in the number of directors will be distributed among the three classes so that, as nearly as possible, each class will consist of one-third of the directors. The division of the Board into classes with staggered three-year terms may delay or prevent a change of management or a change in control.

 

Name, Position, Age

  

Description

Wesley R. Edens

Director

Age: 51

   Mr. Edens has been Chairman of Newcastle’s board of directors since its inception and served as its Chief Executive Officer from its inception until February 2007. Mr. Edens is a principal and a Co-Chairman of the board of directors of Fortress, an affiliate of our Manager. Mr. Edens has been a principal and a member of the Management Committee of Fortress since co-founding Fortress in May 1998. Mr. Edens is responsible for the private equity and publicly traded alternative investment businesses of Fortress. He is also Chairman of the board of directors of Nationstar Mortgage Holdings Inc., Springleaf Holdings, Inc. and Mapeley Limited, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Newcastle Investment Holdings LLC (the predecessor of Newcastle) and a director of GAGFAH S.A., Brookdale Senior Living Inc. and Penn National Gaming Inc. Mr. Edens was the Chairman of the board of directors of GateHouse since June 2005. Mr. Edens was the Chief Executive Officer of Global Signal Inc. from February 2004 to April 2006 and Chairman of the board of directors from October 2002 to January 2007. Mr. Edens serves or has served in various capacities in the following five current or former registered investment companies: Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and Trustee of Fortress Registered Investment Trust and Fortress Investment Trust II; Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Fortress Brookdale Investment Fund LLC and Fortress Pinnacle Investment Fund LLC and Chief Executive Officer of RIC Coinvestment Fund GP LLC. Prior to forming Fortress Investment Group LLC, Mr. Edens was a partner and a managing director of BlackRock Financial Management Inc., where he headed BlackRock Asset Investors, a private equity fund. In addition, Mr. Edens was formerly a partner and a managing director of Lehman Brothers. As a result of his past experiences, Mr. Edens has private equity finance and management expertise. These factors and his other qualifications and skills, led our board of directors to conclude that Mr. Edens should serve as a director.

Michael E. Reed

Director

Age: 47

   For Mr. Reed’s biography, see “—Officers of New Media.”

 

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Name, Position, Age

  

Description

Kevin Sheehan

Director

Age 59

  

Mr. Sheehan was a member of the board of directors of GateHouse since October 2006. Mr. Sheehan currently serves as Chief Executive Officer of Norwegian Cruise Line, which he joined in 2007. Previously, Mr. Sheehan provided consulting services to Cerebrus Capital Management LP (2006-2007) and provided consulting services to Clayton Dubilier & Rice from 2005 until 2006. Prior thereto, Mr. Sheehan was Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Cendant Corporation’s Vehicle Services Division (included responsibility for Avis Rent A Car, Budget Rent A Car, Budget Truck, PHH Fleet Management and Wright Express) from January 2003 until May 2005. From March 2001 until May 2003, Mr. Sheehan served as Chief Financial Officer of Cendant Corporation. From August 1999 to February 2001, Mr. Sheehan was President - Corporate and Business Affairs and Chief Financial Officer of Avis Group Holdings, Inc. and a director of that company from June 1999 until February 2001. From August 2005 to January 2008, Mr. Sheehan served on the faculty of Adelphi University as a Distinguished Visiting Professor — Accounting, Finance and Economics. Mr. Sheehan currently serves on the Boards of Dave & Busters and XOJETS.

 

Mr. Sheehan has significant experience in a senior management capacity for large corporations. Specifically, his experience as the Chief Financial Officer of several large corporations provide him with important experience and skills, as well as an understanding of the complexities of our current economic environment. Mr. Sheehan also brings significant financial expertise to our Board.

Corporate Governance Principles and Board Matters

New Media is committed to maintaining high standards of business conduct and corporate governance, which we believe are essential to running our business efficiently, serving our stockholders well and maintaining our integrity in the marketplace. To that end, we have adopted a Code of Business Conduct and Ethics for our directors, officers and employees, including a separate Code of Ethics for our Chief Executive Officer and senior financial officers. In addition, we have adopted the Corporate Governance Guidelines of New Media on             (our “Corporate Governance Guidelines”), which, in conjunction with our Amended and Restated Articles of Incorporation, Amended and Restated Bylaws and Audit Committee charter, form the framework for our corporate governance. All of our corporate governance materials, including the Audit Committee charter, are available under the Investors tabs on our website at                     .

These materials also are available in print to any stockholder upon request. The Board regularly reviews corporate governance developments and makes modifications as warranted.

Board and Board Committee Independence

According to our Corporate Governance Guidelines, all members of the Audit Committee must be independent directors. Members of the Audit Committee also must satisfy a separate SEC independence requirement, which provides that they may not accept directly or indirectly any consulting, advisory or other compensatory fee from us or any of our subsidiaries other than their compensation for service as directors.

Board Structure and Committee Composition

As of the date of this Prospectus, the Board has five directors, a standing Audit Committee, Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee and Compensation Committee. The committees’ memberships and functions are described below. The Audit Committee, Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee and Compensation Committee operate under written charters adopted by the Board.

 

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Board Leadership Structure

Although we currently have no policy against combining the two roles, we currently split the roles of Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer. The Board believes that separating these two positions allows each person to focus on their individual responsibilities and enhances the accountability of our Chief Executive Officer to the Board. Under this structure, our Chief Executive Officer can focus his attention on the day-to-day operations and performance of our Company and on implementing our longer-term strategic direction. At the same time, our Chairman of the Board can focus his attention on longer term strategic issues, setting the agenda for and on providing insight and guidance to our Chief Executive Officer. We currently believe that the separation of the roles of Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer is appropriate, however, our Corporate Governance Guidelines do not require the separation of the offices of the Chairman of the Board and the Chief Executive Officer. The Board is free to choose its Chairman of the Board in any way that it deems best at any given point in time.

The Board’s Role in Risk Oversight

The Board is responsible for enterprise risk management, including risks associated with our corporate governance, such as board organization, membership, structure and leadership succession planning, as well as the management of risks arising from our executive compensation policies and programs. While the Board retains responsibility for the general oversight of risks, it has delegated financial oversight to our Audit Committee, which focuses on financial risk, including those that could arise from our accounting and financial reporting processes and our consolidated financial statement audits.

The Board and the Audit Committee work together to provide enterprise-wide oversight of our management and handling of risk. These responsibilities are satisfied through periodic reports from the Audit Committee chairman regarding the risk considerations within its area of expertise, as well as through periodic reports to the Board, or the Audit Committee, from our management team on areas of material risk to the Company, including operational, financial, legal, regulatory and strategic risks. The Board, or the Audit Committee with respect to risks within its scope, reviews these reports to enable it to understand our risk identification, risk management and risk mitigation strategies. The Audit Committee chairman will report to the Board at subsequent Board meetings regarding particular risks within the scope of the Audit Committee, enabling the Board and the Audit Committee to coordinate the risk oversight role.

Committees of the Board

We have established the following committees of our Board:

Audit Committee

The Audit Committee:

 

    reviews the audit plans and findings of our independent registered public accounting firm and our internal audit and risk review staff, as well as the results of regulatory examinations, and tracks management’s corrective action plans where necessary;

 

    reviews our financial statements, including any significant financial items and/or changes in accounting policies, with our senior management and independent registered public accounting firm;

 

    reviews our financial risk and control procedures, compliance programs and significant tax, legal and regulatory matters; and

 

    has the sole discretion to appoint annually our independent registered public accounting firm, evaluate its independence and performance and set clear hiring policies for employees or former employees of the independent registered public accounting firm.

 

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The members of the Audit Committee are             (chair),             , and             . Upon effectiveness of the registration statement, each member of the Audit Committee will be “independent,” as defined under the rules of the NYSE and Rule 10A-3 of the Exchange Act. Our Board of Directors has determined that each director appointed to the Audit Committee is financially literate, and the Board of Directors has determined that              is our Audit Committee financial expert.

Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee

The Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee:

 

    reviews the performance of our Board of Directors and makes recommendations to the Board of Directors regarding the selection of candidates, qualification and competency requirements for service on the Board of Directors and the suitability of proposed nominees as directors;

 

    advises the Board of Directors with respect to the corporate governance principles applicable to us;

 

    oversees the evaluation of the Board of Directors and management;

 

    reviews and approves in advance any related party transaction, other than those that are pre-approved pursuant to pre-approval guidelines or rules established by the committee; and

 

    recommends guidelines or rules to cover specific categories of transactions.

The members of the nominating and Corporate Governance Committee are              (chair),              and             . Each member of our nominating and Corporate Governance Committee is independent, as defined under the rules of the NYSE.

Compensation Committee

The Compensation Committee:

 

    reviews and recommends to the Board of Directors the salaries, benefits and equity incentive grants for all employees, consultants, officers, directors and other individuals we compensate;

 

    reviews and approves corporate goals and objectives relevant to Chief Executive Officer compensation, evaluates the Chief Executive Officer’s performance in light of those goals and objectives and determines the Chief Executive Officer’s compensation based on that evaluation; and

 

    oversees our compensation and employee benefit plans.

The members of the Compensation Committee are              (chair),             , and             . Each member of our Compensation Committee is independent, as defined under the rules of the NYSE. The “independent” directors that are appointed to the Compensation Committee are also “non-employee” directors as defined in Rule 16b-3(b)(3) under the Exchange Act and “outside” directors within the meaning of Section 162(m)(4)(c)(i) of the Code.

Nonqualified Stock Option and Incentive Award Plan

Prior to the separation from Newcastle and the Record Date, we will adopt a Nonqualified Stock Option and Incentive Award Plan (the “Incentive Plan”). The Incentive Plan is intended to facilitate the use of long-term equity-based awards and incentives for the benefit of the service providers to New Media and our Manager.

A summary of the Incentive Plan is set forth below. This summary does not purport to be complete and is subject to and qualified in its entirety by the full text of the Incentive Plan, which is filed as an exhibit to this registration statement.

 

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Summary of the Incentive Plan Terms

The Incentive Plan will be administered by our Board of Directors, or by any committee our Board of Directors may appoint to administer the Incentive Plan (the “Committee”). We anticipate that our Compensation Committee will be appointed to administer the Incentive Plan. As the administrator of the Incentive Plan, the Committee will have the authority to grant awards under the Incentive Plan and to adopt, alter and repeal such administrative rules, guidelines and practices governing the Incentive Plan as it deems advisable for the administration of the Incentive Plan. The Committee will also have the authority to interpret the terms and provisions of the Incentive Plan, any award issued under the Incentive Plan and any award agreements relating thereto and to otherwise supervise the administration of the Incentive Plan. In particular, the Committee will have the authority to determine the terms and conditions of awards under the Incentive Plan, including, without limitation, the exercise price, the number of shares of our Common Stock subject to awards, the term of the awards and the vesting schedule applicable to awards and to waive or amend the terms and conditions of outstanding awards. All decisions made by the Committee pursuant to the provisions of the Incentive Plan will be final, conclusive and binding on all persons.

The terms of the Incentive Plan provide for the grant of stock options that are not intended to qualify as “incentive stock options” under Section 422 of the Code, stock appreciation rights (“SARs”), restricted stock, restricted stock units (“RSUs”), performance awards, tandem awards and other stock-based and non-stock based awards, in each case to our directors. Such awards may be granted singly, in tandem, or in combination with each of the other awards.

We have initially reserved              shares of our Common Stock for issuance under the Incentive Plan on the first day of each fiscal year beginning during the ten-year term of the Incentive Plan and in and after calendar year 2014, that number will be increased by a number of shares of our Common Stock equal to     % of the number of shares of our Common Stock newly issued by us during the immediately preceding fiscal year. The shares of our Common Stock which may be issued pursuant to an award under the Incentive Plan may be treasury stock, authorized but unissued stock or stock acquired on the open market to satisfy the requirements of the Incentive Plan. Awards may consist of any combination of such stock, or, at our election cash. The aggregate number of shares of our Common Stock that may be granted during any calendar year to any participant who is a “covered employee” for purposes of Section 162(m) of the Code during such calendar year may not be greater than             . If any shares of our Common Stock subject to an award are forfeited, cancelled, exchanged or surrendered or if an award otherwise terminates or expires without a distribution of shares to the participant, such shares will again be available for grants under the Incentive Plan. The grant of a tandem award will not reduce the number of shares of our Common Stock reserved and available for issuance under the Incentive Plan.

Upon the occurrence of any event which affects the shares of our Common Stock in such a way that an adjustment of outstanding awards is appropriate to prevent the dilution or enlargement of rights under the awards, the Committee will make appropriate equitable adjustments. The Committee may also provide for other substitutions or adjustments in its sole discretion, including, without limitation, the cancellation of any outstanding award and payment in cash or other property in exchange thereof, equal to the excess, if any, of the fair market value of the shares or other property subject to the award over the exercise price, if any.

We anticipate that we will grant our Manager options in connection with our equity offerings as compensation for our Manager’s role in raising capital for us. In the event that we offer shares of our Common Stock to the public, we intend to simultaneously grant to our Manager or an affiliate of our Manager a number of options equal to up to 10% of the aggregate number of shares being issued in such offering at an exercise price per share equal to the offering price per share, as determined by the Committee. In each case, the Incentive Plan provides that such options will be fully vested as of the date of grant and exercisable as to 1/30 of the shares subject to the option on the first day of each of the 30 calendar months following the date of the grant. The exercise price of such options may be paid in cash or its equivalent, as determined by the Committee. Payment in whole or in part may also be made by the following cashless exercise procedures: (i) by withholding from shares of our Common Stock otherwise issuable upon exercise of such option, (ii) in the form of our unrestricted

 

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Common Stock already owned by our Manager which has a fair market value on the date of surrender equal to the aggregate option price of our Common Stock as to which such option shall be exercised or (iii) by means of any other cashless exercise procedure approved by the Committee.

In addition, the Committee will have the authority to grant such other awards to our Manager as it deems advisable, provided that no such award may be granted to our Manager in connection with any issuance by us of equity securities in excess of 10% of the maximum number of equity securities then being issued. Our Board of Directors may also determine to issue options to the Manager that are not subject to the Incentive Plan, provided that the number of shares underlying any options granted to the Manager in connection with capital raising efforts would not exceed 10% of the shares sold in such offering and would be subject to NYSE rules.

In addition, each of the Committee and our Manager will have the authority under the terms of the Incentive Plan to direct awards of tandem options (“Tandem Awards”) to employees of our Manager who act as officers or perform other services for us that correspond on a one-to-one basis with the options granted to our Manager, such that exercise by such employee of the Tandem Awards would result in the corresponding options held by our Manager being cancelled. As a condition to the grant of Tandem Awards, our Manager will be required to agree that so long as such Tandem Awards remain outstanding, our Manager will not exercise any options under any designated Manager options that relate to the options outstanding under such Tandem Awards. If any Tandem Awards are forfeited, expire or are cancelled without being exercised, the related options under the designated Manager options will again become exercisable in accordance with their terms. The terms and conditions of any Tandem Awards (e.g., the per-share exercise price, the schedule of vesting, exercisability and delivery, etc.) will be determined by the Committee or the Manager, as the case may be, in its sole discretion and must be included in an award agreement, provided, that the term of such Tandem Awards may not be greater than the term of the designated Manager options to which they relate. As determined by our Manager, in its sole discretion, payment of the exercise price of such Tandem Awards in whole or in part may be made by the following cashless exercise procedures: (i) by withholding from shares of our Common Stock otherwise issuable upon exercise of such Tandem Award, (ii) in the form of our unrestricted Common Stock already owned by the holder of such Tandem Award which has a fair market value on the date of surrender equal to the aggregate option price of our Common Stock as to which such Tandem Award shall be exercised or (iii) by means of any other cashless exercise procedure approved by the Committee. All options granted to our Manager will become fully vested and exercisable upon a “change of control” (as defined in the Incentive Plan) or a termination of the Manager’s services to us for any reason, and any Tandem Awards will be governed by the terms and condition set forth in the applicable award agreements, as determined by the Committee or the Manager, as the case may be.

As a general matter, the Incentive Plan provides that the Committee has the power to determine the number of shares of our Common Stock covered by options, the exercise price of options, which may not be less than 100% of the per share fair market value of our Common Stock on the date of grant, at what time or times each option may be exercised and, subject to the provisions of the Incentive Plan, the period of time, if any, after death, disability or other termination of employment during which options may be exercised. Options may become vested and exercisable in installments, and the exercisability of options may be accelerated by the Committee. To the extent permitted by applicable law, we may make loans available to the optionee in connection with the exercise of stock options. Such loans must be evidenced by the delivery of a promissory note and will bear interest and be subject to such other terms and conditions (including, without limitation, the execution by the optionee of a pledge agreement) as the Committee may determine. In any event, such loan amount may not exceed the sum of (x) the exercise price less the par value of the shares of our Common Stock subject to such option then being exercised plus (y) any federal, state or local income taxes attributable to such exercise.

The Committee may also grant SARs in tandem with all or part of, or completely independent of, a grant of options or any other award under the Plan. A SAR issued in tandem with an option may be granted at the time of grant of the related option or at any time during the term of such option. The amount payable in cash and/or shares of our Common Stock with respect to each SAR will be equal in value to a percentage (including up to 100%) of the amount by which the fair market value per share of our Common Stock on the exercise date

 

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exceeds the fair market value per share of our Common Stock on the date of grant of the SAR. The applicable percentage will be established by the Committee. The award agreement under which the SAR is granted may state whether the amount payable is to be paid wholly in cash, wholly in shares of our Common Stock or in any combination of the foregoing, and if the award agreement does not state the manner of payment, the Committee will determine such manner of payment at the time of payment. The amount payable in shares of our Common Stock, if any, is determined with reference to the fair market value per share of our Common Stock on the date of exercise.

SARs issued in tandem with options shall be exercisable only to the extent that the options to which they relate are exercisable. Upon exercise of the tandem SAR, and to the extent of such exercise, the participant’s underlying option shall automatically terminate. Similarly, upon the exercise of the tandem option, and to the extent of such exercise, the participant’s related SAR will automatically terminate.

The Committee may also grant restricted stock, RSUs, performance awards, tandem awards and other stock and non-stock-based awards under the Incentive Plan. These awards will be subject to such conditions and restrictions as the Committee may determine, which may include, without limitation, the achievement of certain performance goals or continued service with us through a specific period.

The Incentive Plan provides for automatic annual awards of shares of our Common Stock to our non-officer or non-employee directors, in any case in an amount to be determined by the Committee from time to time, based on the fair market value of shares of our Common Stock on the date of grant. Such automatic annual awards, which will be fully vested on the date of grant, will begin on the first business day after our first annual stockholders’ meeting following December 31,         , and will continue to be made on the first business day after each such annual meeting thereafter during the term of the Incentive Plan. In addition, each new non-officer or non-employee member of our Board of Directors will be granted an initial one-time grant of an option to purchase              shares of our Common Stock upon the date of the first meeting of our Board of Directors attended by such director. Such initial option grant, which will be fully vested on the date of grant, will have an exercise price equal to the fair market value of the underlying shares of our Common Stock on the date of grant.

Equitable Adjustment of Options

In connection with the distribution, each Newcastle option held as of the date of the distribution by our Manager or by the directors, officers, employees, service providers, consultants and advisors of our Manager will be converted into an adjusted Newcastle option. The exercise price of each adjusted Newcastle option will be set to collectively maintain the intrinsic value of the Newcastle option immediately prior to the distribution and to maintain the ratio of the exercise price of the adjusted Newcastle option to the fair market value of the underlying shares as of the distribution.

Officers of GateHouse, our Predecessor

All references to “we,” “our,” “us” and the “Company” refer to GateHouse, our Predecessor.

The following individuals serve as the officers of our Predecessor, GateHouse:

Michael E. Reed. For Mr. Reed’s biography, see “—Officers of New Media.”

Melinda A. Janik, age 56 , became our Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer in February 2009. She formerly served as an officer and Vice President and Controller of Paychex, Inc., a provider of payroll, human resource services, from 2005 to 2009. Prior to joining Paychex, Inc., Ms. Janik served as Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer for Glimcher Realty Trust, a mall Real Estate Investment Trust based in Columbus, Ohio, from 2002 to 2004. Ms. Janik was formerly Vice President and Treasurer of NCR Corporation, a global provider of financial and retail self service solutions and data warehousing based in Atlanta, Georgia, from 1997 to 2002. Prior to that, she worked for the accounting firm Pricewaterhouse LLP. Ms. Janik is a Certified Public Accountant and holds an MBA in finance and accounting and a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from the State University of New York at Buffalo.

 

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Kirk Davis, age 52 , became our President and Chief Operating Officer in January 2009. Mr. Davis has been with us since 2006, serving as the Chief Executive Officer of GateHouse Media New England. Prior to joining us, Mr. Davis served as the Chief Executive Officer of Enterprise NewsMedia, LLC, also known as the South of Boston Media Group, from 2004 to 2006. Prior to that, Mr. Davis served as Vice President of Publishing for Turley Publications, Inc., a publishing and printing company, from 2002 to 2004. In 2001, Mr. Davis formed Cracked Rock Media, Inc. and began acquiring newspapers in Central Massachusetts. Mr. Davis still owns Cracked Rock Media, but has no day-to-day operational involvement. Prior to that, Mr. Davis served as President of Community Newspaper Company (“CNC”) from 1998 to 2001. Mr. Davis also served as President of a newspaper group in the Boston area (TAB Newspapers), which was part of CNC, from 1996 to 1998. Mr. Davis also served as a Publisher and managed newspaper companies in Pennsylvania, Massachusetts and California from 1990 to 1996. Mr. Davis also served as Vice President of Circulation and Marketing for Ingersoll Publications from 1985 to 1990. Mr. Davis attended Wright State University and Ohio University. He is past chairman of the board for the Suburban Newspapers of America (“SNA”) and as well as past chairman of the SNA Foundation. In 2007, Mr. Davis was elected to the Board of Directors of the Alliance for Audited Media.

Polly G. Sack, age 53 , became our Vice President, Secretary and General Counsel in May 2006. Ms. Sack was named a Senior Vice President of ours in February 2009. She was formerly Senior Vice President and Director of Mergers and Acquisitions of IMG Worldwide, Inc. (“IMG”), a global sports, media and entertainment company, and had served in that capacity since 2001. Ms. Sack also served as IMG’s associate counsel and a vice president from 1992 to 2001. Prior to that, she worked in private practice for a major international law firm. Ms. Sack holds bachelor degrees in civil engineering and mathematics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a master’s degree in civil engineering from Stanford University, in addition to a law degree from Stanford University Law School.

Mark Maring, age 47 , became our Vice President of Investor Relations and Strategic Development in March 2008 and became our Treasurer in January 2009. Mr. Maring also served as our Interim Chief Financial Officer from August 2008 to February 2009. He was formerly a Vice President of Mendon Capital Advisors Corp, a registered investment advisor, from 2004 through 2008 where his responsibilities included risk management and hedging strategies. From 2000 to 2004 Mr. Maring was Vice President Investor Relations for Constellation Brands, Inc. (“Constellation”) an international producer and marketer of beverage alcohol brands. Mr. Maring also served as Constellation’s Director of Planning from 1997 to 2000. From 1992 to 1997, Mr. Maring worked with the accounting firm Arthur Andersen LLP. From 1987 to 1992 he worked for The Chase Manhattan Bank, N.A. in investment banking. Mr. Maring is a certified public accountant and holds a master’s degree in finance and accounting, from the Simon School of Business at the University of Rochester and a B.S. from St. John Fisher College.

Directors of GateHouse, our Predecessor

 

Name, Position, Age

  

Description

Wesley R. Edens

Chairman of the Board

Age: 51

  

For Mr. Edens’ biography, see “—Directors of New Media.”

Michael E. Reed

Director

Age: 47

   For Mr. Reed’s biography, see “—Officers of New Media.”

Kevin Sheehan

Director

Age: 59

  

For Mr. Sheehan’s biography, see “—Directors of New Media.”

 

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COMPENSATION OF DIRECTORS

Compensation of Directors of New Media

We have not yet paid any compensation to our directors. Following completion of the Distribution, we will pay an annual fee to each independent director equal to $        , payable semi-annually. In addition, an annual fee of $         will be paid to the chairs of each of the audit and compensation committees of the board of directors. Fees to independent directors may be made by issuance of common stock, based on the value of such common stock at the date of issuance, rather than in cash, provided that any such issuance does not prevent such director from being determined to be independent and such shares are granted pursuant to a stockholder-approved plan or the issuance is otherwise exempt from NYSE listing requirements. Each independent director will also receive (i) an initial one time grant of options to purchase          shares of our common stock under the Incentive Plan upon the date of the first meeting of our board of directors attended by such director, and (ii) beginning on the first business day after our first annual stockholders’ meeting following December 31,             , and on the first business day after each such annual meeting thereafter during the term of the Incentive Plan, automatic annual awards of shares of our common stock in an amount to be determined by the compensation committee from time to time, based on the fair market value of shares of our common stock on the date of grant. For additional information on director equity compensation, see “Management—Nonqualified Stock Option and Incentive Award Plan.” Affiliated directors, however, will not be separately compensated by us. All members of the board of directors will be reimbursed for reasonable costs and expenses incurred in attending meetings of our board of directors.

Compensation of Directors of GateHouse, our Predecessor

All references to “we,” “our,” “us” and the “Company” refer to GateHouse, our Predecessor.

Our outside directors receive an annual cash retainer of $50,000, which is payable in two semi-annual installments. We pay our Audit Committee chairperson a $10,000 annual cash retainer, which is payable in two semi-annual installments.

On February 19, 2013, the Board approved (without the participation of Mr. Sheehan) that Mr. Sheehan will receive (a) an annual cash retainer of $50,000; and (b) a per meeting fee of $1,000, as remuneration for his service as the sole member of the special committee formed by the board of directors of GateHouse on February 19, 2013 (the “Special Committee”) in connection with the Plan. The Special Committee was given the exclusive, full and plenary power and authority of GateHouse’s board of directors, to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, to review, evaluate and approve or reject any potential proposal of Newcastle Investment Corp. in its capacity as Plan Sponsor and to review and evaluate strategic alternatives and all other matters pertaining thereto. These amounts are in addition to other amounts paid to Mr. Sheehan for service on the Board and for service as the Audit Committee chairperson.

 

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2012 Director Compensation Table

The following table provides information about the compensation earned by GateHouse’s, our predecessor, outside directors during 2012.

 

Name

   Fees Earned
or Paid in
Cash
($)(1)(2)
     Total ($)  

Wesley R. Edens(3)

     0         0   

Burl Osborne(4)

     31,250         31,250   

Kevin M. Sheehan

     60,000         60,000   

 

(1) Amounts in this column reflect the annual cash retainer of $50,000 earned for 2012.
(2) Mr. Sheehan’s annual cash retainer includes an additional $10,000 retainer he earned as Chair of the Audit Committee.
(3) Mr. Edens is not an independent director (he is affiliated with our largest stockholder — Fortress Investment Group) and he receives no compensation for his services as a director.
(4) Mr. Osborne died on August 15, 2012. Cash retainer reflects prorated payment for time served as director.

 

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EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION

Executive Compensation of GateHouse, our Predecessor

All references to “we,” “our,” “us” and the “Company” refer to GateHouse, our Predecessor.

Compensation Discussion and Analysis

The GateHouse board of directors is responsible for establishing, implementing and monitoring our executive compensation philosophy and objectives. The GateHouse board of directors’ focus is to establish compensation at levels necessary to attract, retain and motivate the best possible executive talent. Historically, our board of directors has developed our executive compensation programs based on input from our Chief Executive Officer, the officers’ current compensation, our financial condition, our operating results, and individual performance.

The following Compensation Discussion and Analysis describes the material elements of compensation for our Chief Executive Officer, Chief Financial Officer, and the three other executive officers identified in the Summary Compensation Table included below (“Named Executive Officers”), as well as the role and involvement of various parties in executive compensation analysis and decisions, and provides a discussion of the process and rationale for our board of directors’ decisions to compensate our Named Executive Officers with specific types and amounts of compensation. We have not established an extensive or complicated executive compensation program. Instead, we believe that we have a fairly simple executive compensation program that is intended to provide appropriate compensation for our Named Executive Officers, as determined by the GateHouse board of directors. As this Compensation Discussion and Analysis explains in greater detail, our executive compensation program currently has three key elements: (a) base salary; (b) an annual incentive in the form of an annual bonus; and (c) periodic long-term equity incentives, such as restricted share grants.

Executive Summary of Compensation Actions

Based on the global economic conditions, the performance of GateHouse Media stock and other factors, the key decisions made by our board of directors with respect to our executive compensation program in 2012 and early 2013:

 

    2012 base salaries for our Named Executive Officers were frozen at 2008 levels;

 

    No awards of equity compensation were granted during 2012 or to date in 2013 for 2012 performance; and

 

    On December 26, 2012, the GateHouse board of directors elected to pay discretionary annual bonuses to our Named Executive Officers for certain performance goals achieved in 2012 and as an incentive to remain in our employment.

Our board of directors believes that our executive compensation program has been tailored to promote the creation of value for our stockholders because we structure the executive compensation program to: (a) focus the executives’ performance on building long-term value through the achievement of short-term and long-term objectives; and (b) permit us to recruit, retain and motivate highly qualified executives by offering competitive compensation and rewarding superior performance.

At our 2013 Annual Meeting, we held our first stockholder advisory vote on our executive compensation program (the “Vote”) and our stockholders approved our fiscal year 2012 executive compensation program. Our board of directors has considered the results of the Vote and concluded that the executive compensation program continues to promote the creation of value for our stockholders, and therefore made no significant changes to the executive compensation program during the year. The GateHouse board of directors will continue to consider stockholder views about the Company’s compensation principles and objectives when determining executive compensation.

 

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Objectives of Our Compensation Program

The primary objective of our executive compensation program is to attract and retain executives with the requisite skills and experience to help us achieve our business mission and develop, expand and execute business opportunities to improve long-term stockholder value. The impact of the continuing global recession on the print and online advertising industries continues to create a challenging operating environment and to drive significant and rapid change. However, this economic environment has not changed the primary objectives of our executive compensation program of attracting and retaining talented executives. In fact, the weaknesses in the economy generally, and the financial markets specifically, has intensified the demand for exceptional leadership. We believe that a capable, experienced and highly motivated executive management team is critical to our success and to the creation of long-term stockholder value. In assessing the ability of our executive compensation program to meet these objectives, the board of directors evaluates both company and individual performance as well as market compensation. Through this evaluation, the board of directors works to help ensure that we maintain our ability to attract and retain superior employees in key positions and that compensation provided to key employees remains competitive relative to the compensation paid to similarly situated executives of peer companies.

Key Elements of Our Executive Compensation Program

We seek to achieve the objectives for our executive compensation program through three key compensation elements:

 

    a base salary;

 

    an annual incentive in the form of an annual bonus paid at the GateHouse’s board of directors’ discretion, based on its evaluation of short-term company and individual performance; and

 

    periodic long-term equity incentives, such as restricted share grants, to align the interests of our Named Executive Officers with those of our stockholders.

Compensation Setting Process

Role of the GateHouse Board of Directors and Executive Officers

The GateHouse board of directors is primarily responsible for overseeing compensation for our executive officers, including Named Executive Officers. Since December 19, 2008, the board of directors, with the exception of our Chief Executive Officer, has assumed the functions previously carried out by the Compensation Committee. The board of directors, with the exception of our Chief Executive Officer, annually approves the compensation for our Named Executive Officers.

Independent Compensation Consultants

On June 8, 2012, the Company retained, on an ad hoc basis, Towers Watson & Co (“Towers Watson”), an independent compensation consultant with particular expertise in compensation matters for the media, publishing and newspaper industries, to provide ad hoc compensation consulting services with respect to: (a) managing senior executives via potential change-in-control for both incentive opportunities and stability; and (b) developing a retention plan for key executives (collectively, the “Services”).

As authorized by the GateHouse board of directors, Towers Watson reported directly to the Ad Hoc Committee (the “Committee”), which had the authority to engage Towers Watson and to approve fee arrangements for work performed. Towers Watson was authorized to interact with: (a) the Company’s management, as needed, in connection with the Services; and (b) the Committee’s outside legal counsel, when applicable, on matters being brought to the Committee for consideration.

 

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It is the Committee’s policy that the Chair of the Committee or the full Committee pre-approve any additional services provided by Towers Watson to the Company. In fiscal year 2012, Towers Watson only performed the Services for the Company. The Committee has assessed the independence of Towers Watson pursuant to Securities and Exchange Commission Rules and Regulations and concluded that Towers Watson’s work for the Company does not raise any conflict of interest.

Benchmarking Data

The GateHouse board of directors believes that each element of the compensation program should establish compensation levels taking into account current market practices. As such, the members of our board of directors may familiarize themselves with compensation trends and competitive conditions through the review of non-customized market surveys, data and other information about relevant market compensation practices. However, market compensation levels and practices are only one of the factors used by the board of directors in making executive compensation decisions. The GateHouse board of directors does not target a specific percentile within this market data and instead uses the comparative data solely as a validation after having determined the types and amount of compensation based on its own evaluation. Other factors considered in the board of directors’ evaluation may include the individual Named Executive Officer’s level of responsibility, the individual Named Executive Officer’s performance, historical company practices, long-term market trends, internal pay equity, and expectations regarding the individual’s future contributions, our own performance, budget considerations, and succession planning and retention strategies.

Executive Compensation Program

Our practices with respect to each of the three key compensation elements identified above, as well as other elements of compensation, are set forth below.

Base Salary

Each Named Executive Officer is paid a base salary providing him or her with a guaranteed income stream which does not vary with our performance. Each Named Executive Officer’s base salary is based on his or her job responsibilities, leadership and experience and value to, and length of service with, our Company. The salaries of our Named Executive Officers named in the Summary Compensation Table are determined by the board of directors. Such salaries may be reflected either in an employment agreement (described below in the section entitled “Employment Agreements”) or an offer letter. Decisions regarding adjustments to base salaries are made at the discretion of the GateHouse board of directors, and are influenced by, among other factors determined by the board of directors in its sole discretion, each Named Executive Officer’s current base salary and the base salaries paid to other executives performing substantially similar functions at similar companies with a market capitalization similar to ours.

For 2012, in light of the current economic environment and considering other factors, the board of directors elected to freeze the base salaries of our Named Executive Officers at their 2008 levels.

Annual Bonus Incentives for Named Executive Officers

Each of our Named Executive Officers is entitled to a discretionary annual bonus that is based upon the achievement of certain performance goals of the Company and individual, as agreed to by each Named Executive Officer and the GateHouse board of directors. The annual bonus incentives are used to ensure that a portion of our Named Executive Officer’s compensation is at risk, and that each Named Executive Officer has the opportunity to receive a variable amount of compensation based on the board of directors’ evaluation of our and the individual’s performance. The bonus is payable in our common stock or cash or a combination thereof, as determined by the GateHouse board of directors, in its sole discretion. Any bonus that is payable in common stock (a “Restricted Stock Bonus”) vests over a specified period.

 

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While the amount, if any, of an annual bonus is determined by our board of directors in its sole discretion, the board of directors has established an evaluation process used to assist in its decision-making process relating to the amount, if any, of the annual bonus for our Named Executive Officers. The evaluation process involves the following four steps:

 

    Setting Company-wide annual performance goals . Early in each fiscal year, the GateHouse board of directors and senior management establish annual performance measures for us. For a particular fiscal year, those performance measures may include one or any combination of the following: (i) net income or operating income (before or after taxes, interest, capital expenses, depreciation, amortization or nonrecurring or unusual items); (ii) return on assets, return on capital, return on equity, return on economic capital, return on other measures of capital, return on sales or other financial criteria; (iii) revenue or net sales; (iv) gross profit or operating gross profit; (v) share price or total shareholder return; (vi) earnings per share; (vii) budget and expense management; or (viii) customer or product measures. In determining the extent to which the performance measures are met for a given period, the GateHouse board of directors exercises its judgment whether to reflect or exclude the impact of changes in accounting principles and extraordinary, unusual or infrequently occurring events.

 

    Setting individual performance measures . As it sets our company-wide performance measures, the GateHouse board of directors also establishes individual performance measures for each Named Executive Officer. These measures are used by the board of directors to evaluate individual performance beyond purely financial measures, and may include one or any combination of the following: (i) exceptional performance of each individual’s functional responsibilities; (ii) leadership; (iii) creativity; (iv) innovation; (v) collaboration; (vi) development and implementation of growth initiatives; and (vii) other activities that are critical to driving long-term value for stockholders.

 

    Setting a target bonus . Our board of directors establishes a target bonus amount for certain Named Executive Officers. The target bonus takes into account all of the Company and individual factors that the board of directors deems relevant, however, no one factor by itself is determinative of the target bonus amount. For 2012, Mr. Reed’s target bonus was $200,000, Ms. Janik’s target bonus was $137,500 and Mr. Maring’s target bonus was $140,000. Neither Mr. Davis nor Ms. Sack had a target bonus amount for 2012.

 

    Measuring performance . After the end of the fiscal year, our board of directors reviews our actual performance against each of the performance goals established at the outset of the year. The GateHouse board of directors also makes an assessment of performance against the individual goals set at the outset of the year as well as each Named Executive Officer’s performance in relation to any extraordinary events or transactions. The board of directors does not apply a rigid set of rules for determining the relative importance of these factors. Our board of directors may emphasize or weight particular factors differently for each Named Executive Officer and differently for each fiscal year.

For 2012, the GateHouse board of directors considered the above factors and, on December 26, 2012, awarded the following discretionary cash bonuses to our Named Executive Officers as follows: Mr. Reed — $800,000; Ms. Janik — $125,000; Mr. Davis — $350,000; Ms. Sack — $140,000; and Mr. Maring— $80,000.

Periodic Long-Term Equity Incentive Compensation

The periodic long-term equity incentive program provides a periodic award (typically annual) of equity compensation under the GateHouse Media, Inc. Omnibus Stock Incentive Plan (the “Equity Plan”). The objective of the program is to directly align compensation for our Named Executive Officers over a multi-year period with the interests of our stockholders by motivating and rewarding creation and preservation of long-term stockholder value. The level of long-term incentive compensation is determined based on an evaluation of competitive factors in conjunction with total compensation provided to our Named Executive Officers and the goals of the compensation program described above.

 

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During 2012, following our board of directors’ evaluation of our performance, and after consideration of any other appropriate factors determined by the board of directors in its sole discretion, the board of directors determined not to grant our Named Executive Officers any awards of long-term equity compensation. In making this decision, the GateHouse board of directors considered that Mr. Reed and Ms. Sack each previously entered into a management stockholder agreement (the “Management Stockholder Agreements”) pursuant to which they were awarded restricted share grants. Under the Management Stockholder Agreements, the restricted share grants are subject to a five-year vesting schedule, with one-third of the shares vesting on each of the third, fourth and fifth anniversaries from the grant date. In addition, Mr. Reed also purchased additional restricted shares of our common stock which are also subject to the Management Stockholder Agreements.

Following the adoption of the Equity Plan in October 2006, additional restricted share grants were awarded to certain of our Named Executive Officers under the Equity Plan in each of 2006, 2007 and 2008. The majority of the restricted share grants granted under the Equity Plan vest in one-third increments on each of the first, second and third anniversaries of the grant date. During 2012, following our board of directors’ evaluation of our performance, and after consideration of any other appropriate factors determined by the GateHouse board of directors in its sole discretion, our board of directors determined not to grant our Named Executive Officers any awards of restricted share grants.

During the applicable vesting period, our Named Executive Officers holding restricted share grants have all the rights of a stockholder, including, without limitation, the right to vote and the right to receive all dividends or other distributions (at the same rate and on the same terms as all other stockholders). As of December 30, 2012, no equity awards to our Named Executive Officers were outstanding.

Benefits and Perquisites

The GateHouse board of directors supports providing benefits and perquisites to our Named Executive Officers that are substantially the same as those offered to our other executive officers, including vacation, sick time, participation in our medical, dental and insurance programs, all in accordance with the terms of such plans and program in effect from time to time.

Policy With Respect to the $1 Million Deduction Limit

Section 162(m) of the Code generally disallows a tax deduction to public corporations for compensation greater than $1 million paid for any fiscal year to the corporation’s Chief Executive Officer and the three other most highly compensated executive officers as of the end of any fiscal year, other than the Chief Financial Officer. However, certain forms of performance-based compensation are excluded from the $1 million deduction limit if certain requirements are met. Our board of directors designs certain components of Named Executive Officer compensation, including awards granted under the Equity Plan, to permit full deductibility. The GateHouse board of directors believes, however, that our stockholder interests are best served by not restricting its discretion and flexibility in crafting compensation programs, even though such programs may result in certain non-deductible compensation expenses. Accordingly, we have granted and may continue to grant awards such as time-based restricted share grants and/or enter into compensation arrangements under which payments are not deductible under Section 162(m) in the event that the GateHouse board of directors determines that such non-deductible arrangements are otherwise in the best interests of our stockholders.

Risk and Compensation Policies

In considering the risks to the Company and its business that may be implied by our compensation plans and programs, our board of directors considers the design, operation and mix of the plans and programs at all levels of the Company. Our compensation program is designed to mitigate the potential to reward excessive risk-taking that may produce short-term results that appear in isolation to be favorable, but that may undermine the successful execution of our long-term business strategy and erode shareholder value.

 

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2012 Summary Compensation Table

The table below summarizes the total compensation paid or earned by each of the Named Executive Officers for the fiscal years 2012, 2011 and 2010, ending December 30, 2012, January 1, 2012, and December 31, 2010, respectively.

 

Name and Principal Position

   Year      Salary
($)
     Bonus
($)
    Change in
Pension Value
and
Nonqualified
Deferred
Compensation
Earnings

($)
    Total
($)
 

Michael E. Reed

     2012       $ 500,000       $ 800,000 (1)    $ 0      $ 1,300,000   

— Chief Executive Officer

     2011         500,000         800,000 (2)      0        1,300,000   
     2010         500,000         750,000 (3)      0        1,250,000   

Melinda A. Janik

     2012         275,000         125,000 (1)      0        400,000   

— Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

     2011         275,000         125,000 (2)      0        400,000   
     2010         275,000         160,000 (3)      0        435,000   

Kirk Davis

     2012         461,261         350,000 (1)      15,117 (4)      826,378   

— President and Chief Operating Officer

     2011         461,261         350,000 (2)      8,527 (4)      819,788   
     2010         461,261         250,000 (3)      4,078 (4)      715,339   

Polly Grunfeld Sack

     2012         260,000         140,000 (1)      0        400,000   

— Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary

     2011         260,000         140,000 (2)      0        400,000   
     2010         260,000         140,000 (3)      0        400,000   

Mark Maring

     2012         200,000         80,000 (1)      0        280,000   

— Vice President, Investor Relations and Strategic

     2011         200,000         80,000 (2)      0        280,000   

Development and Treasurer

     2010         200,000         80,000 (3)      0        280,000   

 

(1) This amount reflects the bonus amount earned and paid in 2012.
(2) This amount reflects the bonus amount earned in 2011 and paid in 2012.
(3) This amount reflects the bonus amount earned in 2010 and paid in 2011.
(4) The amount in this column represents the aggregate change in the actuarial present value of Mr. Davis’ accumulated benefit under the George W. Prescott Publishing Company Pension Plan, which was frozen effective December 31, 2008.

Employment Agreements

On March 6, 2012, our board of directors approved and we entered into an amendment to the existing employment agreement with each of our Named Executive Officers, other than Ms. Janik and Mr. Maring. These amendments provide for enhanced severance benefits upon the executive’s involuntary termination of employment without “cause” or voluntary termination of employment for “good reason,” in each case, within 18 months of the earlier to occur of the commencement of any discussion with any individual or entity that ultimately results in a “change in control” (as defined in the Equity Plan) or the occurrence of a change in control transaction. The amendments also added voluntary termination of employment for “good reason” as an event that would entitle the executive to non-enhanced severance that is unrelated to a change of control. The amendments also clarify our approach to compliance with Section 409A of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, and make conforming and clarifying changes to each of such executive’s restrictive covenants (such as non-competition, confidentiality and non-solicitation). No other changes were made to the existing employment agreements.

 

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Cause ” is defined as: (a) a conviction of, guilty plea concerning or confession of any felony; (b) any act of dishonesty in connection with our business; (c) any uncured material breach by the executive of his or her employment agreement; (d) any material breach of any reasonable and lawful rule or directive from us; (e) the gross or willful neglect of duties or gross misconduct by the executive; or (f) the habitual use of drugs or habitual, excessive use of alcohol to the extent that any of such uses materially interferes with the performance of the executive’s duties under his or her employment agreement.

Good reason ” is defined as the occurrence of any one or more of the following at any time during the executive’s employment without the executive’s written consent: (a) the failure to maintain the executive in the same or better position with us which the executive held immediately prior to a change in control, or the removal of Executive as a member of the board of directors; (b) a significant adverse change in the nature or scope of the executive’s authorities, powers, functions, responsibilities or duties immediately prior to the change in control; (c) a reduction in the aggregate of the executive’s base salary or annual cash bonus; (d) a reduction in the executive’s long-term incentive compensation opportunity; (e) the termination or denial of the executive’s rights to retirement or welfare benefits or a reduction in the scope or value of such benefits (other than any a reduction that is generally applicable to all employees); (f) any change of the executive’s principal place of employment to a location more than 50 miles from the executive’s principal place of employment immediately prior to a change in control; (g) any uncured failure to pay the executive any compensation when due; (h) the delivery to the executive of a written notice of the intent to terminate the executive’s employment for any reason, other than cause or disability, regardless of when such termination is intended to become effective; or (i) any failure by us to comply with any provision of the executive’s employment agreement.

The enhanced severance benefit consists of: (a) a monthly payment for a specified period (27 months for our Mr. Reed, 24 months for our Mr. Davis and 21 months for our Ms. Sack) equal to the executive’s monthly base salary and average monthly bonus (the average of the last three annual cash bonuses, or, if three annual cash bonuses have not been paid to the executive, the average of such bonuses that have been paid to the executive, in each case, divided by 12); (b) a pro-rated annual cash bonus for the year that the executive’s employment is terminated; (c) the accelerated vesting of any restricted stock awards that are unvested as of the date that the executive’s employment is terminated; (d) up to six months of outplacement services immediately following the executive’s termination of employment; and (e) up to 12 months of continued healthcare coverage.

The above description of the amendments is qualified in its entirety by the text of each respective amendment, which are attached as Exhibits 10.22, 10.23 and 10.25 to our Annual Report on Form 10-K filed on March 8, 2012.

Also on March 6, 2012, our board of directors approved and we entered into an employment agreement with Ms. Janik, our Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. This employment agreement generally embodies the terms of that certain offer letter, dated December 23, 2008, filed as Exhibit 10.19 to our Annual Report on Form 10-K filed on March 13, 2009.

Under the employment agreement, Ms. Janik has the title of Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer and is entitled to continue to receive her current base salary at the annual rate of $275,000 (“Base Salary”). Ms. Janik is eligible to receive each fiscal year a bonus (for each such fiscal year, a “Bonus”), based on the achievement, as determined by the GateHouse board of directors, of certain performance standards as agreed to by Ms. Janik and the GateHouse board of directors. Such Bonus is payable in such combination of cash and shares of common stock of the Company (“Common Stock”) as determined by the board of directors, under the Equity Plan (or any similar or successor plan) (the stock portion of any such Bonus being a “Restricted Stock Grant”). The number of shares comprising any Restricted Stock Grant shall be determined by dividing the applicable portion of the Bonus being awarded in Common Stock by the fair market value (as determined by our board of directors) of the Common Stock on the date of grant. The cash portion of each Bonus shall be paid to Ms. Janik within a reasonable time after the end of the fiscal year, but in no event later than four months

 

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following completion of the fiscal year to which such Bonus relates (“Outside Payment Date”). The Restricted Stock Grant portion of each Bonus shall be made on such date as the board of directors determines in its discretion, though no later than the applicable Outside Payment Date. No Bonus in respect of any fiscal year will be due to Ms. Janik unless she is employed by us on the last day of the fiscal year in respect of which the Bonus is awarded. As described below, Ms. Janik’s employment agreement has the same type of severance provisions as those that are in Ms. Sack’s employment agreement.

The above description of Ms. Janik’s employment agreement is qualified in its entirety by the text of such agreement, which is attached as Exhibit 10.24 to our Annual Report on Form 10-K filed on March 8, 2012.

Michael E. Reed

Mr. Reed is employed as our Chief Executive Officer pursuant to an employment agreement effective as of January 30, 2006, as amended on March 6, 2012. Under this agreement, he has the duties and responsibilities customarily exercised by the person serving as chief executive officer of our size and nature.

Pursuant to his employment agreement, which has an initial three-year term that automatically renews subject to the same terms and conditions for additional one-year terms unless either we or Mr. Reed gives notice of non-renewal within ninety days prior to the end of the term, Mr. Reed receives an annual base salary of $500,000. Mr. Reed also is eligible for an annual, performance-based bonus. The agreement provides that Mr. Reed is eligible to receive an annual target bonus of $200,000 upon the achievement of certain performance goals agreed to by Mr. Reed and the GateHouse board of directors. The bonus is payable in either our common stock or cash in the discretion of our board of directors, provided that no more than 50% of the bonus shall be payable in our common stock without Mr. Reed’s approval.

Melinda A. Janik

On March 6, 2012, our board of directors approved and we entered into an employment agreement with Ms. Janik. This employment agreement is generally consistent with the prior offer letter between Ms. Janik and us. Under her employment agreement, Ms. Janik is entitled to receive a base salary of $275,000. Ms. Janik is also eligible to receive an annual bonus based on the achievement of certain performance requirements and satisfaction of a continuous employment requirement, as determined by the board of directors. Such annual bonus is payable in such combination of cash and shares of our common stock under the Equity Plan, as determined by the board of directors. Ms. Janik will be entitled to all of the usual benefits offered to employees at the executive level, including vacation, sick time, participation in our medical, dental and insurance programs, as well as the ability to participate in our 401(k) retirement savings plan. We will also reimburse Ms. Janik for any expenses reasonably and necessarily incurred by her in furtherance of her duties under the employment agreement.

Ms. Janik’s employment may be terminated (a) by us for “cause” (as such term is defined above); (b) by us at any time without “cause”; or (c) by Ms. Janik at any time. If Ms. Janik’s employment with us is terminated by us for “cause,” she shall not be entitled to any further compensation or benefits other than accrued but unpaid base salary and accrued and unused vacation pay through the date of such termination (collectively, the “Accrued Benefits”).

If Ms. Janik’s employment is terminated by us other than for “cause,” and not within 18 months of a “change in control” (as such term is defined above), then she shall be entitled to, upon providing us with a signed release of claims and subject to Ms. Janik’s continued compliance with restrictive covenants and confidentiality provisions of the employment agreement: (a) the Accrued Benefits, (b) an amount equal to 12 months base salary payable in the same manner as provided under the employment agreement, (c) any declared annual bonus not yet paid, and (d) continuation of her coverage under our medical plan for 12 months from the date of such termination. If Ms. Janik’s employment is terminated by us without “cause” or Ms. Janik terminates her employment for “good reason” (as such term is defined above), in each case, within 18 months of the earlier to

 

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occur of the commencement of any discussion with any individual or entity that ultimately results in a change in control or the occurrence of a change in control transaction, Ms. Janik could become eligible to receive the same enhanced severance benefits described above in connection with the amendment to Ms. Sack’s employment agreement.

Unless Ms. Janik breaches one of the restrictive covenants contained in the employment agreement, the payments described in the termination provisions in the employment agreement shall be paid over a period of 12 months commencing on the date of Ms. Janik’s termination of employment with us; provided that if such termination is by Ms. Janik for “good reason” or occurs within 18 months of a “change in control,” such payments shall be paid over a 21-month period.

Kirk Davis

Mr. Davis is employed as our President and Chief Operating Officer pursuant to an employment agreement effective as of January 9, 2009, as amended on March 6, 2012. Under this agreement, he has the duties and responsibilities customarily exercised by the person serving as president and chief operating officer of a company of our size and nature.

Pursuant to his employment agreement, which has no guaranteed term of employment or renewal provision, Mr. Davis’ annual base salary shall be reviewed on an annual basis and adjusted in our sole discretion. Mr. Davis also is eligible for an annual bonus, based on the achievement, as determined by the GateHouse board of directors in its sole discretion, of certain performance standards agreed to by Mr. Davis and our board of directors. Such bonus may be paid in such combination of cash and shares of our common stock as determined by our board of directors, in its sole discretion under the Equity Plan (or any similar or successor plan).

Polly G. Sack

Ms. Sack is employed as our Senior Vice President, Secretary and General Counsel pursuant to an employment agreement effective as of May 17, 2006, as amended on March 6, 2012. Under this agreement, she has the duties and responsibilities customarily exercised by the person serving as chief legal officer of a company of our size and nature.

Pursuant to her employment agreement, which has no guaranteed term of employment or renewal provision, Ms. Sack’s annual base salary shall be reviewed on an annual basis and adjusted in our sole discretion. Ms. Sack also is eligible for an annual, performance-based bonus, without a target level, based upon the achievement of certain performance goals agreed to by Ms. Sack and our board of directors. Such bonus may be a Restricted Stock Bonus as determined by the GateHouse board of directors and without restriction as to the relative proportions of common stock or cash comprising such bonus. Ms. Sack’s employment agreement also provided for the reimbursement of her reasonable relocation expenses.

Mark Maring

Mr. Maring is currently employed as our Treasurer and Vice President of Investor Relations and Strategic Development. From August 19, 2008 to February 2, 2009, Mr. Maring also served as our Interim Chief Financial Officer. Pursuant to an offer letter effective as of February 6, 2008, Mr. Maring was initially employed as our Vice President of Investor Relations and Strategic Development, with the duties and responsibilities customarily exercised by the person serving as Vice President of Investor Relations and Strategic Development of a company of our size and nature.

Pursuant to his offer letter, which has no guaranteed term of employment or renewal provision, Mr. Maring’s initial annual base salary is at the rate of $200,000 per year. Mr. Maring also is eligible for an annual bonus based on achievement of annually agreed upon targets, of up to 70% of base pay. This bonus will be paid with a combination of cash and restricted stock and is subject to approval by the GateHouse board of directors.

 

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General

The employment agreements with the Named Executive Officers are referred to collectively as the “Employment Agreements.” Our Named Executive Officers have restrictive covenants in the Employment Agreements and/or their management stockholder agreements for our benefit relating to non-competition during the term of employment and for the one year period following termination of their employment for any reason. Each of the Employment Agreements also contains restrictive covenants relating to non-solicitation of our employees, directors, agents, clients, customers, vendors, suppliers or consultants during the term of employment and for the one year period following termination of their employment for any reason.

No Grants of Plan-Based Awards, No Equity Compensation Granted During 2012 and

No Outstanding Equity Awards at Fiscal Year-End

We did not grant any plan-bases awards or equity compensation to our Named Executive Officers during the fiscal year ending December 30, 2012. No equity awards were outstanding at the end of fiscal 2012.

Pension Benefits

The following table sets forth Mr. Davis retirement benefits under our retirement plans. No other Named Executive Officers participate in any pension plan.

 

Name

   Plan name      Number of years
credited service (#)
     Present value of
accumulated benefit
($)
     Payments during
last fiscal year ($)
 

Kirk Davis

     Prescott Pension Plan         4.8       $ 64,603       $ 0   

We maintain one defined benefit plan, the George W. Prescott Publishing Company Pension Plan (the “Prescott Pension Plan”). The Prescott Pension Plan benefits the employees of the George W. Prescott Publishing Company by providing funded, tax-qualified benefits up to the limits on compensation and benefits under the Internal Revenue Code. Benefits under the Prescott Pension Plan are funded by an irrevocable tax-exempt trust. An executive’s benefits under the Prescott Pension Plan are payable from the assets held by a tax-exempt trust, and are based on earnings up to a compensation limit under the Internal Revenue Code (which was $230,000 in 2008).

Effective December 31, 2008, the Prescott Pension Plan was amended to freeze benefit accruals and participation. The only Named Executive Officer who has benefits in the Prescott Pension Plan is Mr. Davis. The terms and conditions below relate solely to participants in the Prescott Pension Plan.

The “Normal Retirement Benefit” is expressed as an annual single life annuity payable from normal retirement age for the remainder of his life. The benefit under the Prescott Pension Plan is equal to an amount equal to the sum of (i) and (ii):

 

  (i) an amount equal to the product of:

(a) 0.5% of Mr. Davis’ Average Compensation not in excess of the covered compensation base plus 1% of his Average Compensation in excess of the covered compensation base; and (b) Mr. Davis’ years of Accrued Service (not in excess of 40).

 

  (ii) an amount equal to the product of:

(a) 0.67% of Mr. Davis’ Average Compensation; and

(b) Mr. Davis’ years of Accrued Service in excess of 40.

 

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“Average Compensation” means the average of Mr. Davis’ highest compensation paid during any five consecutive plan years of the ten plan years prior to December 31, 2008. “Compensation” means Mr. Davis’ total compensation in a plan year, excluding any bonuses, any overtime payments, and employer contributions under the Prescott Pension Plan or under any other employee benefit plan of an affiliated company. Pay in excess of the Internal Revenue Code Section 401(a)(17) limit, is not considered. “Accrued Service” is the total number of years prior to January 1, 2009 (June 1, 2009 for IBT Union employees), during which the executive has completed at least 1,000 Hours of Service.

If Mr. Davis retires after reaching the age of 60 and has completed five years of vesting service, he is entitled to the benefit amount. However, the benefit amount will be reduced 0.56% for each month his retirement precedes his reaching the age of 65.

In the event Mr. Davis dies prior to the commencement of benefit payments, his spouse will be eligible for a death benefit protection. This provides that if Mr. Davis and spouse were married for at least one year prior to his date of death, then the spouse of Mr. Davis shall receive a survivor annuity which is equal to 50% of the pension Mr. Davis would have received had he retired on his date of death or age 60, if later, with a joint and 50% survivor annuity option.

If Mr. Davis dies after payment of his benefit under the Prescott Pension Plan has commenced, the death benefit payable, if any, shall be determined in accordance with the form in which the benefit was being paid. The pension benefit under the Prescott Pension Plan is reduced if paid before normal retirement age. The pension benefit is defined as a single life annuity. Optional annuity forms which are approximately equal in value are also available.

2012 Non-Qualified Deferred Compensation

None of our Named Executive Officers were participants in or made contributions to or withdrawals from any of our nonqualified deferred compensation plans during the fiscal year ending December 31, 2012.

Potential Payments Upon Resignation, Termination or Change in Control

The table beginning on page 183 of this registration statement estimates the amount of compensation payable to each of our Named Executive Officers in the event of termination of such executives’ employment upon voluntary termination, termination for cause, death, disability, retirement, involuntary not for cause termination, and termination following a change of control. The amounts shown are estimates assuming that such termination was effective as of December 30, 2012. Each of our Named Executive Officers is entitled to receive amounts earned during his or her term of employment regardless of the manner in which the Named Executive Officer’s employment is terminated. These amounts include accrued but unpaid base salary and accrued and unused vacation pay through the date of such termination (the “Accrued Benefits”). These amounts are not shown in the table. In addition, each of our Named Executive Officers may receive compensation under the terms of our Management Stockholder Agreements or the Equity Plan, as well as under the terms of their respective employment agreements.

The Management Stockholder Agreements with each of Mr. Reed and Ms. Sack contains a call option exercisable at our discretion pursuant to which we may purchase the shares of non-forfeited common stock which are subject to the Management Stockholder Agreement upon termination of his or her employment for any reason (the “Call Option”). The amount we will pay is determined as follows: (a) in the case of a termination for cause, the lower of the purchase price of one thousand dollars ($1,000) per share or the fair market value (as determined by our board of directors) or (b) in the case of a termination for any reason other than cause, the fair market value (as determined by our board of directors). Following the Restructuring, the Call Option has no value.

Payments Made Upon Termination for Cause or Resignation without Good Reason

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further compensation or benefits other than Accrued Benefits. The Named Executive Officer would also forfeit all unvested shares subject to his or her initial stock grant and any restricted stock bonuses and, in the case of termination due to an act of dishonesty committed in connection with our business, he or she would forfeit all shares subject to his or her initial stock grant and any restricted stock bonuses. Under the Management Stockholder Agreements, we may exercise our Call Option.

Payments Made Upon Termination without Cause or Termination for Good Reason Unrelated to a Change in Control

If the Named Executive Officer’s employment is terminated by the Company other than for Cause or is terminated by the Named Executive Officer for “good reason” (as such term is defined above) unrelated to a Change in Control, in each case, not within 18 months of the earlier to occur of the commencement of any discussion with any individual or entity that ultimately results in a change in control or the occurrence of a change in control transaction (this period is referred to as the “Protection Period”), then he or she shall be entitled to:

(a) the Accrued Benefits;

(b) an amount equal to 12 months current base salary;

(c) the annual bonus, including any declared bonus not yet paid;

(d) continuation of health benefits at the same levels until the earlier of: (i) the time it takes the Named Executive Officer to become eligible for benefits from a new employer; or (ii) 12 months from the date of termination;

(e) the shares subject to the initial stock grant and any additional restricted stock bonuses that would have vested on the next anniversary date following the date of such termination, but in no event less than one-third (1/3) each of the shares to the initial stock grant and any additional restricted stock bonuses; and

(f) with respect to each of Mr. Reed and Ms. Sack only, under the Management Stockholder Agreement, we may exercise our Call Option.

Payments Made Upon Termination without Cause or Termination for Good Reason following a Change in Control

If the Named Executive Officer’s employment is terminated by the Company other than for Cause or is terminated by the Named Executive Officer for Good Reason following a Change in Control, in each case within the Protection Period, then he or she shall be entitled to:

(a) the Accrued Benefits;

(b) an amount equal to:

 

  i. with respect to Mr. Reed, 27 months Base Salary plus Average Monthly Bonus (as defined in the Employment Agreements) current base salary;

 

  ii. with respect to Mr. Davis, 24 months Base Salary plus Average Monthly Bonus; and

 

  iii. with respect to each of Ms. Janik and Ms. Sack, 21 months Base Salary plus Average Monthly Bonus.

(c) a pro-rated bonus for the year of termination;

(d) the vesting portion of the shares of any Restricted Stock Grant and the Initial Restricted Stock Grant, respectively, that are not vested as of the date of termination, if the date of termination is within 12 months of the Change in Control;

 

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(e) up to 6 months of outplacement services;

(f) continuation of health benefits at the same levels until the earlier of: (i) the time it takes the Named Executive Officer to become eligible for benefits from a new employer; or (ii) 12 months from the date of termination;

(g) the shares subject to the initial stock grant and any additional restricted stock bonuses that would have vested on the next anniversary date following the date of such termination, but in no event less than one-third (1/3) each of the shares to the initial stock grant and any additional restricted stock bonuses, if the date of termination is not within 12 months of the Change in Control; and

(h) with respect to each of Mr. Reed and Ms. Sack only, under the Management Stockholder Agreement, we may exercise our Call Option.

Payments Made Upon Resignation, Death or Disability

If the Named Executive Officer’s employment is terminated by reason of voluntary resignation (other than a voluntary termination for good reason), death or Disability (as defined in the Employment Agreements), he or she would not be entitled to receive any further compensation or benefits other than the Accrued Benefits. If any Named Executive Officer fails to perform his or her duties as a result of Disability or incapacity, he or she shall continue to receive his or her Base Salary and all other benefits and all other compensation unless and until his or her employment is terminated. In addition, under the Management Stockholder Agreements, we may exercise our Call Option.

 

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Potential Payments upon Termination or Change of Control

 

     OFFICERS  

EVENT

   Michael E.
Reed
     Melinda A.
Janik
     Mark
Maring
     Kirk Davis      Polly G.
Sack
 

VOLUNTARY TERMINATION, TERMINATION FOR CAUSE OR RESIGNATION WITHOUT “GOOD REASON”

   

Call Option (1)

   $ 24,425       $ 0       $ 0       $ 0       $ 2,612   
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total

   $ 24,425       $ 0       $ 0       $ 0       $ 2,612   

DEATH

              

Call Option (1)

   $ 24,425       $ 0       $ 0       $ 0       $ 2,612   

Life insurance proceeds

   $ 500,000       $ 275,000       $ 200,000       $ 461,261       $ 260,000   
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total

   $ 524,425       $ 275,000       $ 200,000       $ 461,261       $ 262,612   

DISABILITY

              

Call Option (1)

   $ 24,425       $ 0       $ 0       $ 0       $ 2,612   
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total

   $ 24,425       $ 0       $ 0       $ 0       $ 2,612   

RETIREMENT

              

Call Option (1)

   $ 24,425       $ 0       $ 0       $ 0       $ 2,612   
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total

   $ 24,425       $ 0       $ 0       $ 0       $ 2,612   

TERMINATION WITHOUT CAUSE, TERMINATION FOR “GOOD REASON” UNRELATED TO A “CHANGE IN CONTROL”

   

Annual Bonus (2)

   $ 800,000       $ 125,000       $ 80,000       $ 350,000       $ 140,000   

Call Option (1)

   $ 24,425       $ 0       $ 0       $ 0       $ 2,612   

Cash severance payment

   $ 500,000       $ 275,000       $ 200,000       $ 461,261       $ 260,000   

Continued health care benefits

   $ 9,119       $ 3,878       $ 9,119       $ 9,433       $ 8,520   
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total

   $ 1,333,544       $ 403,878       $ 289,119       $ 820,694       $ 411,132   

TERMINATION WITHOUT CAUSE, TERMINATION FOR “GOOD REASON” FOLLOWING A “CHANGE IN CONTROL”

   

Annual Bonus (3)

   $ 800,000       $ 125,000       $ 80,000       $ 350,000       $ 140,000   

Call Option (1)

   $ 24,425       $ 0       $ 0       $ 0       $ 2,612   

Cash severance payment (4)

   $ 2,887,500       $ 720,417       $ 200,000       $ 1,555,855       $ 700,000   

Continued health care benefits

   $ 9,119       $ 3,878       $ 9,119       $ 9,433       $ 8,520   
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total

   $ 3,721,044       $ 849,295       $ 289,119       $ 1,915,288       $ 851,132   

 

(1) The amounts set forth in this row assume that we exercise our Call Option as provided under the Management Stockholder Agreement and pay the Named Executive Officer the fair market value, based on the closing price of its common stock ($.06) on December 28, 2012. The Call Option has no value following the Restructuring.
(2) This is the maximum amount based on the previous year’s bonus and is payable only if previously declared.
(3) With respect to Mr. Reed, Ms. Janik, Mr. Davis and Ms. Sack, this is the maximum amount based on the previous year’s bonus and is subject to pro-ration for portion of the year elapsed. With respect to Mr. Maring, this is the maximum amount based on the previous year’s bonus and is payable only if previously declared.
(4) With respect to Mr. Reed, Ms. Janik, Mr. Davis and Ms. Sack, the “cash severance payment” consists of a monthly payment for a specified period (27 months for our Chief Executive Officer, 24 months for our Chief Operating Officer, 21 months for our Chief Financial Officer and 21 months for our General Counsel) equal to the executive’s monthly base salary and average monthly bonus (the average of the last three annual cash bonuses divided by 12). With respect to Mr. Maring, the “cash severance payment” equals twelve (12) months’ current base salary.

 

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SECURITY OWNERSHIP OF CERTAIN BENEFICIAL OWNERS AND MANAGEMENT

As of the date hereof, 84.6% of the outstanding shares of our Common Stock are owned by Newcastle. After the Distribution, Newcastle will own none of our Common Stock. The following table provides information with respect to the expected beneficial ownership of our Common Stock by (i) each person who we believe will be a beneficial owner of more than 5% of our outstanding Common Stock, (ii) each of our directors and our named executive officer, and (iii) all directors, director nominees and executive officers as a group. We based the share amounts on each person’s beneficial ownership of Newcastle common stock as of                     , 2013, unless we indicate some other basis for the share amounts, and assuming a distribution ratio of              shares of our Common Stock for every              shares of Newcastle common stock.

To the extent our directors and officer own Newcastle common stock at the time of the Distribution, they will participate in the Distribution on the same terms as other holders of Newcastle common stock.

On the Effective Date of the Plan, we were deemed to have issued and distributed 1,362,479 New Media Warrants. The New Media Warrants collectively represent the right to acquire New Media Common Stock, which in the aggregate will be equal to 5% of New Media Common Stock as of the Effective Date (calculated prior to dilution from shares of New Media Common Stock issued pursuant to the Local Media Contribution) at a strike price of $46.35 calculated based on a total equity value of New Media prior to the Local Media Contribution of $1.2 billion. Former equity interests were cancelled under the Plan.

Except as otherwise noted in the footnotes below, each person or entity identified below has sole voting and investment power with respect to such securities. Following the Distribution, we will have outstanding an aggregate of                      shares of Common Stock based upon                      shares of Newcastle common stock outstanding on                     , 2013, assuming no exercise of Newcastle options and applying the distribution ratio of              shares of our Common Stock for every              shares of Newcastle common stock held as of the record date of the Distribution.

 

Name and Address of Beneficial Owner (1)    Amount and Nature of
Beneficial Ownership
   Percent of Class (2)

Wesley R. Edens

     

Michael E. Reed

     

Kevin M. Sheehan

     

Cameron D. MacDougall

     

All directors, nominees and executive officers as a group (         persons)

     

Omega Advisors, Inc. and its affiliates

     

 

* Denotes less than 1%.
(1) The address of all of the officers and directors listed above are in the care of Fortress Investment Group LLC, 1345 Avenue of the Americas, 46th Floor, New York, New York 10105.
(2) Percentages shown assume the exercise by such persons of all options to acquire shares of our Common Stock that are exercisable within 60 days of                     , 2013 and no exercise by any other person.

 

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CERTAIN RELATIONSHIPS AND TRANSACTIONS WITH RELATED PERSONS, AFFILIATES AND AFFILIATED ENTITIES

Our Board intends to adopt written policies and procedures upon Listing regarding the approval of any “related person transaction,” which is any transaction or series of transactions in which we or any of our subsidiaries is or are to be a participant, the amount involved exceeds $120,000, and a “related person” (as defined under SEC rules) has a direct or indirect material interest. Under the policy, a related person would need to promptly disclose to the legal department of our Manager any proposed related person transaction and all material facts about the proposed transaction. The legal department would then assess and promptly communicate that information to our independent directors. Based on their consideration of all of the relevant facts and circumstances, our independent directors will decide whether or not to approve such transaction and will generally approve only those transactions that are in, or are not inconsistent with, the best interests of New Media, as determined by at least a majority of the independent directors acting with ordinary care and in good faith. If we become aware of an existing related person transaction that has not been pre-approved under this policy, the transaction will be referred to our independent directors, who will evaluate all options available, including ratification, revision or termination of such transaction. Our policy requires any director who may be interested in a related person transaction to recuse himself or herself from any consideration of such related person transaction.

Transactions between the Manager and any affiliate must be approved in advance by the majority of the independent directors and be determined by such independent directors to be in the best interests of the Company. If any affiliate transaction involving the acquisition of an asset from the Manager or an affiliate of the Manager is not approved in advance by a majority of the independent directors, then the Manager may be required to repurchase the asset at the purchase price (plus closing costs) to the Company.

Management Agreement

We entered into a Management Agreement, pursuant to which our Manager provides for the day-to-day management of our operations. The Management Agreement will require our Manager to manage our business affairs subject to the supervision of our Board. See “Our Manager and Management Agreement” included elsewhere in this Prospectus.

GateHouse Management and Advisory Agreement

On November 26, 2013, New Media entered into the GateHouse Management and Advisory Agreement (the “GateHouse Management Agreement”) with GateHouse, pursuant to which New Media will manage the assets and the day-to-day operations of GateHouse. New Media will be responsible for, among other things (i) the purchase and sale of GateHouse’s investments (ii) the financing of GateHouse’s investments and (iii) investment advisory services. Such services may be performed by the Manager.

The GateHouse Management Agreement has an initial three-year term and will be automatically renewed for one-year terms thereafter unless terminated by New Media or Gate House. The GateHouse Management Agreement will automatically terminate if the Management Agreement between New Media and the Manager is terminated.

Commencing from the Listing, New Media is (a) entitled to receive a management fee equal to 1.50% per annum of GateHouse’s Total Equity (as defined in the GateHouse Management Agreement) and (b) eligible to receive incentive compensation that is based on GateHouse’s performance. In addition, GateHouse is obligated to reimburse certain expenses incurred by New Media in connection with the performance of its duties under the agreement. This description is a summary and is subject to, and qualified in its entirety by, the provisions of the GateHouse Management Agreement filed as Exhibit 10.32 to our registration statement on Form S-1.

 

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Local Media Management and Advisory Agreement

GateHouse manages the assets of Local Media pursuant to a management and advisory agreement. The agreement has a two-year term, with automatic renewal for successive two-year periods unless terminated. While the agreement is in effect, GateHouse will receive an annual management fee of $1.1 million, subject to adjustments (up to a maximum annual management fee of $1.2 million), and an annual incentive compensation fee based on exceeding EBITDA targets of Local Media.

Registration Rights Agreement

New Media entered into a registration rights agreement with Omega Advisors, Inc. and its affiliates (collectively, “Omega”). Under the terms of the registration rights agreement, subject to customary exceptions and limitations, New Media will be required to use commercially reasonable efforts to file a registration statement as soon as reasonably practicable, but not prior to the earlier of (i) 120 days following the Effective Date and (ii) 14 days after the required financials are completed in the ordinary course of business, providing for the registration and sale by Omega of its New Media Common Stock (the “Registration Statement”). During the first 12 months following the Listing, subject to customary exceptions and limitations, Omega may request one demand right with respect to some or all of the New Media Common Stock held by Omega under the Registration Statement (the “Demand Registration”).

Once New Media is eligible to use Form S-3, New Media will be required to use commercially reasonable efforts to file a resale shelf registration statement providing for the registration and sale on a continuous or delayed basis by Omega of its New Media Common Stock (the “Shelf Registration”), subject to customary exceptions and limitations. Omega is entitled to initiate up to three offerings or sales with respect to some or all of the New Media Common Stock held by Omega pursuant to the Shelf Registration.

Omega may only exercise its right to request the Demand Registration and any Shelf Registrations if the New Media Common Stock eligible to be sold pursuant to such Registration Statement or Shelf Registration is at least 3% of the then-outstanding New Media Common Stock. This description is a summary and is subject to, and qualified in its entirety by, the provisions of the Registration Rights Agreement filed as Exhibit 4.5 to our registration statement on Form S-1.

 

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RESTRUCTURING AGREEMENTS

This description is a summary and is subject to, and qualified in its entirety by, the provisions of the “Debtors’ Joint Prepackaged Chapter 11 Plan,” “Support Agreement,” “Warrant Agreement,” “Investment Commitment Letter,” “New Credit Facilities” and “Credit Amendment” (as defined below) filed as exhibits to our registration statement on Form S-1.

The Plan

On September 20, 2013, GateHouse commenced the Solicitation of holders of Outstanding Debt to accept or reject the Plan. 100% of the holders of the Outstanding Debt voted to accept the Plan. As a result, the Debtors commenced Chapter 11 cases on September 27, 2013 in which they sought confirmation of the Plan. The Plan was confirmed by the Bankruptcy Court on November 6, 2013. On November 26, 2013, GateHouse effected the transactions contemplated by the Plan (described below) and emerged from Chapter 11 protection.

Support Agreement

On September 4, 2013, Debtors entered into a Support Agreement, effective September 3, 2013, with Newcastle, the Administrative Agent and the Participating Lenders relating to a Restructuring of the Outstanding Debt and GateHouse’s equity pursuant to the Plan.

Pursuant to the Restructuring, Newcastle made the Cash-Out Offer. On the Effective Date, the holders of the Outstanding Debt had the option of receiving, in satisfaction of their Outstanding Debt, their pro rata share of the (i) Cash-Out Offer and/or (ii) New Media Common Stock and the Net Proceeds, if any, of the New Credit Facilities. Newcastle received a pro rata share of New Media Common Stock and the Net Proceeds of the New Credit Facilities for all Outstanding Debt it holds, including Outstanding Debt purchased in the Cash-Out Offer. All pensions, trade and all other unsecured claims will be paid in the ordinary course.

On September 20, 2013, GateHouse commenced the Solicitation. Under the Support Agreement, each of the Participating Lenders agreed to (a) support and take any reasonable action in furtherance of the Restructuring, (b) timely vote their Outstanding Debt to accept the Plan and not change or withdraw such vote, (c) support approval of the Disclosure Statement and confirmation of the Plan, as well as certain relief to be requested by Debtors from the Bankruptcy Court, (d) refrain from taking any action inconsistent with the confirmation or consummation of the Plan, and (e) not propose, support, solicit or participate in the formulation of any plan other than the Plan. 100% of the holders of the Outstanding Debt voted to accept the Plan subject to the terms of the Support Agreement. As a result, Debtors commenced Chapter 11 cases and sought approval of the Disclosure Statement and confirmation of the Plan therein. The Plan was confirmed on November 6, 2013 and GateHouse emerged from bankruptcy on November 26, 2013. The Support Agreement terminated on the Effective Date.

On the Effective Date, the claims and interests against GateHouse were discharged primarily through the (a) issuance of 30,000,000 shares of Common Stock of New Media and/or payment of cash to holders of claims in connection with the 2007 Credit Facility and related interest rate swaps, as described above; (b) reinstatement of certain claims; (c) entry into the Management Agreement; (d) issuance of 1,362,479 warrants by New Media to former equity holders in GateHouse (“Former Equity Holders”); and (e) entry into the New Credit Facilities, the Net Proceeds of which, totaling $149,000,000, went to holders of the Outstanding Debt that elected to receive New Media Common Stock. In addition, 100% of the new equity interests in GateHouse were issued to New Media. On the Effective Date, GateHouse and certain of its subsidiaries converted into limited liability companies. As of the Effective Date, Newcastle owns 84.6% of New Media’s total equity.

Upon emergence from Chapter 11, we adopted fresh-start reporting in accordance with Accounting Standards Codification Topic 852, “Reorganizations.” Under fresh-start accounting, a new entity is deemed to have been created on the Effective Date of the Plan for financial reporting purposes and GateHouse’s recorded amounts of assets and liabilities will be adjusted to reflect their estimated fair values. As a result of the adoption

 

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of fresh-start accounting, our reorganized company post-emergence financial statements will generally not be comparable with the financial statements of our Predecessor prior to emergence, including the historical financial information in this Prospectus.

Investment Commitment Letter

On September 4, 2013, Newcastle and GateHouse entered into an Investment Commitment Letter, as amended (the “Investment Commitment Letter”) in connection with the Restructuring, effective September 3, 2013. Under the Investment Commitment Letter and pursuant to the Plan, Newcastle agreed to purchase the Cash-Out Offer claims.

The Investment Commitment Letter provides that, on account of the claims purchased in the Cash-Out Offer, on the Effective Date of the Plan, Newcastle will receive its pro rata share of (a) New Media Common Stock and (b) Net Proceeds of the New Credit Facilities, if any, net of certain transaction expenses. The Investment Commitment Letter terminated on the Effective Date.

Newcastle may assign the Investment Commitment Letter to any of its affiliates, successors or designees as may be reasonably acceptable to GateHouse. The Investment Commitment Letter will terminate automatically and immediately if the Support Agreement has terminated or ceased to be in full force and effect. In addition, the Investment Commitment Letter may be terminated with notice upon certain events, as detailed in the Investment Commitment Letter.

New Media Warrants

On the Effective Date New Media was deemed to have issued and distributed 1,362,479 10-year warrants to Existing Equity Holders (the “New Media Warrants”). The New Media Warrants collectively represent the right to acquire New Media Common Stock, which in the aggregate is equal to 5% of New Media Common Stock as of the Effective Date of the Plan (calculated prior to dilution from shares of New Media Common Stock issued pursuant to the Local Media Contribution) at a strike price of $46.35 per share calculated based on a total equity value of New Media prior to the Local Media Contribution of $1.2 billion as of the Effective Date. Former equity interests were cancelled under the Plan. New Media Warrants will not have the benefit of antidilution protections, other than customary protections including for stock splits and stock dividends. This description is a summary and is subject to, and qualified in its entirety by, the provisions of the Warrant Agreement filed as Exhibit 10.27 to this preliminary prospectus.

New Credit Facilities

The First Lien Credit Facility provides for (i) a term loan A in the aggregate principal amount of $25,000,000, a term loan B in the aggregate principal amount of $50,000,000, and a revolving credit facility in an aggregate principal amount of up to $40,000,000 (of which $25,000,000 was funded on the Effective Date). Borrowings under the First Lien Credit Facility bear interest at a rate per annum equal to (i) with respect to the revolving credit facility, the applicable Revolving Interest Rate (as defined the First Lien Credit Agreement), (ii) with respect to the term loan A, the Term Loan A Rate (as defined in the First Lien Credit Agreement), and (iii) with respect to the term loan B, the Term Loan B Rate (as defined in the First Lien Credit Agreement). Amounts outstanding under the term loans and revolving credit facility will be fully due and payable on November 26, 2018.

The Second Lien Credit Facility provides for a term loan in an aggregate principal amount of $50,000,000. Borrowings under the Second Lien Credit Facility bear interest, at the Loan Parties’ option, equal to (1) the LIBOR Rate (as defined in the Second Lien Credit Facility) plus 11.00% or (2) the Alternate Base Rate (as defined in the Second Lien Credit Facility) plus 10.00%. The outstanding principal will be fully due and payable on the maturity date of November 26, 2019.

 

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GateHouse’s entry into the New Credit Facilities was not a condition to the effectiveness of the Plan.

Pursuant to the Plan, holders of the Outstanding Debt who elected to receive New Media Common Stock received their pro rata share of the Net Proceeds. The net proceeds distributed to holders of the Outstanding Debt totaled $149,000,000. The proceeds of additional drawings of the revolving credit facility under the First Lien Credit Facility after the Effective Date will be applied towards ongoing working capital needs, general corporate purposes, capital expenditures and potential acquisitions. We distributed to each holder of New Media Common Stock, including Newcastle on account of the Cash-Out Offer, its pro rata share of $149,000,000 in Net Proceeds. No amount of the Net Proceeds were distributed to Newcastle on account of the Local Media Contribution.

Credit Amendment to 2007 Credit Facility

On September 4, 2013, GateHouse entered into the Credit Amendment, which improved certain terms of the 2007 Credit Facility, including: a clarified and expanded definition of “Eligible Assignee” (as defined therein); an increase in the base amount in the formula used to calculate the “Permitted Investments” (as defined therein) basket from $35 million to a base of $50 million; the removal of the requirement that GateHouse’s annual financial statements not have a “going concern” or like qualification to the audit; the removal of a cross default from any Secured Hedging Agreement (as defined therein) to the 2007 Credit Facility; the removal of a Bankruptcy Default (as defined therein), arising from actions in furtherance of or indicating consent to the specified actions; and a waiver of any prior Default or Event of Default, as defined therein, including without limitation from the negotiation, entry into, or performance of the Support Agreement or the Investment Commitment Letter.

In consideration of the changes described above, GateHouse agreed to pay each of the lenders party to the Credit Amendment that timely executed the Credit Amendment and the Support Agreement an amendment fee equal to 3.5% multiplied by the aggregate Outstanding Debt held (including through trades pending settlement) by such lender (the “Amendment Fee”), unless waived in writing. Newcastle and certain other lenders elected to waive their Amendment Fee.

Contribution of Local Media Group Holdings LLC

Newcastle acquired Local Media from News Corp. for approximately $82.6 million with the associated estimated transaction costs of $4.2 million. Newcastle made a total equity investment of $53.8 million and financed the remainder of the purchase price with $33.0 million of term loan debt provided under the Local Media Credit Facility. Newcastle contributed $2.5 million to Local Media on the closing of the Local Media Acquisition for working capital purposes and Local Media can repay that amount when the senior secured asset-based revolving credit facility of up to $10 million under the Local Media Credit Facility becomes available.

Local Media operates print and online community media businesses in seven states including daily, Sunday and weekly newspapers, Internet sites, magazines, other news and advertising niche publications and commercial print and household distribution services, and had $33 million of real estate value as determined by third-party appraisals completed in the second quarter of 2012. Local Media publishes 8 daily community newspapers and 15 weeklies in the New England, Mid-Atlantic and Pacific Coast regions of the United States. Many of these publications have been providing local content to their respective communities for over 75 years.

On the Effective Date, Newcastle made the Local Media Contribution and assigned its rights under the stock purchase agreement pursuant to which it acquired Local Media (the “Local Media SPA”) to New Media. In exchange, Newcastle received New Media Common Stock equal in value to the cost of the Local Media Acquisition, subject to certain adjustments (the “Local Media Contribution Value”).

On the Effective Date, the Local Media Contribution Value was $53.8 million, which represents approximately $82.6 million as the estimated cost of the Local Media Acquisition, as adjusted to include $4.25 million in out-of-pocket transaction expenses of Newcastle and deduct $33.0 million in anticipated term loan debt at Local Media Parent under the Local Media Credit Facility.

 

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GateHouse manages the assets of Local Media pursuant to a management and advisory agreement. The agreement has a two-year term, with automatic renewal for successive two-year periods unless terminated. While the agreement is in effect, GateHouse will receive an annual management fee of $1.1 million, subject to adjustments (up to a maximum annual management fee of $1.2 million), and an annual incentive compensation fee based on exceeding EBITDA targets of Local Media.

 

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DESCRIPTION OF OUR CAPITAL STOCK

The following descriptions are summaries of the material terms of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and amended and restated bylaws. These descriptions contain all information which we consider to be material, but may not contain all of the information that is important to you. To understand them fully, you should read our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and amended and restated bylaws, copies of which are filed with the SEC as exhibits to the registration statement of which this Prospectus is a part.

Please note that, with respect to any of our shares held in book-entry form through The Depository Trust Company or any other share depositary, the depositary or its nominee will be the sole registered and legal owner of those shares, and references in this Prospectus to any “stockholder” or “holder” of those shares means only the depositary or its nominee. Persons who hold beneficial interests in our shares through a depositary will not be registered or legal owners of those shares and will not be recognized as such for any purpose. For example, only the depositary or its nominee will be entitled to vote the shares held through it, and any dividends or other distributions to be paid, and any notices to be given, in respect of those shares will be paid or given only to the depositary or its nominee. Owners of beneficial interests in those shares will have to look solely to the depositary with respect to any benefits of share ownership, and any rights they may have with respect to those shares will be governed by the rules of the depositary, which are subject to change from time to time. We have no responsibility for those rules or their application to any interests held through the depositary.

Under our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and amended and restated bylaws, our authorized capital stock consists of:

 

    2,000,000,000 shares of Common Stock, par value $0.01 per share; and

 

    300,000 preferred shares, par value $0.01 per share.

Upon completion of the Distribution, there will be outstanding              shares of our Common Stock and no outstanding shares of preferred stock.

The following is a description of the material terms of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and amended and restated bylaws. We refer you to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and amended and restated bylaws, copies of which have been filed with the SEC as exhibits to our registration statement of which this Prospectus forms a part.

Common Stock

Each holder of Common Stock is entitled to one vote for each share of Common Stock held on all matters submitted to a vote of stockholders. Except as provided with respect to any other class or series of stock, the holders of our Common Stock will possess the exclusive right to vote for the election of directors and for all other purposes. Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and amended and restated bylaws do not provide for cumulative voting in the election of directors, which means that the holders of a majority of the outstanding shares of Common Stock can elect all of the directors standing for election, and the holders of the remaining shares are not able to elect any directors.

Subject to any preference rights of holders of any preferred stock that we may issue in the future, holders of our Common Stock are entitled to receive dividends, if any, declared from time to time by our Board out of legally available funds. In the event of our liquidation, dissolution or winding up, the holders of our Common Stock are entitled to share ratably in all assets remaining after the payment of liabilities, subject to any rights of holders of our preferred stock prior to distribution.

Holders of our Common Stock have no preemptive, subscription, redemption or conversion rights.

 

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Preferred Stock

Our Board has the authority, without action by our stockholders, to issue preferred stock and to fix voting powers for each class or series of preferred stock, and to provide that any class or series may be subject to redemption, entitled to receive dividends, entitled to rights upon dissolution, or convertible or exchangeable for shares of any other class or classes of capital stock. The rights with respect to a series or class of preferred stock may be greater than the rights attached to our Common Stock. It is not possible to state the actual effect of the issuance of any shares of our preferred stock on the rights of holders of our Common Stock until our Board determines the specific rights attached to that preferred stock. The effect of issuing preferred stock could include, among other things, one or more of the following:

 

    restricting dividends in respect of our Common Stock;

 

    diluting the voting power of our Common Stock or providing that holders of preferred stock have the right to vote on matters as a class;

 

    impairing the liquidation rights of our Common Stock; or

 

    delaying or preventing a change of control of us.

Registration Rights

New Media entered into a registration rights agreement with Omega on the Effective Date. Under the terms of the registration rights agreement, subject to customary exceptions and limitations, New Media is required to use commercially reasonable efforts to file the Registration Statement as soon as reasonably practicable, but not prior to the earlier of (i) 120 days following the Effective Date and (ii) 14 days after the required financials are completed in the ordinary course of business. During the first 12 months following “regular-way” trading of New Media Common Stock on a major U.S. national securities exchange, subject to customary exceptions and limitations, Omega may request one Demand Registration.

Once New Media is eligible to use Form S-3, New Media will be required to use commercially reasonable efforts to file the Shelf Registration, subject to customary exceptions and limitations. Omega is entitled to initiate up to three offerings or sales with respect to some or all of the New Media Common Stock held by Omega pursuant to the Shelf Registration.

Omega may only exercise its right to request the Demand Registration and any Shelf Registrations if the New Media Common Stock eligible to be sold pursuant to such Registration Statement or Shelf Registration is at least 3% of the then-outstanding New Media Common Stock. This description is a summary and is subject to, and qualified in its entirety by, the provisions of the Registration Rights Agreement filed as Exhibit 4.5 to our registration statement on Form S-1.

Anti-Takeover Effects of Delaware Law, Our Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation and Amended and Restated Bylaws

The following is a summary of certain provisions of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and amended and restated bylaws that may be deemed to have an anti-takeover effect and may delay, deter or prevent a tender offer or takeover attempt that a stockholder might consider to be in its best interest, including those attempts that might result in a premium over the market price for the shares held by stockholders.

Authorized but Unissued Shares

The authorized but unissued shares of our Common Stock and our preferred stock will be available for future issuance without obtaining stockholder approval. These additional shares may be utilized for a variety of

 

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corporate purposes, including future public offerings to raise additional capital, corporate acquisitions and employee benefit plans. The existence of authorized but unissued shares of our Common Stock and preferred stock could render more difficult or discourage an attempt to obtain control over us by means of a proxy contest, tender offer, merger or otherwise.

Delaware Business Combination Statute

We are organized under Delaware law. Some provisions of Delaware law may delay or prevent a transaction that would cause a change in our control.

Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that Section 203 of the Delaware General Corporation Law (the “DGCL”), as amended, an anti-takeover law, will not apply to us. In general, this statute prohibits a publicly held Delaware corporation from engaging in a business combination with an interested stockholder for a period of three years after the date of the transaction by which that person became an interested stockholder, unless the business combination is approved in a prescribed manner. For purposes of Section 203, a business combination includes a merger, asset sale or other transaction resulting in a financial benefit to the interested stockholder, and an interested stockholder is a person who, together with affiliates and associates, owns, or within three years prior, did own, 15% or more of voting stock.

Other Provisions of Our Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation and Amended and Restated Bylaws

Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides for a staggered Board consisting of three classes of directors from and after the date of the first meeting of the Board of New Media following the Listing. Directors of each class are chosen for three-year terms upon the expiration of their current terms and each year one class of our directors will be elected by our stockholders. The terms of the first, second and third classes will expire in             ,              and             , respectively. We believe that classification of our Board will help to assure the continuity and stability of our business strategies and policies as determined by our Board. Additionally, there is no cumulative voting in the election of directors. This classified board provision could have the effect of making the replacement of incumbent directors more time consuming and difficult. At least two annual meetings of stockholders, instead of one, will generally be required to effect a change in a majority of our Board. Thus, the classified board provision could increase the likelihood that incumbent directors will retain their positions. The staggered terms of directors may delay, defer or prevent a tender offer or an attempt to change control of us, even though a tender offer or change in control might be believed by our stockholders to be in their best interest. In addition, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and amended and restated bylaws provide that directors may be removed only for cause and only with the affirmative vote of at least 80% of the voting interest of stockholders entitled to vote.

Pursuant to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, shares of our preferred stock may be issued from time to time, and the Board is authorized to determine and alter all rights, preferences, privileges, qualifications, limitations and restrictions without limitation. See “—Preferred Stock.”

Ability of our Stockholders to Act

Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and amended and restated bylaws do not permit our stockholders to call special stockholders meetings (provided, however, that for so long as Newcastle and certain other affiliates of Fortress and permitted transferees (collectively, the “Fortress Stockholders”) beneficially own at least 20% of our issued and outstanding Common Stock, Fortress Stockholders may call special meetings of our stockholders). Written notice of any special meeting so called shall be given to each stockholder of record entitled to vote at such meeting not less than 10 or more than 60 days before the date of such meeting, unless otherwise required by law.

Under our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and amended and restated bylaws, any action required or permitted to be taken at a meeting of our stockholders may be taken without a meeting by written

 

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consent of a majority of our stockholders for so long as Fortress Stockholders beneficially own, directly or indirectly, at least 20% of our issued and outstanding Common Stock. After Fortress Stockholders beneficially own less than 20% of our issued and outstanding stock, only action by unanimous written consent of our stockholders can be taken without a meeting.

Our amended and restated bylaws provide that nominations of persons for election to our Board may be made at any annual meeting of our stockholders, or at any special meeting of our stockholders called for the purpose of electing directors, (a) by or at the direction of our Board or (b) by any of our stockholders. In addition to any other applicable requirements, for a nomination to be properly brought by a stockholder, such stockholder must have given timely notice thereof in proper written form to our Secretary of the Company. To be timely, a stockholder’s notice must be delivered to or mailed and received at our principal executive offices (a) in the case of an annual meeting of stockholders, not less than 90 days nor more than 120 days prior to the anniversary date of the immediately preceding annual meeting of stockholders; provided, however, that in the event that the annual meeting is called for a date that is not within 30 days before or after such anniversary date, notice by a stockholder in order to be timely must be so received not later than the close of business on the tenth day following the day on which such notice of the date of the annual meeting was mailed or such public disclosure of the date of the annual meeting was made, whichever first occurs; and (b) in the case of a special meeting of our stockholders called for the purpose of electing directors, not later than the close of business on the tenth day following the day on which notice of the date of the special meeting was mailed or public disclosure of the date of the special meeting was made, whichever first occurs.

Our amended and restated bylaws provide that no business may be transacted at any annual meeting of our stockholders, other than business that is either (a) specified in the notice of meeting given by or at the direction of our Board, (b) otherwise properly brought before the annual meeting by or at the direction of our Board, or (c) otherwise properly brought by any of our stockholders. In addition to any other applicable requirements, for business to be properly brought before an annual meeting by a stockholder, such stockholder must have given timely notice thereof in proper written form to our Secretary. To be timely, a stockholder’s notice must be delivered to or mailed and received at our principal executive offices not less than 90 days nor more than 120 days prior to the anniversary date of the immediately preceding annual meeting of stockholders; provided, however, that in the event that the annual meeting is called for a date that is not within 30 days before or after such anniversary date, notice by a stockholder in order to be timely must be so received not later than the close of business on the tenth day following the day on which such notice of the date of the annual meeting was mailed or such public disclosure of the date of the annual meeting was made, whichever first occurs.

Forum Selection Clause

Under our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware will be the sole and exclusive forum for (i) any derivative action or proceeding brought on our behalf, (ii) any action asserting a claim of breach of a fiduciary duty owed by any of our directors or officers or our stockholders, (iii) any action asserting a claim arising pursuant to any provision of the DGCL or our amended and restated certificate of incorporation or amended and restated bylaws or (iv) any action asserting a claim against the us governed by the internal affairs doctrine.

Limitations on Liability and Indemnification of Directors and Officers

Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that our directors will not be personally liable to us or our stockholders for monetary damages for breach of a fiduciary duty as a director, except to the extent such exemption is not permitted under the DGCL, as amended from time to time.

Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and amended and restated bylaws provide that we will indemnify our directors and officers to the fullest extent permitted by law. We are also expressly authorized to advance certain expenses (including attorneys’ fees and disbursements and court costs) to our directors and

 

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officers and carry directors’ and officers’ insurance providing indemnification for our directors and officers for some liabilities. We believe that these indemnification provisions and insurance are useful to attract and retain qualified directors and executive officers.

Prior to the Distribution, we intend to enter into separate indemnification agreements with each of our directors and executive officers. Each indemnification agreement will provide, among other things, for indemnification to the fullest extent permitted by law and our amended and restated certificate of incorporation against (i) any and all expenses and liabilities, including judgments, fines, penalties and amounts paid in settlement of any claim with our approval and counsel fees and disbursements, (ii) any liability pursuant to a loan guarantee, or otherwise, for any of our indebtedness, and (iii) any liabilities incurred as a result of acting on our behalf (as a fiduciary or otherwise) in connection with an employee benefit plan. The indemnification agreements will provide for the advancement or payment of all expenses to the indemnitee and for reimbursement to us if it is found that such indemnitee is not entitled to such indemnification under applicable law and our amended and restated certificate of incorporation. These provisions and agreements may have the practical effect in some cases of eliminating our stockholders’ ability to collect monetary damages from our directors and executive officers.

Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”) may be permitted to directors, officers or persons controlling the registrant pursuant to the foregoing provisions, we have been informed that, in the opinion of the SEC such indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act and is therefore unenforceable.

Corporate Opportunity

Under our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, to the extent permitted by law:

 

    the Fortress Stockholders have the right to, and have no duty to abstain from, exercising such right to, engage or invest in the same or similar business as us, do business with any of our clients, customers or vendors or employ or otherwise engage any of our officers, directors or employees;

 

    if the Fortress Stockholders or any of their officers, directors or employees acquire knowledge of a potential transaction that could be a corporate opportunity, they have no duty to offer such corporate opportunity to us, our stockholders or affiliates;

 

    we have renounced any interest or expectancy in, or in being offered an opportunity to participate in, such corporate opportunities; and

 

    in the event that any of our directors and officers who is also a director, officer or employee of any of the Fortress Stockholders acquires knowledge of a corporate opportunity or is offered a corporate opportunity, provided that this knowledge was not acquired solely in such person’s capacity as our director or officer and such person acted in good faith, then such person is deemed to have fully satisfied such person’s fiduciary duty and is not liable to us if any of the Fortress Stockholders pursues or acquires such corporate opportunity or if such person did not present the corporate opportunity to us.

Transfer Agent

The registrar and transfer agent for our Common Stock is American Stock Transfer and Trust Company, LLC.

Listing

We intend to list our Common Stock on the NYSE under the symbol “NEWM.”

 

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SHARES ELIGIBLE FOR FUTURE SALE

Future sales of substantial amounts of our Common Stock in the public market, including shares issued upon exercise of outstanding options or warrants, or the anticipation of these sales, could adversely affect market prices prevailing from time to time and could impair our ability to raise capital through sales of equity securities.

Upon completion of the Distribution, we will have 30,000,000 outstanding shares of our Common Stock.

Sale of Restricted Securities

The shares of New Media Common Stock distributed to Newcastle stockholders will be freely transferable, except for shares received by persons who may be deemed to be New Media “affiliates” under the Securities Act. Persons who may be deemed to be affiliates of New Media after the Distribution generally include individuals or entities that control, are controlled by or are under common control with New Media and may include directors and certain officers or principal stockholders of New Media. New Media affiliates will be permitted to sell their shares of New Media Common Stock only pursuant to an effective registration statement under the Securities Act or an exemption from the registration requirements of the Securities Act, such as the exemptions afforded by Rule 144.

Rule 144

In general, under Rule 144 as currently in effect, a person (or persons whose shares are aggregated), including an affiliate, who beneficially owns “restricted securities” of a “reporting company” may not sell these securities until the person has beneficially owned them for at least six months. Thereafter, affiliates may not sell within any three-month period a number of shares in excess of the greater of: (i) 1% of the then outstanding shares of common stock as shown by the most recent report or statement published by the issuer; and (ii) the average weekly reported trading volume in such securities during the four preceding calendar weeks.

Sales under Rule 144 by our affiliates will also be subject to restrictions relating to manner of sale, notice and the availability of current public information about us and may be affected only through unsolicited brokers’ transactions.

Persons not deemed to be affiliates who have beneficially owned “restricted securities” for at least six months but for less than one year may sell these securities, provided that current public information about the Company is “available,” which means that, on the date of sale, we have been subject to the reporting requirements of the Exchange Act for at least 90 days and are current in our Exchange Act filings. After beneficially owning “restricted securities” for one year, our non-affiliates may engage in unlimited re-sales of such securities.

Shares received by our affiliates in the Distribution or upon exercise of stock options or upon vesting of other equity-linked awards may be “controlled securities” rather than “restricted securities.” “Controlled securities” are subject to the same volume limitations as “restricted securities” but are not subject to holding period requirements.

New Media Warrants

On the Effective Date, the Company was deemed to have issued and distributed 1,362,479 10-year warrants to Former Equity Holders (the “New Media Warrants”). The New Media Warrants collectively represent the right to acquire New Media Common Stock, which in the aggregate will be equal to 5% of New Media Common Stock as of the Effective Date (calculated prior to dilution from shares of New Media Common Stock issued pursuant to the Local Media Contribution) at a strike price per share of $46.35 calculated based on a total equity

 

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value of New Media prior to the Local Media Contribution of $1.2 billion as of the Effective Date. Former equity interests were cancelled under the Plan. New Media Warrants will not have the benefit of antidilution protections, other than customary protections including for stock splits and stock dividends. This description is a summary and is subject to, and qualified in its entirety by, the provisions of the Warrant Agreement filed as Exhibit 10.27 to our registration statement on Form S-1.

Registration Rights

New Media entered into a registration rights agreement with Omega Advisors, Inc. and its affiliates (collectively, “Omega”). Under the terms of the registration rights agreement, subject to customary exceptions and limitations, New Media will be required to use commercially reasonable efforts to file a registration statement as soon as reasonably practicable, but not prior to the earlier of (i) 120 days following the Effective Date and (ii) 14 days after the required financials are completed in the ordinary course of business, providing for the registration and sale by Omega of its New Media Common Stock (the “Registration Statement”). During the first 12 months following the trading of New Media Common Stock on a major U.S. national securities exchange, subject to customary exceptions and limitations, Omega may request one demand right with respect to some or all of the New Media Common Stock held by Omega under the Registration Statement (the “Demand Registration”). Once New Media is eligible to use Form S-3, New Media will be required to use commercially reasonable efforts to file a resale shelf registration statement providing for the registration and sale on a continuous or delayed basis by Omega of its New Media Common Stock (the “Shelf Registration”), subject to customary exceptions and limitations. Omega is entitled to initiate up to three offerings or sales with respect to some or all of the New Media Common Stock held by Omega pursuant to the Shelf Registration. Omega may only exercise its right to request the Demand Registration and any Shelf Registrations if the New Media Common Stock eligible to be sold pursuant to such Registration Statement or Shelf Registration is at least 3% of the then-outstanding New Media Common Stock. This description is a summary and is subject to, and qualified in its entirety by, the provisions of the Registration Rights Agreement filed as Exhibit 4.5 to our registration statement on Form S-1.

 

 

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LEGAL MATTERS

The validity of the Common Stock to be distributed in the spin-off will be passed upon for the Company by Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP, New York, New York.

EXPERTS

Ernst & Young LLP, independent registered public accounting firm, has audited the balance sheet of New Media Investment Group Inc. (the “Company”) at September 16, 2013 as set forth in their report. The Company’s balance sheet has been included in the Prospectus and elsewhere in the registration statement in reliance on Ernst & Young LLP’s report, given on their authority as experts in accounting and auditing.

Ernst & Young LLP, independent registered public accounting firm, has audited the consolidated financial statements and schedule of GateHouse Media, Inc. and subsidiaries at December 30, 2012 and January 1, 2012, and for each of the three years in the period ended December 30, 2012, as set forth in their report (which contains an explanatory paragraph describing conditions that raise substantial doubt about the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern as described in Note 21 to the consolidated financial statements). The Company has included the Gatehouse Media, Inc. and subsidiaries financial statements and schedule in the Prospectus and elsewhere in the registration statement in reliance on Ernst & Young LLP’s report, given on their authority as experts in accounting and auditing.

Ernst & Young LLP, independent auditors, has audited the combined financial statements of Dow Jones Local Media Group, Inc. at June 30, 2013 and 2012, and for each of the three years in the period ended June 30, 2013, as set forth in their report. The Company has included the Dow Jones Local Media Group, Inc. financial statements in the Prospectus and elsewhere in the registration statement in reliance on Ernst & Young LLP’s report, given on their authority as experts in accounting and auditing.

WHERE YOU CAN FIND MORE INFORMATION

Before the date of this Prospectus, we were not required to file reports with the SEC. This Prospectus and all future materials we file with the SEC may be read and copied at the SEC’s public reference room at 100 F Street, N.E., Washington, D.C. 20549. Please call the SEC at 1-800-SEC-0330 for further information on the public reference room. The SEC maintains an Internet site at http://www.sec.gov that contains reports, proxy and registration statements, and other information regarding issuers that file electronically with the SEC. New Media maintains an Internet site at             . The information contained on or accessible through our website or the SEC’s website shall not be deemed to be a part of this Prospectus or the registration statement of which this Prospectus forms a part.

We have filed a registration statement on Form S-1 to register with the SEC the shares of our Common Stock to be distributed in the spin-off. This document constitutes a part of that registration statement, together with all amendments, supplements, schedules and exhibits to the registration statement.

This Prospectus does not contain all of the information in the registration statement. Each statement contained in this Prospectus as to the contents of any contract, agreement or other document filed as an exhibit to the registration statement is qualified in its entirety by reference to that exhibit for a more complete description of the matter involved. The registration statement can be examined at the SEC’s Public Reference Room or on its Internet website at http://www.sec.gov .

 

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I NDEX TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

 

     Page  

Beginning Balance Sheet of New Media Investment Group Inc.:

  

Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm

     F-2   

Audited Balance Sheet as of September 16, 2013

     F-3   

Notes to the Audited Balance Sheet

     F-4   

Consolidated Financial Statements of GateHouse Media Inc.:

  

Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm

     F-7   

Consolidated Balance Sheets as of December 30, 2012 and January 1, 2012

     F-8   

Consolidated Statements of Operations and Comprehensive Income (Loss) for the years ended December  30, 2012, January 1, 2012 and December 31, 2010

     F-9   

Consolidated Statements of Stockholders’ Equity (Deficit) for the years ended December 30, 2012,  January 1, 2012 and December 31, 2010

     F-10   

Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows for the years ended December 30, 2012, January  1, 2012 and December 31, 2010

     F-11   

Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements

     F-12   

Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements of GateHouse Media Inc. (Debtor-In Possession):

  

Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets as of September 29, 2013 (unaudited) and December 30, 2012

     F-50   

Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations and Comprehensive Income (Loss) for the three and nine months ended September 29, 2013 and September 30, 2012

     F-51   

Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Statement of Stockholders’ Equity (Deficit) for the nine months ended September 29, 2013

     F-52   

Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows for the nine months ended September 29, 2013 and September 30, 2012

     F-53   

Notes to Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements

     F-54   

Combined Financial Statements of Dow Jones Local Media Group, Inc.

  

Report of Independent Auditors

     F-88   

Combined Balance Sheets as of June 30, 2013 and 2012

     F-89   

Combined Statements of Operations and Comprehensive (Loss) Income for each of the three years in the period ended June 30, 2013

     F-90   

Combined Statements of Equity for each of the three years in the period ended June 30, 2013

     F-91   

Combined Statements of Cash Flows for each of the three years in the period ended June 30, 2013

     F-92   

Notes to Combined Financial Statements

     F-93   

 

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Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm

The Board of Directors and Stockholder of New Media Investment Group Inc.

We have audited the accompanying balance sheet of New Media Investment Group Inc. as of September 16, 2013. This balance sheet is the responsibility of the Company’s management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on this balance sheet based on our audit.

We conducted our audit in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States). Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the balance sheet is free of material misstatement. We were not engaged to perform an audit of the Company’s internal control over financial reporting. Our audit included consideration of internal control over financial reporting as a basis for designing audit procedures that are appropriate in the circumstances, but not for the purpose of expressing an opinion on the effectiveness of the Company’s internal control over financial reporting. Accordingly, we express no such opinion. An audit also includes examining, on a test basis, evidence supporting the amounts and disclosures in the balance sheet, assessing the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, and evaluating the overall presentation of the balance sheet. We believe that our audit provides a reasonable basis for our opinion.

In our opinion, the balance sheet referred to above presents fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of New Media Investment Group Inc. at September 16, 2013, in conformity with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles.

/s/ Ernst & Young LLP

New York, New York

September 26, 2013

 

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NEW MEDIA INVESTMENT GROUP INC.

BALANCE SHEET

September 16, 2013

 

Cash

   $ 100   
  

 

 

 

Commitments and contingencies

  

Stockholder’s Equity

  

Common stock, $0.01 par value, 1,000 shares authorized, issued and outstanding

   $ 10   

Additional paid-in-capital

     90   
  

 

 

 

Total Stockholder’s Equity

   $ 100   
  

 

 

 

See accompanying notes to balance sheet.

 

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NEW MEDIA INVESTMENT GROUP INC.

NOTES TO BALANCE SHEET

September 16, 2013

 

1. ORGANIZATION

New Media Investment Group Inc. (“New Media”) was formed as a Delaware corporation on June 18, 2013. Under the Certificate of Incorporation, New Media is authorized to issue up to 1,000 common shares. On September 16, 2013, New Media was capitalized and issued 1,000 common shares to Newcastle Investment Corp. (“Newcastle”). Newcastle is the sole stockholder of New Media. New Media expects to operate newspaper, media directory and other media content businesses. New Media has had no operations since its formation.

On September 4, 2013, Newcastle entered into a Restructuring Support Agreement (“RSA”) with GateHouse Media, Inc. and certain of its subsidiaries (“GateHouse”) and certain other debt holders of GateHouse. The terms of the RSA are summarized as follows. This summary only discussed the key terms of the RSA and is not intended to be a complete description of the RSA.

The RSA proposes a restructuring of GateHouse pursuant to a pre-packaged restructuring plan under Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code (“the Plan”) whereby each Creditor (as defined below) has the option of exchanging its holdings in the Outstanding Debt (as defined below) for either its pro rata share of cash or common stock in New Media with ownership interests in the reorganized GateHouse.

New Media intends to distribute a portion of its estimated EBITDA (as defined in the RSA) less (i) cash taxes; (ii) interest expense; (iii) principal payments under the financing to be entered into by GateHouse, using commercially reasonable efforts, of up to $150,000,000 of new debt, (iv) capital expenditures; and (v) changes in net working capital to its shareholders and reinvest the remainder for general corporate purposes which may include accretive acquisitions.

The RSA includes the restructuring of certain indebtedness of GateHouse (the “Outstanding Debt”) including indebtedness under the 2007 Credit Facility and swap liability. Holders of the Outstanding Debt are referred to herein as “Creditors.” Subject to the approval of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court, the RSA proposes a restructuring of the Outstanding Debt as follows:

 

  (a) Each Creditor of the Outstanding Debt would receive, in full and final satisfaction of its respective claim, at its election (with respect to all or any portion of its claims) to be made in connection with solicitation of the Plan, its pro rata share of:

 

  i. Cash pursuant to the Cash-Out Offer (described below under “Cash-Out Offer”) (the “Cash-Out Option”); and/or

 

  ii. (A) 100% of New Media common stock and (B) 100% of the net proceeds, if any , of new debt that GateHouse intends to raise (collectively, the “New Media Equity Option”).

Creditors that do not make an election before the expiration of the September 26, 2013 deadline of the pre-packaged solicitation of the Plan (“the Solicitation”), as such date may be extended by Newcastle in its sole discretion (the “Solicitation Period”) with respect to their claims, will be deemed to have elected the Cash-Out Option.

 

  (b) Holders of equity interests in GateHouse, including warrants, rights and options to acquire such equity interests (“Existing Equity Holders”), would be cancelled, and Existing Equity Holders will receive 10-year warrants, collectively representing the right to acquire, in the aggregate, equity equal to 5% of the issued and outstanding shares of New Media (subject to dilution) as of the effective date of the Plan (the “Effective Date”), with the strike price per share for such warrants calculated based on a total equity value of New Media prior to the Local Media Contribution (as defined below) of $1.2 billion as of the Effective Date. Existing equity interests will be cancelled under the Plan.

 

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  (c) Pension, trade and all other unsecured claims will be unimpaired by the Plan.

Cash-Out Offer

In connection with the restructuring, Newcastle (or its designated affiliates) will offer to purchase, in cash, an amount equal to 40.0% of the sum of (i) (a) principal of the claims under the 2007 Credit Facility, plus (b) accrued and unpaid interest at the applicable contract non-default rate with respect thereto, plus (c) all amounts due under and subject to the terms of the interest rate swaps secured under the 2007 Credit Facility (for the avoidance of doubt, excluding any default interest) on the Effective Date of the Plan. The Cash-Out Offer will be coterminous with the Solicitation Period.

Registration Rights

As of the Effective Date of the Plan, New Media will enter into a registration rights agreement with certain holders of the Outstanding Debt that received 10% or more of the New Media common stock, to provide customary registration rights.

New Media Equity Option

Instead of the Cash-Out Offer, each holder of Outstanding Debt may elect to receive in satisfaction of its claims, a pro rata share of New Media common stock and the net proceeds of the Financing, if any. Following the completion of the restructuring, New Media will use commercially reasonable efforts, based on market conditions and other factors, to list New Media Common Stock (the “Listing”) and may raise additional equity capital in connection with or subsequent to the Listing. New Media intends to seek the Listing on the New York Stock Exchange. For the avoidance of doubt, a Listing will not be a condition precedent to the effectiveness of the Plan. Under the Plan, New Media will not impose any transfer restrictions on New Media common stock (excepting restrictions imposed by applicable law).

Contribution of Local Media Group Holdings LLC

Newcastle acquired Dow Jones Local Media Group, Inc. (“Local Media”), a publisher of weekly newspaper publications, on September 3, 2013. Subject to the terms of the RSA, Newcastle will contribute Local Media Group Holdings LLC (“Local Media Parent”) and assign its rights under the related stock purchase agreement to New Media on the Effective Date (the “Local Media Contribution”) in exchange for shares of common stock of New Media (and at Newcastle’s option, $50,000), collectively equal in value to the cost of the Local Media Acquisition (as adjusted pursuant to the Plan) based upon the equity value of New Media as of the Effective Date prior to the contribution.

The parties to the RSA have agreed to support the Plan and take reasonable actions in furtherance of the restructuring.

Management Agreement

On the Effective Date of the Plan, New Media will enter into a management agreement with an affiliate of Newcastle (the “Manager”) pursuant to which the Manager will manage the operations of New Media. The annual management fee will be 1.50% of New Media’s gross equity as set forth in the Management Agreement.

 

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2. Summary of Significant Accounting Policies

Basis of Accounting

The accompanying balance sheet is prepared in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles.

Cash and Cash Equivalents

Cash is comprised of cash held in a major banking institution. New Media considers all highly liquid short term investments with maturities of 90 days or less when purchased to be cash equivalents. The carrying value of New Media’s cash approximates fair value at the date of the balance sheet.

Organizational Costs

Costs incurred to organize New Media will be expensed as incurred.

3. Subsequent Events

There have not been any events that have occurred that would require adjustments to or disclosures to the audited balance sheet.

4. Event (Unaudited) Subsequent to Date of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm’s Report

On September 27, 2013, GateHouse commenced a pre-packaged restructuring proceeding under Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code. The terms of the restructuring were substantially consistent with those discussed in Note 1.

On November 6, 2013, the Bankruptcy Court confirmed the Plan. On November 26, 2013, the Plan became effective. In accordance with the terms of the Plan, GateHouse became a wholly owned subsidiary of the Company.

On November 26, 2013, GateHouse entered into an aggregate of $165 million in financing facilities consisting of a $40,000 revolving credit facility, $75,000 first lien term loan credit facility (comprised of a $25 million term loan A and a $50 million term loan B) (collectively referred to as the “First Lien Credit Facility”) and $50,000 second lien term loan credit facility (referred to as the “Second Lien Credit Facility”) (all collectively referred to as the “New Credit Facilities”). The First Lien Credit Facility matures on November 26, 2018. The Second Lien Credit Facility matures on November 26, 2019. Principal amounts outstanding under term loan A and term loan B of the First Lien Credit Facility will be payable in quarterly installments as follows: (I) four (4) consecutive quarterly installments each in the amount of $875,000, commencing on January 1, 2014, (II) four (4) consecutive quarterly installments each in the amount of $1,250,000, commencing on January 1, 2015, and (III) twelve (12) consecutive quarterly installments each in the amount $2,000,000, commencing on January 1, 2016, followed by a final payment of all unpaid principal, accrued and unpaid interest and all unpaid fees and expenses which will be fully due and payable on November 26, 2018. The principal payments will be applied against term loan A until fully paid, and then to term loan B. The outstanding principal of the Second Lien Credit Facility will be fully due and payable on the maturity date of November 26, 2019. Only interest payments are due under the Second Lien Credit Facility until maturity. All of the tranches have options for interest at a LIBOR based rate or a prime based rate otherwise referred to as an alternative base rate. GateHouse elected the use of the LIBOR rate option. At November 26, 2013, those interest rates ranged from LIBOR + 3.25% to LIBOR + 11.00%. At November 26, 2013, GateHouse had outstanding borrowings under the New Credit Facility totaling $150 million, with up to $15 million available under the revolving credit facility. In conjunction with the new borrowings, GateHouse incurred approximately $6.2 million of deferred financing fees and approximately $1.0 million in original issuance costs.

 

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REPORT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM

The Board of Directors and Stockholders of

GateHouse Media, Inc.

We have audited the accompanying consolidated balance sheets of GateHouse Media, Inc. and subsidiaries as of December 30, 2012 and January 1, 2012, and the related consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive income (loss), stockholders’ equity (deficit), and cash flows for each of the three years in the period ended December 30, 2012. Our audits also included the financial statement schedule listed in the Index at Item 16(b). These financial statements and schedule are the responsibility of the Company’s management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on these financial statements and schedule based on our audits.

We conducted our audits in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States). Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement. We were not engaged to perform an audit of the Company’s internal control over financial reporting. Our audits included consideration of internal control over financial reporting as a basis for designing audit procedures that are appropriate in the circumstances, but not for the purpose of expressing an opinion on the effectiveness of internal control over financial reporting. Accordingly, we express no such opinion. An audit also includes examining, on a test basis, evidence supporting the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements, assessing the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, and evaluating the overall financial statement presentation. We believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinion.

In our opinion, the financial statements referred to above present fairly, in all material respects, the consolidated financial position of GateHouse Media, Inc. and subsidiaries at December 30, 2012 and January 1, 2012, and the consolidated results of their operations and their cash flows for each of the three years in the period ended December 30, 2012, in conformity with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles. Also, in our opinion, the related financial statement schedule, when considered in relation to the basic financial statements taken as a whole, presents fairly in all material respects the information set forth therein.

The accompanying consolidated financial statements have been prepared assuming that the Company will continue as a going concern. As discussed in Note 21 to the financial statements, the Company entered into an agreement with the lenders under its 2007 credit facility to restructure the terms of the credit facility. Among other matters, the restructuring agreement requires the Company to file a voluntary petition seeking to reorganize under chapter 11 of the U.S. bankruptcy code, which would constitute an event of default under the terms of the Company’s 2007 credit facility. These conditions raise substantial doubt about its ability to continue as a going concern. Management’s plans in regard to these matters are also described in Note 21. The consolidated financial statements do not include any adjustments that might result from the outcome of this uncertainty.

/s/ Ernst & Young LLP

Rochester, New York

March 7, 2013,

except for Note 21, as to which the date is

September 26, 2013

 

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GATEHOUSE MEDIA, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS

(In thousands, except share data)

 

     December 30,
2012
    January 1,
2012
 
ASSETS     

Current assets:

    

Cash and cash equivalents

   $ 34,527      $ 19,212   

Restricted Cash

     6,467        6,167   

Accounts receivable, net of allowance for doubtful accounts of $2,456 and $2,976 at December 30, 2012 and January 1, 2012, respectively

     54,692        59,236   

Inventory

     6,019        6,017   

Prepaid expenses

     5,815        15,483   

Other current assets

     8,215        7,347   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total current assets

     115,735        113,462   

Property, plant, and equipment, net of accumulated depreciation of $128,208 and $116,780 at December 30, 2012 and January 1, 2012, respectively

     116,510        130,937   

Goodwill

     13,742        13,958   

Intangible assets, net of accumulated amortization of $196,878 and $179,327 at December 30, 2012 and January 1, 2012, respectively

     218,981        246,661   

Deferred financing costs, net

     1,719        2,974   

Other assets

     2,605        1,876   

Assets held for sale

     474        934   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total assets

   $ 469,766      $ 510,802   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 
LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS’ DEFICIT     

Current liabilities:

    

Current portion of long-term liabilities

   $ 853      $ 1,039   

Current portion of long-term debt

     6,648        4,600   

Accounts payable

     9,396        8,216   

Accrued expenses

     26,258        27,625   

Accrued interest

     4,665        2,876   

Deferred revenue

     25,217        27,171   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total current liabilities

     73,037        71,527   

Long-term liabilities:

    

Long-term debt

     1,167,450        1,176,638   

Long-term liabilities, less current portion

     2,347        2,935   

Derivative instruments

     45,724        51,576   

Pension and other postretirement benefit obligations

     15,367        13,758   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total liabilities

     1,303,925        1,316,434   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Stockholders’ deficit:

    

Common stock, $0.01 par value, 150,000,000 shares authorized at December 30, 2012 and January 1, 2012; 58,313,868 issued, and 58,077,031 outstanding at December 30, 2012 and January 1, 2012

     568        568   

Additional paid-in capital

     831,344        831,249   

Accumulated other comprehensive loss

     (52,642     (54,359

Accumulated deficit

     (1,610,917     (1,581,114

Treasury stock, at cost, 236,837 shares at December 30, 2012 and January 1, 2012

     (310     (310
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total GateHouse Media stockholders’ deficit

     (831,957     (803,966

Noncontrolling interest

     (2,202     (1,666
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total stockholders’ deficit

     (834,159     (805,632
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total liabilities and stockholders’ deficit

   $ 469,766      $ 510,802   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

See accompanying notes to consolidated financial statements.

 

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Table of Contents

GATEHOUSE MEDIA, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS AND COMPREHENSIVE INCOME (LOSS)

(In thousands, except per share data)

 

     Year Ended
December 30,
2012
    Year Ended
January 1,
2012
    Year Ended
December 31,
2010
 

Revenues:

      

Advertising

   $ 330,881      $ 357,134      $ 385,579   

Circulation

     131,576        131,879        133,192   

Commercial printing and other

     26,097        25,657        25,967   
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total revenues

     488,554        514,670        544,738   

Operating costs and expenses:

      

Operating costs

     268,222        281,884        296,974   

Selling, general, and administrative

     145,020        146,295        154,516   

Depreciation and amortization

     39,888        42,426        45,080   

Integration and reorganization costs

     4,393        5,884        2,324   

Impairment of long-lived assets

     —          1,733        430   

Loss on sale of assets

     1,238        455        1,551   

Goodwill impairment

     —          385        —     
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Operating income

     29,793        35,608        43,863   

Interest expense

     57,928        58,309        60,021   

Amortization of deferred financing costs

     1,255        1,360        1,360   

(Gain) loss on derivative instruments

     (1,635     (913     8,277   

Other income

     (85     (395     (138
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Loss from continuing operations before income taxes

     (27,670     (22,753     (25,657

Income tax benefit

     (207     (1,803     (155
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Loss from continuing operations

     (27,463     (20,950     (25,502

Loss from discontinued operations, net of income taxes

     (2,340     (699     (542
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net loss

   $ (29,803   $ (21,649   $ (26,044
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Loss per share:

      

Basic and diluted:

      

Loss from continuing operations

   $ (0.47   $ (0.36   $ (0.44

Net loss

   $ (0.51   $ (0.37   $ (0.45

Other comprehensive income (loss):

      

Gain (loss) on derivative instruments, net of income taxes of $0

   $ 4,364      $ 11,052      $ (12,691

Pension and other postretirement benefit items:

      

Net actuarial loss

     (2,530     (2,663     (662

Amortization of net actuarial loss

     383        83        112   

Amortization of prior service credit

     (457     (457     (457

Other adjustment

     (43     240        —     
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total pension and other postretirement benefit items, net of income taxes of $0

     (2,647     (2,797     (1,007
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Other comprehensive income (loss), net of tax

     1,717        8,255        (13,698
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Comprehensive loss

   $ (28,086   $ (13,394   $ (39,742
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

See accompanying notes to consolidated financial statements.

 

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GATEHOUSE MEDIA, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY (DEFICIT)

(In thousands, except share data)

 

    Common stock     Additional
paid-in
capital
    Accumulated
other
comprehensive
loss
    Accumulated
deficit
    Treasury stock     Non-
controlling
interest in
subsidiary
    Total  
    Shares     Amount           Shares     Amount      

Balance at December 31, 2009

    58,313,868      $ 568      $ 829,009      $ (48,916   $ (1,533,421     209,859      $ (306   $ (510   $ (753,576

Net loss

    —          —          —          —          (26,044     —          —          —          (26,044

Loss on derivative instruments, net of income taxes of $0

    —          —          —          (12,691     —          —          —          —          (12,691

Net actuarial loss and prior service cost, net of income taxes of $0

    —          —          —          (1,007     —          —          —          —          (1,007

Disposal of non wholly owned subsidiary

    —          —          —          —          —          —          —          (596     (596

Non-cash compensation expense

    —          —          1,715        —          —          —          —          —          1,715   

Stock issued by non wholly owned subsidiary

    —          —          63        —          —          —          —          19        82   

Purchase of treasury stock

    —          —          —          —          —          25,402        (4     —          (4
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Balance at December 31, 2010

    58,313,868      $ 568      $ 830,787      $ (62,614   $ (1,559,465     235,261      $ (310   $ (1,087   $ (792,121
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net loss

    —          —          —          —          (21,649     —          —          —          (21,649

Gain on derivative instruments, net of income taxes of $0

    —          —          —          11,052        —          —          —          —          11,052   

Net actuarial loss and prior service cost, net of income taxes of $0

    —          —          —          (2,797     —          —          —          —          (2,797

Disposal of non wholly owned subsidiary

    —          —          —          —          —          —          —          (579     (579

Non-cash compensation expense

    —          —          462        —          —          —          —          —          462   

Purchase of treasury stock

    —          —          —          —          —          1,576        —          —          —     
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Balance at January 1, 2012

    58,313,868      $ 568      $ 831,249      $ (54,359   $ (1,581,114     236,837      $ (310   $ (1,666   $ (805,632
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net loss

    —          —          —          —          (29,803     —          —            (29,803

Gain on derivative instruments, net of income taxes of $0

    —          —          —          4,364        —          —          —          —          4,364   

Net actuarial loss and prior service cost, net of income taxes of $0

    —          —          —          (2,647     —          —          —          —          (2,647

Disposal of non wholly owned subsidiary

    —          —          —          —          —          —          —          (536     (536

Non-cash compensation expense

    —          —          95        —          —          —          —          —          95   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Balance at December 30, 2012

    58,313,868      $ 568      $ 831,344      $ (52,642   $ (1,610,917     236,837      $ (310   $ (2,202   $ (834,159
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

See accompanying notes to consolidated financial statements.

 

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GATEHOUSE MEDIA, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows

(In thousands)

 

     Year ended
December 30,
2012
    Year ended
January 1,
2012
    Year ended
December 31,
2010
 

Cash flows from operating activities:

      

Net loss

   $ (29,803   $ (21,649   $ (26,044

Adjustments to reconcile net loss to net cash provided by operating activities:

      

Depreciation and amortization

     40,627        43,393        46,122   

Amortization of deferred financing costs

     1,255        1,360        1,360   

(Gain) loss on derivative instruments

     (1,635     (913     8,277   

Non-cash compensation expense

     95        462        1,715   

Loss on sale of assets

     1,270        806        1,540   

Pension and other postretirement benefit obligations

     (939     (1,859     (1,401

Impairment of long-lived assets

     2,128        2,051        834   

Goodwill impairment

     216        385        —     

Changes in assets and liabilities:

      

Accounts receivable, net

     3,448        2,478        6,157   

Inventory

     (2     1,714        (682

Prepaid expenses

     9,605        (4,977     (5,378

Other assets

     (1,903     (585     (78

Accounts payable

     1,322        2,311        (170

Accrued expenses

     (1,789     (1,731     (2,227

Accrued interest

     1,789        71        (430

Deferred revenue

     (1,597     (177     (478

Other long-term liabilities

     (588     (701     (2,664
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net cash provided by operating activities

     23,499        22,439        26,453   
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Cash flows from investing activities:

      

Purchases of property, plant, and equipment

     (4,687     (3,330     (4,780

Proceeds from sale of publications, other assets and insurance

     3,643        2,599        4,156   
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net cash used in investing activities

     (1,044     (731     (624
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Cash flows from financing activities:

      

Repayments under short-term debt

     —          —          (8,000

Repayments under current portion of long-term debt

     (4,600     (11,249     (2,513

Repayments under long-term debt

     (2,540     —          —     

Purchase of treasury stock

     —          —          (4

Stock issued by non wholly owned subsidiary

     —          —          7   

Repurchase of subsidiary preferred stock

     —          —          (11,500
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net cash used in financing activities

     (7,140     (11,249     (22,010
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net increase in cash and cash equivalents

     15,315        10,459        3,819   

Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of period

     19,212        8,753        4,934   
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Cash and cash equivalents at end of period

   $ 34,527      $ 19,212      $ 8,753   
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Supplemental disclosures on cash flow information:

      

Cash interest paid

   $ 55,976      $ 58,225      $ 59,317   

Cash income taxes paid

     —          —          80   

See accompanying notes to consolidated financial statements.

 

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Table of Contents

GATEHOUSE MEDIA, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

(In thousands, except share data)

(1) Description of Business, Basis of Presentation and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies

(a) Description of Business

GateHouse Media, Inc. (“GateHouse”), formerly Liberty Group Publishing, Inc. (“LGP”), and its subsidiaries is a leading U.S. publisher of local newspapers and related publications that are generally the dominant source of local news and print advertising in their markets. As of December 30, 2012, the Company (as defined below) owned and operated 406 publications located in 21 states. The majority of the Company’s paid daily newspapers have been published for more than 100 years and are typically the only paid daily newspapers of general circulation in their respective nonmetropolitan markets. The Company’s publications generally face limited competition as a result of operating in small and midsized markets that can typically support only one newspaper. The Company has strategically clustered its publications in geographically diverse, nonmetropolitan markets in the Midwest and Northeast United States, which limits its exposure to economic conditions in any single market or region.

Unlike large metropolitan newspapers, the Company derives a majority of its revenues from local advertising, rather than national advertising which the Company believes is generally more sensitive to economic conditions.

During the first quarter of 2012, the Company reorganized its management structure to align with its publication types. The resulting operating segments are Large Community Newspapers, Small Community Newspapers and Directories. These operating segments are aggregated into one reportable business segment.

(b) Basis of Presentation

GateHouse was formed in 1997 for purposes of acquiring 166 daily and weekly newspapers. GateHouse is a holding company for its wholly owned subsidiary, GateHouse Media Operating, Inc. (“Operating Company”). The consolidated financial statements include the accounts of GateHouse and Operating Company and its consolidated subsidiaries (the “Company”). All significant intercompany accounts and transactions have been eliminated.

(c) Recent Developments

The newspaper industry and the Company have experienced declining same store revenue and profitability over the past several years. These trends have eliminated the availability to the Company of additional borrowings under its 2007 Credit Facility, see Note 8. As a result, the Company previously implemented and continues to implement plans to reduce costs and preserve cash flow. This includes the suspension of the payment of cash dividends, cost reduction programs, and the sale of non-core assets. The Company believes these initiatives will provide it with the financial resources necessary to invest in the business and provide sufficient cash flow to enable the Company to meet its commitments for the next year.

In February 2013, the US Postal Service announced that it will end Saturday delivery beginning in August 2013. The Company is evaluating the impact of this change, but does not expect it to be material.

(d) Use of Estimates

The preparation of financial statements in conformity with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”) requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting period. Actual results could differ from those estimates.

 

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Table of Contents

(e) Fiscal Year

Prior to 2011, the Company’s fiscal year ended on December 31. Effective January 1, 2011, the Company’s fiscal year changed to a 52 week operating year ending on the Sunday closest to December 31. For 2012 a portion of the business had 364 days of operations compared to 366 days in 2011. The 2012 fiscal year ended on December 30, 2012. The year ended January 1, 2012 encompassed a 53-week period for approximately 60% of the Company.

(f) Accounts Receivable

Accounts receivable are stated at amounts due from customers, net of an allowance for doubtful accounts. The Company’s allowance for doubtful accounts is based upon several factors including the length of time the receivables are past due, historical payment trends and current economic factors. The Company generally does not require collateral.

(g) Inventory

Inventory consists principally of newsprint, which is valued at the lower of cost or market. Cost is determined using the first-in, first-out (“FIFO”) method. In 2011 and 2012 the Company purchased approximately 75% of its newsprint from one vendor. In 2013 the Company expects to purchase approximately 95% of newsprint from the same vendor.

(h) Property, Plant, and Equipment

Property, plant, and equipment is recorded at cost. Routine maintenance and repairs are expensed as incurred.

Depreciation is calculated under the straight-line method over the estimated useful lives, principally 25 years for buildings and improvements, 3 to 10 years for machinery and equipment, and 3 to 10 years for furniture, fixtures, and computer software. Leasehold improvements are amortized under the straight-line method over the shorter of the lease term or estimated useful life of the asset.

(i) Goodwill and Intangible Assets

Intangible assets consist of advertiser, subscriber and customer relationships, mastheads, non-compete agreements with former owners of acquired newspapers, trade names and publication rights. The excess of acquisition costs over the estimated fair value of tangible and identifiable intangible net assets acquired is recorded as goodwill.

Goodwill and mastheads are not amortized pursuant to the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) Accounting Standard Update (ASU) Topic 350 “ Intangibles—Goodwill and Other ” (“ASC 350”). Mastheads are not amortized because it has been determined that the useful lives of such mastheads are indefinite.

In accordance with ASC 350, goodwill and intangible assets with indefinite lives are tested for impairment annually or when events indicate that an impairment could exist which may include an economic downturn in a market, a change in the assessment of future operations or a decline in the Company’s stock price. The Company performs an annual impairment assessment on the last day of its fiscal second quarter. As required by ASC 350, the Company performs its impairment analysis on each of its reporting units. The reporting units have discrete financial information which are regularly reviewed by management. The fair value of the applicable reporting unit is compared to its carrying value. Calculating the fair value of a reporting unit requires significant estimates and assumptions by the Company. The Company estimates fair value by applying third-party market value indicators to projected cash flows and/or projected earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization. In applying this methodology, the Company relies on a number of factors, including current operating results and

 

F-13


Table of Contents

cash flows, expected future operating results and cash flows, future business plans, and market data. If the carrying value of the reporting unit exceeds the estimate of fair value, the Company calculates the impairment as the excess of the carrying value of goodwill over its implied fair value.

During the first quarter of 2012, the Company reorganized its management structure to align with its publication types. The fair value of goodwill was allocated to each of the new reporting units: Small Community Newspapers, Large Daily Newspapers and Metro Newspapers. The Company determined that impairment indicators were present for the Metro Newspaper reporting unit, which had a goodwill balance of $216. As of April 1, 2012 the Company performed a Step 1 analysis for this reporting unit and determined that its carrying value exceeded fair value. As a result of the Step 2 analysis, the entire $216 of goodwill was impaired and this amount was subsequently reclassified to discontinued operations, see Note 19. The fair value of this reporting unit for impairment testing purposes was estimated using the expected present value of future cash flows, recent industry transaction multiples and using estimates, judgments and assumptions that management believes were appropriate in the circumstances. The estimates and judgments used in the assessment included multiples for revenue and EBITDA, the weighted average cost of capital and the terminal growth rate. Given the current market conditions, the Company determined that recent transactions provided the best estimate of the fair value of this reporting unit. The Company performed further analysis of this reporting unit’s intangible and long-lived assets and determined that impairments of these assets were not present.

Due to an operational management change in the fourth quarter of 2011, certain properties having a goodwill balance of $385 were transferred to a reporting unit that previously did not have a goodwill balance. The Company performed an impairment assessment for this reporting unit and as a result an impairment charge related to goodwill of $385 was recorded as of January 1, 2012. The Company performed further analysis of this reporting unit’s intangible assets and determined that additional impairments were not present as of year-end. A review of impairment indicators was performed for the Company’s other reporting units and it was determined that financial results and forecast had not changed materially since the June 26, 2011 impairment test and it was determined that no indicators of impairment were present.

Refer to Note 5 for additional information on the impairment testing of goodwill and indefinite lived intangible assets.

The Company accounts for long-lived assets in accordance with the provisions of FASB ASC Topic 360, “ Property, Plant and Equipment ” (“ASC 360”). The Company assesses the recoverability of its long-lived assets, including property, plant, and equipment and definite lived intangible assets, whenever events or changes in business circumstances indicate the carrying amount of the assets, or related group of assets, may not be fully recoverable. Impairment indicators include significant under performance relative to historical or projected future operating losses, significant changes in the manner of use of the acquired assets or the strategy for the Company’s overall business, and significant negative industry or economic trends. The assessment of recoverability is based on management’s estimates. If the carrying value of the assets exceeds the undiscounted cash flows, the asset would be deemed to be impaired. Impairment would be measured as the difference between the fair value of the asset and its carrying value.

(j) Revenue Recognition

Circulation revenue from subscribers is billed to customers at the beginning of the subscription period and is recognized on a straight-line basis over the term of the related subscription. Circulation revenue from single copy sales is recognized at the time of sale. Advertising revenue is recognized upon publication of the advertisement. Revenue for commercial printing is recognized upon delivery. Directory revenue is recognized on a straight-line basis over the period in which the corresponding directory is distributed.

 

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(k) Income Taxes

Income taxes are accounted for under the asset and liability method. Deferred tax assets and liabilities are recognized for the future tax consequences attributable to differences between the financial statement carrying amounts of existing assets and liabilities and their respective tax bases and operating loss and tax credit carryforwards. Deferred tax assets and liabilities are measured using enacted tax rates expected to apply to taxable income in the years in which those temporary differences are expected to be recovered or settled. The effect on deferred tax assets and liabilities of a change in tax rates is recognized in income in the period that includes the enactment date.

The Company has determined that more likely than not its existing deferred tax assets will not be realized, and accordingly has provided a valuation allowance. Any changes in the scheduled reversals of deferred taxes may require an additional valuation allowance against the remaining deferred tax assets. Any increase or decrease in the valuation allowance could result in an increase or decrease in income tax expense in the period of adjustment.

The Company accounts for uncertain tax positions under the provisions of FASB ASC Topic 740 “Income Taxes”. The Company does not anticipate significant increases or decreases in our uncertain tax positions within the next twelve months. The Company recognizes penalties and interest relating to uncertain tax positions in tax expense.

(l) Fair Value of Financial Instruments

The carrying value of the Company’s cash equivalents, accounts receivable, accounts payable, and accrued expenses approximate fair value due to the short maturity of these instruments. An estimate of the fair value of the Company’s debt is disclosed in Note 8.

The Company accounts for derivative instruments in accordance with FASB ASC Topic 815, “ Derivatives and Hedging ” (“ASC 815”) and FASB ASC Topic 820 “ Fair Value Measurements and Disclosures ” (“ASC 820”). These standards require an entity to recognize all derivatives as either assets or liabilities in the consolidated balance sheet and measure those instruments at fair value. Additionally, the fair value adjustments will affect either accumulated other comprehensive loss or net loss depending on whether the derivative instrument qualifies as an effective hedge for accounting purposes and, if so, the nature of the hedging activity. The fair value of the Company’s derivative financial instruments is disclosed in Note 9.

(m) Cash Equivalents

Cash equivalents represent highly liquid certificates of deposit which have original maturities of three months or less.

(n) Deferred Financing Costs

Deferred financing costs consist of costs incurred in connection with debt financings. Such costs are amortized on a straight-line basis over the estimated remaining term of the related debt.

(o) Advertising

Advertising costs are expensed in the period incurred. The Company incurred total advertising expenses of $3,419, $2,620 and $3,549 during the years ended December 30, 2012, January 1, 2012 and December 31, 2010, respectively.

(p) Earnings (loss) per share

Basic earnings (loss) per share is computed as net income (loss) available to common stockholders divided by the weighted average number of common shares outstanding for the period. Diluted earnings per share reflects the potential dilution that could occur from common shares issued through common stock equivalents.

 

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(q) Stock-based Employee Compensation

FASB ASC Topic 718, “ Compensation—Stock Compensation ” (“ASC 718”) requires that all share-based payments to employees, including grants of employee stock options, be recognized in the consolidated financial statements over the service period (generally the vesting period) based on fair values measured on grant dates.

(r) Pension and Postretirement Liabilities

FASB ASC Topic 715, “ Compensation—Retirement Benefits ” (“ASC 715”) requires recognition of an asset or liability in the consolidated balance sheet reflecting the funded status of pension and other postretirement benefit plans such as retiree health and life, with current-year changes in the funded status recognized in accumulated other comprehensive loss. During the years ended December 30, 2012, January 1, 2012 and December 31, 2010 a total of $(2,647), $(2,797) and $(1,007) net of taxes of $0, $0 and $0, respectively, was recognized in other comprehensive loss (see Note 13).

(s) Self-Insurance Liability Accruals

The Company maintains self-insured medical and workers’ compensation programs. The Company purchases stop loss coverage from third parties which limits our exposure to large claims. The Company records a liability for healthcare and workers’ compensation costs during the period in which they occur as well as an estimate of incurred but not reported claims.

(t) Reclassifications

Certain amounts in the prior periods consolidated financial statements have been reclassified to conform to the current year presentation.

(u) Recently Issued Accounting Pronouncements

In July 2012, the FASB Accounting Standard Update (ASU) 2012-02, “Intangibles- Goodwill and Other (Topic 350): Testing Indefinite-Lived Intangible Assets for Impairment.” The amendments in this update allow companies the option to perform a qualitative assessment to determine whether it is more likely than not that an indefinite-lived intangible asset is impaired. An entity is not required to calculate the fair value of an indefinite-lived intangible asset and perform the quantitative impairment test unless the entity determines that it is more likely than not the asset is impaired. The changes to the ASC as a result of this update are effective for annual and interim impairment test performed for fiscal years beginning after September 15, 2012. The adoption of ASU No. 2012-02 will not have a material effect on the Company’s Consolidated Financial Statements.

In February 2013, the FASB issued ASC Update No. 2013-02 “Comprehensive Income Reporting of Amounts Reclassified Out of Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income (Topic 220),” which amends ASC Topic 220. The amendments require an entity to provide information about the amounts reclassified out of accumulated other comprehensive income (“AOCI”) by component. In addition an entity is required to present either on the face of the Statement of Income or in the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements significant amounts reclassified out of AOCI and should be provided by the respective line items of net income but only if the amount reclassified is required under GAAP to be reclassified in its entirety to net income in the same reporting period. For other amounts that are not required under GAAP to be reclassified in their entirety to net income, an entity is required to cross-reference to other disclosures require under GAAP that provide additional detail about these amounts. The changes to the ASC as a result of this updated guidance are effective for annual and interim reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2012. The adoption of ASU No. 2013-02 will not have a material effect on the Company’s Consolidated Financial Statements.

 

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(2) Share-Based Compensation

The Company recognized compensation expense for share-based payments of $95, $462 and $1,715, during the years ended December 30, 2012, January 1, 2012 and December 31, 2010, respectively. The total compensation cost not yet recognized related to non-vested awards as of December 30, 2012 was $23, which is expected to be recognized over a weighted-average period of 0.3 years through April 2013.

(a) Restricted Share Grants (“RSGs”)

Prior to the Company’s IPO in 2006, the Company had issued 792,500 RSGs to certain management investors pursuant to each investor’s management stockholder agreement (each, a “Management Stockholder Agreement”). Under the Management Stockholder Agreements, RSGs vest by one-third on each of the third, fourth and fifth anniversaries from the grant date. Following the adoption of the GateHouse Media, Inc. Omnibus Stock Incentive Plan (the “Plan”) in October 2006, an additional 268,680 RSGs were granted during the year ended December 31, 2006 to Company directors, management, and employees. During the year ended December 31, 2007 an additional 198,846 RSGs were granted to Company directors, management and employees, 105,453 of which were both granted and forfeited. During the year ended December 31, 2008 an additional 266,795 RSGs were granted to Company directors, management and employees, 42,535 of which were both granted and forfeited. During the year ended December 31, 2009 an additional 100,000 RSGs were granted to Company management. The majority of the RSGs issued under the Plan vest in increments of one-third on each of the first, second and third anniversaries of the grant date. In the event a grantee of an RSG is terminated by the Company without cause, a number of unvested RSGs immediately vest that would have vested under the normal vesting period on the next succeeding anniversary date following such termination. In the event an RSG grantee’s employment with the Company is terminated without cause within twelve months after a change in control as defined in the applicable award agreement, all unvested RSGs become immediately vested at the termination date. During the period prior to the lapse and removal of the vesting restrictions, a grantee of an RSG will have all of the rights of a stockholder, including without limitation, the right to vote and the right to receive all dividends or other distributions. As a result, the RSGs are reflected as outstanding common stock and the unvested RSGs have been excluded from the calculation of basic earnings per share. With respect to Company employees, the value of the RSGs on the date of issuance is recognized as employee compensation expense over the vesting period or through the grantee’s eligible retirement date, if shorter, with an increase to additional paid-in-capital. During the years ended December 30, 2012, January 1, 2012 and December 31, 2010 the Company recognized $95, $462 and $1,715 respectively in share-based compensation expense related to RSGs and is recognized in the Consolidated Statement of Operations and Comprehensive Income (Loss).

As of December 30, 2012 and January 1, 2012, there were 25,424 and 84,181 RSGs, respectively, issued and outstanding with a weighted average grant date fair value of $6.04 and $3.67, respectively. As of December 30, 2012, the aggregate intrinsic value of unvested RSGs was $2. As of December 30, 2012, the aggregate fair value of vested RSGs was $4.

RSG activity was as follows:

 

     Year Ended
December 30, 2012
     Year Ended
January 1, 2012
     Year Ended
December 31, 2010
 
     Number
of RSGs
    Weighted-
Average
Grant Date
Fair Value
     Number
of RSGs
    Weighted-
Average
Grant Date
Fair Value
     Number
of RSGs
    Weighted-
Average
Grant Date
Fair Value
 

Unvested at beginning of year

     84,181      $ 3.67         299,560      $ 8.89         570,696      $ 10.01   

Granted

     —          —           —          —           —          —     

Vested

     (58,757     2.65         (215,379     10.93         (264,403     11.29   

Forfeited

     —          —           —          —           (6,733     9.75   
  

 

 

      

 

 

      

 

 

   

Unvested at end of year

     25,424      $ 6.04         84,181      $ 3.67         299,560      $ 8.89   
  

 

 

      

 

 

      

 

 

   

 

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ASC 718 requires the recognition of share-based compensation for the number of awards that are ultimately expected to vest. The Company’s estimated forfeitures are based on forfeiture rates of comparable plans. Estimated forfeitures will be reassessed in subsequent periods and the estimate may change based on new facts and circumstances.

(b) Valuation of Equity Securities Issued as Compensation

The Company values equity securities issued as compensation using the fair value of the securities as of the grant date.

Prior to January 1, 2006, the Company recorded deferred share-based compensation, which consisted of the amounts by which the estimated fair value of the instrument underlying the grant exceeded the grant or exercise price, at the date of grant or other measurement date, if applicable and recognized the expense over the related service period. In determining the fair value of the Company’s common stock at the dates of grant prior to the IPO on October 25, 2006, the Company’s stock was not publicly traded and, therefore, the Company was unable to rely on a public trading market for its stock prior to October 25, 2006.

As the Company began the process of preparing for its IPO, it developed a preliminary valuation using a discounted cash flow approach as of July 2006. The Company estimated that the fair value of its common stock was $15.01 per share based on a valuation using a discounted cash flow approach as of July 2006.

The Company retrospectively applied the valuation to share-based compensation relating to RSGs and common stock sales which occurred from January 2006 to May 2006. Therefore, the financial statements reflect this valuation for grants made prior to the Company’s IPO.

(3) Restructuring

Over the past several years, and in furtherance of the Company’s cost reduction and cash preservation plans outlined in Note 1, the Company has engaged in a series of individual restructuring programs, designed primarily to right size the Company’s employee base, consolidate facilities and improve operations. These initiatives impact all of the Company’s geographic regions and are often influenced by the terms of union contracts within the region. All costs related to these programs, which primarily reflect involuntary severance expense, are accrued at the time of announcement.

Information related to restructuring program activity during the years ended December 30, 2012 and January 1, 2012 is outlined below.

 

     Severance
and Related
Costs
    Other
Costs (1)
    Total  

Balance at December 31, 2010

   $ 253      $ 1      $ 254   

Restructuring provision included in Integration and Reorganization (2)

     3,724        2,226        5,950   

Cash payments

     (3,077     (1,801     (4,878
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Balance at January 1, 2012

   $ 900      $ 426      $ 1,326   

Restructuring provision included in Integration and Reorganization (2)

     3,610        800        4,410   

Cash payments

     (3,826     (1,062     (4,888
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Balance at December 30, 2012

   $ 684      $ 164      $ 848   
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

(1) Other costs primarily included costs to consolidate operations.
(2) Included above are amounts that were initially recognized in integration and reorganization and were subsequently reclassified to discontinued operations expense at the time the operations ceased.

 

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The restructuring reserve balance as of December 30, 2012, for all programs was $848, which is expected to be paid out over the next twelve months.

The following table summarizes the costs incurred and cash paid in connection with these restructuring programs for the years ended December 30, 2012 and January 1, 2012.

 

     Years Ended  
     December 30,
2012
    January 1,
2012
 

Severance and related costs (2)

   $ 3,610      $ 3,724   

Other costs (1) (2)

     800        2,226   

Cash payments

     (4,888     (4,878

 

(1) Other costs primarily included costs to consolidate operations.
(2) Included above are amounts that were initially recognized in integration and reorganization and were subsequently reclassified to discontinued operations expense at the time the operations ceased.

Additionally, during the year ended January 1, 2012, the Company recognized an impairment charge of $1,696 related to the consolidation of its print operations. Refer to Note 16 for fair value measurement discussion.

(4) Property, Plant, and Equipment

Property, plant, and equipment consisted of the following:

 

     December 30,
2012
    January 1,
2012
 

Land

   $ 19,384      $ 19,627   

Buildings and improvements

     84,028        86,786   

Machinery and equipment

     118,907        120,554   

Furniture, fixtures, and computer software

     20,673        20,225   

Construction in progress and other non-depreciating assets

     1,726        525   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 
     244,718        247,717   

Less: accumulated depreciation and amortization

     (128,208     (116,780
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total

   $ 116,510      $ 130,937   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Depreciation expense during the years ended December 30, 2012, January 1, 2012 and December 31, 2010 was $16,435, $18,669 and $21,099, respectively.

 

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(5) Goodwill and Intangible Assets

Goodwill and intangible assets consisted of the following:

 

     December 30, 2012  
     Gross Carrying
Amount
     Accumulated
Amortization
     Net Carrying
Amount
 

Amortized intangible assets:

        

Noncompete agreements

   $ 4,970       $ 4,839       $ 131   

Advertiser relationships

     278,543         145,878         132,665   

Customer relationships

     8,940         3,597         5,343   

Subscriber relationships

     82,280         39,226         43,054   

Trade name

     5,493         3,204         2,289   

Publication rights

     345         134         211   
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total

   $ 380,571       $ 196,878       $ 183,693   
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Nonamortized intangible assets:

        

Goodwill

   $ 13,742         

Mastheads

     35,288         
  

 

 

       

Total

   $ 49,030         
  

 

 

       

 

     January 1, 2012  
     Gross Carrying
Amount
     Accumulated
Amortization
     Net Carrying
Amount
 

Amortized intangible assets:

        

Noncompete agreements

   $ 4,970       $ 4,479       $ 491   

Advertiser relationships

     286,478         134,228         152,250   

Customer relationships

     8,940         2,946         5,994   

Subscriber relationships

     83,158         34,908         48,250   

Trade name

     5,493         2,655         2,838   

Publication rights

     345         111         234   
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total

   $ 389,384       $ 179,327       $ 210,057   
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Nonamortized intangible assets:

        

Goodwill

   $ 13,958         

Mastheads

     36,604         
  

 

 

       

Total

   $ 50,562         
  

 

 

       

The weighted average amortization periods for amortizable intangible assets are 4.4 years for noncompete agreements, 16.7 years for advertiser relationships, 13.8 years for customer relationships, 17.2 years for subscriber relationships, 10.0 years for trade names and 15.0 years for publication rights.

Amortization expense for the years ended December 30, 2012, January 1, 2012 and December 31, 2010 was $23,598, $23,914 and $24,037, respectively. Estimated future amortization expense as of January 1, 2012, is as follows:

 

For the years ending the Sunday closest to December 31:

  

2013

   $ 23,323   

2014

     23,277   

2015

     23,243   

2016

     21,316   

2017

     20,242   

Thereafter

     72,292   
  

 

 

 

Total

   $ 183,693   
  

 

 

 

 

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The changes in the carrying amount of goodwill for the years ended December 30, 2012 and January 1, 2012 are as follows:

 

Gross balance at December 31, 2010

   $ 886,843   

Accumulated impairment losses

     (872,500
  

 

 

 

Net balance at December 31, 2010

   $ 14,343   
  

 

 

 

Goodwill impairment

     (385
  

 

 

 

Balance at January 1, 2012

   $ 13,958   
  

 

 

 

Gross balance at January 1, 2012

   $ 886,843   

Accumulated impairment losses

     (872,885
  

 

 

 

Net balance at January 1, 2012

   $ 13,958   
  

 

 

 

Goodwill impairment from divestitures (1)

     (216
  

 

 

 

Balance at December 30, 2012

   $ 13,742   
  

 

 

 

Gross balance at December 30, 2012

   $ 886,843   

Accumulated impairment losses

     (873,101
  

 

 

 

Net balance at December 30, 2012

   $ 13,742   
  

 

 

 

 

(1) Goodwill impairment was initially recognized in continuing operations and was subsequently reclassified to discontinued operations expense at the time the operations were classified as held for sale.

As of December 30, 2012 and January 1, 2012, goodwill in the amount $606,013 was deductible for income tax purposes.

The Company’s annual impairment assessment is made on the last day of its fiscal second quarter.

As of March 31, 2010 a review of impairment indicators was performed with the Company noting that its financial results and forecast had not changed materially since the June 30, 2009 impairment test and its market capitalization exceeded its consolidated carrying value. It was determined that an impairment analysis was not required.

As part of the annual impairment assessment, as of June 30, 2010, the fair values of the Company’s reporting units for goodwill impairment testing and individual newspaper mastheads were estimated using the expected present value of future cash flows, recent industry transaction multiples and using estimates, judgments and assumptions that management believed were appropriate in the circumstances. The estimates and judgments used in the assessment included multiples for revenue and EBITDA, the weighted average cost of capital and the terminal growth rate. Given the current market conditions, the Company determined that current transactions provided the best estimate of the fair value of its reporting units. Given the stabilization of operating results for the only reporting unit having a goodwill balance at the time, no impairment indicators were identified. Additionally, the estimated fair value exceeded carrying value for all mastheads. The total Company’s estimate of fair value was reconciled to its then market capitalization (based upon the stock market price and fair value of debt) plus an estimated control premium.

As of September 30, 2010, December 31, 2010, and March 27, 2011 a review of impairment indicators was performed with the Company noting that its financial results and forecast had not changed materially since the June 30, 2010 impairment test and its market capitalization exceeded its consolidated carrying value. It was determined that an impairment analysis was not required.

As part of the annual impairment assessment, as of June 26, 2011, the fair values of the Company’s reporting units for goodwill impairment testing and newspaper mastheads were estimated using the expected present value of future cash flows, recent industry transaction multiples and using estimates, judgments and

 

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assumptions that management believed were appropriate in the circumstances. The estimates and judgments used in the assessment included multiples for revenue and EBITDA, the weighted average cost of capital and the terminal growth rate. Given the current market conditions, the Company determined that recent transactions provided the best estimate of the fair value of its reporting units. Given the stabilization of operating results for the only reporting unit having a goodwill balance at the time, no impairment indicators were identified. Additionally, the estimated fair value exceeded carrying value for all mastheads. The total Company’s estimate of fair value was reconciled to its then market capitalization (based upon the stock market price and fair value of debt) plus an estimated control premium.

As of September 25, 2011 a review of impairment indicators was performed with the Company noting that its financial results and forecast had not changed materially since the June 26, 2011 impairment test and its market capitalization exceeded its consolidated carrying value. It was determined that an impairment analysis was not required.

Due to an operational management change in the fourth quarter of 2011, certain properties having a goodwill balance of $385 were transferred to a reporting unit that previously did not have a goodwill balance. The Company performed a Step 1 analysis for this reporting unit and determined that its carrying value exceeded fair value. As a result of the Step 2 analysis, the entire $385 of goodwill was impaired. The fair value of this reporting unit for impairment testing purposes was estimated using the expected present value of future cash flows, recent industry transaction multiples and using estimates, judgments and assumptions that management believed were appropriate in the circumstances. The estimates and judgments used in the assessment included multiples for revenue and EBITDA, the weighted average cost of capital and the terminal growth rate. Given the current market conditions, the Company determined that recent transactions provided the best estimate of the fair value of this reporting unit. The Company performed further analysis of this reporting unit’s intangible and long-lived assets and determined that impairments of these assets were not present as of year-end.

As of January 1, 2012, a review of impairment indicators was performed for the Company’s other reporting units and it was determined that financial results and forecast had not changed materially since the June 26, 2011 impairment test and it was determined no indicators of impairment were present.

During the first quarter of 2012, the Company reorganized its management structure to align with its publication types. The fair value of goodwill was allocated to each of the new reporting units: Small Community Newspapers, Large Daily Newspapers and Metro Newspapers. The Company determined that impairment indicators were present for the Metro Newspaper reporting unit, which had a goodwill balance of $216. As of April 1, 2012 the Company performed a Step 1 analysis for this reporting unit and determined that its carrying value exceeded fair value. As a result of the Step 2 analysis, the entire $216 of goodwill was impaired and this amount was subsequently reclassified to discontinued operations, see Note 19. The fair value of this reporting unit for impairment testing purposes was estimated using the expected present value of future cash flows, recent industry transaction multiples and using estimates, judgments and assumptions that management believed were appropriate in the circumstances. The estimates and judgments used in the assessment included multiples for revenue and EBITDA, the weighted average cost of capital and the terminal growth rate. Given the current market conditions, the Company determined that recent transactions provided the best estimate of the fair value of this reporting unit. The Company performed further analysis of this reporting unit’s intangible and long-lived assets and determined that impairments of these assets were not present.

As of April 1, 2012, a review of impairment indicators was performed for the Company’s other reporting units and it was determined that financial results and forecast had not changed materially since the June 26, 2011 impairment test and it was determined no indicators of impairment were present.

As part of the annual impairment assessment, as of July 1, 2012, the fair values of the Company’s reporting units for goodwill impairment testing and newspaper mastheads were estimated using the expected present value of future cash flows, recent industry transaction multiples and using estimates, judgments and assumptions that management believed were appropriate in the circumstances. The estimates and judgments used in the

 

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assessment included multiples for revenue and EBITDA, the weighted average cost of capital and the terminal growth rate. Given the current market conditions, the Company determined that recent transactions provided the best estimate of the fair value of its reporting units. Given the stabilization of operating results for the two reporting units that had a goodwill balance as of the annual impairment assessment date, no impairment indicators were identified. Additionally, the estimated fair value exceeded carrying value for all mastheads. The total Company’s estimate of fair value was reconciled to its then market capitalization (based upon the stock market price and fair value of debt) plus an estimated control premium.

As of September 30, 2012 and December 30, 2012, a review of impairment indicators was performed with the Company noting that its financial results and forecast had not changed materially since the July 1, 2012 impairment test and its market capitalization exceeded its consolidated carrying value. It was determined no indicators of impairment were present.

The newspaper industry and our Company have experienced declining same store revenue and profitability over the past several years. Should general economic, market or business conditions decline, and have a negative impact on estimates of future cash flow and market transaction multiples, we may be required to record additional impairment charges in the future.

(6) Accrued Expenses

Accrued expenses consisted of the following:

 

     December 30,
2012
     January 1,
2012
 

Accrued payroll

   $ 4,305       $ 3,790   

Accrued bonus

     2,219         4,465   

Accrued vacation

     959         1,396   

Accrued insurance

     6,903         6,488   

Accrued newsprint

     —           45   

Accrued other

     11,872         11,441   
  

 

 

    

 

 

 
   $ 26,258       $ 27,625   
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

(7) Lease Commitments

The future minimum lease payments related to the Company’s non-cancelable operating lease commitments as of December 30, 2012 are as follows:

 

For the years ending the Sunday closest to December 31:

  

2013

   $ 4,640   

2014

     4,616   

2015

     3,447   

2016

     2,523   

2017

     2,203   

Thereafter

     2,551   
  

 

 

 

Total minimum lease payments

   $ 19,980   
  

 

 

 

Rental expense under operating leases for the years ended December 30, 2012, January 1, 2012 and December 31, 2010 was $5,009, $5,382 and $5,297, respectively.

 

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(8) Indebtedness

2007 Credit Facility

GateHouse Media Operating, Inc. (“Operating”), an indirectly wholly owned subsidiary of GateHouse Media, GateHouse Media Holdco, Inc. (“Holdco”), an indirectly wholly-owned subsidiary of GateHouse Media, and certain of their subsidiaries entered into an Amended and Restated Credit Agreement, dated as of February 27, 2007, with a syndicate of financial institutions with Wells Fargo Bank as administrative agent.

The 2007 Credit Facility, prior to execution of the Second Amendment (defined below), provided for a: (a) $670,000 term loan facility that matures on August 28, 2014; (b) a delayed draw term loan facility of up to $250,000 that matures on August 28, 2014 and (c) a revolving credit facility with a $40,000 aggregate loan commitment amount available, including a $15,000 sub-facility for letters of credit and a $10,000 swingline facility, that matures on February 28, 2014. The borrowers used the proceeds of the 2007 Credit Facility to refinance existing indebtedness and for working capital and other general corporate purposes, including, without limitation, financing acquisitions permitted under the 2007 Credit Facility. The 2007 Credit Facility is secured by a first priority security interest in: (a) all present and future capital stock or other membership, equity, ownership or profits interest of Operating and all of its direct and indirect domestic restricted subsidiaries, (b) 65% of the voting stock (and 100% of the nonvoting stock) of all present and future first-tier foreign subsidiaries and (c) substantially all of the tangible and intangible assets of Holdco, Operating and their present and future direct and indirect domestic restricted subsidiaries. In addition, the loans and other obligations of the borrowers under the 2007 Credit Facility are guaranteed, subject to specified limitations, by Holdco, Operating and their present and future direct and indirect domestic restricted subsidiaries.

Borrowings under the 2007 Credit Facility bear interest, at the borrower’s option, equal to the LIBOR Rate for a LIBOR Rate Loan (as defined in the 2007 Credit Facility), or the Alternate Base Rate for an Alternate Base Rate Loan (as defined in the 2007 Credit Facility), plus an applicable margin. The applicable margin for the LIBOR Rate term loans and Alternate Base Rate term loans, as amended by the First Amendment (defined below), is 2.00% and 1.00%, respectively. The applicable margin for revolving loans is adjusted quarterly based upon Holdco’s Total Leverage Ratio (as defined in the 2007 Credit Facility) ( i.e ., the ratio of Holdco’s Consolidated Indebtedness (as defined in the 2007 Credit Facility) on the last day of the preceding quarter to Consolidated EBITDA (as defined in the 2007 Credit Facility) for the four fiscal quarters ending on the date of determination). The applicable margin ranges from 1.50% to 2.00%, in the case of LIBOR Rate Loans, and 0.50% to 1.00% in the case of Alternate Base Rate Loans. Under the revolving credit facility, GateHouse Media will also pay a quarterly commitment fee on the unused portion of the revolving credit facility ranging from 0.25% to 0.5% based on the same total leverage ratio (as described above), and a quarterly fee equal to the applicable margin for LIBOR Rate Loans on the aggregate amount of outstanding letters of credit. In addition, GateHouse Media will be required to pay a ticking fee at the rate of 0.50% of the aggregate unfunded amount available to be borrowed under the delayed draw term facility.

No principal payments are due on the term loan facilities or the revolving credit facility until the applicable maturity date. The borrowers are required to prepay borrowings under the term loan facilities in an amount equal to 50.0% of Holdco’s Excess Cash Flow (as defined in the 2007 Credit Facility) earned during the previous fiscal year, except that no prepayments are required if the Total Leverage Ratio (as defined in the 2007 Credit Facility) is less than or equal to 6.0 to 1.0 at the end of such fiscal year. In addition, the borrowers are required to prepay borrowings under the term loan facilities with asset disposition proceeds in excess of specified amounts to the extent necessary to cause Holdco’s Total Leverage Ratio to be less than or equal to 6.25 to 1.00, and with cash insurance proceeds and condemnation or expropriation awards, in excess of specified amounts, subject, in each case, to reinvestment rights. The borrowers are required to prepay borrowings under the term loan facilities with the net proceeds of equity issuances by GateHouse Media in an amount equal to the lesser of (a) the amount by which 50.0% of the net cash proceeds exceeds the amount (if any) required to repay any credit facilities of GateHouse Media or (b) the amount of proceeds required to reduce Holdco’s Total Leverage Ratio to 6.0 to 1.0. The borrowers are also required to prepay borrowings under the term loan facilities with 100% of the proceeds of

 

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debt issuances (with specified exceptions), except that no prepayment is required if Holdco’s Total Leverage Ratio is less than 6.0 to 1.0. If the term loan facilities have been paid in full, mandatory prepayments are applied to the repayment of borrowings under the swingline facility and revolving credit facilities and the cash collateralization of letters of credit.

The 2007 Credit Facility contains a financial covenant that requires Holdco to maintain a Total Leverage Ratio of less than or equal to 6.5 to 1.0 at any time an extension of credit is outstanding under the revolving credit facility. The 2007 Credit Facility contains affirmative and negative covenants applicable to Holdco, Operating and their restricted subsidiaries customarily found in loan agreements for similar transactions, including restrictions on their ability to incur indebtedness (which GateHouse Media is generally permitted to incur so long as it satisfies an incurrence test that requires it to maintain a pro forma Total Leverage Ratio of less than 6.5 to 1.0), create liens on assets, engage in certain lines of business, engage in mergers or consolidations, dispose of assets, make investments or acquisitions, engage in transactions with affiliates, enter into sale leaseback transactions, enter into negative pledges or pay dividends or make other restricted payments (except that Holdco is permitted to (a) make restricted payments (including quarterly dividends) so long as, after giving effect to any such restricted payment, Holdco and its subsidiaries have a Fixed Charge Coverage Ratio (as defined in the 2007 Credit Facility) equal to or greater than 1.0 to 1.0 and would be able to incur an additional $1.00 of debt under the incurrence test referred to above and (b) make restricted payments of proceeds of asset dispositions to GateHouse Media to the extent such proceeds are not required to prepay loans under the 2007 Credit Facility and/or cash collateralize letter of credit obligations and such proceeds are used to prepay borrowings under acquisition credit facilities of GateHouse Media. The 2007 Credit Facility also permits the borrowers, in certain limited circumstances, to designate subsidiaries as “unrestricted subsidiaries” which are not subject to the covenant restrictions in the 2007 Credit Facility. The 2007 Credit Facility contains customary events of default, including defaults based on a failure to pay principal, reimbursement obligations, interest, fees or other obligations, subject to specified grace periods; a material inaccuracy of representations and warranties; breach of covenants; failure to pay other indebtedness and cross-accelerations; a Change of Control (as defined in the 2007 Credit Facility); events of bankruptcy and insolvency; material judgments; failure to meet certain requirements with respect to ERISA; and impairment of collateral. There were no extensions of credit outstanding under the revolving credit portion of the facility at December 30, 2012 and, therefore, the Company was not required to be in compliance with the Total Leverage Ratio covenant.

First Amendment to 2007 Credit Facility

On May 7, 2007, the borrowers entered into the First Amendment to amend the 2007 Credit Facility (the “First Amendment”). The First Amendment provided an incremental term loan facility under the 2007 Credit Facility in the amount of $275,000. As amended by the First Amendment, the 2007 Credit Facility includes $1,195,000 of term loan facilities and $40,000 of a revolving credit facility. The incremental term loan facility amortizes at the same rate and matures on the same date as the existing term loan facilities under the 2007 Credit Facility. Interest on the incremental term loan facility accrues at a rate per annum equal to, at the option of the borrowers, (a) adjusted LIBOR plus a margin equal to (i) 2.00%, if the corporate family ratings and corporate credit ratings of Operating by Moody’s Investors Service Inc. and Standard & Poor’s Rating Services, are at least B1, and B+, respectively, in each case with stable outlook or (ii) 2.25%, otherwise, as was the case as of December 30, 2012, or (b) the greater of the prime rate set by Wells Fargo Bank, or the federal funds effective rate plus 0.50%, plus a margin 1.00% lower than that applicable to adjusted LIBOR-based loans. Any voluntary or mandatory repayment of the First Amendment term loans made with the proceeds of a new term loan entered into for the primary purpose of benefiting from a margin that is less than the margin applicable as a result of the First Amendment will be subject to a 1.00% prepayment premium. The First Amendment term loans are subject to a “most favored nation” interest provision that grants the First Amendment term loans an interest rate margin that is 0.25% less than the highest margin of any future term loan borrowings under the 2007 Credit Facility.

As previously noted, the First Amendment also modified the interest rates applicable to the term loans under the 2007 Credit Facility. Term loans thereunder accrue interest at a rate per annum equal to, at the option of the Borrower, (a) adjusted LIBOR plus a margin equal to 2.00% or (b) the greater of the prime rate set by Wells

 

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Fargo Bank, or the federal funds effective rate plus 0.50%, plus a margin equal to 1.00%. The terms of the previously outstanding borrowings were also modified to include a 1.00% prepayment premium corresponding to the prepayment premium applicable to the First Amendment term loans and a corresponding “most favored nation” interest provision.

Second Amendment to 2007 Credit Facility

On February 3, 2009, the Company entered into a Second Amendment to the 2007 Credit Facility (the “Second Amendment”).

The Second Amendment, among other things, permits the borrowers to repurchase term loans outstanding under the 2007 Credit Facility at prices below par through one or more Modified Dutch Auctions (as defined in the Second Amendment) through December 31, 2011, provided that: (a) no Default or Event of Default (each as described in the 2007 Credit Facility) under the 2007 Credit Facility has occurred and is continuing or would result from such repurchases; (b) the sum of Unrestricted Cash and Accessible Borrowing Availability (as defined in the Second Amendment) under the 2007 Credit Facility is greater than or equal to $20,000; and (c) no Extension of Credit (as defined in the Second Amendment) is outstanding under the revolving credit facility before or after giving effect to such repurchases. The Second Amendment further provides that such repurchases may result in the prepayment of term loans on a non-pro rata basis. No debt repurchases were required to be made pursuant to the Second Amendment and no repurchases were made.

The Second Amendment also reduced the aggregate principal amounts available under the 2007 Credit Facility, as follows: (a) for revolving loans, from $40,000 to $20,000; (b) for the letter of credit subfacility, from $15,000 to $5,000; and (c) for the swingline loan subfacility, from $10,000 to $5,000.

In addition, the Second Amendment provides that Holdco may not incur additional term debt under the 2007 Credit Facility unless the Senior Secured Incurrence Test (as defined in the Second Amendment) is less than 4.00 to 1 and the current Incurrence Test (as defined in the Second Amendment) is satisfied. At December 30, 2012, Holdco was not able to incur additional debt under the 2007 Credit Facility.

In conjunction with the Second Amendment, the Company incurred and expensed approximately $550 of fees. The existing unamortized deferred financing fees that should be written off, in accordance with FASB ASC Topic 855, “ Debt ,” as a result of the decrease in borrowing capacity were not significant. The Company determined that the approximate net impact of $400 was immaterial and as a result the Company expensed the $550 of new fees and continues to amortize the existing deferred financing fees.

Agency Amendment to 2007 Credit Facility

On April 1, 2011, the borrowers entered into an Agency Succession and Amendment Agreement, dated as of March 30, 2011, to the 2007 Credit Facility (the “Agency Amendment”).

Pursuant to the Agency Amendment, among other things, (a) Wells Fargo Bank resigned as Agent and (b) Gleacher was appointed as Agent. In addition, the Agency Amendment effected certain amendments to the 2007 Credit Facility that provide that (x) the Agent need not be a lender under the 2007 Credit Facility and (y) the lenders holding a majority of the outstanding term loans and loan commitments under the 2007 Credit Facility have (i) the right, in their discretion, to remove the Agent and (ii) the right to make certain decisions and exercise certain powers under the 2007 Credit Facility that had previously been within the discretion of the Agent.

2007 Credit Facility Excess Cash Flow Payment and Outstanding Balance

As required by the 2007 Credit Facility, as amended, on March 15, 2012 and March 2, 2011, the Company made principal payments of $4,600 and $11,249, respectively, which represented 50% of the Excess Cash Flow related to the fiscal years ended January 1, 2012 and December 31, 2010, respectively. As of December 30, 2012,

 

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a total of $1,174,098 was outstanding under the 2007 Credit Facility; consisting of $658,281 under the term loan facility, $245,627 under the delayed draw term loan facility, and $270,190 under the incremental term loan facility. No amounts were outstanding under the revolving credit facility. Following the filing of this Annual Report (Form 10-K) on March 7, 2013 the Company expects to make a principal payment of $6,648, which represents 50% of the Excess Cash Flow related to the fiscal year ended December 30, 2012, as required by the 2007 Credit Facility, as amended. This amount has been classified as current portion of long-term debt in the accompanying Consolidated Balance Sheet at December 30, 2012.

Compliance with Covenants

The Company currently is in compliance with all of the covenants and obligations under the 2007 Credit Facility, as amended. However, due to restrictive covenants and conditions within the facility, the Company currently does not have the ability to draw upon the revolving credit facility portion of the 2007 Credit Facility for any immediate short-term funding needs or to incur additional long-term debt and do not expect to be able to do so in the foreseeable future.

2008 Bridge Facility

On February 15, 2008, GateHouse Media Intermediate Holdco, Inc., a subsidiary of the Company, and the Company entered into the 2008 Bridge Facility with Barclays Capital (“Barclays”), as subsequently modified and amended. The 2008 Bridge Facility originally provided for a $20,600 secured term loan facility. On June 7, 2010, the Company paid off in full the remaining balance under the 2008 Bridge Facility.

Preferred Stock Agreement with Subsidiary

On August 21, 2008, FIF III Liberty Holdings LLC (“FIF III”) purchased an aggregate of $11,500 in 10% cumulative preferred stock of GateHouse Media Macomb Holdings, Inc. (“Macomb”), an operating subsidiary of the Company. Macomb, an Unrestricted Subsidiary under the terms of the 2007 Credit Facility, used the proceeds from such sale of preferred stock to make an $11,500 cash investment in Holdco non-voting 10% cumulative preferred stock. On December 7, 2010, FIF III exercised its right to require the Company to purchase its Macomb preferred stock. During the five-year period following the full repayment by the Company of its 2008 Bridge Facility, which repayment occurred in the second quarter of 2010, FIF III had the right to require the Company to purchase the preferred stock. The Company paid the purchase price of $14,144 on December 8, 2010, which represented the sum of original purchase price of $11,500 paid by FIF III for the Macomb preferred stock and accrued but unpaid dividends of $2,644. FIF III is an affiliate of Fortress Investment Group, LLC, the owner of approximately 39.6% of the Company’s outstanding Common Stock.

Fair Value

The fair value of the Company’s total long-term debt, determined based on the average yield to maturity of publicly traded debt with similar ratings and consistent maturities and terms, Level 2 inputs (see Note 16), was approximately $715,000. The average yield to maturity of such publicly traded debt used in valuing the Company’s debt ranged from 6.9% to 52.0% with an average of 19.7%. The fair value is an estimate based on publicly available information and may not necessarily represent the fair market value in an arm’s length transaction.

 

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Payment Schedule

As of December 30, 2012, scheduled principal payments of outstanding debt are as follows:

 

2013

     6,648   

2014

     1,167,450   
  

 

 

 
   $ 1,174,098   

Less: Short-Term Debt

     6,648   
  

 

 

 

Long-Term Debt

   $ 1,167,450   
  

 

 

 

(9) Derivative Instruments

The Company uses certain derivative financial instruments to hedge the aggregate risk of interest rate fluctuations with respect to its long-term debt, which requires payments based on a variable interest rate index. These risks include: increases in debt rates above the earnings of the encumbered assets, increases in debt rates resulting in the failure of certain debt ratio covenants, increases in debt rates such that assets can no longer be refinanced, and earnings volatility.

In order to reduce such risks, the Company primarily uses interest rate swap agreements to change floating-rate long term debt to fixed-rate long-term debt. This type of hedge is intended to qualify as a “cash-flow hedge” under ASC 815. For these instruments, the effective portion of the change in the fair value of the derivative is recorded in accumulated other comprehensive loss in the Consolidated Statement of Stockholders’ Equity (Deficit) and recognized in the Consolidated Statement of Operations and Comprehensive Income (Loss) in the same period in which the hedged transaction impacts earnings. The ineffective portion of the change in the fair value of the derivative is immediately recognized in earnings.

Fair Values of Derivative Instruments

 

     Liability Derivatives  
     December 30, 2012      January 1, 2012  
     Balance Sheet Location      Fair Value      Balance Sheet Location      Fair Value  

Derivative designed as hedging instruments under ASC 815

           

Interest rate swaps

     Derivative Instruments       $ 45,724         Derivative Instruments       $ 51,576   
     

 

 

       

 

 

 

Total derivatives

      $ 45,724          $ 51,576   
     

 

 

       

 

 

 

 

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The Effect of Derivative Instruments on the Statement of Operations and Comprehensive Income (Loss) for the Years Ended December 30, 2012, January 1, 2012 and December 31, 2010

 

Derivatives in ASC 815
Cash Flow Hedging
Relationships

  

Location of Gain or (Loss)
Recognized in Income on

Derivative

     Amount of Gain or (Loss)
Recognized in Income on
Derivative
 
        2012      2011      2010  

Interest rate swaps

   Gain (loss) on derivative instruments      $ 1,635       $ 913       $ (8,277

 

Derivatives in
ASC 815
Cash Flow
Hedging

Relationships

  Amount of Gain or (Loss)
Recognized in OCI
on Derivative
(Effective Portion)
    Location of
Gain or (Loss)
Reclassified from
Accumulated
OCI into Income

(Effective Portion)
  Amount of Gain or (Loss)
Reclassified from
Accumulated
OCI into Income
(Effective Portion)
    Location of
Gain or (Loss)
Recognized in
Income on
Derivative
(Ineffective
Portion
and Amount
Excluded from
Effectiveness

Testing)
  Amount of Gain or
(Loss)
Recognized in

Income on
Derivative

(Ineffective Portion
and Amount
Excluded from
Effectiveness Testing)
 
  2012     2011     2010       2012     2011     2010         2012         2011         2010    

Interest rate swaps

  $ 5,832      $ 13,829      $ (20,801   Interest income/
(expense)
  $ (28,771   $ (29,560   $ (38,209   Other income
(expense)
  $ 20      $ 85      $ (167

On June 23, 2005, the Company entered into and designated an interest rate swap based on a notional amount of $300,000 maturing June 2012 as a cash flow hedge. Under the swap agreement, the Company received interest equivalent to one month LIBOR and pays a fixed rate of 4.135%, with settlements occurring monthly. On February 20, 2006, the Company redesignated the same interest rate swap as a cash flow hedge for accounting purposes. At December 31, 2006, the swap no longer qualified as an effective hedge. Therefore, the balance in accumulated other comprehensive income has been reclassified into earnings over the life of the hedged item. On January 1, 2007, the Company redesignated the same interest rate swap as a cash flow hedge for accounting purposes. On August 18, 2008, the Company terminated the swap and entered into a settlement agreement with Goldman Sachs in the aggregate amount of $18,947, which also includes the termination of the swap having a notional value of $270,000. The balance in accumulated other comprehensive income is reclassified into earnings over the remaining life of the item previously hedged. During the twelve months ended December 30, 2012, ($1,615) was amortized and recognized through earnings relating to balances in accumulated other comprehensive income and the associated deferred income taxes of $148 were recognized in income tax expense. As of December 30, 2012, all amounts in accumulated other comprehensive income have been reclassified into earnings.

In connection with financing obtained in 2006, the Company entered into and designated an interest rate swap based on a notional amount of $270,000 maturing July 2011 as a cash flow hedge. Under the swap agreement, the Company received interest equivalent to one month LIBOR and pays a fixed rate of 5.359%, with settlements occurring monthly. On January 1, 2007, the swap was redesignated. Therefore, the balance in accumulated other comprehensive income has been reclassified into earnings over the life of the hedged item. On August 18, 2008, the Company terminated the swap and entered into a settlement agreement with Goldman Sachs in the aggregate amount of $18,947 which also includes the termination of the swap having a notional value of $300,000. The balance in accumulated other comprehensive income is reclassified into earnings over the remaining life of the item previously hedged. As of December 30, 2012, all amounts in accumulated other comprehensive income have been reclassified into earnings.

In connection with the 2007 Credit Facility, the Company entered into and designated an interest rate swap based on a notional amount of $100,000 maturing September 2014, as a cash flow hedge. Under the swap agreement, the Company receives interest equivalent to one-month LIBOR and pays a fixed rate of 5.14%, with settlements occurring monthly. During the year ended December 30, 2012, the fair value of the swap increased by $969, net, of which $0 was recognized through earnings and $969 was recognized through accumulated other comprehensive income.

In connection with the 2007 Credit Facility, the Company entered into and designated an interest rate swap based on a notional amount of $250,000 maturing September 2014, as a cash flow hedge. Under the swap agreement, the

 

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Company receives interest equivalent to one-month LIBOR and pays a fixed rate of 4.971%, with settlements occurring monthly. During the year ended December 30, 2012, the fair value of the swap increased by $2,293, net, of which $3 was recognized through earnings and $2,290 was recognized through accumulated other comprehensive income.

In connection with the First Amendment to the 2007 Credit Facility, the Company entered into and designated an interest rate swap based on a notional amount of $200,000 maturing September 2014, as a cash flow hedge. Under the swap agreement, the Company receives interest equivalent to one-month LIBOR and pays a fixed rate of 5.079% with settlements occurring monthly. During the year ended December 30, 2012, the fair value of the swap increased by $1,900, net, of which a decrease of $20 was recognized through earnings and an increase of $1,920 was recognized through accumulated other comprehensive income.

During September, 2007, the Company entered into and designated an interest rate swap based on a notional amount of $75,000 maturing September 2014, as a cash flow hedge. Under the swap agreement, the Company receives interest equivalent to one-month LIBOR and pays a fixed rate of 4.941% with settlements occurring monthly. During the year ended December 30, 2012, the fair value of the swap increased by $690, net, of which $37 was recognized through earnings and $653 was recognized through accumulated other comprehensive income.

Upon the maturity of a redesignated hedge the Company reviewed all amounts in accumulated other comprehensive income and determined $240 should be reclassified from the derivative to the pension balance during the twelve months ended January 1, 2012.

The aggregate amount of unrealized loss related to derivative instruments recognized in other comprehensive loss as of December 30, 2012 and January 1, 2012 was $45,651 and $50,017, respectively.

(10) Income Taxes

Income tax expense (benefit) on loss from continuing operations for the periods shown below consisted of:

 

     Current     Deferred      Total  

Year ended December 30, 2012:

       

U.S. Federal

   $ 149      $     —         $ 149   

State and local

     (356     —           (356
  

 

 

   

 

 

    

 

 

 
   $ (207     —         $ (207
  

 

 

   

 

 

    

 

 

 

Year ended January 1, 2012:

       

U.S. Federal

   $ (1,368   $ —         $ (1,368

State and local

     (435     —           (435
  

 

 

   

 

 

    

 

 

 
   $ (1,803     —         $ (1,803
  

 

 

   

 

 

    

 

 

 

Year ended December 31, 2010:

       

U.S. Federal

   $ —        $ —         $ —     

State and local

     (155     —           (155
  

 

 

   

 

 

    

 

 

 
   $ (155     —         $ (155
  

 

 

   

 

 

    

 

 

 

 

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Income tax expense (benefit) differed from the amounts computed by applying the U.S. federal income tax rate of 34% to income (loss) from continuing operations before income taxes as a result of the following:

 

     Year Ended
December 30,
2012
    Year Ended
January 1,
2012
    Year Ended
December 31,
2010
 

Computed “expected” tax benefit

   $ (9,303   $ (8,171   $ (8,755

Increase (decrease) in income tax benefit resulting from:

      

State and local income taxes, net of federal benefit

     20        (367     —     

Nondeductible meals, entertainment, and other expenses

     393        358        82   

Return to provision adjustment

     288        6        (60

Impairment of Non-Deductible Goodwill

     —          51        —     

Change in valuation allowance

     8,462        6,183        7,755   

Increase (decrease) to provision for unrecognized tax benefits

     (356     120        (155

Preferred stock dividend

     —          —          899   

Other

     289        17        79   
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 
   $ (207   $ (1,803   $ (155
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

During the year ended December 30, 2012, the income tax benefit, net of income tax valuation allowance, was $207.

The tax effects of temporary differences that give rise to significant portions of the deferred tax assets as of December 30, 2012 and January 1, 2012 are presented below:

 

     December 30,
2012
    January 1,
2012
 

Current deferred tax assets:

    

Accounts receivable, principally due to allowance for doubtful accounts

   $ 962      $ 1,165   

Accrued expenses

     12,077        12,976   

Inventory capitalization

     2,356        2,356   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Gross current deferred tax assets

     15,395        16,497   

Less valuation allowance

     (15,395     (16,497
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net current deferred tax assets

     —          —     
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Non-current deferred tax assets:

    

Derivative instruments

     17,870        20,219   

Pension and other postretirement benefit obligation

     8,922        7,489   

Long-lived and intangible assets, principally due to differences in depreciation and amortization

     160,131        183,794   

Net operating losses

     242,272        204,955   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Gross non-current deferred tax assets

     429,195        416,457   

Less valuation allowance

     (429,195     (416,457
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net non-current deferred tax assets

     —          —     
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

In assessing the realizability of deferred tax assets, management considers whether it is more likely than not that some portion or all of the deferred tax assets will not be realized. The ultimate realization of deferred tax assets is dependent upon the generation of future taxable income during the periods in which those temporary differences become deductible.

During the year ended December 31, 2010, the valuation allowance increased by $10,980, of which $5,617 was charged to earnings and $5,363 was recorded through accumulated other comprehensive income. During the

 

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year ended January 1, 2012, the valuation allowance increased by $2,707 of which $6,551 was charged to earnings and $3,844 was recorded as a reduction through accumulated other comprehensive income. During the year ended December 30, 2012, the valuation allowance increased by $11,636 of which $11,795 was charged to earnings, $513 was charged to discontinued operations, and $672 was recorded as a reduction through accumulated other comprehensive income.

At December 30, 2012, the Company had net operating loss carryforwards for Federal and state income tax purposes of approximately $632,120, which are available to offset future taxable income, if any. These Federal and state net operating loss carryforwards begin to expire on various dates from 2018 through 2031. A portion of these net operating losses are subject to the limitations of Internal Revenue Code (the “Code”) Section 382. This section provides limitations on the availability of net operating losses to offset current taxable income if significant ownership changes have occurred for Federal tax purposes.

At December 30, 2012, the Company had uncertain tax positions of $4,677 which, if recognized, would impact the effective tax rate. The Company did not record significant amounts of interest and penalties related to uncertain tax positions for the year ended December 30, 2012. Certain amounts were recognized in 2012 due to expiration of the statute of limitations.

A reconciliation of the beginning and ending amount of uncertain tax positions for the years ended December 30, 2012 and January 1, 2012 are as follows:

 

Balance as of January 1, 2011

   $ 4,913   

Increases based on tax positions prior to 2011

     120   
  

 

 

 

Uncertain tax positions as of January 1, 2012

   $ 5,033   

Decreases based on tax positions prior to 2012

     (399

Increases based on tax positions prior to 2012

     43   
  

 

 

 

Uncertain tax positions as of December 30, 2012

   $ 4,677   
  

 

 

 

The Company does not anticipate significant increases or decreases in our uncertain tax positions within the next twelve months. The Company recognizes penalties and interest relating to uncertain tax positions in the provision for income taxes.

The Company files a U.S. federal consolidated income tax return for which the statute of limitations remains open for the 2009 tax year and beyond. U.S. state jurisdictions have statute of limitations generally ranging from 3 to 6 years.

 

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(11) Earnings (Loss) Per Share

The following table sets forth the computation of basic and diluted earnings (loss) per share (“EPS”):

 

     Year Ended
December 30, 2012
    Year Ended
January 1, 2012
    Year Ended
December 31, 2010
 

Numerator for earnings per share calculation:

      

Loss from continuing operations

   $ (27,463   $ (20,950   $ (25,502

Loss from discontinued operations

     (2,340     (699     (542
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net loss

   $ (29,803   $ (21,649   $ (26,044

Denominator for earnings per share calculation:

      

Basic weighted average shares outstanding

     58,041,907        57,949,815        57,723,353   

Dilutive securities, including restricted share grants

     —          —          —     
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Diluted weighted average shares outstanding

     58,041,907        57,949,815        57,723,353   

Loss per share—basic and diluted:

      

Loss from continuing operations

   $ (0.47   $ (0.36   $ (0.44

Loss from discontinued operations

     (0.04     (0.01     (0.01
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net loss

   $ (0.51   $ (0.37   $ (0.45
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

During the years ended December 30, 2012, January 1, 2012 and December 31, 2010, 25,424, 84,181 and 299,560 RSGs, respectively, were excluded from the computation of diluted loss per share because their effect would have been antidilutive.

(12) Employee Benefit Plans

The Company maintains a GateHouse Media, Inc. defined contribution plan (the “Defined Plan”) designed to conform to IRS rules for 401(k) plans for all of its employees satisfying minimum service requirements as set forth under the plan. The plan allows for a matching contribution at the discretion of the Company. Employees can contribute amounts up to 100% of their eligible gross wages to the plan, subject to IRS limitations. The Company implemented a Companywide matching contribution on January 1, 2008 and discontinued offering such matching contribution across the Company on January 1, 2009. Effective January 2, 2012 the Company reinstated the matching contribution across the Company. During fiscal 2010 and 2011 the Company only offered a matching contribution to certain groups of the Company’s employees. The Company’s current match ranges from 50% to 100% of a specified portion of employee contribution, which specified portion ranges from 1% to 6% of eligible gross wages. During the year ended December 30, 2012, when the Company offered a matching contribution across the entire Company, the Company’s matching contribution to the plan was $1,033. During the years ended January 1, 2012 and December 31, 2010, when the Company did not offer a matching contribution across the entire Company, the Company’s matching contributions to the plan were $117 and $102, respectively.

The Company maintains three nonqualified deferred compensation plans, as described below, for certain of its employees.

The Company maintains the GateHouse Media, Inc. Publishers’ Deferred Compensation Plan (“Publishers Plan”), a nonqualified deferred compensation plan for the benefit of certain designated publishers of the Company’s newspapers. Under the Publishers Plan, the Company credits an amount to a bookkeeping account established for each participating publisher pursuant to a pre-determined formula, which is based upon the gross operating profits of each such publisher’s newspaper. The bookkeeping account is credited with earnings and losses based upon the investment choices selected by the participant. The amounts credited to the bookkeeping account on behalf of each participating publisher vest on an installment basis over a period of 15 years. A participating publisher forfeits all amounts under the Publishers Plan in the event that the publisher’s

 

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employment with the Company is terminated for “cause,” as defined in the Publishers Plan. Amounts credited to a participating publisher’s bookkeeping account are distributable upon termination of the publisher’s employment with the Company and will be made in a lump sum or installments as elected by the publisher. The Publisher’s Plan was frozen effective as of December 31, 2006, and all accrued benefits of participants under the terms of the Publisher’s Plan became 100% vested. The Company recorded $0, $0 and $0 of compensation expense related to the Publishers Plan for the years ended December 30, 2012, January 1, 2012 and December 31, 2010, respectively.

The Company maintains the GateHouse Media, Inc. Executive Benefit Plan (“Executive Benefit Plan”), a nonqualified deferred compensation plan for the benefit of certain key employees of the Company. Under the Executive Benefit Plan, the Company credits an amount, determined at the Company’s sole discretion, to a bookkeeping account established for each participating key employee. The bookkeeping account is credited with earnings and losses based upon the investment choices selected by the participant. The amounts credited to the bookkeeping account on behalf of each participating key employee vest on an installment basis over a period of 5 years. A participating key employee forfeits all amounts under the Executive Benefit Plan in the event that the key employee’s employment with the Company is terminated for “cause,” as defined in the Executive Benefit Plan. Amounts credited to a participating key employee’s bookkeeping account are distributable upon termination of the key employee’s employment with the Company, and will be made in a lump sum or installments as elected by the key employee. The Executive Benefit Plan was frozen effective as of December 31, 2006, and all accrued benefits of participants under the terms of the Executive Benefit Plan became 100% vested. The Company recorded $0, $0 and $0 of compensation expense related to the Executive Benefit Plan for the years ended December 30, 2012, January 1, 2012 and December 31, 2010, respectively.

The Company maintains the GateHouse Media, Inc. Executive Deferral Plan (“Executive Deferral Plan”), a nonqualified deferred compensation plan for the benefit of certain key employees of the Company. Under the Executive Deferral Plan, eligible key employees may elect to defer a portion of their compensation for payment at a later date. Currently, the Executive Deferral Plan allows a participating key employee to defer up to 100% of his or her annual compensation until termination of employment or such earlier period as elected by the participating key employee. Amounts deferred are credited to a bookkeeping account established by the Company for this purpose. The bookkeeping account is credited with earnings and losses based upon the investment choices selected by the participant. Amounts deferred under the Executive Deferral Plan are fully vested and non-forfeitable. The amounts in the bookkeeping account are payable to the key employee at the time and in the manner elected by the key employee.

(13) Pension and Postretirement Benefits

As a result of the Enterprise News Media, LLC and Copley Press, Inc. acquisitions, the Company maintains a pension plan and postretirement medical and life insurance plans which cover certain employees. The Company uses the accrued benefit actuarial method and best estimate assumptions to determine pension costs, liabilities and other pension information for defined benefit plans.

The Enterprise News Media, LLC pension plan was amended to freeze all future benefit accruals as of December 31, 2008, except for a select group of union employees whose benefits were frozen during 2009. Also, during 2008 the medical and life insurance benefits were frozen and the plan was amended to limit future benefits to a select group of active employees under the Enterprise News Media, LLC postretirement medical and life insurance plan.

 

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The following provides information on the pension plan and postretirement medical and life insurance plan as of December 30, 2012 and January 1, 2012, for the years ended December 30, 2012 and January 1, 2012.

 

     Pension     Postretirement     Pension     Postretirement  
     Year Ended
December 30,
2012
    Year Ended
December 30,
2012
    Year Ended
January 1,
2012
    Year Ended
January 1,
2012
 

Change in projected benefit obligation:

        

Benefit obligation at beginning of period

   $ 23,926      $ 6,461      $ 23,142      $ 6,413   

Service cost

     300        40        200        42   

Interest cost

     1,203        273        1,238        303   

Actuarial loss

     3,422        187        946        23   

Benefits and expenses paid

     (1,725     (282     (1,600     (321

Participant contributions

     —          14        —          18   

Employer implicit subsidy fulfilled

     —          (27     —          (17
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Projected benefit obligation at end of period

   $ 27,126      $ 6,666      $ 23,926      $ 6,461   
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Change in plan assets:

        

Fair value of plan assets at beginning of period

   $ 16,498      $ —        $ 17,101      $ —     

Actual return on plan assets

     2,353        —          (372     —     

Employer contributions

     1,115        268        1,369        303   

Employer implicit subsidy contribution

     —          27        —          17   

Participant contributions

     —          14        —          18   

Employer implicit subsidy fulfilled

     —          (27     —          (17

Benefits paid

     (1,402     (282     (1,295     (321

Expenses paid

     (323     —          (305     —     
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Fair value of plan assets at end of period

   $ 18,241      $ —        $ 16,498      $ —     
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Reconciliation of funded status:

        

Benefit obligation at end of period

   $ (27,126   $ (6,666   $ (23,926   $ (6,461

Fair value of assets at end of period

     18,241        —          16,498        —     

Funded status

     (8,885     (6,666     (7,428     (6,461

Unrecognized prior service cost

     —          (1,525     —          (2,155

Unrecognized actuarial (gain) loss

     8,294        220        6,289        206   
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net accrued benefit cost

   $ (591   $ (7,971   $ (1,139   $ (8,410
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

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     Pension     Postretirement     Pension     Postretirement  
     Year Ended
December 30,
2012
    Year Ended
December 30,
2012
    Year Ended
January 1,
2012
    Year Ended
January 1,
2012
 

Balance sheet presentation:

        

Accrued liabilities

   $ —        $ 423      $ —        $ 393   

Pension and other postretirement benefit obligations

     8,885        6,243        7,428        6,068   

Accumulated other comprehensive income

     (8,294     1,305        (6,289     1,949   
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net accrued benefit cost

   $ 591      $ 7,971      $ 1,139      $ 8,410   
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Components of net periodic benefit cost:

        

Service cost

   $ 300      $ 40      $ 200      $ 42   

Interest cost

     1,203        273        1,238        303   

Expected return on plan assets

     (1,275     —          (1,324     —     

Amortization of prior service cost

     —          (457     —          (457

Amortization of unrecognized (gain) loss

     382        —          82        —     
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net periodic benefit cost

   $ 610      $ (144   $ 196      $ (112
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Other changes in plan assets and benefit obligations recognized in other comprehensive income:

        

Net actuarial loss

   $ 2,343      $ 187      $ 2,640      $ 23   

Amortization of net actuarial loss

     (383     —          (83     —     

Amortization of prior service credit

     —          457        —          457   

Other adjustment

     43        —          (240     —     
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total recognized in other comprehensive income

   $ 2,003      $ 644      $ 2,317      $ 480   
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Comparison of obligations to plan assets:

        

Projected benefit obligation

   $ 27,126      $ 6,666      $ 23,926      $ 6,461   

Accumulated benefit obligation

     27,126        6,666        23,926        6,461   

Fair value of plan assets

     18,241        —          16,498        —     

The following assumptions were used to calculate the net periodic benefit cost for the Company’s defined benefit pension and post retirement plans:

 

     Pension     Postretirement     Pension     Postretirement  
     Year Ended
December 30,
2012
    Year Ended
December 30,
2012
    Year Ended
January 1,
2012
    Year Ended
January 1,
2012
 

Weighted average discount rate

     4.1     3.6     5.1     4.4

Rate of increase in future compensation levels

     —          —          —          —     

Expected return on assets

     7.75     —          7.75     —     

Current year trend

     —          7.7     —          8.1

Ultimate year trend

     —          4.8     —          4.8

Year of ultimate trend

     —          2022        —          2021   

 

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The following assumptions were used to calculate the net periodic benefit cost for the Company’s defined benefit pension and post retirement plans:

 

     Pension     Postretirement     Pension     Postretirement  
     Year Ended
December 30, 2012
    Year Ended
December 30, 2012
    Year Ended
January 1, 2012
    Year Ended
January 1, 2012
 

Weighted average discount rate

     5.1     4.4     5.7     5.3

Rate of increase in future compensation levels

     —          —          —          —     

Expected return on assets

     7.75     —          7.75     —     

Current year trend

     —          8.1     —          8.5

Ultimate year trend

     —          4.8     —          4.8

Year of ultimate trend

     —          2022        —          2021   

To determine the expected long-term rate of return on pension plan assets, the Company considers the current and expected asset allocations, as well as historical and expected returns on various categories of plan assets, input from the actuaries and investment consultants, and long-term inflation assumptions. The expected allocation of pension plan assets is based on a diversified portfolio consisting of domestic and international equity securities and fixed income securities. This expected return is then applied to the fair value of plan assets. The Company amortizes experience gains and losses, including the effects of changes in actuarial assumptions and plan provisions over a period equal to the average future service of plan participants.

Amortization of prior service costs was calculated using the straight-line method over the average remaining service periods of the employees expected to receive benefits under the plan.

 

     Postretirement  
     Year Ended
December 30, 2012
 

Effect of 1% increase in health care cost trend rates

  

APBO

   $ 7,092   

Dollar change

   $ 426   

Percent change

     6.4

Effect of 1% decrease in health care cost trend rates

  

APBO

   $ 6,308   

Dollar change

   $ (358

Percent change

     (5.4 )% 

Fair Value of plan assets are measured on a recurring basis using quoted market prices in active markets for identical assets, Level 1 input. The pension plan’s assets by asset category are as follows:

 

     December 30, 2012     January 1, 2012  
     Dollar      Percent     Dollar      Percent  

Equity mutual funds

   $ 12,299         67   $ 10,105         61

Fixed income mutual funds

     5,320         29     5,353         33

Cash and cash equivalents

     575         3     346         2

Other

     47         1     694         4
  

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total

   $ 18,241         100   $ 16,498         100
  

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

    

 

 

 

Plan fiduciaries of the George W. Prescott Publishing Company LLC Pension Plan set investment policies and strategies for the pension trust. Objectives include preserving the funded status of the plan and balancing risk against return. The general target allocation is 70% in equity funds and 30% in fixed income funds for the plan’s investments. To accomplish this goal, each plan’s assets are actively managed by outside investment managers

 

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with the objective of optimizing long-term return while maintaining a high standard of portfolio quality and proper diversification. The Company monitors the maturities of fixed income securities so that there is sufficient liquidity to meet current benefit payment obligations.

The following benefit payments, which reflect expected future services, as appropriate, are expected to be paid as follows:

 

     Pension      Postretirement  

2013

   $ 1,451       $ 430   

2014

     1,451         428   

2015

     1,498         433   

2016

     1,528         428   

2017

     1,536         393   

2018-2022

     7,942         1,743   

Employer contribution expected to be paid during the year ending December 31, 2013

   $ 1,147       $ 430   

The postretirement plans are not funded.

The aggregate amount of net actuarial loss and prior service cost related to the Company’s pension and post retirement plans recognized in other comprehensive income as of December 30, 2012 was $6,991.

Multiemployer Plans

The Company is a participant in three multi-employer pension plans covering certain employees with Collective Bargaining Agreements (“CBAs”) in Ohio, Massachusetts and Illinois. The risks of participating in these multi-employer plans are different from single-employer plans in the following aspects:

 

    The Company plays no part in the management of plan investments or any other aspect of plan administration.

 

    Assets contributed to the multi-employer plan by one employer may be used to provide benefits to employees of other participating employers.

 

    If a participating employer stops contributing to the plan, the unfunded obligations of the plan may be borne by the remaining participating employers.

 

    If the Company chooses to stop participating in some of its multi-employer plans, the Company may be required to pay those plans an amount based on the unfunded status of the plan, referred to as withdrawal liability.

The Company’s participation in these plans for the year ended December 30, 2012, is outlined in the table below. The “EIN/Pension Plan Number” column provides the Employee Identification Number (EIN) and the three-digit plan number. Unless otherwise noted, the two most recent Pension Protection Act (PPA) zone statuses available are for the plan’s for the years ended December 30, 2012 and January 1, 2012, respectively. The zone status is based on information that the company received from the plan and is certified by the plan’s actuary. Among other factors, plans in the red zone are generally less than 65% funded; plans in the orange zone are both a) less than 80% funded and b) have an accumulated/expected funding deficiency in any of the next six plan years, net of any amortization extensions; plans in the yellow zone meet either one of the criteria mentioned in the orange zone; and plans in the green zone are at least 80% funded. The “FIP/RP Status Pending/Implemented” column indicates plans for which a financial improvement plan (FIP) or a rehabilitation plan (RP) is either pending or has been implemented. The last column lists the expiration date(s) of the collective-bargaining agreement(s) to which the plans are subject.

 

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The Company makes all required contributions to these plans as determined under the respective CBAs. For each of the plans listed below, the Company’s contribution represented less than 5% of total contributions to the plan.

 

Pension Plan Name

  EIN Number/ Plan
Number
    Zone
Status
    FIP/RP
Status
Pending/
Implemented
    Contributions
(in thousands)
    Surcharge
Imposed
  Expiration
Dates of CBAs
    2012     2011       2012     2011     2010      

CWA/ITU Negotiated Pension Plan

    13-6212879/001        Red        Red        Implemented      $ 13      $ 9      $ 8      No   Under
negotiation

GCIU—Employer Retirement Benefit Plan (a)(b)

    91-6024903/001        Red        Red        Implemented        89        87        89      No   11/14/2014

The Newspaper Guild International Pension Plan (a)

    52-1082662/001        Red        Red        Implemented        49        130        146      No   09/30/2014
         

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

     

Total

          $ 151      $ 226      $ 243       
         

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

     

 

(a) This plan has elected to utilize special amortization provisions provided under the Preservation of Access to Care for Medicare Beneficiaries and Pension Relief Act of 2010.
(b) During the fiscal year 2012 the Company accrued $1,185 related to this plan due to the discontinuance of press operations at its Suburban Chicago location.

(14) Stock Compensation Plans

Omnibus Stock Incentive Plan

On October 5, 2006, the Company adopted a new equity incentive plan for its employees, the GateHouse Media, Inc. Omnibus Stock Incentive Plan (the “Plan”) and presented the Plan to the Company’s stockholders’ for approval, which was received on October 6, 2006. The Plan provides for the issuance of stock options, stock appreciation rights, restricted shares, deferred shares, performance shares, unrestricted shares and other stock-based awards. A total of 2,000,000 shares of the Company’s common stock were initially reserved for issuance under the Plan, provided however, that commencing on the first day of each fiscal year beginning in calendar year 2007, the number of shares reserved and available for issuance is increased by an amount equal to 100,000. All such shares of the Company’s common stock that are available for the grant of awards under the Plan may be granted as incentive stock options. Section 162(m) of the Internal Revenue Code (the “Code”) states that the maximum aggregate number of shares that is subject to stock options or stock appreciation rights that may be granted to any individual during any fiscal year is 400,000 and the maximum aggregate number of shares that is subject to awards of restricted stock, deferred shares, unrestricted shares or other stock-based awards that may be granted to any individual during any fiscal year is 400,000.

The Plan is administered by the Company’s board of directors, although it may be administered by either the board of directors or any committee of the board of directors including a committee that complies with the applicable requirements of Section 162(m) of the Code, Section 16 of the Exchange Act and any other applicable legal or stock exchange listing requirements.

Except as otherwise provided by the Plan administrator, on the first business day after the Company’s annual meeting of stockholders and each such annual meeting thereafter during the term of the Plan, each of the Company’s independent directors who is serving following such annual meeting will automatically be granted under the Plan a number of unrestricted shares of common stock having a fair market value of $15 as of the date of grant; however, those of the Company’s independent directors who were granted restricted common stock upon the consummation of the IPO will not be eligible to receive these automatic annual grants.

 

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The terms of the Plan provide that the board of directors may amend, alter or discontinue the Plan, but no such action may impair the rights of any participant with respect to outstanding awards without the participant’s consent. The Plan administrator, however, reserves the right to amend, modify, or supplement an award to either bring it into compliance with Section 409A of the Code, or to cause the award to not be subject to such section. The Plan will terminate on October 5, 2016.

As of December 30, 2012 and January 1, 2012, a total of 25,424 and 84,181 RSGs were outstanding under the Plan, respectively.

(15) Assets Held for Sale

As of December 30, 2012 and January 1, 2012, the Company intended to dispose of various assets which are classified as held for sale on the consolidated balance sheet in accordance with ASC 360. The following table summarizes the major classes of assets and liabilities held for sale at December 30, 2012 and January 1, 2012:

 

     December 30,
2012
     January 1,
2012
 

Long-term assets held for sale:

     

Property, plant and equipment, net

   $ 474       $ 934   
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total long-term assets held for sale

   $ 474       $ 934   
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

These assets are real property and no publication related assets are included.

During the years ended December 30, 2012 and January 1, 2012 the Company recorded an impairment charge in the amount of $2,128 and $355, respectively, related to property, plant and equipment which were classified as held for sale, refer to Note 16 for fair value measurement discussion.

(16) Fair Value Measurement

The Company measures and records in the accompanying consolidated financial statements certain assets and liabilities at fair value on a recurring basis. ASC 820 establishes a fair value hierarchy for those instruments measured at fair value that distinguishes between assumptions based on market data (observable inputs) and the Company’s own assumptions (unobservable inputs).

These inputs are prioritized as follows:

 

    Level 1: Observable inputs such as quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities;

 

    Level 2: Inputs other than quoted prices included within Level 1 that are observable, either directly or indirectly, such as quoted prices for similar assets or liabilities or market corroborated inputs; and

 

    Level 3: Unobservable inputs for which there is little or no market data and which require us to develop our own assumptions about how market participants price the asset or liability.

The valuation techniques that may be used to measure fair value are as follows:

 

    Market approach—Uses prices and other relevant information generated by market transactions involving identical or comparable assets or liabilities;

 

    Income approach—Uses valuation techniques to convert future amounts to a single present amount based on current market expectation about those future amounts;

 

    Cost approach—Based on the amount that currently would be required to replace the service capacity of an asset (replacement cost).

 

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The following table provides information for the Company’s major categories of financial assets and liabilities measured or disclosed at fair value on a recurring basis:

 

     Fair Value Measurements at Reporting Date Using      Total Fair
Value
Measurements
     Valuation
Technique
 
     Quoted Prices
in Active
Markets for
Identical Assets
(Level 1)
     Significant
Other
Observable
Inputs
(Level 2)
     Significant
Unobservable
Inputs
(Level 3)
       

As of January 1, 2012

              

Assets

              

Cash and cash equivalents

   $ 19,212       $     —         $ —         $ 19,212         Income   

Restricted cash

     6,167         —           —           6,167         Income   

Liabilities

              

Derivatives (1)

   $ —         $ —         $ 51,576       $ 51,576         Income   

As of December 30, 2012

              

Assets

              

Cash and cash equivalents

   $ 34,527       $ —         $ —         $ 34,527         Income   

Restricted cash

     6,467         —           —           6,467         Income   

Liabilities

              

Derivatives (1)

   $ —         $ —         $ 45,724       $ 45,724         Income   

 

(1) Derivative assets and liabilities include interest rate swaps which are measured using the Company’s estimates of the assumptions a market participant would use in pricing the derivative. The fair value of the interest rate derivative is determined based on the upper notional band using cash flows discounted at the relevant market interest rates in effect at the period close and incorporates an assessment of the risk of non-performance by the interest rate derivative counterparty in valuing derivative assets and an evaluation of the Company’s credit risk in valuing derivative liabilities.

The following table reflects the activity of our derivative liabilities measured at fair value using significant unobservable inputs (Level 3) for year ended December 30, 2012:

 

     Derivative
Liabilities
 

Balance as of January 1, 2012

   $ 51,576   

Total (gains) losses, net:

  

Included in earnings

     (20

Included in other comprehensive income

     (5,832
  

 

 

 

Balance as of December 30, 2012

   $ 45,724   
  

 

 

 

Certain assets are measured at fair value on a nonrecurring basis; that is, the instruments are not measured at fair value on an ongoing basis but are subject to fair value adjustments only in certain circumstances (for example, when there is evidence of impairment). During the quarters ended April 1, 2012 and January 1, 2012, goodwill was written down to implied fair value using Level 3 inputs. The valuation techniques utilized to measure fair value are discussed in Note 5.

Refer to Note 8 for the discussion on the fair value of the Company’s total long-term debt.

Refer to Note 13 for the discussion on the fair value of the Company’s pension plan.

During the years ended December 30, 2012 and January 1, 2012, the Company recorded an impairment charge in the amount of $2,128 and $355, respectively, related to property, plant and equipment which were classified as held for sale. The Company used assessed values and current market data, Level 2 inputs, to

 

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determine the fair value. Additionally, during the three months ended June 26, 2011, the Company wrote-off presses having a net book value of $1,696 related to the consolidation of its print operations, utilizing recent sale activity, Level 2 inputs.

(17) Commitments and Contingencies

The Company becomes involved from time to time in claims and lawsuits incidental to the ordinary course of its business, including with respect to such matters as libel, invasion of privacy, intellectual property infringement, wrongful termination actions, and complaints alleging employment discrimination. In addition, the Company is involved from time to time in governmental and administrative proceedings concerning employment, labor, environmental and other claims. Insurance coverage maintained by the Company mitigates potential loss for certain of these matters. Historically, such claims and proceedings have not had a material effect upon the Company’s consolidated results of operations or financial condition. While the Company is unable to predict the ultimate outcome of any currently outstanding legal actions, it is the opinion of the Company’s management that it is a remote possibility that the disposition of these matters would have a material adverse effect upon the Company’s consolidated results of operations, financial condition or cash flow.

Restricted cash at December 30, 2012 and January 1, 2012, in the aggregate amount of $6,467 and $6,167, respectively, is used to collateralize standby letters of credit in the name of the Company’s insurers in accordance with certain insurance policies and as cash collateral for certain business operations.

(18) Related-Party Transactions

Fortress Investment Group, LLC

On May 9, 2005, FIF III, FIF III Liberty Acquisitions, LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of FIF III (“Merger Subsidiary”), and the Company entered into an agreement that provided for the merger of Merger Subsidiary with and into the Company, with the Company continuing as a wholly-owned subsidiary of FIF III (the “Merger”). The Merger was completed on June 6, 2005. FIF III is an affiliate of Fortress Investment Group LLC.

As of December 30, 2012, Fortress Investment Group LLC and its affiliates (“Fortress”) beneficially owned approximately 39.6% of the Company’s outstanding common stock.

In addition, the Company’s Chairman, Wesley Edens, is also the Co-Chairman of the board of directors of Fortress Investment Group LLC. The Company does not pay Mr. Edens a salary or any other form of compensation.

Affiliates of Fortress own $410,862 of the $1,174,098 outstanding under the 2007 Credit Facility, as amended as of March 7, 2013, of which $49,085 is still waiting to be settled. These amounts were purchased on arms’ length terms in secondary market transactions.

On August 21, 2008, FIF III purchased an aggregate of $11,500 in 10% cumulative preferred stock of GateHouse Media Macomb. The preferred stock was issued on August 21, 2008. Macomb, an Unrestricted Subsidiary under the terms of the 2007 Credit Facility, used the proceeds from such sale of preferred stock to make an $11,500 cash investment in Holdco non-voting 10% cumulative preferred stock. On December 7, 2010, FIF III exercised its right to require the Company to purchase its Macomb preferred stock. The Company paid the purchase price of $14,144 on December 8, 2010, which represented the sum of original purchase price of $11,500 paid by FIF III for the Macomb preferred stock and accrued but unpaid dividends of $2,644.

On October 24, 2006, the Company entered into an Investor Rights Agreement with FIF III. The Investor Rights Agreement provides FIF III with certain rights with respect to the nomination of directors to the Company’s board of directors as well as registration rights for securities of the Company owned by Fortress.

 

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The Investor Rights Agreement requires the Company to take all necessary or desirable action within its control to elect to its board of directors so long as Fortress beneficially owns (i) more than 50% of the voting power of the Company, four directors nominated by FIG Advisors LLC, an affiliate of Fortress (“FIG Advisors”), or such other party nominated by Fortress; (ii) between 25% and 50% of the voting power of the Company, three directors nominated by FIG Advisors; (iii) between 10% and 25% of the voting power of the Company, two directors nominated by FIG Advisors; and (iv) between 5% and 10% of the voting power of the Company, one director nominated by FIG Advisors. In the event that any designee of FIG Advisors shall for any reason cease to serve as a member of the board of directors during his term of office, FIG Advisors will be entitled to nominate an individual to fill the resulting vacancy on the board of directors. The Company is also to take all necessary or desirable action to limit the overall size of the Company’s board of directors to not more than seven directors.

Pursuant to the Investor Rights Agreement, the Company has granted FIF III, for so long as it or its permitted transferees beneficially own an amount of the Company’s common stock at least equal to 5% or more of the Company’s common stock issued and outstanding immediately after the consummation of its IPO (a “Registrable Amount”), “demand” registration rights that allow FIF III at any time to request that the Company register under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, (the “Securities Act”) an amount equal to or greater than a Registrable Amount (as defined in the Investor Rights Agreement). Parent is entitled to an aggregate of four demand registrations. The Company is not required to maintain the effectiveness of the registration statement for more than 60 days. The Company is also not required to effect any demand registration within nine months of a “firm commitment” underwritten offering to which the requestor held “piggyback” rights and which included at least half of the securities requested by the requestor to be included. The Company is not obligated to grant a request for a demand registration within four months of any other demand registration and may refuse a request for demand registration if, in the Company’s reasonable judgment, it is not feasible for the Company to proceed with the registration because of the unavailability of audited financial statements.

FIF III also has “piggyback” registration rights that allow FIF III to include the shares of common stock that FIF III and its permitted transferees own in any public offering of equity securities initiated by the Company (other than those public offerings pursuant to registration statements on Forms S-4 or S-8) or by any of the Company’s other stockholders that may have registration rights in the future. The “piggyback” registration rights of FIF III are subject to proportional cutbacks based on the manner of the offering and the identity of the party initiating such offering.

The Company has additionally granted FIF III and its permitted transferees for as long as Fortress beneficially owns a Registrable Amount, the right to request shelf registrations on Form S-3, providing for an offering to be made on a continuous basis, subject to a time limit on the Company’s efforts to keep the shelf registration statement continuously effective and the Company’s right to suspend the use of a shelf registration prospectus for a reasonable period of time (not exceeding 60 days in succession or 90 days in the aggregate in any 12-month period) if the Company determines that certain disclosures required by the shelf registration statement would be detrimental to the Company or the Company’s stockholders.

The Company has agreed to indemnify FIF III and its permitted transferees against any losses or damages resulting from any untrue statement or omission of material fact in any registration statement or prospectus pursuant to which FIF III and its permitted transferees sells shares of the Company’s common stock, unless such liability arose from FIF III misstatement or omission, and Parent has agreed to indemnify the Company against all losses caused by its misstatements or omissions. The Company will pay all expenses incident to registration and Fortress will pay its respective portions of all underwriting discounts, commissions and transfer taxes relating to the sale of its shares under such a registration statement.

 

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(19) Discontinued Operations

During the year ended December 31, 2010, the Company discontinued a publication in New York. An impairment loss of $404 is included in discontinued operations on the Consolidated Statement of Operations and Comprehensive Income (Loss) for this period for the aforementioned discontinued operation and previously sold and discontinued operations.

During the year ended December 30, 2012, the Company sold 22 publications in Suburban Chicago, Illinois for an aggregate purchase price of approximately $2,800. As a result, an impairment loss of $1,922 is included in loss from discontinued operations on the Consolidated Statement of Operations and Comprehensive Income (Loss) for this period. Additionally, an impairment loss of $206 is included in loss from discontinued operations net of income taxes on the Consolidated Statement of Operations and Comprehensive Income (Loss) for this period related to previously discontinued operations. The financial position and results of operations of the publications in Suburban Chicago, Illinois are reflected as discontinued operations for all periods presented.

The net revenue during the years ended December 30, 2012, January 1, 2012 and December 31, 2010 for the aforementioned discontinued operations was $8,722, $11,123 and $13,941, respectively. Loss, net of income taxes of $0, during the years ended December 30, 2012, January 1, 2012 and December 31, 2010 for the aforementioned discontinued operations was $2,340, $699 and $542, respectively.

(20) Quarterly Results (unaudited)

 

     Quarter Ended
April 1 (a)
    Quarter Ended
July 1 (a)
    Quarter Ended
September 30 (a)
    Quarter Ended
December 30 (a)
 

Year Ended December 30, 2012

        

Revenues

   $ 117,211      $ 125,970      $ 119,980      $ 125,393   

Operating income

     936        11,644        6,881        10,332   

Income (loss) before income taxes

     (13,072     (2,341     (7,945     (4,312

Net income (loss)

     (13,241     (2,690     (9,313     (4,559

Basic income (loss) per share

   $ (0.23   $ (0.05   $ (0.16   $ (0.08

Diluted income (loss) per share

   $ (0.23   $ (0.05   $ (0.16   $ (0.08

 

     Quarter Ended
March 27 (a)
    Quarter Ended
June 26 (a)
    Quarter Ended
September 25 (a)
    Quarter Ended
January 1 (a)
 

Year Ended January 1, 2012

        

Revenues

   $ 117,080      $ 131,842      $ 124,295      $ 141,453   

Operating income (loss)

     (2,625     10,394        9,314        18,525   

Income (loss) before income taxes

     (17,121     (4,454     (4,865     3,687   

Net income (loss)

     (17,968     (4,876     (4,978     6,173   

Basic income (loss) per share

   $ (0.31   $ (0.08   $ (0.09   $ 0.11   

Diluted income (loss) per share

   $ (0.31   $ (0.08   $ (0.09   $ 0.11   

 

(a) Certain amounts differ from those previously reported on Forms 10-Q and 10-K due to the reclassification of discontinued operations as described in Note 19 to the consolidated Financial Statements.

(21) Subsequent Events and Going Concern Considerations

Management Agreement

On August 27, 2013, the Company entered into a management agreement (the “Local Media Management Agreement”) with Local Media Parent. Under the terms of the Local Media Management Agreement, the Company will manage the operations of Local Media. In return, the Company will receive compensation including an annual fee of $1,100, which may be adjusted to an amount not to exceed $1,210 based on a formula defined in the Local Media Management Agreement. In addition, the Company will be eligible to earn an annual

 

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incentive pay out equal to 12.5% of the EBITDA of Local Media in excess of budget. Although Local Media Parent owns 100% of the equity of Local Media, GateHouse manages the daily operations of Local Media. The Company has determined that the Local Media Management Agreement results in Local Media being a variable interest entity as the Company has the power to direct the activities that most significantly affect the economic performance of the entity. As a result, GateHouse expects that it will be the primary beneficiary and therefore expects to consolidate Local Media’s financial position and results of operations. Local Media had revenues of $158,559 and pre-tax loss of $27,907 for the twelve months ended June 30, 2013, and total assets of $127,436 at June 30, 2013.

Restructuring

On September 4, 2013, the Company entered into a restructuring support agreement (RSA) with Cortland Products Corp., as administrative agent (the “Administrative Agent”) and certain of the lenders under the Company’s 2007 Credit Facility, including Newcastle Investment Corp. (“Newcastle”) and its affiliates. The terms of the RSA are summarized as follows. This summary only discusses the key terms of the RSA and is not intended to be a complete description of the RSA.

The key terms of the RSA are as follows:

The RSA proposes a restructuring of the Company pursuant to a pre-packaged restructuring plan under Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code (“the Plan”) whereby each Creditor (as defined below) has the option of exchanging its holdings in the Outstanding Debt (as defined below) for either its pro rata share of cash or common stock in a new holding company (such common stock, “ New Media Common Stock ,” and such holding company from and after the Effective Date, “ New Media ”) with ownership interests in the reorganized Company (such reorganized Company, “ New GateHouse ”). New Media is an entity that is unrelated to GateHouse and currently is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Newcastle.

New Media intends to distribute a portion of its estimated EBITDA (as defined in the RSA) less (i) cash taxes; (ii) interest expense; (iii) principal payments under the Financing (as defined below), (iv) capital expenditures; and (v) changes in net working capital to its shareholders and reinvest the remainder for general corporate purposes which may include accretive acquisitions.

The RSA includes the restructuring of the following indebtedness of the Company (the “ Outstanding Debt ”):

 

  (a) Indebtedness under the 2007 Credit Facility, consisting of a “Revolving Credit Facility,” a “Term Loan Facility,” a “Delayed Draw Term Loan Facility” and an “Incremental Term Loan Facility” (collectively, the “ 2007 Credit Facility Claims ”). The 2007 Credit Facility Claims consisted of a (i) Revolving Credit Facility of $0 and $0 at December 30, 2012 and June 30, 2013, respectively, (ii) Term Loan Facility of $658,281 and $654,554 at December 30, 2012 and June 30, 2013, respectively, (iii) Delayed Draw Term Loan Facility of $245,627 and $244,236 at December 30, 2012 and June 30, 2013, respectively and (iv) Incremental Term Loan Facility of $270,190 and $268,660 at December 30, 2012 and June 30, 2013, respectively.

 

  (b) Swap Liability, including (i) $100,000 notional amount executed February 27, 2007, (ii) $250,000 notional amount executed April 4, 2007, (iii) $200,000 notional amount executed April 13, 2007 and (iv) $75,000 notional amount executed September 18, 2007. As of December 31, 2012 and June 30, 2013, the carrying value of the Swap Liability totaled $45,724 and $31,053, respectively.

Holders of the Outstanding Debt are referred to herein as “ Creditors .”

 

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Subject to the approval of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court, the RSA proposes a restructuring of the Outstanding Debt as follows:

 

  (a) Each Creditor of the Outstanding Debt would receive, in full and final satisfaction of its respective claim, at its election (with respect to all or any portion of its claims) to be made in connection with solicitation of the Plan, its pro rata share of:

 

  i. Cash pursuant to the Cash-Out Offer (described below under “Cash-Out Offer”) (the “ Cash-Out Option ”); and/or

 

  ii. (A) 100% of New Media Common Stock (subject to dilution as discussed herein) and (B) 100% of the Net Proceeds (as defined below), if any (collectively, the “ New Media Equity Option ”).

Creditors that do not make an election during the Solicitation Period (as defined below) with respect to their claims will be deemed to have elected the Cash-Out Option.

 

  (b) Pension, trade and all other unsecured claims will be unimpaired by the Plan.

 

  (c) Holders of equity interests in GateHouse Media, including warrants, rights and options to acquire such equity interests (“ Existing Equity Holders ”), would be cancelled, and Existing Equity Holders will receive 10-year warrants, collectively representing the right to acquire, in the aggregate, equity equal to 5% of the issued and outstanding shares of New Media (subject to dilution) as of the effective date of the Plan (the “ Effective Date ”), with the strike price per share for such warrants calculated based on a total equity value of New Media prior to the Local Media Contribution (as defined below) of $1,200,000 as of the Effective Date. New Media Warrants will not have the benefit of antidilution protections, other than customary protections including for stock splits and stock dividends. Existing equity interests will be cancelled under the Plan.

Cash-Out Offer

In connection with the restructuring, Newcastle (“ Plan Sponsor ”) (or its designated affiliates) has offered to purchase, in cash, an amount equal to 40.0% of the sum of (a) $1,167,450 of principal of the claims under the 2007 Credit Facility, plus (b) accrued and unpaid interest at the applicable contract non-default rate with respect thereto, plus (c) all amounts due under and subject to the terms of the interest rate swaps secured under the 2007 Credit Facility (for the avoidance of doubt, excluding any default interest) on the Effective Date of the Plan. The Cash-Out Offer will be coterminous with the Solicitation Period (as defined below).

Registration Rights

As of the Effective Date of the Plan, New Media will enter into a registration rights agreement with certain holders of the Outstanding Debt that received 10% or more of the New Media Common Stock, to provide customary registration rights.

New Media Equity Option

Instead of the Cash-Out Offer, each Creditor may elect to receive in satisfaction of its claims, a pro rata share of New Media Common Stock and the Net Proceeds (as defined below), if any. Following the completion of the restructuring, New Media will use commercially reasonable efforts, based on market conditions and other factors, to list New Media Common Stock (the “ Listing ”) and may raise additional equity capital in connection with or subsequent to the Listing. New Media intends to seek the Listing on the New York Stock Exchange. For the avoidance of doubt, a Listing will not be a condition precedent to the effectiveness of the Plan. Under the Plan, New Media will not impose any transfer restrictions on New Media Common Stock.

 

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Financing

GateHouse will use commercially reasonable efforts based on market conditions and other factors, to raise up to $150,000 of new debt (the “Financing”). The net proceeds, if any, will be distributed to holders of New Media Common Stock, including Plan Sponsor (or its designated affiliates) on account of the Cash-Out Offer, on the Effective Date (the “Net Proceeds”). For the avoidance of doubt the Financing will not be a condition precedent to the effectiveness of the Plan.

Contribution of Local Media Group Holdings LLC

The Plan Sponsor acquired Dow Jones Local Media Group, Inc. (“ Local Media ”), a publisher of weekly newspaper publications, on September 3, 2013. Subject to the terms of the RSA, the Plan Sponsor will contribute Local Media Group Holdings LLC (“ Local Media Parent ) and assign its rights under the related stock purchase agreement to New Media on the Effective Date (the “ Local Media Contribution ”) in exchange for shares of common stock of New Media (and at Plan Sponsor’s option, $50), collectively equal in value to the cost of the Local Media Acquisition (as adjusted pursuant to the Plan) based upon the equity value of New Media as of the Effective Date prior to the contribution.

Solicitation of the Plan and Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code

On September 20, 2013, GateHouse commenced a pre-packaged solicitation of the Plan (the “Solicitation”), with a voting deadline of September 26, 2013, as such date may be extended by Plan Sponsor in its sole discretion (the “ Solicitation Period ”), such that the Plan could become effective no later than December 16, 2013. Subject to the terms of the Support Agreement, if holders of Outstanding Debt sufficient to meet the requisite threshold of 67% in amount and majority in number (calculated without including any insider) necessary for acceptance of the Plan under the Bankruptcy Code (“Bankruptcy Threshold Creditors”) vote to accept the Plan in the Solicitation, GateHouse and its affiliated debtors (the “Debtors”) intend to commence Chapter 11 cases and seek approval of the disclosure statement for the Plan (the “Disclosure Statement”) and confirmation of the Plan therein. Under the Support Agreement, each of the Participating Lenders has agreed to (a) support and take any reasonable action in furtherance of the Restructuring, (b) timely vote their Outstanding Debt to accept the Plan and not change or withdraw such vote, (c) support approval of the Disclosure Statement and confirmation of the Plan, as well as certain relief to be requested by Debtors from the Bankruptcy Court, (d) refrain from taking any action inconsistent with the confirmation or consummation of the Plan, and (e) not propose, support, solicit or participate in the formulation of any plan other than the Plan.

Management Agreement

On the Effective Date of the Plan, New Media will enter into a management agreement with an affiliate of the Plan Sponsor (the “ Manager ) pursuant to which the Manager will manage the operations of New Media. The annual management fee will be 1.50% of New Media’s gross equity as set forth in the Management Agreement.

Releases

To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, the restructuring shall include a full release from liability of GateHouse, Plan Sponsor, the Administrative Agent, the Creditors, and all current and former direct and indirect members, partners, subsidiaries, affiliates, funds, managers, managing members, officers, directors, employees, advisors, principals, attorneys, professionals, accountants, investment bankers, consultants, agents, and other representatives (including their respective members, partners, subsidiaries, affiliates, funds, managers, managing members, officers, directors, employees, advisors, principals, attorneys, professionals, accountants, investment bankers, consultants, agents, and other representatives) by GateHouse, Plan Sponsor and the Creditors from any claims or causes of action related to or arising out of GateHouse, the Outstanding Debt or the Restructuring on or prior to the Effective Date, except for any claims and causes of action for fraud, gross negligence or willful misconduct.

 

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Conditions Precedent to Closing

The occurrence of the Effective Date shall be subject to the satisfaction (unless waived) of conditions precedent customary for transactions of this type and the satisfaction of such other conditions precedent agreed upon by the lenders, Plan Sponsor and GateHouse, including but not limited to, the following:

 

    Each of the conditions precedent set forth in the Plan having been satisfied or waived;

 

    Entry of an order confirming the Plan in form and substance satisfactory to the Plan Sponsor; and

 

    The confirmation order has (a) not been reversed, stayed, modified, or amended, and (b) the time to appeal or seek certiorari has expired and (i) no appeal or petition for certiorari has been timely taken, or (ii) any appeal or petition for certiorari has been fully resolved, denied, resulted in no modification, or has otherwise been dismissed with prejudice.

Investment Commitment Letter

On September 4, 2013 the Plan Sponsor and the Company entered into an investment commitment letter in connection with the restructuring, described above, under which Plan Sponsor has agreed to purchase the Cash-Out Offer claims, described above. The investment commitment letter provides that, on account of the claims purchased in the Cash-Out Offer on the Effective Date of the Plan, Plan Sponsor will receive its pro rata share of (a) New Media Common Stock and (b) Net Proceeds, if any, net of transaction expenses associated with transactions under the Plan.

Discontinued Operations

In May 2013, the Company disposed of a non wholly owned subsidiary in Chicago, Illinois. As a result, the asset, liability and noncontrolling interest carrying amounts of this subsidiary were derecognized. A loss of $1,146 was recognized in discontinued operations and no noncontrolling interest amounts remain after this disposal.

The net revenues during the years ended December 30, 2012, January 1, 2012 and December 31, 2010 for the aforementioned discontinued operation and previously discontinued operations $8,722, $11,123 and $13,941, respectively. Loss, net of income taxes of $0, during the years ended December 30, 2012, January 1, 2012 and December 31, 2010 for the aforementioned discontinued operation and previously discontinued operations was $2,340, $699 and $542, respectively. The loss from discontinued operations attributable to noncontrolling interest during the years ended December 30, 2012, January 1, 2012 and December 31, 2010 was $536, $579 and $596, respectively. The accompanying consolidated financial statements have been recast to reflect the results of the discontinued operations for all periods presented.

Amendment to the 2007 Credit Facility

On September 4, 2013, the Company executed an amendment to its 2007 Credit Facility effective September 3, 2013. Among other matters, the amendment revised certain terms and conditions of the 2007 Credit Facility, including the removal of an event of default related to the Company taking any action in furtherance of, or indicating its consent to or approval of a bankruptcy or similar filing, while still maintaining as an event of default the filing by the Company of a proceeding under Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code. The amendment also eliminated the requirement that the Company’s annual audited financial statements include an auditors’ report without a going concern uncertainty or like modification.

On September 20, 2013, the Company delivered notice to lenders under the 2007 Credit Facility terminating the Revolving Credit Facility of the 2007 Credit Facility effective September 27, 2013.

 

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Going Concern Considerations

The accompanying consolidated financial statements have been prepared on a going concern basis, which assumes continuity of operations, realization of assets and liquidation of liabilities in the ordinary course of business. As discussed in Note 1 (c), the Company has experienced declining same stores revenue and profitability over the past several years, has incurred significant recurring losses from continuing operations and has a net capital deficiency. Further, the RSA described above requires the Company to file a voluntary petition seeking to reorganize under Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code upon the satisfaction of certain conditions, which filing would constitute an event of default under the terms of the Company’s 2007 Credit Facility. The ability of the Company, both during and after the Chapter 11 proceedings, to continue as a going concern is contingent upon, among other things; (i) the ability of the Company to generate cash from operations and to maintain adequate cash on hand; (ii) the resolution of the uncertainty as to the amount of claims that will be allowed; (iii) the ability of the Company to confirm its reorganization plan in the Chapter 11 proceedings and obtain any financing which may be required to emerge from bankruptcy protection; and (iv) the Company’s ability to achieve profitability. There can be no assurance that the Company will be able to successfully achieve these objectives in order to continue as a going concern. The accompanying consolidated financial statements do not include any adjustments that might result should the Company be unable to continue as a going concern.

(22) Subsequent Events (Unaudited)

Bankruptcy Proceedings

On September 27, 2013, the Company commenced a pre-packaged restructuring proceeding under Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code. The terms of the restructuring were substantially consistent with those discussed in Note 21.

On November 6, 2013, the Bankruptcy Court confirmed the Plan. On November 26, 2013, the Plan became effective. In accordance with the terms of the Plan, the Company became a wholly owned subsidiary of New Media and terminated its registration under 12(g) and suspended its obligations under 15(g) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.

New Credit Facilities

On November 26, 2013, the Company entered into $165 million financing facilities consisting of a $40,000 revolving credit facility, a $25,000 term loan A and a $50,000 term loan B (collectively referred to as the “First Lien Credit Facility”) and $50,000 second lien term loan credit facility (referred to as the “Second Lien Credit Facility”) (all collectively referred to as the “New Credit Facilities”). Principal amounts outstanding under term loan A and term loan B of the First Lien Credit Facility will be payable in quarterly installments as follows: (I) four consecutive quarterly installments each in the amount of $875, commencing on January 1, 2014, (II) four consecutive quarterly installments each in the amount of $1,250, commencing on January 1, 2015, and (III) twelve consecutive quarterly installments each in the amount $2,000, commencing on January 1, 2016, followed by a final payment of all unpaid principal, accrued and unpaid interest and all unpaid fees and expenses which will be fully due and payable on November 26, 2018. The principal payments will be applied against term loan A until fully paid, and then to term loan B. The outstanding principal of the Second Lien Credit Facility will be fully due and payable on the maturity date of November 26, 2019. Only interest payments are due under the Second Lien Credit Facility until maturity. All of the tranches have options for interest at a LIBOR based rate or a prime based rate otherwise referred to as an alternative base rate. The Company elected the use of the LIBOR rate option. At November 26, 2013, those rates ranged from LIBOR + 3.25% to LIBOR + 11.00%. At November 26, 2013, the Company had outstanding borrowings under the New Credit Facility totaling $150 million, with up to $15 million available under the revolving credit facility of the First Lien Credit Facility. In conjunction with the New Credit Facilities, the Company incurred approximately $6,200 of deferred financing fees and approximately $1,000 in original issue costs.

 

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GATEHOUSE MEDIA, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

(Debtor-In-Possession)

Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets

(In thousands, except share data)

 

     September 29,
2013
    December 30,
2012
 
     (unaudited)        
ASSETS     

Current assets:

    

Cash and cash equivalents

   $ 19,753      $ 34,527   

Restricted cash

     6,467        6,467   

Accounts receivable, net of allowance for doubtful accounts of $3,871 and $2,456 at September 29, 2013 and December 30, 2012, respectively

     63,134        54,692   

Inventory

     7,071        6,019   

Prepaid expenses

     7,929        5,815   

Other current assets

     10,591        8,215   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total current assets

     114,945        115,735   

Property, plant, and equipment, net of accumulated depreciation of $138,077 and $128,208 at September 29, 2013 and December 30, 2012, respectively

     178,625        116,510   

Goodwill

     14,204        13,742   

Intangible assets, net of accumulated amortization of $214,002 and $196,878 at September 29, 2013 and December 30, 2012, respectively

     113,884        218,981   

Deferred financing costs, net

     1,891        1,719   

Other assets

     2,952        2,605   

Assets held for sale

     474        474   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total assets

   $ 426,975      $ 469,766   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 
LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS’ DEFICIT     

Current liabilities:

    

Current portion of long-term liabilities

   $ 700      $ 853   

Current portion of long-term debt

     609        6,648   

Accounts payable

     11,948        9,396   

Accrued expenses

     35,055        26,258   

Accrued interest

     186        4,665   

Deferred revenue

     31,399        25,217   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total current liabilities

     79,897        73,037   

Long-term liabilities:

    

Long-term debt

     32,391        1,167,450   

Long-term liabilities, less current portion

     2,641        2,347   

Derivative instruments

     —          45,724   

Pension and other postretirement benefit obligations

     14,385        15,367   

Liabilities subject to compromise

     1,200,023        —     
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total liabilities

     1,329,337        1,303,925   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Stockholders’ deficit:

    

Common stock, $0.01 par value, 150,000,000 shares authorized at September 29, 2013 and December 30, 2012; 58,313,868 issued and 58,077,031 outstanding at September 29, 2013 and December 30, 2012

     568        568   

Additional paid-in capital

     831,369        831,344   

Accumulated other comprehensive loss

     (17,241     (52,642

Accumulated deficit

     (1,771,706     (1,610,917

Treasury stock, at cost, 236,837 shares at September 29, 2013 and December 30, 2012

     (310     (310
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total GateHouse Media stockholders’ deficit

     (957,320     (831,957

Noncontrolling interest

     54,958        (2,202
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total stockholders’ deficit

     (902,362     (834,159
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total liabilities and stockholders’ deficit

   $ 426,975      $ 469,766   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

See accompanying notes to unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements.

 

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GATEHOUSE MEDIA, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

(Debtor-In-Possession)

Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations and Comprehensive Income (Loss)

(In thousands, except share and per share data)

 

     Three months
ended
September 29,
2013
    Three months
ended
September 30,
2012
    Nine months
ended
September 29,
2013
    Nine months
ended
September 30,
2012
 

Revenues:

        

Advertising

   $ 79,009      $ 80,140      $ 229,569      $ 246,010   

Circulation

     36,857        33,165        102,370        98,279   

Commercial printing and other

     10,126        6,675        24,233        18,872   
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total revenues

     125,992        119,980        356,172        363,161   

Operating costs and expenses:

        

Operating costs

     70,826        66,316        200,824        202,644   

Selling, general, and administrative

     42,532        35,004        121,254        107,059   

Depreciation and amortization

     10,747        9,802        30,383        30,006   

Integration and reorganization costs

     422        1,597        1,380        3,457   

Impairment of long-lived assets

     91,599        —          91,599        —     

Loss on sale of assets

     9        379        1,052        534   
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Operating income (loss)

     (90,143     6,882        (90,320     19,461   

Interest expense

     40,627        14,500        69,513        43,497   

Amortization of deferred financing costs

     281        314        803        994   

(Gain) loss on derivative instruments

     4        5        14        (1,639

Other (income) expense

     (3     7        1,005        (33

Reorganization items, net

     9,843        —          9,843        —     
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Loss from continuing operations before income taxes

     (140,895     (7,944     (171,498     (23,358

Income tax benefit

     (10,878     (250     (10,878     (207
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Loss from continuing operations

     (130,017     (7,694     (160,620     (23,151

Loss from discontinued operations, net of income taxes

     —          (1,619     (1,034     (2,093
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net loss

     (130,017     (9,313     (161,654     (25,244

Net loss attributable to noncontrolling interest

     865        —          865        —     
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net loss attributable to GateHouse Media

   $ (129,152   $ (9,313   $ (160,789   $ (25,244
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Loss per share:

        

Basic and diluted:

        

Loss from continuing operations attributable to GateHouse Media

   $ (2.22   $ (0.13   $ (2.75   $ (0.40

Loss from discontinued operations, attributable to GateHouse Media, net of income taxes

     —          (0.03     (0.02     (0.04

Net loss attributable to GateHouse Media

   $ (2.22   $ (0.16   $ (2.77   $ (0.44

Basic weighted average shares outstanding

     58,077,031        58,051,607        58,068,277        58,038,673   

Diluted weighted average shares outstanding

     58,077,031        58,051,607        58,068,277        58,038,673   

Comprehensive loss

   $ (109,330   $ (5,931   $ (126,253   $ (23,135

Comprehensive loss attributable to noncontrolling interest

     (865     —          (865     —     
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Comprehensive loss attributable to GateHouse Media

   $ (108,465   $ (5,931   $ (125,388   $ (23,135
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

See accompanying notes to unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements.

 

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GATEHOUSE MEDIA, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

(Debtor-In-Possession)

Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Statement of Stockholders’ Equity (Deficit)

(In thousands, except share data)

 

   

 

Common Stock

    Additional
paid-in
capital
    Accumulated
other
comprehensive
loss
    Accumulated
Deficit
   

 

Treasury stock

    Non-
controlling
interest in
subsidiary
    Total  
  Shares     Amount           Shares     Amount      

Balance at December 31, 2012

    58,313,868      $ 568      $ 831,344      $ (52,642   $ (1,610,917     236,837      $ (310   $ (2,202   $ (834,159

Net loss

    —          —          —          —          (160,789     —          —          (865     (161,654

Gain on derivative instruments, net of income taxes of $0

    —          —          —          19,339        —          —          —          —          19,339   

Reclassification of accumulated other comprehensive loss related to derivative instruments, net of income taxes of $10,302

    —          —          —          16,011        —          —          —          —          16,011   

Net actuarial loss and prior service cost, net of income taxes of $0

    —          —          —          51        —          —          —          —          51   

Disposal of non wholly owned subsidiary

    —          —          —          —          —          —          —          2,202        2,202   

Equity related to consolidation of Local Media

    —          —          —          —          —          —          —          55,823        55,823   

Non-cash compensation expense

    —          —          25        —          —          —          —          —          25   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Balance at September 29, 2013

    58,313,868      $ 568      $ 831,369      $ (17,241   $ (1,771,706     236,837      $ (310   $ 54,958      $ (902,362
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

See accompanying notes to unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements.

 

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GATEHOUSE MEDIA, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

(Debtor-In-Possession)

Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows

(In thousands)

 

     Nine months
ended
September 29,
2013
    Nine months
ended
September 30,
2012
 

Cash flows from operating activities:

    

Net loss

   $ (161,654   $ (25,244

Adjustments to reconcile net loss to net cash provided by operating activities:

    

Depreciation and amortization

     30,440        30,710   

Amortization of deferred financing costs

     803        994   

(Gain) loss on derivative instruments

     14        (1,639

Non-cash compensation expense

     25        71   

Non-cash reorganization items, net

     2,989        —     

Non-cash interest related to unrealized losses upon dedesignation of cash flow hedges

     26,313        —     

Tax effect of the termination of derivative agreements

     (10,302     —     

Loss on sale of assets

     2,207        566   

Pension and other postretirement benefit obligations

     (820     (432

Impairment of long-lived assets

     91,599        2,128   

Goodwill impairment

     —          216   

Changes in assets and liabilities:

    

Accounts receivable, net

     5,463        6,889   

Inventory

     484        (87

Prepaid expenses

     (103     9,622   

Other assets

     (2,885     (1,181

Accounts payable

     1,944        1,859   

Accrued expenses

     4,992        1,609   

Accrued interest

     (340     (397

Deferred revenue

     (754     (949

Other long-term liabilities

     (152     (513
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net cash (used in) provided by operating activities

     (9,737     24,222   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Cash flows from investing activities:

    

Purchases of property, plant, and equipment

     (3,242     (2,854

Proceeds from sale of assets and insurance

     743        840   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net cash used in investing activities

     (2,499     (2,014
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Cash flows from financing activities:

    

Capital contribution to Local Media

     4,110        —     

Repayments under current portion of long-term debt

     (6,648     (4,600
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net cash used in financing activities

     (2,538     (4,600
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net (decrease) increase in cash and cash equivalents

     (14,774     17,608   

Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of period

     34,527        19,212   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Cash and cash equivalents at end of period

   $ 19,753      $ 36,820   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

See accompanying notes to unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements.

 

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GATEHOUSE MEDIA, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

(Debtor-In-Possession)

Notes to Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements

(In thousands, except share and per share data)

(1) Unaudited Financial Statements

The accompanying unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements of GateHouse Media, Inc. and its subsidiaries (together, the “Company”) have been prepared in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”) for interim financial information and the instructions to Form 10-Q and applicable provisions of Regulation S-X, each as promulgated by the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”). Certain information and note disclosures normally included in comprehensive annual financial statements presented in accordance with GAAP have generally been condensed or omitted pursuant to SEC rules and regulations.

Management believes that the accompanying condensed consolidated financial statements contain all adjustments (which include normal recurring adjustments) that, in the opinion of management, are necessary to present fairly the Company’s consolidated financial condition, results of operations and cash flows for the periods presented. The results of operations for interim periods are not necessarily indicative of the results that may be expected for the full year. These condensed consolidated financial statements should be read in conjunction with the audited consolidated financial statements and accompanying notes for the year ended December 30, 2012, included in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K.

The preparation of financial statements in conformity with GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities as of the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting period. Actual results could differ from those estimates.

On September 27, 2013, the Company filed voluntary petitions for relief under Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code (the “Bankruptcy Code”), case number 13-12503. The Company will continue to operate the business as “debtor-in possession” under the jurisdiction of the United States Bankruptcy Court of Delaware (the “Bankruptcy Court”) and in accordance with the applicable provisions of the United States Bankruptcy Code and orders of the Bankruptcy Court, (see Note 2).

The accompanying consolidated financial statements have been prepared on a going concern basis, which assumes continuity of operations, realization of assets and liquidation of liabilities in the ordinary course of business. The Company has experienced declining same stores revenue and profitability over the past several years, has incurred significant recurring losses from continuing operations and has a net capital deficiency. Further, the RSA (as described in Note 2 below) requires the Company to file a voluntary petition seeking to reorganize under Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code. The ability of the Company, both during and after the Chapter 11 proceedings, to continue as a going concern is contingent upon, among other things; (i) the ability of the Company to generate cash from operations and to maintain adequate cash on hand; (ii) the resolution of the uncertainty as to the amount of claims that will be allowed; (iii) the ability of the Company to confirm its reorganization plan in the Chapter 11 proceedings and obtain any financing which may be required to emerge from bankruptcy protection; and (iv) the Company’s ability to achieve profitability. There can be no assurance that the Company will be able to successfully achieve these objectives in order to continue as a going concern. The accompanying consolidated financial statements do not include any adjustments that might result should the Company be unable to continue as a going concern.

On August 27, 2013, the Company entered into a management agreement (the “Local Media Management Agreement”) with Local Media Group Holdings, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company and a subsidiary of Newcastle Investment Corp. (“Local Media Parent”), to manage the operations of Dow Jones Local Media Group, Inc. (“Local Media”). The Company has determined that the Local Media Management Agreement

 

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results in Local Media being a variable interest entity (“VIE”) and the Company has the power to direct the activities that most significantly affect the economic performance of the entity therefore the Company will consolidate Local Media’s financial position and results of operations. On September 3, 2013, the Local Media Parent completed its acquisition of thirty three publications from Dow Jones & Co. Local Media’s results of operations have been included in the Company’s consolidated result of operations beginning on September 3, 2013. Local Media is not part of the bankruptcy filing and will continue to operate in the ordinary course of business. Refer to Note 5, “Variable Interest Entity” for additional information.

The Company’s operating segments (Large Community Newspapers, Small Community Newspapers, Directories, and Local Media) are aggregated into one reportable business segment.

Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income (Loss)

The changes in accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) by component for the nine months ended September 29, 2013 are outlined below.

 

     Gain (loss) on
derivative
instruments
    Net actuarial loss
and prior service
cost (1)
    Total  

For the nine months ended September 29, 2013:

      

Balance at December 30, 2012

   $ (45,651   $ (6,991   $ (52,642
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Other comprehensive income before reclassifications

     (1,109     1        (1,108

Amounts reclassified from accumulated other comprehensive loss

     46,760        51        46,811   

Tax effect of the termination of derivative agreements

     (10,302     —          (10,302
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net current period other comprehensive income, net of taxes

     35,349        52        35,401   
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Balance at September 29, 2013

   $ (10,302   $ (6,939   $ (17,241
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

(1) This accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) component is included in the computation of net periodic benefit cost. See Note 14.

The following table presents reclassifications out of accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) for the three and nine months ended September 29, 2013.

 

    Amounts Reclassified from Accumulated
Other Comprehensive Loss
   

Affected Line Item in the
Consolidated Statements of
Operations and Comprehensive
Income (Loss)

    Three months ended
September 29, 2013
    Nine months ended
September 29, 2013
   

Realized gain on interest rate swap agreements, designated as cash flow hedges

  $ 5,371      $ 20,447      Interest expense

Amortization of prior service cost

    (114     (342   (1)

Amortization of unrecognized loss

    131        393      (1)

Reclassification of unrealized losses upon dedesignation of cash flow hedges

    26,313        26,313      Interest expense
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

Amounts reclassified from accumulated other comprehensive loss

 

 

31,701

  

 

 

46,811

  

 

Loss from continuing operations before income taxes

Income tax benefit

    (10,302     (10,302   Income tax benefit
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

Amounts reclassified from accumulated other comprehensive loss, net of taxes

  $ 21,399      $ 36,509      Net loss
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

(1) This accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) component is included in the computation of net periodic benefit cost. See Note 14.

 

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(2) Bankruptcy Proceedings

The Company and certain of its subsidiaries commenced voluntary chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings in the Bankruptcy Court on September 27, 2013. Concurrent with the bankruptcy filing, the Company filed and requested confirmation of a joint prepackaged plan of reorganization (“the Plan”). On September 4, 2013, the Company entered into a restructuring support agreement (“RSA”) with Cortland Products Corp., as administrative agent (the “Administrative Agent”) and certain of the lenders under the Company’s 2007 Credit Facility, including Newcastle Investment Corp. (“Newcastle”) and its affiliates.

Pursuant to its RSA, the Company solicited votes on the Plan from holders of claims under the Company’s 2007 Credit Facility and certain related interest rate swaps. The Plan was accepted by the only impaired class of creditors entitled to vote on it. Specifically, 79 out of the 80 holders of secured debt entitled to vote holding an aggregate amount of $1,199,317 (representing 99.99% of the total secured debt) voted to accept the Plan. No creditors voted to reject the Plan.

Pension, trade and all other unsecured creditors of the Company would not be impaired under the prepackaged Plan, and their votes were not solicited. The Company’s common stock would be canceled under the Plan, and holders of secured debt would have the option of receiving a cash distribution equal to 40% of their claims, or stock in New Media, a new holding company that will own the Company and Local Media, as described below.

The key terms of the Plan are as follows:

The Plan proposes a restructuring of the Company pursuant to a pre-packaged restructuring under Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code whereby each Creditor (as defined below) has the option of exchanging its holdings in the Outstanding Debt (as defined below) for either its pro rata share of cash or common stock in a new holding company (such common stock, “New Media Common Stock,” and such holding company from and after the effective date, “New Media”) with ownership interests in the reorganized Company (such reorganized Company, “New GateHouse”). New Media is an entity that is unrelated to the Company and currently is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Newcastle.

New Media intends to distribute a portion of its estimated EBITDA (as defined in the Plan) less (i) cash taxes; (ii) interest expense; (iii) principal payments under the Financing (as defined below); (iv) capital expenditures; and (v) changes in net working capital to its shareholders and reinvest the remainder for general corporate purposes which may include accretive acquisitions.

The Plan includes the restructuring of the following indebtedness of the Company (the “Outstanding Debt”):

(a) Indebtedness under the 2007 Credit Facility, consisting of a “Revolving Credit Facility,” a “Term Loan Facility,” a “Delayed Draw Term Loan Facility” and an “Incremental Term Loan Facility” (collectively, the “2007 Credit Facility Claims”). The 2007 Credit Facility Claims consisted of a (i) Revolving Credit Facility of $0 and $0 at December 30, 2012 and September 30, 2013, respectively, (ii) Term Loan Facility of $658,281 and $654,554 at December 30, 2012 and September 29, 2013, respectively, (iii) Delayed Draw Term Loan Facility of $245,627 and $244,236 at December 30, 2012 and September 29, 2013, respectively and (iv) Incremental Term Loan Facility of $270,190 and $268,660 at December 30, 2012 and September 29, 2013, respectively.

(b) Swap Liability, including (i) $100,000 notional amount executed February 27, 2007, (ii) $250,000 notional amount executed April 4, 2007, (iii) $200,000 notional amount executed April 13, 2007 and (iv) $75,000 notional amount executed September 18, 2007. As of December 31, 2012 and September 29, 2013, the carrying value of the Swap Liability totaled $45,724 and $28,440, respectively.

Holders of the Outstanding Debt are referred to herein as “Creditors.”

 

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Subject to the approval of the Bankruptcy Court, the Plan proposes a restructuring of the Outstanding Debt as follows:

(a) Each Creditor of the Outstanding Debt will receive, in full and final satisfaction of its respective claim, at its election (with respect to all or any portion of its claims) to be made in connection with solicitation of the Plan, its pro rata share of:

i. Cash pursuant to the Cash-Out Offer (described below under “Cash-Out Offer”) (the “Cash-Out Option”); and/or

ii. (A) 100% of New Media Common Stock (subject to dilution as discussed herein) and (B) 100% of the Net Proceeds (as defined below), if any (collectively, the “New Media Equity Option”).

Creditors that do not make an election during the Solicitation Period (as defined below) with respect to their claims will be deemed to have elected the Cash-Out Option.

(b) Pension, trade and all other unsecured claims will be unimpaired by the Plan.

(c) Holders of equity interests in the Company, including warrants, rights and options to acquire such equity interests (“Existing Equity Holders”), would be cancelled, and Existing Equity Holders will receive 10-year warrants, collectively representing the right to acquire, in the aggregate, equity equal to 5% of the issued and outstanding shares of New Media (subject to dilution) as of the effective date of the Plan (the “Effective Date”), with the strike price per share for such warrants calculated based on a total equity value of New Media prior to the Local Media Contribution (as defined below) of $1,200,000 as of the Effective Date. New Media Warrants will not have the benefit of antidilution protections, other than customary protections including for stock splits and stock dividends. Existing equity interests will be cancelled under the Plan.

Cash-Out Offer

In connection with the Plan, Newcastle (“Plan Sponsor”) (or its designated affiliates) has offered to purchase, in cash, an amount equal to 40% of the sum of (a) $1,167,450 of principal of the claims under the 2007 Credit Facility, plus (b) accrued and unpaid interest at the applicable contract non-default rate with respect thereto, plus (c) all amounts due under and subject to the terms of the interest rate swaps secured under the 2007 Credit Facility (for the avoidance of doubt, excluding any default interest) on the Effective Date of the Plan. The Cash-Out Offer will be coterminous with the Solicitation Period (as defined below).

Registration Rights

As of the Effective Date of the Plan, New Media will enter into a registration rights agreement with certain holders of the Outstanding Debt that received 10% or more of the New Media Common Stock, to provide customary registration rights.

New Media Equity Option

Instead of the Cash-Out Offer, each Creditor may elect to receive in satisfaction of its claims, a pro rata share of New Media Common Stock and the Net Proceeds (as defined below), if any. Following the completion of the restructuring, New Media will use commercially reasonable efforts, based on market conditions and other factors, to list New Media Common Stock (the “Listing”) and may raise additional equity capital in connection with or subsequent to the Listing. New Media intends to seek the Listing on the New York Stock Exchange. For the avoidance of doubt, the Listing will not be a condition precedent to the effectiveness of the Plan. Under the Plan, New Media will not impose any transfer restrictions on New Media Common Stock.

On November 6, 2013 the Bankruptcy Court held a hearing and entered an order (the “Confirmation Order”) confirming the Plan.

 

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Financing

The Company will use commercially reasonable efforts based on market conditions and other factors, to raise up to $165,000 of new debt, including a $150,000 facility to fund distributions and other payments under the Plan (the “Financing”). The distribution will be made to holders of New Media Common Stock, including Plan Sponsor (or its designated affiliates) on account of the Cash-Out Offer, on the Effective Date (the “Net Proceeds”). The Financing will not be a condition precedent to the effectiveness of the Plan.

Contribution of Local Media Group Holdings LLC

The Plan Sponsor acquired Local Media, a publisher of weekly newspaper publications, on September 3, 2013. Subject to the terms of the Plan, the Plan Sponsor will contribute Local Media Parent and assign its rights under the related stock purchase agreement to New Media on the Effective Date (the “Local Media Contribution”) in exchange for shares of common stock of New Media (and at Plan Sponsor’s option, $50), collectively equal in value to the cost of the Local Media Acquisition (as adjusted pursuant to the Plan) based upon the equity value of New Media as of the Effective Date prior to the contribution.

Management Agreement

On the effective date, New Media will enter into a management agreement with an affiliate of the Plan Sponsor (the “Manager”) pursuant to which the Manager will manage the operations of New Media. The annual management fee will be 1.50% of New Media’s gross equity as set forth in the Management Agreement.

Releases

To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, the restructuring shall include a full release from liability of the Company, Plan Sponsor, the Administrative Agent, the Creditors, and all current and former direct and indirect members, partners, subsidiaries, affiliates, funds, managers, managing members, officers, directors, employees, advisors, principals, attorneys, professionals, accountants, investment bankers, consultants, agents, and other representatives (including their respective members, partners, subsidiaries, affiliates, funds, managers, managing members, officers, directors, employees, advisors, principals, attorneys, professionals, accountants, investment bankers, consultants, agents, and other representatives) by the Company, Plan Sponsor and the Creditors from any claims or causes of action related to or arising out of the Company, the Outstanding Debt or the Restructuring on or prior to the Effective Date, except for any claims and causes of action for fraud, gross negligence or willful misconduct.

Conditions Precedent to Closing

The occurrence of the Effective Date is subject to the satisfaction (unless waived) of conditions precedent customary for transactions of this type and the satisfaction of such other conditions precedent agreed upon by the lenders, Plan Sponsor and the Company, including but not limited to, the following:

 

    Each of the conditions precedent set forth in the Plan having been satisfied or waived;

 

    Entry of an order confirming the Plan in form and substance satisfactory to the Plan Sponsor; and

 

    The confirmation order has (a) not been reversed, stayed, modified, or amended, and (b) the time to appeal or seek certiorari has expired and (i) no appeal or petition for certiorari has been timely taken, or (ii) any appeal or petition for certiorari has been fully resolved, denied, resulted in no modification, or has otherwise been dismissed with prejudice.

Confirmation of the Plan

On November 6, 2013, the Bankruptcy Court confirmed the Plan. On November 26, 2013, the Plan became effective. In accordance with the terms of the Plan, the Company became a wholly owned subsidiary of New Media and terminated its registration under 12(g) and suspended its obligations under 15(g) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.

 

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Investment Commitment Letter

On September 4, 2013 the Plan Sponsor and the Company entered into an investment commitment letter in connection with the restructuring, pursuant to which Plan Sponsor agreed to purchase the Cash-Out Offer claims, described above. The investment commitment letter provides that, on account of the claims purchased in the Cash-Out Offer on the Effective Date of the Plan, Plan Sponsor will receive its pro rata share of (a) New Media Common Stock and (b) Net Proceeds, if any, net of transaction expenses associated with transactions under the Plan.

(3) Liabilities Subject to Compromise

In accordance with FASB ASC Topic 852, “ Reorganizations ” (“ASC 852”) the Company has segregated the liabilities subject to compromise in its Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets.

The following table reflects pre-petition liabilities that are subject to compromise:

 

     As of
September 29,
2013
 

Accrued interest

   $ 4,133   

Long-term debt

     1,167,450   

Derivative instruments

     28,440   
  

 

 

 

Liabilities subject to compromise

   $ 1,200,023   
  

 

 

 

The restructuring plan effects only the Company’s 2007 Credit Facility and derivative instruments. Refer to Note 10, “Indebtedness,” for additional information. No other liabilities are subject to compromise and pension, trade and other unsecured claims are not impaired under the plan.

The amount of Liabilities subject to compromise represents the Company and certain of its subsidiaries who filed bankruptcy (the “Debtors’”) estimate, where an estimate is determinable, of known or potential pre-petition claims to be addressed in connection with the bankruptcy proceedings. Such liabilities are reported at the Debtors’ current estimate, where an estimate is determinable, of the allowed claim amount, even though they may be settled for lesser amounts. These claims remain subject to future adjustments, which may result from: negotiations; actions of the Bankruptcy Court; disputed claims; rejection of contracts and unexpired leases; the determination as to the value of any collateral securing claims; proofs of claims; or other events. Refer to Note 2 for additional information.

(4) Reorganization Items, Net

In accordance with ASC 852 the Company has segregated reorganization items related to the Plan in its Condensed Consolidated Statement of Operations and Comprehensive Income (Loss).

A summary of reorganization items, net for the three and nine months ended September 29, 2013 and September 30, 2012 is presented in the following table:

 

    Three months ended
September 29, 2013
    Nine months ended
September 29, 2013
 

Write-off of deferred financing costs

  $ 948      $ 948   

Credit agreement amendment fees

    6,790        6,790   

Bankruptcy fees

    64        64   

Adjustment to the allowed claim for derivative instruments

    2,041        2,041   
 

 

 

   

 

 

 

Reorganization items, net

  $ 9,843      $ 9,843   
 

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

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For the three and nine months ended September 29, 2013, the Company paid approximately $6,854 for reorganization items.

(5) Variable Interest Entity

On September 3, 2013, Local Media Parent acquired Local Media. The Company entered into a management and advisory agreement with Local Media Parent, which was assigned to Local Media, to manage the operations of Local Media. In return, the Company will receive compensation including an annual fee and will be eligible to earn an annual incentive pay out equal to 12.5% of the EBITDA of Local Media in excess of budget. Although Local Media Parent currently owns 100.0% of the equity of Local Media, the Company manages the daily operations of Local Media. The Company has determined that the management and advisory agreement results in Local Media being a VIE and the Company has the power to direct the activities that most significantly affect the economic performance of the entity. As a result, the Company is the primary beneficiary and therefore has consolidated Local Media’s financial position and results of operations. As 100% of Local Media is owned by Local Media Parent, the net income (loss) of Local Media is reflected in noncontrolling interest.

The Company has accounted for the consolidation of Local Media under the purchase method of accounting. Accordingly, the assets acquired and liabilities assumed are recorded at their fair values. The transaction costs were incurred by Newcastle not GateHouse. The net assets, including goodwill of Local Media have been recorded in the condensed consolidated balance sheet at their estimated fair value in accordance with ASC 805. The value allocated in consolidating Local Media, was approximately $83,701 and $1,910 of acquisition related costs were recognized. Local Media Parent contributed $55,823 of equity and Local Media entered into a long-term debt agreement for $33,000. Local Media consists of eight daily and fifteen weekly newspapers as well as ten shopper publications, serving areas of New York, Massachusetts, California, Pennsylvania, Oregon and New Hampshire. The results of operations for The Local Media have been included in the Company’s consolidated financial statements.

The following table summarizes the estimated fair values of the Local Media assets and liabilities as of September 3, 2013:

 

Current assets

   $ 18,825   

Property, plant and equipment

     73,718   

Mastheads

     4,100   

Goodwill

     462   
  

 

 

 

Total assets

     97,105   

Current liabilities

     13,404   
  

 

 

 

Total liabilities

     13,404   
  

 

 

 

Net assets

   $ 83,701   
  

 

 

 

The Company obtained third party independent appraisals to assist in the determination of the fair values of property, plant and equipment and intangible assets. The property, plant and equipment appraisal included an analysis of recent comparable sales and offerings of land parcels in each of the subject’s markets. The appraised value is supported with consideration and use of standard accepted appraisal practices and valuation procedures. The appraiser used the three basic approaches to value: the Cost Approach (used for equipment where an active secondary market is not available and building improvements), the Direct Sales Comparison (Market) Approach (used for land and equipment where an active secondary market is available) and the Income Approach (used for intangible assets). These approaches used are based on the cost to reproduce assets, market exchanges for comparable assets and the capitalization of income. Useful lives range from 1 to 7 years for personal property and 17 to 38 years for real property.

 

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The appraisal utilized a relief from royalty method, an income approach, to determine the fair value of mastheads. Key assumptions utilized in this valuation include revenue projections, a royalty rate of 1.5%, long term growth rate of 0%, tax rate of 39.2% and discount rate of 25.0%. Based on estimated discount rates, attrition levels and other available data, the advertiser and subscriber relationships were determined to have a fair value of $0.

Trade accounts receivable, having an estimated fair value of $13,427, were included in the acquired assets. The gross contractual amount of these receivables was $14,937 and the contractual cash flows not expected to be collected was estimated at $1,510 as of the acquisition date.

Local Media accounted for inventory using a weighted cost methodology, which was deemed to approximate fair value. The FIFO valuation method is used and is consistent with the Company’s inventory valuation. The difference between the weighted average and FIFO methodology does not have a material effect on the results of operations.

From the date of acquisition through September 29, 2013 Local Media had Revenues of $12,043 million and a net loss of $865.

For tax purposes, the amount of goodwill that is expected to be deductible is $462 as of September 3, 2013.

The estimated fair values are preliminary pending the finalization of the valuation.

Pro-Forma Results

The unaudited pro forma condensed consolidated statement of operations information for 2013, set forth below, presents the results of operations as if the consolidation of the newspapers from Local Media had occurred on January 2, 2012. The unaudited pro forma condensed consolidated statement of operations information for 2012, set forth below, presents the results of operations as if the consolidation of the Local Media had occurred on January 2, 2012. These amounts are not necessarily indicative of future results or actual results that would have been achieved had the acquisitions occurred as of the beginning of such period.

 

     Three months
ended
September 29,
2013
    Three months
ended
September 30,
2012
    Nine months
ended
September 29,
2013
    Nine months
ended
September 30,
2012
 

Revenues

   $ 154,406      $ 161,882      $ 459,800      $ 486,268   

Net loss

   $ (129,302   $ (5,816   $ (202,258   $ (214,057

Net loss per common share:

        

Basic

   $ (2.23   $ (0.10   $ (3.48   $ (3.69

Diluted

   $ (2.23   $ (0.10   $ (3.48   $ (3.69

 

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Consolidated Variable Interest Entity

The table below summarizes the assets and liabilities of the consolidated VIE (Local Media) as of September 29, 2013. As of December 30, 2012 the balances were zero, as the VIE was not consolidated until September 3, 2013.

 

Current assets

   $ 26,747   

Property, plant and equipment

     72,786   

Mastheads

     4,100   

Goodwill

     462   

Other assets

     2,916   
  

 

 

 

Total assets

   $ 107,011   
  

 

 

 

Current liabilities

     19,147   

Long-term liabilities

     32,907   
  

 

 

 

Total liabilities

   $ 52,054   
  

 

 

 

(6) Share-Based Compensation

The Company recognized compensation cost for share-based payments of $0, $23, $25 and $71 during the three and nine months ended September 29, 2013 and September 30, 2012, respectively. As of September 29, 2013, all compensation cost for share-based payments have been recognized.

Restricted Share Grants (“RSGs”)

Under the GateHouse Media, Inc. Omnibus Stock Incentive Plan (the “RSG Plan”), 266,795 RSGs were granted to Company directors, management and employees, 42,535 of which were both granted and forfeited during the year ended December 31, 2008. An additional 100,000 RSGs were granted to Company management during the year ended December 31, 2009. The majority of the RSGs issued under the RSG Plan vest in increments of one-third on each of the first, second and third anniversaries of the grant date. In the event a grantee of an RSG is terminated by the Company without cause, a number of unvested RSGs immediately vest that would have vested under the normal vesting period on the next succeeding anniversary date following such termination. In the event an RSG grantee’s employment with the Company is terminated without cause within twelve months after a change in control (as defined in the applicable award agreement), all unvested RSGs become immediately vested at the termination date. During the period prior to the lapse and removal of the vesting restrictions, a grantee of an RSG will have all of the rights of a stockholder, including without limitation, the right to vote and the right to receive all dividends or other distributions. As a result, the RSGs are reflected as outstanding common stock and the unvested RSGs have been excluded from the calculation of basic earnings per share. With respect to Company employees, the value of the RSGs on the date of issuance is recognized as employee compensation expense over the vesting period or through the grantee’s eligible retirement date, if shorter, with an increase to additional paid-in-capital.

As of September 29, 2013 and December 30, 2012, there were 0 and 25,424 RSGs, respectively, issued and outstanding with a weighted average grant date fair value of $0.00 and $6.04, respectively. As of September 29, 2013, the aggregate intrinsic value of unvested RSGs was $0. During the nine months ended September 29, 2013, the aggregate fair value of vested RSGs was $1.

RSG activity during the nine months ended September 29, 2013 was as follows:

 

     Number of RSGs     Weighted-Average
Grant Date Fair Value
 

Unvested at December 30, 2012

     25,424      $ 6.04   

Vested

     (25,424     6.04   
  

 

 

   

Unvested at September 29, 2013

     —        $ —     
  

 

 

   

 

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FASB ASC Topic 718, “ Compensation—Stock Compensation ,” requires the recognition of share-based compensation for the number of awards that are ultimately expected to vest. The Company’s estimated forfeitures are based on forfeiture rates of comparable plans. Estimated forfeitures are reassessed periodically and the estimate may change based on new facts and circumstances.

(7) Reclassifications

Certain amounts in the prior period unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements have been reclassified to conform to the 2013 presentation.

(8) Restructuring

Over the past several years, and in furtherance of the Company’s cost reduction and cash flow preservation plans the Company has engaged in a series of individual restructuring programs, designed primarily to right size the Company’s employee base, consolidate facilities and improve its operations. These initiatives impact all of the Company’s geographic regions and are often influenced by the terms of union contracts within each region. All costs related to these programs, which primarily reflect severance expense, are accrued at the time of announcement.

Information related to restructuring program activity during the twelve months ended December 30, 2012 and the nine months ended September 29, 2013 is outlined below.

 

    Severance and
Related Costs
    Other
Costs (1)
    Total  

Balance at January 1, 2012

  $ 900      $ 426      $ 1,326   

Restructuring provision included in integration and reorganization (2)

    3,610        800        4,410   

Cash payments

    (3,826     (1,062     (4,888
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Balance at December 30, 2012

  $ 684      $ 164      $ 848   

Restructuring provision included in integration and reorganization

    1,342        38        1,380   

Cash payments

    (1,537     (94     (1,631
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Balance at September 29, 2013

  $ 489      $ 108      $ 597   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

(1) Other costs primarily included costs to consolidate operations.
(2) Included above are amounts that were initially recognized in integration and reorganization and were subsequently reclassified to discontinued operations expense at the time the affected operations ceased.

The restructuring reserve balance as of September 29, 2013, for all programs was $597, which is expected to be paid out over the next twelve months.

The following table summarizes the costs incurred and cash paid in connection with these restructuring programs for the three and nine months ended September 29, 2013 and September 30, 2012.

 

     Three months ended     Nine months ended  
     September 29,
2013
    September 30,
2012
    September 29,
2013
    September 30,
2012
 

Severance and related costs (2)

   $ 422      $ 1,528      $ 1,342      $ 2,890   

Other costs (1)

     —          69        38        584   

Cash payments

     (610     (865     (1,631     (3,348

 

(1) Other costs primarily included costs to consolidate operations.
(2) Included above are amounts that were initially recognized in integration and reorganization and were subsequently reclassified to discontinued operations expense at the time the affected operations ceased.

 

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(9) Goodwill and Intangible Assets

Goodwill and intangible assets consisted of the following:

 

     September 29, 2013  
     Gross
Carrying
Amount
     Accumulated
Amortization
     Net
Carrying
Amount
 

Amortized intangible assets:

        

Noncompete agreements

   $ 4,970       $ 4,908       $ 62   

Advertiser relationships

     209,878         158,714         51,164   

Customer relationships

     6,868         4,088         2,780   

Subscriber relationships

     62,785         42,525         20,260   

Trade name

     3,886         3,616         270   

Publication rights

     151         151         —     
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total

   $ 288,538       $ 214,002       $ 74,536   
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Nonamortized intangible assets:

        

Goodwill

   $ 14,204         

Mastheads

     39,348         
  

 

 

       

Total

   $ 53,552         
  

 

 

       

 

     December 30, 2012  
     Gross
Carrying
Amount
     Accumulated
Amortization
     Net
Carrying
Amount
 

Amortized intangible assets:

        

Noncompete agreements

   $ 4,970       $ 4,839       $ 131   

Advertiser relationships

     278,543         145,878         132,665   

Customer relationships

     8,940         3,597         5,343   

Subscriber relationships

     82,280         39,226         43,054   

Trade name

     5,493         3,204         2,289   

Publication rights

     345         134         211   
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total

   $ 380,571       $ 196,878       $ 183,693   
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Nonamortized intangible assets:

        

Goodwill

   $ 13,742         

Mastheads

     35,288         
  

 

 

       

Total

   $ 49,030         
  

 

 

       

The weighted average amortization periods for amortizable intangible assets are 4.4 years for noncompete agreements, 16.7 years for advertiser relationships, 13.8 years for customer relationships, 17.2 years for subscriber relationships, 10.0 years for trade names and 15.0 years for publication rights.

 

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Amortization expense for the three and nine months ended September 29, 2013 and September 30, 2012 was $5,823, $5,892, $17,485 and $17,693, respectively. Estimated future amortization expense as of September 29, 2013 is as follows:

 

For the years ending the Sunday closest to December 31:

  

2013

   $ 2,245   

2014

     8,981   

2015

     8,950   

2016

     8,944   

2017

     8,025   

Thereafter

     37,391   
  

 

 

 

Total

   $ 74,536   
  

 

 

 

The changes in the carrying amount of goodwill for the period from December 31, 2012 to September 29, 2013 are as follows:

 

Balance at December 31, 2012

   $ 13,742   

Consolidation of VIE

     462   
  

 

 

 

Balance at September 29, 2013

   $ 14,204   
  

 

 

 

The Company’s annual impairment assessment is made on the last day of its fiscal second quarter.

During the first quarter of 2012, the Company reorganized its management structure to align with its publication types. The fair value of goodwill was allocated to each of the new reporting units: Small Community Newspapers, Large Daily Newspapers and Metro Newspapers. The Company determined that impairment indicators were present for the Metro Newspaper reporting unit, which had a goodwill balance of $216. As of April 1, 2012 the Company performed a Step 1 analysis for this reporting unit and determined that its carrying value exceeded fair value. As a result of the Step 2 analysis, the entire $216 of goodwill was impaired and this amount was subsequently reclassified to discontinued operations, see Note 18. The fair value of this reporting unit for impairment testing purposes was estimated using the expected present value of future cash flows, recent industry transaction multiples and using estimates, judgments and assumptions that management believed were appropriate in the circumstances. The estimates and judgments used in the assessment included multiples for revenue and EBITDA, the weighted average cost of capital and the terminal growth rate. Given the current market conditions, the Company determined that recent transactions provided the best estimate of the fair value of this reporting unit. The Company performed further analysis of this reporting unit’s intangible and long-lived assets and determined that impairments of these assets were not present.

As of April 1, 2012, a review of impairment indicators was performed for the Company’s other reporting units and it was determined that financial results and forecast had not changed materially since the June 26, 2011 impairment test and it was determined no indicators of impairment were present.

As part of the annual impairment assessment, as of July 1, 2012, the fair values of the Company’s reporting units for goodwill impairment testing and newspaper mastheads were estimated using the expected present value of future cash flows, recent industry transaction multiples and using estimates, judgments and assumptions that management believed were appropriate in the circumstances. The estimates and judgments used in the assessment included multiples for revenue and EBITDA, the weighted average cost of capital and the terminal growth rate. Given the current market conditions, the Company determined that recent transactions provided the best estimate of the fair value of its reporting units and no impairment indicators were identified. Additionally, the estimated fair value exceeded carrying value for all mastheads. The total Company’s estimate of fair value was reconciled to its then market capitalization (based upon the market price of the Company’s common stock and fair value of the Company’s debt) plus an estimated control premium.

 

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As of September 30, 2012, December 30, 2012 and March 31, 2013, a review of impairment indicators was performed with the Company noting that its financial results and forecast had not changed materially since the July 1, 2012 impairment test and its market capitalization exceeded its consolidated carrying value. It was determined no indicators of impairment were present.

As part of the annual impairment assessment, as of June 30, 2013, the fair values of the Company’s reporting units for goodwill impairment testing and newspaper mastheads were estimated using the expected present value of future cash flows, recent industry transaction multiples and using estimates, judgments and assumptions that management believed were appropriate in the circumstances. The estimates and judgments used in the assessment included multiples for revenue and EBITDA, the weighted average cost of capital and the terminal growth rate. Given the current market conditions, the Company determined that recent transactions provided the best estimate of the fair value of its reporting units and no impairment indicators were identified. Additionally, the estimated fair value exceeded carrying value for all mastheads. The total Company’s estimate of fair value was reconciled to its then market capitalization (based upon the market price of the Company’s common stock and fair value of the Company’s debt) plus an estimated control premium.

The bankruptcy filing was considered a triggering event for the non amortizable intangibles and the Company performed a valuation analysis to determine if an impairment existed as of September 29, 2013. The fair values of the Company’s reporting units for goodwill and newspaper mastheads were estimated using the expected present value of future cash flows, recent industry transaction multiples and using estimates, judgments and assumptions that management believed were appropriate in the circumstances and were consistent with the terms of the Plan. The estimates and judgments used in the assessment included multiples for revenue and EBITDA, the weighted average cost of capital and the terminal growth rate. Given the current bankruptcy Plan, the Company determined that discounted cash flows provided the best estimate of the fair value of its reporting units. The estimated fair value of the Large Daily reporting unit exceeded its carrying value and Step 2 of the analysis was not necessary. The Small Community reporting unit failed the Step 1 goodwill impairment analysis. The Company performed Step 2 of the analysis using consistent assumptions, as discussed above, and determined an impairment was not present for this reporting unit. The estimated fair value of each reporting unit’s mastheads exceeded their carrying values, using consistent assumptions as discussed above. The masthead fair value was estimated using the relief from royalty valuation method.

The Company considered the impairment analysis for goodwill and mastheads to be an indicator of impairment under ASC 360, and performed an analysis of its undiscounted cash flows for amortizable intangibles. For any groups where the carrying value exceeded the undiscounted cash flows a discounted cash flow analysis was performed to determine the amount of the impairment. Key assumptions within this analysis included earnings projections, discount rates, attrition rates, long term growth rates, and effective tax rate that the Company considers appropriate. Earnings projections reflected continued declines in print advertising revenue of 5.0% to 9.0% per year, which is expected to moderate in later years, growth in circulation revenue of up to 2.0% per year, and expense declines of up to 4.0% per year. Discount rates ranged from 14.5% to 17.0%, attrition rates ranged from 5.0% to 7.5%, the long term growth rate was 0% and the effective tax rate was 39.15%. The resulting cash flows were reconciled to the projections supporting the Plan.

Due to reductions in the Company’s operating projections during the third quarter in conjunction with the bankruptcy process, an impairment charge of $68,573 was recognized for advertiser relationships within the Company’s Metro and Small Community reporting units, an impairment charge of $19,149 was recognized for subscriber relationships within the Company’s Metro and Small Community reporting units, an impairment charge of $2,077 was recognized for customer relationships within the Company’s Metro reporting unit and an impairment charge of $1,800 was recognized for trade names and publication rights within the Directories business unit. Refer to Note 16 “Fair Value Measurement” for additional information on the impairment charge.

The newspaper industry and the Company have experienced declining same store revenue and profitability over the past several years. Should general economic, market or business conditions decline, and have a negative impact on estimates of future cash flow and market transaction multiples, the Company may be required to record additional impairment charges in the future.

 

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(10) Indebtedness

2007 Credit Facility

GateHouse Media Operating, Inc. (“Operating”), an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company, GateHouse Media Holdco, Inc. (“Holdco”), an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company, and certain of their subsidiaries (together, the “Borrowers”) entered into an Amended and Restated Credit Agreement, dated as of February 27, 2007, with a syndicate of financial institutions with Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., successor-by-merger to Wachovia Bank, National Association (“Wells Fargo Bank”), as administrative agent (the “2007 Credit Facility”).

The 2007 Credit Facility, prior to execution of the Second Amendment (defined below), provided for: (a) a $670,000 term loan facility that matures on August 28, 2014; (b) a delayed draw term loan facility of up to $250,000 that matures on August 28, 2014, and (c) a revolving credit facility with a $40,000 aggregate loan commitment amount available, including a $15,000 sub-facility for letters of credit and a $10,000 swingline facility, that matures on February 28, 2014. The Borrowers used the proceeds of the 2007 Credit Facility to refinance existing indebtedness and for working capital and other general corporate purposes, including, without limitation, financing acquisitions permitted under the 2007 Credit Facility. The 2007 Credit Facility is secured by a first priority security interest in: (a) all present and future capital stock or other membership, equity, ownership or profits interest of Operating and all of its direct and indirect domestic restricted subsidiaries; (b) 65% of the voting stock (and 100% of the nonvoting stock) of all present and future first-tier foreign subsidiaries; and (c) substantially all of the tangible and intangible assets of Holdco, Operating and their present and future direct and indirect domestic restricted subsidiaries. In addition, the loans and other obligations of the Borrowers under the 2007 Credit Facility are guaranteed, subject to specified limitations, by Holdco, Operating and their present and future direct and indirect domestic restricted subsidiaries.

Borrowings under the 2007 Credit Facility bear interest, at the borrower’s option, equal to the LIBOR Rate for a LIBOR Rate Loan (as defined in the 2007 Credit Facility), or the Alternate Base Rate for an Alternate Base Rate Loan (as defined in the 2007 Credit Facility), plus an applicable margin. The applicable margin for the LIBOR Rate term loans and Alternate Base Rate term loans, as amended by the First Amendment (defined below), are 2.00% and 1.00%, respectively. The applicable margin for revolving loans is adjusted quarterly based upon Holdco’s Total Leverage (defined as the ratio of Holdco’s Consolidated Indebtedness (as defined in the 2007 Credit Facility) on the last day of the preceding quarter to Consolidated EBITDA (as defined in the 2007 Credit Facility) for the four fiscal quarters ending on the date of determination). The applicable margin ranges from 1.50% to 2.00%, in the case of LIBOR Rate Loans and, 0.50% to 1.00% in the case of Alternate Base Rate Loans. Under the revolving credit facility, GateHouse Media will also pay a quarterly commitment fee on the unused portion of the revolving credit facility ranging from 0.25% to 0.50% based on the same ratio of Consolidated Indebtedness to Consolidated EBITDA and a quarterly fee equal to the applicable margin for LIBOR Rate Loans on the aggregate amount of outstanding letters of credit. In addition, GateHouse Media will be required to pay a ticking fee at the rate of 0.50% of the aggregate unfunded amount available to be borrowed under the delayed draw term facility.

No principal payments are due on the term loan facilities or the revolving credit facility until the applicable maturity date. The Borrowers are required to prepay borrowings under the term loan facilities in an amount equal to 50.0% of Holdco’s Excess Cash Flow (as defined in the 2007 Credit Facility) earned during the previous fiscal year, except that no prepayments are required if the Total Leverage Ratio (as defined in the 2007 Credit Facility) is less than or equal to 6.0 to 1.0 at the end of such fiscal year. In addition, the Borrowers are required to prepay borrowings under the term loan facilities with asset disposition proceeds in excess of specified amounts to the extent necessary to cause Holdco’s Total Leverage Ratio to be less than or equal to 6.25 to 1.00, and with cash insurance proceeds and condemnation or expropriation awards, in excess of specified amounts, subject, in each case, to reinvestment rights. The Borrowers are required to prepay borrowings under the term loan facilities with the net proceeds of equity issuances by GateHouse Media in an amount equal to the lesser of (a) the amount by which 50.0% of the net cash proceeds exceeds the amount (if any) required to repay any credit facilities of

 

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GateHouse Media or (b) the amount of proceeds required to reduce Holdco’s Total Leverage Ratio to 6.0 to 1.0. The Borrowers are also required to prepay borrowings under the term loan facilities with 100% of the proceeds of debt issuances (with specified exceptions), except that no prepayment is required if Holdco’s Total Leverage Ratio is less than 6.0 to 1.0. If the term loan facilities have been paid in full, mandatory prepayments are applied to the repayment of borrowings under the swingline facility and revolving credit facilities and the cash collateralization of letters of credit.

The 2007 Credit Facility contains a financial covenant that requires Holdco to maintain a Total Leverage Ratio of less than or equal to 6.5 to 1.0 at any time an extension of credit is outstanding under the revolving credit facility. The 2007 Credit Facility contains affirmative and negative covenants applicable to Holdco, Operating and their restricted subsidiaries customarily found in loan agreements for similar transactions, including restrictions on their ability to incur indebtedness (which GateHouse Media is generally permitted to incur so long as it satisfies an incurrence test that requires it to maintain a pro forma Total Leverage Ratio of less than 6.5 to 1.0), create liens on assets, engage in certain lines of business, engage in mergers or consolidations, dispose of assets, make investments or acquisitions, engage in transactions with affiliates, enter into sale leaseback transactions, enter into negative pledges or pay dividends or make other restricted payments, except that Holdco is permitted to (a) make restricted payments (including quarterly dividends) so long as, after giving effect to any such restricted payment, Holdco and its subsidiaries have a Fixed Charge Coverage Ratio (as defined in the 2007 Credit Facility) equal to or greater than 1.0 to 1.0 and would be able to incur an additional $1.00 of debt under the incurrence test referred to above and (b) make restricted payments of proceeds of asset dispositions to GateHouse Media to the extent such proceeds are not required to prepay loans under the 2007 Credit Facility and/or cash collateralize letter of credit obligations and such proceeds are used to prepay borrowings under acquisition credit facilities of GateHouse Media. The 2007 Credit Facility also permits the borrowers, in certain limited circumstances, to designate subsidiaries as “unrestricted subsidiaries” which are not subject to the covenant restrictions in the 2007 Credit Facility. The 2007 Credit Facility contains customary events of default, including defaults based on a failure to pay principal, reimbursement obligations, interest, fees or other obligations, subject to specified grace periods; any material inaccuracy of a representation or warranty; breach of covenant; failure to pay other indebtedness and cross-accelerations; a Change of Control (as defined in the 2007 Credit Facility); events of bankruptcy and insolvency; material judgments; failure to meet certain requirements with respect to ERISA; and impairment of collateral. There were no extensions of credit outstanding under the revolving credit portion of the facility at September 29, 2013 and, therefore, the Company was not required to be in compliance with the Total Leverage Ratio covenant at such time.

First Amendment to 2007 Credit Facility

On May 7, 2007, the Borrowers entered into the First Amendment to the 2007 Credit Facility (“the First Amendment”). The First Amendment provided an incremental term loan facility under the 2007 Credit Facility in the amount of $275,000. As amended by the First Amendment, the 2007 Credit Facility includes $1,195,000 of term loan facilities and $40,000 of a revolving credit facility. The incremental term loan facility amortizes at the same rate and matures on the same date as the existing term loan facilities under the 2007 Credit Facility. Interest on the incremental term loan facility accrues at a rate per annum equal to, at the option of the borrower, (a) adjusted LIBOR plus a margin equal to (i) 2.00%, if the corporate family ratings and corporate credit ratings of Operating by Moody’s Investors Service Inc. and Standard & Poor’s Rating Services, are at least B1, and B+, respectively, in each case with stable outlook or (ii) 2.25%, otherwise, as was the case as of September 29, 2013, or (b) the greater of the prime rate set by Wells Fargo Bank, or the federal funds effective rate plus 0.50%, plus a margin 1.00% lower than that applicable to adjusted LIBOR-based loans. Any voluntary or mandatory repayment of the First Amendment term loans made with the proceeds of a new term loan entered into for the primary purpose of benefiting from a margin that is less than the margin applicable as a result of the First Amendment will be subject to a 1.00% prepayment premium. The First Amendment term loans are subject to a “most favored nation” interest provision that grants the First Amendment term loans an interest rate margin that is 0.25% less than the highest margin of any future term loan borrowings under the 2007 Credit Facility.

 

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As previously noted, the First Amendment also modified the interest rates applicable to the term loans under the 2007 Credit Facility. Term loans thereunder accrue interest at a rate per annum equal to, at the option of the Borrower, (a) adjusted LIBOR plus a margin equal to 2.00% or (b) the greater of the prime rate set by Wells Fargo Bank, or the federal funds effective rate plus 0.50%, plus a margin equal to 1.00%. The terms of the previously outstanding borrowings were also modified to include a 1.00% prepayment premium corresponding to the prepayment premium applicable to the First Amendment term loans and a corresponding “most favored nation” interest provision.

Second Amendment to 2007 Credit Facility

On February 3, 2009, the Company entered into the Second Amendment to the 2007 Credit Facility (the “Second Amendment”).

Among other things, the Second Amendment reduced the aggregate principal amounts available under the 2007 Credit Facility, as follows: (a) for revolving loans, from $40,000 to $20,000; (b) for the letter of credit subfacility, from $15,000 to $5,000; and (c) for the swingline loan subfacility, from $10,000 to $5,000.

In addition, the Second Amendment provides that Holdco may not incur additional term debt under the 2007 Credit Facility unless the Senior Secured Incurrence Test (as defined in the Second Amendment) is less than 4.00 to 1.00 and the current Incurrence Test (as defined in the Second Amendment) is satisfied.

Agency Amendment to 2007 Credit Facility

On April 1, 2011, the Borrowers entered into an Agency Succession and Amendment Agreement, dated as of March 30, 2011, to the 2007 Credit Facility (the “Agency Amendment”).

Pursuant to the Agency Amendment, among other things, (a) Wells Fargo Bank resigned as administrative agent and (b) Gleacher Products Corp. was appointed as administrative agent. In addition, the Agency Amendment effected certain amendments to the 2007 Credit Facility that provide that (x) the administrative agent need not be a lender under the 2007 Credit Facility and (y) the lenders holding a majority of the outstanding term loans and loan commitments under the 2007 Credit Facility have (i) the right, in their discretion, to remove the administrative agent and (ii) the right to make certain decisions and exercise certain powers under the 2007 Credit Facility that had previously been within the discretion of the administrative agent.

Fourth Amendment to 2007 Credit Facility

On September 4, 2013, the Company entered into the Fourth Amendment to the Credit Facility (the “Fourth Amendment”). Pursuant to the terms of the Fourth Amendment, the Company obtained the following improvement in terms: a clarified and expanded definition of “Eligible Assignee”; an increase in the base amount in the formula used to calculate the “Permitted Investments” basket from $35,000 to a base of $50,000; the removal of the requirement that the Company’s annual financial statements not have a “going concern” or like qualification to the audit; the removal of a cross default from any Secured Hedging Agreement to the 2007 Credit Facility; the removal of a Bankruptcy Default, as defined therein, arising from actions in furtherance of or indicating consent to the specified actions; and a waiver of any prior Default or Event of Default, as defined therein.

In consideration of the changes described above, the Company agreed to pay each of the lenders party to the Fourth Amendment that timely executed and delivered its signature to the Fourth Amendment and the RSA, an amendment fee equal to 3.5% multiplied by the aggregate outstanding amount of the Loans held (including through trades pending settlement) by such lender, unless waived in writing. Newcastle and certain other lenders elected to waive their amendment fee pursuant to the Fourth Amendment. Newcastle indemnified other Lenders with respect to their entry into the Fourth Amendment, subject to the limitations set forth in the Fourth Amendment for a total amendment fee paid of approximately $6,790.

 

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2007 Credit Facility Excess Cash Flow Payment and Outstanding Balance

As required by the 2007 Credit Facility, as amended, on March 26, 2013 and March 15, 2012, the Company made principal payments of $6,648 and $4,600, respectively, which represented 50% of the Excess Cash Flow related to the fiscal years ended December 30, 2012 and January 1, 2012, respectively. As of September 29, 2013, a total of $1,167,450 was outstanding under the 2007 Credit Facility: $654,554 was outstanding under the term loan facility, $244,236 was outstanding under the delayed draw term loan facility, $268,660 was outstanding under the incremental term loan facility and no amounts were outstanding under the revolving credit facility.

Local Media Credit Facility

On August 27, 2013, the Company entered into the Local Media Management Agreement with Local Media Parent. Pursuant to the Local Media Management Agreement, the Company manages the business conducted by Local Media and its subsidiaries, as well as the day-to-day operations of Local Media and its subsidiaries. The Company determined that Local Media is a VIE with the Company having control as a primary beneficiary. As a result of such determination, as of September 3, 2013 the Company is required to consolidate the results of the Local Media with the Company’s results. The Company does not have any equity interest in Local Media.

Certain of Local Media’s subsidiaries (together, the “Borrowers”) and Local Media entered into a Credit Agreement, dated as of September 3, 2013, with a syndicate of financial institutions with Credit Suisse AG, Cayman Islands Branch, as administrative agent (the “Local Media Credit Facility”).

The Local Media Credit Facility provided for: (a) a $33,000 term loan facility that matures on September 4, 2018; and (b) a $10,000 revolving credit facility (subject to the activation condition that Credit Suisse Loan Funding LLC, as lead arranger, assigns the revolving loan commitment to an unaffiliated lender), with a $3,000 sub-facility for letters of credit and a $4,000 sub-facility for swing loans, that matures on September 4, 2018. The revolving credit facility was activated on October 25, 2013. The Borrowers used the proceeds of the Local Media Credit Facility to (a) fund a portion of the acquisition of Dow Jones Local Media Group, Inc., a Delaware corporation (the “Local Media Acquisition”), (b) provide for working capital and other general corporate purposes of the Borrowers and (c) fund certain fees, costs and expenses associated with the transactions contemplated by the Local Media Credit Facility and consummation of the Local Media Acquisition. The Local Media Credit Facility is secured by a first priority security interest in all assets of the Borrowers and Local Media. In addition, the loans and other obligations of the Borrowers under the Local Media Credit Facility are guaranteed by Local Media LLC.

Borrowings under the Local Media Credit Facility bear interest, at the borrower’s option, equal to the LIBOR Rate (as defined in the Local Media Credit Facility) plus 6.5% per annum for a LIBOR Rate Loan (as defined in the Local Media Credit Facility), or the Base Rate (as defined in the Local Media Credit Facility) plus 5.5% per annum for a Base Rate Loan (as defined in the Local Media Credit Facility). Under the revolving credit facility, the Borrowers will also pay a monthly commitment fee of 0.75% per annum on the unused portion of the revolving credit facility and a fee of 6.0% on the aggregate amount of outstanding letters of credit.

No principal payments are due on the revolving credit facility until the maturity date. Principal payments are due on the term loan facility as follows: (a) $203 at the end of each fiscal quarter beginning with the fiscal quarter ending December 31, 2013 until the fiscal quarter ending September 30, 2015; and (b) $406 beginning with the fiscal quarter ending December 31, 2015 and at the end of each fiscal quarter thereafter. The Borrowers are required to prepay borrowings under the Local Media Credit Facility in an amount equal to: (i) 100% of Excess Cash Flow (as defined in the Local Media Credit Facility) earned during the any fiscal quarter if the Leverage Ratio (as defined in the Local Media Credit Facility) of Local Media and the Borrowers as of the end of such fiscal quarter was greater than or equal to 2.0 to 1.0; (ii) 50% of Excess Cash Flow earned during the any fiscal quarter if the Leverage Ratio of Local Media and the Borrowers as of the end of such fiscal quarter was

 

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less than 2.0 to 1.0 and greater than or equal to 1.75 to 1.0; and (iii) 0% of Excess Cash Flow earned during the any fiscal quarter if the Leverage Ratio of Local Media and the Borrowers as of the end of such fiscal quarter was less than 1.75 to 1.0, in each case subject to an annual audit adjustment. In addition, the Borrowers are required to prepay borrowings under the Local Media Credit Facility with (A) net cash proceeds of asset dispositions, (B) 100% of Extraordinary Receipts (as defined in the Local Media Credit Facility), (C) net cash proceeds of funded indebtedness (other than indebtedness permitted by the Local Media Credit Facility); and (D) 100% of all Specified Equity Contributions (as defined in the Local Media Credit Facility) to Local Media.

The Local Media Credit Facility contains financial covenants that require Local Media and the Borrowers to maintain (a) a Leverage Ratio of not more than 2.5 to 1.0 and a Fixed Charge Coverage Ratio (as defined in the Local Media Credit Facility) of at least 2.0 to 1.0, each measured at the end of each fiscal quarter for the four-quarter period then ended. The Local Media Credit Facility contains affirmative and negative covenants applicable to Local Media and the Borrowers customarily found in loan agreements for similar transactions, including, but not limited to, restrictions on their ability to incur indebtedness, create liens on assets, engage in certain lines of business, engage in mergers or consolidations, dispose of assets, make investments or acquisitions, engage in transactions with affiliates, pay dividends or make other restricted payments. The Local Media Credit Facility contains customary events of default, including, but not limited to, defaults based on a failure to pay principal, reimbursement obligations, interest, fees or other obligations, subject to specified grace periods; any material inaccuracy of a representation or warranty; breach of covenant; failure to pay other indebtedness; a Change of Control (as defined in the Local Media Credit Facility); events of bankruptcy and insolvency; material judgments; failure to meet certain requirements with respect to ERISA; and impairment of collateral. As of September 29, 2013 Local Media was in compliance with the applicable covenants.

Compliance with Covenants

As of September 29, 2013, Local Media is in compliance with all of the covenants and obligations under the Local Media Credit Facility. The revolving credit facility was activated on October 25, 2013.

Bankruptcy or Receivership

On September 27, 2013, the Debtors commenced voluntary chapter 11 proceedings (the “Chapter 11 Cases”) under the Bankruptcy Code in the Bankruptcy Court. Concurrently with the commencement of the Chapter 11 Cases, the Debtors have filed and requested confirmation of the Plan.

The Debtors solicited votes of holders of claims under the 2007 Credit Facility and certain interest rate swaps secured thereunder (collectively, the “Secured Debt), including certain affiliates of the Debtors. The Plan was accepted by the only impaired class of creditors entitled to vote on the Plan. Specifically, 79 out of the 80 holders of Secured Debt entitled to vote holding an aggregate amount of $1,199,317 (representing 99.99% of the total Secured Debt) voted to accept the Plan. No creditors voted to reject the Plan.

Pension, trade and all other unsecured claims of the Company would not be impaired under the Plan and their votes were not solicited. The Company’s common stock would be canceled under the Plan.

Pursuant to a support agreement executed by the administrative agent and lenders constituting the “Required Lenders” under the 2007 Credit Facility, the parties thereto have agreed that the commencement of the Chapter 11 Cases in furtherance of the Debtors’ obligations under the support agreement shall not be deemed to constitute a default under the 2007 Credit Facility. Absent such agreement, the commencement of the Chapter 11 Cases would have constituted an event of default under the 2007 Credit Facility. On November 6, 2013 the Bankruptcy Court held a hearing and entered the Confirmation Order confirming the Plan

The Debtors intend to continue to operate their businesses without interruption as “debtors-in-possession” under the jurisdiction of the Bankruptcy Court and in accordance with the applicable provisions of the

 

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Bankruptcy Code and the orders of the Bankruptcy Court. Pursuant to the Plan, the Debtors do not need, nor intend to obtain debtor-in-possession (DIP) financing during the Chapter 11 Cases. The Bankruptcy Court confirmed the plan on November 6, 2013.

Fair Value

The Company’s long-term debt is recorded at cost and is not actively traded. As of September 29, 2013, the fair value of the Company’s long-term debt under the 2007 Credit Facility was estimated at approximately $467,850. The Company’s fair value estimate is based on the allowed claims presented to the Bankruptcy Court multiplied by the 40% Cash-Out Offer. The 40% Cash-Out Offer price, using allowed claim amounts, was determined by management to represent the current price a market participant would be willing to pay to transfer the underlying liability at the measurement date because of the very short amount of time between the measurement date and the Cash-Out Offer settlement date. The Company’s long-term debt under the 2007 Credit Facility is classified within Level 3 of the fair value hierarchy.

The fair value of long-term debt under the Local Media Credit Facility was estimated at $33,000 as of September 29, 2013, based on discounted future contractual cash flows and a market interest rate adjusted for necessary risks, including the Company’s own credit risk as there are no rates currently observable in publically traded debt markets of risk with similar terms and average maturities. Accordingly, the Company’s long term debt under the Local Media Credit Facility is classified within Level 3 of the fair value hierarchy.

Payment Schedule

As of September 29, 2013, scheduled principal payments of outstanding debt are as follows:

 

2013

     —     

2014

     1,168,263   

2015

     812   

2016

     2,031   

2017

     1,625   

2018

     27,719   
  

 

 

 
   $ 1,200,450   

Less: Short-term debt

     609   

Less: Short-term debt, liabilities subject to compromise

     1,167,450   
  

 

 

 

Long-Term Debt

   $ 32,391   
  

 

 

 

(11) Derivative Instruments

The Company uses certain derivative financial instruments to hedge the aggregate risk of interest rate fluctuations with respect to its long-term debt, which requires payments based on a variable interest rate index. These risks include: increases in debt rates above the earnings of the encumbered assets, increases in debt rates resulting in the failure of certain debt ratio covenants, increases in debt rates such that assets can no longer be refinanced, and earnings volatility.

In order to reduce such risks, the Company primarily uses interest rate swap agreements to change floating-rate long-term debt to fixed-rate long-term debt. This type of hedge is intended to qualify as a “cash-flow hedge” under FASB ASC Topic 815, “Derivatives and Hedging” (“ASC 815”). For these instruments, the effective portion of the change in the fair value of the derivative is recorded in accumulated other comprehensive loss in the Condensed Consolidated Statement of Stockholders’ Equity (Deficit) and recognized in the Condensed Consolidated Statement of Operations and Comprehensive Income (Loss) in the same period in which the hedged transaction impacts earnings. The ineffective portion of the change in the fair value of the derivative is immediately recognized in earnings.

 

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The reorganization process resulted in the hedging relationship being discontinued as it was not probable that the forecasted transaction will occur according to the original strategy, any related amounts previously recorded in accumulated other comprehensive income (loss), net were recognized into earnings in the nine months ended September 29, 2013. The derivative liability balances have been classified as liabilities subject to compromise and are reflected at their fair value at the amount of, the anticipated allowed claim. The remaining amount of other comprehensive income, $16,011 net of $10,302 of tax, was recognized through earnings as of September 27, 2013 and $26,313 was classified as interest expense.

Fair Values of Derivative Instruments

 

    

Liability Derivatives

 
    

September 29, 2013

    

December 30, 2012

 
    

Balance Sheet Location

   Fair
Value
    

Balance Sheet Location

   Fair
Value
 

Derivative designed as hedging instruments under ASC 815

           

Interest rate swaps

   Liabilities Subject to Compromise    $ 28,440       Derivative Instruments    $ 45,724   
     

 

 

       

 

 

 

Total derivatives

      $ 28,440          $ 45,724   
     

 

 

       

 

 

 

The Effect of Derivative Instruments on the Statement of Operations and Comprehensive Income (Loss)

for the Three Months Ended September 29, 2013 and September 30, 2012

 

Derivatives in ASC 815
Cash Flow Hedging
Relationships

  

Location of Gain or (Loss) Recognized

in Income on Derivative

   Amount of Gain or (Loss)
Recognized in Income on Derivative
 
      2013     2012  

Interest rate swaps

   Gain (loss) on derivative instruments    $ (4   $ (5

 

Derivatives in

ASC 815 Cash

Flow Hedging

Relationships

  Amount of
Gain or (Loss)
Recognized in
Other Comprehensive
Income (“OCI”)

on Derivative
(Effective Portion)
   

Location of Gain or
(Loss) Reclassified
from Accumulated
OCI into Income
(Effective Portion)

  Amount of Gain or
(Loss) Reclassified
from Accumulated
OCI into Income
(Effective Portion)
   

Location of Gain or
(Loss) Recognized
in Income on
Derivative
(Ineffective Portion
and Amount
Excluded from
Effectiveness
Testing)

  Amount of
Gain or (Loss)
Recognized in
Income on Derivative
(Ineffective  Portion
in 2012 and

Discontinuation of
Hedge Relationships
in 2013) (1)
 
      2013             2012               2013             2012               2013             2012      

Interest rate swaps

  $ 4,659      $ 3,268     

Interest

income/(expense)

  $ 31,684      $ 7,560     

Gain (loss) on

derivative

instruments

    $(4)        $(5)   
     

Income tax

benefit

  $ (10,302   $ —       

Reorganization

items, net

  $ (2,041   $ —     

The Effect of Derivative Instruments on the Statement of Operations for the Nine Months Ended September 29, 2013 and September 30, 2012

 

Derivatives in ASC 815
Cash Flow Hedging
Relationship

  

Location of Gain or (Loss) Recognized

in Income on Derivative

   Amount of Gain or (Loss)
Recognized in Income on Derivative
 
          2013             2012      

Interest rate swaps

   Gain (loss) on derivative instruments    $ (14   $ 1,639   

 

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Derivatives in

ASC 815 Cash
Flow Hedging
Relationships

  Amount of
Gain or (Loss)
Recognized in

OCI on Derivative
(Effective Portion)
   

Location of Gain or
(Loss) Reclassified
from Accumulated
OCI into Income
(Effective Portion)

  Amount of Gain or
(Loss) Reclassified
from Accumulated
OCI into Income
(Effective Portion)
   

Location of Gain or
(Loss) Recognized
in Income on
Derivative
(Ineffective Portion
and Amount
Excluded from
Effectiveness
Testing)

  Amount of
Gain or (Loss)
Recognized in
Income on Derivative
(Ineffective Portion
in 2012 and
Discontinuation of
Hedge Relationships
in 2013)
 
      2013             2012               2013             2012               2013             2012      

Interest rate swaps

  $ 19,339      $ 3,234     

Interest

income/

(expense)

  $ 46,760      $ 21,000     

Gain (loss) on

derivative

instruments

    $(14)      $ 25   
     

Income tax

benefit

  $ (10,302   $ —       

Reorganization

items, net

  $ (2,041   $ —     

 

(1) During the quarter ended September 29, 2013, the Company recognized $2,041 in reorganization items, net to adjust the fair value of derivatives to the allowed claim.

On June 23, 2005, the Company entered into and designated an interest rate swap based on a notional amount of $300,000, which matured in June 2012, as a cash flow hedge. Under the swap agreement, the Company received interest equivalent to one month LIBOR and pays a fixed rate of 4.135%, with settlements occurring monthly. On February 20, 2006, the Company redesignated the same interest rate swap as a cash flow hedge for accounting purposes. At December 31, 2006, the swap no longer qualified as an effective hedge. Therefore, the balance in accumulated other comprehensive income has been reclassified into earnings over the life of the hedged item. On January 1, 2007, the Company redesignated the same interest rate swap as a cash flow hedge for accounting purposes. On August 18, 2008, the Company terminated the swap and entered into a settlement agreement with Goldman Sachs in the aggregate amount of $18,947, which also includes the termination of the swap having a notional value of $270,000. The balance in accumulated other comprehensive income was reclassified into earnings over the remaining life of the item previously hedged. As of September 29, 2013, all amounts in accumulated other comprehensive income have been reclassified into earnings.

In connection with financing obtained in 2006, the Company entered into and designated an interest rate swap based on a notional amount of $270,000, which matured in July 2011, as a cash flow hedge. Under the swap agreement, the Company received interest equivalent to one month LIBOR and paid a fixed rate of 5.359%, with settlements occurring monthly. On January 1, 2007, the swap was redesignated. Therefore, the balance in accumulated other comprehensive income has been reclassified into earnings over the life of the hedged item. On August 18, 2008, the Company terminated the swap and entered into a settlement agreement with Goldman Sachs in the aggregate amount of $18,947 which also includes the termination of the swap having a notional value of $300,000. The balance in accumulated other comprehensive income was reclassified into earnings over the remaining life of the item previously hedged. As of September 29, 2013, all amounts in accumulated other comprehensive income have been reclassified into earnings.

In connection with the 2007 Credit Facility, the Company entered into and designated an interest rate swap based on a notional amount of $100,000 maturing September 2014, as a cash flow hedge. Under the swap agreement, the Company receives interest equivalent to one month LIBOR and pays a fixed rate of 5.14%, with settlements occurring monthly. During the three months ended September 29, 2013, the fair value of the swap increased by $434, of which $0 was recognized through earnings, an increase $765 was recognized through accumulated other comprehensive income, and a decrease of $331 was recognized in reorganization items. During the nine months ended September 29, 2013, the fair value of the swap increased by $2,835, of which $0 was recognized through earnings, an increase of $3,166 was recognized through accumulated other comprehensive income, and a decrease of $331 was recognized in reorganization items.

In connection with the 2007 Credit Facility, the Company entered into and designated an interest rate swap based on a notional amount of $250,000 maturing September 2014, as a cash flow hedge. Under the swap

 

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agreement, the Company receives interest equivalent to one month LIBOR and pays a fixed rate of 4.971%, with settlements occurring monthly. During the three months ended September 29, 2013, the fair value of the swap increased by $1,043, of which an increase of $1 was recognized through earnings, an increase of $1,842 was recognized through accumulated other comprehensive income, and a decrease of $800 was recognized in reorganization items. During the nine months ended September 29, 2013, the fair value of the swap increased by $6,837, of which an increase of $2 was recognized through earnings, an increase of $7,635 was recognized through accumulated other comprehensive income, and a decrease of $800 was recognized in reorganization items.

In connection with the First Amendment to the 2007 Credit Facility, the Company entered into and designated an interest rate swap based on a notional amount of $200,000 maturing September 2014, as a cash flow hedge. Under the swap agreement, the Company receives interest equivalent to one month LIBOR and pays a fixed rate of 5.079% with settlements occurring monthly. During the three months ended September 29, 2013, the fair value of the swap increased by $855, of which a decrease of $5 was recognized through earnings, an increase of $1,515 was recognized through accumulated other comprehensive income, and a decrease of $655 was recognized in reorganization items. During the nine months ended September 29, 2013, the fair value of the swap increased by $5,597, of which a decrease of $16 was recognized through earnings, an increase of $6,268 was recognized through accumulated other comprehensive income, and a decrease of $655 was recognized in reorganization items.

In connection with the First Amendment to the 2007 Credit Facility, the Company entered into and designated an interest rate swap based on a notional amount of $75,000 maturing September 2014, as a cash flow hedge. Under the swap agreement, the Company receives interest equivalent to one month LIBOR and pays a fixed rate of 4.941% with settlements occurring monthly. During the three months ended September 29, 2013, the fair value of the swap increased by $281, of which $0 was recognized through earnings, an increase of $536 was recognized through accumulated other comprehensive income, and a decrease of $255 was recognized in reorganization items. During the nine months ended September 29, 2013, the fair value of the swap increased by $2,015, of which $0 was recognized through earnings, an increase of $2,270 was recognized through accumulated other comprehensive income, and a decrease of $255 was recognized in reorganization items.

The aggregate amount of unrealized loss related to derivative instruments recognized in other comprehensive loss as of September 29, 2013 and September 30, 2012 was $0 and $51,517, respectively.

(12) Related Party Transactions

Fortress Investment Group, LLC

On May 9, 2005, FIF III, FIF III Liberty Acquisitions, LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of FIF III (“Merger Subsidiary”), and the Company entered into an agreement that provided for the merger of Merger Subsidiary with and into the Company, with the Company continuing as a wholly-owned subsidiary of FIF III (the “Merger”). The Merger was completed on June 6, 2005. FIF III is an affiliate of Fortress Investment Group LLC (“Fortress”).

As of September 29, 2013, Fortress and its affiliates beneficially owned approximately 39.6% of the Company’s outstanding common stock.

In addition, the Company’s Chairman, Wesley Edens, is also the Co-Chairman of the board of directors of Fortress. The Company does not pay Mr. Edens a salary or any other form of compensation.

Affiliates of Fortress own $639,233 of the $1,167,450 outstanding under the 2007 Credit Facility, as amended, as of September 29, 2013. These amounts were purchased on arms’ length terms in secondary market transactions.

 

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On October 24, 2006, the Company entered into an Investor Rights Agreement with FIF III. The Investor Rights Agreement provides FIF III with certain rights with respect to the nomination of directors to the Company’s board of directors as well as registration rights for securities of the Company owned by Fortress.

The Investor Rights Agreement requires the Company to take all necessary or desirable action within its control to elect to its board of directors so long as Fortress beneficially owns (a) more than 50% of the voting power of the Company, four directors nominated by FIG Advisors LLC, an affiliate of Fortress (“FIG Advisors”), or such other party nominated by Fortress; (b) between 25% and 50% of the voting power of the Company, three directors nominated by FIG Advisors; (c) between 10% and 25% of the voting power of the Company, two directors nominated by FIG Advisors; and (d) between 5% and 10% of the voting power of the Company, one director nominated by FIG Advisors. In the event that any designee of FIG Advisors shall for any reason cease to serve as a member of the board of directors during his term of office, FIG Advisors will be entitled to nominate an individual to fill the resulting vacancy on the board of directors.

Pursuant to the Investor Rights Agreement, the Company has granted FIF III, for so long as it or its permitted transferees beneficially own an amount of the Company’s common stock at least equal to 5% or more of the Company’s common stock issued and outstanding immediately after the consummation of its IPO (a “Registrable Amount”), “demand” registration rights that allow FIF III at any time to request that the Company register under the Securities Act an amount equal to or greater than a Registrable Amount (as defined in the Investor Rights Agreement). FIF III is entitled to an aggregate of four demand registrations. The Company is not required to maintain the effectiveness of the registration statement for more than 60 days. The Company is also not required to effect any demand registration within nine months of a “firm commitment” underwritten offering to which the requestor held “piggyback” rights and which included at least half of the securities requested by the requestor to be included. The Company is not obligated to grant a request for a demand registration within four months of any other demand registration and may refuse a request for demand registration if, in the Company’s reasonable judgment, it is not feasible for the Company to proceed with the registration because of the unavailability of audited financial statements.

FIF III also has “piggyback” registration rights that allow FIF III to include the shares of common stock that FIF III and its permitted transferees own in any public offering of equity securities initiated by the Company (other than those public offerings pursuant to registration statements on Forms S-4 or S-8) or by any of the Company’s other stockholders that may have registration rights in the future. The “piggyback” registration rights of FIF III are subject to proportional cutbacks based on the manner of the offering and the identity of the party initiating such offering.

The Company has additionally granted FIF III and its permitted transferees for as long as Fortress beneficially owns a Registrable Amount, the right to request shelf registrations on Form S-3, providing for an offering to be made on a continuous basis, subject to a time limit on the Company’s efforts to keep the shelf registration statement continuously effective and the Company’s right to suspend the use of a shelf registration prospectus for a reasonable period of time (not exceeding 60 days in succession or 90 days in the aggregate in any 12-month period) if the Company determines that certain disclosures required by the shelf registration statement would be detrimental to the Company or the Company’s stockholders.

The Company has agreed to indemnify FIF III and its permitted transferees against any losses or damages resulting from any untrue statement or omission of material fact in any registration statement or prospectus pursuant to which FIF III and its permitted transferees sells shares of the Company’s common stock, unless such liability arose from FIF III misstatement or omission, and Parent has agreed to indemnify the Company against all losses caused by its misstatements or omissions. The Company will pay all expenses incident to registration and Fortress will pay its respective portions of all underwriting discounts, commissions and transfer taxes relating to the sale of its shares under such a registration statement.

On August 27, 2013, the Company entered into the Local Media Management Agreement with Local Media Parent, to manage the operations of Local Media. Local Media Parent is a subsidiary of Newcastle (an affiliate of Fortress).

 

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On September 4, 2013, the Company entered into a restructuring support agreement with Cortland Products Corp., as administrative agent and certain of the lenders under the Company’s 2007 Credit Facility, including Newcastle Investment Corp and its affiliates.

On September 4, 2013, Newcastle and GateHouse also entered into an Investment Commitment Letter (the “Investment Commitment Letter”), effective September 3, 2013.

The Restructuring Support Agreement and the Investment Commitment Letter relate to the restructuring (the “Restructuring”) of the obligations of GateHouse under the 2007 Credit Facility debt and under certain interest rate swaps secured thereunder (collectively, the “Outstanding Debt”) and GateHouse’s equity pursuant to a prepackaged Plan (the “Plan”) under chapter 11 of title 11 of the United States Code (the “Bankruptcy Code”).

As of the date of the Restructuring Support Agreement and the Investment Commitment Letter, Newcastle and its affiliates held approximately 52% of the principal amount currently outstanding under the 2007 Credit Facility (“Loans”), including certain amounts still pending trade settlement. Other Participating Lenders held approximately 59.8% of the remaining principal amount of the Loans (i.e., the amount excluding Loans held by Newcastle and its affiliates, approximately 48%), including certain amounts still pending trade settlement. Additional holders of Outstanding Debt may join the Restructuring Support Agreement in the future as Participating Lenders.

Pursuant to the Restructuring:

 

    Newcastle (or its designated affiliates) would offer to purchase the Outstanding Debt in cash at 40% of par (the “Cash-Out Offer”) on the effective date of the Plan (the “Effective Date”);

 

    The holders of the Outstanding Debt would have the option of receiving, in satisfaction of their Outstanding Debt, (i) the Cash-Out Offer, and/or (ii) (A) common stock in a new holding company (“New Media”) that would own the reorganized GateHouse and Local Media and (B) net cash proceeds, if any and as described below, of a potential new debt facility (the “New Debt Facility”);

 

    Newcastle would contribute its interests in Local Media, which it acquired on September 3, 2013, to New Media in exchange for common stock of New Media (“New Media Common Stock”) equal in value to the cost of the Local Media acquisition, subject to the adjustments set forth in the Restructuring Support Agreement;

 

    On account of any purchases of Outstanding Debt, Newcastle would receive a pro rata share of (a) New Media Common Stock and (b) the net proceeds, if any, of the New Debt Facility;

 

    The Company will use commercially reasonable efforts based on market conditions and other factors, to raise up to $165,000 of new debt, including a $150,000 facility to fund distributions and other payments under the Plan (the “Financing”). The distribution will be made to holders of New Media Common Stock, including Plan Sponsor (or its designated affiliates) on account of the Cash-Out Offer, on the Effective Date (the “Net Proceeds”). The Financing will not be a condition precedent to the effectiveness of the Plan;

 

    Pension, trade and all other unsecured claims of GateHouse would be unimpaired; and

Equity interests in GateHouse, including warrants, rights and options to acquire such equity interests (collectively, the “Existing Equity Interests”) would be cancelled, and the holders of Existing Equity Interests would receive 10-year warrants, collectively representing the right to acquire, in the aggregate, 5% of the common stock of New Media Common Stock (subject to dilution) as of the Effective Date, with the strike price for such warrants calculated based on a total equity value of New Media, prior to contribution of Local Media, of $1,200,000.

 

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(13) Income Taxes

The Company performs a quarterly assessment of its deferred tax assets and liabilities. FASB ASC Topic 740, “ Income Taxes ” (“ASC 740”) limits the ability to use future taxable income to support the realization of deferred tax assets when a company has experienced a history of losses even if future taxable income is supported by detailed forecasts and projections.

In assessing the realizability of deferred tax assets, the Company considers whether it is more likely than not that some portion or all of the deferred tax assets will not be realized. The ultimate realization of deferred tax assets is dependent upon the generation of future taxable income during the periods in which those temporary differences become deductible. The Company considers the scheduled reversal of deferred tax liabilities, projected future taxable income, and tax planning strategies in making this assessment. The Company concluded that during the nine months ended September 29, 2013, a net increase to the valuation allowance of $49,164 would be necessary to offset additional deferred tax assets. Of this amount, an $77,007 increase was recognized through the Condensed Consolidated Statement of Operations and Comprehensive Income (Loss), a $28,194 decrease was recognized through accumulated other comprehensive loss, and a $351 increase was recognized through discontinued operations.

The realization of the remaining deferred tax assets is primarily dependent on the scheduled reversals of deferred taxes. Any changes in the scheduled reversals of deferred taxes may require an additional valuation allowance against the remaining deferred tax assets. Any increase or decrease in the valuation allowance could result in an increase or decrease in income tax expense in the period of adjustment.

The computation of the annual expected effective tax rate at each interim period requires certain estimates and assumptions including, but not limited to, the expected operating income (loss) for the year, projections of the proportion of income (or loss), permanent and temporary differences, including the likelihood of recovering deferred tax assets generated in the current year. The accounting estimates used to compute the provision for income taxes may change as new events occur, more experience is acquired, or as additional information is obtained. To the extent that the estimated annual effective tax rate changes during a quarter, the effect of the change on prior quarters is included in tax expense for the current quarter.

For the nine months ended September 29, 2013, the expected federal tax benefit at 34% is $58,310. The difference between the expected tax and the effective benefit of $10,878 is primarily attributable to the tax effect of the federal valuation allowance of $57,931, the tax effect of the termination of derivative agreements of $(10,302), return to provision adjustments of $(540), the tax effect related to non-deductible expenses of $258, and deferred tax benefits that expired of $85.

The Company and its subsidiaries file a U.S. federal consolidated income tax return. The U.S. federal and state statute of limitations generally remains open for the 2010 tax year and beyond.

In accordance with ASC 740, the Company recognizes penalties and interest relating to uncertain tax positions in the provision for income taxes. As of September 29, 2013 and December 30, 2012, the Company had unrecognized tax benefits of approximately $4,677 and $4,677, respectively. The Company did not record significant amounts of interest and penalties related to unrecognized tax benefits for the periods ending September 29, 2013 and December 30, 2012. The Company does not expect significant changes in unrecognized tax benefits within the next 12 months.

(14) Pension and Postretirement Benefits

The Company maintains a pension plan and several postretirement medical and life insurance plans which cover certain employees. The Company uses the accrued benefit actuarial method and best estimate assumptions to determine pension costs, liabilities and other pension information for defined benefit plans.

 

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The following provides information on the pension plan and postretirement medical and life insurance plans for the three and nine months ended September 29, 2013 and September 30, 2012.

 

    Three months ended
September 29, 2013
    Three months ended
September 30, 2012
    Nine months ended
September 29, 2013
    Nine months ended
September 30, 2012
 
    Pension     Postretirement     Pension     Postretirement     Pension     Postretirement     Pension     Postretirement  

Components of net periodic benefit costs:

               

Service cost

  $ 75      $ 10      $ 50      $ 9      $ 225      $ 30      $ 150      $ 28   

Interest cost

    271        57        296        68        813        171        888        205   

Expected return on plan assets

    (340     —          (310     —          (1,020     —          (930     —     

Amortization of prior service cost

    —          (114     —          (114     —          (342     —          (342

Amortization of unrecognized loss

    131        —          92        —          393        —          276        —     
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total

  $ 137      $ (47   $ 128      $ (37   $ 411      $ (141   $ 384      $ (109
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

During the three and nine months ended September 29, 2013 and September 30, 2012, the Company recognized a total of $90, $91, $270 and $275 in pension and postretirement benefit expense, respectively.

The following assumptions were used in connection with the Company’s actuarial valuation of its defined benefit pension and postretirement plans:

 

     Pension     Postretirement  

Weighted average discount rate

     4.10     3.62

Rate of increase in future compensation levels

     —          —     

Expected return on assets

     7.5     —     

Current year trend

     —          7.7

Ultimate year trend

     —          4.8

Year of ultimate trend

     —          2022   

(15) Assets Held for Sale

As of September 29, 2013 and December 30, 2012, the Company intended to dispose of various assets which are classified as held for sale on the Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheet in accordance with ASC 360.

The following table summarizes the major classes of assets and liabilities held for sale at September 29, 2013 and December 30, 2012:

 

     September 29,
2013
     December 30,
2012
 

Long-term assets held for sale:

     

Property, plant and equipment, net

   $ 474       $ 474   
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total long-term assets held for sale

   $ 474       $ 474   
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

During the twelve months ended December 30, 2012 the Company recorded an impairment charge in the amount of $2,128 related to property, plant and equipment and certain intangible assets which were classified as held for sale, refer to Note 16 for fair value measurement discussion. No such impairment charges were recorded during the nine months ended September 29, 2013.

 

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(16) Fair Value Measurement

Fair value measurements and disclosures require the use of valuation techniques to measure fair value that maximize the use of observable inputs and minimize the use of unobservable inputs. These inputs are prioritized as follows:

 

    Level 1: Observable inputs such as quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities.

 

    Level 2: Inputs other than quoted prices included within Level 1 that are observable, either directly or indirectly, such as quoted prices for similar assets or liabilities or market corroborated inputs.

 

    Level 3: Unobservable inputs for which there is little or no market data and which require the Company to develop our own assumptions about how market participants price the asset or liability.

The valuation techniques that may be used to measure fair value are as follows:

 

    Market approach – Uses prices and other relevant information generated by market transactions involving identical or comparable assets or liabilities.

 

    Income approach – Uses valuation techniques to convert future amounts to a single present amount based on current market expectation about those future amounts.

 

    Cost approach – Based on the amount that currently would be required to replace the service capacity of an asset (replacement cost).

The following table presents financial assets and liabilities measured or disclosed at fair value on a recurring basis for the periods presented:

 

     Fair Value Maintenance at Reporting Date Using                
     Quoted Prices in
Active Markets
for Identical
Assets (Level 1)
     Significant
Other
Observable
Inputs (Level 2)
     Significant
Unobservable
Inputs (Level 3)
     Total Fair Value
Measurements
     Valuation
Technique
 

As of December 30, 2012

              

Assets:

              

Cash and cash equivalents

   $ 34,527       $ —         $ —         $ 34,527         Income   

Restricted cash

     6,467         —           —           6,467         Income   

Liabilities:

              

Derivatives (1)

   $ —         $ —         $ 45,724       $ 45,724         Income   

As of September 29, 2013

              

Assets:

              

Cash and cash equivalents

   $ 19,753       $ —         $ —         $ 19,753         Income   

Restricted cash

     6,467         —           —           6,467         Income   

Liabilities:

              

Derivatives (1)(2)

   $ —         $ —         $ 28,440       $ 28,440         Income   

 

(1) The fair value of the Company’s interest-rate swaps is determined using a discounted cash flow method and the following significant inputs: the remaining term of the swap (ranging between 11 and 11.5 months at September 29, 2013), the notional amount of the swap (ranging from $75,000 to $250,000), discount rates interpolated based on the one month LIBOR swap curves, the rate on the fixed leg of the swap (ranging from 4.94% to 5.14%), and a credit value adjustment to consider the likelihood of the Company’s nonperformance. The pricing model used is consistently applied and reflects the contractual terms of the derivatives as described above. In determining an appropriate spread to reflect its credit standing, the Company considers credit default swap pricing on debt with similar credit risks and maturities. Therefore, the Company’s interest-rate swaps are classified within Level 3 of the fair value hierarchy. An increase in the one month LIBOR and/or an increase in the credit default swap price would result in a decrease to fair value. A decrease in the one month LIBOR curve and/or a decrease in the credit default swap price would result in an increase to fair value.

 

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(2) The Company recognized $2,041 in reorganization items, net to adjust the fair value of derivatives to the allowed claim. The derivative liability is included in liabilities subject to compromise on the Consolidated Balance Sheet at the allowed claim amount of $28,440.

The following table reflects the activity of our derivative liabilities measured at fair value using significant unobservable inputs (Level 3) for the three months ended September 29, 2013:

 

     Derivative
Liabilities
 

Balance as of December 30, 2012

   $ 45,724   

Total (gains) losses, net:

  

Included in earnings

     14   

Included in other comprehensive income

     (19,339

Included in reorganization items, net

     2,041   
  

 

 

 

Balance as of September 29, 2013

   $ 28,440   
  

 

 

 

Certain assets are measured at fair value on a nonrecurring basis; that is, the instruments are not measured at fair value on an ongoing basis but are subject to fair value adjustments only in certain circumstances (for example, when there is evidence of impairment). During the quarter ended April 1, 2012, goodwill was written down to implied fair value using Level 3 inputs. The valuation techniques and significant inputs and assumptions utilized to measure fair value are discussed in Note 9.

During the quarter ended September 29, 2013, certain intangible assets were written down to their implied fair value using Level 3 inputs. The valuation techniques and significant inputs and assumptions utilized to measure fair value are discussed in Note 9. The fair value of select advertiser relationships was $19,120, subscriber relationships $5,310, customer relationships $270, trade names was $270, and publication rights was $0 at September 29, 2013.

During the quarter ended September 29, 2013, the Company consolidated the assets and liabilities of Local Media under the purchase method of accounting. Accordingly, the assets acquired and liabilities assumed were recorded at their fair value. Property plant and equipment was valued using Level 2 inputs and mastheads and goodwill were valued using Level 3 inputs. Refer to Note 5 for discussion of the valuation techniques and significant inputs and assumptions utilized and the fair value recognized.

Refer to Note 10 for the discussion on the fair value of the Company’s total long-term debt.

During the twelve months ended December 30, 2012, the Company recorded an impairment charge in the amount of $2,128 related to property, plant and equipment and certain intangible assets which were classified as held for sale. The Company used assessed values and current market data, Level 2 inputs, to determine the fair value.

(17) Commitments and Contingencies

The Company becomes involved from time to time in claims and lawsuits incidental to the ordinary course of its business, including with respect to matters such as libel, invasion of privacy, intellectual property infringement, wrongful termination actions, and complaints alleging employment discrimination. In addition, the Company is involved from time to time in governmental and administrative proceedings concerning employment, labor, environmental and other claims. Insurance coverage maintained by the Company mitigates potential loss for certain of these matters. Historically, such claims and proceedings have not had a material effect upon the Company’s condensed consolidated results of operations or financial condition. While the Company is unable to predict the ultimate outcome of any currently outstanding legal actions, it is the opinion of

 

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the Company’s management that it is a remote possibility that the disposition of these matters would have a material adverse effect upon the Company’s condensed consolidated results of operations, financial condition or cash flows.

Restricted cash at September 29, 2013 and December 30, 2012, in the aggregate amount of $6,467 for both periods, is used to collateralize standby letters of credit in the name of the Company’s insurers in accordance with certain insurance policies and as cash collateral for certain business operations.

(18) Discontinued Operations

In May 2013, the Company disposed of a non wholly owned subsidiary in Chicago, Illinois. As a result, the asset, liability and noncontrolling interest carrying amounts of this subsidiary were derecognized. A loss of $1,146 was recognized in discontinued operations.

During the nine months ended September 30, 2012, the Company entered into an agreement to sell 22 publications in Suburban Chicago, Illinois for an aggregate purchase price of approximately $2,800. As a result, an impairment loss of $1,922 is included in loss from discontinued operations on the Condensed Consolidated Statement of Operations and Comprehensive Income (Loss) for the nine months ended September 30, 2012. Additionally, an impairment loss of $206 is included in loss from discontinued operations net of income taxes on the Condensed Consolidated Statement of Operations and Comprehensive Income (Loss) for the nine months ended September 30, 2012 related to previously discontinued operations.

The net revenue during the nine months ended September 29, 2013 and September 30, 2012 for the aforementioned discontinued operations and previously discontinued operations was $394 and $8,560, respectively. Loss, net of income taxes of $0, during the nine months ended September 29, 2013 and September 30, 2012 for the aforementioned discontinued operations and previously discontinued operations was $1,034 and $2,093, respectively. The loss from discontinued operations attributable to noncontrolling interest during the nine months ended September 29, 2013 and September 30, 2012 was $55 and $410, respectively.

(19) Condensed Combined Debtor-In-Possession Financial Information

The financial statements below represent the condensed combined financial statements of the Debtors. Effective September 29, 2013, the non-debtor entities are accounted for as non-consolidated subsidiaries in the accompanying Debtor-In-Possession financial information. Local Media, a VIE that is owned entirely by Local Media Parent, is the only non-debtor entity with material financial activity. The Local Media net loss is included in “net loss attributable to noncontrolling interest” in the GateHouse Media, Inc and subsidiaries Statement of Operations and Comprehensive Income (Loss) and “noncontrolling interest” on the GateHouse Media, Inc and subsidiaries Balance Sheet.

 

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Debtors’ Balance Sheets

(In thousands, except share data)

 

     September 29,
2013
 
ASSETS   

Current assets:

  

Cash and cash equivalents

   $ 10,812   

Restricted cash

     6,467   

Accounts receivable, net of allowance for doubtful accounts of $2,306 and $2,456 at September 29, 2013 and December 30, 2012, respectively

     48,543   

Inventory

     5,437   

Prepaid expenses

     6,348   

Other current assets

     10,591   
  

 

 

 

Total current assets

     88,198   

Property, plant, and equipment, net of accumulated depreciation of $137,132 and $128,208 at September 29, 2013 and December 30, 2012, respectively

     105,839   

Goodwill

     13,742   

Intangible assets, net of accumulated amortization of $214,002 and $196,878 at September 29, 2013 and December 30, 2012, respectively

     109,784   

Deferred financing costs, net

     —     

Other assets

     1,927   

Assets held for sale

     474   
  

 

 

 

Total assets

   $ 319,964   
  

 

 

 
LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS’ DEFICIT   

Current liabilities:

  

Current portion of long-term liabilities

   $ 700   

Current portion of long-term debt

     —     

Accounts payable

     8,563   

Accrued expenses

     27,340   

Accrued interest

     —     

Deferred revenue

     24,148   
  

 

 

 

Total current liabilities

     60,751   

Long-term liabilities:

  

Long-term debt

     —     

Long-term liabilities, less current portion

     2,125   

Derivative instruments

     —     

Pension and other postretirement benefit obligations

     14,385   

Liabilities subject to compromise

     1,200,023   
  

 

 

 

Total liabilities

     1,277,284   
  

 

 

 

Stockholders’ deficit:

  

Common stock, $0.01 par value, 150,000,000 shares authorized at September 29, 2013 and December 30, 2012; 58,313,868 issued and 58,077,031 outstanding at September 29, 2013 and December 30, 2012

     568   

Additional paid-in capital

     831,369   

Accumulated other comprehensive loss

     (17,241

Accumulated deficit

     (1,771,706

Treasury stock, at cost, 236,837 shares at September 29, 2013 and December 30, 2012

     (310
  

 

 

 

Total GateHouse Media stockholders’ deficit

     (957,320

Noncontrolling interest

     —     
  

 

 

 

Total stockholders’ deficit

     (957,320
  

 

 

 

Total liabilities and stockholders’ deficit

   $ 319,964   
  

 

 

 

 

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Debtors’ Statements of Operations and Comprehensive Income (Loss)

(In thousands, except share and per share data)

 

     Three months
ended
September 29,
2013
    Nine months
ended
September 29,
2013
 

Revenues:

    

Advertising

   $ 73,180      $ 223,740   

Circulation

     33,147        98,660   

Commercial printing and other

     7,716        21,823   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total revenues

     114,043        344,223   

Operating costs and expenses:

    

Operating costs

     62,930        192,928   

Selling, general, and administrative

     38,200        116,922   

Depreciation and amortization

     9,802        29,438   

Integration and reorganization costs

     422        1,380   

Impairment of long-lived assets

     91,599        91,599   

Loss on sale of assets

     10        1,053   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Operating income (loss)

     (88,920     (89,097

Interest expense

     40,442        69,327   

Amortization of deferred financing costs

     249        772   

(Gain) loss on derivative instruments

     4        14   

Other (income) expense

     (4     1,004   

Reorganization items, net

     9,843        9,843   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Loss from continuing operations before income taxes

     (139,454     (170,057

Income tax benefit

     (10,302     (10,302
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Loss from continuing operations

     (129,152     (159,755

Loss from discontinued operations, net of income taxes

     —          (1,034
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net loss

     (129,152     (160,789
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Loss per share:

    

Basic and diluted:

    

Loss from continuing operations attributable to GateHouse Media

   $ (2.22   $ (2.75

Loss from discontinued operations, attributable to GateHouse Media, net of income taxes

     —          (0.02
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net loss attributable to GateHouse Media

   $ (2.22   $ (2.77

Basic weighted average shares outstanding

     58,077,031        58,068,277   

Diluted weighted average shares outstanding

     58,077,031        58,068,277   

Comprehensive loss

   $ (108,465   $ (125,388

 

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Debtors’ Statement of Stockholders’ Equity (Deficit)

(In thousands, except share data)

 

   

 

Common stock

    Additional
paid-in

capital
    Accumulated
other
comprehensive

loss
    Accumulated
deficit
   

 

Treasury stock

    Non-controlling
interest in

subsidiary
    Total  
    Shares     Amount           Shares     Amount      

Balance at December 31, 2012

    58,313,868      $ 568      $ 831,344      $ (52,642   $ (1,610,917     236,837      $ (310   $ (2,202   $ (834,159

Net loss

    —          —          —          —          (160,789     —          —          —          (160,789

Gain on derivative instruments, net of income taxes of $0

    —          —          —          19,339        —          —          —          —          19,339   

Reclassification of accumulated other comprehensive loss related to derivative instruments, net of income taxes of $10,302

    —          —          —          16,011        —          —          —          —          16,011   

Net actuarial loss and prior service cost, net of income taxes of $0

    —          —          —          51        —          —          —          —          51   

Disposal of non wholly owned subsidiary

    —          —          —          —          —          —          —          2,202        2,202   

Non-cash compensation expense

    —          —          25        —          —          —          —          —          25   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Balance at September 29, 2013

    58,313,868      $ 568      $ 831,369      $ (17,241   $ (1,771,706     236,837      $ (310   $ —        $ (957,320
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

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Debtors’ Statements of Cash Flows

(In thousands)

 

     Nine months
ended
September 29,
2013
 

Cash flows from operating activities:

  

Net loss

   $ (160,789

Adjustments to reconcile net loss to net cash provided by operating activities:

  

Depreciation and amortization

     29,495   

Amortization of deferred financing costs

     771   

(Gain) loss on derivative instruments

     14   

Non-cash compensation expense

     25   

Non-cash reorganization items, net

     2,989   

Non-cash interest expense related to unrealized losses upon dedesignation of cash flow hedges

     26,313   

Tax effect of the termination of derivative agreements

     (10,302

Loss on sale of assets

     2,208   

Pension and other postretirement benefit obligations

     (820

Impairment of long-lived assets

     91,599   

Goodwill impairment

     —     

Changes in assets and liabilities:

  

Accounts receivable, net

     5,778   

Inventory

     582   

Prepaid expenses

     (587

Other assets

     (1,860

Accounts payable

     (97

Accrued expenses

     1,514   

Accrued interest

     (526

Deferred revenue

     (723

Other long-term liabilities

     (152
  

 

 

 

Net cash (used in) provided by operating activities

     (14,568
  

 

 

 

Cash flows from investing activities:

  

Purchases of property, plant, and equipment

     (3,242

Proceeds from sale of assets and insurance

     743   
  

 

 

 

Net cash used in investing activities

     (2,499
  

 

 

 

Cash flows from financing activities:

  

Repayments under current portion of long-term debt

     (6,648
  

 

 

 

Net cash used in financing activities

     (6,648
  

 

 

 

Net (decrease) increase in cash and cash equivalents

     (23,715

Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of period

     34,527   
  

 

 

 

Cash and cash equivalents at end of period

   $ 10,812   
  

 

 

 

The following table reflects pre-petition liabilities that are subject to compromise for the Debtors:

 

     As of
September 29,
2013
 

Accrued interest

   $ 4,133   

Long-term debt

     1,167,450   

Derivative instruments

     28,440   
  

 

 

 

Liabilities subject to compromise

   $ 1,200,023   
  

 

 

 

 

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(20) Subsequent Event – New Credit Facilities

On November 26, 2013, the Company entered into $165 million financing facilities consisting of a $40,000 revolving credit facility, a $25,000 term loan A and a $50,000 term loan B (collectively referred to as the “First Lien Credit Facility”) and $50,000 second lien term loan credit facility (referred to as the “Second Lien Credit Facility”) (all collectively referred to as the “New Credit Facilities”). Principal amounts outstanding under term loan A and term loan B of the First Lien Credit Facility will be payable in quarterly installments as follows: (I) four consecutive quarterly installments each in the amount of $875, commencing on January 1, 2014, (II) four consecutive quarterly installments each in the amount of $1,250, commencing on January 1, 2015, and (III) twelve consecutive quarterly installments each in the amount $2,000, commencing on January 1, 2016, followed by a final payment of all unpaid principal, accrued and unpaid interest and all unpaid fees and expenses which will be fully due and payable on November 26, 2018. The principal payments will be applied against term loan A until fully paid, and then to term loan B. The outstanding principal of the Second Lien Credit Facility will be fully due and payable on the maturity date of November 26, 2019. Only interest payments are due under the Second Lien Credit Facility until maturity. All of the tranches have options for interest at a LIBOR based rate or a prime based rate otherwise referred to as an alternative base rate. The Company elected the use of the LIBOR rate option. At November 26, 2013, those rates ranged from LIBOR + 3.25% to LIBOR + 11.00%. At November 26, 2013, the Company had outstanding borrowings under the New Credit Facility totaling $150 million, with up to $15 million available under the revolving credit facility of the First Lien Credit Facility. In conjunction with the New Credit Facilities, the Company incurred approximately $6,200 of deferred financing fees and approximately $1,000 in original issue costs.

 

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Report of Independent Auditors

The Board of Directors and Shareholders

Dow Jones Local Media Group, Inc.

We have audited the accompanying combined financial statements of Dow Jones Local Media Group, Inc., which comprise the combined balance sheets as of June 30, 2013 and 2012, and the related combined statements of operations and comprehensive (loss) income, equity, and cash flows for each of the three years in the period ended June 30, 2013, and the related notes to the combined financial statements.

Management’s Responsibility for the Financial Statements

Management is responsible for the preparation and fair presentation of these financial statements in conformity with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles; this includes the design, implementation, and maintenance of internal control relevant to the preparation and fair presentation of financial statements that are free of material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error.

Auditor’s Responsibility

Our responsibility is to express an opinion on these financial statements based on our audits. We conducted our audits in accordance with auditing standards generally accepted in the United States. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement.

An audit involves performing procedures to obtain audit evidence about the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. The procedures selected depend on the auditor’s judgment, including the assessment of the risks of material misstatement of the financial statements, whether due to fraud or error. In making those risk assessments, the auditor considers internal control relevant to the entity’s preparation and fair presentation of the financial statements in order to design audit procedures that are appropriate in the circumstances, but not for the purpose of expressing an opinion on the effectiveness of the entity’s internal control. Accordingly, we express no such opinion. An audit also includes evaluating the appropriateness of accounting policies used and the reasonableness of significant accounting estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall presentation of the financial statements.

We believe that the audit evidence we have obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our audit opinion.

Opinion

In our opinion, the financial statements referred to above present fairly, in all material respects, the combined financial position of Dow Jones Local Media Group, Inc. at June 30, 2013 and 2012, and the combined results of its operations and it cash flows for each of the three years in the period ended June 30, 2013, in conformity with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles.

/s/ Ernst & Young LLP

New York, New York

September 10, 2013

 

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Dow Jones Local Media Group, Inc.

Combined Balance Sheets

(In Thousands)

 

     June 30  
     2013      2012  

Assets

     

Current assets:

     

Cash

   $ 567       $ 1,878   

Accounts receivable, net

     13,984         14,130   

Inventory

     1,657         1,579   

Deferred income taxes

     848         949   

Prepaid expenses and other current assets

     3,247         2,580   
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total current assets

     20,303         21,116   

Property and equipment, net

     64,299         70,644   

Deferred income taxes

     38,408         34,508   

Intangible assets, net

     4,426         46,714   
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total assets

   $ 127,436       $ 172,982   
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

Liabilities and equity

     

Current liabilities:

     

Accounts payable

   $ 1,320       $ 1,235   

Accrued wages

     5,259         4,929   

Deferred revenue

     7,706         7,967   

Pension and postretirement benefits

     1,417         1,672   

Income taxes payable

     34         —     

Other current liabilities

     5,606         5,574   
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total current liabilities

     21,342         21,377   

Pension and postretirement benefits

     53,265         73,772   

Other noncurrent liabilities

     12,191         12,050   
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total liabilities

     86,798         107,199   

Commitments and contingencies

     

Total equity

     40,638         65,783   
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total liabilities and equity

   $ 127,436       $ 172,982   
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

See accompanying notes to the combined financial statements.

 

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Dow Jones Local Media Group, Inc.

Combined Statements of Operations and Comprehensive (Loss) Income

(In Thousands)

 

     For the Fiscal Years Ended June 30  
     2013     2012     2011  

Revenues:

      

Advertising

   $ 83,096      $ 92,502      $ 106,381   

Circulation and subscription

     51,192        52,493        52,332   

Other

     24,271        24,275        23,131   
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total revenues

     158,559        169,270        181,844   

Operating expenses

     136,340        142,281        154,026   

Depreciation and amortization

     7,858        8,500        9,601   

Impairments and restructuring

     42,268        197,869        247   
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total expenses

     186,466        348,650        163,874   
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Operating (loss) income

     (27,907     (179,380     17,970   

Income tax benefit (expense)

     10,242        34,682        (8,504
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net (loss) income

     (17,665     (144,698     9,466   

Other comprehensive income (loss):

      

Pension and postretirement plans adjustment

     11,578        (29,955     6,114   
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total comprehensive (loss) income

   $ (6,087   $ (174,653   $ 15,580   
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

See accompanying notes to the combined financial statements.

 

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Dow Jones Local Media Group, Inc.

Combined Statements of Equity

(In Thousands)

Fiscal Years Ended June 30, 2013, 2012, and 2011

 

     Parent
Company
Investment
    Accumulated
Other
Comprehensive
(Loss) Income
    Total  

Balance, June 30, 2010

   $ 295,273      $ (30,740   $ 264,533   

Net income

     9,466        —          9,466   

Comprehensive income

     —          6,114        6,114   

Net decrease in parent company investment

     (23,962     —          (23,962
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Balance, June 30, 2011

     280,777        (24,626     256,151   

Net loss

     (144,698     —          (144,698

Comprehensive loss

     —          (29,955     (29,955

Net decrease in parent company investment

     (15,715     —          (15,715
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Balance, June 30, 2012

     120,364        (54,581     65,783   

Net loss

     (17,665     —          (17,665

Comprehensive income

     —          11,578        11,578   

Net decrease in parent company investment

     (19,058     —          (19,058
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Balance, June 30, 2013

   $ 83,641      $ (43,003   $ 40,638   
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

See accompanying notes to the combined financial statements.

 

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Dow Jones Local Media Group, Inc.

Combined Statements of Cash Flows

(In Thousands)

 

     For the Fiscal Years Ended June 30  
     2013     2012     2011  

Operating activities

      

Net (loss) income

   $ (17,665   $ (144,698   $ 9,466   

Adjustments to reconcile net (loss) income to net cash provided by operating activities:

      

Depreciation and amortization

     7,858        8,500        9,601   

Impairments

     42,268        197,869        —     

Provision for doubtful accounts

     802        478        1,170   

(Gain) loss on disposal of property and equipment

     (81     (1,458     1,371   

Changes in operating assets and liabilities:

      

Accounts receivable, net

     (656     1,510        (198

Inventory

     (78     (716     (1,534

Prepaid expenses and other current assets

     (666     1,293        (390

Accounts payable and accrued wages

     449        (465     590   

Deferred income taxes, net

     (11,635     (36,695     5,119   

Pension and postretirement benefits

     (1,349     (10,082     1,467   

Deferred revenue

     (261     121        (317

Other liabilities

     173        (18     (1,763
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net cash provided by operating activities

     19,159        15,639        24,582   

Investing activities

      

Capital expenditures

     (1,938     (2,180     (3,758

Proceeds from sale of property and equipment

     526        2,036        3,569   
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net cash used in investing activities

     (1,412     (144     (189

Financing activities

      

Net transfers to Parent and affiliates

     (19,058     (15,715     (23,962
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net cash used in financing activities

     (19,058     (15,715     (23,962
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net change in cash

     (1,311     (220     431   

Cash, beginning of year

     1,878        2,098        1,667   
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Cash, end of year

   $ 567      $ 1,878      $ 2,098   
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

See accompanying notes to the combined financial statements.

 

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Dow Jones Local Media Group, Inc.

Notes to Combined Financial Statements

(In Thousands)

June 30, 2013

1. Organization

Overview

Dow Jones Local Media Group, Inc. (LMG or the Company) operates as a business unit of Dow Jones & Company, Inc. (Parent), a wholly-owned subsidiary of News Corporation. The Company operates print and online community media franchises, Internet sites, digital services, magazines, other news, and advertising niche publications and commercial print and household distribution services. These combined financial statements were prepared on a stand-alone basis derived from the financial statements and accounting records of the Company and Parent, and reflect the combined historical financial position, results of operations, and cash flows of the Company’s businesses in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP). Certain costs that were incurred centrally by Parent for functions such as corporate overhead for services and administrative functions have been allocated to the Company and included in the combined financial statements. We believe the assumptions underlying such allocations were made on a reasonable basis.

On June 28, 2013, the Company and Parent entered into a stock purchase agreement with Newcastle Investment Corp., whereby Newcastle Investment Corp. would acquire the Company for $82 million. The transaction received regulatory approvals and closed on September 3, 2013. These combined financial statements have been prepared in contemplation of this transaction.

Basis of Presentation

These financial statements are presented as if the businesses of the Company had been combined for all periods presented. All intracompany transactions and accounts within LMG have been eliminated in combination. The assets and liabilities in the combined financial statements have been reflected on an historical cost basis as adjusted for the acquisition of Parent by News Corporation in December 2007. Cash is managed centrally, with net earnings reinvested locally and working capital requirements met from existing liquid funds. LMG reflects transfers of cash to and from Parent’s cash management system as a component of parent company investment.

Income tax benefit (expense) in the combined statements of operations and comprehensive (loss) income has been calculated as if LMG filed a separate tax return and was operating as a stand-alone business. Therefore, cash tax payments and items of current and deferred taxes may not be reflective of LMG’s actual tax balances had it been a stand-alone business.

2. Summary of Significant Accounting Policies

Principles of Combination

The combined financial statements include certain assets and liabilities that have historically been held at Parent’s corporate level, but are specifically identifiable or otherwise attributable to LMG. All significant intercompany transactions between Parent and LMG have been included within parent company investment in these combined financial statements.

LMG’s fiscal year ends on the Sunday closest to June 30. Fiscal 2013 and 2012 included 52 weeks, while fiscal 2011 included 53 weeks with the 53rd week falling in the fourth fiscal quarter. All references to June 30, 2013, June 30, 2012, and June 30, 2011 relate to the twelve month periods ended June 30, 2013, July 1, 2012, and July 3, 2011, respectively. For convenience purposes, LMG continues to date its combined financial statements as of June 30.

 

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Dow Jones Local Media Group, Inc.

Notes to Combined Financial Statements (continued)

(In Thousands)

2. Summary of Significant Accounting Policies (continued)

 

Use of Estimates

The preparation of LMG’s combined financial statements in conformity with GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the amounts that are reported in the combined financial statements and accompanying notes. Actual results could differ from those estimates.

Accounts Receivable, Net

The Company provides an allowance for doubtful accounts equal to estimated uncollectible amounts. The Company’s estimate is based on historical collection experience and a review of the current status of such accounts receivable. It is reasonably possible that the Company’s estimate of the allowance for doubtful accounts will change. Accounts receivable are presented net of an allowance for doubtful accounts of $1,450 and $1,572 at June 30, 2013 and 2012, respectively.

Advertising Expenses

The Company expenses advertising costs as incurred. Included in operating expenses are advertising expenses of $22,521, $23,553, and $22,760 for the fiscal years ended June 30, 2013, 2012, and 2011, respectively.

Shipping and Handling

Costs incurred for shipping and handling are reflected in operating expenses in the combined statements of operations.

Concentrations of Credit and Other Risks

Advertising spending, which drives a significant portion of LMG’s revenues, is sensitive to economic conditions. Local economic conditions affect the levels of advertising revenues. Economic factors that have adversely affected advertising revenues include lower consumer and business spending, high unemployment and depressed home sales. Advertising revenues are particularly adversely affected if advertisers respond to weak and uneven economic conditions by reducing their budgets or shifting spending patterns or priorities, or if they are forced to consolidate or cease operations. Continuing weak and uncertain economic conditions and outlook could adversely affect the level of advertising revenues and combined financial condition and results of operations.

Contingencies

Certain conditions may exist which may result in a loss to the Company, but which will only be resolved when one or more future events occur or fail to occur. The Company’s management, insurance advisers and legal counsel assess such contingent liabilities, and such assessment inherently involves an exercise of judgment. In assessing loss contingencies related to legal proceedings that are pending against the Company, or unasserted claims that may result in such proceedings, the Company’s legal counsel evaluates the perceived merits of any legal proceedings or unasserted claims, as well as the perceived merits of the amount of relief sought or expected to be sought therein.

If the assessment of a contingency indicates that it is probable that a material loss has been incurred and the amount of the liability can be estimated, the estimated liability would be accrued in the Company’s combined

 

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Table of Contents

Dow Jones Local Media Group, Inc.

Notes to Combined Financial Statements (continued)

(In Thousands)

2. Summary of Significant Accounting Policies (continued)

 

financial statements. If the assessment indicates that a potentially material loss contingency is not probable but is reasonably possible, or is probable but cannot be estimated, the nature of the contingent liability, together with an estimate of the range of possible loss if determinable and material, would be disclosed.

Loss contingencies considered remote are generally not disclosed unless they arise from guarantees, in which case the guarantees would be disclosed.

Income Taxes

LMG accounts for income taxes in accordance with Accounting Standards Codification (ASC) 740, Income Taxes (ASC 740). ASC 740 requires an asset and liability approach for financial accounting and reporting for income taxes. Under the asset and liability approach, deferred taxes are provided for the net tax effects of temporary differences between the carrying amounts of assets and liabilities for financial reporting purposes and the amounts used for income tax purposes. Valuation allowances are established where management determines that it is more likely than not that some portion or all of a deferred tax asset will not be realized.

Inventory

Inventory is comprised of newsprint and is valued using weighted average cost.

Property and Equipment, Net

Property and equipment are stated at cost. Depreciation is provided using the straight-line method over an estimated useful life of 3 to 25 years for equipment and 10 to 40 years for buildings and improvements. Leasehold improvements are amortized using the straight-line method over the shorter of their estimated useful lives or the life of the lease. Costs associated with the repair and maintenance of property are expensed as incurred. Changes in circumstances, such as technological advances or changes to LMG’s business model or capital strategy could result in the actual useful lives differing from LMG’s estimates.

Revenue Recognition

Advertising revenues from the publication of newspapers are recognized when advertisements are published in newspapers or placed on digital platforms or, with respect to certain digital advertising, each time a user either clicks on or views certain ads, net of commissions and provisions for estimated sales incentives including rebates, rate adjustments, and discounts.

Circulation revenues include single-copy and subscription revenues. Circulation revenues are based on the number of copies of the printed newspaper (through home-delivery subscriptions and single-copy sales) and digital subscriptions sold and the rates charged to the respective customers. Single-copy revenue is recognized based on date of publication, net of provisions for related returns. Proceeds from subscription revenues are deferred at the time of sale and are recognized in earnings on a pro rata basis over the terms of the subscriptions. Several factors are considered to determine whether the Company is a principal, most notably whether the Company is primary obligor to the customer and has determined the selling price and product specifications.

Other revenues are recognized when the related service or product has been delivered.

 

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Table of Contents

Dow Jones Local Media Group, Inc.

Notes to Combined Financial Statements (continued)

(In Thousands)

2. Summary of Significant Accounting Policies (continued)

 

Billings to clients and payments received in advance of the performance of services or delivery of products are recorded as deferred revenue until the services are performed or the product is delivered.

Goodwill and Intangible Assets

LMG has intangible assets, including goodwill, trade names, and advertising and subscriber relationships. Goodwill is recorded as the difference between the cost of acquired entities and amounts assigned to their tangible and identifiable intangible net assets. In accordance with ASC 350, Intangibles—Goodwill and Other (ASC 350), LMG’s indefinite-lived intangible assets are tested annually for impairment or earlier if events occur or circumstances change that would more likely than not reduce the fair value below its carrying amount. Intangible assets with finite lives are generally amortized over their estimated useful lives. The impairment assessment of indefinite-lived intangibles compares the fair value of these intangible assets to their carrying value.

LMG’s goodwill impairment reviews are performed using a two-step process. The first step of the process is to compare the fair value of a reporting unit with its carrying amount, including goodwill. If the fair value of a reporting unit exceeds its carrying amount, the goodwill of the reporting unit is not impaired and the second step of the impairment review is not necessary. If the carrying amount of a reporting unit exceeds its fair value, the second step of the goodwill impairment review is required to be performed to estimate the implied fair value of the reporting unit’s goodwill. The implied fair value of the reporting unit’s goodwill is compared with the carrying amount of that goodwill. If the carrying amount of the reporting unit’s goodwill exceeds the implied fair value of that goodwill, an impairment loss is recognized in an amount equal to that excess.

Long-lived Assets

ASC 360, Property, Plant, and Equipment , and ASC 350 require that LMG periodically reviews the carrying amounts of its long-lived assets, including property and equipment and finite-lived intangible assets, to determine whether current events or circumstances indicate that such carrying amounts may not be recoverable. If the carrying amount of the asset is greater than the expected undiscounted cash flows to be generated by such asset, an impairment adjustment is recognized if the carrying value of such asset exceeds its fair value. LMG generally measures fair value by considering sale prices for similar assets or by discounting estimated future cash flows using an appropriate discount rate. Considerable management judgment is necessary to estimate the fair value of assets; accordingly, actual results could vary significantly from such estimates.

Self-Insurance Plans

The Company has self-insured health plans for all its employees. The Company has purchased stop-loss insurance in order to limit its exposure, which will reimburse the Company for individual claims in excess of $450 annually. Self-insurance losses are accrued based on the Company’s estimates of the aggregate liability for uninsured claims incurred using certain actuarial assumptions followed in the insurance industry. Included in accrued wages is an estimate for self-insured health plan expenses of $850 and $950 at June 30, 2013 and 2012, respectively.

The Company is self-insured for property and casualty losses, and included in other current liabilities is an accrual for losses of $3,622 and $3,755 at June 30, 2013 and 2012, respectively.

 

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Dow Jones Local Media Group, Inc.

Notes to Combined Financial Statements (continued)

(In Thousands)

2. Summary of Significant Accounting Policies (continued)

 

Fair Value Measurements

In accordance with ASC 820, Fair Value Measurements , LMG measures assets and liabilities using inputs from the following three levels of the fair value hierarchy: (i) inputs that are quoted prices in active markets (Level 1); (ii) inputs other than quoted prices included within Level 1 that are observable, including quoted prices for similar assets or liabilities (Level 2); and (iii) inputs that require the entity to use its own assumptions about market participant assumptions (Level 3).

The fair values of the Company’s financial instruments, such as accounts receivable and accounts payable approximate their carrying values due to the short-term maturities of these assets and liabilities. The Company’s assets measured at fair value on a nonrecurring basis include long-lived assets, indefinite-lived intangible assets and goodwill. The Company reviews the carrying amounts of such assets whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amounts may not be recoverable or at least annually as of June 30 for indefinite-lived intangible assets and goodwill. Any resulting asset impairment would require that the asset be recorded at its fair value. The resulting fair value measurements of the assets are considered to be Level 3 measurements.

During fiscal 2012, the Company recorded non-cash impairment charges of $152,842 relating to Goodwill, $44,335 relating to Trade Names and $692 relating to long-lived assets as a result of a potential sale of the Company below its carrying value. The Company recorded an additional impairment in fiscal 2013 for $42,268 to further reduce the carrying value as a result of the pending sale that subsequently closed on September 3, 2013.

Recent Accounting Pronouncements

In July 2012, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (the FASB) issued ASU 2012-02, Intangibles— Goodwill and Other (Topic 350): Testing Indefinite-Lived Intangible Assets for Impairment (ASU 2012-02), which permits an entity to make a qualitative assessment of whether it is more likely than not that the fair value of a reporting unit’s indefinite-lived intangible asset is less than the asset’s carrying value before applying a quantitative impairment assessment. If it is determined through the qualitative assessment that the fair value of a reporting unit’s indefinite-lived intangible asset is more likely than not greater than the asset’s carrying value, the remaining impairment steps would be unnecessary. The qualitative assessment is optional, allowing companies to go directly to the quantitative assessment. ASU 2012-02 is effective for the Company for annual and interim indefinite-lived intangible asset impairment tests performed beginning July 1, 2013. The Company does not expect the adoption of ASU 2012-02 will have a significant impact on its combined financial statements.

In February 2013, the FASB issued ASU 2013-02, Comprehensive Income (Topic 220): Reporting of Amounts Reclassified Out of Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income (ASU 2013-02), which requires the Company to provide information about the amounts reclassified out of accumulated other comprehensive income by component. In addition, it requires the Company to present, either on the face of the statement where net income is presented or in the notes, significant amounts reclassified out of accumulated other comprehensive income by the respective line items of net income, but only if the amount reclassified is required under GAAP to be reclassified to net income in its entirety in the same reporting period. For other amounts that are not required under GAAP to be reclassified in their entirety to net income, the Company is required to cross-reference to other disclosures required under GAAP that provide additional detail about those amounts. ASU 2013-02 is effective for the Company for interim reporting periods beginning July 1, 2013. The Company does not expect the adoption of ASU 2012-02 will have a significant impact on its combined financial statements, as it relates to disclosures only.

 

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Dow Jones Local Media Group, Inc.

Notes to Combined Financial Statements (continued)

(In Thousands)

2. Summary of Significant Accounting Policies (continued)

 

In July 2013, the FASB issued ASU 2013-11, Presentation of an Unrecognized Tax Benefit When a Net Operating Loss Carryforward, a Similar Tax Loss, or a Tax Credit Carryforward Exists (ASU 2013-11). ASU 2013-11 clarifies guidance and eliminates diversity in practice on the presentation of unrecognized tax benefits when a net operating loss carryforward, a similar tax loss, or a tax credit carryforward exists at the reporting date. This new guidance is effective for annual reporting periods beginning on or after December 15, 2013 and subsequent interim periods. The Company does not expect the adoption of ASU 2013-11 will have a significant impact on its combined financial statements.

3. Property and Equipment, Net

Property and equipment, net was comprised of the following:

 

     As of June 30  
     2013     2012  

Property and equipment:

    

Land

   $ 11,252      $ 11,334   

Buildings and leasehold improvements

     38,604        39,207   

Machinery and equipment

     61,435        57,953   

Construction-in-progress

     60        1,699   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 
     111,351        110,193   

Less: Accumulated depreciation and amortization

     (47,052     (39,549
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Property and equipment, net

   $ 64,299      $ 70,644   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Depreciation expense for the fiscal years ended June 30, 2013, 2012, and 2011 was $7,838, $8,431, and $8,995, respectively. During the fiscal year ended June 30, 2012, the Company recorded impairment to property and equipment of $692.

4. Intangible Assets, Net and Goodwill

The changes in the carrying values of LMG’s intangible assets, goodwill and related accumulated amortization for the fiscal years ended June 30, 2013 and 2012, were as follows:

 

     Goodwill (a)     Trade
Names (a)
    Subscriber
Relationships (b)
    Advertising
Relationships (c)
    Total
Intangible
Assets, Net
 

Balance, June 30, 2011

   $ 152,842      $ 66,300      $ 3,010      $ 21,808      $ 91,118   

Amortization

     —          —          (69     —          (69

Impairments

     (152,842     (44,335     —          —          (44,335
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Balance, June 30, 2012

     —          21,965        2,941        21,808        46,714   

Amortization

     —          —          (20     —          (20

Impairments

     —          (21,965     (2,399     (17,904     (42,268
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Balance, June 30, 2013

   $ —        $ —        $ 522      $ 3,904      $ 4,426   
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

(a) Goodwill and Trade Names are not subject to amortization.

 

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Table of Contents

Dow Jones Local Media Group, Inc.

Notes to Combined Financial Statements (continued)

(In Thousands)

4. Intangible Assets, Net and Goodwill (continued)

 

(b) Net of accumulated amortization of $2,379 and $2,359 as of June 30, 2013 and 2012, respectively. The useful life of Subscriber Relationships is ten years, primarily based on historical attrition rates of subscribers.
(c) Net of accumulated amortization of $7,292 as of June 30, 2013 and 2012. The useful life of Advertising Relationships is 25 years, primarily based on historical attrition rates of advertisers.

Aggregate amortization expense for the fiscal years ended June 30, 2013, 2012, and 2011 was $20, $69, and $606, respectively.

Based on the current amount of amortizable intangible assets, net, the estimated amortization expense for each of the succeeding five fiscal years is less than $1.

The Company evaluates the recoverability of identifiable intangible assets whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that an intangible asset’s carrying amount may not be recoverable. Such circumstances could include, but are not limited to: (1) a significant decrease in the market value of an asset, (2) a significant adverse change in the extent or manner in which an asset is used, or (3) an accumulation of costs significantly in excess of the amount originally expected for the acquisition of an asset. The Company measures the carrying amount of the asset against the estimated undiscounted future cash flows associated with it. Should the sum of the expected future net cash flows be less than the carrying value of the asset being evaluated, an impairment loss would be recognized. The impairment loss would be calculated as the amount by which the carrying value of the asset exceeds its fair value. The fair value is measured based on quoted market prices, if available. If quoted market prices are not available, the estimate of fair value is based on various valuation techniques, including the discounted value of estimated future cash flows. The evaluation of asset impairment requires the Company to make assumptions about future cash flows over the life of the asset being evaluated. These assumptions require significant judgment and actual results may differ from assumed and estimated amounts.

During fiscal 2012, LMG received an offer to sell its business for an amount that was less than the carrying amount of its net assets, excluding goodwill. As of result, this indicator led the Company to record an impairment charge to Goodwill of $152,842 and Trade Names of $44,335 during the year ended June 30, 2012. On June 28, 2013, Parent entered into an agreement to sell the Company for $82,000 and due to the net proceeds being less than previously estimated, the Company recorded an additional impairment to Trade Names, Advertising Relationships and Subscriber Relationships totaling $42,268. Impairment charges of $42,268 and $197,177 for fiscal years ended June 30, 2013 and 2012, respectively, are included in impairment and restructuring in the accompanying combined statements of operations and comprehensive (loss) income.

5. Pension and Other Postretirement Benefits

Certain of LMG’s U.S. employees participate in defined benefit pension plans sponsored by the Company (Direct Plans), of which certain plans are frozen. Accordingly, the funded and unfunded position of each Direct Plan is recorded in LMG’s combined balance sheets. Actuarial gains and losses that have not yet been recognized through income are recorded in accumulated other comprehensive (loss) income net of taxes, until they are amortized as a component of net periodic benefit cost. The determination of benefit obligations and the recognition of expenses related to Direct Plans are dependent on various assumptions. The major assumptions primarily relate to discount rates, long-term expected rates of return on plan assets, and future compensation increases. Management develops each assumption using relevant company experience in conjunction with market-related data. The funded status of the Direct Plans can change from year to year, but the assets of the funded plans have been sufficient to pay all benefits that came due in each of the fiscal years ended June 30, 2013, 2012, and 2011.

 

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Dow Jones Local Media Group, Inc.

Notes to Combined Financial Statements (continued)

(In Thousands)

5. Pension and Other Postretirement Benefits (continued)

 

The Company uses a June 30 measurement date for all direct pension and postretirement benefit plans. The following table sets forth the change in the projected benefit obligation, change in the fair value of Direct Plans plan assets and funded status:

 

     Pension Benefits     Postretirement
Benefits
 
     As of June 30  
     2013     2012     2013     2012  

Projected benefit obligation, beginning of year

   $ 254,431      $ 223,237      $ 7,854      $ 7,628   

Service cost

     51        45        162        124   

Interest cost

     10,551        12,436        277        371   

Benefits paid

     (13,868     (13,674     (913     (1,158

Settlements

     (10,238     (8,896     —          —     

Actuarial (gain) loss

     (16,549     41,283        (970     889   
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Projected benefit obligation, end of year

     224,378        254,431        6,410        7,854   

Change in the fair value of plan assets

        

Fair value of plan assets, beginning of year

     186,842        195,662        —          —     

Actual return on plan assets

     12,649        3,248        —          —     

Employer contributions

     721        10,501        913        1,158   

Benefits paid

     (13,868     (13,674     (913     (1,158

Settlements

     (10,238     (8,895     —          —     
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Fair value of plan assets, end of year

     176,106        186,842        —          —     
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Funded status

   $ (48,272   $ (67,589   $ (6,410   $ (7,854
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Amounts recognized in the balance sheets consist of:

 

     Pension Benefits    

Postretirement Benefits

 
     As of June 30  
     2013     2012     2013     2012  

Pension and postretirement benefits

   $ (48,272   $ (67,590   $ (6,410   $ (7,854
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net amount recognized

   $ (48,272   $ (67,590   $ (6,410   $ (7,854
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Amounts recognized in accumulated other comprehensive income consist of:

 

     Pension Benefits     

Postretirement Benefits

 
     As of June 30  
     2013      2012      2013     2012  

Actuarial loses (gains)

   $ 79,933       $ 99,510       $ (1,895   $ (937

Prior service benefit

     —           —           (5,544     (6,666
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net amount recognized

   $ 79,933       $ 99,510       $ (7,439   $ (7,603
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

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Dow Jones Local Media Group, Inc.

Notes to Combined Financial Statements (continued)

(In Thousands)

5. Pension and Other Postretirement Benefits (continued)

 

Amounts in accumulated other comprehensive (loss) income expected to be recognized as a component of net periodic pension cost in fiscal 2014:

 

     Pension Benefits      Postretirement
Benefits
 
     As of June 30  
     2013      2012  

Actuarial loses (gains)

   $ 2,336       $ (111

Prior service benefit

     —           (1,122
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

Net amount recognized

   $ 2,336       $ (1,233
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

Accumulated pension benefit obligations as of June 30, 2013 and 2012 were $224,378 and $254,432, respectively. The accumulated benefit obligation exceeds the fair value of the plan assets for all of the Company’s plans. Below is information about funded and unfunded pension plans:

 

     Funded Plans      Unfunded Plans  
     As of June 30  
     2013      2012      2013      2012  

Projected benefit obligation

   $ 216,734       $ 246,036       $ 7,644       $ 8,395   

Accumulated benefit obligation

     216,672         245,968         7,644         8,395   

Fair value of plan assets

     176,106         186,842         —           —     

The components of net periodic pension and postretirement expense (benefit) were as follows:

 

     Pension Benefits     Postretirement Benefits  
     For the Fiscal Years Ended June 30  
     2013     2012     2011     2013         2012             2011      

Service cost benefits earned during the period

   $ 51      $ 45      $ 197      $ 162      $ 124      $ 113   

Interest cost on projected benefit obligations

     10,551        12,436        12,406        277        371        416   

Expected return on plan assets

     (12,615     (13,235     (12,622     —          —          —     

Amortization of deferred losses

     2,993        3,025        4,176        (12     (87     (104

Amortization of prior service benefit

     —          —          —          (1,122     (1,122     (1,122
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net pension and postretirement expense (benefit)

   $ 980      $ 2,271      $ 4,157      $ (695   $ (714   $ (697
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

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Table of Contents

Dow Jones Local Media Group, Inc.

Notes to Combined Financial Statements (continued)

(In Thousands)

5. Pension and Other Postretirement Benefits (continued)

 

Assumptions

The following are weighted-average assumptions used to determine benefit obligations at year end:

 

     Pension Benefits     Postretirement Benefits  
     For the Years Ended June 30  
     2013     2012     2011     2013     2012     2011  

Additional information

            

Weighted-average assumptions used to determine benefit obligations:

            

Discount rate

     5.00     4.25     5.75     4.75     3.75     5.25

Rate of increase in future compensation

     N/A        3.25     3.25     N/A        N/A        N/A   

Weighted-average assumptions used to determine net periodic benefit cost:

            

Discount rate

     4.25     5.75     5.75     3.75     5.25     5.50

Expected return on plan assets

     7.00     7.00     7.00     N/A        N/A        N/A   

Rate of increase in future compensation

     N/A        3.25     3.25     N/A        N/A        N/A   

The following assumed health care trend rates as of June 30 were also used in accounting for postretirement benefits:

 

     Postretirement Benefits  
     2013     2012  

Health care cost trend rate

     6.8     7.2

Rate to which the cost trend rate is assumed to decline (the ultimate trend rate)

     5.0     5.0

Year that the rate reaches the ultimate trend rate

     2019        2019   

Assumed health care cost trend rates could have a significant effect on the amounts reported for the postretirement health care plan. The effect of a one percentage point increase and one percentage point decrease in the assumed health care cost trend rate would have the following effects on the results for fiscal 2013:

 

     Service and
Interest Cost
    Benefit
Obligation
 

One percentage point increase

   $ 46,874      $ 385,456   

One percentage point decrease

     (38,895     (334,384

The following table sets forth the estimated benefit payments for the next five fiscal years, and in the aggregate for the five fiscal years thereafter. The expected benefits are estimated based on the same assumptions used to measure LMG’s benefit obligation at the end of the fiscal year and include benefits attributable to estimated future employee service:

 

     Pension
Benefits
     Postretirement
Benefits
 

2014

   $ 14,119       $ 716   

2015

     14,261         603   

2016

     14,391         539   

2017

     14,479         486   

2018

     14,559         435   

2019–2023

     74,323         2,333   
  

 

 

    

 

 

 
   $ 146,132       $ 5,112   
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

 

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Table of Contents

Dow Jones Local Media Group, Inc.

Notes to Combined Financial Statements (continued)

(In Thousands)

5. Pension and Other Postretirement Benefits (continued)

 

The Company does not expect to receive U.S. Medicare subsidy receipts.

Plan Assets

LMG applies the provisions of ASC 715 Compensation—Retirement Plans , which required disclosures include: (i) investment policies and strategies; (ii) the major categories of plan assets; (iii) the inputs and valuation techniques used to measure plan assets; (iv) the effect of fair value measurements using significant unobservable inputs on changes in plan assets for the period; and (v) significant concentrations of risk within plan assets.

The table below presents LMG’s plan assets by level within the fair value hierarchy, as described in Note 2 as of June 30, 2013 and 2012.

The fair values of the Company’s pension plan assets as of June 30, 2013 and 2012, by asset category, are as follows:

 

     As of June 30, 2013      As of June 30, 2012  
            Fair Value Measurements
at Reporting Date Using
            Fair Value Measurements
at Reporting Date Using
 

Description

   Total      Level 1      Level 2      Level 3      Total      Level 1     Level 2      Level 3  

Assets

                   

Short-term investments

   $ —         $ —         $ —         $ —         $ —         $ —        $ —         $   —     

Pooled funds (a) :

                   

Money market funds

     142         —           142         —           24,175         —          24,175         —     

Domestic equity funds

     46,552         —           46,552         —           13,514         13,514        —           —     

International equity funds

     43,227         —           43,227         —           27,219         19,148        8,071         —     

Domestic fixed income funds

     76,479         —           76,479         —           33,584         33,584        —           —     

Balanced funds

                 28,490         15,773        12,717      

Common stocks (b)

                      

U.S. common stocks

     —           —           —           —           27,847         27,760        87         —     

Government and agency obligations (c) :

                   

Domestic government obligations

     —           —           —           —           2,767         —          2,767         —     

International government obligations

     —           —           —           —           8,029         —          8,029         —     

Corporate obligations (c)

     —           —           —           —           2,720         —          2,720         —     

Partnership interests (d)

     —           —           —           —           4,067         —          4,067         —     

Other

     9,706         9,706         —           —           14,430         (359     14,726         63   
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total

   $ 176,106       $ 9,706       $ 166,400       $   —         $ 186,842       $ 109,420      $ 77,359       $ 63   
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

    

 

 

 

 

(a) Open-ended pooled funds that are registered and/or available to the general public are valued at the daily published net asset value (NAV). Other pooled funds are valued at the NAV provided by the fund issuer.

 

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Table of Contents

Dow Jones Local Media Group, Inc.

Notes to Combined Financial Statements (continued)

(In Thousands)

5. Pension and Other Postretirement Benefits (continued)

 

(b) Common stocks that are publicly traded are valued at the closing price reported on active markets in which the individual securities are traded.
(c) The fair value of corporate, government, and agency obligations are valued based on a compilation of primary observable market information or a broker quote in a non-active market.
(d) The fair values of partnerships that are not publicly traded are based on fair value obtained from the general partner.

The table below sets forth a summary of changes in the fair value of investments reflected as Level 3 assets as of June 30, 2013 and 2012:

 

     Partnership
Interests
     Other     Total  

Beginning balance at June 30, 2011

   $     —         $ 2      $ 2   

Actual return on plan assets:

       

Relating to assets still held at end of year

     —           42        42   

Purchases, sales, settlements, and issuances

     —           19        19   
  

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

 

Balance at June 30, 2012

     —           63        63   

Purchases, sales, settlements, and issuances

     —           (63     (63
  

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

 

Ending balance at June 30, 2013

   $ —         $     —        $     —     
  

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

 

The Company’s investment policy includes various guidelines and procedures designed to ensure assets are invested in a manner necessary to meet expected future benefits earned by participants. The investment guidelines consider a broad range of economic conditions. Central to the policy are target allocation ranges by asset class.

The objectives of the target allocations are to maintain investment portfolios that diversify risk through prudent asset allocation parameters, achieve asset returns that meet or exceed the plans’ actuarial assumptions, and achieve asset returns that are competitive with like institutions employing similar investment strategies.

The investment policy is periodically reviewed by the Company and a designated third-party fiduciary for investment matters. The policy is established and administered in a manner that is compliant at all times with applicable government regulations.

LMG pension assets are managed by News Corporation. News Corporation’s investment strategy for its pension plans is to maximize the long-term rate of return on plan assets within an acceptable level of risk in order to minimize the cost of providing pension benefits, while maintaining adequate funding levels. News Corporation’s practice is to conduct a periodic strategic review of its asset allocation. News Corporation’s current broad strategic targets are to have a pension asset portfolio comprising of 54% equity securities and 46% fixed income securities. News Corporation’s equity portfolios are managed in such a way as to achieve optimal diversity. News Corporation’s fixed income portfolio is investment grade in the aggregate. News Corporation does not manage any assets internally.

 

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Dow Jones Local Media Group, Inc.

Notes to Combined Financial Statements (continued)

(In Thousands)

5. Pension and Other Postretirement Benefits (continued)

 

LMG’s benefit plan weighted-average asset allocations, by asset category, are as follows:

 

     Pension Benefits
As of June 30
 
     2013     2012  

Asset category:

    

Equity securities

     50     37

Debt securities

     42        35   

Cash and other

     8        28   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total

     100     100
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Required pension plan contributions for the next fiscal year are expected to be approximately $701; however, actual contributions may be affected by pension asset and liability valuation changes during the year.

Defined Contribution Plan

LMG has a defined contribution plan for the benefit of substantially all employees meeting certain eligibility requirements. The Company has limited contribution requirements for this plan.

6. Income Taxes

The income tax (benefit) expense in the combined statements of operations has been calculated as if LMG filed a separate tax return and was operating as a stand-alone business. Therefore, cash tax payments and items of current and deferred taxes may not be reflective of LMG’s actual tax balances had it been a standalone business.

(Loss) income before income tax benefit (expense) was attributable to the following jurisdiction:

 

     For the Fiscal Years Ended June 30  
     2013     2012     2011  

U.S.

   $ (27,907   $ (179,380   $ 17,970   
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

(Loss) income before income tax benefit (expense)

   $ (27,907   $ (179,380   $ 17,970   
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Significant components of LMG’s (benefit) provision for income taxes were as follows:

 

     For the Fiscal Years Ended June 30  
     2013     2012     2011  

Current:

      

Federal

   $ (18   $ 456      $ 2,115   

State and local

     1,410        1,556        2,038   
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total current

     1,392        2,012        4,153   
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Deferred:

      

Federal

     (9,426     (29,061     3,676   

State and local

     (2,208     (7,633     675   
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total deferred

     (11,634     (36,694     4,351   
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total (benefit) provision for income taxes

   $ (10,242   $ (34,682   $ 8,504   
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

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Table of Contents

Dow Jones Local Media Group, Inc.

Notes to Combined Financial Statements (continued)

(In Thousands)

6. Income Taxes (continued)

 

The reconciliation between the effective tax rate and the U.S. statutory rate was as follow:

 

     For the Fiscal Years Ended
June 30
 
     2013     2012     2011  

U.S. federal income tax rate

     35.00     35.00     35.00

Non-deductible goodwill on asset impairment (a)

     —          (17.82     —     

State and local taxes, net of federal benefit

     2.40        2.22        10.04   

Other

     (0.70     (0.06     2.28   
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Effective tax rate

     36.70     19.34     47.32
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

(a) See Note 4

The following is a summary of the components of the deferred tax accounts:

 

     As of June 30  
     2013     2012  

Deferred tax assets:

    

Pension and postretirement benefits

   $ 22,069      $ 30,554   

Amortization of goodwill and intangibles

     16,365        3,483   

Accrued expenses and other current liabilities

     11,295        11,098   

Other

     1,616        3,205   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total deferred tax assets

     51,345        48,340   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Deferred tax liabilities:

    

Property and equipment

     (11,638     (12,432
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total deferred tax liabilities

     (11,638     (12,432
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net deferred tax asset

     39,707        35,908   

Less: valuation allowance

     (451     (451
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net deferred tax asset

   $ 39,256      $ 35,457   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

LMG had net current deferred tax assets of $848 and $949 as of June 30, 2013 and 2012, respectively, and noncurrent deferred tax assets of $38,408 and $34,508 as of June 30, 2013 and 2012, respectively. LMG had no current and non-current deferred tax liabilities as of June 30, 2013 and 2012, respectively.

We have recorded a deferred tax asset of $1,404 and $2,982 associated with our net operating loss carryforwards as of June 30, 2013 and 2012, respectively. In accordance with the Company’s accounting policy, valuation allowances of $451 and $451 have been established to reduce the deferred tax asset associated with our net operating losses to an amount that will more likely than not be realized as of June 30, 2013 and 2012, respectively.

As of June 30, 2013, LMG had $15,824 net operating loss or capital loss carryforwards available to offset future taxable income.

 

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Dow Jones Local Media Group, Inc.

Notes to Combined Financial Statements (continued)

(In Thousands)

6. Income Taxes (continued)

 

The following table sets forth the change in the accrual for uncertain tax positions, excluding interest and penalties:

 

     For the Fiscal Years Ended June 30  
     2013     2012     2011  

Balance, beginning of year

   $ 12,606      $ 12,107      $ 12,347   

Adjustment for current year tax positions

     1,560        2,438        1,939   

Reductions for prior year tax position

     (1,617     (1,939     (2,179
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Balance, end of year

   $ 12,549      $ 12,606      $ 12,107   
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

LMG recognizes interest and penalty charges related to unrecognized tax benefits as income tax expense, which is consistent with the recognition in prior reporting periods. LMG recognized interest charges of $911, $895 and $855 during the fiscal year ended June 30, 2013, 2012 and 2011, respectively. LMG recorded liabilities for accrued interest of approximately $5,614 and $4,703 as of June 30, 2013 and 2012, respectively.

LMG is subject to tax in various domestic jurisdictions and, as a matter of ordinary course, LMG is regularly audited by federal and state tax authorities. LMG believes it has appropriately accrued for the expected outcome of all other pending tax matters and does not currently anticipate that the ultimate resolution of other pending tax matters will have a material adverse effect on its combined financial condition, future results of operations or liquidity. LMG’s income tax returns for 2006 and later are subject to examination in various jurisdictions. As of June 30, 2013 and 2012, approximately $11,171 would affect LMG’s effective income tax rate, if and when recognized in future fiscal years. The Company believes that it is reasonably possible that a decrease of up to $11,728 in unrecognized tax benefits related to state exposures may occur within the next twelve months.

LMG paid $70, $163 and $143 for income taxes during the fiscal years ended June 30, 2013, 2012, and 2011, respectively.

7. Accumulated Other Comprehensive (Loss) Income

Accumulated other comprehensive (loss) income is related to the actuarial gains and losses related to the pension and postretirement benefit plans. The balance of $43,003 and $54,581 at June 30, 2013 and 2012, respectively, is net of tax of $29,491 and $37,326 at June 30, 2013 and 2012, respectively.

 

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Dow Jones Local Media Group, Inc.

Notes to Combined Financial Statements (continued)

(In Thousands)

 

8. Commitments and Contingent Liabilities

Operating Leases

Operating lease commitments are primarily for office space and equipment. Certain office space leases provide for rent adjustments relating to changes in real estate taxes and other operating costs. Rental expense amounted to $437 in 2013, $467 in 2012, and $397 in 2011. The minimum rental commitments under non-cancelable leases, net of subleases, as of June 30, 2013 were as follows:

 

2014

   $ 274   

2015

     69   

2016

     28   

2017

     5   

Thereafter

     —     
  

 

 

 

Total minimum lease payments

   $ 376   
  

 

 

 

9. Related Parties

Parent and News Corporation provide various cash management, human resources, financial, tax, legal, insurance, and other services to LMG. These services include processing certain cash activity; cash is generally maintained by News Corporation. Costs of these services are allocated to LMG based upon established criteria, primarily determined by the associated cash outflows of the business or the specific amount of services provided. The total costs allocated to LMG for these services were $2,254, $2,200, and $1,496 for the fiscal years ended June 30, 2013, 2012, and 2011, respectively. In addition, News Corporation billed LMG for insurance related to certain specified events of $2,769, $4,468, and $2,723 for the fiscal years ended June 30, 2013, 2012, and 2011, respectively. Management believes that the allocations are reasonable. Settlement of amounts owed to and by the Parent are generally cleared through equity.

LMG purchases content for its newspapers from Parent and in certain geographic area purchases and/or delivers Parent’s and News Corporation’s newspapers for agreed-upon fees. Under these agreements, total purchases were $2,880, $2,933, and $2,891 and fees received were $271, $299, and $303 for the fiscal years ended June 30, 2013, 2012, and 2011, respectively.

LMG’s arrangements with Parent and News Corporation have been entered into in the context of a parent-subsidiary relationship; therefore, these arrangements are not the result of arm’s-length negotiations between independent parties. There can be no assurance that any of such arrangements has been effected on terms more or less as favorable to LMG as could have been obtained from unaffiliated third parties.

10. Subsequent Events

In accordance with ASC 855, Subsequent Events , the Company evaluated subsequent events through September 10, 2013, the date these combined financial statements were available to be issued.

On September 3, 2013, Parent sold the Company to a subsidiary of Fortress Investment Group LLC. As a result, the Company’s operations are now managed by GateHouse Media, Inc.

 

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Dow Jones Local Media Group, Inc.

Notes to Combined Financial Statements (continued)

(In Thousands)

10. Subsequent Events (continued)

 

On September 3, 2013, the Company along with other specified related parties entered into a credit agreement (the “Credit Agreement”). The Credit Agreement consists of a $33.0 million senior secured term loan, which was funded on September 3, 2013, and a senior secured asset-based revolving credit facility of up to $10 million, but which will not be funded until certain conditions precedent have been met under the Credit Agreement. The Credit Agreement expires on September 4, 2018 or earlier in the case of an Event of Default as defined per the Credit Agreement.

 

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PART II

INFORMATION NOT REQUIRED IN PROSPECTUS

 

Item 13. Other Expenses of Issuance and Distribution.

The following table sets forth an itemization of all estimated expenses, all of which we will pay, in connection with the issuance and distribution of the securities to be registered:

 

SEC Registration Fee

   $ 42,397.82  

Printing fee

   $ [*]  

NYSE Listing fee

   $ [*]  

Accounting fees and expenses

   $ [*]  

Transfer Agent fee

   $ [*]  

Legal fees and expenses

   $ [*]  

Miscellaneous

   $ [*]  

Total

   $ [*]  

 

* To be provided by amendment

 

Item 14. Indemnification of Directors and Officers.

Section 102 of the Delaware General Corporation Law, as amended (the “DGCL”), allows a corporation to eliminate the personal liability of directors to a corporation or its stockholders for monetary damages for a breach of a fiduciary duty as a director, except where the director breached his duty of loyalty, failed to act in good faith, engaged in intentional misconduct or knowingly violated a law, authorized the payment of a dividend or approved a stock repurchase or redemption in violation of Delaware corporate law or obtained an improper personal benefit.

Section 145 of the DGCL provides, among other things, that a corporation may indemnify any person who was or is a party or is threatened to be made a party to any threatened, pending or completed action, suit or proceeding (other than an action by or in the right of the corporation) by reason of the fact that the person is or was a director, officer, employee or agent of the corporation, or is or was serving at the corporation’s request as a director, officer, employee or agent of another corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust or other enterprise, against expenses, including attorneys’ fees, judgments, fines and amounts paid in settlement actually and reasonably incurred by the person in connection with the action, suit or proceeding. The power to indemnify applies if (i) such person is successful on the merits or otherwise in defense of any action, suit or proceeding or (ii) such person acted in good faith and in a manner he or she reasonably believed to be in or not opposed to the best interests of the corporation, and with respect to any criminal action or proceeding, had no reasonable cause to believe his conduct was unlawful. The power to indemnify applies to actions brought by or in the right of the corporation as well, but only to the extent of defense expenses (including attorneys’ fees but excluding amounts paid in settlement) actually and reasonably incurred and not to any satisfaction of judgment or settlement of the claim itself, and with the further limitation that in such actions no indemnification shall be made in the event of any adjudication of negligence or misconduct in the performance of his duties to the corporation, unless a court believes that in light of all the circumstances indemnification should apply.

Section 174 of the DGCL provides, among other things, that a director who willfully and negligently approves of an unlawful payment of dividends or an unlawful stock purchase or redemption may be held liable for such actions. A director who was either absent when the unlawful actions were approved or dissented at the time, may avoid liability by causing his or her dissent to such actions to be entered in the books containing the minutes of the meetings of the board of directors at the time the action occurred or immediately after the absent director receives notice of the unlawful acts.

 

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The Company’s amended and restated certificate of incorporation states that no director shall be personally liable to us or any of our stockholders for monetary damages for breach of fiduciary duty as a director, except to the extent such exemption from liability or limitation thereof is not permitted under the DGCL as it exists or may be amended. A director is also not exempt from liability for any transaction from which he or she derived an improper personal benefit, or for violations of Section 174 of the DGCL. To the maximum extent permitted under Section 145 of the DGCL, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation authorizes us to indemnify any and all persons whom we have the power to indemnify under the law.

Our amended and restated bylaws provide that the Company will indemnify, to the fullest extent permitted by the DGCL, each person who was or is made a party or is threatened to be made a party in any legal proceeding by reason of the fact that he or she is or was a director or officer of the Company or is or was a director or officer of the Company serving at the request of the Company as a director, officer, employee or agent of another corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust or other enterprise. However, such indemnification is permitted only if such person acted in good faith and in a manner such person reasonably believed to be in or not opposed to the best interests of the Company, and, with respect to any criminal action or proceeding, had no reasonable cause to believe such person’s conduct was unlawful. Indemnification is authorized on a case-by-case basis by (1) our board of directors by a majority vote of disinterested directors, (2) a committee of the disinterested directors, (3) independent legal counsel in a written opinion if (1) and (2) are not available, or if disinterested directors so direct, or (4) the stockholders. Indemnification of former directors or officers shall be determined by any person authorized to act on the matter on our behalf. Expenses incurred by a director or officer in defending against such legal proceedings are payable before the final disposition of the action, provided that the director or officer undertakes to repay us if it is later determined that he or she is not entitled to indemnification.

Upon the completion of the Distribution, the Company plans to enter into separate indemnification agreements with its directors and officers, substantially in the form of the indemnification agreement filed as an exhibit to the Registration Statement on Form S-1. Each indemnification agreement will provide, among other things, for indemnification to the fullest extent permitted by law and our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and amended and restated bylaws against any and all expenses, judgments, fines, penalties and amounts paid in settlement of any claim. The indemnification agreements will provide for the advancement or payment of all expenses to the indemnitee and for reimbursement to us if it is found that such indemnitee is not entitled to such indemnification under applicable law and our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and amended and restated bylaws.

Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the Securities Act may be permitted to directors, officers or persons controlling the Company pursuant to the foregoing provisions, the Company has been informed that, in the opinion of the SEC, such indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act and is therefore unenforceable.

 

Item 15. Recent Sales of Unregistered Securities.

In connection with the restructuring of GateHouse Media Inc. and its consolidated subsidiaries (“GateHouse”), on November 26, 2013, the effective date of the restructuring (the “Effective Date”), New Media Investment Group Inc. (“New Media”) issued 30,000,000 shares of common stock, par value, $0.01 per share, of New Media (the “Common Stock”) pursuant to its Joint Prepackaged Chapter 11 Plan (as modified, amended or supplemented from time to time, the “Plan”) in accordance with Section 1145(a)(1) of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code (the “Bankruptcy Code”).

Additionally, on the Effective Date, New Media issued 1,362,479 10-year warrants at a strike price of $46.35 per share to the former equity holders of GateHouse pursuant to the Plan in accordance with Section 1145(a)(2) of the Bankruptcy Code. See “Summary—Recent Developments,” “The Spin-off and Restructuring” and “Restructuring Agreements” included in the Prospectus to this Registration Statement on Form S-1.

 

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Item 16. Exhibits and Financial Statement Schedules.

(a) Exhibits: The list of Exhibits is set forth beginning on page II-6 of this Registration Statement and is incorporated herein by reference.

(b) Financial Statement Schedules

Schedule II—Valuation and Qualifying Accounts.

GateHouse Media, Inc.

Valuation and Qualifying Accounts

(In Thousands)

 

    Balance at
Beginning
of Period
    Charges to
Earnings
     Charges to
Other
Accounts
   

Deductions

   

Balance at
End

of Period

 

Allowance for doubtful accounts

          

Year ended December 30, 2012

  $ 2,976      $ 2,304       $ —        $ (2,824 ) (1)   $ 2,456   

Year ended January 1, 2012

  $ 3,260      $ 3,093       $ —        $ (3,377 ) (1)   $ 2,976   

Year ended December 31, 2010

  $ 4,569      $ 3,624       $ —        $ (4,933 ) (1)   $ 3,260   

Deferred tax valuation allowance

          

Year ended December 30, 2012

  $ 432,954      $ 11,795       $ (159 ) (2)     $ —        $ 444,590   

Year ended January 1, 2012

  $ 430,247      $ 6,551       $ (3,844 ) (2)     $ —        $ 432,954   

Year ended December 31, 2010

  $ 419,267      $ 5,617       $ 5,363   (2)     $ —        $ 430,247   

 

(1) Amounts are primarily related to the write off of fully reserved accounts receivable.
(2) Amount is primarily related to the change in derivative value and is recorded in accumulated other comprehensive income (loss).

All other schedules are omitted because the conditions requiring their filing do not exist, or because the required information is provided in the consolidated financial statements, including the notes thereto.

 

Item 17. Undertakings.

(a)(1) The undersigned registrant hereby undertakes to file, during any period in which offers or sales are being made, a post-effective amendment to this registration statement: (i) To include any prospectus required by Section 10(a)(3) of the Securities Act of 1933; (ii) To reflect in the prospectus any facts or events arising after the effective date of the registration statement (or the most recent post-effective amendment thereof) which, individually or in the aggregate, represent a fundamental change in the information set forth in the registration statement. Notwithstanding the foregoing, any increase or decrease in volume of securities offered (if the total dollar value of securities offered would not exceed that which was registered) and any deviation from the low or high end of the estimated maximum offering range may be reflected in the form of prospectus filed with the Commission pursuant to Rule 424(b) if, in the aggregate, the changes in volume and price represent no more than 20 percent change in the maximum aggregate offering price set forth in the “Calculation of Registration Fee” table in the effective registration statement; and (iii) To include any material information with respect to the plan of distribution not previously disclosed in the registration statement or any material change to such information in the registration statement.

(2) The undersigned registrant hereby undertakes that, for the purpose of determining any liability under the Securities Act of 1933, each such post-effective amendment shall be deemed to be a new registration statement relating to the securities offered therein, and the offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof.

 

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(3) The undersigned registrant hereby undertakes to remove from registration by means of a post-effective amendment any of the securities being registered which remain unsold at the termination of the offering.

(h) Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the Securities Act of 1933 may be permitted to directors, officers and controlling persons of the registrant pursuant to the foregoing provisions, or otherwise, the registrant has been advised that in the opinion of the Securities and Exchange Commission such indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act of 1933 and is, therefore, unenforceable. In the event that a claim for indemnification against such liabilities (other than the payment by the registrant of expenses incurred or paid by a director, officer or controlling person of the registrant in the successful defense of any action, suit or proceeding) is asserted by such director, officer or controlling person in connection with the securities being registered, the registrant will, unless in the opinion of its counsel the matter has been settled by controlling precedent, submit to a court of appropriate jurisdiction the question whether such indemnification by it is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act of 1933 and will be governed by the final adjudication of such issue.

 

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SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, New Media Investment Group Inc. has duly caused this registration statement to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized, in the city of New York, State of New York, on December 9, 2013.

 

NEW MEDIA INVESTMENT GROUP INC.
By:  

/s/ Michael E. Reed

  Name:   Michael E. Reed
  Title:   Chief Executive Officer,
    interim Chief Financial Officer and interim Chief Accounting Officer

POWER OF ATTORNEY

KNOW ALL MEN BY THESE PRESENTS, that each officer and director of New Media Investment Group Inc. whose signature appears below constitutes and appoints Cameron D. MacDougall and Michael E. Reed, and each of them, his or her true and lawful attorney-in-fact and agent, with full power of substitution and revocation, for him or her and in his or her name, place and stead, in any and all capacities, to execute any or all amendments including any post-effective amendments and supplements to this Registration Statement, and any additional Registration Statement filed pursuant to Rule 462(b), and to file the same, with all exhibits thereto, and other documents in connection therewith, with the Securities and Exchange Commission, granting unto said attorney-in-fact and agent full power and authority to do and perform each and every act and thing requisite and necessary to be done, as fully to all intents and purposes as he or she might or could do in person, hereby ratifying and confirming all that said attorney-in-fact and agent, or his or her substitute or substitutes, may lawfully do or cause to be done by virtue hereof.

* * * *

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, this Registration Statement has been signed by the following persons in the capacities indicated.

 

Signature    Title   Date

/s/ Michael E. Reed

Michael E. Reed

  

Chief Executive Officer,

interim Chief Financial Officer,

  interim Chief Accounting Officer and Director

(principal executive officer, principal financial officer and principal accounting officer)

  December 9, 2013

/s/ Wesley R. Edens

Wesley R. Edens

  

Director

  December 9, 2013

/s/ Kevin M. Sheehan

Kevin M. Sheehan

  

Director

  December 9, 2013

 

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EXHIBIT INDEX

 

Exhibit
No.

 

Description of Exhibit

 

Included
Herewith

  Incorporated by Reference
     

Form

 

Exhibit

 

Filing Date

    2.1   Share Purchase Agreement, dated as of January 28, 2007, by and among SureWest Communications, as Seller, SureWest Directories and GateHouse Media, Inc., as Purchaser     8-K   2.1   March 1, 2007
    2.2   Stock and Asset Purchase Agreement, dated as of March 13, 2007, by and between GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings, Inc., as Buyer, and The Copley Press, Inc., as Seller     8-K   2.1   April 11, 2007
    2.3   Amended and Restated Asset Purchase Agreement, dated April 12, 2007, by and among Gannett Satellite Information Network, Inc., Gannett River States Publishing Corporation, Pacific and Southern Company, Inc., Federated Publications, Inc., Media West—GSI, Inc., Media West—GRS, Inc., as Sellers, and GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings, Inc., as Buyer, and GateHouse Media, Inc., as Buyer guarantor     8-K   2.1   May 8, 2007
    2.4   Asset Purchase Agreement, dated April 12, 2007, by and among Gannett Satellite Information Network, Inc., Media West—GSI, Inc., as Sellers, GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings, Inc., as Buyer, and GateHouse Media, Inc., as Buyer guarantor     8-K   2.2   May 8, 2007
    2.5   Asset Purchase Agreement, dated June 28, 2007, by and among GateHouse Media, Inc., GateHouse Media West Virginia Holdings, Inc., GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings, Inc., Champion Publishing, Inc. and Champion Industries, Inc.     S-1/A   2.9   July 13, 2007
    2.6   Asset Purchase Agreement, dated October 23, 2007, by and among GateHouse Media Operating, Inc., as Buyer, GateHouse Media, Inc., as Buyer guarantor, Morris Communications Company LLC, Morris Publishing Group, LLC, MPG Allegan Property, LLC, Broadcaster Press, Inc., MPG Holland Property, LLC, The Oak Ridger, LLC, and Yankton Printing Company, as Sellers, and Morris Communications Company, LLC, as Sellers’ guarantor     8-K   2.1   December 3, 2007
    2.7   Stock Purchase Agreement dated as of June 28, 2013 by and among Dow Jones Ventures VII, Inc., Dow Jones Local Media Group, Inc., Newcastle Investment Corp. and Dow Jones & Company, Inc.     10/A   2.7   November 8, 2013
    2.8   Debtors’ Joint Prepackaged Chapter 11 Plan     10/A   2.8   November 8, 2013
    2.9   Debtors’ Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law and Order Approving Debtors’ Disclosure Statement For, and Confirming, Debtors’ Joint Prepackaged Chapter 11 Plan     10/A   2.9   November 8, 2013

 

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Exhibit
No.

 

Description of Exhibit

 

Included
Herewith

  Incorporated by Reference
     

Form

 

Exhibit

 

Filing Date

    3.1   Form of Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation of New Media Investment Group Inc.     10/A   3.1   November 8, 2013
    3.2   Form of Amended and Restated Bylaws of New Media Investment Group Inc.     10/A   3.2   November 8, 2013
    4.1   Form of Investor Rights Agreement by and among GateHouse Media, Inc. and FIF III Liberty Holdings LLC     S-1/A   4.2   October 11, 2006
    4.2   Restructuring Support Agreement, dated September 3, 2013, by and among GateHouse Media, Inc. and certain subsidiaries of GateHouse, Newcastle Investment Corp, as Plan Sponsor, each of the Participating Creditors, and Cortland Products Corp., in its capacity as administrative agent under the Credit Agreement     8-K   4.1   September 10, 2013
    4.3   Investment Commitment Letter, dated September 3, 2013, by and among GateHouse Media, Inc. and certain of its subsidiaries that are signatories thereto and Newcastle Investment Corp.     8-K   4.2   September 10, 2013
    4.4   Credit Amendment, dated as of September 3, 2013, by and among GateHouse Media Holdco, Inc. (“Holdco”), GateHouse Media Operating, Inc., GateHouse Media Massachusetts I, Inc., GateHouse Media Massachusetts II, Inc. and ENHE Acquisition, LLC, those subsidiaries of Holdco party hereto as Guarantors and the Required Lenders party hereto     8-K   4.3   September 10, 2013
    4.5   Form of Registration Rights Agreement between New Media Investment Group Inc. and Omega Advisors, Inc.     10/A   4.5   November 8, 2013
    4.6   Amendment to Investment Commitment Letter dated October 25, 2013 by and among GateHouse Media, Inc., certain of its subsidiaries and Newcastle Investment Corp.     10/A   4.6   November 8, 2013
    4.7   Global Warrant Certificate of New Media Investment Group Inc. (included herewith in Exhibit 10.27)   X      
    5.1   Opinion of Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP   X      
*10.1   GateHouse Media, Inc. Omnibus Stock Incentive Plan     S-1/A   10.1   October 11, 2006
*10.2   Form of Restricted Share Award Agreement under the GateHouse Media, Inc. Omnibus Stock Incentive Plan (three-year vesting)     10-K   10.2   March 17, 2008
*10.3   Form of Restricted Share Award Agreement under the GateHouse Media, Inc. Omnibus Stock Incentive Plan (April 15, 2008 vesting)     10-K   10.3   March 17, 2008
*10.4   Liberty Group Publishing, Inc. Publisher’s Deferred Compensation Plan     S-1   10.2   July 21, 2006

 

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Exhibit
No.

 

Description of Exhibit

 

Included
Herewith

  Incorporated by Reference
     

Form

 

Exhibit

 

Filing Date

*10.5   Liberty Group Publishing, Inc. Executive Benefit Plan     S-1   10.3   July 21, 2006
*10.6   Liberty Group Publishing, Inc. Executive Deferral Plan     S-1   10.4   July 21, 2006
*10.7   Employment Agreement, dated as of January 3, 2006, by and among Liberty Group Publishing, Inc., Liberty Group Operating, Inc. and Michael E. Reed     S-1   10.8   July 21, 2006
*10.8   Employment Agreement, dated as of May 1, 2006, by and among GateHouse Media, Inc., GateHouse Media Operating, Inc. and Polly G. Sack     S-1   10.12   July 21, 2006
*10.9   Management Stockholder Agreement, dated as of January 29, 2006, by and between Liberty Group Publishing, Inc., FIF III Liberty Holdings LLC and Michael E. Reed     S-1   10.13   July 21, 2006
*10.10   Management Stockholder Agreement, dated as of May 17, 2006, by and between GateHouse Media, Inc., FIF III Liberty Holdings LLC and Polly G. Sack     S-1   10.19   July 21, 2006
  10.11   Form of Indemnification Agreement to be entered into by New Media Investment Group Inc. with each of its executive officers and directors     10/A   10.11   November 8, 2013
  10.12   License Agreement, dated as of February 28, 2007, by and between SureWest Communications and GateHouse Media, Inc.     8-K   10.1   March 1, 2007
  10.13   Amended and Restated Credit Agreement, dated as of February 27, 2007, among GateHouse Media Holdco, Inc., as Holdco, GateHouse Media Operating, Inc., as the Company, GateHouse Media Massachusetts I, Inc., GateHouse Media Massachusetts II, Inc., and ENHE Acquisition, LLC, as Subsidiary Borrowers, the Domestic Subsidiaries of Holdco from time to time Parties thereto, as Guarantors, the Lenders Parties thereto, Goldman Sachs Credit Partners L.P., as Syndication Agent, Morgan Stanley Senior Funding, Inc., and BMO Capital Markets Financing, Inc., as co-documentation Agents and Cortland Products Corp., as successor to Wells Fargo Bank, as Administrative Agent, Wachovia Capital Markets, LLC, as Goldman Sachs Credit Partners, L.P., General Electric Capital Corporation and Morgan Stanley Senior Funding, Inc., as Joint Lead Arrangers and Joint Book Runners     8-K   10.1   March 1, 2007

 

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Exhibit
No.

 

Description of Exhibit

 

Included
Herewith

  Incorporated by Reference
     

Form

 

Exhibit

 

Filing Date

  10.14   Amended and Restated Security Agreement, dated as of February 28, 2007, among GateHouse Media Holdco, Inc., as Holdco, GateHouse Media Operating, Inc., as the Company, GateHouse Media Massachusetts I, Inc., GateHouse Media Massachusetts II, Inc., and ENHE Acquisition, LLC, as Subsidiary Borrowers, the Domestic Subsidiaries of Holdco from time to time Parties thereto, as Guarantors, and Wells Fargo Bank, as Administrative Agent, Wachovia Capital Markets, LLC, as Goldman Sachs Credit Partners, L.P., General Electric Capital Corporation and Morgan Stanley Senior Funding, Inc., as Joint Lead Arrangers and Joint Book Runners     8-K   10.2   March 1, 2007
  10.15   Amended and Restated Pledge Agreement, dated as of February 28, 2007, among GateHouse Media Holdco, Inc., as Holdco, GateHouse Media Operating, Inc., as the Company, GateHouse Media Massachusetts I, Inc., GateHouse Media Massachusetts II, Inc., and ENHE Acquisition, LLC, as Subsidiary Borrowers, the Domestic Subsidiaries of Holdco from time to time Parties thereto, as Guarantors, and Wells Fargo Bank, as Administrative Agent, for the several banks and other financial institutions as may from time to time becomes parties to such Credit Agreement     8-K   10.3   March 1, 2007
  10.16   First Amendment to Amended and Restated Credit Agreement, dated as of May 7, 2007, by and among GateHouse Media Holdco, Inc., as Holdco, GateHouse Media Operating, Inc., as the Company, GateHouse Media Massachusetts I, Inc., GateHouse Media Massachusetts II, Inc. and ENHE Acquisition, LLC, as Subsidiary Borrowers, the Domestic Subsidiaries of Holdco from time to time Parties thereto, as Guarantors, the Lenders Parties thereto, and Wells Fargo Bank, as Administrative Agent     8-K   99.1   May 11, 2007
  10.17   Underwriting Agreement, dated July 17, 2007, among GateHouse Media, Inc. and Goldman, Sachs & Co., Wachovia Capital Markets, LLC and Morgan Stanley & Co. Incorporated     8-K   1.1   July 18, 2007
  10.18   Second Amendment to Amended and Restated Credit Agreement, dated as of February 3, 2009, by and among GateHouse Media Holdco, Inc., as Holdco, GateHouse Media Operating, Inc., as the Company, GateHouse Media Massachusetts I, Inc., GateHouse Media Massachusetts II, Inc. and ENHE Acquisition, LLC, as Subsidiary Borrowers, the Domestic Subsidiaries of Holdco from time to time Parties thereto, as Guarantors, the Lenders Parties thereto, and Wells Fargo Bank, as Administrative Agent     8-K   99.1   February 5, 2009

 

II-9


Table of Contents

Exhibit
No.

 

Description of Exhibit

 

Included
Herewith

  Incorporated by Reference
     

Form

 

Exhibit

 

Filing Date

*10.19   Offer letter dated December 23, 2008, between GateHouse Media, Inc., and Melinda A. Janik     10-K   10.23   March 13, 2009
*10.20   Employment Agreement dated as of January 9, 2009, by and among GateHouse Media, Inc., GateHouse Media Operating Inc., and Kirk Davis     8-K   10.1   January 9, 2009
*10.21   Offer letter dated February 4, 2008, between GateHouse Media, Inc., and Mark Maring     10-Q   10.1   November 7, 2008
*10.22   Form of amendment to Employment Agreement for Michael E. Reed     10-K   10.22   March 8, 2012
*10.23   Form of amendment to Employment Agreement for Kirk Davis     10-K   10.23   March 8, 2012
*10.24   Form of Employment Agreement by and among GateHouse Media, Inc., GateHouse Operating, Inc. and Melinda A. Janik     10-K   10.24   March 8, 2012
*10.25   Form of amendment to Employment Agreement for Polly G. Sack     10-K   10.25   March 8, 2012
  10.26   Agency Succession and Amendment Agreement, dated as of March 30, 2011 by and among GateHouse Media Holdco, Inc., GateHouse Media Operating, Inc., GateHouse Media Massachusetts I, Inc., GateHouse Media Massachusetts II, Inc., ENHE Acquisition, LLC, each of those domestic subsidiaries of Holdco identified as a “Guarantor” on the signature pages of the Credit Agreement, Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., successor-by-merger to Wachovia Bank, National Association, as the resigning Administrative Agent, and the Successor Agent     8-K   99.1   April 7, 2011
  10.27   Warrant Agreement dated as of November 26, 2013 between New Media Investment Group Inc. and American Stock Transfer & Trust Company, LLC   X      
  10.28   Form of Management Agreement between New Media Investment Group Inc. and FIG LLC     10   10.28   September 27, 2013
  10.29   Contribution Agreement dated November 26, 2013 between Newcastle Investment Corp. and New Media Investment Group Inc.   X      
  10.30   Form of Cooperation Agreement between Newcastle Investment Corp. and New Media Investment Group Inc.     10/A   10.30   November 8, 2013
  10.31   Form of Assignment Agreement between Newcastle Investment Corp. and New Media Investment Group Inc.     10/A   10.31   November 8, 2013

 

II-10


Table of Contents

Exhibit
No.

 

Description of Exhibit

 

Included
Herewith

  Incorporated by Reference
     

Form

 

Exhibit

 

Filing Date

  10.32   GateHouse Management and Advisory Agreement, dated as of November 26, 2013 between GateHouse Media, Inc., certain wholly-owned subsidiaries of GateHouse Media, Inc, and New Media Investment Group Inc.   X      
  10.33   Revolving Credit, Term Loan and Security Agreement, dated as of November 26, 2013 by and among GateHouse Media, Inc., GateHouse Media Intermediate Holdco, Inc., certain wholly-owned subsidiaries of GateHouse Media Intermediate Holdco, Inc., PNC Bank, National Association, as the administrative agent, Crystal Financial LLC, as term loan B agent, and each of the lenders party thereto   X      
  10.34   Term Loan and Security Agreement dated November 26, 2013 by and among GateHouse Media, Inc., GateHouse Media Intermediate Holdco Inc., certain wholly-owned subsidiaries of GateHouse Media Intermediate Holdco, Inc., Mutual Quest Fund and each of the lenders party thereto   X      
  10.35   Management and Advisory Agreement dated August 27, 2013 between Local Media Group Holdings LLC and GateHouse Media, Inc.   X      
  10.36*†   Form of New Media Investment Group Inc. Nonqualified Stock Option and Incentive Award Plan        
  16.1   Letter from KPMG LLP to the Securities and Exchange Commission dated April 13, 2007     8-K/A   16.1   April 13, 2007
  21.1†   Subsidiaries of New Media Investment Group Inc.        
  23.1   Consent of Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton (included in Exhibit 5.1)   X      
  23.2   Consent of Ernst & Young LLP relating to the audited balance sheet of New Media Investment Group Inc.   X      
  23.3   Consent of Ernst & Young LLP relating to the consolidated financial statements and schedule of GateHouse Media, Inc.   X      
  23.4   Consent of Ernst & Young LLP relating to the combined financial statements of Dow Jones Local Media Group, Inc.   X      
  24.1   Powers of Attorney (included on signature page)   X      

For purposes of the incorporation by reference of documents as Exhibits, all references to Forms 10-K, 10-Q and 8-K of GateHouse Media, Inc. refer to Forms 10-K, 10-Q and 8-K of GateHouse Media, Inc. filed with the Commission under Commission file number 001-33091, all references to Forms S-1 and S-1/A of GateHouse Media, Inc. refer to Forms S-1 and S-1/A of GateHouse Media, Inc. filed with the Commission under

 

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Table of Contents

Registration Number 333-135944 and all references to Forms 10 and 10/A of New Media Investment Group Inc. refer to Forms 10 and 10/A of New Media Investment Group Inc. filed with the Commission under Commission file number 001-36097.

 

To be filed by amendment.
* Management contracts and compensatory plans or arrangements.
# Previously filed.

 

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Exhibit 5.1

 

LOGO

December 9, 2013

New Media Investment Group Inc.

1345 Avenue of the Americas

New York, New York 10105

Ladies and Gentleman:

We have acted as special counsel to New Media Investment Group Inc., a corporation organized under the laws of Delaware (the “Company”), in connection with the preparation of a registration statement on Form S-1 (No. 333-             ) (the “Registration Statement”) filed by the Company with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”) pursuant to the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”). The Registration Statement relates to the distribution by spin-off of 25,373,120 shares (the “Company Securities”) of the Company’s common stock, par value $0.01 per share (the “Common Stock”) to shareholders of Newcastle Investment Corp.

In arriving at the opinions expressed below, we have reviewed the following documents:

 

  (a) the Registration Statement; and

 

  (b) the Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation of the Company, included as Exhibit 3.1 to the Registration Statement.

In addition, we have reviewed the originals or copies certified or otherwise identified to our satisfaction of all such corporate records of the Company and such other documents, and we have made such investigations of law, as we have deemed appropriate as a basis for the opinions expressed below.

In rendering the opinion expressed below, we have assumed the authenticity of all documents submitted to us as originals and the conformity to the originals of all documents

 

LOGO


New Media Investment Group Inc., p. 2

 

submitted to us as copies. In addition, we have assumed and have not verified the accuracy as to factual matters of each document we have reviewed.

Based on the foregoing, and subject to the further assumptions and qualifications set forth below, it is our opinion that the Company Securities have been duly authorized by all necessary corporate action of the Company, have been validly issued by the Company and are fully paid and nonassessable.

The foregoing opinion is limited to the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware, including the applicable provisions of the Delaware Constitution and reported judicial decisions interpreting such laws.

We hereby consent to the filing of this opinion as an exhibit to the Registration Statement and to the reference to this firm under the heading “Legal Matters” in the Registration Statement and the related prospectus included in the Registration Statement. In giving such consent, we do not thereby admit that we are within the category of persons whose consent is required under Section 7 of the Securities Act or the rules and regulations of the Commission thereunder.

 

Very truly yours,
CLEARY GOTTLIEB STEEN & HAMILTON LLP
By:   /s/    Duane McLaughlin        
  Duane McLaughlin, a Partner

Exhibit 10.27

 

 

 

WARRANT AGREEMENT

by and between

NEW MEDIA INVESTMENT GROUP INC.

and

AMERICAN STOCK TRANSFER & TRUST COMPANY, LLC,

as Warrant Agent

Dated as of November 26, 2013

 

 

 


WARRANT AGREEMENT

This WARRANT AGREEMENT (as amended, supplemented, amended and restated or otherwise modified from time to time, this “ Warrant Agreement ”), is entered into as of November 26, 2013, by and between NEW MEDIA INVESTMENT GROUP INC., a Delaware corporation (the “ Company ”), and AMERICAN STOCK TRANSFER & TRUST COMPANY, LLC, a New York limited liability company, as warrant agent (together with any successor appointed pursuant to Section 21 hereof, the “ Warrant Agent ”). Capitalized terms used but not defined herein shall have the meaning ascribed to such terms in the Plan (as defined below).

WHEREAS , GateHouse Media, Inc. (“ GateHouse ”) and certain of its subsidiaries (collectively with GateHouse, the “ GateHouse Parties ”) have pursued certain restructuring transactions (the “ Restructuring ”) pursuant to a pre-packaged chapter 11 plan (the “ Plan ”) whereby holders of equity interests in GateHouse (“ GateHouse Interests ”) received, with respect to their GateHouse Interests, warrants entitling such holders to purchase common stock in the Company (such warrants, “ Warrants ” and such common stock, “ Common Stock ”) with ownership interests in reorganized GateHouse;

WHEREAS, the Effective Date of the Plan has occurred (the “ Plan Effective Date ”);

WHEREAS , the Warrants have been issued pursuant to, and upon the terms and conditions set forth in, the Plan, in an offering in reliance on the exemption from the registration requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “ Securities Act ”) afforded by section 1145 of the Bankruptcy Code, Section 4(2) of the Securities Act, any other available exemption from registration under the Securities Act, or any applicable state securities or “blue sky” laws;

WHEREAS , the Company desires the Warrant Agent to act on behalf of the Company, and the Warrant Agent is willing so to act, in connection with the issuance of Warrants and other matters as provided herein; and

WHEREAS , for purposes of this Warrant Agreement, “person” shall be interpreted broadly to include an individual, corporation, partnership, joint venture, association, joint stock company, limited liability company, limited liability partnership, national banking association, trust, trustee, unincorporated organization, government, governmental unit, agency, or political subdivision thereof, or other entity.

NOW, THEREFORE , in consideration of the premises and the mutual agreements herein set forth, the parties hereto agree as follows:

Section 1 Warrants . Prior to 5:00 p.m., New York City time, on the Expiration Date (as defined below), each holder of a Warrant may, upon satisfaction of the conditions set forth herein, upon exercise of a Warrant, purchase shares of Common Stock up to an amount equal to 1 share for each such Warrant, at a per share exercise price of $46.35.

Section 2 Appointment of Warrant Agent . The Company hereby appoints the Warrant Agent to act as warrant agent for the Company in respect of the Warrants upon the express terms and subject to the conditions set forth herein (and no implied terms), and the Warrant Agent hereby accepts such appointment.

Section 3 Issuance of Warrants . In accordance with Section 6 hereof and the Plan and subject to the next sentence, the Company will cause to be issued to the Depository (as defined below), one or more Global Warrant Certificates (as defined below) evidencing the Warrants. At the election of a holder of Warrants and in lieu of holding Warrants through the Depository, such holder may elect to be issued Warrants by book-entry registration on the books and records of the Warrant Agent (“ Book-Entry Warrants ”) and such Warrants shall be evidenced by statements issued by the Warrant Agent from time to time to the registered holder of Book-Entry Warrants reflecting such book-entry position (the “ Warrant


Statement ”). Each Warrant entitles the holder, upon proper exercise and payment of the applicable Exercise Price, to receive from the Company such number of shares of Common Stock for each such Warrant determined pursuant to Section 1 hereof (as may be adjusted pursuant to Section 13 hereof). The shares of Common Stock (as provided pursuant to Section 13 hereof) or other shares of capital stock deliverable upon proper exercise of the Warrants are referred to herein as the “ Warrant Shares .” The words “ holder ” or “ holders ” as used herein in respect of any Warrants or Warrant Shares shall mean the registered holder or registered holders thereof.

Section 4 Warrant Certificates . Subject to Section 7 hereof, the Warrants shall be issued (a) via book-entry registration on the books and records of the Warrant Agent and evidenced by a Warrant Statement, and/or (b) in the form of one or more global certificates (the “ Global Warrant Certificates ”), in substantially the form set forth in Exhibit A attached hereto. The Warrant Statements and Global Warrant Certificates may bear such appropriate insertions, omissions, substitutions and other variations as are required or permitted by this Warrant Agreement, and may have such letters, numbers or other marks of identification and such legends or endorsements placed thereon as may be required to comply with any law or with any rules made pursuant thereto or with any rules of any securities exchange or as may, consistently herewith, be determined by (i) in the case of Global Warrant Certificates, the Appropriate Officers (as defined below) executing such Global Warrant Certificates, as evidenced by their execution of the Global Warrant Certificates, or (ii) in the case of Warrant Statements, any Appropriate Officer, and all of which shall be reasonably acceptable to the Warrant Agent. The Global Warrant Certificates shall be deposited on or after the date hereof with, or with the Warrant Agent as custodian for, The Depository Trust Company (the “ Depository ”) and registered in the name of Cede & Co., as the Depository’s nominee. Each Global Warrant Certificate shall represent such number of the outstanding Warrants as specified therein, and each shall provide that it shall represent the aggregate amount of outstanding Warrants from time to time endorsed thereon and that the aggregate amount of outstanding Warrants represented thereby may from time to time be reduced or increased, as appropriate, in accordance with the terms of this Warrant Agreement.

Section 5 Execution of Warrant Certificates . Global Warrant Certificates shall be signed on behalf of the Company by its Chairman of the Board, its Chief Executive Officer or any Vice President, and by the Secretary or any Assistant Secretary (each, an “ Appropriate Officer ”). Each such signature upon the Global Warrant Certificates may be in the form of a facsimile or other electronically transmitted signature (including, without limitation, electronic transmission in portable document format (.pdf)) of any such Appropriate Officer and may be imprinted or otherwise reproduced on the Global Warrant Certificates and for that purpose the Company may adopt and use the facsimile or other electronically transmitted signature of any Appropriate Officer who shall have been an Appropriate Officer at the time of entering into this Warrant Agreement. If any Appropriate Officer who shall have signed any of the Global Warrant Certificates shall cease to be such Appropriate Officer before the Global Warrant Certificates so signed shall have been countersigned by the Warrant Agent or delivered by the Company, such Global Warrant Certificates nevertheless may be countersigned and delivered as though such Appropriate Officer had not ceased to be such Appropriate Officer of the Company; and any Global Warrant Certificate may be signed on behalf of the Company by any person who, at the actual date of the execution of such Global Warrant Certificate, shall be a proper Appropriate Officer of the Company to sign such Global Warrant Certificate, although at the date of the execution of this Warrant Agreement any such person was not such Appropriate Officer.

Global Warrant Certificates shall be dated as of the date of countersignature by the Warrant Agent and shall represent one or more whole Warrants.

Section 6 Registration and Countersignature . Upon receipt of a written order of the Company, the Warrant Agent, on behalf of the Company, shall (a) register in the Warrant Register (as defined below) the Book-Entry Warrants as well as any Global Warrant Certificates and exchanges and transfers

 

2


of outstanding Warrants in accordance with the procedures set forth in this Warrant Agreement and (b) upon receipt of the Global Warrant Certificates duly executed on behalf of the Company, countersign one or more Global Warrant Certificates evidencing Warrants and shall deliver such Global Warrant Certificates to or upon the written order of the Company. Such written order of the Company shall specifically state the number of Warrants that are to be issued as Book-Entry Warrants and the number of Warrants that are to be issued as one or more Global Warrant Certificates. A Global Warrant Certificate shall be, and shall remain, subject to the provisions of this Warrant Agreement until such time as all of the Warrants evidenced thereby shall have been duly exercised or shall have expired or been canceled in accordance with the terms hereof. Each holder of Warrants shall be bound by all of the terms and provisions of this Warrant Agreement (a copy of which shall be available on request to the Secretary of the Company) as fully and effectively as if such holder had signed the same.

No Global Warrant Certificate shall be valid for any purpose, and no Warrant evidenced thereby shall be exercisable, until such Global Warrant Certificate has been countersigned by the manual or facsimile signature of the Warrant Agent. Such signature by the Warrant Agent upon any Global Warrant Certificate executed by the Company shall be conclusive evidence that such Global Warrant Certificate so countersigned has been duly issued hereunder.

The Warrant Agent shall keep, at an office designated for such purpose, books (the “ Warrant Register ”) in which, subject to such reasonable regulations as it may prescribe, it shall register the Book-Entry Warrants as well as any Global Warrant Certificates and exchanges and transfers of outstanding Warrants in accordance with the procedures set forth in Section 7 of this Warrant Agreement, all in form satisfactory to the Company and the Warrant Agent.

Prior to due presentment for registration of transfer or exchange of any Warrant in accordance with the procedures set forth in this Warrant Agreement, the Warrant Agent and the Company may deem and treat the person in whose name any Warrant is registered as the absolute owner of such Warrant (notwithstanding any notation of ownership or other writing made in a Global Warrant Certificate by anyone), for the purpose of any exercise thereof, any distribution to the holder of the Warrant thereof and for all other purposes, and neither the Warrant Agent nor the Company shall be affected by notice to the contrary.

Section 7 Registration of Transfers and Exchanges .

(a) Transfer and Exchange of Global Warrant Certificates or Beneficial Interests Therein . The transfer and exchange of Global Warrant Certificates or beneficial interests therein shall be effected through the Depository, in accordance with this Warrant Agreement and the procedures of the Depository therefor.

(b) Exchange of a Beneficial Interest in a Global Warrant Certificate for a Book-Entry Warrant .

(i) Any holder of a beneficial interest in a Global Warrant Certificate may, upon request, exchange such beneficial interest for a Book-Entry Warrant. Upon receipt by the Warrant Agent from the Depository or its nominee of written instructions or such other form of instructions as is customary for the Depository on behalf of any person having a beneficial interest in a Global Warrant Certificate, the Warrant Agent shall cause, in accordance with the standing instructions and procedures existing between the Depository and Warrant Agent, the number of Warrants represented by the Global Warrant Certificate to be reduced by the number of Warrants to be represented by the Book-Entry Warrants to be issued in exchange for the beneficial interest of such person in the Global Warrant Certificate and, following such reduction, the Warrant Agent shall register in the name of the holder a Book-Entry Warrant and deliver to said Warrant holder a Warrant Statement.

 

3


(ii) Book-Entry Warrants issued in exchange for a beneficial interest in a Global Warrant Certificate pursuant to this Section 7(b) shall be registered in such names as the Depository, pursuant to instructions from its direct or indirect participants or otherwise, shall instruct the Warrant Agent. The Warrant Agent shall deliver such Warrant Statements to the persons in whose names such Warrants are so registered.

(c) Transfer and Exchange of Book-Entry Warrants . Book-Entry Warrants surrendered for exchange or for registration of transfer shall be cancelled by the Warrant Agent. Such cancelled Book-Entry Warrants shall then be disposed of by or at the direction of the Company in accordance with applicable law. When Book-Entry Warrants are presented to or deposited with the Warrant Agent with a written request to:

(i) register the transfer of the Book-Entry Warrants; or

(ii) exchange such Book-Entry Warrants for an equal number of Book-Entry Warrants of other authorized denominations,

then in each case the Warrant Agent shall register the transfer or make the exchange as requested if its requirements for such transactions are met; provided , however , that the Warrant Agent has received a written instruction of transfer in form satisfactory to the Warrant Agent, duly executed by the holder thereof or by such holder’s attorney, duly authorized in writing.

(d) Exchange or Transfer of a Book-Entry Warrant for a Beneficial Interest in a Global Warrant Certificate . Upon receipt by the Warrant Agent of appropriate written instruments of transfer with respect to a Book-Entry Warrant, in form satisfactory to the Warrant Agent, together with written instructions directing the Warrant Agent to make, or to direct the Depository to make, an endorsement on the Global Warrant Certificate to reflect an increase in the number of Warrants represented by the Global Warrant Certificate equal to the number of Warrants represented by such Book-Entry Warrant (such instruments of transfer and instructions to be duly executed by the holder thereof or the duly appointed legal representative thereof or the attorney thereof, duly authorized in writing, such signatures to be guaranteed by an eligible guarantor institution to the extent required by the Warrant Agent or the Depository), then the Warrant Agent shall cancel such Book-Entry Warrant on the Warrant Register and cause, or direct the Depository to cause, in accordance with the standing instructions and procedures existing between the Depository and the Warrant Agent, the number of Warrants represented by the Global Warrant Certificate to be increased accordingly. If no Global Warrant Certificates are then outstanding, the Company shall issue, and the Warrant Agent shall countersign, a new Global Warrant Certificate representing the appropriate number of Warrants.

(e) Restrictions on Transfer and Exchange of Global Warrant Certificates . Notwithstanding any other provisions of this Warrant Agreement (other than the provisions set forth in Section 7(f) ), unless and until it is exchanged in whole for a Book-Entry Warrant, a Global Warrant Certificate may not be transferred as a whole except by the Depository to a nominee of the Depository or by a nominee of the Depository to the Depository or another nominee of the Depository or by the Depository or any such nominee to a successor Depository or a nominee of such successor Depository.

(f) Book-Entry Warrants . If at any time:

(i) the Depository for the Global Warrant Certificates notifies the Company that the Depository is unwilling or unable to continue as Depository for the Global Warrant Certificates and a successor Depository for the Global Warrant Certificates is not appointed by the Company within ninety (90) days after delivery of such notice; or

 

4


(ii) the Company, in its sole discretion, notifies the Warrant Agent in writing that all Warrants shall be exclusively in the form of Book-Entry Warrants, then the Warrant Agent, upon written instructions signed by an Appropriate Officer of the Company and all other necessary information, shall register Book-Entry Warrants, in an aggregate number equal to the number of Warrants represented by the Global Warrant Certificates, in exchange for such Global Warrant Certificates, in such names and in such amounts as directed by the Depository or, in the absence of instructions from the Depository, the Company.

(g) Cancellation of Global Warrant Certificate . At such time as all beneficial interests in Global Warrant Certificates have either been exchanged for Book-Entry Warrants, redeemed, repurchased or cancelled, all Global Warrant Certificates shall be returned to, or cancelled and retained pursuant to applicable law by, the Warrant Agent.

(h) Obligations with Respect to Transfers and Exchanges of Warrants .

(i) To permit registrations of transfers and exchanges, the Company shall execute and the Warrant Agent is hereby authorized to countersign Global Warrant Certificates and the Warrant Agent is hereby authorized to register Book-Entry Warrants, in accordance with the provisions of Section 4 and Section 5 hereof and this Section 7 and for the purpose of any distribution of additional Global Warrant Certificates contemplated by Section 13 hereof.

(ii) All Book-Entry Warrants and Global Warrant Certificates issued upon any registration of transfer or exchange of Book-Entry Warrants or Global Warrant Certificates shall be the valid obligations of the Company, entitled to the same benefits under this Warrant Agreement as the Book-Entry Warrants or Global Warrant Certificates surrendered upon such registration of transfer or exchange.

(iii) So long as the Depository, or its nominee, is the registered owner of a Global Warrant Certificate, the Depository or such nominee, as the case may be, may be treated by the Company, the Warrant Agent and any agent of the Company or the Warrant Agent as the sole owner or holder of the Warrants represented by such Global Warrant Certificate for all purposes under this Warrant Agreement. Except as provided in Section 7(b) and Section 7(f) hereof upon the exchange of a beneficial interest in a Global Warrant Certificate for a Book-Entry Warrant, owners of beneficial interests in a Global Warrant Certificate will not be entitled to have any Warrants registered in their names, and will not receive or be entitled to receive physical delivery of any such Warrants and will not be considered the owners or holders thereof under the Warrants or this Warrant Agreement. Neither the Company nor the Warrant Agent, in its capacity as registrar for such Warrants, will have any responsibility or liability for any aspect of the records relating to beneficial interests in a Global Warrant Certificate or for maintaining, supervising or reviewing any records relating to such beneficial interests. Notwithstanding the foregoing, nothing herein shall prevent the Company, the Warrant Agent or any agent of the Company or the Warrant Agent from giving effect to any written certification, proxy or other authorization furnished by the Depository or impair the operation of customary practices of the Depository governing the exercise of the rights of a holder of a beneficial interest in a Global Warrant Certificate.

(iv) Subject to Section 7(b), Section 7(c) and Section 7(d) hereof and this Section 7(h) , the Warrant Agent shall, upon receipt of all information required to be delivered hereunder, from time to time register the transfer of any Book-Entry Warrants in the Warrant Register and the transfer of any Global Warrant Certificates in the Warrant Register, upon surrender of the Global Warrant Certificates representing such Warrants at the Warrant Agent Office referred to in Section 22 hereof (the “ Warrant Agent Office ”), duly endorsed, and accompanied by a completed form of assignment (or with respect to a Book-Entry Warrant, only such completed form of assignment), duly signed by the holder thereof or by the duly appointed legal representative thereof or by a duly authorized attorney, such signature to be guaranteed by an eligible guarantor institution to the extent required by the Warrant Agent or the Depository.

 

5


Upon any such registration of transfer, a new Global Warrant Certificate or a Warrant Statement, as the case may be, shall be issued to the transferee.

Section 8 Acknowledgment ; Securities Law Compliance . Each Warrant holder, by its acceptance of any Warrant under this Warrant Agreement, acknowledges and agrees that the Warrants were issued, and the Warrant Shares issuable upon exercise thereof shall be issued, pursuant to an exemption from the registration requirement of Section 5 of the Securities Act provided by Section 1145 of the Bankruptcy Code, and to the extent that a Warrant holder (or holder of Warrant Shares) is an “underwriter” as defined in Section 1145(b)(1) of the Bankruptcy Code, such holder may not be able to sell or transfer any Warrants or Warrant Shares in the absence of an effective registration statement under the Securities Act or an exemption from registration thereunder.

Section 9 Terms of Warrants ; Exercise of Warrants .

(a) Subject to the terms of this Warrant Agreement, each Warrant holder shall have the right, which may be exercised at any time, and from time to time, in whole or in part, during the period commencing on the date of original issuance of the Global Warrant Certificates pursuant to the terms of this Warrant Agreement and ending at 5:00 p.m. New York City time, on the tenth anniversary of the Plan Effective Date (the “ Expiration Date ”), to properly exercise each Warrant and receive from the Company the number of Warrant Shares which the holder may at the time be entitled to receive on exercise of such Warrants and payment of the aggregate Exercise Price then in effect for such Warrant Shares.

(b) Subject to the adjustments set forth in Section 13 , each Warrant, when exercised, will entitle the holder thereof to purchase such number of shares of Common Stock for each such Warrant as set forth in Section 1 hereof at the Exercise Price then in effect as set forth in Section 1 (as may be adjusted pursuant to Section 13 hereof). Each Warrant not exercised pursuant to this Warrant Agreement prior to 5:00 p.m., New York City time, on the Expiration Date shall become void and all rights thereunder and all rights in respect thereof under this Warrant Agreement shall cease as of such time.

(c) The holder of Warrants may, until 5:00 p.m., New York City time, on the Expiration Date, exercise, in whole or in part, at any time or from time to time, such holder’s right to purchase Warrant Shares by:

(i) providing written notice of such election (a “ Warrant Exercise Notice ”) to exercise the Warrants to the Company and Warrant Agent at the Warrant Agent Office, by overnight courier no later than 5:00 p.m., New York City time, on the Expiration Date, which Warrant Exercise Notice shall be in the form of an election to purchase Warrant Shares substantially in the form set forth either (x) in Exhibit B-1 hereto, properly completed and executed by the holder, provided that such written notice may only be submitted by a holder with respect to Book-Entry Warrants; or (y) in Exhibit B-2 hereto, properly completed and executed by the holder, provided that such written notice may only be submitted with respect to Warrants held through the book-entry facilities of the Depository, by or through persons that are direct participants in the Depository;

(ii) delivering no later than 5:00 p.m., New York City time, on the business day immediately prior to the applicable Settlement Date (as defined below), such Warrants to the Warrant Agent by book-entry transfer through the facilities of the Depository, if such Warrants are represented by a Global Warrant Certificate; and

(iii) paying the applicable aggregate Exercise Price for the Warrant Shares thereby purchased (the “ Exercise Amount ”), together with all applicable taxes and charges, by having the Company withhold, from the shares of Common Stock that would otherwise be delivered to such holder of Warrants upon such exercise, Warrant Shares issuable upon exercise of the Warrants so exercised equal in value to the aggregate Exercise Price as to such Warrant Shares, based on the market price of the Common Stock on the trading day on which such Warrants are exercised and the Warrant Exercise Notice is delivered to

 

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the Warrant Agent pursuant to this Section 9 . For the avoidance of doubt, if Warrants are exercised such that the Exercise Price would exceed the value of the Warrant Shares issuable upon exercise, no amount shall be due and payable by the holder of Warrants to the Company. The date three business days after a Warrant Exercise Notice is delivered is referred to for all purposes under this Warrant Agreement as the “ Settlement Date ”.

(d) To the extent a Warrant Exercise Notice is delivered in respect of a Warrant prior to 5:00 p.m., New York City time, on the Expiration Date, but the deliveries and payments specified in Section 9(c)(ii) and Section 9(c)(iii) above are effected after the Expiration Date but no later than 5:00 p.m., New York City time, on the Settlement Date, the Warrants shall be nonetheless deemed exercised prior to 5:00 p.m., New York City time, on the Expiration Date for the purposes of this Warrant Agreement.

(e) Any exercise of a Warrant pursuant to the terms of this Warrant Agreement shall be irrevocable and shall constitute a binding agreement between the holder and the Company, enforceable in accordance with its terms; provided that a holder may condition its exercise of a Warrant on the consummation of a Reorganization Event (as defined below).

(f) The Warrant Agent shall:

(i) examine all Warrant Exercise Notices and all other documents delivered to it by or on behalf of holders to ascertain whether, on their face, such Warrant Exercise Notices and any such other documents have been executed and completed in accordance with their terms;

(ii) where a Warrant Exercise Notice or other document appears on its face to have been improperly completed or executed or some other irregularity in connection with the exercise of the Warrant exists, the Warrant Agent shall endeavor to inform the appropriate parties (including the person submitting such instrument) of the need for fulfillment of all requirements, specifying those requirements which appear to be unfulfilled;

(iii) inform the Company of and cooperate with and assist the Company in resolving any reconciliation problems relating to the Warrant Exercise Notices received and delivery of Warrants to the Warrant Agent’s account;

(iv) advise the Company, no later than three (3) business days after receipt of a Warrant Exercise Notice, of (x) the receipt of such Warrant Exercise Notice and the number of Warrants exercised in accordance with the terms and conditions of this Warrant Agreement, (y) the instructions with respect to delivery of the Warrant Shares, subject to the timely receipt from the Depository of the necessary information, and (z) such other information as the Company shall reasonably require; and

(v) subject to the Warrant Shares being made available to the Warrant Agent by or on behalf of the Company for delivery to the Depository, liaise with the Depository and endeavor to effect such delivery to the relevant accounts at the Depository in accordance with its requirements.

(g) All questions as to the validity, form and sufficiency (including time of receipt) of a Warrant exercise shall be reasonably determined by the Company in good faith, which determination shall be final and binding. The Warrant Agent shall incur no liability for or in respect of and, except to the extent such liability arises from the Warrant Agent’s gross negligence, willful misconduct or bad faith (each as determined by a final, non appealable order of a court of competent jurisdiction), shall be indemnified and held harmless by the Company for acting or refraining from acting upon, or as a result of, such determination by the Company. The Company reserves the right to reject any and all Warrant Exercise Notices not in proper form. Such determination by the Company shall be final and binding on the holders, absent manifest error. Moreover, the Company reserves the absolute right to waive any of the conditions to the exercise of Warrants or defects in Warrant Exercise Notices with regard to any particular exercise of Warrants. The Company shall be under no duty to give notice to the holders of the Warrants of any irregularities in any exercise of Warrants, nor shall it incur any liability for the failure to give such notice.

 

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(h) As soon as reasonably practicable after the exercise of any Warrant, the Company shall issue, or otherwise deliver, in authorized denominations to or upon the order of the holder of such Warrant either:

(i) if such holder holds the Warrants being exercised through the Depository’s book-entry transfer facilities, by same-day or next-day credit to the Depository for the account of such holder or for the account of a participant in the Depository, the number of Warrant Shares to which such holder is entitled, in each case registered in such name and delivered to such account as directed in the Warrant Exercise Notice by such holder or by the direct participant in the Depository through which such holder is acting; or

(ii) if such holder holds the Warrants being exercised in the form of Book-Entry Warrants, a book-entry interest in the Warrant Shares registered on the books of the Company’s stock transfer agent (the “ Transfer Agent ”) or, at the Company’s option, by delivery to the address designated by such holder in its Warrant Exercise Notice of a physical certificate or certificates representing the number of Warrant Shares to which such holder is entitled, in fully registered form, registered in such name or names as may be directed by such holder. Such Warrant Shares shall be deemed to have been issued and any person so designated to be named therein shall be deemed to have become a holder of record of such Warrant Shares as of the close of business on the date of the delivery thereof.

Warrants shall be exercisable during the period provided for in Section 9(a) at the election of the holder thereof, either as an entirety or from time to time for a portion of the number of Warrant Shares issuable upon exercise of such Warrants. If less than all of the Warrants evidenced by a Global Warrant Certificate surrendered upon the exercise of Warrants are exercised at any time prior to 5:00 p.m., New York City time, on the Expiration Date, a new Global Warrant Certificate(s) shall be issued for the remaining number of Warrants evidenced by the Global Warrant Certificate so surrendered, and the Warrant Agent is hereby authorized to countersign the new Global Warrant Certificate(s) pursuant to the provisions of Section 6 hereof and this Section 9 . The person in whose name any certificate or certificates for the Warrant Shares are to be issued (or such Warrant Shares are to be registered, in the case of a book-entry transfer) upon exercise of a Warrant shall be deemed to have become the holder of record of such Warrant Shares on the date such Warrant Exercise Notice is delivered.

(i) For purposes of this Warrant Agreement, a “ business day ” means any day other than a Saturday, Sunday or a day on which banking institutions in New York City are authorized or obligated by law, regulation or executive order to close or remain closed. In accordance with Section 15 hereof, no fractional shares shall be issued upon exercise of any Warrants.

(j) All Global Warrant Certificates surrendered upon exercise of Warrants shall be cancelled by the Warrant Agent. Such cancelled Global Warrant Certificates shall then be disposed of by or at the direction of the Company in accordance with applicable law. The Warrant Agent shall (x) advise an authorized representative of the Company as directed by the Company by the end of each day on which Warrants were exercised, of (i) the number of shares of Warrant Shares issued upon exercise of a Warrant, (ii) the delivery of Global Warrant Certificates evidencing the balance, if any, of the shares of Common Stock issuable after such exercise of the Warrant and (iii) such other information as the Company shall reasonably require and (y) concurrently pay to the Company all funds received by the Warrant Agent in payment of the aggregate Exercise Price. The Warrant Agent shall confirm such information to the Company in writing.

 

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(k) The Warrant Agent shall keep copies of this Warrant Agreement and any notices given or received hereunder, and provide, at the Company’s expense, copies thereof to any registered holder of the Warrants requesting, in writing, such copy prior to 5:00 p.m., New York City time, on the Expiration Date. The Company shall supply the Warrant Agent from time to time with such number of copies of this Warrant Agreement as the Warrant Agent may reasonably request.

Section 10 Payment of Taxes . No service charge shall be made to any holder of a Warrant for any exercise, exchange or registration of transfer of Warrants. Neither the Company nor the Warrant Agent shall be required to pay any tax or taxes which may be payable in respect of any transfer involved in the issuance of Warrant Shares or any certificates for Warrant Shares in a name other than that of the registered holder of a Warrant surrendered upon the exercise of a Warrant, and the Company and the Warrant Agent shall not be required to issue or deliver such Warrant Shares or the certificates representing the Warrant Shares unless or until the person or persons requesting the issuance thereof shall have paid to the Company the amount of such tax or shall have established to the satisfaction of the Company and the Warrant Agent that such tax has been paid.

Section 11 Mutilated or Missing Warrant Certificates . The Company may issue and the Warrant Agent shall countersign, upon evidence satisfactory to the Company and the Warrant Agent of the loss, theft, mutilation or destruction of the Global Warrant Certificate in lieu of the Global Warrant Certificate, a new warrant certificate of like tenor and amount in the place of any Global Warrant Certificate theretofore issued by it, alleged to have been lost, stolen, mutilated or destroyed, and the Company and the Warrant Agent may require the owner of the lost, stolen, mutilated or destroyed certificate, or such owner’s legal representative, to give the Company and the Warrant Agent a bond sufficient to indemnify them against any claim that may be made against it on account of the alleged loss, theft or destruction of any such Global Warrant Certificate or the issuance of such new certificate.

Section 12 Issuance of Common Stock .

The Company covenants that all shares of Common Stock that may be issued upon exercise of Warrants will be, upon payment of the aggregate Exercise Price and issuance thereof, duly authorized, validly issued, fully paid, nonassessable, free of preemptive rights and free from all taxes, liens, charges and security interests with respect to the issue thereof (other than any liens, charges and security interests created by the Warrant holder or the person to which the shares of Common Stock are to be issued).

Section 13 Adjustments . The number of shares of Common Stock for which a Warrant is exercisable and the Exercise Price shall be subject to adjustment from time to time as set forth in this Section 13 .

(a) Stock Dividends, Subdivisions, Combinations, Recapitalizations and Reclassification .

(i) If at any time the Company shall: (A) pay a dividend on its Common Stock (or make some other distribution on its Common Stock) consisting of shares of Common Stock, (B) subdivide its outstanding shares of Common Stock into a larger number of shares of Common Stock, or (C) combine its outstanding shares of Common Stock into a smaller number of shares of Common Stock, then the number of shares of Common Stock or other shares of capital stock for which a Warrant is exercisable shall be adjusted so that the holder of each Warrant shall be entitled upon exercise to receive the number of shares of Common Stock or other shares of capital stock that such Warrant holder would have owned or have been entitled to receive after the happening of any of the events described above, had such Warrant been exercised immediately prior to the happening of such event (or, in the case of a dividend or distribution of Common Stock, immediately prior to the record date therefor). An adjustment made pursuant to this Section 13(a) shall become effective immediately upon and contemporaneously with the effectiveness of such event.

(ii) Whenever the number of shares of Common Stock purchasable upon the exercise of any Warrant is adjusted as herein provided in Section 13(a) , the Exercise Price shall be adjusted to equal (A) the Exercise Price immediately prior to such adjustment multiplied by the number of shares of Common Stock for which a Warrant is exercisable immediately prior to such adjustment divided by (B) the number of shares of Common Stock for which a Warrant is exercisable immediately after such adjustment.

 

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(b) Other Provisions Applicable to Adjustments under this Section . The following provisions shall be applicable to the making of adjustments of the number of shares of Warrant Shares for which a Warrant is exercisable and the Exercise Price provided for in this Section 13 :

(i) When Adjustments to Be Made . The adjustments required by this Section 13 shall be made whenever and as often as any specified event requiring an adjustment shall occur. For the purpose of any adjustment, any specified event shall be deemed to have occurred at the close of business on the date of its occurrence. All calculations shall be made to the nearest cent and to the nearest one-thousandth of a share, as the case may be.

(ii) Fractional Interests . In computing adjustments pursuant to this Section 13 (but subject to Section 15 ), fractional interests in Common Stock shall be taken into account to the nearest 1/1000th of a share.

(iii) Adjustments Not Made as of Settlement Date . If the adjustments required by this Section 13 have not been made by the Settlement Date, and the shares to be received by a Warrant holder on settlement are not entitled to participate in the relevant distribution or transaction (because they were not held on a related record date or otherwise), then the Company will adjust the number of shares that the Company will deliver to such Warrant holder in respect of the relevant date to reflect the relevant distribution or transaction.

(iv) When No Adjustment Required . No other adjustments are required to be made under this Section 13 other than as expressly specified herein, including the amount of any dividend or distribution in cash or other assets other than Common Stock or any issuance of Common Stock or other interests exchangeable for or convertible into Common Stock.

(c) Reorganization, Reclassification, Merger or Consolidation of the Company .

(i) If a Reorganization Event shall occur, as a condition to the consummation of such Reorganization Event, effective provisions shall be made in the certificate of incorporation or articles of incorporation of the continuing or surviving or acquiring or resulting entity, or in any contract or agreement providing for such Reorganization Event, so that so long as any Warrant remains outstanding, each Warrant, upon the exercise thereof at any time after the consummation of such Reorganization Event, shall be exercisable into (at an initial Exercise Price equal to the Exercise Price in effect immediately prior to such Reorganization Event), in lieu of the Warrant Shares issuable upon such exercise prior to such consummation, solely the amount of cash, securities or other property (“ Substituted Property ”) receivable pursuant to such Reorganization Event by a holder of the number of shares of Warrant Shares for which a Warrant is exercisable immediately prior to the effective time of such Reorganization Event assuming such holder of Warrant Shares did not exercise its rights of election, if any, as to the kind or amount of Substituted Property receivable upon such Reorganization Event ( provided that, if the kind or amount of Substituted Property receivable upon such Reorganization Event is not the same for each share of Warrant Shares in respect of which such rights of election shall not have been exercised (“ nonelecting share ”), then for the purposes of this Section 13(c)(i) the kind and amount of Substituted Property receivable upon such Reorganization Event for each nonelecting share shall be deemed to be the kind and amount so receivable per share by a plurality of the electing shares). The provisions set forth herein providing for adjustments and otherwise for the protection of the holders of Warrants shall thereafter continue to be applicable on an as nearly equivalent basis as may be practicable and any such continuing or surviving or acquiring or resulting entity shall expressly assume all of the obligations of the Company set forth herein to the extent applicable.

 

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(ii) For purposes hereof, a “ Reorganization Event ” shall mean any transaction which the Company enters into constituting (i) a consolidation, merger, share exchange or similar transaction of the Company with or into another person pursuant to which the Common Stock is changed into, converted into or exchanged for cash, securities or other property (whether of the Company or another person); (ii) a reorganization, recapitalization or reclassification or similar transaction in which the Common Stock is exchanged for securities other than Common Stock (other than in circumstances covered by Section 13(a) ); or (iii) a statutory exchange of the outstanding shares of Common Stock for securities of another person (other than in connection with a consolidation, merger, share exchange or other similar transaction).

Section 14 Priority Adjustments, Further Actions . If any single action would require adjustment of the Exercise Price pursuant to more than one subsection of Section 13 hereof, only one adjustment shall be made and such adjustment shall be the amount of adjustment that has the highest, relative to the rights and interests of the holders of the Warrants then outstanding, absolute value.

Section 15 Fractional Shares . The Company shall not be required to issue fractional shares of Common Stock upon the exercise of the Warrants, such that the number of shares of Common Stock to be issued shall be rounded down to the nearest whole number. If more than one Warrant shall be presented for exercise at the same time by the same holder, the number of full shares of Common Stock that shall be issuable upon the exercise thereof shall be computed on the basis of the aggregate number of shares of Common Stock purchasable on exercise of all of the Warrants so presented.

Section 16 Warrant Holders not Stockholders . Nothing contained in this Warrant Agreement or in any of the Global Warrant Certificates shall be construed as conferring upon the holders of any Warrant (solely in its capacity as a holder of a Warrant) (i) the right to vote or to consent or to receive notice as stockholders in respect of the meetings of stockholders or the election of directors of the Company or any other matter for which stockholders are entitled to vote or to attend any such meetings or any other proceedings of the holders of Common Stock; (ii) without limiting the provisions of Section 13 hereof, the right to receive any cash dividends, stock dividends, allotments or rights or other distributions paid, allotted or distributed or distributable to the holders of Common Stock prior to, or for which the relevant record date precedes, the date of the exercise of such Warrant; or (iii) any other rights whatsoever as stockholders of the Company. The Warrant Agent shall have no duty to monitor or enforce compliance with this provision.

Section 17 No Redemption . The Company shall not have any right to redeem any of the Warrants evidenced hereby.

Section 18 Merger, Consolidation or Change of Name of Warrant Agent . Any person into which the Warrant Agent may be merged or converted or with which it may be consolidated, or any person resulting from any merger, conversion or consolidation to which the Warrant Agent shall be a party, or any person succeeding to all or substantially all of the corporate trust or agency business of the Warrant Agent, shall be the successor to the Warrant Agent hereunder without the execution or filing of any paper or any further act on the part of any of the parties hereto. If, at the time such successor to the Warrant Agent by merger or consolidation succeeds to the agency created by this Warrant Agreement, any of the Global Warrant Certificates shall have been countersigned but not delivered, any such successor to the Warrant Agent may adopt the countersignature of the original Warrant Agent; and if, at that time any of the Global Warrant Certificates shall not have been countersigned, any such successor to the Warrant Agent may countersign such Global Warrant Certificates either in the name of the predecessor Warrant Agent or in the name of the successor Warrant Agent; and in all such cases such Global Warrant Certificates shall have the full force and effect provided in the Global Warrant Certificates in this Warrant Agreement. If at any time the name of the Warrant Agent shall be changed and at such time any of the Global Warrant Certificates shall have been countersigned but not delivered,

 

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the Warrant Agent whose name has changed may adopt the countersignature under its prior name; and if at that time any of the Global Warrant Certificates shall not have been countersigned, the Warrant Agent may countersign such Global Warrant Certificates either in its prior name or in its changed name; and in all such cases such Global Warrant Certificates shall have the full force provided in the Global Warrant Certificates and in this Warrant Agreement.

Section 19 Warrant Agent The Warrant Agent undertakes only the duties and obligations expressly imposed by this Warrant Agreement upon the following terms and conditions, by all of which the Company and the holders of Warrants, by their acceptance thereof, shall be bound:

(a) The Warrant Agent may rely conclusively and shall be protected in acting upon any order, judgment, instruction, notice, demand, certificate, opinion or advice of counsel (including counsel chosen by or who may be an employee of the Warrant Agent or one of its affiliates), statement, instrument, report or other paper or document (not only as to its due execution and the validity and effectiveness of its provisions, but also as to the truth and acceptability and of information therein contained) which is believed by the Warrant Agent, in good faith, to be genuine and to be signed or presented by the proper person or persons as set forth in Section 19(d) .

(b) The Warrant Agent shall have no duties, responsibilities or obligations as the Warrant Agent except those which are expressly set forth herein, and in any modification or amendment hereof to which the Warrant Agent has consented in writing, and no duties, responsibilities or obligations shall be implied or inferred.

(c) The statements contained herein and in the Global Warrant Certificates shall be deemed to be statements of the Company only. The Warrant Agent assumes no responsibility for the correctness of any of the same and shall not be required to verify the same.

(d) Whenever in the performance of its duties under this Warrant Agreement the Warrant Agent deems it necessary or desirable that any fact or matter be proved or established by the Company prior to taking, suffering or omitting to take any action hereunder, such fact or matter may be deemed to be conclusively proved and established by a certificate signed by the Company’s Chairman of the Board, Chief Executive Officer, President or any Vice President and delivered to the Warrant Agent; and in reliance upon such certificate, the Warrant Agent shall take any action or omit to take any action authorized under the provisions of this Warrant Agreement. In the event the Warrant Agent reasonably believes any ambiguity or uncertainty exists hereunder or in any notice, instruction, direction, request or other communication, paper or document received by the Warrant Agent hereunder, or is uncertain of any action to take hereunder, the Warrant Agent, may, following prior written notice to the Company, refrain from taking any action, and shall be fully protected and shall not be liable in any way to the Company or any other person or entity for refraining from taking such action, unless the Warrant Agent receives written instructions signed by the Company which eliminates such ambiguity or uncertainty to the reasonable satisfaction of the Warrant Agent.

(e) The Warrant Agent shall not be responsible for any failure of the Company to comply with any of the covenants contained in this Warrant Agreement (including, without limitation, any adjustment of the Exercise Price pursuant to Section 13 hereof, the authorization or reservation of shares of Common Stock pursuant to Section 12 hereof, and the due execution and delivery by the Company of this Warrant Agreement or any Global Warrant Certificate) or in the Global Warrant Certificates to be complied with by the Company.

(f) The Warrant Agent may consult at any time with counsel satisfactory to it (who may be counsel for the Company or an employee of the Warrant Agent) and the Warrant Agent shall incur no liability or responsibility to the Company or any holder of any Warrant in respect of any action taken, suffered or omitted by it hereunder and in accordance with the opinion or the advice of such counsel.

 

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(g) The Warrant Agent shall incur no liability or responsibility for any action taken in reliance on any Global Warrant Certificate, Warrant Statement, certificate representing shares of Common Stock, notice, resolution, waiver, consent, order, certificate, or other paper, document or instrument believed by it to be genuine and to have been signed, sent or presented by the proper party or parties. The Warrant Agent shall not be bound by any notice or demand, or any waiver, modification, termination or revision of this Warrant Agreement or any of the terms hereof, unless evidenced by a writing between and signed by, the Company and the Warrant Agent. The Warrant Agent shall not be required to take instructions or directions except those given in accordance with this Warrant Agreement.

(h) The Warrant Agent may execute and exercise any of the rights or powers hereby vested in it or perform any duty hereunder either itself or by or through its attorneys, accountants, agents or other experts, and the Warrant Agent will not be answerable or accountable for any act, default, neglect or unintentional misconduct of any such attorneys or agents or for any loss to the Company or the holders of the Warrants resulting from any such act, default, neglect or unintentional misconduct, absent gross negligence, willful misconduct or bad faith (as each is determined by a final non-appealable order of a court of competent jurisdiction) in the selection and continued employment or engagement thereof.

(i) The Warrant Agent will not be under any duty or responsibility to insure compliance with any applicable federal or state securities laws in connection with the issuance, transfer or exchange of Global Warrant Certificates.

(j) The Warrant Agent shall not incur any liability for not performing any act, duty, obligation or responsibility by reason of any occurrence beyond the control of the Warrant Agent (including, without limitation, any act or provision of any present or future law or regulation or governmental authority, any act of God, war, civil disorder or failure of any means of communication).

(k) The Company agrees to pay to the Warrant Agent reasonable compensation for all services rendered by the Warrant Agent in the preparation, delivery, administration and execution of this Warrant Agreement and the exercise and performance of its duties hereunder, to reimburse the Warrant Agent for all reasonable expenses (including reasonable counsel fees), taxes (including withholding taxes) and governmental charges and other charges of any kind and nature actually incurred by the Warrant Agent in the execution, delivery and performance of its responsibilities under this Warrant Agreement and to indemnify the Warrant Agent and save it harmless against any and all liabilities, including judgments, costs and counsel fees, for anything done or omitted by the Warrant Agent, or any person acting on behalf of the Warrant Agent, in the execution, delivery and performance of its responsibilities under this Warrant Agreement except as a result of its gross negligence, bad faith or willful misconduct (each as determined by a final, non-appealable order of a court of competent jurisdiction).

(l) The Warrant Agent, shall be under no obligation to institute any action, suit or legal proceeding or to take any other action likely to involve expense unless the Company or one or more holders of Global Warrant Certificates shall furnish the Warrant Agent with reasonable security and indemnity for any costs and expenses which may be incurred, but this provision shall not affect the power of the Warrant Agent to take such action as it may consider proper, whether with or without any such security or indemnity. All rights of action under this Warrant Agreement or under any of the Warrants may be enforced by the Warrant Agent without the possession of any of the Warrants or the production thereof at any trial or other proceeding relative thereto, and any such action, suit or proceeding instituted by the Warrant Agent shall be brought in its name as Warrant Agent and any recovery of judgment shall be for the ratable benefit of the holders of the Warrants, as their respective rights or interests may appear.

(m) Except as otherwise prohibited by applicable law, the Warrant Agent, and any member, stockholder, director, officer or employee of the Warrant Agent, may buy, sell or deal in any of the Warrants or other securities of the Company or become pecuniarily interested in any transaction in which the Company may be interested, or contract with or lend money to the Company or otherwise act as fully and freely as though it were not Warrant Agent under this Warrant Agreement. Nothing herein shall preclude the Warrant Agent from acting in any other capacity for the Company or for any other legal entity.

 

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(n) The Warrant Agent shall act hereunder solely as agent for the Company, and its duties shall be determined solely by the express provisions hereof. The Warrant Agent shall not be liable for anything which it may do or refrain from doing in connection with this Warrant Agreement, except for its own gross negligence, bad faith or willful misconduct (each as determined by a final, non-appealable order of a court of competent jurisdiction); provided that in no event shall the Warrant Agent be liable for special, incidental, punitive, indirect or consequential loss or damage of any kind whatsoever (including, without limitation, lost profits). Any liability of the Warrant Agent under this Agreement, except for liability arising out of, or in connection with, the gross negligence, bad faith or willful misconduct (each as determined by a final, non-appealable order of a court of competent jurisdiction) of the Warrant Agent, will be limited to the amount of aggregate fees paid by the Company to the Warrant Agent.

(o) The Warrant Agent shall not at any time be under any duty or responsibility to any holder of any Warrant to make or cause to be made any adjustment of the Exercise Price or number of the shares of Common Stock or other securities or property deliverable as provided in this Warrant Agreement, or to determine whether any facts exist which may require any of such adjustments, or with respect to the nature or extent of any such adjustments, when made, or with respect to the method employed in making the same. The Warrant Agent shall not be accountable with respect to the validity or value or the kind or amount of any shares of Common Stock or of any securities or property which may at any time be issued or delivered upon the exercise of any Warrant or with respect to whether any such shares of Common Stock or other securities will when issued be validly issued and fully paid and nonassessable, and makes no representation with respect thereto. The Warrant Agent shall not be accountable to confirm or verify the accuracy or necessity of any calculation.

(p) The Company agrees to perform, execute and acknowledge and deliver or cause to be performed, executed, acknowledged and delivered all such further and other acts, instruments, and assurances as may reasonably be required by the Warrant Agent for the carrying out or performing of the provisions of this Agreement.

(q) The Warrant Agent shall have no responsibility or liability with respect to the validity of this Agreement or with respect to the validity or execution of any Warrant (except its countersignature thereof); nor shall it be responsible for any breach by the Company of any covenant or condition contained in this Agreement or in any Warrant; nor shall it be responsible to make or be liable for any adjustments required under any provision hereof, including but not limited to Section 12 hereof, or responsible for the manner, method or amount of any such adjustment or the ascertaining of the existence of facts that would require any such adjustment; nor shall it by act hereunder be deemed to make any representation or warranty as to the authorization or reservation of any shares of Common Stock to be issued pursuant to this Agreement or any Warrant or as to whether any shares of Common Stock will, when issued, be valid and fully paid and nonassessable.

(r) Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained herein, the Warrant Agent shall also have no duty or obligation to investigate or confirm whether any determination of the Exercise Amount under Section 9 is correct or accurate.

(s) No provision of this Agreement shall require the Warrant Agent to expend or risk its own funds or otherwise incur any financial liability in the performance of any of its duties hereunder or in the exercise of its rights, except to the extent otherwise expressly set forth herein.

 

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(t) Notwithstanding the foregoing, nothing in this Section 19 shall relieve the Warrant Agent from any liability arising from the Warrant Agent’s transfer of any Warrant without obtaining confirmation from the Company as described in Section 7 hereof.

(u) All rights and obligations contained in this Section 19 and Section 20 hereof shall survive the termination of this Warrant Agreement and the resignation, replacement or removal of the Warrant Agent.

Section 20 Expenses . All expenses incident to the Company’s performance of or compliance with this Warrant Agreement will be borne by the Company, including, without limitation: (i) all expenses of printing Global Warrant Certificates; (ii) messenger and delivery services and telephone calls; (iii) all fees and disbursements of counsel for the Company; and (iv) the Company’s internal expenses (including, without limitation, all salaries and expenses of their officers and employees performing legal or accounting duties).

Section 21 Change of Warrant Agent .

(a) If the Company terminates the Warrant Agent or the Warrant Agent shall become incapable of acting as Warrant Agent or shall resign as provided below, the Company shall appoint a successor to such Warrant Agent. If the Company shall fail to make such appointment within a period of thirty (30) days after it has terminated the Warrant Agent or it has been notified in writing of a resignation or incapacity by the Warrant Agent, then any holder of a Warrant may apply to any court of competent jurisdiction for the appointment of a successor to the Warrant Agent. Pending appointment of a successor to the Warrant Agent, either by the Company or by such a court, the duties of the Warrant Agent shall be carried out by the Company. Any successor Warrant Agent, whether appointed by the Company or by such a court, shall be a bank or trust company, in good standing, incorporated under the laws of any state or of the United States of America. As soon as practicable after appointment of the successor Warrant Agent, the Company shall cause written notice of the change in the Warrant Agent to be given to each of the holders of the Warrants at such holder’s address appearing on the Warrant Register. After appointment, the successor to the Warrant Agent shall be vested with the same powers, rights, duties and responsibilities as if it had been originally named as Warrant Agent without further act or deed. The former Warrant Agent shall deliver and transfer to the successor to the Warrant Agent any property at the time held by it hereunder and execute and deliver any further assurance, conveyance, act or deed necessary for the purpose. Failure to give any notice provided for in this Section 21 , however, or any defect therein, shall not affect the legality or validity of the appointment of a successor to the Warrant Agent.

(b) The Warrant Agent may resign at any time and be discharged from the obligations hereby created by so notifying the Company in writing at least thirty (30) days in advance of the proposed effective date of its resignation. If no successor Warrant Agent accepts the engagement hereunder by such time, the Company shall act as Warrant Agent.

Section 22 Notices to the Company and Warrant Agent . Any notice or demand authorized or permitted by this Warrant Agreement to be given or made by the Warrant Agent or by any holder of the Warrants to or on the Company to be effective shall be in writing (including by facsimile), and shall be deemed to have been duly given or made when delivered by hand, or two (2) business days after being delivered to a recognized courier (whose stated terms of delivery are two (2) business days or less to the destination of such notice), or five (5) days after being deposited in the mail, first class and postage prepaid or, in the case of facsimile notice, when received, addressed as follows (until another address or facsimile number is filed in writing by the Company with the Warrant Agent):

New Media Investment Group Inc.

c/o FIG LLC

1345 Avenue of the Americas

New York, New York 10105

Attention: Cameron MacDougall, Secretary

Fax: (212) 798-6075

 

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with a copy (which shall not constitute notice) to:

Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP

One Liberty Plaza

New York, New York 10006

Attention: Duane McLaughlin, Esq.

Fax:        212-225-3999

Email:     dmclaughlin@cgsh.com

Any notice or demand pursuant to this Warrant Agreement to be given by the Company or by any holder(s) of the Warrants to the Warrant Agent shall be sufficiently given if sent in the same manner as notices or demands are to be given or made to or on the Company (as set forth above) to the Warrant Agent at the Warrant Agent Office as follows (until another address is filed in writing by the Warrant Agent with the Company):

American Stock Transfer & Trust Company, LLC

6201 15th Avenue

Brooklyn, NY 11219

Facsimile: (718) 765-8719

Attention: Geraldine Zarbo

                  Marianela Patterson

Section 23 Supplements and Amendments . The Company and the Warrant Agent may from time to time supplement or amend this Warrant Agreement (a) without the approval of any holders of Warrants in order to cure any ambiguity or to correct or supplement any provision contained herein that may be defective or inconsistent with any other provision herein, or to make any other provisions in regard to matters or questions arising hereunder that the Company may deem necessary or desirable and that shall not adversely affect the rights or interests of the holders of Warrants or (b) with the prior written consent of holders of the Warrants exercisable for a majority of the shares of Common Stock then issuable upon exercise of the Warrants then outstanding; provided , however , that the consent of each holder of a Warrant affected shall be required for any amendment of this Warrant Agreement that would (i) increase the Exercise Price or decrease the number of shares of Common Stock purchasable upon exercise of the Warrants, except that such consent shall not be required for any adjustment to the Exercise Price or the number of shares of Common Stock purchasable if made pursuant to the provisions of Section 13 hereof, (ii) alter the Company’s obligation to issue Warrant Shares upon exercise of the underlying Warrant (other than pursuant to adjustments otherwise provided for in this Agreement, including the adjustments provided for in Section 13 hereof), (iii) change the Expiration Date of the Warrants to an earlier date, (iv) waive the application of the adjustment provisions contained in Section 13 in connection with any events to which such provisions apply or otherwise modify the adjustment provisions contained in Section 13 in a manner that would have an adverse economic impact on the holders of Warrants, or (v) treat such holder differently in an adverse way from any other holder of Warrants. The Warrant Agent may, but shall not be obligated to, execute any amendment or supplement which affects the rights or increases the duties or obligations of the Warrant Agent.

Section 24 Successors . All the covenants and provisions of this Warrant Agreement by or for the benefit of the Company, the holders of the Warrants or the Warrant Agent shall bind and inure to the benefit of their respective successors and assigns hereunder.

 

16


Section 25 Termination . This Warrant Agreement shall terminate at 5:00 p.m., New York City time, on the Expiration Date (or, at 5:00 p.m., New York City time, on the Settlement Date with respect to any Warrant Exercise Notice delivered prior to 5:00 p.m., New York City time, on the Expiration Date). Notwithstanding the foregoing, this Warrant Agreement will terminate on such earlier date on which all outstanding Warrants have been exercised. Termination of this Warrant Agreement shall not relieve the Company or the Warrant Agent of any of their obligations arising prior to the date of such termination or in connection with the settlement of any Warrant exercised prior to 5:00 p.m., New York City time, on the Expiration Date.

Section 26 Governing Law . This Warrant Agreement and each Warrant issued hereunder shall be deemed to be a contract made under the laws of the State of New York and for all purposes shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of New York without giving effect to conflict of laws principles.

Section 27 Benefits of this Warrant Agreement . This Warrant Agreement shall be for the sole and exclusive benefit of the Company, the Warrant Agent and the holders of the Warrants, and nothing in this Warrant Agreement shall be construed to give to any person other than the Company, the Warrant Agent and the holders of the Warrants any legal or equitable right, remedy or claim under this Warrant Agreement. Each holder, by acceptance of a Warrant, agrees to all of the terms and provisions of this Warrant Agreement applicable thereto.

Section 28 Counterparts . This Warrant Agreement may be executed in any number of counterparts and each of such counterparts shall for all purposes be deemed to be an original, and all such counterparts shall together constitute but one and the same instrument.

Section 29 Entire Agreement; Exclusive Rights . This Warrant Agreement and the Global Warrant Certificates constitute the entire agreement of the Company, the Warrant Agent and the holders of the Warrants with respect to the subject matter hereof and supersede all prior agreements and undertakings, both written and oral, among the Company, the Warrant Agent and the holders of the Warrants with respect to the subject matter hereof. Except as expressly made herein, the Company makes no representation, warranty, covenant or agreement with respect to the Warrants. No holder of any Warrant (solely in its capacity as a holder of a Warrant) shall (x) be a beneficiary under the Plan or any other contract, agreement or arrangement in connection with the Plan or the Restructuring and (y) have any other rights, remedies or claims except as expressly set forth herein.

Section 30 Severability . Wherever possible, each provision of this Warrant Agreement shall be interpreted in such manner as to be effective and valid under applicable law, but if any provision of this Warrant Agreement shall be prohibited by or invalid under applicable law, such provision shall be ineffective to the extent of such prohibition or invalidity, without invalidating the remainder of such provision or the remaining provisions of this Warrant Agreement; provided , however , that if such excluded or added provision shall materially affect the rights, immunities, duties or obligations of the Warrant Agent, the Warrant Agent shall be entitled to resign immediately upon notification in writing to the Company.

Section 31 Force Majeure . In no event shall the Warrant Agent or the Company be responsible or liable for any failure or delay in the performance of its obligations under this Agreement arising out of or caused by, directly or indirectly, forces beyond its reasonable control, including without limitation strikes, work stoppages, accidents, acts of war or terrorism, civil or military disturbances, nuclear or natural catastrophes or acts of God, and interruptions, loss or malfunctions of utilities, communications or computer (software or hardware) services.

 

17


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

 

NEW MEDIA INVESTMENT GROUP INC.
By:  

/s/ Michael E. Reed

  Name: Michael E. Reed
  Title: Chief Executive Officer

AMERICAN STOCK TRANSFER & TRUST COMPANY, LLC,

as Warrant Agent

By:  

/s/ Isaac Freilich

  Name: Isaac Freilich
  Title: S.V.P.

[Signature Page to Warrant Agreement]


EXHIBIT A

FORM OF GLOBAL WARRANT CERTIFICATE

FORM OF FACE OF GLOBAL WARRANT CERTIFICATE

VOID AFTER 5:00 P.M., NEW YORK CITY TIME, ON NOVEMBER 26, 2023

THE SALE, ASSIGNMENT, PLEDGE, ENCUMBRANCE, EXCHANGE OR OTHER TRANSFER OF THE SECURITIES REPRESENTED BY THIS CERTIFICATE IS SUBJECT TO THE TERMS OF THE WARRANT AGREEMENT, DATED AS OF NOVEMBER 26, 2013 (THE “ WARRANT AGREEMENT ”), BETWEEN THE ISSUER OF THIS CERTIFICATE AND THE WARRANT AGENT NAMED THEREIN. BY ACCEPTING ANY INTEREST IN THE SECURITIES REPRESENTED BY THIS CERTIFICATE, THE RECIPIENT OF SUCH SECURITIES SHALL BE DEEMED TO AGREE TO AND SHALL BECOME BOUND BY ALL OF THE PROVISIONS OF THE WARRANT AGREEMENT. A COPY OF THE WARRANT AGREEMENT MAY BE OBTAINED UPON WRITTEN REQUEST TO THE CORPORATE SECRETARY OF THE ISSUER OF THIS CERTIFICATE.

 

NO. W-1   

WARRANT TO PURCHASE

1,362,479 SHARES OF COMMON

STOCK

NEW MEDIA INVESTMENT GROUP INC.

WARRANT TO PURCHASE COMMON STOCK, PAR VALUE $0.01 PER SHARE

CUSIP # 64704V 114

DISTRIBUTION DATE: November 26, 2013

This Global Warrant Certificate certifies that Cede & Co., or its registered assigns, is the registered holder of a Warrant (this “ Warrant ”) of NEW MEDIA INVESTMENT GROUP INC. , a Delaware corporation (the “ Company ”), to purchase the number of shares of common stock, par value $0.01 per share (“ Common Stock ”), of the Company set forth above (as adjusted from time to time in accordance with the terms of the Warrant Agreement). This Warrant expires at 5:00 p.m., New York City time on November 26, 2023 (the “ Expiration Date ”) and entitles the holder upon exercise at any time, and from time to time, in whole or in part, on or after the date of this Warrant Certificate and prior to 5:00 p.m., New York City time, on the Expiration Date to purchase from the Company up to the number of fully paid and nonassessable shares of Common Stock set forth above at an exercise price of $46.35 per share of Common Stock (as adjusted from time to time in accordance with the terms of the Warrant Agreement, the “ Exercise Price ”). The Exercise Price and the number of shares of Common Stock purchasable upon exercise of this Warrant are subject to adjustment upon the occurrence of certain events as set forth in the Warrant Agreement.

REFERENCE IS HEREBY MADE TO THE FURTHER PROVISIONS OF THIS GLOBAL WARRANT CERTIFICATE SET FORTH ON THE REVERSE HEREOF. SUCH FURTHER PROVISIONS SHALL FOR ALL PURPOSES HAVE THE SAME EFFECT AS THOUGH FULLY SET FORTH AT THIS PLACE.

This Global Warrant Certificate shall not be valid unless countersigned by the Warrant Agent.

All capitalized terms used herein and not defined herein shall have the meanings assigned to them in the Warrant Agreement.


IN WITNESS WHEREOF , the Company has caused this Global Warrant Certificate to be executed by its duly authorized officers as of the date below set forth.

Dated: November 26, 2013

 

NEW MEDIA INVESTMENT GROUP INC.
By:  

 

Name:  
Title:  

Countersigned:

 

AMERICAN STOCK TRANSFER & TRUST COMPANY, LLC,
as Warrant Agent
By:
 

 

Name:  
Title:  

Address of Registered Holder for Notices (until changed in accordance with the Warrant Agreement):

 

 

 

 


FORM OF REVERSE OF GLOBAL WARRANT CERTIFICATE

The Warrant evidenced by this Global Warrant Certificate is a part of a duly authorized issue of Warrants to purchase up to 1,362,479 shares of Common Stock issued pursuant to the Warrant Agreement. The Warrant Agreement is hereby incorporated by reference herein and made a part of this instrument and is hereby referred to for a description of the rights, limitation of rights, obligations, duties and immunities thereunder of the Warrant Agent, the Company and the registered holders of the Warrants. All capitalized terms used but not defined herein shall have the meanings assigned to them in the Warrant Agreement.

Upon due presentment for registration of transfer of the Warrant and surrender of this Global Warrant Certificate at the office of the Warrant Agent designated for such purpose, a new Global Warrant Certificate or Global Warrant Certificates of like tenor and evidencing in the aggregate a like number of Warrants shall be issued to the transferee in exchange for this Global Warrant Certificate, subject to the limitations set forth in the Warrant Agreement, without charge except for any applicable tax or other charge.

Subject to Section 15 of the Warrant Agreement, the Company shall not be required to issue fractional shares of Common Stock.

No Warrants may be sold, exchanged or otherwise transferred in violation of the Securities Act state securities laws or other applicable law. The Warrant does not entitle the registered holder thereof to any of the rights of a stockholder of the Company.

The Company and Warrant Agent may deem and treat the registered holder hereof as the absolute owner of this Global Warrant Certificate (notwithstanding any notation of ownership or other writing hereon made by anyone other than the Company or the Warrant Agent) for the purpose of any exercise hereof and for all other purposes, and neither the Company nor the Warrant Agent shall be affected by any notice to the contrary.

This Global Warrant Certificate is held by The Depository Trust Company (the “ Depository ”) or its nominee in custody for the benefit of the beneficial owners hereof, and is not transferable to any person under any circumstances except that (i) this Global Warrant Certificate may be transferred in whole pursuant to Section 7(e) of the Warrant Agreement (as hereinafter defined) and (ii) this Global Warrant Certificate may be delivered to the Warrant Agent for cancellation pursuant to Section 7(g) and Section 9(j) of the Warrant Agreement.

Unless this Global Warrant Certificate is presented by an authorized representative of the Depository to the Company or the Warrant Agent for registration of transfer, exchange or payment and any certificate issued is registered in the name of Cede & Co., or such other entity as is requested by an authorized representative of the Depository (and any payment hereon is made to Cede & Co. or to such other entity as is requested by an authorized representative of the Depository), any transfer, pledge or other use hereof for value or otherwise by or to any person is wrongful because the registered owner hereof, Cede & Co., has an interest herein.

No registration or transfer of the securities issuable pursuant to the Warrant will be recorded on the books and records of the Company or the Warrant Agent until the provisions set forth in the Warrant Agreement have been complied with.

In the event of any conflict or inconsistency between this Global Warrant Certificate and the Warrant Agreement, the Warrant Agreement shall control.


EXHIBIT B-1

EXERCISE FORM FOR HOLDERS

HOLDING BOOK-ENTRY WARRANTS

(To be executed upon exercise of the Warrant(s))

The undersigned hereby irrevocably elects to exercise the right, represented by the Book-Entry Warrant(s), to purchase shares of Common Stock of NEW MEDIA INVESTMENT GROUP INC. and:

 

  ¨ herewith tenders in payment for             shares of Common Stock an amount of $             by certified or official bank check made payable to the order of NEW MEDIA INVESTMENT GROUP INC. or by wire transfer in immediately available funds to an account arranged with NEW MEDIA INVESTMENT GROUP INC.; and/or

Please check below if this exercise is contingent upon the consummation of a Reorganization Event as provided in Section 9(e) and Section 13(c) of the Warrant Agreement:

 

  ¨ This exercise is being made in connection with a Reorganization Event; provided , that in the event the Reorganization Event shall not be consummated, then this exercise shall be deemed to be revoked.

The undersigned requests that a statement representing the shares of Common Stock issued upon exercise of the Warrant(s) be delivered in accordance with the instructions set forth below.

Dated:                 , 20        

THIS EXERCISE NOTICE MUST BE DELIVERED TO THE WARRANT AGENT AND NEW MEDIA INVESTMENT GROUP INC., PRIOR TO 5:00 P.M., NEW YORK CITY TIME, ON THE EXPIRATION DATE.

ALL CAPITALIZED TERMS USED HEREIN BUT NOT DEFINED HEREIN SHALL HAVE THE MEANINGS ASSIGNED TO THEM IN THE WARRANT AGREEMENT.

THE UNDERSIGNED REQUESTS THAT A STATEMENT REPRESENTING THE SHARES OF COMMON STOCK BE DELIVERED AS FOLLOWS:

 

Name:  

 

  (Please Print)
Address:  

 

Telephone:  

 

Fax:  

 

Social Security Number or Other Taxpayer Identification Number (if applicable):             


IF SAID NUMBER OF SHARES SHALL NOT BE ALL THE SHARES PURCHASABLE UNDER THE WARRANT(S), THE UNDERSIGNED REQUESTS THAT NEW BOOK-ENTRY WARRANT(S) REPRESENTING THE BALANCE OF SUCH WARRANT(S) SHALL BE REGISTERED AS FOLLOWS:

 

Name:  

 

  (Please Print)
Address:  

 

Telephone:  

 

Fax:  

 

Social Security Number or Other Taxpayer Identification Number (if applicable):             

Signature:                                                                                                                      

        Name:                                                                                                                    

Capacity in which Signing:                                                                                           

SIGNATURE GUARANTEED BY:                                                                          

Signatures must be guaranteed by a participant in the Securities Transfer Agent Medallion Program, the Stock Exchanges Medallion Program or the New York Stock Exchange, Inc. Medallion Signature Program.

THIS EXERCISE FORM SHOULD BE TRANSMITTED AS FOLLOWS:

AMERICAN STOCK TRANSFER & TRUST COMPANY

ATTN: MARIANELA PATTERSON

VIA FAX: (718) 765-8719

AND:

NEW MEDIA INVESTMENT GROUP INC.

ATTN: CAMERON MACDOUGALL

VIA FAX: (212) 798-6075

IMPORTANT: THIS FORM MUST BE FAXED TO BOTH AMERICAN STOCK TRANSFER &

TRUST COMPANY AND TO NEW MEDIA INVESTMENT GROUP INC. AS INDICATED ABOVE

IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS ON THIS MATTER, PLEASE CONTACT CAMERON

MACDOUGALL AT NEW MEDIA INVESTMENT GROUP INC. AT (212) 798-6100

 

B-1-2


EXHIBIT B-2

EXERCISE FORM FOR HOLDERS

HOLDING WARRANTS THROUGH THE DEPOSITORY TRUST COMPANY

TO BE COMPLETED BY DIRECT PARTICIPANT

IN THE DEPOSITORY TRUST COMPANY

(To be executed upon exercise of the Warrant(s))

The undersigned hereby irrevocably elects to exercise the right, represented by Global Warrant Certificate No.     held for its benefit through the book-entry facilities of The Depository Trust Company (the “Depository”), to purchase             shares of Common Stock of NEW MEDIA INVESTMENT GROUP INC. and:

 

  ¨ herewith tenders in payment for such shares an amount of $         by certified or official bank check made payable to the order of NEW MEDIA INVESTMENT GROUP INC. or by wire transfer in immediately available funds to an account arranged with NEW MEDIA INVESTMENT GROUP INC.; and/or

Please check below if this exercise is contingent upon the consummation of a Reorganization Event as provided in Section 9(e) and Section 13(c) of the Warrant Agreement:

 

  ¨ This exercise is being made in connection with a Reorganization Event; provided , that in the event the Reorganization Event shall not be consummated, then this exercise shall be deemed to be revoked.

The undersigned requests that the shares of Common Stock issuable upon exercise of the Warrant(s) be in registered form in the authorized denominations, registered in such names and delivered, all as specified in accordance with the instructions set forth below; provided, that if the shares of Common Stock are evidenced by global securities, the shares of Common Stock shall be registered in the name of the Depository or its nominee.

Dated:                     , 20            

THIS EXERCISE NOTICE MUST BE DELIVERED TO THE WARRANT AGENT AND NEW MEDIA INVESTMENT GROUP INC., PRIOR TO 5:00 P.M., NEW YORK CITY TIME, ON THE EXPIRATION DATE. THE WARRANT AGENT SHALL NOTIFY YOU OF (1) THE WARRANT AGENT’S ACCOUNT AT THE DEPOSITORY TO WHICH YOU MUST DELIVER YOUR WARRANT(S) ON THE EXERCISE DATE AND (2) THE ADDRESS, PHONE NUMBER AND FACSIMILE NUMBER WHERE YOU CAN CONTACT THE WARRANT AGENT AND NEW MEDIA INVESTMENT GROUP INC.AND TO WHICH WARRANT EXERCISE NOTICES ARE TO BE SUBMITTED.

ALL CAPITALIZED TERMS USED HEREIN BUT NOT DEFINED HEREIN SHALL HAVE THE MEANINGS ASSIGNED TO THEM IN THE WARRANT AGREEMENT.


NAME OF DIRECT PARTICIPANT IN THE DEPOSITORY:

 

Account

Name

 

 

 

  (Please Print)
Address:  

 

 

 

Contact Name:  

 

Telephone:  

 

Fax:  

 

Social Security Number or Other Taxpayer Identification Number (if applicable):                     

Account from which Warrant(s) are Being Delivered:                             

Depository Account Number:                 

WARRANT HOLDER DELIVERING WARRANT(S), IF OTHER THAN THE DIRECT PARTICIPANT: Name:

 

Name  

 

Contact Name:  

 

Address:  

 

 

 

Telephone:  

 

Fax:  

 

Account from which the Shares of Common Stock are to be Credited:                             

Depository Account Number:                             

 

B-2-2


FILL IN FOR DELIVERY OF THE COMMON STOCK, IF OTHER THAN TO THE PERSON DELIVERING THIS WARRANT EXERCISE NOTICE:

 

Name:  

 

  (Please Print)
Address:  

 

 

 

Contact Name:  

 

Telephone:  

 

Fax:  

 

Social Security Number or Other Taxpayer Identification Number (if applicable):             

Signature:                                                                                                                      

        Name:                                                                                                                    

Capacity in which Signing:                                                                                           

Signature Guaranteed By:                                                                                               

THIS EXERCISE FORM SHOULD BE TRANSMITTED AS FOLLOWS:

AMERICAN STOCK TRANSFER & TRUST COMPANY

ATTN: MARIANELA PATTERSON

VIA FAX: (718) 765-8719

AND:

NEW MEDIA INVESTMENT GROUP INC.

ATTN: CAMERON MACDOUGALL

VIA FAX: (212) 798-6075

IMPORTANT: THIS FORM MUST BE FAXED TO BOTH AMERICAN STOCK

TRANSFER & TRUST COMPANY AND TO NEW MEDIA INVESTMENT GROUP

INC. AS INDICATED ABOVE

IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS ON THIS MATTER, PLEASE CONTACT CAMERON

MACDOUGALL AT NEW MEDIA INVESTMENT GROUP INC. AT (212) 798-6100

 

B-2-3

Exhibit 10.29

CONTRIBUTION AGREEMENT

THIS CONTRIBUTION AGREEMENT (this “ Agreement ”) is entered into as of November 26, 2013 by and between Newcastle Investment Corp., a Maryland corporation (“ Newcastle ”), and New Media Investment Group Inc., a Delaware corporation (“ New Media ”). Capitalized terms used but not defined herein shall have the meanings ascribed to them in the Debtors’ Joint Prepackaged Chapter 11 Plan, dated as of September 20, 2013 (together with all Exhibits, Annexes and Schedules thereto, and as amended, supplemented or otherwise modified from time to time, the “ Plan ”), in the cases captioned In re: GateHouse Media, Inc., et al., Case No. 13-12503 (MFW) (Jointly Administered) in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware (the “ Bankruptcy Court ”).

WHEREAS, pursuant to that certain Stock Purchase Agreement, dated as of June 28, 2013 (as it may be amended in accordance with its terms, the “ Stock Purchase Agreement ”), by and among Dow Jones Ventures VII, Inc. (“ Seller ”), Dow Jones Local Media Group, Inc. (the “ Company ”), Newcastle and, solely with respect to its obligations under Sections 7.3, 7.7, 7.13, 7.14, 9.2, 9.3 and 10.2 of the Stock Purchase Agreement, Dow Jones & Company, Inc., Local Media Group Holdings LLC, a Delaware limited liability company and a wholly owned subsidiary of Newcastle (“ Holdings ”), acquired all of the outstanding common stock of the Company;

WHEREAS, Newcastle is the sole member of, and the holder of a 100% limited liability company interest (the “ Membership Interest ”) in, Holdings;

WHEREAS, as part of the Transaction pursuant to the Plan, Newcastle (and its Designated Affiliates or other designees, as applicable) shall receive New Media Shares (as defined below) in respect of its New Media Elected Claims and its acquisition of Cash-Out Claims and its making of the Contribution (as defined below) on the Effective Date;

WHEREAS, as part of the Transaction pursuant to the Plan, on the Effective Date Newcastle shall contribute to New Media, and New Media shall accept from Newcastle, all of Newcastle’s right, title and interest in and to the Membership Interest, free and clear of all liens, claims and encumbrances, in exchange for 4,112,193 shares of common stock of New Media, par value $0.01 (the “ New Media Shares ”), in each case on the terms and subject to the conditions set forth herein (the “ Contribution ”);

WHEREAS, in order to effect the Transaction pursuant to the Plan, concurrently with the execution of this Agreement and the Contribution, Newcastle and New Media shall enter into an Assignment Agreement (the “ Assignment Agreement ”), of even date herewith, pursuant to which Newcastle shall transfer and assign to New Media all of Newcastle’s rights and interests in and to the Stock Purchase Agreement and New Media shall assume and agree to perform all obligations, duties, liabilities and commitments of Newcastle under the Stock Purchase Agreement;

WHEREAS, the board of directors of Newcastle has determined that the Contribution is in the best interest of Newcastle;


WHEREAS, the board of directors of New Media has determined that the Contribution is in the best interest of New Media and has authorized the issuance of the New Media Shares to Newcastle in connection therewith; and

WHEREAS, the Bankruptcy Court confirmed the Plan on November 6, 2013;

NOW, THEREFORE, for good and valuable consideration, the receipt and sufficiency of which is hereby acknowledged, the parties hereto hereby agree as follows:

1. Contribution . On the Effective Date and subject to the terms of the Plan, Newcastle hereby contributes, transfers, assigns and delivers to New Media, and New Media hereby accepts from Newcastle, all of Newcastle’s right, title and interest in and to the Membership Interest, free and clear of all liens, claims and encumbrances, on the terms and subject to the conditions set forth herein.

2. Issuance of New Media Shares . In consideration of the Contribution and the occurrence of the other actions necessary to effect the Transaction on the Effective Date, New Media shall, concurrently with the execution of this Agreement and the Contribution, issue to Newcastle (or one or more of its designated affiliates) the New Media Shares. For the avoidance of doubt, in the event Reorganized GateHouse enters into the New Debt Facility, the foregoing issuance shall not occur prior to the distribution of the New Debt Facility Net Proceeds to the holders of New Media Stock.

3. Representations and Warranties of Newcastle . Newcastle hereby represents and warrants to New Media as of the date hereof as follows:

(i) Newcastle is a corporation duly organized, validly existing and validly existing and in good standing under the laws of the State of Maryland. Newcastle has full corporate power and authority to execute and deliver this Agreement and the Assignment Agreement and to perform its obligations hereunder and thereunder and to consummate the transactions contemplated hereby and thereby, including without limitation to own, hold, sell and transfer (pursuant to this Agreement) the Membership Interest.

(ii) The execution and delivery by Newcastle of this Agreement and the Assignment Agreement, and the performance by Newcastle of its obligations hereunder and thereunder, have been duly and validly authorized by the Board of Directors of Newcastle, and no other corporate action on the part of Newcastle or its stockholders is necessary to authorize the execution of this Agreement or the Assignment Agreement or the consummation of any of the transactions contemplated hereby and thereby. This Agreement has been duly and validly executed and delivered by Newcastle and constitutes, and upon the execution and delivery by Newcastle of the Assignment Agreement, the Assignment Agreement will constitute, legal, valid and binding obligations of Newcastle enforceable against Newcastle in accordance with their respective terms, subject to the effects of bankruptcy, insolvency, fraudulent conveyance, reorganization, moratorium and other similar laws relating to or affecting creditors’ rights generally, general equitable principles (whether considered in a proceeding in equity or at law) and any implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing.

 

-2-


(iii) Holdings is a limited liability company duly formed, validly existing and in good standing under the laws of the State of Delaware, and has full limited liability company power and authority to conduct its business as and to the extent now conducted and to own, use and lease its assets and properties. Prior to the execution of this Agreement, Newcastle has delivered to New Media true and complete copies of the certificate of formation and limited liability company agreement of Holdings as in effect on the date hereof. Other than the ownership of the Membership Interest, the entry into that certain Credit Agreement, dated September 3, 2013, by and among Holdings, the Company, Credit Suisse AG, Cayman Islands Branch, as Administrative Agent, and the lenders party thereto (as amended, supplemented, or modified from time to time, the “ Credit Agreement ”), and the transactions contemplated by this Agreement, the Stock Purchase Agreement and the Plan, Holdings has not had any business or operations, incurred any liabilities or entered into any agreements or other arrangements.

(iv) Other than the Membership Interest, Holdings has no outstanding equity interests, other capital stock or (except for this Agreement) Options (as defined below). Other than the equity interests in the Company owned by Holdings (the “ Company Equity Interests ”), the Company has no outstanding equity interests, other capital stock or Options. The Membership Interest and Company Equity Interests are duly authorized, validly issued, outstanding, fully paid and non-assessable. Newcastle owns the Membership Interest and Holdings owns the Company Equity Interests, in each case beneficially and of record, free and clear of all liens or other encumbrances other than liens securing obligations under the Credit Agreement. Neither Newcastle, Holdings nor the Company is party to any agreement pursuant to which either such entity has granted preemptive rights, rights of first refusal, registration rights and similar rights with respect to the Membership Interest or Company Equity Interests. For purposes hereof, “ Option ” with respect to any Person means any security, right, subscription, warrant, option, “phantom” stock right or other contract that gives the right to (i) purchase or otherwise receive or be issued any equity interests or shares of capital stock of such person or any security of any kind convertible into or exchangeable or exercisable for any equity interests or shares of capital stock of such person or (ii) receive or exercise any benefits or rights similar to any rights enjoyed by or accruing to the holder of equity interests or shares of capital stock of such person, including any rights to participate in the equity or income of such person or to participate in or direct the election of any directors or officers of such person or the manner in which any shares of capital stock of such person are voted.

(v) Holdings has no subsidiaries other than the Company.

(vi) The execution and delivery by Newcastle of this Agreement does not, and the execution and delivery by Newcastle of the Assignment Agreement, the performance by Newcastle of its obligations under this Agreement and the Assignment Agreement and the consummation of the transactions contemplated hereby and thereby will not, (A) conflict with or result in a violation or breach of any of the terms, conditions or provisions of the certificate or articles of incorporation or by-laws (or other comparable organizational documents) of Newcastle, Holdings, or the Company; (B) conflict with or result in a violation of, in any material respect, any law or order applicable to Newcastle, Holdings or the Company or any of their respective assets and properties; or (C) conflict with or result in a violation or breach of,

 

-3-


constitute (with or without notice or lapse of time or both) a default under, require Newcastle, Holdings, the Company to obtain any consent, approval or action of, make any filing with or give any notice to any person as a result or under the terms of, or result in the creation or imposition of any lien or other encumbrance upon Holdings. the Company or any subsidiary of the Company or any of their respective assets and properties under, any material contract, agreement or license to which Newcastle, Holdings, the Company or any subsidiary of the Company is a party or by which any of their respective assets and properties is bound.

(vii) No consent, approval or action of, filing with or notice to any governmental or regulatory authority on the part of Newcastle, Holdings, the Company or any subsidiary of the Company is required in connection with the execution, delivery and performance of this Agreement or the Assignment Agreement or the consummation of the transactions contemplated hereby or thereby.

4. Further Assurances . After the Contribution, as may be necessary and without further consideration, the parties hereto shall execute, acknowledge and deliver such other documents, instruments and agreements and shall do such other things as may be necessary to carry out their respective obligations under this Agreement and as may be reasonably required or requested by the other party to more completely contribute and transfer to New Media all of Newcastle’s right, title and interest in and to the Membership Interest.

5. Effectiveness . This Agreement shall be effective as of the date first set forth above.

6. Amendment . No amendment, modification or discharge of this Agreement shall be valid or binding unless set forth in writing and duly executed by both parties, and no waiver hereunder shall be valid or binding unless set forth in writing and duly executed by the party against whom enforcement of the waiver is sought. Any such waiver shall constitute a waiver only with respect to the specific matter described in such writing and shall in no way impair the rights of the party granting such waiver in any other respect or at any other time.

7. Governing Law; Binding Effect; No Third Party Liability . This Agreement shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of Delaware applicable to contracts made and performed in such state without giving effect to the choice of law principles of such state that would require or permit the application of the laws of another jurisdiction. This Agreement shall be binding upon and inure to the benefit of the parties hereto and their respective successors and assigns. Nothing in this Agreement, expressed or implied, is intended to confer on any Person other than the parties hereto or their respective successors and permitted assigns any rights or remedies under or by reason of this Agreement.

8. Counterparts . This Agreement may be executed in one or more counterparts, including facsimile counterparts, each of which shall be deemed to be an original copy of this Agreement, and all of which, when taken together, shall be deemed to constitute one and the same agreement. Delivery of such counterparts by facsimile or electronic mail (in .PDF or .tiff format) shall be deemed effective as manual delivery.

 

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[ Remainder of Page Intentionally Left Blank ]

 

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

 

NEWCASTLE INVESTMENT CORP.
By:   /s/ Jonathan Brown
Name:   Jonathan Brown
Title:   Interim Chief Financial Officer

 

NEW MEDIA INVESTMENT GROUP INC.
By:   /s/ Michael E. Reed
Name:   Michael E. Reed
Title:   Chief Executive Officer

[Signature page to Contribution Agreement]

Exhibit 10.32

EXECUTION VERSION

GATEHOUSE MANAGEMENT AND ADVISORY AGREEMENT

dated as of November 26, 2013

between

GATEHOUSE MEDIA, INC.,

the other Obligors party hereto from time to time

and

NEW MEDIA INVESTMENT GROUP INC.


TABLE OF CONTENTS

 

          Page  

SECTION 1.

  

DEFINITIONS

     1   

SECTION 2.

  

APPOINTMENT AND DUTIES OF THE MANAGER

     2   

SECTION 3.

  

DEVOTION OF TIME; ADDITIONAL ACTIVITIES

     6   

SECTION 4.

  

AGENCY

     6   

SECTION 5.

  

[RESERVED]

     6   

SECTION 6.

  

RECORDS; CONFIDENTIALITY

     6   

SECTION 7.

  

OBLIGATIONS OF MANAGER

     7   

SECTION 8.

  

COMPENSATION

     7   

SECTION 9.

  

EXPENSES OF THE COMPANY

     8   

SECTION 10.

  

CALCULATIONS OF EXPENSES

     10   

SECTION 11.

  

LIMITS OF MANAGER RESPONSIBILITY; INDEMNIFICATION

     10   

SECTION 12.

  

NO JOINT VENTURE

     10   

SECTION 13.

  

TERM; TERMINATION

     11   

SECTION 14.

  

ASSIGNMENT

     11   

SECTION 15.

  

TERMINATION FOR CAUSE

     11   

SECTION 16.

  

ACTION UPON TERMINATION

     12   

SECTION 17.

  

[RESERVED]

     13   

SECTION 18.

  

NOTICES

     13   

SECTION 19.

  

BINDING NATURE OF AGREEMENT; SUCCESSORS AND ASSIGNS

     14   

SECTION 20.

  

ENTIRE AGREEMENT

     14   

SECTION 21.

  

CONTROLLING LAW

     14   

SECTION 22.

  

INDULGENCES, NOT WAIVERS

     14   

SECTION 23.

  

TITLES NOT TO AFFECT INTERPRETATION

     14   

SECTION 24.

  

EXECUTION IN COUNTERPARTS

     15   

SECTION 25.

  

PROVISIONS SEPARABLE

     15   

SECTION 26.

  

GENDER

     15   

SECTION 27.

  

ADDITIONAL OBLIGORS

     15   

 

i


GATEHOUSE MANAGEMENT AND ADVISORY AGREEMENT

THIS GATEHOUSE MANAGEMENT AND ADVISORY AGREEMENT, is made as of November 26, 2013 (the “Agreement”) by and among GATEHOUSE MEDIA, INC., a Delaware corporation (the “Company”), the other parties listed on the signature pages hereto or that become parties to this Agreement from time to time as “Additional Obligors” (the “Additional Obligors,” and, together with the Company, the “Obligors”), and NEW MEDIA INVESTMENT GROUP INC., a Delaware corporation (together with its permitted assignees, the “Manager”).

W I T N E S S E T H:

WHEREAS, the Company desires to avail itself of the experience, sources of information, advice, assistance and certain facilities of or available to the Manager and to have the Manager undertake the duties and responsibilities hereinafter set forth, on behalf of the Company, as provided in this Agreement; and

WHEREAS, the Manager is willing to render such services on the terms and conditions hereinafter set forth, which may be provided by the Manager entering into a Management and Advisory Agreement with FIG LLC (as amended, modified, supplemented or replaced, the “FIG Management Agreement”).

NOW THEREFORE, IN CONSIDERATION OF THE MUTUAL AGREEMENTS HEREIN SET FORTH, THE PARTIES HERETO AGREE AS FOLLOWS:

 

  SECTION 1. DEFINITIONS.

The following terms have the meanings assigned them:

(a) “Agents” means, collectively, PNC Bank, National Association and Crystal Financial LLC.

(b) “Agreement” means this GateHouse Management and Advisory Agreement, as amended from time to time.

(c) “Board of Directors” means the Board of Directors of the Company.

(d) “Code” means the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended.

(e) “Common Share” means a share of capital stock of the Company now or hereafter authorized as common voting stock of the Company.

(f) “Exchange Act” means the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended.

(g) “Adjusted Net Income” means net income (computed in accordance with GAAP) plus depreciation and amortization, and after adjustments for unconsolidated partnerships, joint ventures and permanent cash tax savings. Adjusted Net Income will be computed on an unconsolidated basis. The computation of Adjusted Net Income may be adjusted by the Company and the Manager based on changes in, or certain applications of, GAAP.


(h) “Governing Instruments” means, with regard to any entity, the articles of incorporation and bylaws in the case of a corporation, certificate of limited partnership (if applicable) and the partnership agreement in the case of a general or limited partnership, the articles of formation and the operating agreement in the case of a limited liability company, or, in each case, comparable governing documents.

(i) “Investments” means the investments of the Company.

(j) “Listing” means the commencement date of regular-way trading of Common Shares of the Company or a parent entity of the Company on a major U.S. national securities exchange.

(k) “Plan” means the Debtors’ Joint Prepackaged Chapter 11 Plan dated as of September 20, 2013 (together with all Exhibits, Annexes and Schedules thereto), in each case as amended, supplemented or otherwise modified from time to time, in the cases captioned In re: GateHouse Media, Inc., et al., Case No. 13-12503 (MFW) in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware.

(l) “Subsidiary” means any subsidiary of the Company and any partnership, the general partner of which is the Company or any subsidiary of the Company and any limited liability company, the managing member of which is the Company or any subsidiary of the Company.

 

  SECTION 2. APPOINTMENT AND DUTIES OF THE MANAGER.

(a) The Company hereby appoints the Manager to manage the assets of the Company subject to the further terms and conditions set forth in this Agreement and the Manager hereby agrees to use its commercially reasonable efforts to perform each of the duties set forth herein. The appointment of the Manager shall be exclusive to the Manager except to the extent that the Manager otherwise agrees, in its sole and absolute discretion, and except to the extent that the Manager elects, pursuant to the terms of this Agreement, to cause the duties of the Manager hereunder to be provided by third parties or affiliates, including pursuant to the FIG Management Agreement.

(b) The Manager, in its capacity as manager of the assets and the day-to-day operations of the Company, at all times will be subject to the supervision of the Company’s Board of Directors and will have only such functions and authority as the Company may delegate to it including, without limitation, the functions and authority identified herein and delegated to the Manager hereby. The Manager will be responsible for the day-to-day operations of the Company and will perform (or cause to be performed) such services and activities relating to the assets and operations of the Company as may be appropriate, including, without limitation:

(i) serving as the Company’s consultant with respect to the periodic review of the investment criteria and parameters for Investments, borrowings and operations;


(ii) investigation, analysis, valuation and selection of investment opportunities;

(iii) with respect to prospective Investments by the Company and dispositions of Investments, conducting negotiations with brokers, sellers and purchasers and their respective agents and representatives, investment bankers and owners of privately and publicly held companies;

(iv) engaging and supervising, on behalf of the Company and at the Company’s expense, independent contractors that provide services relating to the Investments, including, but not limited to, investment banking, legal advisory, tax advisory, accounting advisory, securities brokerage, real estate advisory and brokerage, and other financial and consulting services as the Manager determines from time to time is advisable;

(v) negotiating on behalf of the Company for the sale, exchange or other disposition of any Investments;

(vi) coordinating and managing operations of any joint venture or co-investment interests held by the Company and conducting all matters with the joint venture or co-investment partners;

(vii) providing executive and administrative personnel, office space and office services required in rendering services to the Company;

(viii) administering the day-to-day operations of the Company and performing and supervising the performance of such other administrative functions necessary in the management of the Company as may be agreed upon by the Manager and the Board of Directors, including, without limitation, the collection of revenues and the payment of the Company’s debts and obligations and maintenance of appropriate computer services to perform such administrative functions;

(ix) communicating on behalf of the Company with the holders of any equity or debt securities of the Company as required to satisfy the reporting and other requirements of any governmental bodies or agencies or trading markets and to maintain effective relations with such holders;

(x) counseling the Company in connection with policy decisions to be made by the Board of Directors;

(xi) evaluating and recommending to the Board of Directors modifications to the hedging strategies in effect on the date hereof and engaging in hedging activities on behalf of the Company;

(xii) assisting the Company in developing criteria that are specifically tailored to the Company’s investment objectives and making available to the Company its knowledge and experience with respect to its target assets;


(xiii) representing and making recommendations to the Company in connection with the purchase and finance, and commitment to purchase and finance, of its target assets, and in connection with the sale and commitment to sell such assets;

(xiv) monitoring the operating performance of the Investments and providing periodic reports with respect thereto to the Board of Directors, including comparative information with respect to such operating performance, valuation and budgeted or projected operating results;

(xv) investing and re-investing any moneys and securities of the Company (including investing in short-term Investments pending investment in Investments, payment of fees, costs and expenses, or payments of dividends or distributions to stockholders and partners of the Company) and advising the Company as to its capital structure and capital raising;

(xvi) causing the Company to retain qualified accountants and legal counsel, as applicable, to assist in developing appropriate accounting procedures, compliance procedures and testing systems with respect to financial reporting obligations and to conduct quarterly compliance reviews with respect thereto;

(xvii) causing the Company to qualify to do business in all applicable jurisdictions and to obtain and maintain all appropriate licenses;

(xviii) assisting the Company in complying with all regulatory requirements applicable to the Company in respect of its business activities, including preparing or causing to be prepared all financial statements required under applicable regulations and contractual undertakings and all reports and documents required under the Exchange Act;

(xix) taking all necessary actions to enable the Company to make required tax filings and reports, including soliciting stockholders for required information to the extent provided by the provisions of the Code;

(xx) handling and resolving all claims, disputes or controversies (including all litigation, arbitration, settlement or other proceedings or negotiations) in which the Company may be involved or to which the Company may be subject arising out of the Company’s day-to-day operations, subject to such limitations or parameters as may be imposed from time to time by the Board of Directors;

(xxi) using commercially reasonable efforts to cause expenses incurred by or on behalf of the Company to be reasonable or customary and within any budgeted parameters or expense guidelines set by the Board of Directors from time to time;

(xxii) performing such other services as may be required from time to time for management and other activities relating to the assets of the Company as the Board of Directors shall reasonably request or the Manager shall deem appropriate under the particular circumstances; and

(xxiii) using commercially reasonable efforts to cause the Company to comply with all applicable laws.


Without limiting the foregoing, the Manager will perform portfolio management services (the “Portfolio Management Services”) on behalf of the Company with respect to the Investments. Such services will include, but not be limited to, consulting with the Company on the purchase and sale of, and other investment opportunities in connection with, the Company’s portfolio of assets; the collection of information and the submission of reports pertaining to the Company’s assets, general economic conditions; periodic review and evaluation of the performance of the Company’s portfolio of assets; acting as liaison between the Company and banking, investment banking and other parties with respect to the purchase, financing and disposition of assets; and other customary functions related to portfolio management. Additionally, the Manager will perform monitoring services (the “Monitoring Services”) on behalf of the Company with respect to any services provided by third parties, which the Manager determines are material to the performance of the business.

(c) The Manager may enter into agreements with other parties, including its affiliates, for the purpose of engaging one or more asset managers for and on behalf, and at the sole cost and expense, of the Company to provide operations management, asset management, personnel management, development and/or similar services to the Company (including, without limitation, Portfolio Management Services and Monitoring Services) with respect to the Investments, pursuant to management agreement(s) with terms which are then customary for agreements regarding the management or servicing of assets similar in type, quality and value to the assets of the Company; provided , that (i) with respect to Portfolio Management Services, (A) any such agreements shall be subject to the Company’s prior written approval and (B) the Manager shall remain liable for the performance of such Portfolio Management Services, and (ii) with respect to Monitoring Services, any such agreements shall be subject to the Company’s prior written approval.

(d) The Manager may retain, for and on behalf, and at the sole cost and expense, of the Company, such services of accountants, legal counsel, appraisers, insurers, brokers, transfer agents, registrars, developers, investment banks, financial advisors, banks and other lenders and others as the Manager deems necessary or advisable in connection with the management and operations of the Company. Notwithstanding anything contained herein to the contrary, the Manager shall have the right to cause any such services to be rendered by its employees or affiliates. Commencing from the Listing, the Company shall pay or reimburse the Manager or its affiliates performing such services for the cost thereof; provided , that such costs and reimbursements are no greater than those which would be payable to outside professionals or consultants engaged to perform such services pursuant to agreements negotiated on an arm’s-length basis.

(e) As frequently as the Manager may deem necessary or advisable, or at the direction of the Board of Directors, the Manager shall, at the sole cost and expense of the Company, prepare, or cause to be prepared, with respect to any Investment (i) reports and information on the Company’s operations and asset performance and (ii) other information reasonably requested by the Company.

(f) The Manager shall prepare, or cause to be prepared, at the sole cost and expense of the Company, all reports, financial or otherwise, with respect to the Company reasonably required by the Board of Directors in order for the Company to comply with its Governing


Instruments or any other materials required to be filed with any governmental body or agency, and shall prepare, or cause to be prepared, all materials and data necessary to complete such reports and other materials including, without limitation, an annual audit of the Company’s books of account by a nationally recognized independent accounting firm.

(g) The Manager shall prepare regular reports for the Board of Directors to enable the Board of Directors to review the Company’s acquisitions, portfolio composition and characteristics, performance and compliance with policies approved by the Board of Directors.

(h) [Reserved.]

(i) In performing its duties under this Section 2, the Manager shall be entitled to rely reasonably on qualified experts hired by the Manager.

 

  SECTION 3. DEVOTION OF TIME; ADDITIONAL ACTIVITIES.

(a) Nothing herein shall prevent the Manager or any of its affiliates or any of the officers and employees of any of the foregoing from engaging in other businesses or from rendering services of any kind to any other person or entity, including investment in, or advisory service to others investing in, any type of media or media related investment, including investments which meet the principal investment objectives of the Company.

(b) Managers, members, partners, officers, employees and agents of the Manager or affiliates of the Manager may serve as directors, officers, employees, agents, nominees or signatories for the Company or any Subsidiary, to the extent permitted by their Governing Instruments, as from time to time amended, or by any resolutions duly adopted by the Board of Directors pursuant to the Company’s Governing Instruments. When executing documents or otherwise acting in such capacities for the Company, such persons shall use their respective titles in the Company.

 

  SECTION 4. AGENCY.

The Manager shall act as agent of the Company in making, acquiring, financing and disposing of Investments, disbursing and collecting the Company’s funds, paying the debts and fulfilling the obligations of the Company, supervising the performance of professionals engaged by or on behalf of the Company and handling, prosecuting and settling any claims of or against the Company, the Board of Directors, holders of the Company’s securities or the Company’s representatives or properties.

 

  SECTION 5. [RESERVED.]

 

  SECTION 6. RECORDS; CONFIDENTIALITY.

The Manager shall maintain appropriate books of accounts and records relating to services performed under this Agreement, and such books of account and records shall be accessible for inspection by representatives of the Company or any Subsidiary at any time during normal business hours upon ten (10) business days advance written notice. The Manager shall keep confidential any and all information obtained in connection with the services rendered under this Agreement and shall not disclose any such information to nonaffiliated third parties except with the prior written consent of the Board of Directors.


  SECTION 7. OBLIGATIONS OF MANAGER.

(a) The Manager shall require each seller or transferor of Investment assets to the Company to make such representations and warranties regarding such assets as may, in the judgment of the Manager, be necessary and appropriate. In addition, the Manager shall take such other action as it deems necessary or appropriate with regard to the protection of the Investments.

(b) The Manager shall refrain from any action that, in its sole judgment made in good faith, would violate any law, rule or regulation of any governmental body or agency having jurisdiction over the Company or any Subsidiary or that would otherwise not be permitted by such entity’s Governing Instruments. If the Manager is ordered to take any such action by the Board of Directors, the Manager shall promptly notify the Board of Directors of the Manager’s judgment that such action would adversely affect such status or violate any such law, rule or regulation or the Governing Instruments. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Manager, its directors, officers, stockholders and employees shall not be liable to the Company or any Subsidiary, the Board of Directors, or the Company’s or any Subsidiary’s stockholders or partners for any act or omission by the Manager, its directors, officers, stockholders or employees except as provided in Section 11 of this Agreement.

 

  SECTION 8. COMPENSATION.

(a) During the term of this Agreement (as the same may be extended from time to time) commencing from the Listing, the Manager will receive an annual management fee (the “Management Fee”) equal to 1.50% per annum of the Company’s “Total Equity.” The Management Fee shall be calculated and paid monthly in arrears based upon the weighted daily average of the Total Equity of the Company for such month. The term “Total Equity” for any period means the sum of (i) the equity value $333,730,000, plus (ii) the total net proceeds to the Company (or any parent entity) from any equity capital hereafter raised by the Company (or any parent entity) or any Subsidiary of the Company (exclusive, with respect to any Subsidiary, of capital of such Subsidiary consisting of a capital contribution or other form of capital investment made by the Company or another Subsidiary of the Company), including capital effectively raised through the issuance of capital in a transaction, plus (iii) the value of contributions made by partners other than the Company, from time to time, to the capital of any Subsidiary (reduced proportionately in the case of a Subsidiary to the extent that the Company owns, directly or indirectly, less than 100% of the equity interests in such Subsidiary), plus (iv) the equity value of any assets contributed to the Company prior to or after the date of this Agreement (to the extent not previously included) less (iv) any capital dividends or capital distributions made by the Company to its stockholders or, without duplication, by any Subsidiary to its stockholders, partners or other equity holders.

(b) The Manager shall compute each installment of the Management Fee within fifteen (15) days after the end of the calendar month with respect to which such installment is payable. A copy of the computations made by the Manager to calculate such installment shall thereafter, for informational purposes only, promptly be delivered to the Company and to the


Agents at least five (5) business days prior to the payment of such installment of the Management Fee, and, upon such delivery to the Company, payment of such installment of the Management Fee shown therein shall be due and payable no later than the earlier to occur of (i) the date which is twenty (20) days after the end of the calendar month with respect to which such installment is payable and (ii) the date which is two (2) business days after the date of delivery to the Board of Directors of such computations.

(c) [Reserved.]

(d) Commencing from the Listing, in addition to the Management Fee otherwise payable hereunder, the Company shall pay the Manager on a quarterly basis annual incentive compensation (the “ Incentive Compensation ”) on a cumulative, but not compounding, basis, in an amount equal to the product of 25% of the dollar amount by which (a) the Adjusted Net Income (before such payment) of the Company exceeds (b)(i) the weighted daily average Total Equity ( plus cash capital raising costs), multiplied by, (ii) a simple interest rate of ten percent (10%) per annum. Each installment of the Incentive Compensation shall not be paid prior to the date that is eight (8) business days after the Agents’ receipt of the quarterly financial statements pursuant to Section 9.8 of the Credit Agreement (as defined in Section 27 herein). The obligation of the Company to pay the Incentive Compensation shall survive the expiration or earlier termination of this Agreement, subject to Section 16(b) of this Agreement. A copy of the computations made by the Manager to calculate such installment shall, for informational purposes only, be delivered to the Agents at least five (5) business days prior to the payment of such installment of the Incentive Compensation.

 

  SECTION 9. EXPENSES OF THE COMPANY.

The Company shall pay all of its expenses and shall reimburse the Manager for documented expenses of the Manager incurred on its behalf (collectively, the “Expenses”); provided that the Company shall use its commercially reasonable best efforts to pay all Expenses directly and in those instances where the Expenses must be incurred by the Manager on the Company’s behalf, such Expenses shall be expensed in the Company’s financial statements as the type of expense for which the reimbursement relates (e.g. in the event the Manager procures insurance on behalf of the Company, the Company shall expense the reimbursement to the Manager as an insurance expense). Expenses include all costs and expenses which are expressly designated elsewhere in this Agreement as the Company’s, together with the following:

(a) expenses in connection with the issuance and transaction costs incident to the acquisitions, disposition and financing of Investments;

(b) travel and other out-of-pocket expenses incurred by managers, officers, employees and agents of the Manager in connection with the purchase, financing, refinancing, sale or other disposition, or asset management of an Investment;

(c) costs of legal, accounting, tax, auditing, administrative and other services rendered for the Company by providers retained by the Manager or, if provided by the Manager’s employees, in amounts which are no greater than those which would be payable to outside professionals or consultants engaged to perform such services pursuant to agreements negotiated on an arm’s-length basis;


(d) the compensation and expenses of the Independent Directors (as defined in the FIG Management Agreement) of the Manager required to be maintained pursuant to the FIG Management Agreement and the cost of liability insurance to indemnify the Company’s directors and officers;

(e) compensation and expenses of the Company’s custodian and transfer agent, if any;

(f) costs associated with the establishment and maintenance of any credit facilities and other indebtedness of the Company (including commitment fees, legal fees, closing and other costs) or any securities offerings of the Company;

(g) costs associated with any computer software or hardware that is used solely for the Company;

(h) all other costs and expenses relating to the Company’s business and investment operations, including, without limitation, the costs and expenses of acquiring, owning, protecting, maintaining, developing, operating and disposing of Investments, including appraisal, reporting, audit and legal fees;

(i) all insurance costs incurred in connection with the operation of the Company’s business except for the costs attributable to the insurance that the Manager elects to carry for itself and its employees;

(j) expenses relating to any office or office facilities maintained for the Company or Investments separate from the office or offices of the Manager;

(k) expenses connected with the payments of interest, dividends or distributions in cash or any other form made or caused to be made by the Board of Directors to or on account of the holders of securities of the Company or its Subsidiaries, including, without limitation, in connection with any dividend reinvestment plan;

(l) expenses connected with communications to holders of securities of the Company or its Subsidiaries and other bookkeeping and clerical work necessary in maintaining relations with holders of such securities and in complying with the continuous reporting and other requirements of governmental bodies or agencies, including, without limitation, all costs of preparing and filing required reports with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the costs payable by the Company to any transfer agent and registrar in connection with the listing and/or trading of the Company’s stock on any exchange, the fees payable by the Company to any such exchange in connection with its listing, costs of preparing, printing and mailing the Company’s annual report to its shareholders and proxy materials with respect to any meeting of the shareholders of the Company;

(m) all other expenses actually incurred by the Manager which are reasonably necessary for the performance by the Manager of its duties and functions under this Agreement; and

(n) Without regard to the amount of compensation received under this Agreement by the Manager, the Manager shall bear the following expenses, except as expressly set forth otherwise herein: (i) wages and salaries of the Manager’s officers and employees; (ii) rent attributable to the space occupied by the Manager; and (iii) all other “overhead” expenses of the Manager.


  SECTION 10. CALCULATIONS OF EXPENSES.

The Manager shall prepare a statement documenting the Expenses of the Company and the Expenses incurred by the Manager on behalf of the Company during each calendar month, and shall deliver such statement to the Company and Agents within twenty (20) days after the end of each calendar month. Expenses incurred by the Manager on behalf of the Company shall be reimbursed monthly to the Manager on the first business day of the month immediately following the date of delivery of such statement.

 

  SECTION 11. LIMITS OF MANAGER RESPONSIBILITY; INDEMNIFICATION.

(a) The Manager assumes no responsibility under this Agreement other than to render the services called for under this Agreement in good faith and shall not be responsible for any action of the Board of Directors in following or declining to follow any advice or recommendations of the Manager, including as set forth in Section 7(b) of this Agreement. The Manager, its members, managers, officers and employees will not be liable to the Company or any Subsidiary, to the Board of Directors, or the Company’s or any Subsidiary’s stockholders or partners for any acts or omissions by the Manager, its members, managers, officers or employees, pursuant to or in accordance with this Agreement, except by reason of acts constituting bad faith, willful misconduct, gross negligence or reckless disregard of the Manager’s duties under this Agreement. The Company shall, to the full extent lawful, reimburse, indemnify and hold the Manager, its members, managers, officers and employees and each other Person, if any, controlling the Manager (each, an “Indemnified Party”), harmless of and from any and all expenses, losses, damages, liabilities, demands, charges and claims of any nature whatsoever (including attorneys’ fees) in respect of or arising from any acts or omissions of such Indemnified Party made in good faith in the performance of the Manager’s duties under this Agreement and not constituting such Indemnified Party’s bad faith, willful misconduct, gross negligence or reckless disregard of the Manager’s duties under this Agreement.

(b) The Manager shall, to the full extent lawful, reimburse, indemnify and hold the Company, its shareholders, directors, officers and employees and each other Person, if any, controlling the Company (each, a “Company Indemnified Party”), harmless of and from any and all expenses, losses, damages, liabilities, demands, charges and claims of any nature whatsoever (including attorneys’ fees) in respect of or arising from the Manager’s bad faith, willful misconduct, gross negligence or reckless disregard of its duties under this Agreement.

 

  SECTION 12. NO JOINT VENTURE.

Nothing in this Agreement shall be construed to make the Company and the Manager partners or joint ventures or impose any liability as such on either of them.


  SECTION 13. TERM; TERMINATION.

(a) Until this Agreement is terminated in accordance with its terms, this Agreement shall be in effect until the date that is three (3) years after the date hereof, and thereafter on each anniversary of such date be deemed renewed automatically each year for an additional one-year period; provided , that if the FIG Management Agreement is terminated, this Agreement shall terminate automatically.

(b) In the event that this Agreement is terminated in accordance with Section 13(a) of this Agreement, the Company shall pay to the Manager, on the date on which such termination is effective, a termination fee (the “Termination Fee”) equal to the amount of the Management Fee earned by the Manager during the period consisting of the twelve (12) full, consecutive calendar months immediately preceding such termination. The obligation of the Company to pay the Termination Fee shall survive the termination of this Agreement.

(c) No later than sixty (60) days prior to the anniversary date of this Agreement of any year during the Term, the Manager may deliver written notice to the Company informing it of the Manager’s intention not to renew the Term, whereupon the Term of this Agreement shall not be renewed and extended and this Agreement shall terminate effective on the anniversary of the Closing Date next following the delivery of such notice.

(d) If this Agreement is terminated pursuant to this Section 13, such termination shall be without any further liability or obligation of either party to the other, except as provided in Section 13(b) and Section 16 of this Agreement. In addition, Section 11 of this Agreement shall survive termination of this Agreement.

 

  SECTION 14. ASSIGNMENT.

(a) Except as set forth in Section 14(b) of this Agreement, this Agreement shall not be assigned, in whole or in part, without the prior consent of (i) the Manager, in the case of an assignment by the Obligors or (ii) the Company in the case of an assignment by the Manager.

(b) Notwithstanding any provision of this Agreement, the Manager may subcontract and assign any or all of its responsibilities under this Agreement to any of its affiliates or a third party pursuant to the FIG Management Agreement, in accordance with the terms of this Agreement applicable to any such subcontract or assignment, and the Company hereby consents to any such assignment and subcontracting.

 

  SECTION 15. TERMINATION FOR CAUSE.

(a) The Company may terminate this Agreement effective upon sixty (60) days prior written notice of termination from the Company to the Manager, without payment of any Termination Fee, if any act of fraud, misappropriation of funds, or embezzlement against the Company or other willful violation of this Agreement by the Manager in its corporate capacity under this Agreement or in the event of any gross negligence on the part of the Manager in the performance of its duties under this Agreement.

(b) The Manager may terminate this Agreement effective upon sixty (60) days prior written notice of termination to the Company in the event that the Company shall default in the performance or observance of any material term, condition or covenant contained in this Agreement and such default shall continue for a period of thirty (30) days after written notice thereof specifying such default and requesting that the same be remedied in such 30 day period.


  SECTION 16. ACTION UPON TERMINATION.

(a) From and after the effective date of termination of this Agreement, pursuant to Sections 13, 14, or 15 of this Agreement, the Manager shall not be entitled to compensation for further services under this Agreement, but shall be paid all compensation accruing to the date of termination and, if terminated pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(b) of this Agreement, the applicable Termination Fee. Upon such termination, the Manager shall forthwith:

(i) after deducting any accrued compensation and reimbursement for its expenses to which it is then entitled, pay over to the Company or a Subsidiary all money collected and held for the account of the Company or a Subsidiary pursuant to this Agreement;

(ii) deliver to the Board of Directors a full accounting, including a statement showing all payments collected by it and a statement of all money held by it, covering the period following the date of the last accounting furnished to the Board of Directors with respect to the Company or a Subsidiary; and

(iii) deliver to the Board of Directors all property and documents of the Company or any Subsidiary then in the custody of the Manager.

(b) In the event that this Agreement is terminated, the Company shall have the option, to be exercised by written notice to the Manager within ten (10) days following such termination, to purchase from the Manager the right of the Manager to receive the Incentive Compensation. In exchange therefor the Company will be obligated to pay the Manager a cash purchase price (the “Cash Price”) equal to the amount of the Incentive Compensation that would be paid to the Manager if all of the Company’s assets were sold for cash at their then current fair market value (taking into account, among other things, expected future performance of the underlying investments, the “Fair Market Value”). In the event that the Company does not elect to exercise such option to purchase the Incentive Compensation, the Manager shall have the right to require the Company to do so at the Cash Price by delivering to the Company written notice within twenty (20) days following such termination. The Fair Market Value shall be determined by independent appraisal to be conducted by a nationally recognized appraisal firm mutually agreed upon by the Company and the Manager. If the Company and the Manager are unable to agree upon an appraisal firm, then each of the Company and the Manager shall choose an independent appraisal firm to conduct an appraisal. In such event, (i) if the appraisals prepared by the two appraisers so selected are the same or differ by an amount that does not exceed 20% of the higher of the two appraisals, the Fair Market Value will be deemed to be the average of such appraisals, and (ii) if the two appraisals differ by more than 20% of the higher of the two appraisals, the two appraisers together shall select a third nationally recognized appraisal firm to conduct an appraisal. If the two appraisers are unable to agree as to the identity of such third appraiser, either of the Manager and the Company may request that the American Arbitration Association


(“AAA”) select the third appraiser, which shall then be selected by the AAA. The Fair Market Value will then be deemed to be the amount determined by such third appraiser, but in no event less than the lower or more than the higher of the first two appraisals made under this Section 16(b).

 

  SECTION 17. [RESERVED.]

 

  SECTION 18. NOTICES.

Unless expressly provided otherwise in this Agreement, all notices, requests, demands and other communications required or permitted under this Agreement shall be in writing and shall be deemed to have been duly given, made and received when delivered against receipt or upon actual receipt of (i) personal delivery, (ii) delivery by reputable overnight courier, (iii) delivery by facsimile transmission or email against answerback, (iv) delivery by registered or certified mail, postage prepaid, return receipt requested, addressed as set forth below:

 

  (a) If to the Company:

GateHouse Media, Inc.

350 WillowBrook Office Park

Fairport, New York 14450

Attention: Michael Reed

Attention: Polly Sack

Facsimile: (585) 248-2631

 

  (b) If to the Manager:

New Media Investment Group Inc.

c/o FIG LLC

1345 Avenue of the Americas

46th Floor

New York, New York 10105

Attention: Mr. Cameron MacDougall

Attention: Mr. Michael Reed

 

  (c) If to the Agents:

PNC Bank National Association

200 South Wacker Drive, Suite 600

Chicago, Illinois 60606

Attention: Portfolio Manager

and to

Crystal Financial LLC

Two International Place, 17 th Floor

Boston, Massachusetts 02110

Attention: Michael Pizette


Either party may alter the address to which communications or copies are to be sent by giving notice of such change of address in conformity with the provisions of this Section 18 for the giving of notice.

 

  SECTION 19. BINDING NATURE OF AGREEMENT; SUCCESSORS AND ASSIGNS.

This Agreement shall be binding upon and inure to the benefit of the parties hereto and their respective heirs, personal representatives, successors and permitted assigns as provided in this Agreement.

 

  SECTION 20. ENTIRE AGREEMENT.

This Agreement contains the entire agreement and understanding among the parties hereto with respect to the subject matter of this Agreement, and supersedes all prior and contemporaneous agreements, understandings, inducements and conditions, express or implied, oral or written, of any nature whatsoever with respect to the subject matter of this Agreement. The express terms of this Agreement control and supersede any course of performance and/or usage of the trade inconsistent with any of the terms of this Agreement. This Agreement may not be modified or amended other than by an agreement in writing.

 

  SECTION 21. CONTROLLING LAW.

This Agreement and all questions relating to its validity, interpretation, performance and enforcement shall be governed by and construed, interpreted and enforced in accordance with the laws of the State of New York, notwithstanding any New York or other conflict-of-law provisions to the contrary.

 

  SECTION 22. INDULGENCES, NOT WAIVERS.

Neither the failure nor any delay on the part of a party to exercise any right, remedy, power or privilege under this Agreement shall operate as a waiver thereof, nor shall any single or partial exercise of any right, remedy, power or privilege preclude any other or further exercise of the same or of any other right, remedy, power or privilege, nor shall any waiver of any right, remedy, power or privilege with respect to any occurrence be construed as a waiver of such right, remedy, power or privilege with respect to any other occurrence. No waiver shall be effective unless it is in writing and is signed by the party asserted to have granted such waiver.

 

  SECTION 23. TITLES NOT TO AFFECT INTERPRETATION.

The titles of paragraphs and subparagraphs contained in this Agreement are for convenience only, and they neither form a part of this Agreement nor are they to be used in the construction or interpretation of this Agreement.


  SECTION 24. EXECUTION IN COUNTERPARTS.

This Agreement may be executed in any number of counterparts, each of which shall be deemed to be an original as against any party whose signature appears thereon, and all of which shall together constitute one and the same instrument. This Agreement shall become binding when one or more counterparts of this Agreement, individually or taken together, shall bear the signatures of all of the parties reflected hereon as the signatories.

 

  SECTION 25. PROVISIONS SEPARABLE.

The Provisions of this Agreement are independent of and separable from each other, and no provision shall be affected or rendered invalid or unenforceable by virtue of the fact that for any reason any other or others of them may be invalid or unenforceable in whole or in part.

 

  SECTION 26. GENDER.

Words used herein regardless of the number and gender specifically used, shall be deemed and construed to include any other number, singular or plural, and any other gender, masculine, feminine or neuter, as the context requires.

 

  SECTION 27. ADDITIONAL OBLIGORS

The Additional Obligors shall be bound by the Provisions of this Agreement on the same basis as the Company, including on a joint and several basis to make all payments required to be made hereunder. The Additional Obligors are required to become parties to this Agreement pursuant to the Management Fee Subordination Agreement agreed to by the Company, PNC Bank, National Association, Crystal Financial LLC and GateHouse Media Intermediate Holdco, Inc. (the “Borrower”) entered into in connection with the Revolving Credit, Term Loan and Security Agreement agreed to by the Company, the Borrower, PNC Bank, National Association, Crystal Financial LLC and the other entities party thereto (as amended, modified, supplement or replaced, the “Credit Agreement”). An Additional Obligor shall cease to be a party to this Agreement without further action, at any time it is no longer a “Loan Party” (as defined in the Credit Agreement) pursuant to the terms of the Credit Agreement. A person that becomes a “Loan Party” pursuant to the terms of the Credit Agreement may become a party hereto by delivering an executed signature page to this Agreement to the Company. The Company is hereby authorized to act on behalf of the Additional Obligors for all purposes of this Agreement.

[Remainder of the page intentionally blank; signature pages follow.]


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

 

COMPANY:

GATEHOUSE MEDIA, INC.,

a Delaware corporation

By:  

/s/ Michael E. Reed

  Name:  Michael E. Reed
  Title:    CEO
MANAGER:

NEW MEDIA INVESTMENT GROUP INC.,

a Delaware corporation

By:  

 

  Name:
  Title:
ADDITIONAL OBLIGORS:
GATEHOUSE MEDIA INTERMEDIATE HOLDCO, INC.
By:  

/s/ Michael E. Reed

  Name:  Michael E. Reed
  Title:    CEO

 

Signature Page to Management and Advisory Agreement between Gatehouse Media, Inc., and New Media Investment Group


ADDITIONAL OBLIGORS (continued):

COPLEY OHIO NEWSPAPERS, INC.

ENHE ACQUISITION, LLC

ENTERPRISE NEWSMEDIA HOLDING, LLC

ENTERPRISE NEWSMEDIA, LLC

ENTERPRISE PUBLISHING COMPANY, LLC

GATEHOUSE MEDIA ARKANSAS HOLDINGS, INC.

GATEHOUSE MEDIA CALIFORNIA HOLDINGS, INC.

GATEHOUSE MEDIA COLORADO HOLDINGS, INC.

GATEHOUSE MEDIA CONNECTICUT HOLDINGS, INC.

GATEHOUSE MEDIA CORNING HOLDINGS, INC.

GATEHOUSE MEDIA DELAWARE HOLDINGS, INC.

GATEHOUSE MEDIA DIRECTORIES HOLDINGS, INC.

GATEHOUSE MEDIA FLORIDA HOLDINGS, INC.

GATEHOUSE MEDIA FREEPORT HOLDINGS, INC.

GATEHOUSE MEDIA HOLDCO, INC.

GATEHOUSE MEDIA ILLINOIS HOLDINGS II, INC.

GATEHOUSE MEDIA ILLINOIS HOLDINGS, INC.

GATEHOUSE MEDIA IOWA HOLDINGS, INC.

GATEHOUSE MEDIA KANSAS HOLDINGS II, INC.

GATEHOUSE MEDIA KANSAS HOLDINGS, INC.

GATEHOUSE MEDIA LANSING PRINTING, INC.

GATEHOUSE MEDIA LOUISIANA HOLDINGS, INC.

GATEHOUSE MEDIA MANAGEMENT SERVICES, INC.

GATEHOUSE MEDIA MASSACHUSETTS I, INC.

GATEHOUSE MEDIA MASSACHUSETTS II, INC.

GATEHOUSE MEDIA MICHIGAN HOLDINGS II, INC.

GATEHOUSE MEDIA MICHIGAN HOLDINGS, INC.

GATEHOUSE MEDIA MINNESOTA HOLDINGS, INC.

GATEHOUSE MEDIA MISSOURI HOLDINGS II, INC.

GATEHOUSE MEDIA MISSOURI HOLDINGS, INC.

GATEHOUSE MEDIA NEBRASKA HOLDINGS II, INC.

By:  

/s/ Melinda A. Janik

  Name: Melinda A. Janik
  Title: Chief Financial Officer

 

[GateHouse – New Media Management Agreement]


ADDITIONAL OBLIGORS (continued):

GATEHOUSE MEDIA NEBRASKA HOLDINGS, INC.

GATEHOUSE MEDIA NEVADA HOLDINGS, INC.

GATEHOUSE MEDIA NEW YORK HOLDINGS, INC.

GATEHOUSE MEDIA NORTH DAKOTA HOLDINGS, INC.

GATEHOUSE MEDIA OHIO HOLDINGS, INC.

GATEHOUSE MEDIA OKLAHOMA HOLDINGS, INC.

GATEHOUSE MEDIA OPERATING, INC.

GATEHOUSE MEDIA PENNSYLVANIA HOLDINGS, INC.

GATEHOUSE MEDIA SUBURBAN NEWSPAPERS, INC.

GATEHOUSE MEDIA TENNESSEE HOLDINGS, INC.

GATEHOUSE MEDIA VENTURES, INC.

GEORGE W. PRESCOTT PUBLISHING COMPANY, LLC

MINERAL DAILY NEWS TRIBUNE, INC.

NEWS LEADER, INC.

SUREWEST DIRECTORIES

TERRY NEWSPAPERS, INC.

THE PEORIA JOURNAL STAR, INC.

LIBERTY SMC, L.L.C.

LOW REALTY, LLC

LRT FOUR HUNDRED, LLC

By:  

/s/ Melinda A. Janik

  Name: Melinda A. Janik
  Title: Chief Financial Officer

 

[GateHouse – New Media Management Agreement]

Exhibit 10.33

 

 

 

REVOLVING CREDIT, TERM LOAN

AND

SECURITY AGREEMENT

 

 

PNC BANK, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION

(AS REVOLVING LENDER, AS A TERM LOAN A LENDER

AND AS ADMINISTRATIVE AGENT)

CRYSTAL FINANCIAL LLC

(AS TERM LOAN B AGENT)

CRYSTAL FINANCIAL SPV LLC

(AS A TERM LOAN B LENDER)

 

 

WITH

 

 

GATEHOUSE MEDIA INTERMEDIATE HOLDCO, INC.,

THE ADDITIONAL BORROWERS NAMED HEREIN AND

ANY OTHER PERSON JOINED AS A BORROWER HERETO

(BORROWERS)

AND

THE GUARANTORS NAMED HEREIN

(GUARANTORS)

 

 

November 26, 2013

 

 

 


TABLE OF CONTENTS

 

     Page  

I. DEFINITIONS

     1   

  1.1. Accounting Terms

     1   

  1.2. General Terms

     1   

  1.3. Uniform Commercial Code Terms

     43   

  1.4. Certain Matters of Construction

     43   

II. ADVANCES, PAYMENTS

     44   

  2.1. Revolving Advances

     44   

  2.2. Procedures for Requesting Revolving Advances; Procedures for Selection of Applicable Interest Rates for Revolving Advances and Swing Loans

     45   

  2.3. Term Loans

     47   

  2.4. Swing Loans

     48   

  2.5. Disbursement of Advance Proceeds

     49   

  2.6. Making and Settlement of Advances

     50   

  2.7. Maximum Advances

     52   

  2.8. Manner and Repayment of Advances

     52   

  2.9. Repayment of Excess Advances

     53   

2.10. Statement of Account

     53   

2.11. Letters of Credit

     54   

2.12. Issuance of Letters of Credit

     54   

2.13. Requirements for Issuance of Letters of Credit

     55   

2.14. Disbursements, Reimbursement

     55   

2.15. Repayment of Participation Advances

     57   

2.16. Documentation

     57   

2.17. Determination to Honor Drawing Request

     58   

2.18. Nature of Participation and Reimbursement Obligations

     58   

2.19. Liability for Acts and Omissions

     59   

2.20. Mandatory and Optional Prepayments

     61   

2.21. Use of Proceeds

     63   

2.22. Defaulting Lender

     63   

2.23. Payment of Obligations

     66   

III. INTEREST AND FEES

     66   

  3.1. Interest

     66   

  3.2. Letter of Credit Fees

     67   

  3.3. Facility Fee

     68   

  3.4. Fee Letter

     69   

  3.5. Computation of Interest and Fees

     69   

  3.6. Maximum Charges

     69   

  3.7. Increased Costs

     69   

  3.8. Basis For Determining Interest Rate Inadequate or Unfair

     70   

  3.9. Capital Adequacy

     71   

3.10. Taxes

     71   

3.11. Replacement of Lenders

     73   

3.12. Mitigation

     74   

 

i


IV. COLLATERAL: GENERAL TERMS

     74   

  4.1. Security Interest in the Collateral

     74   

  4.2. Perfection of Security Interest

     75   

  4.3. Preservation of Collateral

     75   

  4.4. Ownership and Location of Collateral

     76   

  4.5. Defense of Agents’ and Lenders’ Interests

     77   

  4.6. Inspection of Premises

     77   

  4.7. Appraisals; Field Examinations

     77   

  4.8. Receivables; Depository Accounts and Securities Accounts

     78   

  4.9. Inventory

     81   

4.10. Maintenance of Equipment

     81   

4.11. Exculpation of Liability

     81   

4.12. Financing Statements

     81   

V. REPRESENTATIONS AND WARRANTIES

     82   

  5.1. Authority

     82   

  5.2. Formation and Qualification

     82   

  5.3. Survival of Representations and Warranties

     82   

  5.4. Tax Returns

     83   

  5.5. Financial Statements

     83   

  5.6. Entity Names

     84   

  5.7. O.S.H.A. Environmental Compliance; Flood Insurance

     84   

  5.8. Solvency; No Litigation, Violation, Indebtedness or Default; ERISA Compliance

     85   

  5.9. Patents, Trademarks, Copyrights and Licenses

     86   

5.10. Licenses and Permits

     86   

5.11. Default of Indebtedness

     87   

5.12. No Default

     87   

5.13. No Burdensome Restrictions

     87   

5.14. No Labor Disputes

     87   

5.15. Margin Regulations

     87   

5.16. Investment Company Act

     87   

5.17. Disclosure

     87   

5.18. Delivery of Subordinated Loan Documents

     88   

5.19. Reserved

     88   

5.20. Swaps

     88   

5.21. Business and Property of Borrowers

     88   

5.22. Ineligible Securities

     88   

5.23. Federal Securities Laws

     88   

5.24. Equity Interests

     88   

5.25. Commercial Tort Claims

     89   

5.26. Letter of Credit Rights

     89   

5.27. Material Contracts

     89   

5.28. Delivery of Plan of Reorganization, Confirmation Order and Related Documentation

     89   

5.29. Effectiveness of Plan of Reorganization

     89   

 

ii


VI. AFFIRMATIVE COVENANTS

     89   

  6.1. Compliance with Laws

     89   

  6.2. Conduct of Business and Maintenance of Existence and Assets

     90   

  6.3. Books and Records

     90   

  6.4. Payment of Taxes

     90   

  6.5. Financial Covenants

     91   

  6.6. Insurance

     91   

  6.7. Payment of Indebtedness and Leasehold Obligations

     92   

  6.8. Environmental Matters

     92   

  6.9. Standards of Financial Statements

     94   

6.10. Federal Securities Laws

     94   

6.11. Execution of Supplemental Instruments

     94   

6.12. Exercise of Rights

     94   

6.13. Government Receivables

     94   

6.14. Membership / Partnership Interests

     94   

6.15. Keepwell

     94   

6.16. Substantial Consummation of Plan of Reorganization

     95   

6.17. Post-Closing Obligations

     95   

VII. NEGATIVE COVENANTS

     97   

  7.1. Merger, Consolidation, Acquisition and Sale of Assets

     97   

  7.2. Creation of Liens

     98   

  7.3. Guarantees

     98   

  7.4. Investments

     98   

  7.5. Loans

     98   

  7.6. Capital Expenditures

     98   

  7.7. Dividends

     98   

  7.8. Indebtedness

     99   

  7.9. Nature of Business

     99   

7.10. Transactions with Affiliates

     99   

7.11. Leases

     100   

7.12. Subsidiaries

     100   

7.13. Fiscal Year and Accounting Changes

     100   

7.14. Pledge of Credit

     100   

7.15. Amendment of Organizational Documents

     100   

7.16. Compliance with ERISA

     101   

7.17. Prepayment of Indebtedness

     101   

7.18. Subordinated Loan

     101   

7.19. Other Agreements

     101   

VIII. CONDITIONS PRECEDENT

     101   

  8.1. Conditions to Initial Advances

     101   

  8.2. Conditions to Each Advance

     106   

 

iii


IX. INFORMATION AS TO LOAN PARTIES

     107   

    9.1. Disclosure of Material Matters

     107   

    9.2. Schedules

     107   

    9.3. Environmental Reports

     107   

    9.4. Litigation

     108   

    9.5. Material Occurrences

     108   

    9.6. Reserved

     109   

    9.7. Annual Financial Statements

     109   

    9.8. Quarterly Financial Statements

     109   

    9.9. Monthly Financial Statements

     110   

  9.10. Other Reports

     110   

  9.11. Additional Information

     110   

  9.12. Projected Operating Budget

     111   

  9.13. Variances From Operating Budget

     111   

  9.14. Notice of Suits, Adverse Events

     111   

  9.15. ERISA Notices and Requests

     111   

  9.16. Additional Documents

     112   

  9.17. Updates to Certain Schedules

     112   

X. EVENTS OF DEFAULT

     112   

  10.1. Nonpayment

     112   

  10.2. Breach of Representation

     112   

  10.3. Financial Information

     113   

  10.4. Judicial Actions

     113   

  10.5. Noncompliance

     113   

  10.6. Judgments

     113   

  10.7. Bankruptcy

     113   

  10.8. Material Adverse Effect

     114   

  10.9. Lien Priority

     114   

10.10. Subordinated Loan Default

     114   

10.11. Cross Default

     114   

10.12. Breach of Guaranty or Pledge Agreement

     114   

10.13. Change of Control

     114   

10.14. Invalidity

     114   

10.15. Seizures

     114   

10.16. Reserved

     115   

10.17. Pension Plans

     115   

10.18. Anti-Money Laundering/International Trade Law Compliance

     115   

10.19. Plan of Reorganization and Confirmation

     115   

10.20. Management Agreement

     115   

XI. LENDERS’ RIGHTS AND REMEDIES AFTER DEFAULT

     115   

  11.1. Rights and Remedies

     115   

  11.2. Administrative Agent’s Discretion

     117   

  11.3. Setoff

     117   

  11.4. Rights and Remedies not Exclusive

     117   

  11.5. Allocation of Payments After Event of Default

     117   

 

iv


XII. WAIVERS AND JUDICIAL PROCEEDINGS

     119   

  12.1. Waiver of Notice

     119   

  12.2. Delay

     119   

  12.3. Jury Waiver

     119   

XIII. EFFECTIVE DATE AND TERMINATION

     120   

  13.1. Term

     120   

  13.2. Termination

     120   

  13.3. Release of Collateral

     121   

XIV. REGARDING AGENTS

     121   

  14.1. Appointment

     121   

  14.2. Nature of Duties

     122   

  14.3. Lack of Reliance on Agents

     123   

  14.4. Resignation of Agents; Successor Agents

     123   

  14.5. Certain Rights of Agents

     124   

  14.6. Reliance

     124   

  14.7. Notice of Default

     124   

  14.8. Indemnification

     124   

  14.9. Agent in its Individual Capacity

     124   

14.10. Delivery of Documents

     125   

14.11. Borrowers’ Undertaking to Agents

     125   

14.12. No Reliance on Agents’ Customer Identification Programs

     125   

14.13. Other Agreements

     125   

14.14. Agreement Amongst Lenders

     125   

XV. BORROWING AGENCY

     126   

  15.1. Borrowing Agency Provisions

     126   

  15.2. Waiver of Subrogation

     127   

XVI. GUARANTY

     127   

XVII. MISCELLANEOUS

     129   

  17.1. Governing Law

     129   

  17.2. Entire Understanding

     130   

  17.3. Successors and Assigns; Participations; New Lenders

     133   

  17.4. Application of Payments

     136   

  17.5. Indemnity

     136   

  17.6. Notice

     138   

  17.7. Survival

     140   

  17.8. Severability

     140   

  17.9. Expenses

     140   

17.10. Injunctive Relief

     141   

17.11. Consequential Damages

     141   

17.12. Captions

     141   

17.13. Counterparts; Facsimile Signatures

     141   

 

v


17.14. Construction

     141   

17.15. Confidentiality; Sharing Information

     141   

17.16. Publicity

     142   

17.17. Certifications From Banks and Participants; USA PATRIOT Act

     142   

17.18. Anti-Terrorism Laws

     143   

 

vi


LIST OF EXHIBITS AND SCHEDULES

Exhibits

 

Exhibit 1.2    Borrowing Base Certificate
Exhibit 1.2(a)    Compliance Certificate
Exhibit 1.2(b)    Subordination Agreement
Exhibit 2.1(a)    Revolving Credit Note
Exhibit 2.3(a)    Term Loan A Note
Exhibit 2.3(b)    Term Loan B Note
Exhibit 2.4(a)    Swing Loan Note
Exhibit 5.5(b)    Financial Projections
Exhibit 8.1(g)    Financial Condition Certificate
Exhibit 16.3    Commitment Transfer Supplement
Schedules   
Schedule I    Additional Borrowers
Schedule II-A    Transaction Expenses
Schedule II-B    Restructuring-related Expenses
Schedule III    Permitted Dividends (Illustrative Example)
Schedule 1.2(a)    Certain Excluded Property
Schedule 1.2(b)    Permitted Dispositions
Schedule 1.2(c)    Permitted Encumbrances
Schedule 4.4    Equipment and Inventory Locations; Place of Business, Chief Executive Office, Real Property
Schedule 4.8(j)    Concentration and Depository Accounts
Schedule 4.12    Financing Statements
Schedule 5.1    Consents
Schedule 5.2(a)    States of Qualification and Good Standing
Schedule 5.2(b)    Subsidiaries
Schedule 5.4    Federal Tax Identification Number
Schedule 5.6    Prior Names
Schedule 5.7    Environmental
Schedule 5.8(b)(i)    Litigation
Schedule 5.8(b)(ii)    Indebtedness
Schedule 5.8(d)    Plans
Schedule 5.9    Intellectual Property
Schedule 5.10    Licenses and Permits
Schedule 5.14    Labor Disputes
Schedule 5.24    Equity Interests
Schedule 5.25    Commercial Tort Claims
Schedule 5.26    Letter of Credit Rights
Schedule 5.27    Material Contracts
Schedule 6.17    Lien Waiver Agreements
Schedule 7.3    Guarantees
Schedule A    Real Property Locations (First Tier)
Schedule B    Real Property Locations (Second Tier)
Schedule C    Real Property Locations (Third Tier)

 

vii


REVOLVING CREDIT, TERM LOAN

AND

SECURITY AGREEMENT

Revolving Credit, Term Loan and Security Agreement dated as of November 26, 2013 among GATEHOUSE MEDIA INTERMEDIATE HOLDCO, INC., a corporation organized under the laws of the State of Delaware (the “ Company ”), each additional borrower set forth on Schedule I hereto (together with the Company and each Person joined hereto as a borrower from time to time, collectively, the “ Borrowers ”, and each a “ Borrower ”), GATEHOUSE MEDIA, INC., a corporation organized under the laws of the State of Delaware (“ Holdco ” and each Person joined hereto as a guarantor from time to time, collectively, the “ Guarantors ”, and each a “ Guarantor ”), the financial institutions which are now or which hereafter become a party hereto (collectively, the “ Lenders ” and each individually a “ Lender ”), PNC BANK, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION (“ PNC ”), as administrative agent for Lenders (PNC, in such capacity, the “ Administrative Agent ”) and CRYSTAL FINANCIAL LLC (“ Crystal ”), as term loan B agent for the Term Loan B Lenders (the “ Term Loan B Agent ”).

IN CONSIDERATION of the mutual covenants and undertakings herein contained, Borrowers, Lenders and Agents hereby agree as follows:

I. DEFINITIONS.

1.1. Accounting Terms . As used in this Agreement, the Other Documents or any certificate, report or other document made or delivered pursuant to this Agreement, accounting terms not defined in Section 1.2 or elsewhere in this Agreement and accounting terms partly defined in Section 1.2 to the extent not defined shall have the respective meanings given to them under GAAP; provided, however, that, whenever such accounting terms are used for the purposes of determining compliance with financial covenants in this Agreement, such accounting terms shall be defined in accordance with GAAP as applied in preparation of the audited financial statements of Borrowers for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2012.

1.2. General Terms . For purposes of this Agreement the following terms shall have the following meanings:

Accountants ” shall have the meaning set forth in Section 9.7 hereof.

Activation Instruction ” shall have the meaning set forth in Section 4.8 hereof.

Advance Rate ” shall mean the Receivables Advance Rate.

Advances ” shall mean and include the Revolving Advances, Letters of Credit, the Swing Loans and the Term Loans.

Affected Lender ” shall have the meaning set forth in Section 3.11 hereof.

Affected Real Property ” shall have the meaning set forth in Section 6.17(c) hereof.


Affiliate ” of any Person shall mean (a) any Person which, directly or indirectly, is in control of, is controlled by, or is under common control with such Person, or (b) for purposes of Section 7.10, any Person who is a director (i) of such Person, (ii) of any Subsidiary of such Person or (iii) of any Person described in clause (a) above. For purposes of this definition, control of a Person shall mean the power, direct or indirect, (x) to direct or cause the direction of the management and policies of such Person whether by ownership of Equity Interests, contract or otherwise and (y) for purposes of Section 7.10, to vote 10% or more of the Equity Interests having ordinary voting power for the election of directors of such Person or other Persons performing similar functions for any such Person.

Agents ” shall mean collectively, the Administrative Agent and the Term Loan B Agent.

Agreement ” shall mean this Revolving Credit, Term Loan and Security Agreement, as the same may be amended, restated, supplemented or otherwise modified from time to time.

Agreement Amongst Lenders ” shall mean the Agreement Amongst Lenders, dated as of the Closing Date, between Administrative Agent and the Term Loan B Agent with respect to various rights and agreements of the Agents and the Lenders, as the same may be amended, restated, supplemented or otherwise modified from time to time.

Alternate Base Rate ” shall mean, for any day, a rate per annum equal to the highest of (a) the Base Rate in effect on such day, (b) the sum of the Federal Funds Open Rate in effect on such day plus one half of one percent (0.5%), and (c) the sum of the Daily LIBOR Rate in effect on such day plus one percent (1.0%), so long as a Daily LIBOR Rate is offered, ascertainable and not unlawful.

Alternate Source ” shall have the meaning set forth in the definition of “Federal Funds Open Rate”.

Anti-Terrorism Laws ” shall mean any Laws relating to terrorism, trade sanctions programs and embargoes, import/export licensing, money laundering or bribery, and any regulation, order, or directive promulgated, issued or enforced pursuant to such Laws, all as amended, supplemented or replaced from time to time.

Applicable Law ” shall mean all laws, rules and regulations applicable to the Person, conduct, transaction, covenant, this Agreement, any Other Document or contract in question, including all applicable common law and equitable principles, all provisions of all applicable state, federal and foreign constitutions, statutes, rules, regulations, treaties, directives and orders of any Governmental Body, and all orders, judgments and decrees of all courts and arbitrators.

Applicable Margin ” shall mean (a) an amount equal to (i) two and a quarter percent (2.25%) for Revolving Advances consisting of Domestic Rate Loans and Swing Loans and (ii) three and a quarter percent (3.25%) for Revolving Advances consisting of LIBOR Rate Loans; (b) an amount equal to (i) three and a quarter percent (3.25%) for Advances under the Term Loan A consisting of Domestic Rate Loans and (ii) four and a quarter percent (4.25%) for Advances under the Term Loan A consisting of LIBOR Rate Loans; and (c) an amount equal to eight percent (8.00%) for Advances under the Term Loan B consisting of LIBOR Rate Loans.

 

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Application Date ” shall have the meaning set forth in Section 2.8(b) hereof.

Approvals ” shall have the meaning set forth in Section 5.7(b) hereof.

Approved Electronic Communication ” shall mean each notice, demand, communication, information, document and other material transmitted, posted or otherwise made or communicated by e-mail, E-Fax, the StuckyNet System © , or any other equivalent electronic service agreed to by any Agent, whether owned, operated or hosted by any Agent, any Lender, any of their Affiliates or any other Person, that any party is obligated to, or otherwise chooses to, provide to any Agent pursuant to this Agreement or any Other Document, including any financial statement, financial and other report, notice, request, certificate and other information material; provided , that Approved Electronic Communications shall not include any notice, demand, communication, information, document or other material that any Agent specifically instructs a Person to deliver in physical form.

Average Undrawn Availability (Sixty Days) ” shall mean, as of any date of determination, the sum of Undrawn Availability for each of the previous sixty (60) days, divided by sixty (60).

Average Undrawn Availability (Thirty Days) ” shall mean, as of any date of determination, the sum of Undrawn Availability for each of the previous thirty (30) days, divided by thirty (30).

Bankruptcy Court ” shall mean the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware.

Bankruptcy Cases ” shall mean the cases in the Bankruptcy Court captioned as In re GateHouse Media, Inc., et. al., Case No. 13-12503 (MFW)(Jointly Administered).

Base Rate ” shall mean the base commercial lending rate of PNC as publicly announced to be in effect from time to time, such rate to be adjusted automatically, without notice, on the effective date of any change in such rate. This rate of interest is determined from time to time by PNC as a means of pricing some loans to its customers and is neither tied to any external rate of interest or index nor does it necessarily reflect the lowest rate of interest actually charged by PNC to any particular class or category of customers of PNC.

Benefited Lender ” shall have the meaning set forth in Section 2.6(e) hereof.

Blocked Account Bank ” shall have the meaning set forth in Section 4.8(h) hereof.

Blocked Accounts ” shall have the meaning set forth in Section 4.8(h) hereof.

Borrower ” or “ Borrowers ” shall have the meaning set forth in the preamble to this Agreement and shall extend to all permitted successors and assigns of such Persons.

Borrowers’ Account ” shall have the meaning set forth in Section 2.10 hereof.

Borrowing Agent ” shall mean the Company.

 

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Borrowing Base Certificate ” shall mean a certificate in substantially the form of Exhibit 1.2 hereto duly executed by the President, Chief Executive Officer, Chief Financial Officer, Controller, vice president, treasurer or assistant treasurer of the Borrowing Agent and delivered to the Agents, appropriately completed, by which such officer shall certify to Agents the Formula Amount and calculation thereof as of the date of such certificate.

Business Day ” shall mean any day other than Saturday or Sunday or a legal holiday on which commercial banks are authorized or required by law to be closed for business in East Brunswick, New Jersey and, if the applicable Business Day relates to any LIBOR Rate Loans, such day must also be a day on which dealings are carried on in the London interbank market.

Capital Expenditures ” shall mean expenditures made or liabilities incurred for the acquisition of any fixed assets or improvements (or of any replacements or substitutions thereof or additions thereto) which have a useful life of more than one year and which, in accordance with GAAP, would be classified as capital expenditures. Capital Expenditures shall include the total principal portion of Capitalized Lease Obligations. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the term “Capital Expenditures” shall not include (i) Permitted Acquisitions and (ii) capital expenditures financed with the proceeds of equity contributions to Holdco solely to the extent such proceeds are utilized contemporaneously upon receipt thereof and are identified as such.

Capitalized Lease Obligation ” shall mean any Indebtedness of any Loan Party represented by obligations under a lease that is required to be capitalized for financial reporting purposes in accordance with GAAP.

Cash Equivalents ” shall mean (a) securities issued or directly and fully guaranteed or insured by the United States of America or any agency or instrumentality thereof ( provided that the full faith and credit of the United States of America is pledged in support thereof) having maturities of not more than twelve months from the date of acquisition (“ Government Obligations ”), (b) Dollar denominated time deposits, certificates of deposit, Eurodollar time deposits and Eurodollar certificates of deposit of (i) any domestic commercial bank of recognized standing having capital and surplus in excess of $500,000,000 or (ii) any bank whose short-term commercial paper rating at the time of the acquisition thereof is at least A-1 or the equivalent thereof from S&P or from Moody’s is at least P-1 or the equivalent thereof from Moody’s (any such bank being an “ Approved Bank ”), in each case with maturities of not more than 364 days from the date of acquisition, (c) commercial paper and variable or fixed rate notes issued by any Approved Bank (or by the parent company thereof) or any variable rate notes issued by, or guaranteed by any domestic corporation rated A 1 (or the equivalent thereof) or better by S&P or P-1 (or the equivalent thereof) or better by Moody’s and maturing within six months of the date of acquisition, (d) repurchase agreements with a term of not more than thirty (30) days with a bank or trust company (including a Lender) or a recognized securities dealer having capital and surplus in excess of $500,000,000 for direct obligations issued by or fully guaranteed by the United States of America, (e) obligations of any state of the United States or any political subdivision thereof for the payment of the principal and redemption price of and interest on which there shall have been irrevocably deposited Government Obligations maturing as to principal and interest at times and in amounts sufficient to provide such payment, (f) money market accounts subject to Rule 2a-7 of the Investment Company Act of 1940 (“ Rule 2a-7 ”) which consist primarily of cash and cash equivalents set forth in clauses (a) through (e) above

 

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and of which 95% shall at all times be comprised of First Tier Securities (as defined in Rule 2a-7) and any remaining amount shall at all times be comprised of Second Tier Securities (as defined in Rule 2a-7) and (g) shares of any so-called “money market fund”; provided that such fund is registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940, has net assets of at least $500,000,000 and has an investment portfolio with an average maturity of 365 days or less.

Cash Management Products and Services ” shall mean agreements or other arrangements under which Administrative Agent or any Lender or any Affiliate of Administrative Agent or a Lender provides any of the following products or services to any Borrower: (a) credit cards; (b) credit card processing services; (c) debit cards and stored value cards; (d) commercial cards; (e) ACH transactions; and (f) cash management and treasury management services and products, including without limitation controlled disbursement accounts or services, lockboxes, automated clearinghouse transactions, overdrafts, interstate depository network services. The indebtedness, obligations and liabilities of any Borrower to the provider of any Cash Management Products and Services (including all obligations and liabilities owing to such provider in respect of any returned items deposited with such provider) (the “ Cash Management Liabilities ”) shall be “Obligations” hereunder, guaranteed obligations under the Guaranty and secured obligations under any Guarantor Security Agreement, as applicable, and otherwise treated as Obligations for purposes of each of the Other Documents. The Liens securing the Cash Management Products and Services shall be pari passu with the Liens securing all other Obligations under this Agreement and the Other Documents, subject to the express provisions of Section 11.5.

Cash Management Liabilities ” shall have the meaning provided in the definition of “Cash Management Products and Services.”

CEA ” shall mean the Commodity Exchange Act (7 U.S.C.§1 et seq.), as amended from time to time, and any successor statute.

CFTC ” shall mean the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.

CERCLA ” shall mean the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act of 1980, as amended, 42 U.S.C. §§9601 et seq.

Change in Law ” shall mean the occurrence, after the Closing Date, of any of the following: (a) the adoption or taking effect of any Applicable Law; (b) any change in any Applicable Law or in the administration, implementation, interpretation or application thereof by any Governmental Body; or (c) the making or issuance of any request, rule, guideline or directive (whether or not having the force of law) by any Governmental Body; provided that notwithstanding anything herein to the contrary, (x) the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act and all requests, rules, regulations, guidelines, interpretations or directives thereunder or issued in connection therewith (whether or not having the force of Applicable Law) and (y) all requests, rules, regulations, guidelines, interpretations 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 (whether or not having the force of law), 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, issued, promulgated or implemented.

 

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Change of Control ” shall mean: (a) the occurrence of any event (whether in one or more transactions) which results in (x) Company failing to own, directly or indirectly, (A) one hundred percent (100%) of the Equity Interests (on a fully diluted basis) of each Loan Party existing on the Closing Date (other than Holdco) or (B) with respect to Loan Parties acquired after the Closing Date, the amount owned, directly or indirectly, by Company as of the date of such acquisition or (y) Holdco failing to own one hundred percent (100%) of the Equity Interests (on a fully diluted basis) of Company, (b) at any time prior to the consummation of a Qualifying IPO or the distribution (directly or indirectly) of beneficial ownership of Holdco or any direct or indirect parent of Holdco to the shareholders of Newcastle Investment Corp., Permitted Holders fail to own and control, directly or indirectly, fifty percent (50%), or more, of (i) the Equity Interests of Holdco having the right to vote for the election of members of the board of directors, and (ii) the Equity Interests of Holdco (whether or not having the right to vote such Equity Interests) representing all economic interests of Holdco or (c) at any time upon or after the consummation of a Qualifying IPO or the distribution (directly or indirectly) of beneficial ownership of Holdco or any direct or indirect parent of Holdco to the shareholders of Newcastle Investment Corp., any person or group of persons (within the meaning of Section 13(d) or 14(a) of the Exchange Act), other than Permitted Holders, shall have acquired beneficial ownership (within the meaning of Rule 13d-3 promulgated by the SEC under the Exchange Act) of the greater of (x) thirty percent (30%) or more of the Equity Interests of Holdco having the right to vote for the election of members of the board of directors and (y) the percentage of Equity Interests of Holdco having the right to vote for the election of members of the board of directors owned, in the aggregate, directly or indirectly, beneficially and of record, by the Permitted Holders, unless, in the case of either clause (b) or (c) above, one or more Permitted Holders have, at such time, the right or the ability by voting power, contract or otherwise to elect or designate for election at least a majority of the board of directors of Holdco (or any successor under Section 7.1(a)) or otherwise control Holdco (or any successor under Section 7.1(a)) directly or indirectly by management, contract or otherwise.

Charges ” shall mean all taxes, charges, fees, imposts, levies or other assessments, including all net income, gross income, gross receipts, sales, use, ad valorem, value added, transfer, franchise, profits, inventory, capital stock, license, withholding, payroll, employment, social security, unemployment, excise, severance, stamp, occupation and property taxes, custom duties, fees, assessments, liens, claims and charges of any kind whatsoever, together with any interest and any penalties, additions to tax or additional amounts, imposed by any taxing or other authority, domestic or foreign (including the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation or any environmental agency or superfund), upon the Collateral, any Loan Party or any of its Affiliates.

CIP Regulations ” shall have the meaning set forth in Section 14.12 hereof.

Closing Date ” shall mean November 26, 2013 or such other date as may be agreed to in writing by the parties hereto.

Closing Date Undrawn Availability ” at a particular date shall mean an amount (a) the lesser of (i) the Formula Amount or (ii) the Maximum Revolving Advance Amount minus the Maximum Undrawn Amount of all outstanding Letters of Credit, minus (b) the sum of (i) the outstanding amount of Revolving Advances and Swing Loans, plus (ii) all amounts due and owing to any Borrower’s trade creditors which are outstanding sixty (60) days or more past their due date, plus (iii) Transaction Expenses for which Loan Parties are liable but which have not been paid or charged to Borrowers’ Account.

 

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Code ” shall mean the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as the same may be amended or supplemented from time to time, and any successor statute of similar import, and the rules and regulations thereunder, as from time to time in effect.

Collateral ” shall mean and include (x) all right, title and interest of Holdco in the stock, securities, investment property and financial assets of each Borrower, and (y) all right, title and interest of each Loan Party in all of the following property and assets of such Loan Party, in each case whether now existing or hereafter arising or created and whether now owned or hereafter acquired and wherever located:

(a) all Receivables and all supporting obligations relating thereto;

(b) all equipment and fixtures;

(c) all general intangibles (including all payment intangibles and all software) and all supporting obligations related thereto;

(d) all Inventory;

(e) all Subsidiary Stock, securities, investment property, and financial assets;

(f) all Real Property;

(g) all Concentration Accounts;

(h) all contract rights, rights of payment which have been earned under a contract rights, chattel paper (including electronic chattel paper and tangible chattel paper), commercial tort claims (whether now existing or hereafter arising); documents (including all warehouse receipts and bills of lading), deposit accounts, goods, instruments (including promissory notes), letters of credit (whether or not the respective letter of credit is evidenced by a writing) and letter-of-credit rights, cash, certificates of deposit, insurance proceeds (including hazard, flood and credit insurance), security agreements, eminent domain proceeds, condemnation proceeds, tort claim proceeds and all supporting obligations;

(i) all ledger sheets, ledger cards, files, correspondence, records, books of account, business papers, computers, computer software (owned by any Loan Party or in which it has an interest), computer programs, tapes, disks and documents, including all of such property relating to the property described in clauses (a) through (h) of this definition; and

(j) all proceeds and products of the property described in clauses (a) through (h) of this definition, in whatever form. It is the intention of the parties that if any Agent shall fail to have a perfected Lien in any particular property or assets of any Loan Party for any reason whatsoever, but the provisions of this Agreement and/or of the Other Documents, together with all financing statements and other public filings relating to Liens filed or recorded by Administrative Agent against Loan Parties, would be sufficient to create a perfected Lien in any

 

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property or assets that such Loan Party may receive upon the sale, lease, license, exchange, transfer or disposition of such particular property or assets, then all such “proceeds” of such particular property or assets shall be included in the Collateral as original collateral that is the subject of a direct and original grant of a security interest as provided for herein and in the Other Documents (and not merely as proceeds (as defined in Article 9 of the Uniform Commercial Code) in which a security interest is created or arises solely pursuant to Section 9-315 of the Uniform Commercial Code). Notwithstanding any provision of this Agreement or the Other Documents to the contrary, the requirements of this Agreement regarding the Collateral shall not require the creation or perfection of pledges of or security interests in, or the obtaining of title insurance, surveys, appraisals or other deliverables with respect to, particular assets of the Loan Parties, or the provision of Guaranties by any Subsidiary, if, and for so long as the Agents determine in writing that the cost of creating or perfecting such pledges or security interests in such assets, or obtaining such title insurance, surveys, appraisals or other deliverables in respect of such assets, or providing such Guaranties (taking into account any adverse tax consequences to Holdco and its Affiliates (including the imposition of withholding or other material taxes)) shall be excessive in view of the benefits to be obtained by the Lenders therefrom; provided , however , that the Agents shall not require the creation or perfection of security interests in any of the collateral listed on Schedule 1.2(a).

Notwithstanding the forgoing or anything to the contrary contained in this Agreement, Collateral shall not include any Excluded Property.

Collections ” means all cash, check, notes, instruments, and other items of payment (including insurance proceeds, cash proceeds of asset sales, rental proceeds, and tax refunds).

Commitment Percentage ” shall mean (i) as to each Revolving Lender, its Revolving Commitment Percentage, (ii) as to each Term Loan A Lender, its Term Loan A Commitment Percentage, (iii) as to each Term Loan B Lender, its Term Loan B Commitment Percentage, and (iv) as to all Lenders, as of any date of determination, the percentage such Lender’s Revolving Commitment Percentage, Term Loan A Commitment Percentage and Term Loan B Commitment Percentage bears to the aggregate Revolving Commitment Percentage, Term Loan A Commitment Percentage and Term Loan B Commitment Percentage of all Lenders.

Commitment Transfer Supplement ” shall mean a document in the form of Exhibit 16.3 hereto, properly completed and otherwise in form and substance satisfactory to the applicable Agent by which the Purchasing Lender (i) purchases and assumes all or a portion of the obligation of a transferor Lender holding a Revolving Commitment Percentage to make Revolving Advances under this Agreement and/or (ii) purchases all or a portion of a transferor Lender’s interests in the outstanding Revolving Advances, Term Loan A or Term Loan B.

Compliance Certificate ” shall mean a compliance certificate substantially in the form of Exhibit 1.2(a) hereto to be signed by the Chief Financial Officer or Controller of Borrowing Agent.

Company ” shall have the meaning set forth in the preamble to this Agreement and shall include its successors and assigns.

 

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Concentration Account Bank ” means a bank listed on Schedule 4.8(j), and designated as such, as may be amended, modified or supplemented in accordance with Section 9.2.

Concentration Accounts ” means the Depository Accounts listed on Schedule 4.8(j) and any other Depository Account opened after the Closing Date that serve as cash management concentration accounts into which funds from Local Depository Accounts or other concentration accounts are swept.

Confirmation Order ” shall mean that certain order confirming the Plan of Reorganization pursuant to Section 1129 of the Bankruptcy Code entered in the Bankruptcy Cases by the Bankruptcy Court on November 6, 2013.

Consents ” shall mean all filings and all licenses, permits, consents, approvals, authorizations, qualifications and orders of Governmental Bodies and other third parties, domestic or foreign, necessary to carry on any Loan Party’s business or necessary (including to avoid a conflict or breach under any agreement, instrument, other document, license, permit or other authorization) for the execution, delivery or performance of this Agreement, the Other Documents or the Subordinated Loan Documents, including any Consents required under all applicable federal, state or other Applicable Law.

Contract Rate ” shall have the meaning set forth in Section 3.1 hereof.

Controlled Group ” shall mean, at any time, each Loan Party and all members of a controlled group of corporations and all trades or businesses (whether or not incorporated) under common control and all other entities which, together with any Loan Party, are treated as a single employer under Section 414 of the Code.

Copyright Security Agreement ” shall mean the Copyright Security Agreement, dated as of the Closing Date, between the Loan Parties party thereto and the Administrative Agent, as amended, restated, supplemented or replaced.

Covered Entity ” shall mean (a) each Loan Party, each of Loan Party’s Subsidiaries, and all pledgors of Collateral and (b) each Person that, directly or indirectly, is in control of a Person described in clause (a) above. For purposes of this definition, control of a Person shall mean the direct or indirect (x) ownership of, or power to vote, 25% or more of the issued and outstanding equity interests having ordinary voting power for the election of directors of such Person or other Persons performing similar functions for such Person, or (y) power to direct or cause the direction of the management and policies of such Person whether by ownership of equity interests, contract or otherwise; provided , that no shareholder of New Media Investment Group, Inc. shall be deemed to have control of a Person and constitute a “Covered Entity” unless it has control pursuant to foregoing clause (y).

Cure Amount ” shall mean, if the Term Loan A Formula Amount is less than $25,000,000 at any time, then an amount equal to such difference.

Customer ” shall mean and include the account debtor with respect to any Receivable and/or the prospective purchaser of goods, services or both with respect to any contract or contract right, and/or any party who enters into or proposes to enter into any contract or other arrangement with any Borrower, pursuant to which such Borrower is to deliver any personal property or perform any services.

 

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Customs ” shall have the meaning set forth in Section 2.13(b) hereof.

Daily LIBOR Rate ” shall mean, for any day, the rate per annum determined by the applicable Agent by dividing (x) the Published Rate by (y) a number equal to 1.00 minus the Reserve Percentage.

Debt Payments ” shall mean for any period, in each case, all cash actually expended by any Loan Party to make: (a) interest payments on any Advances hereunder, plus (b) scheduled principal payments on the Term Loans, plus (c) payments for all fees, commissions and charges set forth herein (other than collateral monitoring fees and expenses pursuant to this Agreement), plus (d) payments on Capitalized Lease Obligations, plus (e) payments with respect to any other Indebtedness for borrowed money (other than payments of Revolving Advances, prepayments on the Term Loans pursuant to Sections 2.20(a), 2.20(c) or 2.20(d), or any prepayment fees or premiums already expensed within the definition of “Earnings Before Interest and Taxes”), including without limitation, Subordinated Loans (other than interest paid-in-kind).

Default ” shall mean an event, circumstance or condition which, with the giving of notice or passage of time or both, would constitute an Event of Default.

Default Rate ” shall have the meaning set forth in Section 3.1 hereof.

Defaulting Lender ” shall mean any Revolving Lender that: (a) has failed, within two (2) Business Days of the date required to be funded or paid, to (i) fund any portion of its Revolving Commitment Percentage of Advances, (ii) if applicable, fund any portion of its Participation Commitment in Letters of Credit or Swing Loans or (iii) pay over to the Administrative Agent, Issuer, Swing Loan Lender or any Revolving Lender any other amount required to be paid by it hereunder, unless, in the case of clause (i) above, such Revolving Lender notifies Administrative Agent in writing that such failure is the result of such Revolving Lender’s good faith determination that a condition precedent to funding (specifically identified and including a particular Default or Event of Default, if any) has not been satisfied; (b) has notified Borrowers or Administrative Agent in writing, or has made a public statement to the effect, that it does not intend or expect to comply with any of its funding obligations under this Agreement (unless such writing or public statement indicates that such position is based on such Revolving Lender’s good faith determination that a condition precedent (specifically identified and including a particular Default or Event of Default, if any) to funding a loan under this Agreement cannot be satisfied) or generally under other agreements in which it commits to extend credit; (c) has failed, within two (2) Business Days after request by Administrative Agent, acting in good faith, to provide a certification in writing from an authorized officer of such Revolving Lender that it will comply with its obligations (and is financially able to meet such obligations) to fund prospective Advances and, if applicable, participations in then outstanding Letters of Credit and Swing Loans under this Agreement, provided that such Revolving Lender shall cease to be a Defaulting Lender pursuant to this clause (c) upon Administrative Agent’s receipt of such certification in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to Administrative Agent; (d) has become the subject of an Insolvency Event; or (e) has failed at any time to comply with the

 

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provisions of Section 2.6(e) with respect to purchasing participations from the other Revolving Lenders, whereby such Revolving Lender’s share of any payment received, whether by setoff or otherwise, is in excess of its pro rata share of such payments due and payable to all of the Revolving Lenders.

Depository Accounts ” shall have the meaning set forth in Section 4.8(h) hereof.

Designated Lender ” shall have the meaning set forth in Section 17.2(d) hereof.

Disclosure Statement ” means the disclosure statement for the Plan of Reorganization as may be amended, supplemented or modified from time to time, including all exhibits and schedules thereto, as approved by the Confirmation Order.

Document ” shall have the meaning given to the term “document” in the Uniform Commercial Code.

Dollar ” and the sign “ $ ” shall mean lawful money of the United States of America.

Domestic Rate Loan ” shall mean any Advance that bears interest based upon the Alternate Base Rate.

Drawing Date ” shall have the meaning set forth in Section 2.14(b) hereof.

Earnings Before Interest and Taxes ” shall mean, for any specified period, for the Loan Parties on a consolidated basis, the sum of (i) net income (or loss) for such period, plus (ii) all interest expense (including Letter of Credit fees) for such period, plus (iii) charges against income for such period for federal, state, local and foreign taxes for such period.

EBITDA ” shall mean, for any specified period, for the Loan Parties on a consolidated basis, the sum of (i) Earnings Before Interest and Taxes for such period, plus (ii) depreciation expenses for such period, plus ( iii ) amortization expenses for such period, plus (iv) fees, transaction costs and expenses incurred in connection with the Transactions accrued prior to or on the Closing Date to the extent such fees, costs and expenses are not capitalized, are expensed during the applicable testing period and paid within 120 days of the Closing Date, as set forth on Schedule II-A (“ Transaction Expenses ”) and otherwise identified as restructuring related expenses as set forth on Schedule II-B, plus (v) with respect to the Transactions only, such other non-cash expenses (including any required or permitted purchase accounting adjustments and non-cash charges relating to inventory and fixed assets) permitted pursuant to GAAP and incurred during such period, minus (vi) with respect to the Transactions only, non-cash write-ups, plus (vii) non-cash, non-recurring items or expenses permitted pursuant to GAAP and incurred in such period in connection with the write-off of deferred financing costs, plus (viii) any non-cash restructuring costs or impairment charges (without duplication) that will not result in cash expenditures at a future date, minus (ix) extraordinary and non-recurring gains, plus (x) extraordinary, non-recurring cash employer severance expenses, not to exceed $1,000,000 per fiscal year, plus (xi) any management incentive fee expense incurred but deferred (evidenced by an irrevocable written notice sent by the Loan Parties to both Agents that such expense will be deferred and shall not be paid in cash so long as (I) such deferral is not utilized more than two (2) times during the Term, and (II) the amount that has accrued but which was not paid during the subject deferral period may not be paid until on or after a date fifteen (15) months from the last day of the subject deferral period), plus (xii) non-cash compensation expenses not payable in cash in future periods.

 

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Notwithstanding the foregoing, EBITDA shall be deemed to be the following amounts for the following periods:

 

Quarter ended March 31, 2013

   $ 9,000,000   

Quarter ended June 30, 2013

   $ 17,400,000   

Quarter ended September 30, 2013

   $ 15,863,000   

Effective Date ” means the date indicated in a document or agreement to be the date on which such document or agreement becomes effective, or, if there is no such indication, the date of execution of such document or agreement.

Eligible Contract Participant ” shall mean an “eligible contract participant” as defined in the CEA and regulations thereunder.

Eligibility Date ” shall mean, with respect to each Borrower and Guarantor and each Swap, the date on which this Agreement or any Other Document becomes effective with respect to such Swap (for the avoidance of doubt, the Eligibility Date shall be the Effective Date of such Swap if this Agreement or any Other Document is then in effect with respect to such Borrower or Guarantor, and otherwise it shall be the Effective Date of this Agreement and/or such Other Document(s) to which such Borrower or Guarantor is a party).

Environmental Complaint ” shall have the meaning set forth in Section 9.3(b) hereof.

Environmental Laws ” shall mean all federal, state and local environmental, land use, zoning, health, chemical use, safety and sanitation laws, statutes, ordinances and codes as well as common laws, relating to the protection of the environment, human health and/or governing the use, storage, treatment, generation, transportation, processing, handling, production or disposal of Hazardous Materials and the rules, regulations, policies, guidelines, interpretations, decisions, orders and directives of federal, state, international and local governmental agencies and authorities with respect thereto.

Equity Interests ” shall mean, with respect to any Person, any and all shares, rights to purchase, options, warrants, general, limited or limited liability partnership interests, member interests, participation or other equivalents of or interest in (regardless of how designated) equity of such Person, whether voting or nonvoting, including common stock, preferred stock, convertible securities or any other “equity security” (as such term is defined in Rule 3a11-1 of the General Rules and Regulations promulgated by the SEC under the Exchange Act), including in each case all of the following rights relating to such Equity Interests, whether arising under the Organizational Documents of the Person issuing such Equity Interests (the “ issuer ”) or under the applicable laws of such issuer’s jurisdiction of organization relating to the formation, existence

 

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and governance of corporations, limited liability companies or partnerships or business trusts or other legal entities, as the case may be: (i) all economic rights (including all rights to receive dividends and distributions) relating to such Equity Interests; (ii) all voting rights and rights to consent to any particular action(s) by the applicable issuer; (iii) all management rights with respect to such issuer; (iv) in the case of any Equity Interests consisting of a general partner interest in a partnership, all powers and rights as a general partner with respect to the management, operations and control of the business and affairs of the applicable issuer; (v) in the case of any Equity Interests consisting of the membership/limited liability company interests of a managing member in a limited liability company, all powers and rights as a managing member with respect to the management, operations and control of the business and affairs of the applicable issuer; (vi) all rights to designate or appoint or vote for or remove any officers, directors, manager(s), general partner(s) or managing member(s) of such issuer and/or any members of any board of members/managers/partners/directors that may at any time have any rights to manage and direct the business and affairs of the applicable issuer under its Organizational Documents as in effect from time to time or under Applicable Law; (vii) all rights to amend the Organizational Documents of such issuer, (viii) in the case of any Equity Interests in a partnership or limited liability company, the status of the holder of such Equity Interests as a “partner”, general or limited, or “member” (as applicable) under the applicable Organizational Documents and/or Applicable Law; and (ix) all certificates evidencing such Equity Interests.

ERISA ” shall mean the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as the same may be amended or supplemented from time to time and the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder.

Event of Default ” shall have the meaning set forth in Article X hereof.

Excess Cash Flow ” shall mean, for any fiscal period, in each case for Loan Parties on a Consolidated Basis, EBITDA, minus each of the following, to the extent actually paid in cash during such fiscal period, Unfunded Capital Expenditures, taxes, dividends (including Permitted Dividends) and distributions made in respect of such fiscal period, Transaction Expenses, Debt Payments (excluding amounts expensed within the definition of Earnings Before Interest and Taxes), pension payments (excluding amounts expensed within the definition of Earnings Before Interest and Taxes), extraordinary, non-recurring cash employer severance expenses, not to exceed $1,000,000 per fiscal year (to the extent included in clause (x) of the definition of “EBITDA”) and any management incentive fee expense deferred in accordance with clause (xi) of the definition of “EBITDA”.

Exchange Act ” shall mean the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended.

Excluded Hedge Liability or Liabilities ” shall mean, with respect to each Borrower and Guarantor, each of its Swap Obligations if, and only to the extent that, all or any portion of this Agreement or any Other Document that relates to such Swap Obligation is or becomes illegal under the CEA, or any rule, regulation or order of the CFTC, solely by virtue of such Borrower’s and/or Guarantor’s failure to qualify as an Eligible Contract Participant on the Eligibility Date for such Swap. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in the foregoing or in any other provision of this Agreement or any Other Document, the foregoing is subject to the following provisos: (a) if a Swap Obligation arises under a master agreement governing more

 

13


than one Swap, this definition shall apply only to the portion of such Swap Obligation that is attributable to Swaps for which such guaranty or security interest is or becomes illegal under the CEA, or any rule, regulations or order of the CFTC, solely as a result of the failure by such Borrower or Guarantor for any reason to qualify as an Eligible Contract Participant on the Eligibility Date for such Swap; (b) if a guarantee of a Swap Obligation would cause such obligation to be an Excluded Hedge Liability but the grant of a security interest would not cause such obligation to be an Excluded Hedge Liability, such Swap Obligation shall constitute an Excluded Hedge Liability for purposes of the guaranty but not for purposes of the grant of the security interest; and (c) if there is more than one Borrower or Guarantor executing this Agreement or the Other Documents and a Swap Obligation would be an Excluded Hedge Liability with respect to one or more of such Persons, but not all of them, the definition of Excluded Hedge Liability or Liabilities with respect to each such Person shall only be deemed applicable to (i) the particular Swap Obligations that constitute Excluded Hedge Liabilities with respect to such Person, and (ii) the particular Person with respect to which such Swap Obligations constitute Excluded Hedge Liabilities.

Excluded Property ” shall mean (i) any property if and to the extent that a security interest therein is prohibited by or in violation of any Applicable Law (unless such Applicable Law would be rendered ineffective with respect to the creation of such security interest under Sections 9-406, 9-407, 9-408 or 9-409 of the UCC (or any successor provision or provisions) of any relevant jurisdiction or any other Applicable Law or principles of equity), (ii) any property to the extent that and for as long as such grant of a security interest requires consent pursuant to any Applicable Law that has not been obtained, except to the extent that such Applicable Law is ineffective under Applicable Law or principles of equity or would be ineffective under Sections 9-406, 9-407, 9-408 or 9-409 of the UCC to prevent the attachment of the security interest granted hereunder, (iii) any property subject to a purchase money security interest to the extent that a grant of a security interest therein would violate such purchase money arrangement, (iv) any general intangible, instrument, software, permit, lease, license, contract, agreement, governmental approval or franchise, to which a Loan Party is a party or any of its rights or interests thereunder if, to the extent and for so long as the grant of such security interest shall constitute or result in a breach of or a default under, or creates an enforceable right of termination in favor of any party to such general intangible, instrument, software, permit, lease, license, contract, agreement, governmental approval or franchise (other than to the extent that any such term would be rendered ineffective, or is otherwise unenforceable, pursuant to Sections 9-406, 9-407, 9-408 or 9-409 of the UCC or any other applicable requirement of law), provided that, to the extent severable, the security interest shall attach immediately to any portion of such lease, license, contract or agreement that does not result in any such breach, termination or default, (v) any intent-to-use application for registration of a trademark filed pursuant to 15 U.S.C. § 1051(b) prior to the filing of an amendment to allege use pursuant to 15 U.S.C. § 1051(c) or a verified statement of use pursuant to 15 U.S.C. § 1051(d) and the conversion of such intent-to-use application to a “Certificate of Registration” pursuant to Section 1(d) of the Lanham Act or a “use in commerce” application pursuant to Section 1(c) of the Lanham Act, solely to the extent that and for so long as the grant of a security interest therein prior to such filing could impair the validity or enforceability of any registration that issues from such intent-to-use application under applicable federal law, (vi) motor vehicles or other assets in which a security interest may be perfected only through compliance with a certificate of title statute, (vii)

 

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any commercial tort claim for which the amount of probable damages is reasonably determined by the Loan Parties to be less than $250,000, (viii) Real Property other than the Real Property listed on Schedule A and Schedule B, (ix) any Equity Interests held by Holdco of a Foreign Subsidiary, other than (A) 100% of such issued and outstanding Equity Interests not entitled to vote (within the meaning of Treas. Reg. Section 1.956-2(c)(2)) and (B) 65% (or such greater percentage that, due to a change in an Applicable Law after the date hereof, (X) could not reasonably be expected to cause the undistributed earnings of such Foreign Subsidiary as determined for United States federal income tax purposes to be treated as a deemed dividend to such Loan Party and (Y) could not reasonably be expected to cause any material adverse tax consequences) of such issued and outstanding Equity Interests entitled to vote (within the meaning of Treas. Reg. Section 1.956-2(c)(2)) and (x) any copyrights other than the Intellectual Property required to be listed on Schedule 5.9; provided , however that Excluded Property shall not include any proceeds of any such lease, license, contract or agreement or any goodwill of Loan Parties’ business associated therewith or attributable thereto.

Excluded Taxes ” shall mean, with respect to any Agent, any Lender, Participant, Swing Loan Lender, Issuer or any other recipient of any payment to be made by or on account of any Obligations, (a) Taxes imposed on or measured by its overall net income (however denominated), franchise Taxes or branch profits Taxes, in each case, (i) imposed on it, by the jurisdiction (or any political subdivision thereof) under the laws of which such recipient is organized or in which its principal office or applicable lending office is located or, in the case of any Lender, Participant, Swing Loan Lender or Issuer, in which its applicable lending office is located, or (ii) imposed on it by reason of any connection between such Lender, Participant, Swing Loan Lender, Issuer or any other recipient of any payment to be made by or on account of any Obligations under this Agreement and the taxing jurisdiction, other than connections arising from such Lender, Participant, Swing Loan Lender, issuer or any other recipient of any payment to be made under this Agreement or on account of any Obligations 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 by this Agreement or any Other Documents, or sold or assigned an interest in any Loan or this Agreement or any Other Documents, (b) in the case of a Foreign Lender, any withholding tax that is imposed on amounts payable by or on account of any Obligations to or for the account of such Foreign Lender pursuant to a law in effect on the date on which such Foreign Lender becomes a party hereto (or designates a new lending office) or is attributable to such Foreign Lender’s failure or inability (other than as a result of a Change in Law) to comply with Section 3.10(e), except to the extent that such Foreign Lender or Participant (or its assignor or seller of a participation, if any) was entitled, at the time of designation of a new lending office (or assignment or sale of a participation), to receive additional amounts from Borrowers with respect to such withholding tax pursuant to Section 3.10(a), or (c) any U.S. federal withholding Taxes imposed under FATCA.

Facility Fee ” shall have the meaning set forth in Section 3.3 hereof.

FATCA ” shall mean 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 thereunder or official interpretations thereof.

 

15


Federal Funds Effective Rate ” shall mean for any day the rate per annum (based on a year of 360 days and actual days elapsed and rounded upward to the nearest 1/100 of 1%) announced by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York (or any successor) on such day as being the weighted average of the rates on overnight federal funds transactions arranged by federal funds brokers on the previous trading day, as computed and announced by such Federal Reserve Bank (or any successor) in substantially the same manner as such Federal Reserve Bank computes and announces the weighted average it refers to as the “Federal Funds Effective Rate” as of the date of this Agreement; provided, if such Federal Reserve Bank (or its successor) does not announce such rate on any day, the “Federal Funds Effective Rate” for such day shall be the Federal Funds Effective Rate for the last day on which such rate was announced.

Federal Funds Open Rate ” shall mean for any day the rate per annum (based on a year of 360 days and actual days elapsed) which is the daily federal funds open rate as quoted by ICAP North America, Inc. (or any successor) as set forth on the Bloomberg Screen BTMM for that day opposite the caption “OPEN” (or on such other substitute Bloomberg Screen that displays such rate), or as set forth on such other recognized electronic source used for the purpose of displaying such rate as selected by PNC (an “ Alternate Source ”) (or if such rate for such day does not appear on the Bloomberg Screen BTMM (or any substitute screen) or on any Alternate Source, or if there shall at any time, for any reason, no longer exist a Bloomberg Screen BTMM (or any substitute screen) or any Alternate Source, a comparable replacement rate determined by PNC at such time (which determination shall be conclusive absent manifest error); provided however, that if such day is not a Business Day, the Federal Funds Open Rate for such day shall be the “open” rate on the immediately preceding Business Day. If and when the Federal Funds Open Rate changes, the rate of interest with respect to any advance to which the Federal Funds Open Rate applies will change automatically without notice to Borrowers, effective on the date of any such change.

Fee Letter ” shall mean the fee letter dated the Closing Date among Borrowers, PNC and Term Loan B Agent.

Final Order ” means an order, ruling or judgment entered by the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware that (a) is in full force and effect, (b) is not stayed, and (c) is no longer subject to review, reversal, modification or amendment, by appeal motion or writ of certiorari; provided, however , that the possibility that a motion under Rule 50 or 60 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, or any analogous rule under the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure or Bankruptcy Rules, may be filed relating to such order, ruling or judgment shall not cause such order, ruling or judgment not to be a Final Order.

Fixed Charge Coverage Ratio ” shall mean, with respect to any fiscal period, the ratio of (a) EBITDA, minus Unfunded Capital Expenditures made during such period, minus Permitted Dividends made during such period, minus pension payments to the extent not already expensed in the computation of EBITDA, minus cash taxes paid during such period, to (b) all Debt Payments (to the extent not already expensed and not added in the computation of EBITDA) made during such period.

 

16


Flood Laws ” shall mean all Applicable Laws relating to policies and procedures that address requirements placed on federally regulated lenders under the National Flood Insurance Reform Act of 1994 and other Applicable Laws related thereto.

Foreign Currency Hedge ” shall mean any foreign exchange transaction, including spot and forward foreign currency purchases and sales, listed or over-the-counter options on foreign currencies, non-deliverable forwards and options, foreign currency swap agreements, currency exchange rate price hedging arrangements, and any other similar transaction providing for the purchase of one currency in exchange for the sale of another currency entered into by any Borrower, Guarantor and/or any of their respective Subsidiaries.

Foreign Currency Hedge Liabilities ” shall have the meaning assigned in the definition of Lender-Provided Foreign Currency Hedge.

Foreign Lender ” shall mean any Agent, Swing Loan Lender, Lender, Issuer or Participant that, in each case, is organized under the laws of a jurisdiction other than that in which Borrowers are resident for tax purposes. For purposes of this definition, the United States of America, each State thereof and the District of Columbia shall be deemed to constitute a single jurisdiction.

Foreign Subsidiary ” shall mean any Subsidiary of any Person that is not organized or incorporated in the United States, any State or territory thereof or the District of Columbia.

Formula Amount ” shall have the meaning set forth in Section 2.1(a) hereof.

Funded Debt ” shall mean, with respect to any Person, without duplication, all Indebtedness for borrowed money evidenced by notes, bonds, debentures, or similar evidences of Indebtedness, and specifically including Capitalized Lease Obligations, current maturities of long-term debt, revolving credit and short term debt (for borrowed money) extendible beyond one year at the option of the debtor, and also including, in the case of Borrowers, the Obligations and, without duplication, Indebtedness consisting of guaranties of Funded Debt of other Persons.

GAAP ” shall mean generally accepted accounting principles in the United States of America in effect from time to time.

GMH ” shall mean GateHouse Media Holdco, Inc.

GMO ” shall mean GateHouse Media Operating, Inc.

Governmental Acts ” shall mean any act or omission, whether rightful or wrongful, of any present or future de jure or de facto Governmental Body.

Governmental Body ” shall mean any nation or government, any state or other political subdivision thereof or any entity, authority, agency, division or department exercising the executive, legislative, judicial, taxing, regulatory or administrative powers or functions of or pertaining to a government (including any supra-national bodies such as the European Union or the European Central Bank) and any group or body charged with setting financial accounting or regulatory capital rules or standards (including, without limitation, the Financial Accounting Standards Board, the Bank for International Settlements or the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision or any successor or similar authority to any of the foregoing).

 

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Guarantor ” shall mean Holdco, each Subsidiary Guarantor, and any other Person who may hereafter guarantee payment or performance of the whole or any part of the Obligations and “Guarantors” means collectively all such Persons.

Guarantor Security Agreement ” shall mean any security agreement executed by any Guarantor in favor of the Agents securing the Obligations or the Guaranty of such Guarantor, in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to each Agent.

Guaranty ” shall mean any guaranty of the Obligations executed by a Guarantor in favor of the Agents (including the guaranty pursuant to this Agreement) for its benefit and for the ratable benefit of Lenders, in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to each Agent.

Hazardous Discharge ” shall have the meaning set forth in Section 9.3(b) hereof.

Hazardous Materials ” shall mean, without limitation, any flammable explosives, radon, radioactive materials, asbestos, urea formaldehyde foam insulation, polychlorinated biphenyls, petroleum and petroleum products, methane, hazardous materials, Hazardous Wastes, hazardous or Toxic Substances or related materials as defined in or subject to regulation under Environmental Laws.

Hazardous Wastes ” shall mean all waste materials subject to regulation under CERCLA, RCRA or applicable state law, and any other applicable Federal and state laws now in force or hereafter enacted relating to hazardous waste disposal.

Hedge Liabilities ” shall mean collectively, the Foreign Currency Hedge Liabilities and the Interest Rate Hedge Liabilities.

Holdco ” shall have the meaning set forth in the preamble to this Agreement and shall include its permitted successors and assigns.

Indebtedness ” shall mean, as to any Person at any time, any and all indebtedness, obligations or liabilities (whether matured or unmatured, liquidated or unliquidated, direct or indirect, absolute or contingent, or joint or several) of such Person for or in respect of: (a) borrowed money; (b) amounts received under or liabilities in respect of any note purchase or acceptance credit facility, and all obligations of such Person evidenced by bonds, debentures, notes or other similar instruments; (c) all Capitalized Lease Obligations; (d) reimbursement obligations (contingent or otherwise) under any letter of credit agreement, banker’s acceptance agreement or similar arrangement; (e) obligations under any Interest Rate Hedge, Foreign Currency Hedge, or other interest rate management device, foreign currency exchange agreement, currency swap agreement, commodity price protection agreement or other interest or currency exchange rate or commodity price hedging arrangement; (f) any other advances of credit made to or on behalf of such Person or other transaction (including forward sale or purchase agreements, capitalized leases and conditional sales agreements) having the commercial effect of a borrowing of money entered into by such Person to finance its operations

 

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or capital requirements including to finance the purchase price of property or services and all obligations of such Person to pay the deferred purchase price of property or services (but not including trade payables and accrued expenses incurred in the Ordinary Course of Business which are not represented by a promissory note or other evidence of indebtedness and which are not more than thirty (30) days past due); (g) all Equity Interests of such Person subject to repurchase or redemption rights or obligations (excluding repurchases or redemptions at the sole option of such Person); (h) all indebtedness, obligations or liabilities secured by a Lien on any asset of such Person, whether or not such indebtedness, obligations or liabilities are otherwise an obligation of such Person; (i) all obligations of such Person for purchase price adjustments, profit sharing arrangements, deferred purchase money amounts and similar payment obligations or continuing obligations of any nature of such Person arising out of purchase and sale contracts other than any of the foregoing obligations that is not required at the time of incurrence to be recorded as a liability on the balance sheet of such Person in accordance with GAAP; (j) off-balance sheet liabilities and/or unfunded pension plan (as defined in Section 3(2) of ERISA) liabilities attributable to any single-employer defined benefit pension plan; and (k) any guaranty of any indebtedness, obligations or liabilities of a type described in the foregoing clauses (a) through (j). For purposes of this definition, the amount of any Indebtedness represented by a guaranty or other similar instrument shall be the lesser of the principal amount of the obligations guaranteed and still outstanding and the maximum amount for which the guaranteeing Person may be liable pursuant to the terms of the instrument embodying such Indebtedness.

Indemnified Taxes ” shall mean Taxes other than Excluded Taxes.

Ineligible Security ” shall mean any security which may not be underwritten or dealt in by member banks of the Federal Reserve System under Section 16 of the Banking Act of 1933 (12 U.S.C. Section 24, Seventh), as amended.

Insolvency Event ” shall mean, with respect to any Person, including without limitation any Lender, such Person or such Person’s direct or indirect parent company (a) becomes the subject of a bankruptcy or insolvency proceeding (including any proceeding under Title 11 of the United States Code), (b) has had a receiver, conservator, trustee, administrator, custodian, assignee for the benefit of creditors or similar Person charged with the reorganization or liquidation of its business appointed for it or has called a meeting of all or substantially all of its creditors for the purpose of entering into a compromise of obligations generally with such creditors, (c) admits in writing its inability, or be generally unable, to pay its debts as they become due or cease operations of its present business, or (d) with respect to a Lender, such Lender is unable to perform hereunder due to the application of Applicable Law, provided that an Insolvency Event shall not result solely by virtue of any ownership interest, or the acquisition of any ownership interest, in such Person or such Person’s direct or indirect parent company by a Governmental Body or instrumentality thereof if, and only if, such ownership interest does not result in or provide such Person 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 Person (or such Governmental Body or instrumentality) to reject, repudiate, disavow or disaffirm any contracts or agreements made by such Person.

 

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Intellectual Property ” shall mean property constituting a patent, copyright, trademark (or any application in respect of the foregoing), service mark, trade name, mask work, trade secrets, design right or license or other right to use any of the foregoing under Applicable Law.

Interest Period ” shall mean the period provided for any LIBOR Rate Loan pursuant to Section 2.2(b) hereof. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary, the “Interest Period” with respect to Term Loan B shall mean each calendar month.

Interest Rate Hedge ” shall mean an interest rate exchange, collar, cap, swap, floor, adjustable strike cap, adjustable strike corridor, cross-currency swap or similar agreements entered into by any Borrower, Guarantor and/or their respective Subsidiaries in order to provide protection to, or minimize the impact upon, such Borrower, any Guarantor and/or their respective Subsidiaries of increasing floating rates of interest applicable to Indebtedness.

Interest Rate Hedge Liabilities ” shall have the meaning assigned in the definition of Lender-Provided Interest Rate Hedge.

Inventory ” shall mean and include as to each Loan Party all of such Loan Party’s inventory (as defined in Article 9 of the Uniform Commercial Code) and all of such Loan Party’s goods, merchandise and other personal property, wherever located, to be furnished under any consignment arrangement, contract of service or held for sale or lease, all raw materials, work in process, finished goods and materials and supplies of any kind, nature or description which are or might be used or consumed in such Loan Party’s business or used in selling or furnishing such goods, merchandise and other personal property, and all Documents.

Investment ” means, with respect to any Loan Party, any investment by such Loan Party in any other Loan Party in the form of loans, guarantees, advances, capital contributions (excluding (a) commission, travel, and similar advances to officers and employees of such Loan Party made in the ordinary course of business, and (b)  bona fide Receivables arising in the Ordinary Course of Business), or acquisitions of Indebtedness, Equity Interests, or all or substantially all of the assets of such other Loan Party (or of any division or business line of such other Person), and any other items that are or would be classified as investments on a balance sheet prepared in accordance with GAAP.

Issuer ” shall mean (i) Administrative Agent in its capacity as the issuer of Letters of Credit under this Agreement and (ii) any other Lender which Administrative Agent in its discretion shall designate as the issuer of and cause to issue any particular Letter of Credit under this Agreement in place of Administrative Agent as issuer.

Law(s) ” shall mean any law(s) (including common law), constitution, statute, treaty, regulation, rule, ordinance, opinion, issued guidance, release, ruling, order, executive order, injunction, writ, decree, bond, judgment, authorization or approval, lien or award of or any settlement arrangement, by agreement, consent or otherwise, with any Governmental Body, foreign or domestic.

Leasehold Interests ” shall mean all of each Loan Party’s right, title and interest in and to, and as lessee of, the premises identified as leased property on Schedule 4.4 hereto.

 

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Lender ” and “ Lenders ” shall have the meaning ascribed to such term in the preamble to this Agreement and shall include each Person which becomes a transferee, successor or assign of any Lender. For the purpose of provision of this Agreement or any Other Document which provides for the granting of a security interest or other Lien to the Administrative Agent for the benefit of Lenders as security for the Obligations, “Lenders” shall include any Affiliate of a Lender to which such Obligation (specifically including any Hedge Liabilities and any Cash Management Liabilities) is owed.

Lender-Provided Foreign Currency Hedge ” shall mean a Foreign Currency Hedge which is provided by any Lender or an Affiliate of any Lender and for which such Lender (or such Affiliate of any Lender) confirms to Administrative Agent in writing prior to the execution thereof that it: (a) is documented in a standard International Swap Dealers Association, Inc. Master Agreement or another reasonable and customary manner; (b) provides for the method of calculating the reimbursable amount of the provider’s credit exposure in a reasonable and customary manner; and (c) is entered into for hedging (rather than speculative) purposes. The liabilities owing to the provider of any Lender-Provided Foreign Currency Hedge (the “ Foreign Currency Hedge Liabilities ”) by any Borrower, Guarantor, or any of their respective Subsidiaries that is party to such Lender-Provided Foreign Currency Hedge shall, for purposes of this Agreement and all Other Documents be “Obligations” of such Person and of each other Borrower and Guarantor, be guaranteed obligations under any Guaranty and secured obligations under any Guarantor Security Agreement, as applicable, and otherwise treated as Obligations for purposes of the Other Documents, except to the extent constituting Excluded Hedge Liabilities of such Person. The Liens securing the Foreign Currency Hedge Liabilities shall be pari passu with the Liens securing all other Obligations under this Agreement and the Other Documents, subject to the express provisions of Section 11.5 hereof.

Lender-Provided Interest Rate Hedge ” shall mean an Interest Rate Hedge which is provided by any Lender or an Affiliate of any Lender and with respect to which such Lender (or an Affiliate of any Lender) confirms to Administrative Agent in writing prior to the execution thereof that it: (a) is documented in a standard International Swap Dealers Association, Inc. Master Agreement or another reasonable and customary manner; (b) provides for the method of calculating the reimbursable amount of the provider’s credit exposure in a reasonable and customary manner; and (c) is entered into for hedging (rather than speculative) purposes. The liabilities owing to the provider of any Lender-Provided Interest Rate Hedge (the “ Interest Rate Hedge Liabilities ”) by any Borrower, Guarantor, or any of their respective Subsidiaries that is party to such Lender-Provided Interest Rate Hedge shall, for purposes of this Agreement and all Other Documents be “Obligations” of such Person and of each other Borrower and Guarantor, be guaranteed obligations under any Guaranty and secured obligations under any Guarantor Security Agreement, as applicable, and otherwise treated as Obligations for purposes of the Other Documents, except to the extent constituting Excluded Hedge Liabilities of such Person. The Liens securing the Hedge Liabilities shall be pari passu with the Liens securing all other Obligations under this Agreement and the Other Documents, subject to the express provisions of Section 11.5 hereof.

Lending Affiliate ” shall mean an Affiliate of an assignor that is primarily utilized for the lending activities of any assignor in any assignment in accordance in Section 17.3.

 

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Leverage Ratio ” shall have the meaning set forth in Section 6.5(b) hereof.

Letter of Credit Application ” shall have the meaning set forth in Section 2.12(a) hereof.

Letter of Credit Borrowing ” shall have the meaning set forth in Section 2.14(d) hereof.

Letter of Credit Fees ” shall have the meaning set forth in Section 3.2 hereof.

Letter of Credit Sublimit ” shall mean $10,000,000.

Letters of Credit ” shall have the meaning set forth in Section 2.11 hereof.

LIBOR Alternate Source ” shall have the meaning set forth in the definition of LIBOR Rate.

LIBOR Rate ” shall mean for any Term Loan A that is a LIBOR Rate Loan for the then current Interest Period relating thereto, the interest rate per annum determined by Administrative Agent by dividing (the resulting quotient rounded upwards, if necessary, to the nearest 1/100th of 1% per annum) (a) the rate which appears on the Bloomberg Page BBAM1 (or on such other substitute Bloomberg page that displays rates at which U.S. dollar deposits are offered by leading banks in the London interbank deposit market), or the rate which is quoted by another source selected by Administrative Agent which has been approved by the British Bankers’ Association as an authorized information vendor for the purpose of displaying rates at which U.S. dollar deposits are offered by leading banks in the London interbank deposit market (a “ LIBOR Alternate Source ”), at approximately 11:00 a.m., London time, two (2) Business Days prior to the commencement of such Interest Period as the London interbank offered rate for U.S. Dollars for an amount comparable to such LIBOR Rate Loan and having a borrowing date and a maturity comparable to such Interest Period (or if there shall at any time, for any reason, no longer exist a Bloomberg Page BBAM1 (or any substitute page) or any LIBOR Alternate Source, a comparable replacement rate determined by Administrative Agent at such time (which determination shall be conclusive absent manifest error)), by (b) a number equal 1.00 minus the Reserve Percentage. The LIBOR Rate may also be expressed by the following formula:

 

Average of London interbank offered rates quoted by Bloomberg
or appropriate successor as shown on
   

LIBOR Rate =

    

 

Bloomberg Page BBAM1

1.00 – Reserve Percentage

  

  

The LIBOR Rate shall be adjusted with respect to any LIBOR Rate Loan that is outstanding on the effective date of any change in the Reserve Percentage as of such effective date. Administrative Agent shall give reasonably prompt notice to the Borrowing Agent of the LIBOR Rate as determined or adjusted in accordance herewith, which determination shall be conclusive absent manifest error.

Notwithstanding the foregoing, the LIBOR Rate for any Term Loan B shall mean the rate of interest on the last Business Day of each month as published in the Wall Street Journal “Money Rates” listing under the caption “London Interbank Offered Rates” for a thirty (30) day period (or, if no such rate is published therein for any reason, then the Published Rate shall be the LIBOR Rate for a thirty (30) day period as published in another publication selected by the Term Loan B Agent).

 

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LIBOR Rate Loan ” shall mean any Advance that bears interest based on the LIBOR Rate.

License Agreement ” shall mean any agreement between any Loan Party and a Licensor pursuant to which such Loan Party is authorized to use any Intellectual Property in connection with the manufacturing, marketing, sale or other distribution of any Inventory of such Loan Party or otherwise in connection with such Loan Party’s business operations.

Licensor ” shall mean any Person from whom any Loan Party obtains the right to use (whether on an exclusive or non-exclusive basis) any Intellectual Property in connection with such Loan Party’s manufacture, marketing, sale or other distribution of any Inventory or otherwise in connection with such Loan Party’s business operations.

Licensor/Agent Agreement ” shall mean an agreement between Administrative Agent and a Licensor, in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to Administrative Agent, by which Administrative Agent is given the unqualified right, vis-á-vis such Licensor, to enforce Administrative Agent’s Liens with respect to and to dispose of any Loan Party’s Inventory with the benefit of any Intellectual Property applicable thereto, irrespective of such Loan Party’s default under any License Agreement with such Licensor.

Lien ” shall mean any mortgage, deed of trust, pledge, hypothecation, assignment, security interest, lien (whether statutory or otherwise), charge or encumbrance, or preference, priority or other security agreement or preferential arrangement held in respect of any asset of any kind or nature whatsoever including any conditional sale or other title retention agreement, any capital or financing lease having substantially the same economic effect as any of the foregoing.

Lien Waiver Agreement ” shall mean an agreement which is executed in favor of Administrative Agent by a Person who owns or occupies premises at which any Collateral may be located from time to time in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to each Agent.

Local Depository Account ” means a Depository Account of any Loan Party that is not a Concentration Account, into which Customers may deposit Collections, proceeds of Collateral and other funds in the ordinary course of business.

Loan Parties ” shall mean the Borrowers and the Guarantors, and “Loan Party” shall mean any of them.

Loan Parties on a Consolidated Basis ” shall mean the consolidation in accordance with GAAP of the accounts or other items of Borrowers, Guarantors and their respective Subsidiaries.

Management Agreement ” shall mean that certain GateHouse Management and Advisory Agreement, dated as of November 26, 2013, among Holdco, the other obligors party thereto from time to time, and New Media Investment Group Inc., amended, supplemented or otherwise modified up to the date hereof and as may be further amended, supplemented or otherwise modified solely as permitted hereunder or under the Management Fee Subordination Agreement.

 

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Management Fee Subordination Agreement ” shall mean that certain Management Fee Subordination Agreement, dated as of the date hereof, among New Media Investment Group Inc. and the Agents.

Management Fees ” shall mean fees paid to New Media Investment Group Inc. pursuant to the Management Agreement and subject to the Management Fee Subordination Agreement.

Material Adverse Effect ” shall mean a material adverse effect on (a) the condition (financial or otherwise), results of operations, assets, business, properties or prospects of the Loan Parties, taken as a whole, (b) the Borrowers’ or Loan Parties’ ability to duly and punctually pay or perform the Obligations in accordance with the terms thereof, (c) the value of the Collateral, or Administrative Agent’s Liens on the Collateral or the priority of any such Lien or (d) the practical realization of the benefits of each Agent’s and each Lender’s rights and remedies under this Agreement and the Other Documents.

Material Contract ” shall mean any contract, agreement, instrument, permit, lease or license, written or oral, of any Loan Party, which is material to any Loan Party’s business or which the failure to comply with would reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect.

Maximum Revolving Advance Amount ” shall mean $40,000,000.

Maximum Swing Loan Advance Amount ” shall mean $4,000,000.

Maximum Undrawn Amount ” shall mean, with respect to any outstanding Letter of Credit as of any date, the amount of such Letter of Credit that is or may become available to be drawn, including all automatic increases provided for in such Letter of Credit, whether or not any such automatic increase has become effective.

Modified Commitment Transfer Supplement ” shall have the meaning set forth in Section 17.3(d) hereof.

Mortgages ” shall mean any and all mortgages or deeds of trust on any of the Real Property listed on Schedule A, Schedule B and Schedule C, securing the Obligations, in each case, together with all extensions, renewals, amendments, supplements, modifications, substitutions and replacements thereto and thereof.

Multiemployer Plan ” shall mean a “multiemployer plan” as defined in Section 3(37) or 4001(a)(3) of ERISA to which contributions are required or, within the preceding five plan years, were required by any Loan Party or any member of the Controlled Group.

Multiple Employer Plan ” shall mean a Plan which has two or more contributing sponsors (including any Loan Party or any member of the Controlled Group) at least two of whom are not under common control, as such a plan is described in Section 4063 or 4064 of ERISA.

 

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Negotiable Document ” shall mean a Document that is “negotiable” within the meaning of Article 7 of the Uniform Commercial Code.

Net Proceeds ” means, with respect to any event, (a) the cash proceeds received in respect of such event including (i) any cash received in respect of any non-cash proceeds (including any cash payments received by way of deferred payment of principal pursuant to a note or installment receivable or purchase price adjustment receivable or otherwise, but excluding any interest payments), but only as and when received, (ii) in the case of a casualty, insurance proceeds and (iii) in the case of a condemnation or similar event, condemnation awards and similar payments, net of (b) the sum of (i) all reasonable fees and out-of-pocket expenses paid to third parties (other than Affiliates) in connection with such event, (ii) in the case of a casualty or a condemnation or similar proceeding, the amount of all payments required to be made as a result of such event to repay Indebtedness (other than Advances) secured by such asset or otherwise subject to mandatory prepayment as a result of such event, (iii) the amount of all taxes paid (or reasonably estimated to be payable) and the amount of any reserves established to fund contingent liabilities reasonably estimated to be payable, in each case during the year that such event occurred or the next succeeding year and that are directly attributable to such event (as determined reasonably and in good faith by the Loan Parties) and (iv) amounts held in escrow to be applied as part of the purchase price of such sale or disposition (including for any indemnification payments (fixed or contingent) attributable to seller’s indemnities and representations and warranties to purchaser pursuant to the terms of such sale or disposition (it being understood such amounts held in escrow shall constitute Net Proceeds upon the release of such indemnification liabilities)).

Non-Defaulting Lender ” shall mean, at any time, any Lender holding a Revolving Commitment that is not a Defaulting Lender at such time.

Non-Qualifying Party ” shall mean any Borrower or any Guarantor that on the Eligibility Date fails for any reason to qualify as an Eligible Contract Participant.

Notes ” shall mean collectively, the Term Notes, the Revolving Credit Notes and the Swing Loan Note.

Obligations ” shall mean and include any and all loans (including without limitation, all Advances and Swing Loans), advances, debts, liabilities, obligations (including without limitation all reimbursement obligations and cash collateralization obligations with respect to Letters of Credit issued hereunder), covenants and duties owing by any Borrower or Guarantor or any Subsidiary of any Borrower or any Guarantor to Issuer, Swing Loan Lender, Lenders or any Agent (or, if pursuant to a Hedge Liability or Cash Management Products and Services, to any other direct or indirect subsidiary or affiliate of Issuer, Swing Loan Lender, any Lender or any Agent) of any kind or nature, present or future (including any interest or other amounts accruing thereon, any fees accruing under or in connection therewith, any costs and expenses of any Person payable by any Borrower and any indemnification obligations payable by any Borrower arising or payable after maturity, or after the filing of any petition in bankruptcy, or the commencement of any insolvency, reorganization or like proceeding relating to any Borrower, whether or not a claim for post-filing or post-petition interest, fees or other amounts is allowable or allowed in such proceeding), whether or not evidenced by any note, guaranty or other

 

25


instrument, whether or not for the payment of money, whether arising by reason of an extension of credit, opening or issuance of a letter of credit, loan, equipment lease, establishment of any commercial card or similar facility or guarantee, under any interest or currency swap, future, option or other similar agreement, or in any other manner, whether arising out of overdrafts or deposit or other accounts or electronic funds transfers (whether through automated clearing houses or otherwise) or out of any Agent’s or any Lender’s non-receipt of or inability to collect funds or otherwise not being made whole in connection with depository transfer check or other similar arrangements, whether direct or indirect (including those acquired by assignment or participation), absolute or contingent, joint or several, due or to become due, now existing or hereafter arising, contractual or tortious, liquidated or unliquidated, pursuant to this Agreement or the Other Documents, including (i) any and all of any Borrower’s or any Guarantor’s Indebtedness and/or liabilities (and any and all indebtedness, obligations and/or liabilities of any Subsidiary of any Borrower or any Guarantor) under this Agreement, the Other Documents and any amendments, extensions, renewals or increases and all reasonable and documented out-of-pocket costs and expenses of Issuer, Agents and any Lender incurred in the documentation, negotiation, modification, enforcement, collection or otherwise in connection with any of the foregoing, including but not limited to reasonable attorneys’ fees and expenses and all obligations of any Borrower to Issuer, Agents or Lenders to perform acts or refrain from taking any action, (ii) all Hedge Liabilities and (iii) all Cash Management Liabilities. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in the foregoing, the Obligations shall not include any Excluded Hedge Liabilities.

Ordinary Course of Business ” shall mean, with respect to any Borrower, the ordinary course of such Borrower’s business as conducted on the Closing Date or any business that is reasonably related, similar, complementary, ancillary to or a reasonable extension, development or expansion of its business.

Organizational Documents ” shall mean, with respect to any Person, any charter, articles or certificate of incorporation, certificate of organization, registration or formation, certificate of partnership or limited partnership, bylaws, operating agreement, limited liability company agreement, or partnership agreement of such Person and any and all other applicable documents relating to such Person’s formation, organization or entity governance matters (including any shareholders’ or equity holders’ agreement or voting trust agreement) and specifically includes, without limitation, any certificates of designation for preferred stock or other forms of preferred equity.

Other Documents ” shall mean the Mortgages, the Notes, the Perfection Certificates, the Fee Letter, the Copyright Security Agreement, the Trademark Security Agreement, any Guaranty, any Guarantor Security Agreement, any Pledge Agreement, any Lender-Provided Interest Rate Hedge, any Lender-Provided Foreign Currency Hedge, the Management Fee Subordination Agreement, the Subordination Agreement and any and all other agreements, instruments and documents, including intercreditor agreements, guaranties, pledges, powers of attorney, consents, interest or currency swap agreements or other similar agreements and all other writings heretofore, now or hereafter executed by any Borrower or any Guarantor and/or delivered to Agents or any Lender in respect of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement, in each case together with all extensions, renewals, amendments, supplements, modifications, substitutions and replacements thereto and thereof.

 

26


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

Out-of-Formula Loans ” shall have the meaning set forth in Section 17.2(e) hereof.

Parent ” of any Person shall mean a corporation or other entity owning, directly or indirectly, 50% or more of the Equity Interests issued by such Person having ordinary voting power to elect a majority of the directors of such Person, or other Persons performing similar functions for any such Person.

Participant ” shall mean each Person who shall be granted the right by any Lender to participate in any of the Advances and who shall have entered into a participation agreement in form and substance satisfactory to such Lender.

Participation Advance ” shall have the meaning set forth in Section 2.14(d) hereof.

Participation Commitment ” shall mean the obligation hereunder of each Lender holding a Revolving Commitment to buy a participation equal to its Revolving Commitment Percentage (subject to any reallocation pursuant to Section 2.22(b)(iii) hereof) in the Swing Loans made by Swing Loan Lender hereunder as provided for in Section 2.4(c) hereof and in the Letters of Credit issued hereunder as provided for in Section 2.14(a) hereof.

Participant Register ” shall have the meaning set forth in Section 17.3(b).

Payment Office ” shall mean (a) with respect to the Revolving Advances, Letters of Credit and Term Loan A, initially Two Tower Center Boulevard, East Brunswick, New Jersey 08816; thereafter, such other office of Administrative Agent, if any, which it may designate by notice to Borrowing Agent and to each Lender (other than any Term Loan B Lender) to be the Payment Office and (b) with respect to the Tern Loan B, initially Two International Place, 17 th Floor Boston, Massachusetts 02110; thereafter, such other office of Term Loan B Agent, if any, which it may designate by notice to Borrowing Agent and to each Term Loan B Lender to be the Payment Office.

PBGC ” shall mean the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation established pursuant to Subtitle A of Title IV of ERISA or any successor.

Pension Benefit Plan ” shall mean at any time any “employee pension benefit plan” as defined in Section 3(2) of ERISA (including a Multiple Employer Plan, but not a Multiemployer Plan) which is covered by Title IV of ERISA or is subject to the minimum funding standards under Section 412, 430 or 436 of the Code and either (i) is maintained or to which contributions are required by Loan Party or any member of the Controlled Group or (ii) has at any time within the preceding five years been maintained or to which contributions have been required by a Loan Party or any entity which was at such time a member of the Controlled Group.

Perfection Certificates ” shall mean, collectively, the information questionnaires and the responses thereto provided by each Loan Party and delivered to Agents.

 

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Permitted Acquisitions ” shall mean acquisitions of the assets or Equity Interests of another Person (the “ target ”) so long as, at least fifteen (15) Business Days prior to the date of the proposed acquisition: (a) delivery of a certificate demonstrating that at the time of and after giving effect to such acquisition, Loan Parties have Undrawn Availability and Average Undrawn Availability (Sixty Days) of not less than $15,000,000; (b) delivery of a certificate demonstrating that the total costs and liabilities (including without limitation, all assumed liabilities, all earn-out payments, deferred payments and the value of any other stock or assets transferred, assigned or encumbered with respect to such acquisitions) of any individual acquisition does not exceed $65,000,000 and of all such acquisitions do not exceed $150,000,000 in the aggregate throughout the Term; (c) delivery of a certificate demonstrating that, with respect to the acquisition of Equity Interests, such target shall (i) either (x) have a positive EBITDA and Tangible Net Worth, calculated in accordance with GAAP immediately prior to such acquisition or (y) have negative EBITDA calculated in accordance with GAAP immediately prior to such acquisition; provided that the cumulative negative EBITDA for all such acquisitions in any fiscal year shall not exceed $3,000,000, (ii) be added as a Loan Party to this Agreement and be jointly and severally liable for all Obligations, and (iii) grant to Agents a first priority security in all assets of such target (other than Excluded Property), subject to documentation reasonably satisfactory to Agents; (d) evidence demonstrating that the target or property is in a similar business or business permitted under Section 7.9; (e) evidence that the board of directors (or other comparable governing body) of the target shall have duly approved the transaction; (f) Loan Parties shall have delivered to Agents (i) a pro forma balance sheet and pro forma financial statements and a Compliance Certificate demonstrating that, upon giving effect to such acquisition on a pro forma basis, Loan Parties would be in compliance with the financial covenants set forth in Section 6.5 as of the most recent fiscal quarter end and (ii) for any acquisition in excess of $5,000,000, financial statements (which shall be audited, or if audited financial statements are not available or the acquisition is proposed to take place more than 120 days after the fiscal year end of the target, then financial statements shall be supplemented by a quality of earnings report prepared by a nationally recognized firm for the twelve (12) month period immediately preceding the proposed acquisition) of the acquired entity for the two most recent fiscal years then ended and the most recent internally prepared financial statements, in each case in form and substance reasonably acceptable to Agents; (g) evidence that if such acquisition includes general partnership interests or any other Equity Interest that does not have a corporate (or similar) limitation on liability of the owners thereof, then such acquisition shall be effected by having such Equity Interests acquired by a corporate holding company directly or indirectly wholly-owned by a Loan Party and newly formed for the sole purpose of effecting such acquisition; (h) for any acquisition in excess of $10,000,000 and at Agents’ option in their Permitted Discretion, Agents have received a field examination and/or appraisal of such assets, in form and substance acceptable to each Agent and (i) evidence that no Default or Event of Default shall have occurred or will occur after giving pro forma effect to such acquisition.

Permitted Discretion ” means a determination made in the exercise of reasonable credit judgment (from the perspective of a secured lender similarly situated).

Permitted Dispositions ” means: (a) the disposition or transfer of obsolete and worn-out equipment in the Ordinary Course of Business having an aggregate fair market value of not more than $2,500,000 per fiscal year and $7,500,000 for the duration of the Term, and only to the extent that (x) the proceeds of any such disposition are used to acquire replacement equipment

 

28


which is subject to Administrative Agent’s first priority security interest or (y) the proceeds of which are remitted to Administrative Agent to be applied pursuant to Section 2.20(a); (b) sales of Inventory to buyers in the Ordinary Course of Business; (c) the use or transfer of money or Cash Equivalents in a manner that is not prohibited by the terms of this Agreement or the Other Documents; (d) the licensing, on a non-exclusive basis, of patents, trademarks, copyrights, or other intellectual property rights in the Ordinary Course of Business or the licensing of content; (e) the granting of Permitted Encumbrances; (f) any involuntary loss, damage or destruction of property; (g) any involuntary condemnation, seizure or taking, by exercise of the power of eminent domain or otherwise, or confiscation or requisition of use of property; (h) the leasing or subleasing of assets of the Loan Parties in the Ordinary Course of Business; (i) the sale or issuance of Equity Interests of Holdco; (j) the lapse or abandonment of registered or applied for patents, trademarks and other intellectual property of the Loan Parties to the extent (I) expired pursuant to any Applicable Law or (II) not economically desirable in the conduct of their business and so long as such lapse or abandonment does not result in a Material Adverse Effect; (k) the making of a dividend, distribution or repurchase that is expressly permitted to be made pursuant to this Agreement; (l) the making of a Permitted Investment; (m) dispositions of property by a Loan Party to a Loan Party (other than Holdco); provided that to the extent such transaction constitutes an Investment, such transaction is permitted under Section 7.4 or Section 7.7; (n) dispositions of Receivables that are past due by more than 120 days; (o) in order to resolve disputes that occur in the Ordinary Course of Business, the discounting of or otherwise compromise for less than the face value thereof, notes or accounts receivable; (p) the unwinding of any derivative instruments or similar agreements; (q) sale or disposition of Investments under clause (o) of the definition of Permitted Investments; (r) transfers of property subject to casualty events to the extent permitted by Section 2.20(d); (s) the sale, lease or transfer of any property or assets (other than Receivables owned by a Loan Party) acquired pursuant to a Permitted Acquisition and disposed of contemporaneously with the consummation of such Permitted Acquisition, so long as it is upon prior written notice thereof to the Agents; provided that after such disposition, Borrowers shall be in compliance on a pro forma basis with each of the financial covenants specified in Section 6.5 and (t) dispositions of the properties listed on Schedule 1.2(b) on or promptly after the Closing Date.

Permitted Dividends ” shall mean quarterly dividend payments, so long as, in the case of each dividend paid in respect of a specific fiscal quarter, within forty-five (45) days of the end of such fiscal quarter: (a) each Agent and Lenders have received (i) unqualified audited financial statements of the Loan Parties on a Consolidated Basis for the fiscal year ended on or about December 31, 2013 in compliance with Sections 9.7 and 9.8, respectively, and (ii) management prepared financial statements of the Loan Parties on a Consolidated Basis for the most recently ended fiscal quarter; (b) at the time of and after giving effect to such dividend, Loan Parties would be in compliance with the financial covenants set forth in Section 6.5 as of the most recent fiscal quarter end; (c) at the time of and after giving effect to such dividend, (x) Undrawn Availability of at least $15,000,000 and (y) Average Undrawn Availability (Thirty Days) of at least $12,500,000; (d) a notice of termination with regard to this Agreement shall not be outstanding; (e) no Event of Default or Default shall have occurred and be continuing or would occur after giving pro forma effect to such dividends; (f) not less than five (5) Business Days prior to making such dividend, the Loan Parties have provided to each Agent and Lenders, reasonably satisfactory calculations along with their submission of their quarterly or annual

 

29


financial statements, as applicable, and a Compliance Certificate and (g) such dividend shall not exceed the limitations set forth below for each corresponding “Fiscal Quarter Ending”:

 

FISCAL QUARTER
ENDING

  

LEVERAGE RATIO (giving effect to the Permitted Dividend)

  

PERMITTED DIVIDEND AMOUNT

March 31, 2014    Less than 2.50 to 1.00    (A) $12,500,000 less the amount by which the Excess Cash Flow for such fiscal quarter is less than $3,900,000, or (B) $12,500,000 plus the amount by which the Excess Cash Flow for such fiscal quarter is greater than $3,900,000.
   Equal to or greater than 2.50 to 1.00    Zero
June 30, 2014    Less than 2.50 to 1.00    (A) $12,500,000 less the amount by which the Excess Cash Flow for such fiscal quarter is less than $13,500,000, or (B) $12,500,000 plus the amount by which the Excess Cash Flow for such fiscal quarter is greater than $13,500,000.
   Equal to or greater than 2.50 to 1.00    Zero
September 30, 2014    Less than 2.50 to 1.00    (A) $12,500,000 less the amount by which the Excess Cash Flow for such fiscal quarter is less than $13,500,000, or (B) $12,500,000 plus the amount by which the Excess Cash Flow for such fiscal quarter is greater than $13,500,000.
   Equal to or greater than 2.50 to 1.00    Zero
December 31, 2014    Less than 2.50 to 1.00    (A) $12,500,000 less the amount by which the Excess Cash Flow for such fiscal quarter is less than $19,800,000, or (B) $12,500,000 plus the amount by which the Excess Cash Flow for such fiscal quarter is greater than $19,800,000.
   Equal to or greater than 2.50 to 1.00    Zero
March 31, 2015 and thereafter*    Less than 2.50 to 1.00    An amount up to 100% of the Excess Cash Flow for the LTM period then ended, after giving effect to the dividend payments for the prior three fiscal quarters and the current dividend payment to be made.
   Equal to or greater than 2.50 to 1.00 but less than 2.75 to 1.00    An amount up to 50% of the Excess Cash Flow payment for the LTM period then ended, after giving effect to the dividend payments for the prior three fiscal quarters and the current dividend payment to be made.
   Equal to or greater than 2.75 to 1.00    Zero

 

* An illustrative example of the calculation of a Permitted Dividend payment for the period ending Q1 2015 is set forth on Schedule III.

 

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Permitted Encumbrances ” shall mean: (a) Liens in favor of Agents for the benefit of Agents and Lenders, including without limitation, Liens securing Hedge Liabilities and Cash Management Products and Services; (b) Liens for taxes, assessments or other governmental charges not delinquent or being Properly Contested; (c) Liens on amounts deposited or pledged to secure obligations under worker’s compensation, social security or similar laws, or under unemployment insurance; (d) Liens on amounts deposited or pledged to secure bids, tenders, contracts (other than contracts for the borrowing of money), leases, statutory obligations, surety and appeal bonds and other obligations of like nature arising in the Ordinary Course of Business; (e) Liens arising by virtue of the rendition, entry or issuance against any Loan Party or any Subsidiary, or any property of any Loan Party or any Subsidiary, of any judgment, writ, order, or decree to the extent the rendition, entry, issuance or continued existence of such judgment, writ, order or decree has not resulted in the occurrence and continuance of an Event of Default under Section 10.6 hereof; (f) carriers’, repairmens’, mechanics’, workers’, materialmen’s or other like Liens arising in the Ordinary Course of Business with respect to obligations which are not due or which are being Properly Contested; (g) Liens placed upon fixed assets hereafter acquired with Indebtedness under clause (h) of the definition of Permitted Indebtedness to secure a portion of the purchase price thereof, provided that (I) any such Lien shall encumber the asset purchased or acquired and the proceeds thereof and (II) such Lien only secures the amount of Indebtedness that was incurred to acquire the asset purchased or acquired or any Refinancing Indebtedness in respect thereof; (h) easements, rights-of-way, zoning restrictions, minor defects or irregularities in title and other charges or encumbrances, in each case, which do not interfere in any material respect with the Ordinary Course of Business of Borrowers and their Subsidiaries; (i) Liens disclosed on Schedule 1.2(c); provided , that such Liens shall secure only those obligations which they secure on the Closing Date (and extensions, renewals and refinancing of such obligations permitted by Section 7.8 hereof) and shall not subsequently apply to any other property or assets of any Loan Party other than the property and assets to which they apply as of the Closing Date; (j) licenses of content or non-exclusive licenses of patents, trademarks, copyrights, or other intellectual property rights in the Ordinary Course of Business; (k) Liens that are extensions, replacements or renewals of Permitted Encumbrances (or successive extensions, renewals or replacements) to the extent that the original Indebtedness is the subject of permitted Refinancing Indebtedness and so long as the Liens so extended, renewed or replaced only encumber those assets that secured the original Indebtedness (plus improvements on such property); (l) rights of setoff, bankers’ liens or similar rights and remedies upon deposits or securities accounts (including funds or other assets credited thereto) or other funds maintained with a depository institution or securities intermediary in favor of banks or other depository institutions, solely to

 

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the extent incurred in connection with the maintenance of such deposit accounts in the Ordinary Course of Business or other Liens of a bank or broker in connection with a bank account or securities account; (m) Liens granted in the Ordinary Course of Business on the unearned portion of insurance premiums securing the financing of insurance premiums to the extent the financing is permitted under the definition of Permitted Indebtedness; (n) Liens in favor of customs and revenue authorities arising as a matter of law to secure payment of customs duties in connection with the importation of goods; (o) any zoning, building or similar laws or rights reserved to or vested in any Governmental Body; (p) restrictions on transfers of securities imposed by applicable securities laws or agreement (other than capital stock pledged pursuant to this Agreement); (q) any interest or title of a lessor, licensor or sublessor under any lease, license or sublease entered into by any Loan Party thereof in the Ordinary Course of Business and covering only the assets so leased, licensed or subleased; (r) assignments of insurance or condemnation proceeds provided by a Loan Party to landlords (or their mortgagees) in the Ordinary Course of Business and pursuant to the terms of any lease and Liens or rights reserved in any lease for rent or for compliance with the terms of such lease, subject to the applicable Lien Waiver Agreement (if applicable); (s) Liens arising from filing UCC financing statements relating solely to leases not prohibited hereunder; (t) licenses (with respect to intellectual property and other property), leases or subleases granted to third parties to the extent permitted by the applicable terms of this Agreement and not interfering in any material respect with the Ordinary Course of Business or resulting in a material diminution in the value of the collateral so licensed, leased or subleased; (u) Liens (other than on Receivables or proceeds thereof) arising out of conditional sale, title retention, consignment or similar arrangement for sale of goods entered into by any Loan Party in the Ordinary Course of Business permitted by this Agreement; (v) Liens consisting of reasonable customary initial deposits and margin deposit and similar Liens attaching to commodity trading accounts or other brokerage accounts maintained in the Ordinary Course of Business and not for speculative purposes; (w) Liens that are contractual rights of setoff (A) relating to the establishment of depository relations with banks or other financial institutions not given in connection with the issuance of Indebtedness, (B) relating to pooled deposit or sweep accounts of the Loan Parties to permit satisfaction of overdraft or similar obligations incurred in the Ordinary Course of Business or (C) relating to purchase orders and other agreements entered into with customers in the Ordinary Course of Business; (x) Liens solely on any cash earnest money deposits made by any Loan Party in connection with any letter of intent or purchase agreement permitted hereunder in an aggregate amount not to exceed $10,000,000; (y) with respect to Leasehold Interests, the interests and title of the lessor and encumbrances on the lessor’s fee interests, (z) other Liens (other than on Receivables or proceeds thereof) as to which the aggregate amount of the obligations secured thereby does not exceed $5,000,000, (aa) Liens on cash to secure letters of credit permitted pursuant to clause (u) of the definition of “Permitted Indebtedness” and (bb) Liens on Collateral securing the Subordinated Loans (if secured) subject to the Subordination Agreement.

Permitted Holder ” means Fortress Investment Group, LLC, or any one or more Affiliates managed by Affiliates of Fortress Investment Group, LLC.

Permitted Indebtedness ” shall mean: (a) the Obligations; (b) Indebtedness incurred for Capital Expenditures permitted in Section 7.6 hereof; (c) any guarantees of Indebtedness permitted under Section 7.3 hereof; (d) any Indebtedness listed on Schedule 5.8(b)(ii) hereof (and any Refinancing Indebtedness in respect of such Indebtedness); (e) Indebtedness due under

 

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the Subordinated Loan Documents (including the Subordinated Loans); (f) Indebtedness consisting of Permitted Loans made by one or more Loan Party(ies) to any other Loan Party(ies); (g) Indebtedness incurred under Interest Rate Hedges and Foreign Currency Hedges that are entered into by Borrowers to hedge their risks with respect to outstanding Indebtedness of Borrowers and not for speculative or investment purposes; (h) Indebtedness in an amount not to exceed $20,000,000 incurred in connection with the acquisition of fixed assets for the purpose of financing all or any part of the acquisition cost thereof (and any Refinancing Indebtedness in respect of such Indebtedness); (i) endorsement of instruments or other payment items for deposit; (j) Indebtedness incurred in the Ordinary Course of Business under performance, surety, statutory, and appeal bonds; (k) Indebtedness owed to any Person providing property, casualty, liability, or other insurance to Borrowers or any of their Subsidiaries, so long as the amount of such Indebtedness is not in excess of the amount of the unpaid cost of, and shall be incurred only to defer the cost of, such insurance for the year in which such Indebtedness is incurred and such Indebtedness is outstanding only during such year; (l) Indebtedness incurred in respect of credit cards, credit card processing services, debit cards, stored value cards, purchase cards (including so-called “procurement cards” or “P-cards”), or Cash Management Services, in each case, incurred in the Ordinary Course of Business; (m) unsecured Indebtedness of Borrowers owing to former employees, officers, or directors (or any spouses, ex-spouses, or estates of any of the foregoing) incurred in connection with the repurchase by Borrowers of the Equity Interests of Borrowers that have been issued to such Persons, so long as (A) no Default or Event of Default has occurred and is continuing or would result from the incurrence of such Indebtedness, (B) the aggregate amount of all such Indebtedness outstanding at any one time does not exceed $2,000,000, and (C) such Indebtedness is subordinated to the Obligations on terms and conditions reasonably acceptable to the Agents; (n) unsecured Indebtedness of the Loan Parties the aggregate principal amount for all such unsecured Indebtedness does not exceed $20,000,000 at any one time outstanding; (o) contingent liabilities in respect of any indemnification obligation, adjustment of purchase price, earn-out, non-compete, or similar obligation of any Loan Party incurred in connection with the consummation of one or more Permitted Acquisitions to the extent not prohibited under the definition of Permitted Acquisition; (p) Indebtedness composing Permitted Investments; (q) Indebtedness incurred in respect of workers’ compensation claims or self-insurance obligations of Loan Parties in the Ordinary Course of Business; (q) Indebtedness consisting of the financing of insurance premiums in the ordinary course of business; (r) Indebtedness representing deferred compensation to employees of any Loan Party incurred in the Ordinary Course of Business; (s) Indebtedness for any amounts owing by the Loan Parties under the Management Agreement solely to the extent such amounts are permitted to be incurred under Section 7.10 ; (t) unsecured Indebtedness of Borrowers owing to former employees, officers, or directors with respect to relocation costs in an aggregate amount not to exceed $1,000,000; (u) Indebtedness incurred by the Loan Parties constituting reimbursement obligations with respect to standby letters of credit and bank guarantees issued in the Ordinary Course of Business (to the extent such obligations are cash collateralized) in respect of workers compensation claims, health, disability or other employee benefits or property, casualty or liability insurance or self-insurance or other Indebtedness with respect to reimbursement-type obligations regarding workers compensation claims; and (v) payments of amounts pursuant to the Plan of Reorganization (including any restructuring costs and expenses).

 

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Permitted Investments ” shall mean : (a) Investments in cash and Cash Equivalents; (b) Permitted Loans; (c) Investments in negotiable instruments deposited or to be deposited for collection in the Ordinary Course of Business; (d) advances made in connection with purchases of goods or services in the Ordinary Course of Business; (e) Investments received in settlement of amounts due to any Loan Party effected in the Ordinary Course of Business or owing to any Loan Party as a result of an Insolvency Event involving an account debtor or upon the foreclosure or enforcement of any Lien in favor of a Loan Party, (f) Investments owned by any Loan Party on the Closing Date; (g) guarantees permitted under the definition of Permitted Indebtedness; (h) Equity Interests or other securities acquired in connection with the satisfaction or enforcement of Indebtedness or claims due or owing to a Loan Party (in bankruptcy of customers or suppliers or otherwise outside the Ordinary Course of Business) or as security for any such Indebtedness or claims; (i) deposits of cash made in the Ordinary Course of Business to secure performance of operating leases; (j) non-cash loans to employees, officers, and directors of any Loan Party for the purpose of purchasing Equity Interests of Holdco so long as the proceeds of such loans are used in their entirety to purchase such Equity Interests of Holdco; (k) Permitted Acquisitions; (l) Investments in the form of capital contributions and the acquisition of Equity Interests made by any Loan Party in any other Loan Party (other than capital contributions to or the acquisition of Equity Interests of Holdco); (m) Investments resulting from entering into agreements relative to Indebtedness that is permitted under clause (l) of the definition of Permitted Indebtedness; (n) Investments (including debt obligations) received 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 in the Ordinary Course of Business; (o) agreements in respect of Hedge Liabilities or Cash Management Products or Services to the extent permitted hereunder; (p) capital expenditures to the extent permitted hereunder; (q) Investments in promissory notes and other non-cash consideration received in connection with any Permitted Disposition; and (r) other Investments in an amount not to exceed $7,500,000.

Permitted Loans ” shall mean: (a) the extension of trade credit by a Borrower to its Customer(s), in the Ordinary Course of Business in connection with a sale of Inventory or rendition of services, in each case on open account terms; and (b) intercompany loans between and among Loan Parties, so long as, at the request of Agents, each such intercompany loan is evidenced by a promissory note (including, if applicable, any master intercompany note executed by Loan Parties) on terms and conditions (including terms subordinating payment of the indebtedness evidenced by such note to the prior payment in full of all Obligations) acceptable to Agents in its their discretion that has been delivered to Agents either endorsed in blank or together with an undated instrument of transfer executed in blank by the applicable Loan Party(ies) that are the payee(s) on such note.

Person ” shall mean any individual, sole proprietorship, partnership, corporation, business trust, joint stock company, trust, unincorporated organization, association, limited liability company, limited liability partnership, institution, public benefit corporation, joint venture, entity or Governmental Body (whether federal, state, county, city, municipal or otherwise, including any instrumentality, division, agency, body or department thereof).

Plan ” shall mean any employee benefit plan within the meaning of Section 3(3) of ERISA which is a Pension Benefit Plan, a Multiemployer Plan, or a “welfare plan” (as defined in Section 3(1) of ERISA) which provides self-insured benefits and which is maintained by any Loan Party or any member of the Controlled Group or to which any Loan Party or any member of the Controlled Group is required to contribute.

 

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Plan of Reorganization ” means that certain Joint Plan of Reorganization filed by Holdco and its affiliates on September 27, 2013, in the Bankruptcy Cases, as amended or supplemented from time to time, including any exhibits, supplements, annexes, appendices and schedules thereto, as confirmed by the Bankruptcy Court pursuant to the Confirmation Order.

Pledge Agreement ” shall mean that certain Collateral Pledge Agreement executed by Holdco in favor of Agents dated as of the Closing Date and any other pledge agreements executed subsequent to the Closing Date by any other Person to secure the Obligations.

PNC ” shall have the meaning set forth in the preamble to this Agreement and shall extend to all of its successors and assigns.

Pro Forma Balance Sheet ” shall have the meaning set forth in Section 5.5(a) hereof.

Pro Forma Financial Statements ” shall have the meaning set forth in Section 5.5(b) hereof.

Projections ” shall have the meaning set forth in Section 5.5(b) hereof.

Properly Contested ” shall mean, in the case of any Indebtedness, Lien or Tax, as applicable, of any Person that are not paid as and when due or payable by reason of such Person’s bona fide dispute concerning its liability to pay the same or concerning the amount thereof: (a) such Indebtedness, Lien or Tax, as applicable, are being properly contested in good faith by appropriate proceedings promptly instituted and diligently conducted; (b) such Person has established appropriate reserves as shall be required in conformity with GAAP; (c) the non-payment of such Indebtedness or Tax will not have a Material Adverse Effect or will not result in the forfeiture of any assets of such Person; (d) no Lien is imposed upon any of such Person’s assets with respect to such Indebtedness or Tax unless enforcement of such Lien is stayed during the period prior to the final resolution or disposition of such dispute; and (e) if such Indebtedness or Lien, as applicable, results from, or is determined by the entry, rendition or issuance against a Person or any of its assets of a judgment, writ, order or decree, enforcement of such judgment, writ, order or decree is stayed pending a timely appeal or other judicial review.

Protective Advances ” shall have the meaning set forth in Section 17.2(f) hereof.

Published Rate ” shall mean the rate of interest published each Business Day in the Wall Street Journal “Money Rates” listing under the caption “London Interbank Offered Rates” for a one month period (or, if no such rate is published therein for any reason, then the Published Rate shall be the LIBOR Rate for a one month period as published in another publication selected by the Administrative Agent).

Purchasing CLO ” shall have the meaning set forth in Section 17.3(d) hereof.

Purchasing Lender ” shall have the meaning set forth in Section 17.3(c) hereof.

 

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Qualified ECP Loan Party ” shall mean each Loan Party or Guarantor that on the Eligibility Date is (a) a corporation, partnership, proprietorship, organization, trust, or other entity other than a “commodity pool” as defined in Section 1a(10) of the CEA and CFTC regulations thereunder that has total assets exceeding $10,000,000 or (b) an Eligible Contract Participant that can cause another person to qualify as an Eligible Contract Participant on the Eligibility Date under Section 1a(18)(A)(v)(II) of the CEA by entering into or otherwise providing a “letter of credit or keepwell, support, or other agreement” for purposes of Section 1a(18)(A)(v)(II) of the CEA.

Qualifying IPO ” means the issuance by Holdco (or any successor under Section 7.1(a)) or any direct or indirect parent of Holdco of its common equity interests in an underwritten primary public offering (other than a public offering pursuant to a registration statement on Form S-8 or any comparable successor form) pursuant to an effective registration statement filed with the SEC in accordance with the Securities Act (whether alone or in connection with a secondary public offering).

RCRA ” shall mean the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, 42 U.S.C. §§ 6901 et seq., as same may be amended from time to time.

Real Property ” shall mean all of the owned real property identified on Schedule 4.4 hereto or any other real property that is hereafter owned by any Loan Party.

Receivables ” shall mean and include, as to each Loan Party, all of such Loan Party’s accounts (as defined in Article 9 of the Uniform Commercial Code) and all of such Loan Party’s contract rights, instruments (including those evidencing indebtedness owed to such Loan Party by its Affiliates), documents, chattel paper (including electronic chattel paper), general intangibles relating to accounts, contract rights, instruments, documents and chattel paper, and drafts and acceptances, credit card receivables and all other forms of obligations owing to such Loan Party arising out of or in connection with the sale or lease of Inventory or the rendition of services, all supporting obligations, guarantees and other security therefor, whether secured or unsecured, now existing or hereafter created, and whether or not specifically sold or assigned to Administrative Agent hereunder.

Receivables Advance Rate ” shall have the meaning set forth in Section 2.1(a)(y)(i) hereof.

Refinancing Indebtedness ” means refinancings, renewals, or extensions of Indebtedness so long as: (a) such refinancings, renewals, or extensions do not result in an increase in the principal amount of the Indebtedness so refinanced, renewed, or extended, other than by the amount of premiums paid thereon and the fees and expenses incurred in connection therewith and by the amount of unfunded commitments with respect thereto; (b) such refinancings, renewals, or extensions do not result in a shortening of the average weighted maturity (measured as of the refinancing, renewal, or extension) of the Indebtedness so refinanced, renewed, or extended, nor are they on terms or conditions that, taken as a whole, are or could reasonably be expected to be materially adverse to the interests of the Lenders; (c) if the Indebtedness that is refinanced, renewed, or extended was subordinated in right of payment to the Obligations, then the terms and conditions of the refinancing, renewal, or extension must include subordination

 

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terms and conditions that are at least as favorable to the Lenders as those that were applicable to the refinanced, renewed, or extended Indebtedness; and (d) the Indebtedness that is refinanced, renewed, or extended is not recourse to any Person that is liable on account of the Obligations other than those Persons which were obligated with respect to the Indebtedness that was refinanced, renewed, or extended.

Register ” shall have the meaning set forth in Section 17.3(e) hereof.

Reimbursement Obligation ” shall have the meaning set forth in Section 2.14(b) hereof.

Release ” shall have the meaning set forth in Section 5.7(c)(i) hereof.

Remaining Cure Amount ” shall mean the Cure Amount less the $2,000,000.

Remedial Action Noncompliance Date ” shall have the meaning set forth in Section 6.17(c) hereof.

Remediation Costs ” shall mean the estimated costs of Remedial Actions required but not implemented for the Affected Real Property.

Reportable Compliance Event ” shall mean that any Covered Entity becomes a Sanctioned Person, or is charged by indictment, criminal complaint or similar charging instrument, arraigned, or custodially detained in connection with any Anti-Terrorism Law or any predicate crime to any Anti-Terrorism Law, or has knowledge of facts or circumstances to the effect that it is reasonably likely that any aspect of its operations is in actual or probable violation of any Anti-Terrorism Law.

Reportable ERISA Event ” shall mean a reportable event described in Section 4043 of ERISA or the regulations promulgated thereunder (other than a “reportable event” for which the 30-day notice period is waived).

Required Lenders ” shall mean (i) Revolving Lenders (not including Swing Loan Lender (in its capacity as such Swing Loan Lender) or any Defaulting Lender) holding at least fifty-one percent (51%) of the aggregate Revolving Commitment Amounts of all Revolving Lenders (excluding any Defaulting Lender), (ii) Term Loan A Lenders holding at least fifty-one percent (51%) of the outstanding principal amount of the Term Loan A and (iii) Term Loan B Lenders holding at least fifty-one percent (51%) of the outstanding principal amount of the Term Loan B.

Reserve Percentage ” shall mean as of any day the maximum effective percentage in effect on such day as prescribed by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (or any successor) for determining the reserve requirements (including supplemental, marginal and emergency reserve requirements) with respect to eurocurrency funding (currently referred to as “Eurocurrency Liabilities”.

Rescission ” shall have the meaning set forth in Section 4.8 hereof.

Revolving Advances ” shall mean Advances other than Letters of Credit, the Term Loans and the Swing Loans.

 

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Revolving Commitment ” shall mean, as to any Lender, the obligation of such Lender (if applicable), to make Revolving Advances and participate in Swing Loans and Letters of Credit, in an aggregate principal and/or face amount not to exceed the Revolving Commitment Amount (if any) of such Lender.

Revolving Commitment Amount ” shall mean, as to any Lender other than a New Lender, the Revolving Commitment amount (if any) set forth below such Lender’s name on the signature page hereto (or, in the case of any Lender that became party to this Agreement after the Closing Date pursuant to Section 17.3(c) or (d) hereof, the Revolving Commitment amount (if any) of such Lender as set forth in the applicable Commitment Transfer Supplement), in each case as the same may be adjusted upon any assignment by or to such Lender pursuant to Section 17.3(c) or (d) hereof.

Revolving Commitment Percentage ” shall mean, as to any Lender other than a New Lender, the Revolving Commitment Percentage (if any) set forth below such Lender’s name on the signature page hereof (or, in the case of any Lender that became party to this Agreement after the Closing Date pursuant to Section 17.3(c) or (d) hereof, the Revolving Commitment Percentage (if any) of such Lender as set forth in the applicable Commitment Transfer Supplement), in each case as the same may be adjusted upon any assignment by or to such Lender pursuant to Section 17.3(c) or (d) hereof.

Revolving Credit Note ” shall mean, collectively, the promissory notes referred to in Section 2.1(a) hereof.

Revolving Interest Rate ” shall mean (a) with respect to Revolving Advances that are Domestic Rate Loans and Swing Loans, an interest rate per annum equal to the sum of the Applicable Margin plus the Alternate Base Rate and (b) with respect to LIBOR Rate Loans, the sum of the Applicable Margin plus the LIBOR Rate.

Revolving Lenders ” shall mean each Lender that holds a Revolving Commitment Percentage and/or any interest in any Revolving Advances.

Sanctioned Country ” shall mean a country subject to a sanctions program maintained under any Anti-Terrorism Law.

Sanctioned Person ” shall mean any individual person, group, regime, entity or thing listed or otherwise recognized as a specially designated, prohibited, sanctioned or debarred person, group, regime, entity or thing, or subject to any limitations or prohibitions (including but not limited to the blocking of property or rejection of transactions), under any Anti-Terrorism Law.

SEC ” shall mean the Securities and Exchange Commission or any successor thereto.

Secured Parties ” shall mean, collectively, each Agent, Issuer, Swing Loan Lender and Lenders, together with any Affiliates of any Agent or any Lender to whom any Hedge Liabilities or Cash Management Liabilities are owed and with each other holder of any of the Obligations, and the respective successors and assigns of each of them.

 

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Securities Act ” shall mean the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.

Settlement ” shall have the meaning set forth in Section 2.6(d) hereof.

Settlement Date ” shall have the meaning set forth in Section 2.6(d) hereof.

Sponsor ” shall mean NewCastle Investment Corp.

Subordinated Lender ” shall mean Mutual Quest Fund.

Subordinated Loan ” shall mean the loan and Indebtedness evidenced by the Subordinated Loan Documents.

Subordinated Loan Documents ” shall mean the Term Loan and Security Agreement, dated as of November 26, 2013, in the original principal amount of $50,000,000 between Borrowers and Subordinated Lender and all other instruments, agreements and documents executed in connection therewith.

Subordination Agreement ” shall mean the Intercreditor and Subordination Agreement dated November 26, 2013 among each Agent and Subordinated Lender, attached hereto as Exhibit 1.2(b), as amended, restated, supplemented or replaced in accordance with the terms thereof.

Subsidiary ” shall mean of any Person a corporation or other entity of whose Equity Interests having ordinary voting power (other than Equity Interests having such power only by reason of the happening of a contingency) to elect a majority of the directors of such corporation, or other Persons performing similar functions for such entity, are owned, directly or indirectly, by such Person.

Subsidiary Stock ” shall mean (a) with respect to the Equity Interests issued to a Loan Party by any Subsidiary (other than a Foreign Subsidiary), 100% of such issued and outstanding Equity Interests, and (b) with respect to any Equity Interests issued to a Loan Party by any Foreign Subsidiary (i) 100% of such issued and outstanding Equity Interests not entitled to vote (within the meaning of Treas. Reg. Section 1.956-2(c)(2)) and (ii) 65% (or such greater percentage that, due to a change in an Applicable Law after the date hereof, (x) could not reasonably be expected to cause the undistributed earnings of such Foreign Subsidiary as determined for United States federal income tax purposes to be treated as a deemed dividend to such Loan Party and (y) could not reasonably be expected to cause any material adverse tax consequences) of such issued and outstanding Equity Interests entitled to vote (within the meaning of Treas. Reg. Section 1.956-2(c)(2)).

Swap ” shall mean any “swap” as defined in Section 1a(47) of the CEA and regulations thereunder, other than (a) a swap entered into, or subject to the rules of, a board of trade designated as a contract market under Section 5 of the CEA, or (b) a commodity option entered into pursuant to CFTC Regulation 32.3(a).

 

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Swap Obligation ” means any obligation to pay or perform under any agreement, contract or transaction that constitutes a Swap which is also a Lender-Provided Interest Rate Hedge, or a Lender-Provided Foreign Currency Hedge.

Swing Loan Lender ” shall mean PNC, in its capacity as lender of the Swing Loans.

Swing Loan Note ” shall mean the promissory note described in Section 2.4(a) hereof.

Swing Loans ” shall mean the Advances made pursuant to Section 2.4 hereof.

Tangible Net Worth ” shall mean, at a particular date, (a) the aggregate amount of all assets of the Loan Parties on a Consolidated Basis as may be properly classified as such in accordance with GAAP consistently applied excluding such other assets as are properly classified as intangible assets under GAAP, less (b) the aggregate amount of all liabilities of the Loan Parties on a Consolidated Basis.

Taxes ” or “ taxes ” shall mean all present or future taxes, levies, imposts, duties, deductions, withholdings, assessments, fees or other charges imposed by any Governmental Body, including any interest, additions to tax or penalties applicable thereto.

Term ” shall have the meaning set forth in Section 13.1 hereof.

Term Loan A ” shall have the meaning set forth in Section 2.3(a) hereof.

Term Loan A Commitment ” shall mean, as to any Lender, the obligation of such Lender (if applicable), to fund a portion of the Term Loan A in an aggregate principal equal to the Term Loan A Commitment Amount (if any) of such Lender.

Term Loan A Commitment Amount ” shall mean, as to any Lender, the term loan commitment amount (if any) set forth below such Lender’s name on the signature page hereof (or, in the case of any Lender that became party to this Agreement after the Closing Date pursuant to Section 17.3(c) or (d) hereof, the term loan commitment amount (if any) of such Lender as set forth in the applicable Commitment Transfer Supplement), as the same may be adjusted upon any assignment by or to such Lender pursuant to Section 17.3(c) or (d) hereof.

Term Loan A Commitment Percentage ” shall mean, as to any Lender, the Term Loan A Commitment Percentage (if any) set forth below such Lender’s name on the signature page hereof (or, in the case of any Lender that became party to this Agreement after the Closing Date pursuant to Section 17.3(c) or (d) hereof, the Term Loan A Commitment Percentage (if any) of such Lender as set forth in the applicable Commitment Transfer Supplement), as the same may be adjusted upon any assignment by or to such Lender pursuant to Section 17.3(c) or (d) hereof.

Term Loan A Formula Amount ” shall mean (i) 80% of the appraised net orderly liquidation value of the eligible machinery and equipment (as evidenced by the most recent machinery and equipment appraisal satisfactory to Administrative Agent in its sole discretion exercised in good faith), plus (ii) 75% of the fair market value of Real Property (as evidenced by the most recent appraisal satisfactory to Administrative Agent in its sole discretion exercised in good faith) set forth on Schedule A, minus (iii) the amount of the Remediation Costs, not to exceed 75% of the fair market value (as evidenced by the most recent appraisal satisfactory to Administrative Agent in its sole discretion exercised in good faith) of the Affected Real Property.

 

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Term Loan A Lenders ” shall mean each Lender that holds a Term Loan A Commitment Percentage and/or any interest in the Term Loan A.

Term Loan A Note ” shall mean, collectively, the promissory notes described in Section 2.3 hereof.

Term Loan A Rate ” shall mean (a) with respect to Term Loan A that is a Domestic Rate Loan, an interest rate per annum equal to the sum of the Applicable Margin plus the Alternate Base Rate and (b) with respect to Term Loan A Loan that is a LIBOR Rate Loan, the sum of the Applicable Margin plus the greater of (i) the LIBOR Rate and (ii) 0.75%.

Term Loan B ” shall have the meaning set forth in Section 2.3(a) hereof.

Term Loan B Agent ” shall have the meaning set forth in the preamble to this Agreement and shall include its successors and assigns.

Term Loan B Commitment ” shall mean, as to any Lender, the obligation of such Lender (if applicable), to fund a portion of the Term Loan B in an aggregate principal equal to the Term Loan B Commitment Amount (if any) of such Lender.

Term Loan B Commitment Amount ” shall mean, as to any Lender, the term loan commitment amount (if any) set forth below such Lender’s name on the signature page hereof (or, in the case of any Lender that became party to this Agreement after the Closing Date pursuant to Section 17.3(c) or (d) hereof, the term loan commitment amount (if any) of such Lender as set forth in the applicable Commitment Transfer Supplement), as the same may be adjusted upon any assignment by or to such Lender pursuant to Section 17.3(c) or (d) hereof.

Term Loan B Commitment Percentage ” shall mean, as to any Lender, the Term Loan B Commitment Percentage (if any) set forth below such Lender’s name on the signature page hereof (or, in the case of any Lender that became party to this Agreement after the Closing Date pursuant to Section 17.3(c) or (d) hereof, the Term Loan B Commitment Percentage (if any) of such Lender as set forth in the applicable Commitment Transfer Supplement), as the same may be adjusted upon any assignment by or to such Lender pursuant to Section 17.3(c) or (d) hereof.

Term Loan B Lenders ” shall mean each Lender that holds a Term Loan B Commitment Percentage and/or any interest in the Term Loan B.

Term Loan B Note ” shall mean, collectively, the promissory notes described in Section 2.3 hereof.

Term Loan B Rate ” shall mean with respect to Term Loan B Loan, the sum of the Applicable Margin plus the greater of (i) the LIBOR Rate and (ii) 0.75%.

 

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Term Loan Lenders ” shall mean, collectively, the Term Loan A Lenders and the Term Loan B Lenders.

Term Loans ” shall mean, collectively, the Term Loan A and the Term Loan B.

Term Notes ” shall mean, collectively, the Term Loan A Notes and the Term Loan B Notes.

Termination Event ” shall mean: (a) a Reportable ERISA Event with respect to any Pension Benefit Plan; (b) the withdrawal of any Loan Party or any member of the Controlled Group from a Pension Benefit Plan during a plan year in which such entity was a “substantial employer” as defined in Section 4001(a)(2) of ERISA or a cessation of operations that is treated as such a withdrawal under Section 4062(e) of ERISA; (c) the providing of notice of intent to terminate a Pension Benefit Plan in a distress termination described in Section 4041(c) of ERISA; (d) the commencement of proceedings by the PBGC to terminate a Pension Benefit Plan or a Multiemployer Plan; (e) any event or condition (a) which would constitute grounds under Section 4042 of ERISA for the termination of, or the appointment of a trustee to administer, any Plan, or (b) that may result in the termination of a Multiemployer Plan pursuant to Section 4041A of ERISA; (f) the partial or complete withdrawal, within the meaning of Section 4203 or 4205 of ERISA, of any Loan Party or any member of the Controlled Group from a Multiemployer Plan; (g) notice that a Multiemployer Plan is subject to Section 4245 of ERISA; or (h) the imposition by the Internal Revenue Service, the Department of Labor or the PBGC of any material liability under Title IV of ERISA, other than for PBGC premiums due (but not delinquent and not corrected), upon any Loan Party or any member of the Controlled Group.

Total Assets ” means the total assets of Holdco, the Borrowers and their Subsidiaries, determined on a consolidated basis in accordance with GAAP, as shown on the most recent balance sheet of the Company with such pro forma adjustments as are appropriate.

Toxic Substance ” shall mean and include any material present on the Real Property (including the Leasehold Interests) which has been shown to have significant adverse effect on human health or which is subject to regulation under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), 15 U.S.C. §§ 2601 et seq., applicable state law, or any other applicable Federal or state laws now in force or hereafter enacted relating to toxic substances. “Toxic Substance” includes but is not limited to asbestos, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and lead-based paints.

Trademark Security Agreement ” shall mean the Trademark Security Agreement, dated as of the Closing Date, between the Loan Parties party thereto and the Administrative Agent, as amended, restated, supplemented or replaced.

Transaction Expenses ” shall have the meaning set forth in the definition of “EBITDA”.

Transactions ” shall have the meaning set forth in Section 5.5(a) hereof.

Transferee ” shall have the meaning set forth in Section 17.3(d) hereof.

 

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Undrawn Availability ” at a particular date shall mean an amount equal to (a) the lesser of (i) the Formula Amount or (ii) the Maximum Revolving Advance Amount minus the Maximum Undrawn Amount of all outstanding Letters of Credit, minus (b) the sum of (i) the outstanding amount of Revolving Advances and Swing Loans, plus (ii) all amounts due and owing to any Borrower’s trade creditors which are outstanding sixty (60) days or more past their due date, plus (iii) Transaction Expenses for which Loan Parties are liable but which have not been paid or charged to Borrowers’ Account, plus (c) all cash of the Borrowers deposited and held in the Blocked Accounts as of such date.

Unfunded Capital Expenditures ” shall mean, as to any Loan Party, without duplication, a Capital Expenditure funded (a) from such Loan Party’s internally generated cash flow or (b) with the proceeds of a Revolving Advance or Swing Loan.

Uniform Commercial Code ” shall have the meaning set forth in Section 1.3 hereof.

USA PATRIOT Act ” shall mean the Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act of 2001, Public Law 107-56, as the same has been, or shall hereafter be, renewed, extended, amended or replaced.

1.3. Uniform Commercial Code Terms . All terms used herein and defined in the Uniform Commercial Code as adopted in the State of New York from time to time (the “ Uniform Commercial Code ”) shall have the meaning given therein unless otherwise defined herein. Without limiting the foregoing, the terms “accounts”, “chattel paper” (and “electronic chattel paper” and “tangible chattel paper”), “commercial tort claims”, “deposit accounts”, “documents”, “equipment”, “financial asset”, “fixtures”, “general intangibles”, “goods”, “instruments”, “inventory”, “investment property”, “letter-of-credit rights”, “payment intangibles”, “proceeds”, “promissory note” “securities”, “software” and “supporting obligations” as and when used in the description of Collateral shall have the meanings given to such terms in Articles 8 or 9 of the Uniform Commercial Code. To the extent the definition of any category or type of collateral is expanded by any amendment, modification or revision to the Uniform Commercial Code, such expanded definition will apply automatically as of the date of such amendment, modification or revision.

1.4. Certain Matters of Construction . The terms “herein”, “hereof” and “hereunder” and other words of similar import refer to this Agreement as a whole and not to any particular section, paragraph or subdivision. All references herein to Articles, Sections, Exhibits and Schedules shall be construed to refer to Articles and Sections of, and Exhibits and Schedules to, this Agreement. Any pronoun used shall be deemed to cover all genders. Wherever appropriate in the context, terms used herein in the singular also include the plural and vice versa. All references to statutes and related regulations shall include any amendments of same and any successor statutes and regulations. Unless otherwise provided, all references to any instruments or agreements to which any Agent is a party, including references to any of the Other Documents, shall include any and all modifications, supplements or amendments thereto, any and all restatements or replacements thereof and any and all extensions or renewals thereof. Except as otherwise expressly provided for herein, all references herein to the time of day shall mean the time in New York, New York. Unless otherwise provided, all financial calculations shall be performed with Inventory valued on a first-in, first-out basis. Whenever the words “including” or “include” shall be used, such words shall be understood to mean “including, without limitation” or “include, without limitation”. A Default or an Event of Default shall be

 

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deemed to exist at all times during the period commencing on the date that such Default or Event of Default occurs to the date on which such Default or Event of Default is waived in writing pursuant to this Agreement or, in the case of a Default or an Event of Default, shall “continue” or be “continuing” until such Default or Event of Default has been waived in writing by Required Lenders or cured in accordance with the terms hereof. Any Lien referred to in this Agreement or any of the Other Documents as having been created in favor of Agents, any agreement entered into by Agents pursuant to this Agreement or any of the Other Documents, any payment made by or to or funds received by any Agent pursuant to or as contemplated by this Agreement or any of the Other Documents, or any act taken or omitted to be taken by any Agent, shall, unless otherwise expressly provided, be created, entered into, made or received, or taken or omitted, for the benefit or account of Agents and Lenders. Wherever the phrase “to the best of Loan Parties’ knowledge” or words of similar import relating to the knowledge or the awareness of any Loan Party are used in this Agreement or Other Documents, such phrase shall mean and refer to (i) the actual knowledge of a senior officer of any Loan Party or (ii) the knowledge that a senior officer would have obtained if he/she had engaged in a good faith and diligent performance of his/her duties, including the making of such reasonably specific inquiries as may be necessary of the employees or agents of such Loan Party and a good faith attempt to ascertain the existence or accuracy of the matter to which such phrase relates. All covenants hereunder shall be given independent effect so that if a particular action or condition is not permitted by any of such covenants, the fact that it would be permitted by an exception to, or otherwise within the limitations of, another covenant shall not avoid the occurrence of a default if such action is taken or condition exists. In addition, all representations and warranties hereunder shall be given independent effect so that if a particular representation or warranty proves to be incorrect or is breached, the fact that another representation or warranty concerning the same or similar subject matter is correct or is not breached will not affect the incorrectness of a breach of a representation or warranty hereunder.

II. ADVANCES, PAYMENTS.

2.1. Revolving Advances .

(a) Amount of Revolving Advances . Subject to the terms and conditions set forth in this Agreement specifically including Section 2.1(c), each Lender, severally and not jointly, will make Revolving Advances to Borrowers in aggregate amounts outstanding at any time equal to such Lender’s Revolving Commitment Percentage of the lesser of (x) the Maximum Revolving Advance Amount, less the outstanding amount of Swing Loans, less the aggregate Maximum Undrawn Amount of all outstanding Letters of Credit or (y) an amount equal to the sum of:

(i) the lesser of (A) 75% of Receivables reported on the unaudited balance sheet of the Loan Parties on a consolidated and consolidating basis for the immediately preceding month or (B) 70% (the “ Receivables Advance Rate ”) of the aggregate amount of Collections in cash deposited and held in the Blocked Accounts during the most recently ended six (6) week period, minus

(ii) the aggregate Maximum Undrawn Amount of all outstanding Letters of Credit, minus

 

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(iii) such reserves as Administrative Agent in its Permitted Discretion may reasonably deem proper and necessary from time to time; provided that the Administrative Agent shall have provided the Borrowers at least ten (10) Business Days’ prior written notice of any such decrease; provided further that the Administrative Agent may only require such reserves after the date hereof based on an event, condition or other circumstance arising after the Closing Date or based on facts not known to the Administrative Agent as of the Closing Date.

The amount derived from the sum of (x) Sections 2.1(a)(y)(i) minus (y) Sections 2.1 (a)(y)(ii) and (iii) at any time and from time to time shall be referred to as the “Formula Amount”. The Revolving Advances shall be evidenced by one or more secured promissory notes (collectively, the “ Revolving Credit Note ”) substantially in the form attached hereto as Exhibit 2.1(a). Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in the foregoing or otherwise in this Agreement, the outstanding aggregate principal amount of Swing Loans and the Revolving Advances at any one time outstanding shall not exceed an amount equal to the lesser of (i) the Maximum Revolving Advance Amount less the Maximum Undrawn Amount of all outstanding Letters of Credit or (ii) the Formula Amount.

(b) Reserved .

(c) Discretionary Rights . The Advance Rate may be increased or decreased by Administrative Agent in its Permitted Discretion as it may reasonably deem proper and necessary from time to time; provided that the Administrative Agent shall have provided the Borrowers at least twenty (20) Business Days’ prior written notice of any such decrease; provided further that the Administrative Agent may only require any such decrease after the date hereof based on an event, condition or other circumstance arising after the Closing Date or based on facts not known to the Administrative Agent as of the Closing Date. Each Borrower consents to any such increases or decreases and acknowledges that decreasing the Advance Rate or increasing or imposing reserves may limit or restrict Advances requested by Borrowing Agent. The rights of Administrative Agent under this subsection are subject to the provisions of Section 17.2(b).

2.2. Procedures for Requesting Revolving Advances; Procedures for Selection of Applicable Interest Rates for Revolving Advances and Swing Loans .

(a) Borrowing Agent on behalf of any Borrower may notify Administrative Agent prior to 1:00 p.m. on a Business Day of a Borrower’s request to incur, on that day, a Revolving Advance hereunder. Should any amount required to be paid as interest hereunder, or as fees or other charges under this Agreement or any other agreement with Administrative Agent or Lenders, or with respect to any other Obligation under this Agreement, become due, same shall be deemed a request for a Revolving Advance maintained as a Domestic Rate Loan as of the date such payment is due, in the amount required to pay in full such interest, fee, charge or Obligation, and such request shall be irrevocable.

(b) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (a) above, in the event any Borrower desires to obtain a LIBOR Rate Loan for any Advance (other than a Swing Loan or Term Loan B), Borrowing Agent shall give Administrative Agent written notice by no later than 1:00 p.m. on the day which is three (3) Business Days prior to the date such LIBOR Rate Loan is

 

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to be borrowed, specifying (i) the date of the proposed borrowing (which shall be a Business Day), (ii) the type of borrowing and the amount of such Advance to be borrowed, which amount shall be in a minimum amount of $1,000,000 and in integral multiples of $500,000 thereafter, and (iii) the duration of the first Interest Period therefor. Interest Periods for such LIBOR Rate Loans shall be for one, two or three months; provided that, if an Interest Period would end on a day that is not a Business Day, it shall end on the next succeeding Business Day unless such day falls in the next succeeding calendar month in which case the Interest Period shall end on the next preceding Business Day. No such LIBOR Rate Loan shall be made available to any Borrower during the continuance of a Default or an Event of Default. After giving effect to each such requested LIBOR Rate Loan, including those which are converted from a Domestic Rate Loan under Section 2.2(e), there shall not be outstanding more than three (3) such LIBOR Rate Loans, in the aggregate.

(c) Each Interest Period of a LIBOR Rate Loan (other than Term Loan B) shall commence on the date such LIBOR Rate Loan is made and shall end on such date as Borrowing Agent may elect as set forth in subsection (b)(iii) above, provided that the exact length of each Interest Period shall be determined in accordance with the practice of the interbank market for offshore Dollar deposits and no Interest Period shall end after the last day of the Term.

(d) Borrowing Agent shall elect the initial Interest Period applicable to a LIBOR Rate Loan (other than the Term Loan B) by its notice of borrowing given to Administrative Agent pursuant to Section 2.2(b) or by its notice of conversion given to Administrative Agent pursuant to Section 2.2(e), as the case may be. Borrowing Agent shall elect the duration of each succeeding Interest Period by giving irrevocable written notice to Administrative Agent of such duration not later than 1:00 p.m. on the day which is three (3) Business Days prior to the last day of the then current Interest Period applicable to such LIBOR Rate Loan. If Administrative Agent does not receive timely notice of the Interest Period elected by Borrowing Agent, Borrowing Agent shall be deemed to have elected to convert such LIBOR Rate Loan to a Domestic Rate Loan subject to Section 2.2(e) below.

(e) Provided that no Default or Event of Default shall have occurred and be continuing, Borrowing Agent may, on the last Business Day of the then current Interest Period applicable to any outstanding LIBOR Rate Loan (other than Term Loan B), or on any Business Day with respect to Domestic Rate Loans, convert any such loan into a loan of another type in the same aggregate principal amount provided that any conversion of a LIBOR Rate Loan shall be made only on the last Business Day of the then current Interest Period applicable to such LIBOR Rate Loan. If Borrowing Agent desires to convert a loan, Borrowing Agent shall give Administrative Agent written notice by no later than 1:00 p.m. (i) on the day which is three (3) Business Days prior to the date on which such conversion is to occur with respect to a conversion from a Domestic Rate Loan to a LIBOR Rate Loan, or (ii) on the day which is one (1) Business Day prior to the date on which such conversion is to occur (which date shall be the last Business Day of the Interest Period for the applicable LIBOR Rate Loan) with respect to a conversion from a LIBOR Rate Loan to a Domestic Rate Loan, specifying, in each case, the date of such conversion, the loans to be converted and if the conversion is to a LIBOR Rate Loan, the duration of the first Interest Period therefor.

 

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(f) At its option and upon written notice given prior to 1:00 p.m. at least three (3) Business Days prior to the date of such prepayment, any Borrower may, subject to Section 2.2(g) hereof, prepay Revolving Advances consisting of the LIBOR Rate Loans in whole at any time or in part from time to time with accrued interest on the principal being prepaid to the date of such repayment. Such Borrower shall specify the date of prepayment of Revolving Advances which are LIBOR Rate Loans and the amount of such prepayment. In the event that any prepayment of a LIBOR Rate Loan is required or permitted on a date other than the last Business Day of the then current Interest Period with respect thereto, such Borrower shall indemnify each Agent and Lenders therefor in accordance with Section 2.2(g) hereof.

(g) Each Borrower shall indemnify each Agent and Lenders and hold each Agent and Lenders harmless from and against any and all losses or expenses that any Agent and Lenders may sustain or incur as a consequence of any prepayment, conversion of or any default by any Borrower in the payment of the principal of or interest on any LIBOR Rate Loan or failure by any Borrower to complete a borrowing of, a prepayment of or conversion of or to a LIBOR Rate Loan after notice thereof has been given, including, but not limited to, any interest payable by any Agent or Lenders to lenders of funds obtained by it in order to make or maintain its LIBOR Rate Loans hereunder. A certificate as to any additional amounts payable pursuant to the foregoing sentence submitted by any Agent or any Lender to Borrowing Agent shall be conclusive absent manifest error.

(h) Notwithstanding any other provision hereof, if any Applicable Law, treaty, regulation or directive, or any change therein or in the interpretation or application thereof, including without limitation any Change in Law, shall make it unlawful for Lenders or any Lender (for purposes of this subsection (h), the term “Lender” shall include any Lender and the office or branch where any Lender or any Person controlling such Lender makes or maintains any LIBOR Rate Loans) to make or maintain its LIBOR Rate Loans, the obligation of Lenders (or such affected Lender) to make LIBOR Rate Loans hereunder shall forthwith be cancelled and Borrowers shall, if any affected LIBOR Rate Loans are then outstanding, promptly upon request from the applicable Agent, either pay all such affected LIBOR Rate Loans or convert such affected LIBOR Rate Loans into loans of another type. If any such payment or conversion of any LIBOR Rate Loan is made on a day that is not the last day of the Interest Period applicable to such LIBOR Rate Loan, Borrowers shall pay the applicable Agent, upon such Agent’s request, such amount or amounts set forth in clause (g) above. A certificate as to any additional amounts payable pursuant to the foregoing sentence submitted by Lenders to Borrowing Agent shall be conclusive absent manifest error.

2.3. Term Loans .

(a) Term Loan A and Term Loan B . Subject to the terms and conditions of this Agreement, (i) each Revolving Lender, severally and not jointly, will make a term loan to Borrowers in the amount equal to such Lender’s Term Loan A Commitment Percentage of $25,000,000 (the “ Term Loan A ”) and (ii) each Term Loan Lender, severally and not jointly, will make a term loan to Borrowers in the amount equal to such Lender’s Term Loan B Commitment Percentage of $50,000,000 (the “ Term Loan B ”). The Term Loans shall be advanced on the Closing Date and shall be, with respect to principal, payable as follows, subject to acceleration upon the occurrence and continuation of an Event of Default under this

 

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Agreement pursuant to Section 11.1 or termination of this Agreement: (I) four (4) consecutive quarterly installments each in the amount of $875,000, commencing on January 1, 2014, (II) four (4) consecutive quarterly installments each in the amount of $1,250,000, commencing on January 1, 2015, and (III) twelve (12) consecutive quarterly installments each in the amount $2,000,000, commencing on January 1, 2016, followed by a final payment of all unpaid principal, accrued and unpaid interest and all unpaid fees and expenses. The Term Loan A shall be evidenced by one or more secured promissory notes (collectively, the “ Term Loan A Notes ”) in substantially the form attached hereto as Exhibit 2.3(a). The Term Loan B shall be evidenced by one or more secured promissory notes (collectively, the “ Term Loan B Notes ”) in substantially the form attached hereto as Exhibit 2.3(b). Term Loan A may consist of Domestic Rate Loans or LIBOR Rate Loans, or a combination thereof, as Borrowing Agent may request; and in the event that Borrowers desire to obtain or extend any portion of any Term Loan as a LIBOR Rate Loan or to convert any portion of any Term Loan from a Domestic Rate Loan to a LIBOR Rate Loan, Borrowing Agent shall comply with the notification requirements set forth in Sections 2.2(b) and/or (e) and the provisions of Sections 2.2(b) through (h) shall apply. The Term Loan B shall be disbursed from whichever office or other place Term Loan B Agent may designate from time to time and, together with any and all other Obligations of Borrowers to Term Loan B Agent or Term Loan B Lenders, shall be charged to Borrowers’ Account on Term Loan B Agent’s books. Sections 2.2(b) through (h) shall not apply to the Term Loan B.

2.4. Swing Loans .

(a) Subject to the terms and conditions set forth in this Agreement, and in order to minimize the transfer of funds between Lenders and Administrative Agent for administrative convenience, Administrative Agent, Lenders holding Revolving Commitments and Swing Loan Lender agree that in order to facilitate the administration of this Agreement, Swing Loan Lender may, at its election and option made in its sole discretion cancelable at any time for any reason whatsoever, make swing loan advances (“ Swing Loans ”) available to Borrowers as provided for in this Section 2.4 at any time or from time to time after the date hereof to, but not including, the expiration of the Term, in an aggregate principal amount up to but not in excess of the Maximum Swing Loan Advance Amount, provided that the outstanding aggregate principal amount of Swing Loans and the Revolving Advances at any one time outstanding shall not exceed an amount equal to the lesser of (i) the Maximum Revolving Advance Amount less the Maximum Undrawn Amount of all outstanding Letters of Credit or (ii) the Formula Amount. All Swing Loans shall be Domestic Rate Loans only. Borrowers may borrow (at the option and election of Swing Loan Lender), repay and reborrow (at the option and election of Swing Loan Lender) Swing Loans and Swing Loan Lender may make Swing Loans as provided in this Section 2.4 during the period between Settlement Dates. All Swing Loans shall be evidenced by a secured promissory note (the “ Swing Loan Note ”) substantially in the form attached hereto as Exhibit 2.4(a). Swing Loan Lender’s agreement to make Swing Loans under this Agreement is cancelable at any time for any reason whatsoever and the making of Swing Loans by Swing Loan Lender from time to time shall not create any duty or obligation, or establish any course of conduct, pursuant to which Swing Loan Lender shall thereafter be obligated to make Swing Loans in the future

(b) Upon either (i) any request by Borrowing Agent for a Revolving Advance made pursuant to Section 2.2(a) hereof or (ii) the occurrence of any deemed request by

 

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Borrowers for a Revolving Advance pursuant to the provisions of the last sentence of Section 2.2(a) hereof, Swing Loan Lender may elect, in its sole discretion, to have such request or deemed request treated as a request for a Swing Loan, and may advance same day funds to Borrowers as a Swing Loan; provided that notwithstanding anything to the contrary provided for herein, Swing Loan Lender may not make Swing Loan Advances if Swing Loan Lender has been notified by Administrative Agent or by Required Lenders that one or more of the applicable conditions set forth in Section 8.2 of this Agreement have not been satisfied or the Revolving Commitments have been terminated for any reason.

(c) Upon the making of a Swing Loan (whether before or after the occurrence and continuation of a Default or an Event of Default and regardless of whether a Settlement has been requested with respect to such Swing Loan), each Lender holding a Revolving Commitment shall be deemed, without further action by any party hereto, to have unconditionally and irrevocably purchased from Swing Loan Lender, without recourse or warranty, an undivided interest and participation in such Swing Loan in proportion to its Revolving Commitment Percentage. Swing Loan Lender or Administrative Agent may, at any time, require the Lenders holding Revolving Commitments to fund such participations by means of a Settlement as provided for in Section 2.6(d) below. From and after the date, if any, on which any Lender holding a Revolving Commitment is required to fund, and funds, its participation in any Swing Loans purchased hereunder, Administrative Agent shall promptly distribute to such Lender its Revolving Commitment Percentage of all payments of principal and interest and all proceeds of Collateral received by Administrative Agent in respect of such Swing Loan; provided , that no Lender holding a Revolving Commitment shall be obligated in any event to make Revolving Advances in an amount in excess of its Revolving Commitment Amount minus its Participation Commitment (taking into account any reallocations under Section 2.22) of the Maximum Undrawn Amount of all outstanding Letters of Credit.

2.5. Disbursement of Advance Proceeds. All Advances shall be disbursed from whichever office or other place Administrative Agent may designate from time to time and, together with any and all other Obligations of Borrowers to Administrative Agent or Lenders, shall be charged to Borrowers’ Account on Administrative Agent’s books. The proceeds of each Revolving Advance or Swing Loan requested by Borrowing Agent on behalf of any Borrower or deemed to have been requested by any Borrower under Sections 2.2(a), 2.6(b) or 2.14 hereof shall, (i) with respect to requested Revolving Advances, to the extent Lenders make such Revolving Advances in accordance with Section 2.2(a), 2.6(b) or 2.14 hereof, and with respect to Swing Loans made upon any request by Borrowing Agent for a Revolving Advance to the extent Swing Loan Lender makes such Swing Loan in accordance with Section 2.4(b) hereof, be made available to the applicable Borrower on the day so requested by way of credit to such Borrower’s operating account at PNC, or such other bank as Borrowing Agent may designate following notification to Administrative Agent, in immediately available federal funds or other immediately available funds or, (ii) with respect to Revolving Advances deemed to have been requested by any Borrower or Swing Loans made upon any deemed request for a Revolving Advance by any Borrower, be disbursed to Administrative Agent to be applied to the outstanding Obligations giving rise to such deemed request. During the Term, Borrowers may use the Revolving Advances and Swing Loans by borrowing, prepaying and reborrowing, all in accordance with the terms and conditions hereof.

 

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2.6. Making and Settlement of Advances.

(a) Each borrowing of Revolving Advances shall be advanced according to the applicable Revolving Commitment Percentages of Lenders holding the Revolving Commitments (subject to any contrary terms of Section 2.22). The Term Loan A shall be advanced according to the applicable Term Loan A Commitment Percentages of Lenders holding the Term Loan A Commitments. The Term Loan B shall be advanced according to the applicable Term Loan B Commitment Percentages of Lenders holding the Term Loan B Commitments. Each borrowing of Swing Loans shall be advanced by Swing Loan Lender alone.

(b) Promptly after receipt by Administrative Agent of a request or a deemed request for a Revolving Advance pursuant to Section 2.2(a) and, with respect to Revolving Advances, to the extent Administrative Agent elects not to provide a Swing Loan or the making of a Swing Loan would result in the aggregate amount of all outstanding Swing Loans exceeding the maximum amount permitted in Section 2.4(a), Administrative Agent shall notify Lenders holding the Revolving Commitments of its receipt of such request specifying the information provided by Borrowing Agent and the apportionment among Lenders of the requested Revolving Advance as determined by Administrative Agent in accordance with the terms hereof. Each Revolving Lender shall remit the principal amount of each Revolving Advance to Administrative Agent such that Administrative Agent is able to, and Administrative Agent shall, to the extent the applicable Revolving Lenders have made funds available to it for such purpose and subject to Section 8.2, fund such Revolving Advance to Borrowers in U.S. Dollars and immediately available funds at the Payment Office prior to the close of business, on the applicable borrowing date; provided that if any applicable Revolving Lender fails to remit such funds to Administrative Agent in a timely manner, Administrative Agent may elect in its sole discretion to fund with its own funds the Revolving Advance of such Lender on such borrowing date, and such Lender shall be subject to the repayment obligation in Section 2.6(c) hereof.

(c) Unless Administrative Agent shall have been notified by telephone, confirmed in writing, by any Lender holding a Revolving Commitment that such Lender will not make the amount which would constitute its applicable Revolving Commitment Percentage of the requested Revolving Advance available to Administrative Agent, Administrative Agent may (but shall not be obligated to) assume that such Lender has made such amount available to Administrative Agent on such date in accordance with Section 2.6(b) and may, in reliance upon such assumption, make available to Borrowers a corresponding amount. In such event, if a Lender has not in fact made its applicable Revolving Commitment Percentage of the requested Revolving Advance available to Administrative Agent, then the applicable Lender and Borrowers severally agree to pay to Administrative Agent on demand such corresponding amount with interest thereon, for each day from and including the date such amount is made available to Borrowers through but excluding the date of payment to Administrative Agent, at (i) in the case of a payment to be made by such Lender, the greater of (A) (x) the daily average Federal Funds Effective Rate (computed on the basis of a year of 360 days) during such period as quoted by Administrative Agent, times (y) such amount or (B) a rate determined by Administrative Agent in accordance with banking industry rules on interbank compensation, and (ii) in the case of a payment to be made by Borrowers, the Revolving Interest Rate for Revolving Advances that are Domestic Rate Loans. If such Lender pays its share of the applicable Revolving Advance to Administrative Agent, then the amount so paid shall constitute such

 

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Lender’s Revolving Advance. Any payment by Borrowers shall be without prejudice to any claim Borrowers may have against a Lender holding a Revolving Commitment that shall have failed to make such payment to Administrative Agent. A certificate of Administrative Agent submitted to any Lender or Borrowers with respect to any amounts owing under this paragraph (c) shall be conclusive, in the absence of manifest error.

(d) Administrative Agent, on behalf of Swing Loan Lender, shall demand settlement (a “ Settlement ”) of all or any Swing Loans with Lenders holding the Revolving Commitments on at least a weekly basis, or on any more frequent date that Administrative Agent elects or that Swing Loan Lender at its option exercisable for any reason whatsoever may request, by notifying Lenders holding the Revolving Commitments of such requested Settlement by facsimile, telephonic or electronic transmission no later than 3:00 p.m. on the date of such requested Settlement (the “ Settlement Date ”). Subject to any contrary provisions of Section 2.22, each Lender holding a Revolving Commitment shall transfer the amount of such Lender’s Revolving Commitment Percentage of the outstanding principal amount (plus interest accrued thereon to the extent requested by Administrative Agent) of the applicable Swing Loan with respect to which Settlement is requested by Administrative Agent, to such account of Administrative Agent as Administrative Agent may designate not later than 5:00 p.m. on such Settlement Date if requested by Administrative Agent by 3:00 p.m., otherwise not later than 5:00 p.m. on the next Business Day. Settlements may occur at any time notwithstanding that the conditions precedent to making Revolving Advances set forth in Section 8.2 have not been satisfied or the Revolving Commitments shall have otherwise been terminated at such time. All amounts so transferred to Administrative Agent shall be applied against the amount of outstanding Swing Loans and, when so applied shall constitute Revolving Advances of such Lenders accruing interest as Domestic Rate Loans. If any such amount is not transferred to Administrative Agent by any Lender holding a Revolving Commitment on such Settlement Date, Administrative Agent shall be entitled to recover such amount on demand from such Lender together with interest thereon as specified in Section 2.6(c).

(e) If any Lender or Participant (a “ Benefited Lender ”) shall at any time receive any payment of all or part of its Advances, or interest thereon, or receive any Collateral in respect thereof (whether voluntarily or involuntarily or by set-off) in a greater proportion than any such payment to and Collateral received by any other Lender, if any, in respect of such other Lender’s Advances, or interest thereon, and such greater proportionate payment or receipt of Collateral is not expressly permitted hereunder, such Benefited Lender shall purchase for cash from the other Lenders a participation in such portion of each such other Lender’s Advances, or shall provide such other Lender with the benefits of any such Collateral, or the proceeds thereof, as shall be necessary to cause such Benefited Lender to share the excess payment or benefits of such Collateral or proceeds ratably with each of the other Lenders; provided, however, that if all or any portion of such excess payment or benefits is thereafter recovered from such Benefited Lender, such purchase shall be rescinded, and the purchase price and benefits returned, to the extent of such recovery, but without interest. Each Borrower consents to the foregoing and agrees, to the extent it may effectively do so under Applicable Law, that each Lender so purchasing a portion of another Lender’s Advances may exercise all rights of payment (including rights of set-off) with respect to such portion as fully as if such Lender were the direct holder of such portion, and the obligations owing to each such purchasing Lender in respect of such participation and such purchased portion of any other Lender’s Advances shall be part of the

 

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Obligations secured by the Collateral, and the obligations owing to each such purchasing Lender in respect of such participation and such purchased portion of any other Lender’s Advances shall be part of the Obligations secured by the Collateral.

2.7. Maximum Advances . The aggregate balance of Revolving Advances plus Swing Loans outstanding at any time shall not exceed the lesser of (a) the Maximum Revolving Advance Amount less the aggregate Maximum Undrawn Amount of all issued and outstanding Letters of Credit or (b) the Formula Amount.

2.8. Manner and Repayment of Advances.

(a) The Revolving Advances and Swing Loans shall be due and payable in full on the last day of the Term subject to earlier prepayment as herein provided. The Term Loans shall be due and payable as provided in Section 2.3(a) hereof and shall be due and payable in full on the last day of the Term, subject to mandatory prepayments as herein provided. Notwithstanding the foregoing, all Advances shall be subject to earlier repayment upon (x) acceleration in accordance with the terms of this Agreement upon the occurrence and continuation of an Event of Default under this Agreement or (y) termination of this Agreement. Each payment (including each prepayment) by any Borrower on account of the principal of and interest on the Advances (other than the Term Loan) shall be applied, first to the outstanding Swing Loans and next, pro rata according to the applicable Revolving Commitment Percentages of Lenders, to the outstanding Revolving Advances (subject to any contrary provisions of Section 2.22). Each payment (including each prepayment) by any Borrower on account of the principal of and interest on the Term Loans shall be applied to first, the Term Loan A pro rata according to the Term Loan A Commitment Percentages of the Term Loan A Lenders in the inverse order of maturities thereof until the Term Loan A is paid in full, and second, the Term Loan B pro rata according to the Term Loan B Commitment Percentages of the Term Loan B Lenders in the inverse order of maturities thereof until the Term Loan B is paid in full.

(b) Each Borrower recognizes that the amounts evidenced by checks, notes, drafts or any other items of payment relating to and/or proceeds of Collateral may not be collectible by Administrative Agent on the date received by Administrative Agent. Administrative Agent shall conditionally credit Borrowers’ Account for each item of payment (i) on the next Business Day after the Business Day on which such item of payment is received by Administrative Agent in the case of payment made via wire transfer or electronic depository check and (ii) on the Business Day on which such payment constitutes good funds in the case of payment in any other form (such Business Day on which each such item of payment is so credited shall be referred to, with respect to such item, as the “ Application Date ”). Administrative Agent is not, however, required to credit Borrowers’ Account for the amount of any item of payment which is unsatisfactory to Administrative Agent and Administrative Agent may charge Borrowers’ Account for the amount of any item of payment which is returned, for any reason whatsoever, to Administrative Agent unpaid. Subject to the foregoing, Borrowers agree that for purposes of computing the interest charges under this Agreement, each item of payment received by Administrative Agent shall be deemed applied by Administrative Agent on account of the Obligations on its respective Application Date. Borrowers further agree that there is a monthly float charge payable to Administrative Agent for Administrative Agent’s sole benefit, in an amount equal to (y) the face amount of all items of payment received during the

 

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prior month (including items of payment received by Administrative Agent as a wire transfer or electronic depository check) multiplied by (z) the Revolving Interest Rate with respect to Domestic Rate Loans for one (1) Business Day. All proceeds received by Administrative Agent shall be applied to the Obligations in accordance with Section 4.8(h).

(c) All payments of principal, interest and other amounts payable hereunder, or under any of the Other Documents (other than on account of the Term Loan B) shall be made to Administrative Agent for the ratable benefit of the Lenders in accordance with their applicable Revolving Commitment Percentages or Term Loan A Commitment Percentages, as applicable (subject to Section 2.23 hereof) at the Payment Office not later than 1:00 P.M. on the due date therefor in lawful money of the United States of America in federal funds or other funds immediately available to the Administrative Agent. All payments of principal, interest and other amounts payable under the Term Loan B hereunder, or under any of the Other Documents with respect to the Term Loan B shall be made to Term Loan B Agent for the ratable benefit of the Term Loan B Lenders in accordance with their applicable Term Loan B Commitment Percentages (subject to Section 2.23 hereof) at the Payment Office not later than 1:00 P.M. on the due date therefor in lawful money of the United States of America in federal funds or other funds immediately available to the Term Loan B Agent. The Administrative Agent shall have the right to effectuate payment of any and all Obligations due and owing hereunder by charging Borrowers’ Account or by making Advances as provided in Section 2.2 hereof.

(d) Except as expressly provided herein, all payments (including prepayments) to be made by any Borrower on account of principal, interest, fees and other amounts payable hereunder shall be made without deduction, setoff or counterclaim and shall be made to the Administrative Agent or Term Loan B Agent, as the case may be, on behalf of applicable Lenders to the Payment Office, in each case on or prior to 1:00 p.m., in Dollars and in immediately available funds.

2.9. Repayment of Excess Advances . If at any time the aggregate balance of outstanding Revolving Advances, Swing Loans, Term Loans, and/or Advances taken as a whole exceeds the maximum amount of such type of Advances and/or Advances taken as a whole (as applicable) permitted hereunder, such excess Advances shall be immediately due and payable without the necessity of any demand, at the Payment Office, whether or not a Default or an Event of Default has occurred.

2.10. Statement of Account . Each Agent shall maintain, in accordance with its customary procedures, a loan account (“ Borrowers’ Account ”) in the name of Borrowers in which shall be recorded the date and amount of each Advance made by such Agent or Lenders and the date and amount of each payment in respect thereof; provided, however , the failure by any Agent to record the date and amount of any Advance shall not adversely affect such Agent or any Lender. Each month, the Agents shall send to Borrowing Agent a statement showing the accounting for the Advances made, payments made or credited in respect thereof, and other transactions between such Agent, Lenders and Borrowers during such month. The monthly statements shall be deemed correct and binding upon Borrowers in the absence of manifest error and shall constitute an account stated between Lenders and Borrowers unless the Agents receive a written statement of Borrowers’ specific exceptions thereto within thirty (30) days after such statement is received by Borrowing Agent. The records of the Agents with respect to Borrowers’ Account shall be conclusive evidence absent manifest error of the amounts of Advances and other charges thereto and of payments applicable thereto.

 

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2.11. Letters of Credit .

(a) Subject to the terms and conditions hereof, Issuer shall issue or cause the issuance of standby and/or trade letters of credit denominated in Dollars (“ Letters of Credit ”) for the account of any Borrower except to the extent that the issuance thereof would then cause the sum of (i) the outstanding Revolving Advances plus (ii) the outstanding Swing Loans, plus (iii) the Maximum Undrawn Amount of all outstanding Letters of Credit, plus (iv) the Maximum Undrawn Amount of the Letter of Credit to be issued to exceed the lesser of (x) the Maximum Revolving Advance Amount or (y) the Formula Amount (calculated without giving effect to the deductions provided for in Section 2.1(a)(y)((ii) and (iii)). The Maximum Undrawn Amount of all outstanding Letters of Credit shall not exceed in the aggregate at any time the Letter of Credit Sublimit. All disbursements or payments related to Letters of Credit shall be deemed to be Domestic Rate Loans consisting of Revolving Advances and shall bear interest at the Revolving Interest Rate for Domestic Rate Loans. Letters of Credit that have not been drawn upon shall not bear interest (but fees shall accrue in respect of outstanding Letters of Credit as provided in Section 3.2 hereof).

(b) Notwithstanding any provision of this Agreement, Issuer shall not be under any obligation to issue any Letter of Credit if (i) any order, judgment or decree of any Governmental Body or arbitrator shall by its terms purport to enjoin or restrain Issuer from issuing any Letter of Credit, or any Law applicable to Issuer or any request or directive (whether or not having the force of law) from any Governmental Body with jurisdiction over Issuer shall prohibit, or request that Issuer refrain from, the issuance of letters of credit generally or the Letter of Credit in particular or shall impose upon Issuer with respect to the Letter of Credit any restriction, reserve or capital requirement (for which Issuer is not otherwise compensated hereunder) not in effect on the date of this Agreement, or shall impose upon Issuer any unreimbursed loss, cost or expense which was not applicable on the date of this Agreement, and which Issuer in good faith deems material to it, or (ii) the issuance of the Letter of Credit would violate one or more policies of Issuer applicable to letters of credit generally.

2.12. Issuance of Letters of Credit .

(a) Borrowing Agent, on behalf of any Borrower, may request Issuer to issue or cause the issuance of a Letter of Credit by delivering to Issuer, with a copy to Administrative Agent at the Payment Office, prior to 1:00 p.m., at least five (5) Business Days prior to the proposed date of issuance, such Issuer’s form of Letter of Credit Application (the “ Letter of Credit Application ”) completed to the satisfaction of Administrative Agent and Issuer; and, such other certificates, documents and other papers and information as Administrative Agent or Issuer may reasonably request. Issuer shall not issue any requested Letter of Credit if such Issuer has received notice from Administrative Agent or any Lender that one or more of the applicable conditions set forth in Section 8.2 of this Agreement have not been satisfied or the commitments of Lenders to make Revolving Advances hereunder have been terminated for any reason.

 

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(b) Each Letter of Credit shall, among other things, (i) provide for the payment of sight drafts, or other written demands for payment, or acceptances of usance drafts when presented for honor thereunder in accordance with the terms thereof and when accompanied by the documents described therein and (ii) have an expiry date not later than twelve (12) months after such Letter of Credit’s date of issuance and in no event later than the last day of the Term. Each standby Letter of Credit shall be subject either to the Uniform Customs and Practice for Documentary Credits as most recently published by the International Chamber of Commerce at the time a Letter of Credit is issued (the “ UCP ”) or the International Standby Practices (International Chamber of Commerce Publication Number 590) (the “ ISP98 Rules ”), or any subsequent revision thereof at the time a standby Letter of Credit is issued, as determined by Issuer, and each trade Letter of Credit shall be subject to the UCP. In addition, no trade Letter of Credit may permit the presentation of an ocean bill of lading that includes a condition that the original bill of lading is not required to claim the goods shipped thereunder.

(c) Administrative Agent shall use its reasonable efforts to notify Lenders of the request by Borrowing Agent for a Letter of Credit hereunder.

2.13. Requirements for Issuance of Letters of Credit .

(a) Borrowing Agent shall authorize and direct any Issuer to name the applicable Borrower as the “Applicant” or “Account Party” of each Letter of Credit. If Administrative Agent is not the Issuer of any Letter of Credit, Borrowing Agent shall authorize and direct Issuer to deliver to Administrative Agent all instruments, documents, and other writings and property received by Issuer pursuant to the Letter of Credit and to accept and rely upon Administrative Agent’s instructions and agreements with respect to all matters arising in connection with the Letter of Credit, the application therefor.

(b) In connection with all trade Letters of Credit issued or caused to be issued by Issuer under this Agreement, each Borrower hereby appoints Issuer, or its designee, as its attorney, with full power and authority if an Event of Default shall have occurred and is continuing: (i) to sign and/or endorse such Borrower’s name upon any warehouse or other receipts, and acceptances; (ii) to sign such Borrower’s name on bills of lading; (iii) to clear Inventory through the United States of America Customs Department (“ Customs ”) in the name of such Borrower or Issuer or Issuer’s designee, and to sign and deliver to Customs officials powers of attorney in the name of such Borrower for such purpose; and (iv) to complete in such Borrower’s name or Issuer’s, or in the name of Issuer’s designee, any order, sale or transaction, obtain the necessary documents in connection therewith, and collect the proceeds thereof. Neither Administrative Agent, Issuer nor their attorneys will be liable for any acts or omissions nor for any error of judgment or mistakes of fact or law, except for Administrative Agent’s, Issuer’s or their respective attorney’s gross negligence or willful misconduct. This power, being coupled with an interest, is irrevocable as long as any Letters of Credit remain outstanding.

2.14. Disbursements, Reimbursement.

(a) Immediately upon the issuance of each Letter of Credit, each Lender holding a Revolving Commitment shall be deemed to, and hereby irrevocably and unconditionally agrees to, purchase from Issuer a participation in each Letter of Credit and each drawing thereunder in an amount equal to such Lender’s Revolving Commitment Percentage of the Maximum Undrawn Amount of such Letter of Credit (as in effect from time to time) and the amount of such drawing, respectively.

 

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(b) In the event of any request for a drawing under a Letter of Credit by the beneficiary or transferee thereof, Issuer will promptly notify Administrative Agent and Borrowing Agent. Regardless of whether Borrowing Agent shall have received such notice, Borrowers shall reimburse (such obligation to reimburse Issuer shall sometimes be referred to as a “ Reimbursement Obligation ”) Issuer prior to 12:00 Noon, on each date that an amount is paid by Issuer under any Letter of Credit (each such date, a “ Drawing Date ”) in an amount equal to the amount so paid by Issuer. In the event Borrowers fail to reimburse Issuer for the full amount of any drawing under any Letter of Credit by 12:00 Noon, on the Drawing Date, Issuer will promptly notify Administrative Agent and each Lender holding a Revolving Commitment thereof, and Borrowers shall be automatically deemed to have requested that a Revolving Advance maintained as a Domestic Rate Loan be made by Lenders to be disbursed on the Drawing Date under such Letter of Credit, and Lenders holding the Revolving Commitments shall be unconditionally obligated to fund such Revolving Advance (all whether or not the conditions specified in Section 8.2 are then satisfied or the commitments of Lenders to make Revolving Advances hereunder have been terminated for any reason) as provided for in Section 2.14(c) immediately below. Any notice given by Issuer pursuant to this Section 2.14(b) may be oral if promptly confirmed in writing; provided that the lack of such a confirmation shall not affect the conclusiveness or binding effect of such notice.

(c) Each Lender holding a Revolving Commitment shall upon any notice pursuant to Section 2.14(b) make available to Issuer through Administrative Agent at the Payment Office an amount in immediately available funds equal to its Revolving Commitment Percentage (subject to any contrary provisions of Section 2.22) of the amount of the drawing, whereupon the participating Lenders shall (subject to Section 2.14(d)) each be deemed to have made a Revolving Advance maintained as a Domestic Rate Loan to Borrowers in that amount. If any Lender holding a Revolving Commitment so notified fails to make available to Administrative Agent, for the benefit of Issuer, the amount of such Lender’s Revolving Commitment Percentage of such amount by 2:00 p.m. on the Drawing Date, then interest shall accrue on such Lender’s obligation to make such payment, from the Drawing Date to the date on which such Lender makes such payment (i) at a rate per annum equal to the Federal Funds Effective Rate during the first three (3) days following the Drawing Date and (ii) at a rate per annum equal to the rate applicable to Revolving Advances maintained as a Domestic Rate Loan on and after the fourth day following the Drawing Date. Administrative Agent and Issuer will promptly give notice of the occurrence of the Drawing Date, but failure of Administrative Agent or Issuer to give any such notice on the Drawing Date or in sufficient time to enable any Lender holding a Revolving Commitment to effect such payment on such date shall not relieve such Lender from its obligations under this Section 2.14(c), provided that such Lender shall not be obligated to pay interest as provided in Section 2.14(c)(i) and (ii) until and commencing from the date of receipt of notice from Administrative Agent or Issuer of a drawing.

(d) With respect to any unreimbursed drawing that is not converted into a Revolving Advance maintained as a Domestic Rate Loan to Borrowers in whole or in part as contemplated by Section 2.14(b), because of Borrowers’ failure to satisfy the conditions set forth

 

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in Section 8.2 hereof (other than any notice requirements) or for any other reason, Borrowers shall be deemed to have incurred from Administrative Agent a borrowing (each a “ Letter of Credit Borrowing ”) in the amount of such drawing. Such Letter of Credit Borrowing shall be due and payable on demand (together with interest) and shall bear interest at the rate per annum applicable to a Revolving Advance maintained as a Domestic Rate Loan. Each applicable Lender’s payment to Administrative Agent pursuant to Section 2.14(c) shall be deemed to be a payment in respect of its participation in such Letter of Credit Borrowing and shall constitute a “Participation Advance” from such Lender in satisfaction of its Participation Commitment in respect of the applicable Letter of Credit under this Section 2.14.

(e) Each applicable Lender’s Participation Commitment in respect of the Letters of Credit shall continue until the last to occur of any of the following events: (x) Issuer ceases to be obligated to issue or cause to be issued Letters of Credit hereunder; (y) no Letter of Credit issued or created hereunder remains outstanding and uncancelled; and (z) all Persons (other than Borrowers) have been fully reimbursed for all payments made under or relating to Letters of Credit.

2.15. Repayment of Participation Advances.

(a) Upon (and only upon) receipt by Administrative Agent for the account of Issuer of immediately available funds from Borrowers (i) in reimbursement of any payment made by Issuer or Administrative Agent under the Letter of Credit with respect to which any Lender has made a Participation Advance to Administrative Agent, or (ii) in payment of interest on such a payment made by Issuer or Administrative Agent under such a Letter of Credit, Administrative Agent will pay to each Lender holding a Revolving Commitment, in the same funds as those received by Administrative Agent, the amount of such Lender’s Revolving Commitment Percentage of such funds, except Administrative Agent shall retain the amount of the Revolving Commitment Percentage of such funds of any Lender holding a Revolving Commitment that did not make a Participation Advance in respect of such payment by Administrative Agent (and, to the extent that any of the other Lender(s) holding the Revolving Commitment have funded any portion such Defaulting Lender’s Participation Advance in accordance with the provisions of Section 2.22, Administrative Agent will pay over to such Non-Defaulting Lenders a pro rata portion of the funds so withheld from such Defaulting Lender).

(b) If Issuer or Administrative Agent is required at any time to return to any Borrower, or to a trustee, receiver, liquidator, custodian, or any official in any insolvency proceeding, any portion of the payments made by Borrowers to Issuer or Administrative Agent pursuant to Section 2.15(a) in reimbursement of a payment made under the Letter of Credit or interest or fee thereon, each applicable Lender shall, on demand of Administrative Agent, forthwith return to Issuer or Administrative Agent the amount of its Revolving Commitment Percentage of any amounts so returned by Issuer or Administrative Agent plus interest at the Federal Funds Effective Rate.

2.16. Documentation . Each Borrower agrees to be bound by the terms of the Letter of Credit Application and by Issuer’s interpretations of any Letter of Credit issued on behalf of such Borrower and by Issuer’s written regulations and customary practices relating to letters of credit, though Issuer’s interpretations may be different from such Borrower’s own. In the event of a

 

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conflict between the Letter of Credit Application and this Agreement, this Agreement shall govern. It is understood and agreed that, except in the case of gross negligence or willful misconduct (as determined by a court of competent jurisdiction in a final non-appealable judgment), Issuer shall not be liable for any error, negligence and/or mistakes, whether of omission or commission, in following Borrowing Agent’s or any Borrower’s instructions or those contained in the Letters of Credit or any modifications, amendments or supplements thereto.

2.17. Determination to Honor Drawing Request . In determining whether to honor any request for drawing under any Letter of Credit by the beneficiary thereof, Issuer shall be responsible only to determine that the documents and certificates required to be delivered under such Letter of Credit have been delivered and that they comply on their face with the requirements of such Letter of Credit and that any other drawing condition appearing on the face of such Letter of Credit has been satisfied in the manner so set forth.

2.18. Nature of Participation and Reimbursement Obligations . The obligation of each Lender holding a Revolving Commitment in accordance with this Agreement to make the Revolving Advances or Participation Advances as a result of a drawing under a Letter of Credit, and the obligations of Borrowers to reimburse Issuer upon a draw under a Letter of Credit, shall be absolute, unconditional and irrevocable, and shall be performed strictly in accordance with the terms of this Section 2.18 under all circumstances, including the following circumstances:

(i) any set-off, counterclaim, recoupment, defense or other right which such Lender or any Borrower, as the case may be, may have against Issuer, Administrative Agent, any Borrower or Lender, as the case may be, or any other Person for any reason whatsoever;

(ii) the failure of any Borrower or any other Person to comply, in connection with a Letter of Credit Borrowing, with the conditions set forth in this Agreement for the making of a Revolving Advance, it being acknowledged that such conditions are not required for the making of a Letter of Credit Borrowing and the obligation of Lenders to make Participation Advances under Section 2.14;

(iii) any lack of validity or enforceability of any Letter of Credit;

(iv) any claim of breach of warranty that might be made by any Borrower, Administrative Agent, Issuer or any Lender against the beneficiary of a Letter of Credit, or the existence of any claim, set-off, recoupment, counterclaim, cross-claim, defense or other right which any Borrower, Administrative Agent, Issuer or any Lender may have at any time against a beneficiary, any successor beneficiary or any transferee of any Letter of Credit or assignee of the proceeds thereof (or any Persons for whom any such transferee or assignee may be acting), Issuer, Administrative Agent or any Lender or any other Person, whether in connection with this Agreement, the transactions contemplated herein or any unrelated transaction (including any underlying transaction between any Borrower or any Subsidiaries of such Borrower and the beneficiary for which any Letter of Credit was procured);

 

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(v) the lack of power or authority of any signer of (or any defect in or forgery of any signature or endorsement on) or the form of or lack of validity, sufficiency, accuracy, enforceability or genuineness of any draft, demand, instrument, certificate or other document presented under or in connection with any Letter of Credit, or any fraud or alleged fraud in connection with any Letter of Credit, or the transport of any property or provision of services relating to a Letter of Credit, in each case even if Issuer or any of Issuer’s Affiliates has been notified thereof;

(vi) payment by Issuer under any Letter of Credit against presentation of a demand, draft or certificate or other document which is forged or does not fully comply with the terms of such Letter of Credit (provided that the foregoing shall not excuse Issuer from any obligation under the terms of any applicable Letter of Credit to require the presentation of documents that on their face appear to satisfy any applicable requirements for drawing under such Letter of Credit prior to honoring or paying any such draw);

(vii) the solvency of, or any acts or omissions by, any beneficiary of any Letter of Credit, or any other Person having a role in any transaction or obligation relating to a Letter of Credit, or the existence, nature, quality, quantity, condition, value or other characteristic of any property or services relating to a Letter of Credit;

(viii) any failure by Issuer or any of Issuer’s Affiliates to issue any Letter of Credit in the form requested by Borrowing Agent, unless Administrative Agent and Issuer have each received written notice from Borrowing Agent of such failure within three (3) Business Days after Issuer shall have furnished Administrative Agent and Borrowing Agent a copy of such Letter of Credit and such error is material and no drawing has been made thereon prior to receipt of such notice;

(ix) the occurrence of any Material Adverse Effect;

(x) any breach of this Agreement or any Other Document by any party thereto;

(xi) the occurrence or continuance of an insolvency proceeding with respect to any Borrower or any Guarantor;

(xii) the fact that a Default or an Event of Default shall have occurred and be continuing;

(xiii) the fact that the Term shall have expired or this Agreement or the obligations of Lenders to make Advances have been terminated; and

(xiv) any other circumstance or happening whatsoever, whether or not similar to any of the foregoing.

2.19. Liability for Acts and Omissions.

(a) As between Borrowers and Issuer, Swing Loan Lender, Administrative Agent and Lenders, each Borrower assumes all risks of the acts and omissions of, or misuse of

 

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the Letters of Credit by, the respective beneficiaries of such Letters of Credit. In furtherance and not in limitation of the foregoing, Issuer shall not be responsible for: (i) the form, validity, sufficiency, accuracy, genuineness or legal effect of any document submitted by any party in connection with the application for an issuance of any such Letter of Credit, even if it should in fact prove to be in any or all respects invalid, insufficient, inaccurate, fraudulent or forged (even if Issuer or any of its Affiliates shall have been notified thereof); (ii) the validity or sufficiency of any instrument transferring or assigning or purporting to transfer or assign any such 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; (iii) the failure of the beneficiary of any such Letter of Credit, or any other party to which such Letter of Credit may be transferred, to comply fully with any conditions required in order to draw upon such Letter of Credit or any other claim of any Borrower against any beneficiary of such Letter of Credit, or any such transferee, or any dispute between or among any Borrower and any beneficiary of any Letter of Credit or any such transferee; (iv) errors, omissions, interruptions or delays in transmission or delivery of any messages, by mail, cable, facsimile, telex or otherwise, whether or not they be in cipher; (v) errors in interpretation of technical terms; (vi) any loss or delay in the transmission or otherwise of any document required in order to make a drawing under any such Letter of Credit or of the proceeds thereof; (vii) the misapplication by the beneficiary of any such Letter of Credit of the proceeds of any drawing under such Letter of Credit; or (viii) any consequences arising from causes beyond the control of Issuer, including any Governmental Acts, and none of the above shall affect or impair, or prevent the vesting of, any of Issuer’s rights or powers hereunder. Nothing in the preceding sentence shall relieve Issuer from liability for Issuer’s gross negligence or willful misconduct (as determined by a court of competent jurisdiction in a final non-appealable judgment) in connection with actions or omissions described in such clauses (i) through (viii) of such sentence. In no event shall Issuer or Issuer’s Affiliates be liable to any Borrower for any indirect, consequential, incidental, punitive, exemplary or special damages or expenses (including without limitation attorneys’ fees), or for any damages resulting from any change in the value of any property relating to a Letter of Credit.

(b) Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, Issuer and each of its Affiliates: (i) may rely on any oral or other communication believed in good faith by Issuer or such Affiliate to have been authorized or given by or on behalf of the applicant for a Letter of Credit; (ii) may honor any presentation if the documents presented appear on their face substantially to comply with the terms and conditions of the relevant Letter of Credit; (iii) may honor a previously dishonored presentation under a Letter of Credit, whether such dishonor was pursuant to a court order, to settle or compromise any claim of wrongful dishonor, or otherwise, and shall be entitled to reimbursement to the same extent as if such presentation had initially been honored, together with any interest paid by Issuer or its Affiliates; (iv) may honor any drawing that is payable upon presentation of a statement advising negotiation or payment, upon receipt of such statement (even if such statement indicates that a draft or other document is being delivered separately), and shall not be liable for any failure of any such draft or other document to arrive, or to conform in any way with the relevant Letter of Credit; (v) may pay any paying or negotiating bank claiming that it rightfully honored under the laws or practices of the place where such bank is located; and (vi) may settle or adjust any claim or demand made on Issuer or its Affiliate in any way related to any order issued at the applicant’s request to an air carrier, a letter of guarantee or of indemnity issued to a steamship agent or carrier or any document or

 

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instrument of like import (each an “ Order ”) and honor any drawing in connection with any Letter of Credit that is the subject of such Order, notwithstanding that any drafts or other documents presented in connection with such Letter of Credit fail to conform in any way with such Letter of Credit.

(c) In furtherance and extension and not in limitation of the specific provisions set forth above, any action taken or omitted by Issuer under or in connection with the Letters of Credit issued by it or any documents and certificates delivered thereunder, if taken or omitted in good faith and without gross negligence or willful misconduct (as determined by a court of competent jurisdiction in a final non-appealable judgment), shall not put Issuer under any resulting liability to any Borrower, Administrative Agent or any Lender.

2.20. Mandatory and Optional Prepayments .

(a) When any Loan Party sells or otherwise disposes of any Collateral other than (i) Inventory in the Ordinary Course of Business, (ii) pursuant to a “Permitted Disposition” or (iii) pursuant to a transaction permitted by Section 7.1(a), Loan Parties shall repay the Advances in an amount equal to the Net Proceeds of such sale (i.e., gross proceeds less the reasonable direct costs of such sales or other dispositions), such repayments to be made promptly but in no event more than one (1) Business Day (or three (3) Business Days in the case of a disposition of any Collateral in an amount less than $100,000) following receipt of such Net Proceeds, and until the date of payment, such proceeds shall be held in trust for Agents. The foregoing shall not be deemed to be implied consent to any such sale otherwise prohibited by the terms and conditions hereof. Such repayments shall be applied (x) first, to the outstanding principal installments of the Term Loan A in the inverse order of the maturities thereof until the Term Loan A is paid in full, (y) second, to the outstanding principal installments of the Term Loan B in the inverse order of the maturities thereof until the Term Loan B is paid in full and (z) third, to the remaining Advances (including cash collateralization of all Obligations relating to any outstanding Letters of Credit in accordance with the provisions of Section 3.2(b); provided, however that if no Default or Event of Default has occurred and is continuing, such repayments shall be applied to cash collateralize any Obligations related to outstanding Letters of Credit last) in such order as Administrative Agent may determine, subject to Borrowers’ ability to reborrow Revolving Advances in accordance with the terms hereof.

(b) Borrowers shall prepay the outstanding amount of the Advances in an amount equal to (I) if as of the end of such fiscal quarter, the Leverage Ratio is less than 2.50 to 1.00, zero percent (0%), (II) if as of the end of such fiscal quarter, the Leverage Ratio is equal to or greater than 2.50 to 1.00 but less than 2.75 to 1.00, fifty percent (50%), and (III) if as of the

 

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end of such fiscal quarter, the Leverage Ratio is equal to or greater than 2.75 to 1.00, one hundred percent (100%), of Excess Cash Flow for each fiscal quarter commencing with the fiscal year ending December 31, 2014, payable upon delivery of the financial statements to Agents referred to in and required by Section 9.8 for such fiscal quarter but in any event not later than after the end of each such fiscal quarter, which amount shall be applied (x) first, to the outstanding principal installments of the Term Loan A in the inverse order of the maturities thereof until the Term Loan A is paid in full, and (y) second, to the outstanding principal installments of the Term Loan B in the inverse order of the maturities thereof until the Term Loan B is paid in full; provided , however that if no Default or Event of Default has occurred and is continuing, such repayments shall be applied to cash collateralize any Obligations related to outstanding Letters of Credit last) in such order as Administrative Agent may determine subject to Borrowers’ ability to reborrow Revolving Advances in accordance with the terms hereof. In the event that the financial statements are not so delivered, then a calculation based upon estimated amounts shall be made by Administrative Agent upon which calculation Borrowers shall make the prepayment required by this Section 2.20(b), subject to adjustment when the financial statements are delivered to Agents as required hereby. The calculation made by Administrative Agent shall not be deemed a waiver of any rights any Agent or Lenders may have as a result of the failure by Borrowers to deliver such financial statements.

(c) In the event of any issuance or other incurrence of Indebtedness by any Loan Party that is not permitted under Section 7.8 of this Agreement, such Loan Party shall, no later than one (1) Business Day after the receipt by such Loan Party of the cash proceeds from any such issuance or incurrence of Indebtedness, repay the Advances in an amount equal to one hundred percent (100%) of such cash proceeds in the case of such incurrence or issuance of Indebtedness. Such repayments shall be applied (x) first, to the outstanding principal installments of the Term Loan A in the inverse order of the maturities thereof until the Term Loan A is paid in full, (x) second, to the outstanding principal installments of the Term Loan B in the inverse order of the maturities thereof until the Term Loan B is paid in full and (z) third, to the remaining Advances (including cash collateralization of all Obligations relating to any outstanding Letters of Credit in accordance with the provisions of Section 3.2(b).

(d) All proceeds received by any Loan Party or any Agent (i) under any insurance policy on account of damage or destruction of any assets or property of any Borrowers, or (ii) as a result of any taking or condemnation of any assets or property shall be applied in accordance with Section 6.6 hereof. Notwithstanding the foregoing, and provided no Event of Default has occurred and is continuing, such application shall not be required to the extent such proceeds are held in a deposit account in which the Administrative Agent has a perfected first-priority security interest and a Loan Party reinvests (or enters into a legally binding commitment to reinvest) such Net Cash Proceeds in assets (other than Inventory) of a kind then used or usable in a similar business or business permitted under Section 7.9, within one hundred eighty (180) days after the date of receipt of such Net Cash Proceeds, which assets (unless the same constitute Excluded Property) are subject to Administrative Agent’s first priority security interest (subject only to Permitted Encumbrances).

(e) The Borrowers may, at any time and from time to time, prepay any Term Loan, in whole or in part, in minimum amounts of $1,000,000, upon notice by the Borrowing Agent to the Administrative Agent (or the Term Loan B Agent in the case of the Term Loan B)

 

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specifying the date and amount of such prepayment. Such repayments shall be applied (x) first, to the outstanding principal installments of the Term Loan A in the inverse order of the maturities thereof until the Term Loan A is paid in full, and (x) second, to the outstanding principal installments of the Term Loan B in the inverse order of the maturities thereof until the Term Loan B is paid in full.

2.21. Use of Proceeds.

(a) Borrowers shall apply the proceeds of Advances to (i) make distributions and fund other payments pursuant to the Plan of Reorganization (the “ POR Distributions ”), (ii) pay fees and expenses relating to this transaction, (iii) provide for its ongoing working capital needs and general corporate purposes and (iv) partially fund capital expenditures and Permitted Acquisitions. Borrowers shall not use the proceeds of any Revolving Advance to prepay any Term Loan.

(b) Without limiting the generality of Section 2.21(a) above, neither the Borrowers, the Guarantors nor any other Person which may in the future become party to this Agreement or the Other Documents as a Borrower or Guarantor, intends to use nor shall they use any portion of the proceeds of the Advances, directly or indirectly, for any purpose in violation of Applicable Law.

2.22. Defaulting Lender.

(a) Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained herein, in the event any Revolving Lender is a Defaulting Lender, all rights and obligations hereunder of such Defaulting Lender and of the other parties hereto shall be modified to the extent of the express provisions of this Section 2.22 so long as such Revolving Lender is a Defaulting Lender.

(b) (i) except as otherwise expressly provided for in this Section 2.22, Revolving Advances shall be made pro rata from Revolving Lenders which are not Defaulting Lenders based on their respective Revolving Commitment Percentages, and no Revolving Commitment Percentage of any Revolving Lender or any pro rata share of any Revolving Advances required to be advanced by any Revolving Lender shall be increased as a result of any Revolving Lender being a Defaulting Lender. Amounts received in respect of principal of any type of Revolving Advances shall be applied to reduce such type of Revolving Advances of each Revolving Lender (other than any Defaulting Lender) in accordance with their Revolving Commitment Percentages; provided , that, Administrative Agent shall not be obligated to transfer to a Defaulting Lender any payments received by Administrative Agent for Defaulting Lender’s benefit, nor shall a Defaulting Lender be entitled to the sharing of any payments hereunder (including any principal, interest or fees). Amounts payable to a Defaulting Lender shall instead be paid to or retained by Administrative Agent. Administrative Agent may hold and, in its discretion, re-lend to a Borrower the amount of such payments received or retained by it for the account of such Defaulting Lender.

(ii) fees pursuant to Section 3.3(b) hereof shall cease to accrue in favor of such Defaulting Lender.

 

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(iii) if any Swing Loans are outstanding or any Letters of Credit (or drawings under any Letter of Credit for which Issuer has not been reimbursed) are outstanding or exist at the time any such Revolving Lender becomes a Defaulting Lender, then:

(A) Defaulting Lender’s Participation Commitment in the outstanding Swing Loans and of the Maximum Undrawn Amount of all outstanding Letters of Credit shall be reallocated among Non-Defaulting Lenders holding Revolving Commitments in proportion to the respective Revolving Commitment Percentages of such Non-Defaulting Lenders to the extent (but only to the extent) that (x) such reallocation does not cause the aggregate sum of outstanding Revolving Advances made by any such Non-Defaulting Lender holding a Revolving Commitment plus such Revolving Lender’s reallocated Participation Commitment in the outstanding Swing Loans plus such Revolving Lender’s reallocated Participation Commitment in the aggregate Maximum Undrawn Amount of all outstanding Letters of Credit to exceed the Revolving Commitment Amount of any such Non-Defaulting Lender, and (y) no Default or Event of Default has occurred and is continuing at such time;

(B) if the reallocation described in clause (A) above cannot, or can only partially, be effected, Borrowers shall within one (1) Business Day following notice by Administrative Agent (x) first, prepay any outstanding Swing Loans that cannot be reallocated, and (y) second, cash collateralize for the benefit of Issuer, Borrowers’ obligations corresponding to such Defaulting Lender’s Participation Commitment in the Maximum Undrawn Amount of all Letters of Credit (after giving effect to any partial reallocation pursuant to clause (A) above) in accordance with Section 3.2(b) for so long as such Obligations are outstanding;

(C) if Borrowers cash collateralize any portion of such Defaulting Lender’s Participation Commitment in the Maximum Undrawn Amount of all Letters of Credit pursuant to clause (B) above, Borrowers shall not be required to pay any fees to such Defaulting Lender pursuant to Section 3.2(a) with respect to such Defaulting Lender’s Revolving Commitment Percentage of Maximum Undrawn Amount of all Letters of Credit during the period such Defaulting Lender’s Participation Commitment in the Maximum Undrawn Amount of all Letters of Credit are cash collateralized;

(D) if Defaulting Lender’s Participation Commitment in the Maximum Undrawn Amount of all Letters of Credit is reallocated pursuant to clause (A) above, then the fees payable to Revolving Lenders pursuant to Section 3.2(a) shall be adjusted and reallocated to Non-Defaulting Lenders holding Revolving Commitments in accordance with such reallocation; and

(E) if all or any portion of such Defaulting Lender’s Participation Commitment in the Maximum Undrawn Amount of all Letters of Credit is neither reallocated nor cash collateralized pursuant to clauses (A) or (B) above, then, without prejudice to any rights or remedies of Issuer or any other Revolving Lender hereunder, all Letter of Credit Fees payable under Section 3.2(a) with respect to such Defaulting Lender’s Revolving Commitment Percentage of the Maximum Undrawn Amount of all Letters of Credit shall be payable to the Issuer (and not to such Defaulting Lender) until (and then only to the extent that) such Participation Commitment in the Maximum Undrawn Amount of all Letters of Credit is reallocated and/or cash collateralized; and

 

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(iv) so long as any Revolving Lender holding a Revolving Commitment is a Defaulting Lender, Swing Loan Lender shall not be required to fund any Swing Loans and Issuer shall not be required to issue, amend or increase any Letter of Credit, unless such Issuer is satisfied that the related exposure and Defaulting Lender’s Participation Commitment in the Maximum Undrawn Amount of all Letters of Credit and all Swing Loans (after giving effect to any such issuance, amendment, increase or funding) will be fully allocated to Non-Defaulting Lenders holding Revolving Commitments and/or cash collateral for such Letters of Credit will be provided by Borrowers in accordance with clause (A) and (B) above, and participating interests in any newly made Swing Loan or any newly issued or increased Letter of Credit shall be allocated among Non-Defaulting Lenders in a manner consistent with Section 2.22(b)(iii)(A) above (and such Defaulting Lender shall not participate therein).

(c) A Defaulting Lender shall not be entitled to give instructions to Administrative Agent or to approve, disapprove, consent to or vote on any matters relating to this Agreement and the Other Documents, and all amendments, waivers and other modifications of this Agreement and the Other Documents may be made without regard to a Defaulting Lender and, for purposes of the definition of “Required Lenders”, a Defaulting Lender shall not be deemed to be a Lender, to have any outstanding Advances or a Revolving Commitment Percentage; provided , that this clause (c) shall not apply to the vote of a Defaulting Lender in the case of an amendment, waiver or other modification described in clauses (i) or (ii) of Section 17.2(b).

(d) Other than as expressly set forth in this Section 2.22, the rights and obligations of a Defaulting Lender (including the obligation to indemnify Administrative Agent) and the other parties hereto shall remain unchanged. Nothing in this Section 2.22 shall be deemed to release any Defaulting Lender from its obligations under this Agreement and the Other Documents, shall alter such obligations, shall operate as a waiver of any default by such Defaulting Lender hereunder, or shall prejudice any rights which any Borrower, Administrative Agent or any Lender may have against any Defaulting Lender as a result of any default by such Defaulting Lender hereunder.

(e) In the event that Administrative Agent, Borrowers, Swing Loan Lender and Issuer agree in writing that a Defaulting Lender has adequately remedied all matters that caused such Revolving Lender to be a Defaulting Lender, then Administrative Agent will so notify the parties hereto, and, if such cured Defaulting Lender is a Revolving Lender, then Participation Commitments of Revolving Lenders (including such cured Defaulting Lender) of the Swing Loans and Maximum Undrawn Amount of all outstanding Letters of Credit shall be reallocated to reflect the inclusion of such Revolving Lender’s Revolving Commitment, and on such date such Revolving Lender shall purchase at par such of the Revolving Advances of the other Revolving Lenders as Administrative Agent shall determine may be necessary in order for such Lender to hold such Revolving Advances in accordance with its Revolving Commitment Percentage.

(f) If Swing Loan Lender or Issuer has a good faith belief that any Revolving Lender has defaulted in fulfilling its obligations under one or more other agreements in which such Revolving Lender commits to extend credit, Swing Loan Lender shall not be required to fund any Swing Loans and Issuer shall not be required to issue, amend or increase any Letter of

 

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Credit, unless Swing Loan Lender or Issuer, as the case may be, shall have entered into arrangements with Borrowers or such Revolving Lender, reasonably satisfactory to Swing Loan Lender or Issuer, as the case may be, to defease any risk to it in respect of such Revolving Lender hereunder.

2.23. Payment of Obligations . Administrative Agent may charge to Borrowers’ Account as a Revolving Advance or, at the discretion of Swing Loan Lender, as a Swing Loan (i) all payments with respect to any of the Obligations required hereunder (including without limitation principal payments, payments of interest, payments of Letter of Credit Fees and all other fees provided for hereunder and payments under Sections 16.5 and 16.9) as and when each such payment shall become due and payable (whether as regularly scheduled, upon or after acceleration, upon maturity or otherwise), (ii) without limiting the generality of the foregoing clause (i), (a) all amounts expended by any Agent or any Lender pursuant to Sections 4.2 or 4.3 hereof and (b) all expenses which any Agent incurs in connection with the forwarding of Advance proceeds and the establishment and maintenance of any Blocked Accounts, Concentration Accounts or Depository Accounts as provided for in Section 4.8(h), and (iii) any sums expended by any Agent or any Lender due to any Borrower’s failure to perform or comply with its obligations under this Agreement or any Other Document including any Borrower’s obligations under Sections 3.3, 3.4, 4.4, 4.7, 6.4, 6.6, 6.7 and 6.8 hereof, and all amounts so charged shall be added to the Obligations and shall be secured by the Collateral. To the extent Revolving Advances are not actually funded by the other Lenders in respect of any such amounts so charged, all such amounts so charged shall be deemed to be Revolving Advances made by and owing to Administrative Agent and Administrative Agent shall be entitled to all rights (including accrual of interest) and remedies of a Lender under this Agreement and the Other Documents with respect to such Revolving Advances.

III. INTEREST AND FEES.

3.1. Interest . Interest on Advances shall be payable to the applicable Lender in arrears on the first day of each month with respect to Domestic Rate Loans and, with respect to LIBOR Rate Loans, at the end of each Interest Period; provided, however, that interest on Term Loan B shall be payable on the first day of each Interest Period; provided , further that all accrued and unpaid interest shall be due and payable at the end of the Term. Interest charges shall be computed on the actual principal amount of Advances outstanding during the month at a rate per annum equal to (i) with respect to Revolving Advances, the applicable Revolving Interest Rate, (ii) with respect to Swing Loans, the Revolving Interest Rate for Domestic Rate Loans, (iii) with respect to the Term Loan A, the Term Loan A Rate and (iii) with respect to the Term Loan B, the Term Loan B Rate (as applicable, the “ Contract Rate ”). Except as expressly provided otherwise in this Agreement, any Obligations other than the Advances that are not paid when due shall accrue interest at the Revolving Interest Rate for Domestic Rate Loans, subject to the provision of the final sentence of this Section 3.1 regarding the Default Rate. Whenever, subsequent to the date of this Agreement, the Alternate Base Rate is increased or decreased, the applicable Contract Rate shall be similarly changed without notice or demand of any kind by an amount equal to the amount of such change in the Alternate Base Rate during the time such change or changes remain in effect. The LIBOR Rate shall be adjusted with respect to LIBOR Rate Loans without notice or demand of any kind on the effective date of any change in the Reserve Percentage as of such effective date. Upon and after the occurrence of an Event of Default, and

 

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during the continuation thereof, (i) with respect to the Advances (other than the Term Loan B), at the option of Administrative Agent or at the direction of Required Lenders holding Revolving Commitments (or, in the case of any Event of Default under Section 10.7, immediately and automatically upon the occurrence of any such Event of Default without the requirement of any affirmative action by any party), the Obligations (other than relating to Term Loan B) shall bear interest at the applicable Contract Rate plus two percent (2%) per annum and (ii) with respect to the Term Loan B, at the option of Term Loan B Agent or at the direction of Required Lenders holding Term Loan B Commitments (or, in the case of any Event of Default under Section 10.7, immediately and automatically upon the occurrence of any such Event of Default without the requirement of any affirmative action by any party), the Obligations relating solely to Term Loan B shall bear interest at the applicable Contract Rate plus two percent (2%) per annum (as applicable, the “ Default Rate ”).

3.2. Letter of Credit Fees.

(a) Borrowers shall pay (x) to Administrative Agent, for the ratable benefit of Lenders holding Revolving Commitments, fees for each Letter of Credit for the period from and excluding the date of issuance of same to and including the date of expiration or termination, equal to the average daily face amount of each outstanding Letter of Credit multiplied by the Applicable Margin for Revolving Advances consisting of LIBOR Rate Loans, such fees to be calculated on the basis of a 360-day year for the actual number of days elapsed and to be payable quarterly in arrears on the first day of each calendar quarter and on the last day of the Term, and (y) to Issuer, a fronting fee of one quarter of one percent (0.25%) per annum times the average daily face amount of each outstanding Letter of Credit for the period from and excluding the date of issuance of same to and including the date of expiration or termination, to be payable quarterly in arrears on the first day of each calendar quarter and on the last day of the Term. (all of the foregoing fees, the “ Letter of Credit Fees ”). In addition, Borrowers shall pay to Administrative Agent any and all customary administrative, issuance, amendment, payment and negotiation charges with respect to Letters of Credit and all fees and expenses as agreed upon by Issuer and the Borrowing Agent in connection with any Letter of Credit, including in connection with the opening, amendment or renewal of any such Letter of Credit and any acceptances created thereunder, all such charges, fees and expenses, if any, to be payable on demand. All such charges shall be deemed earned in full on the date when the same are due and payable hereunder and shall not be subject to rebate or pro-ration upon the termination of this Agreement for any reason. Any such charge in effect at the time of a particular transaction shall be the charge for that transaction, notwithstanding any subsequent change in Issuer’s prevailing charges for that type of transaction. Upon and after the occurrence of an Event of Default, and during the continuation thereof, at the option of Administrative Agent or at the direction of Required Lenders (or, in the case of any Event of Default under Section 10.7, immediately and automatically upon the occurrence of any such Event of Default without the requirement of any affirmative action by any party), the Letter of Credit Fees described in clause (x) of this Section 3.2(a) shall be increased by an additional two percent (2.0%) per annum.

(b) At any time following the occurrence and continuation of an Event of Default, at the option of Administrative Agent or at the direction of Required Lenders (or, in the case of any Event of Default under Section 10.7, immediately and automatically upon the occurrence and continuation of such Event of Default, without the requirement of any affirmative

 

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action by any party), or upon the expiration of the Term or any other termination of this Agreement (and also, if applicable, in connection with any mandatory prepayment under Section 2.20), Borrowers will cause cash to be deposited and maintained in an account with Administrative Agent, as cash collateral, in an amount equal to one hundred and five percent (105%) of the Maximum Undrawn Amount of all outstanding Letters of Credit, and each Borrower hereby irrevocably authorizes Administrative Agent, in its reasonable discretion, on such Borrower’s behalf and in such Borrower’s name, to open such an account and to make and maintain deposits therein, or in an account opened by such Borrower, in the amounts required to be made by such Borrower, out of the proceeds of Receivables or other Collateral or out of any other funds of such Borrower coming into any Lender’s possession at any time. Administrative Agent may, in its discretion, invest such cash collateral (less applicable reserves) in such short-term money-market items as to which Administrative Agent and such Borrower mutually agree (or, in the absence of such agreement, as Administrative Agent may reasonably select) and the net return on such investments shall be credited to such account and constitute additional cash collateral, or Administrative Agent may (notwithstanding the foregoing) establish the account provided for under this Section 3.2(b) as a non-interest bearing account and in such case Administrative Agent shall have no obligation (and Borrowers hereby waive any claim) under Article 9 of the Uniform Commercial Code or under any other Applicable Law to pay interest on such cash collateral being held by Administrative Agent. No Borrower may withdraw amounts credited to any such account except upon the occurrence of all of the following: (x) payment and performance in full of all Obligations; (y) expiration of all Letters of Credit; and (z) termination of this Agreement. Borrowers hereby assign, pledge and grant to Administrative Agent, for its benefit and the ratable benefit of Issuer, Lenders and each other Secured Party, a continuing security interest in and to and Lien on any such cash collateral and any right, title and interest of Borrowers in any deposit account, securities account or investment account into which such cash collateral may be deposited from time to time to secure the Obligations, specifically including all Obligations with respect to any Letters of Credit. Borrowers agree that upon the coming due of any Reimbursement Obligations (or any other Obligations, including Obligations for Letter of Credit Fees) with respect to the Letters of Credit, Administrative Agent may use such cash collateral to pay and satisfy such Obligations.

3.3. Facility Fee.

(a) If, for any calendar quarter during the Term, the average daily unpaid balance of the sum of Revolving Advances (for purposes of this computation, Swing Loans shall be deemed to be Revolving Advances made by PNC as a Lender) plus Swing Loans plus the Maximum Undrawn Amount of all outstanding Letters of Credit for each day of such calendar quarter does not equal the Maximum Revolving Advance Amount, then Borrowers shall pay to Administrative Agent, for the ratable benefit of Lenders holding the Revolving Commitments based on their Revolving Commitment Percentages, a fee at a rate equal to one-half of one percent (0.50%) per annum on the amount by which the Maximum Revolving Advance Amount exceeds such average daily unpaid balance (the “ Facility Fee ”). Such Facility Fee shall be payable to Administrative Agent in arrears on the first day of each calendar quarter with respect to the previous calendar quarter.

 

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3.4. Fee Letter .

(a) Borrowers shall pay the amounts required to be paid in the Fee Letter in the manner and at the times required by the Fee Letter.

(b) All of the documented fees and out-of-pocket costs and expenses of any appraisals and field examinations conducted pursuant to Section 4.7 hereof shall be paid for when due, in full and without deduction, off-set or counterclaim by Borrowers.

3.5. Computation of Interest and Fees . Interest and fees hereunder shall be computed on the basis of a year of 360 days and for the actual number of days elapsed in the period during which the interest or fees accrue. If any payment to be made hereunder becomes due and payable on a day other than a Business Day, the due date thereof shall be extended to the next succeeding Business Day and interest thereon shall be payable at the applicable Contract Rate during such extension.

3.6. Maximum Charges . In no event whatsoever shall interest and other charges charged hereunder, plus any other amounts paid in connection herewith, exceed the highest rate permissible under Applicable Law. Notwithstanding anything contained herein to the contrary, in the event interest and other charges as computed hereunder would otherwise exceed the highest rate permitted under Applicable Law: (i) the interest rates hereunder will be reduced to the maximum rate permitted under Applicable Law; (ii) such excess amount shall be first applied to any unpaid principal balance owed by Borrowers; and (iii) if the then remaining excess amount is greater than the previously unpaid principal balance, Lenders shall promptly refund such excess amount to Borrowers and the provisions hereof shall be deemed amended to provide for such permissible rate.

3.7. Increased Costs. In the event that any Applicable Law or any Change in Law or compliance by any Lender (for purposes of this Section 3.7, the term “Lender” shall include any Agent, Swing Loan Lender, any Issuer or Lender and any corporation or bank controlling any Agent, Swing Loan Lender, any Lender or Issuer and the office or branch where any Agent, Swing Loan Lender, any Lender or Issuer (as so defined) makes or maintains any LIBOR Rate Loans) with any request or directive (whether or not having the force of law) from any central bank or other financial, monetary or other authority, shall:

(a) subject any Agent, Swing Loan Lender, any Lender or Issuer to any tax of any kind whatsoever with respect to this Agreement, any Letter of Credit, any participation in a Letter of Credit or any LIBOR Rate Loan, or change the basis of taxation of payments to any Agent, Swing Loan Lender, such Lender or Issuer in respect thereof (except for Indemnified Taxes or Other Taxes covered by Section 3.10 and the imposition of, or any change in the rate of, any Excluded Tax payable by such Agent, Swing Loan Lender, such Lender or the Issuer);

(b) impose, modify or deem applicable any reserve, special deposit, assessment, special deposit, compulsory loan, insurance charge or similar requirement against assets held by, or deposits in or for the account of, advances or loans by, or other credit extended by, any office of any Agent, Swing Loan Lender, Issuer or any Lender, including pursuant to Regulation D of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System; or

 

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(c) impose on any Agent, Swing Loan Lender, any Lender or Issuer or the London interbank LIBOR market any other condition, loss or expense (other than Taxes) affecting this Agreement or any Other Document or any Advance made by any Lender, or any Letter of Credit or participation therein;

and the result of any of the foregoing is to increase the cost to any Agent, Swing Loan Lender, any Lender or Issuer of making, converting to, continuing, renewing or maintaining its Advances hereunder by an amount that such Agent, Swing Loan Lender, such Lender or Issuer reasonably deems to be material or to reduce the amount of any payment (whether of principal, interest or otherwise) in respect of any of the Advances by an amount that such Agent, Swing Loan Lender or such Lender or Issuer deems to be material, then, in any case Borrowers shall promptly pay such Agent, Swing Loan Lender, such Lender or Issuer, upon its demand, such additional amount as will compensate such Agent, Swing Loan Lender or such Lender or Issuer for such additional cost or such reduction, as the case may be; provided that no Lender shall be entitled to compensation for any increased costs under this Section 3.7 if it shall not be the general policy or practice of such Lender to demand such compensation in similar circumstances and unless such demand is generally consistent with such Lender’s treatment of comparable borrowers of such Lender in the United States with respect to similarly affected commitments or loans. Such Agent, Swing Loan Lender, such Lender or Issuer shall certify the amount of such additional cost or reduced amount to Borrowing Agent, and such certification shall be conclusive absent manifest error.

3.8. Basis For Determining Interest Rate Inadequate or Unfair . In the event that any Agent or any Lender shall have reasonably determined that:

(a) reasonable means do not exist for ascertaining the LIBOR Rate applicable pursuant to Section 2.2 hereof for any Interest Period; or

(b) Dollar deposits in the relevant amount and for the relevant maturity are not available in the London interbank LIBOR market, with respect to an outstanding LIBOR Rate Loan, a proposed LIBOR Rate Loan, or a proposed conversion of a Domestic Rate Loan into a LIBOR Rate Loan; or

(c) the making, maintenance or funding of any LIBOR Rate Loan has been made impracticable or unlawful by compliance by any Agent or such Lender in good faith with any Applicable Law or any interpretation or application thereof by any Governmental Body or with any request or directive of any such Governmental Body (whether or not having the force of law),

then such Agent shall give Borrowing Agent prompt written or telephonic notice of such determination. If such notice is given, (i) any such requested LIBOR Rate Loan shall be made as a Domestic Rate Loan, unless Borrowing Agent shall notify Agents no later than 1:00 p.m. two (2) Business Days prior to the date of such proposed borrowing, that its request for such borrowing shall be cancelled or made as an unaffected type of LIBOR Rate Loan, (ii) any Domestic Rate Loan or LIBOR Rate Loan which was to have been converted to an affected type of LIBOR Rate Loan shall be continued as or converted into a Domestic Rate Loan, or, if Borrowing Agent shall notify Agents, no later than 1:00 p.m. two (2) Business Days prior to the

 

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proposed conversion, shall be maintained as an unaffected type of LIBOR Rate Loan, and (iii) any outstanding affected LIBOR Rate Loans shall be converted into a Domestic Rate Loan, or, if Borrowing Agent shall notify Agents, no later than 1:00 p.m. two (2) Business Days prior to the last Business Day of the then current Interest Period applicable to such affected LIBOR Rate Loan, shall be converted into an unaffected type of LIBOR Rate Loan, on the last Business Day of the then current Interest Period for such affected LIBOR Rate Loans (or sooner, if any Lender cannot continue to lawfully maintain such affected LIBOR Rate Loan). Until such notice has been withdrawn, Lenders shall have no obligation to make an affected type of LIBOR Rate Loan or maintain outstanding affected LIBOR Rate Loans and no Borrower shall have the right to convert a Domestic Rate Loan or an unaffected type of LIBOR Rate Loan into an affected type of LIBOR Rate Loan.

3.9. Capital Adequacy.

(a) In the event that any Agent, Swing Loan Lender or any Lender shall have determined that any Applicable Law or guideline regarding capital adequacy, or any Change in Law or any change in the interpretation or administration thereof by any Governmental Body, central bank or comparable agency charged with the interpretation or administration thereof, or compliance by any Agent, Swing Loan Lender, Issuer or any Lender (for purposes of this Section 3.9, the term “Lender” shall include any Agent, Swing Loan Lender, Issuer or any Lender and any corporation or bank controlling any Agent, Swing Loan Lender or any Lender and the office or branch where any Agent, Swing Loan Lender or any Lender (as so defined) makes or maintains any LIBOR Rate Loans) with any request or directive regarding capital adequacy (whether or not having the force of law) of any such authority, central bank or comparable agency, has or would have the effect of reducing the rate of return on any Agent, Swing Loan Lender or any Lender’s capital as a consequence of its obligations hereunder (including the making of any Swing Loans) to a level below that which any Agent, Swing Loan Lender or such Lender could have achieved but for such adoption, change or compliance (taking into consideration any Agent’s, Swing Loan Lender’s and each Lender’s policies with respect to capital adequacy) by an amount deemed by any Agent, Swing Loan Lender or any Lender to be material, then, from time to time, Borrowers shall pay upon demand to such Agent, Swing Loan Lender or such Lender such additional amount or amounts as will compensate such Agent, Swing Loan Lender or such Lender for such reduction. In determining such amount or amounts, such Agent, Swing Loan Lender or such Lender may use any reasonable averaging or attribution methods. The protection of this Section 3.9 shall be available to each Agent, Swing Loan Lender and each Lender regardless of any possible contention of invalidity or inapplicability with respect to the Applicable Law, rule, regulation, guideline or condition.

(b) A certificate of such Agent, Swing Loan Lender or such Lender setting forth such amount or amounts as shall be necessary to compensate such Agent, Swing Loan Lender or such Lender with respect to Section 3.9(a) hereof when delivered to Borrowing Agent shall be conclusive absent manifest error.

3.10. Taxes .

(a) Any and all payments by or on account of any Obligations hereunder or under any Other Document shall be made free and clear of and without reduction or withholding

 

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for any Indemnified Taxes or Other Taxes; provided that if Borrowers shall be required by Applicable Law to withhold or deduct any Indemnified Taxes (or Other Taxes) from such payments, then (i) the sum payable shall be increased as necessary so that after making all required withholdings or deductions (including those applicable to additional sums payable under this Section) any Agent, Swing Loan Lender, Lender, Issuer or Participant, as the case may be, receives an amount equal to the sum it would have received had no such deductions been made, (ii) Borrowers shall make such withholding or deductions and (iii) Borrowers shall timely pay the full amount withheld or deducted to the relevant Governmental Body in accordance with Applicable Law.

(b) Without limiting the provisions of Section 3.10(a) above, Borrowers shall timely pay any Other Taxes to the relevant Governmental Body in accordance with Applicable Law.

(c) Each Borrower shall indemnify each Agent, Swing Loan Lender, each Lender, Issuer and any Participant, within ten (10) days after demand therefor, for the full amount of any Indemnified Taxes or Other Taxes (including Indemnified Taxes or Other Taxes imposed or asserted on or attributable to amounts payable under this Section) payable or paid by such Agent, Swing Loan Lender, such Lender, Issuer, or such Participant, as the case may be, and any penalties, interest and reasonable expenses arising therefrom or with respect thereto, whether or not such Indemnified Taxes or Other Taxes were correctly or legally imposed or asserted by the relevant Governmental Body. A certificate as to the amount of such payment or liability delivered to Borrowers by any Lender, Swing Loan Lender, Participant, or Issuer (with a copy to Agents), or by any Agent on its own behalf or on behalf of Swing Loan Lender, a Lender or Issuer, shall be conclusive absent manifest error.

(d) As soon as practicable after any payment of Indemnified Taxes or Other Taxes by any Borrower to a Governmental Body, Borrowers shall deliver to Agents the original or a certified copy of a receipt issued by such Governmental Body evidencing such payment, a copy of the return reporting such payment or other evidence of such payment reasonably satisfactory to Agents.

(e) Any Lender that is entitled to an exemption from or reduction of withholding tax under the law of the jurisdiction in which any Borrower is resident for tax purposes, or under any treaty to which such jurisdiction is a party, with respect to payments hereunder or under any Other Document shall deliver to Borrowers (with a copy to Agents), at the time or times prescribed by Applicable Law or reasonably requested by Borrowers or any Agent, such properly completed and executed documentation prescribed by Applicable Law as will permit such payments to be made without withholding or at a reduced rate of withholding. In addition, any Lender, if requested by Borrowers or any Agent, shall deliver such other documentation prescribed by Applicable Law or reasonably requested by the Borrowers or such Agent as will enable Borrowers or such 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 documentation set forth in clauses (i), (ii), (iii) and (v) 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

 

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prejudice the legal or commercial position of such Lender. Notwithstanding the foregoing, each Lender shall deliver to Borrowers and Agents (in such number of copies as shall be requested by the recipient) on or prior to the date on which such Lender becomes a Lender under this Agreement (and from time to time thereafter upon the request of Borrowers or Agents, but only if such Lender (or other Lender) is legally entitled to do so), whichever of the following is applicable:

(i) two (2) duly completed valid originals of IRS Form W-8BEN claiming eligibility for benefits of an income tax treaty to which the United States of America is a party,

(ii) two (2) duly completed valid originals of IRS Form W-8ECI,

(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 to the effect that such Foreign Lender is not (A) a “bank” within the meaning of section 881(c)(3)(A) of the Code, (B) a “10 percent shareholder” of Borrowers within the meaning of section 881(c)(3)(B) of the Code, or (C) a “controlled foreign corporation” described in section 881(c)(3)(C) of the Code and (y) two duly completed valid originals of IRS Form W-8BEN,

(iv) any successor or additional form prescribed by Applicable Law as a basis for claiming exemption from or a reduction in United States Federal withholding tax duly completed together with such supplementary documentation as may be prescribed by Applicable Law to permit the Borrowers to determine the withholding or deduction required to be made, or

(v) To the extent that any Lender is not a Foreign Lender, such Lender shall submit to Agents two (2) originals of an IRS Form W-9 or any successor form establishing that the Lender is not a Foreign Lender and is not subject to U.S. backup withholding tax.

(f) If a payment made to a Lender, Swing Loan Lender, Participant, Issuer, or any Agent under this Agreement or any Other Document would be subject to U.S. Federal withholding Tax imposed by FATCA if such Person fails to comply with the applicable reporting requirements of FATCA (including those contained in Section 1471(b) or 1472(b) of the Code, as applicable), such Lender, Swing Loan Lender, Participant, Issuer, or such Agent shall deliver to such Agent (in the case of Swing Loan Lender, a Lender, Participant or Issuer) and Borrowers (A) a certification signed by the chief financial officer, principal accounting officer, treasurer or controller of such Person, and (B) other documentation reasonably requested by any Agent or any Borrower sufficient for Agents and Borrowers to comply with their obligations under FATCA and to determine that Swing Loan Lender, such Lender, Participant, Issuer, or such Agent has complied with such applicable reporting requirements.

3.11. Replacement of Lenders . If any Lender (an “ Affected Lender ”) (a) makes demand upon Borrowers for (or if Borrowers are otherwise required to pay) amounts pursuant to Section 3.7 or 3.9 hereof, (b) is unable to make or maintain LIBOR Rate Loans as a result of a condition described in Section 2.2(h) hereof, (c) is a Defaulting Lender, or (d) denies any consent requested by the Administrative Agent pursuant to Section 17.2(b) hereof, Borrowers may, within ninety (90) days of receipt of such demand, notice (or the occurrence of such other event

 

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causing Borrowers to be required to pay such compensation or causing Section 2.2(h) hereof to be applicable), or such Lender becoming a Defaulting Lender or denial of a request by Administrative Agent pursuant to Section 17.2(b) hereof, as the case may be, by notice in writing to the Agents and such Affected Lender (i) request the Affected Lender to cooperate with Borrowers in obtaining a replacement Lender satisfactory to Administrative Agent and Borrowers (the “ Replacement Lender ”); (ii) request the non-Affected Lenders to acquire and assume all of the Affected Lender’s Advances and its Revolving Commitment Percentage, Term Loan A Commitment Percentages and/or Term Loan B Commitment Percentages, as applicable, as provided herein, but none of such Lenders shall be under any obligation to do so; or (iii) propose a Replacement Lender subject to approval by Administrative Agent in its good faith business judgment. If any satisfactory Replacement Lender shall be obtained, and/or if any one or more of the non-Affected Lenders shall agree to acquire and assume all of the Affected Lender’s Advances and its Revolving Commitment Percentage, Term Loan A Commitment Percentages and/or Term Loan B Commitment Percentages, as applicable, then such Affected Lender shall assign, in accordance with Section 17.3 hereof, all of its Advances and its Revolving Commitment Percentage, Term Loan A Commitment Percentages and/or Term Loan B Commitment Percentages, as applicable, and other rights and obligations under this Loan Agreement and the Other Documents to such Replacement Lender or non-Affected Lenders, as the case may be, in exchange for payment of the principal amount so assigned and all interest and fees accrued on the amount so assigned, plus all other Obligations then due and payable to the Affected Lender. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in the foregoing, any replacement of any Term Loan B Lender shall require the consent of the Term Loan B Agent.

3.12. Mitigation . If any Agent or any Lender requests compensation under Section 3.7 or Section 3.9 or if Borrowers are required to pay any Indemnified Taxes or additional amounts pursuant to Section 3.10(a) to any Agent, Swing Loan Lender, Lender, Issuer or Participant, as the case may be, or any Governmental Authority for the account of any such Agent, Swing Loan Lender, Lender, Issuer or Participant, then such Agent, Swing Loan Lender, Lender, Issuer or Participant shall use reasonable efforts to designate a different lending office for funding or booking its loans hereunder or to assign its right and obligations hereunder (or, in the case of a Participant, its rights and obligations under any participation agreement) to another of its offices, branches or affiliates, if, in the reasonable judgment of such Agent, Swing Loan Lender, Lender, Issuer or Participant, such designation or assignment (i) would eliminate or reduce amounts payable pursuant to Section 3.7 or Section 3.10(a), in the future, (ii) would not subject such Lender to any unreimbursed cost or expense and would not otherwise be disadvantageous to such Lender, (iii) would not require such Agent or such Lender to take any action inconsistent with its internal policies or legal or regulatory restrictions, and (iv) would not otherwise be materially disadvantageous to such Agent or such Lender. Borrowers hereby agree to pay all reasonable costs and expenses incurred by any Lender in connection with any such designation or assignment.

IV. COLLATERAL: GENERAL TERMS

4.1. Security Interest in the Collateral . To secure the prompt payment and performance to Agents, Issuer and each Lender (and each other holder of any Obligations) of the Obligations, each Loan Party hereby assigns, pledges and grants to Administrative Agent for its benefit and for the ratable benefit of the Term Loan B Agent, each Lender, Issuer and each other

 

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Secured Party, a continuing security interest in and to and Lien on all of its Collateral, whether now owned or existing or hereafter created, acquired or arising and wheresoever located. Each Loan Party shall provide Administrative Agent with written notice on a quarterly basis of all commercial tort claims for which a Loan Party has filed a complaint (or asserted a counterclaim) in court with a value of more than $250,000, such notice to contain a brief description of the claim(s), the events out of which such claim(s) arose and the parties against which such claims have been asserted and the case title together with the applicable court and docket number. Upon delivery of each such notice, such Loan Party shall be deemed to thereby grant to Administrative Agent a security interest and lien in and to such commercial tort claims described therein and all proceeds thereof. Each Loan Party shall provide Administrative Agent with written notice on a quarterly basis upon becoming the beneficiary under any letter of credit or otherwise obtaining any right, title or interest in any letter of credit rights, in each case, supporting obligations with a value of more than $100,000, and at Administrative Agent’s request shall take such actions as Administrative Agent may reasonably request for the perfection of Administrative Agent’s security interest therein.

4.2. Perfection of Security Interest . Each Loan Party shall take all action that may be necessary or desirable, or that any Agent may reasonably request, so as at all times to maintain the validity, perfection, enforceability and priority of Administrative Agent’s security interest in and Lien on the Collateral or to enable Administrative Agent to protect, exercise or enforce its rights hereunder and in the Collateral, including, but not limited to, (i) immediately discharging all Liens other than Permitted Encumbrances, (ii) using commercially reasonable efforts to obtain Lien Waiver Agreements, (iii) delivering to Administrative Agent, endorsed or accompanied by such instruments of assignment as Administrative Agent may specify, and stamping or marking, in such manner as any Agent may specify, any and all chattel paper, instruments, letters of credits and advices thereof and documents evidencing or forming a part of the Collateral, (iv) entering into warehousing, lockbox, customs and freight agreements and other custodial arrangements reasonably satisfactory to Administrative Agent, and (v) executing and delivering financing statements, control agreements, instruments of pledge, mortgages, notices and assignments, in each case in form and substance satisfactory to Agents, relating to the creation, validity, perfection, maintenance or continuation of Administrative Agent’s security interest and Lien under the Uniform Commercial Code or other Applicable Law. By its signature hereto, each Loan Party hereby authorizes Administrative Agent to file against such Loan Party, one or more financing, continuation or amendment statements pursuant to the Uniform Commercial Code in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to Administrative Agent (which statements may have a description of collateral which is broader than that set forth herein, including without limitation a description of Collateral as “all assets” and/or “all personal property” of any Loan Party). All charges, expenses and fees Administrative Agent may incur in doing any of the foregoing, and any local taxes relating thereto, shall be charged to Borrowers’ Account as a Revolving Advance of a Domestic Rate Loan and added to the Obligations, or, at Administrative Agent’s option, shall be paid by Borrowers to Administrative Agent for its benefit and for the ratable benefit of Lenders immediately upon demand.

4.3. Preservation of Collateral . Following the occurrence and continuation of an Event of Default, in addition to the rights and remedies set forth in Section 11.1 hereof but subject to the limitations set forth in Section 17.2 and the Agreement Amongst Lenders, Administrative Agent: (a) may at any time take such steps as Administrative Agent deems

 

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necessary to protect Administrative Agent’s interest in and to preserve the Collateral, including the hiring of security guards or the placing of other security protection measures as Administrative Agent may deem appropriate; (b) may employ and maintain at any of any Loan Party’s premises a custodian who shall have full authority to do all acts necessary to protect Administrative Agent’s interests in the Collateral; (c) may lease warehouse facilities to which Administrative Agent may move all or part of the Collateral; (d) may use any Loan Party’s owned or leased lifts, hoists, trucks and other facilities or equipment for handling or removing the Collateral; and (e) shall have, and is hereby granted, a right of ingress and egress to the places where the Collateral is located, and may proceed over and through any of Loan Parties’ owned or leased property. Each Loan Party shall cooperate fully with all of Administrative Agent’s efforts to preserve the Collateral and will take such actions to preserve the Collateral as Administrative Agent may direct. All of Administrative Agent’s expenses of preserving the Collateral, including any expenses relating to the bonding of a custodian, shall be charged to Borrowers’ Account as a Revolving Advance maintained as a Domestic Rate Loan and added to the Obligations.

4.4. Ownership and Location of Collateral.

(a) With respect to the Collateral, at the time the Collateral becomes subject to Administrative Agent’s security interest: (i) each Loan Party shall be the sole owner of and fully authorized and able to sell, transfer, pledge and/or grant a first priority security interest in each and every item of its respective Collateral to Administrative Agent; and, except for Permitted Encumbrances the Collateral shall be free and clear of all Liens whatsoever; (ii) each document and agreement executed by each Loan Party or delivered to Administrative Agent or any Lender in connection with this Agreement shall be true and correct in all respects; (iii) all signatures and endorsements of each Loan Party that appear on such documents and agreements shall be genuine and each Loan Party shall have full capacity to execute same; and (iv) each Loan Party’s equipment and Inventory with a value of more than $250,000 shall be located as set forth on Schedule 4.4 and shall not be removed from such location(s) without the prior written consent of Administrative Agent except with respect to the sale of Inventory in the Ordinary Course of Business, equipment to the extent permitted in Section 7.1(b) hereof and vehicles and Equipment out for repair or in transit.

(b) (i) There is no location at which any Loan Party has any Inventory (except for Inventory in transit), Equipment or other Collateral with a value of more than $250,000, other than those locations listed on Schedule 4.4(b)(i); provided , however , that Borrowers may amend Schedule 4.4(b)(i) at any time and from time to time, including on a quarterly basis at the time of delivery of a Compliance Certificate pursuant to Section 9.8 or at any other time so long as such amendment occurs by written notice to Administrative Agent not less than 10 days; (ii) Schedule 4.4(b)(ii) hereto contains a correct and complete list, as of the Closing Date, of the legal names (if any) and addresses of each warehouse at which Inventory of any Loan Party is stored; (iii) Schedule 4.4(b)(iii) hereto sets forth a correct and complete list as of the Closing Date of (A) each place of business of each Loan Party and (B) the chief executive office of each Loan Party; and (iv) Schedule 4.4(b)(iv) hereto sets forth a correct and complete list as of the Closing Date of the location, by state and street address, of all Real Property or Leasehold Interests of each Loan Party, identifying which properties are owned and which are leased, together with the names and addresses of any landlords.

 

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4.5. Defense of Agents’ and Lenders’ Interests . Until (a) payment and performance in full of all of the Obligations and (b) termination of this Agreement, Administrative Agent’s interests in the Collateral shall continue in full force and effect. During such period no Loan Party shall, without Agents’ prior written consent, pledge, sell (except for sales or other dispositions otherwise permitted in Section 7.1(b) hereof), assign, transfer, create or suffer to exist a Lien upon or encumber or allow or suffer to be encumbered in any way except for Permitted Encumbrances, any part of the Collateral. Each Loan Party shall defend Administrative Agent’s interests in the Collateral against any and all Persons whatsoever. At any time during the occurrence and during the continuance of an Event of Default, following demand by Administrative Agent for payment of all Obligations, Administrative Agent shall have the right to take possession of the indicia of the Collateral and the Collateral in whatever physical form contained, including: labels, stationery, documents, instruments and advertising materials. If Administrative Agent exercises this right to take possession of the Collateral, Loan Parties shall, upon demand, assemble it in the best manner possible and make it available to Administrative Agent at a place reasonably convenient to Administrative Agent. In addition, with respect to all Collateral, Administrative Agent and Lenders shall be entitled to all of the rights and remedies set forth herein and further provided by the Uniform Commercial Code or other Applicable Law. At any time during the occurrence and during the continuance of an Event of Default, each Loan Party shall, and Administrative Agent may, at its option, instruct all suppliers, carriers, forwarders, warehousers or others receiving or holding cash, checks, Inventory, documents or instruments in which Administrative Agent holds a security interest to deliver same to Administrative Agent and/or subject to Administrative Agent’s order and if they shall come into any Loan Party’s possession, they, and each of them, shall be held by such Loan Party in trust as Administrative Agent’s trustee, and such Loan Party will immediately deliver them to Administrative Agent in their original form together with any necessary endorsement.

4.6. Inspection of Premises . At such reasonable times and intervals and with reasonable prior notice to the Borrowers, Agents and each Lender shall have full access to and the right to audit, check, inspect and make abstracts and copies from each Loan Party’s books, records, audits, correspondence and all other papers relating to the Collateral and the operation of each Loan Party’s business. Agents, any Lender and their agents may enter upon any premises of any Loan Party at any time during normal business hours, and at reasonable intervals and with reasonable prior notice to the Borrowers, for the purpose of inspecting the Collateral and any and all records pertaining thereto and the operation of such Loan Party’s business.

4.7. Appraisals; Field Examinations . Agents may, in its sole discretion, exercised in a commercially reasonable manner, at any time after the Closing Date and at reasonable intervals, engage the services of an independent appraisal firm or firms of reputable standing, reasonably satisfactory to Agents, for the purpose of appraising the then current values of Borrowers’ assets. At the sole cost of Loan Parties, Agents shall conduct up to three (3) field examinations per year (and Agents may conduct up to one (1) additional field examination per year at Agents’ sole cost), two (2) appraisals of machinery and equipment, and one (1) appraisal of Real Property (which shall be limited to only Real Property with a value not less than $250,000, as reasonably determined by the Agents), in each case, for each Loan Party; provided, however , upon the occurrence and continuance of an Event of Default, Agents may conduct such additional field examinations and appraisals as Agents may determine, at any time, which shall be at the cost and expense of the Loan Parties; provided, further, that Agents shall only be reimbursed for

 

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reasonable and documented out-of-pocket costs and expenses. Absent the occurrence and continuance of an Event of Default at such time, Agents shall consult with Loan Parties as to the identity of any such firm.

4.8. Receivables; Deposit Accounts and Securities Accounts.

(a) Each of the Receivables shall be a bona fide and valid account representing a bona fide indebtedness incurred by the Customer therein named, for a fixed sum as set forth in the invoice relating thereto (provided immaterial or unintentional invoice errors shall not be deemed to be a breach hereof) with respect to an absolute sale or lease and delivery of goods upon stated terms of a Loan Party, or work, labor or services theretofore rendered by a Loan Party as of the date each Receivable is created. Same shall be due and owing in accordance with the applicable Loan Party’s standard terms of sale without dispute, setoff or counterclaim except as may be stated on the accounts receivable schedules delivered by Loan Parties to Administrative Agent.

(b) Each Loan Party’s chief executive office is located as set forth on Schedule 4.4(b)(iii). Until written notice is given to Agents by Borrowing Agent of any other office at which any Loan Party keeps its records pertaining to Receivables, all such records shall be kept at such executive office.

(c) Each Loan Party shall (A) take reasonable steps to ensure that all of its Customer payments are deposited directly to a Concentration Account or by sweep from a Local Depository Account to a Concentration Account, on a weekly or more frequent basis and any amounts in a Concentration Account by daily sweep or wire transfer into a Blocked Account, provided that at no time shall the aggregate amount in all Local Depository Accounts for all Loan Parties exceed $3,000,000 (excluding for the avoidance of doubt, (i) any payroll account, so long as such payroll accounts are zero balance accounts and are limited to payroll purposes, (ii) the cash collateral account #298000415, so long as the balance in such account shall not exceed $300,000 at any time, and such account is terminated within sixty (60) days after the Closing Date and (iii) the cash collateral account #590873814 (or any other account), so long as funds on deposit (w) are pledged in favor of HSBC Bank USA, National Association, or any other bank, to cash collateralize letters of credit issued by HSBC Bank USA, National Association, or such other bank, as the case may be, in each case, for workman’s compensation or insurance purposes, (x) are pledged to a vendor as collateral in the Ordinary Course of Business, (y) constitute collateral for the Borrowers’ ACH program at any time or (z) constitute collateral for the Borrowers’ American Express credit card program or any other credit card program at any time) and (B) deposit or cause to be deposited promptly, and in any event as soon as possible and in any event no later than one (1) Business Day after the receipt thereof (i) in the case of remittances paid by check, deposit all such remittances in their original form (after supplying any necessary endorsements) and (ii) in the case of remittances paid by wire transfer of funds, transfer all such remittances, in each case, into such Local Depository Accounts.

(d) At any time following the occurrence and continuation of an Event of Default, Administrative Agent shall have the right to send notice of the assignment of, and Administrative Agent’s security interest in and Lien on, the Receivables to any and all Customers or any third party holding or otherwise concerned with any of the Collateral. At any

 

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time after the occurrence and during the continuance of an Event of Default, Administrative Agent shall have the sole right to collect the Receivables, take possession of the Collateral, or both. Administrative Agent’s actual collection expenses, including, but not limited to, stationery and postage, telephone, facsimile, telegraph, secretarial and clerical expenses and the salaries of any collection personnel used for collection, may be charged to Borrowers’ Account and added to the Obligations.

(e) During the continuance of an Event of Default (except to the extent otherwise agreed in any treasury management agreement between any Loan Party and Administrative Agent), Administrative Agent shall have the right to receive, endorse, assign and/or deliver in the name of Administrative Agent or any Loan Party any and all checks, drafts and other instruments for the payment of money relating to the Receivables, and each Loan Party hereby waives notice of presentment, protest and non-payment of any instrument so endorsed. Each Loan Party hereby constitutes Administrative Agent or Administrative Agent’s designee as such Loan Party’s attorney with power (i) at any time: (A) to send verifications of Receivables relating to regional or national accounts to any Customer ( provided , that, so long as no Event of Default has occurred and is continuing, Administrative Agent shall only conduct verifications of Receivables over the phone with participation from Borrowers or with Borrowers being present); (D) to sign such Loan Party’s name on all financing statements or any other documents or instruments deemed necessary or appropriate by Administrative Agent to preserve, protect, or perfect Administrative Agent’s interest in the Collateral and to file same; and (ii) at any time following the occurrence of a Default or an Event of Default: (A) to endorse such Loan Party’s name upon any notes, acceptances, checks, drafts, money orders or other evidences of payment or Collateral; (B) to sign such Loan Party’s name on any invoice or bill of lading relating to any of the Receivables, drafts against Customers, assignments and verifications of Receivables; (C) to receive, open and dispose of all mail addressed to any Loan Party at any post office box/lockbox maintained by Administrative Agent for Loan Parties or at any other business premises of Administrative Agent; (D) to demand payment of the Receivables; (E) to enforce payment of the Receivables by legal proceedings or otherwise; (F) to exercise all of such Loan Party’s rights and remedies with respect to the collection of the Receivables and any other Collateral; (G) to sue upon or otherwise collect, extend the time of payment of, settle, adjust, compromise, extend or renew the Receivables; (H) to settle, adjust or compromise any legal proceedings brought to collect Receivables; (I) to prepare, file and sign such Loan Party’s name on a proof of claim in bankruptcy or similar document against any Customer; (J) to prepare, file and sign such Loan Party’s name on any notice of Lien, assignment or satisfaction of Lien or similar document in connection with the Receivables; (K) to accept the return of goods represented by any of the Receivables; (L) to change the address for delivery of mail addressed to any Loan Party to such address as Administrative Agent may designate; and (M) to do all other acts and things necessary to carry out this Agreement. All acts of said attorney or designee are hereby ratified and approved, and said attorney or designee shall not be liable for any acts of omission or commission nor for any error of judgment or mistake of fact or of law, unless done maliciously or with gross (not mere) negligence (as determined by a court of competent jurisdiction in a final non-appealable judgment); this power being coupled with an interest is irrevocable while any of the Obligations remain unpaid.

(f) Neither Administrative Agent nor any Lender shall, under any circumstances or in any event whatsoever, have any liability for any error or omission or delay of any kind occurring in the settlement, collection or payment of any of the Receivables or any instrument received in payment thereof, or for any damage resulting therefrom.

 

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(g) All proceeds of Collateral shall be deposited by Loan Parties in (i) Concentration Accounts or (ii) depository accounts as that term is defined in Article 9 of the UCC established at Administrative Agent for the deposit of such proceeds (“ Depository Accounts ”), and such proceeds transferred by daily sweep or wire transfer into a lockbox account, dominion account or such other “blocked account” (“ Blocked Accounts ”) established at a bank or banks (each such bank, a “ Blocked Account Bank ”) pursuant to an arrangement with such Blocked Account Bank as may be acceptable to Agents. Each applicable Borrower, each Agent and each Blocked Account Bank shall enter into a deposit account control agreement in form and substance satisfactory to Agents that is sufficient to give Administrative Agent “control” (for purposes of Articles 8 and 9 of the Uniform Commercial Code) over such Blocked Accounts and which directs such Blocked Account Bank to transfer such funds so deposited on a daily basis to Administrative Agent, either to any account maintained by Administrative Agent at said Blocked Account Bank or by wire transfer to appropriate account(s) at Administrative Agent. Each such control agreement shall provide, among other things, (x) that the Blocked Account Bank will comply with any instructions originated by Administrative Agent directing the disposition of the funds in such Blocked Account without further consent by the applicable Loan Party, (y) upon the instruction of Administrative Agent (an “ Activation Instruction ”), the Blocked Account Bank will transfer by daily sweep or by wire transfer all funds deposited in the applicable Concentration Account to the Administrative Agent’s Account or an Account designated by Administrative Agent in the applicable control agreement. Administrative Agent agrees not to issue an Activation Instruction with respect to the Blocked Accounts unless an Event of Default has occurred and is continuing at the time such Activation Instruction is issued. Administrative Agent agrees to promptly rescind an Activation Instruction (the “ Rescission ”) if: (1) the Event of Default has ended or has been terminated (by waiver in writing), and (2) no additional Event of Default has commenced and is continuing prior to the date of the Rescission or is reasonably expected to occur on or immediately after the date of the Rescission. All funds deposited in such Blocked Accounts, Concentration Accounts or Depository Accounts shall immediately become subject to the security interest of Administrative Agent for its own benefit and the ratable benefit of Issuer, Lenders and all other holders of the Obligations, and Borrowing Agent shall obtain the agreement by such Blocked Account Bank to waive, subordinate, or agree not to exercise any offset rights or recoupment or any other claim against the funds so deposited other than for payment of its service fees and other charges directly related to the administration of such Blocked Account, Concentration Account or Depository Account. Neither Administrative Agent nor any Lender assumes any responsibility for such blocked account arrangement, including any claim of accord and satisfaction or release with respect to deposits accepted by any Blocked Account Bank thereunder. Administrative Agent shall apply all funds received by it from the Blocked Accounts to the satisfaction of the Obligations (including the cash collateralization of the Letters of Credit) in such order as Administrative Agent shall determine in its sole discretion; provided that, in the absence of any Event of Default, Administrative Agent shall apply all such funds representing collection of Receivables first to the prepayment of the principal amount of the Swing Loans, if any, and then to the Revolving Advances.

 

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(h) No Loan Party will, without Administrative Agent’s consent, compromise or adjust any Receivables (or extend the time for payment thereof) or accept any returns of merchandise or grant any additional discounts, allowances or credits thereon except for those compromises, adjustments, returns, discounts, credits and allowances as have been heretofore customary in the Ordinary Course of Business of such Loan Party.

(i) All deposit accounts (including all Blocked Accounts, Concentration Accounts and Depository Accounts), securities accounts and investment accounts of each Loan Party and its Subsidiaries as of the Closing Date are set forth on Schedule 4.8(j). No Loan Party shall open any new deposit account, securities account or investment account unless (i) Loan Parties shall have given at least thirty (30) days prior written notice to Agents and (ii) if such account is to be maintained with a bank, depository institution or securities intermediary that is not the Administrative Agent, such bank, depository institution or securities intermediary, each applicable Loan Party and Agents shall first have entered into an account control agreement in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to Agents sufficient to give Administrative Agent “control” (for purposes of Articles 8 and 9 of the Uniform Commercial Code) over such account.

4.9. Inventory . To the extent Inventory held for sale or lease has been produced by any Loan Party, it has been and will be produced by such Loan Party in accordance with the Federal Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, as amended, and all rules, regulations and orders thereunder.

4.10. Maintenance of Equipment . The equipment necessary to the Loan Parties’ business shall be maintained in reasonable good operating condition and repair (reasonable wear and tear excepted) and all necessary replacements of and repairs thereto shall be made so that the value and operating efficiency of the equipment shall be maintained and preserved in accordance with the Loan Parties’ past practices. No Loan Party shall use or operate the equipment in violation of any law, statute, ordinance, code, rule or regulation, except to the extent where it would not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect.

4.11. Exculpation of Liability . Nothing herein contained shall be construed to constitute any Agent or any Lender as any Loan Party’s agent for any purpose whatsoever, nor shall any Agent or any Lender be responsible or liable for any shortage, discrepancy, damage, loss or destruction of any part of the Collateral wherever the same may be located and regardless of the cause thereof. Neither Agent nor any Lender, whether by anything herein or in any assignment or otherwise, assume any of any Loan Party’s obligations under any contract or agreement assigned to such Agent or such Lender, and neither Agent nor any Lender shall be responsible in any way for the performance by any Loan Party of any of the terms and conditions thereof.

4.12. Financing Statements . Except as respects the financing statements filed by Administrative Agent, financing statements described on Schedule 4.12, and financing statements filed in connection with Permitted Encumbrances, no financing statement covering any of the Collateral or any proceeds thereof is or will be on file in any public office.

 

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V. REPRESENTATIONS AND WARRANTIES.

Each Loan Party represents and warrants as follows (subject to any updates to the referenced schedules in this section to the extent permitted by Section 9.17):

5.1. Authority . Each Loan Party has full power, authority and legal right to enter into this Agreement and the Other Documents to which it is a party and to perform all its respective Obligations hereunder and thereunder. This Agreement and the Other Documents to which it is a party have been duly executed and delivered by each Loan Party, and this Agreement and the Other Documents to which it is a party constitute the legal, valid and binding obligation of such Loan Party enforceable in accordance with their terms, except as such enforceability may be limited by any applicable bankruptcy, insolvency, moratorium or similar laws affecting creditors’ rights generally. The execution, delivery and performance of this Agreement and of the Other Documents to which it is a party (a) are within such Loan Party’s corporate or company powers, as applicable, have been duly authorized by all necessary corporate or company action, as applicable, are not in contravention of law or the terms of such Loan Party’s Organizational Documents or to the conduct of such Loan Party’s business or of any Material Contract or undertaking to which such Loan Party is a party or by which such Loan Party is bound, including the Subordinated Loan Documents, (b) will not conflict with or violate any material provision of law or regulation, or any judgment, order or decree of any Governmental Body, (c) will not require the Consent of any Governmental Body, any party to a Material Contract or any other Person (other than in connection with the Bankruptcy Cases), except those Consents set forth on Schedule 5.1 hereto, all of which will have been duly obtained, made or compiled prior to the Closing Date and which are in full force and effect and (d) will not conflict with, nor result in any breach in any of the provisions of or constitute a default under or result in the creation of any Lien except Permitted Encumbrances upon any asset of such Loan Party under the provisions of any agreement, instrument, or other document to which such Loan Party is a party or by which it or its property is a party or by which it may be bound, including the Subordinated Loan Documents.

5.2. Formation and Qualification.

(a) Each Loan Party is duly incorporated or formed, as applicable, and in good standing under the laws of the state listed on Schedule 5.2(a) and is qualified to do business and is in good standing in the states listed on Schedule 5.2(a) which constitute all states in which qualification and good standing are necessary for such Loan Party to conduct its business and own its property and where the failure to so qualify would reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect on such Loan Party. Each Loan Party has delivered to Agents true and complete copies of its Organizational Documents and will promptly notify Agents of any material amendment or changes thereto.

(b) As of the Closing Date or the most recent update of Schedule 5.2(b) in accordance with Section 9.17, the only Subsidiaries of Holdco and each Loan Party are listed on Schedule 5.2(b).

5.3. Survival of Representations and Warranties . All representations and warranties of such Loan Party contained in this Agreement and the Other Documents to which it is a party

 

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shall be true at the time of such Loan Party’s execution of this Agreement and the Other Documents to which it is a party, and shall survive the execution, delivery and acceptance thereof by the parties thereto and the closing of the transactions described therein or related thereto.

5.4. Tax Returns . Each Loan Party’s federal tax identification number is set forth on Schedule 5.4. Each Loan Party has filed all income tax returns, other than income tax returns in jurisdictions in which a Loan Party has made a good faith determination that no filing is necessary, and all other material federal, state and local tax returns and other reports that it is required by law to file and has paid all federal income and all other material taxes, assessments, fees and other governmental charges that are due and payable, except for taxes and assessments being Properly Contested. The provision for taxes on the books of each Loan Party is adequate for all years not closed by applicable statutes, and for its current fiscal year, and no Loan Party has any knowledge of any material deficiency or material additional assessment in connection therewith not provided for on its books.

5.5. Financial Statements.

(a) The pro forma balance sheet of the Loan Parties on a Consolidated Basis (the “ Pro Forma Balance Sheet ”) furnished to Agents on the Closing Date reflects the consummation of the transactions contemplated by the Subordinated Loan Documents and under this Agreement (collectively, the “ Transactions ”) and is accurate, complete and correct and fairly reflects in all material respects the financial condition of the Loan Parties on a Consolidated Basis as of the Closing Date after giving effect to the Transactions, and has been prepared in accordance with GAAP, consistently applied. The Pro Forma Balance Sheet has been certified as accurate, complete and correct in all material respects by the Chief Executive Officer or Chief Financial Officer of Borrowing Agent. All financial statements referred to in this subsection 5.5(a), including the related schedules and notes thereto, have been prepared in accordance with GAAP, except as may be disclosed in such financial statements.

(b) The (i) twelve-month cash flow and balance sheet projections of the Loan Parties on a Consolidated Basis and their projected balance sheets as of the Closing Date and (ii) annual cash flow projections for fiscal years 2014 and 2015, copies of which are annexed hereto as Exhibit 5.5(b) (the “ Projections ”) were prepared by the Chief Financial Officer of Borrowing Agent are based on underlying assumptions which provide a reasonable basis for the projections contained therein and reflect Loan Parties’ judgment based on present circumstances of the most likely set of conditions and course of action for the projected period. The cash flow Projections together with the Pro Forma Balance Sheet are referred to as the “ Pro Forma Financial Statements ”.

(c) The consolidated and consolidating balance sheets of Loan Parties, and such other Persons described therein, as of December 31, 2012, and the related statements of income, changes in stockholder’s equity, and changes in cash flow for the period ended on such date, all accompanied by reports thereon containing opinions without qualification by independent certified public accountants, and management prepared financial statements for the period ended on or about September 30, 2013 and disclosures/information provided within the Plan of Reorganization documents that are on file in the Bankruptcy Cases, copies of which have

 

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been delivered to Agents, have been prepared in accordance with GAAP, consistently applied. Since December 31, 2012, other than the commencement of the Bankruptcy Cases and the consummation of the Plan of Reorganization, there has been no change in the condition, financial or otherwise, of Loan Parties as shown on the consolidated balance sheet as of such date and no change in the aggregate value of machinery, equipment and Real Property owned by Loan Parties, except changes in the Ordinary Course of Business, none of which individually or in the aggregate has been materially adverse.

5.6. Entity Names . No Loan Party has been known by any other company or corporate name, as applicable, in the past five (5) years except as set forth on Schedule 5.6, nor has any Loan Party been the surviving corporation or company, as applicable, of a merger or consolidation or acquired all or substantially all of the assets of any Person during the preceding five (5) years except as set forth on Schedule 5.6.

5.7. O.S.H.A. Environmental Compliance; Flood Insurance .

(a) Except as set forth on Schedule 5.7 hereto, each Loan Party is in material compliance with, and its facilities, business, assets, property, leaseholds, Real Property and Equipment are in material compliance with the Federal Occupational Safety and Health Act, and Environmental Laws and there are no outstanding citations, notices or orders of non-compliance issued to any Loan Party or relating to its business, assets, property, leaseholds or Equipment under any such laws, rules or regulations.

(b) Except as set forth on Schedule 5.7 hereto, each Loan Party has been issued all material required federal, state and local licenses, certificates or permits (collectively, “ Approvals ”) relating to all applicable Environmental Laws and all such Approvals are current and in full force and effect.

(c) Except as set forth on Schedule 5.7: (i) there have been no material releases, spills, discharges, leaks or disposal (collectively referred to as “ Releases ”) of Hazardous Materials by the Loan Parties at, upon, under or migrating from or onto any real property owned, leased or occupied by any Loan Party, except for those Releases which are in compliance in all material respects with Environmental Laws; (ii) there are no underground storage tanks or polychlorinated biphenyls on any real property, except for such underground storage tanks or polychlorinated biphenyls that are present in compliance with Environmental Laws; (iii) the real property has never been used by any Loan Party to dispose of Hazardous Materials, except as authorized by Environmental Laws; and (iv) no Hazardous Materials are managed by any Loan Party on any real property, excepting such quantities as are managed in compliance with Environmental Laws and as are necessary for the operation of the commercial business of any Loan Party or of its tenants.

(d) All Real Property owned by Loan Parties is insured pursuant to policies and other bonds which are valid and in full force and effect and which provide adequate coverage from reputable and financially sound insurers in amounts sufficient to insure the assets and risks of each such Loan Party in accordance with prudent business practice in the industry of such Loan Party. Each Loan Party has taken all actions required under the Flood Laws and/or requested by any Agent to assist in ensuring that each Lender is in compliance with the Flood

 

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Laws applicable to the Collateral, including, but not limited to, providing Agents with the address and/or GPS coordinates of each structure located upon any Real Property that will be subject to a Mortgage in favor of Agents, for the benefit of Lenders, and, to the extent required, obtaining flood insurance for such property, structures and contents prior to such property, structures and contents becoming Collateral.

5.8. Solvency; No Litigation, Violation, Indebtedness or Default; ERISA Compliance.

(a) (i) After giving effect to the Transactions, each Loan Party will be solvent, able to pay its debts as they mature, will have capital sufficient to carry on its business and all businesses in which it is about to engage, (ii) as of the Closing Date, the fair present saleable value of its assets, calculated on a going concern basis, is in excess of the amount of its liabilities, and (iii) subsequent to the Closing Date, the fair saleable value of its assets (calculated on a going concern basis) will be in excess of the amount of its liabilities.

(b) Except as disclosed in Schedule 5.8(b)(i), no Loan Party has any pending or threatened litigation, arbitration, actions or proceedings that either individually or in the aggregate could not reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect. No Loan Party has any outstanding Indebtedness other than the Obligations, except for (i) Indebtedness disclosed in Schedule 5.8(b)(ii) and (ii) Indebtedness otherwise permitted under Section 7.8 hereof.

(c) No Loan Party is in violation of any applicable statute, law, rule, regulation or ordinance in any respect which would reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect, nor is any Loan Party in violation of any order of any court, Governmental Body or arbitration board or tribunal.

(d) Except as, individually or in the aggregate, could not reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect, each Plan is in compliance in all respects with the applicable provisions of ERISA, the Code and other federal or state laws. Except as, individually or in the aggregate, could not reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect, (i) each Loan Party and each member of the Controlled Group has met all applicable minimum funding requirements under Section 302 of ERISA and Section 412 of the Code in respect of each Plan, and each Pension Benefit Plan is in compliance with Sections 412, 430 and 436 of the Code and Sections 206(g), 302 and 303 of ERISA, without regard to waivers and variances; (ii) each Plan which is intended to be a qualified plan under Section 401(a) of the Code as currently in effect has been determined by the Internal Revenue Service to be qualified under Section 401(a) of the Code and the trust related thereto is exempt from federal income tax under Section 501(a) of the Code or an application for such a determination is currently being processed by the Internal Revenue Service; (iii) neither any Loan Party nor any member of the Controlled Group has incurred any liability to the PBGC other than for the payment of premiums, and there are no premium payments which have become due which are unpaid; (iv) no Plan has been terminated by the plan administrator thereof nor by the PBGC, and there is no occurrence which would cause the PBGC to institute proceedings under Title IV of ERISA to terminate any Plan; (v) neither any Loan Party nor any member of the Controlled Group has breached any of the responsibilities, obligations or duties imposed on it by ERISA with respect to any Plan; (vi) neither any Loan Party nor any member of the Controlled Group has incurred any liability for

 

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any excise tax arising under Section 4971, 4972 or 4980B of the Code, and no fact exists which could give rise to any such liability; (vii) neither any Loan Party nor any member of the Controlled Group nor any fiduciary of, nor any trustee to, any Plan, has engaged in a “prohibited transaction” described in Section 406 of ERISA or Section 4975 of the Code nor taken any action which would constitute or result in a Termination Event with respect to any such Plan which is subject to ERISA; (viii) no Termination Event has occurred or is reasonably expected to occur; (ix) neither any Loan Party nor any member of the Controlled Group has engaged in a transaction that could be subject to Section 4069 or 4212(c) of ERISA; (x) except as set forth on Schedule 5.8(d), neither any Loan Party nor any member of the Controlled Group maintains or is required to contribute to any Plan which provides health, accident or life insurance benefits to former employees, their spouses or dependents, other than in accordance with Section 4980B of the Code; (xi) neither any Loan Party nor any member of the Controlled Group has withdrawn, completely or partially, within the meaning of Section 4203 or 4205 of ERISA, from any Multiemployer Plan so as to incur liability under the Multiemployer Pension Plan Amendments Act of 1980 and there exists no fact which would reasonably be expected to result in any such liability; and (xii) no Plan fiduciary (as defined in Section 3(21) of ERISA) has any liability for breach of fiduciary duty or for any failure in connection with the administration or investment of the assets of a Plan.

5.9. Patents, Trademarks, Copyrights and Licenses . All registered or applied for Intellectual Property owned by any Loan Party (the “ Registered Intellectual Property ”): (i) is set forth on Schedule 5.9; and (ii) together with all other Intellectual Property owned by or licensed to a Loan Party, or that a Loan Party otherwise has a right to use, constitutes all of the Intellectual Property which is necessary for the operation of its business, except, in each case, where a failure to identify, own or license such Intellectual Property would not, individually or in the aggregate, have or be reasonably expected to have a Material Adverse Effect. There is no pending challenge before any Governmental Body to the validity of, or proceeding by any Governmental Body to suspend the enforceability of, revoke, terminate or adversely modify, any such Registered Intellectual Property and no Loan Party is aware of any grounds for any such challenge or proceedings, except as set forth in Schedule 5.9 hereto or as individually or in the aggregate, would not have or be reasonably expected to have a Material Adverse Effect. All copyrights included in the Intellectual Property owned by any Loan Party consist of original material or property developed by or for such Loan Party or was lawfully acquired by such Loan Party from the lawful owner thereof, except, in each case, where a failure to own or license such Intellectual Property would not, individually or in the aggregate, have or be reasonably expected to have a Material Adverse Effect. Each of such items has been maintained so as to preserve the value thereof from the date of creation or acquisition thereof except to the extent it would not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect.

5.10. Licenses and Permits . Except as set forth in Schedule 5.10, each Loan Party (a) is in compliance with and (b) has procured and is now in possession of, all material licenses or permits required by any applicable federal, state, provincial or local law, rule or regulation for the operation of its business in each jurisdiction wherein it is now conducting or proposes to conduct business and where the failure to procure such licenses or permits would reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect.

 

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5.11. Default of Indebtedness . Other than debt extinguished pursuant to the Plan of Reorganization, no Loan Party is in default in the payment of the principal of or interest on any Indebtedness or under any instrument or agreement under or subject to which any Indebtedness has been issued and no event has occurred under the provisions of any such instrument or agreement which with or without the lapse of time or the giving of notice, or both, constitutes or would constitute an event of default thereunder except to the extent it would not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect.

5.12. No Default . No Loan Party is in default in the payment or performance of any of its contractual obligations and no Default or Event of Default has occurred. Notwithstanding anything herein to the contrary, defaults in payment or performance of any Loan Party’s contractual obligations related to the Bankruptcy Cases shall not be considered a Default or Event of Default for the purposes of this representation and warranty.

5.13. No Burdensome Restrictions . No Loan Party is party to any contract or agreement the performance of which would reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect. Each Loan Party has heretofore delivered to Agents true and complete copies of all Material Contracts to which it is a party or to which it or any of its properties is subject.

5.14. No Labor Disputes . Except to the extent it would not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect, no Loan Party is involved in any labor dispute; there are no strikes or walkouts or union organization of any Loan Party’s employees threatened or in existence and no labor contract is scheduled to expire during the Term other than as set forth on Schedule 5.14 hereto.

5.15. Margin Regulations . No Loan Party is engaged, nor will it engage, principally or as one of its important activities, in the business of extending credit for the purpose of “purchasing” or “carrying” any “margin stock” within the respective meanings of each of the quoted terms under Regulation U of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System as now and from time to time hereafter in effect. No part of the proceeds of any Advance will be used for “purchasing” or “carrying” “margin stock” as defined in Regulation U of such Board of Governors.

5.16. Investment Company Act . No Loan Party is an “investment company” registered or required to be registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended.

5.17. Disclosure . No representation or warranty made by any Loan Party in this Agreement or in any financial statement, report, certificate or any other document furnished in connection herewith or therewith, when taken as a whole, contains as of the date such statement, report, certificate or other document was furnished any untrue statement of material fact or omits to state any material fact necessary to make the statements herein or therein not misleading in any material respect in the light of the circumstances under which such statements were made after giving effect to any supplements thereto. Except as disclosed in the Disclosure Statement, Plan of Reorganization, or Confirmation Order, there is no fact known to any Loan Party or which reasonably should be known to such Loan Party which such Loan Party has not disclosed to Agents in writing with respect to the transactions contemplated by the Subordinated Loan Documents or this Agreement which would reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect.

 

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5.18. Delivery of Subordinated Loan Documents . Each Agent has received complete copies of the Subordinated Loan Documents and related documents (including all exhibits, schedules and disclosure letters referred to therein or delivered pursuant thereto, if any) and all amendments thereto, waivers relating thereto and other side letters or agreements affecting the terms thereof. None of such documents and agreements has been amended or supplemented, nor have any of the provisions thereof been waived, except pursuant to a written agreement or instrument which has heretofore been delivered to Agents.

5.19. Reserved .

5.20. Swaps . Except for the Hedge Liabilities, no Loan Party is a party to, nor will it be a party to, any swap agreement whereby such Loan Party has agreed or will agree to swap interest rates or currencies unless same provides that damages upon termination following an event of default thereunder are payable on an unlimited “two-way basis” without regard to fault on the part of either party.

5.21. Business and Property of Loan Parties . Upon and after the Closing Date and except as permitted under Section 7.9, Loan Parties do not propose to engage in any business other than that engaged in by them immediately prior to and on the Closing Date and any business that is reasonably related, similar, complementary, ancillary to or a reasonable extensions, development and expansions of such business. On the Closing Date, each Loan Party has good record and marketable title in fee simple to, or valid leasehold interests in, or easements or other limited property interests in all the property and possesses all of the rights and Consents necessary for the conduct of the business of such Loan Party except when the failure to do so would not reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect.

5.22. Ineligible Securities . Loan Parties do not intend to use and shall not use any portion of the proceeds of the Advances, directly or indirectly, to purchase during the underwriting period, or for 30 days thereafter, Ineligible Securities being underwritten by a securities Affiliate of any Agent or any Lender.

5.23. Federal Securities Laws . No Loan Party, Holdco or any of their Subsidiaries (i) is required to file periodic reports under the Exchange Act, (ii) has any securities registered under the Exchange Act or (iii) has filed a registration statement that has not yet become effective under the Securities Act.

5.24. Equity Interests . The authorized and outstanding Equity Interests of each Loan Party, and each legal and beneficial holder thereof as of the Closing Date, are as set forth on Schedule 5.24(a) hereto. All of the Equity Interests of each Loan Party have been duly and validly authorized and issued and are fully paid and non-assessable and have been sold and delivered to the holders hereof in compliance with, or under valid exemption from, all federal and state laws and the rules and regulations of each Governmental Body governing the sale and delivery of securities. Except for the rights and obligations set forth on Schedule 5.24(b), there are no subscriptions, warrants, options, calls, commitments, rights or agreement by which any

 

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Loan Party or any of the shareholders of any Loan Party is bound relating to the issuance, transfer, voting or redemption of shares of its Equity Interests or any pre-emptive rights held by any Person with respect to the Equity Interests of Loan Parties. Except as set forth on Schedule 5.24(c), Loan Parties have not issued any securities convertible into or exchangeable for shares of its Equity Interests or any options, warrants or other rights to acquire such shares or securities convertible into or exchangeable for such shares.

5.25. Commercial Tort Claims . No Loan Party has any commercial tort claim for which the amount of probable damages is reasonably determined by the Loan Parties to be greater than $250,000 except as set forth on Schedule 5.25 hereto.

5.26. Letter of Credit Rights . As of the Closing Date, no Loan Party has any letter of credit rights, except as set forth on Schedule 5.26 hereto.

5.27. Material Contracts . Schedule 5.27 sets forth all Material Contracts of the Loan Parties. Except for matters which, either individually or in the aggregate, would not reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect, all Material Contracts are in full force and effect and no material defaults currently exist thereunder.

5.28. Delivery of Plan of Reorganization, Confirmation Order and Related Documentation . Each Agent has received complete copies of the Plan of Reorganization and Confirmation Order (including all exhibits, schedules and disclosure letters referred to therein or delivered pursuant thereto, if any) and all amendments thereto, waivers relating thereto and other side letters or agreements affecting the terms thereof. None of such documents and agreements has been amended or supplemented, nor have any of the provisions thereof been waived, except pursuant to the terms thereof or pursuant to a written agreement or instrument which has heretofore been delivered to Agents.

5.29. Effectiveness of Plan of Reorganization . Prior to, or upon the simultaneous, closing of the transactions contemplated under this Agreement, all of the effectiveness conditions in the Plan of Reorganization shall have been satisfied and the Plan of Reorganization shall have gone effective as of the Effective Date (as defined in the Plan of Reorganization).

VI. AFFIRMATIVE COVENANTS.

Each Loan Party shall, until payment in full of the Obligations and termination of this Agreement:

6.1. Compliance with Laws . Comply with all Applicable Laws with respect to the Collateral or any part thereof or to the operation of such Loan Party’s business the non-compliance with which would reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect (except to the extent any separate provision of this Agreement shall expressly require compliance with any particular Applicable Law(s) pursuant to another standard). Each Loan Party may, however, contest or dispute any Applicable Laws in any reasonable manner; provided that any related Lien is inchoate or stayed and sufficient reserves are established to the reasonable satisfaction of Agents to protect Administrative Agent’s Lien on or security interest in the Collateral.

 

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6.2. Conduct of Business and Maintenance of Existence and Assets . (a) Conduct continuously and operate actively its business according to good business practices and maintain all of its properties useful or necessary in its business in good working order and condition (reasonable wear and tear excepted and except as may be disposed of in accordance with the terms of this Agreement or as impacted by a casualty or condemnation proceeding), including all material Intellectual Property and take all reasonable actions necessary to enforce and protect the validity of any Registered Intellectual Property owned by it or other right included in the Collateral where the failure to do so would reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect; (b) keep in full force and effect its existence and comply in all material respects with the laws and regulations governing the conduct of its business where the failure to do so would reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect; and (c) make all such reports and pay all such franchise and other taxes and license fees and do all such other acts and things as may be lawfully required to maintain its rights, licenses, leases, powers and franchises under the laws of the United States or any political subdivision thereof where the failure to do so would reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect.

6.3. Books and Records . Keep proper books of record and account in which full, true and correct entries will be made of all dealings or transactions of or in relation to its business and affairs (including without limitation accruals for taxes, assessments, Charges, levies and claims, allowances against doubtful Receivables and accruals for depreciation, obsolescence or amortization of assets), all in accordance with, or as required by, GAAP consistently applied in the opinion of such independent public accountant as shall then be regularly engaged by Loan Parties.

6.4. Payment of Taxes . Pay, when due, all taxes, assessments and other Charges levied or assessed upon such Loan Party or any of the Collateral, including real and personal property taxes, assessments and charges and all franchise, income, employment, social security benefits, withholding, and sales taxes shown on all tax returns and all other material Taxes other than those being Properly Contested. If any tax by any Governmental Body is or may be imposed on or as a result of any transaction between any Loan Party and any Agent or any Lender which any Agent or any Lender may be required to withhold or pay or if any taxes, assessments, or other Charges remain unpaid after the date fixed for their payment, or if any claim shall be made which, in any Agent’s or any Lender’s reasonable opinion, may possibly create a valid Lien on the Collateral, any Agent may without notice to Loan Parties pay the taxes, assessments or other Charges and each Loan Party hereby indemnifies and holds each Agent and each Lender harmless in respect thereof. The amount of any payment by any Agent under this Section 6.4 shall be charged to Borrowers’ Account as a Revolving Advance maintained as a Domestic Rate Loan and added to the Obligations and, until Loan Parties shall furnish Agents with an indemnity therefor (or supply Agents with evidence reasonably satisfactory to Agents that due provision for the payment thereof has been made), Administrative Agent may hold without interest any balance standing to Borrowers’ credit and Administrative Agent shall retain its security interest in and Lien on any and all Collateral held by Administrative Agent.

 

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6.5. Financial Covenants .

(a) Fixed Charge Coverage Ratio . Cause to be maintained as of the end of each fiscal quarter, a Fixed Charge Coverage Ratio of not less than 1.0 to 1.0, measured on a rolling four (4) quarter basis; provided, however , that (I) for the purposes of calculating such ratio for the fiscal quarter ended December 31, 2013, the ratio shall be measured on a trailing three (3) month basis, (II) for the purposes of calculating such ratio for the fiscal quarter ended March 31, 2014, the ratio shall be measured on a trailing six (6) month basis, and (III) for the purposes of calculating such ratio for the fiscal quarter ended June 30, 2014, the ratio shall be measured on a trailing nine (9) month basis; provided , that such ratio shall be calculated without giving effect to the costs set forth on Schedule II.

(b) Maximum Leverage Ratio . Maintain as of the end of each fiscal quarter a ratio of Funded Debt to EBITDA of not greater than 3.25 to 1.0 (the “ Leverage Ratio ”).

(c) Minimum EBITDA . Cause to be maintained as of the end of each fiscal quarter, EBITDA of the Loan Parties to be greater than $46,000,000, measured on a rolling four (4) quarter basis.

6.6. Insurance .

(a) (i) Keep all its insurable properties and properties in which such Loan Party has an interest insured against the hazards of fire, flood, sprinkler leakage, those hazards covered by extended coverage insurance and such other hazards, and for such amounts, as is customary in the case of companies engaged in businesses similar to such Loan Party’s including business interruption insurance; (ii) maintain public and product liability insurance against claims for personal injury, death or property damage suffered by others; (iii) maintain all such worker’s compensation or similar insurance as may be required under the laws of any state or jurisdiction in which such Loan Party is engaged in business; and (iv) furnish Agents with (A) copies of all policies and evidence of the maintenance of such policies by the renewal thereof at least two (2) Business Days before any expiration date, and (B) appropriate loss payable endorsements in form and substance satisfactory to Agents, naming Agents as an additional insured and mortgagee and/or lender loss payee (as applicable) as its interests may appear with respect to all insurance coverage referred to in clauses (i) and (ii) above, and providing (I) that all proceeds thereunder shall be payable to Agents, (II) no such insurance shall be affected by any act or neglect of the insured or owner of the property described in such policy, and (III) that such policy and loss payable clauses may not be cancelled, amended or terminated unless at least thirty (30) days prior written notice is given to Agents (ten (10) days for non-payment) (it being agreed that failure by the Loan Parties to procure such a non-cancellation clause despite the exercise of commercially reasonable efforts shall not result in a Default hereunder). In the event of any loss thereunder, the carriers named therein hereby are directed by Agents and the applicable Loan Party to make payment for such loss to Agents and not to such Loan Party and Agents jointly. If any insurance losses are paid by check, draft or other instrument payable to any Loan Party and Agents jointly, Agents may endorse such Loan Party’s name thereon and do such other things as Agents may deem advisable to reduce the same to cash.

(b) Each Loan Party shall take all actions required under the Flood Laws and/or requested by any Agent to assist in ensuring that each Lender is in compliance with the Flood Laws applicable to the Collateral, including, but not limited to, providing such Agent with the address and/or GPS coordinates of each structure on any real property that will be subject to a mortgage in favor of Agents, for the benefit of Lenders, and, to the extent required, obtaining flood insurance for such property, structures and contents prior to such property, structures and contents becoming Collateral, and thereafter maintaining such flood insurance in full force and effect for so long as required by the Flood Laws.

 

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(c) After the occurrence and continuance of an Event of Default, Agents are hereby authorized to adjust and compromise claims under insurance coverage referred to in Sections 6.6(a)(i) and (ii) and 6.6(b) above. All loss recoveries received by Agents under any such insurance may be applied to the Obligations, in such order as Agents in their sole discretion shall determine. Any surplus shall be paid by Agents to Loan Parties or applied as may be otherwise required by law. Any deficiency thereon shall be paid by Loan Parties to Agents, on demand. If any Loan Party fails to obtain insurance as hereinabove provided, or to keep the same in force, Agents, if Agents so elect, may obtain such insurance and pay the premium therefor on behalf of such Loan Party, which payments shall be charged to Borrowers’ Account and constitute part of the Obligations, except where the failure to do so would not reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect.

6.7. Payment of Indebtedness and Leasehold Obligations . Pay, discharge or otherwise satisfy (i) at or before maturity (subject, where applicable, to specified grace periods) all its Indebtedness, except when the failure to do so could not reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect or when the amount or validity thereof is currently being Properly Contested, subject at all times to any applicable subordination arrangement in favor of Lenders and (ii) when due its rental obligations under all leases under which it is a tenant, and shall otherwise comply, in all material respects, with all other terms of such leases and keep them in full force and effect.

6.8. Environmental Matters .

(a) Ensure that the Real Property and all operations and businesses conducted thereon are in material compliance and remain in material compliance with all Environmental Laws and it shall manage any and all Hazardous Materials on any Real Property in material compliance with Environmental Laws.

(b) Establish and maintain an environmental management and compliance system to assure and monitor continued compliance in all material respects with all applicable Environmental Laws which system shall include periodic environmental compliance audits to be conducted by knowledgeable environmental professionals. All potential material violations and violations of Environmental Laws shall be reviewed to determine any required reporting to applicable Governmental Bodies and any required corrective actions pursuant to Environmental Laws to address such potential violations or violations.

(c) Respond promptly to any Hazardous Discharge or Environmental Complaint and take all necessary action as is required by applicable Environmental Laws in order to safeguard the health of any Person and to avoid subjecting the Collateral or Real Property to any Lien. If any Loan Party shall fail to respond promptly to any Hazardous Discharge or Environmental Complaint or any Loan Party shall fail to comply with any of the requirements of any Environmental Laws, any Agent on behalf of Lenders may, but without the obligation to do so, for the sole purpose of protecting Administrative Agent’s interest in the

 

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Collateral: (i) give such notices or (ii) enter onto the Real Property (or authorize third parties to enter onto the Real Property) and take such actions as any Agent (or such third parties as directed by any Agent) deem reasonably necessary or advisable, to remediate, remove, mitigate or otherwise manage with any such Hazardous Discharge or Environmental Complaint. All reasonable costs and expenses incurred by Agents and Lenders (or such third parties) in the exercise of any such rights, including any sums paid in connection with any judicial or administrative investigation or proceedings, fines and penalties, together with interest thereon from the date expended at the Default Rate for Domestic Rate Loans constituting Revolving Advances shall be paid upon demand by Loan Parties, and until paid shall be added to and become a part of the Obligations secured by the Liens created by the terms of this Agreement or any other agreement between any Agent, any Lender and any Loan Party.

(d) Promptly upon the written request of any Agent from time to time, Loan Parties shall provide Agents, at Loan Parties’ expense, with an environmental site assessment or environmental compliance audit report prepared by an environmental engineering firm acceptable in the reasonable opinion of Agents, to assess with a reasonable degree of certainty, to the extent possible using commercially reasonable and cost-effective efforts, the existence of a Hazardous Discharge and the potential costs in connection with abatement, remediation and removal of any Hazardous Materials found on, under, at or within the Real Property. Any report or investigation of such Hazardous Discharge proposed and acceptable to the responsible Governmental Body shall be acceptable to Agents. If such estimates, individually or in the aggregate, exceed $2,000,000, each Agent shall have the right to require Loan Parties to post a bond, letter of credit or other security reasonably satisfactory to Agents to secure payment of these costs and expenses.

(e) The Loan Parties shall undertake the follow-up research, inspections, and investigations (the “ Phase II Environmental Site Assessments ”) recommended by ERM to address “Identified Issues” (including, for the avoidance of doubt, “Asbestos Containing Materials” issues, but not including “ De Minimis Issues ” or “ EHS Compliance Issues ”) in the Executive Summary and Conclusions & Recommendations sections of the November 5, 2013 Phase I Environmental Site Assessment Reports prepared for the Real Properties set forth on Schedule A. The Loan Parties will engage ERM to prepare an asbestos survey of the Real Properties set forth in Schedule 6.8, and an Operations and Maintenance Plan where required by Environmental Laws. The asbestos surveys will be conducted as part of the Phase II Environmental Site Assessments and the Operations and Maintenance Plans will be completed with all due haste following the completion of the asbestos surveys. The Phase II Environmental Site Assessments shall be conducted by ERM at the direction of the Loan Parties and shall be completed with all due haste pursuant to a scope of work that ERM will prepare for delivery to the Loan Parties as soon as practicable after Closing based upon the findings and recommendations set forth in the Phase I Environmental Site Assessment Reports. The Phase II Environmental Site Assessments shall be finalized and delivered to the Agents and Lenders no later than December 31, 2013 (“ Phase II Deadline ”), or as soon as practicable thereafter if the scope of work for the recommended Phase II Environmental Site Assessments is such that ERM cannot meet the Phase II Deadline despite using commercially reasonable efforts and proceeding with all due haste. The Loan Parties shall direct ERM to identify recommended remedial actions to ensure that any environmental conditions identified in the Phase II Environmental Site Assessments are remediated as is required by applicable Environmental Laws (“ Remedial

 

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Actions”). Such Remedial Actions shall be implemented by ERM and the Loan Parties with all due haste to ensure that the environmental conditions are remediated in a timely manner as determined by ERM. The Loan Parties shall further obtain “No Further Action” letters or letters of similar import from applicable Governmental Authorities for the Remedial Actions undertaken where the Environmental Laws provide the means to do so. The Loan Parties shall provide copies of all material reports and documents to the Agents and the Lenders promptly upon receipt of same. The Loan Parties shall further provide quarterly progress reports to the Agents and the Lenders regarding the Remedial Actions undertaken and the status of the requests for No Further Action letters from applicable Governmental Authorities. The first quarterly status report shall be due on March 31, 2014.

6.9. Standards of Financial Statements . Cause all financial statements referred to in Sections 9.7, 9.8, 9.9, 9.10, 9.11, 9.12, and 9.13 as to which GAAP is applicable to be complete and correct in all material respects (subject, in the case of interim financial statements, to normal year-end audit adjustments) and to be prepared in reasonable detail and in accordance with GAAP applied consistently throughout the periods reflected therein (except as disclosed therein and agreed to by such reporting accountants or officer, as applicable).

6.10. Federal Securities Laws . Promptly notify Agents in writing if any Loan Party or any of their Subsidiaries (i) is required to file periodic reports under the Exchange Act, (ii) registers any securities under the Exchange Act or (iii) files a registration statement under the Securities Act.

6.11. Execution of Supplemental Instruments . Execute and deliver to Agents from time to time, upon demand, such supplemental agreements, statements, assignments and transfers, or instructions or documents relating to the Collateral, and such other instruments as Agents may reasonably request, in order that the full intent of this Agreement may be carried into effect.

6.12. Exercise of Rights . Enforce its rights under the Plan of Reorganization, as necessary and to the extent applicable.

6.13. Government Receivables . Take all steps necessary to protect Administrative Agent’s interest in the Collateral under the Uniform Commercial Code and deliver to Agents appropriately endorsed, any instrument or chattel paper connected with any Receivable arising out of any contract between any Loan Party and the United States, any state or any department, agency or instrumentality of any of them.

6.14. Membership / Partnership Interests . If the limited liability company membership interests or partnership interests as the case may be, of the Borrowers or any of their Subsidiaries are designated as securities as contemplated by the definition of “security” in Section 8-102(15) and Section 8-103 of Article 8 of the Uniform Commercial Code, certificate (or cause to be certificated) such limited liability company membership interests and partnership interests, as applicable.

6.15. Keepwell . If it is a Qualified ECP Loan Party, then jointly and severally, together with each other Qualified ECP Loan Party, hereby absolutely unconditionally and irrevocably (a) guarantees the prompt payment and performance of all Swap Obligations owing by each Non-

 

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Qualifying Party (it being understood and agreed that this guarantee is a guaranty of payment and not of collection), and (b) undertakes to provide such funds or other support as may be needed from time to time by any Non-Qualifying Party to honor all of such Non-Qualifying Party’s obligations under this Agreement or any Other Document in respect of Swap Obligations (provided, however, that each Qualified ECP Loan Party shall only be liable under this Section 6.15 for the maximum amount of such liability that can be hereby incurred without rendering its obligations under this Section 6.15, or otherwise under this Agreement or any Other Document, voidable under applicable law, including applicable law relating to fraudulent conveyance or fraudulent transfer, and not for any greater amount). The obligations of each Qualified ECP Loan Party under this Section 6.15 shall remain in full force and effect until payment in full of the Obligations and termination of this Agreement and the Other Documents. Each Qualified ECP Loan Party intends that this Section 6.15 constitute, and this Section 6.15 shall be deemed to constitute, a guarantee of the obligations of, and a “keepwell, support, or other agreement” for the benefit of each other Loan Party and Guarantor for all purposes of Section 1a(18(A)(v)(II) of the CEA.

6.16. Substantial Consummation of Plan of Reorganization . Loan Parties shall diligently pursue and take all steps required under the Plan of Reorganization for substantial consummation of same and otherwise shall achieve substantial consummation of the Plan of Reorganization.

6.17. Post-Closing Obligations .

(a) Within fifteen (15) days after the Closing Date (or such later date as shall be acceptable to the Agents), each Loan Party shall establish and maintain (1) Concentration Account Control Agreements with Administrative Agent and the applicable Concentration Account Bank, in form and substance reasonably acceptable to Administrative Agent for each of the Concentration Accounts and (2) and control agreements with Administrative Agent and the applicable Blocked Account Banks in form and substance reasonably acceptable to Administrative Agent for each of the Blocked Accounts.

(b) Within forty-five (45) days after the Closing Date (or such later date as shall be acceptable to the Agents), Loan Parties shall use their commercially reasonable efforts to obtain and deliver to Agents, Lien Waiver Agreement, in form and substance satisfactory to Agents in their reasonable discretion, with respect to the following leased location of the Loan Parties: Fairport, NY. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in this Agreement, if such Lien Waiver Agreement is not obtained and delivered by forty-five (45) days after the Closing Date, reserves shall be established by the Administrative Agent at such time in an amount equal to at least three (3) months rent for such leased location.

(c) Within sixty (60) days after the Closing Date (or such later date as shall be acceptable to the Agents), Loan Parties shall use their commercially reasonable efforts to obtain and deliver to Agents, Lien Waiver Agreement, in form and substance satisfactory to Agents in their reasonable discretion, with respect to the following leased location of the Loan Parties: Keyser, WV. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in this Agreement, if such Lien Waiver Agreement is not obtained and delivered by sixty (60) days after the Closing Date, reserves shall be established by the Administrative Agent at such time in an amount equal to at least three (3) months rent for such leased location.

 

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(d) Within seventy (70) days after the Closing Date (or such later date as shall be acceptable to the Agents), (i) Agents shall have received Mortgages with respect to the Real Property listed on Schedule B and Schedule C; (ii) Agents shall have received copies of title searches with respect to the Real Property listed on Schedule C; (iii) Agents shall have received with respect to the Real Property listed on Schedule A and Schedule B, (1) to the extent necessary to remove the standard survey exception from Schedule B of the lender’s title insurance policies covering the same Real Property, surveys reasonably satisfactory to the applicable title insurance company and (2) fully paid mortgagee title insurance policies (or binding commitments to issue title insurance policies, marked to Agents’ satisfaction to evidence the form of such policies to be delivered with respect to such Mortgages), in standard ALTA form, issued by a title insurance company reasonably satisfactory to Agents, each in an amount equal to not less than a hundred ten percent (110%) of the appraised value of the Real Property subject to the applicable Mortgage, insuring such Mortgage to create a valid Lien on the Real Property with no exceptions other than Permitted Encumbrances and exceptions which Agents shall have approved in writing and no survey exceptions; and (iv) Agents shall have received with respect to the Real Property listed on Schedule B, (1) if such Real Property is located in a designated flood zone, flood insurance in an amount equal to the lesser of the value of the Real Property to be insured, as reasonably determined by Borrowers, or the maximum amount available under the Federal flood insurance program, and as otherwise required to be maintained under this Agreement naming Agents as additional insured, mortgagee and lender loss payee, as applicable, (2) appraisals, the results of which shall be reasonably satisfactory in form and substance to Agents, of such Real Property, and (3) environmental studies and reports prepared by independent environmental engineering firms with respect to such Real Property, including but not limited to a Phase I environmental assessment and where such Phase I report indicates the requirement for a Phase II report, Phase II reports, all in form and substance satisfactory to Agents.

(e) Within ninety (90) days of the Closing Date (or such later date at Agents’ reasonable discretion), enter into and maintain an Interest Rate Hedge with the Administrative Agent, any Lender or one of their respective Affiliates or with any other counterparty reasonably satisfactory to the Agents, enabling Borrowers to protect against fluctuations in interest rates with respect to twenty-five percent (25%) of $25,000,000 (constituting the sum of the outstanding Advances (other than the Term Loans) as of the Closing Date), for a term reasonably acceptable to Agents, and conforming to International Swap Dealer Association standards (it being understood that the Borrowers shall be able to amend or terminate such Interest Rate Hedge with the consent of the Agents, not to be unreasonably withheld).

(f) The Loan Parties shall satisfy the covenants set forth in Section 6.8(e). If the Remedial Actions specified in Section 6.8(e) are not implemented with due haste and the environmental conditions remediated in a timely manner, in each case, as determined by the Agents (“ Remedial Action Noncompliance Date ”), with respect to any Real Property set forth on Schedule A (the “ Affected Real Property ”), then the Loan Parties shall, within twenty (20) days of the Remedial Action Noncompliance Date:

 

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(I) supplement the current Term Loan A Formula Amount by designating in writing any of the Real Property set forth on Schedule B for transfer to Schedule A for purposes of calculating the Term Loan A Formula Amount; provided, (i) the fair market values (as evidenced by the most recent appraisal satisfactory to Administrative Agent in its sole discretion exercised in good faith) do not exceed $2,000,000 at any time during the Term and (ii) appropriate documentation has been delivered to the Agents, including applicable Mortgages, surveys, appraisals, flood certificates, and title insurance, in form and substance acceptable to Agents, and (y) to the extent such Cure Amount exceeds an aggregate amount of $2,000,000 during the Term, permit the Administrative Agent to establish reserves on a dollar-for-dollar basis for the Remaining Cure Amount or immediately prepay the Term Loan A in an amount equal to the Remaining Cure Amount; or

(II) permit the Administrative Agent to establish reserves on a dollar-for-dollar basis for the Cure Amount, or

(III) immediately prepay the Term Loan A in an amount equal to Cure Amount.

VII. NEGATIVE COVENANTS.

No Loan Party shall, until satisfaction in full of the Obligations and termination of this Agreement:

7.1. Merger, Consolidation, Acquisition and Sale of Assets.

(a) Except in connection with the “DJ Contribution” (as defined in the Plan of Reorganization), the transactions expressly contemplated under Section 4.2(II) of the Plan of Reorganization and the conversion of the Company, GMH, GMO and Holdco into limited liability companies, enter into any merger, consolidation or other reorganization with or into any other Person or acquire all or a substantial portion of the assets or Equity Interests of any Person or permit any other Person to consolidate with or merge with it, except for (i) any merger, consolidation or reorganization between Loan Parties (other than Holdco) or the acquisition of the assets or Equity Interests of one Loan Party (other than Holdco) by another Loan Party, (ii) upon not less than 30 days prior notice to the Agents, any merger or consolidation of Holdco related to any change of its jurisdiction of organization or organizational type in accordance with the terms of Section 7.15, provided that, in such case, (x) Holdco shall be the continuing or surviving entity or (y) if the entity formed by or surviving any such merger or consolidation is not Holdco or is an entity into which Holdco has been liquidated (any such Person, the “ Successor Parent ”), the Successor Parent shall expressly assume all the obligations of Holdco under this Agreement and the other Loan Documents to which Holdco is a party pursuant to a supplement hereto or thereto in form reasonably satisfactory to the Agents, and take all other action reasonably requested by the Agents in furtherance of the foregoing, including without limitation those actions described in Section 7.15 , and thereafter references in any Loan Document to “Holdco” shall be deemed a reference to such Successor Parent, and (iii) Permitted Acquisitions.

 

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(b) Sell, lease, transfer or otherwise dispose of any of its properties or assets, except (i) Permitted Dispositions, (ii) Permitted Investments, (iii) transactions expressly permitted by Section 7.1(a), and (iv) any other sales or dispositions expressly permitted by this Agreement.

7.2. Creation of Liens . Create or suffer to exist any Lien or transfer upon or against any of its property or assets now owned or hereafter created or acquired, except Permitted Encumbrances.

7.3. Guarantees . Become liable upon the obligations or liabilities of any Person by assumption, endorsement or guaranty thereof or otherwise (other than to Lenders) except for (a) the obligations or liabilities disclosed on Schedule 7.3, (b) guarantees by one or more Loan Party(ies) of the Indebtedness or obligations of any other Loan Party(ies) to the extent such Indebtedness or obligations are permitted to be incurred and/or outstanding pursuant to the provisions of this Agreement, (c) the endorsement of checks in the Ordinary Course of Business, (d) guarantees incurred in the Ordinary Course of Business with respect to surety and appeal bonds, performance bonds, bid bonds, appeal bonds, completion guarantee and similar obligations, and (e) guarantees arising with respect to reasonable and customary indemnification obligations to purchasers in connection with Permitted Dispositions.

7.4. Investments . Purchase or acquire obligations or Equity Interests of, or any other interest in, any Person, other than Permitted Investments.

7.5. Loans . Make advances, loans or extensions of credit to any Person, including any Parent, Subsidiary or Affiliate other than Permitted Loans or to the extent permitted pursuant to Permitted Dispositions or Permitted Investments.

7.6. Capital Expenditures . As of each fiscal quarter, contract for, purchase or make any expenditure or commitments for Capital Expenditures in an aggregate amount for all Loan Parties in excess of $7,500,000, measured on a trailing twelve (12) month period then end; provided, however, in the event Capital Expenditures during any such fiscal year are less than $7,500,000, then the unused amount not to exceed $1,500,000 may be carried over to the immediately succeeding fiscal year and used in the immediately succeeding fiscal year after the $7,500,000 for such fiscal year has been exhausted.

7.7. Dividends . Declare, pay or make any dividend or distribution on any Equity Interests of any Loan Party (other than dividends or distributions payable in its stock, or split-ups or reclassifications of its stock) or apply any of its funds, property or assets to the purchase, redemption or other retirement of any Equity Interest, or of any options to purchase or acquire any Equity Interest of any Loan Party other than (a) Permitted Dividends; (b) dividends or other distributions by a Loan Party (other than Holdco) payable to another Loan Party (other than Holdco); (c) dividends or distributions by Borrowers to Holdco (or any direct or indirect parent entity), the proceeds of which shall be used to (i) pay operating expenses and other corporate overhead costs and expenses of Holdco (or by Holdco to any direct or indirect parent entity, so long as expensed to pay franchise taxes and fees, independent director costs, Exchange Act filing costs or other similar charges, in an aggregate amount not to exceed $1,000,000 per fiscal year), in each case which are reasonable and customary and incurred in the ordinary course of business,

 

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(ii) pay expenses of Holdco (or any direct or indirect parent entity thereof) incurred in connection with any offering of securities (whether or not successful) or (iii) pay transactional fees, costs, and expenses incurred in connection with this Agreement, the Other Documents and the transactions contemplated hereby and thereby; (d) dividends or distributions by any Loan Party and its Subsidiaries to Holdco for taxes that are (i) paid or payable by Holdco, New Media Investment Group Inc. or any entity that, from time to time, is responsible for the payments of taxes in connection with a consolidated, combined, unitary or similar type return of which the Loan Party is a part; and (ii) as part of a consolidated, combined, unitary or similar type return but only in an amount that any Borrower would be required to pay in respect to taxes were such Borrower to pay such taxes as the parent of the consolidated, combined or unitary group; (e) dividends or distributions by any Borrower to Holdco to pay amounts pursuant to the Management Agreement, in each case, subject to Section 7.10 and (f) the POR Distributions.

7.8. Indebtedness . Create, incur, assume or suffer to exist any Indebtedness other than Permitted Indebtedness.

7.9. Nature of Business . Materially change the nature of the business in which it is presently engaged; provided , however , that the foregoing shall not prevent any Loan Party from engaging in any business that is reasonably related, similar, complementary, ancillary to or a reasonable extension, development or expansion of its business.

7.10. Transactions with Affiliates . Directly or indirectly, purchase, acquire or lease any property from, or sell, transfer or lease any property to, or otherwise enter into any transaction, contract or arrangement with, any Affiliate, except for (i) transactions (other than the payment of management, consulting, monitoring, or advisory fees) among Loan Parties, so long as such transactions are (A) entered into in the Ordinary Course of Business, (B) are fully disclosed to the Agents in writing prior to the consummation thereof if such transaction involves one or more payments by any Loan Party in excess of $1,000,000 for any transaction or series of related transactions in a fiscal year, and (C) are on an arm’s-length basis on terms and conditions no less favorable than terms and conditions which would have been obtainable from a Person other than an Affiliate; (ii) payment by Loan Parties of dividends and distributions permitted under Section 7.7 hereof, (iii) transactions permitted under Section 7.1 hereof, (iv) the making of any Permitted Loans, (v) so long as approved by the applicable board of directors (or comparable governing body) of a Loan Party in accordance with applicable law, (A) any indemnity provided for the benefit of directors (or comparable managers) of such Loan Party or (B) the payment of reasonable compensation, severance, or employee benefit arrangements to employees, officers, and outside directors of such Loan Party in the Ordinary Course of Business, (vi) the payment of management, incentive or other fees and expenses set forth in the Management Agreement (to the extent expressly permitted in the Management Fee Subordination Agreement); provided , that if at any time any such fee has been deferred then such amounts shall continue to accrue; and (vii) a shared services, joint procurement or similar transaction with New Media Holdings or any successor thereto or any of its subsidiaries in the Ordinary Course of Business so long as (w) such transactions are fully disclosed to the Agents in writing not less than 10 days prior to the consummation thereof if such transaction involves one or more payments by any Loan Party in excess of $500,000 for any transaction or series of related transactions in a fiscal year, (x) the costs thereof is allocated on an objective basis or are otherwise not detrimental in any material respect to Borrowers or their Subsidiaries, as determined by the management of Borrowers in

 

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good faith, (y) such transactions are no less favorable, taken as a whole, to the Loan Parties than would be obtained in an arm’s length transaction with a non-Affiliate, and (z) any such transaction does not adversely affect, impair or restrict a Loan Party’s title or right to any of its accounts or other Collateral.

7.11. Reserved .

7.12. Subsidiaries .

(a) Form any Subsidiary unless such Subsidiary (i) is not a Foreign Subsidiary, (ii) at Agents’ discretion, (x) expressly joins in this Agreement as a borrower or guarantor and becomes jointly and severally liable for the obligations of Loan Parties hereunder, under the Notes, and under any other agreement between any Loan Party and Lenders, or (y) becomes a Guarantor with respect to the Obligations and executes a Guarantor Security Agreement in favor of Agents, and (iii) Agents shall have received all documents, including without limitation, legal opinions and appraisals it may reasonably require to establish compliance with each of the foregoing conditions in connection therewith.

(b) Except as approved in writing by each Agent (after prior disclosure to each Agent in writing), enter into any partnership, joint venture or similar arrangement.

7.13. Fiscal Year and Accounting Changes . Change its fiscal year from December 31 or make any change (i) in accounting treatment and reporting practices except as required by GAAP or (ii) in tax reporting treatment except as required by law.

7.14. Pledge of Credit . Now or hereafter pledge any Agent’s or any Lender’s credit on any purchases, commitments or contracts or for any purpose whatsoever or use any portion of any Advance in or for any business other than such Loan Party’s business operations as conducted on the Closing Date (or any business that is reasonably related, similar, complementary, ancillary to or a reasonable extension, development or expansion of its business).

7.15. Amendment of Organizational Documents . Except in connection with the transactions expressly contemplated under Section 4.2(II) of the Plan of Reorganization, the conversion of the Company, GMH, GMO and Holdco into limited liability companies or as required by Applicable Law, (i) change its legal name, (ii) change its form of legal entity (e.g., converting from a corporation to a limited liability company or vice versa), (iii) change its jurisdiction of organization or become (or attempt or purport to become) organized in more than one jurisdiction, or (iv) otherwise amend, modify or waive any term or material provision of its Organizational Documents that would adversely affect the Lenders unless required by law, in any such case without (x) giving at least ten (10) days prior written notice to the Agents in the case of clause (i) and otherwise, giving at least thirty (30) days prior written notice of such intended change to Agents, (y) having received from Agents confirmation that Agents has taken all steps necessary for Administrative Agent to continue the perfection of and protect the enforceability and priority of its Liens in the Collateral belonging to such Loan Party and in the Equity Interests of such Loan Party and (z) in any case under clause (iv), having received the prior written consent of Agents and Required Lenders to such amendment, modification or waiver.

 

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7.16. Compliance with ERISA . Except that would not give rise to a Material Adverse Effect, (i) (x) maintain, or permit any member of the Controlled Group to maintain, or (y) become obligated to contribute, or permit any member of the Controlled Group to become obligated to contribute, to any Plan, other than those Plans maintained or to which there is an obligation to contribute as of the date of execution of this Agreement, (ii) engage, or permit any member of the Controlled Group to engage, in any non-exempt “prohibited transaction”, as that term is defined in Section 406 of ERISA or Section 4975 of the Code, that could result in material liability, (iii) terminate, or permit any member of the Controlled Group to terminate, any Plan where such event could result in any liability of any Loan Party or any member of the Controlled Group or the imposition of a lien on the property of any Loan Party or any member of the Controlled Group pursuant to Section 4068 of ERISA, (iv) incur, or permit any member of the Controlled Group to incur, any withdrawal liability to any Multiemployer Plan; (v) fail promptly to notify Agents of the occurrence of any Termination Event, (vi) fail to comply in all material respects, or permit a member of the Controlled Group to fail to comply, with the requirements of ERISA or the Code or other Applicable Laws in respect of any Plan, or (vii) fail to meet, permit any member of the Controlled Group to fail to meet, or permit any Pension Benefit Plan to fail to meet all minimum funding requirements under ERISA and the Code, without regard to any waivers or variances, or postpone or delay or allow any member of the Controlled Group to postpone or delay any minimum funding requirement with respect to any Plan.

7.17. Prepayment of Indebtedness . Except in connection with Refinancing Indebtedness permitted by Section 7.8 hereof, at any time, directly or indirectly, prepay any Indebtedness (other than to Lenders), or repurchase, redeem, retire or otherwise acquire any Indebtedness of any Loan Party.

7.18. Subordinated Loan . At any time, directly or indirectly, pay, prepay, repurchase, redeem, retire or otherwise acquire, or make any payment on account of any principal of, interest on or premium payable in connection with the repayment or redemption of the Subordinated Loan, except as expressly permitted in the Subordination Agreement.

7.19. Other Agreements . Enter into any material amendment, waiver or modification of the Subordinated Loan Documents or any related agreements, except as expressly permitted in the Subordination Agreement.

VIII. CONDITIONS PRECEDENT.

8.1. Conditions to Initial Advances . The agreement of Lenders to make the initial Advances requested to be made on the Closing Date is subject to the satisfaction, or waiver by each Agent, immediately prior to or concurrently with the making of such Advances, of the following conditions precedent:

(a) Notes . Agents shall have received the Notes duly executed and delivered by an authorized officer of each Borrower;

 

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(b) Confirmation Order and Plan of Reorganization . The Confirmation Order has been entered in the Bankruptcy Cases confirming the Plan of Reorganization. Agents shall have received a certified executed copy of the Disclosure Statement, the Plan of Reorganization, and the Confirmation Order, each of which is final and has not been withdrawn, rescinded, vacated, reversed, stayed, revoked, modified, or amended, and on the Closing Date, the Confirmation Order shall be a final order.

(c) Effectiveness of Plan of Reorganization . The Plan of Reorganization is, or will become upon the simultaneous closing of the transactions contemplated under this Agreement, fully effective on the Effective Date (as defined in the Plan of Reorganization); and

(d) The Subordination Agreement; Management Fee Subordination Agreement; and Other Documents . Agents shall have received the following executed documents: (i) the Subordination Agreement, (ii) a Management Fee Subordination Agreement and (iii) the Other Documents, all in form and substance satisfactory to Agents;

(e) Mortgages . With respect to the Real Property listed on Schedule A, Agents shall have received executed Mortgages in form and substance satisfactory to Lenders;

(f) Reserved .

(g) Environmental Reports . Subject to Section 6.17, Agents shall have received all environmental studies and reports prepared by independent environmental engineering firms with respect to all Real Property owned by any Loan Party as listed on Schedule A, including but not limited to a Phase I environmental assessment, in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to Agents;

(h) Financial Condition Certificates . Agents shall have received an executed Financial Condition Certificate in the form of Exhibit 8.1(g).

(i) Closing Certificate . Agents shall have received a closing certificate signed by the Chief Financial Officer of each Borrower dated as of the date hereof, stating that (i) all representations and warranties set forth in this Agreement and the Other Documents are true and correct in all material respects on and as of such date; provided that, to the extent that such representations and warranties specifically refer to an earlier date, they were true and correct in all material respects as of such earlier date; provided, further, that, any representation and warranty that is qualified as to “materiality”, “Material Adverse Effect” or similar language is or was true and correct (after giving effect to any qualification therein) in all respects on such respective dates, and (ii) on such date no Default or Event of Default has occurred or is continuing;

(j) Reserved .

(k) Closing Date Undrawn Availability . After giving effect to the initial Advances hereunder, Borrowers shall have Closing Date Undrawn Availability of at least $10,000,000;

 

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(l) EBITDA . As of the Closing Date, the EBITDA, reported as of September 30, 2013 and as adjusted on the quality of earnings report prepared by FTI Consulting and delivered to the Agents, shall be at least $63,000,000, measured on a rolling four (4) quarter basis, and any pro-forma adjustments thereto must be satisfactory to Agents;

(m) Blocked Accounts . Borrowers shall have opened the Depository Accounts with Administrative Agent or Agents shall have received duly executed agreements establishing the Blocked Accounts with financial institutions acceptable to Agents for the collection or servicing of the Receivables and proceeds of the Collateral;

(n) Subordinated Loan Documents . Agents shall have received final executed copies of the Subordinated Loan Documents, and all related agreements, documents and instruments as in effect on the Closing Date all of which shall be satisfactory in form and substance to Agents and the transactions contemplated by such documentation shall be consummated prior to or simultaneously with the making of the initial Advance including, without limitation, the receipt by Borrowers of the net proceeds of the Subordinated Loan Documents in the sum of $50,000,000;

(o) Filings, Registrations and Recordings . Each document (including any Uniform Commercial Code financing statement) required by this Agreement, any related agreement or under law or reasonably requested by Agents to be filed, registered or recorded in order to create, in favor of Administrative Agent, a perfected security interest in or lien upon the Collateral shall have been properly filed, registered or recorded in each jurisdiction in which the filing, registration or recordation thereof is so required or requested, and Agents shall have received an acknowledgment copy, or other evidence satisfactory to it, of each such filing, registration or recordation and reasonably satisfactory evidence of the payment of any necessary fee, tax or expense relating thereto;

(p) Reserved .

(q) Secretary’s Certificates, Authorizing Resolutions and Good Standings of Loan Parties . Agents shall have received a certificate of the Secretary or Assistant Secretary (or other equivalent officer, partner or manager) of each Loan Party in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to Agents dated as of the Closing Date which shall certify (i) copies of resolutions of the board of directors (or other equivalent governing body, member or partner) of such Loan Party authorizing (x) the execution, delivery and performance of this Agreement, the Notes and each Other Document to which such Loan Party is a party (including authorization of the incurrence of indebtedness, borrowing of Revolving Advances, Swing Loans, and Term Loans and requesting of Letters of Credit on a joint and several basis with all Loan Parties as provided for herein), and (y) the granting by such Loan Party of the security interests in and liens upon the Collateral to secure all of the joint and several Obligations of Loan Parties (and such certificate shall state that such resolutions have not been amended, modified, revoked or rescinded as of the date of such certificate), (ii) the incumbency and signature of the officers of such Loan Party authorized to execute this Agreement and the Other Documents, (iii) copies of the Organizational Documents of such Loan Party as in effect on such date, complete with all amendments thereto, and (iv) the good standing (or equivalent status) of such Loan Party in its jurisdiction of organization and each applicable jurisdiction where the conduct of such Loan

 

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Party’s business activities or the ownership of its properties necessitates qualification, as evidenced by good standing certificate(s) (or the equivalent thereof issued by any applicable jurisdiction) dated not more than thirty (30) days prior to the Closing Date, issued by the Secretary of State or other appropriate official of each such jurisdiction;

(r) Legal Opinions . Agents shall have received the executed legal opinion of Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP and Young Conaway Stargatt & Taylor, LLP, each, in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to Agents which shall cover such matters incident to the transactions contemplated by this Agreement, the Notes, the Other Documents, and related agreements as any Agent may reasonably require and each Loan Party hereby authorizes and directs such counsel to deliver such opinions to Agents and Lenders;

(s) No Litigation . Except as disclosed in the Disclosure Statement, Plan of Reorganization, or Confirmation Order, no litigation, investigation or proceeding before or by any arbitrator or Governmental Body shall be continuing or threatened against any Borrower or against the officers or directors of any Borrower (A) in connection with this Agreement, the Other Documents, the Subordinated Loan Documents or any of the transactions contemplated thereby and which, in the reasonable opinion of any Agent, is deemed material or (B) which could, in the reasonable opinion of any Agent, have a Material Adverse Effect; and (ii) no injunction, writ, restraining order or other order of any nature materially adverse to any Borrower or the conduct of its business or inconsistent with the due consummation of the Transactions shall have been issued by any Governmental Body;

(t) Collateral Examination . Agents shall have completed Collateral examinations and received appraisals, the results of which shall be reasonably satisfactory in form and substance to Agents, of the Receivables, Inventory, General Intangibles, Real Property set forth on Schedule A, Leasehold Interest and equipment of each Loan Party and all books and records in connection therewith;

(u) Fees . Agents shall have received all fees payable to Agents and Lenders on or prior to the Closing Date hereunder, including pursuant to Article III hereof and the Fee Letter;

(v) Pro Forma Financial Statements . Agents shall have received (i) a copy of the Pro Forma Financial Statements, (ii) annual financial statements of the Loan Parties for the period ending December 31, 2012, together with interim statements for the period for the period ending September 30, 2013, (iii) monthly projections for the Loan Parties for the first twelve (12) months following the Closing Date, and (iv) annual projections of the Loan Parties for the fiscal years ending for the fiscal years 2014, 2015 and 2016, each of the foregoing, the capital structure of the Loan Parties as of the Closing Date, including confirmed equity amount equal to Sponsor’s current investment level (consistent with the presentation by Holdco to the Agents) and the evidence of Borrowers’ ability to repay the Advances, shall be satisfactory in all respects to Agents;

(w) Insurance . Agents shall have received in form and substance satisfactory to Agents, (i) evidence that adequate insurance, including without limitation, casualty and liability insurance, required to be maintained under this Agreement is in full force and effect, (ii)

 

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insurance certificates issued by Borrowers’ insurance broker containing such information regarding Borrowers’ casualty and liability insurance policies as Agents shall request and naming Agents as an additional insured, lenders loss payee and/or mortgagee, as applicable, and (iii) loss payable endorsements issued by Borrowers’ insurer naming Agents as lenders loss payee and mortgagee, as applicable;

(x) Flood Insurance . Subject to Section 6.17, evidence that adequate flood insurance in an amount equal to lesser of the value of the Real Property listed on Schedule A to be insured or the maximum amount available under the Federal flood insurance program, and as otherwise required to be maintained under this Agreement is in full force and effect, with additional insured, mortgagee and lender loss payable special endorsements attached thereto in form and substance satisfactory to Agents and their counsels naming Agents as additional insured, mortgagee and lender loss payee, as applicable, and evidence that Borrowers have taken all actions required under the Flood Laws and/or requested by any Agent to assist in ensuring that each Lender is in compliance with the Flood Laws applicable to the Collateral, including, but not limited to, providing Agents with the address and/or GPS coordinates of each structure on any such Real Property that will be subject to a Mortgage in favor of Agents, for the benefit of Lenders, and, to the extent required, obtaining flood insurance for such property, structures and contents prior to such property, structures and contents becoming Collateral.

(y) Payment Instructions . Agents shall have received written instructions from Borrowing Agent directing the application of proceeds of the initial Advances made pursuant to this Agreement;

(z) Consents . Agents shall have received any and all Consents necessary to permit the effectuation of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement and the Other Documents; and, Agents shall have received such Consents and waivers of such third parties as might assert claims with respect to the Collateral, as Agents and their counsels shall deem necessary;

(aa) No Adverse Material Change . (i) Except as disclosed in the Disclosure Statement, Plan of Reorganization, or Confirmation Order, since December 31, 2012, there shall not have occurred any event, condition or state of facts which would reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect and (ii) no representations made or information supplied to Agents or Lenders, including, management prepared financial statements for the period ended on or about September 30, 2013 and disclosures/information provided within the Plan of Reorganization documents that are on file with the United States Bankruptcy Court, shall have been proven to be inaccurate or misleading in any material respect (taken as a whole);

(bb) Contract Review . Agents shall have received and reviewed all Material Contracts of Borrowers including leases, union contracts, labor contracts, vendor supply contracts, License Agreements and distributorship agreements and such contracts and agreements shall be satisfactory in all respects to each Agent;

(cc) Compliance with Laws . Each Agent shall be reasonably satisfied that each Borrower is in compliance with all pertinent federal, state, local or territorial regulations, including those with respect to the Federal Occupational Safety and Health Act, the Environmental Protection Act, ERISA and the Anti-Terrorism Laws;

 

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(dd) Quality of Earnings Report . Each Agent shall have received a quality of earnings report, background reports of the Loan Parties and certain key individuals associated with the Loan Parties, and any other third party diligence prepared for the Borrowers, which shall be satisfactory in form and substance to each Agent, such scope of report and information to include a review of Borrowers’ business plan and management’s ability to execute said plan, verification of any EBITDA addbacks and adjustments as presented by Borrowers during the due diligence process, and any other additional procedures as may be required to verify the financial results of the Borrowers for the fiscal year 2012 and for the trailing twelve-month period ending August 31, 2013; and

(ee) Other . All corporate and other proceedings, and all documents, instruments and other legal matters in connection with the Transactions shall be satisfactory in form and substance to Agents and their counsels.

8.2. Conditions to Each Advance . The agreement of Lenders to make any Advance requested to be made on any date (including the initial Advance), is subject to the satisfaction of the following conditions precedent as of the date such Advance is made:

(a) Representations and Warranties . Each of the representations and warranties made by any Loan Party in or pursuant to this Agreement, the Other Documents and any related agreements to which it is a party, and each of the representations and warranties contained in any certificate, document or financial or other statement furnished at any time under or in connection with this Agreement, the Other Documents or any related agreement shall be true and correct in all material respects (except that such materiality qualifier shall not be applicable to any representations and warranties that already are qualified or modified by materiality in the text thereof) on and as of such date as if made on and as of such date (except to the extent any such representation or warranty expressly relates only to any earlier and/or specified date);

(b) No Default . No Event of Default or Default shall have occurred and be continuing on such date, or would exist after giving effect to the Advances requested to be made, on such date; provided, however that Administrative Agent, in its sole discretion, may continue to make applicable Advances notwithstanding the existence of an Event of Default or Default and that any Advances so made shall not be deemed a waiver of any such Event of Default or Default; and

(c) Maximum Advances . In the case of any type of Advance requested to be made, after giving effect thereto, the aggregate amount of such type of Advance shall not exceed the maximum amount of such type of Advance permitted under this Agreement.

(d) No Material Adverse Effect . Except as disclosed in the Disclosure Statement, Plan of Reorganization, or Confirmation Order, no event or development has occurred, or failed to occur, which would reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect.

 

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Each request for an Advance by any Borrower hereunder shall constitute a representation and warranty by each Borrower as of the date of such Advance that the conditions contained in this subsection shall have been satisfied.

IX. INFORMATION AS TO LOAN PARTIES.

Each Loan Party shall, or (except with respect to Section 9.11) shall cause Borrowing Agent on its behalf to, until satisfaction in full of the Obligations and the termination of this Agreement:

9.1. Disclosure of Material Matters . Promptly upon learning thereof, report to Agents all matters materially affecting the value, enforceability or collectability of any portion of the Collateral, including any Loan Party’s reclamation or repossession of, or the return to any Loan Party of, a material amount of goods or claims or disputes asserted by any Customer or other obligor, except, in each case, where such matters or return would not, individually or in the aggregate, have or be reasonably expected to have a Material Adverse Effect.

9.2. Schedules . Deliver to Agents (i) on or before the fifteenth (15th) day of each month as and for the prior month (a) accounts receivable ageings inclusive of reconciliations to the general ledger, (b) accounts payable schedules inclusive of reconciliations to the general ledger, (c) Inventory reports and (d) a Borrowing Base Certificate in form and substance satisfactory to Agents (which shall be calculated as of the last day of the prior month and which shall not be binding upon Agents or restrictive of any Agent’s rights under this Agreement), and (ii) on or before Tuesday of each week, a weekly reporting of the cash collections for the prior week. In addition, each Borrower will deliver to Agents at such reasonable intervals as Agents may require: (i) confirmatory assignment schedules; (ii) copies of Customer’s invoices; (iii) evidence of shipment or delivery; and (iv) such further schedules, documents and/or information regarding the Collateral as Agents may require including trial balances and test verifications. Agents shall have the right to confirm and verify all Receivables by any manner and through any medium it considers advisable and do whatever it may deem reasonably necessary to protect its interests hereunder. The items to be provided under this Section are to be in form reasonably satisfactory to Agents and executed by each Borrower and delivered to Agents from time to time solely for Agents’ convenience in maintaining records of the Collateral, and any Borrower’s failure to deliver any of such items to Agents shall not affect, terminate, modify or otherwise limit Administrative Agent’s Lien with respect to the Collateral. Unless otherwise agreed to by Agents, the items to be provided under this Section 9.2 shall be delivered to Agents by the specific method of Approved Electronic Communication designated by Agents.

9.3. Environmental Reports .

(a) Furnish Agents, concurrently with the delivery of the financial statements referred to in Sections 9.7 and 9.8, with a certificate signed by the Chief Executive Officer or President of Borrowing Agent stating, to the best of his knowledge, that each Loan Party is in compliance in all material respects with all applicable Environmental Laws. To the extent any Loan Party is not in compliance with the foregoing laws, the certificate shall set forth with specificity all areas of non-compliance and the proposed action such Loan Party will implement in order to achieve full compliance.

 

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(b) In the event any Loan Party obtains, gives or receives notice of any Release or threat of Release of a reportable quantity of any Hazardous Materials at the Real Property (any such event being hereinafter referred to as a “ Hazardous Discharge ”) or receives any notice of violation, request for information or notification that it is potentially responsible for investigation or cleanup of environmental conditions at the Real Property, demand letter or complaint, order, citation, or other written notice with regard to any Hazardous Discharge or violation of Environmental Laws affecting the Real Property or any Loan Party’s interest therein or the operations or the business (any of the foregoing is referred to herein as an “ Environmental Complaint ”) from any Person, including any Governmental Body, then Borrowing Agent shall, within five (5) Business Days, give written notice of same to Agents detailing facts and circumstances of which any Loan Party is aware giving rise to the Hazardous Discharge or Environmental Complaint. Such information is to be provided to allow any Agent to protect Administrative Agent’s security interest in and Lien on the Collateral and is not intended to create nor shall it create any obligation upon any Agent or any Lender with respect thereto.

(c) Borrowing Agent shall promptly forward to Agents copies of any request for information, notification of potential liability, demand letter relating to potential responsibility with respect to the investigation or cleanup of Hazardous Materials at any other site owned, operated or used by any Loan Party to manage of Hazardous Materials and shall continue to forward copies of correspondence between any Loan Party and the Governmental Body regarding such claims to Agents until the claim is settled. Borrowing Agent shall promptly forward to Agents copies of all documents and reports concerning a Hazardous Discharge or Environmental Complaint at the Real Property, operations or business that any Loan Party is required to file under any Environmental Laws. Such information is to be provided solely to allow Agents to protect Administrative Agent’s security interest in and Lien on the Collateral.

9.4. Litigation . Promptly notify Agents in writing of any claim, litigation, suit or administrative proceeding affecting any Loan Party, whether or not the claim is covered by insurance, and of any litigation, suit or administrative proceeding, which in any such case affects a material portion of the Collateral or which would reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect.

9.5. Material Occurrences . Promptly notify Agents in writing upon the occurrence and continuation of: (a) any Event of Default or Default; (b) any event of default under the Subordinated Loan Documents; (c) any event which with the giving of notice or lapse of time, or both, would constitute an event of default under the Subordinated Loan Documents; (d) any event, development or circumstance whereby any financial statements or other reports furnished to Agents fail in any material respect to present fairly, in accordance with GAAP consistently applied, the financial condition or operating results of any Loan Party as of the date of such statements; (e) any failure to meet minimum funding standards which is not corrected as provided in Section 4971 of the Code and could subject any Loan Party or any member of the Controlled Group to a material tax imposed by Section 4971 of the Code; (f) each and every default by any Loan Party which might result in the acceleration of the maturity of any Indebtedness, including the names and addresses of the holders of such Indebtedness with respect to which there is a default existing or with respect to which the maturity has been or could be accelerated, and the amount of such Indebtedness; and (g) any other development in the business or affairs of any Loan Party, which could reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect; in each case describing the nature thereof and the action Loan Parties propose to take with respect thereto.

 

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9.6. Reserved .

9.7. Annual Financial Statements . Furnish Agents and Lenders within ninety (90) days after the end of each fiscal year of the Loan Parties, financial statements of the Loan Parties on a consolidating and consolidated basis including, but not limited to, (i) statements of income and stockholders’ equity and cash flow from the beginning of the current fiscal year to the end of such fiscal year and the balance sheet as at the end of such fiscal year, (ii) a comparison to the respective financial statements for the corresponding date and period in the previous fiscal year and (iii) a supplemental schedule, in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to the Agents, setting forth the types and amounts of expenses incurred by New Media Investment Group Inc. on behalf of the Loan Parties during such fiscal year for which it has received reimbursement during such fiscal year period (it being understood that to the extent permitted by GAAP, the reimbursement of expenses of New Media Investment Group Inc. shall be reflected in the financial statements of the Loan Parties as a direct expense of a similar type as if such expense had been incurred directly by the Loan Parties), all prepared in accordance with GAAP applied on a basis consistent with prior practices, and in reasonable detail and reported upon without qualification (other than solely with respect to, or solely resulting from, the fact that the scheduled maturity date of any Loan or commitment hereunder (for the avoidance of doubt, without giving effect to any circumstances that have caused such scheduled maturity date to be accelerated to an earlier date) is less than one year after the date of such opinion) by Ernst & Young LLP or any other independent certified public accounting firm selected by Loan Parties and satisfactory to Agents (the “ Accountants ”). The report of the Accountants shall be accompanied by a statement of the Accountants certifying that (i) they have caused this Agreement to be reviewed, (ii) in making the examination upon which such report was based either no information came to their attention which to their knowledge constituted an Event of Default or a Default under this Agreement or any related agreement or, if such information came to their attention, specifying any such Default or Event of Default, its nature, when it occurred and whether it is continuing, and such report shall contain or have appended thereto calculations which set forth Loan Parties’ compliance with the requirements or restrictions imposed by Sections 6.5, 7.4, 7.5, 7.6, 7.7, 7.8 and 7.10 hereof. In addition, the reports shall be accompanied by a Compliance Certificate.

9.8. Quarterly Financial Statements . Furnish Agents and Lenders within forty-five (45) days after the end of each fiscal quarter, (i) an unaudited balance sheet of the Loan Parties on a consolidated and consolidating basis, (ii) unaudited statements of income and stockholders’ equity and cash flow of the Loan Parties on a consolidated and consolidating basis reflecting results of operations from the beginning of the fiscal year to the end of such quarter and for such quarter, prepared on a basis consistent with prior practices and complete and correct in all material respects, subject to normal and recurring year-end adjustments that individually and in the aggregate are not material to Loan Parties’ business operations and setting forth in comparative form the respective financial statements for the corresponding date and period in the previous fiscal year, (iii) a comparison of such financials against the projections delivered pursuant to Section 9.12 for the corresponding date and (iv) a supplemental schedule, in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to the Agents, setting forth the types and amounts of

 

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expenses incurred by New Media Investment Group Inc. on behalf of the Loan Parties during such fiscal quarter for which it has received reimbursement during such fiscal quarter period (it being understood that to the extent permitted by GAAP, the reimbursement of expenses of New Media Investment Group Inc. shall be reflected in the financial statements of the Loan Parties as a direct expense of a similar type as if such expense had been incurred directly by the Loan Parties). The reports shall be accompanied by a Compliance Certificate and unaudited statements of income for each division/market group (including Propel Marketing) of the Loan Parties, reflecting the results of operations from the beginning of the fiscal year to the end of such quarter, and for such quarter ended, and setting forth in comparative form the respective statements of income for the corresponding date and period in the previous fiscal year.

9.9. Monthly Financial Statements . Furnish Agents and Lenders within thirty (30) days after the end of each month (other than for the months of March, June, September and December which shall be delivered in accordance with Sections 9.7 and 9.8 as applicable), (i) an unaudited balance sheet of the Loan Parties on a consolidated and consolidating basis, (ii) unaudited statements of income of the Loan Parties on a consolidated and consolidating basis reflecting results of operations from the beginning of the fiscal year to the end of such month and for such month, prepared on a basis consistent with prior practices and complete and correct in all material respects, subject to normal and recurring year-end adjustments that individually and in the aggregate are not material to Borrowers’ business operations and setting forth in comparative form the respective financial statements for the corresponding date and period in the previous fiscal year, (iii) a comparison of such financials against the projections delivered pursuant to Section 9.12 for the corresponding date and (iv) a supplemental schedule, in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to the Agents, setting forth the types and amounts of expenses incurred by New Media Investment Group Inc. on behalf of the Loan Parties during such month for which it has received reimbursement during such month period (it being understood that to the extent permitted by GAAP, the reimbursement of expenses of New Media Investment Group Inc. shall be reflected in the financial statements of the Loan Parties as a direct expense of a similar type as if such expense had been incurred directly by the Loan Parties). The reports shall be accompanied by a Compliance Certificate.

9.10. Other Reports . Furnish Agents as soon as available, but in any event within ten (10) days after the issuance thereof, (i) with copies of such financial statements, reports and returns as each Loan Party shall send to its stockholders or members, as the case may be, and (ii) copies of all notices, reports, financial statements and other materials sent pursuant to the Subordinated Loan Documents.

9.11. Additional Information . Furnish Agents with such additional information as any Agent shall reasonably request in order to enable such Agent to determine whether the terms, covenants, provisions and conditions of this Agreement and the Notes have been complied with by Loan Parties including, without the necessity of any request by any Agent, (a) copies of all environmental audits and reviews, (b) at least thirty (30) days prior thereto, notice of any Loan Party’s opening of any new office or place of business or any Loan Party’s closing of any existing office or place of business, and (c) promptly upon any Loan Party’s learning thereof, notice of any material labor dispute to which any Loan Party may become a party, any strikes or walkouts relating to any of its plants or other facilities, and the expiration of any labor contract to which any Loan Party is a party or by which any Loan Party is bound.

 

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9.12. Projected Operating Budget . Furnish Agents and Lenders, no later than thirty (30) days after the beginning of each Loan Party’s fiscal years commencing with fiscal year 2014, a month by month projected income statement, statement of cash flow, balance sheet and Formula Amount availability of the Loan Parties on a consolidated and consolidating basis for such fiscal year, such projections to be accompanied by a certificate signed by the Chief Executive Officer or Chief Financial Officer of each Loan Party to the effect that such projections have been prepared on the basis of sound financial planning practice consistent with past budgets and financial statements and that such officer has no reason to question the reasonableness of any material assumptions on which such projections were prepared; it being understood that actual results may vary from such projections and that such variations may be material.

9.13. Variances From Operating Budget . Furnish Agents, concurrently with the delivery of the financial statements referred to in Sections 9.7, 9.8 and 9.9, a written report summarizing all material variances from budgets submitted by Loan Parties pursuant to Section 9.12 and a discussion and analysis by management with respect to such variances.

9.14. Notice of Suits, Adverse Events . Furnish Agents with prompt written notice of (i) any lapse or other termination of any Consent issued to any Loan Party by any Governmental Body or any other Person that is material to the operation of any Loan Party’s business, (ii) any refusal by any Governmental Body or any other Person to renew or extend any such Consent; and (iii) copies of any periodic or special reports filed by any Loan Party with any Governmental Body or Person, if such reports indicate any material change in the business, operations, affairs or condition of any Loan Party, or if copies thereof are requested by Lender, and (iv) copies of any material notices and other communications from any Governmental Body or Person which specifically relate to any Loan Party.

9.15. ERISA Notices and Requests . Furnish Agents with prompt written notice in the event that (i) any Loan Party or any member of the Controlled Group knows or has reason to know that a Termination Event has occurred, together with a written statement describing such Termination Event and the action, if any, which such Loan Party or any member of the Controlled Group has taken, is taking, or proposes to take with respect thereto and, when known, any action taken or threatened by the Internal Revenue Service, Department of Labor or PBGC with respect thereto, (ii) any Loan Party or any member of the Controlled Group knows or has reason to know that a prohibited transaction that may result in material liability (as defined in Section 406 of ERISA or 4975 of the Code) has occurred together with a written statement describing such transaction and the action which such Loan Party or any member of the Controlled Group has taken, is taking or proposes to take with respect thereto, (iii) a funding waiver request has been filed with respect to any Pension Benefit Plan together with all communications received by any Loan Party or any member of the Controlled Group with respect to such request, (iv) any material increase in the benefits of any existing Plan or the establishment of any new material Plan or the commencement of material contributions to any Plan to which any Loan Party or any member of the Controlled Group was not previously contributing shall occur, (v) any Loan Party or any member of the Controlled Group shall receive from the PBGC a notice of intention to terminate a Plan or to have a trustee appointed to administer a Plan, together with copies of each such notice, (vi) any Loan Party or any member of the Controlled Group shall receive any unfavorable determination letter from the Internal

 

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Revenue Service regarding the qualification of a Plan under Section 401(a) of the Code, together with copies of each such letter; (vii) any Loan Party or any member of the Controlled Group shall receive a notice regarding the imposition of withdrawal liability, together with copies of each such notice; (viii) any Loan Party or any member of the Controlled Group shall fail to make a required installment or any other required material payment under the Code or ERISA on or before the due date for such installment or payment; or (ix) any Borrower or any member of the Controlled Group knows that (a) a Multiemployer Plan has been terminated, (b) the administrator or plan sponsor of a Multiemployer Plan intends to terminate a Multiemployer Plan, (c) the PBGC has instituted or will institute proceedings under Section 4042 of ERISA to terminate a Multiemployer Plan or (d) a Multiemployer Plan is subject to Section 432 of the Code or Section 305 of ERISA.

9.16. Additional Documents . Execute and deliver to Agents, upon reasonable request, such documents and agreements as Agents may, from time to time, reasonably request to carry out the purposes, terms or conditions of this Agreement.

9.17. Updates to Certain Schedules . Deliver to Agents promptly as shall be required to maintain the related representations and warranties as true and correct, updates to Schedules 4.4 (Locations of equipment and Inventory), 5.2(a) (States of Qualification and Good Standing), 5.2(b) (Subsidiaries), 5.6 (Prior Names), 5.7 (Environmental), 5.8(d) (Plans), 5.9 (Intellectual Property), 5.10 (Licenses and Permits), 5.14 (Labor Disputes), 5.17 (Disclosure), 5.24 (Equity Interests), 5.25 (Commercial Tort Claims), 5.26 (Letter-of-Credit Rights) and 5.27 (Material Contracts); provided , that absent the occurrence and continuance of any Event of Default, Loan Party shall only be required to provide such updates on an quarterly basis at the time of delivery of a Compliance Certificate with respect to the applicable month. Any such updated Schedules delivered by Loan Parties to Agents in accordance with this Section 9.17 shall automatically and immediately be deemed to amend and restate the prior version of such Schedule previously delivered to Agents and attached to and made part of this Agreement.

X. EVENTS OF DEFAULT.

The occurrence of any one or more of the following events shall constitute an “Event of Default”:

10.1. Nonpayment . Failure by any Loan Party to pay when due (a) any principal or interest on the Obligations (including without limitation pursuant to Section 2.9), or (b) any other fee, charge, amount or liability (including without limitation any violation of outstanding Revolving Advances exceeding the Formula Amount, subject to Section 17.2(e) hereof) provided for herein or in any Other Document, in each case whether at maturity, by reason of acceleration pursuant to the terms of this Agreement, by notice of intention to prepay or by required prepayment;

10.2. Breach of Representation . Any representation or warranty made or deemed made by any Loan Party in this Agreement, any Other Document or any related agreement or in any certificate, document or financial or other statement furnished at any time in connection herewith or therewith shall prove to have been incorrect or misleading in any material respect on the date when made or deemed to have been made;

 

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10.3. Financial Information . Failure by any Loan Party to (i) furnish financial information when due or when requested (or within ten (10) days if no grace period is specified), or (ii) permit the inspection of its books or records or access to its premises for audits and appraisals in accordance with the terms hereof;

10.4. Judicial Actions . Issuance of a notice of Lien, levy, assessment, injunction or attachment against a material portion of the Collateral;

10.5. Noncompliance . Except as otherwise provided for in Sections 10.1, 10.3, 10.5(ii), 10.5(iii) and 10.5(iv), (i) failure or neglect of any Loan Party or any Person to perform, keep or observe any term, provision, condition, covenant herein contained, or contained in any Other Document or any other agreement or arrangement, now or hereafter entered into between any Loan Party or such Person, and any Agent or any Lender, and such failure continues for a period of thirty (30) days, (ii) failure or neglect of any Loan Party to perform, keep or observe any term, provision, condition or covenant, contained in Sections 4.5, 4.7, 6.1, 6.3, 6.11, 6.13, 9.4 or 9.6 hereof which is not cured within ten (10) days from the occurrence of such failure or neglect, (iii) failure or neglect of any Loan Party to perform, keep or observe any term, provision, condition or covenant, contained in Sections 4.1, 4.2, 4.4, 4.8 (other than 4.8(b)), 4.12, 6.5 and 6.8(e), Article VII of this Agreement, or (iv) the failure of the Loan Parties to perform the actions set forth in clauses (I), (II) or (III) of Section 6.17(c);

10.6. Judgments . Any judgment or judgments, writ(s), order(s) or decree(s) for the payment of money are rendered against any Loan Party for an aggregate amount in excess of $3,000,000 (except to the extent fully covered (other than to the extent of customary deductibles) by insurance pursuant to which the insurer has not denied coverage) and either (a) there is a period of 30 consecutive days at any time after the entry of any such judgment, order, or award during which (1) the same is not discharged, satisfied, vacated, or bonded pending appeal, or (2) a stay of enforcement thereof is not in effect, or (b) enforcement proceedings are commenced upon such judgment, order, or award unless such enforcement proceedings are being contested in good faith and stayed, unless cash otherwise payable as a Permitted Dividend or a capital contribution has been used to settle such judgment within 10 days of the occurrence of such event;

10.7. Bankruptcy . Except in connection with the Bankruptcy Cases, any Loan Party shall (i) apply for or consent to the appointment of, or the taking of possession by, a receiver, custodian, trustee, liquidator or similar fiduciary of itself or of all or a substantial part of its property, (ii) admit by any officer in writing its inability, or be generally unable, to pay its debts as they become due or cease operations of all or a substantial part of its present business, (iii) make a general assignment for the benefit of creditors, (iv) commence a voluntary case under any state or federal bankruptcy or receivership laws (as now or hereafter in effect), (v) be adjudicated a bankrupt or insolvent (including by entry of any order for relief in any involuntary bankruptcy or insolvency proceeding commenced against it), (vi) file a petition seeking to take advantage of any other law providing for the relief of debtors, (vii) acquiesce to, or fail to have dismissed, within forty-five (45) days, any petition filed against it in any involuntary case under such bankruptcy laws, or (viii) take any corporate action for the purpose of effecting any of the foregoing;

 

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10.8. Reserved .

10.9. Lien Priority . Any Lien created hereunder or provided for hereby or under any related agreement for any reason ceases to be or is not a valid and perfected Lien having a first priority interest (subject only to Permitted Encumbrances that have priority as a matter of Applicable Law to the extent such Liens only attach to Collateral other than Receivables or Inventory);

10.10. Subordinated Loan Default . An event of default has occurred under the Subordinated Loan Documents, which default shall not have been cured or waived within any applicable grace period, or if any Loan Party party to a Subordination Agreement breaches or violates, or attempts to terminate or challenge the validity of, such agreement;

10.11. Cross Default . Either (x) any specified “event of default” under any Indebtedness (other than the Obligations) of any Loan Party with a then-outstanding principal balance (or, in the case of any Indebtedness not so denominated, with a then-outstanding total obligation amount) of $3,000,000 or more, or any other event or circumstance which would permit the holder of any such Indebtedness of any Loan Party to accelerate such Indebtedness (and/or the obligations of Loan Party thereunder) prior to the scheduled maturity or termination thereof, shall occur (regardless of whether the holder of such Indebtedness shall actually accelerate, terminate or otherwise exercise any rights or remedies with respect to such Indebtedness) or (y) a default of the obligations of any Loan Party under any other agreement to which it is a party shall occur which has or is reasonably likely to have a Material Adverse Effect, unless in each case, cash otherwise payable as a Permitted Dividend or a capital contribution has been used to cure such default or “event of default” within ten (10) days of the occurrence of such event;

10.12. Breach of Guaranty or Pledge Agreement . Termination or breach of any Guaranty, Guarantor Security Agreement, Pledge Agreement or similar agreement executed and delivered to Agents in connection with the Obligations of any Borrower, or if any Guarantor or pledgor attempts to terminate, challenges the validity of, or its liability under, any such Guaranty, Guarantor Security Agreement, Pledge Agreement or similar agreement;

10.13. Change of Control . Any Change of Control shall occur;

10.14. Invalidity . Any material provision of this Agreement or any Other Document shall, for any reason, cease to be valid and binding on any Loan Party, or any Loan Party shall so claim in writing to Agents or any Lender or any Borrower challenges the validity of or its liability under this Agreement or any Other Document;

10.15. Seizures . Any (a) portion of the Collateral (excluding books and records of any Borrower) or any Blocked Account with a value in excess of $1,000,000 (except to the extent fully covered (other than to the extent of customary deductibles) by insurance pursuant to which the insurer has not denied coverage) shall be seized, subject to garnishment or taken by a Governmental Body, or (b) the title and rights of any Loan Party which is the owner of any material portion of the Collateral shall have become the subject matter of claim, litigation, suit, garnishment or other proceeding which might, in the opinion of any Agent, upon final determination, result in impairment or loss of the security provided by this Agreement or the Other Documents, unless in each case, cash otherwise payable as a Permitted Dividend or a capital contribution has been used to resolve such issue or replace such portion of the Collateral within 10 days of the occurrence of such event;

 

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10.16. Reserved .

10.17. Pension Plans . An event or condition specified in Sections 7.16 or 9.15 hereof shall occur or exist with respect to any Plan and, as a result of such event or condition, together with all other such events or conditions, any Loan Party or any member of the Controlled Group shall incur, or in the reasonable judgment of any Agent be reasonably likely to incur, a liability to a Plan or the PBGC (or both) which, in the reasonable judgment of any Agent, would have a Material Adverse Effect; or the occurrence of any Termination Event, or any Loan Party’s failure to immediately report a Termination Event in accordance with Section 9.15 hereof which, in each case, in the reasonable judgment of any Agent, would have a Material Adverse Effect;

10.18. Anti-Money Laundering/International Trade Law Compliance . Any representation or warranty contained in Section 17.18 is or becomes false or misleading at any time;

10.19. Plan of Reorganization and Confirmation Order . Either the Plan of Reorganization or Confirmation Order has been withdrawn, rescinded, vacated, reversed, stayed, revoked, modified, or amended, without the written consent of each Agent; or

10.20. Management Agreement . Any amendment, modification or waiver of any provision in the Management Agreement without the written consent of each Agent.

XI. LENDERS’ RIGHTS AND REMEDIES AFTER DEFAULT.

11.1. Rights and Remedies.

(a) Upon the occurrence and continuation of: (i) an Event of Default pursuant to Section 10.7 (other than Section 10.7(vii)), all Obligations shall be immediately due and payable and this Agreement and the obligation of Lenders to make Advances shall be deemed terminated, (ii) any of the other Events of Default and at any time thereafter (and such Events of Default not having previously been cured in accordance with the terms hereof), at the option of any Agent or at the direction of Required Lenders all Obligations shall be immediately due and payable and Agents or Required Lenders shall have the right to terminate this Agreement and to terminate the obligation of Lenders to make Advances; and (iii) without limiting Section 8.2 hereof, any Default under Sections 10.7(vii) hereof, the obligation of Lenders to make Advances hereunder shall be suspended until such time as such involuntary petition shall be dismissed. Upon the occurrence and continuation of any Event of Default, Administrative Agent shall have the right to exercise any and all rights and remedies provided for herein, under the Other Documents, under the Uniform Commercial Code and at law or equity generally, including the right to foreclose the security interests granted herein and to realize upon any Collateral by any available judicial procedure and/or to take possession of and sell any or all of the Collateral with or without judicial process. Administrative Agent may enter any of any Loan Party’s premises or other premises without legal process and without incurring liability to any Loan Party

 

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therefor, and Administrative Agent may thereupon, or at any time thereafter, in its discretion without notice or demand, take the Collateral and remove the same to such place as Administrative Agent may deem advisable and Administrative Agent may require Loan Parties to make the Collateral available to Administrative Agent at a convenient place. With or without having the Collateral at the time or place of sale, Administrative Agent may sell the Collateral, or any part thereof, at public or private sale, at any time or place, in one or more sales, at such price or prices, and upon such terms, either for cash, credit or future delivery, as Administrative Agent may elect. Except as to that part of the Collateral which is perishable or threatens to decline speedily in value or is of a type customarily sold on a recognized market, Administrative Agent shall give Loan Parties reasonable notification of such sale or sales, it being agreed that in all events written notice mailed to Borrowing Agent at least ten (10) days prior to such sale or sales is reasonable notification. At any public sale any Agent or any Lender may bid (including credit bid) for and become the purchaser, and any Agent, any Lender or any other purchaser at any such sale thereafter shall hold the Collateral sold absolutely free from any claim or right of whatsoever kind, including any equity of redemption and all such claims, rights and equities are hereby expressly waived and released by each Loan Party. In connection with the exercise of the foregoing remedies, including the sale of Inventory, Administrative Agent is granted a perpetual nonrevocable, royalty free, nonexclusive license and Administrative Agent is granted permission to use all of each Loan Party’s (a) Intellectual Property which is used or useful in connection with Inventory for the purpose of marketing, advertising for sale and selling or otherwise disposing of such Inventory and (b) equipment for the purpose of completing the manufacture of unfinished goods. The cash proceeds realized from the sale of any Collateral shall be applied to the Obligations in the order set forth in Section 11.5 hereof. Noncash proceeds will only be applied to the Obligations as they are converted into cash. If any deficiency shall arise, Loan Parties shall remain liable to Agents and Lenders therefor. All rights of Administrative Agent under this Section 11.1(a) are subject to the Agreement Amongst Lenders.

(b) To the extent that Applicable Law imposes duties on Administrative Agent to exercise remedies in a commercially reasonable manner, each Loan Party acknowledges and agrees that it is not commercially unreasonable for Administrative Agent: (i) to fail to incur expenses reasonably deemed significant by Administrative Agent to prepare Collateral for disposition or otherwise to complete raw material or work in process into finished goods or other finished products for disposition; (ii) to fail to obtain third party consents for access to Collateral to be disposed of, or to obtain or, if not required by other law, to fail to obtain governmental or third party consents for the collection or disposition of Collateral to be collected or disposed of; (iii) to fail to exercise collection remedies against Customers or other Persons obligated on Collateral or to remove Liens on or any adverse claims against Collateral; (iv) to exercise collection remedies against Customers and other Persons obligated on Collateral directly or through the use of collection agencies and other collection specialists; (v) to advertise dispositions of Collateral through publications or media of general circulation, whether or not the Collateral is of a specialized nature; (vi) to contact other Persons, whether or not in the same business as any Loan Party, for expressions of interest in acquiring all or any portion of such Collateral; (vii) to hire one or more professional auctioneers to assist in the disposition of Collateral, whether or not the Collateral is of a specialized nature; (viii) to dispose of Collateral by utilizing internet sites that provide for the auction of assets of the types included in the Collateral or that have the reasonable capacity of doing so, or that match buyers and sellers of

 

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assets; (ix) to dispose of assets in wholesale rather than retail markets; (x) to disclaim disposition warranties, such as title, possession or quiet enjoyment, (xi) to purchase insurance or credit enhancements to insure Administrative Agent against risks of loss, collection or disposition of Collateral or to provide to Administrative Agent a guaranteed return from the collection or disposition of Collateral; or (xii) to the extent deemed appropriate by the Administrative Agent, to obtain the services of other brokers, investment bankers, consultants and other professionals to assist Administrative Agent in the collection or disposition of any of the Collateral. Each Loan Party acknowledges that the purpose of this Section 11.1(b) is to provide non-exhaustive indications of what actions or omissions by Administrative Agent would not be commercially unreasonable in Administrative Agent’s exercise of remedies against the Collateral and that other actions or omissions by Administrative Agent shall not be deemed commercially unreasonable solely on account of not being indicated in this Section 11.1(b). Without limitation upon the foregoing, nothing contained in this Section 11.1(b) shall be construed to grant any rights to any Loan Party or to impose any duties on Administrative Agent that would not have been granted or imposed by this Agreement or by Applicable Law in the absence of this Section 11.1(b).

11.2. Administrative Agent’s Discretion . Administrative Agent shall have the right in its sole discretion to determine which rights, Liens, security interests or remedies Administrative Agent may at any time pursue, relinquish, subordinate, or modify, which procedures, timing and methodologies to employ, and what any other action to take with respect to any or all of the Collateral and in what order, thereto and such determination will not in any way modify or affect any of Administrative Agent’s or Lenders’ rights hereunder as against Loan Parties or each other.

11.3. Setoff . Subject to Section 14.13, in addition to any other rights which any Agent or any Lender may have under Applicable Law, upon the occurrence and continuation of an Event of Default hereunder, each such Agent and such Lender shall have a right, immediately and without notice of any kind, to apply any Loan Party’s property held by such Agent and such Lender or any of their Affiliates to reduce the Obligations and to exercise any and all rights of setoff which may be available to such Agent and such Lender with respect to any deposits held by such Agent or such Lender.

11.4. Rights and Remedies not Exclusive . The enumeration of the foregoing rights and remedies is not intended to be exhaustive and the exercise of any rights or remedy shall not preclude the exercise of any other right or remedies provided for herein or otherwise provided by law, all of which shall be cumulative and not alternative.

11.5. Allocation of Payments After Event of Default . Notwithstanding any other provisions of this Agreement to the contrary, after the occurrence and during the continuance of an Event of Default and acceleration of the Obligations (but subject to Agreement Amongst Lenders), all amounts collected or received by any Agent on account of the Obligations (including without limitation any amounts on account of any of Cash Management Liabilities or Hedge Liabilities), or in respect of the Collateral may, at Administrative Agent’s discretion, be paid over or delivered as follows:

 

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FIRST, to the payment of all reasonable and documented out-of-pocket costs and expenses (including reasonable and documented attorneys’ fees) of Administrative Agent in connection with enforcing its rights and the rights of Lenders under this Agreement and the Other Documents, and any Out-of-Formula Loans and Protective Advances funded by Administrative Agent with respect to the Collateral under or pursuant to the terms of this Agreement;

SECOND, to payment of any fees owed to Administrative Agent;

THIRD, to the payment of all reasonable and documented out-of-pocket costs and expenses (including reasonable and documented fees of one counsel, per each jurisdiction, for each of the Agents) of each of the Lenders to the extent owing to such Lender pursuant to the terms of this Agreement;

FOURTH, to the payment of all of the Obligations consisting of accrued interest on account of the Swing Loans;

FIFTH, to the payment of the outstanding principal amount of the Obligations consisting of Swing Loans;

SIXTH, to the payment of all Obligations arising under this Agreement and the Other Documents consisting of accrued fees and interest (other than interest in respect of Swing Loans paid pursuant to clause FOURTH above and Term Loans);

SEVENTH, to the payment of the outstanding principal amount of the Revolving Advances and the payment or cash collateralization (in accordance with the provisions of Section 3.2(b)) of any outstanding Letters of Credit or Reimbursement Obligations;

EIGHTH, to all other Obligations arising under this Agreement (including Cash Management Liabilities and Hedge Liabilities) which shall have become due and payable (hereunder, under the Other Documents or otherwise) and not repaid pursuant to clauses “FIRST” through “SEVENTH” above other than in respect of the payment of the Obligations consisting of accrued fees and interest and outstanding principal with respect to the Term Loans or otherwise provided for in this Agreement or the Other Documents;

NINTH, (i) to the payment of all reasonable out-of-pocket costs and expenses (including reasonable and documented attorneys’ fees) of Term Loan B Agent in connection with enforcing its rights and the rights of Lenders under this Agreement and the Other Documents and (ii) to payment of any fees owed to Term Loan B Agent;

TENTH, to the payment of all of the Obligations consisting of accrued interest on account of the Term Loan A;

ELEVENTH, to the payment of the outstanding principal amount of the Term Loan A;

TWELFTH, to the payment of all of the Obligations consisting of accrued interest on account of the Term Loan B;

THIRTEENTH, to the payment of the outstanding principal amount of the Term Loan B; and

 

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FOURTEENTH, to all other Obligations which shall have become due and payable and not repaid pursuant to clauses “FIRST” through “THIRTEENTH”; and

FIFTEENTH, to the payment of the surplus, if any, to whoever may be lawfully entitled to receive such surplus.

In carrying out the foregoing, (i) amounts received shall be applied in the numerical order provided until exhausted prior to application to the next succeeding category; (ii) each of the Lenders shall receive (so long as it is not a Defaulting Lender) an amount equal to its pro rata share (based on the proportion that the then outstanding Advances, Cash Management Liabilities and Hedge Liabilities held by such Lender bears to the aggregate then outstanding Advances, Cash Management Liabilities and Hedge Liabilities) of amounts available to be applied pursuant to clauses “SIXTH”, “SEVENTH”, “EIGHTH”, “TENTH”, “ELEVENTH”, “TWELFTH” and “THIRTEENETH” above; and (iii) notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this Section 11.5, no Swap Obligations of any Non-Qualifying Party shall be paid with amounts received from such Non-Qualifying Party under its Guaranty (including sums received as a result of the exercise of remedies with respect to such Guaranty) or from the proceeds of such Non-Qualifying Party’s Collateral if such Swap Obligations would constitute Excluded Hedge Liabilities, provided, however, that to the extent possible appropriate adjustments shall be made with respect to payments and/or the proceeds of Collateral from other Borrowers and/or Guarantors that are Eligible Contract Participants with respect to such Swap Obligations to preserve the allocation to Obligations otherwise set forth above in this Section 11.5; and (iv) to the extent that any amounts available for distribution pursuant to clause “SEVENTH” above are attributable to the issued but undrawn amount of outstanding Letters of Credit, such amounts shall be held by Administrative Agent as cash collateral for the Letters of Credit pursuant to Section 3.2(b) hereof and applied (A) first, to reimburse Issuer from time to time for any drawings under such Letters of Credit and (B) then, following the expiration of all Letters of Credit, to all other obligations of the types described in clauses “SIXTH”, “SEVENTH,” “EIGHTH”, “NINTH”, “TENTH”, “ELEVENTH”, “TWELFTH” and “THIRTEENETH” above in the manner provided in this Section 11.5.

XII. WAIVERS AND JUDICIAL PROCEEDINGS.

12.1. Waiver of Notice . Each Loan Party hereby waives notice of non-payment of any of the Receivables, demand, presentment, protest and notice thereof with respect to any and all instruments, notice of acceptance hereof, notice of loans or advances made, credit extended, Collateral received or delivered, or any other action taken in reliance hereon, and all other demands and notices of any description, except such as are expressly provided for herein.

12.2. Delay . No delay or omission on any Agent’s or any Lender’s part in exercising any right, remedy or option shall operate as a waiver of such or any other right, remedy or option or of any Default or Event of Default.

12.3. Jury Waiver . EACH PARTY TO THIS AGREEMENT HEREBY EXPRESSLY WAIVES ANY RIGHT TO TRIAL BY JURY OF ANY CLAIM, COUNTERCLAIM, DEMAND, ACTION OR CAUSE OF ACTION (A) ARISING UNDER THIS AGREEMENT, ANY OTHER DOCUMENT OR ANY OTHER INSTRUMENT, DOCUMENT OR

 

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AGREEMENT EXECUTED OR DELIVERED IN CONNECTION HEREWITH, OR (B) IN ANY WAY CONNECTED WITH OR RELATED OR INCIDENTAL TO THE DEALINGS OF THE PARTIES HERETO OR ANY OF THEM WITH RESPECT TO THIS AGREEMENT, ANY OTHER DOCUMENT OR ANY OTHER INSTRUMENT, DOCUMENT OR AGREEMENT EXECUTED OR DELIVERED IN CONNECTION HEREWITH, OR THE TRANSACTIONS RELATED HERETO OR THERETO IN EACH CASE WHETHER NOW EXISTING OR HEREAFTER ARISING, AND WHETHER SOUNDING IN CONTRACT OR TORT OR OTHERWISE AND EACH PARTY HEREBY CONSENTS THAT ANY SUCH CLAIM, COUNTERCLAIM, DEMAND, ACTION OR CAUSE OF ACTION SHALL BE DECIDED BY COURT TRIAL WITHOUT A JURY, AND THAT ANY PARTY TO THIS AGREEMENT MAY FILE AN ORIGINAL COUNTERPART OR A COPY OF THIS SECTION WITH ANY COURT AS WRITTEN EVIDENCE OF THE CONSENTS OF THE PARTIES HERETO TO THE WAIVER OF THEIR RIGHT TO TRIAL BY JURY.

XIII. EFFECTIVE DATE AND TERMINATION.

13.1. Term . This Agreement, which shall inure to the benefit of and shall be binding upon the respective successors and permitted assigns of each Loan Party, Agents and each Lender, shall become effective on the date hereof and shall continue in full force and effect until November 26, 2018 (the “ Term ”) unless sooner terminated as herein provided. Loan Parties may terminate this Agreement at any time upon thirty (30) days prior written notice to Agents upon payment in full of the Obligations.

13.2. Termination . The termination of the Agreement shall not affect any Agent’s or any Lender’s rights, or any of the Obligations having their inception prior to the effective date of such termination or any Obligations which pursuant to the terms hereof continue to accrue after such date, and the provisions hereof shall continue to be fully operative until all transactions entered into, rights or interests created and Obligations have been fully and indefeasibly paid, disposed of, concluded or liquidated. The security interests, Liens and rights granted to Agents and Lenders hereunder and the financing statements filed hereunder shall continue in full force and effect, notwithstanding the termination of this Agreement or the fact that Borrowers’ Account may from time to time be temporarily in a zero or credit position, until all of the Obligations of each Borrower have been indefeasibly paid and performed in full after the termination of this Agreement or each Borrower has furnished Agents and Lenders with an indemnification satisfactory to Agents and Lenders with respect thereto. Accordingly, each Borrower waives any rights which it may have under the Uniform Commercial Code to demand the filing of termination statements with respect to the Collateral, and Agents shall not be required to send such termination statements to each Borrower, or to file them with any filing office, unless and until this Agreement shall have been terminated in accordance with its terms and all Obligations have been indefeasibly paid in full in immediately available funds. All representations, warranties, covenants, waivers and agreements contained herein shall survive termination hereof until all Obligations are indefeasibly paid and performed in full.

 

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13.3. Release of Collateral .

Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained herein or in any Other Documents, the Administrative Agent is hereby irrevocably authorized by each Lender (without requirement of notice to or consent of any Lender) to take any action requested by Borrowers having the effect of releasing any Collateral or guarantee obligations (i) to the extent necessary to permit consummation of any transaction not prohibited by Other Documents (including, without limitation, (x) the release from the Collateral of any assets disposed to a Person other than a Loan Party in accordance with this Agreement and (y) the release from the Collateral of any assets of any Person that ceases to be a Guarantor in accordance with this Agreement) or that has been consented to.

At such time as (i) the payment in full of all Obligations (other than (x) contingent indemnification obligations and (y) the Hedge Liabilities and the Cash Management Liabilities as to which arrangements satisfactory to the Administrative Agent and the applicable counterparty shall have been made) and the expiration or termination of all Letters of Credit (other than Letters of Credit that are cash collateralized or back-stopped by a letter of credit in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to the Administrative Agent or a deemed reissuance under another facility as to which other arrangements satisfactory to the Administrative Agent and Issuer shall have been made), (ii) the termination of the Term Loan A Commitment, Term Loan B Commitment and the Revolving Commitment and (iii) all claims of the Loan Parties against any Agent or any Lender arising on or before the payment date shall have been released on terms reasonably acceptable to the Administrative Agent and the Term Loan B Agent, the Collateral shall be automatically released from the Liens created by this Agreement and Other Documents and all obligations (other than those expressly stated to survive such termination) of Administrative Agent and each Loan Party under the Agreement and Other Documents shall terminate, all without delivery of any instrument or performance of any act by any Person. At such time, Administrative Agent shall take such actions as are reasonably necessary, at the cost of the Loan Parties, to effect each release described in this Section 13.3 in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Agreement and Other Documents.

XIV. REGARDING AGENTS.

14.1. Appointment . Each Lender hereby designates PNC to act as Administrative Agent for such Lender under this Agreement and the Other Documents. Subject to the Agreement Amongst Lenders, each Lender hereby irrevocably authorizes Administrative Agent to take such action on its behalf under the provisions of this Agreement and the Other Documents and to exercise such powers and to perform such duties hereunder and thereunder as are specifically delegated to or required of Administrative Agent by the terms hereof and thereof and such other powers as are reasonably incidental thereto and Administrative Agent shall hold all Collateral, payments of principal and interest, fees (except the fees set forth in Sections 2.8(b), 3.3(a) and 3.4), charges and collections received pursuant to this Agreement, for the ratable benefit of Lenders. Administrative Agent may perform any of its duties hereunder by or through its agents (including Term Loan B Agent, which it hereby designates as its sub-agent with respect to each of the Mortgages for the Real Properties specified on Schedule B until such time as all of such Mortgages are collaterally assigned to Administrative Agent) or employees. As to any matters not expressly provided for by this Agreement (including collection of the Note) Administrative Agent shall not be required to exercise any discretion or take any action, but shall be required to act or to refrain from acting (and shall be fully protected in so acting or refraining from acting) upon the instructions of Required Lenders, and such instructions shall be binding; provided, however , that Administrative Agent shall not be required to take any action

 

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which, in Administrative Agent’s discretion, exposes Administrative Agent to liability or which is contrary to this Agreement or the Other Documents or Applicable Law unless Administrative Agent is furnished with an indemnification reasonably satisfactory to Administrative Agent with respect thereto

Each Term Loan B Lender hereby designates Crystal to act as Term Loan B Agent for such Term Loan B Lender under this Agreement and the Other Documents. Each Term Loan B Lender hereby irrevocably authorizes Term Loan B Agent to take such action on its behalf under the provisions of this Agreement and the Other Documents and to exercise such powers and to perform such duties hereunder and thereunder as are specifically delegated to or required of Term Loan B Agent by the terms hereof and thereof and such other powers as are reasonably incidental thereto and Term Loan B Agent shall hold all payments of principal and interest, fees (except the fees set forth in the Fee Letter), charges and collections received pursuant to this Agreement, for the ratable benefit of Term Loan B Lenders. Term Loan B Agent may perform any of its duties hereunder by or through its agents or employees. As to any matters not expressly provided for by this Agreement (including collection of the Term Loan B Notes) Term Loan B Agent shall not be required to exercise any discretion or take any action, but shall be required to act or to refrain from acting (and shall be fully protected in so acting or refraining from acting) upon the instructions of Required Lenders holding Term Loan B Commitments, and such instructions shall be binding; provided, however , that Term Loan B Agent shall not be required to take any action which, in Term Loan B Agent’s discretion, exposes Term Loan B Agent to liability or which is contrary to this Agreement or the Other Documents or Applicable Law unless Term Loan B Agent is furnished with an indemnification reasonably satisfactory to Term Loan B Agent with respect thereto.

14.2. Nature of Duties . Neither Agent shall have any duties or responsibilities except those expressly set forth in this Agreement and the Other Documents. Neither Agent nor any of its officers, directors, employees or agents shall be (i) liable for any action taken or omitted by them as such hereunder or in connection herewith, unless caused by their gross (not mere) negligence or willful misconduct (as determined by a court of competent jurisdiction in a final non-appealable judgment), or (ii) responsible in any manner for any recitals, statements, representations or warranties made by any Loan Party or any officer thereof contained in this Agreement, or in any of the Other Documents or in any certificate, report, statement or other document referred to or provided for in, or received by such Agent under or in connection with, this Agreement or any of the Other Documents or for the value, validity, effectiveness, genuineness, due execution, enforceability or sufficiency of this Agreement, or any of the Other Documents or for any failure of any Loan Party to perform its obligations hereunder. Agents shall not be under any obligation 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 or any of the Other Documents, or to inspect the properties, books or records of any Loan Party. The duties of Administrative Agent as respects the Advances to Borrowers shall be mechanical and administrative in nature; Agents shall not have by reason of this Agreement a fiduciary relationship in respect of any Lender; and nothing in this Agreement, expressed or implied, is intended to or shall be so construed as to impose upon Agents any obligations in respect of this Agreement or the transactions described herein except as expressly set forth herein.

 

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14.3. Lack of Reliance on Agents . Independently and without reliance upon any Agent or any other Lender, each Lender has made and shall continue to make (i) its own independent investigation of the financial condition and affairs of each Borrower and each Guarantor in connection with the making and the continuance of the Advances hereunder and the taking or not taking of any action in connection herewith, and (ii) its own appraisal of the creditworthiness of each Borrower and each Guarantor. No Agent shall have any duty or responsibility, either initially or on a continuing basis, to provide any Lender with any credit or other information with respect thereto, whether coming into its possession before making of the Advances or at any time or times thereafter except as shall be provided by any Borrower pursuant to the terms hereof. Agents shall not be responsible to any Lender for any recitals, statements, information, representations or warranties herein or in any agreement, document, certificate or a statement delivered in connection with or for the execution, effectiveness, genuineness, validity, enforceability, collectability or sufficiency of this Agreement or any Other Document, or of the financial condition of any Loan Party, or be required to make any inquiry concerning either the performance or observance of any of the terms, provisions or conditions of this Agreement, the Note, the Other Documents or the financial condition or prospects of any Borrower, or the existence of any Event of Default or any Default.

14.4. Resignation of Agents; Successor Agents . Any Agent may resign on sixty (60) days written notice to each Lender and Borrowing Agent and upon such resignation, Required Lenders will promptly designate a successor Agent reasonably satisfactory to Borrowers ( provided , that no such approval by Borrowers shall be required (i) in any case where the successor Agent is one of the Lenders or (ii) after the occurrence and during the continuance of any Event of Default). Any such successor Agent shall succeed to the rights, powers and duties of the applicable Agent, and shall in particular succeed to all of such Agent’s right, title and interest in and to all of the Liens in the Collateral securing the Obligations created hereunder or any Other Document (including the Mortgages, Pledge Agreement and all account control agreements, and the term “Agent” shall mean such successor agent effective upon its appointment, and the former Agent’s rights, powers and duties as Agent shall be terminated, without any other or further act or deed on the part of such former Agent. However, notwithstanding the foregoing, if at the time of the effectiveness of the new Agent’s appointment, any further actions need to be taken in order to provide for the legally binding and valid transfer of any Liens in the Collateral from former Agent to new Agent and/or for the perfection of any Liens in the Collateral as held by new Agent or it is otherwise not then possible for new Agent to become the holder of a fully valid, enforceable and perfected Lien as to any of the Collateral, former Agent shall continue to hold such Liens solely as agent for perfection of such Liens on behalf of new Agent until such time as new Agent can obtain a fully valid, enforceable and perfected Lien on all Collateral, provided , that Agent shall not be required to or have any liability or responsibility to take any further actions after such date as such agent for perfection to continue the perfection of any such Liens (other than to forego from taking any affirmative action to release any such Liens). After any Agent’s resignation as Agent, the provisions of this Article XIV, and any indemnification rights under this Agreement, including without limitation, rights arising under Section 17.5 hereof, 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 in the event resigning Agent continues to hold any Liens pursuant to the provisions of the immediately preceding sentence, the provisions of this Article XIV and any indemnification rights under this Agreement, including without limitation, rights arising under Section 17.5 hereof, shall inure to its benefit as to any actions taken or omitted to be taken by it in connection with such Liens).

 

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14.5. Certain Rights of Agents . If any Agent shall request instructions from Lenders with respect to any act or action (including failure to act) in connection with this Agreement or any Other Document, such Agent shall be entitled to refrain from such act or taking such action unless and until such Agent shall have received instructions from Required Lenders; and no Agent shall incur liability to any Person by reason of so refraining. Without limiting the foregoing, Lenders shall not have any right of action whatsoever against any Agent as a result of its acting or refraining from acting hereunder in accordance with the instructions of Required Lenders.

14.6. Reliance . Each Agent shall be entitled to rely, and shall be fully protected in relying, upon any note, writing, resolution, notice, statement, certificate, email, facsimile, telex, teletype or telecopier message, cablegram, order or other document or telephone message believed by it to be genuine and correct and to have been signed, sent or made by the proper person or entity, and, with respect to all legal matters pertaining to this Agreement and the Other Documents and its duties hereunder, upon advice of counsel selected by it. Each Agent may employ agents and attorneys-in-fact and shall not be liable for the default or misconduct of any such agents or attorneys-in-fact selected by such Agent with reasonable care.

14.7. Notice of Default . No Agent shall be deemed to have knowledge or notice of the occurrence of any Default or Event of Default hereunder or under the Other Documents, unless such Agent has received notice from a Lender or Borrowing Agent referring to this Agreement or the Other Documents, describing such Default or Event of Default and stating that such notice is a “notice of default”. In the event that any Agent receives such a notice, such Agent shall give notice thereof to Lenders. Agents shall take such action with respect to such Default or Event of Default as shall be reasonably directed by Required Lenders; provided , that, unless and until such Agent shall have received such directions, such 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 Lenders.

14.8. Indemnification . To the extent Agents are not reimbursed and indemnified by Loan Parties, each Lender will reimburse and indemnify each Agent in proportion to its respective portion of the outstanding Advances and its respective Commitment Percentages of the Obligations, from and against any and all liabilities, obligations, losses, damages, penalties, actions, judgments, suits, costs, expenses or disbursements of any kind or nature whatsoever which may be imposed on, incurred by or asserted against any Agent in performing its duties hereunder, or in any way relating to or arising out of this Agreement or any Other Document; provided that Lenders shall not be liable for any portion of such liabilities, obligations, losses, damages, penalties, actions, judgments, suits, costs, expenses or disbursements resulting from such Agent’s gross (not mere) negligence or willful misconduct (as determined by a court of competent jurisdiction in a final non-appealable judgment).

14.9. Agent in its Individual Capacity . With respect to the obligation of any Agent to lend under this Agreement, the Advances made by it shall have the same rights and powers hereunder as any other Lender and as if it were not performing the duties as Agent specified

 

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herein; and the term “Lender” or any similar term shall, unless the context clearly otherwise indicates, include each Agent in its individual capacity as a Lender. Each Agent may engage in business with any Loan Party as if it were not performing the duties specified herein, and may accept fees and other consideration from any Loan Party for services in connection with this Agreement or otherwise without having to account for the same to Lenders.

14.10. Delivery of Documents . To the extent any Agent receives financial statements required under Sections 9.7, 9.8, 9.9, 9.12 and 9.13 or Borrowing Base Certificates from any Borrower pursuant to the terms of this Agreement which any Loan Party is not obligated to deliver to each Lender, Agents will promptly furnish such documents and information to Lenders.

14.11. Borrowers’ Undertaking to Agents . Without prejudice to their respective obligations to Lenders under the other provisions of this Agreement, each Loan Party hereby undertakes with each Agent to pay to each Agent from time to time on demand all amounts from time to time due and payable by it for the account of Agents or Lenders or any of them pursuant to this Agreement to the extent not already paid. Any payment made pursuant to any such demand shall pro tanto satisfy the relevant Loan Party’s obligations to make payments for the account of Lenders or the relevant one or more of them pursuant to this Agreement.

14.12. No Reliance on Agents’ Customer Identification Programs . To the extent the Advances or this Agreement is, or becomes, syndicated in cooperation with other Lenders, each Lender acknowledges and agrees that neither such Lender, nor any of its Affiliates, participants or assignees, may rely on Agents to carry out such Lender’s, Affiliate’s, participant’s or assignee’s customer identification program, or other obligations required or imposed under or pursuant to the USA PATRIOT Act or the regulations thereunder, including the regulations contained in 31 CFR 103.121 (as hereafter amended or replaced, the “ CIP Regulations ”), or any other Anti-Terrorism Law, including any programs involving any of the following items relating to or in connection with any Loan Party, their Affiliates or their agents, the Other Documents or the transactions hereunder or contemplated hereby: (i) any identity verification procedures, (ii) any recordkeeping, (iii) comparisons with government lists, (iv) customer notices or (v) other procedures required under the CIP Regulations or such Anti-Terrorism Laws.

14.13. Other Agreements . Each of the Lenders agrees that it shall not, without the express consent of Agents, and that it shall, to the extent it is lawfully entitled to do so, upon the request of Agents, set off against the Obligations, any amounts owing by such Lender to any Loan Party or any deposit accounts of any Loan Party now or hereafter maintained with such Lender. Anything in this Agreement to the contrary notwithstanding, each of the Lenders further agrees that it shall not, unless specifically requested to do so by Agents, take any action to protect or enforce its rights arising out of this Agreement or the Other Documents, it being the intent of Lenders that any such action to protect or enforce rights under this Agreement and the Other Documents shall be taken in concert and at the direction or with the consent of Agents or Required Lenders.

14.14. Agreement Amongst Lenders . The rights of the Agents and the Lenders hereunder and under the Other Documents are subject to the terms of the Agreement Amongst Lenders. In the event of any conflict between the Agreement Amongst Lenders and this Agreement or any Other Document, the terms of the Agreement Amongst Lenders shall control; provided however that nothing contained in the Agreement Amongst Lenders shall alter, modify or impair any obligations of the Loan Parties under this Agreement.

 

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XV. BORROWING AGENCY.

15.1. Borrowing Agency Provisions .

(a) Each Borrower hereby irrevocably designates Borrowing Agent to be its attorney and agent and in such capacity to (i) borrow, (ii) request advances, (iii) request the issuance of Letters of Credit, (iv) sign and endorse notes, (v) execute and deliver all instruments, documents, applications, security agreements, reimbursement agreements and letter of credit agreements for Letters of Credit and all other certificates, notice, writings and further assurances now or hereafter required hereunder, (vi) make elections regarding interest rates, (vii) give instructions regarding Letters of Credit and agree with Issuer upon any amendment, extension or renewal of any Letter of Credit and (viii) otherwise take action under and in connection with this Agreement and the Other Documents, all on behalf of and in the name such Borrower or Borrowers, and hereby authorizes Agents to pay over or credit all loan proceeds hereunder in accordance with the request of Borrowing Agent.

(b) The handling of this credit facility as a co-borrowing facility with a borrowing agent in the manner set forth in this Agreement is solely as an accommodation to Borrowers and at their request. Neither any Agent nor any Lender shall incur liability to Borrowers as a result thereof. To induce Agents and Lenders to do so and in consideration thereof, each Borrower hereby indemnifies Agents and each Lender and holds Agents and each Lender harmless from and against any and all liabilities, expenses, losses, damages and claims of damage or injury asserted against any Agent or any Lender by any Person arising from or incurred by reason of the handling of the financing arrangements of Borrowers as provided herein, reliance by any Agent or any Lender on any request or instruction from Borrowing Agent or any other action taken by any Agent or any Lender with respect to this Section 15.1 except due to willful misconduct or gross (not mere) negligence by the indemnified party (as determined by a court of competent jurisdiction in a final and non-appealable judgment).

(c) All Obligations shall be joint and several, and each Borrower shall make payment upon the maturity of the Obligations by acceleration or otherwise, and such obligation and liability on the part of each Borrower shall in no way be affected by any extensions, renewals and forbearance granted by any Agent or any Lender to any Borrower, failure of any Agent or any Lender to give any Borrower notice of borrowing or any other notice, any failure of any Agent or any Lender to pursue or preserve its rights against any Borrower, the release by any Agent or any Lender of any Collateral now or thereafter acquired from any Borrower, and such agreement by each Borrower to pay upon any notice issued pursuant thereto is unconditional and unaffected by prior recourse by any Agent or any Lender to the other Borrowers or any Collateral for such Borrower’s Obligations or the lack thereof. Each Borrower waives all suretyship defenses.

 

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15.2. Waiver of Subrogation . Each Borrower expressly waives any and all rights of subrogation, reimbursement, indemnity, exoneration, contribution of any other claim which such Borrower may now or hereafter have against the other Borrowers or any other Person directly or contingently liable for the Obligations hereunder, or against or with respect to any other Borrowers’ property (including, without limitation, any property which is Collateral for the Obligations), arising from the existence or performance of this Agreement, until termination of this Agreement and repayment in full of the Obligations.

XVI. GUARANTY.

16.1. Each Guarantor hereby unconditionally and absolutely, as a surety, guarantees all Obligations of Borrowers. In connection with such guarantee, each Guarantor, as joint and several primary obligor of the Obligations directly incurred by Loan Parties, authorizes Administrative Agent, without giving notice to Guarantor or obtaining Guarantor’s consent and without affecting the liability of Guarantor for the Obligations directly incurred by Loan Parties, from time to time to: (i) compromise, settle, renew, extend the time for payment, change the manner or terms of payment, discharge the performance of, decline to enforce, or release all or any of the Obligations; grant other indulgences to Loan Parties in respect thereof; or modify in any manner any documents relating to the Obligations; (ii) declare all Obligations due and payable upon the occurrence and during the continuance of an Event of Default; (iii) take and hold security for the performance of the Obligations of Loan Parties and exchange, enforce, waive and release any such security; (iv) apply and reapply such security and direct the order or manner of sale thereof as Administrative Agent, in its sole discretion, may determine; (v) release, surrender or exchange any deposits or other property securing the Obligations or on which any Agent at any time may have a Lien; release, substitute or add any one or more endorsers or guarantors of the Obligations of Loan Parties; or compromise, settle, renew, extend the time for payment, discharge the performance of, decline to enforce, or release all or any obligations of any such endorser or guarantor or other Person who is now or may hereafter be liable on any Obligations or release, surrender or exchange any deposits or other property of any such Person; (vi) apply payments received by Agents from Loan Parties or any other source to any Obligations, in such order as Administrative Agent shall determine, in its sole discretion; and (vii) assign this Agreement in whole or in part.

16.2. Each Guarantor, as a primary, joint and several obligor with respect to the Obligations directly incurred by Loan Parties, waives: (i) any defense based upon any legal disability or other defense of Loan Parties, or by reason of the cessation or limitation of the liability of Loan Parties from any cause (other than full payment of all Obligations), including, without limitation, failure of consideration, breach of warranty, statute of frauds, statute of limitations, accord and satisfaction, and usury; (ii) any defense based upon any legal disability or other defense of any other guarantor or other Person; (iii) any defense based upon any lack of authority of the officers, directors, partners or agents acting or purporting to act on behalf of Loan Parties or any principal of Loan Parties or any defect in the formation of Loan Parties or any principal of Borrowers; (iv) any defense based upon the application by Loan Parties of the proceeds of the credit facilities or the Loans for purposes other than the purposes represented by Loan Parties to any Agent or intended or understood by any Agent or Loan Parties; (v) any defense based on the rights of any Loan Party, under statute or otherwise, to require any Agent to sue any other Loan Party or otherwise to exhaust its rights and remedies against any other Loan Party or any other Person or against any collateral before seeking to enforce its right to require such Loan Party to satisfy the Obligations of any other Loan Party; (vi) any defense based on any

 

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Agent’s failure at any time to require strict performance by any Loan Party of any provision of this Agreement or the Other Documents (and each Guarantor agrees that no such failure shall waive, alter or diminish any right of any Agent thereafter to demand strict compliance and performance therewith and nothing contained herein shall prevent any Agent from foreclosing on any Lien, or exercising any rights available to any Agent or Lenders thereunder, and the exercise of any such rights shall not constitute a legal or equitable discharge of such Guarantor); (vii) any defense arising from any act or omission of any Agent or any Lender which changes the scope of such Guarantor’s risks hereunder; (viii) any defense based upon any Agent’s or any Lender’s election of any remedy against such Loan Party or any other Loan Party or any of them; any defense based on the order in which any Agent or any Lender enforces its remedies; (ix) any defense based on (A) any Agent’s or any Lender’s surrender, release, exchange, substitution, dealing with or taking any additional collateral, (B) any Agent’s or any Lender’s abstaining from taking advantage of or realizing upon any Lien or other guaranty, and (C) any impairment of collateral securing the Obligations, including, without limitation, any Agent’s or any Lender’s failure to perfect or maintain a Lien in such collateral; (x) any defense based upon any Agent’s or any Lender’s failure to disclose to such Loan Party any information concerning any other Loan Party’s financial condition or any other circumstances bearing on any other Loan Party’s ability to pay the Obligations; (xi) any defense based upon any statute or rule of law which provides that the obligation of a surety must be neither larger in amount nor in any other respects more burdensome than that of a principal; (xii) any defense based upon any Agent’s or any Lender’s election, in any proceeding instituted under the Bankruptcy Code, of the application of Bankruptcy Code §1111(b)(2) or any successor statute; (xiii) any defense based upon any borrowing or any grant of a security interest under Bankruptcy Code §364; (xiv) any defense based on any Agent’s or any Lender’s failure to be diligent or to satisfy any other standard imposed on a secured party, in exercising rights with respect to collateral securing the Obligations; (xv) except as otherwise expressly set forth herein: notice of acceptance hereof; notice of the existence, creation or acquisition of any Obligation; notice of any Event of Default; notice of the amount of the Obligations outstanding from time to time; notice of any other fact which might increase such Loan Party’s risk; diligence; presentment; demand of payment; protest; filing of claims with a court in the event of any other Loan Party’s receivership or bankruptcy and all other notices and demands to which such Loan Party might otherwise be entitled (and agrees the same shall not have to be made on the other Loan Party as a condition precedent to such Loan Party’s obligations hereunder); (xvi) any defense based on errors and omissions by any Agent or any Lender in connection with its administration of the credit facilities or the Loans; (xvii) any defense based on application of fraudulent conveyance or transfer law or shareholder distribution law to any of the Obligations or the security therefor; (xviii) any defense based on any Agent’s or any Lender’s failure to seek relief from stay or adequate protection in any other Loan Party’s bankruptcy proceeding or any other act or omission by any Agent or any Lender which impairs such Loan Party’s prospective subrogation rights; (xix) any defense based on legal prohibition of any Agent’s or any Lender’s acceleration of the maturity of the Obligations during the occurrence and continuation of an Event of Default or any other legal prohibition on enforcement of any other right or remedy of any Agent or any Lender with respect to the Obligations and the security therefor; (xx) any defense available to a surety under Applicable Law; and (xxi) the benefit of any statute of limitations affecting the liability of such Loan Party hereunder or the enforcement hereof.

 

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16.3. Each Guarantor authorizes each Agent and each Lender to exercise, in its sole discretion, any right, remedy or combination thereof which may then be available to Agents and Lenders, since it is each Guarantor’s intent that the Obligations be absolute, independent and unconditional obligations of such Loan Party under all circumstances. Notwithstanding any foreclosure of any Lien with respect to any or all of any property securing the Obligations, whether by the exercise of the power of sale contained therein, by an action for judicial foreclosure or by an acceptance of a deed in lieu of foreclosure, each Guarantor shall remain bound under its guaranty of the Obligations directly incurred by any other Loan Party.

16.4. This Agreement is a primary and original obligation of each of the Loan Parties and each of the Loan Parties shall be liable for all existing and future Obligations of any other Loan Party as fully as if such Obligations were directly incurred by such Loan Party.

XVII. MISCELLANEOUS.

17.1. Governing Law . This Agreement and each Other Document (unless and except to the extent expressly provided otherwise in any such Other Document), and all matters relating hereto or thereto or arising herefrom or therefrom (whether arising under contract law, tort law or otherwise) shall, in accordance with Section 5-1401 of the General Obligations Law of the State of New York, be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of New York. Any judicial proceeding brought by or against any Loan Party with respect to any of the Obligations, this Agreement, the Other Documents or any related agreement may be brought in any court of competent jurisdiction in the State of New York, United States of America, and, by execution and delivery of this Agreement, each Loan Party accepts for itself and in connection with its properties, generally and unconditionally, the non-exclusive jurisdiction of the aforesaid courts, and irrevocably agrees to be bound by any judgment rendered thereby in connection with this Agreement. Each Loan Party hereby waives personal service of any and all process upon it and consents that all such service of process may be made by certified or registered mail (return receipt requested) directed to Borrowing Agent at its address set forth in Section 17.6 and service so made shall be deemed completed five (5) days after the same shall have been so deposited in the mails of the United States of America, or, at Agents’ option, by service upon Borrowing Agent which each Loan Party irrevocably appoints as such Borrower’s agent for the purpose of accepting service within the State of New York. Nothing herein shall affect the right to serve process in any manner permitted by law or shall limit the right of Agents or any Lender to bring proceedings against any Loan Party in the courts of any other jurisdiction. Each Loan Party waives any objection to jurisdiction and venue of any action instituted hereunder and shall not assert any defense based on lack of jurisdiction or venue or based upon forum non conveniens. Each Loan Party waives the right to remove any judicial proceeding brought against such Loan Party in any state court to any federal court. Any judicial proceeding by any Loan Party against any Agent or any Lender involving, directly or indirectly, any matter or claim in any way arising out of, related to or connected with this Agreement or any related agreement, shall be brought only in a federal or state court located in the County of New York, State of New York.

 

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17.2. Entire Understanding .

(a) This Agreement and the documents executed concurrently herewith contain the entire understanding between each Borrower, each Agent and each Lender and supersedes all prior agreements and understandings, if any, relating to the subject matter hereof (except with respect to any other written agreements among the Lenders). Any promises, representations, warranties or guarantees not herein contained and hereinafter made shall have no force and effect unless in writing, signed by each Borrower’s, each Agent’s and each Lender’s respective officers. Neither this Agreement nor any portion or provisions hereof may be changed, modified, amended, waived, supplemented, discharged, cancelled or terminated orally or by any course of dealing, or in any manner other than by an agreement in writing, signed by the party to be charged. Each Loan Party acknowledges that it has been advised by counsel in connection with the execution of this Agreement and Other Documents, as applicable, and is not relying upon oral representations or statements inconsistent with the terms and provisions of this Agreement.

(b) Required Lenders, Agents with the consent in writing of Required Lenders, and Loan Parties may, subject to the provisions of this Section 17.2(b), from time to time enter into written supplemental agreements to this Agreement or the Other Documents executed by Loan Parties, for the purpose of adding or deleting any provisions or otherwise changing, varying or waiving in any manner the rights of Lenders, Agents or Loan Parties thereunder or the conditions, provisions or terms thereof or waiving any Event of Default thereunder, but only to the extent specified in such written agreements; provided, however, that no such supplemental agreement shall:

(i) increase the Revolving Commitment Percentage, Term Loan A Commitment Percentage or Term Loan B Commitment Percentage, as applicable, or the maximum dollar amount of the Revolving Commitment Amount, Term Loan A Commitment Amount or Term Loan B Commitment Amount, as applicable, of any Lender without the consent of such Lender directly affected thereby;

(ii) whether or not any Advances are outstanding, extend the Term or the time for payment of principal or interest of any Advance (excluding the due date of any mandatory prepayment of an Advance), or any fee payable to any Lender, or reduce the principal amount of or the rate of interest borne by any Advances or reduce any fee payable to any Lender, without the consent of each Lender directly affected thereby (except that Required Lenders may elect to waive or rescind any imposition of the Default Rate under Section 3.1 or of default rates of Letter of Credit fees under Section 3.2 (unless imposed by Administrative Agent or Term Loan B Agent, as specified in the foregoing sections));

(iii) increase the Maximum Revolving Advance Amount without the consent of all Lenders holding a Revolving Commitment;

(iv) alter the definition of the term Required Lenders or alter, amend or modify this Section 17.2(b) without the consent of all Lenders;

(v) alter, amend or modify the provisions of Section 11.5 without the consent of all Lenders;

 

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(vi) release any Collateral (other than in accordance with the provisions of this Agreement, including Section 2.20) having the aggregate value in excess of $3,000,000, without the consent of all Lenders;

(vii) change the rights and duties of Agents without the consent of all Lenders;

(viii) subject to clause (e) below, permit any Revolving Advance to be made if after giving effect thereto the total of Revolving Advances outstanding hereunder would exceed the Formula Amount for more than sixty (60) consecutive Business Days or exceed one hundred and ten percent (110%) of the Formula Amount, without the consent of all Lenders;

(ix) increase the Advance Rate above the Advance Rate in effect on the Closing Date, without the consent of all Lenders; or

(x) release any Guarantor or Borrower without the consent of all Lenders.

(c) Any such supplemental agreement shall apply equally to each Lender and shall be binding upon Loan Parties, Lenders and Agents and all future holders of the Obligations. In the case of any waiver, Loan Parties, Agents and Lenders shall be restored to their former positions and rights, and any Event of Default waived shall be deemed to be cured and not continuing, but no waiver of a specific Event of Default shall extend to any subsequent Event of Default (whether or not the subsequent Event of Default is the same as the Event of Default which was waived), or impair any right consequent thereon.

(d) In the event that Agents request the consent of a Lender pursuant to this Section 17.2 and such consent is denied, then PNC may, at its option, require such Lender to assign its interest in the Advances to PNC or to another Lender or to any other Person designated by PNC (the “ Designated Lender ”), for a price equal to (i) the then outstanding principal amount thereof plus (ii) accrued and unpaid interest and fees due such Lender, which interest and fees shall be paid when collected from Loan Parties. In the event PNC elects to require any Lender to assign its interest to PNC or to the Designated Lender, PNC will so notify such Lender in writing within forty five (45) days following such Lender’s denial, and such Lender will assign its interest to PNC or the Designated Lender no later than five (5) days following receipt of such notice pursuant to a Commitment Transfer Supplement executed by such Lender, PNC or the Designated Lender, as appropriate, and Agents.

(e) Notwithstanding (i) the existence of a Default or an Event of Default, (ii) that any of the other applicable conditions precedent set forth in Section 8.2 hereof have not been satisfied or the commitments of Lenders to make Revolving Advances hereunder have been terminated for any reason, or (iii) any other contrary provision of this Agreement, Administrative Agent may at its discretion and without the consent of any Lender, voluntarily permit the outstanding Revolving Advances at any time, together with the outstanding Protective Advances, to exceed the Formula Amount by up to twelve and a half percent (12.5%) of the Formula Amount for up to sixty (60) consecutive Business Days but not to exceed 90 days in any fiscal year (the “ Out-of-Formula Loans ”). If Administrative Agent is willing in its sole and absolute

 

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discretion to permit such Out-of-Formula Loans, Lenders holding the Revolving Commitments shall be obligated to fund such Out-of-Formula Loans in accordance with their respective Revolving Commitment Percentages, and such Out-of-Formula Loans shall be payable on demand and shall bear interest at the Default Rate for Revolving Advances consisting of Domestic Rate Loans; provided that, if Administrative Agent does permit Out-of-Formula Loans, neither Administrative Agent nor Lenders shall be deemed thereby to have changed the limits of Section 2.1(a) nor shall any Lender be obligated to fund Revolving Advances in excess of its Revolving Commitment Amount. For purposes of this paragraph, the discretion granted to Administrative Agent hereunder shall not preclude involuntary overadvances that may result from time to time due to the fact that the Formula Amount was unintentionally exceeded for any reason, including, but not limited to, collections of Receivables applied to reduce outstanding Revolving Advances are thereafter returned for insufficient funds or overadvances are made to protect or preserve the Collateral. In the event Administrative Agent involuntarily permits the outstanding Revolving Advances, together with the outstanding Protective Advances, to exceed the Formula Amount by more than twelve and a half percent (12.5%), Administrative Agent shall use its efforts to have Borrowers decrease such excess in as expeditious a manner as is practicable under the circumstances and not inconsistent with the reason for such excess. Revolving Advances made after Administrative Agent has determined the existence of involuntary overadvances shall be deemed to be involuntary overadvances and shall be decreased in accordance with the preceding sentence. To the extent any Out-of-Formula Loans are not actually funded by the other Lenders as provided for in this Section 17.2(e), Administrative Agent may elect in its discretion to fund such Out-of-Formula Loans and any such Out-of-Formula Loans so funded by Administrative Agent shall be deemed to be Revolving Advances made by and owing to Administrative Agent, and Administrative Agent shall be entitled to all rights (including accrual of interest) and remedies of a Lender holding a Revolving Commitment under this Agreement and the Other Documents with respect to such Revolving Advances.

(f) In addition to (and not in substitution of) the discretionary Revolving Advances permitted above in this Section 17.2, Administrative Agent is hereby authorized by Borrowers and Lenders, at any time in Administrative Agent’s sole discretion, regardless of (i) the existence of a Default or an Event of Default, (ii) whether any of the other applicable conditions precedent set forth in Section 8.2 hereof have not been satisfied or the commitments of Lenders to make Revolving Advances hereunder have been terminated for any reason, or (iii) any other contrary provision of this Agreement, to make Revolving Advances (“ Protective Advances ”) to Borrowers on behalf of Lenders which Administrative Agent, in its reasonable business judgment, deems necessary or desirable (a) to preserve or protect the Collateral, or any portion thereof, (b) to enhance the likelihood of, or maximize the amount of, repayment of the Advances and other Obligations, or (c) to pay any other amount chargeable to Borrowers pursuant to the terms of this Agreement (the “ Protective Advances ”); provided , that the Protective Advances, together with the outstanding Out-of-Formula Loans, made hereunder shall not exceed twelve and a half percent (12.5%) of the Formula Amount in the aggregate and provided further that at any time after giving effect to any such Protective Advances, the outstanding Revolving Advances, Swing Loans and the Maximum Undrawn Amount of all outstanding Letters of Credit do not exceed the Maximum Revolving Advance Amount. Lenders holding the Revolving Commitments shall be obligated to fund such Protective Advances and effect a settlement with Administrative Agent therefor upon demand of Administrative Agent in

 

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accordance with their respective Revolving Commitment Percentages. To the extent any Protective Advances are not actually funded by the other Lenders as provided for in this Section 17.2(f), any such Protective Advances funded by Administrative Agent shall be deemed to be Revolving Advances made by and owing to Administrative Agent, and Administrative Agent shall be entitled to all rights (including accrual of interest) and remedies of a Lender holding a Revolving Commitment under this Agreement and the Other Documents with respect to such Revolving Advances.

17.3. Successors and Assigns; Participations; New Lenders .

(a) This Agreement shall be binding upon and inure to the benefit of Loan Parties, Agents, each Lender, all future holders of the Obligations and their respective successors and assigns, except that no Loan Party may assign or transfer any of its rights or obligations under this Agreement without the prior written consent of each Agent and each Lender.

(b) Each Loan Party acknowledges that in the regular course of commercial banking business one or more Lenders may at any time and from time to time sell participating interests in the Advances to other Persons (each such transferee or purchaser of a participating interest, a “ Participant ”). Each Participant may exercise all rights of payment (including rights of set-off) with respect to the portion of such Advances held by it or other Obligations payable hereunder as fully as if such Participant were the direct holder thereof provided that (i) Loan Parties shall not be required to pay to any Participant more than the amount which it would have been required to pay to Lender which granted an interest in its Advances or other Obligations payable hereunder to such Participant had such Lender retained such interest in the Advances hereunder or other Obligations payable hereunder unless the sale of the participation to such Participant is made with Borrowers’ prior written consent, and (ii) in no event shall Loan Parties be required to pay any such amount arising from the same circumstances and with respect to the same Advances or other Obligations payable hereunder to both such Lender and such Participant. Each Loan Party hereby grants to any Participant a continuing security interest in any deposits, moneys or other property actually or constructively held by such Participant as security for the Participant’s interest in the Advances. The Borrowers agree that each Participant shall be entitled to the benefits of Sections 3.7, 3.9 and 3.10 (subject to the requirements and limitations therein, including the requirements under Section 3.10(e) (it being understood that the documentation required under Section 3.10(e) shall be delivered to the participating Lender)) to the same extent as if it were a Lender and had acquired its interest by assignment pursuant to this Section, but subject to the limitations set forth in this Section 17.3(b). Each Lender that sells a participation shall, acting solely for this purpose as an agent of Borrowers, maintain a register on which it enters the name and address of each Participant and the principal amounts (and stated interest) of each Participant’s interest in the Loans or other obligations under this Agreement or any Other Document (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 this Agreement or any Other Document) to any Person except to the extent that such disclosure is necessary to establish that such commitment, loan, letter of credit or other obligation is in registered form under Section 5f.103-1(c) of the United States Treasury Regulations. The entries in the Participant Register shall be conclusive absent manifest error, and such Lender shall treat each Person whose name is recorded in the Participant Register as the owner of such participation for all purposes of this Agreement notwithstanding any notice to the contrary. For the avoidance of doubt, the Administrative Agent (in its capacity as Administrative Agent) shall have no responsibility for maintaining a Participant Register.

 

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(c) Any Lender, with the consent of Administrative Agent (or Term Loan B Agent in the case of a Term Loan B Lender) and so long as no Event of Default has occurred and is continuing and such transferee is not a Lending Affiliate of such Lender, Borrowing Agent (which consent shall not be unreasonably withheld or delayed, and which consent shall be deemed to have been given unless it shall object thereto by written notice to the Agents within seven (7) Business Days after having received prior written notice thereof), may sell, assign or transfer all or any part of its rights and obligations under or relating to Revolving Advances and/or Term Loans under this Agreement and the Other Documents to one or more additional Persons and one or more additional Persons may commit to make Advances hereunder (each a “ Purchasing Lender ”), in minimum amounts of not less than the lesser of (x) $10,000,000 and (y) the entire amount of Revolving Advances and Term Loans held by the transferor Lender along with all of its Commitment Percentages and rights and obligations related thereto, pursuant to a Commitment Transfer Supplement, executed by a Purchasing Lender, the transferor Lender, and Administrative Agent (or Term Loan B Agent in the case of a Term Loan B Lender) and delivered to Administrative Agent (or Term Loan B Agent in the case of a Term Loan B Lender) for recording; provided, however , that 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 each of the Revolving Advances and/or Term Loans under this Agreement in which such Lender has an interest; provided, further, that, with respect to any sale, assignment or transfer pursuant to this Section 17.3(c) that does not require consent by Borrowers, no Purchasing Lender shall be entitled to receive any greater payment under Section 3.10 hereof than the assigning Lender would have been entitled to receive with respect to the rights assigned unless such assignment shall have been made at a time when the circumstances giving rise to such greater payment did not exist. Upon such execution, delivery, acceptance and recording, from and after the transfer effective date determined pursuant to such Commitment Transfer Supplement, (i) Purchasing Lender thereunder shall be a party hereto and, to the extent provided in such Commitment Transfer Supplement, have the rights and obligations of a Lender thereunder with a Revolving Commitment Percentage, Term Loan A Commitment Percentage and/or Term Loan B Commitment Percentage, as applicable, as set forth therein, and (ii) the transferor Lender thereunder shall, to the extent provided in such Commitment Transfer Supplement, be released from its obligations under this Agreement, the Commitment Transfer Supplement creating a novation for that purpose. Such Commitment Transfer Supplement shall be deemed to amend this Agreement to the extent, and only to the extent, necessary to reflect the addition of such Purchasing Lender and the resulting adjustment of the Revolving Commitment Percentages, Term Loan A Commitment Percentages and/or Term Loan B Commitment Percentages, as applicable, arising from the purchase by such Purchasing Lender of all or a portion of the rights and obligations of such transferor Lender under this Agreement and the Other Documents. Each Loan Party hereby consents to the addition of such Purchasing Lender and the resulting adjustment of the Revolving Commitment Percentages, Term Loan A Commitment Percentages and/or Term Loan B Commitment Percentages, as applicable, arising from the purchase by such Purchasing Lender of all or a portion of the rights and obligations of such transferor Lender under this Agreement and the Other Documents. Loan Parties shall

 

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execute and deliver such further documents and do such further acts and things in order to effectuate the foregoing. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in the foregoing, no Purchasing Lender may be a Loan Party, Sponsor, Fortress Investment Group LLC or any Affiliate of any of the foregoing.

(d) Any Lender, with the consent of Administrative Agent (or Term Loan B Agent in the case of a Term Loan B Lender) and so long as no Event of Default has occurred and is continuing and such transferee is not a Lending Affiliate of such Lender, Borrowing Agent (which consent shall not be unreasonably withheld or delayed, and which consent shall be deemed to have been given unless it shall object thereto by written notice to the Agents within seven (7) Business Days after having received prior written notice thereof)), may directly or indirectly sell, assign or transfer all or any portion of its rights and obligations under or relating to Revolving Advances and/or Term Loans under this Agreement and the Other Documents to an entity, whether a corporation, partnership, trust, limited liability company or other entity that (i) is engaged in making, purchasing, holding or otherwise investing in bank loans and similar extensions of credit in the ordinary course of its business and (ii) is administered, serviced or managed by the assigning Lender or an Affiliate of such Lender (a “ Purchasing CLO ” and together with each Participant and Purchasing Lender, each a “ Transferee ” and collectively the “ Transferees ”), pursuant to a Commitment Transfer Supplement modified as appropriate to reflect the interest being assigned (“ Modified Commitment Transfer Supplement ”), executed by any intermediate purchaser, the Purchasing CLO, the transferor Lender, and Administrative Agent (or Term Loan B Agent in the case of a Term Loan B Lender) as appropriate and delivered to Administrative Agent (or Term Loan B Agent in the case of a Term Loan B Lender) for recording; provided, further, that, with respect to any sale, assignment or transfer pursuant to this Section 17.3(d) that does not require consent by Borrowers, no Purchasing CLO shall be entitled to receive any greater payment under Section 3.10 hereof than the transferor Lender would have been entitled to receive with respect to the rights transferred unless such transfer shall have been made at a time when the circumstances giving rise to such greater payment did not exist. Upon such execution and delivery, from and after the transfer effective date determined pursuant to such Modified Commitment Transfer Supplement, (i) Purchasing CLO thereunder shall be a party hereto and, to the extent provided in such Modified Commitment Transfer Supplement, have the rights and obligations of a Lender thereunder and (ii) the transferor Lender thereunder shall, to the extent provided in such Modified Commitment Transfer Supplement, be released from its obligations under this Agreement, the Modified Commitment Transfer Supplement creating a novation for that purpose. Such Modified Commitment Transfer Supplement shall be deemed to amend this Agreement to the extent, and only to the extent, necessary to reflect the addition of such Purchasing CLO. Each Loan Party hereby consents to the addition of such Purchasing CLO. Loan Parties shall execute and deliver such further documents and do such further acts and things in order to effectuate the foregoing. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in the foregoing, no Purchasing CLO may be a Loan Party, Sponsor, Fortress Investment Group LLC or any Affiliate of any of the foregoing.

(e) Administrative Agent shall maintain at its address in the United States a copy of each Commitment Transfer Supplement and Modified Commitment Transfer Supplement delivered to it and a register (the “ Register ”) for the recordation of the names and addresses of each Lender and the outstanding principal, accrued and unpaid interest and other fees due hereunder. The entries in the Register shall be conclusive, in the absence of manifest

 

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error, and each Loan Party, each Agent and Lenders may treat each Person whose name is recorded in the Register as the owner of the Advance recorded therein for the purposes of this Agreement. The Register shall be available for inspection by Borrowing Agent or any Lender at any reasonable time and from time to time upon reasonable prior notice. Administrative Agent shall receive a fee in the amount of $3,500 payable by the applicable Purchasing Lender and/or Purchasing CLO upon the effective date of each transfer or assignment (other than to an intermediate purchaser) to such Purchasing Lender and/or Purchasing CLO.

(f) Each Loan Party authorizes each Lender to disclose to any Transferee and any prospective Transferee, subject to Section 17.15 of this Agreement, any and all financial information in such Lender’s possession concerning such Loan Party which has been delivered to such Lender by or on behalf of such Loan Party pursuant to this Agreement or in connection with such Lender’s credit evaluation of such Loan Party.

(g) Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in this Agreement, any Lender may at any time and from time to 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; 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.

17.4. Application of Payments . Each Agent shall have the continuing and exclusive right to apply or reverse and re-apply any payment and any and all proceeds of Collateral to any portion of the Obligations. To the extent that any Loan Party makes a payment or any Agent or any Lender receives any payment or proceeds of the Collateral for any Loan Party’s benefit, which are subsequently invalidated, declared to be fraudulent or preferential, set aside or required to be repaid to a trustee, debtor in possession, receiver, custodian or any other party under any bankruptcy law, common law or equitable cause, then, to such extent, the Obligations or part thereof intended to be satisfied shall be revived and continue as if such payment or proceeds had not been received by such Agent or such Lender.

17.5. Indemnity . Each Loan Party shall, on a joint and several basis, defend, protect, indemnify, pay and save harmless each Agent, Issuer, each Lender and each of their respective officers, directors, Affiliates, attorneys, employees and agents (each an “ Indemnified Party ”) for and from and against any and all claims, demands, liabilities, obligations, losses, damages, penalties, fines, actions, judgments, suits, costs, charges, expenses and disbursements of any kind or nature whatsoever (including reasonable and documented fees and disbursements of counsel) (collectively, “ Claims ”) which may be imposed on, incurred by, or asserted against any Indemnified Party in arising out of or in any way relating to or as a consequence, direct or indirect, of: (i) this Agreement, the Other Documents, the Advances and other Obligations and/or the transactions contemplated hereby including the Transactions, (ii) any action or failure to act or action taken only after delay or the satisfaction of any conditions by any Indemnified Party in connection with and/or relating to the negotiation, execution, delivery or administration of the Agreement and the Other Documents, the credit facilities established hereunder and thereunder and/or the transactions contemplated hereby including the Transactions, (iii) any Borrower’s or any Guarantor’s failure to observe, perform or discharge any of its covenants, obligations, agreements or duties under or breach of any of the representations or warranties made in this

 

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Agreement and the Other Documents, (iv) the enforcement of any of the rights and remedies of each Agent, Issuer or any Lender under the Agreement and the Other Documents, (v) any threatened or actual imposition of fines or penalties, or disgorgement of benefits, for violation of any Anti-Terrorism Law by any Borrower, any Affiliate or Subsidiary of any Borrowers, or any Guarantor, and (vi) any claim, litigation, proceeding or investigation instituted or conducted by any Governmental Body or instrumentality or any other Person with respect to any aspect of, or any transaction contemplated by, or referred to in, or any matter related to, this Agreement or the Other Documents, whether or not any Agent or any Lender is a party thereto. Without limiting the generality of any of the foregoing, each Borrower shall defend, protect, indemnify, pay and save harmless each Indemnified Party from (x) any Claims which may be imposed on, incurred by, or asserted against any Indemnified Party arising out of or in any way relating to or as a consequence, direct or indirect, of the issuance of any Letter of Credit hereunder and (y) any Claims which may be imposed on, incurred by, or asserted against any Indemnified Party under any Environmental Laws with respect to or in connection with the Real Property, any Hazardous Discharge, the presence of any Hazardous Materials affecting the Real Property (whether or not the same originates or emerges from the Real Property or any contiguous real estate), including any Claims consisting of or relating to the imposition or assertion of any Lien on any of the Real Property under any Environmental Laws and any loss of value of the Real Property as a result of the foregoing except to the extent such loss, liability, damage and expense is attributable to any Hazardous Discharge resulting from actions on the part of any Agent or any Lender. Borrowers’ obligations under this Section 17.5 shall arise upon the discovery of the presence of any Hazardous Materials at the Real Property, whether or not any federal, state, or local environmental agency has taken or threatened any action in connection with the presence of any Hazardous Materials, in each such case except to the extent that any of the foregoing arises out of the willful misconduct of the Indemnified Party (as determined by a court of competent jurisdiction in a final and non-appealable judgment). Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, this indemnity shall extend to any liabilities, obligations, losses, damages, penalties, actions, judgments, suits, costs, expenses and disbursements of any kind or nature whatsoever (including fees and disbursements of counsel) asserted against or incurred by any of the Indemnified Parties by any Person under any Environmental Laws or similar laws by reason of any Loan Party’s or any other Person’s failure to comply with laws applicable to solid or hazardous waste materials, including Hazardous Materials and Hazardous Waste, or other Toxic Substances. Additionally, if any taxes (excluding taxes imposed upon or measured solely by the net income of any Agent and Lenders, but including any intangibles taxes, stamp tax, recording tax or franchise tax) shall be payable by such Agent, Lenders or Loan Parties on account of the execution or delivery of this Agreement, or the execution, delivery, issuance or recording of any of the Other Documents, or the creation or repayment of any of the Obligations hereunder, by reason of any Applicable Law now or hereafter in effect, Loan Parties will pay (or will promptly reimburse such Agent and Lenders for payment of) all such taxes, including interest and penalties thereon, and will indemnify and hold the Indemnified Parties harmless from and against all liability in connection therewith. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Borrowers shall have no obligation to any Indemnified Party under this Section 17.5 with respect to any liability that a court of competent jurisdiction finally determines to have resulted from the gross negligence or willful misconduct of such Indemnified Party or its officers, directors, employees, attorneys, or agents.

 

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17.6. Notice . Any notice or request hereunder may be given to Borrowing Agent or any Borrower or to any Agent or any Lender at their respective addresses set forth below or at such other address as may hereafter be specified in a notice designated as a notice of change of address under this Section. Any notice, request, demand, direction or other communication (for purposes of this Section 17.6 only, a “ Notice ”) to be given to or made upon any party hereto under any provision of this Agreement shall be given or made by telephone or in writing (which includes by means of electronic transmission (i.e., “ e-mail ”) or facsimile transmission or by setting forth such Notice on a website to which Borrowers are directed (an “ Internet Posting ”) if Notice of such Internet Posting (including the information necessary to access such site) has previously been delivered to the applicable parties hereto by another means set forth in this Section 17.6) in accordance with this Section 17.6. Any such Notice must be delivered to the applicable parties hereto at the addresses and numbers set forth under their respective names on Section 17.6 hereof or in accordance with any subsequent unrevoked Notice from any such party that is given in accordance with this Section 17.6. Any Notice shall be effective:

(a) In the case of hand-delivery, when delivered;

(b) If given by mail, four (4) days after such Notice is deposited with the United States Postal Service, with first-class postage prepaid, return receipt requested;

(c) In the case of a telephonic Notice, when a party is contacted by telephone, if delivery of such telephonic Notice is confirmed no later than the next Business Day by hand delivery, a facsimile or electronic transmission, an Internet Posting or an overnight courier delivery of a confirmatory Notice (received at or before noon on such next Business Day);

(d) In the case of a facsimile transmission, when sent to the applicable party’s facsimile machine’s telephone number, if the party sending such Notice receives confirmation of the delivery thereof from its own facsimile machine;

(e) In the case of electronic transmission, when actually received;

(f) In the case of an Internet Posting, upon delivery of a Notice of such posting (including the information necessary to access such site) by another means set forth in this Section 17.6; and

(g) If given by any other means (including by overnight courier), when actually received.

Any Lender giving a Notice to Borrowing Agent or any Borrower shall concurrently send a copy thereof to each Agent, and each Agent shall promptly notify the other Lenders of its receipt of such Notice.

 

  (A) If to Administrative Agent or PNC at:

PNC Bank, National Association

200 South Wacker Drive, Suite 600

Mail Code: XX-PCHI-06-1

Chicago, Illinois 60606

 

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Attention:       George Couladis

Telephone:     (312) 454-2930

Email:             george.couladis@pnc.com

with a copy to:

PNC Bank, National Association

PNC Agency Services

PNC Firstside Center

500 First Avenue, 4th Floor

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15219

Attention:       Lisa Pierce

Telephone:     (412) 762-6442

Facsimile:      (412) 762-8672

with an additional copy to:

Blank Rome LLP

The Chrysler Building

405 Lexington Avenue

New York, New York 10174-0208

Attention:       Lawrence F. Flick II

Telephone:     (212) 885-5556

Facsimile:      (215) 832-5556

 

  (B) If to Term Loan B Agent at:

Crystal Financial LLC

Two International Place, 17 th Floor

Boston, Massachusetts 02110

Attention:       Michael Pizette

Telephone:     (617) 428-8707

Facsimile:       (617) 428-8701

with a copy to:

Proskauer Rose LLP

One International Place

Boston, Massachusetts 02110

Attention:       Stephen A. Boyko

Telephone:     (617) 526-9770

Facsimile:      (617) 526-0900

 

  (C) If to a Lender other than Administrative Agent or Term Loan B Agent, as specified on the signature pages hereof

 

  (D) If to Borrowing Agent or any Borrower:

 

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c/o GateHouse Media, Inc.

350 Willowbrook Office Park

Fairport, New York 14450

Attention:       Chief Executive Officer

Telephone:     (585) 598-0029

Facsimile:      (585) 248-2631

with a copy to:

c/o GateHouse Media, Inc.

350 Willowbrook Office Park

Fairport, New York 14450

Attention:       General Counsel

Telephone:     (585) 598-0032

Facsimile:      (585) 248-9562

17.7. Survival . The obligations of Loan Parties under Sections 2.2(f), 2.2(g), 2.2(h), 3.7, 3.8, 3.9, 3.10, 17.5 and 17.9 and the obligations of Lenders under Sections 2.2, 2.15(b), 2.16, 2.18, 2.19, 14.8 and 16.5, shall survive termination of this Agreement and the Other Documents and payment in full of the Obligations.

17.8. Severability . If any part of this Agreement is contrary to, prohibited by, or deemed invalid under Applicable Laws, such provision shall be inapplicable and deemed omitted to the extent so contrary, prohibited or invalid, but the remainder hereof shall not be invalidated thereby and shall be given effect so far as possible.

17.9. Expenses . Loan Parties shall pay (i) all reasonable and documented out-of-pocket expenses incurred by any Agent and its Affiliates (including the reasonable and documented fees, charges and disbursements of counsel for such Agent), and shall pay all reasonable and documented fees and time charges and disbursements for attorneys who may be employees of any Agent, in connection with the syndication of the credit facilities provided for herein, the preparation, negotiation, execution, delivery and administration of this Agreement and the Other Documents or any amendments, modifications or waivers of the provisions hereof or thereof (whether or not the transactions contemplated hereby or thereby shall be consummated), (ii) all reasonable and documented out-of-pocket expenses incurred by Issuer in connection with the issuance, amendment, renewal or extension of any Letter of Credit or any demand for payment thereunder, (iii) all reasonable and documented out-of-pocket expenses incurred by any Agent, any Lender or Issuer (including the reasonable and documented fees, charges and disbursements of any counsel for any Agent, any Lender or Issuer), and shall pay all reasonable and documented fees and time charges for attorneys who may be employees of any Agent, any Lender or Issuer, in connection with the enforcement or protection of its rights (A) in connection with this Agreement and the Other Documents, including its rights under this Section, or (B) in connection with the Advances made or Letters of Credit issued hereunder, including all such out-of-pocket expenses incurred during any workout, restructuring or negotiations in respect of such Loans or Letters of Credit, and (iv) all reasonable and documented out-of-pocket expenses of any Agent’s regular employees and agents engaged periodically to perform audits of the any Loan Party’s books, records and business properties.

 

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17.10. Injunctive Relief . Each Loan Party recognizes that, in the event any Loan Party fails to perform, observe or discharge any of its obligations or liabilities under this Agreement, or threatens to fail to perform, observe or discharge such obligations or liabilities, any remedy at law may prove to be inadequate relief to Lenders; therefore, each Agent, if such Agent so requests, shall be entitled to temporary and permanent injunctive relief in any such case without the necessity of proving that actual damages are not an adequate remedy.

17.11. Consequential Damages . No Agent or any Lender, or any agent or attorney for any of them, shall be liable to any Loan Party (or any Affiliate of any such Person) for indirect, punitive, exemplary or consequential damages arising from any breach of contract, tort or other wrong relating to the establishment, administration or collection of the Obligations or as a result of any transaction contemplated under this Agreement or any Other Document.

17.12. Captions . The captions at various places in this Agreement are intended for convenience only and do not constitute and shall not be interpreted as part of this Agreement.

17.13. Counterparts; Facsimile Signatures . This Agreement may be executed in any number of and by different parties hereto on separate counterparts, all of which, when so executed, shall be deemed an original, but all such counterparts shall constitute one and the same agreement. Any signature delivered by a party by facsimile or electronic transmission (including email transmission of a PDF image) shall be deemed to be an original signature hereto.

17.14. Construction . The parties acknowledge that each party and its counsel have reviewed this Agreement and that the normal rule of construction to the effect that any ambiguities are to be resolved against the drafting party shall not be employed in the interpretation of this Agreement or any amendments, schedules or exhibits thereto.

17.15. Confidentiality; Sharing Information . Each Agent, each Lender and each Transferee shall hold all non-public information obtained by such Agent, such Lender or such Transferee pursuant to the requirements of this Agreement in accordance with such Agent’s, such Lender’s and such Transferee’s customary procedures for handling confidential information of this nature and such non-public information shall not be disclosed by such Agent, such Lender or such Transferee to Persons who are not parties to this Agreement; provided, however , each Agent, each Lender and each Transferee may disclose such confidential information (a) to its examiners, Affiliates, outside auditors, counsel and other professional advisors (so long as the Persons to whom such disclosure is made are informed of the confidential nature of such information and have agreed or are otherwise obligated to keep such information confidential), (b) to any Agent, any Lender or to any prospective Transferees, or to funding and financing sources of any Lender and (c) as required or requested by any Governmental Body or representative thereof or pursuant to legal process; provided , further that (i) unless specifically prohibited by Applicable Law, each Agent, each Lender and each Transferee shall use its reasonable best efforts prior to disclosure thereof, to notify the applicable Loan Party of the applicable request for disclosure of such non-public information (A) by a Governmental Body or representative thereof (other than any such request in connection with an examination of the financial condition of a Lender or a Transferee by such Governmental Body) or (B) pursuant to legal process, (ii) any disclosure under subclauses (A) and (B) shall be limited to the portion of information as may be required by such Governmental Body pursuant to such legal process and

 

141


(iii) in no event shall any Agent, any Lender or any Transferee be obligated to return any materials furnished by any Borrower other than those documents and instruments in possession of any Agent or any Lender in order to perfect its Lien on the Collateral once the Obligations have been paid in full and this Agreement has been terminated. Each Loan Party acknowledges that from time to time financial advisory, investment banking and other services may be offered or provided to such Loan Party or one or more of its Affiliates (in connection with this Agreement or otherwise) by any Lender or by one or more Subsidiaries or Affiliates of such Lender and each Loan Party hereby authorizes each Lender to share any information delivered to such Lender by such Loan Party and its Subsidiaries pursuant to this Agreement, or in connection with the decision of such Lender to enter into this Agreement, to any such Subsidiary or Affiliate of such Lender, it being understood that any such Subsidiary or Affiliate of any Lender receiving such information shall be bound by the provisions of this Section 17.15 as if it were a Lender hereunder. Such authorization shall survive the repayment of the other Obligations and the termination of this Agreement. Notwithstanding any non-disclosure agreement or similar document executed by Agents in favor of any Loan Party or any of any Loan Party’s affiliates, the provisions of this Agreement shall supersede such agreements.

17.16. Publicity . Each Loan Party and each Lender hereby authorizes each Agent to make appropriate announcements of the financial arrangement entered into among Loan Party, Agents and Lenders, including announcements which are commonly known as tombstones, in such publications and to such selected parties as any Agent shall in its sole and absolute discretion deem appropriate.

17.17. Certifications From Banks and Participants; USA PATRIOT Act .

(a) Each Lender or assignee or participant of a Lender that is not incorporated under the Laws of the United States of America or a state thereof (and is not excepted from the certification requirement contained in Section 313 of the USA PATRIOT Act and the applicable regulations because it is both (i) an affiliate of a depository institution or foreign bank that maintains a physical presence in the United States or foreign country, and (ii) subject to supervision by a banking authority regulating such affiliated depository institution or foreign bank) shall deliver to the Agents the certification, or, if applicable, recertification, certifying that such Lender is not a “shell” and certifying to other matters as required by Section 313 of the USA PATRIOT Act and the applicable regulations: (1) within ten (10) days after the Closing Date, and (2) as such other times as are required under the USA PATRIOT Act.

(b) The USA PATRIOT Act requires all financial institutions to obtain, verify and record certain information that identifies individuals or business entities which open an “account” with such financial institution. Consequently, Lender may from time to time request, and each Loan Party shall provide to Lender, such Loan Party’s name, address, tax identification number and/or such other identifying information as shall be necessary for Lender to comply with the USA PATRIOT Act and any other Anti-Terrorism Law.

 

142


17.18. Anti-Terrorism Laws .

(a) Each Loan Party represents and warrants that (i) no Covered Entity is a Sanctioned Person and (ii) no Covered Entity, either in its own right or through any third party, (A) has any of its assets in a Sanctioned Country or in the possession, custody or control of a Sanctioned Person in violation of any Anti-Terrorism Law; (B) does business in or with, or derives any of its income from investments in or transactions with, any Sanctioned Country or Sanctioned Person in violation of any Anti-Terrorism Law; or (C) engages in any dealings or transactions prohibited by any Anti-Terrorism Law.

(b) Each Loan Party covenants and agrees that (i) no Covered Entity will become a Sanctioned Person, (ii) no Covered Entity, either in its own right or through any third party, will (A) have any of its assets in a Sanctioned Country or in the possession, custody or control of a Sanctioned Person in violation of any Anti-Terrorism Law; (B) do business in or with, or derive any of its income from investments in or transactions with, any Sanctioned Country or Sanctioned Person in violation of any Anti-Terrorism Law; (C) engage in any dealings or transactions prohibited by any Anti-Terrorism Law or (D) use the Advances to fund any operations in, finance any investments or activities in, or, make any payments to, a Sanctioned Country or Sanctioned Person in violation of any Anti-Terrorism Law, (iii) the funds used to repay the Obligations will not be derived from any unlawful activity, (iv) each Covered Entity shall comply with all Anti-Terrorism Laws and (v) the Loan Parties shall promptly notify the Agents in writing upon the occurrence of a Reportable Compliance Event.

 

143


Each of the parties has signed this Agreement as of the day and year first above written.

 

GATEHOUSE MEDIA INTERMEDIATE
HOLDCO, INC.
, as Borrower
By:  

/s/ Melinda A. Janik

 

Name: Melinda A. Janik

Title: Chief Financial Officer

Subsidiary Borrowers:

COPLEY OHIO NEWSPAPERS, INC.

ENHE ACQUISITION, LLC

ENTERPRISE NEWSMEDIA HOLDING, LLC

ENTERPRISE NEWSMEDIA, LLC

ENTERPRISE PUBLISHING COMPANY, LLC

GATEHOUSE MEDIA ARKANSAS HOLDINGS,
INC.

GATEHOUSE MEDIA CALIFORNIA HOLDINGS,
INC.

GATEHOUSE MEDIA COLORADO HOLDINGS,
INC.

GATEHOUSE MEDIA CONNECTICUT HOLDINGS,
INC.

GATEHOUSE MEDIA CORNING HOLDINGS,
INC.

GATEHOUSE MEDIA DELAWARE HOLDINGS,
INC.

GATEHOUSE MEDIA DIRECTORIES
HOLDINGS, INC.

By:  

/s/ Melinda A. Janik

 

Name: Melinda A. Janik

Title: Chief Financial Officer

 

[SIGNATURE PAGE TO REVOLVING CREDIT, TERM LOAN AND SECURITY AGREEMENT]

S-1


    Subsidiary Borrowers (Continued):
   

GATEHOUSE MEDIA FLORIDA HOLDINGS,
INC.

GATEHOUSE MEDIA FREEPORT HOLDINGS,
INC.

GATEHOUSE MEDIA HOLDCO, INC.

GATEHOUSE MEDIA ILLINOIS HOLDINGS II,
INC.

GATEHOUSE MEDIA ILLINOIS HOLDINGS,
INC.

GATEHOUSE MEDIA IOWA HOLDINGS, INC.

GATEHOUSE MEDIA KANSAS HOLDINGS II,
INC.

GATEHOUSE MEDIA KANSAS HOLDINGS, INC.

GATEHOUSE MEDIA LANSING PRINTING, INC.

GATEHOUSE MEDIA LOUISIANA HOLDINGS,
INC.

GATEHOUSE MEDIA MANAGEMENT
SERVICES, INC.

GATEHOUSE MEDIA MASSACHUSETTS I, INC.

GATEHOUSE MEDIA MASSACHUSETTS II, INC.

GATEHOUSE MEDIA MICHIGAN HOLDINGS II, INC.

GATEHOUSE MEDIA MICHIGAN HOLDINGS,
INC.

GATEHOUSE MEDIA MINNESOTA HOLDINGS, INC.

GATEHOUSE MEDIA MISSOURI HOLDINGS II, INC.

GATEHOUSE MEDIA MISSOURI HOLDINGS,
INC.

GATEHOUSE MEDIA NEBRASKA HOLDINGS II, INC.

GATEHOUSE MEDIA NEBRASKA HOLDINGS,
INC.

GATEHOUSE MEDIA NEVADA HOLDINGS, INC.

    By:   

/s/ Melinda A. Janik

      

Name: Melinda A. Janik

Title: Chief Financial Officer

 

[SIGNATURE PAGE TO REVOLVING CREDIT, TERM LOAN AND SECURITY AGREEMENT]

S-2


Subsidiary Borrowers (Continued):

GATEHOUSE MEDIA NEW YORK HOLDINGS,
INC.

GATEHOUSE MEDIA NORTH DAKOTA
HOLDINGS, INC.

GATEHOUSE MEDIA OHIO HOLDINGS, INC.

GATEHOUSE MEDIA OKLAHOMA HOLDINGS,
INC.

GATEHOUSE MEDIA OPERATING, INC.

GATEHOUSE MEDIA PENNSYLVANIA
HOLDINGS, INC.

GATEHOUSE MEDIA SUBURBAN
NEWSPAPERS, INC.

GATEHOUSE MEDIA TENNESSEE HOLDINGS,
INC.

GATEHOUSE MEDIA VENTURES, INC.

GEORGE W. PRESCOTT PUBLISHING
COMPANY, LLC

MINERAL DAILY NEWS TRIBUNE, INC.

NEWS LEADER, INC.

SUREWEST DIRECTORIES

TERRY NEWSPAPERS, INC.

THE PEORIA JOURNAL STAR, INC.

LIBERTY SMC, L.L.C.

LOW REALTY, LLC

LRT FOUR HUNDRED, LLC

By:  

/s/ Melinda A. Janik

 

Name: Melinda A. Janik

Title: Chief Financial Officer

 

[SIGNATURE PAGE TO REVOLVING CREDIT, TERM LOAN AND SECURITY AGREEMENT]

S-3


GATEHOUSE MEDIA, INC. , as Guarantor
By:  

/s/ Melinda A. Janik

 

Name: Melinda A. Janik

Title: Chief Financial Officer

 

[SIGNATURE PAGE TO REVOLVING CREDIT, TERM LOAN AND SECURITY AGREEMENT]

S-4


PNC BANK, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION,

as Revolving Lender, a Term Loan A Lender

and as Administrative Agent

By:  

/s/ George S. Couladis

Name:

Title:

 

George S. Couladis

Vice President

200 South Wacker Drive, Suite 600

Mail Code: XX-PCHI-06-1

Chicago, Illinois 60606

 

Revolving Commitment Percentage: 100%

Revolving Commitment Amount $40,000,000

 

Term Loan A Commitment Percentage: 100%

Term Loan A Commitment Amount

$25,000,000

 

[SIGNATURE PAGE TO REVOLVING CREDIT, TERM LOAN AND SECURITY AGREEMENT]

S-5


CRYSTAL FINANCIAL LLC,

as Term B Loan Agent

By:  

/s/ Michael L. Pizette

Name:

Title:

 

Michael L. Pizette

Chief Credit Officer

CRYSTAL FINANCIAL SPV LLC,

as a Term Loan B Lender

By:  

/s/ Michael L. Pizette

Name:

Title:

 

Michael L. Pizette

Chief Credit Officer

Two International Place, 17 th Floor

Boston, Massachusetts 02110

 

Term Loan B Commitment Percentage: 100%

Term Loan B Commitment Amount

$50,000,000

 

[SIGNATURE PAGE TO REVOLVING CREDIT, TERM LOAN AND SECURITY AGREEMENT]

S-6


EXHIBIT A

FORM OF BORROWING BASE CERTIFICATE

(To be provided by Administrative Agent to Borrowers)


EXHIBIT 1.2(a) COMPLIANCE

CERTIFICATE (Attached)


EXHIBIT 1.2(a)

FORM OF COMPLIANCE CERTIFICATE

PNC Bank, National Association

200 South Wacker Drive, Suite 600

Mail Code: XX-PCHI-06-1

Chicago, Illinois 60606

Attention: George Couladis

Each undersigned, not individually but in such undersigned’s capacity as the Chief Financial Officer or [Chief Executive Officer] [President], as applicable, of GateHouse Media Intermediate Holdco, Inc. (“GMIH”), as Borrowing Agent, delivers this certificate to PNC Bank, National Association (“Administrative Agent”), pursuant to Sections 9.7, 9.8, 9.9, 9.13 and 9.17, as applicable 1 , of that certain Revolving Credit, Term Loan and Security Agreement dated November     , 2013, among GMIH, the subsidiary borrowers party thereto (the “Subsidiary Borrowers”), GateHouse Media, Inc. (“Holdco”, and together with GMIH and the Subsidiary Borrowers, the “Loan Parties”), Administrative Agent, Term Loan B Agent, and certain financial institutions a party thereto as lenders from time to time (as may be supplemented, restated, superseded, amended or replaced from time to time, the “Loan Agreement”). Capitalized terms used in this certificate and not otherwise defined herein shall have the meanings ascribed to them in the Loan Agreement.

SECTION I:

 

  A. Attached hereto as Schedule “A” are copies of the financial statements of the Loan Parties required to be delivered pursuant to Sections 9.7, 9.8 or 9.9 of the Loan Agreement, as applicable, for the fiscal period ending                     , 20     2 (the “Financial Statements”).

 

  B. Based upon my review of the Financial Statements, I hereby certify that as of the date indicated in Paragraph A above:

 

  (1) The Loan Parties were in compliance with the requirements of Sections 7.4, 7.5, 7.6, 7.7, 7.8, and 7.10 of the Loan Agreement;

 

  (2) To be included for delivery of annual and quarterly financial statements only: The Fixed Charge Coverage Ratio was      to 1.0, measured pursuant to Section 6.5(a) of the Loan Agreement. 3

 

1 Yearly financials to be delivered within 90 days after the end of each fiscal year, quarterly financials within 45 days after the end of each fiscal quarter, and monthly financials 30 days after the end of each month (other than for March, June, September and December).
2   For financial statements delivered pursuant to Sections 9.7 and 9.8, such date shall be the end of the applicable fiscal quarter or year end, as applicable. For financial statements delivered pursuant to Section 9.9, such date shall be the end of the applicable month.
3   Minimum required: See covenant (6.5(a))


  (3) To be included for delivery of annual and quarterly financial statements only: The Maximum Leverage Ratio was      to 1.0, measured pursuant to Section 6.5(b) of Loan Agreement. 4

 

  (4) To be included for delivery of annual and quarterly financial statements only: The Loan Parties’ EBITDA was $        , measured on a rolling four-quarter basis pursuant to Section 6.5(c) of the Loan Agreement. 5

Attached as Schedule “B” are the details underlying such financial covenant calculations.

 

  C. No Default exists on the date hereof, other than:                      [if none, so state];

 

  D. No Event of Default exists on the date hereof, other than:                      [if none, so state].

 

  E. Attached hereto as Schedule “C” is a written report summarizing all material variances from budgets submitted by Loan Parties pursuant to Section 9.12 of the Loan Agreement and a discussion and analysis by management with respect to such variances.

 

  F. To be included for delivery of annual and quarterly financial statements or as otherwise required to be delivered under Section 9.17 of the Loan Agreement : Attached hereto as Schedule “D” are updates (if any) to Schedules 4.4 (Locations of equipment and Inventory), 5.2(a) (States of Qualification and Good Standing), 5.2(b) (Subsidiaries), 5.6 (Prior Names), 5.7 (Environmental), 5.8 (Plans), 5.9 (Intellectual Property), 5.10 (Licenses and Permits), 5.14 (Labor Disputes), 5.17 (Disclosure), 5.24 (Equity Interests), 5.25 (Commercial Tort Claims), 5.26 (Letter-of-Credit Rights) and 5.27 (Material Contracts) of the Loan Agreement.

SECTION II:

To be included for delivery of annual and quarterly financial statements only: To the best of the [Chief Executive Officer’s] [President’s] knowledge, each of the Loan Parties is in compliance in all material respects with applicable Environmental Laws on the date hereof. [if not in compliance, set forth with specificity all areas of non-compliance and the proposed action such Loan Party will implement in order to achieve full compliance] .

 

4   Minimum required: See covenant (6.5(b))
5   Minimum required: See covenant (6.5(c))


As to the statements and certifications set forth in Section I:

 

By:  

 

Name:   [                    ]
Title:  

Chief Financial Officer of

GateHouse Media Intermediate Holdco, Inc. as Borrowing Agent

As to the statements and certifications set forth in Section II:

 

By:  

 

Name:   [                    ]
Title:   [Chief Executive Officer][President] of GateHouse Media Intermediate Holdco, Inc. as Borrowing Agent


Schedule A


EXHIBIT 1.2(b)

SUBORDINATION AGREEMENT

(Attached)


Execution Version

INTERCREDITOR AND SUBORDINATION AGREEMENT

This INTERCREDITOR AND SUBORDINATION AGREEMENT (as the same may be amended, restated, supplemented or otherwise modified, this “ Agreement ”) is dated as of November 26, 2013, and entered into by and among PNC BANK, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION (as administrative agent for the Lenders, “ PNC ”), CRYSTAL FINANCIAL LLC (as Term Loan B agent for the Term Loan B Lenders, “ Crystal ”, together with PNC, collectively, the “ Senior Creditors ” and each individually, a “ Senior Creditor ”), for and on behalf of the Senior Creditors and each other Senior Claimholder from time to time, and MUTUAL QUEST FUND (the “ Subordinated Creditor ”).

RECITALS

WHEREAS, the Senior Creditors have made, or in the future may make, credit accommodations available to the Borrowers pursuant to the terms and provisions of that certain Revolving Credit, Term Loan and Security Agreement dated as of November 26, 2013, by and among the Senior Creditors, GATEHOUSE MEDIA INTERMEDIATE HOLDCO, INC., a corporation organized under the laws of the State of Delaware (the “ Company ”) GATEHOUSE MEDIA HOLDCO, INC., a corporation organized under the laws of the State of Delaware (the “ GMH ”), GATEHOUSE MEDIA OPERATING, INC., a corporation organized under the laws of the State of Delaware (the “ GMO ”, together with the Company, GMH, each additional borrower set forth on Schedule I thereto, and each Person joined thereto as a borrower from time to time, collectively, the “ Borrowers ”, and each a “ Borrower ”), GATEHOUSE MEDIA, INC., a corporation organized under the laws of the State of Delaware (“ Holdco ” and each Person joined thereto as a guarantor from time to time, collectively, the “ Guarantors ”, and each a “ Guarantor ”), the financial institutions which are now or which hereafter become a party thereto (as amended, restated, supplemented or otherwise modified from time to time, the “ Senior Credit Agreement ”);

WHEREAS, the Subordinated Creditor has made, or in the future may make, credit accommodations available to the Borrowers pursuant to the terms and provisions of that certain Term Loan and Security Agreement dated as of November 26, 2013, by and among the Subordinated Creditor and the Obligors (as amended, restated, supplemented or otherwise modified from time to time, the “ Subordinated Credit Agreement ”); and

WHEREAS, the obligations of the Obligors under the Senior Credit Agreement are secured on a senior priority basis by liens on all or substantially all of the assets of Obligors, pursuant to the terms of certain of the Senior Loan Documents;

WHEREAS, the obligations of the Obligors under the Subordinated Credit Agreement are secured on a junior priority basis by liens on all or substantially all of the assets of Obligors, pursuant to the terms of certain of the Subordinated Loan Documents;

WHEREAS, one of the conditions of the Senior Credit Agreement is that (1) the Senior Obligations be senior and prior in right of payment to the Subordinated Obligations as set forth in this Agreement, and (2) the priority of Senior Creditors’ security interests in and liens on the Collateral be senior and prior to the Subordinated Creditor’s security interests in and liens on the Collateral as set forth in this Agreement; and

WHEREAS, Subordinated Creditor and the other Subordinated Claimholders have agreed to (1) the subordination of the Subordinated Obligations to the Senior Obligations upon the terms and subject to the conditions set forth in this Agreement; and (2) the subordination of their Liens to the Liens of Senior Creditors upon the terms and subject to the conditions set forth in this Agreement.

 

1


Each Senior Creditor and each of the Subordinated Claimholders hereby agree as follows:

1. Definitions .

(a) Defined Terms . As used in this Agreement, the following terms shall have the following meanings:

Administrative Agent Senior Creditor ” means the Administrative Agent under the Senior Loan Documents.

Agreement ” has the meaning set forth in the preamble to this Agreement.

Bank Product Obligations ” shall mean Cash Management Obligations and Hedging Obligations.

Bankruptcy Code ” means Title 11 of the United States Code entitled “Bankruptcy”, as now or hereafter in effect, any successor statute, or any analogous statute in any foreign jurisdiction.

Bankruptcy Law ” means the Bankruptcy Code and any other federal, state, provincial or foreign law for the relief of debtors.

Blockage Period ” means a Covenant Blockage Period or a Payment Blockage Period.

Borrowers ” has the meaning set forth in the recitals to this Agreement.

Business Day ” means any day other than Saturday or Sunday or a legal holiday on which commercial banks are authorized or required by law to be closed for business in East Brunswick, New Jersey and, if the applicable Business Day relates to any LIBOR Rate Loans, such day must also be a day on which dealings are carried on in the London interbank market.

Cash Collateral ” has the meaning set forth in Section 5(b) .

Cash Management Obligations ” means, with respect to any Person, the indebtedness, obligations and liabilities of such Person in connection with (a) credit cards; (b) credit card processing services; (c) debit cards and stored value cards; (d) commercial cards; (e) ACH transactions; and (f) cash management and treasury management services and products, including without limitation controlled disbursement accounts or services, lockboxes, automated clearinghouse transactions, overdrafts, interstate depository network services (including all obligations and liabilities owing to such provider in respect of any returned items deposited with such provider).

Collateral ” means all assets and property (whether real, personal, or mixed) now owned or hereafter acquired by any Obligor in or upon which a Lien is granted under any of the Senior Loan Documents and any of the Subordinated Loan Documents and all products and Proceeds of any of the foregoing.

Collection Action ” means (a) any demand or request for any payment or Distribution, any commencement of (or participation with others in the commencement of) any litigation or other similar proceeding, or the commencement of any other remedy, in each case in an effort to collect the

 

2


Subordinated Obligations, (b) any acceleration of any Subordinated Obligations, or (c) any commencement of, or joinder with any creditor in commencing, any Insolvency Proceeding against any Obligor or any of its Subsidiaries or any assets of any Obligor or any of its Subsidiaries.

Conforming Amendment ” means any amendment to a provision of any Subordinated Loan Document that is substantively identical to a corresponding amendment to a comparable provision of a comparable Senior Loan Document.

Control Collateral ” means any Collateral consisting of a certificated security (as defined in the UCC), investment property (as defined in the UCC), a deposit account (as defined in the UCC), and any other Collateral as to which a Lien may be perfected through physical possession or control by the secured party, or any agent therefor.

Covenant Blockage Period ” means the period from and including the date of receipt by the Subordinated Creditor of a Covenant Default Notice until the first to occur of (a) the 180th day following the receipt by Subordinated Creditor of such Covenant Default Notice, (b) the date on which Senior Creditors expressly waived such Covenant Default Event in writing, or (c) the Discharge of the Senior Obligations.

Covenant Default Event ” has the meaning specified in Section 2(c) .

Covenant Default Notice ” means a written notice from Senior Creditors to Subordinated Creditor of the existence of a Covenant Default Event and specifically designating such notice as a “Covenant Default Notice.”

DIP Financing ” has the meaning set forth in Section 5(b) .

Discharge of the Senior Obligations ” means (a) the indefeasible payment in full in cash and performance in full of the Senior Obligations and (b) the termination or expiration of all commitments to extend credit that would constitute Senior Obligations, in each case, in accordance with the terms of the Senior Loan Documents.

Disposition ” or “ Dispose ” means the sale, assignment, transfer, license, lease (as lessor), or other disposition of any property by any person (or the granting of any option or other right to do any of the foregoing).

Distribution ” means any payment or distribution by any Person in respect of the Senior Obligations or the Subordinated Obligations, as the case may be, of assets of any kind or character (whether in cash, securities, assets, by set-off, recoupment, or otherwise and including by purchase redemption or other acquisition of such Senior Obligations or Subordinated Obligations.

Dollars ” or “ $ ” means United States dollars.

Equity Sponsor ” means Newcastle Investment Corp. and any other equity fund controlled (in each case by way of ownership) by, or under common control with, Newcastle Investment Corp., or any of its Affiliates.

Event of Default ” means, as the context may require, an Event of Default or an “Event of Default” as defined in the Subordinated Credit Agreement.

 

3


Exercise any Secured Creditor Remedies ” or “ Exercise of Secured Creditor Remedies ” means (a) the taking of any action to enforce any Lien in respect of all or any portion of the Collateral, including the institution of any foreclosure proceedings or the noticing of any public or private sale or other Disposition pursuant to Article 9 of the UCC, (b) the exercise of any right or remedy provided to a secured creditor under the Senior Loan Documents or the Subordinated Loan Documents (including, in either case, any delivery of any notice to seek to obtain payment directly from any account debtor of any Obligor or the taking of any action or the exercise of any right or remedy in respect of the setoff or recoupment against all or any portion of the Collateral or Proceeds of all or any portion of the Collateral), under applicable law, at equity, in an Insolvency Proceeding or otherwise, including the acceptance of all or any portion of the Collateral in full or partial satisfaction of a Lien, (c) the sale, assignment, transfer, lease, license or other Disposition of all or any portion of the Collateral, by private or public sale or any other means, (d) the exercise of any other enforcement right relating to all or any portion of the Collateral (including the exercise of any voting rights relating to any capital stock composing a portion of the Collateral) whether under the Senior Loan Documents, the Subordinated Loan Documents, under applicable law of any jurisdiction, in equity, in an Insolvency Proceeding (other than a request for adequate protection permitted by this Agreement), or otherwise, (e) the pursuit of Senior Default Dispositions, or (f) the setoff or recoupment against or foreclosure on all or any portion of the Collateral or the Proceeds of all or any portion of the Collateral.

Guarantors ” has the meaning set forth in the recitals to this Agreement.

Hedging Obligations ” means, with respect to any Person, the obligations of such Person under (a) interest rate swap agreements, interest rate cap agreements, interest rate collar agreements and (b) other agreements or arrangements designed to protect such Person against fluctuations in interest rates or the value of foreign currencies.

Insolvency Proceeding ” means any proceeding commenced by or against any Person under any provision of the Bankruptcy Code or under any other state or federal bankruptcy or insolvency law, assignments for the benefit of creditors, formal or informal moratoria, compositions, extensions generally with creditors, or proceedings seeking reorganization, arrangement, or other similar relief.

Lien ” shall mean any mortgage, deed of trust, pledge, hypothecation, assignment, security interest, lien (whether statutory or otherwise), charge or encumbrance, or preference, priority or other security agreement or preferential arrangement held in respect of any asset of any kind or nature whatsoever including any conditional sale or other title retention agreement, any capital or financing lease having substantially the same economic effect as any of the foregoing.

Obligors ” means the Borrowers, the Guarantors, and each other Person that may from time to time execute and deliver a Senior Loan Document or a Subordinated Loan Document as a “debtor”, “borrower”, “guarantor”, “obligor”, “grantor”, or “pledgor” (or the equivalent thereof), and “ Obligor ” means any one of them.

Payment Blockage Period ” means, with respect to any Payment Default Event, the period from and including the date on which the Subordinated Creditor receive notice of a Payment Default Event until the first to occur of (a) the date on which Subordinated Creditor receive a written notice from Senior Creditors that the applicable Payment Default Event has been waived in accordance with the terms of the Senior Loan Documents or (b) the Discharge of the Senior Obligations in accordance with the terms of the Senior Loan Documents.

Payment Default Event ” has the meaning specified in Section 2(c) .

 

4


Permitted Subordinated Debt Payments ” means (a) regularly scheduled payments of cash interest on the Subordinated Obligations and (b) accrual, but not payment, of default rate interest in respect of the Subordinated Obligations; provided , however , that (i) such payments must be made in accordance with the terms of the Subordinated Loan Documents and (ii) such payments are not Proceeds of any Collateral arising from the Exercise of Secured Creditor Remedies by Subordinated Creditor or any other Subordinated Claimholder.

Person ” means any individual, sole proprietorship, partnership, corporation, business trust, joint stock company, trust, unincorporated organization, association, limited liability company, limited liability partnership, institution, public benefit corporation, joint venture, entity or Governmental Body (whether federal, state, county, city, municipal or otherwise, including any instrumentality, division, agency, body or department thereof).

Proceeds ” means (i) all “proceeds” as defined in Article 9 of the UCC with respect to the Collateral, and (ii) whatever is recoverable or recovered when Collateral is sold, exchanged, collected, or Disposed of, whether voluntarily or involuntarily.

Refinance ” means, in respect of any indebtedness, to refinance, extend, exchange, renew, defease, supplement, restructure, replace, refund or repay, or to issue other indebtedness in exchange or replacement for such indebtedness, in whole or in part, whether with the same or different lenders, arrangers or agents. “ Refinanced ” and “ Refinancing ” shall have correlative meanings.

Required Senior Claimholders ” means Required Lenders.

Required Subordinated Claimholders ” means “Required Lenders”, as defined in the Subordinated Credit Agreement in effect on the date hereof.

Senior Creditor ” has the meaning set forth in the preamble to this Agreement.

Senior Claimholders ” means, at any relevant time, individually and collectively, Senior Creditors, the Senior Lenders, or any other holders of the Senior Obligations at that time.

Senior Collateral Documents ” means the Senior Mortgages and any other agreement, document, or instrument pursuant to which a Lien is granted securing any Senior Obligation or under which rights or remedies with respect to such Liens are governed, in each case, as the same may be amended, amended and restated, supplemented, modified, replaced, substituted or renewed from time to time or Refinanced.

Senior Credit Agreement ” has the meaning set forth in the recitals to this Agreement.

Senior Debt Cap ” means, as of the any date of determination, the result of (a) $138,000,000, plus (b) all Bank Product Obligations, interest, fees, attorneys’ fees, costs, charges, expenses, indemnity obligations and all other amounts (exclusive of amounts constituting principal or contingent indemnification obligations for which no written claim has been made) owing, due or payable, or secured under the terms of the Senior Credit Agreement or any other Senior Loan Document, in each case, whether now existing or hereafter arising, under any Senior Loan Document, or in respect thereof (including, in each case, all amounts accruing on or after the commencement of any Insolvency Proceeding relating to any Obligor, or that would have accrued or become due under the terms of the Senior Loan Documents but for the effect of the Insolvency Proceeding or other applicable law, and irrespective of whether a claim for all or any portion of such amounts is allowable or allowed in such Insolvency Proceeding).

 

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Senior Default Disposition ” means any private or public Disposition of all or any Collateral by one or more Obligors with the consent of Senior Creditor, on behalf of the requisite Senior Claimholders, after the occurrence and during the continuance of an Event of Default.

Senior Default Notice ” has the meaning set forth in Section 7(c) of this Agreement.

Senior Lenders ” means the Lenders as defined in the Senior Creditor Agreement.

Senior Loan Documents ” means the Senior Credit Agreement, the Senior Collateral Documents and each of the Other Documents (as defined in the Senior Credit Agreement), together with any agreement or other document executed or delivered in connection with any DIP Financing provided by a Senior Claimholder, in each case, as the same may be amended, amended and restated, supplemented, modified, replaced, substituted or renewed from time to time or Refinanced.

Senior Mortgages ” means each mortgage, deed of trust, and other document or instrument under which any Lien on real property owned or leased by any Obligor is granted to secure any Senior Obligations or under which rights or remedies with respect to any such Liens are governed (other than this Agreement), in each case, as amended, restated, supplemented or otherwise modified from time to time.

Senior Obligations ” means, collectively, all Obligations.

Senior Recovery ” has the meaning set forth in Section 5(h) .

Standstill Notice ” means a written notice from Subordinated Creditor to Senior Creditors that (i) describes with specificity the Event of Default that has occurred under any of the Subordinated Loan Documents, (ii) declares the Subordinated Creditor’s intent to take any Collection Action or to Exercise any Secured Creditor Remedies after the termination of the Standstill Period, and (iii) specifically designates such notice as a “Standstill Notice”.

Standstill Period ” means the period from and including the date of receipt by Senior Creditors of a Standstill Notice until the first to occur of: (a) the 210th day following the receipt by Senior Creditor of a Standstill Notice from Subordinated Creditor; (b) the date of acceleration of the Senior Obligations; (c) the commencement of any Insolvency Proceeding relating to any Obligor; or (d) the Discharge of the Senior Obligations, provided, that the 210 day period pursuant to clause (a) of this definition and the date of any acceleration referred to in clause (b) of this definition shall be deemed (i) extended during any period in which any Senior Creditor is in good faith Exercising any Secured Creditor Remedies, (ii) extended during any period (not to exceed an additional 60 days) in which either Senior Creditors or Borrowers shall have retained any financial consultant, investment banker, turnaround professional or other advisor for the purposes of evaluating the Exercise of Secured Creditor Remedies by either Senior Creditors or Borrowers shall constitute an Exercise of Secured Creditor Remedies, and (iii) tolled during any period in which the Senior Creditors are stayed or enjoined from Exercising any Secured Creditor Remedies.

Subordinated Claimholders ” means, at any relevant time, individually and collectively, the Subordinated Creditor, Subordinated Lenders or any other holders of the Subordinated Obligations from time to time.

Subordinated Collateral Documents ” means the Security Agreement (as defined in the Subordinated Credit Agreement), the Subordinated Mortgages and any other agreement, document, or instrument pursuant to which a Lien is granted securing any Subordinated Obligation or under which

 

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rights or remedies with respect to such Liens are governed, in each case, as the same may be amended, amended and restated, supplemented, modified, replaced, substituted or renewed from time to time or Refinanced.

Subordinated Credit Agreement ” has the meaning set forth in the recitals to this Agreement.

Subordinated Creditor ” has the meaning set forth in the preamble to this Agreement.

Subordinated Lenders ” means the Lenders as defined in the Subordinated Credit Agreement.

Subordinated Loan Documents ” means the Subordinated Credit Agreement dated as of November 26, 2013 in the original principal amount of $50,000,000 between Obligors and Subordinated Lenders and all other instruments, agreements and documents executed in connection therewith, in each case, as the same may be amended, amended and restated, supplemented, modified, replaced, substituted or renewed from time to time or Refinanced.

Subordinated Mortgages ” means each mortgage, deed of trust, and other document or instrument under which any Lien on real property owned or leased by any Obligor is granted to secure any Subordinated Obligations or under which rights or remedies with respect to any such Liens are governed (other than this Agreement), in each case, as amended, restated, supplemented or otherwise modified from time to time.

Subordinated Obligations ” means, collectively, all Obligations (as defined in the Subordinated Credit Agreement).

Subsidiary ” of a person means a corporation, partnership, limited liability company, or other entity in which that person directly or indirectly owns or controls the shares of capital stock having ordinary voting power to elect a majority of the board of directors (or appoint other comparable managers) of such corporation, partnership, limited liability company, or other entity.

UCC ” means the Uniform Commercial Code (or any similar or equivalent legislation) as in effect from time to time in any applicable jurisdiction.

(b) Terms Defined in the Senior Credit Agreement . Except to the extent expressly provided herein to the contrary, any term used in this Agreement and not defined in this Agreement has the meaning set forth in the Senior Credit Agreement.

(c) Rules of Construction . The definitions of terms in this Agreement 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.” The term “or” shall be construed to have, except where otherwise indicated, the inclusive meaning represented by the phrase “and/or.” Unless the context requires otherwise: (1) any definition of or reference to any agreement, instrument, or other document herein shall be construed as referring to such agreement, instrument, or other document as from time to time amended, restated, modified or Refinanced in accordance with the terms of this Agreement; (2) any definition of or reference to Senior Obligations or the Subordinated Obligations herein shall be construed as referring to the Senior Obligations or the Subordinated Obligations (as applicable) as from time to time amended, restated, modified or Refinanced in accordance

 

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with the terms of this Agreement; (3) any reference herein to any person shall be construed to include such person’s successors and assigns; (4) the words “herein,” “hereof,” and “hereunder,” and words of similar import, shall be construed to refer to this Agreement in its entirety and not to any particular provision hereof; (5) all references herein to Sections shall be construed to refer to Sections of this Agreement; (6) 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; and (7) any reference to any agreement, instrument, or other document herein “as in effect on the date hereof” shall be construed as referring to such agreement, instrument, or other document without giving effect to any amendment, restatement, supplement, modification, or Refinance after the date hereof.

2. Payment Subordination .

(a) Subordination . Each Subordinated Claimholder hereby covenants and agrees that the payment of any and all of the Subordinated Obligations shall be subordinate and subject in right of payment, to the extent and in the manner hereinafter set forth, to the prior Discharge of the Senior Obligations. Each holder of Senior Obligations, whether now outstanding or hereafter created, incurred, assumed or guaranteed, shall be deemed to have acquired Senior Obligations in reliance upon the provisions contained in this Agreement. Except as set forth in Section 2(b) , unless and until the Discharge of the Senior Obligations shall have occurred, no Subordinated Claimholder shall accept, take, or receive by payment or prepayment, directly or indirectly, from any Person, any Distribution which may now or hereafter be owing to such Subordinated Claimholder, on account of any of the Subordinated Obligations.

(b) Permitted Payments . So long as no Blockage Period is in effect, Borrowers may pay to the Subordinated Claimholders, and the Subordinated Claimholders may accept and receive from Borrowers on account of the Subordinated Obligations, Permitted Subordinated Debt Payments.

(c) Blockage Period .

(1) Payment Default Event . Upon the occurrence of an Event of Default under Section 10.1 of the Senior Credit Agreement or any declaration or acceleration of payment pursuant to the terms of the Senior Credit Agreement (a “ Payment Default Event ”), then no Obligor shall make, and no Subordinated Claimholder shall accept, take or receive by payment or prepayment, directly or indirectly, from any Person, any Distribution on account of any of the Subordinated Obligations during the Payment Blockage Period applicable to such Payment Default Event.

(2) Covenant Default Event . If (i) an Event of Default shall have occurred and be continuing under Article X of the Senior Credit Agreement (other than Section 10.1 thereunder) (a “ Covenant Default Event ”), and (ii) Subordinated Creditor shall have received a Covenant Default Notice, then no Obligor shall make, and no Subordinated Claimholder shall accept, take or receive, by payment or prepayment, directly or indirectly from any Person any Distribution on account of any of the Subordinated Obligations during the Covenant Blockage Period applicable to such Covenant Default Event.

3. Lien Subordination .

(a) Acknowledgement; Consent; and Subordination . Each Subordinated Creditor and each of the other Subordinated Claimholders hereby (y) acknowledges that the Obligors, either prior to the date hereof or concurrently herewith, have granted or are granting Liens on the Collateral in favor of Senior Creditors to secure the Senior Obligations and (z) consents, anything to the contrary contained in any Subordinated Loan Document, or other agreement to which any Subordinated Claimholder may

 

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now or hereafter be a party notwithstanding, to the grant by the Obligors of the Liens on the Collateral to secure the Senior Obligations. Notwithstanding (i) the date, time, method, manner or order of grant, attachment, or perfection of any Liens granted to Senior Creditors (or any Senior Lender) or any Subordinated Claimholder in respect of all or any portion of the Collateral, (ii) the order or time of filing or recordation of any document or instrument for perfecting the Liens in favor of Senior Creditors (or any Senior Lender) or any Subordinated Claimholder in any Collateral, (iii) any provision of the UCC, any other applicable law, any of the Senior Loan Documents or any of the Subordinated Loan Documents, (iv) whether the Liens securing the Senior Obligations are valid, enforceable, void, avoidable, subordinated, disputed, or allowed, (v) whether or not any such Liens securing any Senior Obligations or any Subordinated Obligations are perfected, unperfected, avoided, set aside, or subordinated to any Lien securing any other obligation or debt of any Obligor or any other Person, (vi) any defect or deficiency or alleged defect or deficiency in any of the foregoing, or (vii) any other circumstance whatsoever, each of the Senior Creditors, on behalf of itself and the Senior Lenders, and each of the Subordinated Claimholders hereby agree that:

(1) any Lien with respect to all or any portion of the Collateral securing any Senior Obligations now or hereafter held by or on behalf of, or created for the benefit of, any Senior Claimholder or any agent or trustee therefor, regardless of how acquired, whether by grant, possession, statute, operation of law, subrogation, or otherwise, shall be senior and prior in all respects to all Liens with respect to all or any portion of the Collateral securing any Subordinated Obligations;

(2) any Lien with respect to all or any portion of the Collateral securing any Subordinated Obligations now or hereafter held by or on behalf of, or created for the benefit of any Subordinated Claimholder or any agent or trustee therefor, regardless of how acquired, whether by grant, possession, statute, operation of law, subrogation, or otherwise, shall be junior and subordinate in all respects to all Liens with respect to all or any portion of the Collateral securing any Senior Obligations;

(3) the Lien priority provisions set forth in this Agreement shall be effective at all times and for all purposes.

(b) Disposition of Collateral; Release of Liens .

(1) Exclusive Rights of Senior Creditor . Until the Discharge of the Senior Obligations occurs, Senior Creditor, on behalf of the Senior Claimholders, shall have the exclusive right to make determinations regarding the release or Disposition of any Collateral pursuant to the terms of the applicable Senior Loan Documents or in accordance with the provisions of this Agreement, in each case without any consultation with, consent of or notice to Subordinated Creditor or any other Subordinated Claimholder.

(2) Lien Release Upon Disposition of Collateral . Until the Discharge of the Senior Obligations occurs, upon any release, sale or Disposition of any Collateral, whether (A) permitted pursuant to the terms of the Senior Loan Documents, (B) resulting from the Exercise of Secured Creditor Remedies by any Senior Creditor, or (C) resulting from any Senior Default Disposition (i) the Lien securing the Subordinated Obligations on such Collateral (excluding any portion of the proceeds of such Collateral remaining after the Discharge of the Senior Obligations occurs), (and in the case of any release, sale or disposition of all or substantially all of the equity interests or assets of any Obligor that has guaranteed any Subordinated Obligations, such Obligor’s liability in respect of the Subordinated Obligations) shall be automatically, unconditionally, and simultaneously released with no further consent or action of any Person, and (ii) the Subordinated Claimholders shall be deemed to have consented under the Subordinated Loan Documents to such release, sale or disposition of such Collateral (and in the case of any release, sale or disposition of all or substantially all of the equity interests or assets of any Obligor

 

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that has guaranteed any Subordinated Obligations, the release of such Obligor’s liability in respect of the Subordinated Obligations), and to have waived the provisions of the Subordinated Loan Documents to the extent necessary to permit such release, sale or disposition (and in the case of any release, sale or disposition of all or substantially all of the equity interests or assets of any Obligor that has guaranteed any Subordinated Obligations, the release of such Obligor’s liability in respect of the Subordinated Obligations). The Subordinated Creditor shall promptly execute and deliver such release documents and instruments and shall take such further actions as the Senior Creditors shall request to evidence any release of the Lien securing Subordinated Obligations or any release of the applicable Obligor of the Subordinated Obligations.

(3) Until the Discharge of the Senior Obligations occurs, each Subordinated Claimholder hereby irrevocably constitutes and appoints Senior Creditors and any officer or agent of a Senior Creditor, with full power of substitution, as its true and lawful attorney in fact with full irrevocable power and authority in the place and stead of such Subordinated Claimholder or in Senior Creditors’ own name, from time to time in Senior Creditors’ discretion, for the purpose of carrying out the terms of this Section 3(b) , to take any and all appropriate action in connection therewith and to execute any and all documents and instruments that may be necessary or desirable to accomplish the purposes of this Section 3(b) , including any endorsements or other instruments of transfer or release.

(c) Waiver of Right to Contest Obligations and Liens. Each of the Senior Creditors, for itself and on behalf of each other Senior Claimholder, and each Subordinated Claimholder, for itself, agrees that it will not (and hereby waives any right to), directly or indirectly, contest or support any other person in contesting, in any proceeding (including any Insolvency Proceeding), (a) the validity, priority, enforceability or allowance of any claims of any of the Senior Claimholders or any of the Subordinated Claimholders, as the case may be, (b) the priority, validity, or enforceability of a Lien held by or on behalf of any of the Senior Claimholders in any assets of any of the Obligors or (subject to the terms of this Agreement) by or on behalf of any of the Subordinated Claimholders in any assets of any of the Obligors, as the case may be, or (c) the validity or enforceability of the provisions of this Agreement, provided , however that nothing in this Agreement shall be construed to prevent or impair the rights of Senior Creditor, any other Senior Claimholder, Subordinated Creditor or any other Subordinated Claimholder to enforce the terms of this Agreement.

(d) New Liens . So long as the Discharge of the Senior Obligations has not occurred, the parties hereto agree that no Obligor shall grant or permit any additional Liens on any asset to secure any Subordinated Obligations unless such Obligor grants a Lien on such asset to secure the Senior Obligations concurrently with the grant of a Lien thereon in favor of Subordinated Creditor. To the extent that the foregoing provision is not complied with for any reason (and without limiting any other rights and remedies available to any Senior Claimholders), each Subordinated Claimholder agrees that any amounts received by or distributed to any of them pursuant to or as a result of Liens granted in contravention of this subsection (d)  shall be subject to Section 9(b) .

(e) Agent for Perfection . Senior Creditors and Subordinated Creditor each agree to hold (or cause to be held) all Control Collateral in their respective possession, custody, or control, including “control” within the meaning of 9-104 of the UCC (or in the possession, custody, or control of agents, bailees, or other similar third parties) as non-fiduciary agent for the other solely for the purpose of perfecting the security interest granted to each in such Control Collateral subject to the terms and conditions of this Agreement (such bailment and agency being intended, among other things, to satisfy the requirements of Section 8-301(a)(2), 9-313(c), 9-104, 9-105, 9-106, and 9-107 of the UCC). None of the Senior Claimholders or the Subordinated Claimholders, as applicable, shall have any obligation whatsoever to the others to assure that the Control Collateral is genuine or owned by any Obligor or any other Person or to preserve their respective rights or benefits or those of any other Person. The duties or

 

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responsibilities of Senior Creditors and Subordinated Creditor under this subsection (e)  are and shall be limited solely to holding or maintaining control of the Control Collateral as non-fiduciary agent for the other for purposes of perfecting the Lien held by Senior Creditors or Subordinated Creditor, as applicable. No Senior Creditor is, and no Senior Creditor shall be deemed to be, a fiduciary of any kind for Subordinated Creditor or any other Person. Upon the Discharge of the Senior Obligations, Senior Creditors shall, at the expense of Obligors, deliver the remaining Control Collateral (if any) together with any necessary endorsements or assignments, first, to Subordinated Creditor to the extent Subordinated Obligations remain outstanding as confirmed in writing by Subordinated Creditor, and, to the extent that Subordinated Creditor confirm no Subordinated Obligations are outstanding, second, to Borrowers to the extent no Senior Obligations or Subordinated Obligations remain outstanding (in each case, so as to allow such person to obtain possession or control of such Control Collateral).

(f) Insurance . Until the Discharge of the Senior Obligations occurs, (i) Senior Creditors and the other Senior Claimholders shall have the sole and exclusive right, subject to the rights of the Obligors under the Senior Loan Documents, to adjust and settle any claim under any insurance policy covering the Collateral in the event of any loss thereunder and to approve any award granted in any condemnation or similar proceeding (or any deed in lieu of condemnation) affecting the Collateral; and (ii) all Proceeds of any such insurance policy and any such award (or any payments with respect to a deed in lieu of condemnation) shall be paid, subject to the rights of the Obligors under the Senior Loan Documents, first in accordance with the priorities set forth in Section 9(c) , until paid in full in cash, and second , to the owner of the subject property, such other person as may be entitled thereto, or as a court of competent jurisdiction may otherwise direct. If any Subordinated Claimholder shall, at any time, receive any Proceeds of any such insurance policy or any such award or payment in contravention of this subsection (f) , it shall pay such Proceeds over to Senior Creditors in accordance with the terms of Section 9(c) .

4. Exercise of Remedies .

(a) Claim Standstill . No Subordinated Claimholder shall take any Collection Action with respect to any of the Subordinated Obligations until the expiration of the applicable Standstill Period.

(b) Collateral Standstill . At all times prior to the commencement of an applicable Standstill Period and until the expiration of such Standstill Period, whether or not any Insolvency Proceeding has been commenced by or against any Obligor or any of its Subsidiaries, no Subordinated Claimholder:

(1) shall exercise or seek to exercise any right or remedies with respect to any Collateral (including, without limitation, any Exercise of Secured Creditor Remedies) (other than if an Insolvency Proceeding has been commenced, seeking adequate protection, to the extent permitted by this Agreement);

(2) shall contest, protest, or object to any Exercise of Secured Creditor Remedies by any Senior Claimholder and no Subordinated Claimholder shall have any right to direct the Exercise of any Secured Creditor Remedies or other action by any Senior Claimholder; and

(3) shall not object to (and waive any and all claims with respect to) the forbearance by any Senior Claimholder from Exercising any Secured Creditor Remedies.

(c) Exclusive Enforcement Rights . Until the expiry of the applicable Standstill Period has occurred, whether or not any Insolvency Proceeding has been commenced by or against any

 

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Obligor or any of its Subsidiaries, the Senior Claimholders shall have the exclusive right to enforce rights as a secured creditor, Exercise Secured Creditor Remedies and make determinations regarding the disposition of, or restrictions with respect to, the Collateral without any consultation with or the consent of any Subordinated Claimholder. The Senior Claimholders shall have the right to enforce the provisions of the Senior Loan Documents and exercise remedies thereunder, all in such order and in such manner as they may determine in the exercise of their sole discretion and subject to the terms hereof. Such exercise and enforcement shall include the rights of an agent appointed by them to sell or otherwise Dispose of Collateral, to incur expenses in connection with such Disposition, and to exercise all the rights and remedies of a secured creditor under the laws of any applicable jurisdiction, including without limitation the right to Exercise Secured Creditor Remedies.

(d) Permitted Actions by Subordinated Claimholders . Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this Agreement, Subordinated Creditor and any other Subordinated Claimholder may take any of the following actions, which shall not constitute a Collection Action or the Exercise of Secured Creditor Remedies:

(1) if an Insolvency Proceeding has been commenced by or against any Obligor, file a claim or statement of interest with respect to the Subordinated Obligations;

(2) take any action (not adverse to the priority status, taking into account the subordination provisions of Section 3 hereof, of the Liens on the Collateral securing any of the Senior Obligations, or the rights of any Senior Claimholder to Exercise any Secured Creditor Remedies) in order to create, preserve, perfect or protect (but not enforce) its Lien in and to the Collateral to the extent not prohibited by Section 3(d) ;

(3) file any necessary responsive or defensive pleadings in opposition to any motion, claim, adversary proceeding, or other pleading made by any person objecting to or otherwise seeking the disallowance of the claims of Subordinated Creditor or any Subordinated Claimholder, including any claims secured by the Collateral, if any; and

(4) vote on any plan of reorganization and file any proof of claim with respect to the Subordinated Obligations; provided , that, in any Insolvency Proceeding, no Subordinated Claimholder shall (i) oppose, object to, or vote against any plan of reorganization or disclosure statement, or join with or support any third party in doing so, to the extent the terms of such plan or disclosure statement comply with the following clause (ii) and are consistent with the rights of the Senior Creditors and the Senior Claimholders under this Agreement or (ii) support or vote for any plan of reorganization or disclosure statement of any Obligor unless (x) such plan provides for the payment in full in cash of all Senior Obligations (including all post-petition interest, fees and expenses) on the effective date of such plan of reorganization, or (y) unless such plan is accepted by the requisite holders of Senior Obligations voting thereon, it being understood that, in the event that any plan is proposed by any debtor, creditor, or other party in interest in any such Insolvency Proceeding that is inconsistent with or purports to alter the provisions of this Agreement (including the provisions of Section 5(k) hereof), the Senior Creditors shall be deemed to have been granted, as of the date hereof, an irrevocable power of attorney to vote the claims of the Subordinated Claimholders against any such plan, with such appointment being coupled with an interest, and the Senior Creditors shall be deemed the “holder” of such claims within the meaning of Section 1126(a) of the Bankruptcy Code.

(e) Collateral or Proceeds Received from the Exercise of Secured Creditor Remedies . Each Subordinated Claimholder agrees that until the Discharge of the Senior Obligations has occurred, any Collateral or Proceeds thereof received by the Subordinated Claimholders will be subject to Section 9 .

 

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(f) No Hindrance . Each Subordinated Claimholder hereby:

(1) agrees that Subordinated Creditor and the other Subordinated Claimholders will not take any action, other than as expressly permitted under this Agreement, that would restrain, hinder, limit, delay, or otherwise interfere with the Exercise of Secured Creditor Remedies by Senior Creditors or any other Senior Claimholder, or any action that is otherwise prohibited hereunder;

(2) waives any and all rights Subordinated Creditor or any other Subordinated Claimholder may have as a junior lien creditor or otherwise to object to the manner in which Senior Creditors or any of the other Senior Claimholders, seek to enforce or collect the Senior Obligations or the Liens securing the Senior Obligations granted in any of the Collateral undertaken in good faith in accordance with this Agreement, regardless of whether any action or failure to act by or on behalf of Senior Creditors or any other Senior Claimholder is adverse to the interest of Subordinated Creditor or any other Subordinated Claimholder; and

(3) acknowledges and agrees that no covenant, agreement or restriction contained in the Subordinated Loan Documents (other than this Agreement) shall be deemed to restrict in any way the rights and remedies of Senior Creditors or the other Senior Claimholders, with respect to the Collateral as set forth in this Agreement and the Senior Loan Documents.

(g) Judgment Liens . In the event that any Subordinated Claimholder becomes a judgment Lien creditor in respect of Collateral as a result of its enforcement of its rights as an unsecured creditor, to the extent permitted herein, with respect to the Subordinated Obligations, such judgment Lien shall be subject to the terms of this Agreement for all purposes (including in relation to the Senior Obligations) as the other Liens securing the Subordinated Obligations are subject to this Agreement.

5. Insolvency Proceeding .

(a) Enforceability and Continuing Priority . This Agreement shall be applicable both before and after the commencement of any Insolvency Proceeding and all converted or succeeding cases in respect thereof. The relative rights of the Senior Claimholders and the Subordinated Claimholders in or to any Distributions shall continue after the commencement of any Insolvency Proceeding. Accordingly, the provisions of this Agreement are intended to be and shall be enforceable as a subordination agreement within the meaning of Section 510 of the Bankruptcy Code.

(b) Financing . Until the Discharge of the Senior Obligations occurs, if any Obligor shall be subject to any Insolvency Proceeding and Senior Creditors consent to the use of cash collateral (as such term is defined in Section 363(a) of the Bankruptcy Code; herein, “ Cash Collateral ”), on which any Senior Creditor has a Lien or permits any Obligor to obtain financing provided by any one or more Senior Claimholders or any other Person under Section 364 of the Bankruptcy Code or any similar Bankruptcy Law (such financing, together with any Cash Collateral use, collectively a “ DIP Financing ”), to the extent that (1) the maximum aggregate principal amount of the DIP Financing, when taken together with the aggregate principal amount of outstanding prepetition Senior Obligations that will not be repaid by such DIP Financing, does not exceed 120% of the Senior Debt Cap and (2) the Liens securing such prepetition Senior Obligations that will not be repaid by such DIP Financing are subordinated or pari passu with such Liens securing the DIP Financing, then each Subordinated Claimholder agrees that it will (A) consent, and will be deemed to have consented, to the use of such cash collateral or to such DIP Financing, as applicable, (B) raise no objection to, nor support any other Person objecting to, the use of such cash collateral or to such DIP Financing, (C) not request or accept adequate protection or any other relief in connection with the use of such cash collateral or such DIP Financing, except as set forth in Section 5(e) below, (D) and will be deemed to have, subordinated hereunder the Liens securing Subordinated

 

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Obligations to (x) such DIP Financing, (y) any adequate protection provided to the Senior Claimholders, and (z) any “carve-out” agreed to by the Senior Creditors or the other Senior Claimholders, in the case of each of clauses, (x), (y), and (z) above, with such subordination to be on the same terms as the Liens securing Senior Obligations that are subordinated thereto, but on a basis junior to the Liens securing the DIP Financing provided by the Senior Claimholders (such subordination will not alter in any manner the terms of this Agreement), and (E) agree, and will be deemed to have agreed, that notice received two calendar days prior to the entry of an order approving such usage of the Cash Collateral or approving such DIP Financing shall be adequate notice.

(c) Sales . Until the Discharge of the Senior Obligations has occurred, each Subordinated Claimholder agrees that it will consent to the Disposition of, and will not object to or oppose a motion to Dispose of, any Collateral free and clear of the Liens or other claims in favor of Subordinated Creditor or any other Subordinated Claimholder under Section 363 of the Bankruptcy Code, if the requisite Senior Claimholders or Senior Creditors, on behalf of the requisite Senior Claimholders, have consented to such Disposition of such assets.

(d) Relief from the Automatic Stay . Until the Discharge of the Senior Obligations occurs, each Subordinated Claimholder agrees that it shall not (i) seek (or support any other person seeking) relief from the automatic stay or any other stay in any Insolvency Proceeding or take any action in derogation thereof, in each case, in respect of the Collateral, without the prior written consent of Senior Creditor, on behalf of the requisite Senior Claimholders, or (ii) oppose or take any other action in derogation of any request by any Senior Creditor or any other Senior Claimholder for relief from the automatic stay or any other stay in any Insolvency Proceeding in respect of the Collateral.

(e) Adequate Protection .

(1) Senior Claimholders . In any Insolvency Proceeding involving an Obligor, each Subordinated Claimholder agrees that none of them shall contest or object (or support any other person contesting or objecting):

(A) any request by any Senior Creditor or any of the other Senior Claimholders for adequate protection (whether in the form of Distributions, liens, priority administrative expense claims, or otherwise) or any adequate protection provided to any Senior Creditor or any of the other Senior Claimholders; or

(B) any objection by any Senior Creditor or any of the other Senior Claimholders to any motion, relief, action, or proceeding based on a claim of lack of adequate protection (whether in the form of payments, liens, a priority administrative expense claim, or otherwise); or

(C) the payment of interest, fees, expenses or other amounts to any Senior Creditor or any other Senior Claimholders under Section 506(b) or Section 506(c) of the Bankruptcy Code or otherwise.

(2) Subordinated Claimholders . In any Insolvency Proceeding involving an Obligor, to the extent that the Subordinated Claimholders were not required to release pursuant to the terms of this Agreement and have not released their Liens on the Collateral on or prior to the date of the commencement thereof:

(i) Until the Discharge of the Senior Obligations occurs, if any one or more Senior Claimholders are granted adequate protection in the form of periodic cash payments or in the form of a replacement Lien (on existing or future assets of the Obligors) in

 

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connection with any DIP Financing, then the Subordinated Claimholders shall also be entitled to seek, without objection from the Senior Claimholders, adequate protection in the form of a replacement Lien (on existing or future assets of the Obligors), which replacement Lien, if obtained, shall be subordinate to the Liens securing the Senior Obligations and the Liens securing such DIP Financing on the same basis as the other Liens securing the Subordinated Obligations are subordinate to the Senior Obligations under this Agreement.

(ii) In the event that any of the Subordinated Claimholders is granted adequate protection in the form of a replacement Lien (on existing or future assets of the Obligors), then the Subordinated Claimholders agree that Senior Creditors shall also be entitled to seek, without objection from the Subordinated Claimholders, a senior adequate protection Lien on existing or future assets of the Obligors as security for the Senior Obligations and for any DIP Financing provided by one or more of the Senior Claimholders. Any adequate protection Lien on such existing or future assets securing the Subordinated Obligations shall be subordinated (i) to the Lien on such collateral securing the Senior Obligations and any such DIP Financing provided by the Senior Claimholders, and (ii) to any other Liens granted to the Senior Claimholders as adequate protection on the same basis as the other Liens securing the Subordinated Obligations are so subordinated to such Senior Obligations under this Agreement.

(3) Allowance of Postpetition Accrual . Neither Subordinated Creditor nor any other Subordinated Claimholder shall object to, oppose, or challenge any claim by any Senior Claimholder for allowance in any Insolvency Proceeding of Senior Obligations consisting of post-petition interest, fees, or expenses.

(f) Section 1111(b) of the Bankruptcy Code . None of the Subordinated Claimholders shall object to, oppose, support any objection, or take any other action to impede, the right of any Senior Claimholder to make an election under Section 1111(b)(2) of the Bankruptcy Code. Each Subordinated Claimholder waives any claim it may hereafter have against any Senior Claimholder arising out of the election by any Senior Claimholder of the application of Section 1111(b)(2) of the Bankruptcy Code. Until the Discharge of the Senior Obligations has occurred, each Subordinated Claimholder waives any right it may have to make an election under Section 1111(b)(2) of the Bankruptcy Code.

(g) No Waiver . Nothing contained herein shall prohibit or in any way limit any Senior Claimholder from objecting in any Insolvency Proceeding involving an Obligor to any action taken by Subordinated Creditor or any of the other Subordinated Claimholders which is inconsistent with the terms of this Agreement, including, if it is inconsistent with the terms of this Agreement, the seeking by any Subordinated Claimholder of adequate protection or the assertion by any Subordinated Claimholder of any of their rights and remedies under the Subordinated Loan Documents.

(h) Avoidance Issues . If any Senior Claimholder is required in any Insolvency Proceeding or otherwise to turn over, disgorge or otherwise pay to the estate of any Obligor any amount paid in respect of the Senior Obligations (a “ Senior Recovery ”), then such Senior Claimholder shall be entitled to a reinstatement of Senior Obligations with respect to all such recovered amounts, and all rights, interests, priorities and privileges recognized in this Agreement shall apply with respect to any such Senior Recovery. If this Agreement shall have been terminated prior to such Senior Recovery, this Agreement shall be reinstated in full force and effect, and such prior termination shall not diminish, release, discharge, impair, or otherwise affect the obligations of the parties hereto from such date of reinstatement and to the extent the Senior Debt Cap was decreased in connection with such payment of the Senior Obligations, the Senior Debt Cap shall be increased to such extent.

 

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(i) Distributions of Debt Obligations . If, in any Insolvency Proceeding involving an Obligor, debt obligations of the reorganized debtor, whether or not secured by Liens upon any property of the reorganized debtor, are distributed pursuant to a plan of reorganization or similar dispositive restructuring plan, (A) on account of the Senior Obligations, or (B) on account of the Subordinated Obligations, or (C) all on account of the Senior Obligations and the Subordinated Obligations, then the Subordinated Claimholders shall have the right to receive such debt obligations so long as either the provisions of this Agreement (I) survive the distribution of such debt obligations pursuant to such plan and (II) apply with like effect to such debt obligations and the Liens (if any) securing such debt obligations.

(j) Prohibition of Payments of Subordinated Obligations on Acceleration or in Insolvency Proceeding .

(1) Upon (A) the acceleration of the Subordinated Obligations, or any portion thereof, which has not been rescinded or revoked, or (B) any payment or distribution of assets of any Obligor, of any kind or character, whether in cash, property or securities, following commencement of an Insolvency Proceeding, there shall be a Discharge of the Senior Obligations before any Distribution is made on account of any of the Subordinated Obligations; and following commencement of an Insolvency Proceeding, any Distribution in respect of the Subordinated Obligations to which a Subordinated Claimholder would be entitled, except for the provisions hereof, shall be paid by any Obligor or any other Person making such Distribution, or by a Subordinated Claimholder if received by it, directly to Senior Creditor, to the extent necessary to result in the Discharge of the Senior Obligations, before any Distribution on account of any Subordinated Obligation is made to Subordinated Creditor or any other Subordinated Claimholder.

(2) In any Insolvency Proceeding by or against any Obligor,

(A) any Senior Creditor may, and is hereby irrevocably authorized and empowered (in its own name or in the name of the Subordinated Claimholders or otherwise), but shall have no obligation to (x) demand, sue for, collect and receive every payment or distribution referred to in this Section 5 and give acquittance therefor and (y) file claims and proofs of claim in respect of the Subordinated Obligations, provided that Senior Creditors may only file claims and proofs of claims in respect of the Subordinated Obligations if (1) the Subordinated Claimholders have failed to file such claims and proofs of claim and (2) there shall remain not more than 10 days before such action is barred, prohibited or otherwise cannot be taken; and

(B) Subordinated Creditor and each other Subordinated Claimholder will duly and promptly take such action, at the expense of Borrowers, as Senior Creditors may request (x) to collect the Subordinated Obligations for the account of the Senior Claimholders and to file appropriate claims or proofs of claim with respect thereto, (y) to execute and deliver to Senior Creditors such powers of attorney, assignments or other instruments as Senior Creditors may request in order to enable it to enforce any and all claims with respect to, and any security interests and other liens securing payment of, the Subordinated Obligations, and (z) to collect and receive for the account of the Senior Claimholders any and all Distributions which may be payable or deliverable upon or with respect to the Subordinated Obligations, until there has been a Discharge of the Senior Obligations.

(k) Payments Held in Trust/Turnover . In the event that, notwithstanding the foregoing provisions of this Section 5 , any Distribution in respect of the Subordinated Obligations prohibited by this Agreement shall be received by any Subordinated Claimholder before there has been a Discharge of the Senior Obligations, such Distribution shall be held in trust for the benefit of and shall be paid over to or delivered to Administrative Agent Senior Creditor, until there has been a Discharge of the Senior Obligations.

 

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6. Waivers by Subordinated Claimholders .

(a) Senior Obligations .

(1) All Senior Obligations at any time incurred by any Obligor shall be deemed to have been incurred, and all Senior Obligations held by any Senior Claimholder shall be deemed to have been extended, acquired or obtained, as applicable, in reliance upon this Agreement, and each Subordinated Claimholder hereby waives (A) notice of acceptance, or proof of reliance, by any of the Senior Claimholders of this Agreement, and (B) notice of the existence, renewal, extension, accrual, creation, or non-payment of all or any part of the Senior Obligations. Nothing contained in this Agreement shall preclude any of the Senior Claimholders from discontinuing the extension of credit to any Obligor (whether under the Senior Loan Documents or otherwise) or from taking (without notice to any Subordinated Claimholder, any Obligor, or any other Person) any other action in respect of the Senior Obligations or the Collateral which such Senior Claimholder is otherwise entitled to take with respect to the Senior Obligations or the Collateral.

(2) None of the Senior Claimholders or any of their respective affiliates, directors, officers, employees, or agents shall be liable for failure to demand, collect, or realize upon any of the Collateral or any Proceeds or for any delay in doing so or shall be under any obligation to sell or otherwise Dispose of any Collateral or Proceeds thereof or to take any other action whatsoever with regard to the Collateral or any part or Proceeds thereof. If any Senior Claimholder honors (or fails to honor) a request by Borrowers for an extension of credit pursuant to any of the Senior Loan Documents, whether any Senior Claimholder has knowledge that the honoring of (or failure to honor) any such request would constitute a default under the terms of the Subordinated Loan Documents or an act, condition, or event that, with the giving of notice or the passage of time, or both, would constitute such a default, or if such Senior Claimholder otherwise should exercise any of its contractual rights or remedies under the Senior Loan Documents (subject to the express terms and conditions hereof), no Senior Claimholder shall have any liability whatsoever to any Subordinated Claimholder as a result of such action, omission, or exercise. Each Senior Claimholder will be entitled to manage and supervise its loans and extensions of credit under the Senior Loan Documents as such Senior Claimholder may, in its sole discretion, deem appropriate, and each Senior Claimholder may manage such loans and extensions of credit without regard to any rights or interests that any Subordinated Claimholder may have in the Collateral or otherwise except as otherwise expressly set forth in this Agreement. Each Subordinated Claimholder agrees that no Senior Claimholder shall incur any liability as a result of a sale, lease, license, application or other Disposition of all or any portion of the Collateral or any part or Proceeds thereof, except to the extent that such Disposition is in direct violation of the provisions of this Agreement. Any Senior Claimholder may, from time to time, enter into agreements and settlements with Obligors as it may determine in its sole discretion without impairing any of the subordinations, priorities, rights or obligations of the parties under this Agreement, including, without limitation, substituting Collateral, releasing any Lien and releasing any Obligor. Each Subordinated Claimholder waives any and all rights it may have to require any Senior Claimholder to marshal assets, to exercise rights or remedies in a particular manner, or to forbear from exercising such rights and remedies in any particular manner or order.

(b) Notice of Acceptance and Other Waivers . To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, each Subordinated Claimholder hereby waives: (i) notice of acceptance hereof; (ii) notice of any loans or other financial accommodations made or extended under any of the Senior Loan Documents, or the creation or existence of any Senior Obligations; (iii) notice of the amount of the Senior Obligations; (iv) notice of any adverse change in the financial condition of any Obligor or of any other fact that might increase Subordinated Creditor’s or any other Subordinated Claimholder’s risk hereunder; (v) notice of presentment for payment, demand, protest, and notice thereof as to any instrument among the Senior Loan Documents; (vi) notice of any Default or Event of Default under the Senior Loan Documents

 

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or otherwise relating to the Senior Obligations (other than any notice that may be required by the express terms of this Agreement); (vii) all other notices (except if such notice is specifically required to be given to Subordinated Creditor under this Agreement) and demands to which Subordinated Creditor or any other Subordinated Claimholder might otherwise be entitled.

(c) Lawsuits; Defenses; Setoff. To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, each Subordinated Claimholder, (i) waives the right by statute or otherwise to require any Senior Claimholder to institute suit against any Obligor or to exhaust any rights and remedies which any Senior Claimholder has or may have against any Obligor; (ii) waives any defense arising by reason of any disability or other defense (other than the defense that the Discharge of the Senior Obligations has occurred (subject to the provisions of Section 5(h) ) of any Obligor or by reason of the cessation from any cause whatsoever of the liability of such Obligor in respect thereof, (iii) waives any rights to assert against any Senior Claimholder any defense (legal or equitable), set-off, counterclaim, or claim which Subordinated Creditor or any Subordinated Claimholder may now or at any time hereafter have against any Obligor or any other party liable to Senior Creditor, any other Senior Claimholder, Subordinated Creditor or any other Subordinated Claimholder, (iv) waives any defense, set-off, counterclaim, or claim, of any kind or nature, arising directly or indirectly from the present or future lack of perfection, sufficiency, validity, or enforceability of any Senior Obligations, any Subordinated Obligations or any security for either; and (v) waives any defense arising by reason of any claim or defense based upon an election of remedies by any Senior Claimholder.

(d) Subrogation . Solely after the Discharge of the Senior Obligations shall have occurred, Subordinated Creditor and the other Subordinated Claimholders shall be subrogated to the rights of the Senior Claimholders to the extent that Distributions otherwise payable to the Subordinated Claimholders have been applied to the payment of the Senior Obligations in accordance with the provisions of this Agreement. No Senior Claimholder has, and no Senior Claimholder shall have, any obligation or duty to protect any Subordinated Claimholder’s rights of subrogation arising pursuant to this Agreement or under any applicable law, and no Senior Claimholder is, and no Senior Claimholder shall be, liable for any loss to, or impairment of, any subrogation rights held by any Subordinated Claimholder.

(e) ELECTION OF REMEDIES . WITHOUT LIMITING THE GENERALITY OF ANY OTHER WAIVER OR OTHER PROVISION SET FORTH IN THIS AGREEMENT, EACH SUBORDINATED CLAIMHOLDER WAIVES, TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, ALL RIGHTS AND DEFENSES ARISING OUT OF AN ELECTION OF REMEDIES BY ANY SENIOR CLAIMHOLDER, EVEN THOUGH THAT ELECTION OF REMEDIES HAS DESTROYED THE RIGHTS OF SUBROGATION OF SUBORDINATED CREDITOR AND THE OTHER SUBORDINATED CLAIMHOLDERS AND REIMBURSEMENT AGAINST ANY OBLIGOR BY THE OPERATION OF ANY APPLICABLE LAW.

7. Amendments; Refinancing, Notice of Default .

(a) Subordinated Loan Documents . Each Subordinated Claimholder agrees that none of the Subordinated Loan Documents or any other document, instrument, or agreement evidencing all or any part of the Subordinated Obligations may be amended, restated, supplemented, Refinanced, or otherwise modified, and no new document, instrument or agreement may be entered into, without the prior written consent of Senior Creditors, on behalf of the requisite Senior Claimholders, to the extent that such amendment, restatement, Refinancing, supplement, other modification or new document, instrument or agreement, would, directly or indirectly (i) increase the maximum principal amount of the Subordinated Obligations in excess of $50,000,000, (ii) (w) add or increase the rate of interest (paid in cash) on any of the Subordinated Obligations above the interest rate (paid in cash) set forth in the Subordinated Credit Agreement (as in effect on the date hereof), (x) add or increase the rate of interest (paid in kind) on any of

 

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the Subordinated Obligations to a rate in excess of 2.50% per annum above the interest rate (paid in kind) set forth in the Subordinated Credit Agreement (as in effect on the date hereof), (y) add or increase the default rate of interest above the default interest rate set forth in the Subordinated Credit Agreement (as in effect on the date hereof), or (z) add or increase any fee set forth in the Subordinated Credit Agreement (as in effect on the date hereof), (iii) change or add any event of default or any covenant with respect to the Subordinated Obligations in a manner adverse to any Obligor or to the interests of any of the Senior Claimholders; provided , that, solely with respect to this Section 7(a)(ii), to the extent that (x) the covenants in the Senior Credit Agreement are added or amended in a manner that is more restrictive to any Obligor and (y) such Conforming Amendment to the Subordinated Credit Agreement maintains an equivalent proportionate difference between dollar amounts or ratios, as the case may be, in the relevant provision in the Subordinated Credit Agreement and those in the corresponding covenant in the Senior Credit Agreement (to the extent that such difference exists between the Subordinated Credit Agreement and the Senior Credit Agreement immediately prior to giving effect to such Conforming Amendment), then a Conforming Amendment to the Subordinated Credit Agreement may be made, (iv) change or amend any term of any Subordinated Loan Document if such change or amendment would result in an “Event of Default” under any of the Senior Loan Documents, (v) contravene the provisions of this Agreement, (vi) provide for or allow any principal amortization payment, or any other payment of the principal balance of the Subordinated Obligations, in each case, on or prior to the date that is 180 days after the final maturity date of the Senior Obligations set forth in the Senior Credit Agreement, (vii) change the date upon which any payments of principal or interest on the Subordinated Obligations are due or change any redemption or prepayment provisions of the Subordinated Obligations (including the related definitions) to provide for or allow any such payments of principal or interest on the Subordinated Obligations on or prior to the date that is 180 days after the final maturity date of the Senior Obligations set forth in the Senior Credit Agreement; provided , however , that the percentages set forth in Section 2. 9 of the Subordinated Credit Agreement may be reduced from the percentages set forth in the Subordinated Credit Agreement (as in effect on the date hereof), (viii) add, expand or accept, regardless of how acquired, whether by grant, possession, statute, operation of law, subrogation, or otherwise, any Lien or security interest on any asset of any Obligor, except to the extent that the Senior Creditors have been granted a first priority with respect to such asset, (ix) add or amend any restrictions or limitations on any Person’s ability to make payment on the Senior Obligations, or (x) add or modify any restrictions on the ability to amend or modify any Senior Loan Document. Any assignee or transferee of Subordinated Creditor or any other Subordinated Claimholder shall bind themselves in a writing addressed to Senior Creditor, for the benefit of the Senior Claimholders, to the terms of this Agreement. Notwithstanding the failure to execute or deliver any such agreement described in this Section 7(a) , the subordination effected hereby shall survive any sale, assignment, disposition or other transfer of all or any portion of the Subordinated Obligations, and the terms of this Agreement shall be binding upon the successors and assigns of Subordinated Creditor and each other Subordinated Claimholder, as provided in Section 19 below.

(b) Senior Loan Documents . Each Senior Claimholder agrees that none of the Senior Loan Documents applicable to it or any other document, instrument, or agreement evidencing all or any part of the Senior Obligations applicable to it may be amended, restated, supplemented, Refinanced, or otherwise modified without the prior written consent of Subordinated Creditor, to the extent that the effect of such amendment, restatement, Refinancing or other modification is to (i) increase the maximum principal amount (excluding increases resulting from the accrual of interest at the default rate or the capitalization of fees, expenses or interest) of the Senior Obligations to an amount in excess of the Senior Debt Cap, or (ii) create additional prohibitions and restrictions, or amend those set forth herein or in the Senior Credit Agreement, in each case, as in effect on the date hereof (to the extent such amendment would impose additional restrictions) on any Obligor’s ability to make payments on the loans under the Subordinated Credit Agreement. This Agreement shall survive any sale, assignment, disposition or other transfer of all or any portion of the Senior Obligations, and the terms of this Agreement shall be binding upon the successors and assigns of each Senior Claimholder, as provided in Section 19 below.

 

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(c) Notice of Event of Default . Subordinated Creditor shall endeavor to give Senior Creditors prompt written notice of the occurrence of any Event of Default under any Subordinated Loan Document upon the earlier to occur of (i) the date of receipt by Subordinated Creditor of notice of such Event of Default from any Obligor or any other Person and (ii) the date on which Subordinated Creditor obtains knowledge of the existence of such Event of Default; provided , however , that the failure to give such notice shall not result in a breach or default under this Agreement and shall not give any Senior Claimholder any claim against any Subordinated Claimholder as a result of such failure. Senior Creditors shall endeavor to give Subordinated Creditor prompt written notice of the occurrence of any Event of Default under any Senior Loan Document upon the earlier to occur of (i) the date of receipt by Senior Creditors of notice of such Event of Default from any Obligor or any other Person and (ii) the date on which Senior Creditors obtain knowledge of the existence of such Event of Default (such notice, a “ Senior Default Notice ”); provided , however , that the failure to give such notice shall not result in a breach or default under this Agreement and shall not give any Subordinated Claimholder any claim against any Senior Claimholder as a result of such failure.

8. When Discharge of the Senior Obligations Deemed to Not Have Occurred . If any Obligor enters into any Refinancing of any Senior Obligations permitted under this Agreement, then (i) a Discharge of the Senior Obligations shall automatically be deemed not to have occurred for all purposes of this Agreement, (ii) the obligations under such Refinancing of such Senior Obligations shall automatically be treated as Senior Obligations for all purposes of this Agreement, including for purposes of the Lien priorities and rights in respect of Collateral set forth herein, (iii) the agent under the loan documents in respect of such Refinancing of such Senior Obligations shall be Senior Creditors for all purposes of this Agreement and (iv) such new Senior Creditors shall agree in writing to be bound by the terms of this Agreement; provided , however , that the failure of such new Senior Creditors to agree in writing to be bound by this Agreement shall not constitute a material breach of this Agreement or impact the subordination effected hereby, and the terms of this Agreement shall continue to be binding upon each Subordinated Claimholder.

9. Payments Held In Trust; Turnover; Application of Proceeds .

(a) Payments Held in Trust/Turnover . In the event that any Subordinated Claimholder receives any Distribution prohibited at such time by this Agreement, such Distribution shall be held in trust for the benefit of and shall be paid over to or delivered to, as applicable, the Administrative Agent Senior Creditor, for the benefit of the Senior Claimholders.

(b) Turnover . Whether or not any Insolvency Proceeding has been commenced by or against any Obligor, any Collateral or Proceeds thereof (including assets or Proceeds subject to Liens referred to in Section 3(d) ) received by Subordinated Creditor or any other Subordinated Claimholder in violation hereof shall be segregated and held in trust and forthwith paid over to Administrative Agent Senior Creditor, for the benefit of the Senior Claimholders, in the same form as received, with any necessary endorsements or as a court of competent jurisdiction may otherwise direct. Administrative Agent Senior Creditor is hereby authorized to make any such endorsements as agent for any Subordinated Claimholder. This authorization is coupled with an interest and is irrevocable until the Discharge of the Senior Obligations.

(c) Application of Proceeds . Whether or not any Insolvency Proceeding has been commenced by or against any Obligor, any Collateral or Proceeds thereof received in connection with any Exercise of Secured Creditor Remedies and Proceeds of Collateral received pursuant to Section 3(b) or Section 3(f) shall (at such time as such Collateral or Proceeds has been monetized) be applied: (i)  first , to the payment in full in cash the Senior Obligations in accordance with the terms of the Senior Loan Documents until the Discharge of Senior Obligations, (ii)  second , to the payment in full in cash of the

 

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Subordinated Obligations in accordance with the Subordinated Loan Documents, and (iii)  thereafter , to Borrowers (to be wired to the Designated Account) or such other Person entitled thereto under applicable law. If any Exercise of Secured Creditor Remedies with respect to the Collateral produces non-cash Proceeds, or if non-cash Proceeds are received pursuant to Section 3(b) or Section 4(e) , then the Senior Creditors shall have the right, but not the obligation, to hold such non-cash Proceeds as additional Collateral and, at such time as such non-cash Proceeds are monetized, shall be applied as set forth above.

10. Representations . Each Senior Creditor represents and warrants to Subordinated Creditor and the other Subordinated Claimholders that (a) it has the requisite power and authority to enter into, execute, deliver, and carry out the terms of this Agreement and (b) this Agreement, when executed and delivered, will constitute the valid and legally binding obligation of Senior Creditors enforceable against such Senior Creditors in accordance with its terms, except as such enforceability may be limited by applicable bankruptcy, insolvency, reorganization, moratorium or similar laws affecting the enforcement of creditors’ rights generally and by equitable principles. Each of the Subordinated Claimholders represents and warrants to the Senior Claimholders that (i) it has the requisite power and authority to enter into, execute, deliver, and carry out the terms of this Agreement, (ii) this Agreement, when executed and delivered, will constitute the valid and legally binding obligation of such Subordinated Claimholder enforceable against such Subordinated Claimholder in accordance with its terms, except as such enforceability may be limited by applicable bankruptcy, insolvency, reorganization, moratorium or similar laws affecting the enforcement of creditors’ rights generally and by equitable principles, and (iii) it has not previously assigned any interest in the Subordinated Loan Documents or any of the Subordinated Obligations and that the entire amount of the Subordinated Obligations is owing only to the Subordinated Creditor.

11. Amendments . No amendment or waiver of any provision of this Agreement nor consent to any departure by any party hereto shall be effective unless it is in a written agreement executed by Required Senior Claimholders (for themselves and on behalf of other Senior Claimholders) and Required Subordinated Claimholders (for themselves and on behalf of other Subordinated Claimholders), and then such waiver or consent shall be effective only in the specific instance and for the specific purpose for which given.

12. Instrument Legends . Any promissory note or other instrument or agreement evidencing any of the Subordinated Obligations shall at all times include the following language:

“Anything herein to the contrary notwithstanding, the liens and security interests securing the obligations evidenced by this [promissory note]/[instrument]/[agreement], the exercise of any right or remedy with respect hereto, and certain of the rights of the holder hereof are subject to the provisions of the Intercreditor and Subordination Agreement dated as of November 26, 2013 (as amended, restated, supplemented, or otherwise modified from time to time, the “ Subordination Agreement ”), by and among by and among PNC BANK, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION (“ PNC ”) and CRYSTAL FINANCIAL LLC (“ Crystal ”, together with PNC, collectively, the “ Senior Creditors ” and each individually, a “ Senior Creditor ”), for and on behalf of the Senior Creditors and each other Senior Claimholder from time to time, and MUTUAL QUEST FUND (the “ Subordinated Creditor ”). In the event of any conflict between the terms of the Subordination Agreement and this [promissory note]/[instrument]/[agreement], the terms of the Subordination Agreement shall govern and control.”

13. Additional Remedies . If Subordinated Creditor or any Subordinated Claimholder violate any of the terms of this Agreement, in addition to any remedies in law, equity, or otherwise, Senior Creditors may restrain such violation in any court of law and may, in its own or in any Obligor’s name,

 

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interpose this Agreement as a defense in any action by Subordinated Creditor or such Subordinated Claimholder. Upon Senior Creditors’ request, Subordinated Creditor and each other Subordinated Claimholder will promptly take all actions which Senior Creditors may request to carry out the purposes and provisions of this Agreement.

14. Information Concerning Financial Condition .

(a) Each Senior Creditor, for itself and on behalf of the other Senior Claimholders, hereby assumes responsibility for keeping itself informed of the financial condition of the Obligors and of all other circumstances bearing upon the risk of nonpayment of the Senior Obligations and agrees that Subordinated Creditor have and shall have no duty to advise any Senior Claimholder of information known to Subordinated Creditor or any other Subordinated Claimholder regarding such condition or any such circumstances. In the event that Subordinated Creditor, in their sole discretion, undertakes, at any time or from time to time, to provide any such information to any Senior Claimholder, then Subordinated Creditor shall not be under any obligation (i) to provide any such information to any Senior Claimholder on any subsequent occasion, (ii) to undertake any investigation, or (iii) to disclose any information which, pursuant to its commercial finance practices, Subordinated Creditor wish to maintain confidential. Senior Creditor, for itself and the other Senior Claimholders, acknowledges and agrees that neither Subordinated Creditor nor any other Subordinated Claimholder has made any warranties or representations with respect to the legality, validity, enforceability, collectability or perfection of the Subordinated Obligations or any liens or security interests held in connection therewith.

(b) Each Subordinated Claimholder hereby assumes responsibility for keeping itself informed of the financial condition of the Obligors and of all other circumstances bearing upon the risk of nonpayment of the Subordinated Obligations, and agrees that no Senior Creditor has and no Senior Creditor shall have any duty to advise Subordinated Creditor or any other Subordinated Claimholder of information known to any Senior Claimholder regarding such condition or any such circumstances. In the event that Senior Creditors, in their sole discretion, undertake, at any time or from time to time, to provide any such information to Subordinated Creditor or any Subordinated Claimholder, then Senior Creditors shall not be under any obligation (i) to provide any such information to Subordinated Creditor or any other Subordinated Claimholder on any subsequent occasion, (ii) to undertake any investigation, or (iii) to disclose any information which, pursuant to its commercial finance practices, Senior Creditors wish to maintain confidential. Each Subordinated Claimholder acknowledges and agrees that no Senior Claimholder has made any warranties or representations with respect to the legality, validity, enforceability, collectability or perfection of the Senior Obligations or any liens or security interests held in connection therewith.

15. Third Party Beneficiaries . This Agreement is solely for the benefit of Senior Creditor, the other Senior Claimholders, Subordinated Creditor, and the other Subordinated Claimholders, and no other Person (including any Obligor) is intended to be a third party beneficiary hereunder. Senior Creditors and Subordinated Creditor shall have the right to modify or terminate this Agreement at any time without notice to or approval of any Obligor or any other Person (other than, in the case of Senior Creditor, the requisite Senior Claimholders under the Senior Credit Agreement, and in the case of Subordinated Creditor, the requisite Subordinated Claimholders under the Subordinated Credit Agreement).

 

22


16. Notices . Unless otherwise provided in this Agreement, all notices or demands relating to this Agreement shall be in writing and shall be personally delivered or sent by registered or certified mail (postage prepaid, return receipt requested), overnight courier, electronic mail (at such email addresses as a party may designate in accordance herewith), or telefacsimile. In the case of notices or demands to Senior Creditors or Subordinated Creditor, as the case may be, they shall be sent to the respective address set forth below:

 

IF TO ADMINISTRATIVE AGENT SENIOR CREDITOR:
To:    PNC BANK, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION
   200 South Wacker Drive, Suite 600
   Mail Code: XX-PCHI-06-1
   Chicago, Illinois 60606
   Attn: George Couladis
   Fax No.: (412) 762-8672
with copies to:   

PNC BANK, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION

PNC Agency Services

   PNC Firstside Center
   500 First Avenue, 4th Floor
   Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15219
   Attn: Lisa Pierce
   Fax No.: (412) 762-8672
and    Blank Rome LLP
   The Chrysler Building
   405 Lexington Avenue
   New York, New York 10174-0208
  

Attention: Lawrence F. Flick II

Fax No.: (215) 832-5556

IF TO SENIOR CREDITORS:
To:    PNC BANK, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION
   200 South Wacker Drive, Suite 600
   Mail Code: XX-PCHI-06-1
   Chicago, Illinois 60606
   Attn: George Couladis
   Fax No.: (412) 762-8672
and    CRYSTAL FINANCIAL LLC
   Two International Place, 17 th Floor
   Boston, Massachusetts 02110
   Attn: Michael Pizette
   Fax No.: (617) 428-8701
with copies to:   

PNC BANK, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION

PNC Agency Services

   PNC Firstside Center
   500 First Avenue, 4th Floor
   Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15219
   Attn: Lisa Pierce
   Fax No.: (412) 762-8672

 

23


and    Blank Rome LLP
   The Chrysler Building
   405 Lexington Avenue
   New York, New York 10174-0208
  

Attention: Lawrence F. Flick II

Fax No.: (215) 832-5556

and   

PROSKAUER ROSE LLP

One International Place

Boston, MA 02110

  

Attn: Stephen A. Boyko, Esq.

Fax No.: (617) 526-9899

IF TO SUBORDINATED CREDITOR:
To:    Mutual Quest Fund
   c/o Franklin Mutual Advisers, LLC
   101 John F. Kennedy Parkway
   Short Hills, NJ 07078
   Attn: Steve Luksteid and Kathy Pintarelli
   Fax No.: (973) 921-8687
with a copy to:    Bradley Takahashi, Esq.
   2366 NW Glisan Street
   Portland, OR 97210-3421

Any party hereto may change the address at which they are to receive notices hereunder, by notice in writing in the foregoing manner given to the other party. All notices or demands sent in accordance with this Section 16 , shall be deemed received on the earlier of the date of actual receipt or three Business Days after the deposit thereof in the mail; provided, that (a) notices sent by overnight courier service shall be deemed to have been given when received, (b) notices by telefacsimile or other electronic method of transmission shall be deemed to have been given when sent (except that, if not given during normal business hours for the recipient, shall be deemed to have been given at the opening of business on the next Business Day for the recipient) and (c) notices by electronic mail shall be deemed received upon the sender’s receipt of an acknowledgment from the intended recipient (such as by the “return receipt requested” function, as available, return email or other written acknowledgment).

17. Costs and Attorneys Fees . In the event it becomes necessary for any Senior Claimholder or any Subordinated Claimholder to commence or become a party to any proceeding or action to enforce the provisions of this Agreement, the court or body before which the same shall be tried shall award to the prevailing party all costs and expenses thereof, including, but not limited to, reasonable attorneys’ fees, the usual and customary and lawfully recoverable court costs, and all other expenses in connection therewith.

18. CHOICE OF LAW AND VENUE; JURY TRIAL WAIVER.

(a) THE VALIDITY OF THIS AGREEMENT, THE CONSTRUCTION, INTERPRETATION, AND ENFORCEMENT HEREOF AND THEREOF, AND THE RIGHTS OF THE PARTIES HERETO AND THERETO WITH RESPECT TO ALL MATTERS ARISING HEREUNDER

 

24


OR THEREUNDER OR RELATED HERETO OR THERETO SHALL BE DETERMINED UNDER, GOVERNED BY, AND CONSTRUED IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE LAWS OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK.

(b) THE PARTIES AGREE THAT ALL ACTIONS OR PROCEEDINGS ARISING IN CONNECTION WITH THIS AGREEMENT SHALL BE TRIED AND LITIGATED ONLY IN THE STATE OF NEW YORK AND, TO THE EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, FEDERAL, COURTS LOCATED IN THE COUNTY OF NEW YORK, STATE OF NEW YORK. EACH SENIOR CREDITOR AND EACH SUBORDINATED CLAIMHOLDER HEREBY WAIVES, TO THE EXTENT PERMITTED UNDER APPLICABLE LAW, ANY RIGHT EACH MAY HAVE TO ASSERT THE DOCTRINE OF FORUM NON CONVENIENS OR TO OBJECT TO VENUE TO THE EXTENT ANY PROCEEDING IS BROUGHT IN ACCORDANCE WITH THIS SECTION 18(b) .

(c) TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, EACH SENIOR CREDITOR AND EACH SUBORDINATED CLAIMHOLDER HEREBY WAIVE THEIR RESPECTIVE RIGHTS TO A JURY TRIAL OF ANY CLAIM OR CAUSE OF ACTION BASED UPON OR ARISING OUT OF THIS AGREEMENT OR ANY OF THE TRANSACTIONS CONTEMPLATED HEREIN, INCLUDING CONTRACT CLAIMS, TORT CLAIMS, BREACH OF DUTY CLAIMS, AND ALL OTHER COMMON LAW OR STATUTORY CLAIMS. EACH SENIOR CREDITOR AND EACH SUBORDINATED CLAIMHOLDER REPRESENTS THAT EACH HAS REVIEWED THIS WAIVER AND EACH KNOWINGLY AND VOLUNTARILY WAIVES ITS JURY TRIAL RIGHTS FOLLOWING CONSULTATION WITH LEGAL COUNSEL. IN THE EVENT OF LITIGATION, A COPY OF THIS AGREEMENT MAY BE FILED AS A WRITTEN CONSENT TO A TRIAL BY THE COURT.

19. Successors and Assigns . This Agreement shall bind and inure to the benefit of each of the parties hereto, each of the Senior Claimholders and the Subordinated Claimholders, and each of their respective successors and assigns, and nothing herein is intended, or shall be construed to give, any other Person (including, for the avoidance of doubt, any Obligor or Subsidiary thereof) any right, remedy or claim under, to or in respect of this Agreement or any Collateral.

20. Integrated Agreement . This Agreement reflects the entire understanding of the parties with respect to the transactions contemplated hereby and shall not be contradicted or qualified by any other agreement, oral or written, before the date hereof.

21. Counterparts . This Agreement may be executed in any number of counterparts and by different parties on separate counterparts, each of which, when executed and delivered, shall be deemed to be an original, and all of which, when taken together, shall constitute but one and the same Agreement. Delivery of an executed counterpart of this Agreement by telefacsimile or other electronic method of transmission shall be equally as effective as delivery of an original executed counterpart of this Agreement. Any party delivering an executed counterpart of this Agreement by telefacsimile or other electronic method of transmission also shall deliver an original executed counterpart of this Agreement but the failure to deliver an original executed counterpart shall not affect the validity, enforceability, and binding effect of this Agreement.

22. Headings . Headings and numbers have been set forth herein for convenience only. Unless the contrary is compelled by the context, everything contained in each Section applies equally to this entire Agreement.

23. Effectiveness; Continuing Nature of this Agreement; Severability . This Agreement shall become effective when executed and delivered by the parties hereto. This is a continuing agreement of

 

25


lien subordination and Senior Claimholders may continue, at any time and without notice to Subordinated Creditor or any other Subordinated Claimholder, to extend credit and other financial accommodations to or for the benefit of any Obligor constituting Senior Obligations in reliance hereof. Each Subordinated Creditor and each other Subordinated Claimholder hereby waives any right it may have under applicable law to revoke this Agreement or any of the provisions of this Agreement. The terms of this Agreement shall survive, and shall continue in full force and effect, in any Insolvency Proceeding. Any provision of this Agreement that is prohibited or unenforceable shall not invalidate 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. All references to any Obligor shall include such Obligor as debtor and debtor in possession and any receiver or trustee for such Obligor in any Insolvency Proceeding.

24. Conflicts . To the extent that there is a conflict or inconsistency between any provision hereof, on the one hand, and any provision of any Subordinated Loan Document, on the other hand, this Agreement shall control and prevail.

25. Termination . This Agreement shall continue in full force and effect until the Discharge of the Senior Obligations shall have occurred and shall thereafter be revived to the extent provided for in Section 5(h) .

26. Agreement Amongst Lenders . The rights of the Senior Creditors hereunder and under the other Senior Loan Documents are subject to the terms of the Agreement Amongst Lenders. In the event of any conflict between the Agreement Amongst Lenders and this Agreement or any other Senior Loan Document, the terms of the Agreement Amongst Lenders shall control; provided however that nothing contained in the Agreement Amongst Lenders shall alter, modify or impair any obligations of the Loan Parties under this Agreement.

[Remainder of page left intentionally blank]

 

26


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

 

PNC BANK, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION,

as a Senior Creditor

  By:  

 

  Name:  

 

  Title:  

 

CRYSTAL FINANCIAL LLC,

as a Senior Creditor

  By:  

 

  Name:  

 

  Title:  

 


MUTUAL QUEST FUND,
By:   FRANKLIN MUTUAL ADVISERS, LLC
 

Its Investment Advisor

as a Subordinated Creditor
  By:  

 

  Name:  

 

  Title:  

 


EXHIBIT 2.1(a)

FORM OF REVOLVING CREDIT NOTE

 

$                           , 20    

FOR VALUE RECEIVED , G ATE H OUSE M EDIA I NTERMEDIATE H OLDCO , I NC . , a Delaware corporation (“ GMIH ”), and each of the subsidiary borrowers listed on the signature pages hereto (the “ Subsidiary Borrowers ” and, together with GMIH, and any other Person joined to the Loan Agreement (as defined below) as a borrower from time to time, collectively, the “ Borrowers ”), hereby promise to pay to the order of PNC B ANK , N ATIONAL A SSOCIATION (“ PNC ”), at the office of Administrative Agent (as defined below) at the address set forth in the Loan Agreement or at such other place as Administrative Agent may from time to time designate by notice to Borrowing Agent as specified in the Loan Agreement; the principal sum of [                    ] DOLLARS ($[        ]) or such lesser sum which then represents PNC’s Revolving Credit Commitment Amount of the aggregate unpaid principal amount of all Revolving Advances made or extended to Borrowers by PNC pursuant to the Loan Agreement, in lawful money of the United States of America in immediately available funds, together with interest on the principal hereunder remaining unpaid from time to time, at the rate or rates from time to time in effect under the Loan Agreement and payable at such times as specified in the Loan Agreement; provided , however , that the entire unpaid principal balance of this Revolving Credit Note shall be due and payable in full at the end of the Term, or earlier as provided in the Loan Agreement.

THIS REVOLVING CREDIT NOTE is executed and delivered under and pursuant to the terms of that certain Revolving Credit, Term Loan and Security Agreement, dated as of the date hereof (as the same may be amended, restated, supplemented or otherwise modified from time to time, the “Loan Agreement”), by and among Borrowers, GateHouse Media, Inc., a Delaware corporation, Crystal Financial LLC, as the term loan B agent to the Term Loan B Lenders (“Term Loan B Agent”), together with any other financial institutions named therein or which hereafter become a party thereto as lenders (the “Lenders”), and PNC, in its capacity as agent for Lenders (in such capacity, “Administrative Agent”) and in its capacity as Revolving Lender and Term Loan A Lender. Capitalized terms used herein and not otherwise defined herein shall have the meanings provided in the Loan Agreement.

The Administrative Agent shall record in its books and records the date and amount of each payment of principal and/or interest made by Borrowers with respect thereto.

Borrowers hereby waive diligence, presentment, demand, protest and notice of any kind whatsoever as further set forth in the Loan Agreement.

This Revolving Credit Note is one of the Revolving Credit Notes referred to in the Loan Agreement, which among other things, contains provisions for the acceleration of the maturity hereof upon the happening of certain events, for optional and mandatory prepayments of the principal hereof prior to the maturity hereof and for the amendment or waiver of certain terms and conditions therein specified.


THIS REVOLVING CREDIT NOTE SHALL BE CONSTRUED IN ACCORDANCE WITH AND GOVERNED BY THE LAWS OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK.

[SIGNATURES TO APPEAR ON FOLLOWING PAGES]

 

2


IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the undersigned have executed this Note the day and year first written above intending to be legally bound hereby.

BORROWERS:

 

GATEHOUSE MEDIA INTERMEDIATE HOLDCO, INC.
By:  

 

  Name:  

 

  Title:  

 

Subsidiary Borrowers:

COPLEY OHIO NEWSPAPERS, INC.

ENHE ACQUISITION, LLC

ENTERPRISE NEWSMEDIA HOLDING, LLC

ENTERPRISE NEWSMEDIA, LLC

ENTERPRISE PUBLISHING COMPANY, LLC

GATEHOUSE MEDIA ARKANSAS HOLDINGS, INC.

GATEHOUSE MEDIA CALIFORNIA HOLDINGS, INC.

GATEHOUSE MEDIA COLORADO HOLDINGS, INC.

GATEHOUSE MEDIA CONNECTICUT HOLDINGS, INC.

GATEHOUSE MEDIA CORNING HOLDINGS, INC.

GATEHOUSE MEDIA DELAWARE HOLDINGS, INC.

GATEHOUSE MEDIA DIRECTORIES HOLDINGS, INC.

By:  

 

  Name:  

 

  Title:  

 

 

3


Subsidiary Borrowers (Continued):

GATEHOUSE MEDIA FLORIDA HOLDINGS,
INC.

GATEHOUSE MEDIA FREEPORT HOLDINGS, INC.

GATEHOUSE MEDIA HOLDCO, INC.

GATEHOUSE MEDIA ILLINOIS HOLDINGS II, INC.

GATEHOUSE MEDIA ILLINOIS HOLDINGS,
INC.

GATEHOUSE MEDIA IOWA HOLDINGS,
INC.

GATEHOUSE MEDIA KANSAS HOLDINGS II,
INC.

GATEHOUSE MEDIA KANSAS HOLDINGS, INC.

GATEHOUSE MEDIA LANSING PRINTING, INC.

GATEHOUSE MEDIA LOUISIANA HOLDINGS, INC.

GATEHOUSE MEDIA MANAGEMENT
SERVICES, INC.

GATEHOUSE MEDIA MASSACHUSETTS I, INC.

GATEHOUSE MEDIA MASSACHUSETTS II, INC.

GATEHOUSE MEDIA MICHIGAN HOLDINGS II, INC.

GATEHOUSE MEDIA MICHIGAN HOLDINGS, INC.

GATEHOUSE MEDIA MINNESOTA HOLDINGS, INC.

GATEHOUSE MEDIA MISSOURI HOLDINGS II, INC.

GATEHOUSE MEDIA MISSOURI HOLDINGS,
INC.

GATEHOUSE MEDIA NEBRASKA HOLDINGS II, INC.

GATEHOUSE MEDIA NEBRASKA HOLDINGS, INC.

GATEHOUSE MEDIA NEVADA HOLDINGS, INC.

GATEHOUSE MEDIA NEW YORK HOLDINGS, INC.

GATEHOUSE MEDIA NORTH DAKOTA HOLDINGS, INC.

GATEHOUSE MEDIA OHIO HOLDINGS, INC.

GATEHOUSE MEDIA OKLAHOMA HOLDINGS, INC.

By:  

 

  Name:  

 

  Title:  

 

 

4


Subsidiary Borrowers (Continued):

GATEHOUSE MEDIA OPERATING, INC.

GATEHOUSE MEDIA PENNSYLVANIA HOLDINGS, INC.

GATEHOUSE MEDIA SUBURBAN NEWSPAPERS, INC.

GATEHOUSE MEDIA TENNESSEE HOLDINGS, INC.

GATEHOUSE MEDIA VENTURES, INC.

GEORGE W. PRESCOTT PUBLISHING COMPANY, LLC

MINERAL DAILY NEWS TRIBUNE, INC.

NEWS LEADER, INC.

SUREWEST DIRECTORIES

TERRY NEWSPAPERS, INC.

THE PEORIA JOURNAL STAR, INC.

LIBERTY SMC, L.L.C.

LOW REALTY, LLC

LRT FOUR HUNDRED, LLC

By:  

 

  Name:  

 

  Title:  

 

 

5


EXHIBIT 2.3(a)

FORM OF TERM LOAN A NOTE

 

$                            , 20    

FOR VALUE RECEIVED , G ATE H OUSE M EDIA I NTERMEDIATE H OLDCO , I NC . , a Delaware corporation (“ GMIH ”), and each of the subsidiary borrowers listed on the signature pages hereto (the “ Subsidiary Borrowers ” and, together with GMIH, and any other Person joined to the Loan Agreement (as defined below) as a borrower from time to time, collectively, the “ Borrowers ”) hereby promise to pay to the order of P NC B ANK , N ATIONAL A SSOCIATION (“ PNC ”), at the office of Administrative Agent (as defined below) at the address set forth in the Loan Agreement or at any other place designated at any time by the holder hereof by notice to the Borrowing Agent as specified in the Loan Agreement, in lawful money of the United States of America and in immediately available funds, the principal sum of [                    ] DOLLARS ($[        ]) or such lesser sum which then represents PNC’s Term Loan A Commitment Percentage of the aggregate unpaid principal amount of the Term Loan A in quarterly installments of principal in such amounts as set forth in the Loan Agreement, each of which installments of principal shall be due and payable in accordance with the terms of the Loan Agreement, together with interest on the principal amount hereunder remaining unpaid from time to time from the date hereof until this Term Loan A Note is fully paid, at the rate or rates from time to time in effect under the Credit Agreement and payable at such times as specified in the Loan Agreement, provided , however , that the entire unpaid principal balance of this Term Loan A Note shall be due and payable in full at the end of the Term, or earlier as provided in the Loan Agreement.

THIS TERM LOAN A NOTE is executed and delivered under and pursuant to the terms of that certain Revolving Credit, Term Loan and Security Agreement, dated as of the date hereof (as the same may be amended, restated, supplemented or otherwise modified from time to time, the “Loan Agreement”), by and among Borrowers, GateHouse Media, Inc., a Delaware corporation, Crystal Financial LLC, as the term loan B agent to the Term Loan B Lenders (“Term Loan B Agent”), together with any other financial institutions named therein or which hereafter become a party thereto as lenders (the “Lenders”), and PNC, in its capacity as agent for Lenders (in such capacity, “Administrative Agent”) and in its capacity as Revolving Lender and Term Loan A Lender. Capitalized terms used herein and not otherwise defined herein shall have the meanings provided in the Loan Agreement.

The Administrative Agent shall record in its books and records the date and amount of each payment of principal and/or interest made by Borrowers with respect thereto.

Borrowers hereby waive diligence, presentment, demand, protest and notice of any kind whatsoever as further set forth in the Loan Agreement.

This Term Loan A Note is one of the Term Notes referred to in the Loan Agreement, which among other things, contains provisions for the acceleration of the maturity hereof upon the happening of certain events, for optional and mandatory prepayments of the principal hereof prior to the maturity hereof and for the amendment or waiver of certain terms and conditions therein specified.

 

6


THIS TERM LOAN A NOTE SHALL BE CONSTRUED IN ACCORDANCE WITH AND GOVERNED BY THE LAWS OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK.

[SIGNATURES APPEAR ON FOLLOWING PAGES]

 

7


IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the undersigned have executed this Term Loan A Note the day and year first written above intending to be legally bound hereby.

BORROWERS:

 

GATEHOUSE MEDIA INTERMEDIATE HOLDCO, INC.
By:  

 

  Name:  

 

  Title:  

 

Subsidiary Borrowers:

COPLEY OHIO NEWSPAPERS, INC.

ENHE ACQUISITION, LLC

ENTERPRISE NEWSMEDIA HOLDING, LLC

ENTERPRISE NEWSMEDIA, LLC

ENTERPRISE PUBLISHING COMPANY, LLC

GATEHOUSE MEDIA ARKANSAS HOLDINGS, INC.

GATEHOUSE MEDIA CALIFORNIA HOLDINGS, INC.

GATEHOUSE MEDIA COLORADO HOLDINGS, INC.

GATEHOUSE MEDIA CONNECTICUT HOLDINGS, INC.

GATEHOUSE MEDIA CORNING HOLDINGS, INC.

GATEHOUSE MEDIA DELAWARE HOLDINGS, INC.

GATEHOUSE MEDIA DIRECTORIES HOLDINGS, INC.

By:  

 

  Name:  

 

  Title:  

 


Subsidiary Borrowers (Continued):

GATEHOUSE MEDIA FLORIDA HOLDINGS,
INC.

GATEHOUSE MEDIA FREEPORT HOLDINGS,
INC.

GATEHOUSE MEDIA HOLDCO, INC.

GATEHOUSE MEDIA ILLINOIS HOLDINGS II,
INC.

GATEHOUSE MEDIA ILLINOIS HOLDINGS,
INC.

GATEHOUSE MEDIA IOWA HOLDINGS, INC.

GATEHOUSE MEDIA KANSAS HOLDINGS II,
INC.

GATEHOUSE MEDIA KANSAS HOLDINGS, INC.

GATEHOUSE MEDIA LANSING PRINTING, INC.

GATEHOUSE MEDIA LOUISIANA HOLDINGS,
INC.

GATEHOUSE MEDIA MANAGEMENT
SERVICES, INC.

GATEHOUSE MEDIA MASSACHUSETTS I, INC.

GATEHOUSE MEDIA MASSACHUSETTS II, INC.

GATEHOUSE MEDIA MICHIGAN HOLDINGS II,
INC.

GATEHOUSE MEDIA MICHIGAN HOLDINGS,
INC.

GATEHOUSE MEDIA MINNESOTA HOLDINGS,
INC.

GATEHOUSE MEDIA MISSOURI HOLDINGS II,
INC.

GATEHOUSE MEDIA MISSOURI HOLDINGS,
INC.

GATEHOUSE MEDIA NEBRASKA HOLDINGS II,
INC.

GATEHOUSE MEDIA NEBRASKA HOLDINGS,
INC.

GATEHOUSE MEDIA NEVADA HOLDINGS, INC.

GATEHOUSE MEDIA NEW YORK HOLDINGS,
INC.

GATEHOUSE MEDIA NORTH DAKOTA HOLDINGS,
INC.

GATEHOUSE MEDIA OHIO HOLDINGS, INC.

GATEHOUSE MEDIA OKLAHOMA HOLDINGS,
INC.

By:  

 

  Name:  

 

  Title:  

 


Subsidiary Borrowers (Continued):

GATEHOUSE MEDIA OPERATING, INC.

GATEHOUSE MEDIA PENNSYLVANIA HOLDINGS, INC.

GATEHOUSE MEDIA SUBURBAN NEWSPAPERS, INC.

GATEHOUSE MEDIA TENNESSEE HOLDINGS, INC.

GATEHOUSE MEDIA VENTURES, INC.

GEORGE W. PRESCOTT PUBLISHING COMPANY, LLC

MINERAL DAILY NEWS TRIBUNE, INC.

NEWS LEADER, INC.

SUREWEST DIRECTORIES

TERRY NEWSPAPERS, INC.

THE PEORIA JOURNAL STAR, INC.

LIBERTY SMC, L.L.C.

LOW REALTY, LLC

LRT FOUR HUNDRED, LLC

By:  

 

  Name:  

 

  Title:  

 


EXHIBIT 2.3(b)

FORM OF TERM LOAN B NOTE

 

$                        , 20    

FOR VALUE RECEIVED , G ATE H OUSE M EDIA I NTERMEDIATE H OLDCO , I NC ., a Delaware corporation (“ GMIH ”), and each of the subsidiary borrowers listed on the signature pages hereto (the “ Subsidiary Borrowers ” and, together with GMIH, and any other Person joined to the Loan Agreement (as defined below) as a borrower from time to time, collectively, the “ Borrowers ”), hereby promise to pay to the order of C RYSTAL F INANCIAL SPV LLC (“ Crystal ”), at the office of the Term Loan B Agent (as defined below) at the address set forth in the Loan Agreement or at any other place designated at any time by the holder hereof by notice to the Borrowing Agent as specified in the Loan Agreement, in lawful money of the United States of America and in immediately available funds, the principal sum of [                    ] DOLLARS ($[         ]) or such lesser sum which then represents Crystal’s Term Loan B Commitment Percentage of the aggregate unpaid principal amount of the Term Loan B in quarterly installments of principal in such amounts as set forth in the Loan Agreement, each of which installments of principal shall be due and payable in accordance with the terms of the Loan Agreement, together with interest on the principal amount hereunder remaining unpaid from time to time from the date hereof until this Term Loan B Note is fully paid, at the rate or rates from time to time in effect under the Credit Agreement and payable at such times as specified in the Loan Agreement, provided , however , that the entire unpaid principal balance of this Term Loan B Note shall be due and payable in full at the end of the Term, or earlier as provided in the Loan Agreement.

THIS TERM LOAN B NOTE is executed and delivered under and pursuant to the terms of that certain Revolving Credit, Term Loan and Security Agreement, dated as of the date hereof (as the same may be amended, restated, supplemented or otherwise modified from time to time, the “Loan Agreement”), by and among Borrowers, GateHouse Media, Inc., a Delaware corporation, Crystal Financial LLC, as the term loan B agent to the Term Loan B Lenders (“ Term Loan B Agent ”), together with any other financial institutions named therein or which hereafter become a party thereto as lenders (the “ Lenders ”), and PNC, in its capacity as agent for Lenders (in such capacity, “ Administrative Agent ”) and in its capacity as Revolving Lender and Term Loan A Lender. Capitalized terms used herein and not otherwise defined herein shall have the meanings provided in the Loan Agreement.

The Term Loan B Agent shall record in its books and records the date and amount of each payment of principal and/or interest made by Borrowers with respect thereto.

Borrowers hereby waive diligence, presentment, demand, protest and notice of any kind whatsoever as further set forth in the Loan Agreement.

This Term Loan B Note is one of the Term Notes referred to in the Loan Agreement, which among other things, contains provisions for the acceleration of the maturity hereof upon the happening of certain events, for optional and mandatory prepayments of the principal hereof prior to the maturity hereof and for the amendment or waiver of certain terms and conditions therein specified.


THIS TERM LOAN B NOTE SHALL BE CONSTRUED IN ACCORDANCE WITH AND GOVERNED BY THE LAWS OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK.

[SIGNATURES APPEAR ON FOLLOWING PAGES]

 

2


IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the undersigned have executed this Term Loan B Note the day and year first written above intending to be legally bound hereby.

BORROWERS:

 

GATEHOUSE MEDIA INTERMEDIATE HOLDCO, INC.
By:  

 

  Name:  

 

  Title:  

 

Subsidiary Borrowers:

COPLEY OHIO NEWSPAPERS, INC.

ENHE ACQUISITION, LLC

ENTERPRISE NEWSMEDIA HOLDING, LLC

ENTERPRISE NEWSMEDIA, LLC

ENTERPRISE PUBLISHING COMPANY, LLC

GATEHOUSE MEDIA ARKANSAS HOLDINGS, INC.

GATEHOUSE MEDIA CALIFORNIA HOLDINGS, INC.

GATEHOUSE MEDIA COLORADO HOLDINGS, INC.

GATEHOUSE MEDIA CONNECTICUT HOLDINGS, INC.

GATEHOUSE MEDIA CORNING HOLDINGS, INC.

GATEHOUSE MEDIA DELAWARE HOLDINGS, INC.

GATEHOUSE MEDIA DIRECTORIES HOLDINGS, INC.

By:  

 

  Name:  

 

  Title:  

 


Subsidiary Borrowers (Continued):

GATEHOUSE MEDIA FLORIDA HOLDINGS,

INC.

GATEHOUSE MEDIA FREEPORT HOLDINGS,

INC.

GATEHOUSE MEDIA HOLDCO, INC.

GATEHOUSE MEDIA ILLINOIS HOLDINGS II,

INC.

GATEHOUSE MEDIA ILLINOIS HOLDINGS,

INC.

GATEHOUSE MEDIA IOWA HOLDINGS, INC.

GATEHOUSE MEDIA KANSAS HOLDINGS II,

INC.

GATEHOUSE MEDIA KANSAS HOLDINGS, INC.

GATEHOUSE MEDIA LANSING PRINTING, INC.

GATEHOUSE MEDIA LOUISIANA HOLDINGS,

INC.

GATEHOUSE MEDIA MANAGEMENT

SERVICES, INC.

GATEHOUSE MEDIA MASSACHUSETTS I, INC.

GATEHOUSE MEDIA MASSACHUSETTS II, INC.

GATEHOUSE MEDIA MICHIGAN HOLDINGS II, INC.

GATEHOUSE MEDIA MICHIGAN HOLDINGS,

INC.

GATEHOUSE MEDIA MINNESOTA HOLDINGS, INC.

GATEHOUSE MEDIA MISSOURI HOLDINGS II, INC.

GATEHOUSE MEDIA MISSOURI HOLDINGS,

INC.

GATEHOUSE MEDIA NEBRASKA HOLDINGS II, INC.

GATEHOUSE MEDIA NEBRASKA HOLDINGS, INC.

GATEHOUSE MEDIA NEVADA HOLDINGS, INC.

GATEHOUSE MEDIA NEW YORK HOLDINGS,

INC.

GATEHOUSE MEDIA NORTH DAKOTA HOLDINGS, INC.

GATEHOUSE MEDIA OHIO HOLDINGS, INC.

GATEHOUSE MEDIA OKLAHOMA HOLDINGS, INC.

By:  

 

  Name:  

 

  Title:  

 

 

2


Subsidiary Borrowers (Continued):

GATEHOUSE MEDIA OPERATING, INC.

GATEHOUSE MEDIA PENNSYLVANIA HOLDINGS, INC.

GATEHOUSE MEDIA SUBURBAN NEWSPAPERS, INC.

GATEHOUSE MEDIA TENNESSEE HOLDINGS, INC.

GATEHOUSE MEDIA VENTURES, INC.

GEORGE W. PRESCOTT PUBLISHING COMPANY, LLC

MINERAL DAILY NEWS TRIBUNE, INC.

NEWS LEADER, INC.

SUREWEST DIRECTORIES

TERRY NEWSPAPERS, INC.

THE PEORIA JOURNAL STAR, INC.

LIBERTY SMC, L.L.C.

LOW REALTY, LLC

LRT FOUR HUNDRED, LLC

By:  

 

  Name:  

 

  Title:  

 

 

3


EXHIBIT 2.4(a)

FORM OF SWING LOAN NOTE

 

$                , 20    

FOR VALUE RECEIVED , G ATE H OUSE M EDIA I NTERMEDIATE H OLDCO , I NC . , a Delaware corporation (“ GMIH ”), and each of the subsidiary borrowers listed on the signature pages hereto (the “ Subsidiary Borrowers ” and, together with GMIH and any other Person joined to the Loan Agreement (as defined below) as a borrower from time to time, collectively, the “ Borrowers ”) , hereby promise to pay to the order of P NC B ANK , N ATIONAL A SSOCIATION (“ PNC ”), at the office of Administrative Agent (as defined below) at the address set forth in the Loan Agreement (as defined below) or at such other place as the Administrative Agent may designate from time to time by notice to Borrowing Agent pursuant to the terms of the Loan Agreement, in lawful money of the United States of America and in immediately available funds:

1. the principal sum of [                    ] DOLLARS ($[         ]) or, such lesser amount which then represents the unpaid principal balance of the Swing Loans as may be due and owing under the Loan Agreement, payable in accordance with the provisions of the Loan Agreement, subject to acceleration upon the occurrence and continuation of an Event of Default pursuant to the terms of the Loan Agreement or earlier termination of the Loan Agreement pursuant to the terms thereof; and

2. interest on the principal amount of this Swing Loan Note from time to time outstanding until such principal amount is paid in full at the applicable Revolving Interest Rate for Domestic Rate Loans and at such times in accordance with the provisions of the Loan Agreement. In no event, however, shall interest exceed the amount collectible at the maximum interest rate permitted by Applicable Law. Upon the occurrence of an Event of Default, and during the continuation thereof, at the election of Administrative Agent or Required Lenders holding Revolving Commitments, interest shall be payable at the Default Rate.

THIS SWING LOAN NOTE is executed and delivered under and pursuant to the terms of that certain Revolving Credit, Term Loan and Security Agreement, dated as of the date hereof (as the same may be amended, restated, supplemented or otherwise modified from time to time, the “Loan Agreement”), by and among Borrowers, GateHouse Media, Inc., a Delaware corporation, Crystal Financial LLC, as the term loan B agent to the Term Loan B Lenders (“ Term Loan B Agent ”), together with any other financial institutions named therein or which hereafter become a party thereto as lenders (the “ Lenders ”), and PNC, in its capacity as agent for Lenders (in such capacity, “Administrative Agent”) and in its capacity as Revolving Lender and Term Loan A Lender. Capitalized terms used herein and not otherwise defined herein shall have the meanings provided in the Loan Agreement.

The Administrative Agent shall record in its books and records the date and amount of each payment of principal and/or interest made by Borrowers with respect thereto.


Borrowers hereby waive diligence, presentment, demand, protest and notice of any kind whatsoever as further set forth in the Loan Agreement.

This Swing Loan Note is the Swing Loan Note referred to in the Loan Agreement, which among other things, contains provisions for the acceleration of the maturity hereof upon the happening of certain events, for optional and mandatory prepayments of the principal hereof prior to the maturity hereof and for the amendment or waiver of certain terms and conditions therein specified.

THIS SWING LOAN NOTE SHALL BE CONSTRUED IN ACCORDANCE WITH AND GOVERNED BY THE LAWS OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK.

[SIGNATURES APPEAR ON FOLLOWING PAGES]

 

2


IN WITNESS WHEREOF, this Swing Loan Note has been executed and delivered as of the date first written above.

BORROWERS:

 

GATEHOUSE MEDIA INTERMEDIATE HOLDCO, INC.
By:  

 

  Name:  

 

  Title:  

 

Subsidiary Borrowers:

COPLEY OHIO NEWSPAPERS, INC.

ENHE ACQUISITION, LLC

ENTERPRISE NEWSMEDIA HOLDING, LLC

ENTERPRISE NEWSMEDIA, LLC

ENTERPRISE PUBLISHING COMPANY, LLC

GATEHOUSE MEDIA ARKANSAS HOLDINGS, INC.

GATEHOUSE MEDIA CALIFORNIA HOLDINGS, INC.

GATEHOUSE MEDIA COLORADO HOLDINGS, INC.

GATEHOUSE MEDIA CONNECTICUT HOLDINGS, INC.

GATEHOUSE MEDIA CORNING HOLDINGS, INC.

GATEHOUSE MEDIA DELAWARE HOLDINGS, INC.

GATEHOUSE MEDIA DIRECTORIES HOLDINGS, INC.

By:  

 

  Name:  

 

  Title:  

 


Subsidiary Borrowers (Continued):

GATEHOUSE MEDIA FLORIDA HOLDINGS, INC.

GATEHOUSE MEDIA FREEPORT HOLDINGS, INC.

GATEHOUSE MEDIA HOLDCO, INC.

GATEHOUSE MEDIA ILLINOIS HOLDINGS II, INC.

GATEHOUSE MEDIA ILLINOIS HOLDINGS, INC.

GATEHOUSE MEDIA IOWA HOLDINGS, INC.

GATEHOUSE MEDIA KANSAS HOLDINGS II, INC.

GATEHOUSE MEDIA KANSAS HOLDINGS, INC.

GATEHOUSE MEDIA LANSING PRINTING, INC.

GATEHOUSE MEDIA LOUISIANA HOLDINGS, INC.

GATEHOUSE MEDIA MANAGEMENT SERVICES, INC.

GATEHOUSE MEDIA MASSACHUSETTS I, INC.

GATEHOUSE MEDIA MASSACHUSETTS II, INC.

GATEHOUSE MEDIA MICHIGAN HOLDINGS II, INC.

GATEHOUSE MEDIA MICHIGAN HOLDINGS, INC.

GATEHOUSE MEDIA MINNESOTA HOLDINGS, INC.

GATEHOUSE MEDIA MISSOURI HOLDINGS II, INC.

GATEHOUSE MEDIA MISSOURI HOLDINGS, INC.

GATEHOUSE MEDIA NEBRASKA HOLDINGS II, INC.

GATEHOUSE MEDIA NEBRASKA HOLDINGS, INC.

GATEHOUSE MEDIA NEVADA HOLDINGS, INC.

GATEHOUSE MEDIA NEW YORK HOLDINGS, INC.

GATEHOUSE MEDIA NORTH DAKOTA HOLDINGS, INC.

GATEHOUSE MEDIA OHIO HOLDINGS, INC.

GATEHOUSE MEDIA OKLAHOMA HOLDINGS, INC.

By:  

 

  Name:  

 

  Title:  

 

 

2


Subsidiary Borrowers (Continued):

GATEHOUSE MEDIA OPERATING, INC.

GATEHOUSE MEDIA PENNSYLVANIA HOLDINGS, INC.

GATEHOUSE MEDIA SUBURBAN NEWSPAPERS, INC.

GATEHOUSE MEDIA TENNESSEE HOLDINGS, INC.

GATEHOUSE MEDIA VENTURES, INC.

GEORGE W. PRESCOTT PUBLISHING
COMPANY, LLC

MINERAL DAILY NEWS TRIBUNE, INC.

NEWS LEADER, INC.

SUREWEST DIRECTORIES

TERRY NEWSPAPERS, INC.

THE PEORIA JOURNAL STAR, INC.

LIBERTY SMC, L.L.C.

LOW REALTY, LLC

LRT FOUR HUNDRED, LLC

By:  

 

  Name:  

 

  Title:  

 

 

3


EXHIBIT 5.5(b) FINANCIAL

PROJECTIONS

(Delivered directly to Agent)


EXHIBIT 8.1(j)

FINANCIAL CONDITION CERTIFICATE

            , 20    

TO: PNC B ANK , N ATIONAL A SSOCIATION (“ PNC ”) and C RYSTAL F INANCIAL LLC (“ Crystal ”), in connection with that certain Revolving Credit, Term Loan and Security Agreement dated of even date herewith (the “ Loan Agreement ”), by and among G ATE H OUSE M EDIA I NTERMEDIATE H OLDCO , I NC ., a Delaware corporation (“GMIH”), each of the subsidiary borrowers party thereto (the “ Subsidiary Borrowers ” and, together with GMIH, and any other Person joined thereto as a borrower from time to time collectively, the “ Borrowers ”), G ATE H OUSE M EDIA , I NC . , a Delaware corporation (“ HoldCo ” and, together with Borrowers, the “ Loan Parties ” and each a “ Loan Party ”), the financial institutions party thereto as lenders (referred to herein, collectively, as the “ Lenders ” and each, individually, a “ Lender ”), Crystal, as term loan B agent for the Term Loan B Lenders (“ Term Loan B Agent ”), and PNC, as administrative agent for Lenders (PNC, in such capacity, the “ Administrative Agent ” and together with Term Loan B Agent, the “ Agents ”).

In connection with the Loan Agreement and the Other Documents, I hereby certify that, effective as of the execution of the Loan Agreement and each of the Other Documents, I am the duly elected, qualified and acting Chief Financial Officer of Borrowers, and, solely in such capacity, and not individually, I hereby conclude to the best of my knowledge that the execution and delivery of the Loan Agreement and each of the Other Documents and the granting of any security interests or liens pursuant to the Loan Agreement and any of the Other Documents by Loan Parties (after giving effect to (x) the Plan of Reorganization, (y) the consummation of the Transactions, including the making of the initial Advances under the Loan Agreement and the incurrence of the other Indebtedness on the date hereof and (z) the application of the proceeds of such initial Advances and other Indebtedness) will not:

 

  1. render the Loan Parties, on a consolidated basis, insolvent (I understand that, in this context, “insolvent” with respect to the Loan Parties means that the present fair saleable value of the assets of the Loan Parties, on a consolidated basis, is less than the amount of liabilities of the Loan Parties, on a consolidated basis);

 

  2. leave the Loan Parties, on a consolidated basis, with property remaining in their hands which would constitute unreasonably small capital for the Loan Parties’ business. In reaching this conclusion, I understand that “unreasonably small capital” depends upon the nature of the Loan Parties’ business as presently conducted, and I have reached my conclusion based on, to the best of my knowledge, the actual and reasonably anticipated needs for capital of the business anticipated to be conducted by the Loan Parties and my review of the Projections (as such term is defined below); or

 

  3.

cause the Loan Parties on a consolidated basis, to be unable to pay its debts as they mature (this conclusion is based, in part, upon my review of the projections provided by the Loan Parties to the Agents (“ Projections ”). I have concluded that the fair value of the assets of the Loan Parties, on a consolidated basis, will not be less than the


  amount that will be required to pay the current debt, short term debt, and long term debt of the Loan Parties, on a consolidated basis as such debts become due, considering all financing alternatives and potential asset sales reasonably available to the Loan Parties on a consolidated basis.

I understand that the Agents and the Lenders are relying on the truth and accuracy of the foregoing in connection with the extensions of credit under the Loan Agreement and that no one else shall be entitled to rely on this Certificate. All initially capitalized terms used herein shall have the respective meanings ascribed to them in the Loan Agreement, unless specifically defined herein. Unless the context of this Certificate clearly requires otherwise, the term “or” includes the inclusive meaning represented by the phrase “and/or.”

[SIGNATURE TO FOLLOW ON SEPARATE PAGE]

 

3


The undersigned, in my capacity as [                    ] of the Loan Parties, hereby executes this certificate as of the date first written above.

 

 

[                    ], [title]


EXHIBIT 17.3

FORM OF COMMITMENT TRANSFER SUPPLEMENT

COMMITMENT TRANSFER SUPPLEMENT, dated as of             , 201    , by [                    ] (the “ Transferor Lender ”), [                    ], (the “ Purchasing Lender ”), and PNC Bank, National Association, as administrative agent for the Lenders under the Revolving Credit, Term Loan and Security Agreement described below (in such capacity, the “ Administrative Agent ”).

W I T N E S S E T H

WHEREAS, this Commitment Transfer Supplement is being executed and delivered in accordance with Section 17.3 of that certain Revolving Credit, Term Loan and Security Agreement dated as of November 26, 2013 (as may be amended, supplemented or otherwise modified from time to time in accordance with the terms thereof, the “ Loan Agreement ”) by and among GATEHOUSE MEDIA INTERMEDIATE HOLDCO, INC., a Delaware corporation (“ GMIH ”), each subsidiary borrower party thereto (the “ Subsidiary Borrowers ” and, together with GMIH, the “ Borrowers ”), GATEHOUSE MEDIA, INC. , a Delaware corporation, the financial institutions which are now or which hereafter become a party thereto (collectively, the “ Lenders ”), Crystal Financial LLC, as term loan B agent to the Term Loan B Lenders (“ Term Loan B Agent ”) and the Administrative Agent.

WHEREAS, Purchasing Lender wishes to become a Lender party to the Loan Agreement; and

WHEREAS, the Transferor Lender is selling and assigning to Purchasing Lender rights, obligations and commitments under the Loan Agreement;

NOW, THEREFORE, the parties hereto hereby agree as follows:

1. All capitalized terms used herein which are not defined shall have the meanings given to them in the Loan Agreement.


2. Upon receipt by the Administrative Agent of four (4) counterparts of this Commitment Transfer Supplement, to each of which is attached a fully completed Schedule I, and each of which has been executed by the Transferor Lender, the Purchasing Lender and Administrative Agent, Administrative Agent will transmit to Transferor Lender and Purchasing Lender a Transfer Effective Notice, substantially in the form of Schedule II to this Commitment Transfer Supplement (a “ Transfer Effective Notice ”). Such Transfer Effective Notice shall set forth, inter alia, the date on which the transfer effected by this Commitment Transfer Supplement shall become effective (the “ Transfer Effective Date ”), which date unless otherwise noted therein, shall not be earlier than the first Business Day following the date such Transfer Effective Notice is received. From and after the Transfer Effective Date, Purchasing Lender shall be a Lender party to the Loan Agreement for all purposes thereof.

3. At or before 12:00 Noon (New York time) on the Transfer Effective Date, Purchasing Lender shall pay to Transferor Lender, in immediately available funds, an amount equal to the purchase price, as agreed between Transferor Lender and such Purchasing Lender (the “ Purchase Price ”), of the portion of the Advances being purchased by such Purchasing Lender (such Purchasing Lender’s “ Purchased Percentage ”) of the outstanding Advances and other amounts owing to the Transferor Lender under the Loan Agreement and the Note(s) of Transferor Lender. Effective upon receipt by Transferor Lender of the Purchase Price from a Purchasing Lender, Transferor Lender hereby irrevocably sells, assigns and transfers to such Purchasing Lender, without recourse, representation or warranty, except as to the representations and warranties made by Transferor Lender herein (including, without limitation, in Section 8 hereof), and Purchasing Lender hereby irrevocably purchases, takes and assumes from Transferor Lender, such Purchasing Lender’s Purchased Percentage of the Advances and other amounts owing to the Transferor Lender under the Loan Agreement and such Note(s) together with all instruments, documents and collateral security pertaining thereto.

4. Transferor Lender has made arrangements with Purchasing Lender with respect to (i) the portion, if any, to be paid, and the date or dates for payment, by Transferor Lender to such Purchasing Lender of any fees heretofore received by Transferor Lender pursuant to the Loan Agreement prior to the Transfer Effective Date and (ii) the portion, if any, to be paid, and the date or dates of payment, by such Purchasing Lender to Transferor Lender of fees or interest received by such Purchasing Lender pursuant to the Loan Agreement from and after the Transfer Effective Date.

5. (a) All principal payments that would otherwise be payable from and after the Transfer Effective Date to or for the account of Transferor Lender pursuant to the Loan Agreement and the Note(s) of Transferor Lender shall, instead, be payable to or for the account of Transferor Lender and Purchasing Lender, as the case may be, in accordance with their respective interests as reflected in this Commitment Transfer Supplement.

(b) All interest, fees and other amounts that would otherwise accrue for the account of Transferor Lender from and after the Transfer Effective Date pursuant to the Loan Agreement and the Note(s) of Transferor Lender shall, instead, accrue for the account of, and be

 

2


payable to, Transferor Lender and Purchasing Lender, as the case may be, in accordance with their respective interests as reflected in this Commitment Transfer Supplement. In the event that any amount of interest, fees or other amounts accruing prior to the Transfer Effective Date was included in the Purchase Price paid by any Purchasing Lender, Transferor Lender and Purchasing Lender will make appropriate arrangements for payment by Transferor Lender to such Purchasing Lender of such amount upon receipt thereof from Borrowers.

6. Concurrently with the execution and delivery hereof, Transferor Lender will provide to Purchasing Lender conformed copies of the Loan Agreement and all related documents delivered to Transferor Lender.

7. Each of the parties to this Commitment Transfer Supplement agrees that at any time and from time to time upon the written request of any other party, it will execute and deliver such further documents and do such further acts and things as such other party may reasonably request in order to effect the purposes of this Commitment Transfer Supplement.

8. By executing and delivering this Commitment Transfer Supplement, Transferor Lender and Purchasing Lender confirm to and agree with each other and Administrative Agent and Lenders as follows: (i) other than the representation and warranty that it is the legal and beneficial owner of the interest being assigned hereby free and clear of any adverse claim, Transferor Lender makes no representation or warranty and assumes no responsibility with respect to any statements, warranties or representations made in or in connection with the Loan Agreement or the execution, legality, validity, enforceability, genuineness, sufficiency or value of the Loan Agreement, the Note(s) of Transferor Lender or any other instrument or document furnished pursuant thereto; (ii) Transferor Lender makes no representation or warranty and assumes no responsibility with respect to the financial condition of Borrowers or the performance or observance by Borrowers of any of the Obligations under the Loan Agreement, the Note(s) or any other instrument or document furnished pursuant thereto; (iii) Transferor Lender has the full power and authority, and has taken all action necessary, to execute and deliver this Commitment Transfer Supplement and to consummate the transactions contemplated hereby; (iv) Purchasing Lender confirms that it has received a copy of the Loan Agreement, together with copies of such financial statements and such other documents and information as it has deemed appropriate to make its own credit analysis and decision to enter into this Commitment Transfer Supplement; (v) Purchasing Lender acknowledges receipt of and consents to the Other Documents; (vi) Purchasing Lender has the full power and authority, and has taken all actions necessary to execute and deliver this Commitment Transfer Supplement and to consummate the transactions contemplated hereby and to become a Lender under the Loan Agreement; (vii) Purchasing Lender meets all of the requirements to be an assignee under Section 17.3(c) of the Loan Agreement (subject to such consents, if any, as may be required under Section 17.3(c) of the Loan Agreement); (viii) Purchasing Lender will, independently and without reliance upon Administrative Agent, Transferor Lender or any other Lenders and based on such documents and information as it shall deem appropriate at the time, continue to make its own credit decisions in taking or not taking action under the Loan Agreement; (ix) Purchasing Lender appoints and authorizes Administrative Agent on its behalf to take such action as agent and to exercise such powers under the Loan Agreement and Other Documents as are delegated to the Administrative Agent by the terms thereof; (x) Purchasing Lender agrees that it will perform all of its respective obligations as set forth in the Loan Agreement and Other Documents to be

 

3


performed by it as a Lender; (xi) Purchasing Lender confirms it has the capacity to make Domestic Rate Loans and LIBOR Rate Loans; and (xii) Purchasing Lender represents and warrants to Transferor Lender, Lenders, Administrative Agent and Borrowers that it is either (x) entitled to the benefits of an income tax treaty with the United States of America that provides for an exemption from the United States withholding tax on interest and other payments made by Borrowers under the Loan Agreement and Other Documents and attaches any documentation required to be delivered by it under the Loan Agreement, including but not limited to any documentation required under Section 3.10(e) of the Loan Agreement or (y) is engaged in trade or business within the United States of America.

9. The Transferor Lender attaches the Note(s) held by it and requires that the Administrative Agent exchange such Note(s) for new Note(s) payable to Purchasing Lender in an amount equal to the Commitment Percentage assumed by the Purchasing Lender pursuant hereto and, if applicable, to the Transferor Lender in an amount equal to the Commitment Percentage retained by the Transferor Lender.

10. Schedule I hereto sets forth the revised Commitment Percentage of Transferor Lender and the Commitment Percentage of Purchasing Lender as well as administrative information with respect to Purchasing Lender.

11. This Commitment Transfer Supplement shall be governed by, and construed in accordance with, the laws of the State of New York.

12. This Commitment Transfer Supplement shall be binding upon, and inure to the benefit of, the parties hereto and their respective successors and permitted assigns. This Commitment Transfer Supplement may be executed in any number of 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. Delivery of an executed counterpart of a signature page to this Commitment Transfer Supplement by facsimile or an electronic transmission of a pdf copy thereof shall be effective as delivery of an original executed counterpart of this Commitment Transfer Supplement.

[SIGNATURE PAGE FOLLOWS]

 

4


IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have caused this Commitment Transfer Supplement to be executed by their respective duly authorized officers on the date set forth above.

 

[                    ]
as Transferor Lender
By:  

 

Name:  
Title:  
[                    ]
as Purchasing Lender
By:  

 

Name:  
Title:  

PNC BANK, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION

as Administrative Agent

By:  

 

Name:  
Title:  

[Consented to:] 1

 

GATEHOUSE MEDIA INTERMEDIATE HOLDCO, INC.
By:  

 

Name:  
Title:  

 

1   To be added only if the consent of the Borrowers is required by the terms of the Loan Agreement.

[Signature Page To Commitment Transfer Supplement]


SCHEDULE I TO COMMITMENT TRANSFER SUPPLEMENT

LIST OF OFFICES, ADDRESSES FOR NOTICES AND COMMITMENT AMOUNTS

 

Revised Commitment Amount

   $                

Revised Commitment Percentage

                 

Commitment Amount

   $                

Commitment Percentage

                 

Addresses for Notices for [                    ]

Attention:

Telephone:

Telecopier:


SCHEDULE II TO COMMITMENT TRANSFER SUPPLEMENT

[Form of Transfer Effective Notice]

To:                     , as Transferor Lender and                     , as Purchasing Lender:

The undersigned, as Administrative Agent under the Revolving Credit, Term Loan and Security Agreement dated as of November 26, 2013 by and among GATEHOUSE MEDIA INTERMEDIATE HOLDCO, INC., a Delaware corporation (“ GMIH ”), each subsidiary borrower party thereto (the “ Subsidiary Borrowers ” and, together with GMIH, the “ Borrowers ”), GATEHOUSE MEDIA, INC. , a Delaware corporation, the financial institutions which are now or which hereafter become a party thereto (collectively, the “ Lenders ”), Crystal Financial LLC, as term loan B agent to the Term Loan B Lenders (“ Term Loan B Agent ”) and the Administrative Agent, acknowledges receipt of four (4) executed counterparts of a completed Commitment Transfer Supplement in the form attached hereto. [Note: Attach copy of Commitment Transfer Supplement.] Terms defined in such Commitment Transfer Supplement are used herein as therein defined.

Pursuant to such Commitment Transfer Supplement, you are advised that the Transfer Effective Date will be [Insert date of Transfer Effective Notice].

 

PNC BANK, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION,

as Agent

By:  

 

Title:  

 

Name:  

 

ACCEPTED FOR RECORDATION

  IN REGISTER:

[Signature Page To Commitment Transfer Supplement]


SCHEDULE A

Real Property Locations (First Tier)

 

    

Property Address

  

City

  

State

1.    99 E. State Street    Rockford    IL
2.    1 News Plaza    Peoria    IL
3.    500 Market Avenue South    Canton    OH
4.    1 Copley Plaza    Springfield    IL
5.    33 New York Avenue    Framingham    MA
6.    629 Wabash Avenue    New Philadelphia    OH
7.    221 Oriskany Plaza    Utica    NY
8.    224 E. Ridgecrest Blvd    Ridgecrest    CA
9.    475 Washington Street    Auburn    MA
10.    54 West 8 th Street    Holland    MI
11.    410 S. Liberty Street    Independence    MO


SCHEDULE B

Real Property Locations (Second Tier)

 

    

Property Address

  

City

  

State

1.    140 S. Prairie    Galesburg    IL
2.    66 Franklin Street    Norwich    CT
3.    207 Pocasset Street    Fall River    MA
4.   

595 Jenner Drive

   Allegan    MI
5.    165 Enterprise Drive    Marshfield    MA
6.    5 Cohannet Street    Taunton    MA


SCHEDULE C

Real Property Locations (Third Tier)

 

    

Property Address

  

City

  

State

1.    209 JOHN ST    STURGIS    MI
2.    300 N WASHINGTON ST    MEXICO    MO
3.   

1196 SOUTH LITTLE CREEK

  

DOVER

   DE
4.    34 W. PULTENEY ST.    CORNING    NY
5.    2495 Brickyard Road    CANANDAIGUA    NY
6.    117 W BROADWAY ST    ARDMORE    OK
7.    133 N. WINTER ST    ADRIAN    MI
8.    318 N MAIN ST    PONTIAC    IL
9.    205 SOUTH 26TH STREET    ARKADELPHIA    AR
10.    650 6T STREET    WINTERHAVEN    FL
11.    220 8TH ST.    HONESDALE    PA
12.    114 N DEPOT ST    IONIA    MI
13.    701 N LOCUST ST    PITTSBURG    KS
14.    73 BUFFALO ST    CANANDAIGUA    NY
15.    119 EAST HICKORY    BASTROP    LA
16.    58650 BELLEVIEW DR    PLAQUEMINE    LA
17.    716 E. NAPOLEON ST    SULPHUR    LA
18.    705 SECOND AVE    DODGE CITY    KS
19.    309 S BROADWAY    YREKA    CA
20.    422 SENECA ST    LEAVENWORTH    KS
21.    200 N 3RD ST    HANNIBAL    MO
22.    231 WEST CORNERVIEW STREET    GONZALES    LA
23.    105 E. CENTRAL BLVD.    KEWANEE    IL
24.    818 WASHINGTON ST    CHILLICOTHE    MO
25.    918 N STATE HIGHWAY 5    CAMDENTON    MO
26.    2916 EAST 20TH STREET    JOPLIN    MO
27.    924 N. MT. SHASTA BLVD    MOUNT SHASTA    CA
28.    109 ARLINGTON STREET    SAULT STE MARIE    MI
29.    215 N BELL AVE    SHAWNEE    OK
30.    700 WEST WASHINGTON STREET    NEWTON    IL
31.    107 N MAIN ST # 109    BROOKFIELD    MO
32.    219 SOUTH WASHINGTON STREET    REDWOOD FALLS    MN
33.    50 NORTH AVENUE    MASSILLON    OH
34.    502 W JACKSON ST    MARION    IL


35.    15 W. PEARL STREET    COLDWATER    MI
36.    800 CENTER STREET    TAFT    CA
37.    24 W MAIN ST    MIDDLETOWN    DE
38.    5512 STATE ROUTE 55    LIBERTY    NY
39.    101 WEST 7TH ST    ROLLA    MO
40.    302 N. CHURCH STREET    RIPLEY    WV
41.    218 N WILLIAMS ST    MOBERLY    MO
42.    85 CANISTEO STREET    HORNELL    NY
43.    709 N 2ND AVE    DODGE CITY    KS
44.    111-115 S EMMA ST    WEST FRANKFORT    IL
45.    410 RACE STREET    RAVENSWOOD    WV
46.    522 W 3RD STREET    HOPE    AR
47.    223 S. FIRST ST    MONTEVIDEO    MN
48.    13 S FRONT ST    GEORGETOWN    DE
49.    111 W 6TH ST    STUTTGART    AR
50.    111 GREEN STREET    HERKIMER    NY
51.    204 E 5TH STREET    AUGUSTA    KS
52.    41 NORTH CHURCH ST    CARBONDALE    PA
53.    2672 KEN GRAY BLVD.    WEST FRANKFORT    IL
54.    417 YORK ST.    HELENA    AR
55.    33 MCCOLLUM ST    HILLSDALE    MI
56.    108 W. FIRST ST    GENESEO    IL
57.    114 N VINE ST    EL DORADO    KS
58.    204 W. BOURKE STREET    MACON    MO


Schedules

 

Schedule I    Additional Borrowers
Schedule II    Transaction Expenses
Schedule 1.2(a)    Certain Excluded Property
Schedule 1.2(b)    Permitted Dispositions
Schedule 1.2(c)    Permitted Encumbrances
Schedule 4.4    Equipment and Inventory Locations; Place of Business, Chief Executive Office, Real Property
Schedule 4.8(j)    Concentration and Depository Accounts
Schedule 4.12    Financing Statements
Schedule 5.1    Consents
Schedule 5.2(a)    States of Qualification and Good Standing
Schedule 5.2(b)    Subsidiaries
Schedule 5.4    Federal Tax Identification Number
Schedule 5.6    Prior Names
Schedule 5.7    Environmental
Schedule 5.8(b)(i)    Litigation
Schedule 5.8(b)(ii)    Indebtedness
Schedule 5.8(d)    Plans
Schedule 5.9    Intellectual Property, Source Code Escrow Agreements
Schedule 5.10    Licenses and Permits
Schedule 5.14    Labor Disputes
Schedule 5.24    Equity Interests
Schedule 5.25    Commercial Tort Claims
Schedule 5.26    Letter of Credit Rights
Schedule 5.27    Material Contracts
Schedule 7.3    Guarantees


SCHEDULE I

Additional Borrowers

 

Guarantor

Copley Ohio Newspapers, Inc.

ENHE Acquisition, LLC

Enterprise NewsMedia Holding, LLC

Enterprise NewsMedia, LLC

Enterprise Publishing Company, LLC

GateHouse Media Arkansas Holdings, Inc.

GateHouse Media California Holdings, Inc.

GateHouse Media Colorado Holdings, Inc.

GateHouse Media Connecticut Holdings, Inc.

GateHouse Media Corning Holdings, Inc.

GateHouse Media Delaware Holdings, Inc.

GateHouse Media Directories Holdings, Inc.

GateHouse Media Florida Holdings, Inc.

GateHouse Media Freeport Holdings, Inc.

GateHouse Media Holdco, Inc.

GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings II, Inc.

GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings, Inc.

GateHouse Media Iowa Holdings, Inc.

GateHouse Media Kansas Holdings II, Inc.

GateHouse Media Kansas Holdings, Inc.

GateHouse Media Lansing Printing, Inc.

GateHouse Media Louisiana Holdings, Inc.

GateHouse Media Management Services, Inc.

GateHouse Media Massachusetts I, Inc.


GateHouse Media Massachusetts II, Inc.

GateHouse Media Michigan Holdings II, Inc.

GateHouse Media Michigan Holdings, Inc.

GateHouse Media Minnesota Holdings, Inc.

GateHouse Media Missouri Holdings II, Inc.

GateHouse Media Missouri Holdings, Inc.

GateHouse Media Nebraska Holdings II, Inc.

GateHouse Media Nebraska Holdings, Inc.

GateHouse Media Nevada Holdings, Inc.

GateHouse Media New York Holdings, Inc.

GateHouse Media North Dakota Holdings, Inc.

GateHouse Media Ohio Holdings, Inc.

GateHouse Media Oklahoma Holdings, Inc.

GateHouse Media Operating, Inc.

GateHouse Media Pennsylvania Holdings, Inc.

GateHouse Media Suburban Newspapers, Inc.

GateHouse Media Tennessee Holdings, Inc.

GateHouse Media Ventures, Inc.

George W. Prescott Publishing Company, LLC

Liberty SMC, L.L.C.

Low Realty, LLC

LRT Four Hundred, LLC

Mineral Daily News Tribune, Inc.

News Leader, Inc.

Surewest Directories

Terry Newspapers, Inc.

The Peoria Journal Star, Inc.


SCHEDULE II

Transaction Expenses

(Separately provided to Agents/Lender)


SCHEDULE III

Permitted Dividend – Illustrative Example

Assumptions

(A) EBITDA

Q2 2014 - $19.1M

Q3 2014 - $19.0M

Q4 2014 - $25.2M

Q1 2015 - $10.4M

Total: $73.7MM

(B) Charges

The “minus” components of Excess Cash Flow (Unfunded Capital Expenditures, taxes, dividends (including Permitted Dividends) and distributions made in respect of such fiscal period, Transaction Expenses, Debt Payments (excluding amounts expensed within the definition of Earnings Before Interest and Taxes), pension payments (excluding amounts expensed within the definition of Earnings Before Interest and Taxes, extraordinary, non-recurring cash employer severance expenses, not to exceed $1,000,000 per fiscal year (to the extent included in clause (x) of the definition of “EBITDA”), any management incentive fee expense deferred in accordance with clause (xi) of the definition of “EBITDA”) excluding Permitted Dividends total:

Q2 2014 - $5.5M

Q3 2014 - $5.5M

Q4 2014 - $5.2M

Q1 2015 - $5.4M

Total: $21.6MM

(C) Dividends paid (payment date)

Q2 2014 - $12.5M (end of April)

Q3 2014 - $12.5M (end of July)

Q4 2014 - $12.5M (end of January)

Total: $37.5M

If the Leverage Ratio is <2.50 to 1.00, then the cumulative Permitted Dividends for the LTM period ending Q1 2015 is equal to “an amount up to 100% of the Excess Cash Flow for the LTM period then ended.

The LTM period just ended is April 1, 2014 to March 31, 2015.


Therefore, the maximum Permitted Dividend for the period ending Q1 2015 payable within 45 days thereafter would be calculated as follows:

(A)-(B)-(C) = $14.6MM


SCHEDULE 1.2(a) Certain

Excluded Property

1. The following properties/assets are under a contract for sale (or an agreement in principle has been reached).

(a) 203 N. Randolph, Macomb, Illinois; Building; Gross Proposed Purchase Price - $150,000

(b) 246 Jay Street, Utica, New York; Building; Gross Proposed Purchase Price - $120,000

(c) 111 East Jenkins Street, Maryville, Missouri*; Entire Business; Gross Proposed Purchase Price - $100,000

 

* Contract being negotiated – Sale of entire business (Land, Building and Publications: Maryville Daily Forum and Penny Press 2)

2. All Motor Vehicles

3. Any Real Property with an extrapolated value of less than $100,000.


SCHEDULE 1.2(b)

Permitted Dispositions

1. The following properties/assets are under a contract for sale (or an agreement in principle has been reached).

(a) 203 N. Randolph, Macomb, Illinois; Building; Gross Proposed Purchase Price - $150,000

(b) 246 Jay Street, Utica, New York; Building; Gross Proposed Purchase Price - $120,000

(c) 111 East Jenkins Street, Maryville, Missouri*; Entire Business; Gross Proposed Purchase Price - $100,000

 

* Contract being negotiated – Sale of entire business (Land, Building and Publications: Maryville Daily Forum and Penny Press 2)

2. Dissolution of Pro Football Weekly, LLC


SCHEDULE 1.2(c)

Permitted Encumbrances

 

1. Agreements or proposed agreements to the sale of the following properties (See Schedule 1.2(b)):

(a) 203 N. Randolph, Macomb, Illinois

(b) 246 Jay Street, Utica, New York

(c) 111 East Jenkins Street, Maryville, Missouri

 

2. Bankruptcy claim for unpaid property taxes (for a total amount of $29,625.11) filed by Kern County Treasurer and Tax Collector against GateHouse Media California Holdings, Inc.


SCHEDULE 4.4

Equipment and Inventory Locations; Place of Business, Chief Executive Office, Real Property

Schedule 4.4(b)(i)

Equipment, Inventory or Other Collateral

 

Loan Party

  

Address

   City    St    Country    Zip    Schedule
4.4(b)(i) Value
 

Copley Ohio Newspapers, Inc.

   500 MARKET AVENUE SOUTH    Canton    OH    Stark    44702    $ 13,800,000   

Copley Ohio Newspapers, Inc.

   629 WABASH AVENUE    New

Philadelphia

   OH    Tuscarawas    44663    $ 2,040,000   

Enterprise Publishing Company, LLC

   400 CROWN COLONY DRIVE    Quincy    MA    Norfolk    02169    $ 588,000   

GateHouse Media Arkansas Holdings, Inc.

   522 W 3rd Street    Hope    AR    Hempstead    71801    $ 1,164,000   

GateHouse Media Arkansas Holdings, Inc.

   111 W 6TH ST    Stuttgart    AR    Arkansas    72160    $ 1,570,000   

GateHouse Media California Holdings, Inc.

   224 EAST RIDGECREST BLVD    Ridgecrest    CA    Kern    93555    $ 335,000   

GateHouse Media California Holdings, Inc.

   309 S BROADWAY    Yreka    CA    Siskiyou    96097    $ 490,000   

GateHouse Media Colorado Holdings, Inc.

   422 COLORADO AVENUE    La Junta    CO    Otero    81050    $ 325,000   

GateHouse Media Connecticut Holdings, Inc.

   66 FRANKLIN STREET    Norwich    CT    New
London
   06360    $ 550,000   

GateHouse Media Corning Holdings, Inc.

   34 W. PULTENEY ST.    Corning    NY    Steuben    14830    $ 550,000   

GateHouse Media Delaware Holdings, Inc.

   1196 SOUTH LITTLE CREEK RD    Dover    DE    Kent    19901    $ 6,650,000   

GateHouse Media Directories Holdings, Inc.

  

915 HIGHLAND POINTE DRIVE, STE 400

On or about March 1,

2014 – moving to 1430

Blue Oaks Boulevard, Suite 190, Roseville, CA

95747

   Roseville    CA    Placer    95678    $ 350,000   

GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings, Inc.

   53 W ELM ST    Canton    IL    Fulton    61520    $ 949,660   

GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings, Inc.

   140 S. Prairie    Galesburg    IL    USA    61401    $ 5,017,987   

GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings, Inc.

   105 E. CENTRAL BLVD.    Kewanee    IL    Henry    61443    $ 400,000   

GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings, Inc.

   400 S MAIN ST    Monmouth    IL    Warren    61462    $ 390,000   


GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings, Inc.

   206 S WHITTLE AVE    Olney    IL    Richland    62450    $ 1,210,000   

GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings, Inc.

   1 NEWS PLAZA    Peoria    IL    Peoria    61643    $ 23,210,307   

GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings, Inc.

   99 E. STATE STREET    Rockford    IL    Winnebago    61104    $ 22,304,000   

GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings, Inc.

   One Copley Plaza/9th ST & Capitol Ave    Springfield    IL    Sangamon    62701    $ 2,000,000   

GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings, Inc.

   111-115 S EMMA ST    West

Frankfort

   IL    Franklin    62896    $ 250,000   

GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings, Inc.

   121 W 6TH ST    Newton    KS    Harvey    67114    $ 255,000   

GateHouse Media Kansas Holdings II, Inc.

   301 S. MAIN ST    Mc Pherson    KS    Mc
Pherson
   67460    $ 250,000   

GateHouse Media Kansas Holdings II, Inc.

   701 N LOCUST ST    Pittsburgh    KS    Crawford    66762    $ 810,000   

GateHouse Media Louisiana Holdings, Inc.

   119 EAST HICKORY    Bastrop    LA    Morehouse    71221    $ 2,233,000   

GateHouse Media Management Services, Inc.

   350 WillowBrook Office Park    Fairport    NY    Monroe    14450    $ 500,000   

GateHouse Media Management Services, Inc.

   120 N. Plymouth Ave    Rochester    NY    Monroe    14608    $ 1,000,000   

GateHouse Media Massachusetts I, Inc.

   475 WASHINGTON ST    Auburn    MA    Worcester    01501    $ 1,792,000   

GateHouse Media Massachusetts I, Inc.

   101A Messina Drive    Braintree    MA    Norfolk    02184    $ 392,000   

GateHouse Media Massachusetts I, Inc.

   75 SYLVAN ST, BLDG C    Danvers    MA    Essex    01923    $ 329,000   

GateHouse Media Massachusetts I, Inc.

   207 POCASSET STREET    Fall River    MA    Bristol    02721    $ 413,000   

GateHouse Media Massachusetts I, Inc.

   33 NEW YORK AVE    Framingham    MA    Middlesex    01701    $

 
 

2,911,000

(Office &
Production

  

  

GateHouse Media Massachusetts I, Inc.

   165 ENTERPRISE DR    Marshfield    MA    Plymouth    02050    $ 336,000   

GateHouse Media Massachusetts I, Inc.

   254 SECOND AVE    Needham    MA    Norfolk    02494    $ 770,000   

GateHouse Media Massachusetts I, Inc.

   15 PACELLA DRIVE    Randolph    MA    Norfolk    02368    $ 616,000   

GateHouse Media Michigan Holdings II, Inc.

   1226 LINCOLN ROAD    Allegan    MI    Allegan    49010    $ 375,000   

GateHouse Media Michigan Holdings II, Inc.

   595 JENNER DR    Allegan    MI    Allegan    49010    $ 1,835,075   

GateHouse Media Michigan Holdings II, Inc.

   54 W 8TH ST    Holland    MI    Ottowa    49423    $ 620,000   


GateHouse Media Michigan Holdings, Inc.

   133 N. WINTER ST    Adrian    MI    Lenawee    49221    $ 2,166,000   

GateHouse Media Michigan Holdings, Inc.

   308 N MAIN ST # 310    Cheboygan    MI    Cheboygan    49721    $ 379,000   

GateHouse Media Michigan Holdings, Inc.

   109 ARLINGTON STREET    Sault Ste Marie    MI    Chippewa    49783    $ 340,000   

GateHouse Media Michigan Holdings, Inc.

   209 JOHN ST    Sturgis    MI    St. Joseph    49091    $ 527,783   

GateHouse Media Minnesota Holdings, Inc.

   713 PRENTICE ST    Granite Falls    MN    Yellow

Medicine

   56241    $ 130,000   

GateHouse Media Missouri Holdings II, Inc.

   200 N 3RD ST    Hannibal    MO    Marion    63401    $ 1,518,164   

GateHouse Media Missouri Holdings II, Inc.

   410 S LIBERTY ST    Independence    MO    Jackson    64050    $ 1,135,000   

GateHouse Media Missouri Holdings, Inc.

   300 N WASHINGTON ST    Mexico    MO    Audrain    65265    $ 1,074,000   

GateHouse Media Missouri Holdings, Inc.

   1006 W HARMONY ST    Neosho    MO    Newton    64850    $ 1,376,000   

GateHouse Media Missouri Holdings, Inc.

   108 HOLLY    Waynesville    MO    Pulaski    65583    $ 950,000   

GateHouse Media New York Holdings, Inc.

   2495 BRICKYARD RD    Canandaigua    NY    Ontario    14424    $ 1,400,000   

GateHouse Media New York Holdings, Inc.

   73 BUFFALO ST    Canandaigua    NY    Ontario    14424    $ 3,585,000   

GateHouse Media New York Holdings, Inc.

   85 Canisteo Street    Hornell    NY    Steuben    14843    $ 300,000   

GateHouse Media New York Holdings, Inc.

   221 ORISKANY PLAZA    Utica    NY    Oneida    13501    $ 2,200,000   

GateHouse Media North Dakota Holdings, Inc.

   516 4TH STREET NE    Devils Lake    ND    Ramsey    58301    $ 1,571,000   

GateHouse Media Oklahoma Holdings, Inc.

   117 W BROADWAY ST    Ardmore    OK    Carter    73401    $ 1,492,000   

GateHouse Media Oklahoma Holdings, Inc.

   215 N BELL AVE    Shawnee    OK    Pottawatomie    74801    $ 3,027,000   

GateHouse Media Pennsylvania Holdings, Inc.

   220 8TH ST.    Honesdale    PA    Wayne    18431    $ 1,258,000   

GateHouse Media Pennsylvania Holdings, Inc.

   30 WALNUT ST    Waynesboro    PA    Franklin    17268    $ 1,810,000   

GateHouse Media Suburban Newspapers, Inc.

  

1101 31ST ST, STE 100,

260, 270

 

Effective 12/1/2013 – moving to One Lincoln Center, Oakbrook Terrace, Illinois

   Downers Grove    IL    Du Page    60515    $ 900,000   

GateHouse Media Ventures, Inc.

   108 Myrtle Street    Quincy    MA    Norfolk    02169    $ 910,000   


GateHouse Media West Virginia Holdings, Inc.

   410 RACE STREET    Ravenswood    WV    Jackson    26164    $ 1,300,000   

GateHouse Media West Virginia Holdings, Inc.

   302 N. CHURCH STREET    Ripley    WV    Jackson    25271    $ 268,000   

Mineral Daily News, Inc.

   21 Shamrock Dr. - Rt 220 S    Keyser    WV    Mineral    26726    $ 1,119,000   

News Leader Inc.

   716 E. NAPOLEON ST    Sulphur    LA    Calcasien    70663    $ 300,000   


Schedule 4.4(b)(ii)

Warehouses

 

Loan Party

  

Address

  

City

  

State

  

County

  

Zip Code

  

Owned /
Leased

  

Nature and Use

GateHouse Media Connecticut Holdings, Inc.    66 Franklin Street    Norwich    CT    New London    06360    Owned    Warehouse / Office

GateHouse Media

Delaware Holdings, Inc.

   1196 South Little Creek Rd    Dover    DE    Kent    19901    Owned    Office / Production / Warehouse
GateHouse Media Kansas Holdings II, Inc.    107 E 7TH ST    Pittsburgh    KS    Crawford    66762    Owned    Warehouse
GateHouse Media Michigan Holdings II, Inc.    1226 Lincoln Road    Allegan    MI    Allegan    49010    Owned    Warehouse
GateHouse Media New York Holdings, Inc.    6890 Ridge Road    Sodus    NY    Wayne    14551    Owned    Warehouse
GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings II, Inc.    350 Morton St    Jacksonville    IL    Morgan    62650    Leased   

Storage of

Newspapers

GateHouse Media Massachusetts I, Inc.    101A Messina Drive    Braintree    MA    Norfolk    02184    Leased    Warehouse / Office
GateHouse Media New York Holdings, Inc.    348 Elm Street (storage unit)    Penn Yan    NY    Yates    14527    Leased    Mini Storage


Schedule 4.4(b)(iii)(A)

Place of Business

Owned Property:

 

Property Location       

Loan Party

  

Address

  

City

  

State

  

County

  

Zip Code

 
Copley Ohio Newspapers, Inc.    500 MARKET AVENUE SOUTH    Canton    OH    Stark      44702   
Copley Ohio Newspapers, Inc.    50 NORTH AVENUE    Massillon    OH    Stark      44648   
Copley Ohio Newspapers, Inc.    629 WABASH AVENUE    New Philadelphia    OH    Tuscarawas      44663   
GateHouse Media Arkansas Holdings, Inc.    205 South 26th Street    Arkadelphia    AR    Clark      71923   
GateHouse Media Arkansas Holdings, Inc.    107-109 N. 4TH ST    Heber Springs    AR    Cleburne      72543   
GateHouse Media Arkansas Holdings, Inc.    417 YORK ST.    Helena    AR    Phillips      72342   
GateHouse Media Arkansas Holdings, Inc.    522 W 3rd Street    Hope    AR    Hempstead      71801   
GateHouse Media Arkansas Holdings, Inc.    2408 HIGHWAY 367 N    Newport    AR    Jackson      72112   
GateHouse Media Arkansas Holdings, Inc.    100 EAST EM STREET    Prescott    AR    Nevada      71857   


GateHouse Media Arkansas Holdings, Inc.    111 W 6TH ST    Stuttgart    AR    Arkansas      72160   
GateHouse Media California Holdings, Inc.    924 N. MT. SHASTA BLVD    Mt. Shasta    CA    Siskiyou      96067   
GateHouse Media California Holdings, Inc.    224 EAST RIDGECREST BLVD    Ridgecrest    CA    Kern      93555   
GateHouse Media California Holdings, Inc.    800 CENTER STREET    Taft    CA    Kern      93268   
GateHouse Media California Holdings, Inc.    309 S BROADWAY    Yreka    CA    Siskiyou      96097   
GateHouse Media Colorado Holdings, Inc.    422 COLORADO AVENUE    La Junta    CO    Otero      81050   
GateHouse Media Colorado Holdings, Inc.   

418 COLORADO AVE (PART OF

422 COLORADO)

   La Junta    CO    Otero      81050   
GateHouse Media Connecticut Holdings, Inc.    66 FRANKLIN STREET    Norwich    CT    New London      06360   
GateHouse Media Corning Holdings, Inc.    34 W. PULTENEY ST.    Corning    NY    Steuben      14830   
GateHouse Media Delaware Holdings, Inc.    1196 SOUTH LITTLE CREEK RD    Dover    DE    Kent      19901   
GateHouse Media Delaware Holdings, Inc.    13 S FRONT ST    Georgetown    DE    Sussex      19947   
GateHouse Media Delaware Holdings, Inc.    24 W MAIN ST    Middletown    DE    New Castle      19709   


GateHouse Media Florida Holdings, Inc.    650 6T STREET    Winterhaven    FL    Polk      33880   
GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings, Inc.    111-113 E CHURCH ST    Benton    IL    Franklin      62812   
GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings, Inc.    119 WEST EXCHANGE ST    Cambridge    IL    Henry      61238   
GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings, Inc.    53 W ELM ST    Canton    IL    Fulton      61520   
GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings, Inc.    323 E MAIN ST    Carmi    IL    White      62821   
GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings, Inc.    9 N. DIVISION ST    Du Quoin    IL    Perry      62832   
GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings, Inc.    1200 Locust St    El Dorado    IL    Saline      62930   
GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings, Inc.    105 W. NORTH AVE    Flora    IL    Clay      62839   
GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings, Inc.    140 S. Prairie    Galesburg    IL    Knox      61401   
GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings, Inc.    108 W. FIRST ST    Geneseo    IL    Henry      61254   
GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings, Inc.    35 S. VINE ST.    Harrisburg    IL    Saline      62946   
GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings, Inc.    105 E. CENTRAL BLVD.    Kewanee    IL    Henry      61443   


GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings, Inc.    203 N. RANDOLPH    Macomb    IL    McDonough      61455   
GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings, Inc.    502 W JACKSON ST    Marion    IL    Williamson      62959   
GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings, Inc.    400 S MAIN ST    Monmouth    IL    Warren      61462   
GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings, Inc.    1400 WALNUT ST.    Murphysboro    IL    Jackson      62966   
GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings, Inc.    700 W. WASHINGTON ST    Newton    IL    Jasper      62448   
GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings, Inc.    121 W 6TH ST    Newton    KS    Harvey      67114   
GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings, Inc.    206 S WHITTLE AVE    Olney    IL    Richland      62450   
GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings, Inc.    1 NEWS PLAZA    Peoria    IL    Peoria      61643   
GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings, Inc.    318 N MAIN ST    Pontiac    IL    Livingston      61764   
GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings, Inc.    99 E. STATE STREET    Rockford    IL    Winnebago      61104   
GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings, Inc.    ONE COPLEY PLAZA/9th STREET & CAPITOL AVE    Springfield    IL    Sangamon      62701   
GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings, Inc.    2672 Ken Gray Blvd.    West Frankfort    IL    Franklin      62896   


GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings, Inc.    111-115 S EMMA ST    West Frankfort    IL    Franklin      62896   
GateHouse Media Kansas Holdings II, Inc.    705 SECOND AVE    Dodge City    KS    Ford      67801   
GateHouse Media Kansas Holdings II, Inc.    709 N 2ND AVE    Dodge City    KS    Ford      67801   
GateHouse Media Kansas Holdings II, Inc.    701 N LOCUST ST    Pittsburgh    KS    Crawford      66762   
GateHouse Media Kansas Holdings II, Inc.    107 E 7TH ST    Pittsburgh    KS    Crawford      66762   
GateHouse Media Kansas Holdings II, Inc.    204 E 5TH STREET    Augusta    KS    Butler      67010   
GateHouse Media Kansas Holdings II, Inc.    114 N VINE ST    El Dorado    KS    Butler      67042   
GateHouse Media Kansas Holdings II, Inc.    422 SENECA ST    Leavenworth    KS    Leavenworth      66048   
GateHouse Media Kansas Holdings II, Inc.    301 S. MAIN ST    Mc Pherson    KS    Mc Pherson      67460   
GateHouse Media Kansas Holdings II, Inc.    320 S MAIN ST    Pratt    KS    Pratt      67124   
GateHouse Media Kansas Holdings II, Inc.    113 W. HARVEY AVE    Wellington    KS    Sumner      67152   
GateHouse Media Louisiana Holdings, Inc.    119 EAST HICKORY    Bastrop    LA    Morehouse      71221   


GateHouse Media Louisiana Holdings, Inc.    903 W. 1ST ST    DeRidder    LA    Beauregard      70634   
GateHouse Media Louisiana Holdings, Inc.    231 W. CORNERVIEW ST    Gonzales    LA    Ascension      70737   
GateHouse Media Louisiana Holdings, Inc.    206 E. TEXAS ST    Leesville    LA    Vernon      71446   
GateHouse Media Louisiana Holdings, Inc.    58650 BELLEVIEW DR    Plaquemine    LA    Iberville      70764   
GateHouse Media Massachusetts I, Inc.    475 WASHINGTON ST    Auburn    MA    Worcester      01501   
GateHouse Media Massachusetts I, Inc.    207 POCASSET STREET    Fall River    MA    Bristol      02721   
GateHouse Media Massachusetts I, Inc.    33 NEW YORK AVENUE    Framingham    MA    Middlesex     
 
 
01701
(Office &
Production)
  
  
  
GateHouse Media Massachusetts I, Inc.    165 ENTERPRISE DR    Marshfield    MA    Plymouth      02050   
GateHouse Media Massachusetts I, Inc.    5 COHANNET STREET    Tauton    MA    Bristol      02780   
GateHouse Media Michigan Holdings II, Inc.    595 JENNER DR    Allegan    MI    Allegan      49010   
GateHouse Media Michigan Holdings II, Inc.    1226 LINCOLN ROAD    Allegan    MI    Allegan      49010   
GateHouse Media Michigan Holdings II, Inc.    33 MCCOLLUM ST    Hillsdale    MI    Hillsdale      49242   


GateHouse Media Michigan Holdings II, Inc.    54 W 8TH ST    Holland    MI    Ottowa      49423   
GateHouse Media Michigan Holdings, Inc.    155 N. WINTER ST    Adrian    MI    Lenawee      49221   
GateHouse Media Michigan Holdings, Inc.    133 N. WINTER ST    Adrian    MI    Lenawee      49221   
GateHouse Media Michigan Holdings, Inc.    308 N MAIN ST # 310    Cheboygan    MI    Cheboygan      49721   
GateHouse Media Michigan Holdings, Inc.    15 W. PEARL STREET    Coldwater    MI    Branch      49036   
GateHouse Media Michigan Holdings, Inc.    57 S MONROE ST    Coldwater    MI    Branch      49036   
GateHouse Media Michigan Holdings, Inc.    114 N DEPOT ST    Ionia    MI    Ionia      48846   
GateHouse Media Michigan Holdings, Inc.    109 ARLINGTON STREET    Sault Ste Marie    MI    Chippewa      49783   
GateHouse Media Michigan Holdings, Inc.    209 JOHN ST    Sturgis    MI    St. Joseph      49091   
GateHouse Media Minnesota Holdings, Inc.    124 S BROADWAY    Crookston    MN    Polk      56716   
GateHouse Media Minnesota Holdings, Inc.    713 PRENTICE ST    Granite Falls    MN    Yellow Medicine      56241   
GateHouse Media Minnesota Holdings, Inc.    301 THIRD AVENUE W    Halstad    MN    Norman      56548   


GateHouse Media Minnesota Holdings, Inc.    223 S. FIRST ST    Montevideo    MN    Chippewa      56265   
GateHouse Media Minnesota Holdings, Inc.    7038 HWY, 7 SW    Montevideo    MN    Chippewa      56265   
GateHouse Media Minnesota Holdings, Inc.    219 SOUTH WASHINGTON STREET    Redwood Falls    MN    Redwood      56283   
GateHouse Media Minnesota Holdings, Inc.    604 1st Ave So.    St. James    MN    Watonwan      56081   
GateHouse Media Missouri Holdings II, Inc.    200 N 3RD ST    Hannibel    MO    Marion      63401   
GateHouse Media Missouri Holdings II, Inc.    410 S LIBERTY ST    Independence    MO    Jackson      64050   
GateHouse Media Missouri Holdings, Inc.    412 HIGH ST    Boonville    MO    Cooper      65233   
GateHouse Media Missouri Holdings, Inc.    107 N MAIN ST # 109    Brookfield    MO    Linn      64628   
GateHouse Media Missouri Holdings, Inc.    918 N BUSINESS ROUTE 5    Camdenton    MO    Camden      65020   
GateHouse Media Missouri Holdings, Inc.    800 W. CENTRAL AVE.    Carthage    MO    Jasper      64836   
GateHouse Media Missouri Holdings, Inc.    818 WASHINGTON ST    Chillicoth    MO    Livingston      64601   
GateHouse Media Missouri Holdings, Inc.    2918 E 20TH ST    Joplin    MO    Jasper      64804   


GateHouse Media Missouri Holdings, Inc.    506 W Potter Ave.    Kirksville    MO    Adair      63501   
GateHouse Media Missouri Holdings, Inc.    110 E. MC PHERSON ST.    Kirksville    MO    Adair      63501   
GateHouse Media Missouri Holdings, Inc.    204 W. BOURKE STREET    Macon    MO    Macon      63552   
GateHouse Media Missouri Holdings, Inc.    111 E JENKINS ST    Maryville    MO    Nodaway      64468   
GateHouse Media Missouri Holdings, Inc.    300 N WASHINGTON ST    Mexico    MO    Audrain      65265   
GateHouse Media Missouri Holdings, Inc.    218 N WILLIAMS ST    Moberly    MO    Randolph      65270   
GateHouse Media Missouri Holdings, Inc.    1006 W HARMONY ST    Neosho    MO    Newton      64850   
GateHouse Media Missouri Holdings, Inc.    101 WEST 7TH ST    Rolla    MO    Phelps      65401   
GateHouse Media Missouri Holdings, Inc.    108 HOLLY    Waynesville    MO    Pulaski      65583   
GateHouse Media Nebraska Holdings, Inc.    123 W 17th Street    Syracuse    NE    Otoe      68446   
GateHouse Media New York Holdings, Inc.    10 W. STEUBEN ST.    Bath    NY    Steuben      14810   
GateHouse Media New York Holdings, Inc.    2495 BRICKYARD RD    Canandaigua    NY    Ontario      14424   


GateHouse Media New York Holdings, Inc.    73 BUFFALO ST    Canandaigua    NY    Ontario      14424   
GateHouse Media New York Holdings, Inc.    59 BUFFALO ST    Canandaigua    NY    Ontario      14424   
GateHouse Media New York Holdings, Inc.    113 MAIN STREET    Dansville    NY    Livingston      14437   
GateHouse Media New York Holdings, Inc.    111 GREEN STREET    Herkimer    NY    Herkimer      13350   
GateHouse Media New York Holdings, Inc.    85 Canisteo Street    Hornell    NY    Steuben      14843   
GateHouse Media New York Holdings, Inc.    57 S. CARROLL ST    Horseheads    NY    Chemung      14845   
GateHouse Media New York Holdings, Inc.    5512 STATE ROUTE 55    Liberty    NY    Sullivan      12754   
GateHouse Media New York Holdings, Inc.    347 S SECOND STREET    Little Falls    NY    Herkimer      13365   
GateHouse Media New York Holdings, Inc.    138 MAIN ST    Penn Yan    NY    Yates      14527   
GateHouse Media New York Holdings, Inc.    6890 RIDGE ROAD    Sodus    NY    Wayne      14551   
GateHouse Media New York Holdings, Inc.    221 ORISKANY PLAZA    Utica    NY    Oneida      13501   
GateHouse Media New York Holdings, Inc.    246 JAY STREET    Utica    NY    Oneida      13501   


GateHouse Media New York Holdings, Inc.    159 N MAIN ST    Wellsville    NY    Alleghany      14895   
GateHouse Media North Dakota Holdings, Inc.    516 4TH STREET NE    Devils Lake    ND    Ramsey      58301   
GateHouse Media Oklahoma Holdings, Inc.    117 W BROADWAY ST    Ardmore    OK    Carter      73401   
GateHouse Media Oklahoma Holdings, Inc.    215 N BELL AVE    Shawnee    OK    Pottawatomie      74801   
GateHouse Media Pennsylvania Holdings, Inc.    41 NORTH CHURCH ST    Carbondale    PA    Lackawanna      18407   
GateHouse Media Pennsylvania Holdings, Inc.    220 8TH ST.    Honesdale    PA    Wayne      18431   
GateHouse Media Pennsylvania Holdings, Inc.    30 WALNUT ST    Waynesboro    PA    Franklin      17268   
GateHouse Media West Virginia Holdings, Inc.    410 RACE STREET    Ravenswood    WV    Jackson      26164   
GateHouse Media West Virginia Holdings, Inc.    302 N. CHURCH STREET    Ripley    WV    Jackson      25271   
News Leader Inc.    716 E. NAPOLEON ST    Sulphur    LA    Calcasien      70663   


Leased Property (Lessor and Value Information):

NOTE: See below for details on “4.4(b)(iii)(A) Value”

 

    Property Location   Lessor   4.4(b)(iii)(A)  

Loan Party

 

Address

 

City

 

State

 

County

 

Zip Code

 

Name

 

Address

 

City

 

State

 

Zip Code

  Value  

Copley Ohio Newspapers, Inc.

  3577 Arlington Rd. - Suite B   Akron   OH   Summit   44312  

Oliver E. & Wilma J. Teague

  1264 Boettler Rd.   Uniontown   OH   44685   $ 7,500   

Enterprise Publishing Company, LLC

  1324 Belmont St.   Brockton   MA   Plymouth   2401  

1324 Belmont LLC

  1324 Belmont St c/o Juliano Enterprises, Inc. Suite 207   Brockton   MA   2301   $ 70,000   

Enterprise Publishing Company, LLC

  400 CROWN COLONY DRIVE   Quincy   MA   Norfolk   2169  

Quincy Office Investors, Inc.

  c/o UBS Realty Investors LLC Asset Management 242 Trumbull St   Hartford   CT   6103   $ 588,000   

GateHouse Media Arkansas Holdings, Inc.

  7400 DOLLARWAY ROAD   White Hall   AR   Jefferson   71602  

Samples Properties, LLC

  7300 Dollarway Rd., Suite 114   White Hall   AR   71602   $ 30,000   

GateHouse Media California Holdings, Inc.

  650 KENTUCKY ST   Gridley   CA   Butte   95948  

Douglas A. Martens

  6121 Berkshire Way   Paradise   CA   95969   $ 30,000   

GateHouse Media Colorado Holdings, Inc.

  112 E CRANSTON   Fowler   CO   Otero   81039  

Fowler State Bank

  201 Main St., P.O. Box 68   Fowler   CO   81039   $ 10,000   

GateHouse Media Colorado Holdings, Inc.

  510 CARSON AVENUE   Las Animos   CO   Bent   81054  

Donkle Storage/

    Restoration LLC

  1031 Ash Avenue   Las Animas   CO   81054   $ 20,000   


GateHouse Media Connecticut Holdings, Inc.

  19 South Walnut Street   Norwich   CT   New London   6360  

Lund Ltd, LLC

  372 North Canterbury Rd   Camterbury   CT   6331   $ 0   

GateHouse Media Connecticut Holdings, Inc.

  360 Gendron Road   Plainfield   CT   windham   6374  

360 Gendron Road LLC

  341 Church Street   Putnam   CT   6260     Unknown   

GateHouse Media Directories Holdings, Inc.

 

915 HIGHLAND POINTE DRIVE, STE 400

 

On or about March 1, 2014 – moving to 1430 Blue Oaks Boulevard, Suite 190, Roseville, CA 95747

  Roseville   CA   Placer   95678  

Mourier Land Investment Corporation

  1430 Blue Oaks Blvd., Suite 190   Roseville   CA   95747   $ 350,000   

GateHouse Media Freeport Holdings, Inc.

  50 W Douglas St   Freeport   IL   Stephenson   61032  

Stewart Centre, LLC

  50 W Douglas St., Suite 1200   Freeport   IL   61032   $ 0   

GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings II, Inc.

  350 MORTON ST   Jacksonville   IL   Morgan   62650  

Victoria Smiley

  Unknown   Jacksonville   IL   62650     Unknown   

GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings II, Inc.

  Radio Antenna at 3115 Dotmar Dr.   Springfield   IL   Sangamon   62703  

B&C Ventures, LLC

  P.O. Box 973   Decatur   IL   62525   $ 0   

GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings, Inc.

  219 S. COLLEGE AVE.   Aledo   IL   Mercer   61231  

Aledo Lodge Number 252 AF & AM

  101 SW 3rd St.   Aledo   IL   61231   $ 75,000   

GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings, Inc.

  1205 SWANWICK STREET   Chester   IL   Randolph   62233  

Robert P. Fleming

  P.O. Box 347   Chester   IL   62233   $ 50,000   


GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings, Inc.

  125 W LOCUST ST   Fairbury   IL   Livingston   61739  

Nicholas L. Kaeb

  127 W Locust St   Fairbury   IL   61739   $ 25,000   

GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings, Inc.

  348 FRONT ST.   Galva   IL   Henry   61434  

Dyan L. Peterson

  720 NW 3rd Ave   Galva   IL   61434   $ 25,750   

GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings, Inc.

  2201 Woodlawn Rd. - Suite 350   Lincoln   IL   Logan   62656  

The Illini Building

  P.O. Box 280   Lincoln   IL   62656   $ 115,000   

GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings, Inc.

  26 W. Side Square   Macomb   IL   McDonough   61455  

Triple H Investments, LLC

  1420 E. Carroll St., P.O. Box 728   Macomb   IL   61455   $ 0   

GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings, Inc.

  SCHUYLER ST   Oquawka   IL   Henderson   61469  

Village of Oquawka, IL

  Unknown   Oquawka   IL   Unknown   $ 30,900   

GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings, Inc.

  1018 Fourth Street   Orion   IL   Henry   61273  

Unknown

  Unknown   Unknown   Unknown   Unknown   $ 7,500   

GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings, Inc.

  306 Court St   Pekin   IL   Randolph   61554  

Ricky J. Woith

 

Woith Land Trust Agreement

  1461 Valle Vista Bldg. #1   Pekin   IL   61554   $ 15,000   

GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings, Inc.

 

7344 Forest

Hills Rd

  Loves Park   IL   Winnebago   61111  

Ericson Properties LLC

  7110 N Alpine Road   Loves Park   IL   61111   $ 0   

GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings, Inc.

  230 Arnold Ave   Rockford   IL   Winnebago   61108  

J&J 5643 BLDG, LLC

  Unknown   Unknown   Unknown   Unknown   $ 0   

GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings, Inc.

  288 N LINCOLN BLVD E   Shawneetown   IL   Gallatin   62984  

Kurt Williams Associated Insurance

  608 E. Poplar Street   Harrisburg   IL   62946   $ 5,000   


GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings, Inc.

  #1 Kemp Drive, Lessee Unit No. 197   Chatham   IL   Sangamon   62629  

Parkview Storage, Inc.

  1 Kemp Drive   Chatham   IL   62629   $ 0   

GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings, Inc.

  3142 South Douglas Ave, Suite E   Springfield   IL   Sangamon   62704  

Gary Bryan, Westside Mini Storage

  3142 S. Douglas Ave.   Springfield   IL   62704   $ 0   

GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings, Inc.

  Land at Springfield, IL (NWL 1004)   Springfield   IL   Unknown   Unknown  

Norfolk and Western Railway Company

  Unknown   Springfield   IL   Unknown   $ 0   

GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings, Inc.

  Side Track lease agreement   Springfield   IL   Unknown   Unknown  

Norfolk and Western Railway Company

  Unknown   Springfield   IL   Unknown   $ 0   

GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings, Inc.

  107 E. MAIN   Teutopolis   IL   Effingham   62467  

Jeff Kenter

  513 S. Race, P.O. Box 6   Teutopolis   IL   62467   $ 20,000   

GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings, Inc.

  507 N Monroe Street, Suite 3   Abingdon   IL   Knox   61410  

Ben Forney

  507 N Monroe Street   Abingdon   IL   61410   $ 8,000   

GateHouse Media Iowa Holdings, Inc.

  1009 Main Street   Hamburg   IA   Fremont   51640  

John Field Cliff Swallow, Inc.

  2792 Skyline Drive   Hamburg   IA   51640   $ 5,000   

GateHouse Media Kansas Holdings II, Inc.

  2114 Oregon St   Hiawatha   KS   Brown   66434  

Stallbaumer

Management, Inc.

  P.O. Box 65   Seneca   KS   66538   $ 5,000   

GateHouse Media Kansas Holdings II, Inc.

  101 South Main   Greensburgh   KS   Kiowa   67054  

City of Greensburg, KS

  City Administrator City of Greensburg 239 South Main   Greensburg   KS   67054   $ 15,000   


GateHouse Media Kansas Holdings II, Inc.

  318 N. MAIN ST   St John   KS   Stafford   67576  

Ionic Lodge # 254 AF & AM

  P.O. Box 404   St John   KS   67576   $ 15,000   

GateHouse Media Louisiana Holdings, Inc.

  120 RAILROAD AVE   Donaldsonville   LA   Ascension   70346  

Ascension Lodge #251 F. & A.M.

  P.O. Box 1211   Donaldsonville   LA   70346   $ 12,000   

GateHouse Media Management Services, Inc.

 

350

WILLOWBROOK

OFFICE PARK

  Fairport   NY   Monroe   14450  

The Uniland Partnership of Delaware L.P.

  University Corporate Centre100 Corporate Parkway Suite 500   Amherst   NY   14226   $ 500,000   

GateHouse Media Management Services, Inc.

  120 N. Plymouth Ave   Rochester   NY   Monroe   14608  

Frontier Communications of Rochester, Inc.

  180 S. Clinton Avenue   Rochester   NY   14646   $ 1,000,000   

GateHouse Media Massachusetts I, Inc.

 

101A Messina

Drive

  Braintree   MA   Norfolk   02184  

Greenpoint Realty LLC

  650 Plymouth St Ste 10   E. Bridgewater   MA   2333   $ 392,000   

GateHouse Media Massachusetts I, Inc.

  150 BAKER AVE   Concord   MA   Middlesex   01742  

IRG Concord Limited

Partnership

 

P.O. Box 380828

 

44 Brattle St

  Cambridge   MA   2238   $ 210,000   

GateHouse Media Massachusetts I, Inc.

  75 SYLVAN ST, BLDG C   Danvers   MA   Essex   01923  

Brookwood Sylvan, LLC

  72 Cherry Hill Drive   Beverly   MA   1915   $ 329,000   

GateHouse Media Massachusetts I, Inc.

  10 PURCHASE STREET   Fall River   MA   Bristol   02720  

G & J Realty Trust

  16 Bedford Street   Fall River   MA   2720   $ 42,000   

GateHouse Media Massachusetts I, Inc.

  18 POCASSET ST   Fall River   MA   Bristol   02720  

Old Iron Works, LLC

  P.O. Box 204   Fall River   MA   2722   $ 119,000   

GateHouse Media Massachusetts I, Inc.

  33 NEW YORK AVE   Framingham   MA   Middlesex   01701  

Genzyme Corporation

  500 Kendall St   Cambridge   MA   2142   $
 
0 (Parking
Space
  


GateHouse Media Massachusetts I, Inc.

  73 SOUTH ST   Hingham   MA   Plymouth   02043  

Kent Noble & Brian Noble, K&B Realty Trust

  29 Main Street   Hingham   MA   2043   $ 28,000   

GateHouse Media Massachusetts I, Inc.

  9 MERIAM ST   Lexington   MA   Middlesex   02420  

Mor Holdings Trust

  74 Bedford Street   Lexington   MA   2420   $ 56,000   

GateHouse Media Massachusetts I, Inc.

  11 STATE ST   Marblehead   MA   Essex   01945  

Crosby Marblehead Realty, LLC

  28 Meadow View Road   Georgetown   MA   1833   $ 28,000   

GateHouse Media Massachusetts I, Inc.

  40 SOUTH ST CONDOMINIUM (UNIT 1)   Marblehead   MA   Essex   01945  

Marblehead Office, LLC

 

c/o Glover Property Management, Inc.

  8 Doaks Lane P.O. Box 387   Marblehead   MA   1945     Unknown   

GateHouse Media Massachusetts I, Inc.

  197 Main Street   Milford   MA   Worcester   01757  

MillPond Realty Investment Tr.

  199 Main St.   Milford   MA   1757   $ 84,000   

GateHouse Media Massachusetts I, Inc.

  254 SECOND AVE   Needham   MA   Norfolk   02494  

254 Second Avenue Nominee Trust (New Boston

Second Ave LP)

  c/o MARIC, Inc.197 First Avenue, Suite 300   Needham   MA   2494   $ 770,000   

GateHouse Media Massachusetts I, Inc.

  31 NORTH WASHINGTON ST  

North

Attleboro

  MA   Bristol   02760  

Sharon Credit Union

  Unknown   Unknown   Unknown   Unknown   $ 21,000   

GateHouse Media Massachusetts I, Inc.

  5 NAMSKAKET RD   Orleans   MA   Barnstable   02653  

Five Namskaket Road Realty Trust

  84 Homers Dock Rd   Yarmouthport   MA   2675   $ 84,000   

GateHouse Media Massachusetts I, Inc.

  182 STANDISH AVENUE   Plymouth   MA   Plymouth   02360  

William Hallisey, Jr. Trust

  182 Standish Ave   Plymouth   MA   2360   $ 140,000   

GateHouse Media Massachusetts I, Inc.

  40 GRISSOM ROAD - BLDG 2   Plymouth   MA   Plymouth   02360  

Unicorn Realty Trust

  293R Washington St   Norwell   MA   2061   $ 0   

GateHouse Media Massachusetts I, Inc.

 

167

COMMERCIAL

STREET

  Provincetown   MA   Barnstable   02657  

Cohorts, Inc.

  16 Holway Ave.   Provincetown   MA   2657   $ 56,000   


GateHouse Media Massachusetts I, Inc.

  15 PACELLA DRIVE   Randolph   MA   Norfolk   02368  

Equity Industrial

Randolph I, LLC

  c/o Equity Industrial Partners Corp.145 Rosemary St., Suite E   Needham   MA   2494   $ 616,000   

GateHouse Media Massachusetts I, Inc.

 

370

PARAMOUNT

DRIVE

  Rayham   MA   Bristol   02767  

James Ferrera Realty, Inc.

  121 Will Drive   Canton   MA   2094   $ 84,000   

GateHouse Media Massachusetts I, Inc.

 

80 / 82 Central

ST

  Somerville   MA   Middlesex   02144  

RFR Realty Trust

  P.O. Box 281   Somerville   MA   2143   $ 49,000   

GateHouse Media Massachusetts I, Inc.

  7 WEST STREET   Walpole   MA   Norfolk   02081  

West Street Realty Trust

  7 West Street   Walpole   MA   2081   $ 14,000   

GateHouse Media Massachusetts I, Inc.

  923G ROUTE 6A   Yarmouth Port   MA   Barnstable   02675  

Chapter Two LLC

  P.O. Box 1458   Orleans   MA   2653   $ 98,000   

GateHouse Media Michigan Holdings II, Inc.

  2764 W. CARLETON RD.   Hillsdale   MI   Hillsdale   49242  

Lakeland Motors

  2768 W. Carlton Road   Hillsdale   MI   49242   $ 242,000   

GateHouse Media Minnesota Holdings, Inc.

  1 N. BARSTAD ROAD   Cottonwood   MN   Cottonwood   56229  

John or Neely Murphy

  1759 510th St.   Hanley Falls   MN   56245   $ 35,000   

GateHouse Media Minnesota Holdings, Inc.

  119 EAST MAIN ST   Sleepy Eye   MN   Brown   56085  

John W Haas

  400 4th Ave SE   Sleepy Eye   MN   56085   $ 65,000   

GateHouse Media Minnesota Holdings, Inc.

 

1034 Cedar

Street

  Wabasso   MN   Redwood   56293  

Tony & Lauree Price

  P. O. Box 204   Wabasso   MN   56293   $ 10,000   

GateHouse Media Missouri Holdings II, Inc.

 

Lots 7-A & 7-B of Corporate Woods-165

Missouri Blvd.

  Laurie   MO   Morgan   65038  

Eagle Creek Partners, Inc. d/b/a Laurie Landing

  316 Eagle Creek Drive   Gravois Mills   MO   65037   $ 0   


GateHouse Media Missouri Holdings, Inc.

  33 West Olive Street   Aurora   MO   Lawrence   65605  

C.N. McRoberts

  23 W. Olive St.   Aurora   MO   65605   $ 35,000   

GateHouse Media Missouri Holdings, Inc.

  7 N MAIN ST   Greenfield   MO   Dade   65661  

DeClue Properties

  P. O. Box 371   Ash Grove   MO   65604   $ 20,000   

GateHouse Media Missouri Holdings, Inc.

  110 E MCPHERSON ST, PO BOX 809   Kirksville   MO   Adair   63501  

Express Publishing (Tony Swain)

  112 E McPherson St   Kirksville   MO   63501     Unknown   

GateHouse Media Missouri Holdings, Inc.

  4824 OSAGE BEACH PKWY SUITE 2   Osage Beach   MO   Camden   65065  

Destin Investments, LLC

  P. O. Box 1525   Osage Beach   MO   65065   $ 160,000   

GateHouse Media Missouri Holdings, Inc.

  104 N Jefferson   St James   MO   Phelps   65559  

Cordell Watson

  Unknown   Unknown   MO   Unknown   $ 25,000   

GateHouse Media Nebraska Holdings, Inc.

  823 CENTRAL AVE   Nebraska Beach   NE   Otoe   68410  

Russell E. Kathol

  417 Main St   Plattsmouth   NE   68048   $ 15,000   

GateHouse Media New York Holdings, Inc.

  14 Utica Street   Hamilton   NY   Madison   13346  

Hamilton Initiative, LLC

  P.O. Box 219   Hamilton   NY   13346   $ 0   

GateHouse Media New York Holdings, Inc.

  100 Park Avenue/205 N. Main St.   Herkimer   NY   Herkimer   13350  

Sandy Rotunda

  307 East Main St   Fredonia   NY   14063     Unknown   

GateHouse Media New York Holdings, Inc.

 

30-32

Broadway

Street

  Hornell   NY   Steuben   14843  

Thomas F. Kinney, LLC

  124 Thacher St   Hornell   NY   14843     Unknown   

GateHouse Media New York Holdings, Inc.

  348 Elm Street (storage unit)   Penn Yan   NY   Yates   14527  

Penn Yan Mini Storage

  348 Elm Street   Penn Yan   NY   14527   $ 0   


GateHouse Media New York Holdings, Inc.

  858 Route 212   Saugerties   NY   Ulster   12477  

Eveready Girls, LLC

  858 Route 212   Saugerties   NY   12477   $ 60,000   

GateHouse Media New York Holdings, Inc.

 

51 Oriskany

Blvd

  Yorkville   NY   Oneida   13495  

CMB Oriskany Corp. / 55 Oriskany Boulevard, Inc.

  51 Oriskany Blvd   Yorkville   NY   13495   $ 0   

GateHouse Media Pennsylvania Holdings, Inc.

  29 CENTER SQ   Greencastle   PA   Franklin   17225  

Barry L. & Charlene A. Zarger

  Unknown   Greencastle   PA   17225   $ 22,000   

GateHouse Media Pennsylvania Holdings, Inc.

  25 CENTER SQ   Greencastle   PA   Franklin   17225  

Barry L. & Charlene A. Zarger

  Unknown   Greencastle   PA   17225     Unknown   

GateHouse Media Pennsylvania Holdings, Inc.

 

8 Silk Mill Drive

Suite 101

  Hawley   PA   Wayne   18428  

Hawley Silk Mill Master Tenant, LLC

  8 Silk Mill Drive   Hawley   PA   18428   $ 72,000   

GateHouse Media Suburban Newspapers, Inc.

 

1101 31ST ST, STE 100, 260, 270

 

Effective 12/1/2013 – moving to One Lincoln Center, Oakbrook Terrace, Illinois

  Downers Grove   IL   Du Page   60515  

CRP-2 Holdings AA, L.P.

  c/o Colony Realty Partners, LLCTwo Intenational PlaceSuite 2500   Boston   MA   2110   $ 900,000   

GateHouse Media Tennessee Holdings, Inc.

  575 Oak Ridge Turnpike, Suite 100   Oak Ridge   TN   Anderson   37830  

R & R Enterprises

  575 Oak Ridge Turnpike, Suite 201   Oak Ridge   TN   37830   $ 90,000   


GateHouse Media Ventures, Inc.

  108 Myrtle Street   Quincy   MA   Norfolk   2169  

American Fund US Investments, LLC

  c/o Real Estate Capital Partners114 West 47th St., 23rd Floor   New York   NY   10036   $ 910,000   

Massillon Newspapers

  Ohio Canal Property at North Erie Street   Massillon   OH   Stark   Unknown  

City of Massillon

  City Hall   Massilion   OH   44646   $ 0   

Mineral Daily News, Inc.

 

21 Shamrock

Dr. - Rt 220 S

  Keyser   WV   Minderal   26726  

Triple J, Inc.

  P.O. Box 926   Keyser   WV   26726   $ 1,119,000   

Peoria Journal Star, Inc.

  2200 W War Memorial Drive   Peoria   IL   Peoria   61613  

Northwoods Development Company

  2200 W War Memorial Dr   Peoria   IL   61613   $ 0   

Peoria Journal Star, Inc.

  Southwest Quarter of Section 26, Township 9 N   Peoria   IL   Peoria   61613  

Hawkeye Land Co. of Illinois

  500 Stickle Dr NE   Cedar Rapids   IA   52406   $ 0   

NOTE: See below for details on “4.4(b)(iii)(A) Value”


4.4(b)(iii)(A) Value Details

 

Loan Party

  

Address1

  

City

  

State

  

County

  

Zip

  

Building

Value (A)

   Press
(Replacement
Cost); N/A =
No Press at
Facility (B)
   Estimated
Average
Inventory On
Hand
(Newsprint,
Ink, Plates,
Other) (C)
     Personal
Property
(Excluding
Press) (D)
     4.4(b)(iii)(A)
Value (Sum of
(A), (B), (C)
and (D))
 

Copley Ohio Newspapers, Inc.

   3577 Arlington Rd. - Suite B    Akron    OH    Summit    44312    N/A    N/A    $ 0       $ 7,500       $ 7,500   

Enterprise Publishing Company, LLC

   1324 Belmont St.    Brockton    MA    Plymouth    2401    N/A    N/A    $ 0       $ 70,000       $ 70,000   

Enterprise Publishing Company, LLC

   400 CROWN COLONY DRIVE    Quincy    MA    Norfolk    2169    N/A    N/A    $ 0       $ 588,000       $ 588,000   

GateHouse Media Arkansas Holdings, Inc.

   7400 DOLLARWAY ROAD    White Hall    AR    Jefferson    71602    N/A    N/A    $ 0       $ 30,000       $ 30,000   


GateHouse Media California Holdings, Inc.

   650 KENTUCKY ST    Gridley    CA    Butte    95948    N/A      N/A      $ 0      $ 30,000      $ 30,000  

GateHouse Media Colorado Holdings, Inc.

   112 ECRANSTON    Fowler    CO    Otero    81039    N/A      N/A      $ 0      $ 10,000      $ 10,000  

GateHouse Media Colorado Holdings, Inc.

   510 CARSON AVENUE    Las Animos    CO    Bent    81054    N/A      N/A      $ 0      $ 20,000      $ 20,000  

GateHouse Media Connecticut Holdings, Inc.

   19 South Walnut Street    Norwich    CT    New London    6360    N/A      N/A       $ 0      $ 0      $ 0  

GateHouse Media Connecticut Holdings, Inc.

   360 Gendron Road    Plainfield    CT    Windham    6374    N/A      N/A        Unknown        Unknown        Unknown  

GateHouse Media Directories Holdings, Inc.

   915 HIGHLAND POINTE DRIVE, STE 400 (On or about March 1, 2014 – moving to 1430 Blue Oaks Boulevard, Suite 190, Roseville, CA 95747)    Roseville    CA    Placer    95678    N/A      N/A      $ 0      $ 350,000      $ 350,000  


GateHouse Media Freeport Holdings, Inc.

   50 W Douglas St    Freeport    IL    Stephenson    61032    N/A      N/A      $ 0      $ 0      $ 0  

GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings II, Inc.

   350 MORTON ST    Jacksonville    IL    Morgan    62650    N/A      N/A        Unknown        Unknown        Unknown  

GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings II, Inc.

   Radio Antenna at 3115 Dotmar Dr.    Springfield    IL    Sangamon    62703    N/A      N/A        N/A        N/A      $ 0  

GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings, Inc.

   219 S. COLLEGE AVE.    Aledo    IL    Mercer    61231    N/A      N/A      $ 0      $ 75,000      $ 75,000  

GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings, Inc.

   1205 SWANWICK STREET    Chester    IL    Randolph    62233    N/A      N/A      $ 0      $ 50,000      $ 50,000  

GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings, Inc.

   125 W LOCUST ST    Fairbury    IL    Livingston    61739    N/A      N/A      $ 0      $ 25,000      $ 25,000  


GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings, Inc.

   348 FRONT ST.    Galva    IL    Henry    61434    N/A      N/A      $ 0      $ 25,750      $ 25,750  

GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings, Inc.

   2201 Woodlawn Rd. - Suite 350    Lincoln    IL    Logan    62656    N/A      N/A      $ 0      $ 115,000      $ 115,000  

GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings, Inc.

   26 W. Side Square    Macomb    IL    McDonough    61455    N/A      N/A      $ 0      $ 0      $ 0  

GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings, Inc.

   206 SCHUYLER ST    Oquawka    IL    Henderson    61469    N/A      N/A      $ 0      $ 30,900      $ 30,900  

GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings, Inc.

   1018 Fourth Street    Orion    IL    Henry    61273    N/A      N/A      $ 0      $ 7,500      $ 7,500  

GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings, Inc.

   306 Court St    Pekin    IL    Randolph    61554    N/A      N/A      $ 0      $ 15,000      $ 15,000  


GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings, Inc.

   7344 Forest Hills Rd    Loves Park    IL    Winnebago    61111    N/A      N/A      $ 0      $ 0      $ 0  

GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings, Inc.

   230 Arnold Ave    Rockford    IL    Winnebago    61108    N/A      N/A      $ 0      $ 0      $ 0  

GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings, Inc.

   288 N LINCOLN BLVD E    Shawneetown    IL    Gallatin    62984    N/A      N/A      $ 0      $ 5,000      $ 5,000  

GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings, Inc.

   #1 Kemp Drive, Lessee Unit No. 197    Chatham    IL    Sangamon    62629    N/A      N/A      $ 0      $ 0      $ 0  

GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings, Inc.

   3142 South Douglas Ave, Suite E    Springfield    IL    Sangamon    62704    N/A      N/A      $ 0      $ 0      $ 0  

GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings, Inc.

   Land at Springfield, IL (NWL 1004)    Springfield    IL    Unknown    Unknown    N/A      N/A        N/A        N/A      $ 0  


GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings, Inc.

   Side Track lease agreement    Springfield    IL    Unknown    Unknown    N/A      N/A        N/A        N/A      $ 0  

GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings, Inc.

   107 E. MAIN    Teutopolis    IL    Effingham    62467    N/A      N/A      $ 0      $ 20,000      $ 20,000  

GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings, Inc.

   507 N Monroe Street, Suite 3    Abingdon    IL    Knox    61410    N/A      N/A      $ 0      $ 8,000      $ 8,000  

GateHouse Media Iowa Holdings, Inc.

   1009 Main Street    Hamburg    IA    Fremont    51640    N/A      N/A      $ 0      $ 5,000      $ 5,000  

GateHouse Media Kansas Holdings II, Inc.

   2114 Oregon St    Hiawatha    KS    Brown    66434    N/A      N/A         $ 5,000      $ 5,000  

GateHouse Media Kansas Holdings II, Inc.

   101 South Main    Greensburgh    KS    Kiowa    67054    N/A      N/A      $ 0      $ 15,000      $ 15,000  


GateHouse Media Kansas Holdings II, Inc.

   318 N. MAIN ST    St John    KS    Stafford    67576    N/A      N/A      $ 0      $ 15,000      $ 15,000  

GateHouse Media Louisiana Holdings, Inc.

   120 RAILROAD AVE    Donaldsonville    LA    Ascension    70346    N/A      N/A      $ 0      $ 12,000      $ 12,000  

GateHouse Media Management Services, Inc.

   350 WILLOWBROOK OFFICE PARK    Fairport    NY    Monroe    14450    N/A      N/A      $ 0      $ 500,000      $ 500,000  

GateHouse Media Management Services, Inc.

   120 N. Plymouth Ave    Rochester    NY    Monroe    14608    N/A      N/A      $ 0      $ 1,000,000      $ 1,000,000  

GateHouse Media Massachusetts I, Inc.

   101A Messina Drive    Braintree    MA    Norfolk    2184    N/A      N/A      $ 0      $ 392,000      $ 392,000  

GateHouse Media Massachusetts I, Inc.

   150 BAKER AVE    Concord    MA    Middlesex    1742    N/A      N/A      $ 0      $ 210,000      $ 210,000  


GateHouse Media Massachusetts I, Inc.

   75 SYLVAN ST, BLDG C    Danvers    MA    Essex    1923    N/A      N/A      $ 0      $ 329,000      $ 329,000  

GateHouse Media Massachusetts I, Inc.

   10 PURCHASE STREET    Fall River    MA    Bristol    2720    N/A      N/A      $ 0      $ 42,000      $ 42,000  

GateHouse Media Massachusetts I, Inc.

   18 POCASSET ST    Fall River    MA    Bristol    2720    N/A      N/A      $ 0      $ 119,000      $ 119,000  

GateHouse Media Massachusetts I, Inc.

   33 NEW YORK AVE    Framingham    MA    Middlesex    1701    N/A      N/A        N/A        N/A      $

 

0 (Parking

Space

  

)

GateHouse Media Massachusetts I, Inc.

   73 SOUTH ST    Hingham    MA    Plymouth    2043    N/A      N/A      $ 0      $ 28,000      $ 28,000  

GateHouse Media Massachusetts I, Inc.

   9 MERIAM ST    Lexington    MA    Middlesex    2420    N/A      N/A      $ 0      $ 56,000      $ 56,000  


GateHouse Media Massachusetts I, Inc.

   11 STATE ST    Marblehead    MA    Essex    1945    N/A      N/A       $ 0       $ 28,000       $ 28,000   

GateHouse Media Massachusetts I, Inc.

   40 SOUTH ST CONDOMINIUM (UNIT 1)    Marblehead    MA    Essex    1945    N/A      N/A         N/A         N/A         Unknown   

GateHouse Media Massachusetts I, Inc.

   197 Main Street    Milford    MA    Worcester    1757    N/A      N/A       $ 0       $ 84,000       $ 84,000   

GateHouse Media Massachusetts I, Inc.

   254 SECOND AVE    Needham    MA    Norfolk    2494    N/A      N/A       $ 0       $ 770,000       $ 770,000   

GateHouse Media Massachusetts I, Inc.

   31 NORTH WASHINGTON ST    North Attleboro    MA    Bristol    2760    N/A      N/A       $ 0       $ 21,000       $ 21,000   

GateHouse Media Massachusetts I, Inc.

   5 NAMSKAKET RD    Orleans    MA    Barnstable    2653    N/A      N/A       $ 0       $ 84,000       $ 84,000   


GateHouse Media Massachusetts I, Inc.

   182 STANDISH AVENUE    Plymouth    MA    Plymouth    2360    N/A      N/A       $ 0       $ 140,000       $ 140,000   

GateHouse Media Massachusetts I, Inc.

   40 GRISSOM ROAD - BLDG 2    Plymouth    MA    Plymouth    2360    N/A      N/A       $ 0       $ 0       $ 0   

GateHouse Media Massachusetts I, Inc.

   167 COMMERCIAL STREET    Provincetown    MA    Barnstable    2657    N/A      N/A       $ 0       $ 56,000       $ 56,000   

GateHouse Media Massachusetts I, Inc.

   15 PACELLA DRIVE    Randolph    MA    Norfolk    2368    N/A      N/A       $ 0       $ 616,000       $ 616,000   

GateHouse Media Massachusetts I, Inc.

   370 PARAMOUNT DRIVE    Rayham    MA    Bristol    2767    N/A      N/A       $ 0       $ 84,000       $ 84,000   

GateHouse Media Massachusetts I, Inc.

   80 / 82 Central ST    Somerville    MA    Middlesex    2144    N/A      N/A       $ 0       $ 49,000       $ 49,000   


GateHouse Media Massachusetts I, Inc.

   7 WEST STREET    Walpole    MA    Norfolk    2081    N/A      N/A       $ 0       $ 14,000       $ 14,000   

GateHouse Media Massachusetts I, Inc.

   923G ROUTE 6A    Yarmouth Port    MA    Barnstable    2675    N/A      N/A       $ 0       $ 98,000       $ 98,000   

GateHouse Media Michigan Holdings II, Inc.

   2764 W. CARLETON RD.    Hillsdale    MI    Hillsdale    49242    N/A      N/A       $ 2,000       $ 240,000       $ 242,000   

GateHouse Media Minnesota Holdings, Inc.

   1 N. BARSTAD ROAD    Cottonwood    MN    Cottonwood    56229    N/A      N/A       $ 0       $ 35,000       $ 35,000   

GateHouse Media Minnesota Holdings, Inc.

   119 EAST MAIN ST    Sleepy Eye    MN    Brown    56085    N/A      N/A       $ 0       $ 65,000       $ 65,000   

GateHouse Media Minnesota Holdings, Inc.

   1034 Cedar Street    Wabasso    MN    Redwood    56293    N/A      N/A       $ 0       $ 10,000       $ 10,000   


GateHouse Media Missouri Holdings II, Inc.

   Lots 7-A & 7-B of Corporate Woods-165 Missouri Blvd.    Laurie    MO    Morgan    65038    N/A      N/A         N/A       $ 20,000       $ 20,000   

GateHouse Media Missouri Holdings, Inc.

   33 West Olive Street    Aurora    MO    Lawrence    65605    N/A      N/A       $ 0       $ 35,000       $ 35,000   

GateHouse Media Missouri Holdings, Inc.

   7 N MAIN ST    Greenfield    MO    Dade    65661    N/A      N/A       $ 0       $ 20,000       $ 20,000   

GateHouse Media Missouri Holdings, Inc.

   110 E MCPHERSON ST, PO BOX 809    Kirksville    MO    Adair    63501    N/A      N/A         Unknown         Unknown         Unknown   

GateHouse Media Missouri Holdings, Inc.

   4824 OSAGE BEACH PKWY SUITE 2    Osage Beach    MO    Camden    65065    N/A      N/A       $ 0       $ 16,000       $ 160,000   

GateHouse Media Missouri Holdings, Inc.

   104 N Jefferson    St James    MO    Phelps    65559    N/A      N/A       $ 0       $ 25,000       $ 25,000   


GateHouse Media Nebraska Holdings, Inc.

   823 CENTRAL AVE    Nebraska Beach    NE    Otoe    68410    N/A      N/A       $ 0       $ 15,000       $ 15,000   

GateHouse Media New York Holdings, Inc.

   14 Utica Street    Hamilton    NY    Madison    13346    N/A      N/A       $ 0       $ 0       $ 0   

GateHouse Media New York Holdings, Inc.

   100 Park Avenue/205 N. Main St.    Herkimer    NY    Herkimer    13350    N/A      N/A         Unknown         Unknown         Unknown   

GateHouse Media New York Holdings, Inc.

   30-32 Broadway Street    Hornell    NY    Steuben    14843    N/A      N/A         Unknown         Unknown         Unknown   

GateHouse Media New York Holdings, Inc.

   348 Elm Street (storage unit)    Penn Yan    NY    Yates    14527    N/A      N/A         N/A       $ 0       $ 0   

GateHouse Media New York Holdings, Inc.

   858 Route 212    Saugerties    NY    Ulster    12477    N/A      N/A       $ 0       $ 60,000       $ 60,000   


GateHouse Media New York Holdings, Inc.

   51 Oriskany Blvd    Yorkville    NY    Oneida    13495    N/A      N/A       $ 0       $ 0       $ 0   

GateHouse Media Pennsylvania Holdings, Inc.

   29 CENTER SQ    Greencastle    PA    Franklin    17225    N/A      N/A       $ 0       $ 22,000       $ 22,000   

GateHouse Media Pennsylvania Holdings, Inc.

   25 CENTER SQ    Greencastle    PA    Franklin    17225    N/A      N/A         Unknown         Unknown         Unknown   

GateHouse Media Pennsylvania Holdings, Inc.

   8 Silk Mill Drive Suite 101    Hawley    PA    Wayne    18428    N/A      N/A       $ 0       $ 72,000       $ 72,000   

GateHouse Media Suburban Newspapers, Inc.

   1101 31ST ST, STE 100, 260, 270 (Effective 12/1/2013 –moving to One Lincoln Center, Oakbrook Terrace, Illinois)    Downers Grove    IL    Du Page    60515    N/A      N/A       $ 0       $ 900,000       $ 900,000   

GateHouse Media Tennessee Holdings, Inc.

   575 Oak Ridge Turnpike, Suite 100    Oak Ridge    TN    Anderson    37830    N/A      N/A       $ 0       $ 90,000       $ 90,000   


GateHouse Media Ventures, Inc.

   108 Myrtle Street    Quincy    MA    Norfolk    2169    N/A      N/A       $ 0       $ 910,000       $ 910,000   

Massillon Newspapers

   Ohio Canal Property at North Erie Street    Massillon    OH    Stark    Unknown    N/A      N/A         N/A         N/A       $ 0   

Mineral Daily News, Inc.

   21 Shamrock Dr. – Rt 220 S    Keyser    WV    Minderal    26726    N/A    $ 1,000,000       $ 19,000       $ 100,000       $ 1,119,000   

Peoria Journal Star, Inc.

   2200 W War Memorial Drive    Peoria    IL    Peoria    61613    N/A      N/A       $ 0       $ 0       $ 0   

Peoria Journal Star, Inc.

   Southwest Quarter of Section 26, Township 9 N    Peoria    IL    Peoria    61613    N/A      N/A         N/A         N/A       $ 0   


Schedule 4.4(b)(iii)(B)

Executive Offices

 

Loan Party

  

Chief Executive Office

Copley Ohio Newspapers, Inc.    350 WillowBrook Office Park, Fairport, New York 14450
ENHE Acquisition, LLC    350 WillowBrook Office Park, Fairport, New York 14450
Enterprise NewsMedia Holding, LLC    350 WillowBrook Office Park, Fairport, New York 14450
Enterprise NewsMedia, LLC    350 WillowBrook Office Park, Fairport, New York 14450
Enterprise Publishing Company, LLC    350 WillowBrook Office Park, Fairport, New York 14450
GateHouse Media Arkansas Holdings, Inc.    350 WillowBrook Office Park, Fairport, New York 14450
GateHouse Media California Holdings, Inc.    350 WillowBrook Office Park, Fairport, New York 14450
GateHouse Media Colorado Holdings, Inc.    350 WillowBrook Office Park, Fairport, New York 14450
GateHouse Media Connecticut Holdings, Inc.    350 WillowBrook Office Park, Fairport, New York 14450
GateHouse Media Corning Holdings, Inc.    350 WillowBrook Office Park, Fairport, New York 14450
GateHouse Media Delaware Holdings, Inc.    350 WillowBrook Office Park, Fairport, New York 14450
GateHouse Media Directories Holdings, Inc.    350 WillowBrook Office Park, Fairport, New York 14450
GateHouse Media Florida Holdings, Inc.    350 WillowBrook Office Park, Fairport, New York 14450
GateHouse Media Freeport Holdings, Inc.    350 WillowBrook Office Park, Fairport, New York 14450
GateHouse Media Holdco, Inc.    350 WillowBrook Office Park, Fairport, New York 14450
GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings II, Inc.    350 WillowBrook Office Park, Fairport, New York 14450
GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings, Inc.    350 WillowBrook Office Park, Fairport, New York 14450
GateHouse Media Intermediate Holdco, Inc.    350 WillowBrook Office Park, Fairport, New York 14450
GateHouse Media Iowa Holdings, Inc.    350 WillowBrook Office Park, Fairport, New York 14450
GateHouse Media Kansas Holdings II, Inc.    350 WillowBrook Office Park, Fairport, New York 14450
GateHouse Media Kansas Holdings, Inc.    350 WillowBrook Office Park, Fairport, New York 14450
GateHouse Media Lansing Printing, Inc.    350 WillowBrook Office Park, Fairport, New York 14450
GateHouse Media Louisiana Holdings, Inc.    350 WillowBrook Office Park, Fairport, New York 14450


GateHouse Media Management Services, Inc.    350 WillowBrook Office Park, Fairport, New York 14450
GateHouse Media Massachusetts I, Inc.    350 WillowBrook Office Park, Fairport, New York 14450
GateHouse Media Massachusetts II, Inc.    350 WillowBrook Office Park, Fairport, New York 14450
GateHouse Media Michigan Holdings II, Inc.    350 WillowBrook Office Park, Fairport, New York 14450
GateHouse Media Michigan Holdings, Inc.    350 WillowBrook Office Park, Fairport, New York 14450
GateHouse Media Minnesota Holdings, Inc.    350 WillowBrook Office Park, Fairport, New York 14450
GateHouse Media Missouri Holdings II, Inc.    350 WillowBrook Office Park, Fairport, New York 14450
GateHouse Media Missouri Holdings, Inc.    350 WillowBrook Office Park, Fairport, New York 14450
GateHouse Media Nebraska Holdings II, Inc.    350 WillowBrook Office Park, Fairport, New York 14450
GateHouse Media Nebraska Holdings, Inc.    350 WillowBrook Office Park, Fairport, New York 14450
GateHouse Media Nevada Holdings, Inc.    350 WillowBrook Office Park, Fairport, New York 14450
GateHouse Media New York Holdings, Inc.    350 WillowBrook Office Park, Fairport, New York 14450
GateHouse Media North Dakota Holdings, Inc.    350 WillowBrook Office Park, Fairport, New York 14450
GateHouse Media Ohio Holdings, Inc.    350 WillowBrook Office Park, Fairport, New York 14450
GateHouse Media Oklahoma Holdings, Inc.    350 WillowBrook Office Park, Fairport, New York 14450
GateHouse Media Operating, Inc.    350 WillowBrook Office Park, Fairport, New York 14450
GateHouse Media Pennsylvania Holdings, Inc.    350 WillowBrook Office Park, Fairport, New York 14450
GateHouse Media Suburban Newspapers, Inc.    350 WillowBrook Office Park, Fairport, New York 14450
GateHouse Media Tennessee Holdings, Inc.    350 WillowBrook Office Park, Fairport, New York 14450
GateHouse Media Ventures, Inc.    350 WillowBrook Office Park, Fairport, New York 14450
GateHouse Media, Inc.    350 WillowBrook Office Park, Fairport, New York 14450
George W. Prescott Publishing Company, LLC    350 WillowBrook Office Park, Fairport, New York 14450
Liberty SMC, L.L.C.    350 WillowBrook Office Park, Fairport, New York 14450
Low Realty, LLC    350 WillowBrook Office Park, Fairport, New York 14450
LRT Four Hundred, LLC    350 WillowBrook Office Park, Fairport, New York 14450
Mineral Daily News Tribune, Inc.    350 WillowBrook Office Park, Fairport, New York 14450
News Leader, Inc.    350 WillowBrook Office Park, Fairport, New York 14450
Surewest Directories    350 WillowBrook Office Park, Fairport, New York 14450
Terry Newspapers, Inc.    350 WillowBrook Office Park, Fairport, New York 14450
The Peoria Journal Star, Inc.    350 WillowBrook Office Park, Fairport, New York 14450


Schedule 4.4(b)(iv)

See Schedule 4.4(b)(iii)(A)


Schedule 4.8(j)

Securities Accounts – None

Investment Accounts – See Below

 

Loan Party

  

Name of Bank

  

Type of Account

   Account Numbers
GateHouse Media Operating, Inc    HSBC    Money Market    XXXXXX863

Concentration and Depository Accounts – See Below

 

Loan Party

  

Name of Bank

  

Type of Account

   Account Numbers
Copley Ohio Newspapers, Inc.    HSBC    Corp Depository    XXXXXX211
Copley Ohio Newspapers, Inc.    JP Morgan Chase    Main depository    XXXXXX321
GateHouse Media Massachusetts I, Inc.    Bank of America, N.A.    Main depository    XXXXXX621
GateHouse Media Massachusetts I, Inc.    Citizens Bank    Lockbox Account    XXXXXX562
GateHouse Media Massachusetts I, Inc.    Seamen’s Bank    Local Depository    XXXXXX001
GateHouse Media Arkansas Holdings, Inc.    Bank of Prescott    Local Depository    XXXXXX649
GateHouse Media Arkansas Holdings, Inc.    Farmers and Merchants Bank    Local Depository    XXXXXX095
GateHouse Media Arkansas Holdings, Inc.    First National Bank    Local Depository    XXXXXX221
GateHouse Media Arkansas Holdings, Inc.    Heber Springs State Bank    Local Depository    XXXXXX828
GateHouse Media Arkansas Holdings, Inc.    Mercants & Planters Bank    Local Depository    XXXXXX573
GateHouse Media Arkansas Holdings, Inc.    Simmons Bank    Local Depository    XXXXXX089
GateHouse Media Arkansas Holdings, Inc.    Southern Bancorp    Local Depository    XXXXXX094
GateHouse Media Arkansas Holdings, Inc.    Southern Bancorp Bank, N.A.    Local Depository    XXXXXX539
GateHouse Media California Holdings, Inc.    Bank of New York Mellon    Lockbox Account    XXXXXX245
GateHouse Media California Holdings, Inc.    Bank of the West    Local Depository    XXXXXX560
GateHouse Media California Holdings, Inc.    Mojave Desert Bank    Local Depository    XXXXXX956
GateHouse Media California Holdings, Inc.    Rabobank    Local Depository    XXXXXX514
GateHouse Media California Holdings, Inc.    Scott Valley Bank    Local Depository    XXXXXX186
GateHouse Media California Holdings, Inc.    Scott Valley Bank    Local Depository    XXXXXX528
GateHouse Media California Holdings, Inc.    Westamerica Bank    Local Depository    XXXXXX763
GateHouse Media Colorado Holdings, Inc.    First National Bank    Local Depository    XXXXXX791
GateHouse Media Connecticut Holdings, Inc.    HSBC    Corp Depository    XXXXXX225
GateHouse Media Connecticut Holdings, Inc.    Peoples    Local Depository    XXXXXX489
GateHouse Media Delaware Holdings, Inc.    Citizens Bank    Local Depository    XXXXXX381
GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings II, Inc    HSBC    Corp Depository    XXXXXX978
GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings II, Inc    Illinois National Bank    Local Depository    XXXXXX520
GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings Inc    Harris Bank    Local Depository    XXXXXX875
GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings, Inc.    1st National Bank Olney    Local Depository    XXXXXX446
GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings, Inc.    Bank of Marion    Local Depository    XXXXXX738
GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings, Inc.    Bank of Pontiac    Local Depository    XXXXXX522
GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings, Inc.    Bank of Pontiac    Local Depository    XXXXXX520
GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings, Inc.    Banterra Bank    Local Depository    XXXXXX830
GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings, Inc.    Banterra Bank    Local Depository    XXXXXX849
GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings, Inc.    Banterra Bank    Local Depository    XXXXXX009


GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings, Inc.    Buena Vista Natl Bank    Local Depository    XXXXXX534
GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings, Inc.    Central Bank Illinois    Local Depository    XXXXXX331
GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings, Inc.    Citizens National Bank    Local Depository    XXXXXX889
GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings, Inc.    Farmers State Bank    Local Depository    XXXXXX194
GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings, Inc.    First Bank and Trust    Local Depository    XXXXXX488
GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings, Inc.    First Community Bank, Xenia-Flora    Local Depository    XXXXXX233
GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings, Inc.    Herget National Bank    Local Depository    XXXXXX207
GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings, Inc.    HSBC    Corp Depository    XXXXXX951
GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings, Inc.    Legence Bank    Local Depository    XXXXXX578
GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings, Inc.    Legence Bank    Local Depository    XXXXXX575
GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings, Inc.    Mid American Natl Bank    Local Depository    XXXXXX654
GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings, Inc.    Midwest Bank    Local Depository    XXXXXX932
GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings, Inc.    Midwest Bank    Local Depository    XXXXXX719
GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings, Inc.    Morton Community Bank    Local Depository    XXXXXX730
GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings, Inc.    Old National Bank    Local Depository    XXXXXX370
GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings, Inc.    Old National Bank    Local Depository    XXXXXX902
GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings, Inc.    Peoples Bank and Trust    Local Depository    XXXXXX916
GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings, Inc.    Peoples National Bank    Local Depository    XXXXXX665
GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings, Inc.    Peoples State Bank    Local Depository    XXXXXX116
GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings, Inc.    Teutopolis State Bank    Local Depository    XXXXXX070
GateHouse Media Intermediate Holdco, Inc.    HSBC    Corp Depository    XXXXXX141
GateHouse Media Kansas Holdings II, Inc.    Bank of the West    Local Depository    XXXXXX985
GateHouse Media Kansas Holdings II, Inc.    Bank of the West    Local Depository    XXXXXX781
GateHouse Media Kansas Holdings II, Inc.    Sunflower Bank    Local Depository    XXXXXX768
GateHouse Media Kansas Holdings II, Inc.    University Bank    Local Depository    XXXXXX277
GateHouse Media Kansas Holdings, Inc.    1st National Bank of Pratt    Local Depository    XXXXXX572
GateHouse Media Kansas Holdings, Inc.    Bank of the West    Local Depository    XXXXXX100
GateHouse Media Kansas Holdings, Inc.    Community National Bank    Local Depository    XXXXXX053
GateHouse Media Kansas Holdings, Inc.    Country Club Bank    Local Depository    XXXXXX048
GateHouse Media Kansas Holdings, Inc.    Emprise Bank    Local Depository    XXXXXX501
GateHouse Media Kansas Holdings, Inc.    First National Bank    Local Depository    XXXXXX610
GateHouse Media Kansas Holdings, Inc.    Peoples Bank and Trust    Local Depository    XXXXXX755
GateHouse Media Louisiana Holdings, Inc    Capital One, National Association    Local Depository    XXXXXX408
GateHouse Media Louisiana Holdings, Inc    Community Trust    Local Depository    XXXXXX785
GateHouse Media Louisiana Holdings, Inc    Iberville Bank    Local Depository    XXXXXX022
GateHouse Media Louisiana Holdings, Inc    United Community Bank    Local Depository    XXXXXX049
GateHouse Media Massachusetts I, Inc.    HSBC    Corp Depository    XXXXXX095
GateHouse Media Massachusetts I, Inc.    HSBC    Corp Depository    XXXXXX889
GateHouse Media Michigan Holdings II, Inc    Country National Bank    Local Depository    XXXXXX136
GateHouse Media Michigan Holdings II, Inc    Macatawa Bank    Local Depository    XXXXXX416
GateHouse Media Michigan Holdings, Inc    Century Bank and Trust    Local Depository    XXXXXX020
GateHouse Media Michigan Holdings, Inc    Citizens National Bank    Local Depository    XXXXXX170
GateHouse Media Michigan Holdings, Inc    First Bank - West Michigan    Local Depository    XXXXXX202
GateHouse Media Michigan Holdings, Inc    First Federal Bank of the Midwest    Local Depository    XXXXXX684


GateHouse Media Michigan Holdings, Inc    Huntington National Bank    Local Depository    XXXXXX895
GateHouse Media Michigan Holdings, Inc    Southern Michigan Bank    Local Depository    XXXXXX901
GateHouse Media Michigan Holdings, Inc    Southern Michigan Bank    Local Depository    XXXXXX919
GateHouse Media Minnesota Holdings, Inc    Bremer Bank    Local Depository    XXXXXX120
GateHouse Media Minnesota Holdings, Inc    Citizens Alliance Bank    Local Depository    XXXXXX996
GateHouse Media Minnesota Holdings, Inc    First Security Bank    Local Depository    XXXXXX766
GateHouse Media Minnesota Holdings, Inc    Granite Falls Bank    Local Depository    XXXXXX505
GateHouse Media Minnesota Holdings, Inc    Integrity Bank Plus    Local Depository    XXXXXX954
GateHouse Media Minnesota Holdings, Inc    KleinBank    Local Depository    XXXXXX018
GateHouse Media Minnesota Holdings, Inc    Minnwest Bank    Local Depository    XXXXXX161
GateHouse Media Minnesota Holdings, Inc    Pioneer Bank of St James    Local Depository    XXXXXX046
GateHouse Media Minnesota Holdings, Inc    Red River State Bank    Local Depository    XXXXXX681
GateHouse Media Missiouri Holdings II, Inc    HNB Bank    Local Depository    XXXXXX431
GateHouse Media Missouri Holdings, Inc    Bank of Kirksville    Local Depository    XXXXXX289
GateHouse Media Missouri Holdings, Inc    Central Bank Lake of the Ozarks    Local Depository    XXXXXX548
GateHouse Media Missouri Holdings, Inc    Central Bank Lake of the Ozarks    Local Depository    XXXXXX779
GateHouse Media Missouri Holdings, Inc    Central Bank Lake of the Ozarks    Local Depository    XXXXXX663
GateHouse Media Missouri Holdings, Inc    Citizens Bank & Trust    Local Depository    XXXXXX222
GateHouse Media Missouri Holdings, Inc    Citizens Bank and Trust    Local Depository    XXXXXX980
GateHouse Media Missouri Holdings, Inc    Citizens Bank and Trust Company    Local Depository    XXXXXX109
GateHouse Media Missouri Holdings, Inc    City Bank Trust Co    Local Depository    XXXXXX168
GateHouse Media Missouri Holdings, Inc    Commerce Bank    Local Depository    XXXXXX799
GateHouse Media Missouri Holdings, Inc    Commerce Bank of Kansas    Local Depository    XXXXXX033
GateHouse Media Missouri Holdings, Inc    Community Bank And Trust    Local Depository    XXXXXX069
GateHouse Media Missouri Holdings, Inc    Community Bank And Trust    Local Depository    XXXXXX829
GateHouse Media Missouri Holdings, Inc    Community Bank And Trust    Local Depository    XXXXXX162
GateHouse Media Missouri Holdings, Inc    Community National Bank    Local Depository    XXXXXX127
GateHouse Media Missouri Holdings, Inc    First Missouri National    Local Depository    XXXXXX134
GateHouse Media Missouri Holdings, Inc    First Sun Bank of America    Local Depository    XXXXXX002
GateHouse Media Missouri Holdings, Inc    Northeast Missouri State Bank    Local Depository    XXXXXX310
GateHouse Media Missouri Holdings, Inc    Phelps Bank    Local Depository    XXXXXX627
GateHouse Media Missouri Holdings, Inc    Phelps County Bank    Local Depository    XXXXXX660
GateHouse Media Missouri Holdings, Inc    Phelps County Bank    Local Depository    XXXXXX790
GateHouse Media Missouri Holdings, Inc    Southwest Missouri Bank    Local Depository    XXXXXX324
GateHouse Media Missouri Holdings, Inc    US Bank    Local Depository    XXXXXX184
GateHouse Media Nebraska Holdings, Inc    Arbor City Bank    Local Depository    XXXXXX326
GateHouse Media Nebraska Holdings, Inc    Wahoo First National Bank    Local Depository    XXXXXX201
GateHouse Media New York Holdings, Inc.    Adirondak    Local Depository    XXXXXX703
GateHouse Media New York Holdings, Inc.    Canandaigua National bank    Local Depository    XXXXXX088
GateHouse Media New York Holdings, Inc.    Chemung Canal Trust Co    Local Depository    XXXXXX464
GateHouse Media New York Holdings, Inc.    Chemung Canal Trust Co    Local Depository    XXXXXX896
GateHouse Media New York Holdings, Inc.    Community Bank NA    Local Depository    XXXXXX840
GateHouse Media New York Holdings, Inc.    Five Star Bank    Local Depository    XXXXXX647
GateHouse Media New York Holdings, Inc.    Five Star Bank    Local Depository    XXXXXX969
GateHouse Media New York Holdings, Inc.    HSBC    Corp Depository    XXXXXX233
GateHouse Media New York Holdings, Inc.    Jeff Bank    Local Depository    XXXXXX020
GateHouse Media New York Holdings, Inc.    M & T BANK    Local Depository    XXXXXX531
GateHouse Media New York Holdings, Inc.    Steuben Trust CO    Local Depository    XXXXXX426


GateHouse Media New York Holdings, Inc.    Steuben Trust CO    Local Depository    XXXXXX639
GateHouse Media North Dakota Holdings, Inc    Ramsey National Bank and Trust    Local Depository    XXXXXX268
GateHouse Media Oklahoma Holdings, Inc.    Arvest    Local Depository    XXXXXX166
GateHouse Media Oklahoma Holdings, Inc.    First National Bank    Local Depository    XXXXXX442
GateHouse Media Operating, Inc    HSBC    Cash Concentration    XXXXXX919
GateHouse Media Operating, Inc.    HSBC    Super Concentration    XXXXXX927
GateHouse Media Operating, Inc.    HSBC    Corp. Depository    XXXXXX431
GateHouse Media Pennsylvania Holdings, Inc.    First Natl Bank of Greencastle    Local Depository    XXXXXX540
GateHouse Media Pennsylvania Holdings, Inc.    Honesdale National Bank    Local Depository    XXXXXX101
GateHouse Media Pennsylvania Holdings, Inc.    Honesdale National Bank    Local Depository    XXXXXX401
GateHouse Media Pennsylvania Holdings, Inc.    The Dime Bank    Local Depository    XXXXXX211
GateHouse Media Pennsylvania Holdings, Inc.    Tower Bank    Local Depository    XXXXXX154
GateHouse Media Pennsylvania Holdings, Inc.    WEPCO Federal Credit Union    Local Depository    XXXXXX735
GateHouse Media Tennessee Holdings, Inc.    TN Bank    Local Depository    XXXXXX121
GateHouse Media Ventures, Inc.    Bank of America, N.A.    Local Depository    XXXXXX827
GateHouse Media Ventures, Inc.    Bank of America, N.A.    Local Depository    XXXXXX902
GateHouse Media West Virgina Holdings, Inc.    Premier Bank    Local Depository    XXXXXX493
GateHouse Media West Virgina Holdings, Inc.    Premier Bank    Local Depository    XXXXXX501
News Leader, Inc    City Savings Bank    Local Depository    XXXXXX784
The Peoria Journal Star, Inc.    HSBC    Corp Depository    XXXXXX960
The Peoria Journal Star, Inc.    PNC Bank    Main depository    XXXXXX073


Schedule 4.12

Financing Statements

NONE


Schedule 5.1

Consents

Consent of Bankruptcy Court


SCHEDULE 5.2 (a)

STATES OF QUALIFICATION AND GOOD STANDING

 

Loan Party

  

State of Organization

  

States Qualified To Do Business

ENHE Acquisition, LLC

   Delaware    None

Enterprise NewsMedia, LLC

   Delaware    Massachusetts

Enterprise NewsMedia Holding, LLC

   Delaware    Massachusetts

Enterprise Publishing Company, LLC

   Delaware    Massachusetts

GateHouse Media Intermediate Holdco, Inc.

   Delaware    New York

GateHouse Media Holdco, Inc.

   Delaware    New York

GateHouse Media Operating, Inc.

   Delaware   

Illinois

New York

GateHouse Media Massachusetts I, Inc.

   Delaware    Massachusetts

GateHouse Media Massachusetts II, Inc.

   Delaware    Massachusetts

George W. Prescott Publishing Company, LLC

   Delaware    Massachusetts

GateHouse Media Arkansas Holdings, Inc.

   Delaware    Arkansas

GateHouse Media California Holdings, Inc.

   Delaware    California

GateHouse Media Colorado Holdings, Inc.

   Delaware    Colorado

GateHouse Media Connecticut Holdings, Inc.

   Delaware    Connecticut

GateHouse Media Corning Holdings, Inc.

   Nevada    New York

GateHouse Media Delaware Holdings, Inc.

   Delaware    None

GateHouse Media Directories Holdings, Inc.

   Delaware    California

GateHouse Media Florida Holdings, Inc.

   Delaware    Florida

GateHouse Media Freeport Holdings, Inc.

   Delaware    Illinois

GateHouse Media, Inc.

   Delaware    New York

GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings, Inc.

   Delaware    Illinois

GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings II, Inc.

   Delaware    Illinois

GateHouse Media Iowa Holdings, Inc.

   Delaware    Iowa

GateHouse Media Kansas Holdings, Inc.

   Delaware    Kansas

GateHouse Media Kansas Holdings II, Inc.

   Delaware    Kansas

GateHouse Media Lansing Printing, Inc.

   Delaware    Illinois

GateHouse Media Louisiana Holdings, Inc.

   Delaware    Louisiana

GateHouse Media Management Services, Inc.

   Delaware   

Illinois

New York

GateHouse Media Michigan Holdings, Inc.

   Delaware    Michigan

GateHouse Media Michigan Holdings II, Inc.

   Delaware    Michigan

GateHouse Media Minnesota Holdings, Inc.

   Delaware    Minnesota

GateHouse Media Missouri Holdings, Inc.

   Delaware    Missouri

GateHouse Media Missouri Holdings II, Inc.

   Delaware    Missouri

GateHouse Media Nebraska Holdings, Inc.

   Delaware    Nebraska


GateHouse Media Nebraska Holdings II, Inc. **

   Delaware    Nebraska

GateHouse Media Nevada Holdings, Inc.

   Delaware    Nevada

GateHouse Media New York Holdings, Inc.

   Delaware    New York

GateHouse Media North Dakota Holdings, Inc.

   Delaware    North Dakota

GateHouse Media Ohio Holdings, Inc.

   Delaware    Ohio

GateHouse Media Oklahoma Holdings, Inc.

   Delaware    Oklahoma

GateHouse Media Pennsylvania Holdings, Inc.

   Delaware    Pennsylvania

GateHouse Media Suburban Newspapers, Inc.

   Delaware    Illinois

GateHouse Media Tennessee Holdings, Inc.

   Delaware    Tennessee

GateHouse Media Ventures, Inc.

   Delaware    None

Liberty SMC, L.L.C.

   Delaware    None

Low Realty, LLC

   Delaware    Massachusetts

LRT Four Hundred, LLC

   Delaware    Massachusetts

Mineral Daily News Tribune, Inc.

   West Virginia    None

News Leader, Inc.

   Louisiana    None

Terry Newspapers, Inc.

   Iowa    Illinois

SureWest Directories

   California    None

Copley Ohio Newspapers, Inc.

   Illinois    Ohio

The Peoria Journal Star, Inc.

   Illinois    None

 

** Following the closing, GateHouse Media Nebraska Holdings II, Inc. will be qualified to do business in Texas.


Schedule 5.2(b)

Subsidiaries

SEE ATTACHED


LOGO


Schedule 5.4

Federal Tax Identification Numbers

 

LOAN PARTY

  

Tax ID #

Copley Ohio Newspapers, Inc.

   31-1714372

ENHE Acquisition, LLC

   84-1711504

Enterprise NewsMedia Holding, LLC

   37-1458259

Enterprise NewsMedia, LLC

   81-0584672

Enterprise Publishing Company, LLC

   81-0584666

GateHouse Media Arkansas Holdings, Inc.

   36-4197662

GateHouse Media California Holdings, Inc.

   36-4197639

GateHouse Media Colorado Holdings, Inc.

   20-3680190

GateHouse Media Connecticut Holdings, Inc.

   20-8771954

GateHouse Media Corning Holdings, Inc.

   88-01055234

GateHouse Media Delaware Holdings, Inc.

   20-8771987

GateHouse Media Directories Holdings, Inc.

   20-8344513

GateHouse Media Florida Holdings, Inc.

   26-1226448

GateHouse Media Freeport Holdings, Inc.

   36-4241508

GateHouse Media Holdco, Inc.

   84-1708902

GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings II, Inc.

   20-8765361

GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings, Inc.

   36-4197640

GateHouse Media Intermediate Holdco, Inc.

   26-1909759

GateHouse Media Iowa Holdings, Inc.

   36-4197643

GateHouse Media Kansas Holdings II, Inc.

   26-1387914

GateHouse Media Kansas Holdings, Inc.

   36-4197644

GateHouse Media Lansing Printing, Inc.

   56-2422242

GateHouse Media Louisiana Holdings, Inc.

   36-4239708


GateHouse Media Management Services, Inc.

   36-4197665

GateHouse Media Massachusetts I, Inc.

   84-1711503

GateHouse Media Massachusetts II, Inc.

   35-2200859

GateHouse Media Michigan Holdings II, Inc.

   26-1387963

GateHouse Media Michigan Holdings, Inc.

   36-4197646

GateHouse Media Minnesota Holdings, Inc.

   36-4197648

GateHouse Media Missouri Holdings II, Inc.

   26-1388013

GateHouse Media Missouri Holdings, Inc.

   36-4197649

GateHouse Media Nebraska Holdings II, Inc.

   26-1388054

GateHouse Media Nebraska Holdings, Inc.

   36-4294763

GateHouse Media Nevada Holdings, Inc.

   36-4334978

GateHouse Media New York Holdings, Inc.

   36-4197660

GateHouse Media North Dakota Holdings, Inc.

   36-4241506

GateHouse Media Ohio Holdings, Inc.

   20-8765464

GateHouse Media Oklahoma Holdings, Inc.

   26-1226313

GateHouse Media Operating, Inc.

   36-4197636

GateHouse Media Pennsylvania Holdings, Inc.

   36-4197661

GateHouse Media Suburban Newspapers, Inc.

   36-4305577

GateHouse Media Tennessee Holdings, Inc.

   26-1226415

GateHouse Media Ventures, Inc.

   36-4197638

GateHouse Media, Inc.

   36-4197635

George W. Prescott Publishing Company, LLC

   81-0584668

Liberty SMC, L.L.C.

   36-4366016

Low Realty, LLC

   81-0584679

LRT Four Hundred, LLC

   81-0584676

Mineral Daily News Tribune, Inc.

   55-0463343

News Leader, Inc.

   72-0654473

Surewest Directories

   91-1747472

Terry Newspapers, Inc.

   36-2701037

The Peoria Journal Star, Inc.

   37-0459820


SCHEDULE 5.6

Prior Names

 

LOAN PARTY

  

PRIOR NAMES

Copley Ohio Newspapers, Inc.    None
ENHE Acquisition, LLC    None
Enterprise NewsMedia Holding, LLC    None
Enterprise NewsMedia, LLC    Enterprise Newsmedia, LLC
Enterprise Publishing Company, LLC    None
GateHouse Media Arkansas Holdings, Inc.    Liberty Group Arkansas Holdings, Inc.
GateHouse Media California Holdings, Inc.    Liberty Group California Holdings, Inc.
GateHouse Media Colorado Holdings, Inc.    Liberty Group Colorado Holdings, Inc.
GateHouse Media Connecticut Holdings, Inc.    None
GateHouse Media Corning Holdings, Inc.   

Elko Daily Free Press; Liberty Group Corning

Holdings, Inc.

GateHouse Media Delaware Holdings, Inc.    GateHouse Media West Virginia Holdings, Inc.
GateHouse Media Directories Holdings, Inc.    Fall River Acquisitions, Inc.
GateHouse Media Florida Holdings, Inc.    None
GateHouse Media Freeport Holdings, Inc.    Liberty Group Freeport Holdings, Inc.
GateHouse Media Freeport Holdings, Inc.    Liberty Group Idaho Holdings, Inc.
GateHouse Media Holdco, Inc.    Liberty Group Holdco, Inc.
GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings II, Inc.    None
GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings, Inc.   

Liberty Group Illinois Holdings, Inc.

 

GateHouse Media Illinois Holding, Inc. was the surviving company in the merger with Galesburg Printing and Publishing Company in January, 2009

GateHouse Media, Inc.    Liberty Group Publishing, Inc.


LOAN PARTY

  

PRIOR NAMES

GateHouse Media Iowa Holdings, Inc.    Liberty Group Iowa Holdings, Inc.
GateHouse Media Kansas Holdings II, Inc.    None
GateHouse Media Kansas Holdings, Inc.    Liberty Group Kansas Holdings, Inc.
GateHouse Media Lansing Printing, Inc.    Liberty Group Lansing Printing, Inc.
GateHouse Media Louisiana Holdings, Inc.    Liberty Group Louisiana Holdings, Inc.
GateHouse Media Management Services, Inc.    Liberty Group Management Services, Inc.
GateHouse Media Massachusetts I, Inc.    None
GateHouse Media Massachusetts II, Inc.    None
GateHouse Media Michigan Holdings II, Inc.    None
GateHouse Media Michigan Holdings, Inc.    Liberty Group Michigan Holdings, Inc.
GateHouse Media Minnesota Holdings, Inc.    Liberty Group Minnesota Holdings, Inc.
GateHouse Media Missouri Holdings II, Inc.    None
GateHouse Media Missouri Holdings, Inc.    Liberty Group Missouri Holdings, Inc.
GateHouse Media Nebraska Holdings II, Inc.    None
GateHouse Media Nebraska Holdings, Inc.    Liberty Group Nebraska Holdings, Inc.
GateHouse Media Nevada Holdings, Inc.   

Liberty Group Holdings, Inc.; Liberty Group

Colorado Holdings, Inc.; Liberty Group Nevada

Holdings, Inc.

GateHouse Media New York Holdings, Inc.    Liberty Group New York Holdings, Inc.
GateHouse Media North Dakota Holdings, Inc.    Liberty Group North Dakota Holdings, Inc.
GateHouse Media Ohio Holdings, Inc.    None
GateHouse Media Oklahoma Holdings, Inc.    None
GateHouse Media Operating, Inc.    Liberty Group Operating, Inc.
GateHouse Media Pennsylvania Holdings, Inc.    Liberty Group Pennsylvania Holdings, Inc.
GateHouse Media Suburban Newspapers, Inc.    Liberty Group Suburban Newspapers, Inc.
GateHouse Media Tennessee Holdings, Inc.    None


LOAN PARTY

  

PRIOR NAMES

GateHouse Media Ventures, Inc.

   GateHouse Media Arizona Holdings, Inc.

George W. Prescott Publishing Company, LLC

   None

Liberty SMC, L.L.C.

   None

Low Realty, LLC

   None

LRT Four Hundred, LLC

   None

Mineral Daily News Tribune, Inc.

   None

News Leader, Inc.

   Leesville Leader, Inc.

SureWest Directories

   Roseville Directory Company

Terry Newspapers, Inc.

   Geneseo Republic, Inc.

The Peoria Journal Star, Inc.

   None


SCHEDULE 5.7

ENVIRONMENTAL

Federal Occupational Safety and Health Act Laws – None

Environmental Laws – See Below.

All issues and conditions identified as “Recognized Environmental Conditions,” “Historic Recognized Environmental Conditions,” “Business Environmental Risks,” “EHS Compliance Issues,” or “Other Potential Issues” in the Executive Summary and/or Conclusions & Recommendations sections of the Environmental Resources Management Phase I Environmental Site Assessment Reports for the following Real Property:

 

Ref. No.

   Address          
  

Street

  

City

  

State

  

Report Date

  

Status

1

   224 E. Ridgecrest Blvd.    Ridgecrest    CA    11/5/2013    Final

2

   66 Franklin Street    Norwich    CT    11/22/2013    Final

3

   140 South Prairie Street    Galesburg    IL    11/22/2013    Final

4

   1 News Plaza    Peoria    IL    11/5/2013    Final

5

   99 E. State Street    Rockford    IL    11/5/2013    Final

6

   1 Copley Plaza    Springfield    IL    11/5/2013    Final

7

   475 Washington Street    Auburn    MA    11/5/2013    Final

8

   207 Pocasset Street    Fall River    MA    11/22/2013    Final

9

   33 New York Avenue    Framingham    MA    11/5/2013    Final

10

   165 Enterprise Drive    Marshfield    MA    11/22/2013    Final

11

   5 Cohannet Street    Taunton    MA    11/22/2013    Final

12

   595 Jenner Drive    Allegan    MI    11/25/2013    Final

13

   54 W. 8th Street    Holland    MI    11/5/2013    Final

14

   410 S. Liberty Street    Independence    MO    11/5/2013    Final

15

   221 Oriskany Plaza    Utica    NY    11/5/2013    Final

16

   500 Market Avenue, S.    Canton    OH    11/5/2013    Final

17

   629 Wabash Avenue    New Philadelphia    OH    11/5/2013    Final


SCHEDULE 5.8 (b)(i)

LITIGATION

 

Date of
Service

   Title of Action    Nature of Action    Amount
Claimed
        Insurance
Coverage
  

Plaintiff

  

Defendant

  

Pending
Litigation

  

Threatened

Litigation

     

Comments/

Updates

  

10/25/2007

  

Rubin, Michael

(freelance writer)

   Community Newspaper Company       Dormant/
Inactive

(Defamation)

   $100,000       Errors &
Omissions
Insurance -
Deductible
$10,000

4/30/2013

   Graves Monserrat, Jonathan    Filcman, Debra former editor of GateHouse Media Massachusetts I, Inc. d/b/a Somerville Journal    Libel       $500,000.00 +       Errors &
Omissions

Insurance -
Deductible
$10,000

2/14/2013

   Azubuko, Chukwuma E    GateHouse Media Massachusetts I, Inc. d/b/a Brookline Tab    Defamation

Libel

      $1,000,000.00 -

$2,500,000.00

      Errors &
Omissions
Insurance -
Deductible

$50,000

1/17/2007

   Murphy, Charles A    GateHouse Media Massachusetts I, Inc. d/b/a Burlington Union and GateHouse Media, Inc.    Dormant/
Inactive

(Defamation)

      $600,000.00       Errors &
Omissions

Insurance -
Deductible

$10,000

8/20/2012

   Earley, Wayne    GateHouse Media Pennsylvania Holdings, Inc. d/b/a The Wayne Independent    Defamation       $200,000.00 +       Errors &
Omissions
Insurance -
Deductible
$10,000

10/7/2011

   King, David    George W. Prescott Publishing Company, LLC d/b/a Patriot Ledger    Employee
Litigation
(Independent
Contractor
Statute,
Massachusetts
Minimum
Wage Act,
Unjust
Enrichment
and Quantum
Merit)
      $725,000.00       NONE


SCHEDULE 5.8(b)(ii)

INDEBTEDNESS

 

1 . T r ad e C r e d it o r s: All trade creditors will be paid 100% of their respective claims in due course .

 

2 . L ett e r s of C r e d it: The following is a list of Letters of Credit under which a Loan Party may have a reimbursement obligation.

 

Lo a n P a r t y

   F a ce Am ount      I ssu in g B a nk    L etter   o f   C r e d i t   N o .

En te r pr ise N e w sMe d i a , L L C

   $ 175 , 000.00       H S B C    L C#   SDCM T D555036

G a te H o u se Me d ia O p e ra t i ng , I n c .

   $ 301 , 000.00       H S B C    L C#   SDCM T N 555029

G a te H o u se Me d ia O p e ra t i ng , I n c .

   $ 376 , 300.00       H S B C    L C#   SM222063

G a te H o u se Me d ia O p e ra t i ng , I n c .

   $ 750 , 000.00       H S B C    L C#   SDCM T N 554607

G a te H o u se Me d ia O p e ra t i ng , I n c .

   $ 3 , 580 , 000.00       H S B C    L C#   SDCM T N 555052


SCHEDULE 5.8(d)

PLANS

 

1. Copley Ohio Newspapers, Inc. maintains the “ Brush-Moore Retiree Medical Plan ”; there were 25 total participants as of January 1, 2012.

 

2. George W. Prescott Publishing Company, LLC maintains the:

 

  (a) Patriot Ledger Postretirement Medical and Life Insurance Benefit Plan ”; there were 120 participants (this includes: active and retirees) as of the January 1, 2012 census date; during 2008 this plan was frozen and amended to limit future benefits to a select group of active employees; and

 

  (b) George W. Prescott Publishing Company Pension Plan ”; there were 616 participants (this includes: active and retirees) as of the January 1, 2012 census date; this plan was amended to freeze all future benefit accruals as of December 31, 2008, except for a select group of union employees whose benefits were frozen during 2009.


SCHEDULE 5.9

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

 

FEDERAL TRADEMARKS

REGISTRANT

 

REGISTRATION /

(APPLICATION) NUMBER

 

REGISTRATION

(APPLICATION) DATE

 

TITLE

GateHouse Media, Inc.   (86/009,366)   (7/12/13)   A LA CARTE
GateHouse Media, Inc.   (85/676,765)   (7/13/12)   BESTRIDE.com and Design
GateHouse Media, Inc.   (85/724,120)   (9/8/12)   COLOSSAL DEAL
GateHouse Media, Inc.   (85/724,123)   (9/8/12)   COLOSSAL AUCTION
GateHouse Media, Inc.   3,424,658   5/6/08   GATEHOUSE MEDIA and Design
GateHouse Media, Inc.   (86/009,325)   (6/3/13)   MORE CONTENT NOW and Design
GateHouse Media, Inc.   4,422,928   10/22/13   PAINT IT ALL PINK
GateHouse Media, Inc.   3,924,001   2/22/11   RADARFROG
GateHouse Media, Inc.   3,926,750   5/1/11   RADARFROG and Horizontal Design
GateHouse Media, Inc.   3,926,751   5/1/11   RADARFROG and Vertical Design
GateHouse Media, Inc.   3,920988   2/15/11   SAVE HERE AND EVERYWHERE
GateHouse Media, Inc.   3,587,689   3/10/09   TOTALLY LOCAL
GateHouse Media, Inc.   3,472,965   7/22/08   TOTALLY LOCAL and Design
GateHouse Media Ventures, Inc.   (85/720,044)   (9/4/12)   ADHANCE MEDIA
GateHouse Media Ventures, Inc.   (85/720,055)   (9/4/12)   ADHANCE MEDIA and Design
GateHouse Media Ventures, Inc.   (85/893,302)   (4/2/13)   CARESAFE
GateHouse Media Ventures, Inc.   (85/893,319)   (4/2/13)   CARE SAFE
GateHouse Media Ventures, Inc.   (85/618,646)   (5/7/12)   COMPASS AGING SERVICES
GateHouse Media Ventures, Inc.   (85/618,666)   (5/7/12)   COMPASS AGING SERVICES and Design
GateHouse Media Ventures, Inc.   (85/617,432)   (5/4/12)   PROPEL MARKETING
GateHouse Media Ventures, Inc.   (85/617,471)   (5/4/12)   PROPEL MARKETING and Design
GateHouse Media Connecticut Holdings, Inc.   2,894,674   10/19/04   NORWICH BULLETIN
GateHouse Media Corning Holdings, Inc.   2,788,918   12/2/03   THE LEADER
GateHouse Media Freeport Holdings, Inc.   2,847,486   6/1/04   THE JOURNAL-STANDARD
GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings, Inc.   2,320,943   2/22/00   ROCKFORD REGISTER STAR


FEDERAL TRADEMARKS

REGISTRANT

 

REGISTRATION /

(APPLICATION) NUMBER

 

REGISTRATION

(APPLICATION) DATE

 

TITLE

GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings II, Inc.   1,213,886   10/26/82   THE STATE JOURNAL-REGISTER
GateHouse Media Massachusetts I, Inc.   3,010,523   11/1/05   PICKET FENCE GATE DESIGN ONLY
GateHouse Media Massachusetts I, Inc.   2,069,641   6/10/97   TOWNONLINE
GateHouse Media Massachusetts I, Inc.   1,475,873   2/9/88   BEACON and Design
GateHouse Media Massachusetts I, Inc.   3,352,822   12/11/07   THE SANDWICH BROADSIDER
GateHouse Media Massachusetts I, Inc.   3,507,954   9/30/08   SOUTHOFBOSTON.COM
GateHouse Media Massachusetts I, Inc.   2,007,205   10/8/96   PROVINCETOWN BANNER
GateHouse Media Massachusetts I, Inc.   3,056,976   2/7/06   PROVINCETOWN BANNER AND THE ADVOCATE
GateHouse Media Massachusetts I, Inc.   3,107,411   6/20/06   OUTER CAPE LIVING
GateHouse Media Massachusetts I, Inc.   3,345,458   11/27/07   WICKED LOCAL
GateHouse Media Massachusetts I, Inc.   3,666,193   8/11/09   NEWTON TAB
GateHouse Media Massachusetts I, Inc.   3,650,512   7/7/09   THE DAILY NEWS TRIBUNE
GateHouse Media Massachusetts I, Inc.   3,675,837   9/1/09   NEEDHAM TIMES
GateHouse Media Missouri Holdings, Inc.   (85,825,139)   (1/16/13)   BOONSLICK VISITOR’S GUIDE
GateHouse Media New York Holdings, Inc.   2,747,008   8/5/03   OBSERVER-DISPATCH
GateHouse Media New York Holdings, Inc.   1,091,412   5/16/78   GOLDEN TIMES
Enterprise NewsMedia, LLC   3,299,079   9/25/07   TOWN COMMONS
Enterprise NewsMedia, LLC   3,299,316   9/25/07   SOUTH COAST HOMES
Enterprise NewsMedia, LLC   3,052,266   1/31/06   CRANBERRY COAST HOMES
George W. Prescott Publishing Company, LLC   2,097,397   9/16/97   THE PATRIOT LEDGER
Copley Ohio Newspapers, Inc.   3,949,479   4/19/11   ABOUT STARK COUNTY


STATE TRADEMARKS

REGISTRANT

 

REGISTRATION

(APPLICATION) NUMBER

 

REGISTRATION

(APPLICATION) DATE

 

TITLE

Copley Ohio Newspapers, Inc.   1820925(OH)   12/2/08   GET FIT, STARK!
GateHouse Media Delaware Holdings, Inc.   120238747(DE)   2/8/12   COMMUNITYPUB
Enterprise Publishing Company, LLC   32,263(MA)   12/14/81   THE ENTERPRISE
Enterprise Publishing Company, LLC   32,262(MA)   12/14/81   THE SUNDAY ENTERPRISE
GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings, Inc.   102,753(IL)   3/22/11   SHOW & SELL
GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings, Inc.   63,051(IL)   7/22/98   THE HENRY COUNTY ADVERTIZER
GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings, Inc.   69,772(IL)   1/21/92   STAR COURIER
GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings, Inc.   104,544(IL)   8/23/12   LIVINGSTON SHOPPING NEWS
GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings, Inc.   80,941(IL)   7/19/07   LOGAN COUNTY SHOPPER
GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings, Inc.   102,251(IL)   10/14/10   SPRINGFIELD ADVERTISER
GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings, Inc.   102,250(IL)   10/14/10   THE COURIER
GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings, Inc.   85,622(IL)   7/13/00   THE OLDEST NEWSPAPER IN ILLINOIS
GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings, Inc.   54,631(IL)   4/2/84   S.I. TRADER
GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings, Inc.   105,763(IL)   8/13/13   ROCKFORD PARENT
GateHouse Media Kansas Holdings, Inc.   In Process   In Process   THE BUTLER COUNTY TIMES-GAZETTE
GateHouse Media Macomb Holdings, Inc.   101,211(IL)   1/14/10   THE MCDONOUGH COUNTY CHOICE
GateHouse Media Macomb Holdings, Inc.   101,210(IL)   1/14/10   THE MCDONOUGH COUNTY VOICE
GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings II, Inc.   100,126(IL)   3/26/09   INTROS
GateHouse Media Kansas Holdings, Inc.   13,151(KS)   3/23/09   CHRONICLE SHOPPER
GateHouse Media Kansas Holdings, Inc.   17,667(MO)   6/8/07   CHRONICLE SHOPPER
GateHouse Media Massachusetts I, Inc.   65,962(MA)   7/5/05   BOSTON TAB
GateHouse Media Massachusetts I, Inc.   67,141(MA)   6/5/06   NATICK BULLETIN & TAB
GateHouse Media Massachusetts I, Inc.   38,550(MA)   6/10/86   THE FRAMINGHAM TAB
GateHouse Media Massachusetts I, Inc.   51,183(MA)   5/5/95   COMMUNITY CLASSIFIEDS
GateHouse Media Massachusetts I, Inc.   57,262(MA)   4/21/99  

BOSTON HOMES THE

COMPLETE GUIDE

GateHouse Media Massachusetts I, Inc.   55,793(MA)   4/22/98   READER’S CHOICE AWARDS


STATE TRADEMARKS

REGISTRANT

 

REGISTRATION

(APPLICATION) NUMBER

 

REGISTRATION

(APPLICATION) DATE

 

TITLE

GateHouse Media Massachusetts I, Inc.   52,832(MA)   6/25/96   TOWN ONLINE
GateHouse Media Massachusetts I, Inc.   52,622(MA)   5/1/96   AUTO WEEKLY
GateHouse Media Massachusetts I, Inc.   51,086(MA)   4/13/95   PROVINCETOWN BANNER
GateHouse Media Massachusetts I, Inc.   51,087(MA)   4/13/95   PROVINCETOWN BANNER with Design
GateHouse Media Massachusetts I, Inc.   30,037(MA)   2/29/80   WAREHAM COURIER
GateHouse Media Massachusetts I, Inc.   30,040(MA)   2/29/80   OLD COLONY MEMORIAL
GateHouse Media Massachusetts I, Inc.   69,643(MA)   2/28/08   CARVER REPORTER
GateHouse Media Massachusetts I, Inc.   41,055(MA)   2/26/88   DUXBURY REPORTER
GateHouse Media Massachusetts I, Inc.   76,950(MA)   2/21/13   HALIFAX-PLYMPTON REPORTER
GateHouse Media Massachusetts I, Inc.   41,053(MA)   2/26/88   KINGSTON REPORTER
GateHouse Media Massachusetts I, Inc.   76,867(MA)   2/4/13   PEMBROKE MARINER & EXPRESS
GateHouse Media Massachusetts I, Inc.   960,806(RI)   4/2/07   AUTO WEEKLY
GateHouse Media Massachusetts I, Inc.   960,611(RI)   6/25/96   TOWN ONLINE
GateHouse Media Massachusetts I, Inc.   77,024(MA)   3/9/13  

GREATER FALL RIVER

RESTAURANT WEEK

GateHouse Media Michigan Holdings II, Inc.   M23015(MI)   1/28/79   HILLSDALE DAILY NEWS
GateHouse Media Michigan Holdings II, Inc.   M39015(MI)   5/5/77   THE HOLLAND SENTINEL
GateHouse Media Missouri Holdings, Inc.   19,069(MO)   4/12/12   CHILLICOTHE C-T SHOPPER
GateHouse Media Missouri Holdings, Inc.   19,232(MO)   1/4/13   LAKE SUN EXTRA
GateHouse Media Missouri Holdings, Inc.   19,412(MO)   9/14/13   EJC BUSINESS REVIEW
GateHouse Media Missouri Holdings, Inc.   18,790(KS)   8/21/13   EJC BUSINESS REVIEW
GateHouse Media Missouri Holdings, Inc.   19,238(MO)   4/1/13   BOONSLICK VISITORS’ GUIDE
GateHouse Media Pennsylvania Holdings, Inc.   3,340,634(PA)   11/19/09   FOOTSTEPS
The Peoria Journal Star, Inc.   101,262(IL)   1/25/10   PRIME TIMES
The Peoria Journal Star, Inc.   101,209(IL)   1/14/10   PRIME TIMES EXPO
The Peoria Journal Star, Inc.   102,602(IL)   2/9/11   JOURNAL STAR
The Peoria Journal Star, Inc.   96,061(IL)   5/15/06   STYLE AND SUBSTANCE


STATE TRADEMARKS

REGISTRANT

 

REGISTRATION

(APPLICATION) NUMBER

 

REGISTRATION

(APPLICATION) DATE

 

TITLE

The Peoria Journal Star, Inc.   104,190(IL)   5/15/12   JOURNAL STAR MEDIA…..DELIVERING YOUR CUSTOMERS
The Peoria Journal Star, Inc.   103,907(IL)   6/18/12   POWER ILLINOIS NETWORK
The Peoria Journal Star, Inc.   105,304(IL)   4/24/13   PRAIRIE STATE OUTDOORS


STATE SERVICE MARKS

REGISTRANT

 

REGISTRATION

(APPLICATION) NUMBER

 

REGISTRATION

(APPLICATION) DATE

 

TITLE

GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings, Inc.   104,147(IL)   5/3/12   THE MONEY STRETCHER
GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings, Inc.   105,635(IL)   7/3/13   VICTORY LAP BRUNCH
GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings, Inc.   105,634(IL)   7/3/13   VICTORY LAP
GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings, Inc.   100,951(IL)   10/8/09   THE SNAP
GateHouse Media Massachusetts I, Inc.   51,184(MA)   5/5/95   COMMUNITY CLASSIFIEDS
GateHouse Media Massachusetts I, Inc.   52,625(MA)   5/1/96   AUTO WEEKLY
GateHouse Media Massachusetts I, Inc.   960,810(RI)   4/2/07   AUTO WEEKLY
GateHouse Media Missouri Holdings, Inc.   19,412(MO)   9/14/13   EJC BUSINESS REVIEW
GateHouse Media Missouri Holdings, Inc.   18,790(KS)   8/21/13   EJC BUSINESS REVIEW
The Peoria Journal Star, Inc.   105,632(IL)   7/3/13   BARSTORMING
The Peoria Journal Star, Inc.   105,633(IL)   7/3/13   BAR STORMING and Design
The Peoria Journal Star, Inc.   101,358(IL)   2/24/10   VALLEY PEEKS
The Peoria Journal Star, Inc.   102,110(IL)   9/3/10   eJOURNALSTAR
The Peoria Journal Star, Inc.   103,346(IL)   9/6/11   RIVER CITY ROUNDUP


COPYRIGHTS*

REGISTRANT

 

REGISTRATION NUMBER

 

REGISTRATION DATE

 

TITLE

GateHouse Media Louisiana Holdings, Inc.   TX 5-096-638

TX 6-097-829

  2007   Ascension Citizen (Gonzales, LA), vol. 4, issue 31, April 25, 2000 & 1 other title
GateHouse Media Massachusetts I, Inc.   TX 5-810-633   2006   Abacadoo and the sweeper; monograph. TX 5-810-633 (2003)”
GateHouse Media Massachusetts I, Inc.   TX 5-810-633   2007   Abacadoo and the sweeper; TX 5-810-633 (2003)
GateHouse Media Massachusetts I, Inc.   TX0006660121   2008   Daily News Tribune (Waltham, MA)
GateHouse Media Massachusetts I, Inc.   TX0006647222(x4)   2008   Needham (MA) Times
GateHouse Media Massachusetts I, Inc.   TX0006647223 (x4)

 

TX0006660120 (x4)

 

TX0006604542 (x4)

  2008   Needham (MA) Tab
GateHouse Media Massachusetts I, Inc.   TX 6-601-121

 

TX 6-601-120

 

TX 6-604-542

 

TX 6-647-222

  2009   November 2008 issues of Daily News Tribune & 3 other titles
GateHouse Media Michigan Holdings, Inc.   TX 5-188-810

 

TX 6-097-830

  2007   Clintonville (WI) Tribune-Gazette v. 120 & 1 other title
GateHouse Media Michigan Holdings, Inc.   TX 5-188-810

 

TX 6-097-830

  2008   Clintonville (WI) Tribune-Gazette v. 120, October 27, 2000 & 1 other titled

 

* The list of copyrights includes items that are listed in the Company’s database and the listing does not mean that any such copyrights are material.


SCHEDULE 5.10

LICENSES AND PERMITS

NONE


SCHEDULE 5.14

LABOR DISPUTES

NONE


SCHEDULE 5.24

EQUITY INTERESTS

 

Loan Party

  

Beneficial Holder

   Common Stock
(unless
otherwise
indicated)
    Percentage
Ownership
 

Copley Ohio Newspapers, Inc.

  

GateHouse Media Ohio Holdings, Inc.

     1,000        100

ENHE Acquisition, LLC

  

GateHouse Media Operating, Inc.

    
 
Membership
Units
  
  
    100

Enterprise NewsMedia Holding, LLC

  

GateHouse Media Massachusetts II, Inc.

    

 
 

99,000

(Membership
Units

  

  

    100

Enterprise NewsMedia, LLC

  

Enterprise NewsMedia Holding, LLC

    
 
Membership
Units
  
  
    100

Enterprise Publishing Company, LLC

  

Enterprise NewsMedia, LLC

    
 
Membership
Units
  
  
    100

GateHouse Media Arkansas Holdings, Inc.

  

GateHouse Media Operating, Inc.

     100        100

GateHouse Media California Holdings, Inc.

  

GateHouse Media Operating, Inc.

     100        100

GateHouse Media Colorado Holdings, Inc.

  

GateHouse Media Operating, Inc.

     100        100

GateHouse Media Connecticut Holdings, Inc.

  

GateHouse Media Operating, Inc.

     100        100

GateHouse Media Corning Holdings, Inc.

  

GateHouse Media Nevada Holdings, Inc.

     206.37        100

GateHouse Media Delaware Holdings, Inc.

  

GateHouse Media Operating, Inc.

     100        100

GateHouse Media Directories Holdings, Inc.

  

GateHouse Media Operating, Inc.

     100        100

GateHouse Media Florida Holdings, Inc.

  

GateHouse Media Operating, Inc.

     100        100

GateHouse Media Freeport Holdings, Inc.

  

GateHouse Media Operating, Inc.

     100        100


Loan Party

  

Beneficial Holder

   Common Stock
(unless
otherwise
indicated)
     Percentage
Ownership
 

GateHouse Media Holdco, Inc.

  

GateHouse Media Intermediate Holdco, Inc.

     100         100

GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings II, Inc.

  

GateHouse Media Operating, Inc.

     100         100

GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings, Inc.

  

GateHouse Media Operating, Inc.

     100         100

GateHouse Media Intermediate Holdco, Inc.

  

GateHouse Media, Inc.

     100         100

GateHouse Media Iowa Holdings, Inc.

  

GateHouse Media Operating, Inc.

     100         100

GateHouse Media Kansas Holdings II, Inc.

  

GateHouse Media Kansas Holdings, Inc.

     100         100

GateHouse Media Kansas Holdings, Inc.

  

GateHouse Media Operating, Inc.

     100         100

GateHouse Media Lansing Printing, Inc.

  

GateHouse Media Suburban Newspapers, Inc.

     100         100

GateHouse Media Louisiana Holdings, Inc.

  

GateHouse Media Operating, Inc.

     100         100

GateHouse Media Management Services, Inc.

  

GateHouse Media Operating, Inc.

     100         100

GateHouse Media Massachusetts I, Inc.

  

GateHouse Media Operating, Inc.

     1,000         100

GateHouse Media Massachusetts II, Inc.

  

GateHouse Media Operating, Inc.

     100,000         100

GateHouse Media Michigan Holdings II, Inc.

  

GateHouse Media Michigan Holdings, Inc.

     100         100

GateHouse Media Michigan Holdings, Inc.

  

GateHouse Media Operating, Inc.

     100         100

GateHouse Media Minnesota Holdings, Inc.

  

GateHouse Media Operating, Inc.

     100         100

GateHouse Media Missouri Holdings II, Inc.

  

GateHouse Media Missouri Holdings, Inc.

     100         100


Loan Party

  

Beneficial Holder

   Common Stock
(unless
otherwise
indicated)
    Percentage
Ownership
 

GateHouse Media Missouri Holdings, Inc.

  

GateHouse Media Operating, Inc.

     100        100

GateHouse Media Nebraska Holdings II, Inc.

  

GateHouse Media Nebraska Holdings, Inc.

     100        100

GateHouse Media Nebraska Holdings, Inc.

  

GateHouse Media Operating, Inc.

     100        100

GateHouse Media Nevada Holdings, Inc.

  

GateHouse Media Operating, Inc.

     100        100

GateHouse Media New York Holdings, Inc.

  

GateHouse Media Operating, Inc.

     100        100

GateHouse Media North Dakota Holdings, Inc.

  

GateHouse Media Operating, Inc.

     100        100

GateHouse Media Ohio Holdings, Inc.

  

GateHouse Media Operating, Inc.

     100        100

GateHouse Media Oklahoma Holdings, Inc.

  

GateHouse Media Operating, Inc.

     100        100

GateHouse Media Operating, Inc.

  

GateHouse Media Holdco, Inc.

     100        100

GateHouse Media Pennsylvania Holdings, Inc.

  

GateHouse Media Operating, Inc.

     100        100

GateHouse Media Suburban Newspapers, Inc.

  

GateHouse Media Operating, Inc.

     100        100

GateHouse Media Tennessee Holdings, Inc.

  

GateHouse Media Operating, Inc.

     100        100

GateHouse Media Ventures, Inc.

  

GateHouse Media Operating, Inc.

     100        100

George W. Prescott Publishing Company, LLC

  

Enterprise NewsMedia, LLC

    
 
Membership
Units
  
  
    100

Liberty SMC, L.L.C.

  

GateHouse Media Operating, Inc.

    
 
4,000
(Class A
  
    100

Liberty SMC, L.L.C.

  

GateHouse Media Operating, Inc.

    
 
1,000
(Class B
  
    100


Loan Party

  

Beneficial Holder

   Common Stock
(unless
otherwise
indicated)
    Percentage
Ownership
 

Low Realty, LLC

  

Enterprise NewsMedia, LLC

    
 
Membership
Units
  
  
    100

LRT Four Hundred, LLC

  

Enterprise NewsMedia, LLC

    
 
Membership
Units
  
  
    100

Mineral Daily News Tribune, Inc.

  

GateHouse Media Operating, Inc.

     500        100

News Leader, Inc.

  

GateHouse Media Louisiana Holdings, Inc.

    
 
100,000
(Class A
  
    100

News Leader, Inc.

  

GateHouse Media Louisiana Holdings, Inc.

    
 
100,000
(Class B
  
    100

SureWest Directories

  

GateHouse Media Directories Holdings, Inc.

     1,000        100

Terry Newspapers, Inc.

  

GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings, Inc.

     840        100

The Peoria Journal Star, Inc.

  

GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings, Inc.

     1,000        100

Note : The above schedule does not include GateHouse Media, Inc.


SCHEDULE 5.25

COMMERCIAL TORT CLAIMS

NONE


SCHEDULE 5.26

LETTER OF CREDIT RIGHTS

NONE


SCHEDULE 5.27

MATERIAL CONTRACTS

 

Vendors

Ad2Pro Modification & Extension of Agreement for Advertising Services

Ad2pro Oct-Dec Letter Amendment

ADP Agreement

Advantage Marketing Consultants, Inc. Terms & Conditions_GHM Messenger Post_ 4-12-2006

Agfa Direct Consumable Purchase Agreement 2009-2011

Boston Globe Printing Agreement Assignment 9-2013

Boston Globe Printing Agreement

Casale Media_GHS MSA 1.1.2013

CBS (Custom Business Systems)

Communispace Master Community Implementation & Support Agreement

Consortium Gov - 10-3 [still being reviewed-negotiated]

Custom Business Systems (CBS) LLC Addendum to Work Schedule

D&B Order Form - 3-18-2013

DataXu Platform Agreement_GHS 12-1-2011

Datrose - GHS Master Services Agreement- 4-30-2008

Distributor Agreement - Herald News-Providence Journal

E&Y 2010 Engagement Letter 3yr NOT FULLY EXECUTED

E&Y Attachment A (corrected) to the Engagement Letter

E&Y specialist work engagement letter

Exelon Energy (Master Electricity Sales Agr) GHS IL Rockford 12-9-10 NOT FULLY EXECUTED

Frank N. Magid Engagement Letter

Journalism Online Agreement 2010

Baton Rouge Press Inc. Printing Agreement_GHS_NOT FULLY EXECUTED

Gannett (Offset)_Printing Agreement_GHS_NOT FULLY EXECUTED


Journalism Online Agreement Addendum 6 / 2011

Krueger Newsprint Agreement 2013

Mather Engagement Proposal & SOW

Media Span Master Application Services Agreement

Media Span Sole Source Agreement

Monster Consortium Agreement - Side Letter - Boston

Monster Consortium Agreement - Side Letter - Chicago

Monster Consortium Agreement

Providence Journal Printing Agreement 10-2011

Providence Journal Printing Agreement Addendum_ Taunton Gazette Aug 2012

Publishers Circulation Fulfillment Inc_Addendum 1 to Distribution Agreement - GHSMI - 2011

Publishers Circulation Fulfillment Inc_Addendum 1 to Home Delivery Agreement - GHSMI - 2011

Publishers Circulation Fulfillment Inc_Addendum 2 to Home Delivery Agreement - GHSMI - Feb 2011

Publishers Circulation Fulfillment Inc_Addendum 2 to Home Delivery Agreement - GHSMI -Jan 2011

Publishers Circulation Fulfillment Inc_Addendum 3 to Home Delivery Agreement - GHSMI - 2011

Publishers Circulation Fulfillment Inc_Agreement - Enterprise 2009

Publishers Circulation Fulfillment Inc_Distribution Agreement - Jan 2011

Publishers Circulation Fulfillment Inc_Home Delivery Agreement Feb 2011

Salesforce.com Master Subscription Agreement

SAXOTECH Subscription Agreement

SAXOTECH Subscription Order Form

ShopCo Affiliate Agreement FINAL

ShopCo Class B Joinder Agreement FINAL

Shopco Holdings Schedule 1 Members-Unites & Percentage Interests

Shopco Holdings, LLC Affiliate Agreement GHS NOT FULLY EXECUTED

ShopCo LLC Amended and Restated LLC Operating Agreement FINAL

SmartFOCUS US - MAAX Master Contract


SouthernLithoplate (Equipment Purchase Agr) GHS MI Flashes_10-7-10 NOT FULLY EXECUTED

Spectrum Marketing Company Bonus Agreement NOT FULLY EXECUTED

Travidia Agreement and Addendum No. 1 5-09

Universal Uclick - Big Nate S Agreement

Vast Website Lead and Services Agreement

CDW_Joinder Agreement_GHS 2008

Gannett CNY Product Facility_Newspaper Printing Agr._GHS NY_May 2011

VSplash Techlabs Master Services Agreement

Yahoo - Graphical Ads Service Order NOT EXECUTED

Yahoo Content_Service_Order_Final

Yahoo Execution Copy - Search Service Order

Yahoo GateHouse Media Executed Letter Agreement 5-22-2007

Yahoo Master Services Agreement NOT EXECUTED

Yahoo MSA Final

Yahoo New Member Election Agreement

Yahoo! Letter Agreement

Yahoo-Monster notice of renewal of consortium Agmt

Agency Succession and Amendment Agreement_with Exhibits

 

Union Contracts

31032 (Newspaper Guild of Greater Boston, TNG-CWA)

  

Local 129 (Newspaper Guild of Utica)

  

Local 31032 (Newspaper Guild of Greater Boston, TNG-CWA)

  

Local 31041 (Newspaper Guild of Providence TNG-CWA)

  

Local 31247 (Patriot Ledger Newsroom Association / Newspaper Guild sector of the Communication Workers of America)

  

Local 3N (Boston Printing Pressman’s Union) (Name changed from Providence Newspaper Printing Pressmen’s Union No. 12)

   1


Local 546M (Graphic Communications Conference/International Brotherhood of Teamsters)

  

Local No. 1 (Northeast Ohio Newspaper Guild)

     2   

Local No. 1 (Northeast Ohio Newspaper Guild)

  

Local No. 219 (Canton Typographical Union)

  

Local No. 36047 (Peoria Unit 86 of the United Media Guild)

  

Local No. 568-M (Peoria Printing Specialty and Paper Products Union G.C.I.U.)

  

Local Union 3803 (Unit 4 / International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers of America, AFL-CIO)

  

Local Union No. 259 (Newspaper Chauffeurs, Distributors, and Helpers, I.B.T.)

  

Local Union No. 627 (Teamsters, Chaffeurs and Helpers)

  

Local Union No. 916 (affiliated with the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Chauffeurs, Warehousemen and Helpers of America)

  

Union 36047 (St. Louis Newspaper Guild)

  

Union No. 13 (Boston Typographical)

     3   

Union No. 13 (Boston Typographical) (Herald News)

     4   

Union No. 177 [Central Illinois Typographical (District Managers) Affiliated with the Printing, Publishing and Media Workers Sector, Communication Workers of America]

  

Union No. 177 [Central Illinois Typographical (Maintenance/Janitorial) Affiliated with the Printing, Publishing and Media Workers Sector, Communication Workers of America]

  

Union No. 18 / CWA 14503 [Detroit Typographical (F.K.A. Northeast Ohio Newspaper Guild, Local One - Massilon Typographical Union No. 298)]

  

Union No. 98 (Peoria Mailers’)

  

Footnote:

 

1. Local 3N Pressman’s Union – Expired April 2013 / Currently being negotiated
2. Independent Guild_2011 to 2013 merged into Repository Guild_2012 to 2014
3. Union No. 13 – Expired May 2008 / Currently being negotiated
4. Union No. 13 (Herald News) – Expired May 2010 / Currently being negotiated


SCHEDULE 7.3

GUARANTEES

NONE

Exhibit 10.34

 

 

 

TERM LOAN AND

SECURITY AGREEMENT

 

 

MUTUAL QUEST FUND

(AS LENDER)

 

 

WITH

 

 

GATEHOUSE MEDIA INTERMEDIATE HOLDCO, INC.

(BORROWER)

AND

THE GUARANTORS NAMED HEREIN

(GUARANTORS)

 

 

November 26, 2013

 

 

 


TABLE OF CONTENTS

 

             Page  
I.   DEFINITIONS      1   
  1.1.   Accounting Terms      1   
  1.2.   General Terms      1   
  1.3.   Uniform Commercial Code Terms      33   
  1.4.   Certain Matters of Construction      33   
II.   ADVANCES, PAYMENTS      34   
  2.1.   Reserved      34   
  2.2.   Procedures for Selection of Applicable Interest Rates      34   
  2.3.   Term Loan      36   
  2.4.   Reserved      36   
  2.5.   Disbursement of Advance Proceeds      36   
  2.6.   Making and Settlement of Advances      36   
  2.7.   Statement of Account      37   
  2.8.   Manner and Repayment of Advances      37   
  2.9.   Mandatory and Optional Prepayments      38   
  2.10.   Use of Proceeds      39   
III.   INTEREST AND FEES      40   
  3.1.   Interest      40   
  3.2.   Reserved      40   
  3.3.   Reserved      40   
  3.4.   Fee Letter      40   
  3.5.   Computation of Interest and Fees      40   
  3.6.   Maximum Charges      40   
  3.7.   Increased Costs      41   
  3.8.   Basis For Determining Interest Rate Inadequate or Unfair      41   
  3.9.   Capital Adequacy      42   
  3.10.   Taxes      43   
  3.11.   Replacement of Lender      44   
  3.12.   Mitigation      45   

 

-i-


IV.   COLLATERAL: GENERAL TERMS      45   
  4.1.   Security Interest in the Collateral      45   
  4.2.   Perfection of Security Interest      46   
  4.3.   Preservation of Collateral      46   
  4.4.   Ownership and Location of Collateral      47   
  4.5.   Defense of Lender’s Interests      47   
  4.6.   Inspection of Premises      48   
  4.7.   Reserved      48   
  4.8.   Chief Executive Office      48   
  4.9.   Reserved      48   
  4.10.   Maintenance of Equipment      48   
  4.11.   Exculpation of Liability      48   
  4.12.   Financing Statements      49   
  4.13.   Senior Creditor as Bailee      49   
V.   REPRESENTATIONS AND WARRANTIES      49   
  5.1.   Authority      49   
  5.2.   Formation and Qualification      50   
  5.3.   Survival of Representations and Warranties      50   
  5.4.   Tax Returns      50   
  5.5.   Financial Statements      50   
  5.6.   Entity Names      51   
  5.7.   O.S.H.A      51   
  5.8.   Solvency; No Litigation, Violation, Indebtedness or Default; ERISA Compliance      52   
  5.9.   Patents, Trademarks, Copyrights and Licenses      53   
  5.10.   Licenses and Permits      54   
  5.11.   Default of Indebtedness      54   
  5.12.   No Default      54   
  5.13.   No Burdensome Restrictions      54   
  5.14.   No Labor Disputes      54   
  5.15.   Margin Regulations      54   
  5.16.   Investment Company Act      54   
  5.17.   Disclosure      55   
  5.18.   Delivery of Senior Loan Documents      55   

 

-ii-


  5.19.   Reserved      55   
  5.20.   Swaps      55   
  5.21.   Business and Property of Loan Parties      55   
  5.22.   Ineligible Securities      55   
  5.23.   Federal Securities Laws      55   
  5.24.   Equity Interests      55   
  5.25.   Commercial Tort Claims      56   
  5.26.   Letter of Credit Rights      56   
  5.27.   Material Contracts      56   
  5.28.   Delivery of Plan of Reorganization, Confirmation Order and Related Documentation      56   
  5.29.   Effectiveness of Plan of Reorganization      56   
VI.   AFFIRMATIVE COVENANTS      56   
  6.1.   Compliance with Laws      56   
  6.2.   Conduct of Business and Maintenance of Existence and Assets      57   
  6.3.   Books and Records      57   
  6.4.   Payment of Taxes      57   
  6.5.   Financial Covenants      58   
  6.6.   Insurance      58   
  6.7.   Payment of Indebtedness and Leasehold Obligations      59   
  6.8.   Environmental Matters      59   
  6.9.   Standards of Financial Statements      61   
  6.10.   Federal Securities Laws      61   
  6.11.   Execution of Supplemental Instruments      61   
  6.12.   Exercise of Rights      61   
  6.13.   Government Receivables      61   
  6.14.   Membership / Partnership Interests      61   
  6.15.   Reserved      61   
  6.16.   Substantial Consummation of Plan of Reorganization      61   
  6.17.   Post-Closing Obligations      61   
VII.   NEGATIVE COVENANTS      62   
  7.1.   Merger, Consolidation, Acquisition and Sale of Assets      62   
  7.2.   Creation of Liens      63   

 

-iii-


  7.3.   Guarantees      63   
  7.4.   Investments      63   
  7.5.   Loans      63   
  7.6.   Capital Expenditures      63   
  7.7.   Dividends      63   
  7.8.   Indebtedness      64   
  7.9.   Nature of Business      64   
  7.10.   Transactions with Affiliates      64   
  7.11.   Reserved      65   
  7.12.   Subsidiaries      65   
  7.13.   Fiscal Year and Accounting Changes      65   
  7.14.   Pledge of Credit      65   
  7.15.   Amendment of Organizational Documents      65   
  7.16.   Compliance with ERISA      66   
  7.17.   Prepayment of Indebtedness      66   
VIII.   CONDITIONS PRECEDENT      66   
  8.1.   Conditions to Initial Advance      66   
IX.   INFORMATION AS TO LOAN PARTIES      71   
  9.1.   Disclosure of Material Matters      71   
  9.2.   Reserved      71   
  9.3.   Environmental Reports      71   
  9.4.   Litigation      72   
  9.5.   Material Occurrences      72   
  9.6.   Reserved      72   
  9.7.   Annual Financial Statements      72   
  9.8.   Quarterly Financial Statements      73   
  9.9.   Reserved      73   
  9.10.   Other Reports      73   
  9.11.   Additional Information      73   
  9.12.   Projected Operating Budget      74   
  9.13.   Variances From Operating Budget      74   
  9.14.   Notice of Suits, Adverse Events      74   
  9.15.   ERISA Notices and Requests      74   

 

-iv-


  9.16.   Additional Documents      75   
  9.17.   Updates to Certain Schedules      75   
  9.18.   Controlling Agent Determinations      75   
X.   EVENTS OF DEFAULT      75   
  10.1.   Nonpayment      75   
  10.2.   Breach of Representation      76   
  10.3.   Financial Information      76   
  10.4.   Judicial Actions      76   
  10.5.   Noncompliance      76   
  10.6.   Judgments      76   
  10.7.   Bankruptcy      76   
  10.8.   Reserved      77   
  10.9.   Lien Priority      77   
  10.10.   Senior Loan Default      77   
  10.11.   Cross Default      77   
  10.12.   Breach of Guaranty or Pledge Agreement      77   
  10.13.   Change of Control      77   
  10.14.   Invalidity      78   
  10.15.   Seizures      78   
  10.16.   Pension Plans      78   
  10.17.   Anti-Money Laundering/International Trade Law Compliance      78   
  10.18.   Plan of Reorganization and Confirmation Order      78   
XI.   LENDER’S RIGHTS AND REMEDIES AFTER DEFAULT      78   
  11.1.   Rights and Remedies      78   
  11.2.   Lender’s Discretion      80   
  11.3.   Setoff      80   
  11.4.   Rights and Remedies not Exclusive      80   
  11.5.   Allocation of Payments After Event of Default      81   
XII.   WAIVERS AND JUDICIAL PROCEEDINGS      81   
  12.1.   Waiver of Notice      81   
  12.2.   Delay      82   
  12.3.   Jury Waiver      82   

 

-v-


XIII.   EFFECTIVE DATE AND TERMINATION      82   
  13.1.   Term      82   
  13.2.   Termination      82   
  13.3.   Release of Collateral      83   
XIV.   RESERVED      83   
XV.   RESERVED      83   
XVI.   GUARANTY      83   
XVII.   MISCELLANEOUS      85   
  17.1.   Governing Law      85   
  17.2.   Entire Understanding      86   
  17.3.   Successors and Assigns; Participations; New Lenders      87   
  17.4.   Application of Payments      90   
  17.5.   Indemnity      91   
  17.6.   Notice      92   
  17.7.   Survival      93   
  17.8.   Severability      93   
  17.9.   Expenses      94   
  17.10.   Injunctive Relief      94   
  17.11.   Consequential Damages      94   
  17.12.   Captions      94   
  17.13.   Counterparts; Facsimile Signatures      94   
  17.14.   Construction      94   
  17.15.   Confidentiality; Sharing Information      94   
  17.16.   Publicity      95   
  17.17.   Certifications From Banks and Participants; USA PATRIOT Act      95   
  17.18.   Anti-Terrorism Laws      96   

 

-vi-


LIST OF EXHIBITS AND SCHEDULES

Exhibits

 

Exhibit 1.2(a)    Compliance Certificate
Exhibit 1.2(b)    Subordination Agreement
Exhibit 2.3(a)    Term Loan Note
Exhibit 5.5(b)    Financial Projections
Exhibit 8.1(h)    Financial Condition Certificate
Exhibit 17.3    Commitment Transfer Supplement
Schedules
Schedule I    Subsidiary Guarantors
Schedule II-A    Transaction Expenses
Schedule II-B    Restructuring-related Expenses
Schedule III    Permitted Dividends (Illustrative Example)
Schedule 1.2(a)    Certain Excluded Property
Schedule 1.2(b)    Permitted Dispositions
Schedule 1.2(c)    Permitted Encumbrances
Schedule 4.4    Equipment and Inventory Locations; Place of Business, Chief Executive Office, Real Property
Schedule 4.8(j)    Concentration and Depository Accounts
Schedule 4.12    Financing Statements
Schedule 5.1    Consents
Schedule 5.2(a)    States of Qualification and Good Standing
Schedule 5.2(b)    Subsidiaries
Schedule 5.4    Federal Tax Identification Number
Schedule 5.6    Prior Names
Schedule 5.7    Environmental
Schedule 5.8(b)(i)    Litigation
Schedule 5.8(b)(ii)    Indebtedness
Schedule 5.8(d)    Plans
Schedule 5.9    Intellectual Property
Schedule 5.10    Licenses and Permits
Schedule 5.14    Labor Disputes
Schedule 5.24    Equity Interests
Schedule 5.25    Commercial Tort Claims
Schedule 5.26    Letter of Credit Rights
Schedule 5.27    Material Contracts
Schedule 7.3    Guarantees
Schedule A    Real Property Locations (First Tier)
Schedule B    Real Property Locations (Second Tier)
Schedule C    Real Property Locations (Third Tier)

 

-vii-


TERM LOAN

AND

SECURITY AGREEMENT

Term Loan and Security Agreement dated as of November 26, 2013 among GATEHOUSE MEDIA INTERMEDIATE HOLDCO, INC., a corporation organized under the laws of the State of Delaware (the “ Company ” or “ Borrower ”), GATEHOUSE MEDIA, INC., a corporation organized under the laws of the State of Delaware (“ Holdco ”), each of the subsidiary guarantors set forth on Schedule I hereto (together with Holdco and each Person joined hereto as a guarantor from time to time, collectively, the “ Guarantors ”, and each a “ Guarantor ”) and Mutual Quest Fund (“ Mutual Quest ” and together with any other bank or financial institution from time to time party to this Agreement, the “ Lender ”).

IN CONSIDERATION of the mutual covenants and undertakings herein contained, Borrower and Lender hereby agree as follows:

I. DEFINITIONS.

1.1. Accounting Terms . As used in this Agreement, the Other Documents or any certificate, report or other document made or delivered pursuant to this Agreement, accounting terms not defined in Section 1.2 or elsewhere in this Agreement and accounting terms partly defined in Section 1.2 to the extent not defined shall have the respective meanings given to them under GAAP; provided, however, that, whenever such accounting terms are used for the purposes of determining compliance with financial covenants in this Agreement, such accounting terms shall be defined in accordance with GAAP as applied in preparation of the audited financial statements of Borrower for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2012.

1.2. General Terms . For purposes of this Agreement the following terms shall have the following meanings:

Accountants ” shall have the meaning set forth in Section 9.7 hereof.

Advances ” shall mean the Term Loan.

Affected Lender ” shall have the meaning set forth in Section 3.11 hereof. “ Affiliate ” of any Person shall mean (a) any Person which, directly or indirectly, is in control of, is controlled by, or is under common control with such Person, or (b) for purposes of Section 7.10, any Person who is a director (i) of such Person, (ii) of any Subsidiary of such Person or (iii) of any Person described in clause (a) above. For purposes of this definition, control of a Person shall mean the power, direct or indirect, (x) to direct or cause the direction of the management and policies of such Person whether by ownership of Equity Interests, contract or otherwise and (y) for purposes of Section 7.10, to vote 10% or more of the Equity Interests having ordinary voting power for the election of directors of such Person or other Persons performing similar functions for any such Person.


Agreement ” shall mean this Term Loan and Security Agreement, as the same may be amended, restated, supplemented or otherwise modified from time to time.

Alternate Base Rate ” shall mean, for any day, a rate per annum equal to the highest of (a) the Base Rate in effect on such day, (b) the sum of the Federal Funds Open Rate in effect on such day plus one half of one percent (0.5%), and (c) the sum of the Daily LIBOR Rate in effect on such day plus one percent (1.0%), so long as a Daily LIBOR Rate is offered, ascertainable and not unlawful.

Alternate Source ” shall have the meaning set forth in the definition of “Federal Funds Open Rate”.

Anti-Terrorism Laws ” shall mean any Laws relating to terrorism, trade sanctions programs and embargoes, import/export licensing, money laundering or bribery, and any regulation, order, or directive promulgated, issued or enforced pursuant to such Laws, all as amended, supplemented or replaced from time to time.

Applicable Law ” shall mean all laws, rules and regulations applicable to the Person, conduct, transaction, covenant, this Agreement, any Other Document or contract in question, including all applicable common law and equitable principles, all provisions of all applicable state, federal and foreign constitutions, statutes, rules, regulations, treaties, directives and orders of any Governmental Body, and all orders, judgments and decrees of all courts and arbitrators.

Applicable Margin ” shall mean an amount equal to ten percent (10.00%) for Advances under the Term Loan consisting of Domestic Rate Loans and eleven percent (11.00%) for Advances under the Term Loan consisting of LIBOR Rate Loans.

Application Date ” shall have the meaning set forth in Section 2.8(b) hereof.

Approvals ” shall have the meaning set forth in Section 5.7(b) hereof.

Approved Electronic Communication ” shall mean each notice, demand, communication, information, document and other material transmitted, posted or otherwise made or communicated by e-mail, E-Fax, the StuckyNet System © , or any other equivalent electronic service agreed to by the Lender, whether owned, operated or hosted by Lender, any of its Affiliates or any other Person, that any party is obligated to, or otherwise chooses to, provide to Lender pursuant to this Agreement or any Other Document, including any financial statement, financial and other report, notice, request, certificate and other information material; provided , that Approved Electronic Communications shall not include any notice, demand, communication, information, document or other material that Lender specifically instructs a Person to deliver in physical form.

Bankruptcy Court ” shall mean the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware.

Bankruptcy Cases ” shall mean the cases in the Bankruptcy Court captioned as In re GateHouse Media, Inc., et. al., Case No. 13-12503 (MFW)(Jointly Administered).

 

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Base Rate ” shall mean the rate as published in the Wall Street Journal “Interest Rates” listing under the caption “Prime rate” from time to time, such rate to be adjusted automatically, without notice, on the effective date of any change in such rate.

Benefited Lender ” shall have the meaning set forth in Section 2.6 hereof.

Borrower ” shall have the meaning set forth in the preamble to this Agreement and shall extend to all permitted successors and assigns of such Persons.

Borrower’s Account ” shall have the meaning set forth in Section 2.7 hereof.

Business Day ” shall mean any day other than Saturday or Sunday or a legal holiday on which commercial banks are authorized or required by law to be closed for business in East Brunswick, New Jersey and, if the applicable Business Day relates to any LIBOR Rate Loans, such day must also be a day on which dealings are carried on in the London interbank market.

Capital Expenditures ” shall mean expenditures made or liabilities incurred for the acquisition of any fixed assets or improvements (or of any replacements or substitutions thereof or additions thereto) which have a useful life of more than one year and which, in accordance with GAAP, would be classified as capital expenditures. Capital Expenditures shall include the total principal portion of Capitalized Lease Obligations. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the term “Capital Expenditures” shall not include (i) Permitted Acquisitions and (ii) capital expenditures financed with the proceeds of equity contributions to Holdco solely to the extent such proceeds are utilized contemporaneously upon receipt thereof and are identified as such.

Capitalized Lease Obligation ” shall mean any Indebtedness of any Loan Party represented by obligations under a lease that is required to be capitalized for financial reporting purposes in accordance with GAAP.

Cash Equivalents ” shall mean (a) securities issued or directly and fully guaranteed or insured by the United States of America or any agency or instrumentality thereof ( provided that the full faith and credit of the United States of America is pledged in support thereof) having maturities of not more than twelve months from the date of acquisition (“ Government Obligations ”), (b) Dollar denominated time deposits, certificates of deposit, Eurodollar time deposits and Eurodollar certificates of deposit of (i) any domestic commercial bank of recognized standing having capital and surplus in excess of $500,000,000 or (ii) any bank whose short-term commercial paper rating at the time of the acquisition thereof is at least A-1 or the equivalent thereof from S&P or from Moody’s is at least P-1 or the equivalent thereof from Moody’s (any such bank being an “ Approved Bank ”), in each case with maturities of not more than 364 days from the date of acquisition, (c) commercial paper and variable or fixed rate notes issued by any Approved Bank (or by the parent company thereof) or any variable rate notes issued by, or guaranteed by any domestic corporation rated A 1 (or the equivalent thereof) or better by S&P or P-1 (or the equivalent thereof) or better by Moody’s and maturing within six months of the date of acquisition, (d) repurchase agreements with a term of not more than thirty (30) days with a bank or trust company (including a Lender) or a recognized securities dealer having capital and surplus in excess of $500,000,000 for direct obligations issued by or fully guaranteed by the United States of America, (e) obligations of any state of the United States or

 

3


any political subdivision thereof for the payment of the principal and redemption price of and interest on which there shall have been irrevocably deposited Government Obligations maturing as to principal and interest at times and in amounts sufficient to provide such payment, (f) money market accounts subject to Rule 2a-7 of the Investment Company Act of 1940 (“ Rule 2a-7 ”) which consist primarily of cash and cash equivalents set forth in clauses (a) through (e) above and of which 95% shall at all times be comprised of First Tier Securities (as defined in Rule 2a-7) and any remaining amount shall at all times be comprised of Second Tier Securities (as defined in Rule 2a-7) and (g) shares of any so-called “money market fund”; provided that such fund is registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940, has net assets of at least $500,000,000 and has an investment portfolio with an average maturity of 365 days or less.

CERCLA ” shall mean the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act of 1980, as amended, 42 U.S.C. §§9601 et seq.

Change in Law ” shall mean the occurrence, after the Closing Date, of any of the following: (a) the adoption or taking effect of any Applicable Law; (b) any change in any Applicable Law or in the administration, implementation, interpretation or application thereof by any Governmental Body; or (c) the making or issuance of any request, rule, guideline or directive (whether or not having the force of law) by any Governmental Body; provided that notwithstanding anything herein to the contrary, (x) the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act and all requests, rules, regulations, guidelines, interpretations or directives thereunder or issued in connection therewith (whether or not having the force of Applicable Law) and (y) all requests, rules, regulations, guidelines, interpretations 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 (whether or not having the force of law), 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, issued, promulgated or implemented.

Change of Control ” shall mean: (a) the occurrence of any event (whether in one or more transactions) which results in (x) Company failing to own, directly or indirectly, (A) one hundred percent (100%) of the Equity Interests (on a fully diluted basis) of each Loan Party existing on the Closing Date (other than Holdco) or (B) with respect to Loan Parties acquired after the Closing Date, the amount owned, directly or indirectly, by Company as of the date of such acquisition or (y) Holdco failing to own one hundred percent (100%) of the Equity Interests (on a fully diluted basis) of Company, (b) at any time prior to the consummation of a Qualifying IPO or the distribution (directly or indirectly) of beneficial ownership of Holdco or any direct or indirect parent of Holdco to the shareholders of Newcastle Investment Corp., Permitted Holders fail to own and control, directly or indirectly, fifty percent (50%) or more of (i) the Equity Interests of Holdco having the right to vote for the election of members of the board of directors, and (ii) the Equity Interests of Holdco (whether or not having the right to vote such Equity Interests) representing all economic interests of Holdco or (c) at any time upon or after the consummation of a Qualifying IPO or the distribution (directly or indirectly) of beneficial ownership of Holdco or any direct or indirect parent of Holdco to the shareholders of Newcastle Investment Corp., any person or group of persons (within the meaning of Section 13(d) or 14(a) of the Exchange Act), other than Permitted Holders, shall have acquired beneficial ownership (within the meaning of Rule 13d-3 promulgated by the SEC under the Exchange Act) of the

 

4


greater of (x) thirty percent (30%) or more of the Equity Interests of Holdco having the right to vote for the election of members of the board of directors and (y) the percentage of Equity Interests of Holdco having the right to vote for the election of members of the board of directors owned, in the aggregate, directly or indirectly, beneficially and of record, by the Permitted Holders, unless, in the case of either clause (b) or (c) above, one or more Permitted Holders have, at such time, the right or the ability by voting power, contract or otherwise to elect or designate for election at least a majority of the board of directors of Holdco (or any successor under Section 7.1(a)) or otherwise control Holdco (or any successor under Section 7.1(a)) directly or indirectly by management, contract or otherwise.

Charges ” shall mean all taxes, charges, fees, imposts, levies or other assessments, including all net income, gross income, gross receipts, sales, use, ad valorem, value added, transfer, franchise, profits, inventory, capital stock, license, withholding, payroll, employment, social security, unemployment, excise, severance, stamp, occupation and property taxes, custom duties, fees, assessments, liens, claims and charges of any kind whatsoever, together with any interest and any penalties, additions to tax or additional amounts, imposed by any taxing or other authority, domestic or foreign (including the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation or any environmental agency or superfund), upon the Collateral, any Loan Party or any of its Affiliates.

Closing Date ” shall mean November 26, 2013 or such other date as may be agreed to in writing by the parties hereto.

Code ” shall mean the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as the same may be amended or supplemented from time to time, and any successor statute of similar import, and the rules and regulations thereunder, as from time to time in effect.

Collateral ” shall mean and include (x) all right, title and interest of Holdco in the stock, securities, investment property and financial assets of the Borrower, and (y) all right, title and interest of each Loan Party in all of the following property and assets of such Loan Party, in each case whether now existing or hereafter arising or created and whether now owned or hereafter acquired and wherever located:

(a) all Receivables and all supporting obligations relating thereto;

(b) all equipment and fixtures;

(c) all general intangibles (including all payment intangibles and all software) and all supporting obligations related thereto;

(d) all Inventory;

(e) all Subsidiary Stock, securities, investment property, and financial assets;

(f) all Real Property;

(g) all contract rights, rights of payment which have been earned under contract rights, chattel paper (including electronic chattel paper and tangible chattel paper), commercial tort claims (whether now existing or hereafter arising); documents (including all

 

5


warehouse receipts and bills of lading), deposit accounts, goods, instruments (including promissory notes), letters of credit (whether or not the respective letter of credit is evidenced by a writing) and letter-of-credit rights, cash, certificates of deposit, insurance proceeds (including hazard, flood and credit insurance), security agreements, eminent domain proceeds, condemnation proceeds, tort claim proceeds and all supporting obligations;

(h) all ledger sheets, ledger cards, files, correspondence, records, books of account, business papers, computers, computer software (owned by any Loan Party or in which it has an interest), computer programs, tapes, disks and documents, including all of such property relating to the property described in clauses (a) through (g) of this definition; and

(i) all proceeds and products of the property described in clauses (a) through (g) of this definition, in whatever form. It is the intention of the parties that if Lender shall fail to have a perfected Lien in any particular property or assets of any Loan Party for any reason whatsoever, but the provisions of this Agreement and/or of the Other Documents, together with all financing statements and other public filings relating to Liens filed or recorded by Lender against Loan Parties, would be sufficient to create a perfected Lien in any property or assets that such Loan Party may receive upon the sale, lease, license, exchange, transfer or disposition of such particular property or assets, then all such “proceeds” of such particular property or assets shall be included in the Collateral as original collateral that is the subject of a direct and original grant of a security interest as provided for herein and in the Other Documents (and not merely as proceeds (as defined in Article 9 of the Uniform Commercial Code) in which a security interest is created or arises solely pursuant to Section 9-315 of the Uniform Commercial Code). Notwithstanding any provision of this Agreement or the Other Documents to the contrary, the requirements of this Agreement regarding the Collateral shall not require the creation or perfection of pledges of or security interests in, or the obtaining of title insurance, surveys, appraisals or other deliverables with respect to, particular assets of the Loan Parties, or the provision of Guaranties by any Subsidiary, if, and for so long as, the Controlling Agent determines in writing that the cost of creating or perfecting such pledges or security interests in such assets, or obtaining such title insurance, surveys, appraisals or other deliverables in respect of such assets, or providing such Guaranties (taking into account any adverse tax consequences to Holdco and its Affiliates (including the imposition of withholding or other material taxes)) shall be excessive in view of the benefits to be obtained by the Lender therefrom; provided , however , that the Lender shall not require the creation or perfection of security interests in any of the collateral listed on Schedule 1.2(a).

Notwithstanding the forgoing or anything to the contrary contained in this Agreement, Collateral shall not include any Excluded Property.

Collections ” means all cash, check, notes, instruments, and other items of payment (including insurance proceeds, cash proceeds of asset sales, rental proceeds, and tax refunds).

Commitment Transfer Supplement ” shall mean a document in the form of Exhibit 16.3 hereto, properly completed and otherwise in form and substance satisfactory to Lender by which the Purchasing Lender purchases all or a portion of Lender’s interests in the outstanding Term Loan.

 

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Compliance Certificate ” shall mean a compliance certificate substantially in the form of Exhibit 1.2(a) hereto to be signed by the Chief Financial Officer or Controller of Borrower.

Company ” shall have the meaning set forth in the preamble to this Agreement and shall include its successors and assigns.

Confirmation Order ” shall mean that certain order confirming the Plan of Reorganization pursuant to Section 1129 of the Bankruptcy Code entered in the Bankruptcy Cases by the Bankruptcy Court on November 6, 2013.

Consents ” shall mean all filings and all licenses, permits, consents, approvals, authorizations, qualifications and orders of Governmental Bodies and other third parties, domestic or foreign, necessary to carry on any Loan Party’s business or necessary (including to avoid a conflict or breach under any agreement, instrument, other document, license, permit or other authorization) for the execution, delivery or performance of this Agreement, the Other Documents or the Senior Loan Documents, including any Consents required under all applicable federal, state or other Applicable Law.

Contract Rate ” shall have the meaning set forth in Section 3.1 hereof.

Controlled Group ” shall mean, at any time, each Loan Party and all members of a controlled group of corporations and all trades or businesses (whether or not incorporated) under common control and all other entities which, together with any Loan Party, are treated as a single employer under Section 414 of the Code.

Controlling Agent ” shall mean (i) until the Discharge of the Senior Obligations (as defined in the Subordination Agreement) occurs, the Senior Administrative Agent and (ii) at any other time, the Lender.

Copyright Security Agreement ” shall mean shall mean the Copyright Security Agreement, dated as of the Closing Date, between the Loan Parties party thereto and Lender, as amended, restated, supplemented or replaced.

Covered Entity ” shall mean (a) each Loan Party, each Loan Party’s Subsidiaries, and all pledgors of Collateral and (b) each Person that, directly or indirectly, is in control of a Person described in clause (a) above. For purposes of this definition, control of a Person shall mean the direct or indirect (x) ownership of, or power to vote, 25% or more of the issued and outstanding equity interests having ordinary voting power for the election of directors of such Person or other Persons performing similar functions for such Person, or (y) power to direct or cause the direction of the management and policies of such Person whether by ownership of equity interests, contract or otherwise; provided, that no shareholder of New Media Investment Group, Inc. shall be deemed to have control of a Person and constitute a “Covered Entity” unless it has control pursuant to foregoing clause (y).

Custome r” shall mean and include the account debtor with respect to any Receivable and/or the prospective purchaser of goods, services or both with respect to any contract or contract right, and/or any party who enters into or proposes to enter into any contract or other arrangement with Borrower, pursuant to which Borrower is to deliver any personal property or perform any services.

 

7


Daily LIBOR Rate ” shall mean, for any day, the rate per annum determined by the Lender by dividing (x) the Published Rate by (y) a number equal to 1.00 minus the Reserve Percentage.

Debt Payments ” shall mean for any period, in each case, all cash actually expended by any Loan Party to make: (a) interest payments on any Advances hereunder, plus (b) scheduled principal payments on the term loans under the Senior Loan Documents, plus (c) payments for all fees, commissions and charges set forth herein (other than collateral monitoring fees and expenses pursuant to this Agreement), plus (d) payments on Capitalized Lease Obligations, plus (e) payments with respect to any other Indebtedness for borrowed money (other than prepayments on the Term Loan pursuant to Sections 2.9 (a), 2.9(c) or 2.9(d), any prepayments of the term loans (pursuant to Sections 2.20(a), 2.20(c) or 2.20(d) of the Senior Loan Documents) or payments of revolving advances under the Senior Obligations or any prepayment fees or premiums already expensed within the definition of “Earnings Before Interest and Taxes”).

Default ” shall mean an event, circumstance or condition which, with the giving of notice or passage of time or both, would constitute an Event of Default.

Default Rate ” shall have the meaning set forth in Section 3.1 hereof.

Designated Lender ” shall have the meaning set forth in Section 17.2(d) hereof.

Disclosure Statement ” means the disclosure statement for the Plan of Reorganization as may be amended, supplemented or modified from time to time, including all exhibits and schedules thereto, as approved by the Confirmation Order.

Document ” shall have the meaning given to the term “document” in the Uniform Commercial Code.

Dollar ” and the sign “ $ ” shall mean lawful money of the United States of America.

Domestic Rate Loan ” shall mean any Advance that bears interest based upon the Alternate Base Rate.

Earnings Before Interest and Taxes ” shall mean, for any specified period, for the Loan Parties on a consolidated basis, the sum of (i) net income (or loss) for such period, plus (ii) all interest expense (including Letter of Credit fees) for such period, plus (iii) charges against income for such period for federal, state, local and foreign taxes for such period.

EBITDA ” shall mean, for any specified period, for the Loan Parties on a consolidated basis, the sum of (i) Earnings Before Interest and Taxes for such period, plus (ii) depreciation expenses for such period, plus ( iii ) amortization expenses for such period, plus (iv) fees, transaction costs and expenses incurred in connection with the Transactions accrued prior to or on the Closing Date to the extent such fees, costs and expenses are not capitalized, are expensed during the applicable testing period and paid within 120 days of the Closing Date, as set forth on

 

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Schedule II-A (“ Transaction Expenses ”) and otherwise identified as restructuring related expenses as set forth on Schedule II-B, plus (v) with respect to the Transactions only, such other non-cash expenses (including any required or permitted purchase accounting adjustments and non-cash charges relating to inventory and fixed assets) permitted pursuant to GAAP and incurred during such period, minus (vi) with respect to the Transactions only, non-cash write-ups, plus (vii) non-cash, non-recurring items or expenses permitted pursuant to GAAP and incurred in such period in connection with the write-off of deferred financing costs, plus (viii) any non-cash restructuring costs or impairment charges (without duplication) that will not result in cash expenditures at a future date, minus (ix) extraordinary and non-recurring gains, plus (x) extraordinary, non-recurring cash employer severance expenses, not to exceed $1,000,000 per fiscal year, plus (xi) any management incentive fee expense incurred but deferred (evidenced by an irrevocable written notice sent by the Loan Parties to Lender that such expense will be deferred and shall not be paid in cash so long as (I) such deferral is not utilized more than two (2) times during the Term, and (II) the amount that has accrued but which was not paid during the subject deferral period may not be paid until on or after a date fifteen (15) months from the last day of the subject deferral period), plus (xii) non-cash compensation expenses not payable in cash in future periods.

Notwithstanding the foregoing, EBITDA shall be deemed to be the following amounts for the following periods:

 

Quarter ended March 31, 2013

   $ 9,000,000   

Quarter ended June 30, 2013

   $ 17,400,000   

Quarter ended September 30, 2013

   $ 15,863,000   

Effective Date ” means the date indicated in a document or agreement to be the date on which such document or agreement becomes effective, or, if there is no such indication, the date of execution of such document or agreement.

Environmental Complaint ” shall have the meaning set forth in Section 9.3(b) hereof.

Environmental Laws ” shall mean all federal, state and local environmental, land use, zoning, health, chemical use, safety and sanitation laws, statutes, ordinances and codes as well as common laws, relating to the protection of the environment, human health and/or governing the use, storage, treatment, generation, transportation, processing, handling, production or disposal of Hazardous Materials and the rules, regulations, policies, guidelines, interpretations, decisions, orders and directives of federal, state, international and local governmental agencies and authorities with respect thereto.

Equity Interests ” shall mean, with respect to any Person, any and all shares, rights to purchase, options, warrants, general, limited or limited liability partnership interests, member interests, participation or other equivalents of or interest in (regardless of how designated) equity of such Person, whether voting or nonvoting, including common stock, preferred stock,

 

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convertible securities or any other “equity security” (as such term is defined in Rule 3a11-1 of the General Rules and Regulations promulgated by the SEC under the Exchange Act), including in each case all of the following rights relating to such Equity Interests, whether arising under the Organizational Documents of the Person issuing such Equity Interests (the “ issuer ”) or under the applicable laws of such issuer’s jurisdiction of organization relating to the formation, existence and governance of corporations, limited liability companies or partnerships or business trusts or other legal entities, as the case may be: (i) all economic rights (including all rights to receive dividends and distributions) relating to such Equity Interests; (ii) all voting rights and rights to consent to any particular action(s) by the applicable issuer; (iii) all management rights with respect to such issuer; (iv) in the case of any Equity Interests consisting of a general partner interest in a partnership, all powers and rights as a general partner with respect to the management, operations and control of the business and affairs of the applicable issuer; (v) in the case of any Equity Interests consisting of the membership/limited liability company interests of a managing member in a limited liability company, all powers and rights as a managing member with respect to the management, operations and control of the business and affairs of the applicable issuer; (vi) all rights to designate or appoint or vote for or remove any officers, directors, manager(s), general partner(s) or managing member(s) of such issuer and/or any members of any board of members/managers/partners/directors that may at any time have any rights to manage and direct the business and affairs of the applicable issuer under its Organizational Documents as in effect from time to time or under Applicable Law; (vii) all rights to amend the Organizational Documents of such issuer, (viii) in the case of any Equity Interests in a partnership or limited liability company, the status of the holder of such Equity Interests as a “partner”, general or limited, or “member” (as applicable) under the applicable Organizational Documents and/or Applicable Law; and (ix) all certificates evidencing such Equity Interests.

ERISA ” shall mean the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as the same may be amended or supplemented from time to time and the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder.

Event of Default ” shall have the meaning set forth in Article X hereof.

Excess Cash Flow ” shall mean, for any fiscal period, in each case for Loan Parties on a Consolidated Basis, EBITDA, minus each of the following, to the extent actually paid in cash during such fiscal period, Unfunded Capital Expenditures, taxes, dividends (including Permitted Dividends) and distributions made in respect of such fiscal period, Transaction Expenses, Debt Payments (excluding amounts expensed within the definition of Earnings Before Interest and Taxes), pension payments (excluding amounts expensed within the definition of Earnings Before Interest and Taxes), extraordinary, non-recurring cash employer severance expenses, not to exceed $1,000,000 per fiscal year (to the extent included in clause (x) of the definition of “EBITDA”) and any management incentive fee expense deferred in accordance with clause (xi) of the definition of “EBITDA”.

Exchange Act ” shall mean the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended.

Excluded Property ” shall mean (i) any property if and to the extent that a security interest therein is prohibited by or in violation of any Applicable Law (unless such Applicable Law would be rendered ineffective with respect to the creation of such security interest under

 

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Sections 9-406, 9-407, 9-408 or 9-409 of the UCC (or any successor provision or provisions) of any relevant jurisdiction or any other Applicable Law or principles of equity), (ii) any property to the extent that and for as long as such grant of a security interest requires consent pursuant to any Applicable Law that has not been obtained, except to the extent that such Applicable Law is ineffective under Applicable Law or principles of equity or would be ineffective under Sections 9-406, 9-407, 9-408 or 9-409 of the UCC to prevent the attachment of the security interest granted hereunder, (iii) any property subject to a purchase money security interest to the extent that a grant of a security interest therein would violate such purchase money arrangement, (iv) any general intangible, instrument, software, permit, lease, license, contract, agreement, governmental approval or franchise, to which a Loan Party is a party or any of its rights or interests thereunder if, to the extent and for so long as the grant of such security interest shall constitute or result in a breach of or a default under, or creates an enforceable right of termination in favor of any party to such general intangible, instrument, software, permit, lease, license, contract, agreement, governmental approval or franchise (other than to the extent that any such term would be rendered ineffective, or is otherwise unenforceable, pursuant to Sections 9-406, 9-407, 9-408 or 9-409 of the UCC or any other applicable requirement of law), provided that, to the extent severable, the security interest shall attach immediately to any portion of such lease, license, contract or agreement that does not result in any such breach, termination or default, (v) any intent-to-use application for registration of a trademark filed pursuant to 15 U.S.C. § 1051(b) prior to the filing of an amendment to allege use pursuant to 15 U.S.C. § 1051(c) or a verified statement of use pursuant to 15 U.S.C. § 1051(d) and the conversion of such intent-to-use application to a “Certificate of Registration” pursuant to Section 1(d) of the Lanham Act or a “use in commerce” application pursuant to Section 1(c) of the Lanham Act, solely to the extent that and for so long as the grant of a security interest therein prior to such filing could impair the validity or enforceability of any registration that issues from such intent-to-use application under applicable federal law, (vi) motor vehicles or other assets in which a security interest may be perfected only through compliance with a certificate of title statute, (vii) any commercial tort claim for which the amount of probable damages is reasonably determined by the Loan Parties to be less than $250,000; (viii) Real Property other than the Real Property listed on Schedule A and Schedule B; (ix) any Equity Interests held by Holdco of a Foreign Subsidiary, other than (A) 100% of such issued and outstanding Equity Interests not entitled to vote (within the meaning of Treas. Reg. Section 1.956-2(c)(2)) and (B) 65% (or such greater percentage that, due to a change in an Applicable Law after the date hereof, (X) could not reasonably be expected to cause the undistributed earnings of such Foreign Subsidiary as determined for United States federal income tax purposes to be treated as a deemed dividend to such Loan Party and (Y) could not reasonably be expected to cause any material adverse tax consequences) of such issued and outstanding Equity Interests entitled to vote (within the meaning of Treas. Reg. Section 1.956 2(c)(2)); and (x) any copyrights other than the Intellectual Property required to be listed on Schedule 5.9; provided , however that Excluded Property shall not include any proceeds of any such lease, license, contract or agreement or any goodwill of Loan Parties’ business associated therewith or attributable thereto.

Excluded Taxes ” shall mean, with respect to Lender or any Participant or any other recipient of any payment to be made by or on account of any Obligations, (a) Taxes imposed on or measured by its overall net income (however denominated), franchise Taxes or branch profits Taxes, in each case, (i) imposed on it, by the jurisdiction (or any political subdivision thereof) under the laws of which such recipient is organized or in which its principal office or applicable

 

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lending office is located or, in the case of Lender or any Participant, in which its applicable lending office is located, or (ii) imposed on it by reason of any connection between Lender or such Participant or any other recipient of any payment to be made by or on account of any Obligations under this Agreement and the taxing jurisdiction, other than connections arising from Lender or such Participant or any other recipient of any payment to be made under this Agreement or on account of any Obligations 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 by this Agreement or any Other Documents, or sold or assigned an interest in any Loan or this Agreement or any Other Documents, (b) in the case of a Foreign Lender, any withholding tax that is imposed on amounts payable by or on account of any Obligations to or for the account of such Foreign Lender pursuant to a law in effect on the date on which such Foreign Lender becomes a party hereto (or designates a new lending office) or is attributable to such Foreign Lender’s failure or inability (other than as a result of a Change in Law) to comply with Section 3.10(e), except to the extent that such Foreign Lender or Participant (or its assignor or seller of a participation, if any) was entitled, at the time of designation of a new lending office (or assignment or sale of a participation), to receive additional amounts from Borrower with respect to such withholding tax pursuant to Section 3.10(a), or (c) any U.S. federal withholding Taxes imposed under FATCA.

FATCA ” shall mean 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 thereunder or official interpretations thereof.

Federal Funds Effective Rate ” shall mean for any day the rate per annum (based on a year of 360 days and actual days elapsed and rounded upward to the nearest 1/100 of 1%) announced by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York (or any successor) on such day as being the weighted average of the rates on overnight federal funds transactions arranged by federal funds brokers on the previous trading day, as computed and announced by such Federal Reserve Bank (or any successor) in substantially the same manner as such Federal Reserve Bank computes and announces the weighted average it refers to as the “Federal Funds Effective Rate” as of the date of this Agreement; provided, if such Federal Reserve Bank (or its successor) does not announce such rate on any day, the “Federal Funds Effective Rate” for such day shall be the Federal Funds Effective Rate for the last day on which such rate was announced.

Federal Funds Open Rate ” shall mean for any day the rate per annum (based on a year of 360 days and actual days elapsed) which is the daily federal funds open rate as quoted by ICAP North America, Inc. (or any successor) as set forth on the Bloomberg Screen BTMM for that day opposite the caption “OPEN” (or on such other substitute Bloomberg Screen that displays such rate), or as set forth on such other recognized electronic source used for the purpose of displaying such rate as selected by Lender (an “ Alternate Source ”) (or if such rate for such day does not appear on the Bloomberg Screen BTMM (or any substitute screen) or on any Alternate Source, or if there shall at any time, for any reason, no longer exist a Bloomberg Screen BTMM (or any substitute screen) or any Alternate Source, a comparable replacement rate determined by Lender at such time (which determination shall be conclusive absent manifest error); provided however, that if such day is not a Business Day, the Federal Funds Open Rate for such day shall be the “open” rate on the immediately preceding Business Day. If and when the Federal Funds Open Rate changes, the rate of interest with respect to any advance to which the Federal Funds Open Rate applies will change automatically without notice to Borrower, effective on the date of any such change.

 

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Fee Letter ” shall mean the fee letter dated the Closing Date among Borrower and Mutual Quest.

Final Order ” means an order, ruling or judgment entered by the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware that (a) is in full force and effect, (b) is not stayed, and (c) is no longer subject to review, reversal, modification or amendment, by appeal motion or writ of certiorari; provided, however , that the possibility that a motion under Rule 50 or 60 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, or any analogous rule under the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure or Bankruptcy Rules, may be filed relating to such order, ruling or judgment shall not cause such order, ruling or judgment not to be a Final Order.

Fixed Charge Coverage Ratio ” shall mean, with respect to any fiscal period, the ratio of (a) EBITDA, minus Unfunded Capital Expenditures made during such period, minus Permitted Dividends made during such period, minus pension payments to the extent not already expensed in the computation of EBITDA, minus cash taxes paid during such period, to (b) all Debt Payments (to the extent not already expensed and not added in the computation of EBITDA) made during such period.

Flood Laws ” shall mean all Applicable Laws relating to policies and procedures that address requirements placed on federally regulated lenders under the National Flood Insurance Reform Act of 1994 and other Applicable Laws related thereto.

Foreign Lender ” shall mean Lender or any Participant that, in each case, is organized under the laws of a jurisdiction other than that in which Borrower is resident for tax purposes. For purposes of this definition, the United States of America, each State thereof and the District of Columbia shall be deemed to constitute a single jurisdiction.

Foreign Subsidiary ” shall mean any Subsidiary of any Person that is not organized or incorporated in the United States, any State or territory thereof or the District of Columbia.

Funded Debt ” shall mean, with respect to any Person, without duplication, all Indebtedness for borrowed money evidenced by notes, bonds, debentures, or similar evidences of Indebtedness, and specifically including Capitalized Lease Obligations, current maturities of long-term debt, revolving credit and short term debt (for borrowed money) extendible beyond one year at the option of the debtor, and also including, in the case of Borrower, the Obligations and, without duplication, Indebtedness consisting of guaranties of Funded Debt of other Persons.

GAAP ” shall mean generally accepted accounting principles in the United States of America in effect from time to time.

Governmental Acts ” shall mean any act or omission, whether rightful or wrongful, of any present or future de jure or de facto Governmental Body.

 

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Governmental Body ” shall mean any nation or government, any state or other political subdivision thereof or any entity, authority, agency, division or department exercising the executive, legislative, judicial, taxing, regulatory or administrative powers or functions of or pertaining to a government (including any supra-national bodies such as the European Union or the European Central Bank) and any group or body charged with setting financial accounting or regulatory capital rules or standards (including, without limitation, the Financial Accounting Standards Board, the Bank for International Settlements or the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision or any successor or similar authority to any of the foregoing).

Guarantor ” shall mean Holdco, each Subsidiary Guarantor, and any other Person who may hereafter guarantee payment or performance of the whole or any part of the Obligations and “Guarantors” means collectively all such Persons.

Guarantor Security Agreement ” shall mean any security agreement executed by any Guarantor in favor of the Lender securing the Obligations or the Guaranty of such Guarantor, in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to the Required Lenders.

Guaranty ” shall mean any guaranty of the Obligations executed by a Guarantor in favor of the Lender (including the guaranty pursuant to this Agreement) for its benefit, in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to the Required Lenders.

Hazardous Discharge ” shall have the meaning set forth in Section 9.3(b) hereof.

Hazardous Materials ” shall mean, without limitation, any flammable explosives, radon, radioactive materials, asbestos, urea formaldehyde foam insulation, polychlorinated biphenyls, petroleum and petroleum products, methane, hazardous materials, Hazardous Wastes, hazardous or Toxic Substances or related materials as defined in or subject to regulation under Environmental Laws.

Hazardous Wastes ” shall mean all waste materials subject to regulation under CERCLA, RCRA or applicable state law, and any other applicable Federal and state laws now in force or hereafter enacted relating to hazardous waste disposal.

Holdco ” shall have the meaning set forth in the preamble to this Agreement and shall include its permitted successors and assigns.

Indebtedness ” shall mean, as to any Person at any time, any and all indebtedness, obligations or liabilities (whether matured or unmatured, liquidated or unliquidated, direct or indirect, absolute or contingent, or joint or several) of such Person for or in respect of: (a) borrowed money; (b) amounts received under or liabilities in respect of any note purchase or acceptance credit facility, and all obligations of such Person evidenced by bonds, debentures, notes or other similar instruments; (c) all Capitalized Lease Obligations; (d) reimbursement obligations (contingent or otherwise) under any letter of credit agreement, banker’s acceptance agreement or similar arrangement; (e) any other advances of credit made to or on behalf of such Person or other transaction (including forward sale or purchase agreements, capitalized leases and conditional sales agreements) having the commercial effect of a borrowing of money entered into by such Person to finance its operations or capital requirements including to finance the

 

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purchase price of property or services and all obligations of such Person to pay the deferred purchase price of property or services (but not including trade payables and accrued expenses incurred in the Ordinary Course of Business which are not represented by a promissory note or other evidence of indebtedness and which are not more than thirty (30) days past due); (f) all Equity Interests of such Person subject to repurchase or redemption rights or obligations (excluding repurchases or redemptions at the sole option of such Person); (g) all indebtedness, obligations or liabilities secured by a Lien on any asset of such Person, whether or not such indebtedness, obligations or liabilities are otherwise an obligation of such Person; (h) all obligations of such Person for purchase price adjustments, profit sharing arrangements, deferred purchase money amounts and similar payment obligations or continuing obligations of any nature of such Person arising out of purchase and sale contracts other than any of the foregoing obligations that is not required at the time of incurrence to be recorded as a liability on the balance sheet of such Person in accordance with GAAP; (i) off-balance sheet liabilities and/or unfunded pension plan (as defined in Section 3(2) of ERISA) liabilities attributable to any single-employer defined benefit pension plan; and (j) any guaranty of any indebtedness, obligations or liabilities of a type described in the foregoing clauses (a) through (i). For purposes of this definition, the amount of any Indebtedness represented by a guaranty or other similar instrument shall be the lesser of the principal amount of the obligations guaranteed and still outstanding and the maximum amount for which the guaranteeing Person may be liable pursuant to the terms of the instrument embodying such Indebtedness.

Indemnified Taxes ” shall mean Taxes other than Excluded Taxes.

Ineligible Security ” shall mean any security which may not be underwritten or dealt in by member banks of the Federal Reserve System under Section 16 of the Banking Act of 1933 (12 U.S.C. Section 24, Seventh), as amended.

Insolvency Event ” shall mean, with respect to any Person, including without limitation Lender, such Person or such Person’s direct or indirect parent company (a) becomes the subject of a bankruptcy or insolvency proceeding (including any proceeding under Title 11 of the United States Code), (b) has had a receiver, conservator, trustee, administrator, custodian, assignee for the benefit of creditors or similar Person charged with the reorganization or liquidation of its business appointed for it or has called a meeting of all or substantially all of its creditors for the purpose of entering into a compromise of obligations generally with such creditors, (c) admits in writing its inability, or be generally unable, to pay its debts as they become due or cease operations of its present business, or (d) with respect to Lender, Lender is unable to perform hereunder due to the application of Applicable Law, provided that an Insolvency Event shall not result solely by virtue of any ownership interest, or the acquisition of any ownership interest, in such Person or such Person’s direct or indirect parent company by a Governmental Body or instrumentality thereof if, and only if, such ownership interest does not result in or provide such Person 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 Person (or such Governmental Body or instrumentality) to reject, repudiate, disavow or disaffirm any contracts or agreements made by such Person.

 

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Intellectual Property ” shall mean property constituting a patent, copyright, trademark (or any application in respect of the foregoing), service mark, trade name, mask work, trade secrets, design right or license or other right to use any of the foregoing under Applicable Law.

Interest Period ” shall mean the period provided for any LIBOR Rate Loan pursuant to Section 2.2(b) hereof.

Inventory ” shall mean and include as to each Loan Party all of such Loan Party’s inventory (as defined in Article 9 of the Uniform Commercial Code) and all of such Loan Party’s goods, merchandise and other personal property, wherever located, to be furnished under any consignment arrangement, contract of service or held for sale or lease, all raw materials, work in process, finished goods and materials and supplies of any kind, nature or description which are or might be used or consumed in such Loan Party’s business or used in selling or furnishing such goods, merchandise and other personal property, and all Documents.

Investment ” means, with respect to any Loan Party, any investment by such Loan Party in any other Loan Party in the form of loans, guarantees, advances, capital contributions (excluding (a) commission, travel, and similar advances to officers and employees of such Loan Party made in the ordinary course of business, and (b)  bona fide Receivables arising in the Ordinary Course of Business), or acquisitions of Indebtedness, Equity Interests, or all or substantially all of the assets of such other Loan Party (or of any division or business line of such other Person), and any other items that are or would be classified as investments on a balance sheet prepared in accordance with GAAP.

Law(s) ” shall mean any law(s) (including common law), constitution, statute, treaty, regulation, rule, ordinance, opinion, issued guidance, release, ruling, order, executive order, injunction, writ, decree, bond, judgment, authorization or approval, lien or award of or any settlement arrangement, by agreement, consent or otherwise, with any Governmental Body, foreign or domestic.

Leasehold Interests ” shall mean all of each Loan Party’s right, title and interest in and to, and as lessee of, the premises identified as leased property on Schedule 4.4 hereto.

Lender ” shall have the meaning ascribed to such term in the preamble to this Agreement and shall include each Person which becomes a transferee, successor or assign of Lender.

Lending Affiliate ” shall mean an Affiliate of an assignor that is primarily utilized for the lending activities of any assignor in any assignment in accordance in Section 17.3.

Leverage Ratio ” shall have the meaning set forth in Section 6.5(b) hereof.

LIBOR Alternate Source ” shall have the meaning set forth in the definition of LIBOR Rate.

LIBOR Rate ” shall mean for the Term Loan, if it is a LIBOR Rate Loan for the then current Interest Period relating thereto, the rate of interest on the last Business Day prior to the beginning of the relevant Interest Period as published in the Wall Street Journal “Money Rates” listing under the caption “London Interbank Offered Rates” for a period equal to such Interest Period (or, if no such rate is published therein for any reason, then the Published Rate shall be the LIBOR Rate for a period equal to such Interest Period as published in another publication selected by the Lender).

 

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LIBOR Rate Loan ” shall mean any Advance that bears interest based on the LIBOR Rate.

License Agreement ” shall mean any agreement between any Loan Party and a Licensor pursuant to which such Loan Party is authorized to use any Intellectual Property in connection with the manufacturing, marketing, sale or other distribution of any Inventory of such Loan Party or otherwise in connection with such Loan Party’s business operations.

Licensor ” shall mean any Person from whom any Loan Party obtains the right to use (whether on an exclusive or non-exclusive basis) any Intellectual Property in connection with such Loan Party’s manufacture, marketing, sale or other distribution of any Inventory or otherwise in connection with such Loan Party’s business operations.

Licensor/Lender Agreement ” shall mean an agreement between Lender and a Licensor, in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to Lender, by which Lender is given the unqualified right, vis-á-vis such Licensor, to enforce Lender’s Liens with respect to and to dispose of any Loan Party’s Inventory with the benefit of any Intellectual Property applicable thereto, irrespective of such Loan Party’s default under any License Agreement with such Licensor.

Lien ” shall mean any mortgage, deed of trust, pledge, hypothecation, assignment, security interest, lien (whether statutory or otherwise), charge or encumbrance, or preference, priority or other security agreement or preferential arrangement held in respect of any asset of any kind or nature whatsoever including any conditional sale or other title retention agreement, any capital or financing lease having substantially the same economic effect as any of the foregoing.

Lien Waiver Agreement ” shall mean an agreement which is executed in favor of Lender by a Person who owns or occupies premises at which any Collateral may be located from time to time in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to Lender.

Loan Parties ” shall mean the Borrower and the Guarantors, and “Loan Party” shall mean any of them.

Loan Parties on a Consolidated Basis ” shall mean the consolidation in accordance with GAAP of the accounts or other items of Borrower, Guarantors and their respective Subsidiaries.

Management Agreement ” shall mean that certain GateHouse Management and Advisory Agreement, dated as of November 26, 2013 among Holdco, the other obligors party thereto from time to time, and New Media Investment Group Inc., amended, supplemented or otherwise modified up to the date hereof and as may be further amended, supplemented or otherwise modified solely as permitted hereunder or under the Management Fee Subordination Agreement.

 

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Management Fee Subordination Agreement ” shall mean that certain Management Fee Subordination Agreement dated as of the date hereof among the Senior Administrative Agent, the Term Loan B Agent and New Media Holdings.

Management Fees ” shall mean fees paid to New Media Holdings pursuant to the Management Agreement and subject to the Management Fee Subordination Agreement.

Material Adverse Effect ” shall mean a material adverse effect on (a) the condition (financial or otherwise), results of operations, assets, business, properties or prospects of the Loan Parties, taken as a whole, (b) the Borrower’s or Loan Parties’ ability to duly and punctually pay or perform the Obligations in accordance with the terms thereof, (c) the value of the Collateral, or Lender’s Liens on the Collateral or the priority of any such Lien (subject to the terms of the Subordination Agreement) or (d) the practical realization of the benefits of Lender’s and Lender’s rights and remedies under this Agreement and the Other Documents (subject to the terms of the Subordination Agreement).

Material Contract ” shall mean any contract, agreement, instrument, permit, lease or license, written or oral, of any Loan Party, which is material to any Loan Party’s business or which the failure to comply with would reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect.

Modified Commitment Transfer Supplement ” shall have the meaning set forth in Section 17.3(d) hereof.

Mortgages ” shall mean any and all mortgages or deeds of trust on any of the Real Property listed on Schedule A, Schedule B and Schedule C, securing the Obligations, in each case, together with all extensions, renewals, amendments, supplements, modifications, substitutions and replacements thereto and thereof.

Multiemployer Plan ” shall mean a “multiemployer plan” as defined in Section 3(37) or 4001(a)(3) of ERISA to which contributions are required or, within the preceding five plan years, were required by any Loan Party or any member of the Controlled Group.

Multiple Employer Plan ” shall mean a Plan which has two or more contributing sponsors (including any Loan Party or any member of the Controlled Group) at least two of whom are not under common control, as such a plan is described in Section 4063 or 4064 of ERISA.

Mutual Quest ” shall have the meaning set forth in the preamble to this Agreement and shall extend to all of its successors and assigns.

Negotiable Document ” shall mean a Document that is “negotiable” within the meaning of Article 7 of the Uniform Commercial Code.

Net Proceeds ” means, with respect to any event, (a) the cash proceeds received in respect of such event including (i) any cash received in respect of any non-cash proceeds (including any cash payments received by way of deferred payment of principal pursuant to a note or installment receivable or purchase price adjustment receivable or otherwise, but

 

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excluding any interest payments), but only as and when received, (ii) in the case of a casualty, insurance proceeds and (iii) in the case of a condemnation or similar event, condemnation awards and similar payments, net of (b) the sum of (i) all reasonable fees and out-of-pocket expenses paid to third parties (other than Affiliates) in connection with such event, (ii) in the case of a casualty or a condemnation or similar proceeding, the amount of all payments required to be made as a result of such event to repay Indebtedness (other than Advances) secured by such asset or otherwise subject to mandatory prepayment as a result of such event, (iii) the amount of all taxes paid (or reasonably estimated to be payable) and the amount of any reserves established to fund contingent liabilities reasonably estimated to be payable, in each case during the year that such event occurred or the next succeeding year and that are directly attributable to such event (as determined reasonably and in good faith by the Loan Parties) and (iv) amounts held in escrow to be applied as part of the purchase price of such sale or disposition (including for any indemnification payments (fixed or contingent) attributable to seller’s indemnities and representations and warranties to purchaser pursuant to the terms of such sale or disposition (it being understood such amounts held in escrow shall constitute Net Proceeds upon the release of such indemnification liabilities)).

Notes ” shall mean the Term Notes.

Obligations ” shall mean and include any and all loans (including without limitation, all Advances), advances, debts, liabilities, obligations, covenants and duties owing by Borrower or Guarantor or any Subsidiary of Borrower or any Guarantor to Lender of any kind or nature, present or future (including any interest or other amounts accruing thereon, any fees accruing under or in connection therewith, any costs and expenses of any Person payable by Borrower and any indemnification obligations payable by Borrower arising or payable after maturity, or after the filing of any petition in bankruptcy, or the commencement of any insolvency, reorganization or like proceeding relating to Borrower, whether or not a claim for post-filing or post-petition interest, fees or other amounts is allowable or allowed in such proceeding), whether or not evidenced by any note, guaranty or other instrument, absolute or contingent, joint or several, due or to become due, now existing or hereafter arising, contractual or tortious, liquidated or unliquidated, pursuant to this Agreement or the Other Documents, including any and all of Borrower’s or any Guarantor’s Indebtedness and/or liabilities (and any and all indebtedness, obligations and/or liabilities of any Subsidiary of Borrower or any Guarantor) under this Agreement, the Other Documents and any amendments, extensions, renewals or increases and all reasonable and documented out-of-pocket costs and expenses of Lender incurred in the documentation, negotiation, modification, enforcement, collection or otherwise in connection with any of the foregoing, including but not limited to reasonable attorneys’ fees and expenses and all obligations of Borrower to Lender to perform acts or refrain from taking any action.

Ordinary Course of Business ” shall mean, with respect to Borrower, the ordinary course of such Borrower’s business as conducted on the Closing Date or any business that is reasonably related, similar, complementary, ancillary to or a reasonable extension, development or expansion of its business.

Organizational Documents ” shall mean, with respect to any Person, any charter, articles or certificate of incorporation, certificate of organization, registration or formation, certificate of partnership or limited partnership, bylaws, operating agreement, limited liability company

 

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agreement, or partnership agreement of such Person and any and all other applicable documents relating to such Person’s formation, organization or entity governance matters (including any shareholders’ or equity holders’ agreement or voting trust agreement) and specifically includes, without limitation, any certificates of designation for preferred stock or other forms of preferred equity.

Other Documents ” shall mean the Mortgages, the Notes, the Perfection Certificates, the Fee Letter, the Copyright Security Agreement, the Trademark Security Agreement, any Guaranty, any Guarantor Security Agreement, any Pledge Agreement, the Subordination Agreement and any and all other agreements, instruments and documents, including intercreditor agreements, guaranties, pledges, powers of attorney, consents or other similar agreements and all other writings heretofore, now or hereafter executed by Borrower or any Guarantor and/or delivered to Lender in respect of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement, in each case together with all extensions, renewals, amendments, supplements, modifications, substitutions and replacements thereto and thereof.

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

Parent ” of any Person shall mean a corporation or other entity owning, directly or indirectly, 50% or more of the Equity Interests issued by such Person having ordinary voting power to elect a majority of the directors of such Person, or other Persons performing similar functions for any such Person.

Participant ” shall mean each Person who shall be granted the right by Lender to participate in any of the Advances and who shall have entered into a participation agreement in form and substance satisfactory to Lender.

Participant Register ” shall have the meaning set forth in Section 17.3(b).

Payment Office ” shall mean initially 101 John F. Kennedy Pkwy, Short Hills, NJ 07078; thereafter, such other office of Lender, if any, which it may designate by notice to Borrower to be the Payment Office.

PBGC ” shall mean the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation established pursuant to Subtitle A of Title IV of ERISA or any successor.

Pension Benefit Plan ” shall mean at any time any “employee pension benefit plan” as defined in Section 3(2) of ERISA (including a Multiple Employer Plan, but not a Multiemployer Plan) which is covered by Title IV of ERISA or is subject to the minimum funding standards under Section 412, 430 or 436 of the Code and either (i) is maintained or to which contributions are required by Loan Party or any member of the Controlled Group or (ii) has at any time within the preceding five years been maintained or to which contributions have been required by a Loan Party or any entity which was at such time a member of the Controlled Group.

 

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Perfection Certificates ” shall mean, collectively, the information questionnaires and the responses thereto provided by each Loan Party and delivered to Lender.

Permitted Acquisitions ” shall mean acquisitions of the assets or Equity Interests of another Person (the “ target ”) so long as, at least fifteen (15) Business Days prior to the date of the proposed acquisition: (a) [Reserved]; (b) delivery of a certificate demonstrating that the total costs and liabilities (including without limitation, all assumed liabilities, all earn-out payments, deferred payments and the value of any other stock or assets transferred, assigned or encumbered with respect to such acquisitions) of any individual acquisition does not exceed $65,000,000 and of all such acquisitions do not exceed $150,000,000 in the aggregate throughout the Term; (c) delivery of a certificate demonstrating that, with respect to the acquisition of Equity Interests, such target shall (i) either (x) have a positive EBITDA and Tangible Net Worth, calculated in accordance with GAAP immediately prior to such acquisition or (y) have negative EBITDA calculated in accordance with GAAP immediately prior to such acquisition; provided that the cumulative negative EBITDA for all such acquisitions in any fiscal year shall not exceed $3,000,000, (ii) be added as a Loan Party to this Agreement and be jointly and severally liable for all Obligations, and (iii) grant to Lender a security interest in all assets of such target (other than Excluded Property) on the same terms as the Senior Obligations, subject to the terms of the Subordination Agreement; (d) evidence demonstrating that the target or property is in a similar business or business permitted under Section 7.9; (e) evidence that the board of directors (or other comparable governing body) of the target shall have duly approved the transaction; (f) Loan Parties shall have delivered to Lender (i) a pro forma balance sheet and pro forma financial statements and a Compliance Certificate demonstrating that, upon giving effect to such acquisition on a pro forma basis, Loan Parties would be in compliance with the financial covenants set forth in Section 6.5 as of the most recent fiscal quarter end and (ii) for any acquisition in excess of $5,000,000, financial statements (which shall be audited, or if audited financial statements are not available or the acquisition is proposed to take place more than 120 days after the fiscal year end of the target, then financial statements shall be supplemented by a quality of earnings report prepared by a nationally recognized firm for the twelve (12) month period immediately preceding the proposed acquisition) of the acquired entity for the two most recent fiscal years then ended and the most recent internally prepared financial statements, in each case in form and substance reasonably acceptable to Lender; (g) evidence that if such acquisition includes general partnership interests or any other Equity Interest that does not have a corporate (or similar) limitation on liability of the owners thereof, then such acquisition shall be effected by having such Equity Interests acquired by a corporate holding company directly or indirectly wholly-owned by a Loan Party and newly formed for the sole purpose of effecting such acquisition; and (h) evidence that no Default or Event of Default shall have occurred or will occur after giving pro forma effect to such acquisition.

Permitted Dispositions ” means: (a) the disposition or transfer of obsolete and worn-out equipment in the Ordinary Course of Business having an aggregate fair market value of not more than $2,500,000 per fiscal year and $7,500,000 for the duration of the Term, and only to the extent that (x) the proceeds of any such disposition are used to acquire replacement equipment which is subject to Lender’s security interest (subject to the terms of the Subordination Agreement) or (y) the proceeds of which are remitted to Lender to be applied pursuant to Section 2.9(a) or the Senior Administrative Agent pursuant to Section 2.9(e), as applicable; (b) sales of Inventory to buyers in the Ordinary Course of Business; (c) the use or transfer of money or Cash

 

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Equivalents in a manner that is not prohibited by the terms of this Agreement or the Other Documents; (d) the licensing, on a non-exclusive basis, of patents, trademarks, copyrights, or other intellectual property rights in the Ordinary Course of Business or the licensing of content; (e) the granting of Permitted Encumbrances; (f) any involuntary loss, damage or destruction of property; (g) any involuntary condemnation, seizure or taking, by exercise of the power of eminent domain or otherwise, or confiscation or requisition of use of property; (h) the leasing or subleasing of assets of the Loan Parties in the Ordinary Course of Business; (i) the sale or issuance of Equity Interests of Holdco; (j) the lapse or abandonment of registered or applied for patents, trademarks and other intellectual property of the Loan Parties to the extent (I) expired pursuant to any Applicable Law or (II) not economically desirable in the conduct of their business and so long as such lapse or abandonment does not result in a Material Adverse Effect; (k) the making of a dividend, distribution or repurchase that is expressly permitted to be made pursuant to this Agreement; (l) the making of a Permitted Investment; (m) dispositions of property by a Loan Party to a Loan Party (other than Holdco); provided that to the extent such transaction constitutes an Investment, such transaction is permitted under Section 7.4 or Section 7.7; (n) dispositions of Receivables that are past due by more than 120 days; (o) in order to resolve disputes that occur in the Ordinary Course of Business, the discounting of or otherwise compromise for less than the face value thereof, notes or accounts receivable; (p) the unwinding of any derivative instruments or similar agreements; (q) sale or disposition of Investments under clause (o) of the definition of Permitted Investments; (r) transfers of property subject to casualty events to the extent permitted by Section 2.9(d); (s) the sale, lease or transfer of any property or assets (other than Receivables owned by a Loan Party) acquired pursuant to a Permitted Acquisition and disposed of contemporaneously with the consummation of such Permitted Acquisition, so long as it is upon prior written notice thereof to the Lender; provided that after such disposition, Borrower shall be in compliance on a pro forma basis with each of the financial covenants specified in Section 6.5 and (t) dispositions of the properties listed on Schedule 1.2(b) on or promptly after the Closing Date.

Permitted Dividends ” shall mean quarterly dividend payments, so long as, in the case of each dividend paid in respect of a specific fiscal quarter, within forty-five (45) days of the end of such fiscal quarter: (a) Lender have received (i) unqualified audited financial statements of the Loan Parties on a Consolidated Basis for the fiscal year ended on or about December 31, 2013 in compliance with Sections 9.7 and 9.8, respectively, and (ii) management prepared financial statements of the Loan Parties on a Consolidated Basis for the most recently ended fiscal quarter; (b) at the time of and after giving effect to such dividend, Loan Parties would be in compliance with the financial covenants set forth in Section 6.5 as of the most recent fiscal quarter end; (c) [Reserved]; (d) a notice of termination with regard to this Agreement shall not be outstanding; (e) no Event of Default or Default shall have occurred and be continuing or would occur after giving pro forma effect to such dividends; (f) not less than five (5) Business Days prior to making such dividend, the Loan Parties have provided to Lender, calculations along with their submission of their quarterly or annual financial statements, as applicable, and a Compliance Certificate and (g) such dividend shall not exceed the limitations set forth below for each corresponding “Fiscal Quarter Ending”:

 

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FISCAL QUARTER ENDING

  

LEVERAGE RATIO (giving effect to the Permitted
Dividend)

  

PERMITTED DIVIDEND AMOUNT

March 31, 2014    Less than 2.50 to 1.00    (A) $12,500,000 less the amount by which the Excess Cash Flow for such fiscal quarter is less than $3,900,000, or (B) $12,500,000 plus the amount by which the Excess Cash Flow for such fiscal quarter is greater than $3,900,000.
   Equal to or greater than 2.50 to 1.00    Zero
June 30, 2014    Less than 2.50 to 1.00    (A) $12,500,000 less the amount by which the Excess Cash Flow for such fiscal quarter is less than $13,500,000, or (B) $12,500,000 plus the amount by which the Excess Cash Flow for such fiscal quarter is greater than $13,500,000.
   Equal to or greater than 2.50 to 1.00    Zero
September 30, 2014    Less than 2.50 to 1.00    (A) $12,500,000 less the amount by which the Excess Cash Flow for such fiscal quarter is less than $13,500,000, or (B) $12,500,000 plus the amount by which the Excess Cash Flow for such fiscal quarter is greater than $13,500,000.
   Equal to or greater than 2.50 to 1.00    Zero
December 31, 2014    Less than 2.50 to 1.00    (A) $12,500,000 less the amount by which the Excess Cash Flow for such fiscal quarter is less than $19,800,000, or (B) $12,500,000 plus the amount by which the Excess Cash Flow for such fiscal quarter is greater than $19,800,000.
   Equal to or greater than 2.50 to 1.00    Zero
March 31, 2015 and thereafter    Less than 2.50 to 1.00    An amount up to 100% of the Excess Cash Flow for the LTM period then ended, after giving effect to the dividend payments for the prior three fiscal quarters and the current dividend payment to be made.
   Equal to or greater than 2.50 to 1.00 but less than 2.75 to 1.00    An amount up to 50% of the Excess Cash Flow payment for the LTM period then ended, after giving effect to the dividend payments for the prior three fiscal quarters and the current dividend payment to be made.
   Equal to or greater than 2.75 to 1.00    Zero

 

* An illustrative example of the calculation of a Permitted Dividend payment for the period ending Q1 2015 is set forth on Schedule III.

 

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Permitted Encumbrances ” shall mean: (a) Liens in favor of Lender for the benefit of the Lender (b) Liens for taxes, assessments or other governmental charges not delinquent or being Properly Contested; (c) Liens on amounts deposited or pledged to secure obligations under worker’s compensation, social security or similar laws, or under unemployment insurance; (d) Liens on amounts deposited or pledged to secure bids, tenders, contracts (other than contracts for the borrowing of money), leases, statutory obligations, surety and appeal bonds and other obligations of like nature arising in the Ordinary Course of Business; (e) Liens arising by virtue of the rendition, entry or issuance against any Loan Party or any Subsidiary, or any property of any Loan Party or any Subsidiary, of any judgment, writ, order, or decree to the extent the rendition, entry, issuance or continued existence of such judgment, writ, order or decree has not resulted in the occurrence and continuance of an Event of Default under Section 10.6 hereof; (f) carriers’, repairmens’, mechanics’, workers’, materialmen’s or other like Liens arising in the Ordinary Course of Business with respect to obligations which are not due or which are being Properly Contested; (g) Liens placed upon fixed assets hereafter acquired with Indebtedness under clause (f) of the definition of Permitted Indebtedness to secure a portion of the purchase price thereof, provided that (I) any such Lien shall encumber the asset purchased or acquired and the proceeds thereof and (II) such Lien only secures the amount of Indebtedness that was incurred to acquire the asset purchased or acquired or any Refinancing Indebtedness in respect thereof; (h) easements, rights-of-way, zoning restrictions, minor defects or irregularities in title and other charges or encumbrances, in each case, which do not interfere in any material respect with the Ordinary Course of Business of Borrower and its Subsidiaries; (i) Liens disclosed on Schedule 1.2(c); provided , that such Liens shall secure only those obligations which they secure on the Closing Date (and extensions, renewals and refinancing of such obligations permitted by Section 7.8 hereof) and shall not subsequently apply to any other property or assets of any Loan Party other than the property and assets to which they apply as of the Closing Date; (j) licenses of content or non-exclusive licenses of patents, trademarks, copyrights, or other intellectual property rights in the Ordinary Course of Business; (k) Liens that are extensions, replacements or renewals of Permitted Encumbrances (or successive extensions, renewals or replacements) to the extent that the original Indebtedness is the subject of permitted Refinancing Indebtedness and so long as the Liens so extended, renewed or replaced only encumber those assets that secured the original Indebtedness (plus improvements on such property); (l) rights of setoff, bankers’ liens or similar rights and remedies upon deposits or securities accounts (including funds or other assets credited thereto) or other funds maintained with a depository institution or securities intermediary in favor of banks or other depository institutions, solely to the extent incurred in connection with the maintenance of such deposit accounts in the Ordinary Course of Business or other Liens of a bank or broker in connection with a bank account or securities account; (m)

 

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Liens granted in the Ordinary Course of Business on the unearned portion of insurance premiums securing the financing of insurance premiums to the extent the financing is permitted under the definition of Permitted Indebtedness; (n) Liens in favor of customs and revenue authorities arising as a matter of law to secure payment of customs duties in connection with the importation of goods; (o) any zoning, building or similar laws or rights reserved to or vested in any Governmental Body; (p) restrictions on transfers of securities imposed by applicable securities laws or agreement (other than capital stock pledged pursuant to this Agreement); (q) any interest or title of a lessor, licensor or sublessor under any lease, license or sublease entered into by any Loan Party thereof in the Ordinary Course of Business and covering only the assets so leased, licensed or subleased; (r) assignments of insurance or condemnation proceeds provided by a Loan Party to landlords (or their mortgagees) in the Ordinary Course of Business and pursuant to the terms of any lease and Liens or rights reserved in any lease for rent or for compliance with the terms of such lease, subject to the applicable Lien Waiver Agreement (if applicable); (s) Liens arising from filing UCC financing statements relating solely to leases not prohibited hereunder; (t) licenses (with respect to intellectual property and other property), leases or subleases granted to third parties to the extent permitted by the applicable terms of this Agreement and not interfering in any material respect with the Ordinary Course of Business or resulting in a material diminution in the value of the collateral so licensed, leased or subleased; (u) Liens (other than on Receivables or proceeds thereof) arising out of conditional sale, title retention, consignment or similar arrangement for sale of goods entered into by any Loan Party in the Ordinary Course of Business permitted by this Agreement; (v) Liens consisting of reasonable customary initial deposits and margin deposit and similar Liens attaching to commodity trading accounts or other brokerage accounts maintained in the Ordinary Course of Business and not for speculative purposes; (w) Liens that are contractual rights of setoff (A) relating to the establishment of depository relations with banks or other financial institutions not given in connection with the issuance of Indebtedness, (B) relating to pooled deposit or sweep accounts of the Loan Parties to permit satisfaction of overdraft or similar obligations incurred in the Ordinary Course of Business or (C) relating to purchase orders and other agreements entered into with customers in the Ordinary Course of Business; (x) Liens solely on any cash earnest money deposits made by any Loan Party in connection with any letter of intent or purchase agreement permitted hereunder in an aggregate amount not to exceed $10,000,000; (y) with respect to Leasehold Interests, the interests and title of the lessor and encumbrances on the lessor’s fee interests, (z) other Liens (other than on Receivables or proceeds thereof) as to which the aggregate amount of the obligations secured thereby does not exceed $5,000,000, (aa) Liens on cash to secure letters of credit permitted pursuant to clause (v) of the definition of “Permitted Indebtedness” and (bb) Liens securing the Senior Obligations, subject to the terms of the Subordination Agreement.

Permitted Holder ” means Fortress Investment Group, LLC, or any one or more Affiliates managed by Affiliates of Fortress Investment Group, LLC.

Permitted Indebtedness ” shall mean: (a) the Obligations; (b) Indebtedness incurred for Capital Expenditures permitted in Section 7.6 hereof; (c) any guarantees of Indebtedness permitted under Section 7.3 hereof; (d) any Indebtedness listed on Schedule 5.8(b)(ii) hereof (and any Refinancing Indebtedness in respect of such Indebtedness); (e) the Senior Obligations; (f) Indebtedness consisting of Permitted Loans made by one or more Loan Party(ies) to any other Loan Party(ies); (f) Indebtedness in an amount not to exceed $20,000,000 incurred in connection

 

25


with the acquisition of fixed assets for the purpose of financing all or any part of the acquisition cost thereof (and any Refinancing Indebtedness in respect of such Indebtedness); (g) endorsement of instruments or other payment items for deposit; (h) Indebtedness incurred in the Ordinary Course of Business under performance, surety, statutory, and appeal bonds; (i) Indebtedness owed to any Person providing property, casualty, liability, or other insurance to Borrower or any of its Subsidiaries, so long as the amount of such Indebtedness is not in excess of the amount of the unpaid cost of, and shall be incurred only to defer the cost of, such insurance for the year in which such Indebtedness is incurred and such Indebtedness is outstanding only during such year; (j) Indebtedness incurred in respect of credit cards, credit card processing services, debit cards, stored value cards, purchase cards (including so-called “procurement cards” or “P-cards”), in each case, incurred in the Ordinary Course of Business; (k) unsecured Indebtedness of a Loan Party owing to former employees, officers, or directors (or any spouses, ex-spouses, or estates of any of the foregoing) incurred in connection with the repurchase by the Loan Party of the Equity Interests of the Loan Party that has been issued to such Persons, so long as (A) no Default or Event of Default has occurred and is continuing or would result from the incurrence of such Indebtedness, (B) the aggregate amount of all such Indebtedness outstanding at any one time does not exceed $2,000,000, and (C) such Indebtedness is subordinated to the Senior Obligations and the Obligations; (l) unsecured Indebtedness of the Loan Parties the aggregate principal amount for all such unsecured Indebtedness does not exceed $20,000,000 at any one time outstanding; (m) contingent liabilities in respect of any indemnification obligation, adjustment of purchase price, earn-out, non-compete, or similar obligation of any Loan Party incurred in connection with the consummation of one or more Permitted Acquisitions to the extent not prohibited under the definition of Permitted Acquisition; (n) Indebtedness composing Permitted Investments; (o) Indebtedness incurred in respect of workers’ compensation claims or self-insurance obligations of Loan Parties in the Ordinary Course of Business; (p) Indebtedness consisting of the financing of insurance premiums in the ordinary course of business; (q) Indebtedness representing deferred compensation to employees of any Loan Party incurred in the Ordinary Course of Business; (r) Indebtedness for any amounts owing by the Loan Parties under the Management Agreement solely to the extent such amounts are permitted to be incurred under Section 7.10 ; (s) unsecured Indebtedness of a Loan Party owing to former employees, officers, or directors with respect to relocation costs in an aggregate amount not to exceed $1,000,000; (t) Indebtedness incurred by the Loan Parties constituting reimbursement obligations with respect to standby letters of credit and bank guarantees issued in the Ordinary Course of Business (to the extent such obligations are cash collateralized) in respect of workers compensation claims, health, disability or other employee benefits or property, casualty or liability insurance or self-insurance or other Indebtedness with respect to reimbursement-type obligations regarding workers compensation claims; (u) Indebtedness consisting of Hedge Liabilities (as defined in the Senior Loan Documents) or Cash Management Products and Services (as defined in the Senior Loan Documents) to the extent permitted by the Senior Loan Documents; and (v) payments of amounts pursuant to the Plan of Reorganization (including any restructuring costs and expenses).

Permitted Investments ” shall mean : (a) Investments in cash and Cash Equivalents; (b) Permitted Loans; (c) Investments in negotiable instruments deposited or to be deposited for collection in the Ordinary Course of Business; (d) advances made in connection with purchases of goods or services in the Ordinary Course of Business; (e) Investments received in settlement of amounts due to any Loan Party effected in the Ordinary Course of Business or owing to any

 

26


Loan Party as a result of an Insolvency Event involving an account debtor or upon the foreclosure or enforcement of any Lien in favor of a Loan Party, (f) Investments owned by any Loan Party on the Closing Date; (g) guarantees permitted under the definition of Permitted Indebtedness; (h) Equity Interests or other securities acquired in connection with the satisfaction or enforcement of Indebtedness or claims due or owing to a Loan Party (in bankruptcy of customers or suppliers or otherwise outside the Ordinary Course of Business) or as security for any such Indebtedness or claims; (i) deposits of cash made in the Ordinary Course of Business to secure performance of operating leases; (j) non-cash loans to employees, officers, and directors of any Loan Party for the purpose of purchasing Equity Interests of Holdco so long as the proceeds of such loans are used in their entirety to purchase such Equity Interests of Holdco; (k) Permitted Acquisitions; (l) Investments in the form of capital contributions and the acquisition of Equity Interests made by any Loan Party in any other Loan Party (other than capital contributions to or the acquisition of Equity Interests of Holdco); (m) Investments resulting from entering into agreements relative to Indebtedness that is permitted under clause (j) of the definition of Permitted Indebtedness; (n) Investments (including debt obligations) received 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 in the Ordinary Course of Business; (o) agreements in respect of Hedge Liabilities (as defined in the Senior Loan Documents) or Cash Management Products or Services (as defined in the Senior Loan Documents) to the extent permitted by the Senior Loan Documents, (p) capital expenditures to the extent permitted hereunder; (q) Investments in promissory notes and other non-cash consideration received in connection with any Permitted Disposition; and (r) other Investments in an amount not to exceed $7,500,000.

Permitted Loans ” shall mean: (a) the extension of trade credit by a Loan Party to its Customer(s), in the Ordinary Course of Business in connection with a sale of Inventory or rendition of services, in each case on open account terms; and (b) intercompany loans between and among Loan Parties, so long as, at the request of the Controlling Agent, each such intercompany loan is evidenced by a promissory note (including, if applicable, any master intercompany note executed by Loan Parties) on terms and conditions (including terms subordinating payment of the indebtedness evidenced by such note to the prior payment in full of all Obligations) acceptable to Controlling Agent in its discretion that has been delivered to Controlling Agent either endorsed in blank or together with an undated instrument of transfer executed in blank by the applicable Loan Party(ies) that are the payee(s) on such note.

Person ” shall mean any individual, sole proprietorship, partnership, corporation, business trust, joint stock company, trust, unincorporated organization, association, limited liability company, limited liability partnership, institution, public benefit corporation, joint venture, entity or Governmental Body (whether federal, state, county, city, municipal or otherwise, including any instrumentality, division, agency, body or department thereof).

Plan ” shall mean any employee benefit plan within the meaning of Section 3(3) of ERISA which is a Pension Benefit Plan, a Multiemployer Plan, or a “welfare plan” (as defined in Section 3(1) of ERISA) which provides self-insured benefits and which is maintained by any Loan Party or any member of the Controlled Group or to which any Loan Party or any member of the Controlled Group is required to contribute.

 

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Plan of Reorganization ” means that certain Joint Plan of Reorganization filed by Holdco and its affiliates on September 27, 2013, in the Bankruptcy Cases, as amended or supplemented from time to time, including any exhibits, supplements, annexes, appendices and schedules thereto, as confirmed by the Bankruptcy Court pursuant to the Confirmation Order.

Pledge Agreement ” shall mean that certain Collateral Pledge Agreement executed by Holdco in favor of Lender dated as of the Closing Date and any other pledge agreements executed subsequent to the Closing Date by any other Person to secure the Obligations.

Pro Forma Balance Sheet ” shall have the meaning set forth in Section 5.5(a) hereof.

Pro Forma Financial Statements ” shall have the meaning set forth in Section 5.5(b) hereof.

Projections ” shall have the meaning set forth in Section 5.5(b) hereof.

Properly Contested ” shall mean, in the case of any Indebtedness, Lien or Tax, as applicable, of any Person that are not paid as and when due or payable by reason of such Person’s bona fide dispute concerning its liability to pay the same or concerning the amount thereof: (a) such Indebtedness, Lien or Tax, as applicable, are being properly contested in good faith by appropriate proceedings promptly instituted and diligently conducted; (b) such Person has established appropriate reserves as shall be required in conformity with GAAP; (c) the non-payment of such Indebtedness or Tax will not have a Material Adverse Effect or will not result in the forfeiture of any assets of such Person; (d) no Lien is imposed upon any of such Person’s assets with respect to such Indebtedness or Tax unless enforcement of such Lien is stayed during the period prior to the final resolution or disposition of such dispute; and (e) if such Indebtedness or Lien, as applicable, results from, or is determined by the entry, rendition or issuance against a Person or any of its assets of a judgment, writ, order or decree, enforcement of such judgment, writ, order or decree is stayed pending a timely appeal or other judicial review.

Published Rate ” shall mean the rate of interest published each Business Day in the Wall Street Journal “Money Rates” listing under the caption “London Interbank Offered Rates” for a one month period (or, if no such rate is published therein for any reason, then the Published Rate shall be the LIBOR Rate for a one month period as published in another publication selected by the Lender).

Purchasing CLO ” shall have the meaning set forth in Section 17.3(d) hereof.

Purchasing Lender ” shall have the meaning set forth in Section 17.3(c) hereof.

Qualifying IPO ” means the issuance by Holdco (or any successor under Section 7.1(a)) or any direct or indirect parent of Holdco of its common equity interests in an underwritten primary public offering (other than a public offering pursuant to a registration statement on Form S-8 or any comparable successor form) pursuant to an effective registration statement filed with the SEC in accordance with the Securities Act (whether alone or in connection with a secondary public offering).

 

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RCRA ” shall mean the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, 42 U.S.C. §§ 6901 et seq., as same may be amended from time to time.

Real Property ” shall mean all of the owned real property identified on Schedule 4.4 hereto or any other real property that is hereafter owned by any Loan Party.

Receivables ” shall mean and include, as to each Loan Party, all of such Loan Party’s accounts (as defined in Article 9 of the Uniform Commercial Code) and all of such Loan Party’s contract rights, instruments (including those evidencing indebtedness owed to such Loan Party by its Affiliates), documents, chattel paper (including electronic chattel paper), general intangibles relating to accounts, contract rights, instruments, documents and chattel paper, and drafts and acceptances, credit card receivables and all other forms of obligations owing to such Loan Party arising out of or in connection with the sale or lease of Inventory or the rendition of services, all supporting obligations, guarantees and other security therefor, whether secured or unsecured, now existing or hereafter created, and whether or not specifically sold or assigned to Lender hereunder.

Refinancing Indebtedness ” means refinancings, renewals, or extensions of Indebtedness so long as: (a) such refinancings, renewals, or extensions do not result in an increase in the principal amount of the Indebtedness so refinanced, renewed, or extended, other than by the amount of premiums paid thereon and the fees and expenses incurred in connection therewith and by the amount of unfunded commitments with respect thereto; (b) such refinancings, renewals, or extensions do not result in a shortening of the average weighted maturity (measured as of the refinancing, renewal, or extension) of the Indebtedness so refinanced, renewed, or extended, nor are they on terms or conditions that, taken as a whole, are or could reasonably be expected to be materially adverse to the interests of the Lender; (c) if the Indebtedness that is refinanced, renewed, or extended was subordinated in right of payment to the Obligations, then the terms and conditions of the refinancing, renewal, or extension must include subordination terms and conditions that are at least as favorable to the Lender as those that were applicable to the refinanced, renewed, or extended Indebtedness; and (d) the Indebtedness that is refinanced, renewed, or extended is not recourse to any Person that is liable on account of the Obligations other than those Persons which were obligated with respect to the Indebtedness that was refinanced, renewed, or extended.

Register ” shall have the meaning set forth in Section 17.3(e) hereof.

Release ” shall have the meaning set forth in Section 5.7(c)(i) hereof.

Reportable Compliance Event ” shall mean that any Covered Entity becomes a Sanctioned Person, or is charged by indictment, criminal complaint or similar charging instrument, arraigned, or custodially detained in connection with any Anti-Terrorism Law or any predicate crime to any Anti-Terrorism Law, or has knowledge of facts or circumstances to the effect that it is reasonably likely that any aspect of its operations is in actual or probable violation of any Anti-Terrorism Law.

 

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Reportable ERISA Event ” shall mean a reportable event described in Section 4043 of ERISA or the regulations promulgated thereunder (other than a “reportable event” for which the 30-day notice period is waived).

Required Lenders ” shall mean Lenders holding at least fifty-one percent (51%) of the outstanding principal amount of the Term Loan.

Reserve Percentage ” shall mean as of any day the maximum effective percentage in effect on such day as prescribed by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (or any successor) for determining the reserve requirements (including supplemental, marginal and emergency reserve requirements) with respect to eurocurrency funding (currently referred to as “Eurocurrency Liabilities”.

Sanctioned Country ” shall mean a country subject to a sanctions program maintained under any Anti-Terrorism Law.

Sanctioned Person ” shall mean any individual person, group, regime, entity or thing listed or otherwise recognized as a specially designated, prohibited, sanctioned or debarred person, group, regime, entity or thing, or subject to any limitations or prohibitions (including but not limited to the blocking of property or rejection of transactions), under any Anti-Terrorism Law.

SEC ” shall mean the Securities and Exchange Commission or any successor thereto.

Secured Parties ” shall mean the Lender, together with each other holder of any of the Obligations, and the respective successors and assigns of each of them.

Securities Act ” shall mean the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.

Sponsor ” shall mean NewCastle Investment Corp.

Senior Administrative Agent ” shall mean PNC Bank, National Association in its capacity as administrative agent under the Senior Loan Documents, the Senior Term Loan B Agent, or any successor lender (or other representative), as the case may be, under the Senior Loan Documents.

Senior Lender ” shall mean “Lenders” as defined in the Senior Loan Documents.

Senior Lien Termination Date ” means the date on which the Discharge of the Senior Obligations (as such term is defined in the Subordination Agreement) has occurred.

Senior Loans ” shall mean the loans and Indebtedness evidenced by the Senior Loan Documents.

Senior Loan Documents ” shall mean the Revolving Credit, Term Loan and Security Agreement dated as of November 26, 2013 by and among the Borrower, Holdco, the Subsidiary Guarantors, the lenders party thereto in their capacities as lenders thereunder, the Senior Administrative Agent and the Senior Term Loan B Agent and all other instruments, agreements and documents executed in connection therewith, as the same may be amended, restated, modified, supplemented or replaced from time to time.

 

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Senior Obligations ” shall mean “Obligations” as defined in the Senior Loan Documents.

Senior Term Loan B Agent ” shall mean Crystal Financial LLC in its capacity as term loan B agent under the Senior Loan Documents, or any successor term loan B agent (or other representative), as the case may be, under the Senior Loan Documents.

Subordination Agreement ” shall mean the Intercreditor and Subordination Agreement dated November 26, 2013 among Lender, the Senior Administrative Agent and the Senior Term Loan B Agent attached hereto as Exhibit 1.2(b), as amended, restated, supplemented or replaced in accordance with the terms thereof.

Subsidiary ” shall mean of any Person a corporation or other entity of whose Equity Interests having ordinary voting power (other than Equity Interests having such power only by reason of the happening of a contingency) to elect a majority of the directors of such corporation, or other Persons performing similar functions for such entity, are owned, directly or indirectly, by such Person.

Subsidiary Stock ” shall mean (a) with respect to the Equity Interests issued to a Loan Party by any Subsidiary (other than a Foreign Subsidiary), 100% of such issued and outstanding Equity Interests, and (b) with respect to any Equity Interests issued to a Loan Party by any Foreign Subsidiary (i) 100% of such issued and outstanding Equity Interests not entitled to vote (within the meaning of Treas. Reg. Section 1.956-2(c)(2)) and (ii) 65% (or such greater percentage that, due to a change in an Applicable Law after the date hereof, (x) could not reasonably be expected to cause the undistributed earnings of such Foreign Subsidiary as determined for United States federal income tax purposes to be treated as a deemed dividend to such Loan Party and (y) could not reasonably be expected to cause any material adverse tax consequences) of such issued and outstanding Equity Interests entitled to vote (within the meaning of Treas. Reg. Section 1.956-2(c)(2)).

Tangible Net Worth ” shall mean, at a particular date, (a) the aggregate amount of all assets of the Loan Parties on a Consolidated Basis as may be properly classified as such in accordance with GAAP consistently applied excluding such other assets as are properly classified as intangible assets under GAAP, less (b) the aggregate amount of all liabilities of the Loan Parties on a Consolidated Basis.

Taxes ” or “ taxes ” shall mean all present or future taxes, levies, imposts, duties, deductions, withholdings, assessments, fees or other charges imposed by any Governmental Body, including any interest, additions to tax or penalties applicable thereto.

Term ” shall have the meaning set forth in Section 13.1 hereof.

Term Loan ” shall have the meaning set forth in Section 2.3(a) hereof.

Term Loan Commitment ” shall mean, as to Lender, the obligation of Lender to fund the Term Loan in an aggregate principal equal to the Term Loan Commitment Amount.

 

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Term Loan Commitment Amount ” shall mean, as to Lender, the term loan commitment amount (if any) set forth below Lender’s name on the signature page hereof (or, in the case of Lender that became party to this Agreement after the Closing Date pursuant to Section 17.3(c) or (d) hereof, the term loan commitment amount of Lender as set forth in the applicable Commitment Transfer Supplement), as the same may be adjusted upon any assignment by or to Lender pursuant to Section 17.3(c) or (d) hereof.

Term Loan Commitment Percentage ” shall mean, as to Lender, the Term Loan Commitment Percentage (if any) set forth below Lender’s name on the signature page hereof (or, in the case of Lender that became party to this Agreement after the Closing Date pursuant to Section 17.3(c) or (d) hereof, the Term Loan Commitment Percentage (if any) of Lender as set forth in the applicable Commitment Transfer Supplement), as the same may be adjusted upon any assignment by or to Lender pursuant to Section 17.3(c) or (d) hereof.

Term Loan Note ” shall mean, collectively, the promissory notes described in Section 2.3 hereof.

Term Loan Rate ” shall mean (a) with respect to any portion of the Term Loan that is a Domestic Rate Loan, an interest rate per annum equal to the sum of the Applicable Margin plus the Alternate Base Rate and (b) with respect to any portion of the Term Loan that is a LIBOR Rate Loan, the sum of the Applicable Margin plus the LIBOR Rate.

Termination Event ” shall mean: (a) a Reportable ERISA Event with respect to any Pension Benefit Plan; (b) the withdrawal of any Loan Party or any member of the Controlled Group from a Pension Benefit Plan during a plan year in which such entity was a “substantial employer” as defined in Section 4001(a)(2) of ERISA or a cessation of operations that is treated as such a withdrawal under Section 4062(e) of ERISA; (c) the providing of notice of intent to terminate a Pension Benefit Plan in a distress termination described in Section 4041(c) of ERISA; (d) the commencement of proceedings by the PBGC to terminate a Pension Benefit Plan or a Multiemployer Plan; (e) any event or condition (a) which would constitute grounds under Section 4042 of ERISA for the termination of, or the appointment of a trustee to administer, any Plan, or (b) that may result in the termination of a Multiemployer Plan pursuant to Section 4041A of ERISA; (f) the partial or complete withdrawal, within the meaning of Section 4203 or 4205 of ERISA, of any Loan Party or any member of the Controlled Group from a Multiemployer Plan; (g) notice that a Multiemployer Plan is subject to Section 4245 of ERISA; or (h) the imposition by the Internal Revenue Service, the Department of Labor or the PBGC of any material liability under Title IV of ERISA, other than for PBGC premiums due (but not delinquent and not corrected), upon any Loan Party or any member of the Controlled Group.

Total Assets ” means the total assets of Holdco, the Borrower and its Subsidiaries, determined on a consolidated basis in accordance with GAAP, as shown on the most recent balance sheet of the Company with such pro forma adjustments as are appropriate.

Toxic Substance ” shall mean and include any material present on the Real Property (including the Leasehold Interests) which has been shown to have significant adverse effect on human health or which is subject to regulation under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), 15 U.S.C. §§ 2601 et seq., applicable state law, or any other applicable Federal or state laws now in force or hereafter enacted relating to toxic substances. “Toxic Substance” includes but is not limited to asbestos, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and lead-based paints.

 

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Trademark Security Agreement ” shall mean the Trademark Security Agreement, dated as of the Closing Date, between the Loan Parties party thereto and the Lender, as amended, restated, supplemented or replaced.

Transaction Expenses ” shall have the meaning set forth in the definition of “EBITDA”.

Transactions ” shall have the meaning set forth in Section 5.5(a) hereof.

Transferee ” shall have the meaning set forth in Section 17.3(d) hereof.

Unfunded Capital Expenditures ” shall mean, as to any Loan Party, without duplication, a Capital Expenditure funded from such Loan Party’s internally generated cash flow.

Uniform Commercial Code ” shall have the meaning set forth in Section 1.3 hereof.

USA PATRIOT Act ” shall mean the Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act of 2001, Public Law 107-56, as the same has been, or shall hereafter be, renewed, extended, amended or replaced.

1.3. Uniform Commercial Code Terms . All terms used herein and defined in the Uniform Commercial Code as adopted in the State of New York from time to time (the “ Uniform Commercial Code ”) shall have the meaning given therein unless otherwise defined herein. Without limiting the foregoing, the terms “accounts”, “chattel paper” (and “electronic chattel paper” and “tangible chattel paper”), “commercial tort claims”, “deposit accounts”, “documents”, “equipment”, “financial asset”, “fixtures”, “general intangibles”, “goods”, “instruments”, “inventory”, “investment property”, “letter-of-credit rights”, “payment intangibles”, “proceeds”, “promissory note” “securities”, “software” and “supporting obligations” as and when used in the description of Collateral shall have the meanings given to such terms in Articles 8 or 9 of the Uniform Commercial Code. To the extent the definition of any category or type of collateral is expanded by any amendment, modification or revision to the Uniform Commercial Code, such expanded definition will apply automatically as of the date of such amendment, modification or revision.

1.4. Certain Matters of Construction . The terms “herein”, “hereof” and “hereunder” and other words of similar import refer to this Agreement as a whole and not to any particular section, paragraph or subdivision. All references herein to Articles, Sections, Exhibits and Schedules shall be construed to refer to Articles and Sections of, and Exhibits and Schedules to, this Agreement. Any pronoun used shall be deemed to cover all genders. Wherever appropriate in the context, terms used herein in the singular also include the plural and vice versa. All references to statutes and related regulations shall include any amendments of same and any successor statutes and regulations. Unless otherwise provided, all references to any instruments or agreements to which Lender is a party, including references to any of the Other Documents, shall include any and all modifications, supplements or amendments thereto, any and all restatements or replacements thereof and any and all extensions or renewals thereof. Except as otherwise expressly provided for herein, all references herein to the time of day shall mean the

 

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time in New York, New York. Unless otherwise provided, all financial calculations shall be performed with Inventory valued on a first-in, first-out basis. Whenever the words “including” or “include” shall be used, such words shall be understood to mean “including, without limitation” or “include, without limitation”. A Default or an Event of Default shall be deemed to exist at all times during the period commencing on the date that such Default or Event of Default occurs to the date on which such Default or Event of Default is waived in writing pursuant to this Agreement or, in the case of a Default or an Event of Default, shall “continue” or be “continuing” until such Default or Event of Default has been waived in writing by Required Lenders or cured in accordance with the terms hereof. Wherever the phrase “to the best of Loan Parties’ knowledge” or words of similar import relating to the knowledge or the awareness of any Loan Party are used in this Agreement or Other Documents, such phrase shall mean and refer to (i) the actual knowledge of a senior officer of any Loan Party or (ii) the knowledge that a senior officer would have obtained if he/she had engaged in a good faith and diligent performance of his/her duties, including the making of such reasonably specific inquiries as may be necessary of the employees or agents of such Loan Party and a good faith attempt to ascertain the existence or accuracy of the matter to which such phrase relates. All covenants hereunder shall be given independent effect so that if a particular action or condition is not permitted by any of such covenants, the fact that it would be permitted by an exception to, or otherwise within the limitations of, another covenant shall not avoid the occurrence of a default if such action is taken or condition exists. In addition, all representations and warranties hereunder shall be given independent effect so that if a particular representation or warranty proves to be incorrect or is breached, the fact that another representation or warranty concerning the same or similar subject matter is correct or is not breached will not affect the incorrectness of a breach of a representation or warranty hereunder.

II. ADVANCES, PAYMENTS.

2.1. Reserved .

2.2. Procedures for Selection of Applicable Interest Rates .

(a) Reserved.

(b) In the event Borrower desires to obtain a LIBOR Rate Loan for the Term Loan, Borrower shall give Lender written notice by no later than 1:00 p.m. three (3) Business Days (or such shorter period as the Lender shall agree) prior to the Closing Date, specifying (i) the date of the proposed borrowing (which shall be a Business Day), (ii) the type of borrowing and the amount of such Advance to be borrowed, which amount shall be in a minimum amount of $1,000,000 and in integral multiples of $500,000 thereafter, and (iii) the duration of the first Interest Period therefor. Interest Periods for LIBOR Rate Loans shall be for one, two or three months; provided that, if an Interest Period would end on a day that is not a Business Day, it shall end on the next succeeding Business Day unless such day falls in the next succeeding calendar month in which case the Interest Period shall end on the next preceding Business Day. No LIBOR Rate Loan shall be made available to Borrower during the continuance of a Default or an Event of Default.

 

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(c) Each Interest Period of a LIBOR Rate Loan shall commence on the date such LIBOR Rate Loan is made and shall end on such date as Borrower may elect as set forth in subsection (b)(iii) above, provided that the exact length of each Interest Period shall be determined in accordance with the practice of the interbank market for offshore Dollar deposits and no Interest Period shall end after the last day of the Term.

(d) Borrower shall elect the initial Interest Period applicable to a LIBOR Rate Loan by its notice of borrowing given to Lender pursuant to Section 2.2(b) or by its notice of conversion given to Lender pursuant to Section 2.2(e), as the case may be. Borrower shall elect the duration of each succeeding Interest Period by giving irrevocable written notice to Lender of such duration not later than 1:00 p.m. on the day which is three (3) Business Days prior to the last day of the then current Interest Period applicable to such LIBOR Rate Loan. If Lender does not receive timely notice of the Interest Period elected by Borrower, Borrower shall be deemed to have elected to convert such LIBOR Rate Loan to a Domestic Rate Loan subject to Section 2.2(e) below.

(e) Provided that no Default or Event of Default shall have occurred and be continuing, Borrower may, on the last Business Day of the then current Interest Period applicable to any outstanding LIBOR Rate Loan, or on any Business Day with respect to Domestic Rate Loans, convert any such loan into a loan of another type in the same aggregate principal amount provided that any conversion of a LIBOR Rate Loan shall be made only on the last Business Day of the then current Interest Period applicable to such LIBOR Rate Loan. If Borrower desires to convert a loan, Borrower shall give Lender written notice by no later than 1:00 p.m. (i) on the day which is three (3) Business Days prior to the date on which such conversion is to occur with respect to a conversion from a Domestic Rate Loan to a LIBOR Rate Loan, or (ii) on the day which is one (1) Business Day prior to the date on which such conversion is to occur (which date shall be the last Business Day of the Interest Period for the applicable LIBOR Rate Loan) with respect to a conversion from a LIBOR Rate Loan to a Domestic Rate Loan, specifying, in each case, the date of such conversion, the loans to be converted and if the conversion is to a LIBOR Rate Loan, the duration of the first Interest Period therefor.

(f) Reserved.

(g) Borrower shall indemnify Lender and hold Lender harmless from and against any and all losses or expenses that Lender may sustain or incur as a consequence of any prepayment, conversion of or any default by Borrower in the payment of the principal of or interest on any LIBOR Rate Loan or failure by Borrower to complete a borrowing of, a prepayment of or conversion of or to a LIBOR Rate Loan after notice thereof has been given, including, but not limited to, any interest payable by Lender to lenders of funds obtained by it in order to make or maintain its LIBOR Rate Loans hereunder. A certificate as to any additional amounts payable pursuant to the foregoing sentence submitted by Lender to Borrower shall be conclusive absent manifest error.

(h) Notwithstanding any other provision hereof, if any Applicable Law, treaty, regulation or directive, or any change therein or in the interpretation or application thereof, including without limitation any Change in Law, shall make it unlawful for Lender (for purposes of this subsection (h), the term “Lender” shall include Lender and the office or branch where

 

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Lender or any Person controlling Lender makes or maintains any LIBOR Rate Loans) to make or maintain its LIBOR Rate Loans, Borrower shall, if any affected LIBOR Rate Loans are then outstanding, promptly upon request from the Lender, either pay all such affected LIBOR Rate Loans or convert such affected LIBOR Rate Loans into loans of another type. If any such payment or conversion of any LIBOR Rate Loan is made on a day that is not the last day of the Interest Period applicable to such LIBOR Rate Loan, Borrower shall pay the Lender, upon Lender’s request, such amount or amounts set forth in clause (g) above. A certificate as to any additional amounts payable pursuant to the foregoing sentence submitted by Lender to Borrower shall be conclusive absent manifest error.

2.3. Term Loan .

(a) Subject to the terms and conditions of this Agreement, Lender will make a term loan to Borrower in the amount equal to $50,000,000 (the “ Term Loan ”). The Term Loan shall be advanced on the Closing Date and shall be, with respect to principal, payable at the end of the Term, subject to acceleration upon the occurrence and continuation of an Event of Default under this Agreement pursuant to Section 11.1 or termination of this Agreement. The Term Loan shall be evidenced by a promissory note (collectively, the “ Term Loan Note ”) in substantially the form attached hereto as Exhibit 2.3(a). The Term Loan may be a Domestic Rate Loan or a LIBOR Rate Loan, or a combination thereof, as Borrower may request; and in the event that Borrower desires to obtain or extend any portion of the Term Loan as a LIBOR Rate Loan or to convert any portion of the Term Loan from a Domestic Rate Loan to a LIBOR Rate Loan, Borrower shall comply with the notification requirements set forth in Sections 2.2(b) and/or (e) and the provisions of Sections 2.2(b) through (h) shall apply. The Term Loan shall be disbursed from whichever office or other place Lender may designate and, together with any and all other Obligations of Borrower to Lender, shall be charged to Borrower’s Account on Lender’s books.

2.4. Reserved .

2.5. Disbursement of Advance Proceeds . All Advances shall be disbursed from whichever office or other place Lender may designate from time to time and, together with any and all other Obligations of Borrower to Lender, shall be charged to Borrower’s Account on Lender’s books.

2.6. Making and Settlement of Advances . After the effectiveness of a participation made pursuant to Section 17.3(b) or an assignment made pursuant to Section 17.3(c) or (d), if Lender or any Participant (a “ Benefited Lender ”) shall at any time receive any payment of all or part of its Advances, or interest thereon, or receive any Collateral in respect thereof (whether voluntarily or involuntarily or by set-off) in a greater proportion than any such payment to and Collateral received by any other Lender, if any, in respect of such other Lender’s Advances, or interest thereon, and such greater proportionate payment or receipt of Collateral is not expressly permitted hereunder, such Benefited Lender shall purchase for cash from the other Lender a participation in such portion of each such other Lender’s Advances, or shall provide such other Lender with the benefits of any such Collateral, or the proceeds thereof, as shall be necessary to cause such Benefited Lender to share the excess payment or benefits of such Collateral or proceeds ratably with each of the other Lender; provided, however, that if all or any portion of

 

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such excess payment or benefits is thereafter recovered from such Benefited Lender, such purchase shall be rescinded, and the purchase price and benefits returned, to the extent of such recovery, but without interest. Borrower consents to the foregoing and agrees, to the extent it may effectively do so under Applicable Law, that any Lender so purchasing a portion of another Lender’s Advances may exercise all rights of payment (including rights of set-off) with respect to such portion as fully as if Lender were the direct holder of such portion, and the obligations owing to each such purchasing Lender in respect of such participation and such purchased portion of any other Lender’s Advances shall be part of the Obligations secured by the Collateral, and the obligations owing to each such purchasing Lender in respect of such participation and such purchased portion of any other Lender’s Advances shall be part of the Obligations secured by the Collateral.

2.7. Statement of Account . Lender shall maintain, in accordance with its customary procedures, a loan account (“ Borrower’s Account ”) in the name of Borrower.

2.8. Manner and Repayment of Advances .

(a) The Term Loan shall be due and payable as provided in Section 2.3(a) hereof and shall be due and payable in full on the last day of the Term, subject to mandatory prepayments as herein provided. Notwithstanding the foregoing, all Advances shall be subject to earlier repayment upon (x) acceleration in accordance with the terms of this Agreement upon the occurrence and continuation of an Event of Default under this Agreement or (y) termination of this Agreement. Each payment (including each prepayment) by Borrower on account of the principal of the Term Loan shall be applied to the outstanding principal amount of the Term Loan until the Term Loan is paid in full.

(b) Borrower recognizes that the amounts evidenced by checks, notes, drafts or any other items of payment relating to and/or proceeds of Collateral may not be collectible by Lender on the date received by Lender. Lender shall conditionally credit Borrower’s Account for each item of payment (i) on the next Business Day after the Business Day on which such item of payment is received by Lender in the case of payment made via wire transfer or electronic depository check and (ii) on the Business Day on which such payment constitutes good funds in the case of payment in any other form (such Business Day on which each such item of payment is so credited shall be referred to, with respect to such item, as the “ Application Date ”). Lender is not, however, required to credit Borrower’s Account for the amount of any item of payment which is unsatisfactory to Lender and Lender may charge Borrower’s Account for the amount of any item of payment which is returned, for any reason whatsoever, to Lender unpaid. Subject to the foregoing, Borrower agrees that for purposes of computing the interest charges under this Agreement, each item of payment received by Lender shall be deemed applied by Lender on account of the Obligations on its respective Application Date.

(c) All payments of principal, interest and other amounts payable hereunder (to the extent payable), or under any of the Other Documents shall be made to Lender for the benefit of the Lender in accordance with its Term Loan Commitment Percentage at the Payment Office not later than 1:00 P.M. on the due date therefor in lawful money of the United States of America in federal funds or other funds immediately available to the Lender. The Lender shall have the right to effectuate payment of any and all Obligations due and owing hereunder by charging Borrower’s Account.

 

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(d) Except as expressly provided herein, all payments (including prepayments) to be made by Borrower on account of principal, interest, fees and other amounts payable hereunder shall be made without deduction, setoff or counterclaim and shall be made to the Lender to the Payment Office, in each case on or prior to 1:00 p.m., in Dollars and in immediately available funds.

2.9. Mandatory and Optional Prepayments .

(a) Subject to Section 2.9(e), when any Loan Party sells or otherwise disposes of any Collateral other than (i) Inventory in the Ordinary Course of Business, (ii) pursuant to a “Permitted Disposition” or (iii) pursuant to a transaction permitted by Section 7.1(a), Loan Parties shall repay the Advances in an amount equal to the Net Proceeds of such sale (i.e., gross proceeds less the reasonable direct costs of such sales or other dispositions), such repayments to be made promptly but in no event more than one (1) Business Day (or three (3) Business Days in the case of a disposition of any Collateral in an amount less than $100,000) following receipt of such Net Proceeds, and until the date of payment, such proceeds shall be held in trust for Lender or the Senior Administrative Agent pursuant to the Senior Loan Documents. The foregoing shall not be deemed to be implied consent to any such sale otherwise prohibited by the terms and conditions hereof. Such repayments shall be applied to the outstanding principal amount of the Term Loan until the Term Loan is paid in full.

(b) Subject to Section 2.9(e), Borrower shall prepay the outstanding amount of the Advances in an amount equal to (I) if as of the end of such fiscal quarter, the Leverage Ratio is less than 2.50 to 1.00, zero percent (0%), (II) if as of the end of such fiscal quarter, the Leverage Ratio is equal to or greater than 2.50 to 1.00 but less than 2.75 to 1.00, fifty percent (50%), and (III) if as of the end of such fiscal quarter, the Leverage Ratio is equal to or greater than 2.75 to 1.00, one hundred percent (100%), of Excess Cash Flow for each fiscal quarter commencing with the fiscal year ending December 31, 2014 minus the amount of any optional prepayments during such fiscal quarter pursuant to Section 2.9(e) hereof, payable upon delivery of the financial statements to Lender referred to in and required by Section 9.8 for such fiscal quarter but in any event not later than after the end of each such fiscal quarter, which amount shall be applied to the outstanding principal amount of the Term Loan until the Term Loan is paid in full. In the event that the financial statements are not so delivered, then a calculation based upon estimated amounts shall be made by Lender upon which calculation Borrower shall make the prepayment required by this Section 2.9(b), subject to adjustment when the financial statements are delivered to Lender as required hereby. The calculation made by Lender shall not be deemed a waiver of any rights Lender may have as a result of the failure by Borrower to deliver such financial statements.

(c) Subject to Section 2.9(e), in the event of any issuance or other incurrence of Indebtedness by any Loan Party that is not permitted under Section 7.8 of this Agreement, such Loan Party shall, no later than one (1) Business Day after the receipt by such Loan Party of the cash proceeds from any such issuance or incurrence of Indebtedness, repay the Advances in an amount equal to one hundred percent (100%) of such cash proceeds in the case of such incurrence or issuance of Indebtedness. Such repayments shall be applied to the outstanding principal amount of the Term Loan until the Term Loan is paid in full.

 

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(d) Subject to Section 2.9(e), all proceeds received by any Loan Party or Lender (i) under any insurance policy on account of damage or destruction of any assets or property of any Borrower, or (ii) as a result of any taking or condemnation of any assets or property shall be applied in accordance with Section 6.6 hereof (and subject to the terms of the Subordination Agreement). Notwithstanding the foregoing, and provided no Event of Default has occurred and is continuing, such application shall not be required to the extent such Loan Party reinvests (or enters into a legally binding commitment to reinvest) such Net Cash Proceeds in assets (other than Inventory) of a kind then used or usable in a similar business or business permitted under Section 7.9, within one hundred eighty (180) days after the date of receipt of such Net Proceeds, which assets (unless the same constitute Excluded Property) are subject to Lender’s security interest (subject to the Subordination Agreement and to Permitted Encumbrances).

(e) Notwithstanding anything to the contrary, no prepayment of Term Loan shall be required or permitted pursuant to this Section 2.9 (i) if such prepayment is prohibited by the Subordination Agreement and/or any customary intercreditor agreement or (ii) except to the extent of the amount of Excess Cash Flow, Net Proceeds, cash proceeds of any issuance or other incurrence of Indebtedness by any Loan Party that is not permitted under Section 7.8 of this Agreement, insurance or condemnation proceeds, as the case may be, required to be applied toward such prepayment remaining after the satisfaction of any Senior Obligations to prepay or repurchase any Indebtedness thereunder or the waiver of such prepayment obligations (it being understood that amounts actually applied toward prepayment of the Senior Obligations shall reduce the amount required to be applied toward prepayments hereunder on a dollar-for-dollar basis).

(f) Subject to the terms of the Subordination Agreement, Borrower may, at any time and from time to time, prepay the Term Loan, in whole or in part, in minimum amounts of $1,000,000, upon notice by Borrower to the Lender specifying the date and amount of such prepayment. Such repayments shall be applied to the outstanding principal amount of the Term Loan until the Term Loan is paid in full.

2.10. Use of Proceeds .

(a) Borrower shall apply the proceeds of Advances to (i) make distributions and fund other payments pursuant to the Plan of Reorganization (the “ POR Distributions ”) and (ii) pay fees and expenses relating to this transaction.

(b) Without limiting the generality of Section 2.10(a) above, neither the Borrower, the Guarantors nor any other Person which may in the future become party to this Agreement or the Other Documents as a Borrower or Guarantor, intends to use nor shall they use any portion of the proceeds of the Advances, directly or indirectly, for any purpose in violation of Applicable Law.

 

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III. INTEREST AND FEES.

3.1. Interest . Interest on Advances shall be payable to the applicable Lender in arrears on the first day of each month with respect to Domestic Rate Loans and, with respect to LIBOR Rate Loans, at the end of each Interest Period; provided, that at any time interest is not payable pursuant to the terms of the Subordination Agreement, interest shall continue to accrue (including interest on interest); provided , further that the Borrower may pay any accrued and unpaid interest (including any accrued interest on interest pursuant to the prior proviso) in any future Interest Period; provided , however that all accrued and unpaid interest shall be due and payable at the end of the Term. Interest charges shall be computed on the actual principal amount of Advances outstanding during the month (and including any interest on interest that accrues pursuant to the prior sentence) at a rate per annum equal to the Term Loan Rate (the “ Contract Rate ”). Whenever, subsequent to the date of this Agreement, the Alternate Base Rate is increased or decreased, the applicable Contract Rate shall be similarly changed without notice or demand of any kind by an amount equal to the amount of such change in the Alternate Base Rate during the time such change or changes remain in effect. The LIBOR Rate shall be adjusted with respect to LIBOR Rate Loans without notice or demand of any kind on the effective date of any change in the Reserve Percentage as of such effective date. Upon and after the occurrence of an Event of Default, and during the continuation thereof, (i) with respect to the Advances, at the option of Lender (or, in the case of any Event of Default under Section 10.7, immediately and automatically upon the occurrence of any such Event of Default without the requirement of any affirmative action by any party), the Term Loan shall bear interest at the applicable Contract Rate plus two percent (2%) per annum ( the “ Default Rate ”).

3.2. Reserved .

3.3. Reserved .

3.4. Fee Letter . Borrower shall pay the amounts required to be paid in the Fee Letter in the manner and at the times required by the Fee Letter.

3.5. Computation of Interest and Fees . Interest and fees hereunder shall be computed on the basis of a year of 360 days and for the actual number of days elapsed in the period during which the interest or fees accrue. If any payment to be made hereunder becomes due and payable on a day other than a Business Day, the due date thereof shall be extended to the next succeeding Business Day and interest thereon shall be payable at the Contract Rate during such extension.

3.6. Maximum Charges . In no event whatsoever shall interest and other charges charged hereunder, plus any other amounts paid in connection herewith, exceed the highest rate permissible under Applicable Law. Notwithstanding anything contained herein to the contrary, in the event interest and other charges as computed hereunder would otherwise exceed the highest rate permitted under Applicable Law: (i) the interest rates hereunder will be reduced to the maximum rate permitted under Applicable Law; (ii) such excess amount shall be first applied to any unpaid principal balance owed by Borrower; and (iii) if the then remaining excess amount is greater than the previously unpaid principal balance, Lender shall promptly refund such excess amount to Borrower and the provisions hereof shall be deemed amended to provide for such permissible rate.

 

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3.7. Increased Costs . In the event that any Applicable Law or any Change in Law or compliance by Lender (for purposes of this Section 3.7, the term “Lender” shall include any corporation or bank controlling Lender and the office or branch where Lender makes or maintains any LIBOR Rate Loans) with any request or directive (whether or not having the force of law) from any central bank or other financial, monetary or other authority, shall:

(a) subject Lender to any tax of any kind whatsoever with respect to this Agreement or any LIBOR Rate Loan, or change the basis of taxation of payments to Lender in respect thereof (except for Indemnified Taxes or Other Taxes covered by Section 3.10 and the imposition of, or any change in the rate of, any Excluded Tax payable by Lender);

(b) impose, modify or deem applicable any reserve, special deposit, assessment, special deposit, compulsory loan, insurance charge or similar requirement against assets held by, or deposits in or for the account of, advances or loans by, or other credit extended by, any office of Lender, including pursuant to Regulation D of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System; or

(c) impose on Lender or the London interbank LIBOR market any other condition, loss or expense (other than Taxes) affecting this Agreement or any Other Document or any Advance made by Lender;

and the result of any of the foregoing is to increase the cost to Lender of converting to, continuing, renewing or maintaining its Advances hereunder by an amount that Lender reasonably deems to be material or to reduce the amount of any payment (whether of principal, interest or otherwise) in respect of any of the Advances by an amount that Lender deems to be material, then, in any case Borrower shall promptly pay Lender, upon its demand, such additional amount as will compensate Lender for such additional cost or such reduction, as the case may be; provided that no Lender shall be entitled to compensation for any increased costs under this Section 3.7 if it shall not be the general policy or practice of Lender to demand such compensation in similar circumstances and unless such demand is generally consistent with Lender’s treatment of comparable borrowers of Lender in the United States with respect to similarly affected commitments or loans. Lender shall certify the amount of such additional cost or reduced amount to Borrower, and such certification shall be conclusive absent manifest error.

3.8. Basis For Determining Interest Rate Inadequate or Unfair . In the event that Lender shall have reasonably determined that:

(a) reasonable means do not exist for ascertaining the LIBOR Rate applicable pursuant to Section 2.2 hereof for any Interest Period; or

(b) Dollar deposits in the relevant amount and for the relevant maturity are not available in the London interbank LIBOR market, with respect to an outstanding LIBOR Rate Loan, a proposed LIBOR Rate Loan, or a proposed conversion of a Domestic Rate Loan into a LIBOR Rate Loan; or

 

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(c) the maintenance of any LIBOR Rate Loan has been made impracticable or unlawful by compliance by Lender in good faith with any Applicable Law or any interpretation or application thereof by any Governmental Body or with any request or directive of any such Governmental Body (whether or not having the force of law),

then Lender shall give Borrower prompt written or telephonic notice of such determination. If such notice is given, (i) any Domestic Rate Loan or LIBOR Rate Loan which was to have been converted to an affected type of LIBOR Rate Loan shall be continued as or converted into a Domestic Rate Loan, or, if Borrower shall notify Lender, no later than 1:00 p.m. two (2) Business Days prior to the proposed conversion, shall be maintained as an unaffected type of LIBOR Rate Loan, and (ii) any outstanding affected LIBOR Rate Loans shall be converted into a Domestic Rate Loan, or, if Borrower shall notify Lender, no later than 1:00 p.m. two (2) Business Days prior to the last Business Day of the then current Interest Period applicable to such affected LIBOR Rate Loan, shall be converted into an unaffected type of LIBOR Rate Loan, on the last Business Day of the then current Interest Period for such affected LIBOR Rate Loans (or sooner, if Lender cannot continue to lawfully maintain such affected LIBOR Rate Loan). Until such notice has been withdrawn, Borrower shall not have the right to convert a Domestic Rate Loan or an unaffected type of LIBOR Rate Loan into an affected type of LIBOR Rate Loan.

3.9. Capital Adequacy .

(a) In the event that Lender shall have determined that any Applicable Law or guideline regarding capital adequacy, or any Change in Law or any change in the interpretation or administration thereof by any Governmental Body, central bank or comparable agency charged with the interpretation or administration thereof, or compliance by Lender (for purposes of this Section 3.9, the term “Lender” shall include any corporation or bank controlling Lender and the office or branch where Lender (as so defined) maintains any LIBOR Rate Loans) with any request or directive regarding capital adequacy (whether or not having the force of law) of any such authority, central bank or comparable agency, has or would have the effect of reducing the rate of return on Lender’s capital as a consequence of its obligations hereunder to a level below that which Lender could have achieved but for such adoption, change or compliance (taking into consideration Lender’s policies with respect to capital adequacy) by an amount deemed by Lender to be material, then, from time to time, Borrower shall pay upon demand to Lender such additional amount or amounts as will compensate Lender for such reduction. In determining such amount or amounts, Lender may use any reasonable averaging or attribution methods. The protection of this Section 3.9 shall be available to Lender regardless of any possible contention of invalidity or inapplicability with respect to the Applicable Law, rule, regulation, guideline or condition.

(b) A certificate of Lender setting forth such amount or amounts as shall be necessary to compensate Lender with respect to Section 3.9(a) hereof when delivered to Borrower shall be conclusive absent manifest error.

 

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3.10. Taxes .

(a) Any and all payments by or on account of any Obligations hereunder or under any Other Document shall be made free and clear of and without reduction or withholding for any Indemnified Taxes or Other Taxes; provided that if Borrower shall be required by Applicable Law to withhold or deduct any Indemnified Taxes (or Other Taxes) from such payments, then (i) the sum payable shall be increased as necessary so that after making all required withholdings or deductions (including those applicable to additional sums payable under this Section) Lender or any Participant, as the case may be, receives an amount equal to the sum it would have received had no such deductions been made, (ii) Borrower shall make such withholding or deductions and (iii) Borrower shall timely pay the full amount withheld or deducted to the relevant Governmental Body in accordance with Applicable Law.

(b) Without limiting the provisions of Section 3.10(a) above, Borrower shall timely pay any Other Taxes to the relevant Governmental Body in accordance with Applicable Law.

(c) Borrower shall indemnify Lender and any Participant, within ten (10) days after demand therefor, for the full amount of any Indemnified Taxes or Other Taxes (including Indemnified Taxes or Other Taxes imposed or asserted on or attributable to amounts payable under this Section) payable or paid by Lender or such Participant, as the case may be, and any penalties, interest and reasonable expenses arising therefrom or with respect thereto, whether or not such Indemnified Taxes or Other Taxes were correctly or legally imposed or asserted by the relevant Governmental Body. A certificate as to the amount of such payment or liability delivered to Borrower by Lender or any Participant shall be conclusive absent manifest error.

(d) As soon as practicable after any payment of Indemnified Taxes or Other Taxes by Borrower to a Governmental Body, Borrower shall deliver to Lender the original or a certified copy of a receipt issued by such Governmental Body evidencing such payment, a copy of the return reporting such payment or other evidence of such payment reasonably satisfactory to Lender.

(e) If Lender is entitled to an exemption from or reduction of withholding tax under the law of the jurisdiction in which Borrower is resident for tax purposes, or under any treaty to which such jurisdiction is a party, with respect to payments hereunder or under any Other Document, Lender shall deliver to Borrower, at the time or times prescribed by Applicable Law or reasonably requested by Borrower or Lender, such properly completed and executed documentation prescribed by Applicable Law as will permit such payments to be made without withholding or at a reduced rate of withholding. In addition, Lender, if requested by Borrower, shall deliver such other documentation prescribed by Applicable Law or reasonably requested by the Borrower as will enable Borrower to determine whether or not 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 documentation set forth in clauses (i), (ii), (iii) and (v) below) shall not be required if in the Lender’s reasonable judgment such completion, execution or submission would subject Lender to any material unreimbursed cost or expense or would materially prejudice the legal or commercial position of Lender. Notwithstanding the foregoing, Lender shall deliver to Borrower

 

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(in such number of copies as shall be requested by Borrower) on or prior to the date of becoming a Lender under this Agreement (and from time to time thereafter upon the request of Borrower, but only if Lender is legally entitled to do so), whichever of the following is applicable:

(i) two (2) duly completed valid originals of IRS Form W-8BEN claiming eligibility for benefits of an income tax treaty to which the United States of America is a party,

(ii) two (2) duly completed valid originals of IRS Form W-8ECI,

(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 to the effect that such Foreign Lender is not (A) a “bank” within the meaning of section 881(c)(3)(A) of the Code, (B) a “10 percent shareholder” of Borrower within the meaning of section 881(c)(3)(B) of the Code, or (C) a “controlled foreign corporation” described in section 881(c)(3)(C) of the Code and (y) two duly completed valid originals of IRS Form W-8BEN,

(iv) any successor or additional form prescribed by Applicable Law as a basis for claiming exemption from or a reduction in United States Federal withholding tax duly completed together with such supplementary documentation as may be prescribed by Applicable Law to permit the Borrower to determine the withholding or deduction required to be made, or

(v) To the extent that Lender is not a Foreign Lender, Lender shall submit to Borrower two (2) originals of an IRS Form W-9 or any successor form establishing that the Lender is not a Foreign Lender and is not subject to U.S. backup withholding tax.

(f) If a payment made to a Lender or Participant under this Agreement or any Other Document would be subject to U.S. Federal withholding Tax imposed by FATCA if such Person fails to comply with the applicable reporting requirements of FATCA (including those contained in Section 1471(b) or 1472(b) of the Code, as applicable), Lender or such Participant shall deliver to Borrower (A) a certification signed by the chief financial officer, principal accounting officer, treasurer or controller of such Person, and (B) other documentation reasonably requested by Borrower sufficient for Borrower to comply with their obligations under FATCA and to determine that such Participant or Lender has complied with such applicable reporting requirements.

3.11. Replacement of Lender . If Lender (an “ Affected Lender ”) (a) makes demand upon Borrower for (or if Borrower is otherwise required to pay) amounts pursuant to Section 3.7 or 3.9 hereof, (b) is unable to maintain LIBOR Rate Loans as a result of a condition described in Section 2.2(h) hereof, or (c) denies any consent requested pursuant to Section 17.2(b) hereof, Borrower may, within ninety (90) days of receipt of such demand, notice (or the occurrence of such other event causing Borrower to be required to pay such compensation or causing Section 2.2(h) hereof to be applicable), or denial of a request by Lender pursuant to Section 17.2(b) hereof, as the case may be, by notice in writing to Lender and such Affected Lender (i) request the Affected Lender to cooperate with Borrower in obtaining a replacement Lender satisfactory to Borrower (the “ Replacement Lender ”); (ii) request the non-Affected Lender to acquire and assume all of the Affected Lender’s Advances and its Term Loan Commitment Percentages as

 

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provided herein, but Lender shall not be under any obligation to do so; or (iii) propose a Replacement Lender subject to approval by Lender in its good faith business judgment. If any satisfactory Replacement Lender shall be obtained, and/or if any one or more of the non-Affected Lender shall agree to acquire and assume all of the Affected Lender’s Advances and its Term Loan Commitment Percentages then such Affected Lender shall assign, in accordance with Section 17.3 hereof, all of its Advances and its Term Loan Commitment Percentages and other rights and obligations under this Agreement and the Other Documents to such Replacement Lender or non-Affected Lender, as the case may be, in exchange for payment of the principal amount so assigned and all interest and fees accrued on the amount so assigned, plus all other Obligations then due and payable to the Affected Lender.

3.12. Mitigation . If Lender requests compensation under Section 3.7 or Section 3.9 or if Borrower is required to pay any Indemnified Taxes or additional amounts pursuant to Section 3.10(a) to Lender or any Participant, as the case may be, or any Governmental Authority for the account of Lender or any such Participant, then Lender or any such Participant shall use reasonable efforts to designate a different lending office for funding or booking its loans hereunder or to assign its right and obligations hereunder (or, in the case of a Participant, its rights and obligations under any participation agreement) to another of its offices, branches or affiliates, if, in the reasonable judgment of Lender or such Participant, such designation or assignment (i) would eliminate or reduce amounts payable pursuant to Section 3.7 or Section 3.10(a), in the future, (ii) would not subject Lender to any material unreimbursed cost or expense and would not otherwise be disadvantageous to Lender, (iii) would not require Lender to take any action inconsistent with its internal policies or legal or regulatory restrictions, and (iv) would not otherwise be materially disadvantageous to Lender. Borrower hereby agrees to pay all reasonable costs and expenses incurred by Lender in connection with any such designation or assignment.

IV. COLLATERAL: GENERAL TERMS

4.1. Security Interest in the Collateral . To secure the prompt payment and performance to Lender (and each other holder of any Obligations) of the Obligations, each Loan Party hereby assigns, pledges and grants to Lender for its benefit and each other Secured Party, a continuing security interest in and to and Lien on all of its Collateral (subject to the terms of the Subordination Agreement), whether now owned or existing or hereafter created, acquired or arising and wheresoever located. Each Loan Party shall provide Lender with written notice on a quarterly basis of all commercial tort claims for which a Loan Party has filed a complaint (or asserted a counterclaim) in court with a value of more than $250,000, such notice to contain a brief description of the claim(s), the events out of which such claim(s) arose and the parties against which such claims have been asserted and the case title together with the applicable court and docket number. Upon delivery of each such notice, such Loan Party shall be deemed to thereby grant to Lender a security interest and lien in and to such commercial tort claims described therein and all proceeds thereof (subject to the terms of the Subordination Agreement). Each Loan Party shall provide Lender with written notice on a quarterly basis upon becoming the beneficiary under any letter of credit or otherwise obtaining any right, title or interest in any letter of credit rights, in each case, supporting obligations with a value of more than $100,000, and shall take such actions as Controlling Agent may reasonably request in connection with the perfection of Lender’s security interest therein (subject to the terms of the Subordination Agreement).

 

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4.2. Perfection of Security Interest . Each Loan Party shall take all action that may be necessary or desirable, or that Lender may reasonably request, so as at all times to maintain the validity, perfection, enforceability and priority of Lender’s security interest in and Lien on the Collateral or to enable Lender to protect, exercise or enforce its rights hereunder and in the Collateral (and in each case subject to the terms of the Subordination Agreement), including, but not limited to, (i) immediately discharging all Liens other than Permitted Encumbrances, (ii) using commercially reasonable efforts to obtain Lien Waiver Agreements, (iii) delivering to Lender (or its agent, designee or bailee pursuant to the Subordination Agreement), endorsed or accompanied by such instruments of assignment as Lender may specify, and stamping or marking, in such manner as Lender may specify, any and all chattel paper, instruments, letters of credits and advices thereof and documents evidencing or forming a part of the Collateral and (iv) executing and delivering financing statements, instruments of pledge, mortgages, notices and assignments, in each case in form and substance satisfactory to Controlling Agent, relating to the creation, validity, perfection, maintenance or continuation of Lender’s security interest and Lien (subject to the terms of the Subordination Agreement) under the Uniform Commercial Code or other Applicable Law. By its signature hereto, each Loan Party hereby authorizes Lender to file against such Loan Party, one or more financing, continuation or amendment statements pursuant to the Uniform Commercial Code in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to Lender (which statements may have a description of collateral which is broader than that set forth herein, including without limitation a description of Collateral as “all assets” and/or “all personal property” of any Loan Party). All charges, expenses and fees Lender may incur in doing any of the foregoing, and any local taxes relating thereto, shall be paid by Borrower to Lender for its benefit and for the benefit of Lender immediately upon demand.

4.3. Preservation of Collateral . Following the occurrence and continuation of an Event of Default, in addition to the rights and remedies set forth in Section 11.1 hereof but subject to the limitations set forth in Section 17.2 and the terms of the Subordination Agreement, Lender (or its agent, designee or bailee pursuant to the Subordination Agreement): (a) may at any time take such steps as Lender (or its agent, designee or bailee) deems necessary to protect Lender’s interest in and to preserve the Collateral, including the hiring of security guards or the placing of other security protection measures as Lender (or its agent, designee or bailee) may deem appropriate; (b) may employ and maintain at any of any Loan Party’s premises a custodian who shall have full authority to do all acts necessary to protect Lender’s interests in the Collateral; (c) may lease warehouse facilities to which Lender (or its agent, designee or bailee) may move all or part of the Collateral; (d) may use any Loan Party’s owned or leased lifts, hoists, trucks and other facilities or equipment for handling or removing the Collateral; and (e) shall have, and is hereby granted, a right of ingress and egress to the places where the Collateral is located, and may proceed over and through any of Loan Parties’ owned or leased property. Each Loan Party shall cooperate fully with all of Lender ’s efforts (or the efforts of its agent, designee or bailee pursuant to the Subordination Agreement) to preserve the Collateral and will take such actions to preserve the Collateral as Lender (or its agent, designee or bailee pursuant to the Subordination Agreement) may direct.

 

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4.4. Ownership and Location of Collateral .

(a) With respect to the Collateral, at the time the Collateral becomes subject to Lender’s security interest: (i) each Loan Party shall be the sole owner of and fully authorized and able to sell, transfer, pledge and/or grant a security interest in each and every item of its respective Collateral to Lender; and, except for Permitted Encumbrances the Collateral shall be free and clear of all Liens whatsoever; (ii) each document and agreement executed by each Loan Party or delivered to Lender in connection with this Agreement shall be true and correct in all respects; (iii) all signatures and endorsements of each Loan Party that appear on such documents and agreements shall be genuine and each Loan Party shall have full capacity to execute same; and (iv) each Loan Party’s equipment and Inventory with a value of more than $250,000 shall be located as set forth on Schedule 4.4 and shall not be removed from such location(s) without the prior written consent of Controlling Agent except with respect to the sale of Inventory in the Ordinary Course of Business, equipment to the extent permitted in Section 7.1(b) hereof and vehicles and Equipment out for repair or in transit.

(b) (i) There is no location at which any Loan Party has any Inventory (except for Inventory in transit), Equipment or other Collateral with a value of more than $250,000, other than those locations listed on Schedule 4.4(b)(i); provided , however , that Borrower may amend Schedule 4.4(b)(i) at any time and from time to time, including on a quarterly basis at the time of delivery of a Compliance Certificate pursuant to Section 9.8 or at any other time so long as such amendment occurs by written notice to Lender not less than 10 days; (ii) Schedule 4.4(b)(ii) hereto contains a correct and complete list, as of the Closing Date, of the legal names (if any) and addresses of each warehouse at which Inventory of any Loan Party is stored; (iii) Schedule 4.4(b)(iii) hereto sets forth a correct and complete list as of the Closing Date of (A) each place of business of each Loan Party and (B) the chief executive office of each Loan Party; and (iv) Schedule 4.4(b)(iv) hereto sets forth a correct and complete list as of the Closing Date of the location, by state and street address, of all Real Property or Leasehold Interests of each Loan Party, identifying which properties are owned and which are leased, together with the names and addresses of any landlords.

4.5. Defense of Lender’s Interests . Until (a) payment and performance in full of all of the Obligations and (b) termination of this Agreement, Lender’s interests in the Collateral shall continue in full force and effect. During such period no Loan Party shall, without Controlling Agent’s prior written consent, pledge, sell (except for sales or other dispositions otherwise permitted in Section 7.1(b) hereof), assign, transfer, create or suffer to exist a Lien upon or encumber or allow or suffer to be encumbered in any way except for Permitted Encumbrances, any part of the Collateral. Each Loan Party shall defend Lender’s interests in the Collateral against any and all Persons whatsoever. At any time during the occurrence and during the continuance of an Event of Default following demand by Lender for payment of all Obligations, Lender (or its agent, designee or bailee pursuant to the Subordination Agreement) shall have the right to take possession of the indicia of the Collateral and the Collateral in whatever physical form contained, including: labels, stationery, documents, instruments and advertising materials. If Lender (or its agent, designee or bailee) exercises this right to take possession of the Collateral, Loan Parties shall, upon demand, assemble it in the best manner possible and make it available to Lender (or its agent, designee or bailee) at a place reasonably convenient to Lender (or its agent, designee or bailee). In addition, with respect to all Collateral, Lender shall be entitled to all of the rights and remedies set forth herein and further provided by the Uniform Commercial Code or other Applicable Law. At any time during the occurrence and during the

 

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continuance of an Event of Default and subject to the terms of the Subordination Agreement, each Loan Party shall, and Lender (or its agent, designee or bailee pursuant to the Subordination Agreement may, at its option, instruct all suppliers, carriers, forwarders, warehousers or others receiving or holding cash, checks, Inventory, documents or instruments in which Lender holds a security interest to deliver same to Lender (or its agent, designee or bailee)) and/or subject to Lender’s order and if they shall come into any Loan Party’s possession, they, and each of them, shall be held by such Loan Party in trust as Lender’s trustee, and such Loan Party will immediately deliver them to Lender (or its agent, designee or bailee) in their original form together with any necessary endorsement.

4.6. Inspection of Premises . At such reasonable times and intervals and with reasonable prior notice to the Borrower, Lender shall have full access to and the right to audit, check, inspect and make abstracts and copies from each Loan Party’s books, records, audits, correspondence and all other papers relating to the Collateral and the operation of each Loan Party’s business. Lender and its agents may enter upon any premises of any Loan Party at any time during normal business hours, and at reasonable intervals and with reasonable prior notice to the Borrower, for the purpose of inspecting the Collateral and any and all records pertaining thereto and the operation of such Loan Party’s business. Absent the occurrence and continuance of an Event of Default, inspection rights shall be limited to two times per fiscal year; provided that reimbursement by Borrower of the Lender’s expenses shall be limited to one time per fiscal year.

4.7. Reserved .

4.8. Chief Executive Office . Each Loan Party’s chief executive office is located as set forth on Schedule 4.4(b)(iii).

4.9. Reserved .

4.10. Maintenance of Equipment . The equipment necessary to the Loan Parties’ business shall be maintained in reasonable good operating condition and repair (reasonable wear and tear excepted) and all necessary replacements of and repairs thereto shall be made so that the value and operating efficiency of the equipment shall be maintained and preserved in accordance with the Loan Parties’ past practices. No Loan Party shall use or operate the equipment in violation of any law, statute, ordinance, code, rule or regulation, except to the extent where it would not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect.

4.11. Exculpation of Liability . Nothing herein contained shall be construed to constitute Lender as any Loan Party’s agent for any purpose whatsoever, nor shall Lender be responsible or liable for any shortage, discrepancy, damage, loss or destruction of any part of the Collateral wherever the same may be located and regardless of the cause thereof. Lender shall not, whether by anything herein or in any assignment or otherwise, assume any of any Loan Party’s obligations under any contract or agreement assigned to Lender and Lender shall not be responsible in any way for the performance by any Loan Party of any of the terms and conditions thereof.

 

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4.12. Financing Statements . Except as respects the financing statements filed by Lender, financing statements described on Schedule 4.12, and financing statements filed in connection with Permitted Encumbrances, no financing statement covering any of the Collateral or any proceeds thereof is or will be on file in any public office.

4.13. Senior Creditor as Bailee . Notwithstanding anything in this Agreement or the Other Documents to the contrary, so long as the Subordination Agreement is in effect, a Loan Party may satisfy its obligations to deliver Collateral to the Lender by delivering such Collateral to the Senior Creditor (as defined in the Subordination Agreement) or its agent, designee or bailee, and after the Senior Lien Termination Date, the Subordinated Creditor (as defined in the Subordination Agreement), in each case, in accordance with the terms of the Subordination Agreement.

V. REPRESENTATIONS AND WARRANTIES.

Each Loan Party represents and warrants as follows (subject to any updates to the referenced schedules in this section to the extent permitted by Section 9.17):

5.1. Authority . Each Loan Party has full power, authority and legal right to enter into this Agreement and the Other Documents to which it is a party and to perform all its respective Obligations hereunder and thereunder. This Agreement and the Other Documents to which it is a party have been duly executed and delivered by each Loan Party, and this Agreement and the Other Documents to which it is a party constitute the legal, valid and binding obligation of such Loan Party enforceable in accordance with their terms, except as such enforceability may be limited by any applicable bankruptcy, insolvency, moratorium or similar laws affecting creditors’ rights generally. The execution, delivery and performance of this Agreement and of the Other Documents to which it is a party (a) are within such Loan Party’s corporate or company powers, as applicable, have been duly authorized by all necessary corporate or company action, as applicable, are not in contravention of law or the terms of such Loan Party’s Organizational Documents or to the conduct of such Loan Party’s business or of any Material Contract or undertaking to which such Loan Party is a party or by which such Loan Party is bound, including the Senior Loan Documents, (b) will not conflict with or violate any material provision of law or regulation, or any judgment, order or decree of any Governmental Body, (c) will not require the Consent of any Governmental Body, any party to a Material Contract or any other Person (other than in connection with the Bankruptcy Cases), except those Consents set forth on Schedule 5.1 hereto, all of which will have been duly obtained, made or compiled prior to the Closing Date and which are in full force and effect and (d) will not conflict with, nor result in any breach in any of the provisions of or constitute a default under or result in the creation of any Lien except Permitted Encumbrances upon any asset of such Loan Party under the provisions of any agreement, instrument, or other document to which such Loan Party is a party or by which it or its property is a party or by which it may be bound, including the Senior Loan Documents.

 

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5.2. Formation and Qualification .

(a) Each Loan Party is duly incorporated or formed, as applicable, and in good standing under the laws of the state listed on Schedule 5.2(a) and is qualified to do business and is in good standing in the states listed on Schedule 5.2(a) which constitute all states in which qualification and good standing are necessary for such Loan Party to conduct its business and own its property and where the failure to so qualify would reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect on such Loan Party. Each Loan Party has delivered to Lender true and complete copies of its Organizational Documents and will promptly notify Lender of any material amendment or changes thereto.

(b) As of the Closing Date or the most recent update of Schedule 5.2(b) in accordance with Section 9.17, the only Subsidiaries of Holdco and each Loan Party are listed on Schedule 5.2(b).

5.3. Survival of Representations and Warranties . All representations and warranties of such Loan Party contained in this Agreement and the Other Documents to which it is a party shall be true at the time of such Loan Party’s execution of this Agreement and the Other Documents to which it is a party, and shall survive the execution, delivery and acceptance thereof by the parties thereto and the closing of the transactions described therein or related thereto.

5.4. Tax Returns . Each Loan Party’s federal tax identification number is set forth on Schedule 5.4. Each Loan Party has filed all income tax returns, other than income tax returns in jurisdictions in which a Loan Party has made a good faith determination that no filing is necessary, and all other material federal, state and local tax returns and other reports that it is required by law to file and has paid all federal income and all other material taxes, assessments, fees and other governmental charges that are due and payable, except for taxes and assessments being Properly Contested. The provision for taxes on the books of each Loan Party is adequate for all years not closed by applicable statutes, and for its current fiscal year, and no Loan Party has any knowledge of any material deficiency or material additional assessment in connection therewith not provided for on its books.

5.5. Financial Statements .

(a) The pro forma balance sheet of the Loan Parties on a Consolidated Basis (the “ Pro Forma Balance Sheet ”) furnished to Lender on the Closing Date reflects the consummation of the transactions contemplated by the Senior Loan Documents and under this Agreement (collectively, the “ Transactions ”) and is accurate, complete and correct and fairly reflects in all material respects the financial condition of the Loan Parties on a Consolidated Basis as of the Closing Date after giving effect to the Transactions, and has been prepared in accordance with GAAP, consistently applied. The Pro Forma Balance Sheet has been certified as accurate, complete and correct in all material respects by the Chief Executive Officer or Chief Financial Officer of Borrower. All financial statements referred to in this subsection 5.5(a), including the related schedules and notes thereto, have been prepared in accordance with GAAP, except as may be disclosed in such financial statements.

(b) The (i) twelve-month cash flow and balance sheet projections of the Loan Parties on a Consolidated Basis and their projected balance sheets as of the Closing Date and (ii) annual cash flow projections for fiscal years 2014 and 2015, copies of which are annexed hereto as Exhibit 5.5(b) (the “ Projections ”) were prepared by the Chief Financial Officer of Borrower

 

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are based on underlying assumptions which provide a reasonable basis for the projections contained therein and reflect Loan Parties’ judgment based on present circumstances of the most likely set of conditions and course of action for the projected period. The cash flow Projections together with the Pro Forma Balance Sheet are referred to as the “ Pro Forma Financial Statements ”.

(c) The consolidated and consolidating balance sheets of Loan Parties, and such other Persons described therein, as of December 31, 2012, and the related statements of income, changes in stockholder’s equity, and changes in cash flow for the period ended on such date, all accompanied by reports thereon containing opinions without qualification by independent certified public accountants, and management prepared financial statements for the period ended on or about September 30, 2013 and disclosures/information provided within the Plan of Reorganization documents that are on file in the Bankruptcy Cases, copies of which have been delivered to Lender, have been prepared in accordance with GAAP, consistently applied. Since December 31, 2012, other than the commencement of the Bankruptcy Cases and the consummation of the Plan of Reorganization, there has been no change in the condition, financial or otherwise, of Loan Parties as shown on the consolidated balance sheet as of such date and no change in the aggregate value of machinery, equipment and Real Property owned by Loan Parties, except changes in the Ordinary Course of Business, none of which individually or in the aggregate has been materially adverse.

5.6. Entity Names . No Loan Party has been known by any other company or corporate name, as applicable, in the past five (5) years except as set forth on Schedule 5.6, nor has any Loan Party been the surviving corporation or company, as applicable, of a merger or consolidation or acquired all or substantially all of the assets of any Person during the preceding five (5) years except as set forth on Schedule 5.6.

5.7. O.S.H.A. Environmental Compliance; Flood Insurance .

(a) Except as set forth on Schedule 5.7 hereto, each Loan Party is in material compliance with, and its facilities, business, assets, property, leaseholds, Real Property and Equipment are in material compliance with the Federal Occupational Safety and Health Act, and Environmental Laws and there are no outstanding citations, notices or orders of non-compliance issued to any Loan Party or relating to its business, assets, property, leaseholds or Equipment under any such laws, rules or regulations.

(b) Except as set forth on Schedule 5.7 hereto, each Loan Party has been issued all material required federal, state and local licenses, certificates or permits (collectively, “ Approvals ”) relating to all applicable Environmental Laws and all such Approvals are current and in full force and effect.

(c) Except as set forth on Schedule 5.7: (i) there have been no material releases, spills, discharges, leaks or disposal (collectively referred to as “ Releases ”) of Hazardous Materials by the Loan Parties at, upon, under or migrating from or onto any real property owned, leased or occupied by any Loan Party, except for those Releases which are in compliance in all material respects with Environmental Laws; (ii) there are no underground storage tanks or polychlorinated biphenyls on any real property, except for such underground

 

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storage tanks or polychlorinated biphenyls that are present in compliance with Environmental Laws; (iii) the real property has never been used by any Loan Party to dispose of Hazardous Materials, except as authorized by Environmental Laws; and (iv) no Hazardous Materials are managed by any Loan Party on any real property, excepting such quantities as are managed in compliance with Environmental Laws and as are necessary for the operation of the commercial business of any Loan Party or of its tenants.

(d) All Real Property owned by Loan Parties is insured pursuant to policies and other bonds which are valid and in full force and effect and which provide adequate coverage from reputable and financially sound insurers in amounts sufficient to insure the assets and risks of each such Loan Party in accordance with prudent business practice in the industry of such Loan Party. Each Loan Party has taken all actions required under the Flood Laws and/or requested by Controlling Agent to assist in ensuring that Lender is in compliance with the Flood Laws applicable to the Collateral, including, but not limited to, providing Lender with the address and/or GPS coordinates of each structure located upon any Real Property that will be subject to a Mortgage in favor of Lender, for the benefit of Lender, and, to the extent required, obtaining flood insurance for such property, structures and contents prior to such property, structures and contents becoming Collateral.

5.8. Solvency; No Litigation, Violation, Indebtedness or Default; ERISA Compliance .

(a) (i) After giving effect to the Transactions, each Loan Party will be solvent, able to pay its debts as they mature, will have capital sufficient to carry on its business and all businesses in which it is about to engage, (ii) as of the Closing Date, the fair present saleable value of its assets, calculated on a going concern basis, is in excess of the amount of its liabilities, and (iii) subsequent to the Closing Date, the fair saleable value of its assets (calculated on a going concern basis) will be in excess of the amount of its liabilities.

(b) Except as disclosed in Schedule 5.8(b)(i), no Loan Party has any pending or threatened litigation, arbitration, actions or proceedings that either individually or in the aggregate could not reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect. No Loan Party has any outstanding Indebtedness other than the Obligations, except for (i) Indebtedness disclosed in Schedule 5.8(b)(ii) and (ii) Indebtedness otherwise permitted under Section 7.8 hereof.

(c) No Loan Party is in violation of any applicable statute, law, rule, regulation or ordinance in any respect which would reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect, nor is any Loan Party in violation of any order of any court, Governmental Body or arbitration board or tribunal.

(d) Except as, individually or in the aggregate, could not reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect, each Plan is in compliance in all respects with the applicable provisions of ERISA, the Code and other federal or state laws. Except as, individually or in the aggregate, could not reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect, (i) each Loan Party and each member of the Controlled Group has met all applicable minimum funding requirements under Section 302 of ERISA and Section 412 of the Code in respect of each Plan, and each Pension Benefit Plan is in compliance with Sections 412, 430 and 436 of the Code and

 

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Sections 206(g), 302 and 303 of ERISA, without regard to waivers and variances; (ii) each Plan which is intended to be a qualified plan under Section 401(a) of the Code as currently in effect has been determined by the Internal Revenue Service to be qualified under Section 401(a) of the Code and the trust related thereto is exempt from federal income tax under Section 501(a) of the Code or an application for such a determination is currently being processed by the Internal Revenue Service; (iii) neither any Loan Party nor any member of the Controlled Group has incurred any liability to the PBGC other than for the payment of premiums, and there are no premium payments which have become due which are unpaid; (iv) no Plan has been terminated by the plan administrator thereof nor by the PBGC, and there is no occurrence which would cause the PBGC to institute proceedings under Title IV of ERISA to terminate any Plan; (v) neither any Loan Party nor any member of the Controlled Group has breached any of the responsibilities, obligations or duties imposed on it by ERISA with respect to any Plan; (vi) neither any Loan Party nor any member of the Controlled Group has incurred any liability for any excise tax arising under Section 4971, 4972 or 4980B of the Code, and no fact exists which could give rise to any such liability; (vii) neither any Loan Party nor any member of the Controlled Group nor any fiduciary of, nor any trustee to, any Plan, has engaged in a “prohibited transaction” described in Section 406 of ERISA or Section 4975 of the Code nor taken any action which would constitute or result in a Termination Event with respect to any such Plan which is subject to ERISA; (viii) no Termination Event has occurred or is reasonably expected to occur; (ix) neither any Loan Party nor any member of the Controlled Group has engaged in a transaction that could be subject to Section 4069 or 4212(c) of ERISA; (x) except as set forth on Schedule 5.8(d), neither any Loan Party nor any member of the Controlled Group maintains or is required to contribute to any Plan which provides health, accident or life insurance benefits to former employees, their spouses or dependents, other than in accordance with Section 4980B of the Code; (xi) neither any Loan Party nor any member of the Controlled Group has withdrawn, completely or partially, within the meaning of Section 4203 or 4205 of ERISA, from any Multiemployer Plan so as to incur liability under the Multiemployer Pension Plan Amendments Act of 1980 and there exists no fact which would reasonably be expected to result in any such liability; and (xii) no Plan fiduciary (as defined in Section 3(21) of ERISA) has any liability for breach of fiduciary duty or for any failure in connection with the administration or investment of the assets of a Plan.

5.9. Patents, Trademarks, Copyrights and Licenses . All registered or applied for Intellectual Property owned by any Loan Party (the “Registered Intellectual Property”): (i) is set forth on Schedule 5.9; and (ii) together with all other Intellectual Property owned by or licensed to a Loan Party, or that a Loan Party otherwise has a right to use, constitutes all of the Intellectual Property which is necessary for the operation of its business, except, in each case, where a failure to identify, own or license such Intellectual Property would not, individually or in the aggregate, have or be reasonably expected to have a Material Adverse Effect. There is no pending challenge before any Governmental Body to the validity of, or proceeding by any Governmental Body to suspend the enforceability of, revoke, terminate or adversely modify, any such Registered Intellectual Property and no Loan Party is aware of any grounds for any such challenge or proceedings, except as set forth in Schedule 5.9 hereto or as individually or in the aggregate, would not have or be reasonably expected to have a Material Adverse Effect. All copyrights included in the Intellectual Property owned by any Loan Party consist of original material or property developed by or for such Loan Party or was lawfully acquired by such Loan Party from the lawful owner thereof, except, in each case, where a failure to own or license such

 

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Intellectual Property would not, individually or in the aggregate, have or be reasonably expected to have a Material Adverse Effect. Each of such items has been maintained so as to preserve the value thereof from the date of creation or acquisition thereof except to the extent it would not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect.

5.10. Licenses and Permits . Except as set forth in Schedule 5.10, each Loan Party (a) is in compliance with and (b) has procured and is now in possession of, all material licenses or permits required by any applicable federal, state, provincial or local law, rule or regulation for the operation of its business in each jurisdiction wherein it is now conducting or proposes to conduct business and where the failure to procure such licenses or permits would reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect.

5.11. Default of Indebtedness . Other than debt extinguished pursuant to the Plan of Reorganization, no Loan Party is in default in the payment of the principal of or interest on any Indebtedness or under any instrument or agreement under or subject to which any Indebtedness has been issued and no event has occurred under the provisions of any such instrument or agreement which with or without the lapse of time or the giving of notice, or both, constitutes or would constitute an event of default thereunder except to the extent it would not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect.

5.12. No Default . No Loan Party is in default in the payment or performance of any of its contractual obligations and no Default or Event of Default has occurred. Notwithstanding anything herein to the contrary, defaults in payment or performance of any Loan Party’s contractual obligations related to the Bankruptcy Cases shall not be considered a Default or Event of Default for the purposes of this representation and warranty.

5.13. No Burdensome Restrictions . No Loan Party is party to any contract or agreement the performance of which would reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect. Each Loan Party has heretofore delivered to Lender true and complete copies of all Material Contracts to which it is a party or to which it or any of its properties is subject.

5.14. No Labor Disputes . Except to the extent it would not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect, no Loan Party is involved in any labor dispute; there are no strikes or walkouts or union organization of any Loan Party’s employees threatened or in existence and no labor contract is scheduled to expire during the Term other than as set forth on Schedule 5.14 hereto.

5.15. Margin Regulations . No Loan Party is engaged, nor will it engage, principally or as one of its important activities, in the business of extending credit for the purpose of “purchasing” or “carrying” any “margin stock” within the respective meanings of each of the quoted terms under Regulation U of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System as now and from time to time hereafter in effect. No part of the proceeds of any Advance will be used for “purchasing” or “carrying” “margin stock” as defined in Regulation U of such Board of Governors.

5.16. Investment Company Act . No Loan Party is an “investment company” registered or required to be registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended.

 

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5.17. Disclosure . No representation or warranty made by any Loan Party in this Agreement or in any financial statement, report, certificate or any other document furnished in connection herewith or therewith, when taken as a whole, contains as of the date such statement, report, certificate or other document was furnished any untrue statement of material fact or omits to state any material fact necessary to make the statements herein or therein not misleading in any material respect in the light of the circumstances under which such statements were made after giving effect to any supplements thereto. Except as disclosed in the Disclosure Statement, Plan of Reorganization, or Confirmation Order, there is no fact known to any Loan Party or which reasonably should be known to such Loan Party which such Loan Party has not disclosed to Lender in writing with respect to the transactions contemplated by the Senior Loan Documents or this Agreement which would reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect.

5.18. Delivery of Senior Loan Documents . Lender has received complete copies of the Senior Loan Documents and related documents (including all exhibits, schedules and disclosure letters referred to therein or delivered pursuant thereto, if any) and all amendments thereto, waivers relating thereto and other side letters or agreements affecting the terms thereof.

5.19. Reserved .

5.20. Swaps . Except for the Hedge Liabilities (as defined in the Senior Loan Documents), no Loan Party is a party to, nor will it be a party to, any swap agreement whereby such Loan Party has agreed or will agree to swap interest rates or currencies unless same provides that damages upon termination following an event of default thereunder are payable on an unlimited “two-way basis” without regard to fault on the part of either party.

5.21. Business and Property of Loan Parties . Upon and after the Closing Date and except as permitted under Section 7.9, Loan Parties do not propose to engage in any business other than that engaged in by them immediately prior to and on the Closing Date and any business that is reasonably related, similar, complementary, ancillary to or a reasonable extensions, development and expansions of such business. On the Closing Date, each Loan Party has good record and marketable title in fee simple to, or valid leasehold interests in, or easements or other limited property interests in all the property and possesses all of the rights and Consents necessary for the conduct of the business of such Loan Party except when the failure to do so would not reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect.

5.22. Ineligible Securities . Loan Parties do not intend to use and shall not use any portion of the proceeds of the Advances, directly or indirectly, to purchase during the underwriting period, or for 30 days thereafter, Ineligible Securities being underwritten by a securities Affiliate of Lender.

5.23. Federal Securities Laws . No Loan Party, Holdco or any of their Subsidiaries (i) is required to file periodic reports under the Exchange Act, (ii) has any securities registered under the Exchange Act or (iii) has filed a registration statement that has not yet become effective under the Securities Act.

5.24. Equity Interests . The authorized and outstanding Equity Interests of each Loan Party, and each legal and beneficial holder thereof as of the Closing Date, are as set forth on

 

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Schedule 5.24(a) hereto. All of the Equity Interests of each Loan Party have been duly and validly authorized and issued and are fully paid and non-assessable and have been sold and delivered to the holders hereof in compliance with, or under valid exemption from, all federal and state laws and the rules and regulations of each Governmental Body governing the sale and delivery of securities. Except for the rights and obligations set forth on Schedule 5.24(b), there are no subscriptions, warrants, options, calls, commitments, rights or agreement by which any Loan Party or any of the shareholders of any Loan Party is bound relating to the issuance, transfer, voting or redemption of shares of its Equity Interests or any pre-emptive rights held by any Person with respect to the Equity Interests of Loan Parties. Except as set forth on Schedule 5.24(c), Loan Parties have not issued any securities convertible into or exchangeable for shares of its Equity Interests or any options, warrants or other rights to acquire such shares or securities convertible into or exchangeable for such shares.

5.25. Commercial Tort Claims . No Loan Party has any commercial tort claim for which the amount of probable damages is reasonably determined by the Loan Parties to be greater than $250,000 except as set forth on Schedule 5.25 hereto.

5.26. Letter of Credit Rights . As of the Closing Date, no Loan Party has any letter of credit rights, except as set forth on Schedule 5.26 hereto.

5.27. Material Contracts . Schedule 5.27 sets forth all Material Contracts of the Loan Parties. Except for matters which, either individually or in the aggregate, would not reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect, all Material Contracts are in full force and effect and no material defaults currently exist thereunder.

5.28. Delivery of Plan of Reorganization, Confirmation Order and Related Documentation . Lender has received complete copies of the Plan of Reorganization and Confirmation Order (including all exhibits, schedules and disclosure letters referred to therein or delivered pursuant thereto, if any) and all amendments thereto, waivers relating thereto and other side letters or agreements affecting the terms thereof. None of such documents and agreements has been amended or supplemented, nor have any of the provisions thereof been waived, except pursuant to the terms thereof or pursuant to a written agreement or instrument which has heretofore been delivered to Lender.

5.29. Effectiveness of Plan of Reorganization . Prior to, or upon the simultaneous, closing of the transactions contemplated under this Agreement, all of the effectiveness conditions in the Plan of Reorganization shall have been satisfied and the Plan of Reorganization shall have gone effective as of the Effective Date (as defined in the Plan of Reorganization).

VI. AFFIRMATIVE COVENANTS.

Each Loan Party shall, until payment in full of the Obligations and termination of this Agreement:

6.1. Compliance with Laws . Comply with all Applicable Laws with respect to the Collateral or any part thereof or to the operation of such Loan Party’s business the non-compliance with which would reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect (except

 

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to the extent any separate provision of this Agreement shall expressly require compliance with any particular Applicable Law(s) pursuant to another standard). Each Loan Party may, however, contest or dispute any Applicable Laws in any reasonable manner; provided that any related Lien is inchoate or stayed and sufficient reserves are established to the reasonable satisfaction of Controlling Agent to protect Lender’s Lien on or security interest in the Collateral.

6.2. Conduct of Business and Maintenance of Existence and Assets . (a) Conduct continuously and operate actively its business according to good business practices and maintain all of its properties useful or necessary in its business in good working order and condition (reasonable wear and tear excepted and except as may be disposed of in accordance with the terms of this Agreement or as impacted by a casualty or condemnation proceeding), including all material Intellectual Property and take all reasonable actions necessary to enforce and protect the validity of any Registered Intellectual Property owned by it or other right included in the Collateral where the failure to do so would reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect; (b) keep in full force and effect its existence and comply in all material respects with the laws and regulations governing the conduct of its business where the failure to do so would reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect; and (c) make all such reports and pay all such franchise and other taxes and license fees and do all such other acts and things as may be lawfully required to maintain its rights, licenses, leases, powers and franchises under the laws of the United States or any political subdivision thereof where the failure to do so would reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect.

6.3. Books and Records . Keep proper books of record and account in which full, true and correct entries will be made of all dealings or transactions of or in relation to its business and affairs (including without limitation accruals for taxes, assessments, Charges, levies and claims, allowances against doubtful Receivables and accruals for depreciation, obsolescence or amortization of assets), all in accordance with, or as required by, GAAP consistently applied in the opinion of such independent public accountant as shall then be regularly engaged by Loan Parties.

6.4. Payment of Taxes . Pay, when due, all taxes, assessments and other Charges levied or assessed upon such Loan Party or any of the Collateral, including real and personal property taxes, assessments and charges and all franchise, income, employment, social security benefits, withholding, and sales taxes shown on all tax returns and all other material Taxes other than those being Properly Contested. If any tax by any Governmental Body is or may be imposed on or as a result of any transaction between any Loan Party and Lender which Lender may be required to withhold or pay or if any taxes, assessments, or other Charges remain unpaid after the date fixed for their payment, or if any claim shall be made which, in Senior Administrative Agent reasonable opinion, may possibly create a valid Lien on the Collateral, Controlling Agent may without notice to Loan Parties pay the taxes, assessments or other Charges and each Loan Party hereby indemnifies and holds Controlling Agent harmless in respect thereof.

 

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6.5. Financial Covenants .

(a) Fixed Charge Coverage Ratio . Cause to be maintained as of the end of each fiscal quarter, a Fixed Charge Coverage Ratio of not less than 1.0 to 1.0, measured on a rolling four (4) quarter basis; provided, however , that (I) for the purposes of calculating such ratio for the fiscal quarter ended December 31, 2013, the ratio shall be measured on a trailing three (3) month basis, (II) for the purposes of calculating such ratio for the fiscal quarter ended March 31, 2014, the ratio shall be measured on a trailing six (6) month basis, and (III) for the purposes of calculating such ratio for the fiscal quarter ended June 30, 2014, the ratio shall be measured on a trailing nine (9) month basis; provided , that such ratio shall be calculated without giving effect to the costs set forth on Schedule II.

(b) Maximum Leverage Ratio . Maintain as of the end of each fiscal quarter a ratio of Funded Debt to EBITDA of not greater than 3.25 to 1.0 (the “ Leverage Ratio ”).

(c) Minimum EBITDA . Cause to be maintained as of the end of each fiscal quarter, EBITDA of the Loan Parties to be greater than $46,000,000, measured on a rolling four (4) quarter basis.

6.6. Insurance .

(a) (i) Keep all its insurable properties and properties in which such Loan Party has an interest insured against the hazards of fire, flood, sprinkler leakage, those hazards covered by extended coverage insurance and such other hazards, and for such amounts, as is customary in the case of companies engaged in businesses similar to such Loan Party’s including business interruption insurance; (ii) maintain public and product liability insurance against claims for personal injury, death or property damage suffered by others; (iii) maintain all such worker’s compensation or similar insurance as may be required under the laws of any state or jurisdiction in which such Loan Party is engaged in business; and (iv) furnish Controlling Agent with (A) copies of all policies and evidence of the maintenance of such policies by the renewal thereof at least two (2) Business Days before any expiration date, and (B) appropriate loss payable endorsements in form and substance satisfactory to Controlling Agent, naming Controlling Agent as an additional insured and mortgagee and/or lender loss payee (as applicable) as its interests may appear with respect to all insurance coverage referred to in clauses (i) and (ii) above, and providing (subject to the provisions of the Subordination Agreement) (I) that all proceeds thereunder shall be payable to Controlling Agent, (II) no such insurance shall be affected by any act or neglect of the insured or owner of the property described in such policy, and (III) that such policy and loss payable clauses may not be cancelled, amended or terminated unless at least thirty (30) days prior written notice is given to Controlling Agent (ten (10) days for non-payment) (it being agreed that failure by the Loan Parties to procure such a non-cancellation clause despite the exercise of commercially reasonable efforts shall not result in a Default hereunder). In the event of any loss thereunder, subject to the terms of the Subordination Agreement, the carriers named therein hereby are directed by Controlling Agent and the applicable Loan Party to make payment for such loss to Controlling Agent, and not to such Loan Party and Controlling Agent jointly. If any such insurance losses are paid by check, draft or other instrument payable to any Loan Party and Controlling Agent jointly, Controlling Agent may endorse such Loan Party’s name thereon and do such other things as Controlling Agent may deem advisable to reduce the same to cash.

 

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(b) Each Loan Party shall take all actions required under the Flood Laws and/or requested by Controlling Agent to assist in ensuring that Controlling Agent is in compliance with the Flood Laws applicable to the Collateral, including, but not limited to, providing Controlling Agent with the address and/or GPS coordinates of each structure on any real property that will be subject to a mortgage in favor of Lender, for the benefit of Lender, and, to the extent required, obtaining flood insurance for such property, structures and contents prior to such property, structures and contents becoming Collateral, and thereafter maintaining such flood insurance in full force and effect for so long as required by the Flood Laws.

(c) After the occurrence and continuance of an Event of Default, Controlling Agent is hereby authorized to adjust and compromise claims under insurance coverage referred to in Sections 6.6(a)(i) and (ii) and 6.6(b) above. All loss recoveries received by Controlling Agent under any such insurance may be applied to the Obligations, in such order as Controlling Agent in its sole discretion shall determine subject to the terms of the Subordination Agreement. Any surplus shall be paid by Controlling Agent to Loan Parties or applied as may be otherwise required by law. Any deficiency thereon shall be paid by Loan Parties to Lender, on demand.

6.7. Payment of Indebtedness and Leasehold Obligations . Pay, discharge or otherwise satisfy (i) at or before maturity (subject, where applicable, to specified grace periods) all its Indebtedness, except when the failure to do so could not reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect or when the amount or validity thereof is currently being Properly Contested, subject at all times to any applicable subordination arrangement in favor of Controlling Agent and (ii) when due its rental obligations under all leases under which it is a tenant, and shall otherwise comply, in all material respects, with all other terms of such leases and keep them in full force and effect.

6.8. Environmental Matters .

(a) Ensure that the Real Property and all operations and businesses conducted thereon are in material compliance and remain in material compliance with all Environmental Laws and it shall manage any and all Hazardous Materials on any Real Property in material compliance with Environmental Laws.

(b) Establish and maintain an environmental management and compliance system to assure and monitor continued compliance in all material respects with all applicable Environmental Laws which system shall include periodic environmental compliance audits to be conducted by knowledgeable environmental professionals. All potential material violations and violations of Environmental Laws shall be reviewed to determine any required reporting to applicable Governmental Bodies and any required corrective actions pursuant to Environmental Laws to address such potential violations or violations.

(c) Respond promptly to any Hazardous Discharge or Environmental Complaint and take all necessary action as is required by applicable Environmental Laws in order to safeguard the health of any Person and to avoid subjecting the Collateral or Real Property to any Lien. If any Loan Party shall fail to respond promptly to any Hazardous Discharge or Environmental Complaint or any Loan Party shall fail to comply with any of the requirements of any Environmental Laws, Controlling Agent may, but without the obligation to do so, for the purpose of protecting Lender’s interest in the Collateral: (i) give such notices or (ii) enter onto the Real Property (or authorize third parties to enter onto the Real Property) and take such actions as Controlling Agent (or such third parties as directed by Controlling Agent) deem reasonably necessary or advisable, to remediate, remove, mitigate or otherwise manage with any such Hazardous Discharge or Environmental Complaint.

 

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(d) Promptly upon the written request of Controlling Agent from time to time, Loan Parties shall provide Controlling Agent, at Loan Parties’ expense, with an environmental site assessment or environmental compliance audit report prepared by an environmental engineering firm acceptable in the reasonable opinion of Controlling Agent, to assess with a reasonable degree of certainty, to the extent possible using commercially reasonable and cost-effective efforts, the existence of a Hazardous Discharge and the potential costs in connection with abatement, remediation and removal of any Hazardous Materials found on, under, at or within the Real Property. Any report or investigation of such Hazardous Discharge proposed and acceptable to the responsible Governmental Body shall be acceptable to Controlling Agent. If such estimates, individually or in the aggregate, exceed $2,000,000, Controlling Agent shall have the right to require Loan Parties to post a bond, letter of credit or other security reasonably satisfactory to Controlling Agent to secure payment of these costs and expenses.

(e) The Loan Parties shall undertake the follow-up research, inspections, and investigations (the “ Phase II Environmental Site Assessments ”) recommended by ERM to address “Identified Issues” (including, for the avoidance of doubt, “Asbestos Containing Materials” issues, but not including “De Minimis Issues” or “EHS Compliance Issues”) in the Executive Summary and Conclusions & Recommendations sections of the November 5, 2013 Phase I Environmental Site Assessment Reports prepared for the Real Properties set forth on Schedule A. The Loan Parties will engage ERM to prepare an asbestos survey of the Real Properties set forth in Schedule 6.8, and an Operations and Maintenance Plan where required by Environmental Laws. The asbestos surveys will be conducted as part of the Phase II Environmental Site Assessments and the Operations and Maintenance Plans will be completed with all due haste following the completion of the asbestos surveys. The Phase II Environmental Site Assessments shall be conducted by ERM at the direction of the Loan Parties and shall be completed with all due haste pursuant to a scope of work that ERM will prepare for delivery to the Loan Parties as soon as practicable after Closing based upon the findings and recommendations set forth in the Phase I Environmental Site Assessment Reports. The Phase II Environmental Site Assessments shall be finalized and delivered to the Lender no later than December 31, 2013 (“ Phase II Deadline ”), or as soon as practicable thereafter if the scope of work for the recommended Phase II Environmental Site Assessments is such that ERM cannot meet the Phase II Deadline despite using commercially reasonable efforts and proceeding with all due haste. The Loan Parties shall direct ERM to identify recommended remedial actions to ensure that any environmental conditions identified in the Phase II Environmental Site Assessments are remediated as is required by applicable Environmental Laws (“ Remedial Actions ”). Such Remedial Actions shall be implemented by ERM and the Loan Parties with all due haste to ensure that the environmental conditions are remediated in a timely manner as determined by ERM. The Loan Parties shall further obtain “No Further Action” letters or letters of similar import from applicable Governmental Authorities for the Remedial Actions undertaken where the Environmental Laws provide the means to do so. The Loan Parties shall provide copies of all material reports and documents to the Lender and the Lender promptly upon receipt of same. The Loan Parties shall further provide quarterly progress reports to the Lender and the Lender regarding the Remedial Actions undertaken and the status of the requests for No Further Action letters from applicable Governmental Authorities. The first quarterly status report shall be due on March 31, 2014.

 

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6.9. Standards of Financial Statements . Cause all financial statements referred to in Sections 9.7, 9.8, 9.10, 9.11, 9.12, and 9.13 as to which GAAP is applicable to be complete and correct in all material respects (subject, in the case of interim financial statements, to normal year-end audit adjustments) and to be prepared in reasonable detail and in accordance with GAAP applied consistently throughout the periods reflected therein (except as disclosed therein and agreed to by such reporting accountants or officer, as applicable).

6.10. Federal Securities Laws . Promptly notify Lender in writing if any Loan Party or any of their Subsidiaries (i) is required to file periodic reports under the Exchange Act, (ii) registers any securities under the Exchange Act or (iii) files a registration statement under the Securities Act.

6.11. Execution of Supplemental Instruments . Subject to the terms of the Subordination Agreement, execute and deliver to Lender from time to time, upon demand, such supplemental agreements, statements, assignments and transfers, or instructions or documents relating to the Collateral, and such other instruments as Controlling Agent may reasonably request, in order that the full intent of this Agreement may be carried into effect.

6.12. Exercise of Rights . Enforce its rights under the Plan of Reorganization, as necessary and to the extent applicable.

6.13. Government Receivables . Take all steps necessary to protect Lender’s interest in the Collateral under the Uniform Commercial Code and deliver to Lender (or its agent, designee or bailee pursuant to the Subordination Agreement) appropriately endorsed, any instrument or chattel paper connected with any Receivable arising out of any contract between any Loan Party and the United States, any state or any department, agency or instrumentality of any of them.

6.14. Membership / Partnership Interests . If the limited liability company membership interests or partnership interests as the case may be, of the Borrower or any of its Subsidiaries are designated as securities as contemplated by the definition of “security” in Section 8-102(15) and Section 8-103 of Article 8 of the Uniform Commercial Code, certificate (or cause to be certificated) such limited liability company membership interests and partnership interests, as applicable.

6.15. Reserved .

6.16. Substantial Consummation of Plan of Reorganization . Loan Parties shall diligently pursue and take all steps required under the Plan of Reorganization for substantial consummation of same and otherwise shall achieve substantial consummation of the Plan of Reorganization.

6.17. Post-Closing Obligations . Within seventy (70) days after the Closing Date (or such later date as shall be acceptable to the Controlling Agent), (i) shall have received Mortgages with respect to the Real Property listed on Schedule B and Schedule C, (ii) Controlling Agent shall have received copies of title searches with respect to the Real Property listed on Schedule

 

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C, (iii) Controlling Agent shall have received with respect to the Real Property listed on Schedule A and Schedule B, (1) to the extent necessary to remove the standard survey exception from Schedule B of the lender’s title insurance policies covering the same Real Property, surveys reasonably satisfactory to the applicable title insurance company and (2) fully paid mortgagee title insurance policies (or binding commitments to issue title insurance policies, marked to Controlling Agent’s satisfaction to evidence the form of such policies to be delivered with respect to such Mortgages), in standard ALTA form, issued by a title insurance company reasonably satisfactory to Controlling Agent, each in an amount equal to not less than fifty-five percent (55%) of the appraised value of the Real Property subject to the applicable Mortgage, insuring such Mortgage to create a valid Lien on the Real Property with no exceptions other than Permitted Encumbrances and exceptions which Controlling Agent shall have approved in writing and no survey exceptions; and (iv) Controlling Agent shall have received with respect to the Real Property listed on Schedule B, (1) if such Real Property is located in a designated flood zone, adequate flood insurance in an amount equal to the lesser of the value of the Real Property to be insured, as reasonably determined by Borrower, or the maximum amount available under the Federal flood insurance program, and as otherwise required to be maintained under this Agreement naming Controlling Agent as additional insured, mortgagee and lender loss payee, as applicable, (2) appraisals, the results of which shall be reasonably satisfactory in form and substance to Controlling Agent, of such Real Property, and (3) all environmental studies and reports prepared by independent environmental engineering firms with respect to such Real Property, including but not limited to a Phase I environmental assessment and where such Phase I report indicates the requirement for a Phase II report, Phase II reports, in form and substance satisfactory to Controlling Agent.

VII. NEGATIVE COVENANTS.

No Loan Party shall, until satisfaction in full of the Obligations and termination of this Agreement:

7.1. Merger, Consolidation, Acquisition and Sale of Assets .

(a) Except in connection with the “DJ Contribution” (as defined in the Plan of Reorganization), the transactions expressly contemplated under Section 4.2(II) of the Plan of Reorganization and the conversion of the Company, GateHouse Media Holdco, Inc. (“ GMH ”), GateHouse Media Operating, Inc. (“ GMO ”) and Holdco into limited liability companies, enter into any merger, consolidation or other reorganization with or into any other Person or acquire all or a substantial portion of the assets or Equity Interests of any Person or permit any other Person to consolidate with or merge with it, except for (i) any merger, consolidation or reorganization between Loan Parties (other than Holdco) or the acquisition of the assets or Equity Interests of one Loan Party (other than Holdco ) by another Loan Party, (ii) upon not less than 30 days prior notice to the Lender, any merger or consolidation of Holdco related to any change of its jurisdiction of organization or organizational type in accordance with the terms of Section 7.15, provided that, in such case, (x) Holdco shall be the continuing or surviving entity or (y) if the entity formed by or surviving any such merger or consolidation is not Holdco or is an entity into which Holdco has been liquidated (any such Person, the “ Successor Parent ”), the Successor Parent shall expressly assume all the obligations of Holdco under this Agreement and the other Loan Documents to which Holdco is a party pursuant to a supplement hereto or thereto

 

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in form reasonably satisfactory to Controlling Agent, and take all other action reasonably requested by Controlling Agent in furtherance of the foregoing, including without limitation those actions described in Section 7.15 , and thereafter references in any Loan Document to “Holdco” shall be deemed a reference to such Successor Parent, and (iii) Permitted Acquisitions.

(b) Sell, lease, transfer or otherwise dispose of any of its properties or assets, except (i) Permitted Dispositions, (ii) Permitted Investments, (iii) transactions expressly permitted by Section 7.1(a), and (iv) any other sales or dispositions expressly permitted by this Agreement.

7.2. Creation of Liens . Create or suffer to exist any Lien or transfer upon or against any of its property or assets now owned or hereafter created or acquired, except Permitted Encumbrances.

7.3. Guarantees . Become liable upon the obligations or liabilities of any Person by assumption, endorsement or guaranty thereof or otherwise (other than to Lender) except for (a) the obligations or liabilities disclosed on Schedule 7.3, (b) guarantees by one or more Loan Party(ies) of the Indebtedness or obligations of any other Loan Party(ies) to the extent such Indebtedness or obligations are permitted to be incurred and/or outstanding pursuant to the provisions of this Agreement, (c) the endorsement of checks in the Ordinary Course of Business, (d) guarantees incurred in the Ordinary Course of Business with respect to surety and appeal bonds, performance bonds, bid bonds, appeal bonds, completion guarantee and similar obligations, and (e) guarantees arising with respect to reasonable and customary indemnification obligations to purchasers in connection with Permitted Dispositions.

7.4. Investments . Purchase or acquire obligations or Equity Interests of, or any other interest in, any Person, other than Permitted Investments.

7.5. Loans . Make advances, loans or extensions of credit to any Person, including any Parent, Subsidiary or Affiliate other than Permitted Loans or to the extent permitted pursuant to Permitted Dispositions or Permitted Investments.

7.6. Capital Expenditures . As of each fiscal quarter, contract for, purchase or make any expenditure or commitments for Capital Expenditures in an aggregate amount for all Loan Parties in excess of $7,500,000, measured on a trailing twelve (12) month period then end; provided, however, in the event Capital Expenditures during any such fiscal year are less than $7,500,000, then the unused amount not to exceed $1,500,000 may be carried over to the immediately succeeding fiscal year and used in the immediately succeeding fiscal year after the $7,500,000 for such fiscal year has been exhausted.

7.7. Dividends . Declare, pay or make any dividend or distribution on any Equity Interests of any Loan Party (other than dividends or distributions payable in its stock, or split-ups or reclassifications of its stock) or apply any of its funds, property or assets to the purchase, redemption or other retirement of any Equity Interest, or of any options to purchase or acquire any Equity Interest of any Loan Party other than (a) Permitted Dividends; (b) dividends or other distributions by a Loan Party (other than Holdco) payable to another Loan Party (other than Holdco); (c) dividends or distributions by Borrowers to Holdco (or any direct or indirect parent

 

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entity), the proceeds of which shall be used to (i) pay operating expenses and other corporate overhead costs and expenses of Holdco (or by Holdco to any direct or indirect parent entity, so long as expensed to pay franchise taxes and fees, independent director costs, Exchange Act filing costs or other similar charges, in an aggregate amount not to exceed $1,000,000 per fiscal year), in each case which are reasonable and customary and incurred in the ordinary course of business, (ii) pay expenses of Holdco (or any direct or indirect parent entity thereof) incurred in connection with any offering of securities (whether or not successful) or (iii) pay transactional fees, costs, and expenses incurred in connection with this Agreement, the Other Documents and the transactions contemplated hereby and thereby; (d) dividends or distributions by any Loan Party and its Subsidiaries to Holdco for taxes that are (i) paid or payable by Holdco, New Media Investment Group Inc. or any entity that, from time to time, is responsible for the payments of taxes in connection with a consolidated, combined, unitary or similar type return of which the Loan Party is a part; and (ii) as part of a consolidated, combined, unitary or similar type return but only in an amount that any Borrower would be required to pay in respect to taxes were such Borrower to pay such taxes as the parent of the consolidated, combined or unitary group; (e) dividends or distributions by any Borrower to Holdco to pay amounts pursuant to the Management Agreement, in each case, subject to Section 7.10 and (f) the POR Distributions.

7.8. Indebtedness . Create, incur, assume or suffer to exist any Indebtedness other than Permitted Indebtedness.

7.9. Nature of Business . Materially change the nature of the business in which it is presently engaged; provided , however , that the foregoing shall not prevent any Loan Party from engaging in any business that is reasonably related, similar, complementary, ancillary to or a reasonable extension, development or expansion of its business.

7.10. Transactions with Affiliates . Directly or indirectly, purchase, acquire or lease any property from, or sell, transfer or lease any property to, or otherwise enter into any transaction, contract or arrangement with, any Affiliate, except for (i) transactions (other than the payment of management, consulting, monitoring, or advisory fees) among Loan Parties, so long as such transactions are (A) entered into in the Ordinary Course of Business, (B) are fully disclosed to the Lender in writing prior to the consummation thereof if such transaction involves one or more payments by any Loan Party in excess of $1,000,000 for any transaction or series of related transactions in a fiscal year, and (C) are on an arm’s-length basis on terms and conditions no less favorable than terms and conditions which would have been obtainable from a Person other than an Affiliate; (ii) payment by Loan Parties of dividends and distributions permitted under Section 7.7 hereof, (iii) transactions permitted under Section 7.1 hereof, (iv) the making of any Permitted Loans, (v) so long as approved by the applicable board of directors (or comparable governing body) of a Loan Party in accordance with applicable law, (A) any indemnity provided for the benefit of directors (or comparable managers) of such Loan Party or (B) the payment of reasonable compensation, severance, or employee benefit arrangements to employees, officers, and outside directors of such Loan Party in the Ordinary Course of Business, (vi) the payment of management, incentive or other fees and expenses set forth in the Management Agreement (to the extent expressly permitted in the Management Fee Subordination Agreement); provided , that if at any time any such fee has been deferred then such amounts shall continue to accrue; and (vii) a shared services, joint procurement or similar transaction with New Media Holdings or any successor thereto or any of its subsidiaries in the Ordinary Course of Business so long as (w)

 

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such transactions are fully disclosed to the Lender in writing not less than 10 days prior to the consummation thereof if such transaction involves one or more payments by any Loan Party in excess of $500,000 for any transaction or series of related transactions in a fiscal year, (x) the costs thereof is allocated on an objective basis or are otherwise not detrimental in any material respect to the Borrower or its Subsidiaries, as determined by the management of Borrower in good faith, (y) such transactions are no less favorable, taken as a whole, to the Loan Parties than would be obtained in an arm’s length transaction with a non-Affiliate, and (z) any such transaction does not adversely affect, impair or restrict a Loan Party’s title or right to any of its accounts or other Collateral.

7.11. Reserved .

7.12. Subsidiaries .

(a) Form any Subsidiary unless such Subsidiary (i) is not a Foreign Subsidiary, (ii) at Controlling Agent’s discretion, (x) expressly joins in this Agreement as a guarantor and becomes jointly and severally liable for the obligations of Loan Parties hereunder, under the Notes, and under any other agreement between any Loan Party and Lender, or (y) becomes a Guarantor with respect to the Obligations and executes a Guarantor Security Agreement in favor of Lender, and (iii) Lender shall have received all documents, including without limitation, legal opinions Controlling Agent may reasonably require to establish compliance with each of the foregoing conditions in connection therewith.

(b) Except as approved in writing by Controlling Agent (after prior disclosure to Controlling Agent in writing), enter into any partnership, joint venture or similar arrangement.

7.13. Fiscal Year and Accounting Changes . Change its fiscal year from December 31 or make any change (i) in accounting treatment and reporting practices except as required by GAAP or (ii) in tax reporting treatment except as required by law.

7.14. Pledge of Credit . Now or hereafter pledge Lender’s credit on any purchases, commitments or contracts or for any purpose whatsoever or use any portion of any Advance in or for any business other than such Loan Party’s business operations as conducted on the Closing Date (or any business that is reasonably related, similar, complementary, ancillary to or a reasonable extension, development or expansion of its business).

7.15. Amendment of Organizational Documents . Except in connection with the transactions expressly contemplated under Section 4.2(II) of the Plan of Reorganization, the conversion of the Company, GMH, GMO and Holdco into limited liability companies or as required by Applicable Law, (i) change its legal name, (ii) change its form of legal entity (e.g., converting from a corporation to a limited liability company or vice versa), (iii) change its jurisdiction of organization or become (or attempt or purport to become) organized in more than one jurisdiction, or (iv) otherwise amend, modify or waive any term or material provision of its Organizational Documents that would adversely affect the Lender unless required by law, in any such case without (x) giving at least ten (10) days prior written notice to the Lender in the case of clause (i) and otherwise, giving at least thirty (30) days prior written notice of such intended change to Lender, (y) having received from Lender (or its agent, designee or bailee pursuant to

 

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the Subordination Agreement) confirmation that Lender (or its agent, designee or bailee) has taken all steps necessary for Lender to continue the perfection of and protect the enforceability and priority of its Liens (subject to the terms of the Subordination Agreement) in the Collateral belonging to such Loan Party and in the Equity Interests of such Loan Party and (z) in any case under clause (iv), having received the prior written consent of Controlling Agent to such amendment, modification or waiver.

7.16. Compliance with ERISA . Except that would not give rise to a Material Adverse Effect, (i) (x) maintain, or permit any member of the Controlled Group to maintain, or (y) become obligated to contribute, or permit any member of the Controlled Group to become obligated to contribute, to any Plan, other than those Plans maintained or to which there is an obligation to contribute as of the date of execution of this Agreement, (ii) engage, or permit any member of the Controlled Group to engage, in any non-exempt “prohibited transaction”, as that term is defined in Section 406 of ERISA or Section 4975 of the Code, that could result in material liability, (iii) terminate, or permit any member of the Controlled Group to terminate, any Plan where such event could result in any liability of any Loan Party or any member of the Controlled Group or the imposition of a lien on the property of any Loan Party or any member of the Controlled Group pursuant to Section 4068 of ERISA, (iv) incur, or permit any member of the Controlled Group to incur, any withdrawal liability to any Multiemployer Plan; (v) fail promptly to notify Lender of the occurrence of any Termination Event, (vi) fail to comply in all material respects, or permit a member of the Controlled Group to fail to comply, with the requirements of ERISA or the Code or other Applicable Laws in respect of any Plan, or (vii) fail to meet, permit any member of the Controlled Group to fail to meet, or permit any Pension Benefit Plan to fail to meet all minimum funding requirements under ERISA and the Code, without regard to any waivers or variances, or postpone or delay or allow any member of the Controlled Group to postpone or delay any minimum funding requirement with respect to any Plan.

7.17. Prepayment of Indebtedness . Except in connection with Refinancing Indebtedness permitted by Section 7.8 hereof or pursuant to the Senior Loan Documents, at any time, directly or indirectly, prepay any Indebtedness (other than to Lender), or repurchase, redeem, retire or otherwise acquire any Indebtedness of any Loan Party.

VIII. CONDITIONS PRECEDENT.

8.1. Conditions to Initial Advance . The agreement of Lender to make the initial Advance requested to be made on the Closing Date is subject to the satisfaction, or waiver by Lender, immediately prior to or concurrently with the making of such Advance, of the following conditions precedent:

(a) Notes . Lender shall have received the Term Loan Note duly executed and delivered by an authorized officer of Borrower;

(b) Confirmation Order and Plan of Reorganization . The Confirmation Order has been entered in the Bankruptcy Cases confirming the Plan of Reorganization. Lender shall have received a certified executed copy of the Disclosure Statement, the Plan of Reorganization, and the Confirmation Order, each of which is final and has not been withdrawn, rescinded, vacated, reversed, stayed, revoked, modified, or amended, and on the Closing Date, the Confirmation Order shall be a final order.

 

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(c) Effectiveness of Plan of Reorganization . The Plan of Reorganization is, or will become upon the simultaneous closing of the transactions contemplated under this Agreement, fully effective on the Effective Date (as defined in the Plan of Reorganization); and

(d) The Subordination Agreement; Management Fee Subordination Agreement; and Other Documents . Lender shall have received the following executed documents: (i) the Subordination Agreement, (ii) a Management Fee Subordination Agreement and (iii) the Other Documents, all in form and substance satisfactory to Lender;

(e) Mortgages . With respect to the Real Property listed on Schedule A, Lender shall have received executed Mortgages in form and substance satisfactory to Controlling Agent;

(f) Reserved .

(g) Environmental Reports . Subject to Section 6.17, Controlling Agent shall have received all environmental studies and reports prepared by independent environmental engineering firms with respect to all Real Property owned by any Loan Party as listed on Schedule A, including but not limited to a Phase I environmental assessment, in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to Controlling Agent;

(h) Financial Condition Certificates . Lender shall have received an executed Financial Condition Certificate in the form of Exhibit 8.1(h).

(i) Closing Certificate . Lender shall have received a closing certificate signed by the Chief Financial Officer of Borrower dated as of the date hereof, stating that (i) all representations and warranties set forth in this Agreement and the Other Documents are true and correct in all material respects on and as of such date; provided that, to the extent that such representations and warranties specifically refer to an earlier date, they were true and correct in all material respects as of such earlier date; provided, further, that, any representation and warranty that is qualified as to “materiality”, “Material Adverse Effect” or similar language is or was true and correct (after giving effect to any qualification therein) in all respects on such respective dates, and (ii) on such date no Default or Event of Default has occurred or is continuing;

(j) Reserved .

(k) Reserved ;

(l) EBITDA . As of the Closing Date, the EBITDA, reported as of September 30, 2013 and as adjusted on the quality of earnings report prepared by FTI Consulting and delivered to the Lender, shall be at least $63,000,000, measured on a rolling four (4) quarter basis, and any pro-forma adjustments thereto must be satisfactory to Controlling Agent;

(m) Reserved ;

 

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(n) Senior Loan Documents . Lender shall have received final executed copies of the Senior Loan Documents, and all related agreements, documents and instruments as in effect on the Closing Date;

(o) Filings, Registrations and Recordings . Each document (including any Uniform Commercial Code financing statement) required by this Agreement, any related agreement or under law or reasonably requested by Lender (or its agent, designee or bailee pursuant to the Subordination Agreement) to be filed, registered or recorded in order to create, in favor of Lender, a perfected security interest in or lien upon the Collateral (subject to the terms of the Subordination Agreement) shall have been properly filed, registered or recorded in each jurisdiction in which the filing, registration or recordation thereof is so required or requested, and Lender shall have received an acknowledgment copy, or other evidence satisfactory to it, of each such filing, registration or recordation and reasonably satisfactory evidence of the payment of any necessary fee, tax or expense relating thereto;

(p) Reserved .

(q) Secretary’s Certificates, Authorizing Resolutions and Good Standings of Loan Parties . Lender shall have received a certificate of the Secretary or Assistant Secretary (or other equivalent officer, partner or manager) of each Loan Party in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to Controlling Agent dated as of the Closing Date which shall certify (i) copies of resolutions of the board of directors (or other equivalent governing body, member or partner) of such Loan Party authorizing (x) the execution, delivery and performance of this Agreement, the Notes and each Other Document to which such Loan Party is a party (including authorization of the incurrence of indebtedness and borrowing of the Term Loan), and (y) the granting by such Loan Party of the security interests in and liens upon the Collateral to secure all of the joint and several Obligations of Loan Parties (and such certificate shall state that such resolutions have not been amended, modified, revoked or rescinded as of the date of such certificate), (ii) the incumbency and signature of the officers of such Loan Party authorized to execute this Agreement and the Other Documents, (iii) copies of the Organizational Documents of such Loan Party as in effect on such date, complete with all amendments thereto, and (iv) the good standing (or equivalent status) of such Loan Party in its jurisdiction of organization and each applicable jurisdiction where the conduct of such Loan Party’s business activities or the ownership of its properties necessitates qualification, as evidenced by good standing certificate(s) (or the equivalent thereof issued by any applicable jurisdiction) dated not more than thirty (30) days prior to the Closing Date, issued by the Secretary of State or other appropriate official of each such jurisdiction;

(r) Legal Opinions . Lender shall have received the executed legal opinion of Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP and Young Conaway Stargatt & Taylor, LLP, each, in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to Lender which shall cover such matters incident to the transactions contemplated by this Agreement, the Notes, the Other Documents, and related agreements as Lender may reasonably require and each Loan Party hereby authorizes and directs such counsel to deliver such opinions to Lender;

 

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(s) No Litigation . Except as disclosed in the Disclosure Statement, Plan of Reorganization, or Confirmation Order, no litigation, investigation or proceeding before or by any arbitrator or Governmental Body shall be continuing or threatened against Borrower or against the officers or directors of Borrower (A) in connection with this Agreement, the Other Documents, the Senior Loan Documents or any of the transactions contemplated thereby and which, in the reasonable opinion of Controlling Agent, is deemed material or (B) which could, in the reasonable opinion of Controlling Agent, have a Material Adverse Effect; and (ii) no injunction, writ, restraining order or other order of any nature materially adverse to Borrower or the conduct of its business or inconsistent with the due consummation of the Transactions shall have been issued by any Governmental Body;

(t) Collateral Examination . Controlling Agent shall have received appraisals, the results of which shall be reasonably satisfactory in form and substance to Controlling Agent, of the Receivables, Inventory, General Intangibles, Real Property set forth on Schedule A, Leasehold Interest and equipment of each Loan Party and all books and records in connection therewith;

(u) Fees . Lender shall have received all fees payable to Lender on or prior to the Closing Date hereunder, including pursuant to Article III hereof and the Fee Letter;

(v) Pro Forma Financial Statements . Lender shall have received (i) a copy of the Pro Forma Financial Statements, (ii) annual financial statements of the Loan Parties for the period ending December 31, 2012, together with interim statements for the period for the period ending September 30, 2013, (iii) monthly projections for the Loan Parties for the first twelve (12) months following the Closing Date, and (iv) annual projections of the Loan Parties for the fiscal years ending for the fiscal years 2014, 2015 and 2016, each of the foregoing, the capital structure of the Loan Parties as of the Closing Date, including confirmed equity amount equal to Sponsor’s current investment level (consistent with the presentation by Holdco to the Lender) and the evidence of Borrower’s ability to repay the Advances, shall be satisfactory in all respects to Controlling Agent;

(w) Insurance . Controlling Agent shall have received in form and substance satisfactory to Controlling Agent, (i) evidence that adequate insurance, including without limitation, casualty and liability insurance, required to be maintained under this Agreement is in full force and effect, (ii) insurance certificates issued by Borrower’s insurance broker containing such information regarding Borrower’s casualty and liability insurance policies as Controlling Agent shall request and naming Controlling Agent as an additional insured, lenders loss payee and/or mortgagee, as applicable, and (iii) loss payable endorsements issued by Borrower’s insurer naming Controlling Agent as loss payee and mortgagee, as applicable;

(x) Flood Insurance . Subject to Section 6.17, evidence that adequate flood insurance in an amount equal to lesser of the value of the Real Property listed on Schedule A to be insured or the maximum amount available under the Federal flood insurance program, and as otherwise required to be maintained under this Agreement is in full force and effect, with additional insured, mortgagee and lender loss payable special endorsements attached thereto in form and substance satisfactory to Controlling Agent naming Controlling Agent as additional insured, mortgagee and lender loss payee, as applicable, and evidence that Borrower have taken all actions required under the Flood Laws and/or requested by Controlling Agent to assist in ensuring that Controlling Agent is in compliance with the Flood Laws applicable to the

 

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Collateral, including, but not limited to, providing Controlling Agent with the address and/or GPS coordinates of each structure on any such Real Property that will be subject to a Mortgage in favor of Lender, for the benefit of Lender, and, to the extent required, obtaining flood insurance for such property, structures and contents prior to such property, structures and contents becoming Collateral.

(y) Payment Instructions . Lender shall have received written instructions from Borrower directing the application of proceeds of the initial Advances made pursuant to this Agreement;

(z) Consents . Lender shall have received any and all Consents necessary to permit the effectuation of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement and the Other Documents; and, Lender shall have received such Consents and waivers of such third parties as might assert claims with respect to the Collateral, as Controlling Agent shall deem necessary;

(aa) No Adverse Material Change . (i) Except as disclosed in the Disclosure Statement, Plan of Reorganization, or Confirmation Order, since December 31, 2012, there shall not have occurred any event, condition or state of facts which would reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect and (ii) no representations made or information supplied to Lender, including, management prepared financial statements for the period ended on or about September 30, 2013 and disclosures/information provided within the Plan of Reorganization documents that are on file with the United States Bankruptcy Court, shall have been proven to be inaccurate or misleading in any material respect (taken as a whole);

(bb) Contract Review . Controlling Agent shall have received and reviewed all Material Contracts of Borrower including leases, union contracts, labor contracts, vendor supply contracts, License Agreements and distributorship agreements and such contracts and agreements shall be satisfactory in all respects to Controlling Agent;

(cc) Compliance with Laws . Controlling Agent shall be reasonably satisfied that Borrower is in compliance with all pertinent federal, state, local or territorial regulations, including those with respect to the Federal Occupational Safety and Health Act, the Environmental Protection Act, ERISA and the Anti-Terrorism Laws;

(dd) Quality of Earnings Report . Lender shall have received a quality of earnings report, background reports of the Loan Parties and certain key individuals associated with the Loan Parties, and any other third party diligence prepared for the Borrower, which shall be satisfactory in form and substance to Controlling Agent, such scope of report and information to include a review of Borrower’s business plan and management’s ability to execute said plan, verification of any EBITDA addbacks and adjustments as presented by Borrower during the due diligence process, and any other additional procedures as may be required to verify the financial results of the Borrower for the fiscal year 2012 and for the trailing twelve-month period ending August 31, 2013; and

(ee) Other . All corporate and other proceedings, and all documents, instruments and other legal matters in connection with the Transactions shall be satisfactory in form and substance to Lender.

 

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IX. INFORMATION AS TO LOAN PARTIES.

Each Loan Party shall, or (except with respect to Section 9.11) shall cause Borrower on its behalf to, until satisfaction in full of the Obligations and the termination of this Agreement:

9.1. Disclosure of Material Matters . Promptly upon learning thereof, report to Lender all matters materially affecting the value, enforceability or collectability of any portion of the Collateral, including any Loan Party’s reclamation or repossession of, or the return to any Loan Party of, a material amount of goods or claims or disputes asserted by any Customer or other obligor, except, in each case, where such matters or return would not, individually or in the aggregate, have or be reasonably expected to have a Material Adverse Effect.

9.2. Reserved .

9.3. Environmental Reports .

(a) Furnish Lender, concurrently with the delivery of the financial statements referred to in Sections 9.7 and 9.8, with a certificate signed by the Chief Executive Officer or President of Borrower stating, to the best of his knowledge, that each Loan Party is in compliance in all material respects with all applicable Environmental Laws. To the extent any Loan Party is not in compliance with the foregoing laws, the certificate shall set forth with specificity all areas of non-compliance and the proposed action such Loan Party will implement in order to achieve full compliance.

(b) In the event any Loan Party obtains, gives or receives notice of any Release or threat of Release of a reportable quantity of any Hazardous Materials at the Real Property (any such event being hereinafter referred to as a “ Hazardous Discharge ”) or receives any notice of violation, request for information or notification that it is potentially responsible for investigation or cleanup of environmental conditions at the Real Property, demand letter or complaint, order, citation, or other written notice with regard to any Hazardous Discharge or violation of Environmental Laws affecting the Real Property or any Loan Party’s interest therein or the operations or the business (any of the foregoing is referred to herein as an “ Environmental Complaint ”) from any Person, including any Governmental Body, then Borrower shall, within five (5) Business Days, give written notice of same to Lender detailing facts and circumstances of which any Loan Party is aware giving rise to the Hazardous Discharge or Environmental Complaint. Such information is to be provided to allow Lender to protect Lender’s security interest in and Lien on the Collateral and is not intended to create nor shall it create any obligation upon Lender with respect thereto.

(c) Borrower shall promptly forward to Lender copies of any request for information, notification of potential liability, demand letter relating to potential responsibility with respect to the investigation or cleanup of Hazardous Materials at any other site owned, operated or used by any Loan Party to manage of Hazardous Materials and shall continue to forward copies of correspondence between any Loan Party and the Governmental Body regarding such claims to Lender until the claim is settled. Borrower shall promptly forward to Lender copies of all documents and reports concerning a Hazardous Discharge or Environmental Complaint at the Real Property, operations or business that any Loan Party is required to file under any Environmental Laws. Such information is to be provided solely to allow Lender to protect Lender’s security interest in and Lien on the Collateral.

 

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9.4. Litigation . Promptly notify Lender in writing of any claim, litigation, suit or administrative proceeding affecting any Loan Party, whether or not the claim is covered by insurance, and of any litigation, suit or administrative proceeding, which in any such case affects a material portion of the Collateral or which would reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect.

9.5. Material Occurrences . Promptly notify Lender in writing upon the occurrence and continuation of: (a) any Event of Default or Default; (b) any event of default under the Senior Loan Documents; (c) any event which with the giving of notice or lapse of time, or both, would constitute an event of default under the Senior Loan Documents; (d) any event, development or circumstance whereby any financial statements or other reports furnished to Lender fail in any material respect to present fairly, in accordance with GAAP consistently applied, the financial condition or operating results of any Loan Party as of the date of such statements; (e) any failure to meet minimum funding standards which is not corrected as provided in Section 4971 of the Code and could subject any Loan Party or any member of the Controlled Group to a material tax imposed by Section 4971 of the Code; (f) each and every default by any Loan Party which might result in the acceleration of the maturity of any Indebtedness, including the names and addresses of the holders of such Indebtedness with respect to which there is a default existing or with respect to which the maturity has been or could be accelerated, and the amount of such Indebtedness; and (g) any other development in the business or affairs of any Loan Party, which could reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect; in each case describing the nature thereof and the action Loan Parties propose to take with respect thereto.

9.6. Reserved .

9.7. Annual Financial Statements . Furnish Lender within ninety (90) days after the end of each fiscal year of the Loan Parties, financial statements of the Loan Parties on a consolidating and consolidated basis including, but not limited to, (i) statements of income and stockholders’ equity and cash flow from the beginning of the current fiscal year to the end of such fiscal year and the balance sheet as at the end of such fiscal year, (ii) a comparison to the respective financial statements for the corresponding date and period in the previous fiscal year and (iii) a supplemental schedule, in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to the Controlling Agent, setting forth the types and amounts of expenses incurred by New Media Investment Group Inc. on behalf of the Loan Parties during such fiscal year for which it has received reimbursement during such fiscal year period (it being understood that to the extent permitted by GAAP, the reimbursement of expenses of New Media Investment Group Inc. shall be reflected in the financial statements of the Loan Parties as a direct expense of a similar type as if such expense had been incurred directly by the Loan Parties), all prepared in accordance with GAAP applied on a basis consistent with prior practices, and in reasonable detail and reported upon without qualification (other than solely with respect to, or solely resulting from, the fact that the scheduled maturity date of any Senior Obligations or any Loan hereunder (for the avoidance of doubt, without giving effect to any circumstances that have caused such scheduled maturity date to be accelerated to an earlier date) is less than one year after the date of such

 

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opinion) by Ernst & Young LLP or any other independent certified public accounting firm selected by Loan Parties and satisfactory to Lender (the “ Accountants ”). The report of the Accountants shall be accompanied by a statement of the Accountants certifying that (i) they have caused this Agreement to be reviewed, (ii) in making the examination upon which such report was based either no information came to their attention which to their knowledge constituted an Event of Default or a Default under this Agreement or any related agreement or, if such information came to their attention, specifying any such Default or Event of Default, its nature, when it occurred and whether it is continuing, and such report shall contain or have appended thereto calculations which set forth Loan Parties’ compliance with the requirements or restrictions imposed by Sections 6.5, 7.4, 7.5, 7.6, 7.7, 7.8 and 7.10 hereof. In addition, the reports shall be accompanied by a Compliance Certificate.

9.8. Quarterly Financial Statements . Furnish Lender within forty-five (45) days after the end of each fiscal quarter, (i) an unaudited balance sheet of the Loan Parties on a consolidated and consolidating basis (ii) unaudited statements of income and stockholders’ equity and cash flow of the Loan Parties on a consolidated and consolidating basis reflecting results of operations from the beginning of the fiscal year to the end of such quarter and for such quarter, prepared on a basis consistent with prior practices and complete and correct in all material respects, subject to normal and recurring year-end adjustments that individually and in the aggregate are not material to Loan Parties’ business operations and setting forth in comparative form the respective financial statements for the corresponding date and period in the previous fiscal year, (iii) a comparison of such financials against the projections delivered pursuant to Section 9.12 for the corresponding date and (iv) a supplemental schedule, in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to the Controlling Agent, setting forth the types and amounts of expenses incurred by New Media Investment Group Inc. on behalf of the Loan Parties during such fiscal quarter for which it has received reimbursement during such fiscal quarter period (it being understood that to the extent permitted by GAAP, the reimbursement of expenses of New Media Investment Group Inc. shall be reflected in the financial statements of the Loan Parties as a direct expense of a similar type as if such expense had been incurred directly by the Loan Parties). The reports shall be accompanied by a Compliance Certificate and unaudited statements of income for each division/market group (including Propel Marketing) of the Loan Parties, reflecting the results of operations from the beginning of the fiscal year to the end of such quarter, and for such quarter ended, and setting forth in comparative form the respective statements of income for the corresponding date and period in the previous fiscal year.

9.9. Reserved .

9.10. Other Reports . Furnish Lender as soon as available, but in any event within ten (10) days after the issuance thereof, (i) with copies of such financial statements, reports and returns as each Loan Party shall send to its stockholders or members, as the case may be, and (ii) copies of all notices, reports, financial statements and other materials sent pursuant to the Senior Loan Documents.

9.11. Additional Information . Furnish Lender with such additional information as Lender shall reasonably request in order to enable Lender to determine whether the terms, covenants, provisions and conditions of this Agreement and the Notes have been complied with by Loan Parties including, without the necessity of any request by Lender, (a) copies of all

 

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environmental audits and reviews, (b) at least thirty (30) days prior thereto, notice of any Loan Party’s opening of any new office or place of business or any Loan Party’s closing of any existing office or place of business, and (c) promptly upon any Loan Party’s learning thereof, notice of any material labor dispute to which any Loan Party may become a party, any strikes or walkouts relating to any of its plants or other facilities, and the expiration of any labor contract to which any Loan Party is a party or by which any Loan Party is bound.

9.12. Projected Operating Budget . Furnish Lender, no later than thirty (30) days after the beginning of each Loan Party’s fiscal years commencing with fiscal year 2014, a month by month projected income statement, statement of cash flow and balance sheet of the Loan Parties on a consolidated and consolidating basis for such fiscal year, such projections to be accompanied by a certificate signed by the Chief Executive Officer or Chief Financial Officer of each Loan Party to the effect that such projections have been prepared on the basis of sound financial planning practice consistent with past budgets and financial statements and that such officer has no reason to question the reasonableness of any material assumptions on which such projections were prepared; it being understood that actual results may vary from such projections and that such variations may be material.

9.13. Variances From Operating Budget . Furnish Lender, concurrently with the delivery of the financial statements referred to in Sections 9.7 and 9.8, a written report summarizing all material variances from budgets submitted by Loan Parties pursuant to Section 9.12 and a discussion and analysis by management with respect to such variances.

9.14. Notice of Suits, Adverse Events . Furnish Lender with prompt written notice of (i) any lapse or other termination of any Consent issued to any Loan Party by any Governmental Body or any other Person that is material to the operation of any Loan Party’s business, (ii) any refusal by any Governmental Body or any other Person to renew or extend any such Consent; and (iii) copies of any periodic or special reports filed by any Loan Party with any Governmental Body or Person, if such reports indicate any material change in the business, operations, affairs or condition of any Loan Party, or if copies thereof are requested by Lender, and (iv) copies of any material notices and other communications from any Governmental Body or Person which specifically relate to any Loan Party.

9.15. ERISA Notices and Requests . Furnish Lender with prompt written notice in the event that (i) any Loan Party or any member of the Controlled Group knows or has reason to know that a Termination Event has occurred, together with a written statement describing such Termination Event and the action, if any, which such Loan Party or any member of the Controlled Group has taken, is taking, or proposes to take with respect thereto and, when known, any action taken or threatened by the Internal Revenue Service, Department of Labor or PBGC with respect thereto, (ii) any Loan Party or any member of the Controlled Group knows or has reason to know that a prohibited transaction that may result in material liability (as defined in Section 406 of ERISA or 4975 of the Code) has occurred together with a written statement describing such transaction and the action which such Loan Party or any member of the Controlled Group has taken, is taking or proposes to take with respect thereto, (iii) a funding waiver request has been filed with respect to any Pension Benefit Plan together with all communications received by any Loan Party or any member of the Controlled Group with respect to such request, (iv) any material increase in the benefits of any existing Plan or the

 

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establishment of any new material Plan or the commencement of material contributions to any Plan to which any Loan Party or any member of the Controlled Group was not previously contributing shall occur, (v) any Loan Party or any member of the Controlled Group shall receive from the PBGC a notice of intention to terminate a Plan or to have a trustee appointed to administer a Plan, together with copies of each such notice, (vi) any Loan Party or any member of the Controlled Group shall receive any unfavorable determination letter from the Internal Revenue Service regarding the qualification of a Plan under Section 401(a) of the Code, together with copies of each such letter; (vii) any Loan Party or any member of the Controlled Group shall receive a notice regarding the imposition of withdrawal liability, together with copies of each such notice; (viii) any Loan Party or any member of the Controlled Group shall fail to make a required installment or any other required material payment under the Code or ERISA on or before the due date for such installment or payment; or (ix) Borrower or any member of the Controlled Group knows that (a) a Multiemployer Plan has been terminated, (b) the administrator or plan sponsor of a Multiemployer Plan intends to terminate a Multiemployer Plan, (c) the PBGC has instituted or will institute proceedings under Section 4042 of ERISA to terminate a Multiemployer Plan or (d) a Multiemployer Plan is subject to Section 432 of the Code or Section 305 of ERISA.

9.16. Additional Documents . Subject to the terms of the Subordination Agreement, execute and deliver to Lender, upon reasonable request, such documents and agreements as Lender may, from time to time, reasonably request to carry out the purposes, terms or conditions of this Agreement.

9.17. Updates to Certain Schedules . Deliver to Lender updates to Schedules 4.4 (Locations of equipment and Inventory), 5.2(a) (States of Qualification and Good Standing), 5.2(b) (Subsidiaries), 5.6 (Prior Names), 5.7 (Environmental), 5.8(d) (Plans), 5.9 (Intellectual Property), 5.10 (Licenses and Permits), 5.14 (Labor Disputes), 5.17 (Disclosure), 5.24 (Equity Interests), 5.25 (Commercial Tort Claims), 5.26 (Letter-of-Credit Rights) and 5.27 (Material Contracts) on an quarterly basis at the time of delivery of a Compliance Certificate with respect to the applicable month. Any such updated Schedules delivered by Loan Parties to Lender in accordance with this Section 9.17 shall automatically and immediately be deemed to amend and restate the prior version of such Schedule previously delivered to Lender and attached to and made part of this Agreement.

9.18. Controlling Agent Determinations . With respect to requests, determinations or consents by the Senior Administrative Agent as the Controlling Agent made pursuant to the definitions of “Collateral” and “Permitted Loan” and Sections 4.1, 4.2, 4.4, 4.5, 5.7(d), 6.6, 6.8, 6.11, 6.17, 7.1(a), 7.12, 7.15, 10.15, 10.16, 10.18, promptly after such event, notify the Lender of such request, determination or consent.

X. EVENTS OF DEFAULT.

The occurrence of any one or more of the following events shall constitute an “Event of Default”:

10.1. Nonpayment . Failure by any Loan Party to pay when due (a) any principal or interest on the Obligations (including without limitation pursuant to Section 2.9), or (b) any other fee, charge, amount or liability provided for herein or in any Other Document, in each case whether at maturity, by reason of acceleration pursuant to the terms of this Agreement, by notice of intention to prepay or by required prepayment;

 

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10.2. Breach of Representation . Any representation or warranty made or deemed made by any Loan Party in this Agreement, any Other Document or any related agreement or in any certificate, document or financial or other statement furnished at any time in connection herewith or therewith shall prove to have been incorrect or misleading in any material respect on the date when made or deemed to have been made;

10.3. Financial Information . Failure by any Loan Party to (i) furnish financial information when due or when requested (or within ten (10) days if no grace period is specified), or (ii) permit the inspection of its books or records or access to its premises for audits in accordance with the terms hereof;

10.4. Judicial Actions . Issuance of a notice of Lien, levy, assessment, injunction or attachment against a material portion of the Collateral;

10.5. Noncompliance . Except as otherwise provided for in Sections 10.1, 10.3, 10.5(ii) and 10.5(iii), (i) failure or neglect of any Loan Party or any Person to perform, keep or observe any term, provision, condition, covenant herein contained, or contained in any Other Document or any other agreement or arrangement, now or hereafter entered into between any Loan Party or such Person, and Lender, and such failure continues for a period of thirty (30) days, (ii) failure or neglect of any Loan Party to perform, keep or observe any term, provision, condition or covenant, contained in Sections 4.5, 6.1, 6.3, 6.11, 6.13 or 9.4 hereof which is not cured within ten (10) days from the occurrence of such failure or neglect, or (iii) failure or neglect of any Loan Party to perform, keep or observe any term, provision, condition or covenant, contained in Sections 4.1, 4.2, 4.4, 4.8 (other than 4.8(b)), 4.12, 6.5, 6.8(e) and Article VII of this Agreement;

10.6. Judgments . Any judgment or judgments, writ(s), order(s) or decree(s) for the payment of money are rendered against any Loan Party for an aggregate amount in excess of $3,000,000 (except to the extent fully covered (other than to the extent of customary deductibles) by insurance pursuant to which the insurer has not denied coverage) and either (a) there is a period of 30 consecutive days at any time after the entry of any such judgment, order, or award during which (1) the same is not discharged, satisfied, vacated, or bonded pending appeal, or (2) a stay of enforcement thereof is not in effect, or (b) enforcement proceedings are commenced upon such judgment, order, or award unless such enforcement proceedings are being contested in good faith and stayed, unless cash otherwise payable as a Permitted Dividend or a capital contribution has been used to settle such judgment within 10 days of the occurrence of such event;

10.7. Bankruptcy . Except in connection with the Bankruptcy Cases, any Loan Party shall (i) apply for or consent to the appointment of, or the taking of possession by, a receiver, custodian, trustee, liquidator or similar fiduciary of itself or of all or a substantial part of its property, (ii) admit by any officer in writing its inability, or be generally unable, to pay its debts as they become due or cease operations of all or a substantial part of its present business, (iii) make a general assignment for the benefit of creditors, (iv) commence a voluntary case under

 

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any state or federal bankruptcy or receivership laws (as now or hereafter in effect), (v) be adjudicated a bankrupt or insolvent (including by entry of any order for relief in any involuntary bankruptcy or insolvency proceeding commenced against it), (vi) file a petition seeking to take advantage of any other law providing for the relief of debtors, (vii) acquiesce to, or fail to have dismissed, within forty-five (45) days, any petition filed against it in any involuntary case under such bankruptcy laws, or (viii) take any corporate action for the purpose of effecting any of the foregoing;

10.8. Reserved .

10.9. Lien Priority . Any Lien created hereunder or provided for hereby or under any related agreement for any reason ceases to be or is not a valid and perfected Lien having the priority required by this Agreement (subject to the Subordination Agreement and to Permitted Encumbrances that have priority as a matter of Applicable Law to the extent such Liens only attach to Collateral other than Receivables or Inventory);

10.10. Senior Loan Default . An event of default has occurred under the Senior Loan Documents, which default shall not have been cured or waived within any applicable grace period, or if any Loan Party party to a Subordination Agreement breaches or violates, or attempts to terminate or challenge the validity of, such agreement; provided , that no such event under the Senior Loan Documents shall constitute an Event of Default under this Section 10.10 until (i) the acceleration of the Indebtedness under the Senior Loan Documents or (ii) there has been a failure to pay principal when due in excess of $3,000,000 with respect to the Senior Loan Documents;

10.11. Cross Default . Either (x) any specified “event of default” under any Indebtedness (other than the Obligations and the Senior Obligations) of any Loan Party with a then-outstanding principal balance (or, in the case of any Indebtedness not so denominated, with a then-outstanding total obligation amount) of $3,000,000 or more, or any other event or circumstance which would permit the holder of any such Indebtedness of any Loan Party to accelerate such Indebtedness (and/or the obligations of Loan Party thereunder) prior to the scheduled maturity or termination thereof, shall occur (regardless of whether the holder of such Indebtedness shall actually accelerate, terminate or otherwise exercise any rights or remedies with respect to such Indebtedness) or (y) a default of the obligations of any Loan Party under any other agreement to which it is a party shall occur which has or is reasonably likely to have a Material Adverse Effect, unless in each case, cash otherwise payable as a Permitted Dividend or a capital contribution has been used to cure such default or “event of default” within ten (10) days of the occurrence of such event;

10.12. Breach of Guaranty or Pledge Agreement . Termination or breach of any Guaranty, Guarantor Security Agreement, Pledge Agreement or similar agreement executed and delivered to Lender in connection with the Obligations of Borrower, or if any Guarantor or pledgor attempts to terminate, challenges the validity of, or its liability under, any such Guaranty, Guarantor Security Agreement, Pledge Agreement or similar agreement;

10.13. Change of Control . Any Change of Control shall occur;

 

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10.14. Invalidity . Any material provision of this Agreement or any Other Document shall, for any reason, cease to be valid and binding on any Loan Party, or any Loan Party shall so claim in writing to Lender or Borrower challenges the validity of or its liability under this Agreement or any Other Document;

10.15. Seizures . Any (a) portion of the Collateral (excluding books and records of Borrower) with a value in excess of $1,000,000 (except to the extent fully covered (other than to the extent of customary deductibles) by insurance pursuant to which the insurer has not denied coverage) shall be seized, subject to garnishment or taken by a Governmental Body, or (b) the title and rights of any Loan Party which is the owner of any material portion of the Collateral shall have become the subject matter of claim, litigation, suit, garnishment or other proceeding which might, in the opinion of Controlling Agent, upon final determination, result in impairment or loss of the security provided by this Agreement or the Other Documents, unless in each case, cash otherwise payable as a Permitted Dividend or a capital contribution has been used to resolve such issue or replace such portion of the Collateral within 10 days of the occurrence of such event;

10.16. Pension Plans . An event or condition specified in Sections 7.16 or 9.15 hereof shall occur or exist with respect to any Plan and, as a result of such event or condition, together with all other such events or conditions, any Loan Party or any member of the Controlled Group shall incur, or in the reasonable judgment of Controlling Agent be reasonably likely to incur, a liability to a Plan or the PBGC (or both) which, in the reasonable judgment of Controlling Agent, would have a Material Adverse Effect; or the occurrence of any Termination Event, or any Loan Party’s failure to immediately report a Termination Event in accordance with Section 9.15 hereof which, in each case, in the reasonable judgment of Controlling Agent, would have a Material Adverse Effect;

10.17. Anti-Money Laundering/International Trade Law Compliance . Any representation or warranty contained in Section 17.18 is or becomes false or misleading at any time; or

10.18. Plan of Reorganization and Confirmation Order . Either the Plan of Reorganization or Confirmation Order has been withdrawn, rescinded, vacated, reversed, stayed, revoked, modified, or amended, without the written consent of Controlling Agent.

XI. LENDER’S RIGHTS AND REMEDIES AFTER DEFAULT.

11.1. Rights and Remedies .

(a) Upon the occurrence and continuation of: (i) an Event of Default pursuant to Section 10.7 (other than Section 10.7(vii)), all Obligations shall be immediately due and payable and this Agreement and (ii) any of the other Events of Default and at any time thereafter (and such Events of Default not having previously been cured in accordance with the terms hereof), at the option of Lender or at the direction of Required Lenders, all Obligations shall be immediately due and payable and Lender or Required Lenders shall have the right to terminate this Agreement. Upon the occurrence and continuation of any Event of Default, subject to the terms of the Subordination Agreement, Lender (or its agent, designee or bailee pursuant to the

 

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Subordination Agreement) shall have the right to exercise any and all rights and remedies provided for herein, under the Other Documents, under the Uniform Commercial Code and at law or equity generally, including the right to foreclose the security interests granted herein and to realize upon any Collateral by any available judicial procedure and/or to take possession of and sell any or all of the Collateral with or without judicial process. Lender (or its agent, designee or bailee pursuant to the Subordination Agreement) may enter any of any Loan Party’s premises or other premises without legal process and without incurring liability to any Loan Party therefor, and Lender (or its agent, designee or bailee) may thereupon, or at any time thereafter, in its discretion without notice or demand, take the Collateral and remove the same to such place as Lender (or its agent, designee or bailee) may deem advisable and Lender (or its agent, designee or bailee) may require Loan Parties to make the Collateral available to Lender (or its agent, designee or bailee) at a convenient place. With or without having the Collateral at the time or place of sale, Lender (or its agent, designee or bailee pursuant to the Subordination Agreement) may sell the Collateral, or any part thereof, at public or private sale, at any time or place, in one or more sales, at such price or prices, and upon such terms, either for cash, credit or future delivery, as Lender (or its agent, designee or bailee) may elect. Except as to that part of the Collateral which is perishable or threatens to decline speedily in value or is of a type customarily sold on a recognized market, Lender (or its agent, designee or bailee) shall give Loan Parties reasonable notification of such sale or sales, it being agreed that in all events written notice mailed to Borrower at least ten (10) days prior to such sale or sales is reasonable notification. At any public sale Lender may bid (including credit bid) for and become the purchaser, and Lender (or its agent, designee or bailee) or any other purchaser at any such sale thereafter shall hold the Collateral sold absolutely free from any claim or right of whatsoever kind, including any equity of redemption and all such claims, rights and equities are hereby expressly waived and released by each Loan Party. In connection with the exercise of the foregoing remedies, including the sale of Inventory, Lender (or its agent, designee or bailee pursuant to the Subordination Agreement) is granted a perpetual nonrevocable, royalty free, nonexclusive license and Lender (or its agent, designee or bailee) is granted permission to use all of each Loan Party’s (a) Intellectual Property which is used or useful in connection with Inventory for the purpose of marketing, advertising for sale and selling or otherwise disposing of such Inventory and (b) equipment for the purpose of completing the manufacture of unfinished goods. The cash proceeds realized from the sale of any Collateral shall be applied to the Obligations in the order set forth in Section 11.5 hereof. Noncash proceeds will only be applied to the Obligations as they are converted into cash. If any deficiency shall arise, Loan Parties shall remain liable to Lender therefor. All rights of Lender under this Section 11.1(a) are subject to the terms of the Subordination Agreement.

(b) To the extent that Applicable Law imposes duties on Lender (or its agent, designee or bailee pursuant to the Subordination Agreement) to exercise remedies in a commercially reasonable manner, each Loan Party acknowledges and agrees that it is not commercially unreasonable for Lender (or its agent, designee or bailee): (i) to fail to incur expenses reasonably deemed significant by Lender (or its agent, designee or bailee) to prepare Collateral for disposition or otherwise to complete raw material or work in process into finished goods or other finished products for disposition; (ii) to fail to obtain third party consents for access to Collateral to be disposed of, or to obtain or, if not required by other law, to fail to obtain governmental or third party consents for the collection or disposition of Collateral to be collected or disposed of; (iii) to fail to exercise collection remedies against Customers or other

 

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Persons obligated on Collateral or to remove Liens on or any adverse claims against Collateral; (iv) to exercise collection remedies against Customers and other Persons obligated on Collateral directly or through the use of collection agencies and other collection specialists; (v) to advertise dispositions of Collateral through publications or media of general circulation, whether or not the Collateral is of a specialized nature; (vi) to contact other Persons, whether or not in the same business as any Loan Party, for expressions of interest in acquiring all or any portion of such Collateral; (vii) to hire one or more professional auctioneers to assist in the disposition of Collateral, whether or not the Collateral is of a specialized nature; (viii) to dispose of Collateral by utilizing internet sites that provide for the auction of assets of the types included in the Collateral or that have the reasonable capacity of doing so, or that match buyers and sellers of assets; (ix) to dispose of assets in wholesale rather than retail markets; (x) to disclaim disposition warranties, such as title, possession or quiet enjoyment, (xi) to purchase insurance or credit enhancements to insure Lender against risks of loss, collection or disposition of Collateral or to provide to Lender a guaranteed return from the collection or disposition of Collateral; or (xii) to the extent deemed appropriate by the Lender (or its agent, designee or bailee), to obtain the services of other brokers, investment bankers, consultants and other professionals to assist Lender (or its agent, designee or bailee) in the collection or disposition of any of the Collateral. Each Loan Party acknowledges that the purpose of this Section 11.1(b) is to provide non-exhaustive indications of what actions or omissions by Lender would not be commercially unreasonable in Lender’s exercise of remedies against the Collateral and that other actions or omissions by Lender shall not be deemed commercially unreasonable solely on account of not being indicated in this Section 11.1(b). Without limitation upon the foregoing, nothing contained in this Section 11.1(b) shall be construed to grant any rights to any Loan Party or to impose any duties on Lender that would not have been granted or imposed by this Agreement or by Applicable Law in the absence of this Section 11.1(b).

11.2. Lender’s Discretion . Subject to the terms of the Subordination Agreement, Lender shall have the right in its sole discretion to determine which rights, Liens, security interests or remedies Lender (or its agent, designee or bailee) may at any time pursue, relinquish, subordinate, or modify, which procedures, timing and methodologies to employ, and what any other action to take with respect to any or all of the Collateral and in what order, thereto and such determination will not in any way modify or affect any of Lender’s rights hereunder as against Loan Parties or each other.

11.3. Setoff . Subject to Section 14.13 and the terms of the Subordination Agreement, in addition to any other rights which Lender may have under Applicable Law, upon the occurrence and continuation of an Event of Default hereunder, Lender shall have a right, immediately and without notice of any kind, to apply any Loan Party’s property held by Lender or any of its Affiliates to reduce the Obligations and to exercise any and all rights of setoff which may be available to Lender with respect to any deposits held by Lender.

11.4. Rights and Remedies not Exclusive . The enumeration of the foregoing rights and remedies is not intended to be exhaustive and the exercise of any rights or remedy shall not preclude the exercise of any other right or remedies provided for herein or otherwise provided by law, all of which shall be cumulative and not alternative.

 

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11.5. Allocation of Payments After Event of Default . Notwithstanding any other provisions of this Agreement to the contrary, after the occurrence and during the continuance of an Event of Default and acceleration of the Obligations (but subject to the terms of the Subordination Agreement), all amounts collected or received by Lender (or its agent, designee or bailee) on account of the Obligations, or in respect of the Collateral may, at Lender (or its agent, designee or bailee)’s discretion, be paid over or delivered as follows:

FIRST, to the payment of all reasonable and documented out-of-pocket costs and expenses (including reasonable and documented attorneys’ fees) of Lender (or its agent, designee or bailee) in connection with enforcing its rights and the rights of Lender under this Agreement and the Other Documents;

SECOND, to payment of any fees owed to Lender;

THIRD, to the payment of all reasonable and documented out-of-pocket costs and expenses (including reasonable and documented fees of one counsel, per each jurisdiction, for the Lender) of the Lender to the extent owing to Lender pursuant to the terms of this Agreement;

FOURTH, to the payment of all Obligations arising under this Agreement and the Other Documents consisting of accrued fees and interest;

FIFTH, to all Obligations arising under this Agreement which shall have become due and payable (hereunder, under the Other Documents or otherwise) and not repaid pursuant to clauses “FIRST” through “FOURTH” above other than in respect of the payment of the Obligations consisting of accrued fees and interest and outstanding principal with respect to the Term Loan or otherwise provided for in this Agreement or the Other Documents;

SIXTH, to the payment of all of the Obligations consisting of accrued interest on account of the Term Loan;

SEVENTH, to the payment of the outstanding principal amount of the Term Loan;

EIGHTH, to all other Obligations which shall have become due and payable and not repaid pursuant to clauses “FIRST” through “SEVENTH”; and

NINTH, to the payment of the surplus, if any, to whoever may be lawfully entitled to receive such surplus.

In carrying out the foregoing, amounts received shall be applied in the numerical order provided until exhausted prior to application to the next succeeding category.

XII. WAIVERS AND JUDICIAL PROCEEDINGS.

12.1. Waiver of Notice . Each Loan Party hereby waives notice of non-payment of any of the Receivables, demand, presentment, protest and notice thereof with respect to any and all instruments, notice of acceptance hereof, notice of loans or advances made, credit extended, Collateral received or delivered, or any other action taken in reliance hereon, and all other demands and notices of any description, except such as are expressly provided for herein.

 

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12.2. Delay . No delay or omission on Lender’s part in exercising any right, remedy or option shall operate as a waiver of such or any other right, remedy or option or of any Default or Event of Default.

12.3. Jury Waiver . EACH PARTY TO THIS AGREEMENT HEREBY EXPRESSLY WAIVES ANY RIGHT TO TRIAL BY JURY OF ANY CLAIM, COUNTERCLAIM, DEMAND, ACTION OR CAUSE OF ACTION (A) ARISING UNDER THIS AGREEMENT, ANY OTHER DOCUMENT OR ANY OTHER INSTRUMENT, DOCUMENT OR AGREEMENT EXECUTED OR DELIVERED IN CONNECTION HEREWITH, OR (B) IN ANY WAY CONNECTED WITH OR RELATED OR INCIDENTAL TO THE DEALINGS OF THE PARTIES HERETO OR ANY OF THEM WITH RESPECT TO THIS AGREEMENT, ANY OTHER DOCUMENT OR ANY OTHER INSTRUMENT, DOCUMENT OR AGREEMENT EXECUTED OR DELIVERED IN CONNECTION HEREWITH, OR THE TRANSACTIONS RELATED HERETO OR THERETO IN EACH CASE WHETHER NOW EXISTING OR HEREAFTER ARISING, AND WHETHER SOUNDING IN CONTRACT OR TORT OR OTHERWISE AND EACH PARTY HEREBY CONSENTS THAT ANY SUCH CLAIM, COUNTERCLAIM, DEMAND, ACTION OR CAUSE OF ACTION SHALL BE DECIDED BY COURT TRIAL WITHOUT A JURY, AND THAT ANY PARTY TO THIS AGREEMENT MAY FILE AN ORIGINAL COUNTERPART OR A COPY OF THIS SECTION WITH ANY COURT AS WRITTEN EVIDENCE OF THE CONSENTS OF THE PARTIES HERETO TO THE WAIVER OF THEIR RIGHT TO TRIAL BY JURY.

XIII. EFFECTIVE DATE AND TERMINATION.

13.1. Term . This Agreement, which shall inure to the benefit of and shall be binding upon the respective successors and permitted assigns of each Loan Party and Lender, shall become effective on the date hereof and shall continue in full force and effect until November 26, 2019 (the “ Term ”) unless sooner terminated as herein provided. Loan Parties may terminate this Agreement at any time upon thirty (30) days prior written notice to Lender upon payment in full of the Obligations.

13.2. Termination . The termination of the Agreement shall not affect Lender’s rights, or any of the Obligations having their inception prior to the effective date of such termination or any Obligations which pursuant to the terms hereof continue to accrue after such date, and the provisions hereof shall continue to be fully operative until all transactions entered into, rights or interests created and Obligations have been fully and indefeasibly paid, disposed of, concluded or liquidated. The security interests, Liens and rights granted to Lender hereunder and the financing statements filed hereunder shall continue in full force and effect, notwithstanding the termination of this Agreement or the fact that Borrower’s Account may from time to time be temporarily in a zero or credit position, until all of the Obligations of Borrower have been indefeasibly paid and performed in full after the termination of this Agreement or Borrower has furnished Lender with an indemnification satisfactory to Lender with respect thereto. Accordingly, Borrower waives any rights which it may have under the Uniform Commercial Code to demand the filing of termination statements with respect to the Collateral, and Lender shall not be required to send such termination statements to Borrower, or to file them with any filing office, unless and until this Agreement shall have been terminated in accordance with its terms and all Obligations have been indefeasibly paid in full in immediately available funds. All representations, warranties, covenants, waivers and agreements contained herein shall survive termination hereof until all Obligations are indefeasibly paid and performed in full.

 

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13.3. Release of Collateral . Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained herein or in any Other Documents, the Lender is hereby irrevocably authorized to take any action requested by the Borrower having the effect of releasing any Collateral or guarantee obligations (i) to the extent necessary to permit consummation of any transaction not prohibited by Other Documents (including, without limitation, (x) the release from the Collateral of any assets disposed to a Person other than a Loan Party in accordance with this Agreement and (y) the release from the Collateral of any assets of any Person that ceases to be a Guarantor in accordance with this Agreement) or that has been consented to.

At such time as (i) the Term Loan and the other Obligations shall have been paid in full and (ii) all claims of the Loan Parties against Lender arising on or before the payment date shall have been released on terms reasonably acceptable to the Lender, the Collateral shall be automatically released from the Liens created by this Agreement and Other Documents and all obligations (other than those expressly stated to survive such termination) of Lender and each Loan Party under the Agreement and Other Documents shall terminate, all without delivery of any instrument or performance of any act by any Person. At such time, Lender shall take such actions as are reasonably necessary, at the cost of the Loan Parties, to effect each release described in this Section 13.3 in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Agreement and Other Documents.

XIV. RESERVED.

XV. RESERVED.

XVI. GUARANTY.

16.1. Each Guarantor hereby unconditionally and absolutely, as a surety, guarantees all Obligations of Borrower. In connection with such guarantee, each Guarantor, as joint and several primary obligor of the Obligations directly incurred by Loan Parties, authorizes Lender (subject to the terms of the Subordination Agreement), without giving notice to Guarantor or obtaining Guarantor’s consent and without affecting the liability of Guarantor for the Obligations directly incurred by Loan Parties, from time to time to: (i) compromise, settle, renew, extend the time for payment, change the manner or terms of payment, discharge the performance of, decline to enforce, or release all or any of the Obligations; grant other indulgences to Loan Parties in respect thereof; or modify in any manner any documents relating to the Obligations; (ii) declare all Obligations due and payable upon the occurrence and during the continuance of an Event of Default; (iii) take and hold security for the performance of the Obligations of Loan Parties and exchange, enforce, waive and release any such security; (iv) apply and reapply such security and direct the order or manner of sale thereof as Lender, in its sole discretion (subject to the terms of the Subordination Agreement), may determine; (v) release, surrender or exchange any deposits or other property securing the Obligations or on which Lender at any time may have a Lien; release, substitute or add any one or more endorsers or guarantors of the Obligations of Loan Parties; or compromise, settle, renew, extend the time for payment, discharge the performance of, decline to enforce, or release all or any obligations of any such endorser or guarantor or other

 

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Person who is now or may hereafter be liable on any Obligations or release, surrender or exchange any deposits or other property of any such Person; (vi) apply payments received by Lender from Loan Parties or any other source to any Obligations, in such order as Lender shall determine, in its sole discretion; and (vii) assign this Agreement in whole or in part.

16.2. Each Guarantor, as a primary, joint and several obligor with respect to the Obligations directly incurred by Loan Parties, waives: (i) any defense based upon any legal disability or other defense of Loan Parties, or by reason of the cessation or limitation of the liability of Loan Parties from any cause (other than full payment of all Obligations), including, without limitation, failure of consideration, breach of warranty, statute of frauds, statute of limitations, accord and satisfaction, and usury; (ii) any defense based upon any legal disability or other defense of any other guarantor or other Person; (iii) any defense based upon any lack of authority of the officers, directors, partners or agents acting or purporting to act on behalf of Loan Parties or any principal of Loan Parties or any defect in the formation of Loan Parties or any principal of Borrower; (iv) any defense based upon the application by Loan Parties of the proceeds of the credit facilities or the Loans for purposes other than the purposes represented by Loan Parties to Lender or intended or understood by Lender or Loan Parties; (v) any defense based on the rights of any Loan Party, under statute or otherwise, to require Lender to sue any other Loan Party or otherwise to exhaust its rights and remedies against any other Loan Party or any other Person or against any collateral before seeking to enforce its right to require such Loan Party to satisfy the Obligations of any other Loan Party; (vi) any defense based on Lender’s failure at any time to require strict performance by any Loan Party of any provision of this Agreement or the Other Documents (and each Guarantor agrees that no such failure shall waive, alter or diminish any right of Lender thereafter to demand strict compliance and performance therewith and nothing contained herein shall prevent Lender from foreclosing on any Lien, or exercising any rights available to Lender thereunder, and the exercise of any such rights shall not constitute a legal or equitable discharge of such Guarantor); (vii) any defense arising from any act or omission of Lender which changes the scope of such Guarantor’s risks hereunder; (viii) any defense based upon Lender’s election of any remedy against such Loan Party or any other Loan Party or any of them; any defense based on the order in which Lender enforces its remedies; (ix) any defense based on (A) Lender’s surrender, release, exchange, substitution, dealing with or taking any additional collateral, (B) Lender’s abstaining from taking advantage of or realizing upon any Lien or other guaranty, and (C) any impairment of collateral securing the Obligations, including, without limitation, Lender’s failure to perfect or maintain a Lien in such collateral; (x) any defense based upon Lender’s failure to disclose to such Loan Party any information concerning any other Loan Party’s financial condition or any other circumstances bearing on any other Loan Party’s ability to pay the Obligations; (xi) any defense based upon any statute or rule of law which provides that the obligation of a surety must be neither larger in amount nor in any other respects more burdensome than that of a principal; (xii) any defense based upon Lender’s election, in any proceeding instituted under the Bankruptcy Code, of the application of Bankruptcy Code §1111(b)(2) or any successor statute; (xiii) any defense based upon any borrowing or any grant of a security interest under Bankruptcy Code §364; (xiv) any defense based on Lender’s failure to be diligent or to satisfy any other standard imposed on a secured party, in exercising rights with respect to collateral securing the Obligations; (xv) except as otherwise expressly set forth herein: notice of acceptance hereof; notice of the existence, creation or acquisition of any Obligation; notice of any Event of Default; notice of the amount of the Obligations outstanding from time to time; notice of any other fact which might increase

 

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such Loan Party’s risk; diligence; presentment; demand of payment; protest; filing of claims with a court in the event of any other Loan Party’s receivership or bankruptcy and all other notices and demands to which such Loan Party might otherwise be entitled (and agrees the same shall not have to be made on the other Loan Party as a condition precedent to such Loan Party’s obligations hereunder); (xvi) any defense based on errors and omissions by Lender in connection with its administration of the credit facilities or the Loans; (xvii) any defense based on application of fraudulent conveyance or transfer law or shareholder distribution law to any of the Obligations or the security therefor; (xviii) any defense based on Lender’s failure to seek relief from stay or adequate protection in any other Loan Party’s bankruptcy proceeding or any other act or omission by Lender which impairs such Loan Party’s prospective subrogation rights; (xix) any defense based on legal prohibition of Lender’s acceleration of the maturity of the Obligations during the occurrence and continuation of an Event of Default or any other legal prohibition on enforcement of any other right or remedy of Lender with respect to the Obligations and the security therefor; (xx) any defense available to a surety under Applicable Law; and (xxi) the benefit of any statute of limitations affecting the liability of such Loan Party hereunder or the enforcement hereof.

16.3. Each Guarantor authorizes Lender to exercise, in its sole discretion, any right, remedy or combination thereof which may then be available to Lender (subject to the terms of the Subordination Agreement), since it is each Guarantor’s intent that the Obligations be absolute, independent and unconditional obligations of such Loan Party under all circumstances. Notwithstanding any foreclosure of any Lien with respect to any or all of any property securing the Obligations, whether by the exercise of the power of sale contained therein, by an action for judicial foreclosure or by an acceptance of a deed in lieu of foreclosure, each Guarantor shall remain bound under its guaranty of the Obligations directly incurred by any other Loan Party.

16.4. This Agreement is a primary and original obligation of each of the Loan Parties and each of the Loan Parties shall be liable for all existing and future Obligations of any other Loan Party as fully as if such Obligations were directly incurred by such Loan Party.

XVII. MISCELLANEOUS.

17.1. Governing Law . This Agreement and each Other Document (unless and except to the extent expressly provided otherwise in any such Other Document), and all matters relating hereto or thereto or arising herefrom or therefrom (whether arising under contract law, tort law or otherwise) shall, in accordance with Section 5-1401 of the General Obligations Law of the State of New York, be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of New York. Any judicial proceeding brought by or against any Loan Party with respect to any of the Obligations, this Agreement, the Other Documents or any related agreement may be brought in any court of competent jurisdiction in the State of New York, United States of America, and, by execution and delivery of this Agreement, each Loan Party accepts for itself and in connection with its properties, generally and unconditionally, the non-exclusive jurisdiction of the aforesaid courts, and irrevocably agrees to be bound by any judgment rendered thereby in connection with this Agreement. Each Loan Party hereby waives personal service of any and all process upon it and consents that all such service of process may be made by certified or registered mail (return receipt requested) directed to Borrower at its address set forth in Section 17.6 and service so made shall be deemed completed five (5) days after the same shall have been so deposited in the

 

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mails of the United States of America, or, at Lender’s option, by service upon Borrower which each Loan Party irrevocably appoints as such Borrower’s agent for the purpose of accepting service within the State of New York. Nothing herein shall affect the right to serve process in any manner permitted by law or shall limit the right of Lender to bring proceedings against any Loan Party in the courts of any other jurisdiction. Each Loan Party waives any objection to jurisdiction and venue of any action instituted hereunder and shall not assert any defense based on lack of jurisdiction or venue or based upon forum non conveniens. Each Loan Party waives the right to remove any judicial proceeding brought against such Loan Party in any state court to any federal court. Any judicial proceeding by any Loan Party against Lender involving, directly or indirectly, any matter or claim in any way arising out of, related to or connected with this Agreement or any related agreement, shall be brought only in a federal or state court located in the County of New York, State of New York.

17.2. Entire Understanding .

(a) This Agreement and the documents executed concurrently herewith contain the entire understanding between Borrower, Guarantors and Lender and supersedes all prior agreements and understandings, if any, relating to the subject matter hereof (except with respect to any other written agreements among the Lender). Any promises, representations, warranties or guarantees not herein contained and hereinafter made shall have no force and effect unless in writing, signed by Borrower’s, each Guarantors’ and Lender’s respective officers. Neither this Agreement nor any portion or provisions hereof may be changed, modified, amended, waived, supplemented, discharged, cancelled or terminated orally or by any course of dealing, or in any manner other than by an agreement in writing, signed by the party to be charged. Each Loan Party acknowledges that it has been advised by counsel in connection with the execution of this Agreement and Other Documents, as applicable, and is not relying upon oral representations or statements inconsistent with the terms and provisions of this Agreement.

(b) Required Lenders and Loan Parties may, subject to the provisions of this Section 17.2(b), from time to time enter into written supplemental agreements to this Agreement or the Other Documents executed by Loan Parties, for the purpose of adding or deleting any provisions or otherwise changing, varying or waiving in any manner the rights of Lender or Loan Parties thereunder or the conditions, provisions or terms thereof or waiving any Event of Default thereunder, but only to the extent specified in such written agreements; provided, however, that no such supplemental agreement shall:

(i) increase the Term Loan Commitment Percentage without the consent of each Lender directly affected thereby;

(ii) extend the Term or the time for payment of principal or interest of any Advance (excluding the due date of any mandatory prepayment of an Advance), or any fee payable to Lender, or reduce the principal amount of or the rate of interest borne by any Advances or reduce any fee payable to Lender, without the consent of each Lender directly affected thereby (except that Required Lenders may elect to waive or rescind any imposition of the Default Rate under Section 3.1);

 

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(iii) alter the definition of the term Required Lenders or alter, amend or modify this Section 17.2(b) without the consent of all Lenders;

(iv) alter, amend or modify the provisions of Section 11.5 without the consent of all Lenders;

(v) release any Collateral (other than in accordance with the provisions of this Agreement, including Section 2.9, or the Subordination Agreement) having the aggregate value in excess of $3,000,000, without the consent of all Lenders;

(vi) change the rights and duties of Lender without the consent of all Lenders;

(vii) release any Guarantor (other than in accordance with the provisions of this Agreement or the terms of the Subordination Agreement) or Borrower without the consent of all Lenders.

(c) Any such supplemental agreement shall apply equally to each Lender and shall be binding upon Loan Parties, Lender and all future holders of the Obligations. In the case of any waiver, Loan Parties and Lender shall be restored to their former positions and rights, and any Event of Default waived shall be deemed to be cured and not continuing, but no waiver of a specific Event of Default shall extend to any subsequent Event of Default (whether or not the subsequent Event of Default is the same as the Event of Default which was waived), or impair any right consequent thereon.

(d) In the event that the consent of Lender is required pursuant to this Section 17.2 and such consent is denied, then Mutual Quest may, at its option, require Lender to assign its interest in the Advances to Mutual Quest or to another Lender or to any other Person designated by Mutual Quest (the “ Designated Lender ”), for a price equal to (i) the then outstanding principal amount thereof plus (ii) accrued and unpaid interest and fees due Lender, which interest and fees shall be paid when collected from Loan Parties. In the event Mutual Quest elects to require Lender to assign its interest to Mutual Quest or to the Designated Lender, Mutual Quest will so notify Lender in writing within forty five (45) days following Lender’s denial, and Lender will assign its interest to Mutual Quest or the Designated Lender no later than five (5) days following receipt of such notice pursuant to a Commitment Transfer Supplement executed by Lender, Mutual Quest and, if applicable, the Designated Lender.

17.3. Successors and Assigns; Participations; New Lenders .

(a) This Agreement shall be binding upon and inure to the benefit of Loan Parties, Lender, all future holders of the Obligations and their respective successors and assigns, except that no Loan Party may assign or transfer any of its rights or obligations under this Agreement without the prior written consent of Lender.

(b) Each Loan Party acknowledges that in the regular course of commercial banking business one or more Lenders may at any time and from time to time sell participating interests in the Advances to other Persons (each such transferee or purchaser of a participating interest, a “ Participant ”). Each Participant may exercise all rights of payment (including rights

 

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of set-off) with respect to the portion of such Advances held by it or other Obligations payable hereunder as fully as if such Participant were the direct holder thereof provided that (i) Loan Parties shall not be required to pay to any Participant more than the amount which it would have been required to pay to Lender which granted an interest in its Advances or other Obligations payable hereunder to such Participant had Lender retained such interest in the Advances hereunder or other Obligations payable hereunder unless the sale of the participation to such Participant is made with Borrower’s prior written consent, and (ii) in no event shall Loan Parties be required to pay any such amount arising from the same circumstances and with respect to the same Advances or other Obligations payable hereunder to both Lender and such Participant. Each Loan Party hereby grants to any Participant a continuing security interest in any deposits, moneys or other property actually or constructively held by such Participant as security for the Participant’s interest in the Advances. The Borrower agrees that each Participant shall be entitled to the benefits of Sections 3.7, 3.9 and 3.10 (subject to the requirements and limitations therein, including the requirements under Section 3.10(e) (it being understood that the documentation required under Section 3.10(e) shall be delivered to the participating Lender)) to the same extent as if it were a Lender and had acquired its interest by assignment pursuant to this Section, but subject to the limitations set forth in this Section 17.3(b). Each Lender that sells a participation shall, acting solely for this purpose as an agent of the Borrower, maintain a register on which it enters the name and address of each Participant and the principal amounts (and stated interest) of each Participant’s interest in the Loans or other obligations under this Agreement or any Other Document (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 this Agreement or any Other Document) to any Person except to the extent that such disclosure is necessary to establish that such commitment, loan, letter of credit or other obligation is in registered form under Section 5f.103-1(c) of the United States Treasury Regulations. The entries in the Participant Register shall be conclusive absent manifest error, and 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, Mutual Quest (in its capacity as Lender) shall have no responsibility for maintaining a Participant Register.

(c) Lender, so long as no Event of Default has occurred and is continuing and such transferee is not a Lending Affiliate of such Lender, Borrower (which consent shall not be unreasonably withheld or delayed, and which consent shall be deemed to have been given unless it shall object thereto by written notice to the Lender within seven (7) Business Days after having received prior written notice thereof), may sell, assign or transfer all or any part of its rights and obligations under or relating to Term Loan under this Agreement and the Other Documents to one or more additional Persons (each a “ Purchasing Lender ”), in minimum amounts of not less than the lesser of (x) $10,000,000 and (y) the entire amount of Term Loan held by the transferor Lender along with all of its Term Loan Commitment Percentages and rights and obligations related thereto, pursuant to a Commitment Transfer Supplement, executed by a Purchasing Lender, the transferor Lender, delivered to Mutual Quest for recording; provided , however , that each partial assignment shall be made as an assignment of a proportionate part of all the assigning Lender’s rights and obligations under this Agreement with respect to the Term Loan in which Lender has an interest; provided , further , that, with respect to any sale, assignment or transfer pursuant to this Section 17.3(c) that does not require consent by Borrower, no

 

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Purchasing Lender shall be entitled to receive any greater payment under Section 3.10 hereof than the assigning Lender would have been entitled to receive with respect to the rights assigned unless such assignment shall have been made at a time when the circumstances giving rise to such greater payment did not exist. Upon such execution, delivery, acceptance and recording, from and after the transfer effective date determined pursuant to such Commitment Transfer Supplement, (i) Purchasing Lender thereunder shall be a party hereto and, to the extent provided in such Commitment Transfer Supplement, have the rights and obligations of a Lender thereunder with a Term Loan Commitment Percentage as set forth therein, and (ii) the transferor Lender thereunder shall, to the extent provided in such Commitment Transfer Supplement, be released from its obligations under this Agreement, the Commitment Transfer Supplement creating a novation for that purpose. Such Commitment Transfer Supplement shall be deemed to amend this Agreement to the extent, and only to the extent, necessary to reflect the addition of such Purchasing Lender and the resulting adjustment of the Term Loan Commitment Percentages arising from the purchase by such Purchasing Lender of all or a portion of the rights and obligations of such transferor Lender under this Agreement and the Other Documents. Each Loan Party hereby consents to the addition of such Purchasing Lender and the resulting adjustment of the Term Loan Commitment Percentages arising from the purchase by such Purchasing Lender of all or a portion of the rights and obligations of such transferor Lender under this Agreement and the Other Documents. Loan Parties shall execute and deliver such further documents and do such further acts and things in order to effectuate the foregoing. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in the foregoing, no Purchasing Lender may be a Loan Party, Sponsor, Fortress Investment Group LLC or any Affiliate of any of the foregoing.

(d) Lender, so long as no Event of Default has occurred and is continuing and such transferee is not a Lending Affiliate of such Lender, Borrower (which consent shall not be unreasonably withheld or delayed, and which consent shall be deemed to have been given unless it shall object thereto by written notice to the Lender within seven (7) Business Days after having received prior written notice thereof)), may directly or indirectly sell, assign or transfer all or any portion of its rights and obligations under or relating to the Term Loan under this Agreement and the Other Documents to an entity, whether a corporation, partnership, trust, limited liability company or other entity that (i) is engaged in making, purchasing, holding or otherwise investing in bank loans and similar extensions of credit in the ordinary course of its business and (ii) is administered, serviced or managed by the assigning Lender or an Affiliate of Lender (a “ Purchasing CLO ” and together with each Participant and Purchasing Lender, each a “ Transferee ” and collectively the “ Transferees ”), pursuant to a Commitment Transfer Supplement modified as appropriate to reflect the interest being assigned (“ Modified Commitment Transfer Supplement ”), executed by any intermediate purchaser, the Purchasing CLO, the transferor Lender as appropriate and delivered to Mutual Quest for recording; provided, further, with respect to any sale, assignment or transfer pursuant to this Section 17.3(d) that does not require consent by Borrower, no Purchasing Lender shall be entitled to receive any greater payment under Section 3.10 hereof than the assigning Lender would have been entitled to receive with respect to the rights assigned unless such assignment shall have been made at a time when the circumstances giving rise to such greater payment did not exist. Upon such execution and delivery, from and after the transfer effective date determined pursuant to such Modified Commitment Transfer Supplement, (i) Purchasing CLO thereunder shall be a party hereto and, to the extent provided in such Modified Commitment Transfer Supplement, have the rights and obligations of a Lender thereunder and (ii) the transferor Lender thereunder shall, to the extent

 

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provided in such Modified Commitment Transfer Supplement, be released from its obligations under this Agreement, the Modified Commitment Transfer Supplement creating a novation for that purpose. Such Modified Commitment Transfer Supplement shall be deemed to amend this Agreement to the extent, and only to the extent, necessary to reflect the addition of such Purchasing CLO. Each Loan Party hereby consents to the addition of such Purchasing CLO. Loan Parties shall execute and deliver such further documents and do such further acts and things in order to effectuate the foregoing. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in the foregoing, no Purchasing CLO may be a Loan Party, Sponsor, Fortress Investment Group LLC or any Affiliate of any of the foregoing.

(e) Mutual Quest shall maintain at its address in the United States a copy of each Commitment Transfer Supplement and Modified Commitment Transfer Supplement delivered to it and a register (the “ Register ”) for the recordation of the names and addresses of each Lender and the outstanding principal, accrued and unpaid interest and other fees due hereunder. The entries in the Register shall be conclusive, in the absence of manifest error, and each Loan Party, Lender may treat each Person whose name is recorded in the Register as the owner of the Advance recorded therein for the purposes of this Agreement. The Register shall be available for inspection by Borrower or Lender at any reasonable time and from time to time upon reasonable prior notice. Mutual Quest shall receive a fee in the amount of $3,500 payable by the applicable Purchasing Lender and/or Purchasing CLO upon the effective date of each transfer or assignment (other than to an intermediate purchaser) to such Purchasing Lender and/or Purchasing CLO.

(f) Each Loan Party authorizes Lender to disclose to any Transferee and any prospective Transferee, subject to Section 17.15 of this Agreement, any and all financial information in Lender’s possession concerning such Loan Party which has been delivered to Lender by or on behalf of such Loan Party pursuant to this Agreement or in connection with Lender’s credit evaluation of such Loan Party.

(g) Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in this Agreement, Lender may at any time and from time to time pledge or assign a security interest in all or any portion of its rights under this Agreement to secure obligations of Lender, including any pledge or assignment to secure obligations to a Federal Reserve Bank; provided that no such pledge or assignment shall release Lender from any of its obligations hereunder or substitute any such pledgee or assignee for Lender as a party hereto.

17.4. Application of Payments . Lender shall have the continuing and exclusive right to apply or reverse and re-apply any payment and any and all proceeds of Collateral to any portion of the Obligations. To the extent that any Loan Party makes a payment or Lender receives any payment or proceeds of the Collateral for any Loan Party’s benefit, which are subsequently invalidated, declared to be fraudulent or preferential, set aside or required to be repaid to a trustee, debtor in possession, receiver, custodian or any other party under any bankruptcy law, common law or equitable cause, then, to such extent, the Obligations or part thereof intended to be satisfied shall be revived and continue as if such payment or proceeds had not been received by Lender.

 

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17.5. Indemnity . Each Loan Party shall, on a joint and several basis, defend, protect, indemnify, pay and save harmless Lender and its officers, directors, Affiliates, attorneys, employees and agents (each an “ Indemnified Party ”) for and from and against any and all claims, demands, liabilities, obligations, losses, damages, penalties, fines, actions, judgments, suits, costs, charges, expenses and disbursements of any kind or nature whatsoever (including reasonable and documented fees and disbursements of counsel) (collectively, “ Claims ”) which may be imposed on, incurred by, or asserted against any Indemnified Party in arising out of or in any way relating to or as a consequence, direct or indirect, of: (i) this Agreement, the Other Documents, the Advances and other Obligations and/or the transactions contemplated hereby including the Transactions, (ii) any action or failure to act or action taken only after delay or the satisfaction of any conditions by any Indemnified Party in connection with and/or relating to the negotiation, execution, delivery or administration of the Agreement and the Other Documents, the credit facilities established hereunder and thereunder and/or the transactions contemplated hereby including the Transactions, (iii) Borrower’s or any Guarantor’s failure to observe, perform or discharge any of its covenants, obligations, agreements or duties under or breach of any of the representations or warranties made in this Agreement and the Other Documents, (iv) the enforcement of any of the rights and remedies of Lender under the Agreement and the Other Documents, (v) any threatened or actual imposition of fines or penalties, or disgorgement of benefits, for violation of any Anti-Terrorism Law by Borrower, any Affiliate or Subsidiary of any Borrower, or any Guarantor, and (vi) any claim, litigation, proceeding or investigation instituted or conducted by any Governmental Body or instrumentality or any other Person with respect to any aspect of, or any transaction contemplated by, or referred to in, or any matter related to, this Agreement or the Other Documents, whether or not Lender is a party thereto. Without limiting the generality of any of the foregoing, Borrower shall defend, protect, indemnify, pay and save harmless each Indemnified Party from (x) any Claims which may be imposed on, incurred by, or asserted against any Indemnified Party arising out of or in any way relating to or as a consequence, direct or indirect, of the issuance of any Letter of Credit hereunder and (y) any Claims which may be imposed on, incurred by, or asserted against any Indemnified Party under any Environmental Laws with respect to or in connection with the Real Property, any Hazardous Discharge, the presence of any Hazardous Materials affecting the Real Property (whether or not the same originates or emerges from the Real Property or any contiguous real estate), including any Claims consisting of or relating to the imposition or assertion of any Lien on any of the Real Property under any Environmental Laws and any loss of value of the Real Property as a result of the foregoing except to the extent such loss, liability, damage and expense is attributable to any Hazardous Discharge resulting from actions on the part of Lender. Borrower’s obligations under this Section 17.5 shall arise upon the discovery of the presence of any Hazardous Materials at the Real Property, whether or not any federal, state, or local environmental agency has taken or threatened any action in connection with the presence of any Hazardous Materials, in each such case except to the extent that any of the foregoing arises out of the willful misconduct of the Indemnified Party (as determined by a court of competent jurisdiction in a final and non-appealable judgment). Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, this indemnity shall extend to any liabilities, obligations, losses, damages, penalties, actions, judgments, suits, costs, expenses and disbursements of any kind or nature whatsoever (including fees and disbursements of counsel) asserted against or incurred by any of the Indemnified Parties by any Person under any Environmental Laws or similar laws by reason of any Loan Party’s or any other Person’s failure to comply with laws applicable to solid or

 

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hazardous waste materials, including Hazardous Materials and Hazardous Waste, or other Toxic Substances. Additionally, if any taxes (excluding taxes imposed upon or measured solely by the net income of Lender, but including any intangibles taxes, stamp tax, recording tax or franchise tax) shall be payable by Lender or Loan Parties on account of the execution or delivery of this Agreement, or the execution, delivery, issuance or recording of any of the Other Documents, or the creation or repayment of any of the Obligations hereunder, by reason of any Applicable Law now or hereafter in effect, Loan Parties will pay (or will promptly reimburse Lender for payment of) all such taxes, including interest and penalties thereon, and will indemnify and hold the Indemnified Parties harmless from and against all liability in connection therewith. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Borrower shall have no obligation to any Indemnified Party under this Section 17.5 with respect to any liability that a court of competent jurisdiction finally determines to have resulted from the gross negligence or willful misconduct of such Indemnified Party or its officers, directors, employees, attorneys, or agents.

17.6. Notice . Any notice or request hereunder may be given to Borrower or any Guarantor or to Lender at their respective addresses set forth below or at such other address as may hereafter be specified in a notice designated as a notice of change of address under this Section. Any notice, request, demand, direction or other communication (for purposes of this Section 17.6 only, a “Notice”) to be given to or made upon any party hereto under any provision of this Agreement shall be given or made by telephone or in writing (which includes by means of electronic transmission (i.e., “ e-mail ”) or facsimile transmission or by setting forth such Notice on a website to which Borrower are directed (an “ Internet Posting ”) if Notice of such Internet Posting (including the information necessary to access such site) has previously been delivered to the applicable parties hereto by another means set forth in this Section 17.6) in accordance with this Section 17.6. Any such Notice must be delivered to the applicable parties hereto at the addresses and numbers set forth under their respective names on Section 17.6 hereof or in accordance with any subsequent unrevoked Notice from any such party that is given in accordance with this Section 17.6. Any Notice shall be effective:

(a) In the case of hand-delivery, when delivered;

(b) If given by mail, four (4) days after such Notice is deposited with the United States Postal Service, with first-class postage prepaid, return receipt requested;

(c) In the case of a telephonic Notice, when a party is contacted by telephone, if delivery of such telephonic Notice is confirmed no later than the next Business Day by hand delivery, a facsimile or electronic transmission, an Internet Posting or an overnight courier delivery of a confirmatory Notice (received at or before noon on such next Business Day);

(d) In the case of a facsimile transmission, when sent to the applicable party’s facsimile machine’s telephone number, if the party sending such Notice receives confirmation of the delivery thereof from its own facsimile machine;

(e) In the case of electronic transmission, when actually received;

 

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(f) In the case of an Internet Posting, upon delivery of a Notice of such posting (including the information necessary to access such site) by another means set forth in this Section 17.6; and

(g) If given by any other means (including by overnight courier), when actually received.

 

  (A) If to Lender or Mutual Quest at:

Mutual Quest Fund

c/o Franklin Mutual Advisers, LLC

101 John F. Kennedy Pkwy

Short Hills, NJ 07078

Attention:         Steve Luksteid/Kathy Pintarelli

Telephone:        973-912-2141 / 973-912-2124

Group Email:                 DistressedOps@msfi.com

 

  (B) If to a Lender other than Mutual Quest, as specified on their signature page to the Commitment Transfer Supplement

 

  (D) If to Borrower or any Guarantor:

c/o GateHouse Media, Inc.

350 Willowbrook Office Park

Fairport, New York 14450

Attention:     Chief Executive Officer

Telephone:    (585) 598-0029

Facsimile:       (585) 248-2631

with a copy to:

c/o GateHouse Media, Inc.

350 Willowbrook Office Park

Fairport, New York 14450

Attention:     General Counsel

Telephone:    (585) 598-0032

Facsimile:       (585) 248-9562

17.7. Survival . The obligations of Loan Parties under Sections 2.2(g), 2.2(h), 3.7, 3.8, 3.9, 3.10, 17.5 and 17.9 and the obligations of Lender under Sections 2.2 and 16.5, shall survive termination of this Agreement and the Other Documents and payment in full of the Obligations.

17.8. Severability . If any part of this Agreement is contrary to, prohibited by, or deemed invalid under Applicable Laws, such provision shall be inapplicable and deemed omitted to the extent so contrary, prohibited or invalid, but the remainder hereof shall not be invalidated thereby and shall be given effect so far as possible.

 

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17.9. Expenses . Loan Parties shall pay (i) all reasonable and documented out-of-pocket expenses incurred by Lender and its Affiliates in connection with the syndication of the credit facilities provided for herein, the preparation, negotiation, execution, delivery and administration of this Agreement and the Other Documents or any amendments, modifications or waivers of the provisions hereof or thereof (whether or not the transactions contemplated hereby or thereby shall be consummated), (ii) all reasonable and documented out-of-pocket expenses incurred by Lender in connection with the enforcement or protection of its rights (A) in connection with this Agreement and the Other Documents, including its rights under this Section, or (B) in connection with the Advances made hereunder, including all such out-of-pocket expenses incurred during any workout, restructuring or negotiations in respect of such Loans, and (iv) all reasonable and documented out-of-pocket expenses of Lender’s regular employees and agents engaged periodically to perform audits of the any Loan Party’s books, records and business properties.

17.10. Injunctive Relief . Each Loan Party recognizes that, in the event any Loan Party fails to perform, observe or discharge any of its obligations or liabilities under this Agreement, or threatens to fail to perform, observe or discharge such obligations or liabilities, any remedy at law may prove to be inadequate relief to Lender; therefore, Lender, if Lender so requests, shall be entitled to temporary and permanent injunctive relief in any such case without the necessity of proving that actual damages are not an adequate remedy.

17.11. Consequential Damages . Neither Lender nor any attorney for Lender, shall be liable to any Loan Party (or any Affiliate of any such Person) for indirect, punitive, exemplary or consequential damages arising from any breach of contract, tort or other wrong relating to the establishment, administration or collection of the Obligations or as a result of any transaction contemplated under this Agreement or any Other Document.

17.12. Captions . The captions at various places in this Agreement are intended for convenience only and do not constitute and shall not be interpreted as part of this Agreement.

17.13. Counterparts; Facsimile Signatures . This Agreement may be executed in any number of and by different parties hereto on separate counterparts, all of which, when so executed, shall be deemed an original, but all such counterparts shall constitute one and the same agreement. Any signature delivered by a party by facsimile or electronic transmission (including email transmission of a PDF image) shall be deemed to be an original signature hereto.

17.14. C onstruction . The parties acknowledge that each party and (if applicable) its counsel have reviewed this Agreement and that the normal rule of construction to the effect that any ambiguities are to be resolved against the drafting party shall not be employed in the interpretation of this Agreement or any amendments, schedules or exhibits thereto.

17.15. Confidentiality; Sharing Information . Lender and each Transferee shall hold all non-public information obtained by Lender or such Transferee pursuant to the requirements of this Agreement in accordance with Lender’s and such Transferee’s customary procedures for handling confidential information of this nature and such non-public information shall not be disclosed by Lender or such Transferee to Persons who are not parties to this Agreement; provided, however , Lender and each Transferee may disclose such confidential information (a) to its examiners, Affiliates, outside auditors, counsel and other professional advisors (so long as the

 

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Persons to whom such disclosure is made are informed of the confidential nature of such information and have agreed or are otherwise obligated to keep such information confidential), (b) to Lender or to any prospective Transferees, or to funding and financing sources of Lender and (c) as required or requested by any Governmental Body or representative thereof or pursuant to legal process; provided , further that (i) unless specifically prohibited by Applicable Law, Lender and each Transferee shall use its reasonable best efforts prior to disclosure thereof, to notify the applicable Loan Party of the applicable request for disclosure of such non-public information (A) by a Governmental Body or representative thereof (other than any such request in connection with an examination of the financial condition of a Lender or a Transferee by such Governmental Body) or (B) pursuant to legal process, (ii) any disclosure under subclauses (A) and (B) shall be limited to the portion of information as may be required by such Governmental Body pursuant to such legal process and (iii) in no event shall Lender or any Transferee be obligated to return any materials furnished by Borrower other than those documents and instruments in possession of Lender in order to perfect its Lien on the Collateral once the Obligations have been paid in full and this Agreement has been terminated. Each Loan Party acknowledges that from time to time financial advisory, investment banking and other services may be offered or provided to such Loan Party or one or more of its Affiliates (in connection with this Agreement or otherwise) by Lender or by one or more Subsidiaries or Affiliates of Lender and each Loan Party hereby authorizes Lender to share any information delivered to Lender by such Loan Party and its Subsidiaries pursuant to this Agreement, or in connection with the decision of Lender to enter into this Agreement, to any such Subsidiary or Affiliate of Lender, it being understood that any such Subsidiary or Affiliate of Lender receiving such information shall be bound by the provisions of this Section 17.15 as if it were a Lender hereunder. Such authorization shall survive the repayment of the other Obligations and the termination of this Agreement. Notwithstanding any non-disclosure agreement or similar document executed by Lender in favor of any Loan Party or any of any Loan Party’s affiliates, the provisions of this Agreement shall supersede such agreements.

17.16. Publicity . Each Loan Party and Lender hereby authorizes Lender to make appropriate announcements of the financial arrangement entered into among Loan Party, Lender, including announcements which are commonly known as tombstones, in such publications and to such selected parties as Lender shall in its sole and absolute discretion deem appropriate.

17.17. Certifications From Banks and Participants; USA PATRIOT Act .

(a) Lender or assignee or participant of Lender that is not incorporated under the Laws of the United States of America or a state thereof (and is not excepted from the certification requirement contained in Section 313 of the USA PATRIOT Act and the applicable regulations because it is both (i) an affiliate of a depository institution or foreign bank that maintains a physical presence in the United States or foreign country, and (ii) subject to supervision by a banking authority regulating such affiliated depository institution or foreign bank) shall deliver to the Lender the certification, or, if applicable, recertification, certifying that Lender is not a “shell” and certifying to other matters as required by Section 313 of the USA PATRIOT Act and the applicable regulations: (1) within ten (10) days after the Closing Date, and (2) as such other times as are required under the USA PATRIOT Act.

 

95


(b) The USA PATRIOT Act requires all financial institutions to obtain, verify and record certain information that identifies individuals or business entities which open an “account” with such financial institution. Consequently, Lender may from time to time request, and each Loan Party shall provide to Lender, such Loan Party’s name, address, tax identification number and/or such other identifying information as shall be necessary for Lender to comply with the USA PATRIOT Act and any other Anti-Terrorism Law.

17.18. Anti-Terrorism Laws .

(a) Each Loan Party represents and warrants that (i) no Covered Entity is a Sanctioned Person and (ii) no Covered Entity, either in its own right or through any third party, (A) has any of its assets in a Sanctioned Country or in the possession, custody or control of a Sanctioned Person in violation of any Anti-Terrorism Law; (B) does business in or with, or derives any of its income from investments in or transactions with, any Sanctioned Country or Sanctioned Person in violation of any Anti-Terrorism Law; or (C) engages in any dealings or transactions prohibited by any Anti-Terrorism Law.

(b) Each Loan Party covenants and agrees that (i) no Covered Entity will become a Sanctioned Person, (ii) no Covered Entity, either in its own right or through any third party, will (A) have any of its assets in a Sanctioned Country or in the possession, custody or control of a Sanctioned Person in violation of any Anti-Terrorism Law; (B) do business in or with, or derive any of its income from investments in or transactions with, any Sanctioned Country or Sanctioned Person in violation of any Anti-Terrorism Law; (C) engage in any dealings or transactions prohibited by any Anti-Terrorism Law or (D) use the Advances to fund any operations in, finance any investments or activities in, or, make any payments to, a Sanctioned Country or Sanctioned Person in violation of any Anti-Terrorism Law, (iii) the funds used to repay the Obligations will not be derived from any unlawful activity, (iv) each Covered Entity shall comply with all Anti-Terrorism Laws and (v) the Loan Parties shall promptly notify the Lender in writing upon the occurrence of a Reportable Compliance Event.

 

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Each of the parties has signed this Agreement as of the day and year first above written.

 

GATEHOUSE MEDIA INTERMEDIATE HOLDCO, INC ., as Borrower
By:  

/s/ Melinda A. Janik

  Name: Melinda A. Janik
  Title: Chief Financial Officer

Subsidiary Guarantors:

 

COPLEY OHIO NEWSPAPERS, INC.

ENHE ACQUISITION, LLC

ENTERPRISE NEWSMEDIA HOLDING, LLC

ENTERPRISE NEWSMEDIA, LLC

ENTERPRISE PUBLISHING COMPANY, LLC

GATEHOUSE MEDIA ARKANSAS HOLDINGS,
INC.

GATEHOUSE MEDIA CALIFORNIA HOLDINGS, INC.

GATEHOUSE MEDIA COLORADO HOLDINGS, INC.

GATEHOUSE MEDIA CONNECTICUT
HOLDINGS, INC.

GATEHOUSE MEDIA CORNING HOLDINGS, INC.

GATEHOUSE MEDIA DELAWARE HOLDINGS,
INC.

GATEHOUSE MEDIA DIRECTORIES
HOLDINGS, INC.

By:  

/s/ Melinda A. Janik

  Name: Melinda A. Janik
  Title:Chief Financial Officer

[SIGNATURE PAGE TO SECOND LIEN TERM LOAN AND SECURITY AGREEMENT]


Subsidiary Guarantors (Continued):

GATEHOUSE MEDIA FLORIDA HOLDINGS,
INC.

GATEHOUSE MEDIA FREEPORT HOLDINGS,
INC.

GATEHOUSE MEDIA HOLDCO, INC.

GATEHOUSE MEDIA ILLINOIS HOLDINGS II,
INC.

GATEHOUSE MEDIA ILLINOIS HOLDINGS,
INC.

GATEHOUSE MEDIA IOWA HOLDINGS, INC.

GATEHOUSE MEDIA KANSAS HOLDINGS II,
INC.

GATEHOUSE MEDIA KANSAS HOLDINGS, INC.

GATEHOUSE MEDIA LANSING PRINTING, INC.

GATEHOUSE MEDIA LOUISIANA HOLDINGS,
INC.

GATEHOUSE MEDIA MANAGEMENT
SERVICES, INC.

GATEHOUSE MEDIA MASSACHUSETTS I, INC.

GATEHOUSE MEDIA MASSACHUSETTS II, INC.

GATEHOUSE MEDIA MICHIGAN HOLDINGS II,
INC.

GATEHOUSE MEDIA MICHIGAN HOLDINGS,
INC.

GATEHOUSE MEDIA MINNESOTA HOLDINGS,
INC.

GATEHOUSE MEDIA MISSOURI HOLDINGS II,
INC.

GATEHOUSE MEDIA MISSOURI HOLDINGS,
INC.

GATEHOUSE MEDIA NEBRASKA HOLDINGS II,
INC.

GATEHOUSE MEDIA NEBRASKA HOLDINGS,
INC.

GATEHOUSE MEDIA NEVADA HOLDINGS, INC.
By:  

/s/ Melinda A. Janik

  Name: Melinda A. Janik
  Title: Chief Financial Officer

[SIGNATURE PAGE TO SECOND LIEN TERM LOAN AND SECURITY AGREEMENT]


Subsidiary Guarantors (Continued):

GATEHOUSE MEDIA NEW YORK HOLDINGS,
INC.

GATEHOUSE MEDIA NORTH DAKOTA
HOLDINGS, INC.

GATEHOUSE MEDIA OHIO HOLDINGS, INC.

GATEHOUSE MEDIA OKLAHOMA HOLDINGS,
INC.

GATEHOUSE MEDIA OPERATING, INC.

GATEHOUSE MEDIA PENNSYLVANIA
HOLDINGS, INC.

GATEHOUSE MEDIA SUBURBAN
NEWSPAPERS, INC.

GATEHOUSE MEDIA TENNESSEE HOLDINGS,
INC.

GATEHOUSE MEDIA VENTURES, INC.

GEORGE W. PRESCOTT PUBLISHING
COMPANY, LLC

MINERAL DAILY NEWS TRIBUNE, INC.

NEWS LEADER, INC.

SUREWEST DIRECTORIES TERRY NEWSPAPERS, INC.

THE PEORIA JOURNAL STAR, INC.

LIBERTY SMC, L.L.C.

LOW REALTY, LLC
LRT FOUR HUNDRED, LLC
By:  

/s/ Melinda A. Janik

  Name: Melinda A. Janik
  Title: Chief Financial Officer

[SIGNATURE PAGE TO SECOND LIEN TERM LOAN AND SECURITY AGREEMENT]

 


GATEHOUSE MEDIA, INC., as Guarantor

By:

 

/s/ Melinda A. Janik

  Name: Melinda A. Janik
  Title: Chief Financial Officer

[SIGNATURE PAGE TO SECOND LIEN TERM LOAN AND SECURITY AGREEMENT]


MUTUAL QUEST FUND

As Lender

By: FRANKLIN MUTUAL ADVISERS, LLC
      Its Investment Advisor
By:   /s/ Shawn Tumulty
Name:   Shawn Tumulty
Title:   Vice President

c/o Franklin Mutual Advisers, LLC

101 John F. Kennedy Pkwy

Short Hills, NJ 07078

Term Loan Commitment Percentage: 100%

Term Loan Commitment Amount $50,000,000

[SIGNATURE PAGE TO SECOND LIEN TERM LOAN AND SECURITY AGREEMENT]


EXHIBIT 1.2(a)

COMPLIANCE CERTIFICATE

(Attached)


EXHIBIT 1.2(a)

FORM OF COMPLIANCE CERTIFICATE

Mutual Quest Fund

c/o Franklin Mutual Advisers, LLC

101 John F. Kennedy Pkwy

Short Hills, NJ 07078

Attention: Steve Luksteid/Kathy Pintarelli

Telephone: 973-912-2141 / 973-912-2124

Group Email: DistressedOps@msfi.com

Each undersigned, not individually but in such undersigned’s capacity as the Chief Financial Officer or [Chief Executive Officer] [President], as applicable, of GateHouse Media Intermediate Holdco, Inc. (“GMIH”), as Borrower, delivers this certificate to Mutual Quest Fund (the “Lender”), pursuant to Sections 9.7, 9.8, 9.13 and 9.17, as applicable 1 , of that certain Term Loan and Security Agreement dated November 23, 2013, among GMIH, the subsidiary guarantors party thereto (the “Subsidiary Guarantors”), GateHouse Media, Inc. (“Holdco”, and together with GMIH and the Subsidiary Guarantors, the “Loan Parties”) and the Lender (as may be supplemented, restated, superseded, amended or replaced from time to time, the “Loan Agreement”). Capitalized terms used in this certificate and not otherwise defined herein shall have the meanings ascribed to them in the Loan Agreement.

SECTION I:

 

  A. Attached hereto as Schedule “A” are copies of the financial statements of the Loan Parties required to be delivered pursuant to Sections 9.7 or 9.8 of the Loan Agreement, as applicable, for the fiscal period ending                             , 20         2 (the “Financial Statements”).

 

  B. Based upon my review of the Financial Statements, I hereby certify that as of the date indicated in Paragraph A above:

 

  (1) The Loan Parties were in compliance with the requirements of Sections 7.4, 7.5, 7.6, 7.7, 7.8, and 7.10 of the Loan Agreement;

 

  (2) The Fixed Charge Coverage Ratio was                          to 1.0, measured pursuant to Section 6.5(a) of the Loan Agreement. 3

 

1   Yearly financials to be delivered within 90 days after the end of each fiscal year and quarterly financials within 45 days after the end of each fiscal quarter.
2   2 For financial statements delivered pursuant to Sections 9.7 and 9.8, such date shall be the end of the fiscal quarter or year end, as applicable.
3   Minimum required: See covenant (6.5(a))


  (3) The Maximum Leverage Ratio was                          to 1.0, measured pursuant to Section 6.5(b) of the Loan Agreement. 4

 

  (4) The Loan Parties’ EBITDA was $                , measured on a rolling four-quarter basis pursuant to Section 6.5(c) of the Loan Agreement. 5

Attached as Schedule “B” are the details underlying such financial covenant calculations.

 

  C. No Default exists on the date hereof, other than:                                          [if none, so state];

 

  D. No Event of Default exists on the date hereof, other than:                                      [if none, so state].

 

  E. Attached hereto as Schedule “C” is a written report summarizing all material variances from budgets submitted by Loan Parties pursuant to Section 9.12 of the Loan Agreement and a discussion and analysis by management with respect to such variances.

 

  F. Attached hereto as Schedule “D” are updates (if any) to Schedules 4.4 (Locations of equipment and Inventory), 5.2(a) (States of Qualification and Good Standing), 5.2(b) (Subsidiaries), 5.6 (Prior Names), 5.7 (Environmental), 5.8(d) (Plans), 5.9 (Intellectual Property), 5.10 (Licenses and Permits), 5.14 (Labor Disputes), 5.17 (Disclosure), 5.24 (Equity Interests), 5.25 (Commercial Tort Claims), 5.26 (Letter-of- Credit Rights) and 5.27 (Material Contracts) of the Loan Agreement.

SECTION II:

To the best of the [Chief Executive Officer’s] [President’s] knowledge, each of the Loan Parties is in compliance in all material respects with applicable Environmental Laws on the date hereof. [if not in compliance, set forth with specificity all areas of non-compliance and the proposed action such Loan Party will implement in order to achieve full compliance] .

As to the statements and certifications set forth in Section I:

 

By:    
Name: [                                         ]
Title:  

Chief Financial Officer of

GateHouse Media Intermediate Holdco, Inc.

as Borrower

 

4   Minimum required: See covenant (6.5(b))
5   Minimum required: See covenant (6.5(c))


As to the statements and certifications set forth in Section II:

 

By:    
Name:   [                                ]
Title:   [Chief Executive Officer][President] of GateHouse Media Intermediate Holdco, Inc. as Borrower


EXHIBIT 1.2(b)

SUBORDINATION AGREEMENT

(Attached)


Execution Version

INTERCREDITOR AND SUBORDINATION AGREEMENT

This INTERCREDITOR AND SUBORDINATION AGREEMENT (as the same may be amended, restated, supplemented or otherwise modified, this “ Agreement ”) is dated as of November 26, 2013, and entered into by and among PNC BANK, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION (as administrative agent for the Lenders, “ PNC ”), CRYSTAL FINANCIAL LLC (as Term Loan B agent for the Term Loan B Lenders, “ Crystal ”, together with PNC, collectively, the “ Senior Creditors ” and each individually, a “ Senior Creditor ”), for and on behalf of the Senior Creditors and each other Senior Claimholder from time to time, and MUTUAL QUEST FUND (the “ Subordinated Creditor ”).

RECITALS

WHEREAS, the Senior Creditors have made, or in the future may make, credit accommodations available to the Borrowers pursuant to the terms and provisions of that certain Revolving Credit, Term Loan and Security Agreement dated as of November 26, 2013, by and among the Senior Creditors, GATEHOUSE MEDIA INTERMEDIATE HOLDCO, INC., a corporation organized under the laws of the State of Delaware (the “ Company ”) GATEHOUSE MEDIA HOLDCO, INC., a corporation organized under the laws of the State of Delaware (the “ GMH ”), GATEHOUSE MEDIA OPERATING, INC., a corporation organized under the laws of the State of Delaware (the “ GMO ”, together with the Company, GMH, each additional borrower set forth on Schedule I thereto, and each Person joined thereto as a borrower from time to time, collectively, the “ Borrowers ”, and each a “ Borrower ”), GATEHOUSE MEDIA, INC., a corporation organized under the laws of the State of Delaware (“ Holdco ” and each Person joined thereto as a guarantor from time to time, collectively, the “ Guarantors ”, and each a “ Guarantor ”), the financial institutions which are now or which hereafter become a party thereto (as amended, restated, supplemented or otherwise modified from time to time, the “ Senior Credit Agreement ”);

WHEREAS, the Subordinated Creditor has made, or in the future may make, credit accommodations available to the Borrowers pursuant to the terms and provisions of that certain Term Loan and Security Agreement dated as of November 26, 2013, by and among the Subordinated Creditor and the Obligors (as amended, restated, supplemented or otherwise modified from time to time, the “ Subordinated Credit Agreement ”); and

WHEREAS, the obligations of the Obligors under the Senior Credit Agreement are secured on a senior priority basis by liens on all or substantially all of the assets of Obligors, pursuant to the terms of certain of the Senior Loan Documents;

WHEREAS, the obligations of the Obligors under the Subordinated Credit Agreement are secured on a junior priority basis by liens on all or substantially all of the assets of Obligors, pursuant to the terms of certain of the Subordinated Loan Documents;

WHEREAS, one of the conditions of the Senior Credit Agreement is that (1) the Senior Obligations be senior and prior in right of payment to the Subordinated Obligations as set forth in this Agreement, and (2) the priority of Senior Creditors’ security interests in and liens on the Collateral be senior and prior to the Subordinated Creditor’s security interests in and liens on the Collateral as set forth in this Agreement; and

 

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WHEREAS, Subordinated Creditor and the other Subordinated Claimholders have agreed to (1) the subordination of the Subordinated Obligations to the Senior Obligations upon the terms and subject to the conditions set forth in this Agreement; and (2) the subordination of their Liens to the Liens of Senior Creditors upon the terms and subject to the conditions set forth in this Agreement.

Each Senior Creditor and each of the Subordinated Claimholders hereby agree as follows:

1. Definitions .

(a) Defined Terms . As used in this Agreement, the following terms shall have the following meanings:

Administrative Agent Senior Creditor ” means the Administrative Agent under the Senior Loan Documents.

Agreement ” has the meaning set forth in the preamble to this Agreement.

Bank Product Obligations ” shall mean Cash Management Obligations and Hedging Obligations.

Bankruptcy Code ” means Title 11 of the United States Code entitled “Bankruptcy”, as now or hereafter in effect, any successor statute, or any analogous statute in any foreign jurisdiction.

Bankruptcy Law ” means the Bankruptcy Code and any other federal, state, provincial or foreign law for the relief of debtors.

Blockage Period ” means a Covenant Blockage Period or a Payment Blockage Period.

Borrowers ” has the meaning set forth in the recitals to this Agreement.

Business Day ” means any day other than Saturday or Sunday or a legal holiday on which commercial banks are authorized or required by law to be closed for business in East Brunswick, New Jersey and, if the applicable Business Day relates to any LIBOR Rate Loans, such day must also be a day on which dealings are carried on in the London interbank market.

Cash Collateral ” has the meaning set forth in Section 5(b) .

Cash Management Obligations ” means, with respect to any Person, the indebtedness, obligations and liabilities of such Person in connection with (a) credit cards; (b) credit card processing services; (c) debit cards and stored value cards; (d) commercial cards; (e) ACH transactions; and (f) cash management and treasury management services and products, including without limitation controlled disbursement accounts or services, lockboxes, automated clearinghouse transactions, overdrafts, interstate depository network services (including all obligations and liabilities owing to such provider in respect of any returned items deposited with such provider).

Collateral ” means all assets and property (whether real, personal, or mixed) now owned or hereafter acquired by any Obligor in or upon which a Lien is granted under any of the Senior Loan Documents and any of the Subordinated Loan Documents and all products and Proceeds of any of the foregoing.

 

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Collection Action ” means (a) any demand or request for any payment or Distribution, any commencement of (or participation with others in the commencement of) any litigation or other similar proceeding, or the commencement of any other remedy, in each case in an effort to collect the Subordinated Obligations, (b) any acceleration of any Subordinated Obligations, or (c) any commencement of, or joinder with any creditor in commencing, any Insolvency Proceeding against any Obligor or any of its Subsidiaries or any assets of any Obligor or any of its Subsidiaries.

Conforming Amendment ” means any amendment to a provision of any Subordinated Loan Document that is substantively identical to a corresponding amendment to a comparable provision of a comparable Senior Loan Document.

Control Collateral ” means any Collateral consisting of a certificated security (as defined in the UCC), investment property (as defined in the UCC), a deposit account (as defined in the UCC), and any other Collateral as to which a Lien may be perfected through physical possession or control by the secured party, or any agent therefor.

Covenant Blockage Period ” means the period from and including the date of receipt by the Subordinated Creditor of a Covenant Default Notice until the first to occur of (a) the 180th day following the receipt by Subordinated Creditor of such Covenant Default Notice, (b) the date on which Senior Creditors expressly waived such Covenant Default Event in writing, or (c) the Discharge of the Senior Obligations.

Covenant Default Event ” has the meaning specified in Section 2(c) .

Covenant Default Notice ” means a written notice from Senior Creditors to Subordinated Creditor of the existence of a Covenant Default Event and specifically designating such notice as a “Covenant Default Notice.”

DIP Financing ” has the meaning set forth in Section 5(b) .

Discharge of the Senior Obligations ” means (a) the indefeasible payment in full in cash and performance in full of the Senior Obligations and (b) the termination or expiration of all commitments to extend credit that would constitute Senior Obligations, in each case, in accordance with the terms of the Senior Loan Documents.

Disposition ” or “ Dispose ” means the sale, assignment, transfer, license, lease (as lessor), or other disposition of any property by any person (or the granting of any option or other right to do any of the foregoing).

Distribution ” means any payment or distribution by any Person in respect of the Senior Obligations or the Subordinated Obligations, as the case may be, of assets of any kind or character (whether in cash, securities, assets, by set-off, recoupment, or otherwise and including by purchase redemption or other acquisition of such Senior Obligations or Subordinated Obligations.

Dollars ” or “ $ ” means United States dollars.

Equity Sponsor ” means Newcastle Investment Corp. and any other equity fund controlled (in each case by way of ownership) by, or under common control with, Newcastle Investment Corp., or any of its Affiliates.

 

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Event of Default ” means, as the context may require, an Event of Default or an “Event of Default” as defined in the Subordinated Credit Agreement.

Exercise any Secured Creditor Remedies ” or “ Exercise of Secured Creditor Remedies ” means (a) the taking of any action to enforce any Lien in respect of all or any portion of the Collateral, including the institution of any foreclosure proceedings or the noticing of any public or private sale or other Disposition pursuant to Article 9 of the UCC, (b) the exercise of any right or remedy provided to a secured creditor under the Senior Loan Documents or the Subordinated Loan Documents (including, in either case, any delivery of any notice to seek to obtain payment directly from any account debtor of any Obligor or the taking of any action or the exercise of any right or remedy in respect of the setoff or recoupment against all or any portion of the Collateral or Proceeds of all or any portion of the Collateral), under applicable law, at equity, in an Insolvency Proceeding or otherwise, including the acceptance of all or any portion of the Collateral in full or partial satisfaction of a Lien, (c) the sale, assignment, transfer, lease, license or other Disposition of all or any portion of the Collateral, by private or public sale or any other means, (d) the exercise of any other enforcement right relating to all or any portion of the Collateral (including the exercise of any voting rights relating to any capital stock composing a portion of the Collateral) whether under the Senior Loan Documents, the Subordinated Loan Documents, under applicable law of any jurisdiction, in equity, in an Insolvency Proceeding (other than a request for adequate protection permitted by this Agreement), or otherwise, (e) the pursuit of Senior Default Dispositions, or (f) the setoff or recoupment against or foreclosure on all or any portion of the Collateral or the Proceeds of all or any portion of the Collateral.

Guarantors ” has the meaning set forth in the recitals to this Agreement.

Hedging Obligations ” means, with respect to any Person, the obligations of such Person under (a) interest rate swap agreements, interest rate cap agreements, interest rate collar agreements and (b) other agreements or arrangements designed to protect such Person against fluctuations in interest rates or the value of foreign currencies.

Insolvency Proceeding ” means any proceeding commenced by or against any Person under any provision of the Bankruptcy Code or under any other state or federal bankruptcy or insolvency law, assignments for the benefit of creditors, formal or informal moratoria, compositions, extensions generally with creditors, or proceedings seeking reorganization, arrangement, or other similar relief.

Lien ” shall mean any mortgage, deed of trust, pledge, hypothecation, assignment, security interest, lien (whether statutory or otherwise), charge or encumbrance, or preference, priority or other security agreement or preferential arrangement held in respect of any asset of any kind or nature whatsoever including any conditional sale or other title retention agreement, any capital or financing lease having substantially the same economic effect as any of the foregoing.

Obligors ” means the Borrowers, the Guarantors, and each other Person that may from time to time execute and deliver a Senior Loan Document or a Subordinated Loan Document as a “debtor”, “borrower”, “guarantor”, “obligor”, “grantor”, or “pledgor” (or the equivalent thereof), and “ Obligor ” means any one of them.

Payment Blockage Period ” means, with respect to any Payment Default Event, the period from and including the date on which the Subordinated Creditor receive notice of a Payment Default Event until the first to occur of (a) the date on which Subordinated Creditor receive a written notice from Senior Creditors that the applicable Payment Default Event has been waived in accordance with the terms of the Senior Loan Documents or (b) the Discharge of the Senior Obligations in accordance with the terms of the Senior Loan Documents.

 

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Payment Default Event ” has the meaning specified in Section 2(c) .

Permitted Subordinated Debt Payments ” means (a) regularly scheduled payments of cash interest on the Subordinated Obligations and (b) accrual, but not payment, of default rate interest in respect of the Subordinated Obligations; provided , however , that (i) such payments must be made in accordance with the terms of the Subordinated Loan Documents and (ii) such payments are not Proceeds of any Collateral arising from the Exercise of Secured Creditor Remedies by Subordinated Creditor or any other Subordinated Claimholder.

Person ” means any individual, sole proprietorship, partnership, corporation, business trust, joint stock company, trust, unincorporated organization, association, limited liability company, limited liability partnership, institution, public benefit corporation, joint venture, entity or Governmental Body (whether federal, state, county, city, municipal or otherwise, including any instrumentality, division, agency, body or department thereof).

Proceeds ” means (i) all “proceeds” as defined in Article 9 of the UCC with respect to the Collateral, and (ii) whatever is recoverable or recovered when Collateral is sold, exchanged, collected, or Disposed of, whether voluntarily or involuntarily.

Refinance ” means, in respect of any indebtedness, to refinance, extend, exchange, renew, defease, supplement, restructure, replace, refund or repay, or to issue other indebtedness in exchange or replacement for such indebtedness, in whole or in part, whether with the same or different lenders, arrangers or agents. “ Refinanced ” and “ Refinancing ” shall have correlative meanings.

Required Senior Claimholders ” means Required Lenders.

Required Subordinated Claimholders ” means “Required Lenders”, as defined in the Subordinated Credit Agreement in effect on the date hereof.

Senior Creditor ” has the meaning set forth in the preamble to this Agreement.

Senior Claimholders ” means, at any relevant time, individually and collectively, Senior Creditors, the Senior Lenders, or any other holders of the Senior Obligations at that time.

Senior Collateral Documents ” means the Senior Mortgages and any other agreement, document, or instrument pursuant to which a Lien is granted securing any Senior Obligation or under which rights or remedies with respect to such Liens are governed, in each case, as the same may be amended, amended and restated, supplemented, modified, replaced, substituted or renewed from time to time or Refinanced.

Senior Credit Agreement ” has the meaning set forth in the recitals to this Agreement.

Senior Debt Cap ” means, as of the any date of determination, the result of (a) $138,000,000, plus (b) all Bank Product Obligations, interest, fees, attorneys’ fees, costs, charges, expenses, indemnity obligations and all other amounts (exclusive of amounts constituting principal or contingent indemnification obligations for which no written claim has been made) owing, due or payable, or secured under the terms of the Senior Credit Agreement or any other Senior Loan Document, in each case, whether now existing or hereafter arising, under any Senior Loan Document, or in respect thereof (including, in each case, all amounts accruing on or after the commencement of any Insolvency Proceeding relating to any Obligor, or that would have accrued or become due under the terms of the Senior Loan Documents but for the effect of the Insolvency Proceeding or other applicable law, and irrespective of whether a claim for all or any portion of such amounts is allowable or allowed in such Insolvency Proceeding).

 

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Senior Default Disposition ” means any private or public Disposition of all or any Collateral by one or more Obligors with the consent of Senior Creditor, on behalf of the requisite Senior Claimholders, after the occurrence and during the continuance of an Event of Default.

Senior Default Notice ” has the meaning set forth in Section 7(c) of this Agreement.

Senior Lenders ” means the Lenders as defined in the Senior Creditor Agreement.

Senior Loan Documents ” means the Senior Credit Agreement, the Senior Collateral Documents and each of the Other Documents (as defined in the Senior Credit Agreement), together with any agreement or other document executed or delivered in connection with any DIP Financing provided by a Senior Claimholder, in each case, as the same may be amended, amended and restated, supplemented, modified, replaced, substituted or renewed from time to time or Refinanced.

Senior Mortgages ” means each mortgage, deed of trust, and other document or instrument under which any Lien on real property owned or leased by any Obligor is granted to secure any Senior Obligations or under which rights or remedies with respect to any such Liens are governed (other than this Agreement), in each case, as amended, restated, supplemented or otherwise modified from time to time.

Senior Obligations ” means, collectively, all Obligations.

Senior Recovery ” has the meaning set forth in Section 5(h) .

Standstill Notice ” means a written notice from Subordinated Creditor to Senior Creditors that (i) describes with specificity the Event of Default that has occurred under any of the Subordinated Loan Documents, (ii) declares the Subordinated Creditor’s intent to take any Collection Action or to Exercise any Secured Creditor Remedies after the termination of the Standstill Period, and (iii) specifically designates such notice as a “Standstill Notice”.

Standstill Period ” means the period from and including the date of receipt by Senior Creditors of a Standstill Notice until the first to occur of: (a) the 210th day following the receipt by Senior Creditor of a Standstill Notice from Subordinated Creditor; (b) the date of acceleration of the Senior Obligations; (c) the commencement of any Insolvency Proceeding relating to any Obligor; or (d) the Discharge of the Senior Obligations, provided, that the 210 day period pursuant to clause (a) of this definition and the date of any acceleration referred to in clause (b) of this definition shall be deemed (i) extended during any period in which any Senior Creditor is in good faith Exercising any Secured Creditor Remedies, (ii) extended during any period (not to exceed an additional 60 days) in which either Senior Creditors or Borrowers shall have retained any financial consultant, investment banker, turnaround professional or other advisor for the purposes of evaluating the Exercise of Secured Creditor Remedies by either Senior Creditors or Borrowers shall constitute an Exercise of Secured Creditor Remedies, and (iii) tolled during any period in which the Senior Creditors are stayed or enjoined from Exercising any Secured Creditor Remedies.

Subordinated Claimholders ” means, at any relevant time, individually and collectively, the Subordinated Creditor, Subordinated Lenders or any other holders of the Subordinated Obligations from time to time.

 

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Subordinated Collateral Documents ” means the Security Agreement (as defined in the Subordinated Credit Agreement), the Subordinated Mortgages and any other agreement, document, or instrument pursuant to which a Lien is granted securing any Subordinated Obligation or under which rights or remedies with respect to such Liens are governed, in each case, as the same may be amended, amended and restated, supplemented, modified, replaced, substituted or renewed from time to time or Refinanced.

Subordinated Credit Agreement ” has the meaning set forth in the recitals to this Agreement.

Subordinated Creditor ” has the meaning set forth in the preamble to this Agreement.

Subordinated Lenders ” means the Lenders as defined in the Subordinated Credit Agreement.

Subordinated Loan Documents ” means the Subordinated Credit Agreement dated as of November 26, 2013 in the original principal amount of $50,000,000 between Obligors and Subordinated Lenders and all other instruments, agreements and documents executed in connection therewith, in each case, as the same may be amended, amended and restated, supplemented, modified, replaced, substituted or renewed from time to time or Refinanced.

Subordinated Mortgages ” means each mortgage, deed of trust, and other document or instrument under which any Lien on real property owned or leased by any Obligor is granted to secure any Subordinated Obligations or under which rights or remedies with respect to any such Liens are governed (other than this Agreement), in each case, as amended, restated, supplemented or otherwise modified from time to time.

Subordinated Obligations ” means, collectively, all Obligations (as defined in the Subordinated Credit Agreement).

Subsidiary ” of a person means a corporation, partnership, limited liability company, or other entity in which that person directly or indirectly owns or controls the shares of capital stock having ordinary voting power to elect a majority of the board of directors (or appoint other comparable managers) of such corporation, partnership, limited liability company, or other entity.

UCC ” means the Uniform Commercial Code (or any similar or equivalent legislation) as in effect from time to time in any applicable jurisdiction.

(b) Terms Defined in the Senior Credit Agreement . Except to the extent expressly provided herein to the contrary, any term used in this Agreement and not defined in this Agreement has the meaning set forth in the Senior Credit Agreement.

(c) Rules of Construction . The definitions of terms in this Agreement 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.” The term “or” shall be construed to have, except where otherwise indicated, the inclusive meaning represented by the phrase “and/or.” Unless the context requires otherwise: (1) any definition of or reference to any agreement, instrument, or other document herein shall be construed as referring to such agreement, instrument, or other document as from time to time amended, restated, modified or Refinanced in accordance with the

 

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terms of this Agreement; (2) any definition of or reference to Senior Obligations or the Subordinated Obligations herein shall be construed as referring to the Senior Obligations or the Subordinated Obligations (as applicable) as from time to time amended, restated, modified or Refinanced in accordance with the terms of this Agreement; (3) any reference herein to any person shall be construed to include such person’s successors and assigns; (4) the words “herein,” “hereof,” and “hereunder,” and words of similar import, shall be construed to refer to this Agreement in its entirety and not to any particular provision hereof; (5) all references herein to Sections shall be construed to refer to Sections of this Agreement; (6) 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; and (7) any reference to any agreement, instrument, or other document herein “as in effect on the date hereof” shall be construed as referring to such agreement, instrument, or other document without giving effect to any amendment, restatement, supplement, modification, or Refinance after the date hereof.

2. Payment Subordination .

(a) Subordination . Each Subordinated Claimholder hereby covenants and agrees that the payment of any and all of the Subordinated Obligations shall be subordinate and subject in right of payment, to the extent and in the manner hereinafter set forth, to the prior Discharge of the Senior Obligations. Each holder of Senior Obligations, whether now outstanding or hereafter created, incurred, assumed or guaranteed, shall be deemed to have acquired Senior Obligations in reliance upon the provisions contained in this Agreement. Except as set forth in Section 2(b) , unless and until the Discharge of the Senior Obligations shall have occurred, no Subordinated Claimholder shall accept, take, or receive by payment or prepayment, directly or indirectly, from any Person, any Distribution which may now or hereafter be owing to such Subordinated Claimholder, on account of any of the Subordinated Obligations.

(b) Permitted Payments . So long as no Blockage Period is in effect, Borrowers may pay to the Subordinated Claimholders, and the Subordinated Claimholders may accept and receive from Borrowers on account of the Subordinated Obligations, Permitted Subordinated Debt Payments.

(c) Blockage Period .

(1) Payment Default Event . Upon the occurrence of an Event of Default under Section 10.1 of the Senior Credit Agreement or any declaration or acceleration of payment pursuant to the terms of the Senior Credit Agreement (a “ Payment Default Event ”), then no Obligor shall make, and no Subordinated Claimholder shall accept, take or receive by payment or prepayment, directly or indirectly, from any Person, any Distribution on account of any of the Subordinated Obligations during the Payment Blockage Period applicable to such Payment Default Event.

(2) Covenant Default Event . If (i) an Event of Default shall have occurred and be continuing under Article X of the Senior Credit Agreement (other than Section 10.1 thereunder) (a “ Covenant Default Event ”), and (ii) Subordinated Creditor shall have received a Covenant Default Notice, then no Obligor shall make, and no Subordinated Claimholder shall accept, take or receive, by payment or prepayment, directly or indirectly from any Person any Distribution on account of any of the Subordinated Obligations during the Covenant Blockage Period applicable to such Covenant Default Event.

3. Lien Subordination .

(a) Acknowledgement; Consent; and Subordination . Each Subordinated Creditor and each of the other Subordinated Claimholders hereby (y) acknowledges that the Obligors, either prior

 

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to the date hereof or concurrently herewith, have granted or are granting Liens on the Collateral in favor of Senior Creditors to secure the Senior Obligations and (z) consents, anything to the contrary contained in any Subordinated Loan Document, or other agreement to which any Subordinated Claimholder may now or hereafter be a party notwithstanding, to the grant by the Obligors of the Liens on the Collateral to secure the Senior Obligations. Notwithstanding (i) the date, time, method, manner or order of grant, attachment, or perfection of any Liens granted to Senior Creditors (or any Senior Lender) or any Subordinated Claimholder in respect of all or any portion of the Collateral, (ii) the order or time of filing or recordation of any document or instrument for perfecting the Liens in favor of Senior Creditors (or any Senior Lender) or any Subordinated Claimholder in any Collateral, (iii) any provision of the UCC, any other applicable law, any of the Senior Loan Documents or any of the Subordinated Loan Documents, (iv) whether the Liens securing the Senior Obligations are valid, enforceable, void, avoidable, subordinated, disputed, or allowed, (v) whether or not any such Liens securing any Senior Obligations or any Subordinated Obligations are perfected, unperfected, avoided, set aside, or subordinated to any Lien securing any other obligation or debt of any Obligor or any other Person, (vi) any defect or deficiency or alleged defect or deficiency in any of the foregoing, or (vii) any other circumstance whatsoever, each of the Senior Creditors, on behalf of itself and the Senior Lenders, and each of the Subordinated Claimholders hereby agree that:

(1) any Lien with respect to all or any portion of the Collateral securing any Senior Obligations now or hereafter held by or on behalf of, or created for the benefit of, any Senior Claimholder or any agent or trustee therefor, regardless of how acquired, whether by grant, possession, statute, operation of law, subrogation, or otherwise, shall be senior and prior in all respects to all Liens with respect to all or any portion of the Collateral securing any Subordinated Obligations;

(2) any Lien with respect to all or any portion of the Collateral securing any Subordinated Obligations now or hereafter held by or on behalf of, or created for the benefit of any Subordinated Claimholder or any agent or trustee therefor, regardless of how acquired, whether by grant, possession, statute, operation of law, subrogation, or otherwise, shall be junior and subordinate in all respects to all Liens with respect to all or any portion of the Collateral securing any Senior Obligations;

(3) the Lien priority provisions set forth in this Agreement shall be effective at all times and for all purposes.

(b) Disposition of Collateral; Release of Liens .

(1) Exclusive Rights of Senior Creditor . Until the Discharge of the Senior Obligations occurs, Senior Creditor, on behalf of the Senior Claimholders, shall have the exclusive right to make determinations regarding the release or Disposition of any Collateral pursuant to the terms of the applicable Senior Loan Documents or in accordance with the provisions of this Agreement, in each case without any consultation with, consent of or notice to Subordinated Creditor or any other Subordinated Claimholder.

(2) Lien Release Upon Disposition of Collateral . Until the Discharge of the Senior Obligations occurs, upon any release, sale or Disposition of any Collateral, whether (A) permitted pursuant to the terms of the Senior Loan Documents, (B) resulting from the Exercise of Secured Creditor Remedies by any Senior Creditor, or (C) resulting from any Senior Default Disposition (i) the Lien securing the Subordinated Obligations on such Collateral (excluding any portion of the proceeds of such Collateral remaining after the Discharge of the Senior Obligations occurs), (and in the case of any release, sale or disposition of all or substantially all of the equity interests or assets of any Obligor that has guaranteed any Subordinated Obligations, such Obligor’s liability in respect of the Subordinated Obligations) shall be automatically, unconditionally, and simultaneously released with no further consent

 

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or action of any Person, and (ii) the Subordinated Claimholders shall be deemed to have consented under the Subordinated Loan Documents to such release, sale or disposition of such Collateral (and in the case of any release, sale or disposition of all or substantially all of the equity interests or assets of any Obligor that has guaranteed any Subordinated Obligations, the release of such Obligor’s liability in respect of the Subordinated Obligations), and to have waived the provisions of the Subordinated Loan Documents to the extent necessary to permit such release, sale or disposition (and in the case of any release, sale or disposition of all or substantially all of the equity interests or assets of any Obligor that has guaranteed any Subordinated Obligations, the release of such Obligor’s liability in respect of the Subordinated Obligations). The Subordinated Creditor shall promptly execute and deliver such release documents and instruments and shall take such further actions as the Senior Creditors shall request to evidence any release of the Lien securing Subordinated Obligations or any release of the applicable Obligor of the Subordinated Obligations.

(3) Until the Discharge of the Senior Obligations occurs, each Subordinated Claimholder hereby irrevocably constitutes and appoints Senior Creditors and any officer or agent of a Senior Creditor, with full power of substitution, as its true and lawful attorney in fact with full irrevocable power and authority in the place and stead of such Subordinated Claimholder or in Senior Creditors’ own name, from time to time in Senior Creditors’ discretion, for the purpose of carrying out the terms of this Section 3(b) , to take any and all appropriate action in connection therewith and to execute any and all documents and instruments that may be necessary or desirable to accomplish the purposes of this Section 3(b) , including any endorsements or other instruments of transfer or release.

(c) Waiver of Right to Contest Obligations and Liens. Each of the Senior Creditors, for itself and on behalf of each other Senior Claimholder, and each Subordinated Claimholder, for itself, agrees that it will not (and hereby waives any right to), directly or indirectly, contest or support any other person in contesting, in any proceeding (including any Insolvency Proceeding), (a) the validity, priority, enforceability or allowance of any claims of any of the Senior Claimholders or any of the Subordinated Claimholders, as the case may be, (b) the priority, validity, or enforceability of a Lien held by or on behalf of any of the Senior Claimholders in any assets of any of the Obligors or (subject to the terms of this Agreement) by or on behalf of any of the Subordinated Claimholders in any assets of any of the Obligors, as the case may be, or (c) the validity or enforceability of the provisions of this Agreement, provided , however that nothing in this Agreement shall be construed to prevent or impair the rights of Senior Creditor, any other Senior Claimholder, Subordinated Creditor or any other Subordinated Claimholder to enforce the terms of this Agreement.

(d) New Liens . So long as the Discharge of the Senior Obligations has not occurred, the parties hereto agree that no Obligor shall grant or permit any additional Liens on any asset to secure any Subordinated Obligations unless such Obligor grants a Lien on such asset to secure the Senior Obligations concurrently with the grant of a Lien thereon in favor of Subordinated Creditor. To the extent that the foregoing provision is not complied with for any reason (and without limiting any other rights and remedies available to any Senior Claimholders), each Subordinated Claimholder agrees that any amounts received by or distributed to any of them pursuant to or as a result of Liens granted in contravention of this subsection (d) shall be subject to Section 9(b) .

(e) Agent for Perfection . Senior Creditors and Subordinated Creditor each agree to hold (or cause to be held) all Control Collateral in their respective possession, custody, or control, including “control” within the meaning of 9-104 of the UCC (or in the possession, custody, or control of agents, bailees, or other similar third parties) as non-fiduciary agent for the other solely for the purpose of perfecting the security interest granted to each in such Control Collateral subject to the terms and conditions of this Agreement (such bailment and agency being intended, among other things, to satisfy the requirements of Section 8-301(a)(2), 9-313(c), 9-104, 9-105, 9-106, and 9-107 of the UCC). None of

 

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the Senior Claimholders or the Subordinated Claimholders, as applicable, shall have any obligation whatsoever to the others to assure that the Control Collateral is genuine or owned by any Obligor or any other Person or to preserve their respective rights or benefits or those of any other Person. The duties or responsibilities of Senior Creditors and Subordinated Creditor under this subsection (e) are and shall be limited solely to holding or maintaining control of the Control Collateral as non-fiduciary agent for the other for purposes of perfecting the Lien held by Senior Creditors or Subordinated Creditor, as applicable. No Senior Creditor is, and no Senior Creditor shall be deemed to be, a fiduciary of any kind for Subordinated Creditor or any other Person. Upon the Discharge of the Senior Obligations, Senior Creditors shall, at the expense of Obligors, deliver the remaining Control Collateral (if any) together with any necessary endorsements or assignments, first, to Subordinated Creditor to the extent Subordinated Obligations remain outstanding as confirmed in writing by Subordinated Creditor, and, to the extent that Subordinated Creditor confirm no Subordinated Obligations are outstanding, second, to Borrowers to the extent no Senior Obligations or Subordinated Obligations remain outstanding (in each case, so as to allow such person to obtain possession or control of such Control Collateral).

(f) Insurance . Until the Discharge of the Senior Obligations occurs, (i) Senior Creditors and the other Senior Claimholders shall have the sole and exclusive right, subject to the rights of the Obligors under the Senior Loan Documents, to adjust and settle any claim under any insurance policy covering the Collateral in the event of any loss thereunder and to approve any award granted in any condemnation or similar proceeding (or any deed in lieu of condemnation) affecting the Collateral; and (ii) all Proceeds of any such insurance policy and any such award (or any payments with respect to a deed in lieu of condemnation) shall be paid, subject to the rights of the Obligors under the Senior Loan Documents, first in accordance with the priorities set forth in Section 9(c) , until paid in full in cash, and second , to the owner of the subject property, such other person as may be entitled thereto, or as a court of competent jurisdiction may otherwise direct. If any Subordinated Claimholder shall, at any time, receive any Proceeds of any such insurance policy or any such award or payment in contravention of this subsection (f) , it shall pay such Proceeds over to Senior Creditors in accordance with the terms of Section 9(c) .

4. Exercise of Remedies .

(a) Claim Standstill . No Subordinated Claimholder shall take any Collection Action with respect to any of the Subordinated Obligations until the expiration of the applicable Standstill Period.

(b) Collateral Standstill . At all times prior to the commencement of an applicable Standstill Period and until the expiration of such Standstill Period, whether or not any Insolvency Proceeding has been commenced by or against any Obligor or any of its Subsidiaries, no Subordinated Claimholder:

(1) shall exercise or seek to exercise any right or remedies with respect to any Collateral (including, without limitation, any Exercise of Secured Creditor Remedies) (other than if an Insolvency Proceeding has been commenced, seeking adequate protection, to the extent permitted by this Agreement);

(2) shall contest, protest, or object to any Exercise of Secured Creditor Remedies by any Senior Claimholder and no Subordinated Claimholder shall have any right to direct the Exercise of any Secured Creditor Remedies or other action by any Senior Claimholder; and

(3) shall not object to (and waive any and all claims with respect to) the forbearance by any Senior Claimholder from Exercising any Secured Creditor Remedies.

 

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(c) Exclusive Enforcement Rights . Until the expiry of the applicable Standstill Period has occurred, whether or not any Insolvency Proceeding has been commenced by or against any Obligor or any of its Subsidiaries, the Senior Claimholders shall have the exclusive right to enforce rights as a secured creditor, Exercise Secured Creditor Remedies and make determinations regarding the disposition of, or restrictions with respect to, the Collateral without any consultation with or the consent of any Subordinated Claimholder. The Senior Claimholders shall have the right to enforce the provisions of the Senior Loan Documents and exercise remedies thereunder, all in such order and in such manner as they may determine in the exercise of their sole discretion and subject to the terms hereof. Such exercise and enforcement shall include the rights of an agent appointed by them to sell or otherwise Dispose of Collateral, to incur expenses in connection with such Disposition, and to exercise all the rights and remedies of a secured creditor under the laws of any applicable jurisdiction, including without limitation the right to Exercise Secured Creditor Remedies.

(d) Permitted Actions by Subordinated Claimholders . Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this Agreement, Subordinated Creditor and any other Subordinated Claimholder may take any of the following actions, which shall not constitute a Collection Action or the Exercise of Secured Creditor Remedies:

(1) if an Insolvency Proceeding has been commenced by or against any Obligor, file a claim or statement of interest with respect to the Subordinated Obligations;

(2) take any action (not adverse to the priority status, taking into account the subordination provisions of Section 3 hereof, of the Liens on the Collateral securing any of the Senior Obligations, or the rights of any Senior Claimholder to Exercise any Secured Creditor Remedies) in order to create, preserve, perfect or protect (but not enforce) its Lien in and to the Collateral to the extent not prohibited by Section 3(d) ;

(3) file any necessary responsive or defensive pleadings in opposition to any motion, claim, adversary proceeding, or other pleading made by any person objecting to or otherwise seeking the disallowance of the claims of Subordinated Creditor or any Subordinated Claimholder, including any claims secured by the Collateral, if any; and

(4) vote on any plan of reorganization and file any proof of claim with respect to the Subordinated Obligations; provided , that, in any Insolvency Proceeding, no Subordinated Claimholder shall (i) oppose, object to, or vote against any plan of reorganization or disclosure statement, or join with or support any third party in doing so, to the extent the terms of such plan or disclosure statement comply with the following clause (ii) and are consistent with the rights of the Senior Creditors and the Senior Claimholders under this Agreement or (ii) support or vote for any plan of reorganization or disclosure statement of any Obligor unless (x) such plan provides for the payment in full in cash of all Senior Obligations (including all post-petition interest, fees and expenses) on the effective date of such plan of reorganization, or (y) unless such plan is accepted by the requisite holders of Senior Obligations voting thereon, it being understood that, in the event that any plan is proposed by any debtor, creditor, or other party in interest in any such Insolvency Proceeding that is inconsistent with or purports to alter the provisions of this Agreement (including the provisions of Section 5(k) hereof), the Senior Creditors shall be deemed to have been granted, as of the date hereof, an irrevocable power of attorney to vote the claims of the Subordinated Claimholders against any such plan, with such appointment being coupled with an interest, and the Senior Creditors shall be deemed the “holder” of such claims within the meaning of Section 1126(a) of the Bankruptcy Code.

(e) Collateral or Proceeds Received from the Exercise of Secured Creditor Remedies . Each Subordinated Claimholder agrees that until the Discharge of the Senior Obligations has occurred, any Collateral or Proceeds thereof received by the Subordinated Claimholders will be subject to Section 9 .

 

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(f) No Hindrance . Each Subordinated Claimholder hereby:

(1) agrees that Subordinated Creditor and the other Subordinated Claimholders will not take any action, other than as expressly permitted under this Agreement, that would restrain, hinder, limit, delay, or otherwise interfere with the Exercise of Secured Creditor Remedies by Senior Creditors or any other Senior Claimholder, or any action that is otherwise prohibited hereunder;

(2) waives any and all rights Subordinated Creditor or any other Subordinated Claimholder may have as a junior lien creditor or otherwise to object to the manner in which Senior Creditors or any of the other Senior Claimholders, seek to enforce or collect the Senior Obligations or the Liens securing the Senior Obligations granted in any of the Collateral undertaken in good faith in accordance with this Agreement, regardless of whether any action or failure to act by or on behalf of Senior Creditors or any other Senior Claimholder is adverse to the interest of Subordinated Creditor or any other Subordinated Claimholder; and

(3) acknowledges and agrees that no covenant, agreement or restriction contained in the Subordinated Loan Documents (other than this Agreement) shall be deemed to restrict in any way the rights and remedies of Senior Creditors or the other Senior Claimholders, with respect to the Collateral as set forth in this Agreement and the Senior Loan Documents.

(g) Judgment Liens . In the event that any Subordinated Claimholder becomes a judgment Lien creditor in respect of Collateral as a result of its enforcement of its rights as an unsecured creditor, to the extent permitted herein, with respect to the Subordinated Obligations, such judgment Lien shall be subject to the terms of this Agreement for all purposes (including in relation to the Senior Obligations) as the other Liens securing the Subordinated Obligations are subject to this Agreement.

5. Insolvency Proceeding .

(a) Enforceability and Continuing Priority . This Agreement shall be applicable both before and after the commencement of any Insolvency Proceeding and all converted or succeeding cases in respect thereof. The relative rights of the Senior Claimholders and the Subordinated Claimholders in or to any Distributions shall continue after the commencement of any Insolvency Proceeding. Accordingly, the provisions of this Agreement are intended to be and shall be enforceable as a subordination agreement within the meaning of Section 510 of the Bankruptcy Code.

(b) Financing . Until the Discharge of the Senior Obligations occurs, if any Obligor shall be subject to any Insolvency Proceeding and Senior Creditors consent to the use of cash collateral (as such term is defined in Section 363(a) of the Bankruptcy Code; herein, “ Cash Collateral ”), on which any Senior Creditor has a Lien or permits any Obligor to obtain financing provided by any one or more Senior Claimholders or any other Person under Section 364 of the Bankruptcy Code or any similar Bankruptcy Law (such financing, together with any Cash Collateral use, collectively a “ DIP Financing ”), to the extent that (1) the maximum aggregate principal amount of the DIP Financing, when taken together with the aggregate principal amount of outstanding prepetition Senior Obligations that will not be repaid by such DIP Financing, does not exceed 120% of the Senior Debt Cap and (2) the Liens securing such prepetition Senior Obligations that will not be repaid by such DIP Financing are subordinated or pari passu with such Liens securing the DIP Financing, then each Subordinated Claimholder agrees that it will (A) consent, and will be deemed to have consented, to the use of such cash collateral or to such DIP Financing, as applicable, (B) raise no objection to, nor support any other Person objecting to, the use of such cash

 

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collateral or to such DIP Financing, (C) not request or accept adequate protection or any other relief in connection with the use of such cash collateral or such DIP Financing, except as set forth in Section 5(e) below, (D) and will be deemed to have, subordinated hereunder the Liens securing Subordinated Obligations to (x) such DIP Financing, (y) any adequate protection provided to the Senior Claimholders, and (z) any “carve-out” agreed to by the Senior Creditors or the other Senior Claimholders, in the case of each of clauses, (x), (y), and (z) above, with such subordination to be on the same terms as the Liens securing Senior Obligations that are subordinated thereto, but on a basis junior to the Liens securing the DIP Financing provided by the Senior Claimholders (such subordination will not alter in any manner the terms of this Agreement), and (E) agree, and will be deemed to have agreed, that notice received two calendar days prior to the entry of an order approving such usage of the Cash Collateral or approving such DIP Financing shall be adequate notice.

(c) Sales . Until the Discharge of the Senior Obligations has occurred, each Subordinated Claimholder agrees that it will consent to the Disposition of, and will not object to or oppose a motion to Dispose of, any Collateral free and clear of the Liens or other claims in favor of Subordinated Creditor or any other Subordinated Claimholder under Section 363 of the Bankruptcy Code, if the requisite Senior Claimholders or Senior Creditors, on behalf of the requisite Senior Claimholders, have consented to such Disposition of such assets.

(d) Relief from the Automatic Stay . Until the Discharge of the Senior Obligations occurs, each Subordinated Claimholder agrees that it shall not (i) seek (or support any other person seeking) relief from the automatic stay or any other stay in any Insolvency Proceeding or take any action in derogation thereof, in each case, in respect of the Collateral, without the prior written consent of Senior Creditor, on behalf of the requisite Senior Claimholders, or (ii) oppose or take any other action in derogation of any request by any Senior Creditor or any other Senior Claimholder for relief from the automatic stay or any other stay in any Insolvency Proceeding in respect of the Collateral.

(e) Adequate Protection .

(1) Senior Claimholders . In any Insolvency Proceeding involving an Obligor, each Subordinated Claimholder agrees that none of them shall contest or object (or support any other person contesting or objecting):

(A) any request by any Senior Creditor or any of the other Senior Claimholders for adequate protection (whether in the form of Distributions, liens, priority administrative expense claims, or otherwise) or any adequate protection provided to any Senior Creditor or any of the other Senior Claimholders; or

(B) any objection by any Senior Creditor or any of the other Senior Claimholders to any motion, relief, action, or proceeding based on a claim of lack of adequate protection (whether in the form of payments, liens, a priority administrative expense claim, or otherwise); or

(C) the payment of interest, fees, expenses or other amounts to any Senior Creditor or any other Senior Claimholders under Section 506(b) or Section 506(c) of the Bankruptcy Code or otherwise.

(2) Subordinated Claimholders . In any Insolvency Proceeding involving an Obligor, to the extent that the Subordinated Claimholders were not required to release pursuant to the terms of this Agreement and have not released their Liens on the Collateral on or prior to the date of the commencement thereof:

 

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(i) Until the Discharge of the Senior Obligations occurs, if any one or more Senior Claimholders are granted adequate protection in the form of periodic cash payments or in the form of a replacement Lien (on existing or future assets of the Obligors) in connection with any DIP Financing, then the Subordinated Claimholders shall also be entitled to seek, without objection from the Senior Claimholders, adequate protection in the form of a replacement Lien (on existing or future assets of the Obligors), which replacement Lien, if obtained, shall be subordinate to the Liens securing the Senior Obligations and the Liens securing such DIP Financing on the same basis as the other Liens securing the Subordinated Obligations are subordinate to the Senior Obligations under this Agreement.

(ii) In the event that any of the Subordinated Claimholders is granted adequate protection in the form of a replacement Lien (on existing or future assets of the Obligors), then the Subordinated Claimholders agree that Senior Creditors shall also be entitled to seek, without objection from the Subordinated Claimholders, a senior adequate protection Lien on existing or future assets of the Obligors as security for the Senior Obligations and for any DIP Financing provided by one or more of the Senior Claimholders. Any adequate protection Lien on such existing or future assets securing the Subordinated Obligations shall be subordinated (i) to the Lien on such collateral securing the Senior Obligations and any such DIP Financing provided by the Senior Claimholders, and (ii) to any other Liens granted to the Senior Claimholders as adequate protection on the same basis as the other Liens securing the Subordinated Obligations are so subordinated to such Senior Obligations under this Agreement.

(3) Allowance of Postpetition Accrual . Neither Subordinated Creditor nor any other Subordinated Claimholder shall object to, oppose, or challenge any claim by any Senior Claimholder for allowance in any Insolvency Proceeding of Senior Obligations consisting of post-petition interest, fees, or expenses.

(f) Section 1111(b) of the Bankruptcy Code . None of the Subordinated Claimholders shall object to, oppose, support any objection, or take any other action to impede, the right of any Senior Claimholder to make an election under Section 1111(b)(2) of the Bankruptcy Code. Each Subordinated Claimholder waives any claim it may hereafter have against any Senior Claimholder arising out of the election by any Senior Claimholder of the application of Section 1111(b)(2) of the Bankruptcy Code. Until the Discharge of the Senior Obligations has occurred, each Subordinated Claimholder waives any right it may have to make an election under Section 1111(b)(2) of the Bankruptcy Code.

(g) No Waiver . Nothing contained herein shall prohibit or in any way limit any Senior Claimholder from objecting in any Insolvency Proceeding involving an Obligor to any action taken by Subordinated Creditor or any of the other Subordinated Claimholders which is inconsistent with the terms of this Agreement, including, if it is inconsistent with the terms of this Agreement, the seeking by any Subordinated Claimholder of adequate protection or the assertion by any Subordinated Claimholder of any of their rights and remedies under the Subordinated Loan Documents.

(h) Avoidance Issues . If any Senior Claimholder is required in any Insolvency Proceeding or otherwise to turn over, disgorge or otherwise pay to the estate of any Obligor any amount paid in respect of the Senior Obligations (a “ Senior Recovery ”), then such Senior Claimholder shall be entitled to a reinstatement of Senior Obligations with respect to all such recovered amounts, and all rights, interests, priorities and privileges recognized in this Agreement shall apply with respect to any such Senior Recovery. If this Agreement shall have been terminated prior to such Senior Recovery, this Agreement shall be reinstated in full force and effect, and such prior termination shall not diminish, release, discharge, impair, or otherwise affect the obligations of the parties hereto from such date of reinstatement and to the extent the Senior Debt Cap was decreased in connection with such payment of the Senior Obligations, the Senior Debt Cap shall be increased to such extent.

 

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(i) Distributions of Debt Obligations . If, in any Insolvency Proceeding involving an Obligor, debt obligations of the reorganized debtor, whether or not secured by Liens upon any property of the reorganized debtor, are distributed pursuant to a plan of reorganization or similar dispositive restructuring plan, (A) on account of the Senior Obligations, or (B) on account of the Subordinated Obligations, or (C) all on account of the Senior Obligations and the Subordinated Obligations, then the Subordinated Claimholders shall have the right to receive such debt obligations so long as either the provisions of this Agreement (I) survive the distribution of such debt obligations pursuant to such plan and (II) apply with like effect to such debt obligations and the Liens (if any) securing such debt obligations.

(j) Prohibition of Payments of Subordinated Obligations on Acceleration or in Insolvency Proceeding .

(1) Upon (A) the acceleration of the Subordinated Obligations, or any portion thereof, which has not been rescinded or revoked, or (B) any payment or distribution of assets of any Obligor, of any kind or character, whether in cash, property or securities, following commencement of an Insolvency Proceeding, there shall be a Discharge of the Senior Obligations before any Distribution is made on account of any of the Subordinated Obligations; and following commencement of an Insolvency Proceeding, any Distribution in respect of the Subordinated Obligations to which a Subordinated Claimholder would be entitled, except for the provisions hereof, shall be paid by any Obligor or any other Person making such Distribution, or by a Subordinated Claimholder if received by it, directly to Senior Creditor, to the extent necessary to result in the Discharge of the Senior Obligations, before any Distribution on account of any Subordinated Obligation is made to Subordinated Creditor or any other Subordinated Claimholder.

(2) In any Insolvency Proceeding by or against any Obligor,

(A) any Senior Creditor may, and is hereby irrevocably authorized and empowered (in its own name or in the name of the Subordinated Claimholders or otherwise), but shall have no obligation to (x) demand, sue for, collect and receive every payment or distribution referred to in this Section 5 and give acquittance therefor and (y) file claims and proofs of claim in respect of the Subordinated Obligations, provided that Senior Creditors may only file claims and proofs of claims in respect of the Subordinated Obligations if (1) the Subordinated Claimholders have failed to file such claims and proofs of claim and (2) there shall remain not more than 10 days before such action is barred, prohibited or otherwise cannot be taken; and

(B) Subordinated Creditor and each other Subordinated Claimholder will duly and promptly take such action, at the expense of Borrowers, as Senior Creditors may request (x) to collect the Subordinated Obligations for the account of the Senior Claimholders and to file appropriate claims or proofs of claim with respect thereto, (y) to execute and deliver to Senior Creditors such powers of attorney, assignments or other instruments as Senior Creditors may request in order to enable it to enforce any and all claims with respect to, and any security interests and other liens securing payment of, the Subordinated Obligations, and (z) to collect and receive for the account of the Senior Claimholders any and all Distributions which may be payable or deliverable upon or with respect to the Subordinated Obligations, until there has been a Discharge of the Senior Obligations.

(k) Payments Held in Trust/Turnover . In the event that, notwithstanding the foregoing provisions of this Section 5 , any Distribution in respect of the Subordinated Obligations prohibited by this Agreement shall be received by any Subordinated Claimholder before there has been a Discharge of the Senior Obligations, such Distribution shall be held in trust for the benefit of and shall be paid over to or delivered to Administrative Agent Senior Creditor, until there has been a Discharge of the Senior Obligations.

 

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6. Waivers by Subordinated Claimholders .

(a) Senior Obligations .

(1) All Senior Obligations at any time incurred by any Obligor shall be deemed to have been incurred, and all Senior Obligations held by any Senior Claimholder shall be deemed to have been extended, acquired or obtained, as applicable, in reliance upon this Agreement, and each Subordinated Claimholder hereby waives (A) notice of acceptance, or proof of reliance, by any of the Senior Claimholders of this Agreement, and (B) notice of the existence, renewal, extension, accrual, creation, or non-payment of all or any part of the Senior Obligations. Nothing contained in this Agreement shall preclude any of the Senior Claimholders from discontinuing the extension of credit to any Obligor (whether under the Senior Loan Documents or otherwise) or from taking (without notice to any Subordinated Claimholder, any Obligor, or any other Person) any other action in respect of the Senior Obligations or the Collateral which such Senior Claimholder is otherwise entitled to take with respect to the Senior Obligations or the Collateral.

(2) None of the Senior Claimholders or any of their respective affiliates, directors, officers, employees, or agents shall be liable for failure to demand, collect, or realize upon any of the Collateral or any Proceeds or for any delay in doing so or shall be under any obligation to sell or otherwise Dispose of any Collateral or Proceeds thereof or to take any other action whatsoever with regard to the Collateral or any part or Proceeds thereof. If any Senior Claimholder honors (or fails to honor) a request by Borrowers for an extension of credit pursuant to any of the Senior Loan Documents, whether any Senior Claimholder has knowledge that the honoring of (or failure to honor) any such request would constitute a default under the terms of the Subordinated Loan Documents or an act, condition, or event that, with the giving of notice or the passage of time, or both, would constitute such a default, or if such Senior Claimholder otherwise should exercise any of its contractual rights or remedies under the Senior Loan Documents (subject to the express terms and conditions hereof), no Senior Claimholder shall have any liability whatsoever to any Subordinated Claimholder as a result of such action, omission, or exercise. Each Senior Claimholder will be entitled to manage and supervise its loans and extensions of credit under the Senior Loan Documents as such Senior Claimholder may, in its sole discretion, deem appropriate, and each Senior Claimholder may manage such loans and extensions of credit without regard to any rights or interests that any Subordinated Claimholder may have in the Collateral or otherwise except as otherwise expressly set forth in this Agreement. Each Subordinated Claimholder agrees that no Senior Claimholder shall incur any liability as a result of a sale, lease, license, application or other Disposition of all or any portion of the Collateral or any part or Proceeds thereof, except to the extent that such Disposition is in direct violation of the provisions of this Agreement. Any Senior Claimholder may, from time to time, enter into agreements and settlements with Obligors as it may determine in its sole discretion without impairing any of the subordinations, priorities, rights or obligations of the parties under this Agreement, including, without limitation, substituting Collateral, releasing any Lien and releasing any Obligor. Each Subordinated Claimholder waives any and all rights it may have to require any Senior Claimholder to marshal assets, to exercise rights or remedies in a particular manner, or to forbear from exercising such rights and remedies in any particular manner or order.

(b) Notice of Acceptance and Other Waivers . To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, each Subordinated Claimholder hereby waives: (i) notice of acceptance hereof; (ii) notice of any loans or other financial accommodations made or extended under any of the Senior Loan Documents, or the creation or existence of any Senior Obligations; (iii) notice of the amount of the Senior

 

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Obligations; (iv) notice of any adverse change in the financial condition of any Obligor or of any other fact that might increase Subordinated Creditor’s or any other Subordinated Claimholder’s risk hereunder; (v) notice of presentment for payment, demand, protest, and notice thereof as to any instrument among the Senior Loan Documents; (vi) notice of any Default or Event of Default under the Senior Loan Documents or otherwise relating to the Senior Obligations (other than any notice that may be required by the express terms of this Agreement); (vii) all other notices (except if such notice is specifically required to be given to Subordinated Creditor under this Agreement) and demands to which Subordinated Creditor or any other Subordinated Claimholder might otherwise be entitled.

(c) Lawsuits; Defenses; Setoff. To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, each Subordinated Claimholder, (i) waives the right by statute or otherwise to require any Senior Claimholder to institute suit against any Obligor or to exhaust any rights and remedies which any Senior Claimholder has or may have against any Obligor; (ii) waives any defense arising by reason of any disability or other defense (other than the defense that the Discharge of the Senior Obligations has occurred (subject to the provisions of Section 5(h) ) of any Obligor or by reason of the cessation from any cause whatsoever of the liability of such Obligor in respect thereof, (iii) waives any rights to assert against any Senior Claimholder any defense (legal or equitable), set-off, counterclaim, or claim which Subordinated Creditor or any Subordinated Claimholder may now or at any time hereafter have against any Obligor or any other party liable to Senior Creditor, any other Senior Claimholder, Subordinated Creditor or any other Subordinated Claimholder, (iv) waives any defense, set-off, counterclaim, or claim, of any kind or nature, arising directly or indirectly from the present or future lack of perfection, sufficiency, validity, or enforceability of any Senior Obligations, any Subordinated Obligations or any security for either; and (v) waives any defense arising by reason of any claim or defense based upon an election of remedies by any Senior Claimholder.

(d) Subrogation . Solely after the Discharge of the Senior Obligations shall have occurred, Subordinated Creditor and the other Subordinated Claimholders shall be subrogated to the rights of the Senior Claimholders to the extent that Distributions otherwise payable to the Subordinated Claimholders have been applied to the payment of the Senior Obligations in accordance with the provisions of this Agreement. No Senior Claimholder has, and no Senior Claimholder shall have, any obligation or duty to protect any Subordinated Claimholder’s rights of subrogation arising pursuant to this Agreement or under any applicable law, and no Senior Claimholder is, and no Senior Claimholder shall be, liable for any loss to, or impairment of, any subrogation rights held by any Subordinated Claimholder.

(e) ELECTION OF REMEDIES . WITHOUT LIMITING THE GENERALITY OF ANY OTHER WAIVER OR OTHER PROVISION SET FORTH IN THIS AGREEMENT, EACH SUBORDINATED CLAIMHOLDER WAIVES, TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, ALL RIGHTS AND DEFENSES ARISING OUT OF AN ELECTION OF REMEDIES BY ANY SENIOR CLAIMHOLDER, EVEN THOUGH THAT ELECTION OF REMEDIES HAS DESTROYED THE RIGHTS OF SUBROGATION OF SUBORDINATED CREDITOR AND THE OTHER SUBORDINATED CLAIMHOLDERS AND REIMBURSEMENT AGAINST ANY OBLIGOR BY THE OPERATION OF ANY APPLICABLE LAW.

7. Amendments; Refinancing, Notice of Default .

(a) Subordinated Loan Documents . Each Subordinated Claimholder agrees that none of the Subordinated Loan Documents or any other document, instrument, or agreement evidencing all or any part of the Subordinated Obligations may be amended, restated, supplemented, Refinanced, or otherwise modified, and no new document, instrument or agreement may be entered into, without the prior written consent of Senior Creditors, on behalf of the requisite Senior Claimholders, to the extent that such amendment, restatement, Refinancing, supplement, other modification or new document, instrument or

 

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agreement, would, directly or indirectly (i) increase the maximum principal amount of the Subordinated Obligations in excess of $50,000,000, (ii) (w) add or increase the rate of interest (paid in cash) on any of the Subordinated Obligations above the interest rate (paid in cash) set forth in the Subordinated Credit Agreement (as in effect on the date hereof), (x) add or increase the rate of interest (paid in kind) on any of the Subordinated Obligations to a rate in excess of 2.50% per annum above the interest rate (paid in kind) set forth in the Subordinated Credit Agreement (as in effect on the date hereof), (y) add or increase the default rate of interest above the default interest rate set forth in the Subordinated Credit Agreement (as in effect on the date hereof), or (z) add or increase any fee set forth in the Subordinated Credit Agreement (as in effect on the date hereof), (iii) change or add any event of default or any covenant with respect to the Subordinated Obligations in a manner adverse to any Obligor or to the interests of any of the Senior Claimholders; provided , that, solely with respect to this Section 7(a)(ii), to the extent that (x) the covenants in the Senior Credit Agreement are added or amended in a manner that is more restrictive to any Obligor and (y) such Conforming Amendment to the Subordinated Credit Agreement maintains an equivalent proportionate difference between dollar amounts or ratios, as the case may be, in the relevant provision in the Subordinated Credit Agreement and those in the corresponding covenant in the Senior Credit Agreement (to the extent that such difference exists between the Subordinated Credit Agreement and the Senior Credit Agreement immediately prior to giving effect to such Conforming Amendment), then a Conforming Amendment to the Subordinated Credit Agreement may be made, (iv) change or amend any term of any Subordinated Loan Document if such change or amendment would result in an “Event of Default” under any of the Senior Loan Documents, (v) contravene the provisions of this Agreement, (vi) provide for or allow any principal amortization payment, or any other payment of the principal balance of the Subordinated Obligations, in each case, on or prior to the date that is 180 days after the final maturity date of the Senior Obligations set forth in the Senior Credit Agreement, (vii) change the date upon which any payments of principal or interest on the Subordinated Obligations are due or change any redemption or prepayment provisions of the Subordinated Obligations (including the related definitions) to provide for or allow any such payments of principal or interest on the Subordinated Obligations on or prior to the date that is 180 days after the final maturity date of the Senior Obligations set forth in the Senior Credit Agreement; provided , however , that the percentages set forth in Section 2. 9 of the Subordinated Credit Agreement may be reduced from the percentages set forth in the Subordinated Credit Agreement (as in effect on the date hereof), (viii) add, expand or accept, regardless of how acquired, whether by grant, possession, statute, operation of law, subrogation, or otherwise, any Lien or security interest on any asset of any Obligor, except to the extent that the Senior Creditors have been granted a first priority with respect to such asset, (ix) add or amend any restrictions or limitations on any Person’s ability to make payment on the Senior Obligations, or (x) add or modify any restrictions on the ability to amend or modify any Senior Loan Document. Any assignee or transferee of Subordinated Creditor or any other Subordinated Claimholder shall bind themselves in a writing addressed to Senior Creditor, for the benefit of the Senior Claimholders, to the terms of this Agreement. Notwithstanding the failure to execute or deliver any such agreement described in this Section 7(a) , the subordination effected hereby shall survive any sale, assignment, disposition or other transfer of all or any portion of the Subordinated Obligations, and the terms of this Agreement shall be binding upon the successors and assigns of Subordinated Creditor and each other Subordinated Claimholder, as provided in Section 19 below.

(b) Senior Loan Documents . Each Senior Claimholder agrees that none of the Senior Loan Documents applicable to it or any other document, instrument, or agreement evidencing all or any part of the Senior Obligations applicable to it may be amended, restated, supplemented, Refinanced, or otherwise modified without the prior written consent of Subordinated Creditor, to the extent that the effect of such amendment, restatement, Refinancing or other modification is to (i) increase the maximum principal amount (excluding increases resulting from the accrual of interest at the default rate or the capitalization of fees, expenses or interest) of the Senior Obligations to an amount in excess of the Senior Debt Cap, or (ii) create additional prohibitions and restrictions, or amend those set forth herein or in the Senior Credit Agreement, in each case, as in effect on the date hereof (to the extent such amendment

 

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would impose additional restrictions) on any Obligor’s ability to make payments on the loans under the Subordinated Credit Agreement. This Agreement shall survive any sale, assignment, disposition or other transfer of all or any portion of the Senior Obligations, and the terms of this Agreement shall be binding upon the successors and assigns of each Senior Claimholder, as provided in Section 19 below.

(c) Notice of Event of Default . Subordinated Creditor shall endeavor to give Senior Creditors prompt written notice of the occurrence of any Event of Default under any Subordinated Loan Document upon the earlier to occur of (i) the date of receipt by Subordinated Creditor of notice of such Event of Default from any Obligor or any other Person and (ii) the date on which Subordinated Creditor obtains knowledge of the existence of such Event of Default; provided , however , that the failure to give such notice shall not result in a breach or default under this Agreement and shall not give any Senior Claimholder any claim against any Subordinated Claimholder as a result of such failure. Senior Creditors shall endeavor to give Subordinated Creditor prompt written notice of the occurrence of any Event of Default under any Senior Loan Document upon the earlier to occur of (i) the date of receipt by Senior Creditors of notice of such Event of Default from any Obligor or any other Person and (ii) the date on which Senior Creditors obtain knowledge of the existence of such Event of Default (such notice, a “ Senior Default Notice ”); provided , however , that the failure to give such notice shall not result in a breach or default under this Agreement and shall not give any Subordinated Claimholder any claim against any Senior Claimholder as a result of such failure.

8. When Discharge of the Senior Obligations Deemed to Not Have Occurred . If any Obligor enters into any Refinancing of any Senior Obligations permitted under this Agreement, then (i) a Discharge of the Senior Obligations shall automatically be deemed not to have occurred for all purposes of this Agreement, (ii) the obligations under such Refinancing of such Senior Obligations shall automatically be treated as Senior Obligations for all purposes of this Agreement, including for purposes of the Lien priorities and rights in respect of Collateral set forth herein, (iii) the agent under the loan documents in respect of such Refinancing of such Senior Obligations shall be Senior Creditors for all purposes of this Agreement and (iv) such new Senior Creditors shall agree in writing to be bound by the terms of this Agreement; provided , however , that the failure of such new Senior Creditors to agree in writing to be bound by this Agreement shall not constitute a material breach of this Agreement or impact the subordination effected hereby, and the terms of this Agreement shall continue to be binding upon each Subordinated Claimholder.

9. Payments Held In Trust; Turnover; Application of Proceeds .

(a) Payments Held in Trust/Turnover . In the event that any Subordinated Claimholder receives any Distribution prohibited at such time by this Agreement, such Distribution shall be held in trust for the benefit of and shall be paid over to or delivered to, as applicable, the Administrative Agent Senior Creditor, for the benefit of the Senior Claimholders.

(b) Turnover . Whether or not any Insolvency Proceeding has been commenced by or against any Obligor, any Collateral or Proceeds thereof (including assets or Proceeds subject to Liens referred to in Section 3(d) ) received by Subordinated Creditor or any other Subordinated Claimholder in violation hereof shall be segregated and held in trust and forthwith paid over to Administrative Agent Senior Creditor, for the benefit of the Senior Claimholders, in the same form as received, with any necessary endorsements or as a court of competent jurisdiction may otherwise direct. Administrative Agent Senior Creditor is hereby authorized to make any such endorsements as agent for any Subordinated Claimholder. This authorization is coupled with an interest and is irrevocable until the Discharge of the Senior Obligations.

 

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(c) Application of Proceeds . Whether or not any Insolvency Proceeding has been commenced by or against any Obligor, any Collateral or Proceeds thereof received in connection with any Exercise of Secured Creditor Remedies and Proceeds of Collateral received pursuant to Section 3(b) or Section 3(f) shall (at such time as such Collateral or Proceeds has been monetized) be applied: (i)  first , to the payment in full in cash the Senior Obligations in accordance with the terms of the Senior Loan Documents until the Discharge of Senior Obligations, (ii)  second , to the payment in full in cash of the Subordinated Obligations in accordance with the Subordinated Loan Documents, and (iii)  thereafter , to Borrowers (to be wired to the Designated Account) or such other Person entitled thereto under applicable law. If any Exercise of Secured Creditor Remedies with respect to the Collateral produces non-cash Proceeds, or if non-cash Proceeds are received pursuant to Section 3(b) or Section 4(e) , then the Senior Creditors shall have the right, but not the obligation, to hold such non-cash Proceeds as additional Collateral and, at such time as such non-cash Proceeds are monetized, shall be applied as set forth above.

10. Representations . Each Senior Creditor represents and warrants to Subordinated Creditor and the other Subordinated Claimholders that (a) it has the requisite power and authority to enter into, execute, deliver, and carry out the terms of this Agreement and (b) this Agreement, when executed and delivered, will constitute the valid and legally binding obligation of Senior Creditors enforceable against such Senior Creditors in accordance with its terms, except as such enforceability may be limited by applicable bankruptcy, insolvency, reorganization, moratorium or similar laws affecting the enforcement of creditors’ rights generally and by equitable principles. Each of the Subordinated Claimholders represents and warrants to the Senior Claimholders that (i) it has the requisite power and authority to enter into, execute, deliver, and carry out the terms of this Agreement, (ii) this Agreement, when executed and delivered, will constitute the valid and legally binding obligation of such Subordinated Claimholder enforceable against such Subordinated Claimholder in accordance with its terms, except as such enforceability may be limited by applicable bankruptcy, insolvency, reorganization, moratorium or similar laws affecting the enforcement of creditors’ rights generally and by equitable principles, and (iii) it has not previously assigned any interest in the Subordinated Loan Documents or any of the Subordinated Obligations and that the entire amount of the Subordinated Obligations is owing only to the Subordinated Creditor.

11. Amendments . No amendment or waiver of any provision of this Agreement nor consent to any departure by any party hereto shall be effective unless it is in a written agreement executed by Required Senior Claimholders (for themselves and on behalf of other Senior Claimholders) and Required Subordinated Claimholders (for themselves and on behalf of other Subordinated Claimholders), and then such waiver or consent shall be effective only in the specific instance and for the specific purpose for which given.

12. Instrument Legends . Any promissory note or other instrument or agreement evidencing any of the Subordinated Obligations shall at all times include the following language:

“Anything herein to the contrary notwithstanding, the liens and security interests securing the obligations evidenced by this [promissory note]/[instrument]/[agreement], the exercise of any right or remedy with respect hereto, and certain of the rights of the holder hereof are subject to the provisions of the Intercreditor and Subordination Agreement dated as of November 26, 2013 (as amended, restated, supplemented, or otherwise modified from time to time, the “ Subordination Agreement ”), by and among by and among PNC BANK, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION (“ PNC ”) and CRYSTAL FINANCIAL LLC (“ Crystal ”, together with PNC, collectively, the “ Senior Creditors ” and each individually, a “ Senior Creditor ”), for and on behalf of the Senior Creditors and each other Senior Claimholder from time to time, and MUTUAL QUEST FUND (the “ Subordinated Creditor ”). In the event of any conflict between the terms of the Subordination Agreement and this [promissory note]/[instrument]/[agreement], the terms of the Subordination Agreement shall govern and control.”

 

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13. Additional Remedies . If Subordinated Creditor or any Subordinated Claimholder violate any of the terms of this Agreement, in addition to any remedies in law, equity, or otherwise, Senior Creditors may restrain such violation in any court of law and may, in its own or in any Obligor’s name, interpose this Agreement as a defense in any action by Subordinated Creditor or such Subordinated Claimholder. Upon Senior Creditors’ request, Subordinated Creditor and each other Subordinated Claimholder will promptly take all actions which Senior Creditors may request to carry out the purposes and provisions of this Agreement.

14. Information Concerning Financial Condition .

(a) Each Senior Creditor, for itself and on behalf of the other Senior Claimholders, hereby assumes responsibility for keeping itself informed of the financial condition of the Obligors and of all other circumstances bearing upon the risk of nonpayment of the Senior Obligations and agrees that Subordinated Creditor have and shall have no duty to advise any Senior Claimholder of information known to Subordinated Creditor or any other Subordinated Claimholder regarding such condition or any such circumstances. In the event that Subordinated Creditor, in their sole discretion, undertakes, at any time or from time to time, to provide any such information to any Senior Claimholder, then Subordinated Creditor shall not be under any obligation (i) to provide any such information to any Senior Claimholder on any subsequent occasion, (ii) to undertake any investigation, or (iii) to disclose any information which, pursuant to its commercial finance practices, Subordinated Creditor wish to maintain confidential. Senior Creditor, for itself and the other Senior Claimholders, acknowledges and agrees that neither Subordinated Creditor nor any other Subordinated Claimholder has made any warranties or representations with respect to the legality, validity, enforceability, collectability or perfection of the Subordinated Obligations or any liens or security interests held in connection therewith.

(b) Each Subordinated Claimholder hereby assumes responsibility for keeping itself informed of the financial condition of the Obligors and of all other circumstances bearing upon the risk of nonpayment of the Subordinated Obligations, and agrees that no Senior Creditor has and no Senior Creditor shall have any duty to advise Subordinated Creditor or any other Subordinated Claimholder of information known to any Senior Claimholder regarding such condition or any such circumstances. In the event that Senior Creditors, in their sole discretion, undertake, at any time or from time to time, to provide any such information to Subordinated Creditor or any Subordinated Claimholder, then Senior Creditors shall not be under any obligation (i) to provide any such information to Subordinated Creditor or any other Subordinated Claimholder on any subsequent occasion, (ii) to undertake any investigation, or (iii) to disclose any information which, pursuant to its commercial finance practices, Senior Creditors wish to maintain confidential. Each Subordinated Claimholder acknowledges and agrees that no Senior Claimholder has made any warranties or representations with respect to the legality, validity, enforceability, collectability or perfection of the Senior Obligations or any liens or security interests held in connection therewith.

15. Third Party Beneficiaries . This Agreement is solely for the benefit of Senior Creditor, the other Senior Claimholders, Subordinated Creditor, and the other Subordinated Claimholders, and no other Person (including any Obligor) is intended to be a third party beneficiary hereunder. Senior Creditors and Subordinated Creditor shall have the right to modify or terminate this Agreement at any time without notice to or approval of any Obligor or any other Person (other than, in the case of Senior Creditor, the requisite Senior Claimholders under the Senior Credit Agreement, and in the case of Subordinated Creditor, the requisite Subordinated Claimholders under the Subordinated Credit Agreement).

 

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16. Notices . Unless otherwise provided in this Agreement, all notices or demands relating to this Agreement shall be in writing and shall be personally delivered or sent by registered or certified mail (postage prepaid, return receipt requested), overnight courier, electronic mail (at such email addresses as a party may designate in accordance herewith), or telefacsimile. In the case of notices or demands to Senior Creditors or Subordinated Creditor, as the case may be, they shall be sent to the respective address set forth below:

 

 

  IF TO ADMINISTRATIVE AGENT SENIOR CREDITOR:
  To:   PNC BANK, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION
    200 South Wacker Drive, Suite 600
    Mail Code: XX-PCHI-06-1
    Chicago, Illinois 60606
    Attn: George Couladis
    Fax No.: (412) 762-8672
  with copies to:   PNC BANK, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION
    PNC Agency Services
    PNC Firstside Center
    500 First Avenue, 4th Floor
    Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15219
    Attn: Lisa Pierce
    Fax No.: (412) 762-8672
  and   Blank Rome LLP
    The Chrysler Building
    405 Lexington Avenue
    New York, New York 10174-0208
    Attention: Lawrence F. Flick II
    Fax No.: (215) 832-5556
  IF TO SENIOR CREDITORS:
  To:   PNC BANK, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION
    200 South Wacker Drive, Suite 600
    Mail Code: XX-PCHI-06-1
    Chicago, Illinois 60606
    Attn: George Couladis
    Fax No.: (412) 762-8672
  and  

CRYSTAL FINANCIAL LLC

Two International Place, 17 th Floor

    Boston, Massachusetts 02110
    Attn: Michael Pizette
    Fax No.: (617) 428-8701

 

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  with copies to:   PNC BANK, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION
    PNC Agency Services
    PNC Firstside Center
    500 First Avenue, 4th Floor
    Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15219
    Attn: Lisa Pierce
    Fax No.: (412) 762-8672
  and   Blank Rome LLP
    The Chrysler Building
    405 Lexington Avenue
    New York, New York 10174-0208
    Attention: Lawrence F. Flick II
    Fax No.: (215) 832-5556
  and   PROSKAUER ROSE LLP
    One International Place
    Boston, MA 02110
    Attn: Stephen A. Boyko, Esq.
    Fax No.: (617) 526-9899
  IF TO SUBORDINATED CREDITOR:
  To:   Mutual Quest Fund
    c/o Franklin Mutual Advisers, LLC
    101 John F. Kennedy Parkway
    Short Hills, NJ 07078
    Attn: Steve Luksteid and Kathy Pintarelli
    Fax No.: (973) 921-8687
  with a copy to:   Bradley Takahashi, Esq.
    2366 NW Glisan Street
    Portland, OR 97210-3421

Any party hereto may change the address at which they are to receive notices hereunder, by notice in writing in the foregoing manner given to the other party. All notices or demands sent in accordance with this Section 16 , shall be deemed received on the earlier of the date of actual receipt or three Business Days after the deposit thereof in the mail; provided, that (a) notices sent by overnight courier service shall be deemed to have been given when received, (b) notices by telefacsimile or other electronic method of transmission shall be deemed to have been given when sent (except that, if not given during normal business hours for the recipient, shall be deemed to have been given at the opening of business on the next Business Day for the recipient) and (c) notices by electronic mail shall be deemed received upon the sender’s receipt of an acknowledgment from the intended recipient (such as by the “return receipt requested” function, as available, return email or other written acknowledgment).

17. Costs and Attorneys Fees . In the event it becomes necessary for any Senior Claimholder or any Subordinated Claimholder to commence or become a party to any proceeding or action to enforce the provisions of this Agreement, the court or body before which the same shall be tried shall award to the prevailing party all costs and expenses thereof, including, but not limited to, reasonable attorneys’ fees, the usual and customary and lawfully recoverable court costs, and all other expenses in connection therewith.

 

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18. CHOICE OF LAW AND VENUE; JURY TRIAL WAIVER.

(a) THE VALIDITY OF THIS AGREEMENT, THE CONSTRUCTION, INTERPRETATION, AND ENFORCEMENT HEREOF AND THEREOF, AND THE RIGHTS OF THE PARTIES HERETO AND THERETO WITH RESPECT TO ALL MATTERS ARISING HEREUNDER OR THEREUNDER OR RELATED HERETO OR THERETO SHALL BE DETERMINED UNDER, GOVERNED BY, AND CONSTRUED IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE LAWS OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK.

(b) THE PARTIES AGREE THAT ALL ACTIONS OR PROCEEDINGS ARISING IN CONNECTION WITH THIS AGREEMENT SHALL BE TRIED AND LITIGATED ONLY IN THE STATE OF NEW YORK AND, TO THE EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, FEDERAL, COURTS LOCATED IN THE COUNTY OF NEW YORK, STATE OF NEW YORK. EACH SENIOR CREDITOR AND EACH SUBORDINATED CLAIMHOLDER HEREBY WAIVES, TO THE EXTENT PERMITTED UNDER APPLICABLE LAW, ANY RIGHT EACH MAY HAVE TO ASSERT THE DOCTRINE OF FORUM NON CONVENIENS OR TO OBJECT TO VENUE TO THE EXTENT ANY PROCEEDING IS BROUGHT IN ACCORDANCE WITH THIS SECTION 18(b) .

(c) TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, EACH SENIOR CREDITOR AND EACH SUBORDINATED CLAIMHOLDER HEREBY WAIVE THEIR RESPECTIVE RIGHTS TO A JURY TRIAL OF ANY CLAIM OR CAUSE OF ACTION BASED UPON OR ARISING OUT OF THIS AGREEMENT OR ANY OF THE TRANSACTIONS CONTEMPLATED HEREIN, INCLUDING CONTRACT CLAIMS, TORT CLAIMS, BREACH OF DUTY CLAIMS, AND ALL OTHER COMMON LAW OR STATUTORY CLAIMS. EACH SENIOR CREDITOR AND EACH SUBORDINATED CLAIMHOLDER REPRESENTS THAT EACH HAS REVIEWED THIS WAIVER AND EACH KNOWINGLY AND VOLUNTARILY WAIVES ITS JURY TRIAL RIGHTS FOLLOWING CONSULTATION WITH LEGAL COUNSEL. IN THE EVENT OF LITIGATION, A COPY OF THIS AGREEMENT MAY BE FILED AS A WRITTEN CONSENT TO A TRIAL BY THE COURT.

19. Successors and Assigns . This Agreement shall bind and inure to the benefit of each of the parties hereto, each of the Senior Claimholders and the Subordinated Claimholders, and each of their respective successors and assigns, and nothing herein is intended, or shall be construed to give, any other Person (including, for the avoidance of doubt, any Obligor or Subsidiary thereof) any right, remedy or claim under, to or in respect of this Agreement or any Collateral.

20. Integrated Agreement . This Agreement reflects the entire understanding of the parties with respect to the transactions contemplated hereby and shall not be contradicted or qualified by any other agreement, oral or written, before the date hereof.

21. Counterparts . This Agreement may be executed in any number of counterparts and by different parties on separate counterparts, each of which, when executed and delivered, shall be deemed to be an original, and all of which, when taken together, shall constitute but one and the same Agreement. Delivery of an executed counterpart of this Agreement by telefacsimile or other electronic method of transmission shall be equally as effective as delivery of an original executed counterpart of this Agreement. Any party delivering an executed counterpart of this Agreement by telefacsimile or other electronic method of transmission also shall deliver an original executed counterpart of this Agreement but the failure to deliver an original executed counterpart shall not affect the validity, enforceability, and binding effect of this Agreement.

 

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22. Headings . Headings and numbers have been set forth herein for convenience only. Unless the contrary is compelled by the context, everything contained in each Section applies equally to this entire Agreement.

23. Effectiveness; Continuing Nature of this Agreement; Severability . This Agreement shall become effective when executed and delivered by the parties hereto. This is a continuing agreement of lien subordination and Senior Claimholders may continue, at any time and without notice to Subordinated Creditor or any other Subordinated Claimholder, to extend credit and other financial accommodations to or for the benefit of any Obligor constituting Senior Obligations in reliance hereof. Each Subordinated Creditor and each other Subordinated Claimholder hereby waives any right it may have under applicable law to revoke this Agreement or any of the provisions of this Agreement. The terms of this Agreement shall survive, and shall continue in full force and effect, in any Insolvency Proceeding. Any provision of this Agreement that is prohibited or unenforceable shall not invalidate 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. All references to any Obligor shall include such Obligor as debtor and debtor in possession and any receiver or trustee for such Obligor in any Insolvency Proceeding.

24. Conflicts . To the extent that there is a conflict or inconsistency between any provision hereof, on the one hand, and any provision of any Subordinated Loan Document, on the other hand, this Agreement shall control and prevail.

25. Termination . This Agreement shall continue in full force and effect until the Discharge of the Senior Obligations shall have occurred and shall thereafter be revived to the extent provided for in Section 5(h) .

26. Agreement Amongst Lenders . The rights of the Senior Creditors hereunder and under the other Senior Loan Documents are subject to the terms of the Agreement Amongst Lenders. In the event of any conflict between the Agreement Amongst Lenders and this Agreement or any other Senior Loan Document, the terms of the Agreement Amongst Lenders shall control; provided however that nothing contained in the Agreement Amongst Lenders shall alter, modify or impair any obligations of the Loan Parties under this Agreement.

[Remainder of page left intentionally blank]

 

34


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

 

PNC BANK, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION,

as a Senior Creditor

      By:

 

 

      Name:

 

 

      Title:  

 

CRYSTAL FINANCIAL LLC,

as a Senior Creditor

      By:

 

 

      Name:

 

 

      Title:  

 

 

35


MUTUAL QUEST FUND,

By: FRANKLIN MUTUAL ADVISERS, LLC

            Its Investment Advisor

as a Subordinated Creditor

      By:

 

 

      Name:

 

 

      Title:  

 

 

36


EXHIBIT 2.3(a)

FORM OF TERM LOAN NOTE

 

$                                      , 20__

FOR VALUE RECEIVED , G ATE H OUSE M EDIA I NTERMEDIATE H OLDCO , I NC ., a Delaware corporation (“ Borrower ”) hereby promises to pay to the order of Mutual Quest Fund (“ Lender ”), at the office of Lender at the address set forth in the Loan Agreement or at any other place designated at any time by the holder hereof by notice to the Borrower as specified in the Loan Agreement, in lawful money of the United States of America and in immediately available funds, the principal sum of             DOLLARS ($            ) or such lesser sum which then represents Lender’s Term Loan Commitment Percentage of the aggregate unpaid principal amount of the Term Loan at the end of the Term, together with interest on the principal amount hereunder remaining unpaid from time to time from the date hereof until this Term Loan Note is fully paid, at the rate or rates from time to time in effect under the Loan Agreement and payable at such times as specified in the Loan Agreement, provided , however , that the entire unpaid principal balance of this Term Loan Note shall be due and payable in full at the end of the Term, or earlier as provided in the Loan Agreement.

THIS TERM LOAN NOTE is executed and delivered under and pursuant to the terms of that certain Term Loan and Security Agreement, dated as of the date hereof (as the same may be amended, restated, supplemented or otherwise modified from time to time, the “ Loan Agreement ”), by and among Borrower, GateHouse Media, Inc., a Delaware corporation, the subsidiary guarantors party thereto and Lender. Capitalized terms used herein and not otherwise defined herein shall have the meanings provided in the Loan Agreement.

The Lender shall record in its books and records the date and amount of each payment of principal and/or interest made by Borrower with respect thereto.

Borrower hereby waives diligence, presentment, demand, protest and notice of any kind whatsoever as further set forth in the Loan Agreement.

This Term Loan Note is one of the Term Notes referred to in the Loan Agreement, which among other things, contains provisions for the acceleration of the maturity hereof upon the happening of certain events, for optional and mandatory prepayments of the principal hereof prior to the maturity hereof and for the amendment or waiver of certain terms and conditions therein specified.

Anything herein to the contrary notwithstanding, the liens and security interests securing the obligations evidenced by this Term Loan Note, the exercise of any right or remedy with respect hereto, and certain of the rights of the holder hereof are subject to the provisions of the Intercreditor and Subordination Agreement dated as of November 26, 2013 (as amended, restated, supplemented, or otherwise modified from time to time, the “ Subordination Agreement ”), by and among by and among PNC BANK, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION (“ PNC ”) and CRYSTAL FINANCIAL LLC (“ Crystal ”, together with PNC, collectively, the “ Senior


Creditors ” and each individually, a “ Senior Creditor ”), for and on behalf of the Senior Creditors and each other Senior Claimholder from time to time, and MUTUAL QUEST FUND (the “ Subordinated Creditor ”). In the event of any conflict between the terms of the Subordination Agreement and this Term Loan Note, the terms of the Subordination Agreement shall govern and control.

THIS TERM LOAN NOTE SHALL BE CONSTRUED IN ACCORDANCE WITH AND GOVERNED BY THE LAWS OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK.

[SIGNATURE APPEARS ON FOLLOWING PAGE]


IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the undersigned have executed this Term Loan Note the day and year first written above intending to be legally bound hereby.

 

GATEHOUSE MEDIA INTERMEDIATE HOLDCO, INC.

By:

 

 

Name:

 

 

Title:  

 


EXHIBIT 5.5(b)

FINANCIAL PROJECTIONS

(Delivered directly to Lender)


EXHIBIT 8.1(h)

FINANCIAL CONDITION CERTIFICATE

                          , 2013

TO: M UTUAL Q UEST F UND , (“ Mutual Quest ”), in connection with that certain Term Loan and Security Agreement dated of even date herewith (the “ Loan Agreement ”), by and among G ATEHOUSE M EDIA , I NC . , a Delaware corporation (“ Holdco ”), each of the subsidiary guarantors party thereto (together with Holdco, the “ Guarantors ”) , G ATEHOUSE M EDIA I NTERMEDIATE H OLDCO , I NC ., a Delaware corporation (the “ Borrower ”, and together with the Guarantors, the “ Loan Parties ”) and Mutual Quest as lender (the “ Lender ”).

In connection with the Loan Agreement and the Other Documents, I hereby certify that, effective as of the execution of the Loan Agreement and each of the Other Documents, I am the duly elected, qualified and acting Chief Financial Officer of the Loan Parties, and, solely in such capacity and not individually, I hereby conclude to the best of my knowledge that the execution and delivery of the Loan Agreement and each of the Other Documents and the granting of any security interests or liens pursuant to the Loan Agreement and any of the Other Documents by Loan Parties (after giving effect to (x) the Plan of Reorganization, (y) the consummation of the Transactions, including the making of the initial Advance under the Loan Agreement and the incurrence of the other Indebtedness on the date hereof and (z) the application of the proceeds of such initial Advance and other Indebtedness) will not:

 

  1. render the Loan Parties, on a consolidated basis, insolvent (I understand that, in this context, “insolvent” with respect to the Loan Parties means that the present fair saleable value of the assets of the Loan Parties, on a consolidated basis, is less than the amount of liabilities of the Loan Parties, on a consolidated basis);

 

  2. leave the Loan Parties, on a consolidated basis, with property remaining in their hands which would constitute unreasonably small capital for the Loan Parties’ business. In reaching this conclusion, I understand that “unreasonably small capital” depends upon the nature of the Loan Parties’ business as presently conducted, and I have reached my conclusion based on, to the best of my knowledge, the actual and reasonably anticipated needs for capital of the business anticipated to be conducted by the Loan Parties and my review of the Projections (as such term is defined below); or

 

  3. cause the Loan Parties, on a consolidated basis, to be unable to pay its debts as they mature (this conclusion is based, in part, upon my review of the projections provided by the Loan Parties to the Lender (“ Projections ”). I have concluded that the fair value of the assets of the Loan Parties, on a consolidated basis, will not be less than the amount that will be required to pay the current debt, short term debt, and long term debt of the Loan Parties, on a consolidated basis, as such debts become due, considering all financing alternatives and potential asset sales reasonably available to the Loan Parties on a consolidated basis).


I understand that the Lender is relying on the truth and accuracy of the foregoing in connection with the extensions of credit under the Loan Agreement and that no one else shall be entitled to rely on this Certificate. All initially capitalized terms used herein shall have the respective meanings ascribed to them in the Loan Agreement, unless specifically defined herein. Unless the context of this Certificate clearly requires otherwise, the term “or” includes the inclusive meaning represented by the phrase “and/or.”

[SIGNATURE TO FOLLOW ON SEPARATE PAGE]

 

3


The undersigned, in my capacity as Chief Financial Officer of the Loan Parties, hereby executes this certificate as of the date first written above.

 

 

 

[                        ]
Chief Financial Officer


EXHIBIT 17.3

FORM OF COMMITMENT TRANSFER SUPPLEMENT

COMMITMENT TRANSFER SUPPLEMENT, dated as of             , 201    , by [            ] (the “ Transferor Lender ”), [            ], (the “ Purchasing Lender ”), and Mutual Quest Fund (“ Mutual Quest ”), as lender under the Term Loan and Security Agreement described below.

W I T N E S S E T H

WHEREAS, this Commitment Transfer Supplement is being executed and delivered in accordance with Section 17.3 of that certain Term Loan and Security Agreement dated as of November 26, 2013 (as may be amended, supplemented or otherwise modified from time to time in accordance with the terms thereof, the “ Loan Agreement ”) by and among GateHouse Media Intermediate Holdco, Inc., a Delaware corporation (the “ Borrower ”), GateHouse Media, Inc., a Delaware corporation (“Ho ldCo ”), the subsidiary guarantors party thereto (the “ Subsidiary Guarantors ”), Mutual Quest and the other financial institutions which are now or which hereafter become a party thereto (collectively, the “ Lender ”).

WHEREAS, Purchasing Lender wishes to become a Lender party to the Loan Agreement; and

WHEREAS, the Transferor Lender is selling and assigning to Purchasing Lender rights, obligations and commitments under the Loan Agreement;

NOW, THEREFORE, the parties hereto hereby agree as follows:

1. All capitalized terms used herein which are not defined shall have the meanings given to them in the Loan Agreement.

2. Upon receipt by Mutual Quest of four (4) counterparts of this Commitment Transfer Supplement, to each of which is attached a fully completed Schedule I, and each of which has been executed by the Transferor Lender, the Purchasing Lender and Mutual Quest, Mutual Quest will transmit to Transferor Lender and Purchasing Lender a Transfer Effective Notice, substantially in the form of Schedule II to this Commitment Transfer Supplement (a “ Transfer Effective Notice ”). Such Transfer Effective Notice shall set forth, inter alia, the date on which the transfer effected by this Commitment Transfer Supplement shall become effective (the “ Transfer Effective Date ”), which date unless otherwise noted therein, shall not be earlier than the first Business Day following the date such Transfer Effective Notice is received. From and after the Transfer Effective Date, Purchasing Lender shall be a Lender party to the Loan Agreement for all purposes thereof.

3. At or before 12:00 Noon (New York time) on the Transfer Effective Date, Purchasing Lender shall pay to Transferor Lender, in immediately available funds, an amount equal to the purchase price, as agreed between Transferor Lender and such Purchasing Lender (the “ Purchase Price ”), of the portion of the Term Loan being purchased by such Purchasing Lender (such Purchasing Lender’s “ Purchased Percentage ”) of the outstanding Term Loan and


other amounts owing to the Transferor Lender under the Loan Agreement and the Note(s) (if any) of Transferor Lender. Effective upon receipt by Transferor Lender of the Purchase Price from a Purchasing Lender, Transferor Lender hereby irrevocably sells, assigns and transfers to such Purchasing Lender, without recourse, representation or warranty except as to the representations and warranties made by Transferor Lender herein (including, without limitation, in Section 8 hereof), and Purchasing Lender hereby irrevocably purchases, takes and assumes from Transferor Lender, such Purchasing Lender’s Purchased Percentage of the Term Loan and other amounts owing to the Transferor Lender under the Loan Agreement and such Note(s) together with all instruments, documents and collateral security pertaining thereto.

4. Transferor Lender has made arrangements with Purchasing Lender with respect to (i) the portion, if any, to be paid, and the date or dates for payment, by Transferor Lender to such Purchasing Lender of any fees heretofore received by Transferor Lender pursuant to the Loan Agreement prior to the Transfer Effective Date and (ii) the portion, if any, to be paid, and the date or dates of payment, by such Purchasing Lender to Transferor Lender of fees or interest received by such Purchasing Lender pursuant to the Loan Agreement from and after the Transfer Effective Date.

5. (a) All principal payments that would otherwise be payable from and after the Transfer Effective Date to or for the account of Transferor Lender pursuant to the Loan Agreement and the Note(s) (if any) of Transferor Lender shall, instead, be payable to or for the account of Transferor Lender and Purchasing Lender, as the case may be, in accordance with their respective interests as reflected in this Commitment Transfer Supplement.

    (b) All interest, fees and other amounts that would otherwise accrue for the account of Transferor Lender from and after the Transfer Effective Date pursuant to the Loan Agreement and the Note(s) (if any) of Transferor Lender shall, instead, accrue for the account of, and be payable to, Transferor Lender and Purchasing Lender, as the case may be, in accordance with their respective interests as reflected in this Commitment Transfer Supplement. In the event that any amount of interest, fees or other amounts accruing prior to the Transfer Effective Date was included in the Purchase Price paid by any Purchasing Lender, Transferor Lender and Purchasing Lender will make appropriate arrangements for payment by Transferor Lender to such Purchasing Lender of such amount upon receipt thereof from Borrower.

6. Concurrently with the execution and delivery hereof, Transferor Lender will provide to Purchasing Lender conformed copies of the Loan Agreement and all related documents delivered to Transferor Lender.

7. Each of the parties to this Commitment Transfer Supplement agrees that at any time and from time to time upon the written request of any other party, it will execute and deliver such further documents and do such further acts and things as such other party may reasonably request in order to effect the purposes of this Commitment Transfer Supplement.

8. By executing and delivering this Commitment Transfer Supplement, Transferor Lender and Purchasing Lender confirm to and agree with each other and Mutual Quest as follows: (i) other than the representation and warranty that it is the legal and beneficial owner of

 

2


the interest being assigned hereby free and clear of any adverse claim, Transferor Lender makes no representation or warranty and assumes no responsibility with respect to any statements, warranties or representations made in or in connection with the Loan Agreement or the execution, legality, validity, enforceability, genuineness, sufficiency or value of the Loan Agreement, the Note(s) (if any) of Transferor Lender or any other instrument or document furnished pursuant thereto; (ii) Transferor Lender makes no representation or warranty and assumes no responsibility with respect to the financial condition of Borrower or the performance or observance by Borrower of any of the Obligations under the Loan Agreement, the Note(s) (if any) or any other instrument or document furnished pursuant thereto; (iii) Transferor Lender has the full power and authority, and has taken all action necessary, to execute and deliver this Commitment Transfer Supplement and to consummate the transactions contemplated hereby; (iv) Purchasing Lender confirms that it has received a copy of the Loan Agreement, together with copies of such financial statements and such other documents and information as it has deemed appropriate to make its own credit analysis and decision to enter into this Commitment Transfer Supplement; (v) Purchasing Lender acknowledges receipt of and consents to the Other Documents; (vi) Purchasing Lender has the full power and authority, and has taken all actions necessary to execute and deliver this Commitment Transfer Supplement and to consummate the transactions contemplated hereby and to become a Lender under the Loan Agreement; (vii) Purchasing Lender meets all of the requirements to be an assignee under Section 17.3(c) of the Loan Agreement (subject to such consents, if any, as may be required under Section 17.3(c) of the Loan Agreement); (viii) Purchasing Lender will, independently and without reliance upon Mutual Quest, Transferor Lender 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 decisions in taking or not taking action under the Loan Agreement; (ix) Purchasing Lender agrees that it will perform all of its respective obligations as set forth in the Loan Agreement and Other Documents to be performed by it as a Lender; (x) Purchasing Lender represents and warrants to Transferor Lender, Mutual Quest and Borrower that it is either (x) entitled to the benefits of an income tax treaty with the United States of America that provides for an exemption from the United States withholding tax on interest and other payments made by Borrower under the Loan Agreement and Other Documents and attaches any documentation required to be delivered by it under the Loan Agreement, including but not limited to any documentation required under Section 3.10(e) of the Loan Agreement or (y) is engaged in trade or business within the United States of America.

9. [The Transferor Lender attaches the Note(s) held by it and requests that the Lender exchange such Note(s) for new Note(s) payable to Purchasing Lender in an amount equal to the Term Loan Commitment Percentage assumed by the Purchasing Lender pursuant hereto and, if applicable, to the Transferor Lender in an amount equal to the Term Loan Commitment Percentage retained by the Transferor Lender.] 1

10. Schedule I hereto sets forth the revised Term Loan Commitment Percentage of Transferor Lender and the Term Loan Commitment Percentage of Purchasing Lender as well as administrative information with respect to Purchasing Lender.

 

 

1   Only include if Transferor Lender has notes.

 

3


11. This Commitment Transfer Supplement shall be governed by, and construed in accordance with, the laws of the State of New York.

12. This Commitment Transfer Supplement shall be binding upon, and inure to the benefit of, the parties hereto and their respective successors and permitted assigns. This Commitment Transfer Supplement may be executed in any number of 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. Delivery of an executed counterpart of a signature page to this Commitment Transfer Supplement by facsimile or an electronic transmission of a .pdf copy thereof shall be effective as delivery of an original executed counterpart of this Commitment Transfer Supplement.

[SIGNATURE PAGE FOLLOWS]

 

4


IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have caused this Commitment Transfer Supplement to be executed by their respective duly authorized officers on the date set forth above.

 

[                                                                        ]

as Transferor Lender

By:  

 

Name:
Title:  

[                                                                        ]

as Purchasing Lender

By:  

 

Name:
Title:  
Mutual Quest Fund
By:  

 

Name:
Title:  

[Consented to]: 2

GATEHOUSE MEDIA INTERMEDIATE HOLDCO, INC.

 

By:

 

 

 

Name:

 

Title:

 

 

2   To be added only if the consent of the Borrower is required by the terms of the Loan Agreement.

[SIGNATURE PAGE TO SECOND LIEN COMMITMENT TRANSFER SUPPLEMENT]


SCHEDULE I TO COMMITMENT TRANSFER SUPPLEMENT

LIST OF OFFICES, ADDRESSES FOR NOTICES AND TERM LOAN COMMITMENT AMOUNTS

 

     Revised Term Loan Commitment Amount    $___________
   Revised Term Loan Commitment Percentage    ____________%
   Term Loan Commitment Amount    $___________
   Term Loan Commitment Percentage    ____________%

Addresses for Notices for [                ]

     

Attention:

Telephone:

Telecopier:

     


SCHEDULE II TO COMMITMENT TRANSFER SUPPLEMENT

[Form of Transfer Effective Notice]

To:                                                                          , as Transferor Lender and                                                              , as Purchasing Lender:

The undersigned, as Lender under the Term Loan and Security Agreement dated as of November 26, 2013 by and among GATEHOUSE MEDIA INTERMEDIATE HOLDCO, INC., a Delaware corporation (“ GMIH ”), each subsidiary guarantor party thereto (the “ Subsidiary Guarantors ”), GATEHOUSE MEDIA, INC., a Delaware corporation (together with the Subsidiary Guarantors, the “ Guarantors ”) and Lender, acknowledges receipt of four (4) executed counterparts of a completed Commitment Transfer Supplement in the form attached hereto. [Note: Attach copy of Commitment Transfer Supplement.] Terms defined in such Commitment Transfer Supplement are used herein as therein defined.

Pursuant to such Commitment Transfer Supplement, you are advised that the Transfer Effective Date will be [Insert date of Transfer Effective Notice].

 

MUTUAL QUEST FUND,

as Lender

By:

 

 

Title:

 

 

Name:

 

 

ACCEPTED FOR RECORDATION

  IN REGISTER:

[SIGNATURE PAGE TO SECOND LIEN COMMITMENT TRANSFER SUPPLEMENT]


Schedules

 

Schedule I    Additional Borrowers
Schedule II    Transaction Expenses
Schedule 1.2(a)    Certain Excluded Property
Schedule 1.2(b)    Permitted Dispositions
Schedule 1.2(c)    Permitted Encumbrances
Schedule 4.4    Equipment and Inventory Locations; Place of Business, Chief Executive Office, Real Property
Schedule 4.8(j)    Concentration and Depository Accounts
Schedule 4.12    Financing Statements
Schedule 5.1    Consents
Schedule 5.2(a)    States of Qualification and Good Standing
Schedule 5.2(b)    Subsidiaries
Schedule 5.4    Federal Tax Identification Number
Schedule 5.6    Prior Names
Schedule 5.7    Environmental
Schedule 5.8(b)(i)    Litigation
Schedule 5.8(b)(ii)    Indebtedness
Schedule 5.8(d)    Plans
Schedule 5.9    Intellectual Property, Source Code Escrow Agreements
Schedule 5.10    Licenses and Permits
Schedule 5.14    Labor Disputes
Schedule 5.24    Equity Interests
Schedule 5.25    Commercial Tort Claims
Schedule 5.26    Letter of Credit Rights
Schedule 5.27    Material Contracts
Schedule 7.3    Guarantees


SCHEDULE I

Additional Borrowers

 

Guarantor

Copley Ohio Newspapers, Inc.

ENHE Acquisition, LLC

Enterprise NewsMedia Holding, LLC

Enterprise NewsMedia, LLC

Enterprise Publishing Company, LLC

GateHouse Media Arkansas Holdings, Inc.

GateHouse Media California Holdings, Inc.

GateHouse Media Colorado Holdings, Inc.

GateHouse Media Connecticut Holdings, Inc.

GateHouse Media Corning Holdings, Inc.

GateHouse Media Delaware Holdings, Inc.

GateHouse Media Directories Holdings, Inc.

GateHouse Media Florida Holdings, Inc.

GateHouse Media Freeport Holdings, Inc.

GateHouse Media Holdco, Inc.

GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings II, Inc.

GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings, Inc.

GateHouse Media Iowa Holdings, Inc.

GateHouse Media Kansas Holdings II, Inc.

GateHouse Media Kansas Holdings, Inc.

GateHouse Media Lansing Printing, Inc.

GateHouse Media Louisiana Holdings, Inc.

GateHouse Media Management Services, Inc.

GateHouse Media Massachusetts I, Inc.


GateHouse Media Massachusetts II, Inc.

GateHouse Media Michigan Holdings II, Inc.

GateHouse Media Michigan Holdings, Inc.

GateHouse Media Minnesota Holdings, Inc.

GateHouse Media Missouri Holdings II, Inc.

GateHouse Media Missouri Holdings, Inc.

GateHouse Media Nebraska Holdings II, Inc.

GateHouse Media Nebraska Holdings, Inc.

GateHouse Media Nevada Holdings, Inc.

GateHouse Media New York Holdings, Inc.

GateHouse Media North Dakota Holdings, Inc.

GateHouse Media Ohio Holdings, Inc.

GateHouse Media Oklahoma Holdings, Inc.

GateHouse Media Operating, Inc.

GateHouse Media Pennsylvania Holdings, Inc.

GateHouse Media Suburban Newspapers, Inc.

GateHouse Media Tennessee Holdings, Inc.

GateHouse Media Ventures, Inc.

George W. Prescott Publishing Company, LLC

Liberty SMC, L.L.C.

Low Realty, LLC

LRT Four Hundred, LLC

Mineral Daily News Tribune, Inc.

News Leader, Inc.

Surewest Directories

Terry Newspapers, Inc.

The Peoria Journal Star, Inc.


SCHEDULE II

Transaction Expenses

(Separately provided to Agents/Lender)


SCHEDULE III

Permitted Dividend – Illustrative Example

Assumptions

(A) EBITDA

Q2 2014 - $19.1M

Q3 2014 - $19.0M

Q4 2014 - $25.2M

Q1 2015 - $10.4M

Total: $73.7MM

(B) Charges

The “minus” components of Excess Cash Flow (Unfunded Capital Expenditures, taxes, dividends (including Permitted Dividends) and distributions made in respect of such fiscal period, Transaction Expenses, Debt Payments (excluding amounts expensed within the definition of Earnings Before Interest and Taxes), pension payments (excluding amounts expensed within the definition of Earnings Before Interest and Taxes, extraordinary, non-recurring cash employer severance expenses, not to exceed $1,000,000 per fiscal year (to the extent included in clause (x) of the definition of “EBITDA”), any management incentive fee expense deferred in accordance with clause (xi) of the definition of “EBITDA”) excluding Permitted Dividends total:

Q2 2014 - $5.5M

Q3 2014 - $5.5M

Q4 2014 - $5.2M

Q1 2015 - $5.4M

Total: $21.6MM

(C) Dividends paid (payment date)

Q2 2014 - $12.5M (end of April)

Q3 2014 - $12.5M (end of July)

Q4 2014 - $12.5M (end of January)

Total: $37.5M

If the Leverage Ratio is <2.50 to 1.00, then the cumulative Permitted Dividends for the LTM period ending Q1 2015 is equal to “an amount up to 100% of the Excess Cash Flow for the LTM period then ended.

The LTM period just ended is April 1, 2014 to March 31, 2015.


Therefore, the maximum Permitted Dividend for the period ending Q1 2015 payable within 45 days thereafter would be calculated as follows:

(A)-(B)-(C) = $14.6MM


SCHEDULE 1.2(a) Certain

Excluded Property

1. The following properties/assets are under a contract for sale (or an agreement in principle has been reached).

(a) 203 N. Randolph, Macomb, Illinois; Building; Gross Proposed Purchase Price - $150,000

(b) 246 Jay Street, Utica, New York; Building; Gross Proposed Purchase Price - $120,000

(c) 111 East Jenkins Street, Maryville, Missouri*; Entire Business; Gross Proposed Purchase Price - $100,000

 

* Contract being negotiated – Sale of entire business (Land, Building and Publications: Maryville Daily Forum and Penny Press 2)

2. All Motor Vehicles

3. Any Real Property with an extrapolated value of less than $100,000.


SCHEDULE 1.2(b)

Permitted Dispositions

1. The following properties/assets are under a contract for sale (or an agreement in principle has been reached).

(a) 203 N. Randolph, Macomb, Illinois; Building; Gross Proposed Purchase Price - $150,000

(b) 246 Jay Street, Utica, New York; Building; Gross Proposed Purchase Price - $120,000

(c) 111 East Jenkins Street, Maryville, Missouri*; Entire Business; Gross Proposed Purchase Price - $100,000

 

* Contract being negotiated – Sale of entire business (Land, Building and Publications: Maryville Daily Forum and Penny Press 2)

2. Dissolution of Pro Football Weekly, LLC


SCHEDULE 1.2(c)

Permitted Encumbrances

 

1. Agreements or proposed agreements to the sale of the following properties (See Schedule 1.2(b)):

(a) 203 N. Randolph, Macomb, Illinois

(b) 246 Jay Street, Utica, New York

(c) 111 East Jenkins Street, Maryville, Missouri

 

2. Bankruptcy claim for unpaid property taxes (for a total amount of $29,625.11) filed by Kern County Treasurer and Tax Collector against GateHouse Media California Holdings, Inc.


SCHEDULE 4.4

Equipment and Inventory Locations; Place of Business, Chief Executive Office, Real Property

Schedule 4.4(b)(i)

Equipment, Inventory or Other Collateral

 

Loan Party

  

Address

   City    St    Country    Zip    Schedule
4.4(b)(i) Value
 

Copley Ohio Newspapers, Inc.

   500 MARKET AVENUE SOUTH    Canton    OH    Stark    44702    $ 13,800,000   

Copley Ohio Newspapers, Inc.

   629 WABASH AVENUE    New

Philadelphia

   OH    Tuscarawas    44663    $ 2,040,000   

Enterprise Publishing Company, LLC

   400 CROWN COLONY DRIVE    Quincy    MA    Norfolk    02169    $ 588,000   

GateHouse Media Arkansas Holdings, Inc.

   522 W 3rd Street    Hope    AR    Hempstead    71801    $ 1,164,000   

GateHouse Media Arkansas Holdings, Inc.

   111 W 6TH ST    Stuttgart    AR    Arkansas    72160    $ 1,570,000   

GateHouse Media California Holdings, Inc.

   224 EAST RIDGECREST BLVD    Ridgecrest    CA    Kern    93555    $ 335,000   

GateHouse Media California Holdings, Inc.

   309 S BROADWAY    Yreka    CA    Siskiyou    96097    $ 490,000   

GateHouse Media Colorado Holdings, Inc.

   422 COLORADO AVENUE    La Junta    CO    Otero    81050    $ 325,000   

GateHouse Media Connecticut Holdings, Inc.

   66 FRANKLIN STREET    Norwich    CT    New
London
   06360    $ 550,000   

GateHouse Media Corning Holdings, Inc.

   34 W. PULTENEY ST.    Corning    NY    Steuben    14830    $ 550,000   

GateHouse Media Delaware Holdings, Inc.

   1196 SOUTH LITTLE CREEK RD    Dover    DE    Kent    19901    $ 6,650,000   

GateHouse Media Directories Holdings, Inc.

  

915 HIGHLAND POINTE DRIVE, STE 400

On or about March 1,

2014 – moving to 1430

Blue Oaks Boulevard, Suite 190, Roseville, CA

95747

   Roseville    CA    Placer    95678    $ 350,000   

GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings, Inc.

   53 W ELM ST    Canton    IL    Fulton    61520    $ 949,660   

GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings, Inc.

   140 S. Prairie    Galesburg    IL    USA    61401    $ 5,017,987   

GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings, Inc.

   105 E. CENTRAL BLVD.    Kewanee    IL    Henry    61443    $ 400,000   

GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings, Inc.

   400 S MAIN ST    Monmouth    IL    Warren    61462    $ 390,000   


GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings, Inc.

   206 S WHITTLE AVE    Olney    IL    Richland    62450    $ 1,210,000   

GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings, Inc.

   1 NEWS PLAZA    Peoria    IL    Peoria    61643    $ 23,210,307   

GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings, Inc.

   99 E. STATE STREET    Rockford    IL    Winnebago    61104    $ 22,304,000   

GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings, Inc.

   One Copley Plaza/9th ST & Capitol Ave    Springfield    IL    Sangamon    62701    $ 2,000,000   

GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings, Inc.

   111-115 S EMMA ST    West

Frankfort

   IL    Franklin    62896    $ 250,000   

GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings, Inc.

   121 W 6TH ST    Newton    KS    Harvey    67114    $ 255,000   

GateHouse Media Kansas Holdings II, Inc.

   301 S. MAIN ST    Mc Pherson    KS    Mc
Pherson
   67460    $ 250,000   

GateHouse Media Kansas Holdings II, Inc.

   701 N LOCUST ST    Pittsburgh    KS    Crawford    66762    $ 810,000   

GateHouse Media Louisiana Holdings, Inc.

   119 EAST HICKORY    Bastrop    LA    Morehouse    71221    $ 2,233,000   

GateHouse Media Management Services, Inc.

   350 WillowBrook Office Park    Fairport    NY    Monroe    14450    $ 500,000   

GateHouse Media Management Services, Inc.

   120 N. Plymouth Ave    Rochester    NY    Monroe    14608    $ 1,000,000   

GateHouse Media Massachusetts I, Inc.

   475 WASHINGTON ST    Auburn    MA    Worcester    01501    $ 1,792,000   

GateHouse Media Massachusetts I, Inc.

   101A Messina Drive    Braintree    MA    Norfolk    02184    $ 392,000   

GateHouse Media Massachusetts I, Inc.

   75 SYLVAN ST, BLDG C    Danvers    MA    Essex    01923    $ 329,000   

GateHouse Media Massachusetts I, Inc.

   207 POCASSET STREET    Fall River    MA    Bristol    02721    $ 413,000   

GateHouse Media Massachusetts I, Inc.

   33 NEW YORK AVE    Framingham    MA    Middlesex    01701    $

 
 

2,911,000

(Office &
Production

  

  

GateHouse Media Massachusetts I, Inc.

   165 ENTERPRISE DR    Marshfield    MA    Plymouth    02050    $ 336,000   

GateHouse Media Massachusetts I, Inc.

   254 SECOND AVE    Needham    MA    Norfolk    02494    $ 770,000   

GateHouse Media Massachusetts I, Inc.

   15 PACELLA DRIVE    Randolph    MA    Norfolk    02368    $ 616,000   

GateHouse Media Michigan Holdings II, Inc.

   1226 LINCOLN ROAD    Allegan    MI    Allegan    49010    $ 375,000   

GateHouse Media Michigan Holdings II, Inc.

   595 JENNER DR    Allegan    MI    Allegan    49010    $ 1,835,075   

GateHouse Media Michigan Holdings II, Inc.

   54 W 8TH ST    Holland    MI    Ottowa    49423    $ 620,000   


GateHouse Media Michigan Holdings, Inc.

   133 N. WINTER ST    Adrian    MI    Lenawee    49221    $ 2,166,000   

GateHouse Media Michigan Holdings, Inc.

   308 N MAIN ST # 310    Cheboygan    MI    Cheboygan    49721    $ 379,000   

GateHouse Media Michigan Holdings, Inc.

   109 ARLINGTON STREET    Sault Ste Marie    MI    Chippewa    49783    $ 340,000   

GateHouse Media Michigan Holdings, Inc.

   209 JOHN ST    Sturgis    MI    St. Joseph    49091    $ 527,783   

GateHouse Media Minnesota Holdings, Inc.

   713 PRENTICE ST    Granite Falls    MN    Yellow

Medicine

   56241    $ 130,000   

GateHouse Media Missouri Holdings II, Inc.

   200 N 3RD ST    Hannibal    MO    Marion    63401    $ 1,518,164   

GateHouse Media Missouri Holdings II, Inc.

   410 S LIBERTY ST    Independence    MO    Jackson    64050    $ 1,135,000   

GateHouse Media Missouri Holdings, Inc.

   300 N WASHINGTON ST    Mexico    MO    Audrain    65265    $ 1,074,000   

GateHouse Media Missouri Holdings, Inc.

   1006 W HARMONY ST    Neosho    MO    Newton    64850    $ 1,376,000   

GateHouse Media Missouri Holdings, Inc.

   108 HOLLY    Waynesville    MO    Pulaski    65583    $ 950,000   

GateHouse Media New York Holdings, Inc.

   2495 BRICKYARD RD    Canandaigua    NY    Ontario    14424    $ 1,400,000   

GateHouse Media New York Holdings, Inc.

   73 BUFFALO ST    Canandaigua    NY    Ontario    14424    $ 3,585,000   

GateHouse Media New York Holdings, Inc.

   85 Canisteo Street    Hornell    NY    Steuben    14843    $ 300,000   

GateHouse Media New York Holdings, Inc.

   221 ORISKANY PLAZA    Utica    NY    Oneida    13501    $ 2,200,000   

GateHouse Media North Dakota Holdings, Inc.

   516 4TH STREET NE    Devils Lake    ND    Ramsey    58301    $ 1,571,000   

GateHouse Media Oklahoma Holdings, Inc.

   117 W BROADWAY ST    Ardmore    OK    Carter    73401    $ 1,492,000   

GateHouse Media Oklahoma Holdings, Inc.

   215 N BELL AVE    Shawnee    OK    Pottawatomie    74801    $ 3,027,000   

GateHouse Media Pennsylvania Holdings, Inc.

   220 8TH ST.    Honesdale    PA    Wayne    18431    $ 1,258,000   

GateHouse Media Pennsylvania Holdings, Inc.

   30 WALNUT ST    Waynesboro    PA    Franklin    17268    $ 1,810,000   

GateHouse Media Suburban Newspapers, Inc.

  

1101 31ST ST, STE 100,

260, 270

 

Effective 12/1/2013 – moving to One Lincoln Center, Oakbrook Terrace, Illinois

   Downers Grove    IL    Du Page    60515    $ 900,000   

GateHouse Media Ventures, Inc.

   108 Myrtle Street    Quincy    MA    Norfolk    02169    $ 910,000   


GateHouse Media West Virginia Holdings, Inc.

   410 RACE STREET    Ravenswood    WV    Jackson    26164    $ 1,300,000   

GateHouse Media West Virginia Holdings, Inc.

   302 N. CHURCH STREET    Ripley    WV    Jackson    25271    $ 268,000   

Mineral Daily News, Inc.

   21 Shamrock Dr. - Rt 220 S    Keyser    WV    Mineral    26726    $ 1,119,000   

News Leader Inc.

   716 E. NAPOLEON ST    Sulphur    LA    Calcasien    70663    $ 300,000   


Schedule 4.4(b)(ii)

Warehouses

 

Loan Party

  

Address

  

City

  

State

  

County

  

Zip Code

  

Owned /
Leased

  

Nature and Use

GateHouse Media Connecticut Holdings, Inc.    66 Franklin Street    Norwich    CT    New London    06360    Owned    Warehouse / Office

GateHouse Media

Delaware Holdings, Inc.

   1196 South Little Creek Rd    Dover    DE    Kent    19901    Owned    Office / Production / Warehouse
GateHouse Media Kansas Holdings II, Inc.    107 E 7TH ST    Pittsburgh    KS    Crawford    66762    Owned    Warehouse
GateHouse Media Michigan Holdings II, Inc.    1226 Lincoln Road    Allegan    MI    Allegan    49010    Owned    Warehouse
GateHouse Media New York Holdings, Inc.    6890 Ridge Road    Sodus    NY    Wayne    14551    Owned    Warehouse
GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings II, Inc.    350 Morton St    Jacksonville    IL    Morgan    62650    Leased   

Storage of

Newspapers

GateHouse Media Massachusetts I, Inc.    101A Messina Drive    Braintree    MA    Norfolk    02184    Leased    Warehouse / Office
GateHouse Media New York Holdings, Inc.    348 Elm Street (storage unit)    Penn Yan    NY    Yates    14527    Leased    Mini Storage


Schedule 4.4(b)(iii)(A)

Place of Business

Owned Property:

 

Property Location       

Loan Party

  

Address

  

City

  

State

  

County

  

Zip Code

 
Copley Ohio Newspapers, Inc.    500 MARKET AVENUE SOUTH    Canton    OH    Stark      44702   
Copley Ohio Newspapers, Inc.    50 NORTH AVENUE    Massillon    OH    Stark      44648   
Copley Ohio Newspapers, Inc.    629 WABASH AVENUE    New Philadelphia    OH    Tuscarawas      44663   
GateHouse Media Arkansas Holdings, Inc.    205 South 26th Street    Arkadelphia    AR    Clark      71923   
GateHouse Media Arkansas Holdings, Inc.    107-109 N. 4TH ST    Heber Springs    AR    Cleburne      72543   
GateHouse Media Arkansas Holdings, Inc.    417 YORK ST.    Helena    AR    Phillips      72342   
GateHouse Media Arkansas Holdings, Inc.    522 W 3rd Street    Hope    AR    Hempstead      71801   
GateHouse Media Arkansas Holdings, Inc.    2408 HIGHWAY 367 N    Newport    AR    Jackson      72112   
GateHouse Media Arkansas Holdings, Inc.    100 EAST EM STREET    Prescott    AR    Nevada      71857   


GateHouse Media Arkansas Holdings, Inc.    111 W 6TH ST    Stuttgart    AR    Arkansas      72160   
GateHouse Media California Holdings, Inc.    924 N. MT. SHASTA BLVD    Mt. Shasta    CA    Siskiyou      96067   
GateHouse Media California Holdings, Inc.    224 EAST RIDGECREST BLVD    Ridgecrest    CA    Kern      93555   
GateHouse Media California Holdings, Inc.    800 CENTER STREET    Taft    CA    Kern      93268   
GateHouse Media California Holdings, Inc.    309 S BROADWAY    Yreka    CA    Siskiyou      96097   
GateHouse Media Colorado Holdings, Inc.    422 COLORADO AVENUE    La Junta    CO    Otero      81050   
GateHouse Media Colorado Holdings, Inc.   

418 COLORADO AVE (PART OF

422 COLORADO)

   La Junta    CO    Otero      81050   
GateHouse Media Connecticut Holdings, Inc.    66 FRANKLIN STREET    Norwich    CT    New London      06360   
GateHouse Media Corning Holdings, Inc.    34 W. PULTENEY ST.    Corning    NY    Steuben      14830   
GateHouse Media Delaware Holdings, Inc.    1196 SOUTH LITTLE CREEK RD    Dover    DE    Kent      19901   
GateHouse Media Delaware Holdings, Inc.    13 S FRONT ST    Georgetown    DE    Sussex      19947   
GateHouse Media Delaware Holdings, Inc.    24 W MAIN ST    Middletown    DE    New Castle      19709   


GateHouse Media Florida Holdings, Inc.    650 6T STREET    Winterhaven    FL    Polk      33880   
GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings, Inc.    111-113 E CHURCH ST    Benton    IL    Franklin      62812   
GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings, Inc.    119 WEST EXCHANGE ST    Cambridge    IL    Henry      61238   
GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings, Inc.    53 W ELM ST    Canton    IL    Fulton      61520   
GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings, Inc.    323 E MAIN ST    Carmi    IL    White      62821   
GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings, Inc.    9 N. DIVISION ST    Du Quoin    IL    Perry      62832   
GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings, Inc.    1200 Locust St    El Dorado    IL    Saline      62930   
GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings, Inc.    105 W. NORTH AVE    Flora    IL    Clay      62839   
GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings, Inc.    140 S. Prairie    Galesburg    IL    Knox      61401   
GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings, Inc.    108 W. FIRST ST    Geneseo    IL    Henry      61254   
GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings, Inc.    35 S. VINE ST.    Harrisburg    IL    Saline      62946   
GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings, Inc.    105 E. CENTRAL BLVD.    Kewanee    IL    Henry      61443   


GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings, Inc.    203 N. RANDOLPH    Macomb    IL    McDonough      61455   
GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings, Inc.    502 W JACKSON ST    Marion    IL    Williamson      62959   
GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings, Inc.    400 S MAIN ST    Monmouth    IL    Warren      61462   
GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings, Inc.    1400 WALNUT ST.    Murphysboro    IL    Jackson      62966   
GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings, Inc.    700 W. WASHINGTON ST    Newton    IL    Jasper      62448   
GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings, Inc.    121 W 6TH ST    Newton    KS    Harvey      67114   
GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings, Inc.    206 S WHITTLE AVE    Olney    IL    Richland      62450   
GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings, Inc.    1 NEWS PLAZA    Peoria    IL    Peoria      61643   
GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings, Inc.    318 N MAIN ST    Pontiac    IL    Livingston      61764   
GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings, Inc.    99 E. STATE STREET    Rockford    IL    Winnebago      61104   
GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings, Inc.    ONE COPLEY PLAZA/9th STREET & CAPITOL AVE    Springfield    IL    Sangamon      62701   
GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings, Inc.    2672 Ken Gray Blvd.    West Frankfort    IL    Franklin      62896   


GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings, Inc.    111-115 S EMMA ST    West Frankfort    IL    Franklin      62896   
GateHouse Media Kansas Holdings II, Inc.    705 SECOND AVE    Dodge City    KS    Ford      67801   
GateHouse Media Kansas Holdings II, Inc.    709 N 2ND AVE    Dodge City    KS    Ford      67801   
GateHouse Media Kansas Holdings II, Inc.    701 N LOCUST ST    Pittsburgh    KS    Crawford      66762   
GateHouse Media Kansas Holdings II, Inc.    107 E 7TH ST    Pittsburgh    KS    Crawford      66762   
GateHouse Media Kansas Holdings II, Inc.    204 E 5TH STREET    Augusta    KS    Butler      67010   
GateHouse Media Kansas Holdings II, Inc.    114 N VINE ST    El Dorado    KS    Butler      67042   
GateHouse Media Kansas Holdings II, Inc.    422 SENECA ST    Leavenworth    KS    Leavenworth      66048   
GateHouse Media Kansas Holdings II, Inc.    301 S. MAIN ST    Mc Pherson    KS    Mc Pherson      67460   
GateHouse Media Kansas Holdings II, Inc.    320 S MAIN ST    Pratt    KS    Pratt      67124   
GateHouse Media Kansas Holdings II, Inc.    113 W. HARVEY AVE    Wellington    KS    Sumner      67152   
GateHouse Media Louisiana Holdings, Inc.    119 EAST HICKORY    Bastrop    LA    Morehouse      71221   


GateHouse Media Louisiana Holdings, Inc.    903 W. 1ST ST    DeRidder    LA    Beauregard      70634   
GateHouse Media Louisiana Holdings, Inc.    231 W. CORNERVIEW ST    Gonzales    LA    Ascension      70737   
GateHouse Media Louisiana Holdings, Inc.    206 E. TEXAS ST    Leesville    LA    Vernon      71446   
GateHouse Media Louisiana Holdings, Inc.    58650 BELLEVIEW DR    Plaquemine    LA    Iberville      70764   
GateHouse Media Massachusetts I, Inc.    475 WASHINGTON ST    Auburn    MA    Worcester      01501   
GateHouse Media Massachusetts I, Inc.    207 POCASSET STREET    Fall River    MA    Bristol      02721   
GateHouse Media Massachusetts I, Inc.    33 NEW YORK AVENUE    Framingham    MA    Middlesex     
 
 
01701
(Office &
Production)
  
  
  
GateHouse Media Massachusetts I, Inc.    165 ENTERPRISE DR    Marshfield    MA    Plymouth      02050   
GateHouse Media Massachusetts I, Inc.    5 COHANNET STREET    Tauton    MA    Bristol      02780   
GateHouse Media Michigan Holdings II, Inc.    595 JENNER DR    Allegan    MI    Allegan      49010   
GateHouse Media Michigan Holdings II, Inc.    1226 LINCOLN ROAD    Allegan    MI    Allegan      49010   
GateHouse Media Michigan Holdings II, Inc.    33 MCCOLLUM ST    Hillsdale    MI    Hillsdale      49242   


GateHouse Media Michigan Holdings II, Inc.    54 W 8TH ST    Holland    MI    Ottowa      49423   
GateHouse Media Michigan Holdings, Inc.    155 N. WINTER ST    Adrian    MI    Lenawee      49221   
GateHouse Media Michigan Holdings, Inc.    133 N. WINTER ST    Adrian    MI    Lenawee      49221   
GateHouse Media Michigan Holdings, Inc.    308 N MAIN ST # 310    Cheboygan    MI    Cheboygan      49721   
GateHouse Media Michigan Holdings, Inc.    15 W. PEARL STREET    Coldwater    MI    Branch      49036   
GateHouse Media Michigan Holdings, Inc.    57 S MONROE ST    Coldwater    MI    Branch      49036   
GateHouse Media Michigan Holdings, Inc.    114 N DEPOT ST    Ionia    MI    Ionia      48846   
GateHouse Media Michigan Holdings, Inc.    109 ARLINGTON STREET    Sault Ste Marie    MI    Chippewa      49783   
GateHouse Media Michigan Holdings, Inc.    209 JOHN ST    Sturgis    MI    St. Joseph      49091   
GateHouse Media Minnesota Holdings, Inc.    124 S BROADWAY    Crookston    MN    Polk      56716   
GateHouse Media Minnesota Holdings, Inc.    713 PRENTICE ST    Granite Falls    MN    Yellow Medicine      56241   
GateHouse Media Minnesota Holdings, Inc.    301 THIRD AVENUE W    Halstad    MN    Norman      56548   


GateHouse Media Minnesota Holdings, Inc.    223 S. FIRST ST    Montevideo    MN    Chippewa      56265   
GateHouse Media Minnesota Holdings, Inc.    7038 HWY, 7 SW    Montevideo    MN    Chippewa      56265   
GateHouse Media Minnesota Holdings, Inc.    219 SOUTH WASHINGTON STREET    Redwood Falls    MN    Redwood      56283   
GateHouse Media Minnesota Holdings, Inc.    604 1st Ave So.    St. James    MN    Watonwan      56081   
GateHouse Media Missouri Holdings II, Inc.    200 N 3RD ST    Hannibel    MO    Marion      63401   
GateHouse Media Missouri Holdings II, Inc.    410 S LIBERTY ST    Independence    MO    Jackson      64050   
GateHouse Media Missouri Holdings, Inc.    412 HIGH ST    Boonville    MO    Cooper      65233   
GateHouse Media Missouri Holdings, Inc.    107 N MAIN ST # 109    Brookfield    MO    Linn      64628   
GateHouse Media Missouri Holdings, Inc.    918 N BUSINESS ROUTE 5    Camdenton    MO    Camden      65020   
GateHouse Media Missouri Holdings, Inc.    800 W. CENTRAL AVE.    Carthage    MO    Jasper      64836   
GateHouse Media Missouri Holdings, Inc.    818 WASHINGTON ST    Chillicoth    MO    Livingston      64601   
GateHouse Media Missouri Holdings, Inc.    2918 E 20TH ST    Joplin    MO    Jasper      64804   


GateHouse Media Missouri Holdings, Inc.    506 W Potter Ave.    Kirksville    MO    Adair      63501   
GateHouse Media Missouri Holdings, Inc.    110 E. MC PHERSON ST.    Kirksville    MO    Adair      63501   
GateHouse Media Missouri Holdings, Inc.    204 W. BOURKE STREET    Macon    MO    Macon      63552   
GateHouse Media Missouri Holdings, Inc.    111 E JENKINS ST    Maryville    MO    Nodaway      64468   
GateHouse Media Missouri Holdings, Inc.    300 N WASHINGTON ST    Mexico    MO    Audrain      65265   
GateHouse Media Missouri Holdings, Inc.    218 N WILLIAMS ST    Moberly    MO    Randolph      65270   
GateHouse Media Missouri Holdings, Inc.    1006 W HARMONY ST    Neosho    MO    Newton      64850   
GateHouse Media Missouri Holdings, Inc.    101 WEST 7TH ST    Rolla    MO    Phelps      65401   
GateHouse Media Missouri Holdings, Inc.    108 HOLLY    Waynesville    MO    Pulaski      65583   
GateHouse Media Nebraska Holdings, Inc.    123 W 17th Street    Syracuse    NE    Otoe      68446   
GateHouse Media New York Holdings, Inc.    10 W. STEUBEN ST.    Bath    NY    Steuben      14810   
GateHouse Media New York Holdings, Inc.    2495 BRICKYARD RD    Canandaigua    NY    Ontario      14424   


GateHouse Media New York Holdings, Inc.    73 BUFFALO ST    Canandaigua    NY    Ontario      14424   
GateHouse Media New York Holdings, Inc.    59 BUFFALO ST    Canandaigua    NY    Ontario      14424   
GateHouse Media New York Holdings, Inc.    113 MAIN STREET    Dansville    NY    Livingston      14437   
GateHouse Media New York Holdings, Inc.    111 GREEN STREET    Herkimer    NY    Herkimer      13350   
GateHouse Media New York Holdings, Inc.    85 Canisteo Street    Hornell    NY    Steuben      14843   
GateHouse Media New York Holdings, Inc.    57 S. CARROLL ST    Horseheads    NY    Chemung      14845   
GateHouse Media New York Holdings, Inc.    5512 STATE ROUTE 55    Liberty    NY    Sullivan      12754   
GateHouse Media New York Holdings, Inc.    347 S SECOND STREET    Little Falls    NY    Herkimer      13365   
GateHouse Media New York Holdings, Inc.    138 MAIN ST    Penn Yan    NY    Yates      14527   
GateHouse Media New York Holdings, Inc.    6890 RIDGE ROAD    Sodus    NY    Wayne      14551   
GateHouse Media New York Holdings, Inc.    221 ORISKANY PLAZA    Utica    NY    Oneida      13501   
GateHouse Media New York Holdings, Inc.    246 JAY STREET    Utica    NY    Oneida      13501   


GateHouse Media New York Holdings, Inc.    159 N MAIN ST    Wellsville    NY    Alleghany      14895   
GateHouse Media North Dakota Holdings, Inc.    516 4TH STREET NE    Devils Lake    ND    Ramsey      58301   
GateHouse Media Oklahoma Holdings, Inc.    117 W BROADWAY ST    Ardmore    OK    Carter      73401   
GateHouse Media Oklahoma Holdings, Inc.    215 N BELL AVE    Shawnee    OK    Pottawatomie      74801   
GateHouse Media Pennsylvania Holdings, Inc.    41 NORTH CHURCH ST    Carbondale    PA    Lackawanna      18407   
GateHouse Media Pennsylvania Holdings, Inc.    220 8TH ST.    Honesdale    PA    Wayne      18431   
GateHouse Media Pennsylvania Holdings, Inc.    30 WALNUT ST    Waynesboro    PA    Franklin      17268   
GateHouse Media West Virginia Holdings, Inc.    410 RACE STREET    Ravenswood    WV    Jackson      26164   
GateHouse Media West Virginia Holdings, Inc.    302 N. CHURCH STREET    Ripley    WV    Jackson      25271   
News Leader Inc.    716 E. NAPOLEON ST    Sulphur    LA    Calcasien      70663   


Leased Property (Lessor and Value Information):

NOTE: See below for details on “4.4(b)(iii)(A) Value”

 

    Property Location   Lessor   4.4(b)(iii)(A)  

Loan Party

 

Address

 

City

 

State

 

County

 

Zip Code

 

Name

 

Address

 

City

 

State

 

Zip Code

  Value  

Copley Ohio Newspapers, Inc.

  3577 Arlington Rd. - Suite B   Akron   OH   Summit   44312  

Oliver E. & Wilma J. Teague

  1264 Boettler Rd.   Uniontown   OH   44685   $ 7,500   

Enterprise Publishing Company, LLC

  1324 Belmont St.   Brockton   MA   Plymouth   2401  

1324 Belmont LLC

  1324 Belmont St c/o Juliano Enterprises, Inc. Suite 207   Brockton   MA   2301   $ 70,000   

Enterprise Publishing Company, LLC

  400 CROWN COLONY DRIVE   Quincy   MA   Norfolk   2169  

Quincy Office Investors, Inc.

  c/o UBS Realty Investors LLC Asset Management 242 Trumbull St   Hartford   CT   6103   $ 588,000   

GateHouse Media Arkansas Holdings, Inc.

  7400 DOLLARWAY ROAD   White Hall   AR   Jefferson   71602  

Samples Properties, LLC

  7300 Dollarway Rd., Suite 114   White Hall   AR   71602   $ 30,000   

GateHouse Media California Holdings, Inc.

  650 KENTUCKY ST   Gridley   CA   Butte   95948  

Douglas A. Martens

  6121 Berkshire Way   Paradise   CA   95969   $ 30,000   

GateHouse Media Colorado Holdings, Inc.

  112 E CRANSTON   Fowler   CO   Otero   81039  

Fowler State Bank

  201 Main St., P.O. Box 68   Fowler   CO   81039   $ 10,000   

GateHouse Media Colorado Holdings, Inc.

  510 CARSON AVENUE   Las Animos   CO   Bent   81054  

Donkle Storage/

    Restoration LLC

  1031 Ash Avenue   Las Animas   CO   81054   $ 20,000   


GateHouse Media Connecticut Holdings, Inc.

  19 South Walnut Street   Norwich   CT   New London   6360  

Lund Ltd, LLC

  372 North Canterbury Rd   Camterbury   CT   6331   $ 0   

GateHouse Media Connecticut Holdings, Inc.

  360 Gendron Road   Plainfield   CT   windham   6374  

360 Gendron Road LLC

  341 Church Street   Putnam   CT   6260     Unknown   

GateHouse Media Directories Holdings, Inc.

 

915 HIGHLAND POINTE DRIVE, STE 400

 

On or about March 1, 2014 – moving to 1430 Blue Oaks Boulevard, Suite 190, Roseville, CA 95747

  Roseville   CA   Placer   95678  

Mourier Land Investment Corporation

  1430 Blue Oaks Blvd., Suite 190   Roseville   CA   95747   $ 350,000   

GateHouse Media Freeport Holdings, Inc.

  50 W Douglas St   Freeport   IL   Stephenson   61032  

Stewart Centre, LLC

  50 W Douglas St., Suite 1200   Freeport   IL   61032   $ 0   

GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings II, Inc.

  350 MORTON ST   Jacksonville   IL   Morgan   62650  

Victoria Smiley

  Unknown   Jacksonville   IL   62650     Unknown   

GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings II, Inc.

  Radio Antenna at 3115 Dotmar Dr.   Springfield   IL   Sangamon   62703  

B&C Ventures, LLC

  P.O. Box 973   Decatur   IL   62525   $ 0   

GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings, Inc.

  219 S. COLLEGE AVE.   Aledo   IL   Mercer   61231  

Aledo Lodge Number 252 AF & AM

  101 SW 3rd St.   Aledo   IL   61231   $ 75,000   

GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings, Inc.

  1205 SWANWICK STREET   Chester   IL   Randolph   62233  

Robert P. Fleming

  P.O. Box 347   Chester   IL   62233   $ 50,000   


GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings, Inc.

  125 W LOCUST ST   Fairbury   IL   Livingston   61739  

Nicholas L. Kaeb

  127 W Locust St   Fairbury   IL   61739   $ 25,000   

GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings, Inc.

  348 FRONT ST.   Galva   IL   Henry   61434  

Dyan L. Peterson

  720 NW 3rd Ave   Galva   IL   61434   $ 25,750   

GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings, Inc.

  2201 Woodlawn Rd. - Suite 350   Lincoln   IL   Logan   62656  

The Illini Building

  P.O. Box 280   Lincoln   IL   62656   $ 115,000   

GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings, Inc.

  26 W. Side Square   Macomb   IL   McDonough   61455  

Triple H Investments, LLC

  1420 E. Carroll St., P.O. Box 728   Macomb   IL   61455   $ 0   

GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings, Inc.

  SCHUYLER ST   Oquawka   IL   Henderson   61469  

Village of Oquawka, IL

  Unknown   Oquawka   IL   Unknown   $ 30,900   

GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings, Inc.

  1018 Fourth Street   Orion   IL   Henry   61273  

Unknown

  Unknown   Unknown   Unknown   Unknown   $ 7,500   

GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings, Inc.

  306 Court St   Pekin   IL   Randolph   61554  

Ricky J. Woith

 

Woith Land Trust Agreement

  1461 Valle Vista Bldg. #1   Pekin   IL   61554   $ 15,000   

GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings, Inc.

 

7344 Forest

Hills Rd

  Loves Park   IL   Winnebago   61111  

Ericson Properties LLC

  7110 N Alpine Road   Loves Park   IL   61111   $ 0   

GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings, Inc.

  230 Arnold Ave   Rockford   IL   Winnebago   61108  

J&J 5643 BLDG, LLC

  Unknown   Unknown   Unknown   Unknown   $ 0   

GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings, Inc.

  288 N LINCOLN BLVD E   Shawneetown   IL   Gallatin   62984  

Kurt Williams Associated Insurance

  608 E. Poplar Street   Harrisburg   IL   62946   $ 5,000   


GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings, Inc.

  #1 Kemp Drive, Lessee Unit No. 197   Chatham   IL   Sangamon   62629  

Parkview Storage, Inc.

  1 Kemp Drive   Chatham   IL   62629   $ 0   

GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings, Inc.

  3142 South Douglas Ave, Suite E   Springfield   IL   Sangamon   62704  

Gary Bryan, Westside Mini Storage

  3142 S. Douglas Ave.   Springfield   IL   62704   $ 0   

GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings, Inc.

  Land at Springfield, IL (NWL 1004)   Springfield   IL   Unknown   Unknown  

Norfolk and Western Railway Company

  Unknown   Springfield   IL   Unknown   $ 0   

GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings, Inc.

  Side Track lease agreement   Springfield   IL   Unknown   Unknown  

Norfolk and Western Railway Company

  Unknown   Springfield   IL   Unknown   $ 0   

GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings, Inc.

  107 E. MAIN   Teutopolis   IL   Effingham   62467  

Jeff Kenter

  513 S. Race, P.O. Box 6   Teutopolis   IL   62467   $ 20,000   

GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings, Inc.

  507 N Monroe Street, Suite 3   Abingdon   IL   Knox   61410  

Ben Forney

  507 N Monroe Street   Abingdon   IL   61410   $ 8,000   

GateHouse Media Iowa Holdings, Inc.

  1009 Main Street   Hamburg   IA   Fremont   51640  

John Field Cliff Swallow, Inc.

  2792 Skyline Drive   Hamburg   IA   51640   $ 5,000   

GateHouse Media Kansas Holdings II, Inc.

  2114 Oregon St   Hiawatha   KS   Brown   66434  

Stallbaumer

Management, Inc.

  P.O. Box 65   Seneca   KS   66538   $ 5,000   

GateHouse Media Kansas Holdings II, Inc.

  101 South Main   Greensburgh   KS   Kiowa   67054  

City of Greensburg, KS

  City Administrator City of Greensburg 239 South Main   Greensburg   KS   67054   $ 15,000   


GateHouse Media Kansas Holdings II, Inc.

  318 N. MAIN ST   St John   KS   Stafford   67576  

Ionic Lodge # 254 AF & AM

  P.O. Box 404   St John   KS   67576   $ 15,000   

GateHouse Media Louisiana Holdings, Inc.

  120 RAILROAD AVE   Donaldsonville   LA   Ascension   70346  

Ascension Lodge #251 F. & A.M.

  P.O. Box 1211   Donaldsonville   LA   70346   $ 12,000   

GateHouse Media Management Services, Inc.

 

350

WILLOWBROOK

OFFICE PARK

  Fairport   NY   Monroe   14450  

The Uniland Partnership of Delaware L.P.

  University Corporate Centre100 Corporate Parkway Suite 500   Amherst   NY   14226   $ 500,000   

GateHouse Media Management Services, Inc.

  120 N. Plymouth Ave   Rochester   NY   Monroe   14608  

Frontier Communications of Rochester, Inc.

  180 S. Clinton Avenue   Rochester   NY   14646   $ 1,000,000   

GateHouse Media Massachusetts I, Inc.

 

101A Messina

Drive

  Braintree   MA   Norfolk   02184  

Greenpoint Realty LLC

  650 Plymouth St Ste 10   E. Bridgewater   MA   2333   $ 392,000   

GateHouse Media Massachusetts I, Inc.

  150 BAKER AVE   Concord   MA   Middlesex   01742  

IRG Concord Limited

Partnership

 

P.O. Box 380828

 

44 Brattle St

  Cambridge   MA   2238   $ 210,000   

GateHouse Media Massachusetts I, Inc.

  75 SYLVAN ST, BLDG C   Danvers   MA   Essex   01923  

Brookwood Sylvan, LLC

  72 Cherry Hill Drive   Beverly   MA   1915   $ 329,000   

GateHouse Media Massachusetts I, Inc.

  10 PURCHASE STREET   Fall River   MA   Bristol   02720  

G & J Realty Trust

  16 Bedford Street   Fall River   MA   2720   $ 42,000   

GateHouse Media Massachusetts I, Inc.

  18 POCASSET ST   Fall River   MA   Bristol   02720  

Old Iron Works, LLC

  P.O. Box 204   Fall River   MA   2722   $ 119,000   

GateHouse Media Massachusetts I, Inc.

  33 NEW YORK AVE   Framingham   MA   Middlesex   01701  

Genzyme Corporation

  500 Kendall St   Cambridge   MA   2142   $
 
0 (Parking
Space
  


GateHouse Media Massachusetts I, Inc.

  73 SOUTH ST   Hingham   MA   Plymouth   02043  

Kent Noble & Brian Noble, K&B Realty Trust

  29 Main Street   Hingham   MA   2043   $ 28,000   

GateHouse Media Massachusetts I, Inc.

  9 MERIAM ST   Lexington   MA   Middlesex   02420  

Mor Holdings Trust

  74 Bedford Street   Lexington   MA   2420   $ 56,000   

GateHouse Media Massachusetts I, Inc.

  11 STATE ST   Marblehead   MA   Essex   01945  

Crosby Marblehead Realty, LLC

  28 Meadow View Road   Georgetown   MA   1833   $ 28,000   

GateHouse Media Massachusetts I, Inc.

  40 SOUTH ST CONDOMINIUM (UNIT 1)   Marblehead   MA   Essex   01945  

Marblehead Office, LLC

 

c/o Glover Property Management, Inc.

  8 Doaks Lane P.O. Box 387   Marblehead   MA   1945     Unknown   

GateHouse Media Massachusetts I, Inc.

  197 Main Street   Milford   MA   Worcester   01757  

MillPond Realty Investment Tr.

  199 Main St.   Milford   MA   1757   $ 84,000   

GateHouse Media Massachusetts I, Inc.

  254 SECOND AVE   Needham   MA   Norfolk   02494  

254 Second Avenue Nominee Trust (New Boston

Second Ave LP)

  c/o MARIC, Inc.197 First Avenue, Suite 300   Needham   MA   2494   $ 770,000   

GateHouse Media Massachusetts I, Inc.

  31 NORTH WASHINGTON ST  

North

Attleboro

  MA   Bristol   02760  

Sharon Credit Union

  Unknown   Unknown   Unknown   Unknown   $ 21,000   

GateHouse Media Massachusetts I, Inc.

  5 NAMSKAKET RD   Orleans   MA   Barnstable   02653  

Five Namskaket Road Realty Trust

  84 Homers Dock Rd   Yarmouthport   MA   2675   $ 84,000   

GateHouse Media Massachusetts I, Inc.

  182 STANDISH AVENUE   Plymouth   MA   Plymouth   02360  

William Hallisey, Jr. Trust

  182 Standish Ave   Plymouth   MA   2360   $ 140,000   

GateHouse Media Massachusetts I, Inc.

  40 GRISSOM ROAD - BLDG 2   Plymouth   MA   Plymouth   02360  

Unicorn Realty Trust

  293R Washington St   Norwell   MA   2061   $ 0   

GateHouse Media Massachusetts I, Inc.

 

167

COMMERCIAL

STREET

  Provincetown   MA   Barnstable   02657  

Cohorts, Inc.

  16 Holway Ave.   Provincetown   MA   2657   $ 56,000   


GateHouse Media Massachusetts I, Inc.

  15 PACELLA DRIVE   Randolph   MA   Norfolk   02368  

Equity Industrial

Randolph I, LLC

  c/o Equity Industrial Partners Corp.145 Rosemary St., Suite E   Needham   MA   2494   $ 616,000   

GateHouse Media Massachusetts I, Inc.

 

370

PARAMOUNT

DRIVE

  Rayham   MA   Bristol   02767  

James Ferrera Realty, Inc.

  121 Will Drive   Canton   MA   2094   $ 84,000   

GateHouse Media Massachusetts I, Inc.

 

80 / 82 Central

ST

  Somerville   MA   Middlesex   02144  

RFR Realty Trust

  P.O. Box 281   Somerville   MA   2143   $ 49,000   

GateHouse Media Massachusetts I, Inc.

  7 WEST STREET   Walpole   MA   Norfolk   02081  

West Street Realty Trust

  7 West Street   Walpole   MA   2081   $ 14,000   

GateHouse Media Massachusetts I, Inc.

  923G ROUTE 6A   Yarmouth Port   MA   Barnstable   02675  

Chapter Two LLC

  P.O. Box 1458   Orleans   MA   2653   $ 98,000   

GateHouse Media Michigan Holdings II, Inc.

  2764 W. CARLETON RD.   Hillsdale   MI   Hillsdale   49242  

Lakeland Motors

  2768 W. Carlton Road   Hillsdale   MI   49242   $ 242,000   

GateHouse Media Minnesota Holdings, Inc.

  1 N. BARSTAD ROAD   Cottonwood   MN   Cottonwood   56229  

John or Neely Murphy

  1759 510th St.   Hanley Falls   MN   56245   $ 35,000   

GateHouse Media Minnesota Holdings, Inc.

  119 EAST MAIN ST   Sleepy Eye   MN   Brown   56085  

John W Haas

  400 4th Ave SE   Sleepy Eye   MN   56085   $ 65,000   

GateHouse Media Minnesota Holdings, Inc.

 

1034 Cedar

Street

  Wabasso   MN   Redwood   56293  

Tony & Lauree Price

  P. O. Box 204   Wabasso   MN   56293   $ 10,000   

GateHouse Media Missouri Holdings II, Inc.

 

Lots 7-A & 7-B of Corporate Woods-165

Missouri Blvd.

  Laurie   MO   Morgan   65038  

Eagle Creek Partners, Inc. d/b/a Laurie Landing

  316 Eagle Creek Drive   Gravois Mills   MO   65037   $ 0   


GateHouse Media Missouri Holdings, Inc.

  33 West Olive Street   Aurora   MO   Lawrence   65605  

C.N. McRoberts

  23 W. Olive St.   Aurora   MO   65605   $ 35,000   

GateHouse Media Missouri Holdings, Inc.

  7 N MAIN ST   Greenfield   MO   Dade   65661  

DeClue Properties

  P. O. Box 371   Ash Grove   MO   65604   $ 20,000   

GateHouse Media Missouri Holdings, Inc.

  110 E MCPHERSON ST, PO BOX 809   Kirksville   MO   Adair   63501  

Express Publishing (Tony Swain)

  112 E McPherson St   Kirksville   MO   63501     Unknown   

GateHouse Media Missouri Holdings, Inc.

  4824 OSAGE BEACH PKWY SUITE 2   Osage Beach   MO   Camden   65065  

Destin Investments, LLC

  P. O. Box 1525   Osage Beach   MO   65065   $ 160,000   

GateHouse Media Missouri Holdings, Inc.

  104 N Jefferson   St James   MO   Phelps   65559  

Cordell Watson

  Unknown   Unknown   MO   Unknown   $ 25,000   

GateHouse Media Nebraska Holdings, Inc.

  823 CENTRAL AVE   Nebraska Beach   NE   Otoe   68410  

Russell E. Kathol

  417 Main St   Plattsmouth   NE   68048   $ 15,000   

GateHouse Media New York Holdings, Inc.

  14 Utica Street   Hamilton   NY   Madison   13346  

Hamilton Initiative, LLC

  P.O. Box 219   Hamilton   NY   13346   $ 0   

GateHouse Media New York Holdings, Inc.

  100 Park Avenue/205 N. Main St.   Herkimer   NY   Herkimer   13350  

Sandy Rotunda

  307 East Main St   Fredonia   NY   14063     Unknown   

GateHouse Media New York Holdings, Inc.

 

30-32

Broadway

Street

  Hornell   NY   Steuben   14843  

Thomas F. Kinney, LLC

  124 Thacher St   Hornell   NY   14843     Unknown   

GateHouse Media New York Holdings, Inc.

  348 Elm Street (storage unit)   Penn Yan   NY   Yates   14527  

Penn Yan Mini Storage

  348 Elm Street   Penn Yan   NY   14527   $ 0   


GateHouse Media New York Holdings, Inc.

  858 Route 212   Saugerties   NY   Ulster   12477  

Eveready Girls, LLC

  858 Route 212   Saugerties   NY   12477   $ 60,000   

GateHouse Media New York Holdings, Inc.

 

51 Oriskany

Blvd

  Yorkville   NY   Oneida   13495  

CMB Oriskany Corp. / 55 Oriskany Boulevard, Inc.

  51 Oriskany Blvd   Yorkville   NY   13495   $ 0   

GateHouse Media Pennsylvania Holdings, Inc.

  29 CENTER SQ   Greencastle   PA   Franklin   17225  

Barry L. & Charlene A. Zarger

  Unknown   Greencastle   PA   17225   $ 22,000   

GateHouse Media Pennsylvania Holdings, Inc.

  25 CENTER SQ   Greencastle   PA   Franklin   17225  

Barry L. & Charlene A. Zarger

  Unknown   Greencastle   PA   17225     Unknown   

GateHouse Media Pennsylvania Holdings, Inc.

 

8 Silk Mill Drive

Suite 101

  Hawley   PA   Wayne   18428  

Hawley Silk Mill Master Tenant, LLC

  8 Silk Mill Drive   Hawley   PA   18428   $ 72,000   

GateHouse Media Suburban Newspapers, Inc.

 

1101 31ST ST, STE 100, 260, 270

 

Effective 12/1/2013 – moving to One Lincoln Center, Oakbrook Terrace, Illinois

  Downers Grove   IL   Du Page   60515  

CRP-2 Holdings AA, L.P.

  c/o Colony Realty Partners, LLCTwo Intenational PlaceSuite 2500   Boston   MA   2110   $ 900,000   

GateHouse Media Tennessee Holdings, Inc.

  575 Oak Ridge Turnpike, Suite 100   Oak Ridge   TN   Anderson   37830  

R & R Enterprises

  575 Oak Ridge Turnpike, Suite 201   Oak Ridge   TN   37830   $ 90,000   


GateHouse Media Ventures, Inc.

  108 Myrtle Street   Quincy   MA   Norfolk   2169  

American Fund US Investments, LLC

  c/o Real Estate Capital Partners114 West 47th St., 23rd Floor   New York   NY   10036   $ 910,000   

Massillon Newspapers

  Ohio Canal Property at North Erie Street   Massillon   OH   Stark   Unknown  

City of Massillon

  City Hall   Massilion   OH   44646   $ 0   

Mineral Daily News, Inc.

 

21 Shamrock

Dr. - Rt 220 S

  Keyser   WV   Minderal   26726  

Triple J, Inc.

  P.O. Box 926   Keyser   WV   26726   $ 1,119,000   

Peoria Journal Star, Inc.

  2200 W War Memorial Drive   Peoria   IL   Peoria   61613  

Northwoods Development Company

  2200 W War Memorial Dr   Peoria   IL   61613   $ 0   

Peoria Journal Star, Inc.

  Southwest Quarter of Section 26, Township 9 N   Peoria   IL   Peoria   61613  

Hawkeye Land Co. of Illinois

  500 Stickle Dr NE   Cedar Rapids   IA   52406   $ 0   

NOTE: See below for details on “4.4(b)(iii)(A) Value”


4.4(b)(iii)(A) Value Details

 

Loan Party

  

Address1

  

City

  

State

  

County

  

Zip

  

Building

Value (A)

   Press
(Replacement
Cost); N/A =
No Press at
Facility (B)
   Estimated
Average
Inventory On
Hand
(Newsprint,
Ink, Plates,
Other) (C)
     Personal
Property
(Excluding
Press) (D)
     4.4(b)(iii)(A)
Value (Sum of
(A), (B), (C)
and (D))
 

Copley Ohio Newspapers, Inc.

   3577 Arlington Rd. - Suite B    Akron    OH    Summit    44312    N/A    N/A    $ 0       $ 7,500       $ 7,500   

Enterprise Publishing Company, LLC

   1324 Belmont St.    Brockton    MA    Plymouth    2401    N/A    N/A    $ 0       $ 70,000       $ 70,000   

Enterprise Publishing Company, LLC

   400 CROWN COLONY DRIVE    Quincy    MA    Norfolk    2169    N/A    N/A    $ 0       $ 588,000       $ 588,000   

GateHouse Media Arkansas Holdings, Inc.

   7400 DOLLARWAY ROAD    White Hall    AR    Jefferson    71602    N/A    N/A    $ 0       $ 30,000       $ 30,000   


GateHouse Media California Holdings, Inc.

   650 KENTUCKY ST    Gridley    CA    Butte    95948    N/A      N/A      $ 0      $ 30,000      $ 30,000  

GateHouse Media Colorado Holdings, Inc.

   112 ECRANSTON    Fowler    CO    Otero    81039    N/A      N/A      $ 0      $ 10,000      $ 10,000  

GateHouse Media Colorado Holdings, Inc.

   510 CARSON AVENUE    Las Animos    CO    Bent    81054    N/A      N/A      $ 0      $ 20,000      $ 20,000  

GateHouse Media Connecticut Holdings, Inc.

   19 South Walnut Street    Norwich    CT    New London    6360    N/A      N/A       $ 0      $ 0      $ 0  

GateHouse Media Connecticut Holdings, Inc.

   360 Gendron Road    Plainfield    CT    Windham    6374    N/A      N/A        Unknown        Unknown        Unknown  

GateHouse Media Directories Holdings, Inc.

   915 HIGHLAND POINTE DRIVE, STE 400 (On or about March 1, 2014 – moving to 1430 Blue Oaks Boulevard, Suite 190, Roseville, CA 95747)    Roseville    CA    Placer    95678    N/A      N/A      $ 0      $ 350,000      $ 350,000  


GateHouse Media Freeport Holdings, Inc.

   50 W Douglas St    Freeport    IL    Stephenson    61032    N/A      N/A      $ 0      $ 0      $ 0  

GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings II, Inc.

   350 MORTON ST    Jacksonville    IL    Morgan    62650    N/A      N/A        Unknown        Unknown        Unknown  

GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings II, Inc.

   Radio Antenna at 3115 Dotmar Dr.    Springfield    IL    Sangamon    62703    N/A      N/A        N/A        N/A      $ 0  

GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings, Inc.

   219 S. COLLEGE AVE.    Aledo    IL    Mercer    61231    N/A      N/A      $ 0      $ 75,000      $ 75,000  

GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings, Inc.

   1205 SWANWICK STREET    Chester    IL    Randolph    62233    N/A      N/A      $ 0      $ 50,000      $ 50,000  

GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings, Inc.

   125 W LOCUST ST    Fairbury    IL    Livingston    61739    N/A      N/A      $ 0      $ 25,000      $ 25,000  


GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings, Inc.

   348 FRONT ST.    Galva    IL    Henry    61434    N/A      N/A      $ 0      $ 25,750      $ 25,750  

GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings, Inc.

   2201 Woodlawn Rd. - Suite 350    Lincoln    IL    Logan    62656    N/A      N/A      $ 0      $ 115,000      $ 115,000  

GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings, Inc.

   26 W. Side Square    Macomb    IL    McDonough    61455    N/A      N/A      $ 0      $ 0      $ 0  

GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings, Inc.

   206 SCHUYLER ST    Oquawka    IL    Henderson    61469    N/A      N/A      $ 0      $ 30,900      $ 30,900  

GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings, Inc.

   1018 Fourth Street    Orion    IL    Henry    61273    N/A      N/A      $ 0      $ 7,500      $ 7,500  

GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings, Inc.

   306 Court St    Pekin    IL    Randolph    61554    N/A      N/A      $ 0      $ 15,000      $ 15,000  


GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings, Inc.

   7344 Forest Hills Rd    Loves Park    IL    Winnebago    61111    N/A      N/A      $ 0      $ 0      $ 0  

GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings, Inc.

   230 Arnold Ave    Rockford    IL    Winnebago    61108    N/A      N/A      $ 0      $ 0      $ 0  

GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings, Inc.

   288 N LINCOLN BLVD E    Shawneetown    IL    Gallatin    62984    N/A      N/A      $ 0      $ 5,000      $ 5,000  

GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings, Inc.

   #1 Kemp Drive, Lessee Unit No. 197    Chatham    IL    Sangamon    62629    N/A      N/A      $ 0      $ 0      $ 0  

GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings, Inc.

   3142 South Douglas Ave, Suite E    Springfield    IL    Sangamon    62704    N/A      N/A      $ 0      $ 0      $ 0  

GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings, Inc.

   Land at Springfield, IL (NWL 1004)    Springfield    IL    Unknown    Unknown    N/A      N/A        N/A        N/A      $ 0  


GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings, Inc.

   Side Track lease agreement    Springfield    IL    Unknown    Unknown    N/A      N/A        N/A        N/A      $ 0  

GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings, Inc.

   107 E. MAIN    Teutopolis    IL    Effingham    62467    N/A      N/A      $ 0      $ 20,000      $ 20,000  

GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings, Inc.

   507 N Monroe Street, Suite 3    Abingdon    IL    Knox    61410    N/A      N/A      $ 0      $ 8,000      $ 8,000  

GateHouse Media Iowa Holdings, Inc.

   1009 Main Street    Hamburg    IA    Fremont    51640    N/A      N/A      $ 0      $ 5,000      $ 5,000  

GateHouse Media Kansas Holdings II, Inc.

   2114 Oregon St    Hiawatha    KS    Brown    66434    N/A      N/A         $ 5,000      $ 5,000  

GateHouse Media Kansas Holdings II, Inc.

   101 South Main    Greensburgh    KS    Kiowa    67054    N/A      N/A      $ 0      $ 15,000      $ 15,000  


GateHouse Media Kansas Holdings II, Inc.

   318 N. MAIN ST    St John    KS    Stafford    67576    N/A      N/A      $ 0      $ 15,000      $ 15,000  

GateHouse Media Louisiana Holdings, Inc.

   120 RAILROAD AVE    Donaldsonville    LA    Ascension    70346    N/A      N/A      $ 0      $ 12,000      $ 12,000  

GateHouse Media Management Services, Inc.

   350 WILLOWBROOK OFFICE PARK    Fairport    NY    Monroe    14450    N/A      N/A      $ 0      $ 500,000      $ 500,000  

GateHouse Media Management Services, Inc.

   120 N. Plymouth Ave    Rochester    NY    Monroe    14608    N/A      N/A      $ 0      $ 1,000,000      $ 1,000,000  

GateHouse Media Massachusetts I, Inc.

   101A Messina Drive    Braintree    MA    Norfolk    2184    N/A      N/A      $ 0      $ 392,000      $ 392,000  

GateHouse Media Massachusetts I, Inc.

   150 BAKER AVE    Concord    MA    Middlesex    1742    N/A      N/A      $ 0      $ 210,000      $ 210,000  


GateHouse Media Massachusetts I, Inc.

   75 SYLVAN ST, BLDG C    Danvers    MA    Essex    1923    N/A      N/A      $ 0      $ 329,000      $ 329,000  

GateHouse Media Massachusetts I, Inc.

   10 PURCHASE STREET    Fall River    MA    Bristol    2720    N/A      N/A      $ 0      $ 42,000      $ 42,000  

GateHouse Media Massachusetts I, Inc.

   18 POCASSET ST    Fall River    MA    Bristol    2720    N/A      N/A      $ 0      $ 119,000      $ 119,000  

GateHouse Media Massachusetts I, Inc.

   33 NEW YORK AVE    Framingham    MA    Middlesex    1701    N/A      N/A        N/A        N/A      $

 

0 (Parking

Space

  

)

GateHouse Media Massachusetts I, Inc.

   73 SOUTH ST    Hingham    MA    Plymouth    2043    N/A      N/A      $ 0      $ 28,000      $ 28,000  

GateHouse Media Massachusetts I, Inc.

   9 MERIAM ST    Lexington    MA    Middlesex    2420    N/A      N/A      $ 0      $ 56,000      $ 56,000  


GateHouse Media Massachusetts I, Inc.

   11 STATE ST    Marblehead    MA    Essex    1945    N/A      N/A       $ 0       $ 28,000       $ 28,000   

GateHouse Media Massachusetts I, Inc.

   40 SOUTH ST CONDOMINIUM (UNIT 1)    Marblehead    MA    Essex    1945    N/A      N/A         N/A         N/A         Unknown   

GateHouse Media Massachusetts I, Inc.

   197 Main Street    Milford    MA    Worcester    1757    N/A      N/A       $ 0       $ 84,000       $ 84,000   

GateHouse Media Massachusetts I, Inc.

   254 SECOND AVE    Needham    MA    Norfolk    2494    N/A      N/A       $ 0       $ 770,000       $ 770,000   

GateHouse Media Massachusetts I, Inc.

   31 NORTH WASHINGTON ST    North Attleboro    MA    Bristol    2760    N/A      N/A       $ 0       $ 21,000       $ 21,000   

GateHouse Media Massachusetts I, Inc.

   5 NAMSKAKET RD    Orleans    MA    Barnstable    2653    N/A      N/A       $ 0       $ 84,000       $ 84,000   


GateHouse Media Massachusetts I, Inc.

   182 STANDISH AVENUE    Plymouth    MA    Plymouth    2360    N/A      N/A       $ 0       $ 140,000       $ 140,000   

GateHouse Media Massachusetts I, Inc.

   40 GRISSOM ROAD - BLDG 2    Plymouth    MA    Plymouth    2360    N/A      N/A       $ 0       $ 0       $ 0   

GateHouse Media Massachusetts I, Inc.

   167 COMMERCIAL STREET    Provincetown    MA    Barnstable    2657    N/A      N/A       $ 0       $ 56,000       $ 56,000   

GateHouse Media Massachusetts I, Inc.

   15 PACELLA DRIVE    Randolph    MA    Norfolk    2368    N/A      N/A       $ 0       $ 616,000       $ 616,000   

GateHouse Media Massachusetts I, Inc.

   370 PARAMOUNT DRIVE    Rayham    MA    Bristol    2767    N/A      N/A       $ 0       $ 84,000       $ 84,000   

GateHouse Media Massachusetts I, Inc.

   80 / 82 Central ST    Somerville    MA    Middlesex    2144    N/A      N/A       $ 0       $ 49,000       $ 49,000   


GateHouse Media Massachusetts I, Inc.

   7 WEST STREET    Walpole    MA    Norfolk    2081    N/A      N/A       $ 0       $ 14,000       $ 14,000   

GateHouse Media Massachusetts I, Inc.

   923G ROUTE 6A    Yarmouth Port    MA    Barnstable    2675    N/A      N/A       $ 0       $ 98,000       $ 98,000   

GateHouse Media Michigan Holdings II, Inc.

   2764 W. CARLETON RD.    Hillsdale    MI    Hillsdale    49242    N/A      N/A       $ 2,000       $ 240,000       $ 242,000   

GateHouse Media Minnesota Holdings, Inc.

   1 N. BARSTAD ROAD    Cottonwood    MN    Cottonwood    56229    N/A      N/A       $ 0       $ 35,000       $ 35,000   

GateHouse Media Minnesota Holdings, Inc.

   119 EAST MAIN ST    Sleepy Eye    MN    Brown    56085    N/A      N/A       $ 0       $ 65,000       $ 65,000   

GateHouse Media Minnesota Holdings, Inc.

   1034 Cedar Street    Wabasso    MN    Redwood    56293    N/A      N/A       $ 0       $ 10,000       $ 10,000   


GateHouse Media Missouri Holdings II, Inc.

   Lots 7-A & 7-B of Corporate Woods-165 Missouri Blvd.    Laurie    MO    Morgan    65038    N/A      N/A         N/A       $ 20,000       $ 20,000   

GateHouse Media Missouri Holdings, Inc.

   33 West Olive Street    Aurora    MO    Lawrence    65605    N/A      N/A       $ 0       $ 35,000       $ 35,000   

GateHouse Media Missouri Holdings, Inc.

   7 N MAIN ST    Greenfield    MO    Dade    65661    N/A      N/A       $ 0       $ 20,000       $ 20,000   

GateHouse Media Missouri Holdings, Inc.

   110 E MCPHERSON ST, PO BOX 809    Kirksville    MO    Adair    63501    N/A      N/A         Unknown         Unknown         Unknown   

GateHouse Media Missouri Holdings, Inc.

   4824 OSAGE BEACH PKWY SUITE 2    Osage Beach    MO    Camden    65065    N/A      N/A       $ 0       $ 16,000       $ 160,000   

GateHouse Media Missouri Holdings, Inc.

   104 N Jefferson    St James    MO    Phelps    65559    N/A      N/A       $ 0       $ 25,000       $ 25,000   


GateHouse Media Nebraska Holdings, Inc.

   823 CENTRAL AVE    Nebraska Beach    NE    Otoe    68410    N/A      N/A       $ 0       $ 15,000       $ 15,000   

GateHouse Media New York Holdings, Inc.

   14 Utica Street    Hamilton    NY    Madison    13346    N/A      N/A       $ 0       $ 0       $ 0   

GateHouse Media New York Holdings, Inc.

   100 Park Avenue/205 N. Main St.    Herkimer    NY    Herkimer    13350    N/A      N/A         Unknown         Unknown         Unknown   

GateHouse Media New York Holdings, Inc.

   30-32 Broadway Street    Hornell    NY    Steuben    14843    N/A      N/A         Unknown         Unknown         Unknown   

GateHouse Media New York Holdings, Inc.

   348 Elm Street (storage unit)    Penn Yan    NY    Yates    14527    N/A      N/A         N/A       $ 0       $ 0   

GateHouse Media New York Holdings, Inc.

   858 Route 212    Saugerties    NY    Ulster    12477    N/A      N/A       $ 0       $ 60,000       $ 60,000   


GateHouse Media New York Holdings, Inc.

   51 Oriskany Blvd    Yorkville    NY    Oneida    13495    N/A      N/A       $ 0       $ 0       $ 0   

GateHouse Media Pennsylvania Holdings, Inc.

   29 CENTER SQ    Greencastle    PA    Franklin    17225    N/A      N/A       $ 0       $ 22,000       $ 22,000   

GateHouse Media Pennsylvania Holdings, Inc.

   25 CENTER SQ    Greencastle    PA    Franklin    17225    N/A      N/A         Unknown         Unknown         Unknown   

GateHouse Media Pennsylvania Holdings, Inc.

   8 Silk Mill Drive Suite 101    Hawley    PA    Wayne    18428    N/A      N/A       $ 0       $ 72,000       $ 72,000   

GateHouse Media Suburban Newspapers, Inc.

   1101 31ST ST, STE 100, 260, 270 (Effective 12/1/2013 –moving to One Lincoln Center, Oakbrook Terrace, Illinois)    Downers Grove    IL    Du Page    60515    N/A      N/A       $ 0       $ 900,000       $ 900,000   

GateHouse Media Tennessee Holdings, Inc.

   575 Oak Ridge Turnpike, Suite 100    Oak Ridge    TN    Anderson    37830    N/A      N/A       $ 0       $ 90,000       $ 90,000   


GateHouse Media Ventures, Inc.

   108 Myrtle Street    Quincy    MA    Norfolk    2169    N/A      N/A       $ 0       $ 910,000       $ 910,000   

Massillon Newspapers

   Ohio Canal Property at North Erie Street    Massillon    OH    Stark    Unknown    N/A      N/A         N/A         N/A       $ 0   

Mineral Daily News, Inc.

   21 Shamrock Dr. – Rt 220 S    Keyser    WV    Minderal    26726    N/A    $ 1,000,000       $ 19,000       $ 100,000       $ 1,119,000   

Peoria Journal Star, Inc.

   2200 W War Memorial Drive    Peoria    IL    Peoria    61613    N/A      N/A       $ 0       $ 0       $ 0   

Peoria Journal Star, Inc.

   Southwest Quarter of Section 26, Township 9 N    Peoria    IL    Peoria    61613    N/A      N/A         N/A         N/A       $ 0   


Schedule 4.4(b)(iii)(B)

Executive Offices

 

Loan Party

  

Chief Executive Office

Copley Ohio Newspapers, Inc.    350 WillowBrook Office Park, Fairport, New York 14450
ENHE Acquisition, LLC    350 WillowBrook Office Park, Fairport, New York 14450
Enterprise NewsMedia Holding, LLC    350 WillowBrook Office Park, Fairport, New York 14450
Enterprise NewsMedia, LLC    350 WillowBrook Office Park, Fairport, New York 14450
Enterprise Publishing Company, LLC    350 WillowBrook Office Park, Fairport, New York 14450
GateHouse Media Arkansas Holdings, Inc.    350 WillowBrook Office Park, Fairport, New York 14450
GateHouse Media California Holdings, Inc.    350 WillowBrook Office Park, Fairport, New York 14450
GateHouse Media Colorado Holdings, Inc.    350 WillowBrook Office Park, Fairport, New York 14450
GateHouse Media Connecticut Holdings, Inc.    350 WillowBrook Office Park, Fairport, New York 14450
GateHouse Media Corning Holdings, Inc.    350 WillowBrook Office Park, Fairport, New York 14450
GateHouse Media Delaware Holdings, Inc.    350 WillowBrook Office Park, Fairport, New York 14450
GateHouse Media Directories Holdings, Inc.    350 WillowBrook Office Park, Fairport, New York 14450
GateHouse Media Florida Holdings, Inc.    350 WillowBrook Office Park, Fairport, New York 14450
GateHouse Media Freeport Holdings, Inc.    350 WillowBrook Office Park, Fairport, New York 14450
GateHouse Media Holdco, Inc.    350 WillowBrook Office Park, Fairport, New York 14450
GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings II, Inc.    350 WillowBrook Office Park, Fairport, New York 14450
GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings, Inc.    350 WillowBrook Office Park, Fairport, New York 14450
GateHouse Media Intermediate Holdco, Inc.    350 WillowBrook Office Park, Fairport, New York 14450
GateHouse Media Iowa Holdings, Inc.    350 WillowBrook Office Park, Fairport, New York 14450
GateHouse Media Kansas Holdings II, Inc.    350 WillowBrook Office Park, Fairport, New York 14450
GateHouse Media Kansas Holdings, Inc.    350 WillowBrook Office Park, Fairport, New York 14450
GateHouse Media Lansing Printing, Inc.    350 WillowBrook Office Park, Fairport, New York 14450
GateHouse Media Louisiana Holdings, Inc.    350 WillowBrook Office Park, Fairport, New York 14450


GateHouse Media Management Services, Inc.    350 WillowBrook Office Park, Fairport, New York 14450
GateHouse Media Massachusetts I, Inc.    350 WillowBrook Office Park, Fairport, New York 14450
GateHouse Media Massachusetts II, Inc.    350 WillowBrook Office Park, Fairport, New York 14450
GateHouse Media Michigan Holdings II, Inc.    350 WillowBrook Office Park, Fairport, New York 14450
GateHouse Media Michigan Holdings, Inc.    350 WillowBrook Office Park, Fairport, New York 14450
GateHouse Media Minnesota Holdings, Inc.    350 WillowBrook Office Park, Fairport, New York 14450
GateHouse Media Missouri Holdings II, Inc.    350 WillowBrook Office Park, Fairport, New York 14450
GateHouse Media Missouri Holdings, Inc.    350 WillowBrook Office Park, Fairport, New York 14450
GateHouse Media Nebraska Holdings II, Inc.    350 WillowBrook Office Park, Fairport, New York 14450
GateHouse Media Nebraska Holdings, Inc.    350 WillowBrook Office Park, Fairport, New York 14450
GateHouse Media Nevada Holdings, Inc.    350 WillowBrook Office Park, Fairport, New York 14450
GateHouse Media New York Holdings, Inc.    350 WillowBrook Office Park, Fairport, New York 14450
GateHouse Media North Dakota Holdings, Inc.    350 WillowBrook Office Park, Fairport, New York 14450
GateHouse Media Ohio Holdings, Inc.    350 WillowBrook Office Park, Fairport, New York 14450
GateHouse Media Oklahoma Holdings, Inc.    350 WillowBrook Office Park, Fairport, New York 14450
GateHouse Media Operating, Inc.    350 WillowBrook Office Park, Fairport, New York 14450
GateHouse Media Pennsylvania Holdings, Inc.    350 WillowBrook Office Park, Fairport, New York 14450
GateHouse Media Suburban Newspapers, Inc.    350 WillowBrook Office Park, Fairport, New York 14450
GateHouse Media Tennessee Holdings, Inc.    350 WillowBrook Office Park, Fairport, New York 14450
GateHouse Media Ventures, Inc.    350 WillowBrook Office Park, Fairport, New York 14450
GateHouse Media, Inc.    350 WillowBrook Office Park, Fairport, New York 14450
George W. Prescott Publishing Company, LLC    350 WillowBrook Office Park, Fairport, New York 14450
Liberty SMC, L.L.C.    350 WillowBrook Office Park, Fairport, New York 14450
Low Realty, LLC    350 WillowBrook Office Park, Fairport, New York 14450
LRT Four Hundred, LLC    350 WillowBrook Office Park, Fairport, New York 14450
Mineral Daily News Tribune, Inc.    350 WillowBrook Office Park, Fairport, New York 14450
News Leader, Inc.    350 WillowBrook Office Park, Fairport, New York 14450
Surewest Directories    350 WillowBrook Office Park, Fairport, New York 14450
Terry Newspapers, Inc.    350 WillowBrook Office Park, Fairport, New York 14450
The Peoria Journal Star, Inc.    350 WillowBrook Office Park, Fairport, New York 14450


Schedule 4.4(b)(iv)

See Schedule 4.4(b)(iii)(A)


Schedule 4.8(j)

Securities Accounts – None

Investment Accounts – See Below

 

Loan Party

  

Name of Bank

  

Type of Account

   Account Numbers
GateHouse Media Operating, Inc    HSBC    Money Market    XXXXXX863

Concentration and Depository Accounts – See Below

 

Loan Party

  

Name of Bank

  

Type of Account

   Account Numbers
Copley Ohio Newspapers, Inc.    HSBC    Corp Depository    XXXXXX211
Copley Ohio Newspapers, Inc.    JP Morgan Chase    Main depository    XXXXXX321
GateHouse Media Massachusetts I, Inc.    Bank of America, N.A.    Main depository    XXXXXX621
GateHouse Media Massachusetts I, Inc.    Citizens Bank    Lockbox Account    XXXXXX562
GateHouse Media Massachusetts I, Inc.    Seamen’s Bank    Local Depository    XXXXXX001
GateHouse Media Arkansas Holdings, Inc.    Bank of Prescott    Local Depository    XXXXXX649
GateHouse Media Arkansas Holdings, Inc.    Farmers and Merchants Bank    Local Depository    XXXXXX095
GateHouse Media Arkansas Holdings, Inc.    First National Bank    Local Depository    XXXXXX221
GateHouse Media Arkansas Holdings, Inc.    Heber Springs State Bank    Local Depository    XXXXXX828
GateHouse Media Arkansas Holdings, Inc.    Mercants & Planters Bank    Local Depository    XXXXXX573
GateHouse Media Arkansas Holdings, Inc.    Simmons Bank    Local Depository    XXXXXX089
GateHouse Media Arkansas Holdings, Inc.    Southern Bancorp    Local Depository    XXXXXX094
GateHouse Media Arkansas Holdings, Inc.    Southern Bancorp Bank, N.A.    Local Depository    XXXXXX539
GateHouse Media California Holdings, Inc.    Bank of New York Mellon    Lockbox Account    XXXXXX245
GateHouse Media California Holdings, Inc.    Bank of the West    Local Depository    XXXXXX560
GateHouse Media California Holdings, Inc.    Mojave Desert Bank    Local Depository    XXXXXX956
GateHouse Media California Holdings, Inc.    Rabobank    Local Depository    XXXXXX514
GateHouse Media California Holdings, Inc.    Scott Valley Bank    Local Depository    XXXXXX186
GateHouse Media California Holdings, Inc.    Scott Valley Bank    Local Depository    XXXXXX528
GateHouse Media California Holdings, Inc.    Westamerica Bank    Local Depository    XXXXXX763
GateHouse Media Colorado Holdings, Inc.    First National Bank    Local Depository    XXXXXX791
GateHouse Media Connecticut Holdings, Inc.    HSBC    Corp Depository    XXXXXX225
GateHouse Media Connecticut Holdings, Inc.    Peoples    Local Depository    XXXXXX489
GateHouse Media Delaware Holdings, Inc.    Citizens Bank    Local Depository    XXXXXX381
GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings II, Inc    HSBC    Corp Depository    XXXXXX978
GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings II, Inc    Illinois National Bank    Local Depository    XXXXXX520
GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings Inc    Harris Bank    Local Depository    XXXXXX875
GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings, Inc.    1st National Bank Olney    Local Depository    XXXXXX446
GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings, Inc.    Bank of Marion    Local Depository    XXXXXX738
GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings, Inc.    Bank of Pontiac    Local Depository    XXXXXX522
GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings, Inc.    Bank of Pontiac    Local Depository    XXXXXX520
GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings, Inc.    Banterra Bank    Local Depository    XXXXXX830
GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings, Inc.    Banterra Bank    Local Depository    XXXXXX849
GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings, Inc.    Banterra Bank    Local Depository    XXXXXX009


GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings, Inc.    Buena Vista Natl Bank    Local Depository    XXXXXX534
GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings, Inc.    Central Bank Illinois    Local Depository    XXXXXX331
GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings, Inc.    Citizens National Bank    Local Depository    XXXXXX889
GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings, Inc.    Farmers State Bank    Local Depository    XXXXXX194
GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings, Inc.    First Bank and Trust    Local Depository    XXXXXX488
GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings, Inc.    First Community Bank, Xenia-Flora    Local Depository    XXXXXX233
GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings, Inc.    Herget National Bank    Local Depository    XXXXXX207
GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings, Inc.    HSBC    Corp Depository    XXXXXX951
GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings, Inc.    Legence Bank    Local Depository    XXXXXX578
GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings, Inc.    Legence Bank    Local Depository    XXXXXX575
GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings, Inc.    Mid American Natl Bank    Local Depository    XXXXXX654
GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings, Inc.    Midwest Bank    Local Depository    XXXXXX932
GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings, Inc.    Midwest Bank    Local Depository    XXXXXX719
GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings, Inc.    Morton Community Bank    Local Depository    XXXXXX730
GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings, Inc.    Old National Bank    Local Depository    XXXXXX370
GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings, Inc.    Old National Bank    Local Depository    XXXXXX902
GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings, Inc.    Peoples Bank and Trust    Local Depository    XXXXXX916
GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings, Inc.    Peoples National Bank    Local Depository    XXXXXX665
GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings, Inc.    Peoples State Bank    Local Depository    XXXXXX116
GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings, Inc.    Teutopolis State Bank    Local Depository    XXXXXX070
GateHouse Media Intermediate Holdco, Inc.    HSBC    Corp Depository    XXXXXX141
GateHouse Media Kansas Holdings II, Inc.    Bank of the West    Local Depository    XXXXXX985
GateHouse Media Kansas Holdings II, Inc.    Bank of the West    Local Depository    XXXXXX781
GateHouse Media Kansas Holdings II, Inc.    Sunflower Bank    Local Depository    XXXXXX768
GateHouse Media Kansas Holdings II, Inc.    University Bank    Local Depository    XXXXXX277
GateHouse Media Kansas Holdings, Inc.    1st National Bank of Pratt    Local Depository    XXXXXX572
GateHouse Media Kansas Holdings, Inc.    Bank of the West    Local Depository    XXXXXX100
GateHouse Media Kansas Holdings, Inc.    Community National Bank    Local Depository    XXXXXX053
GateHouse Media Kansas Holdings, Inc.    Country Club Bank    Local Depository    XXXXXX048
GateHouse Media Kansas Holdings, Inc.    Emprise Bank    Local Depository    XXXXXX501
GateHouse Media Kansas Holdings, Inc.    First National Bank    Local Depository    XXXXXX610
GateHouse Media Kansas Holdings, Inc.    Peoples Bank and Trust    Local Depository    XXXXXX755
GateHouse Media Louisiana Holdings, Inc    Capital One, National Association    Local Depository    XXXXXX408
GateHouse Media Louisiana Holdings, Inc    Community Trust    Local Depository    XXXXXX785
GateHouse Media Louisiana Holdings, Inc    Iberville Bank    Local Depository    XXXXXX022
GateHouse Media Louisiana Holdings, Inc    United Community Bank    Local Depository    XXXXXX049
GateHouse Media Massachusetts I, Inc.    HSBC    Corp Depository    XXXXXX095
GateHouse Media Massachusetts I, Inc.    HSBC    Corp Depository    XXXXXX889
GateHouse Media Michigan Holdings II, Inc    Country National Bank    Local Depository    XXXXXX136
GateHouse Media Michigan Holdings II, Inc    Macatawa Bank    Local Depository    XXXXXX416
GateHouse Media Michigan Holdings, Inc    Century Bank and Trust    Local Depository    XXXXXX020
GateHouse Media Michigan Holdings, Inc    Citizens National Bank    Local Depository    XXXXXX170
GateHouse Media Michigan Holdings, Inc    First Bank - West Michigan    Local Depository    XXXXXX202
GateHouse Media Michigan Holdings, Inc    First Federal Bank of the Midwest    Local Depository    XXXXXX684


GateHouse Media Michigan Holdings, Inc    Huntington National Bank    Local Depository    XXXXXX895
GateHouse Media Michigan Holdings, Inc    Southern Michigan Bank    Local Depository    XXXXXX901
GateHouse Media Michigan Holdings, Inc    Southern Michigan Bank    Local Depository    XXXXXX919
GateHouse Media Minnesota Holdings, Inc    Bremer Bank    Local Depository    XXXXXX120
GateHouse Media Minnesota Holdings, Inc    Citizens Alliance Bank    Local Depository    XXXXXX996
GateHouse Media Minnesota Holdings, Inc    First Security Bank    Local Depository    XXXXXX766
GateHouse Media Minnesota Holdings, Inc    Granite Falls Bank    Local Depository    XXXXXX505
GateHouse Media Minnesota Holdings, Inc    Integrity Bank Plus    Local Depository    XXXXXX954
GateHouse Media Minnesota Holdings, Inc    KleinBank    Local Depository    XXXXXX018
GateHouse Media Minnesota Holdings, Inc    Minnwest Bank    Local Depository    XXXXXX161
GateHouse Media Minnesota Holdings, Inc    Pioneer Bank of St James    Local Depository    XXXXXX046
GateHouse Media Minnesota Holdings, Inc    Red River State Bank    Local Depository    XXXXXX681
GateHouse Media Missiouri Holdings II, Inc    HNB Bank    Local Depository    XXXXXX431
GateHouse Media Missouri Holdings, Inc    Bank of Kirksville    Local Depository    XXXXXX289
GateHouse Media Missouri Holdings, Inc    Central Bank Lake of the Ozarks    Local Depository    XXXXXX548
GateHouse Media Missouri Holdings, Inc    Central Bank Lake of the Ozarks    Local Depository    XXXXXX779
GateHouse Media Missouri Holdings, Inc    Central Bank Lake of the Ozarks    Local Depository    XXXXXX663
GateHouse Media Missouri Holdings, Inc    Citizens Bank & Trust    Local Depository    XXXXXX222
GateHouse Media Missouri Holdings, Inc    Citizens Bank and Trust    Local Depository    XXXXXX980
GateHouse Media Missouri Holdings, Inc    Citizens Bank and Trust Company    Local Depository    XXXXXX109
GateHouse Media Missouri Holdings, Inc    City Bank Trust Co    Local Depository    XXXXXX168
GateHouse Media Missouri Holdings, Inc    Commerce Bank    Local Depository    XXXXXX799
GateHouse Media Missouri Holdings, Inc    Commerce Bank of Kansas    Local Depository    XXXXXX033
GateHouse Media Missouri Holdings, Inc    Community Bank And Trust    Local Depository    XXXXXX069
GateHouse Media Missouri Holdings, Inc    Community Bank And Trust    Local Depository    XXXXXX829
GateHouse Media Missouri Holdings, Inc    Community Bank And Trust    Local Depository    XXXXXX162
GateHouse Media Missouri Holdings, Inc    Community National Bank    Local Depository    XXXXXX127
GateHouse Media Missouri Holdings, Inc    First Missouri National    Local Depository    XXXXXX134
GateHouse Media Missouri Holdings, Inc    First Sun Bank of America    Local Depository    XXXXXX002
GateHouse Media Missouri Holdings, Inc    Northeast Missouri State Bank    Local Depository    XXXXXX310
GateHouse Media Missouri Holdings, Inc    Phelps Bank    Local Depository    XXXXXX627
GateHouse Media Missouri Holdings, Inc    Phelps County Bank    Local Depository    XXXXXX660
GateHouse Media Missouri Holdings, Inc    Phelps County Bank    Local Depository    XXXXXX790
GateHouse Media Missouri Holdings, Inc    Southwest Missouri Bank    Local Depository    XXXXXX324
GateHouse Media Missouri Holdings, Inc    US Bank    Local Depository    XXXXXX184
GateHouse Media Nebraska Holdings, Inc    Arbor City Bank    Local Depository    XXXXXX326
GateHouse Media Nebraska Holdings, Inc    Wahoo First National Bank    Local Depository    XXXXXX201
GateHouse Media New York Holdings, Inc.    Adirondak    Local Depository    XXXXXX703
GateHouse Media New York Holdings, Inc.    Canandaigua National bank    Local Depository    XXXXXX088
GateHouse Media New York Holdings, Inc.    Chemung Canal Trust Co    Local Depository    XXXXXX464
GateHouse Media New York Holdings, Inc.    Chemung Canal Trust Co    Local Depository    XXXXXX896
GateHouse Media New York Holdings, Inc.    Community Bank NA    Local Depository    XXXXXX840
GateHouse Media New York Holdings, Inc.    Five Star Bank    Local Depository    XXXXXX647
GateHouse Media New York Holdings, Inc.    Five Star Bank    Local Depository    XXXXXX969
GateHouse Media New York Holdings, Inc.    HSBC    Corp Depository    XXXXXX233
GateHouse Media New York Holdings, Inc.    Jeff Bank    Local Depository    XXXXXX020
GateHouse Media New York Holdings, Inc.    M & T BANK    Local Depository    XXXXXX531
GateHouse Media New York Holdings, Inc.    Steuben Trust CO    Local Depository    XXXXXX426


GateHouse Media New York Holdings, Inc.    Steuben Trust CO    Local Depository    XXXXXX639
GateHouse Media North Dakota Holdings, Inc    Ramsey National Bank and Trust    Local Depository    XXXXXX268
GateHouse Media Oklahoma Holdings, Inc.    Arvest    Local Depository    XXXXXX166
GateHouse Media Oklahoma Holdings, Inc.    First National Bank    Local Depository    XXXXXX442
GateHouse Media Operating, Inc    HSBC    Cash Concentration    XXXXXX919
GateHouse Media Operating, Inc.    HSBC    Super Concentration    XXXXXX927
GateHouse Media Operating, Inc.    HSBC    Corp. Depository    XXXXXX431
GateHouse Media Pennsylvania Holdings, Inc.    First Natl Bank of Greencastle    Local Depository    XXXXXX540
GateHouse Media Pennsylvania Holdings, Inc.    Honesdale National Bank    Local Depository    XXXXXX101
GateHouse Media Pennsylvania Holdings, Inc.    Honesdale National Bank    Local Depository    XXXXXX401
GateHouse Media Pennsylvania Holdings, Inc.    The Dime Bank    Local Depository    XXXXXX211
GateHouse Media Pennsylvania Holdings, Inc.    Tower Bank    Local Depository    XXXXXX154
GateHouse Media Pennsylvania Holdings, Inc.    WEPCO Federal Credit Union    Local Depository    XXXXXX735
GateHouse Media Tennessee Holdings, Inc.    TN Bank    Local Depository    XXXXXX121
GateHouse Media Ventures, Inc.    Bank of America, N.A.    Local Depository    XXXXXX827
GateHouse Media Ventures, Inc.    Bank of America, N.A.    Local Depository    XXXXXX902
GateHouse Media West Virgina Holdings, Inc.    Premier Bank    Local Depository    XXXXXX493
GateHouse Media West Virgina Holdings, Inc.    Premier Bank    Local Depository    XXXXXX501
News Leader, Inc    City Savings Bank    Local Depository    XXXXXX784
The Peoria Journal Star, Inc.    HSBC    Corp Depository    XXXXXX960
The Peoria Journal Star, Inc.    PNC Bank    Main depository    XXXXXX073


Schedule 4.12

Financing Statements

NONE


Schedule 5.1

Consents

Consent of Bankruptcy Court


SCHEDULE 5.2 (a)

STATES OF QUALIFICATION AND GOOD STANDING

 

Loan Party

  

State of Organization

  

States Qualified To Do Business

ENHE Acquisition, LLC

   Delaware    None

Enterprise NewsMedia, LLC

   Delaware    Massachusetts

Enterprise NewsMedia Holding, LLC

   Delaware    Massachusetts

Enterprise Publishing Company, LLC

   Delaware    Massachusetts

GateHouse Media Intermediate Holdco, Inc.

   Delaware    New York

GateHouse Media Holdco, Inc.

   Delaware    New York

GateHouse Media Operating, Inc.

   Delaware   

Illinois

New York

GateHouse Media Massachusetts I, Inc.

   Delaware    Massachusetts

GateHouse Media Massachusetts II, Inc.

   Delaware    Massachusetts

George W. Prescott Publishing Company, LLC

   Delaware    Massachusetts

GateHouse Media Arkansas Holdings, Inc.

   Delaware    Arkansas

GateHouse Media California Holdings, Inc.

   Delaware    California

GateHouse Media Colorado Holdings, Inc.

   Delaware    Colorado

GateHouse Media Connecticut Holdings, Inc.

   Delaware    Connecticut

GateHouse Media Corning Holdings, Inc.

   Nevada    New York

GateHouse Media Delaware Holdings, Inc.

   Delaware    None

GateHouse Media Directories Holdings, Inc.

   Delaware    California

GateHouse Media Florida Holdings, Inc.

   Delaware    Florida

GateHouse Media Freeport Holdings, Inc.

   Delaware    Illinois

GateHouse Media, Inc.

   Delaware    New York

GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings, Inc.

   Delaware    Illinois

GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings II, Inc.

   Delaware    Illinois

GateHouse Media Iowa Holdings, Inc.

   Delaware    Iowa

GateHouse Media Kansas Holdings, Inc.

   Delaware    Kansas

GateHouse Media Kansas Holdings II, Inc.

   Delaware    Kansas

GateHouse Media Lansing Printing, Inc.

   Delaware    Illinois

GateHouse Media Louisiana Holdings, Inc.

   Delaware    Louisiana

GateHouse Media Management Services, Inc.

   Delaware   

Illinois

New York

GateHouse Media Michigan Holdings, Inc.

   Delaware    Michigan

GateHouse Media Michigan Holdings II, Inc.

   Delaware    Michigan

GateHouse Media Minnesota Holdings, Inc.

   Delaware    Minnesota

GateHouse Media Missouri Holdings, Inc.

   Delaware    Missouri

GateHouse Media Missouri Holdings II, Inc.

   Delaware    Missouri

GateHouse Media Nebraska Holdings, Inc.

   Delaware    Nebraska


GateHouse Media Nebraska Holdings II, Inc. **

   Delaware    Nebraska

GateHouse Media Nevada Holdings, Inc.

   Delaware    Nevada

GateHouse Media New York Holdings, Inc.

   Delaware    New York

GateHouse Media North Dakota Holdings, Inc.

   Delaware    North Dakota

GateHouse Media Ohio Holdings, Inc.

   Delaware    Ohio

GateHouse Media Oklahoma Holdings, Inc.

   Delaware    Oklahoma

GateHouse Media Pennsylvania Holdings, Inc.

   Delaware    Pennsylvania

GateHouse Media Suburban Newspapers, Inc.

   Delaware    Illinois

GateHouse Media Tennessee Holdings, Inc.

   Delaware    Tennessee

GateHouse Media Ventures, Inc.

   Delaware    None

Liberty SMC, L.L.C.

   Delaware    None

Low Realty, LLC

   Delaware    Massachusetts

LRT Four Hundred, LLC

   Delaware    Massachusetts

Mineral Daily News Tribune, Inc.

   West Virginia    None

News Leader, Inc.

   Louisiana    None

Terry Newspapers, Inc.

   Iowa    Illinois

SureWest Directories

   California    None

Copley Ohio Newspapers, Inc.

   Illinois    Ohio

The Peoria Journal Star, Inc.

   Illinois    None

 

** Following the closing, GateHouse Media Nebraska Holdings II, Inc. will be qualified to do business in Texas.


Schedule 5.2(b)

Subsidiaries

SEE ATTACHED


LOGO


Schedule 5.4

Federal Tax Identification Numbers

 

LOAN PARTY

  

Tax ID #

Copley Ohio Newspapers, Inc.

   31-1714372

ENHE Acquisition, LLC

   84-1711504

Enterprise NewsMedia Holding, LLC

   37-1458259

Enterprise NewsMedia, LLC

   81-0584672

Enterprise Publishing Company, LLC

   81-0584666

GateHouse Media Arkansas Holdings, Inc.

   36-4197662

GateHouse Media California Holdings, Inc.

   36-4197639

GateHouse Media Colorado Holdings, Inc.

   20-3680190

GateHouse Media Connecticut Holdings, Inc.

   20-8771954

GateHouse Media Corning Holdings, Inc.

   88-01055234

GateHouse Media Delaware Holdings, Inc.

   20-8771987

GateHouse Media Directories Holdings, Inc.

   20-8344513

GateHouse Media Florida Holdings, Inc.

   26-1226448

GateHouse Media Freeport Holdings, Inc.

   36-4241508

GateHouse Media Holdco, Inc.

   84-1708902

GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings II, Inc.

   20-8765361

GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings, Inc.

   36-4197640

GateHouse Media Intermediate Holdco, Inc.

   26-1909759

GateHouse Media Iowa Holdings, Inc.

   36-4197643

GateHouse Media Kansas Holdings II, Inc.

   26-1387914

GateHouse Media Kansas Holdings, Inc.

   36-4197644

GateHouse Media Lansing Printing, Inc.

   56-2422242

GateHouse Media Louisiana Holdings, Inc.

   36-4239708


GateHouse Media Management Services, Inc.

   36-4197665

GateHouse Media Massachusetts I, Inc.

   84-1711503

GateHouse Media Massachusetts II, Inc.

   35-2200859

GateHouse Media Michigan Holdings II, Inc.

   26-1387963

GateHouse Media Michigan Holdings, Inc.

   36-4197646

GateHouse Media Minnesota Holdings, Inc.

   36-4197648

GateHouse Media Missouri Holdings II, Inc.

   26-1388013

GateHouse Media Missouri Holdings, Inc.

   36-4197649

GateHouse Media Nebraska Holdings II, Inc.

   26-1388054

GateHouse Media Nebraska Holdings, Inc.

   36-4294763

GateHouse Media Nevada Holdings, Inc.

   36-4334978

GateHouse Media New York Holdings, Inc.

   36-4197660

GateHouse Media North Dakota Holdings, Inc.

   36-4241506

GateHouse Media Ohio Holdings, Inc.

   20-8765464

GateHouse Media Oklahoma Holdings, Inc.

   26-1226313

GateHouse Media Operating, Inc.

   36-4197636

GateHouse Media Pennsylvania Holdings, Inc.

   36-4197661

GateHouse Media Suburban Newspapers, Inc.

   36-4305577

GateHouse Media Tennessee Holdings, Inc.

   26-1226415

GateHouse Media Ventures, Inc.

   36-4197638

GateHouse Media, Inc.

   36-4197635

George W. Prescott Publishing Company, LLC

   81-0584668

Liberty SMC, L.L.C.

   36-4366016

Low Realty, LLC

   81-0584679

LRT Four Hundred, LLC

   81-0584676

Mineral Daily News Tribune, Inc.

   55-0463343

News Leader, Inc.

   72-0654473

Surewest Directories

   91-1747472

Terry Newspapers, Inc.

   36-2701037

The Peoria Journal Star, Inc.

   37-0459820


SCHEDULE 5.6

Prior Names

 

LOAN PARTY

  

PRIOR NAMES

Copley Ohio Newspapers, Inc.    None
ENHE Acquisition, LLC    None
Enterprise NewsMedia Holding, LLC    None
Enterprise NewsMedia, LLC    Enterprise Newsmedia, LLC
Enterprise Publishing Company, LLC    None
GateHouse Media Arkansas Holdings, Inc.    Liberty Group Arkansas Holdings, Inc.
GateHouse Media California Holdings, Inc.    Liberty Group California Holdings, Inc.
GateHouse Media Colorado Holdings, Inc.    Liberty Group Colorado Holdings, Inc.
GateHouse Media Connecticut Holdings, Inc.    None
GateHouse Media Corning Holdings, Inc.   

Elko Daily Free Press; Liberty Group Corning

Holdings, Inc.

GateHouse Media Delaware Holdings, Inc.    GateHouse Media West Virginia Holdings, Inc.
GateHouse Media Directories Holdings, Inc.    Fall River Acquisitions, Inc.
GateHouse Media Florida Holdings, Inc.    None
GateHouse Media Freeport Holdings, Inc.    Liberty Group Freeport Holdings, Inc.
GateHouse Media Freeport Holdings, Inc.    Liberty Group Idaho Holdings, Inc.
GateHouse Media Holdco, Inc.    Liberty Group Holdco, Inc.
GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings II, Inc.    None
GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings, Inc.   

Liberty Group Illinois Holdings, Inc.

 

GateHouse Media Illinois Holding, Inc. was the surviving company in the merger with Galesburg Printing and Publishing Company in January, 2009

GateHouse Media, Inc.    Liberty Group Publishing, Inc.


LOAN PARTY

  

PRIOR NAMES

GateHouse Media Iowa Holdings, Inc.    Liberty Group Iowa Holdings, Inc.
GateHouse Media Kansas Holdings II, Inc.    None
GateHouse Media Kansas Holdings, Inc.    Liberty Group Kansas Holdings, Inc.
GateHouse Media Lansing Printing, Inc.    Liberty Group Lansing Printing, Inc.
GateHouse Media Louisiana Holdings, Inc.    Liberty Group Louisiana Holdings, Inc.
GateHouse Media Management Services, Inc.    Liberty Group Management Services, Inc.
GateHouse Media Massachusetts I, Inc.    None
GateHouse Media Massachusetts II, Inc.    None
GateHouse Media Michigan Holdings II, Inc.    None
GateHouse Media Michigan Holdings, Inc.    Liberty Group Michigan Holdings, Inc.
GateHouse Media Minnesota Holdings, Inc.    Liberty Group Minnesota Holdings, Inc.
GateHouse Media Missouri Holdings II, Inc.    None
GateHouse Media Missouri Holdings, Inc.    Liberty Group Missouri Holdings, Inc.
GateHouse Media Nebraska Holdings II, Inc.    None
GateHouse Media Nebraska Holdings, Inc.    Liberty Group Nebraska Holdings, Inc.
GateHouse Media Nevada Holdings, Inc.   

Liberty Group Holdings, Inc.; Liberty Group

Colorado Holdings, Inc.; Liberty Group Nevada

Holdings, Inc.

GateHouse Media New York Holdings, Inc.    Liberty Group New York Holdings, Inc.
GateHouse Media North Dakota Holdings, Inc.    Liberty Group North Dakota Holdings, Inc.
GateHouse Media Ohio Holdings, Inc.    None
GateHouse Media Oklahoma Holdings, Inc.    None
GateHouse Media Operating, Inc.    Liberty Group Operating, Inc.
GateHouse Media Pennsylvania Holdings, Inc.    Liberty Group Pennsylvania Holdings, Inc.
GateHouse Media Suburban Newspapers, Inc.    Liberty Group Suburban Newspapers, Inc.
GateHouse Media Tennessee Holdings, Inc.    None


LOAN PARTY

  

PRIOR NAMES

GateHouse Media Ventures, Inc.

   GateHouse Media Arizona Holdings, Inc.

George W. Prescott Publishing Company, LLC

   None

Liberty SMC, L.L.C.

   None

Low Realty, LLC

   None

LRT Four Hundred, LLC

   None

Mineral Daily News Tribune, Inc.

   None

News Leader, Inc.

   Leesville Leader, Inc.

SureWest Directories

   Roseville Directory Company

Terry Newspapers, Inc.

   Geneseo Republic, Inc.

The Peoria Journal Star, Inc.

   None


SCHEDULE 5.7

ENVIRONMENTAL

Federal Occupational Safety and Health Act Laws – None

Environmental Laws – See Below.

All issues and conditions identified as “Recognized Environmental Conditions,” “Historic Recognized Environmental Conditions,” “Business Environmental Risks,” “EHS Compliance Issues,” or “Other Potential Issues” in the Executive Summary and/or Conclusions & Recommendations sections of the Environmental Resources Management Phase I Environmental Site Assessment Reports for the following Real Property:

 

Ref. No.

   Address          
  

Street

  

City

  

State

  

Report Date

  

Status

1

   224 E. Ridgecrest Blvd.    Ridgecrest    CA    11/5/2013    Final

2

   66 Franklin Street    Norwich    CT    11/22/2013    Final

3

   140 South Prairie Street    Galesburg    IL    11/22/2013    Final

4

   1 News Plaza    Peoria    IL    11/5/2013    Final

5

   99 E. State Street    Rockford    IL    11/5/2013    Final

6

   1 Copley Plaza    Springfield    IL    11/5/2013    Final

7

   475 Washington Street    Auburn    MA    11/5/2013    Final

8

   207 Pocasset Street    Fall River    MA    11/22/2013    Final

9

   33 New York Avenue    Framingham    MA    11/5/2013    Final

10

   165 Enterprise Drive    Marshfield    MA    11/22/2013    Final

11

   5 Cohannet Street    Taunton    MA    11/22/2013    Final

12

   595 Jenner Drive    Allegan    MI    11/25/2013    Final

13

   54 W. 8th Street    Holland    MI    11/5/2013    Final

14

   410 S. Liberty Street    Independence    MO    11/5/2013    Final

15

   221 Oriskany Plaza    Utica    NY    11/5/2013    Final

16

   500 Market Avenue, S.    Canton    OH    11/5/2013    Final

17

   629 Wabash Avenue    New Philadelphia    OH    11/5/2013    Final


SCHEDULE 5.8 (b)(i)

LITIGATION

 

Date of
Service

   Title of Action    Nature of Action    Amount
Claimed
        Insurance
Coverage
  

Plaintiff

  

Defendant

  

Pending
Litigation

  

Threatened

Litigation

     

Comments/

Updates

  

10/25/2007

  

Rubin, Michael

(freelance writer)

   Community Newspaper Company       Dormant/
Inactive

(Defamation)

   $100,000       Errors &
Omissions
Insurance -
Deductible
$10,000

4/30/2013

   Graves Monserrat, Jonathan    Filcman, Debra former editor of GateHouse Media Massachusetts I, Inc. d/b/a Somerville Journal    Libel       $500,000.00 +       Errors &
Omissions

Insurance -
Deductible
$10,000

2/14/2013

   Azubuko, Chukwuma E    GateHouse Media Massachusetts I, Inc. d/b/a Brookline Tab    Defamation

Libel

      $1,000,000.00 -

$2,500,000.00

      Errors &
Omissions
Insurance -
Deductible

$50,000

1/17/2007

   Murphy, Charles A    GateHouse Media Massachusetts I, Inc. d/b/a Burlington Union and GateHouse Media, Inc.    Dormant/
Inactive

(Defamation)

      $600,000.00       Errors &
Omissions

Insurance -
Deductible

$10,000

8/20/2012

   Earley, Wayne    GateHouse Media Pennsylvania Holdings, Inc. d/b/a The Wayne Independent    Defamation       $200,000.00 +       Errors &
Omissions
Insurance -
Deductible
$10,000

10/7/2011

   King, David    George W. Prescott Publishing Company, LLC d/b/a Patriot Ledger    Employee
Litigation
(Independent
Contractor
Statute,
Massachusetts
Minimum
Wage Act,
Unjust
Enrichment
and Quantum
Merit)
      $725,000.00       NONE


SCHEDULE 5.8(b)(ii)

INDEBTEDNESS

 

1 . T r ad e C r e d it o r s: All trade creditors will be paid 100% of their respective claims in due course .

 

2 . L ett e r s of C r e d it: The following is a list of Letters of Credit under which a Loan Party may have a reimbursement obligation.

 

Lo a n P a r t y

   F a ce Am ount      I ssu in g B a nk    L etter   o f   C r e d i t   N o .

En te r pr ise N e w sMe d i a , L L C

   $ 175 , 000.00       H S B C    L C#   SDCM T D555036

G a te H o u se Me d ia O p e ra t i ng , I n c .

   $ 301 , 000.00       H S B C    L C#   SDCM T N 555029

G a te H o u se Me d ia O p e ra t i ng , I n c .

   $ 376 , 300.00       H S B C    L C#   SM222063

G a te H o u se Me d ia O p e ra t i ng , I n c .

   $ 750 , 000.00       H S B C    L C#   SDCM T N 554607

G a te H o u se Me d ia O p e ra t i ng , I n c .

   $ 3 , 580 , 000.00       H S B C    L C#   SDCM T N 555052


SCHEDULE 5.8(d)

PLANS

 

1. Copley Ohio Newspapers, Inc. maintains the “ Brush-Moore Retiree Medical Plan ”; there were 25 total participants as of January 1, 2012.

 

2. George W. Prescott Publishing Company, LLC maintains the:

 

  (a) Patriot Ledger Postretirement Medical and Life Insurance Benefit Plan ”; there were 120 participants (this includes: active and retirees) as of the January 1, 2012 census date; during 2008 this plan was frozen and amended to limit future benefits to a select group of active employees; and

 

  (b) George W. Prescott Publishing Company Pension Plan ”; there were 616 participants (this includes: active and retirees) as of the January 1, 2012 census date; this plan was amended to freeze all future benefit accruals as of December 31, 2008, except for a select group of union employees whose benefits were frozen during 2009.


SCHEDULE 5.9

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

 

FEDERAL TRADEMARKS

REGISTRANT

 

REGISTRATION /

(APPLICATION) NUMBER

 

REGISTRATION

(APPLICATION) DATE

 

TITLE

GateHouse Media, Inc.   (86/009,366)   (7/12/13)   A LA CARTE
GateHouse Media, Inc.   (85/676,765)   (7/13/12)   BESTRIDE.com and Design
GateHouse Media, Inc.   (85/724,120)   (9/8/12)   COLOSSAL DEAL
GateHouse Media, Inc.   (85/724,123)   (9/8/12)   COLOSSAL AUCTION
GateHouse Media, Inc.   3,424,658   5/6/08   GATEHOUSE MEDIA and Design
GateHouse Media, Inc.   (86/009,325)   (6/3/13)   MORE CONTENT NOW and Design
GateHouse Media, Inc.   4,422,928   10/22/13   PAINT IT ALL PINK
GateHouse Media, Inc.   3,924,001   2/22/11   RADARFROG
GateHouse Media, Inc.   3,926,750   5/1/11   RADARFROG and Horizontal Design
GateHouse Media, Inc.   3,926,751   5/1/11   RADARFROG and Vertical Design
GateHouse Media, Inc.   3,920988   2/15/11   SAVE HERE AND EVERYWHERE
GateHouse Media, Inc.   3,587,689   3/10/09   TOTALLY LOCAL
GateHouse Media, Inc.   3,472,965   7/22/08   TOTALLY LOCAL and Design
GateHouse Media Ventures, Inc.   (85/720,044)   (9/4/12)   ADHANCE MEDIA
GateHouse Media Ventures, Inc.   (85/720,055)   (9/4/12)   ADHANCE MEDIA and Design
GateHouse Media Ventures, Inc.   (85/893,302)   (4/2/13)   CARESAFE
GateHouse Media Ventures, Inc.   (85/893,319)   (4/2/13)   CARE SAFE
GateHouse Media Ventures, Inc.   (85/618,646)   (5/7/12)   COMPASS AGING SERVICES
GateHouse Media Ventures, Inc.   (85/618,666)   (5/7/12)   COMPASS AGING SERVICES and Design
GateHouse Media Ventures, Inc.   (85/617,432)   (5/4/12)   PROPEL MARKETING
GateHouse Media Ventures, Inc.   (85/617,471)   (5/4/12)   PROPEL MARKETING and Design
GateHouse Media Connecticut Holdings, Inc.   2,894,674   10/19/04   NORWICH BULLETIN
GateHouse Media Corning Holdings, Inc.   2,788,918   12/2/03   THE LEADER
GateHouse Media Freeport Holdings, Inc.   2,847,486   6/1/04   THE JOURNAL-STANDARD
GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings, Inc.   2,320,943   2/22/00   ROCKFORD REGISTER STAR


FEDERAL TRADEMARKS

REGISTRANT

 

REGISTRATION /

(APPLICATION) NUMBER

 

REGISTRATION

(APPLICATION) DATE

 

TITLE

GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings II, Inc.   1,213,886   10/26/82   THE STATE JOURNAL-REGISTER
GateHouse Media Massachusetts I, Inc.   3,010,523   11/1/05   PICKET FENCE GATE DESIGN ONLY
GateHouse Media Massachusetts I, Inc.   2,069,641   6/10/97   TOWNONLINE
GateHouse Media Massachusetts I, Inc.   1,475,873   2/9/88   BEACON and Design
GateHouse Media Massachusetts I, Inc.   3,352,822   12/11/07   THE SANDWICH BROADSIDER
GateHouse Media Massachusetts I, Inc.   3,507,954   9/30/08   SOUTHOFBOSTON.COM
GateHouse Media Massachusetts I, Inc.   2,007,205   10/8/96   PROVINCETOWN BANNER
GateHouse Media Massachusetts I, Inc.   3,056,976   2/7/06   PROVINCETOWN BANNER AND THE ADVOCATE
GateHouse Media Massachusetts I, Inc.   3,107,411   6/20/06   OUTER CAPE LIVING
GateHouse Media Massachusetts I, Inc.   3,345,458   11/27/07   WICKED LOCAL
GateHouse Media Massachusetts I, Inc.   3,666,193   8/11/09   NEWTON TAB
GateHouse Media Massachusetts I, Inc.   3,650,512   7/7/09   THE DAILY NEWS TRIBUNE
GateHouse Media Massachusetts I, Inc.   3,675,837   9/1/09   NEEDHAM TIMES
GateHouse Media Missouri Holdings, Inc.   (85,825,139)   (1/16/13)   BOONSLICK VISITOR’S GUIDE
GateHouse Media New York Holdings, Inc.   2,747,008   8/5/03   OBSERVER-DISPATCH
GateHouse Media New York Holdings, Inc.   1,091,412   5/16/78   GOLDEN TIMES
Enterprise NewsMedia, LLC   3,299,079   9/25/07   TOWN COMMONS
Enterprise NewsMedia, LLC   3,299,316   9/25/07   SOUTH COAST HOMES
Enterprise NewsMedia, LLC   3,052,266   1/31/06   CRANBERRY COAST HOMES
George W. Prescott Publishing Company, LLC   2,097,397   9/16/97   THE PATRIOT LEDGER
Copley Ohio Newspapers, Inc.   3,949,479   4/19/11   ABOUT STARK COUNTY


STATE TRADEMARKS

REGISTRANT

 

REGISTRATION

(APPLICATION) NUMBER

 

REGISTRATION

(APPLICATION) DATE

 

TITLE

Copley Ohio Newspapers, Inc.   1820925(OH)   12/2/08   GET FIT, STARK!
GateHouse Media Delaware Holdings, Inc.   120238747(DE)   2/8/12   COMMUNITYPUB
Enterprise Publishing Company, LLC   32,263(MA)   12/14/81   THE ENTERPRISE
Enterprise Publishing Company, LLC   32,262(MA)   12/14/81   THE SUNDAY ENTERPRISE
GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings, Inc.   102,753(IL)   3/22/11   SHOW & SELL
GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings, Inc.   63,051(IL)   7/22/98   THE HENRY COUNTY ADVERTIZER
GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings, Inc.   69,772(IL)   1/21/92   STAR COURIER
GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings, Inc.   104,544(IL)   8/23/12   LIVINGSTON SHOPPING NEWS
GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings, Inc.   80,941(IL)   7/19/07   LOGAN COUNTY SHOPPER
GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings, Inc.   102,251(IL)   10/14/10   SPRINGFIELD ADVERTISER
GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings, Inc.   102,250(IL)   10/14/10   THE COURIER
GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings, Inc.   85,622(IL)   7/13/00   THE OLDEST NEWSPAPER IN ILLINOIS
GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings, Inc.   54,631(IL)   4/2/84   S.I. TRADER
GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings, Inc.   105,763(IL)   8/13/13   ROCKFORD PARENT
GateHouse Media Kansas Holdings, Inc.   In Process   In Process   THE BUTLER COUNTY TIMES-GAZETTE
GateHouse Media Macomb Holdings, Inc.   101,211(IL)   1/14/10   THE MCDONOUGH COUNTY CHOICE
GateHouse Media Macomb Holdings, Inc.   101,210(IL)   1/14/10   THE MCDONOUGH COUNTY VOICE
GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings II, Inc.   100,126(IL)   3/26/09   INTROS
GateHouse Media Kansas Holdings, Inc.   13,151(KS)   3/23/09   CHRONICLE SHOPPER
GateHouse Media Kansas Holdings, Inc.   17,667(MO)   6/8/07   CHRONICLE SHOPPER
GateHouse Media Massachusetts I, Inc.   65,962(MA)   7/5/05   BOSTON TAB
GateHouse Media Massachusetts I, Inc.   67,141(MA)   6/5/06   NATICK BULLETIN & TAB
GateHouse Media Massachusetts I, Inc.   38,550(MA)   6/10/86   THE FRAMINGHAM TAB
GateHouse Media Massachusetts I, Inc.   51,183(MA)   5/5/95   COMMUNITY CLASSIFIEDS
GateHouse Media Massachusetts I, Inc.   57,262(MA)   4/21/99  

BOSTON HOMES THE

COMPLETE GUIDE

GateHouse Media Massachusetts I, Inc.   55,793(MA)   4/22/98   READER’S CHOICE AWARDS


STATE TRADEMARKS

REGISTRANT

 

REGISTRATION

(APPLICATION) NUMBER

 

REGISTRATION

(APPLICATION) DATE

 

TITLE

GateHouse Media Massachusetts I, Inc.   52,832(MA)   6/25/96   TOWN ONLINE
GateHouse Media Massachusetts I, Inc.   52,622(MA)   5/1/96   AUTO WEEKLY
GateHouse Media Massachusetts I, Inc.   51,086(MA)   4/13/95   PROVINCETOWN BANNER
GateHouse Media Massachusetts I, Inc.   51,087(MA)   4/13/95   PROVINCETOWN BANNER with Design
GateHouse Media Massachusetts I, Inc.   30,037(MA)   2/29/80   WAREHAM COURIER
GateHouse Media Massachusetts I, Inc.   30,040(MA)   2/29/80   OLD COLONY MEMORIAL
GateHouse Media Massachusetts I, Inc.   69,643(MA)   2/28/08   CARVER REPORTER
GateHouse Media Massachusetts I, Inc.   41,055(MA)   2/26/88   DUXBURY REPORTER
GateHouse Media Massachusetts I, Inc.   76,950(MA)   2/21/13   HALIFAX-PLYMPTON REPORTER
GateHouse Media Massachusetts I, Inc.   41,053(MA)   2/26/88   KINGSTON REPORTER
GateHouse Media Massachusetts I, Inc.   76,867(MA)   2/4/13   PEMBROKE MARINER & EXPRESS
GateHouse Media Massachusetts I, Inc.   960,806(RI)   4/2/07   AUTO WEEKLY
GateHouse Media Massachusetts I, Inc.   960,611(RI)   6/25/96   TOWN ONLINE
GateHouse Media Massachusetts I, Inc.   77,024(MA)   3/9/13  

GREATER FALL RIVER

RESTAURANT WEEK

GateHouse Media Michigan Holdings II, Inc.   M23015(MI)   1/28/79   HILLSDALE DAILY NEWS
GateHouse Media Michigan Holdings II, Inc.   M39015(MI)   5/5/77   THE HOLLAND SENTINEL
GateHouse Media Missouri Holdings, Inc.   19,069(MO)   4/12/12   CHILLICOTHE C-T SHOPPER
GateHouse Media Missouri Holdings, Inc.   19,232(MO)   1/4/13   LAKE SUN EXTRA
GateHouse Media Missouri Holdings, Inc.   19,412(MO)   9/14/13   EJC BUSINESS REVIEW
GateHouse Media Missouri Holdings, Inc.   18,790(KS)   8/21/13   EJC BUSINESS REVIEW
GateHouse Media Missouri Holdings, Inc.   19,238(MO)   4/1/13   BOONSLICK VISITORS’ GUIDE
GateHouse Media Pennsylvania Holdings, Inc.   3,340,634(PA)   11/19/09   FOOTSTEPS
The Peoria Journal Star, Inc.   101,262(IL)   1/25/10   PRIME TIMES
The Peoria Journal Star, Inc.   101,209(IL)   1/14/10   PRIME TIMES EXPO
The Peoria Journal Star, Inc.   102,602(IL)   2/9/11   JOURNAL STAR
The Peoria Journal Star, Inc.   96,061(IL)   5/15/06   STYLE AND SUBSTANCE


STATE TRADEMARKS

REGISTRANT

 

REGISTRATION

(APPLICATION) NUMBER

 

REGISTRATION

(APPLICATION) DATE

 

TITLE

The Peoria Journal Star, Inc.   104,190(IL)   5/15/12   JOURNAL STAR MEDIA…..DELIVERING YOUR CUSTOMERS
The Peoria Journal Star, Inc.   103,907(IL)   6/18/12   POWER ILLINOIS NETWORK
The Peoria Journal Star, Inc.   105,304(IL)   4/24/13   PRAIRIE STATE OUTDOORS


STATE SERVICE MARKS

REGISTRANT

 

REGISTRATION

(APPLICATION) NUMBER

 

REGISTRATION

(APPLICATION) DATE

 

TITLE

GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings, Inc.   104,147(IL)   5/3/12   THE MONEY STRETCHER
GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings, Inc.   105,635(IL)   7/3/13   VICTORY LAP BRUNCH
GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings, Inc.   105,634(IL)   7/3/13   VICTORY LAP
GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings, Inc.   100,951(IL)   10/8/09   THE SNAP
GateHouse Media Massachusetts I, Inc.   51,184(MA)   5/5/95   COMMUNITY CLASSIFIEDS
GateHouse Media Massachusetts I, Inc.   52,625(MA)   5/1/96   AUTO WEEKLY
GateHouse Media Massachusetts I, Inc.   960,810(RI)   4/2/07   AUTO WEEKLY
GateHouse Media Missouri Holdings, Inc.   19,412(MO)   9/14/13   EJC BUSINESS REVIEW
GateHouse Media Missouri Holdings, Inc.   18,790(KS)   8/21/13   EJC BUSINESS REVIEW
The Peoria Journal Star, Inc.   105,632(IL)   7/3/13   BARSTORMING
The Peoria Journal Star, Inc.   105,633(IL)   7/3/13   BAR STORMING and Design
The Peoria Journal Star, Inc.   101,358(IL)   2/24/10   VALLEY PEEKS
The Peoria Journal Star, Inc.   102,110(IL)   9/3/10   eJOURNALSTAR
The Peoria Journal Star, Inc.   103,346(IL)   9/6/11   RIVER CITY ROUNDUP


COPYRIGHTS*

REGISTRANT

 

REGISTRATION NUMBER

 

REGISTRATION DATE

 

TITLE

GateHouse Media Louisiana Holdings, Inc.   TX 5-096-638

TX 6-097-829

  2007   Ascension Citizen (Gonzales, LA), vol. 4, issue 31, April 25, 2000 & 1 other title
GateHouse Media Massachusetts I, Inc.   TX 5-810-633   2006   Abacadoo and the sweeper; monograph. TX 5-810-633 (2003)”
GateHouse Media Massachusetts I, Inc.   TX 5-810-633   2007   Abacadoo and the sweeper; TX 5-810-633 (2003)
GateHouse Media Massachusetts I, Inc.   TX0006660121   2008   Daily News Tribune (Waltham, MA)
GateHouse Media Massachusetts I, Inc.   TX0006647222(x4)   2008   Needham (MA) Times
GateHouse Media Massachusetts I, Inc.   TX0006647223 (x4)

 

TX0006660120 (x4)

 

TX0006604542 (x4)

  2008   Needham (MA) Tab
GateHouse Media Massachusetts I, Inc.   TX 6-601-121

 

TX 6-601-120

 

TX 6-604-542

 

TX 6-647-222

  2009   November 2008 issues of Daily News Tribune & 3 other titles
GateHouse Media Michigan Holdings, Inc.   TX 5-188-810

 

TX 6-097-830

  2007   Clintonville (WI) Tribune-Gazette v. 120 & 1 other title
GateHouse Media Michigan Holdings, Inc.   TX 5-188-810

 

TX 6-097-830

  2008   Clintonville (WI) Tribune-Gazette v. 120, October 27, 2000 & 1 other titled

 

* The list of copyrights includes items that are listed in the Company’s database and the listing does not mean that any such copyrights are material.


SCHEDULE 5.10

LICENSES AND PERMITS

NONE


SCHEDULE 5.14

LABOR DISPUTES

NONE


SCHEDULE 5.24

EQUITY INTERESTS

 

Loan Party

  

Beneficial Holder

   Common Stock
(unless
otherwise
indicated)
    Percentage
Ownership
 

Copley Ohio Newspapers, Inc.

  

GateHouse Media Ohio Holdings, Inc.

     1,000        100

ENHE Acquisition, LLC

  

GateHouse Media Operating, Inc.

    
 
Membership
Units
  
  
    100

Enterprise NewsMedia Holding, LLC

  

GateHouse Media Massachusetts II, Inc.

    

 
 

99,000

(Membership
Units

  

  

    100

Enterprise NewsMedia, LLC

  

Enterprise NewsMedia Holding, LLC

    
 
Membership
Units
  
  
    100

Enterprise Publishing Company, LLC

  

Enterprise NewsMedia, LLC

    
 
Membership
Units
  
  
    100

GateHouse Media Arkansas Holdings, Inc.

  

GateHouse Media Operating, Inc.

     100        100

GateHouse Media California Holdings, Inc.

  

GateHouse Media Operating, Inc.

     100        100

GateHouse Media Colorado Holdings, Inc.

  

GateHouse Media Operating, Inc.

     100        100

GateHouse Media Connecticut Holdings, Inc.

  

GateHouse Media Operating, Inc.

     100        100

GateHouse Media Corning Holdings, Inc.

  

GateHouse Media Nevada Holdings, Inc.

     206.37        100

GateHouse Media Delaware Holdings, Inc.

  

GateHouse Media Operating, Inc.

     100        100

GateHouse Media Directories Holdings, Inc.

  

GateHouse Media Operating, Inc.

     100        100

GateHouse Media Florida Holdings, Inc.

  

GateHouse Media Operating, Inc.

     100        100

GateHouse Media Freeport Holdings, Inc.

  

GateHouse Media Operating, Inc.

     100        100


Loan Party

  

Beneficial Holder

   Common Stock
(unless
otherwise
indicated)
     Percentage
Ownership
 

GateHouse Media Holdco, Inc.

  

GateHouse Media Intermediate Holdco, Inc.

     100         100

GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings II, Inc.

  

GateHouse Media Operating, Inc.

     100         100

GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings, Inc.

  

GateHouse Media Operating, Inc.

     100         100

GateHouse Media Intermediate Holdco, Inc.

  

GateHouse Media, Inc.

     100         100

GateHouse Media Iowa Holdings, Inc.

  

GateHouse Media Operating, Inc.

     100         100

GateHouse Media Kansas Holdings II, Inc.

  

GateHouse Media Kansas Holdings, Inc.

     100         100

GateHouse Media Kansas Holdings, Inc.

  

GateHouse Media Operating, Inc.

     100         100

GateHouse Media Lansing Printing, Inc.

  

GateHouse Media Suburban Newspapers, Inc.

     100         100

GateHouse Media Louisiana Holdings, Inc.

  

GateHouse Media Operating, Inc.

     100         100

GateHouse Media Management Services, Inc.

  

GateHouse Media Operating, Inc.

     100         100

GateHouse Media Massachusetts I, Inc.

  

GateHouse Media Operating, Inc.

     1,000         100

GateHouse Media Massachusetts II, Inc.

  

GateHouse Media Operating, Inc.

     100,000         100

GateHouse Media Michigan Holdings II, Inc.

  

GateHouse Media Michigan Holdings, Inc.

     100         100

GateHouse Media Michigan Holdings, Inc.

  

GateHouse Media Operating, Inc.

     100         100

GateHouse Media Minnesota Holdings, Inc.

  

GateHouse Media Operating, Inc.

     100         100

GateHouse Media Missouri Holdings II, Inc.

  

GateHouse Media Missouri Holdings, Inc.

     100         100


Loan Party

  

Beneficial Holder

   Common Stock
(unless
otherwise
indicated)
    Percentage
Ownership
 

GateHouse Media Missouri Holdings, Inc.

  

GateHouse Media Operating, Inc.

     100        100

GateHouse Media Nebraska Holdings II, Inc.

  

GateHouse Media Nebraska Holdings, Inc.

     100        100

GateHouse Media Nebraska Holdings, Inc.

  

GateHouse Media Operating, Inc.

     100        100

GateHouse Media Nevada Holdings, Inc.

  

GateHouse Media Operating, Inc.

     100        100

GateHouse Media New York Holdings, Inc.

  

GateHouse Media Operating, Inc.

     100        100

GateHouse Media North Dakota Holdings, Inc.

  

GateHouse Media Operating, Inc.

     100        100

GateHouse Media Ohio Holdings, Inc.

  

GateHouse Media Operating, Inc.

     100        100

GateHouse Media Oklahoma Holdings, Inc.

  

GateHouse Media Operating, Inc.

     100        100

GateHouse Media Operating, Inc.

  

GateHouse Media Holdco, Inc.

     100        100

GateHouse Media Pennsylvania Holdings, Inc.

  

GateHouse Media Operating, Inc.

     100        100

GateHouse Media Suburban Newspapers, Inc.

  

GateHouse Media Operating, Inc.

     100        100

GateHouse Media Tennessee Holdings, Inc.

  

GateHouse Media Operating, Inc.

     100        100

GateHouse Media Ventures, Inc.

  

GateHouse Media Operating, Inc.

     100        100

George W. Prescott Publishing Company, LLC

  

Enterprise NewsMedia, LLC

    
 
Membership
Units
  
  
    100

Liberty SMC, L.L.C.

  

GateHouse Media Operating, Inc.

    
 
4,000
(Class A
  
    100

Liberty SMC, L.L.C.

  

GateHouse Media Operating, Inc.

    
 
1,000
(Class B
  
    100


Loan Party

  

Beneficial Holder

   Common Stock
(unless
otherwise
indicated)
    Percentage
Ownership
 

Low Realty, LLC

  

Enterprise NewsMedia, LLC

    
 
Membership
Units
  
  
    100

LRT Four Hundred, LLC

  

Enterprise NewsMedia, LLC

    
 
Membership
Units
  
  
    100

Mineral Daily News Tribune, Inc.

  

GateHouse Media Operating, Inc.

     500        100

News Leader, Inc.

  

GateHouse Media Louisiana Holdings, Inc.

    
 
100,000
(Class A
  
    100

News Leader, Inc.

  

GateHouse Media Louisiana Holdings, Inc.

    
 
100,000
(Class B
  
    100

SureWest Directories

  

GateHouse Media Directories Holdings, Inc.

     1,000        100

Terry Newspapers, Inc.

  

GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings, Inc.

     840        100

The Peoria Journal Star, Inc.

  

GateHouse Media Illinois Holdings, Inc.

     1,000        100

Note : The above schedule does not include GateHouse Media, Inc.


SCHEDULE 5.25

COMMERCIAL TORT CLAIMS

NONE


SCHEDULE 5.26

LETTER OF CREDIT RIGHTS

NONE


SCHEDULE 5.27

MATERIAL CONTRACTS

 

Vendors

Ad2Pro Modification & Extension of Agreement for Advertising Services

Ad2pro Oct-Dec Letter Amendment

ADP Agreement

Advantage Marketing Consultants, Inc. Terms & Conditions_GHM Messenger Post_ 4-12-2006

Agfa Direct Consumable Purchase Agreement 2009-2011

Boston Globe Printing Agreement Assignment 9-2013

Boston Globe Printing Agreement

Casale Media_GHS MSA 1.1.2013

CBS (Custom Business Systems)

Communispace Master Community Implementation & Support Agreement

Consortium Gov - 10-3 [still being reviewed-negotiated]

Custom Business Systems (CBS) LLC Addendum to Work Schedule

D&B Order Form - 3-18-2013

DataXu Platform Agreement_GHS 12-1-2011

Datrose - GHS Master Services Agreement- 4-30-2008

Distributor Agreement - Herald News-Providence Journal

E&Y 2010 Engagement Letter 3yr NOT FULLY EXECUTED

E&Y Attachment A (corrected) to the Engagement Letter

E&Y specialist work engagement letter

Exelon Energy (Master Electricity Sales Agr) GHS IL Rockford 12-9-10 NOT FULLY EXECUTED

Frank N. Magid Engagement Letter

Journalism Online Agreement 2010

Baton Rouge Press Inc. Printing Agreement_GHS_NOT FULLY EXECUTED

Gannett (Offset)_Printing Agreement_GHS_NOT FULLY EXECUTED


Journalism Online Agreement Addendum 6 / 2011

Krueger Newsprint Agreement 2013

Mather Engagement Proposal & SOW

Media Span Master Application Services Agreement

Media Span Sole Source Agreement

Monster Consortium Agreement - Side Letter - Boston

Monster Consortium Agreement - Side Letter - Chicago

Monster Consortium Agreement

Providence Journal Printing Agreement 10-2011

Providence Journal Printing Agreement Addendum_ Taunton Gazette Aug 2012

Publishers Circulation Fulfillment Inc_Addendum 1 to Distribution Agreement - GHSMI - 2011

Publishers Circulation Fulfillment Inc_Addendum 1 to Home Delivery Agreement - GHSMI - 2011

Publishers Circulation Fulfillment Inc_Addendum 2 to Home Delivery Agreement - GHSMI - Feb 2011

Publishers Circulation Fulfillment Inc_Addendum 2 to Home Delivery Agreement - GHSMI -Jan 2011

Publishers Circulation Fulfillment Inc_Addendum 3 to Home Delivery Agreement - GHSMI - 2011

Publishers Circulation Fulfillment Inc_Agreement - Enterprise 2009

Publishers Circulation Fulfillment Inc_Distribution Agreement - Jan 2011

Publishers Circulation Fulfillment Inc_Home Delivery Agreement Feb 2011

Salesforce.com Master Subscription Agreement

SAXOTECH Subscription Agreement

SAXOTECH Subscription Order Form

ShopCo Affiliate Agreement FINAL

ShopCo Class B Joinder Agreement FINAL

Shopco Holdings Schedule 1 Members-Unites & Percentage Interests

Shopco Holdings, LLC Affiliate Agreement GHS NOT FULLY EXECUTED

ShopCo LLC Amended and Restated LLC Operating Agreement FINAL

SmartFOCUS US - MAAX Master Contract


SouthernLithoplate (Equipment Purchase Agr) GHS MI Flashes_10-7-10 NOT FULLY EXECUTED

Spectrum Marketing Company Bonus Agreement NOT FULLY EXECUTED

Travidia Agreement and Addendum No. 1 5-09

Universal Uclick - Big Nate S Agreement

Vast Website Lead and Services Agreement

CDW_Joinder Agreement_GHS 2008

Gannett CNY Product Facility_Newspaper Printing Agr._GHS NY_May 2011

VSplash Techlabs Master Services Agreement

Yahoo - Graphical Ads Service Order NOT EXECUTED

Yahoo Content_Service_Order_Final

Yahoo Execution Copy - Search Service Order

Yahoo GateHouse Media Executed Letter Agreement 5-22-2007

Yahoo Master Services Agreement NOT EXECUTED

Yahoo MSA Final

Yahoo New Member Election Agreement

Yahoo! Letter Agreement

Yahoo-Monster notice of renewal of consortium Agmt

Agency Succession and Amendment Agreement_with Exhibits

 

Union Contracts

31032 (Newspaper Guild of Greater Boston, TNG-CWA)

  

Local 129 (Newspaper Guild of Utica)

  

Local 31032 (Newspaper Guild of Greater Boston, TNG-CWA)

  

Local 31041 (Newspaper Guild of Providence TNG-CWA)

  

Local 31247 (Patriot Ledger Newsroom Association / Newspaper Guild sector of the Communication Workers of America)

  

Local 3N (Boston Printing Pressman’s Union) (Name changed from Providence Newspaper Printing Pressmen’s Union No. 12)

   1


Local 546M (Graphic Communications Conference/International Brotherhood of Teamsters)

  

Local No. 1 (Northeast Ohio Newspaper Guild)

     2   

Local No. 1 (Northeast Ohio Newspaper Guild)

  

Local No. 219 (Canton Typographical Union)

  

Local No. 36047 (Peoria Unit 86 of the United Media Guild)

  

Local No. 568-M (Peoria Printing Specialty and Paper Products Union G.C.I.U.)

  

Local Union 3803 (Unit 4 / International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers of America, AFL-CIO)

  

Local Union No. 259 (Newspaper Chauffeurs, Distributors, and Helpers, I.B.T.)

  

Local Union No. 627 (Teamsters, Chaffeurs and Helpers)

  

Local Union No. 916 (affiliated with the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Chauffeurs, Warehousemen and Helpers of America)

  

Union 36047 (St. Louis Newspaper Guild)

  

Union No. 13 (Boston Typographical)

     3   

Union No. 13 (Boston Typographical) (Herald News)

     4   

Union No. 177 [Central Illinois Typographical (District Managers) Affiliated with the Printing, Publishing and Media Workers Sector, Communication Workers of America]

  

Union No. 177 [Central Illinois Typographical (Maintenance/Janitorial) Affiliated with the Printing, Publishing and Media Workers Sector, Communication Workers of America]

  

Union No. 18 / CWA 14503 [Detroit Typographical (F.K.A. Northeast Ohio Newspaper Guild, Local One - Massilon Typographical Union No. 298)]

  

Union No. 98 (Peoria Mailers’)

  

Footnote:

 

1. Local 3N Pressman’s Union – Expired April 2013 / Currently being negotiated
2. Independent Guild_2011 to 2013 merged into Repository Guild_2012 to 2014
3. Union No. 13 – Expired May 2008 / Currently being negotiated
4. Union No. 13 (Herald News) – Expired May 2010 / Currently being negotiated


SCHEDULE 7.3

GUARANTEES

NONE


SCHEDULE A

Real Property Locations (First Tier)

 

    

Property Address

  

City

  

State

1.    99 E. State Street    Rockford    IL
2.    1 News Plaza    Peoria    IL
3.    500 Market Avenue South    Canton    OH
4.    1 Copley Plaza    Springfield    IL
5.    33 New York Avenue    Framingham    MA
6.    629 Wabash Avenue    New Philadelphia    OH
7.    221 Oriskany Plaza    Utica    NY
8.    224 E. Ridgecrest Blvd    Ridgecrest    CA
9.    475 Washington Street    Auburn    MA
10.    54 West 8 th Street    Holland    MI
11.    410 S. Liberty Street    Independence    MO


SCHEDULE B

Real Property Locations (Second Tier)

 

    

Property Address

  

City

  

State

1.    140 S. Prairie    Galesburg    IL
2.    66 Franklin Street    Norwich    CT
3.    207 Pocasset Street    Fall River    MA
4.   

595 Jenner Drive

   Allegan    MI
5.    165 Enterprise Drive    Marshfield    MA
6.    5 Cohannet Street    Taunton    MA


SCHEDULE C

Real Property Locations (Third Tier)

 

    

Property Address

  

City

  

State

1.    209 JOHN ST    STURGIS    MI
2.    300 N WASHINGTON ST    MEXICO    MO
3.    1196 SOUTH LITTLE CREEK   

DOVER

   DE
4.    34 W. PULTENEY ST.    CORNING    NY
5.    2495 Brickyard Road    CANANDAIGUA    NY
6.    117 W BROADWAY ST    ARDMORE    OK
7.    133 N. WINTER ST    ADRIAN    MI
8.    318 N MAIN ST    PONTIAC    IL
9.    205 SOUTH 26TH STREET    ARKADELPHIA    AR
10.    650 6T STREET    WINTERHAVEN    FL
11.    220 8TH ST.    HONESDALE    PA
12.    114 N DEPOT ST    IONIA    MI
13.    701 N LOCUST ST    PITTSBURG    KS
14.    73 BUFFALO ST    CANANDAIGUA    NY
15.    119 EAST HICKORY    BASTROP    LA
16.    58650 BELLEVIEW DR    PLAQUEMINE    LA
17.    716 E. NAPOLEON ST    SULPHUR    LA
18.    705 SECOND AVE    DODGE CITY    KS
19.    309 S BROADWAY    YREKA    CA
20.    422 SENECA ST    LEAVENWORTH    KS
21.    200 N 3RD ST    HANNIBAL    MO
22.    231 WEST CORNERVIEW STREET    GONZALES    LA
23.    105 E. CENTRAL BLVD.    KEWANEE    IL
24.    818 WASHINGTON ST    CHILLICOTHE    MO
25.    918 N STATE HIGHWAY 5    CAMDENTON    MO
26.    2916 EAST 20TH STREET    JOPLIN    MO
27.    924 N. MT. SHASTA BLVD    MOUNT SHASTA    CA
28.    109 ARLINGTON STREET    SAULT STE MARIE    MI
29.    215 N BELL AVE    SHAWNEE    OK
30.    700 WEST WASHINGTON STREET    NEWTON    IL
31.    107 N MAIN ST # 109    BROOKFIELD    MO
32.    219 SOUTH WASHINGTON STREET    REDWOOD FALLS    MN
33.    50 NORTH AVENUE    MASSILLON    OH
34.    502 W JACKSON ST    MARION    IL


35.    15 W. PEARL STREET    COLDWATER    MI
36.    800 CENTER STREET    TAFT    CA
37.    24 W MAIN ST    MIDDLETOWN    DE
38.    5512 STATE ROUTE 55    LIBERTY    NY
39.    101 WEST 7TH ST    ROLLA    MO
40.    302 N. CHURCH STREET    RIPLEY    WV
41.    218 N WILLIAMS ST    MOBERLY    MO
42.    85 CANISTEO STREET    HORNELL    NY
43.    709 N 2ND AVE    DODGE CITY    KS
44.    111-115 S EMMA ST    WEST FRANKFORT    IL
45.    410 RACE STREET    RAVENSWOOD    WV
46.    522 W 3RD STREET    HOPE    AR
47.    223 S. FIRST ST    MONTEVIDEO    MN
48.    13 S FRONT ST    GEORGETOWN    DE
49.    111 W 6TH ST    STUTTGART    AR
50.    111 GREEN STREET    HERKIMER    NY
51.    204 E 5TH STREET    AUGUSTA    KS
52.    41 NORTH CHURCH ST    CARBONDALE    PA
53.    2672 KEN GRAY BLVD.    WEST FRANKFORT    IL
54.    417 YORK ST.    HELENA    AR
55.    33 MCCOLLUM ST    HILLSDALE    MI
56.    108 W. FIRST ST    GENESEO    IL
57.    114 N VINE ST    EL DORADO    KS
58.    204 W. BOURKE STREET    MACON    MO

Exhibit 10.35

MANAGEMENT AND ADVISORY AGREEMENT

MANAGEMENT AND ADVISORY AGREEMENT (the “ Agreement ”) , is made as of August 27, 2013 (the “ Effective Date ”) by and between LOCAL MEDIA GROUP HOLDINGS LLC, a Delaware limited liability company (the “ Company ”), 1 and GATEHOUSE MEDIA, INC. , a Delaware corporation (together with its permitted assignees, the “ Manager ”).

WITNESSETH :

WHEREAS, the Newcastle Investment Corp. has entered into an agreement (the “SPA”) to purchase all the capital stock of Dow Jones Local Media Group, Inc. (“ LMG ”) and designated the Company to serve as the recipient of such stock; and

WHEREAS, the Manager has expertise in managing various aspects of businesses such as those conducted by LMG and its Subsidiaries (collectively, the “ Businesses ”); and

WHEREAS, the Company desires to engage the Manager, on the terms and conditions set forth herein, to manage the Businesses and the assets and day to day operations of LMG and its Subsidiaries (collectively, the “ Acquired Companies ) .

NOW THEREFORE, in consideration of the mutual agreements herein set forth, the parties hereto agree as follows:

SECTION 1. Definitions. The following terms have the meanings assigned them:

“Affiliate” shall have the meaning set forth in Rule 12b-2 under the Exchange Act.

“Agreement” means this Management and Advisory Agreement, as amended from time to time.

“Board of Directors” means the Board of Directors of the Company.

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

“Common Share” means a share of capital stock of the Company now or hereafter authorized as common voting stock of the Company.

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

“Governing Instruments” means, with regard to any entity, the articles of incorporation and bylaws in the case of a corporation, certificate of limited partnership (if applicable) and the partnership agreement in the case of a general or limited partnership or the articles of formation and the operating agreement in the case of a limited liability company.

 

1   This agreement will be assigned to Local Media Group, Inc. at the closing on September 3, 2013.

 

1


“Independent Directors” means the members of the Board of Directors who are not directors, officers, employees or [Beneficial Owners] 2 of the Manager.

“Manager Change of Control” shall mean the stockholders of the Manager as of the date hereof ceasing to have the power, directly or indirectly, to vote or direct the voting of securities having a majority of the ordinary voting power for the election of directors of the Manager.

“Person” shall be construed in the broadest sense and means and includes a natural person, a partnership, a corporation, an association, a joint stock company, a limited liability company, a trust, a joint venture, an unincorporated organization and any other entity and any federal, state, municipal, foreign or other government, governmental department, commission, board, bureau, agency or instrumentality, or any private or public court or tribunal.

“Subsidiary” means, with respect to any Person, any subsidiary of such Person and any partnership, the general partner of which is such Person or any subsidiary of such Person and any limited liability company, the managing member of which is such Person or any subsidiary of such Person.

SECTION 2. Appointment and Duties of the Manager.

 

(a) The Company hereby appoints the Manager to (i) prior to the closing under the SPA (the “ Acquisition Date ”), assess and do preparatory work for the transition of the Businesses and the Acquired Companies from the parent entities of LMG (collectively the “ Parents ”) and (ii) following the Acquisition Date, oversee the transitional services provided by the Parents pursuant to the SPA and related agreements and to manage the Businesses and the assets and day to day operations of the Acquired Companies subject to the further terms and conditions set forth in this Agreement and the Manager hereby agrees to use its commercially reasonable efforts to perform each of the duties set forth herein. The Manager shall, in its provision of services hereunder, utilize a standard of duty and care equal to that of a reasonably prudent person acting on its own behalf in similar circumstances. In all events, the Manager shall perform the services to be performed hereunder and the Manager’s other obligations under this Agreement, (i) in compliance with all applicable laws, rules and regulations in all material respects, (ii) without infringing, misappropriating or otherwise violating any intellectual property rights of any third parties, (iii) without breaching or violating any third party agreements related to the provision of such services hereunder in any material respect and (iv) without discriminating in any material respect for or against the Company with respect to the provision of such services or in providing such services taking actions in favor of any other business of the Manager to the detriment of the Company. The appointment of the Manager shall be exclusive to the Manager except to the extent that the Manager otherwise agrees, in its sole and absolute discretion, and except to the extent that the Manager elects, pursuant to the terms of this Agreement, to cause the duties of the Manager hereunder to be provided by third parties.

 

(b) The Manager, in its capacity as manager of the Businesses and the assets and the day-to-day operations of the Acquired Companies, at all times will be subject to the supervision of the Company’s Board of Directors and will have only such functions and authority as the Company may delegate to it including, without limitation, the functions and authority

 

2  

Confirm definition and whether necessary.

 

2


  identified herein and delegated to the Manager hereby. The Manager will be responsible for the day-to-day operations of the Acquired Companies and its Subsidiaries and will perform (or cause to be performed) such services and activities relating to the assets and operations of the Acquired Companies as may be appropriate, including, without limitation:

 

  (i) overseeing the transitional services provided by the Parents pursuant to the SPA and related agreements and any other transitional services necessary to transition from the Parents;

 

  (ii) providing general management services, including (A) advice concerning the preparation of budgets, forecasts, capital expenditures, financing, and long-range strategic planning; and (B) such other general management services as the Manager may deem advisable or appropriate or as may from time to time reasonably be requested by the Board of Directors;

 

  (iii) providing general administrative and technical services, advice and direction, including (A) accounting, including cost accounting, inventory control, tax compliance and reporting systems services; (B) legal, trademark and intellectual property advice, including advice with respect to compliance with applicable legal regulations, intellectual property protection; (C) market servicing, product pricing and costs controls and evaluations; (D) preparation of advertising and publicity literature and other materials; (E) providing, training and supervising sales representatives and support staff and providing guidelines and policies for sales representatives and other direction, as may be necessary, for promoting sales; (F) compensation planning, pension, if any, and human resources services; (G) purchasing services; (H) preparation of reporting forms, reports or filings; and (I) such other general administrative and technical services as may from time to time reasonably be requested by the Board of Directors. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, it is understood that any changes in staffing of the Acquired Companies shall be at the sole cost and expense of the Company and any changes in the staffing of the Manager shall be at the sole cost and expense of the Manager (except as otherwise expressly specified herein);

 

  (iv) engaging and supervising, on behalf of the Company and at the Company’s expense, independent contractors to provide services as may be required relating to the Acquired Companies and the Businesses;

 

  (v) advising in connection with the negotiation and consummation of agreements, contracts, documents and instruments related to the Acquired Companies or the Businesses;

 

  (vi) using reasonable measures, at the Company’s costs and expense, for the orderly physical administration, management, and operation of the facilities and properties of the Acquired Companies, including, without limitation, cleaning, painting, decorating, plumbing, carpeting, grounds care and such other maintenance and repair work as is reasonably necessary;

 

  (vii) providing executive and administrative personnel, office space and office services required in rendering services to the Company;

 

3


  (viii) administering the day-to-day operations of the Acquired Companies and performing and supervising the performance of such other administrative functions necessary in the management of the Acquired Companies as may be agreed upon by the Manager and the Board of Directors, including, without limitation, the collection of revenues and the payment of the Acquired Companies’ debts and obligations and maintenance of appropriate computer services to perform such administrative functions;

 

  (ix) on behalf of the Acquired Companies, and at the Company’s cost and expense, arranging for, obtaining and maintaining, or causing its agents to maintain, with responsible insurance carriers licenses to do business in the applicable state, insurance satisfactory to the Manager and the Board of Directors such risks as the Manager deems appropriate, including, with limitation, covering the Businesses and the operations of the Acquired Companies, naming the appropriate Acquired Companies and the Manager as insured parties. The Manager shall recommend to the Board of Directors the minimum amounts of insurance coverage for the Acquired Companies, which shall be subject to the reasonable approval of the Board of Directors;

 

  (x) counseling the Company in connection with human resource, employee, personnel, labor and union relation matters regarding the Acquired Companies;

 

  (xi) assisting the Company in developing criteria for business development that are specifically tailored to the Company’s objectives and, subject to any confidentiality restrictions, making available to the Company its knowledge and experience with respect to businesses like the Businesses;

 

  (xii) monitoring the operating performance of the Acquired Companies and the Businesses and providing periodic reports with respect thereto to the Board of Directors, including comparative information with respect to such operating and performance and budgeted or projected operating results;

 

  (xiii) causing the Acquired Companies to retain qualified accountants and legal counsel, as applicable, to assist in developing appropriate accounting procedures, compliance procedures and testing systems with respect to financial reporting obligations and compliance with applicable local, state and Federal laws, rules and regulations and to conduct quarterly compliance reviews with respect thereto;

 

  (xiv) causing the Acquired Companies to qualify to do business in all applicable jurisdictions and to obtain and maintain all appropriate licenses and permits;

 

  (xv) handling and resolving all claims, disputes or controversies (including all litigation, arbitration, settlement or other proceedings or negotiations) in which the Acquired Companies may be involved or to which the Acquired Companies may be subject arising out of the Acquired Companies day-to-day operations, subject to such limitations or parameters as may be imposed from time to time by the Board of Directors;

 

4


  (xvi) using commercially reasonable efforts to cause expenses incurred by or on behalf of the Acquired Companies to be reasonable or customary and within any budgeted parameters or expense guidelines set by the Board of Directors from time to time;

 

  (xvii) performing such other services as may be required from time to time for management and other activities relating to the Businesses and the Acquired Companies as the Board of Directors shall reasonably request or the Manager shall deem appropriate under the particular circumstances; and

 

  (xviii) using commercially reasonable efforts to cause the Acquired Companies to comply with all applicable laws, rules and regulations.

The Manager will provide the services to the Company described in clauses (i) through (xxviii) above, as well as any other services to be provided by the Manager to the Company and the Acquired Companies pursuant to the terms of this Agreement, in a professional manner using its best business judgment (the “ Service Level ”).

 

(c) The Manager may enter into agreements with other parties, including its Affiliates, for and on behalf, and at the sole cost and expense, of the Company to provide any of the third party services to the Company with respect to the Businesses contemplated herein, pursuant to agreement(s) with terms which are then customary for agreements regarding the management of businesses similar in type, quality and value to the Businesses; provided , that any such agreements entered into with Affiliates of the Manager shall be (i) on terms no more favorable to such Affiliate then would be obtained from a third party on an arms’-length basis and (ii) approved by a majority of Independent Directors. Without limiting the foregoing, the Manager itself may also enter into agreements or arrangements with the Company to provide any of the third party services to the Company with respect to the Businesses contemplated herein, using the Manager’s own resources and allocate the costs of such resources on an equitable objective basis.

 

(d) The Manager may retain, for and on behalf, and at the sole cost and expense of the Company, such services of accountants, legal counsel, appraisers, insurers, brokers, transfer agents, registrars, developers, investment banks, financial advisors, banks and other lenders and others as the Manager deems necessary or advisable in connection with the management and operations of the Acquired Companies and to the extent necessary or advisable in accordance with the Service Level required to be provided by the Manager and the applicable Annual Budget (as defined below). Amounts paid by the Company to the Manager pursuant to this clause (d) shall be separate from and in addition to amounts paid by the Company to the Manager pursuant to Section 8 of this Agreement.

 

(e)

The Manager shall, not less than 15 days after the commencement of each full or partial fiscal year of the Company, submit to the Board of Directors for its approval a proposed operating budget and annual plan for the ensuing full or partial fiscal year, as the case may be (the “ Annual Budget”) . The Annual Budget shall include a projected income statement, balance sheet, and projection of cash flow for the Acquired Companies on a consolidated basis, with detailed explanations of the assumptions used therein. If any proposed Annual Budget contains disputed or objectionable budget item(s), the Board of Directors and the Manager agree to cooperate with each other in good faith to resolve the disputed or objectionable proposed item(s). If the Board of Directors and the Manager are unable to

 

5


  resolve the disputed or objectionable item(s) prior to the commencement of the applicable fiscal year, the undisputed portions of the proposed Annual Budget shall be deemed to be adopted and approved and the corresponding line item(s) contained in the Annual Budget for the preceding fiscal year shall be adjusted as set forth herein and shall be substituted in lieu of the disputed item(s) in the proposed Annual Budget. Those line items that are in dispute shall be determined by increasing the preceding fiscal year’s actual expense for the corresponding line items by a percentage amount determined by the Manager which does not exceed the percentage change in the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the United States Department of Labor, U.S. City Average, all items (1982-84 = 100) for the fiscal year prior to the fiscal year with respect to which the adjustment to the line item(s) is being calculated or any successor or replacement index thereto. The resulting Annual Budget obtained in accordance with the preceding sentence shall be deemed to be the Annual Budget in effect until such time as the Manager and the Board of Directors have resolved the items objected to by the Board of Directors. The Manager may, after notice to and approval by the Board of Directors, revise the Annual Budget from time to time, as necessary, to reflect any unpredicted significant changes, variables or events or to include significant, additional, unanticipated items of expense. Expenditures shall not materially vary from the approved budgets nor exceed the aggregate Annual Budget (as approved by the Board of Directors, and revised with the reasonable approval of the Board of Directors) absent the written consent of the Board of Directors; provided that the Board of Directors recognizes that (i) the absolute amounts of expenditures may exceed budgeted amounts if the volume of the Businesses exceeds projections, (ii) the relative amounts of income and expense may vary from budgeted amounts if the volume of the Businesses is less than projected, and (iii) the Manager does not guarantee the economic performance shown in Annual Budgets. The Manager shall submit a revision of the Annual Budget to the Board of Directors for review on a quarterly or other appropriate basis as the Manager may deem appropriate.

 

(f) As frequently as the Manager may deem necessary or advisable, or at the direction of the Board of Directors, the Manager shall, at the sole cost and expense of the Company, prepare, or cause to be prepared, reports and information on the Acquired Companies’ operations and performance and other information reasonably requested by the Board of Directors of the Company.

 

(g) The Manager shall prepare regular reports for the Board of Directors to enable the Board of Directors to review the Acquired Companies’ operations, credit quality, performance and compliance with the policies approved by the Board of Directors.

 

(h) Notwithstanding anything contained in this Agreement to the contrary, except to the extent that the payment of additional monies is proven by the Company to have been required as a direct result of the Manager’s acts or omissions which result in the right of the Company to terminate this Agreement pursuant to Section 15 of this Agreement, the Manager shall not be required to expend money (“ Excess Funds ”) in excess of that contained in any applicable Company Account (as herein defined) or otherwise made available by the Company to be expended by the Manager hereunder. Failure of the Manager to expend Excess Funds out-of-pocket shall not give rise or be a contributing factor to the right of the Company under Section 13(a) of this Agreement to terminate this Agreement due to the Manager’s unsatisfactory performance.

 

6


(i) In performing its duties under this Section 2, the Manager shall be entitled to rely reasonably on qualified experts hired by the Manager.

 

(j) The Company shall fully cooperate (and shall cause the Acquired Companies to) with the Manager and make the Acquired Companies’ personnel, assets and resources available to the Manager as reasonably requested by the Manager in connection with the performance of its services.

 

(k) The Manager shall be authorized and directed by the Board of Directors to execute such agreements or other instruments, file or cause to be filed any reports or other documents with any governmental body or agency, and to take or cause to be taken any action deemed necessary or appropriate by the Manager in its reasonable judgment to fulfill the duties of the Manager set forth in this Agreement.

SECTION 3. Devotion of Time; Competition; Additional Activities.

 

(a) The Company acknowledges that the Manager may, without the Company’s consent, engage in any locally focused media business, whether or not in direct competition with the business activities of any of the Businesses of the Company or its Subsidiaries in any market in the United States provided that such activity by the Manager does not otherwise violate the terms or conditions hereof. Subject to the preceding proviso, nothing herein shall prevent the Manager or any of its Affiliates or any of the officers and employees of any of the foregoing from engaging in other businesses or from rendering services of any kind to any other person or entity, including, but not limited to, investment in, or advisory service to others investing in, any type of locally focused media or news business.

 

(b) The Manager agrees that during the term of this Agreement, the Manager shall not directly, without the Company’s consent, (i) solicit or induce any officer, director, or employee of the Acquired Companies or any of its successors, assigns, or Subsidiaries to terminate his, her or its employment or other relationship with the Company or its successors, assigns , (ii) solicit or induce any individual who was an officer, director or employee of the Acquired Companies at any time during the immediately preceding six (6) month period to associate with any locally focused media competitor of the Acquired Companies (a “ Competitor ”) or (iii) hire any individual who left the employ of the Acquired Companies during the immediately preceding six (6) month period.

 

(c) The Company shall have the benefit of the Manager’s best judgment and effort in rendering services and, in furtherance of the foregoing, the Manager shall not undertake activities which, in its judgment, will substantially adversely affect the performance of its obligations under this Agreement.

 

(d) The Manager further covenants and agrees that the restrictive covenants set forth above are reasonable as to duration, terms and geographical area and that the same protects the legitimate interests of the Company in the Acquired Companies, imposes no undue hardship on the Manager, is not injurious to the public, and that any violation of this restrictive covenant shall be specifically enforceable in any court with jurisdiction upon short notice.

 

(e)

Managers, members, partners, officers, employees, consultants and agents of the Manager or Affiliates of the Manager may serve as directors, officers, employees, agents, nominees or

 

7


  signatories for the Acquired Companies, to the extent permitted by their respective Governing Instruments, or by any resolutions duly adopted by the Board of Directors pursuant to the Company’s Governing Instruments. When executing documents or otherwise acting in such capacities for the Acquired Companies, such persons shall use their respective titles in the Acquired Companies.

SECTION 4. Agency; Power of Attorney.

 

(a) The Manager shall act as agent of the Acquired Companies in performing its duties under this Agreement, including operating the Acquired Companies, acquiring or disposing of the assets of the Acquired Companies in the ordinary course, disbursing and collecting the Acquired Companies funds, executing or filing documents on behalf of the Acquired Companies, paying the debts and fulfilling the obligations of the Acquired Companies, supervising the performance of professionals engaged by or on behalf of the Acquired Companies and handling, prosecuting and settling any claims of or against the Acquired Companies.

 

(b) Upon the execution of this Agreement, the Company hereby consents and appoints each of the Chief Executive Officer, Chief Operating Officer, Chief Financial Officer, and General Counsel of the Manager (solely in their capacity as officers of the Manager, collectively, the “Signatories”) as its true and lawful attorney, coupled with an interest in the Company’s name, place and stead to sign, execute, acknowledge, swear to and file any and all documents which in the discretion of such attorney are required to be signed, executed, acknowledged, sworn to or filed by the Company to discharge the purposes and duties of the Manager as hereinabove stated. The grant of authority set forth herein: (i) is a special power of attorney coupled with an interest, is irrevocable during the term of this Agreement and shall survive the death, incapacity, liquidation or dissolution of the Company; and (ii) may be exercised by any Signatory for the Company by a facsimile signature or by listing the Company with the signature of the Signatory, as attorney in fact for the Company. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this agreement, the Signatories shall have only the authority set forth in the delegation of authorities as set forth and approved by the Board of Directors from time to time. Any such power of attorney described herein shall terminate immediately upon a Manager Change in Control.

SECTION 5. Bank Accounts. The Board of Directors hereby directs the Manager to establish and maintain one or more bank accounts in the name of the Acquired Companies (any such account, a “ Company Account ”), and to collect and deposit funds into any such Company Account or Company Accounts, and disburse funds from any such Company Account or Company Accounts, under such terms and conditions as the Board of Directors may direct from time to time; and the Manager shall from time to time render appropriate accountings of such collections and payments to the Board of Directors and, upon request, to the auditors of the Company or the Acquired Companies.

SECTION 6. Records; Confidentiality. The Manager shall maintain appropriate books of accounts and records relating to services performed under this Agreement, and such books of account and records shall be accessible for inspection by representatives of the Company or the Acquired Companies at any time during normal business hours upon one (1) business day’s advance written notice. The Manager shall keep confidential any and all information obtained in connection with the services rendered under this Agreement and shall not disclose any such information to non-Affiliated third parties except with the prior written consent of the Board of Directors.

 

8


SECTION 7. Obligations of Manager; Restrictions.

 

(a) The Manager shall refrain from any action that, in its sole judgment made in good faith, would adversely affect the status of the Acquired Companies as a corporation in good standing or a foreign corporation in good standing in such jurisdictions in which the Acquired Companies are required to so qualify or that, in its sole judgment made in good faith, would violate any law, rule or regulation of any governmental body or agency having jurisdiction over the Acquired Companies or that would otherwise not be permitted by such entity’s respective Governing Instruments. If the Manager is ordered to take any such action by the Board of Directors, the Manager shall promptly notify the Board of Directors of the Manager’s judgment that such action would adversely affect such status or violate any such law, rule or regulation or the Governing Instruments. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Manager, its directors, officers, stockholders and employees shall not be liable to the Company or Acquired Companies, the Board of Directors, or the Company’s or any Acquired Company’s stockholders, employees or partners for any act or omission by the Manager, its directors, officers, stockholders or employees except as provided in Section 11 of this Agreement.

 

(b) The Manager shall not (i) consummate any transaction which would involve the acquisition by the Acquired Companies of property in which the Manager or any Affiliate thereof has an ownership interest or the sale by the Acquired Companies of property to the Manager or any Affiliate thereof, or (ii) under circumstances where the Manager is subject to an actual or potential conflict of interest because it manages both the Acquired Companies and another Person (not an Affiliate of the Company) with which the Acquired Companies has a contractual relationship, take any action constituting the granting to such Person of a waiver, forebearance or other relief, or the enforcement against such Person of remedies, under or with respect to the applicable contract, unless such transaction or action, as the case may be and in each case, is approved by a majority of the Independent Directors.

 

(c) The Board of Directors periodically reviews the Acquired Companies’ operations and assets and transactions undertaken by the Acquired Companies. If any transaction involved the acquisition of an asset from the Manager or an Affiliate of the Manager that was not approved in advance by a majority of the Independent Directors, then the Manager may be required to repurchase the asset at the purchase price (plus closing costs) to the Company.

 

(d) The Manager shall at all times during the term of this Agreement (including the initial term and any renewal term) maintain “errors and omissions” insurance coverage and other insurance coverage which is customarily carried for consultants, advisors or managers performing functions similar to those of the Manager under this Agreement with respect to businesses to the Businesses, in an amount which is comparable to that customarily maintained by other managers of such similar businesses.

SECTION 8. Compensation.

 

(a)

During the term of this Agreement, as the same may be extended from time to time, the Manager will receive compensation as follows: (i) for the period from the Effective Date up to and including the Acquisition Date a monthly fee of Forty Thousand Dollars ($40,000),

 

9


  prorated for partial calendar months (the “ Monthly Fee ”) and (ii) for the period following the Acquisition Date an annual management fee (the “ Management Fee ”) of One Million One Hundred Thousand Dollars ($1,100,000). The Monthly Fees shall be paid in full on the earlier to occur of the Acquisition Date and the termination or abandonment of the SPA and Manager hereby acknowledges and agrees that such payment shall be deemed to satisfy in full any and all obligations for monies owing to the Manager prior to Acquisition Date for services performed for and/or on behalf of the Company. The Management Fee shall be calculated and paid quarterly in arrears on the last business day of each calendar quarter during the term of this Agreement, provided that the first such installment shall be prorated for the days remaining in the calendar quarter following the Acquisition Date. The Management Fee shall be adjusted in arrears (iii) on each anniversary of the Acquisition Date to equal (A) a fraction equal to (1) the total annual revenues of the Acquired Companies, on a consolidated basis, for the Contract Year just ended, divided by (2) the total annual revenues of the Manager, on a consolidated basis, for the same period multiplied by (B) the actual base salaries and benefit costs of the following employees of the Manager for such period (or the functional equivalent thereof): Chief Executive Officer, Chief Operating Officer, Chief Financial Officer, General Counsel, Chief Information Officer, Vice President of Production, Controller, Vice President of Human Resources and Vice President of Sales and Marketing plus (C) the sum of the actual compensation (inclusive of base salaries, bonuses and benefit costs) for one IT employee and two corporate finance employees who will be dedicated solely to the Businesses (in the case of each of clauses (B) and (C), subject to reasonable increases), and (iv) any increases in out-of-pocket third party costs included in the Management Fee that are actually or anticipated to be incurred by the Manager directly in connection with providing or obtaining the services hereunder, such adjustments being made pursuant to Section 8(b) below. Each consecutive 12 month period following the Acquisition Date or any anniversary thereof during the term of this Agreement is referred to as a “ Contract Year ”. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary herein, the Management Fee shall not be increased to an amount greater than $1,210,000 per annum without the prior written approval of the Board of Directors.

 

(b) The Manager shall compute any adjustment, (i) as provided in Section 8(a)(iii) above, with respect to the Management Fee for the Contract Year just ended, within 30 days after the end of the Contract Year with respect to which such Management Fee was paid and as provided in Section 8(a)(iv) above, with respect to any installment of the Management Fee, within 15 days after the end of the calendar quarter with respect to which such installment is paid. A copy of the computations made by the Manager to calculate such adjustments shall thereafter, for informational purposes only, promptly be delivered to the Board of Directors or such person designated by the Board of Directors to receive such computations and, upon such delivery, payment of such adjustment of the Management Fee shown therein shall be due and payable no later than the earlier to occur of (i) the date on which the next upcoming installment is payable and (ii) the date which is two (2) business days after the date of delivery to the Board of Directors of such computations.

 

(c)

In addition to the Management Fee otherwise payable hereunder, the Company shall pay the Manager annual incentive compensation (the “ Incentive Compensation ”) within 90 days following the end of each of the Company’s full or partial fiscal years during the term equal to 12.5% of the EBIDTA of LMG on a consolidated basis, for the fiscal year just ended (as reflected on LMG’s audited financial statements for such fiscal year and normalized for any partial fiscal year) that is in excess of the EBIDTA of LMG, on a consolidated basis, as

 

10


  reflected in the Annual Budget for such fiscal year (normalized for any partial fiscal year), as such EBITDA is approved by LMG’s Board of Directors and reasonably agreed to by the Manager. The Incentive Compensation shall be earned and accrued throughout the fiscal year; provided , however , that the Incentive Compensation payment shall be calculated with respect to the partial fiscal year beginning on the Acquisition Date and normalized as provided above.

 

(d) The Company and GateHouse Media Ventures, Inc. d/b/a Propel Marketing agree to use commercially reasonable efforts to enter into an agreement whereby Propel Marketing will provide digital marketing services to the Acquired Companies following the Acquisition Date at the prevailing rates. It being understood that the final terms and conditions of such agreement shall be in form and substance acceptable to the Board of Directors and Propel Marketing Services in each party’s sole and absolute discretion.

 

(e) The obligation of the Company to pay the unpaid portion of the Management Fee and the unpaid portion of Incentive Compensation, if any, shall survive the expiration or earlier termination of this Agreement.

SECTION 9. Expenses of the Company. The Company shall pay all of its expenses and shall reimburse the Manager (or at the Manager’s request, pay directly) for documented out-of-pocket expenses of the Manager incurred on behalf of the Company or the Acquired Companies’ that are not included as part of the Management Fee (collectively, the “ Expenses ”). Expenses include all reasonable costs and expenses which are expressly designated elsewhere in this Agreement as the Company’s, together with the following:

 

(a) Expenses in connection with the transaction costs incident to the acquisitions, disposition and financing of assets in the ordinary course or any Businesses development activity;

 

(b) travel and other Expenses incurred by managers, officers, employees and agents of the Manager in connection with the Businesses;

 

(c) Expenses of legal, accounting, tax, auditing, administrative and other similar services rendered for the Acquired Companies by providers retained by the Manager;

 

(d) Expenses of liability insurance to indemnify the Acquired Companies’ directors and officers;

 

(e) Expenses associated with any computer software or hardware that is used solely for the Acquired Companies or to the extent used for the Acquired Companies;

 

(f) Expenses incurred in contracting with third parties, including Affiliates of the Manager, for the servicing and special servicing of assets or operations of the Acquired Companies;

 

(h) Expenses relating to the Businesses, including, without limitation, Expenses of acquiring, owning, protecting, maintaining, developing and disposing of the Acquired Companies’ assets, including appraisal, reporting, audit and legal fees;

 

(i) all insurance Expenses incurred in connection with the operation of the Acquired Companies and the Businesses except for the costs attributable to the insurance that the Manager elects or is required to carry for itself and its employees;

 

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(j) Expenses relating to any office or office facilities maintained for the Acquired Companies or any of their respective operations separate from the office or offices of the Manager; and

 

(k) all other Expenses incurred by the Manager which are determined by an executive officer of the Manager as reasonably necessary for the performance by the Manager of its duties and functions under this Agreement.

Without regard to the amount of compensation received under this Agreement by the Manager, the Manager shall bear the following expenses (which are included as part of the Management Fee): (i) wages and salaries of the Manager’s officers and employees; (ii) rent attributable to the space occupied by the Manager; and (iii) all other customary “overhead” expenses of the Manager.

SECTION 10. Calculations of Expenses. The Manager shall prepare a statement documenting the Expenses of the Acquired Companies and the Expenses incurred by the Manager on behalf of the Company during each calendar month, and shall deliver such statement to the Company within 20 days after the end of each calendar month. Expenses incurred by the Manager on behalf of the Acquired Companies shall be reimbursed monthly to the Manager on the tenth business day of the month immediately following the date of delivery of such statement.

SECTION 11. Limits of Manager Responsibility; Indemnification.

 

(a)

The Manager assumes no responsibility under this Agreement other than to render the services called for under this Agreement in good faith and shall not be responsible for any action of the Board of Directors in following or declining to follow any advice or recommendations of the Manager, including as set forth in Section 7(b) of this Agreement. The Manager, its members, managers, officers, affiliates, consultants, agents and employees will not be liable to the Company or the Acquired Companies, to the Board of Directors, or the Company’s or any Acquired Companies’ stockholders or partners for any acts or omissions by the Manager, its members, managers, officers, affiliates, consultants, agents or employees, pursuant to or in accordance with this Agreement, except by reason of acts constituting bad faith, willful misconduct, gross negligence or reckless disregard of the Manager’s duties under this Agreement. The Company shall, to the full extent lawful, reimburse, indemnify and hold the Manager, its members, managers, officers, affiliates, consultants, agents and employees and each other Person, if any, controlling the Manager (each, a “ Manager Indemnified Party ”), harmless of and from any and all expenses, losses, damages, liabilities, demands, charges and claims of any nature whatsoever (including reasonable attorneys’ fees) in respect of or arising from any acts or omissions of such Manager Indemnified Party made in good faith in the performance of the Manager’s duties under this Agreement and not constituting such Manager Indemnified Party’s bad faith, willful misconduct, gross negligence or reckless disregard of the Manager’s duties under this Agreement. The Company will reimburse any Manager Indemnified Party for all reasonable costs and expenses (including reasonable attorneys’ fees and expenses) as they are incurred in connection with the investigation of, preparation for or defense of any pending or threatened claim for which the Manager Indemnified Party would be entitled to indemnification under the terms of the previous sentence, or any action or proceeding arising therefrom, whether or not such Manager Indemnified Party is a party hereto, provided that, subject to the following sentence, the Company shall be entitled to assume the defense thereof at its own expense, with counsel satisfactory to such Manager Indemnified Party in its

 

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  reasonable judgment. Any Manager Indemnified Party may, at its own expense, retain separate counsel to participate in such defense, and in any action, claim or proceeding in which the Company, on the one hand, and an Manager Indemnified Party, on the other hand, is, or is reasonably likely to become, a party, such Manager Indemnified Party shall have the right to employ separate counsel at the Company’s expense and to control its own defense of such action, claim or proceeding if, in the reasonable opinion of counsel to such Manager Indemnified Party, a conflict or potential conflict exists between the Company, on the one hand, and such Manager Indemnified Party, on the other hand, that would make such separate representation advisable. The Company agrees that it will not, without the prior written consent of the applicable Manager Indemnified Party, settle, compromise or consent to the entry of any judgment in any pending or threatened claim, action or proceeding relating to the matters contemplated hereby (if any Manager Indemnified Party is a party thereto or has been actually threatened to be made a party thereto) unless such settlement, compromise or consent includes a reasonably acceptable release of the applicable Manager Indemnified Party and each other Manager Indemnified Party from all liability arising or that may arise out of such claim, action or proceeding. Provided that the Company is not in breach of its indemnification obligations hereunder, no Manager Indemnified Party shall settle or compromise any claim subject to indemnification hereunder without the prior written consent of the Company.

 

(b) The Manager shall, to the full extent lawful, reimburse, indemnify and hold the Company, its shareholders, directors, officers and employees and each other Person, if any, controlling the Company (each, a “ Company Indemnified Party ”), harmless of and from any and all expenses, losses, damages, liabilities, demands, charges and claims of any nature whatsoever (including attorneys’ fees) in respect of or arising from the Manager’s bad faith, willful misconduct, gross negligence or reckless disregard of its duties under this Agreement.

SECTION 12. No Joint Venture. Nothing in this Agreement shall be construed to make the Company and the Manager partners or joint venturers or impose any liability as such on either of them.

SECTION 13. Term; Termination Without Cause.

 

(a) Until this Agreement is terminated in accordance with its terms, this Agreement shall be in effect until the second anniversary of the Acquisition Date, and thereafter this Agreement shall be deemed renewed automatically for additional consecutive two-year periods unless a majority of the Board of Directors deliver to the Manager a notice of the Company’s intent to terminate this Agreement at least 30 days prior to renewal date.

 

(b) In the event that this Agreement is terminated in accordance with the provisions of Section 13(a) of this Agreement, the Company shall pay to the Manager, on the date on which such termination is effective, a termination fee (the “ Termination Fee ”) equal to the sum of (i) the average of the current Management Fee for the previous three full Contract Years (or such lesser number of full Contract Years as have elapsed) and (ii) all accrued but unpaid Incentive Compensation (including for the then current fiscal year). The obligation of the Company to pay the Termination Fee shall survive the termination of this Agreement.

 

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(c) At least thirty (30) days prior to the end of the initial term or any renewal term after the end of the initial term, the Manager may deliver written notice to the Company informing it of the Manager’s intention not to renew the Agreement, whereupon this Agreement shall not be renewed and extended and this Agreement shall terminate effective on the end of the then current initial term or renewal term, as the case may be.

 

(d) In addition, the Manager may at any time, deliver written notice to the Company terminating this Agreement (and specifying the effective termination date) if so ordered by court processes or orders. In such event the Manager will make commercially reasonable efforts to give the Company advance notice. Upon such termination, the Company shall pay the Manager, on the date on which the termination is effect, all additional amounts owed to the Manager, including but not limited to all accrued but unpaid Incentive Compensation (including for the then current fiscal year).

 

(e) This Agreement will terminate automatically, without further action by any party, if (i) the SPA is terminated or abandoned or (ii) the Acquired Companies or the Businesses are merged with or the assets of which are otherwise combined with or into the Manager.

 

(f) This Agreement will terminate at the election of the Board of Directors in their sole discretion if a Manager Change of Control shall have occurred or will occur with the passage of time without giving effect to closing conditions or other contingencies if the Manager has entered into a definitive agreement a result of which will be a Manager Change of Control if the subject transaction is consummated.

 

(g) If this Agreement is terminated pursuant to this Section 13, such termination shall be without any further liability or obligation of either party to the other, except as provided in Sections 13(b) and (d) and Section 16 of this Agreement. In addition, Section 11 of this Agreement shall survive termination of this Agreement.

 

(h) The Termination Fee is in addition to, and not in lieu of, all other compensation earned or accrued by the Manager through the effective termination date.

Notwithstanding anything to the contrary herein, no Termination Fee shall be due and payable in the event this Agreement is terminated pursuant to clause (e) or (f) above or Section 14(a) below.

SECTION 14. Assignment.

 

(a) Except as set forth in Section 14(b) of this Agreement, this Agreement shall terminate automatically in the event of its assignment, in whole or in part, by the Manager, and any attempted assignment shall be null and void unless such assignment is consented to in writing by the Company with the consent of a majority of the Independent Directors. Any such permitted assignment shall bind the assignee under this Agreement in the same manner as the Manager is bound, and the Manager shall be liable to the Company for all errors or omissions of the assignee under any such assignment. In addition, the assignee shall execute and deliver to the Company a counterpart of this Agreement naming such assignee as Manager. This Agreement shall not be assigned by the Company without the prior written consent of the Manager, and any attempted assignment shall be null and void; provided , however , that the Company may assign this agreement to LMG on or after the Acquisition Date without the consent of the Manager.

 

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(b) Notwithstanding any provision of this Agreement, the Manager may subcontract and assign any or all of its responsibilities under this Agreement to any of its Affiliates in accordance with the terms of this Agreement applicable to any such subcontract or assignment, and the Company hereby consents to any such assignment and subcontracting. In addition, provided that the Manager provides prior written notice to the Company for informational purposes only, nothing contained in this Agreement shall preclude any pledge, hypothecation or other transfer of any amounts payable to the Manager under this Agreement.

SECTION 15. Termination for Cause.

 

(a) The Company may terminate this Agreement effective upon five (5) days prior written notice of termination from the Company to the Manager, without payment of any Termination Fee, if any act of fraud, misappropriation of funds, or embezzlement against the Company or the Acquired Companies or other willful violation of this Agreement by the Manager in its corporate capacity (as distinguished from the acts of any employees of the Manager which are taken without the complicity of any of the Manager) under this Agreement or in the event of any gross negligence on the part of the Manager in the performance of its duties under this Agreement.

 

(b) The Manager may terminate this Agreement immediately upon written notice of termination of the Company in the event that the Company shall default in the payment of any fees or other amounts owed to the Manager under this Agreement and such default shall continue for a period of fifteen (15) days after written notice thereof specifying such default and requesting that the same be remedied in such fifteen (15) day period. The Manager may terminate this Agreement effective upon sixty (60) days prior written notice of termination to the Company in the event that the Company shall default in the performance or observance of any material term, condition or covenant contained in this Agreement and such default shall continue for a period of thirty (30) days after written notice thereof specifying such default and requesting that the same be remedied in such thirty (30) day period.

 

(c) In the event that this Agreement is terminated for any reason, including pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15, the Company shall remain liable to pay the Manager all unpaid Monthly Fees, Management Fees, Incentive Compensation, and Expenses earned or accrued through the effective termination date, as well as, if applicable, the Termination Fee.

SECTION 16. Action Upon Termination.

From and after the effective date of termination of this Agreement, pursuant to Sections 13, 14, or 15 of this Agreement, the Manager shall not be entitled to compensation for further services or reimbursement of expenses under this Agreement, but shall be paid all compensation (Monthly Fees, Management Fee and Incentive Compensation), and Expenses, in each case accruing or earned to the date of termination and, if terminated pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(b), the applicable Termination Fee. Upon such termination, the Manager shall forthwith:

 

15


(a) after deducting any accrued but unpaid Monthly Fees, Management Fees, Incentive Compensation, Expenses, and Termination Fees, if any to which it is then entitled, pay over to the Company or the Acquired Companies all money collected and held for the account of or owed to the Company or the Acquired Companies pursuant to this Agreement;

 

(b) deliver to the Board of Directors a full accounting, including a statement showing all payments collected by it and a statement of all money held by it, covering the period following the date of the last accounting furnished to the Board of Directors with respect to the Acquired Companies through the date on which the report is furnished to the Board of Directors; and

 

(c) deliver to the Board of Directors all property and documents of the Company or any Subsidiary then in the custody of the Manager.

SECTION 17 . Books and Records. Each of the Company and the Manager shall keep true and complete books and records in which all EBTIDA and expenses of the Acquired Companies and other fee-generating or cost-reimburseable activities shall be reflected along with the amounts payable to the other party under the terms of this Agreement. Each party shall maintain such books and records with respect to each month during the term and for a period of at least three years after the end of such month. During the term and for a period of one year after the last month in which any party is obligated to pay fees, expenses or compensation to the other hereunder, such party (the “ Examining Party ”) shall have the right, at its expense and upon reasonable notice to the other party (the “ Examined Party ”), to examine, or have examined by its authorized representative, the Examined Party’s books and records, at the Examined Party’s principal place of business, in order to determine or verify amounts due, and the accuracy of any reports furnished by the Examined Party to the Examining Party under this Agreement. The Examining Party shall not make any such examination more than twice in any calendar year. In the event that an error is discovered in the calculation of the amounts payable to the Examining Party, the party that received the benefit of the error shall promptly thereafter pay to the other the amount of overpayment or underpayment, as the case may be. An underpayment on an error in such calculation shall not be deemed to be a breach of this Agreement so long as the calculation was made in good faith. If any underpayment by the Examined Party for a period examined by the Examining Party is 20% or more, the Examined Party shall pay the Examining Party’s reasonable out-of-pocket costs with respect to such examination and the next subsequent reexamination. Receipt or acceptance by any party of any statement, or any of the sums paid hereunder, shall not preclude such party from challenging the correctness of a statement, or any part or portion thereof, at any time.

SECTION 18. Release of Money or Other Property Upon Written Request. The Manager agrees that any money or other property of the Acquired Companies held by the Manager under this Agreement shall be held by the Manager as custodian for the Acquired Companies, and the Manager’s records shall be appropriately marked clearly to reflect the ownership of such money or other property by the Acquired Companies. Upon the receipt by the Manager of a written request signed by a duly authorized officer of the Company requesting the Manager to release to the Acquired Companies any money or other property then held by the Manager for the account of the Acquired Companies under this Agreement, the Manager shall release such money or other property

 

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to the Acquired Companies within a reasonable period of time, but in no event later than sixty (60) days following such request. The Manager shall not be liable to the Company, any Subsidiary, any Director or the Company’s or the Acquired Companies stockholders or partners for any acts performed or omissions to act by the Company or the Acquired Companies in connection with the money or other property released to the Acquired Companies in accordance with the first sentence of this Section 18. The Company and any Subsidiary shall indemnify the Manager and its members, managers, officers, affiliates, consultants, agents and employees against any and all expenses, losses, damages, liabilities, demands, charges and claims of any nature whatsoever, which arise in connection with the Manager’s release of such money or other property to the Acquired Companies in accordance with the terms of this Section 18. Indemnification pursuant to this provision shall be in addition to any right of the Manager to indemnification under Section 11 of this Agreement.

SECTION 19. Notices. Unless expressly provided otherwise in this Agreement, all notices, requests, demands and other communications required or permitted under this Agreement shall be in writing and shall be deemed to have been duly given, made and received when delivered against receipt or upon actual receipt of (a) personal delivery, (b) delivery by reputable overnight courier, (c) delivery by facsimile transmission against answerback, (d) delivery by registered or certified mail, postage prepaid, return receipt requested, addressed as set forth below:

 

  (a) If to Company:

Local Media Group Holdings LLC

c/o FIG LLC

1345 Avenue of the Americas

46 th Floor

New York, New York 10105

Attention: Mr. Cameron MacDougall

Attention: Mr. Ken Riis

 

  (b) If to the Manager:

GateHouse Media, Inc.

350 WillowBrook Office Park

Fairport, New York 14450

Attention: Mr. Mike Reed

Attention: Ms. Polly Sack

Either party may alter the address to which communications or copies are to be sent by giving notice of such change of address in conformity with the provisions of this Section 19 for the giving of notice.

SECTION 20. Binding Nature of Agreement; Successors and Assigns. This Agreement shall be binding upon and inure to the benefit of the parties hereto and their respective heirs, personal representatives, successors and permitted assigns as provided in this Agreement.

 

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SECTION 21. Entire Agreement; Conflicts. This Agreement contains the entire agreement and understanding among the parties hereto with respect to the subject matter of this Agreement, and supersedes all prior and contemporaneous agreements, understandings, inducements and conditions, express or implied, oral or written, of any nature whatsoever with respect to the subject matter of this Agreement. The express terms of this Agreement control and supersede any course of performance and/or usage of the trade inconsistent with any of the terms of this Agreement. This Agreement may not be modified or amended other than by an agreement in writing.

SECTION 22. Controlling Law.

This Agreement and all questions relating to its validity, interpretation, performance and enforcement shall be governed by and construed, interpreted and enforced in accordance with the laws of the State of New York, notwithstanding any New York or other conflict-of-law provisions to the contrary.

SECTION 23. Indulgences Not Waivers. Neither the failure nor any delay on the part of a party to exercise any right, remedy, power or privilege under this Agreement shall operate as a waiver thereof, nor shall any single or partial exercise of any right, remedy, power or privilege preclude any other or further exercise of the same or of any other right, remedy, power or privilege, nor shall any waiver of any right, remedy, power or privilege with respect to any occurrence be construed as a waiver of such right, remedy, power or privilege with respect to any other occurrence. No waiver shall be effective unless it is in writing and is signed by the party asserted to have granted such waiver.

SECTION 24. Titles Not to Affect Interpretation. The titles of paragraphs and subparagraphs contained in this Agreement are for convenience only, and they neither form a part of this Agreement nor are they to be used in the construction or interpretation of this Agreement.

SECTION 25. Preparation of Agreement. This Agreement was drafted and entered into after careful review and upon the advice of competent counsel; it shall not be construed more strongly for or against either party.

SECTION 26. Consents . Except where expressly indicated that an agreement, approval or consent is in the sole or unilateral discretion of a party, no agreement, approval or consent under this Agreement shall be unreasonably withheld or delayed.

SECTION 27. Execution in Counterparts. This Agreement may be executed in any number of counterparts, each of which shall be deemed to be an original as against any party whose signature appears thereon, and all of which shall together constitute one and the same instrument. This Agreement shall become binding when one or more counterparts of this Agreement, individually or taken together, shall bear the signatures of all of the parties reflected hereon as the signatories.

SECTION 28. Provisions Separable. The provisions of this Agreement are independent of and separable from each other, and no provision shall be affected or rendered invalid or unenforceable by virtue of the fact that for any reason any other or others of them may be invalid or unenforceable in whole or in part.

 

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SECTION 29. Gender. Words used herein regardless of the number and gender specifically used, shall be deemed and construed to include any other number, singular or plural, and any other gender, masculine, feminine or neuter, as the context requires.

Remainder of page left intentionally blank

 

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

 

COMPANY:

LOCAL MEDIA GROUP HOLDINGS LLC

By:   /s/ Jonathan Brown
    Name:   Jonathan Brown
    Title:   Interim Chief Financial Officer

 

MANAGER:

GATEHOUSE MEDIA, INC.

By:   /s/ Michael E. Reed
    Name:   Michael E. Reed
    Title:   Chief Executive Officer

 

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Exhibit 23.2

CONSENT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM

We consent to the reference to our firm under the caption “Experts” and to the use of our report dated September 26, 2013 with respect to the balance sheet of New Media Investment Group Inc. in the Registration Statement (Form S-1) and the related Prospectus of New Media Investment Group Inc.

/s/ Ernst & Young LLP

New York, New York

December 9, 2013

Exhibit 23.3

CONSENT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM

We consent to the reference to our firm under the caption “Experts” and to the use of our report dated March 7, 2013 (except Note 21, as to which the date is September 26, 2013) with respect to the consolidated financial statements and schedule of GateHouse Media, Inc. and subsidiaries in the Registration Statement (Form S-1) and the related Prospectus of New Media Investment Group Inc.

/s/ Ernst & Young LLP

Rochester, New York

December 9, 2013

Exhibit 23.4

CONSENT OF INDEPENDENT AUDITORS

We consent to the reference to our firm under the caption “Experts” and to the use of our report dated September 10, 2013, with respect to the combined financial statements of Dow Jones Local Media Group, Inc. included in the Registration Statement (Form S-1) and the related Prospectus of New Media Investment Group Inc.

/s/ Ernst & Young LLP

New York, New York

December 9, 2013