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As filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on April 10, 2026
No. 333-      ​
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​
UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
​
FORM S-1
REGISTRATION STATEMENT
UNDER
THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933
​
Suja Life, Inc.
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)
​
Delaware
(State or other jurisdiction of
incorporation or organization)​
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2080
(Primary Standard Industrial
Classification Code Number)​
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39-4779189
(I.R.S. Employer
Identification No.)
​
3831 Ocean Ranch Blvd.
Oceanside, CA 92056
Telephone: (855) 879-7852
(Address, including zip code, and telephone number, including area code, of registrant’s principal executive offices)
​
Maria Stipp
Chief Executive Officer
3831 Ocean Ranch Blvd.
Oceanside, CA 92056
Telephone: (855) 879-7852
(Name, address, including zip code, and telephone number, including area code, of agent for service)
Copies of all communications, including communications sent to agent for service, should be sent to:
​
Michael P. Keeley, P.C.
Ben Richards
Kirkland & Ellis LLP
333 West Wolf Point Plaza
Chicago, IL 60654
(312) 862-2000
​ ​
Alexander D. Lynch
Michael Stein
Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP
767 Fifth Avenue
New York, NY 10153
(212) 310-8000
​
​
Approximate date of commencement of proposed sale to the public:
As soon as practicable after this Registration Statement becomes effective.
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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, please 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, smaller reporting company, or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” “smaller reporting company,” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.
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Large accelerated filer
☐
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Accelerated filer
☐
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Non-accelerated filer
☒
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Smaller reporting company
☐
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Emerging growth company
☒
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If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 7(a)(2)(B) of the Securities Act. ☐
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 or until this Registration Statement shall become effective on such date as the 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 sell these securities until the registration statement filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission is effective. The prospectus is not an offer to sell these securities nor a solicitation of an offer to buy these securities in any jurisdiction where the offer and sale is not permitted.
Subject to Completion, Dated                 , 2026
Shares
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Class A Common Stock
This is the initial public offering of shares of Class A common stock of Suja Life, Inc., par value $0.0001 per share. Suja Life, Inc. is offering           shares of its Class A common stock and the selling shareholder identified in this prospectus is offering       shares of Class A common stock to be sold in the offering. We will not receive any of the proceeds from the sale of shares of Class A common stock by the selling shareholder.
Prior to this offering, there has been no public market for the Class A common stock of Suja Life, Inc. It is currently estimated that the initial public offering price per share will be between $      and $      . Suja Life, Inc. has applied to have its Class A common stock approved for listing on The Nasdaq Global Select Market, or Nasdaq, under the symbol “SUJA.”
This offering is being conducted through what is commonly referred to as an “Up-C” structure, which is often used by partnerships and limited liability companies undertaking an initial public offering. The Up-C approach permits certain existing owners of the business to retain their equity ownership in Suja Life Holdings, L.P. (“Holdings LP”) and to continue to realize the tax benefits associated with owning interests in a pass-through structure and provides potential future tax benefits for both the public company and the existing owners when they ultimately exchange their pass-through interests for shares of Class A common stock or, at our election, for cash from a substantially concurrent public offering or private sale. In connection with this offering, we will enter into the Tax Receivable Agreement (as defined herein), which will require Suja Life, Inc. to make cash payments to certain existing direct or indirect owners of Holdings LP, including PSP (as defined herein) (such persons, collectively, the “TRA Parties”) in respect of certain tax benefits to which Suja Life, Inc. may become entitled and confers significant economic benefits on the TRA Parties. We expect that the payments Suja Life, Inc. will be required to make to the TRA Parties under the Tax Receivable Agreement will be substantial and could materially affect our liquidity. See “Risk Factors — Risks Related to Our Organizational Structure” and “Certain Relationships and Related Party Transactions — Related Party Transactions — Tax Receivable Agreement.”
Suja Life, Inc. has two authorized classes of common stock: Class A and Class V (together, the “common stock”). Holders of the Class A common stock and Class V common stock are each entitled to one vote per share. All holders of Class A common stock and Class V common stock will vote together as a single class except as otherwise required by applicable law or our certificate of incorporation. Holders of Class V common stock do not have any right to receive dividends or distributions upon the liquidation or winding up of Suja Life, Inc.
Suja Life, Inc. will use the net proceeds from this offering to purchase, directly or indirectly through one or more wholly owned subsidiaries, (i) newly issued Class A common units (the “LP Units”) in Holdings LP and (ii) LP Units from certain existing owners of Holdings LP (and retire the corresponding shares of Class V common stock). The purchase price for the LP Units will be equal to the initial public offering price of the shares of Class A common stock less the underwriting discount referred to below. Holdings LP will use the net proceeds it receives from Suja Life, Inc. in connection with this offering as described in “Use of Proceeds.” Upon completion of this offering, Suja Life, Inc. will own, directly or indirectly,           LP Units representing     % of the total outstanding LP Units. Suja Life, Inc. will be the sole general partner of Holdings LP and will exclusively operate and control all of its business and affairs. The existing owners of Holdings LP will hold the remaining           LP Units representing     % of the total outstanding LP Units in Holdings LP, and a number of shares of Class V common stock equal to the number of LP Units held by existing owners. LP Units, together with an equal number of shares of Class V common stock, are, from time to time, exchangeable for shares of our Class A common stock on a one-to-one basis or, at our election, for cash from a substantially concurrent public offering or private sale (based on the price of our Class A common stock in such public offering or private sale). Suja Life, Inc. will be a holding company, and upon completion of this offering and the application of the net proceeds therefrom, its sole asset will be direct or indirect interests in Holdings LP. Immediately following this offering, the holders of Class A common stock will collectively own 100% of the economic interests in Suja Life, Inc. and have     % of the voting power of Suja Life, Inc. The existing owners of LP Units in Holdings LP, through ownership of our Class V common stock, will have the remaining    % of the voting power of Suja Life, Inc.
Suja Life, Inc. is an “emerging growth company” as the term is used in the JOBS Act (as defined herein) and, as such, has elected to comply with certain reduced public company reporting requirements for this prospectus and expects to continue to do so in future filings.
Investing in our Class A common stock involves risks. See “Risk Factors” beginning on page 35 to read about factors you should consider before investing in shares of our Class A common stock.
Immediately after this offering, certain affiliates of PSP, after giving effect to this offering and assuming an offering size set forth above, will beneficially own approximately    % of the voting power of our common stock. As a result, we expect to be a “controlled company” within the meaning of the corporate governance standards of Nasdaq, and PSP will have the ability to control matters requiring shareholder approval, including the election of directors, amendment of organizational documents, and approval of major corporate transactions. See “Management — Corporate Governance — Controlled Company Status” and “Principal and Selling Shareholders.”
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Initial Public
Offering Price
​ ​
Underwriting
Discounts and
Commissions(1)
​ ​
Proceeds to
Suja Life, Inc.,
before expenses
​ ​
Proceeds to
Selling Shareholder,
before expenses
​
Per Share
​ ​ ​ $        ​ ​ ​ ​ $        ​ ​ ​ ​ $        ​ ​ ​ ​ $        ​ ​
Total ​ ​ ​ $ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ $ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ $ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ $ ​ ​ ​
​
(1)
We have also agreed to reimburse the underwriters for certain FINRA-related expenses in connection with this offering. See “Underwriting” for additional information regarding underwriting compensation.
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We and the selling shareholder have granted the underwriters an option to purchase up to an additional           shares of Class A common stock at the initial public offering price less the underwriting discount for a period of 30 days after the date of this prospectus.
NEITHER THE SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION NOR ANY STATE SECURITIES COMMISSION HAS APPROVED OR DISAPPROVED OF THESE SECURITIES OR PASSED UPON THE ACCURACY OR ADEQUACY OF THIS PROSPECTUS. ANY REPRESENTATION TO THE CONTRARY IS A CRIMINAL OFFENSE.
The underwriters expect to deliver shares of Class A common stock against payment in New York, New York on or about           , 2026 through the book-entry facilities of the Depository Trust Company.
Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC*Jefferies*William Blair
           BofA Securities      Evercore ISI   
​
*
In alphabetical order.
​
Prospectus dated           , 2026.

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None of we, the selling shareholder or any of the underwriters have authorized anyone to provide any information or make any representations other than those contained in this prospectus or in any free writing prospectus filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”). We, the selling shareholder and the underwriters take no responsibility for, and can provide no assurance as to the reliability of, any other information that others may give you.
We and the selling shareholder are offering to sell, and seeking offers to buy, shares of Class A common stock only in jurisdictions and under circumstances where offers and sales are permitted. The information contained in this prospectus is accurate only as of the date of this prospectus, regardless of the time of delivery of this prospectus or of any sale of the Class A common stock. Our business, financial condition, results of operations, and prospects may have changed since such date.
For investors outside of the United States, none of we, the selling shareholder or the underwriters have done anything that would permit this offering or possession or distribution of this prospectus in any jurisdiction where action for that purpose is required, other than in the United States. You are required to inform yourselves about, and to observe any restrictions relating to, this offering and the distribution of this prospectus outside of the United States.
Through and including           , 2026 (the 25th day after the date of this prospectus), all dealers effecting transactions in these securities, whether or not participating in this offering, may be required to deliver a prospectus. This is in addition to a dealer’s obligation to deliver a prospectus when acting as an underwriter and with respect to an unsold allotment or subscription.
 
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BASIS OF PRESENTATION
In connection with the completion of this offering, we will effect certain organizational transactions. Unless otherwise stated or the context otherwise requires, all information in this prospectus reflects the consummation of the organizational transactions (collectively referred to as the “Organizational Transactions”), the adjustments related to the entry into the Tax Receivable Agreement (as defined herein), and this offering, including the use of proceeds from this offering (collectively referred to as the “Offering Transactions”). See “Organizational Structure — Organizational Transactions” for a description of the Organizational Transactions and a diagram depicting our anticipated structure after giving effect to the Organizational Transactions, including this offering.
Unless we state otherwise or the context otherwise requires, the terms “we,” “us,” “our,” “our business,” “the Company,” “Suja,” and “Suja Life,” and similar references refer to: (1) on or following the consummation of the Organizational Transactions and this offering, to Suja Life, Inc. and its consolidated subsidiaries, including Holdings LP and its consolidated subsidiaries, and (2) prior to the consummation of the Organizational Transactions, to Holdings LP and its consolidated subsidiaries. The term “PSP” refers to Paine Schwartz Partners, our principal shareholder, together with its affiliated investment funds, and the term “Holdings LP” refers to Suja Life Holdings, L.P.
We will be a holding company and the sole general partner of Holdings LP and, upon completion of this offering and the application of net proceeds therefrom, our sole asset will be direct or indirect equity interests in Holdings LP. Holdings LP is the predecessor of the issuer, Suja Life, Inc., for financial reporting purposes. Suja Life, Inc. will be the reporting entity following this offering.
Suja Life, Inc. is a newly incorporated entity, has had no business transactions or activities to date and had no assets or liabilities during the periods presented in this prospectus. Suja Life, Inc. will have no interest in any operations other than those of Holdings LP and its consolidated subsidiaries. Accordingly, this prospectus contains the historical financial statements of Holdings LP and its consolidated subsidiaries.
Holdings LP was formed in 2021 to serve as a holding company in connection with PSP’s acquisition of Suja Life, LLC (“Suja LLC”) on August 23, 2021 (the “PSP Acquisition”). As Holdings LP did not have any previous operations, Suja LLC is viewed as the predecessor to Holdings LP and its consolidated subsidiaries.
Certain financial information included in this prospectus is presented on a “pro forma” basis to give effect to the Organizational Transactions, adjustments related to the entry into the Tax Receivable Agreement, this offering, the use of proceeds from this offering and all other items as presented in accordance with Article 11 under Regulation S-X as if such transactions occurred on December 29, 2025 for the unaudited pro forma condensed consolidated balance sheet and on December 31, 2024 for the unaudited pro forma condensed consolidated statements of operations. See “Unaudited Pro Forma Condensed Consolidated Financial Data” for a complete description of the adjustments and assumptions underlying the unaudited pro forma condensed consolidated financial data included in this prospectus.
Further, in this prospectus, we present pro forma net income (loss) and pro forma net sales, each as presented in accordance with Article 11 under Regulation S-X and consistent with the descriptions of the columnar headings presented in the section entitled “Unaudited Pro Forma Condensed Consolidated Financial Data.” From each of these metrics, we present further adjustments to derive pro forma EBITDA, pro forma Adjusted EBITDA, pro forma EBITDA margin and pro forma Adjusted EBITDA margin. Pro forma EBITDA, pro forma Adjusted EBITDA, pro forma EBITDA margin and pro forma Adjusted EBITDA margin refer to the metrics that give effect to the Organizational Transactions, adjustments related to the entry into the Tax Receivable Agreement, this offering, the use of proceeds from this offering and all other items as presented in accordance with Article 11 under Regulation S-X.
Each of these metrics is intended to give the reader an opportunity to evaluate the Company and have a basis for comparability after giving effect to the Organizational Transactions and adjustments related to the entry into the Tax Receivable Agreement as determined in accordance with Article 11 under Regulation S-X, as compared to the Company’s actual historical results. For the definition of and reconciliation of each of (i) Pro forma EBITDA and pro forma Adjusted EBITDA to net income (loss), the most directly comparable measure, as presented in “Unaudited Pro Forma Condensed Consolidated
 
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Financial Data;” and (ii) pro forma EBITDA margin and pro forma Adjusted EBITDA margin to net income (loss) margin, the most directly comparable financial measure, as presented in “Unaudited Pro Forma Condensed Consolidated Financial Data” for the period indicated, refer to the “Unaudited Pro Forma Condensed Consolidated Financial Data” and see “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations — Non-GAAP Financial Measures.”
We report on a 52 – 53 week year basis which ends on the Monday closest to December 31. Fiscal 2025 and fiscal 2024 each contained 52 weeks and fiscal 2023 contained 53 weeks. Unless otherwise noted, any reference to a year preceded by the word “fiscal” refers to the fiscal year ended the Monday closest to December 31 for that year. For example, references to “fiscal 2025” refer to the fiscal year ended December 29, 2025, references to “fiscal 2024” refer to the fiscal year ended December 30, 2024, and references to “fiscal 2023” refer to the fiscal year ended January 1, 2024.
 
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MARKET AND INDUSTRY DATA
This prospectus contains statistical data and estimates, including those relating to market size, competitive position and growth rates of the markets in which we participate, that we obtained from our own internal estimates and research, as well as from industry and general publications and research, surveys and studies conducted by third parties. Industry publications, studies and surveys generally state that they have been obtained from sources believed to be reliable, although they do not guarantee the accuracy or completeness of such information.
With respect to such publications, unless we otherwise indicate, or unless the context requires otherwise, any references in this prospectus to:
•
“better-for-you” is an industry term not defined by the United States Food and Drug Administration (the “FDA”) that refers to food and beverage products that have characteristics that cause consumers to view them as a healthier and functional alternative to conventional food and beverage products. There is not a single definition of better-for-you and we believe each individual consumer may view better-for-you characteristics differently, but common characteristics may include one or more of the following: products that are lower in sugar, products that are lower in salt, products that are lower in fat, products that are made without ingredients containing genetically modified organisms (“GMOs”), products made with simpler ingredients, products made with more recognizable ingredients, products that are organic, products that are viewed as natural, products that do not include artificial ingredients, preservatives or flavors, products that are major allergen-free, products that are vegetable-based, products that are vegan, or products that are gluten-free;
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•
“cold-pressed juice category” refers to a subcategory of refrigerated juices which are high pressure processed (“HPP”) as defined by SPINS;
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•
“Company survey” refers to any of: Mindsight’s Suja Cold Pressed Juice Equity Tracker — Wave 3 (September 2025); Mindsight’s Suja Wellness Shots Equity Tracker — Wave 3 (September 2025); Mindsight’s Suja Healthy Soda Awareness Tracker — Wave 4 (September 2025); Mindsight’s Suja Juice Multi-Category Attitude & Usage Study (March 2024); Mindsight’s Suja Sparkling Beverage Exploration Questionnaire (May 2024); and internal Company-conducted surveys (October  –  November 2025);
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•
“natural healthy beverage market” or “NHB market” refers to refrigerated juice, sodas, kombucha and other functional beverages with a natural positioning according to SPINS;
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•
“New SKUs” refers to stock keeping units (“SKUs”) that had launched in the 52 weeks preceding the end of the applicable quarterly period;
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“NIQ” means Nielsen Consumer LLC;
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“NIQ Omnishopper data” refers to Company claims based on or derived from NIQ’s Omnishopper service for the Company’s brands in the Beverages, Vitamins and Supplements, and Health and Performance super categories for the 52 weeks ending December 27, 2025, for the Total US level and Total Outlets, according to the NIQ standard product hierarchy. NIQ’s Omnishopper service is NIQ consumer panel data capturing consumer panel purchases across online and offline channels, including, but not limited to, the following outlets: food, drug, club, mass incl. supercenter, dollar, military, convenience stores, and e-commerce;
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•
“NIQ Scantrack, 6 Months data” refers to Company claims based on or derived from NIQ Scantrack’s scanned data for the Company’s brands in the Beverages, Vitamins and Supplements, and Diet and Nutrition super categories within Total U.S. xAOC + Convenience for the 6 months ending December 27, 2025 as compared to the 6 months ending June 28, 2025 and represents all stores measured by NIQ within the following channels: food, drug, club, mass incl. supercenter, dollar, military, and convenience stores;
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•
“NIQ Scantrack, 52 Weeks data” refers to Company claims based on or derived from NIQ Scantrack’s scanned data for the Company’s brands in the Beverages, Vitamins and Supplements, and Diet and Nutrition super categories within Total U.S. xAOC + Convenience for the 52 weeks ending December 27, 2025 and represents all stores measured by NIQ within the following channels: food, drug, club, mass incl. supercenter, dollar, military, and convenience stores;
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•
“NIQ Scantrack, 3YA data” refers to Company claims based on or derived from NIQ Scantrack’s scanned data for the Company’s brands in the Beverages, Vitamins and Supplements, and Diet and Nutrition super categories within Total U.S. xAOC + Convenience for the 52 weeks ending December 27, 2025 as compared to the 52 weeks ending December 31, 2022 and represents all stores measured by NIQ within the following channels: food, drug, club, mass incl. supercenter, dollar, military, and convenience stores;
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•
“occasions per buyer” refers to the average number of product purchase occasions among product buyers in the selected time period according to the NIQ Omnishopper data metric;
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“points of distribution” or “PODs” refers to “number of stores selling” multiplied by “average number of items,” which is a figure generated by Company management to assess retail distribution reach;
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“SPINS, 24 Weeks” refers to SPINS Satori; TPL Universe; Kroger Corp  — RMA (Powered by Circana); Latest 24 Weeks Ending 12/28/25;
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“SPINS, 52 Weeks” refers to SPINS Satori; TPL Universe; Total US MULO (Powered by Circana); Latest 52 Weeks Ending 12/28/2025;
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“SPINS, 104 Weeks” refers to SPINS Satori; TPL Universe; Total US MULO (Powered by Circana); Latest 104 Weeks Ending 12/28/2025;
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“Total Distribution Points” or “TDP” refers to average weekly total number of distribution points where the product was sold; and
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“value per buyer” means among product buyers, the average dollars spent on the product purchased per household in the selected time period according to the NIQ Omnishopper data metric.
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The data included in such publications are based on information available to such publications, which is not exhaustive. For example, certain retailers do not provide information to such publications and thus sales of products by such retailers are excluded from the data.
We calculate our net promoter score, or NPS, by asking purchasers of the applicable brand the following question based on their experience: “How likely are you to recommend this brand to a friend or family member?” Consumers provide an answer based on the industry standard NPS scale from zero (labeled as “Not at all likely”) to 10 (labeled as “Extremely Likely”). Customers rating our brands as a six or below are considered “Detractors,” seven or eight are considered “Passives,” and nine or 10 are considered “Promoters.” To calculate NPS, we subtract the total percentage of Detractors from the total percentage of Promoters. For example, if 50% of all respondents are Promoters and 10% are Detractors, the NPS for that brand would be 50-10=40. This method of calculation follows industry standards and is consistent with how businesses in our industry typically calculate their NPS.
While we are not aware of any misstatements regarding any information presented in this prospectus, forecasts, assumptions, expectations, beliefs, estimates and projects involve risk and uncertainties and are subject to change based on various factors, including those described under the headings “Forward-Looking Statements” and “Risk Factors.”
TRADEMARKS, SERVICE MARKS AND TRADENAMES
This prospectus includes our trademarks, service marks and trade names, such as “Suja,” “Suja Life,” “Suja Organic,” “Vive Organic,” and “Slice,” which are the property of the Company or its subsidiaries. This prospectus also contains trademarks, service marks and trade names of other companies which are the property of their respective owners. Solely for convenience, trademarks, service marks and trade names referred to in this prospectus may appear without the ®, SM or ™ symbols, but such references are not intended to indicate, in any way, that we will not assert, to the fullest extent under applicable law, our rights or the rights of the applicable licensor to these trademarks, service marks and trade names. We do not intend our use or display of the trademarks, service marks or trade names of other parties to imply a relationship with, or endorsement of, these other parties.
 
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PROSPECTUS SUMMARY
This summary highlights information contained elsewhere in this prospectus. This summary does not contain all of the information that you should consider before investing in our Class A common stock. For a more complete understanding of us and this offering, you should read and carefully consider the entire prospectus, including the more detailed information set forth under “Risk Factors” and “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations,” and our consolidated financial statements and the related notes. Some of the statements in this prospectus are forward-looking statements. See “Forward-Looking Statements.” Unless otherwise stated, this prospectus assumes no exercise of the underwriters’ option to purchase additional shares.
Company Overview
Suja
“soo-jah”
Vive
“vy-ve”
Our Company: Changing What Beverages Bring to the Table
Suja Life is a modern beverage platform at the forefront of one of the most powerful consumer transformations of our time: the shift toward functional, better-for-you beverages. We operate at the intersection of health, taste, and trust, offering cold-pressed juices, wellness shots, and functional sodas that have become an essential part of consumers’ everyday routines.
We began with a simple purpose: to change what beverages bring to the table. Fueled by the lack of genuinely nutritious options on the market, our founders began crafting juices using high-quality organic ingredients and cold-pressing techniques to preserve nutrients and flavor. What started as a passion for creating something better, quickly evolved into a movement that reshaped an entire category. Over a decade ago, we played a key role in shaping the cold-pressed juice category, transforming what was once a niche offering into a mainstream better-for-you beverage category. Today, we serve the rapidly growing NHB market which is outpacing growth of the broader beverage market by 10% according to SPINS, 52 Weeks. We are rapidly scaling within this market: our core brands — Suja Organic and Vive Organic — grew 26% in total dollars, 4% in TDPs, and 22% in velocity according to SPINS, 52 Weeks. We are well-positioned to continue capturing market share as consumers increasingly prioritize health-forward beverage choices.
Our three brands — Suja Organic, Vive Organic, and Slice — address distinct consumer needs across the health and wellness spectrum. Together, they form a complementary portfolio that reaches consumers across multiple beverage occasions and fits naturally into their daily routines: from a cold-pressed juice to start the day, to the wellness shot that supports daily immunity, to the functional soda that satisfies without compromise. Each brand reflects our core philosophy of delivering premium, nutritional products with transparency, integrity, and great taste.
Behind our brands is a high-performing platform built for speed, scale, and profitability. We believe we own and operate one of the largest vertically integrated cold-pressed beverage facilities in North America, spanning approximately 270,000 square feet across our multi-building campus. This provides meaningful cost and quality advantages while enabling the rapid scaling of our brands and innovation initiatives. Based on NIQ Scantrack, 52 Weeks data, our products are available in more than 37,000 stores. As part of our broader commitment to responsible growth, we emphasize environmental sustainability, through responsible sourcing as well as recyclable and lower-plastic packaging.
Our pioneering mentality has propelled us into a leadership position in both cold-pressed juice and wellness shots based on retail sales according to SPINS, 52 Weeks. We deliver significant topline growth and strong margins while continuing to reinvest in marketing, innovation, and infrastructure to drive sustainable growth. We are well-positioned to define the next generation of iconic, better-for-you beverage brands as health, functionality, and sustainability continue to shape consumer preferences.
 
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Clear Market Opportunity with Favorable Consumer Trend Tailwinds
The U.S. beverage landscape has undergone a structural transformation over the past two decades. What was once dominated by high-sugar, traditional beverages, has evolved into a hub of functional health innovation, reflecting growing consumer demand for clean-label, nutritious, and better-for-you options. We captured consumer sentiments about this shift toward functional, health-forward beverages through a Company survey:
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80% of consumers are constantly seeking beverages that are healthier;
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90% of consumer want beverages that taste delicious;
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82% of consumers want beverages with lower sugar;
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90% of consumers desire additional functional benefits from their beverages; and
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77% of consumers are willing to pay more for “beverages that are better for them.”
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Sourcing from the broader $128 billion total beverage market, we service a $43 billion segment of the market comprised of refrigerated juice, kombucha and other functional beverages, and sodas according to SPINS, 52 Weeks. Within this segment, we compete directly with brands we believe are positioned as “natural” in the $3.9 billion NHB market. The NHB market represents the intersection of taste and function, combining refreshment with tangible wellness benefits to draw share from the legacy beverage industry. As consumer preferences continue to blur the lines between hydration, nutrition, and functional health, our diversified portfolio is strategically positioned to capture incremental market share not only within the rapidly expanding NHB market but across the broader beverage industry, where we see significant whitespace opportunities for function-forward innovation and brand expansion.
Growth within the NHB market significantly outpaced the total beverage market, with 13% growth compared to 3% for total beverage according to SPINS, 52 Weeks. We are a rapidly scaling platform within this market; our core brands grew 26% in total dollars, 4% in TDPs, and 22% in velocity according to SPINS, 52 Weeks.
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In addition, our brands are leaders in their respective categories according to SPINS. Suja Organic is the category leader in the cold-pressed juice category, holding approximately 47% share and benefiting from
 
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favorable category growth of 23% according to SPINS, 52 Weeks. Vive Organic holds the #1 and #2 SKU positions in the wellness shots category according to SPINS, 52 Weeks. Together, Vive Organic and Suja Organic command roughly 42% of the wellness shots category, according to SPINS, 52 Weeks, which grew more than 28% according to SPINS, 52 Weeks. We also see substantial runway to extend our presence in the $35 billion soda category through Slice, our recently launched functional soda brand designed to meet consumers’ desires for healthier, functional refreshments.
Fueled by evolving consumer demands, we believe the NHB market will continue to grow for the foreseeable future, and we are well-positioned to lead this next phase of growth. With a portfolio of trusted brands, we aim to continue delivering products that unite superior taste, proven functionality, and uncompromising quality, enabling us to capture share, drive category growth, and create long-term value within the evolving beverage landscape.
Our Platform of Wellness Brands
Suja Organic: Cold-Pressed Juice and Wellness Shots
Suja Organic is our flagship brand, known for its delicious, organic cold-pressed juices and wellness shots rooted in nutritional integrity and consumer trust. As a leading brand in the refrigerated juices category, with the #1 position in cold-pressed juice retail sales according to SPINS, 52 Weeks, Suja Organic has redefined what premium juice represents — clean, transparent, and accessible wellness for everyday consumption. Suja Organic spans several core platforms and is designed to deliver targeted nutrition in convenient formats across consumption occasions:
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Green Juice Platform:   Focused on nutrient-dense cold-pressed vegetable blends, like the top-selling Uber Greens, that deliver core wellness and daily nutrition
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Boosted Juice Platform:   Showcases functional juices with targeted wellness benefits and fruit-forward flavor profiles designed to support specific health needs
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Refreshers Platform:   Offers superfood-infused, approachable blends like Ginger Love, crafted for broad, mainstream appeal and everyday refreshment
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Wellness Shots Platform:   Provides concentrated, on-the-go formulations that support wellness — including immunity, energy, and digestion in convenient, portable formats
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Our typical consumer leads a dynamic, health-conscious lifestyle. Whether grabbing a Green Juice before a workout, sipping Ginger Love during a busy workday, or reaching for a convenient Wellness Shot to support immunity, each purchase reflects an intentional approach to living well. This highly engaged and loyal consumer base values brand authenticity, ingredient transparency, and functional performance — attributes that drive repeat purchases and long-term brand equity. A Company survey found that among premium juice buyers, our brand awareness has reached 70% as of August 2025, representing a 57 point year-over-year increase. Similarly, 49% of cold-pressed juice and wellness shot category buyers have purchased Suja Organic products within the past 3 months, up from just 13% a year ago. According to a Company survey, as of August 2025, Suja Organic achieved an NPS of 66. The brand maintains a 92% overall satisfaction rate, with 96% of consumers intending to repurchase and more than 60% of consumers saying they’ve bought the brand five or more times. 89% of consumers say they would recommend the brand, further reinforcing our sustained consumer demand and long-term growth potential.
 
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Vive Organic: Leading Doctor-Crafted Wellness Shot Brand
Vive Organic is an industry-leading wellness shot brand, known for pioneering the functional shot category with its doctor-crafted formulations and redefining how consumers approach proactive wellness. Born from a personal mission to make wellness solutions accessible to the masses, Vive Organic combines clean ingredients and convenience to make functional nutrition simple, potent, and accessible. Vive Organic spans several key platforms and is designed to address core consumer needs:
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Immunity Boost Platform:   Led by the category-defining Immunity Boost shot, featuring potent ingredients such as ginger, turmeric, echinacea, and elderberry to support immune health
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Energy Boost Platform:   Clean, sustained energy through natural sources like ginseng and guayusa, providing a better-for-you alternative to traditional energy drinks
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Pure Boost Platform:   Single-origin superfood shots highlighting ingredients like ginger and turmeric, delivering targeted, transparent, and trusted benefits
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Our typical consumer is a forward-looking wellness enthusiast who integrates proactive health into daily life and values products that deliver immediate, tangible results. Whether taking an Immunity Boost shot before a flight, an Energy shot to power through a busy afternoon, or a hero-ingredient shot like Ginger or Turmeric as part of their daily ritual, each purchase reflects a deliberate commitment to feeling and performing better.
According to a Company survey, as of August 2025, Vive Organic achieved an NPS of 70, with 91% overall satisfaction, and a strong loyalty rating of 66. Fueled by consumer love, we’ve grown Vive Organic’s dollar sales by 50.3% and velocity by more than 96% according to SPINS, 104 Weeks.
Vive Organic combines potency, credibility, and convenience into a format consumers can feel in the moment and trust for the long haul. With doctor-crafted formulations, a loyal and growing consumer base, and an expanding retail presence, Vive Organic continues to lead the functional shot category while driving Suja Life’s expansion in the rapidly growing intersection of beverages and supplements.
 
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Slice: Our Reinvented, Better-For-You Soda Brand
As a company committed to changing what beverages bring to the table, we knew we needed to tackle America’s favorite beverage category — soda. A $35 billion market ripe for disruption, the traditional soda industry has seen decades of dominance by legacy brands but little true innovation in taste or health. Existing better-for-you sodas lacked the flavor and carbonation of traditional sodas, leaving a clear opportunity for a true-to-taste alternative.
Enter Slice: the original “better-for-you” soda, made with 10% real fruit juice when it was first introduced in 1984 and now reimagined for today’s wellness-minded consumer. With prebiotics, probiotics, postbiotics, reduced sugar, and no artificial ingredients, Slice delivers the nostalgic flavor and fizz of classic soda with meaningful functional benefits. Since launch in January 2025, Slice has quickly established itself as one of the fastest-growing soda brands, and has achieved an NPS higher than the better-for-you soda category leaders as of September 2025 according to a Company survey. Slice is in the early stages of scaling, but is more widely recognized than most of its competitors, so we believe it has substantial runway for growth and is one of our most promising platforms for expansion.
By combining nostalgia, great taste, and functional wellness, Slice bridges enjoyment and health — unlocking a long-term opportunity to reshape one of the largest beverage categories in the world.
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Select 2025 Product Performance
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Suja Core net sales includes $2.8M of intersegment revenue.
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Percentages will not sum to 100% because the remaining 11% is attributed to net sales from private label, protein and powders.
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Sustained Innovation and Strategic M&A Engine
Innovation has been at the heart of Suja Life since inception, driving our ability to anticipate consumer needs, shape emerging beverage categories, and scale new platforms with speed and precision. We innovate across product development, brand architecture, and manufacturing technology to deliver function-forward beverages that blend superior taste with measurable wellness benefits. Our innovation starts with granular category, retailer, and consumer data, enabling us to anticipate market shifts and align products to the fastest-growing demand spaces. Our in-house research and development team, equipped with decades of proven success, leverages these insights along with our vertically integrated manufacturing capabilities to execute rapid test-and-learn launches across formulas, formats, and flavors. We also drive innovation through strategic brand building, leveraging our scaled portfolio and resources to invest in upper-funnel marketing that fuels lasting consumer demand.
We have a proven track record of transforming whitespace opportunities into scaled categories that support our continued growth. In 2012, we played a key role in shaping the cold-pressed juice category, making nutrient-dense, organic juice accessible to mainstream consumers. We then helped to pioneer the wellness shot category through immunity-focused blends that bridged the gap between supplements and beverages. Most recently, we extended our innovation leadership with Slice. Recognizing that consumers craved the flavor and carbonation of traditional soda without sugar or artificial ingredients, we reintroduced the iconic Slice brand with a modern formula — delivering nostalgic taste with functional benefits. Within months of launch, Slice has become one of the fastest-growing soda brands, demonstrating the power of our innovation model and brand-building expertise.
Beyond in-house innovation, strategic M&A remains a key accelerator of our platform. Our acquisition of Vive Organic in 2022 exemplifies our ability to identify high-potential, mission-aligned brands and transform them into category leaders. Vive Organic brought established brand equity and credibility through doctor-backed formulations, but it remained dependent on third-party manufacturing, and operated without the marketing resources necessary to grow the brand at an accelerated rate. At Suja Life, we identified $14 million in operational synergies and completed the integration process in under 12 months through careful planning and effective resource allocation. Below is a detailed timeline of notable, innovative in-house launches and strategic M&A activities:
 
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We believe the future of the beverage industry belongs to function-forward brands that deliver clear, trusted benefits and become part of consumers’ daily routines. Today’s consumers don’t just want improved versions of yesterday’s juice or soda — they want beverages that help them feel better in the moment while supporting their long-term wellness goals. Through continuous innovation and strategic acquisitions, we are thoughtfully expanding our portfolio, creating a comprehensive platform of better-for-you beverages that meet consumers wherever they are on their wellness journey. We are building the next generation of beverages, designed to lead the category’s evolution and create enduring value for shareholders.
Expansive Distribution Network and Omnichannel Leadership
In an industry where most suppliers compete for shelf space, Suja Life designs the shelf itself. What began as a single Whole Foods partnership has evolved into a national, multi-channel distribution network built on deep, strategic relationships with many of the country’s leading retailers.
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Represents Suja Life net sales.
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We act as a strategic advisor across our retail partnerships. Through data-driven insight, category management, and collaborative planning, we help retailers optimize assortment, pricing, and shelf placement to drive overall category performance. Our retailer relationships frequently go beyond supply and logistics to include joint product innovation and long-term growth planning. Our co-development approach integrates retailers into every stage of innovation, from concept to launch. This helps to ensure new products arrive market-ready, with built-in category fit and committed distribution support. We believe this partnership-driven model positions us as a trusted leader and long-term growth engine for our retail partners.
We act as strategic partners and advisors to more than 30 retail partners. Based on NIQ Scantrack, 52 Weeks data, our products are available in more than 37,000 stores with an average of approximately 10 items per store. Accordingly, the Company estimates it has achieved more than 380,000 PODs, reflecting our extensive reach and robust presence across channels. We have built strong relationships with leading retailers including Kroger, Whole Foods, Albertsons, CVS, Amazon Fresh, and many others as part of our mission to drive growth and innovation across the entire better-for-you beverage market. The strength of our retail partnerships is evident in our results. Based on NIQ Scantrack, 3YA data, the number of stores selling our products has increased by 15%, with TDP % change up 31%. In addition, we believe we have opportunity for continued white space expansion since away-from-home and e-commerce channels represent approximately 6% of 2025 total net sales.
As our brands continue to scale, we are investing in new activations and in-store experiences that enhance visibility and drive customer trial. As of August 2025, browsing in-store remains the key source of marketing impression for brand aware consumers according to a Company survey. Our proven retail partnerships and multi-channel expertise provide a strong foundation for continued growth, ensuring that as consumers increasingly seek better-for-you beverages, our brands are positioned and placed exactly where they’re looking.
Differentiated Through Our Vertically Integrated Manufacturing and Proprietary Cold Chain Route-to-Market
We run an efficient farm-to-shelf operation for the manufacturing of our cold-pressed juice and wellness shots, delivering products from farm to bottle in as few as eight days while maintaining rigorous standards. Through thoughtful investment over the last decade, we’ve built a vertically integrated supply chain, manufacturing facilities, and route-to-market for these products that acts as a self-reinforcing competitive advantage across each step in the product lifecycle:
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Strategic Sourcing:   We source our organic produce from strategically located partner farms across multiple growing regions, with 79% of our fresh, U.S.-sourced produce coming from California as of December 2025, resulting in 100% organic-certified products across Suja Organic and Vive Organic. Our long-standing relationships and strategic redundancies aim to ensure full-cycle usage of produce and year-round supply while minimizing transportation time and costs and reducing our carbon footprint. We maintain a diverse sourcing strategy and have long-standing relationships in place that enable us to source each ingredient from several different suppliers. The proximity to our Oceanside campus, and controlled temperature-sensitive transport from farm to facilities, ensure ingredients arrive at peak freshness.
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Cold-Pressed Extraction:   Within hours of arrival, produce enters our approximately 270,000 square-foot state-of-the-art processing facilities. 100% of our cold-pressed juices and wellness shots are produced in-house and crafted from organic, non-GMO fruits and vegetables, and include nutrient-rich ingredients such as turmeric and ginger, which support functional health benefits. This approach reflects our commitment to clean-label ingredients and wellness-focused formulations. The cold-pressing process extracts juice without heat, preserving the nutritional integrity of our ingredients that heat-based methods destroy, differentiating us from conventional juice manufacturers. Pressed vegetable pulp produced from the cold-pressed extraction process is donated back to local farms to cut down on waste.
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High-Pressure Processing (“HPP”):   The bottled juice, contained in packaging made from recycled plastic, undergoes HPP using five units capable of processing approximately 1,500 gallons per hour. This technology ensures superior nutrition retention compared to heat-treated alternatives and a
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taste profile that closely mirrors fresh-pressed juice. Due to HPP, most of our products have an extended shelf life exceeding 100 days, enabling efficient national distribution and allowing us to meet stringent food safety compliance regulatory standards.
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Distribution Excellence:   Our distribution process is managed centrally by our logistics team in Oceanside. As of the twelve months ended December 2025, we have served customers nationwide with a more than 99% fill rate, earning their trust through consistent, high-quality delivery. As of the twelve months ended December 2025, approximately 97% of customers are served directly through our freight-carrier network, allowing us to control quality and timing while capturing margin. This end-to-end, in-house, and partner managed system enables premium pricing, consumer loyalty, and operational efficiency.
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Strengthening Manufacturing Capabilities:   We follow thoughtful and strategic deployment of growth capex to enhance manufacturing capabilities, boost throughput, and optimize labor to create a more efficient production platform. Our campus houses a broad suite of high-pressure processing units, filling and labeling lines, packaging lines, and specialized shot filling equipment, providing the capacity and flexibility to effectively scale the business.
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Our fully integrated farm-to-shelf system is a cornerstone of our long-term competitive advantage. As demand continues to grow, our cold chain infrastructure and vertically integrated operations enable us to service customers quickly while maintaining the quality standards expected by premium retailers. Together, these advantages underpin a model that drives multiple value levers — premium pricing justified by superior taste, operational efficiency that expands margins with scale, and consumer loyalty built on consistent product integrity. Our disciplined cost structure and operational rigor provide the flexibility and resources to reinvest in marketing, innovation, and category expansion. Designed with scalability and built-in redundancies, our system supports large-scale production and continued innovation while reducing negative environmental impact through local sourcing, recycled materials, and waste reduction. Together, we believe these capabilities create a self-reinforcing model that fuels innovation and positions us to scale efficiently and responsibly as a leader in the NHB market.
Attractive and Improving Financial Profile
Our financial trajectory demonstrates the power of a disciplined growth strategy in a high-growth market. Our financial success stems from a two-part equation: a differentiated market position that allows
 
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us to command premium price points from consumers in exchange for high-quality, highly valued products, and disciplined financial management to steward our bottom-line growth. From fiscal 2023 to fiscal 2025, we have achieved a robust 20.6% CAGR in net sales, scaling from $224 million to $327 million, fueled by market share gains and category expansion across our portfolio. In fiscal 2024 alone, we delivered net sales of $259 million, representing 15% year-over-year growth, reinforcing our leadership position in the NHB market. Our net loss has improved, with a 5% uplift from fiscal 2023 to fiscal 2025. Similarly, our Adjusted EBITDA has grown 16% over the same period, driven by platform leverage, strategic sourcing and operational excellence. We maintain robust cash flows, including over $8 million net cash provided by operating activities for fiscal 2025.
Our investment thesis is validated by our ability to scale responsibly while delivering attractive long-term returns. Our balanced approach to growth, which combines top-line expansion with margin improvement, has resulted in a resilient business model that performs across market cycles. Our recent historical performance reflects this aggressive but balanced approach to growth, without compromising on the bottom line:
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for fiscal 2025, we reported net sales of $327 million, an increase of 26% over fiscal 2024;
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our Suja Core segment net sales increased 23% to $320 million for fiscal 2025. Our Emerging Brands segment, which we launched in December of fiscal 2024, generated $10 million in net sales in its first full year of operations;
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our gross margins increased by 366 basis points from fiscal 2023 to 48% for fiscal 2025;
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our net loss increased from $(21) million for fiscal 2024, to $(23) million for fiscal 2025;
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our Adjusted EBITDA remained relatively flat from $42 million for fiscal 2024, and $41 million for fiscal 2025; and
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our Suja Core segment Adjusted EBITDA was $66 million, while margins increased by 314 basis points year-over-year to 21% for fiscal 2025. Our Emerging Brands segment reported an Adjusted EBITDA of $(26) million, reflecting deliberate investment in start-up costs, including brand launch and brand building, initial distribution expansion, and consumer trial as we scale the Slice brand.
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Suja Life Select Financial Performance
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Suja Core Segment Select Financial Performance
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Competitive Strengths:
Category-Defining Products Delivering on Taste and Functional Benefits
Twelve years ago, we set out to create a beverage we couldn’t find anywhere else: one that combined exceptional taste with genuine health benefits. From that foundation, we have built a diversified portfolio that was intentionally designed to address what our consumers want from their beverages, redefining expectations for what better-for-you beverages can deliver. Our product innovation has expanded beyond cold-pressed juice into a full suite of functional beverages designed to provide wellness benefits without compromising on taste or convenience.
 
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Three core principles differentiate our products across the Suja Organic and Vive Organic portfolios. First, we use high-quality organic ingredients resulting in labels that read like grocery store lists. Second, each recipe is crafted in partnership with nutritionists or holistic doctors to ensure science-backed functional formulations that would be difficult to replicate at home, providing on-the-go wellness for our consumers. Finally, our cold-pressed and HPP methods preserve nutritional density and fresh flavor — a standard that traditional heat pasteurization cannot meet. Collectively, these principles deliver a unique value proposition: low sugar beverages (80% of Suja Life branded SKUs have less than 6 grams of sugar per serving) made from organic ingredients with high vitamin content and functional benefits. Our consumers consistently affirm, as shown in a Company survey, that we deliver on the core principles that set our brands apart:
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91% of consumers say that Suja Life brands are healthy and nutritious;
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88% of consumers say Suja Life brands taste great; and
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70% of consumers say Suja Life brands are “worth paying more for.”
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Suja Organic, our flagship cold-pressed juice and wellness shots brand, offers consumers a balance of taste, functionality, and convenience. According to a Company survey of premium juice consumers as of September 2025, 86% of consumers say the Suja Organic brand tastes great and 90% say the brand has the functional ingredients they are looking for. Suja Organic’s unique value proposition drives consumer loyalty and favorably positions the brand for sustained long-term growth.
Vive Organic, our leading functional wellness shots brand, bridges the gap between supplements and beverages by balancing potency, credibility, and convenience. Its doctor-crafted formulations are redefining how consumers approach proactive wellness. Vive Organic is a mainstay in the wellness shots category: 87% of category consumers say the brand is one they know and trust and 90% say it has the ingredients they are looking for. With a loyal and growing consumer base as well as increasing retail exposure, we believe the brand will continue to lead and pioneer the functional shots category.
Our newest innovation, Slice, combines nostalgia, cultural relevance, and functional wellness as the true-to-taste alternative disrupting the soda category. Slice delivers a compelling value proposition redefining the historically stagnant soda category and has a significant runway for expansion as one of our most promising growth platforms.
Across our leading brands and product architecture, we are not responding to trends — we are defining the future standard of modern wellness beverages and, more importantly, setting the benchmark for what functional products can achieve.
Powered by Brand Building Excellence
Our ability to build and sustain brands that connect deeply with consumers is a core competitive advantage. We bring discipline to how brands are created, positioned, and managed across our portfolio, enabling each to play a distinct and complementary role while contributing to our purpose of changing what beverages bring to the table.
We have invested significantly in strengthening our brand-building and elevating our marketing over the past 18 months. We have constructed the optimal infrastructure to move with both speed and precision — launching new brands, repositioning legacy assets, and scaling platforms across channels with confidence and discipline. We start every brand initiative with deep consumer insights that inform positioning, messaging, and our go-to-market strategy. This foundation drives real results.
Our newly reintroduced brand Slice is also proving the power of our playbook. Slice’s NPS rose from 39 to 55 in three months from June to September 2025, now exceeding the better-for-you category leaders according to a Company survey — confirming that Slice has re-entered the marketplace with competitive emotional connection and product satisfaction.
These capabilities form a system of excellence that enables us to continuously build, scale, and sustain brands that lead categories, shape consumer behavior, and deliver superior growth.
 
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Expanding Consumer Base of Loyal Advocates Demonstrating Repeat Consumption
We are building momentum on two fronts: expanding our consumer base and deepening engagement with consumers we currently serve. Across our portfolio, rising awareness is converting to trial and repeat purchase behavior, while loyalty and advocacy are strengthening in ways that we believe will create compounding, sustainable growth.
Our Suja Organic and Vive Organic brands are converting awareness into action at category-leading rates. Suja Organic achieves 90% conversion from awareness to purchase, one of the highest in the premium juice category and well ahead of our cold-pressed competitors. Suja Organic and Vive Organic maintain the strongest conversion funnels in wellness shots, driving consumers from initial awareness through repeat purchase with exceptional efficiency. While still in its early days, Slice has already demonstrated its potential to follow suit. The brand has delivered aided awareness gains of 9 to 16 points across key markets, including Boston, Los Angeles, and San Diego. Based on NIQ Scantrack, 6 Months data, $/TDP % change ranges from approximately 24% to 32% in those same markets. Ultimately, this translates to a larger user base for our house of brands. Accordingly, % household penetration has increased 31% over the last year based on NIQ Omnishopper data. According to NIQ Omnishopper data, we serve approximately 14 million buyers.
Once consumers experience our brands and products, they deepen their commitment. Value per buyer has increased 6% in the last year, with Suja Organic alone up 15% over the same period based on NIQ Omnishopper data. Increasing buy rate not only indicates that our consumers are purchasing our brands and spending more with us than they were a year ago but also reveals that we are strengthening consumer loyalty. This combination of growing scale and deepening relationships is a hallmark of durable category leadership.
Our expanding consumer base is also a powerful engine for organic growth. At least 70% of Suja Organic and Vive Organic consumers are promoters, referring our brands to friends and family and generating word-of-mouth momentum. Vive Organic’s NPS increased 16 points in the past year, driven by a 15-point rise in promoters. Brand loyalty also significantly increased, with two-thirds of consumers saying they would remain loyal to the brand. Together, these indicators demonstrate that we are attracting new consumers and converting them into loyal advocates, creating a self-reinforcing cycle of growth that extends well beyond first purchase.
Experts in Scaled Cold Chain with Clear Manufacturing Advantage
We believe we have curated an incredibly efficient and effective farm-to-shelf operation. On average, we process approximately one million pounds of fresh produce each week, achieving a fill rate of over 99% for the twelve months ended December 2025. Our produce reaches customers in as few as eight days from farm to bottle, all while maintaining premium quality standards. Due to thoughtful investment over the last
 
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decade, we are an efficient producer and have built a supply chain, manufacturing facilities, and distribution network that acts as a self-reinforcing competitive advantage across each step in the product lifecycle.
Our manufacturing facilities in Oceanside, California are strategically located among our partner farms to help us receive ingredients at peak freshness, while also minimizing transportation time and costs. We have carefully crafted our supply network with layered redundancies to maintain resilience and continuity in the face of potential supply constraints.
We believe our scaled, in-house production capabilities are difficult and costly to replicate, and our manufacturing approach, leveraging cold-pressed extraction and HPP technology, is a key differentiator from our competitors. This technology unlocks superior nutrition retention compared to heat-treated alternatives, enhances the taste profile that closely mirrors fresh-pressed juice, and extends shelf life enabling efficient, national distribution. Our vertically integrated infrastructure provides control over quality, timing, and our customer relationships while capturing distribution margins. We strategically deploy capital to not only maintain our facilities but also to consistently improve productivity and expand capacity. We have increased the square footage of our Oceanside campus by over 50% in the last four years, reflecting our thoughtfully managed capital expenditures to ensure flexibility and efficiency. Through our differentiated, scaled cold chain and ability to consistently deliver on our brand promise, we have strengthened consumer loyalty and set ourselves apart from competitors.
Strategic Go-to-Market Approach with Deep Retailer Relationships
Based on NIQ Scantrack, 52 Weeks data, our products are available in more than 37,000 stores. This significant retail presence has enabled us to achieve an estimated 382,800 PODs, underscoring our leadership and category captainship across channels. Our reach is not only broad, but also strategic. We have built strong relationships with leading national retailers such as Kroger, Whole Foods, Albertsons, CVS, Amazon Fresh, and others. We serve as our customers’ consultant and strategic partner in driving growth and innovation across our serviceable market. We have increased TDPs by 17% based on NIQ Scantrack, 52 Weeks data.
Our partnership with Kroger is one of many examples that showcases our ability to evolve well beyond a traditional supplier dynamic into a deep-rooted, collaborative partnership delivering mutual value while also driving category growth. According to Company estimates, from the beginning of our partnership in 2014, we have grown sales from $1 million to $34 million as of fiscal 2025, representing a CAGR of 38%. We have achieved net shipment dollar growth of 37% for Suja Life, 33% for Suja Organic, and 57% for Vive Organic at Kroger from fiscal 2024 to fiscal 2025 based on management estimates. In fiscal 2023 and fiscal 2024, we worked closely with Kroger to reimagine their NHB set —  using deep consumer insights, performance data, and category learnings to help optimize the shelf architecture. This initiative led to meaningful distribution expansion for us, with 44 SKUs at Kroger today according to SPINS, 24 Weeks data, and drove stronger dollars for Suja Life and Kroger. This example illustrates how we think about partnerships and our ability to unlock growth that benefits both sides — a key reason we have been able to leverage this playbook across a number of retailers.
Our differentiated value proposition drives performance across the retail landscape. We are a rapidly growing portfolio in the NHB market, with our brands contributing over 7% incremental growth for the category, driven primarily by 20+% growth in velocity for Suja Organic and Vive Organic according to SPINS, 52 Weeks. Despite our strong market position, significant whitespace exists within both our brand awareness among premium juice buyers and on retailers’ shelves across channels. Our distinctive go-to-market strategy positions us well to continue capitalizing on this significant opportunity.
Innovation Engine that is Nimble, Proactive and Responsive
Innovation is in our DNA. From our earliest days pioneering cold-pressed juice, to helping to create entirely new beverage categories, we believe we have built a culture, capability set, and process that consistently delivers market-moving products. As a result, we have been able to establish a leading position within both cold-pressed juice and wellness shots.
Our innovation engine is defined by data-driven insights, as well as our agile in-house development and manufacturing capabilities. Our innovation starts with granular category, retailer, and consumer data,
 
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enabling us to anticipate market shifts and align products to the fastest-growing demand spaces. Our in-house research and development team, equipped with decades of proven success, leverages these insights along with our vertically integrated manufacturing capabilities to execute rapid test-and-learn launches across formulas, formats, and flavors. Our dedicated team develops nearly 100% of our products from formulation to bottling in-house. We believe the design of our innovation engine keeps us ahead of competition. For fiscal 2025, 20% of our net sales growth came from our new SKUs.
As category pioneers, we are passionate about identifying whitespace opportunities and launching innovative products that meet emerging consumer needs with speed and efficiency. Our vertically integrated and efficiently managed operations allow us to bring new innovations to market in 9 – 12 months. The creation and scaling of the Suja Organic wellness shots line is one of our many success stories born out of in-house innovation. This product line originated as a response to identified whitespace in the market with consumers craving efficient methods of delivering wellness, and the commercial impact has been extraordinary. We played a pivotal role as an early driver of the wellness shots category and have consistently contributed to its ongoing growth. The development of Slice is another example of our ability to effectively innovate. We seized the opportunity to purchase the intellectual property portfolio of a well-known brand and rapidly reformulated the product to fit our consumers’ needs. In just nine months, we transformed a dormant asset into a compelling growth platform, built to disrupt the soda category.
Proven M&A Platform With Ability to Drive Growth Through Integration
We believe we have built a platform capable of scaling emerging brands and capturing incremental value through acquisitions. Our acquisition strategy leverages a fundamental market dynamic: exceptional NHB brands consistently emerge from entrepreneurial innovation, but most lack the infrastructure, relationships, and capital required to achieve national scale. This creates a predictable landscape of potential acquisition targets with proven consumer appeal but unrealized potential: the exact profile where our platform capabilities can generate additional value. When we acquire brands like Vive Organic or trademarked assets like Slice, we not only generate sales uplift, but also amplify their growth potential through our integrated platform.
The acquisition of Vive Organic validates our systematic approach to identifying and accelerating emerging wellness brands that possess strong consumer appeal but lack the infrastructure to achieve their full market potential. Through this acquisition, we solidified our leading position in the wellness shots category and realized $14 million in synergies within twelve months, without cannibalizing shelf space across retailers. We evolved the packaging format to include multipacks, innovating based on consumer demand as wellness shots become part of their daily routines. In all, we have a proven track record of transforming whitespace opportunities into scaled, growing categories through strategic M&A.
Growth Mindset Balanced with Thoughtfulness Around Capital Allocation
We have an attractive financial profile with a track record of sustained, category-leading growth and accelerating margins. From fiscal 2023 through fiscal 2025, we achieved a net sales CAGR of 21%, net loss CAGR of 2%, and an Adjusted EBITDA CAGR of 8%. Our growth mindset permeates across our organization coupled with sustained mindfulness around profitability. We manage our business with a keen eye, ensuring that our legacy, innovation, and pipeline all drive momentum, while also demonstrating discipline in managing our cost structure to drive profitability. We are actively propelling growth in our markets, which have inherent tailwinds on a standalone basis, and are taking share as we continue to enter new categories. Our cash flow benefits from our focus on being a cost-efficient producer, leveraging automation to minimize costs across our business. Our commitment to profitable growth and ability to drive consistent cash flow provides significant financial flexibility to continue to reinvest in our business as leaders of innovation, as well as pursue bold, value-enhancing acquisition opportunities as they arise.
Purpose-Driven Team Empowered by Leadership Excellence
Our results are a proof point of the power of our people. Our 500+ team members are unified under our purpose to change what beverages bring to the table. We are pioneers who see a broken beverage system and are committed to rebuilding it from the ground up. Our people represent the foundation of our category leadership.
 
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We are led by a world-class management team who bring over 240 years of deep experience from leading consumer packaged goods and consumer-adjacent companies. Our Chief Executive Officer, Maria Stipp, leads our organization with more than three decades of experience at industry-leading beverage companies, including Sapporo and Lagunitas. Maria joined us in 2024 as an avid consumer of our products, bringing specialized expertise in scaling brands, building high-performing teams, and strengthening operational rigor across complex manufacturing and distribution environments. Our Chief Financial Officer, Jeff Pedersen, joined us in 2019 with over 15 years of experience at several notable beverage brands, such as Pepsi and Constellation Brands. Jeff partners closely with our commercial and operations teams to execute a disciplined resource allocation strategy and drive margin expansion.
Guided by our leadership team, we cultivate purpose, drive, and operational excellence throughout every level of our organization. Every member of our team is an agent for change, contributing to our competitive position in the NHB market. Our 500+ team members showcase deep, specialized expertise across every critical function, enabling us to maximize organizational bandwidth as well as execute at the speed and quality our consumers demand. We hire experts at their subject matter who are passionate about what they do. We believe our mission-driven team supported by leadership excellence represents a core business asset that differentiates our ability to execute growth strategies, capture market opportunities, and deliver sustained value creation for all stakeholders.
Our Growth Strategies
Grow Brand Awareness to Drive Higher Household Penetration and Expand Consumer Base
We see significant opportunity to grow Suja Life’s household penetration by expanding awareness across each of our brands. Currently, we have just 11% household penetration based on NIQ Omnishopper data. We aim to drive our reach to a broader audience of health-minded consumers and increase our penetration within the larger beverage category. We intend to sustain investment in authentic, high-ROI marketing as we continue to scale, leveraging paid and earned media, influencer partnerships and word-of-mouth, and experiential activations to build awareness, drive trial, and reinforce our differentiated, functional positioning across the portfolio. We are well-positioned to continue accelerating the growth of our brands, as demonstrated by our ability to grow Suja Organic’s conversion funnel over the last year: aided awareness expanded 15 points to 70%, past 3-month stated purchases expanded 13 points to 49%, and conversion remained high at approximately 90% from September 2024 to August 2025, per a Company survey of premium juice buyers. We have near-term, tangible opportunities to drive Suja Organic, Vive Organic, and Slice household penetration, as our % household penetration is 8%, 3%, and 1%, respectively, based on NIQ Omnishopper data.
Increase Purchase Frequency Among Current Consumer Base
We see meaningful opportunity to deepen the engagement of our consumers and increase their purchase frequency. Our goal is to make the consumption of Suja Life beverages a consistent part of daily wellness routines, spanning multiple occasions and need states. We believe we are driving frequency as consumers are purchasing our brands on more shopping trips and spending more with us than they were a year ago. Specifically, we have seen an approximately 7% increase in occasions per buyer and a 6% increase in value per buyer in the last year based on NIQ Omnishopper data. We are focused on increasing frequency by expanding multi-pack offerings, enhancing visibility at point of sale, and reinforcing the role our products play in everyday health rituals. In so doing, we aim to strengthen brand loyalty, build habitual consumption, and unlock incremental growth across our brands.
Gain Distribution Within Existing Retailers and Through New Opportunities
We see a significant growth opportunity to expand Suja Life’s distribution footprint across both existing and new retail partners. Within our current network, we plan to deepen penetration by increasing shelf space, expanding SKU variety, and securing additional secondary displays and cooler placements — all proven drivers of velocity and visibility.
As the refrigerated beverage aisle continues to evolve toward premium, functional offerings, we aim to deepen our presence across cold-pressed juice, wellness shots, and functional soda while expanding our
 
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presence in underpenetrated channels such as away-from-home and e-commerce. We also see meaningful opportunity to drive cross-purchase of our portfolio — encouraging, for example, consumers of Suja Organic cold-pressed juice to trial Suja Organic or Vive Organic wellness shots, and engaging Slice consumers who have demonstrated an overlap with our other functional beverage categories. By leveraging these natural brand adjacencies, we can expand household penetration and build more frequent, multi-brand relationships with our consumers.
Expanding store count, shelf space, and product assortment — combined with increased cross-brand engagement — can make our portfolio more accessible, unlock meaningful incremental household reach, and support sustained category share gains and top-line growth.
Continue Innovation Across Product Platform
Innovation is core to our DNA and a key driver in our next phase of growth. Our integrated platform enables us to expand across new categories, formats, and functional benefits while maintaining our leadership in the NHB market. We plan to accelerate innovation across three interconnected dimensions — product, brand, and technology — allowing us to continually identify whitespace opportunities and convert them into scalable offerings.
We intend to broaden our product portfolio through new functional platforms, flavor innovation, and price-pack architectures that meet evolving consumer needs across channels and occasions. Limited-time offerings will continue to serve as a proving ground for emerging trends, allowing us to test new flavors, benefits, and formats that can scale into permanent lines. We believe this approach will enable our brands to expand their roles across multiple dayparts and usage occasions.
As we continue to innovate, we plan to explore adjacencies across our product categories, as evidenced by our recent functional soda category entrance though our reimagined brand, Slice. Our innovation engine is designed not only to maintain our position in a rapidly changing market, but to define and expand the next generation of functional beverage consumption.
Unlock Full Potential of Slice to Capitalize on Current Momentum
Since launch in January 2025, Slice has rapidly gained traction with current brand awareness of 28%, and we believe it has the potential to become a category-defining brand in the functional soda space. Its combination of nostalgic flavor profiles and nutritious, better-for-you benefits directly align with consumer demand for refreshment without compromise. Since our purchase of the Slice intellectual property portfolio, we have systematically invested in marketing, merchandising, and distribution to drive awareness, trial, and shelf presence. As a result, Slice has achieved extensive reach across channels since launch, with an increase of more than 66,000 PODs according to Company estimates. Slice also has a higher NPS than its leading competitors as of September 2025 according to a Company survey, underscoring the brand’s growing resonance with consumers and retailers.
We plan to capitalize on this momentum by expanding distribution and efficiently sustaining marketing investments in the near-term, with an additional opportunity to drive margins by leveraging our vertically integrated manufacturing platform to bring production in-house. As we expand awareness and availability, we believe Slice can continue to capture meaningful share within not only the growing functional soda category, but also from the larger overall soda category, serving as a key growth driver within the Suja Life portfolio.
Leverage M&A Know-How to Opportunistically Expand the Suja Life House of Brands
Suja Life has become a consolidator of preference within the category, and we view M&A as a strategic extension of our growth platform, accelerating our category leadership and expanding our reach into complementary, high-growth wellness markets. The NHB market remains highly fragmented with emerging brands that resonate deeply with consumers but often lack the scale, resources, and infrastructure required for sustained expansion. We intend to leverage our platform capabilities — retail relationships, vertically integrated manufacturing, innovation expertise, and marketing scale — to unlock the full potential of these brands and drive long-term shareholder value.
 
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Our approach to acquisitions is disciplined and highly selective. We target mission-aligned, complementary brands that fit naturally within our portfolio and operate in the fastest-growing subcategories with significant whitespace. We focus on businesses with a clean line of sight to category leadership, where our operational strengths can meaningfully accelerate growth. These advantages can span the entire value chain — from sales and marketing, distribution, and retail partnerships to manufacturing infrastructure, and cost efficiencies — creating mutual benefit and scale across the platform. Looking ahead, we plan to continue pursing accretive, synergistic opportunities that expand our reach across categories and consumption occasions, enhance our functional wellness leadership, and solidify our position as a leading platform in the NHB market. By combining entrepreneurial innovation with our in-house operational excellence and scale, we believe our acquisition strategy positions us to continue capturing industry tailwinds and driving sustained platform growth.
Leverage Existing Investments in Vertically Integrated Manufacturing to Cost-Effectively Meet Increasing Demand
We aim to drive sustainable top- and bottom-line growth as the foundation of our long-term profitability model. Our disciplined approach to expansion, portfolio optimization, and operational excellence positions us to deliver continued margin improvement as we scale. We see significant opportunity to leverage our manufacturing infrastructure and technological capabilities to support future innovation and volume growth. Our HPP platform and approximately 270,000 square-foot Oceanside campus provide meaningful capacity runway, enabling us to efficiently expand into adjacent categories with minimal incremental investment.
As we continue capturing market share within the high-growth NHB market, we expect to realize greater operating leverage through scale efficiencies, automation, and data-driven decision making. We plan to reinvest in initiatives that strengthen brand equity and long-term value creation while maintaining a focus on disciplined capital allocation. We believe our balanced approach — driving growth through innovation, efficiency, and strategic investment — will enable us to realize top-line growth while delivering attractive, sustainable returns for our shareholders.
Recent Developments
Preliminary Financial Results
We are in the process of finalizing our results for the quarter ended March 30, 2026. We have presented below ranges of certain unaudited preliminary results and estimates of selected key business metrics for the quarter ended March 30, 2026, as well as the comparative period for the quarter ended March 31, 2025. The following information reflects our preliminary estimates with respect to such data based on currently available information and does not present all necessary information for an understanding of our financial condition for the quarter ended March 30, 2026 and are not necessarily indicative of our results for future interim periods. These estimated metrics should not be viewed as a substitute for our financial statements prepared in accordance with GAAP included in this prospectus.
We have provided ranges, rather than specific amounts, for the information below, primarily because our financial closing and analysis procedures are not yet completed and, as a result, we expect that our final results upon completion of our closing procedures may vary from the preliminary estimates included herein. This financial information has been prepared by, and is the responsibility of, our management, is based solely upon information available to us as of the date of this prospectus and is subject to revisions based on our procedures and controls associated with our financial reporting process. Accordingly, there can be no assurance that these estimates will be realized, and undue reliance should not be placed on these preliminary estimates. Our independent registered public accounting firm, Deloitte & Touche LLP, has not audited, reviewed, or performed any procedures with respect to our preliminary results or the accounting treatment thereof and does not express an opinion or any other form of assurance with respect thereto. Our actual unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements for the quarters ended March 30, 2026, and March 31, 2025, are not expected to be filed with the SEC until after the completion of this offering.
While we believe that such information and estimates are based on reasonable assumptions and management’s reasonable judgment, our actual results may vary. Factors that could cause the actual results to differ include (but are not limited to) the discovery of new information that affects accounting estimates
 
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and management’s judgments, or impacts valuation methodologies underlying these estimated results, the completion of our auditors’ procedures for the review of our interim consolidated condensed financial statements, and a variety of business, economic, and competitive risks and uncertainties, many of which are not within our control, and we undertake no obligation to update this information, unless required by law. The information set forth below should be read together with “Risk Factors,” “Forward-Looking Statements,” “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations,” and the consolidated financial statements and the accompanying notes included elsewhere in this prospectus.
Adjusted EBITDA is a non-GAAP supplemental financial measure. Please see “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations — Non-GAAP Financial Measures” for additional information as to how we define Adjusted EBITDA, the reasons why we include this measure and certain limitations to its use.
Although the financial results for the quarter ended March 30, 2026 are not yet finalized, we estimate that the financial results will fall within the following ranges, as compared to the quarter ended March 31, 2025:
​ ​ ​
Quarter Ended
​
​ ​ ​
March 30, 2026
(Estimated)
​ ​
March 31, 2025
(Actual)
​
($ in thousands)
​ ​
High
​ ​
Low
​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​
Net Sales
​ ​ ​ $ 107,058 ​ ​ ​ ​ $ 103,847 ​ ​ ​ ​ $ 87,363 ​ ​
Gross profit
​ ​ ​ ​ 54,115 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 52,492 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 43,538 ​ ​
Net income
​ ​ ​ ​ 8,799 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 7,039 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 88 ​ ​
Adjusted EBITDA
​ ​ ​ $ 25,023 ​ ​ ​ ​ $ 22,907 ​ ​ ​ ​ $ 15,049 ​ ​
We estimate that net sales for the quarter ended March 30, 2026 will be between $103.8 million and $107.1 million, compared to $87.4 million for the quarter ended March 31, 2025, an increase of $18.1 million or 20.7%, calculated using the midpoint of the range. The period-over-period increase in net sales is primarily due to volume growth from existing products and retailers, led by Suja and Vive Shots, new product distribution gains, and improved consumer takeaway resulting from more effective promotional activities executed with key retailers. We estimate that gross profit for the quarter ended March 30, 2026 will be between $52.5 million and $54.1 million, compared to $43.5 million for the quarter ended March 31, 2025, an increase of 22.4%, calculated using the midpoint of the range. The period-over-period increase in gross profit is primarily due to improved absorption from higher sales volume and more favorable product mix as Suja and Vive Shots have a lower manufacturing and packaging cost than Suja Single Serve and Suja Multi Serve, and improved production efficiencies. We estimate that net income for the quarter ended March 30, 2026 will be between $7.0 million and $8.8 million, compared to $0.1 million for the quarter ended March 31, 2025, an increase of $7.8 million calculated using the midpoint of the range. The period-over-period increase in net income is primarily due to favorable volume and product mix-driven gross profit expansion, favorable fixed leverage, and prior year one-time Emerging Brands Segment startup costs incurred in fiscal 2025 that were not repeated in fiscal 2026. We estimate that Adjusted EBITDA for the quarter ended March 30, 2026 will be between $22.9 million and $25.0 million compared to $15.0 million for the quarter ended March 31, 2025, an increase of $8.9 million or 59.2%, calculated using the midpoint of the range. The period-over-period increase in Adjusted EBITDA is primarily due to volume growth from existing products and retailers, new distribution gains, improved consumer takeaway from effective promotional activities, favorable product mix and absorption, and favorable fixed leverage compared to the quarter ended March 31, 2025.
Reconciliation of net income to Adjusted EBITDA
The following table provides a reconciliation from our preliminary estimates of net income to preliminary estimates of EBITDA and preliminary estimates of Adjusted EBITDA for the quarter ended March 30, 2026 (at the low end and high end of the estimated ranges set forth above) and the quarter ended March 31, 2025.
 
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​ ​ ​
Quarter Ended
​
​ ​ ​
March 30, 2026
(Estimated)
​ ​
March 31, 2025
(Actual)
​
($ in thousands)
​ ​
High
​ ​
Low
​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​
Net income
​ ​ ​ $ 8,799 ​ ​ ​ ​ $ 7,039 ​ ​ ​ ​ $ 88 ​ ​
Tax expense
​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​
Interest expense
​ ​ ​ ​ 7,472 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 7,323 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 7,446 ​ ​
Depreciation and amortization
​ ​ ​ ​ 7,178 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 7,034 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 6,930 ​ ​
EBITDA
​ ​ ​ ​ 23,450 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 21,397 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 14,464 ​ ​
Incentive unit compensation
​ ​ ​ ​ 140 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 134 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 111 ​ ​
Non-recurring costs(1)
​ ​ ​ ​ 681 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 654 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 131 ​ ​
Sponsor costs(2)
​ ​ ​ ​ 752 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 722 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 343 ​ ​
Adjusted EBITDA
​ ​ ​ $ 25,023 ​ ​ ​ ​ $ 22,907 ​ ​ ​ ​ $ 15,049 ​ ​
​
(1)
The quarter ended March 30, 2026 includes consulting and other fees incurred to support our initial public offering, and one-time system improvements. The quarter ended March 31, 2025 includes consulting fees related to one-time system improvements.
​
(2)
Includes fees paid in cash to our sponsor which will not recur subsequent to our initial public offering due to changes in how these fees will be structured as a public company, pursuant to the Management Agreement, as described in the section titled “Certain Relationships and Related Party Transactions — Related Party Transactions — Management Agreement.”
​
Summary of Risks Associated with Our Business, This Offering and Our Class A Common Stock
Our business is subject to numerous risks and uncertainties, including those highlighted in the section entitled “Risk Factors.” The following is a summary of the principal risks we face:
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a reduction or limited availability of organic fruits, vegetables and other raw materials and ingredients for our juice products or an increase in the price of such materials and ingredients;
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•
real or perceived quality or food safety issues with our products, which may diminish our brands and reputation;
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•
strong competition in the food and beverage retail industry;
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•
our reliance on distributor and retail customers for a significant portion of our sales, and our ability to maintain or further develop our sales channels;
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•
our reliance on our local and regional farming partners and other third-party partners and those third parties’ ability to fulfill their obligations;
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•
our reliance on our limited suppliers for materials used to package our products, the costs of which have in the past been, and may continue to be, volatile and subject to price increases;
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•
failure by our transportation providers to deliver our products on time, or at all, and problems with our logistics network and arrangements;
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•
our ability to manage our future growth effectively;
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•
our ability to successfully forecast and manage our inventory at appropriate levels for our demand;
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•
any damage or disruption at our production facilities in Oceanside, California, where our products are primarily manufactured;
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•
our ability to quickly respond to new trends by introducing new products or successfully improving existing products;
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•
an overall decline in the health of the economy and other factors impacting consumer spending;
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•
a reduction in demand for and sales of our cold-pressed juices, wellness shots and functional sodas or a decrease in consumer demand for such products generally;
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•
our ability to develop and maintain our brands and company image;
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•
the success of our marketing strategies and channels at maintaining consumer awareness of our brands, building brand loyalty and generating interest in our products from existing and new consumers;
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•
our failure to retain our senior management and key personnel;
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•
advertising inaccuracies and product mislabeling, which may expose us to lawsuits, product recalls or regulatory enforcement actions;
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•
our ability to comply with laws and regulations relating to data privacy, data protection, advertising and consumer protection;
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•
food safety and food-borne illness incidents or other safety concerns, which may expose us to lawsuits, product recalls or regulatory enforcement actions;
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•
our dependence on distributions from Holdings LP to pay our taxes and expenses, including payments under the Tax Receivable Agreement;
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•
we will be controlled by PSP following this offering, and their interests may conflict with ours or yours in the future;
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•
our dual class structure, and the impact that it may have on the market price of our Class A common stock;
​
•
our success with making acquisitions and integrating newly acquired products or businesses; and
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•
potential litigation that could have an adverse effect on our business.
​
These and other risks are more fully described in the section entitled “Risk Factors” in this prospectus. If any of these risks actually occur, our business, financial condition, results of operations, cash flows, and prospects could be materially and adversely affected. As a result, you could lose all or part of your investment in our Class A common stock.
Ownership and Organizational Structure
Suja Life, Inc. is a Delaware corporation formed to serve as a holding company that will hold a direct or indirect interest in Holdings LP through one or more wholly owned subsidiaries. Suja Life, Inc. has not engaged in any business or other activities other than in connection with its formation and this offering. This offering is being conducted through what is commonly referred to as an “Up-C” structure, which is often used by partnerships and limited liability companies undertaking an initial public offering. The Up-C approach permits certain existing owners of the business to retain their equity ownership in Holdings LP and to continue to realize the tax benefits associated with owning interests in a pass-through structure and provides potential future tax benefits for both the public company and the existing owners when they ultimately exchange their pass-through interests for shares of Class A common stock or, at our election, for cash from a substantially concurrent public offering or private sale (based on the price of our Class A common stock in such public offering or private sale).
Upon completion of the Organizational Transactions and this offering and the application of the proceeds of this offering, we will be a holding company, our sole asset will be direct or indirect equity interests in Holdings LP and we will exclusively operate and control all of the business and affairs and consolidate the financial results of Holdings LP. See “Organizational Structure” for a complete description of the Organizational Transactions.
The Organizational Transactions described below will each be completed prior to or in connection with the completion of this offering:
•
Suja Life, Inc. was formed, and we will amend and restate the certificate of incorporation of Suja Life, Inc. (our “certificate of incorporation”) to, among other things, provide for Class A common stock and Class V common stock. See “Description of Capital Stock.”
​
•
We will amend and restate Holdings LP’s existing limited partnership agreement (the “Partnership Agreement”) to, among other things, (i) modify Holdings LP’s capital structure by replacing the
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​
 
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current partnership interests with a single class of common ownership interests, and (ii) appoint Suja Life, Inc. as the sole general partner of Holdings LP. See “Organizational Structure — Amended and Restated Partnership Agreement of Holdings LP.”
•
Suja Life, Inc. will acquire, directly or indirectly, through a series of transactions which may include one or more contributions, mergers, or otherwise, LP Units owned by PSP Suja Life Blocker, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company through which affiliates of PSP hold a portion of their ownership interests in Holdings LP (the “Blocker Entity”), Vive Aggregator, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company (“Vive Aggregator”), Suja Life Management Holdings, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company (“Management HoldCo”), and Suja Life Management Holdings II, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company (“Management HoldCo II” and together with Management HoldCo, the “Management HoldCos,” and together with the Blocker Entity and Vive Aggregator, the “Direct LP Entities”), and certain other direct holders of LP Units, and in exchange therefor the owners of the Direct LP Entities and such other direct holders of LP Units shall receive, directly or indirectly, newly issued shares of Class A common stock.
​
•
We will issue shares of Class V common stock, which provide no economic rights, to direct holders of LP Units (other than Suja Life, Inc., directly or indirectly) (the “LP Unitholders”) on a one-to-one basis with the number of LP Units owned by such holders. Each share of our Class V common stock entitles its holder to one vote on all matters to be voted on by shareholders generally. See “Description of Capital Stock — Class V Common Stock.”
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•
We will enter into an exchange agreement (the “Exchange Agreement”) with Holdings LP and the LP Unitholders pursuant to which the holders of LP Units may exchange their LP Units, together with an equal number of shares of Class V common stock, for shares of Class A common stock on a one-for-one basis or, at our election, for cash from a substantially concurrent public offering or private sale (based on the price of our Class A common stock in such public offering or private sale). See “Organizational Structure — Exchange Agreement.”
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•
We may enter into certain restructuring transactions intended to optimize and streamline the manner in which assets associated with the Vive Organic and Slice businesses are held by Holdings LP and its subsidiaries.
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•
We will enter into a tax receivable agreement (the “Tax Receivable Agreement”) with the TRA Parties, which will require us to pay to such persons    % of the amount of cash tax savings, if any, in U.S. federal, state and local income taxes we actually realize or are deemed to realize in some circumstances (as computed using certain assumptions) as a result of certain tax attributes and benefits covered by the Tax Receivable Agreement. Such tax attributes and benefits will include: (i)  certain increases in the tax basis of assets of Holdings LP and its subsidiaries resulting from exchanges (or deemed exchanges in certain circumstances) of LP Units for shares of our Class A common stock or for cash pursuant to the Exchange Agreement and certain distributions (or deemed distributions) by Holdings LP, (ii) certain tax attributes of the current or former holders of equity interests in Holdings LP, and (iii) certain other tax benefits related to our entering into the Tax Receivable Agreement, including tax benefits attributable to payments that we are required to make under the Tax Receivable Agreement. If the Tax Receivable Agreement terminates early, we could be required to make a substantial, immediate lump-sum payment. See “Organizational Structure — Tax Receivable Agreement.”
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We estimate that the net proceeds to us from the sale of our Class A common stock in this offering, after deducting the underwriting discount and estimated expenses payable by us, will be approximately $      million ($      million if the underwriters exercise their option to purchase additional shares of Class A common stock in full), based on an assumed initial public offering price of $      per share (which is the midpoint of the estimated public offering price range set forth on the cover page of this prospectus). We intend to use such net proceeds to acquire (i)        newly issued LP Units in Holdings LP, directly or indirectly through one or more wholly owned subsidiaries and (ii)        LP Units from certain existing owners of Holdings LP (and retire the corresponding shares of Class V common stock), in each case at a purchase price per LP Unit equal to the initial offering price per share of Class A common stock in this offering, less the underwriting discount. We will not receive any of the proceeds from the sale of shares of Class A common stock by the selling shareholder.
 
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In turn, Holdings LP intends to apply the balance of the net proceeds it receives from us (i) to repay $      million of borrowings under the first lien credit agreement, dated August 23, 2021 (as amended, the “Credit Agreement”), (ii) to pay expenses incurred in connection with this offering and the other Organizational Transactions, and (iii) to the extent any proceeds remain, for general corporate purposes. See “Description of Certain Indebtedness” and “Use of Proceeds.”
The diagram below depicts our historical organizational structure prior to the completion of the Organizational Transactions. This diagram is provided for illustrative purposes only and does not purport to represent all legal entities owned or controlled by us, or owning a beneficial interest in us.
[MISSING IMAGE: fc_owners-bw.jpg]
​
(1)
The LP Unitholders other than PSP collectively own approximately    % of the equity interests of Holdings LP. Certain of these investors will continue to hold their equity interests in Holdings LP upon completion of this offering, and others will instead receive Class A common stock in connection with the Organizational Transactions.
​
The diagram below depicts our expected organizational structure immediately following completion of the Organizational Transactions and this offering and our application of the proceeds therefrom. This diagram is provided for illustrative purposes only and does not purport to represent all legal entities owned or controlled by us, or owning a beneficial interest in us.
 
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[MISSING IMAGE: fc_pspipo-4c.jpg]
​
(1)
Upon the completion of this offering, PSP will own    % of the total outstanding LP Units of Holdings LP and will possess voting and dispositive power over    % of the total outstanding LP Units of Holdings LP. Further, PSP will own shares of Class V common stock, and will own    % of all shares of Class A common stock. The remaining LP Unitholders will collectively own the remaining    % of the total outstanding LP Units of Holdings LP not held directly or indirectly by Suja Life, Inc. See “Principal and Selling Shareholders” for additional information about PSP and other LP Unitholders that will beneficially own more than 5% of our outstanding shares of common stock following the completion of this offering. In addition to PSP, our existing owners include a limited number of third parties that have invested in LP Units.
​
(2)
Upon completion of this offering, PSP will control approximately    % (or approximately    % if the underwriters exercise their option to purchase additional shares of Class A common stock in full) of the voting power in Suja Life, Inc. through its ownership of our Class A common stock and Class V common stock. See “Principal and Selling Shareholders” for additional information about PSP.
​
(3)
Upon completion of this offering, historic owners of Vive Aggregator will hold interests in Suja Life, Inc. indirectly through new holding vehicles (the “New Vive Partnerships”), which will control approximately    % (or approximately    % if the underwriters exercise their option to purchase additional shares of Class A common stock in full) of the voting power in Suja Life, Inc. through their ownership of our Class A common stock. See “Principal and Selling Shareholders” for additional information about the New Vive Partnerships.
​
(4)
Shares of Class A common stock and Class V common stock will vote as a single class except as otherwise required by law or our certificate of incorporation. Each outstanding share of Class A common stock and Class V common stock will be entitled to one vote on all matters to be voted on by shareholders generally. The Class V common stock does not have any right to receive dividends or distributions upon the liquidation or winding up of Suja Life, Inc. In accordance with the Exchange Agreement to be entered into in connection with the Organizational Transactions, the holders of LP Units may exchange their LP Units, together with an equal number of shares of Class V common stock, for shares of Class A common stock on a one-for-one basis or, at our election, for cash from a substantially concurrent public offering or private sale (based on the price of our Class A common stock in such public offering or private sale). Any shares of Class V common stock so delivered will be cancelled.
​
(5)
This percentage represents the number of LP Units owned by the applicable holder divided by the total of all outstanding LP Units and assumes no exercise of the underwriters’ option to purchase additional shares of Class A common stock. If the underwriters exercise their option to purchase additional shares of Class A common stock in full, (i) the holders of Class A common stock other than PSP will have    % of the voting power in Suja Life, Inc., (ii) PSP, through its ownership of our Class A common stock and Class V common stock, will have    % of the voting power of Suja Life, Inc., (iii) the LP Unitholders, including PSP, will own    % of the outstanding LP Units in Holdings LP and (iv) Suja Life, Inc. will own    % of the outstanding LP Units in Holdings LP.
​
Following this offering, each of the existing owners of LP Units will also hold a number of shares of our Class V common stock equal to the number of LP Units they own. Holders of our Class A common stock and Class V common stock will each be entitled to one vote per share on all matters on which shareholders are entitled to vote.
 
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Suja Life, Inc. will also hold, directly or indirectly, LP Units, and therefore receive benefits from owning interests in an entity treated as a partnership for U.S. federal income tax purposes. As Suja Life, Inc. directly or indirectly acquires LP Units in exchange for shares of our Class A common stock or for cash pursuant to the Exchange Agreement mechanics described above, it will obtain a step-up in the tax basis in its share of the assets of Holdings LP and its flow-through subsidiaries. This step-up in tax basis will provide Suja Life, Inc. with certain tax benefits, such as future depreciation and amortization deductions, that can reduce its taxable income. Pursuant to the Tax Receivable Agreement, Suja Life, Inc. will be required to pay the TRA Parties, collectively,    % of the cash tax savings attributable to these tax benefits and certain other tax attributes and benefits described above; however, the remaining    % of such cash tax savings will remain with Suja Life, Inc. The amount of any payments required to be made under the Tax Receivable Agreement will depend on various factors, including whether we have sufficient taxable income to fully utilize the tax benefits that are subject to the Tax Receivable Agreement; however, we estimate that such payments will be substantial. See “Organizational Structure — Tax Receivable Agreement.”
Pursuant to the Partnership Agreement, subject to certain restrictions, limitations, and assumptions, tax distributions will be made by Holdings LP to the holders of LP Units (including, directly or indirectly, to Suja Life, Inc.) on a pro rata basis in amounts at least sufficient to allow us to pay our taxes and make payments under the Tax Receivable Agreement. Funds used by Holdings LP to satisfy its tax distribution obligations will not be available for reinvestment in our business. See “Risk Factors — Risks Related to Our Organizational Structure.”
As a result of the Organizational Transactions:
•
the investors in this offering will collectively own        shares of our Class A common stock, PSP will own        shares of our Class A common stock, the New Vive Partnerships will own        shares of our Class A common stock, and other pre-offering owners will collectively own          shares of our Class A common stock;
​
•
Suja Life, Inc. will own        LP Units, indirectly through one or more wholly owned subsidiaries;
​
•
the other holders of LP Units will own        LP Units and an equal number of shares of Class V common stock;
​
•
our Class A common stock will collectively represent approximately    % of the voting power in us; and
​
•
our Class V common stock will collectively represent approximately    % of the voting power in us.
​
Tax Receivable Agreement
Prior to the completion of this offering, we will enter into a Tax Receivable Agreement with the TRA Parties that will require us to pay such persons    % of the amount of cash savings, if any, in U.S. federal, state and local income taxes we actually realize or are deemed to realize in some circumstances (as computed using certain assumptions) as a result of certain tax attributes and benefits covered by the Tax Receivable Agreement. Such tax attributes and benefits will include: (i) certain increases in the tax basis of assets of Holdings LP and its subsidiaries resulting from exchanges (or deemed exchanges in certain circumstances) of LP Units for shares of our Class A common stock or for cash pursuant to the Exchange Agreement and certain distributions (or deemed distributions) by Holdings LP, (ii) certain tax attributes of the current or former holders of equity interests in Holdings LP, and (iii) certain other tax benefits related to our entering into the Tax Receivable Agreement, including tax benefits attributable to payments that we are required to make under the Tax Receivable Agreement. The Tax Receivable Agreement will be accounted for as a contingent liability, with amounts accrued when considered probable and reasonably estimable. We will record a $      million liability based on our estimate of the aggregate amount that we will pay to the TRA Parties under the Tax Receivable Agreement as a result of the Organizational Transactions. We will record an increase of $      million in deferred tax assets related to tax benefits from future deductions attributable to payments under the Tax Receivable Agreement as a result of the Organizational Transactions. Additionally, we will record a decrease to additional paid-in capital of $      million, which is equal to the difference between the increase in deferred tax assets and the increase in liabilities due to existing owners under the Tax Receivable Agreement as a result of the Organizational Transactions.
 
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No adjustment has been made to reflect future exchanges by LP Unitholders (or their transferees of LP Units or other assignees) of LP Units for shares of our Class A common stock or, at our election, for cash from a substantially concurrent public offering or private sale (based on the price of our Class A common stock in such public offering or private sale), as applicable, or distributions to LP Unitholders. Payments under the Tax Receivable Agreement will be based on the tax reporting positions that we determine, which tax reporting positions will be based on the advice of our tax advisors. Any payments made by us to the TRA Parties under the Tax Receivable Agreement will generally reduce the amount of overall cash flow that might have otherwise been available to us. To the extent that we are unable to make payments under the Tax Receivable Agreement, such payments generally will be deferred and will accrue interest until paid. Nonpayment for a specified period, however, may constitute a breach of a material obligation under the Tax Receivable Agreement and therefore accelerate payments due under the Tax Receivable Agreement, unless, generally, such nonpayment is due to a lack of sufficient funds or is prevented by any debt agreement to which Holdings LP or any of its subsidiaries is a party. Furthermore, our future obligation to make payments under the Tax Receivable Agreement could make us a less attractive target for an acquisition, particularly in the case of an acquirer that cannot use some or all of the tax benefits that may be deemed realized under the Tax Receivable Agreement. The payments under the Tax Receivable Agreement are also not conditioned upon the TRA Parties maintaining a continued ownership interest in Holdings LP or us.
The actual amount and timing of any payments under the Tax Receivable Agreement will vary depending upon a number of factors, including the timing of exchanges or distributions, the amount of gain recognized by the LP Unitholders upon exchanges or purchases of LP Units (which will depend on the value of Class A common stock at the time of the exchange), and the amount and timing of the taxable income we generate in the future and the federal tax rates then applicable. See “Certain Relationships and Related Party Transactions — Related Party Transactions — Tax Receivable Agreement.”
Our Principal Shareholder
We have a valuable relationship with our principal shareholder, PSP. In connection with this offering, we will enter into a director designation agreement (the “Director Designation Agreement”) with PSP that provides PSP the right to designate nominees to our board of directors (our “Board”), subject to certain conditions.
The Director Designation Agreement will provide PSP the right to designate (i)  a majority of the nominees for election to our Board for so long as PSP beneficially owns common stock entitled to vote generally in the election of directors representing 40% or more of the aggregate number of shares of Class A and Class V common stock outstanding upon completion of this offering, as adjusted for any reorganization, recapitalization, stock dividend, stock split, reverse stock split or similar changes in the Company’s capitalization (the “Original Amount”); (ii) a number of directors (rounded up to the nearest whole number) equal to 40% of the total directors for so long as PSP beneficially owns at least 30% and less than 40% of the Original Amount; (iii) a number of directors (rounded up to the nearest whole number) equal to 30% of the total directors for so long as PSP beneficially owns at least 20% and less than 30% of the Original Amount; (iv) a number of directors (rounded up to the nearest whole number) equal to 20% of the total directors for so long as PSP beneficially owns at least 10% and less than 20% of the Original Amount; and (v) one director for so long as PSP beneficially owns at least 5% and less than 10% of the Original Amount. In each case, PSP’s nominees must comply with applicable law and stock exchange rules. See “Certain Relationships and Related Party Transactions — Related Party Transactions — Director Designation Agreement” for more details with respect to the Director Designation Agreement.
PSP is a leading global investment firm with more than $6.5 billion in assets under management as of December 31, 2025. The firm specializes in sustainable food chain investing. With a differentiated focus on the global food and agribusiness sector, PSP leverages a thesis-driven approach and operational expertise to enhance value in each of its investments.
Controlled Company Status
After completion of this offering, PSP will continue to control a majority of the voting power in us. As a result, we will be a “controlled company.” Under Nasdaq’s rules, a company of which more than 50% of
 
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the voting power for the election of directors is held by an individual, group or another company is a “controlled company” and may elect not to comply with certain corporate governance requirements. Accordingly, you may not have the same protections afforded to shareholders of companies that are subject to all of Nasdaq’s corporate governance requirements. See “Management — Corporate Governance — Controlled Company Status.”
General Corporate Information
We were incorporated in Delaware on October 8, 2025. We are a newly formed corporation, have no material assets and have not engaged in any business or other activities except in connection with our formation and the Organizational Transactions, including this offering and the application of the use of proceeds therefrom. Our principal executive offices are located at 3831 Ocean Ranch Boulevard, Oceanside, California 92056. Our telephone number is (855) 879-7852. Our website address is www.sujalife.com. The information contained on, or that can be accessed through, our website is not incorporated by reference into this prospectus, and you should not consider any information contained on, or that can be accessed through, our website as part of this prospectus or in deciding whether to purchase our Class A common stock. We are a holding company and all of our business operations are conducted through, and substantially all of our assets are held by, our subsidiaries.
Implications of Being an Emerging Growth Company
We qualify as an “emerging growth company” as defined in the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act (the “JOBS Act”). We will remain an emerging growth company until the earlier of (1) the last day of the fiscal year following the fifth anniversary of the completion of this offering, (2) the last day of the fiscal year in which we have total annual gross revenue of at least $1.235 billion, (3) the date on which we are deemed to be a large accelerated filer (this means the market value of our common stock that is held by non-affiliates exceeds $700.0 million as of the end of the second quarter of that fiscal year), or (4) the date on which we have issued more than $1.0 billion in non-convertible debt securities during the prior three-year period.
An emerging growth company may take advantage of reduced reporting requirements that are otherwise applicable to public companies. These provisions include, but are not limited to:
•
not being required to comply with the independent registered public accounting firm attestation requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, as amended (the “Sarbanes-Oxley Act”);
​
•
only being required to present two years of audited financial statements within this registration statement, plus unaudited condensed financial statements for any interim period, and related management’s discussion and analysis of financial condition and results of operations;
​
•
reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in our periodic reports, proxy statements and registration statements; and
​
•
exemptions from the requirements of holding a nonbinding advisory vote on executive compensation and shareholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved.
​
We have elected to take advantage of certain of the reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in this prospectus and expect to elect to take advantage of other reduced burdens in future filings. As a result, the information that we provide to our shareholders may be different than the information you might receive from other public reporting companies in which you hold equity interests.
Under the JOBS Act, emerging growth companies can delay adopting new or revised accounting standards until such time as those standards apply to private companies. We are electing to take advantage of this extended transition period for complying with new or revised accounting standards provided for by the JOBS Act. We will therefore comply with new or revised accounting standards when they apply to private companies. As a result, our financial statements may not be comparable with companies that comply with public company effective dates for new or revised accounting standards.
 
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The Offering
Issuer
Suja Life, Inc.
Class A common stock offered by us
      shares (or      shares if the underwriters’ option is exercised in full).
Class A common stock offered by the selling shareholder
       shares (or           shares if the underwriters’ option is exercised in full).
Underwriters’ option to purchase additional shares of Class A common stock
We and the selling shareholder have granted the underwriters an option to purchase up to      shares of Class A common stock within 30 days of the date of this prospectus.
Class A common stock to be outstanding immediately after this offering
      shares of Class A common stock (or        shares of Class A common stock if the underwriters’ option is exercised in full). If all outstanding LP Units were exchanged for newly issued shares of Class A common stock,        shares of Class A common stock (or      shares of Class A common stock if the underwriters’ option is exercised in full) would be outstanding.
Class V common stock to be outstanding immediately after this offering
       shares of Class V common stock (or      shares of Class V common stock if the underwriters’ option is exercised in full). Immediately after this offering, LP Unitholders will own 100% of the outstanding shares of our Class V common stock.
Ratio of shares of Class A common stock to LP Units
Our certificate of incorporation and the Amended and Restated Partnership Agreement of Holdings LP will require that we and Holdings LP at all times maintain a one-to-one ratio between the number of shares of Class A common stock issued by us and the number of LP Units owned, indirectly through one or more wholly owned subsidiaries, by us (subject to certain exceptions for treasury shares and shares underlying certain convertible or exchangeable securities).
Voting
Each share of our Class A common stock entitles its holder to one vote on all matters to be voted on by shareholders generally.
Each share of our Class V common stock entitles its holder to one vote on all matters to be voted on by shareholders generally.
After this offering, the holders of LP Units (other than Suja Life, Inc.) will hold a number of shares of Class V common stock equal to the number of LP Units held by such holders. See “Description of Capital Stock — Class V Common Stock.”
Holders of our Class A common stock and Class V common stock vote together as a single class on all matters presented to our shareholders for their vote or approval, except as otherwise required by applicable law or our certificate of incorporation.
Upon completion of this offering, we will be controlled by PSP’s affiliates and PSP’s affiliates will control approximately    % of the
 
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voting interest in our capital stock (or approximately    % if the underwriters exercise their option to purchase additional shares in full) on account of their ownership of Class A common stock and Class V common stock. Additionally, PSP’s affiliates may, pursuant to the Director Designation Agreement, nominate the majority of the directors of the Company. See “Organizational Structure” and “Certain Relationships and Related Party Transactions — Related Party Transactions — Director Designation Agreement.”
Voting power held by holders of Class A common stock
    % (or 100% if all outstanding LP Units were exchanged for newly issued shares of Class A common stock on a one-for-one basis).
Voting power held by holders of Class V common stock
    % (or 0% if all outstanding LP Units were exchanged for newly issued shares of Class A common stock on a one-for-one basis).
Use of proceeds
We estimate, based upon an assumed initial public offering price of $      per share (which is the midpoint of the estimated public offering price range set forth on the cover page of this prospectus), we will receive net proceeds from this offering of approximately $      million (or $      million if the underwriters exercise their option to purchase additional shares of Class A common stock in full), after deducting the underwriting discount and estimated offering expenses payable by us. We will not receive any proceeds from the sale of shares of Class A common stock by the selling shareholder.
We intend to use the net proceeds to acquire, directly or indirectly through one or more wholly owned subsidiaries, (i)        newly issued LP Units in Holdings LP and (ii)        LP Units from certain existing owners of Holdings LP (and retire the corresponding shares of Class V common stock), in each case at a purchase price per LP Unit equal to the initial offering price per share of Class A common stock in this offering, less the underwriting discount.
In turn, Holdings LP intends to apply the balance of the net proceeds it receives from us (i) to repay $      million of borrowings under the Credit Agreement, (ii) to pay expenses incurred in connection with this offering and the other Organizational Transactions, and (iii) to the extent any proceeds remain, for general corporate purposes.
See “Use of Proceeds” and “Organizational Structure.”
Controlled company
After this offering, assuming an offering size and participation in this offering as set forth in this section, PSP will control approximately     % of the voting power (or    % of the voting power if the underwriters’ option to purchase additional shares of Class A common stock is exercised in full) in us through its ownership of our Class A common stock and Class V common stock. As a result, we expect to be a controlled company within the meaning of the corporate governance standards of Nasdaq. See “Management — Controlled Company Status.”
Dividend policy
We currently intend to retain any future earnings for investment in our business and do not expect to pay any dividends on our        Class A common stock in the foreseeable future. Holders of our Class V common stock are not entitled to participate in any cash
 
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dividends declared by our Board. The declaration and payment of all future dividends, if any, will be at the discretion of our Board and will depend upon our financial condition, earnings, contractual conditions or applicable laws and other factors that our Board may deem relevant. Subject to funds being legally available for distribution, we intend to cause Holdings LP to make distributions to each of its partners, including us, in an amount intended to enable each partner to pay all applicable taxes on taxable income allocable to each partner and to enable us to make payments required under the Tax Receivable Agreement. As discussed under “Dividend Policy,” it is possible that we will receive distributions from Holdings LP significantly in excess of our tax liabilities and obligations to make payments under the Tax Receivable Agreement. While our Board may choose to distribute such cash balances as dividends on our Class A common stock, it will not be required to do so. See “Dividend Policy.”
Exchange rights of holders of the LP Units
Prior to the completion of this offering, we will enter into the Exchange Agreement with the LP Unitholders and Holdings LP pursuant to which holders of LP Units may exchange their LP Units, together with an equal number of shares of Class V common stock, for shares of Class A common stock on a one-for-one basis or, at our election, for cash from a substantially concurrent public offering or private sale (based on the price of our Class A common stock in such public offering or private sale). Any shares of Class V common stock so delivered will be cancelled. See “Organizational Structure — Exchange Agreement.”
Tax Receivable Agreement
Prior to the completion of this offering, we will enter into a Tax Receivable Agreement with the TRA Parties that will require us to pay such persons    % of the amount of cash savings, if any, in U.S. federal, state and local income taxes we actually realize or are deemed to realize in some circumstances (as computed using certain assumptions) as a result of certain tax attributes and benefits covered by the Tax Receivable Agreement. Such tax attributes and benefits will include: (i) certain increases in the tax basis of assets of Holdings LP and its subsidiaries resulting from exchanges (or deemed exchanges in certain circumstances) of LP Units for shares of our Class A common stock or for cash pursuant to the Exchange Agreement and certain distributions (or deemed distributions) by Holdings LP, (ii) certain tax attributes of the current or former holders of equity interests in Holdings LP, and (iii) certain other tax benefits related to our entering into the Tax Receivable Agreement, including tax benefits attributable to payments that we are required to make under the Tax Receivable Agreement. See “Organizational Structure — Tax Receivable Agreement.”
Registration Rights Agreement
We are party to a registration rights agreement (the “Registration Rights Agreement”) with certain LP Unitholders, including PSP. The Registration Rights Agreement provides such LP Unitholders registration rights whereby, following our initial public offering and the expiration of any related lock-up period, such LP Unitholders can require us to register under the Securities Act shares of Class A common stock (including shares issuable to them upon exchange of its LP Units). The Registration Rights Agreement provides for piggyback registration rights for such LP Unitholders. See “Certain
 
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Relationships and Related Party Transactions — Related Party Transactions — Registration Rights Agreement.”
Risk factors
Investing in our Class A common stock involves a high degree of risk. See “Risk Factors” elsewhere in this prospectus for a discussion of factors you should carefully consider before deciding to invest in our Class A common stock.
Symbol for trading on Nasdaq
“SUJA”
Unless otherwise indicated, the number of shares of Class A common stock that will be outstanding after this offering:
•
assumes the effectiveness of the Organizational Transactions;
​
•
assumes an initial public offering price of $      per share, which is the midpoint of the estimated public offering price range set forth on the cover of this prospectus;
​
•
assumes that the underwriters’ option to purchase additional shares of Class A common stock is not exercised;
​
•
excludes the       shares of Class A common stock that may be issuable upon the exchange of        LP Units that will be outstanding immediately after this offering; and
​
•
excludes       shares of Class A common stock reserved for issuance under the Suja Life, Inc. Omnibus Incentive Plan (the “Omnibus Plan”) which number includes          shares of our Class A common stock subject to restricted stock unit awards granted to certain of our employees and directors pursuant to the Omnibus Plan substantially concurrently with the consummation of this offering, based upon the initial public offering price of $        .
​
​
 
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Summary Historical and Unaudited Pro Forma Condensed Consolidated Financial and Other Data
The following tables present, as of the dates and for the periods indicated, (i) the summary historical consolidated financial and other data of Holdings LP and its consolidated subsidiaries and (ii) the summary unaudited pro forma financial data for Suja Life, Inc. and its consolidated subsidiaries, including Holdings LP. Following the completion of this offering, Holdings LP will be considered the predecessor of Suja Life, Inc. for financial reporting purposes. The summary consolidated statement of operations data for fiscal 2025, fiscal 2024 and fiscal 2023, and the summary consolidated balance sheet data as of the end of fiscal 2025 and fiscal 2024 have been derived from the audited consolidated financial statements and notes of Holdings LP and its subsidiaries included elsewhere in this prospectus.
The results of operations for the periods presented below are not necessarily indicative of the results to be expected for the full year or any future period. The information set forth below should be read together with “Use of Proceeds,” “Capitalization,” “Unaudited Pro Forma Condensed Consolidated Financial Data” and “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” and the consolidated financial statements and the accompanying notes included elsewhere in this prospectus.
The summary unaudited pro forma condensed consolidated financial data of Suja Life, Inc. presented below have been derived from our unaudited pro forma condensed consolidated financial statements and notes included elsewhere in this prospectus. The summary unaudited Pro Forma Condensed Financial and other data gives pro forma effect to the Organizational Transactions, this offering, the use of proceeds from this offering and all other items as presented in accordance with Article 11 under Regulation S-X for fiscal 2025 as if all such transactions had occurred on December 31, 2024, with respect to the statement of operations data, and December 29, 2025, with respect to the consolidated balance sheet data. The unaudited pro forma financial data include various estimates that are subject to material change and may not be indicative of what our operations or financial position would have been had this offering and related transactions taken place on the dates indicated, or that may be expected to occur in the future. See “Unaudited Pro Forma Condensed Consolidated Financial Data” for a complete description of the adjustments and assumptions underlying the summary unaudited pro forma condensed consolidated financial data.
The summary historical consolidated financial and other data of Suja Life, Inc. have not been presented, as Suja Life, Inc. is a newly incorporated entity, has had no business transactions or activities to date and had no assets or liabilities during the periods presented in this section.
​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​
Pro Forma
(unaudited)(2)
​
(in thousands, except share, per share and margin
data)
​ ​
Fiscal 2023
​ ​
Fiscal 2024
​ ​
Fiscal 2025
​ ​
Fiscal 2025
​
Consolidated Statement of Operations ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​
Net Sales
​ ​ ​ $ 224,409 ​ ​ ​ ​ $ 258,928 ​ ​ ​ ​ $ 326,624 ​ ​ ​ ​ $ ​ ​ ​
Cost of Sales
​ ​ ​ ​ (124,596) ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ (130,673) ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ (169,411) ​ ​ ​ ​ ​              ​ ​
Gross Profit
​ ​ ​ ​ 99,813 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 128,255 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 157,213 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​
Operating Expenses
​ ​ ​ ​ (108,033) ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ (127,638) ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ (148,687) ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​
Income (loss) from operations
​ ​ ​ ​ (8,220) ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 617 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 8,526 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​
Other income, net
​ ​ ​ ​ 726 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 865 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 43 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​
Interest expense
​ ​ ​ ​ (19,752) ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ (20,301) ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ (30,045) ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​
Loss before taxes
​ ​ ​ ​ (27,246) ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ (18,819) ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ (21,476) ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​
Benefit (provision) for income taxes
​ ​ ​ ​ 2,776 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ (1,947) ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ (1,861) ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​
Net income (loss)
​ ​ ​ ​ (24,470) ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ (20,766) ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ (23,337) ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​
Net income (loss) margin
​ ​ ​ ​ (11)% ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ (8)% ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ (7)% ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​
Net income (loss) attributable to non-controlling
interests
​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​
 
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​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​
Pro Forma
(unaudited)(2)
​
(in thousands, except share, per share and margin
data)
​ ​
Fiscal 2023
​ ​
Fiscal 2024
​ ​
Fiscal 2025
​ ​
Fiscal 2025
​
Net income (loss) attributable to Holdings LP member
​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​
Net income (loss) per common unit attributable to Holdings LP member – basic and diluted
​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​
Per Share Data: ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​
Pro forma net income (loss) per share(1): ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​
Numerator: ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​
Net loss attributable to Suja Life, Inc.’s shareholders (basic and diluted)
​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​
Denominator: ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​
Weighted average of shares of Class A common stock outstanding (basic)
​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​
Incremental shares of Class A common stock attributable to dilutive instruments
​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​
Weighted average of shares of Class A common stock outstanding (diluted)
​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​
Non-GAAP Financial Data: ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​
EBITDA(3) ​ ​ ​ ​ 19,192 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 28,786 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 36,666 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​
EBITDA margin(4)
​ ​ ​ ​ 9% ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 11% ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 11% ​ ​ ​ ​ ​
Adjusted EBITDA(5)
​ ​ ​ ​ 35,016 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 42,218 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 40,507 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​
Adjusted EBITDA margin(6)
​ ​ ​ ​ 16% ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 16% ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 12% ​ ​ ​ ​ ​
​
(1)
See the unaudited pro forma condensed consolidated statement of operations in “Unaudited Pro Forma Condensed Consolidated Financial Data” for a description of the assumptions underlying the pro forma net income (loss) per share calculations.
​
(2)
Pro forma financial information gives effect to the Organizational Transactions and the Offering Transactions as presented in accordance with Article 11 under Regulation S-X. See the section entitled “Basis of Presentation” and the unaudited pro forma combined statements of operations in the section entitled “Unaudited Pro Forma Condensed Consolidated Financial Data” for a description of the adjustments and assumptions underlying the pro forma financial information.
​
(3)
We define EBITDA as net income (loss) as adjusted to exclude tax expense, interest expense, and depreciation and amortization. For a reconciliation of EBITDA to net income (loss), the most directly comparable measure calculated and presented in accordance with GAAP (as defined below), see “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations — Non-GAAP Financial Measures.”
​
(4)
EBITDA margin is a non-GAAP financial measure that represents EBITDA divided by net sales for the applicable period, expressed as a percentage.
​
(5)
We define Adjusted EBITDA as EBITDA further adjusted for non-cash expenses and certain charges specific to transactions and events that we believe do not reflect the operations of the core business. For a reconciliation of Adjusted EBITDA to net income (loss), the most directly comparable measure calculated and presented in accordance with GAAP, see “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations — Non-GAAP Financial Measures.”
​
(6)
Adjusted EBITDA margin is a non-GAAP financial measure that represents Adjusted EBITDA divided by net sales for the applicable period, expressed as a percentage.
​
​
 
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Consolidated Balance Sheet Data
​ ​ ​
At End of
​ ​
Pro Forma
(unaudited)(2)
​
(in thousands, except per share and margin data)
​ ​
Fiscal 2024
​ ​
Fiscal 2025
​ ​
Fiscal 2025
​
Cash
​ ​ ​ $ 16,162 ​ ​ ​ ​ $ 31,015 ​ ​ ​ ​ $        ​ ​
Working Capital(1)
​ ​ ​ ​ 1,654 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 12,287 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​
Total assets
​ ​ ​ ​ 414,211 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 428,113 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​
Long-term debt, net
​ ​ ​ ​ 277,904 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 301,157 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​
Total liabilities
​ ​ ​ ​ 357,001 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 395,543 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​
Total partners’ / shareholders’ equity
​ ​ ​ $ 57,210 ​ ​ ​ ​ $ 32,570 ​ ​ ​ ​ $        ​ ​
​
(1)
We define working capital as current assets less current liabilities.
​
(2)
Pro forma financial information gives effect to the Organizational Transactions and the Offering Transactions as presented in accordance with Article 11 under Regulation S-X. See the section entitled “Basis of Presentation” and the unaudited pro forma combined statements of operations in the section entitled “Unaudited Pro Forma Condensed Consolidated Financial Data” for a description of the adjustments and assumptions underlying the pro forma financial information.
​
​
 
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RISK FACTORS
Investing in our Class A common stock involves a high degree of risk. You should carefully consider the risks and uncertainties described below, together with all of the other information contained in this prospectus, including our consolidated financial statements and the related notes thereto, before making a decision to invest in our Class A common stock. The risks and uncertainties described below are not the only ones we face. Additional risks and uncertainties that we are unaware of, or that we currently believe are not material, may also become important factors that affect us. If any of the following risks occur, our business, financial condition, operating results and prospects could be materially and adversely affected. In that event, the price of our Class A common stock could decline, and you could lose all or part of your investment.
Risks Related to Our Business and Industry
Our future business, financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows may be adversely affected by reduced or limited availability of organic fruits, vegetables and other raw materials and ingredients for our juice products and by an increase in the price of such materials and ingredients.
Our ability to ensure a continuing supply of high-quality organic fruits, vegetables and other raw materials and ingredients for our juice products at competitive prices depends on many factors beyond our control. We rely on open market purchases in the spot market for some of our raw materials, as well as a limited number of regional suppliers that source and acquire certain of our raw materials used in the production of our organic juice products. Our financial performance depends in large part on their ability to arrange for the purchase of raw materials, including fruit, vegetables and other raw materials, in sufficient quantities and at competitive prices.
The fruits and vegetables from which our juice products are sourced, and the harvesting and transportation of them to our manufacturing facilities, are vulnerable to adverse weather conditions and natural disasters, such as floods, droughts, wildfires, earthquakes, hurricanes, typhoons, pestilence and other shortages and disease, as well as political events, laws and regulations regarding farm workers (including with respect to immigration policies and enforcement priorities), water and energy conservation, and other conditions which can adversely impact quantity and quality, leading to reduced yields and quality, which in turn could reduce the available supply of, or increase the price of, our raw materials. Furthermore, our finished products are manufactured in Southern California, an area which has a history of earthquakes, droughts and wildfires, and are thus vulnerable to damage or disruption. In the event that we experience an unforeseen supply shortage, we may be required to secure an alternative supply on short notice at a significant additional cost. We may not be able to, or may choose not to, pass along increases in the cost of raw materials used to manufacture our products to our customers and consumers, which would reduce our gross margins.
We may have general difficulties in obtaining raw materials, particularly organic products, due to our high-quality standards. We currently source our fruits and vegetables from local and regional organic farmers in the United States and Mexico. We currently manufacture our products in Oceanside, California. Thus, the supply of fruits and vegetables may be particularly affected by any adverse events that occur in California. Any disruption in our ability to source fruits and vegetables from local and regional farmers would result in lower sales volumes and increased costs, and may adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows if the necessary supply cannot be replaced in a timely manner and at acceptable prices or at all.
In addition, we also compete with other food and beverage companies in the procurement of fruits, vegetables and other raw materials and ingredients, and this competition may increase in the future if consumer demand increases for these materials or products containing such materials, and if new or existing competitors increasingly offer products in these market sectors. If supplies of fruits, vegetables and other raw materials and ingredients that meet our quality standards are reduced or are in greater demand, this could cause our expenses to increase and we may not be able to obtain sufficient supply to meet our needs on favorable terms, or at all.
Our ability to source fruits, vegetables, and other raw materials may also be affected by any changes among farmers as to what they choose to grow and harvest, changes in global economic conditions or
 
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climate, and our or their ability to forecast or to commit to our raw materials requirements. Many of these farmers also have alternative income opportunities and the relative financial performance of growing certain fruits, vegetables or other raw materials and ingredients as compared to other potentially more profitable opportunities could affect their interest in working with us. Any of these factors could impact our ability to supply our products to customers and consumers and may adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows.
Our brands and reputation may be diminished due to real or perceived quality or food safety issues with our branded or private label products, which could have an adverse effect on our reputation, business, financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows.
We believe our consumers, retailers and distributors rely on us to provide them with high-quality products. Therefore, any real or perceived quality or food safety concerns or failures to comply with applicable food regulations and requirements, including a recall applicable to our products, whether or not ultimately based on fact and whether or not involving us (such as incidents involving our competitors), could cause negative publicity and reduced confidence in our company, brands or products, which could in turn harm our reputation and sales, and could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows. Although we believe we and our farming partners and packaging suppliers have rigorous quality control processes in place, there can be no assurance that our products will always comply with the standards set for our products or that our farming partners and packaging suppliers will comply with our product specifications. For example, although we strive to keep our products free of pathogenic organisms, they may not be easily detected and cross-contamination can occur. Product recalls could result in significant losses due to their associated costs, the destruction of product inventory, lost sales due to the unavailability of the product for a period of time and potential loss of existing distributors, retail customers and shelf space or e-commerce prominence, and a potential negative impact on our ability to attract new customers and consumers, and maintain our current customer and consumer base due to negative consumer experiences or because of an adverse impact on our brands and reputation. The costs of a recall could exceed or be outside the scope of our existing or future insurance policy coverage or limits. While we maintain batch and lot tracking capability to identify potential causes for any discovered problems, there is no guarantee that in the case of a potential recall, we will effectively be able to isolate all product that might be associated with any alleged problem, or that we will be able to quickly and conclusively determine the root cause or narrow the scope of the recall. Our potential inability to effect a recall quickly and effectively, or manage the consumer and retailer communication in a way that mitigates concerns, might create adverse effects on our business and reputation, including large recall and disposal costs and significant loss of net sales. There is no assurance that this health risk will always be preempted by such quality control processes, or that the root cause may occur after the product leaves our control. In addition, fruits, vegetables and organic materials are naturally occurring and may vary in taste by growing area and season. While we attempt to achieve a reasonably consistent taste across all our supply network with each product, there is no guarantee that we will be able to do so, which may result in customer dissatisfaction or complaints about lack of consistency across our product batches.
We have implemented food safety policies and procedures designed to follow industry best practices and work closely with our partners and suppliers in connection with food safety concerns. For example, we conducted a recall in 2019 for a kombucha product packaged by a co-manufacturer after receiving consumer complaints that foreign glass material was found in the product. We were an active participant in the recall and worked alongside the co-manufacturer to implement and complete its corrective action plan, but we cannot guarantee that our efforts will always be effective in preventing and responding to food safety concerns.
Additionally, damage, contamination or quality impairments to our products may occur after our products leave our control. Damage to packaging materials may occur during product transport and storage resulting in product spoilage or contamination, which may be impossible to detect until opened and tasted by the consumer. Because our product safety and quality are highly dependent on maintaining low temperatures throughout the production and distribution process, any disruption of cold chain distribution facilities could significantly impair our ability to meet customer demand. Disruptions to our distribution channels may occur for a variety of reasons, including equipment or refrigeration failure, utility outages, cybersecurity breaches, supply shortages, labor disputes, staffing challenges, pandemics or health emergencies,
 
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transportation delays, or natural disasters such as floods, hurricanes, or extreme temperatures. Any such disruption could cause product spoilage, delays in order fulfillment, reduced product availability, and lost revenue. We may have limited ability to shift production or reroute distribution without impacting our ability to supply product, guarantee freshness and meet customer satisfaction. Further, we have no control over our products once purchased by consumers. Accordingly, consumers may store our products improperly or for long periods of time, or they may open and reseal them, which may adversely affect the quality and safety of our products. While we have procedures in place to handle consumer questions and complaints, our responses may not be satisfactory to consumers, retailers or distributors, which can adversely affect our reputation and could result in retailers or distributors holding our product from sale. If consumers, retailers or distributors do not perceive our products to be safe or of high quality as a result of such actions or events outside our control or if they believe that we did not respond to a complaint in a satisfactory manner, then the value of our brands would be diminished, and our reputation, business, financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows would be materially and adversely affected.
Any loss of confidence on the part of consumers, retailers or distributors in the ingredients used in our products or in the safety and quality of our products would be difficult and costly to overcome. Any such adverse effect could be exacerbated by our position in the market as a purveyor of high-quality products and may significantly reduce our brands’ value and damage relationships with retail and distributor customers. Issues regarding the safety of any of our products, regardless of the cause, may materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows.
Competition in the food and beverage retail industry is strong and presents an ongoing threat to the success of our business.
We operate in a highly competitive market, which includes large multinational companies as well as many smaller entrepreneurial companies seeking to innovate and disrupt the categories in which we compete. As a category, cold-pressed juices, wellness shots and functional soda compete for space and share of the road with a wide range of beverage offerings. In particular, our cold-pressed juices and wellness shots compete with functional refreshment, energy drinks, vitamins, ready-to-drink teas and coffees and other non-organic or health-focused beverages, and many of these products are marketed by companies with substantially greater financial resources than ours. In addition, our Slice brand competes with well-established soda brands and other good-for-you beverages. We also compete with a number of natural, organic and functional food and beverage producers. Our competitors also include traditional juice brands, as well as better-for-you beverage brands. We and these competing brands and products compete for limited retail and foodservice customers and consumers. In our market, competition is based on brand equity, consumer relationships, consumer needs, product experience (including taste, functionality and texture), nutritional profile and dietary attributes, sustainability of the supply chain (including raw materials), quality and type of ingredients, distribution and product availability, retail, foodservice and e-commerce customer relationships, marketing investment and effectiveness, pricing and product packaging.
We continuously compete for retail customers (including grocery stores, supermarkets, health stores and others), foodservice customers (including coffee shops, cafes, restaurants and fast food) and e-commerce (both direct-to-consumer and through third-party platforms) customers. Consumers tend to focus on price as one of the key drivers behind their purchase of food and beverages, and consumers will only pay a premium price for a product that they believe is of premium quality and value. In order for us to not only maintain our market position as a premium quality platform of brands, but also to continue to grow and acquire more consumers, we must continue to provide delicious and high-quality products at acceptable price points.
Conventional food or beverage companies, which are generally multinational corporations with substantially greater resources and operations than us, may acquire our competitors or launch their own products similar to our own or other products that compete with us. Such competitors may be able to use their resources and scale to respond to competitive pressures and changes in consumer preferences by introducing new products, reducing prices or increasing promotional activities, among other things. These large competitors may decide not to compete in cold-pressed juices, wellness shots and functional soda, but rather to use their retail relationships and category insights to reduce retailer excitement for the category, impacting our visibility and shelf space. We invest in category insights and often co-develop new products in
 
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partnership with our private label and retail customers to offset these potential viewpoints and excite retailers and distributors for the future of our categories, but there is no guarantee that our efforts will be successful.
Retailers or other competitors may attempt to market competitive products under their own private labels, which could be sold at lower prices, receive more optimal shelf space in retail settings or be subject to more aggressive promotional efforts, and compete with our products. Further, we cannot guarantee that we will continue to be a private label business partner for retailers that sell products under their own private labels in future years. If the quality of competing private label or branded products were to be compromised, it could affect consumer perceptions of organic juices or good-for-you beverages generally, which could impact our business. Additionally, some of our distribution partners may start to carry competing products, or in some cases, also are brand owners of beverage products that might compete with us. If we fail to adequately differentiate our products from those of our competitors, we may lose market share and pricing power, and fail to attract or retain loyal customers. In addition, the increasing number of competing products and limited shelf space in retail outlets may further limit our ability to establish and maintain a distinctive market position.
Competitive pressures or other factors could cause us to lose market share and lead to reduced space allocated to our products, which may require us to lower prices, increase marketing and advertising expenditures, or increase the use of discounting or promotional campaigns, each of which could adversely affect our margins and could adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows. Many of our current and potential competitors in the natural, organic and functional food, beverage and vitamin industries have longer operating histories, greater brand recognition, better access to distribution capabilities, larger fulfillment infrastructures, greater technical capabilities, significantly greater financial, marketing and other resources and maintain deeper customer relationships with key retailers due to their extensive brand portfolios than we do. These factors may allow our competitors to derive greater net sales and profits from their existing customer base, acquire customers at lower costs or respond more quickly than we can to new or emerging technologies and changes in consumer preferences or habits. These competitors may engage in more extensive research and development efforts, undertake more far-reaching marketing campaigns and adopt more aggressive pricing policies, which may allow them to build larger customer bases or generate net sales from those customer bases more effectively than we can.
We expect competition in the natural, organic and cold-pressed juices, wellness shots, functional soda and good-for-you beverage markets to continue to increase. We believe that our ability to compete successfully in this market depends upon many factors both within and beyond our control. If we fail to compete successfully in this market, our business, financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows could be materially and adversely affected.
We are dependent on distributor and retail customers for a significant portion of our sales, and our failure to maintain or further develop our sales channels could adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows.
We derive a significant portion of our net sales from our network of distributors and retail customers (whether serviced directly or through distributors). Our two largest customers comprised of distributor customers and retail-direct customers of our products, accounted for approximately 29% and 10% respectively, of our net sales for fiscal 2025. We cannot be certain that these customers will not represent a larger percentage of our net sales than they do currently. No other retailer or distributor represented more than 10% of our net sales in fiscal 2025.
A decision by either of our largest retail customer or distributor, or any other major distributor or retail customer, whether motivated by marketing strategy, competitive conditions, financial difficulties or otherwise, to decrease significantly the quantity or breadth of product purchased from us, or to change their manner of doing business with us and their support of our products, could substantially reduce our net sales and adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows. Loss of a retail customer for our branded products could also result in the loss of any private label business we do for such retail customer. In addition, any store closings or changes in retail strategy, such as a retailer’s desire to carry products from different companies, by our retail customers, particularly our largest retail customer, could shrink the number of stores carrying our products, while the remaining stores may purchase a
 
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smaller amount of our products and/or may reduce the retail floor space designated for our products. If any negative change in our relationship with our largest distributor and retail customer occurs, any other disputes with key customers arose, if we were to lose placement and support of any of our key customers or if any of our key customers consolidate and/or gain greater market power, our business, financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows would be materially and adversely affected. In addition, we may be similarly adversely impacted if any of our key customers, particularly our largest distributor and retail customer, experience any operational difficulties or generate less traffic, in which case we cannot guarantee that we will be able to find suitable replacement partners on favorable terms, or at all. We enter into pricing support and promotional arrangements with our distributors to encourage execution and pricing activity on our brands, and in some cases offer invasion fees when product is shipped directly to a specific retailer in their geographic market. There is no guarantee that these arrangements will be effective, or that disputes will not arise as to the sharing of the costs of such activity, which could impact our relationship with the distributors or impose additional costs on us.
We generally do not have long-term contracts or minimum purchase volumes with our retail-direct customers beyond promotional price arrangements, except in cases related to private label supply, and the duration of these relationships and terms are subject to change and adjustment based on the performance of the products and our performance as a supplier of these products. We seek to maintain the relationships with these customers’ private label brands and be their supplier of choice, but we cannot guarantee that we will maintain our share of this business, nor that the economic terms we will negotiate with such customers in the future will be favorable to us. The loss of any part of a key customer’s private label business may negatively impact that customer’s support of our branded products, and could adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows.
Certain of our distributors or retail-direct customers may from time-to-time experience financial difficulties, including bankruptcy or insolvency. If our customers suffer significant financial or operational difficulty, they may reduce their orders from us or stop purchasing from us and/or be unable to pay the amounts due to us timely or at all, which could adversely affect our ability to collect on receivables, our net sales and our results of operations. As of December 29, 2025, no distributor or retail-direct customers accounted for more than 15% of our accounts receivable balance. It is possible that customers may contest their contractual obligations to us, whether under bankruptcy laws or otherwise. Further, we may have to negotiate significant discounts and/or extended financing terms with these customers in such a situation. If we are unable to collect upon our accounts receivable as they come due in an efficient and timely manner, our business, financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows may be materially and adversely affected. In addition, product sales are dependent in part on high-quality merchandising and an appealing retail environment to attract consumers, which requires continuing investments by retailers and ongoing support by distributors. Retailers or distributors that experience financial difficulties may fail to make such investments or delay them, resulting in lower sales and orders for our products. Consolidations among our customers would concentrate our credit risk and, if any of these retailers or distributors were to experience a shortage of liquidity or consumer behavior shifts away from their retail model or their service area, it would increase the risk that their outstanding payables to us may not be paid. In addition, increasing market share concentration among one or a few retailers in a particular region increases the risk that if any one of them substantially reduces their purchases of or support for our products, we may be unable to find a sufficient number of other retail outlets for our products to sustain the same level of sales and net sales whether sold directly to retailers or through distributors.
We are dependent on our local and regional farming partners, and if we fail to maintain our relationship with such third-party partners, or such third parties are unable to fulfill their obligations, our business could be harmed.
We do not farm our fruits, vegetables and other raw materials and ingredients directly. In limited circumstances, we may also utilize co-manufacturers for our juice to satisfy capacity challenges. Our success depends upon our ability to maintain our relationships with existing farmers and our other third-party partners and to enter into new arrangements in the future. We have existing agreements with our local and regional farmers, many of which are terminable under certain conditions, including in some cases without cause. If our local and regional farming partners and other third-party partners deprioritize, become unable to provide or experience delays in providing our products, or if the agreements we have in place are
 
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terminated, our ability to produce a sufficient selection or volume of our products at acceptable prices and on a timely basis could suffer. Additionally, if we do not use capacity that is otherwise available to us, or our suppliers otherwise prefer to transact business with our competitors, our suppliers may choose to supply competitors, which could have an adverse effect on our business. Our ability to maintain effective relationships with our third-party partners for the sourcing of raw materials from local suppliers and to otherwise facilitate the manufacture and production of our products is important to the success of our operations.
If we need to replace an existing farming partner due to bankruptcy or insolvency, lack of adequate supply, failure to comply with our specifications, performance against our contracts and our demands, disagreements or for any other reason, there can be no assurance that we will find an alternative farming partner with access to adequate supplies of raw materials or sufficient capacity when required on acceptable terms or at all, or that a new partner would allocate sufficient capacity to us in order to meet our requirements or fill our orders in a timely manner. Finding new farming or other third-party partners may take a significant amount of time and resources, and once we have identified such new partner, we would have to ensure that they meet our standards for quality control and have the necessary capabilities, responsiveness, high-quality service and financial stability, among other things, as well as satisfactory labor, sustainability and ethical practices that align with our values and mission. We may need to assist that partner in purchasing and installing processing capability, which may further delay and increase the financial costs of including them in our supply network and increase the financial risk of that relationship. If we are unable to manage our supply chain effectively and ensure that our products are available to meet consumer demand, our sales might decrease and our business, financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows may be materially and adversely affected.
We have in the past sought, and from time to time in the future may seek, to amend the terms of our agreements to secure additional capacity or address urgent supply needs, and we cannot guarantee that we will be able to maintain or achieve satisfactory economic terms with our existing partners. In addition, our third-party partners may not have the capacity or the desire to supply us with sufficient materials to keep pace with our growth plans, especially if we need significantly greater amounts of production capacity on short notice. In such cases, our ability to pursue our growth strategy will depend in part upon our ability to develop new supplier relationships and to onboard them in a timely manner to meet our expected demand.
Additionally, a natural disaster, fire, power interruption, work stoppage, labor matters (including labor shortages, illness or absenteeism in workforce and changes in government regulation relating to immigration policy or otherwise) or other calamity at our facilities or the facilities of our farming partners or other third-party partners or any combination thereof would significantly disrupt our ability to deliver our products and operate our business. We may not be able to, or may choose not to, pass along increases in the cost of raw materials used to manufacture our products to our customers and consumers, which would reduce our gross margins. In the future, we expect that these partners may experience plant shutdowns or periods of reduced production because of regulatory issues, equipment failure, loss of certifications, employee-related incidents, delays in raw material deliveries or other similar natural emergencies. Any such disruption or unanticipated event may cause significant interruptions or delays in our business and the reduction or loss of inventory may render us unable to fulfill customer orders in a timely manner, or at all, which could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows.
We are dependent on our limited suppliers for materials used to package our products, the costs of which have in the past been, and may continue to be, volatile and subject to price increases.
In addition to purchasing fruits, vegetables, and other raw materials and ingredients, we negotiate the terms and specifications for the purchase, manufacturing, and production of the bottles and other packaging we use for our cold-pressed juices, wellness shots, and functional sodas to certain packaging suppliers whom we rely on to provide us with quality products in substantial quantities on a timely basis. The majority of our products are produced and packaged with materials sourced from a few suppliers, and our success depends upon our ability to maintain our relationships with existing suppliers and manufacturers. For example, we outsource the bottling and packaging of our Slice beverages to one packaging supplier. Any disruption to their business could result in risks beyond our direct control, such as shipment delays, increased costs, or reduced product availability. As of December 29, 2025, amounts due to AmCor Rigid Plastics USA, Inc. represented 18% of total accounts payable. While we believe that we may be able to establish
 
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alternative supply relationships for some of these materials, we may be unable to do so in the short term, or at all, at prices or quality levels that are acceptable to us, and the loss of AmCor Rigid Plastics USA, Inc. or another vendor or a significant disruption in their operations could have an adverse effect on our operations. Further, any such alternative supplier arrangements may lead to increased costs or delays.
Any disruption in the supply of our plastic bottles could delay our production and hinder our ability to meet our commitments to customers. If we are unable to obtain a sufficient quantity of our packaging on commercially reasonable terms or in a timely manner, or if we are unable to obtain alternative sources or replace an existing packaging supplier due to bankruptcy or insolvency, lack of adequate supply, failure to comply with our product specifications, performance against our contracts and our demands, disagreements or for any other reason, sales of our products could be delayed or we may be required to redesign our products. Unforeseen events affecting our suppliers might also cause us to shift to alternative packaging sources that might make it difficult for us to meet demand for our products. Additionally, there can be no assurance that we will find an alternative packing supplier with sufficient capacity when required or on acceptable terms or at all. Such a shift on short notice could result in lost sales, reduced gross margins or damage to our customer relationships, which would adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows. We have experienced, and may continue to experience, price increases and significant price volatility in the materials used to package our products and other supplies that we purchase. Volatility in the prices of our packaging materials and other supplies that we purchase could increase our cost of sales and negatively impact our results of operations. Moreover, we may not be able to implement price increases for our products to cover any increased costs, and any price increases we do implement may result in lower sales volumes or lost relationships. If we are not successful in managing our packaging costs, or if we are unable to increase our prices to cover increased costs or if such price increases reduce our sales volumes, then such increases in costs may adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows.
Further, changes in business conditions, pandemics, governmental regulations and other factors beyond our control or that we do not presently anticipate could affect our packaging suppliers’ ability to receive components from our existing or future suppliers of such materials or the availability of such components generally. Additionally, a natural disaster, fire, power interruption, work stoppage, labor matters (including labor shortages, illness or absenteeism in workforce and changes in government regulation relating to immigration policy or otherwise) or other calamity at the facilities of our packaging suppliers or any combination thereof would significantly disrupt our ability to deliver our products and operate our business. The unavailability of any components for our suppliers could result in production delays and idle manufacturing facilities which may increase our cost of operations and render us unable to fulfill customer orders in a timely manner.
Failure by our transportation providers to deliver our products on time, or at all, could result in lost sales, and problems with our logistics network and arrangements may increase costs and our or our customers’ ability to deliver our products to market could be adversely affected.
We currently rely upon third-party transportation providers for nearly all of our product shipments. Our utilization of delivery services for shipments or shipments through our own freights is subject to risks, including availability of trucking capacity and increases in fuel prices, which would increase our shipping costs, and employee strikes or work stoppages and inclement weather, which may impact our ability and the ability of providers to provide delivery services that adequately meet our shipping needs. In particular, the popularity and high volume of online shopping following the COVID-19 pandemic has led to an increase in demand for shipping services and supplies, which, together with increases in fuel prices and labor shortages, has resulted, and may in the future result, in increases in our expenses incurred for distributing our products. We periodically change shipping companies, and when such change occurs, we have experienced, and in the future could experience, logistical difficulties that have, and in the future could, adversely affect deliveries. In addition, we have in the past, and could in the future, incur costs and expend resources in connection with such change. Moreover, we may not be able to obtain terms as favorable as those we receive from the third-party transportation providers that we currently use, which in turn would increase our costs and may adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows.
In addition, other unforeseen or catastrophic events could damage the facilities of our warehousing and fulfillment service providers or render them inoperable, or affect the flow of product to and from these
 
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centers, or impact our ability to manage our partners, making it difficult or impossible for us to process customer or consumer orders for an extended period of time. We could also incur significantly higher costs and longer lead times associated with distributing inventory during the time it takes for our third-party providers to reopen, replace or bring the capacity back to normal levels for their warehouses/fulfillment centers and logistics capabilities after a disruption.
The inability to fulfill, or any delays in processing, customer or consumer orders from the warehousing/​fulfillment centers of our providers, or any quality issues, could result in the loss of consumers, retail partners or distributors, or the issuances of penalties, refunds or credits, and may also adversely affect our reputation. The success of our retail or distribution partners depends on their timely receipt of products for sale and any repeated, intermittent or long-term disruption in, or failures of, the operations of the warehouses/​fulfillment centers of our partners could result in lower sales and margins, a loss of loyalty to our products and excess inventory. The insurance we maintain for business interruption does not cover all risk, may not be sufficient to cover all of our potential losses and may not continue to be available to us on acceptable terms, if at all, and any insurance proceeds may not be paid to us in a timely manner. Additionally, we will need to continue to update and expand our systems to manage these warehouse/fulfillment centers and related systems to support our business growth and increasing complexity, particularly upon the completion of our initial public offering, which may require significant amounts of capital and maintenance and creates others risks, including those related to cyber security and system availability.
In addition, volatility in the global oil markets, armed conflicts and related sanctions and bans, changes in global trade policy and other macroeconomic factors have resulted in higher fuel prices in recent years, which companies have passed on to their customers by way of higher base pricing and increased fuel surcharges. Shortages of capacity in shipping have occurred and may continue to occur due to economic, weather and pandemic effects, that have affected the smooth flow of our supply chain and increased transportation costs and decreased reliability. If fuel prices, shipping supply costs or transportation costs continue to increase, we will experience higher shipping rates and fuel surcharges, as well as surcharges on our raw materials and packaging. It is hard to predict if current rates and capacity will continue in the future and what long-term rates could be. Due to the price sensitivity of our products, we may not be able to pass such increases on to our customers. Any of these factors could impact our ability to supply our products to customers and consumers and may adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows.
Supply chain disruptions and cost increases, whether as a result of inflation, tariffs or otherwise, have historically, and could have in the future an adverse effect on our business, financial conditions, results of operations and cash flows.
Over the last several years, we have experienced inflationary cost increases in our cost of sales, including packaging, ingredients, labor and transportation, and in our operating expenses, including increased overhead costs such as electricity and other utilities. In 2020 and 2021, we were also impacted by global supply chain disruptions, which increased lead times and freight costs. While the impact of these cost increases has eased in the past several quarters, and we have taken steps to minimize the potential impact of such increased costs in the future by diversifying our supplier base, working closely with our existing suppliers to ensure a continued supply of high-quality ingredients, and expanding our delivery infrastructure, inflationary and supply chain pressures may increase in the future, which could adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows. Additionally, there can be no assurance that the future imposition of any tariffs currently proposed by the U.S. presidential administration or in effect, changes thereto, or potential actions taken by countries in response to such tariffs will not result in increased costs to us and such tariffs could have a material and adverse effect upon our business, financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows.
In the past, we have experienced impacts on inventory availability and delivery capacity, such as staffing challenges, efficiency delays, raw material pricing increases, and additional costs related to safety measures. Additionally, the popularity and high volume of online shopping has resulted in and may continue to result in an increase in demand for shipping services and supplies, which, together with shortages of capacity in shipping due to economic, weather, and pandemic effects, have affected the smooth flow of our supply chain and increased transportation costs and decreased reliability.
 
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To mitigate these disruptions, we maintain insurance for business interruption. However, such insurance does not cover all risk, may not be sufficient to cover all of our potential losses, and may not continue to be available to us on acceptable terms, if at all, and any insurance proceeds may not be paid to us in a timely manner. Additionally, we have taken steps to minimize the impact of these increased costs by increasing the prices of our products and through our procurement process, through which we enter into supplier agreements with set pricing terms, which is done in tandem with our budgeting process when inflation estimates are thoroughly evaluated. However, we may not be able to implement further price increases for our products to cover any increased costs, and any price increases we do implement may result in lower sales volumes or lost relationships. As such, any such disruption or unanticipated event may cause significant interruptions or delays in our business and the reduction or loss of inventory may render us unable to fulfill customer orders in a timely manner, or at all, which could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows.
Our business is significantly dependent on our ability and the ability of our third-party partners to meet our respective labor needs, and we or they may be subject to work stoppages at facilities, which could negatively impact our results of operations.
The success of our business depends significantly on our ability and the ability of our third-party partners, including farmers and other third-party partners, to attract, hire and retain quality employees, including employees at farms and distribution facilities, many of whom are skilled. We and/or our third-party partners may be unable to meet our respective labor needs and control costs due to external factors such as the availability of a sufficient number of qualified persons in the work force of the markets in which we and/or our third-party partners operate, unemployment levels, demand for certain labor expertise, prevailing wage rates, wage inflation, changing demographics, health and other insurance costs, adoption of new or revised employment and labor laws and regulations (including changes in immigration policy and enforcement priorities), and the impacts of man-made or natural disasters, such as tornadoes, hurricanes, and global pandemics or epidemics. Recently, various legislative movements have sought to increase the federal minimum wage in the United States, as well as the minimum wage in a number of individual states. Should we or our third-party partners fail to increase wages competitively in response to increasing wage rates, the quality of the workforce could decline. Any increase in the cost of labor among our employee population or that of our third-party partners could have an adverse effect on our operating costs, financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows. We and/or our third-party partners face significant competition for qualified and skilled employees. If we are unable to hire and retain skilled employees, our business could be materially and adversely affected. We may incur significant costs to attract and retain skilled employees, and we may lose new employees to competitors before we realize the benefit of our investment in recruiting and training them. In addition, our employees are attractive targets for new and existing competitors. If our employees or the employees of our farming partners, packaging suppliers, warehousing and fulfillment service providers or shipping partners were to engage in a strike, work stoppage or other slowdown in the future, we could experience a significant disruption of our operations, which could interfere with our ability to deliver products on a timely basis and could have other negative effects, such as decreased productivity and increased labor costs. Any interruption in the delivery of our products could reduce demand for our products and could adversely affect us.
Additionally, our success depends on our ability to attract, train and retain a sufficient number of employees who understand and appreciate our culture and can represent our brands effectively and establish credibility with our business partners and consumers. See “— If we cannot maintain our company culture and focus on our mission as we grow, our success and our business and competitive position may be harmed.” If we are unable to hire and retain employees capable of meeting our business needs and expectations, our business and brand image may be impaired.
If we fail to manage our future growth effectively, our business could be materially and adversely affected.
We have expanded our operations rapidly since our inception and anticipate further growth, although there are no guarantees of growth in any year. For example, our net sales have increased to $258.9 million in fiscal 2024 and to $326.6 million in fiscal 2025. If our operations continue to grow at a rapid pace, we may experience difficulties in obtaining sufficient raw materials and manufacturing capacity to produce our
 
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products, as well as delays in production and shipments, as our products are subject to risks associated with changing trends in consumer preferences.
Any growth places significant demands on our management, financial, operational, technological and other resources and on our farming partners and packaging suppliers. The anticipated growth and expansion of our business and our product offerings will place significant demands on our management and operations teams and may require significant additional resources and expertise, which may not be available in a cost-effective or timely manner, or at all. Further, we may be subject to reputational risks should our rapid growth jeopardize our relationships with our retail customers, distributors, consumers or suppliers.
Our net sales growth rates may slow over time due to a number of reasons, including increasing competition, market saturation, slowing demand for our offerings, increasing regulatory costs and challenges, and failure to capitalize on growth opportunities. If we fail to meet increased consumer demand as a result of our growth, our competitors may be able to meet such demand with their own products, which would diminish our growth opportunities and strengthen our competitors. If we plan for demand that does not happen, we may have to donate or destroy surplus inventory and associated ingredients and packaging materials. Further, if we expand production capacity in anticipation of growth which ultimately does not occur, it may create excess capacity and supply in the industry, leading to downward pricing pressure and negative impacts on our business, financial conditions, results of operations and cash flows. If we do not effectively predict and manage our growth, we may not be able to execute on our business plan, respond to competitive pressures, take advantage of market opportunities, satisfy customer requirements or maintain high-quality product offerings, any of which adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows.
We may face difficulties as we expand our operations into countries in which we have no prior operating history.
We may explore expanding our footprint in order to enter into new markets through partnerships with importers and distributors, or direct sales to retailers, among other potential strategies. This may involve expanding into countries for which we do not have current knowledge and expertise and may involve expanding into less developed countries, which may have less political, social or economic stability and less developed infrastructure and legal systems. In addition, it may be difficult for us to understand and accurately predict taste preferences and purchasing habits of consumers in these new geographic markets. Further, our planned go-to-market strategies may not be the optimal approach in certain markets and our choice of partners may not be optimal, which may require us to consider, develop and implement alternative entry and marketing strategies or to pull out of those markets. This could be more costly to implement or use more resources than we anticipated, which could have an adverse effect on our results of operations. It is costly to establish, develop and maintain international operations and develop and promote our brands in international markets.
Additionally, to expand into new countries, we may need to rely on local partners and distributors who may not fully understand our business or our vision. Should we expand our business into new countries, we may encounter regulatory, legal, personnel, technological, consumer preference variations, competitive and other difficulties, including exposure to new foreign exchange risks, that increase our expenses and/or delay our ability to become profitable in such countries, which may adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows.
Our cash flows and results of operations may be negatively affected if we are not successful in forecasting and managing our inventory at appropriate levels for our demand.
Efficient inventory management is a key component of our success. To be successful, we must maintain sufficient inventory levels to meet our customers’ demands without allowing those levels to increase to such an extent that the costs of holding the products unduly impact our financial results or create obsolete inventory.
Our independent distributors and retail-direct customers are not required to place minimum weekly orders for our products beyond meeting a minimum delivery quantity for shipping. While we expect distributors to maintain on average one to two weeks of inventory to support their businesses and to cover
 
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any supply or service issues, there is no guarantee that they will do so. Distributors and retail-direct customers typically order products from us on a weekly basis, or with approximately ten- to fourteen-day lead times, in quantities and at such times based on their expected demand for the products in a particular distribution area. Accordingly, we cannot predict the timing or quantity of purchases by our distributors and direct retail customers or whether any of these customers will continue to purchase products from us with the same frequency and at volumes consistent with their past practice or to maintain historic inventory levels. Additionally, our larger distributors and retail-direct customers may make orders that are larger than we can fill in the requested timeframe, and such orders may roll into another period or be cancelled. For example, certain of our retailers may offer promotions including rebates and temporary price discounts on our products and we do not have control over the timing or frequency of these promotional activities. If we underestimate future demand for a particular product or do not respond quickly enough to replenish our products or do not forecast mix changes, or otherwise fail to adjust to fill customer orders, we may have a shortfall in inventory of such products, likely leading to unfulfilled orders and inventory shortages at our customers. Shortages in distributor inventory levels may result in poor service to retailers and lost retail sales, in turn negatively impacting our sales to distributor customers and harming our relationship with customers. Shortages in inventory levels at our retail-direct customers may result in our products being out of stock on their retail shelves resulting in customer dissatisfaction and reduced net sales and damaging our relationship with our retail-direct customers. Shortages in inventory levels could also result in our inability to fulfill orders placed through our e-commerce business, resulting in customer dissatisfaction and reduced net sales and damage to our reputation and customers’ willingness to use our e-commerce platform.
We have previously decided to discontinue products, such as our Kombucha products, which resulted in us recording a write-down. In the future, we may decide to discontinue a product, and/or any new products we introduce may not gain market acceptance, which may result in returns by customers and excess inventory. In such cases, we may have to record write-downs, which may be significant. In addition, if we do not accurately predict customer trends or spending levels or if we inappropriately price products, we may have to take unanticipated markdowns and discounts to dispose of obsolete, aged or excess inventory or record write-downs relating to the value of obsolete, aged or excess inventory. See “— Consumer preferences for our products are difficult to predict and may change, and, if we are unable to respond quickly to new trends by introducing new products or successfully improving existing products or adopt new technology or marketing practices effectively, our business may be adversely affected.”
It is in the nature of organic juice products and other fresh ingredients to degrade over time, and so our inventory may reach its expiration date and not be sold. Maintaining adequate inventory requires significant attention to and monitoring of market trends, local market demands, performance of our fruits and vegetables, raw material and other ingredient suppliers and performance of our logistics suppliers and distributors, and it is not certain that we will be effective in the collection and monitoring of data to enable efficient inventory management. Although we seek to forecast and plan our product needs sufficiently in advance of anticipated requirements to facilitate scheduling production time, and arrange for the availability and supply of packaging and ingredient materials, any production or delivery delays would reduce our flexibility to react to short term or unexpected consumer demand changes and can require planning as much as three months in advance to coordinate all materials for production. In addition, our inventory could be damaged or destroyed, particularly in the event of any casualty or disruption to our warehouses/fulfillment centers or losses during ocean freight transit or outbound shipping. As we expand our operations, it may be more difficult to effectively manage our inventory as the complexity of our business increases. In any cases where consumers might not have access to our products, our reputation and brands could be harmed, and consumers may be less likely to purchase our products in the future. In any cases where retailers or distributors might not have access to our products, our relationship with these customers could be harmed. If we are not successful in managing our inventory balances, it could adversely affect our business, financial conditions, results of operations and cash flows.
Our products are primarily manufactured and shipped from our production facilities in Oceanside, California, and any damage or disruption at these facilities may harm our business.
A significant portion of our operations are located in our Oceanside manufacturing facilities, including the production of all Suja Organic and Vive Organic branded products. A natural disaster, fire, power interruption, work stoppage, labor matters (including illness or absenteeism in workforce) or other calamity
 
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at any one of our facilities and any combination thereof would significantly disrupt our ability to deliver our products and operate our business. We may also experience plant shutdowns or periods of reduced production because of regulatory issues, equipment failure, employee-related incidents or delays in raw material deliveries. In particular, certain of the equipment used to manufacture our products, such as cold-presses and HPP equipment, could be difficult or costly to replace or repair if damaged. We are aware of only two suppliers of scaled HPP equipment globally, and as a result, we believe there could be long lead times and significant costs to acquire this equipment. Any such disruption or unanticipated event may cause significant interruptions or delays in our business and the reduction or loss of inventory may render us unable to fulfill customer orders in a timely manner, or at all, and may result in lawsuits. We have property and business disruption insurance in place for all of our facilities; however, such insurance coverage may not be sufficient to cover all of our potential losses and may not continue to be available to us on acceptable terms, or at all.
We have in the past and in the future may continue to make efforts to expand our manufacturing facilities. Our manufacturing footprint at our state-of-the-art campus in Oceanside, California is currently approximately 270,000 square feet. Planning the construction and opening of any new facilities in the future may require significant capital expenditures and the efforts and attention of our management and other personnel, which has and will continue to divert resources from our existing business or operations. In addition, in the event of further expansion, we will need to hire and retain more skilled crew members to operate the expanded facilities. Even if our expansions are brought up to full processing capacity, they may not provide us with all of the operational and financial benefits we expect to receive.
Consumer preferences for our products are difficult to predict and may change, and, if we are unable to respond quickly to new trends by introducing new products or successfully improving existing products or adopt new technology or marketing practices effectively, our business may be adversely affected.
We have positioned our brands to capitalize on growing consumer interest in clean label, and great-tasting cold-pressed juices, wellness shots and functional soda, particularly organic juice products, private label products and other cold-pressed juices and wellness shots and good-for-you beverages. The market in which we operate is subject to changes in consumer preference, perception and spending habits. A key element of our growth strategy depends on our ability to develop and market new products, product extensions and improvements to our existing products that meet our standards for quality and appeal to consumer preferences.
Consumer demand for our products and interest in our offerings could change based on a number of possible factors, including changes in dietary habits, refreshment and nutritional habits, concerns regarding the health effects of ingredients, the usage of single use packaging, the impact of our supply chain on our sourcing communities, shifts in preference for various product attributes or consumer confidence and perceived value for our products relative to alternatives. Consumer trends that we believe favor sales of our products could change based on a number of possible factors. While we continually strive to improve our products through thoughtful, innovative research and development approaches to meet consumer needs, there can be no assurance that our efforts will be successful. If consumer demand for our products decreased, including due to a failure to introduce new products or successfully improve existing products, our business, financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows may be materially and adversely affected.
In addition, our new products may not receive consumer acceptance as consumer preferences could shift rapidly to different tastes and our future success depends in part on our ability to anticipate and respond to these changes. The success of our innovation and product development efforts is affected by the technical capability of our innovation staff in developing and testing product prototypes to meet these consumer needs while complying with applicable governmental regulations, the ability to obtain trademarks, patents and other intellectual property rights and protections for commercializing such innovations and developments, the ability of our supply chain and production systems to provide adequate solutions and capacity for new products, and the success of our management and sales and marketing teams in designing, branding and packaging and introducing and marketing new products. Competitors might also capitalize on changes in consumer preferences more efficiently than us and cause us to lose customers. A significant shift in consumer demand away from our products could reduce our sales or our market share and the reputation of our brands, which could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows.
 
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Additionally, the development and introduction of new products requires research, development and marketing expenditures, which we may be unable to recoup if the new products do not gain widespread market acceptance. Our competitors also may create, launch or obtain similar formulations first that may hinder our ability to successfully develop new products or enter new categories, which could adversely affect our growth. If we experience difficulty in partnering with farmers to supply raw materials for our products, it may affect our ability to develop and launch new products, enter new product categories and scale up supply if successful. Further, if we fail to ensure the supply and quality of raw materials, we may experience uneven product quality, which could negatively impact consumer acceptance of new products and negatively impact our sales and brand reputation. If we are unsuccessful in meeting our objectives with respect to new or improved products, our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flow may be materially and adversely affected.
An overall decline in the health of the economy and other factors impacting consumer spending, such as recessionary conditions and governmental instability, may affect consumer purchases, which could reduce demand for our products and harm our business, financial conditions, and results of operations.
Our business depends on consumer demand for our products and, consequently, is sensitive to a number of factors that influence consumer confidence and spending, such as geopolitical uncertainty, general economic conditions, consumer disposable income, recession and fears of recession, unemployment, minimum wages, inflation, consumer confidence in future economic conditions and political conditions, changes in tax, trade, immigration or other policies and consumer perceptions of personal wellbeing and security.
Consumer preferences tend to shift to lower-cost alternatives during recessionary periods and other periods in which disposable income is adversely affected, which could lead to a decline in consumer demand for our products, and thus result in lower net sales. Functional and other specialty beverages in particular may be more susceptible to discretionary consumer spending levels. Our financial performance is also subject to global economic conditions and their impact on levels of discretionary consumer spending, among other macroeconomic factors. Such a recessionary shift and the accompanying changes in consumer behavior could have a material and adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows.
Sales of our cold-pressed juices and wellness shots products constitute a significant portion of our net sales, and a reduction in demand for and sales of our cold-pressed juices and wellness shots products or a decrease in consumer demand for such products generally would have a material and adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows.
Our cold-pressed juices and wellness shots products accounted for approximately 97% of our net sales and 96% of our shipments in fiscal 2025. We believe that sales of our cold-pressed juices and wellness shots will continue to constitute a significant portion of our net sales, income and cash flow for the foreseeable future. Any material negative change to consumer demand for our products or organic juice generally or to our cold-pressed juice products in particular could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows. We also rely upon a few large customers (whether serviced directly or through distributors) in certain markets due to the concentration that exists in retail ownership in our key markets. Accordingly, any factor adversely affecting our relationships with major retailers, such as Whole Foods, Kroger, Albertsons, CVS and Amazon Fresh, could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows.
If we fail to develop and maintain our brands and company image, our business could suffer.
We believe we have developed our brands into strong and trusted brands, which has contributed significantly to the success of our business. We believe our continued success depends on our ability to maintain and grow the value of our brands: Suja Organic, Vive Organic, and Slice. Maintaining, promoting and positioning our brands and reputation will depend on, among other factors, the success of our product offerings, food safety, quality assurance, marketing and merchandizing efforts, the reliability and reputation of our supply chain, our ability to grow and capture share of the NHB market and cold-pressed juices, wellness shots and functional soda categories, our ability to compete successfully with other products
 
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and companies, and our ability to provide a consistent, high-quality consumer experience. Any negative publicity associated with any of our brands or products, regardless of its accuracy, could materially and adversely affect our business. For example, as part of our brands’ licensing strategy, we enter into licensing agreements under which we grant our licensing partners certain rights to use our trademarks and other designs. Although our agreements require that the use of our trademarks and designs is subject to our control and approval, any breach of these provisions, or any other action by any of our licensing partners that is harmful to our brands, goodwill and overall image, could adversely affect our business.
Our success, and our ability to increase net sales and operate successfully, depends in part on our ability to cost-effectively acquire new consumers, retain existing consumers and keep existing consumers engaged so that they continue to purchase our products. While we intend to continue to invest significantly in sales and marketing to educate consumers about our brands, our values and our products, there is no assurance that these efforts will generate further demand for our products or expand our consumer base. Our ability to attract new consumers and retain our existing consumers will depend on the perceived value and quality of our products, consumers’ desire to purchase organic plant-based products at a premium, offerings of our competitors, our ability to offer new and relevant products and the effectiveness of our marketing efforts, and customers’ perception of or experience with our other brands or offerings, among other items.
The growing use of social and digital media by us, our consumers and third parties increases both the speed and reach with which information or misinformation and opinions can be shared. Negative publicity about us, our brands or our products on social or digital media could seriously damage our brands and reputation. For example, consumer perception could be influenced by negative media attention regarding any consumer complaints about our products, our management team, ownership structure, employment practices, sourcing practices and supply chain partners, our brands and products or our ability to execute our mission and values, such as advertising campaigns or media allegations that challenge the nutritional content or sustainability of our products and our supply chain, or that challenge our marketing efforts regarding the quality of our products. Additionally, any negative publicity regarding the plant-based food industry as a whole or regarding any of our competitors could have an adverse effect on our business, brands and reputation. Similar factors or events could impact the success of any brands or products we introduce in the future.
Our company image and brands are very important to our vision and growth strategies, particularly our focus on environmental sustainability and operating consistently with our mission and values. We will need to continue to invest in actions that support our mission and values and adjust our offerings to appeal to a broader audience in the future in order to sustain our business and to achieve growth, and there can be no assurance that we will be able to do so. If we do not maintain the favorable perception of our company and our brands, our sales and results of operations could be materially and adversely impacted. Our brands and our company image are based on subjective perceptions, and any incident that erodes the loyalty of our consumers, customers, suppliers or manufacturers, including adverse publicity or a governmental investigation or litigation, could significantly reduce the value of our brands and significantly damage our business, which would adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows.
We must expend resources to maintain consumer awareness of our brands, build brand loyalty and generate interest in our products from existing and new consumers. Our marketing strategies and channels will evolve and our programs may or may not be successful.
To remain competitive, acquire and keep customers and consumers and to expand and keep shelf placement for our products, we may need to increase our marketing and advertising spending and our sales team capabilities to maintain and increase consumer awareness, protect and grow our existing market share or promote new products. Further sales force investments and advertising and promotional expenditures may be required to maintain or improve our brands’ market position or to introduce new products to the market. Participants in our industry are increasingly engaging in consumer outreach through social media and web-based channels and direct-to-consumer delivery, which may prove successful in competing with incumbent brands and require us to increase investment and add capability to respond. For example, we have invested and are continuing to invest resources in growing consumer awareness of the Slice brand in connection with its recent launch. There is no guarantee that our efforts will be successful, including those related to
 
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the Slice brand, and any increase in our sales, marketing and advertising efforts, including through social media or otherwise, may not maintain our current reputation, or lead to increased brand awareness and sales, and may have unanticipated negative impacts on our brands. In addition, we consistently evaluate our product lines to determine whether to discontinue certain products. Discontinuing product lines may increase our results of operations over the long-term, but could reduce our sales short term and hurt our company image and brands, and a reduction in sales of certain products could cause a reduction in sales of other products. The discontinuation of product lines may have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows.
Additionally, we seek to engage with our customers and build awareness of our brands through sponsoring unique events and experiences. If our marketing efforts and messaging are not appropriately tailored to and accepted by our target customers, we may fail to attract customers, and our brand and reputation may be harmed. In addition, our marketing initiatives may become increasingly expensive as competition increases, and generating a meaningful return on those initiatives may be difficult. Our future growth and results of operations and the success of our brands will depend in part upon the effectiveness and efficiency of these marketing efforts.
Our business depends on our ability to maintain a strong community of engaged customers, consumers and ambassadors, including by social media. We may not be able to maintain and enhance our brands if we experience negative publicity, fail to maintain and grow our network of ambassadors or otherwise fail to meet our customers’ or consumers’ expectations.
We currently partner with brand ambassadors who promote and market our products, participate in product launches, engage with our consumer community and educate them about Suja Life products. Our ability to maintain relationships with our existing ambassadors and to identify new ambassadors is critical to expanding and maintaining our customer and consumer base. As our market becomes increasingly competitive, recruiting and retaining new ambassadors (and retaining existing ambassadors) may become increasingly difficult. If we are not able to develop and maintain strong relationships with our ambassador network, our ability to promote and maintain awareness of our brands may be adversely affected. Further, if we incur excessive expenses in this effort, our business, financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows may be adversely affected.
We and our ambassadors often use third-party social media platforms to raise awareness of our brands and engage with the health foods and wellness communities. In recent years, there has been a marked increase in the use of social media platforms, including blogs, chat platforms, social media websites, and other forms of internet-based communications that allow individuals to interact with our products, which acts as a means to enhance brand awareness. As existing social media platforms evolve and new platforms develop, we and our ambassadors must continue to maintain a presence on these platforms and establish presences on emerging popular social media platforms. If we are unable to cost-effectively develop and continuously improve our consumer-facing technologies, such as social media platforms, our ability to acquire new customers and consumers may suffer and we may not be able to provide a convenient and consistent experience to our consumers regardless of the sales channel. This could negatively affect our ability to compete with other companies and result in diminished loyalty to our brands.
The use of social media by our brand ambassadors, our consumers and us has increased the risk that our image and reputation could be negatively impacted. In particular, the reputation of our brand ambassadors could impact how consumers view our products or brands. The rising popularity of social media and other consumer-oriented technologies has increased the speed and accessibility of information dissemination and given users the ability to organize collective actions such as boycotts and other brand-damaging behaviors more effectively. The dissemination of information via social media could adversely affect our brands or our business, regardless of the information’s accuracy. This could include negative publicity related to our products or negative publicity related to actions taken (or not taken) by us or our executives, team members, employees, brand ambassadors, contractors, collaborators, vendors, consultants, advisors or other individuals or entities that may be perceived as being associated with us. Such negative publicity may relate to actions taken (or not taken) with respect to social, environmental, and community outreach issues and initiatives. Due to the inherent nature of social media and the manner and speed with which such messages are spread, we may not be aware of or able to have such messages removed before they have done
 
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significant harm to our business, or at all. The harm may be immediate, without affording us an opportunity for redress or correction and could have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows. In addition, an increase in the use of social media for product promotion and marketing may increase the burden on us to monitor compliance of such materials, and increase the risk that such materials could contain problematic product or marketing claims in violation of applicable regulations. For example, in some cases, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) has sought enforcement action where an endorsement has failed to clearly and conspicuously disclose a financial relationship or material connection between an influencer and an advertiser.
We also do not prescribe what our ambassadors post, and our ambassadors could engage in behavior or use their platforms in a manner that reflects poorly on our brands or is in violation of applicable regulations or platform terms of service, and all these actions may be attributed to us. In addition, customer complaints or negative publicity related to our website, mobile app, products, product delivery times, customer data handling, marketing efforts, security practices or customer support, especially on blogs and social media websites, could diminish customer loyalty and community engagement. Our inability or failure to recognize, respond to, and effectively manage the accelerated and potentially negative impact of social media could adversely impact our business.
Further, laws and regulations, including associated enforcement priorities, rapidly evolve to govern social media platforms and other internet-based communications, and any failure by us, our ambassadors or other third parties acting at our direction or on our behalf to abide by applicable laws and regulations in the use of these platforms could subject us to regulatory investigations, class action lawsuits, liability, fines or other penalties. Other risks associated with the use of social media and internet-based communication include improper disclosure of proprietary information, negative comments about our brands or products, exposure of personally identifiable information, fraud, hoaxes, or malicious dissemination of false information. Damage to the brand image and our reputation could have an adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition, and cash flows.
If our independent suppliers, local and regional farmers and packaging suppliers from which we source our raw materials do not comply with ethical business practices or with applicable laws and regulations, our reputation, business, and results of operations may be harmed.
Our reputation and our consumers’ willingness to purchase our products depend in part on the compliance of our suppliers, manufacturers, distributors, and retail partners with ethical employment practices, such as with respect to child and animal labor, wages and benefits, forced labor, discrimination, safe and healthy working conditions, and with all legal and regulatory requirements relating to the conduct of their businesses. We do not exercise control over our independent suppliers, manufacturers, distributors and retail partners, nor over the suppliers of our raw materials, and we cannot guarantee their compliance with ethical and lawful business practices. If our suppliers, manufacturers, distributors, retail partners or raw material suppliers fail to comply with applicable laws, regulations, safety codes, employment practices, human rights standards, quality standards, environmental standards, production practices or other obligations, norms or ethical standards, our reputation and brand image could be harmed, our customers may choose to terminate their relationships with us and we could be exposed to litigation and additional costs that would harm our business, reputation and results of operations.
In the event of actual or alleged non-compliance, we might be forced to find an alternative supplier or manufacturer and we may be subject to lawsuits related to such non-compliance by our suppliers and manufacturers and other negative publicity. As a result, our supply of raw materials or finished inventory could be disrupted or our costs could increase, which would adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows. The failure of any co-manufacturer to produce products that conform to our standards could adversely affect our reputation in the marketplace and result in product recalls, product liability claims, economic loss and reputational damage.
We are subject to risks related to sustainability and corporate social responsibility.
Our business faces increasing public scrutiny relating to environmental, social, and governance issues. If we fail to meet applicable standards or expectations with respect to these issues, including the expectations we establish for our own business, our reputation and brand image could be damaged, and our business,
 
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financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows could be adversely impacted. For example, consumers may perceive our use of single-use plastics to be inconsistent with our brand image, resulting in negative perception of our brands. In addition, from time to time, we may announce certain initiatives, goals or other statements regarding our focus areas. We could fail, or be perceived to fail, in our achievement of such initiatives or goals, or to conduct our business consistent with such statements, or we could fail in accurately reporting our progress on such initiatives and goals. Such failures could be due to changes in our business (e.g., shifts in business among distribution channels).
Further, if we are unable to meet our sustainability, environmental, social and governance goals, this could adversely affect our reputation and brand and negatively impact our relationship with our employees, customers and consumers. There is no guarantee that our pace of progress on our environmental, social and governance initiatives will meet all parties’ expectations, which in turn could result in harm to our reputation and negatively impact our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flow.
Increasingly, different stakeholder groups have divergent views on sustainability and similar goals, which increases the risk that any action or lack thereof with respect to these matters will be perceived negatively by at least some stakeholders and adversely impact our reputation and business. We also face risks related to business trends that may be influenced by climate change concerns.
In addition, this emphasis on environmental, social and other sustainability matters has resulted and may result in the adoption of new laws and regulations, including new reporting requirements. If we fail to comply with new laws, regulations or reporting requirements, our reputation and business could be adversely affected.
We rely on independent certification for our products.
We rely on various independent third-party certifications, such as certifications of our products as “organic,” to differentiate our products and company from others. We must comply with the requirements of independent organizations or certification authorities in order to label our products as certified organic. For example, we can lose our “organic” certification if we fail to source certified organic raw materials from local raw material suppliers. In addition, all raw materials must be certified organic. The loss of any independent certifications could adversely affect our market position as an organic and natural products company, which could materially and adversely affect our business.
Failure to retain our senior management and key personnel may adversely affect our operations or our ability to grow successfully.
Our success is substantially dependent on the continued service of certain members of our senior management and other key employees. These employees have been primarily responsible for determining the strategic direction of our business and for executing our growth strategy and are integral to our brands, culture and the reputation we enjoy with suppliers, farmers, distributors, customers and consumers. In particular, we are dependent on Maria Stipp, our chief executive officer, Jeff Pedersen, our chief financial officer, and Mike Box, our chief operating officer, for leadership, culture, strategy, key customer and supplier relationships and other skills and capabilities. The loss of the services of Ms. Stipp or Messrs. Pedersen or Box, or any of our key personnel, could adversely affect our business and prospects, as we may not be able to find suitable individuals to replace them on a timely basis, if at all. In addition, any such departure could be viewed in a negative light by investors and analysts, which may cause the price of our common stock to decline. We do not currently carry key-person life insurance for our chief executive officer or any senior executive.
If we cannot maintain our company culture and focus on our mission as we grow, our success and our business and competitive position may be harmed.
We believe our culture and our mission have been key contributors to our success to date. We have invested substantial time and resources in building our culture, which we believe distinguishes us from our competitors and promotes a relationship among our customers, partners, and employees founded on trust. Any failure to preserve our culture or focus on our mission could negatively affect our ability to retain and recruit personnel, which is critical to our growth, and to effectively focus on and pursue our corporate
 
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objectives. As we grow, and particularly as we integrate acquisitions and develop the infrastructure of a public company, we may find it difficult to maintain these important values.
Our culture and values are reinforced by the leadership and behaviors of our chief executive officer, and executive team, and any failure of these individuals to meet these expectations could cause reputational risk and damage to the company culture and values in the eyes of employees, customers and suppliers. If we fail to maintain our company culture and focus on our purpose, our business and competitive position when attracting employees may be harmed, and we may face reputational risk both at the company level and at the brand level, which might impact our distributors’, retailers’ and suppliers’ willingness to work with us and support our business.
As we continue to grow, geographically expanding our presence outside of our headquarters in Oceanside, California, and developing the infrastructure associated with being a public company, we face a number of challenges that may affect our ability to sustain our corporate culture and shared values, including:
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a need to identify, attract, reward, and retain people in key leadership positions in our organization who share and further our culture, values, mission, and public benefit objective;
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the increasing size and geographic diversity of our workforce, which may limit our ability to promote a uniform and consistent culture and set of shared values across all of our offices and employees;
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the wider array of alternative working arrangements we now permit or may in the future permit, including part-time or flexible roles, fully remote roles, or “hybrid” roles (where a mix of in-person and remote work is permitted);
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the costs of our employee health and wellbeing initiatives, which help maintain our corporate culture and live up to our values, but which may be more expensive than those of our competitors;
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competitive pressures that may divert us from our mission, vision, and values, and may cause us to take actions that are contrary to, or that our workforce views as contrary to, our culture or values;
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our rapidly evolving industry; and
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the increasing need to develop expertise in new areas of business that affect us.
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Any failure to preserve our corporate culture or any failure to live up to our values as a company, particularly those related to environmental conservation and sustainability, could negatively affect our brands and reputation, harm our business, and limit our future success, including our ability to retain and recruit personnel and to effectively focus on and pursue our corporate objectives.
Members of our management team have limited experience in operating a public company, and regulatory compliance may divert their attention from the day-to-day management of our business.
With the exception of our chief financial officer, Jeff Pedersen, our management team has very limited experience managing a publicly traded company, and limited experience complying with the increasingly complex laws and regulations pertaining to public companies. Our management team, even with Mr. Pedersen’s leadership, may not successfully or efficiently manage our transition to being a public company that will be subject to significant regulatory oversight and reporting obligations under the federal securities laws. In particular, these new obligations will require substantial attention from our senior management and could divert their attention away from the day-to-day management of our business, which would adversely impact our business operations. We may not have adequate personnel with the appropriate level of knowledge, experience, and training in the accounting policies, practices or internal controls over financial reporting required of public companies in the United States. The development and implementation of the standards and controls necessary for us to achieve the level of accounting standards required of a public company in the United States and to meet the other regulatory compliance needs of a public company may require costs greater than expected. It is possible that we will be required to expand our employee base and hire additional employees to support our operations as a public company, which will increase our operating costs in future periods.
 
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We may not be able to protect our intellectual property or trade secrets adequately, which may harm the value of our brands, and we may be subject to claims by third parties that we are violating their intellectual property rights, which could be difficult, time-consuming and expensive to defend.
We believe that our intellectual property has substantial value and has contributed significantly to the success of our business. As of December 29, 2025, we had 23 registered trademarks and 2 pending trademark applications in the United States, and 23 registered trademarks and 1 pending trademark application in other countries. Our trademarks are valuable assets that reinforce our brands and differentiate our products. We cannot assure you that we will be able to register and/or maintain, defend or enforce our trademarks in all jurisdictions in which we may do business, as the registrability of trademarks and the scope of trademark protection varies from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. In addition, third parties may adopt trade names or trademarks that are the same as or similar to ours, especially in jurisdictions in which we have not yet obtained trademark protection, thereby impeding our ability to build brand identity and possibly leading to market confusion. In addition, our trademark applications may be opposed by third parties, our trademarks may otherwise be challenged, invalidated, declared generic, circumvented, rendered unenforceable, infringed or otherwise violated and/or the scope of any of our trademark registrations could be narrowed as a result of a challenge, or even cancelled entirely. Failure to protect our trademark rights could prevent us in the future from challenging third parties who use names and logos similar to our trademarks, which may in turn cause consumer confusion, negatively affect our brands’ recognition, or negatively affect consumers’ perception of our brands and products. Over the long term, if we are unable to successfully register our trademarks and trade names and establish name recognition based on our trademarks and trade names, we may not be able to compete effectively and our business may be adversely affected. In order to resolve certain trademark disputes, we have entered into coexistence or settlement agreements that permit other parties certain uses of marks similar to ours for certain categories and countries, and restrict the use of our marks in certain categories and countries. There is no guarantee that these coexistence or settlement agreements will foreclose future trademark disputes.
In addition, the laws of some foreign countries do not protect intellectual property rights to the same level of protection as the laws of the United States, and we may encounter difficulties in obtaining, maintaining, protecting, defending and enforcing such rights in foreign jurisdictions. Moreover, any changes in, or unexpected interpretations of, intellectual property laws in any jurisdiction may compromise our ability to obtain, maintain, protect, defend or enforce our intellectual property rights.
We also rely on proprietary expertise, recipes and formulations and other trade secrets and copyright protection to develop and maintain our competitive position. We may not be able to prevent the unauthorized disclosure or use of our trade secrets or confidential information, despite the existence of confidentiality agreements and other measures we take to protect such information. Obtaining patent protection, if available for any of such proprietary intellectual property, can be time consuming and expensive, and we cannot guarantee that our patent applications would be granted, or if granted, that they would be of sufficient scope to provide meaningful protection. Accordingly, we have in the past decided, and may in future decide, to protect our intellectual property rights in our technologies by maintaining them as trade secrets. If any of our trade secrets or other confidential information were to be disclosed to or independently developed by a competitor, it could have a material and adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows.
Our confidentiality agreements with our employees and certain of our consultants, contract employees, suppliers and independent contractors, including some of our manufacturers who use our formulations to manufacture our products, generally require that all information made known to them, including our trade secrets, know-how and other proprietary information, be kept strictly confidential. Nevertheless, such information (including trade secrets, know-how and other proprietary information) is difficult to protect. Any of these parties may breach their agreements with us and disclose information improperly. Although we attempt to protect our trade secrets, our confidentiality agreements may not effectively prevent disclosure of our proprietary, confidential or trade secret information and may not provide an adequate remedy in the event of unauthorized disclosure of such information. In addition, others may independently develop similar recipes or formulations to those that we have maintained as trade secrets, in which case we would not be able to assert trade secret rights against such parties. As a result, we may not be able to prevent others from developing or using similar formulations.
 
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Enforcing a claim that a party illegally disclosed or misappropriated a trade secret or know-how is difficult, expensive, and time-consuming, and the outcome is unpredictable. In addition, some courts inside and outside the United States are less willing or unwilling to protect trade secrets and know-how. We cannot assure you that the steps we have taken to protect our intellectual property rights are adequate, that our intellectual property rights can be successfully defended and asserted in the future or that third parties will not infringe upon, misappropriate or otherwise violate (or have not infringed upon, misappropriated or otherwise violated) any such rights. We may be required to spend significant resources in order to monitor and protect our intellectual property rights, which may not always be effective and could divert other resources from our business. Litigation may be necessary in the future to enforce our intellectual property rights and to protect our trademarks and trade secrets. We cannot assure you that we will have adequate resources to enforce our intellectual property rights, as such litigation can be costly, time-consuming and distracting to management. Any such litigation could result in the impairment or loss of portions of our intellectual property, as our efforts to enforce our intellectual property rights may be met with defenses, counterclaims and countersuits attacking the ownership, scope, validity or enforceability of our intellectual property rights. If such defenses, counterclaims or countersuits are successful, we could lose valuable intellectual property and proprietary rights. Accordingly, despite our efforts, we may not be able to prevent third parties from infringing, misappropriating or otherwise violating our intellectual property and proprietary rights. Additionally, because of the substantial amount of discovery required in connection with intellectual property litigation, there is a risk that some of our confidential information could be compromised by disclosure during this type of litigation.
We also face the risk of claims that we have infringed third parties’ intellectual property rights. If a third party asserts a claim that we or our offerings infringe, misappropriated or otherwise violated their rights, the litigation could be expensive and could divert management attention and resources away from our core business operations. Any claims of trademark or other intellectual property infringement, even those without merit, could:
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be expensive and time consuming to defend;
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cause us to cease making, having made, selling, offering for sale, importing, licensing or using products that incorporate the asserted intellectual property, which in turn could adversely affect our relationships with customers and distributors and might result in damages;
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require us to redesign, reengineer, or rebrand our products or packaging, if feasible and might result in large inventory write-offs of unsaleable or unusable materials;
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divert management’s attention and resources; or
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require us to enter into royalty or licensing agreements in order to obtain the right to use a third party’s intellectual property which might affect our margins and ability to compete.
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A successful claim of infringement, misappropriation, or other violation against us could result in our being required to pay significant damages, enter into costly license or royalty agreements, or stop the sale of certain products or conduct of certain activity. Any of the foregoing events could have a material and adverse effect on our operating profits, our customer relations and harm our future prospects.
In addition, the introduction of artificial intelligence (“AI”) technologies into our business activities could expose our business to intellectual property risks. The intellectual property ownership and license rights, including copyright, surrounding AI technologies has not been fully addressed by laws or regulations, and the use or adoption of third-party AI technologies into our business operations, products and services may result in exposure to claims of copyright infringement or other intellectual property misappropriations, as well as potential liability to customers.
We may be subject to claims that we or our employees have misappropriated the intellectual property of a third party, including trade secrets or know-how, or are in breach of non-competition or non-solicitation agreements with our competitors.
We may be subject to claims that our employees, consultants, or independent contractors have wrongfully used or disclosed sensitive, proprietary, or confidential information of third parties. Many of our employees, consultants and contractors were previously employed at or engaged by similar companies,
 
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including our competitors or potential competitors. Some of these employees, consultants and contractors may have executed proprietary rights, non-disclosure and non-competition agreements in connection with such previous employment. Although we try to ensure that our employees and consultants do not use the intellectual property, confidential, sensitive or, proprietary information, know-how or trade secrets of others in their work for us, we may be subject to claims that we or these individuals have, inadvertently or otherwise, misappropriated the intellectual property or disclosed the alleged trade secrets or other proprietary information of these former employers or competitors or other third parties, including claims in connection with the use of AI. To the extent that our employees, consultants or contractors use intellectual property or confidential, sensitive or proprietary information owned by others in their work for us, disputes may arise as to the rights in related or resulting know-how and inventions or other rights. Litigation may be necessary to defend against these claims. There is no guarantee of success in defending these claims, and even if we are successful, litigation could result in substantial cost and be a distraction to our management and other employees. In addition, there could be public announcements of the results of hearings, motions or other interim proceedings or developments, and if securities analysts or investors perceive these results to be negative, it could have a material and adverse effect on our business.
Climate change, or legal or market measures to address climate change, may negatively affect our business and operations.
Increasing concentrations of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases in the atmosphere will continue to have an adverse impact on global temperatures, weather patterns and the frequency and severity of extreme weather such as droughts, wildfires and natural disasters. The predicted effects of climate change may result in decreased availability or less favorable pricing for our organic fruits and vegetables and other raw materials that are necessary for our current or any future products. Such climate changes may also require us to find farmers in other geographic areas if the location for best production of certain fruits or vegetables changes, which will require changes to our supply network and investing time and resources with new suppliers, thereby potentially increasing the costs of our raw materials and our costs of production. In addition, there is no guarantee that we would be able to maintain the quality and taste of our products if we transitioned to sourcing organic fruits and vegetables from other geographic areas. Water is used throughout the production of our raw materials, and scarcity of water sources in our supply chain could also constrain our supply and increase costs.
Additionally, the increasing concern over climate change, as well as initiatives by advocacy groups, may also result in more federal, state, local and foreign legal requirements to reduce or mitigate the effects of greenhouse gases. If such laws are enacted, we and our suppliers may experience significant increases in our costs of operations, compliance and delivery which in turn may negatively affect our business, financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows.
Changes in U.S. trade policy, including the impact of tariffs, are having and may continue to have a material and adverse effect on our business and results of operations.
Our business and results of operations are being and may continue to be adversely affected by uncertainty and changes in U.S. trade policies, including tariffs, trade agreements or other trade restrictions which may be imposed by the U.S. or other governments with little or no advance notice. For example, the U.S. government recently imposed tariffs on various product imports from almost all countries, including Mexico. Some tariff announcements have been followed by the granting of limited exemptions and temporary pauses causing substantial uncertainty and volatility in financial markets.
Some of our products require raw materials or supplies that may be subject to these recent tariffs. Any imposition of or increase in tariffs on components needed to manufacture our products, such as aluminum to bottle our Slice beverages, as well as corresponding price increases for such materials available domestically, could increase our and our packaging suppliers’ costs. To the extent that we are unsuccessful in finding alternative suppliers that are subject to smaller or no tariffs, negotiating sharing these costs with our suppliers, or failing to pass cost increases on to our customers, such cost increases could adversely affect our business and results of operations. Higher costs could also inhibit our ability to develop new products and innovations.
If we are unable to navigate further these unpredictable changes in U.S. or international trade policy, it could have a material and adverse impact on our business and results of operations.
 
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Tariffs or other trade restrictions may lead to continuing uncertainty and volatility in U.S. and global financial and economic conditions and commodity markets, declining consumer confidence, significant inflation and diminished expectations for the economy, and ultimately may reduce demand for our products. Such conditions could have a material and adverse impact on our business, financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows.
Risks Related to Information Technology
We rely heavily on our information technology systems, as well as those of our third-party vendors and business partners, for our business to effectively operate and to safeguard confidential information; any significant failure, inadequacy, interruption or data security incident could adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows.
We use information technology systems, infrastructure and data in substantially all aspects of our business operations. Our ability to effectively manage our business and coordinate sourcing, distribution and sale of our products depends significantly on the reliability and capacity of these systems. We are critically dependent on the integrity, security and consistent operations of these systems. We also collect, process and store numerous classes of sensitive, personally identifiable and/or confidential information and intellectual property, including customers’ and suppliers’ information, private information about employees and financial and strategic information about us and our business partners. The secure processing, maintenance and transmission of this information is critical to our operations.
We also use computers, mobile devices and other devices to connect with our employees, suppliers, co-manufacturers, distributors, customers and consumers. We use social media platforms such as TikTok, Facebook, Instagram and X (formerly Twitter) and may use other social media platforms in the future for online collaboration, brand building and consumer interaction. Such uses give rise to cyber security risks, including cyber security attacks, espionage, identity theft, system disruption, data theft, ransomware and inadvertent release of information.
Our systems and those of our third-party vendors, service providers and business partners may be subject to damage or interruption from power outages or damages, theft, telecommunications problems, data corruption, software errors, network failures, fraud, misconduct or misuse, acts of war or terrorist attacks, fire, flood, global pandemics, natural disasters and other events, and our existing safety systems, data backup, access protection, user management and information technology emergency planning may not be sufficient to prevent data loss or long-term network outages. In addition, we and our third-party vendors, service providers and business partners may have to upgrade our existing information technology systems or choose to incorporate new technology systems from time to time in order for such systems to support the increasing needs of our expanding business. Costs and potential problems and interruptions associated with the implementation of new or upgraded systems and technology or with maintenance or adequate support of existing systems could disrupt our business and result in transaction errors, processing inefficiencies and loss of production or sales, causing our business and reputation to suffer.
Further, our systems and those of our third-party vendors, service providers and business partners may be vulnerable to, and have experienced attempted, security incidents, breaches, attacks by hackers (including ransomware attacks, phishing attacks and other third-party intrusions), acts of vandalism, computer viruses, misplaced or lost data, human errors or other similar events. If unauthorized parties gain access to our systems, networks or databases, or those of our third-party vendors, service providers or business partners, they may be able to steal, publish, delete, use inappropriately or modify our private and sensitive third-party information, including credit card information and other personally identifiable information. In addition, employees may intentionally or inadvertently cause data or security incidents that result in unauthorized release of personally identifiable or confidential, sensitive or proprietary information. Because the techniques used to circumvent security systems can be highly sophisticated, change frequently, are often not recognized until launched against a target (and even, in many cases, until after having been successfully launched for some time) and may originate from less regulated and remote areas around the world, we may be unable to proactively address all possible techniques or implement adequate preventive measures for all situations.
Security or cyber incidents or security breaches compromising the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of our sensitive, proprietary and confidential information and our systems and those of our
 
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third-party vendors, service providers and business partners could result from cyber-attacks, denial-of-service attacks, computer malware, viruses, social engineering (including spear phishing and ransomware attacks), supply chain attacks, efforts by individuals or groups of hackers and sophisticated organizations, including state-sponsored organizations, errors or malfeasance of our personnel, and security vulnerabilities in the software or systems on which we, or our third-party vendors, service providers or business partners, rely. Cybercrime and hacking techniques are constantly evolving. The sophistication of cyber-attacks continues to increase and there is no guarantee that the steps we have taken will be sufficient to prevent significant disruption and loss. Threat actors are becoming more well-organized. Geopolitical tensions and nation-backed cybercriminals, along with new technologies such as AI and related tools, are making the threat landscape more complex and challenging to monitor. We and/or our third-party vendors, service providers and/or business partners may be unable to anticipate attempted security breaches, react in a timely manner, or implement adequate preventative measures, particularly given the increasing use of hacking techniques designed to circumvent controls, avoid detection, and remove or obfuscate forensic artifacts. We anticipate that these threats will continue to grow in scope and complexity over time and such incidents may occur in the future, and could result in unauthorized, unlawful, or inappropriate access to, inability to access, disclosure of, or loss of the sensitive, proprietary and confidential information (including personally identifiable information) that we handle. As we rely on a number of our third-party vendors, service providers and business partners, we are exposed to security risks outside of our direct control, and our ability to monitor these third-party vendors’, service providers’ and business partners’ data security is limited. While we employ a number of security measures designed to prevent, detect, and mitigate potential for harm to our users and our systems, networks and databases from the theft of or misuse of user credentials on our network, these measures may not be effective in every instance. Moreover, we or our third-party vendors, service providers or business partners may be more vulnerable to such attacks in remote work environments, which have increased in recent years. Additionally, while we maintain cyber insurance that may help provide coverage for these types of incidents, we cannot assure you that our insurance will be adequate to cover costs and liabilities related to these incidents.
A failure to incorporate new technology, like AI, machine learning and automation, or adopt new marketing practices may reduce our ability to compete and operate efficiently, or increase risks of data security or result in suboptimal business decisions. If we do not sufficiently invest and evolve our business at sufficient speed and scale in response to such developments, or if we execute poorly on these investments, our products, results of operations and ability to compete and develop our business could be negatively affected. When incorporating AI technologies into our business functions and operations, we are increasingly liable to new or existing risks due to increased governmental monitoring, compliance issues, data privacy risks, and potential litigation, all of which could negatively impact both financial performance and business reputation. Our ability to benefit from AI while managing the risks significantly relies on the effective selection of AI tools and platforms tailored to fit our specific business needs. Integrating ineffective AI technologies, or incorporating AI technologies without appropriate training, could lead to unintended consequences such as bias, discriminatory outputs, accuracy or data privacy issues. If we fail to successfully integrate AI, run afoul of developing regulations regarding AI, or otherwise cannot keep up with market demand when it comes to this new technology, our business may be adversely affected.
Any actual or perceived breach, attack, virus or other event involving our systems, networks or databases, or those of our third-party vendors, service providers and business partners could result in additional costly investigations and litigation exceeding applicable insurance coverage or contractual rights available to us, civil or criminal penalties, operational changes or other response measures, loss of consumer confidence in our security measures, and negative publicity that could adversely affect our business, reputation, financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows. Notwithstanding any contractual rights or remedies we may have, because we do not control our third-party vendors, service providers and business partners, including their security measures, we cannot ensure the adequacy of the measures they take to protect personal information, or other sensitive, proprietary or confidential information and prevent data loss. Further, there is no assurance that any security procedures or controls that we or our third-party vendors, service providers and business partners have implemented will be sufficient to prevent data-security related incidents from occurring. Furthermore, regulations and expectations for timely disclosing any cyber security events are evolving, and there are additional risks that in our response to such events, and in our disclosure, we will not meet the appropriate requirements, creating regulatory and litigation risks.
 
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In addition, if any such event resulted in access, disclosure or other loss or unauthorized use or processing of information or data, such as customers’ and suppliers’ information, private information about employees and financial and strategic information about us and our business partners, whether actual or perceived, could result in legal claims or proceedings, regulatory investigations or actions, and other types of liability under laws and regulations that protect the privacy and security of personally identifiable information, including federal, state and foreign data protection and privacy laws and regulations, violations of which could result in significant penalties and fines, costs and litigation. The cost of investigating, mitigating and responding to potential security breaches and other security and cyber incidents and complying with applicable breach notification obligations to individuals, regulators, partners and others can be significant and the risk of legal claims in the event of a security breach or security or cyber incident is increasing. For example, the California Consumer Privacy Act (“CCPA”) of 2020 creates a private right of action for certain data breaches. In addition, notifying stakeholders of breaches can lead to negative publicity, may cause consumers to lose confidence in the effectiveness of our security measures, and could require us to expend significant capital and other resources to respond to and alleviate problems caused by the actual or perceived security breach or security or cyber incident. A security breach or security or cyber incident could lead to claims by consumers or other relevant stakeholders that we have failed to comply with our legal or contractual obligations. As a result, we could be subject to legal action or consumers could end their relationships with us. Further, defending a suit, regardless of its merit, could be costly, divert management attention and harm our reputation. The successful assertion of one or more large claims against us that exceed available insurance coverage, or the occurrence of changes in our insurance policies, including premium increases or the imposition of large deductibles or co-insurance requirements, could adversely affect our reputation, business, financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows. Any material disruption or slowdown of our systems, networks or databases, or those of our third-party vendors, service providers or business partners, could have a material and adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows. Our risks are likely to increase as we continue to expand, grow our customer base, and process, store, and transmit increasing amounts of proprietary, confidential and sensitive data. In addition, although we seek to detect and investigate all data and cyber security incidents, security breaches and other incidents of unauthorized access to our information technology systems, and it can be difficult to detect and determine the scope and impact of data security incidents. Any delay in identifying such breaches or incidents may lead to increased harm and legal exposure of the type described above.
If the technology-based systems that give our customers the ability to shop with us online do not function effectively, our results of operations, as well as our ability to grow our e-commerce business, could be adversely affected.
Our industry is being affected by the growth in sales through e-commerce retailers, e-commerce websites, mobile commerce applications and subscription services, which may result in a shift away from physical retail operations to digital channels. An increasing number of customers shop with us through our e-commerce websites and through mobile apps. Increasingly, customers are using tablets and smart phones to shop online with us and with our competitors and to do comparison shopping. We are increasingly using social media to interact with our customers and as a means to enhance their shopping experience. Adapting to changes in internet, networking or telecommunications technologies and trends could be time-consuming and require substantial expenditures. Any failure on our part to provide attractive, effective, reliable, user-friendly e-commerce platforms that offer a wide assortment of products with rapid delivery options and that continually meet the changing expectations of online shoppers could place us at a competitive disadvantage, result in the loss of e-commerce and other sales, harm our reputation with customers, have a material adverse impact on the growth of our e-commerce business globally and could have an adverse impact on our business and results of operations. Additionally, a security breach or security or cyber incident related to our e-commerce websites and mobile apps could adversely affect our reputation, business, financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows.
We are subject to risks related to online payment methods.
We currently accept credit and debit card payments for purchases through our website. As a result, we pay interchange and other fees, which may increase over time and raise our operating costs and negatively impact our results of operations. We are also subject to payment card association operating rules and certification requirements, including the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard and rules governing
 
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electronic funds transfers, which could change or be reinterpreted to make it difficult or impossible for us to comply. If we fail to comply with the rules or requirements of any provider of a payment method we accept, if the volume of fraud in our transactions limits or terminates our rights to use payment methods we currently accept, or if a data breach occurs relating to our payment systems, we may, among other things, be subject to fines or higher transaction fees and may lose, or face restrictions placed upon, our ability to accept credit card payments from consumers or facilitate other types of online payments. If any of these events were to occur, our business, financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows could be materially and adversely affected. Under current credit and debit card practices, we may be liable for fraudulent transactions. As a result, we may suffer losses as a result of orders placed with fraudulent data even if the associated financial institution approved payment of the orders. If we are unable to detect or control credit and debit card fraud, our liability for these transactions could harm our business, financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows.
Risks Related to Our Legal and Regulatory Environment
Advertising inaccuracies and product mislabeling may have an adverse effect on our business by exposing us to lawsuits, product recalls or regulatory enforcement actions, increasing our operating costs and reducing demand for our product offerings.
Certain of our products are advertised with claims as to their origin, ingredients or health, wellness, environmental or other potential benefits, including, by way of example, the use of the terms “natural,” “organic,” “clean,” “non-toxic,” “sustainable,” “no added sugars,” or similar synonyms or implied statements relating to such benefits. Although the FDA and the United States Department of Agriculture (the “USDA”) each have issued statements and adopted policies regarding the appropriate use of the word “natural,” there is no single, universal definition of the term “natural” for various categories we sell, which is true for many other adjectives common in the healthy or sustainable products industry. The resulting uncertainty has led to consumer confusion, distrust, and legal challenges.
In addition, the FDA has consistently enforced its regulations with respect to nutrient content claims, unauthorized health claims (claims that characterize the relationship between a food or food ingredient and a disease or health condition) and other claims that impermissibly suggest therapeutic benefits of certain foods or food components, or that misrepresent or improperly characterize the nutrient content in conventional food products. Moreover, the FTC has articulated a robust substantiation standard, requiring “competent and reliable scientific evidence” for any health claims made in the advertising of food and dietary supplements and has pursued investigations and litigation against companies where the FTC has concern that the claims being made are not properly substantiated. Additionally, plaintiff lawyers frequently bring class action lawsuits against food, beverage, and dietary supplements companies for alleged false, misleading, or otherwise impermissible claims. Examples of causes of action that may be asserted in a consumer class action lawsuit include fraud, unfair trade practices, false and/or misleading advertising, and breach of state consumer protection statutes. The FTC and/or state attorneys general may bring legal action that seeks removal of a product from the marketplace and impose fines and penalties. Further, consumer class action false advertising litigation relating to terms such as “natural,” “non-toxic,” “non-GMO” and other claims remain a persistent threat in our industry. Even when unmerited, class action claims, actions by the FTC, or state attorneys general enforcement actions can be expensive to defend and adversely affect our reputation with existing and potential customers and consumers and our corporate and brand image, which could have a material and adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows.
The USDA enforces federal standards for organic production and use of the term “organic” on product labeling. These laws prohibit a company from selling or labeling products as organic unless they are produced and handled in accordance with the applicable federal law and certified by authorized organic certifying agencies. By definition, organic products are not genetically modified or do not include genetically modified (bioengineered) ingredients. We use suppliers who can certify that they meet the standards needed for each applicable product or ingredient specification. Our failure, or failure on the part of our suppliers, to comply with these ingredient and product specifications, to maintain appropriate certifications, or to label organic products in compliance with federal or state laws, may subject us to liability or regulatory
 
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enforcement. Consumers may also pursue state law claims, particularly pursuant to California’s organic laws, challenging use of the organic label as being intentionally mislabeled or misleading or deceptive to consumers.
The regulatory environment in which we operate could also change significantly and adversely and become more stringent in the future. New or changing regulations could impact the way consumers view our products, such as potential new labeling regulations or enforcement of a standard of identity for terms used to market our products that would require us to list certain ingredients by specific names that could confuse our consumers into thinking we may use different types of ingredients than they originally thought or that the quality of our ingredients is different to what they anticipated.
Any loss of confidence on the part of consumers in the truthfulness of our labeling, advertising or ingredient claims would be difficult and costly to overcome and may significantly reduce our brands’ value. Any of these events could adversely affect our brands and decrease our sales, which could have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows.
Our products and operations are subject to government regulation and oversight both in the United States and abroad, and our failure to comply with applicable requirements, or to respond to changes in regulations applicable to our business could adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows.
The manufacture, marketing and distribution of food products is highly regulated. We, along with our farming partners and our suppliers, are subject to a variety of laws and regulations, both domestically and internationally, which apply to many aspects of our and their businesses, including the sourcing of raw materials, packaging, labeling, distribution, advertising, sale, quality and safety of our products, as well as the health and safety of employees and the protection of the environment.
Our products and operations and those of our farming partners and packaging suppliers are subject to oversight by multiple U.S. and international regulatory agencies including the USDA, the FDA, the FTC, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (the “EPA”), among others. These agencies regulate, among other things, with respect to our products and operations:
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design, development and manufacturing;
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testing, labeling, content and language of instructions for use and storage;
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product safety;
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marketing, sales and distribution;
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record keeping procedures;
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advertising and promotion;
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recalls and corrective actions; and
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product import and export.
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In the United States, for example, we are subject to the requirements of the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act (the “FDCA”) and regulations promulgated thereunder by the FDA. This comprehensive regulatory program governs, among other things, the manufacturing, composition and ingredients, packaging, testing, labeling, marketing, promotion, advertising, storage, distribution and safety of food. The FDA requires that facilities that manufacture food products comply with a range of requirements, including hazard analysis and preventative controls regulations, current good manufacturing practices (“cGMPs”), and supplier verification requirements. Certain of our facilities, as well as those of our farming partners and packaging suppliers, are subject to periodic inspection by federal, state and local authorities. We do not control the manufacturing processes of, but rely upon, our local and regional farmers and packaging suppliers for compliance with cGMPs for certain raw materials and products that are used in our manufacturing process. If we, or our farming partners or packaging suppliers, cannot successfully provide products that conform to our specifications and the strict regulatory requirements of the FDA or other regulatory agencies, we, or they, may be subject to adverse inspectional findings or enforcement actions, which could materially impact our ability to market our products or could result in a recall of our products that have already been distributed.
 
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In addition to risks relating to traditional environmental law and regulations, we also face increasing complexity in the design and manufacture of our products as we adjust to new and future requirements relating to the materials composition of many of our products. For example, our products are subject to certain reporting and labeling requirements under California’s Proposition 65, officially known as the Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986 (“Prop 65”), which requires a specific warning on or accompanying any product that contains a substance listed by the State of California as having been found to cause cancer or birth defects, unless the level of such substance in the product is below a safe harbor level. We have in the past been subject to lawsuits brought under Prop 65 and required to pay settlements in connection therewith. If we fail to comply with Prop 65 or other similar laws in the future, such failure to comply may result in lawsuits and regulatory enforcement that could have a material and adverse effect on our reputation, prospects, business, financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows. Further, the inclusion of warnings on or accompanying our products as required by Prop 65 could also negatively affect consumer perception of our products and reduce overall demand, which could adversely affect our reputation, prospects, business, financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows.
Furthermore, there are an increasing number of state and local regulations in the United States related to, among other things, beverage packaging, labeling requirements, container deposits, recycling or beverage taxes. We anticipate more states to adopt similar legislation or regulations, requiring us to continuously monitor various state laws to ensure compliance. Any failure to comply with these laws or regulations correctly could result in a temporary halt in distribution of our products and other costs, affecting our business, financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows.
Failure by us, our suppliers, or our farming partners to comply with applicable laws and regulations or maintain permits, licenses, or registrations relating to our or our suppliers operations could subject us to civil remedies or penalties, including fines, injunctions, recalls or seizures, warning letters, untitled letters, restrictions on the marketing or manufacturing of products, or refusals to permit the import or export of products, as well as potential criminal sanctions, which could result in increased operating costs or loss of net sales, resulting in a material effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows.
The regulations to which we are subject are complex and have tended to become more stringent over time. New labeling and food safety laws could restrict our ability to carry on or expand our operations or result in higher than anticipated costs or lower than anticipated sales.
Failure to comply with federal, state and international laws and regulations relating to data privacy, data protection, advertising and consumer protection, or the expansion of current or the enactment of new laws or regulations relating to data privacy, data protection, advertising and consumer protection, could adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows.
We collect, share, use, transmit, store, maintain, and otherwise process personally identifiable information and other data relating to our customers and employees. Additionally, we rely on a variety of marketing techniques, including email and social media marketing, and we are subject to various laws and regulations that govern such marketing and advertising practices. We are subject to numerous state, federal and international laws, rules and regulations govern the collection, use and protection of personally identifiable information.
The standards for systems currently used for transmission and approval of electronic payment transactions, and the technology utilized in electronic payment themselves, all of which can put electronic payment data at risk, are determined and controlled by the payment card industry, not by us. For example, we are subject to industry requirements such as the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI-DSS), as well as certain other industry standards. Any failure to comply with these rules, requirements or industry standards could significantly harm our brands, reputation, business, financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows. We also rely on independent service providers for payment processing, including credit and debit cards. If these independent service providers become unwilling or unable to provide these services to us or if the cost of using these providers increases, our business could be negatively affected.
As laws, regulations and expectations relating to privacy continue to evolve, we continue to adapt to changing needs and expect that our compliance costs and exposure to liability are likely to increase. In the
 
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United States, federal and state laws impose limits on, or requirements regarding the collection, distribution, use, security, storage and other processing of personally identifiable information of individuals, and there has also been increased regulation of data privacy and security particularly at the state level. For example, certain of the recently enacted state and international comprehensive privacy laws create a private right of action for certain data breaches and for non-compliance. In recent years, there has been an increase in attention to and regulation of data protection and data privacy across the globe, including the FTC’s increasingly active approach to enforcing data privacy in the U.S., as well as the enactment of the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”), which took effect in May 2018, the U.K.’s transposition of GDPR into its domestic laws, which took effect September 2021, the California Privacy Rights Act (“CPRA”), which took effect January 1, 2023 and expands the CCPA, Virginia’s Consumer Data Protection Act, which also took effect January 1, 2023, and similar comprehensive privacy laws adopted in other states and jurisdictions including Colorado, Connecticut, and Utah. Some observers have noted that these regulatory developments could mark the beginning of a trend toward more stringent privacy legislation in the United States, which could increase our potential liability and adversely affect our prospects, business, financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows.
Other jurisdictions in the United States have already passed or are considering laws similar to the CCPA, with potentially greater penalties and more rigorous compliance requirements relevant to our business, which creates a patchwork of overlapping but different state laws. Many other state legislatures, including those in Virginia, Colorado, Connecticut and Utah, have already adopted legislation that regulates how businesses operate online, including measures relating to privacy, data security, data breaches and the protection of sensitive and personal information, and additional U.S. states are considering passing similar data laws. In addition, all 50 states have laws that require the provision of notification for security breaches of personal information to affected individuals, state officers or others. On a federal level, the U.S. Congress has introduced several iterations of a federal comprehensive privacy law. If a federal privacy law passed, it would likely supersede the new state privacy laws and establish uniform privacy protections across the country. We expect that there will continue to be new proposed laws, regulations, and industry standards concerning data privacy, data protection, and information security in the United States and other jurisdictions at all levels of legislature, governance, and applicability. We cannot yet fully determine the impact that these or future laws, regulations and standards may have on our business or operations.
Further, we rely on a variety of marketing techniques and practices to sell our products and to attract new customers and consumers, and we are subject to various current and future data protection laws and regulations that govern marketing and advertising practices. The information, security and privacy requirements imposed by governmental regulation are increasingly demanding and complex, and are continually evolving. In the United States, various federal and state regulators, including governmental agencies like the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the FTC, have adopted, or are considering adopting, laws and regulations concerning personal information and data security and have prioritized privacy and information security violations for enforcement actions. In addition, the Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography and Marketing Act of 2003, or the CAN-SPAM Act, establishes specific requirements for commercial email messages in the United States. Governmental authorities, including in the European Union and the United Kingdom, continue to evaluate the privacy implications inherent in the use of third-party “cookies” and other methods of online tracking for behavioral advertising and other purposes, such as by regulating the level of consumer notice and consent required before a company can employ cookies or other electronic tracking tools or the use of data gathered with such tools. Laws and regulations regarding the use of these cookies and other current online tracking and advertising practices could increase our costs of operations and limit our ability to acquire new consumers on cost-effective terms, which, in turn, could have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows.
Additionally, some providers of consumer devices, web browsers and application stores have implemented, or announced plans to implement, means to make it easier for Internet users to prevent the placement of cookies or to block other tracking technologies, require additional consents, or limit the ability to track user activity, which could if widely adopted result in the use of third-party cookies and other methods of online tracking becoming significantly less effective. Loss in our ability to make effective use of services that employ such technologies could increase our costs of operations and limit our ability to acquire
 
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new consumers on cost-effective terms, which, in turn, could have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows.
We may also be bound by contractual requirements applicable to our collection, use, disclosure and other processing of various types of data, including personally identifiable information, and may be bound by self-regulatory or other industry standards relating to these matters. Our collection and use of consumer data is also subject to our privacy policies, including online privacy policies. The proliferation of data privacy laws in variation creates increased risk of non-compliance and increased costs of maintaining compliance. Additionally, while we strive to comply with our posted policies and all applicable laws, regulations, other legal obligations and certain industry standards, laws, rules, and regulations concerning data privacy, data protection, and data security evolve frequently and may be inconsistent from one jurisdiction to another or may be interpreted to conflict with our practices or in a manner that is inconsistent from one jurisdiction to another.
The adoption of further data privacy and security laws and regulations may increase the cost and complexity of implementing any new offerings in other jurisdictions. Any failure, or perceived failure, by us to comply with our posted privacy policies or with any international, federal or state data privacy or consumer protection-related laws, regulations, industry self-regulatory principles, industry standards or codes of conduct, regulatory guidance, orders to which we may be subject or other legal or contractual obligations relating to data privacy or consumer protection could adversely affect our reputation, brands and business, and may result in regulatory investigations, claims, proceedings or actions against us by governmental entities, customers, suppliers or others, class actions, or other liabilities or may require us to change our operations and/or cease using certain data sets. Any such claims, proceedings or actions could hurt our reputation, brands and business, force us to incur significant expenses in defense of such proceedings or actions, distract our management, increase our costs of doing business, result in a loss of customers and third-party partners and result in the imposition of significant damages liabilities or monetary penalties.
Food safety and food-borne illness incidents or other safety concerns may materially and adversely affect our business by exposing us to lawsuits, product recalls or regulatory enforcement actions, increasing our operating costs and reducing demand for our product offerings.
Selling food and beverages for human consumption involves inherent legal and other risks, and there is increasing governmental scrutiny of and public awareness regarding food safety. Unexpected side effects, illness, injury, or death related to allergens and food-borne illnesses or other food safety incidents caused by products we sell or involving our suppliers could result in the discontinuance of sales of these products or cessation of our relationships with such suppliers, or otherwise result in increased operating costs, lost sales, regulatory enforcement actions or harm to our reputation. Shipment of adulterated or misbranded products, even if inadvertent, can result in criminal or civil liability. Such incidents could also expose us to product liability, negligence or other lawsuits, including consumer class action lawsuits. Any claims brought against us may exceed or be outside the scope of our existing or future insurance policy coverage or limits. Any judgment against us that is more than our policy limits or not covered by our policies would have to be paid from our cash reserves, which would reduce our capital resources. Any such claims could also significantly increase our insurance premiums.
The occurrence of food-borne illnesses or other food safety incidents could also adversely affect the price and availability of affected ingredients and raw materials, resulting in higher costs, disruptions in supply and a reduction in our sales. Furthermore, any instances of food contamination or regulatory noncompliance, whether or not caused by our actions, could compel us, our farming partners, packaging suppliers, our distributors or our retail customers, depending on the circumstances, to conduct a recall in accordance with FDA regulations and comparable foreign laws and regulations, as well as other regulations and laws in the other jurisdictions in which we operate. See “— Our brands and reputation may be diminished due to real or perceived quality or food safety issues with our branded or private label products, which could have an adverse effect on our reputation, business, financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows.
In addition, food and beverage companies have been subject to targeted, large-scale tampering as well as to opportunistic, individual product tampering, and we, like any beverage company, could be a target for product tampering. Forms of tampering could include the introduction of foreign material, chemical
 
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contaminants and pathological organisms into consumer products as well as product substitution. The FDA enforces laws and regulations, such as the Food Safety Modernization Act, that require companies like us to analyze, prepare and implement mitigation strategies specifically to address tampering designed to inflict widespread public health harm. If we do not adequately address the possibility, or any actual instance, of product tampering, we could face possible seizure or recall of our products and the imposition of civil or criminal sanctions, which could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows. Any failure to meet regulators’ or customers’ expectations could impact our business in these markets and adversely affect our reputation as well as our business, financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows.
Federal, state and foreign anti-corruption, sanctions and trade laws create the potential for significant liabilities and penalties and reputational harm.
Although we do not currently sell our products outside of the United States, we source ingredients and manufacturing equipment internationally, and we may look to expand sales and distribution capabilities internationally in the future. As such, we are also subject to a number of laws and regulations governing payments and contributions to political persons or other third parties, including restrictions imposed by the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (the “FCPA”), as well as economic sanctions, customs and export control laws administered by the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”), U.S. Customs and Border Protection (“CBP”), the U.S. Department of Commerce and the U.S. Department of State. The FCPA is intended to prohibit bribery of foreign officials — including officials of any government or supranational organization, foreign political parties and officials thereof, and any candidate for foreign political office — to obtain or retain business. It also requires public companies in the United States to keep books and records that accurately and fairly reflect those companies’ transactions and maintain internal accounting controls to assure management’s control, authority, and responsibility over a company’s assets. OFAC, CBP, the U.S. Department of Commerce and the U.S. Department of State administer and enforce various customs and export control laws and regulations, as well as economic and trade sanctions based on U.S. foreign policy and national security goals against targeted foreign states, organizations and individuals. These laws and regulations relate to a number of aspects of our business, including but not limited to the activities of our suppliers, distributors and other partners.
Similar laws in non-U.S. jurisdictions, such as European Union sanctions or the U.K. Bribery Act of 2010, as well as other applicable anti-bribery, anti-corruption, anti-money laundering, sanctions, customs or export control laws, may also impose stricter or more onerous requirements than the FCPA, OFAC, CBP, the U.S. Department of Commerce and the U.S. Department of State, and implementing them may disrupt our business or cause us to incur significantly more costs to comply with those laws. Different laws may also contain conflicting provisions, making compliance with all laws more difficult. If we fail to comply with these laws and regulations, we could be exposed to claims for damages, civil or criminal financial penalties, reputational harm, incarceration of our employees, restrictions on our operations and other liabilities, which could negatively affect our business, financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows. In addition, we may be subject to successor liability for FCPA violations or other acts of bribery, or violations of applicable sanctions or other export control laws committed by companies we acquire. Any determination that we have violated the FCPA or other applicable anti-corruption, sanctions, customs or export control laws could subject us to, among other things, civil and criminal penalties, material fines, profit disgorgement, injunctions on future conduct, securities litigation and a general loss of investor confidence, any one of which could adversely affect our prospects, business, financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows or the market value of our common stock.
Compliance with environmental laws may negatively affect our business.
We are subject to federal, state, and local laws and regulations concerning waste disposal, pollution, energy and water consumption, protection of the environment and the presence, discharge, storage, handling, release, and disposal of, exposure to and remediation of hazardous or toxic substances. These environmental laws provide for significant fines and penalties or other sanctions for noncompliance and/or liabilities for remediation of soil, sediment, surface water, or groundwater impacted by a release of hazardous or toxic substances, sometimes without regard to whether the owner or operator of the property knew of or was responsible for, the release or presence of hazardous or toxic substances. Failure to comply with
 
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environmental laws and regulations could have serious consequences for us, including civil or administrative penalties, claims for damage to natural resources, the denial or revocation of permits necessary for our operations, the issuance of injunctions to limit or cease operations, and negative publicity. Third parties may also make claims against owners or operators of properties for personal injuries and property damage associated with releases of or actual or alleged exposure to, such hazardous or toxic substances at, on, or from our manufacturing or distribution facilities. Compliance with environmental laws governing air emissions, waste handling, or wastewater discharges, or environmental conditions relating to releases of hazardous substances at our prior, existing or future properties, especially for manufacturing or distribution facilities, could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flow. Further, environmental laws and the administration, interpretation, and enforcement thereof, are subject to change and may become more stringent in the future, each of which could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flow.
Risks Related to Our Indebtedness
Our existing indebtedness could adversely affect our business and growth prospects.
As of December 29, 2025, we had a term loan balance of approximately $267.5 million outstanding under our term loan facilities (“Term Loan Facilities”) and $40.0 million outstanding under our revolving loan facility (“Revolving Credit Facility,” and together with the Term Loan Facilities, the “Credit Facilities”). Holdings LP intends to apply the balance of the net proceeds it receives from us in connection with this offering (i) to repay $      million of borrowings under the Credit Agreement, (ii) to pay expenses incurred in connection with this offering and the other Organizational Transactions, and (iii) to the extent any proceeds remain, for general corporate purposes, as more fully described in the section entitled “Use of Proceeds.” All obligations under the Credit Agreement are secured by first-priority security interests in substantially all of our assets and the assets of our domestic subsidiaries, subject to permitted liens and other exceptions. Our indebtedness, or any additional indebtedness we may incur, could require us to divert funds identified for other purposes for debt service and impair our liquidity position. If we cannot generate sufficient cash flow from operations to service our debt, we may need to refinance our debt, dispose of assets or issue equity to obtain necessary funds. We do not know whether we will be able to take any of these actions on a timely basis, on terms satisfactory to us, or at all.
Our indebtedness, the cash flow needed to satisfy our debt and the covenants contained in our Credit Facilities have important consequences, including:
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limiting funds otherwise available for financing our capital expenditures by requiring us to dedicate a portion of our cash flows from operations to the repayment of debt and the interest on this debt;
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limiting our ability to incur or prepay additional indebtedness;
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limiting our ability to capitalize on significant business opportunities;
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making us more vulnerable to rising interest rates; and
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making us more vulnerable in the event of a downturn in our business.
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Our level of indebtedness may place us at a competitive disadvantage to our competitors that are not as highly leveraged. Substantially all of our borrowings, including borrowings under our Credit Facilities, bear variable rates of interest. An increase in prevailing interest rates would increase our debt service obligations, which would have a negative impact on our cash flows, including cash available for servicing our indebtedness. Further, our Credit Facilities contain customary affirmative and negative covenants and certain restrictions on operations that could impose operating and financial limitations and restrictions on us, including restrictions on our ability to enter into particular transactions and to engage in other actions that we may believe are advisable or necessary for our business. Our Term Loan Facilities are also subject to customary mandatory prepayments in certain circumstances, including a requirement to make a prepayment with a certain percentage of our excess cash flow. This excess cash flow payment, and other future required prepayments, will reduce our cash available for investment in our business.
We expect to use cash flow from operations to meet current and future financial obligations, including funding our operations, debt service requirements and capital expenditures. The ability to make these
 
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payments depends on our financial and operating performance, which is subject to prevailing economic, industry and competitive conditions and to certain financial, business, economic and other factors beyond our control.
The financing documents governing our Credit Facilities permit us to incur certain additional indebtedness, including liabilities that do not constitute indebtedness as defined in the financing documents. We may also consider investments in joint ventures or acquisitions, which may increase our indebtedness. In addition, financing documents governing our Credit Facilities do not restrict the creation of new holding companies and permit the designation of unrestricted subsidiaries (subject to customary conditions) that may be able to incur indebtedness without regard to the restrictions set forth in the financing documents governing our Credit Facilities. If new debt is added to our currently anticipated indebtedness levels, the related risks that we face could intensify.
We may not be able to generate sufficient cash flow to service all of our indebtedness, and may be forced to take other actions to satisfy our obligations under such indebtedness, which may not be successful.
Our ability to make scheduled payments or to refinance outstanding debt obligations depends on our financial and operating performance, which will be affected by prevailing economic and industry and competitive conditions, as well as financial, business and other factors beyond our control. We may not be able to maintain a sufficient level of cash flow from operating activities to permit us to pay the principal, premium, if any, and interest on our indebtedness. Any failure to make payments of interest and principal on our outstanding indebtedness on a timely basis would likely result in a reduction of our credit rating, which would also harm our ability to incur additional indebtedness.
If our cash flows and capital resources are insufficient to fund our debt service obligations, we may be forced to reduce or delay capital expenditures, sell assets, seek additional capital or seek to restructure or refinance our indebtedness. Any refinancing of our indebtedness could be at higher interest rates and may require us to comply with more onerous covenants. These alternative measures may not be successful and may not permit us to meet our scheduled debt service obligations. In the absence of such cash flows and resources, we could face substantial liquidity problems and might be required to sell material assets or operations to attempt to meet our debt service obligations. The financing documents governing our Credit Facilities include certain restrictions on our ability to conduct asset sales and/or use the proceeds from asset sales for general corporate purposes. We may not be able to consummate these asset sales to raise capital or sell assets at prices and on terms that we believe are fair and any proceeds that we do receive may not be adequate to meet any debt service obligations then due. If we cannot meet our debt service obligations, the holders of our indebtedness may accelerate such indebtedness and, to the extent such indebtedness is secured, foreclose on our assets. In such an event, we may not have sufficient assets to repay all of our indebtedness.
The terms of the financing documents governing our Credit Facilities restrict our current and future operations, particularly our ability to respond to changes or to take certain actions.
The financing documents governing our Credit Facilities contain a number of restrictive covenants that impose significant operating and financial restrictions on us and may limit our ability to engage in acts that may be in our long-term best interests, including restrictions on our ability to:
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incur additional indebtedness;
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pay dividends on or make distributions in respect of capital stock or repurchase or redeem capital stock;
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voluntarily prepay, redeem or repurchase certain material indebtedness;
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make loans and investments;
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sell or otherwise dispose of assets, including capital stock of restricted subsidiaries;
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incur liens;
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enter into transactions with affiliates;
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enter into agreements restricting the ability of our subsidiaries to pay dividends; and
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consolidate, merge or sell all or substantially all of our assets.
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You should read the discussion under the heading “Description of Certain Indebtedness” for further information about these covenants.
The restrictive covenants in the financing documents governing our Credit Facilities require us to maintain specified financial ratios and satisfy other financial condition tests to the extent applicable. Our ability to meet those financial ratios and tests can be affected by events beyond our control. We cannot assure you that we will be able to comply with the covenants in our existing Term Loan Facilities or as required by any future credit facility documentation. In the event that we are unable to comply with these covenants or mandatory prepayment obligations in the future, we would seek an amendment or waiver of the covenants. We also cannot assure you that any such waiver or amendment would be granted if we failed to comply with the terms of our existing Term Loan Facilities or any future credit facility.
A breach of the covenants or restrictions under the financing documents governing our Credit Facilities could result in an event of default under such documents. Such a default may allow the creditors to accelerate the related debt, which may result in the acceleration of any other debt to which a cross-acceleration or cross-default provision applies. In the event the holders of our indebtedness accelerate the repayment, we may not have sufficient assets to repay that indebtedness or be able to borrow sufficient funds to refinance it. Even if we are able to obtain new financing, it may not be on commercially reasonable terms or on terms acceptable to us. These restrictions, along with restrictions that may be contained in agreements evidencing or governing other future indebtedness, may affect our ability to grow in accordance with our growth strategy.
We may be unable to refinance our indebtedness.
We may need to refinance all or a portion of our indebtedness before maturity. Our ability to repay, refinance, replace or extend our Credit Facilities by their maturity dates will be dependent on, among other things, business conditions, our financial performance and the general condition of the financial markets. If a financial disruption were to occur at the time that we are required to repay indebtedness outstanding under our Credit Facilities, we could be forced to undertake alternate financings, including a sale of additional common stock, negotiate for an extension of the maturity of the applicable facility or sell assets and delay capital expenditures in order to generate proceeds that could be used to repay indebtedness. There can be no assurance that we will be able to obtain sufficient funds to enable us to repay or refinance our debt obligations on commercially reasonable terms, or at all.
Despite our current level of indebtedness, we may be able to incur substantially more debt and enter into other transactions, which could further exacerbate the risks to our financial condition described above.
We may be able to incur significant additional indebtedness in the future. Although the Credit Agreement governing our existing Credit Facilities contains restrictions on the incurrence of additional indebtedness and entering into certain types of other transactions, additional indebtedness incurred in compliance with these restrictions could be substantial. These restrictions also do not prevent us from incurring obligations, such as trade payables, that do not constitute indebtedness as defined under our debt instruments. In addition, the existing Term Loan Facilities permit us, upon notice to the administrative agent, to request existing or new lenders to increase the Term Loan Facilities and the Revolving Credit Facility, subject to certain terms and conditions. To the extent new debt is added to our current debt levels, the substantial leverage risks described elsewhere in these “Risk Factors” would increase.
Risks Related to Our Organizational Structure
Our sole material asset after completion of this offering will be our direct or indirect interest in Holdings LP, and we are accordingly dependent upon distributions from Holdings LP to pay taxes, make payments under the Tax Receivable Agreement, and cover our corporate and other overhead expenses. Such distributions may be in excess of the amounts we use to make distributions to our shareholders and pay our expenses (including our taxes and payments under the Tax Receivable Agreement).
Our principal asset is our interest in Holdings LP, and, accordingly, we depend on distributions from Holdings LP to pay our taxes and expenses, including payments under the Tax Receivable Agreement. As
 
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such, we have no independent means of generating net sales or cash flow, and our ability to pay our taxes, satisfy our obligations under the Tax Receivable Agreement, pay operating expenses and declare and pay dividends, if any, depends on the financial results and cash flows of Holdings LP and its subsidiaries and distributions from Holdings LP. There can be no assurance that Holdings LP and its subsidiaries will generate sufficient cash flow to distribute funds to us or that applicable state law and contractual restrictions, including negative covenants in debt instruments of Holdings LP and its subsidiaries, will permit such distributions.
Holdings LP is intended to be treated as a partnership for U.S. federal income tax purposes and, as such, is generally not subject to any entity-level U.S. federal income tax. Instead, for U.S. federal income tax purposes, taxable income of Holdings LP is allocated to the LP Unitholders (including us through any of our wholly owned subsidiaries). Accordingly, we will incur income taxes on the share of any net taxable income of Holdings LP allocable to us (including through our wholly owned subsidiaries). In addition to tax expenses, we will incur expenses related to our operations, including obligations to make payments under the Tax Receivable Agreement. Under the terms of the Partnership Agreement, Holdings LP is obligated to make tax distributions to LP Unitholders (including us through our wholly owned subsidiaries), calculated using certain assumptions and subject to certain restrictions and limitations. Under the Partnership Agreement, tax distributions will generally be made on a pro rata basis among the LP Unitholders based on Holdings LP’s taxable income, which will be calculated without regard to, among other items, any applicable basis adjustment under Section 743(b) of the U.S. Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”), and will be based upon an assumed tax rate (taking into account certain assumptions set forth in the Partnership Agreement). We intend to cause, subject to applicable restrictions, limitations, and assumptions, Holdings LP to make (1) pro rata cash distributions to the owners of LP Units (including us through our wholly owned subsidiaries) in amounts sufficient to fund their tax obligations in respect of taxable income allocated to them (as discussed above) and to fund our obligation to make payments under the Tax Receivable Agreement and (2) non-pro rata reimbursements to us (through our wholly owned subsidiaries) in respect of our expenses. Funds used by Holdings LP to satisfy its tax distribution obligations will not be available for reinvestment in our business.
However, Holdings LP’s ability to make such distributions and reimbursements may be subject to various limitations and restrictions, such as restrictions on distributions that would violate either any contract or agreement to which Holdings LP or any of its subsidiaries is then a party, including debt agreements, or any applicable law, or that would have the effect of rendering Holdings LP or its subsidiaries insolvent. If we do not have sufficient funds to pay our taxes or other liabilities or to fund our operations (including, if applicable, because of an acceleration of our obligations under the Tax Receivable Agreement), we may have to borrow funds, which could materially and adversely affect our liquidity and financial condition and subject us to various restrictions imposed by any such lenders. To the extent that we are unable to make payments under the Tax Receivable Agreement, such payments generally will be deferred and will accrue interest until paid. Nonpayment for a specified period, however, may constitute a breach of a material obligation under the Tax Receivable Agreement and therefore accelerate payments due under the Tax Receivable Agreement, unless, generally, such nonpayment is due to a lack of sufficient funds or is prevented by any debt agreement to which Holdings LP or its subsidiaries is a party. See “— Risks Related to Our Class A Common Stock and This Offering,” “Dividend Policy,” “Organizational Structure — Tax Receivable Agreement” and “Organizational Structure — Amended and Restated Partnership Agreement of Holdings LP.”
It is also possible that such distributions from Holdings LP may exceed our actual cash tax liabilities, obligations to make payments under the Tax Receivable Agreement, and other expenses. While our Board may choose to distribute such cash balances as dividends on our Class A common stock, it will not be required to do so, and may in its sole discretion choose to use such excess cash for other purposes, depending upon the facts and circumstances at the time of determination. To the extent that we do not distribute such excess cash as dividends on the Class A common stock and instead, for example, hold such cash balances, the LP Unitholders may benefit from any value attributable to such cash balances as a result of their ownership of Class A common stock following an exchange of their LP Units for shares of the Class A common stock, notwithstanding that such exchanging LP Unitholders may previously have participated as holders of LP Units in the distributions by Holdings LP that resulted in such excess cash balances. See “Dividend Policy.”
 
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PSP will continue to control us following this offering, and their interests may conflict with ours or yours in the future.
Immediately following this offering, investment entities affiliated with PSP will control approximately     % of the voting power of our outstanding common stock, or    % if the underwriters exercise in full their option to purchase additional shares of Class A common stock, which means that, based on its percentage voting power controlled after the offering, PSP will control the vote of all matters submitted to a vote of our shareholders. This control will enable PSP to control the election of the members of our Board and all other corporate decisions. Even when PSP ceases to control a majority of the total voting power, for so long as PSP continues to own a significant percentage of our common stock, PSP will still be able to significantly influence the composition of our Board and the approval of actions requiring shareholder approval. Accordingly, for such period of time, PSP will have significant influence with respect to our management, business plans and policies, including the appointment and removal of our officers, decisions on whether to raise future capital and amending our charter and bylaws, which govern the rights attached to our common stock. In particular, for so long as PSP continues to own a significant percentage of our common stock, PSP will be able to cause or prevent a change of control of us or a change in the composition of our Board and could preclude any unsolicited acquisition of us. The concentration of ownership could deprive you of an opportunity to receive a premium for your shares of Class A common stock as part of a sale of us and ultimately might affect the market price of our Class A common stock.
In addition, in connection with this offering, we will enter into a Director Designation Agreement with PSP. The Director Designation Agreement will provide PSP the right to designate (i) a majority of the nominees for election to our Board for so long as PSP beneficially owns common stock entitled to vote generally in the election of directors representing 40% or more of the Class A and Class V common stock outstanding upon completion of this offering, as adjusted for the Original Amount; (ii) a number of directors (rounded up to the nearest whole number) equal to 40% of the total directors for so long as PSP beneficially owns at least 30% and less than 40% of the Original Amount; (iii) a number of directors (rounded up to the nearest whole number) equal to 30% of the total directors for so long as PSP beneficially owns at least 20% and less than 30% of the Original Amount; (iv) a number of directors (rounded up to the nearest whole number) equal to 20% of the total directors for so long as PSP beneficially owns at least 10% and less than 20% of the Original Amount; and (v) one director for so long as PSP beneficially owns at least 5% and less than 10% of the Original Amount. The Director Designation Agreement will also provide that PSP may assign such right to an affiliate of PSP. See “Certain Relationships and Related Party Transactions — Related Party Transactions — Director Designation Agreement” for more details with respect to the Director Designation Agreement.
PSP and its affiliates engage in a broad spectrum of activities, including investments in our industry generally. In the ordinary course of their business activities, PSP and its affiliates may engage in activities where their interests conflict with our interests or those of our other shareholders, such as investing in or advising businesses that directly or indirectly compete with certain portions of our business or are suppliers or clients of ours. Our certificate of incorporation to be effective at or prior to the consummation of this offering will provide that none of PSP, any of its affiliates or any director who is not employed by us (including any non-employee director who serves as one of our officers in both his or her director and officer capacities) or its affiliates will have any duty to refrain from engaging, directly or indirectly, in the same business activities or similar business activities or lines of business in which we operate. PSP also may pursue acquisition opportunities that may be complementary to our business, and, as a result, those acquisition opportunities may not be available to us. In addition, PSP may have an interest in pursuing acquisitions, divestitures and other transactions that, in their judgment, could enhance its investment, even though such transactions might involve risks to you or may not prove beneficial. Further, PSP may also have different tax positions from us that could influence their decisions regarding whether and when to dispose of assets, especially in light of the existence of the Tax Receivable Agreement that we entered into in connection with this offering, whether and when to incur new or refinance existing indebtedness, and whether and when we should terminate the Tax Receivable Agreement and accelerate its obligations thereunder. In addition, the structuring of future transactions may take into consideration PSP and certain of our other existing owners’ tax or other considerations even where no similar benefit would accrue to us. See “Certain Relationships and Related Party Transactions — Related Party Transactions — Tax Receivable Agreement.”
 
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Upon listing of our shares of Class A common stock on Nasdaq, we will be a “controlled company” within the meaning of the rules of Nasdaq and, as a result, we will qualify for, and intend to rely on, exemptions from certain corporate governance requirements. You will not have the same protections as those afforded to shareholders of companies that are subject to such governance requirements.
After completion of this offering, PSP will continue to control a majority of the voting power of our outstanding common stock. As a result, we will be a “controlled company” within the meaning of the corporate governance standards of Nasdaq. Under these rules, a company of which more than 50% of the voting power for the election of directors is held by an individual, group or another company is a “controlled company” and may elect not to comply with certain corporate governance requirements, including:
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the requirement that a majority of our Board consist of independent directors;
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the requirement that we have a nominating and corporate governance committee that is composed entirely of independent directors with a written charter addressing the committee’s purpose and responsibilities;
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the requirement that we have a compensation committee that is composed entirely of independent directors with a written charter addressing the committee’s purpose and responsibilities; and
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the requirement for an annual performance evaluation of the nominating and corporate governance and compensation committees.
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Following this offering, we intend to utilize these exceptions. As a result, we may not have a majority of independent directors on our Board, our Compensation and Nominating Committee may not consist entirely of independent directors and our Compensation and Nominating Committee may not be subject to annual performance evaluations. Accordingly, you will not have the same protections afforded to shareholders of companies that are subject to all of the corporate governance requirements of the Delaware General Corporation Law (the “DGCL”).
Our dual class structure has the effect of concentrating economic and voting power.
Immediately following this offering, we will have two classes of authorized and outstanding common stock: shares of Class A common stock, par value $0.0001 per share; and shares of Class V common stock, par value $0.0001 per share.
Shares of Class A common stock and Class V common stock will vote as a single class except as otherwise required by law or our certificate of incorporation. Each outstanding share of Class A common stock and Class V common stock will be entitled to one vote on all matters to be voted on by shareholders generally. See “Description of Capital Stock.”
Upon the completion of this offering, PSP will own    % of the total outstanding LP Units of Holdings LP, will possess voting and dispositive power over    % of all shares of Class V common stock, will own    % of all shares of Class A common stock and will control approximately    % (or approximately    % if the underwriters exercise their option to purchase additional shares of Class A common stock in full) of the voting power in Suja Life, Inc. through its ownership of our Class A common stock and Class V common stock. The remaining LP Unitholders will collectively own the remaining    % of the total outstanding LP Units of Holdings LP (including vested and unvested Class B Units) not held directly or indirectly by Suja Life, Inc. This means that, based on its percentage voting power controlled after the offering, PSP will control the vote of all matters submitted to a vote of our shareholders, including the election of members to our Board. The concentration of ownership could deprive you of an opportunity to receive a premium for your shares of Class A common stock as part of a sale of us and ultimately might affect the market price of our Class A common stock. See “— Risks Related to Our Organizational Structure — PSP will continue to control us following this offering, and their interests may conflict with ours or yours in the future.”
In addition, certain of the LP Unitholders may in the future exchange their LP Units, together with an equal number of shares of Class V common stock, for shares of our Class A common stock on a one-to-one basis or, at our election, for cash, pursuant to the Partnership Agreement and the Exchange Agreement, subject to certain conditions and transfer restrictions as set forth therein. Such transactions are expected to
 
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result in increases in Suja Life, Inc.’s allocable share of the tax basis of the assets of Holdings LP and its subsidiaries, and such increases in tax basis may reduce the amount of income or franchise tax that we would otherwise be required to pay in the future had such sales and exchanges never occurred.
In connection with the consummation of this offering, we will enter into a Tax Receivable Agreement with the TRA Parties. The actual amount and timing of any payments under the Tax Receivable Agreement will vary depending upon a number of factors, including the timing of exchanges or purchases of LP Units, the amount of gain recognized by the LP Unitholders upon exchanges or purchases of LP Units (which will depend on the value of Class A common stock at the time of the exchange), the amount and timing of the taxable income we generate in the future and the federal tax rates then applicable; however, we estimate that such payments will be substantial. See “Organizational Structure — Tax Receivable Agreement.”
Further, LP Unitholders have the right to consent to certain amendments to the Partnership Agreement, as well as to certain other matters. Holders of these voting rights may exercise them in a manner that conflicts with the interests of our shareholders. These conflicts may result in decisions that are not in the best interests of shareholders. See “— Conflicts of interest could arise between our shareholders and the LP Unitholders, which may impede business decisions that could benefit our shareholders.”
We cannot predict the impact our dual class structure may have on the market price of our Class A common stock.
We cannot predict whether our dual class structure will result in a lower or more volatile market price of our Class A common stock or in adverse publicity or other adverse consequences. For example, certain index providers have restrictions on including companies with multiple class share structures in certain of their indexes. These policies are still fairly new, and it is as of yet unclear what effect, if any, they will have on the valuations of publicly traded companies excluded from the indices, but it is possible that they may depress these valuations compared to those of other similar companies that are included. Under these policies, our dual class capital structure would make us ineligible for inclusion in certain indices, and as a result, mutual funds, exchange-traded funds and other investment vehicles that attempt to passively track those indices will not be investing in our stock. Because of our dual class structure, we will likely be excluded from certain of these indexes and we cannot assure you that other stock indexes will not take similar actions to FTSE Russell in the future. Previously, S&P Dow Jones excluded companies utilizing dual or multi-class capital structures from its indices, including the S&P 500, the S&P MidCap 400, and the S&P SmallCap 600, which together make up the S&P Composite 1500. However, in April 2023, it reversed this policy and announced that companies with dual or multi-class capital structures will again be eligible for inclusion on its indices. Indices have discretion to reassess and implement such policies with respect to multiple class share structures and we cannot be sure that their policies will not change further and make us ineligible for inclusion on indices in the future. Given the sustained flow of investment funds into passive strategies that seek to track certain indexes, exclusion from stock indexes would likely preclude investment by many of these funds and could make our Class A common stock less attractive to other investors. As a result, the market price of our Class A common stock could be adversely affected.
Conflicts of interest could arise between our shareholders and the LP Unitholders, which may impede business decisions that could benefit our shareholders.
Holders of LP Units have the right to consent to certain amendments to the Partnership Agreement, as well as to certain other matters. Holders of these voting rights may exercise them in a manner that conflicts with the interests of our shareholders. Circumstances may arise in the future when the interests of the LP Unitholders conflict with the interests of our shareholders. As we control Holdings LP, we have certain obligations to the LP Unitholders that may conflict with fiduciary duties our officers and directors owe to our shareholders. These conflicts may result in decisions that are not in the best interests of shareholders.
If Holdings LP were to become a “publicly traded partnership” taxable as a corporation for U.S. federal or state income tax purposes, we might be subject to significant tax inefficiencies, and we would not be able to recover payments previously made by us under the Tax Receivable Agreement, even if the corresponding tax benefits were subsequently determined to have been unavailable due to such status.
We intend to operate Holdings LP such that Holdings LP does not become a “publicly traded partnership” taxable as a corporation for U.S. federal income tax purposes. A “publicly traded partnership”
 
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is a partnership the interests of which are traded on an established securities market or are readily tradable on a secondary market or the substantial equivalent thereof. An entity that would otherwise be classified as a partnership for U.S. federal income tax purposes (such as Holdings LP) may nonetheless be treated as, and taxable as, a corporation if it is a “publicly traded partnership” unless an exception to such treatment applies.
Under certain circumstances, transfers of LP Units (including pursuant to the Exchange Agreement) could cause Holdings LP to be treated as a “publicly traded partnership.” Applicable U.S. Treasury regulations provide for certain safe harbors from treatment as a “publicly traded partnership,” and we intend to operate such that exchanges or other transfers of LP Units qualify for one or more of such safe harbors. Accordingly, while such position is not free from doubt, Holdings LP is expected to be operated such that it is not treated as a “publicly traded partnership” taxable as a corporation for U.S. federal income tax purposes and we intend to take the position that Holdings LP is not so treated as a result of exchanges of its interests pursuant to the Exchange Agreement.
If Holdings LP were to become a “publicly traded partnership” taxable as a corporation for U.S. federal income tax purposes, significant tax inefficiencies might result for us and for Holdings LP. Holdings LP would be taxable on its income at the U.S. federal income tax rates applicable to corporations and distributions by Holdings LP to its partners (including us through our wholly owned subsidiaries) may be taxable as dividends to such partners to the extent of the current or accumulated earnings and profits of Holdings LP, as determined under U.S. federal income tax principles, if we are unable to file a consolidated U.S. federal income tax return with Holdings LP. In addition, we may not be able to realize tax benefits covered under the Tax Receivable Agreement, including that we would no longer have the benefit of increases in the tax basis of Holdings LP’s assets as a result of exchanges of LP Units, and would not be able to recover any payments previously made by us under the Tax Receivable Agreement related to such tax benefits, even if they were subsequently determined to have been unavailable.
The Tax Receivable Agreement with the TRA Parties requires us to make cash payments to them in respect of certain tax benefits to which we may become entitled, and we expect that the payments we will be required to make will be substantial.
In connection with the consummation of this offering, we will enter into a Tax Receivable Agreement with the TRA Parties, which will require us to pay to such persons    % of the cash tax savings, if any, that we actually realize, or, in some circumstances, are deemed to realize, as a result of certain tax attributes and benefits covered by the Tax Receivable Agreement. Such tax attributes and benefits will include: (i) certain increases in the tax basis of assets of Holdings LP and its subsidiaries resulting from exchanges (or deemed exchanges in certain circumstances) of LP Units for shares of our Class A common stock or for cash pursuant to the Exchange Agreement and certain distributions (or deemed distributions) by Holdings LP, (ii) certain tax attributes of the current or former holders of equity interests in Holdings LP, and (iii) certain other tax benefits related to our entering into the Tax Receivable Agreement, including tax benefits attributable to payments that we are required to make under the Tax Receivable Agreement. We retain the benefit of the remaining 15% of such cash tax savings, if any. If the Tax Receivable Agreement Terminates early, we could be required to make a substantial, immediate lump-sum payment.
The payment obligations under the Tax Receivable Agreement are our obligations and not obligations of Holdings LP. Due to the uncertainty of various factors, we cannot accurately quantify the likely tax benefits we will realize as a result of such tax attributes and benefits, including exchanges of LP Units. The amounts payable, as well as the timing of any payments, under the Tax Receivable Agreement are dependent upon future events and assumptions, including the timing of LP Unit exchanges, the price of our Class A common stock at the time of each exchange, the extent to which such exchanges are taxable transactions, the amount of the exchanging LP Unitholder’s tax basis in its LP Units at the time of the relevant exchange, the depreciation and amortization periods that apply to the increase in tax basis, the amount and timing of taxable income we generate in the future, the U.S. federal, state, and local income tax rates then applicable, and the portion of any payments under the Tax Receivable Agreement that constitute imputed interest or give rise to depreciable, depletable, or amortizable tax basis; however, we estimate that such payments may be substantial.
Any payments made by us to the TRA Parties under the Tax Receivable Agreement will generally reduce the amount of overall cash flow that might have otherwise been available to us. To the extent that we
 
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are unable to make payments under the Tax Receivable Agreement, such payments generally will be deferred and will accrue interest until paid. Nonpayment for a specified period, however, may constitute a breach of a material obligation under the Tax Receivable Agreement and therefore accelerate payments due under the Tax Receivable Agreement, unless, generally, such nonpayment is due to a lack of sufficient funds or is prevented by any debt agreement to which Holdings LP or any of its subsidiaries is a party. Furthermore, our future obligation to make payments under the Tax Receivable Agreement could make us a less attractive target for an acquisition, particularly in the case of an acquirer that cannot use some or all of the tax benefits that may be deemed realized under the Tax Receivable Agreement. The payments under the Tax Receivable Agreement are also not conditioned upon the LP Unitholders or PSP maintaining a continued ownership interest in Holdings LP or us. See “Organizational Structure — Tax Receivable Agreement.”
The U.S. Internal Revenue Service (the “IRS”) might challenge the tax benefits we receive in connection with this offering or in connection with future acquisitions of LP Units. As a result, it is possible that we could make cash payments under the Tax Receivable Agreement that are substantially greater than our actual cash tax savings.
Payments under the Tax Receivable Agreement will be based on the tax reporting positions that we determine, which are complex and factual in nature. To the extent any tax attributes or benefits subject to the Tax Receivable Agreement are successfully challenged or disallowed by the IRS or any other taxing authority, we will not be reimbursed for any cash payments previously made under the Tax Receivable Agreement. Instead, any excess cash payments made by us to a party to the Tax Receivable Agreement will be netted against any future cash payments that we might otherwise be required to make to such party under the terms of the Tax Receivable Agreement. However, we might not determine that we have effectively made an excess cash payment to a TRA Party for a number of years following the initial time of such payment and, if any of our tax reporting positions are challenged by a taxing authority, we will not be permitted to reduce any future cash payments under the Tax Receivable Agreement until any such challenge is finally settled or determined. Accordingly, there may not be sufficient future cash payments against which to net. The applicable U.S. federal income tax rules are complex, their application to certain aspects of our structure is uncertain, and there can be no assurance that the IRS or a court will not disagree with our tax reporting positions. As a result, it is possible that we could make cash payments under the Tax Receivable Agreement that are substantially greater than our actual cash tax savings.
The amounts that we may be required to pay to the TRA Parties under the Tax Receivable Agreement may be accelerated in certain circumstances and may also significantly exceed the actual tax benefits that we ultimately realize.
The Tax Receivable Agreement provides that under certain events then the Tax Receivable Agreement will terminate, and our obligations, or our successor’s obligations, to make payments under the Tax Receivable Agreement would accelerate and we would be required to make an immediate lump-sum cash payment equal to the present value of the anticipated future tax benefits that are the subject of the Tax Receivable Agreement. Such events include: (1) certain mergers, asset sales, other forms of business combination, or other changes of control, (2) a breach of any of our material obligations under the Tax Receivable Agreement, or (3) an early termination of the Tax Receivable Agreement at our election at any time. The amount due and payable in that circumstance is based on certain assumptions, including an assumption that we would have sufficient taxable income to fully utilize all potential future tax benefits that are subject to the Tax Receivable Agreement; however, our ability to generate net taxable income is subject to substantial uncertainty.
Accordingly, any payment obligation triggered as a result of such event, including a change in control, material breach, or our election to terminate the Tax Receivable Agreement early may be made significantly in advance of, and could materially exceed, the realized future tax benefits, if any, to which such payment relates. In these situations, our payment obligations under the Tax Receivable Agreement could have a substantial negative impact on our liquidity and could have the effect of delaying, deferring, or preventing certain mergers, asset sales, other forms of business combination, or other changes of control, and could also result in holders of our Class A common stock receiving substantially less consideration in connection with a change of control transaction that they would receive in the absence of such obligation.
 
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If we are ultimately required to make payments under the Tax Receivable Agreement, including any payments that exceed our actual cash tax savings, we, Holdings LP, or our respective subsidiaries may need to incur debt to finance payments under the Tax Receivable Agreement to the extent available cash resources are insufficient to meet our obligations under the Tax Receivable Agreement as a result of timing discrepancies or otherwise. There can be no assurance that we will be able to finance our obligations under the Tax Receivable Agreement. See “Organizational Structure — Tax Receivable Agreement.”
We may not be able to realize all or a portion of the tax benefits that are currently expected to result from the tax attributes covered by the Tax Receivable Agreement and from payments made under the Tax Receivable Agreement.
Our ability to realize the tax benefits that we currently expect to be available as a result of the attributes covered by the Tax Receivable Agreement, the payments made pursuant to the Tax Receivable Agreement, and the interest deductions imputed under the Tax Receivable Agreement all depend on a number of assumptions, including that we earn sufficient taxable income each year during the period over which such deductions are available and that there are no adverse changes in applicable law or regulations. If our actual taxable income is insufficient or there are any adverse changes in applicable law or regulations, we may be unable to realize all or a portion of the expected tax benefits and our cash flows and shareholders’ equity could be negatively affected. See “Organizational Structure — Tax Receivable Agreement.”
If we were deemed to be an investment company under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”), applicable restrictions could make it impractical for us to continue our business as contemplated and could have a material and adverse effect on our prospects, business, financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows.
Under Sections 3(a)(1)(A) and (C) of the 1940 Act, a company generally will be deemed to be an “investment company” for purposes of the 1940 Act if it (1) is, or holds itself out as being, engaged primarily, or proposes to engage primarily, in the business of investing, reinvesting or trading in securities or (2) is engaged, or proposes to engage, in the business of investing, reinvesting, owning, holding or trading in securities and it owns or proposes to acquire investment securities having a value exceeding 40% of the value of its total assets (exclusive of U.S. government securities and cash items) on an unconsolidated basis. We do not believe that we are an “investment company,” as such term is defined in either of those sections of the 1940 Act.
As the sole general partner of Holdings LP, we will control and manage Holdings LP. On that basis, we believe that our interest in Holdings LP is not an “investment security” under the 1940 Act. Therefore, we have less than 40% of the value of our total assets (exclusive of U.S. government securities and cash items) in “investment securities.” However, if we were to lose the right to manage and control Holdings LP, interests in Holdings LP could be deemed to be “investment securities” under the 1940 Act.
We intend to conduct our operations so that we will not be deemed to be an investment company. However, if we were deemed to be an investment company, restrictions imposed by the 1940 Act, including limitations on our capital structure and our ability to transact with affiliates, could make it impractical for us to continue our business as contemplated and could have a material and adverse effect on our prospects, business, financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows.
Risks Related to Our Class A Common Stock and This Offering
We may allocate the net proceeds from this offering in ways that you and other shareholders may not approve.
Our management will have broad discretion in the application of the net proceeds from this offering, including for any of the purposes described in but also not otherwise identified for particular purposes in the section entitled “Use of Proceeds.” Because of the number and variability of factors that will determine our use of the net proceeds from this offering, their ultimate use may vary substantially from their currently intended use. Our management might not apply our net proceeds in ways that ultimately increases the value of your investment, and the failure by our management to apply these funds effectively could harm our business. Pending their use, we may invest the net proceeds from this offering in short- and intermediate-term interest-bearing obligations, investment-grade instruments, certificates of deposit or direct or guaranteed
 
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obligations of the United States government. These investments may not yield a favorable return to our shareholders. If we do not invest or apply the net proceeds from this offering in ways that enhance shareholder value, we may fail to achieve expected results, which could cause the price of our Class A common stock to decline.
If you purchase shares of Class A common stock in this offering, you will suffer immediate and substantial dilution of your investment.
The initial public offering price of our Class A common stock is substantially higher than the net tangible book value per share of our Class A common stock. Therefore, if you purchase shares of our Class A common stock in this offering, you will pay a price per share that substantially exceeds our net tangible book value per share after this offering. Based on an assumed initial public offering price of $      per share, which is the midpoint of the estimated price range set forth on the cover page of this prospectus, you will experience immediate dilution of $      per share, representing the difference between our Pro Forma for the Offering Transactions net tangible book value per share after giving effect to this offering and the initial public offering price. In addition, purchasers of Class A common stock in this offering will have contributed    % of the aggregate price paid by all purchasers of our Class A common stock but will own only approximately    % of our Class A common stock outstanding after this offering. See “Dilution” for more detail.
An active, liquid trading market for our Class A common stock may not develop, which may limit your ability to sell your shares.
Prior to this offering, there was no public market for our Class A common stock. Although we have applied to have our Class A common stock approved for listing on Nasdaq under the trading symbol “SUJA,” an active trading market for our Class A common stock may never develop or be sustained following this offering. The initial public offering price will be determined by negotiations between us and the underwriters and may not be indicative of market prices of our Class A common stock that will prevail in the open market after the offering. A public trading market having the desirable characteristics of depth, liquidity and orderliness depends upon the existence of willing buyers and sellers at any given time, such existence being dependent upon the individual decisions of buyers and sellers over which neither we nor any market maker has control. The failure of an active and liquid trading market to develop and continue would likely have a material and adverse effect on the value of our Class A common stock. The market price of our Class A common stock may decline below the initial public offering price, and you may not be able to sell your shares of our Class A common stock at or above the price you paid in this offering, or at all. An inactive market may also impair our ability to raise capital to continue to fund operations by issuing additional shares of our Class A common stock or other equity or equity-linked securities and may impair our ability to acquire other companies or technologies by using any such securities as consideration.
A significant portion of our total outstanding shares of Class A common stock are restricted from immediate resale but may be sold into the market in the near future. This could cause the market price of our Class A common stock to drop significantly, even if our business is doing well.
Sales of a substantial number of shares of our Class A common stock in the public market could occur at any time. These sales, or the perception in the market that the holders of a large number of shares of Class A common stock intend to sell shares, could reduce the market price of our Class A common stock. After this offering, we will have       outstanding shares of Class A common stock. This includes shares of Class A common stock that we and the selling shareholder are selling in this offering, which may be resold in the public market immediately. Following the consummation of this offering, all of the shares that are not being sold in this offering will be subject to a 180-day lock-up period provided under lock-up agreements executed in connection with this offering described in “Underwriting” and restricted from immediate resale under the federal securities laws as described in “Shares Eligible for Future Sale.” All of these shares of Class A common stock will, however, be able to be resold after the expiration of the lock-up period, as well as pursuant to customary exceptions thereto or upon the waiver of the lock-up agreement by the representatives on behalf of the underwriters. We also intend to register shares of Class A common stock that we may issue under our equity compensation plans. Once we register these shares, they can be freely sold in the public market upon issuance, subject to the lock-up agreements. Pursuant to the Registration Rights Agreement,
 
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certain LP Unitholders, including PSP, will have registration rights whereby, following the expiration of the lock-up period, such LP Unitholder can require us to register under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), shares of Class A common stock (including shares issuable to them upon exchange of its LP Units) and include such shares in registration statements that we may file for ourselves or other shareholders. See “Certain Relationships and Related Party Transactions — Related Party Transactions — Registration Rights Agreement.” As restrictions on resale end, the market price of our stock could decline if the holders of currently restricted shares of Class A common stock sell them or are perceived by the market as intending to sell them.
Because we have no current plans to pay regular cash dividends on our Class A common stock following this offering, you may not receive any return on investment unless you sell your Class A common stock for a price greater than that which you paid for it.
We do not anticipate paying any regular cash dividends on our Class A common stock following this offering. Any decision to declare and pay dividends in the future will be made at the discretion of our Board and will depend on, among other things, our results of operations, financial condition, cash requirements, contractual restrictions and other factors that our Board may deem relevant. In addition, our ability to pay dividends is, and may be, limited by covenants of existing and any future outstanding indebtedness we or our subsidiaries incur, including under our Credit Facilities. Therefore, any return on investment in our Class A common stock is solely dependent upon the appreciation of the price of our Class A common stock on the open market, which may not occur. See “Dividend Policy” for more detail.
General Risk Factors
Disruptions in the worldwide economy may adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows.
Adverse and uncertain economic conditions, including as a result of a global pandemic or epidemic, the effects of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine and the ongoing conflicts in the Middle East (including the war in Iran), or the impact of changes in tariffs, may affect distributor, retailer, foodservice and consumer demand for our products or impact our costs. In addition, our ability to manage normal commercial relationships with our farming partners, packaging suppliers and third-party logistics providers and creditors may suffer. Consumers may shift purchases to lower-priced or other perceived value offerings or product categories during economic downturns or uncertainty or periods of high inflation. In particular, during such times, consumers may shift their purchase habits away from premium, organic products such as ours and may shift to purchasing less costly private label products. Distributors and retailers may become more conservative in response to these conditions and seek to reduce their inventories. Our results of operations depend upon, among other things, our ability to maintain and increase sales volume with our existing distributors, direct retailers and foodservice customers, our ability to attract new customers and consumers, the financial condition of our customers and consumers and our ability to provide products that appeal to consumers at the right price. Cost pressures or inflation could challenge our ability to do so. Prolonged unfavorable economic conditions may have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows.
Fluctuations in business conditions may unexpectedly impact our reported results of operations and financial condition.
We experience fluctuations in our financial performance as a result of a variety of factors, including the timing of our or our competitors’ promotional activities, the timing of product introductions and merchandise mix, as well as seasonal fluctuations in demand for beverage products that typically result in higher net sales for such products during winter months. We periodically offer sales and promotional incentives through various programs to customers and consumers, including rebates, temporary on-shelf price reductions, retailer advertisements, product coupons and other trade activities. Our net sales and results of operations are impacted by the timing and size of such sales and promotion incentives. The promotional activity and cadence in club stores in particular may cause material spikes or declines in expected demand. New product introductions and shelf resets at our customers may also cause our results of operations to
 
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fluctuate. Due to these fluctuations, historical period-to-period comparisons of our results of operations are not necessarily indicative of future period-to-period results, impacting comparability of our quarterly results year-over-year.
Our operating results and stock price may be volatile, and the market price of our Class A common stock after this offering may drop below the price you pay.
Our quarterly operating results are likely to fluctuate in the future. In addition, securities markets worldwide have experienced, and are likely to continue to experience, significant price and volume fluctuations. This market volatility, as well as general economic, market or political conditions, could subject the market price of our Class A common stock to wide price fluctuations regardless of our operating performance. Our operating results and the trading price of our Class A common stock may fluctuate in response to various factors, including:
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market conditions in our industry or the broader stock market;
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actual or anticipated fluctuations in our quarterly financial and operating results;
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introduction of new solutions or services by us or our competitors;
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issuance of new or changed securities analysts’ reports or recommendations;
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sales, or anticipated sales, of large blocks of our stock;
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additions or departures of key personnel;
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regulatory or political developments;
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litigation and governmental investigations;
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changing economic conditions;
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investors’ perception of us;
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events beyond our control such as weather, war and health crises; and
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any default on our indebtedness.
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These and other factors, many of which are beyond our control, may cause our operating results and the market price and demand for our Class A common stock to fluctuate substantially. Fluctuations in our quarterly operating results could limit or prevent investors from readily selling their shares of Class A common stock and may otherwise negatively affect the market price and liquidity of our shares of Class A common stock. In addition, in the past, when the market price of a stock has been volatile, holders of that stock have sometimes instituted securities class action litigation against the company that issued the stock. If any of our shareholders brought a lawsuit against us, we could incur substantial costs defending the lawsuit. Such a lawsuit could also divert the time and attention of our management from our business, which could significantly harm our results of operations and reputation.
We may not be successful in our efforts to make acquisitions and successfully integrate newly acquired products or businesses.
We may review acquisition and strategic investment opportunities to expand our current product offerings and distribution channels, increase the size and geographic scope of our operations or otherwise offer growth and operating efficiency opportunities, such as our newest innovation, Slice, and our acquisition of Vive Organic in 2022. There can be no assurance that we will be able to identify suitable candidates or consummate these transactions on favorable terms. If required, the financing for these transactions could result in an increase in our indebtedness, dilute the interests of our shareholders, or both. The purchase price for some acquisitions may include additional amounts to be paid in cash in the future, a portion of which may be contingent on the achievement of certain future operating results of the acquired business. If the performance of any such acquired business exceeds such operating results, then we may incur additional charges and be required to pay additional amounts. In addition, exploring acquisition opportunities may divert management’s attention from the core business and organic innovation and growth, which could negatively impact our business, financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows. If we identify a
 
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suitable acquisition candidate, our ability to successfully implement the acquisition will depend on a variety of factors, including our ability to obtain financing on acceptable terms consistent with any debt agreements existing at that time and our ability to negotiate acceptable price and terms. Historically, fluctuations in the financial markets indicate that obtaining future financing to fund acquisitions may present significant challenges and may also create dilution to shareholders or other potential impacts.
The success of future acquisitions will be dependent upon our ability to effectively integrate the acquired products and operations into our business. Integration can be complex, expensive and time-consuming. The failure to successfully integrate acquired products or businesses in a timely and cost-effective manner could materially and adversely affect our prospects, business, financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows. The diversion of our management’s attention and any difficulties encountered in any integration process could also adversely affect our ability to manage our business. In addition, the integration process in connection with any future acquisitions could result in the loss of key employees, the disruption of ongoing businesses, litigation, tax costs or inefficiencies, or inconsistencies in standards, any of which could adversely affect our ability to maintain the appeal of our brands and our relationships with customers, employees or other third parties or our ability to achieve the anticipated benefits or synergies of such acquisitions and adversely affect our financial performance. Further, the future acquisition of a product or business may cause us to deviate from our historically asset light business model if we were to acquire production capabilities and facilities in connection therewith, and as a result could increase our costs of operation.
We do not know if we will be able to identify acquisitions we deem suitable, whether we will be able to successfully complete any such acquisitions on favorable terms or at all, or whether we will be able to successfully integrate or realize the anticipated benefits of any acquired products or businesses. Further, an additional risk inherent in any acquisition is that we fail to realize a positive return on our investment.
If our goodwill or amortizable intangible assets become impaired, we may be required to record a significant charge to earnings.
We review our goodwill and amortizable intangible assets for impairment annually or when events or changes in circumstances indicate the carrying value may not be recoverable. Changes in economic or operating conditions impacting our estimates and assumptions could result in the impairment of our goodwill or other assets. In the event that we determine our goodwill or other assets are impaired, we may be required to record a significant charge to earnings in our financial statements that could have a material and adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows.
As of December 29, 2025, we have $178.5 million of amortizable intangible assets, primarily consisting of trade names, recipes and customer relationships. The carrying value of these intangible assets is periodically reviewed by management to determine if there are events or changes in circumstances that would indicate that the carrying amount may not be recoverable. Accordingly, if there are any such circumstances that occur during the year, we assess the carrying value of our amortizable intangible assets by considering the estimated future undiscounted cash flows generated by the corresponding business or asset group. Any impairment identified through this assessment may require that the carrying value of related amortizable intangible assets be adjusted.
We have been, and in the future may be, subject to litigation that could have an adverse effect on our business.
We have been, and in the future may continue to be, subject to complaints, regulatory proceedings, or litigation from customers or other persons alleging food-related illness, or other food quality, labeling, health or operational concerns, including environmental claims. For example, we have in the past been subject to lawsuits brought under Prop 65 for failure to warn consumers of trace amounts of ethyl alcohol and cadmium in our products. Participants in our industry, including us, have faced, and we may in the future face, litigation regarding the use of terms such as “organic” and “cold-pressed” in labeling of products. Such litigation against us or against our private label partners, or being named in frivolous lawsuits that arise in the ordinary course of business, particularly as we continue to grow following our initial public offering, may be expensive to defend, harm our reputation and divert resources away from our operations and negatively impact our reported earnings.
 
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Also, legal proceedings against our suppliers or manufacturers, including local and regional farmers, by third parties, whether in the ordinary course of business or otherwise, may include claims against us by virtue of our relationships with them, particularly as we continue to grow following our initial public offering. We, or our business partners, may become subject to claims for infringement of intellectual property rights, food quality, health or operational concerns, including environmental claims, and we may be required to indemnify or defend our business partners from such claims. Should management’s evaluation of our current exposure to legal matters pending against us prove incorrect and such claims are successful, our exposure could exceed expectations and could have a materially adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows. Although some losses may be covered by insurance, we bear the costs and expenses associated with defending claims, including frivolous lawsuits, and if significant losses are not covered, or there is a delay in receiving insurance proceeds, or if the proceeds are insufficient to offset our losses fully, there could be a materially adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows.
Legislative or regulatory changes that affect our products, including new taxes, could reduce demand for products or increase our costs.
Taxes imposed on the sale of certain of our products by federal, state and local governments in the United States, or other countries in which we may operate in the future could cause consumers to shift away from purchasing our beverages. Several municipalities in the United States have implemented or are considering implementing taxes on the sale of certain “sugared” beverages, including non-diet soft drinks, fruit drinks, teas and flavored waters to help fund various initiatives. There has also been a trend among some public health advocates to recommend additional governmental regulations concerning the marketing and labeling/packaging of the beverage industry. Additional or revised regulatory requirements, whether labeling, packaging, tax or otherwise, could adversely affect our consumer demand, business, financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows.
Changes in tax laws or adverse outcomes resulting from examination of our income or other tax returns could adversely affect our operating results and financial condition.
We are currently subject to taxation by U.S. federal, state, and local tax authorities, and our tax liabilities will be subject to the allocation of expenses in differing jurisdictions. Our future effective tax rates could be subject to volatility or adversely affected by a number of factors, including:
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changes in the valuation of our deferred tax assets and liabilities;
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changes to our assessment about our ability to realize, or in the valuation of, our deferred tax assets that are based on estimates of our future results, the prudence and feasibility of possible tax planning strategies and the economic and political environments in which we do business;
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expected timing and amount of the release of any tax valuation allowances;
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tax effects of equity-based compensation;
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costs related to intercompany restructurings;
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expiration of, or detrimental changes in, research and development tax credit laws;
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changes in tax laws, regulations or interpretations thereof;
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expansion into or future activities in new jurisdictions;
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the availability of tax deductions, credits, exemptions, refunds, and other benefits to reduce tax liabilities;
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lower than anticipated future earnings in jurisdictions where we are subject to lower statutory tax rates and higher than anticipated future earnings in jurisdictions where we are subject to higher statutory tax rates; and
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limitations or adverse findings regarding our ability to do business in some jurisdictions.
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Any changes in U.S. taxation may increase our effective tax rate and harm our business, financial condition, and results of operations. In particular, new income or other tax laws or regulations could be
 
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enacted at any time, which could adversely affect our business operations and financial performance, and existing tax laws and regulations could be interpreted, modified, or applied in ways that are adverse to us.
Moreover, significant judgment is required in our accounting for income taxes. In the ordinary course of our business, there are transactions and calculations for which the most appropriate tax treatment is unsettled or unresolved. Changes in tax laws and regulations, in addition to changes and conflicts in related interpretations and other tax guidance, could materially impact our provision for income taxes, deferred tax assets, and liabilities for uncertain tax positions. On July 4, 2025, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (the “OBBBA”) was enacted into law. The OBBBA includes significant changes to the Code, including restoration of immediate recognition of domestic research and development expenditures and reinstatement of 100% bonus depreciation for qualifying property. Additionally, the OBBBA eases the limitation on interest expense deductions by allowing companies to calculate their income for 163(j) purposes before deducting depreciation and amortization. The Company is currently evaluating the impact of the OBBBA on its condensed consolidated financial statements, including the effects on its deferred tax assets and liabilities.
In addition, we may be subject to audits of our income, sales and other transaction taxes by U.S. federal, state, and local tax authorities. Outcomes from these audits could have an adverse effect on our operating results and financial condition.
As a result of becoming a public company, we will be obligated to develop and maintain proper and effective internal control over financial reporting in order to comply with Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. We may not complete our analysis of our internal control over financial reporting in a timely manner, or these internal controls may not be determined to be effective, which may adversely affect investor confidence in us and, as a result, the value of our Class A common stock.
Our management is responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate internal control over financial reporting. Internal control over financial reporting is a process designed to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements in accordance with GAAP. We are in the very early stages of the costly and challenging process of compiling the system and processing documentation necessary to perform the evaluation needed to comply with Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. We may not be able to complete our evaluation, testing and any required remediation in the time required. If we are unable to assert that our internal control over financial reporting is effective, we could lose investor confidence in the accuracy and completeness of our financial reports, which would cause the price of our Class A common stock to decline, and we may be subject to investigation or sanctions by the SEC.
We will be required, pursuant to Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, to furnish a report by management on, among other things, the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting as of the end of the fiscal year that coincides with the filing of our second annual report on Form 10-K. This assessment will need to include disclosure of any material weaknesses identified by our management in our internal control over financial reporting.
We will also be required to disclose changes made in our internal control and procedures on a quarterly basis. However, our independent registered public accounting firm will not be required to report on the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting pursuant to Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act until the later of the year following our first annual report required to be filed with the SEC, or the date we are no longer an “emerging growth company” as defined in the JOBS Act, if we take advantage of the exemptions contained in the JOBS Act. At such time, our independent registered public accounting firm may issue a report that is adverse in the event it is not satisfied with the level at which our controls are documented, designed or operating.
Additionally, the existence of any material weakness or significant deficiency would require management to devote significant time and incur significant expense to remediate any such material weaknesses or significant deficiencies and management may not be able to remediate any such material weaknesses or significant deficiencies in a timely manner. The existence of any material weakness in our internal control over financial reporting could also result in errors in our consolidated financial statements that could require us to restate our consolidated financial statements, cause us to fail to meet our reporting obligations and cause shareholders to lose confidence in our reported financial information, all of which could materially
 
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adversely affect our business and stock price. To comply with the requirements of being a public company, we may need to undertake various costly and time-consuming actions, such as implementing new internal controls and procedures and hiring accounting or internal audit staff, which may adversely affect our prospectus, business, financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows.
We are an “emerging growth company” and we expect to elect to comply with reduced public company reporting requirements, which could make our Class A common stock less attractive to investors.
We are an “emerging growth company,” as defined in the JOBS Act. For as long as we continue to be an emerging growth company, we are eligible for certain exemptions from various public company reporting requirements. These exemptions include, but are not limited to, (i) not being required to comply with the auditor attestation requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, (ii) reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in our periodic reports, proxy statements and registration statements, and (iii) exemptions from the requirements of holding a nonbinding advisory vote on executive compensation and shareholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved. We could be an emerging growth company for up to five years after the first sale of our Class A common stock pursuant to an effective registration statement under the Securities Act, which fifth anniversary will occur in 2031. However, if certain events occur prior to the end of such five-year period, including if we become a “large accelerated filer,” our annual gross revenue exceeds $1.235 billion or we issue more than $1.0 billion of non-convertible debt in any three-year period, we would cease to be an emerging growth company prior to the end of such five-year period. We have made certain elections with regard to the reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in this prospectus and may elect to take advantage of other reduced disclosure obligations in future filings. As a result, the information that we provide to holders of our Class A common stock may be different than you might receive from other public reporting companies in which you hold equity interests. We cannot predict if investors will find our Class A common stock less attractive as a result of reliance on these exemptions. If some investors find our Class A common stock less attractive as a result of any choice we make to reduce disclosure, there may be a less active trading market for our Class A common stock and the market price for our Class A common stock may be more volatile.
The JOBS Act also permits an emerging growth company like us to take advantage of an extended transition period to comply with new or revised accounting standards applicable to public companies. We are electing to take advantage of this extended transition period for complying with new or revised accounting standards provided for by the JOBS Act. We will therefore comply with new or revised accounting standards when they apply to private companies. As a result, our financial statements may not be comparable with companies that comply with public company effective dates for accounting standards.
The requirements of being a public company may strain our resources and distract our management, which could make it difficult to manage our business, particularly after we are no longer an “emerging growth company.”
As a public company, we will incur legal, accounting and other expenses that we did not previously incur. We will become subject to corporate governance requirements that will become applicable to us as a public company, the applicable rules and regulations of the SEC, the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Customer Protection Act of 2010, the reporting requirements of the Exchange Act of 1933, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), and the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, the listing requirements of Nasdaq and other applicable securities rules and regulations. Compliance with these rules and regulations will increase our legal and financial compliance costs, make some activities more difficult, time-consuming or costly and increase demand on our systems and resources, particularly after we are no longer an “emerging growth company.” The Exchange Act requires that we file annual, quarterly and current reports with respect to our prospects, business, financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act requires, among other things, that we establish and maintain effective internal controls and procedures for financial reporting. Furthermore, the need to establish the corporate infrastructure demanded of a public company may divert our management’s attention from implementing our growth strategy, which could prevent us from improving our prospects, business, financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows. We have made, and will continue to make, changes to our internal controls and procedures for financial reporting and accounting systems to meet our reporting obligations as a public company. However, the measures we take may not be sufficient to satisfy our obligations as a public company. In addition, these rules and regulations
 
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will increase our legal and financial compliance costs and will make some activities more time-consuming and costly. For example, we expect these rules and regulations to make it more difficult and more expensive for us to obtain director and officer liability insurance, and we may be required to incur substantial costs to maintain the same or similar coverage. As a result, it may be more difficult for us to attract and retain qualified persons to serve on our Board or as executive officers. We cannot predict or estimate the amount of additional costs we will incur as a public company or the timing of such costs. In addition, our management team will need to devote substantial attention to transitioning to interacting with public company analysts and investors and complying with the increasingly complex laws pertaining to public companies, which may divert attention away from the day-to-day management of our business. These additional obligations, including the increase of costs incurred or diversion of management’s attention as a result of becoming a publicly traded company, could have a material and adverse effect on our prospects, business, financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows.
In addition, changing laws, regulations and standards relating to corporate governance and public disclosure are creating uncertainty for public companies, increasing legal and financial compliance costs and making some activities more time consuming. These laws, regulations and standards are subject to varying interpretations, in many cases due to their lack of specificity, and, as a result, their application in practice may evolve over time as new guidance is provided by regulatory and governing bodies. This could result in continuing uncertainty regarding compliance matters and higher costs necessitated by ongoing revisions to disclosure and governance practices. We intend to invest resources to comply with evolving laws, regulations and standards, and this investment may result in increased general and administrative expenses and a diversion of our management’s time and attention from revenue-generating activities to compliance activities. If our efforts to comply with new laws, regulations and standards differ from the activities intended by regulatory or governing bodies due to ambiguities related to their application and practice, regulatory authorities may initiate legal proceedings against us and there could be a material and adverse effect on our prospects, business, financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows.
If securities or industry analysts do not publish research or reports about our business, if they publish unfavorable research or reports, or adversely change their recommendations regarding our Class A common stock or if our results of operations do not meet their expectations, our stock price and trading volume could decline.
If a trading market for our Class A common stock develops, the trading market will be influenced by the research and reports that industry or securities analysts publish about us or our business. We do not have any control over these analysts. As a newly public company, we may be slow to attract research coverage. In the event we obtain securities or industry analyst coverage, if any of the analysts who cover us provide inaccurate or unfavorable research, issue an adverse opinion regarding our stock price or if our results of operations do not meet their expectations, our stock price could decline. Moreover, if one or more of these analysts cease coverage of us or fail to publish reports on us regularly, we could lose visibility in the financial markets, which in turn could cause our stock price or trading volume to decline.
We may require additional financing to achieve our goals, which may not be available when needed or may be costly and dilutive.
We may require additional financing to support the growth of our business, for working capital needs or to cover unforeseen costs and expenses. The amount of additional capital we may require, the timing of our capital needs and the availability of financing to fund those needs will depend on a number of factors, including our strategic initiatives and operating plans, the performance of our business, the number, complexity and characteristics of additional products or future manufacturing processes we require to serve new or existing markets, any proposed acquisitions and cost increases related to the integration of acquired products or businesses, any material or significant product recalls, any failure or disruption with our farming partners and packaging suppliers as well as our third-party logistics providers, the expansion into new markets, any changes in our regulatory or legislative landscape, particularly with respect to product safety, advertising, product labeling and data privacy, the costs associated with being a public company and the market conditions for debt or equity financing. Additionally, the amount of capital required will depend on our ability to meet our sales goals and otherwise successfully execute our operating plan. We intend to continually monitor and adjust our operating plan as necessary to respond to developments in our business, our markets and the broader economy and it is possible that our business could become more capital
 
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intensive. Any debt financing that we secure in the future could involve restrictive covenants relating to our capital raising activities and other financial and operational matters, which may make it more difficult for us to obtain additional capital and to pursue business opportunities. Although we believe various debt and equity financing alternatives will be available to us to support our capital needs, financing arrangements on acceptable terms may not be available to us when needed. For example, negative economic conditions and issues with regard to the financial markets could have a negative impact on our ability to access the capital markets, and thus have a negative impact on our operations and liquidity. A general shortage of liquidity and credit combined with the substantial losses in worldwide equity markets could lead to an extended worldwide recession in the future. If such conditions occurred, we would face significant challenges if conditions in the capital markets did not improve. Our ability to access the capital markets under such circumstances could be severely restricted at a time when we need to access such markets, which could have a negative impact on our business plans. Even if we are able to raise capital under such circumstances, it may not be at a price or on terms that are favorable to us. We cannot predict the occurrence of future disruptions or how long such negative conditions might continue. Additionally, these alternatives may require significant cash payments for interest and other costs or could be highly dilutive to our existing shareholders. Any such financing alternatives may not provide us with sufficient funds to meet our long-term capital requirements.
We may issue shares of preferred stock in the future, which could make it difficult for another company to acquire us or could otherwise adversely affect holders of our Class A common stock.
Our certificate of incorporation will authorize us to issue one or more series of preferred stock. Our Board will have the authority to determine the preferences, limitations and relative rights of the shares of preferred stock and to fix the number of shares constituting any series and the designation of such series, without any further vote or action by our shareholders. Our preferred stock could be issued with voting, liquidation, dividend and other rights superior to the rights of our Class A common stock. The potential issuance of preferred stock may delay or prevent a change in control of us, discouraging bids for our Class A common stock at a premium to the market price, and materially and adversely affect the market price and the voting and other rights of the holders of our Class A common stock.
Provisions of our corporate governance documents could make an acquisition of us more difficult and may prevent attempts by our shareholders to replace or remove our current management, even if beneficial to our shareholders.
Our certificate of incorporation and bylaws to be effective at or prior to the consummation of this offering and the DGCL contain provisions that could make it more difficult for a third party to acquire us, even if doing so might be beneficial to our shareholders. Among other things:
•
these provisions allow us to authorize the issuance of undesignated preferred stock, the terms of which may be established and the shares of which may be issued without shareholder approval, and which may include supermajority voting, special approval, dividend, or other rights or preferences superior to the rights of shareholders;
​
•
these provisions provide for a classified Board with staggered three-year terms;
​
•
these provisions provide that, at any time when PSP controls less than 40% in voting power of our stock entitled to vote generally in the election of directors, directors may only be removed for cause, and only by the affirmative vote of holders of at least 662∕3% in voting power of all the then-outstanding shares of our stock entitled to vote thereon, voting together as a single class;
​
•
these provisions prohibit shareholder action by written consent from and after the date on which PSP controls less than 30% in voting power of our stock entitled to vote generally in the election of directors;
​
•
these provisions provide that for as long as PSP controls at least 30% in voting power of our stock entitled to vote generally in the election of directors, any amendment, alteration, rescission or repeal of our bylaws by our shareholders will require the affirmative vote of a majority in voting power of the outstanding shares of our capital stock and at any time when PSP controls less than 30% in voting power of all outstanding shares of our stock entitled to vote generally in the election of directors, any amendment, alteration, rescission or repeal of our bylaws by our shareholders will require the
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affirmative vote of the holders of at least 662∕3% in voting power of all the then-outstanding shares of our stock entitled to vote thereon, voting together as a single class; and
•
these provisions establish advance notice requirements for nominations for elections to our Board or for proposing matters that can be acted upon by shareholders at shareholder meetings; provided, however, at any time when PSP controls at least 40% in voting power of our stock entitled to vote generally in the election of directors, such advance notice procedure will not apply to PSP.
​
We will opt out of Section 203 of the DGCL, which generally prohibits a Delaware corporation from engaging in any of a broad range of business combinations with any interested shareholder for a period of three years following the date on which the shareholder became an interested shareholder. However, our certificate of incorporation to be effective at or prior to the consummation of this offering will contain a provision that provides us with protections similar to Section 203, and will prevent us from engaging in a business combination with a person (excluding PSP and any of its direct or indirect transferees and any group as to which such persons are a party) who acquires at least 15% of our common stock for a period of three years from the date such person acquired such common stock, unless board or shareholder approval is obtained prior to the acquisition. See “Description of Capital Stock — Anti-Takeover Provisions.” These provisions could discourage, delay or prevent a transaction involving a change in control of our company. These provisions could also discourage proxy contests and make it more difficult for you and other shareholders to elect directors of your choosing and cause us to take other corporate actions you desire, including actions that you may deem advantageous, or negatively affect the trading price of our Class A common stock. In addition, because our Board is responsible for appointing the members of our management team, these provisions could in turn affect any attempt by our shareholders to replace current members of our management team.
These and other provisions in our certificate of incorporation, bylaws and Delaware law could make it more difficult for shareholders or potential acquirers to obtain control of our Board or initiate actions that are opposed by our then-current Board, including actions to delay or impede a merger, tender offer or proxy contest involving our company. The existence of these provisions could negatively affect the price of our Class A common stock and limit opportunities for you to realize value in a corporate transaction.
For information regarding these and other provisions, see “Description of Capital Stock.”
Our certificate of incorporation will designate the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware as the exclusive forum for certain litigation that may be initiated by our shareholders and the federal district courts of the United States as the exclusive forum for litigation arising under the Securities Act, which could limit our shareholders’ ability to obtain a favorable judicial forum for disputes with us.
Pursuant to our certificate of incorporation, which we will adopt at or prior to the consummation of this offering, unless we consent in writing to the selection of an alternative forum, the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware will be the sole and exclusive forum for any claims in state court for (1) any derivative action or proceeding brought on our behalf, (2) any action asserting a claim of breach of a fiduciary duty owed by any of our directors, officers or other employees to us or our shareholders, (3) any action asserting a claim against us arising pursuant to any provision of the DGCL, our certificate of incorporation or our bylaws or (4) any other action asserting a claim against us that is governed by the internal affairs doctrine; provided that for the avoidance of doubt, the forum selection provision that identifies the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware as the exclusive forum for certain litigation, including any “derivative action,” will not apply to suits to enforce a duty or liability created by the Securities Act, the Exchange Act or any other claim for which the federal courts have exclusive jurisdiction. Our certificate of incorporation will also provide that, unless we consent in writing to the selection of an alternative forum, the federal district courts of the United States shall be the exclusive forum for the resolution of any complaint asserting a cause of action arising under the Securities Act. However, Section 22 of the Securities Act creates concurrent jurisdiction for federal and state courts over all suits brought to enforce a duty or liability created by the Securities Act or the rules and regulations thereunder; accordingly, we cannot be certain that a court would enforce such provision. Our certificate of incorporation will further provide that any person or entity purchasing or otherwise acquiring any interest in shares of our capital stock is deemed to have notice of and consented to the provisions of our certificate of incorporation described above. However, our shareholders will not be deemed to have waived (and cannot waive) compliance with the federal securities laws and the
 
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rules and regulations thereunder. See “Description of Capital Stock — Forum Selection.” The forum selection provisions in our certificate of incorporation may have the effect of discouraging lawsuits against us or our directors and officers and may limit our shareholders’ ability to obtain a favorable judicial forum for disputes with us. If the enforceability of our forum selection provisions were to be challenged, we may incur additional costs associated with resolving such challenge. While we currently have no basis to expect any such challenge would be successful, if a court were to find our forum selection provisions to be inapplicable or unenforceable with respect to one or more of these specified types of actions or proceedings, we may incur additional costs associated with having to litigate in other jurisdictions, which could have an adverse effect on our prospects, business, financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows and result in a diversion of the time and resources of our employees, management and Board.
 
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FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
This prospectus contains “forward-looking statements” that are subject to risks and uncertainties. All statements other than statements of historical fact included in this prospectus are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements give our current expectations relating to our financial condition, results of operations, plans, objectives, future performance and business. You can identify forward-looking statements by the fact that they do not relate strictly to historical or current facts. These statements may include words such as “anticipate,” “estimate,” “expect,” “project,” “plan,” “intend,” “believe,” “may,” “will,” “should,” “can have,” “likely” and other words and terms of similar meaning in connection with any discussion of the timing or nature of future operating or financial performance or other events. For example, all statements we make relating to our estimated costs, expenditures, cash flows, growth rates and financial results, our plans and objectives for future operations, growth or initiatives, strategies or the expected outcome or impact of pending or threatened litigation are forward-looking statements. All forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially from those that we expected, including:
•
a reduction or limited availability of organic fruits, vegetables and other raw materials and ingredients for our juice products or an increase in the price of such materials and ingredients;
​
•
real or perceived quality or food safety issues with our products, which may diminish our brands and reputation;
​
•
strong competition in the food and beverage retail industry;
​
•
our reliance on distributor and retail customers for a significant portion of our sales, and our ability to maintain or further develop our sales channels;
​
•
our reliance on our local and regional farming partners and other third-party partners and those third parties’ ability to fulfill their obligations;
​
•
our reliance on our limited suppliers for materials used to package our products, the costs of which have in the past been, and may continue to be, volatile and subject to price increases;
​
•
failure by our transportation providers to deliver our products on time, or at all, and problems with our logistics network and arrangements;
​
•
our ability to manage our future growth effectively;
​
•
our ability to successfully forecast and manage our inventory at appropriate levels for our demand;
​
•
any damage or disruption at our production facilities in Oceanside, California, where our products are primarily manufactured;
​
•
our ability to quickly respond to new trends by introducing new products or successfully improving existing products;
​
•
an overall decline in the health of the economy and other factors impacting consumer spending;
​
•
a reduction in demand for and sales of our cold-pressed juices, wellness shots and functional sodas or a decrease in consumer demand for such products generally;
​
•
our ability to develop and maintain our brands and company image;
​
•
the success of our marketing strategies and channels at maintaining consumer awareness of our brands, building brand loyalty and generating interest in our products from existing and new consumers;
​
•
our failure to retain our senior management and key personnel;
​
•
advertising inaccuracies and product mislabeling, which may expose us to lawsuits, product recalls or regulatory enforcement actions;
​
•
our ability to comply with laws and regulations relating to data privacy, data protection, advertising and consumer protection;
​
 
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•
food safety and food-borne illness incidents or other safety concerns, which may expose us to lawsuits, product recalls or regulatory enforcement actions;
​
•
our dependence on distributions from Holdings LP to pay our taxes and expenses, including payments under the Tax Receivable Agreement;
​
•
we will be controlled by PSP following this offering, and their interests may conflict with ours or yours in the future;
​
•
our dual class structure, and the impact that it may have on the market price of our Class A common stock;
​
•
our success with making acquisitions and integrating newly acquired products or businesses;
​
•
potential litigation that could have an adverse effect on our business; and
​
•
other factors disclosed in the section entitled “Risk Factors” and elsewhere in this prospectus.
​
We derive many of our forward-looking statements from our operating budgets and forecasts, which are based on many detailed assumptions. While we believe that our assumptions are reasonable, we caution that it is very difficult to predict the impact of known factors, and it is impossible for us to anticipate all factors that could affect our actual results. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from our expectations, or cautionary statements, are disclosed under the sections entitled “Risk Factors” and “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” in this prospectus. All written and oral forward-looking statements attributable to us, or persons acting on our behalf, are expressly qualified in their entirety by these cautionary statements as well as other cautionary statements that are made from time to time in our other SEC filings and public communications. You should evaluate all forward-looking statements made in this prospectus in the context of these risks and uncertainties.
In addition, statements that “we believe” and similar statements reflect our beliefs and opinions on the relevant subject. These statements are based upon information available to us as of the date of this prospectus, and while we believe such information forms a reasonable basis for such statements, such information may be limited or incomplete, and our statements should not be read to indicate that we have conducted an exhaustive inquiry into, or review of, all potentially available relevant information. These statements are inherently uncertain and investors are cautioned not to unduly rely upon these statements.
We caution you that the important factors referenced above may not contain all of the factors that are important to you. In addition, we cannot assure you that we will realize the results or developments we expect or anticipate or, even if substantially realized, that they will result in the consequences or affect us or our operations in the way we expect. The forward-looking statements included in this prospectus are made only as of the date hereof. We undertake no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as otherwise required by law.
 
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USE OF PROCEEDS
We estimate, based upon an assumed initial public offering price of $      per share (which is the midpoint of the estimated public offering price range set forth on the cover page of this prospectus), we will receive net proceeds from this offering of approximately $      million (or $      million if the underwriters exercise their option to purchase additional shares of Class A common stock in full), after deducting the underwriting discount and estimated offering expenses payable by us. We will not receive any of the proceeds from the sale of shares of Class A common stock by the selling shareholder.
The principal purposes of this offering are to increase our financial flexibility, create a public market for our Class A common stock, and facilitate our future access to capital markets. We intend to use such net proceeds to acquire, directly or indirectly through one or more wholly owned subsidiaries, (i)        newly issued LP Units in Holdings LP and (ii)        LP Units from certain existing owners of Holdings LP (and retire the corresponding shares of Class V common stock), in each case at a purchase price per LP Unit equal to the initial offering price per share of Class A common stock in this offering, less the underwriting discount.
In turn, Holdings LP intends to apply the balance of the net proceeds it receives from us (i) to repay $      million of borrowings under the Credit Agreement, (ii) to pay expenses incurred in connection with this offering and the other Organizational Transactions, and (iii) to the extent any proceeds remain, for general corporate purposes.
As of December 29, 2025, we had $267.5 million outstanding under the Term Loan Facilities and $40 million outstanding under the Revolving Credit Facility. As of December 29, 2025, the effective interest rate for the Term Loan Facilities was 9.65%, and the weighted average interest rate for amounts drawn under the Revolving Credit Facility was 9.51%. The Term Loan Facilities will mature on August 23, 2029. The Revolving Credit Facility will mature on August 23, 2028.
The expected use of net proceeds from this offering represents our intentions based upon our current plans and business conditions, which could change in the future as our plans and business conditions evolve. We cannot predict with certainty all of the particular uses for the net proceeds of this offering or the amounts that we will actually spend on the uses set forth above. As a result, our management will have broad discretion in applying the net proceeds of this offering, and investors will be relying on our judgment regarding the application of the net proceeds of this offering.
Pending use of the net proceeds from this offering described above, we may invest the net proceeds in short- and intermediate-term interest-bearing obligations, investment-grade instruments, certificates of deposit or direct or guaranteed obligations of the United States government.
Assuming no exercise of the underwriters’ option to purchase additional shares of Class A common stock, each $1.00 increase or decrease in the assumed initial public offering price of $      per share (which is the midpoint of the estimated public offering price range set forth on the cover page of this prospectus) would increase or decrease the net proceeds to us from this offering by approximately $      million, assuming the number of shares of Class A common stock offered, as set forth on the cover page of this prospectus, remains the same, and after deducting the underwriting discount and estimated offering expenses payable by us.
Each 1,000,000 increase or decrease in the number of shares of Class A common stock offered in this offering would increase or decrease the net proceeds to us from this offering by approximately $      million, assuming that the initial public offering price per share for the offering remains at $      (which is the midpoint of the estimated public offering price range set forth on the cover page of this prospectus), and after deducting the underwriting discount and estimated offering expenses payable by us.
 
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DIVIDEND POLICY
We currently intend to retain all available funds and any future earnings to fund the development and growth of our business and to service our debt obligations and, therefore, we do not anticipate paying any cash dividends in the foreseeable future. Additionally, because we are a holding company, our ability to pay dividends on our Class A common stock may be limited by restrictions on the ability of our subsidiaries to pay dividends or make distributions to us. Any future determination to pay dividends will be at the discretion of our Board, subject to compliance with covenants in current and future agreements governing our and our subsidiaries’ indebtedness, including our Credit Agreement, and will depend on our results of operations, financial condition, capital requirements and other factors that our Board deems relevant.
We intend to cause Holdings LP to make distributions, subject to applicable limitations and restrictions, to each of its partners, including us (directly or indirectly through our wholly owned subsidiaries), in an amount intended to enable each partner to pay all applicable taxes on taxable income allocable to each partner and to enable us to make payments required under the Tax Receivable Agreement. Holdings LP will make such distributions only to the extent distributions from Holdings LP for the relevant year were otherwise insufficient to cover such estimated assumed tax liabilities and other obligations. Such distributions generally will be to each partner of Holdings LP holding LP Units, including us (indirectly through our wholly owned subsidiaries), on a pro rata basis based on Holdings LP’s taxable income (which, in each case, will be calculated without regard to, among other items, any applicable basis adjustment under Section 743(b) of the Code, and will be based upon an assumed tax rate, taking into account certain assumptions set forth in the Partnership Agreement). As a result, it is possible that we will receive tax distributions significantly in excess of our tax liabilities, obligations to make payments under the Tax Receivable Agreement and other expenses. While our Board may choose to distribute such cash balances as dividends on our Class A common stock (subject to the limitations set forth in the preceding paragraph), it will not be required to do so, and may in its sole discretion choose to use such excess cash for any purpose depending upon the facts and circumstances at the time of determination, including potentially causing Suja Life, Inc. to contribute such excess cash (net of any operating expenses) to Holdings LP. Concurrently with any potential contribution of such excess cash, in order to maintain the intended economic relationship between the shares of Class A common stock and Holdings LP interests after accounting for such contribution, Holdings LP and Suja Life, Inc., as applicable, may undertake ameliorative actions, which may include reverse splits, reclassifications, combinations, subdivisions, stock dividends or adjustments of outstanding interests of Holdings LP held by LP Unitholders. To the extent that Suja Life, Inc. contributes such excess cash to Holdings LP, a holder of Class A common stock would not receive distributions in cash and would instead benefit through an increase in the indirect ownership interest in Holdings LP represented by such holder’s Class A common stock. To the extent that Suja Life, Inc. does not distribute such excess cash as dividends on the Class A common stock or otherwise undertake such ameliorative actions and instead, for example, holds such cash balances, the members of Holdings LP (not including Suja Life, Inc.) may benefit from any value attributable to such cash balances as a result of their ownership of Class A common stock following an exchange of their LP Units for shares of the Class A common stock, notwithstanding that such members may previously have participated as holders of LP Units in distributions by Holdings LP that resulted in such excess cash balances at Suja Life, Inc.
 
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CAPITALIZATION
The following table describes our cash and consolidated capitalization as of December 29, 2025:
•
of Holdings LP on an actual basis;
​
•
of Suja Life, Inc. on a pro forma basis to give effect to the Organizational Transactions and Tax Receivable Agreement adjustments, excluding this offering; and
​
•
of Suja Life, Inc. on a pro forma as adjusted basis, after giving effect to the Organizational Transactions and Tax Receivable Agreement adjustments and our sale of      shares of Class A common stock in this offering at an assumed initial public offering price of $      per share (which is the midpoint of the estimated public offering price range set forth on the cover page of this prospectus) after deducting the underwriting discount and estimated offering expenses payable by us (assuming no exercise of the underwriters’ option to purchase additional shares of Class A common stock) and the application of the net proceeds of the offering as set forth in “Use of Proceeds.”
​
You should read this table in conjunction with the consolidated financial statements and the related notes, “Basis of Presentation,” “Use of Proceeds,” “Organizational Structure,” “Unaudited Pro Forma Condensed Consolidated Financial Data,” “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations,” and “Description of Capital Stock” included elsewhere in this prospectus.
​ ​ ​
As of December 29, 2025
​
​ ​ ​
Holdings LP
(Historical)
​ ​
Suja Life, Inc.
Pro Forma
​ ​
Suja Life, Inc.
Pro Forma,
As Adjusted
(unaudited)
​
Cash
​ ​ ​ $ 31,015 ​ ​ ​ ​ $        ​ ​ ​ ​ $        ​ ​
Indebtedness: ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​
Long-term debt, net
​ ​ ​ $ 301,157 ​ ​ ​ ​ $        ​ ​ ​ ​ $ ​ ​
Partners’ / Shareholders’ equity: ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​
Unlimited Class A Units authorized and 222,881 shares
issued and outstanding as of December 29, 2025
​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​
Unlimited Class B common units (“Class B Units”)
authorized and 18,680 shares issued and outstanding
as of December 29, 2025
​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​
Unlimited Class C common units (“Class C Units”)
authorized and 200 shares issued and outstanding as
of December 29, 2025
​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​
4,840 Class D Units, no par value, issued and outstanding as of December 29, 2025
​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​
Unlimited Class E common units (“Class E Units”) authorized and 1,434 shares issued and outstanding as of December 29, 2025
​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​
Unlimited Class F common units (“Class F Units”) authorized and 1,000 shares issued and outstanding as of December 29, 2025
​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​
Class A common stock, $0.0001 par value per share, no
shares authorized, issued or outstanding, on an
actual basis;       shares authorized,       shares
issued and outstanding, on a pro forma basis
​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​
Class V common stock, $0.0001 par value per share, no
shares authorized, issued or outstanding, on an
actual basis;       shares authorized,       shares
issued and outstanding, on a pro forma basis
​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​
 
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​ ​ ​
As of December 29, 2025
​
​ ​ ​
Holdings LP
(Historical)
​ ​
Suja Life, Inc.
Pro Forma
​ ​
Suja Life, Inc.
Pro Forma,
As Adjusted
(unaudited)
​
Additional paid-in capital
​ ​ ​ ​ 144,712 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​
Accumulated earnings (deficit)
​ ​ ​ ​ (112,142) ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​
Accumulated other comprehensive income
​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​
Total partners’ / shareholders’ equity (deficit)
​ ​ ​ ​ 32,570 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​
Non-controlling interests(1)
​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​
Total capitalization
​ ​ ​ $ 333,727 ​ ​ ​ ​ $        ​ ​ ​ ​ $        ​ ​
​
​
(1)
On a pro forma basis, includes the Holdings LP interests not owned by us, which represents    % of Holdings LP’s LP Units. The LP Unitholders will hold the non-controlling economic interest in Holdings LP. Suja Life, Inc. will hold, indirectly through one or more wholly owned subsidiaries,     % of the economic interest in Holdings LP.
​
A $1.00 increase or decrease in the assumed initial public offering price of $       per share (which is the midpoint of the estimated price range set forth on the cover page of this prospectus) would increase or decrease each of cash, total shareholders’ equity and total capitalization on a pro forma basis by approximately $       million, assuming the number of shares of Class A common stock offered, as set forth on the cover page of this prospectus, remains the same, and after deducting the underwriting discount and estimated offering expenses payable by us. Each 1,000,000 increase or decrease in the number of shares of Class A common stock offered in this offering would increase or decrease each of cash, total shareholders’ equity and total capitalization on a pro forma basis by approximately $       million, based on an assumed initial public offering price of $       per share, which is the midpoint of the estimated public offering price range set forth on the cover page of this prospectus, and after deducting the underwriting discount and estimated offering expenses payable by us.
Unless otherwise indicated, the number of shares of Class A common stock that will be outstanding after this offering excludes:
•
           shares of Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the underwriters’ option to purchase additional shares
​
•
the           shares of Class A common stock issuable upon the exchange of           LP Units that will be outstanding immediately after this offering; and
​
•
           shares of Class A common stock reserved for issuance under the Omnibus Plan which number includes      shares of our Class A common stock subject to restricted stock unit awards granted to certain of our employees and directors pursuant to the Omnibus Plan substantially concurrently with the consummation of this offering, based upon the initial public offering price of $    .
​
 
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DILUTION
Because the LP Unitholders do not own any Class A common stock or other economic interests in Suja Life, Inc., we have presented pro forma net tangible book value per share after this offering assuming that the holders of LP Units had all of such interests redeemed or exchanged for newly issued shares of Class A common stock (rather than for cash and based upon an assumed offering price of $      per share, which is the midpoint of the estimated public offering price range set forth on the cover page of this prospectus) and the cancellation for no consideration of all of their shares of Class V common stock (which are not entitled to receive distributions or dividends, whether in cash or stock, from Suja Life, Inc.), in the case of the holders of LP Units, in order to more meaningfully present the dilutive impact to the investors in this offering. We refer to the assumed redemption or exchange of all LP Units for shares of Class A common stock as described in the previous sentence as the “Assumed Redemption.”
Dilution results from the fact that the initial public offering price per share of the Class A common stock is substantially in excess of the pro forma net tangible book value (deficit) per share of Class A common stock after this offering. Net tangible book value (deficit) per share represents the amount of our total tangible assets less total liabilities, divided by the number of shares of Class A common stock outstanding. If you invest in our Class A common stock, your ownership interest will be immediately diluted to the extent of the difference between the initial public offering price per share of our Class A common stock and the pro forma net tangible book value (deficit) per share of our Class A common stock after this offering.
Pro forma net tangible book value per share is determined at any date by subtracting our total pro forma liabilities from the total pro forma book value of our tangible assets and dividing the difference by the number of shares of Class A common stock, after giving effect to the Organizational Transactions and the Offering Transactions, including the sale of      shares of Class A common stock in this offering at the assumed initial public offering price of $      per share, which is the midpoint of the estimated public offering price range set forth on the cover page of this prospectus, and the Assumed Redemption. Our pro forma net tangible book value (deficit) as of was $      million, or $      per share of Class A common stock. This represents an immediate increase in net tangible book value to the LP Unitholders of $      per share and an immediate dilution to new investors in this offering of $      per share. We determine dilution by subtracting the pro forma net tangible book value per share after this offering from the amount of cash that a new investor paid for a share of Class A common stock. There is no impact on dilution per share to investors participating in this offering as a result of the sale of shares of Class A common stock by the selling shareholder. The following table illustrates this dilution:
​
Assumed initial public offering price per share
​ ​ ​ $        ​ ​
​
Pro forma net tangible book value (deficit) per share as of before this offering(1)
​ ​ ​ $ ​ ​
​
Increase in net tangible book value (deficit) per share attributable to the investors in this
offering
​ ​ ​ $ ​ ​
​
Pro forma net tangible book value (deficit) per share after this offering
​ ​ ​ $ ​ ​
​
Dilution in net tangible book value (deficit) per share to the investors in this offering
​ ​ ​ $ ​ ​ ​
​
(1)
The computation of pro forma net tangible book value per share as of December 29, 2025 before this offering is set forth below:
​
(in thousands, except share and per share data)
​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​
Book value of tangible assets(a)
​ ​ ​ $        ​ ​
Less: total liabilities(a)
​ ​ ​ $ ​ ​
Pro forma net tangible book value (deficit)(a)
​ ​ ​ $ ​ ​
Shares of Class A common stock outstanding(a)
​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​
Pro forma net tangible book value (deficit) per share
​ ​ ​ $ ​ ​ ​
​
(a)
Gives pro forma effect to the Organizational Transactions and the Assumed Redemption.
​
 
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A $1.00 increase or decrease in the assumed initial public offering price of $      per share, which is the midpoint of the estimated public offering price range set forth on the cover page of this prospectus, would increase or decrease pro forma net tangible book value by $      million, or $      per share, and would increase or decrease the dilution per share to the investors in this offering by $      based on the assumptions set forth above.
The following table summarizes as of December 29, 2025, after giving effect to the Offering Transactions, the number of shares of Class A common stock purchased from us, the total consideration paid and the average price per share paid by the purchasers in this offering, based upon an assumed initial public offering price of $      per share (which is the midpoint of the estimated public offering price range set forth on the cover page of this prospectus) and before deducting the underwriting discount and offering expenses, after giving effect to the Assumed Redemption:
​ ​ ​
Shares of Class A
Common Stock
Purchased
​ ​
Total Consideration
​ ​
Average
Price Per
Share
​
​ ​ ​
Number
​ ​
Percent
​ ​
Amount
​ ​
Percent
​
Existing owners
​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​% ​ ​ ​ ​ $     ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​% ​ ​ ​ ​ $ ​ ​
Investors in this offering
​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​
Total
​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 100% ​ ​ ​ ​ $ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 100% ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​
The discussion and tables above assume no exercise of the underwriters’ option to purchase additional shares of Class A common stock. If the underwriters’ option to purchase additional shares of Class A common stock is exercised in full, after giving effect to the Assumed Redemption, the existing owners would collectively own approximately     % and the investors in this offering would own approximately     % of the total number of shares of our Class A common stock outstanding after this offering. If the underwriters exercise their option to purchase additional shares of Class A common stock in full, after giving effect to the Assumed Redemption, the pro forma net tangible book value (deficit) per share after this offering would be $      per share, and the dilution in the pro forma net tangible book value (deficit) per share to the investors in this offering would be $      per share.
The tables and calculations above are based on the number of shares of common stock outstanding as of December 29, 2025 (after giving effect to the Offering Transactions). To the extent that any new options or other equity incentive grants are issued in the future with an exercise price or purchase price below the initial public offering price, new investors will experience further dilution.
We may choose to raise additional capital due to market conditions or strategic considerations even if we believe we have sufficient funds for our current or future operating plans. To the extent additional capital is raised through the sale of equity or equity-linked securities, the issuance of these securities could result in further dilution to our shareholders.
 
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UNAUDITED PRO FORMA CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL DATA
The unaudited pro forma condensed consolidated balance sheet as of December 29, 2025 and the unaudited pro forma condensed consolidated statement of operations for fiscal 2025 (collectively, “unaudited pro forma condensed consolidated financial information,” or “pro forma financial information”) present our financial position and results of operations after giving pro forma effect to the accounting for the following transactions as if such transactions occurred on December 29, 2025 for the unaudited pro forma condensed consolidated balance sheet and on December 31, 2024 for the unaudited pro forma condensed consolidated statements of operations:
(1)
the Organizational Transactions described elsewhere in this registration statement under “Organizational Structure,” ​(not including this offering);
​
(2)
the Tax Receivable Agreement, as described under “Certain Relationships and Related Party Transactions — Related Party Transactions — Tax Receivable Agreement;” and
​
(3)
the Offering Transactions, including this offering, and the application of the estimated net proceeds from this offering as described under “Use of Proceeds” and elsewhere in this registration statement.
​
Our historical consolidated financial information has been derived from and should be read in conjunction with the consolidated financial statements and accompanying notes to the consolidated financial statements of Holdings LP included elsewhere in this prospectus. Suja Life, Inc. was formed on October 8, 2025 and will have no material assets or results of operations until the completion of this offering. Therefore, its historical financial information is not included in the unaudited pro forma condensed consolidated financial information.
The unaudited pro forma condensed consolidated financial information has been prepared on the basis that we will be taxed as a corporation for U.S. federal and state income tax purposes and, accordingly, will become a taxpaying entity subject to U.S. federal and state income taxes. The presentation of the unaudited pro forma condensed consolidated financial information is prepared in conformity with Article 11 of Regulation S-X. The unaudited pro forma condensed consolidated financial information has been adjusted to include Transaction Accounting Adjustments, which reflect the application of the accounting adjustments required by generally accepted accounting principles in the United States (“GAAP”), linking the effects of the transactions listed above to the Company’s historical consolidated financial statements and is based on currently available information and certain estimates and assumptions. See the accompanying notes to the unaudited pro forma condensed consolidated financial information for a discussion of assumptions made.
The unaudited pro forma condensed consolidated financial information is not necessarily indicative of financial results that would have been attained had the described transactions occurred on the dates indicated above or that could be achieved in the future. Future results may vary significantly from the results reflected in the unaudited pro forma condensed consolidated statements of operations and should not be relied upon as an indication of our results after the completion of this offering and the other transactions contemplated by such unaudited pro forma condensed consolidated financial information. However, our management believes that the assumptions provide a reasonable basis for presenting the significant effects of the transactions as contemplated and that the pro forma adjustments give appropriate effect to those assumptions and are properly applied in the unaudited pro forma condensed consolidated financial information.
As a public company, we will be implementing additional procedures and processes for the purpose of addressing the standards and requirements applicable to public companies. We expect to incur additional annual expenses related to these procedures and processes and, among other things, additional directors’ and officers’ liability insurance, director fees, costs to comply with the reporting requirements of the SEC, transfer agent fees, hiring of additional accounting, legal and administrative personnel, increased auditing and legal fees and similar expenses. We have not included any pro forma adjustments relating to these costs.
The unaudited pro forma condensed consolidated financial information should be read together with “Organizational Structure,” “Capitalization,” “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations,” the audited consolidated financial statements of Holdings LP and related notes thereto included elsewhere in this prospectus.
 
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For purposes of the unaudited pro forma condensed consolidated financial information, we have assumed that we will issue      shares of Class A common stock at a price per share of $      (which is the midpoint of the estimated public offering price range set forth on the cover of this prospectus), and, as a result, immediately following the completion of this offering, the ownership percentage represented by LP Units not held by us or our wholly owned subsidiaries will be    %, and the net loss attributable to LP Units not held by us will accordingly represent    % of our net loss. Except as otherwise indicated, the unaudited pro forma condensed consolidated financial information presented assumes no exercise of the underwriters’ option to purchase additional shares of Class A common stock.
As described in greater detail under “Certain Relationships and Related Party Transactions — Related Party Transactions — Tax Receivable Agreement,” in connection with the completion of this offering, we will enter into a Tax Receivable Agreement with the TRA Parties that will require us to pay such persons    % of the amount of cash savings, if any, in U.S. federal, state and local income taxes we actually realize or are deemed to realize in some circumstances (as computed using certain assumptions) as a result of certain tax attributes and benefits covered by the Tax Receivable Agreement. Such tax attributes and benefits will include: (i) certain increases in the tax basis of assets of Holdings LP and its subsidiaries resulting from exchanges (or deemed exchanges in certain circumstances) of LP Units for shares of our Class A common stock or for cash pursuant to the Exchange Agreement and certain distributions (or deemed distributions) by Holdings LP, (ii) certain tax attributes of the current or former holders of equity interests in Holdings LP, and (iii) certain other tax benefits related to our entering into the Tax Receivable Agreement, including tax benefits attributable to payments that we are required to make under the Tax Receivable Agreement.
We expect to benefit from the remaining    % of cash tax savings, if any, that we realize from the tax attributes described above. As a result of the Organizational Transactions, we will recognize a liability under the Tax Receivable Agreement of $      as described in more detail below. Due to the uncertainty in the amount and timing of future exchanges of LP Units by LP Unitholders for shares of our Class A common stock or for cash pursuant to the Exchange Agreement and other purchases of LP Units from LP Unitholders, the unaudited pro forma condensed consolidated financial information assumes that no such future exchanges or purchases of LP Units have occurred and therefore no increases in tax basis in Holdings LP assets or other tax benefits that may be realized thereunder have been assumed in the unaudited pro forma condensed consolidated financial information. However, if all of the LP Unitholders were to exchange or sell to us all of their LP Units, we would recognize a deferred tax asset of approximately $      million and a liability under the Tax Receivable Agreement of approximately $      million, assuming: (i) all exchanges or purchases occurred on the same day as this offering; (ii) a price of $      per share (which is the midpoint of the estimated price range set forth on the cover page of this prospectus); (iii) a constant corporate tax rate of    %; (iv) that we will have sufficient taxable income to fully utilize the tax benefits; and (v) no material changes in tax law. These amounts are estimates and have been prepared for illustrative purposes only. The actual amount of deferred tax assets and related liabilities that we will recognize will differ based on, among other things, the timing of the exchanges and purchases, the price per share of our Class A common stock at the time of the exchange or purchase, and the tax rates then in effect.
For each 5% increase (decrease) in the amount of LP Units exchanged for shares of our Class A common stock by or purchased from the LP Unitholders (or their transferees of LP Units or other assignees), our deferred tax asset would increase (decrease) by approximately $      million and the related liability would increase (decrease) by approximately $      million, assuming that the price per share and corporate tax rate remain the same. For each $1.00 increase (decrease) in the assumed share price of $      per share, our deferred tax asset would increase (decrease) by approximately $      million and the related liability would increase (decrease) by approximately $      million, assuming that the number of LP Units exchanged by or purchased from the LP Unitholders (or their transferees of LP Units and other assignees) and the corporate tax rate remain the same. These amounts are estimates and have been prepared for illustrative purposes only. The actual amount of deferred tax assets and liability under the Tax Receivable Agreement that we will recognize will differ based on, among other things, the timing of the exchanges and purchases, the price of our shares of Class A common stock at the time of the exchange or purchase, and the tax rates then in effect. See “Organizational Structure — Tax Receivable Agreement.”
 
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UNAUDITED PRO FORMA CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEET
AS OF DECEMBER 29, 2025
​ ​ ​
Suja Life
Holdings, L.P.
(As Reported)
​ ​
Organizational
Transactions
and Tax
Receivable
Agreement
Adjustments
​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​
Offering
Transactions
Adjustments
​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​
Suja Life, Inc.
Pro Forma,
As Adjusted
​
​ ​ ​
(in thousands, except
per share data)
​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​
Assets ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​
Current Assets: ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​
Cash
​ ​ ​ $ 31,015 ​ ​ ​ ​ $     ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 1(b) ​ ​ ​ ​ $     ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 1(a) ​ ​ ​ ​ $     ​ ​
​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 1(i) ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​
Restricted cash
​ ​ ​ ​ 1,010 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​
Trade receivables, net
​ ​ ​ ​ 14,081 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​
Inventories
​ ​ ​ ​ 22,412 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​
Prepaid expenses and other current assets
​ ​ ​ ​ 2,636 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​
Total current assets
​ ​ ​ ​ 71,154 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​
Property and equipment,
net
​ ​ ​ ​ 45,671 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​
Operating lease right-of-use assets, net
​ ​ ​ ​ 23,387 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​
Trade name and other intangible assets, net
​ ​ ​ ​ 178,463 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​
Deferred tax assets, net
​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 1(c) ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 1(i) ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​
​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 1(d) ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​
Goodwill
​ ​ ​ ​ 106,201 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​
Other assets
​ ​ ​ ​ 701 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​
Deferred transaction costs
​ ​ ​ ​ 2,536 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 1(e) ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​
Total assets
​ ​ ​ $ 428,113 ​ ​ ​ ​ $ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ $ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ $ ​ ​
Liabilities and Partners’ / Shareholders’ Equity
​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​
Current Liabilities: ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​
Accounts payable
​ ​ ​ ​ 19,408 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​
Accrued expenses
​ ​ ​ ​ 19,563 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​
Accrued compensation
​ ​ ​ ​ 14,596 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​
Current portion of operating lease obligations
​ ​ ​ ​ 2,450 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​
Current portion of finance lease
obligations
​ ​ ​ ​ 110 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​
Deferred consideration
​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​
Short-term debt
​ ​ ​ ​ 2,740 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 1(i) ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​
Total current liabilities
​ ​ ​ ​ 58,867 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​
Long-term operating lease obligations
​ ​ ​ ​ 24,051 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​
Long-term finance lease obligations
​ ​ ​ ​ 98 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​
Long term debt, net
​ ​ ​ ​ 301,157 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 1(i) ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​
 
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​ ​ ​
Suja Life
Holdings, L.P.
(As Reported)
​ ​
Organizational
Transactions
and Tax
Receivable
Agreement
Adjustments
​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​
Offering
Transactions
Adjustments
​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​
Suja Life, Inc.
Pro Forma,
As Adjusted
​
​ ​ ​
(in thousands, except
per share data)
​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​
Deferred tax liabilities, net
​ ​ ​ ​ 11,370 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 1(c) ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​
Tax receivable agreement liability
​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 1(d) ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​
Total liabilities
​ ​ ​ ​ 395,543 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​
Commitments and Contingencies
​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​
Partners’ / Shareholders’ Equity:
​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​
Unlimited Class A Units
authorized and 222,881
shares issued and outstanding
as of December 29, 2025
​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 1(f) ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 1(i) ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​
Unlimited Class B Units
authorized and 18,680 shares
issued and outstanding as of
December 29, 2025
​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 1(f) ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​
Unlimited Class C Units authorized and 200 shares issued and outstanding as of December 29, 2025
​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 1(f) ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​
4,840 Class D Units, no par
value, issued and outstanding
as of December 29, 2025
​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 1(f) ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​
Unlimited Class E Units authorized and 1,434 shares issued and outstanding as of December 29, 2025
​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 1(f) ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​
Unlimited Class F Units authorized and 1,000 shares issued and outstanding as of December 29, 2025
​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 1(f) ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​
Class A common stock, par value $      per share
​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 1(f) ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 1(a) ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​
Class V common stock, par value $      per share
​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 1(b) ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​
Additional paid-in capital
​ ​ ​ ​ 144,712 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 1(h) ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 1(a) ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​
Accumulated deficit
​ ​ ​ ​ (112,142) ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​
Total Partners’ / Shareholders’ Equity
​ ​ ​
​
428,113
​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​
Non-controlling interests
​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 1(g) ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​
Total liabilities and Partners’ / Shareholders’ Equity
​ ​ ​ $ 428,113 ​ ​ ​ ​ $ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ $ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ $ ​ ​ ​
​
NOTES TO UNAUDITED PRO FORMA CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEET
1(a)
We estimate that the proceeds to us from this offering will be approximately $      million (or $      million if the underwriters exercise in full their option to purchase additional shares of Class A common stock), based on an assumed initial public offering price of $      per share (which is the
​
 
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midpoint of the estimated public offering price range set forth on the cover page of this prospectus) after deducting $      of assumed underwriting discount and estimated offering expenses.
1(b)
Reflects the issuance of Class V common stock to the LP Unitholders, on a one-to-one basis with the number of LP Units they own, in exchange for nominal consideration, as described in greater detail under “Organizational Structure.”
​
1(c)
We are subject to U.S. federal, state, and local income taxes. This adjustment reflects the recognition of deferred taxes in connection with the Organizational Transactions of Suja LLC assuming a pro forma blended statutory tax rate, which includes a provision for U.S. federal, state and local taxes.
​
We have recorded a pro forma deferred tax asset adjustment of $      million. The deferred tax asset includes (i) $      million related to temporary differences in the book basis as compared to the tax basis of our investment in Holdings LP, and (ii) $      million related to tax benefits from future deductions attributable to payments under the Tax Receivable Agreement as described further in note (1)(d) below and (iii) $      million related to the book versus tax basis differences inside the entities owned by Holdings LP.
1(d)
Prior to the completion of this offering, we will enter into a Tax Receivable Agreement with the TRA Parties that will require us to pay such persons    % of the amount of cash savings, if any, in U.S. federal, state and local income taxes we actually realize or are deemed to realize in some circumstances (as computed using certain assumptions) as a result of certain tax attributes and benefits covered by the Tax Receivable Agreement. Such tax attributes and benefits will include: (i) certain increases in the tax basis of assets of Holdings LP and its subsidiaries resulting from exchanges (or deemed exchanges in certain circumstances) of LP Units for shares of our Class A common stock or for cash pursuant to the Exchange Agreement and certain distributions (or deemed distributions) by Holdings LP, (ii) certain tax attributes of the current or former holders of equity interests in Holdings LP, and (iii) certain other tax benefits related to our entering into the Tax Receivable Agreement, including tax benefits attributable to payments that we are required to make under the Tax Receivable Agreement. We will record a $      million liability based on our estimate of the aggregate amount that we will pay to the TRA Parties under the Tax Receivable Agreement as a result of the Organizational Transactions. As mentioned in note (1)(c) above, we will record an increase of $      million in deferred tax assets related to tax benefits from future deductions attributable to payments under the Tax Receivable Agreement as a result of the Organizational Transactions. Additionally, we will record a decrease to additional paid-in capital of $      million, which is equal to the difference between the increase in deferred tax assets and the increase in liabilities due to existing owners under the Tax Receivable Agreement as a result of the Organizational Transactions.
​
No adjustment has been made to reflect future exchanges by LP Unitholders (or their transferees of LP Units or other assignees) of LP Units for shares of our Class A common stock or, at our election, for cash from a substantially concurrent public offering or private sale (based on the price of our Class A common stock in such public offering or private sale), as applicable.
1(e)
We are deferring certain costs associated with this offering. These costs primarily represent legal, accounting and other direct costs and are recorded in other assets in our combined balance sheet. Upon completion of this offering, these deferred costs will be charged against the proceeds from this offering with a corresponding reduction to additional paid-in capital.
​
1(f)
As part of the Organizational Transactions, the Partnership Agreement of Holdings LP will be amended and restated to, among other things, modify Holdings LP’s capital structure by replacing the current partnership interests with a single class of common ownership interests.
​
1(g)
As a result of the Organizational Transactions, the Partnership Agreement of Holdings LP will be amended and restated to, among other things, designate Suja Life, Inc. as the sole general partner of Holdings LP. As sole general partner, Suja Life, Inc. will exclusively operate and control the business and affairs of Holdings LP. The LP Units owned by LP Unitholders will be considered noncontrolling interests in the consolidated financial statements of Suja Life, Inc. The adjustment to non-controlling interest of $      million reflects the proportional interest in the pro forma condensed consolidated total equity of Holdings LP owned by the LP Unitholders.
​
 
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1(h)
The following table is a reconciliation of the adjustments impacting additional paid-in-capital:
​
​
Net adjustment from recognition of deferred tax asset and Tax Receivable Agreement
liability
​ ​ ​ $         ​ ​
​
Costs associated with offering (excluding underwriting costs)
​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​
​
Underwriting costs associated with this offering
​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​
​
Adjustment for non-controlling interest
​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​
​
Net additional paid-in capital pro forma adjustment
​ ​ ​ $ ​ ​ ​
​
1(i)
The net proceeds from the sale of      shares of Class A common stock in this offering will be used by Suja Life, Inc. to acquire, directly or indirectly through one or more wholly owned subsidiaries, (i)        newly issued LP Units from Holdings LP and (ii)        LP Units from certain existing owners of Holdings LP (and retire the corresponding shares of Class V common stock), in each case at a purchase price per LP Unit equal to the initial offering price per share of Class A common stock in this offering, less the underwriting discount. In turn, Holdings LP intends to apply the balance of the net proceeds it receives (i) to repay $      million of borrowings under the Credit Agreement, (ii) to pay expenses incurred in connection with this offering and the Organizational Transactions, and (iii) to the extent any proceeds remain, for general corporate purposes.
​
UNAUDITED PRO FORMA CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF OPERATIONS FOR THE FISCAL YEAR ENDED DECEMBER 29, 2025
​ ​ ​
Suja Life
Holdings, L.P.
(Historical)
​ ​
Organizational
Transactions
and Tax
Receivable
Agreement
Adjustments
​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​
Offering
Transactions
Adjustments
​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​
Pro Forma — 
Suja Life, Inc.
​
Net Sales
​ ​ ​ $ 326,624 ​ ​ ​ ​ $     ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ $     ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ $     ​ ​
Cost of sales
​ ​ ​ ​ (169,411) ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​
Gross profit
​ ​ ​ ​ 157,213 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​
Operating expenses
​ ​ ​ ​ (148,687) ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​
Income (loss) from operations
​ ​ ​ ​ 8,526 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​
Other income, net
​ ​ ​ ​ 43 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​
Interest expense
​ ​ ​ ​ (30,045) ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 2(c) ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​
Loss before taxes
​ ​ ​ ​ (21,476) ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​
Benefit (provision) for income
taxes
​ ​ ​ ​ (1,861) ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 2(a) ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​
Net income (loss)
​ ​ ​ ​ (23,337) ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​
Net loss attributable to non-controlling interests
​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 2(b) ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​
Net loss attributable to equity
holders
​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 2(b) ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​
Pro forma net income (loss) per share:
​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​
Numerator
​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 3(a) ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​
Net loss attributable to Suja Life, Inc.’s shareholders (basic and diluted)
​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​
Denominator: ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​
 
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​ ​ ​
Suja Life
Holdings, L.P.
(Historical)
​ ​
Organizational
Transactions
and Tax
Receivable
Agreement
Adjustments
​ ​ ​ ​ ​
Offering
Transactions
Adjustments
​ ​ ​ ​ ​
Pro Forma — 
Suja Life, Inc.
​
Weighted average of shares of Class A common stock outstanding (basic)
​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​
Incremental common shares attributable to dilutive
instruments
​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​
Weighted average of shares of Class A common stock outstanding (diluted)
​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​
NOTES TO UNAUDITED PRO FORMA CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF OPERATIONS
2(a)
Suja Life, Inc. will be subject to income taxes. As a result, the pro forma statements of operations adjust income tax expense to reflect the pro forma income taxes based on the blended statutory tax rate, which includes a provision for U.S. federal, state and local taxes. Holdings LP has been, and is expected to continue to be, treated as a partnership for U.S. federal and state income tax purposes. As such, Holdings LP’s profits and losses will flow through to its partners, including Suja Life, Inc., and are generally not subject to U.S. federal income tax at the Holdings LP level.
​
The pro forma adjustments for income tax expense represent tax expense (benefit) on income that will be taxable in jurisdictions after our Organizational Transactions that previously had not been taxable. The tax effect on the pro forma adjustments was determined using an estimated statutory blended rate of     % for fiscal 2025. The adjustment is calculated as pro forma income before income taxes multiplied by the ownership percentage of the controlling interest and multiplied by the pro forma tax rate.
2(b)
Following the Organizational Transactions, Suja Life, Inc. will become the sole general partner of Holdings LP, and upon completion of this offering, Suja Life, Inc. will initially own approximately    % of the economic interest in Holdings LP but will control the management of Holdings LP. The ownership percentage held by the noncontrolling interest will be approximately    %. Net loss attributable to the noncontrolling interest will represent approximately    % of net loss.
​
2(c)
Reflects the decrease in interest expense due to the use of available net proceeds from this offering to repay indebtedness under the Credit Agreement.
​
3(a)
The weighted average number of shares underlying the basic earnings per share calculation reflects only the      shares of Class A common stock outstanding (including      share of Class A common stock sold in this offering and      shares of Class A common stock issued to PSP and the New Vive Partnerships) after the offering as they are the only outstanding shares which participate in distributions or dividends by Suja Life, Inc. The net proceeds from the sale of      shares of Class A common stock in this offering will be used to acquire, directly or indirectly through one or more wholly owned subsidiaries, (i)       newly issued LP Units from Holdings LP and (ii)        LP Units from certain existing owners of Holdings LP (and retire the corresponding shares of Class V common stock), in each case at a purchase price per LP Unit equal to the initial offering price per share of Class A common stock in this offering, less the underwriting discount. In turn, Holdings LP intends to apply the balance of the net proceeds it receives to (i) to repay $      million of borrowings under the Credit Agreement, (ii) to pay expenses incurred in connection with this offering and the Organizational Transactions, and (iii) to the extent any proceeds remain, for general corporate purposes. The remaining      shares of Class A common stock to be sold in the offering are not included in the pro forma basic and diluted net income per share calculations as the proceeds received from the sale of
​
 
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these shares will be used for general corporate purposes, see “Use of Proceeds.” Pro forma diluted earnings per share is computed by adjusting pro forma net loss attributable to Suja Life, Inc. and the weighted average shares of Class A common stock outstanding to give effect to potentially dilutive securities that qualify as participating securities using the treasury stock method, as applicable. Shares of Class V common stock are not participating securities and therefore are not included in the calculation of pro forma basic earnings per share.
LP Units, together with an equal number of shares of Class V common stock, may be exchanged for shares of our Class A common stock on a one-to-one basis or, at our election, for cash from a substantially concurrent public offering or private sale (based on the price of our Class A common stock in such public offering or private sale). After evaluating the potential dilutive effect under the if-converted method, the outstanding LP Units for the assumed exchange of non-controlling interests were determined to be      and thus were      the computation of diluted earnings per share.
The diluted weighted average share calculation assumes that certain equity awards were issued and outstanding at the beginning of the period. The following table sets forth a reconciliation of the numerators and denominators used to compute pro forma basic and diluted earnings per share.
​ ​ ​
Fiscal 2025
​
Earnings per share of common stock ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​
Numerator: ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​
Net loss attributable to Suja Life, Inc.’s shareholders (basic and diluted)
​ ​ ​ $         ​ ​
Denominator: ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​
Weighted average of shares of Class A common stock outstanding (basic)
​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​
Incremental shares of Class A common stock attributable to dilutive instruments
​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​
Weighted average of shares of Class A common stock outstanding (diluted)
​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​
Basic earnings per share
​ ​ ​ $ ​ ​
Diluted earnings per share
​ ​ ​ $ ​ ​ ​
 
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MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS
The following discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations should be read in conjunction with the audited consolidated financial statements, and the notes to those statements and other financial information included within this registration statement. This discussion and analysis reflects our historical results of operations and financial position, and, except as otherwise indicated below, does not give effect to the Organizational Transactions, this offering, the use of proceeds from this offering or any other items presented in accordance with Article 11 under Regulation S-X. For more information, see “Organizational Structure” and “Unaudited Pro Forma Combined Financial Information.” The discussion contains forward-looking statements that are based on the beliefs of management, as well as assumptions made by, and information currently available to, our management. Actual results could differ materially from those discussed in or implied by forward-looking statements as a result of various factors, including those discussed below and elsewhere in this prospectus, particularly in the sections entitled “Risk Factors” and “Forward-Looking Statements.”
The following discussion contains references to consolidated financial results of Holdings LP and its consolidated subsidiaries for fiscal 2024 and fiscal 2023. Unless we state otherwise or the context otherwise requires, the terms “we,” “us,” “our,” or “Suja” and similar references refer to on or following the consummation of the Organizational Transactions, including this offering, Suja Life, Inc. and its consolidated subsidiaries, including Holdings LP.
Overview
Suja Life is a modern beverage platform at the forefront of one of the most powerful consumer transformations of our time: the shift toward functional, better-for-you beverages. We operate at the intersection of health, taste, and trust, offering cold-pressed juices, wellness shots, and functional sodas that have become an essential part of consumers’ everyday routines. Our three brands — Suja Organic, Vive Organic, and Slice — form a complementary portfolio that reaches consumers across multiple beverage occasions.
Over a decade ago, we played a key role in shaping the cold-pressed juice category and subsequently pioneered the wellness shots category, establishing entirely new consumption occasions for our evolving consumer. Today, we serve the rapidly growing NHB market which is outpacing growth of the broader beverage market by 10% according to SPINS, 52 Weeks. Our pioneering mentality has propelled us into a leadership position in both cold-pressed juice and wellness shots based on retail sales according to SPINS, 52 Weeks.
Our recent historical performance demonstrates our ability to deliver consistent growth through a balanced and disciplined approach. For fiscal 2025, net sales were $326.6 million, an increase of $67.7 million, or 26.1%, from $258.9 million in fiscal 2024. Net loss was $23.3 million for fiscal 2025, representing a margin of 7% and an increase of $2.6 million, or 12.4%, from a net loss of $20.8 million for fiscal 2024. Adjusted EBITDA was $40.5 million for fiscal 2025, representing a margin of 12% and a decrease of $1.7 million, or 4.1%, from $42.2 million in fiscal 2024. See the section entitled “— Non-GAAP Financial Measure — EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA” below for the definition of Adjusted EBITDA, as well as a reconciliation of Adjusted EBITDA to net income, the most directly comparable financial measure stated in accordance with GAAP.
Going forward, we believe our portfolio of brands, innovation leadership, operational excellence, and strong retail partnerships position us to continue to capture disproportionate growth as functional beverages transition from early adoption to mainstream consumption.
Segments
We have two reportable segments: Suja Core and Emerging Brands. Suja Core primarily produces and distributes cold-pressed juices and wellness shots. Suja Core reflects the financial results of Suja Organic’s and Vive Organic’s operations. Emerging Brands consists of recently acquired or launched brands and products that are still in the early stages of revenue scale, market development, or distribution build-out.
 
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The Emerging Brands segment began producing and distributing products in December of fiscal 2024. For fiscal 2024 and fiscal 2025, products consist of healthy functional sodas sold under the Slice brand.
Key Factors Affecting Our Performance
We believe that the performance of our business and our future success depend upon several critical factors. While each presents significant opportunities, they also pose important challenges that we must successfully address to sustain growth and improve our results of operations.
Accelerating Adoption of Better-For-You Products
Consumer adoption of natural healthy beverages is accelerating as wellness becomes a universal priority. According to a Company survey, approximately 80% of consumers are constantly seeking beverages that are healthier, 82% of consumers want beverages with lower sugar, 90% of consumers desire additional functional benefits from their beverages, and 77% of consumers are willing to pay more for “beverages that are better for them,” demonstrating significant demand for wellness solutions.
We believe we have substantial opportunity to expand our consumer base and increase purchase frequency through broader distribution, optimized retail placement, and elevated marketing efforts that communicate our functional benefits to target consumers. We believe targeted marketing investments can effectively capture this demographic and drive accelerated household adoption.
Increasing Velocity Through User Growth and Purchase Frequency
Our growth strategy focuses, in part, on both expanding our user base and increasing the frequency with which existing consumers purchase our products. As consumers integrate functional beverages into their daily wellness routines, purchase occasions multiply across different dayparts and use cases. We are driving velocity growth through product innovation that creates new consumption occasions, strategic merchandising that increases visibility at retail, and consumer education that reinforces habitual usage patterns. Our role as category captain enables us to optimize shelf placement and promotional strategies that drive trial and repeat purchase. Additionally, our multi-brand portfolio allows us to drive cross-purchase of brands as consumers select products and brands aligned with their specific wellness needs.
Continued Expansion of Our Retail Distribution Footprint
We have significant opportunity to increase distribution reach and make our products more readily accessible by driving store penetration in existing channels and expanding into new retail formats. We maintain deep relationships with several of the largest retailers in grocery, mass, natural, and club channels, and we believe substantial runway exists to deepen our portfolio offerings within these existing customers.
Beyond current retail partners, we are increasing our distribution breadth. Within new channels, we see significant whitespace in convenience stores and the broader away-from-home category. We are executing a convenience store penetration strategy with distribution wins at key national chains. Similarly, we currently have limited presence in away-from-home channels including college campuses, fitness facilities, and airports. We believe our functional benefits align strongly with on-the-go consumer behaviors and position us to penetrate and outperform in these high-frequency, impulse-driven retail environments.
Innovation Leadership Creating New Category Opportunities
Our success depends on maintaining innovation leadership that anticipates and addresses evolving consumer wellness needs. We take a highly focused, data-driven approach to product development, identifying opportunity areas based on consumer preferences and category insights derived from our advanced analytics capabilities.
Our innovation efforts focus on three strategic priorities: enhancing formulations and nutritional profiles of existing products, creating new offerings within established categories, and expanding into adjacent wellness segments such as our endeavor with Slice. We continue investing in innovation across our portfolio, with 20% of net sales growth for fiscal 2025 coming from our new SKUs. Our vertically integrated manufacturing platform enables rapid innovation cycles, bringing new products to market in weeks rather
 
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than months while maintaining superior quality standards. This speed-to-market advantage allows us to capitalize on emerging wellness trends ahead of competitors.
Strategic M&A Accelerating Platform Growth
We have established ourselves as a strategic acquirer of choice in the NHB market, with a demonstrated track record of identifying and integrating premium brands that benefit from our platform capabilities. Our acquisition strategy focuses on brands with strong consumer loyalty, differentiated positioning, and proven product-market fit that can leverage our manufacturing scale, distribution relationships, and category insights to accelerate growth while improving margins.
With a fragmented market of emerging wellness brands seeking scale and operational expertise, we are well-positioned to continue consolidating the space through strategic, accretive acquisitions. Our platform approach — combining manufacturing capacity, distribution reach, category insights, and marketing capabilities — creates substantial value for acquired brands while strengthening our competitive position and expanding our addressable market opportunity.
We strive for successfully integrated businesses complementary to our own, such as Vive Organic, to increase both our distribution reach and our product capabilities. We continuously evaluate acquisitions and intend to further pursue targeted acquisitions that complement our product capabilities or provide us access to new markets. We have previously made and intend to continue to make acquisitions with the objective of enhancing our human capital, product capabilities, entering natural adjacencies, and expanding geographic footprint. Our ability to successfully pursue strategic acquisitions is dependent upon a number of factors, including sustained execution of a disciplined and selective acquisition strategy and our ability to effectively integrate targeted companies or assets and grow our business. We do not have agreements or commitments for any significant acquisitions at this time.
Economic Conditions
Consumer demand for our products is sensitive to a number of factors that influence consumer confidence and spending, such as general economic conditions, consumer disposable income, recession and fears of recession, unemployment, minimum wages, inflation, consumer confidence in future economic conditions and political conditions, and consumer perceptions of personal well-being and security. Consumer preferences tend to shift to lower-cost alternatives during recessionary periods and other periods in which disposable income is adversely affected. Functional and other specialty beverages in particular may be more susceptible to discretionary consumer spending levels.
Components of Our Results of Operations
Net Sales
We generate sales through the sale of functional and health-focused beverages. Our sales are predominantly made to retailers or distributors for final sale to consumers through retail channels, which include sales to traditional brick and mortar and online retailers. We also offer our products through our own website.
We offer sales incentives to our customers that are designed to support the distribution of our products to consumers. These incentives include discounts, trade promotions and price allowances. These amounts are deducted from gross sales to arrive at our net sales.
We have experienced substantial growth in net sales since inception. The following factors and trends in our business have driven net sales growth over this period and are expected to continue to be key drivers of our net sales growth for the foreseeable future:
•
increasing sales velocity across all channels by increasing awareness, trial, and adoption of our products. Our investments in marketing and advertising help to drive awareness and trial across all points of sale;
​
•
expanding of our retailer and distribution network across new and existing channels;
​
 
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•
focusing on product innovation by improving the formulations and nutrition of our existing products, creating new products within our existing categories, and expanding into new product categories; and
​
•
continuing to assess accretive M&A opportunities to accelerate category leadership and expand reach into complementary, high growth markets.
​
Cost of Sales
Cost of sales includes raw materials, direct and indirect labor and other costs associated with production, such as inbound freight and plant expenses, depreciation, and amortization expense. Cost of sales are impacted by macroeconomic factors including, but not limited to, inflationary pressures and tariffs.
Gross Profit
Gross profit is net sales less cost of sales. Gross profit has been, and will continue to be, affected by various factors, including the mix of products we sell, the channel through which we sell our products, the promotional environment in the marketplace, manufacturing costs, commodity prices and freight rates.
Operating Expenses
Operating expenses include marketing expenses, sales expenses, amortization expenses, and general and administrative expenses. Selling and marketing expenses consist primarily of costs incurred marketing and ensuring on-shelf availability of our products and are primarily driven by investments to grow our business and acquire and retain customers. General and administrative expense includes payroll, employee benefits, incentive unit compensation, finance, information technology, human resources and other administrative-related personnel, as well as general overhead costs of the business, including research and development for new innovations, rent and related facilities and maintenance costs, freight costs, depreciation and amortization and legal, accounting and professional fees. We expect operating expenses to increase in the future as we continue to scale our operations to meet our product demand, continue to build our product portfolio, and add personnel to our sales and marketing organization. We also expect to incur additional costs associated with operating as a public company, including increased expenses related to legal, audit, accounting, regulatory, and tax-related services associated with maintaining compliance with exchange listing and SEC requirements, director and officer insurance costs, investor and public relations costs, and other administrative and professional services.
Interest Expense
Interest expense consists of interest on our financing arrangements as well as any related deferred financing costs and discounts being expensed over the life of such financing arrangements. We expect interest expense to decrease in future proceeds as we repay certain of our indebtedness with the proceeds from this offering.
Results of Operations
Our results of operations, on a consolidated basis and by segment, for fiscal 2025, fiscal 2024, and fiscal 2023 are set forth below. Given that the acquisition of the Slice brand intellectual property portfolio closed in fiscal 2024, results for the Emerging Brands segment are presented only for fiscal 2025 and fiscal 2024. Our operations are primarily driven by the Suja Core segment given that the Emerging Brands segment has not yet had a significant impact on our overall business performance. As a result, we have limited our discussion of the Emerging Brands segment. The results of operations data below have been derived from the consolidated financial statements and notes included elsewhere in this prospectus.
 
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The following table sets forth our consolidated statement of operations data for each of the periods presented:
​ ​ ​
For the Years Ended
​
​ ​ ​
2025
​ ​
2024
​ ​
2023
​
Net sales
​ ​ ​ $ 326,624 ​ ​ ​ ​ $ 258,928 ​ ​ ​ ​ $ 224,409 ​ ​
Cost of sales
​ ​ ​ ​ (169,411) ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ (130,673) ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ (124,596) ​ ​
Gross profit
​ ​ ​ ​ 157,213 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 128,255 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 99,813 ​ ​
Operating expenses
​ ​ ​ ​ (148,687) ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ (127,638) ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ (108,033) ​ ​
Income (loss) from operations
​ ​ ​ ​ 8,526 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 617 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ (8,220) ​ ​
Other income, net
​ ​ ​ ​ 43 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 865 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 726 ​ ​
Interest expense
​ ​ ​ ​ (30,045) ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ (20,301) ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ (19,752) ​ ​
Loss before taxes
​ ​ ​ ​ (21,476) ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ (18,819) ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ (27,246) ​ ​
Benefit (provision) for income taxes
​ ​ ​ ​ (1,861) ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ (1,947) ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 2,776 ​ ​
Net income (loss)
​ ​ ​ $ (23,337) ​ ​ ​ ​ $ (20,766) ​ ​ ​ ​ $ (24,470) ​ ​
Comparison of Fiscal 2025 and Fiscal 2024
The following table summarizes our audited consolidated results of operation for fiscal 2025 and fiscal 2024:
​ ​ ​
For the Years Ended
​ ​
Change
($)
​ ​
Change
(%)
​
​ ​ ​
2025
​ ​
2024
​
Net sales
​ ​ ​ $ 326,624 ​ ​ ​ ​ $ 258,928 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 67,696 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 26.1% ​ ​
Cost of sales
​ ​ ​ ​ (169,411) ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ (130,673) ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ (38,738) ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 29.6% ​ ​
Gross profit
​ ​ ​ ​ 157,213 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 128,255 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 28,958 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 22.6% ​ ​
Operating expenses
​ ​ ​ ​ (148,687) ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ (127,638) ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ (21,049) ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 16.5% ​ ​
Income (loss) from operations
​ ​ ​ ​ 8,526 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 617 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 7,909 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​* ​ ​
Other income, net
​ ​ ​ ​ 43 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 865 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ (822) ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ -95.0% ​ ​
Interest expense
​ ​ ​ ​ (30,045) ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ (20,301) ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ (9,744) ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 48.0% ​ ​
Loss before taxes
​ ​ ​ ​ (21,476) ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ (18,819) ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ (2,657) ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 14.1% ​ ​
Benefit (provision) for income taxes
​ ​ ​ ​ (1,861) ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ (1,947) ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 86 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​* ​ ​
Net income (loss)
​ ​ ​ $ (23,337) ​ ​ ​ ​ $ (20,766) ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ (2,571) ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 12.4% ​ ​
Adjusted EBITDA
​ ​ ​ $ 40,507 ​ ​ ​ ​ $ 42,218 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ (1,711) ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ -4.1% ​ ​
Net Sales
The following table provides a comparative summary of the Company’s net sales:
​ ​ ​
For the Years Ended
​ ​
Change
($)
​ ​
Change
(%)
​
​ ​ ​
2025
​ ​
2024
​
Net Sales ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​
Suja Core
​ ​ ​ $ 319,657 ​ ​ ​ ​ $ 258,867 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 60,790 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 23.5% ​ ​
Emerging Brands
​ ​ ​ ​ 9,777 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 419 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 9,358 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 2233.4% ​ ​
Elimination of intersegment revenue
​ ​ ​ ​ (2,810) ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ (358) ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ (2,452) ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 684.9% ​ ​
Total net sales
​ ​ ​ $ 326,624 ​ ​ ​ ​ $ 258,928 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 67,696 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 26.1% ​ ​
 
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On a consolidated basis, net sales increased by $67.7 million, or 26.1% to $326.6 million in fiscal 2025, from $258.9 million from fiscal 2024. The increase in net sales was driven by higher volumes within the Suja Core and Emerging Brands segments.
Suja Core Segment
Net sales for Suja Core were $319.7 million in fiscal 2025, an increase of $60.8 million, or 23.5%, from $258.9 million in fiscal 2024. This increase in net sales was primarily due to increases in case shipment volume of 32% from improved consumer takeaway across several top retailers.
The change in case volume primarily impacts Suja Single Serve Juice and Suja and Vive Shots. Average selling price per case was relatively unchanged.
Emerging Brands Segment
Net sales for Emerging Brands were $9.8 million in fiscal 2025, an increase of $9.4 million, from $0.4 million in fiscal 2024. This increase in net sales was primarily due to the Emerging Brands segment having a full year of net sales in fiscal 2025 as compared to only one month of net sales in fiscal 2024. The increase in net sales was primarily due to increases in case shipment volume of 1727% as new distribution was gained across several top retailers.
Cost of Sales and Gross Profit
​ ​ ​
For the Years Ended
​ ​
Change
($)
​ ​
Change
(%)
​
​ ​ ​
2025
​ ​
2024
​
Cost of sales ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​
Suja Core
​ ​ ​ $ (161,209) ​ ​ ​ ​ $ (130,297) ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ (30,912) ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 23.7% ​ ​
Emerging Brands
​ ​ ​ ​ (8,202) ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ (376) ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ (7,826) ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 2081.4% ​ ​
Total cost of sales
​ ​ ​ $ (169,411) ​ ​ ​ ​ $ (130,673) ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ (38,738) ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 29.6% ​ ​
Gross Profit ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​
Suja Core
​ ​ ​ $ 158,448 ​ ​ ​ ​ $ 128,570 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 29,878 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 23.2% ​ ​
Emerging Brands
​ ​ ​ ​ 1,575 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 43 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 1,532 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 3562.8% ​ ​
Elimination of intersegment revenue
​ ​ ​ ​ (2,810) ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ (358) ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ (2,452) ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 684.9% ​ ​
Total gross profit
​ ​ ​ $ 157,213 ​ ​ ​ ​ $ 128,255 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 28,958 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 22.6% ​ ​
Gross margin (percentage of net sales) ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​
Suja Core
​ ​ ​ ​ 49.6% ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 49.7% ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ -0.1% ​ ​
Emerging Brands
​ ​ ​ ​ 16.1% ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 10.3% ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 5.8% ​ ​
Total gross margin
​ ​ ​ ​ 48.1% ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 49.5% ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ -1.4% ​ ​
Cost of Sales
On a consolidated basis, cost of sales increased $38.7 million, or 29.6%, to $169.4 million in fiscal 2025, from $130.7 million in fiscal 2024.
Suja Core Segment
The increase was primarily driven by a $30.9 million increase of Suja Core cost of sales. Suja Core cost of sales increased as a result of the 32% growth of case shipment volume, partially offset by a favorable package mix. Suja Single Serve Juice and Suja and Vive Shots have a lower manufacturing and packaging cost than Suja Multi Serve.
Emerging Brands Segment
Cost of sales for Emerging Brands was $8.2 million in fiscal 2025, an increase of $7.8 million, from $0.4 million in fiscal 2024. This increase in net sales was primarily due to 2025 being the first full year of
 
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operations in the Emerging Brands segment, as compared to one month of Emerging Brands operations in fiscal 2024. Additionally, Emerging Brands cost of sales increased as a result of the 1727% growth of case shipment volume, inclusive of one-time startup costs.
Gross Profit
On a consolidated basis, gross profit increased by $29.0 million, or 22.6% to $157.2 million in fiscal 2025, from $128.3 million in fiscal 2024.
Suja Core Segment
The $29.9 million increase was driven by an increase in Suja Core case volume and a favorable package mix as Suja Organic single serve juice and Suja Organic and Vive Organic shots grew faster than Suja Organic multi serve, which costs more per case to produce. The average cost of sales per case decreased 0.1% and gross margin remained unchanged at 49.6% for fiscal 2025 compared to 49.7% for fiscal 2024.
Emerging Brands Segment
The $1.5 million increase was driven by an increase in Emerging Brands case volume due to being operational for a full year in fiscal 2025 compared to one month in fiscal 2024. The average cost of sales per case increased 0.2% and gross margin increased to 16.1% for fiscal 2025 compared to 10.3% for fiscal 2024.
Operating expenses
​ ​ ​
For the Years Ended
​ ​
Change
($)
​ ​
Change
(%)
​
​ ​ ​
2025
​ ​
2024
​
Operating expenses
​ ​ ​ $ (148,687) ​ ​ ​ ​ $ (127,638) ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ (21,049) ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 16.5% ​ ​
Operating expenses for fiscal 2025 were $148.7 million, an increase of $21.0 million, or 16.5%, from $127.6 million in fiscal 2024.
This increase in operating expenses was primarily due to a $17.8 million increase in marketing spend relating to general advertising, branding, shopper marketing, samples, and field marketing, $18.6 million of which relates directly to the Emerging Brands segment. It also includes a $3.6 million increase in payroll related to bonuses, severance and salaries, of which $2.9 million is attributable to the Suja Core segment, and a $3.5 million increase in freight of which $1.6 million relates to the Suja Core segment. Additionally, there was a $2.6 million increase in insurance expenses, offset by a $6.1 million decrease in management fees and a $3.1 million decrease in professional fees, primarily attributable to the Suja Core segment. The remaining increase of $2.7 million is attributable to other miscellaneous expenses.
Interest Expense
Interest expense was $30.0 million in fiscal 2025 compared to $20.3 million in fiscal 2024, an increase of $9.7 million. This increase in interest expense was primarily due to a $7.6 million increase in interest expense on the Term Loan Facilities and $0.2 million increase in interest on deferred financing costs in fiscal 2025, which was driven by the $112 million Third Amendment Term Loan Facility issued in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2024. Additionally, interest expense on the Revolving Credit Facility increased by $1.9 million in fiscal 2025 as a result of $25 million of draws on the Revolving Credit Facility throughout fiscal 2025.
Adjusted EBITDA
Adjusted EBITDA for fiscal 2025 was $40.5 million, a decrease of $1.7 million, or 4.1%, from $42.2 million in fiscal 2024.
Suja Core Segment
Suja Core Segment Adjusted EBITDA for fiscal 2025 was $66.3 million, an increase of $20.7 million, or 45.5%, from $45.6 million in fiscal 2024. The increase in Suja Core Adjusted EBITDA was driven by an
 
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increase in gross profit of $29.9 million, or 23.2%, as described above, a $0.8 million decrease in marketing spend and offset by a $10.2 million increase in other segment items. Other segment items include personnel costs comprising sales commissions and bonuses, logistical costs to distribute product, and other general and administrative costs.
Emerging Brands Segment
Emerging Brands Segment Adjusted EBITDA loss for fiscal 2025 was $(25.8) million, compared to $(3.3) million in fiscal 2024, with the loss widening by $22.5 million fiscal year over year. The wider loss was driven by an increase in gross profit of $1.5 million, as described above, offset by a $18.6 million increase in marketing spend and a $5.4 million increase in other segment items.
Comparison of Fiscal 2024 and Fiscal 2023
The following table summarizes our audited consolidated results of operation for fiscal 2024 and fiscal 2023.
​ ​ ​
For the Years Ended
​ ​
Change
($)
​ ​
Change
(%)
​
​ ​ ​
2024
​ ​
2023
​
Net sales
​ ​ ​ $ 258,928 ​ ​ ​ ​ $ 224,409 ​ ​ ​ ​ $ 34,519 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 15.4% ​ ​
Cost of sales
​ ​ ​ ​ (130,673) ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ (124,596) ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ (6,077) ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 4.9% ​ ​
Gross profit
​ ​ ​ ​ 128,255 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 99,813 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 28,442 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 28.5% ​ ​
Operating expenses
​ ​ ​ ​ (127,638) ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ (108,033) ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ (19,605) ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 18.1% ​ ​
Income (loss) from operations
​ ​ ​ ​ 617 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ (8,220) ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 8,837 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​* ​ ​
Other income, net
​ ​ ​ ​ 865 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 726 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 139 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 19.1% ​ ​
Interest expense
​ ​ ​ ​ (20,301) ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ (19,752) ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ (549) ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 2.8% ​ ​
Loss before taxes
​ ​ ​ ​ (18,819) ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ (27,246) ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 8,427 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ (30.9)% ​ ​
Benefit (provision) for income taxes
​ ​ ​ ​ (1,947) ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 2,776 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ (4,723) ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​* ​ ​
Net income (loss)
​ ​ ​ $ (20,766) ​ ​ ​ ​ $ (24,470) ​ ​ ​ ​ $ 3,704 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 15.1% ​ ​
Adjusted EBITDA
​ ​ ​ $ 42,218 ​ ​ ​ ​ $ 35,016 ​ ​ ​ ​ $ 7,202 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 20.6% ​ ​
​
*
Not meaningful
​
Net Sales
The following table provides a comparative summary of the Company’s net sales:
​ ​ ​
For the Years Ended
​ ​
Change
($)
​ ​
Change
(%)
​
​ ​ ​
2024
​ ​
2023
​
Net sales ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​
Suja Core
​ ​ ​ $ 258,867 ​ ​ ​ ​ $ 224,409 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 34,458 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 15.4% ​ ​
Emerging Brands
​ ​ ​ ​ 419 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 419 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​* ​ ​
Elimination of intersegment revenue
​ ​ ​ ​ (358) ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ (358) ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​* ​ ​
Total net sales
​ ​ ​ $ 258,928 ​ ​ ​ ​ $ 224,409 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 34,519 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 15.4% ​ ​
​
*
Not meaningful
​
On a consolidated basis, net sales increased by $34.5 million, or 15.4% to $258.9 million in fiscal 2024, from $224.4 million from fiscal 2023. The increase in net sales was driven by higher volumes within the Suja Core segment, as well as the introduction of the Emerging Brands segment during fiscal 2024.
 
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Suja Core Segment
Net sales for Suja Core were $258.9 million in fiscal 2024, an increase of $34.5 million, or 15.4%, from $224.4 million in fiscal 2023. This increase in net sales was primarily due to increases in case shipment volume of 16% from improved consumer takeaway across several top retailers.
The change in case volume primarily impacts Suja Organic single serve juice and Suja Organic and Vive Organic shots. Average selling price per case was relatively unchanged.
Emerging Brands Segment
Net sales for Emerging Brands were $0.4 million in fiscal 2024 as we began shipping Slice products in December of that year.
Cost of Sales and Gross Profit
​ ​ ​
For the Years Ended
​ ​
Change
($)
​ ​
Change
(%)
​
​ ​ ​
2024
​ ​
2023
​
Cost of sales ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​
Suja Core
​ ​ ​ $ (130,297) ​ ​ ​ ​ $ (124,596) ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ (5,701) ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 4.6% ​ ​
Emerging Brands
​ ​ ​ ​ (376) ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ (376) ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​* ​ ​
Total cost of sales
​ ​ ​ $ (130,673) ​ ​ ​ ​ $ (124,596) ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ (6,077) ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 4.9% ​ ​
Gross Profit ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​
Suja Core
​ ​ ​ $ 128,570 ​ ​ ​ ​ $ 99,813 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 28,757 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 28.8% ​ ​
Emerging Brands
​ ​ ​ ​ 43 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 43 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​* ​ ​
Elimination of intersegment revenue
​ ​ ​ ​ (358) ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ (358) ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​* ​ ​
Total gross profit
​ ​ ​ $ 128,255 ​ ​ ​ ​ $ 99,813 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 28,442 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 28.5% ​ ​
Gross margin (percentage of net sales) ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​
Suja Core
​ ​ ​ ​ 49.7% ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 44.5% ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 5.2% ​ ​
Emerging Brands
​ ​ ​ ​ 10.3% ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​* ​ ​
Consolidated
​ ​ ​ ​ 49.5% ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 44.5% ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 5.0% ​ ​
​
*
Not meaningful
​
Cost of Sales
On a consolidated basis, cost of sales increased $6.1 million, or 4.9%, to $130.7 million in fiscal 2024, from $124.6 million in fiscal 2023.
Suja Core Segment
The increase was primarily driven by a $5.7 million increase of Suja Core cost of sales. Suja Core cost of sales increased as a result of the 16% growth of case shipment volume, partially offset by a favorable package mix. Suja Organic single serve juice and Suja Organic and Vive Organic shots have a lower manufacturing and packaging cost than Suja multi serve. During fiscal 2024, our product mix was comprised of more Suja Organic single serve juice and Suja Organic and Vive Organic shots compared to fiscal 2023.
Emerging Brands Segment
Cost of sales for Emerging Brands were $0.4 million in fiscal 2024 as we began shipping Emerging Brands products in December of that year.
Gross Profit
On a consolidated basis, gross profit increased by $28.4 million, or 28.5%, to $128.3 million in fiscal 2024, from $99.8 million in fiscal 2023.
 
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Suja Core Segment
The increase was primarily driven by an increase in Suja Core case volume and a favorable package mix as Suja Organic single serve juice and Suja Organic and Vive Organic shots grew faster than Suja Organic multi serve, which costs more per case to produce. The average cost of sales per case decreased and gross margin increased to 49.7% for fiscal 2024 compared to 44.5% for fiscal 2023.
Emerging Brands Segment
The increase was also partially due to Emerging Brands gross profit of under $0.1 million for fiscal 2024.
Operating expenses
​ ​ ​
For the Years Ended
​ ​
Change
($)
​ ​
Change
(%)
​
​ ​ ​
2024
​ ​
2023
​
Operating expenses
​ ​ ​ $ (127,638) ​ ​ ​ ​ $ (108,033) ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ (19,605) ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 18.1% ​ ​
Operating expenses for fiscal 2024 were $127.6 million, an increase of $19.6 million, or 18.1%, from $108.0 million in fiscal 2023. This increase in operating expenses was primarily due to a $12.6 million increase in marketing spend relating to general advertising, shopper marketing and field marketing, which is inclusive of $2.3 million of general start-up and marketing costs to launch the Slice brand. It also includes a $7.9 million increase in payroll primarily related to bonuses, a $6.6 million increase in management fees partially offset by a $8.6 million decrease in professional fees and a $3.7 million decrease in insurance expense. The remaining increase of $4.8 million is attributable to increases in depreciation and asset disposals, information technology and licensing expense from various software deployments, amortization expense and research and development expenses related to the Slice brand acquisition and other miscellaneous expenses.
Interest Expense
Interest expense was $20.3 million in fiscal 2024 compared to $19.8 million in fiscal 2023, an increase of $0.5 million. This increase in interest expense was primarily due to a $1.7 million increase in interest expense on the Term Loan Facilities in fiscal 2024, which was driven by the $112 million Third Amendment Term Loan Facility issued in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2024. Additionally, interest expense on the Revolving Credit Facility increased by $0.3 million in fiscal 2024 as a result of a $15 million draw on the Revolving Credit Facility in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2024, partially offset by a decrease in interest expense of $1.4 million due to the payoff of the loans under the Company’s credit agreement with a global management consulting firm in the first quarter of fiscal 2024. For additional details, see Note 14 to our consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this prospectus.
Adjusted EBITDA
Adjusted EBITDA for fiscal 2024 was $42.2 million, an increase of $7.2 million, or 20.6%, from $35.0 million in fiscal 2023.
Suja Core Segment
Suja Core Segment Adjusted EBITDA for fiscal 2024 was $45.6 million, an increase of $10.6 million, or 30.1%, from $35.0 million in fiscal 2023. The increase in Suja Core Adjusted EBITDA was driven by an increase in gross profit of $28.8 million, or 28.8%, as described above, offset by a $12.0 million increase in marketing spend and a $6.2 million increase in other segment items. Other segment items include personnel costs comprising sales commissions and bonuses, logistical costs to distribute product, and other general and administrative costs.
Emerging Brands Segment
Emerging Brands Adjusted EBITDA of $(3.3) million in fiscal 2024 is attributable to a gross profit of under $0.1 million as described above, reduced by $2.3 million of general start-up and marketing costs to
 
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launch the Slice brand, $1.1 million of personnel costs including sales commissions and bonuses, logistical costs to distribute product, and other general and administrative costs.
Non-GAAP Financial Measures
We use non-GAAP financial information and believe it is useful to investors as it provides additional information to facilitate comparisons of historical operating results, identify trends in our underlying operating results, and provides additional insight and transparency into how we evaluate the business. We use non-GAAP financial measures to budget, make operating and strategic decisions and evaluate our performance. We have detailed the non-GAAP adjustments that we make in our non-GAAP definitions below. We believe the non-GAAP measures should always be considered along with, and not as substitutes for, the related GAAP financial measures. We have provided the reconciliations between the GAAP and non-GAAP financial measures below.
Our primary non-GAAP financial measures are listed below and reflect how we evaluate our current and prior-year operating results. As new events or circumstances arise, these definitions could change. When the definitions change, we will provide the updated definitions and present the related non-GAAP historical results on a comparable basis.
EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA, EBITDA margin and Adjusted EBITDA margin
We report our financial results in accordance with GAAP, however, management believes evaluation of operating results may be enhanced by a presentation of EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA, EBITDA margin and Adjusted EBITDA margin which are non-GAAP financial measures. We define EBITDA as net income (loss) as adjusted to exclude tax expense, net interest expense, and depreciation and amortization. We define Adjusted EBITDA as EBITDA further adjusted to exclude share-based compensation expense, transaction-related costs and adjustments, sponsor fees which will not recur subsequent to our initial public offering, and other non-recurring expenses.
EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA are two of the key performance indicators we use in evaluating our operating performance and in making financial, operating and planning decisions. In particular, the exclusion of certain expenses in calculating EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA facilitates operating performance comparability across reporting periods by removing the effect of certain expenses that are non-recurring, non-cash, or expenses that are not part of the Company’s core business operations. Accordingly, we believe that these measures provide useful information to investors and others in understanding and evaluating our operating results in the same manner as our management and Board. EBITDA margin and Adjusted EBITDA margin are non-GAAP financial measures that represent EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA divided by net sales for the applicable period, expressed as a percentage. We consider EBITDA margin and Adjusted EBITDA margin to be useful measures in highlighting trends in our business.
We believe it is useful to exclude non-cash charges, such as depreciation and amortization, and share-based compensation because the amount of such expenses in any specific period may not directly correlate to the underlying performance of our business operations. We believe it is useful to exclude tax expense, net interest expense, sponsor management fees and non-routine items, such as transaction costs and certain other non-recurring expenses, as these items are not components of our core business operations. Moreover, EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA are frequently used by analysts, investors and other interested parties to evaluate companies in our industry.
The following table reconciles EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA to consolidated Adjusted EBITDA:
​ ​ ​
For the Years Ended
​
(In thousands)
​ ​
2025
​ ​
2024
​ ​
2023
​
Suja Core Segment Adjusted EBITDA
​ ​ ​ $ 66,315 ​ ​ ​ ​ $ 45,566 ​ ​ ​ ​ $ 35,016 ​ ​
Emerging Brands Segment Adjusted EBITDA
​ ​ ​ ​ (25,808) ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ (3,348) ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​
Total Segment Adjusted EBITDA
​ ​ ​ $ 40,507 ​ ​ ​ ​ $ 42,218 ​ ​ ​ ​ $ 35,016 ​ ​
 
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The following table reconciles EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA, and Adjusted EBITDA Margin to the most directly comparable GAAP performance measures:
​ ​ ​
For the Years Ended
​
(In thousands)
​ ​
2025
​ ​
2024
​ ​
2023
​
EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA: ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​
Net income (loss)
​ ​ ​ $ (23,337) ​ ​ ​ ​ $ (20,766) ​ ​ ​ ​ $ (24,470) ​ ​
Benefit (provision) for income taxes
​ ​ ​ ​ 1,861 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 1,947 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ (2,776) ​ ​
Interest expense
​ ​ ​ ​ 30,045 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 20,301 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 19,752 ​ ​
Depreciation and amortization
​ ​ ​ ​ 28,097 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 27,304 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 26,686 ​ ​
EBITDA
​ ​ ​ ​ 36,666 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 28,786 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 19,192 ​ ​
Incentive unit compensation
​ ​ ​ ​ 507 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 618 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 460 ​ ​
Non-recurring costs(1)
​ ​ ​ ​ 1,625 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 608 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 190 ​ ​
Sponsor costs(2)
​ ​ ​ ​ 1,709 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 7,423 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 1,152 ​ ​
Acquisition related costs(3)
​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 4,783 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 14,022 ​ ​
Adjusted EBITDA
​ ​ ​ $ 40,507 ​ ​ ​ ​ $ 42,218 ​ ​ ​ ​ $ 35,016 ​ ​
Adjusted EBITDA margin
​ ​ ​ ​ 12.4% ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 16.3% ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 15.6% ​ ​
EBITDA margin
​ ​ ​ ​ 11.2% ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 11.1% ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 8.6% ​ ​
Net loss margin
​ ​ ​ ​ (7.1)% ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ (8.0)% ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ (10.9)% ​ ​
​
(1)
Fiscal 2025 includes a $1.2 million one-time transaction bonus, and $0.5 million of consulting fees related to one-time system improvements. Fiscal 2024 includes $0.3 million consulting fees, $0.2 million related to a one-time employee audit, and $0.1 million for one-time CEO transition costs. Fiscal 2023 includes $1.2 million in one-time costs during our transition to a new storage facility which is partially offset by $1.0 million in insurance proceeds.
​
(2)
Includes fees paid in cash to our sponsor which will not recur subsequent to our initial public offering due to changes in how these fees will be structured as a public company, including a one-time refinancing fee of $6.2 million in fiscal 2024, paid to PSP in connection with the closing of the Third Amendment Term Loan Facility (as defined below), a management fee of $1.2 million, $0.9 million, and $0.9 million paid to our sponsor in each of fiscal 2025, fiscal 2024 and fiscal 2023, respectively, and expense reimbursements of $0.5 million, $0.3 million, and $0.3 million in each of fiscal 2025, fiscal 2024 and fiscal 2023, respectively, in each case, pursuant to the Management Agreement, as described in the section titled “Certain Relationships and Related Party Transactions — Related Party Transactions — Management Agreement.”
​
(3)
Fiscal 2024 includes $3.9 million in transaction costs related to exploratory M&A activities which includes professional service fees. It also includes $0.5 million in compensation that is not a part of our core business operations, and $0.3 million in inventory write-offs of inventory related to our 2022 acquisition of Vive. Fiscal 2023 includes $11.7 million in transaction costs related to exploratory M&A activities which includes professional service fees. It also includes adjustments related to the 2022 acquisition of Vive which includes $1.6 million in inventory write-offs of inventory acquired that were not used in our operations and $0.8 million in compensation that is not a part of our core business operations.
​
Liquidity and Capital Resources
General
Suja Life, Inc. is a holding company with no operations of our own, and as such, we will depend on our subsidiaries for cash to fund all of our operations and expenses. We will depend on the payment of distributions by our current and future subsidiaries, including Holdings LP. The terms of the agreements governing our indebtedness, including our Credit Agreement, contain certain negative covenants prohibiting certain of our subsidiaries from making cash dividends or distributions to us or to Holdings LP unless certain financial tests are met. For a discussion of those restrictions, see “Description of Certain Indebtedness — Certain Covenants Representations and Warranties” and “Risk Factors — Risks Related to Our Indebtedness.” We currently anticipate that such restrictions will not impact our ability to meet our cash obligations.
Our primary cash needs are for operating expenses, working capital and capital expenditures to support the growth of our business. Historically, we have financed our operations through private sales of equity securities, the issuance of related party notes, and through sales of our products and borrowing under the
 
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Term Loan Facilities. As of the end of fiscal 2025, our principal sources of liquidity were cash and cash equivalents totaling $31.0 million which does not include restricted cash, as well as the available balance of our Revolving Credit Facility. We consider cash equivalents to include only highly liquid investments purchased with a maturity of three months or less. Restricted cash includes certificates of deposit with maturities of six months, which are required collateral for our credit cards. During fiscal 2025, our positive cash flow from operations has enabled us to make continued investments in supporting the growth of our business. Following the completion of this offering, we expect that our operating cash flows, in addition to our cash and restricted cash, will enable us to continue to make such investments in the future. We expect our operating cash flows to further improve as we increase our operational efficiency and experience economies of scale.
We believe our existing cash and restricted cash, our Revolving Credit Facility and cash provided by sales of our products will be sufficient to meet our working capital and capital expenditure needs for at least the next 12 months. Our future capital requirements will depend on many factors including our growth rate, the timing and extent of spending to support development efforts, the expansion of sales and marketing activities, the introduction of new and enhanced product offerings and the continuing market acceptance of our products. In the future, we may enter into arrangements to acquire or invest in complementary businesses, services and technologies, including intellectual property rights. We may be required to seek additional equity or debt financing. In the event that additional financing is required from outside sources, we may not be able to raise it on terms acceptable to us or at all. If we are unable to raise additional capital or generate cash flows necessary to expand our operations and invest in new products, manufacturing or distribution capabilities, this could reduce our ability to compete successfully and harm our results of operations. While we believe our existing cash and restricted cash, our Revolving Credit Facility and cash provided by sales of our products will be sufficient to meet our future working capital and capital expenditure needs, we can provide no assurance that our liquidity and capital resources will meet future funding requirements.
As a result of our ownership of LP Units in Holdings LP, we will become subject to U.S. federal, state and local income taxes with respect to our allocable share of any net taxable income of Holdings LP and will be taxed on such income at the applicable corporate tax rates. In addition to tax expenses, we will incur expenses related to our operations, including obligations to make payments under the Tax Receivable Agreement to the TRA Parties. The amounts payable, as well as the timing of any payments, under the Tax Receivable Agreement are dependent upon future events and assumptions, including the timing of LP Unit exchanges, the price of our Class A common stock at the time of each exchange, the extent to which such exchanges are taxable transactions, the amount of the exchanging LP Unitholder’s tax basis in its LP Units at the time of the relevant exchange, the depreciation and amortization periods that apply to the increase in tax basis, the amount and timing of taxable income we generate in the future, the U.S. federal, state and local income tax rates then applicable and the portion of any payments under the Tax Receivable Agreement that constitute imputed interest or give rise to depreciable, depletable or amortizable tax basis; however, we estimate that such payments may be substantial. We currently anticipate funding any required payments to the TRA Parties under the Tax Receivable Agreement using cash flows generated from our operations. As a result, these payments may reduce the amount of overall cash flow that would otherwise be available to us for other purposes. See “Risk Factors — Risks Related to Our Organizational Structure — The Tax Receivable Agreement with the TRA Parties requires us to make cash payments to them in respect of certain tax benefits to which we may become entitled, and we expect that the payments we may be required to make could be substantial.” Assuming no material changes in the relevant tax law and that we earn sufficient taxable income to realize all tax benefits that are subject to the Tax Receivable Agreement, and based on certain assumptions with respect to future exchanges and other items, we expect that future payments under the Tax Receivable Agreement relating to the purchase by Suja Life, Inc. of LP Units from the LP Unitholders and in respect of future exchanges to be approximately $      million (or approximately $      million if the underwriters exercise their option to purchase additional shares of Class A common stock in this offering) and to range from approximately $      million to $      million per year (or range from approximately $      million to $      million per year if the underwriters exercise their option to purchase additional shares of Class A common stock in this offering). Further, assuming no material changes in the relevant tax law and that we earn sufficient taxable income to realize all tax benefits that are subject to the Tax Receivable Agreement, we expect that future payments under the Tax Receivable Agreement relating to the utilization of certain pre-IPO tax attributes acquired in the Organizational Transactions to be
 
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approximately $      million and to range from approximately $      million to $      million per year. As a result, we expect that aggregate payments under the Tax Receivable Agreement over this       year period will range from approximately $      million to $      million (or range from approximately $      million to $      million if the underwriters exercise their option to purchase additional shares of Class A common stock).
The estimates above are based on an initial public offering price of $      per share of Class A common stock, which is the midpoint of the estimated public offering price range set forth on the cover page of this prospectus. It is possible that future transactions or events could increase or decrease the actual tax benefits realized and the corresponding Tax Receivable Agreement payments. The foregoing numbers are merely estimates, and the actual payments could differ materially. We expect to fund these payments using cash distributions from Holdings LP. See “Organizational Structure — Amended and Restated Partnership Agreement of Holdings LP” and “Organizational Structure — Tax Receivable Agreement.”
Indebtedness
Credit Agreement
On August 23, 2021, we entered into the Credit Agreement with JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. as administrative agent and the lenders set forth therein, providing for a $120 million initial term loan facility (the “Initial Term Loan Facility”) and $25 million Revolving Credit Facility. On December 8, 2021, we entered into a first amendment to the Credit Agreement, providing for certain technical amendments to the Credit Agreement. On October 11, 2022, we entered into a second amendment to the Credit Agreement providing for an additional $42 million second amendment term loan facility (the “Second Amendment Term Loan Facility”). On October 31, 2024, we entered into a third amendment to the Credit Agreement, providing for an additional $112 million third amendment term loan facility (the “Third Amendment Term Loan Facility”) and a $15 million increase in the commitments in respect of the Revolving Credit Facility. On January 13, 2026, we entered into a fourth amendment to the Credit Agreement, providing for an additional $15 million fourth amendment delayed draw term loan facility (the “Fourth Amendment Delayed Draw Term Loan Facility”). The Initial Term Loan Facility had an upfront fee discount of 2.0% of the aggregate principal amount of the commitments and 2.0% of the aggregate principal amount of the Revolving Credit Facility as of the borrowing date. The Second Amendment Term Loan Facility had an upfront fee discount of 2.0% of the aggregate principal amount of the commitments under the Second Amendment Term Loan Facility. The Third Amendment Term Loan Facility had an upfront fee discount of 1.50% of the aggregate principal amount of the commitments under the Third Amendment Term Loan Facility. The Fourth Amendment Delayed Draw Term Loan Facility had an upfront fee discount of 0.75% of the aggregate principal amount of the commitments under the Fourth Amendment Delayed Draw Term Loan Facility. All outstanding principal and accrued and unpaid interest on the Term Loan Facilities is due and payable on August 23, 2029. All outstanding principal and accrued and unpaid interest on the Revolving Credit Facility is due and payable on August 23, 2028. All obligations under the Credit Agreement are secured by first-priority security interests in substantially all of our assets and the assets of our domestic subsidiaries, subject to permitted liens and other exceptions.
Borrowings under the Term Loan Facilities accrue daily interest at a per annum rate equivalent to, (i) a base rate plus the applicable margin set forth below under the caption “Base Rate Loan” or (ii) an adjusted term Secured Overnight Financing Rate (“SOFR”) rate plus a term SOFR adjustment equal to 0.10%, 0.15% or 0.25%, depending on the interest period of the applicable borrowing, plus the applicable margin set forth below under the caption “Term Benchmark Loan / RFR Loan,” in each case, based upon the consolidated net leverage ratio as of the most recent date of determination. The base rate is the highest of (i) the prime rate at such time, (ii) 1/2 of 1.00% in excess of the federal funds effective rate at such time and (iii) an adjusted term SOFR rate for a term benchmark loan with a one-month interest period commencing at such time plus 1.00%.
Level
​ ​
Consolidated Net
Leverage Ratio
​ ​
Base
Rate
Loan
​ ​
Term
Benchmark
Loan / RFR
Loan
​
1
​ ​
Greater than 3.50:1.00
​ ​ ​ ​ 4.50% ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 5.50% ​ ​
2
​ ​
Less than or equal to 3.50:1.00
​ ​ ​ ​ 4.25% ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 5.25% ​ ​
 
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The Credit Agreement requires us to maintain a consolidated net leverage ratio each quarter below 6.50 to 1.00 for each quarter from December 2024 through December 2025, 5.50 to 1.00 for each quarter from March 2026 through December 2026, 4.50 to 1.00 for each quarter from March 2027 through December 2027, and 3.50 to 1.00 for each quarter from March 2028 thereafter. We are in compliance with our debt covenant.
As of the end of fiscal 2025, we had $307.5 million outstanding under the Credit Agreement.
Cash Flows
The following table presents the major components of net cash flows from and used in operating, investing and financing activities for the periods indicated:
​ ​ ​
For the Years Ended
​
​ ​ ​
2025
​ ​
2024
​ ​
2023
​
Net cash provided by operating activities
​ ​ ​ $ 8,289 ​ ​ ​ ​ $ 10,353 ​ ​ ​ ​ $ 18,411 ​ ​
Net cash used in investing activities
​ ​ ​ ​ (14,111) ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ (10,195) ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ (11,399) ​ ​
Net cash (used in) provided by financing activities
​ ​ ​ ​ 20,965 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ (11,817) ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ (2,389) ​ ​
Net increase (decrease) in cash and restricted cash
​ ​ ​ $ 15,143 ​ ​ ​ ​ $ (11,659) ​ ​ ​ ​ $ 4,623 ​ ​
Comparison of Fiscal 2025 and Fiscal 2024
Our cash flows used in or provided by operating activities are primarily influenced by working capital changes. As part of our continued efforts to improve our working capital efficiency, we have worked with our suppliers over the past several years to revisit terms and conditions, including the extension of payment terms.
Operating Activities
Net cash provided by operating activities was $8.3 million for fiscal 2025 compared to $10.4 million for fiscal 2024. Operating cash flows decreased primarily due to an increase in net loss of $2.6 million, $2.5 million decrease to cashflows due to the capitalization of non-cash transaction costs in fiscal 2025 which did not occur in fiscal 2024, offset by a $1.2 million increase in inventory obsolescence and $1.6 million increase to working capital that is primarily driven by increases in accounts payable and accrued expenses, and an increase in payments towards inventory.
Investing Activities
Net cash used in investing activities was $14.1 million for fiscal 2025 compared to $10.2 million for fiscal 2024. The change was primarily due to the purchase of the Slice intellectual property intangible asset of $5.7 million in fiscal 2024 that did not occur in fiscal 2025, offset by an increase of $9.6 million in purchases of property and equipment.
Financing Activities
Net cash provided by financing activities was $21.0 million for fiscal 2025 compared to net cash used in financing activities of $(11.8) million for fiscal 2024. The increase in net cash provided by financing activities was primarily related to a $112.0 million draw on the Term Loan Facilities offset by $2.7 million of deferred finance costs in fiscal 2024 that did not reoccur in fiscal 2025. This decrease was offset by a $132.1 million decrease in distributions in fiscal 2025 as compared to fiscal 2024.
Comparison of Fiscal 2024 and Fiscal 2023
Operating Activities
Net cash provided by operating activities was $10.4 million for fiscal 2024 compared to $18.4 million for fiscal 2023. Operating cash flows decreased primarily due to a decrease in net loss of $3.7 million,
 
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$5.7 million decrease to cashflows due to the recognition of non-cash transaction costs in fiscal 2023 which did not recur in fiscal 2024, $3.9 million increase to cashflows related to changes in deferred taxes and $11.0 million decrease in cashflows related to working capital that is primarily driven by payments towards accrued expenses and other liabilities and a decrease in the collection rate of trade receivables.
Investing Activities
Net cash used in investing activities was $10.2 million for fiscal 2024 compared to $11.4 million for fiscal 2023. The change was primarily due to the purchase in fiscal 2023 of the Slice intellectual property intangible asset of $5.7 million offset by a decrease of $6.9 million in purchases of property and equipment.
Financing Activities
Net cash used in financing activities was $(11.8) million for fiscal 2024 compared to $(2.4) million for fiscal 2023. The increase in net cash used in financing activities was primarily related to a $112.0 million draw on the Term Loan Facilities and Revolving Credit Facility offset by $2.7 million of deferred finance costs on the draws and $133.3 million of increased distributions to members.
Contractual Obligations and Commitments
Contractual obligations for future payments as of the end of fiscal 2025 primarily relate to lease commitments, raw material purchase obligations, and principal debt payments. Operating and financing leases represent minimum required lease payments during the noncancelable lease term. Most real estate leases also require payment of related operating expenses such as taxes, insurance, utilities, and maintenance, which are not included in our estimated capital lease obligation. Our total estimated finance and operating lease obligations total $4.3 million in fiscal 2026, an average of $4.5 million per year from 2027 to 2030, and $12.0 million thereafter.
Contingencies
From time to time, we may be party to certain legal actions arising in the ordinary course of business. We accrue for losses from a legal proceeding when it is probable that a loss has been incurred and the amount of the loss can be reasonably estimated. There are inherent uncertainties in legal proceedings that make it difficult to reasonably estimate costs and effects of resolving such matters. Accordingly, actual costs incurred may differ materially from amounts accrued, may exceed applicable insurance coverage, and could materially adversely affect our business, cash flows, results of operations, financial condition, and prospects.
Indemnification Agreements
In the normal course of business, we provide indemnification of varying scope to customers against claims of intellectual property infringement made by third parties arising from the use of our products, and from time to time we may be subject to claims by our customers under these indemnification provisions. Historically, costs related to these indemnification provisions have not been significant, but we are unable to estimate the maximum potential impact of these indemnification provisions on our future results of operations. To the extent permitted under Delaware law, we will enter into agreements whereby we indemnify our directors and officers for certain events or occurrences while the director or officer is or was serving at our request in such capacity. The indemnification period covers all pertinent events and occurrences during the director’s or officer’s lifetime. The maximum potential amount of future payments we could be required to make under these indemnification agreements is unlimited; however, we have director and officer insurance coverage that limits our exposure and enables us to recover a portion of any future amounts paid. We believe the estimated fair value of these indemnification agreements in excess of applicable insurance coverage is minimal.
Critical Accounting Estimates
In preparing financial statements in conformity with GAAP, management is required to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and the disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses
 
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during the reporting period. Significant estimates used in the preparation of these financial statements include but are not limited to the following: inventory valuation, impairment of goodwill, intangible assets and long-life assets, share-based compensation, and useful lives of property, plant and equipment and intangible assets. Management believes these estimates and assumptions provide a reasonable basis for the fair presentation of the consolidated financial statements. Actual results could differ from those estimates.
The critical accounting estimates, assumptions, and judgments that we believe have the most significant impact on our consolidated financial statements are described below.
Sales promotions, coupons and allowances
Our sales are predominantly generated from the sale of finished products to customers. These sales contain a single performance obligation and revenue is recognized at a single point in time when ownership, risks, and rewards transfer. Typically, this occurs when the goods are received by the customer. Revenues are recognized in an amount that reflects the net consideration we expect to receive in exchange for the goods.
We offer promotional programs to customers in order to incentivize consumers to purchase our products. The promotions result in variable consideration, which is recognized as a reduction to revenue. We estimate variable consideration at the point in time when revenue is recognized with a customer that has a promotional program extended to them. The critical assumptions used to estimate variable consideration include: (i) customer ending inventories, (ii) forecasted customer sales to consumers, and (iii) promotional incentives extended to customers. In gathering data to support these estimates, estimates are calculated at the individual contract level based on current known facts and circumstances at each customer and historical performance of the customer’s participation in similar types of promotions. The expected payout of promotional incentives are generally taken through a reduction of payment on invoiced amounts. Accruals are established on a monthly basis and generally are settled within one to two months; however, certain customers may settle beyond an annual period.
Estimated sales incentives are included in the transaction price of our contracts with customers as a reduction within net sales and are accrued for within accrued expenses or as a reduction of trade receivables. As of the end of fiscal 2025, fiscal 2024, and fiscal 2023, we had $6.1 million, $2.7 million, and $2.5 million, respectively, of estimated sales promotions, coupons and allowances recorded in “Trade receivables, net” on our consolidated balance sheets. The actual amounts ultimately paid and/or received may be different from our estimates.
Goodwill Impairment
Goodwill is tested for impairment at the reporting unit level. Reporting units are determined based on one level below the operating segment level. All allocated goodwill is held at a single reporting unit. We test goodwill for impairment at least annually and more frequently if events or circumstances indicate the carrying value of a reporting unit may not be recoverable. Our annual impairment test is performed in the fourth quarter. In performing this assessment, we may first evaluate qualitative factors to determine whether it is more likely than not that the fair value of a reporting unit is less than its carrying amount. Factors considered include macroeconomic, industry, and market conditions, cost factors that would have a negative effect on earnings and cash flows, legal and regulatory environment, historical financial performance, and significant changes in Suja’s operations or brand. If the qualitative assessment indicates that it is more likely than not that an impairment exists, then a quantitative assessment is performed. In the quantitative assessment for goodwill, an assessment is performed to determine the fair value of the reporting units.
Based on our most recent evaluation of goodwill performed during the fourth quarter of fiscal 2025, we concluded that the goodwill in each of our reporting units was not at risk of impairment. As of the end of fiscal 2025, our goodwill balance was $106.2 million.
Trade name and other intangible assets, net
Intangible assets represented 42% of our total assets as of the end of fiscal 2025 and amortization expense represented 7% of our total operating and cost of sales expenses in fiscal 2025. As of the end of fiscal 2024, intangible assets represented 48% of our total assets and amortization represented 9% of our total
 
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operating and cost of sales expenses in fiscal 2024. As of the end of fiscal 2023, intangible assets amortization represented 9% of our total operating and cost of sales expenses in fiscal 2023. Our intangible assets with finite useful lives are carried at cost less accumulated depreciation and amortization. For acquired intangible assets, we amortize the cost over their estimated useful lives using either a straight-line or an accelerated method that most accurately reflects the estimated pattern in which the economic benefit of the respective asset is consumed. These estimates may change due to a number of factors such as changes in operating conditions or advances in technology. The estimate has a low degree of estimation uncertainty as there were no changes in the useful lives utilized by management in the periods presented. Amortization expense for fiscal 2025, fiscal 2024, and fiscal 2023 was $22.2 million, $22.0 million, and $21.6 million respectively. To illustrate the impact and sensitivity of the estimate, a 20% increase in the useful life of trade name, recipe, and customer relationship intangible assets would result in a decrease in amortization of 17% in each year, assuming all assets incur a full year of amortization. There has been a $5.5 million increase to trade names, related to the Slice acquisition in 2024. There have been no impairments to intangible assets in fiscal 2025, fiscal 2024, or fiscal 2023.
Property and equipment, net
Property and equipment represented 11% of our total assets as of the end of fiscal 2025, and 9% of our total assets as of the end of fiscal 2024, and depreciation represented 2% of our total operating expenses and costs of sales in fiscal 2025, fiscal 2024, and fiscal 2023. Our property and equipment are carried at cost less accumulated depreciation and amortization. We calculate depreciation and amortization on our assets based on the estimated useful lives that we believe are reasonable. No provision for salvage value is considered in determining depreciation of our property, plant, and equipment. The estimated useful lives are subject to key assumptions such as maintenance and utilization. These estimates may change due to a number of factors such as changes in operating conditions or advances in technology. The estimate has a low degree of estimation uncertainty as there were no changes in the useful lives utilized by management in the periods presented. Depreciation expense for fiscal 2025, fiscal 2024, and fiscal 2023 was $5.8 million, $5.3 million, and $5.1 million respectively. To illustrate the impact and sensitivity of the estimate, a 20% increase in the useful life of machinery and equipment, leasehold improvements, office furniture and equipment, and internal use software would result in a decrease in depreciation of 20%, assuming all assets incur a full year of depreciation. Maintenance and repairs are charged to expense when incurred. Improvements, which extend the life or improve the existing asset, are capitalized.
Emerging Growth Company Status
The JOBS Act, permits an “emerging growth company” such as us to take advantage of an extended transition period to comply with new or revised accounting standards applicable to public companies until those standards would otherwise apply to private companies. We have elected to use this extended transition period for complying with new or revised accounting standards that have different effective dates for public and private companies until the earlier of the date we (i) are no longer an emerging growth company or (ii) affirmatively and irrevocably opt out of the extended transition period provided in the JOBS Act. As a result, we will not be subject to the same new or revised accounting standards as other public companies that are not emerging growth companies, and our consolidated financial statements may not be comparable to other public companies that comply with new or revised accounting pronouncements as of public company effective dates. We may choose to early adopt any new or revised accounting standards whenever such early adoption is permitted for private companies.
We will cease to be an emerging growth company on the date that is the earliest of (i) the last day of the fiscal year in which we have total annual gross revenues of $1.235 billion or more, (ii) the last day of our fiscal year following the fifth anniversary of the date of the closing of this offering, (iii) the date on which we have issued more than $1.0 billion in nonconvertible debt during the previous three years, or (iv) the date on which we are deemed to be a large accelerated filer under the rules of the SEC.
Recent Accounting Pronouncements
A description of recently issued accounting pronouncements that may potentially impact our financial position and results of operations is disclosed in Note 1 to our consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this prospectus.
 
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Impact of Seasonality
Seasonality has not had and is not expected to have a significant impact on our results of operations.
Qualitative and Quantitative Disclosures About Market Risk
Market risk represents the risk of loss that may impact our financial position due to adverse changes in financial market prices and rates. Our market risk exposure is primarily a result of exposure due to potential changes in inflation or interest rates.
Inflation Risk
While inflation may impact our revenue and costs of revenue, we believe the effects of inflation, if any, on our results of operations and financial condition have not been significant. However, there can be no assurance that our results of operations and financial condition will not be materially impacted by inflation in the future.
Interest Rate Risk
Our exposure to interest rate risk is related primarily to our borrowing activities for our variable rate borrowing. As of the end of fiscal 2025, we had total outstanding debt of $307.5 million under our Credit Agreement. Based on the amounts outstanding, a 100-basis point increase or decrease in market interest rates over a 12-month period would result in a change to interest expense of approximately $3.1 million.
Concentration of Credit Risk
Financial instruments that potentially expose us to concentrations of credit risk consist principally of cash, restricted cash, and accounts receivable. We place our cash with financial institutions with high credit quality. As of the end of fiscal 2025, we had $32.0 million of cash on deposit or invested with our financial and lending institutions.
 
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BUSINESS
Suja
“soo-jah”
Vive
“vy-ve”
Our Company: Changing What Beverages Bring to the Table
Suja Life is a modern beverage platform at the forefront of one of the most powerful consumer transformations of our time: the shift toward functional, better-for-you beverages. We operate at the intersection of health, taste, and trust, offering cold-pressed juices, wellness shots, and functional sodas that have become an essential part of consumers’ everyday routines.
We began with a simple purpose: to change what beverages bring to the table. Fueled by the lack of genuinely nutritious options on the market, our founders began crafting juices using high-quality organic ingredients and cold-pressing techniques to preserve nutrients and flavor. What started as a passion for creating something better, quickly evolved into a movement that reshaped an entire category. Over a decade ago, we played a key role in shaping the cold-pressed juice category, transforming what was once a niche offering into a mainstream better-for-you beverage category. Today, we serve the rapidly growing NHB market which is outpacing growth of the broader beverage market by 10% according to SPINS, 52 Weeks. We are rapidly scaling within this market: our core brands — Suja Organic and Vive Organic — grew 26% in total dollars, 4% in TDPs, and 22% in velocity according to SPINS, 52 Weeks. We are well-positioned to continue capturing market share as consumers increasingly prioritize health-forward beverage choices.
Our three brands — Suja Organic, Vive Organic, and Slice — address distinct consumer needs across the health and wellness spectrum. Together, they form a complementary portfolio that reaches consumers across multiple beverage occasions and fits naturally into their daily routines: from a cold-pressed juice to start the day, to the wellness shot that supports daily immunity, to the functional soda that satisfies without compromise. Each brand reflects our core philosophy of delivering premium, nutritional products with transparency, integrity, and great taste.
Behind our brands is a high-performing platform built for speed, scale, and profitability. We believe we own and operate one of the largest vertically integrated cold-pressed beverage facilities in North America, spanning approximately 270,000 square feet across our multi-building campus. This provides meaningful cost and quality advantages while enabling the rapid scaling of our brands and innovation initiatives. Based on NIQ Scantrack, 52 Weeks data, our products are available in more than 37,000 stores. As part of our broader commitment to responsible growth, we emphasize environmental sustainability, through responsible sourcing as well as recyclable and lower-plastic packaging.
Our pioneering mentality has propelled us into a leadership position in both cold-pressed juice and wellness shots based on retail sales according to SPINS, 52 Weeks. We deliver significant topline growth and strong margins while continuing to reinvest in marketing, innovation, and infrastructure to drive sustainable growth. We are well-positioned to define the next generation of iconic, better-for-you beverage brands as health, functionality, and sustainability continue to shape consumer preferences.
Clear Market Opportunity with Favorable Consumer Trend Tailwinds
The U.S. beverage landscape has undergone a structural transformation over the past two decades. What was once dominated by high-sugar, traditional beverages, has evolved into a hub of functional health innovation, reflecting growing consumer demand for clean-label, nutritious, and better-for-you options. We captured consumer sentiments about this shift toward functional, health-forward beverages through a Company survey:
•
80% of consumers are constantly seeking beverages that are healthier;
​
•
90% of consumer want beverages that taste delicious;
​
 
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•
82% of consumers want beverages with lower sugar;
​
•
90% of consumers desire additional functional benefits from their beverages; and
​
•
77% of consumers are willing to pay more for “beverages that are better for them.”
​
Sourcing from the broader $128 billion total beverage market, we service a $43 billion segment of the market comprised of refrigerated juice, kombucha and other functional beverages, and sodas according to SPINS, 52 Weeks. Within this segment, we compete directly with brands we believe are positioned as “natural” in the $3.9 billion NHB market. The NHB market represents the intersection of taste and function, combining refreshment with tangible wellness benefits to draw share from the legacy beverage industry. As consumer preferences continue to blur the lines between hydration, nutrition, and functional health, our diversified portfolio is strategically positioned to capture incremental market share not only within the rapidly expanding NHB market but across the broader beverage industry, where we see significant whitespace opportunities for function-forward innovation and brand expansion.
Growth within the NHB market significantly outpaced the total beverage market, with 13% growth compared to 3% for total beverage according to SPINS, 52 Weeks. We are a rapidly scaling platform within this market; our core brands grew 26% in total dollars, 4% in TDPs, and 22% in velocity according to SPINS, 52 Weeks. In addition, our brands are leaders in their respective categories according to SPINS. Suja Organic is the category leader in the cold-pressed juice category, holding approximately 47% share and benefiting from favorable category growth of 23% according to SPINS, 52 Weeks. Vive Organic holds the #1 and #2 SKU positions in the wellness shots category according to SPINS, 52 Weeks. Together, Vive Organic and Suja Organic command roughly 42% of the wellness shots category, according to SPINS, 52 Weeks, which grew more than 28% according to SPINS, 52 Weeks. We also see substantial runway to extend our presence in the $35 billion soda category through Slice, our recently launched functional soda brand designed to meet consumers’ desires for healthier, functional refreshments.
Fueled by evolving consumer demands, we believe the NHB market will continue to grow for the foreseeable future, and we are well-positioned to lead this next phase of growth. With a portfolio of trusted brands, we aim to continue delivering products that unite superior taste, proven functionality, and uncompromising quality, enabling us to capture share, drive category growth, and create long-term value within the evolving beverage landscape.
 
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[MISSING IMAGE: fc_yoygrowth-4c.jpg]
Our Platform of Wellness Brands
Suja Organic: Cold-Pressed Juice and Wellness Shots
Suja Organic is our flagship brand, known for its delicious, organic cold-pressed juices and wellness shots rooted in nutritional integrity and consumer trust. As a leading brand in the refrigerated juices category, with the #1 position in cold-pressed juice retail sales according to SPINS, 52 Weeks, Suja Organic has redefined what premium juice represents — clean, transparent, and accessible wellness for everyday consumption. Suja Organic spans several core platforms and is designed to deliver targeted nutrition in convenient formats across consumption occasions:
•
Green Juice Platform:   Focused on nutrient-dense cold-pressed vegetable blends, like the top-selling Uber Greens, that deliver core wellness and daily nutrition
​
•
Boosted Juice Platform:   Showcases functional juices with targeted wellness benefits and fruit-forward flavor profiles designed to support specific health needs
​
•
Refreshers Platform:   Offers superfood-infused, approachable blends like Ginger Love, crafted for broad, mainstream appeal and everyday refreshment
​
•
Wellness Shots Platform:   Provides concentrated, on-the-go formulations that support wellness — including immunity, energy, and digestion in convenient, portable formats
​
Our typical consumer leads a dynamic, health-conscious lifestyle. Whether grabbing a Green Juice before a workout, sipping Ginger Love during a busy workday, or reaching for a convenient Wellness Shot to support immunity, each purchase reflects an intentional approach to living well. This highly engaged and loyal consumer base values brand authenticity, ingredient transparency, and functional performance — attributes that drive repeat purchases and long-term brand equity. A Company survey found that among premium juice buyers, our brand awareness has reached 70% as of August 2025, representing a 57 point year-over-year increase. Similarly, 49% of cold-pressed juice and wellness shot category buyers have purchased Suja Organic products within the past 3 months, up from just 13% a year ago. According to a Company survey, as of August 2025, Suja Organic achieved an NPS of 66. The brand maintains a 92% overall satisfaction rate, with 96% of consumers intending to repurchase and more than 60% of consumers saying they’ve bought
 
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the brand five or more times. 89% of consumers say they would recommend the brand, further reinforcing our sustained consumer demand and long-term growth potential.
[MISSING IMAGE: ph_sujagreen-4c.jpg]
Vive Organic: Leading Doctor-Crafted Wellness Shot Brand
Vive Organic is an industry-leading wellness shot brand, known for pioneering the functional shot category with its doctor-crafted formulations and redefining how consumers approach proactive wellness. Born from a personal mission to make wellness solutions accessible to the masses, Vive Organic combines clean ingredients and convenience to make functional nutrition simple, potent, and accessible. Vive Organic spans several key platforms and is designed to address core consumer needs:
•
Immunity Boost Platform:   Led by the category-defining Immunity Boost shot, featuring potent ingredients such as ginger, turmeric, echinacea, and elderberry to support immune health
​
•
Energy Boost Platform:   Clean, sustained energy through natural sources like ginseng and guayusa, providing a better-for-you alternative to traditional energy drinks
​
•
Pure Boost Platform:   Single-origin superfood shots highlighting ingredients like ginger and turmeric, delivering targeted, transparent, and trusted benefits
​
Our typical consumer is a forward-looking wellness enthusiast who integrates proactive health into daily life and values products that deliver immediate, tangible results. Whether taking an Immunity Boost shot before a flight, an Energy shot to power through a busy afternoon, or a hero-ingredient shot like Ginger or Turmeric as part of their daily ritual, each purchase reflects a deliberate commitment to feeling and performing better.
According to a Company survey, as of August 2025, Vive Organic achieved an NPS of 70, with 91% overall satisfaction, and a strong loyalty rating of 66. Fueled by consumer love, we’ve grown Vive Organic’s dollar sales by 50.3% and velocity by more than 96% according to SPINS, 104 Weeks.
Vive Organic combines potency, credibility, and convenience into a format consumers can feel in the moment and trust for the long haul. With doctor-crafted formulations, a loyal and growing consumer base, and an expanding retail presence, Vive Organic continues to lead the functional shot category while driving Suja Life’s expansion in the rapidly growing intersection of beverages and supplements.
 
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Slice: Our Reinvented, Better-For-You Soda Brand
As a company committed to changing what beverages bring to the table, we knew we needed to tackle America’s favorite beverage category — soda. A $35 billion market ripe for disruption, the traditional soda industry has seen decades of dominance by legacy brands but little true innovation in taste or health. Existing better-for-you sodas lacked the flavor and carbonation of traditional sodas, leaving a clear opportunity for a true-to-taste alternative.
Enter Slice:   the original “better-for-you” soda, made with 10% real fruit juice when it was first introduced in 1984 and now reimagined for today’s wellness-minded consumer. With prebiotics, probiotics, postbiotics, reduced sugar, and no artificial ingredients, Slice delivers the nostalgic flavor and fizz of classic soda with meaningful functional benefits. Since launch in January 2025, Slice has quickly established itself as one of the fastest-growing soda brands, and has achieved an NPS higher than the better-for-you soda category leaders as of September 2025 according to a Company survey. Slice is in the early stages of scaling, but is more widely recognized than most of its competitors, so we believe it has substantial runway for growth and is one of our most promising platforms for expansion.
By combining nostalgia, great taste, and functional wellness, Slice bridges enjoyment and health — unlocking a long-term opportunity to reshape one of the largest beverage categories in the world.
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Select 2025 Product Performance
[MISSING IMAGE: fc_select2025product-4c.jpg]
​
(1)
Suja Core net sales includes $2.8M of intersegment revenue.
​
(2)
Percentages will not sum to 100% because the remaining 11% is attributed to net sales from private label, protein and powders.
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Sustained Innovation and Strategic M&A Engine
Innovation has been at the heart of Suja Life since inception, driving our ability to anticipate consumer needs, shape emerging beverage categories, and scale new platforms with speed and precision. We innovate across product development, brand architecture, and manufacturing technology to deliver function-forward beverages that blend superior taste with measurable wellness benefits. Our innovation starts with granular category, retailer, and consumer data, enabling us to anticipate market shifts and align products to the fastest-growing demand spaces. Our in-house research and development team, equipped with decades of proven success, leverages these insights along with our vertically integrated manufacturing capabilities to execute rapid test-and-learn launches across formulas, formats, and flavors. We also drive innovation through strategic brand building, leveraging our scaled portfolio and resources to invest in upper-funnel marketing that fuels lasting consumer demand.
We have a proven track record of transforming whitespace opportunities into scaled categories that support our continued growth. In 2012, we played a key role in shaping the cold-pressed juice category, making nutrient-dense, organic juice accessible to mainstream consumers. We then helped to pioneer the wellness shot category through immunity-focused blends that bridged the gap between supplements and beverages. Most recently, we extended our innovation leadership with Slice. Recognizing that consumers craved the flavor and carbonation of traditional soda without sugar or artificial ingredients, we reintroduced the iconic Slice brand with a modern formula — delivering nostalgic taste with functional benefits. Within months of launch, Slice has become one of the fastest-growing soda brands, demonstrating the power of our innovation model and brand-building expertise.
Beyond in-house innovation, strategic M&A remains a key accelerator of our platform. Our acquisition of Vive Organic in 2022 exemplifies our ability to identify high-potential, mission-aligned brands and transform them into category leaders. Vive Organic brought established brand equity and credibility through doctor-backed formulations, but it remained dependent on third-party manufacturing, and operated without the marketing resources necessary to grow the brand at an accelerated rate. At Suja Life, we identified $14 million in operational synergies and completed the integration process in under 12 months through careful planning and effective resource allocation. Below is a detailed timeline of notable, innovative in-house launches and strategic M&A activities:
 
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We believe the future of the beverage industry belongs to function-forward brands that deliver clear, trusted benefits and become part of consumers’ daily routines. Today’s consumers don’t just want improved versions of yesterday’s juice or soda — they want beverages that help them feel better in the moment while supporting their long-term wellness goals. Through continuous innovation and strategic acquisitions, we are thoughtfully expanding our portfolio, creating a comprehensive platform of better-for-you beverages that meet consumers wherever they are on their wellness journey. We are building the next generation of beverages, designed to lead the category’s evolution and create enduring value for shareholders.
Expansive Distribution Network and Omnichannel Leadership
In an industry where most suppliers compete for shelf space, Suja Life designs the shelf itself. What began as a single Whole Foods partnership has evolved into a national, multi-channel distribution network built on deep, strategic relationships with many of the country’s leading retailers.
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Represents Suja Life net sales.
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We act as a strategic advisor across our retail partnerships. Through data-driven insight, category management, and collaborative planning, we help retailers optimize assortment, pricing, and shelf placement to drive overall category performance. Our retailer relationships frequently go beyond supply and logistics to include joint product innovation and long-term growth planning. Our co-development approach integrates retailers into every stage of innovation, from concept to launch. This helps to ensure new products arrive market-ready, with built-in category fit and committed distribution support. We believe this partnership-driven model positions us as a trusted leader and long-term growth engine for our retail partners.
We act as strategic partners and advisors to more than 30 retail partners. Based on NIQ Scantrack, 52 Weeks data, our products are available in more than 37,000 stores with an average of approximately 10 items per store. Accordingly, the Company estimates it has achieved more than 380,000 PODs, reflecting our extensive reach and robust presence across channels. We have built strong relationships with leading retailers including Kroger, Whole Foods, Albertsons, CVS, Amazon Fresh, and many others as part of our mission to drive growth and innovation across the entire better-for-you beverage market. The strength of our retail partnerships is evident in our results. Based on NIQ Scantrack, 3YA data, the number of stores selling our products has increased by 15%, with TDP % change up 31%. In addition, we believe we have opportunity for continued white space expansion since away-from-home and e-commerce channels represent approximately 6% of 2025 total net sales.
As our brands continue to scale, we are investing in new activations and in-store experiences that enhance visibility and drive customer trial. As of August 2025, browsing in-store remains the key source of marketing impression for brand aware consumers according to a Company survey. Our proven retail partnerships and multi-channel expertise provide a strong foundation for continued growth, ensuring that as consumers increasingly seek better-for-you beverages, our brands are positioned and placed exactly where they’re looking.
Differentiated Through Our Vertically Integrated Manufacturing and Proprietary Cold Chain Route-to-Market
We run an efficient farm-to-shelf operation for the manufacturing of our cold-pressed juice and wellness shots, delivering products from farm to bottle in as few as eight days while maintaining rigorous standards. Through thoughtful investment over the last decade, we’ve built a vertically integrated supply chain, manufacturing facilities, and route-to-market for these products that acts as a self-reinforcing competitive advantage across each step in the product lifecycle:
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Strategic Sourcing:   We source our organic produce from strategically located partner farms across multiple growing regions, with 79% of our fresh, U.S.-sourced produce coming from California as of December 2025, resulting in 100% organic-certified products across Suja Organic and Vive Organic. Our long-standing relationships and strategic redundancies aim to ensure full-cycle usage of produce and year-round supply while minimizing transportation time and costs and reducing our carbon footprint. We maintain a diverse sourcing strategy and have long-standing relationships in place that enable us to source each ingredient from several different suppliers. The proximity to our Oceanside campus, and controlled temperature-sensitive transport from farm to facilities, ensure ingredients arrive at peak freshness.
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Cold-Pressed Extraction:   Within hours of arrival, produce enters our approximately 270,000 square-foot state-of-the-art processing facilities. 100% of our cold-pressed juices and wellness shots are produced in-house and crafted from organic, non-GMO fruits and vegetables, and include nutrient-rich ingredients such as turmeric and ginger, which support functional health benefits. This approach reflects our commitment to clean-label ingredients and wellness-focused formulations. The cold-pressing process extracts juice without heat, preserving the nutritional integrity of our ingredients that heat-based methods destroy, differentiating us from conventional juice manufacturers. Pressed vegetable pulp produced from the cold-pressed extraction process is donated back to local farms to cut down on waste.
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High-Pressure Processing (“HPP”):   The bottled juice, contained in packaging made from recycled plastic, undergoes HPP using five units capable of processing approximately 1,500 gallons per hour. This technology ensures superior nutrition retention compared to heat-treated alternatives and a
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taste profile that closely mirrors fresh-pressed juice. Due to HPP, most of our products have an extended shelf life exceeding 100 days, enabling efficient national distribution and allowing us to meet stringent food safety compliance regulatory standards.
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Distribution Excellence:   Our distribution process is managed centrally by our logistics team in Oceanside. As of the twelve months ended December 2025, we have served customers nationwide with a more than 99% fill rate, earning their trust through consistent, high-quality delivery. As of the twelve months ended December 2025, approximately 97% of customers are served directly through our freight-carrier network, allowing us to control quality and timing while capturing margin. This end-to-end, in-house, and partner managed system enables premium pricing, consumer loyalty, and operational efficiency.
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Strengthening Manufacturing Capabilities:   We follow thoughtful and strategic deployment of growth capex to enhance manufacturing capabilities, boost throughput, and optimize labor to create a more efficient production platform. Our campus houses a broad suite of high-pressure processing units, filling and labeling lines, packaging lines, and specialized shot filling equipment, providing the capacity and flexibility to effectively scale the business.
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Our fully integrated farm-to-shelf system is a cornerstone of our long-term competitive advantage. As demand continues to grow, our cold chain infrastructure and vertically integrated operations enable us to service customers quickly while maintaining the quality standards expected by premium retailers. Together, these advantages underpin a model that drives multiple value levers — premium pricing justified by superior taste, operational efficiency that expands margins with scale, and consumer loyalty built on consistent product integrity. Our disciplined cost structure and operational rigor provide the flexibility and resources to reinvest in marketing, innovation, and category expansion. Designed with scalability and built-in redundancies, our system supports large-scale production and continued innovation while reducing negative environmental impact through local sourcing, recycled materials, and waste reduction. Together, we believe these capabilities create a self-reinforcing model that fuels innovation and positions us to scale efficiently and responsibly as a leader in the NHB market.
Attractive and Improving Financial Profile
Our financial trajectory demonstrates the power of a disciplined growth strategy in a high-growth market. Our financial success stems from a two-part equation: a differentiated market position that allows
 
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us to command premium price points from consumers in exchange for high-quality, highly valued products, and disciplined financial management to steward our bottom-line growth. From fiscal 2023 to fiscal 2025, we have achieved a robust 20.6% CAGR in net sales, scaling from $224 million to $327 million, fueled by market share gains and category expansion across our portfolio. In fiscal 2024 alone, we delivered net sales of $259 million, representing 15% year-over-year growth, reinforcing our leadership position in the NHB market. Our net loss has improved, with a 5% uplift from fiscal 2023 to fiscal 2025. Similarly, our Adjusted EBITDA has grown 16% over the same period, driven by platform leverage, strategic sourcing and operational excellence. We maintain robust cash flows, including over $8 million net cash provided by operating activities for fiscal 2025.
Our investment thesis is validated by our ability to scale responsibly while delivering attractive long-term returns. Our balanced approach to growth, which combines top-line expansion with margin improvement, has resulted in a resilient business model that performs across market cycles. Our recent historical performance reflects this aggressive but balanced approach to growth, without compromising on the bottom line:
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for fiscal 2025, we reported net sales of $327 million, an increase of 26% over fiscal 2024;
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our Suja Core segment net sales increased 23% to $320 million for fiscal 2025. Our Emerging Brands segment, which we launched in December of fiscal 2024, generated $10 million in net sales in its first full year of operations;
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our gross margins increased by 366 basis points from fiscal 2023 to 48% for fiscal 2025;
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our net loss increased from $(21) million for fiscal 2024, to $(23) million for fiscal 2025;
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our Adjusted EBITDA remained relatively flat from $42 million for fiscal 2024 and $41 million for fiscal 2025; and
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our Suja Core segment Adjusted EBITDA was $66 million, while margins increased by 314 basis points year-over-year to 21% for fiscal 2025. Our Emerging Brands segment reported an Adjusted EBITDA of $(26) million, reflecting deliberate investment in start-up costs, including brand launch and brand building, initial distribution expansion, and consumer trial as we scale the Slice brand.
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Suja Life Select Financial Performance
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Suja Core Segment Select Financial Performance
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Competitive Strengths:
Category-Defining Products Delivering on Taste and Functional Benefits
Twelve years ago, we set out to create a beverage we couldn’t find anywhere else: one that combined exceptional taste with genuine health benefits. From that foundation, we have built a diversified portfolio that was intentionally designed to address what our consumers want from their beverages, redefining expectations for what better-for-you beverages can deliver. Our product innovation has expanded beyond cold-pressed juice into a full suite of functional beverages designed to provide wellness benefits without compromising on taste or convenience.
Three core principles differentiate our products across the Suja Organic and Vive Organic portfolios. First, we use high-quality organic ingredients resulting in labels that read like grocery store lists. Second, each recipe is crafted in partnership with nutritionists or holistic doctors to ensure science-backed functional formulations that would be difficult to replicate at home, providing on-the-go wellness for our consumers.
 
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Finally, our cold-pressed and HPP methods preserve nutritional density and fresh flavor — a standard that traditional heat pasteurization cannot meet. Collectively, these principles deliver a unique value proposition: low sugar beverages (80% of Suja Life branded SKUs have less than 6 grams of sugar per serving) made from organic ingredients with high vitamin content and functional benefits. Our consumers consistently affirm, as shown in a Company survey, that we deliver on the core principles that set our brands apart:
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91% of consumers say that Suja Life brands are healthy and nutritious;
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88% of consumers say Suja Life brands taste great; and
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70% of consumers say Suja Life brands are “worth paying more for.”
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Suja Organic, our flagship cold-pressed juice and wellness shots brand, offers consumers a balance of taste, functionality, and convenience. According to a Company survey of premium juice consumers as of September 2025, 86% of consumers say the Suja Organic brand tastes great and 90% say the brand has the functional ingredients they are looking for. Suja Organic’s unique value proposition drives consumer loyalty and favorably positions the brand for sustained long-term growth.
Vive Organic, our leading functional wellness shots brand, bridges the gap between supplements and beverages by balancing potency, credibility, and convenience. Its doctor-crafted formulations are redefining how consumers approach proactive wellness. Vive Organic is a mainstay in the wellness shots category: 87% of category consumers say the brand is one they know and trust and 90% say it has the ingredients they are looking for. With a loyal and growing consumer base as well as increasing retail exposure, we believe the brand will continue to lead and pioneer the functional shots category.
Our newest innovation, Slice, combines nostalgia, cultural relevance, and functional wellness as the true-to-taste alternative disrupting the soda category. Slice delivers a compelling value proposition redefining the historically stagnant soda category and has a significant runway for expansion as one of our most promising growth platforms.
Across our leading brands and product architecture, we are not responding to trends — we are defining the future standard of modern wellness beverages and, more importantly, setting the benchmark for what functional products can achieve.
Powered by Brand Building Excellence
Our ability to build and sustain brands that connect deeply with consumers is a core competitive advantage. We bring discipline to how brands are created, positioned, and managed across our portfolio, enabling each to play a distinct and complementary role while contributing to our purpose of changing what beverages bring to the table.
We have invested significantly in strengthening our brand-building and elevating our marketing over the past 18 months. We have constructed the optimal infrastructure to move with both speed and precision — launching new brands, repositioning legacy assets, and scaling platforms across channels with confidence and discipline. We start every brand initiative with deep consumer insights that inform positioning, messaging, and our go-to-market strategy. This foundation drives real results.
Our newly reintroduced brand Slice is also proving the power of our playbook. Slice’s NPS rose from 39 to 55 in three months from June to September 2025, now exceeding the better-for-you category leaders according to a Company survey — confirming that Slice has re-entered the marketplace with competitive emotional connection and product satisfaction.
These capabilities form a system of excellence that enables us to continuously build, scale, and sustain brands that lead categories, shape consumer behavior, and deliver superior growth.
 
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Expanding Consumer Base of Loyal Advocates Demonstrating Repeat Consumption
We are building momentum on two fronts: expanding our consumer base and deepening engagement with consumers we currently serve. Across our portfolio, rising awareness is converting to trial and repeat purchase behavior, while loyalty and advocacy are strengthening in ways that we believe will create compounding, sustainable growth.
Our Suja Organic and Vive Organic brands are converting awareness into action at category-leading rates. Suja Organic achieves 90% conversion from awareness to purchase, one of the highest in the premium juice category and well ahead of our cold-pressed competitors. Suja Organic and Vive Organic maintain the strongest conversion funnels in wellness shots, driving consumers from initial awareness through repeat purchase with exceptional efficiency. While still in its early days, Slice has already demonstrated its potential to follow suit. The brand has delivered aided awareness gains of 9 to 16 points across key markets, including Boston, Los Angeles, and San Diego. Based on NIQ Scantrack, 6 Months data, $/TDP % change ranges from approximately 24% to 32% in those same markets. Ultimately, this translates to a larger user base for our house of brands. Accordingly, % household penetration has increased 31% over the last year based on NIQ Omnishopper data. According to NIQ Omnishopper data, we serve approximately 14 million buyers.
Once consumers experience our brands and products, they deepen their commitment. Value per buyer has increased 6% in the last year, with Suja Organic alone up 15% over the same period based on NIQ Omnishopper data. Increasing buy rate not only indicates that our consumers are purchasing our brands and spending more with us than they were a year ago but also reveals that we are strengthening consumer loyalty. This combination of growing scale and deepening relationships is a hallmark of durable category leadership.
Our expanding consumer base is also a powerful engine for organic growth. At least 70% of Suja Organic and Vive Organic consumers are promoters, referring our brands to friends and family and generating word-of-mouth momentum. Vive Organic’s NPS increased 16 points in the past year, driven by a 15-point rise in promoters. Brand loyalty also significantly increased, with two-thirds of consumers saying they would remain loyal to the brand. Together, these indicators demonstrate that we are attracting new consumers and converting them into loyal advocates, creating a self-reinforcing cycle of growth that extends well beyond first purchase.
Experts in Scaled Cold Chain with Clear Manufacturing Advantage
We believe we have curated an incredibly efficient and effective farm-to-shelf operation. On average, we process approximately one million pounds of fresh produce each week, achieving a fill rate of over 99% for the twelve months ended December 2025. Our produce reaches customers in as few as eight days from farm to bottle, all while maintaining premium quality standards. Due to thoughtful investment over the last
 
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decade, we are an efficient producer and have built a supply chain, manufacturing facilities, and distribution network that acts as a self-reinforcing competitive advantage across each step in the product lifecycle.
Our manufacturing facilities in Oceanside, California are strategically located among our partner farms to help us receive ingredients at peak freshness, while also minimizing transportation time and costs. We have carefully crafted our supply network with layered redundancies to maintain resilience and continuity in the face of potential supply constraints.
We believe our scaled, in-house production capabilities are difficult and costly to replicate, and our manufacturing approach, leveraging cold-pressed extraction and HPP technology, is a key differentiator from our competitors. This technology unlocks superior nutrition retention compared to heat-treated alternatives, enhances the taste profile that closely mirrors fresh-pressed juice, and extends shelf life enabling efficient, national distribution. Our vertically integrated infrastructure provides control over quality, timing, and our customer relationships while capturing distribution margins. We strategically deploy capital to not only maintain our facilities but also to consistently improve productivity and expand capacity. We have increased the square footage of our Oceanside campus by over 50% in the last four years, reflecting our thoughtfully managed capital expenditures to ensure flexibility and efficiency. Through our differentiated, scaled cold chain and ability to consistently deliver on our brand promise, we have strengthened consumer loyalty and set ourselves apart from competitors.
Strategic Go-to-Market Approach with Deep Retailer Relationships
Based on NIQ Scantrack, 52 Weeks data, our products are available in more than 37,000 stores. This significant retail presence has enabled us to achieve an estimated 382,800 PODs, underscoring our leadership and category captainship across channels. Our reach is not only broad, but also strategic. We have built strong relationships with leading national retailers such as Kroger, Whole Foods, Albertsons, CVS, Amazon Fresh, and others. We serve as our customers’ consultant and strategic partner in driving growth and innovation across our serviceable market. We have increased TDPs by 17% based on NIQ Scantrack, 52 Weeks data.
Our partnership with Kroger is one of many examples that showcases our ability to evolve well beyond a traditional supplier dynamic into a deep-rooted, collaborative partnership delivering mutual value while also driving category growth. According to Company estimates, from the beginning of our partnership in 2014, we have grown sales from $1 million to $34 million as of fiscal 2025, representing a CAGR of 38%. We have achieved net shipment dollar growth of 37% for Suja Life, 33% for Suja Organic, and 57% for Vive Organic at Kroger from fiscal 2024 to fiscal 2025 based on management estimates. In fiscal 2023 and fiscal 2024, we worked closely with Kroger to reimagine their NHB set — using deep consumer insights, performance data, and category learnings to help optimize the shelf architecture. This initiative led to meaningful distribution expansion for us, with 44 SKUs at Kroger today according to SPINS, 24 Weeks data, and drove stronger dollars for Suja Life and Kroger. This example illustrates how we think about partnerships and our ability to unlock growth that benefits both sides — a key reason we have been able to leverage this playbook across a number of retailers.
Our differentiated value proposition drives performance across the retail landscape. We are a rapidly growing portfolio in the NHB market, with our brands contributing over 7% incremental growth for the category, driven primarily by 20+% growth in velocity for Suja Organic and Vive Organic according to SPINS, 52 Weeks. Despite our strong market position, significant whitespace exists within both our brand awareness among premium juice buyers and on retailers’ shelves across channels. Our distinctive go-to-market strategy positions us well to continue capitalizing on this significant opportunity.
Innovation Engine that is Nimble, Proactive and Responsive
Innovation is in our DNA. From our earliest days pioneering cold-pressed juice, to helping to create entirely new beverage categories, we believe we have built a culture, capability set, and process that consistently delivers market-moving products. As a result, we have been able to establish a leading position within both cold-pressed juice and wellness shots.
Our innovation engine is defined by data-driven insights, as well as our agile in-house development and manufacturing capabilities. Our innovation starts with granular category, retailer, and consumer data,
 
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enabling us to anticipate market shifts and align products to the fastest-growing demand spaces. Our in-house research and development team, equipped with decades of proven success, leverages these insights along with our vertically integrated manufacturing capabilities to execute rapid test-and-learn launches across formulas, formats, and flavors. Our dedicated team develops nearly 100% of our products from formulation to bottling in-house. We believe the design of our innovation engine keeps us ahead of competition. For fiscal 2025, 20% of our net sales growth came from our new SKUs.
As category pioneers, we are passionate about identifying whitespace opportunities and launching innovative products that meet emerging consumer needs with speed and efficiency. Our vertically integrated and efficiently managed operations allow us to bring new innovations to market in 9 – 12 months. The creation and scaling of the Suja Organic wellness shots line is one of our many success stories born out of in-house innovation. This product line originated as a response to identified whitespace in the market with consumers craving efficient methods of delivering wellness, and the commercial impact has been extraordinary. We played a pivotal role as an early driver of the wellness shots category and have consistently contributed to its ongoing growth. The development of Slice is another example of our ability to effectively innovate. We seized the opportunity to purchase the intellectual property portfolio of a well-known brand and rapidly reformulated the product to fit our consumers’ needs. In just nine months, we transformed a dormant asset into a compelling growth platform, built to disrupt the soda category.
Proven M&A Platform With Ability to Drive Growth Through Integration
We believe we have built a platform capable of scaling emerging brands and capturing incremental value through acquisitions. Our acquisition strategy leverages a fundamental market dynamic: exceptional NHB brands consistently emerge from entrepreneurial innovation, but most lack the infrastructure, relationships, and capital required to achieve national scale. This creates a predictable landscape of potential acquisition targets with proven consumer appeal but unrealized potential: the exact profile where our platform capabilities can generate additional value. When we acquire brands like Vive Organic or trademarked assets like Slice, we not only generate sales uplift, but also amplify their growth potential through our integrated platform.
The acquisition of Vive Organic validates our systematic approach to identifying and accelerating emerging wellness brands that possess strong consumer appeal but lack the infrastructure to achieve their full market potential. Through this acquisition, we solidified our leading position in the wellness shots category and realized $14 million in synergies within twelve months, without cannibalizing shelf space across retailers. We evolved the packaging format to include multipacks, innovating based on consumer demand as wellness shots become part of their daily routines. In all, we have a proven track record of transforming whitespace opportunities into scaled, growing categories through strategic M&A.
Growth Mindset Balanced with Thoughtfulness Around Capital Allocation
We have an attractive financial profile with a track record of sustained, category-leading growth and accelerating margins. From fiscal 2023 through fiscal 2025, we achieved a net sales CAGR of 21%, net loss CAGR of 2%, and an Adjusted EBITDA CAGR of 8%. Our growth mindset permeates across our organization coupled with sustained mindfulness around profitability. We manage our business with a keen eye, ensuring that our legacy, innovation, and pipeline all drive momentum, while also demonstrating discipline in managing our cost structure to drive profitability. We are actively propelling growth in our markets, which have inherent tailwinds on a standalone basis, and are taking share as we continue to enter new categories. Our cash flow benefits from our focus on being a cost-efficient producer, leveraging automation to minimize costs across our business. Our commitment to profitable growth and ability to drive consistent cash flow provides significant financial flexibility to continue to reinvest in our business as leaders of innovation, as well as pursue bold, value-enhancing acquisition opportunities as they arise.
Purpose-Driven Team Empowered by Leadership Excellence
Our results are a proof point of the power of our people. Our 500+ team members are unified under our purpose to change what beverages bring to the table. We are pioneers who see a broken beverage system and are committed to rebuilding it from the ground up. Our people represent the foundation of our category leadership.
 
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We are led by a world-class management team who bring over 240 years of deep experience from leading consumer packaged goods and consumer-adjacent companies. Our Chief Executive Officer, Maria Stipp, leads our organization with more than three decades of experience at industry-leading beverage companies, including Sapporo and Lagunitas. Maria joined us in 2024 as an avid consumer of our products, bringing specialized expertise in scaling brands, building high-performing teams, and strengthening operational rigor across complex manufacturing and distribution environments. Our Chief Financial Officer, Jeff Pedersen, joined us in 2019 with over 15 years of experience at several notable beverage brands, such as Pepsi and Constellation Brands. Jeff partners closely with our commercial and operations teams to execute a disciplined resource allocation strategy and drive margin expansion.
Guided by our leadership team, we cultivate purpose, drive, and operational excellence throughout every level of our organization. Every member of our team is an agent for change, contributing to our competitive position in the NHB market. Our 500+ team members showcase deep, specialized expertise across every critical function, enabling us to maximize organizational bandwidth as well as execute at the speed and quality our consumers demand. We hire experts at their subject matter who are passionate about what they do. We believe our mission-driven team supported by leadership excellence represents a core business asset that differentiates our ability to execute growth strategies, capture market opportunities, and deliver sustained value creation for all stakeholders.
Our Growth Strategies
Grow Brand Awareness to Drive Higher Household Penetration and Expand Consumer Base
We see significant opportunity to grow Suja Life’s household penetration by expanding awareness across each of our brands. Currently, we have just 11% household penetration based on NIQ Omnishopper data. We aim to drive our reach to a broader audience of health-minded consumers and increase our penetration within the larger beverage category. We intend to sustain investment in authentic, high-ROI marketing as we continue to scale, leveraging paid and earned media, influencer partnerships and word-of-mouth, and experiential activations to build awareness, drive trial, and reinforce our differentiated, functional positioning across the portfolio. We are well-positioned to continue accelerating the growth of our brands, as demonstrated by our ability to grow Suja Organic’s conversion funnel over the last year: aided awareness expanded 15 points to 70%, past 3-month stated purchases expanded 13 points to 49%, and conversion remained high at approximately 90% from September 2024 to August 2025, per a Company survey of premium juice buyers. We have near-term, tangible opportunities to drive Suja Organic, Vive Organic, and Slice household penetration, as our % household penetration is 8%, 3%, and 1%, respectively, based on NIQ Omnishopper data.
Increase Purchase Frequency Among Current Consumer Base
We see meaningful opportunity to deepen the engagement of our consumers and increase their purchase frequency. Our goal is to make the consumption of Suja Life beverages a consistent part of daily wellness routines, spanning multiple occasions and need states. We believe we are driving frequency as consumers are purchasing our brands on more shopping trips and spending more with us than they were a year ago. Specifically, we have seen an approximately 7% increase in occasions per buyer and a 6% increase in value per buyer in the last year based on NIQ Omnishopper data. We are focused on increasing frequency by expanding multi-pack offerings, enhancing visibility at point of sale, and reinforcing the role our products play in everyday health rituals. In so doing, we aim to strengthen brand loyalty, build habitual consumption, and unlock incremental growth across our brands.
Gain Distribution Within Existing Retailers and Through New Opportunities
We see a significant growth opportunity to expand Suja Life’s distribution footprint across both existing and new retail partners. Within our current network, we plan to deepen penetration by increasing shelf space, expanding SKU variety, and securing additional secondary displays and cooler placements — all proven drivers of velocity and visibility.
As the refrigerated beverage aisle continues to evolve toward premium, functional offerings, we aim to deepen our presence across cold-pressed juice, wellness shots, and functional soda while expanding our
 
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presence in underpenetrated channels such as away-from-home and e-commerce. We also see meaningful opportunity to drive cross-purchase of our portfolio — encouraging, for example, consumers of Suja Organic cold-pressed juice to trial Suja Organic or Vive Organic wellness shots, and engaging Slice consumers who have demonstrated an overlap with our other functional beverage categories. By leveraging these natural brand adjacencies, we can expand household penetration and build more frequent, multi-brand relationships with our consumers.
Expanding store count, shelf space, and product assortment — combined with increased cross-brand engagement — can make our portfolio more accessible, unlock meaningful incremental household reach, and support sustained category share gains and top-line growth.
Continue Innovation Across Product Platform
Innovation is core to our DNA and a key driver in our next phase of growth. Our integrated platform enables us to expand across new categories, formats, and functional benefits while maintaining our leadership in the NHB market. We plan to accelerate innovation across three interconnected dimensions — product, brand, and technology — allowing us to continually identify whitespace opportunities and convert them into scalable offerings.
We intend to broaden our product portfolio through new functional platforms, flavor innovation, and price-pack architectures that meet evolving consumer needs across channels and occasions. Limited-time offerings will continue to serve as a proving ground for emerging trends, allowing us to test new flavors, benefits, and formats that can scale into permanent lines. We believe this approach will enable our brands to expand their roles across multiple dayparts and usage occasions.
As we continue to innovate, we plan to explore adjacencies across our product categories, as evidenced by our recent functional soda category entrance though our reimagined brand, Slice. Our innovation engine is designed not only to maintain our position in a rapidly changing market, but to define and expand the next generation of functional beverage consumption.
Unlock Full Potential of Slice to Capitalize on Current Momentum
Since launch in January 2025, Slice has rapidly gained traction with current brand awareness of 28%, and we believe it has the potential to become a category-defining brand in the functional soda space. Its combination of nostalgic flavor profiles and nutritious, better-for-you benefits directly align with consumer demand for refreshment without compromise. Since our purchase of the Slice intellectual property portfolio, we have systematically invested in marketing, merchandising, and distribution to drive awareness, trial, and shelf presence. As a result, Slice has achieved extensive reach across channels since launch, with an increase of more than 66,000 PODs according to Company estimates. Slice also has a higher NPS than its leading competitors as of September 2025 according to a Company survey, underscoring the brand’s growing resonance with consumers and retailers.
We plan to capitalize on this momentum by expanding distribution and efficiently sustaining marketing investments in the near-term, with an additional opportunity to drive margins by leveraging our vertically integrated manufacturing platform to bring production in-house. As we expand awareness and availability, we believe Slice can continue to capture meaningful share within not only the growing functional soda category, but also from the larger overall soda category, serving as a key growth driver within the Suja Life portfolio.
Leverage M&A Know-How to Opportunistically Expand the Suja Life House of Brands
Suja Life has become a consolidator of preference within the category, and we view M&A as a strategic extension of our growth platform, accelerating our category leadership and expanding our reach into complementary, high-growth wellness markets. The NHB market remains highly fragmented with emerging brands that resonate deeply with consumers but often lack the scale, resources, and infrastructure required for sustained expansion. We intend to leverage our platform capabilities — retail relationships, vertically integrated manufacturing, innovation expertise, and marketing scale — to unlock the full potential of these brands and drive long-term shareholder value.
 
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Our approach to acquisitions is disciplined and highly selective. We target mission-aligned, complementary brands that fit naturally within our portfolio and operate in the fastest-growing subcategories with significant whitespace. We focus on businesses with a clean line of sight to category leadership, where our operational strengths can meaningfully accelerate growth. These advantages can span the entire value chain — from sales and marketing, distribution, and retail partnerships to manufacturing infrastructure, and cost efficiencies — creating mutual benefit and scale across the platform. Looking ahead, we plan to continue pursing accretive, synergistic opportunities that expand our reach across categories and consumption occasions, enhance our functional wellness leadership, and solidify our position as a leading platform in the NHB market. By combining entrepreneurial innovation with our in-house operational excellence and scale, we believe our acquisition strategy positions us to continue capturing industry tailwinds and driving sustained platform growth.
Leverage Existing Investments in Vertically Integrated Manufacturing to Cost-Effectively Meet Increasing Demand
We aim to drive sustainable top- and bottom-line growth as the foundation of our long-term profitability model. Our disciplined approach to expansion, portfolio optimization, and operational excellence positions us to deliver continued margin improvement as we scale. We see significant opportunity to leverage our manufacturing infrastructure and technological capabilities to support future innovation and volume growth. Our HPP platform and approximately 270,000 square-foot Oceanside campus provide meaningful capacity runway, enabling us to efficiently expand into adjacent categories with minimal incremental investment.
As we continue capturing market share within the high-growth NHB market, we expect to realize greater operating leverage through scale efficiencies, automation, and data-driven decision making. We plan to reinvest in initiatives that strengthen brand equity and long-term value creation while maintaining a focus on disciplined capital allocation. We believe our balanced approach — driving growth through innovation, efficiency, and strategic investment — will enable us to realize top-line growth while delivering attractive, sustainable returns for our shareholders.
Customers and Channels
We sell our products across the United States within a number of channels and food retailers. Based on NIQ Scantrack, 52 Weeks data, our products are available in more than 37,000 stores. We have solidified relationships with some of the largest retailers in the grocery channel, mass merchandiser and club stores channel, and natural and specialty foods channel. We believe there is significant opportunity to target club store, convenience store and e-commerce channels to increase distribution. Our customers also include wholesale grocery distributors, which distribute to retailers who prefer this route to market.
Although industry data such as SPINS captures only approximately 75% of our total sales for fiscal 2024, it highlights our strong category performance and growth. When accounting for our full consumer reach, including untracked retailers and other channels, our leading category position and growth trajectory are further reinforced.
We plan to drive further growth within large retailers by expanding our assortment and driving velocity through enhanced marketing. Within our current stores, we plan to increase shelf space, expand SKU variety, and secure additional secondary displays and cooler placements.
We have built strong relationships with leading national retailers such as Whole Foods, Kroger, Albertsons, CVS, Amazon Fresh, and others. We work in close coordination with a wide variety of brokers, distributors and customers, building a national network that gives us access to accounts across the U.S. We employ in-store retail execution strategies to ensure our shelf space and in-store promotion are optimized. Our sales team has executed on a focused sales strategy with initiatives including SKU mix optimization, customer development, on-shelf execution, and pricing initiatives.
We generally do not have long-term contracts or minimum purchase volumes with our retail-direct customers beyond promotional price arrangements, except in cases related to private label supply, and the duration of these relationships and terms are subject to change and adjustment based on the performance of the products and our performance as a supplier of these products. See “Risk Factors — Risks Related to
 
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Our Business and Industry — We are dependent on distributor and retail customers for a significant portion of our sales, and our failure to maintain or further develop our sales channels could adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.”
While the majority of our products are branded, we have strategically expanded into private label cold-pressed juice as a way to develop stronger ties with strategic retail partners and improve our operating scale. Additionally, our private label offerings strategically increases the scale and efficiency of our supply chain, helping to improve gross margins and operating leverage across the portfolio. Furthermore, our private label strategy allows us to discerningly test out new product innovations that we can later scale.
Marketing
Our multi-faceted, consumer-driven marketing strategy has been instrumental in driving sales and building the Suja Organic, Vive Organic and Slice brands. We are focused on growing the categories in which our brands play and capitalizing on the growing number of consumers prioritizing health-forward beverage choices. Our marketing organization operates with a clear strategic framework that brings together consumer insights, brand strategy, creative excellence, and full funnel marketing into a unified system. This infrastructure enables us to move with both speed and precision — launching new brands, repositioning legacy assets, and scaling platforms across channels with confidence and discipline. Together, these capabilities form a system of excellence that enables Suja Life to continuously build, scale, and sustain brands that lead categories, shape consumer behavior, and deliver superior growth.
Distribution
We ship cold chain commercial freight nationwide. We ship the majority of our products directly to our customers’ warehouses and allow customers to utilize their internal distribution networks to deliver to stores and stock on shelves. Some of our business leverages select distribution partners to service those customers who prefer to use third-party networks. We also ship directly to our e-commerce consumers.
Our People
Human Capital Resources.   As of the end of fiscal 2025, we had approximately 590 employees, all of whom are located in the United States, of which about 480 are part of our operations team. None of our employees are represented by a labor union or by any collective bargaining arrangements with respect to his or her employment with us. We have never experienced a labor-related work stoppage. We believe our unique company culture has helped us attract and build a strong employee base.
Employee Wellness and Engagement.   We invest in our employees by offering a wide range of benefits for our employees and their dependents. We offer a benefits package that focuses on work-life balance, healthier habits and financial wellness. The package includes comprehensive health and vision, dental insurance programs, an employee assistance program for mental health benefits, PTO days, flexible spending accounts and health savings accounts, a 401(k)-matching program, and an employee discount program. Our health and welfare program is focused on meeting the needs of our workforce and we have a strong focus on employee wellbeing, health, and safety. We also conduct annual employee satisfaction surveys, host Town Hall meetings on a quarterly basis and organize company-wide social events to foster our culture.
We are proud of the culture and community that we have established and are passionate about continuing to deliver it for our employees, customers, and communities.
Competition
We operate in a highly competitive market, which includes large multinational companies as well as many smaller entrepreneurial companies seeking to innovate and disrupt the categories in which we compete. As a category, cold-pressed juices and wellness shots compete for space with a wide range of beverage offerings. In particular, our cold-pressed juices and wellness shots compete with functional refreshment, energy drinks, vitamins, ready to drink teas and coffees and other non-organic or health-focused beverages, and many of these products are marketed by companies with substantially greater financial resources than ours. In addition, our Slice brand competes with well-established soda brands and other good-for-you
 
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beverages. We also compete with a number of natural, organic and functional food and beverage producers. Our competitors include traditional juice brands, as well as better-for-you beverage brands, conventional food or beverage companies and retailers with similar products under their own private labels. See “Risk Factors — Risks Related to Our Business and Industry — Competition in the food and beverage retail industry is strong and presents an ongoing threat to the success of our business.”
We believe that our facilities should support increasing the size of our business, and we intend to continue to invest in our facilities to continuously improve our production for the benefit of customers and consumers alike. We believe that replicating similar facilities and scaled production of cold-pressed juices and wellness shots would require not just significant capital — both human and economic — but years to match the level of technical know-how with which the Suja Life team operates. We selectively rely on co-manufacturers, which allows us to control product quality and costs, a key differentiator that we believe separates us from our competitors.
We are aware of only two suppliers of scaled HPP equipment, and as a result, we believe there are long lead times to receive this equipment, significant costs to acquire this equipment, and high degrees of technical know-how required to operate this equipment. Our team has spent nearly a decade developing that skillset and therefore are capable of operating the HPP process consistently, at scale, at a high-quality.
Intellectual Property
We own domestic and international trademarks and other proprietary rights that are important to our business. Our trademarks are valuable assets that reinforce the distinctiveness of our brand to our consumers. Our primary trademarks are Suja Organic, Vive Organic and Slice. We have a comprehensive approach to protecting our trademarks, designs, patents and other IP rights. We believe the protection of our trademarks, designs, copyrights, patents, domain names, trade dress and trade secrets are important to our success. As of December 29, 2025, we had 23 registered trademarks and 2 pending trademark applications in the United States, and 23 registered trademarks and 1 pending trademark application in other countries. We endeavor to take prudent measures to protect our brand, including notification to potential infringers of our trademark rights and issuing “cease and desist” letters, as appropriate.
We consider information related to formulas, processes, know-how and methods used in our production and manufacturing as proprietary and endeavor to maintain them as trade secrets. We have in place reasonable measures to keep the above-mentioned items, as well as our business and marketing plans, customer lists and contracts reasonably protected, and they are accordingly not readily ascertainable by the public.
Government Regulation
Our products are regulated in the United States as conventional foods. We and our distributors are subject to extensive laws and regulations in the United States by federal, state and local government authorities including, among others, the FTC, the FDA, the USDA, the EPA, and the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration, and similar state and local agencies.
Under various statutes, these agencies regulate the manufacturing, preparation, quality control, import, export, packaging, labeling, storage, recordkeeping, marketing, advertising, promotion, distribution, and safety of conventional foods. Among other things, the facilities in which our products and ingredients are manufactured must register with the FDA, comply with cGMPs, and meet other standards applicable to the production and distribution of conventional food products.
The FDA regulates food products pursuant to the FDCA, and its implementing regulations. In addition, pursuant to the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act (the “FSMA”), the FDA promulgates requirements intended to enhance food safety and prevent food contamination, including more frequent inspections and increased recordkeeping and traceability requirements. The FSMA also requires that imported foods adhere to the same quality standards as domestic foods and provides the FDA with mandatory recall authority over food products for which it believes there is the potential for serious adverse health consequences or death. In addition, the FDA requires that certain nutrient and product information appear on product labels and that the labels and labeling be truthful and not misleading. Similarly, the FTC requires that marketing and advertising claims be truthful, not misleading, not deceptive to customers and substantiated by
 
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adequate scientific data. We are also restricted from making certain types of claims about our products, including nutrient content claims, health claims and claims regarding the effects of our products on any structure or function of the body, whether express or implied, unless we satisfy certain regulatory requirements.
We are also subject to Prop 65 that requires, with a few exceptions, that a specific warning appear on or in close proximity to any consumer product sold in California containing a substance listed by California as having been found to cause cancer or birth defects if it is present above certain levels, or, in some cases, present at any level. This law exposes all food and beverage producers to the possibility of having to provide warnings on or in close proximity to their products if any such substances are present.
Products that do not comply with applicable governmental or third-party regulations and standards may be considered adulterated or misbranded and subject, but not limited, to, warning or untitled letters, product withdrawals or recalls, product seizures, relabeling or repackaging, total or partial suspensions of manufacturing or distribution, import holds, injunctions, fines, consent decrees, civil penalties, and criminal prosecution.
Vitamins and Dietary Supplements
Additionally, the FDA regulates the safety, formulation, manufacturing, processing, packaging, labeling, importation, and distribution of dietary supplements and the FTC has jurisdiction to regulate the promotion and advertising of these products. The FDCA has been amended several times with respect to dietary supplements, in particular by the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994 (“DSHEA”). DSHEA established a framework governing the composition, safety, labeling, manufacturing, and marketing of dietary supplements and established new statutory criteria for evaluating the safety of substances. In the process, DSHEA removed dietary supplements from pre-market approval requirements that apply to food additives and pharmaceuticals and established a combination of notification and post marketing controls for regulating product safety. The FDA does not require notification to market a dietary supplement if it contains only dietary ingredients that were marketed as dietary supplements or used in dietary supplements prior to DSHEA’s enactment on October 15, 1994. However, for a dietary ingredient marketed as a dietary supplement or used in a dietary supplement prior to this date or not currently being legally used in the food supply in a food, the manufacturer must provide the FDA with information supporting the conclusion that the ingredient, known as an New Dietary Ingredient or “NDI,” will reasonably be expected to be safe at least seventy-five days before introducing the NDI into interstate commerce.
The provisions of DSHEA establish that all NDIs must be submitted with a formal 75-day notice along with evidence that the product is reasonably expected to be safe. This is referred to as a NDI Notification. If the FDA has concerns about the ingredient or its safety profile, the agency has authority to request more information or reject the NDI Notification and deny the product’s entry into the market. The FDA issued draft guidance in April 2024, which expands upon and replace previous recommendations for NDI notifications from the previous draft guidance.
DSHEA also empowered the FDA to establish binding Good Manufacturing Practice regulations governing key aspects of the production of dietary supplements. DSHEA expressly permits dietary supplements to bear statements describing how a product affects the structure, function and/or general wellbeing of the body. Although manufacturers must be able to substantiate any such statement, no premarket approval authorization is required for such statements and manufacturers need only notify the FDA that they are employing a given claim. No statement may expressly or implicitly represent that a dietary supplement will diagnose, cure, mitigate, treat or prevent a disease. Section 5 of DSHEA does, however, authorize supplement sellers to provide third-party literature, including publications and clinical studies, in connection with the sale of a dietary supplement to consumers under specific parameters such that it will not be deemed labeling by the FDA. This provision is an exception to the FDA’s broad powers over the promotion of regulated products. Accordingly, the authorization is limited and applies only if the publication is printed in its entirety, is not false or misleading, presents a balanced view of the available scientific information, does not promote a particular manufacturer or brand of dietary supplement and is displayed in an area physically separate from the dietary supplements.
 
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Environmental Regulations
We are subject to various U.S. federal, state, and local environmental regulations. Compliance with environmental laws and regulations impacting our operations has not had, and currently is not anticipated to have, a material adverse effect on our financial position, capital expenditures or competitive position. Some of the key environmental regulations in the United States include, but are not limited to, the following:
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air quality regulations;
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waste treatment and disposal regulations;
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sewer regulations;
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hazardous chemicals regulations; and
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storm water regulations.
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Facilities
We lease our corporate headquarters located at 3831 Ocean Ranch Blvd., Oceanside, California where we occupy approximately 270,000 square feet of space and where our manufacturing facilities are located, pursuant to a lease with an expiration date in May 2033. We are able to extend this lease for two additional consecutive terms of five years each, at our option.
Legal Proceedings
From time to time, we may be involved in various claims and legal proceedings related to claims arising out of our operations. We are not presently a party to any litigation the outcome of which, we believe, if determined adversely to us, would individually or taken together have a material adverse effect on our business, operating results, cash flows or financial condition.
 
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ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE
Overview
Suja Life, Inc. is a Delaware corporation formed to serve as a holding company that will hold a direct or indirect interest in Holdings LP through one or more wholly owned subsidiaries. Suja Life, Inc. has not engaged in any business or other activities other than in connection with its formation and this offering. This offering is being conducted through what is commonly referred to as an “Up-C” structure, which is often used by partnerships and limited liability companies undertaking an initial public offering. The Up-C approach permits certain existing owners of the business to retain their equity ownership in Holdings LP and to continue to realize the tax benefits associated with owning interests in a pass-through structure and provides potential future tax benefits for both the public company and the existing owners when they ultimately exchange their pass-through interests for shares of Class A common stock or, at our election, for cash from a substantially concurrent public offering or private sale (based on the price of our Class A common stock in such public offering or private sale).
Upon completion of the Organizational Transactions this offering and the application of the net proceeds of this offering, we will be a holding company, our sole asset will be LP Units in Holdings LP, held directly or indirectly through one or more wholly owned subsidiaries, and, through our general partner interest in Holdings LP, we will exclusively operate and control all of the business and affairs and consolidate the financial results of Holdings LP. Prior to the completion of this offering, the Partnership Agreement of Holdings LP will be amended and restated to, among other things, modify its capital structure by replacing the existing partnership interests and providing for LP Units consisting of a single class of common ownership interests in Holdings LP. We, Holdings LP and the LP Unitholders will also enter into an Exchange Agreement under which holders of LP Units may exchange their LP Units, together with an equal number of shares of Class V common stock, for shares of Class A common stock on a one-for-one basis or, at our election, for cash from a substantially concurrent public offering or private sale (based on the price of our Class A common stock in such public offering or private sale). Any shares of Class V common stock so delivered will be cancelled.
Upon completion of this offering, PSP will control approximately    % (or approximately    % if the underwriters exercise their option to purchase additional shares of Class A common stock in full) of the voting power in Suja Life, Inc. See “Principal and Selling Shareholders” for additional information about PSP.
Incorporation of Suja Life, Inc.
Suja Life, Inc. was incorporated in Delaware on October 8, 2025, and has not engaged in any business or other activities except in connection with its formation and the offering. Our certificate of incorporation will be amended and restated at or prior to the completion of this offering. Our certificate of incorporation will authorize two classes of common stock, Class A common stock and Class V common stock, each having the terms described in “Description of Capital Stock.” In addition, our certificate of incorporation will authorize shares of undesignated preferred stock, the rights, preferences and privileges of which may be designated from time to time by our Board.
Shares of our Class V common stock, which provide no economic rights, will be issued to the holders of LP Units of Holdings LP in connection with this offering. Each share of our Class V common stock entitles its holder to one vote on all matters to be voted on by shareholders generally. See “Description of Capital Stock — Class V Common Stock.” Holders of our Class A common stock and Class V common stock vote together as a single class on all matters presented to our shareholders for their vote or approval, except as otherwise required by applicable law or our certificate of incorporation.
Organizational Transactions
The following transactions, referred to collectively herein as the “Organizational Transactions,” will each be completed prior to or in connection with the completion of this offering:
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Suja Life, Inc. was formed, and we will amend and restate the certificate of incorporation of Suja Life, Inc. to, among other things, provide for Class A common stock and Class V common stock. See “Description of Capital Stock.”
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•
We will amend and restate the Partnership Agreement to, among other things, (i) modify Holdings LP’s capital structure by replacing the current partnership interests with a single class of common ownership interests, and (ii) appoint Suja Life, Inc. as the sole general partner of Holdings LP. See “— Amended and Restated Partnership Agreement of Holdings LP.”
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Suja Life, Inc. will acquire, directly or indirectly, through a series of transactions which may include one or more contributions, mergers, or otherwise, LP Units owned by the Direct LP Entities, and certain other direct holders of LP Units, and in exchange therefor the owners of the Direct LP Entities and such other direct holders of LP Units shall receive, directly or indirectly, newly issued shares of Class A common stock.
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We will issue shares of Class V common stock, which provide no economic rights, to the LP Unitholders on a one-to-one basis with the number of LP Units owned by such holders. Each share of our Class V common stock entitles its holder to one vote on all matters to be voted on by shareholders generally. See “Description of Capital Stock — Class V Common Stock.”
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We will enter into the Exchange Agreement with Holdings LP and the LP Unitholders pursuant to which the holders of LP Units may exchange their LP Units, together with an equal number of shares of Class V common stock, for shares of Class A common stock on a one-for-one basis or, at our election, for cash from a substantially concurrent public offering or private sale (based on the price of our Class A common stock in such public offering or private sale). See “— Exchange Agreement.”
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We may enter into certain restructuring transactions intended to optimize and streamline the manner in which assets associated with the Vive Organic and Slice businesses are held by Holdings LP and its subsidiaries.
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We will enter into the Tax Receivable Agreement with the TRA Parties, which will require us to pay to such persons    % of the amount of cash savings, if any, in U.S. federal, state and local income taxes we actually realize or are deemed to realize in some circumstances (as computed using certain assumptions) as a result of certain tax attributes and benefits covered by the Tax Receivable Agreement. Such tax attributes and benefits will include: (i) certain increases in the tax basis of assets of Holdings LP and its subsidiaries resulting from exchanges (or deemed exchanges in certain circumstances) of LP Units for shares of our Class A common stock on at a one-to-one basis or, at our election, for cash pursuant to the Exchange Agreement and certain distributions (or deemed distributions) by Holdings LP, (ii) certain tax attributes of the current or former holders of equity interests in Holdings LP, and (iii) certain other tax benefits related to our entering into the Tax Receivable Agreement, including tax benefits attributable to payments that we are required to make under the Tax Receivable Agreement. If the Tax Receivable Agreement terminates early, we could be required to make a substantial, immediate lump-sum payment. See “— Tax Receivable Agreement.”
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In connection with the completion of this offering, we will issue        shares of our Class A common stock to the investors in this offering (or        shares if the underwriters exercise their option to purchase additional shares of Class A common stock in full) in exchange for net proceeds of approximately $      million (or approximately $      million if the underwriters exercise their option to purchase additional shares of Class A common stock in full), after deducting the underwriting discount but before estimated offering expenses payable by us.
Immediately following the completion of this offering, we will take the following actions:
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We will use approximately $      million of the net proceeds of this offering to acquire, directly or indirectly through one or more wholly owned subsidiaries, (i)        newly issued LP Units in Holdings LP and (ii)        LP Units from certain existing owners of Holdings LP (and retire the corresponding shares of Class V common stock), in each case at a purchase price per LP Unit equal to the initial offering price per share of Class A common stock in this offering, less the underwriting discount. We will not receive any of the proceeds from the sale of shares of Class A common stock by the selling shareholder; and
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in turn, Holdings LP intends to apply the balance of the net proceeds it receives from us (i) to repay $      million of borrowings under the Credit Agreement, (ii) to pay expenses incurred in connection
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with this offering and the other Organizational Transactions, and (iii) to the extent any proceeds remain, for general corporate purposes. See “Description of Certain Indebtedness” and “Use of Proceeds.”
As a result of the Organizational Transactions:
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the investors in this offering will collectively own        shares of our Class A common stock, PSP will own        shares of our Class A common stock, the New Vive Partnerships will own       shares of our Class A common stock and other pre-offering owners will collectively own        shares of our Class A common stock;
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Suja Life, Inc. will own, indirectly through one or more wholly owned subsidiaries,        LP Units;
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the other holders of LP Units will own        LP Units and an equal number of shares of Class V common stock;
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our Class A common stock will collectively represent approximately    % of the voting power in us; and
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our Class V common stock will collectively represent approximately    % of the voting power in us.
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The diagram below depicts our historical organizational structure prior to the completion of the Organizational Transactions. This diagram is provided for illustrative purposes only and does not purport to represent all legal entities owned or controlled by us, or owning a beneficial interest in us.
[MISSING IMAGE: fc_owners-bw.jpg]
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(1)
The LP Unitholders other than PSP collectively own approximately    % of the equity interests of Holdings LP. Certain of these investors will continue to hold their equity interests in Holdings LP upon completion of this offering, and others will instead receive Class A common stock in connection with the Organizational Transactions.
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The diagram below depicts our expected organizational structure immediately following completion of the Organizational Transactions and this offering and our application of the proceeds therefrom. This diagram is provided for illustrative purposes only and does not purport to represent all legal entities owned or controlled by us, or owning a beneficial interest in us.
[MISSING IMAGE: fc_pspipo-4c.jpg]
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(1)
Upon the completion of this offering, PSP will own    % of the total outstanding LP Units of Holdings LP and will possess voting and dispositive power over    % of the total outstanding LP Units of Holdings LP. Further, PSP will own shares of Class V common stock, and will own    % of all shares of Class A common stock. The remaining LP Unitholders will collectively own the remaining    % of the total outstanding LP Units of Holdings LP not held directly or indirectly by Suja Life, Inc. See “Principal and Selling Shareholders” for additional information about PSP and other LP Unitholders that will beneficially own more than 5% of our outstanding shares of common stock following the completion of this offering. In addition to PSP, our existing owners include a limited number of third parties that have invested in LP Units.
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(2)
Upon completion of this offering, PSP will control approximately    % (or approximately    % if the underwriters exercise their option to purchase additional shares of Class A common stock in full) of the voting power in Suja Life, Inc. through its ownership of our Class A common stock and Class V common stock. See “Principal and Selling Shareholders” for additional information about PSP.
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(3)
Upon completion of this offering, the New Vive Partnerships will control approximately    % (or approximately    % if the underwriters exercise their option to purchase additional shares of Class A common stock in full) of the voting power in Suja Life, Inc. through their ownership of our Class A common stock. See “Principal and Selling Shareholders” for additional information about the New Vive Partnerships.
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(4)
Shares of Class A common stock and Class V common stock will vote as a single class except as otherwise required by law or our certificate of incorporation. Each outstanding share of Class A common stock and Class V common stock will be entitled to one vote on all matters to be voted on by shareholders generally. The Class V common stock does not have any right to receive dividends or distributions upon the liquidation or winding up of Suja Life, Inc. In accordance with the Exchange Agreement to be entered into in connection with the Organizational Transactions, the holders of LP Units may exchange their LP Units, together with an equal number of shares of Class V common stock, for shares of Class A common stock on a one-for-one basis or, at our election, for cash from a substantially concurrent public offering or private sale (based on the price of our Class A common stock in such public offering or private sale).
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(5)
This percentage represents the number of LP Units owned by the applicable holder divided by the total of all outstanding LP Units and assumes no exercise of the underwriters’ option to purchase additional shares of Class A common stock. If the underwriters exercise their option to purchase additional shares of Class A common stock in full, (i) the holders of Class A common stock other than PSP will have    % of the voting power in Suja Life, Inc., (ii) PSP, through its ownership of our Class A common stock and Class V common stock, will have    % of the voting power of Suja Life, Inc., (iii) the LP Unitholders, including PSP, will own    % of the outstanding LP Units in Holdings LP and (iv) Suja Life, Inc. will own    % of the outstanding LP Units in Holdings LP.
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Following the consummation of the Organizational Transactions, Suja Life, Inc. will be a holding company and its sole asset will be its direct or indirect equity interest in Holdings LP. Suja Life, Inc. will, as general partner of Holdings LP, exclusively operate and control all of the business and affairs of Holdings LP and its subsidiaries. Suja Life, Inc. will control management of Holdings LP, subject to certain exceptions. The combined financial results of Holdings LP and its consolidated subsidiaries will be consolidated in our financial statements.
The holders of LP Units will also hold shares of our Class V common stock. Although these shares of Class V common stock have only voting and no economic rights, they will allow the holders of LP Units to exercise voting power over Suja Life, Inc., the sole general partner of Holdings LP, at a level that is proportional to their overall economic interest in Holdings LP. Class V common stock is entitled to one vote per share. When LP Unitholders exchange LP Units, together with an equal number of shares of Class V common stock, for shares of our Class A common stock on a one-to-one basis or, at our election, for cash from a substantially concurrent public offering or private sale (based on the price of our Class A common stock in such public offering or private sale), pursuant to the Exchange Agreement described below, to the extent that they hold shares of Class V common stock, they will also be required to deliver an equivalent number of shares of Class V common stock. Any shares of Class V common stock so delivered will be cancelled.
Amended and Restated Partnership Agreement of Holdings LP
In connection with the completion of this offering, we will amend and restate Holdings LP’s existing limited partnership agreement, which we refer to as the “Partnership Agreement.” The operations of Holdings LP, and the rights and obligations of the LP Unitholders, will be set forth in the Partnership Agreement. The Partnership Agreement will be filed as an exhibit to the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part.
Sole General Partner
In connection with this offering, we will become the sole general partner of Holdings LP. As the sole general partner, we will be able to control all of the day-to-day business affairs and decision-making of Holdings LP without the approval of any other partner, unless otherwise stated in the Partnership Agreement. As such, through our officers and directors, we will be responsible for all operational and administrative decisions of Holdings LP and the day-to-day management of Holdings LP’s business. Pursuant to the Partnership Agreement, we cannot be removed, under any circumstances, as the sole general partner of Holdings LP, except by our election.
Compensation
We will not be entitled to compensation for our services as general partner. We will be entitled to reimbursement by Holdings LP for fees and expenses incurred on behalf of Holdings LP, including all expenses associated with this offering and maintaining our corporate existence.
Recapitalization
The Partnership Agreement recapitalizes the interests currently held by the existing owners of Holdings LP and provides for LP Units. The Partnership Agreement will also reflect a split of LP Units such that one LP Unit can be acquired with the net proceeds received in the initial offering from the sale of one share of our Class A common stock. Each LP Unit will entitle the holder to a pro rata share of the net profits and net losses and distributions of Holdings LP. Holders of LP Units will have no voting rights, except as expressly provided in the Partnership Agreement.
Distributions
The Partnership Agreement will require “tax distributions,” as that term is defined in the Partnership Agreement, to be made by Holdings LP to its “partners,” as that term is defined in the Partnership Agreement. Tax distributions generally will be made to each partner of Holdings LP holding LP Units, including us, on a pro rata basis based on Holdings LP’s taxable income (which, in each case, will be calculated
 
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without regard to, among other items, any applicable basis adjustment under Section 743(b) of the Code, and will be based upon an assumed tax rate, taking into account certain assumptions set forth in the Partnership Agreement). The assumed tax rate used to determine tax distributions will apply regardless of the actual tax liability of any such partner. Tax distributions will be made only to the extent that all distributions from Holdings LP for the relevant period were otherwise insufficient to enable each partner to cover its tax liabilities as calculated in the manner described above and to the extent that adequate distributable cash is available. In addition, we expect Holdings LP will (i) make distributions out of distributable cash periodically to the extent permitted by agreements governing indebtedness of Holdings LP and its subsidiaries and necessary to enable us to cover our tax liability and obligations under the Tax Receivable Agreement and (ii) non pro rata reimbursements to us in respect of our expenses.
In the event that we contribute excess cash to Holdings LP, indirectly through one or more wholly owned subsidiaries, in order to maintain the intended economic relationship between the shares of Class A common stock and Holdings LP interests after accounting for such contribution, Holdings LP and Suja Life, Inc., as applicable, may undertake ameliorative actions, which may include reverse splits, reclassifications, combinations, subdivisions, stock dividends or adjustments of outstanding interests of Holdings LP held by LP Unitholders.
Exchange Rights
The Partnership Agreement provides that, pursuant to the terms of the Exchange Agreement described below, holders of LP Units may exchange their LP Units, together with an equal number of shares of Class V common stock, for shares of Class A common stock on a one-for-one basis or, at our election, for cash from a substantially concurrent public offering or private sale (based on the price of our Class A common stock in such public offering or private sale). Any shares of Class V common stock so delivered will be cancelled. As LP Unitholders exchange their LP Units, our interest in Holdings LP will be correspondingly increased. See “— Exchange Agreement.”
Issuance of LP Units Upon Exercise of Options or Issuance of Other Equity Compensation
Upon the exercise of options issued by us, or the issuance of other types of equity compensation by us (such as the issuance of restricted or non-restricted stock, payment of bonuses in stock or settlement of SARs (as defined below) in stock), we will be required to acquire from Holdings LP a number of LP Units equal to the number of shares of Class A common stock being issued in connection with the exercise of such options or issuance of other types of equity compensation. When we issue shares of Class A common stock in settlement of stock options granted to persons that are not officers or employees of Holdings LP or its subsidiaries, we will make, or be deemed to make, a capital contribution to Holdings LP equal to the aggregate value of such shares of Class A common stock, and Holdings LP will issue to us a number of LP Units equal to the number of shares of Class A common stock we issued. When we issue shares of Class A common stock in settlement of stock options granted to persons that are officers or employees of Holdings LP or its subsidiaries, we will be deemed to have sold directly to the person exercising such award a portion of the value of each share of Class A common stock equal to the exercise price per share, and we will be deemed to have sold directly to Holdings LP (or the applicable subsidiary of Holdings LP) a portion of the value of each share of Class A common stock equal to the difference between the exercise price and market price per share for each such share of Class A common stock. In cases where we grant other types of equity compensation to employees of Holdings LP or its subsidiaries, on each applicable vesting date we will be deemed to have sold to Holdings LP (or such subsidiary) the number of vested shares of Class A common stock at a price equal to the market price per share, Holdings LP (or such subsidiary) will deliver the shares to the applicable person, and we will be deemed to have made a capital contribution in Holdings LP equal to the purchase price for such shares in exchange for an equal number of LP Units.
Maintenance of One-to-One Ratio of Shares of Class A Common Stock and LP Units Owned by Suja Life, Inc.
Our certificate of incorporation and the Partnership Agreement will require that (1) we at all times maintain a ratio of one LP Unit owned (directly or indirectly) by us for each share of Class A common stock issued by us (subject to certain exceptions including for treasury shares and shares underlying certain
 
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convertible or exchangeable securities), and (2) Holdings LP at all times maintains a one-to-one ratio between the number of shares of Class A common stock issued by us and the number of LP Units owned (directly or indirectly) by us.
Transfer Restrictions
The Partnership Agreement generally does not permit transfers of LP Units by partners, subject to limited exceptions. Any transfer of LP Units in violation of the Partnership Agreement is void and has no effect as of the date it is attempted. Any transferee of LP Units must assume, by operation of law or written agreement, all of the obligations of a transferring partner with respect to the transferred units, even if the transferee is not admitted as a partner of Holdings LP.
Dissolution
The Partnership Agreement will provide that the unanimous consent of all partners holding voting units will be required to voluntarily dissolve Holdings LP. In addition to a voluntary dissolution, Holdings LP will be dissolved upon a change of control transaction under certain circumstances, as well as upon the entry of a decree of judicial dissolution or other circumstances in accordance with Delaware law. Upon a dissolution event, the proceeds of a liquidation will be distributed in the following order: (1) to pay the expenses of winding up Holdings LP; (2) to pay debts and liabilities owed to creditors of Holdings LP, other than partners; (3) to pay debts and liabilities owed to partners; and (4) to the partners pro-rata in accordance with their respective percentage ownership interests in Holdings LP (as determined based on the number of vested LP Units held by a partner relative to the aggregate number of all outstanding vested LP Units).
Confidentiality
Each partner will agree to maintain the confidentiality of Holdings LP’s confidential information. This obligation excludes information independently obtained or developed by the partners, information that is in the public domain or otherwise disclosed to a partner, in either such case not in violation of a confidentiality obligation or disclosures required by law or judicial process or approved by our chief executive officer.
Indemnification and Exculpation
The Partnership Agreement provides for indemnification of the general partner, partner and officers of Holdings LP and their respective subsidiaries or affiliates. To the extent permitted by applicable law, Holdings LP will indemnify us, as its general partner, its authorized officers, its other employees and agents from and against any losses, liabilities, damages, costs, expenses, fees or penalties incurred by any acts or omissions of these persons, provided that the acts or omissions of these indemnified persons are not the result of fraud, intentional misconduct or a violation of the implied contractual duty of good faith and fair dealing, or any lesser standard of conduct permitted under applicable law.
We, as the general partner, and the authorized officers and other employees and agents of Holdings LP will not be liable to Holdings LP, its partner or their affiliates for damages incurred by any acts or omissions of these persons, provided that the acts or omissions of these exculpated persons are not the result of fraud, or intentional misconduct.
Amendments
The Partnership Agreement may be amended with the consent of the holders of a majority in voting power of the outstanding LP Units. Notwithstanding the foregoing, no amendment to any of the provisions that expressly require the approval or action of certain partners may be made without the consent of such partners and no amendment to the provisions governing the authority and actions of the general partner or the dissolution of Holdings LP may be amended without the consent of the general partner.
Change of Control Exchange
Following a Change of Control (as defined in the Partnership Agreement) of us by a person or entity, the LP Units will be automatically exchanged for shares of Class A common stock and the corresponding shares of Class V common stock will be cancelled.
 
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Tax Receivable Agreement
Prior to the completion of this offering, we will enter into a Tax Receivable Agreement with the TRA Parties that will require us to pay such persons    % of the amount of cash savings, if any, in U.S. federal, state and local income taxes we actually realize or are deemed to realize in some circumstances (as computed using certain assumptions) as a result of certain tax attributes and benefits covered by the Tax Receivable Agreement. Such tax attributes and benefits will include: (i) as described further below, certain increases in the tax basis of assets of Holdings LP and its subsidiaries resulting from exchanges (or deemed exchanges in certain circumstances) of LP Units, together with an equal number of shares of Class V common stock, for shares of our Class A common stock on a one-to-one basis or, at our election, for cash pursuant to the Exchange Agreement and certain distributions (or deemed distributions) by Holdings LP, (ii) certain tax attributes of the current or former holders of equity interests in Holdings LP, and (iii) certain other tax benefits related to our entering into the Tax Receivable Agreement, including tax benefits attributable to payments that we are required to make under the Tax Receivable Agreement. We expect to benefit from the remaining    % of such cash tax savings, if any, that we may actually realize.
The holders of LP Units may from time to time (subject to the terms of the Exchange Agreement) exercise a right to exchange their LP Units, together with an equal number of shares of Class V common stock, for shares of Class A common stock on a one-for-one basis or, at our election, for cash from a substantially concurrent public offering or private sale (based on the price of our Class A common stock in such public offering or private sale). We intend to treat such acquisitions of LP Units as direct purchases of LP Units from the LP Unitholders for U.S. federal income and other applicable tax purposes, regardless of whether such LP Units are exchanged for shares of our Class A common stock or for cash. Holdings LP (and each of its subsidiaries classified as a partnership for U.S. federal income tax purposes) intends to have in place an election under Section 754 of the Code effective for the taxable year in which this offering and the associated purchase of LP Units from the LP Unitholders occurs and for each taxable year in which an exchange of LP Units for Class A common stock or for cash occurs. As a result, the purchases of LP Units from the LP Unitholders and exchanges of LP Units are expected to result in (1) an increase in our proportionate share of the existing tax basis of the assets of Holdings LP and its flow-through subsidiaries and (2) an adjustment in the tax basis of the assets of Holdings LP and its flow-through subsidiaries reflected in that proportionate share (collectively, the “Basis Adjustments”). Any Basis Adjustment, together with certain aforementioned tax attributes and benefits, will generally have the effect of creating depreciation and amortization deductions, which may be used to reduce the amount of taxes that we would otherwise be obligated to pay thereafter to various tax authorities. Such Basis Adjustments may also decrease gains (or increase losses) on future dispositions of certain assets to the extent tax basis is allocated to those assets.
For purposes of the Tax Receivable Agreement, the tax benefit deemed realized by us will generally be computed by comparing our actual cash income tax liability to the amount of such taxes that we would have been required to pay had there been no tax attributes and benefits covered by the Tax Receivable Agreement, calculated using certain assumptions. The Tax Receivable Agreement will generally apply to each of our taxable years, beginning with the taxable year that the Tax Receivable Agreement is entered into. There is no maximum term for the Tax Receivable Agreement, and the Tax Receivable Agreement will continue until all such tax benefits have been utilized or expired or unless certain events occurs, including if we exercise our right to terminate the Tax Receivable Agreement for an amount equal to the estimated present value of the remaining payments to be made under the agreement (calculated with certain assumptions, including as to utilization of the tax attributes and benefits), there is a change of control (as described in more detail below) or we breach any of our material obligations under the Tax Receivable Agreement, in which case all obligations will generally be accelerated and due as if we had exercised our right to terminate the Tax Receivable Agreement. In such case, we will be required to make an immediate payment equal to the present value of the anticipated future cash tax savings, based on certain assumptions, including that (a) we would have sufficient taxable income in each future tax year to fully utilize all relevant tax attributes that are subject to the Tax Receivable Agreement, (b) any LP Units that have not been exchanged are deemed exchanged for the fair market value of our Class A common stock at the time of termination and (c) tax rates for future years will be those specified in the law as in effect at the time of termination. Such payment may be made significantly in advance of the actual realization, if any, of such future tax benefits and may be greater than or less than    % of the actual cash tax savings we ultimately realize in respect of the tax attributes that are subject to the Tax Receivable Agreement. In these situations, our obligations under the
 
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Tax Receivable Agreement could have a material adverse effect on our liquidity and could have the effect of delaying, deferring or preventing certain mergers, asset sales, other forms of business combination, or other changes of control. There can be no assurance that we will be able to finance our obligations under the Tax Receivable Agreement.
Estimating the amount of payments that may be made under the Tax Receivable Agreement is by its nature imprecise, as the calculation depends on a variety of factors. The actual tax attributes and benefits, as well as any amounts paid under the Tax Receivable Agreement, will vary depending on a number of factors, including:
•
the timing of any future exchanges — for instance, the increase in any tax deductions will vary depending on the fair value, which may fluctuate over time, of the depreciable or amortizable assets of Holdings LP and its flow-through subsidiaries at the time of each exchange;
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•
the price of shares of our Class A common stock at the time of any future exchanges — the Basis Adjustments are directly related to the price of shares of our Class A common stock at the time of future exchanges;
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•
the extent to which such exchanges are taxable — if an exchange is not taxable for any reason, increased tax deductions as a result of the Section 754 election mentioned above will not be available to generate payments under the Tax Receivable Agreement;
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•
the amount and timing of our income — the Tax Receivable Agreement generally will require us to pay    % of the cash tax savings as and when those savings are treated as realized by us under the terms of the Tax Receivable Agreement. If we do not have taxable income in a particular taxable year (determined without regard to the tax basis and other tax attributes that are subject to the Tax Receivable Agreement), we generally will not be required (absent a change of control or other circumstances requiring an early termination payment) to make payments under the Tax Receivable Agreement for that taxable year because no tax savings will have been actually realized. Nevertheless, any tax benefits that do not result in realized tax savings in a given taxable year will likely generate tax attributes that may be utilized to generate tax savings in future (and possibly previous) taxable years. The utilization of any such tax attributes will result in payments under the Tax Receivable Agreement; and
​
•
applicable tax rates (including changes to tax rates) — the tax rates in effect at the time a tax benefit is recognized.
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In addition, the amount of each LP Unitholder’s tax basis in its LP Units, the depreciation and amortization periods that apply to the increases in tax basis, the timing and amount of any earlier payments that we may have made under the Tax Receivable Agreement and the portion of our payments under such Tax Receivable Agreement that constitute imputed interest or give rise to depreciable or amortizable tax basis are relevant factors that will affect the amounts paid under the Tax Receivable Agreement.
The payment obligations under the Tax Receivable Agreement are obligations of Suja Life, Inc. and not of Holdings LP. Although the actual timing and amount of any payments that may be made under the Tax Receivable Agreement will vary, we expect that the aggregate payments that we will be required to make under the Tax Receivable Agreement will be substantial. Any payments made by us under the Tax Receivable Agreement will generally reduce the amount of overall cash flow that might have otherwise been available to us or to Holdings LP and, to the extent that we are unable to make payments under the Tax Receivable Agreement for any reason, the unpaid amounts will be deferred and will accrue interest until paid by us. Nonpayment for a specified period may constitute a breach of a material obligation under the Tax Receivable Agreement and therefore accelerate payments due under the Tax Receivable Agreement, unless such nonpayment is due to a lack of sufficient funds or is prevented by any debt agreement to which Holdings LP or any of its subsidiaries is a party. We anticipate funding the payments under the Tax Receivable Agreement from cash distributions from Holdings LP and available cash.
We expect that the payments we may be required to make under the Tax Receivable Agreement may be substantial. Assuming no material changes in the relevant tax law and that we earn sufficient taxable income to realize all tax benefits that are subject to the Tax Receivable Agreement, and based on certain assumptions with respect to future exchanges and other items, we expect that future payments under the Tax Receivable
 
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Agreement relating to the purchase by Suja Life, Inc. of LP Units from the LP Unitholders and in respect of future exchanges to be approximately $      million (or approximately $      million if the underwriters exercise their option to purchase additional shares of Class A common stock in this offering) and to range from approximately $      million to $      million per year (or range from approximately $      million to $      million per year if the underwriters exercise their option to purchase additional shares of Class A common stock in this offering).
Further, assuming no material changes in the relevant tax law and that we earn sufficient taxable income to realize all tax benefits that are subject to the Tax Receivable Agreement, we expect that future payments under the Tax Receivable Agreement relating to the utilization of certain pre-IPO tax attributes acquired in the Organizational Transactions to be approximately $      million and to range from approximately $      million to $      million per year.
As a result, we expect that aggregate payments under the Tax Receivable Agreement over this     -year period will range from approximately $      million to $      million (or range from approximately $      million to $      million if the underwriters exercise their option to purchase additional shares of Class A common stock).
The estimates above are based on initial public offering price of $      per share of Class A common stock, which is the midpoint of the estimated public offering price range set forth on the cover page of this prospectus.
It is possible that future transactions or events could increase or decrease the actual tax benefits realized and the corresponding Tax Receivable Agreement payments. There may be a material negative effect on our liquidity if, as a result of timing discrepancies or otherwise, the payments under the Tax Receivable Agreement exceed the actual benefits we realize in respect of the tax attributes subject to the Tax Receivable Agreement and/or distributions to Suja Life, Inc. (indirectly via one or more wholly owned subsidiaries of Suja Life, Inc.) by Holdings LP are not sufficient to permit Suja Life, Inc. to make payments under the Tax Receivable Agreement after it has paid taxes.
Payments under the Tax Receivable Agreement will be based on the tax reporting positions that we determine, which are complex and factual in nature. To the extent any tax attributes or benefits subject to the Tax Receivable Agreement are successfully challenged or disallowed by the IRS or any other taxing authority, we will not be reimbursed for any cash payments previously made under the Tax Receivable Agreement. Instead, any excess cash payments made by us to a party to the Tax Receivable Agreement will be netted against any future cash payments that we might otherwise be required to make to such party under the terms of the Tax Receivable Agreement. However, we might not determine that we have effectively made an excess cash payment to a TRA Party for a number of years following the initial time of such payment and, if any of our tax reporting positions are challenged by a taxing authority, we will not be permitted to reduce any future cash payments under the Tax Receivable Agreement until any such challenge is finally settled or determined. Accordingly, there may not be sufficient future cash payments against which to net. The applicable U.S. federal income tax rules are complex, their application to certain aspects of our structure is uncertain and there can be no assurance that the IRS or a court will not disagree with our tax reporting positions. As a result, it is possible that we could make cash payments under the Tax Receivable Agreement that are substantially greater than our actual cash tax savings.
Under the Tax Receivable Agreement, we are required to provide the TRA Parties with a schedule setting forth the calculation of payments that are due under the Tax Receivable Agreement with respect to each taxable year in which a payment obligation arises within a certain time period after filing our U.S. federal income tax return for such taxable year. This calculation will be based upon the advice of our tax advisors. Payments under the Tax Receivable Agreement will generally be made following this schedule becoming final pursuant to the procedures set forth in the Tax Receivable Agreement, although interest on such payments will begin to accrue at a rate of SOFR plus        basis points from the due date (without extensions) of such tax return. Any late payments that may be made under the Tax Receivable Agreement will continue to accrue interest at SOFR plus        basis points until such payments are made, generally including any late payments that we may subsequently make because we did not have enough available cash to satisfy our payment obligations at the time at which they originally arose.
 
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Exchange Agreement
We will enter into the Exchange Agreement with the LP Unitholders. Under the Exchange Agreement, holders of LP Units may exchange their LP Units, together with an equal number of shares of Class V common stock, for shares of Class A common stock on a one-for-one basis or, at our election, for cash from a substantially concurrent public offering or private sale (based on the price of our Class A common stock in such public offering or private sale). Any shares of Class V common stock so delivered will be cancelled. To the extent LP Unitholders exchange their LP Units, our interest in Holdings LP will be correspondingly increased.
Registration Rights Agreement
We are party to the Registration Rights Agreement with certain LP Unitholders, including PSP. The Registration Rights Agreement provides certain LP Unitholders registration rights whereby, following our initial public offering and the expiration of any related lock-up period, certain LP Unitholders can require us to register under the Securities Act shares of Class A common stock owned by them or issuable to them upon exchange of their LP Units. The Registration Rights Agreement also provides for piggyback registration rights for certain LP Unitholders. See “Certain Relationships and Related Party Transactions — Related Party Transactions — Registration Rights Agreement.”
 
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MANAGEMENT
Our Executive Officers, Directors and Director Nominees
Below is a list of the names, ages as of April 1, 2026, positions and brief accounts of the business experience of the individuals who serve as our (i) executive officers, (ii) directors, and (iii) director nominees. Upon the completion of this offering, Messrs. Corbacho, DeBorde, Papadellis, Partin and Schwartz, and Ms. Vrabeck are anticipated to be elected to our Board.
Name
​ ​
Age
​ ​
Position
​
Executive Officers and Directors ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​
Maria Stipp ​ ​ 58 ​ ​ Chief Executive Officer and Director ​
Jeff Pedersen ​ ​ 49 ​ ​ Chief Financial Officer ​
Mike Box ​ ​ 61 ​ ​ Chief Operating Officer ​
Alex Corbacho ​ ​ 37 ​ ​ Director Nominee ​
Robert DeBorde ​ ​ 67 ​ ​ Director Nominee ​
Randy Papadellis ​ ​ 68 ​ ​ Director Nominee ​
Mark Partin ​ ​ 58 ​ ​ Director Nominee ​
Kevin Schwartz ​ ​ 51 ​ ​ Director Nominee ​
Kathy Vrabeck ​ ​ 62 ​ ​ Director Nominee ​
Executive Officers
Maria Stipp has served as our Chief Executive Officer since February 2024 and as a Director since October 2025. In her role as Chief Executive Officer, Ms. Stipp has overseen the Company through significant transformation and growth. Prior to joining the Company, Ms. Stipp served as Chief Executive Officer of Sapporo Stone Brewing from September 2020 to January 2024 and on its board of directors from January 2023 to January 2024. She also served as Chief Executive Officer of Lagunitas Brewing Company from May 2015 to March 2020 and on its board of directors from October 2015 to March 2020. Ms. Stipp received a B.A. in Business Administration and Management from the University of Iowa. We believe Ms. Stipp is qualified to serve on our Board because of her extensive knowledge of our business and strategy, as well as her experience as an executive officer of companies in the beverage industry and leadership role with us as our Chief Executive Officer.
Jeff Pedersen has served as our Chief Financial Officer since joining the Company in July 2019. Prior to joining the Company, Mr. Pedersen was Vice President of Operations Finance at Constellation Brands (NYSE: STZ), a Fortune 500 company that produces beer, wine and spirits, from June 2016 until October 2018. Between April 2012 and June 2016, Mr. Pedersen was Director of Finance, Financial Planning and Analysis at Exemplis Corporation, a leading designer and manufacturer of office seating products. Mr. Pedersen also held several roles at PepsiCo (NASDAQ: PEP), a multinational food, snack and beverage corporation, from June 2010 until April 2012 including Director of Finance, Food Service. Prior to that, Mr. Pedersen held several roles at the E. & J. Gallow Winery, the global wine industry leader, from August 2001 to June 2010, including Senior Finance Manager, Strategic Planning and Supply. Mr. Pedersen received an M.B.A. from the University of Arizona, Eller College of Management and a B.S. in Structural Engineering from the University of California San Diego.
Mike Box has served as our Chief Operations Officer for Manufacturing Operations since joining the Company in November 2016. Prior to joining the Company, Mr. Box was Senior Vice President of Operations at Bolthouse Farms, a vertically integrated farm company specializing in refrigerated beverages, between October 2002 and October 2016. In this position, Mr. Box oversaw Bolthouse Farms’ beverage and consumer packaged goods operations. Mr. Box was also Manager of Plant Operations and Engineering at Aurora Foods, Inc., a frozen food manufacturer, between March 1999 and September 2002. Mr. Box received a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from California State University, Chico.
 
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Directors and Director Nominees
Alexander Corbacho is expected to join our Board prior to the completion of this offering. In 2012, Mr. Corbacho joined the investment team at PSP, a private equity firm focused on sustainable food chain investing, where he is currently a Partner. In that capacity, Mr. Corbacho leads the Suja Life deal team. Prior to joining Paine Schwartz Partners, Mr. Corbacho was an analyst at UBS Investment Bank in the firm's leveraged finance origination and financial sponsor coverage groups, where he worked to provide debt financing, capital structure solutions, and advisory services for a variety of companies and financial sponsors. Mr. Corbacho has served on the board of directors of AgroFresh since 2021, including through the company’s take-private transaction with PSP in 2023. Mr. Corbacho received a B.A. in Finance, Law and Economics from Boston University. We believe Mr. Corbacho is qualified to serve on our Board because of his extensive knowledge of our business and strategy, as well as his experience in food chain investing.
Robert DeBorde is expected to join our Board prior to the completion of this offering. Mr. DeBorde served as our Chief Executive Officer from August 2019 to February 2024. Mr. DeBorde also currently serves as an operating director at Paine Schwartz Partners. In his role as Chief Executive Officer, Mr. DeBorde oversaw the Company through significant expansion and growth. Prior to joining the Company, Mr. DeBorde had a 34-year career within the Coca-Cola Company (NYSE: KO), a multinational beverage corporation. Most recently, Mr. DeBorde was Senior Vice President for Coca-Cola Refreshments where he oversaw sales and operations functions until February 2018. Additionally, during his time at Coca-Cola, Mr. DeBorde was also Senior Vice President for field operations in the United States and Canada, Senior Vice President and General Manager for the East and Northeast United States and Vice President and General Manager for Coca-Cola Enterprises in the United Kingdom. Mr. DeBorde received a B.S. from Spring Hill College. We believe Mr. DeBorde is qualified to serve on our Board because of his extensive knowledge of our business and strategy, as well as his experience as an executive officer of public companies in the consumer packaged goods industry and leadership role with us.
Randy Papadellis is expected to join our Board prior to the completion of this offering. Mr. Papadellis began his career at Frito-Lay, a leading international snack food company, in 1981, where he held multiple leadership positions, including Regional Marketing Manager and Senior Product Manager. He subsequently served as Vice President of Soft Drink Brands at Cadbury Schweppes from 1989 to 1994, before joining Welch’s, where, from July 1994 to July 2000, he served as Senior Vice President of Marketing, overseeing product innovation, marketing strategy, retail marketing, and consumer and corporate communications. Mr. Papadellis then joined Ocean Spray Cranberries, where he served as President and Chief Operating Officer from July 2000 to June 2002, and subsequently as President and Chief Executive Officer from June 2002 to July 2018. Under his leadership, Ocean Spray grew to become the largest shelf-stable juice brand in North America, with North American market share increasing by approximately 35%. Mr. Papadellis currently serves on the board of directors of Vestaron Corporation, and previously served on the boards of directors of Ocean Spray and Deoleo UK Limited. Mr. Papadellis received an M.B.A. from Cornell University and a B.A. in Government & Administrative Science from Colby College. We believe Mr. Papadellis is qualified to serve on our Board given his extensive leadership experience in the consumer packaged goods industry and his proven track record of driving growth and innovation.
Mark Partin is expected to join our Board prior to the completion of this offering. Mr. Partin began his career as a CPA and auditor at Arthur Andersen & Co. in 1991, where he spent four years in public accounting before transitioning to corporate finance. He subsequently served as Controller of Williams Group International from 1995 to 1997, before joining Contour Medical, Inc., where he served as Chief Financial Officer from 1997 to 1999. Mr. Partin then served as Chief Financial Officer of Headhunter.net (now CareerBuilder.com) from 1999 to 2001, and subsequently as Chief Financial Officer of American Health Imaging from 2003 to 2005. Mr. Partin joined Fiberlink Communications Corporation (now MaaS360, an IBM Company), an enterprise mobility management company, as Chief Financial Officer in 2005, a role he held until 2015. He then served as Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer of BlackLine, Inc. (NASDAQ: BL), a cloud-based financial automation software provider, from 2015 until 2025. Mr. Partin currently serves on the board of directors of SPS Commerce, Inc. (NASDAQ: SPSC) and CircleCi. Mr. Partin received an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School and a B.S. in Accounting from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. We believe Mr. Partin is qualified to serve on our Board given his extensive financial leadership experience across multiple industries and his deep expertise in scaling publicly traded companies.
 
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Kevin Schwartz is expected to join our Board prior to the completion of this offering. In 2002, Mr. Schwartz joined the investment team at PSP, a private equity firm focused on sustainable food chain investing, where he currently serves as Chief Executive Officer and Managing Partner. He is also the Chairman of PSP’s Sustainability Committee. Prior to joining PSP, Mr. Schwartz worked at private equity firms Fremont Partners and American Industrial Partners. Mr. Schwartz began his career at Goldman Sachs in the Investment Banking Division, where he worked on numerous transactions covering mergers, acquisitions, divestitures, public and private financings, and other corporate transactions. Mr. Schwartz has served on the board of directors of AgroFresh since 2021, including through the company’s take-private transaction with PSP in 2023. He is also a board council member of Hope for the Warriors. Mr. Schwartz received a B.S. in Accountancy from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. We believe Mr. Schwartz is qualified to serve on our Board because of his extensive knowledge of our business and strategy, as well as his experience in the food and agribusiness sector.
Kathy Vrabeck is expected to join our Board prior to the completion of this offering. Ms. Vrabeck served as a Partner-in-Charge and Global Sector Leader at Heidrick and Struggles from 2011 to 2015, and as a Senior Client Partner in the Digital Practice and Consumer Markets at Korn Ferry International from 2015 to 2021. Most recently, Ms. Vrabeck served as Chief Strategy Officer and subsequently Chief Operating Officer of BODi from 2021 to 2025. Ms. Vrabeck currently serves as Board Chair and Chair of the Compensation Committee of MediaAlpha Inc. (NYSE: MAX), and on the board of DePauw University, where she previously served as Board Chair from 2018 to 2022. She has also previously served on the boards of GameStop (NYSE: GME), where she served as Board Chair and Lead Independent Director, United Talent Agency Acquisition Corp. (NASDAQ: UTAA), Schwazze Inc., and Stone Brewing Company. Ms. Vrabeck received an M.B.A. in Marketing and Finance from Indiana University, and a B.A. in French and Economics from DePauw University. We believe Ms. Vrabeck is qualified to serve on our Board given her extensive executive leadership experience across the media, entertainment, consumer products, and technology industries and her deep expertise in corporate governance, having served as board chair of multiple public companies.
Family Relationships
There are no family relationships between any of our executive officers, directors or director nominees.
Corporate Governance
Board Composition and Director Independence
Our business and affairs are managed under the direction of our Board. Following completion of this offering, our Board will be composed of seven directors. Our certificate of incorporation will provide that the authorized number of directors may be changed only by resolution of our Board. In addition, the Director Designation Agreement will prohibit us from increasing or decreasing the size of our Board without the prior written consent of PSP. Our certificate of incorporation will also provide that our Board will be divided into three classes of directors, with the classes nearly equal in number. Subject to any earlier resignation or removal in accordance with the terms of our certificate of incorporation and bylaws, our Class I directors will be Mr. Papadellis and Kathy Vrabeck and will serve until the first annual meeting of shareholders following the completion of this offering, our Class II directors will be Mr. Corbacho and Mr. Partin and will serve until the second annual meeting of shareholders following the completion of this offering and our Class III directors will be Mr. DeBorde, Mr. Schwartz and Ms. Stipp and will serve until the third annual meeting of shareholders following the completion of this offering. Upon completion of this offering, we expect that each of our directors will serve in the classes as indicated above. This classification of our Board could have the effect of increasing the length of time necessary to change the composition of a majority of our Board. In general, at least two annual meetings of shareholders will be necessary for shareholders to effect a change in a majority of members of our Board. In addition, our certificate of incorporation will provide that our directors may be removed with or without cause by the affirmative vote of at least a majority of the voting power of our outstanding shares of stock entitled to vote thereon, voting together as a single class for so long as PSP beneficially owns 40% or more, in the aggregate, of the total number of shares of our common stock then outstanding. If PSP’s aggregate beneficial ownership falls below 40% of the total number
 
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of shares of our common stock outstanding, then our directors may be removed only for cause upon the affirmative vote of at least 662∕3% of the voting power of our outstanding shares of stock entitled to vote thereon.
In addition, at any time when PSP has the right to designate at least one nominee for election to our Board, PSP will also have the right to have one of their nominated directors hold one seat on each Board committee, subject to satisfying any applicable stock exchange rules or regulations regarding the independence of Board committee members. The listing standards of Nasdaq require that, subject to specified exceptions, each member of a listed company’s audit, compensation and nominating and corporate governance committees be independent and that audit committee members also satisfy independence criteria set forth in Rule 10A-3 under the Exchange Act (“Rule 10A-3”).
Our Board has also determined that Messrs. Corbacho, Papadellis, Partin and Schwartz, and Ms. Vrabeck meet the requirements to be independent directors. In making this determination, our Board considered the relationships that each such non-employee director has with PSP and all other facts and circumstances that our Board deemed relevant in determining their independence, including beneficial ownership of our common stock.
Controlled Company Status
After completion of this offering, PSP will continue to control a majority of the voting power in us. As a result, we will be a “controlled company.” Under Nasdaq’s rules, a company of which more than 50% of the voting power for the election of directors is held by an individual, group or another company is a “controlled company” and may elect not to comply with certain corporate governance requirements, including the requirements that, within one year of the date of the listing of our common stock:
•
we have a Board that is composed of a majority of “independent directors,” as defined under the rules of such exchange;
​
•
we have a compensation committee that is composed entirely of independent directors; and
​
•
we have a nominating and corporate governance committee that is composed entirely of independent directors.
​
As a controlled company, we will remain subject to the rules of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and Nasdaq that require us to have an audit committee composed entirely of independent directors. Under these rules, we must have at least one independent director on our Audit Committee by the date our Class A common stock is listed on Nasdaq, at least two independent directors on our Audit Committee within 90 days of the listing date, and at least three directors, all of whom must be independent, on our Audit Committee within one year of the listing date.
Following this offering, we expect to have five independent directors, three of whom qualify as independent for Audit Committee purposes. We intend to rely on the controlled company exemption upon completion of this offering because our Compensation and Nominating Committee will not be comprised of entirely independent directors or be subject to annual performance evaluations, and our Audit Committee will only be composed of two independent directors. Accordingly, you may not have the same protections afforded to shareholders of companies that are subject to all of Nasdaq’s corporate governance requirements.
At such time as we are not a “controlled company” under the corporate governance standards, our committee membership will comply with all applicable requirements of those standards and a majority of our Board will be “independent directors,” as defined under Nasdaq’s rules.
Board Committees
Upon completion of this offering, our Board will have an Audit Committee and a Compensation and Nominating Committee. The composition, duties and responsibilities of these committees are as set forth below. In the future, our Board may establish other committees, as it deems appropriate, to assist it with its responsibilities.
 
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Board Member
​ ​
Audit Committee
​ ​
Compensation and
Nominating
Committee
​
Alex Corbacho*
​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ X ​ ​
Robert DeBorde *
​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ X ​ ​
Randy Papadellis *
​ ​ ​ ​ X ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​
Mark Partin *
​ ​ ​ ​ X ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​
Kevin Schwartz*
​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​
Maria Stipp
​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​
Kathy Vrabeck*
​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ X ​ ​
​
*
Denotes director nominee
​
Audit Committee
Following this offering, our Audit Committee will be composed of Messrs. Partin and Papadellis, with Mr. Partin serving as chairman of the committee. We intend to comply with the audit committee requirements of the SEC and Nasdaq, which require that the Audit Committee be composed of at least one independent director at the completion of this offering, a majority of independent directors (with at least two members) within 90 days following this offering and all independent directors (with at least three members) within one year following this offering. We anticipate that, prior to the completion of this offering, our Board will determine that Messrs. Partin and Papadellis meet the independence requirements of Rule 10A-3 and the applicable listing standards of Nasdaq, and that each of Mr. Partin and Mr. Papadellis is an “audit committee financial expert” within the meaning of SEC regulations and satisfies the financial sophistication requirement under the applicable listing standards of Nasdaq. The Audit Committee’s responsibilities upon completion of this offering will include:
•
appointing, approving the compensation of, and assessing the qualifications, performance and independence of, our independent registered public accounting firm;
​
•
pre-approving audit and permissible non-audit services, and the terms of such services, to be provided by our independent registered public accounting firm;
​
•
discussing on a periodic basis, or as appropriate, with management, our policies, programs and controls with respect to risk assessment and risk management;
​
•
reviewing and discussing with management and the independent registered public accounting firm our annual and quarterly financial statements and related disclosures as well as critical accounting policies and practices used by us;
​
•
reviewing our management’s discussion and analysis of financial condition and results of operations to be included in our annual and quarterly reports to be filed with the SEC;
​
•
reviewing and discussing with management our earnings releases and scripts;
​
•
monitoring the rotation of partners of the independent registered public accounting firm on our engagement team in accordance with requirements established by the SEC;
​
•
reviewing management’s report on its assessment of the effectiveness of internal control over financial reporting and any changes thereto;
​
•
reviewing the adequacy of our internal control over financial reporting;
​
•
establishing policies and procedures for the receipt, retention, follow-up and resolution of accounting, internal controls or auditing matters, complaints and concerns;
​
•
recommending, based upon the Audit Committee’s review and discussions with management and the independent registered public accounting firm, whether our audited financial statements shall be included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K;
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•
monitoring our compliance with legal and regulatory requirements as they relate to our financial statements and accounting matters;
​
•
preparing the Audit Committee report required by the rules of the SEC to be included in our annual proxy statement;
​
•
reviewing and assessing annually treasury functions including cash management process;
​
•
investigating any matters received, and reporting to our Board periodically, with respect to ethics issues, complaints and associated investigations;
​
•
reviewing the Audit Committee charter and the committee’s performance at least annually;
​
•
consulting with management to establish procedures and internal controls relating to cybersecurity; and
​
•
reviewing all related party transactions for potential conflict of interest situations and approving all such transactions.
​
Compensation and Nominating Committee
Following this offering, our Compensation and Nominating Committee will be composed of Messrs. Corbacho and DeBorde, and Ms. Vrabeck, with Mr. Corbacho serving as chairman of the committee. The Compensation and Nominating Committee’s responsibilities upon completion of this offering will include:
•
annually reviewing and approving corporate goals and objectives relevant to the compensation of our chief executive officer;
​
•
evaluating the performance of our chief executive officer in light of such corporate goals and objectives and determining and approving the compensation of our chief executive officer;
​
•
reviewing and approving the compensation of our other executive officers;
​
•
appointing, compensating and overseeing the work of any compensation consultant, legal counsel or other advisor retained by the Compensation and Nominating Committee;
​
•
conducting the independence assessment outlined in Nasdaq’s rules with respect to any compensation consultant, legal counsel or other advisor retained by the Compensation and Nominating Committee;
​
•
annually reviewing and reassessing the adequacy of the committee charter in its compliance with the listing requirements of Nasdaq;
​
•
reviewing and establishing our overall management compensation, philosophy and policy;
​
•
overseeing and administering our compensation and similar plans;
​
•
reviewing and making recommendations to our Board with respect to director compensation;
​
•
reviewing and discussing with management the compensation discussion and analysis to be included in our annual proxy statement or Annual Report on Form 10-K;
​
•
developing and recommending to our Board criteria for board and committee membership;
​
•
subject to the rights of PSP under the Director Designation Agreement as described in “Certain Relationships and Related Party Transactions — Related Party Transactions — Director Designation Agreement,” identifying and recommending to our Board the persons to be nominated for election as directors and to each of our Board’s committees;
​
•
developing and recommending to our Board best practices and corporate governance principles;
​
•
developing and recommending to our Board a set of corporate governance guidelines; and
​
•
reviewing and recommending to our Board the functions, duties and compositions of the committees of our Board.
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Compensation Committee Interlocks and Insider Participation
None of our executive officers currently serves, or in the past fiscal year has served, as a member of our Board or compensation committee of any entity that has one or more executive officers serving on our Board or Compensation and Nominating Committee.
Code of Business Conduct and Ethics
Prior to completion of this offering, we intend to adopt a code of business conduct and ethics that applies to all of our employees, officers and directors, including those officers responsible for financial reporting. Upon the completion of this offering, our code of business conduct and ethics will be available on our website. We intend to disclose any amendments to the code, or any waivers of its requirements, on our website.
 
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EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION
We are currently considered an “emerging growth company” for purposes of the SEC’s executive compensation disclosure rules. Accordingly, we are providing a Summary Compensation Table and an Outstanding Equity Awards at Fiscal Year-End Table, as well as certain narrative disclosures regarding executive compensation for our last completed fiscal year. For fiscal 2025, our “Named Executive Officers” were:
Name
​ ​
Principal Position
​
Maria Stipp ​ ​ Chief Executive Officer ​
Jeff Pedersen ​ ​ Chief Financial Officer ​
Mike Box ​ ​ Chief Operations Officer ​
Summary Compensation Table
The following table summarizes the compensation awarded to, earned by, or paid to our Named Executive Officers for fiscal 2024 and fiscal 2025 for their services in all capacities during such applicable year.
Name and Principal Position
​ ​
Fiscal
Year
​ ​
Salary
​ ​
Bonus
​ ​
Option
Awards(1)
​ ​
Non-Equity
Incentive
Compensation(2)
​ ​
All Other
Compensation(3)
​ ​
Total
​
Maria Stipp(4)
Chief Executive Officer
​ ​ ​ ​ 2025 ​ ​ ​ ​ $ 600,000 ​ ​ ​ ​ $ 37,500(5) ​ ​ ​ ​ $ — ​ ​ ​ ​ $ 937,500 ​ ​ ​ ​ $ 53,388 ​ ​ ​ ​ $ 1,628,388 ​ ​
​ ​ ​ 2024 ​ ​ ​ ​ $ 493,846 ​ ​ ​ ​ $ 550,000(6) ​ ​ ​ ​ $ 1,673,000 ​ ​ ​ ​ $ 961,750 ​ ​ ​ ​ $ 69,828 ​ ​ ​ ​ $ 3,748,424 ​ ​
Jeff Pedersen
Chief Financial Officer
​ ​ ​ ​ 2025 ​ ​ ​ ​ $ 410,962 ​ ​ ​ ​ $ 37,500(5) ​ ​ ​ ​ $ — ​ ​ ​ ​ $ 284,077 ​ ​ ​ ​ $ 16,096 ​ ​ ​ ​ $ 748,635 ​ ​
​ ​ ​ 2024 ​ ​ ​ ​ $ 351,406 ​ ​ ​ ​ $ — ​ ​ ​ ​ $ — ​ ​ ​ ​ $ 272,594 ​ ​ ​ ​ $ 14,094 ​ ​ ​ ​ $ 638,094 ​ ​
Mike Box
Chief Operations Officer
​ ​ ​ ​ 2025 ​ ​ ​ ​ $ 345,740 ​ ​ ​ ​ $ 37,500(5) ​ ​ ​ ​ $ — ​ ​ ​ ​ $ 244,944 ​ ​ ​ ​ $ 16,872 ​ ​ ​ ​ $ 645,056 ​ ​
​ ​ ​ 2024 ​ ​ ​ ​ $ 332,097 ​ ​ ​ ​ $ — ​ ​ ​ ​ $ — ​ ​ ​ ​ $ 261,008 ​ ​ ​ ​ $ 16,803 ​ ​ ​ ​ $ 609,908 ​ ​
​
(1)
The amounts reported in the Option Awards column represent the grant date fair value of the incentive units of Holdings LP (the “Incentive Units”) granted to the Named Executive Officers, as computed in accordance with the Financial Accounting Standards Board Accounting Standards Codification Topic 718. The Incentive Units are intended to constitute “profits interests” for U.S. federal income tax purposes. Despite the fact that the Incentive Units do not require the payment of an exercise price, they are most similar economically to stock options. Accordingly, they are classified as “options” under the definition provided in Item 402(a)(6)(i) of Regulation S-K as an instrument with an “option-like feature.” The assumptions used in calculating the grant date fair value of the Incentive Units reported in the Option Awards column are set forth in Note 13 to the consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this prospectus. The amounts reported in this column reflect the accounting cost for these Incentive Units and do not correspond to the actual economic value that may be received by the Named Executive Officers for such Incentive Units.
​
(2)
The amounts reported in the Non-Equity Incentive Compensation column reflect annual cash bonuses paid to the Named Executive Officers with respect to fiscal 2024 and fiscal 2025 that were earned subject to specified performance targets.
​
(3)
The amounts reported in the All Other Compensation column reflect (i) discretionary 401(k) profit sharing contributions to be made to Messrs. Pedersen, and Box, in the amount of $14,596 for Mr. Pedersen and $15,372 for Mr. Box for fiscal 2025, (ii) long-term disability insurance premiums paid for Messrs. Pedersen, and Box and Ms. Stipp, in the amount of $1,500 for each of Messrs. Pedersen and Box and Ms. Stipp for fiscal 2025, and (iii) commuting expenses provided for Ms. Stipp in the amount of $51,888 for fiscal 2025.
​
(4)
Ms. Stipp became our Chief Executive Officer on February 20, 2024.
​
(5)
Comprised of a one-time discretionary cash bonus in the amount of $37,500 to each of the Named Executive Officers.
​
(6)
Comprised of a one-time sign-on cash bonus in the amount of $550,000.
​
 
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Narrative Disclosure to Summary Compensation Table
Stipp Employment Agreement
We entered into an employment agreement with Ms. Stipp, effective February 20, 2024 (the “Stipp Employment Agreement”), that provides for a base salary of $600,000 per year. In addition, Ms. Stipp is eligible to receive (i) a discretionary annual bonus with a target amount of $600,000 per year, (ii) an additional discretionary annual over-achievement bonus with a target amount of $300,000 per year, (iii) a one-time cash sign-on bonus in the amount of $550,000, subject to full repayment if Ms. Stipp is not employed by Suja Life for at least 12 months following the effective date without “Good Reason” or for “Cause,” and (iv) an initial grant of Incentive Units.
Offer Letters
We are party to offer letters with Mr. Pedersen and Mr. Box (the “Offer Letters”) that provide for, among other things, an annual base salary, currently $415,000 for Mr. Pedersen and $349,358 for Mr. Box, and a target annual performance bonus opportunity for Mr. Pedersen, currently set at 30% of his annual base salary.
The Stipp Employment Agreement and the Offer Letters also provide for certain severance benefits upon certain terminations of employment and/or upon a change in control. For more details regarding such potential benefits upon a termination and/or change in control, please see the section entitled “— Potential Payments Upon Termination or Change in Control” below.
Incentive Unit Awards
Each of our Named Executive Officers has been granted Incentive Units of Holdings LP. Generally, time-based vesting Incentive Units vest ratably on the first five anniversaries of the vesting commencement date (as described in the section entitled “— Outstanding Equity Awards at Fiscal Year-End Table”), and performance-based vesting Incentive Units vest in full upon achievement of an “investor returns” multiple of at least 2.0. All of Ms. Stipp’s Incentive Units are performance-based vesting and vest in full upon achievement of an “investor returns” multiple of at least 2.5. “Investor returns” generally means the level of cash proceeds received by PSP Suja Life Holdings, L.P. (“PSP Suja Life”) in respect of its aggregate investment in Holdings LP.
For more details regarding the treatment of Incentive Units upon certain terminations of employment, including in connection with a change in control, please see the section entitled “— Potential Payments Upon Termination or Change in Control.”
Other Benefits
We currently maintain a tax-qualified retirement savings plan intended to provide benefits under Section 401(k) of the Code and make matching contributions to the plan in an amount equal to 100% of the first 3% and 50% of the next 2% of an employee’s eligible pay contributions (up to the applicable annual compensation limits). Each of the Named Executive Officers is eligible to participate in our 401(k) plan.
We do not maintain a defined benefit pension plan or nonqualified deferred compensation plan.
 
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Outstanding Equity Awards at Fiscal Year-End Table
The following table shows, for each of the Named Executive Officers, all equity-based awards that were outstanding as of December 31, 2025.
Name
​ ​
Number of
securities
underlying
unexercised
options
exercisable
(#)
​ ​
Number of
securities
underlying
unexercised
options
unexercisable
(#)
​ ​
Number of
securities
underlying
unexercised
unearned
options
(#)
​ ​
Option
exercise
price
($)(3)
​ ​
Option
expiration
date(3)
​
Maria Stipp
​ ​ ​ ​ 0(1) ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 0(1) ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 1,000(1) ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ N/A ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ N/A ​ ​
Jeff Pedersen
​ ​ ​ ​ 574(2) ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 382(2) ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 956(2) ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ N/A ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ N/A ​ ​
Mike Box
​ ​ ​ ​ 574(2) ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 382(2) ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 956(2) ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ N/A ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ N/A ​ ​
​
(1)
On February 20, 2024, Ms. Stipp was granted 1,000 Incentive Units pursuant to an Incentive Unit grant agreement, all of which are subject to performance-based vesting and her continued employment through the applicable vesting date. Ms. Stipp’s Incentive Units vest in full upon achievement of an “investor returns” multiple of at least 2.5.
​
(2)
On January 16, 2022, Messrs. Pedersen and Box were granted 1,912 Incentive Units pursuant to an Incentive Unit grant agreement, 956 of which are subject to time-based vesting and 956 of which are subject to performance-based vesting, in each case, subject to their continued employment through the applicable vesting dates. The time-based vesting Incentive Units vest in equal installments on each of the first five anniversaries of August 23, 2022, such that the Incentive Units will be fully vested on August 23, 2027. Any unvested time-based vesting Incentive Units will vest in full upon a “Sale of the Partnership” ​(as described below). The performance-based vesting Incentive Units will vest in full upon achievement of an “investor returns” multiple of at least 2.0.
​
(3)
The Incentive Units are not traditional options; therefore, there is no exercise price or option expiration date associated therewith.
​
Potential Payments Upon Termination or Change in Control
The following disclosures discuss the payments and benefits that each of our Named Executive Officers who are current officers of the Company would have been eligible to receive upon certain termination events, assuming that such termination occurred on December 31, 2025. As a result, the payments and benefits disclosed represent what would have been due and payable to such Named Executive Officers under the applicable agreements and plans in existence between each Named Executive Officer and the Company (or any applicable affiliate of the Company) as of December 31, 2025. This disclosure does not reflect any changes to such agreements or plans, or new agreements or plans adopted, after December 31, 2025, unless specifically stated.
Treatment of Incentive Unit Awards upon a Termination of Employment or Change in Control
In the event of a “Sale of the Partnership,” each Named Executive Officer’s unvested time-based vesting Incentive Units will become fully vested, subject to the Named Executive Officer’s continued employment until immediately prior to such Sale of the Partnership.
A “Sale of the Partnership” generally means any transaction or series of transactions pursuant to which any person or group of related persons not affiliated with Holdings LP acquires (a) a majority of the Class A Units or a majority of the outstanding equity securities of Holdings LP by vote or by value or (b) all or substantially all of Holdings LP’s and its subsidiaries’ assets determined on a consolidated basis. The consummation of this offering will not constitute a Sale of the Partnership under the Incentive Unit grant agreements.
Severance and Change in Control Benefits
Stipp Employment Agreement
Pursuant to the Stipp Employment Agreement, upon a termination without “Cause” or a resignation for “Good Reason,” Ms. Stipp will be entitled to receive, subject to the execution and non-revocation of a release of claims, (i) any earned but unpaid annual bonus for the prior completed fiscal year, payable when such bonuses are paid to other similar executives, (ii) continued base salary for 12 months, and (iii) a pro-rata
 
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portion of the annual bonus for the fiscal year in which Ms. Stipp’s termination occurs, based on actual performance, payable when such bonuses are paid to other similar executives.
Upon a Sale of the Partnership, Ms. Stipp is eligible for a one-time cash bonus equal to $1,000,000, subject to (i) her continued employment through the Sale of the Partnership and (ii) the achievement of an “investor returns” multiple of at least 2.0 but less than 2.5. The consummation of this offering will not constitute a Sale of the Partnership under the Stipp Employment Agreement.
For purposes of the Stipp Employment Agreement, “Cause” generally means (a) a conviction of, or entry of a plea of guilty or nolo contendere to, a felony or any other crime involving moral turpitude, (b) fraud, theft, embezzlement or misappropriation, (c) gross negligence or willful misconduct in connection with the performance of her responsibilities, or the violation of any duty of loyalty, (d) Ms. Stipp’s willful failure or refusal to perform her duties or to follow the lawful and reasonable directives, (e) an intentional and material breach of any non-competition, non-solicitation, non-disparagement and/or non-disclosure obligations, (f) any act of discrimination or harassment based on race, sex, national origin, religion, gender identity, disability, age or other protected category, or (g) any material breach of the employment agreement or any other written agreement between Ms. Stipp and Suja Life or any of its affiliates.
“Good Reason” generally means (a) a material diminution in base salary (other than a reduction in base salary that affects all similarly situated executives), (b) a material diminution in position, title, authority, or responsibilities, or (c) the relocation of Ms. Stipp’s principal office to a location that is more than 50 miles from its location as of the effective date of the Stipp Employment Agreement.
Offer Letters
Upon a termination without “Cause” within six months prior to or 18 months following a Sale of the Partnership, Messrs. Pedersen and Box are eligible to receive, subject to the execution and non-revocation of a release of claims, (a) 12 months of base salary, payable in a lump sum and (b) a prorated annual bonus for the year of termination, based on actual performance, payable in accordance with the applicable bonus policy. Mr. Box is also eligible for a cash bonus in the amount of $300,000 upon a Sale of the Partnership, subject to his continued employment through the Sale of the Partnership. The consummation of this offering will not constitute a Sale of the Partnership under the Offer Letters.
For purposes of the Offer Letters, “Cause” generally means (a) the material breach of any written agreement between Mr. Pedersen or Mr. Box and Suja Life, (b) a conviction, plea of no contest, plea of nolo contendere, or imposition of unadjudicated probation for any felony or crime involving moral turpitude, (c) the unlawful use or possession of illegal drugs on the premises of Suja Life or any of its affiliates or while performing their duties and responsibilities, (d) the commission of an act of fraud, embezzlement, misappropriation, willful misconduct, or breach of fiduciary duty, or (e) the violation of Suja Life’s code of conduct or other written policy.
Omnibus Incentive Plan
Following the completion of this offering, we anticipate that our Board will adopt the Omnibus Plan and our employees, consultants and non-employee directors, and employees and consultants of our affiliates will be eligible to participate in the Omnibus Plan. We anticipate that the Omnibus Plan will provide for the grant of stock options, SARs, restricted stock, RSUs (as defined below), stock awards, dividend equivalents, other stock-based awards, cash awards, and substitute awards intended to align the interests of service providers, including our Named Executive Officers, with those of our shareholders.
Securities to be Offered
Subject to adjustment in the event of certain transactions or changes of capitalization in accordance with the Omnibus Plan, a number of shares of Class A common stock equal to           (the “Share Reserve”) will be reserved for issuance pursuant to awards under the Omnibus Plan. The Share Reserve will be increased annually on January 1 of each fiscal year beginning in 2026 and ending and including January 1, 2035, by the lesser of (i) 4% of the aggregate number of shares of Class A common stock outstanding on December 31 of the immediately preceding calendar year and (ii) the number of shares of
 
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Class A common stock as is determined by our Board. No more than the Share Reserve may be issued pursuant to incentive stock options. Shares of Class A common stock subject to an award that expires or is cancelled, forfeited, exchanged, settled in cash, or otherwise terminated without delivery of shares and shares withheld to pay the exercise price of, or to satisfy the withholding obligations with respect to, an award will again be available for delivery pursuant to other awards under the Omnibus Plan.
Administration
The Omnibus Plan will be administered by the Compensation and Nominating Committee of our Board (the “Committee”), except to the extent our Board does not duly authorize such Committee to administer the Omnibus Plan, in which case our Board will serve as the administrator. The Committee has broad discretion to administer the Omnibus Plan, including the power to determine the eligible individuals to whom awards will be granted, the number and type of awards to be granted, and the terms and conditions of awards. The Committee may also accelerate the vesting or exercise of any award and make all other determinations and take all other actions necessary or advisable for the administration of the Omnibus Plan. To the extent the Omnibus Plan administrator is not the Committee, our Board will retain the authority to take all actions permitted by the administrator under the Omnibus Plan. Additionally, our Board retains the right to exercise the authority of the Committee to the extent consistent with applicable law.
Eligibility
Our employees, consultants and non-employee directors, and employees and consultants of our affiliates will be eligible to receive awards under the Omnibus Plan.
Non-Employee Director Compensation Limits
Under the Omnibus Plan, in a single fiscal year, a non-employee director may not be granted awards for such individual’s service on our Board having a value, taken together with any cash fees paid to such non-employee director, in excess of $600,000 (except that, for any year in which a non-employee director (i) first commences service on our Board, (ii) serves on a special committee of our Board, or (iii) serves as lead director or non-executive chair of our Board, such limit may be increased to $1,200,000).
Types of Awards
Stock Options.   We may grant stock options to eligible persons, except that incentive stock options may only be granted to persons who are our employees or employees of one of our subsidiaries, in accordance with Section 422 of the Code. The exercise price of a stock option generally cannot be less than 100% of the fair market value of a share of Class A common stock on the date on which the stock option is granted, and the stock option must not be exercisable for longer than 10 years following the date of grant. In the case of an incentive stock option granted to an individual who owns (or is deemed to own) at least 10% of the total combined voting power of all classes of our equity securities, the exercise price of the option must be at least 110% of the fair market value of a share of Class A common stock on the date of grant, and the option must not be exercisable more than five years from the date of grant.
Stock Appreciation Rights.   A stock appreciation right (“SAR”) is the right to receive an amount equal to the excess of the fair market value of one share of Class A common stock on the date of exercise over the grant price of the SAR. The grant price of a SAR generally cannot be less than 100% of the fair market value of a share of Class A common stock on the date on which the SAR is granted. The term of a SAR may not exceed 10 years. SARs may be granted in connection with, or independent of, other awards. The Committee has the discretion to determine other terms and conditions of a SAR award.
Restricted Stock Awards.   A restricted stock award is a grant of shares of Class A common stock subject to the restrictions on transferability and risk of forfeiture imposed by the Committee. Unless otherwise determined by the Committee and specified in the applicable award agreement, the holder of a restricted stock award has rights as a shareholder, including the right to vote the shares of Class A common stock subject to the restricted stock award or to receive dividends on the shares of Class A common stock subject to the restricted stock award during the restriction period. At the discretion of the Committee or as
 
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set forth in the applicable award agreement, dividends distributed prior to vesting may be subject to the same restrictions and risk of forfeiture as the restricted stock with respect to which the distribution was made.
Restricted Stock Units.   A restricted stock unit (“RSU”) is a right to receive cash, shares of Class A common stock, or a combination of cash and shares of Class A common stock at the end of a specified period equal to the fair market value of one share of Class A common stock on the date of vesting. RSUs may be subject to the restrictions, including a risk of forfeiture, imposed by the Committee. If the Committee so provides, a grant of RSUs may provide a participant with the right to receive dividend equivalents.
Performance Awards.   A performance award is an award that vests and/or becomes exercisable or distributable subject to the achievement of certain performance goals during a specified performance period, as established by the Committee. Performance awards (which include performance stock units) may be granted alone or in addition to other awards under the Omnibus Plan and may be paid in cash, shares of common stock, other property, or any combination thereof, in the sole discretion of the Committee.
Stock Awards.   A stock award is a transfer of unrestricted shares of Class A common stock on terms and conditions, if any, determined by the Committee.
Dividend Equivalents.   Dividend equivalents entitle a participant to receive cash, shares of Class A common stock, other awards, or other property equal in value to dividends or other distributions paid with respect to a specified number of shares of Class A common stock. Dividend equivalents may be granted on a free-standing basis or in connection with another award (other than stock options, SARs, restricted stock, or stock awards).
Other Stock-Based Awards.   Other stock-based awards are awards denominated or payable in, valued in whole or in part by reference to, or otherwise based on or related to, the value of our shares of Class A common stock.
Cash Awards.   Cash awards may be granted on terms and conditions, including vesting conditions, and for consideration, including no consideration or minimum consideration as required by applicable law, as the Committee determines in its sole discretion.
Substitute Awards.   In connection with an entity’s merger or consolidation with the Company or the Company’s acquisition of an entity’s property or stock, awards may be granted in substitution for any other award granted before the merger or consolidation by such entity or its affiliates.
Certain Transactions
If any change is made to our capitalization, such as a share split, share combination, share dividend, exchange of shares or other recapitalization, merger or otherwise, that results in an increase or decrease in the number of outstanding shares of Class A common stock, appropriate adjustments will be made by the Committee in the shares subject to an award under the Omnibus Plan. The Committee will also have the discretion to make certain adjustments to awards in the event of a change in control, such as accelerating the vesting or exercisability of awards, requiring the surrender of an award, with or without consideration, or making any other adjustment or modification to the award that the Committee determines is appropriate in light of such transaction.
Clawback
All awards granted under the Omnibus Plan will be subject to clawback, cancellation, recoupment, rescission, payback, reduction, or other similar action in accordance with any Company clawback or similar policy or any applicable law related to such actions.
Plan Amendment and Termination
Our Board or the Committee may amend or terminate any award, award agreement, or the Omnibus Plan at any time; however, shareholder approval will be required for any amendment to the extent necessary to comply with applicable law. Shareholder approval will be required to make amendments that (i) increase the aggregate number of shares that may be issued under the Omnibus Plan or (ii) change the classification of
 
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individuals eligible to receive awards under the Omnibus Plan. The Omnibus Plan will remain in effect for a period of 10 years (unless earlier terminated by our Board).
Director Compensation
With respect to fiscal 2025, James Brennan, Jeff Herbert, Betsey Holden, and Randy Papadellis, our non-employee directors, received compensation for serving as managers on the board of Holdings LP, as set forth below. Each of Messrs. Brennan, Herbert, and Papadellis and Ms. Holden is party to a manager compensation agreement that sets forth their board fees of $75,000 per year for Messrs. Brennan and Herbert and Ms. Holden and $100,000 per year for Mr. Papadellis. Mr. DeBorde provides service as Chairman of Holdings LP and receives a board fee of $100,000 per year.
With respect to fiscal 2025, our non-employee directors received compensation for serving as managers on the board of Holdings LP, as set forth below.
Name
​ ​
Fees Earned or
Paid in Cash
($)
​ ​
Total
($)
​
James Brennan
​ ​ ​ $ 75,000 ​ ​ ​ ​ $ 75,000 ​ ​
Robert DeBorde
​ ​ ​ $ 100,000 ​ ​ ​ ​ $ 100,000 ​ ​
Jeff Herbert
​ ​ ​ $ 75,000 ​ ​ ​ ​ $ 75,000 ​ ​
Betsy Holden
​ ​ ​ $ 75,000 ​ ​ ​ ​ $ 75,000 ​ ​
Randy Papadellis
​ ​ ​ $ 100,000 ​ ​ ​ ​ $ 100,000 ​ ​
We intend to implement a non-employee director compensation program in connection with this offering, the terms of which have not yet been determined as of the date of this prospectus.
 
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PRINCIPAL AND SELLING SHAREHOLDERS
The following table sets forth information about the beneficial ownership of our Class A common stock and Class V common stock as of       , 2026, after giving effect to the Organizational Transactions, including this offering, for:
•
each person or group known to us who beneficially owns more than 5% of our Class A common stock or Class V common stock immediately prior to this offering;
​
•
each of our directors and director nominees;
​
•
each of our Named Executive Officers;
​
•
all of our directors, director nominees and executive officers as a group; and
​
•
the selling shareholder.
​
The numbers of shares of Class A common stock and Class V common stock (together with the same amount of LP Units) beneficially owned and percentages of beneficial ownership prior to this offering that are set forth below give effect to the Organizational Transactions. See “Organizational Structure.” The numbers of shares of Class A common stock and Class V common stock (together with the same amount of LP Units) beneficially owned and percentages of beneficial ownership after this offering that are set forth below are based on       shares of Class A common stock to be issued in connection with this offering, assuming no exercise by the underwriters of their option to purchase additional shares of Class A common stock. This number excludes       shares of Class A common stock issuable in exchange for LP Units, as described under “Organizational Structure” and “Certain Relationships and Related Party Transactions — Related Party Transactions — Amended and Restated Partnership Agreement.” If all outstanding LP Units were exchanged and all outstanding shares of Class V common stock were cancelled, we would have       shares of Class A common stock outstanding immediately after this offering.
Concurrently with this offering, we will issue to the holders of LP Units       shares of Class V common stock. The number of shares of Class V common stock will depend in part on the price at which shares of Class A common stock are sold in this offering. For purposes of the presentation of the total number of shares of Class V common stock beneficially owned, we have assumed that the shares of Class A common stock will be sold at $      per share, which is the midpoint of the estimated public offering price range set forth on the cover page of this prospectus.
Unless otherwise noted below, the address for each beneficial owner listed on the table is 3831 Ocean Ranch Blvd., Oceanside, CA 92056. We have determined beneficial ownership in accordance with the rules of the SEC. Except as indicated by the footnotes below, we believe, based on the information furnished to us, that the persons and entities named in the tables below have sole voting and investment power with respect to all shares of Class A common stock that they beneficially own, subject to applicable community property laws. Beneficial ownership representing less than 1% is denoted with an asterisk (*).
​ ​ ​
Shares of Common Stock Beneficially Owned
Prior to this Offering
​ ​
Shares of
Common Stock
Offered Hereby
​ ​
Shares of Common Stock Beneficially Owned
After this Offering
​
Name of Beneficial Owner
​ ​
Shares of
Class A
Common
Stock
​ ​
% of Class A
Common
Stock
Outstanding
​ ​
Shares of
Class V
Common
Stock
​ ​
% of Class V
Common
Stock
Outstanding
​ ​
% of
Combined
Voting
Power(1)
​ ​
Shares of
Common
Stock
​ ​
Shares of
Class A
Common
Stock
​ ​
Shares of
Class V
Common
Stock
​ ​
% of
Combined
Voting Power
Assuming the
Underwriters’
Option Is Not
Exercised(1)
​ ​
% of
Combined
Voting Power
Assuming the
Underwriters’
Option Is
Exercised in
Full(1)
​
5% Shareholders: ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​
PSP Funds(2)
​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​
Meaningful Partners Funds(3)
​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​
The New Vive Partnerships(4)
​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​
Management HoldCos(5)
​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​
Named Executive Officers, Directors and Director Nominees:
​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​
Maria Stipp
​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​
Jeff Pedersen
​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​
 
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​ ​ ​
Shares of Common Stock Beneficially Owned
Prior to this Offering
​ ​
Shares of
Common Stock
Offered Hereby
​ ​
Shares of Common Stock Beneficially Owned
After this Offering
​
Name of Beneficial Owner
​ ​
Shares of
Class A
Common
Stock
​ ​
% of Class A
Common
Stock
Outstanding
​ ​
Shares of
Class V
Common
Stock
​ ​
% of Class V
Common
Stock
Outstanding
​ ​
% of
Combined
Voting
Power(1)
​ ​
Shares of
Common
Stock
​ ​
Shares of
Class A
Common
Stock
​ ​
Shares of
Class V
Common
Stock
​ ​
% of
Combined
Voting Power
Assuming the
Underwriters’
Option Is Not
Exercised(1)
​ ​
% of
Combined
Voting Power
Assuming the
Underwriters’
Option Is
Exercised in
Full(1)
​
Mike Box
​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​
Alex Corbacho
​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​
Robert DeBorde
​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​
Randy Papadellis
​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​
Mark Partin
​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​
Kevin Schwartz
​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​
Kathy Vrabeck
​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​
All executive officers, directors and director nominees as a group (9 individuals)
​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​
​
(1)
Each share of Class A common stock and Class V common stock entitles the registered holder thereof to one vote for each share on all matters presented to shareholders for a vote generally, including the election of directors. The Class A common stock and Class V common stock will vote as a single class on all matters except as required by law or the certificate of incorporation.
​
(2)
Includes (i)       shares of Class A common stock held directly by Paine Schwartz Food Chain Fund V B, L.P. (“PSFC Fund V B”), (ii)       shares of Class A common stock held directly by Paine Schwartz Food Chain Fund V C, L.P. (“PSFC Fund V C”), (iii)       shares of Class A common stock held directly by Paine Schwartz Food Chain Fund V D, L.P. (“PSFC Fund V D”), (iv)       shares of Class V common stock held directly by PSP Suja Life and (v)        shares of Class A common stock held directly by Suja Life Seller Aggregator, L.P., which are being offered in this offering. Shares held by Suja Life Seller Aggregator, L.P. include shares contributed by Messrs. DeBorde and Papadellis and PSFC Fund V B, PSFC Fund V C, and PSFC Fund V D. This number excludes       shares of Class A common stock issuable in exchange for LP Units held by PSP Suja Life. These shares of Class A common stock represent approximately    % of the shares of Class A common stock that would be outstanding immediately after this offering if all outstanding LP Units were exchanged and all outstanding shares of Class V common stock were cancelled at that time. Paine Schwartz Food Chain Fund V, L.P. (“PSFC Fund V”) is one of the members of PSP Suja Life. The sole general partner of PSFC Fund V, PSFC Fund V B, PSFC Fund V C, and PSFC Fund V D is Paine Schwartz Food Chain Fund V GP L.P. (“PSFC Fund V GP” and, together with PSFC Fund V, PSFC Fund V B, PSFC Fund V C and PSFC Fund V D, the “PSP Funds”). Kevin Schwartz, W. Dexter Paine, III, and Angelos Dassios are on the board of directors of Paine Schwartz Food Chain Fund V GP, Ltd., the general partner of PSFC Fund V GP. Consequently, Paine Schwartz Food Chain Fund V GP, Ltd. may be deemed the beneficial owner of the shares held by the PSP Funds. The principal business address of each of the PSP Funds, Kevin Schwartz, W. Dexter Paine, III, and Angelos Dassios is c/o Paine Schwartz Partners, 610 Broadway, 3rd Floor, New York, NY 10012.
​
(3)
Includes (i)       shares of Class A common stock held directly by Meaningful Partners Dedicated Capital Vehicle I LP (“MP Vehicle I LP”) and (ii)       shares of Class A common stock held directly by Meaningful Partners Dedicated Capital Vehicle  I-QP LP (“MP Vehicle I-QP LP” and, together with MP Vehicle I LP, “Meaningful Partners”). This number excludes an aggregate of      shares of Class A common stock issuable in exchange for LP Units held by MP Vehicle I LP and MP Vehicle I-QP LP. These shares of Class A common stock represent approximately    % of the shares of Class A common stock that would be outstanding immediately after this offering if all outstanding LP Units were exchanged and all outstanding shares of Class V common stock were cancelled at that time. The sole general partner of each of MP Vehicle I LP and MP Vehicle I-QP LP is Meaningful Partners LLC (the “Meaningful General Partner” and together with MP Vehicle I LP and MP Vehicle I-QP LP, the “Meaningful Partners Funds”). Jacob Capps and Amin Maredia are on the board of managers of the Meaningful General Partner. Consequently, each of Jacob Capps, Amin Maredia and the Meaningful General Partner may be deemed the beneficial owners of the shares held by the Meaningful Partners Funds. The principal business address of each of the Meaningful Partners Funds, Jacob Capps, and Amin Maredia is c/o Meaningful Partners, 101 Continental Blvd., Suite 850, El Segundo, CA 90245.
​
(4)
Includes      shares of Class A common stock held directly by the New Vive Partnerships. The New Vive Partnerships’ voting and investment decisions are made by                  , which exercise voting and dispositive power of shares held by the New Vive Partnerships. The principal business address of the New Vive Partnerships is 400 N. Camden Drive, Suite 300, Beverly Hills, CA 90210.
​
(5)
Represents (i)      shares of Class A common stock held directly by Management HoldCo and (ii)      shares of Class A common stock held directly by Management HoldCo II. Each of Management HoldCo’s and Management HoldCo II’s voting and investment decisions are made by each of their respective board of managers, which exercise voting and dispositive power of the shares held by Management HoldCo and Management HoldCo II, respectively. The board of managers of Management HoldCo and Management HoldCo II each consists of Kevin Schwartz, Alexander Corbacho, and Nina Callahan. Each of the foregoing individuals, as a result, and by virtue of the relationships described above, may be deemed to share beneficial ownership of the shares owned by Management HoldCo and Management HoldCo II, as applicable. Each of the foregoing individuals disclaim beneficial ownership of the shares held of record by Management HoldCo and Management HoldCo II, as applicable, except to the extent of his or her pecuniary interest. The principal business address of each of Management HoldCo, Management Holdco II, Kevin Schwartz, Alexander Corbacho, and Nina Callahan is c/o Paine Schwartz Partners, 610 Broadway, 3rd Floor, New York, NY 10012.
​
 
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CERTAIN RELATIONSHIPS AND RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS
Policies for Approval of Related Party Transactions
Prior to completion of this offering, we intend to adopt a policy with respect to the review, approval and ratification of related party transactions. Under the policy, our Audit Committee is responsible for reviewing and approving related party transactions. In the course of its review and approval of related party transactions, our Audit Committee will consider the relevant facts and circumstances to decide whether to approve such transactions. In particular, our policy requires our Audit Committee to consider, among other factors it deems appropriate:
•
the related person’s relationship to us and interest in the transaction;
​
•
the material facts of the proposed transaction, including the proposed aggregate value of the transaction;
​
•
the impact on a director or a director nominee’s independence in the event the related person is a director or an immediate family member of the director or director nominee;
​
•
the benefits to us of the proposed transaction;
​
•
if applicable, the availability of other sources of comparable products or services; and
​
•
an assessment of whether the proposed transaction is on terms that are comparable to the terms available to an unrelated third party or to employees generally.
​
The Audit Committee may only approve those transactions that are in, or are not inconsistent with, our best interests and those of our shareholders, as the Audit Committee determines in good faith.
Related Party Transactions
Amended and Restated Partnership Agreement
In connection with the completion of this offering, we will amend and restate Holdings LP’s existing limited partnership agreement, which we refer to as the “Partnership Agreement.” The operations of Holdings LP and the rights and obligations of the LP Unitholders will be set forth in the Partnership Agreement. See “Organizational Structure — Amended and Restated Partnership Agreement of Holdings LP.”
Organizational Transactions
In connection with this offering, we will enter into the Organizational Transactions as described further above in “Organizational Structure.”
Registration Rights Agreement
We are party to the Registration Rights Agreement with certain LP Unitholders, including PSP. PSP is entitled to request that we register their shares of capital stock on a long-form or short-form registration statement on one or more occasions in the future, which registrations may be “shelf registrations.” LP Unitholders that are party to the Registration Rights Agreement are entitled to participate in certain of our registered offerings, subject to the restrictions in the Registration Rights Agreement. We will pay expenses in connection with the exercise of these rights. The registration rights described in this paragraph apply to (1) shares of our Class A common stock held by certain LP Unitholders, including PSP and their affiliates, or issuable to such parties upon exchange of their LP Units, and (2) any of our capital stock (or that of our subsidiaries) issued or issuable with respect to the Class A common stock described in clause (1) with respect to any stock dividend or stock split or in connection with an exchange or combination of shares, recapitalization, merger, consolidation or other reorganization (“Registrable Securities”). These registration rights are also for the benefit of any subsequent holder of Registrable Securities; provided that any particular securities will cease to be Registrable Securities when they have been (a) distributed to the public pursuant to an offering registered under the Securities Act or sold to the public through a broker, dealer, or market maker in compliance with Rule 144 under the Securities Act (or any similar rule then in force), (b) repurchased
 
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by Suja Life Holdings, L.P. or members thereof or (c) distributed to the partners of PSP or any LP Unitholder, unless PSP or such LP Unitholder determine otherwise.
Tax Receivable Agreement
Prior to the completion of this offering, we will enter into a Tax Receivable Agreement with the TRA Parties that will require us to pay such persons    % of the amount of cash savings, if any, in U.S. federal, state and local income taxes we actually realize or are deemed to realize in some circumstances (as computed using certain assumptions) as a result of certain tax attributes and benefits covered by the Tax Receivable Agreement. Such tax attributes and benefits will include: (i) certain increases in the tax basis of assets of Holdings LP and its subsidiaries resulting from exchanges (or deemed exchanges in certain circumstances) of LP Units, together with an equal number of shares of Class V common stock, for shares of our Class A common stock on a one-to-one basis or, at our election, for cash pursuant to the Exchange Agreement and certain distributions (or deemed distributions) by Holdings LP, (ii) certain tax attributes of the current or former holders of equity interests in Holdings LP, and (iii) certain other tax benefits related to our entering into the Tax Receivable Agreement, including tax benefits attributable to payments that we are required to make under the Tax Receivable Agreement. See “Organizational Structure — Tax Receivable Agreement.”
Director Designation Agreement
In connection with this offering, we will enter into a Director Designation Agreement with PSP. The Director Designation Agreement will provide PSP the right to designate (i)  a majority of the nominees for election to our Board for so long as PSP beneficially owns common stock entitled to vote generally in the election of directors representing 40% or more of the Class A and Class V common stock outstanding upon completion of this offering, as adjusted for the Original Amount; (ii) a number of directors (rounded up to the nearest whole number) equal to 40% of the total directors for so long as PSP beneficially owns at least 30% and less than 40% of the Original Amount; (iii) a number of directors (rounded up to the nearest whole number) equal to 30% of the total directors for so long as PSP beneficially owns at least 20% and less than 30% of the Original Amount; (iv) a number of directors (rounded up to the nearest whole number) equal to 20% of the total directors for so long as PSP beneficially owns at least 10% and less than 20% of the Original Amount; and (v) one director for so long as PSP beneficially owns at least 5% and less than 10% of the Original Amount. In each case, PSP’s nominees must comply with applicable law and stock exchange rules. In addition, PSP shall be entitled to designate the replacement for any of its Board designees whose Board service terminates prior to the end of the director’s term, regardless of PSP’s beneficial ownership at that time. PSP shall also have the right to have its designees participate on committees of our Board proportionate to its stock ownership, subject to compliance with applicable law and stock exchange rules. This agreement will terminate at such time as PSP controls less than 5% of the Original Amount.
Indemnification of Officers and Directors
Upon completion of this offering, we intend to enter into indemnification agreements with each of our officers, directors and director nominees. The indemnification agreements will provide the officers and directors with contractual rights to indemnification, expense advancement and reimbursement, to the fullest extent permitted under Delaware law. Additionally, we may enter into indemnification agreements with any new directors or officers that may be broader in scope than the specific indemnification provisions contained in Delaware law. Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the Securities Act may be permitted to our officers and directors pursuant to the foregoing agreements, we have been advised that, in the opinion of the SEC, such indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act, and is therefore unenforceable.
Management Agreement
In connection with the PSP Acquisition, we entered into a management agreement with PSP Fund V Management, LLC, pursuant to which PSP Fund V Management, LLC was retained to provide us with certain management and consulting services. We agreed to indemnify PSP Fund V Management, LLC against liabilities that may arise by reason of their service. We reimburse PSP Fund V Management, LLC for any out-of-pocket costs and expenses, and have recorded expenses under the management agreement of
 
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approximately $1.7 million, $7.4 million and $1.2 million for fiscal 2025, fiscal 2024 and fiscal 2023, respectively. In addition, in connection with the closing of this offering, we expect to incur additional expenses of approximately $      million payable to PSP Fund V Management, LLC under the management agreement. The management agreement will terminate in connection with the completion of this offering.
 
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DESCRIPTION OF CERTAIN INDEBTEDNESS
Credit Agreement
Set forth below is a summary of the terms of the Credit Agreement governing certain of our outstanding indebtedness. This summary is not a complete description of all of the terms of the Credit Agreement. The Credit Agreement setting forth the terms and conditions of certain of our outstanding indebtedness is filed as an exhibit to the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part.
Suja LLC is party to the Credit Agreement with JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. as administrative agent and the lenders set forth therein, providing for the $120 million Initial Term Loan Facility and $25 million Revolving Credit Facility. On December 8, 2021, we entered into a first amendment to the Credit Agreement, providing for certain technical amendments to the Credit Agreement. On October 11, 2022, we entered into a second amendment to the Credit Agreement, providing for the $42,000,000 Second Amendment Term Loan Facility. On October 31, 2024, we entered into a third amendment to the Credit Agreement, providing for the $112,035,000 Third Amendment Term Loan Facility and a $15,000,000 increase in the commitments in respect of the Revolving Credit Facility. On January 13, 2026, we entered into a fourth amendment to the Credit Agreement, providing for the $15,000,000 Fourth Amendment Delayed Draw Term Loan Facility. As of December 29, 2025, we had $40,000,000 outstanding under our Revolving Credit Facility. As of December 29, 2025, the effective interest rate for the Term Loan Facilities was 9.65%, and the weighted average interest rate for amounts drawn under the Revolving Credit Facility was 9.51%.
Interest Rates and Fees
Borrowings under the Term Loan Facilities accrue daily interest at a per annum rate equivalent to, (i) a base rate plus the applicable margin set forth below under the caption “Base Rate Loan” or (ii) an adjusted term SOFR rate plus a term SOFR adjustment equal to 0.10%, 0.15% or 0.25%, depending on the interest period of the applicable borrowing, plus the applicable margin set forth below under the caption “Term Benchmark Loan / RFR Loan,” in each case, based upon the consolidated net leverage ratio as of the most recent date of determination. The base rate is the highest of (a) the prime rate at such time, (b) 1/2 of 1.00% in excess of the federal funds effective rate at such time and (c) an adjusted term SOFR rate for a term benchmark loan with a one-month interest period commencing at such time plus 1.00%.
Level
​ ​
Consolidated Net
Leverage Ratio
​ ​
Base Rate
Loan
​ ​
Term
Benchmark
Loan / RFR
Loan
​
1
​ ​
Greater than 3.50:1.00
​ ​ ​ ​ 4.50% ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 5.50% ​ ​
2
​ ​
Less than or equal to 3.50:1.00
​ ​ ​ ​ 4.25% ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 5.25% ​ ​
Mandatory Prepayments
We are required to make mandatory prepayments on the Term Loan Facilities under certain circumstances, including when Excess Cash Flow (as defined in the Credit Agreement) above a certain threshold amount is generated during any calendar year, upon the occurrence of certain asset sales or events of loss above a certain threshold amount subject to customary reinvestment rights, or in connection with the receipt of proceeds from indebtedness not permitted to be incurred.
Final Maturity and Amortization
Principal payments (i) on the Initial Term Loan Facility began in March 2022, (ii) on the Second Amendment Term Loan Facility began in March 2023, and (iii) on the Third Amendment Term Loan Facility began in March 2025 and, in each case, are paid on the last day of each quarter. As of the date hereof, no amounts have been drawn under the Fourth Amendment Delayed Draw Term Loan Facility. To the extent amounts are drawn thereunder, principal payments would be due and payable in accordance with the terms of the facility. The Term Loan Facilities will mature on August 23, 2029. The Revolving Credit Facility will mature on August 23, 2028.
 
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Certain Covenants, Representations and Warranties
The Credit Agreement contains customary representations and warranties, affirmative covenants and negative covenants. The negative covenants include covenants that restrict our ability to, among other things, incur or voluntarily prepay certain material indebtedness, pay dividends or distributions, dispose of assets, engage in mergers and consolidations, make certain acquisitions or other investments, and make changes in the nature of the business.
Financial Covenants
The Credit Agreement includes a financial covenant that requires that the borrowers shall not permit the consolidated net leverage ratio to exceed the applicable ratio set forth below as of the last day of the applicable fiscal quarter. For purposes of this covenant, the net leverage ratio is calculated by dividing the aggregate principal amount of outstanding funded debt (net of unrestricted cash) by Consolidated EBITDA (as defined in the Credit Agreement) over the preceding four fiscal quarters.
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Fiscal Quarter
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Consolidated Net Leverage Ratio
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​ Fiscal Quarter ending December 27, 2021 and each Fiscal Quarter ending through and including September 26, 2022 ​ ​
6.00 to 1.00
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​ Fiscal Quarter ending December 26, 2022 and each Fiscal Quarter ending through and including September 25, 2023 ​ ​
5.50 to 1.00
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​ Fiscal Quarter ending January 1, 2024 and each Fiscal Quarter ending through and including September 30, 2024 ​ ​
3.50 to 1.00
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​ Fiscal Quarter ending December 30, 2024 and each Fiscal Quarter ending through and including December 29, 2025 ​ ​
6.50 to 1.00
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​ Fiscal Quarter ending March 30, 2026 and each Fiscal Quarter ending through and including December 28, 2026 ​ ​
5.50 to 1.00
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​ Fiscal Quarter ending March 29, 2027 and each Fiscal Quarter ending through and including December 27, 2027 ​ ​
4.50 to 1.00
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​ Fiscal Quarter ending March 27, 2028 and each Fiscal Quarter ending thereafter ​ ​
3.50 to 1.00
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Events of Default
The Credit Agreement contains certain events of default, including, without limitation, nonpayment of principal, interest or other obligations, violation of the covenants, insolvency, court ordered judgments, loss of perfected lien on the collateral and certain changes of control.
 
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DESCRIPTION OF CAPITAL STOCK
The following is a description of the material terms of our certificate of incorporation and our amended and restated bylaws (our “bylaws”), as each will be in effect at or prior to the completion of this offering. The following description may not contain all of the information that is important to you. To understand the material terms of our Class A common stock, you should read our certificate and our bylaws, copies of which are or will be filed with the SEC as exhibits to the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part.
General
At or prior to the completion of this offering, we will file our certificate, and we will adopt our bylaws. Our certificate will authorize capital stock consisting of:
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      shares of Class A common stock, par value $0.0001 per share;
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      shares of Class V common stock, par value $0.0001 per share; and
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•
      shares of preferred stock, with a par value per share that may be established by our Board in the applicable certificate of designations.
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We are selling       shares of Class A common stock in this offering (       shares if the underwriters exercise in full their option to purchase additional shares of Class A common stock). All shares of our Class A common stock outstanding upon completion of this offering will be fully paid and non-assessable. We are issuing       shares of Class V common stock to the LP Unitholders simultaneously with this offering (       shares if the underwriters exercise in full their option to purchase additional shares of our Class A common stock, the proceeds of which would be used to purchase LP Units). Upon completion of this offering, we expect to have       shares of Class A common stock outstanding (       shares if the underwriters exercise in full their option to purchase additional shares) and       shares of Class V common stock outstanding (       shares if the underwriters exercise in full their option to purchase additional shares of Class A common stock).
The following summary describes the material provisions of our capital stock and is qualified in its entirety by reference to our certificate and our bylaws and to the applicable provisions of the DGCL. We urge you to read our certificate and our bylaws, which are included as exhibits to the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part.
Certain provisions of our certificate and our bylaws summarized below may be deemed to have an anti-takeover effect and may delay or prevent a tender offer or takeover attempt that a shareholder might consider in its best interest, including those attempts that might result in a premium over the market price for the shares of common stock.
Class A Common Stock
Holders of shares of our Class A common stock are entitled to one vote for each share held of record on all matters submitted to a vote of shareholders. The holders of our Class A common stock do not have cumulative voting rights in the election of directors.
Holders of shares of our Class A common stock will vote together with holders of our Class V common stock as a single class on all matters presented to our shareholders for their vote or approval, except for certain amendments to our certificate described below or as otherwise required by applicable law or our certificate.
Under the DGCL, holders of Class A common stock will be entitled to a separate class vote on amendments to our certificate that (i) change the par value of the Class A common stock, or (ii) adversely affect the rights, power and preferences of the Class A common stock.
Holders of shares of our Class A common stock are entitled to receive dividends when and if declared by our Board out of funds legally available therefor, subject to any statutory or contractual restrictions on
 
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the payment of dividends and to any restrictions on the payment of dividends imposed by the terms of any outstanding preferred stock.
Upon our dissolution or liquidation or the sale of all or substantially all of our assets, after payment in full of all amounts required to be paid to creditors and to the holders of preferred stock having liquidation preferences, if any, the holders of shares of our Class A common stock will be entitled to receive pro rata our remaining assets available for distribution.
Holders of shares of our Class A common stock do not have preemptive, subscription, redemption or conversion rights. There will be no redemption or sinking fund provisions applicable to the Class A common stock.
Class V Common Stock
Holders of shares of our Class V common stock are entitled to one vote for each share held of record on all matters submitted to a vote of shareholders. The holders of our Class V common stock do not have cumulative voting rights in the election of directors.
Holders of shares of our Class V common stock will vote together with holders of our Class A common stock as a single class on all matters presented to our shareholders for their vote or approval, except for certain amendments to our certificate described below or as otherwise required by applicable law or our certificate.
Holders of our Class V common stock do not have any right to receive dividends or to receive a distribution upon dissolution or liquidation or the sale of all or substantially all of our assets. Additionally, holders of shares of our Class V common stock do not have preemptive, subscription, redemption or conversion rights. There will be no redemption or sinking fund provisions applicable to the Class V common stock. Any amendment of our certificate that gives holders of our Class V common stock (1) any rights to receive dividends or any other kind of distribution, (2) any right to convert into or be exchanged for Class A common stock or (3) any other economic rights will require, in addition to shareholder approval, the affirmative vote of holders of our Class A common stock voting separately as a class.
Upon the completion of this offering, the holders of LP Units will own 100% of our outstanding Class V common stock.
Preferred Stock
Upon the completion of this offering, we will have no shares of preferred stock outstanding.
Under the terms of our certificate, our Board is authorized to direct us to issue shares of preferred stock in one or more series without shareholder approval. Our Board has the discretion to determine the rights, preferences, privileges and restrictions, including voting rights, dividend rights, conversion rights, redemption privileges and liquidation preferences, of each series of preferred stock.
The purpose of authorizing our Board to issue preferred stock and determine its rights and preferences is to eliminate delays associated with a shareholder vote on specific issuances. The issuance of preferred stock, while providing flexibility in connection with possible acquisitions, future financings and other corporate purposes, could have the effect of making it more difficult for a third party to acquire, or could discourage a third party from seeking to acquire, a majority of our outstanding voting stock. Additionally, the issuance of preferred stock may adversely affect the holders of our Class A common stock by restricting dividends on the Class A common stock, diluting the voting power of the Class A common stock or subordinating the liquidation rights of the Class A common stock. As a result of these or other factors, the issuance of preferred stock could have an adverse impact on the market price of our Class A common stock.
LP Units of Holdings LP
The Partnership Agreement recapitalizes the interests currently held by the existing owners of Holdings LP by providing for LP Units consisting of a single class of common ownership interests in Holdings LP. The Partnership Agreement will also reflect a split of LP Units such that one LP Unit can be
 
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acquired with the net proceeds received in the initial offering from the sale of one share of our Class A common stock. Each LP Unit will entitle the holder to a pro rata share of the net profit and net losses and distributions of Holdings LP. Holders of LP Units will have no voting rights, except as expressly provided in the Partnership Agreement.
The Partnership Agreement provides that the holders of LP Units (and certain permitted transferees thereof) may, pursuant to the terms of the Exchange Agreement, exchange their LP Units, together with an equal number of shares of Class V common stock, for shares of Class A common stock on a one-for-one basis or, at our election, for cash from a substantially concurrent public offering or private sale (based on the price of our Class A common stock in such public offering or private sale). As a holder surrenders or exchanges its LP Units, our interest in Holdings LP will be correspondingly increased.
See “Organizational Structure — Amended and Restated Partnership Agreement of Holdings LP.”
Forum Selection
Our certificate will provide that, unless we consent in writing to the selection of an alternative forum, the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware (or, if the Court of Chancery does not have jurisdiction, the United States District Court for the District of Delaware) will be the sole and exclusive forum for any state court action for (1) any derivative action or proceeding brought on our behalf, (2) any action asserting a claim of breach of a fiduciary duty owed by any of our directors, officers or other employees to us or our shareholders, (3) any action asserting a claim against Suja Life, Inc. or any director or officer thereof arising pursuant to any provision of the DGCL, our certificate or our bylaws or (4) any other action asserting a claim against Suja Life, Inc. or any director or officer thereof that is governed by the internal affairs doctrine; provided that, for the avoidance of doubt, the forum selection provision that identifies the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware as the exclusive forum for certain litigation, including any “derivative action,” will not apply to suits to enforce a duty or liability created by the Securities Act, the Exchange Act or any other claim for which the federal courts have exclusive jurisdiction. Our certificate will also provide that, unless we consent in writing to the selection of an alternative forum, the federal district courts of the United States shall be the exclusive forum for the resolution of any complaint asserting a cause of action arising under the Securities Act. Any person or entity purchasing or otherwise acquiring any interest in shares of our capital stock will be deemed to have notice of and to have consented to the provisions of our certificate described above. Although we believe these provisions benefit us by providing increased consistency in the application of Delaware law for the specified types of actions and proceedings, the provisions may have the effect of discouraging lawsuits against us or our directors and officers.
Anti-Takeover Provisions
Our certificate, bylaws and the DGCL will contain provisions, which are summarized in the following paragraphs, that are intended to enhance the likelihood of continuity and stability in the composition of our Board. These provisions are intended to avoid costly takeover battles, reduce our vulnerability to a hostile change of control and enhance the ability of our Board to maximize shareholder value in connection with any unsolicited offer to acquire us. However, these provisions may have an anti-takeover effect and may delay, deter or prevent a merger or acquisition of us by means of a tender offer, a proxy contest or other takeover attempt that a shareholder might consider in its best interest, including those attempts that might result in a premium over the prevailing market price for the shares of Class A common stock held by shareholders.
These provisions include:
Classified Board.   Our certificate will provide that our Board will be divided into three classes of directors, with the classes nearly equal in number, and with the directors serving three-year terms. As a result, approximately one-third of our Board will be elected each year. The classification of the directors will have the effect of making it more difficult for shareholders to change the composition of our Board. Our certificate will also provide that, subject to any rights of holders of preferred stock to elect additional directors under specified circumstances, the number of directors will be fixed exclusively pursuant to a resolution adopted by our Board. Upon completion of this offering, we expect that our Board will have       members.
 
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Shareholder Action by Written Consent.   Our certificate will preclude shareholder action by written consent at any time when PSP controls less than 40% in voting power of our outstanding common stock.
Special Meetings of Shareholders.   Our certificate and bylaws will provide that, except as required by law, special meetings of our shareholders may be called at any time only by or at the direction of our Board or the chairman of our Board; provided, however, at any time when PSP controls at least 30% in voting power of our outstanding common stock, special meetings of our shareholders shall also be called by our Board or the chairman of our Board at the request of PSP. Our bylaws will prohibit the conduct of any business at a special meeting other than as specified in the notice for such meeting. These provisions may have the effect of deferring, delaying or discouraging hostile takeovers, or changes in control or management of us.
Advance Notice Procedures.   Our bylaws will establish advance notice procedures for shareholder proposals and nomination of candidates for election as directors, other than nominations made by or at the direction of our Board or a committee of our Board, and provided, however, that at any time when PSP controls at least 40% of the voting power of our outstanding common stock, such advance notice procedure will not apply to PSP. Shareholders at an annual meeting will only be able to consider proposals or nominations specified in the notice of meeting or brought before the meeting by or at the direction of our Board or by a shareholder who was a shareholder of record on the record date for the meeting, who is entitled to vote at the meeting and who has given our Secretary timely written notice, in proper form, of the shareholder’s intention to bring that business before the meeting. Although the bylaws will not give our Board the power to approve or disapprove shareholder nominations of candidates or proposals regarding other business to be conducted at a special or annual meeting, the bylaws may have the effect of precluding the conduct of certain business at a meeting if the proper procedures are not followed or may discourage or deter a potential acquirer from conducting a solicitation of proxies to elect its own slate of directors or otherwise attempting to obtain control of us. These provisions do not apply to nominations by PSP pursuant to the Director Designation Agreement. See “Certain Relationships and Related Party Transactions — Related Party Transactions — Director Designation Agreement” for more details with respect to the Director Designation Agreement.
Removal of Directors; Vacancies.   Our certificate will provide that our directors may be removed with or without cause by the affirmative vote of at least a majority of the voting power of our outstanding shares of our capital stock entitled to vote thereon, voting together as a single class; provided, however, that at any time when PSP controls less than 40% in voting power of our outstanding common stock, all directors, including those nominated by PSP, may only be removed for cause, and only by the affirmative vote of holders of at least 662∕3% in voting power of all the then-outstanding shares of our capital stock entitled to vote thereon, voting together as a single class. In addition, our certificate will also provide that, subject to the rights granted to one or more series of preferred stock then outstanding, any newly created directorship on our Board that results from an increase in the number of directors and any vacancies on our Board will be filled only by the affirmative vote of a majority of the remaining directors, even if less than a quorum, or by a sole remaining director (and not by the shareholders).
Supermajority Approval Requirements.   Our certificate and bylaws will provide that our Board is expressly authorized to make, alter, amend, change, add to, rescind or repeal, in whole or in part, our bylaws without a shareholder vote in any matter not inconsistent with the laws of the State of Delaware and our certificate. For as long as PSP controls at least 30% in voting power of our outstanding common stock, any amendment, alteration, rescission or repeal of our bylaws by our shareholders will require the affirmative vote of a majority in voting power of the outstanding shares of our stock entitled to vote on such amendment, alteration, change, addition, rescission or repeal. At any time when PSP controls less than 30% in voting power of our outstanding common stock, any amendment, alteration, rescission or repeal of our bylaws by our shareholders will require the affirmative vote of the holders of at least 662∕3% in voting power of all the then-outstanding shares of stock of the Company entitled to vote thereon, voting together as a single class.
The DGCL provides generally that the affirmative vote of a majority of the outstanding shares entitled to vote thereon, voting together as a single class, is required to amend a corporation’s certificate of incorporation, unless the certificate requires a greater percentage.
 
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Our certificate will provide that at any time when PSP controls less than 30% in voting power of our outstanding common stock, the following provisions in our certificate may be amended, altered, repealed or rescinded only by the affirmative vote of the holders of at least 662∕3% (as opposed to a majority threshold) in voting power of all the then-outstanding shares of stock entitled to vote thereon, voting together as a single class:
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the provision requiring a 662∕3% supermajority vote for shareholders to amend our bylaws;
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the provisions providing for a classified board of directors (the election and term of our directors);
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the provisions regarding resignation and removal of directors;
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the provisions regarding entering into business combinations with interested shareholders;
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the provisions regarding shareholder action by written consent;
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the provisions regarding calling special meetings of shareholders;
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the provisions regarding filling vacancies on our Board and newly created directorships;
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the provision establishing the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware as the exclusive forum for certain litigation;
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the provisions eliminating monetary damages for breaches of fiduciary duty by a director; and
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the amendment provision requiring that the above provisions be amended only with a 662∕3% supermajority vote.
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The combination of the classification of our Board, the lack of cumulative voting and the supermajority voting requirements will make it more difficult for our existing shareholders to replace our Board as well as for another party to obtain control of us by replacing our Board. Because our Board has the power to retain and discharge our officers, these provisions could also make it more difficult for existing shareholders or another party to effect a change in management.
Authorized but Unissued Shares.   Our authorized but unissued shares of common stock and preferred stock will be available for future issuance without shareholder approval, subject to stock exchange rules. These additional shares of capital stock may be utilized for a variety of corporate purposes, including future public offerings to raise additional capital, corporate acquisitions and employee benefit plans. One of the effects of the existence of authorized but unissued common stock or preferred stock may be to enable our Board to issue shares of capital stock to persons friendly to current management, which issuance could render more difficult or discourage an attempt to obtain control of the Company by means of a merger, tender offer, proxy contest or otherwise, and thereby protect the continuity of our management and possibly deprive our shareholders of opportunities to sell their shares of common stock at prices higher than prevailing market prices.
Business Combinations.   Upon completion of this offering, we will not be subject to the provisions of Section 203 of the DGCL. In general, Section 203 prohibits a publicly held Delaware corporation from engaging in a “business combination” with an “interested shareholder” for a three-year period following the time that the person becomes an interested shareholder, unless the business combination is approved in a prescribed manner. A “business combination” includes, among other things, a merger, asset or stock sale or other transaction resulting in a financial benefit to the interested shareholder. An “interested shareholder” is a person who, together with affiliates and associates, owns, or did own within three years prior to the determination of interested shareholder status, 15% or more of the corporation’s voting stock.
Under Section 203, a business combination between a corporation and an interested shareholder is prohibited unless it satisfies one of the following conditions: (1) before the shareholder became an interested shareholder, our Board approved either the business combination or the transaction which resulted in the shareholder becoming an interested shareholder; (2) upon consummation of the transaction which resulted in the shareholder becoming an interested shareholder, the interested shareholder owned at least 85% of the voting stock of the corporation outstanding at the time the transaction commenced, excluding for purposes of determining the voting stock outstanding, shares owned by persons who are directors and also officers, and employee stock plans, in some instances; or (3) at or after the time the shareholder became an
 
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interested shareholder, the business combination was approved by our Board and authorized at an annual or special meeting of the shareholders by the affirmative vote of at least two-thirds of the outstanding voting stock which is not owned by the interested shareholder.
A Delaware corporation may “opt out” of these provisions with an express provision in its original certificate of incorporation or an express provision in its certificate of incorporation or bylaws resulting from a shareholders’ amendment approved by at least a majority of the outstanding voting shares.
We will opt out of Section 203; however, our certificate will contain similar provisions providing that we may not engage in certain “business combinations” with any “interested shareholder” for a three-year period following the time that the shareholder became an interested shareholder, unless:
•
prior to such time, our Board approved either the business combination or the transaction which resulted in the shareholder becoming an interested shareholder;
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•
upon consummation of the transaction that resulted in the shareholder becoming an interested shareholder, the interested shareholder owned at least 85% of our voting stock outstanding at the time the transaction commenced, excluding certain shares; or
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•
at or subsequent to that time, the business combination is approved by our Board and by the affirmative vote of holders of at least 662∕3% of our outstanding voting stock that is not owned by the interested shareholder.
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Under certain circumstances, this provision will make it more difficult for a person who would be an “interested shareholder” to effect various business combinations with us for a three-year period. This provision may encourage companies interested in acquiring us to negotiate in advance with our Board because the shareholder approval requirement would be avoided if our Board approves either the business combination or the transaction which results in the shareholder becoming an interested shareholder. These provisions also may have the effect of preventing changes in our Board and may make it more difficult to accomplish transactions which shareholders may otherwise deem to be in their best interests.
Our certificate will provide that PSP, and any of its direct or indirect transferees and any group as to which such persons are a party, do not constitute “interested shareholders” for purposes of this provision.
Limitations on Liability and Indemnification of Officers and Directors
The DGCL authorizes corporations to limit or eliminate the personal liability of officers and directors to corporations and their shareholders for monetary damages for breaches of directors’ or officers’ fiduciary duties, subject to certain exceptions. Our certificate will include a provision that eliminates the personal liability of officers and directors for monetary damages for any breach of fiduciary duty as an officer or director, except to the extent such exemption from liability or limitation thereof is not permitted under the DGCL. The effect of these provisions will be to eliminate the rights of us and our shareholders, through shareholders’ derivative suits on our behalf, to recover monetary damages from a director or officer for breach of fiduciary duty as a director or officer, respectively, including breaches resulting from grossly negligent behavior. However, exculpation will not apply to liability for (i) with respect to directors and officers, any breach of the director’s or officer’s duty of loyalty to the corporation or its stockholders, (ii) with respect to directors and officers, acts or omissions not in good faith or which involve intentional misconduct or a knowing violation of law, (iii) with respect to directors, payments of unlawful dividends or unlawful stock repurchases or redemptions under Section 174 of the DGCL, (iv) with respect to directors and officers, any transaction from which the director or officer derived an improper personal benefit, or (v) with respect to officers, any action by or in the right of the corporation.
Our bylaws will provide that we must indemnify and advance expenses to our directors and officers to the fullest extent authorized by the DGCL. We also will be expressly authorized to carry directors’ and officers’ liability insurance providing indemnification for our directors, officers and certain employees for some liabilities. We believe that these indemnification and advancement provisions and insurance will be useful to attract and retain qualified directors and officers.
The limitation of liability, indemnification and advancement provisions that will be included in our certificate and bylaws may discourage shareholders from bringing a lawsuit against directors or officers for
 
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breaches of their fiduciary duty. These provisions also may have the effect of reducing the likelihood of derivative litigation against directors and officers, even though such an action, if successful, might otherwise benefit us and our shareholders. In addition, your investment may be adversely affected to the extent we pay the costs of settlement and damage awards against directors and officers pursuant to these indemnification provisions.
There is currently no pending material litigation or proceeding involving any of our directors, officers or employees for which indemnification is sought.
Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the Securities Act may be permitted to directors, officers, and controlling persons of the Company, we have been advised 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 Doctrine
Delaware law permits corporations to adopt provisions renouncing any interest or expectancy in certain opportunities that are presented to the corporation or its officers, directors or shareholders. Our certificate will, to the maximum extent permitted from time to time by Delaware law, renounce any interest or expectancy that we have in, or right to be offered an opportunity to participate in, specified business opportunities that are from time to time presented to certain of our officers, directors or shareholders or their respective affiliates, other than those officers, directors, shareholders or affiliates who are our or our subsidiaries’ employees. Our certificate will provide that, to the fullest extent permitted by law, neither PSP nor any director who is not employed by us (including any non-employee director who serves as one of our officers in both his or her director and officer capacities) or its, his or her affiliates will have any duty to refrain from (1) engaging in a corporate opportunity in the same or similar lines of business in which we or our affiliates now engage or propose to engage or (2) otherwise competing with us or our affiliates. In addition, to the fullest extent permitted by law, in the event that PSP or any non-employee director acquires knowledge of a potential transaction or other business opportunity which may be a corporate opportunity for itself, himself or herself or its, his or her affiliates or for us or our affiliates, such person will have no duty to communicate or offer such transaction or business opportunity to us or any of our affiliates and they may take any such opportunity for themselves or offer it to another person or entity. Our certificate will not renounce our interest in any business opportunity that is expressly offered to a non-employee director solely in his or her capacity as a director or officer of Suja Life, Inc. To the fullest extent permitted by law, no business opportunity will be deemed to be a potential corporate opportunity for us unless we would be permitted to undertake the opportunity under our certificate, we have sufficient financial resources to undertake the opportunity and the opportunity would be in line with our business.
Dissenters’ Rights of Appraisal and Payment
Under the DGCL, with certain exceptions, our shareholders will have appraisal rights in connection with a merger or consolidation of Suja Life, Inc. Pursuant to the DGCL, shareholders who properly request and perfect appraisal rights in connection with such merger or consolidation will have the right to receive payment of the fair value of their shares of capital stock as determined by the Delaware Court of Chancery.
Shareholders’ Derivative Actions
Under the DGCL, any of our shareholders may bring an action in our name to procure a judgment in our favor, also known as a derivative action, provided that the shareholder bringing the action is a holder of our shares of capital stock at the time of the transaction to which the action relates or such shareholder’s stock thereafter devolved by operation of law.
Transfer Agent and Registrar
The transfer agent and registrar for our Class A common stock will be Equiniti Trust Company, LLC. Its address is 28 Liberty Street, 53rd Floor, New York, NY 10005.
Listing
We have applied to have our Class A common stock approved for listing on Nasdaq under the trading symbol “SUJA.”
 
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SHARES ELIGIBLE FOR FUTURE SALE
Prior to this offering, there has been no public market for our Class A common stock. Future sales of substantial amounts of our Class A common stock in the public market (including shares of our Class A common stock issuable upon exchange of LP Units), or the perception that such sales may occur, could adversely affect the prevailing market price of our Class A common stock. No prediction can be made as to the effect, if any, future sales of shares, or the availability of shares for future sales, will have on the prevailing market price of our Class A common stock from time to time. The number of shares available for future sale in the public market is subject to legal and contractual restrictions, some of which are described below. The expiration of these restrictions will permit sales of substantial amounts of our Class A common stock in the public market, or could create the perception that these sales may occur, which could adversely affect the prevailing market price of our Class A common stock. These factors could also make it more difficult for us to raise funds through future offerings of Class A common stock or other equity or equity-linked securities.
Sale of Restricted Shares
Upon completion of this offering, we will have       shares of Class A common stock outstanding (       shares if the underwriters exercise in full their option to purchase additional shares of Class A common stock). Of these shares of Class A common stock, the       shares of Class A common stock being sold in this offering by us and the selling shareholder, plus any shares sold upon exercise of the underwriters’ option to purchase additional shares of Class A common stock, will be freely tradable without restriction under the Securities Act except for any such shares which may be held or acquired by an “affiliate” of ours, as that term is defined in Rule 144, which shares will be subject to the volume limitations and other restrictions of Rule 144 described below, other than the holding period requirement. The remaining       shares of Class A common stock (or       shares of Class A common stock, including shares of Class A common stock issuable upon exchange of the LP Units, as described below) will be “restricted securities,” as that phrase is defined in Rule 144, and may be resold only after registration under the Securities Act or pursuant to an exemption from such registration, including, among others, the exemptions provided by Rule 144 and Rule 701 under the Securities Act (“Rule 701”), which rules are summarized below. These remaining shares of Class A common stock will be available for sale in the public market after the expiration of market stand-off agreements with us and the lock-up agreements described in “Underwriting,” taking into account the provisions of Rules 144 and 701 under the Securities Act.
In addition, pursuant to the Exchange Agreement, from time to time after the completion of this offering, holders of LP Units may exchange their LP Units, together with an equal number of shares of Class V common stock, for shares of Class A common stock on a one-for-one basis or, at our election, for cash from a substantially concurrent public offering or private sale (based on the price of our Class A common stock in such public offering or private sale). Any shares of Class V common stock so delivered will be cancelled. Upon completion of this offering, the LP Unitholders will hold        LP Units, all of which will be exchangeable for shares of our Class A common stock on a one-to-one basis or, at our election, for cash from a substantially concurrent public offering or private sale (based on the price of our Class A common stock in such public offering or private sale). The shares of Class A common stock we issue upon such exchanges would be “restricted securities” as defined in Rule 144 unless we register such issuances. However, we are party to the Registration Rights Agreement with certain LP Unitholders, including PSP, that requires us to register these shares of Class A common stock, subject to certain conditions. See “— Registration Rights” and “Certain Relationships and Related Party Transactions — Related Party Transactions — Registration Rights Agreement.”
Under the terms of the Partnership Agreement, except pursuant to a valid exchange under the terms of the Exchange Agreement, all of the LP Units received by the LP Unitholders in the Organizational Transactions will be subject to restrictions on disposition.
Rule 144
Persons who became the beneficial owner of shares of our Class A common stock prior to the completion of this offering may not sell their shares until the earlier of (1) the expiration of a six-month
 
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holding period, if we have been subject to the reporting requirements of the Exchange Act and have filed all required reports for at least 90 days prior to the date of the sale, or (2) a one-year holding period.
At the expiration of the six-month holding period, a person who was not one of our affiliates at any time during the three months preceding a sale would be entitled to sell an unlimited number of shares of our Class A common stock provided current public information about us is available, and a person who was one of our affiliates at any time during the three months preceding a sale would be entitled to sell within any three-month period only a number of shares of Class A common stock that does not exceed the greater of either of the following:
•
1% of the number of shares of our Class A common stock then outstanding, which will equal approximately       shares immediately after this offering, based on the number of shares of our Class A common stock outstanding after completion of this offering; or
​
•
the average weekly trading volume of our Class A common stock during the four calendar weeks preceding the filing of a notice on Form 144 with respect to the sale.
​
At the expiration of the one-year holding period, a person who was not one of our affiliates at any time during the three months preceding a sale would be entitled to sell an unlimited number of shares of our Class A common stock without restriction. A person who was one of our affiliates at any time during the three months preceding a sale would remain subject to the volume restrictions described above.
Sales under Rule 144 by our affiliates are also subject to manner of sale provisions and notice requirements and to the availability of current public information about us. The sale of these shares, or the perception that sales will be made, could adversely affect the price of our Class A common stock after this offering.
Rule 701
In general, under Rule 701, any of our employees, directors, officers, consultants or advisors who acquired shares of capital stock from us in connection with a compensatory stock or option plan or other compensatory written agreement before the effective date of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part are, subject to applicable lock-up restrictions, eligible to resell such shares in reliance upon Rule 144 beginning 90 days after the date of this prospectus. If such person is not an affiliate and was not our affiliate at any time during the preceding three months, the sale may be made subject only to the manner-of-sale restrictions of Rule 144. If such a person is an affiliate, the sale may be made under Rule 144 without compliance with holding period requirements under Rule 144, but subject to the other Rule 144 restrictions described above.
Stock Plans
We intend to file one or more registration statements on Form S-8 under the Securities Act to register shares of our Class A common stock issued or reserved for issuance under the Omnibus Plan. The first such registration statement is expected to be filed soon after the date of this prospectus and will automatically become effective upon filing with the SEC. Accordingly, shares of Class A common stock registered under such registration statement will be available for sale in the open market following the effective date, unless such shares are subject to vesting restrictions with us, Rule 144 restrictions applicable to our affiliates or the lock-up restrictions described below.
Lock-Up Agreements
We, the selling shareholder, each of our officers and directors and other shareholders owning all of our Class A common stock and options or other securities to acquire Class A common stock have agreed that, without the prior written consent of Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC and Jefferies LLC on behalf of the underwriters, we and they will not, subject to limited exceptions, directly or indirectly sell or dispose of any of the shares of Class A common stock or securities convertible into or exchangeable for, or that represent the right to receive, shares of common stock, including LP Units, through the date that is 180 days after the date of this prospectus. The lock-up restrictions and specified exceptions are described in more detail under “Underwriting.” The representatives named above may, in their sole discretion, release all or any portion of the securities subject to these lock-up agreements. See “Underwriting.”
 
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Prior to the completion of the offering, certain of our employees, including our executive officers, and/or directors may enter into written trading plans that are intended to comply with Rule 10b5-1 under the Exchange Act. Sales under these trading plans would not be permitted until the expiration of the lock-up agreements relating to the offering described above.
Following the lock-up periods set forth in the agreements described above, and assuming that the representatives of the underwriters do not release any parties from these agreements, all of the shares of our Class A common stock that are restricted securities or are held by our affiliates as of the date of this prospectus will be eligible for sale in the public market in compliance with Rule 144 under the Securities Act.
Registration Rights Agreement
We are party to the Registration Rights Agreement with certain LP Unitholders, including PSP. The Registration Rights Agreement provides the LP Unitholders certain registration rights whereby, following our initial public offering and the expiration of any related lock-up period, certain LP Unitholders can require us to register under the Securities Act shares of Class A common stock (including shares issuable to the LP Unitholders and PSP upon exchange of their LP Units). The Registration Rights Agreement also provides for piggyback registration rights for certain LP Unitholders. See “Certain Relationships and Related Party Transactions — Related Party Transactions — Registration Rights Agreement.”
 
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MATERIAL U.S. FEDERAL INCOME TAX CONSEQUENCES TO NON-U.S. HOLDERS
The following discussion is a summary of the material U.S. federal income tax consequences to Non-U.S. Holders (as defined below) of the acquisition, ownership and disposition of our Class A common stock issued pursuant to this offering, but does not purport to be a complete analysis of all potential tax consequences. This discussion assumes that any distributions made by us on our securities and any consideration received by a holder in consideration for the sale or other disposition of our securities will be in U.S. dollars. The effects of other U.S. federal tax laws, such as estate and gift tax laws, and any applicable state, local or non-U.S. tax laws are not discussed. This discussion is based on the Code, Treasury regulations promulgated thereunder (the “Treasury Regulations”), judicial decisions, and published rulings and administrative pronouncements of the IRS, in each case as in effect as of the date hereof. These authorities may change or be subject to differing interpretations. Any such change or differing interpretation may be applied retroactively, including in a manner that could adversely affect a Non-U.S. Holder. We have not sought and will not seek any rulings from the IRS regarding the matters discussed below. There can be no assurance the IRS or a court will not take a contrary position to those discussed below regarding the tax consequences of the purchase, ownership and disposition of our Class A common stock. Moreover, there can be no assurance that future legislation, regulations, administrative rulings or court decisions will not adversely affect the accuracy of the statements in this discussion.
This discussion is limited to Non-U.S. Holders that hold our Class A common stock as a “capital asset” within the meaning of Section 1221 of the Code (generally, property held for investment). This discussion does not address all U.S. federal income tax consequences relevant to a Non-U.S. Holder’s particular circumstances, including the impact of the Medicare tax on net investment income or the alternative minimum tax, or the consequences to persons subject to special tax accounting rules as a result of any item of gross income with respect to our Class A common stock being taken into account in an applicable financial statement. In addition, it does not address consequences relevant to Non-U.S. Holders subject to special rules, including, without limitation:
•
U.S. expatriates and former citizens or long-term residents of the United States;
​
•
persons holding our Class A common stock as part of a straddle or other risk reduction strategy or as part of a conversion transaction or other integrated investment;
​
•
banks, insurance companies and other financial institutions;
​
•
real estate investment trusts or regulated investment companies;
​
•
brokers, dealers or certain electing traders in securities that mark their securities positions to market for tax purposes;
​
•
“controlled foreign corporations,” “passive foreign investment companies,” and corporations that accumulate earnings to avoid U.S. federal income tax;
​
•
partnerships or other entities or arrangements treated as partnerships for U.S. federal income tax purposes (and investors therein);
​
•
insurance companies;
​
•
tax-exempt organizations or governmental organizations;
​
•
persons deemed to sell our Class A common stock under the constructive sale provisions of the Code;
​
•
“qualified foreign pension funds” ​(within the meaning of Section 897(l)(2) of the Code and entities, all of the interests of which are held by qualified foreign pension funds);
​
•
persons who hold or receive our Class A common stock pursuant to any employee stock option, RSU or restricted stock award, or otherwise as compensation; and
​
•
tax-qualified retirement plans.
​
If any partnership (or an entity or arrangement classified as a partnership or other pass-through entity for U.S. federal income tax purposes) holds our Class A common stock, the tax treatment of a partner,
 
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member or other beneficial owner in such entity will depend on the status of the partner, member or other beneficial owner, the activities of the entity and certain determinations made at the partner, member or other beneficial owner level. Accordingly, partnerships or other pass-through entities holding our Class A common stock and partners, members or other beneficial owners in such entities should consult their tax advisors regarding the U.S. federal income tax consequences to them.
THIS DISCUSSION IS ONLY A SUMMARY OF CERTAIN U.S. FEDERAL INCOME TAX CONSIDERATIONS ASSOCIATED WITH THE ACQUISITION, OWNERSHIP AND DISPOSITION OF OUR SECURITIES. PROSPECTIVE INVESTORS SHOULD CONSULT THEIR TAX ADVISORS WITH RESPECT TO THE APPLICATION OF THE U.S. FEDERAL INCOME TAX LAWS TO THEIR PARTICULAR SITUATIONS AS WELL AS ANY TAX CONSEQUENCES OF THE ACQUISITION, OWNERSHIP AND DISPOSITION OF OUR CLASS A COMMON STOCK ARISING UNDER U.S. FEDERAL ESTATE OR GIFT TAX LAWS OR UNDER THE LAWS OF ANY STATE, LOCAL OR NON-U.S. TAXING JURISDICTION OR UNDER ANY APPLICABLE INCOME TAX TREATY.
Definition of a Non-U.S. Holder
For purposes of this discussion, a “Non-U.S. Holder” is any beneficial owner of our Class A common stock that is neither a “United States person” nor an entity treated as a partnership for U.S. federal income tax purposes. A United States person is any person that, for U.S. federal income tax purposes, is or is treated as any of the following:
•
an individual who is a citizen or resident of the United States;
​
•
a corporation, or an entity treated as a corporation for U.S. federal income tax purposes, created or organized under the laws of the United States, any state thereof, or the District of Columbia;
​
•
an estate, the income of which is subject to U.S. federal income tax regardless of its source; or
​
•
a trust that (1) is subject to the primary supervision of a U.S. court and all substantial decisions of which are subject to the control of one or more “United States persons” ​(within the meaning of Section 7701(a)(30) of the Code), or (2) has a valid election in effect to be treated as a United States person for U.S. federal income tax purposes.
​
Distributions
As described in the section entitled “Dividend Policy,” we do not anticipate declaring or paying dividends to holders of our Class A common stock in the foreseeable future. However, if we do make distributions of cash or property (other than pro rata distributions of our Class A common stock) on our Class A common stock, such distributions will constitute dividends for U.S. federal income tax purposes to the extent paid from our current or accumulated earnings and profits, as determined under U.S. federal income tax principles. Distributions not treated as dividends for U.S. federal income tax purposes will first constitute non-taxable returns of capital and be applied against and reduce a Non-U.S. Holder’s adjusted tax basis in its Class A common stock, but not below zero, and thereafter will be treated as capital gains, as described below under “Sale or Other Taxable Disposition.”
Subject to the discussion below on effectively connected income, backup withholding, and the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act, dividends paid to a Non-U.S. Holder of our Class A common stock will be subject to U.S. federal withholding tax at a rate of 30% of the gross amount of the dividends (or such lower rate specified by an applicable income tax treaty, provided that the Non-U.S. Holder will be required to furnish to the applicable withholding agent prior to the payment of dividends a valid IRS Form W-8BEN or W-8BEN-E (or other applicable documentation) certifying qualification for the lower treaty rate). A Non-U.S. Holder that does not timely furnish the required documentation, but that qualifies for a reduced treaty rate, may obtain a refund of any excess amounts withheld by timely filing an appropriate claim for refund with the IRS. Non-U.S. Holders should consult their tax advisors regarding their entitlement to benefits under any applicable income tax treaty.
If dividends paid to a Non-U.S. Holder are effectively connected with the Non-U.S. Holder’s conduct of a trade or business within the United States (and, if required by an applicable income tax treaty, the Non-U.S. Holder maintains a permanent establishment in the United States to which such dividends are
 
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attributable), the Non-U.S. Holder will be exempt from the U.S. federal withholding tax described above. To claim the exemption for effectively connected dividends, the Non-U.S. Holder must furnish to the applicable withholding agent a valid IRS Form W-8ECI, certifying that the dividends are effectively connected with the Non-U.S. Holder’s conduct of a trade or business within the United States.
Any such effectively connected dividends will be subject to U.S. federal income tax on a net-income basis at the same graduated rates applicable to a United States person. A Non-U.S. Holder that is a corporation also may be subject to an additional branch profits tax at a rate of 30% (or such lower rate specified by an applicable income tax treaty) on its effectively connected earnings and profits (as adjusted for certain items), which will include such effectively connected dividends. Non-U.S. Holders should consult their tax advisors regarding any applicable tax treaties that may provide for different rules.
Sale or Other Taxable Disposition
Subject to the discussion below on backup withholding and the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act, a Non-U.S. Holder generally will not be subject to U.S. federal income tax on any gain realized upon the sale or other taxable disposition of our Class A common stock unless:
•
the gain is effectively connected with the Non-U.S. Holder’s conduct of a trade or business within the United States (and, if required by an applicable income tax treaty, the Non-U.S. Holder maintains a permanent establishment in the United States to which such gain is attributable);
​
•
the Non-U.S. Holder is a nonresident alien individual present in the United States for 183 days or more during the taxable year of the disposition and certain other requirements are met; or
​
•
our Class A common stock constitutes a U.S. real property interest (a “USRPI”), by reason of our status as a U.S. real property holding corporation (a “USRPHC”) for U.S. federal income tax purposes.
​
Gain described in the first bullet point above generally will be subject to U.S. federal income tax on a net income basis at the same graduated rates applicable to a United States person. A Non-U.S. Holder that is a corporation also may be subject to an additional branch profits tax at a rate of 30% (or such lower rate specified by an applicable income tax treaty) on its effectively connected earnings and profits (as adjusted for certain items), which will include such effectively connected gain.
A Non-U.S. Holder described in the second bullet point above will be subject to U.S. federal income tax at a rate of 30% (or such lower rate specified by an applicable income tax treaty) on any gain derived from the disposition, which may generally be offset by U.S. source capital losses of the Non-U.S. Holder (even though the individual is not considered a resident of the United States), provided the Non-U.S. Holder has timely filed U.S. federal income tax returns with respect to such losses.
With respect to the third bullet point above, we believe we currently are not, and do not anticipate becoming, a USRPHC.
Because the determination of whether we are a USRPHC depends, however, on the fair market value of our USRPIs relative to the fair market value of our non-U.S. real property interests and our other business assets, there can be no assurance we currently are not a USRPHC or will not become one in the future. Even if we are or were to become a USRPHC, gain arising from the sale or other taxable disposition of our common stock by a Non-U.S. Holder will not be subject to U.S. federal income tax if our common stock is “regularly traded,” as defined by applicable Treasury Regulations, on an established securities market and such Non-U.S. Holder owned, actually and constructively, 5% or less of our common stock throughout the shorter of the five-year period ending on the date of the sale or other taxable disposition or the Non-U.S. Holder’s holding period.
Non-U.S. Holders should consult their tax advisors regarding potentially applicable income tax treaties that may provide for different rules.
Information Reporting and Backup Withholding
Payments of dividends on our Class A common stock generally will not be subject to backup withholding, provided the applicable withholding agent does not have actual knowledge or reason to know
 
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the Non-U.S. Holder is a United States person and the Non-U.S. Holder either certifies its non-U.S. status, such as by furnishing a valid IRS Form W-8BEN, W-8BEN-E or W-8ECI, or otherwise establishes an exemption. However, information returns are required to be filed with the IRS in connection with any dividends on our Class A common stock paid to the Non-U.S. Holder, regardless of whether any tax was actually withheld. In addition, proceeds of any sale, exchange or other taxable disposition of our Class A common stock within the United States or conducted through certain U.S.-related brokers generally will not be subject to backup withholding or information reporting if the applicable withholding agent receives the certification described above and does not have actual knowledge or reason to know that such Non-U.S. Holder is a United States person, or the Non-U.S. Holder otherwise establishes an exemption.
If a Non-U.S. Holder does not provide the certification described above or the applicable withholding agent has actual knowledge or reason to know that such Non-U.S. Holder is a United States person, payments of dividends or of proceeds of the sale or other taxable disposition of our Class A common stock generally will be subject to backup withholding at a rate currently equal to 24% of the gross proceeds of such dividend, sale, or taxable disposition. Proceeds of a disposition of our Class A common stock conducted through a non-U.S. office of a non-U.S. broker generally will not be subject to backup withholding or information reporting.
Copies of information returns that are filed with the IRS may also be made available under the provisions of an applicable treaty or agreement to the tax authorities of the country in which the Non-U.S. Holder resides or is established.
Backup withholding is not an additional tax. Any amounts withheld under the backup withholding rules may be claimed as a refund or a credit against a Non-U.S. Holder’s U.S. federal income tax liability, provided the required information is timely furnished to the IRS.
Additional Withholding Tax on Payments Made to Foreign Accounts
Sections 1471 through 1474 of the Code and the Treasury Regulations and administrative guidance promulgated thereunder (commonly referred to as the “Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act” or “FATCA”) generally impose withholding at a rate of 30% on dividends (including constructive dividends) on common stock paid to “foreign financial institutions” ​(as specially defined under these rules and in general including investment vehicles), unless any such institution (i) enters into, and complies with, an agreement with the IRS to report, on an annual basis, information (generally with respect to interests in, and accounts maintained by, the institution that are owned by certain U.S. persons and by certain non-U.S. entities that are wholly or partially owned by U.S. persons) and to withhold on certain payments, or (ii) establishes an exemption (typically by the delivery of a properly completed IRS Form W-8BEN-E). Similarly, dividends on common stock paid to “non-financial foreign entities” ​(as specially defined under these rules) that do not qualify under certain exceptions will generally be subject to withholding at a rate of 30%, unless such entity either (i) certifies to the applicable withholding agent that such entity does not have any “substantial United States owners” or (ii) provides certain information regarding the entity’s “substantial United States owners,” which will in turn be provided to the U.S. Department of Treasury. An intergovernmental agreement between the United States and the Non-U.S. Holder’s country of residence may modify these requirements. The above withholding tax under FATCA was scheduled to apply to payments of gross proceeds from the sale or other disposition of property that would produce U.S.-source interest or dividends beginning on January 1, 2019; however, the U.S. Treasury Secretary has issued proposed regulations providing that the withholding provisions under FATCA do not apply with respect to payment of such gross proceeds, stating that such regulations may be relied upon by taxpayers until final regulations are issued. Prospective investors should consult their tax advisors regarding the potential application of withholding under FATCA to their investment in our Class A common stock.
 
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UNDERWRITING
Subject to the terms and conditions set forth in the underwriting agreement, dated           , 2026, among us, the selling shareholder and Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC, Jefferies LLC and William Blair & Company, L.L.C., as the representatives of the underwriters named below and the joint book-running managers of this offering, each of the underwriters has agreed, severally and not jointly, to purchase from us and the selling shareholder, the respective number of shares of Class A common stock shown opposite its name below:
Underwriter
​ ​
Number of
Shares
​
Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC
​ ​
        
​
Jefferies LLC
​ ​ ​ ​
William Blair & Company, L.L.C.
​ ​ ​ ​
BofA Securities, Inc.
​ ​ ​ ​
Evercore Group L.L.C.
​ ​ ​ ​
Total
​ ​ ​ ​
The underwriting agreement provides that the obligations of the several underwriters are subject to certain conditions precedent such as the receipt by the underwriters of officers’ certificates and legal opinions and approval of certain legal matters by their counsel. The underwriting agreement provides that the underwriters will purchase all of the shares of Class A common stock if any of them are purchased. If an underwriter defaults, the underwriting agreement provides that the purchase commitments of the non-defaulting underwriters may be increased or the underwriting agreement may be terminated. We and the selling shareholder have agreed to indemnify the underwriters and certain of their controlling persons against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act, and to contribute to payments that the underwriters may be required to make in respect of those liabilities.
The underwriters have advised us that, following the completion of this offering, they currently intend to make a market in the Class A common stock as permitted by applicable laws and regulations. However, the underwriters are not obligated to do so, and the underwriters may discontinue any market-making activities at any time without notice in their sole discretion. Accordingly, no assurance can be given as to the liquidity of the trading market for the Class A common stock, that you will be able to sell any of the Class A common stock held by you at a particular time or that the prices that you receive when you sell will be favorable.
The underwriters are offering the shares of Class A common stock subject to their acceptance of the shares of Class A common stock from us and the selling shareholder and subject to prior sale. The underwriters reserve the right to withdraw, cancel or modify offers to the public and to reject orders in whole or in part. In addition, the underwriters have advised us that they do not intend to confirm sales to any account over which they exercise discretionary authority.
Commission and Expenses
The underwriters have advised us that they propose to offer the shares of Class A common stock to the public at the initial public offering price set forth on the cover page of this prospectus and to certain dealers, which may include the underwriters, at that price less a concession not in excess of $      per share of Class A common stock. After the offering, the initial public offering price, concession and reallowance to dealers may be reduced by the representatives. No such reduction will change the amount of proceeds to be received by us and the selling shareholder as set forth on the cover page of this prospectus.
The following table shows the public offering price, the underwriting discounts and commissions that we and the selling shareholder are to pay the underwriters and the proceeds, before expenses, to us and the selling shareholder in connection with this offering. Such amounts are shown assuming both no exercise and full exercise of the underwriters’ option to purchase additional shares.
 
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​ ​ ​
Per Share
​ ​
Total
​
​ ​ ​
Without
Option to
Purchase
Additional
Shares
​ ​
With
Option to
Purchase
Additional
Shares
​ ​
Without
Option to
Purchase
Additional
Shares
​ ​
With
Option to
Purchase
Additional
Shares
​
Public offering price
​ ​ ​ $       ​ ​ ​ ​ $       ​ ​ ​ ​ $       ​ ​ ​ ​ $       ​ ​
Underwriting discounts and commissions paid by us
​ ​ ​ $ ​ ​ ​ ​ $ ​ ​ ​ ​ $ ​ ​ ​ ​ $ ​ ​
Underwriting discounts and commissions paid by the selling shareholder
​ ​ ​ $ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ $ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ $ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ $ ​ ​ ​
Proceeds to us, before expenses
​ ​ ​ $ ​ ​ ​ ​ $ ​ ​ ​ ​ $ ​ ​ ​ ​ $ ​ ​
Proceeds to the selling shareholder, before expenses
​ ​ ​ $ ​ ​ ​ ​ $ ​ ​ ​ ​ $ ​ ​ ​ ​ $ ​ ​ ​
We estimate expenses payable by us in connection with this offering, other than the underwriting discounts and commissions referred to above, will be approximately $      . We have agreed to reimburse the underwriters for certain of their expenses relating to clearance of this offering with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”) up to $      . The underwriters have also agreed to reimburse the Company for certain expenses in connection with the offering.
Determination of Offering Price
Prior to this offering, there has not been a public market for our Class A common stock. Consequently, the initial public offering price for our Class A common stock will be determined by negotiations between us, the selling shareholder and the representatives. Among the factors to be considered in these negotiations will be prevailing market conditions, our financial information, market valuations of other companies that we and the underwriters believe to be comparable to us, estimates of our business potential, the present state of our development and other factors deemed relevant.
We offer no assurances that the initial public offering price will correspond to the price at which the Class A common stock will trade in the public market subsequent to the offering or that an active trading market for the Class A common stock will develop and continue after the offering.
Listing
We have applied to have our Class A common stock approved for listing on Nasdaq under the trading symbol “SUJA.”
Stamp Taxes
If you purchase shares of Class A common stock offered in this prospectus, you may be required to pay stamp taxes and other charges under the laws and practices of the country of purchase, in addition to the offering price listed on the cover page of this prospectus.
Option to Purchase Additional Shares
We and the selling shareholder have granted to the underwriters an option, exercisable for 30 days from the date of this prospectus, to purchase, from time to time, in whole or in part, up to an aggregate of           shares from us and         shares from the selling shareholder at the public offering price set forth on the cover page of this prospectus, less underwriting discounts and commissions. If the underwriters exercise this option, each underwriter will be obligated, subject to specified conditions, to purchase a number of additional shares proportionate to that underwriter’s initial purchase commitment as indicated in the table above. This option may be exercised only if the underwriters sell more shares than the total number set forth on the cover page of this prospectus.
No Sales of Similar Securities
We, the selling shareholder, our officers, directors and holders of all or substantially all our outstanding capital stock (collectively, the “lock-up parties”) have agreed, subject to specified exceptions, not to directly or indirectly:
 
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•
sell, offer, contract or grant any option to sell (including any short sale), pledge, transfer, establish an open “put equivalent position” within the meaning of Rule 16a-l(h) under the Exchange Act, or in any other way transfer or dispose of any shares of Class A common stock, options or warrants to acquire shares of Class A common stock, or securities exchangeable or exercisable for or convertible into shares of Class A common stock currently or hereafter owned either of record or beneficially, or
​
•
publicly announce an intention to do any of the foregoing for a period of 180 days after the date of this prospectus without the prior written consent of           .
​
The foregoing restrictions terminate after the close of trading of the Class A common stock on and including the 180th day after the date of this prospectus (the “Lock-up Period”).
The foregoing restrictions described above and contained in the lock-up agreements between the underwriters and the lock-up parties do not apply, subject in certain cases to various conditions, to certain transactions, including: (i) as one or more bona fide gifts or charitable contributions, or for bona fide estate planning purposes, including, without limitation, to charitable organizations or educational institutions; (ii) by will, testamentary document or intestate succession; (iii) if the lock-up party is a natural person, to any immediate family member of the lock-up party or to any trust for the direct or indirect benefit of the lock-up party or an immediate family member of the lock-up party or, if the lock-up party is a trust, to a trustor or beneficiary of the trust or the estate of a beneficiary of such trust; (iv) to any corporation, partnership, limited liability company or other entity of which the lock-up party and/or any immediate family member are the legal and beneficial owner of all of the outstanding equity securities or similar interests; (v) if the lock-up party is a corporation, partnership, limited liability company, trust or other business entity, (A) to another corporation, partnership, limited liability company, trust or other business entity that is an affiliate of the lock-up party, or to any investment fund or other entity which fund or other entity directly or indirectly is controlling, controlled by, managing or managed by or under common control with the lock-up party or affiliates of the lock-up party (including, for the avoidance of doubt, where the lock-up party is a partnership, to its general partner or a successor partnership or fund, or any other funds managed by such partnership), or (B) as part of a disposition, transfer or distribution by the lock-up party to its stockholders, current or former partners (general or limited), members or other equityholders or to the estate of any such stockholders, partners, members or other equityholders; (vi) to any nominee or custodian of a person or entity to whom a disposition or transfer would be permissible under clauses (i) through (v) of this paragraph; (vii) by operation of law, such as pursuant to a qualified domestic order, divorce settlement, divorce decree or separation agreement or other order of a court or regulatory authority; (viii) to Suja Life, Inc. from an employee of Suja Life, Inc. upon death, disability or termination of employment, in each case, of such employee; (ix) if the lock-up party is not an officer or director of Suja Life, Inc. or a stockholder holding 10% or more of the Class A common stock, in connection with a sale or transfer of the lock-up party’s shares of Class A common stock acquired from (A) the underwriters in this offering or (B) in open market transactions on or after the completion of this offering; (x) to Suja Life, Inc. in connection with the vesting, settlement or exercise of restricted stock units, options, warrants or other rights to purchase or otherwise acquire shares (including, in each case, by way of “net” or “cashless” exercise) that are scheduled to expire or automatically vest during the Lock-up Period, including any transfer to Suja Life, Inc. for the payment of exercise price, tax withholdings or remittance payments due as a result of the vesting, settlement or exercise of such restricted stock units, options, warrants or other rights, or in connection with the conversion of convertible securities, in all such cases pursuant to equity awards granted under a stock incentive plan or other equity award plan, or pursuant to the terms of convertible securities, each as described in this Registration Statement, provided that, in each case, any such shares received upon such vesting settlement exercise or conversion shall be subject to the restrictions set forth in the applicable lock-up agreement; (xi) in “sell to cover” or similar open market transactions during the Lock-up Period to satisfy any exercise price or tax withholding obligations as a result of the exercise, vesting and/or settlement of Suja Life, Inc. equity awards (including options and restricted stock units) held by the lock-up party and issued pursuant to a plan or arrangement described in this prospectus, provided that, any such shares retained by the lock-up party after giving effect to this provision shall be subject to the terms of the applicable lock-up agreement; (xii) in connection with (A) any conversion, exchange, reclassification, transfer or sale in connection with, and as contemplated by, the Organizational Transactions or (B) any exchange of Class V common stock, par value $0.0001 per share, together with an equal number of LP Units, for shares of
 
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Class A common stock, provided that any shares of Class A common stock received upon such exchange shall be subject to the restrictions set forth in the applicable lock-up agreement for the Lock-up Period; or (xiii) pursuant to a bona fide third-party tender offer for securities of Suja Life, Inc., merger, consolidation or other similar transaction that is approved by our Board and made to all holders of Suja Life, Inc.’s capital stock involving a Change of Control of Suja Life, Inc. (for purposes hereof, “Change of Control” shall mean the transfer (whether by tender offer, merger, consolidation or other similar transaction), in one transaction or a series of related transactions, to a person or group of affiliated persons, of shares of capital stock if, after such transfer, such person or group of affiliated persons would hold at least a majority of the outstanding voting securities of Suja Life, Inc. (or the surviving entity)), provided that in the event that such tender offer, merger, consolidation or other similar transaction is not completed, the shares and/or related securities remain subject to the restrictions set forth in the applicable lock-up agreement.
Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC and Jefferies LLC may, in their sole discretion and at any time or from time to time before the termination of the Lock-up Period release all or any portion of the securities subject to lock-up agreements. There are no existing agreements between the underwriters and any of our shareholders who will execute a lock-up agreement, providing consent to the sale of shares prior to the expiration of the Lock-up Period.
Stabilization
The underwriters have advised us that they, pursuant to Regulation M under the Exchange Act, as amended, certain persons participating in the offering may engage in short sale transactions, stabilizing transactions, syndicate covering transactions or the imposition of penalty bids in connection with this offering. These activities may have the effect of stabilizing or maintaining the market price of the Class A common stock at a level above that which might otherwise prevail in the open market. Establishing short sales positions may involve either “covered” short sales or “naked” short sales.
“Covered” short sales are sales made in an amount not greater than the underwriters’ option to purchase additional shares of our Class A common stock in this offering. The underwriters may close out any covered short position by either exercising their option to purchase additional shares of our Class A common stock or purchasing shares of our Class A common stock in the open market. In determining the source of shares to close out the covered short position, the underwriters will consider, among other things, the price of shares available for purchase in the open market as compared to the price at which they may purchase shares through the option to purchase additional shares.
“Naked” short sales are sales in excess of the option to purchase additional shares of our Class A common stock. The underwriters must close out any naked short position by purchasing shares in the open market. A naked short position is more likely to be created if the underwriters are concerned that there may be downward pressure on the price of the shares of our Class A common stock in the open market after pricing that could adversely affect investors who purchase in this offering.
A stabilizing bid is a bid for the purchase of shares of Class A common stock on behalf of the underwriters for the purpose of fixing or maintaining the price of the Class A common stock. A syndicate covering transaction is the bid for or the purchase of shares of Class A common stock on behalf of the underwriters to reduce a short position incurred by the underwriters in connection with the offering. Similar to other purchase transactions, the underwriter’s purchases to cover the syndicate short sales may have the effect of raising or maintaining the market price of our Class A common stock or preventing or retarding a decline in the market price of our Class A common stock. As a result, the price of our Class A common stock may be higher than the price that might otherwise exist in the open market. A penalty bid is an arrangement permitting the underwriters to reclaim the selling concession otherwise accruing to a syndicate member in connection with the offering if the Class A common stock originally sold by such syndicate member are purchased in a syndicate covering transaction and therefore have not been effectively placed by such syndicate member.
None of we, the selling shareholder nor any of the underwriters make any representation or prediction as to the direction or magnitude of any effect that the transactions described above may have on the price of our Class A common stock. The underwriters are not obligated to engage in these activities and, if commenced, any of the activities may be discontinued at any time.
 
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Electronic Distribution
A prospectus in electronic format may be made available by e-mail or on the web sites or through online services maintained by one or more of the underwriters or their affiliates. In those cases, prospective investors may view offering terms online and may be allowed to place orders online. The underwriters may agree with us to allocate a specific number of shares of Class A common stock for sale to online brokerage account holders. Any such allocation for online distributions will be made by the underwriters on the same basis as other allocations. Other than the prospectus in electronic format, the information on the underwriters’ web sites and any information contained in any other web site maintained by any of the underwriters is not part of this prospectus, has not been approved and/or endorsed by us or the underwriters and should not be relied upon by investors.
Other Activities and Relationships
The underwriters and certain of their respective affiliates are full service financial institutions engaged in various activities, which may include securities trading, commercial and investment banking, financial advisory, investment management, investment research, principal investment, hedging, financing and brokerage activities. The underwriters and certain of their respective affiliates have, from time to time, performed, and may in the future perform, various commercial and investment banking and financial advisory services for us and our affiliates, for which they received or will receive customary fees and expenses.
In the ordinary course of their various business activities, the underwriters and certain of their respective affiliates may make or hold a broad array of investments and actively trade debt and equity securities (or related derivative securities) and financial instruments (including bank loans) for their own account and for the accounts of their customers, and such investment and securities activities may involve securities and/or instruments issued by us and our affiliates. If the underwriters or their respective affiliates have a lending relationship with us, they routinely hedge their credit exposure to us consistent with their customary risk management policies. The underwriters and their respective affiliates may hedge such exposure by entering into transactions which consist of either the purchase of credit default swaps or the creation of short positions in our securities or the securities of our affiliates, including potentially the Class A common stock offered hereby. Any such short positions could adversely affect future trading prices of the Class A common stock offered hereby. The underwriters and certain of their respective affiliates may also communicate independent investment recommendations, market color or trading ideas and/or publish or express independent research views in respect of such securities or instruments and may at any time hold, or recommend to clients that they acquire, long and/or short positions in such securities and instruments.
Disclaimers About Non-U.S. Jurisdictions
Canada
(A)
Resale Restrictions
​
The distribution of the shares of Class A common stock in Canada is being made only in the provinces of Ontario, Quebec, Alberta and British Columbia on a private placement basis exempt from the requirement that we and the selling shareholder prepare and file a prospectus with the securities regulatory authorities in each province where trades of these shares of Class A common stock are made. Any resale of the shares of Class A common stock in Canada must be made under applicable securities laws which may vary depending on the relevant jurisdiction, and which may require resales to be made under available statutory exemptions or under a discretionary exemption granted by the applicable Canadian securities regulatory authority. Purchasers are advised to seek legal advice prior to any resale of the shares of Class A common stock.
(B)
Representations of Canadian Purchasers
​
By purchasing shares of Class A common stock in Canada and accepting delivery of a purchase confirmation, a purchaser is representing to us, the selling shareholder and the dealer from whom the purchase confirmation is received that:
•
the purchaser is entitled under applicable provincial securities laws to purchase the shares of Class A common stock without the benefit of a prospectus qualified under those securities laws as it is an “accredited investor” as defined under National Instrument 45-106 — Prospectus Exemptions,
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•
the purchaser is a “permitted client” as defined in National Instrument 31-103 — Registration Requirements, Exemptions and Ongoing Registrant Obligations,
​
•
where required by law, the purchaser is purchasing as principal and not as agent, and
​
•
the purchaser has reviewed the text above under Resale Restrictions.
​
(C)
Conflicts of Interest
​
Canadian purchasers are hereby notified that certain of the underwriters are relying on the exemption set out in section 3A.3 or 3A.4, if applicable, of National Instrument 33-105 — Underwriting Conflicts from having to provide certain conflict of interest disclosure in this prospectus.
(D)
Statutory Rights of Action
​
Securities legislation in certain provinces or territories of Canada may provide a purchaser with remedies for rescission or damages if the prospectus (including any amendment thereto) such as this prospectus contains a misrepresentation, provided that the remedies for rescission or damages are exercised by the purchaser within the time limit prescribed by the securities legislation of the purchaser’s province or territory. The purchaser of these shares of Class A common stock in Canada should refer to any applicable provisions of the securities legislation of the purchaser’s province or territory for particulars of these rights or consult with a legal advisor.
(E)
Enforcement of Legal Rights
​
All of our directors and officers as well as the experts named herein and the selling shareholder may be located outside of Canada and, as a result, it may not be possible for Canadian purchasers to effect service of process within Canada upon us or those persons. All or a substantial portion of our assets and the assets of those persons may be located outside of Canada and, as a result, it may not be possible to satisfy a judgment against us or those persons in Canada or to enforce a judgment obtained in Canadian courts against us or those persons outside of Canada.
(F)
Taxation and Eligibility for Investment
​
Canadian purchasers of the shares of Class A common stock should consult their own legal and tax advisors with respect to the tax consequences of an investment in the shares of Class A common stock in their particular circumstances and about the eligibility of the shares of Class A common stock for investment by the purchaser under relevant Canadian legislation.
(G)
Language of Documents
​
The purchaser confirms its express wish and that it has requested that this prospectus, all documents evidencing or relating to the sale of the shares of Class A common stock described herein and all other related documents be drawn up exclusively in the English language. L’acquéreur confirme sa volonté expresse et qu’il a demandé que le présent prospectus, tous les documents attestant de la vente des titres décrits dans le présent document ou s’y rapportant ainsi que tous les autres documents s’y rattachant soient rédigés exclusivement en langue anglaise.
Australia
This prospectus is not a disclosure document for the purposes of Australia’s Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) of Australia, or Corporations Act, has not been lodged with the Australian Securities & Investments Commission and is only directed to the categories of exempt persons set out below. Accordingly, if you receive this prospectus in Australia:
(A)
You confirm and warrant that you are either:
​
•
a “sophisticated investor” under section 708(8)(a) or (b) of the Corporations Act;
​
•
a “sophisticated investor” under section 708(8)(c) or (d) of the Corporations Act and that you have provided an accountant’s certificate to the Company which complies with the requirements of section 708(8)(c)(i) or (ii) of the Corporations Act and related regulations before the offer has been made;
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•
a person associated with the Company under Section 708(12) of the Corporations Act; or
​
•
a “professional investor” within the meaning of section 708(11)(a) or (b) of the Corporations Act.
​
To the extent that you are unable to confirm or warrant that you are an exempt sophisticated investor, associated person or professional investor under the Corporations Act any offer made to you under this prospectus is void and incapable of acceptance.
(B)
You warrant and agree that you will not offer any of the shares of Class A common stock issued to you pursuant to this prospectus for resale in Australia within 12 months of those shares of Class A common stock being issued unless any such resale offer is exempt from the requirement to issue a disclosure document under section 708 of the Corporations Act.
​
European Economic Area
In relation to each Member State of the European Economic Area (each, a “Relevant State”), no shares of Class A common stock have been offered or will be offered pursuant to the offering to the public in that Relevant State prior to the publication of a prospectus in relation to the shares of Class A common stock which have been approved by the competent authority in that Relevant State or, where appropriate, approved in another Relevant State and notified to the competent authority in that Relevant State, all in accordance with the Prospectus Regulation, except that the shares of Class A common stock may be offered to the public in that Relevant State at any time:
(a)
to any legal entity which is a “qualified investor” as defined under Article 2 of the Prospectus Regulation;
​
(b)
to fewer than 150 natural or legal persons (other than qualified investors as defined under Article 2 of the Prospectus Regulation), subject to obtaining the prior consent of representatives for any such offer; or
​
(c)
in any other circumstances falling within Article 1(4) of the Prospectus Regulation,
​
provided that no such offer of the shares of Class A common stock shall require us or any of the representatives to publish a prospectus pursuant to Article 3 of the Prospectus Regulation or supplement a prospectus pursuant to Article 23 of the Prospectus Regulation and each person who initially acquires any shares of Class A common stock or to whom any offer is made will be deemed to have represented, warranted and agreed to and with each of the joint book-running managers and the Company that it is a qualified investor within the meaning of Article 2 of the Prospectus Regulation.
In the case of any shares of Class A common stock being offered to a financial intermediary as that term is used in Article 1(4) of the Prospectus Regulation, each financial intermediary will also be deemed to have represented, warranted and agreed that the shares acquired by it in the offer have not been acquired on a non-discretionary basis on behalf of, nor have they been acquired with a view to their offer or resale to, persons in circumstances which may give rise to an offer of any shares of Class A common stock to the public, other than their offer or resale in a Relevant State to qualified investors as so defined or in circumstances in which the prior consent of the joint book-running managers has been obtained to each such proposed offer or resale.
The Company, the joint book-running managers and their affiliates will rely upon the truth and accuracy of the foregoing representations, warranties and agreements. Notwithstanding the above, a person who is not a “qualified investor” and who has notified the joint book-running managers of such fact in writing may, with the prior consent of the joint book-running managers, be permitted to acquire shares in the offer.
For the purposes of this provision, the expression “offer to the public” in relation to the shares of Class A common stock in any Relevant State means the communication in any form and by any means of sufficient information on the terms of the offer and any shares of Class A common stock to be offered so as to enable an investor to decide to purchase or subscribe for any shares of Class A common stock, and the expression “Prospectus Regulation” means Regulation (EU) 2017/1129.
 
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Hong Kong
No shares of Class A common stock have been offered or sold, and no shares of Class A common stock may be offered or sold, in Hong Kong, by means of any document, other than to persons whose ordinary business is to buy or sell shares or debentures, whether as principal or agent; or to “professional investors” as defined in the Securities and Futures Ordinance (Cap. 571) of Hong Kong (“SFO”) and any rules made under that Ordinance; or in other circumstances which do not result in the document being a “prospectus” as defined in the Companies Ordinance (Cap. 32) of Hong Kong (“CO”) or which do not constitute an offer or invitation to the public for the purpose of the CO or the SFO. No document, invitation or advertisement relating to the shares of Class A common stock has been issued or may be issued or may be in the possession of any person for the purpose of issue (in each case whether in Hong Kong or elsewhere), which is directed at, or the contents of which are likely to be accessed or read by, the public of Hong Kong (except if permitted under the securities laws of Hong Kong) other than with respect to shares of Class A common stock which are or are intended to be disposed of only to persons outside Hong Kong or only to “professional investors” as defined in the SFO and any rules made under that Ordinance.
This prospectus has not been registered with the Registrar of Companies in Hong Kong. Accordingly, this prospectus may not be issued, circulated or distributed in Hong Kong, and the shares of Class A common stock may not be offered for subscription to members of the public in Hong Kong. Each person acquiring the shares of Class A common stock will be required, and is deemed by the acquisition of the shares of Class A common stock, to confirm that he is aware of the restriction on offers of the shares of Class A common stock described in this prospectus and the relevant offering documents and that he is not acquiring, and has not been offered any shares of Class A common stock in circumstances that contravene any such restrictions.
Israel
This prospectus does not constitute a prospectus under the Israeli Securities Law, 5728-1968, or the Securities Law, and has not been filed with or approved by the Israel Securities Authority. In Israel, this prospectus is being distributed only to, and is directed only at, and any offer of the shares of Class A common stock is directed only at, (i) a limited number of persons in accordance with the Israeli Securities Law and (ii) investors listed in the first addendum, or the Addendum, to the Israeli Securities Law, consisting primarily of joint investment in trust funds, provident funds, insurance companies, banks, portfolio managers, investment advisors, members of the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange, underwriters, venture capital funds, entities with equity in excess of NIS 50 million and “qualified individuals,” each as defined in the Addendum (as it may be amended from time to time), collectively referred to as qualified investors (in each case, purchasing for their own account or, where permitted under the Addendum, for the accounts of their clients who are investors listed in the Addendum). Qualified investors are required to submit written confirmation that they fall within the scope of the Addendum, are aware of the meaning of same and agree to it.
Japan
The offering has not been and will not be registered under the Financial Instruments and Exchange Law of Japan (Law No. 25 of 1948 of Japan, as amended), or FIEL, and the underwriters will not offer or sell any shares of Class A common stock, directly or indirectly, in Japan or to, or for the benefit of, any resident of Japan (which term as used herein means any person resident in Japan, including any corporation or other entity organized under the laws of Japan), or to others for re-offering or resale, directly or indirectly, in Japan or to, or for the benefit of, any resident of Japan, except pursuant to an exemption from the registration requirements of, and otherwise in compliance with, the FIEL and any other applicable laws, regulations and ministerial guidelines of Japan.
Singapore
This prospectus has not been and will not be lodged or registered as a prospectus with the Monetary Authority of Singapore. Accordingly, this prospectus and any other document or material in connection with the offer or sale, or invitation for subscription or purchase, of the Class A common stock may not be circulated or distributed, nor may the Class A common stock be offered or sold, or be made the subject of an invitation for subscription or purchase, whether directly or indirectly, to persons in Singapore other than
 
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(i) to an institutional investor under Section 274 of the Securities and Futures Act, Chapter 289 of Singapore (the “SFA”), (ii) to a relevant person pursuant to Section 275(1), or any person pursuant to Section 275(1A), and in accordance with the conditions specified in Section 275, of the SFA, or (iii) otherwise pursuant to, and in accordance with the conditions of, any other applicable provision of the SFA.
Where the Class A common stock is subscribed or purchased under Section 275 of the SFA by a relevant person which is:
(a)
a corporation (which is not an accredited investor (as defined in Section 4A of the SFA)) the sole business of which is to hold investments and the entire share capital of which is owned by one or more individuals, each of whom is an accredited investor; or
​
(b)
a trust (where the trustee is not an accredited investor) whose sole purpose is to hold investments and each beneficiary of the trust is an individual who is an accredited investor, securities (as defined in Section 239(1) of the SFA) of that corporation or the beneficiaries’ rights and interest (howsoever described) in that trust shall not be transferred within six months after that corporation or that trust has acquired the Class A common stock pursuant to an offer made under Section 275 of the SFA except:
​
(i)
to an institutional investor or to a relevant person defined in Section 275(2) of the SFA, or to any person arising from an offer referred to in Section 275(1A) or Section 276(4)(i)(B) of the SFA;
​
(ii)
where no consideration is or will be given for the transfer;
​
(iii)
where the transfer is by operation of law;
​
(iv)
as specified in Section 276(7) of the SFA; or
​
(v)
as specified in Regulation 32 of the Securities and Futures (Offers of Investments) (Shares and Debentures) Regulations 2005 of Singapore.
​
Switzerland
The shares of Class A common stock may not be publicly offered in Switzerland and will not be listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange (“SIX”) or on any other stock exchange or regulated trading facility in Switzerland. This prospectus has been prepared without regard to the disclosure standards for issuance prospectuses under art. 652a or art. 1156 of the Swiss Code of Obligations or the disclosure standards for listing prospectuses under art. 27 ff. of the SIX Listing Rules or the listing rules of any other stock exchange or regulated trading facility in Switzerland. Neither this prospectus nor any other offering or marketing material relating to the shares of Class A common stock or the offering may be publicly distributed or otherwise made publicly available in Switzerland.
Neither this prospectus nor any other offering or marketing material relating to the offering, the Company or the shares of Class A common stock have been or will be filed with or approved by any Swiss regulatory authority. In particular, this prospectus will not be filed with, and the offer of shares of Class A common stock will not be supervised by, the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority FINMA, and the offer of shares of Class A common stock has not been and will not be authorized under the Swiss Federal Act on Collective Investment Schemes (“CISA”). The investor protection afforded to acquirers of interests in collective investment schemes under the CISA does not extend to acquirers of shares of Class A common stock.
 
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United Kingdom
An offer to the public of any shares of Class A common stock may not be made in the United Kingdom, except that an offer to the public in the United Kingdom of any shares may be made at any time under the following exemptions:
a)
where the offer is conditional on the admission of the shares of Class A common stock to trading on the London Stock Exchange plc’s main market (in reliance on the exception in paragraph 6(a) of Schedule 1 of the POATR);
​
b)
to any “qualified investor” as defined under paragraph 15 of Schedule 1 of the POATR;
​
c)
to fewer than 150 persons (other than “qualified investors” as defined under paragraph 15 of Schedule 1 of the POATR), subject to obtaining the prior consent of the representatives for any such offer; or
​
d)
in any other circumstances falling within Part 1 of Schedule 1 of the POATR.
​
For the purposes of this provision, the expression an “offer to the public” in relation to any shares of Class A common stock in the United Kingdom means the communication to any person which presents sufficient information on: (a) the shares of Class A common stock to be offered; and (b) the terms on which they are to be offered, to enable an investor to decide to buy or subscribe for the shares of Class A common stock and the expression “POATR” means the Public Offers and Admissions to Trading Regulations 2024.
This prospectus is only being distributed to and is only directed at: (A) persons who are outside the United Kingdom, or (B) qualified investors who are also (i) investment professionals falling within Article 19(5) of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Financial Promotion) Order 2005 (the “Order”), or (ii) high-net-worth companies, and other persons to whom it may lawfully be communicated, falling within Article 49(2)(a) to (d) of the Order (all such persons falling within (1)‑(3) of Article 49 of the Order together being referred to as “relevant persons”). The shares are only available to, and any invitation, offer or agreement to subscribe, purchase or otherwise acquire the shares will be engaged in only with, relevant persons. Any person who is not a relevant person should not act or rely on this Prospectus or any of its contents.
Brazil
The offer and sale of the securities have not been and will not be registered with the Brazilian securities commission (Comissão de Valores Mobiliários, or “CVM”) and, therefore, will not be carried out by any means that would constitute a public offering in Brazil under CVM Resolution No. 160, dated July 13, 2022, as amended (“CVM Resolution 160”) or unauthorized distribution under Brazilian laws and regulations. The securities may only be offered to Brazilian Professional Investors (as defined by applicable CVM regulation), who may only acquire the securities through a non-Brazilian account, with settlement outside Brazil in non-Brazilian currency. The trading of these securities on regulated securities markets in Brazil is prohibited.
 
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LEGAL MATTERS
The validity of the issuance of our Class A common stock offered in this prospectus will be passed upon for us by Kirkland & Ellis LLP, Chicago, Illinois. Certain partners of Kirkland & Ellis LLP are members of a limited partnership that is an investor in one or more investment funds affiliated with PSP. Kirkland & Ellis LLP represents entities affiliated with PSP in connection with legal matters. Certain legal matters will be passed upon for the underwriters by Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP, New York, New York.
 
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EXPERTS
The financial statements of Suja Life, Inc. as of December 29, 2025, included in this Prospectus have been audited by Deloitte & Touche LLP, an independent registered public accounting firm, as stated in their report. Such financial statements are included in reliance upon the report of such firm given their authority as experts in accounting and auditing.
The financial statements of Suja Life Holdings, L.P. as of December 29, 2025, December 30, 2024 and January 1, 2024 and for each of the three years in the period ended December 29, 2025, December 30, 2024 and January 1, 2024 included in this Prospectus have been audited by Deloitte & Touche LLP, an independent registered public accounting firm, as stated in their report. Such financial statements are included in reliance upon the report of such firm given their authority as experts in accounting and auditing.
 
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WHERE YOU CAN FIND MORE INFORMATION
We have filed with the SEC a registration statement on Form S-1 under the Securities Act to register our Class A common stock being offered in this prospectus. This prospectus, which forms part of the registration statement, does not contain all of the information included in the registration statement and the attached exhibits. You will find additional information about us and our Class A common stock in the registration statement. References in this prospectus to any of our contracts, agreements or other documents are not necessarily complete, and you should refer to the exhibits attached to the registration statement for copies of the actual contracts, agreements or documents.
The SEC maintains a website that contains reports, proxy statements and other information about companies like us, who file electronically with the SEC. The address of that website is http://www.sec.gov. This reference to the SEC’s website is an inactive textual reference only and is not a hyperlink.
Upon the effectiveness of the registration statement, we will be subject to the reporting, proxy and information requirements of the Exchange Act, and will be required to file periodic reports, proxy statements and other information with the SEC. These periodic reports, proxy statements and other information will be available on the website of the SEC referred to above, as well as on our website, https://www.sujalife.com. This reference to our website is an inactive textual reference only and is not a hyperlink. The contents of, or other information accessible through, our website are not part of this prospectus, and you should not consider the contents of our website in making an investment decision with respect to our Class A common stock. We will furnish our shareholders with annual reports containing audited financial statements and quarterly reports containing unaudited interim financial statements for each of the first three quarters of each year.
 
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INDEX TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
​ ​ ​
Page
​
Suja Life, Inc.
​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​
Audited Financial Statement ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​
​ ​ ​ ​ F-2 ​ ​
​ ​ ​ ​ F-3 ​ ​
​ ​ ​ ​ F-4 ​ ​
Suja Life Holdings, L.P. and subsidiaries
​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​
Audited Consolidated Financial Statements ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​
​ ​ ​ ​ F-5 ​ ​
​ ​ ​ ​ F-6 ​ ​
​ ​ ​ ​ F-7 ​ ​
​ ​ ​ ​ F-8 ​ ​
​ ​ ​ ​ F-9 ​ ​
​ ​ ​ ​ F-10 ​ ​
​ ​ ​ ​ F-34 ​ ​
 
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TABLE OF CONTENTS​
 
REPORT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM
To the stockholder and the Board of Directors of Suja Life, Inc.
Opinion on the Financial Statements
We have audited the accompanying balance sheet of Suja Life, Inc. (the “Company”) as of December 29, 2025, and the related notes (collectively referred to as the “financial statement”). In our opinion, the financial statement presents fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the Company as of December 29, 2025, in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America.
Basis for Opinion
This financial statement is the responsibility of the Company’s management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on the Company’s financial statement based on our audit. We are a public accounting firm registered with the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) (PCAOB) and are required to be independent with respect to the Company in accordance with the U.S. federal securities laws and the applicable rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the PCAOB.
We conducted our audit in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statement is free of material misstatement, whether due to error or fraud. The Company is not required to have, nor were we engaged to perform, an audit of its internal control over financial reporting. As part of our audit, we are required to obtain an understanding of internal control over financial reporting 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.
Our audit included performing procedures to assess the risks of material misstatement of the financial statement, whether due to error or fraud, and performing procedures that respond to those risks. Such procedures included examining, on a test basis, evidence regarding the amounts and disclosures in the financial statement. Our audit also included evaluating the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall presentation of the financial statement. We believe that our audit provides a reasonable basis for our opinion.
/s/ Deloitte & Touche LLP
San Diego, California
March 20, 2026
We have served as the Company’s auditor since 2025.
 
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TABLE OF CONTENTS​
 
SUJA LIFE, INC.
BALANCE SHEET
​ ​ ​
As of
December 29, 2025
​
Assets ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​
Total assets
​ ​ ​ $ — ​ ​
Liabilities and Stockholders’ Equity ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​
Total Liabilities
​ ​ ​ $ — ​ ​
Stockholders’ Equity ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​
Contribution receivable
​ ​ ​ $ (10) ​ ​
Common Stock, par value $0.01 par value (1,000 shares authorized and issued)
​ ​ ​ $ 10 ​ ​
Total liabilities and stockholders’ equity
​ ​ ​ $ — ​ ​
 
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TABLE OF CONTENTS​
 
NOTES TO THE BALANCE SHEET
1.
Organization
​
Suja Life, Inc. (the “Corporation”) was formed as a Delaware corporation on October 8, 2025. The Corporation was formed for the purpose of completing a public offering and related transactions in order to carry on the business of Suja Life Holdings, L.P. and subsidiaries (the “Company”). The Corporation will be the sole general partner of the Company and will operate and control all of the businesses and affairs of the Company and, through the Company, continue to conduct the business now conducted by the Company. The Corporation’s fiscal year is a 52 – 53 week year ending on the Monday closest to December 31 each year. The Company did not have any activity outside of the formation and share issuance for the period from October 8, 2025 to December 29, 2025.
2.
Summary of Significant Accounting Policies
​
Basis of Presentation
The balance sheet has been prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States of America (“GAAP”) set by the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) and pursuant to the rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”). Separate statements of operations, comprehensive income, changes in stockholder’s equity, and cash flows have not been presented in the financial statements because there have been no activities in this entity.
3.
Stockholder’s Equity
​
The Corporation is authorized to issue 1,000 shares of common stock, par value $0.01 per share. On October 8, 2025, 1,000 shares of common stock were issued for future cash consideration of $10 which was not received as of the date of formation. The purchase of the shares was not cash funded, therefore there is a $10 contra-equity receivable on the balance sheet.
4.
Subsequent Events
​
We evaluated subsequent events through March 20, 2026 which is the date the financial statement was available to be issued.
 
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TABLE OF CONTENTS​
 
REPORT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM
To the shareholders and the Board of Directors of Suja Life Holdings, L.P.
Opinion on the Financial Statements
We have audited the accompanying consolidated balance sheets of Suja Life Holdings, L.P. and subsidiaries (the “Company”) as of December 29, 2025, and December 30, 2024, the related consolidated statements of operations, partners’ equity, and cash flows, for each of the three years in the period ended December 29, 2025, and the related notes and the schedule listed in the Index at Schedule 1 (collectively referred to as the “financial statements”). In our opinion, the financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the Company as of December 29, 2025, and December 30, 2024, and the results of its operations and its cash flows for each of the three years in the period ended December 29, 2025, in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America.
Basis for Opinion
These financial statements are the responsibility of the Company’s management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on the Company’s financial statements based on our audits. We are a public accounting firm registered with the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) (PCAOB) and are required to be independent with respect to the Company in accordance with the U.S. federal securities laws and the applicable rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the PCAOB.
We conducted our audits in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB and in accordance with auditing standards generally accepted in the United States of America. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement, whether due to error or fraud. The Company is not required to have, nor were we engaged to perform, an audit of its internal control over financial reporting. As part of our audits, we are required to obtain an understanding of internal control over financial reporting 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.
Our audits included performing procedures to assess the risks of material misstatement of the financial statements, whether due to error or fraud, and performing procedures that respond to those risks. Such procedures included examining, on a test basis, evidence regarding the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. Our audits also included evaluating the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall presentation of the financial statements. We believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinion.
/s/ Deloitte & Touche LLP
San Diego, California
March 20, 2026
We have served as the Company’s auditor since 2022.
 
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Suja Life Holdings, L.P. and Subsidiaries
Consolidated Balance Sheets
($ in thousands, except unit data)
​ ​ ​
As of
​
​ ​ ​
December 29,
2025
​ ​
December 30,
2024
​
Assets ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​
Current Assets ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​
Cash
​ ​ ​ $ 31,015 ​ ​ ​ ​ $ 16,162 ​ ​
Restricted cash
​ ​ ​ ​ 1,010 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 720 ​ ​
Trade receivables, net
​ ​ ​ ​ 14,081 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 11,877 ​ ​
Inventories
​ ​ ​ ​ 22,412 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 16,598 ​ ​
Prepaid expenses and other current assets
​ ​ ​ ​ 2,636 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 1,974 ​ ​
Total current assets
​ ​ ​ ​ 71,154 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 47,331 ​ ​
Property and equipment, net
​ ​ ​ ​ 45,671 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 37,698 ​ ​
Operating lease right-of-use assets, net
​ ​ ​ ​ 23,387 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 21,423 ​ ​
Trade name and other intangible assets, net
​ ​ ​ ​ 178,463 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 200,619 ​ ​
Goodwill
​ ​ ​ ​ 106,201 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 106,201 ​ ​
Other assets
​ ​ ​ ​ 701 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 939 ​ ​
Deferred transaction costs
​ ​ ​ ​ 2,536 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​
Total assets
​ ​ ​ $ 428,113 ​ ​ ​ ​ $ 414,211 ​ ​
Liabilities And Partners’ Equity ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​
Current Liabilities ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​
Accounts payable
​ ​ ​ $ 19,408 ​ ​ ​ ​ $ 12,634 ​ ​
Accrued expenses
​ ​ ​ ​ 19,563 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 16,389 ​ ​
Accrued compensation
​ ​ ​ ​ 14,596 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 12,459 ​ ​
Current portion of operating lease obligations
​ ​ ​ ​ 2,450 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 1,993 ​ ​
Current portion of finance lease obligations
​ ​ ​ ​ 110 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 147 ​ ​
Short-term debt
​ ​ ​ ​ 2,740 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 2,055 ​ ​
Total current liabilities
​ ​ ​ ​ 58,867 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 45,677 ​ ​
Long-term operating lease obligations
​ ​ ​ ​ 24,051 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 22,404 ​ ​
Long-term finance lease obligations
​ ​ ​ ​ 98 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 208 ​ ​
Long-term debt, net
​ ​ ​ ​ 301,157 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 277,904 ​ ​
Deferred tax liabilities, net
​ ​ ​ ​ 11,370 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 10,808 ​ ​
Total liabilities
​ ​ ​ ​ 395,543 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 357,001 ​ ​
Commitments and Contingencies (Note 10) ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​
Partners’ Equity ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​
Unlimited Class A Units authorized, no par value, 222,881 shares issued
and outstanding as of December 29, 2025 and December 30, 2024
​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​
Unlimited Class B Units authorized, no par value, 18,680 and 17,776 shares issued and outstanding as of December 29, 2025 and December 30, 2024, respectively
​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​
Unlimited Class C Units, no par value, 200 issued and outstanding as of
December 29, 2025 and December 30, 2024
​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​
4,840 Class D Units, no par value and 4,840 issued and outstanding as of December 29, 2025 and December 30, 2024
​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​
Unlimited Class E Units, no par value, 1,434 issued and outstanding as of December 29, 2025 and December 30, 2024
​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​
Unlimited Class F Units, no par value, 1,000 issued and outstanding as of December 29, 2025 and December 30, 2024
​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​
Partners’ equity
​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​
Additional paid-in capital
​ ​ ​ ​ 144,712 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 146,015 ​ ​
Accumulated deficit
​ ​ ​ ​ (112,142) ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ (88,805) ​ ​
Total partners’ equity
​ ​ ​ ​ 32,570 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 57,210 ​ ​
Total liabilities and partners’ equity
​ ​ ​ $ 428,113 ​ ​ ​ ​ $ 414,211 ​ ​
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these Consolidated Financial Statements.
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Suja Life Holdings, L.P.
Consolidated Statements of Operations
($ in thousands)
​ ​ ​
For the fiscal year ended
​
​ ​ ​
2025
​ ​
2024
​ ​
2023
​
Net sales
​ ​ ​ $ 326,624 ​ ​ ​ ​ $ 258,928 ​ ​ ​ ​ $ 224,409 ​ ​
Cost of sales
​ ​ ​ ​ (169,411) ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ (130,673) ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ (124,596) ​ ​
Gross profit
​ ​ ​ ​ 157,213 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 128,255 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 99,813 ​ ​
Operating expenses
​ ​ ​ ​ (148,687) ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ (127,638) ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ (108,033) ​ ​
Income (loss) from operations
​ ​ ​ ​ 8,526 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 617 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ (8,220) ​ ​
Other income, net
​ ​ ​ ​ 43 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 865 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 726 ​ ​
Interest expense
​ ​ ​ ​ (30,045) ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ (20,301) ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ (19,752) ​ ​
Loss before taxes
​ ​ ​ ​ (21,476) ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ (18,819) ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ (27,246) ​ ​
Benefit (provision) for income taxes
​ ​ ​ ​ (1,861) ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ (1,947) ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 2,776 ​ ​
Net income (loss)
​ ​ ​ $ (23,337) ​ ​ ​ ​ $ (20,766) ​ ​ ​ ​ $ (24,470) ​ ​
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these Consolidated Financial Statements.
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Suja Life Holdings, L.P. and Subsidiaries
Consolidated Statements of Partners’ Equity
($ in thousands, except unit data)
​ ​ ​
Class A Units
​ ​
Class B Units
​ ​
Class C Units
​ ​
Class D Units
​ ​
Class E Units
​ ​
Class F Units
​ ​
Additional
Paid-in
Capital
​ ​
Accumulated
Deficit
​ ​
Partners’
Equity
​
​ ​ ​
Units
​ ​
Amt
​ ​
Units
​ ​
Amt
​ ​
Units
​ ​
Amt
​ ​
Units
​ ​
Amt
​ ​
Units
​ ​
Amt
​ ​
Units
​ ​
Amt
​
Balance, Dec 27, 2022
​ ​ ​ ​ 222,881 ​ ​ ​ ​ $  — ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 20,979 ​ ​ ​ ​ $  — ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 200 ​ ​ ​ ​ $  — ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 4,840 ​ ​ ​ ​ $  — ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​ ​ ​ $  — ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​ ​ ​ $  — ​ ​ ​ ​ $ 279,535 ​ ​ ​ ​ $ (43,569) ​ ​ ​ ​ $ 235,966 ​ ​
Net loss
​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ (24,470) ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ (24,470) ​ ​
Incentive compensation
​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 460 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 460 ​ ​
Distributions
​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ (671) ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ (671) ​ ​
Balance, Jan 1, 2024
​ ​ ​ ​ 222,881 ​ ​ ​ ​ $ — ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 20,979 ​ ​ ​ ​ $ — ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 200 ​ ​ ​ ​ $ — ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 4,840 ​ ​ ​ ​ $ — ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​ ​ ​ $ — ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​ ​ ​ $ — ​ ​ ​ ​ $ 279,324 ​ ​ ​ ​ $ (68,039) ​ ​ ​ ​ $ 211,285 ​ ​
Net loss
​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ (20,766) ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ (20,766) ​ ​
Equity Issuance – Class E
​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 1,434 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​
Equity Issuance – Class F
​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 1,000 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​
Incentive compensation
​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ (3,203) ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 618 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 618 ​ ​
Distributions
​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ (133,927) ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ (133,927) ​ ​
Balance, Dec 30, 2024
​ ​ ​ ​ 222,881 ​ ​ ​ ​ $ — ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 17,776 ​ ​ ​ ​ $ — ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 200 ​ ​ ​ ​ $ — ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 4,840 ​ ​ ​ ​ $ — ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 1,434 ​ ​ ​ ​ $ — ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 1,000 ​ ​ ​ ​ $ — ​ ​ ​ ​ $ 146,015 ​ ​ ​ ​ $ (88,805) ​ ​ ​ ​ $ 57,210 ​ ​
Net loss
​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ (23,337) ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ (23,337) ​ ​
Incentive compensation
​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 904 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 507 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 507 ​ ​
Distributions
​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ (1,810) ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ (1,810) ​ ​
Balance, Dec 29, 2025
​ ​ ​ ​ 222,881 ​ ​ ​ ​ $ — ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 18,680 ​ ​ ​ ​ $ — ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 200 ​ ​ ​ ​ $ — ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 4,840 ​ ​ ​ ​ $ — ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 1,434 ​ ​ ​ ​ $ — ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 1,000 ​ ​ ​ ​ $ — ​ ​ ​ ​ $ 144,712 ​ ​ ​ ​ $ (112,142) ​ ​ ​ ​ $ 32,570 ​ ​
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these Consolidated Financial Statements.
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Suja Life Holdings, L.P.
Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows
($ in thousands, except unit data)
​ ​ ​
Fiscal 2025
​ ​
Fiscal 2024
​ ​
Fiscal 2023
​
Operating activities ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​
Net loss
​ ​ ​ $ (23,337) ​ ​ ​ ​ $ (20,766) ​ ​ ​ ​ $ (24,470) ​ ​
Adjustments to reconcile net loss to net cash provided by operating
activities:
​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​
Depreciation and amortization
​ ​ ​ ​ 28,097 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 27,304 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 26,685 ​ ​
Bad debt expense
​ ​ ​ ​ (9) ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 29 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 116 ​ ​
Non-cash operating lease expense
​ ​ ​ ​ 4,053 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 3,580 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 3,568 ​ ​
Finance lease right-of-use amortization
​ ​ ​ ​ 154 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 156 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 178 ​ ​
Non-cash interest on financing leases
​ ​ ​ ​ 23 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 22 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 31 ​ ​
Amortization of discount on debt
​ ​ ​ ​ 993 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 776 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 732 ​ ​
Inventory obsolescence
​ ​ ​ ​ 3,217 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 1,972 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 2,228 ​ ​
Loss on disposal of assets
​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 639 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 31 ​ ​
Incentive unit compensation
​ ​ ​ ​ 507 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 618 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 460 ​ ​
Non-cash transaction costs
​ ​ ​ ​ (2,536) ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 5,730 ​ ​
Deferred taxes
​ ​ ​ ​ 562 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 1,084 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ (2,775) ​ ​
Change in operating assets and liabilities
​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​
Trade receivables, net
​ ​ ​ ​ (2,195) ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 1,782 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 12,148 ​ ​
Inventories
​ ​ ​ ​ (9,031) ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ (3,756) ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 537 ​ ​
Prepaid expenses and other current assets
​ ​ ​ ​ (662) ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ (187) ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ (229) ​ ​
Other assets
​ ​ ​ ​ (33) ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ (447) ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​
Accounts payable
​ ​ ​ ​ 7,088 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 1,907 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ (2,666) ​ ​
Accrued compensation
​ ​ ​ ​ 2,137 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 5,282 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ (1,130) ​ ​
Accrued expenses
​ ​ ​ ​ 3,174 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ (6,313) ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 10,436 ​ ​
Operating lease obligations
​ ​ ​ ​ (3,913) ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ (3,329) ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ (1,941) ​ ​
Other liabilities
​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ (11,258) ​ ​
Net cash provided by operating activities
​ ​ ​ ​ 8,289 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 10,353 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 18,411 ​ ​
Investing activities ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​
Purchase of intangible assets
​ ​ ​ ​ (42) ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ (5,733) ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​
Purchase of property and equipment
​ ​ ​ ​ (14,069) ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ (4,462) ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ (11,399) ​ ​
Net cash used in investing activities
​ ​ ​ ​ (14,111) ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ (10,195) ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ (11,399) ​ ​
Financing activities ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​
Proceeds from term loan
​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 112,035 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​
Proceeds from revolving loan
​ ​ ​ ​ 25,000 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 15,000 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​
Financing costs from term loan
​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ (2,734) ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​
Principal payments on financing lease obligations
​ ​ ​ ​ (170) ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ (166) ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ (203) ​ ​
Distributions
​ ​ ​ ​ (1,810) ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ (133,927) ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ (671) ​ ​
Repayments of term loan
​ ​ ​ ​ (2,055) ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ (2,025) ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ (1,515) ​ ​
Net cash (used in) provided by financing activities
​ ​ ​ ​ 20,965 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ (11,817) ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ (2,389) ​ ​
Change in cash and restricted cash
​ ​ ​ ​ 15,143 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ (11,659) ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 4,623 ​ ​
Cash and restricted cash at beginning of period
​ ​ ​ ​ 16,882 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 28,541 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 23,918 ​ ​
Cash and restricted cash at end of period
​ ​ ​ $ 32,025 ​ ​ ​ ​ $ 16,882 ​ ​ ​ ​ $ 28,541 ​ ​
Supplemental Disclosure of Cash Flow Information ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​
Cash paid for interest
​ ​ ​ $ 24,419 ​ ​ ​ ​ $ 17,039 ​ ​ ​ ​ $ 18,566 ​ ​
Cash paid for income taxes
​ ​ ​ $ 2,273 ​ ​ ​ ​ $ — ​ ​ ​ ​ $ 2 ​ ​
Supplemental Disclosures of Non-Cash Activities ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​
Amounts included in accounts payable for equipment purchased
​ ​ ​ $ 392 ​ ​ ​ ​ $ 78 ​ ​ ​ ​ $ 119 ​ ​
Operating lease liabilities arising from obtaining operating lease assets
​ ​ ​ $ 4,026 ​ ​ ​ ​ $ 84 ​ ​ ​ ​ $ — ​ ​
Financing lease liabilities arising from obtaining financing lease assets
​ ​ ​ $ — ​ ​ ​ ​ $ 199 ​ ​ ​ ​ $ — ​ ​
Measurement period adjustment to goodwill
​ ​ ​ $ — ​ ​ ​ ​ $ — ​ ​ ​ ​ $ 503 ​ ​
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these Consolidated Financial Statements.
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Suja Life Holdings, LP and Subsidiaries
Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements
Note 1 — Nature of Business and Significant Accounting Policies
Organization
Suja Life Holdings, L.P. (the “Company”), a Delaware limited partnership, is a holding company that, through its other subsidiaries, conducts operations through its wholly owned operating subsidiary Suja Life, LLC (“Suja”). The Company was organized for the purpose of entering into a merger agreement with Suja. Suja was formed on April 30, 2012 as a privately held Delaware limited liability company for the purpose of producing and distributing cold-pressed fresh juice for wholesale and retail sales. On October 11, 2022, the Company acquired all outstanding capital stock of Vive Organic, Inc. (“Vive”). Vive is a wholesaler of juice-based, functional wellness shots and immunity sparkling beverages selling its products across retail channels including conventional, drug, coffee, natural, convenience, food service, mass, & e-commerce. The Company is headquartered in Oceanside, California.
Basis of Presentation
The accompanying consolidated financial statements have been prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States of America (“GAAP”). The accompanying financial statements include the consolidated accounts of the Company and its subsidiaries. The Company consolidates those entities it controls through a wholly owned interest.
The Company’s fiscal year ends on the closest Monday before December 31, resulting in four equal 13-week fiscal quarters, with a 14-week fiscal quarter once every five to six years. The period from December 27, 2022 to January 1, 2024 (or year ended January 1, 2024), which is referred to as fiscal 2023, has three 13-week quarters and one 14-week quarter, resulting in a 53 week year. The period from January 2, 2024 to December 30, 2024 (or the year ended December 30, 2024), which is referred to as fiscal 2024, has four equal 13-week fiscal quarters, resulting in a 52 week year. The period from December 31, 2024 to December 29, 2025 (or the year ended December 29, 2025), which is referred to as fiscal 2025, has four equal 13-week fiscal quarters, resulting in a 52 week year. The consolidated financial statements presented are:
•
The financial position as of the end of fiscal 2025 and fiscal 2024.
​
•
The results of operations, comprehensive loss and changes in partners’ equity during fiscal 2025, fiscal 2024 and fiscal 2023.
​
•
The changes in cash flows for fiscal 2025, fiscal 2024 and fiscal 2023.
​
Basic and diluted earnings per unit are not presented since the ownership structure of the Company does not include a common unit of ownership.
Basis of Consolidation
The accompanying consolidated financial statements include the accounts of the Company and its wholly owned subsidiaries. All intercompany transactions and balances have been eliminated in consolidation.
Use of Estimates
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, disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of financial statements, and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting period. Actual results could differ from those estimates.
Cash & Restricted Cash
The Company maintains cash balances in bank accounts which, at times, may exceed federally insured limits. The Company has not experienced any losses on such accounts, and management believes the
 
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Company is not exposed to any significant credit risk on its cash. Additionally, material cash balances are maintained across two or more separate financial institutions to reduce cash concentration risk.
The Company maintains a letter of credit to support certain facility lease obligations. The Company has outstanding letters of credit totaling $1,010 thousand and $720 thousand, all of which were fully collateralized by cash deposits, as of the end of fiscal 2025 and 2024, respectively. Accordingly, $1,010 thousand and $720 thousand of cash has been classified as restricted cash on the consolidated balance sheet as of the end of fiscal 2025 and 2024, respectively. These funds are not available for general corporate purposes until the related letters of credit expire or are canceled.
The following table provides a reconciliation of cash and restricted cash reported within the consolidated balance sheets to the total of the same amounts shown in the consolidated statements of cash flows:
($ in thousands)
​ ​
Fiscal 2025
​ ​
Fiscal 2024
​
Cash
​ ​ ​ $ 31,015 ​ ​ ​ ​ $ 16,162 ​ ​
Restricted cash
​ ​ ​ ​ 1,010 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 720 ​ ​
Total cash and restricted cash
​ ​ ​ $ 32,025 ​ ​ ​ ​ $ 16,882 ​ ​
Trade Receivables and Current Expected Credit Losses
Trade receivables are recorded when goods are sold. Trade receivables are presented in the consolidated balance sheets at net realizable value. This value includes an appropriate allowance for estimated credit losses to reflect expected loss on trade receivable balances. The allowance is estimated based on the Company’s historical losses, level of past-due accounts based on the contractual terms of the receivables, existing economic conditions, and the financial stability of their customers. Receivables are written off in the year deemed uncollectible, based on payment performance and other factors. As of the end of fiscal years 2025 and 2024, the allowance totaled approximately $197 thousand and $249 thousand, respectively, and is believed to be adequate to cover expected amounts to be written off in future periods. Credit terms for payment of products are extended to customers in the normal course of business, and no collateral is required.
The following table summarizes the change in the accounts receivables allowance for credit losses:
($ in thousands)
​ ​
Fiscal 2025
​ ​
Fiscal 2024
​
Beginning Allowance
​ ​ ​ $ 249 ​ ​ ​ ​ $ 326 ​ ​
Current period provision for expected credit losses
​ ​ ​ ​ (9) ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 29 ​ ​
Write-off’s charged against the allowance
​ ​ ​ ​ (43) ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ (106) ​ ​
Ending Allowance
​ ​ ​ $ 197 ​ ​ ​ ​ $ 249 ​ ​
Inventories
The Company determines inventory cost on a first-in, first-out basis. Inventories, primarily ingredients, packaging, and bottled juice, are valued at the lower of cost or net realizable value. Net realizable value is the estimated selling price in the ordinary course of business, less reasonably predictable costs of completion, disposal and transportation. The Company reduces the carrying value of inventory to net realizable value for ingredients and bottled juice that are close to the date of expiration.
Property and Equipment
Property and equipment are stated at cost. Depreciation is provided on a straight-line basis over the estimated useful lives of the assets. Leasehold improvements are depreciated over the shorter of the estimated useful life of the improvement or the lease term. Maintenance, repairs, and minor replacements are charged to expense when incurred. Spare parts are often purchased and stored on hand and are expensed when received. Below is a summary of the estimated useful life by asset class.
 
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Asset Class
​ ​
Useful Life
​
Machinery & Equipment
​ ​
4 – 15
​
Leasehold Improvements*
​ ​
5 – 15
​
Information Technology Equipment
​ ​
4 – 6
​
Furniture & Fixtures
​ ​
8
​
​
*
Leasehold improvements are depreciated over the lesser of the estimated useful life or lease term.
​
Impairment of Long-Lived Assets
The Company evaluates long-lived assets for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying value of an asset may not be recoverable. If the estimated future cash flows (undiscounted and without interest charges) from the use of an asset are less than the carrying value, a write-down would be recorded to reduce the related asset to its estimated fair value. There was no impairment recorded for all periods presented.
Deferred Transaction Costs
In the year ended December 26, 2022 (“fiscal 2022”), the Company capitalized certain legal, accounting, and other third-party fees that are directly related to a planned equity financing that was probable of successful completion until such financing is consummated. After consummation of the equity financing, these costs were to be recorded as a reduction of the proceeds received as a result of the financing. Should a planned equity financing be abandoned, terminated, or significantly delayed, the deferred transaction costs were to be immediately written off to operating expenses.
In fiscal 2023, the Company determined that the planned equity financing for which transaction costs were deferred in fiscal 2022, was no longer probable, and as such, all deferred transaction costs were expensed in fiscal 2023. In fiscal 2023, $6,185 thousand of deferred transaction costs are included in operating expenses on the consolidated statements of operations.
In fiscal 2025, the Company capitalized certain legal, accounting, and other third-party fees that are directly related to a planned IPO transaction that is probable of successful completion. For fiscal 2025, $2,536 thousand of deferred transaction costs are included on the consolidated balance sheets. There were no deferred transaction expenses in fiscal 2024.
Fair Value Measurements
The Company follows ASC 820, Fair Value Measurement (“ASC 820”). ASC 820 defines fair value as the price that would be received to sell an asset or paid to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement date. The determination of fair value is based on the principal or most advantageous market in which the Company could participate and considers assumptions that market participants would use when pricing the asset or liability, such as inherent risk, transfer restrictions, and risk of nonperformance. Also, determination of fair value assumes that market participants will consider the highest and best use of the asset.
The Company uses the hierarchy prescribed in ASC 820 for fair value measurements, based on the available inputs to the valuation and the degree to which they are observable or not observable in the market.
The three levels of the hierarchy are as follows:
Level 1 Inputs — Unadjusted quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities accessible to the reporting entity at the measurement date; and
Level 2 Inputs — Inputs are quoted prices for similar assets and liabilities in active markets; quoted prices for identical or similar assets and liabilities in markets that are not active; inputs other than quoted prices, but that are observable for the asset or liability (e.g., interest rates; yield curves); and inputs that are
 
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derived principally from or corroborated by observable market data by correlation or by other means (i.e., market corroborated inputs); and
Level 3 Inputs — Unobservable inputs for the asset or liability used to measure fair value. These inputs reflect the Company’s own assumptions about what other market participants would use in pricing the asset or liability. These are based on the best information available and can include the Company’s own data.
The fair value of the financial assets and liabilities are included at the amount at which the instrument could be exchanged in a current transaction between willing parties, other than in a forced or liquidation sale.
The Company has assessed that the fair value of cash and restricted cash, trade receivables, accounts payable, other current liabilities, and other debt approximates their carrying amounts largely due to the short-term maturities or recent commencement of these instruments.
Goodwill and Other Intangibles
Goodwill represents the premium paid over the fair value of the net tangible and identifiable intangible assets acquired in the Company’s business combinations. The Company evaluates goodwill and intangible assets in accordance with ASC 350, Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets (“ASC 350”). ASC 350 requires goodwill to be either qualitatively or quantitatively assessed for impairment annually (or more frequently if impairment indicators arise) for each reporting unit. The Company tests goodwill annually for impairment as of the first day of the fourth fiscal quarter of each year, and at interim periods, using a qualitative approach. The Company’s annual evaluation assesses qualitative factors to determine whether it is more likely than not the fair value is less than the carrying value of the asset. If the Company is unable to conclude that goodwill is not impaired during its qualitative assessment, the Company will perform a quantitative assessment by estimating the fair value of the assets and comparing the fair value to the carrying value. As of fiscal 2025, 2024, and 2023, it was more likely than not that the fair value of goodwill exceeded the carrying value as determined through the qualitative assessment. No goodwill impairment was recognized in any period presented in the consolidated financial statements.
Intangible assets with finite lives consist of trade names, recipes, and customer relationships and are amortized on a straight-line basis over their estimated useful lives. Factors that could trigger an impairment review include significant under-performance relative to expected historical or projected future operating results, significant changes in the manner of the Company’s use of the acquired assets or the strategy for the Company’s overall business or significant negative industry or economic trends. If this evaluation indicates that the value of the intangible asset may be impaired, the Company makes an assessment of the recoverability of the net book value of the asset over its remaining useful life. If this assessment indicates that the intangible asset is not recoverable, the Company reduces the net book value of the related intangible asset to fair value and may adjust the remaining amortization period.
The Company evaluates its intangible assets with finite lives for indications of impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the net book value may not be recoverable. There were no indicators of impairment identified nor was impairment recognized in intangible assets in any period presented in the consolidated financial statements.
Incentive Unit Compensation
The Company sponsors an equity incentive plan (the “Plan”) in which employees, officers, directors, managers, independent contractors, consultants, advisors and other service providers of the Company participate. The Plan is administered by the board of directors of the Company (the “Board”). The Company measures the cost of services received in exchange for an award of incentive units based on the grant-date fair value of the awards issued under the Plan. The fair value of the incentive units (“Incentive Units”) under the Plan are calculated using a Monte Carlo simulation model to estimate a distribution of equity values until a potential liquidity event. For time-based awards subject to graded vesting, compensation expense is recognized on a straight-line basis over the service period. For performance-based awards, compensation expense is only recorded to the extent the performance condition is determined to be probable of
 
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occurrence. Forfeitures are accounted for as they occur. Refer to Note 13 — Incentive Unit Compensation for further details of activity related to the Plan.
Revenue Recognition
Revenue is recognized when performance obligations under the terms of contracts with the Company’s customers are satisfied. The Company’s performance obligation under the contract, a customer sales order, generally consists of the sale of finished product to customers. Revenue is recognized at the point in time when control of the product transfers, which the Company has determined is the date at which the product is received by the customer. The Company’s sales terms generally do not allow for a right of return except in the case of spoiled or otherwise defective product. Payment is typically collected from customers within 30 days of the date of sale.
Sales are presented net of sales promotions, coupons and allowances within the consolidated statements of operations. Sales promotions, coupons, and allowances primarily consist of consumer coupon redemption, contractual trade promotions, early pay discounts, and other costs, including estimated allowances for spoiled product. The Company estimates the amount of spoiled product based on historical fact pattern as well as defined contract terms then accrues as a reduction of revenue in the period in which the related product revenue is recognized.
Revenue is measured as the amount of consideration the Company expects to receive in exchange for transferring products to customers. The Company includes variable consideration in the transaction price to the extent it is probable that a significant reversal of revenue will not occur when the uncertainty associated with the variable consideration is subsequently resolved. The Company adjusts the estimate of revenue at the earlier of when the amount of consideration the Company expects to receive changes or when the consideration becomes fixed.
Sales are reported net of sales, use, excise, and other similar tax amounts collected from customers and remitted to governmental authorities. Shipping and handling costs associated with outbound freight after control over a product has transferred to a customer are accounted for as fulfillment costs, are accrued at time of delivery, and are included in operating expenses in the consolidated statements of operations. The Company recorded $19,928 thousand, $16,419 thousand, and $15,900 thousand of such costs during fiscal 2025, 2024, and 2023, respectively.
Advertising and Marketing
Advertising and marketing costs are expensed as incurred within operating expenses on the consolidated statements of operations and totaled approximately $50,559 thousand, $32,773 thousand, and $20,507 thousand during fiscal 2025, 2024, and 2023, respectively.
Income taxes
Prior to the acquisition of Vive in October 2022, the Company was wholly organized as a limited partnership and, as such, was treated under the provisions of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (“IRC”), as a partnership. At the partnership level, the Company is not subject to federal, state, or local income tax, as such liabilities are the responsibility of its partners. The partners or members separately account for their share of the Company’s items of deductions, losses, and credits. Therefore, no provision is made at the partnership level.
On October 11, 2022, the Company acquired all outstanding capital stock of Vive, which is subject to U.S. Federal income tax and is subject to state income tax in certain jurisdictions. Additionally, on December 30, 2024, Suja Life LLC, a subsidiary of Suja Life Holdings, LP, formed a new subsidiary, Slice Life Holdings, LLC, that is subject to U.S. federal income tax and subject to state income tax in certain jurisdictions. Refer to Note 2 — Business Combinations and Acquisitions and Note 15 — Income Taxes for further details.
The Company accounts for income taxes under the asset and liability method. Deferred tax assets and liabilities are recognized for the future tax consequences attributable to operating losses and tax credit carryforwards, as well as the differences between the financial statement carrying amounts of existing assets
 
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and liabilities and their respective tax bases. 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.
In accordance with ASC 740-10, Income Taxes, the Company is required to assess the potential impact of any uncertain income tax positions and recognize the largest amount that is more-likely-than-not to be sustained upon audit by the relevant taxing authority. The Company does not recognize a tax benefit unless it concludes that it is more likely than not that the benefit will be sustained on audit by the taxing authority based solely on the technical merits of the associated tax position. If the recognition threshold is met, the Company recognizes a tax benefit measured at the largest amount of the tax benefit that, in the Company’s judgment, is greater than 50 percent likely to be realized. The Company records interest and penalties related to uncertain tax positions in income tax expense.
A valuation allowance will be provided against deferred tax assets if the Company determines it is not more likely than not that such assets will ultimately be realized. Refer to Note 15 — Income Taxes for further details.
Business Combinations and Acquisitions
The Company accounts for business combinations using the acquisition method of accounting. On the date of the acquisition, the Company allocates the purchase price to the assets acquired and liabilities assumed at their estimated fair values. Goodwill on the acquisition date is measured as the excess of the purchase price over the fair values of assets acquired and liabilities assumed. While the Company uses its best estimates and assumptions to accurately value assets acquired and liabilities assumed at the acquisition date, its estimates are subject to refinement. As a result, during the measurement period, which may be up to one year from the acquisition date, the Company may record adjustments to the assets acquired and liabilities assumed with corresponding adjustments to goodwill. Management expenses acquisition-related costs as incurred.
For acquisitions that are not deemed to be acquisitions of businesses, the assets acquired are recognized based on their cost to the Company as the acquirer and no gain or loss is recognized. The cost of assets acquired in a group is allocated to the individual assets within the group based on their relative fair values and does not give rise to goodwill. Transaction costs related to acquisitions of assets are included in the cost basis of the assets acquired.
New Accounting Pronouncements
In December 2023, the FASB issued ASU 2023-09, Income Taxes (Topic 740): Improvements to Income Tax Disclosures, introducing changes to income tax disclosures, primarily relating to effective tax rates and cash paid for taxes. This ASU requires companies to provide an annual rate reconciliation in both dollar figures and percentages, and changes the way annual income taxes paid are disclosed by all entities, necessitating a breakdown by federal, state, and foreign jurisdictions. The standard becomes effective for public business entities for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2024 and December 15, 2025 for all other entities. ASU 2023-09 may be applied prospectively or retrospectively, and allows for early adoption. These requirements do not currently impact these financial statements, however, to the extent the Company’s registration statement is declared effective these requirements may have an impact on the Company’s income tax disclosures. The Company does not intend to early adopt ASU 2023-09. The impact of adoption will be assessed at the time that the Company is subject to the disclosure requirements of ASC 740, Income Taxes.
In November 2024, the FASB issued ASU 2024-03, Income Statement — Reporting Comprehensive Income — Expense Disaggregation Disclosures (Subtopic 220-40), which was further clarified by ASU 2025-01 in January 2025. These standards enhance expense disclosures by requiring more detailed information on the types of expenses included in certain captions within the consolidated financial statements, including employee compensation, depreciation, amortization, and costs incurred related to inventory and manufacturing activities in income statement expense captions such as cost of sales and selling, general and administrative expenses. The guidance is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2026, including interim periods beginning after December 15, 2027, with early adoption permitted. The Company will apply the new guidance on a prospective basis and expects ASU 2024-03 and ASU 2025-01 to impact only disclosures with no effect on the Company’s financial condition, results of operations or cash flows.
 
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In September 2025, the FASB issued ASU No. 2025-06, Intangibles-Goodwill and Other-Internal Use Software (Subtopic 350-40): Targeted Improvements to the Accounting for Internal-Use Software, which removes all references to software development project stages so that the guidance is neutral to different software development methods. Therefore, under the ASU, software capitalization will begin when management has authorized and committed to funding the software project and when it is probable that the project will be completed and the software will be used to perform the function intended. ASU No. 2025-06 is effective for annual periods beginning after December 15, 2027. The guidance is to be applied on a prospective basis, or on a modified transition approach or a retrospective transition approach; this ASU allows for early adoption. The Company is assessing the effect of this update on the consolidated financial statements and related disclosures.
Recently Adopted Accounting Pronouncements
No accounting pronouncements were adopted during fiscal 2025.
Note 2 — Business Combinations and Acquisitions
Asset Acquisition
On April 24, 2024, the Company acquired all assets pertaining to the business of manufacturing, marketing and selling beverages represented by the Slice beverage brand (“Slice”) which consisted of an intellectual property portfolio. Suja acquired the specifically identifiable assets of Slice, the trade name, for $5,536 thousand, inclusive of $36 thousand of transaction-related expenses. The Company deemed the acquisition to be that of an asset acquisition, and not an acquisition of a business under ASC 805, Business Combinations. All acquired assets were recorded at their cost to the Company and are presented in intangible assets.
Note 3 — Concentration of Credit Risk
Customer concentration
The Company’s major customers are defined as those individually comprising more than 10% of net sales or trade receivables.
Customers that accounted for 10% or more of the Company’s net sales as follows:
​ ​ ​
Fiscal 2025
​ ​
Fiscal 2024
​ ​
Fiscal 2023
​
($ in thousands)
​ ​
Amount
($)
​ ​
% of
Net Sales
​ ​
Amount
($)
​ ​
% of
Net Sales
​ ​
Amount
($)
​ ​
% of
Net Sales
​
Customer A
​ ​ ​ $ 94,303 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 29% ​ ​ ​ ​ $ 59,246 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 23% ​ ​ ​ ​ $ 40,048 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 18% ​ ​
Customer B
​ ​ ​ ​ ** ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ** ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 32,222 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 13% ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 30,640 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 14% ​ ​
Customer C
​ ​ ​ ​ ** ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ** ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ** ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ** ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 23,189 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 10% ​ ​
Customer D
​ ​ ​ ​ ** ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ** ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 28,937 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 11% ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 28,951 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 13% ​ ​
Customer E
​ ​ ​ ​ 31,502 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 10% ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ** ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ** ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ** ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ** ​ ​
Total
​ ​ ​ $ 125,805 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 39% ​ ​ ​ ​ $ 120,405 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 47% ​ ​ ​ ​ $ 122,828 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 55% ​ ​
​
**
Customer net sales did not represent greater than or equal to 10% of net sales in the periods presented.
​
All customers making up more than 10% of the Company’s net sales are in the Suja Core segment, while Customers A, D and E have an immaterial amount of sales in the Emerging Brands segment.
Customers as of the end of fiscal 2025 and 2024, that accounted for 10% or more of the Company’s total trade receivables, net as follows:
 
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​ ​ ​
Fiscal 2025
​ ​
Fiscal 2024
​
($ in thousands)
​ ​
Amount
($)
​ ​
% of Trade
receivables, net
​ ​
Amount
($)
​ ​
% of Trade
receivables, net
​
Customer A
​ ​ ​ $ 1,917 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 14% ​ ​ ​ ​ $ ** ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ** ​ ​
Customer B
​ ​ ​ ​ ** ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ** ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 1,651 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 14% ​ ​
Customer C
​ ​ ​ ​ 2,158 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 15% ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 2,197 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 18% ​ ​
Customer D
​ ​ ​ ​ 2,109 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 15% ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 2,203 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 19% ​ ​
Total
​ ​ ​ $ 6,184 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 44% ​ ​ ​ ​ $ 6,051 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 51% ​ ​
​
**
Customer receivables did not represent greater than or equal to 10% of trade receivables, net as of the dates presented.
​
All customers making up more than 10% of the Company’s trade receivables are in the Suja Core segment. Customers B and C have an immaterial amount of trade receivables in the Emerging Brands segment.
Vendor concentration
The Company purchases certain materials for its plastic bottles from various suppliers. During fiscal 2025 and 2024, amounts due to one vendor represented 18% of total accounts payable for each year. The Company believes alternative sources of supply are generally available; however, the loss of this vendor or a significant disruption in their operations could have an adverse effect on the Company’s operations.
Note 4 — Inventories
Inventories consist of the following:
($ in thousands)
​ ​
Fiscal 2025
​ ​
Fiscal 2024
​
Ingredients and packaging
​ ​ ​ $ 10,466 ​ ​ ​ ​ $ 8,035 ​ ​
Finished goods
​ ​ ​ ​ 11,946 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 8,563 ​ ​
Total
​ ​ ​ $ 22,412 ​ ​ ​ ​ $ 16,598 ​ ​
Note 5 — Property and Equipment, net
Property and equipment, net consists of the following:
($ in thousands)
​ ​
Fiscal 2025
​ ​
Fiscal 2024
​
Machinery and equipment
​ ​ ​ $ 38,832 ​ ​ ​ ​ $ 34,181 ​ ​
Leasehold improvements
​ ​ ​ ​ 15,415 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 8,243 ​ ​
Office furniture and equipment
​ ​ ​ ​ 1,558 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 1,329 ​ ​
Internal use software
​ ​ ​ ​ 275 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 275 ​ ​
​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 56,080 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 44,028 ​ ​
Less Accumulated depreciation
​ ​ ​ ​ (21,457) ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ (15,675) ​ ​
​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 34,623 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 28,353 ​ ​
Construction in progress
​ ​ ​ ​ 11,048 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 9,345 ​ ​
Total
​ ​ ​ $ 45,671 ​ ​ ​ ​ $ 37,698 ​ ​
Depreciation expense totaled $5,782 thousand, $5,306 thousand, and $5,083 thousand for fiscal 2025, 2024, and 2023, respectively. For fiscal 2025, 2024, and 2023, depreciation expense included in cost of sales totaled $4,752 thousand, $4,442 thousand, and $4,284 thousand, respectively. For fiscal 2025, 2024, and 2023, depreciation expense included in operating expenses totaled $1,030 thousand, $864 thousand, and $799 thousand, respectively.
There were no impairments on property and equipment during fiscal 2025, 2024, and 2023.
 
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Note 6 — Goodwill and Intangible Assets
Goodwill consists of the following:
($ in thousands)
​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​
Balance as of January 1, 2024
​ ​ ​ $ 106,201 ​ ​
Acquisitions/impairments
​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​
Balance as of December 30, 2024
​ ​ ​ ​ 106,201 ​ ​
Acquisitions/impairments
​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​
Balance as of December 29, 2025
​ ​ ​ $ 106,201 ​ ​
Trade name and other intangible assets, net consist of the following:
​ ​ ​
Fiscal 2025
​ ​
Fiscal 2024
​
($ in thousands)
​ ​
Gross
Carrying
Value
​ ​
Accumulated
Amortization
​ ​
Net
Carrying
Value
​ ​
Gross
Carrying
Value
​ ​
Accumulated
Amortization
​ ​
Net
Carrying
Value
​
Subject to amortization: ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​
Customer relationships
​ ​ ​ $ 185,100 ​ ​ ​ ​ $ (45,252) ​ ​ ​ ​ $ 139,848 ​ ​ ​ ​ $ 185,100 ​ ​ ​ ​ $ (34,049) ​ ​ ​ ​ $ 151,051 ​ ​
Trade name
​ ​ ​ ​ 55,636 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ (21,086) ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 34,550 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 55,636 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ (15,621) ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 40,015 ​ ​
Recipes
​ ​ ​ ​ 27,441 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ (23,567) ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 3,874 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 27,441 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ (18,079) ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 9,362 ​ ​
Internal use software
​ ​ ​ ​ 239 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ (48) ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 191 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 197 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ (6) ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 191 ​ ​
Total
​ ​ ​ $ 268,416 ​ ​ ​ ​ $ (89,953) ​ ​ ​ ​ $ 178,463 ​ ​ ​ ​ $ 268,374 ​ ​ ​ ​ $ (67,755) ​ ​ ​ ​ $ 200,619 ​ ​
Amortization expense totaled $22,198 thousand, $21,978 thousand, and $21,602 thousand for fiscal 2025, 2024, and 2023, respectively. For fiscal 2025, 2024, and 2023, amortization expense included in cost of sales totaled $5,488 thousand in each year. For fiscal 2025, 2024, and 2023, amortization expense included in operating expenses totaled $16,709 thousand, $16,490 thousand, and $16,114 thousand, respectively. As of the end of fiscal 2025, the weighted average remaining useful lives for the customer relationships, trade name, recipes, and internal use software are 12.6, 6.5, 0.8, and 3.8 years, respectively.
Amortization expense is classified in operating expenses on the consolidated statements of operations. Estimated future amortization expense is as follows:
($ in thousands)
​ ​
Amount
​
2026
​ ​ ​ $ 20,431 ​ ​
2027
​ ​ ​ ​ 16,860 ​ ​
2028
​ ​ ​ ​ 16,709 ​ ​
2029
​ ​ ​ ​ 16,702 ​ ​
2030
​ ​ ​ ​ 16,668 ​ ​
Thereafter
​ ​ ​ ​ 91,058 ​ ​
Total
​ ​ ​ $ 178,428 ​ ​
As of fiscal 2025, the Company had approximately $35 thousand of capitalized internal-use software that had not yet been placed in service and is therefore excluded from the future amortization schedule. Amortization of these costs will commence when the related software is placed in service.
On April 24, 2024, the Company acquired assets of the Slice brand. Acquired Slice assets are classified as trademarks and are recorded at their total cost to the Company of $5,536 thousand. Refer to Note 2 —​Business Combinations and Acquisitions for further details.
 
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Note 7 — Related-Party Transactions
Payments to Affiliates
During fiscal 2025, 2024, and 2023, the Company incurred approximately $0 thousand, $0 thousand, and $415 thousand, respectively, of expenses relating to consulting and marketing services provided by a firm controlled by a board member.
Board of Director and other Management related fees
During fiscal 2025, 2024, and 2023, the Company incurred management fees of approximately $2,122 thousand, $8,204 thousand, and $1,572 thousand, respectively. Included within the management fees for fiscal 2024, the Company paid $6,200 thousand in management fees to Paine Schwartz Partners (“PSP”) related to the closing of the third amendment of the Credit Facility. Refer to Note 11 — Debt for further details.
Expenses incurred through related party transactions are recorded as part of operating expenses within the consolidated statements of operations.
Note 8 — Leases
Lessee Accounting
The Company has both finance and operating leases. The finance leases are solely comprised of the Company’s commercial-use vehicles and equipment, maturing in dates ranging from 2026 to 2029, including expected renewal options. Including all renewal options available to the Company, the lease maturity date may extend on a month-to-month basis for an unlimited period of time. Operating leases consist of real estate and vehicle leases, maturing in dates ranging from 2026 to 2033.
Leases were included on the Company’s consolidated balance sheets as follows:
($ in thousands)
​ ​
Fiscal 2025
​ ​
Fiscal 2024
​
Finance Leases: ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​
Right-of-use assets, gross
​ ​ ​ $ 522 ​ ​ ​ ​ $ 1,094 ​ ​
Accumulated depreciation
​ ​ ​ ​ (326) ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ (744) ​ ​
Right-of-use assets, net(1)
​ ​ ​ $ 196 ​ ​ ​ ​ $ 350 ​ ​
Current portion of finance lease obligations
​ ​ ​ $ 110 ​ ​ ​ ​ $ 147 ​ ​
Long-term finance lease obligations
​ ​ ​ ​ 98 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 208 ​ ​
Total lease obligation
​ ​ ​ $ 208 ​ ​ ​ ​ $ 355 ​ ​
Weighted average remaining lease term
​ ​
2.4 years
​ ​
3.0 years
​
Weighted average discount rate
​ ​
8.0%
​ ​
8.5%
​
Operating Leases: ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​
Right-of-use assets, net
​ ​ ​ $ 23,387 ​ ​ ​ ​ $ 21,423 ​ ​
Current portion of operating lease obligations
​ ​ ​ $ 2,450 ​ ​ ​ ​ $ 1,993 ​ ​
Long-term operating lease obligations
​ ​ ​ ​ 24,051 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 22,404 ​ ​
Total lease obligations
​ ​ ​ $ 26,501 ​ ​ ​ ​ $ 24,397 ​ ​
Weighted average remaining lease term
​ ​
7.1 years
​ ​
8.3 years
​
Weighted average discount rate
​ ​
7.0%
​ ​
6.3%
​
​
(1)
Finance lease right-of-use assets, net are included in other assets on the Company’s consolidated balance sheet.
​
 
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The components of lease expense are as follows:
($ in thousands)
​ ​
Fiscal 2025
​ ​
Fiscal 2024
​ ​
Fiscal 2023
​
Finance lease cost: ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​
Amortization of right-of-use asset
​ ​ ​ $ 154 ​ ​ ​ ​ $ 156 ​ ​ ​ ​ $ 178 ​ ​
Interest on lease obligations
​ ​ ​ ​ 23 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 22 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 31 ​ ​
Total finance lease cost
​ ​ ​ $ 177 ​ ​ ​ ​ $ 178 ​ ​ ​ ​ $ 209 ​ ​
Operating lease cost
​ ​ ​ $ 4,053 ​ ​ ​ ​ $ 3,580 ​ ​ ​ ​ $ 3,568 ​ ​
Short-term lease cost
​ ​ ​ $ 869 ​ ​ ​ ​ $ 658 ​ ​ ​ ​ $ 597 ​ ​
Variable lease cost(1)
​ ​ ​ $ 1,171 ​ ​ ​ ​ $ 1,099 ​ ​ ​ ​ $ 978 ​ ​
​
(1)
Consists primarily of common area maintenance, real estate taxes, utilities, operating expenses, and insurance for real estate leases; insurance and personal property expense for equipment leases; and certain vehicle related charges for finance leases.
​
Supplemental cash flow information related to leases is as follows:
($ in thousands)
​ ​
Fiscal 2025
​ ​
Fiscal 2024
​ ​
Fiscal 2023
​
Cash paid for amounts included in the measurement of lease liabilities:
​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​
Operating cash flows from operating leases
​ ​ ​ $ (3,913) ​ ​ ​ ​ $ (3,329) ​ ​ ​ ​ $ (1,941) ​ ​
Financing cash flows from finance leases
​ ​ ​ $ (170) ​ ​ ​ ​ $ (166) ​ ​ ​ ​ $ (203) ​ ​
Future maturities of the Company’s finance and operating lease obligations as of the end of fiscal 2025 were as follows:
($ in thousands)
​ ​
Finance
Leases
​ ​
Operating
Leases
​
2026
​ ​ ​ $ 120 ​ ​ ​ ​ $ 4,177 ​ ​
2027
​ ​ ​ ​ 44 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 4,272 ​ ​
2028
​ ​ ​ ​ 44 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 4,396 ​ ​
2029
​ ​ ​ ​ 20 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 4,540 ​ ​
2030
​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 4,700 ​ ​
Thereafter
​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 12,002 ​ ​
Total lease payments
​ ​ ​ ​ 228 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 34,087 ​ ​
Less: interest
​ ​ ​ ​ (20) ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ (7,586) ​ ​
​ ​ ​ ​ $ 208 ​ ​ ​ ​ $ 26,501 ​ ​
Note 9 — Accrued Expenses
Accrued expenses consisted of the following:
($ in thousands)
​ ​
Fiscal 2025
​ ​
Fiscal 2024
​
Inventory received not billed
​ ​ ​ $ 2,627 ​ ​ ​ ​ $ 2,465 ​ ​
Accrued payables
​ ​ ​ ​ 2,785 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 3,545 ​ ​
Accrued interest payable
​ ​ ​ ​ 7,153 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 2,627 ​ ​
Other accrued expenses
​ ​ ​ ​ 4,625 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 3,881 ​ ​
Accrued transaction liabilities
​ ​ ​ ​ 2,373 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 3,871 ​ ​
Accrued transformation expenses
​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​
Total accrued expenses
​ ​ ​ $ 19,563 ​ ​ ​ ​ $ 16,389 ​ ​
 
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Note 10 — Commitments and Contingencies
Legal contingencies
From time to time, the Company is party to certain legal proceedings arising in the ordinary course of business. The Company will accrue losses for a legal proceeding when it is probable that a loss has been incurred and the amount of the loss can be reasonably estimated. However, the uncertainties inherent in legal proceedings make it difficult to reasonably estimate the costs and effects of resolving these matters. Accordingly, actual costs incurred may differ materially from amounts accrued, may exceed applicable insurance coverage and could materially affect the Company’s business, cash flows, results of operations, financial condition, and prospects.
Benefit plan
The Company has a defined contribution plan under IRC Section 401(k). The Company may make discretionary contributions to the plan. During fiscal 2025, 2024, and 2023, the contributions to the plan totaled approximately $672 thousand, $583 thousand, and $529 thousand, respectively, and were recorded as part of operating expenses within the consolidated statements of operations.
Letter of credit
As of the end of fiscal 2025 and 2024, the Company had outstanding standby letters of credit totaling $1,010 thousand and $720 thousand, respectively, all of which expire within one year. These instruments were issued primarily to support lease obligations and are fully secured by restricted cash deposits.
No amounts had been drawn under this letter of credit as of the end of fiscal 2025 or 2024.
The Company does not expect to incur any losses under the arrangement.
Note 11 — Debt
On August 23, 2021, the Company entered into a credit agreement with JP Morgan Chase Bank, N.A. (as amended, restated, amended and restated, supplemented or otherwise modified from time to time, the “Credit Agreement”) to provide an initial term loan of $120 million (the “Initial Term Loan”). The original Credit Agreement also provided for a revolving credit facility of $25 million (the “Initial Revolving Credit Facility”) with a swingline loan submit of $5 million (the “Swingline Facility”) to provide funding for working capital and general corporate purposes. The Credit Agreement also had an upfront fee of 2.00% on the aggregate principal amount of the commitments under the Initial Term Loan and 2.00% of the aggregate commitment amount of the Initial Revolving Credit Facility as in effect on the initial closing date.
In connection with the acquisition of Vive, on October 11, 2022, the Company entered into a second amendment to the Credit Agreement with JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. as administrative agent and the lenders set forth therein, providing for a $42 million second amendment term loan facility (the “Second Amendment Term Loan”). The Second Amendment Term Loan had an upfront fee discount of 2.00% of the aggregate principal amount of the commitments under the Second Amendment Term Loan.
On October 31, 2024, the Company entered into a third amendment to the Credit Agreement (“Third Amendment Credit Agreement”) with JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. as administrative agent and the lenders set forth therein, providing for a $112 million third amendment term loan facility (the “Third Amendment Term Loan”, and together with the Initial Term Loan and Second Amendment Term Loan, the “Term Loan”). The Third Amendment to Credit Agreement also provided for a $15 million increase to the Initial Revolving Credit Facility (the “Original Revolving Credit Facility,” as increased pursuant to the Third Amendment to Credit Agreement, the (“Revolving Credit Facility”) to provide funding for working capital and general corporate purposes. The Third Amendment to Credit Agreement had an upfront fee of 1.50% of the aggregate principal amount of the commitments under the Third Amendment Term Loan and 0.67% of the aggregate outstanding principal amount of the existing Initial Term Loan and Second Amendment Term Loan. The Third Amendment to Credit Agreement also had an upfront fee discount of 1.50% of the aggregate commitment amount of the Third Amendment Revolving Credit Facility, and 0.90% of the Initial Revolving Credit Facility commitments as of the borrowing date. Issuance costs related to the Revolving Credit
 
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Facility are presented in other assets on the Company’s consolidated balance sheets and are amortized over the life of the Revolving Credit Facility. At the execution of the Third Amendment to Credit Agreement, the aggregate principal amount of the commitments under the Term Loan totaled $270 million, and the aggregate commitment amount of the Revolving Credit Facility totaled $40 million, with a Swingline Facility limited to $5 million.
All outstanding principal and accrued and unpaid interest on the Term Loans is due and payable on August 23, 2029 and accrue daily interest at a per annum rate equivalent to, (i) a base rate plus the applicable margin set forth below under the caption “Base Rate Loan” or (ii) an adjusted term SOFR rate plus a term SOFR adjustment equal to 0.10%, 0.15% or 0.25%, depending on the interest period of the applicable borrowing, plus the applicable margin set forth below under the caption “Term Benchmark Loan / RFR Loan”, in each case, based upon the consolidated net leverage ratio as of the most recent date of determination. All interest and applicable fees chargeable shall be computed on the basis of a three hundred and sixty (360) day year (or 365 or 366 days, as the case may be, in the case of base rate loans based on the prime rate), in each case, for the actual number of days elapsed in the period during which the interest or fees accrue. The accrued and unpaid interest on the Term Loans shall be due and payable on the earliest of maturity date, change of control, the sale of all or substantially all assets of Suja or the date of the acceleration. The Company is required to make principal payments on a quarterly basis of 0.25% of the aggregate principal amount of the Term Loans. The Term Loans mature on August 23, 2029.
All outstanding principal and accrued and unpaid interest on the Revolving Credit Facility is due and payable on August 23, 2028 and accrue daily interest at a per annum rate equivalent to, (i) a base rate plus the applicable margin set forth below under the caption “Base Rate Loan” or (ii) an adjusted term SOFR rate plus a term SOFR adjustment equal to 0.10%, 0.15% or 0.25%, depending on the interest period of the applicable borrowing, plus the applicable margin set forth below under the caption “Term Benchmark Loan / RFR Loan”, in each case, based upon the consolidated net leverage ratio as of the most recent date of determination. All interest and applicable fees chargeable shall be computed on the basis of a three hundred and sixty (360) day year (or 365 or 366 days, as the case may be, in the case of base rate loans based on the prime rate). The accrued and unpaid interest on the revolving loans shall be due and payable on the earliest of maturity date, change of control, the sale of all or substantially all assets of Suja or the date of the acceleration. The Revolving Credit Facility will also have a commitment fee which shall accrue at a per annum rate equal to 0.50% on the average daily unused revolving commitment. All commitment fees shall be computed on the basis of a year of 360 days and shall be payable for the actual number of days elapsed (including the first day but excluding the last day). The commitment fee may be reduced based on certain calculations of the Company’s net leverage ratio. The Revolving Credit Facility will mature on August 23, 2028.
Level
​ ​
Consolidated Net
Leverage Ratio
​ ​
Base Rate
Loan
​ ​
Term
Benchmark
Loan / RFR
Loan
​
1
​ ​
Greater than 3.50:1.00
​ ​ ​ ​ 4.50% ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 5.50% ​ ​
2
​ ​
Less than or equal to 3.50:1.00
​ ​ ​ ​ 4.25% ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 5.25% ​ ​
Debt Instrument
($ in thousands)
​ ​
Interest Rate
​ ​
Maturity
Date
​ ​
Fiscal 2025
​ ​
Fiscal 2024
​
JPM Term Agreement
​ ​
Term SOFR + 5.50%
​ ​
8/23/2029
​ ​ ​ $ 267,540 ​ ​ ​ ​ $ 269,595 ​ ​
JPM Credit Agreement
​ ​
Term SOFR + 5.50%
​ ​
8/23/2028
​ ​ ​ ​ 40,000 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 10,000 ​ ​
JPM Credit Agreement
​ ​
Prime + 4.50%
​ ​
8/23/2028
​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 5,000 ​ ​
Current portion of long-term debt
​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ (2,740) ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ (2,055) ​ ​
Total long-term debt, less current portion
​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 304,800 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 282,540 ​ ​
Less: unamortized discount and debt issuance costs
​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ (3,643) ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ (4,636) ​ ​
Carrying amount of long-term debt
​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ $ 301,157 ​ ​ ​ ​ $ 277,904 ​ ​
 
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As of the end of fiscal 2025, aggregate future principal payments required in accordance with the terms of the Term Loans and Revolving Credit Facility, are as follows:
Fiscal Years Ending
​ ​
Amount
($ in thousands)
​
2026
​ ​ ​ $ 2,740 ​ ​
2027
​ ​ ​ ​ 2,740 ​ ​
2028
​ ​ ​ ​ 42,740 ​ ​
2029
​ ​ ​ ​ 2,740 ​ ​
2030
​ ​ ​ ​ 256,580 ​ ​
Total
​ ​ ​ $ 307,540 ​ ​
The Company has incurred deferred financing costs of $6,924 thousand in total related to the Term Loan, which have been presented net of proceeds on the consolidated balance sheets. The Company amortizes these costs over the life of the Term Loan which amounted to $993 thousand, $776 thousand, and $732 thousand, during fiscal 2025, 2024, and 2023, respectively.
The Company recognized interest expense on the Term Loans and Revolving Credit Facility of $29,028 thousand, $19,529 thousand, and $17,582 thousand, during fiscal 2025, 2024, and 2023, respectively. The Company has made $2,055 thousand, $2,025 thousand, and $1,515 thousand of principal payments on the Term Loan during fiscal 2025, 2024, and 2023, respectively. The Company has drawn a net of $25,000 thousand, $15,000 thousand, and $0 thousand on the Revolving Credit Facility during fiscal 2025, 2024, and 2023, respectively. The Company has total debt outstanding of $304,800 thousand which approximates its fair value. As of the end of fiscal 2025, the Company has utilized all $40,000 thousand Revolving Credit Facility, with $0 thousand available to borrow.
The Credit Agreement requires the Company to maintain a consolidated net leverage ratio each quarter below 6.50 to 1.00 for each quarter from December 2024 through December 2025, 5.50 to 1.00 for each quarter from March 2026 through December 2026, 4.50 to 1.00 for each quarter from March 2027 through December 2027, and 3.50 to 1.00 for each quarter from March 2028 thereafter. The Company is in compliance with its debt covenant. The Company’s Term Loans and Revolving Credit Facility are secured by first-priority liens on substantially all of the assets of the Company, subject to customary exceptions and permitted liens.
Note 12 — Equity
Under the terms of the Limited Partnership Agreement (or “LP Agreement”) adopted on August 23, 2021, and most recently amended on February 20, 2024, each partner’s interest in the Company, including such interest in allocations of profits, losses, and distributions of the Company as well as the right to consent to or approve certain matters as provided in the LP Agreement, shall be represented by the units owned by such Partner. The total units which the Company has authority to issue shall be determined by the Board from time to time and consists of an unlimited number of Class A Units, an unlimited number of Class B Units, an unlimited number of Class C Units, 4,840 Class D Units, an unlimited number of Class E Units, an unlimited number of Class F Units, (collectively, the “Units”).
The following is a summary of the Company’s capital accounts as set forth in the LP Agreement:
Class A Units
The Company issued 190,698 Class A Units at the adoption of the LP Agreement which included 188,698 Class A Units issued to funds controlled by PSP and 2,000 Class A Units issued to certain sellers of Suja. All issued Units were that of the partnership and therefore, no non-controlling interests was established. On November 15, 2021, the Company entered into a purchase agreement with a third party to sell 19,636 Class A Units for $19,636 thousand plus $364 thousand of transaction cost reimbursement for a total of $20,000 thousand. PSP sold 10.3% ownership of the Company and continued to maintain control of the Company with 88.5% ownership.
 
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Upon the closing of the Company’s acquisition of Vive, Suja issued 32,183 units of Class A units to Vive share holders to partially fund the acquisition, resulting in a 14.4% ownership. PSP continued to maintain control of the Company with 75.8% ownership.
Class B Incentive Units
The Company had 18,680 Class B Units issued as of the end of fiscal 2025 of which 8,987 were time-based units and 9,693 were performance-based units. The Company had 17,776 Class B Units issued as of the end of fiscal 2024, of which 8,460 were time-based units and 9,316 were performance-based units Vested Class B Units totaled 7,133 and 5,857 as of the end of fiscal 2025 and 2024, respectively. 1,254 Class B units, consisting of 627 performance and 627 time-based units, were issued to a senior member of management in fiscal 2025. Additionally, 350 Class B units, consisting of 250 performance-based units and 100 time-based units, were forfeited by another senior member of management in fiscal 2025. There were no additional issuances of Class B units in fiscal 2024, however, unvested Class B units were forfeited as a result of key personnel changes.
Class C Incentive Units
The Company had 200 Class C Units issued as of the end of fiscal 2025 and 2024, all of which are fully vested.
Class D Incentive Units
On November 18, 2022, the Company issued 4,840 Class D performance-based incentive units as consideration for consulting services. All Units were fully vested with a fair value of $2,275 per Unit as of the grant date, resulting in $11,011 thousand of total compensation cost related to the Class D Units. The Company determined $1,029 thousand of the total compensation cost related to services that were direct and incremental to a planned offering and were capitalized as deferred transaction costs on the Company’s consolidated balance sheets as of fiscal 2022 and subsequently expensed in fiscal 2023.
Class E Incentive Units
On February 20, 2024, the Company issued 1,434 Class E incentive units to a senior member of management, of which 717 were time-based units and 717 were performance-based units. Vested Class E Units totaled 286 and 143, as of the end of fiscal 2025 and 2024, respectively.
Class F Incentive Units
On February 20, 2024, the Company issued 1,000 Class F incentive units to a senior member of management, of which all were performance-based units. No Class F Units are considered vested as of the end of fiscal 2025 and 2024.
Voting Rights
Pursuant to Section V of the LP Agreement, the managers shall be appointed by PSP. The number of managers on the Board shall initially be eight and shall be increased or decreased as determined from time to time by the Board. Each manager shall have one vote on all matters submitted to the Board or any committee thereof of which such manager is a member. The affirmative vote (whether by proxy or otherwise) of members of the Board holding a majority of the votes of all members of the Board shall be the act of the Board. Except as otherwise provided by the Board when establishing any committee, the affirmative vote (whether by proxy or otherwise) of members of such committee holding a majority of the votes of all members of such committee shall be the act of such committee.
Distribution Rights
Pursuant to Section IV of the LP Agreement, the Board may in its discretion make distributions at any time and shall be made only in the following order and priority:
 
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All amounts shall be distributed in cash or property to the partners holding Class A Units, Participating Class B Units, Class C Units, Class D Units, Participating Class E Units, Participating Class F Units immediately prior to such distribution (or after giving effect to any portion of such distribution) as follows:
(i)
with respect to each Class A Unit and Class C Unit and Class D Unit, an amount equal to the amount determined by dividing the grossed-up amount by the aggregate number of Class A Units, Participating Class B Units and Class C Units and Class D Units and Participating Class E Units; and
​
(ii)
with respect to each participating Class B Unit and Participating Class E Unit, an amount equal to the amount determined by dividing the grossed-up amount by the number of Class A Units, Participating Class B Units, Class C Units and Class D Units and Participating Class E Units minus the participation threshold with respect to such participating Class B Unit or Participating Class E Unit; and
​
(iii)
with respect to each Participating Class F Unit, an amount equal to the Per Unit Class F Amount
​
A partner holding a Class B Unit shall not have any rights, including the right to receive distributions or any consent rights available to a holder thereof (other than tax distributions), in respect of such Unit until such time as such Unit is fully vested in accordance with the terms and conditions set forth in the individual equity agreement or other agreement pursuant to which such Unit was issued but, unless the context otherwise requires, all such unvested Class B Units shall be deemed to be outstanding for all other purposes hereunder and such partner shall be subject to the obligations and restrictions applicable to the holders of the Units hereunder. During fiscal 2025, fiscal 2024, and fiscal 2023, $1,810 thousand, $133,927 thousand, and $671 thousand in distributions were made and recorded as a reduction of additional paid-in capital on the consolidated balance sheets.
Note 13 — Incentive Unit Compensation
The Company issued Class B, Class C, Class D, Class E Units and Class F Units. Refer to Note 12 — Equity for further discussion on the Company’s Incentive Units.
Incentive Units
Under the terms of the LP Agreement, the Company is permitted to grant, award, issue or sell Incentive Units to any existing or new employee, officer, director, manager, independent contractor, consultant, advisor or other service provider of the Company. The Incentive Units are defined within the LP Agreement as a unit representing a fractional part of the interest of a partner in profits, losses, and distributions and having the rights, powers and obligations specified with respect to the Class B Units in the LP Agreement. The Incentive Units are primarily comprised of Class B Units, which include both time-based units and performance-based units, Class C Units, Class D Units, Class E Units, which include both time-based units and performance-based units, and Class F Units.
Class B Units
The Class B Units effectively consist of two awards, time-based units and performance-based units. The time-based units are subject to a service condition, whereby the unit vests ratably over the requisite service period, commencing on the grant date and ending on the fifth anniversary of the closing date. The performance-based units are subject to a market condition and an implied performance condition, whereby the unit vests once a target multiple is achieved through a liquidity event or significant sale of securities. The service and market conditions are not mutually exclusive as the time-based units can fully vest without regard to achieving the market condition and implied performance condition; conversely, performance-based units can only vest upon a specified event and upon the achievement of the specified hurdle. As such, the Company has accounted for the Class B Units as two separate awards. All Class B Units shall have an initial participation threshold of $1,000.
Class C Units
On December 13, 2021, the Company issued 200 Class C Units to the chairman of the Board for his advisory services provided to the Company. The vesting of these units is not contingent on satisfaction of either a service condition or a performance condition.
 
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Incentive unit compensation expense is based on the estimated fair value of the award at the date of grant. The fair value of each Incentive Unit was estimated using a Monte Carlo simulation pricing model, requiring the use of subjective assumptions. The following assumptions were used in the Company’s calculation:
​
Risk-free rate
​ ​
0.08%
​
​
Expected time to liquidity
​ ​
0.88 years
​
​
Expected volatility
​ ​
66.04%
​
​
Expected dividend yield
​ ​
0.00%
​
​
Discount for lack of marketability
​ ​
13.76%
​
Based on the above, the time-based Class B Units and Class C Units were determined to have a fair value of $203 per unit. The performance-based Class B Units were determined to have a fair value of $110 per unit.
The following table provides information relating to the Company’s time-based Class B Units granted as of the end of fiscal 2025:
​ ​ ​
Class B
Performance-
Based Units
​ ​
Class B
Time-Based
Units
​ ​
Weighted
Average
Exercise Price
​
Number outstanding at January 1, 2024
​ ​ ​ ​ 10,989 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 9,989 ​ ​ ​ ​ $ 1,000 ​ ​
Granted
​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​
Forfeited
​ ​ ​ ​ (1,673) ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ (1,529) ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 1,000 ​ ​
Number outstanding at December 30, 2024
​ ​ ​ ​ 9,316 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 8,460 ​ ​ ​ ​ $ 1,000 ​ ​
Granted
​ ​ ​ ​ 627 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 627 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​
Forfeited
​ ​ ​ ​ (250) ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ (100) ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​
Number outstanding at December 29, 2025
​ ​ ​ ​ 9,693 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 8,987 ​ ​ ​ ​ $ 1,000 ​ ​
Vested, December 29, 2025
​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 7,133 ​ ​ ​ ​ $ 1,000 ​ ​
Incentive unit compensation expense associated with the time-based Class B Units is recognized on a straight-line basis over the requisite service period, using the grant date fair value. The Company recognized $367 thousand, $364 thousand, and $460 thousand of incentive unit compensation expense related to the time-based Class B units during fiscal 2025, 2024, and 2023, respectively. Incentive unit compensation expense is recorded as part of operating expenses within the consolidated statements of operations.
With respect to the performance-based Class B Units, the Company determined that a liquidity event would be necessary to achieve a target multiple, either through the sale of Company securities or a separate liquidity event. As compensation cost for an award with a performance condition is based on the probable outcome of that performance condition being achieved, the Company concluded that no compensation expense would be recognized until a liquidity event has occurred. The grant date fair value of these performance-based Class B Units is $110 per unit.
With respect to the Class C Units, as no market conditions exist and the vesting of these units is not contingent on satisfaction of either a service condition or a performance condition, the Company determined the units were fully vested on the grant-date.
Class D Units
On November 18, 2022, the Company issued 4,840 Class D Units to a global management consulting firm (the “Consulting Firm”) for services provided. The vesting of these units is not contingent on satisfaction of either a service condition or a performance condition and were fully vested on the grant-date. Compensation cost associated with the Class D Units is based on the estimated fair value of the award at the date of grant. The fair value of each Class D Unit was estimated using the income approach and market
 
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approach, weighted equally given the proximity of the results. The grant date fair value of the Class D Units is $2,275 per unit, resulting in total compensation cost of $11,011 thousand.
The Class D Units were issued as a one-time fee for the creation of value during the period of service. The Company determined $1,029 thousand of the total compensation cost related to services that were direct and incremental to a planned offering and were capitalized as deferred transaction costs on the Company’s consolidated balance sheets as of fiscal 2022 and subsequently expensed in fiscal 2023.
Class E Units
On February 20, 2024, the Company issued 1,434 Class E Units to a senior member of management. The Class E Units effectively consist of two awards, time-based units and performance-based units. The time-based units are subject to a service condition, whereby the unit vests ratably over the requisite service period, commencing on the grant date and ending on the fifth anniversary of the closing date. The performance-based units are subject to a market condition and an implied performance condition, whereby the unit vests once a target multiple is achieved through a liquidity event or significant sale of securities. The service and market conditions are not mutually exclusive as the time-based units can fully vest without regard to achieving the market condition and implied performance condition; conversely, performance-based units can only vest upon a specified event and upon the achievement of the specified hurdle. As such, the Company has accounted for the Class E Units as two separate awards. All Class E Units shall have an initial participation threshold of $2,407.
​
Risk-free rate
​ ​
4.29%
​
​
Expected time to liquidity
​ ​
3.0 years
​
​
Expected volatility
​ ​
59.83%
​
​
Expected dividend yield
​ ​
0.00%
​
​
Discount for lack of marketability
​ ​
33.50%
​
Based on the above, the time-based and performance-based Class E Units were determined to have a grant date fair value of $915 per unit.
The following table provides information relating to the Company’s time-based Class E Units granted as of the end of fiscal 2025:
​ ​ ​
Class E
Performance-
Based Units
​ ​
Class E
Time-Based
Units
​ ​
Weighted
Average
Exercise Price
​
Number outstanding at January 1, 2024
​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​ ​ ​ $ — ​ ​
Granted*
​ ​ ​ ​ 717 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 717 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 2,407 ​ ​
Forfeited
​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​
Number outstanding at December 30, 2024
​ ​ ​ ​ 717 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 717 ​ ​ ​ ​ $ 2,407 ​ ​
Granted
​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​
Forfeited
​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​
Number outstanding at December 29, 2025
​ ​ ​ ​ 717 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 717 ​ ​ ​ ​ $ 1,000 ​ ​
Vested, December 29, 2025
​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 286 ​ ​ ​ ​ $ 2,407 ​ ​
​
*
These Units are profits interests whereby the issuance of such Units are considered legally outstanding upon the issuance, however vesting is required in accordance with the stated terms of the Plan. The participation threshold is not an exercise price but rather a floor that must be met before the vested Incentive Units can participate in earnings.
​
Incentive unit compensation expense associated with the time-based Class E Units is recognized on a straight-line basis over the requisite service period, using the grant date fair value. The Company recognized $139 thousand, $254 thousand, and $0 thousand of incentive unit compensation expense related to the time-based Class E units during fiscal 2025, 2024, and 2023, respectively. Incentive unit compensation expense is recorded as part of operating expenses within the consolidated statements of operations.
 
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With respect to the performance-based Class E Units, the Company determined that a liquidity event would be necessary to achieve a target multiple, either through the sale of Company securities or a separate liquidity event. As compensation cost for an award with a performance condition is based on the probable outcome of that performance condition being achieved, the Company concluded that no compensation expense would be recognized until a liquidity event has occurred. The grant date fair value of these performance-based Class E Units is $915 per unit.
Class F Units
On February 20, 2024, the Company issued 1,000 Class F Units to a senior member of management. The performance-based units are subject to an implied performance condition, whereby the unit vests once a target multiple is achieved through a liquidity event or significant sale of securities. Performance-based units can only vest upon a specified event and upon the achievement of the specified hurdle and are subject to vesting based upon employee’s continuous service and compliance with the terms of the incentive agreement. All Class F Units shall have an initial participation threshold of $0 thousand.
​
Risk-free rate
​ ​
4.29%
​
​
Expected time to liquidity
​ ​
3.0 years
​
​
Expected volatility
​ ​
59.83%
​
​
Expected dividend yield
​ ​
0.00%
​
​
Discount for lack of marketability
​ ​
36.00%
​
Based on the above, the time-based and performance-based Class F Units were determined to have a grant date fair value of $1,673 per unit.
The Company determined that a liquidity event would be necessary to achieve a target multiple, either through the sale of Company securities or a separate liquidity event. As compensation cost for an award with a performance condition is based on the probable outcome of that performance condition being achieved, the Company concluded that no compensation expense would be recognized until a liquidity event has occurred.
The aggregate unrecognized compensation expense for all profit units plans was $1,136 thousand, $858 thousand, and $1,477 thousand as of the end of fiscal 2025, 2024, and 2023, respectively. That cost is expected to be recognized over a weighted-average period of 3.26 years.
Note 14 — Transformation Agreement
On November 18, 2022, the Company executed a Transformation Agreement (the “Transformation Agreement”) with a global management consulting firm (the “Consulting Firm”). As partial consideration for the services provided, the Company agreed to pay the Consulting Firm monthly fixed fees which amounted to $11,000 thousand in total for the year ended December 26, 2022. Concurrently with the execution of the Transformation Agreement, the Company executed a Credit Agreement with the Consulting Firm (the “Consulting Credit Agreement”). Any portion of the fixed fees not yet paid as of December 26, 2022 constitute a loan advance (the “Loans”) and are subject to the terms outlined within the Consulting Credit Agreement. Interest shall accrue on the outstanding principal balance of the Loans until such Loans are paid in full at a rate per annum equal to 3-Month SOFR plus 7.5% (the “Interest Rate”) and is compounded annually.
The outstanding principal amount of the Loans, together with all accrued and unpaid interest and all other fees, amounted to $0, $0, and $12,666 thousand as of the end of fiscal 2025, 2024, and 2023, respectively, and are presented in accrued expenses on the Company’s consolidated balance sheet. The Company settled the outstanding Loans, together with all accrued and unpaid interest and all other fees in fiscal 2024.
The Company complies with the requirements of ASC 340-10-S99-1 and U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) Staff Accounting Bulletin Topic 5A — Expenses of Offering. Offering costs consist principally of professional accounting fees, legal fees, and registration fees incurred through the balance sheet date that are directly attributable to the Company’s pursuit in executing an offering. The Company determined $1,052 thousand of consideration owed to the Consulting Firm relates to services that were
 
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direct and incremental to a planned equity financing transaction and were therefore capitalized as deferred transaction costs on the Company’s consolidated balance sheets as of fiscal 2022. $1,052 thousand of costs were capitalized as deferred costs for fiscal 2022, which were subsequently expensed in fiscal 2023.
The Transformation Agreement also includes a contingency, whereby the Company agreed to pay a one-time fee equal to $15,400 thousand (the “Success Fee”) in the event that a target multiple of at least 2.5x is achieved upon an exit event. There are no other expiration terms associated with the Success Fee other than the exit event. The Success Fee represents a loss contingency which can be reasonably estimated as the amount of the Success Fee is explicitly stated within the Transformation Agreement. Payment of the Success Fee is ultimately contingent upon the Company achieving a target multiple of 2.5x. Accordingly, the Company determined the contingent event cannot be considered probable given the external factors and uncertainties that could affect a future liquidity event. Therefore, the Company has not recorded an accrual for the loss contingency associated with the Success Fee.
Note 15 — Income Taxes
On October 11, 2022, the Company acquired all outstanding capital stock of Vive, which is subject to U.S. federal income tax and is subject to state income tax in certain jurisdictions. Additionally, on December 30, 2024, Suja Life LLC, a subsidiary of Suja Life Holdings, LP, formed a new subsidiary, Slice Life Holdings, LLC, that is subject to U.S. federal income tax and subject to state income tax in certain jurisdictions. The Company files income tax returns with the Internal Revenue Service and various state jurisdictions. For jurisdictions in which income tax filings are required, the Company is subject to income tax examinations by state authorities and federal tax authorities for all tax years 2015 and thereafter, due to net operating losses and other tax attributes carried forward.
The following table presents the significant components of the provision (benefit) for income taxes:
($ in thousands)
​ ​
Fiscal 2025
​ ​
Fiscal 2024
​ ​
Fiscal 2023
​
Current: ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​
Federal
​ ​ ​ $ 431 ​ ​ ​ ​ $ 442 ​ ​ ​ ​ $ — ​ ​
State
​ ​ ​ ​ 868 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 421 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 84 ​ ​
Total current provision
​ ​ ​ $ 1,299 ​ ​ ​ ​ $ 863 ​ ​ ​ ​ $ 84 ​ ​
Deferred: ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​
Federal
​ ​ ​ $ 529 ​ ​ ​ ​ $ 1,311 ​ ​ ​ ​ $ (1,712) ​ ​
State
​ ​ ​ ​ 33 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ (227) ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ (1,148) ​ ​
Total deferred provision (benefit)
​ ​ ​ $ 562 ​ ​ ​ ​ $ 1,084 ​ ​ ​ ​ $ (2,860) ​ ​
Net income tax provision (benefit)
​ ​ ​ $ 1,861 ​ ​ ​ ​ $ 1,947 ​ ​ ​ ​ $ (2,776) ​ ​
The reconciliation of the tax provision (benefit) at the federal statutory rate of 21 percent to the Company’s total tax provision (benefit) from continuing operations is as follows:
($ in thousands)
​ ​
Fiscal 2025
​ ​
Fiscal 2024
​ ​
Fiscal 2023
​
Expected income tax expense (benefit) at U.S. statutory rate
​ ​ ​ $ (4,497) ​ ​ ​ ​ $ (3,940) ​ ​ ​ ​ $ (5,722) ​ ​
State taxes, net of federal benefit
​ ​ ​ ​ 573 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 284 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ (282) ​ ​
Non-taxable US entities
​ ​ ​ ​ 5,785 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 5,655 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 4,061 ​ ​
Other, net
​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ (52) ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ (833) ​ ​
Provision (benefit) for income taxes
​ ​ ​ $ 1,861 ​ ​ ​ ​ $ 1,947 ​ ​ ​ ​ $ (2,776) ​ ​
Deferred income taxes reflect the temporary differences between the amounts at which assets and liabilities are recorded for financial reporting purposes and the amounts utilized for tax purposes. The primary components of the temporary differences that gave rise to the Company’s deferred tax assets and liabilities are as follows:
 
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($ in thousands)
​ ​
Fiscal 2025
​ ​
Fiscal 2024
​
Deferred tax assets: ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​
NOL carryforward
​ ​ ​ ​ 1,616 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 2,918 ​ ​
Other, net
​ ​ ​ ​ 175 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 262 ​ ​
Total deferred tax assets
​ ​ ​ $ 1,791 ​ ​ ​ ​ $ 3,180 ​ ​
Valuation allowance
​ ​ ​ ​ (2) ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ (52) ​ ​
Total net deferred tax assets
​ ​ ​ $ 1,789 ​ ​ ​ ​ $ 3,128 ​ ​
Deferred tax liabilities: ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​
Intangible assets
​ ​ ​ $ (13,086) ​ ​ ​ ​ $ (13,821) ​ ​
Deferred financing cost
​ ​ ​ ​ (73) ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ (115) ​ ​
Total deferred tax liabilities
​ ​ ​ $ (13,159) ​ ​ ​ ​ $ (13,936) ​ ​
Total net deferred tax assets/ (liabilities)
​ ​ ​ $ (11,370) ​ ​ ​ ​ $ (10,808) ​ ​
The Company recorded a net deferred tax liability in 2022 resulting from the acquisition of Vive. Under Section 382, a change in ownership can limit the acquiring company’s ability to utilize an acquired company’s net operating loss (“NOL”) carryovers and other tax attributes due to ownership change limitations that have occurred previously or that could occur in the future. In connection with completing the acquisition accounting for Vive, the Company completed a Section 382 analysis and determined that the majority of the NOLs are subject to annual limitations due to Section 382 ownership changes. There could also be additional ownership changes in the future, which may result in additional limitations in the utilization of the NOL and tax credit carryforwards.
As of the end of fiscal 2025, the Company had $3,956 thousand and $16,712 thousand of federal and state NOL carryforwards, respectively. The federal NOLs have an indefinite carryforward and state NOLs have various expiration periods beginning in 2035.
The Company has not recorded any uncertain tax positions as of the end of fiscal 2025.
Note 16 — Segment Information
The Company operates and manages its business in two operating segments which are also reportable segments:
•
Suja Core which primarily produces and distributes cold-pressed fresh juice and cold-pressed juice shots.
​
•
Emerging Brands which consists of recently acquired or launched brands and products that are still in the early stages of revenue scale, market development, or distribution build-out.
​
All revenue of the Company is derived within the United States. All long-lived assets are also located within the United States.
The Company’s chief operating decision maker (“CODM”) is its chief executive officer. The CODM uses Adjusted EBITDA to assess segment performance and allocate resources between the two operating segments. The CODM uses Adjusted EBITDA to allocate resources between personnel costs, marketing, product design, usage of production facilities, deployment of sales teams and overall strategic direction for each segment. Intersegment revenue is eliminated within the reconciliation to loss before taxes. A reconciliation of net sales by reportable segment to consolidated net sales is presented in the table below.
Fiscal 2025
(In thousands)
​ ​
Suja Core
​ ​
Emerging
Brands
​ ​
Total
​
Net sales from external customers
​ ​ ​ $ 316,847 ​ ​ ​ ​ $ 9,777 ​ ​ ​ ​ $ 326,624 ​ ​
Intersegment revenue
​ ​ ​ ​ 2,810 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 2,810 ​ ​
Total net sales
​ ​ ​ ​ 319,657 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 9,777 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 329,434 ​ ​
Elimination of intersegment revenue
​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ (2,810) ​ ​
Consolidated net sales
​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ $ 326,624 ​ ​
 
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Fiscal 2024
(In thousands)
​ ​
Suja Core
​ ​
Emerging
Brands
​ ​
Total
​
Net sales from external customers
​ ​ ​ $ 258,509 ​ ​ ​ ​ $ 419 ​ ​ ​ ​ $ 258,928 ​ ​
Intersegment revenue
​ ​ ​ ​ 358 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 358 ​ ​
Total net sales
​ ​ ​ ​ 258,867 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 419 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 259,286 ​ ​
Elimination of intersegment revenue
​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ (358) ​ ​
Consolidated net sales
​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ $ 258,928 ​ ​
Fiscal 2023
(In thousands)
​ ​
Suja Core
​ ​
Emerging
Brands
​ ​
Total
​
Net sales from external customers
​ ​ ​ $ 224,409 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​ ​ ​ $ 224,409 ​ ​
Intersegment revenue
​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​
Total net sales
​ ​ ​ ​ 224,409 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 224,409 ​ ​
Elimination of intersegment revenue
​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​
Consolidated net sales
​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ $ 224,409 ​ ​
Adjusted EBITDA is a measure of the Company’s profit before the recognition of interest, depreciation, amortization, taxes and other adjustments which are described in the table below. The CODM receives information on cost of sales and marketing expense which are considered significant expenses.
The Company’s financial data by segment is presented in the tables below for fiscal 2025, 2024, and 2023, which includes a reconciliation of its measure of profit and loss back to loss before taxes. The Company does not present asset information for its segments as this information is not used to allocate resources. The measure of segment assets is reported on the consolidated balance sheet as total consolidated assets.
Fiscal 2025
(In thousands)
​ ​
Suja Core
​ ​
Emerging
Brands
​ ​
Elimination of
Intersegment
Revenue and
Expense
​ ​
Total
​
Net sales from external customers
​ ​ ​ $ 316,847 ​ ​ ​ ​ $ 9,777 ​ ​ ​ ​ $ — ​ ​ ​ ​ $ 326,624 ​ ​
Intersegment revenue
​ ​ ​ ​ 2,810 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ (2,810) ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​
Cost of sales (exclusive of depreciation and amortization expense)
​ ​ ​ ​ (150,969) ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ (8,202) ​ ​ ​ ​
​
—
​ ​ ​ ​ ​ (159,171) ​ ​
Marketing
​ ​ ​ ​ (33,777) ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ (20,884) ​ ​ ​ ​
​
—
​ ​ ​ ​ ​ (54,661) ​ ​
Other segment items(1)
​ ​ ​ ​ (68,596) ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ (6,499) ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 2,810 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ (72,285) ​ ​
Adjusted EBITDA
​ ​ ​ $ 66,315 ​ ​ ​ ​ $ (25,808) ​ ​ ​ ​ $ — ​ ​ ​ ​ $ 40,507 ​ ​
Depreciation
​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ (5,782) ​ ​
Amortization
​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ (22,315) ​ ​
Interest expense
​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ (30,045) ​ ​
Incentive unit compensation
​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ (507) ​ ​
Non-recurring costs(2)
​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ (1,625) ​ ​
Sponsor costs(3)
​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ (1,709) ​ ​
Loss before taxes
​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ $ (21,476) ​ ​
 
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Fiscal 2024
(In thousands)
​ ​
Suja Core
​ ​
Emerging
Brands
​ ​
Elimination of
Intersegment
Revenue and
Expense
​ ​
Total
​
Net sales from external customers
​ ​ ​ $ 258,509 ​ ​ ​ ​ $ 419 ​ ​ ​ ​ $ — ​ ​ ​ ​ $ 258,928 ​ ​
Intersegment revenue
​ ​ ​ ​ 358 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ (358) ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​
Cost of sales (exclusive of depreciation and amortization expense)
​ ​ ​ ​ (120,367) ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ (376) ​ ​ ​ ​
​
—
​ ​ ​ ​ ​ (120,743) ​ ​
Marketing
​ ​ ​ ​ (34,584) ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ (2,255) ​ ​ ​ ​
​
—
​ ​ ​ ​ ​ (36,839) ​ ​
Other segment items(1)
​ ​ ​ ​ (58,350) ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ (1,136) ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 358 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ (59,128) ​ ​
Adjusted EBITDA
​ ​ ​ $ 45,566 ​ ​ ​ ​ $ (3,348) ​ ​ ​ ​ $ — ​ ​ ​ ​ $ 42,218 ​ ​
Depreciation
​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ (5,306) ​ ​
Amortization
​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ (21,998) ​ ​
Interest expense
​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ (20,301) ​ ​
Incentive unit compensation
​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ (618) ​ ​
Non-recurring costs(2)
​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ (608) ​ ​
Sponsor costs(3)
​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ (7,423) ​ ​
Acquisition related costs(4)
​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ (4,783) ​ ​
Loss before taxes
​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ $ (18,819) ​ ​
Fiscal 2023
(In thousands)
​ ​
Suja Core
​ ​
Emerging
Brands
​ ​
Elimination of
Intersegment
Revenue and
Expense
​ ​
Total
​
Net sales from external customers
​ ​ ​ $ 224,409 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​ ​ ​ $   — ​ ​ ​ ​ $ 224,409 ​ ​
Intersegment revenue
​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​ ​ ​
​
—
​ ​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​
Cost of sales (exclusive of depreciation and amortization expense)
​ ​ ​ ​ (114,824) ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​ ​ ​
​
—
​ ​ ​ ​ ​ (114,824) ​ ​
Marketing
​ ​ ​ ​ (22,623) ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​ ​ ​
​
—
​ ​ ​ ​ ​ (22,623) ​ ​
Other segment items(1)
​ ​ ​ ​ (51,946) ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ (51,946) ​ ​
Adjusted EBITDA
​ ​ ​
$
35,016
​ ​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​ ​ ​ $ — ​ ​ ​ ​ $ 35,016 ​ ​
Depreciation
​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ (5,083) ​ ​
Amortization
​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ (21,603) ​ ​
Interest expense
​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ (19,752) ​ ​
Incentive unit compensation
​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ (460) ​ ​
Non-recurring costs(2)
​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ (190) ​ ​
Sponsor costs(3)
​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ (1,152) ​ ​
Acquisition related costs(4)
​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ (14,022) ​ ​
Loss before taxes
​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ $ (27,246) ​ ​
​
(1)
Except for marketing expense and cost of goods sold which are identified as significant expenses, the Company’s CODM uses expense information in the aggregate when reviewing Adjusted EBITDA. Other segment items for each segment primarily includes personnel costs including sales commissions and bonuses, logistics costs to distribute the Company’s product, and other general and administrative costs.
​
(2)
Includes consulting fees related to one-time system improvements, transaction bonuses, CEO transition costs, and one-time transition costs incurred to transition to a new storage facility.
​
(3)
Includes fees paid in cash to the Company’s sponsor which will not recur subsequent to the initial public offering due to changes in how these fees will be structured as a public company.
​
(4)
Includes costs related to exploratory M&A activities which includes professional service fees, non-recurring compensation, and inventory write-offs relating to acquisitions.
​
 
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Note 17 — Subsequent Events
The Company has evaluated subsequent events through March 20, 2026, the date the financial statements are available to be issued.
On January 13, 2026, the Company entered into a fourth amendment to the Credit Agreement (the “Fourth Amendment to Credit Agreement”) with JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. as administrative agent and the lenders set forth therein, providing for a $15 million delayed draw term loan commitment (the “Fourth Amendment Delayed Draw Term Loan Commitment”). There have been no draws on this term loan as of March 20, 2026.
 
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SCHEDULE I
SUJA LIFE HOLDINGS, LP (PARENT COMPANY ONLY)
CONDENSED BALANCE SHEETS
($ in thousands)
​ ​ ​
As of
​
​ ​ ​
December 29,
2025
​ ​
December 30,
2024
​
Assets ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​
Investment in Subsidiary
​ ​ ​ $ 49,206 ​ ​ ​ ​ $ 73,720 ​ ​
Deferred transaction costs
​ ​ ​ ​ 2,373 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​
Total assets
​ ​ ​ $ 51,579 ​ ​ ​ ​ $ 73,720 ​ ​
Liabilities And Partners’ Equity ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​
Current Liabilities ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​
Accrued expenses
​ ​ ​ $ 2,373 ​ ​ ​ ​ $ 3,871 ​ ​
Total current liabilities
​ ​ ​ ​ 2,373 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 3,871 ​ ​
Other liabilities
​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 12,639 ​ ​
Total liabilities
​ ​ ​ ​ 2,373 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 16,510 ​ ​
Commitments and Contingencies ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​
Partners’ Equity ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​
Unlimited Class A Units authorized, no par value, 222,881 shares issued and outstanding as of December 29, 2025, December 30, 2024 and January 1, 2024
​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​
Unlimited Class B Units authorized, no par value, 18,680, 17,776 and 20,979 shares issued and outstanding as of December 29, 2025, December 30, 2024 and January 1, 2024, respectively
​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​
Unlimited Class C Units, no par value, 200 issued and outstanding as of December 29, 2025, December 30, 2024 and January 1, 2024
​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​
4,840 Class D Units, no par value and 4,840 issued and outstanding as of December 29, 2025, December 30, 2024 and January 1, 2024
​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​
Unlimited Class E Units, no par value, 1,434, 1,434 and 0 issued and outstanding as of December 29, 2025, December 30, 2024 and January 1, 2024, respectively
​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​
Unlimited Class F Units, no par value, 1,000, 10,000 and 0 issued and outstanding as of December 29, 2025, December 30, 2024 and January 1, 2024, respectively
​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​
Partners’ equity
​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​
Additional paid-in capital
​ ​ ​ ​ 161,348 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 146,015 ​ ​
Accumulated deficit
​ ​ ​ ​ (112,142) ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ (88,805) ​ ​
Total partners’ equity
​ ​ ​ ​ 49,206 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 57,210 ​ ​
Total liabilities and partners’ equity
​ ​ ​ $ 51,579 ​ ​ ​ ​ $ 73,720 ​ ​
 
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SCHEDULE I
SUJA LIFE HOLDINGS, LP (PARENT COMPANY ONLY)
CONDENSED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS
($ in thousands)
​ ​ ​
For The Years Ended
​
​ ​ ​
2025
​ ​
2024
​ ​
2023
​
General and administrative expenses
​ ​ ​ $ (634) ​ ​ ​ ​ $ (3,398) ​ ​ ​ ​ $ (3,632) ​ ​
Equity in net loss of subsidiary
​ ​ ​ ​ (22,703) ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ (17,394) ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ (19,431) ​ ​
Interest expense
​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 26 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ (1,407) ​ ​
Net loss
​ ​ ​ $ (23,337) ​ ​ ​ ​ $ (20,766) ​ ​ ​ ​ $ (24,470) ​ ​
 
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SCHEDULE I
SUJA LIFE HOLDINGS, LP (PARENT COMPANY ONLY)
CONDENSED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS
($ in thousands)
​ ​ ​
For The Years Ended
​
​ ​ ​
2025
​ ​
2024
​ ​
2023
​
Operating activities ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​
Net loss
​ ​ ​ $ (23,337) ​ ​ ​ ​ $ (20,766) ​ ​ ​ ​ $ (24,470) ​ ​
Adjustments to reconcile net loss to net cash provided by operating
activities:
​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​
Equity in net loss of subsidiary
​ ​ ​ ​ 22,703 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 17,394 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 19,431 ​ ​
Share-based compensation
​ ​ ​ ​ 507 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 618 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 460 ​ ​
Non-cash transaction costs
​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 4,041 ​ ​
Change in operating assets and liabilities
​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​
Accrued expenses
​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ (9,885) ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 11,796 ​ ​
Other liabilities
​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 12,639 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ (11,258) ​ ​
Net cash provided by (used in) operating activities
​ ​ ​ ​ (127) ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​
Investing activities ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​
Return of capital from subsidiary
​ ​ ​ ​ 1,937 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 133,927 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 671 ​ ​
Net cash used in investing activities
​ ​ ​ ​ 1,937 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 133,927 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 671 ​ ​
Financing activities ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​
Distributions
​ ​ ​ ​ (1,810) ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ (133,927) ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ (671) ​ ​
Net cash provided by (used in) financing activities
​ ​ ​ ​ (1,810) ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ (133,927) ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ (671) ​ ​
Change in cash and restricted cash
​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​
Cash and restricted cash at beginning of period
​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ — ​ ​
Cash and restricted cash at end of period
​ ​ ​ $ — ​ ​ ​ ​ $ — ​ ​ ​ ​ $ — ​ ​
 
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SUJA LIFE HOLDINGS, LP (PARENT COMPANY ONLY)
NOTES TO CONDENSED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
1.   Background and Basis of Presentation
Background
Suja Life Holdings, L.P. (the “Company”), a Delaware limited partnership, is a holding company with no material operations of its own that conducts substantially all of its activities through its wholly owned subsidiary Suja Life, LLC (“Suja”). The Company was organized for the purpose of entering into a Merger Agreement with Suja. Suja was formed on April 30, 2012 as a privately held Delaware limited liability company for the purpose of producing and distributing cold-pressed fresh juice for wholesale and retail sales. The Company is headquartered in Oceanside, California.
On August 23, 2021, the Company completed its merger (the “Merger”) with Suja pursuant to the Agreement and Plan of Merger dated July 7, 2021 and the Amended and Restated Agreement and Plan of Merger dated August 20, 2021. Upon completion of the Merger, Suja experienced a change in control which was accounted for as a business combination in accordance with the Accounting Standards Codification 805, Business Combinations.
The Company issued 190,698 Class A Units to partially fund the Merger which included 188,698 Class A Units issued to funds controlled by Paine Schwartz Partners and 2,000 Class A Units issued to certain sellers of Suja. All issued Units were that of the partnership and therefore, no non-controlling interests was established. On November 15, 2021, the Company entered into a purchase agreement with a third party to sell 19,636 Class A Units for $19,636 thousand plus $364 thousand of transaction cost reimbursement for a total of $20,000 thousand. PSP sold 10.3% ownership of the Company and continued to maintain control of the Company with 88.5% ownership.
Upon the closing of the Company’s acquisition of Vive in fiscal 2022, Suja issued 32,183 units of Class A units to Vive share holders to partially fund the acquisition, resulting in a 14.4% ownership. PSP continued to maintain control of the Company with 75.8% ownership.
Basis of Presentation
The condensed parent company financial statements represent the financial information required by SEC Regulation S-X Rule 5-04 for Suja Life Holdings, LP. Rule 5-04 requires the inclusion of parent only financial statements if the restricted net assets of consolidated subsidiaries exceed 25% of the total consolidated net assets. The Company’s ability to pay dividends or make distributions is limited by restrictions set forth under the terms of agreements governing the indebtedness of the Company’s subsidiaries. Subject to the full terms and conditions under the agreements governing its indebtedness, the Company and its subsidiaries may be permitted to make dividends and distributions under such agreements but only to the extent that the payment is sufficient to allow each such equity owner to receive an amount at least equal to the aggregate amount of its out-of-pocket costs to any unaffiliated third parties, effectively limiting the amount of dividends or distributions allowed to be paid to equity holders. These condensed financial statements have been presented on a “parent-only” basis. Under a parent-only presentation, the Company’s investment in its subsidiaries is presented under the equity method of accounting. Certain information and footnote disclosures normally included in financial statements prepared in accordance with GAAP have been condensed or omitted. As such, these parent-only statements should be read in conjunction with the accompanying notes to the Company’s consolidated financial statements.
2.   Summary of Significant Accounting Policies
The accompanying condensed financial statements have been prepared to present the financial position, results of operations, statement of changes in partners’ equity and cash flows of the Company on a stand-alone basis as a holding company. Investments in subsidiaries are accounted for using the equity method. The condensed parent company only financial statements should be read in conjunction with the Company’s consolidated financial statements.
 
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PART II
INFORMATION NOT REQUIRED IN PROSPECTUS
Item 13.   Other Expenses of Issuance and Distribution.
The following table sets forth all costs and expenses, other than the underwriting discount payable by us, in connection with the offer and sale of the securities being registered. All amounts shown are estimates except for the SEC registration fee, the FINRA filing fee and the listing fee.
​ ​ ​
Amount to
be Paid
​
SEC registration fee
​ ​ ​ $        * ​ ​
FINRA filing fee
​ ​ ​ ​ * ​ ​
Nasdaq listing fee
​ ​ ​ ​ * ​ ​
Printing expenses
​ ​ ​ ​ * ​ ​
Legal fees and expenses
​ ​ ​ ​ * ​ ​
Accounting fees and expenses
​ ​ ​ ​ * ​ ​
Transfer agent fees and registrar fees
​ ​ ​ ​ * ​ ​
Miscellaneous expenses
​ ​ ​ ​ * ​ ​
Total expenses
​ ​ ​ $ * ​ ​
​
*
To be provided by amendment.
​
Item 14.   Indemnification of Directors and Officers.
Section 102(b)(7) of the DGCL allows a corporation to provide in its certificate of incorporation that a director or officer of the corporation will not be personally liable to the corporation or its shareholders for monetary damages for breach of fiduciary duty as a director or officer, except for liability for (i) with respect to directors and officers, any breach of the director’s or officer’s duty of loyalty to the corporation or its stockholders, (ii) with respect to directors and officers, acts not in good faith or which involve intentional misconduct or a knowing violation of law, (iii) with respect to directors, payments of unlawful dividends or unlawful stock repurchases or redemptions under Section 174 of the DGCL, (iv) with respect to directors and officers, any transaction from which the director or officer derived or obtained an improper personal benefit, or (v) with respect to officers, any action by or in the right of the corporation. Our certificate of incorporation will provide for this limitation of liability.
Section 145 of the DGCL (“Section 145”) provides that a Delaware corporation may indemnify any person who was, is or is threatened to be made party to any threatened, pending or completed action, suit or proceeding, whether civil, criminal, administrative or investigative (other than an action by or in the right of such corporation), by reason of the fact that such person is or was an officer, director, employee or agent of such corporation or is or was serving at the request of such corporation as a director, officer, employee or agent of another corporation or enterprise. The indemnity may include expenses (including attorneys’ fees), judgments, fines and amounts paid in settlement actually and reasonably incurred by such person in connection with such action, suit or proceeding, provided that such person acted in good faith and in a manner he reasonably believed to be in or not opposed to the corporation’s best interests and, with respect to any criminal action or proceeding, had no reasonable cause to believe that his conduct was illegal. A Delaware corporation may indemnify any persons who are, were, or are a party to any threatened, pending, or completed action or suit by or in the right of the corporation by reason of the fact that such person is or was a director, officer, employee, or agent of another corporation or enterprise. The indemnity may include expenses (including attorneys’ fees) actually and reasonably incurred by such person in connection with the defense or settlement of such action or suit, provided such person acted in good faith and in a manner he or she reasonably believed to be in or not opposed to the corporation’s best interests, provided that no indemnification is permitted without judicial approval if the officer, director, employee or agent is adjudged to be liable to the corporation. Where an officer or director is successful on the merits or otherwise
 
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in the defense of any action referred to above, the corporation must indemnify him against the expenses which such officer or director has actually and reasonably incurred.
Section 145 further authorizes a corporation to purchase and maintain insurance on behalf of any person who is or was a director, officer, employee or agent of the corporation or is or was serving at the request of the corporation as a director, officer, employee or agent of another corporation or enterprise, against any liability asserted against him and incurred by him in any such capacity, or arising out of his status as such, whether or not the corporation would otherwise have the power to indemnify him under Section 145.
Our bylaws will provide that we will indemnify our directors and officers to the fullest extent authorized by the DGCL and must also pay expenses incurred in defending any such proceeding in advance of its final disposition upon delivery of an undertaking by or on behalf of an indemnified person to repay all amounts so advanced if it should be determined ultimately that such person is not entitled to be indemnified under this section or otherwise.
Upon completion of this offering, we intend to enter into indemnification agreements with each of our executive officers and directors. The indemnification agreements will provide the executive officers and directors with contractual rights to indemnification, expense advancement and reimbursement, to the fullest extent permitted under the DGCL.
The indemnification rights set forth above shall not be exclusive of any other right which an indemnified person may have or hereafter acquire under any statute, provision of our certificate of incorporation or bylaws, agreement, vote of shareholders or disinterested directors or otherwise.
We will maintain standard policies of insurance that provide coverage (1) to our directors and officers against loss arising from claims made by reason of breach of duty or other wrongful act and (2) to us with respect to indemnification payments that we may make to such directors and officers. The proposed form of Underwriting Agreement to be filed as Exhibit 1.1 to this Registration Statement provides for indemnification of our directors and officers by the underwriters party thereto against certain liabilities arising under the Securities Act or otherwise.
Item 15.   Recent Sales of Unregistered Securities.
Set forth below is information regarding securities sold by us within the past three years that were not registered under the Securities Act. Also included is the consideration, if any, received by us for such securities and information relating to the section of the Securities Act, or rule of the SEC, under which exemption from registration was claimed.
Since January 1, 2023, we have made sales of the following unregistered securities:
In connection with the Organizational Transactions described in the accompanying prospectus, we will issue         shares of Class V common stock to the LP Unitholders. The shares of Class V common stock will be issued on a one-to-one basis with the number of LP Units owned by such holders, in exchange for nominal consideration. No underwriters will be involved in the transaction.
The offer and sale of the above securities was deemed to be exempt from registration under the Securities Act in reliance upon Section 4(a)(2) of the Securities Act or Regulation D promulgated thereunder or Rule 701 promulgated under Section 3(b) of the Securities Act, as transactions by an issuer not involving any public offering or pursuant to benefit plans and contracts relating to compensation as provided under Rule 701. The recipient of the above securities represented its intention to acquire the securities for investment only and not with a view to or for sale in connection with any distribution thereof. Appropriate legends were placed upon any stock certificates issued in these transactions. The recipient had adequate access to information about us. The sale of these securities was made without any general solicitation or advertising.
 
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Item 16.   Exhibits and Financial Statement Schedules.
(i)
Exhibits
​
​
Exhibit
Number
​ ​
Description
​
​ 1.1* ​ ​ Form of Underwriting Agreement ​
​ 3.1 ​ ​ ​
​ 3.2 ​ ​ ​
​ 3.3 ​ ​ ​
​ 3.4 ​ ​ ​
​ 4.1 ​ ​ ​
​ 5.1* ​ ​ Opinion of Kirkland & Ellis LLP ​
​ 10.1 ​ ​ ​
​ 10.2 ​ ​ ​
​ 10.3 ​ ​ ​
​ 10.4 ​ ​ ​
​ 10.5 ​ ​ ​
​ 10.6* ​ ​ Form of Tax Receivable Agreement ​
​ 10.7* ​ ​ Form of Exchange Agreement ​
​ 10.8* ​ ​ Form of Amended and Restated Partnership Agreement of Holdings LP ​
​ 10.9 ​ ​ ​
​ 10.10 ​ ​ ​
​ 10.11+ ​ ​ ​
​ 10.12+ ​ ​ ​
​ 10.13+ ​ ​ ​
​ 10.14+ ​ ​ ​
​ 10.15 ​ ​ ​
​ 10.16 ​ ​ ​
​ 10.17 ​ ​ ​
​ 21.1 ​ ​ ​
​ 23.1 ​ ​ ​
​ 23.2 ​ ​ ​
​ 23.3* ​ ​ Consent of Kirkland & Ellis LLP (included in Exhibit 5.1) ​
​ 24.1 ​ ​ ​
​ 99.1 ​ ​ ​
​ 99.2 ​ ​ ​
 
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​
Exhibit
Number
​ ​
Description
​
​ 99.3 ​ ​ ​
​ 99.4 ​ ​ ​
​ 99.5 ​ ​ Consent of Kevin Schwartz to be named a director nominee ​
​ 99.6 ​ ​ ​
​ 107 ​ ​ ​
​
*
Indicates to be filed by amendment.
​
+
Indicates a management contract or compensatory plan or agreement.
​
(ii)
Financial statement schedules
​
No financial statement schedules are provided because the information called for is not applicable or is shown in the financial statements or notes.
Item 17.   Undertakings
The undersigned registrant hereby undertakes to provide to the underwriters at the closing specified in the underwriting agreement certificates in such denominations and registered in such names as required by the underwriters to permit prompt delivery to each purchaser.
Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the Securities Act may be permitted to directors, officers and controlling persons of the registrant pursuant to the provisions referenced in Item 14 of this Registration Statement, or otherwise, the registrant 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. 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 hereunder, 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 and will be governed by the final adjudication of such issue.
The undersigned registrant hereby undertakes that:
(1)
For purposes of determining any liability under the Securities Act, the information omitted from the form of prospectus filed as part of this Registration Statement in reliance upon Rule 430A and contained in the form of prospectus filed by the registrant pursuant to Rule 424(b)(1) or (4) or 497(h) under the Securities Act shall be deemed to be part of this Registration Statement as of the time it was declared effective; and
​
(2)
For the purpose of determining any liability under the Securities Act, each post-effective amendment that contains a form of prospectus shall be deemed to be a new registration statement relating to the securities offered therein, and the offering of such securities at the time shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof.
​
 
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SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, the registrant has duly caused this registration statement to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized in the City of Oceanside, State of California, on April 10, 2026.
Suja Life, Inc.
By:
/s/ Maria Stipp
​
​
Name:  Maria Stipp
Title:   Chief Executive Officer
POWER OF ATTORNEY
The undersigned directors and officers of Suja Life, Inc. hereby appoint each of Maria Stipp and Jeff Pedersen, as attorney-in-fact for the undersigned, with full power of substitution and resubstitution, for and in the name, place and stead of the undersigned, to sign and file with the Securities and Exchange Commission under the Securities Act of 1933 any and all amendments (including post-effective amendments) and exhibits to this registration statement on Form S-1 (or any other registration statement for the same offering that is to be effective upon filing pursuant to Rule 462(b) under the Securities Act of 1933) and any and all applications and other documents to be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission pertaining to the registration of the securities covered hereby, with full power and authority to do and perform any and all acts and things whatsoever requisite and necessary or desirable, hereby ratifying and confirming all that said attorney-in-fact, 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 and on the dates indicated.
​
Signature
​ ​
Title
​ ​
Date
​
​
/s/ Maria Stipp
​
Maria Stipp
​ ​
Chief Executive Officer
(Principal Executive Officer and Director)
​ ​
April 10, 2026
​
​
/s/ Jeff Pedersen
​
Jeff Pedersen
​ ​
Chief Financial Officer
(Principal Financial and Accounting Officer)
​ ​
April 10, 2026
​
 
II-5

Exhibit 3.1

 

CERTIFICATE OF INCORPORATION
OF
SUJA LIFE, INC.

 

ARTICLE ONE

 

The name of the corporation is Suja Life, Inc. (the "Corporation").

 

ARTICLE TWO

 

The address of the Corporation's registered office in the State of Delaware is 1209 Orange Street, in the City of Wilmington, County of New Castle, 19801. The name of its registered agent at such address is The Corporation Trust Company.

 

ARTICLE THREE

 

The nature of the business or purposes to be conducted or promoted is to engage in any lawful act or activity for which corporations may be organized under the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware.

 

ARTICLE FOUR

 

The total number of shares of stock which the Corporation has authority to issue is One Thousand (1,000) shares of Common Stock, par value $0.01 per share.

 

ARTICLE FIVE

 

The name and mailing address of the sole incorporator are as follows:

 

NAME MAILING ADDRESS
   
Maria Stipp 3831 Ocean Ranch Boulevard
Oceanside, CA 92056

 

ARTICLE SIX

 

The Corporation is to have perpetual existence.

 

ARTICLE SEVEN

 

In furtherance and not in limitation of the powers conferred by statute, the board of directors of the Corporation is expressly authorized to make, alter or repeal the bylaws of the Corporation.

 

 

 

ARTICLE EIGHT

 

Meetings of stockholders may be held within or without the State of Delaware, as the bylaws of the Corporation may provide. The books of the Corporation may be kept outside the State of Delaware at such place or places as may be designated from time to time by the board of directors or in the bylaws of the Corporation. Election of directors need not be by written ballot unless the bylaws of the Corporation so provide.

 

ARTICLE NINE

 

To the fullest extent permitted by the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware as the same exists or may hereafter be amended, a director of this Corporation shall not be liable to the Corporation or its stockholders for monetary damages for a breach of fiduciary duty as a director. Any repeal or modification of this ARTICLE NINE shall not adversely affect any right or protection of a director of the Corporation existing at the time of such repeal or modification.

 

ARTICLE TEN

 

The Corporation expressly elects not to be governed by §203 of the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware.

 

ARTICLE ELEVEN

 

The Corporation reserves the right to amend, alter, change or repeal any provision contained in this certificate of incorporation in the manner now or hereafter prescribed herein and by the laws of the State of Delaware, and all rights conferred upon stockholders herein are granted subject to this reservation.

 

ARTICLE TWELVE

 

To the maximum extent permitted from time to time under the law of the State of Delaware, the Corporation renounces any interest or expectancy of the Corporation in, or in being offered an opportunity to participate in, business opportunities that are from time to time presented to its officers, directors or stockholders, other than those officers, directors or stockholders who are employees of the Corporation. No amendment or repeal of this ARTICLE TWELVE shall apply to or have any effect on the liability or alleged liability of any officer, director or stockholder of the Corporation for or with respect to any opportunities of which such officer, director, or stockholder becomes aware prior to such amendment or repeal.

 

* * * * *

 

 

 

I, THE UNDERSIGNED, being the sole incorporator hereinbefore named, for the purpose of forming a corporation pursuant to the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware, do make this certificate, hereby declaring and certifying that this is my act and deed and the facts stated herein are true, and accordingly have hereunto set my hand on the 8th day of October, 2025.

 

  /s/ Maria Stipp
  Maria Stipp, Sole Incorporator

 

 

 

Exhibit 3.2

 

FORM OF

AMENDED AND RESTATED

CERTIFICATE OF INCORPORATION

OF

SUJA LIFE, INC.

 

* * * * *

 

Suja Life, Inc., a corporation duly organized and existing under and by virtue of the provisions of the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware (the “Corporation”), DOES HEREBY CERTIFY as follows:

 

FIRST: The present name of the Corporation is Suja Life, Inc. The original Certificate of Incorporation of the Corporation was filed with the Secretary of State of the State of Delaware on October 8, 2025 (the “Certificate of Incorporation”).

 

SECOND: The Board of Directors of the Corporation, pursuant to a unanimous written consent, duly adopted resolutions authorizing the Corporation to amend and restate the Certificate of Incorporation in its entirety to read as set forth in Exhibit A attached hereto and made a part hereof (the “Amended and Restated Certificate”).

 

THIRD: The Amended and Restated Certificate restates and integrates and further amends the Certificate of Incorporation.

 

FOURTH: The stockholders of the Corporation approved and adopted the Amended and Restated Certificate by written consent in accordance with Section 228 of the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware.

 

FIFTH: The Amended and Restated Certificate has been duly adopted in accordance with Sections 228, 242 and 245 of the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware.

 

* * * * *

 

 

 

 

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, Suja Life, Inc. has caused this Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation to be executed by its duly authorized officer on this [●] day of [●], 2026.

 

 

SUJA LIFE, INC.

     
  By:  
  Name: Maria Stipp
  Title: Chief Executive Officer

 

Signature Page to Amended and Restated
Certificate of Incorporation of Suja Life, Inc.

 

 

 

 

Exhibit A

 

AMENDED AND RESTATED

CERTIFICATE OF INCORPORATION

OF

SUJA LIFE, INC.

 

Article One

 

The name of the corporation is Suja Life, Inc. (the “Corporation”).

 

Article Two

 

The address of the Corporation’s registered office in the State of Delaware is 1209 Orange Street, in the City of Wilmington, County of New Castle, Delaware 19801. The name of its registered agent at such address is The Corporation Trust Company.

 

Article Three

 

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

 

Article Four

 

Section 1.        Authorized Shares. The total number of shares of all classes of capital stock which the Corporation shall have authority to issue is [        ] shares, consisting of three classes as follows:

 

1.[        ] shares of Preferred Stock, par value $[         ] per share (the “Preferred Stock”);

 

2.[        ] shares of Class A Common Stock, par value $0.0001 per share (the “Class A Common Stock”); and

 

3.[        ] shares of Class V Common Stock, par value $0.0001 per share (the “Class V Common Stock” and together with the Class A Common Stock, the “Common Stock”).

 

The Preferred Stock and the Common Stock shall have the designations, rights, powers, and preferences and the qualifications, restrictions, and limitations thereof, if any, set forth below.

 

Section 2.        Preferred Stock. The Board of Directors of the Corporation (the “Board”) is authorized, subject to limitations prescribed by law, to provide, by resolution or resolutions for the issuance of shares of Preferred Stock in one or more series, and with respect to each series, to establish the number of shares to be included in each such series, and to fix the voting powers (if any), designations, powers, preferences, and relative, participating, optional, or other special rights, if any, of the shares of each such series, and any qualifications, limitations, or restrictions thereof, including dividend rights, conversion rights, voting rights, terms of redemption, and liquidation preferences, any or all of which may be greater than the rights of the Common Stock. The powers (including voting powers), preferences, and relative, participating, optional, and other special rights of each series of Preferred Stock and the qualifications, limitations or restrictions thereof, if any, may differ from those of any and all other series at any time outstanding. Subject to the rights of the holders of any series of Preferred Stock, the number of authorized shares of Preferred Stock may be increased or decreased (but not below the number of shares thereof then outstanding), without the separate vote of the holders of the Preferred Stock as a class, irrespective of the provisions of Section 242(b)(2) of the DGCL. For the avoidance of doubt, and notwithstanding the foregoing, the Corporation shall be governed by Section 242(d) of the DGCL.

 

 

 

 

Section 3.        Common Stock.

 

(a)            Voting Rights. Except as otherwise required by the DGCL or as provided by or pursuant to the provisions of this Certificate of Incorporation (as amended and/or restated from time to time, including pursuant to any certificate of designation relating to any series of Preferred Stock, the “Certificate”):

 

(i)            Each holder of Class A Common Stock shall be entitled to one vote for each share of Class A Common Stock held of record by such holder on all matters to be voted upon by stockholders of the Corporation.

 

(ii)           Each holder of Class V Common Stock shall be entitled to one vote for each share of Class V Common Stock held of record by such holder on all matters to be voted upon by stockholders of the Corporation.

 

(iii)          Except as otherwise required in this Certificate or by applicable law, the holders of Class A Common Stock and Class V Common Stock shall vote together as a single class on all matters on which stockholders of the Corporation are generally entitled to vote (and, if any holders of Preferred Stock are entitled to vote together with the holders of Common Stock, as a single class with such holders of Preferred Stock); provided, however, that, except as otherwise required by law or this Certificate, the holders of Common Stock, as such, shall not be entitled to vote on any amendment to this Certificate (including any certificate of designation relating to any series of Preferred Stock) that relates solely to the terms of one or more outstanding series of Preferred Stock if the holders of such affected series are entitled, either separately or together with the holders of one or more other such series, to vote thereon pursuant to this Certificate (including any certificate of designation relating to any series of Preferred Stock) or pursuant to the DGCL. Subject to the rights of the holders of any series of Preferred Stock, the number of authorized shares of Class A Common Stock or Class V Common Stock may be increased or decreased (but not below the number of shares thereof then outstanding) without the separate vote of the holders of the Class A Common Stock or Class V Common Stock, as applicable, irrespective of the provisions of Section 242(b)(2) of the DGCL. For the avoidance of doubt, the Corporation does not intend by the foregoing sentence to opt out of the provisions of Section 242(d) of the DGCL, and intends that Section 242(d) be applicable to the Corporation.

 

(iv)         The holders of shares of Common Stock shall not have cumulative voting rights.

 

4 

 

 

(b)            Dividends. Subject to applicable law and the rights, if any, of the holders of any outstanding series of Preferred Stock or any class or series of stock having a preference over or the right to participate with the Class A Common Stock with respect to the payment of dividends in cash, stock, or property of the Corporation, such dividends may be declared and paid on the Class A Common Stock out of the assets of the Corporation that are by law available therefor at such times and in such amounts as the Board in its discretion shall determine. Dividends shall not be declared or paid on the Class V Common Stock.

 

(c)            Liquidation, Dissolution, etc. In the event of any voluntary or involuntary liquidation, dissolution, or winding up of the affairs of the Corporation, after payment or provision for payment of the debts and other liabilities of the Corporation as required by law and of the preferential and other amounts, if any, to which the holders of Preferred Stock or any class or series of stock having a preference over or the right to participate with the Class A Common Stock shall be entitled, the holders of all outstanding shares of Class A Common Stock shall be entitled to participate in the distribution of the remaining assets of the Corporation available for distribution to holders of Class A Common Stock ratably in proportion to the number of shares held by each such stockholder. The holders of shares of Class V Common Stock, as such, shall not be entitled to receive any assets of the Corporation in the event of any voluntary or involuntary liquidation, dissolution, or winding up of the affairs of the Corporation.

 

(d)            Reclassification. Neither the Class A Common Stock nor the Class V Common Stock may be subdivided, split, combined, consolidated, reclassified, or otherwise changed unless contemporaneously therewith the other class of Common Stock and the common units of Suja Life Holdings, L.P., a Delaware limited partnership (such units, the “LP Units”), are subdivided, consolidated, reclassified, or otherwise changed in the same proportion and in the same manner.

 

(e)            Exchange. The holders of LP Units other than the Corporation shall, to the extent provided in the Exchange Agreement and the Partnership Agreement (each, defined below) and in accordance with the terms and conditions of the Exchange Agreement and the Partnership Agreement, as applicable, have the right to exchange the Class V Common Stock and the LP Units held by them for the number of fully paid and nonassessable shares of Class A Common Stock determined in accordance with the terms of the Exchange Agreement. Upon the exchange of an LP Unit for one share of Class A Common Stock in accordance with the terms and conditions of the Exchange Agreement and the Partnership Agreement, as applicable, one share of Class V Common Stock held by the exchanging holder shall automatically and without further action on the part of the Corporation be transferred to the Corporation for no consideration, and shall be automatically retired and cancelled and shall no longer be issued or outstanding and may not be reissued and shall return to the status of authorized but unissued shares of Class V Common Stock. The Corporation shall at all times when any shares of Class V Common Stock and LP Units shall be outstanding, reserve and keep available out of its authorized but unissued Class A Common Stock such number of shares of the Class A Common Stock as shall from time to time be sufficient to effect the exchange of all outstanding shares of Class V Common Stock and LP Units into shares of Class A Common Stock in accordance with the terms of the Exchange Agreement and the Partnership Agreement. If at any time the number of authorized but unissued shares of Class A Common Stock shall not be sufficient to effect the exchange of all outstanding LP Units, the Corporation will take such corporate actions within its power as may, in the opinion of its counsel, be necessary to cause this Certificate to be amended so as to increase the number of authorized shares of Class A Common Stock to such number as shall be sufficient for such purpose. “Exchange Agreement” means that certain Exchange Agreement, dated on or about the date hereof, among the Corporation, Suja Life Holdings, L.P., and holders of LP Units party thereto, as it may be amended and/or restated from time to time, a copy of which is available from the Company upon request and without cost. “Partnership Agreement” means that certain Amended and Restated Limited Partnership Agreement of Suja Life Holdings, L.P., dated on or about the date hereof, as it may be amended and/or restated from time to time, a copy of which is available from the Corporation upon request and without cost.

 

5 

 

 

(f)            Automatic Transfer. No share of Class V Common Stock may be sold, exchanged, or otherwise transferred, other than in connection with (i) the original issuance of the Class V Common Stock to the holders of LP Units of Suja Life Holdings, L.P. pursuant to the Exchange Agreement (ii) the exchange of an LP Unit as set forth in Section 3(e) of ARTICLE FOUR hereof and in the Exchange Agreement and the Partnership Agreement, and (iii) the transfer of an LP Unit by a holder of LP Units to “Permitted Transferees” of such holder as defined in the Partnership Agreement. In the event that any outstanding shares of Class V Common Stock are sold, exchanged, or otherwise transferred other than as provided in the foregoing clauses (i), (ii), and (iii) or such outstanding shares of Class V Common Stock shall otherwise cease to be held by a holder of a corresponding number, based on the exchange rate then in effect, of LP Units (including a transferee of a LP Unit) for any reason, such shares of Class V Common Stock shall upon such sale, exchange, or other transfer, or upon ceasing to be held by such holder, automatically and without further action on the part of the Corporation or any holder of Class V Common Stock be transferred to the Corporation for no consideration and thereupon shall be automatically retired and cancelled and shall no longer be issued or outstanding and may not be reissued and shall return to the status of authorized but unissued shares of Class V Common Stock. Certificates representing outstanding shares of Class V Common Stock shall contain a legend referencing the restrictions of transfers set forth herein.

 

Article Five

 

Section 1.        Board of Directors. Except as otherwise provided in this Certificate or the DGCL, the business and affairs of the Corporation shall be managed by or under the direction of the Board.

 

Section 2.        Number of Directors. Subject to any rights of the holders of any series of Preferred Stock then outstanding to elect additional directors under specified circumstances or otherwise, the number of directors which shall constitute the Board shall be [●] and, thereafter, shall be fixed from time to time exclusively by resolution of the Board; provided that, before the Board Trigger Date (as defined herein), the size of the Board may also be fixed by the holders of a majority of the voting power present or represented by proxy at a duly convened meeting of stockholders or by a consent of stockholders in lieu of a meeting in accordance with Section 228 of the DGCL.

 

Section 3.        Classes of Directors. The directors of the Corporation, other than those who may be elected by the holders of any series of Preferred Stock, shall be divided into three classes, hereby designated Class I, Class II and Class III.

 

Section 4.        Election and Term of Office. Subject to the rights of the holders of any series of Preferred Stock then outstanding and subject to Section 7 of this ARTICLE FIVE, the directors shall be elected by a plurality of the votes cast. The term of office of the initial Class I directors shall expire at the first annual meeting of stockholders following the date the Class A Common Stock is first publicly traded (the “IPO Date”), the term of office of the initial Class II directors shall expire at the second annual meeting of stockholders after the IPO Date, and the term of office of the initial Class III directors shall expire at the third annual meeting of the stockholders after the IPO Date. The Board may assign directors already in office to Class I, Class II, and Class III. At each annual meeting of stockholders after the IPO Date, directors elected to replace those of a class whose terms expire at such annual meeting shall be elected to hold office until the third succeeding annual meeting after their election and until their respective successors shall have been duly elected and qualified. Each such director shall hold office until the annual meeting of stockholders for the year in which such director’s term expires and a successor is duly elected and qualified or until his or her earlier death, resignation, or removal. Nothing in this Certificate shall preclude a director from serving consecutive terms. Elections of directors need not be by written ballot unless the Bylaws of the Corporation (as amended and/or restated, the “Bylaws”) shall so provide.

 

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Section 5.        Newly Created Directorships and Vacancies. Subject to the rights of the holders of any series of Preferred Stock then outstanding, newly created directorships resulting from any increase in the authorized number of directors or any vacancies in the Board resulting from death, resignation, disqualification, removal from office, or any other cause may be filled by the affirmative vote of the majority of the remaining directors then in office, even if less than a quorum, or by a sole remaining director, and may not be filled in any other manner; provided that, before the Board Trigger Date, vacant and newly created directorships may also be filled by a plurality vote of the stockholders entitled to vote thereon at a duly convened meeting of stockholders or by a consent of a majority in voting power of the stock entitled to vote thereon in accordance with Section 228 of the DGCL; and further provided that any vacancy or newly created directorship relating to a director entitled to be nominated by the Principal Stockholder (as defined herein) pursuant to the Director Designation Agreement dated on or about the IPO Date, as amended, restated, modified, and/or supplemented from time to time, a copy of which is available from the Corporation upon request and without cost, may only be filled with the person nominated by the Principal Stockholder. A director elected or appointed to fill a vacancy shall serve for the unexpired term of his or her predecessor in office and until his or her successor is elected and qualified or until his or her earlier death, resignation, or removal. A director elected or appointed to fill a position resulting from an increase in the number of directors shall hold office until the next election of the class for which such director shall have been elected or appointed and until his or her successor is elected and qualified, or until his or her earlier death, resignation, or removal. No decrease in the authorized number of directors shall shorten the term of any incumbent director.

 

Section 6.        Removal and Resignation of Directors. Notwithstanding any other provision of this Certificate, (i) prior to the Board Trigger Date, directors may be removed with or without cause upon the affirmative vote of stockholders representing at least a majority of the Voting Stock (as defined herein) of the Corporation, voting together as a single class and (ii) on and after the Board Trigger Date, directors may only be removed for cause and only upon the affirmative vote of stockholders representing at least 66 2/3% of the voting power of the then outstanding shares of Voting Stock of the Corporation, voting together as a single class. Any director may resign at any time upon notice in writing or by electronic transmission to the Corporation. “Board Trigger Date” means the first date on which the Principal Stockholder and its Affiliated Companies (as defined herein) cease to beneficially own in the aggregate (directly or indirectly) at least 40% of the outstanding shares of Class A Common Stock (determined assuming that each LP Unit owned by holders other than the Corporation were exchanged for Class A Common Stock in accordance with the terms and conditions of the Exchange Agreement and the Partnership Agreement, as applicable). “Principal Stockholder” means Paine Schwartz Partners, LLC. “Affiliated Companies” means (a) in respect of the Principal Stockholder, any entity that controls, is controlled by or is under common control with such Principal Stockholder (other than the Corporation and any entity that is controlled by the Corporation) and any investment funds managed by such Principal Stockholder or any of its affiliates and (b) in respect of the Corporation, any entity controlled by the Corporation. “Control” is defined in Section 4 of ARTICLE NINE.

 

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Section 7.        Rights of Holders of Preferred Stock. Notwithstanding the provisions of this ARTICLE FIVE, whenever the holders of one or more series of Preferred Stock shall have the right, voting separately or together by series, to elect directors at an annual or special meeting of stockholders, the election, term of office, filling of vacancies, and other features of such directorship shall be subject to the rights of such series of Preferred Stock. During any period when the holders of any series of Preferred Stock, voting separately as a series or together with one or more series, have the right to elect additional directors, then upon commencement and for the duration of the period during which such right continues (i) the then otherwise total authorized number of directors of the Corporation shall automatically be increased by such specified number of directors, and the holders of such Preferred Stock shall be entitled to elect the additional directors so provided for or fixed pursuant to said provisions, and (ii) each such additional director shall serve until such director’s successor shall have been duly elected and qualified, or until such director’s right to hold such office terminates pursuant to said provisions, whichever occurs earlier, subject to his or her earlier death, resignation, disqualification, or removal. Except as otherwise provided by the Board in the resolution or resolutions establishing such series, whenever the holders of any series of Preferred Stock having such right to elect additional directors are divested of such right pursuant to the provisions of such stock, the terms of office of all such additional directors elected by the holders of such stock, or elected to fill any vacancies resulting from the death, resignation, disqualification, or removal of such additional directors, shall forthwith terminate (in which case each such director thereupon shall cease to be qualified as, and shall cease to be, a director), and the total authorized number of directors of the Corporation shall automatically be reduced accordingly.

 

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

 

Section 9.        Chair of the Board. So long as the Principal Stockholder beneficially owns in the aggregate (directly or indirectly) at least 20% or more of the Voting Stock of the Corporation, the Chair of the Board shall be designated solely by the Principal Stockholder.

 

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Article Six

 

Section 1.        Limitation of Liability.

 

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

 

(b)            Any amendment, repeal, or modification of the foregoing paragraph shall not adversely affect any right or protection of a director or officer of the Corporation existing at the time of such amendment, repeal, or modification, with respect to any act, omission, or other matter occurring prior to such amendment, repeal, or modification. Solely for purposes of Sections 1(a) and 1(b) of this ARTICLE SIX, “officer” has the meaning provided in Section 102(b)(7) of the DGCL.

 

Article Seven

 

Section 1.        Action by Written Consent. Prior to the Board Trigger Date, any action which is required or permitted to be taken by the Corporation’s stockholders may be taken without a meeting, without prior notice, and without a vote if a consent or consents in writing, setting forth the action so taken, is signed by the holders of outstanding stock having not less than the minimum number of votes that would be necessary to authorize or take such action at a meeting at which all shares of the Corporation’s stock entitled to vote thereon were present and voted. On and after the Board Trigger Date, any action required or permitted to be taken by the Corporation’s stockholders may be taken only at a duly called annual or special meeting of the Corporation’s stockholders and the power of stockholders to act by consent in writing without a meeting is specifically denied; provided, however, that any action required or permitted to be taken by the holders of Preferred Stock, voting separately as a series or separately as a class with one or more other such series, may be taken without a meeting, without prior notice, and without a vote, to the extent expressly so provided in the resolutions creating such series of Preferred Stock.

 

Section 2.        Special Meetings of Stockholders. Subject to the rights of the holders of any series of Preferred Stock then outstanding and to the requirements of applicable law, special meetings of stockholders of the Corporation may be called only (i) by or at the direction of the Board or the Chair of the Board pursuant to a written resolution adopted by the affirmative vote of the majority of the total number of directors that the Corporation would have if there were no vacancies, or (ii) prior to the first date (the “Special Meeting Trigger Date”) on which the Principal Stockholder and its Affiliated Companies cease to beneficially own in the aggregate (directly or indirectly) at least 30% of the voting power of the then outstanding Voting Stock, by the Chair of the Board at the request of the Principal Stockholder in the manner provided for in the Bylaws. Any business transacted at any special meeting of stockholders shall be limited to the purpose or purposes stated in the notice of the meeting.

 

Article Eight

 

Section 1.        Certain Acknowledgments. It is hereby acknowledged that:

 

(a)            (i) certain of the directors, partners, principals, officers, members, managers, employees, operating partners, and/or contractors of the Principal Stockholder or its Affiliated Companies may serve as directors or officers of the Corporation, (ii) the Principal Stockholder and its Affiliated Companies engage and may continue to engage in the same or similar activities or related lines of business as those in which the Corporation, directly or indirectly, may engage and/or other business activities that overlap with or compete with those in which the Corporation, directly or indirectly, may engage, and (iii) the Corporation and its Affiliated Companies may engage in material business transactions with the Principal Stockholder and its Affiliated Companies, and the Corporation is expected to benefit therefrom;

 

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(b)            the provisions of this ARTICLE EIGHT are set forth to regulate to the fullest extent permitted by law certain affairs of the Corporation as they may involve the Principal Stockholder and/or its Affiliated Companies and/or their respective directors, partners, principals, officers, members, managers, employees, operating partners, and/or contractors, including any of the foregoing who serve as officers or directors of the Corporation (the Principal Stockholder and/or its Affiliated Companies and all such other persons each an “Exempt Person” and collectively, the “Exempt Persons”); and

 

(c)            this ARTICLE EIGHT constitutes the renunciation of corporate opportunities pursuant to Section 122(17) of the DGCL, which authorizes a corporation to renounce specified classes and categories of business opportunities.

 

Section 2.        Renunciation of Corporate Opportunities. To the fullest extent permitted by the DGCL, but subject to Section 3 of this ARTICLE EIGHT, the Corporation hereby renounces any interest or expectancy in, or being offered an opportunity to participate in, any and all business opportunities: (a) originated or acquired by an Exempt Person; (b) in which the Exempt Person has an interest; or (c) that is received from any person or entity by an Exempt Person. The business opportunities renounced under this paragraph include any actual or potential investment or business opportunity or prospective economic advantage in which the Corporation could, but for this paragraph, have an interest or expectancy (including, without limitation, acquisitions, dispositions, business combinations, financings, or investment opportunities), whether or not such opportunities are in the same or similar lines of business in which the Corporation is engaged or intends to engage.

 

Section 3.        Excluded Opportunities. Notwithstanding the foregoing provisions of this ARTICLE EIGHT, but subject to Section 4 of this ARTICLE EIGHT, the Corporation does not renounce any interest or expectancy it may have in any business opportunity that is (a) expressly offered to a person solely in his or her capacity as a director or officer of the Corporation, and not in any other capacity; (b) offered to, or acquired by, a person while he or she is a full-time employee of the Corporation; or (c) that has been developed using the confidential information of the Corporation or any of its subsidiaries.

 

Section 4.        Certain Matters Deemed Not Corporate Opportunities. In addition to and notwithstanding the foregoing provisions of this ARTICLE EIGHT, a corporate opportunity shall not be deemed to belong to the Corporation if it is a business opportunity the Corporation is not financially able or contractually permitted or legally able to undertake, or that is, from its nature, not in the line of the Corporation’s business or is of no practical advantage to it or that is one in which the Corporation has no interest or reasonable expectancy.

 

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Section 5.        Amendment of this Article. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary elsewhere contained in this Certificate, subject to the rights of the holders of any series of Preferred Stock then outstanding, and in addition to any vote required by applicable law, the affirmative vote of the Principal Stockholder, so long as the Principal Stockholder and/or its Affiliated Companies continue to beneficially own any outstanding shares of Voting Stock of the Corporation, shall be required to alter, amend, or repeal, or to adopt any provision inconsistent with, this ARTICLE EIGHT; provided, however, that, to the fullest extent permitted by law, neither the alteration, amendment, or repeal of this ARTICLE EIGHT nor the adoption of any provision of this Certificate inconsistent with this ARTICLE EIGHT shall apply to or have any effect on the liability or alleged liability of any Exempt Person for or with respect to any activities or opportunities which such Exempt Person becomes aware of prior to such alteration, amendment, repeal, or adoption.

 

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

 

Article Nine

 

Section 1.        Section 203 of the DGCL. The Corporation expressly elects not to be subject to the provisions of Section 203 of the DGCL.

 

Section 2.        Business Combinations with Interested Stockholders. Notwithstanding any other provision in this Certificate to the contrary, the Corporation shall not engage in any Business Combination (as defined herein), at any point in time at which the Common Stock is registered under Section 12(b) or 12(g) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), with any Interested Stockholder (as defined herein) for a period of three years following the time that such stockholder became an Interested Stockholder, unless:

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

Section 4.        Definitions. As used in this ARTICLE NINE only, and unless otherwise provided by the express terms of this ARTICLE NINE, the following terms shall have the meanings ascribed to them as set forth in this Section 4 of ARTICLE NINE and, to the extent such terms are defined elsewhere in this Certificate, such definitions shall not apply to this ARTICLE NINE:

 

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

 

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

 

(c)            “Business Combination” means:

 

(i)            any merger or consolidation of the Corporation (other than a merger effected pursuant to Sections 253 or 267 of the DGCL) or any direct or indirect majority-owned subsidiary of the Corporation with (A) the Interested Stockholder, or (B) any other corporation, partnership, unincorporated association, or entity if the merger or consolidation is caused by the Interested Stockholder and as a result of such merger or consolidation Section 2 of this ARTICLE NINE is not applicable to the surviving entity;

 

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

 

(iii)          any transaction which results in the issuance or transfer by the Corporation or by any direct or indirect majority-owned subsidiary of the Corporation of any Stock of the Corporation or of such subsidiary to the Interested Stockholder, except (A) pursuant to the exercise, exchange, or conversion of securities exercisable for, exchangeable for, or convertible into Stock of the Corporation or any such subsidiary which securities were outstanding prior to the time that the Interested Stockholder became such; (B) pursuant to an exchange of LP Units into Class A Common Stock, to the extent provided in the Exchange Agreement and the Partnership Agreement, (C) pursuant to a merger under Sections 251(g), 253 or 267 of the DGCL, (D) pursuant to a dividend or distribution paid or made, or the exercise, exchange, or conversion of securities exercisable for, exchangeable for, or convertible into Stock of the Corporation or any such subsidiary which security is distributed, pro rata to all holders of a class or series of Stock of the Corporation subsequent to the time the Interested Stockholder became such, (E) pursuant to an exchange offer by the Corporation to purchase Stock made on the same terms to all holders of such Stock, or (F) any issuance or transfer of Stock by the Corporation; provided, however, that in no case under items (D)-(F) of this Section 4(c)(iii) of ARTICLE NINE shall there be an increase in the Interested Stockholder’s proportionate share of the Stock of any class or series of the Corporation or of the Voting Stock of the Corporation;

 

(iv)         any transaction involving the Corporation or any direct or indirect majority-owned subsidiary of the Corporation which has the effect, directly or indirectly, of increasing the proportionate share of the Stock of any class or series, or securities convertible into the Stock of any class or series, of the Corporation or of any such subsidiary which is owned by the Interested Stockholder, except as a result of immaterial changes due to fractional share adjustments or as a result of any purchase or redemption of any shares of Stock not caused, directly or indirectly, by the Interested Stockholder; or

 

(v)          any receipt by the Interested Stockholder of the benefit, directly or indirectly (except proportionately as a stockholder of the Corporation), of any loans, advances, guarantees, pledges, or other financial benefits (other than those expressly permitted in Sections 4(c)(i)-(iv) of ARTICLE NINE) provided by or through the Corporation or any direct or indirect majority-owned subsidiary of the Corporation;

 

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(d)            “control,” including the terms “controlling,” “controlled by” and “under common control with,” means the possession, directly or indirectly, of the power to direct or cause the direction of the management and policies of a Person, whether through the ownership of Voting Stock, by contract or otherwise. A Person who is the owner of 20% or more of the outstanding Voting Stock of any corporation, partnership, unincorporated association, or other entity shall be presumed to have control of such entity, in the absence of proof by a preponderance of the evidence to the contrary; notwithstanding the foregoing, a presumption of control shall not apply where such Person holds Voting Stock, in good faith and not for the purpose of circumventing this ARTICLE NINE, as an agent, bank, broker, nominee, custodian, or trustee for one or more owners who do not individually or as a group (as such term is used in Rule 13d-5 under the Exchange Act (“Rule 13d-5”), as such Rule 13d-5 is in effect as of the date of this Certificate) have control of such entity;

 

(e)            “Interested Stockholder” means any Person (other than the Corporation and any direct or indirect majority-owned subsidiary of the Corporation) that (i) is the owner of 15% or more of the outstanding Voting Stock of the Corporation, or (ii) is an Affiliate or Associate of the Corporation and was the owner of 15% or more of the outstanding Voting Stock of the Corporation at any time within the three-year period immediately prior to the date on which it is sought to be determined whether such Person is an Interested Stockholder, and the Affiliates and Associates of such Person. Notwithstanding anything in this ARTICLE NINE to the contrary, the term “Interested Stockholder” shall not include: (x) the Principal Stockholder or any of its Affiliated Companies, or any other Person with whom any of the foregoing are acting as a group or in concert for the purpose of acquiring, holding, voting, or disposing of shares of Stock of the Corporation; (y) any Person who would otherwise be an Interested Stockholder either in connection with or because of a transfer, sale, assignment, conveyance, hypothecation, encumbrance, or other disposition of 5% or more of the outstanding Voting Stock of the Corporation (in one transaction or a series of transactions) by the Principal Stockholder or any of its Affiliates or Associates to such Person; provided, however, that such Person was not an Interested Stockholder prior to such transfer, sale, assignment, conveyance, hypothecation, encumbrance, or other disposition; or (z) any Person whose ownership of shares in excess of the 15% limitation set forth herein is the result of action taken solely by the Corporation; provided that, for purposes of this clause (z) only, such Person shall be an Interested Stockholder if thereafter such Person acquires additional shares of Voting Stock of the Corporation, except as a result of further action by the Corporation not caused, directly or indirectly, by such Person; provided, that, for the purpose of determining whether a Person is an Interested Stockholder, the Voting Stock of the Corporation deemed to be outstanding shall include Stock deemed to be owned by the Person through application of this definition of “owned” but shall not include any other unissued Stock of the Corporation which may be issuable pursuant to any agreement, arrangement, or understanding, or upon exercise of conversion rights, warrants, or options, or otherwise;

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

Article Ten

 

Section 1.        Amendments to the Bylaws. Subject to the rights of holders of any series of Preferred Stock then outstanding, in furtherance and not in limitation of the powers conferred by law, prior to the Special Meeting Trigger Date, the Bylaws may be amended, altered, rescinded, or repealed, in whole or in part, and new bylaws may be adopted by (i) the Board, or (ii) in addition to any vote of the holders of any class or series of capital stock of the Corporation required herein (including pursuant to any certificate of designation relating to any series of Preferred Stock) and any other vote otherwise required by applicable law or the Bylaws, the affirmative vote of the holders of at least a majority of the voting power of all of the then outstanding shares of Voting Stock of the Corporation, voting together as a single class. On and after the Special Meeting Trigger Date, the Bylaws may be amended, altered, rescinded, or repealed, in whole or in part, and new bylaws may be adopted by (i) the Board, or (ii) in addition to any vote of the holders of any class or series of capital stock of the Corporation required herein (including pursuant to any certificate of designation relating to any series of Preferred Stock), and any other vote otherwise required by applicable law or the Bylaws, the affirmative vote of the holders of at least 66 2/3% of the voting power of the then outstanding Voting Stock of the Corporation, voting together as a single class.

 

Section 2.        Amendments to this Certificate. Subject to the rights of holders of any series of Preferred Stock then outstanding, and in addition to any other vote required by law or this Certificate, no provision of ARTICLE FIVE, ARTICLE SIX, ARTICLE SEVEN, ARTICLE NINE, ARTICLE TEN, or ARTICLE ELEVEN of this Certificate may be altered, amended, or repealed in any respect, nor may any provision of this Certificate or the Bylaws inconsistent therewith be adopted, unless (i) prior to the Special Meeting Trigger Date, such alteration, amendment, repeal, or adoption is approved by the affirmative vote of the holders of a majority of the voting power of all outstanding shares of Voting Stock of the Corporation, voting together as a single class, and (ii) on and after the Special Meeting Trigger Date, such alteration, amendment, repeal, or adoption is approved by the affirmative vote of holders of at least 66 2/3% of the voting power of all outstanding shares of Voting Stock of the Corporation, voting together as a single class.

 

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Article Eleven

 

Section 1.        Exclusive Forum. Unless this Corporation consents in writing to the selection of an alternative forum, the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware (or, if the Court of Chancery does not have jurisdiction, the state or federal court located in the State of Delaware with jurisdiction) shall, to the fullest extent permitted by law, be the sole and exclusive forum for (i) any derivative action or proceeding brought on behalf of the Corporation, (ii) any action asserting a claim of breach of a fiduciary duty owed by any current or former director, officer, employee, or stockholder of the Corporation to the Corporation or the Corporation’s stockholders, (iii) any action asserting a claim arising pursuant to any provision of the DGCL or as to which the DGCL confers jurisdiction on the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware, the Certificate or the Bylaws, or (iv) any action asserting a claim governed by the internal affairs doctrine; provided that, for the avoidance of doubt, this provision, including for any “derivative action,” will not apply to suits to enforce a duty or liability created by the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), the Exchange Act, or any other claim for which the federal courts have exclusive jurisdiction. Unless this Corporation consents in writing to the selection of an alternative forum, the federal district courts of the United States shall be the exclusive forum for the resolution of any complaint asserting a cause of action arising under the Securities Act.

 

Section 2.        Notice. Any Person purchasing or otherwise acquiring or holding any interest in shares of capital stock of the Corporation (including, without limitation, shares of Common Stock) shall be deemed to have notice of and to have consented to the provisions of this ARTICLE ELEVEN.

 

Article Twelve

 

If any provision or provisions of this Certificate shall be held to be invalid, illegal, or unenforceable as applied to any circumstance for any reason whatsoever, the validity, legality, and enforceability of such provisions in any other circumstance and of the remaining provisions of this Certificate (including, without limitation, each portion of any paragraph of this Certificate containing any such provision held to be invalid, illegal, or unenforceable that is not itself held to be invalid, illegal, or unenforceable) shall not, to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, in any way be affected or impaired thereby.

 

16 

 

 

Exhibit 3.3

 

BYLAWS

 

OF

 

SUJA LIFE, INC.

 

A Delaware corporation
(Adopted as of October 8, 2025)

 

ARTICLE I 

OFFICES

 

Section 1        Registered Office. The registered office of the corporation in the State of Delaware shall be located at 1209 Orange Street, City of Wilmington, County of New Castle, Delaware 19801. The name of the corporation's registered agent at such address shall be The Corporation Trust Company. The registered office and/or registered agent of the corporation may be changed from time to time by action of the board of directors.

 

Section 2        Other Offices. The corporation may also have offices at such other places, both within and without the State of Delaware, as the board of directors may from time to time determine or the business of the corporation may require.

 

ARTICLE II
MEETINGS OF STOCKHOLDERS

 

Section 1        Annual Meetings. An annual meeting of the stockholders shall be held each year within one hundred twenty (120) days after the close of the immediately preceding fiscal year of the corporation for the purpose of electing directors and conducting such other proper business as may come before the meeting. The date, time and place, if any, and/or the means of remote communication, of the annual meeting shall be determined by the board of directors of the corporation. No annual meeting of stockholders need be held if not required by the corporation's certificate of incorporation or by the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware.

 

Section 2        Special Meetings. Special meetings of stockholders may be called for any purpose (including, without limitation, the filling of board vacancies and newly created directorships) and may be held at such time and place, within or without the State of Delaware, and/or by means of remote communication, as shall be stated in a written notice of meeting or in a duly executed waiver of notice thereof. Such meetings may be called at any time by a majority of the members of the board of directors or the president and shall be called by the president upon the written request of holders of shares entitled to cast not less than a majority of the votes at the meeting, which written request shall state the purpose or purposes of the meeting and shall be delivered to the president. The date, time and place, if any, and/or remote communication, of any special meeting of stockholders shall be determined by the board of directors of the corporation. On such written request, the president shall fix a date and time for such meeting within ten (10) days after receipt of a request for such meeting in such written request.

 

Section 3        Place of Meetings. The board of directors may designate any place, either within or without the State of Delaware, and/or by means of remote communication, as the place of meeting for any annual meeting or for any special meeting called by the board of directors. If no designation is made, or if a special meeting be otherwise called, the place of meeting shall be the principal executive office of the corporation.

 

 

 

Section 4        Notice. Whenever stockholders are required or permitted to take any action at a meeting, written or printed notice stating the place, if any, date and hour of the meeting, the means of remote communications, if any, by which stockholders and proxy holders may be deemed to be present in person and vote at such meeting, and, in the case of special meetings, the purpose or purposes, of such meeting, shall be given to each stockholder entitled to vote at such meeting and to each director not less than ten (10) nor more than sixty (60) days before the date of the meeting. All such notices shall be delivered, either personally, by mail, or by a form of electronic transmission consented to by the stockholder to whom the notice is given, by or at the direction of the board of directors, the president or the secretary, and if mailed, such notice shall be deemed to be delivered when deposited in the United States mail, postage prepaid, addressed to the stockholder at his, her or its address as the same appears on the records of the corporation. If given by electronic transmission, such notice shall be deemed to be delivered (a) if by facsimile telecommunication, when directed to a number at which the stockholder has consented to receive notice; (b) if by electronic mail, when directed to an electronic mail address at which the stockholder has consented to receive notice; (c) if by a posting on an electronic network together with separate notice to the stockholder of such specific posting, upon the later of (1) such posting and (2) the giving of such separate notice; and (d) if by any other form of electronic transmission, when directed to the stockholder. Any such consent shall be revocable by the stockholder by written notice to the corporation. Any such consent shall be deemed revoked if (1) the corporation is unable to deliver by electronic transmission two consecutive notices given by the corporation in accordance with such consent and (2) such inability becomes known to the secretary or an assistant secretary of the corporation or to the transfer agent. Attendance of a person at a meeting shall constitute a waiver of notice of such meeting, except when the person attends for the express purpose of objecting at the beginning of the meeting to the transaction of any business because the meeting is not lawfully called or convened.

 

Section 5        Stockholders List. The officer who has charge of the stock ledger of the corporation shall make, at least ten (10) days before every meeting of the stockholders, a complete list of the stockholders entitled to vote at such meeting arranged in alphabetical order, showing the address of each stockholder and the number of shares registered in the name of each stockholder. Such list shall be open to the examination of any stockholder, for any purpose germane to the meeting, for a period of at least ten (10) days prior to the meeting: (i) on a reasonably accessible electronic network, provided that the information required to gain access to such list is provided with the notice of the meeting, and/or (ii) during ordinary business hours, at the principal place of business of the corporation. In the event that the corporation determines to make the list available on an electronic network, the corporation may take reasonable steps to ensure that such information is available only to stockholders of the corporation. If the meeting is to be held at a place, then the list shall be produced and kept at the time and place of the meeting for the duration of the meeting, and may be inspected by any stockholder who is present. If the meeting is to be held solely by means of remote communication, then the list shall also be open to the examination of any stockholder for the duration of the meeting on a reasonably accessible electronic network, and the information required to access such list shall be provided with the notice of the meeting.

 

Section 6        Quorum. The holders of a majority of the issued and outstanding shares of capital stock, entitled to vote thereon, present in person or represented by proxy, shall constitute a quorum at all meetings of the stockholders, except as otherwise provided by statute or by the corporation's certificate of incorporation. If a quorum is not present, the holders of a majority of the shares present in person or represented by proxy at the meeting, and entitled to vote at the meeting, may adjourn the meeting to another time and/or place.

 

Section 7        Adjourned Meetings. When a meeting is adjourned to another time and place, notice need not be given of the adjourned meeting if the time, place, if any, thereof, and the means of remote communications, if any, by which stockholders and proxy holders may be deemed to be present in person and vote at such adjourned meeting are announced at the meeting at which the adjournment is taken. At the adjourned meeting, the corporation may transact any business which might have been transacted at the original meeting. If the adjournment is for more than thirty (30) days, or if after the adjournment a new record date is fixed for the adjourned meeting, a notice of the adjourned meeting shall be given to each stockholder of record entitled to vote at the meeting.

 

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Section 8        Vote Required. When a quorum is present, the affirmative vote of the majority of shares present in person or represented by proxy at the meeting and entitled to vote on the subject matter shall be the act of the stockholders, unless the question is one upon which by express provisions of an applicable law or of the corporation's certificate of incorporation a different vote is required, in which case such express provision shall govern and control the decision of such question.

 

Section 9        Voting Rights. Except as otherwise provided by the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware or by the corporation's certificate of incorporation or any amendments thereto and subject to Section 3 of Article VI hereof, every stockholder shall at every meeting of the stockholders be entitled to one vote in person or by proxy for each share of common stock held by such stockholder.

 

Section 10      Proxies. Each stockholder entitled to vote at a meeting of stockholders or to express consent or dissent to corporate action in writing without a meeting may authorize another person or persons to act for such stockholder by proxy, but no such proxy shall be voted or acted upon after three (3) years from its date, unless the proxy provides for a longer period. A duly executed proxy shall be irrevocable if it states that it is irrevocable and if, and only as long as, it is coupled with an interest sufficient in law to support an irrevocable power. A proxy may be made irrevocable regardless of whether the interest with which it is coupled is an interest in the stock itself or an interest in the corporation generally. Any proxy is suspended when the person executing the proxy is present at a meeting of stockholders and elects to vote, except that when such proxy is coupled with an interest and the fact of the interest appears on the face of the proxy, the agent named in the proxy shall have all voting and other rights referred to in the proxy, notwithstanding the presence of the person executing the proxy. At each meeting of the stockholders, and before any voting commences, all proxies filed at or before the meeting shall be submitted to and examined by the secretary or a person designated by the secretary, and no shares may be represented or voted under a proxy that has been found to be invalid or irregular.

 

Section 11      Action by Written Consent. Unless otherwise provided in the corporation's certificate of incorporation, any action required to be taken at any annual or special meeting of stockholders of the corporation, or any action which may be taken at any annual or special meeting of such stockholders, may be taken without a meeting, without prior notice and without a vote, if a consent or consents in writing, setting forth the action so taken and bearing the dates of signature of the stockholders who signed the consent or consents, shall be signed by the holders of outstanding stock having not less than the minimum number of votes that would be necessary to authorize or take such action at a meeting at which all shares entitled to vote thereon were present and voted and shall be delivered to the corporation by delivery to its registered office in the state of Delaware, or the corporation's principal place of business, or an officer or agent of the corporation having custody of the book or books in which proceedings of meetings of the stockholders are recorded. Delivery made to the corporation's registered office shall be by hand or by certified or registered mail, return receipt requested or by reputable overnight courier service, or by facsimile or email with confirmation of receipt. All consents properly delivered in accordance with this section shall be deemed to be recorded when so delivered. No written consent shall be effective to take the corporate action referred to therein unless, within sixty (60) days after the earliest dated consent delivered to the corporation as required by this section, written consents signed by the holders of a sufficient number of shares to take such corporate action are so recorded. Prompt notice of the taking of the corporate action without a meeting by less than unanimous written consent shall be given to those stockholders who have not consented in writing. Any action taken pursuant to such written consent or consents of the stockholders shall have the same force and effect as if taken by the stockholders at a meeting thereof.

 

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Any copy, facsimile or other reliable reproduction of a consent in writing may be substituted or used in lieu of the original writing for any and all purposes for which the original writing could be used; provided that such copy, facsimile or other reproduction shall be a complete reproduction of the entire original writing.

 

Section 12     Action by Facsimile, Email or Other Electronic Transmission Consent. A facsimile, email or other electronic transmission by a stockholder or proxyholder (or by any person authorized to act on such person's behalf) of a proxy or a written consent to an action to be taken (including the delivery of such a document in the .pdf, .tif, .gif, .peg or similar format attached to an email message) shall be deemed to be written, signed, dated and delivered to the corporation for the purposes of this Article; provided that any such facsimile, email or other electronic transmission sets forth or is delivered with information from which the corporation can determine (A) that the facsimile, email or other electronic transmission was transmitted by the stockholder or proxyholder or by a person authorized to act for the stockholder or proxyholder and (B) the date on which such stockholder or proxyholder or authorized person transmitted such facsimile, email or other electronic transmission. The date on which such facsimile, email or other electronic transmission is transmitted shall be deemed to be the date on which such consent or proxy was signed, unless otherwise provided in such consent. Any such facsimile, email or other electronic transmission of a consent or proxy shall be treated in all respects as an original executed consent or proxy and shall be considered to have the same binding legal effect as if it were the original signed version thereof delivered in person. At the request of the board of directors or the Secretary of the corporation, each stockholder, proxyholder or other authorized person who delivered a consent or proxy by facsimile, email or other electronic transmission shall re-execute the original form thereof and deliver such original to the corporation at its registered office in the State of Delaware, its principal place of business or to an officer or agent of the corporation having custody of the book in which proceedings of meetings of stockholders are recorded.

 

ARTICLE III
DIRECTORS

 

Section 1        General Powers. The business and affairs of the corporation shall be managed by or under the direction of the board of directors.

 

Section 2       Number, Election and Term of Office. The initial number of directors which shall constitute the board of directors shall be one (1). Thereafter, the number of directors shall be established from time to time by resolution of the board. The directors shall be elected by a plurality of the votes of the shares present in person or represented by proxy at the meeting and entitled to vote in the election of directors. The directors shall be elected in this manner at the annual meeting of the stockholders, except as otherwise provided in Section 4 of this Article III. Each director elected shall hold office until a successor is duly elected and qualified or until his or her earlier death, resignation or removal as hereinafter provided.

 

Section 3       Removal and Resignation. Any director or the entire board of directors may be removed at any time, with or without cause, by the holders of a majority of the shares then entitled to vote at an election of directors. Whenever the holders of any class or series are entitled to elect one or more directors by the provisions of the corporation's certificate of incorporation, the provisions of this section shall apply, in respect to the removal without cause of a director or directors so elected, to the vote of the holders of the outstanding shares of that class or series and not to the vote of the outstanding shares as a whole. Any director may resign at any time upon notice given in writing or by electronic transmission to the corporation.

 

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Section 4       Vacancies. Except as otherwise provided in the corporation's certificate of incorporation, board vacancies and newly created directorships resulting from any increase in the authorized number of directors may be filled by a majority of the directors then in office, even if less than a quorum, or by a sole remaining director. Each director so chosen shall hold office until a successor is duly elected and qualified or until his or her earlier death, resignation or removal as herein provided.

 

Section 5       Annual Meetings. The annual meeting of each newly elected board of directors shall be held without notice (other than notice under these bylaws) immediately after, and at the same place, if any, as the annual meeting of stockholders.

 

Section 6       Other Meetings and Notice. Regular meetings, other than the annual meeting, of the board of directors may be held without notice at such time and at such place, if any, as shall from time to time be determined by resolution of the board of directors and promptly communicated to all directors then in office. Special meetings of the board of directors may be called by or at the request of the president or any director on at least 24 hours notice to each director, either personally, by telephone, by mail or by electronic transmission.

 

Section 7       Quorum, Required Vote and Adjournment. A majority of the total number of directors then in office authorized shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business. The vote of a majority of directors present at a meeting at which a quorum is present shall be the act of the board of directors. If a quorum shall not be present at any meeting of the board of directors, the directors present thereat may adjourn the meeting from time to time, without notice other than announcement at the meeting, until a quorum shall be present. Except as otherwise required by the corporation's certificate of incorporation, each director shall be entitled to one vote on exactly the matter presented to the board for approval.

 

Section 8       Committees. The board of directors may, by resolution passed by a majority of the whole board, designate one or more committees, each committee to consist of one or more of the directors of the corporation, which to the extent provided in such resolution or these bylaws shall have and may exercise the powers of the board of directors in the management and affairs of the corporation, except as otherwise limited by law. The board of directors may designate one or more directors as alternate members of any committee, who may replace any absent or disqualified member at any meeting of the committee. Such committee or committees shall have such name or names as may be determined from time to time by resolution adopted by the board of directors. Each committee shall keep regular minutes of its meetings and report the same to the board of directors when required.

 

Section 9       Committee Rules. Each committee of the board of directors may fix its own rules of procedure and shall hold its meetings as provided by such rules, except as may otherwise be provided by a resolution of the board of directors designating such committee. Unless otherwise provided in such a resolution, the presence of a majority of the members of the committee then in office shall be necessary to constitute a quorum. In the event that a member and that member's alternate, if alternates are designated by the board of directors as provided in Section 8 of this Article III, of such committee is or are absent or disqualified, the member or members thereof present at any meeting and not disqualified from voting, whether or not such member or members constitute a quorum, may unanimously appoint another member of the board of directors to act at the meeting in place of any such absent or disqualified member.

 

Section 10    Communications Equipment. Members of the board of directors or any committee thereof may participate in and act at any meeting of such board or committee by means of conference telephone or other communications equipment by means of which all persons participating in the meeting can hear each other, and participation in the meeting pursuant to this section shall constitute presence in person at the meeting.

 

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Section 11     Waiver of Notice and Presumption of Assent. Any member of the board of directors or any committee thereof who is present at a meeting shall be conclusively presumed to have waived notice of such meeting, except when such member attends for the express purpose of objecting at the beginning of the meeting to the transaction of any business because the meeting is not lawfully called or convened. Such member shall be conclusively presumed to have assented to any action taken unless his or her dissent shall be entered in the minutes of the meeting or unless his or her written dissent to such action shall be filed with the person acting as the secretary of the meeting before the adjournment thereof or shall be forwarded by registered mail to the secretary of the corporation immediately after the adjournment of the meeting. Such right to dissent shall not apply to any member who voted in favor of such action.

 

Section 12     Action by Written Consent. Unless otherwise restricted by the corporation's certificate of incorporation, any action required or permitted to be taken at any meeting of the board of directors, or of any committee thereof, may be taken without a meeting if all members of the board or committee, as the case may be, consent thereto in writing or by electronic transmission, and the writing or writings or electronic transmission or transmissions are filed with the minutes of proceedings of the board of directors, or committee. Such filing shall be in paper form if the minutes are maintained in paper form and shall be in electronic form if the minutes are maintained in electronic form.

 

ARTICLE IV
OFFICERS

 

Section 1        Number. The officers of the corporation shall be elected by the board of directors and shall consist of a president, a secretary, and such other officers and assistant officers as may be deemed necessary or desirable by the board of directors. Any number of offices may be held by the same person. In its discretion, the board of directors may choose not to fill any office for any period as it may deem advisable.

 

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

 

Section 3       Removal. Any officer or agent elected by the board of directors may be removed by the board of directors whenever in its judgment the best interests of the corporation would be served thereby, but such removal shall be without prejudice to the contract rights, if any, of the person so removed.

 

Section 4       Vacancies. Any vacancy occurring in any office because of death, resignation, removal, disqualification or otherwise, may be filled by the board of directors for the unexpired portion of the term by the board of directors then in office.

 

Section 5       Compensation. Compensation of all officers shall be fixed by the board of directors, and no officer shall be prevented from receiving such compensation by virtue of his or her also being a director of the corporation.

 

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Section 6       The President. The president shall be the chief executive officer of the corporation; in the absence of the chairman of the board, shall preside at all meetings of the stockholders and board of directors at which he or she is present; subject to the powers of the board of directors, shall have general charge of the business, affairs and property of the corporation, and control over its officers, agents and employees; and shall see that all orders and resolutions of the board of directors are carried into effect. The president or any other duly-authorized officer of the corporation shall execute bonds, mortgages and other contracts requiring a seal, under the seal of the corporation, except where required or permitted by law to be otherwise signed and executed and except where the signing and execution thereof shall be expressly delegated by the board of directors to some other officer or agent of the corporation. The president shall have such other powers and perform such other duties as may be prescribed by the board of directors or as may be provided in these bylaws.

 

Section 7       Secretary and Assistant Secretaries. The secretary shall attend all meetings of the board of directors, all meetings of the committees thereof and all meetings of the stockholders and record all the proceedings of the meetings in a book or books to be kept for that purpose. Under the president's supervision, the secretary shall give, or cause to be given, all notices required to be given by these bylaws or by law, shall have such powers and perform such duties as the board of directors, the president or these bylaws may, from time to time, prescribe, and shall have custody of the corporate seal of the corporation. The secretary, or an assistant secretary, shall have authority to affix the corporate seal to any instrument requiring it and when so affixed, it may be attested by his or her signature or by the signature of such assistant secretary. The board of directors may give general authority to any other officer to affix the seal of the corporation and to attest the affixing by his or her signature. The assistant secretary, or if there be more than one, the assistant secretaries in the order determined by the board of directors, shall, in the absence or disability of the secretary, perform the duties and exercise the powers of the secretary and shall perform such other duties and have such other powers as the board of directors, the president, or secretary may, from time to time, prescribe.

 

Section 8        Other Officers, Assistant Officers and Agents. Officers, assistant officers and agents, if any, other than those whose duties are provided for in these bylaws, shall have such authority and perform such duties as may from time to time be prescribed by resolution of the board of directors.

 

Section 9       Absence or Disability of Officers. In the case of the absence or disability of any officer of the corporation and of any person hereby authorized to act in such officer's place during such officer's absence or disability, the board of directors may by resolution delegate the powers and duties of such officer to any other officer or to any director, or to any other person whom it may select.

 

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ARTICLE V
INDEMNIFICATION OF OFFICERS, DIRECTORS AND OTHERS

 

Section 1        Nature of Indemnity. Each person who was or is made a party or is threatened to be made a party to or is involved in any action, suit or proceeding, whether brought by or in the right of the corporation or any of its subsidiaries and whether civil, criminal, administrative or investigative (hereinafter a "proceeding"), or any appeal of such proceeding, by reason of or arising out of the fact that such person, or any other person for whom such person is the legal representative, is or was a director or officer of the corporation or is or was serving at the request of the corporation as a director, officer, manager, general partner, employee, fiduciary, or agent of another corporation or of a partnership, limited liability company, joint venture, trust or other enterprise, shall be indemnified and held harmless by the corporation to the fullest extent which it is empowered to do so unless prohibited from doing so by the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware, as the same exists or may hereafter be amended (but, in the case of any such amendment, only to the extent that such amendment permits the corporation to provide broader indemnification rights than said law permitted the corporation to provide prior to such amendment), against all expense, liability and loss (including attorneys' fees actually and reasonably incurred by such person in connection with such proceeding) incurred by such person in connection with such proceeding, and such indemnification shall inure to the benefit of his or her heirs, executors and administrators; provided that, except as provided in Section 2 of this Article V, the corporation shall indemnify any such person seeking indemnification in connection with a proceeding initiated by such person only if such proceeding was authorized by the board of directors of the corporation. The right to indemnification conferred in this Article V shall be a contract right and, subject to Sections 2 and 5 hereof, shall include the right to be paid by the corporation the expenses incurred in defending any such proceeding in advance of its final disposition. The corporation may, by action of its board of directors, provide indemnification to employees and agents of the corporation with the same scope and effect as the foregoing indemnification of directors and officers. The corporation hereby acknowledges that certain directors and officers affiliated with institutional investors (each, an "indemnitee") may have certain rights to indemnification, advancement of expenses and/or insurance provided by such institutional investors or certain of their affiliates (collectively, the "Institutional Indemnitors"). The corporation hereby agrees (i) that it is the indemnitor of first resort (i.e., its obligations to the indemnitee are primary and any obligation of the Institutional Indemnitors to advance expenses or to provide indemnification for the same expenses or liabilities incurred by the indemnitee are secondary), (ii) that it shall be required to advance the full amount of expenses incurred by the indemnitee in accordance with this Article V without regard to any rights the indemnitee may have against the Institutional Indemnitors and (iii) that it irrevocably waives, relinquishes and releases the Institutional Indemnitors from any and all claims against the Institutional Indemnitors for contribution, subrogation or any other recovery of any kind in respect thereof. The corporation further agrees that no advancement or payment by the Institutional Indemnitors on behalf of an indemnitee with respect to any claim for which the indemnitee has sought indemnification from the corporation shall affect the foregoing and the Institutional Indemnitors shall have a right of contribution and/or be subrogated to the extent of such advancement or payment to all of the rights of recovery of the indemnitee against the corporation.

 

Section 2        Procedure for Indemnification of Directors and Officers. Any indemnification of a director or officer of the corporation provided for under Section 1 of this Article V or advance of expenses provided for under Section 5 of this Article V shall be made promptly, and in any event within thirty (30) days, upon the written request of the director or officer. If a determination by the corporation that the director or officer is entitled to indemnification pursuant to this Article V is required, and the corporation fails to respond within 60 days to a written request for indemnity, the corporation shall be deemed to have approved the request. If the corporation wrongfully denies a written request for indemnification or advancing of expenses, in whole or in part, or if payment in full pursuant to such request is not properly made within thirty (30) days, the right to indemnification or advances as granted by this Article V shall be enforceable by the director or officer in any court of competent jurisdiction. Such person's costs and expenses incurred in connection with successfully establishing his or her right to indemnification, in whole or in part, in any such action shall also be indemnified by the corporation. It shall be a defense to any such action (other than an action brought to enforce a claim for expenses incurred in defending any proceeding in advance of its final disposition where the required undertaking, if any, has been tendered to the corporation) that the claimant has not met the standards of conduct which make it permissible under the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware for the corporation to indemnify the claimant for the amount claimed, but the burden of such defense shall be on the corporation. Neither the failure of the corporation (including its board of directors, independent legal counsel, or its stockholders) to have made a determination prior to the commencement of such action that indemnification of the claimant is proper in the circumstances because he or she has met the applicable standard of conduct set forth in the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware, nor an actual determination by the corporation (including its board of directors, independent legal counsel, or its stockholders) that the claimant has not met such applicable standard of conduct, shall be a defense to the action or create a presumption that the claimant has not met the applicable standard of conduct.

 

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Section 3        Article Not Exclusive. The rights to indemnification and the payment of expenses incurred in defending a proceeding in advance of its final disposition conferred in this Article V shall not be exclusive of any other right which any person may have or hereafter acquire under any statute, provision of the corporation's certificate of incorporation, by-law, agreement, vote of stockholders or disinterested directors or otherwise.

 

Section 4        Insurance. The corporation may purchase and maintain insurance on its own behalf and on behalf of any person who is or was a director, officer, employee, fiduciary, or agent of the corporation or was serving at the request of the corporation as a director, officer, employee or agent of another corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust or other enterprise against any liability asserted against him or her and incurred by him or her in any such capacity, whether or not the corporation would have the power to indemnify such person against such liability under this Article V.

 

Section 5        Expenses. Expenses incurred by any person described in Section 1 of this Article V in defending a proceeding shall be paid by the corporation in advance of such proceeding's final disposition, unless otherwise determined by the board of directors in the specific case, upon receipt of an undertaking by or on behalf of the director or officer or other person to repay such amount if it shall ultimately be determined that such person is not entitled to be indemnified by the corporation. Such expenses incurred by other employees and agents may be so paid upon such terms and conditions, if any, as the board of directors deems appropriate.

 

Section 6        Employees and Agents. Persons who are not covered by the foregoing provisions of this Article V and who are or were employees or agents of the corporation, or who are or were serving at the request of the corporation as employees or agents of another corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust or other enterprise, may be indemnified, and may be advanced expenses, to the extent authorized at any time or from time to time by the board of directors.

 

Section 7        Contract Rights. The provisions of this Article V shall be deemed to be a vested contract right between the corporation and each director and officer who serves in any such capacity at any time while this Article V and the relevant provisions of the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware or other applicable law are in effect. Such contract right shall vest for each director and officer at the time such person is elected or appointed to such position, and no repeal or modification of this Article V or any such law shall affect any such vested rights or obligations of any current or former director or officer with respect to any state of facts or proceeding regardless of when occurring.

 

Section 8        Merger or Consolidation. For purposes of this Article V, references to "the corporation" shall include, in addition to the resulting corporation, any constituent corporation (including any constituent of a constituent) absorbed in a consolidation or merger which, if its separate existence had continued, would have had power and authority to indemnify its directors, officers, and employees or agents, so that any person who is or was a director, officer, employee or agent of such constituent corporation, or is or was serving at the request of such constituent corporation as a director, officer, employee or agent of another corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust or other enterprise, shall stand in the same position under this Article V with respect to the resulting or surviving corporation as he or she would have with respect to such constituent corporation if its separate existence had continued.

 

Section 9        Exculpation. The directors of the corporation and each of their respective affiliates shall, to the fullest extent permitted by Section 102(b)(7) of the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware, be exculpated from any liability to the corporation or its stockholders arising out of the operation of the corporation or any actions in their capacity as directors of the corporation.

 

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ARTICLE VI
CERTIFICATES OF STOCK

 

Section 1        Form. The shares of stock of the corporation shall be represented by certificates; provided that the board of directors may provide by resolution or resolutions that some or all of any or all classes or series of the corporation's stock shall be uncertificated shares. Any such resolution shall not apply to shares represented by a certificate until such certificate is surrendered to the corporation. Notwithstanding the adoption of such a resolution by the board of directors, every holder of stock represented by certificates shall be entitled to have a certificate signed by, or in the name of the corporation by the chief executive officer, the president or vice president, and by the treasurer, an assistant treasurer, the secretary, an assistant secretary or any two (2) authorized officers of the corporation representing the number of shares registered in certificate form; provided, however, that, where any such certificate is signed (a) by a transfer agent or an assistant transfer agent, or (b) by a transfer clerk acting on behalf of the corporation and a registrar, if the board of directors shall by resolution so authorize, the signature of such chief executive officer, president, vice president, treasurer, secretary, assistant treasurer, assistant secretary or any two (2) authorized officers may be facsimiles thereof. In case any officer or officers of the corporation who shall have signed, or whose facsimile signature or signatures shall have been used on, any such certificate shall cease to be such officer or officers, whether by reason of death, resignation or otherwise, before such certificate shall have been delivered by the corporation, such certificate may nevertheless be adopted by the corporation and be issued and delivered as though the person or persons who signed such certificate, or whose facsimile signature or signatures shall have been affixed thereto, had not ceased to be such officer or officers.

 

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

 

Section 3        Fixing a Record Date for Stockholder Meetings. In order that the corporation may determine the stockholders entitled to notice of or to vote at any meeting of stockholders or any adjournment thereof, the board of directors may fix a record date, which record date shall not precede the date upon which the resolution fixing the record date is adopted by the board of directors, and which record date shall not be more than sixty nor less than ten days before the date of such meeting. If no record date is fixed by the board of directors, the record date for determining stockholders entitled to notice of or to vote at a meeting of stockholders shall be the close of business on the next day preceding the day on which notice is given, or if notice is waived, at the close of business on the day next preceding the day on which the meeting is held. A determination of stockholders of record entitled to notice of or to vote at a meeting of stockholders shall apply to any adjournment of the meeting; provided that the board of directors may fix a new record date for the adjourned meeting.

 

Section 4        Fixing a Record Date for Action by Written Consent. In order that the corporation may determine the stockholders entitled to consent to corporate action in writing without a meeting, the board of directors may fix a record date, which record date shall not precede the date upon which the resolution fixing the record date is adopted by the board of directors, and which date shall not be more than ten days after the date upon which the resolution fixing the record date is adopted by the board of directors. If no record date has been fixed by the board of directors, the record date for determining stockholders entitled to consent to corporate action in writing without a meeting, when no prior action by the board of directors is required by statute, shall be the first date on which a signed written consent setting forth the action taken or proposed to be taken is delivered to the corporation by delivery to its registered office in the State of Delaware, its principal place of business, or an officer or agent of the corporation having custody of the book in which proceedings of meetings of stockholders are recorded. Delivery made to the corporation's registered office shall be by hand or by certified or registered mail, return receipt requested. If no record date has been fixed by the board of directors and prior action by the board of directors is required by statute, the record date for determining stockholders entitled to consent to corporate action in writing without a meeting shall be at the close of business on the day on which the board of directors adopts the resolution taking such prior action.

 

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Section 5        Fixing a Record Date for Other Purposes. In order that the corporation may determine the stockholders entitled to receive payment of any dividend or other distribution or allotment or any rights or the stockholders entitled to exercise any rights in respect of any change, conversion or exchange of stock, or for the purposes of any other lawful action, the board of directors may fix a record date, which record date shall not precede the date upon which the resolution fixing the record date is adopted, and which record date shall be not more than sixty days prior to such action. If no record date is fixed, the record date for determining stockholders for any such purpose shall be at the close of business on the day on which the board of directors adopts the resolution relating thereto.

 

Section 6        Registered Stockholders. Prior to the surrender to the corporation of the certificate or certificates for a share or shares of stock with a request to record the transfer of such share or shares, the corporation may treat the registered owner as the person entitled to receive dividends, to vote, to receive notifications, and otherwise to exercise all the rights and powers of an owner. The corporation shall not be bound to recognize any equitable or other claim to or interest in such share or shares on the part of any other person, whether or not it shall have express or other notice thereof; provided, that, notwithstanding the foregoing, the stock of the corporation may be pledged to any lender, lenders or an agent for lenders (each individually and collectively, a "Secured Lender Party") as collateral for the indebtedness, liabilities and obligations of the corporation and/or any of its subsidiaries to such Secured Lender Party, any such pledged stock shall be subject to such Secured Lender Party's rights under any collateral documentation governing or pertaining to such pledge and the corporation shall recognize any claim to or interest in any such pledged stock or in favor of such Secured Lender Party.

 

Section 7        Subscriptions for Stock. Unless otherwise provided for in the subscription agreement, subscriptions for shares shall be paid in full at such time, or in such installments and at such times, as shall be determined by the board of directors. Any call made by the board of directors for payment on subscriptions shall be uniform as to all shares of the same class or as to all shares of the same series. In case of default in the payment of any installment or call when such payment is due, the corporation may proceed to collect the amount due in the same manner as any debt due the corporation.

 

ARTICLE VII
GENERAL PROVISIONS

 

Section 1        Dividends. Dividends upon the capital stock of the corporation, subject to the provisions of the corporation's certificate of incorporation, if any, may be declared by the board of directors at any regular or special meeting, pursuant to law. Dividends may be paid in cash, in property, or in shares of the capital stock, subject to the provisions of the corporation's certificate of incorporation. Before payment of any dividend, there may be set aside out of any funds of the corporation available for dividends such sum or sums as the directors from time to time, in their absolute discretion, think proper as a reserve or reserves to meet contingencies, or for equalizing dividends, or for repairing or maintaining any property of the corporation, or any other purpose and the directors may modify or abolish any such reserve in the manner in which it was created.

 

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Section 2        Checks, Drafts or Orders. All checks, drafts, or other orders for the payment of money by or to the corporation and all notes and other evidences of indebtedness issued in the name of the corporation shall be signed by such officer or officers, agent or agents of the corporation, and in such manner, as shall be determined by resolution of the board of directors or a duly authorized committee thereof.

 

Section 3        Contracts. The board of directors may authorize any officer or officers, or any agent or agents, of the corporation to enter into any contract or to execute and deliver any instrument in the name of and on behalf of the corporation, and such authority may be general or confined to specific instances.

 

Section 4        Loans. The corporation may lend money to, or guarantee any obligation of, or otherwise assist any officer or other employee of the corporation or of its subsidiary, including any officer or employee who is a director of the corporation or its subsidiary, whenever, in the judgment of the directors, such loan, guaranty or assistance may reasonably be expected to benefit the corporation. The loan, guaranty or other assistance may be with or without interest, and may be unsecured, or secured in such manner as the board of directors shall approve, including, without limitation, a pledge of shares of stock of the corporation. Nothing in this section contained shall be deemed to deny, limit or restrict the powers of guaranty or warranty of the corporation at common law or under any statute.

 

Section 5         Fiscal Year. The fiscal year of the corporation shall be fixed by resolution of the board of directors.

 

Section 6        Corporate Seal. The board of directors shall provide a corporate seal which shall be in the form of a circle and shall have inscribed thereon the name of the corporation and the words "Corporate Seal, Delaware". The seal may be used by causing it or a facsimile thereof to be impressed or affixed or reproduced or otherwise.

 

Section 7        Voting Securities Owned By Corporation. Voting securities in any other corporation or other entity (such as a limited liability company, limited partnership or trust) held by the corporation shall be voted as directed by the president, unless the board of directors specifically confers authority to vote with respect thereto, which authority may be general or confined to specific instances, upon some other person or officer. Any person authorized to vote securities shall have the power to appoint proxies, with general power of substitution.

 

Section 8        Inspection of Books and Records. Any stockholder of record, in person or by attorney or other agent, shall, upon written demand under oath stating the purpose thereof, have the right during the usual hours for business to inspect for any proper purpose the corporation's stock ledger, a list of its stockholders, and its other books and records, and to make copies or extracts therefrom. A proper purpose shall mean any purpose reasonably related to such person's interest as a stockholder. In every instance where an attorney or other agent shall be the person who seeks the right to inspection, the demand under oath shall be accompanied by a power of attorney or such other writing which authorizes the attorney or other agent to so act on behalf of the stockholder. The demand under oath shall be directed to the corporation at its registered office in the State of Delaware or at its principal place of business.

 

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Section 9         Exclusive Jurisdiction. Unless otherwise waived by resolution of the board of directors, the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware shall be the sole and exclusive forum for (i) any derivative action or proceeding brought on behalf of the corporation, (ii) any action asserting a claim of breach of a fiduciary duty owed by any director or officer of the corporation to the corporation or the corporation's stockholders, (iii) any action asserting a claim against the corporation arising pursuant to any provision of the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware or the corporation's certificate of incorporation or bylaws or (iv) any action asserting a claim against the corporation governed by the internal affairs doctrine.

 

Section 10     Section Headings. Section headings in these bylaws are for convenience of reference only and shall not be given any substantive effect in limiting or otherwise construing any provision herein.

 

Section 11     Inconsistent Provisions. In the event that any provision of these bylaws is or becomes inconsistent with any provision of the corporation's certificate of incorporation, the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware or any other applicable law, the provision of these bylaws shall not be given any effect to the extent of such inconsistency but shall otherwise be given full force and effect.

 

ARTICLE VIII
AMENDMENTS

 

These bylaws may be amended, altered, or repealed and new bylaws adopted at any meeting of the board of directors by a majority vote. The fact that the power to adopt, amend, alter, or repeal the bylaws has been conferred upon the board of directors shall not divest the stockholders of the same powers.

 

* * * * *

 

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Exhibit 3.4

 

FORM OF

 

AMENDED AND RESTATED BYLAWS

 

OF

 

SUJA LIFE, INC.

 

A Delaware corporation
(Adopted as of               , 2026)

 

Article I
OFFICES

 

Section 1.               Offices. Suja Life, Inc. (the “Corporation”) may have an office or offices other than its registered office at such place or places, either within or outside the State of Delaware, as the Board of Directors of the Corporation (the “Board”) may from time to time determine or the business of the Corporation may require. The registered office of the Corporation in the State of Delaware shall be as stated in the Corporation’s certificate of incorporation as then in effect (as amended, restated, modified, and/or supplemented from time to time, including by any certificate of designation relating to any series of preferred stock, the “Certificate of Incorporation”).

 

Article II
MEETINGS OF STOCKHOLDERS

 

Section 1.               Place of Meetings. The Board may designate a place, if any, either within or outside the State of Delaware, as the place of meeting for any annual meeting or for any special meeting of stockholders. The Board may, in its sole discretion, determine that meetings of stockholders shall not be held at any place, but may in addition to or instead be held solely by means of remote communication (including virtually) in accordance with Section 211(a)(2) of the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware (the “DGCL”).

 

Section 2.               Annual Meeting. An annual meeting of the stockholders shall be held at such date and time as is specified by resolution of the Board. At the annual meeting, stockholders shall elect directors to succeed those whose terms expire at such annual meeting and transact such other business as properly may be brought before the annual meeting pursuant to Section 11 of this ARTICLE II of these amended and restated bylaws (as amended, restated, modified, and/or supplemented from time to time, these “Bylaws”). The Board may postpone, reschedule, or cancel any annual meeting of stockholders previously scheduled by the Board.

 

Section 3.               Special Meetings. Special meetings of the stockholders may only be called in the manner provided in the Certificate of Incorporation and may be held at such place, if any, either within or without the State of Delaware, and at such time and date as the Board or the Chair of the Board (the “Chair”) or the Chief Executive Officer of the Corporation (the “CEO”) shall determine and state in the notice of such meeting. Business transacted at any special meeting of stockholders shall be limited to the purposes stated in the notice. The Board may postpone, reschedule, or cancel any special meeting of stockholders previously scheduled by the Board; provided that prior to the Special Meeting Trigger Date (as defined in the Certificate of Incorporation), any special meeting called at the request of the Principal Stockholder (as defined herein) or any Principal Stockholder Affiliate (as defined herein) may not be postponed, rescheduled, or canceled without the consent of the Principal Stockholder or such Principal Stockholder Affiliate, as the case may be, at whose request the meeting was originally called.

 

 

 

 

Section 4.               Notice of Meetings. Whenever stockholders are required or permitted to take action at a meeting, notice of the meeting, which shall state the place, if any, date, and time of the meeting of the stockholders, the means of remote communications, if any, by which stockholders and proxyholders not physically present may be deemed to be present in person and vote at such meeting, the record date for determining the stockholders entitled to vote at the meeting, if such date is different from the record date for determining stockholders entitled to notice of the meeting, and, in the case of a special meeting, the purpose or purposes for which the meeting is called, shall be given, not less than 10 nor more than 60 days before the date on which the meeting is to be held, to each stockholder entitled to vote at such meeting as of the record date for determining the stockholders entitled to notice of the meeting, except as otherwise provided herein or required by law (meaning, here and hereinafter, as required from time to time by the DGCL) or the Certificate of Incorporation.

 

(a)            Form of Notice. All such notices shall be delivered in writing or by electronic transmission in the manner provided in Section 232 of the DGCL, or in any other manner permitted by the DGCL. If mailed, such notice shall be deemed given when deposited in the United States mail, postage prepaid, addressed to the stockholder at his, her, or its address as the same appears on the records of the Corporation. If delivered by courier service, notice shall be deemed given at the earlier of when the notice is received or left at such stockholder’s address as the same appears on the records of the Corporation. If given by electronic mail, notice shall be deemed given when directed to such stockholder’s electronic mail address unless the stockholder has notified the Corporation in writing or by electronic transmission of an objection to receiving notice by electronic mail or such notice is prohibited by the DGCL. Notice to stockholders may also be given by other forms of electronic transmission consented to by the stockholder. If given by facsimile telecommunication, such notice shall be deemed given when directed to a number at which the stockholder has consented to receive notice by facsimile. If given by a posting on an electronic network together with separate notice to the stockholder of such specific posting, such notice shall be deemed given upon the later of: (A) such posting; and (B) the giving of such separate notice. If notice is given by any other form of electronic transmission, such notice shall be deemed given when directed to the stockholder. An affidavit of the secretary of the Corporation (the “Secretary”) or an assistant secretary of the Corporation (the “Assistant Secretary”), the transfer agent of the Corporation (the “Transfer Agent”), or any other officer, assistant officer, or agent of the Corporation that the notice has been given shall, in the absence of fraud, be prima facie evidence of the facts stated therein.

 

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

 

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Section 5.               List of Stockholders. The Corporation shall prepare, no later than the tenth day before each meeting of stockholders, a complete list of the stockholders entitled to vote at the meeting; provided, however, if the record date for determining the stockholders entitled to vote is less than ten days before the meeting date, the list shall reflect the stockholders entitled to vote as of the tenth day before the meeting date, arranged in alphabetical order and showing the address of each such stockholder and the number of shares registered in the name of each such stockholder. Nothing contained in this section shall require the Corporation to include electronic mail addresses or other electronic contact information on such list. Such list shall be open to the examination of any stockholder for any purpose germane to the meeting for a period of ten days prior to the meeting date: (A) on a reasonably accessible electronic network, provided that the information required to gain access to such list is provided with the notice of the meeting; or (B) during ordinary business hours, at the principal place of business of the Corporation. In the event the Corporation determines to make the list available on an electronic network, the Corporation may take reasonable steps to ensure that such information is available only to stockholders of the Corporation. Except as otherwise provided by law, the list shall be the only evidence as to who are the stockholders entitled to examine the list of stockholders required by this Section 5 or to vote in person or by proxy at any meeting of stockholders.

 

Section 6.               Quorum. The holders of a majority in voting power of the outstanding capital stock entitled to vote at the meeting, present in person or represented by proxy, shall constitute a quorum at all meetings of the stockholders, except as otherwise provided by law, by the Certificate of Incorporation or these Bylaws. If a quorum is not present, the chair of the meeting or the holders of a majority of the voting power present in person or represented by proxy at the meeting and entitled to vote thereon may adjourn the meeting to another time and/or place from time to time until a quorum shall be present in person or represented by proxy. When a specified item of business requires a vote by a class or series (if the Corporation shall then have outstanding shares of more than one class or series) voting as a separate class or series, the holders of a majority in voting power of the outstanding stock of such class or series shall constitute a quorum (as to such class or series) for the transaction of such item of business. A quorum once established at a meeting shall not be broken by the withdrawal of enough votes to leave less than a quorum.

 

Section 7.               Adjourned Meetings. Any meeting of stockholders, annual or special, may adjourn from time to time to reconvene at the same or some other place. When a meeting is adjourned to another time or place (including an adjournment taken to address a technical failure to convene or continue a meeting using remote communication), notice need not be given of the adjourned meeting if the time, place, if any, thereof, and the means of remote communications, if any, by which stockholders and proxy holders may be deemed to be present in person and vote at such adjourned meeting are (i) announced at the meeting at which the adjournment is taken, (ii) displayed, during the time scheduled for the meeting, on the same electronic network used to enable stockholders and proxy holders to participate in the meeting by means of remote communication or (iii) set forth in the notice of meeting given in accordance with these Bylaws. At the adjourned meeting, the Corporation may transact any business which might have been transacted at the original meeting. If the adjournment is for more than 30 days, a notice of the adjourned meeting shall be given to each stockholder of record entitled to vote at the meeting. If after the adjournment a new record date for stockholders entitled to vote is fixed for the adjourned meeting, the Board shall fix a new record date for notice of such adjourned meeting in accordance with these Bylaws, and shall give notice of the adjourned meeting to each stockholder of record entitled to vote at such adjourned meeting as of the record date fixed for notice of such adjourned meeting.

 

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Section 8.               Vote Required. Subject to the rights of the holders of any series of preferred stock then-outstanding, when a quorum has been established, all matters other than the election of directors shall be determined by the affirmative vote of the majority of voting power of capital stock present in person or represented by proxy at the meeting and entitled to vote on the subject matter, unless by express provisions of the DGCL or other applicable law, the rules of any stock exchange upon which the Corporation’s securities are listed, any regulation applicable to the Corporation or its securities, the Certificate of Incorporation, or these Bylaws a minimum or different vote is required, in which case such minimum or different vote shall be the required vote for such matter. Except as otherwise provided in the Certificate of Incorporation, directors shall be elected by a plurality of the votes cast.

 

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

 

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

 

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Section 11.             Advance Notice of Stockholder Business and Director Nominations.

 

(a)            Nominations of Directors and Other Business at Annual Meetings of Stockholders.

 

(i)             Only such business, including nominations of persons for election to the Board, shall be conducted at an annual meeting of the stockholders as shall have been brought before the meeting: (A) as specified in the notice of meeting (or any supplement thereto) given by or at the direction of the Board or any duly authorized committee thereof; (B) by or at the direction of the Board or any duly authorized committee thereof; or (C) by any stockholder of the Corporation who (1) was a stockholder of record at the time of giving of notice provided for in Section 11(a)(iii) of this ARTICLE II, on the record date for determination of stockholders of the Corporation entitled to vote at the meeting, and at the time of the annual meeting, (2) at the time of the meeting, is entitled to vote at the meeting, and (3) complies with the notice procedures set forth in Section 11(a) of this ARTICLE II. For the avoidance of doubt, the foregoing clause (C) of this Section 11(a)(i) of ARTICLE II shall be the exclusive means for a stockholder to make nominations or propose such business before an annual meeting of stockholders. Notwithstanding the foregoing or any other provisions in this Section 11 to the contrary, at any time prior to the date that Paine Schwartz Partners, LLC (the “Principal Stockholder”) and any entity that controls, is controlled by, or under common control with the Principal Stockholder (other than the Corporation and any entity that is controlled by the Corporation), and any investment vehicles or funds managed or controlled, directly or indirectly, by or otherwise affiliated with the Principal Stockholder (the “Principal Stockholder Affiliates”) cease to beneficially own in the aggregate (directly or indirectly) at least 10% of the voting power of the then outstanding shares of capital stock of the Corporation then entitled to vote generally in the election of directors (the “Advance Notice Trigger Date”), none of the notice, information, or compliance requirements of this Section 11 shall apply to any nominations or business brought before any annual or special meeting of stockholders by the Principal Stockholder or Principal Stockholder Affiliates, and such nominations or business shall be deemed properly brought before such meeting.

 

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(ii)            For nominations or other business to be properly brought before an annual meeting by a stockholder (any such stockholder of record, as required by Section 11(a)(i) of this ARTICLE II, proposing business or nominating persons for election to the Board at a meeting of stockholders, the “Noticing Stockholder”), the Noticing Stockholder must have given timely notice thereof in proper written form as described in Section 11(a)(iii) of this ARTICLE II to the Secretary; any such proposed business other than nominations of persons for election to the Board must be a proper matter for stockholder action; and the Noticing Stockholder and any other stockholder, if any, on whose behalf the business is being proposed or the nomination is being made (collectively with the Noticing Stockholder, the “Holders” and each a “Holder”) must have acted in accordance with the representations set forth in the Solicitation Statement (as defined in Section 11(a)(iii) of this ARTICLE II) required by these Bylaws and otherwise complied with the requirements with respect to such nominations or business set forth in this ARTICLE II of these Bylaws. To be timely, a stockholder’s notice for such nominations or other business must be delivered to and received by the Secretary at the principal executive offices of the Corporation in proper written form not less than 90 days and not more than 120 days prior to the first anniversary of the preceding year’s annual meeting of stockholders (which date shall, for purposes of the Corporation’s first annual meeting of stockholders after its shares of Class A common stock, par value $0.0001 per share (the “Class A Common Stock”), are first publicly traded, be deemed to have occurred on           , 2026); provided, however, that if and only if the annual meeting is not scheduled to be held within a period that commences 30 days before such anniversary date and ends 70 days after such anniversary date, or if no annual meeting was held in the preceding year (other than for purposes of the Corporation’s first annual meeting of stockholders after its shares of Class A Common Stock are first publicly traded), such stockholder’s notice must be delivered not earlier than the 120th day prior to the date of such annual meeting and by the later of: (A) the 10th day following the day the Public Announcement (as defined in Section 11(i) of this ARTICLE II) of the date of the annual meeting is first made; or (B) the date which is 90 days prior to the date of the annual meeting. In no event shall any adjournment or postponement of an annual meeting or the announcement thereof commence a new time period (or extend any time period) for the giving of a stockholder’s notice as described above. Notices delivered pursuant to Section 11(a) of this ARTICLE II will be deemed received on any given day only if received prior to the Close of Business (as defined in Section 11(i) of this ARTICLE II) on such day (and otherwise shall be deemed received on the next succeeding Business Day (as defined in Section 11(i) of this ARTICLE II)). The number of nominees a stockholder may nominate for election at the annual meeting on its own behalf (or in the case of one or more stockholders giving the notice on behalf of a beneficial owner, the number of nominees such stockholders may collectively nominate for election at the annual meeting on behalf of such beneficial owner) shall not exceed the number of directors to be elected at such annual meeting.

 

(iii)           To be in proper written form, a Noticing Stockholder’s notice to the Secretary must set forth:

 

(A)          as to any business that the Noticing Stockholder (as defined below) proposes to bring before the meeting:

 

(1)            a brief description of the business desired to be brought before the meeting;

 

(2)            the reasons for conducting such business at the meeting;

 

(3)            a description of any direct or indirect material interest of any Holder or Stockholder Associated Person of such Holder in such business (whether by holdings of securities, or by virtue of being a creditor or contractual counterparty of the Corporation or of a third party, or otherwise);

 

(4)            the text of the proposal or business (including the specific text of any resolutions or actions proposed for consideration and if such business includes a proposal to amend these Bylaws, the specific language of the proposed amendment), which business must be a proper subject for stockholder action; and

 

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(5)            a description of all agreements, arrangements, and understandings between each Holder and any Stockholder Associated Person of such Holder and any other person or persons (including their names) in connection with the proposal of such business by the Noticing Stockholder;

 

(B)           as to each Holder:

 

(1)            the name, age, citizenship, and address of the Noticing Stockholder, as they appear on the Corporation’s books, and, if different from the Corporation’s books, the name and address of the Noticing Stockholder;

 

(2)            the name, age, citizenship, and address of such Holder and each Stockholder Associated Person of such Holder;

 

(3)            as of the date of the notice (which information, for the avoidance of doubt, shall be updated and supplemented pursuant to Section 11(d)):

 

a.          the class or series and number of shares of stock of the Corporation which are directly or indirectly held of record or beneficially owned by such Holder and each Stockholder Associated Person of such Holder (provided that, for the purposes of this Section 11(a)(iii)(B)(3), any such person shall in all events be deemed to beneficially own any shares of stock of the Corporation as to which such person has a right to acquire beneficial ownership at any time in the future (whether such right is exercisable immediately or only after the passage of time or the fulfillment of a condition or both)),

 

b.         a description of all agreements, arrangements, or understandings between such Holder and each Stockholder Associated Person of such Holder, on the one hand, and any other person or persons (naming such person or persons), on the other hand, in connection with such proposal of business and/or nomination, excluding engagements with financial, legal, strategic or other advisors in the ordinary course of business;

 

c.          a description of any Derivative Instrument (as defined in Section 11(i) of this ARTICLE II) directly or indirectly held or beneficially held by such Holder and any Stockholder Associated Person of such Holder;

 

d.         whether and to the extent to which a Hedging Transaction (as defined in Section 11(i) of this ARTICLE II) has been entered into by or on behalf of such Holder or any Stockholder Associated Person of such Holder;

 

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e.          a description of any proxy, contract, arrangement, understanding, or relationship (other than a revocable proxy given in response to a public proxy solicitation made pursuant to, and in accordance with, the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”)), pursuant to which each Holder and any Stockholder Associated Person of such Holder has any right to vote or has granted a right to vote any shares of stock or any other security of the Corporation;

 

f.          a description of any agreement, arrangement, or understanding with respect to any rights to dividends or payments in lieu of dividends on the shares of the Corporation owned beneficially by each Holder or any Stockholder Associated Person of such Holder that are separated or separable pursuant to such agreement, arraignment, or understanding from the underlying shares of stock or other security of the Corporation;

 

g.         any direct or indirect legal, economic, or financial interest (including Short Interest) of each Holder and each Stockholder Associated Person, if any, of such Holder in the outcome of any (x) vote to be taken at any annual or special meeting of stockholders of the Corporation or (y) any meeting of stockholders of any other entity with respect to any matter that is related, directly or indirectly, to any nomination or business proposed by any Holder under these Bylaws; and

 

h.         any material pending or threatened action, suit, or proceeding (whether civil, criminal, investigative, administrative, or otherwise) in which any Holder or any Stockholder Associated Person of such Holder is, or is reasonably expected to be made, a party or material participant involving the Corporation or any of its officers, directors, or employees, or any Affiliate of the Corporation, or any officer, director, or employee of such Affiliate (the information required by this subclause (3) shall be referred to as the “Specified Information”); provided, however, that the Specified Information shall not include any such disclosures with respect to the ordinary course business activities of any broker, dealer, commercial bank, trust company, or other nominee who otherwise would be required to disclose Specified Information hereunder solely as a result of being the stockholder directed to prepare and submit the notice required by this Section 11(a) on behalf of a beneficial owner;

 

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(4)            a representation by the Noticing Stockholder that such stockholder is a stockholder of record of the Corporation entitled to vote at such meeting on the nominations or other business proposed, that the Noticing Stockholder will continue to be a stockholder of record of the Corporation entitled to vote at such meeting on the matter proposed through the date of such meeting and that such Noticing Stockholder intends to appear in person or by proxy at such meeting to make such nominations or propose such business;

 

(5)            all information that would be required to be set forth in a Schedule 13D filed pursuant to Rule 13d-1(a) or an amendment pursuant to Rule 13d-2(a) if such a statement were required to be filed under the Exchange Act and the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder by each Holder and each Stockholder Associated Person, if any, of such Holder;

 

(6)            any other information relating to each Holder and each Stockholder Associated Person, if any, of such Holder that would be required to be disclosed in a proxy statement and form of proxy or other filings required to be made in connection with solicitations of proxies for, as applicable, the proposal pursuant to Section 14 of the Exchange Act and the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder;

 

(7)            a representation by the Noticing Stockholder as to whether any Holder and/or any Stockholder Associated Person of such Holder intends or is part of a group which intends (x) to deliver a proxy statement and/or form of proxy to holders of at least the percentage of the Corporation’s outstanding capital stock required to elect the proposed nominee or approve or adopt the other business being proposed and/or (y) otherwise to solicit proxies or votes from stockholders in support of such nomination or other business (such representation, a “Solicitation Statement”);

 

(8)            in connection with a nomination for any persons for election as director, a representation by the Noticing Stockholder whether any Holder intends, or is part of a group which intends, (x) to deliver a proxy statement and/or form of proxy to holders of at least the percentage of the Corporation’s outstanding shares of capital stock required to approve or adopt the proposal or elect the nominee and/or (y) otherwise to solicit proxies or votes from stockholders in support of such proposal or nomination; and, if applicable, (z) to solicit proxies in support of any proposed nominee in accordance with Rule 14a-19 promulgated under the Exchange Act;

 

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(9)            a certification by the Noticing Stockholder that each Holder and any Stockholder Associated Person of such Holder has complied with all applicable federal, state and other legal requirements in connection with its acquisition of shares of capital stock or other securities of the Corporation and/or such person’s acts or omissions as a stockholder of the Corporation;

 

(10)          with respect to a nomination, the information and statement required by Rule 14a-19(b) of the Exchange Act (or any successor provision);

 

(11)          to the extent known after reasonable investigation, the names and addresses of other stockholders (including beneficial owners) known by any Holder or Related Person of such Holder to provide financial support with respect to such proposal(s) or nomination(s) (it being understood that delivery of a revocable proxy with respect to such proposal or nomination shall not in itself require disclosure under this subclause (11)) and, to the extent known, the class and number of all shares of the Corporation’s capital stock owned beneficially or of record by such other stockholder(s) or other beneficial owner(s); and

 

(12)          a representation by the Noticing Stockholder as to the accuracy of the information set forth in the notice.

 

(C)           as to each person whom the Noticing Stockholder proposes to nominate for election or re-election as a director:

 

(1)            the name, age, citizenship and address (business and residential) of such person;

 

(2)            a complete biography and statement of such person’s qualifications, including the principal occupation or employment of such person (at present and for the past five years);

 

(3)            the Specified Information for such person as if such person were a Holder (except that no disclosure will be required hereunder with respect to any Stockholder Associated Person of any proposed nominee unless such Stockholder Associated Person is also a Stockholder Associated Person of any Holder);

 

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(4)            a complete and accurate description of all agreements, arrangements, and understandings between each Holder and any Stockholder Associated Person of such Holder, on the one hand, and such person, on the other hand, (at present and for the past three years) including, without limitation, a complete and accurate description of all direct and indirect compensation and other monetary agreements, arrangements, and understandings at present and for the past three years between such person and such Holder(s) and any Stockholder Associated Person(s) of such Holder(s) (including all biographical, related party transaction and other information that would be required to be disclosed pursuant to the federal and state securities laws, including Rule 404 promulgated under Regulation S-K (“Regulation S-K”) under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”) (or any successor provision), if any Holder or such Stockholder Associated Person were the “registrant” for purposes of such rule and such person were a director or executive officer of such registrant);

 

(5)            any other information relating to such person that would be required to be disclosed in a proxy statement or any other filings required to be made in connection with solicitation of proxies for the election of directors in a contested election or that is otherwise required pursuant to and in accordance with Section 14 of the Exchange Act, and the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder (including such person’s written consent to being named in the Corporation’s proxy statements and any accompanying proxy cards as a proposed nominee of the Noticing Stockholder and to serving as a director if elected); and

 

(6)            a completed and signed questionnaire, representation, and agreement and any and all other information required by Section 11(d) of this ARTICLE II.

 

In addition, any Noticing Stockholder who submits a notice pursuant to Section 11(a) of this ARTICLE II is required to update and supplement the information disclosed in such notice, if necessary, in accordance with Section 11(c) of this ARTICLE II.

 

(iv)          Notwithstanding anything in these Bylaws to the contrary, no business shall be conducted or nominations made at an annual meeting except in accordance with the procedures set forth in Section 11(a) of this ARTICLE II; provided that the foregoing shall not apply to any nominations or business brought by the Principal Stockholder or any Principal Stockholder Affiliate at any time prior to the Advance Notice Trigger Date.

 

(v)           Notwithstanding anything in Section 11(a)(ii) of this ARTICLE II to the contrary, if the number of directors to be elected to the Board is increased effective after the time period for which nominations would otherwise be due under Section 11(a)(ii) of this ARTICLE II and there is no Public Announcement naming the nominees for additional directorships at least 10 days prior to the last day a stockholder may deliver a notice of nomination in accordance with Section 11(a)(ii) of this ARTICLE II, a stockholder’s notice required by Section 11(a)(ii) of this ARTICLE II shall also be considered timely, but only with respect to nominees for the additional directorships, if it shall be received by the Secretary at the principal executive offices of the Corporation not later than the Close of Business on the 10th day following the day on which such Public Announcement is first made by the Corporation.

 

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(b)           Special Meetings of Stockholders. Only such business shall be conducted at a special meeting of stockholders as shall have been brought before the meeting pursuant to the notice of meeting. Only persons who are nominated in accordance and compliance with the procedures set forth in this Section 11(b) of ARTICLE II shall be eligible for election to the Board at a special meeting of stockholders at which directors are to be elected. Nominations of persons for election to the Board may be made at a special meeting of stockholders at which directors are to be elected pursuant to the notice of meeting only: (i) by or at the direction of the Board, any duly authorized committee thereof, or stockholders (if stockholders are permitted to call a special meeting of stockholders pursuant to Section 2 of ARTICLE SEVEN of the Certificate of Incorporation); or (ii) provided that the Board or stockholders (if stockholders are permitted to call a special meeting of stockholders pursuant to Section 2 of ARTICLE SEVEN of the Certificate of Incorporation) has determined that directors are to be elected at such special meeting, by any stockholder of the Corporation who: (A) was a stockholder of record at the time of giving of notice provided for in this Section 11(b) of ARTICLE II, and at the time of the special meeting; (B) is entitled to vote at the meeting; and (C) complies with the notice procedures provided for in this Section 11(b) of ARTICLE II. For nominations to be properly brought by a stockholder at a special meeting of stockholders, the stockholder must have given timely notice thereof in proper written form as described in this Section 11(b) of ARTICLE II to the Secretary. To be timely, a stockholder’s notice for the nomination of persons for election to the Board must be delivered to and received by the Secretary at the principal executive offices of the Corporation not earlier than the 120th day prior to such special meeting and not later than the Close of Business on the later of the 90th day prior to such special meeting or the 10th day following the day on which a Public Announcement is first made of the date of the special meeting and of the nominees proposed by the Board to be elected at such meeting. In no event shall any adjournment or postponement of a special meeting or the announcement thereof commence a new time period (or extend any time period) for the giving of a stockholder’s notice as described above. Notices delivered pursuant to this Section 11(b) of ARTICLE II will be deemed received on any given day if received prior to the Close of Business on such day (and otherwise, on the next succeeding day). To be in proper written form, such stockholder’s notice shall set forth all of the information required by, and otherwise be in compliance with, Section 11(a)(iii) of this ARTICLE II. In addition, any stockholder who submits a notice pursuant to this Section 11(b) of ARTICLE II is required to update and supplement the information disclosed in such notice, if necessary, in accordance with Section 11(c) of this ARTICLE II and shall comply with Section 11(e) of this ARTICLE II. The number of nominees a stockholder may nominate for election at the special meeting on its own behalf (or in the case of one or more stockholders giving the notice on behalf of a beneficial owner, the number of nominees such stockholders may collectively nominate for election at the special meeting on behalf of such beneficial owner) shall not exceed the number of directors to be elected at such special meeting. Notwithstanding the foregoing or anything else in this Section 11(b), at any time prior to the Advance Notice Trigger Date, the Principal Stockholder and any Principal Stockholder Affiliate may make nominations at any special meeting of stockholders at which directors are to be elected without compliance with the notice, information, or other requirements of this Section 11(b), and any such nominations shall be deemed properly brought before such meeting

 

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(c)            Update and Supplement of Stockholder’s Notice. Any stockholder who submits a notice of proposal for business or nomination for election pursuant to this Section 11 of ARTICLE II is required to update and supplement the information disclosed in such notice, if necessary, so that the information provided or required to be provided in such notice shall be true and correct as of the record date for the meeting of stockholders and as of the date that is 10 Business Days prior to the meeting of stockholders or any adjournment, recess, rescheduling, or postponement thereof, and such update and supplement shall be delivered to and received by the Secretary at the principal executive offices of the Corporation not later than five Business Days after the record date for the meeting of stockholders in the case of the update and supplement required to be made as of the record date, and not later than eight Business Days prior to the date for the meeting of stockholders or any adjournment, recess, rescheduling or postponement thereof in the case of the update and supplement required to be made as of 10 Business Days prior to the meeting of stockholders or any adjournment, recess, rescheduling, or postponement thereof. In addition, if the Noticing Stockholder has delivered to the Corporation a notice relating to the nomination of directors, the Noticing Stockholder shall deliver to the Corporation not later than eight Business Days prior to the date of the meeting or any adjournment, recess, rescheduling, or postponement thereof (or, if not practicable, on the first practicable date prior to the date to which the annual meeting has been adjourned or postponed) reasonable evidence that it has complied with the requirements of Rule 14a-19 of the Exchange Act (or any successor provision). For the avoidance of doubt, the obligation to update and supplement set forth in this paragraph or any other Section of these Bylaws shall not limit the Corporation’s rights with respect to any deficiencies in any notice provided by a stockholder, extend any applicable deadlines hereunder or enable or be deemed to permit a stockholder who has previously submitted notice hereunder to amend or update any proposal or to submit any new proposal, including by changing or adding nominees, matters, business and/or resolutions proposed to be brought before a meeting of the stockholders.

 

(d)           Submission of Questionnaire, Representation, and Agreement. To be qualified to be a nominee for election or re-election as a director of the Corporation, a person must deliver (in the case of a person nominated by a stockholder in accordance with Sections 11(a) or 11(b) of this ARTICLE II, in accordance with the time periods prescribed for delivery of notice under such sections) to the Secretary at the principal executive offices of the Corporation a written questionnaire with respect to the background and qualification of such person and the background of any other person or entity on whose behalf the nomination is being made (which questionnaire shall be provided by the Secretary upon written request of any stockholder of record identified by name within five Business Days of such written request) and a written representation and agreement (in the form provided by the Secretary upon written request of any stockholder of record identified by name within five Business Days of such written request) that such person: (i) is not and will not become a party to: (A) any agreement, arrangement, or understanding (whether written or oral) with, and has not given any commitment or assurance to, any person or entity as to how such person, if elected as a director of the Corporation, will act or vote on any issue or question (a “Voting Commitment”) that has not been disclosed to the Corporation; or (B) any Voting Commitment that could limit or interfere with such person’s ability to comply, if elected as a director of the Corporation, with such person’s fiduciary duties under applicable law; (ii) is not and will not become a party to any agreement, arrangement, or understanding with any person or entity other than the Corporation with respect to any direct or indirect compensation, reimbursement, or indemnification in connection with service or action as a director that has not been disclosed to the Corporation; and (iii) would be in compliance, and if elected as a director of the Corporation will comply, with all applicable publicly disclosed corporate governance, conflict of interest, confidentiality, and stock ownership and trading policies and guidelines of the Corporation that are publicly available.

 

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(e)            Update and Supplement of Nominee Information. The Corporation may also, as a condition to any such nomination or business being deemed properly brought before an annual meeting of stockholders, require any Holder or any proposed nominee to deliver to the Secretary, within five Business Days of any such request, such other information as may reasonably be required by the Board to determine whether such proposed nominee is eligible under the Certificate of Incorporation, these Bylaws, the rules or regulations of any stock exchange applicable to the Corporation, or any law or regulation applicable to the Corporation to serve as a director or independent director of the Corporation.

 

(f)            Authority of Chair; General Provisions. Except as otherwise provided by applicable law, the Certificate of Incorporation, or these Bylaws and subject to the supervision of the Board, the chair of the meeting shall have the power and duty to determine whether any nomination or other business proposed to be brought before the meeting was made or brought in accordance with the procedures set forth in these Bylaws (including whether the Noticing Stockholder or Stockholder Associated Person or other person, if any, on whose behalf the nomination or proposal is made or solicited (or is part of a group which solicited) or did not so solicit, as the case may be, proxies or votes in support of such Noticing Stockholder’s nominee or proposal in compliance with such Noticing Stockholder’s representation as required by Section 11(a)(iii)(B)(8) of this ARTICLE II) and, if any nomination or other business is not made or brought in compliance with these Bylaws, to declare that such nomination or proposal of other business be disregarded and not acted upon; provided, however, that the foregoing shall not apply to, and the chair of the meeting shall have no authority to disregard, any nomination or business brought by the Principal Stockholder or any Principal Stockholder Affiliate at any time prior to the Advance Notice Trigger Date.

 

(g)           Effect on Other Rights. Nothing in these Bylaws shall be deemed to: (A) confer upon any stockholder a right to have a nominee or any proposed business included in the Corporation’s proxy statement, except as set forth in the Certificate of Incorporation or these Bylaws; (B) affect any rights of the holders of any series of preferred stock to elect directors pursuant to any applicable provisions of the Certificate of Incorporation; or (C) limit the exercise, the method, or timing of the exercise of the rights of the Principal Stockholder and the Principal Stockholder Affiliates granted by the Corporation to nominate directors (pursuant to that Director Designation Agreement, dated as of on or about [●], 2026 (as amended, restated, modified, and/or supplemented from time to time, the “Director Designation Agreement”), by and among the Corporation and the investors named therein), which rights may be exercised without compliance with the provisions of Section 11 of this ARTICLE II.

 

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(h)           Definitions. For purposes of this Section 11 of ARTICLE II, the term:

 

(i)             “Affiliate” has the meaning attributed to such term in Rule 12b-2 under the Exchange Act;

 

(ii)            “Associate” has the meaning attributed to such term in Rule 12b-2 under the Exchange Act;

 

(iii)           “Business Day” shall mean each Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday that is not a day on which banking institutions in Oceanside, CA or New York, NY are authorized or obligated by law or executive order to close;

 

(iv)           “Close of Business” shall mean 5:00 p.m. local time at the principal executive offices of the Corporation, and if an applicable deadline falls on the Close of Business on a day that is not a Business Day, then the applicable deadline shall be deemed to be the Close of Business on the immediately preceding Business Day;

 

(v)            “Derivative Instrument” means any short position, profits interest, option, warrant, convertible security, stock appreciation right, or similar right with an exercise or conversion privilege or a settlement payment or mechanism at a price related to any class or series of shares of the Corporation or with a value derived in whole or in part from the value of any class or series of shares of the Corporation, or any derivative or synthetic arrangement having the characteristics of a long position in any class or series of shares of the Corporation, or any contract, derivative, swap, or other transaction or series of transactions designed to produce economic benefits and risks that correspond substantially to the ownership of any class or series of shares of the Corporation, including due to the fact that the value of such contract, derivative, swap, or other transaction or series of transactions is determined by reference to the price, value, or volatility of any class or series of shares of the Corporation, whether or not such instrument, contract, or right shall be subject to settlement in the underlying class or series of shares of the Corporation, through the delivery of cash or other property, or otherwise, and without regard to whether the stockholder and any Stockholder Related Person may have entered into transactions that hedge or mitigate the economic effect of such instrument, contract, or right, or any other direct or indirect opportunity to profit or share in any profit derived from any increase or decrease in the value of shares of the Corporation;

 

(vi)           “Hedging Transaction” means, with respect to a stockholder or any Stockholder Associated Person, any hedging or other transaction (such as borrowed or loaned shares) or series of transactions, or any other agreement, arrangement, or understanding, the effect or intent of which is to increase or decrease the voting power or economic or pecuniary interest of such stockholder or any Stockholder Associated Person with respect to the Corporation’s securities;

 

(vii)          “Public Announcement” means disclosure (a) in a press release released by the Corporation, provided such press release is released by the Corporation following its customary procedures, as reported by the Dow Jones News Service, Associated Press, Business Wire, PR Newswire or a comparable news service, or is generally available on internet news sites, or (b) in a document publicly filed by the Corporation with the SEC pursuant to Sections 13, 14 or 15(d) of the Exchange Act;

 

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(viii)         “Stockholder Associated Person” means, with respect to any Holder:

 

(A)          any participant (as defined in paragraphs (a)(ii)-(vi) of Instruction 3 to Item 4 of Schedule 14A of the Exchange Act, or any successor instructions) with such Holder in a solicitation of proxies in respect of any business or director nomination proposed by such stockholder;

 

(B)           any Affiliate or Associate of such Holder; and

 

(C)           any person who is a member of a “group” (as such term is used in Rule 13d-5 under the Exchange Act (or any successor provision)) with such Holder; and

 

(ix)           “Short Interest” means any agreement, arrangement, understanding, relationship, or otherwise, including any repurchase or similar so-called “stock borrowing” agreement or arrangement, involving any stockholder or any Stockholder Associated Person, the purpose or effect of which is to mitigate loss to, reduce the economic risk (of ownership or otherwise) or any class or series of the shares of the Corporation by, manage the risk of share price changes for, or increase or decrease the voting power of, such stockholder or any Stockholder Associated Person with respect to any class or series of the shares or other securities of the Corporation, or which provides, directly or indirectly, the opportunity to profit or share in any profit derived from any decrease in the price or value of any class or series of the shares or other securities of the Corporation; and

 

(x)            For purposes of these Bylaws, the words “include,” “includes” or “including” is deemed to be followed by the words “without limitation.” Where a reference in these Bylaws is made to any statue or regulation, such reference shall be to (1) the statute or regulation as amended from time to time (except as context may otherwise require) and (2) any rules or regulations promulgated thereunder.

 

(i)             Proxy Card. Any stockholder directly or indirectly soliciting proxies from other stockholders must use a proxy card color other than white, which shall be reserved for the exclusive use by the Board.

 

Section 12.             Requirement to Appear. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in Section 11, if the Noticing Stockholder that has provided timely notice of a nomination or item of business in accordance with Section 11 (or a qualified representative of the Noticing Stockholder) does not appear at the annual or special meeting of stockholders of the Corporation to present such nomination or item of business, such proposed business shall not be transacted and such nomination shall be disregarded, notwithstanding that such proposed business or such nomination is set forth in the notice of meeting or other proxy materials and notwithstanding that proxies or votes in respect of such vote may have been received by the Corporation. For purposes of these Bylaws, to be considered a qualified representative of the Noticing Stockholder, a person must be a duly authorized officer, manager or partner of such Noticing Stockholder or must be authorized by a writing executed by such Noticing Stockholder or an electronic transmission delivered by such Noticing Stockholder to act for such Noticing Stockholder as proxy at the meeting of stockholders and such person must produce such writing or electronic transmission, or a reliable reproduction of the writing or electronic transmission, at the meeting of stockholders.

 

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Section 13.             Fixing a Record Date for Stockholder Meetings. In order that the Corporation may determine the stockholders entitled to notice of any meeting of stockholders or any adjournment thereof, the Board may fix a record date, which record date shall not precede the date upon which the resolution fixing the record date is adopted by the Board, and which record date shall not be more than 60 days nor less than 10 days before the date of such meeting. If the Board so fixes a date, such date shall also be the record date for determining the stockholders entitled to vote at such meeting unless the Board determines, at the time it fixes such record date, that a later date on or before the date of the meeting shall be the date for making such determination. If no record date is fixed by the Board, the record date for determining stockholders entitled to notice of or to vote at a meeting of stockholders shall be the close of business on the day next preceding the day on which notice is first given, or, if notice is waived, at the close of business on the day next preceding the day on which the meeting is held. A determination of stockholders of record entitled to notice of or to vote at a meeting of stockholders shall apply to any adjournment of the meeting; provided, however, that the Board may fix a new record date for the adjourned meeting in conformity herewith; and in such case shall also fix as the record date for stockholders entitled to notice of such adjourned meeting the same or an earlier date as that fixed for determination of stockholders entitled to vote in accordance with the foregoing provisions of this Section 13 of ARTICLE II at the adjourned meeting.

 

Section 14.             Action by Stockholders Without a Meeting. So long as stockholders of the Corporation have the right to act by written consent in accordance with Section 1 of ARTICLE SEVEN of the Certificate of Incorporation, the following provisions shall apply:

 

(a)            Record Date. For the purpose of determining the stockholders entitled to consent to corporate action without a meeting as may be permitted by the Certificate of Incorporation or the certificate of designation relating to any outstanding class or series of preferred stock, the Board may fix a record date, which record date shall not precede the date on which the resolution fixing the record date is adopted by the Board, and which record date shall not be more than 10 (or the maximum number permitted by applicable law) days after the date on which the resolution fixing the record date is adopted by the Board. Any stockholder of record seeking to have the stockholders authorize or take action by consent in lieu of a meeting shall, by written notice delivered to the Secretary at the Corporation’s principal place of business during regular business hours, request that the Board fix a record date, which notice shall include the text of any proposed resolutions. Notices delivered pursuant to this Section 14(a) of ARTICLE II will be deemed received on any given day only if received prior to the close of business on such day (and otherwise, shall be deemed received on the next succeeding Business Day). The Board shall promptly, but in all events within 10 days after the date on which such written notice is properly delivered to and deemed received by the Secretary, adopt a resolution fixing the record date (unless a record date has previously been fixed by the Board pursuant to the first sentence of this Section 14(a) of ARTICLE II). If no record date has been fixed by the Board pursuant to this Section 14(a) or otherwise within 10 days of receipt of a valid request by a stockholder, the record date for determining stockholders entitled to consent to corporate action without a meeting, when no prior action by the Board is required pursuant to applicable law, shall be the first date after the expiration of such 10 day time period on which a signed consent setting forth the action taken or proposed to be taken is delivered to the Corporation pursuant to Section 14(b) of this ARTICLE II; provided, however, that if prior action by the Board is required by applicable law, the record date for determining stockholders entitled to consent to corporate action without a meeting shall in such an event be at the close of business on the day on which the Board adopts the resolution taking such prior action.

 

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(b)            Generally. No consent shall be effective to take the corporate action referred to therein unless consents signed by a sufficient number of stockholders to take such action are delivered to the Corporation, in the manner required by this Section 14 of ARTICLE II, within 60 (or the maximum number permitted by applicable law) days of the first date on which a consent is delivered to the Corporation in the manner required by applicable law. The validity of any consent executed by a proxy for a stockholder pursuant to an electronic transmission transmitted to such proxy holder by or upon the authorization of the stockholder shall be determined by or at the direction of the Secretary. A written record of the information upon which the person making such determination relied shall be made and kept in the records of the proceedings of the stockholders. Any such consent shall be inserted in the minute book as if it were the minutes of a meeting of stockholders. Prompt notice of the taking of the corporate action without a meeting by less than unanimous consent shall be given by the Corporation (at its expense) to those stockholders as of the record date for the action by consent who have not consented and who would have been entitled to notice of the meeting if the action had been taken at such meeting and the record date for the notice of such meeting were the record date for the action by consent. A consent permitted by this Section 14 shall be delivered: (i) to the principal place of business of the Corporation; (ii) to an officer or agent of the Corporation having custody of the book in which proceedings of meetings of stockholders are recorded; (iii) to the registered office of the Corporation in the State of Delaware by hand or by certified or registered mail, return receipt requested; or (iv) subject to the next sentence, in accordance with Section 116 of the DGCL to an information processing system, if any, designated by the Corporation for receiving such consents. In the case of delivery pursuant to the foregoing clause (iv), such consent must set forth or be delivered with information that enables the Corporation to determine the date of delivery of such consent and the identity of the person giving such consent, and, if such consent is given by a person authorized to act for a stockholder or member as proxy, such consent must comply with the applicable provisions of Sections 212(c)(2) and (3) of the DGCL.

 

Section 15.             Conduct of Meetings.

 

(a)            Generally. Meetings of stockholders shall be presided over by the Chair, if any, or in the Chair’s absence or disability, by the CEO (if the CEO is not also the Chair), or in the CEO’s absence or disability, by the President of the Corporation (the “President”), or in the President’s absence or disability, by a Vice President of the Corporation (the “Vice President”) (in the order as determined by the Board), or in the absence or disability of the foregoing persons, by a director or officer designated by the Board, or in the absence or disability of such person, by a chair chosen at the meeting. The Secretary shall act as secretary of the meeting, but in the Secretary’s absence or disability, the chair of the meeting may appoint any person to act as secretary of the meeting.

 

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

 

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

 

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Section 16.             Remote Communication. If authorized by the Board in its sole discretion, and subject to such guidelines and procedures as the Board may adopt, stockholders and proxyholders not physically present at a meeting of stockholders may, by means of remote communication:

 

(a)            participate in a meeting of stockholders; and

 

(b)           be deemed present in person and vote at a meeting of stockholders whether such meeting is to be held at a designated place or solely by means of remote communication;

 

provided that

 

(c)            the Corporation shall implement reasonable measures to verify that each person deemed present and permitted to vote at the meeting by means of remote communication is a stockholder or proxyholder;

 

(d)           the Corporation shall implement reasonable measures to provide such stockholders and proxyholders a reasonable opportunity to participate in the meeting and to vote on matters submitted to the stockholders, including an opportunity to read or hear the proceedings of the meeting substantially concurrently with such proceedings; and

 

(e)            if any stockholder or proxyholder votes or takes other action at the meeting by means of remote communication, a record of such vote or other action shall be maintained by the Corporation.

 

Article III
DIRECTORS

 

Section 1.               General Powers. Except as otherwise provided in this Certificate of Incorporation or the DGCL, the business and affairs of the Corporation shall be managed by or under the direction of the Board.

 

Section 2.               Regular Meetings and Special Meetings. Regular meetings of the Board may be held without notice at such time and at such place as shall from time to time be determined by resolution of the Board and publicized among all directors. Special meetings of the Board may be called by: (i) the Chair, if any; (ii) by the Secretary upon the written request of a majority of the directors then in office; or (iii) if the Board then includes a director nominated or designated for nomination by the Principal Stockholder or any Principal Stockholder Affiliate, by any director so nominated or designated, and in each case shall be held at the place, if any, on the date and at the time as he, she, or they shall fix. Any and all business may be transacted at a special meeting of the Board.

 

Section 3.               Notice of Meetings. Notice of regular meetings of the Board need not be given except as otherwise required by law or these Bylaws. Notice of each special meeting of the Board, and of each regular and annual meeting of the Board for which notice is required, shall be given by the Secretary as hereinafter provided in this Section 3 of this ARTICLE III. Such notice shall state the date, time, and place, if any, of the meeting. Notice of any special meeting, and of any regular or annual meeting for which notice is required, shall be given to each director at least: (A) 24 hours before the meeting if by telephone or by being personally delivered or sent by overnight courier, telecopy, electronic transmission, email, or similar means; or (B) five days before the meeting if delivered by mail to the director’s residence or usual place of business. Such notice shall be deemed to be delivered when deposited in the United States mail so addressed, with postage prepaid, or when transmitted if sent by telex, telecopy, electronic transmission, email, or similar means. Neither the business to be transacted at, nor the purpose of, any special meeting of the Board need be specified in the notice or waiver of notice of such meeting.

 

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Section 4.               Waiver of Notice. Any director may waive notice of any meeting of directors by a writing signed by the director or by electronic transmission. Any member of the Board or any committee thereof who is present at a meeting shall have waived notice of such meeting except when such member attends for the express purpose of objecting at the beginning of the meeting to the transaction of any business because the meeting is not lawfully called or convened and does not further participate in the meeting. Such member shall be conclusively presumed to have assented to any action taken unless his or her dissent shall be entered in the minutes of the meeting or unless his or her written dissent to such action shall be filed with the person acting as the secretary of the meeting before the adjournment thereof or shall be forwarded by registered mail to the Secretary immediately after the adjournment of the meeting. Such right to dissent shall not apply to any member who voted in favor of such action.

 

Section 5.               Chair of the Board, Quorum, Required Vote, and Adjournment. Subject to the provisions regarding the appointment of the Chair in the Certificate of Incorporation, the Board may elect the Chair. The Chair must be a director and may be a director who is also currently an officer of the Corporation. Subject to the provisions of these Bylaws and the direction of the Board, he, she, or they shall perform all duties and have all powers which are commonly incident to the position of Chair or which are delegated to him or her by the Board, preside at all meetings of the stockholders and Board at which he or she is present and have such powers and perform such duties as the Board may from time to time prescribe. If the Chair is not present at a meeting of the Board, the CEO (if the CEO is a director and is not also the Chair) shall preside at such meeting, and, if the CEO is not present at such meeting, a majority of the directors present at such meeting shall elect one of the directors present at the meeting to so preside. At all meetings of the Board, a majority of the directors then in office shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business, provided, however, that a quorum shall never be less than one-third the total number of directors. Unless by express provision of an applicable law, the Certificate of Incorporation, or these Bylaws a different vote is required, the vote of a majority of directors present at a meeting at which a quorum is present shall be the act of the Board. At any meeting of the Board, business shall be transacted in such order and manner as the Board may from time to time determine. If a quorum shall not be present at any meeting of the Board, the directors present thereat may, to the fullest extent permitted by law, adjourn the meeting from time to time, without notice other than announcement at the meeting, until a quorum shall be present.

 

Section 6.               Committees.

 

(a)         The Board may designate one or more committees, including an executive committee, consisting of one or more of the directors of the Corporation, and any committees required by the rules and regulations of such exchange as any securities of the Corporation are listed. The Board may designate one or more directors as alternate members of any committee, who may replace any absent or disqualified member at any meeting of the committee. Except to the extent restricted by applicable law or the Certificate of Incorporation, each such committee, to the extent provided by the DGCL and in the resolution creating it, shall have and may exercise all the powers and authority of the Board. Each such committee shall serve at the pleasure of the Board. Each committee shall keep regular minutes of its meetings and report the same to the Board upon request.

 

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(b)         Each committee of the Board may fix its own rules of procedure and shall hold its meetings as provided by such rules, except as may otherwise be provided by a resolution of the Board designating such committee. Unless otherwise provided in such a resolution, the presence of at least a majority of the members of the committee shall be necessary to constitute a quorum. All matters shall be determined by a majority vote of the members present at a meeting at which a quorum is present. Unless otherwise provided in such a resolution, in the event that a member and that member’s alternate, if alternates are designated by the Board, of such committee is or are absent or disqualified, the member or members present at any meeting and not disqualified from voting, whether or not such member or members constitute a quorum, may unanimously appoint another member of the Board to act at the meeting in place of any such absent or disqualified member.

 

Section 7.               Action by Written Consent. Unless otherwise restricted by the Certificate of Incorporation or these Bylaws, any action required or permitted to be taken at any meeting of the Board, or of any committee thereof, may be taken without a meeting if all members of the Board or such committee, as the case may be, consent thereto in writing or by electronic transmission. After the action is taken, the consent or consents relating thereto shall be filed with the minutes of proceedings of the Board or committee in the same paper form or electronic form as the minutes are maintained.

 

Section 8.               Compensation. The Board shall have the authority to fix the compensation, including fees, reimbursement of expenses, and equity compensation, of directors for services to the Corporation in any capacity, including for attendance of meetings of the Board or participation on any committees. No such payment shall preclude any director from serving the Corporation in any other capacity and receiving compensation therefor.

 

Section 9.               Reliance on Books and Records. A member of the Board, or a member of any committee designated by the Board, shall, in the performance of such member’s duties, be fully protected in relying in good faith upon records of the Corporation and upon such information, opinions, reports, or statements presented to the Corporation by any of the Corporation’s officers or employees, or committees of the Board, or by any other person as to matters the member reasonably believes are within such other person’s professional or expert competence and who has been selected with reasonable care by or on behalf of the Corporation.

 

Section 10.             Telephonic and Other Meetings. Unless restricted by the Certificate of Incorporation, any one or more members of the Board or any committee thereof may participate in a meeting of the Board or such committee by means of conference telephone or other communications equipment by means of which all persons participating in the meeting can hear each other. Participation by such means shall constitute presence in person at a meeting.

 

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Article IV
OFFICERS

 

Section 1.               Number and Election. Subject to the authority of the CEO to appoint officers as set forth in Section 11 of this ARTICLE IV, the officers of the Corporation shall be elected by the Board and may consist of a CEO, a President, one or more Vice Presidents, a Secretary, a Chief Financial Officer (the “CFO”), a Treasurer (the “Treasurer”), and such other officers and assistant officers as may be deemed necessary or desirable by the Board. Any number of offices may be held by the same person. In its discretion, the Board may choose not to fill any office for any period as it may deem advisable.

 

Section 2.               Term of Office. Each officer shall hold office until a successor is duly elected and qualified or until his or her earlier death, resignation, or removal as hereinafter provided.

 

Section 3.               Removal. Any officer or agent of the Corporation may be removed with or without cause by the Board, a duly authorized committee thereof or by such officers as may be designated by a resolution of the Board, but such removal shall be without prejudice to the contract rights, if any, of the person so removed. Any officer appointed by the CEO in accordance with Section 11 of this ARTICLE IV may also be removed by the CEO in his or her sole discretion.

 

Section 4.               Vacancies. Any vacancy occurring in any office because of death, resignation, removal, disqualification, or otherwise may be filled by the Board or the CEO in accordance with Section 11 of this ARTICLE IV.

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

Section 8.               Vice Presidents. The Vice President, or if there shall be more than one, the Vice Presidents, in the order determined by the Board or the Chair, shall, perform such duties and have such powers as the Board, the Chair, the CEO, the President, or these Bylaws may, from time to time, prescribe or which otherwise are incident to the position of Vice President. The Vice Presidents may also be designated as Executive Vice Presidents or Senior Vice Presidents, as the Board may from time to time prescribe.

 

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

 

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

 

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Section 11.             Appointed Officers. In addition to officers designated by the Board in accordance with this ARTICLE IV, the CEO shall have the authority to appoint other officers below the level of Board-appointed Vice President as the CEO may from time to time deem expedient and may designate for such officers titles that appropriately reflect their positions and responsibilities. Such appointed officers shall have such powers and shall perform such duties as may be assigned to them by the CEO or the senior officer to whom they report, consistent with corporate policies. An appointed officer shall serve until the earlier of such officer’s resignation or such officer’s removal by the CEO or the Board at any time, either with or without cause.

 

Section 12.             Other Officers, Assistant Officers, and Agents. Officers, assistant officers, and agents, if any, other than those whose duties are provided for in these Bylaws, shall have such authority and perform such duties as may from time to time be prescribed by resolution of the Board and, to the extent not so provided, as generally pertain to their respective offices, subject to the control of the Board.

 

Section 13.             Officers’ Bonds or Other Security. If required by the Board, any officer of the Corporation shall give a bond or other security for the faithful performance of such officer’s duties, in such amount and with such surety as the Board may require.

 

Section 14.             Delegation of Authority. The Board may by resolution delegate the powers and duties of such officer to any other officer or to any director, or to any other person whom it may select.

 

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Article V
CERTIFICATES OF STOCK

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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Section 4.               Fixing a Record Date for Purposes Other Than Stockholder Meetings or Actions by Written Consent. In order that the Corporation may determine the stockholders entitled to receive payment of any dividend, other distribution or allotment, or any rights, or the stockholders entitled to exercise any rights in respect of any change, conversion, or exchange of stock, or for the purposes of any other lawful action (other than stockholder meetings and stockholder consents which are expressly governed by Sections 12, 13, 14, and 15 of ARTICLE II hereof), the Board may fix a record date, which record date shall not precede the date upon which the resolution fixing the record date is adopted, and which record date shall be not more than 60 days prior to such action. If no record date is fixed, the record date for determining stockholders for any such purpose shall be at the close of business on the day on which the Board adopts the resolution relating thereto.

 

Article VI
GENERAL PROVISIONS

 

Section 1.               Dividends. Subject to and in accordance with applicable law, the Certificate of Incorporation and any certificate of designation relating to any series of preferred stock, dividends upon the shares of capital stock of the Corporation may be declared and paid by the Board in accordance with applicable law. Dividends may be paid in cash, in property, or in shares of the Corporation’s capital stock, subject to the provisions of applicable law and the Certificate of Incorporation. Before payment of any dividend, there may be set aside out of any funds of the Corporation available for dividends a reserve or reserves for any proper purpose. The Board may modify or abolish any such reserves in the manner in which they were created.

 

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

 

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

 

Section 4.               Fiscal Year. The fiscal year of the Corporation shall be fixed by resolution of the Board.

 

Section 5.               Corporate Seal. The Board may provide a corporate seal which shall be in the form of a circle and shall have inscribed thereon the name of the Corporation and the words “Corporate Seal, Delaware.” The seal may be used by causing it or a facsimile thereof to be impressed or affixed or reproduced or otherwise. Notwithstanding the foregoing, no seal shall be required by virtue of Section 5 of this ARTICLE VI.

 

Section 6.               Voting Securities Owned By Corporation. Voting securities in any other corporation or entity held by the Corporation shall be voted by the Chair, CEO, the President, or the CFO, unless the Board specifically confers authority to vote with respect thereto, which authority may be general or confined to specific instances, upon some other person or officer. Any person authorized to vote securities shall have the power to appoint proxies, with general power of substitution.

 

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Section 7.               Facsimile/Electronic Signatures. In addition to the provisions for use of facsimile signatures elsewhere specifically authorized in these Bylaws, Docusign, facsimile, and other forms of electronic signatures of any officer or director of the Corporation may be used to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law.

 

Section 8.               Section Headings. Section headings in these Bylaws are for convenience of reference only and shall not be given any substantive effect in limiting or otherwise construing any provision herein.

 

Section 9.               Inconsistent Provisions. In the event that any provision (or part thereof) of these Bylaws is or becomes inconsistent with any provision of the Certificate of Incorporation, the DGCL, any other applicable law, or the Director Designation Agreement, the provision (or part thereof) of these Bylaws shall be construed to be consistent with such other provision or provisions, and to the extent such provision may not be so construed, such provision shall be deemed amended to incorporate such other provision so as to eliminate any such inconsistency and as so amended shall be given full force and effect.

 

Article VII
INDEMNIFICATION

 

Section 1.               Right to Indemnification and Advancement. Each person who was or is made a party or is threatened to be made a party to or is otherwise involved (including involvement, without limitation, as a witness) in any actual or threatened action, suit, or proceeding, whether civil, criminal, administrative, or investigative (a “proceeding”), by reason of the fact that he or she is or was a director or officer of the Corporation or, while a director or officer of the Corporation, is or was serving at the request of the Corporation as a director, manager, officer, employee, or agent of another corporation or of a partnership, joint venture, trust, or other enterprise, including service with respect to an employee benefit plan (an “indemnitee”), whether the basis of such proceeding is alleged action in an official capacity as a director or officer or in any other capacity while serving as a director or officer, shall be indemnified and held harmless by the Corporation to the fullest extent authorized by the DGCL, as the same exists or may hereafter be amended, against all expense, liability, and loss (including attorneys’ fees and related disbursements, judgments, fines, excise taxes, or penalties under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended from time to time (“ERISA”) and any other penalties and amounts paid or to be paid in settlement) reasonably incurred or suffered by such indemnitee in connection therewith, and such indemnification shall continue as to an indemnitee who has ceased to be a director, officer, employee, or agent and shall inure to the benefit of the indemnitee’s heirs, executors, and administrators; provided, however, that, except as provided in Section 2 of this ARTICLE VII with respect to proceedings to enforce rights to indemnification and advance of expenses (as defined herein), the Corporation shall indemnify any such indemnitee in connection with a proceeding (or part thereof) initiated by such indemnitee only if such proceeding (or part thereof) was authorized in the specific case by the Board of the Corporation. In addition to the right to indemnification conferred herein, an indemnitee shall also have the right, to the fullest extent not prohibited by law, to be paid by the Corporation the expenses incurred in defending any such proceeding in advance of its final disposition (an “advance of expenses”); provided, however, that if and to the extent that the DGCL requires, an advance of expenses shall be made only upon delivery to the Corporation of an undertaking (an “undertaking”), by or on behalf of such indemnitee, to repay all amounts so advanced if it shall ultimately be determined by final judicial decision from which there is no further right to appeal (a “final adjudication”) that such indemnitee is not entitled to be indemnified for such expenses under Section 1 of this ARTICLE VII or otherwise. The Corporation may also, by action of its Board, provide indemnification and advancement to employees and agents of the Corporation. Any reference to an officer of the Corporation in this ARTICLE VII shall be deemed to refer exclusively to the Chair, CEO, President, CFO, Secretary, and Treasurer appointed pursuant to ARTICLE IV, and to any Vice President, Assistant Secretary, assistant treasurer, or other officer of the Corporation appointed by the Board or the CEO pursuant to ARTICLE IV of these Bylaws, and any reference to an officer of any other enterprise shall be deemed to refer exclusively to an officer appointed by the Board or equivalent governing body of such other entity pursuant to the certificate of incorporation and bylaws or equivalent organizational documents of such other enterprise. The fact that any person who is or was an employee of the Corporation or an employee of any other enterprise has been given or has used the title of “Vice President” or any other title, including any title granted to such person by the CEO pursuant to Section 11 of ARTICLE IV, that could be construed to suggest or imply that such person is or may be an officer of the Corporation or of such other enterprise shall not result in such person being constituted as, or being deemed to be, an officer of the Corporation or of such other enterprise for purposes of this ARTICLE VII unless such person’s appointment to such office was approved by the Board pursuant to ARTICLE IV.

 

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Section 2.               Procedure for Indemnification. Any claim for indemnification or advance of expenses by an indemnitee under Section 2 of this ARTICLE VII shall be made promptly, and in any event within 45 days (or, in the case of an advance of expenses, 20 days, provided that the director or officer has delivered the undertaking contemplated by Section 1 of this ARTICLE VII if required), upon the written request of the indemnitee. If the Corporation denies a written request for indemnification or advance of expenses, in whole or in part, or if payment in full pursuant to such request is not made within 45 days (or, in the case of an advance of expenses, 20 days, provided that the indemnitee has delivered the undertaking contemplated by Section 1 of this ARTICLE VII if required), the right to indemnification or advances as granted by this ARTICLE VII shall be enforceable by the indemnitee in any court of competent jurisdiction. Such person’s costs and expenses incurred in connection with successfully establishing his or her right to indemnification, in whole or in part, in any such action shall also be indemnified by the Corporation to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law. It shall be a defense to any such action (other than an action brought to enforce a claim for the advance of expenses where the undertaking required pursuant to Section 1 of this ARTICLE VII, if any, has been tendered to the Corporation) that the claimant has not met the applicable standard of conduct which makes it permissible under the DGCL for the Corporation to indemnify the claimant for the amount claimed, but the burden of proof shall be on the Corporation to the fullest extent permitted by law. Neither the failure of the Corporation (including the Board, a committee thereof, independent legal counsel, or its stockholders) to have made a determination prior to the commencement of such action that indemnification of the claimant is proper in the circumstances because he or she has met the applicable standard of conduct set forth in the DGCL, nor an actual determination by the Corporation (including the Board, independent legal counsel, or its stockholders) that the claimant has not met such applicable standard of conduct, shall be a defense to the action or create a presumption that the claimant has not met the applicable standard of conduct.

 

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

 

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

 

Section 5.               Reliance. Persons who after the date of the adoption of this provision become or remain directors or officers of the Corporation or who, while a director or officer of the Corporation, become or remain a director, manager, officer, employee, or agent of a subsidiary, shall be conclusively presumed to have relied on the rights to indemnity, advance of expenses, and other rights contained in this ARTICLE VII in entering into or continuing such service. To the fullest extent permitted by law, the rights to indemnification and to the advance of expenses conferred in this ARTICLE VII shall apply to claims made against an indemnitee arising out of acts or omissions which occurred or occur both prior and subsequent to the adoption hereof. Any amendment, alteration, or repeal of this ARTICLE VII that adversely affects any right of an indemnitee or its successors shall be prospective only and shall not limit, eliminate, or impair any such right with respect to any proceeding involving any occurrence or alleged occurrence of any action or omission to act that took place prior to such amendment or repeal.

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

Article VIII
AMENDMENTS

 

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

 

* * * * *

 

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Exhibit 4.1 

 

REGISTRATION RIGHTS AGREEMENT

 

THIS REGISTRATION RIGHTS AGREEMENT (this "Agreement") is made as of August 23, 2021 by and among Suja Life Holdings, L.P., a Delaware limited partnership (the "Partnership"), PSP Suja Life Holdings, L.P. and any other PSP Fund or PSP investor that at any time executes a counterpart to the LP Agreement (as defined below) ("PSP") and each of the Persons from time to time listed on the Schedule of Other Investors attached hereto (each such Person listed on the Schedule of Other Investors, an "Other Investor" and, collectively, the "Other Investors"). Unless otherwise provided in this Agreement, capitalized terms used but not otherwise defined herein shall have the meanings set forth in the Amended and Restated Limited Partnership Agreement of the Partnership, dated as of the date hereof (as amended, restated, or modified from time to time in accordance with its terms, the "LP Agreement").

 

WHEREAS, the Partnership and PSP are parties to an Investor Purchase Agreement, dated as of the date hereof (as amended or modified from time to time in accordance with its terms, the "Investor Purchase Agreement"), and in order to induce PSP to enter into the Investor Purchase Agreement, the Partnership has agreed to provide the rights set forth in this Agreement.

 

NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the mutual covenants contained herein and other good and valuable consideration, the receipt and sufficiency of which are hereby acknowledged, the parties to this Agreement hereby agree as follows:

 

1.       Demand Registrations.

 

(a)     Requests for Registration. This Section 1 describes the circumstances under which certain holders of Investor Registrable Securities may request registration under the Securities Act of all or any portion of the Investor Registrable Securities on Form S-1 or any similar long-form registration (a "Long-Form Registration"), or, if available, on Form S-3 (including pursuant to Rule 415 under the Securities Act) or any similar short-form registration (a "Short-Form Registration"), if available, by delivering a written request to the Partnership for the registration of such Investor Registrable Securities. Any registration requested pursuant to this Section 1 is referred to herein as a "Demand Registration." Each request for a Demand Registration shall specify the approximate number of Investor Registrable Securities requested to be registered and the anticipated per share price range for such offering. Within 10 days after receipt of any such request, the Partnership shall give written notice of such requested registration to all other holders of Registrable Securities and, subject to Section 1(e) below, shall include in such registration all Registrable Securities with respect to which the Partnership has received written requests for inclusion therein within seven days after the receipt of the Partnership's notice of such requested registration to such other holders of Registrable Securities. Subject to this Section 1 and Section 3, after delivery of such request for a Demand Registration, the Partnership shall (i) file promptly (and, in any event, within (x) 90 days in the case of a request for a Long-Form Registration or (y) 30 days in the case of a request for a Short-Form Registration, in each case, following delivery of such request for a Demand Registration to the Partnership) with the Securities and Exchange Commission a Registration Statement relating to such Demand Registration (a "Demand Registration Statement") and (ii) use its best efforts to cause such Demand Registration Statement to promptly become effective under the Securities Act.

 

 

 

 

(b)    Long-Form Registrations. Subject to Section 1(i), at any time and from time to time so long as PSP holds any Investor Registrable Securities, PSP shall be entitled to request an unlimited number of Long-Form Registrations (including with respect to an IPO), in which the Partnership shall pay all Registration Expenses, whether or not any such registration is consummated. If PSP initiates a Partnership-Paid Demand Registration, the other holders of Registrable Securities shall be entitled to participation in such registration in accordance with Section 2.

 

(c)     Short-Form Registrations. In addition to the Long-Form Registrations provided pursuant to Section 1(b), subject to Section 1(i) and so long as PSP holds any Investor Registrable Securities, PSP shall be entitled to request an unlimited number of Short-Form Registrations in which the Partnership shall pay all Registration Expenses, whether or not any such registration is consummated. The other holders of Registrable Securities shall be entitled to participation in such registration in accordance with Section 2. Demand Registrations shall be Short-Form Registrations whenever the Partnership is permitted to use any applicable short form registration. After the Partnership has become subject to the reporting requirements of the Securities Exchange Act, the Partnership shall use its best efforts to make Short-Form Registrations on Form S-3 available for the sale of Registrable Securities.

 

(d)     Shelf Registrations.

 

(i)      If the Partnership, pursuant to the request of PSP, is qualified to and has filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission a Shelf Registration Statement, then, subject to the Securities Act and applicable rules and regulations thereunder, the Partnership shall use best efforts to cause the Shelf Registration Statement to be declared effective under the Securities Act as soon as practicable after filing, and, once effective, the Partnership shall cause such Shelf Registration Statement to remain effective for a period ending on the earlier of (A) the date on which all Registrable Securities included in such registration have been sold pursuant to the Shelf Registration Statement or another Registration Statement filed under the Securities Act, and (B) the date as of which the holder(s) of the Registrable Securities included in such Shelf Registration Statement (assuming such holder(s) are Affiliates of the Partnership) are able to sell all of the Registrable Securities included in such registration within a 90-day period in compliance with Rule 144 under the Securities Act.

 

(ii)     For so long as a Shelf Registration Statement is and remains effective, PSP shall have the right at any time or from time to time to elect to sell pursuant to an offering (including an underwritten offering) Registrable Securities available for sale pursuant to such Shelf Registration Statement ("Shelf Registrable Securities"). If PSP desires to sell Shelf Registrable Securities pursuant to an underwritten offering, PSP shall deliver to the Partnership a written notice (a "Shelf Offering Notice") specifying the number of Shelf Registrable Securities that the holders desire to sell pursuant to such underwritten offering (the "Shelf Offering"). As promptly as practicable, but in no event later than two business days after receipt of a Shelf Offering Notice, the Partnership will give written notice of such Shelf Offering Notice to all other holders of Shelf Registrable Securities that have been identified as selling stockholders in such Shelf Registration Statement and are otherwise permitted to sell in such Shelf Offering. The Partnership, subject to Section 1(e) and Section 7, will include in such Shelf Offering all Shelf Registrable Securities with respect to which the Partnership has received written requests for inclusion (which request will specify the maximum number of Shelf Registrable Securities intended to be disposed of by such holder if Registrable Securities) within three business days after the receipt of the Shelf Offering Notice. The Partnership will, as expeditiously as possible (and in any event within 20 days after the receipt of a Shelf Offering Notice), but subject to Section 1(i)1(h), use its best efforts to facilitate such Shelf Offering.

 

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(iii)    If PSP wishes to engage in an underwritten block trade or bought deal off of a Shelf Registration Statement (either through filing an automatic Shelf Registration Statement or through a take-down from an already existing Shelf Registration Statement) (each, an "Underwritten Block Trade"), then notwithstanding the time periods set forth in Section 1(d)(ii), PSP will notify the Partnership of the Underwritten Block Trade not less than three (3) business days prior to the day such offering is first anticipated to commence. The Partnership will promptly (and in any event within one business day) notify the Other Investors who hold Registrable Securities of such Underwritten Block Trade and such notified Other Investors (each, a "Potential Participant") may elect to participate no later than the next business day (i.e., one business day prior to the day such offering is to commence) (unless a longer period is agreed to by PSP), and the Partnership will as expeditiously as possible use its best efforts to facilitate such Underwritten Block Trade (which may close as early as two business days after the date it commences); provided that PSP shall use commercially reasonable efforts to work with the Partnership and counsel to the underwriters prior to making such request in order to facilitate preparation of the registration statement, prospectus and other offering documentation related to the Underwritten Block Trade; provided further that, notwithstanding the provisions of Section 1(d)(i) and any other provision of this Agreement, no holder of Registrable Securities (other than holders of Investor Registrable Securities) will be permitted to participate in an Underwritten Block Trade without the consent of PSP. Any Potential Participant's request to participate in an Underwritten Block Trade shall be binding on the Potential Participant.

 

(iv)    All determinations as to whether to complete any Shelf Offering and as to the timing, manner, price and other terms of any Shelf Offering contemplated by this Section 1(d) shall be determined by PSP, and the Partnership shall use its best efforts to cause any Shelf Offering to occur as promptly as practicable.

 

(v)    The Partnership will, at the request of PSP, file any prospectus supplement or any post-effective amendments and otherwise take any action necessary to include therein all disclosure and language deemed necessary or advisable by PSP to effect such Shelf Offering.

 

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(e)     Priority on Demand Registrations. The Partnership shall not include in any Demand Registration any securities which are not Registrable Securities without the prior written consent of the holders of a majority of the Investor Registrable Securities (which must include PSP) included in such registration. If a Demand Registration is an underwritten offering and the managing underwriter(s) advises the Partnership in writing that, in its opinion, the number of Registrable Securities and, if permitted hereunder, other securities requested to be included in such offering exceeds the number of Registrable Securities and other securities, if any, which can be sold in an orderly manner in such offering within a price range acceptable to the holders of a majority of the Investor Registrable Securities (which must include PSP) to be included in such registration without adversely affecting the marketability of the offering, the Partnership shall include securities in such registration in the following order of priority: (i) first, the number of Investor Registrable Securities requested to be included which in the opinion of such managing underwriter(s) can be sold in an orderly manner within the price range of such offering, pro rata among the respective holders thereof on the basis of the number of Investor Registrable Securities owned by each such holder; (ii) second, Individual Unitholder Registrable Securities and other securities with respect to which the Partnership has granted registration rights in accordance with Section 1(g) hereof requested to be included in such registration, pro rata among the respective holders thereof on the basis of the amount of such securities owned by each such holder; provided, that the Individual Unitholder Registrable Securities to be included pursuant to this clause (ii) shall not be entitled to participate in any such registration to the extent that the managing underwriter(s) shall determine in good faith, that the participation of the Individual Unitholders would materially and adversely affect the marketability or offering price of the securities being sold in such registration, it being understood that the Partnership shall include in such registration that number of shares of Individual Unitholder Registrable Securities covered in this clause (ii) which can be sold in such offering without materially and adversely affecting the marketability or offering price of the other securities to be sold in such registration; and (iii) third, if and only if all of the Registrable Securities referred to in clauses (i) and (ii) have been included, the number of any other securities (excluding, for the avoidance of doubt, any primary securities to be registered by the Partnership) eligible for inclusion that, in the opinion of the managing underwriter(s), can be sold without having such adverse effect in such registration or offering. Except as otherwise approved by the Board and the holders of a majority of the Registrable Securities included in such registration, any Persons other than holders of Registrable Securities who participate in Demand Registrations which are not at the Partnership's expense must pay their share of the Registration Expenses as provided in Section 5 hereof.

 

(f)     Selection of Underwriters. The PSP Required Interest shall have the right to select the investment banker(s), manager(s) and legal counsel to administer any underwritten offering under this Section 1, including any Shelf Offering.

 

(g)     Other Registration Rights. Except as provided in this Agreement, the Partnership shall not grant any Person the right to request the Partnership to register any equity securities of the Partnership, or any securities convertible or exchangeable into or exercisable for such securities, without the prior written consent of the holders of a majority of the Investor Registrable Securities (which must include PSP).

 

(h)    Obligations of Holders of Registrable Securities. Subject to the Partnership's obligations under Section 4(e), each holder of Registrable Securities shall cease using any Prospectus after receipt of written notice from the Partnership indicating that such Prospectus contains an untrue statement of a material fact or omits any fact necessary to make the statements therein not misleading in light of the circumstances under which they were made or is otherwise not legally available to support sales of Registrable Securities.

 

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(i)      Delay in Filing; Suspension of Registration. If the filing, initial effectiveness or continued use of a Demand Registration Statement or Shelf Registration Statement at any time would, in the Board's good faith judgment after consultation with outside counsel, require the Partnership to make an Adverse Disclosure or otherwise materially interfere with a significant acquisition or other similar transaction involving the Partnership, the Partnership may, upon giving prompt written notice to the holders of Registrable Securities, delay the filing or initial effectiveness of, or suspend use of, such Demand Registration Statement or Shelf Registration Statement (a "Suspension"); provided, that the Partnership shall not be permitted to exercise a Suspension (x) that exceeds 90 days on any one occasion or (y) for more than 120 days in the aggregate in any 12-month period. In the case of a Suspension, the holders of Registrable Securities agree to suspend use of the applicable Prospectus and any Issuer Free Writing Prospectuses in connection with any sale or purchase of, or offer to sell or purchase, Registrable Securities, upon receipt of the notice referred to above. The Partnership shall immediately notify the holders of Registrable Securities upon the termination of any Suspension, amend or supplement the Prospectus or any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, if necessary, so it does not contain any untrue statement or omission and furnish to the holders of Registrable Securities such numbers of copies of the Prospectus as so amended or supplemented or any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus as the holders of Registrable Securities may reasonably request. The Partnership shall, if necessary, supplement or make amendments to the Demand Registration Statement or Shelf Registration Statement, if required by the registration form used by the Partnership for the Demand Registration or Shelf Registration, as applicable, or by the instructions applicable to such registration form or by the Securities Act or the rules or regulations promulgated thereunder or as may reasonably be requested by the holders of a majority of the Investor Registrable Securities (which must include PSP).

 

2.       Piggyback Registrations.

 

(a)     Right to Piggyback. If the Partnership, at any time after its IPO, proposes to file a Registration Statement with respect to any offering of its securities for its own account or for the account of any securityholder who holds its securities other than (i) a registration on Form S-4 or S-8 or any successor form to such forms, (ii) a registration of securities solely relating to an offering and sale to employees, directors officers, members, managers, advisors or consultants of the Partnership pursuant to any employee stock plan or other employee benefit plan arrangement or (iii) a registration of non-convertible debt securities (a "Piggyback Registration") and the registration form to be used may be used for the registration of Registrable Securities then, as expeditiously as possible (but in no event less than 10 days following the date of filing such Registration Statement), the Partnership shall give written notice (the "Registration Notice") of such proposed filing to all holders of Registrable Securities, and such notice shall offer the holders of such Registrable Securities the opportunity to register such number of Registrable Securities as each such holder may request in writing. Subject to Sections 2(c) and 2(d), the Partnership shall include in such Registration Statement all such Registrable Securities which are requested to be included therein within seven days after the Registration Notice is given to such holders.

 

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(b)     Piggyback Expenses. The Registration Expenses of the holders of Registrable Securities shall be paid by the Partnership in all Piggyback Registrations.

 

(c)     Priority on Primary Registrations. If a Piggyback Registration is an underwritten primary registration on behalf of the Partnership, and the managing underwriter(s) advises the Partnership in writing that in its opinion the number of securities requested to be included in such registration exceeds the number of securities which can be sold in an orderly manner in such offering within a price range acceptable to the Board, the Partnership, after including all of the primary securities the Partnership desires to include, shall include securities in such registration in the following order of priority: (i) first, the securities the Partnership proposes to sell which in the opinion of such underwriters can be sold in an orderly manner within the price range of such offering, (ii) second, the number of Investor Registrable Securities requested to be included which in the opinion of such underwriters can be sold in an orderly manner within the price range of such offering, pro rata among the respective holders thereof on the basis of the number of Investor Registrable Securities owned by each such holder; (iii) third, Individual Unitholder Registrable Securities and other securities with respect to which the Partnership has granted registration rights in accordance with Section 1(g) hereof requested to be included in such registration, pro rata among the respective holders thereof on the basis of the amount of such securities owned by each such holder; provided, that the Individual Unitholder Registrable Securities to be included pursuant to this clause (iii) shall not be entitled to participate in any such registration to the extent that the managing underwriter(s) shall determine in good faith, that the participation of the Individual Unitholders would materially and adversely affect the marketability or offering price of the securities being sold in such registration, it being understood that the Partnership shall include in such registration that number of shares of Individual Unitholder Registrable Securities covered in this clause (ii) which can be sold in such offering without materially and adversely affecting the marketability or offering price of the other securities to be sold in such registration; and (iv) fourth, if and only if all of the Registrable Securities referred to in clauses (i), (ii) and (iii) have been included, the number of any other securities (excluding, for the avoidance of doubt, any primary securities to be registered to the Partnership) eligible for inclusion that, in the opinion of the managing underwriter(s), can be sold without having such adverse effect in such registration or offering.

 

(d)     Priority on Secondary Registrations. If a Piggyback Registration is an underwritten secondary registration on behalf of holders of the Partnership's securities, and the managing underwriter(s) advises the Partnership in writing that in its opinion the number of securities requested to be included in such registration exceeds the number which can be sold in an orderly manner in such offering within a price range acceptable to the holders of a majority of the Registrable Securities to be included in such registration, the Partnership shall include securities in such registration in the following order of priority: (i) first, the securities requested to be included therein by the holders requesting such registration and the Investor Registrable Securities requested to be included in such registration, pro rata among the holders of such securities and such Investor Registrable Securities on the basis of the number of shares owned by each such holder; (ii) second, Individual Unitholder Registrable Securities and other securities with respect to which the Partnership has granted registration rights in accordance with Section 1(g) hereof requested to be included in such registration, pro rata among the respective holders thereof on the basis of the amount of such securities owned by each such holder; provided, that the Individual Unitholder Registrable Securities to be included pursuant to this clause (ii) shall not be entitled to participate in any such registration to the extent that the managing underwriter(s) shall determine in good faith, that the participation of the Individual Unitholders would materially and adversely affect the marketability or offering price of the securities being sold in such registration, it being understood that the Partnership shall include in such registration that number of shares of Individual Unitholder Registrable Securities covered in this clause (ii) which can be sold in such offering without materially and adversely affecting the marketability or offering price of the other securities to be sold in such registration; and (iii) third, if and only if all of the Registrable Securities referred to in clauses (i) and (ii) have been included, the number of any other securities (excluding, for the avoidance of doubt, any primary securities to be registered to the Partnership) eligible for inclusion that, in the opinion of the managing underwriter(s), can be sold without having such adverse effect in such registration or offering.

 

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(e)    Selection of Underwriters. If any Piggyback Registration is an underwritten offering, the selection of investment banker(s) and manager(s) for the offering must be approved by PSP.

 

(f)      Other Registrations. If the Partnership has previously filed a Registration Statement with respect to Registrable Securities pursuant to Section 1 or pursuant to this Section 2, and if such previous registration has not been withdrawn or abandoned or all shares offered thereunder have been sold, the Partnership shall not file or cause to be effected any other registration of any of its equity securities or securities convertible or exchangeable into or exercisable for its equity securities under the Securities Act (except on Form S-8 or any successor form), whether on its own behalf or at the request of any holder or holders of such securities, until a period of at least 180 days has elapsed from the effective date of such previous registration, except as PSP may otherwise agree.

 

3.       Holdback Agreements; Transfers; Legends.

 

(a)     Each holder of Registrable Securities agrees that in connection with the IPO and any Demand Registration or Piggyback Registration that is an underwritten public offering of the Partnership's equity securities and in which Registrable Securities are included, such holder shall not (i) offer, sell, contract to sell, pledge or otherwise dispose of (including sales pursuant to Rule 144 under the Securities Act), directly or indirectly, any equity securities of the Partnership (including equity securities of the Partnership that may be deemed to be owned beneficially by such holder in accordance with the rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission) (collectively, "Securities"), or any securities, options, or rights convertible into or exchangeable or exercisable for Securities (collectively, "Other Securities") (other than a Transfer (x) by an Investor to one or more of its Affiliates and/or Permitted Transferees or (y) pursuant to a conversion in accordance with Section 12.1 of the LP Agreement), (ii) enter into a transaction which would have the same effect as any action described in clause (i) of this Section 3(a), (iii) enter into any swap, hedge or other arrangement that Transfers, in whole or in part, any of the economic consequences or ownership of any Securities or Other Securities, whether such transaction is to be settled by delivery of such Securities, Other Securities, in cash or otherwise, or (iv) publicly disclose the intention to enter into any transaction described in clauses (i), (ii) or (iii) of this Section 3(a), from the date on which the Partnership gives notice to the holders of Registrable Securities that a preliminary Prospectus has been circulated for such underwritten public offering to the date that is 180 days following the date of the final Prospectus for such underwritten public offering in the case of the IPO or 90 days following the date of the final Prospectus for such underwritten public offering following the IPO (or, in each case, such shorter period as agreed to by the managing underwriter(s)), unless the managing underwriter(s) otherwise agrees in writing, in which case such agreement will apply to the holders of Investor Registrable Securities on a pro rata basis. The Partnership may impose stop transfer instructions with respect to its securities that are subject to the foregoing restriction until the end of such period.

 

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(b)     The Partnership (i) shall not effect any public sale or distribution of its equity securities, or any securities, options or rights convertible into or exchangeable or exercisable for such equity securities, during the seven days prior to and during the 180-day period beginning on the effective date of any underwritten Demand Registration or any underwritten Piggyback Registration (except as part of such underwritten registration or pursuant to registrations on Form S-4 or Form S-8 or any successor form) unless the managing underwriter(s) otherwise agrees and, (ii) to the extent not inconsistent with applicable law, except as otherwise consented to by PSP, shall cause each holder of its equity securities or any securities convertible into or exchangeable or exercisable for equity securities purchased from the Partnership at any time after the date of this Agreement (other than in a registered public offering) to agree not to effect any public sale or distribution (including sales pursuant to Rule 144 under the Securities Act) of any such securities during such period (except as part of such underwritten registration, if otherwise permitted), unless the managing underwriter(s) otherwise agrees and such agreement permits all holders of Investor Registrable Securities to sell a pro rata amount of securities.

 

(c)    Lockup Agreements. In connection with any underwritten public offering of the Partnership's equity securities, each holder of Registrable Securities agrees to enter into any holdback, lockup or similar agreement requested by the managing underwriter(s) in a similar form as that which PSP enters into.

 

(d)     Permitted Transfer. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary herein, except in the case of (i) a Transfer to the Partnership, (ii) a Transfer by PSP or an Other Investor to its direct or indirect equityholders in connection with a pro rata in-kind distribution thereto, (iii) a public sale permitted hereunder, (iv) a sale to the public pursuant to an offering registered under the Securities Act or a sale to the public through a broker, dealer or market maker in compliance with Rule 144 under the Securities Act (or any similar rule then in force), (v) a Transfer pursuant to Section 8.1(c) of the LP Agreement, or (vi) a Transfer in connection with an Approved Sale (each of clauses (i) through (vi), a "Permitted Transfer"), no holder shall Transfer any Registrable Securities. Prior to Transferring any Registrable Securities to any Person in connection with a Permitted Transfer (including by operation of law), the holder making such Transfer shall cause the prospective transferee to execute and deliver to the Partnership a counterpart of this Agreement thereby agreeing to be bound by the terms hereof. Any Transfer or attempted Transfer of any Registrable Securities in violation of any provision of this Agreement shall be void, and the Partnership shall not record such Transfer on its books or treat any purported transferee of such securities as the owner of such securities for any purpose. Whether or not any such transferee has executed a counterpart hereto, such transferee shall be subject to the obligations of the transferor hereunder. The provisions of this Section 3(d) shall terminate upon a Sale of the Partnership.

 

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(e)     Legend. Each certificate evidencing any Registrable Securities and each certificate issued in exchange for or upon the Transfer of any such Registrable Securities (unless such securities are permitted to be Transferred pursuant to this Agreement and would no longer be Registrable Securities after such Transfer) shall be stamped or otherwise imprinted with a legend in substantially the following form:

 

"THE SECURITIES REPRESENTED BY THIS CERTIFICATE ARE SUBJECT TO RESTRICTIONS ON TRANSFER AND OTHER PROVISIONS SET FORTH IN A REGISTRATION RIGHTS AGREEMENT DATED AS OF AUGUST 23, 2021 AMONG THE ISSUER OF SUCH SECURITIES (THE "ISSUER") AND CERTAIN OF THE ISSUER'S SECURITYHOLDERS, AS AMENDED. A COPY OF SUCH REGISTRATION RIGHTS AGREEMENT WILL BE FURNISHED WITHOUT CHARGE BY THE ISSUER TO THE HOLDER HEREOF UPON WRITTEN REQUEST."

 

4.       Registration Procedures. Whenever the holders of Registrable Securities have requested that any Registrable Securities be registered pursuant to this Agreement, the Partnership shall use its best efforts to effect the registration and the sale of such Registrable Securities in accordance with the intended method of disposition thereof, and pursuant thereto the Partnership shall as expeditiously as possible:

 

(a)      prepare and file (or submit confidentially to) with the Securities and Exchange Commission a Registration Statement with respect to such Registrable Securities and use its best efforts to cause such Registration Statement to become effective (provided that at a reasonable time before filing a Registration Statement or Prospectus or any amendments or supplements thereto, the Partnership shall furnish to the counsel selected by the holders of a majority of the Registrable Securities covered by such Registration Statement copies of all such documents proposed to be filed, which documents shall be subject to the review and comment of such counsel);

 

(b)      notify in writing each holder of Registrable Securities of the effectiveness of each Registration Statement filed hereunder and prepare and file with the Securities and Exchange Commission such amendments and supplements to such Registration Statement and the Prospectus used in connection therewith as may be necessary to keep such Registration Statement effective for a period of not less than 180 days and comply with the provisions of the Securities Act with respect to the disposition of all securities covered by such Registration Statement during such period in accordance with the intended methods of disposition by the sellers thereof set forth in such Registration Statement;

 

(c)      furnish to each seller of Registrable Securities such number of copies of such Registration Statement, each amendment and supplement thereto, the Prospectus included in such Registration Statement (including each preliminary Prospectus) and such other documents as such seller may reasonably request in order to facilitate the disposition of the Registrable Securities owned by such seller;

 

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(d)      use its best efforts to register or qualify such Registrable Securities under such other securities or blue sky laws of such jurisdictions as any seller reasonably requests and do any and all other acts and things which may be reasonably necessary or advisable to enable such seller to consummate the disposition in such jurisdictions of the Registrable Securities owned by such seller (provided that the Partnership shall not be required to (i) qualify generally to do business in any jurisdiction where it would not otherwise be required to qualify but for this subparagraph, (ii) subject itself to taxation in any such jurisdiction or (iii) consent to general service of process in any such jurisdiction);

 

(e)      promptly notify each seller of such Registrable Securities, at any time when a Prospectus relating thereto is required to be delivered under the Securities Act, of the happening of any event as a result of which the Prospectus included in such Registration Statement contains an untrue statement of a material fact or omits any fact necessary to make the statements therein not misleading, and, at the request of any such seller, the Partnership shall prepare a supplement or amendment to such Prospectus so that, as thereafter delivered to the purchasers of such Registrable Securities, such Prospectus shall not contain an untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state any fact necessary to make the statements therein not misleading;

 

(f)      cause all such Registrable Securities to be listed on each securities exchange on which similar securities issued by the Partnership are then listed;

 

(g)     cooperate with each holder of Registrable Securities and each underwriter or agent participating in the disposition of Registrable Securities and their respective counsel in connection with any filings required to be made by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority;

 

(h)     provide a transfer agent and registrar for all such Registrable Securities not later than the effective date of such Registration Statement;

 

(i)     enter into and perform such customary agreements (including underwriting agreements in customary form) and take all such other actions as the holders of a majority of the Registrable Securities being sold or the underwriters, if any, reasonably request in order to expedite or facilitate the disposition of such Registrable Securities (including effecting a stock split or a combination of shares);

 

(j)      make available for inspection by any seller of Registrable Securities, any underwriter participating in any disposition pursuant to such Registration Statement and any attorney, accountant or other agent retained by any such seller or underwriter, all financial and other records, pertinent corporate documents and properties of the Partnership, and cause the Partnership's officers, directors, employees and independent accountants to supply all information reasonably requested by any such seller, underwriter, attorney, accountant or agent in connection with such Registration Statement;

 

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(k)      otherwise use its best efforts to comply with all applicable rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission, and make available to its security holders, as soon as reasonably practicable, an earnings statement covering the period of at least 12 months beginning with the first day of the Partnership's first full calendar quarter after the effective date of the Registration Statement, which earnings statement shall satisfy the provisions of Section 11(a) of the Securities Act and Rule 158 thereunder;

 

(l)      permit any holder of Registrable Securities which holder, in such holder's sole and exclusive judgment, might be deemed to be an underwriter or a controlling Person of the Partnership, to participate in the preparation of such registration or comparable statement and to require the insertion therein of material, furnished to the Partnership in writing, which in the reasonable judgment of such holder and its counsel should be included;

 

(m)     in the event of the issuance of any stop order suspending the effectiveness of a Registration Statement, or of any order suspending or preventing the use of any related Prospectus or suspending the qualification of any common stock included in such Registration Statement for sale in any jurisdiction, the Partnership shall use its best efforts promptly to obtain the withdrawal of such order;

 

(n)     take all reasonable actions to ensure that any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus utilized in connection with any Demand Registration or Piggyback Registration hereunder complies in all material respects with the Securities Act, is filed in accordance with the Securities Act to the extent required thereby, is retained in accordance with the Securities Act to the extent required thereby and, when taken together with the related Prospectus, will not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary to make the statements therein, in light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading;

 

(o)     use its best efforts to cause such Registrable Securities covered by such Registration Statement to be registered with or approved by such other governmental agencies or authorities as may be necessary to enable the sellers thereof to consummate the disposition of such Registrable Securities;

 

(p)     obtain a cold comfort letter from the Partnership's independent public accountants in customary form and covering such matters of the type customarily covered by cold comfort letters as the holders of a majority of the Registrable Securities being sold reasonably request (provided that such Registrable Securities constitute at least 10% of the securities covered by such Registration Statement); and

 

(q)    provide a legal opinion of the Partnership's outside counsel, dated the effective date of such Registration Statement (or, if such registration includes an underwritten public offering, dated the date of the closing under the underwriting agreement and addressed to the underwriters), with respect to the Registration Statement, each amendment and supplement thereto, the Prospectus included therein (including the preliminary Prospectus) and such other documents relating thereto in customary form and covering such matters of the type customarily covered by legal opinions of such nature.

 

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5.       Registration Expenses.

 

(a)     All expenses incident to the Partnership's performance of or compliance with this Agreement, including without limitation all registration and filing fees, fees and expenses of compliance with securities or blue sky laws, printing expenses, messenger and delivery expenses, fees and disbursements of custodians, fees and disbursements of counsel for the Partnership and all independent certified public accountants, underwriters (excluding discounts and commissions) and other Persons retained by the Partnership, and all expenses relating to marketing the sale of the Registrable Securities, including expenses related to conducting a "road show" (all such expenses being herein referred to as, "Registration Expenses"), shall be borne as provided in this Agreement, except that the Partnership shall, in any event, pay its internal expenses (including, without limitation, all salaries and expenses of its officers and employees performing legal or accounting duties), the expense of any annual audit or quarterly review, the expense of any liability insurance and the expenses and fees for listing the securities to be registered on each securities exchange on which similar securities issued by the Partnership are then listed or on the NASD automated quotation system.

 

(b)    In connection with each Demand Registration and each Piggyback Registration, the Partnership shall reimburse the holders of Registrable Securities included in such registration for the reasonable fees and disbursements of one counsel chosen by the holders of a majority of the Registrable Securities (such counsel to be approved by PSP) included in such registration and for the reasonable fees and disbursements of each additional counsel retained by any holder of Registrable Securities for the purpose of rendering a legal opinion on behalf of such holder in connection with any underwritten Demand Registration or Piggyback Registration.

 

(c)     To the extent Registration Expenses are not required to be paid by the Partnership, each holder of securities included in any registration hereunder shall pay those Registration Expenses allocable to the registration of such holder's securities so included, and any Registration Expenses not so allocable shall be borne by all sellers of securities included in such registration in proportion to the aggregate selling price of the securities to be so registered.

 

6.       Indemnification.

 

(a)     The Partnership agrees to indemnify and hold harmless, to the maximum extent permitted by law, each holder of Registrable Securities, such holder's officers, directors, managers and members and each Person who controls such holder (within the meaning of the Securities Act) (each, a "Holder Indemnified Person") against all losses, claims, damages, liabilities, costs (including, without limitation, reasonable costs of preparation and reasonable attorneys' fees) and expenses, judgments, taxes, fines, penalties, diminution in value, interest, settlements or other amounts of any kind or nature whatsoever (including all amounts paid in investigation, defense or settlement of the foregoing and consequential damages) arising from any and all claims, demands, actions, suits or proceedings, whether civil, criminal, administrative or investigative, in which any Holder Indemnified Person may be involved, or is threatened to be involved, as a party or otherwise, under the Securities Act or otherwise (collectively, "Losses") caused by any untrue or alleged untrue statement of material fact contained in any Registration Statement under which such Registrable Securities were registered under the Securities Act (including any final, preliminary or summary Prospectus contained therein or any amendment or supplement thereto or any documents incorporated by reference therein, any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus or amendment or supplement thereto, or any other disclosure document produced by or on behalf of the Partnership or any of its Subsidiaries including reports and other documents filed under the Securities Exchange Act), or any omission or alleged omission of a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading, except insofar as the same are caused by or contained in any information furnished in writing to the Partnership by such holder expressly for use therein or by such holder's failure to deliver a copy of the Registration Statement or Prospectus or any amendments or supplements thereto after the Partnership has furnished such holder with a sufficient number of copies of the same. In connection with an underwritten offering, the Partnership shall indemnify such underwriters, their officers and directors and each Person who controls such underwriters (within the meaning of the Securities Act) to the same extent as provided above with respect to the indemnification of the holders of Registrable Securities.

 

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(b)     In connection with any Registration Statement in which a holder of Registrable Securities is participating, each such holder shall furnish to the Partnership in writing such information as the Partnership reasonably requests for use in connection with any such Registration Statement or Prospectus and, to the extent permitted by law, shall indemnify the Partnership, its directors and officers and each Person who controls the Partnership (within the meaning of the Securities Act) against any Losses resulting from any untrue or alleged untrue statement of material fact contained in any Registration Statement under which such Registrable Securities were registered under the Securities Act (including any final, preliminary of summary Prospectus contained therein or any amendment or supplement thereto or any documents incorporated by reference therein, any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus or amendment or supplement thereto, or any other disclosure document produced by or on behalf of the Partnership or any of its Subsidiaries including reports and other documents filed under the Securities Exchange Act), or any omission or alleged omission of a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading, but only to the extent that such untrue statement or omission is contained in any information or affidavit so furnished in writing by such holder; provided that the obligation to indemnify shall be individual, not joint and several, for each holder and shall be limited to the net amount of proceeds received by such holder from the sale of Registrable Securities pursuant to such Registration Statement. The Partnership and each holder of Registrable Securities in their capacities as such acknowledge and agree that, unless otherwise expressly agreed in writing by such holder of Registrable Securities, the only information to be furnished to the Partnership for use in any Registration Statement or Prospectus relating to the Registrable Securities or in any amendment, supplement or preliminary materials associated therewith shall be statements specifically relating to (i) transactions between such holder and its affiliates, on the one hand, and the Partnership, on the other hand, (ii) the beneficial ownership of equity securities held by such holder and its Affiliates and (iii) the name and address of such holder.

 

(c)     Any Person entitled to indemnification hereunder shall (i) give prompt written notice to the indemnifying party of any claim with respect to which such Person seeks indemnification (provided that the failure to give prompt notice shall not impair any Person's right to indemnification hereunder to the extent such failure has not actually and materially prejudiced the indemnifying party) and (ii) unless in such indemnified party's reasonable judgment a conflict of interest between such indemnified and indemnifying parties may exist with respect to such claim, permit such indemnifying party to assume the defense of such claim with counsel reasonably satisfactory to the indemnified party. If such defense is assumed by the indemnifying party, the indemnifying party shall not be subject to any liability for any settlement made by the indemnified party without its consent (but such consent shall not be unreasonably withheld). An indemnifying party who is not entitled to, or elects not to, assume the defense of a claim shall not be obligated to pay the fees and expenses of more than one counsel for all parties indemnified by such indemnifying party with respect to such claim, unless in the reasonable judgment of any indemnified party a conflict of interest may exist between such indemnified party and any other of such indemnified parties with respect to such claim.

 

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(d)     The indemnification provided for under this Agreement shall remain in full force and effect regardless of any investigation made by or on behalf of the indemnified party or any officer, director or controlling Person of such indemnified party and shall survive the Transfer of securities. The Partnership also agrees to make such provisions, as are reasonably requested by any indemnified party, for contribution to such party in the event the Partnership's indemnification is unavailable for any reason. Such provisions shall provide that the liability amongst the various Persons shall be allocated in such proportion as is appropriate to reflect the relative fault of such Persons in connection with the statements or omissions which resulted in Losses (the relative fault being determined by reference to, among other things, which Person supplied the information giving rise to the untrue statement or omission and each Person's relative intent, knowledge, access to information and opportunity to correct or prevent such untrue statement or omission) and, only if such allocation is not respected at law, would other equitable considerations, such as the relative benefit received by each Person from the sale of the securities, be taken into consideration. Notwithstanding the foregoing, (i) no holder of Registrable Securities shall be required to contribute any amount in excess of the proceeds received by such holder in the transaction at issue and (ii) no Person guilty of fraudulent misrepresentation (within the meaning of Section 11(f) of the Securities Act) shall be entitled to contribution from any Person who was not guilty of such fraudulent misrepresentation.

 

7.       Participation in Underwritten Registrations. No Person may participate in any underwritten registration hereunder unless such Person (a) agrees to sell such Person's securities on the basis provided in any underwriting arrangements approved by the Person or Persons entitled hereunder to approve such arrangements and (b) completes and executes all questionnaires, powers of attorney, indemnities, underwriting agreements and other documents required under the terms of such underwriting arrangements; provided that no holder of Registrable Securities included in any underwritten registration shall be required to make any representations or warranties to the Partnership or the underwriters (other than representations and warranties regarding such holder and such holder's intended method of distribution) or to undertake any indemnification obligations to the Partnership or the underwriters with respect thereto, except as otherwise provided in Section 6 hereof.

 

8.       Subsidiary Public Offering. If, after an IPO in which the Registering Entity is a Subsidiary of the Partnership, the Partnership distributes securities of such Subsidiary to unitholders of the Partnership, then the rights and obligations of the Partnership pursuant to this Agreement shall apply, mutatis mutandis, to such Subsidiary, and the Partnership shall cause such Subsidiary to comply with such Subsidiary's obligations under this Agreement.

 

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9.       Definitions.

 

"Adverse Disclosure" means public disclosure of material, non-public information that (a) would be required to be made in any Registration Statement filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission by the Partnership so that such Registration Statement would not be materially misleading and would not be required to be made at such time but for the filing of such Registration Statement, and (b) the Partnership has a bona fide business purpose for not disclosing such information publicly.

 

"Board" means the board of managers of the Partnership.

 

"Common Stock" means (a) following the organization of a corporation and reorganization or recapitalization of the Partnership into such corporation as provided in Section 12.1 of the LP Agreement, the common equity securities of such corporation and any other class or series of authorized capital stock of such corporation that is not limited to a fixed sum or percentage of par or stated value in respect of the rights of the holders thereof to participate in dividends or in the distribution of assets upon any liquidation, dissolution or winding up of such corporation, and (b) any common stock of a Subsidiary of either the Partnership or a corporation referenced in clause (a) distributed by the Partnership or such corporation to its unitholders or shareholders, as applicable.

 

"Individual Unitholder Registrable Securities" means (a) any shares of Common Stock or Units of the Partnership acquired hereafter from the Partnership by officers, directors or employees of or consultants or other service providers to the Partnership and its Subsidiaries or any other Person who is or becomes a party to this Agreement (other than PSP or an Other Investor), and (b) any other common equity securities issued or issuable with respect to the securities referred to in clause (a) by way of a stock dividend or stock split or in connection with an exchange or combination of shares, recapitalization, merger, consolidation or other reorganization.

 

"Investor Registrable Securities" means, (a) any Common Stock issued or distributed in respect of Units of the Partnership issued to PSP or the Other Investors pursuant to the Investor Purchase Agreement and any other shares of Common Stock or Units of the Partnership acquired by PSP or the Other Investors after the date of this Agreement, and (b) common equity securities of the Partnership or a Subsidiary of the Partnership issued or issuable with respect to the securities referred to in clause (a) of this definition by way of dividend, distribution, split or combination of securities, or any recapitalization, merger, consolidation or other reorganization.

 

"IPO" means the first underwritten public offering and sale of Common Stock for each pursuant to an effective Registration Statement (other than on Form S-4, S-8 or a comparable form) under the Securities Act.

 

"Issuer Free Writing Prospectus" means an issuer free writing prospectus, as defined in Rule 433 under the Securities Act, relating to an offer of Registrable Securities.

 

"Prospectus" means the prospectus included in any Registration Statement, all amendments and supplements to such prospectus, including pre- and post-effective amendments to such Registration Statement, and all other material incorporated by reference in such prospectus.

 

- 15 - 

 

 

"Registering Entity" means the Partnership or, if the entity registering in connection with the IPO is a Subsidiary or a successor by merger, acquisition, reorganization, conversion or otherwise, of the Partnership, such other entity.

 

"Registrable Securities" means Investor Registrable Securities and Individual Unitholder Registrable Securities. As to any particular Registrable Securities, such securities shall cease to be Investor Registrable Securities or Individual Unitholder Registrable Securities when they have been (a) distributed to the public pursuant to an offering registered under the Securities Act or sold to the public through a broker, dealer or market maker in compliance with Rule 144 under the Securities Act (or any similar rule then in force), (b) repurchased by the Partnership or members or (c) distributed to the partners of PSP or any Other Investor, unless PSP or such Other Investor determine otherwise. For purposes of this Agreement, a Person shall be deemed to be a holder of Registrable Securities whenever such Person has the right to acquire such Registrable Securities (upon conversion or exercise in connection with a Transfer of securities or otherwise, but disregarding any restrictions or limitations upon the exercise of such right), whether or not such acquisition has actually been effected.

 

"Registration Statement" means any registration statement of the Partnership that covers Registrable Securities pursuant to the provisions of this Agreement filed with, or to be filed with, the Securities and Exchange Commission under the rules and regulations promulgated under the Securities Act, including the related Prospectus, amendments and supplements to such registration statement, including pre- and post-effective amendments, and all exhibits and all material incorporated by reference in such registration statement; provided, however, that the term "Registration Statement" without reference to a time includes such Registration Statement as amended by any post-effective amendments as of the time of first contract of sale for the Registrable Securities.

 

"Securities Act" means the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and applicable rules and regulations thereunder, and any successor to such statute, rules, or regulations. Any reference herein to a specific section, rule, or regulation of the Securities Act shall be deemed to include any corresponding provisions of future law.

 

"Securities Exchange Act" means the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and applicable rules and regulations thereunder, and any successor to such statute, rules, or regulations. Any reference herein to a specific section, rule, or regulation of the Securities Exchange Act shall be deemed to include any corresponding provisions of future law.

 

"Shelf Registration Statement" means a Registration Statement of the Partnership filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on either (a) Form S-3 (or any successor form or other appropriate form under the Securities Act), or (b) if the Partnership is not permitted to file a Registration Statement on Form S-3, an evergreen Registration Statement on Form S-1 (or any successor form or other appropriate form under the Securities Act), in each case for an offering to be made on a continuous basis pursuant to Rule 415 (or any successor provision) under the Securities Act covering all Investor Registrable Securities (a "Shelf Registration"). To the extent that the Partnership is a "well-known seasoned issuer" (as such term is defined in Rule 405 (or any successor or similar rule) of the Securities Act), a "Shelf Registration Statement" shall be deemed to refer to an "automatic shelf registration statement", as such term is defined in Rule 405 (or any successor or similar rule) of the Securities Act.

 

- 16 - 

 

 

10.     Miscellaneous.

 

(a)     No Inconsistent Agreements. The Partnership shall not hereafter enter into (i) any agreement with respect to its securities which is inconsistent with or violates the rights granted to PSP in this Agreement or (ii) any agreement which grants registration or other rights similar to those granted herein, without the written consent of PSP.

 

(b)     Adjustments Affecting Registrable Securities. Without the prior written consent of PSP, the Partnership shall not take any action, or permit any change to occur, with respect to its securities which would adversely affect the ability of PSP or the Other Investors to include the Investor Registrable Securities in a registration undertaken pursuant to this Agreement or which would adversely affect the marketability of such Investor Registrable Securities in any such registration (including, without limitation, effecting a stock split or a combination of shares).

 

(c)     Remedies. Any Person having rights under any provision of this Agreement shall be entitled to enforce such rights specifically to recover damages caused by reason of any breach of any provision of this Agreement and to exercise all other rights granted by law. The parties hereto agree and acknowledge that money damages may not be an adequate remedy for any breach of the provisions of this Agreement and that any party may in its sole discretion apply to any court of law or equity of competent jurisdiction (without posting any bond or other security) for specific performance and for other injunctive relief in order to enforce or prevent violation of the provisions of this Agreement.

 

(d)    Amendments and Waivers. Except as otherwise provided herein, no modification, amendment or waiver of any provision of this Agreement shall be effective against the Partnership, PSP or the other holders of Registrable Securities unless such modification, amendment or waiver is approved in writing by PSP. The failure of any party to enforce any of the provisions of this Agreement shall in no way be construed as a waiver of such provisions and shall not affect the right of such party thereafter to enforce each and every provision of this Agreement in accordance with its terms.

 

(e)     Successors and Assigns. All covenants and agreements in this Agreement by or on behalf of any of the parties hereto shall bind and inure to the benefit of the respective successors and assigns of the parties hereto whether so expressed or not. In addition, whether or not any express assignment has been made, the provisions of this Agreement which are for the benefit of purchasers or holders of Registrable Securities are also for the benefit of, and enforceable by, any subsequent holder of Registrable Securities.

 

(f)     Additional Individual Unitholders. In connection with the issuance of any additional equity securities of the Partnership to Persons providing services to the Partnership or any of its Subsidiaries, the Partnership may permit such Person to become a party to this Agreement and obtain all of the rights and obligations of an "Individual Unitholder" under this Agreement by obtaining an executed counterpart signature page or joinder to this Agreement, and, upon such execution, such Person shall for all purposes be an "Individual Unitholder" party to this Agreement.

 

- 17 - 

 

 

(g)     Non-U.S. Registrations. Subject to the Board having approved a registration of Registrable Securities in one or more jurisdictions other than the United States, if the PSP Required Interest so requests (in its sole discretion), the Partnership will use its reasonable best efforts to effect a registration in any such non-U.S. jurisdictions. In such case, the provisions of this Agreement shall apply to any non-U.S. registration mutatis mutandis.

 

(h)     Severability. Whenever possible, each provision of this Agreement shall be interpreted in such manner as to be effective and valid under applicable law, but if any provision of this Agreement is held to be prohibited by or invalid under applicable law, such provision shall be ineffective only to the extent of such prohibition or invalidity, without invalidating the remainder of this Agreement.

 

(i)      Counterparts. This Agreement may be executed simultaneously in two or more counterparts, any one of which need not contain the signatures of more than one party, but all such counterparts taken together shall constitute one and the same Agreement. This Agreement may be executed and delivered by facsimile transmission or other electronic means (including .pdf), and each other party may rely on the receipt of such executed documents as if the original had been received.

 

(j)      Descriptive Headings. The descriptive headings of this Agreement are inserted for convenience only and do not constitute a part of this Agreement.

 

(k)     Governing Law. This Agreement and all claims, controversies, disputes, actions or proceedings arising hereunder shall be governed by, and construed in accordance with, the laws of the State of Delaware, without giving effect to any choice of law or conflict of law rules or provisions (whether of the State of Delaware or any other jurisdiction and whether sounding in contract, tort or equity) that would cause the application of the laws (including any statute of limitations) of any jurisdiction other than the State of Delaware.

 

(l)      Consent to Jurisdiction. EACH OF THE PARTIES (I) HEREBY IRREVOCABLY SUBMITS TO THE EXCLUSIVE JURISDICTION OF THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF DELAWARE AND THE DELAWARE STATE COURTS SITTING IN THE COUNTY OF NEW CASTLE, FOR THE PURPOSES OF ANY SUIT, ACTION OR OTHER PROCEEDING ARISING OUT OF OR BASED UPON THIS AGREEMENT, ANY RELATED AGREEMENT OR ANY TRANSACTION CONTEMPLATED HEREBY OR THEREBY, (II) HEREBY WAIVES TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, AND AGREES NOT TO ASSERT, AND AGREES NOT TO ALLOW ANY OF ITS SUBSIDIARIES TO ASSERT, BY WAY OF MOTION, AS A DEFENSE OR OTHERWISE, IN ANY SUCH ACTION, ANY CLAIM THAT IT IS NOT SUBJECT PERSONALLY TO THE JURISDICTION OF THE ABOVE-NAMED COURTS, THAT ITS PROPERTY IS EXEMPT OR IMMUNE FROM ATTACHMENT OR EXECUTION, THAT ANY SUCH PROCEEDING BROUGHT IN ONE OF THE ABOVE-NAMED COURTS IS IMPROPER, OR THAT THIS AGREEMENT OR THE SUBJECT MATTER HEREOF OR THEREOF MAY NOT BE ENFORCED IN OR BY SUCH COURT, AND (III) HEREBY AGREES NOT TO COMMENCE OR MAINTAIN ANY SUIT, ACTION OR OTHER PROCEEDING ARISING OUT OF OR BASED UPON THIS AGREEMENT OTHER THAN BEFORE ONE OF THE ABOVE-NAMED COURTS NOR TO MAKE ANY MOTION OR TAKE ANY OTHER ACTION SEEKING OR INTENDING TO CAUSE THE TRANSFER OR REMOVAL OF ANY SUCH ACTION, CLAIM, CAUSE OF ANY SUIT, ACTION OR OTHER PROCEEDING ARISING OUT OF OR BASED UPON THIS AGREEMENT OTHER THAN ONE OF THE ABOVE-NAMED COURTS WHETHER ON THE GROUNDS OF INCONVENIENT FORUM OR OTHERWISE. EACH OF THE PARTIES HERETO FURTHER AGREES THAT SERVICE OF ANY PROCESS, SUMMONS, NOTICE OR DOCUMENT BY U.S. REGISTERED MAIL TO SUCH PARTY'S RESPECTIVE ADDRESS SET FORTH ON THE SIGNATURE PAGES ATTACHED HERETO SHALL BE EFFECTIVE SERVICE OF PROCESS FOR ANY ACTION, SUIT OR PROCEEDING WITH RESPECT TO ANY MATTERS TO WHICH IT HAS SUBMITTED TO JURISDICTION IN THIS PARAGRAPH.

 

- 18 - 

 

 

(m)   WAIVER OF JURY TRIAL. BECAUSE DISPUTES ARISING IN CONNECTION WITH COMPLEX TRANSACTIONS ARE MOST QUICKLY AND ECONOMICALLY RESOLVED BY AN EXPERIENCED AND EXPERT PERSON AND THE PARTIES HERETO WISH APPLICABLE STATE AND FEDERAL LAWS TO APPLY (RATHER THAN ARBITRATION RULES), THE PARTIES HERETO DESIRE THAT THEIR DISPUTES BE RESOLVED BY A JUDGE APPLYING SUCH APPLICABLE LAWS. THEREFORE, TO ACHIEVE THE BEST COMBINATION OF THE BENEFITS OF THE JUDICIAL SYSTEM AND OF ARBITRATION, EACH PARTY TO THIS AGREEMENT (INCLUDING THE PARTNERSHIP) HEREBY WAIVES ALL RIGHTS TO TRIAL BY JURY IN ANY ACTION, SUIT, OR PROCEEDING BROUGHT TO RESOLVE ANY DISPUTE BETWEEN OR AMONG ANY OF THE PARTIES HERETO, WHETHER ARISING IN CONTRACT, TORT, OR OTHERWISE, ARISING OUT OF, CONNECTED WITH, RELATED OR INCIDENTAL TO THIS AGREEMENT AND/OR THE TRANSACTIONS CONTEMPLATED HEREBY AND/OR THE RELATIONSHIPS ESTABLISHED AMONG THE PARTIES HEREUNDER.

 

(n)     Notices. All notices, demands, or other communications to be given or delivered under or by reason of the provisions of this Agreement shall be in writing and shall be deemed to have been given when (a) delivered personally to the recipient, (b) sent to the recipient by reputable express courier service (charges prepaid), (c) mailed to the recipient by certified or registered mail, return receipt requested and postage prepaid, or (d) e-mailed to the recipient (with hard copy sent to the recipient by reputable overnight courier service (charges prepaid) that same day) if e-mailed before 5:00 p.m. prevailing Eastern Time on a Business Day, and otherwise on the next Business Day. Such notices, demands, and other communications shall be sent to the address for such recipient set forth in the Partnership's books and records, or to such other address or to the attention of such other person as the recipient party has specified by prior written notice to the sending party.

 

(o)     No Strict Construction. The parties hereto have participated jointly in the negotiation and drafting of this Agreement. In the event an ambiguity or question of intent or interpretation arises, this Agreement shall be construed as if drafted jointly by the parties hereto, and no presumption or burden of proof shall arise favoring or disfavoring any party by virtue of the authorship of any of the provisions of this Agreement.

 

- 19 - 

 

 

(p)     Registering Entity. Immediately prior to the consummation of an IPO, if the Registering Entity is not the Partnership (including, by way of example, if the Registering Entity is a corporate successor to the Partnership following a reorganization or conversion of the Partnership pursuant to Section 12.1 of the LP Agreement), the Partnership shall take such actions as may be reasonably necessary to cause the Registering Entity to become a party hereto, with the rights, benefits and obligations of the Partnership hereunder; provided that each party hereto shall, to the extent necessary, as reasonably determined by the Registering Entity, execute a registration rights agreement with terms that are substantially equivalent (to the extent practicable) to, mutatis mutandis, the terms of this Agreement.

 

(q)     Termination. This Agreement shall terminate with respect to each Investor and be of no further force or effect when there shall no longer be any Registrable Securities outstanding.

 

* * * * *

 

- 20 - 

 

 

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties have executed this Registration Rights Agreement as of the date first written above.

 

  SUJA LIFE HOLDINGS, L.P.

 

  By: Suja Life Holdings GP, LLC
  Its: General Partner

 

  By: /s/ Kevin Schwartz
  Name: Kevin Schwartz
  Title: Chief Executive Officer and President

 

Signature Page to Registration Rights Agreement

 

 

 

 

  PSP:

 

  PSP SUJA LIFE HOLDINGS, L.P.

 

  By: Paine Schwartz Food Chain Fund V GP, L.P.
Its: General Partner

 

  By: Paine Schwartz Food Chain Fund V GP, Ltd
Its: General Partner

 

  By: /s/ Kevin Schwartz
  Name: Kevin Schwartz
  Title: Director

 

Signature Page to Registration Rights Agreement

 

 

 

 

  OTHER INVESTOR:

 

  JAMES BRENNAN

 

  /s/ James Brennan
  James Brennan

 

  Notice Information:

 

   
  Attention:  
Email: [***]

 

  LBL INVESTMENTS
   
  By /s/ James Brennan
  Name: James Brennan
  Title:  

 

  Notice Information:

 

   
  Attention:  
  Email: [***]

 

Signature Page to Registration Rights Agreement

 

 

 

 

SCHEDULE OF OTHER INVESTORS

 

On file with the Partnership.

 

 

 

Exhibit 10.1

 

CREDIT AGREEMENT

 

Dated as of August 23, 2021

 

by and among

 

SUJA LIFE INTERMEDIATE II, LLC, 

as Holdings,

 

SUJA MERGER SUB, LLC,

as Initial Borrower until the Effective Date Assumption,

and after giving effect to its merger with and into

 

SUJA LIFE, LLC,
as Borrower,

 

THE LENDERS AND THE ISSUING LENDER PARTY HERETO,

 

and

 

JPMORGAN CHASE BANK, N.A.,
as Administrative Agent

 

 

 

JPMORGAN CHASE BANK, N.A.,

as Lead Arranger and Bookrunner

 

JPMORGAN CHASE BANK, N.A. and

PGIM PRIVATE CAPITAL,

as Joint Documentation Agents

 

 

 

 

TABLE OF CONTENTS

  

  Page
   
CREDIT AGREEMENT 1
Dated as of August 23, 2021 1
by and among 1
SUJA LIFE INTERMEDIATE II, LLC, 1
as Holdings, 1
SUJA MERGER SUB, LLC, 1
as Initial Borrower until the Effective Date Assumption, 1
and after giving effect to its merger with and into 1
SUJA LIFE, LLC, as Borrower, 1
THE LENDERS AND THE ISSUING LENDER PARTY HERETO, 1
and 1
JPMORGAN CHASE BANK, N.A., as Administrative Agent 1
1
JPMORGAN CHASE BANK, N.A., 1

 

1. DEFINITIONS 1

 

  1.1 Defined Terms 1
  1.2 Classification of Loans and Borrowings 66
  1.3 Interpretation 66
  1.4 Rounding 67
  1.5 Letter of Credit Amounts 67
  1.6 Accounting Terms; GAAP 67
  1.7 Limited Condition Transactions 68
  1.8 Pro Forma Calculations 69
  1.9 Compliance with Certain Sections 71
  1.10 Times of Day 72
  1.11 Timing of Payment or Performance 72
  1.12 Available Amount Transactions 72
  1.13 Letters of Credit 72
  1.14 Certifications 72
  1.15 Interest Rates; LIBOR Notification 73

 

2. THE CREDITS 73

 

  2.1 The Commitments 73
  2.2 Loans and Borrowings 74
  2.3 Requests for Borrowings 74
  2.4 Swingline Loans 75
  2.5 Letters of Credit 77
  2.6 Funding of Borrowings 84
  2.7 Interest Elections 85
  2.8 Termination and Reduction of the Commitments 86

 

i

 

 

TABLE OF CONTENTS

(Cont’d)

 

      Page
       
  2.9 Repayment of Loans; Evidence of Debt 87
  2.10 Prepayment of Loans 88
  2.11 Fees 93
  2.12 Interest 94
  2.13 Alternate Rate of Interest; Illegality; LIBOR Successor Rate 94
  2.14 Increased Costs 97
  2.15 Compensation for Losses 98
  2.16 Taxes 99
  2.17 Payments Generally; Pro Rata Treatment; Sharing of Set-offs 103
  2.18 Mitigation Obligations; Replacement of Lenders 105
  2.19 Increases of the Revolving Credit Commitments; Adjustments to Revolving Credit Commitments; Incremental Term Loans 107
  2.20 Cash Collateral 110
  2.21 Defaulting Lenders 110
  2.22 Refinancing Amendments 113
  2.23 Extension of Term Loans; Extension of Revolving Credit Loans 115

 

3. REPRESENTATIONS AND WARRANTIES 118

 

  3.1 Organization; Powers 118
  3.2 Authorization; Enforceability 119
  3.3 Governmental Approvals; No Conflicts 119
  3.4 Financial Condition; No Material Adverse Change 119
  3.5 Properties 120
  3.6 Litigation 120
  3.7 Compliance with Laws 120
  3.8 Investment Company Status 121
  3.9 Taxes 121
  3.10 ERISA 121
  3.11 Disclosure 121
  3.12 Federal Reserve Regulations; Use of Credit 122
  3.13 [Reserved] 122
  3.14 Existing Subsidiaries 122
    Set forth on Schedule 3.14 is a complete and correct list of all of the Subsidiaries of Holdings, the Borrowers and their respective Subsidiaries as of the Effective Date, together with, for each such Subsidiary, (i) the jurisdiction of organization, of such Subsidiary; (ii) each Person holding Equity Interests in such Subsidiary; (iii) the Equity Interests issued by such Subsidiary; (iv) the Equity Interests held by each such Person; and (v) the percentage of ownership of such Subsidiary represented by such Equity Interests 122
  3.15 Real Property 122
  3.16 Environmental Matters 122
  3.17 Sanctions/Anti-Corruption Representations 123
  3.18 Insurance 124
  3.19 Labor Matters 124
  3.20 Solvency 124

 

ii

 

 

TABLE OF CONTENTS

(Cont’d)

 

      Page
       
  3.21 [Reserved] 124
  3.22 Security Documents 124

 

4. CONDITIONS PRECEDENT 125

 

  4.1 Effective Date 125
  4.2 Each Credit Event 127

 

5. AFFIRMATIVE COVENANTS 128

 

  5.1 Financial Statements and Other Information 128
  5.2 Notices of Material Events 131
  5.3 Existence; Conduct of Business 132
  5.4 Payment of Obligations 132
  5.5 Maintenance of Properties; Insurance 132
  5.6 Books and Records; Inspection Rights 132
  5.7 Compliance with Laws 133
  5.8 Certain Obligations Respecting Subsidiaries 133
  5.9 Further Assurances 134
  5.10 Cash Management Systems 136
  5.11 Post-Closing Deliverables 136
  5.12 Designation of Subsidiaries 136
  5.13 Lines of Business 136
  5.14 Transactions with Affiliates 137
  5.15 Fiscal Year 139
  5.16 Ratings 139
  5.17 Use of Proceeds and Letters of Credit 139

 

6. NEGATIVE COVENANTS 140

 

  6.1 Indebtedness 140
  6.2 Liens 143
  6.3 Fundamental Changes 143
  6.4 Dispositions 144
  6.5 Investments 147
  6.6 Restricted Payments 150
  6.7 Suja East, LLC 154
  6.8 Restrictive Agreements 154
  6.9 Modifications of Certain Documents 156
  6.10 [Reserved] 157
  6.11 Hedging Agreements 157
  6.12 [Reserved] 157
  6.13 Use of Proceeds and Letters of Credit 157
  6.14 Limitation on Activities of Holdings 158
  6.15 Prepayments of Indebtedness 158

 

7. FINANCIAL COVENANT 159

 

  7.1 Consolidated Net Leverage Ratio 159

 

8. EVENTS OF DEFAULT; REMEDIES 160

 

iii

 

 

TABLE OF CONTENTS

(Cont’d)

 

      Page
       
  8.1 Event of Default 160
  8.2 Application of Payment 163
  8.3 Right to Cure 164
  8.4 Performance by Administrative Agent 165

 

9. ADMINISTRATIVE AGENT 165

 

  9.1 Authorization and Action 165
  9.2 Administrative Agent and its Affiliates 166
  9.3 Duties 167
  9.4 Administrative Agent’s Reliance, Lender Representations, Etc. 168
  9.5 Sub-Agents 170
  9.6 Resignation 171
  9.7 Lender Credit Decision 172
  9.8 Other Agent Titles 172
  9.9 Agent May File Proofs of Claim; Bankruptcy Events 172
  9.10 Collateral 173
  9.11 Issuing Lender 175
  9.12 Bailee for Perfection 176
  9.13 Affiliates of Lenders; Bank Product Providers 177
  9.14 Erroneous Payments 178
  9.15 Flood Laws 178

 

10. MISCELLANEOUS 179

 

10.1Notices 179
  10.2 Waivers; Amendments 181
  10.3 Expenses; Limitation of Liability; Indemnity; Damage Waiver 183
  10.4 Successors and Assigns 186
  10.5 Survival 192
  10.6 Counterparts; Integration; Effectiveness 192
  10.7 Severability 193
  10.8 Right of Setoff 193
  10.9 Governing Law; Jurisdiction; Etc. 193
  10.10 WAIVER OF JURY TRIAL 194
  10.11 Treatment of Certain Information; Confidentiality 195
  10.12 Interest Rate Limitation 196
  10.13 USA Patriot Act 196
  10.14 Press Release and Related Matters 196
  10.15 No Duty 197
  10.16 No Fiduciary Relationship 197
  10.17 Construction 197
  10.18 Payments Set Aside 197
  10.19 Benefits of Agreement 197
  10.20 Acknowledgement and Consent to Bail-In of EEA Financial Institutions 198
  10.21 Keepwell 198
  10.22 Designation of Additional Borrowers 198
  10.23 Joint and Several Obligations 199

 

iv

 

 

TABLE OF CONTENTS

(Cont’d)

 

      Page
       
  10.24 Acknowledgement Regarding Any Supported QFCs 202
  10.25 Assumption of Obligations 203

 

11. THE BORROWER REPRESENTATIVE 203

 

  11.1 Appointment; Nature of Relationship 203
  11.2 Powers 203
  11.3 Employment of Agents 203
  11.4 Successor Borrower Representative 203
  11.5 Execution of Loan Documents 204

 

LIST OF SCHEDULES AND EXHIBITS

 

SCHEDULES:

 

Schedule 3.6 - Litigation
Schedule 3.10 - ERISA
Schedule 3.14 - Existing Subsidiaries
Schedule 3.15 - Owned Real Property
Schedule 3.16 - Environmental Matters
Schedule 3.19 - Labor Matters
Schedule 4.1(e) - Mortgaged Property
Schedule 5.11 - Post-Closing Deliverables
Schedule 5.14 - Affiliate Transactions
Schedule 6.1 - Permitted Indebtedness
Schedule 6.2 - Liens
Schedule 6.5 - Investments
Schedule 6.8 - Existing Restrictions

 

EXHIBITS:
 
Exhibit A - Assignment and Assumption
- Bank Product Provider Letter Agreement
Exhibit B - Sponsor-Controlled Affiliated Lender Assignment and
Exhibit C - Assumption
Exhibit D - Parity Intercreditor Agreement
Exhibit E - Junior Intercreditor Agreement
Exhibit 2.3 - Borrowing Request
Exhibit 2.7 - Interest Election Request
Exhibit 2.16-1 - U.S. Tax Compliance Certificate
Exhibit 2.16-2 - U.S. Tax Compliance Certificate
Exhibit 2.16-3 - U.S. Tax Compliance Certificate
Exhibit 2.16-4 - U.S. Tax Compliance Certificate
Exhibit 2.19-1 - Notice of Incremental Revolving Credit Commitment
Exhibit 2.19-2 - Notice of Incremental Term Loan
Exhibit 4.1 - Solvency Certificate
Exhibit 5.1 - Compliance Certificate

 

v

 

 

This CREDIT AGREEMENT (this “Agreement”) dated as of August 23, 2021, is by and among SUJA LIFE INTERMEDIATE II, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company (“Holdings”), SUJA MERGER SUB, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company (the “Initial Borrower”), after the consummation of the Merger and after giving effect to the Effective Date Assumption, SUJA LIFE, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company (the “Company”, and as successor to the Initial Borrower by operation of law, the “Borrower”; together with each Restricted Subsidiary of Holdings from time to time party hereto designated as an additional Borrower pursuant to Section 10.22, each, individually, a “Borrower”, and collectively, the “Borrowers”), the LENDERS, and JPMORGAN CHASE BANK, N.A. (“JPMorgan”), as Administrative Agent.

 

WITNESSETH

 

WHEREAS, Initial Borrower has requested that the Lenders, the Issuing Lender and the Swingline Lender make available for the purposes specified in this Agreement, a term loan facility and a revolving credit and letter of credit facility; and

 

WHEREAS, the Lenders, the Issuing Lender, and the Swingline Lender are willing to make available to the Borrowers such credit facilities upon the terms and subject to the conditions set forth herein;

 

AGREEMENT

 

NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the premises and the covenants and agreements contained herein, the parties hereto hereby agree as follows:

 

1.            DEFINITIONS

 

1.1            Defined Terms. As used in this Agreement (including the foregoing preamble and recitals), the following terms have the meanings specified below:

 

“Acquired Entity or Business” means any Person, any line of business, division or business unit acquired pursuant to a Permitted Acquisition.

 

“Acquired Indebtedness” means Indebtedness secured by any property (other than Mortgaged Property) of any Person prior to and at the time of the acquisition of such asset by a Company or prior to and at the time such Person becomes a Restricted Subsidiary; provided that such Indebtedness (a) was in existence prior to the date of acquisition of such asset or Person and (b) was not incurred in connection with, or in contemplation of, such acquisition of such asset or Person.

 

“Acquisition” means the merger of the Initial Borrower with and into the Company, with the Company surviving, as more fully set forth in and pursuant to the Surf Merger Agreement.

 

“Additional Borrower” means any Wholly-Owned Restricted Subsidiary that is a organized under the laws of any state of the United States or of the District of Columbia or otherwise organized in any jurisdiction reasonably acceptable to the Administrative Agent, in each case that becomes a Borrower after the Effective Date pursuant to Section 10.22.

 

“Additional Lender” has the meaning set forth in Section 2.19.

 

“Adjusted LIBO Rate” means, with respect to any Eurodollar Borrowing for any Interest Period, an interest rate per annum equal to (i) the LIBO Rate for such Interest Period multiplied by (ii) the Statutory Reserve Rate.

 

 

 

 

“Administrative Agent” means JPMorgan, in its capacity as administrative agent for the Lenders under the Loan Documents, and any successor Administrative Agent appointed pursuant to Section 9.

 

“Administrative Questionnaire” means an administrative questionnaire delivered by each Lender in a form supplied by Administrative Agent.

 

“Affected Financial Institution” means (a) any EEA Financial Institution or (b) any UK Financial Institution.

 

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

 

“Agent Parties” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 10.1(d).

 

“Agent’s Group” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 9.2(b).

 

“All-in Yield” means, as to any Indebtedness, the effective yield thereon payable to the lenders providing such Indebtedness, whether in the form of interest rate, margin, original issue discount, up-front fees, rate floors (to the extent the operation of such floor would increase the yield on drawn amounts on the proposed date of incurrence thereof) or otherwise; provided, that original issue discount and up-front fees shall be equated to interest rate assuming a four-year life to maturity (or, if less, the stated life to maturity of such Indebtedness at the time of incurrence of such Indebtedness); and provided, further, that “All-in Yield” shall not include arrangement, commitment, underwriting, structuring, success, ticking, unused, syndication or similar fees paid to arrangers or not shared generally with other lenders and customary consent fees for an amendment paid generally to lenders.

 

“Anti-Corruption Laws” means the laws, and regulations of the jurisdictions applicable to any Obligor or its Subsidiaries from time to time concerning or relating to bribery or corruption, including the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977, as amended.

 

“Anti-Terrorism Laws” means any applicable laws, regulations, or orders of any Governmental Authority of any applicable jurisdiction, including the United States and the United Nations relating to the prohibition of terrorism financing, or money laundering, including, but not limited to, the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. § 1701 et seq.), the Trading With the Enemy Act (50 U.S.C. § 5 et seq.), the International Security Development and Cooperation Act (22 U.S.C. § 2349aa-9 et seq.), the Executive Order No. 13224 on Terrorist Financing, effective September 24, 2001, the Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act of 2001, Public Law 107-56 (the “USA Patriot Act”), and any rules or regulations promulgated pursuant to or under the authority of any of the foregoing.

 

2

 

 

“Applicable Margin” means, for any day, (1) (x) with respect to any Base Rate Loan (excluding any Swingline Loan), 4.50% or (y) with respect to any Eurodollar Loan, 5.50%, or (2) with respect to the commitment fees payable hereunder, the applicable margin per annum set forth below under the caption “Commitment Fee Rate”, based upon the Consolidated Net Leverage Ratio as of the most recent determination date; provided that the Applicable Margin in effect from the Effective Date until the date immediately preceding the date on which a Compliance Certificate is delivered pursuant to Section 5.1(c) in respect of the Fiscal Quarter ending December 31, 2021 shall be determined based upon the applicable rates per annum set for below in Level 1:

 

Level  Consolidated Net
Leverage Ratio
  Commitment
Fee Rate
1  Greater than
3.50:1.00
  0.50%
2  Greater than 3.00:1.00 but less than or equal to 3.50:1.00  0.375%
3  Less than or equal
to 3.00:1.00
  0.25%

 

For purposes of the foregoing, (a) the Consolidated Net Leverage Ratio shall be determined as of the end of each Fiscal Quarter based upon Holdings’ most recent consolidated financial statements delivered pursuant to Section 5.1(a) or 5.1(b), and (b) each change in clause (2) of the Applicable Margin resulting from a change in the Consolidated Net Leverage Ratio shall be effective during the period commencing on and including the date of delivery to the Administrative Agent of such consolidated financial statements indicating such change and ending on the date immediately preceding the effective date of the next such change.

 

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

 

“Asset Sale Threshold” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 2.10(b)(i).

 

“Assignment and Assumption” means an assignment and assumption entered into by a Lender and an Eligible Assignee (with the consent of each party whose consent is required by Section 10.4), and accepted by Administrative Agent, substantially in the form of Exhibit A.

 

“Availability” means as to the Revolving Credit Loan, the amount by which the total Revolving Credit Commitment exceeds the aggregate outstanding Revolving Credit Exposure.

 

“Available Amount” means, at any time, an amount equal to:

 

(a)            the greater of (i) $9,000,000 and (ii) 30.0% of Consolidated EBITDA (determined as of the last day of the most recently ended four Fiscal Quarter period for which financial statements have been delivered),

 

plus

 

(b)            the sum, without duplication, of:

 

(i)            after the delivery of the financial statements to be delivered for the Fiscal Year ending December 31, 2022 pursuant to Section 5.1(a), 100% of Excess Cash Flow not required to be repaid in accordance with Section 2.10(b)(ii) for each Excess Cash Flow Period; provided that such amount shall not be less than $0, plus

 

3

 

 

(ii)            the amount of cash contributions to the common capital of the Borrowers and the net proceeds of any issuance of Qualified Equity Interests of Holdings (or any direct or indirect parent) that is contributed to the Borrowers or the Restricted Subsidiaries, in each case after the Effective Date and through and including such time, which cash proceeds have been contributed as common equity to the capital of a Borrower or a Restricted Subsidiary, other than Specified Equity Contributions or to the extent otherwise applied, plus

 

(iii)            Net Cash Proceeds actually received by the Borrowers or any Restricted Subsidiary in respect of Dispositions to any Person (other than Holdings, a Borrower or any Restricted Subsidiary) of Investments made after the Effective Date until such time, if the making of such Investment initially constituted a use of the Available Amount (up to the amount of the original Investment), plus

 

(iv)           Returns, profits, distributions and similar amounts actually received by the Borrowers or any Restricted Subsidiary in respect of Investments permitted under this Agreement made after the Effective Date until such time, if the making of such Investment initially constituted a use of the Available Amount (up to the amount of the original Investment), plus

 

(v)            Indebtedness and Disqualified Equity Interests exchanged or converted into Qualified Equity Interests of any Borrower (or any direct or indirect parent thereof) after the Effective Date; plus

 

(vi)           the Investments of the Borrowers and their Restricted Subsidiaries (in an amount not to exceed the original amount of the Investment) in any Unrestricted Subsidiary that has been re-designated as a Restricted Subsidiary or that has been merged or consolidated into any Borrower or any Restricted Subsidiary or the Fair Market Value of the assets of any Unrestricted Subsidiary that have been transferred to any Borrower or any Restricted Subsidiary; plus

 

(vii)          the amount of any Declined Proceeds, De Minimis Asset Sale Proceeds and Retained ECF Amount; plus

 

(viii)         cash proceeds (or the Fair Market Value of non-cash proceeds) of the sale of Equity Interests of any Unrestricted Subsidiary or any dividend or other distribution by an Unrestricted Subsidiary, in each case, received by any Borrower or any Restricted Subsidiary to the extent such Subsidiary was originally designated as an Unrestricted Subsidiary using the Available Amount in an amount not to exceed the original amount of the Investment;

 

minus

 

(c)            the aggregate amount of (i) Investments made pursuant to Section 6.5 using the Available Amount, (ii) Restricted Payments made pursuant to Section 6.6 using the Available Amount, and (iii) payments of Junior Debt made pursuant to Section 6.15 using the Available Amount.

 

“Available Tenor” means, as of any date of determination and with respect to the then-current Benchmark, as applicable, any tenor for such Benchmark (or component thereof) or payment period for interest calculated with reference to such Benchmark (or component thereof), as applicable, that is or may be used for determining the length of an Interest Period for any term rate or otherwise, for determining any frequency of making payments of interest calculated pursuant to this Agreement as of such date and not including, for the avoidance of doubt, any tenor for such Benchmark that is then-removed from the definition of “Interest Period” pursuant to Section 2.13(g).

 

4

 

 

“Bail-In Action” means the exercise of any Write-Down and Conversion Powers by the applicable Resolution Authority in respect of any liability of an Affected Financial Institution.

 

“Bail-In Legislation” means (a) with respect to any EEA Member Country implementing Article 55 of Directive 2014/59/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of the European Union, the implementing law, regulation, rule or requirement for such EEA Member Country from time to time which is described in the EU Bail-In Legislation Schedule and (b) with respect to the United Kingdom, Part I of the United Kingdom Banking Act 2009 (as amended from time to time) and any other law, regulation or rule applicable in the United Kingdom relating to the resolution of unsound or failing banks, investment firms or other financial institutions or their affiliates (other than through liquidation, administration or other insolvency proceedings).

 

“Bank Product” means any financial accommodation extended to an Obligor or its Restricted Subsidiaries by a Bank Product Provider in connection with (a) Hedging Agreements, or (b) Cash Management Services.

 

“Bank Product Agreements” means those agreements entered into from time to time by Obligors or their Restricted Subsidiaries with a Bank Product Provider in connection with the obtaining of any of the Bank Products.

 

“Bank Product Obligations” means all obligations, liabilities, reimbursement obligations, fees, or expenses owing by Obligors or their Restricted Subsidiaries to any Bank Product Provider pursuant to or evidenced by a Bank Product Agreement and irrespective of whether for the payment of money, whether direct or indirect, absolute or contingent, due or to become due, now existing or hereafter arising.

 

“Bank Product Provider” means any Lender or any of its Affiliates (or any Person party to a Bank Product Agreement with Obligors or their Restricted Subsidiaries that was a Lender or an Affiliate thereof party to such Bank Product Agreement immediately prior to the assignment of all of its Commitments and Loans hereunder pursuant to Section 2.18(b)); provided, however, that no such Person (other than JPMorgan or its Affiliates) shall constitute a Bank Product Provider with respect to a Bank Product unless Administrative Agent shall have received a Bank Product Provider Letter Agreement from such Person with respect to the applicable Bank Product within 30 days after the provision of such Bank Product to Obligors or their Restricted Subsidiaries, or, if such Bank Product Agreement was entered into prior to the Effective Date or prior to the date on which such Bank Product Provider or its Affiliate, as applicable, became a Lender under this Agreement, within 30 days after the Effective Date or 30 days after the date on which such Bank Product Provider or its Affiliate, as applicable, first became a Lender under this Agreement, as applicable.

 

“Bank Product Provider Letter Agreement” means a letter agreement in substantially the form of Exhibit B, or otherwise in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to the Administrative Agent and the Borrower Representative and duly executed by the applicable Bank Product Provider, the Borrower Representative, and the Administrative Agent.

 

“Bankruptcy Code” means the Bankruptcy Code in Title 11 of the United States Code, as amended, modified, succeeded, or replaced from time to time.

 

5

 

 

“Base Rate” means, at any time, the greatest of (a) the Prime Rate at such time, (b) 1/2 of 1% in excess of the Federal Funds Effective Rate at such time, and (c) the Adjusted LIBO Rate for a Eurodollar Loan with a one-month Interest Period commencing at such time plus 1.0%; provided that in no event shall the Base Rate be less than zero. For the purposes of this definition, the Adjusted LIBO Rate shall be determined using the Adjusted LIBO Rate as otherwise determined by Administrative Agent in accordance with the definition of Adjusted LIBO Rate, except that (i) if a given day is a Business Day, such determination shall be made on such day (rather than two Business Days prior to the commencement of an Interest Period) or (ii) if a given day is not a Business Day, the Adjusted LIBO Rate for such day shall be the rate determined by Administrative Agent pursuant to preceding clause (i) for the most recent Business Day preceding such day. Any change in the Base Rate due to a change in the Prime Rate, the Federal Funds Effective Rate, or such Adjusted LIBO Rate shall be effective as of the opening of business on the day of such change in the Prime Rate, the Federal Funds Effective Rate, or such Adjusted LIBO Rate, respectively. If for any reason Administrative Agent shall have determined (which determination shall be conclusive absent manifest error) that it is unable to ascertain the Federal Funds Effective Rate or the Adjusted LIBO Rate at such time for any reason, including the inability of Administrative Agent to obtain sufficient quotations in accordance with the terms hereof, the Base Rate shall be determined without regard to clause (b) or (c), as applicable, of the first sentence of this definition until the circumstances giving rise to such inability no longer exist. “Base Rate”, when used in reference to any Loan or Borrowing, refers to whether such Loan, or the Loans comprising such Borrowing, are bearing interest at a rate determined by reference to the Base Rate.

 

“Benchmark” means, initially, LIBO Rate; provided that if a Benchmark Transition Event, a Term SOFR Transition Event, an Early Opt-in Election or an Other Benchmark Rate Election, as applicable, and its related Benchmark Replacement Date have occurred with respect to LIBO Rate or the then-current Benchmark, then “Benchmark” means the applicable Benchmark Replacement to the extent that such Benchmark Replacement has replaced such prior benchmark rate pursuant to Section 2.13(c) or (d).

 

“Benchmark Replacement” means, for any Available Tenor, the first alternative set forth in the order below that can be determined by the Administrative Agent for the applicable Benchmark Replacement Date; provided that, in the case of an Other Benchmark Rate Election, “Benchmark Replacement” means the alternative set forth in (3) below:

 

(1)            the sum of (a) Term SOFR and (b) the related Benchmark Replacement Adjustment;

 

(2)            the sum of (a) Daily Simple SOFR and (b) the related Benchmark Replacement Adjustment;

 

(3)            the sum of: (a) the alternate benchmark rate that has been selected by the Administrative Agent and the Borrower Representative as the replacement for the then-current Benchmark for the applicable Corresponding Tenor giving due consideration to (i) any selection or recommendation of a replacement benchmark rate or the mechanism for determining such a rate by the Relevant Governmental Body or (ii) any evolving or then-prevailing market convention for determining a benchmark rate as a replacement for the then-current Benchmark for dollar-denominated syndicated credit facilities at such time and (b) the related Benchmark Replacement Adjustment;

 

6

 

 

provided that, in the case of clause (1), such Unadjusted Benchmark Replacement is displayed on a screen or other information service that publishes such rate from time to time as selected by the Administrative Agent in its reasonable discretion; provided further that, in the case of clause (3), when such clause is used to determine the Benchmark Replacement in connection with the occurrence of an Other Benchmark Rate Election, the alternate benchmark rate selected by the Administrative Agent and the Borrower Representative shall be the term benchmark rate that is used in lieu of a LIBOR-based rate in the relevant other Dollar-denominated syndicated credit facilities; provided further that, notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this Agreement or in any other Loan Document, upon the occurrence of a Term SOFR Transition Event, and the delivery of a Term SOFR Notice, on the applicable Benchmark Replacement Date the “Benchmark Replacement” shall revert to and shall be deemed to be the sum of (a) Term SOFR and (b) the related Benchmark Replacement Adjustment, as set forth in clause (1) of this definition (subject to the first proviso above).

 

If the Benchmark Replacement as determined pursuant to clause (1), (2) or (3) above would be less than the Floor, the Benchmark Replacement will be deemed to be the Floor for the purposes of this Agreement and the other Loan Documents.

 

“Benchmark Replacement Adjustment” means, with respect to any replacement of the then-current Benchmark with an Unadjusted Benchmark Replacement for any applicable Interest Period and Available Tenor for any setting of such Unadjusted Benchmark Replacement:

 

(1) for purposes of clauses (1) and (2) of the definition of “Benchmark Replacement,” the first alternative set forth in the order below that can be determined by the Administrative Agent:

 

(a) the spread adjustment, or method for calculating or determining such spread adjustment, (which may be a positive or negative value or zero) as of the Reference Time such Benchmark Replacement is first set for such Interest Period that has been selected or recommended by the Relevant Governmental Body for the replacement of such Benchmark with the applicable Unadjusted Benchmark Replacement for the applicable Corresponding Tenor;

 

(b) the spread adjustment (which may be a positive or negative value or zero) as of the Reference Time such Benchmark Replacement is first set for such Interest Period that would apply to the fallback rate for a derivative transaction referencing the ISDA Definitions to be effective upon an index cessation event with respect to such Benchmark for the applicable Corresponding Tenor; and

 

(2) for purposes of clause (3) of the definition of “Benchmark Replacement,” the spread adjustment, or method for calculating or determining such spread adjustment, (which may be a positive or negative value or zero) that has been selected by the Administrative Agent and the Borrower Representative for the applicable Corresponding Tenor giving due consideration to (i) any selection or recommendation of a spread adjustment, or method for calculating or determining such spread adjustment, for the replacement of such Benchmark with the applicable Unadjusted Benchmark Replacement by the Relevant Governmental Body on the applicable Benchmark Replacement Date or (ii) any evolving or then-prevailing market convention for determining a spread adjustment, or method for calculating or determining such spread adjustment, for the replacement of such Benchmark with the applicable Unadjusted Benchmark Replacement for dollar-denominated syndicated credit facilities;

 

7

 

 

provided that, in the case of clause (1) above, such adjustment is displayed on a screen or other information service that publishes such Benchmark Replacement Adjustment from time to time as selected by the Administrative Agent in its reasonable discretion.

 

“Benchmark Replacement Conforming Changes” means, with respect to any Benchmark Replacement, any technical, administrative or operational changes (including changes to the definition of “Base Rate,” the definition of “Business Day,” the definition of “Interest Period,” timing and frequency of determining rates and making payments of interest, timing of borrowing requests or prepayment, conversion or continuation notices, length of lookback periods, the applicability of breakage provisions, and other technical, administrative or operational matters) that the Administrative Agent decides in consultation with the Borrower Representative in its reasonable discretion may be appropriate to reflect the adoption and implementation of such Benchmark Replacement and to permit the administration thereof by the Administrative Agent in a manner substantially consistent with market practice (or, if the Administrative Agent decides that adoption of any portion of such market practice is not administratively feasible or if the Administrative Agent determines that no market practice for the administration of such Benchmark Replacement exists, in such other manner of administration as the Administrative Agent in consultation with the Borrower Representative decides is reasonably necessary in connection with the administration of this Agreement and the other Loan Documents).

 

“Benchmark Replacement Date” means the earliest to occur of the following events with respect to the then current Benchmark:

 

(1) in the case of clause (1) or (2) of the definition of “Benchmark Transition Event,” the later of (a) the date of the public statement or publication of information referenced therein and (b) the date on which the administrator of such Benchmark (or the published component used in the calculation thereof) permanently or indefinitely ceases to provide all Available Tenors of such Benchmark (or such component thereof);

 

(2) in the case of clause (3) of the definition of “Benchmark Transition Event,” the first date on which such Benchmark (or the published component used in the calculation thereof) has been determined and announced by the regulatory supervisor for the administrator of such Benchmark (or such component thereof) to be no longer representative; provided, that such non-representativeness will be determined by reference to the most recent statement or publication referenced in such clause (3) and even if any Available Tenor of such Benchmark (or such component thereof) continues to be provided on such date;

 

(3) in the case of a Term SOFR Transition Event, the date that is thirty (30) days after the date a Term SOFR Notice is provided to the Lenders and the Borrower Representative pursuant to Section 2.13(d); or

 

(4) in the case of an Early Opt-in Election or an Other Benchmark Rate Election, the sixth (6th) Business Day after the date notice of such Early Opt-in Election or Other Benchmark Rate Election, as applicable, is provided to the Lenders, so long as the Administrative Agent has not received, by 5:00 p.m. (New York City time) on the fifth (5th) Business Day after the date notice of such Early Opt-in Election or Other Benchmark Rate Election, as applicable, is provided to the Lenders, written notice of objection to such Early Opt-in Election or Other Benchmark Rate Election, as applicable, from Lenders comprising the Required Lenders.

 

8

 

 

For the avoidance of doubt, (i) if the event giving rise to the Benchmark Replacement Date occurs on the same day as, but earlier than, the Reference Time in respect of any determination, the Benchmark Replacement Date will be deemed to have occurred prior to the Reference Time for such determination and (ii) the “Benchmark Replacement Date” will be deemed to have occurred in the case of clause (1) or (2) with respect to any Benchmark upon the occurrence of the applicable event or events set forth therein with respect to all then-current Available Tenors of such Benchmark (or the published component used in the calculation thereof).

 

“Benchmark Transition Event” means the occurrence of one or more of the following events with respect to the then-current Benchmark:

 

(1) a public statement or publication of information by or on behalf of the administrator of such Benchmark (or the published component used in the calculation thereof) announcing that such administrator has ceased or will cease to provide all Available Tenors of such Benchmark (or such component thereof), permanently or indefinitely, provided that, at the time of such statement or publication, there is no successor administrator that will continue to provide any Available Tenor of such Benchmark (or such component thereof);

 

(2) a public statement or publication of information by the regulatory supervisor for the administrator of such Benchmark (or the published component used in the calculation thereof), the Federal Reserve Board, the NYFRB, an insolvency official with jurisdiction over the administrator for such Benchmark (or such component), a resolution authority with jurisdiction over the administrator for such Benchmark (or such component) or a court or an entity with similar insolvency or resolution authority over the administrator for such Benchmark (or such component), which states that the administrator of such Benchmark (or such component) has ceased or will cease to provide all Available Tenors of such Benchmark (or such component thereof) permanently or indefinitely, provided that, at the time of such statement or publication, there is no successor administrator that will continue to provide any Available Tenor of such Benchmark (or such component thereof); or

 

(3) a public statement or publication of information by the regulatory supervisor for the administrator of such Benchmark (or the published component used in the calculation thereof) announcing that all Available Tenors of such Benchmark (or such component thereof) are no longer, or as of a specified future date will no longer be, representative.

 

For the avoidance of doubt, a “Benchmark Transition Event” will be deemed to have occurred with respect to any Benchmark if a public statement or publication of information set forth above has occurred with respect to each then-current Available Tenor of such Benchmark (or the published component used in the calculation thereof).

 

“Benchmark Unavailability Period” means the period (if any) (x) beginning at the time that a Benchmark Replacement Date pursuant to clauses (1) or (2) of that definition has occurred if, at such time, no Benchmark Replacement has replaced the then-current Benchmark for all purposes hereunder and under any Loan Document in accordance with Section 2.13 and (y) ending at the time that a Benchmark Replacement has replaced the then-current Benchmark for all purposes hereunder and under any Loan Document in accordance with Section 2.13.

 

9

 

 

“Beneficial Ownership Certification” means a certification regarding beneficial ownership as required by the Beneficial Ownership Regulation.

 

“Beneficial Ownership Regulation” means 31 C.F.R. § 1010.230.

 

“Benefit Plan” means any of (a) an “employee benefit plan” (as defined in ERISA) that is subject to Title I of ERISA, (b) a “plan” as defined in and subject to Section 4975 of the Code or (c) any Person whose assets include (for purposes of ERISA Section 3(42) or otherwise for purposes of Title I of ERISA or Section 4975 of the Code) the assets of any such “employee benefit plan” or “plan”.

 

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

 

“Borrowers” has the meaning set forth in the preamble to this Agreement.

 

“Borrower Representative” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 11.01.

 

“Borrowing” means (a) Loans of the same Class and Type made, converted or continued on the same date and, in the case of Eurodollar Loans, as to which a single Interest Period is in effect, or (b) a Swingline Loan.

 

“Borrowing Request” means a request by the Borrower Representative for a Borrowing in accordance with Section 2.3.

 

“Business Day” means any day that is not a Saturday, Sunday, or other day on which commercial banks in New York City are authorized or required by law to remain closed; provided that, when used in connection with a Eurodollar Loan, the term Business Day shall also exclude any day on which banks are not open for dealings in Dollar deposits in the applicable Benchmark.

 

“Capital Expenditures” means, with respect to any Person for any period, the amount of all expenditures by such Person and its Restricted Subsidiaries during such period that are capital expenditures as determined in accordance with GAAP.

 

“Capital Lease Obligations” means all leases that have been or are required to be, in accordance with GAAP, recorded as capitalized leases; provided that for all purposes hereunder the amount of obligations under any Capital Lease Obligations shall be the amount thereof accounted for as a liability in accordance with GAAP.

 

“Cash Collateralize” means to deposit in a Controlled Account or to pledge and deposit with or deliver to the Administrative Agent, for the benefit of one or more of Issuing Lender or Lenders, as collateral for the LC Exposure or obligations of Lenders to fund participations in respect of the LC Exposure, cash or Deposit Account balances or, if Administrative Agent and each applicable Issuing Lender shall agree in their sole discretion, other credit support, in each case pursuant to documentation in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to the Administrative Agent and each applicable Issuing Lender. “Cash Collateral” shall have a meaning correlative to the foregoing and shall include the proceeds of such cash collateral and other credit support.

 

“Cash Equivalents” means any of the following types of Investments, to the extent owned by any Borrower or any Restricted Subsidiary:

 

(a) Dollars, Euros, Pounds Sterling, Canadian Dollars, or any national currency of any country that is a member state of the European Union or local currencies held from time to time in the Ordinary Course of Business,

 

10

 

 

(b) readily marketable securities issued or directly and fully and unconditionally guaranteed or insured by the United States government, Canada or any country that is a member state of the European Union or any agency or instrumentality thereof the securities of which are unconditionally guaranteed as a full faith and credit obligation of such government with maturities of 24 months or less from the date of acquisition,

 

(c) certificates of deposit, time deposits, and eurodollar time deposits with maturities of one year or less from the date of acquisition, demand deposits, bankers’ acceptances with maturities not exceeding one year, and overnight bank deposits, in each case with any commercial bank having capital and surplus of not less than $500,000,000 in the case of U.S. banks and $500,000,000 (or the foreign currency equivalent thereof as of the date of determination) in the case of foreign banks, including Canadian banks,

 

(d) repurchase obligations for underlying securities of the types described in clauses (b) and (c) above and clause (h) below entered into with any financial institution meeting the qualifications specified in clause (c) above,

 

(e) commercial paper rated at least P-2 (or the equivalent thereof) by Moody’s or at least A-2 (or the equivalent thereof) by S&P and in each case maturing within 12 months after the date of acquisition thereof,

 

(f) marketable short-term money market and similar securities having a rating of at least P-2 or A-2 (or, in either case, the equivalent thereof) from either Moody’s or S&P, respectively (or, if at any time neither Moody’s nor S&P shall be rating such obligations, an equivalent rating from another nationally recognized ratings agency) and in each case maturing within 12 months after the date of creation or acquisition thereof,

 

(g) readily marketable direct obligations issued by any state, commonwealth, or territory of the United States or any political subdivision or taxing authority thereof having the highest credit rating obtainable from either Moody’s or S&P with maturities of 24 months or less from the date of acquisition,

 

(h) Indebtedness or preferred Equity Interest issued by Persons with a rating of “A” (or the equivalent thereof) or higher from S&P or “A2” (or the equivalent thereof) or higher from Moody’s with maturities of 24 months or less from the date of acquisition,

 

(i) solely with respect to any Foreign Subsidiary: (i) obligations of the national government of the country in which such Foreign Subsidiary maintains its chief executive office and principal place of business provided such country is a member of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, in each case maturing within one year after the date of investment therein; (ii) certificates of deposit of, bankers acceptances of, or time deposits with, any commercial bank which is organized and existing under the laws of the country in which such Foreign Subsidiary maintains its chief executive office and principal place of business provided such country is a member of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, and whose short-term commercial paper rating from S&P is at least “A-2” or the equivalent thereof or from Moody’s is at least “P-2” or the equivalent thereof (any such bank being an “Approved Foreign Bank”), and in each case with maturities of not more than 24 months from the date of acquisition; and (iii) the equivalent of demand deposit accounts which are maintained with an Approved Foreign Bank, in each case, customarily used by entities for cash management purposes in any jurisdiction outside the United States to the extent reasonably required in connection with any business conducted by such Foreign Subsidiary organized in such jurisdiction, and

 

11

 

 

(j) in the case of investments by any Foreign Subsidiary or investments made in a country outside the United States, Cash Equivalents shall also include investments of the type and maturity described in clauses (a) through (i) above of foreign obligors to the extent such investments are necessary or useful for the business of such Person, which investments have ratings, described in such clauses or equivalent ratings from comparable foreign rating agencies, and

 

(k) investment funds investing all or substantially all of their assets in securities of the types described in clauses (a) through (i) above.

 

Notwithstanding the foregoing, Cash Equivalents shall include amounts denominated in currencies other than those set forth in clause (a) above; provided, that such amounts are converted into any currency listed in clause (a) as promptly as practicable and in any event within ten Business Days following the receipt of such amounts.

 

“Cash Management Services” means (a) cash management, treasury or related services (including the Automated Clearing House processing of electronic fund transfers through the direct Federal Reserve Fedline system, credit cards, credit card processing services, debit cards, stored value cards, gift cards, purchase cards (including so-called “procurement cards” or “P-cards”) and controlled disbursement and overdraft services), (b) deposit and other accounts and (c) merchant services (other than those constituting a line of credit) provided by a depository bank to its customers. For the avoidance of doubt, Cash Management Services do not include obligations under Hedging Agreements.

 

“CFC” means any direct or indirect Subsidiary of Borrower that is “a controlled foreign corporation” (within the meaning of Section 957(a) of the Code) any shares of which are treated as owned directly or indirectly by a “United States Shareholder” (within the meaning of Section 951(b) of the Code) as measured for purposes of Section 958 of the Code.

 

“Change in Control” means: (a) at any time prior to an Initial Public Offering, (i) the Permitted Holders shall cease to own and control, directly or indirectly, at least 50.1% of the total voting power of all of the Equity Interests of Holdings or (ii) Holdings (or New Holdings) shall cease to own, directly or indirectly, 100% of the Equity Interests of the Company; or (b) at any time after an Initial Public Offering, another person or group (other than the Permitted Holders and any employee benefit plan and/or person acting as the trustee, agent or other fiduciary or administrator) acquires more than the greater of (x) 35% of the outstanding voting common stock of Holdings, and (y) the percentage of then outstanding voting common stock of Holdings held, directly or indirectly, by the Permitted Holders.

 

Notwithstanding the preceding or any provision of Rule 13d-3 of the Exchange Act (or any successor provision), a Person or group shall not be deemed to beneficially own securities subject to an equity or asset purchase agreement, merger agreement or similar agreement (or voting or option or similar agreement related thereto) until the consummation of the transactions contemplated by such agreement.

 

“Change in Law” means the occurrence, after the date of this Agreement, of any of the following: (a) the adoption or taking effect of any law, rule, regulation or treaty, (b) any change in any law, rule or regulation or treaty or in the administration, interpretation, implementation, or application thereof by any Governmental Authority, or (c) the making or issuance of any request, rule, guideline, or directive (whether or not having the force of law) by any Governmental Authority; provided that notwithstanding anything herein to the contrary, (i) the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act and all requests, rules, guidelines or directives thereunder or issued in connection therewith and (ii) all requests, rules, guidelines or directives promulgated by the Bank for International Settlements, the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (or any successor or similar authority) or the United States or foreign regulatory authorities, in each case pursuant to Basel III, shall in each case be deemed to be a “Change in Law”, regardless of the date enacted, adopted or issued.

 

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“Class”, when used in reference to any Loan or Borrowing, refers to whether such Loan, or the Loans comprising such Borrowing, are Revolving Credit Loans, Extended Revolving Credit Loans, Initial Term Loans, Refinancing Term Loans, Replacement Term Loans, a given Tranche of Incremental Term Loans or Swingline Loans and, when used in reference to any Commitment, refers to whether such Commitment is a Revolving Credit Commitment or Term Loan Commitment.

 

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

 

“Collateral” means the property over which a Lien has been or is intended to be granted to the Administrative Agent pursuant to the Security Documents (but in any event excluding the Excluded Property or any similar term in any Security Documents).

 

“Collateral Account” means a blocked, cash collateral account (which may be interest bearing) opened by Administrative Agent and constituting Collateral pursuant to the Security Agreement.

 

“Commitment” means a Revolving Credit Commitment, the Term Loan Commitment, or any combination thereof (as the context requires).

 

“Commitment Letter” means that certain amended and restated commitment letter, dated as July 30, 2021, executed by the Initial Borrower, and the Lead Arranger, PGIM and Voya.

 

“Commodity Exchange Act” means the Commodity Exchange Act (7 U.S.C. § 1 et seq.), as amended from time to time, and any successor statute.

 

“Communication” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 10.1(a).

 

“Companies” means Holdings, the Borrower and each Restricted Subsidiary.

 

“Company” has the meaning set forth in the preamble to this Agreement.

 

“Competitor” means any Person that is or becomes a competitor of the Borrowers and/or any of their respective Subsidiaries or an Affiliate of such competitor, in each case to the extent identified by the Borrowers or the Sponsor in writing as a “Disqualified Institution” with the consent of the Administrative Agent (such consent not to be unreasonably withheld, conditioned, denied or delayed) from time to time.

 

“Compliance Certificate” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 5.1(c).

 

“Connection Income Taxes” means Other Connection Taxes that are imposed on or measured by net income (however denominated) or that are franchise Taxes or branch profits Taxes.

 

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“Consolidated Current Assets” means, with respect to the Borrowers and the Restricted Subsidiaries on a consolidated basis at any date of determination, all assets (other than cash and Cash Equivalents) that would, in accordance with GAAP, be classified on a consolidated balance sheet of the Borrowers and its Restricted Subsidiaries as current assets at such date of determination, other than amounts related to current or deferred Taxes based on income, profits or capital gains on assets held for sale, loans (permitted) to third parties, pension assets, deferred bank fees and derivative financial instruments, and excluding the effects of adjustments pursuant to GAAP resulting from the application of recapitalization accounting or purchase accounting, as the case may be, in relation to the Acquisition or any consummated acquisition.

 

“Consolidated Current Liabilities” means, with respect to the Borrowers and the Restricted Subsidiaries on a consolidated basis at any date of determination, all liabilities that would, in accordance with GAAP, be classified on a consolidated balance sheet of the Borrower sand its Restricted Subsidiaries as current liabilities at such date of determination, other than (a) the current portion of any Indebtedness, (b) the current portion of interest expense, (c) accruals for current or deferred Taxes based on income or profits, (d) accruals of any costs or expenses related to restructuring reserves, (e) deferred revenue, (f) any Revolving Credit Exposure or Revolving Credit Loans, and (f) the current portion of pension liabilities and excluding the effects of adjustments pursuant to GAAP resulting from the application of recapitalization accounting or purchase accounting, as the case may be, in relation to the Acquisition or any consummated acquisition.

 

“Consolidated EBITDA” means, for any period for the Borrowers and the Restricted Subsidiaries:

 

(a)            Consolidated Net Income; plus

 

(b)            to the extent subtracted in determining such Consolidated Net Income and without duplication:

 

(i)            Interest Expense;

 

(ii)            without duplication, provision for taxes based on income (or similar taxes in lieu of income taxes), profits or capital gains of the Borrowers and the Restricted Subsidiaries, including federal, foreign, state, local, franchise, excise and similar taxes and foreign withholding taxes paid or accrued during such period including penalties and interest related to such taxes or arising from any tax examinations paid or accrued during such period or, to the extent reflected as a charge in the statement of such Consolidated Net Income (regardless of classification), any tax distributions (including Permitted Tax Distributions) made during, or with respect, such period;

 

(iii)           depreciation and amortization expense, including the following non-cash items to the extent constituting depreciation and amortization expense in accordance with GAAP: amortization of deferred financing fees or costs, debt issuance costs, commissions, fees, and expenses, capitalized expenditures, or costs, amortization of expenditures relating to software, license and intellectual property payments, amortization of any lease related assets recorded in purchase accounting, customer acquisition costs, unrecognized prior service costs and actuarial gains and losses related to pensions and other post-employment benefits, the amortization of original issue discount resulting from the issuance of Indebtedness at less than par and incentive payments, conversion costs, and contract acquisition costs of such Person and its Restricted Subsidiaries for such period on a consolidated basis and otherwise determined in accordance with GAAP;

 

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(iv)           the amount of transaction, management, monitoring, consulting and advisory fees, indemnities and related expenses paid or accrued in such period to (or on behalf of) the Sponsor (including those owed under any Sponsor or other Investor management agreement or any fees owed to the Sponsor for any financial advisory, financing, underwriting or placement services or in respect of other investment banking activities), any other Investor in Holdings, or any direct or indirect parent of Holdings, and the amount of fees, expenses and indemnities paid to directors, including directors of any direct or indirect parent of Holdings, in each case, to the extent permitted hereunder;

 

(v)            Transaction Costs, accruals, charges, payments, expenses and transaction costs and expenses (including rationalization, legal, tax, structuring and other costs and expenses) incurred in connection with Permitted Acquisitions, Investments, Dispositions (other than Ordinary Course Dispositions), issuance, repayment, amendments, or modifications, negotiation, forbearance, extension or waiver of Indebtedness or issuance of Equity Interests, in each case to the extent permitted by this Agreement whether or not consummated;

 

(vi)           all non-cash charges, expenses and losses, including, without limitation, any non-cash asset retirement costs, non-cash compensation charges, non-cash translation (gain) loss and non-cash expense relating to the vesting of warrants (in each case other than to the extent constituting a reserve for a future cash charge);

 

(vii)          extraordinary, non-recurring, exceptional or unusual charges, losses and expenses or special items;

 

(viii)         cost savings, operating expense reductions and synergies related to the Acquisition, or related to mergers and other business combinations, acquisitions, divestitures of business entities or properties or assets constituting a division or line of business of any business entity (and purchases and dispositions of intellectual property if, solely in the case of acquisitions, pro forma treatment is elected by the Borrowers in their discretion on a case-by-case basis), restructurings, cost savings initiatives, new contracts, other operational initiatives (including, to the extent applicable, from the Transactions or the effect of new customer contracts or projects or increased pricing or volume in new or existing customer contracts) and other similar initiatives, including any “run-rate” revenue or cost synergies, operating expense reductions and other operating changes, improvements, initiatives and cost savings, consummated after the Effective Date, in each case that are reasonably identifiable and factually supportable and projected by the Borrowers in good faith to result from actions that have been taken or with respect to which substantial steps have been taken or are expected to be taken (in the good faith determination of the Borrowers) within 24 months after the Effective Date with respect to the Acquisition, or 24 months after a merger or other business combination, acquisition, divestiture, restructuring, cost savings initiative or other initiative is consummated respectively, and, in each case, reasonably anticipated to be realizable within 24 months of such transaction, in each case, net of the amount of actual benefits realized during such period;

 

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(ix)            severance, relocation costs, integration and facilities’ opening costs and other business optimization expenses and charges (including related to new product introductions and other strategic or cost saving initiatives, systems design, upgrade and implementation costs), one-time restructuring charges, accruals or reserves (including restructuring and integration costs related to acquisitions after the Effective Date and adjustments to existing reserves), whether or not classified as restructuring expense on the consolidated financial statements, signing bonuses, retention or completion bonuses, including payments made to employees or others who are subject to non-compete agreements, other executive recruiting and retention costs, transition costs, costs related to closure/consolidation of or opening or pre-opening of facilities or discontinued operations, internal costs in respect of strategic initiatives, contract termination costs, stock option and other equity-based compensation expenses, severance costs, including, without limitation, any one-time expense relating to enhanced accounting function or other transaction costs, including those associated with becoming a standalone entity or a public company, and public company costs;

 

(x)             add-backs and adjustments (A) set forth in the (x) quality of earnings analysis delivered to the Administrative Agent on June 24, 2021 or any other quality of earnings analysis prepared by other independent registered public accountants of recognized national standing or any other accounting firm reasonably acceptable to the Administrative Agent (it being understood and agreed that any of the “Big Four” accounting firms are acceptable) and delivered to the Administrative Agent in connection with any Permitted Acquisition or other Investment permitted hereunder and (y) the Sponsor model delivered to the Lead Arranger on June 24, 2021 and (B) consistent with Regulation S-X;

 

(xi)            the fees, costs and expenses related to the cumulative effect of a change in accounting principles and the implementation of ASC 606;

 

(xii)           cash receipts (or any netting arrangements resulting in reduced cash expenditures) not representing Consolidated EBITDA or Consolidated Net Income in any period to the extent non-cash gains (other than extraordinary, unusual or non-recurring gains or income) relating to such income were deducted in the calculation of Consolidated EBITDA pursuant to clause (c) below for any previous period and not added back;

 

(xiii)          any non-cash increase in expenses (A) resulting from the revaluation of inventory (including any impact of changes to inventory valuation policy methods including changes in capitalization of variances) or other inventory adjustments, or any other acquisition or (B) due to purchase accounting;

 

(xiv)          proceeds of business interruption insurance (including proceeds expect to be received within one year with a reduction if not received within such period);

 

(xv)           charges, losses or expenses to the extent paid for, reimbursed, indemnified or insured by a third party (or reasonably expected to be so paid or reimbursed within one year after the end of such period with a reduction if not received within such period);

 

(xvi)          minority interest expense to the extent reducing Consolidated Net Income;

 

(xvii)         costs and expenses related to implementation of operational and reporting systems and technology initiatives;

 

(xviii)        letter of credit fees;

 

(xix)           non-recurring costs, expenses and charges in connection with environmental matters and litigation (including related to settlements thereof);

 

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(xx)           any director’s fees and related expenses payable to any independent director of Holdings in cash during such period to the extent otherwise permitted hereunder;

 

(xxi)          any net loss (less gains) from disposed, abandoned or discontinued operations or product lines outside of the Ordinary Course of Business;

 

(xxii)         payments by the Borrowers and the Restricted Subsidiaries paid or accrued during such period in respect of purchase price holdbacks, earn outs and other similar contingent obligations to the extent deducted in calculating Consolidated Net Income of the Borrowers and the Restricted Subsidiaries other than Indebtedness;

 

(xxiii)        [reserved];

 

(xxiv)        the amount of loss or discount on sale of (x) Receivables Assets and related assets in connection with a Receivables Facility and (y) Securitization Assets and related assets in connection with a Qualified Securitization Financing, in each case, deducted (and not added back) in computing Consolidated Net Income; provided, that such amount of loss or discount on sale shall not exceed 10% of the face value of such assets;

 

(xxv)         the amount of costs and expenses relating to payments made to option holders of any direct or indirect parent of the Borrowers in connection with, or as a result of, any distribution being made to equityholders of such Person;

 

(xxvi)        [reserved]; and

 

(xxvii)       expenses (but not lost revenue) arising from any event, occurrence, fact, condition or change, directly or indirectly arising out of or attributable to COVID-19 in an aggregate amount not to exceed $2,000,000 after the Effective Date; minus

 

(c)            to the extent included in determining such Consolidated Net Income, (i) all non-cash gains and income, and all extraordinary, unusual or non-recurring gains or income, in each case on a consolidated basis determined in accordance with GAAP applied on a consistent basis and (ii) minority interest income added to Consolidated Net Income and not deducted therefrom during such period;

 

provided that the amounts added-back to Consolidated EBITDA pursuant to the foregoing clauses (b)(viii) and (b)(ix) shall in no event in the aggregate exceed 30% of Consolidated EBITDA (calculated after adding-back such amounts); provided further, for the purposes of calculating Consolidated EBITDA for any Fiscal Quarter (a “Reference Period”) for all purposes in this Agreement, (x) if at any time during such Reference Period, the Borrowers or any of their Restricted Subsidiaries shall have made any Material Disposition, the Consolidated EBITDA for such Reference Period shall be reduced by an amount equal to the earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (if positive) attributable to the property that is the subject of such Material Disposition for such Reference Period or increased by an amount equal to the earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (if negative) attributable thereto for such Reference Period, and (y) if during such Reference Period, the Borrowers or any of their Restricted Subsidiaries shall have made a Permitted Acquisition or permitted Investment of a business line or division, Consolidated EBITDA for such Reference Period shall be calculated after giving effect on a pro forma basis to the earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization of any Acquired Entity or Business, including, in each case during such period, as if such Permitted Acquisition had occurred on the first day of such period, in each case in accordance with Section 1.8.

 

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Notwithstanding anything to the contrary, Consolidated EBITDA shall be deemed to be $6,751,025.73 for the Fiscal Quarter ended September 30, 2020, $4,611,123.28 for the Fiscal Quarter ended December 31, 2020, $8,553,718.80 for the Fiscal Quarter ended March 31, 2021 and $8.099,268.35 for the Fiscal Quarter ended June 30, 2021.

 

“Consolidated First Lien Net Leverage Ratio” means, as of any date of determination, the ratio of (a) (i) the aggregate principal amount of all outstanding Funded Debt of the Borrowers and their Restricted Subsidiaries as of such date that is secured by a lien on the Collateral on a senior or pari passu basis (without regard to remedies) with the Liens on the Collateral securing the Obligations under this Agreement, minus (ii) Unrestricted Cash, in each case as of such date to (b) Consolidated EBITDA for the most recently ended four Fiscal Quarter period for which financial statements have been delivered to the Administrative Agent pursuant to Section 5.1(a) or (b).

 

“Consolidated Net Income” means, for any period, the net income (or loss) of the Borrowers and the Restricted Subsidiaries for such period determined on a consolidated basis in accordance with GAAP; provided that, without duplication,

 

(a)             the costs and expenses related to implementation of operational and reporting systems and technology initiatives shall be excluded;

 

(b)             the fees, costs and expenses related to the cumulative effect of a change in accounting principles and the implementation of ASC 606 shall be excluded;

 

(c)             any non-cash increase in expenses (A) resulting from the revaluation of inventory (including any impact of changes to inventory valuation policy methods including changes in capitalization of variances) or other inventory adjustments, or any other acquisition or (B) due to purchase accounting shall be excluded;

 

(d)             any gains or losses (less all fees, expenses and charges relating thereto) attributable to asset dispositions or abandonments or the sale or other disposition of any Equity Interests of any Person, in each case other than in the Ordinary Course of Business, as determined in good faith by the Borrowers, shall be excluded;

 

(e)             the net income (loss) for such period of any Person that is not a Subsidiary of the Borrowers, or is an Unrestricted Subsidiary, or that is accounted for by the equity method of accounting, shall be excluded; provided that Consolidated Net Income of the Borrowers shall be increased by the amount of dividends or distributions or other payments that are actually paid in cash or Cash Equivalents (or to the extent subsequently converted into cash or Cash Equivalents) from the operations of such Person to the Borrower or a Restricted Subsidiary thereof in respect of such period;

 

(f)             any impairment charge or asset write-off or write-down, including impairment charges or asset write-offs or write-downs related to intangible assets, long-lived assets, investments in debt and equity securities or as a result of a change in law or regulation, in each case, pursuant to GAAP, and the amortization of intangibles arising pursuant to GAAP shall be excluded;

 

(g)             any non-cash compensation charge or expense, including any such charge or expense arising from the grants of stock appreciation or similar rights, stock options, restricted stock or other rights or equity incentive programs or any other equity-based compensation shall be excluded, and any cash charges associated with the rollover, acceleration or payout of Equity Interests by management of the Borrowers or any of its direct or indirect parents in connection with the Transactions or an Initial Public Offering, shall be excluded;

 

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(h)             any expenses, charges or losses that are covered by indemnification or other reimbursement provisions in connection with any Investment, Permitted Acquisition or any sale, conveyance, transfer or other disposition of assets permitted under this Agreement, to the extent actually reimbursed, or, so long as the Borrowers have made a determination that a reasonable basis exists for indemnification or reimbursement and only to the extent that such amount is in fact indemnified or reimbursed within 365 days of such determination (with a deduction in the applicable future period for any amount so added back to the extent not so indemnified or reimbursed within such 365-day period), shall be excluded;

 

(i)              to the extent covered by insurance and actually reimbursed, or, so long as the Borrowers have made a determination that there exists reasonable evidence that such amount will in fact be reimbursed by the insurer and only to the extent that such amount is in fact reimbursed within 365 days of the date of such determination (with a deduction in the applicable future period for any amount so added back to the extent not so reimbursed within such 365 days), expenses, charges or losses with respect to liability or casualty events or business interruption shall be excluded;

 

(j)             the income (or loss) of any Person accrued prior to the date it becomes a Restricted Subsidiary of the Borrowers or is merged into or consolidated with a Borrower or any of its Subsidiaries or such Person’s assets are acquired by a Borrower or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries shall be excluded (except to the extent required for any calculation of Consolidated EBITDA on a pro forma basis in accordance with Section 1.8);

 

(k)            solely for the purpose of determining the Available Amount pursuant to clause (b) of the definition thereof, the income of any Restricted Subsidiary of a Borrower that is not a Guarantor to the extent that the declaration or payment of dividends or similar distributions by such Restricted Subsidiary of such income is not at the time permitted by operation of the terms of its charter or any agreement, instrument, judgment, decree, order, statute, rule or governmental regulation applicable to such Restricted Subsidiary shall be excluded unless such restriction with respect to the payment of dividends or similar distributions (i) has been legally waived or otherwise released, (ii) is imposed pursuant to this Agreement and other Loan Documents, or (iii) arises pursuant to an agreement or instrument related to any Ratio Debt or Incremental Equivalent Debt incurred pursuant to Section 6.1(ee) if the encumbrances and restrictions contained in any such agreement or instrument taken as a whole are not materially less favorable to the Secured Parties than the encumbrances and restrictions contained in the Loan Documents (as determined by the Borrowers in good faith), except (solely to the extent permitted to be paid) to the extent of the amount of dividends or other distributions actually paid to a Borrower or any of their Restricted Subsidiaries that are Guarantors by such Person during such period in accordance with such documents and regulations;

 

(l)            any deferred tax expense associated with tax deductions or net operating losses arising as a result of the Transactions, or the release of any valuation allowance related to such items, shall be excluded;

 

(m)            gains and losses due solely to fluctuations in currency values and the related tax effects determined in accordance with GAAP for such period shall be excluded;

 

(n)            any non-cash net pension or other post-employment benefit costs representing amortization of unrecognized prior service costs, actuarial losses, including amortization of such amounts arising in prior periods, amortization of the unrecognized net obligation (and loss or cost) existing at the date of initial application of Statement of Financial Accounting Standards Nos. 87, 106 and 112, and any other items of a similar nature, shall be excluded;

 

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(o)            any non-cash adjustments resulting from the application of Accounting Standards Codification Topic No. 460, Guarantees, or any comparable regulation, shall be excluded;

 

(p)            payments by the Borrowers and the Restricted Subsidiaries paid or accrued during such period in respect of purchase price holdbacks, earn outs and other similar contingent obligations shall be excluded;

 

(q)            extraordinary, non-recurring, exceptional or unusual charges, losses and expenses or special items shall be excluded;

 

(r)             the amount of transaction, management, monitoring, consulting and advisory fees, indemnities and related expenses paid or accrued in such period to (or on behalf of) the Sponsor (including those owed under any Sponsor or other Investor management agreement or any fees owed to the Sponsor for any financial advisory, financing, underwriting or placement services or in respect of other investment banking activities), any other Investor in Holdings, or any direct or indirect parent of Holdings, and the amount of fees, expenses and indemnities paid to directors, including directors of any direct or indirect parent of Holdings, in each case, to the extent permitted hereunder, shall be excluded; and

 

(s)            (xiv)        proceeds of business interruption insurance (including proceeds expected to be received within one year with a reduction if not received within such period).

 

For the avoidance of doubt, Consolidated Net Income shall be calculated, including pro forma adjustments, in accordance with Section 1.8.

 

“Consolidated Net Leverage Ratio” means, as of any date of determination, the ratio of (a) (i) the aggregate principal amount of all outstanding Funded Debt of the Borrowers and their Restricted Subsidiaries as of such date, minus (ii) Unrestricted Cash, in each case as of such date to (b) Consolidated EBITDA for the most recently ended four Fiscal Quarter period for which financial statements have been delivered to the Administrative Agent pursuant to Section 5.1(a) or (b).

 

“Consolidated Secured Net Leverage Ratio” means, as of any date of determination, the ratio of (a) (i) the aggregate principal amount of all outstanding Funded Debt of the Borrowers and their Restricted Subsidiaries that is secured by a Lien on the Collateral, minus (ii) Unrestricted Cash, in each case as of such date to (b) Consolidated EBITDA for the most recently ended four Fiscal Quarter period for which financial statements have been delivered to the Administrative Agent pursuant to Section 5.1(a) or (b).

 

“Consolidated Working Capital” means, at any date, the difference of (a) Consolidated Current Assets of the Borrowers and their Restricted Subsidiaries on such date less (b) Consolidated Current Liabilities of Holdings and its Restricted Subsidiaries on such date; provided that increases or decreases in Consolidated Working Capital shall be calculated without regard to any changes in Consolidated Current Assets or Consolidated Current Liabilities as a result of (a) any reclassification in accordance with GAAP of assets or liabilities, as applicable, between current and non-current, (b) the effects of purchase accounting or (c) the effect of fluctuations in the amount of accrued or contingent obligations, assets or liabilities under Swap Obligations.

 

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“Control Agreements” means, collectively, those control agreements in form and substance reasonably acceptable to the Administrative Agent entered into among (a) the depository institution maintaining any Deposit Account (to the extent required under the Loan Documents), the securities intermediary maintaining any securities account, or the commodity intermediary maintaining any commodity account, (b) an Obligor or Defaulting Lender, as applicable, and (c) Administrative Agent, pursuant to which Administrative Agent obtains control (within the meaning of the applicable provision of the UCC) over such Deposit Account, securities account or commodity account.

 

“Controlled Account” means each Deposit Account, securities account, or commodities account that is subject to a Control Agreement.

 

“Corresponding Tenor” with respect to any Available Tenor means, as applicable, either a tenor (including overnight) or an interest payment period having approximately the same length (disregarding business day adjustment) as such Available Tenor.

 

“Credit Agreement Refinancing Indebtedness” means any Indebtedness issued, incurred or otherwise obtained (including by means of the extension or renewal of existing Indebtedness) by one or more Obligors (other than Holdings (other than as a guarantor)) in exchange for, or to extend, renew, replace or refinance, in whole or part, existing Term Loans or, in whole, existing Revolving Credit Loans (or unused Revolving Credit Commitments) (including any successive Credit Agreement Refinancing Indebtedness) (“Refinanced Debt” and any such Refinanced Debt that consists of Term Loans, “Refinanced Term Debt” and any such Refinanced Debt that is a revolving credit facility, “Refinanced Revolving Debt”); provided that:

 

(a)            such exchanging, extending, renewing, replacing or refinancing Indebtedness is in an original aggregate principal amount not greater than the aggregate principal amount of the Refinanced Debt outstanding at the time of such exchange (plus any unused commitments thereunder), extension, renewal, replacement or refinancing except by an amount equal to unpaid accrued interest and premium (including tender premium) thereon, plus upfront fees and original issue discount on such exchanging, extending, renewing, replacing or refinancing Indebtedness, plus other reasonable and customary fees and expenses in connection with such exchange, extension, renewal, replacement or refinancing and (i) substantially concurrently with the incurrence of any such Refinancing Term Loans, 100% of the proceeds thereof or 100% of the aggregate principal amount thereof shall be applied to repay (or shall be exchanged for, extend, renew or replace) the Refinanced Term Debt (including accrued interest, fees and premiums (if any) payable in connection therewith) and to pay such other reasonable and customary fees and expenses in connection with such exchange, extension, renewal, replacement or refinancing and (ii) substantially concurrently with the effectiveness of such Refinancing Revolving Credit Commitments, all of the Revolving Credit Commitments in effect immediately prior to such effectiveness shall be terminated, and all of the Revolving Credit Loans then outstanding, together with interest thereon and all other amounts accrued for the benefit of the Revolving Credit Lenders, shall be repaid or paid;

 

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(b)            except in the case of a customary bridge facility that is subject to an automatic conversion within one (1) year of issuance of such bridge facility on terms that would otherwise satisfy this clause (b) such Indebtedness has a maturity the same as or later to occur than, and, in the case of Refinanced Term Debt only, a Weighted Average Life to Maturity equal to or greater than, in each case, the Refinanced Debt;

 

(c)            at no time shall there be more than one tranche or Class of Revolving Credit Commitments hereunder other than with respect to extensions permitted under Section 2.23;

 

(d)            the other terms and documentation in respect of any such Refinanced Term Debt, to the extent inconsistent with the terms and documentation with respect to the existing Term Loan, shall be determined by the Borrowers and shall, at the option of the Borrowers, (a) reflect current market terms and conditions (taken as a whole) at the time of incurrence or issuance (as reasonably determined by the Borrowers), (b) be consistent with the terms of the corresponding Class of Term Loans unless, in the case of this clause (b), (x) the Lenders under the corresponding Class of Term Loans also received the benefit of such more restrictive terms or (y) any such provisions apply only after the maturity date of the relevant Class of Term Loans, or (c) not be materially more restrictive to the Borrowers, when taken as a whole, than the terms of the applicable Class of Term Loans (as reasonably determined by the Borrowers);

 

(e)            such Indebtedness shall not be secured by any assets other than the Collateral and shall not be guaranteed by any Person other than the Guarantors (unless such guaranty affirmatively is declined by the Administrative Agent as credit support for the Obligations, it being agreed, for the avoidance of doubt, that a Person qualifying as an Excluded Subsidiary shall not result in the Administrative Agent being deemed to have declined such guaranty);

 

(f)             the interest rate, margin, original issue discount, up-front fees and other fees and rate floors for such Credit Agreement Refinancing Indebtedness in the form of Refinanced Term Debt may be determined by the Borrowers and the Lenders providing such Refinanced Term Debt, as applicable, providing such Refinanced Term Debt; provided that, in the event that the All-in Yield for any such Refinanced Term Debt that ranks pari passu in right of payment and security with the existing Term Loans incurred (other than in reliance on clause (i) of the Incremental Amount) is greater than the All-in Yield for the existing Term Loans by more than 50 basis points, then the Applicable Margin for the existing Term Loans shall be increased to the extent necessary so that the All-in Yield for such Refinanced Term Debt is no more than 50 basis points higher than the All-in-Yield for the existing Term Loans; provided that, in the event that the All-In Yield for such Refinanced Term Debt is higher than the All-In Yield for the existing Term Loans solely as a result of a higher rate floor for such Refinanced Term Debt, the adjustment to the All-In Yield of the existing Term Loans shall be effected solely by increasing the rate floor;

 

(g)            such Refinanced Debt shall be repaid, defeased or satisfied and discharged, and all accrued interest, fees and premiums (if any) in connection therewith shall be paid, on the date such Credit Agreement Refinancing Indebtedness is issued, incurred or obtained;

 

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(h)            the aggregate Revolving Credit Commitments under such Credit Agreement Refinancing Indebtedness shall not exceed, without duplication, the Revolving Credit Commitments and existing Revolving Credit Loans being replaced; and

 

(i)             (x) if any Sponsor Controlled Affiliated Lender provides any Credit Agreement Refinancing Indebtedness it shall be subject to the same limitations and restrictions set forth in Section 10.4(g) as if such Sponsor Controlled Affiliated Lender were purchasing Term Loans by assignment and (y) no Sponsor Controlled Affiliated Lender shall provide or hold any Revolving Credit Loans or Revolving Credit Commitments.

 

“Cure Termination Date” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 8.3.

 

“Daily Simple SOFR” means, for any day, SOFR, with the conventions for this rate (which may include a lookback) being established by the Administrative Agent in accordance with the conventions for this rate selected or recommended by the Relevant Governmental Body for determining “Daily Simple SOFR” for business loans; provided, that if the Administrative Agent decides that any such convention is not administratively feasible for the Administrative Agent, then the Administrative Agent may establish another convention in its reasonable discretion.

 

“Debt Fund Affiliate” means an Affiliate of the Sponsor that is a bona fide debt fund that is primarily engaged in making, purchasing, holding or otherwise investing in commercial loans in the ordinary course of business with respect to which none of the Sponsor, Holdings, the Borrowers or Restricted Subsidiaries or any of their respective Affiliates that is not such a bona fide debt fund makes investment decisions or otherwise has the power to cause the direction of such Affiliates investment decision.

 

“Debtor Relief Laws” means the Bankruptcy Code, and all other liquidation, conservatorship, bankruptcy, assignment for the benefit of creditors, moratorium, rearrangement, receivership, insolvency, reorganization, or similar debtor relief laws of the United States or other applicable jurisdictions from time to time in effect.

 

“Declined Proceeds” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 2.10(d)(iii).

 

“De Minimis Asset Sale Proceeds” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 2.10(b)(i).

 

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

 

“Default Rate” means a per annum interest rate equal to (a) in the case of any Loans, 2% plus the rate otherwise applicable to such Loan (including the Applicable Margin) or (b) in the case of any other Obligation, 2% plus the rate applicable to Base Rate Loans (including the Applicable Margin) as provided in Section 2.12(a).

 

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“Defaulting Lender” means, subject to Section 2.21(b), any Lender that (a) has failed to (i) fund all or any portion of its Loans within two Business Days of the date such Loans were required to be funded hereunder unless such Lender notifies Administrative Agent and the Borrower Representative in writing that such failure is the result of such Lender’s determination that one or more conditions precedent to funding (each of which conditions precedent, together with any applicable default, shall be specifically identified in such writing) has not been satisfied, or (ii) pay to the Administrative Agent, any Issuing Lender or any other Lender any other amount required to be paid by it hereunder (including in respect of its participation in Letters of Credit) within two Business Days of the date when due, (b) has notified the Borrower Representative, Administrative Agent or any Issuing Lender in writing that it does not intend to comply with its funding obligations hereunder, or has made a public statement to that effect (unless such writing or public statement relates to such Lender’s obligation to fund a Loan hereunder and states that such position is based on such Lender’s determination that a condition precedent to funding (which condition precedent, together with any applicable default, shall be specifically identified in such writing or public statement) cannot be satisfied), (c) has failed, within three Business Days after written request by Administrative Agent or the Borrower Representative, to confirm in writing to the Administrative Agent and the Borrower Representative that it will comply with its prospective funding obligations hereunder (provided that such Lender shall cease to be a Defaulting Lender pursuant to this clause (c) upon receipt of such written confirmation by Administrative Agent and the Borrower Representative), or (d) has, or has a direct or indirect parent company that has, (i) become the subject of a proceeding under any Debtor Relief Laws, (ii) had appointed for it a receiver, custodian, conservator, trustee, administrator, assignee for the benefit of creditors or similar Person charged with reorganization or liquidation of its business or assets, including the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other state or federal regulatory authority acting in such a capacity, or (iii) become the subject of a Bail-In Action; provided that a Lender shall not be a Defaulting Lender solely by virtue of (x) the ownership or acquisition of any Equity Interest in that Lender or any direct or indirect parent company thereof by a Governmental Authority or (y) an Undisclosed Administration of such Lender so long as such ownership interest or Undisclosed Administration does not result in or provide such Lender with immunity from the jurisdiction of courts within the United States or from the enforcement of judgments or writs of attachment on its assets or permit such Lender (or such Governmental Authority) to reject, repudiate, disavow or disaffirm any contracts or agreements made with such Lender. Any determination by Administrative Agent that a Lender is a Defaulting Lender under any one or more of clauses (a) through (d) of this definition shall be conclusive and binding absent manifest error, and such Lender shall be deemed to be a Defaulting Lender (subject to Section 2.21(b)) upon delivery of written notice of such determination to the Borrower Representative, each Issuing Lender and each Lender.

 

“Deposit Account” means a demand, time, savings, passbook, or similar account maintained with an organization engaged in the business of banking, including savings banks, savings and loan associations, credit unions, and trust companies. Neither investment property nor accounts evidenced by an instrument shall constitute a Deposit Account for purposes of this Agreement.

 

“Disposition” means any sale, assignment, lease, license, transfer or other disposition of any property or assets (whether now owned or hereafter acquired) by Holdings or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries to any other Person. The term “Dispose” as a verb has a corresponding meaning.

 

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“Disqualified Equity Interests” means any Equity Interest that, by its terms (or by the terms of any security or other Equity Interests into which it is convertible or for which it is exchangeable), or upon the happening of any event or condition (a) matures or is mandatorily redeemable (other than solely for Qualified Equity Interests and cash in lieu of fractional shares), pursuant to a sinking fund obligation or otherwise (except as a result of a change of control, asset sale or similar event so long as any rights of the holders thereof upon the occurrence of a change of control, asset sale or similar event shall be subject to Full Satisfaction of the Obligations), (b) is redeemable at the option of the holder thereof (other than (i) solely for Qualified Equity Interests and cash in lieu of fractional shares or (ii) as a result of a change of control, asset sale or similar event so long as any rights of the holders thereof upon the occurrence of a change of control, asset sale or similar event shall be subject to Full Satisfaction of the Obligations, in whole or in part, (c) provides for the scheduled payments of dividends in cash, or (d) is or becomes convertible into or exchangeable for Indebtedness or any other Equity Interests that would constitute Disqualified Equity Interests, in each case, prior to the date that is 91 days after the Latest Maturity Date at the time of issuance of such Equity Interests; provided that if such Equity Interests are issued pursuant to a plan for the benefit of employees, officers, directors, managers or consultants of Holdings (or any direct or indirect parent thereof), the Borrowers or the Restricted Subsidiaries or by any such plan to such employees, officers, directors, managers or consultants, such Equity Interests shall not constitute Disqualified Equity Interests solely because it may be required to be repurchased by the Borrower or its Restricted Subsidiaries in order to satisfy applicable statutory or regulatory obligations or as a result of the termination, death or disability of such officers, directors, managers or consultants.

 

“Disqualified Institution” means (a) any Disqualified Lending Institution, (b) any Competitor and (c) any Affiliate (other than a Debt Fund Affiliate) of such Disqualified Lending Institution or Competitor that is readily identifiable solely on the basis of such Affiliate’s name; provided that (i) no notice delivered by the Borrower Representative shall apply retroactively to disqualify any Person that has previously acquired an assignment or participation interest in the Loans, and (ii) “Disqualified Institutions” shall exclude any Person that a Borrower Representative has designated as no longer being a “Disqualified Institution” by written (including email) notice delivered to the Administrative Agent from time to time. The list of Disqualified Institutions provided by the Borrower Representative and any permitted updates thereto from time to time may be made available to any Lender that specifically requests a copy from Administrative Agent.

 

“Disqualified Lending Institution” means certain banks, financial institutions, institutional lenders and other entities that have been identified by the Borrower Representative to the Administrative Agent as a “Disqualified Lending Institution” (a) on or prior to the date of the Commitment Letter and (b) as may be updated from time to time by the Borrower Representative after the Effective Date with the consent of the Administrative Agent in its reasonable discretion.

 

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

 

“Domestic Subsidiary” means any Restricted Subsidiary that is not a CFC.

 

“Early Opt-in Election” means, if the then-current Benchmark is LIBO Rate, the occurrence of:

 

(1)            a notification by the Administrative Agent to (or the request by the Borrower Representative to the Administrative Agent to notify) each of the other parties hereto that at least five currently outstanding dollar-denominated syndicated credit facilities at such time contain (as a result of amendment or as originally executed) a SOFR-based rate (including SOFR, a term SOFR or any other rate based upon SOFR) as a benchmark rate (and such syndicated credit facilities are identified in such notice and are publicly available for review), and

 

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(2)            the joint election by the Administrative Agent and the Borrower Representative to trigger a fallback from LIBO Rate and the provision, as applicable, by the Administrative Agent of written notice of such election to the Borrower Representative and the Lenders.

 

“ECF Threshold” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 2.10(b)(ii).

 

“EEA Financial Institution” means (a) any credit institution or investment firm established in any EEA Member Country which is subject to the supervision of an EEA Resolution Authority, (b) any entity established in an EEA Member Country which is a parent of an institution described in clause (a) of this definition, or (c) any financial institution established in an EEA Member Country which is a subsidiary of an institution described in clauses (a) or (b) of this definition and is subject to consolidated supervision with its parent.

 

“EEA Member Country” means any of the member states of the European Union, Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Norway.

 

“EEA Resolution Authority” means any public administrative authority or any Person entrusted with public administrative authority of any EEA Member Country (including any delegee) having responsibility for the resolution of any EEA Financial Institution.

 

“Effective Date” means the date on which the conditions set forth in Section 4.1 are satisfied (or waived in accordance with Section 4.1, which date is August 23, 2021).

 

“Effective Date Assumption” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 10.25.

 

“Electronic Signature” means an electronic sound, symbol, or process attached to, or associated with, a contract or other record and adopted by a Person with the intent to sign, authenticate or accept such contract or record.

 

“Electronic System” means any electronic system, including e-mail, e-fax, web portal access for the Borrowers and any other Internet or extranet-based site, whether such electronic system is owned, operated or hosted by the Administrative Agent or the Issuing Bank and any of its respective Related Parties or any other Person, providing for access to data protected by passcodes or other security system.

 

“Eligible Assignee” means any Person that meets the requirements to be an assignee under Sections 10.4(b)(iii), 10.4(b)(vi) and (other than a Disqualified Institution) 10.4(b)(vii) (subject to such consents, if any, as may be required under Section 10.4(b)(iii)).

 

“Environmental Laws” means all laws, rules, regulations, codes, ordinances, orders, decrees, judgments, injunctions, or binding agreements issued, promulgated or entered into by any Governmental Authority, relating to the protection of the environment, human health and workplace safety, preservation or reclamation of natural resources, or the generation, use, handling, transportation, storage, treatment, disposal, management, release or threatened release of any Hazardous Material, including, without limitation, the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C. § 9601 et seq.), as amended.

 

“Environmental Liability” means any liability, contingent or otherwise (including any liability for damages, costs of environmental removal, remediation, fines, penalties or indemnities, and including any Lien securing or on account of such liability filed against any Mortgaged Property), of any Obligor or any Restricted Subsidiary resulting from or based upon (a) any Environmental Law, (b) the generation, use, handling, transportation, storage, treatment or disposal of any Hazardous Materials, (c) exposure to any Hazardous Materials, (d) the release or threatened release of any Hazardous Materials into the environment, or (e) any contract, agreement or other consensual arrangement to the extent liability is assumed or imposed with respect to any of the foregoing.

 

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“Equity Interests” means shares of the capital stock (including common and preferred shares), partnership interests, membership interest in a limited liability company, beneficial interests in a trust, or other equity interests; provided that any instrument evidencing Indebtedness convertible or exchangeable for Equity Interests shall not be deemed to be Equity Interests unless and until such instrument is so converted or exchanged.

 

“Equity Rights” means, with respect to any Person, any subscriptions, options, warrants, commitments, preemptive rights or agreements of any kind (including any shareholders’ or voting trust agreements) for the issuance, sale, registration or voting of, or securities convertible into, any additional Equity Interests in such Person.

 

“ERISA” means the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended from time to time, and the regulations promulgated thereunder and any successor thereto.

 

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

 

“ERISA Event” means (a) any “reportable event”, as defined in Section 4043 of ERISA or the regulations issued thereunder with respect to a Plan (other than an event for which the 30-day notice period is waived), (b) the failure to make sufficient contributions to a Plan for any plan year which, in the aggregate, are less than the minimum required contribution determined under Section 412 of the Code, Section 430 of the Code or Section 303 of ERISA for the Plan for the plan year, (c) the existence with respect to any Multiemployer Plan of an “accumulated funding deficiency” (as defined in Section 431 of the Code or Section 304 of ERISA), whether or not waived, (d) the filing pursuant to Section 412(c) of the Code or Section 302(c) of ERISA of an application for a waiver of the minimum funding standard with respect to any Plan, (e) the incurrence by a Borrower or any ERISA Affiliate of any liability under Title IV of ERISA with respect to the termination of any Plan, (f) the receipt by a Borrower or any ERISA Affiliate from the PBGC or a plan administrator of any notice relating to an intention to terminate any Plan or Plans or to appoint a trustee to administer any Plan, (g) the incurrence by a Borrower or any ERISA Affiliate of any liability with respect to the withdrawal or partial withdrawal from any Plan or Multiemployer Plan, or (h) the receipt by a Borrower or any ERISA Affiliate of any notice concerning the imposition of Withdrawal Liability, or a determination that a Multiemployer Plan is, or is expected to be, “insolvent” (within the meaning of Section 4245 of ERISA), or in “endangered” or “critical” status (within the meaning of Section 432 of the Code or Section 305 of ERISA).

 

“EU Bail-In Legislation Schedule” means the EU Bail-In Legislation Schedule published by the Loan Market Association (or any successor Person), as in effect from time to time.

 

“Eurodollar”, when used in reference to any Loan or Borrowing, refers to whether such Loan, or the Loans comprising such Borrowing, bear interest at a rate determined by reference to the Adjusted LIBO Rate.

 

“Eurodollar Illegality Notice” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 2.18(a).

 

“Event of Default” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 8.1.

 

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“Event of Loss” means with respect to any asset of any Obligor or its Restricted Subsidiaries, any of the following: (a) any loss, destruction or damage of such equipment, real property or fixed asset or (b) any actual condemnation, seizure or taking, by exercise of the power of eminent domain or otherwise, of such asset, or confiscation of such equipment, real property or fixed asset or requisition of the use of such asset.

 

“Excess Cash Flow” means, for each Excess Cash Flow Period for Holdings and its Restricted Subsidiaries, the excess, if any, of (a) the sum, without duplication, of (i) Consolidated Net Income of Holdings and its Restricted Subsidiaries for such Excess Cash Flow Period, (ii) the amount of all non-cash loss and charges (including depreciation, amortization and non-cash Interest Expense) deducted in arriving at such Consolidated Net Income, and (iii) the amount of the decrease, if any, in Consolidated Working Capital for such Excess Cash Flow Period, minus (b) the sum, without duplication, of (i) the amount of all non-cash gain and income included in arriving at such Consolidated Net Income, (ii) the aggregate amount of all regularly scheduled principal payments of Funded Debt (including, without limitation, the Loans) of the Borrowers and their Restricted Subsidiaries (other than in respect of any revolving credit facility to the extent there is not an equivalent permanent reduction in commitments thereunder) and scheduled repayments of Capital Lease Obligations (excluding any interest expense portion thereof), in each case, actually paid by the Borrowers and their Restricted Subsidiaries using Internally Generated Cash during such Excess Cash Flow Period, (iii) the amount of the increase, if any, in Consolidated Working Capital for such Excess Cash Flow Period, (iv) to the extent not already deducted in determining such Consolidated Net Income, the aggregate amount actually paid by the Borrowers and their Restricted Subsidiaries using Internally Generated Cash during such Excess Cash Flow Period, or, at the Borrowers’ option, committed or budgeted to be used within the next four Fiscal Quarters as applicable, on account of Capital Expenditures, Permitted Acquisitions and other Investments (including Investments in Joint Ventures and any earn-out payment but excluding Investments in cash and Cash Equivalents) and Restricted Payments pursuant to Section 6.6 (excluding Restricted Payments made using clause (b) of the definition of Available Amount), in each case permitted under this Agreement, (v) the amount of cash Taxes paid (including for the avoidance of doubt any Permitted Tax Distributions) or Tax reserves set aside or payable (without duplication) in such period to the extent they exceed the amount of tax expense deducted in determining such Consolidated Net Income for such period (other than the amount of any cash taxes paid in such period to the extent such cash Taxes were subject to a reserve reducing Consolidated Net Income or Excess Cash Flow in a previous period), (vi) to the extent not already deducted in determining such Consolidated Net Income, any fees, expenses or charges paid using Internally Generated Cash during such period, or, at the Borrowers’ option, committed or budgeted to be used within the next four Fiscal Quarters, in connection with any Permitted Acquisition, Investment, Disposition (other than Ordinary Course Dispositions), incurrence or repayment of Indebtedness, issuance of Equity Interests, amendment or modification of any debt instrument (including any amendment or other modification to this Agreement and the other Loan Documents) and including, in each case, any such transaction undertaken but not completed, and any charges paid in cash or non-recurring merger costs incurred during such period as a result of any such transaction, in each case whether or not successful, (vii) cash payments by the Borrowers and their Restricted Subsidiaries during such period in respect of long-term liabilities (other than the current portion thereof) set forth on the balance sheet of the Borrowers and their Restricted Subsidiaries in accordance with GAAP other than Indebtedness to the extent such payments are not expensed during such period or are not deducted in calculating Consolidated Net Income and to the extent financed with Internally Generated Cash, (viii) the aggregate amount of expenditures actually made by the Borrowers and their Restricted Subsidiaries in cash during such period (including Capital Expenditures for the payment of financing fees) to the extent that such expenditures are not expensed during such period, in each case to the extent financed with Internally Generated Cash, (ix) the aggregate amount of any premium, make-whole or penalty payments actually paid in cash by the Borrowers and their Restricted Subsidiaries during such period that are required to be made in connection with any prepayment of Indebtedness, in each case to the extent financed with Internally Generated Cash, (x) cash expenditures in respect of Swap Obligations during such period to the extent not deducted in arriving at such Consolidated Net Income to the extent financed with Internally Generated Cash, (xi) cash payments by the Borrower and the Restricted Subsidiaries during such period in respect of purchase price holdbacks, earn outs, and other similar contingent obligations, to the extent not already deducted from Consolidated Net Income to the extent financed with Internally Generated Cash and (xii) any other cash items excluded in the calculation of Consolidated Net Income to the extent financed with Internally Generated Cash.

 

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“Excess Cash Flow Percentage” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 2.10(b)(ii).

 

“Excess Cash Flow Period” means the period beginning on January 1, 2022 and ending on December 31, 2022 and, thereafter, each Fiscal Year of Holdings and its Restricted Subsidiaries.

 

“Exchange Act” means the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended from time to time.

 

“Excluded Contribution Amount” means an amount equal to net cash proceeds received by any Borrower as capital contributions to its common equity capital after the Effective Date or from the issuance or sale (other than (i) to a Restricted Subsidiary of a Borrower, (ii) to any management equity plan or equity option plan or any other management or employee benefit plan or agreement of the Borrower or (iii) Specified Equity Contributions) of Equity Interests (other than Disqualified Equity Interests) of a Borrower or the Fair Market Value of investment grade securities or Qualified Proceeds contributed to a Borrower, in each case, designated as Excluded Contribution Amounts from time to time pursuant to an officer’s certificate executed by a Responsible Officer, which are excluded from the calculation of Available Amount, minus any Excluded Contribution Amount applied or used hereunder after the Effective Date and prior to such time.

 

“Excluded Property” has the meaning assigned to such term in the Security Agreement and any other similar term in the Loan Documents.

 

“Excluded Subsidiary” means unless otherwise elected by the Borrowers (pursuant to the terms of Section 5.8) (a) (i) any Subsidiary that is not a wholly-owned Domestic Subsidiary of the Borrowers or any Obligor; provided, that this clause (i) shall not apply to any Subsidiary that becomes a non-Wholly-Owned Subsidiary as a result of a transaction (x) whose sole purpose was to cause such Subsidiary to become an Excluded Subsidiary, (y) has no other bona fide business rationale and (z) that was consummated at a time when the Borrowers and their Restricted Subsidiaries did not have sufficient capacity under Section 6.3 to make an Investment in an amount equal to the Fair Market Value of 100% of the Equity Interests of such Subsidiary, (ii) any Joint Venture, (b) any Subsidiary for which guarantees of the Obligations are (i) prohibited by Law (including as a result of applicable financial assistance, directors’ duties or corporate benefit requirements or require consent, approval, license or authorization of a Governmental Authority, unless such consent, approval, license or authorization has been received); provided, that there shall be no obligation to obtain such consent or (ii) contractually prohibited on the Effective Date or, following the Effective Date, the date of any acquisition, so long as such prohibition is not created in contemplation of the Transactions or any such acquisition, (c) any other Subsidiary where the Borrowers reasonably determine the burden or cost of providing a Guarantee (including any material adverse tax consequences, adverse accounting consequences or adverse regulatory consequences) shall be excessive in view of the benefits to be obtained by the Lenders therefrom, (d) any not-for-profit Subsidiaries, (e) any Unrestricted Subsidiaries, (f) any special purpose securitization vehicle (or similar entity), including each Receivables Subsidiary and Securitization Subsidiary, (g) any direct or indirect Subsidiary of the Borrowers or any Obligor that is a Foreign Holdco, (h) any Domestic Subsidiary that is a direct or indirect Subsidiary of a CFC, (i) captive insurance Subsidiaries, (j) any Subsidiary that is not a Material Subsidiary, (k) any broker dealer subsidiaries, (l) any Tax Preferred Subsidiary, and (m) any Subsidiary acquired pursuant to a Permitted Acquisition or other Investment permitted under this Agreement and financed with assumed Indebtedness permitted to be incurred pursuant to this Agreement (and not incurred in contemplation of such Permitted Acquisition or Investment), and each Restricted Subsidiary acquired in such Permitted Acquisition or other Investment permitted hereunder that guarantees such Indebtedness, in each case to the extent that, and for so long as, the documentation relating to such Indebtedness to which such Subsidiary is a party prohibits such Subsidiary from guaranteeing the Obligations and such prohibition is not created in contemplation of such Permitted Acquisition or other Investment permitted hereunder.

 

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“Excluded Swap Obligation” means, with respect to any Obligor, any Swap Obligation if, and to the extent that, all or a portion of the Guarantee of such Obligor of, or the grant by such Obligor of a security interest to secure, such Swap Obligation (or any Guarantee thereof) is or becomes illegal or unlawful under the Commodity Exchange Act or any rule, regulation or order of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (or the application or official interpretation of any thereof) by virtue of such Obligor’s failure for any reason to constitute an “eligible contract participant” as defined in the Commodity Exchange Act and the regulations thereunder at the time the Guarantee of such Obligor or the grant of such security interest becomes effective with respect to such Swap Obligation. If a Swap Obligation arises under a master agreement governing more than one swap, such exclusion shall apply only to the portion of such Swap Obligation that is attributable to swaps for which such Guarantee or security interest is or becomes illegal.

 

“Excluded Taxes” means any of the following Taxes imposed on or with respect to a Recipient or required to be withheld or deducted from a payment to a Recipient, (a) Taxes imposed on or measured by net income (however denominated), franchise Taxes, and branch profits Taxes, in each case, (i) imposed as a result of such Recipient being organized under the laws of, or having its principal office or, in the case of any Lender, its applicable lending office located in, the jurisdiction imposing such Tax (or any political subdivision thereof) or (ii) that are Other Connection Taxes, (b) in the case of a Lender, U.S. federal withholding Taxes imposed on amounts payable to or for the account of such Lender with respect to an applicable interest in a Loan or Commitment pursuant to a law in effect on the date on which (i) such Lender acquires such interest in the Loan or Commitment (other than pursuant to an assignment request by the Borrower Representative under Section 2.18) or (ii) such Lender changes its lending office, except in each case to the extent that, pursuant to Section 2.16(b) or (d), amounts with respect to such Taxes were payable either to such Lender’s assignor immediately before such Lender became a party hereto or to such Lender immediately before it changed its lending office, (c) Taxes attributable to such Recipient’s failure to comply with Section 2.16(g), and (d) any U.S. federal withholding Taxes imposed under FATCA.

 

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“Existing Indebtedness” means that certain (i) Loan and Security Agreement, dated as of August 18, 2015 (as amended, restated, supplemented or otherwise or modified), by and between the Borrower and the lenders party thereto, (ii) Subordinated Loan Agreement, dated as of October 5, 2018 (as amended, restated, supplemented or otherwise modified) by and between the Borrower and the lenders party thereto, (iii) Note Purchase Agreement, dated as of December 19, 2016, by and among the Borrower and the investors party thereto and (iv) Note Purchase Agreement, dated as of April 2, 2019 (as amended, restated, supplemented or otherwise or modified), among the Borrower and the investors party thereto , each as in effect on the Effective Date.

 

“Existing Term Loan Tranche” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 2.23.

 

“Expiring Credit Commitment” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 2.4(e).

 

“Extended Revolving Credit Commitments” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 2.23.

 

“Extended Revolving Credit Loans” means one or more Classes of Revolving Credit Loans that result from an Extension Amendment.

 

“Extended Term Loans” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 2.23.

 

“Extending Revolving Credit Lender” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 2.23.

 

“Extending Term Lender” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 2.23.

 

“Extension” means the establishment of an Extension Series by amending a Loan pursuant to the terms of Section 2.23 and the applicable Extension Amendment.

 

“Extension Amendment” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 2.23.

 

“Extension Election” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 2.23.

 

“Extension Request” means any Term Loan Extension Request or a Revolving Credit Loan Extension Request, as the case may be.

 

“Extension Series” means any Term Loan Extension Series or a Revolving Credit Loan Extension Series, as the case may be.

 

“Facility” means the Revolving Credit Commitment, the Term Loan Commitment or a Tranche of Incremental Term Loans, as the context may require.

 

“Fair Market Value” means with respect to any asset or group of assets on any date of determination, the value of the consideration obtainable in a sale of such asset at such date of determination assuming a sale by a willing seller to a willing purchaser dealing at arm’s length and arranged over a period of time having regard to the nature and characteristics of such asset and sale at such time, as reasonably determined in good faith by the Borrowers.

 

“FATCA” means Sections 1471 through 1474 of the Code, as of the date of this Agreement (or any amended or successor version that is substantively comparable and not materially more onerous to comply with), any current or future regulations or official interpretations thereof, any agreements entered into pursuant to Section 1471(b)(1) of the Code, any applicable intergovernmental agreement, treaty, or convention with respect to any of the forgoing (including any legislation, rules or practices adopted pursuant to such agreement, treaty, or convention), and applicable official implementing guidance with respect to any of the foregoing.

 

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“FCA” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 1.15.

 

“FDA” means the United States Food and Drug Administration.

 

“Federal Funds Effective Rate” means, for any day, the weighted average of the rates on overnight federal funds transactions with members of the Federal Reserve System, as published on the next succeeding Business Day by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, or, if such rate is not so published for any day that is a Business Day, the average of the quotations for such day for such transactions received by Administrative Agent from three federal funds brokers of recognized standing selected by it; provided that in no event shall the Federal Funds Effective Rate be less than zero.

 

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

 

“Fee Letter” means that certain amended and restated fee letter, dated as of July 30, 2021, executed by the Initial Borrower and the Lead Arranger and the other parties thereto setting forth the applicable fees relating to this Agreement to be paid to the Administrative Agent, on its behalf and on behalf of the Lenders.

 

“Financial Covenant” means any financial covenant or test set forth in Section 7.

 

“Fiscal Quarter” means each calendar quarter.

 

“Fiscal Year” means each calendar year.

 

“Flood Insurance Laws” means, collectively, (i) the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968 as now or hereafter in effect or any successor statute thereto, (ii) the Flood Disaster Protection Act of 1973 as now or hereafter in effect or any successor statute thereto, (iii) the National Flood Insurance Reform Act of 1994 as now or hereafter in effect or any successor statute thereto, (iv) the Flood Insurance Reform Act of 2004 as now or hereafter in effect or any successor statute thereto and (v) the Biggert-Waters Flood Insurance Reform Act of 2012 as now or hereafter in effect or any successor statute thereto.

 

“Floor” means the benchmark rate floor, if any, provided in this Agreement initially (as of the execution of this Agreement, the modification, amendment or renewal of this Agreement or otherwise) with respect to LIBO Rate.

 

“Food and Agriculture Law” means any law which relates to food safety, quality, or other regulatory obligation including, without limitation, laws and regulations promulgated by the FDA and the USDA, as well as any amendments thereto as well as the Growers’ Lien Laws.

 

“Foreign Casualty Event” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 2.10(b)(vi).

 

“Foreign Disposition” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 2.10(b)(vi).

 

“Foreign Holdco” means any direct or indirect Subsidiary of a Borrower all or substantially all of the assets of which consist of the Equity Interests of and/or debt owing from (including any debt or other instrument treated as equity for U.S. federal income tax purposes), one or more direct or indirect CFCs or Foreign Holdcos and intercompany accounts or cash on a temporary basis.

 

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“Foreign Lender” means any Lender or Participant that is not a U.S. Person.

 

“Foreign Subsidiary” means any Restricted Subsidiary of a Borrower that is (a) not a U.S. Person and (b) a controlled foreign corporation (within the meaning of Section 957(a) of the Code) with respect to which such Borrower (or any corporation which in addition to such Borrower is a member of an affiliated group, within the meaning of Section 1504(a) of the Code, for which a consolidated return is filed pursuant to Section 1501 of the Code) is a United States shareholder within the meaning of Section 951(b) of the Code.

 

“Foreign Subsidiary Excess Cash Flow” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 2.10(b)(v).

 

“Fronting Exposure” means, at any time there is a Defaulting Lender, (a) with respect to any Issuing Lender, such Defaulting Lender’s Pro Rata Share of the outstanding LC Exposure with respect to Letters of Credit issued by such Issuing Lender other than LC Exposure as to which such Defaulting Lender’s participation obligation has been reallocated to other Lenders or Cash Collateralized in accordance with the terms hereof, and (b) with respect to Swingline Lender, such Defaulting Lender’s Pro Rata Share of outstanding Swingline Loans made by such Swingline Lender other than Swingline Loans as to which such Defaulting Lender’s participation obligation has been reallocated to other Lenders.

 

“Fully Satisfied” or “Full Satisfaction” means, as of any date, that on or before such date, (a) with respect to the Loans and Letters of Credit: (i) the principal of and interest accrued to such date on the Loans and outstanding LC Disbursements (other than the contingent LC Exposure) shall have been paid in full in cash, (ii) all fees, expenses and other amounts then due and payable (other than the contingent LC Exposure and other contingent amounts for which a claim has not been made) shall have been paid in full in cash, (iii) the Commitments shall have expired or irrevocably been terminated, and (iv) the contingent LC Exposure, if any, shall have been: (A) secured by the grant of a first priority, perfected Lien on cash or Cash Equivalents in an amount at least equal to 103% of the amount of such LC Exposure or other collateral which is acceptable to the Issuing Lender in its sole discretion, (B) secured by the issuance of a “back-to-back” letter of credit in form and substance acceptable to the Issuing Lender with an original face amount at least equal to 103% of the amount of such LC Exposure and issued by an issuing bank satisfactory to the Issuing Lender in its sole discretion or (C) with the consent of the applicable Issuing Lender, rolled in to a new credit facility and (b) with respect to Obligations consisting of Swap Obligations or any Obligations related to credit cards, credit card processing services, debit cards, stored value cards, gift cards and purchase cards (including so-called “procurement cards” or “P-cards”)), the termination of such Swap Obligations and such additional Obligations of JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. (or its affiliates) (or the applicable Borrowers and Obligors entering into another arrangement satisfactory to JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. (or its affiliates)).

 

“Fund” means any Person (other than a natural Person) that is (or will be) engaged in making, purchasing, holding or otherwise investing in commercial loans and similar extensions of credit in the ordinary course of its activities.

 

“Funded Debt” means, with respect to the Borrowers and their Restricted Subsidiaries on any date of determination, without duplication, all obligations of the type described in clauses (a), (c) (to the extent such letters of credit are drawn and not reimbursed within 2 Business Days after the date of such drawing), (d), and (e) of the definition of “Indebtedness” (including any obligations of such type owing by a partnership in which Holdings or any Restricted Subsidiary is a general partner to the extent of recourse to Holdings or such Restricted Subsidiary for the payment of such Indebtedness), in each case as and to the extent reflected on the balance sheet of the Borrowers and their Restricted Subsidiaries, and any Guarantee of any of the foregoing, and specifically including, without limitation, the amount of all Obligations hereunder. For the avoidance of doubt, it is understood that obligations (i) under Hedging Agreements and Cash Management Services, (ii) under Receivables Facilities and Securitization Facilities and (iii) owed by Unrestricted Subsidiaries, do not constitute Funded Debt.

 

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“GAAP” means generally accepted accounting principles and practices set forth from time to time in the opinions and pronouncements of the Accounting Principles Board and the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and statements and pronouncements of the Financial Accounting Standards Board (or agencies with similar functions of comparable stature and authority within the US accounting profession).

 

“Growers’ Lien Laws” means, collectively, state and federal laws of the United States of America applicable to agricultural products purchased on credit from any selling party that create a Lien or imposes a trust upon the agricultural products sold and/or the proceeds of such agricultural products for the benefit of such selling party or a creditor thereof to secure payment for such agricultural products, including without limitation Food Security Act, 7 U.S.C. § 1631 and the Perishable Agricultural Commodities Act of 1930, 7 U.S.C., Chapter 20A, § 499a et seq., and all regulations promulgated thereunder.

 

“Governmental Authority” means the government of the United States or any other nation, or any political subdivision thereof, whether state or local, and any agency, authority, instrumentality, regulatory body, court, central bank or other entity exercising executive, legislative, judicial, taxing, regulatory, or administrative powers or functions of or pertaining to government including any supra-national bodies (such as the European Union or the European Central Bank).

 

“Guarantee” of or by any Person (the guarantor) means any obligation, contingent or otherwise, of the guarantor guaranteeing or having the economic effect of guaranteeing any Indebtedness or other monetary obligation of any other Person (the primary obligor) in any manner, whether directly or indirectly, and including any obligation of the guarantor, direct or indirect, (a) to purchase or pay (or advance or supply funds for the purchase or payment of) such Indebtedness or other monetary obligation or to purchase (or to advance or supply funds for the purchase of) any security for the payment thereof or pledge any assets to secure the payment thereof, (b) to purchase or lease property, securities or services for the purpose of assuring the owner of such Indebtedness or other monetary obligation of the payment thereof, (c) to maintain working capital, equity capital or any other financial statement condition or liquidity of the primary obligor so as to enable the primary obligor to pay such Indebtedness or other monetary obligation, (d) as an account party in respect of any letter of credit or letter of guaranty issued to support such Indebtedness or monetary obligation, or (e) entered into for the purpose of assuring in any other manner the holder of such Indebtedness or other monetary obligation of the payment or performance thereof or to protect such holder against loss in respect thereof (in whole or in part). The amount of any Guarantee shall be deemed to be an amount equal to the stated or determinable amount of the related primary obligation, or portion thereof, in respect of which such Guarantee is made or, if not stated or determinable, the maximum reasonably anticipated liability in respect thereof as reasonably determined by the guaranteeing Person in good faith. The term “Guarantee” as a verb has a corresponding meaning. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the term Guarantee shall not include endorsements for collection or deposit in the Ordinary Course of Business or customary and reasonable indemnification obligations or product warranties.

 

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“Guarantor” means Holdings, each Subsidiary Guarantor, and each other Person executing a Guaranty Agreement.

 

“Guaranty Agreement” means a guaranty agreement delivered to the Administrative Agent from time to time by any Person providing a Guarantee of any of the Obligations, in form and substance reasonably acceptable to the Administrative Agent and including the Administrative Agent as a party thereto.

 

“Hazardous Materials” means all explosive, radioactive, hazardous, or toxic substances, materials, wastes or other pollutants or contaminants, including petroleum or petroleum distillates, asbestos or asbestos containing materials, polychlorinated biphenyls, radon gas, urea formaldehyde, per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, infectious, or medical wastes and all other substances or wastes of any nature regulated pursuant to any Environmental Law due to their hazardous or deleterious properties or characteristics.

 

“Hedging Agreement” means any interest rate protection agreement, foreign currency exchange agreement, currency options, spot contracts, collar transactions, commodity price protection agreement, rate swap transactions, basis swaps, forward rate transactions, or other interest rate, currency exchange rate, or commodity price hedging arrangement, or any other similar transactions or any combination of any of the foregoing (including any options to enter into any of the foregoing), designed to provide protection against fluctuations in interest rates, currency exchange rates, or commodity prices, whether or not any such transaction is governed by or subject to any master agreement.

 

“Holdings” has the meaning (i) set forth in the introductory paragraph to this Agreement or (ii) after the Effective Date any other Person (“New Holdings”) that is a Subsidiary of Holdings (to the extent such Subsidiary ceases to be a Subsidiary in connection with becoming New Holdings) direct or indirect parent of Holdings (or the previous New Holdings, as the case may be) but not a Borrower (“Previous Holdings”); provided, that (a) such New Holdings directly owns 100% of the Equity Interests of the Borrower, (b) New Holdings shall expressly assume all the obligations of Previous Holdings under this Agreement and the other Loan Documents pursuant to a supplement hereto or thereto in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to the Administrative Agent and the Borrower, (c) if reasonably requested by the Administrative Agent, a customary opinion of counsel covering matters reasonably requested by the Administrative Agent shall be delivered on behalf of the Borrowers to the Administrative Agent, (d) all Equity Interests of the Borrower and substantially all of the other assets of Previous Holdings are contributed or otherwise transferred, directly or indirectly, to such New Holdings and pledged to secure the Obligations to the extent constituting Collateral, (e) (x) no Event of Default has occurred and is continuing at the time of such substitution and such substitution does not result in any Event of Default, (y) such substitution does not result in any material adverse tax consequences to the Obligors, and (z) such substitution does not result in any adverse tax consequences to any Lender (unless reimbursed hereunder) or to the Administrative Agent (unless reimbursed hereunder), (f) the Administrative Agent shall have received at least ten (10) Business Days’ prior written notice of the proposed transaction and Previous Holdings, New Holdings and the Borrowers shall promptly and in any event at least three (3) Business Days’ prior to the consummation of the transaction provide (i) all information the Administrative Agent (or any Lender through the Administrative Agent) may reasonably request to satisfy its “know your customer” and other similar requirements necessary for such Person to comply with its internal compliance and regulatory requirements with respect to the proposed successor New Holdings and (ii) to the extent the proposed successor New Holdings qualifies as a “legal entity customer” under the Beneficial Ownership Regulation, a certificate regarding beneficial ownership as required by the Beneficial Ownership Regulation with respect to such proposed successor New Holdings, (g) New Holdings shall be an entity organized or existing under the laws of the United States or any state thereof or the District of Columbia (provided that New Holdings is treated as a disregarded entity for United States federal income tax purposes), (h) the Obligors shall execute and deliver amendments, supplements and other modifications to all Loan Documents, instruments and agreements executed in connection therewith necessary, advisable or reasonably requested by the Administrative Agent to perfect and protect the liens and security interests in the Collateral, in each case in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to the Administrative Agent, and (i) the Borrowers deliver a certificate of a Responsible Officer with respect to the satisfaction of the conditions set forth in this definition; provided, further, that if each of the foregoing is satisfied, Previous Holdings shall be automatically released of all its obligations under the Loan Documents and any reference to “Holdings” in the Loan Documents shall refer to New Holdings.

 

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“Improvements” means any walled and roofed building, any building in the course of construction that qualifies for insurance coverage, and any manufactured (mobile) homes.

 

“Incremental Amendment” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 2.19.

 

“Incremental Amount” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 2.19.

 

“Incremental Commitment” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 2.19.

 

“Incremental Equivalent Debt” means Indebtedness incurred by an Obligor (other than Holdings (other than as a guarantor)); provided that at the time of incurrence thereof:

 

(a)            the aggregate principal amount of all Incremental Equivalent Debt on any date such Indebtedness is incurred (or commitments with respect thereto are made) shall not, together with any Incremental Facilities then outstanding, exceed the Incremental Amount;

 

(b)            (i) the scheduled final maturity date of any Incremental Equivalent Debt (A) that is secured on a pari passu basis with the Obligations will be no earlier than the scheduled final maturity date for the Initial Term Loans and (B) that is unsecured, secured on a junior basis to the Initial Term Loans or secured by assets not constituting Collateral shall, in each case, not mature prior to the date that is ninety-one (91) days following the scheduled final maturity date for the Initial Term Loans, and (ii) the Weighted Average Life to Maturity of any Incremental Equivalent Debt will be no shorter than the remaining Weighted Average Life to Maturity of the Initial Term Loans;

 

(c)            any Incremental Equivalent Debt may provide for participation (x) on a pro rata basis, greater than a pro rata basis, or less than pro rata basis in any voluntary prepayments with respect to its Class of Term Loans, or (y) on a pro rata basis (with respect to any Incremental Equivalent Debt secured by the Collateral on a pari passu basis with the Initial Term Loans) or less than pro rata basis in any mandatory prepayments with all Term Loans;

 

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(d)            (i) to the extent guaranteed by Holdings or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries, any such Incremental Equivalent Debt shall not be guaranteed by any such Person that is not (or is not required to be) a Guarantor (except (x) any such Person guaranteeing such Incremental Equivalent Debt or Incremental Revolving Facilities, as applicable, that also guarantees the Initial Term Loans or Revolving Loans, as applicable and (y) unless such guaranty affirmatively is declined by the Administrative Agent as credit support for the Obligations, it being agreed, for the avoidance of doubt, that a Person qualifying as an Excluded Subsidiary shall not result in the Administrative Agent being deemed to have declined such guaranty); and (ii)  to the extent secured by Collateral, shall be subject to an Intercreditor Agreement or other subordination arrangements reasonably satisfactory to the Administrative Agent;

 

(e)            except as otherwise specifically addressed herein, all terms of Incremental Equivalent Debt shall be determined by the Borrowers and shall either, at the option of the Borrowers, (i) reflect current market terms and conditions (taken as a whole) at the time of incurrence or issuance (as determined by the Borrowers), (ii) be consistent with the terms of the corresponding class under the Facilities unless, in the case of this clause (ii), (x) the Lenders under the corresponding class under the Facilities also receive the benefit of such more restrictive terms or (y) any such provisions apply only after the Latest Maturity Date of the Facilities, or (iii) not be materially more restrictive to the Borrowers, when taken as a whole, than the terms of the applicable class under the Facilities;

 

(f)            the interest rate, margin, original issue discount, up-front fees and other fees and rate floors for such Incremental Equivalent Debt in the form of term loans may be determined by the Borrowers and the Lenders providing such Incremental Equivalent Debt, as applicable, providing such Incremental Equivalent Debt; provided that, in the event that the All-in Yield for any such Incremental Equivalent Debt that ranks pari passu in right of payment and security with the existing Term Loans incurred (other than in reliance on clause (i) of the Incremental Amount) is greater than the All-in Yield for the existing Term Loans by more than 50 basis points, then the Applicable Margin for the existing Term Loans shall be increased to the extent necessary so that the All-in Yield for such Incremental Equivalent Debt is no more than 50 basis points higher than the All-in Yield for the existing Term Loans; provided that, in the event that the All-In Yield for such Incremental Equivalent Debt is higher than the All-In Yield for the existing Term Loans solely as a result of a higher rate floor for such Incremental Equivalent Debt, the adjustment to the All-In Yield of the existing Term Loans shall be effected solely by increasing the rate floor; and

 

(g)            Incremental Equivalent Debt (i) may rank either pari passu or junior in right of payment with any Class of Term Loans (including the Initial Term Loans) and the initial Revolving Commitments and (ii) for the avoidance of doubt, may be secured on a pari passu basis with the Obligation, on a junior basis to the Obligations, be unsecured or be secured by assets not constituting Collateral.

 

“Incremental Facility Notice” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 2.19.

 

“Incremental Revolving Credit Commitment” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 2.19.

 

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“Incremental Term Loan” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 2.19.

 

“Indebtedness” of any Person (the “Subject Person”) means, without duplication, (a) all indebtedness for borrowed money (including all indebtedness evidenced by bonds, debentures, notes or similar instruments, or upon which interest payments are customarily paid), (b) the deferred purchase price of assets or services which in accordance with GAAP would be shown to be a liability (on the liability side of a balance sheet), (c) the maximum stated amount of all letters of credit issued or acceptance facilities established for the account of such Subject Person and, without duplication, all drafts drawn thereunder, (d) all Capital Lease Obligations, (e) all Synthetic Lease Obligations, (f) any Disqualified Equity Interests of such Subject Person, valued, as of the date of determination, at the greater of (i) the maximum aggregate amount that would be payable upon maturity, redemption, repayment or repurchase thereof (or of Disqualified Equity Interests or Indebtedness into which such Disqualified Equity Interests are convertible or exchangeable) and (ii) the maximum liquidation preference of such Disqualified Equity Interests, (g) all obligations under any Hedging Agreement (measured at the Termination Value thereof), (h) all obligations under any Qualified Securitization Facility or any Receivables Facility, (i) all indebtedness referred to in clauses (a) through (g) of this definition of another Person secured by any Lien on any property of such Subject Person, whether or not such indebtedness has been assumed, in an amount equal to the lesser of the Fair Market Value of the property of such Subject Person securing such indebtedness and the principal amount of such indebtedness, and (k) all Guarantees by such Subject Person of indebtedness referred to in clauses (a) through (j) of this definition of others, but in each case specifically excluding accrued expenses and trade payables arising or incurred in the Ordinary Course of Business.

 

For all purposes hereof, the Indebtedness of any Person shall (A) include the Indebtedness of any partnership or joint venture (other than a joint venture that is itself a corporation or limited liability company) in which such Person is a general partner, except to the extent such Person’s liability for such Indebtedness is otherwise limited and (B) exclude (i) any earn-out obligation until such obligation is not paid for 5 Business Days after becoming due and payable but not paid, (ii) accruals for payroll and other liabilities accrued in the Ordinary Course of Business, (iii) purchase price holdbacks in respect of a portion of the purchase price of an asset to satisfy warranty or other similar unperformed obligations of the respective seller, (iv) prepaid or deferred revenue arising in the Ordinary Course of Business, and (v) customary obligations under employment agreements and deferred compensation; provided, further that Indebtedness of any direct or indirect parent company appearing upon the balance sheet of the Borrowers solely by reason of push-down accounting under GAAP shall be excluded. The amount of any net obligation under any Swap Obligation on any date shall be deemed to be the termination thereof as of such date.

 

“Indemnified Taxes” means (a) Taxes, other than Excluded Taxes, imposed on or with respect to any payment made by or on account of any obligation of any Obligor under any Loan Document and (b) to the extent not otherwise described in clause (a) of this definition, Other Taxes.

 

“Indemnitee” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 10.3(c).

 

“Initial Borrower” has the meaning set forth in the preamble to this Agreement.

 

“Initial Public Offering” means the issuance by any Borrower or any direct or indirect parent of any Borrower (whether through an initial primary public offering, a direct listing or a merger with and into a special purpose acquisition company or other person that has consummated (or will consummate) an initial primary public offering) of its common Equity Interests (a) pursuant to an effective registration statement filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission or (b) in an underwritten primary public offering (or series of relating offerings of securities to the public pursuant to a final prospectus in accordance with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in accordance with the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (whether alone or in connection with a secondary public offering)) (other than a public offering pursuant to a registration statement on Form S-8) pursuant to an effective registration statement filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in accordance with the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.

 

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“Initial Term Loan” means a Loan made pursuant to Section 2.1(b).

 

“Intercreditor Agreements” means, collectively, (i) any Parity Intercreditor Agreement, (ii) any Junior Intercreditor Agreement and (iii) any other intercreditor agreement contemplated by this Agreement, in each case to the extent then in effect.

 

“Interest Election Request” means a request by the Borrower Representative to convert or continue a Borrowing in accordance with Section 2.7.

 

“Interest Expense” means, for any period for Holdings and its Restricted Subsidiaries, the total interest expense (including that attributable to Capital Lease Obligations), net of interest income, of Holdings and its Restricted Subsidiaries, determined on a consolidated basis in accordance with GAAP, with respect to all outstanding Indebtedness of Holdings and its Restricted Subsidiaries, including all commissions, discounts, and other fees and charges owed with respect to letters of credit and bankers’ acceptance financing and net costs under Hedging Agreements, and including any cash payments made during such period in respect of interest on Funded Debt that were amortized or accrued in a previous period (but excluding arrangement and upfront fees).

 

“Interest Payment Date” means (a) with respect to any Base Rate Loan, the second Business Day following each Quarterly Date; and (b) with respect to any Eurodollar Loan, the last day of the Interest Period applicable to the Borrowing of which such Loan is a part and, in the case of a Eurodollar Borrowing with an Interest Period of more than three months’ duration, each day prior to the last day of such Interest Period that occurs at intervals of three months’ duration after the first day of such Interest Period.

 

“Interest Period” means, with respect to any Eurodollar Borrowing, the period commencing on the date of such Borrowing and ending on the numerically corresponding day in the calendar month that is one, three, six, or (if available to each Lender) twelve months or shorter than one month thereafter, as any Borrower may elect in accordance with Section 2.7; provided that (a) if any Interest Period would end on a day other than a Business Day, such Interest Period shall be extended to the next succeeding Business Day unless such next succeeding Business Day would fall in the next calendar month, in which case such Interest Period shall end on the next preceding Business Day, (b) any Interest Period that commences on the last Business Day of a calendar month (or on a day for which there is no numerically corresponding day in the last calendar month of such Interest Period) shall end on the last Business Day of the last calendar month of such Interest Period and (c) no tenor that has been removed from this definition pursuant to Section 2.13(g) shall be available for specification. For purposes hereof, the date of a Borrowing initially shall be the date on which such Borrowing is made and, in the case of a Borrowing, thereafter shall be the effective date of the most recent conversion or continuation of such Borrowing.

 

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“Internally Generated Cash” means, with respect to any Person, funds of such Person not constituting of (x) proceeds of the issuance of (or contributions in respect of) Equity Interests (other than Disqualified Equity Interests) of such Person or (y) proceeds of the incurrence of long term Indebtedness by such Person or any of its Subsidiaries (other than under any revolving indebtedness or intercompany indebtedness) of such Person.

 

“Inventory” means, with respect to any Person, all of the “inventory” (as such term is defined in the UCC) of such Person.

 

“Investment” means, for any Person: (a) the acquisition (whether for cash, property, services, or securities or otherwise) of bonds, notes, debentures, or Equity Interests or other securities or substantially all the assets of, or any line of business or division of, any other Person, or the acquisition of assets of another Person that constitute a business unit (including any “short sale” or any sale of any securities at a time when such securities are not owned by the Person entering into such sale), whether direct or indirect or in one transaction or series of transactions; (b) the making of any advance, loan or other extension of credit or capital contribution to, any other Person; (c) the entering into of any Guarantee or assumption of debt of, or other contingent obligation with respect to, Indebtedness or other liability of any other Person and (without duplication) any amount committed to be advanced, lent or extended to such Person; and (d) the entering into of any Hedging Agreement. For purposes of covenant compliance, the amount of any Investment shall be the amount actually invested (which, in the case of any Investment constituting the contribution of an asset or property, shall be based on the Fair Market Value of such asset or property at the original time such Investment is made) plus the cost of all additions thereto, without adjustment for subsequent increases or decreases in the value of such Investment (other than adjustments for the repayment of, or the refund of capital with respect to, or the payment of interest or dividends on, the original principal amount of any such Investment), minus Returns (except with respect to any Returns increasing the Available Amount) in respect of such Investment.

 

“Investors” means the Sponsor and other investors directly or indirectly holding Equity Interests of Holdings as of the Effective Date (together with investors identified in writing by the Sponsor to the Administrative Agent prior to the Effective Date which investors may acquire Equity Interests in Holdings promptly after the Effective Date and, for purposes of this definition, in amounts not to exceed what was disclosed in writing by the Sponsor to the Administrative Agent prior to the Effective Date).

 

“IPO Reorganization” means transactions taken in connection with and reasonably related to consummating an Initial Public Offering, so long as, after giving effect thereto, neither the value of the Collateral Agent’s and Lender’s security interest in the Collateral (including as to the perfection and priority thereof), nor the value of the Guaranty, taken as a whole, is materially impaired (as determined in good faith by the Borrowers).

 

“IRS” means the United States Internal Revenue Service.

 

“ISDA Definitions” means the 2006 ISDA Definitions published by the International Swaps and Derivatives Association, Inc. or any successor thereto, as amended or supplemented from time to time, or any successor definitional booklet for interest rate derivatives published from time to time by the International Swaps and Derivatives Association, Inc. or such successor thereto.

 

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“ISP” means “International Standby Practices 1998” published by the Institute of International Banking Law & Practice, Inc. (or such later version thereof as may be in effect at the time of issuance).

 

“Issuing Lender” means, individually and collectively as the context may require, (a) JPMorgan, in its capacity as an issuer of Letters of Credit hereunder, and its successors in such capacity as provided in Section 2.5(k), and (b) any Lender selected by the Borrowers that agrees to issue a Letter of Credit hereunder in lieu of JPMorgan.

 

“Joint Venture” means (a) any Person which would constitute an “equity method investee” of the Borrowers or any of their Subsidiaries and (b) any Person in whom the Borrowers or any of their Subsidiaries beneficially owns any Equity Interest that is not a Subsidiary.

 

“Junior Debt” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 6.15.

 

“Junior Intercreditor Agreement” means an intercreditor agreement substantially in the form of Exhibit E (with such changes to such form as may be reasonably acceptable to the Administrative Agent and the Borrowers) among the Borrower Representative, the Administrative Agent, the Collateral Agent and the representatives for purposes thereof for holders of one or more classes of Indebtedness secured on a junior basis with the Obligations (other than the Obligations).

 

“LC Disbursement” means a payment made by Issuing Lender pursuant to a Letter of Credit.

 

“LC Exposure” means, at any time, the sum of (a) the aggregate undrawn amount of all outstanding Letters of Credit at such time plus (b) the aggregate amount of all LC Disbursements that have not been reimbursed by or on behalf of the Borrowers at such time. The LC Exposure of any Revolving Credit Lender at any time shall be its Pro Rata Share of the total LC Exposure at such time. For all purposes of this Agreement, if on any date of determination a Letter of Credit has expired by its terms but any amount may still be drawn thereunder by reason of the operation of Rule 3.14 of the International Standby Practices, International Chamber of Commerce No. 590, such Letter of Credit shall be deemed to be “outstanding” in the amount so remaining available to be drawn.

 

“LCT Election” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 1.7(b).

 

“LCT Test Date” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 1.7(b).

 

“Lead Arranger” means JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A.

 

“Lenders” means the Persons party hereto as a “Lender” and any other Person that shall have become a party hereto pursuant to an Assignment and Assumption and any Additional Lender in connection with an Incremental Commitment, Extension Commitment, or Refinancing Commitment other than any such Person that ceases to be a party hereto pursuant to an Assignment and Assumption. Unless the context otherwise requires, the term “Lenders” includes Swingline Lender.

 

“Letter of Credit” means any standby or (to the extent permitted by the applicable Issuing Lender) commercial letter of credit issued pursuant to this Agreement; provided, however, no such letter of credit issued by an Issuing Lender (other than a Person that is also Administrative Agent or one of its Affiliates) shall be deemed a “Letter of Credit” for purposes of this Agreement unless Administrative Agent shall have received written notice thereof from such Issuing Lender as required pursuant to Section 2.5(p).

 

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

 

“Liabilities” means any losses, claims (including intraparty claims), demands, damages or liabilities of any kind.

 

“LIBO Rate” means, with respect to any Borrowing for any Interest Period, a rate per annum equal to the London interbank offered rate as administered by the ICE Benchmark Administration (or any other Person that takes over the administration of such rate) for deposits in Dollars with a term equivalent to such Interest Period as displayed on the Reuters screen page that displays such rate (currently page LIBOR01) (or, in the event such rate does not appear on a Reuters page or screen, on the appropriate page of such other information service that publishes such rate as shall be selected by Administrative Agent from time to time in its reasonable discretion) at approximately 11:00 a.m., London time, two Business Days prior to the commencement of such Interest Period; provided that in no event shall the LIBO Rate be less than 1.00%. In the event that such rate is not available at such time for any reason, then the LIBO Rate with respect to such Borrowing for such Interest Period shall be the rate at which dollar deposits in the amount of the requested Borrowing and for a maturity comparable to such Interest Period are offered by the principal London office of JPMorgan in immediately available funds in the London interbank market at approximately 11:00 a.m., London time, two Business Days prior to the commencement of such Interest Period.

 

“LIBOR” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 1.15.

 

“LIBOR Screen Rate” means the LIBO Rate quote on the applicable screen page the Administrative Agent designates in its reasonable discretion to determine the LIBO Rate (or such other commercially available source providing such quotations as may be designated by the Administrative Agent in its reasonable discretion from time to time).

 

“Lien” means, with respect to any asset, (a) any mortgage, deed of trust, lien, pledge, option, levy, execution, attachment, garnishment, hypothecation, assignment for security, deposit arrangement, encumbrance, charge, security interest or other preferential arrangement in the nature of a security interest of any kind or nature whatsoever, on or of such asset, or the creation of a statutory trust (or similar arrangement) under any Food and Agricultural Laws and (b) the interest of a vendor or a lessor under any conditional sale agreement, capital lease or title retention agreement (or any financing lease having substantially the same economic effect as any of the foregoing) relating to such asset.

 

“Limited Condition Transaction” means (i) any Permitted Acquisition or permitted Investment by the Borrowers or their Restricted Subsidiaries of any assets, business or Person permitted by this Agreement whose consummation is not conditioned on the availability of, or on obtaining, third party acquisition financing or (ii) any redemption, repurchase, defeasance, satisfaction and discharge or repayment of Junior Debt not prohibited by this Agreement requiring irrevocable notice in advance of such redemption, repurchase, defeasance, satisfaction and discharge or repayment,, and, in each case, which is designated as a Limited Condition Transaction by the Borrower Representative in writing to the Administrative Agent and Lenders.

 

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“Loan Documents” means, collectively, this Agreement, the Letter of Credit Documents, the Guaranty Agreements, the Security Documents, the Fee Letter, all Borrowing Requests, all Interest Election Requests, all Incremental Facility Notices, all requests for the issuance of Letters of Credit, and all other documents, instruments, certificates, and agreements executed, delivered, or acknowledged by an Obligor in connection with or contemplated by this Agreement and designated as a “Loan Document.” For the avoidance of doubt, Hedging Agreements and agreements for the provision of Cash Management Services shall not constitute “Loan Documents.”

 

“Loans” mean the loans made by the Lenders to the Borrowers pursuant to this Agreement in the form of a Term Loan, Revolving Credit Loan, Swingline Loan, Incremental Loan, Extended Loan, Replacement Term Loan or Refinancing Loan.

 

“Management Agreement” means the Management Services Agreement between Paine Schwartz Partners Fund V Management, LLC and Suja Life, LLC, dated as of the Effective Date.

 

“Management Equityholders” means any of (i) any current, former or future director, officer, employee or member of management of Holdings or any of its Subsidiaries or any direct or indirect parent company thereof owning Equity Interests in Holdings or any direct or indirect parent thereof, (ii) any trust, partnership, limited liability company, corporate body or other entity established by any such director, officer, employee or member of management of Holdings or any of its Subsidiaries or any direct or indirect parent thereof or any Person described in the succeeding clause (iii), as applicable, to hold an investment in Holdings or any direct or indirect parent thereof in connection with such Person’s estate or tax planning and (iii) any Person who acquires an investment in Holdings or any direct or indirect parent thereof by will or by the laws of intestate succession as a result of the death of any such director, officer, employee or member of management of Holdings or any of its Subsidiaries or any direct or indirect parent thereof.

 

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

 

“Material Adverse Effect” means a material adverse change in, or a material adverse effect upon (a) the business, results of operations, assets or financial condition of the Borrowers and their Restricted Subsidiaries taken as a whole, (b) the ability of the Borrowers and the Guarantors taken as a whole to perform any of their material payment obligations under this Agreement, the Guaranty Agreements, or any of the Loan Documents or (c) the material rights and remedies of or benefits available to the Administrative Agent or the Lenders under the Loan Documents.

 

“Material Disposition” means any Disposition of property or series of related Dispositions of property (other than Dispositions in the Ordinary Course of Business) that yields gross proceeds to any Company in excess of $4,000,000.

 

“Material Indebtedness” means Indebtedness (other than the Loans and Letters of Credit) of any Company in an aggregate principal amount (including undrawn committed or available amounts and including amounts owing to all creditors under any combined or syndicated credit arrangement) exceeding the greater of (a) $7,500,000 and (b) 25% of Consolidated EBITDA. For purposes of determining Material Indebtedness, the principal amount of the obligations of any Person in respect of any Hedging Agreement at any time shall be the Termination Value thereof.

 

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“Material Intellectual Property” means all intellectual property that is: (i) necessary for or material to the business of the Borrowers and their Restricted Subsidiaries (taken as a whole) and (ii) owned or exclusively licensed by any Borrower or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries.

 

“Material Non-Public Information” means, with respect to any Person, information that is (a) of a type that would not be publicly available (and could not be derived from publicly available information) if such Person and its Subsidiaries were public reporting companies and (b) material with respect to such Person, its Subsidiaries or the respective securities of such Person and its Subsidiaries for purposes of United States Federal and state securities laws, in each case, assuming such laws were applicable to such Person and its Subsidiaries.

 

“Material Subsidiary” means, at any date of determination, the Borrower and each of the Borrower’s other Domestic Subsidiaries that are Restricted Subsidiaries (a) whose total assets at the last day of the most recent Reference Period were equal to or greater than 5.0% of consolidated total assets at such date or (b) whose Consolidated EBITDA for such Reference Period were equal to or greater than 5.0% of the Consolidated EBITDA of the Borrowers and the Restricted Subsidiaries for such period, in each case determined in accordance with GAAP; provided that if, at any time and from time to time after the Effective Date, Domestic Subsidiaries that are Restricted Subsidiaries that are not Guarantors solely because they do not meet the thresholds set forth in clauses (a) or (b) comprise in the aggregate more than 10.0% of consolidated total assets as of the end of the most recently ended Reference Period or more than 10.0% of the Consolidated EBITDA of the Borrower and the Restricted Subsidiaries for such Reference Period, then the Borrower shall, not later than 60 days after the date by which financial statements for such quarter are required to be delivered pursuant to this Agreement (or such longer period as the Administrative Agent may agree in its reasonable discretion), (i) designate in writing to the Administrative Agent one or more of such Domestic Subsidiaries as “Restricted Subsidiaries” to the extent required such that the foregoing condition ceases to be true and (ii) comply with the provisions of Section 5.8 applicable to such Subsidiary.

 

“Maximum Rate” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 10.12.

 

“Merger” means the consummation of the Surf Merger Agreement on the Effective Date.

 

“Minimum Collateral Amount” means, at any time, (a) with respect to Cash Collateral consisting of cash or Deposit Account balances, an amount equal to 103% of the Fronting Exposure of Issuing Lender with respect to Letters of Credit issued and outstanding at such time and (b) otherwise, an amount determined by Administrative Agent and Issuing Lender in their reasonable discretion.

 

“Mortgaged Property” means, initially, each parcel of owned real property and the improvements thereto identified to be mortgaged on Schedule 4.1(e) and includes each other parcel of owned real property and improvements thereto with respect to which a Mortgage is granted (or is required to be granted) pursuant to Section 5.9.

 

“Mortgages” means each mortgage, deed to secure debt, deed of trust, and similar agreement executed by any Obligor for the benefit of Administrative Agent and the Secured Parties, and covering the Mortgaged Property in each case in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to the Administrative Agent and the Borrowers, as amended, restated, modified and supplemented from time to time.

 

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“Multiemployer Plan” means a multiemployer plan as defined in Section 4001(a)(3) of ERISA in respect of which a Borrower or any ERISA Affiliate has any current obligation to contribute.

 

“Net Cash Proceeds” means, (a) in connection with any Disposition or any Event of Loss, the proceeds thereof in the form of cash and Cash Equivalents (including any such proceeds received by way of deferred payment of principal pursuant to a note or installment receivable or purchase price adjustment receivable or return of funds held in escrow or otherwise, but only as and when received) of such Disposition or Event of Loss, net of (i) reasonable and customary attorneys’ fees, accountants’ fees, sales commissions, investment banking fees, (ii) amounts required to be applied to the repayment of Indebtedness secured by a Lien permitted hereunder on any asset which is the subject of such Disposition or Event of Loss (other than any Lien pursuant to a Security Document), (iii) any funded escrow established pursuant to the documents evidencing any such sale or disposition to secure any indemnification obligations or adjustments to the purchase price associated with any such sale or disposition (provided that to the extent that any amounts are released from such escrow to a Borrower or a Restricted Subsidiary, such amounts net of any related expenses shall constitute Net Cash Proceeds), (iv) the amount of any reasonable reserve established in accordance with GAAP against any adjustment to the sale price or any liabilities until such time as such reserve is no longer required, (v) other reasonable and customary fees and expenses actually incurred in connection therewith and the amount of cash reserves established to fund contingent liabilities reasonably estimated to be payable and attributable to such disposition or event and net of any Taxes and any Permitted Tax Distributions paid or reasonably estimated to be payable as a result thereof (after taking into account any available tax credits or deductions and any Tax sharing arrangements) and (vi) in the case of any non-Wholly Owned Subsidiary, the pro rata amounts attributable to minority interests and not available for distribution to or for the account of the Borrower or a Wholly-Owned Restricted Subsidiary, or (b) in connection with any incurrence of Indebtedness, the cash proceeds received from such incurrence, net of reasonable and customary attorneys’ fees, investment banking fees, accountants’ fees, underwriting discounts and commissions, upfront fees, placement fees and other customary fees and expenses actually incurred in connection therewith.

 

“Non-Consenting Lender” means any Lender that does not approve any consent, waiver or amendment that (a) requires the approval of all Lenders (or all affected Lenders) in accordance with the terms of Section 10.2 and (b) has been approved by Administrative Agent and the Required Lenders or Required Facility Lenders, as applicable.

 

“Non-Debt Fund Affiliate” means any Affiliate of Holdings, including Holdings or any of its Subsidiaries, but excluding (a) any Debt Fund Affiliate and (b) any natural person.

 

“Non-Defaulting Lender” means, at any time, each Lender that is not a Defaulting Lender at such time.

 

“Non-Expiring Credit Commitment” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 2.4(e).

 

“Notice of Incremental Revolving Credit Commitment” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 2.19.

 

“Notice of Incremental Term Loan Borrowing” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 2.19.

 

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“NPL” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 3.16(c).

 

“NYFRB” means the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.

 

“NYFRB’s Website” means the website of the NYFRB at http://www.newyorkfed.org, or any successor source.

 

“Obligations” means (a) all of the obligations, indebtedness and liabilities of the Obligors to the Lenders, Swingline Lender, Issuing Lender and the Administrative Agent under this Agreement or any of the other Loan Documents, including principal, interest, fees, prepayment premiums (if any), expenses, reimbursements and indemnification obligations and other amounts, and (b) all of the Bank Product Obligations, in each case whether direct or indirect (including those acquired by assumption), absolute or contingent, due or to become due, now existing or hereafter arising and including interest and fees that accrue after the commencement by or against a Borrower or any Restricted Subsidiary thereof of any proceeding under any Debtor Relief Laws or other similar laws naming such Person as the debtor in such proceeding, regardless of whether such interest and fees are allowed claims in such proceeding; provided that the “Obligations” of an Obligor shall exclude any Excluded Swap Obligations with respect to such Obligor.

 

“Obligor” means each Borrower and each Guarantor.

 

“Obligor Accounts” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 9.12.

 

“Ordinary Course Disposition” means (i) any Disposition among the Obligors and their Restricted Subsidiaries permitted hereunder and (ii) any Disposition permitted under Section 6.4 other than pursuant to clauses (j), (m), (q) and (u).

 

“Ordinary Course of Business” means (i) in the ordinary course of business of, or in furtherance of an objective that is in the ordinary course of business of a Borrower or such Subsidiary, as applicable, (ii) customary and usual in the industry or industries of a Borrower and its Subsidiaries in the United States or any other jurisdiction in which a Borrower or any Subsidiary does business, as applicable or (iii) generally consistent with the past practice of a Borrower or such Subsidiary, as applicable.

 

“Organizational Documents” means, with respect to any Person (a) in the case of any corporation, the certificate of incorporation and by-laws (or similar documents) of such Person, (b) in the case of any limited liability company, the certificate or articles of formation and operating agreement (or similar documents) of such Person, (c) in the case of any limited partnership, the certificate of formation and limited partnership agreement (or similar documents) of such Person, (d) in the case of any general partnership, the partnership agreement (or similar document) of such Person, (e) in any other case, the functional equivalent of the foregoing.

 

“Other Benchmark Rate Election” means, with respect to any Loan denominated in Dollars, if the then-current Benchmark is the LIBO Rate, the occurrence of:

 

(a) a request by the Borrower Representative to the Administrative Agent to notify each of the other parties hereto that, at the determination of the Borrower Representative, Dollar-denominated syndicated credit facilities at such time contain (as a result of amendment or as originally executed), in lieu of a LIBOR-based rate, a term benchmark rate as a benchmark rate; and

 

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(b) the Administrative Agent, in its sole discretion, and the Borrower Representative jointly elect to trigger a fallback from the LIBO Rate and the provision, as applicable, by the Administrative Agent of written notice of such election to the Borrower Representative and the Lenders.

 

“Other Connection Taxes” means, with respect to any Recipient, Taxes imposed as a result of a present or former connection between such Recipient and the jurisdiction imposing such Tax (other than connections arising from such Recipient having executed, delivered, become a party to, performed its obligations under, received payments under, received or perfected a security interest under, engaged in any other transaction pursuant to or enforced any Loan Document, or sold or assigned an interest in any Loan, Loan Document or Letter of Credit).

 

“Other Taxes” means all present or future stamp, court or documentary, intangible, recording, filing, or similar Taxes that arise from any payment made under, from the execution, delivery, performance, enforcement or registration of, from the receipt or perfection of a security interest under, or otherwise with respect to, any Loan Document, except any such Taxes that are Other Connection Taxes imposed with respect to an assignment (other than an assignment made pursuant to Section 2.18).

 

“Parity Intercreditor Agreement” means an intercreditor agreement substantially in the form of Exhibit D (with such changes to such form as may be reasonably acceptable to the Administrative Agent and the Borrowers) among the Borrower Representative, the Administrative Agent, the Collateral Agent and the representatives for purposes thereof for holders of one or more classes of Indebtedness secured on a pari passu basis with the Obligations (other than the Obligations).

 

“Participant” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 10.4.

 

“Participant Register” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 10.4.

 

“Payment” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 9.14.

 

“Payment Notice” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 9.14.

 

“PBGC” means the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation referred to and defined in ERISA.

 

“Permitted Acquisition” means an acquisition after the Effective Date by any Borrower or any Restricted Subsidiary of all or substantially all the assets of, or any line of business or division or business unit or line of products of, any other Person, or all or a majority of the Equity Interests of any Person (including with respect to an Investment in a Restricted Subsidiary that serves to increase any Borrower’s or such Restricted Subsidiaries’ respective ownership of Equity Interests therein); provided, (a) such acquisition shall be permitted under Section 5.13, (b) Administrative Agent shall have received, to the extent required and in accordance with the requirements of Sections 5.8 and 5.9, all documents reasonably required by Administrative Agent to have a first priority perfected security interest (subject to Permitted Encumbrances) in the Acquired Entity or Business acquired or created in such acquisition, together with all opinions of counsel, certificates, resolutions and other documents (to the extent required by Sections 5.8 and 5.9), (c) any Person acquired will be a Restricted Subsidiary of Holdings immediately after such acquisition if required by the terms of this Agreement, (d) such acquisition shall not be hostile and shall have been approved by the board of directors (or similar governing body) and shareholders of the Acquired Entity or Business, (e) with respect to any such acquisitions with an aggregate purchase price exceeding the greater of (x) $7,500,000 and (y) 25% of Consolidated EBITDA (determined at the time of any such acquisition (calculated on a pro forma basis) as of the last day of the most recently ended four Fiscal Quarter period for which financial statements have been delivered pursuant to Section 5.1(a) or (b)), the Borrowers shall provide to the Administrative Agent (for distribution to the Lenders) a quality of earnings report from a nationally or regionally recognized accounting firm and a customary due diligence package of readily available items that are reasonably requested by the Administrative Agent; provided, that in any event the Borrower Representative shall provide to the Administrative Agent any quality of earnings that is otherwise available in connection with any such Permitted Acquisition, and (f) no Event of Default pursuant to Section 8.1(a), (b), (h) or (i) then exists or would be caused by such acquisition .

 

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“Permitted Encumbrances” means: (a) Liens for taxes or governmental charges or levies not required to be paid pursuant to Section 5.4; (b) Liens in respect of property imposed by law arising in the Ordinary Course of Business such as materialmen’s, carrier’s, mechanics’, landlord’s, warehousemen’s, grower’s and other like Liens provided that such Liens secure only amounts not more than 90 days past due or are being contested in good faith by appropriate proceedings for which adequate reserves determined in accordance with GAAP have been established (and as to which the property subject to such Lien is not yet subject to foreclosure, sale or loss on account thereof); (c) Liens granted in the Ordinary Course of Business to secure payment of worker’s compensation insurance, unemployment insurance, pensions or social security, property, casualty, or liability insurance, or other insurance programs; (d) Liens in connection with or to secure performance of utilities, tenders, statutory obligations, surety and appeal bonds, bids, leases, government contracts, trade contracts, performance and return-of-money bonds and other similar obligations incurred in the Ordinary Course of Business (other than obligations in respect of the payment of borrowed money); (e)  easements, rights-of-way, servitudes, restrictions (including zoning restrictions), defects or irregularities in title and other similar charges or encumbrances not, in any material respect, impairing the use of such property for its intended purposes or interfering with the ordinary conduct of business of any Obligor; (f) Liens securing Capital Lease Obligations or purchase money Indebtedness (which shall include Indebtedness incurred within 270 days of the acquisition, improvement or completion of construction of an asset to finance (or refinance in accordance with Section 6.1(d)) all or a portion of the purchase price or cost of improvement or construction of such asset) to the extent the Capital Lease Obligations or Indebtedness secured by such Lien is permitted by Section 6.1(d) and provided (x) such Lien attaches only to the asset so purchased, constructed or leased and the proceeds and products thereof and customary security deposits and (y) that individual financings of equipment provided by one lender may be cross collateralized to other financings of equipment provided by such lender, in each case, as permitted by Section 6.1(d); (g) licenses or sublicenses (including with respect to patents, trademarks, copyrights, and other intellectual property rights) and leases or subleases granted to others in the Ordinary Course of Business and which could not reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect and any precautionary UCC financing statements filed in connection with such operating lease; (h)  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; (i) liens arising out of judgment or awards in respect of judgments that do not constitute an Event of Default under clause (j) of Section 8.1; (j) Liens in favor of Administrative Agent or for the benefit of the Secured Parties granted pursuant to Loan Documents; (k) customary Liens (including the right of set-off) in favor of banking institutions encumbering deposits held by such banking institutions or in favor of collecting banks incurred in the Ordinary Course of Business; (l) Liens on securities that are the subject of repurchase agreements permitted by the definition of Cash Equivalents; (m) Liens solely on any cash earnest money deposits made in connection with any letter of intent or purchase agreement related to a Capital Expenditure permitted hereunder or a Permitted Acquisition or another Investment permitted hereunder; (n) Liens created under any agreement relating to the sale, lease, transfer or other Disposition of assets permitted hereunder; provided that such Liens relate solely to the assets to be sold, leased, transferred or otherwise disposed of and the proceeds or products thereof and customary security deposits; (o) Liens that are replacements of Permitted Encumbrances to the extent that the original Indebtedness is the subject of permitted Refinancing Indebtedness and so long as the replacement Liens only encumber those assets that secured the original Indebtedness; (p) 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 clause (l) of Section 6.1; (q) Liens on assets that secure Acquired Indebtedness permitted under clause (r) of Section 6.1; provided that such Lien shall not apply to any other assets of Holdings or any Restricted Subsidiary (other than products, proceeds, replacements and accessions thereof pursuant to the terms existing at the time of such acquisition); (r) to the extent constituting Liens, options, put and call arrangements, rights of first refusal and similar rights relating to Equity Interests in Joint Ventures or other Investments in each case permitted pursuant to Section 6.5; (s) Liens set forth on Schedule 6.2; provided that (x) to qualify as a Permitted Encumbrance, any such Lien shall only secure the Indebtedness that is secured on the Effective Date and any Refinancing Indebtedness in respect thereof and shall encumber only such assets and the proceeds and products thereof and customary security deposits as are encumbered by such Liens as of the Effective Date and (y) individual financings provided by one lender with respect to the Indebtedness constituting Capital Lease Obligations or purchase money Indebtedness may be cross collateralized to other financings of provided by such lender; (t) other Liens which may be secured on a pari passu basis with the Obligations (subject to an Intercreditor Agreement or other subordination arrangements reasonably satisfactory to the Administrative Agent) as to which the aggregate amount of the obligations secured thereby does not exceed the greater of (x) $10,000,000 and (y) 35% of Consolidated EBITDA (as of the last day of the most recently ended four Fiscal Quarter period for which financial statements have been delivered pursuant to Section 5.1(a) or (b)) at any time; (u) Liens on Equity Interests of Joint Ventures securing a Guarantee (whether recourse or non-recourse) of obligations of such Joint Venture to the extent such Investment is permitted by Section 6.5; (v) all matters shown on the mortgagee policies of title insurance accepted by Administrative Agent with respect to Mortgaged Properties and any minor survey exceptions and minor defects and irregularities in title and similar encumbrances; (w) Liens securing obligations permitted in respect of any Mortgaged Property by the terms of the applicable Mortgage; (x) Liens on cash or Cash Equivalents securing obligations under Hedging Agreements permitted under this Agreement; (y) Liens arising out of conditional sale, title retention, consignment or similar arrangements with vendors for the sale or purchase of goods entered into by any Borrower or any Restricted Subsidiary in the Ordinary Course of Business; (z) Liens from UCC financing statement filings regarding consignments entered into by any Borrower or any Restricted Subsidiary in the Ordinary Course of Business; (aa) Liens in favor of any Obligor; (bb) Liens securing Indebtedness of Foreign Subsidiaries in an aggregate amount not to exceed the greater of (x) $4,500,000 and (y) 15% of Consolidated EBITDA (as of the last day of the most recently ended four Fiscal Quarter period for which financial statements have been delivered pursuant to Section 5.1(a) or (b))) at any time; (cc) Liens for property taxes on property of a Borrower or any Restricted Subsidiary thereof has determined to abandon if the sole recourse for such tax, assessment, charge, levy, or claim is to such property; (dd) survey exceptions to a title policy with respect to surveys, minor encumbrances, ground leases, easements, or reservations of, rights of others for, licenses, rights-of-way, servitudes, sewers, electric lines, drains, telegraph and telephone and cable television lines, gas and oil pipelines, and other similar purposes, or zoning, building codes, or other restrictions (including, minor defects or irregularities in title and similar encumbrances) as to the use of Real Property or Liens incidental to the conduct of the business of such Person or to the ownership of its properties which were not incurred in connection with Indebtedness for borrowed money and which do not individually or in the aggregate materially adversely affect the value of said properties or materially impair their use in the operation of the business, as currently conducted or as contemplated to be conducted; (ee) customary notices of lis pendens and associated rights related to litigation being contested in good faith by appropriate proceedings for which adequate reserves have been made in accordance with GAAP; (ff) Liens on specific items of inventory or other goods and proceeds of any Person securing such Person’s obligations in respect of bankers’ acceptances or letters of credit issued or created for the account of such person to facilitate the purchase, shipment or storage of such inventory or other goods in the Ordinary Course of Business; (gg) Liens (i) in favor of a Borrower or any Guarantor and (ii) in favor of a Restricted Subsidiary that is not an Obligor on assets of a Restricted Subsidiary that is not an Obligor securing Indebtedness permitted under Section 6.1 and that is not recourse to any Obligor except as otherwise permitted under another clause of this definition of “Permitted Encumbrances” (which, for the avoidance of doubt, shall constitute an incurrence thereunder); (hh) Liens encumbering reasonable customary initial deposits and margin deposits and similar Liens attaching to commodity trading accounts or other brokerage accounts incurred in the Ordinary Course of Business and not for speculative purposes; (ii) Liens that are contractual rights of set-off or rights of pledge (i) relating to the establishment of depository relations with banks or other deposit-taking financial institutions and not given in connection with the issuance of Indebtedness, (ii) relating to pooled deposit or sweep accounts of a Borrower or any Restricted Subsidiary to permit satisfaction of overdraft or similar obligations incurred, in each case, in the Ordinary Course of Business of a Borrower or any Restricted Subsidiary, or (iii) relating to purchase orders and other agreements entered into with customers of a Borrower or any Restricted Subsidiary in the Ordinary Course of Business; (jj) Liens on property subject to any sale-leaseback transaction permitted under Section 6.4(u); (kk) Liens on cash and Cash Equivalents that are earmarked to be used to satisfy or discharge Indebtedness permitted hereunder; provided (i) such cash and/or Cash Equivalents are deposited into an account from which payment is to be made, directly or indirectly, to the Person or Persons holding the Indebtedness that is to be satisfied or discharged, (ii) such Liens extend solely to the account in which such cash and/or Cash Equivalents are deposited and are solely in favor of the Person or Persons holding the Indebtedness (or any agent or trustee for such Person or Persons) that is to be satisfied or discharged, and (iii) the satisfaction or discharge of such Indebtedness is expressly permitted hereunder; (ll) with respect to any Foreign Subsidiary, other Liens and privileges arising mandatorily by any applicable law that are not reasonably expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect; (mm) Liens on Equity Interests and indebtedness of an Unrestricted Subsidiary that secure Indebtedness or other obligations of such Unrestricted Subsidiary; (nn) Liens or rights of set-off against credit balances of a Borrower or any Restricted Subsidiary with credit card issuers or credit card processors or amounts owing by such credit card issuers or credit card processors to a Borrower or any Restricted Subsidiary in the Ordinary Course of Business to secure the obligations of any Subsidiary to the credit card issuers or credit card processors as a result of fees and charges; (oo) customary Liens on Receivables Assets incurred in connection with a Receivables Facility and customary Liens on Receivables Assets arising in connection with a Qualified Securitization Financing; (pp) Liens securing Ratio Debt and Incremental Equivalent Debt; (qq) [reserved]; and (rr) other obligations secured by any asset of a Borrower or any Obligor (other than assets or property required to constitute Collateral) so long as the Secured Obligations are equally and ratably secured thereby.

 

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“Permitted Equity Issuance” means cash capital contributions to Holdings (other than with respect to Disqualified Equity Interests or a Specified Equity Contribution) or the sale or issuance of any Equity Interests (other than Disqualified Equity Interests) of Holdings, the proceeds of which are contributed to the common equity of any Borrower or any Restricted Subsidiary.

 

“Permitted Holders” means (a)(i) the Sponsor, (ii) the other Investors, (iii) management on the Effective Date and (iv) Permitted Transferees of the foregoing, (b) any person or entity with which the Sponsor and the foregoing Investors form a “group” (within the meaning of the federal securities laws) so long as, in the case of this clause (b), such Investors beneficially own more than 50% of the relevant voting stock beneficially owned by such group, and (c) any person acting in the capacity of an underwriter (solely to the extent that and for so long as such person is acting in such capacity) in connection with a public or private offering of capital stock of any parent entity of the Borrowers.

 

“Permitted Reorganizations” means (i) reorganizations and other activities related to tax planning and other reorganizations and (ii) transactions taken in connection with and reasonably related to consummating an Initial Public Offering, in each case, whether or not consummated, in each case, to the extent the Administrative Agent’s security interests in the Collateral are not materially impaired (as reasonably determined in good faith by the Borrowers).

 

“Permitted Tax Distributions” means, if (1) any of the Borrowers or any of their Subsidiaries file a consolidated, combined, affiliated, aggregated, unitary or similar type of income Tax return with Holdings or any direct or indirect owner thereof (including if the Borrowers or any of their Subsidiaries is treated as a disregarded entity for U.S. federal income Tax purposes of a member of any group that files any such Tax return) or (2) any Borrower is treated as a partnership or a disregarded entity (other than a disregarded entity described in clause (1)) for U.S. federal income Tax purposes, then each such Borrower may make payments to Holdings (or another direct or indirect owner thereof) to permit Holdings (or such owner) to pay income or similar Taxes (including to permit Holdings (or such direct or indirect owner) to make distributions to allow its owners (indirect or direct) to pay income or similar Taxes); provided, that (A) for each year that clause (1) is applicable, the aggregate amount of such distributions shall not be greater than the amount of such Taxes that would have been due and payable by such Borrowers and/or those Subsidiaries of such Borrowers that are members, or disregarded entities of members, of the applicable Tax group with Holdings (or another direct or indirect owner) (as determined by the Borrowers in their good faith discretion), had such Borrowers and/or such Subsidiaries filed a consolidated, combined, affiliated, aggregated, unitary or similar type return for such year with the the applicable Borrower(s) as the parent corporation and (B) for each year (or portion thereof) that clause (2) is applicable, the aggregate amount of such distributions shall not be greater than (I) the aggregate amount of positive taxable income of such Borrowers and their Subsidiaries (reduced by any net taxable losses of such Borrowers and their Subsidiaries for prior taxable years, to the extent not previously taken into account as a reduction to income in determining Permitted Tax Distributions) that would be allocated among its actual or hypothetical members (including as a guaranteed payments for the use of capital) for such year if the applicable Borrower(s) was classified as a partnership for U.S. federal income Tax purposes (and each of the Subsidiaries had its actual classification for U.S. federal income Tax purposes), determined without regard to any deduction relating to qualified business income under Section 199A of the Code (or any similar provision of state or local law), multiplied by (II) the maximum combined marginal U.S. federal, state, and local income Tax rate applicable to any owner of Holdings (or any other direct or indirect owner treated as a partnership) for such year (including any Taxes imposed on net investment income and any self-employment Taxes), taking into account the character of the relevant income or gain and the deductibility of state and local Taxes for U.S. federal income Tax purposes (and any limitations thereon); provided that to the extent that the aggregate amount of such distributions made for any such taxable period exceeds the amount of Permitted Tax Distributions that would have been permitted for such taxable period based on Borrowers’ and their Subsidiaries’ actual taxable income, as finally determined at the close of such taxable period, then the amount of such excess shall be credited against the Permitted Tax Distributions permitted to be made with respect to the immediately subsequent taxable period.

 

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“Permitted Transferee” means (a) in the case of the Sponsor or any Sponsor Associate, (i) the Sponsor, (ii) the heirs, executors, administrators, testamentary trustees, legatees or beneficiaries of the Sponsor or any Sponsor Associate and (iii) any trust, the beneficiaries of which, or a corporation or partnership, the stockholders or partners of which, include only a Sponsor Associate, his or her spouse, parents, siblings, members of his or her immediate family (including adopted children and step children) and/or direct lineal descendants; and (b) in the case of any Management Equityholder, (i) his or her executor, administrator, testamentary trustee, legatee or beneficiaries, (ii) his or her spouse, parents, siblings, members of his or her immediate family (including adopted children and step children) and/or direct lineal descendants or (iii) a trust, the beneficiaries of which, or a corporation or partnership, the stockholders or partners of which, include only a Management Equityholder and his or her spouse, parents, siblings, members of his or her immediate family (including adopted children) and/or direct lineal descendants.

 

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

 

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

 

“Platform” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 10.1(d).

 

“Prime Rate” means the rate of interest published in the Wall Street Journal as the “prime rate” for Dollars on such day; provided that in no event shall the Prime Rate be less than zero. The Prime Rate is not necessarily the lowest rate that JPMorgan is charging any corporate customer.

 

“Principal Payment Dates” means (i) with respect to the Initial Term Loans, March 31, June 30, September 30 and December 31 of each year, commencing with March 31, 2022, and through and including the Term Loan Maturity Date, and (ii) with respect to any Tranche of Incremental Term Loans, such dates (if any) as may be set forth in the Incremental Amendment applicable to such Tranche of Incremental Term Loans.

 

50

 

 

“Proceeding” means any claim, litigation, investigation, action, suit, arbitration or administrative, judicial or regulatory action or proceeding in any jurisdiction.

 

“Pro Rata Share” means, (a) with respect to any Revolving Credit Lender, for purposes of any rights or obligations hereunder affecting or involving Revolving Credit Lenders and not Term Loan Lenders (including any reimbursement obligations in respect of any indemnity claim arising out of an action or omission of Swingline Lender or Issuing Lender under this Agreement), the percentage (carried out to the ninth decimal place) of the total Revolving Credit Commitments represented by such Revolving Credit Lender’s Revolving Credit Commitment, and (b) with respect to any Lender in respect of any rights or obligations affecting or involving all Lenders (including any reimbursement obligations in respect of any indemnity claim arising out of an action or omission of Administrative Agent, Swingline Lender or Issuing Lender under this Agreement), the percentage (carried out to the ninth decimal place) of the total Commitments or Loans, of all Classes hereunder represented by the aggregate amount of such Lender’s Commitments or Loans, as the case may be, of all Classes hereunder. If the Commitments of any Class have terminated or expired, the Pro Rata Share with respect to such Class shall be determined based upon (i) in the case of the Term Loan Lenders of any Class, the outstanding principal amount of the Term Loans of such Class at such time, and (ii) in the case of the Revolving Credit Lenders, Revolving Credit Exposure of all such Revolving Credit Lenders at such time.

 

“Protected Vendor” means any Person that is afforded the benefit of any Lien or trust upon agricultural or animal products sold to the Borrowers and/or their Subsidiaries and/or any proceeds of such agricultural or animal products under any Growers’ Lien Law.

 

“PTE” means a prohibited transaction class exemption issued by the U.S. Department of Labor, as any such exemption may be amended from time to time.

 

“Qualified ECP Guarantor” means, in respect of any Swap Obligation, each Obligor that has total assets exceeding $10,000,000 at the time the relevant Guarantee or grant of the relevant security interests becomes effective with respect to such Swap Obligation or such other person as constitutes an “eligible contract participant” under the Commodity Exchange Act or any regulations promulgated thereunder and can cause another person to qualify as an “eligible contract participant” at such time by entering into a keepwell under Section 1a(18)(A)(v)(II) of the Commodity Exchange Act.

 

“Qualified Equity Interest” means and refers to any Equity Interests that is not a Disqualified Equity Interest.

 

“Qualified Jurisdiction” means the United States, Canada, the Cayman Islands, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Switzerland and Australia.

 

“Qualified Proceeds” means assets that are used or useful in, or Equity Interests of any Person engaged in, any business conducted or proposed to be conducted by the Borrowers and the Restricted Subsidiaries, taken as a whole, on the Effective Date or any other business activities which are reasonable extensions thereof or otherwise similar, incidental, corollary, complementary, synergistic, reasonably related, or ancillary to any of the foregoing or to facilitate any of the foregoing (including non-core incidental businesses acquired in connection with any Permitted Acquisition or permitted Investment), in each case as determined by the Borrowers in good faith.

 

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“Qualified Securitization Financing” means any Securitization Facility (and any guarantee of such Securitization Facility), that meets the following conditions: (a) the Borrowers shall have determined in good faith that such Securitization Facility (including financing terms, covenants, termination events and other provisions) is in the aggregate economically fair and reasonable to the Borrowers and the Restricted Subsidiaries; (b) all transfers of Receivables Assets and related assets by any Borrower or any Restricted Subsidiary to the Securitization Subsidiary or any other Person are made at Fair Market Value, a portion of which may be paid in the form of an increase in the Seller’s Retained Interest; (c) the financing terms, covenants, termination events and other provisions thereof shall be on then current market terms (as reasonably determined in good faith by the Borrowers) and may include Standard Securitization Undertakings; and (d) the obligations under such Securitization Facility are non-recourse (except for customary representations, warranties, covenants, performance guarantees and indemnities made in connection with such facilities) to any Borrower or any Restricted Subsidiary (other than a Securitization Subsidiary).

 

“Quarterly Dates” means the last day of March, June, September, and December of each year through the later of the Revolving Credit Maturity Date and the Term Loan Maturity Date.

 

“Quarterly Percentage Amount” means, with respect to the Initial Term Loan for each Principal Payment Date, the amount equal to 0.25% of the aggregate principal amount of the Term Loan Commitments on the Effective Date.

 

“Ratio Debt” means Indebtedness of an Obligor (other than Holdings (other than as a guarantor)); provided that at the time of incurrence thereof:

 

(a)            (i) the scheduled final maturity date of any Ratio Debt (A) that is secured on a pari passu basis with the Obligations will be no earlier than the scheduled final maturity date for the Initial Term Loans and (B) that is unsecured, secured on a junior basis to the Initial Term Loans or secured by assets not constituting Collateral shall not mature prior to the date that is ninety-one (91) days following the scheduled final maturity date for the Initial Term Loans, and (ii) except in the case of a customary bridge facility that is subject to automatic conversion within one (1) year of issuance of such bridge facility on terms that would otherwise satisfy this clause (a), the Weighted Average Life to Maturity of any Ratio Debt will be no shorter than the remaining Weighted Average Life to Maturity of the Initial Term Loans;

 

(b)            any Ratio Debt may provide for participation (x) on a pro rata basis, greater than a pro rata basis, or less than pro rata basis in any voluntary prepayments with respect to its Class of Term Loans, or (y) on a pro rata basis (with respect to any Ratio Debt secured by the Collateral on a pari passu basis with the Initial Term Loans) or less than pro rata basis in any mandatory prepayments with all Term Loans;

 

(c)            (i) to the extent guaranteed by Holdings or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries, any such Ratio Debt shall not be guaranteed by any such Person that is not (or is not required to be) a Guarantor (except (x) any such Person guaranteeing such Ratio Debt that also guarantees the Initial Term Loans or Revolving Loans, as applicable and (y) unless such guaranty affirmatively is declined by the Administrative Agent as credit support for the Obligations, it being agreed, for the avoidance of doubt, that a Person qualifying as an Excluded Subsidiary shall not result in the Administrative Agent being deemed to have declined such guaranty); and (ii)  to the extent secured by Collateral, shall be subject to an Intercreditor Agreement or other subordination arrangements reasonably satisfactory to the Administrative Agent and shall not be secured by any assets other than Collateral;

 

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(d)            except as otherwise specifically addressed herein, all terms of Ratio Debt shall be determined by the Borrowers and shall either, at the option of the Borrowers, (i) reflect current market terms and conditions (taken as a whole) at the time of incurrence or issuance (as determined by the Borrowers), (ii) be consistent with the terms of the corresponding class under the Facilities unless, in the case of this clause (ii), (x) the Lenders under the corresponding class under the Facilities also receive the benefit of such more restrictive terms or (y) any such provisions apply only after the Latest Maturity Date of the Facilities, or (iii) not be materially more restrictive to the Borrowers, when taken as a whole, than the terms of the applicable class under the Facilities;

 

(e)            the interest rate, margin, original issue discount, up-front fees and other fees and rate floors for such Ratio Debt in the form of term loans may be determined by the Borrowers and the Lenders providing such Ratio Debt, as applicable, providing such Ratio Debt; provided that, in the event that the All-in Yield for any such Ratio Debt that is in the form of term loans that ranks pari passu in right of payment and security with the existing Term Loans incurred (other than in reliance on clause (i) of the Incremental Amount at the time of initial incurrence) is greater than the All-in Yield for the existing Term Loans by more than 50 basis points, then the Applicable Margin for the existing Term Loans shall be increased to the extent necessary so that the All-in Yield for such Ratio Debt is no more than 50 basis points higher than the All-in Yield for the existing Term Loans; provided that, in the event that the All-In Yield for such Ratio Debt is higher than the All-In Yield for the existing Term Loans solely as a result of a higher rate floor for such Ratio Debt, the adjustment to the All-In Yield of the existing Term Loans shall be effected solely by increasing the rate floor; and

 

(f)            Ratio Debt (i) may rank either pari passu or junior in right of payment with any Class of Term Loans (including the Initial Term Loans) and the initial Revolving Commitments and (ii) for the avoidance of doubt, may be secured on a pari passu basis with the Obligations, on a junior basis to the Obligations, be unsecured or be secured by assets not constituting Collateral.

 

“Real Property Requirement” means the requirement that the real property owned by any Obligor and located in the United States shall be a Mortgaged Property as shall be necessary in order that any real property owned on or acquired after the Effective Date by an Obligor located in the United States and with a Fair Market Value measured at the time of acquisition in excess of (a) the greater of (i) $2,000,000 and (ii) 6.5% of Consolidated EBITDA (as of the last day of the most recently ended four Fiscal Quarter period for which financial statements have been delivered pursuant to Section 5.1(a) or (b) individually or (b) the greater of (i) $6,000,000 and (ii) 20% of Consolidated EBITDA (as of the last day of the most recently ended four Fiscal Quarter period for which financial statements have been delivered pursuant to Section 5.1(a) or (b) in the aggregate for all such real property be subject to a Mortgage.

 

“Receivables Assets” means (a) any accounts receivable, including proceeds thereof, owed to a Borrower or a Restricted Subsidiary and arising in the ordinary course of business from the sale of goods and services, and (b) all collateral securing such accounts receivable, all contracts and contract rights, guarantees or other obligations in respect of such accounts receivable, all records with respect to such accounts receivable and any other related assets customarily transferred together with accounts receivable in connection with a non-recourse accounts receivable securitization or factoring arrangement and which are sold, conveyed, assigned or otherwise transferred or pledged in connection with a Receivables Facility.

 

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“Receivables Facility” means any of one or more receivables financing facilities (and any guarantee of such financing facility) that meets the following conditions: (i) the obligations under such facility are non-recourse (except for customary representations, warranties, covenants and indemnities made in connection with such facilities) to the Borrowers and the Restricted Subsidiaries, (ii) pursuant to such facility any Borrower or any Restricted Subsidiary sells, directly or indirectly, grants a security interest in or otherwise transfers its Receivables Assets to either (a) a Person that is not a Borrower or a Restricted Subsidiary or (b) a Receivables Subsidiary that in turn funds such purchase by (1) transferring its accounts receivable to a Person that is not a Borrower or a Restricted Subsidiary or by borrowing from such Person or from another Receivables Subsidiary that in turn funds itself by borrowing from such Person or (2) the issuance to such Borrower or such Restricted Subsidiary of Seller's Retained Interests or an increase in such Seller's Retained Interests and (iii) the financing terms, covenants, termination events and other provisions thereof shall be on market terms (as determined in good faith by the Borrowers) and may include Standard Securitization Undertakings and shall include any guaranty in respect of such financing facility.

 

“Receivables Subsidiary” means any Subsidiary of any Borrower formed for the purpose of, and that solely engages in, facilitating or entering into one or more Receivables Facilities and any other activities reasonably related or incidental thereto or another Person formed for the purposes of engaging in a Receivables Facility in which any Borrower or any Restricted Subsidiary makes an Investment and to which such Borrower or such Restricted Subsidiary transfers accounts receivables and related assets or grants a security interest in Receivables Assets.

 

“Recipient” means (a) Administrative Agent, (b) any Lender or Swingline Lender, and (c) any Issuing Lender, as applicable.

 

“Reference Time” with respect to any setting of the then-current Benchmark means (1) if such Benchmark is LIBO Rate, 11:00 a.m. (London time) on the day that is two London banking days preceding the date of such setting, and (2) if such Benchmark is not LIBO Rate, the time determined by the Administrative Agent in its reasonable discretion.

 

“Refinanced Term Loans” has the meaning set forth in Section 10.02(b).

 

“Refinancing Amendment” means an amendment to this Agreement executed by (a) the Borrower Representative, (b) the Administrative Agent, (c) each Additional Refinancing Lenders and (d) each Lender that agrees to provide any portion of Refinancing Term Loans, Refinancing Revolving Credit Commitments or Refinancing Revolving Credit Loans incurred pursuant thereto, in accordance with Section 2.22.

 

“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, plus the amount of any premiums, make-whole amounts or penalties and accrued and unpaid interest paid thereon, the fees and expenses incurred in connection therewith (including any closing fees and original issue discount) and by the amount of the unfunded commitments with respect thereto unless otherwise permitted under a separate clause of Section 6.1, (b) other than Capital Leases and revolving Indebtedness, such refinancings, renewals, or extensions do not result in a shortening of the scheduled maturity date or the Weighted Average Life to Maturity (measured as of the refinancing, renewal, or extension) of the Indebtedness so refinanced, renewed, or extended, (c) if the Indebtedness that is refinanced, renewed, or extended was unsecured or subordinated in right of payment to the Obligations, then (x) in the case of unsecured Indebtedness, such Refinancing Indebtedness must be unsecured unless otherwise permitted under a separate clause of Section 6.1 and (y) in the case of subordinated Indebtedness, the terms and conditions of the refinancing, renewal, or extension must include subordination terms and conditions (taken as a whole) that are at least as favorable in all material respects to the Secured Parties as those that were applicable to the refinanced, renewed, or extended Indebtedness, and (d) except as otherwise permitted, the Indebtedness that is refinanced, renewed, or extended is not recourse to any Obligor other than those Persons which were obligated with respect to the Indebtedness that was refinanced, renewed, or extended or secured by any property other than property that secured the Indebtedness that was refinanced, renewed or extended.

 

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“Refinancing Revolving Credit Commitments” means one or more Classes of Revolving Credit Commitments hereunder that result from a Refinancing Amendment.

 

“Refinancing Revolving Credit Loans” means one or more Classes of Revolving Credit Loans that result from a Refinancing Amendment.

 

“Refinancing Series” means all Refinancing Term Loans or Refinancing Term Commitments that are established pursuant to the same Refinancing Amendment (or any subsequent Refinancing Amendment to the extent such Refinancing Amendment expressly provides that the Refinancing Term Loans or Refinancing Term Commitments, Refinancing Revolving Credit Loans or Refinancing Revolving Credit Commitments provided for therein are intended to be a part of any previously established Refinancing Series) and that provide for the same All-In Yield (other than, for this purpose, any original issue discount or upfront fees), if applicable and amortization schedule.

 

“Refinancing Term Commitments” means one or more term loan commitments hereunder that fund Refinancing Term Loans of the applicable Refinancing Series hereunder pursuant to a Refinancing Amendment.

 

“Refinancing Term Loans” means one or more Classes of Term Loans that result from a Refinancing Amendment.

 

“Register” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 10.4.

 

“Registered Loan” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 10.4.

 

“Reinvestment Assets” means assets used or useful in a Borrower’s or a Restricted Subsidiary’s business, Capital Expenditures, Permitted Acquisitions and other permitted Investments (other than cash and Cash Equivalents).

 

“Reinvestment Deferred Amount” means, with respect to any Reinvestment Event, the aggregate Net Cash Proceeds received by any Borrower and its Restricted Subsidiaries in connection therewith that are not applied to prepay the Loans.

 

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“Reinvestment Event” means the receipt of any Net Cash Proceeds from any Disposition or Event of Loss in respect of which the Borrowers have elected to reinvest the Net Cash Proceeds in Reinvestment Assets.

 

“Reinvestment Prepayment Amount” means, with respect to any Reinvestment Event, the Reinvestment Deferred Amount relating thereto less any amount expended prior to the relevant Reinvestment Prepayment Date to invest in Reinvestment Assets.

 

“Reinvestment Prepayment Date” means, with respect to any Reinvestment Event, the earlier of (a) the date occurring 365 days after (or 30 days prior to such date, to the extent the applicable Borrower or Restricted Subsidiary has committed to reinvest such proceeds) such Reinvestment Event (or if a Borrower or a Restricted Subsidiary has committed to reinvest such proceeds within such 365 days, within 180 days following such 365 days) and (b) the date on which the Borrowers shall have determined not to invest in Reinvestment Assets.

 

“Rejection Notice” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 2.10(d)(iii).

 

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

 

“Relevant Governmental Body” means the Federal Reserve Board or the NYFRB, or a committee officially endorsed or convened by the Federal Reserve Board or the NYFRB, or any successor thereto.

 

“Replacement Term Loans” has the meaning set forth in Section 10.02(b).

 

“Required Facility Lenders” means, at any time, with respect to one or more Facilities, Lenders having Revolving Credit Exposures, outstanding Term Loans and/or unused Commitments representing more than 50% of the sum of Revolving Credit Exposures, outstanding Term Loans and/or unused Commitments under such Facility; provided the Commitments of, and the portion of the Revolving Credit Exposure and outstanding Incremental Term Loans held or deemed held by, any Defaulting Lender shall be excluded for purposes of making a determination of Required Facility Lenders.

 

“Required Lenders” means, at any time, Lenders having Revolving Credit Exposures, outstanding Term Loans, and unused Commitments representing more than 50% of the sum of the total Revolving Credit Exposures, total outstanding Term Loans and unused Commitments at such time; provided the Commitments of, and the portion of the Revolving Credit Exposure and outstanding Term Loans held or deemed held by, any Defaulting Lender shall be excluded for purposes of making a determination of Required Lenders; provided, further, that for so long as there are two or more Lenders each holding more than ten percent (10%) of the sum of the total Revolving Credit Exposures, total outstanding Term Loans and unused Commitments at such time, the term “Required Lenders” must include at least two unaffiliated Lenders, each holding no less than five percent (5%) of such total Revolving Credit Exposures, total outstanding Term Loans and unused Commitments.

 

“Required Revolving Lenders” means, at any time, Revolving Credit Lenders having Revolving Credit Exposures and unused Revolving Credit Commitments representing more than 50% of the sum of the total Revolving Credit Exposures and unused Revolving Credit Commitments at such time. The Revolving Credit Exposures and unused Revolving Credit Commitments of any Defaulting Lender shall be disregarded in determining Required Revolving Lenders at any time.

 

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“Resolution Authority” means an EEA Resolution Authority or, with respect to any UK Financial Institution, a UK Resolution Authority.

 

“Responsible Officer” means the chief executive officer, president, chief financial officer, chief administrative officer, principal accounting officer, treasurer, assistant treasurer, vice president of finance, secretary, assistant secretary or controller of any Person. Any document delivered hereunder that is signed by a Responsible Officer of any Person shall be conclusively presumed to have been authorized by all necessary corporate, partnership and/or other action on the part of such Person.

 

“Restricted Payment” means, with respect to any Person, any dividend or other distribution (whether in cash, securities or other property) with respect to any Equity Interest of or issued by such Person, or any payment (whether in cash, securities or other property), including any sinking fund or similar deposit, on account of the purchase, redemption, retirement, acquisition, cancellation or termination of any Equity Interest or Equity Right of or issued by such Person or any payment of management fees or consulting fees to any holder of Equity Interests of such Person.

 

“Restricted Subsidiary” means any Subsidiary of a Borrower other than an Unrestricted Subsidiary.

 

“Restrictive Agreement” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 6.8.

 

“Retained ECF Amount” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 2.10(b)(ii).

 

“Returns” means, with respect to any Investment, any dividends, distributions, interest, fees, premium, return of capital, repayment of principal, income, profits (from a Disposition or otherwise) and other amounts received or realized in respect of such Investment.

 

“Revolving Credit Availability Period” means the period from and including the Effective Date and ending on the earlier of the Business Day immediately preceding the Revolving Credit Maturity Date and the date of termination of the Revolving Credit Commitments pursuant to the terms hereof.

 

“Revolving Credit Commitment” means at any time, with respect to each Lender, the commitment, if any, of such Lender to make Revolving Credit Loans (including any Incremental Revolving Credit Commitment) and to acquire participations in Letters of Credit and Swingline Loans hereunder, expressed as an amount representing the maximum aggregate amount of such Lender’s Revolving Credit Exposure at such time hereunder, as such commitment may be (a) reduced from time to time pursuant to Section 2.8 or 2.18(b), (b) reduced or increased from time to time pursuant to assignments by or to such Lender pursuant to Section 10.4, or (c) increased pursuant to Section 2.19. The amount of each Lender’s Revolving Credit Commitment as of the Effective Date is set forth below its name or its signature page to this Agreement, or thereafter, in the Assignment and Assumption pursuant to which such Lender becomes a party hereto, as applicable. The initial aggregate amount of the Lenders’ Revolving Credit Commitments is $25,000,000.

 

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“Revolving Credit Exposure” means, with respect to any Revolving Credit Lender at any time, the sum, without duplication, of the outstanding principal amount of such Lender’s Revolving Credit Loans, LC Exposure and Swingline Exposure at such time.

 

“Revolving Credit Lender” means a Lender with a Revolving Credit Commitment or, if the Revolving Credit Commitments have terminated or expired, a Lender with Revolving Credit Exposure.

 

“Revolving Credit Loan” means a Loan made pursuant to Section 2.1 (including loans made pursuant to an Incremental Revolving Credit Commitment).

 

“Revolving Credit Loan Extension Request” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 2.23.

 

“Revolving Credit Maturity Date” means (i) with respect to the Revolving Credit Commitment on the Effective Date, August 23, 2026, (ii) with respect to any tranche of Extended Revolving Credit Commitments, the final maturity date as specified in the applicable Extension Amendment and (iii) with respect to any Refinancing Revolving Credit Commitments, the final maturity date as specified in the applicable Refinancing Amendment.

 

“Sanctioned Person” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 3.17.

 

“Sanctions” means any sanctions administered, imposed or enforced by the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control, the U.S. Department of State, the United Nations Security Council or other relevant sanctions authority.

 

“SEC” means the Securities and Exchange Commission.

 

“Secured Parties” means, collectively, Administrative Agent, the Lenders, Issuing Lender, Swingline Lender, and each Bank Product Provider.

 

“Securities Act” means the Securities Act of 1933, as amended from time to time.

 

“Securitization Asset” means (a) any accounts receivable or related assets and the proceeds thereof owed to a Borrower or any Restricted Subsidiary and arising in the ordinary course of business from the sale of goods or services and (b) all collateral securing such receivable or asset, all contracts and contract rights, guaranties or other obligations in respect of such receivable or asset, lockbox accounts and records with respect to such account or asset and any other related assets customarily transferred (or in respect of which security interests are customarily granted), together with accounts or assets in a securitization financing and which in the case of clause (a) and (b) above are sold, conveyed, assigned or otherwise transferred or pledged in connection with a Qualified Securitization Financing.

 

“Securitization Facility” means any transaction or series of securitization financings that may be entered into by any Borrower or any Restricted Subsidiary pursuant to which any Borrower or any such Restricted Subsidiary may sell, convey or otherwise transfer, or may grant a security interest in, Securitization Assets to either (a) a Person that is not a Borrower or a Restricted Subsidiary or (b) a Securitization Subsidiary that in turn sells such Securitization Assets to a Person that is not a Borrower or a Restricted Subsidiary, or may grant a security interest in, any Securitization Assets of a Borrower or any of its Subsidiaries.

 

“Securitization Subsidiary” means any Subsidiary of any Borrower in each case formed for the purpose of, and that solely engages in, one or more Qualified Securitization Financings and other activities reasonably related thereto or another Person formed for the purposes of engaging in a Qualified Securitization Financing in which any Borrower or any Restricted Subsidiary makes an Investment and to which any Borrower or such Restricted Subsidiary transfers Securitization Assets and related assets.

 

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“Security Agreement” means the Pledge and Security Agreement, dated as of the Effective Date, among the Borrowers and the other Obligors (and any other Obligor that becomes a party thereto by joinder after the Effective Date), as “Grantors”, and the Administrative Agent.

 

“Security Documents” means, collectively, (a) the Security Agreement, each Mortgage, the Control Agreements, and each other agreement, instrument, or document that creates or purports to create a Lien securing the Obligations in favor of Administrative Agent pursuant to or in connection with this Agreement and all UCC financing statements and fixture filings required by the Security Agreement or any Mortgage, or such other agreement, instrument, or document to be filed with respect to the Liens created pursuant thereto and each other security agreement or other document executed and delivered after the Effective Date to secure any of the Obligations and (b) any amendments, supplements, modifications, renewals, restatements, replacements, consolidations, substitutions and extensions of any of the foregoing in accordance with their respective terms.

 

“Seller’s Retained Interest” means the debt or equity interests held by any Borrower or any Restricted Subsidiary in (i) a Securitization Subsidiary to which Securitization Assets have been transferred, and/or (ii) a Receivables Subsidiary to which Receivables Assets have been transferred including, in each case, any such debt or equity received as consideration for or as a portion of the purchase price for the Securitization Assets and/or Receivables Assets transferred, or any other instrument through which any Borrower or any Restricted Subsidiary has rights to or receives distributions in respect of any deferred purchase price or other residual or excess interest in such Securitization Assets and/or Receivables Assets.

 

“SOFR” means, with respect to any Business Day, a rate per annum equal to the secured overnight financing rate for such Business Day published by the SOFR Administrator on the SOFR Administrator’s Website on the immediately succeeding Business Day.

 

“SOFR Administrator” means the NYFRB (or a successor administrator of the secured overnight financing rate).

 

“SOFR Administrator’s Website” means the NYFRB’s website, currently at http://www.newyorkfed.org, or any successor source for the secured overnight financing rate identified as such by the SOFR Administrator from time to time.

 

“Solvent” and “Solvency” mean, with respect to any Person and its Restricted Subsidiaries on a consolidated basis on any date of determination, that on such date (a) the fair value of the assets (on a going concern basis) of such Person and its Restricted Subsidiaries, on a consolidated basis, is greater than the debt, including contingent liabilities, of such Person and its Restricted Subsidiaries, on a consolidated basis, (b) the present fair salable value of the assets of such Person and its Restricted Subsidiaries (on a going concern basis), on a consolidated basis, is not less than the amount that will be required to pay the probable liability, on a consolidated basis, of such Person and its Restricted Subsidiaries on their debts as they become absolute and matured in the ordinary course of business, (c) such Person and its Restricted Subsidiaries, on a consolidated basis, do not intend to, or believe that they will, incur debts (including current obligations and contingent liabilities) beyond such Person’s and its Restricted Subsidiaries’, on a consolidated basis, ability to pay such debts as they become due in the ordinary course of business, and (d) the capital of such Person and its Restricted Subsidiaries, on a consolidated basis, is not unreasonably small in relation to the business of such Person and its Restricted Subsidiaries, on a consolidated basis, contemplated on the date of determination. The amount of contingent liabilities at any time shall be computed as the amount that, in the light of all the facts and circumstances existing at such time, represents the amount that can reasonably be expected to become an actual or matured liability in the ordinary course of business.

 

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“Specified Equity Contribution” means cash proceeds of a sale of, or contribution to, equity (which equity shall be Qualified Equity Interests) of Holdings, and contributed by Holdings to a Borrower and/or a Restricted Subsidiary of Holdings, designated by the Borrowers as a “Specified Equity Contribution” pursuant to Section 8.3, and made after the last day of the applicable Fiscal Quarter and on or prior to the day that is 15 Business Days after the day on which financial statements are required to be delivered for such Fiscal Quarter pursuant to Section 5.1(a) and (b).

 

“Specified Existing Revolving Credit Commitment” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 2.23.

 

“Specified Purchase Agreement Representations” means each of the representations made by or on behalf of the Borrower, any Affiliate or Subsidiary thereof, or their respective businesses, as set forth in the Surf Merger Agreement, in each case, that are material to the interests of the Lenders, but only to the extent that Holdings, the Initial Borrower or their respective Affiliates have the right to terminate its respective obligations under the Surf Merger Agreement, or to decline to consummate the Acquisition as a result of a breach of such representations in the Surf Merger Agreement.

 

“Specified Representations” means the representations set forth in Sections 3.1(a) (with respect to the organizational existence of the Obligors (other than any Obligor that is not a Material Subsidiary) only), 3.1(c), 3.2, 3.3(b), 3.8, 3.12, 3.17, 3.20 and 3.22 of this Agreement.

 

“Specified Transaction” means any Permitted Acquisition, or any other Investment that results in a Person becoming a Restricted Subsidiary of Holdings, any Material Disposition that results in a Person ceasing to be a Restricted Subsidiary of Holdings, any Investment constituting an acquisition of assets constituting a business unit, line of business or division of another Person or any Material Disposition of a business unit, line of business or division of Holdings or a Restricted Subsidiary, in each case whether by merger, consolidation, amalgamation or otherwise, or any incurrence or repayment of Indebtedness (other than Indebtedness incurred or repaid under any revolving credit facility in the ordinary course of business for working capital purposes without any adjustment to the commitments thereunder), Restricted Payment or other event that by the terms of this Agreement requires a test to be calculated for “pro forma compliance” or on a “pro forma basis” or after giving “pro forma effect.”

 

“Sponsor” means Paine Schwartz Partners, LLC, together with its Sponsor Affiliates.

 

“Sponsor Affiliates” means with respect to the Sponsor, any Person that (a) is organized by the Sponsor or an Affiliate of the Sponsor for the purpose of making and/or holding equity or debt investments in one or more companies, and (b), directly or indirectly, is managed, advised or controlled by the Sponsor, but excluding any operating portfolio companies of the foregoing.

 

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“Sponsor Associate” means any managing director, director, officer, or employee of the Sponsor.

 

“Sponsor-Controlled Affiliated Lender” means, at any time, any Lender that is the Sponsor or a Non-Debt Fund Affiliate, in each case, other than Holdings, the Borrower or any of its Subsidiaries, any Debt Fund Affiliate or any natural person.

 

“Sponsor-Controlled Affiliated Lender Assignment and Assumption” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 10.4(g).

 

“Sponsor-Controlled Affiliated Lender Cap” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 10.4(g).

 

“Sponsor Equity Contribution” means a cash equity contribution in the form of a common equity investment, Qualified Equity Interests or otherwise on terms acceptable to the Lead Arranger (such approval not to be unreasonably withheld, delayed, conditioned or denied), in an amount not less than (when combined with any rollover or reinvested equity in the Company or a direct or indirect parent thereof received by management of the Company and by other existing direct or indirect equity holders of the Company in connection with the Merger) 50% of the sum of (a) the aggregate gross proceeds of the Loans to be borrowed under this Agreement on the Effective Date (excluding, the aggregate gross proceeds of any Revolving Credit Loans borrowed to fund original issue discount or upfront fees in the Fee Letter and Transaction Costs), plus (b) the amount of the Equity Contribution, contributed, directly or indirectly, by the Sponsor to the Initial Borrower on the Effective Date, as such amount may be modified in accordance with Section 4.1(n)).

 

“Standard Securitization Undertakings” means representations, warranties, covenants, repurchase obligations and indemnities entered into by any Borrower or any Restricted Subsidiary which are customary for a seller or servicer of assets transferred in connection with a non-recourse, bankruptcy-remote financing of accounts receivable.

 

“Statutory Reserve Rate” means a fraction (expressed as a decimal), the numerator of which is the number one and the denominator of which is the number one minus the reserve percentage in effect, whether or not applicable to any Lender, under regulations issued from time to time by the Federal Reserve Board for determining the maximum reserve requirement (including any emergency, special, supplemental or other marginal reserve requirement) with respect to eurocurrency funding (currently referred to as “Eurocurrency liabilities” in Regulation D) or any other reserve ratio or analogous requirement of any central banking or financial regulatory authority imposed in respect of the maintenance of the Commitments or the funding of the Loans. The Statutory Reserve Rate shall be adjusted automatically on and as of the effective date of any change in any reserve percentage.

 

“Subordinated Indebtedness” means unsecured Indebtedness incurred pursuant to Section 6.1(p) and owing by an Obligor at any time, provided, that, (a) such Indebtedness does not require any scheduled payment of cash interest or principal (including pursuant to a sinking fund obligation) or mandatory redemption or redemption at the option of the holders thereof prior to the date that is 6 months after the Term Loan Maturity Date, (b) such Indebtedness is contractually subordinated in right of payment and action to the Obligations in a manner reasonably acceptable to the Administrative Agent, (c) such Indebtedness does not contain any financial performance covenants, is not cross defaulted to this Agreement and contains other terms that are reasonably acceptable to the Administrative Agent, provided that all covenants and events of default (including change of control provisions) are not more restrictive than the covenants and events of default contained in this Agreement, taken as a whole, (d) such Indebtedness provides for all interest to be paid in kind (and not in cash) during the term of this Agreement, and (e) both before and after giving effect to incurrence of such Indebtedness, the Borrowers would be in compliance with the Financial Covenant on a pro forma basis as of the end of the most recent Fiscal Quarter for which financial statements have been delivered to the Lenders (whether or not such Financial Covenant is required to be tested for such Fiscal Quarter end), and, no Default or Event of Default shall exist under this Agreement.

 

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“Subsidiary” means, with respect to any Person (the “parent”) at any date, any other Person the accounts of which would be consolidated with those of the parent in the parent’s consolidated financial statements if such financial statements were prepared in accordance with GAAP as of such date, as well as any other Person (a) of which more than 50% of the Equity Interests or more than 50% of the ordinary voting power, are as of such date, owned, controlled or held by the parent (either directly or through one or more intermediaries or both) or (b) the management of which is, as of such date, otherwise controlled, by the parent (either directly or through one or more intermediaries or both). Unless otherwise specified, “Subsidiary” means a Subsidiary of Holdings.

 

“Subsidiary Guarantors” means each Restricted Subsidiary that has executed a Guaranty Agreement.

 

“Surf Merger Agreement” means that certain Agreement and Plan of Merger dated as of July 7, 2021, between Holdings, the Initial Borrower and the Borrower, together with all exhibits, schedules, annexes and disclosures relating thereto.

 

“Swap Obligation” means, with respect to any Obligor, any obligation to pay or perform under any agreement, contract, or transaction that constitutes a “swap” within the meaning of Section 1a(47) of the Commodity Exchange Act.

 

“Swingline Exposure” means, at any time, the aggregate principal amount of all Swingline Loans outstanding at such time. The Swingline Exposure of any Revolving Credit Lender at any time shall be its Pro Rata Share of the total Swingline Exposure at such time.

 

“Swingline Lender” means JPMorgan, in its capacity as lender of Swingline Loans hereunder, or any other Lender selected by JPMorgan with the consent of the Borrowers that shall agree with Administrative Agent to act as Swingline Lender.

 

“Swingline Loan” means a Loan made pursuant to Section 2.4.

 

“Synthetic Lease Obligation” means the monetary obligation of a Person under (a) a so-called synthetic, off-balance sheet or tax retention lease, or (b) an agreement for the use or possession of property (including sale and leaseback transactions), in each case, creating obligations that do not appear on the balance sheet of such Person but which, upon the application of any Debtor Relief Laws to such Person, would be characterized as the indebtedness of such Person (without regard to accounting treatment).

 

“Tax Preferred Subsidiary” means a Foreign Holdco, a CFC, and any direct or indirect Subsidiary of either of the foregoing.

 

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“Taxes” means all present or future taxes, levies, imposts, duties, deductions, withholdings (including backup withholding), assessments, fees or other similar charges imposed by any Governmental Authority, including any interest, additions to tax or penalties applicable thereto imposed by any Governmental Authority.

 

“Term Loan” means collectively, the Initial Term Loans and any Incremental Term Loans, Extended Term Loan, Replacement Term Loan or Refinancing Term Loan, in each case to the extent outstanding or in existence.

 

“Term Loan Commitment” means, with respect to each Term Loan Lender, its obligation to make an Initial Term Loan to the Borrowers on the Effective Date in an aggregate principal amount up to, and not to exceed, the amount set forth on such Lender’s signature page hereto under the caption “Term Loan Commitment”. The aggregate amount of the Term Loan Lenders’ Term Loan Commitments is $120,000,000 as of the Effective Date.

 

“Term Loan Lender” means a Lender with a Term Loan Commitment or an outstanding Term Loan, Extended Term Loan or Refinancing Term Loan.

 

“Term Loan Maturity Date” means (i) with respect to the Initial Term Loans, August 23, 2027, (ii) with respect to any Tranche of Incremental Term Loans, the final maturity as specified in the applicable Incremental Amendment and in accordance with Section 2.19(a), (iii) with respect to any Refinancing Term Loan, Extended Term Loan or Replacement Term Loan, the final maturity date as specified in the applicable Refinancing Amendment and (iv) with respect to any tranche of Extended Term Loans, the final maturity date as specified in the applicable Extension Amendment.

 

“Term SOFR” means, for the applicable Corresponding Tenor as of the applicable Reference Time, the forward-looking term rate based on SOFR that has been selected or recommended by the Relevant Governmental Body.

 

“Term SOFR Notice” means a notification by the Administrative Agent to the Lenders and the Borrowers of the occurrence of a Term SOFR Transition Event.

 

“Term SOFR Transition Event” means the determination by the Administrative Agent that (a) Term SOFR has been recommended for use by the Relevant Governmental Body, (b) the administration of Term SOFR is administratively feasible for the Administrative Agent and (c) a Benchmark Transition Event or an Early Opt-in Election, as applicable (and, for the avoidance of doubt, not in the case of an Other Benchmark Rate Election), has previously occurred resulting in a Benchmark Replacement in accordance with Section 2.13 that is not Term SOFR.

 

“Termination Value” means, in respect of any Hedging Agreement, after taking into account the effect of any legally enforceable netting agreement relating to such Hedging Agreement, (a) for any date on or after the date such Hedging Agreement has been closed out and termination value determined in accordance therewith, such termination value, and (b) for any date prior to the date referenced in clause (a) of this definition the amount determined as the mark-to-market value for such Hedging Agreement, as determined based upon one or more mid-market or other readily available quotations provided by any recognized dealer in such Hedging Agreement (which may include any Lender or any Affiliate of any Lender).

 

“Total Credit Exposure” means, as to any Lender at any time, the Revolving Credit Exposures, unused Revolving Credit Commitments and outstanding Term Loans of such Lender at such time.

 

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“Tranche” means, with respect to any Incremental Term Loans, Extended Term Loans or Refinancing Term Loans, all such Loans made on the same date pursuant to the terms of the same Notice of Borrowing.

 

“Transaction Costs” means the fees, costs, and expenses payable by the Obligors in connection with the consummation of the Transactions.

 

“Transactions” mean, collectively, (a) the consummation of the Acquisition, (b) Holdings’ receipt of the proceeds of the Sponsor Equity Contribution, (c) the execution, delivery and performance by each Obligor of this Agreement and the other Loan Documents to which such Obligor is intended to be a party and the consummation of the transactions on the Effective Date contemplated thereby, (d) the initial borrowing of Loans, (e) subject to Section 5.11, the grant by each Obligor of the Liens granted by it pursuant to the Security Documents to which it is a party, (f) the repayment in full of all obligations under the Existing Indebtedness, (g) [reserved], and (h) the payment of all fees and expenses to be paid on or prior to the Effective Date and owing in connection with the foregoing.

 

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

 

“UCC” means the New York Uniform Commercial Code as adopted in the State of New York; provided in connection with any Lien granted under any Security Document, if the laws of any other jurisdiction would govern the perfection or enforcement of such Lien, “UCC” means the Uniform Commercial Code as in effect in such jurisdiction with respect to such Lien.

 

“UK Financial Institutions” means any BRRD Undertaking (as such term is defined under the PRA Rulebook (as amended from time to time) promulgated by the United Kingdom Prudential Regulation Authority) or any person falling within IFPRU 11.6 of the FCA Handbook (as amended from time to time) promulgated by the United Kingdom Financial Conduct Authority, which includes certain credit institutions and investment firms, and certain affiliates of such credit institutions or investment firms.

 

“UK Resolution Authority” means the Bank of England or any other public administrative authority having responsibility for the resolution of any UK Financial Institution.

 

“Unadjusted Benchmark Replacement” means the applicable Benchmark Replacement excluding the related Benchmark Replacement Adjustment.

 

“Undisclosed Administration” means in relation to a solvent Person, the precautionary appointment of an administrator, conservator, receiver, trustee, custodian or other similar official by a supervisory authority or regulator under or based on the law in the country where such person is subject to home jurisdiction supervision if applicable law requires that such appointment is not to be publicly disclosed.

 

“United States” and “U.S.” mean the United States of America.

 

“Unrestricted Cash” means unrestricted cash and Cash Equivalents of the Obligors held in (a) a pledged account in favor of Administrative Agent such that the Administrative Agent has “control” of such cash and Cash Equivalents under the UCC or (b) maintained in an account with the Administrative Agent; provided that the foregoing requirements in clauses (a) and (b) shall not apply until the date that is ninety (90) days after the Effective Date.

 

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“Unrestricted Subsidiary” means any Subsidiary of a Borrower, other than any Borrower or any Additional Borrower, designated (with written notice to the Administrative Agent) by the board of directors (or analogous governing body) of a Borrower as an Unrestricted Subsidiary pursuant to Section 5.12 subsequent to the Effective Date, and any Subsidiary of an Unrestricted Subsidiary.

 

“Unused Revolving Commitment” means, at any time with respect to any Revolving Credit Lender, the amount equal to (a) such Revolving Credit Lender’s Commitment minus (b) the aggregate amount of the outstanding Revolving Credit Loans and LC Exposure of such Revolving Credit Lender.

 

“U.S. Person” means any Person that is a “United States person” as defined in Section 7701(a)(30) of the Code.

 

“U.S. Tax Compliance Certificate” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 2.16(g).

 

“USA Patriot Act” has the meaning assigned to such term in the definition of “Anti-Terrorism Laws”.

 

“USDA” means the United States Department of Agriculture.

 

“Weighted Average Life to Maturity” when applied to any Indebtedness at any date, means the number of years obtained by dividing (1) the sum of the products obtained by multiplying (a) the amount of each then remaining installment, sinking fund, serial maturity or other required payment of principal, including payment at final maturity, in respect thereof by (b) the number of years (calculated to the nearest one-twelfth) that will elapse between such date and the making of such payment by (2) the then outstanding principal amount of such Indebtedness; provided that for purposes of the Weighted Average Life to Maturity of such Indebtedness, the effects of any prepayments or amortization made on such Indebtedness prior to the date of the applicable modification, refinancing, refunding, renewal, replacement or extension shall be disregarded.

 

“Wholly-Owned” means a Person in which (other than directors’ qualifying shares or other shares required by law) 100% of the Equity Interests and Equity Rights, at the time as of which any determination is being made, is owned, beneficially and of record, by a Borrower, or by one or more of the other Wholly-Owned Subsidiaries of a Borrower, or both.

 

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

 

“Withholding Agent” means any Obligor and the Administrative Agent.

 

“Write-Down and Conversion Powers” means (a) with respect to any EEA Resolution Authority, the write-down and conversion powers of such EEA Resolution Authority from time to time under the Bail-In Legislation for the applicable EEA Member Country, which write-down and conversion powers are described in the EU Bail-In Legislation Schedule, and (b) with respect to the United Kingdom, any powers of the applicable Resolution Authority under the Bail-In Legislation to cancel, reduce, modify or change the form of a liability of any UK Financial Institution or any contract or instrument under which that liability arises, to convert all or part of that liability into shares, securities or obligations of that person or any other person, to provide that any such contract or instrument is to have effect as if a right had been exercised under it or to suspend any obligation in respect of that liability or any of the powers under that Bail-In Legislation that are related to or ancillary to any of those powers.

 

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1.2            Classification of Loans and Borrowings. For purposes of this Agreement, Loans may be classified and referred to by Class (e.g., a Revolving Credit Loan) or by Type (e.g., a Eurodollar Loan) or by Class and Type (e.g., a Eurodollar Revolving Credit Loan). Borrowings also may be classified and referred to by Class (e.g., a Revolving Credit Loan Borrowing) or by Type (e.g., a Eurodollar Borrowing) or by Class and Type (e.g., a Eurodollar Revolving Credit Loan Borrowing).

 

1.3            Interpretation. With reference to this Agreement and each other Loan Document, unless other specified herein or in such other Loan Document:

 

(a)            The definitions of terms herein shall apply equally to the singular and plural forms of the terms defined. Whenever the context may require, any pronoun shall include the corresponding masculine, feminine, and neuter forms. The words “include”, “includes” and “including” shall be deemed to be followed by the phrase “without limitation”. The word “will” shall be construed to have the same meaning and effect as the word “shall”. Unless the context requires otherwise (i) any definition of or reference to any agreement, instrument or other document herein shall be construed as referring to such agreement, instrument or other document as from time to time amended, supplemented modified, restated, refinanced, extended, restructured or replaced (subject to any restrictions set forth herein), (ii) any reference herein to any Person shall be construed to include such Person’s permitted successors and assigns, (iii) the words “herein”, “hereof” and “hereunder”, and words of similar import when used in any Loan Document, shall be construed to refer to such Loan Document in its entirety and not to any particular provision thereof, (iv) unless otherwise specified, all references in any Loan Document to Sections, Exhibits and Schedules shall be construed to refer to Sections of, and Exhibits and Schedules to, the Loan Document in which such references appear, (v) any reference to any law shall include all statutory and regulatory provisions consolidating, amending, replacing or interpreting such law and any reference to any law or regulation shall, unless otherwise specified, refer to such law or regulation as amended, modified or supplemented from time to time, (vi) any table of contents, captions and headings are for convenience of reference only and shall not affect the construction of this Agreement or any other Loan Document, (vii) 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 (viii) all references to “knowledge” of any Borrower or any Restricted Subsidiary of Holdings means the actual knowledge of a Responsible Officer.

 

(b)            In the computation of periods of time from a specified date to a later specified date, the word “from” means “from and including;” the words “to” and “until” each mean “to but excluding;” and the word “through” means “to and including.”

 

(c)            For all purposes under the Loan Documents, in connection with any division or plan of division under Delaware law (or any comparable event under a different jurisdiction’s laws): (a) if any asset, right, obligation or liability of any Person becomes the asset, right, obligation or liability of a different Person, then it shall be deemed to have been transferred from the original Person to the subsequent Person, and (b) if any new Person comes into existence, such new Person shall be deemed to have been organized on the first date of its existence by the holders of its Equity Interests at such time.

 

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1.4            Rounding. Any financial ratios required to be maintained by Holdings and its Restricted Subsidiaries pursuant to this Agreement shall be calculated by dividing the appropriate component by the other component, carrying the result to one place more than the number of places by which such ratio is expressed herein and rounding the result up or down to the nearest number (with a rounding-up if there is no nearest number).

 

1.5            Letter of Credit Amounts. Unless otherwise specified herein, the amount of a Letter of Credit at any time shall be deemed to be the stated amount of such Letter of Credit in effect at such time; provided, that with respect to any Letter of Credit that, by its terms or the terms of any document related thereto, provides for one or more automatic increases in the stated amount thereof, the amount of such Letter of Credit shall be deemed to be the maximum stated amount of such Letter of Credit after giving effect to all such increases, whether or not such maximum stated amount is in effect at such time.

 

1.6            Accounting Terms; GAAP. Except as otherwise expressly provided herein, all terms of an accounting or financial nature shall be construed, and all accounting determinations and computations required under the Loan Documents shall be made, in accordance with GAAP, as in effect from time to time, consistently applied; provided that, (a) if at any time any change in GAAP would affect the computation of any financial ratio or requirement set forth in any Loan Document, and either the Borrower Representative or the Required Lenders (through Administrative Agent) shall so request, Administrative Agent, the Lenders and the Borrower Representative shall negotiate in good faith to amend such ratio or requirement to preserve the original intent thereof in light of such change in GAAP (subject to the approval of the Required Lenders); provided that, until so amended, (i) such ratio or requirement shall continue to be computed in accordance with GAAP prior to such change therein and (ii) the Borrower Representative shall provide to the Administrative Agent and the Lenders financial statements and other documents required under this Agreement or as reasonably requested hereunder setting forth a reconciliation between calculations of such ratio or requirement made before and after giving effect to such change in GAAP, (b) notwithstanding any other provision contained herein, all terms of an accounting or financial nature used herein shall be construed, and all computations of amounts and ratios referred to in Section 7 shall be made, without giving effect to any election under Accounting Standards Codification 825-10 (or any other Financial Accounting Standard having a similar result or effect) to value any Indebtedness or other liabilities of any Obligor or any Subsidiary of any Obligor at “fair value” and (c) notwithstanding any other provision contained herein, unless the Borrower Representative elects otherwise, all obligations of any Person that are or would have been treated as operating leases for purposes of GAAP prior to the issuance by the Financial Accounting Standards Board on February 25, 2016 of Accounting Standards Update 2016-02, Leases (Topic 842) shall continue to be accounted for as operating leases (and not be treated as financing or capital lease obligations or Indebtedness) for purposes of all financial definitions, calculations and deliverables under this Agreement or any other Loan Document (including the calculation of Consolidated Net Income and Consolidated EBITDA) (whether or not such operating lease obligations were in effect on such date) notwithstanding the fact that such obligations are required in accordance with Accounting Standards Update 2016-02, Leases (Topic 842) or any other change in accounting treatment or otherwise (on a prospective or retroactive basis or otherwise) to be treated as or to be recharacterized as financing or capital lease obligations or otherwise accounted for as liabilities in financial statements.

 

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1.7            Limited Condition Transactions.

 

(a)            In connection with any action being taken in connection with a Limited Condition Transaction, for purposes of determining compliance with any provision of this Agreement which requires that no Default, Event of Default or specified Event of Default, as applicable, has occurred, is continuing or would result from any such action, as applicable, such condition shall, at the option of the Borrowers, be deemed satisfied, so long as no Default, Event of Default or specified Event of Default, as applicable, exists on the date the definitive agreements or binding obligations for such Limited Condition Transaction are entered into after giving pro forma effect to such Limited Condition Transaction and the actions to be taken in connection therewith (including any incurrence of Indebtedness and the use of proceeds thereof) as if such Limited Condition Transaction and other actions had occurred on such date. For the avoidance of doubt, if the Borrower Representative has delivered an LCT Election (as defined below), and any Default or Event of Default occurs following the date the definitive agreements for the applicable Limited Condition Transaction were entered into and prior to the consummation of such Limited Condition Transaction, any such Default or Event of Default shall be deemed to not have occurred or be continuing solely for purposes of determining whether any action being taken in connection with such Limited Condition Transaction is permitted hereunder. Notwithstanding the foregoing, in no event shall any Event of Default described in clause (a), (b), (h) or (i) of Section 8.1 exist immediately prior to or after giving effect to any Limited Condition Transaction.

 

(b)            In connection with a Limited Condition Transaction or any action being taken solely in connection with a Limited Condition Transaction, for purposes of:

 

(i)            determining compliance with any provision of this Agreement which requires the calculation of the Consolidated Net Leverage Ratio, Consolidated First Lien Net Leverage Ratio and Consolidated Secured Net Leverage Ratio (but excluding any calculation for purposes of determining the Applicable Margin or actual compliance with Section 7),

 

(ii)            determining compliance with any representations, warranties, defaults or Events of Default (other than for purposes of borrowings of Revolving Loans); or

 

(iii)           testing availability under baskets (including any baskets in respect of any Incremental Facility) set forth in this Agreement,

 

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in each case, at the option of the Borrower Representative (the Borrower Representative’s election to exercise such option in connection with any Limited Condition Transaction, an “LCT Election”), the date of determination of whether a Limited Condition Transaction or any such action is permitted hereunder, shall be deemed to be (A) in the case of any acquisition or investment, the date the definitive agreements for such Limited Condition Transaction are entered into or (B) in the case of any redemption, repurchase, defeasance, satisfaction and discharge or repayment of Indebtedness, the date irrevocable notice in advance of such redemption, repurchase, defeasance, satisfaction and discharge or repayment is delivered (the “LCT Test Date”), and if, after giving pro forma effect to the Limited Condition Transaction (including, for the avoidance of doubt, the Consolidated EBITDA of or attributable to the target companies or assets associated with any such Limited Condition Transaction) and the other transactions to be entered into in connection therewith (including any incurrence of Indebtedness and the use of proceeds thereof) as if they had occurred at the beginning of the most recent four consecutive Fiscal Quarters ending prior to the LCT Test Date for which financial statements have been delivered to the Administrative Agent, the applicable Company could have taken such action on the relevant LCT Test Date in compliance with such ratio or basket, such ratio or basket shall be deemed to have been complied with. For the avoidance of doubt, if the Borrower Representative has made an LCT Election and any of the ratios or baskets for which compliance was determined or tested as of the LCT Test Date are exceeded as a result of fluctuations in any such ratio or basket, at or prior to the consummation of the relevant transaction or action, such basket or ratio will not be deemed to have been exceeded as a result of such fluctuations solely for purposes of determining whether the relevant transaction or actions is permitted to be consummated or taken; provided, that for any determination to be made pursuant to this Section 1.7, the Borrower Representative may, by delivering a notice in writing to the Administrative Agent, elect to recalculate all such ratios, tests or baskets in respect of the last twelve fiscal months of the Borrowers for which monthly financial statements are available and have been delivered to the Administrative Agent in which case such date of redetermination shall thereafter be deemed to be the applicable LCT Test Date. If the Borrower Representative has made an LCT Election for any Limited Condition Transaction, then in connection with any subsequent calculation of the Financial Covenant, ratio or basket availability on or following the relevant LCT Test Date and prior to the earlier of the date on which such Limited Condition Transaction is consummated or the definitive agreement for such Limited Condition Transaction is terminated or expires without consummation of such Limited Condition Transaction, any such Financial Covenant, ratio or basket availability shall be required to be satisfied both (x) on a pro forma basis assuming such Limited Condition Transaction and other transactions in connection therewith (including any pro forma increase in Consolidated EBITDA resulting from such Limited Condition Transaction, any incurrence of Indebtedness and the use of proceeds thereof) have been consummated, and (y) assuming such Limited Condition Transaction and other transactions in connection therewith (including any such pro forma increase in Consolidated EBITDA, incurrence of Indebtedness and the use of proceeds thereof) have not been consummated; provided that for purposes of the definition of Excess Cash Flow the calculation of Consolidated Net Income shall not include the Consolidated Net Income of the Person or assets to be acquired (this Section 1.7, collectively, the “Limited Condition Transaction Provision”).

 

1.8            Pro Forma Calculations.

 

(a)            Notwithstanding anything to the contrary herein, financial ratios and tests, including the Consolidated Total Net Leverage Ratio, the Consolidated First Lien Net Leverage Ratio and the Consolidated Secured Net Leverage Ratio shall be calculated in the manner prescribed by this Section 1.8; provided that notwithstanding anything to the contrary in Section 1.8(b), (c) or (d), when calculating the Consolidated Net Leverage Ratio for purposes of (i) the definition of “Applicable Margin”, (ii) the calculation of Excess Cash Flow (other than to the extent otherwise expressly set forth in the definition thereof or in Section 2.10(b)(ii)) and (iii) determining actual compliance (and not Pro Forma Compliance or compliance on a pro forma basis) with any covenant pursuant to Section 7.1, the events described in this Section 1.8 that occurred subsequent to the end of the applicable Reference Period shall not be given pro forma effect. In addition, whenever a financial ratio or test is to be calculated on a pro forma basis, the reference to the “Reference Period” for purposes of calculating such financial ratio or test shall be deemed to be a reference to, and shall be based on, the most recently ended Reference Period for which internal financial statements of the Borrowers are available and have been delivered to the Administrative Agent; provided that, the provisions of this sentence shall not apply for purposes of calculating the Consolidated Net Leverage Ratio for purposes of the definition of “Applicable Margin” and determining actual compliance with Section 7.1 (other than for the purpose of determining pro forma compliance with Section 7.1) and for purposes of calculating Excess Cash Flow, each of which shall be based on the financial statements delivered pursuant to Sections 5.1(a) or (b), as applicable, for the relevant Reference Period.

 

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(b)            For purposes of calculating any financial ratio or test, Specified Transactions (with any incurrence or repayment of any Indebtedness in connection therewith to be subject to Section 1.8(d)) that have been made (i) during the applicable Reference Period and (ii) if applicable as described in Section 1.8(a), subsequent to such Reference Period and prior to or simultaneously with the event for which the calculation of any such ratio is made shall be calculated on a pro forma basis assuming that all such Specified Transactions (and any increase or decrease in Consolidated EBITDA and the component financial definitions used therein attributable to any Specified Transaction) had occurred on the first day of the applicable Reference Period (or, in the case of the determination of Consolidated Current Assets, the last day). If since the beginning of any applicable Reference Period any Person that subsequently became a Restricted Subsidiary or was merged, amalgamated or consolidated with or into the Borrower or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries since the beginning of such Reference Period shall have made any Specified Transaction that would have required adjustment pursuant to this Section 1.8, then such financial ratio or test (or the calculation of Consolidated Current Assets) shall be calculated to give pro forma effect thereto in accordance with this Section 1.8.

 

(c)            Whenever pro forma effect is to be given to a Specified Transaction, the pro forma calculations shall be made in good faith by a Responsible Officer of the Borrower Representative, shall be subject to any limitations and caps set forth in the definition of “Consolidated EBITDA” and may include, for the avoidance of doubt, the amount of “run-rate” cost savings, operating expense reductions, other operating improvements, cost savings, changes and initiatives and synergies resulting (including, to the extent applicable, from the effect of increased pricing or volume in new or existing customer contracts) from or relating to such initiative or such Specified Transaction projected by the Borrowers in good faith to be realizable as a result of actions taken or expected to be taken (calculated on a pro forma basis as though such cost savings, operating expense reductions, other operating improvements and synergies had been realized on the first day of such period as if such cost savings, operating expense reductions, other operating improvements and synergies were realized during the entirety of such period and such that “run-rate” means the full recurring benefit for a period that is associated with any action taken or expected to be taken (including any savings expected to result from the elimination of a public target’s compliance costs with public company requirements) net of the amount of actual benefits realized during such period from such actions), and any such adjustments shall be included in the initial pro forma calculation of such financial ratios or tests relating to such initiative or such Specified Transaction (and in respect of any subsequent pro forma calculation in which such Specified Transaction is included); provided that (x) a duly completed certificate signed by a Responsible Officer of the Borrower Representative shall be delivered to the Administrative Agent together with the Compliance Certificate next required to be delivered pursuant to Section 5.1(c), certifying that such cost savings, operating expense reductions, other operating improvements and synergies are factually supportable and reasonably anticipated to be realizable in the good faith judgment of the Borrowers, within 24 months after the consummation of a Specified Transaction (with actions from such transactions occurring prior the Effective Date occurring within 24 months after the Effective Date), which is expected to result in such cost savings, expense reductions, other operating improvements or synergies and (y) no cost savings, operating expense reductions and synergies shall be added pursuant to this clause (c) to the extent duplicative of any expenses or charges otherwise added to Consolidated EBITDA (or any component thereof), whether through a pro forma adjustment or otherwise, for such period; provided further that the aggregate amount of such cost savings, operating expense reductions, other operating improvements and “run-rate” synergies shall not, in the aggregate, exceed, when combined with the items in clauses (b)(viii) and (b)(ix) of the definition of Consolidated EBITDA at any given time 30% of Consolidated EBITDA after giving effect to such adjustments.

 

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(d)            In the event that the Borrowers or any Restricted Subsidiary incurs (including by assumption or guarantees) or repays (including by redemption, repayment, retirement or extinguishment) any Indebtedness (including Disqualified Equity) included in the calculations of any financial ratio or test (in each case, other than Indebtedness incurred or repaid under any revolving credit facility), (i) during the applicable Reference Period or (ii) subject to Section 1.8(a), subsequent to the end of the applicable Reference Period and prior to or simultaneously with the event for which the calculation of any such ratio is made, then such financial ratio or test shall be calculated giving pro forma effect to such incurrence or repayment of Indebtedness, to the extent required, as if the same had occurred on the last day of the applicable Reference Period, in which case such incurrence, assumption, guarantee, repurchase, redemption, repayment, retirement, discharge, defeasance or extinguishment of Indebtedness will be given effect as if the same had occurred on the first day of the applicable Reference Period.

 

(e)            Any provision requiring the pro forma compliance with Section 7.1 shall be made assuming that compliance with the Consolidated Net Leverage Ratio pursuant to such Section is required with respect to the most recent Reference Period prior to such time, and to the extent pro forma compliance is required hereunder prior to the first test date of the financial covenant under Section 7.1, then the requirement shall be pro forma compliance with the first financial covenant level to be tested following the Effective Date.

 

1.9            Compliance with Certain Sections. For purposes of determining compliance with any of Section 5.14 and Article VI, in the event that any Lien, Investment, Indebtedness (whether at the time of incurrence or upon application of all or a portion of the proceeds thereof), Disposition, Affiliate transaction, or prepayment of Indebtedness meets the criteria of one, or more than one, of the “baskets” or categories of transactions then permitted pursuant to any clause or subsection of any such section of Section 5.14 or Article VI, as applicable, such transaction (or portion thereof) at any time shall be permitted under one or more of such clauses of such Section at the time of such transaction or any later time from time to time, in each case, as determined by the Borrowers in its sole discretion at such time and thereafter may be reclassified within such section by the Borrowers in any manner not expressly prohibited by this Agreement. With respect to (x) any amounts incurred (or commitments obtained) or transactions entered into (or consummated or obtained) in reliance on a provision of this Agreement that does not require compliance with a financial ratio or test (including the Consolidated Total Net Leverage Ratio, the Consolidated Secured Net Leverage Ratio and/or the Consolidated First Lien Net Leverage Ratio) substantially concurrently with (y) any amounts incurred (or commitments obtained) or transactions entered into (or consummated or obtained) in reliance on a provision of this Agreement that requires compliance with a financial ratio or test (including the Consolidated Total Net Leverage Ratio, the Consolidated Secured Net Leverage Ratio and/or the Consolidated First Lien Net Leverage Ratio), it is understood and agreed that the amounts in clause (x) shall be disregarded in the calculation of the financial ratio or test applicable to the amounts in clause (y) (for purposes of determining compliance with a financial ratio or test (including the Consolidated Total Net Leverage Ratio, the Consolidated Secured Net Leverage Ratio and/or the Consolidated First Lien Net Leverage Ratio), such amounts incurred (or commitments obtained) or transactions entered into (or consummated or obtained) pursuant to clause (y) shall only be tested once (at the time of such incurrence or transaction) and shall not be subject to satisfaction of any additional incurrence test).

 

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1.10            Times of Day. Unless otherwise specified, all references herein to times of day shall be references to Eastern time (daylight or standard, as applicable).

 

1.11            Timing of Payment or Performance. Except as otherwise expressly provided herein, when the payment of any obligation or the performance of any covenant, duty or obligation is stated to be due or performance required on a day which is not a Business Day, the date of such payment (other than as described in the definition of “Interest Period”) or performance shall extend to the immediately succeeding Business Day.

 

1.12            Available Amount Transactions. If more than one action occurs on any given date the permissibility of the taking of which is determined hereunder by reference to the amount of the Available Amount immediately prior to the taking of such action, the permissibility of the taking of each such action shall be determined independently and in no event may any two or more such actions be treated as occurring simultaneously.

 

1.13            Letters of Credit. Unless otherwise specified herein, the amount of a Letter of Credit at any time shall be deemed to be the stated Dollar Amount of the undrawn face amount of such Letter of Credit in effect at such time; provided that, with respect to any Letter of Credit that, by its terms or the terms of any issuer document related thereto, provides for one or more automatic increases in the stated amount thereof, the amount of such Letter of Credit shall be deemed to be the Dollar Amount of the maximum stated amount of such Letter of Credit after giving effect to all such increases, whether or not such maximum stated amount is in effect at such time.

 

1.14            Certifications. All certifications to be made hereunder by an officer or representative of an Obligor shall be made by such person in his or her capacity solely as an officer or a representative of such Obligor, on such Obligor’s behalf and not in such Person’s individual capacity.

 

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1.15            Interest Rates; LIBOR Notifications. The interest rate on a Loan denominated in dollars may be derived from an interest rate benchmark that is, or may in the future become, the subject of regulatory reform. Regulators have signaled the need to use alternative benchmark reference rates for some of these interest rate benchmarks and, as a result, such interest rate benchmarks may cease to comply with applicable laws and regulations, may be permanently discontinued, and/or the basis on which they are calculated may change. The interest rate on Eurodollar Loans is determined by reference to the LIBO Rate, which is derived from the London interbank offered rate (“LIBOR”). LIBOR is intended to represent the rate at which contributing banks may obtain short-term borrowings from each other in the London interbank market. On March 5, 2021, the U.K. Financial Conduct Authority (“FCA”) publicly announced that: (a) immediately after December 31, 2021, publication of all seven euro LIBOR settings, and the 1-week and 2-month LIBOR settings will permanently cease; (b) immediately after June 30, 2023, publication of the overnight and 12-month LIBOR settings will permanently cease; and (c)  immediately after June 30, 2023, the 1-month, 3-month and 6-month LIBOR settings will cease to be provided or, subject to the FCA’s consideration of the case, be provided on a synthetic basis and no longer be representative of the underlying market and economic reality they are intended to measure and that representativeness will not be restored. There is no assurance that dates announced by the FCA will not change or that the administrator of LIBOR and/or regulators will not take further action that could impact the availability, composition, or characteristics of LIBOR or the currencies and/or tenors for which LIBOR is published. Each party to this agreement should consult its own advisors to stay informed of any such developments. Public and private sector industry initiatives are currently underway to identify new or alternative reference rates to be used in place of LIBOR. Upon the occurrence of a Benchmark Transition Event, a Term SOFR Transition Event, an Early Opt-in Election or an Other Benchmark Rate Election, Section 2.13(c) and (d) provide a mechanism for determining an alternative rate of interest. The Administrative Agent will promptly notify the Borrower Representative, pursuant to Section 2.13(f), of any change to the reference rate upon which the interest rate on Eurodollar Loans is based. However, the Administrative Agent does not warrant or accept any responsibility for, and shall not have any liability with respect to, the administration, submission, performance or any other matter related to LIBOR or other rates in the definition of “LIBO Rate” or with respect to any alternative or successor rate thereto, or replacement rate thereof (including, without limitation, (i) any such alternative, successor or replacement rate implemented pursuant to Section 2.13(c) or (d), whether upon the occurrence of a Benchmark Transition Event, a Term SOFR Transition Event, an Early Opt-in Election or an Other Benchmark Rate Election, and (ii) the implementation of any Benchmark Replacement Conforming Changes pursuant to Section 2.13(e)), including without limitation, whether the composition or characteristics of any such alternative, successor or replacement reference rate will be similar to, or produce the same value or economic equivalence of, the LIBO Rate or have the same volume or liquidity as did the London interbank offered rate (or the euro interbank offered rate, as applicable) prior to its discontinuance or unavailability. The Administrative Agent and its affiliates and/or other related entities may engage in transactions that affect the calculation of any alternative, successor or alternative rate (including any Benchmark Replacement) and/or any relevant adjustments thereto, in each case, in a manner adverse to the Borrower. The Administrative Agent may select information sources or services in its reasonable discretion to ascertain any benchmark rate, or any component thereof, or rates referenced in the definition thereof, in each case pursuant to the terms of this Agreement, and shall have no liability to the Borrower, any Lender or any other person or entity for damages of any kind, including direct or indirect, special, punitive, incidental or consequential damages, costs, losses or expenses (whether in tort, contract or otherwise and whether at law or in equity), for any error or calculation of any such rate (or component thereof) provided by any such information source or service.

 

2.            THE CREDITS

 

2.1            The Commitments.

 

(a)            Revolving Credit Loans. Subject to the terms and conditions set forth herein, each Revolving Credit Lender agrees, severally and not jointly with any other Lender, to make Revolving Credit Loans to the Borrowers from time to time during the Revolving Credit Availability Period in an aggregate principal amount at any time outstanding that will not result in (i) such Lender’s Revolving Credit Exposure exceeding such Lender’s Revolving Credit Commitment or (ii) the sum of the total Revolving Credit Exposures exceeding the total Revolving Credit Commitments. Within the foregoing limits and subject to the terms and conditions set forth herein, the Borrowers may borrow, prepay, and reborrow Revolving Credit Loans (without penalty or premium).

 

(b)            Initial Term Loans. Subject to the terms and conditions set forth herein, each Term Loan Lender agrees, severally and not jointly with any other Lenders, to make the Initial Term Loans to the Borrowers on the Effective Date in an aggregate principal amount not exceeding its Term Loan Commitment. Amounts repaid in respect of Initial Term Loans may not be reborrowed.

 

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2.2            Loans and Borrowings.

 

(a)            Obligations of Lenders. Each Loan shall be made as part of a Borrowing consisting of Loans of the same Class and Type made by the Lenders ratably in accordance with their respective Commitments of the applicable Class. The failure of any Lender to make any Loan required to be made by it shall not relieve any other Lender of its obligations hereunder.

 

(b)            Type of Loans. Subject to Sections 2.7 and 2.13, each Borrowing shall be comprised entirely of Base Rate Loans or Eurodollar Loans as the Borrowers may request in accordance herewith. Each Swingline Loan shall be a Base Rate Loan. Each Lender at its option may make any Eurodollar Loan by causing any domestic or foreign branch of such Lender to make such Loan; provided that any exercise of such option shall not affect the obligation of the Borrowers to repay such Loan in accordance with the terms of this Agreement.

 

(c)            Minimum Amounts; Limitation on Number of Borrowing. At the commencement of each Interest Period for any Eurodollar Borrowing, such Borrowing shall be in an aggregate amount of $1,000,000 or a larger multiple of $100,000 in excess thereof. At the time that each Base Rate Borrowing (other than a Swingline Loan Borrowing or a Base Rate Borrowing on the Effective Date) is made, such Borrowing shall be in an aggregate amount equal to $1,000,000 or a larger multiple of $100,000 in excess thereof; provided that a Base Rate Borrowing may be in an aggregate amount that is equal to the entire unused balance of the total Commitments of the applicable Class or that is required to (i) finance the amount of the reimbursement of an LC Disbursement as contemplated by Section 2.5 or (ii) acquire participations in Swingline Loans pursuant to Section 2.4(c). Each Swingline Loan shall be in an amount equal to $100,000 or a larger multiple of $25,000 in excess thereof. Borrowings of more than one Type and Class may be outstanding at the same time; provided that there shall not at any time be more than a total of seven (7) Eurodollar Borrowings outstanding plus up to three (3) additional Borrowings for each of any Incremental Term Loans, Extended Term Loans and Refinancing Term Loans.

 

(d)            Limitations on Lengths of Interest Periods. Notwithstanding any other provision of this Agreement, the Borrowers shall not be entitled to request, or to elect to convert to or continue as, a Eurodollar Borrowing (i) any Revolving Credit Loan Borrowing if the Interest Period requested with respect thereto would end after the Revolving Credit Maturity Date; or (ii) any Term Loan Borrowing if the Interest Period requested with respect thereto would end after the applicable Term Loan Maturity Date.

 

2.3            Requests for Borrowings. To request a Borrowing (other than a Swingline Loan), the Borrower Representative shall notify Administrative Agent of such request in writing, which request must be received by Administrative Agent not later than 1:00 p.m., New York City Time, three Business Days before the date of the proposed Borrowing. Each such Borrowing Request shall be irrevocable and shall be in the form of Exhibit 2.3 and signed by the Borrower Representative. Each Borrowing Request shall specify the following information:

 

(a)            whether the requested Borrowing is to be a Revolving Credit Loan Borrowing, or Term Loan Borrowing, if available;

 

(b)            the aggregate amount of the requested Borrowing;

 

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

 

(d)            whether such Borrowing is to be a Base Rate Borrowing or a Eurodollar Borrowing;

 

(e)            in the case of a Eurodollar Borrowing, the initial Interest Period to be applicable thereto (including specifying the duration of such Interest Period and the last day of such Interest Period), which shall be a period contemplated by the definition of the term “Interest Period”; and

 

(f)            the location and number of a Borrower’s accounts or, in connection with the initial Borrowings on the Effective Date, Person to which funds are to be disbursed, which shall comply with the requirements of Section 2.6.

 

If no election as to the Type of Borrowing is specified, then the requested Borrowing shall be a Eurodollar Borrowing with an Interest Rate Period of one (1) month. If no Interest Period is specified with respect to any requested Eurodollar Borrowing, then the Borrowers shall be deemed to have selected an Interest Period of one month’s duration. Promptly following receipt of a Borrowing Request in accordance with this Section, Administrative Agent shall advise each Lender that will make a Loan in connection with such Borrowing of the details thereof and of the amount of such Lender’s Loan to be made as part of the requested Borrowing.

 

2.4            Swingline Loans.

 

(a)            Agreement to Make Swingline Loans. Subject to the terms and conditions set forth herein, Swingline Lender agrees to make Swingline Loans to the Borrowers from time to time during the Revolving Credit Availability Period, in an aggregate principal amount at any time outstanding that will not result in (i) the aggregate principal amount of outstanding Swingline Loans exceeding $5,000,000 or (ii) the sum of the total Revolving Credit Exposures exceeding the total Revolving Credit Commitments; provided that after giving effect to any Swingline Loan the Revolving Credit Exposure of any Lender shall not exceed such Lender’s Revolving Credit Commitment, and provided, further, that Swingline Lender shall not be required to make a Swingline Loan to refinance an outstanding Swingline Loan. Within the foregoing limits and subject to the terms and conditions set forth herein, the Borrowers may borrow, prepay, and reborrow Swingline Loans.

 

(b)            Notice of Swingline Loans by the Borrowers. To request a Swingline Loan, the Borrower Representative shall notify Swingline Lender of such request in writing, not later than 1:00 p.m., on the day of a proposed Swingline Loan. Each such notice shall be irrevocable and shall specify the requested date (which shall be a Business Day) and amount of the requested Swingline Loan. Unless the limitations set forth in the first sentence of Section 2.4(a) or one or more applicable conditions set forth in Section 4 are not satisfied, Swingline Lender shall make each Swingline Loan available to a Borrower to an account of the applicable Borrower specified in the request (or, in the case of a Swingline Loan made to finance the reimbursement of an LC Disbursement as provided in Section 2.5(f), by remittance to the Issuing Lender) by 3:00 p.m. on the requested date of such Swingline Loan. To the extent that Swingline Lender is not Administrative Agent, Swingline Lender shall provide to the Administrative Agent on each date the Borrower Representative has made a borrowing or paydown request, notice thereof accounting for the outstanding Swingline Loans in form reasonably satisfactory to the Administrative Agent.

 

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(c)            Participations by Lenders in Swingline Loans. Immediately upon the making of a Swingline Loan by the Swingline Lender, and without any further action on the part of the Swingline Lender or the Lenders, the Swingline Lender hereby grants to each Revolving Credit Lender, and each Revolving Credit Lender hereby acquires from the Swingline Lender, a participation in such Swingline Loan equal to such Revolving Credit Lender’s Pro Rata Share of such Swingline Loan. The Swingline Lender may, by written notice given to the Administrative Agent not later than 2:00 p.m., New York City time, on any Business Day require the Revolving Credit Lenders to fund such participations in all or a portion of the Swingline Loans outstanding. Such notice to the Administrative Agent shall specify the aggregate amount of Swingline Loans in which the Revolving Credit Lenders will fund such participation. Promptly upon receipt of such notice, Administrative Agent will give notice thereof to each Revolving Credit Lender, specifying in such notice each Revolving Credit Lender’s Pro Rata Share of such Swingline Loan or Loans. Each Revolving Credit Lender hereby absolutely, unconditionally and irrevocably agrees, within one Business Day after receipt of notice as provided in this Section 2.4(c), to pay to the Administrative Agent, for the account of Swingline Lender, such Lender’s Pro Rata Share of such Swingline Loan or Loans. Each Revolving Credit Lender acknowledges and agrees that its obligation to acquire and fund participations in Swingline Loans pursuant to this Section 2.4(c) is absolute, unconditional and irrevocable and shall not be affected by any circumstance whatsoever, including the occurrence and continuance of a Default or reduction or termination of the Revolving Credit Commitments, and that each such payment shall be made without any offset, counterclaim, defense, abatement, withholding or reduction whatsoever. Each Revolving Credit Lender shall comply with its obligation under this Section 2.4(c) by wire transfer of immediately available funds, in the same manner as provided in Section 2.6 with respect to Loans made by such Lender (and Section 2.6 shall apply, mutatis mutandis, to the payment obligations of the Revolving Credit Lenders), and the Administrative Agent shall promptly pay to Swingline Lender the amounts so received by it from the Revolving Credit Lenders. Administrative Agent shall notify the Borrower Representative of any participation in any Swingline Loan acquired pursuant to this Section 2.4(c), and thereafter payments in respect of such Swingline Loan shall be made to the Administrative Agent and not to Swingline Lender. Any amounts received by Swingline Lender from the Borrowers (or other party on behalf of the Borrowers) in respect of a Swingline Loan after receipt by Swingline Lender of the proceeds of a sale of participations therein shall be promptly remitted to the Administrative Agent. Any such amounts received by Administrative Agent shall be promptly remitted by Administrative Agent to the Revolving Credit Lenders that shall have made their payments pursuant to this Section 2.4(c) and to Swingline Lender, as their interests may appear. The purchase of participations in a Swingline Loan pursuant to this Section 2.4(c) shall not relieve the Borrowers of any default in the payment thereof.

 

(d)            Payments Directly to Swingline Lender. Except as otherwise provided in Section 2.4(c), the Borrowers shall make all payments of principal and interest in respect of the Swingline Loans directly to Swingline Lender.

 

(e)            If the maturity date shall have occurred in respect of any tranche of Revolving Credit Commitments (the “Expiring Credit Commitment”) at a time when another tranche or tranches of Revolving Credit Commitments is or are in effect with a longer maturity date (each, a “non-Expiring Credit Commitment” and collectively, the “non-Expiring Credit Commitments”), then with respect to each outstanding Swing Line Loan, if consented to by the applicable Swing Line Lender and the Administrative Agent, on the earliest occurring maturity date such Swing Line Loan shall be deemed reallocated to the tranche or tranches of the non-Expiring Credit Commitments on a pro rata basis; provided that (i) to the extent that the amount of such reallocation would cause the aggregate credit exposure to exceed the aggregate amount of such non-Expiring Credit Commitments, immediately prior to such reallocation the amount of Swing Line Loans to be reallocated equal to such excess shall be repaid or Cash Collateralized and (ii) notwithstanding the foregoing, if an Event of Default has occurred and is continuing, the Borrower shall still be obligated to pay Swing Line Loans allocated to the Revolving Credit Lenders holding the Expiring Credit Commitments at the maturity date of the Expiring Credit Commitment or if the Loans have been accelerated prior to the maturity date of the Expiring Credit Commitment. Commencing with the maturity date of any tranche of Revolving Credit Commitments, the sublimit for Swing Line Loans shall be agreed solely with the applicable Swing Line Lender.

 

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2.5           Letters of Credit.

 

(a)            General. Subject to the terms and conditions set forth herein, in addition to the Loans provided for in Sections 2.1 and 2.4, the Borrowers may request Issuing Lender to issue, at any time and from time to time during the Revolving Credit Availability Period, Letters of Credit for its own account or for the account of one or more of their Restricted Subsidiaries, and to amend, renew or extend Letters of Credit previously issued by it, in each case, in such form as is reasonably acceptable to the Issuing Lender; provided Issuing Lender shall not be required to issue any Letters of Credit on account of any Restricted Subsidiary of the Borrowers unless Issuing Lender has received the information required by Section 10.13 hereof with respect to such Restricted Subsidiary. Letters of Credit issued, amended, renewed, or extended hereunder shall constitute utilization of the Revolving Credit Commitments.

 

(b)            Notice of Issuance, Amendment, Renewal, or Extension. To request the issuance of a Letter of Credit (or the amendment, renewal or extension of an outstanding Letter of Credit), the Borrower Representative shall at least three Business Days (or such lesser period of time as may be acceptable to the Issuing Lender) prior to the issuance, amendment, renewal or extension hand deliver or telecopy (or transmit by electronic communication, if arrangements for doing so have been approved by Issuing Lender) to the Issuing Lender and the Administrative Agent a notice requesting the issuance of a Letter of Credit, or identifying the Letter of Credit to be amended, renewed or extended, and specifying the date of issuance, amendment, renewal or extension (which shall be a Business Day), the date on which such Letter of Credit is to expire, the amount of such Letter of Credit, the name and address of the beneficiary thereof, the account party, if other than a Borrower, and such other information as shall be reasonably necessary to prepare, amend, renew or extend such Letter of Credit. If requested by Issuing Lender, the Borrower Representative also shall submit a letter of credit application on Issuing Lender’s standard form in connection with any request for a Letter of Credit and such other Letter of Credit Documents as Issuing Lender may reasonably require. In the event of any inconsistency between the terms and conditions of this Agreement and the terms and conditions of any Letter of Credit Document submitted by the Borrowers to, or entered into by the Borrowers with, Issuing Lender relating to any Letter of Credit (other than the Letter of Credit), the terms and conditions of this Agreement shall control. Except as set forth in the immediately preceding sentence, this Section 2.5(b) shall not apply to the automatic extension of any Letter of Credit pursuant to Section 2.5(o).

 

(c)            Limitations on Amounts. Subject to the terms and conditions set forth herein, Issuing Lender agrees to issue, amend, renew, or extend any Letter of Credit at any time and from time to time during the Revolving Credit Availability Period if (and upon issuance, amendment, renewal, or extension of each Letter of Credit, the Borrowers shall be deemed to represent and warrant that), after giving effect to such issuance, amendment, renewal, or extension (i) the aggregate LC Exposures of Issuing Lender (determined for these purposes without giving effect to the participations therein of the Revolving Credit Lenders pursuant to Section 2.5) shall not exceed $3,000,000, (ii) the sum of the total Revolving Credit Exposures shall not exceed the total Revolving Credit Commitments, and (iii) the Revolving Credit Exposure of any Lender shall not exceed such Lender’s Revolving Credit Commitment.

 

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(d)            Expiration Date. Each Letter of Credit shall expire at or prior to the close of business on the earlier of (i) the date 12 months after the date of the issuance of such Letter of Credit or such later date as agreed by the Borrowers and the applicable Issuing Lender (or, in the case of any renewal or extension thereof, 12 months after the then-current expiration date of such Letter of Credit or such later date as agreed by the Borrowers and the applicable Issuing Lender), and (ii) the date that is five Business Days prior to the Revolving Credit Maturity Date; provided, the Borrowers may request issuance or renewal of a Letter of Credit with an expiry date after the Revolving Credit Maturity Date if, at the time of such issuance or renewal, the Borrowers deposit into the Collateral Account an amount in immediately available funds equal to 103% of the face amount of such Letter of Credit. No Letter of Credit expiry shall be deemed to have occurred after such earlier date due to the effectiveness of the ISP.

 

(e)            Participations. (i) By the issuance of a Letter of Credit on or after the Effective Date (or an amendment to a Letter of Credit increasing the amount thereof) by Issuing Lender, and without any further action on the part of Issuing Lender or the Revolving Credit Lenders, Issuing Lender hereby grants to each Revolving Credit Lender, and each Revolving Credit Lender hereby acquires from Issuing Lender, a participation in such Letter of Credit equal to such Revolving Credit Lender’s Pro Rata Share of the aggregate amount available to be drawn under such Letter of Credit. Additionally, without any further action on the part of Issuing Lender or the Revolving Credit Lenders, Issuing Lender hereby grants to each Revolving Credit Lender. Each Revolving Credit Lender acknowledges and agrees that its obligation to acquire participations pursuant to this Section 2.5(e) in respect of Letters of Credit is absolute, unconditional and irrevocable and shall not be affected by any circumstance whatsoever, including any amendment, renewal, reinstatement or extension of any Letter of Credit or the occurrence and continuance of a Default or reduction or termination of the Revolving Credit Commitments, and that each such payment or reimbursement shall be made without any offset, counterclaim, defense, abatement, withholding, or reduction whatsoever.

 

(ii)            In consideration and in furtherance of the foregoing, each Revolving Credit Lender hereby absolutely, unconditionally and irrevocably agrees to pay to the Administrative Agent, for the account of Issuing Lender, such Revolving Credit Lender’s Pro Rata Share of each LC Disbursement (other than an LC Disbursement made after the Revolving Credit Maturity Date as a result of the issuance a Letter of Credit with an expiry date after the Revolving Credit Maturity Date that has been Cash Collateralized pursuant to the proviso of Section 2.5(d)) made by Issuing Lender promptly upon the request of such Issuing Lender (made through Administrative Agent) at any time from the time of such LC Disbursement until such LC Disbursement is reimbursed by the Borrowers or at any time after any reimbursement payment is required to be refunded to the Borrowers for any reason, including after termination of the Revolving Credit Commitments. Each such payment shall be made in the same manner as provided in Section 2.6 with respect to Loans made by such Revolving Credit Lender (and Section 2.6 shall apply, mutatis mutandis, to the payment obligations of the Lenders), and the Administrative Agent shall promptly pay to the Issuing Lender the amounts so received by it from the Revolving Credit Lenders. Promptly following receipt by Administrative Agent of any payment from the Borrowers pursuant to Section 2.5(f), Administrative Agent shall distribute such payment to the Issuing Lender or, to the extent that the Revolving Credit Lenders have made payments pursuant to this Section 2.5(e) to reimburse Issuing Lender, then to such Lenders and such Issuing Lender as their interests may appear. Any payment made by a Revolving Credit Lender pursuant to this Section 2.5(e) to reimburse Issuing Lender for any LC Disbursement shall not constitute a Loan and shall not relieve the Borrowers of their obligation to reimburse such LC Disbursement.

 

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(f)            Reimbursement. (i) If Issuing Lender shall make any LC Disbursement in respect of a Letter of Credit, the Borrowers shall reimburse Issuing Lender in respect of such LC Disbursement by paying to the Administrative Agent an amount equal to such LC Disbursement not later than 2:00 p.m., New York City time, on the Business Day immediately following the day that the Borrower Representative receives written notice, provided that the Borrower Representative may, without being subject to the conditions to borrowing set forth herein, request in accordance with Section 2.1 or 2.4 that such payment be financed with a Base Rate Revolving Credit Loan Borrowing or Swingline Loan in an equivalent amount and, to the extent so financed, the Borrowers’ obligation to make such payment shall be discharged and replaced by the resulting Base Rate Revolving Credit Loan Borrowing or Swingline Loan.

 

(ii)            If the Borrowers fail to make such payment when due, Administrative Agent shall notify each Revolving Credit Lender of the applicable LC Disbursement, the payment then due from the Borrowers in respect thereof and such Lender’s Pro Rata Share thereof, and upon the request of Issuing Lender as provided in Section 2.5(e), each Revolving Credit Lender shall pay to the Administrative Agent, for the account of Issuing Lender, such Lender’s Pro Rata Share thereof in accordance with Section 2.5(e).

 

(g)            Obligations Absolute. The Borrowers’ obligation to reimburse LC Disbursements as provided in this Section shall be absolute, unconditional and irrevocable, and shall be performed strictly in accordance with the terms of this Agreement under any and all circumstances whatsoever and irrespective of (i) any lack of validity or enforceability of any Letter of Credit, any other Letter of Credit Document or any Loan Document, or any term or provision therein, (ii) any draft or other document presented under a Letter of Credit proving to be forged, fraudulent, invalid or insufficient in any respect or any statement therein being untrue or inaccurate in any respect, or any loss or delay in the transmission or otherwise of any document required in order to make a drawing under such Letter of Credit, (iii) payment by Issuing Lender under a Letter of Credit against presentation of a draft or other document that does not comply strictly with the terms of such Letter of Credit, or any payment by Issuing Lender under any Letter of Credit to any Person purporting to be a trustee in bankruptcy, debtor-in-possession, assignee for the benefit of creditors, liquidator, receiver or other representative of or successor to any beneficiary or any transferee of such Letter of Credit, including any arising in connection with any proceeding under any Debtor Relief Law, (iv) the existence of any claim, counterclaim, setoff, defense or other right that the Borrowers or any Subsidiary may have at any time against any beneficiary or any transferee of such Letter of Credit (or any Person for whom any such beneficiary or any such transferee may be acting), Issuing Lender or any other Person, whether in connection with this Agreement, the transactions contemplated hereby or by such Letter of Credit or any agreement or instrument relating thereto, or any unrelated transaction, (v) any other event or circumstance whatsoever, whether or not similar to any of the foregoing, that might, but for the provisions of this Section, constitute a legal or equitable discharge of or defense to the Borrowers’ obligations hereunder, (vi) any amendment or waiver of or consent to any departure from any or all of the Loan Documents, (vii) any improper use which may be made of any Letter of Credit or any improper acts or omissions of any beneficiary or transferee of any Letter of Credit in connection therewith, (viii) the existence of any claim, set-off, defense or any right which the Borrowers may have at any time against any beneficiary or any transferee of any Letter of Credit (or Persons for whom any such beneficiary or any such transferee may be acting), any Lender or any other Person, whether in connection with any Letter of Credit, any transaction contemplated by any Letter of Credit, this Agreement, or any other Loan Document, or any unrelated transaction, (ix) the insolvency of any Person issuing any documents in connection with any Letter of Credit, (x) any breach of any agreement between the Borrowers and any beneficiary or transferee of any Letter of Credit, (xi) any irregularity in the transaction with respect to which any Letter of Credit is issued, including any fraud by the beneficiary or any transferee of such Letter of Credit, (xii) any errors, omissions, interruptions or delays in transmission or delivery of any messages, by mail, cable, telegraph, wireless or otherwise, whether or not they are in code, (xiii) any act, error, neglect or default, omission, insolvency or failure of business of any of the correspondents of Issuing Lender, and (xiv) any other circumstances arising from causes beyond the control of Issuing Lender (other than payment or performance). Nothing in this Agreement shall impact the rights of any Obligor to bring action against the beneficiary of any Letter of Credit.

 

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(h)            Exculpation. Neither Administrative Agent, the Lenders, and Issuing Lender, any of their respective Related Parties nor any correspondent bank of Issuing Lender, shall have any liability or responsibility by reason of or in connection with the issuance (or the amendment, renewal or extension) or transfer of any Letter of Credit by Issuing Lender or any payment or failure to make any payment thereunder (irrespective of any of the circumstances referred to in Section 2.5(g)), or any error, omission, interruption, loss or delay in transmission or delivery of any draft, notice or other communication under or relating to any Letter of Credit (including any document required to make a drawing thereunder), any error in interpretation of technical terms or any consequence arising from causes beyond the control of Issuing Lender; provided that the foregoing shall not be construed to excuse Issuing Lender from liability to the Borrowers to the extent of any direct damages (as opposed to indirect, punitive, exemplary or consequential or exemplary damages, claims in respect of which are hereby waived by the Borrowers to the extent permitted by applicable law) suffered by the Borrowers that are caused by Issuing Lender’s gross negligence, bad faith or willful misconduct or a material breach of this Agreement by such Issuing Lender (in each case, as finally determined by a court of competent jurisdiction) when determining whether drafts and other documents presented under a Letter of Credit comply with the terms thereof. In furtherance and not in limitation of the foregoing, the parties hereto expressly agree that:

 

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

 

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

 

(iii)            Issuing Lender may replace a purportedly lost, stolen, or destroyed original Letter of Credit or missing amendment thereto with a replacement marked as such or waive a requirement of its presentation; and

 

(iv)            clauses (i) and (ii) of Section 2.5(h) establish the standard of care to be exercised by Issuing Lender when determining whether drafts and other documents presented under a Letter of Credit comply with the terms thereof (and the parties hereto hereby waive, to the extent permitted by applicable law, any standard of care inconsistent with the foregoing).

 

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

 

(j)            Interim Interest. If Issuing Lender for any Letter of Credit shall make any LC Disbursement, then, unless the Borrowers shall reimburse such LC Disbursement in full on the date such LC Disbursement is made, the unpaid amount thereof shall bear interest, for each day from and including the date such LC Disbursement is made to but excluding the date that the Borrowers reimburse such LC Disbursement, at the rate per annum then applicable to Base Rate Revolving Credit Loans; provided that, if the Borrowers fail to reimburse such LC Disbursement when due pursuant to Section 2.5(f), then Section 2.12(c) shall apply. Interest accrued pursuant to this Section 2.5(j) shall be for the account of Issuing Lender, except that interest accrued on and after the date of payment by any Revolving Credit Lender pursuant to Section 2.5(e) to reimburse Issuing Lender shall be for the account of such Lender to the extent of such payment.

 

(k)            Replacement of Issuing Lender; Replacement Issuing Lender. The Issuing Lender may be replaced upon providing 30 days written notice, at its sole option, by written agreement between the Borrower Representative, Administrative Agent, the replaced Issuing Lender and the successor Issuing Lender. The Borrowers may replace the Issuing Lender for any reason upon 3 days prior written notice to the Administrative Agent and the Issuing Lender and may add an additional Issuing Lender from time to time. Administrative Agent shall notify the Lenders of any such replacement of Issuing Lender or if the Borrowers shall decide to add a new Issuing Lender. At the time any such replacement shall become effective, the Borrowers shall pay all unpaid fees accrued for the account of the replaced Issuing Lender. From and after the effective date of any such replacement or addition, (i) the successor Issuing Lender shall have all the rights and obligations of the replaced Issuing Lender under this Agreement and the other Loan Documents with respect to Letters of Credit to be issued by it thereafter and (ii) references herein to the term “Issuing Lender” shall be deemed to include such successor or the previous Issuing Lender (if applicable), or such successor and the previous Issuing Lender (if applicable), as the context shall require. After the replacement of Issuing Lender hereunder, the replaced Issuing Lender shall remain a party hereto and shall continue to have all the rights and obligations of Issuing Lender under this Agreement and the other Loan Documents with respect to Letters of Credit issued by it prior to such replacement, but shall not be required to issue additional Letters of Credit.

 

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(l)            Cash Collateralization. If (i) an Event of Default shall occur and be continuing and the Borrower Representative receives written notice from Administrative Agent or the Required Lenders demanding the deposit of cash collateral pursuant to this Section 2.5(l), or (ii) the Borrowers shall be required to provide cash collateral for LC Exposure pursuant to Section 2.10(b)(iii) or pursuant to Section 8.1, the Borrowers shall immediately deposit into the Collateral Account an amount in cash equal to, in the case of an Event of Default, the LC Exposure as of such date plus any accrued and unpaid interest thereon and, in the case of cash collateral pursuant to Section 2.10(b)(iii) the amount to be deposited shall be the amount required under Section 2.10(b)(iii); provided that the obligation to deposit such cash collateral shall become effective immediately, and such deposit shall become immediately due and payable, without demand or other notice of any kind, upon the occurrence of any Event of Default with respect to the Borrowers described in clause (h) or (i) of Section 8.1; provided further, that any such cash collateral deposited as the result of an Event of Default occurring and continuing shall be returned to the Borrowers once the applicable Event of Default is no longer continuing so long as it has not been applied to the Obligations as permitted hereunder. Such deposit shall be held by Administrative Agent in such Collateral Account for the benefit of the Secured Parties as collateral in the first instance for the LC Exposure under this Agreement and thereafter for the payment of the Obligations. The Borrowers hereby grant a security interest to the Administrative Agent for the benefit of the Secured Parties in such Collateral Account and in any cash, balances, financial assets (as defined in the UCC) or other property held therein and all proceeds thereof.

 

(m)            Applicability of ISP and UCP. Unless otherwise expressly agreed by Issuing Lender and the Borrowers when a Letter of Credit is issued and subject to applicable laws, the Letters of Credit shall be governed by and subject to ISP or the rules of the Uniform Customs and Practice for Documentary Credits, as published in its most recent version by the International Chamber of Commerce on the date any Letter of Credit is issued.

 

(n)            Issuing Lender. Issuing Lender shall act on behalf of the Revolving Credit Lenders with respect to any Letters of Credit issued by it and the documents associated therewith. Issuing Lender shall not be obligated to issue Letters of Credit to any beneficiary subject to Sanctions, and Issuing Lender shall have all of the benefits and immunities (i) provided to the Administrative Agent in Section 9 with respect to any acts taken or omissions suffered by Issuing Lender in connection with Letters of Credit issued by it and Letter of Credit Documents pertaining to such Letters of Credit as fully as if the term “Administrative Agent” as used in Section 9 included Issuing Lender with respect to such acts or omissions, and (ii) as additionally provided herein with respect to the Issuing Lender.

 

(o)            Automatic Extension. The Borrowers may request and Issuing Lender shall issue Letters of Credit that may automatically be extended for one or more successive periods not to exceed one year each; provided that Issuing Lender has the option to elect not to extend for any such additional period; and provided, further that, (i) that Issuing Lender shall not elect at any time after the Revolving Credit Maturity Date to extend such Letter of Credit, and (ii) Issuing Lender shall not elect to extend such Letter of Credit if it has knowledge that an Event of Default has occurred and is continuing at the time Issuing Lender must elect whether or not to allow such extension or, subject to Section 2.5(d), if such extension would be terminated on or after the date 5 days prior to the Revolving Credit Maturity Date.

 

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(p)            Issuing Lenders other than Administrative Agent. Any Issuing Lender (other than an Issuing Lender that is also Administrative Agent or one of its Affiliates) selected by the Borrowers to issue a Letter of Credit hereunder, shall (i) notify Administrative Agent in writing no later than the Business Day immediately following the Business Day on which the issuance, termination, expiration, reduction, amendment, modification or replacement of any Letter of Credit issued by such Issuing Lender occurs; provided that any notice by an Issuing Lender of the issuance, termination, expiration, reduction, amendment, modification or replacement of a Letter of Credit pursuant to this Section received by Administrative Agent on a day that is not a Business Day, or after 11:00 a.m. (New York City time) on a Business Day, shall be deemed to have been given at the opening of business on the next Business Day, and (ii) deliver to the Administrative Agent, once each week (on such day of the week as Administrative Agent and Issuing Lender shall agree) or during the existence of an Event of Default, as frequently as requested by Administrative Agent, a written report for the prior week of the daily aggregate undrawn amounts of all outstanding Letters of Credit issued by such Issuing Lender.

 

(q)            Illegality under Letters of Credit. If, at any time, it becomes unlawful after the Effective Date for any Issuing Lender to comply with any of its obligations under any Letter of Credit (including, but not limited to, as a result of any sanctions imposed by the United Nations, the United States or any other relevant sanctions authority), the obligations of such Issuing Lender with respect to such Letter of Credit shall be suspended (and all corresponding rights shall cease to accrue) until such time as it may again become lawful for such Issuing Lender to comply its obligations under such Letter of Credit, and such Issuing Lender shall not be liable for any losses that the Obligors may incur as a result.

 

(r)            Letters of Credit Issued for Account of Subsidiaries. Notwithstanding that a Letter of Credit issued or outstanding hereunder is in support of any obligations of, or is for the account of, a Subsidiary, the Borrowers shall be obligated to reimburse the Issuing Lender hereunder for any and all drawings under such Letter of Credit. The Borrowers hereby acknowledge that the issuance of Letters of Credit for the account of Subsidiaries inures to the benefit of the Borrowers, and that the Borrowers’ business derives substantial benefits from the businesses of such Subsidiaries.

 

(s)            If the expiration of any Letter of Credit in respect of any tranche of Revolving Credit Commitments occurs prior to the expiry date of any Letter of Credit, then (i) if one or more other tranches of Revolving Credit Commitments in respect of which the Letter of Credit Expiration Date shall not have so occurred are then in effect, such Letters of Credit shall, to the extent such Letters of Credit could have been issued under such other tranches and with the prior consent of each applicable Issuing Lender and the Administrative Agent, automatically be deemed to have been issued (including for purposes of the obligations of the Revolving Credit Lenders to purchase participations therein and to make Revolving Credit Loans and payments in respect thereof pursuant to Section 2.05(e) and (f)) under (and ratably participated in by Lenders pursuant to) the Revolving Credit Commitments in respect of such non-terminating tranches up to an aggregate amount not to exceed the aggregate principal amount of the unutilized Revolving Credit Commitments thereunder at such time (it being understood that no partial face amount of any Letter of Credit may be so reallocated) and (ii) to the extent not reallocated pursuant to the immediately preceding clause (i), the Borrower shall Cash Collateralize any such Letter of Credit in accordance with Section 2.5(l). Commencing with the maturity date of any tranche of Revolving Credit Commitments, the sublimit for Letters of Credit shall be agreed solely with the Issuing Lender.

 

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(t)            Conflict with Letter of Credit Application. Notwithstanding anything else to the contrary in this Agreement or any letter of credit application or any other Letter of Credit Document, in the event of any conflict between the terms hereof and the terms of any letter of credit application or any Letter of Credit Document, (i) the terms hereof shall control and (ii) any grant of a security interest or Lien in any letter of credit application or any other Letter of Credit Document shall be null and void.

 

2.6            Funding of Borrowings.

 

(a)            Funding by Lenders. Each Lender shall make each Loan to be made by it hereunder on the proposed date thereof by wire transfer of immediately available funds by 1:00 p.m., New York City time, to the account of Administrative Agent most recently designated by it for such purpose by notice to the Lenders; provided that Swingline Loans shall be made as provided in Section 2.4. Administrative Agent will make such Loans available to any Borrower by promptly crediting the amounts so received, in like funds, to an account designated by such Borrower in the applicable Borrowing Request; provided that Base Rate Revolving Credit Loan Borrowings made to finance the reimbursement of an LC Disbursement as provided in Section 2.5(f) shall be remitted by Administrative Agent to the Issuing Lender.

 

(b)            Presumption by Administrative Agent. Unless Administrative Agent shall have received notice from a Lender prior to the proposed date of any Borrowing that such Lender will not make available to the Administrative Agent such Lender’s share of such Borrowing, Administrative Agent may assume that such Lender has made such share available on such date in accordance with Section 2.6(a) and may, in reliance upon such assumption but without any obligation to do so, make available to such Borrower a corresponding amount. In such event, if a Lender has not in fact made its share of the applicable Borrowing available to the Administrative Agent, then the applicable Lender on the one hand and the Borrowers on the other severally agree to pay to the Administrative Agent forthwith on demand such corresponding amount with interest thereon, for each day from and including the date such amount is made available to the Borrowers to but excluding the date of payment to the Administrative Agent, at (i) in the case of a payment to be made by such Lender, for the first three Business Days the greater of the Federal Funds Effective Rate and a rate determined by Administrative Agent in accordance with banking industry rules on interbank compensation and thereafter at the Base Rate and (ii) in the case of a payment to be made by the Borrowers, the interest rate applicable to Base Rate Loans. If the Borrowers and such Lender shall pay such interest to the Administrative Agent for the same or an overlapping period, Administrative Agent shall promptly remit to the Borrowers the amount of such interest paid by the Borrowers for such period. If such Lender pays its share of the applicable Borrowing to the Administrative Agent, then the amount so paid shall constitute such Lender’s Loan included in such Borrowing. Any payment by the Borrowers shall be without prejudice to any claim the Borrowers may have against a Lender that shall have failed to make such payment to the Administrative Agent. A notice of Administrative Agent to any Lender or the Borrowers with respect to any amount owing under this Section 2.6(b) shall be conclusive, absent manifest error.

 

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(c)            Obligations of Lenders Several. The obligations of the Lenders hereunder to make Loans, to fund participations in Letters of Credit and Swingline Loans and to make payments pursuant to Section 10.3(d) are several and not joint. The failure of any Lender to make any Loan, to fund any such participation or to make any payment under Section 10.3(d) on any date required hereunder shall not relieve any other Lender of its corresponding obligation to do so on such date, and no Lender shall be responsible for the failure of any other Lender to so make its Loan, to purchase its participation or to make its payment under Section 10.3(d).

 

2.7            Interest Elections.

 

(a)            Elections by the Borrowers for Borrowings. Each Borrowing initially shall be of the Type specified in the applicable Borrowing Request and, in the case of a Eurodollar Borrowing, shall have an initial Interest Period specified in such Borrowing Request. Thereafter, subject to the requirements of Section 2.13, a Borrower may elect to convert such Borrowing to a different Type or to continue such Borrowing and, in the case of a Eurodollar Borrowing, may elect Interest Periods therefor, all as provided in this Section. A Borrower may elect different options with respect to different portions of the affected Borrowing, in which case each such portion shall be allocated ratably among the Lenders holding the Loans comprising such Borrowing, and the Loans comprising each such portion shall be considered a separate Borrowing. This Section shall not apply to Swingline Loan Borrowings, which may not be converted or continued.

 

(b)            Notice of Elections. To make an election pursuant to this Section, the Borrower Representative shall notify Administrative Agent of such election by telephone or by emailing an Interest Election Request to the Administrative Agent, in either case by the time that a Borrowing Request would be required under Section 2.3 if such Borrower was requesting a Borrowing of the Type resulting from such election to be made on the effective date of such election. Each Interest Election Request (whether by telephone or email) shall be irrevocable and any telephonic request shall be confirmed promptly by hand delivery, email or telecopy to the Administrative Agent of a written Interest Election Request in the form of Exhibit 2.7 and signed by the Borrower Representative.

 

(c)            Information in Interest Election Requests. Each telephonic and written Interest Election Request shall specify the following information in compliance with Section 2.2:

 

(i)              the Borrowing to which such Interest Election Request applies and, if different options are being elected with respect to different portions thereof, the portions thereof to be allocated to each resulting Borrowing (in which case the information to be specified pursuant to clauses (iii) and (iv) of this Section 2.7(c) shall be specified for each resulting Borrowing);

 

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

 

(iii)            whether the resulting Borrowing is to be a Base Rate Borrowing or a Eurodollar Borrowing; and

 

(iv)            if the resulting Borrowing is a Eurodollar Borrowing, the Interest Period to be applicable thereto (by specifying the duration of such Interest Period and the last day of such Interest Period) after giving effect to such election, which shall be a period contemplated by the definition of the term “Interest Period”.

 

If any such Interest Election Request requests a Eurodollar Borrowing but does not specify an Interest Period, then the Borrowers shall be deemed to have selected an Interest Period of one month’s duration.

 

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

 

(e)            Failure to Elect; Default. If such Borrower Representative fails to deliver a timely and properly completed Interest Election Request with respect to a Eurodollar Borrowing prior to the end of the Interest Period applicable thereto, then, unless such Borrowing is repaid as provided herein, at the end of such Interest Period such Borrowing shall be converted to a Base Rate Borrowing. Notwithstanding any contrary provision hereof, if a Default has occurred and is continuing and the Administrative Agent, at the request of the Required Lenders, so notifies the Borrower Representative, then, so long as a Default is continuing, (i) no outstanding Borrowing may be converted to or continued as a Eurodollar Borrowing and (ii) unless repaid, each Eurodollar Borrowing shall be converted to a Base Rate Borrowing at the end of the Interest Period applicable thereto.

 

(f)            Initial Interest Elections. Anything in Section 2.2 or this Section 2.7 to the contrary notwithstanding, a Borrower may not select a Eurodollar Borrowing as a Borrowing on the Effective Date unless Administrative Agent receives the applicable Borrowing Request not later than 1:00 p.m., one Business Day prior to the Effective Date, together with an indemnity agreement from the Borrowers agreeing to pay losses as described in Section 2.15, in form and substance reasonably acceptable to the Administrative Agent.

 

2.8            Termination and Reduction of the Commitments.

 

(a)            Scheduled Termination. Unless previously terminated in accordance with the terms hereof, (i) the Term Loan Commitments shall terminate upon the making of the Initial Term Loans on the Effective Date, and (ii) the Revolving Credit Commitments shall terminate on the Revolving Credit Maturity Date.

 

(b)            Voluntary Termination or Reduction. The Borrowers may at any time terminate, or from time to time reduce, the Revolving Credit Commitments; provided that (i) each partial reduction of the Revolving Credit Commitments pursuant to this Section shall be in an amount that is $1,000,000 or a larger multiple of $1,000,000 in excess thereof and (ii) the Borrowers shall not terminate or reduce the Revolving Credit Commitments if, after giving effect to any concurrent prepayment of the Revolving Credit Loans in accordance with Section 2.10, the aggregate Revolving Credit Exposures would exceed the total Revolving Credit Commitments.

 

(c)            Notice of Voluntary Termination or Reduction. The Borrower Representative shall notify Administrative Agent of any election to terminate or reduce the Revolving Credit Commitments under Section 2.8(b) by no later than 1:00 p.m., New York City time, at least three Business Days prior to the effective date of such termination or reduction, specifying such election and the effective date thereof. Promptly following receipt of any notice, Administrative Agent shall advise the Lenders of the contents thereof. Each notice delivered by the Borrower Representative pursuant to this Section shall be irrevocable; provided that a notice of termination of the Revolving Credit Commitments delivered by the Borrower Representative may state that such notice is conditioned upon the effectiveness of other credit facilities or occurrence of other transactions or events, in which case such notice may be revoked by the Borrower Representative (by notice to the Administrative Agent on or prior to the specified effective date) if such condition is not satisfied.

 

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(d)            Effect of Termination or Reduction. Any termination or reduction of the Revolving Credit Commitments shall be permanent. Each reduction of the Revolving Credit Commitments shall be made ratably among the Lenders in accordance with their respective Revolving Credit Commitments (other than any reduction made pursuant to Section 2.18(b)). All commitment fees accrued on the portion of the Revolving Credit Commitments terminated until the effective date of such termination of the Revolving Credit Commitments shall be paid on the effective date of such termination.

 

2.9            Repayment of Loans; Evidence of Debt.

 

(a)            Repayment. Each Borrower, jointly and severally, hereby unconditionally promises to pay the Loans as follows:

 

(i)             to the Administrative Agent for the ratable account of the Revolving Credit Lenders the aggregate outstanding principal amount of the Revolving Credit Loans on the Revolving Credit Maturity Date or any earlier date of termination of this Agreement or acceleration of the Loans due hereunder in accordance with the terms hereof;

 

(ii)            to the Administrative Agent for the ratable account of the applicable Term Loan Lenders, (x) the principal of the Incremental Term Loans of each Tranche on such dates and in such amounts as may be set forth in the Notice of Incremental Term Loan Borrowing for such Tranche, to be applied to the unpaid principal amount of the Incremental Term Loans for such Tranche for which such payment relates, (y) on each Principal Payment Date, the principal of the Initial Term Loans outstanding in an amount equal to the Quarterly Percentage Amount for each such Class, to be applied to the unpaid principal amount of the Initial Term Loans on a pro-rata basis, and (z) on the applicable Term Loan Maturity Date or any earlier date of termination of this Agreement or acceleration of the Loans due hereunder in accordance with the terms hereof, the remaining unpaid principal amount of the Initial Term Loans and/or such Tranche of Incremental Term Loans, as applicable; provided that the scheduled installments of principal of the Term Loans of any Class set forth above shall be reduced in connection with any voluntary or mandatory prepayments of the Term Loans of such Class in accordance herewith;

 

(iii)           to Swingline Lender the then unpaid principal amount of each Swingline Loan on the earlier of the Revolving Credit Maturity Date (or any earlier date of termination of this Agreement or acceleration of the Loans due hereunder in accordance with the terms hereof) and the date that is five (5) Business Days after such Swingline Loan is made; provided that on each date that a Revolving Credit Loan Borrowing is made, the Borrowers shall repay all Swingline Loans then outstanding.

 

(b)           Manner of Payment. Each repayment or prepayment of Borrowings of any Class shall be applied to repay any outstanding Base Rate Loan Borrowings of such Class before any other Borrowings of such Class.

 

(c)            Maintenance of Loan Accounts by Lenders and the Administrative Agent. Each Lender shall maintain in accordance with its usual practice an account or accounts evidencing the indebtedness of the Borrowers to such Lender resulting from each Loan made by such Lender, including the amounts of principal and interest payable and paid to such Lender from time to time hereunder. Administrative Agent shall maintain on the Register (i) the amount of each Loan made hereunder, the Class and Type thereof and the Interest Period applicable thereto, (ii) the amount of any principal or interest due and payable or to become due and payable from the Borrowers to each Lender hereunder, and (iii) the amount of any sum received by Administrative Agent hereunder for the account of the Lenders and each Lender’s share thereof.

 

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(d)            Effect of Entries. The entries made in the accounts maintained pursuant to Section 2.9(c) shall be conclusive evidence of the existence and amounts of the obligations recorded therein; provided that the failure of any Lender or Administrative Agent to maintain such accounts or any error therein shall not in any manner affect the obligation of the Borrowers to repay the Loans in accordance with the terms of this Agreement. In the event of any conflict between the accounts maintained by any Lender and the accounts of Administrative Agent in respect of such matters, the accounts of Administrative Agent shall control in the absence of manifest error.

 

(e)            Participations in Letters of Credit and Swingline Loans. In addition to the accounts maintained pursuant to Section 2.9(c), each Lender and the Administrative Agent shall maintain in accordance with its usual practice account or accounts evidencing the purchases and sales by such Lender of participations in Letters of Credit and Swingline Loans. In the event of any conflict between the accounts maintained by Administrative Agent and the accounts of any Lender in respect of such matters, the accounts and records of Administrative Agent shall control in the absence of manifest error.

 

2.10          Prepayment of Loans.

 

(a)            Optional Prepayments. The Borrowers shall have the right at any time and from time to time to prepay any Borrowing in whole or in part, subject to the requirements of this Section (including Section 2.10(d)(vi)) and Section 2.15; provided that each voluntary prepayment of the Term Loans shall be in an amount that is at least $500,000 or a larger multiple of $100,000 in excess thereof or, if less, the entire principal amount thereof then outstanding. Any prepayment of the Term Loans pursuant to this Section 2.10(a) shall be applied to the remaining scheduled amortization payments thereof as set forth in Section 2.10(c).

 

(b)            Mandatory Prepayments. The Borrowers will prepay the Loans (and/or provide cash collateral for LC Exposure, as applicable), as follows:

 

(i)            Sale of Assets or Events of Loss. If on any date a Company shall receive Net Cash Proceeds from (x) any Disposition (excluding any Ordinary Course Disposition) or (y) any Event of Loss, then, unless the Borrower Representative shall have elected to reinvest such Net Cash Proceeds pursuant to a Reinvestment Event so long as no Event of Default described in clause (a), (b), (h) or (i) of Section 8.1 has occurred and is continuing or would result therefrom, within 10 Business Days of the date of receipt by a Company of such Net Cash Proceeds, the Borrowers shall prepay the Term Loans in an amount equal to 100% of the amount of such Net Cash Proceeds in excess of the greater of (A) $4,500,000 and (B) 15% of Consolidated EBITDA (determined at the time of such Disposition or Event of Loss (calculated on a pro forma basis) as of the last day of the most recently ended four Fiscal Quarter period for which financial statements have been delivered pursuant to Section 5.1(a) or (b)) (the “Asset Sale Threshold”) per Fiscal Year for all such Dispositions (it being agreed that the Borrowers may retain all such amount below the Asset Sale Threshold (the “De Minimis Asset Sale Proceeds”)); provided that notwithstanding the foregoing, on each Reinvestment Prepayment Date, the Term Loans shall be prepaid by an amount equal to the Reinvestment Prepayment Amount with respect to the relevant Reinvestment Event, as set forth in Section 2.10(c). The provisions of this Section do not constitute consent to the consummation of any Disposition not permitted by Section 6.4.

 

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(ii)            Excess Cash Flow. Not later than the date that is 10 Business Days after the earlier of (x) the date on which the audited financial statements under Section 5.1(a) for the Fiscal Year ending closest to December 31, 2022 and each Fiscal Year thereafter are required to be delivered to the Lenders, and (y) the date such audited financial statements are actually delivered, the Borrowers shall prepay the Term Loans in an aggregate amount equal to (A) 50% of Excess Cash Flow (the “Excess Cash Flow Percentage”) for such Excess Cash Flow Period minus (B) the aggregate amount of voluntary prepayments of Term Loans (except to the extent funded with the proceeds of long term indebtedness) pursuant to Section 2.10(a) and all other Indebtedness secured by the Collateral on a pari passu basis with the Term Loans (and in the case of any revolving loans, accompanied by a corresponding reduction of the commitments in respect thereof), minus (C) optional prepayments on the Revolving Credit Loans (except to the extent funded with proceeds of long term indebtedness) that are accompanied by a corresponding reduction in the Revolving Credit Commitment, such prepayment to be effected in each case in the manner and to the extent specified in Section 2.10(c); provided, however, that (x) the Excess Cash Flow Percentage shall be 25% if the Consolidated First Lien Leverage Ratio as of the last day of the applicable Excess Cash Flow Period is less than 4.00 to 1.00 and (y) the Excess Cash Flow Percentage shall be 0% if the Consolidated First Lien Leverage Ratio as of the last day of the applicable Excess Cash Flow Period is less than to 3.50 to 1.00; provided, further, that such Excess Cash Flow payment shall only be required to the extent exceeding the greater of (A) $3,000,000 and (B) 10% of Consolidated EBITDA as of the last day of the most recently ended four Fiscal Quarter period for which financial statements have been delivered pursuant to Section 5.1(a) or (b)) (the “ECF Threshold”) (it being agreed that the Borrowers may retain all such amount below the ECF Threshold (the “Retained ECF Amount”)) provided, further, that any prepayment of Revolving Loans incurred on the Effective Date to finance any original issue discount or upfront fees required by the Fee Letter shall, at the option of the Borrowers, be applied to any subsequent Fiscal Year to the extent the amount of such prepayments exceeds the amount of prepayments required to be made pursuant to this Section 2.10(b)(ii) for such year.

 

(iii)           Insufficient Availability. Until the Revolving Credit Maturity Date, the Borrowers shall from time to time prepay the Revolving Credit Loans and Swingline Loans (or provide cash collateral for LC Exposure as provided in Section 2.5(l)) in such amounts as shall be necessary so that at all times the aggregate outstanding Revolving Credit Exposures shall not exceed the total Revolving Credit Commitments, such amount to be applied FIRST, to repay the outstanding principal balance of the Swingline Loans, until such Swingline Loans shall have been repaid in full, SECOND, to repay, the outstanding principal balance of the Revolving Credit Loans and THIRD, to Cash Collateralize the LC Exposure. In addition, if on any date the LC Exposure shall exceed the Letter of Credit sublimit set forth in Section 2.5(c), the Borrowers shall cash collateralize on such date the outstanding Letters of Credit in an amount equal to such excess.

 

(iv)          Indebtedness Issuance. Without limiting the obligation of the Borrowers to obtain the consent of the Required Lenders pursuant to Section 6.1 to the incurrence of any Indebtedness not otherwise permitted hereunder, upon the incurrence of any Indebtedness (other than Indebtedness permitted under this Agreement (other than Credit Agreement Refinancing Indebtedness)), the Borrowers shall prepay the Loans in an aggregate amount equal to 100% of the Net Cash Proceeds thereof within 5 Business Days of receipt thereof, such prepayment to be effected in the manner and to the extent specified in Section 2.10(c).

 

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(v)           Notwithstanding any other provisions of this Section 2.10, (i) to the extent that the repatriation to the United States of any Excess Cash Flow attributable to Foreign Subsidiaries (“Foreign Subsidiary Excess Cash Flow”) would be (x) prohibited or delayed by applicable Law or (y) restricted, prohibited or delayed by applicable material constituent documents or material agreements so long as such restrictions described in this clause (y) are not created in contemplation of such prepayments, an amount equal to the portion of such Foreign Subsidiary Excess Cash Flow that would be so affected were the Borrowers to attempt to repatriate such cash will not be required to be applied to repay Term Loans at the times provided in this Section 2.10 so long, but only so long, as the applicable local law or applicable material documents would not otherwise permit repatriation to the United States (the Borrowers hereby agree to use commercially reasonable efforts during the year following the date such prepayment would otherwise have been required to be paid to overcome or eliminate any such restrictions on repatriation, even if the Borrowers do not intend to actually repatriate such cash, so that an amount equal to the full amount of such Foreign Subsidiary Excess Cash Flow will otherwise be subject to repayment under this Section 2.10), and if at any time within one year following the date on which the respective prepayment would otherwise have been required such repatriation of any of such affected Foreign Subsidiary Excess Cash Flow is permissible under the applicable Law or applicable material documents (even if such cash is actually not repatriated), an amount equal to the amount of the Foreign Subsidiary Excess Cash Flow that could be repatriated will be promptly (and in any event not later than five Business Days after the date that such cash could be repatriated) applied (net of an amount equal to the additional taxes of the Borrowers, their Subsidiaries and the direct and indirect holders of Equity Interests in the Borrowers that would be payable or reserved against as a result of a repatriation and any additional costs that would be incurred as a result of a repatriation, whether or not a repatriation actually occurs) by the Borrowers to the repayment of the Term Loans pursuant to this Section 2.10 and (ii) to the extent that the Borrowers have determined in good faith that repatriation of any Foreign Subsidiary Excess Cash Flow could reasonably be expected to have adverse tax consequences (other than de minimis tax consequences), an amount equal to such Foreign Subsidiary Excess Cash Flow that would be so affected will not be subject to repayment under this Section 2.10; provided that in the case of each of clauses (i) and (ii), such nonpayment prior to the time such amounts must be prepaid shall not constitute an Event of Default (and such amounts shall be available for working capital and other general corporate purposes of the Borrowers and the Restricted Subsidiaries).

 

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(vi)           Notwithstanding any other provisions of this Section 2.10, (i) to the extent that the repatriation to the United States of any or all of the Net Proceeds of any Disposition by a Foreign Subsidiary (“Foreign Disposition”) or the Net Proceeds of any Event of Loss incurred by a Foreign Subsidiary (“Foreign Casualty Event”) would be (x) prohibited or delayed by applicable law or (y) restricted prohibited or delayed by applicable material agreements (including material constituent documents) so long as such restrictions described in this clause (y) are not created in contemplation of such prepayments, an amount equal to the Net Cash Proceeds that would be so affected were the Borrowers to attempt to repatriate such cash will not be required to be applied to repay Term Loans at the times provided in this Section 2.10 so long, but only so long, as the applicable local law or applicable material documents would not otherwise permit repatriation to the United States (the Borrowers hereby agree to use commercially reasonable efforts during the year following the date such prepayment would otherwise have been required to be made to overcome or eliminate any such restrictions on repatriation even if the Borrower does not intend to actually repatriate such cash, so that an amount equal to the full amount of such Net Cash Proceeds will otherwise be subject to repayment under this Section 2.10), and if at any time within one year following the date on which the respective prepayment would otherwise have been required such repatriation of any of such affected Net Cash Proceeds is permissible under the applicable Law or applicable material documents, even if such cash is not actually repatriated at such time, an amount equal to the amount of the Net Cash Proceeds will be promptly (and in any event not later than five Business Days after the date that such cash could be repatriated) applied (net of an amount equal to the additional Taxes of the Borrowers, their Subsidiaries and the direct and indirect holders of Equity Interests in the Borrowers that would be payable or reserved against as a result of a repatriation and any additional costs that would be incurred as a result of a repatriation, whether or not a repatriation actually occurs) by the Borrowers to the repayment of the Term Loans pursuant to this Section 2.10 and (ii) to the extent that the Borrowers have determined in good faith that repatriation of any of or all the Net Cash Proceeds of any Foreign Disposition or Foreign Casualty Event could reasonably be expected to have adverse Tax (other than de minimis Tax consequences) with respect to such Net Cash Proceeds, an amount equal to such Net Cash Proceeds that would be so affected will not be subject to repayment under this Section 2.10; provided that in the case of each of clauses (i) and (ii), such nonpayment prior to the time such amounts must be prepaid shall not constitute an Event of Default (and such amounts shall be available for working capital and other general corporate purposes of the Borrowers and the Restricted Subsidiaries, in each case, subject to the prepayment provisions in this Section 2.10). For the avoidance of doubt, nothing in this Section 2.10 shall require the Borrowers or any Subsidiary to cause any amounts to be repatriated to the United States (whether or not such amounts are used in or excluded from the determination of the amount of any mandatory prepayments hereunder).

 

(c)            Order of Application to Loans. Each such prepayment of the Loans made under Section 2.10(a) shall be applied to any Class of Term Loans or the Revolving Credit Loans as may be selected by the Borrowers and, in connection with voluntary prepayments of such Class of Term Loans, applied to the remaining scheduled amortization payments thereof as the Borrowers shall direct or, absent such direction, in the direct order of maturity or otherwise as may be agreed in the applicable Incremental Amendment for such Tranche. Except as otherwise provided in Section 8.2, each mandatory prepayment of the Loans under Section 2.10(b) (other than any mandatory prepayment of the Loans under Section 2.10(b)(iii)) shall be applied (i) FIRST, to repay accrued interest and fees due on the amount of such repayment, (ii) SECOND, to repay, on a pro rata basis, the outstanding principal balance of the Term Loans (on a pro rata basis to each Class of Term Loans and within each Class, first to such Term Loans that are Base Rate Loans and, then, to such Term Loans that are Eurodollar Loans), as the Borrowers shall direct or, absent such direction, in the direct order of maturity and thereafter, to the remaining scheduled amortization payments on a pro rata basis, until the Term Loans shall have been repaid in full, (iii) THIRD, to repay the outstanding principal balance of the Swingline Loans, until such Swingline Loans shall have been repaid in full; and (iv) FOURTH, to repay, on a pro rata basis, the outstanding principal balance of the Revolving Credit Loans (without a corresponding reduction in the applicable Revolving Credit Commitment).

 

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(d)            Notices, Etc.

 

(i)            The Borrower Representative shall notify Administrative Agent (and, in the case of prepayment of a Swingline Loan, Swingline Lender) in writing of any optional prepayment under Section 2.10(a), (i) in the case of prepayment of a Eurodollar Borrowing, not later than 2:00 p.m., three Business Days before the date of prepayment, (ii) in the case of prepayment of a Base Rate Borrowing, not later than 11:00 a.m., New York City time, on the date of prepayment or (iii) in the case of prepayment of a Swingline Loan, not later than 12:00 p.m., on the date of prepayment. Each such notice shall specify the prepayment date, and the principal amount of each Borrowing or portion thereof to be prepaid; provided that, if a notice of prepayment is given in connection with a conditional notice of termination of the Revolving Credit Commitments as contemplated by Section 2.8(c), then such notice of prepayment may be revoked if such notice of termination is revoked in accordance with Section 2.8(c). Promptly following receipt of any such notice, Administrative Agent shall advise the relevant Lenders of the contents thereof.

 

(ii)            Prior to or concurrently with any prepayment under Section 2.10(b), the Borrower Representative shall deliver to the Administrative Agent a certificate signed by a Responsible Officer of the Borrower Representative containing a reasonably detailed calculation of the estimated amount of such prepayment.

 

(iii)            Promptly following receipt of any prepayment notice relating to a Borrowing or such certificate relating to a prepayment, Administrative Agent shall advise the relevant Lenders of the contents thereof and of the amount of such Lender’s ratable portion of such prepayment. Each Lender may reject all of its pro rata share of any mandatory prepayment (other than prepayments resulting from the incurrence of Credit Agreement Refinancing Indebtedness) (such declined amounts, the “Declined Proceeds”) of Term Loans required to be made pursuant to clauses (i), (ii) and (iv) of Section 2.10(b) by providing written notice (each, a “Rejection Notice”) to the Administrative Agent no later than 5:00 p.m. one Business Day after the date of such Lender’s receipt of notice from the Administrative Agent regarding such prepayment; provided that in no event may the proceeds of any Credit Agreement Refinancing Indebtedness be rejected. If a Lender fails to deliver a Rejection Notice to the Administrative Agent within the time frame specified above such failure will be deemed an acceptance of the total amount of such mandatory prepayment.

 

(iv)            Each partial prepayment of any Borrowing shall be in an amount such that the remaining amount outstanding of each Borrowing would be permitted in the case of a Borrowing of the same Type as provided in Section 2.2 except as necessary to apply fully the required amount of a mandatory prepayment under Section 2.10(b). Each prepayment of a Borrowing shall be applied ratably to the Loans included in the prepaid Borrowing.

 

(v)            Prepayments shall be accompanied by accrued interest to the extent required by Section 2.12 and any amounts required by Section 2.15 and shall be made in the manner specified in Section 2.9(b) and this Section 2.10.

 

(vi)            If any optional prepayment pursuant to Section 2.10(a), Section 2.18(b) (only with respect to optional prepayments made in connection with a Lender who is not a party to the applicable Extension Amendment) or Section 2.22 or mandatory prepayment pursuant to Section 2.10(b)(iv) (in each case, whether before or after the occurrence of an Event of Default, an acceleration of the Obligations or the commencement of a bankruptcy or insolvency proceeding) occurs prior to the date occurring (A) prior to the date that is one year after the Effective Date or (B) on or after the date that is one year after the Effective date but prior to the date that is two years after the Effective Date, the Borrowers jointly and severally agree to pay to the Administrative Agent, for the ratable account of each Term Loan Lender with Initial Term Loans that are subject to a prepayment premium in an amount equal to 2.00% or 1.00%, respectively, of the aggregate principal amount of the Initial Term Loans subject to such prepayment.

 

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2.11         Fees.

 

(a)            Commitment Fees. Each Borrower, jointly and severally, agrees to pay to the Administrative Agent for the account of each Revolving Credit Lender a commitment fee, which shall accrue at a per annum rate equal to the Applicable Margin applicable for the “Commitment Fee Rate” on the average daily Unused Revolving Commitment of such Lender during the period from and including the Effective Date to but excluding the earlier of the date such Revolving Credit Commitment terminates and the Revolving Credit Maturity Date. Accrued commitment fees for this Section 2.11(a) through and including each Quarterly Date shall be payable on the second Business Day following such Quarterly Date and on the earlier of the date the Revolving Credit Commitment terminates and the Revolving Credit Maturity Date, commencing on the first such date to occur after the Effective Date. All commitment fees shall be computed on the basis of a year of 360 days and shall be payable for the actual number of days elapsed (including the first day but excluding the last day).

 

(b)            Letter of Credit Fees. Each Borrower, jointly and severally agrees to pay (i) to the Administrative Agent for the account of each Revolving Credit Lender a participation fee with respect to its participations in Letters of Credit, which shall accrue at a rate per annum equal to the Applicable Margin applicable to interest on Eurodollar Loans on the daily amount of such Lender’s LC Exposure (excluding any portion thereof attributable to unreimbursed LC Disbursements) attributable to Letters of Credit issued during the period from and including the Effective Date to and excluding the later of the date on which such Revolving Credit Lender’s Commitment terminates and the date on which such Lender ceases to have any LC Exposure, and (ii) to the Issuing Lender for its own account a fronting fee, which shall accrue at the rate of 0.125% on the average daily amount of the LC Exposure (excluding any portion thereof attributable to unreimbursed LC Disbursements) attributable to Letters of Credit issued by it during the period from and including the Effective Date to but excluding the later of the date of termination of the Revolving Credit Commitments and the date on which there ceases to be any LC Exposure, as well as Issuing Lender’s standard fees and other standard costs and charges with respect to the issuance, amendment, renewal or extension of any Letter of Credit or processing of drawings thereunder. Participation fees and fronting fees accrued through and including each Quarterly Date shall be payable on the second Business Day following such Quarterly Date, commencing on the first such date to occur after the Effective Date; provided that all such fees shall be payable on the date on which the Revolving Credit Commitments terminate and any such fees accruing after the date on which the Revolving Credit Commitments terminate shall be payable on demand. Any other fees payable to the Issuing Lender pursuant to this Section 2.11(b) shall be payable within 30 days after written demand. All participation fees and fronting fees shall be computed on the basis of a year of 360 days and shall be payable for the actual number of days elapsed (including the first day but excluding the last day).

 

(c)            Administrative Agent Fees. Each Borrower, jointly and severally agrees to pay to the Administrative Agent, for its own account, fees payable in the amounts and at the times separately agreed upon between the Borrowers and the Administrative Agent and such other fees required by the Fee Letter.

 

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(d)            Payment of Fees. All fees payable hereunder shall be paid on the dates due, in immediately available funds in Dollars, to the Administrative Agent (or to the Issuing Lender, in the case of fees payable to it) for distribution, other than in the case of fees payable solely for account of Administrative Agent, to the Lenders entitled thereto. Fees paid shall not be refundable under any circumstances.

 

2.12        Interest.

 

(a)            Base Rate Loans. The Loans comprising each Base Rate Borrowing (including each Swingline Loan Borrowing) shall bear interest at a rate per annum equal to the Base Rate plus the Applicable Margin.

 

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

 

(c)            Default Interest. The Borrowers shall pay interest on the principal amount of all overdue outstanding Loans and, to the fullest extent permitted by law, the outstanding amount of all overdue interest, fees and other Obligations, at a rate per annum equal to the Default Rate immediately upon the occurrence of any Event of Default described in clause (a), (b), (h) or (i) of Section 8.1.

 

(d)            Payment of Interest. Accrued interest on each Loan shall be payable in arrears on each Interest Payment Date for such Loan and, in the case of Revolving Credit Loans, upon termination of the Revolving Credit Commitments, and, in the case of the Term Loans, on the applicable Term Loan Maturity Date (or earlier date of termination of this Agreement or acceleration of the Loans due hereunder pursuant to the terms hereof); provided that (i) interest accrued pursuant to Section 2.12(c) shall be payable on written demand, (ii) in the event of any repayment or prepayment of any Loan (other than a prepayment of a Base Rate Revolving Credit Loan prior to the Revolving Credit Maturity Date), accrued interest on the principal amount repaid or prepaid shall be payable on the date of such repayment or prepayment, and (iii) in the event of any conversion of any Eurodollar Borrowing prior to the end of the current Interest Period therefor, accrued interest on such Borrowing shall be payable on the effective date of such conversion. Additionally, the Borrowers shall immediately pay to the Administrative Agent for the account of the applicable Lenders the amount of any interest and fees that may be owing pursuant to the penultimate sentence of the definition of Applicable Margin. The Borrowers’ obligations under this Section 2.12(d) shall survive the termination of the Commitments and the repayment of all other Obligations hereunder.

 

(e)            Computation. All interest hereunder shall be computed on the basis of a year of 360 days (or 365 or 366 days, as the case may be, in the case of Base Rate Loans based on Prime Rate), and in each case shall be payable for the actual number of days elapsed (including the first day but excluding the last day). The applicable Base Rate or Adjusted LIBO Rate shall be determined by Administrative Agent, and such determination shall be conclusive absent manifest error.

 

2.13        Alternate Rate of Interest; Illegality; LIBOR Successor Rate.

 

(a)            Alternate Rate of Interest. Subject to clauses (c) through (h) of this Section 2.13, after the Effective Date and prior to the commencement of any Interest Period for a Eurodollar Borrowing:

 

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

 

(ii)            if such Borrowing is of a particular Class of Loans and the Administrative Agent is advised by Lenders having Total Credit Exposures with respect to such Class representing more than 50% of the Total Credit Exposures of all Lenders with respect to such Class that the Adjusted LIBO Rate for such Interest Period will not adequately and fairly reflect the cost to such Lenders of making or maintaining their Loans included in such Borrowing for such Interest Period;

 

then the Administrative Agent shall give written notice thereof to the Borrower Representative and the Lenders as promptly as practicable thereafter and, until Administrative Agent notifies the Borrower Representative and the Lenders that the circumstances giving rise to such notice no longer exist, (i) any Interest Election Request that requests the conversion of any Borrowing to, or continuation of any Borrowing as, a Eurodollar Borrowing shall be ineffective, and (ii) if any Borrowing Request requests a Eurodollar Borrowing, such Borrowing shall be made as a Base Rate Borrowing.

 

(b)            Illegality. If any Lender determines that any applicable law has made it unlawful, or that any Governmental Authority has asserted that it is unlawful after the Effective Date, for any Lender or its applicable lending office to make, maintain or fund Eurodollar Loans, or to determine or charge interest rates based upon the Adjusted LIBO Rate, or any Governmental Authority has imposed material restrictions on the authority of such Lender to purchase or sell, or to take deposits of, Dollars in the London interbank market, then, on notice thereof by such Lender to the Borrower Representative through the Administrative Agent, any obligation of such Lender to make or continue Eurodollar Loans or to convert Base Rate Loans to Eurodollar Loans shall be suspended until such Lender notifies the Administrative Agent and the Borrower Representative that the circumstances giving rise to such determination no longer exist. Upon receipt of such notice, the Borrower Representative shall, upon demand from such Lender (with a copy to the Administrative Agent), prepay or, if applicable, convert all Eurodollar Loans of such Lender to Base Rate Loans, either on the last day of the Interest Period therefor, if such Lender may lawfully continue to maintain such Eurodollar Loans to such day, or immediately, if such Lender may not lawfully continue to maintain such Eurodollar Loans. Upon any such prepayment or conversion, the Borrowers shall also pay accrued interest on the amount so prepaid or converted.

 

(c)            Notwithstanding anything to the contrary herein or in any other Loan Document, if a Benchmark Transition Event, an Early Opt-in Election or an Other Benchmark Rate Election, as applicable, and its related Benchmark Replacement Date have occurred prior to the Reference Time in respect of any setting of the then-current Benchmark, then (x) if a Benchmark Replacement is determined in accordance with clause (1) or (2) of the definition of “Benchmark Replacement” for such Benchmark Replacement Date, such Benchmark Replacement will replace such Benchmark for all purposes hereunder and under any Loan Document in respect of such Benchmark setting and subsequent Benchmark settings without any amendment to, or further action or consent of any other party to, this Agreement or any other Loan Document and (y) if a Benchmark Replacement is determined in accordance with clause (3) of the definition of “Benchmark Replacement” for such Benchmark Replacement Date, such Benchmark Replacement will replace such Benchmark for all purposes hereunder and under any Loan Document in respect of any Benchmark setting at or after 5:00 p.m. on the fifth (5th) Business Day after the date notice of such Benchmark Replacement is provided to the Lenders without any amendment to, or further action or consent of any other party to, this Agreement or any other Loan Document so long as the Administrative Agent has not received, by such time, written notice of objection to such Benchmark Replacement from Lenders comprising the Required Lenders of each Class.

 

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(d)            Notwithstanding anything to the contrary herein or in any other Loan Document and subject to the proviso below in this paragraph, if a Term SOFR Transition Event and its related Benchmark Replacement Date have occurred prior to the Reference Time in respect of any setting of the then-current Benchmark, then the applicable Benchmark Replacement will replace the then-current Benchmark for all purposes hereunder or under any Loan Document in respect of such Benchmark setting and subsequent Benchmark settings, without any amendment to, or further action or consent of any other party to, this Agreement or any other Loan Document; provided that, this clause (d) shall not be effective unless the Administrative Agent has delivered to the Lenders and the Borrower Representative a Term SOFR Notice. For the avoidance of doubt, the Administrative Agent shall not be required to deliver a Term SOFR Notice after the occurrence of a Term SOFR Transition Event and may do so in its sole discretion.

 

(e)            In connection with the implementation of a Benchmark Replacement, the Administrative Agent in consultation with the Borrower Representative will have the right to make Benchmark Replacement Conforming Changes from time to time and, notwithstanding anything to the contrary herein or in any other Loan Document, any amendments implementing such Benchmark Replacement Conforming Changes will become effective without any further action or consent of any other party to this Agreement or any other Loan Document.

 

(f)            The Administrative Agent will promptly notify the Borrower Representative and the Lenders of (i) any occurrence of a Benchmark Transition Event, an Early Opt-in Election or an Other Benchmark Rate Election, as applicable, (ii) the implementation of any Benchmark Replacement, (iii) the effectiveness of any Benchmark Replacement Conforming Changes, (iv) the removal or reinstatement of any tenor of a Benchmark pursuant to clause (d) above and (v) the commencement or conclusion of any Benchmark Unavailability Period. Any determination, decision or election that may be made by the Administrative Agent or, if applicable, any Lender (or group of Lenders) pursuant to this Section 2.13, in each case in consultation with the Borrower Representative, including any determination with respect to a tenor, rate or adjustment or of the occurrence or non-occurrence of an event, circumstance or date and any decision to take or refrain from taking any action or any selection, will be conclusive and binding absent manifest error and may be made in its or their sole discretion and without consent from any other party to this Agreement or any other Loan Document, except, in each case, as expressly required pursuant to this Section 2.13.

 

(g)           Notwithstanding anything to the contrary herein or in any other Loan Document, at any time (including in connection with the implementation of a Benchmark Replacement), (i) if the then-current Benchmark is a term rate (including Term SOFR or LIBO Rate) and either (A) any tenor for such Benchmark is not displayed on a screen or other information service that publishes such rate from time to time as selected by the Administrative Agent in its reasonable discretion or (B) the regulatory supervisor for the administrator of such Benchmark has provided a public statement or publication of information announcing that any tenor for such Benchmark is or will be no longer representative, then the Administrative Agent, in consultation with the Borrower Representative, may modify the definition of “Interest Period” for any Benchmark settings at or after such time to remove such unavailable or non-representative tenor and (ii) if a tenor that was removed pursuant to clause (i) above either (A) is subsequently displayed on a screen or information service for a Benchmark (including a Benchmark Replacement) or (B) is not, or is no longer, subject to an announcement that it is or will no longer be representative for a Benchmark (including a Benchmark Replacement), then the Administrative Agent, in consultation with the Borrower Representative, may modify the definition of “Interest Period” for all Benchmark settings at or after such time to reinstate such previously removed tenor.

 

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(h)            Upon the Borrower Representative’s receipt of notice of the commencement of a Benchmark Unavailability Period, the Borrower Representative may revoke any request for a Eurodollar Borrowing of, conversion to or continuation of Eurodollar Loans to be made, converted or continued during any Benchmark Unavailability Period and, failing that, the Borrowers will be deemed to have converted any such request into a request for a Borrowing of or conversion to Base Rate Loans. During any Benchmark Unavailability Period or at any time that a tenor for the then-current Benchmark is not an Available Tenor, the component of Base Rate based upon the then-current Benchmark or such tenor for such Benchmark, as applicable, will not be used in any determination of Base Rate.

 

(i)            For the avoidance of doubt and not withstanding anything in this Agreement to the contrary, any LIBOR Successor Rate shall be a “qualified rate” as defined in Proposed U.S. Treasury Regulation Section 1.1001-6(a)(3) (or in any final or successor U.S. Treasury Regulations promulgated under Section 1001 of the Code), and the Administrative Agent, the Borrowers and the Lenders shall use commercially reasonable efforts to ensure that any amendment made pursuant to this Section 2.13 satisfies any applicable IRS guidance (including Proposed U.S. Treasury Regulation Section 1.1001-6 and any final or successor U.S. Treasury Regulations promulgated under Section 1001 of the Code)) so that the implementation of any Benchmark Replacement will not be treated as a “deemed exchange” of any Loan under Section 1001 of the Code.

 

2.14        Increased Costs.

 

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

 

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

 

(ii)            subject any Recipient to any Taxes (other than (A) Indemnified Taxes, (B) Taxes described in clauses (b) through (d) of the definition of “Excluded Taxes”, and (C) Connection Income Taxes) on its loans, loan principal, letters of credit, commitments, or other obligations, or its deposits, reserves, other liabilities or capital attributable thereto; or

 

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

 

and the result of any of the foregoing shall be to increase the cost to such Lender or such other Recipient of making, converting to, continuing or maintaining any Eurodollar Loan (or of maintaining its obligation to make any such Loan), or to increase in any material respect the cost to such Lender, Issuing Lender or such other Recipient of participating in, issuing or maintaining any Letter of Credit (or of maintaining its obligation to participate in or to issue any Letter of Credit), or to reduce the amount of any sum received or receivable by such Lender, Issuing Lender, or such other Recipient hereunder (whether of principal, interest or any other amount) then, promptly following written request of such Lender, Issuing Lender, or such other Recipient, the Borrowers will pay to such Lender, Issuing Lender, or other Recipient, as the case may be, such additional amount or amounts as will compensate such Lender, Issuing Lender, or such other Recipient, as the case may be, for such additional costs incurred or reduction suffered.

 

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

 

(c)            Certificates for Reimbursement. A certificate of a Recipient setting forth the amount or amounts necessary to compensate such Recipient or its holding company, as the case may be, as specified in Section 2.14(a) or 2.14(b) and delivered to the Borrower Representative shall be conclusive absent manifest error. The Borrowers shall pay such Recipient the amount shown as due on any such certificate within 30 days after receipt thereof.

 

(d)            Delay in Requests. Failure or delay on the part of any Lender or Issuing Lender to demand compensation pursuant to this Section shall not constitute a waiver of such Lender’s or Issuing Lender’s right to demand such compensation, provided that the Borrowers shall not be required to compensate a Lender or Issuing Lender pursuant to this Section for any increased costs incurred or reductions suffered more than six months prior to the date that such Lender or Issuing Lender, as the case may be, notifies the Borrower Representative of the Change in Law giving rise to such increased costs or reductions and of such Lender’s or Issuing Lender’s intention to claim compensation therefor (except that, if the Change in Law giving rise to such increased costs or reductions is retroactive, then the six-month period referred to above shall be extended to include the period of retroactive effect thereof).

 

2.15         Compensation for Losses. In the event of (a) the payment of any principal of any Eurodollar Loan other than on the last day of an Interest Period applicable thereto (including as a result of an Event of Default or any mandatory prepayment), (b) the conversion of any Eurodollar Loan other than on the last day of the Interest Period applicable thereto, (c) the failure to borrow, convert, continue or prepay any Loan on the date specified in any notice delivered pursuant hereto (regardless of whether such notice is permitted to be revocable under Section 2.8(c) and is revoked in accordance herewith), or (d) the assignment of any Eurodollar Loan other than on the last day of the Interest Period applicable thereto as a result of a request by the Borrower Representative pursuant to Section 2.18, then, in any such event, the Borrowers shall compensate each Lender for the loss, cost, or expense attributable to such event (excluding any loss of anticipated profits) and any loss or expense arising from the liquidation or reemployment of funds obtained by it to maintain such Loan or from fees payable to terminate the deposits from which such funds were obtained. The Borrowers shall also pay any customary administrative fees charged by such Lender in connection with the foregoing. For purposes of calculating amounts payable by the Borrowers to the Lenders under this Section 2.15, each Lender shall be deemed to have funded each Eurodollar Loan made by it at the Adjusted LIBO Rate for such Loan by a matching deposit or other borrowing in the London interbank eurodollar market for a comparable amount and for a comparable period, whether or not such Eurodollar Loan was in fact so funded. A certificate of any Lender setting forth any amount or amounts that such Lender is entitled to receive pursuant to this Section shall be delivered to the Borrower Representative and shall be conclusive absent manifest error. The Borrowers shall pay such Lender the amount shown as due on any such certificate within 30 days after receipt thereof.

 

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2.16        Taxes.

 

(a)            Defined Terms. For purposes of this Section 2.16, the term “Lender” includes any Issuing Lender and the term “applicable law” includes FATCA.

 

(b)            Payments Free of Taxes. Any and all payments by or on account of any obligation of any Obligor under any Loan Document shall be made without deduction or withholding for any Taxes, except as required by applicable law. If any applicable law (as determined in the good faith discretion of an applicable Withholding Agent) requires the deduction or withholding of any Tax from any such payment by a Withholding Agent, then the applicable Withholding Agent shall be entitled to make such deduction or withholding and shall timely pay the full amount deducted or withheld to the relevant Governmental Authority in accordance with applicable law and, if such Tax is an Indemnified Tax, then the sum payable by the applicable Obligor shall be increased as necessary so that after such deduction or withholding has been made (including such deductions and withholdings applicable to additional sums payable under this Section) the applicable Recipient receives an amount equal to the sum it would have received had no such deduction or withholding been made.

 

(c)            Payment of Other Taxes by the Obligors. Without duplication of any amounts payable pursuant to this Section 2.16, the Obligors shall timely pay to the relevant Governmental Authority in accordance with applicable law, or at the option of Administrative Agent timely reimburse it for the payment of, any Other Taxes.

 

(d)            Indemnification by the Obligors. Without duplication of any additional amounts paid under Section 2.16(b) or (c), the Obligors shall jointly and severally indemnify each Recipient, within 10 days after demand therefor, for the full amount of any Indemnified Taxes (including Indemnified Taxes imposed or asserted on or attributable to amounts payable under this Section) payable or paid by such Recipient or required to be withheld or deducted from a payment to such Recipient and any reasonable expenses arising therefrom or with respect thereto, whether or not such Indemnified Taxes were correctly or legally imposed or asserted by the relevant Governmental Authority. A certificate as to the amount of such payment or liability delivered to the Borrower Representative by a Lender (with a copy to the Administrative Agent), or by Administrative Agent on its own behalf or on behalf of a Lender, shall be conclusive absent manifest error.

 

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(e)            Indemnification by the Lenders. Each Lender shall severally indemnify Administrative Agent, within 10 days after demand therefor, for (i) any Indemnified Taxes attributable to such Lender (but only to the extent that any Obligor has not already indemnified Administrative Agent for such Indemnified Taxes and without limiting or expanding the obligation of the Obligors to do so), (ii) any Taxes attributable to such Lender’s failure to comply with the provisions of Section 10.4(e) relating to the maintenance of a Participant Register and (iii) any Excluded Taxes attributable to such Lender, in each case, that are payable or paid by Administrative Agent in connection with any Loan Document, and any reasonable expenses arising therefrom or with respect thereto, whether or not such Taxes were correctly or legally imposed or asserted by the relevant Governmental Authority. A certificate as to the amount of such payment or liability delivered to any Lender by Administrative Agent shall be conclusive absent manifest error. Each Lender hereby authorizes Administrative Agent to set off and apply any and all amounts at any time owing to such Lender under any Loan Document or otherwise payable by Administrative Agent to the Lender from any other source against any amount due to the Administrative Agent under this Section 2.16(e).

 

(f)            Evidence of Payments. As soon as practicable after any payment of Taxes by any Obligor to a Governmental Authority pursuant to this Section 2.16(f), such Obligor shall deliver to the Administrative Agent the original or a certified copy of a receipt issued by such Governmental Authority evidencing such payment, a copy of the return reporting such payment or other evidence of such payment reasonably satisfactory to the Administrative Agent.

 

(g)           Status of Lenders.

 

(i)            Any Lender that is entitled to an exemption from or reduction of withholding Tax with respect to payments made under any Loan Document shall deliver to the Borrower Representative and the Administrative Agent, at the time or times reasonably requested by the Borrower Representative or Administrative Agent, such properly completed and executed documentation reasonably requested by the Borrower Representative or Administrative Agent as will permit such payments to be made without withholding or at a reduced rate of withholding. In addition, any Lender, if reasonably requested by the Borrower Representative or Administrative Agent, shall deliver such other documentation prescribed by applicable law or reasonably requested by the Borrower Representative or Administrative Agent as will enable the Borrower Representative or Administrative Agent to determine whether or not such Lender is subject to backup withholding or information reporting requirements. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in the preceding two sentences, the completion, execution, and submission of such documentation (other than such documentation set forth in clauses (A), (B), and (D) of Section 2.16(g)(ii)) shall not be required if in the Lender’s reasonable judgment such completion, execution, or submission would subject such Lender to any material unreimbursed cost or expense or would materially prejudice the legal or commercial position of such Lender.

 

(ii)           Without limiting the generality of the foregoing,

 

(A)            any Lender that is a U.S. Person shall deliver to the Borrower Representative and Administrative Agent on or prior to the date on which such Lender becomes a Lender under this Agreement (and from time to time thereafter upon the reasonable request of any Obligor or Administrative Agent), properly completed and duly executed originals of IRS Form W-9 or any applicable successor form certifying that such Lender is exempt from U.S. federal backup withholding tax;

 

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(B)            any Foreign Lender shall, to the extent it is legally entitled to do so, deliver to the Obligors and Administrative Agent (in such number of copies as shall be requested by the Borrower Representative or the Administrative Agent) on or prior to the date on which such Foreign Lender becomes a Lender under this Agreement (and from time to time thereafter upon the reasonable request of the Obligors or Administrative Agent), whichever of the following is applicable:

 

in the case of a Foreign Lender claiming the benefits of an income tax treaty to which the United States is a party (1) with respect to payments of interest under any Loan Document, properly completed and duly executed originals of IRS Form W-8BEN or IRS Form W-8BEN-E (as applicable, or any successor forms) establishing an exemption from, or reduction of, U.S. federal withholding Tax pursuant to the “interest” article of such tax treaty and (2) with respect to any other applicable payments under any Loan Document, IRS Form W-8BEN or IRS Form W-8BEN-E (as applicable, or any successor forms) establishing an exemption from, or reduction of, U.S. federal withholding Tax pursuant to the “business profits” or “other income” article of such tax treaty;

 

properly completed and duly executed originals of IRS Form W-8ECI (or any successor forms);

 

in the case of a Foreign Lender claiming the benefits of the exemption for portfolio interest under Section 881(c) of the Code, (1) a properly completed and duly executed certificate substantially in the form of Exhibit 2.16-1 to the effect that such Foreign Lender is not a “bank” within the meaning of Section 881(c)(3)(A) of the Code, a “10 percent shareholder” of the Obligors within the meaning of Section 881(c)(3)(B) of the Code, or a “controlled foreign corporation” described in Section 881(c)(3)(C) of the Code (a “U.S. Tax Compliance Certificate”) and (2) properly completed and duly executed originals of IRS Form W-8BEN or IRS Form W-8BEN-E (as applicable, or any successor forms); or

 

to the extent a Foreign Lender is not the beneficial owner, properly completed and duly executed originals of IRS Form W-8IMY (or any successor forms), accompanied by any required IRS Form W-8ECI, IRS Form W-8BEN, IRS Form W-8BEN-E (as applicable, or any successor forms), the applicable U.S. Tax Compliance Certificate substantially in the form of Exhibit 2.16-2 or Exhibit 2.16-3, IRS Form W-9 (or any successor forms), and/or other certification documents from each beneficial owner, as applicable; provided that if the Foreign Lender is a partnership and one or more direct or indirect partners of such Foreign Lender are claiming the portfolio interest exemption, such Foreign Lender may provide a U.S. Tax Compliance Certificate substantially in the form of Exhibit 2.16-4 on behalf of each such direct and indirect partner;

 

(C)            any Foreign Lender shall, to the extent it is legally entitled to do so, deliver to the Borrower Representative and the Administrative Agent (in such number of copies as shall be requested by the recipient) on or prior to the date on which such Foreign Lender becomes a Lender under this Agreement (and from time to time thereafter upon the reasonable request of the Borrower Representative or Administrative Agent), executed originals of any other form prescribed by applicable law as a basis for claiming exemption from or a reduction in U.S. federal withholding Tax, duly completed, together with such supplementary documentation as may be prescribed by applicable law to permit Borrower Representative or Administrative Agent to determine the withholding or deduction required to be made; and

 

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(D)            if a payment made to a Lender under any Loan Document would be subject to U.S. federal withholding Tax imposed by FATCA if such Lender were to fail to comply with the applicable reporting requirements of FATCA (including those contained in Section 1471(b) or 1472(b) of the Code, as applicable), such Lender shall deliver to the Borrower Representative and the Administrative Agent at the time or times prescribed by law and at such time or times reasonably requested by the Borrower Representative or Administrative Agent such documentation prescribed by applicable law (including as prescribed by Section 1471(b)(3)(C)(i) of the Code) and such additional documentation reasonably requested by the Borrower Representative or Administrative Agent as may be necessary for the Borrower Representative and the Administrative Agent to comply with their obligations under FATCA and to determine that such Lender has complied with such Lender’s obligations under FATCA or to determine the amount to deduct and withhold from such payment. Solely for purposes of this clause (D), “FATCA” shall include any amendments made to FATCA after the date of this Agreement.

 

(iii)            The Administrative Agent shall assume primary withholding responsibility under Chapters 3 and 4 of Subtitle A of the Code and primary IRS Form 1099 and IRS Form 1042-S reporting and backup withholding responsibility with respect to payments it receives on account of any Lender. In furtherance of the foregoing, (A) if the Administrative Agent is a U.S. Person, it shall deliver to the Obligors two properly completed and duly executed copies of IRS Form W-9 certifying that it is exempt from federal backup withholding and (B) if the Administrative Agent is not a U.S. Person, it shall deliver to the Obligors two properly completed and duly executed copies of IRS Form W-8ECI or IRS Form W-8BEN-E, as applicable, with respect to fees received on its own behalf and, with respect to payments received on account of any Lender, two properly completed and duly executed copies of IRS Form W-8IMY certifying that the Administrative Agent is either (1) a “qualified intermediary” assuming primary withholding responsibility under Chapters 3 and 4 of Subtitle A of the Code and primary IRS Form 1099 reporting and backup withholding responsibility for payments it receives for the accounts of others, or (2) a “U.S. branch” and that the payments it receives for the account of others are not effectively connected with the conduct of a trade or business in the United States, and in the case of each of clauses (1) and (2), that the Administrative Agent is using such form as evidence of its agreement with the Obligors to be treated as a U.S. Person with respect to such payments (and the Obligors and the Administrative Agent agree to so treat the Administrative Agent as a U.S. Person with respect to such payments as contemplated by United States Treasury Regulations Section 1.1441- 1(b)(2)(iv)(A)), with the effect that the Obligors can make payments to the Administrative Agent without deduction or withholding of any Taxes imposed by the United States.

 

Each Lender and the Administrative Agent agrees that if any form or certification it previously delivered expires or becomes obsolete or inaccurate in any respect, it shall promptly update such form or certification or promptly notify the Borrower Representative and the Administrative Agent in writing of its legal inability to do so.

 

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(h)            Treatment of Certain Refunds. If any party determines, in its sole discretion exercised in good faith, that it has received a refund of any Taxes as to which it has been indemnified pursuant to this Section 2.16 (including by the payment of additional amounts pursuant to this Section 2.16), it shall pay to the indemnifying party an amount equal to such refund (but only to the extent of indemnity payments made under this Section with respect to the Taxes giving rise to such refund), net of all out-of-pocket expenses (including Taxes) of such indemnified party and without interest (other than any interest paid by the relevant Governmental Authority with respect to such refund). Such indemnifying party, upon the request of such indemnified party, shall repay to such indemnified party the amount paid over pursuant to this Section 2.16(h) (plus any penalties, interest or other charges imposed by the relevant Governmental Authority) in the event that such indemnified party is required to repay such refund to such Governmental Authority. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this Section 2.16(h), in no event will the indemnified party be required to pay any amount to an indemnifying party pursuant to this Section 2.16(h) the payment of which would place the indemnified party in a less favorable net after-Tax position than the indemnified party would have been in if the Tax subject to indemnification and giving rise to such refund had not been deducted, withheld or otherwise imposed and the indemnification payments or additional amounts with respect to such Tax had never been paid. This Section 2.16(h) shall not be construed to require any indemnified party to make available its Tax returns (or any other information relating to its Taxes that it deems confidential) to the indemnifying party or any other Person.

 

(i)            Survival. Each party’s obligations under this Section 2.16 shall survive the resignation or replacement of Administrative Agent or any assignment of rights by, or the replacement of, a Lender, the expiration or cancellation of all Letters of Credit, the termination of the Commitments and the repayment, satisfaction or discharge of all obligations under any Loan Document.

 

2.17        Payments Generally; Pro Rata Treatment; Sharing of Set-offs.

 

(a)            Payments by the Obligors. Each Obligor shall make each payment required to be made by it hereunder (whether of principal, interest, fees or reimbursement of LC Disbursements, or under Section 10.3 or otherwise) or under any other Loan Document (except to the extent otherwise provided therein) prior to 2:00 p.m. on the date when due, in immediately available funds, without counterclaim, set-off, or other deduction or condition. Any amounts received after such time on any date may, in the discretion of Administrative Agent, be deemed to have been received on the next succeeding Business Day for purposes of calculating interest thereon. All such payments shall be made to the Administrative Agent, for the account of the respective Lenders to which such payment is owed, at such account as Administrative Agent may designate to the Borrower Representative in writing from time to time, except (i) as otherwise expressly provided in the relevant Loan Document, (ii) payments to be made directly to the Issuing Lender or Swingline Lender as expressly provided herein, and (iii) that payments pursuant to Sections 2.14, 2.15, 2.16 and 10.3 shall be made directly to the Persons entitled thereto. Administrative Agent shall distribute any such payments received by it for the account of any other Person to the appropriate recipient promptly following receipt thereof in like funds as received by wire transfer to such Lender’s lending office as specified in its Administrative Questionnaire or such other office as notified in writing by such Lender to the Administrative Agent. If any payment hereunder shall be due on a day that is not a Business Day, the date for payment shall be extended to the next succeeding Business Day and, in the case of any payment accruing interest, interest thereon shall be payable for the period of such extension. All payments hereunder or under any other Loan Document shall be made in Dollars.

 

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

 

(c)            Pro Rata Treatment. Except to the extent otherwise provided herein: (i) each Borrowing of, or conversions of, Loans in a particular Class shall be allocated pro rata among the relevant Lenders according to the amounts of their respective Commitments of such Class (in the case of the making of Loans) or their respective unpaid principal amounts of Loans of such Class (in the case of conversions and continuations of Loans); (ii) each payment of commitment fees under Section 2.11 in respect of Revolving Credit Commitments and each payment of Letter of Credit participation fees under Section 2.11 shall be made for account of the relevant Revolving Credit Lenders, pro rata according to the amounts of their respective Revolving Credit Commitments and their respective LC Exposure, respectively, (iii) each termination or reduction of the amount of the Commitments of a particular Class under Section 2.8 shall be applied to the respective Commitments of such Class of the relevant Lenders, pro rata according to the amounts of their respective Commitments of such Class; (iv) each payment or prepayment of principal of Loans of any Class by the Borrowers, shall be made for account of the relevant Lenders pro rata in accordance with the respective unpaid principal amounts of the Loans of such Class held by them; and (v) each payment of interest on Loans of any Class by the Borrowers shall be made for account of the relevant Lenders pro rata in accordance with the amounts of interest on the Loans of such Class then due and payable to the respective Lenders.

 

(d)            Sharing of Payments by Lenders. If any Lender shall, by exercising any right of set-off or counterclaim or otherwise, obtain payment in respect of any principal of or interest on any of its Loans or participations in LC Disbursements or Swingline Loans in excess of its ratable share of the aggregate amount of outstanding Loans and participations in LC Disbursements and Swingline Loans and accrued interest thereon, then such Lender shall notify Administrative Agent of such fact and shall purchase (for cash at face value) participations in the Loans and participations in LC Disbursements and Swingline Loans of other Lenders to the extent necessary so that the benefit of all such payments shall be shared by the Lenders ratably in accordance with the aggregate amount of principal of and accrued interest on their respective Loans and participations in LC Disbursements and Swingline Loans; provided that (i) if any such participations are purchased and all or any portion of the payment giving rise thereto is recovered, such participations shall be rescinded and the purchase price restored to the extent of such recovery, without interest, and (ii) the provisions of this Section 2.17(d) shall not be construed to apply to any payment made by any Obligor pursuant to and in accordance with the express terms of this Agreement (including the application of funds arising from the existence of Defaulting Lender) or any payment obtained by a Lender as consideration for the assignment of or sale of a participation in any of its Loans or participations in LC Disbursements or Swingline Loans to any assignee or participant, other than to the Borrowers or any Subsidiary or Affiliate thereof (as to which the provisions of this Section 2.17(d) shall apply). Each Obligor consents to the foregoing and agrees, to the extent it may effectively do so under applicable law, that any Lender acquiring a participation pursuant to the foregoing arrangements may exercise against such Obligor rights of set-off and counterclaim with respect to such participation as fully as if such Lender were a direct creditor of such Obligor in the amount of such participation.

 

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(e)            Presumptions of Payment. Unless Administrative Agent shall have received notice from the Borrower Representative prior to the date on which any payment is due to the Administrative Agent for the account of the Lenders or Issuing Lender hereunder that the Borrowers will not make such payment, Administrative Agent may assume that the Borrowers have made such payment on such date in accordance herewith and may, in reliance upon such assumption but without any obligation to do so, distribute to the Lenders or Issuing Lender, as the case may be, the amount due. In such event, if the Borrowers have not in fact made such payment, then each of the Lenders or Issuing Lender, as the case may be, severally agrees to repay to the Administrative Agent forthwith on demand the amount so distributed to such Lender or Issuing Lender with interest thereon, for each day from and including the date such amount is distributed to it to but excluding the date of payment to the Administrative Agent, for the first five Business Days at the greater of the Federal Funds Effective Rate and a rate determined by Administrative Agent in accordance with banking industry rules on interbank compensation and thereafter at the Base Rate. A notice of Administrative Agent to any Lender or the Borrowers with respect to any amount owing under this Section 2.17(e) shall be conclusive, absent manifest error.

 

(f)            Certain Deductions by Administrative Agent. If any Lender shall fail to make any payment required to be made by it pursuant to this Agreement (including Sections 2.4, 2.5(e), 2.5(f), 2.6(b) and 2.17(e)), then Administrative Agent may, in its discretion (notwithstanding any contrary provision hereof), apply any amounts thereafter received by Administrative Agent for the account of such Lender to satisfy such Lender’s obligations under such Sections until all such unsatisfied obligations are fully paid.

 

(g)            Return of Proceeds. If at any time payment, in whole or in part, of any amount distributed by Administrative Agent hereunder is rescinded or must otherwise be restored or returned by Administrative Agent as a preference, fraudulent conveyance, or otherwise under any Debtor Relief Law, then each Person receiving any portion of such amount agrees, upon demand, to return the portion of such amount it has received to the Administrative Agent together with a pro rata portion of any interest paid by or other charges imposed on Administrative Agent in connection with such rescinded or restored payment.

 

2.18        Mitigation Obligations; Replacement of Lenders.

 

(a)            Designation of a Different Lending Office. If any Lender requests compensation under Section 2.14 or 2.16, or if the Borrowers are required to pay any Indemnified Taxes or additional amounts to any Lender or any Governmental Authority for the account of any Lender pursuant to Section 2.14 or 2.16, or if any Lender gives a notice pursuant to Section 2.13(b) suspending its obligation to make or continue Eurodollar Loans or to convert Base Rate Loans to Eurodollar Loans (a “Eurodollar Illegality Notice”), then such Lender shall use reasonable efforts to designate a different lending office for funding or booking its Loans hereunder or to assign its rights and obligations hereunder to another of its offices, branches or Affiliates, if, in the reasonable judgment of such Lender, such designation or assignment (i) would eliminate or reduce amounts payable pursuant to Section 2.14 or 2.16, or eliminate the need for the notice pursuant to Section 2.13(b), as the case may be, in the future and (ii) would not subject such Lender to any unreimbursed cost or expense and would not otherwise be materially disadvantageous to such Lender. The Borrowers hereby agree to pay all reasonable out-of-pocket costs and expenses incurred by any Lender in connection with any such designation or assignment.

 

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(b)            Replacement of Lenders. If any Lender requests compensation under Section 2.14 or 2.16, if the Borrowers are required to pay any Indemnified Taxes or additional amount to any Lender or any Governmental Authority for the account of any Lender pursuant to Section 2.14 or 2.16, or if a Lender provides a Eurodollar Illegality Notice and, in each case, such Lender has declined or is unable to designate a different lending office in accordance with Section 2.18(a), or if any Lender is a Defaulting Lender, a Non-Consenting Lender or a Lender who has refused to consent to an Extension Amendment, then the Borrowers may, at Borrowers’ sole expense and effort, upon notice to such Lender and the Administrative Agent, (x) require such Lender to assign and delegate, without recourse (in accordance with and subject to the restrictions contained in, and consents required by, Section 10.4), all its interests, rights (other than its existing rights to payments pursuant to Section 2.14 or 2.16) and obligations under this Agreement and the other Loan Documents to an Eligible Assignee that shall assume such obligations (which assignee may be another Lender, if a Lender accepts such assignment); provided that (i) the Borrowers shall have paid to the Administrative Agent the assignment fee (if any) specified in Section 10.4, (ii) such Lender shall have received payment of an amount equal to the outstanding principal of its Loans and participations in LC Disbursements and Swingline Loans, accrued interest thereon, accrued fees and all other amounts payable to it hereunder and under the other Loan Documents (including any amounts under Section 2.15), from the assignee (to the extent of such outstanding principal and accrued interest and fees) or the Borrowers (in the case of all other amounts), (iii) in the case of any such assignment resulting from a claim for compensation under Section 2.14 or payments required to be made pursuant to Section 2.16, such assignment will result in a reduction in such compensation or payments thereafter, (iv) in the case of any such assignment resulting from a Lender’s delivery of a Eurodollar Illegality Notice, such assignee will not be entitled to deliver a Eurodollar Illegality Notice under Section 2.13(b), (v) such assignment does not conflict with applicable law, and (vi) in the case of any assignment resulting from a Lender becoming a Non-Consenting Lender, the applicable assignee shall have consented to the applicable amendment, waiver or consent or (y) make payments and reduce Commitments on a non-pro rata basis. Each Lender agrees that if the Borrowers exercise their option hereunder, they shall promptly execute and deliver all agreements and documentation necessary to effectuate such assignment as set forth in Section 10.4. If such Lender shall refuse or fail to execute and deliver any such Assignment and Assumption prior to the effective date of such replacement as notified by Administrative Agent, such Lender shall be deemed to have executed and delivered such Assignment and Assumption, and shall no longer be a Lender hereunder upon the payment to such Lender of an amount equal to the aggregate amount of outstanding Obligations (other than Bank Product Obligations) owed to such Lender in accordance with the wire transfer instructions for such Lender on file with Administrative Agent. A Lender shall not be required to make any such assignment and delegation if, prior thereto, as a result of a waiver by such Lender or otherwise, the circumstances entitling the Borrowers to require such assignment and delegation cease to apply.

 

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2.19        Increases of the Revolving Credit Commitments; Adjustments to Revolving Credit Commitments; Incremental Term Loans.

 

(a)            Following the Effective Date, Obligors may from time to time through the Revolving Credit Maturity Date in case of any Incremental Revolving Credit Commitment (as defined below) or the Term Loan Maturity Date in the case of any Incremental Term Loans (as defined below), (i) propose to increase the aggregate amount of the Revolving Credit Commitments (each, an “Incremental Revolving Credit Commitment”) in accordance with this Section by delivering a Notice of Incremental Revolving Credit Commitment to the Administrative Agent substantially in the form of Exhibit 2.19-1 (a “Notice of Incremental Revolving Credit Commitment”), and (ii) propose that one or more additional term loans (including delayed drawn term loans) be made to it in accordance with this Section (each, an “Incremental Term Loan”; together with any Incremental Revolving Credit Commitment, each an “Incremental Commitment”) by delivering a Notice of Incremental Term Loan Borrowing to the Administrative Agent substantially in the form of Exhibit 2.19-2 (a “Notice of Incremental Term Loan Borrowing”; together with any Notice of Incremental Revolving Credit Commitment, each individually an “Incremental Facility Notice”), specifying in each case (subject to the restrictions set forth in Section 2.19(b)) therein (A) the amount of the Incremental Commitments requested, (B) the requested advance date of the proposed Incremental Commitments, (C) the interest rate to be applicable to any Tranche of Incremental Term Loans included in such Incremental Commitments, (D) the amortization for all Incremental Term Loans, if applicable, and (E) the amount of any upfront or closing fees to be paid by the Borrowers to the Lenders and/or Additional Lenders funding such Incremental Commitments requested. In connection with each requested Incremental Commitment, (1) in the case of an Incremental Revolving Credit Commitment, (A) any outstanding Revolving Credit Loans shall be held by the Lenders and Additional Lenders that are Revolving Credit Lenders on a ratable basis after giving effect to such increase, (B) each such Incremental Revolving Credit Commitment shall have the same terms and be made pursuant to the same documentation as the Revolving Credit Facility (other than in respect of any fees payable) and (C) no Sponsor-Controlled Affiliated Lender shall provide any Incremental Revolving Loan Commitment (or any other Revolving Credit Commitment) and if any Sponsor Controlled Affiliated Lender provides any Incremental Term Loans it shall be subject to the same limitations and restrictions set forth in Section 10.4(g) as if such Sponsor Controlled Affiliated Lender were purchasing Term Loans by assignment, (2) the final maturity date of any Incremental Revolving Credit Commitments shall be no earlier than the Revolving Credit Maturity Date, (3) the final maturity date and amortization schedule for any Incremental Term Loan may be determined by the Borrowers and the Lenders and/or Additional Lenders, as applicable, providing such Incremental Term Loan; provided that, except in the case of a customary bridge facility, the terms of which automatically convert into terms that comply with this proviso within one (1) year of issuance of such bridge facility, the final maturity date of any Incremental Term Loans shall be no earlier than the Term Loan Maturity Date and the Weighted Average Life to Maturity of any Tranche of Incremental Term Loans shall be no shorter than the remaining Weighted Average Life to Maturity of the Term Loans outstanding prior to the advance of such Tranche, (4) the interest rate, margin, original issue discount, up-front fees and other fees and rate floors for such Incremental Term Loan may be determined by the Borrowers and the Lenders and/or Additional Lenders, as applicable, providing such Incremental Term Loan; provided that, in the event that the All-in Yield for any such Incremental Term Loan that ranks pari passu in right of payment and security with the existing Term Loans (other than in reliance on Section 2.19(b)(i)) is greater than the All-in Yield for the existing Term Loans by more than 50 basis points, then the Applicable Margin for the existing Term Loans shall be increased to the extent necessary so that the All-in Yield for such Incremental Term Loan is no more than 50 basis points higher than the All-in Yield for the existing Term Loans; provided that, in the event that the All-In Yield for such Incremental Term Loan is higher than the All-In Yield for the existing Term Loans solely as a result of a higher rate floor for such Incremental Term Loan, the adjustment to the All-In Yield of the existing Term Loans shall be effected solely by increasing the rate floor, (5) any Incremental Term Loans that are secured by the Collateral on a junior basis to the Initial Term Loans or that are unsecured or secured by assets that are not Collateral shall be set forth in documentation that is separate from the Loan Documents and if secured by Collateral shall be subject to an Intercreditor Agreement or other subordination arrangements reasonably satisfactory to the Administrative Agent, (6) any Incremental Commitments or Incremental Term Loans shall not at any time be guaranteed by any Person other than the Guarantors and shall not be secured by a Lien on any property that does not constitute Collateral, (7) (a) any Incremental Revolving Credit Commitment will provide for the ability to permanently repay and terminate such Incremental Revolving Credit Commitment on a pro rata basis with the existing Revolving Credit Commitments and (b) any Incremental Term Loan may provide for participation (x) on a pro rata basis, greater than a pro rata basis, or less than pro rata basis in any voluntary prepayments with respect to its Class of Term Loans, or (y) with respect to any Incremental Term Loans secured by the Collateral on the pari passu basis with the Initial Term Loans, on a pro rata basis or less than pro rata basis in any mandatory prepayments with all Term Loans, but no Incremental Term Loan shall share more favorably than ratably in any mandatory prepayments of the Term Loans and (8) the other terms and documentation in respect of any Incremental Term Loan, to the extent inconsistent with the terms and documentation with respect to the existing Term Loan, shall be determined by the Borrowers and shall, at the option of the Borrowers, (a) reflect current market terms and conditions (taken as a whole) at the time of incurrence or issuance (as reasonably determined by the Borrowers), (b) be consistent with the terms of the corresponding Class of Term Loans unless, in the case of this clause (b), (x) the Lenders under the corresponding Class of Term Loans also receive the benefit of such more restrictive terms or (y) any such provisions apply only after the maturity date of the relevant Class of Term Loans, or (c) not be materially more restrictive to the Borrowers, when taken as a whole, than the terms of the applicable Class of Term Loans (as reasonably determined by the Borrowers). Notwithstanding the foregoing, no Incremental Commitment shall become effective unless, subject to the Limited Condition Transaction Provision to the extent acceptable to the Lenders and Additional Lenders providing the relevant Incremental Commitment in connection with a Limited Condition Transaction, (i) no Event of Default then exists or would be caused thereby and (ii) the condition to a Borrowing in Section 4.2(a) is satisfied; provided that, in the case of an Incremental Commitment being used to consummate a Limited Condition Transaction, at the Borrowers’ election, to the extent acceptable to the Lenders and/or Additional Lenders providing the relevant Incremental Commitment, the only representations and warranties that will be required to be true and correct in all material respects will be the Specified Representations (conformed as necessary for such acquisition) and such of the representations made by or on behalf of the applicable target, its affiliates, its subsidiaries or their respective businesses in the acquisition agreement governing such Limited Condition Transaction as are material to the interests of the Lenders, but only to the extent that a Company has the right to terminate its obligations under such acquisition agreement or to decline to consummate such Limited Condition Transaction as a result of a breach of such representations in the acquisition agreement.

 

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(b)            The aggregate principal amount of all Incremental Commitments made pursuant to this Section, shall not exceed (i) the greater of (x) $30,000,000 and (y) 100% of Consolidated EBITDA (determined at the time of incurrence as of the last day of the most recently ended four Fiscal Quarter period for which financial statements have been delivered pursuant to Section 5.1(a) or (b)), minus any amount of Incremental Equivalent Debt and Ratio Debt incurred in reliance on this clause (i), plus (ii) an amount that, subject to the Limited Condition Transaction Provision, after giving effect thereto (and after giving effect to any acquisition consummated concurrently therewith and all other pro forma adjustment events, assuming that the entire amount of any Incremental Revolving Credit Commitments that are then being incurred has been borrowed (it being agreed that such test shall only be required on the date such Incremental Revolving Credit Commitments are provided), and excluding for purposes of computing the Consolidated First Lien Net Leverage Ratio, Consolidated Secured Net Leverage Ratio, or Consolidated Net Leverage Ratio, as applicable, any netting of the cash proceeds of any Incremental Term Loans or Revolving Credit Loans made thereunder), would cause (A) with respect to any Incremental Commitments secured on a pari passu basis with the Obligations, the Consolidated First Lien Net Leverage Ratio to be greater than 4.50 to 1.00, (B) with respect to any Incremental Commitments secured on a junior basis to the Obligations, the Consolidated Senior Net Leverage Ratio to be greater than 5.00 to 1.00 or (z) with respect to any Incremental Commitments that are unsecured on secured by assets not constituting Collateral, the Consolidated Net Leverage Ratio to be greater than 5.25 to 1.00, in each case, on a pro forma basis as of the last day of the immediately preceding Fiscal Quarter for which financial statements have been delivered to the Administrative Agent pursuant to Section 5.1(a) or 5.1(b), plus (iii) the amount of all voluntary prepayments of Term Loans and Revolving Credit Loans (including pursuant to buybacks and open market purchases in the amount actually paid in cash) actually paid and not funded with the proceeds of long-term Indebtedness of any Obligor (and in the case of Revolving Credit Loans, accompanied by a permanent reduction of the Revolving Credit Commitments), plus (iv) any payments made to any Term Loan Lender that is replaced pursuant to Section 2.18(b) as a result of its refusal to consent to an amendment or other modification, but solely to the extent the applicable Term Loans are retired and not assigned (the amount of the foregoing clause (i) through (iii), the “Incremental Amount”); provided that, each Incremental Commitment must be at least $1,000,000 and in integral multiples of $1,000,000 in excess thereof (provided that such amounts may be less if representing all remaining availability under the limit set forth above); provided further that, the amount of any Incremental Commitments incurred in reliance on the foregoing clause (i) and (iii) shall be automatically reclassified as incurred under the foregoing clause (ii) from time to time if the Borrowers meet the applicable requirements set forth on a pro forma basis. Borrowers shall provide at least three (3) days’ (or such shorter period as Administrative Agent shall agree) notice to Administrative Agent (which shall promptly provide a copy of such notice to the Lenders, as applicable) of any requested Incremental Commitment.

 

(c)            Administrative Agent shall deliver a copy of each Incremental Facility Notice to such Lenders or other Persons that qualify as an Eligible Assignee as may be determined by Administrative Agent in its reasonable discretion with the approval of the Borrower Representative or as may be specified by the Borrower Representative with the consent (not to be unreasonably withheld or delayed) of Administrative Agent. No Lender shall have any obligation to increase its Revolving Credit Commitment or fund any Incremental Term Loan, and any decision by a Lender to increase its Revolving Credit Commitment or fund any Incremental Term Loan shall be made in its sole discretion independently from any other Lender.

 

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(d)            The Incremental Facility Notice delivered by the Borrower Representative may specify a date prior to which any commitments must be received. If prior to such specified date (if any) Administrative Agent receives commitments from Lenders and/or from any other Person that (i) qualifies as an Eligible Assignee and is reasonably acceptable to the Borrower Representative and the Administrative Agent and (ii) has agreed to become a Lender in respect of all or a portion of the Incremental Commitment (an “Additional Lender”), in excess of the requested Incremental Commitment, Administrative Agent shall have the right, in its sole discretion but with the consent of the Borrower Representative, to reduce and reallocate (within the minimum and maximum amounts specified by each such Lender or Additional Lender in its notice to the Administrative Agent) the shares of the Incremental Commitment of the Lenders or Additional Lenders willing to fund (or commit to fund) such Incremental Commitment so that the total committed Incremental Commitment equals the requested Incremental Commitment. If as of such specified date (if any) Administrative Agent has not received commitments from Lenders (and/or Additional Lenders) in an amount sufficient to fund the requested Incremental Commitment, Administrative Agent shall so notify the Borrower Representative and the request for Incremental Commitment shall be deemed automatically rescinded; provided the Borrower Representative may submit a replacement Incremental Facility Notice setting forth different terms for the requested Incremental Commitment.

 

(e)            An increase in the aggregate amount of the Lenders’ Revolving Credit Commitments or an agreement to fund Incremental Term Loans, pursuant to this Section shall become effective upon the receipt by Administrative Agent of an agreement (an “Incremental Amendment”) in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to the Administrative Agent and the Borrower Representative, signed by each Obligor, by each Additional Lender and by each existing Lender whose Revolving Credit Commitment is to be increased or who has agreed to fund such Incremental Term Loans, setting forth the new Pro Rata Share, Revolving Credit Commitment and/or Incremental Term Loans of such Lenders and setting forth the agreement of each Additional Lender to become a party to this Agreement as a Lender and to be bound by all the terms and provisions hereof, together with customary officer’s certificates and ratification agreements executed by each Obligor and such evidence of appropriate corporate authorization on the part of each Obligor with respect to the requested Incremental Commitment, updates or endorsements to policies of title insurance (to the extent available at a commercially reasonable cost), flood hazard determination certificates (and, if applicable, evidence of flood insurance) with respect to each parcel of Mortgaged Property, the results of lien searches from applicable jurisdictions and such customary opinions of counsel for the Obligors with respect to the requested Incremental Commitment and other assurances as Administrative Agent may reasonably request. The Incremental Amendment may, without the consent of any other Lender or Issuing Lender, effect such amendments to this Agreement and the other Loan Documents as may be necessary or appropriate, in the reasonable opinion of Administrative Agent and the Borrower Representative, to effect the provisions of this Section 2.19. If, after giving effect to any Incremental Commitment, the outstanding Revolving Credit Loans would not be held pro rata in accordance with the new Commitments, the Revolving Credit Lenders (including, without limitation, any Additional Lenders) shall, on the effective date of the applicable Incremental Commitment, make advances among themselves so that after giving effect thereto the Revolving Credit Loans will be held by the Revolving Credit Lenders (including, without limitation, any Additional Lenders), on a pro rata basis in accordance with their respective Revolving Credit Commitments hereunder (after giving effect to the applicable Incremental Commitment). Each Revolving Credit Lender agrees to wire immediately available funds to the Administrative Agent in accordance with this Agreement as may be required by Administrative Agent in connection with the foregoing.

 

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(f)            This Section 2.19 shall supersede any provisions in this Agreement, including Section 10.2(b).

 

2.20       Cash Collateral.

 

(a)            Certain Credit Support Events. At any time that there shall exist a Defaulting Lender, within one Business Day following the written request of Administrative Agent or any Issuing Lender (with a copy to the Administrative Agent), the Borrowers shall Cash Collateralize Issuing Lender’s Fronting Exposure with respect to such Defaulting Lender (determined after giving effect to Section 2.21(a)(iv) and any Cash Collateral provided by such Defaulting Lender) in an amount not less than the Minimum Collateral Amount.

 

(b)            Grant of Security Interest. The Borrowers, and to the extent provided by any Defaulting Lender, such Defaulting Lender, hereby grant to the Administrative Agent, for the benefit of Issuing Lender, and agree to maintain, a first priority security interest in all such Cash Collateral as security for the Defaulting Lenders’ obligation to fund participations in respect of LC Exposure, to be applied pursuant to Section 2.20(c). If at any time Administrative Agent determines that Cash Collateral is subject to any right or claim of any Person other than Administrative Agent and Issuing Lender as herein provided or that the total amount of such Cash Collateral is less than the Minimum Collateral Amount, the Borrowers shall, promptly upon demand by Administrative Agent, pay or provide to the Administrative Agent additional Cash Collateral in an amount sufficient to eliminate such deficiency (after giving effect to any Cash Collateral provided by the Defaulting Lender).

 

(c)            Application. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in this Agreement, Cash Collateral provided under Section 2.20 or 2.21 in respect of Letters of Credit shall be applied to the satisfaction of the Defaulting Lender’s obligation to fund participations in respect of Letters of Credit (including, as to Cash Collateral provided by a Defaulting Lender, any interest accrued on such obligation) for which the Cash Collateral was so provided prior to any other application of such property as may otherwise be provided for herein.

 

(d)            Termination of Requirement. Cash Collateral (or the appropriate portion thereof) provided to reduce any Issuing Lender’s Fronting Exposure shall no longer be required to be held as Cash Collateral pursuant to this Section 2.20 following (i) the elimination of the applicable Fronting Exposure (including by replacement of the Defaulting Lender pursuant to Section 2.18 or the termination of Defaulting Lender status of the applicable Lender), or (ii) the determination by Administrative Agent and each Issuing Lender that there exists excess Cash Collateral; provided that, subject to Section 2.21, the Person providing Cash Collateral and each Issuing Lender may agree that Cash Collateral shall be held to support future anticipated Fronting Exposure or other obligations and provided, further, that to the extent that such Cash Collateral was provided by the Borrowers, such Cash Collateral shall remain subject to the security interest granted pursuant to the Loan Documents.

 

2.21            Defaulting Lenders.

 

(a)            Defaulting Lender Adjustments. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in this Agreement, if any Lender becomes a Defaulting Lender, then, until such time as such Lender is no longer a Defaulting Lender, to the extent permitted by applicable law:

 

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(i)            Waivers and Amendments. Such Defaulting Lender’s right to approve or disapprove any amendment, waiver or consent with respect to this Agreement shall be restricted as set forth in the definition of Required Lenders, Required Revolving Lenders and Required Facility Lenders, as applicable.

 

(ii)            Defaulting Lender Waterfall. Any payment of principal, interest, fees or other amounts received by Administrative Agent for the account of such Defaulting Lender (whether voluntary or mandatory, at maturity, pursuant to Section 8 or otherwise) or received by Administrative Agent from a Defaulting Lender pursuant to Section 10.8 shall be applied at such time or times as may be determined by Administrative Agent as follows: FIRST, to the payment of any amounts owing by such Defaulting Lender to the Administrative Agent hereunder; SECOND, to the payment on a pro rata basis of any amounts owing by such Defaulting Lender to any Issuing Lender or Swingline Lender hereunder; THIRD, to Cash Collateralize Issuing Lender’s Fronting Exposure with respect to such Defaulting Lender in accordance with Section 2.20; FOURTH, as the Borrower Representative may request (so long as no Default or Event of Default exists), to the funding of any Loan in respect of which such Defaulting Lender has failed to fund its portion thereof as required by this Agreement, as determined by Administrative Agent; FIFTH, if so determined by Administrative Agent and the Borrower Representative, to be held in a Deposit Account controlled by Administrative Agent and released pro rata in order to (y) satisfy such Defaulting Lender’s potential future funding obligations with respect to Revolving Credit Loans under this Agreement and (z) Cash Collateralize Issuing Lender’s future Fronting Exposure with respect to such Defaulting Lender with respect to future Letters of Credit issued under this Agreement, in accordance with Section 2.20; SIXTH, to the payment of any amounts owing to the Lenders, Issuing Lender or Swingline Lender as a result of any judgment of a court of competent jurisdiction obtained by any Lender, Issuing Lender or Swingline Lender against such Defaulting Lender as a result of such Defaulting Lender’s breach of its obligations under this Agreement; SEVENTH, so long as no Default or Event of Default exists, to the payment of any amounts owing to the Borrowers as a result of any judgment of a court of competent jurisdiction obtained by the Borrowers against such Defaulting Lender as a result of such Defaulting Lender’s breach of its obligations under this Agreement; and EIGHTH, to such Defaulting Lender or as otherwise directed by a court of competent jurisdiction; provided that if (y) such payment is a payment of the principal amount of any Loans or LC Disbursements in respect of which such Defaulting Lender has not fully funded its appropriate share, and (z) such Loans were made or the related Letters of Credit and Swingline Loans were issued at a time when the conditions set forth in Section 4.2 were satisfied or waived, such payment shall be applied solely to pay the Loans of, and LC Disbursements owed to, all Non-Defaulting Lenders on a pro rata basis prior to being applied to the payment of any Loans of, or LC Disbursements owed to, such Defaulting Lender until such time as all Loans and funded and unfunded participations in Letters of Credit are held by the Lenders pro rata in accordance with their respective Commitments without giving effect to Section 2.21(a)(iv). Any payments, prepayments or other amounts paid or payable to a Defaulting Lender that are applied (or held) to pay amounts owed by a Defaulting Lender or to post Cash Collateral pursuant to this Section 2.21(a)(ii) shall be deemed paid to and redirected by such Defaulting Lender, and each Lender irrevocably consents hereto.

 

(iii)          Certain Fees.

 

(A)            No Defaulting Lender shall be entitled to receive any commitment fee pursuant to Section 2.11(a) for any period during which that Lender is a Defaulting Lender (and the Borrowers shall not be required to pay any such fee that otherwise would have been required to have been paid to that Defaulting Lender).

 

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(B)            Each Defaulting Lender shall be entitled to receive fees pursuant to Section 2.11(b)(i) for any period during which that Lender is a Defaulting Lender only to the extent allocable to its Pro Rata Share of the stated amount of Letters of Credit for which it has provided Cash Collateral pursuant to Section 2.20.

 

(C)            With respect to any fee not required to be paid to any Defaulting Lender pursuant to Section 2.21(a)(iii)(A) or 2.21(a)(iii)(B), the Borrowers shall (i) pay to each Non-Defaulting Lender that portion of any such fee otherwise payable to such Defaulting Lender with respect to such Defaulting Lender’s participation in Letters of Credit or Swingline Loans that has been reallocated to such Non-Defaulting Lender pursuant to Section 2.21(a)(iv), (ii) pay to each Issuing Lender and Swingline Loans, as applicable, the amount of any such fee otherwise payable to such Defaulting Lender to the extent allocable to such Issuing Lender’s or Swingline Lender’s Fronting Exposure to such Defaulting Lender, and (iii) not be required to pay the remaining amount of any such fee.

 

(D)            No Defaulting Lender shall be entitled to receive any default interest pursuant to Section 2.21(c).

 

(iv)          Reallocation of Participations to Reduce Fronting Exposure. All or any part of such Defaulting Lender’s participation in Letters of Credit and Swingline Loans shall be reallocated among the Non-Defaulting Lenders in accordance with their respective Pro Rata Shares (calculated without regard to such Defaulting Lender’s Revolving Credit Commitment) but only to the extent that (A) no Event of Default exists at the time of such reallocation (and, unless the Borrower Representative shall have otherwise notified Administrative Agent at such time, the Borrowers shall be deemed to have represented and warranted that such condition is satisfied at such time), and (B) such reallocation does not cause the aggregate Revolving Credit Exposure of any Non-Defaulting Lender to exceed such Non-Defaulting Lender’s Revolving Credit Commitment. Subject to Section 10.20, no reallocation hereunder shall constitute a waiver or release of any claim of any party hereunder against a Defaulting Lender arising from that Lender having become a Defaulting Lender, including any claim of a Non-Defaulting Lender as a result of such Non-Defaulting Lender’s increased exposure following such reallocation.

 

(v)           Cash Collateral, Repayment of Swingline Loans. If the reallocation described in Section 2.21(a)(iv) cannot, or can only partially, be effected, the Borrowers shall, without prejudice to any right or remedy available to it hereunder or under law, FIRST, prepay Swingline Loans in an amount equal to Swingline Lender’s Fronting Exposure and SECOND, Cash Collateralize Issuing Lender’s Fronting Exposure in accordance with the procedures set forth in Section 2.20.

 

(b)            Defaulting Lender Cure. If the Borrower Representative, Administrative Agent, Swingline Lender, and Issuing Lender agree in writing that a Lender is no longer a Defaulting Lender, Administrative Agent will so notify the parties hereto, whereupon as of the effective date specified in such notice and subject to any conditions set forth therein (which may include arrangements with respect to any Cash Collateral), that Lender will, to the extent applicable, purchase at par that portion of outstanding Revolving Credit Loans of the other Lenders or take such other actions as Administrative Agent may determine to be necessary to cause the Revolving Credit Loans and funded and unfunded participations in Letters of Credit and Swingline Loans to be held pro rata by the Revolving Credit Lenders in accordance with the Revolving Credit Commitments (without giving effect to Section 2.21(a)(iv)), and reimburse each such Revolving Credit Lender for any costs of the type described in Section 2.15 incurred by any Revolving Credit Lender as a result of such purchase, whereupon such Lender will cease to be a Defaulting Lender; provided that no adjustments will be made retroactively with respect to fees accrued or payments made by or on behalf of the Borrowers while that Lender was a Defaulting Lender; and provided, further, that except to the extent otherwise expressly agreed by the affected parties, no change hereunder from Defaulting Lender to Lender will constitute a waiver or release of any claim of any party hereunder arising from that Lender’s having been a Defaulting Lender.

 

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(c)            New Swingline Loans/Letters of Credit. So long as any Lender is a Defaulting Lender, (i) Swingline Lender shall not be required to fund any Swingline Loans unless it is satisfied that it will have no Fronting Exposure after giving effect to such Swingline Loan and (ii) no Issuing Lender shall be required to issue, extend, renew or increase any Letter of Credit unless it is satisfied that it will have no Fronting Exposure after giving effect thereto.

 

2.22        Refinancing Amendments.

 

(a)            On one or more occasions after the Effective Date, the Obligors may obtain, from any Lender, Credit Agreement Refinancing Indebtedness in respect of all or any portion of the Term Loans and the Revolving Credit Loans (or unused Revolving Credit Commitments) then outstanding under this Agreement (which for purposes of this Section 2.22(a) will be deemed to include any then outstanding Refinancing Term Loans or Incremental Term Loans), in the form of Refinancing Term Loans, Refinancing Term Commitments, Refinancing Revolving Credit Commitments or Refinancing Revolving Credit Loans pursuant to a Refinancing Amendment; provided that notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this Section 2.22 or otherwise, (i) the borrowing and repayment (except for (A) payments of interest and fees at different rates on Refinancing Revolving Credit Commitments (and related outstandings), (B) repayments required upon the maturity date of the Refinancing Revolving Credit Commitments and (C) repayment made in connection with a permanent repayment and termination of commitments (subject to clause (iii) below)) of Loans with respect to Refinancing Revolving Credit Commitments after the date of obtaining any Refinancing Revolving Credit Commitments shall be made on a pro rata basis with all other Revolving Credit Commitments, (ii) subject to the provisions of Sections 2.4(e) and 2.5(s) to the extent dealing with Swing Line Loans and Letters of Credit which mature or expire after a maturity date when there exist Extended Revolving Credit Commitments with a longer maturity date, all Swing Line Loans and Letters of Credit shall be participated on a pro rata basis by all Lenders with Commitments in accordance with their percentage of the Revolving Credit Commitments (and except as provided in Sections 2.4(e) and 2.5(s), without giving effect to changes thereto on an earlier maturity date with respect to Swing Line Loans and Letters of Credit theretofore incurred or issued), (iii) the permanent repayment of Revolving Credit Loans with respect to, and termination of, Refinancing Revolving Credit Commitments after the date of obtaining any Refinancing Revolving Credit Commitments shall be made on a pro rata basis with all other Revolving Credit Commitments, except that the Obligors shall be permitted to permanently repay and terminate commitments of any such Class on a better than a pro rata basis as compared to any other Class with a later maturity date than such Class and (iv) assignments and participations of Refinancing Revolving Credit Commitments and Refinancing Revolving Credit Loans shall be governed by the same assignment and participation provisions applicable to Revolving Credit Commitments and Revolving Credit Loans.

 

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(b)            Each issuance of Credit Agreement Refinancing Indebtedness under this Section 2.22 shall be in an aggregate principal amount that is (x) not less than $1,000,000 (unless otherwise agreed by Administrative Agent) and (y) an integral multiple of $1,000,000 in excess thereof.

 

(c)            Each of the parties hereto hereby agrees that this Agreement and the other Loan Documents may be amended pursuant to a Refinancing Amendment, without the consent of any other Lenders, to the extent (but only to the extent) necessary to (i) reflect the existence and terms of the Credit Agreement Refinancing Indebtedness incurred pursuant thereto, (ii) make such other changes to this Agreement and the other Loan Documents consistent with the provisions and intent of the second paragraph of Section 10.2 (without the consent of the Required Lenders called for therein) and (iii) effect such other amendments to this Agreement and the other Loan Documents as may be necessary or appropriate, in the reasonable opinion of the Administrative Agent and the Borrower Representative, to effect the provisions of this Section 2.22, and the Lenders hereby expressly authorize the Administrative Agent to enter into any such Refinancing Amendment.

 

(d)            This Section 2.22 shall supersede any provisions of this Agreement to the contrary.

 

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2.23       Extension of Term Loans; Extension of Revolving Credit Loans.

 

(a)            The Borrower Representative may at any time and from time to time request that all or a portion of the Term Loans of a given Class (each, an “Existing Term Loan Tranche”) be amended or converted to extend the scheduled maturity date(s) with respect to all or a portion of any principal amount of such Term Loans (any such Term Loans which have been so amended or converted, “Extended Term Loans”) and to provide for other terms consistent with this Section 2.23. In order to establish any Extended Term Loans, the Borrower Representative shall provide a notice to the Administrative Agent (who shall provide a copy of such notice to each of the Lenders under the applicable Existing Term Loan Tranche) (each, a “Term Loan Extension Request”) setting forth the proposed terms of the Extended Term Loans to be established, which shall (i) be identical as offered to each Lender under such Existing Term Loan Tranche (including as to the proposed interest rates and fees payable) and offered pro rata to each Lender under such Existing Term Loan Tranche and (ii) (except as to interest rates, fees, amortization, final maturity date, “AHYDO” payments, optional prepayments, premium, required prepayment dates and participation in voluntary prepayments, which shall be determined by the Borrower Representative and the Extending Term Lenders and set forth in the relevant Term Loan Extension Request), shall either, at the option of the Borrower Representative, (x) reflect current market terms and conditions (taken as a whole) at the time of incurrence or issuance (as determined in good faith by the Borrower Representative) or (y) be consistent with, or (taken as a whole) not materially more favorable to the lenders providing such Extended Term Loans (unless (I) the lenders under the Existing Term Loan Tranche also receive the benefit of such more restrictive terms or (II) such covenants or other provisions are applicable only to periods after the latest final maturity date of the Existing Term Loan Tranche existing at the time of such refinancing); provided that (1) the scheduled final maturity date shall be extended and all or any of the scheduled amortization payments of principal of the Extended Term Loans may be delayed to later dates than the scheduled amortization of principal of the Term Loans of such Existing Term Loan Tranche; provided that at no time shall there by Classes of Term Loans hereunder (including Refinancing Term Loans and Extended Term Loans) which have more than six different Maturity Dates, (with any such delay resulting in a corresponding adjustment to the scheduled amortization payments reflected in Section 2.07 or in the Joinder Agreement, as the case may be, with respect to the Existing Term Loan Tranche from which such Extended Term Loans were amended or converted, in each case as more particularly set forth in Section 2.10), (2)(A) pricing, fees, optional prepayment or redemption terms shall be determined in good faith by the Borrowers and the interest margins and floors with respect to the Extended Term Loans may be higher or lower than the interest margins and floors for the Term Loans of such Existing Term Loan Tranche, (B) the Weighted Average Life to Maturity of Extended Term Loans shall not be shorter than the Weighted Average Life to Maturity of the Term Loans, at the time of such refinancing (except by virtue of amortization or prepayment of the Term Loans prior to the time of such incurrence), and/or (C) additional fees, premiums or solely to the extent payable after the Term Loan Maturity Date, “AHYDO” payments may be payable to the Lenders providing such Extended Term Loans in addition to or in lieu of any increased margins and floors contemplated by the preceding clause (A), in each case, to the extent provided in the applicable Extension Amendment, (3) the Extended Term Loans may participate on a pro rata basis, greater than pro rata basis or less than pro rata basis in any voluntary prepayment of any Class of Term Loans hereunder and may participate on a pro rata basis or less than pro rata basis (but, except as otherwise permitted by this Agreement, not on a greater than pro rata basis) in any mandatory prepayments of any Class of Term Loans hereunder, (4) Extended Term Loans may have call protection and redemption terms as may be agreed by the Borrowers and the Lenders thereof, (5) any Extended Term Loans shall not at any time be guaranteed by any Person other than the Guarantors and shall not be secured by a Lien on any property that does not constitute Collateral and (6) to the extent that any such provision that applies after the Term Loan Maturity Date is added for the benefit of any such Indebtedness, no consent shall be required by the Administrative Agent or any of the Lenders. No Lender shall have any obligation to agree to have any of its Term Loans of any Existing Term Loan Tranche converted into Extended Term Loans pursuant to any Extension Request. Any Extended Term Loans of any Extension Series shall constitute a separate Class of Term Loans from the Existing Term Loan Tranche from which they were converted; provided, that any Extended Term Loans converted from an Existing Term Loan Class may, to the extent provided in the applicable Extension Amendment, be designated as an increase in any then outstanding Class of Term Loans other than the Existing Term Loan Class from which such Extended Term Loans were converted (in which case scheduled amortization with respect thereto shall be proportionally increased). Any Extended Term Loans amended pursuant to any Term Loan Extension Request shall be designated a series (each, a “Term Loan Extension Series”) of Extended Term Loans for all purposes of this Agreement; provided that any Extended Term Loans amended from an Existing Term Loan Tranche may, to the extent provided in the applicable Extension Amendment, be designated as an increase in any previously established Term Loan Extension Series with respect to such Existing Term Loan Tranche (in which case scheduled amortization with respect thereto shall be proportionally increased). Each Term Loan Extension Series of Extended Term Loans incurred under this Section 2.23 shall be in an aggregate principal amount that is not less than $5,000,000 (or, if less, the entire principal amount of the Indebtedness being extended pursuant to this Section 2.23 or such other amount approved by the Administrative Agent).

 

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(b)            The Borrower Representative may at any time and from time to time request that all or a portion of the Revolving Commitments of any Class, each existing at the time of such request (each, an “Existing Revolving Credit Commitment” and any related Revolving Loans thereunder, “Existing Revolving Credit Loans”; each Existing Revolving Credit Commitment and related Existing Revolving Credit Loans together being referred to as an “Existing Revolving Credit Class”) be converted to extend the termination date thereof and the scheduled maturity date(s) of any payment of principal with respect to all or a portion of any principal amount of Revolving Loans related to such Existing Revolving Credit Commitments (any such Existing Revolving Credit Commitments which have been so extended, “Extended Revolving Credit Commitments” and any related Revolving Loans, “Extended Revolving Credit Loans”) and to provide for other terms consistent with this Section 2.23. In order to establish any Extended Revolving Credit Commitments, the Borrower Representative shall provide a notice to the Administrative Agent (who shall provide a copy of such notice to each of the Lenders of the applicable Class of Existing Revolving Credit Commitments which such request shall be offered equally to all such Lenders on identical terms) (a “Revolving Credit Loan Extension Request”) setting forth the proposed terms of the Extended Revolving Credit Commitments to be established, which, shall either, at the option of the Borrower, (A) reflect current market terms and conditions (taken as a whole) at the time of incurrence or issuance (as determined in good faith by the Borrowers) or (B) if not consistent with the terms of the applicable Existing Revolving Credit Commitments, shall not be materially more restrictive to the Obligors (as determined in good faith by the Borrower), when taken as a whole, than the terms of such Existing Revolving Credit Commitments (the “Specified Existing Revolving Credit Commitment”) unless (x) the Lenders providing Existing Revolving Credit Loans receive the benefit of such more restrictive terms or (y) any such provisions apply after the latest maturity date of any Revolving Commitments then outstanding under this Agreement, in each case, to the extent provided in the applicable Extension Amendment; provided, however, that (w) all or any of the final maturity dates of such Extended Revolving Credit Commitments may be delayed to later dates than the final maturity dates of the Specified Existing Revolving Credit Commitments, (x) (A) the interest margins and floors with respect to the Extended Revolving Credit Commitments may be higher or lower than the interest margins and floors for the Specified Existing Revolving Credit Commitments and/or (B) additional fees and premiums may be payable to the Lenders providing such Extended Revolving Credit Commitments in addition to or in lieu of any increased margins and floors contemplated by the preceding clause (A) and (y) the commitment fee rate with respect to the Extended Revolving Credit Commitments may be higher or lower than the commitment fee rate for the Specified Existing Revolving Credit Commitment; provided, that, notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this Section 2.23 or otherwise, (1) the borrowing and repayment (other than in connection with a permanent repayment and termination of commitments) of Loans with respect to any Existing Revolving Credit Commitments shall be made on a pro rata basis with all other Existing Revolving Credit Commitments and (2) assignments and participations of Extended Revolving Credit Commitments and Extended Revolving Credit Loans shall be governed by the same assignment and participation provisions applicable to Revolving Credit Commitments. No Lender shall have any obligation to agree to have any of its Revolving Loans or Revolving Commitments of any Existing Revolving Credit Class converted into Extended Revolving Credit Loans or Extended Revolving Credit Commitments pursuant to any Revolving Credit Loan Extension Request. Any Extended Revolving Credit Commitments of any Extension Series shall be designated a series (each, a “Revolving Credit Loan Extension Series”) of Extended Revolving Credit Loans for all purposes of this Agreement and shall constitute a separate Class of revolving credit commitments from the Specified Existing Revolving Credit Commitments; provided that any Extended Revolving Credit Commitments converted from an Existing Revolving Credit Commitment Class may, to the extent provided in the applicable Extension Amendment, be designated as an increase in any then outstanding Class of Revolving Commitments other than the Existing Revolving Credit Commitment Class from which such Extended Revolving Credit Commitments were converted.

 

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(c)            The Borrower Representative shall provide the applicable Extension Request at least five Business Days prior to the date on which Lenders under the Existing Term Loan Tranche or Existing Revolving Credit Commitment, as applicable, are requested to respond (or such shorter period as agreed by the Administrative Agent), and shall agree to such procedures, if any, as may be established by, or acceptable to, the Administrative Agent and the Borrower Representative, in each case acting reasonably to accomplish the purposes of this Section 2.23. Subject to Section 2.18(b), no Lender shall have any obligation to agree to have any of its Term Loans of any Existing Term Loan Tranche amended into Extended Term Loans or any of its Revolving Credit Commitments amended into Extended Revolving Credit Commitments, as applicable, pursuant to any Extension Request. Any Lender holding a Loan under an Existing Term Loan Tranche (each, an “Extending Term Lender”) wishing to have all or a portion of its Term Loans under the Existing Term Loan Tranche subject to such Extension Request amended or converted into Extended Term Loans and any Revolving Credit Lender (each, an “Extending Revolving Credit Lender”) wishing to have all or a portion of its Revolving Credit Commitments under the Existing Revolving Credit Commitment subject to such Extension Request amended into Extended Revolving Credit Commitments, as applicable, shall notify the Administrative Agent (each, an “Extension Election”) on or prior to the date specified in such Extension Request of the amount of its Term Loans under the Existing Term Loan Tranche or Revolving Credit Commitments under the Existing Revolving Credit Commitment, as applicable, which it has elected to request be amended into Extended Term Loans or Extended Revolving Credit Commitments, as applicable (subject to any minimum denomination requirements imposed by the Administrative Agent). In the event that the aggregate principal amount of Term Loans under the Existing Term Loan Tranche or Revolving Credit Commitments under the Existing Revolving Credit Commitment, as applicable, in respect of which applicable Term Lenders or Revolving Credit Lenders, as the case may be, shall have accepted the relevant Extension Request exceeds the amount of Extended Term Loans or Extended Revolving Credit Commitments, as applicable, requested to be extended pursuant to the Extension Request, Term Loans or Revolving Credit Commitments, as applicable, subject to Extension Elections shall be amended to Extended Term Loans or Revolving Credit Commitments, as applicable, on a pro rata basis (subject to rounding by the Administrative Agent, which shall be conclusive) based on the aggregate principal amount of Term Loans or Revolving Credit Commitments, as applicable, included in each such Extension Election.

 

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(d)            Extended Term Loans and Extended Revolving Credit Commitments shall be established pursuant to an amendment (each, an “Extension Amendment”) to this Agreement among the Borrower Representative, the Administrative Agent and each Extending Term Lender or Extending Revolving Credit Lender, as applicable, providing an Extended Term Loan or Extended Revolving Credit Commitment, as applicable, thereunder, which shall be consistent with the provisions set forth in Section 2.23(a) or 2.23(b) above, respectively (but which shall not require the consent of any other Lender). The effectiveness of any Extension Amendment shall be subject to the satisfaction (or waiver) on the date thereof each of the conditions set forth in Section 4.2 and, to the extent reasonably requested by the Administrative Agent, receipt by the Administrative Agent of (i) customary legal opinions, board resolutions and officers’ certificates certifying such resolutions and (ii) reaffirmation agreements and/or such amendments to the Security Documents as may be reasonably requested by the Administrative Agent in order to ensure that the Extended Term Loans or Extended Revolving Credit Commitments, as applicable, are provided with the benefit of the applicable Loan Documents. The Administrative Agent shall promptly notify each Lender as to the effectiveness of each Extension Amendment. Each of the parties hereto hereby agrees that this Agreement and the other Loan Documents may be amended pursuant to an Extension Amendment, without the consent of any other Lenders, to the extent (but only to the extent) necessary to (i) reflect the existence and terms of the Extended Term Loans or Extended Revolving Credit Commitments, as applicable, incurred pursuant thereto, (ii) modify the scheduled repayments set forth in Section 2.10 with respect to any Existing Term Loan Tranche subject to an Extension Election to reflect a reduction in the principal amount of the Term Loans thereunder in an amount equal to the aggregate principal amount of the Extended Term Loans amended pursuant to the applicable Extension (with such amount to be applied ratably to reduce scheduled repayments of such Term Loans required pursuant to Section 2.9), (iii) modify the prepayments set forth in Section 2.10 to reflect the existence of the Extended Term Loans and the application of prepayments with respect thereto, (iv) make such other changes to this Agreement and the other Loan Documents (without the consent of the Required Lenders called for therein) and (v) effect such other amendments to this Agreement and the other Loan Documents as may be necessary or appropriate, in the reasonable opinion of the Administrative Agent and the Borrower Representative, to effect the provisions of this Section 2.23, and the Required Lenders hereby expressly authorize the Administrative Agent to enter into any such Extension Amendment.

 

(e)            No conversion of Loans pursuant to any Extension in accordance with this Section 2.23 shall constitute a voluntary or mandatory payment or prepayment for purposes of this Agreement. This Section 2.23 shall supersede any provisions herein to the contrary.

 

3.            REPRESENTATIONS AND WARRANTIES

 

Holdings (solely in respect of itself and Section 3.1, 3.2, 3.3, 3.8, 3.17 and 3.22), the Borrowers and each other Obligor represents and warrants (with each representation and warranty being deemed in effect after giving effect to the Transactions) to the Administrative Agent, the Lenders, and Issuing Lender that on the Effective Date and on such other dates as such representations and warranties are required to be made:

 

3.1          Organization; Powers. Each of the Obligors is (a) duly organized, validly existing, and, if applicable in its jurisdiction of organization, in good standing or the equivalent status under the laws of the jurisdiction of its organization, (b) except where the failure to do so, individually or in the aggregate, could not reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect, has all requisite corporate or similar power and authority and all governmental licenses, permits, water rights, authorizations, and other approvals and entitlements to own and operate its property, to lease or sublease any property its operates, to occupy any property it occupies, and to carry on its business as now conducted and as contemplated to be conducted by it upon and following the consummation of the Transactions, (c) has all requisite corporate or similar power and authority to execute, deliver and perform its obligations under the Loan Documents to which it is a party, and (d) except where the failure to do so, individually or in the aggregate, could not reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect, is duly qualified or licensed and is in good standing as a foreign corporation or other company, and authorized to do business, in each jurisdiction in which the characters of its properties or the nature of its business requires such qualification or authorization.

 

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3.2          Authorization; Enforceability. The execution, delivery and performance by each Obligor of the Loan Documents and the documents related to the Transactions occurring on the Effective Date to which it is a party and the performance of each Obligor’s obligations thereunder are within each Obligor’s requisite powers and have been duly authorized by all necessary corporate, limited liability company or other organizational action, and, if required, by all necessary action by holders of Equity Interests in each such Obligor. The Loan Documents to which each Obligor is a party have been duly executed and delivered by such Obligor and constitute, a legal, valid and binding obligation of such Obligor, enforceable against such Obligor in accordance with its terms, except as such enforceability may be limited by (a) Debtor Relief Laws or similar laws of general applicability affecting the enforcement of creditors’ rights. (b) the application of general principles of equity (regardless of whether such enforceability is considered in a proceeding in equity or at law) and (c) the effect of foreign laws, rules and regulations as they relate to pledges of Equity Interests in or Indebtedness owed by Foreign Subsidiaries.

 

3.3          Governmental Approvals; No Conflicts. The execution, delivery and performance by each Obligor of the Loan Documents to which it is a party and the documents related to the Transactions to which it is a party and the performance of each Obligor’s obligations thereunder (a) do not require any consent, authorization or approval of, registration or filing with, notice to, or any other action by, any Governmental Authority, except for (i) such as have been obtained or made and are in full force and effect, (ii) filings and recordings in respect of the Liens created pursuant to the Security Documents and (iii) those that would not reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect, (b) will not violate (x) any applicable law or regulation applicable to any Obligor or its Restricted Subsidiaries or (y) the Organizational Documents of any Obligor or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries, in the case of clause (x), that would reasonably be expected to result, individually or in the aggregate, in a Material Adverse Effect, (c) [reserved], (d) will not conflict with or result in a breach or contravention of, any material order, injunction, writ or decree of any Governmental Authority or any arbitral award to which any Obligor or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries is a party or affecting such Person or its properties that would reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect, and (e) except for the Liens created pursuant to the Security Documents or Permitted Encumbrances, will not result in the creation or imposition of any Lien on any asset of any Obligor or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries.

 

3.4          Financial Condition; No Material Adverse Change.

 

(a)            Financial Condition. The Borrower Representative has heretofore furnished to the Administrative Agent and Lenders (i) the audited balance sheet of the Company, as of December 28, 2020, and the related audited statements of operations and comprehensive loss, members’ equity and cash flows of the Company for the year then ended, (ii) an unaudited interim balance sheet of the Company as of April 26, 2021 and the related unaudited interim statements of operations and comprehensive loss, members’ equity and cash flows of the Company for (x) the four-month period ended April 26, 2021 and (y) each subsequent fiscal quarter ended at least forty-five (45) days prior to the Effective Date (in respect of this clause (y), to the extent provided under the Surf Merger Agreement), and (iii) a pro forma consolidated balance sheet and related statements of income of Holdings and its subsidiaries, as of April 26, 2021, prepared after giving effect to the Transactions as if the Transactions had occurred as of such date (in the case of such balance sheet) or at the beginning of such period (in the case of the statement of income), in each case prepared on a consolidated basis in conformity in all material respects with GAAP; provided, that in each case, no financial statements or pro forma financial statements shall be required to include adjustments for purchase accounting (including adjustments of the type contemplated by Financial Accounting Standards Board Accounting Standards Codification 805, Business Combinations (formerly SFAS 141R)). Such financial statements or financial information present fairly in all material respects the financial position and results of operations and cash flows of the Company and as of such dates and for such period in accordance with GAAP (where applicable) in all material respects, subject to year-end audit adjustments and the absence of footnotes in the case of any such unaudited financial statements.

 

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(b)            No Material Adverse Change. Since July 7, 2021, no events have occurred that either individually or in the aggregate would reasonably be expected to have or cause a Material Adverse Effect.

 

3.5          Properties.

 

(a)            Property Generally. Each Borrower and its Restricted Subsidiaries has (a) good and legal title to (in the case of fee interests in real property), (b) valid leasehold interests in (in the case of leasehold interests in real or personal property), and (c) good and marketable title to (or in the case of all other personal property, rights in), all of their respective assets, except for (i) Permitted Encumbrances, or (ii) minor defects in title to property that do not materially interfere with its ability to conduct its business as currently conducted or to use such property for their intended purposes and (iii) as would not reasonably be expected, individually or in the aggregate, to result in a Material Adverse Effect. All such assets are free and clear of Liens except for Permitted Encumbrances.

 

(b)            Intellectual Property. (i) Each Borrower and its Restricted Subsidiaries owns, or is licensed or otherwise has rights to use, all trademarks, tradenames, copyrights, patents and other intellectual property reasonably necessary to the operation of its business, and, (ii) to its knowledge, the use thereof by any Borrower and its Restricted Subsidiaries does not infringe upon the rights of any other Person, in each case of (i) and (ii), except as could not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect.

 

3.6          Litigation.

 

Actions, Suits and Proceedings. There are no actions, suits, investigations or proceedings by or before any arbitrator or Governmental Authority now pending against or, to the knowledge of any Borrower or Restricted Subsidiary, threatened against any Borrower or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries (i) that involve any of the Loan Documents or any of the Transactions contemplated hereby or thereby, or (ii) that have a reasonable likelihood of adverse determination and such determination could reasonably be expected, individually or in the aggregate, to result in a Material Adverse Effect, except for matters disclosed on Schedule 3.6.

 

3.7          Compliance with Laws. No Borrower nor any Restricted Subsidiary nor any of their respective products is subject to, in violation of, or in default with respect to, any judgments, laws (including without limitation the Food and Agriculture Law), regulations, orders, writs, injunctions and decrees of any Governmental Authority applicable to it or its property that, individually or in the aggregate, could reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect. As of the Effective Date, there are no existing Liens pursuant to Growers’ Lien Laws. As of the Effective Date, Borrowers and their Subsidiaries are in compliance in all material respects with all notifications, instructions and payment obligations received from creditors of Protected Vendors delivered pursuant to Growers’ Lien Laws.

 

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3.8          Investment Company Status. None of the Borrowers, Holdings or any of their Restricted Subsidiaries is or is required to be registered as an “investment company” under the Investment Company Act of 1940.

 

3.9          Taxes. Except, in each case, as would not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect, each Obligor and its Restricted Subsidiaries have filed or caused to be filed all federal, state, local and non-U.S. Tax returns and reports required to have been filed by them by their respective due dates (including any extensions) and have paid or caused to be paid all Taxes shown therein to be due and have paid all other Taxes, except (a) Taxes that are being contested in good faith by appropriate proceedings diligently conducted and for which such Person has set aside on its books adequate reserves in accordance with the GAAP or (b) Taxes which are not yet delinquent for a period of more than thirty (30) days. There is no tax assessment, to the knowledge of any Obligor, that has been proposed or threatened in writing, against any Obligor or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries that has not been finally resolved and would, if paid in full, be reasonably expected to have a Material Adverse Effect. No Obligor nor any Restricted Subsidiary thereof is party to any tax sharing agreement (other than any agreement entered into in the ordinary course of business the primary purpose of which is not related to Taxes).

 

3.10        ERISA. Except as set forth on Schedule 3.10, as of the Effective Date, no Borrower nor any of its Restricted Subsidiaries is party to or bound to any Multiemployer Plan. No ERISA Event has occurred or is reasonably expected to occur that, when taken together with all other such ERISA Events for which liability is reasonably expected to occur, would result in a Material Adverse Effect. No Borrower or Restricted Subsidiary is nor will be (a) an employee benefit plan subject to ERISA, (b) a plan or account subject to Section 4975 of the Code; (c) an entity deemed to hold “plan assets” of any such plans or accounts for purposes of ERISA or the Code; or (d) a “governmental plan” within the meaning of ERISA.

 

3.11        Disclosure.

 

(a)            The Borrower Representative has delivered to the Administrative Agent and the Lenders the Borrowers’ projected consolidated profit and loss statements and summary cash flow statements prepared on an annual basis for its 2021 through 2025 Fiscal Years. Such projections and all other financial projections and forecasts delivered to the Administrative Agent and the Lenders in connection with this Agreement have been prepared by the Borrowers in good faith based upon reasonable assumptions believed by the Borrowers to be reasonable at the time made available to the Administrative Agent and the Lenders, it being recognized by Administrative Agent and the Lenders that such projections are as to future events and are not to be viewed as facts and are subject to significant uncertainties and contingencies, many of which are beyond the Borrowers’ control, that no assurance can be given that any particular projection will be realized, and that actual results during the period or periods or covered by such projections may differ significantly from the projected results and such differences may be material.

 

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(b)            All information (other than the projections and forecasts described in Section 3.11(a), forward-looking statements, budgets, estimates and information of a general economic or industry nature) furnished by or on behalf of any Obligor, to the Administrative Agent or any Lenders in connection with the transactions contemplated hereby and the negotiation of this Agreement and the other Loan Documents or delivered hereunder or thereunder (as modified or supplemented by other information so furnished) is, when furnished and taken as a whole, does not or will not, when furnished and taken as a whole, contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state any material fact necessary to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not materially misleading.

 

(c)            As of the Effective Date, the information included in the Beneficial Ownership Certification delivered by the Borrower Representative pursuant to Section 4.1(j) is true and correct in all material respects.

 

3.12        Federal Reserve Regulations; Use of Credit. The Borrowers are not engaged and will not engage, principally or as one of its important activities, in the business of purchasing or carrying Margin Stock, or extending credit for the purpose of purchasing or carrying Margin Stock, and no proceeds of any Borrowings or drawings under any Letter of Credit will be used for any purpose that violates Regulation T, U or X of the Board of Governors of the United States Federal Reserve System.

 

3.13        [Reserved].

 

3.14        Existing Subsidiaries. Set forth on Schedule 3.14 is a complete and correct list of all of the Subsidiaries of Holdings, the Borrowers and their respective Subsidiaries as of the Effective Date, together with, for each such Subsidiary, (i) the jurisdiction of organization, of such Subsidiary; (ii) each Person holding Equity Interests in such Subsidiary; (iii) the Equity Interests issued by such Subsidiary; (iv) the Equity Interests held by each such Person; and (v) the percentage of ownership of such Subsidiary represented by such Equity Interests.

 

3.15        Real Property. Set forth on Part 1 of Schedule 3.15 is a complete and correct list, as of the Effective Date, of all of the Material Real Property owned by any Company, indicating in each case the use of the respective property, the identity of the owner, and the location of the respective property. As of the Effective Date, except as set forth on Part 2 of Schedule 3.15, no Mortgaged Property owned by an Obligor has Improvements located in an area identified as having special flood hazards and in which flood insurance has been made available under the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968.

 

3.16        Environmental Matters. Except as set forth on Schedule 3.16, each Borrower and its Restricted Subsidiaries has obtained all permits, licenses, and other authorizations required under all Environmental Laws to carry on its business, except to the extent failure to have any such permit, license, or authorization would not (either individually or in the aggregate) reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect. Except as set forth on Schedule 3.16, each of such permits, licenses, and authorizations is in full force and effect and each Obligor and its Restricted Subsidiaries is in compliance with the terms and conditions thereof, and is also in compliance with all other limitations, restrictions, conditions, standards, prohibitions, requirements, obligations, schedules, and timetables contained in any applicable Environmental Law, except to the extent failure to comply therewith would not (either individually or in the aggregate) reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect.

 

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In addition, except as set forth in Schedule 3.16:

 

(a)            There are no claims, actions, suits, investigations, or proceedings asserted against or, to any Borrower’s or Restricted Subsidiary’s knowledge, threatened against, the Borrower or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries, nor has the Borrower or any of the Restricted Subsidiaries received any written notice, notification, demand, potentially responsible party letter, request for information, citation, summons or order from any Governmental Authority or third party alleging potential liability of the Borrower or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries under any Environmental Law in connection with the conduct of the business of such Borrower or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries or with respect to any generation, treatment, storage, recycling, transportation, discharge or disposal, release or threatened release of any Hazardous Materials, excluding any matter that would not (either individually or in the aggregate) reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect.

 

(b)            Except as would not (either individually or in the aggregate) be reasonably expected to have a Material Adverse Effect, (i) no Borrower or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries owns, operates or leases a treatment, storage or disposal facility requiring a permit under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act of 1976, or under any comparable state or local statute; (ii) there are no underground storage tanks or surface impoundments for Hazardous Materials, active or abandoned, at any site or facility now or, to any Borrower’s knowledge, previously owned, operated or leased by any Borrower or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries; (iii) there has been no release or threatened release of any Hazardous Materials at, from, on or under any site or facility now or, to any Borrower’s or Restricted Subsidiary’s knowledge, previously owned, operated or leased by any Borrower or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries in quantities or concentrations requiring remediation by any Borrower or any Restricted Subsidiary under applicable Environmental Law; and (iv) no Borrower or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries has contractually assumed any liability or obligation of any other person under or relating to any applicable Environmental Law.

 

(c)            No written notification of a release of a Hazardous Material has been filed by or on behalf of any Borrower or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries that would reasonably be expected to result (either individually or in the aggregate) in a Material Adverse Effect and no site or facility now or, to any Borrower’s or Restricted Subsidiary’s knowledge, previously owned, operated or leased by any Borrower or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries is listed or, to any Borrower’s or Restricted Subsidiary’s knowledge, proposed for listing on the National Priorities List (“NPL”) under CERCLA, listed for possible inclusion on the NPL by the Environmental Protection Agency in the Superfund Enterprise Management System, as provided for by 40 C.F.R. § 300.5, or any similar state list requiring investigation or clean-up by any Obligor or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries, except for such listing that would not reasonably be expected to result (either individually or in the aggregate) in a Material Adverse Effect.

 

3.17        Sanctions/Anti-Corruption Representations.

 

(a)            Each Obligor and its subsidiaries are in compliance in all material respects with all applicable Anti-Terrorism Laws, Anti-Corruption Laws, and laws relating to Sanctions, including all those applicable in the jurisdictions in which Obligor and its Subsidiaries conduct business. No Obligor nor any of its Subsidiaries is in material violation of any Anti-Terrorism Laws, Anti-Corruption Laws or Sanctions or is engaging in or conspiring to engage in any transaction that evades or avoids, or has the purpose of evading or avoiding, or attempting to violate, any of the prohibitions set forth in any Anti-Terrorism Laws, Anti-Corruption Laws or Sanctions.

 

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(b)            No Obligor nor any of its Subsidiaries, nor to its knowledge any director, officer, employee or agent of any Obligor, is a Person (each such Person, a “Sanctioned Person”) that is, or is owned or controlled by Persons that are: (i) the subject of any Sanctions, or (ii) located, organized or resident in a country, region or territory that is, or whose government is, the subject of Sanctions (currently, as of the date of this Agreement, the Region of Crimea, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Venezuela and Syria).

 

(c)            No Obligor nor any of its Subsidiaries, nor to its knowledge any director, officer, employee or agent of any Obligor, is engaging in any dealings or transactions with any Sanctioned Person, or in any country or territory, that at the time of the dealing or transaction is, or whose government is, the subject of Sanctions (currently, as of the date of this Agreement, the Region of Crimea, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Venezuela and Syria).

 

3.18        Insurance. The properties of each Borrower and its Restricted Subsidiaries are insured with financially sound and reputable insurance companies, in such amounts, in the good faith determination of the Borrowers and giving effect to any self-insurance, with such deductibles and covering such risks as are customarily carried by companies engaged in similar businesses and owning similar properties in localities where any Borrower or the applicable Subsidiary operates, in each case, in accordance with Section 5.5.

 

3.19        Labor Matters. Except as set forth on Schedule 3.19, as of the Effective Date no Borrower nor any of its Restricted Subsidiaries are party to or bound by any collective bargaining agreement. There are no strikes, lockouts, work stoppages or other labor disputes against any Borrower or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries, or, to the best of any Borrower’s knowledge, threatened against or affecting any Borrower or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries, in each case, which could reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect. Each Obligor has paid in all material respects all wages required and due and payable to its employees except where the failure to do so could not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect.

 

3.20        Solvency. On the Effective Date, the Borrowers together with their Restricted Subsidiaries on a consolidated basis, are Solvent.

 

3.21        [Reserved].

 

3.22        Security Documents. The provisions of the Security Documents (taken as a whole) are, or will be at the time of execution and delivery thereof, effective to create in favor of Administrative Agent for the benefit of the Secured Parties a valid and enforceable (except as such enforceability may be limited by (a) Debtor Relief Laws or similar laws of general applicability affecting the enforcement of creditors’ rights. (b) the application of general principles of equity (regardless of whether such enforceability is considered in a proceeding in equity or at law) and (c) the effect of foreign laws, rules and regulations as they relate to pledges of Equity Interests in or Indebtedness owed by Foreign Subsidiaries) first-priority Lien (subject only to Permitted Encumbrances) on all right, title and interest of each Obligor in the Collateral described therein. When all appropriate filings or recordings are made in the appropriate offices or other perfection action taken as contemplated hereby and by the Security Documents, the Liens created by each such Security Document will constitute fully perfected first priority Liens (subject only to Permitted Encumbrances) on and security interests in all right, title and interest of the Obligors in such Collateral subject to the limitations and exceptions set forth in the Security Documents.

 

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4.            CONDITIONS PRECEDENT.

 

4.1          Effective Date. The obligations of the Lenders to make Loans and of Issuing Lender to issue Letters of Credit hereunder shall not become effective until the date on which Administrative Agent shall have received each of the following, in each case reasonably satisfactory to the Administrative Agent (and to the extent specified below, to each Lender) in form and substance:

 

(a)            Executed Counterparts. From each party thereto, a counterpart of this Agreement and the other Loan Documents to be executed and delivered as of the Effective Date, signed and delivered on behalf of such party.

 

(b)            Opinions of Counsel to Obligor. Customary legal opinion (addressed to the Administrative Agent, the Lenders and Issuing Lender and dated the Effective Date) of Kirkland & Ellis LLP, counsel the Obligors.

 

(c)            Corporate Documents. Such documents and certificates as Administrative Agent may reasonably request relating to the organization, existence and good standing of each Obligor as of the Effective Date, the authorization of the Transactions, the identity, authority and capacity of each Responsible Officer authorized to act on behalf of an Obligor in connection with the Loan Documents, this Agreement, the other Loan Documents or the Transactions.

 

(d)            Security Documents. (i) The Security Agreement, duly executed and delivered by the Obligors and the Administrative Agent, (ii) certificates, if any, representing the Equity Interests required to be pledged under the Security Agreement accompanied by undated stock or comparable powers executed in blank, and (iii) proper financing statements (Form UCC-1 or the equivalent) for filing under the UCC or other appropriate filing offices of each jurisdiction as may be necessary to perfect the security interests purported to be created by the foregoing Security Agreement; provided, however, that, the satisfaction of the requirement set forth in clause (ii) above, after the Borrower Representative’s use of commercially reasonable efforts to provide such items on or prior to the Effective Date without undue burden or expense, shall not constitute conditions precedent to the Borrowing on the Effective Date but shall instead be delivered by the Borrower Representative within 90 days after the Effective Date (subject to extensions approved by the Administrative Agent in its reasonable discretion).

 

(e)            Solvency. A solvency certificate from the chief executive officer, chief financial officer or other officer with equivalent duties of the Borrower Representative in the form of Exhibit 4.1.

 

(f)            Repayment of Existing Indebtedness. Evidence that all existing third party debt for borrower money of the Company under the Existing Indebtedness (other than Indebtedness permitted by Section 6.1 hereof) shall have been (or shall be substantially simultaneously) repaid, redeemed, defeased, discharged, refinanced, replaced or termination and all commitments thereunder shall have been (or shall be substantially simultaneously) terminated and all liens and guarantees thereunder shall have been (or shall be substantially simultaneously) released or terminated.

 

(g)           Administrative Agent and, if applicable, Issuing Lender or Swingline Lender shall have received a Borrowing Request.

 

(h)           Financial Statements. The financial statements and financial information referred to in Sections 3.4(a) and 3.11(a).

 

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(i)            Fees. Evidence that the Borrowers shall have paid (or shall pay substantially concurrently with the funding of the initial Borrowings under this Agreement on the Effective Date) all accrued fees that are required to be paid on the Effective Date under the terms of the Fee Letter, to the extent invoiced at least three (3) Business Days prior to or on the Effective Date, expenses of Administrative Agent required to be paid on Effective Date pursuant to the Commitment Letter, including the fees, charges and disbursements of King & Spalding LLP, special New York counsel to the Administrative Agent, in connection with the negotiation, preparation, execution and delivery of the Loan Documents (directly to such counsel if requested by Administrative Agent).

 

(j)            Know Your Customer Requirements. The Administrative Agent shall have received, at least three (3) business days before the Effective Date, (i) all documentation and other information about the Obligors and their subsidiaries that shall have been reasonably requested by the Administrative Agents or the Lead Arranger at least ten (10) business days prior to the Effective Date and that the Administrative Agent and the Lead Arranger reasonably determine is required by applicable regulatory authorities under applicable “know your customer” and anti-money laundering rules and regulations, including, without limitation, the PATRIOT Act and (ii) to the extent any Borrower or any Guarantor qualifies as a “legal entity customer” under the Beneficial Ownership Regulation, a certificate regarding beneficial ownership as required by the Beneficial Ownership Regulation with respect to such Borrower or such Guarantor which certification shall be substantially similar in form and substance to the form of Certification Regarding Beneficial Owners of Legal Entity Customers published jointly, in May 2018, by the Loan Syndications and Trading Association and Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association, that in each case has been requested at least ten (10) business days prior to the Effective Date.

 

(k)            Material Adverse Effect. Since July 7, 2021, no “Material Adverse Effect” (as defined in the Surf Merger Agreement) shall have occurred.

 

(l)            Consummation of the Acquisition. Substantially simultaneously with the funding of the initial Borrowings under this Agreement on the Effective Date, the Acquisition shall be consummated in all material respects in accordance with the terms of the Surf Merger Agreement, but without giving effect to any alteration, amendment, change, supplement, waiver or consent that is materially adverse to the interests of the Lead Arranger, in any such case without the consent of the Lead Arranger (such consent not to be unreasonably withheld, delayed or conditioned and provided that the Lead Arranger shall be deemed to have consented to such waiver, amendment, consent or other modification unless it shall object thereto within three (3) business days after written notice of such waiver, amendment, supplement, consent or other modification) (it being understood (a) any change to the definition of “Material Adverse Effect” or the “Xerox” provisions contained in the Surf Merger Agreement shall be deemed to be material and adverse to the Lead Arranger, (b) any reduction to the purchase price shall be deemed not to be materially adverse to the interests of the Lenders if such reduction (i) does not, in the aggregate, exceed 15% of the purchase price set forth in the Surf Merger Agreement as of July 7, 2021 or (ii) is equal to or in excess of 15% of the purchase price set forth in the Surf Merger Agreement as of July 7, 2021 and is applied (1) first, at the option of the Initial Borrower, to a reduction of the Sponsor Equity Contribution and (2) thereafter, to a reduction in the amount of the Initial Term Loans and the Equity Contribution on a pro rata basis, (c) any increase in the purchase price shall not be deemed to be materially adverse to the interests of the Lenders if such increase is funded with an increase in the aggregate amount of the Sponsor Equity Contribution and (d) any purchase price adjustment contemplated by the Surf Merger Agreement (including any working capital purchase price adjustment) shall not be considered an amendment or waiver of the Surf Merger Agreement).

 

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(m)           Specified Purchase Agreement Representations. The Specified Purchase Agreement Representations shall be true and correct in all material respects (or to the extent as of a specified earlier date, true and correct in all material respects as of such date).

 

(n)            Sponsor Equity Contribution. Prior to or substantially simultaneously with the funding of the initial Borrowings under this Agreement on the Effective Date, Holdings shall have received the Sponsor Equity Contribution.

 

(o)            Specified Representations. With respect to the funding of the initial Borrowings on the Effective Date, the Specified Representations shall be true and correct in all material respects (unless any such representation or warranty is qualified as to materiality or Material Adverse Effect, in which case such representation and warranty shall be true and correct in all respects) on and as of the Effective Date, both before and immediately after giving effect thereto, except to the extent that such representations and warranties specifically refer to an earlier date, in which case they shall be true and correct in all material respects (unless any such representation or warranty is qualified as to materiality or Material Adverse Effect, in which case such representation and warranty shall be true and correct in all respects) as of such earlier date.

 

Administrative Agent shall notify the Borrower Representative, Issuing Lender and the Lenders of the Effective Date, and such notice shall be conclusive and binding. Each Lender that has signed this Agreement shall be deemed to have consented to, approved or accepted or to be satisfied with, each document or other matter required thereunder to be consented to or approved by or acceptable or satisfactory to a Lender unless Administrative Agent shall have received notice from such Lender prior to the proposed Effective Date specifying its objection thereto.

 

4.2          Each Credit Event. The obligation of each Lender to make a Loan after the Effective Date (including any Incremental Term Loan), and of Issuing Lender to issue, amend, renew or extend any Letter of Credit, is subject to the satisfaction of the following conditions:

 

(a)            the representations and warranties of each Obligor set forth in this Agreement and of the other Loan Documents to which it is a party, shall be true and correct in all material respects (unless any such representation or warranty is qualified as to materiality or Material Adverse Effect, in which case such representation and warranty shall be true and correct in all respects) on and as of the date of such Borrowing or the date of issuance, amendment, renewal or extension of such Letter of Credit, as applicable, both before and immediately after giving effect thereto, except to the extent that such representations and warranties specifically refer to an earlier date, in which case they shall be true and correct in all material respects (unless any such representation or warranty is qualified as to materiality or Material Adverse Effect, in which case such representation and warranty shall be true and correct in all respects) as of such earlier date, and except that for purposes of this Section 4.2, the representations and warranties contained in Section 3.4(a) shall be deemed to refer to the most recent statements furnished pursuant to Sections 5.1(a) and 5.1(b), respectively;

 

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

 

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(c)            at the time of and immediately after giving effect to such Borrowing or the issuance, amendment, renewal or extension of such Letter of Credit, as applicable, the total Revolving Credit Exposures shall not exceed the total Revolving Credit Commitments;

 

(d)            Administrative Agent and, if applicable, Issuing Lender or Swingline Lender shall have received a Borrowing Request or a notice requesting the issuance, amendment, renewal, or extension of such Letter of Credit, as the case may be, in each case, in accordance with the requirements of this Agreement.

 

Each making of a Loan and each issuance, amendment, renewal, or extension of a Letter of Credit shall be deemed to constitute a representation and warranty by the Borrowers on the date thereof as to the matters specified in clauses (a), (b) and (c) of this Section 4.2.

 

5.            AFFIRMATIVE COVENANTS

 

So long as any Commitment is outstanding and thereafter until all Obligations are Fully Satisfied, each Obligor covenants and agrees with Administrative Agent, Issuing Lender and the Lenders that:

 

5.1          Financial Statements and Other Information. The Borrower Representative will furnish to the Administrative Agent (for distribution to each Lender):

 

(a)            within 120 days after the end of each Fiscal Year, (i) commencing with the Fiscal Year ending December 2021, the consolidated balance sheet and related statements of operations, members’ equity and cash flows of the Company and its Subsidiaries, as of the end of and for such year, setting forth, in each case, commencing with the Fiscal Year ending December 31, 2022, in comparative form the figures for the previous Fiscal Year audited by Moss Adams LLP, KPMG or another independent public accountants of recognized national or regional standing (without a “going concern” or substantially similar qualification or exception and without any qualification or exception as to the scope of such audit (except for any such qualification pertaining to (x) the maturity of any Indebtedness occurring within twelve (12) months of the relevant audit, (y) any actual or prospective default under any financial covenant or (z) the activities, operations, financial results, assets or liabilities of Unrestricted Subsidiaries) to the effect that such consolidated financial statements present fairly in all materials respects the financial condition and results of operations of the Company and its Subsidiaries on a consolidated basis in accordance in all material respects with GAAP consistently applied, except as noted therein and (ii) a certification of a Responsible Officer of the Company that such consolidated financial statements present fairly in all material respects the financial condition and results of operations of the Company and the applicable Subsidiaries for such Fiscal Year on a consolidated basis in accordance with GAAP consistently applied; provided, however, that for the Fiscal Year ending December 2021 only, the consolidated financial statements required pursuant to this clause (a) may be provided within 150 days after the end of such Fiscal Year.

 

(b)            within 45 days after the end of each of the first three Fiscal Quarters of each Fiscal Year (and for the fourth Fiscal Quarter of the 2021 Fiscal Year only) commencing with the Fiscal Quarter ending December 31, 2021, (i) the consolidated balance sheet and related statements of operations and cash flows of the Company and its Subsidiaries as of the end of and for such Fiscal Quarter and the then elapsed portion of the Fiscal Year, setting forth in each case, commencing with the Fiscal Quarter ending March 31, 2023 in comparative form the figures for (or, in the case of the balance sheet, as of the end of) the corresponding period or periods of the previous Fiscal Year and (ii) a certification of a Responsible Officer of the Company that such consolidated financial statements present fairly the financial condition and results of operations of the Company and the applicable Subsidiaries, on a consolidated basis for such period in accordance in all material respects with GAAP consistently applied, subject to normal year-end audit adjustments and the absence of footnotes; provided, however, that for the Fiscal Quarters ending September 30, 2021, December 31, 2021 and March 31, 2022 only, the consolidated financial statements required pursuant to this clause (b) may be provided within 60 days after the end of such Fiscal Quarter;

 

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(c)            concurrently with any delivery of financial statements under clause (a) or (b) of this Section, a certificate in substantially the form of Exhibit 5.1 of a Responsible Officer of the Borrower Representative (a “Compliance Certificate”) (i) certifying as to whether a Default exists and, if a Default exists, specifying the details thereof and any action taken or proposed to be taken with respect thereto, (ii) setting forth reasonably detailed calculations of the Financial Covenant and, to the extent required to be tested for such period, whether the Borrowers were in compliance with the Financial Covenant for such period, and (iii) stating whether any change in GAAP or in the application thereof that has an impact on the financial statements of the Company and its Subsidiaries or the calculation of the Financial Covenant hereof has occurred since the date of the audited financial statements referred to in Section 3.4 and, if any such change has occurred, specifying the effect of such change on the financial statements accompanying such certificate;

 

(d)            promptly after the same become publicly available, copies of all periodic and other reports, proxy statements and other materials filed by the Borrowers or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries with the SEC, or with any national securities exchange, or any financial statements (including any related management discussion and analysis) distributed by the Borrowers to any holder of Material Indebtedness of the Borrowers or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries pursuant to the terms of any indenture, loan or credit or similar agreement and not otherwise required to be furnished hereunder, as the case may be;

 

(e)            prior to an Initial Public Offering, concurrently with the delivery of the financial statements under clauses (a) and (b) of this Section, a management discussion and analysis with respect to such financial statements;

 

(f)             prior to an Initial Public Offering, as soon as available, but in any event no more than 90 days after the end of each Fiscal Year commencing with the Fiscal Year ending December 31, 2021, an annual consolidated plan, budget and financial projection of the Company and its Restricted Subsidiaries on a consolidated basis, including forecasts prepared by management of the Borrowers in form consistent with past practice, of consolidated balance sheets and statements of income or operations and cash flows of the Company and its Restricted Subsidiaries on a quarterly basis for such Fiscal Year, which shall state the material assumptions used in preparation thereof;

 

(g)            promptly after any request by Administrative Agent or any Lender (through Administrative Agent) (subject in each case to any confidentiality restrictions not entered into in contemplation hereof), copies of any detailed audit reports, final management letters or recommendations submitted to the board of directors (or the audit committee of the board of directors) of any Obligor by independent accountants in connection with the accounts or books of any Obligor or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries, or any audit of any of them;

 

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(h)            concurrently with the delivery of the financial statements under clause (a) and (b) of this Section, consolidating financial statements of the Borrowers and their Subsidiaries that eliminate the accounts of Unrestricted Subsidiaries;

 

(i)             [reserved];

 

(j)             [reserved];

 

(k)            promptly following any request therefor, such other information and reports regarding each Obligor or any of its Subsidiaries, or compliance with the terms of this Agreement and the other Loan Documents, as Administrative Agent or any Lender (through Administrative Agent) may reasonably request (other than any such information or reports that are subject to attorney-client privilege, third-party confidentiality obligations not entered into in contemplation hereof, trade secrets, non-financial proprietary information or applicable law); and

 

Documents required to be delivered pursuant to this Section 5.1 may be delivered electronically and if so, shall be deemed to have been delivered on the date on which such documents are posted electronically by any Obligor or on such Obligor’s behalf on the Platform to which each Lender and the Administrative Agent have access or on the Company’s website; provided that: (i) the Borrower Representative shall deliver paper copies of such documents to the Administrative Agent for any Lender who requests the Borrower Representative to deliver such paper copies until written request to cease delivering paper copies is given by Administrative Agent or such Lender; (ii) the Borrower Representative shall notify (which may be by facsimile or electronic mail) Administrative Agent and each Lender of the posting of any such documents and provide to the Administrative Agent by email electronic versions (i.e. soft copies) of such documents; and (iii) upon written request by Administrative Agent, the Borrower Representative shall provide paper copies of the Compliance Certificate required by clause (c) of this Section 5.1 to the Administrative Agent. Administrative Agent shall have no obligation to request the delivery or to maintain copies of the documents referred to above, and in any event, shall have no responsibility to monitor compliance by the Borrowers with any such request for delivery, and each Lender shall be solely responsible for requesting delivery to it or maintaining its copies of such documents.

 

Notwithstanding the foregoing, the obligations in Section 5.1(a) and 5.1(b) may be satisfied with respect to financial information of Holdings and the Restricted Subsidiaries by furnishing (I) the applicable financial statements of Holdings (or any direct or indirect parent of Holdings) or (II)  Holdings’ (or any direct or indirect parent thereof), as applicable, Form 10-K or 10-Q, as applicable filed with the SEC; provided that, with respect to the foregoing clauses (I) and (II), (i) to the extent such information relates to Holdings or a parent of Holdings, such information is accompanied by information that explains in reasonable detail the differences between the information relating to Holdings (or such parent), on the one hand, and the information relating to the Borrowers and the Restricted Subsidiaries on a standalone basis, on the other hand and (ii) to the extent such information is in lieu of information required to be provided under Section 5.1(a), such materials are accompanied by a report of independent public accountants of nationally or regionally recognized standing and shall not be subject to any “going concern” or substantially similar qualification or exception and without any qualification or exception as to the scope of such audit (except for any such qualification pertaining to (x) the maturity of any Indebtedness occurring within twelve (12) months of the relevant audit), (y) any actual or prospective default under any financial covenant or (z) the activities, operations, financial results, assets or liabilities of Unrestricted Subsidiaries).

 

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5.2          Notices of Material Events. Each Obligor will furnish to the Administrative Agent and each Lender prompt written notice of the following, after a Responsible Officer of any Obligor has obtained knowledge thereof:

 

(a)            the occurrence of any Event of Default;

 

(b)            filing or commencement of, or any material development in, any action, suit or proceeding by or before any arbitrator or Governmental Authority against or affecting any Obligor or any of their respective Restricted Subsidiaries that (i) involves any Loan Document or the Transactions, or (ii) that has a reasonable likelihood of adverse determination and such determination described in this subclause (ii) could reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect;

 

(c)            the occurrence of (i) any notice or other action by the FDA, the USDA or any comparable Governmental Authority to limit, suspend, revoke or terminate any permit, license or authorization that is necessary to any Company’s business, or (ii) any request or proceedings by the FDA, the USDA, or any comparable Governmental Authority seeking the withdrawal, recall, suspension, import detention, or seizure of, or any corrective action relating to any product produced or distributed by any Company or (iii) any Borrower, facility, or product becoming subject to any administrative or regulatory action, inspection, Form FDA 483 observation, warning letter, notice of violation, or other comparable notice by or from the FDA, the USDA or any comparable Governmental Authority (with copies to be provided to Agent of same), or of any product of a Borrower being seized, detained, or subject to a suspension of manufacturing, or the commencement of any proceedings to seize, detain, or suspend manufacturing of a product, in the case of each of clauses (ii) and (iii), that are expected to have a Material Adverse Effect;

 

(d)            the occurrence of any ERISA Event that, alone or together with any other ERISA Events that have occurred, would reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect;

 

(e)            the assertion of any claim pursuant to applicable Environmental Law, including alleged violations of or non-compliance with permits, licenses or other authorizations issued pursuant to applicable Environmental Law, by any Person against, or with respect to the activities of, any Obligor or any of their respective Restricted Subsidiaries, that could (either individually or in the aggregate) reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect;

 

(f)             [reserved];

 

(g)            [reserved];

 

(h)            [reserved]; and

 

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

 

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

 

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5.3          Existence; Conduct of Business. Each Obligor shall, and shall cause each of its Restricted Subsidiaries to, do or cause to be done all things necessary to preserve, renew and keep in full force and effect its legal existence and, except as could not reasonably be expected to have, either individually or in the aggregate, a Material Adverse Effect, the rights (including water rights), licenses, permits, privileges and franchises material to the conduct of its business; provided that the foregoing shall not prohibit any transaction permitted by Article VI.

 

5.4          Payment of Obligations. Each Obligor shall, and shall cause each of its Restricted Subsidiaries to, timely pay all Tax liabilities, governmental charges and levies, in each case in the nature of a Tax, that are due and payable by it, in each case, unless (a) the validity or amount thereof is being contested in good faith by appropriate proceedings and such Obligor or such Restricted Subsidiary has set aside on its books adequate reserves with respect thereto in accordance with GAAP or (b) the failure to make such payment could not reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect.

 

5.5          Maintenance of Properties; Insurance. Each Obligor shall, and shall cause each of its Restricted Subsidiaries to, (a) maintain all tangible property material to the conduct of its business in good working order and condition, and maintain and protect all intellectual property owned by any Obligor or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries, other than (i) where such action could not reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect and (ii) ordinary wear, tear, casualty, condemnation and dispositions permitted under Section 6.4, and (b) maintain, with financially sound and reputable insurance companies, insurance in such amounts and against such risks as are customarily maintained by similarly sized companies engaged in the same or similar businesses operating in the same or similar locations including any flood insurance required by Section 3.15, in the good faith determination of the Borrowers and giving effect to any self-insurance. The Borrower Representative will furnish to the Administrative Agent, upon request of Administrative Agent, once per calendar year, information in reasonable detail as to the insurance so maintained. Each general liability insurance policy shall name Administrative Agent as additional insured. Each insurance policy covering Collateral shall name Administrative Agent as lender’s loss payee and shall provide that such policy will not be canceled without 30 days (10 days solely with respect to cancellation for nonpayment of premium) (or such shorter period as reasonably acceptable to the Administrative Agent) prior written notice to the Administrative Agent.

 

5.6          Books and Records; Inspection Rights.

 

(a)            Each Obligor shall, and shall cause each of its Restricted Subsidiaries to, keep proper books of record and account in which full, true, and correct entries in accordance in all material respects with GAAP are made of all material dealings and transactions in relation to its business and activities. Each Obligor will, and will cause each of its Restricted Subsidiaries to, permit any representatives (including consultants, auditors, accountants and advisors) designated by Administrative Agent, upon reasonable prior notice if no Event of Default then exists, to visit and inspect its properties during normal business hours, to examine and make extracts from its books and records, and to discuss its affairs, finances and condition with its employees (provided an authorized representative of the Borrowers shall be allowed, but not required, to be present during such discussion), independent accountants, or officers, all at such reasonable times and as often as reasonably requested; provided that, in no event shall any Obligor or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries be required pursuant to the terms of this Section 5.6 to allow any such Person to inspect or examine, or be required to discuss, any records, documents or other information (x) with respect to which any Obligor or any its Subsidiaries has obligations of confidentiality or (y) that (i) is subject to attorney client-privilege or otherwise constitutes attorney work-product, (ii) constitutes non-financial trade secrets or non-financial proprietary information, or (iii) in respect of which disclosure to the Administrative Agent (or its respective representatives or contractors) is prohibited by applicable law; and provided, further, that excluding any such visits and inspections during the continuation of an Event of Default, (i) only Administrative Agent on behalf of the Lenders may exercise rights under this Section 5.6 (and such information will be shared with the Lenders), and (ii) Administrative Agent shall not exercise such rights more often than one time during any calendar year.

 

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(b)            The Borrower Representative shall, upon the request of Administrative Agent or the Required Lenders, hold a conference call once each Fiscal Year to which Administrative Agent and the Lenders shall be invited, in each case at such time as may be agreed to by the Borrower Representative and the Administrative Agent.

 

5.7          Compliance with Laws. Each Obligor shall, and shall cause each of its Restricted Subsidiaries and each of Obligor’s and Restricted Subsidiary’s products to, comply with all laws, rules, regulations, and orders of any Governmental Authority applicable to it or its property (including any Food and Agriculture Law), except where the failure to do so, individually or in the aggregate, could not reasonably be expected to result in (i) a Material Adverse Effect, and (ii) with respect to compliance of Anti-Corruption Laws, Anti-Terrorism Laws, applicable anti-money laundering rules and regulations and Sanctions, be material to the Borrowers, taken as a whole. The Borrowers will maintain in effect, after the date set forth on Schedule 5.11, policies and procedures reasonably designed to promote compliance by the Borrowers, their Restricted Subsidiaries and their respective directors, officers, employees and agents with applicable Anti- Terrorism Laws, Anti-Corruption Laws and Sanctions. So long as the Borrowers or any of their respective Restricted Subsidiaries purchases agricultural products from Protected Vendors, the Borrowers or such Restricted Subsidiaries shall monitor the receipt of notices of Liens and/or trusts (or of any intent to preserve any rights or benefits pursuant to any trust created in favor of any supplier, seller or agent or disclosing a security interest created by a seller of Farm Products) on its assets and notices of non-payment or dishonored checks, in each case, under Food and Agricultural Laws, and provide prompt written notice thereof to Administrative Agent following receipt thereof.

 

5.8          Certain Obligations Respecting Subsidiaries. Borrowers shall take such action, and shall cause each of its Restricted Subsidiaries to take such action, from time to time as shall be necessary to ensure that all Subsidiaries (other than (x) any Excluded Subsidiary or (y) any Unrestricted Subsidiary) are “Subsidiary Guarantors” hereunder. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, in the event that the Borrowers or any of their Restricted Subsidiaries shall form or acquire any new Subsidiary, the Borrowers shall, and shall cause each of their Subsidiaries (other than (x) any Excluded Subsidiary or (y) any Unrestricted Subsidiary) to, within 60 days (or such longer period as the Administrative Agent may reasonably agree) after such formation, acquisition, or, in the case of any (I) Subsidiary becoming a Material Subsidiary, after the date financial statements are delivered pursuant to Section 5.1(a) or 5.1(b) showing such change and (II) Unrestricted Subsidiary being designated as a Restricted Subsidiary (and is not otherwise an Excluded Subsidiary), take the following actions:

 

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(a)            such Subsidiary will become a “Subsidiary Guarantor” hereunder by executing and delivering a Guaranty Agreement (or joinder thereto), and become a “Grantor” under the Security Agreement by executing and delivering a supplement to the Security Agreement;

 

(b)            the Borrower Representative shall furnish to the Administrative Agent an updated Schedules 3.14, 3.15 and 4.1(e) with respect to such Subsidiary;

 

(c)            the Borrower Representative shall cause such Subsidiary (or any Guarantor that is the owner of the shares or other Equity Interests of such Subsidiary, as applicable) to take such action (including delivering certificates evidencing such Equity Interests, delivering such Uniform Commercial Code financing statements, and executing and delivering security agreements for filing and recording in the United States Patent and Trademark Office and the United States Copyright Office) as shall be necessary or reasonably advisable in the reasonable opinion of Administrative Agent, and in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to the Administrative Agent, to create and perfect valid and enforceable first-priority Liens, subject to no other Liens except for Permitted Encumbrances, on the Collateral of such Subsidiary and all of the Equity Interests in such Subsidiary to the extent consisting Collateral as collateral security for the Obligations;

 

(d)            the Borrower Representative shall cause such Subsidiary to deliver such proof of corporate action, incumbency of officers, opinions of counsel, “Know your customer” information and other documents as is consistent with those delivered by each Obligor pursuant to Section 4.1 on the Effective Date, in each case, as Administrative Agent shall have reasonably requested; and

 

(e)            if such Subsidiary is formed or incorporated in a non-U.S. jurisdiction, (i) such jurisdiction shall be a Qualified Jurisdiction, (ii) any form of security and guaranty agreements have to be in form reasonably acceptable to Administrative Agent and the Borrower Representative (consistent, to the extent in effect on the Effective Date, with the security and guaranty agreements in effect on the Effective Date or otherwise consistent with the customary market practice in the applicable jurisdiction) and Administrative Agent shall have completed any “Know your customer” diligence;

 

provided, however, if a Borrower or any of its Subsidiaries that is a Guarantor forms or acquires a new Tax Preferred Subsidiary, such Borrower shall only be required to, or cause the Guarantor that is the owner of the Equity Interests of such Tax Preferred Subsidiary that constitutes Collateral to, take such action (including delivering certificates and transfer powers for such Equity Interests and delivering Uniform Commercial Code financing statements) as shall be necessary or advisable in the opinion of Administrative Agent, and in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to the Administrative Agent, to create and perfect valid and enforceable first-priority Liens, subject to no other Liens except for Permitted Encumbrances, on 65% of the voting Equity Interests (solely to the extent that the pledge of more than 65% would result in material adverse tax consequences to the Obligors) and 100% of the non-voting Equity Interests in each such new Tax Preferred Subsidiary as collateral security for the Obligations.

 

5.9          Further Assurances.

 

(a)            General Further Assurances. Subject to the terms of the Loan Documents, the Borrower Representative shall, and shall cause each other Obligor to, execute any and all further documents, financing statements, agreements and instruments, and take all such further actions (including the filing and recording of financing statements, fixture filings, mortgages, deeds of trust and other documents), which Administrative Agent may reasonably request, to effectuate the transactions contemplated by the Loan Documents or, to grant, preserve, protect or perfect the Liens created or intended to be created by the Security Documents or the validity or priority of any such Lien, all at the expense of the Borrowers. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in this Agreement or the other Loan Documents, unless otherwise elected by the Borrowers no actions in, or required by the applicable laws of, any non-U.S. jurisdiction shall be required in order to create any security interests in any assets or to perfect or make enforceable such security interests (including in Equity Interests of CFCs or any intellectual property rights), there shall be no security agreements or pledge agreements governed under the applicable laws of any non-U.S. jurisdiction and there shall be no requirement to make any filings or take any action in any office in any foreign jurisdiction (including with respect to foreign intellectual property) or register or apply to register any intellectual property rights.

 

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(b)            Real Property Requirement. If the Real Property Requirement shall cease to be satisfied, the Borrower Representative shall, no later than 120 days after the acquisition of any owned real property (or such longer period as Administrative Agent shall agree to in writing in its sole discretion), cause the Real Property Requirement to be satisfied by causing such additional owned real property or other owned real property to be subjected to a Lien securing the Obligations and shall take, and cause the other Obligors to take, such actions as are necessary or reasonably requested by Administrative Agent to grant and perfect such Liens and deliver such other documents (including the delivery of such Mortgages, title insurance commitments (to the extent available at commercially reasonable cost), exception documents, surveys, flood hazard determination certificates (and related Borrower notices), evidence of flood insurance (if applicable), available environmental assessments, opinions of counsel and other documents, in each case, as may be reasonably requested by Administrative Agent) as is consistent with those delivered by each Obligor on the Effective Date, all at the expense of the Obligors to the extent provided for under Section 10.3.

 

Notwithstanding anything to the contrary herein or in any other Loan Document, it is understood and agreed that:

 

(i)             no control agreements with respect to control agreements related to deposit accounts and securities accounts or commodities accounts shall be required hereunder or under any other Loan Document;

 

(ii)            no landlord waivers, collateral access agreements, bailee waivers, estoppel letters or other similar agreements with respect to the Collateral shall be required hereunder or under any other Loan Document;

 

(iii)           other than to the extent readily available, no environmental reports shall be required to be delivered hereunder or under any other Loan Document; and

 

(iv)            no Obligors shall be required to (A) perfect any pledges and security interests by any means other than by (1) filings pursuant to the Uniform Commercial Code in the office of the secretary of state (or similar central filing office) of the relevant state(s) and filings in the applicable real estate records with respect to Mortgaged Properties or any fixtures relating to Mortgaged Properties, (2) filings in United States government offices with respect to intellectual property and (3) delivery to the Administrative Agent to be held in its possession of all Collateral consisting of intercompany notes (other than Excluded Property), security certificates of issuers owned by Holdings, the Borrowers or the Guarantors and instruments (other than Excluded Property) issued to the Borrowers or Guarantors, together with customary endorsements or transfer powers, in each case, as required by the Security Agreement, (B) provide any notice to or obtain the consent of governmental authorities under the Federal Assignment of Claims Act (or any state equivalent thereof), or (C) enter into any source code escrow arrangement (or be obligated to register intellectual property).

 

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5.10        Cash Management Systems. Within 180 days after the Effective Date (or such later day as the Administrative Agent may agree in its reasonable discretion), each Obligor shall establish their primary depository and treasury management relationships with JPMorgan or one of its Affiliates and thereafter for so long as JPMorgan is a Lender hereunder, maintain its primary depository and treasury management relationships with JPMorgan or one of its Affiliates.

 

5.11        Post-Closing Deliverables. The Borrower Representative shall deliver to the Administrative Agent all documents required to be delivered pursuant to the Schedule 5.11 by the deadlines set forth therein; it being understood that, notwithstanding anything else set forth in this Agreement or the other Loan Documents to the contrary, such documents shall not be required to be delivered prior to such deadline.

 

5.12        Designation of Subsidiaries. The Borrowers may at any time after the Effective Date designate or redesignate any Restricted Subsidiary of any Borrower as an Unrestricted Subsidiary or any Unrestricted Subsidiary as a Restricted Subsidiary; provided that, (i) immediately before and after such designation or redesignation, no Event of Default pursuant to Section 8.1(a), (b), (d) (solely with respect to Section 7), (e) (solely with respect to Section 5.1(a), (b) or (c)), (h) or (i) shall have occurred and be continuing and (ii) after giving Pro Forma Effect to such designation or redesignation, the Borrowers are in compliance with the Financial Covenant. The designation or redesignation of any Subsidiary as an Unrestricted Subsidiary after the Effective Date shall constitute an Investment by the Borrowers therein at the date of designation or redesignation in an amount equal to the Fair Market Value as reasonably determined in good faith by the Borrowers of the Borrower’s or its Subsidiary’s (as applicable) Investment therein. The designation or redesignation of any Unrestricted Subsidiary as a Restricted Subsidiary shall constitute (i) an Investment, the incurrence of Indebtedness and any Liens at the time of designation (to the extent any Investment, Indebtedness or Liens of such Subsidiary exists at such time) and (ii) a return on any Investment by the Borrower in Unrestricted Subsidiaries pursuant to the preceding sentence in an amount equal to the Fair Market Value of such Subsidiary on the date of designation or redesignation, as reasonably determined in good faith by the Borrowers at the date of such designation or redesignation. No Material Intellectual Property or exclusive license in any Material Intellectual Property shall be permitted to be transferred by Holdings or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries to any Unrestricted Subsidiary, whether by designation hereunder or other transfer or disposition, other than non-exclusive licenses in the Ordinary Course of Business.

 

5.13        Lines of Business. Engage in any material line of business substantially different from those lines of business conducted by the Borrowers or any of the Restricted Subsidiaries on the Effective Date or any business or any other activities that are reasonably similar, ancillary, corollary, synergistic, complementary or related to, or a reasonable extension, development or expansion of, the businesses conducted by the Borrowers or any of the Restricted Subsidiaries on the Effective Date (and non-core incidental businesses acquired in connection with any Permitted Acquisition or permitted Investment), or to facilitate any of the foregoing, in each case as reasonably determined by the Borrowers in good faith.

 

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5.14        Transactions with Affiliates. No Obligor shall, nor shall it permit any of its Restricted Subsidiaries to, sell, lease or otherwise transfer any assets to, or purchase, lease or otherwise acquire any assets from, or otherwise engage in any other transactions with, any of its Affiliates, if the value of such transaction is in excess of the greater of (x) $4,500,000 and (y) 15% of Consolidated EBITDA (determined at the time of any such transaction (calculated on a pro forma basis) as of the last day of the most recently ended four Fiscal Quarter period for which financial statements have been delivered pursuant to Sections 5.1(a) and (b)) except:

 

(a)            transactions at prices and on terms and conditions that are fair and reasonable and not materially less favorable to such Obligor or such Restricted Subsidiary than could be obtained on an arm’s length basis from unrelated third parties as determined in good faith by the Borrowers;

 

(b)            transactions expressly permitted by Sections 6.1, 6.3, 6.4, and 6.5(d), (j), (o) and (v);

 

(c)            any Restricted Payments permitted by Section 6.6 (other than Section 6.6(e)(iv) or (o));

 

(d)            a customary indemnity provided for the benefit of officers and directors (or comparable managers) of such Company;

 

(e)            so long as it has been approved by such Company’s board of directors (or comparable governing body) in accordance with applicable law, the payment of reasonable compensation, severance, reimbursement or employee benefit arrangements (including severance benefits and health, welfare and retirement benefits and equity incentive and option plans) to employees, officers, and outside directors of such Company in the Ordinary Course of Business;

 

(f)             (i) transactions between any Obligors, and (ii) transactions between Restricted Subsidiaries that are not Obligors;

 

(g)            loans or advances to employees of any Obligor or its Restricted Subsidiaries permitted hereunder;

 

(h)            the Management Agreement and the payments pursuant thereto (other than Section 6.6(e)(iv)), without giving effect to amendments, modifications, or waivers of the Management Agreement with respect to payment amounts after the Effective Date that are, when taken as a whole, materially adverse to the Lenders compared to the Management Agreement in effect on the Effective Date;

 

(i)             the Acquisition and any transaction contemplated by the Surf Merger Agreement;

 

(j)             transactions among any Obligors and their Restricted Subsidiaries constituting any part of a Permitted Reorganization or IPO Reorganization;

 

(k)            transactions among any Borrower and its Restricted Subsidiaries or any entity that becomes a Restricted Subsidiary or an additional Borrower as a result of such transaction;

 

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(l)             loans and other transactions made by Holdings and its Restricted Subsidiaries to joint ventures (to the extent any such joint venture is only an Affiliate as a result of Investments by Holdings and its Restricted Subsidiaries in such joint venture) to the extent otherwise permitted under Section 6.5;

 

(m)           employment, consulting and severance arrangements between a Borrower (or any direct or indirect parent) and its Restricted Subsidiaries and their respective officers and employees in the Ordinary Course of Business (including loans and advances in connection therewith) and transactions pursuant to stock option plans and employee benefit plans and arrangements in the Ordinary Course of Business;

 

(n)            the payment of customary fees and reasonable out-of-pocket costs to, and indemnities provided on behalf of, directors, officers, employees and consultants of the Borrowers and their Restricted Subsidiaries (or any direct or indirect parent of a Borrower) in the Ordinary Course of Business to the extent attributable to the ownership or operation of the Borrowers and their Restricted Subsidiaries;

 

(o)            transactions pursuant to any arrangement or agreement in existence on the Effective Date and set forth on Schedule 5.14, or any amendment, extension, renewal, modification or replacement of any such arrangement or agreement (so long as any such amendment, extension, renewal, modification or replacement would not be materially adverse to the Lenders or the Administrative Agent);

 

(p)            so long as no Event of Default pursuant to Section 8.1(a), (b), (h) or (i) has occurred and is continuing, customary payments by the Borrowers and any of their Restricted Subsidiaries to the Sponsor made for any financial advisory, financing, underwriting or placement services or in respect of other investment banking activities (including in connection with acquisitions or divestitures) which payments are approved by the majority of the members of the board of directors (or analogous governing body) or a majority of the disinterested members of the board of directors (or analogous governing body) of the applicable Borrower in good faith;

 

(q)            payments by a Borrower or any of its Subsidiaries pursuant to any tax sharing agreements with any direct or indirect parent of the Borrower to the extent attributable to the ownership or operation of the Borrower and the Subsidiaries, but only to the extent permitted by Section 6.6;

 

(r)            the issuance or transfer of Equity Interests (other than Disqualified Equity Interests) of a Borrower (or any direct or indirect parent) or any one of its Subsidiaries to the extent not otherwise prohibited by the Loan Documents;

 

(s)            transactions in which a Borrower or any of the Restricted Subsidiaries, as the case may be, deliver to the Administrative Agent a letter from an independent financial advisor stating that such transaction is fair to the applicable Borrower or such Restricted Subsidiary from a financial point of view or meets the requirements of Section 5.14;

 

(t)            payments to or from, and transactions with, joint ventures (to the extent any such joint venture is only an Affiliate as a result of Investments by Holdings and the Restricted Subsidiaries in such joint venture) in the ordinary course of business to the extent otherwise permitted under Section 6.5;

 

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(u)            Affiliate repurchases of (i) the Loans or Commitments to the extent permitted hereunder or (ii) any other Indebtedness, and, in the case of each of the foregoing, the payments and other transactions reasonably related thereto; and

 

(v)            transactions approved by a majority of the disinterested members of the board of directors (or similar governing body) of the Borrowers; provided that if the value of such transaction (or series of transactions) exceeds the greater of (x) $7,500,000 and (y) 25% of Consolidated EBITDA (calculated on a pro forma basis as of the last day of the most recently ended four Fiscal Quarter period for which financial statements have been delivered pursuant to Section 5.1(a) or (b)) then the Borrower Representative shall notify (along with reasonable detail) the Administrative Agent of any such transaction.

 

5.15       Fiscal Year. No Obligor shall, nor shall it permit any of its Subsidiaries to change the Fiscal Year end date of any Obligor or is Subsidiaries without notice to the Administrative Agent.

 

5.16       Ratings. The Borrowers shall use commercially reasonable efforts to (a) obtain a private corporate rating (but not a specific rating) of Borrower and a private rating (but not a specific rating) for the Term Loans from at least one (1) nationally recognized statistical rating agency, and (b) maintain and refresh such rating as reasonably requested by the Administrative Agent.

 

5.17       Use of Proceeds and Letters of Credit. No Obligor shall, nor shall it permit any of its Restricted Subsidiaries to: (a) use the proceeds of the Initial Term Loans and Revolving Credit Loans made on the Effective Date for any purpose other than to (i) consummate the Transactions, (ii) pay the Transaction Costs (solely with the proceeds of the Initial Term Loans), (iii) issue Letters of Credit, (iv) to fund any working capital adjustments required by the Surf Merger Agreement and (v) fund any original issue discount and upfront fees required pursuant to the Fee Letter; provided that the aggregate amount of Revolving Credit Loans made on the Effective Date shall not exceed $3,000,000; (b) use the proceeds of the Revolving Credit Loans and Swingline Loans made after the Effective Date for any purposes other than to fund the Borrowers’ working capital and general corporate purposes (including Permitted Acquisitions but subject to Section 6.15) or, subject to the terms and conditions of this Agreement and the other Loan Documents, the general corporate purposes of any Obligor; and (c) use any part of the proceeds of any Loan for any purpose that violates any of the Regulations of the Board, including Regulations U and X. No Obligor shall, directly or knowingly indirectly, use the proceeds of the Loans, or lend or contribute such proceeds to any Subsidiary, joint venture partner or other Person, (i) to fund any activities or business of or with any Person, or in any country or territory, that, at the time of such funding, is, or whose government is, the subject of comprehensive Sanctions, or (ii) in any other manner that would result in a violation of Sanctions by any Person (including any Person participating in the Loans, whether as underwriter, advisor, investor, or otherwise), or (iii) for any payments to any governmental official or employee, political party, official of a political party, candidate for political office, or anyone else acting in an official capacity, in order to obtain, retain or direct business or obtain any improper advantage, in violation of any Anti-Corruption Laws that may be applicable

 

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6.             NEGATIVE COVENANTS

 

So long as any Commitment is outstanding and thereafter until all Obligations are Fully Satisfied, each Obligor covenants and agrees with Administrative Agent, Issuing Lender and the Lenders that:

 

6.1          Indebtedness. No Obligor shall, nor shall it permit any of its Restricted Subsidiaries to, create, incur, assume, or permit to exist any Indebtedness, except:

 

(a)            Indebtedness under this Agreement and the other Loan Documents;

 

(b)            the Indebtedness (i) described on Schedule 6.1 or (ii) outstanding on the Effective Date not in excess of $1,000,000 in the aggregate (when taken together with all other Indebtedness outstanding in reliance on this clause (b)(ii)), and any Refinancing Indebtedness in respect of the foregoing Indebtedness;

 

(c)            intercompany Indebtedness among any of the Obligors permitted under Section 6.5;

 

(d)            Indebtedness of the Borrowers and their Restricted Subsidiaries consisting of Capital Lease Obligations and Indebtedness incurred to finance the acquisition, construction or improvement of any asset, including mortgage financings (other than Mortgaged Property and so long as the Real Property Requirement remains satisfied), or finance such acquisition, construction or improvement within 270 days within the incurrence of such Indebtedness; provided that (i) such Indebtedness when incurred does not exceed the purchase price or cost of construction of such asset (other than giving effect to the interest component thereof), and (ii) the aggregate principal amount of Indebtedness permitted by this clause (d) does not exceed the greater of (x) $7,500,000 and (y) 25% of Consolidated EBITDA (determined at the time of incurrence of any such Indebtedness (calculated on a pro forma basis) as of the last day of the most recently ended four Fiscal Quarter period for which financial statements have been delivered pursuant to Section 5.1(a) or (b)) at any time outstanding, and any Refinancing Indebtedness in respect of such Indebtedness;

 

(e)            [reserved];

 

(f)             Indebtedness incurred in the Ordinary Course of Business under surety and appeal bonds, performance bonds, bid bonds, appeal bonds, and similar obligations;

 

(g)            Indebtedness consisting of (i) Guarantees arising with respect to customary indemnification obligations to purchasers in connection with Dispositions permitted under Section 6.4; and (ii) Guarantees with respect to Indebtedness of any Borrower or any Restricted Subsidiary, to the extent that the Person that is obligated under such Guarantee could have incurred such underlying Indebtedness pursuant to this Agreement or it constitutes an Investment permitted under Section 6.5;

 

(h)            Indebtedness owing to former employees, officers, or directors of Holdings or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries or Affiliates (or any spouses, ex-spouses, successors, heirs, or estates of any of the foregoing) incurred in connection with the repurchase by Holdings of the Equity Interests of Holdings that has been issued to such Persons, so long as the aggregate amount of all such Indebtedness outstanding at any one time does not exceed the greater of (i) $3,000,000 and (y) 10% of Consolidated EBITDA (determined at the time of incurrence of any such Indebtedness (calculated on a pro forma basis) as of the last day of the most recently ended four Fiscal Quarter period for which financial statements have been delivered pursuant to Section 5.1(a) or (b)) in the aggregate;

 

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(i)             other unsecured Indebtedness owing to sellers of assets or Equity Interests to an Obligor or a Restricted Subsidiary that is incurred by the applicable Obligor or a Restricted Subsidiary in connection with the consummation of one or more Permitted Acquisitions so long as the aggregate principal amount for all such unsecured Indebtedness does not exceed the greater of (x) $6,000,000 and (y) 20% of Consolidated EBITDA (determined at the time of incurrence of any such Indebtedness (calculated on a pro forma basis) as of the last day of the most recently ended four Fiscal Quarter period for which financial statements have been delivered pursuant to Section 5.1(a) or (b)) at any one time outstanding;

 

(j)             unsecured Indebtedness in respect of earn-outs, contingent liabilities in respect of any indemnification obligation, expense reimbursement obligations, adjustments of purchase price, or similar obligations to the extent (i) required by the Surf Merger Agreement, or (ii) owing to sellers of assets or Equity Interests to any Obligor or its Restricted Subsidiaries that are incurred in connection with the consummation of one or more Permitted Acquisitions or other similar permitted Investments;

 

(k)            Indebtedness incurred in the Ordinary Course of Business in respect of employee severance and employment agreements, workers’ compensation claims, unemployment or other insurance or self-insurance obligations, health, disability or other benefits to employees or former employees and their families;

 

(l)             Indebtedness owed to any Person providing property, casualty, liability, or other insurance to the Borrowers or any of their Restricted Subsidiaries incurred only to defer the cost of such insurance, and, to the extent secured, shall only be secured by the applicable insurance policies (or proceeds arising therefrom);

 

(m)           Indebtedness incurred in the Ordinary Course of Business in respect of Cash Management Services;

 

(n)            to the extent constituting Indebtedness, obligations in respect of bankers’ acceptances, and completion guarantees, standby letters of credit and warranty and contractual service obligations of a like nature, trade letters of credit and documentary letters of credit and similar bonds or guarantees provided in the Ordinary Course of Business in connection with the construction or build-out of any owned or leased real property;

 

(o)            endorsements of instruments or other payment items for deposit;

 

(p)            Subordinated Indebtedness of the Borrowers and their Restricted Subsidiaries in an aggregate principal amount not exceeding the greater of (i) $7,500,000 and (ii) 25% of Consolidated EBITDA (determined at the time of incurrence of any such Indebtedness (calculated on a pro forma basis) as of the last day of the most recently ended four Fiscal Quarter period for which financial statements have been delivered pursuant to Section 5.1(a) or (b)) at any time outstanding;

 

(q)            Indebtedness of Foreign Subsidiaries in an aggregate principal amount not exceeding the greater of (i) $4,500,000 and (ii) 15% of Consolidated EBITDA (determined at the time of incurrence of any such Indebtedness (calculated on a pro forma basis) as of the last day of the most recently ended four Fiscal Quarter period for which financial statements have been delivered pursuant to Section 5.1(a) or (b)) at any time outstanding;

 

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(r)             Acquired Indebtedness of the Borrowers and their Restricted Subsidiaries so long as (i) such Indebtedness is not incurred in contemplation of the applicable acquisition, (ii) such Indebtedness is unsecured or secured only by acquired assets, proceeds, products or cross collateralized Capital Leases and not guaranteed by any Obligors unless otherwise permitted by this Agreement, (iii) at the time of the applicable acquisition and after giving effect thereto, no Event of Default has occurred and is continuing and (iv) the outstanding amount of such Acquired Indebtedness does not exceed the greater of (x) $7,500,000 and (y) 25% of Consolidated EBITDA (determined at the time of incurrence of any such Indebtedness (calculated on a pro forma basis) as of the last day of the most recently ended four Fiscal Quarter period for which financial statements have been delivered pursuant to Section 5.1(a) or (b)) outstanding at any one time;

 

(s)            to the extent constituting Indebtedness, contingent obligations arising under indemnity agreements to title insurance companies to cause such title insurers to issue title insurance policies in the Ordinary Course of Business with respect to real property of the Borrowers or any of their Restricted Subsidiaries;

 

(t)             customer deposits and advance payments received in the Ordinary Course of Business from customers for goods purchased;

 

(u)            other Indebtedness of a Borrower or its Restricted Subsidiary in an aggregate principal amount not exceeding the greater of (i) $10,000,000 and (ii) 35% of Consolidated EBITDA (determined at the time of incurrence of any such Indebtedness (calculated on a pro forma basis) as of the last day of the most recently ended four Fiscal Quarter period for which financial statements have been delivered pursuant to Section 5.1(a) or (b)) at any time outstanding;

 

(v)            Indebtedness (i) of any Securitization Subsidiary arising under any Qualified Securitization Financing, (ii) of any Borrower or any Restricted Subsidiary arising under any Receivables Facility or (iii) of any Foreign Subsidiary in connection with customary accounts receivable factoring facilities in the Ordinary Course of Business, in an aggregate principal amount under this clause (v) not exceeding the greater of (i) $9,000,000 and (ii) 30% of Consolidated EBITDA (determined at the time of incurrence of any such Indebtedness (calculated on a pro forma basis) as of the last day of the most recently ended four Fiscal Quarter period for which financial statements have been delivered pursuant to Section 5.1(a) or (b));

 

(w)           Indebtedness representing deferred compensation or similar arrangements to employees of any Borrower or any Restricted Subsidiary incurred in the Ordinary Course of Business;

 

(x)             Indebtedness incurred by any Borrower or any Restricted Subsidiary in a Permitted Acquisition, any other Investment, merger or Disposition permitted hereunder or transaction with Affiliates permitted hereunder, in each case, constituting customary indemnification obligations;

 

(y)            Indebtedness incurred in the Ordinary Course of Business consisting of obligations of any Borrower or any Restricted Subsidiary under deferred compensation or other similar arrangements incurred by such Person in connection with the Transactions, Permitted Acquisitions, or any other Investment, in each case, otherwise permitted hereunder;

 

(z)             Cash Management Services and other Indebtedness in respect of netting services, automatic clearinghouse arrangements, overdraft protections, employee credit card programs and other cash management and similar arrangements in the Ordinary Course of Business and any Guarantees thereof or the honoring by a bank or other financial institution of a check, draft or similar instrument drawn against insufficient funds in the ordinary course of business, so long as such Indebtedness is extinguished within 5 Business Days of its incurrence;

 

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(aa)          Indebtedness consisting of take-or-pay obligations contained in supply arrangements, in each case, in the Ordinary Course of Business;

 

(bb)         Credit Agreement Refinancing Indebtedness;

 

(cc)          Indebtedness consisting of fees to the Sponsor payable pursuant to the Management Agreement;

 

(dd)         Indebtedness of the Borrowers and their Restricted Subsidiaries in an amount not to exceed at any time outstanding 100% of the Excluded Contribution Amount;

 

(ee)          Ratio Debt so long as (i) if secured by the Collateral on a pari passu basis with the Obligations, the Consolidated First Lien Net Leverage Ratio calculated on a pro forma basis as of the last day of the Fiscal Quarter for which financial statements have last been delivered to the Lenders pursuant to Section 5.1(a) or 5.1(b) is not greater than 4.50 to 1.00, (ii) if secured on a junior basis to the Liens securing the Obligations, the Consolidated Secured Net Leverage Ratio calculated on a pro forma basis as of the last day of the Fiscal Quarter for which financial statements have last been delivered to the Lenders pursuant to Section 5.1(a) or 5.1(b) is not greater than 5.25 to 1.00 and (iii) if unsecured or secured by assets not constituting Collateral, the Consolidated Total Net Leverage Ratio calculated on a pro forma basis as of the last day of the Fiscal Quarter for which financial statements have last been delivered to the Lenders pursuant to Section 5.1(a) or 5.1(b) is not greater than 5.25 to 1.00;

 

(ff)           Incremental Equivalent Debt; and

 

(gg)         to the extent constituting Indebtedness, all premiums (if any), interest (including post-petition interest), fees, expenses, charges and additional or contingent interest on obligations described in clauses (a) through (ff) above.

 

6.2          Liens. No Obligor shall, nor shall it permit any of its Restricted Subsidiaries to, create, incur, assume, or permit to exist any Lien on any property or asset now owned or hereafter acquired by it, except for Permitted Encumbrances.

 

6.3          Fundamental Changes.

 

(a)            No Obligor shall, nor shall it permit any of its Restricted Subsidiaries to, merge into or consolidate with any other Person, or permit any other Person to merge into or consolidate with it, or sell, transfer, lease or otherwise dispose of (in one transaction or in a series of transactions) all or substantially all of its assets, (in each case, whether now owned or hereafter acquired), or liquidate, wind up, or dissolve, except that:

 

(i)            any Subsidiary of a Borrower may merge or consolidate into any Borrower or any Restricted Subsidiary (including any Person that will be a Restricted Subsidiary upon the consummation of a Permitted Acquisition); provided, (x) if a Borrower is party to any such transaction, a Borrower shall be the surviving entity, and (y) if a Borrower is not a party to such transaction but an Obligor (other than Holdings) is, (A) an Obligor shall be the surviving entity or (B) if a Restricted Subsidiary that is not an Obligor shall be the surviving entity or the transferee of such assets, such merger shall be deemed to constitute a Disposition and must be permitted under Section 6.4(e) or (q); provided that, in each case, at the time thereof and immediately after giving effect thereto, no Event of Default pursuant to Section 8.1(a), (b), (h) or (i) shall have occurred and be continuing;

 

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(ii)            the Borrowers or any Restricted Subsidiary of the Borrowers may sell, transfer, merger, consolidate, lease or otherwise dispose of its assets as permitted pursuant to Section 6.4;

 

(iii)            any Restricted Subsidiary may liquidate, wind up, or dissolve, or suspend or consolidate its operations, if (x) the Borrowers determine in good faith that such liquidation, winding up, dissolution, suspension, or consolidation is in the best interest of the Borrowers and is not materially disadvantageous to the Lenders, and (y) in the case of any liquidation, winding up or dissolution of an Obligor, all of the assets of such Obligor are transferred to an Obligor (other than Holdings) that is not liquidating, winding up, or dissolving; provided that, in each case, at the time thereof and immediately after giving effect thereto, no Event of Default pursuant to Section 8.1(a), (b), (h) or (i) shall have occurred and be continuing;

 

(iv)           any Restricted Subsidiary may merge or consolidate with any other Person in order to effect an Investment permitted pursuant to Section 6.5; provided that (x) the continuing or surviving Person shall be a Restricted Subsidiary of a Borrower, which together with each of its Restricted Subsidiaries, shall have complied with the requirements of Section 5.8 and Section 5.9 to the extent required, (y) if an Obligor is a party to such transaction, the surviving Person shall be an Obligor and (z) if a Borrower is party to such transaction, the surviving party shall be a Borrower;

 

(v)            any Borrower and any Restricted Subsidiarity may consummate the transactions contemplated by the Surf Merger Agreement (and documents related thereto) and the Transactions; and

 

(vi)            a merger, dissolution, liquidation, consolidation or Disposition, the purpose of which is to effect a Disposition permitted pursuant to Section 6.4 (other than pursuant to 6.4(b)), a Permitted Acquisition, permitted Investment, a Permitted Reorganization or an IPO Reorganization Transaction; provided that if any Borrower is party to such transaction, the surviving party shall be a Borrower.

 

6.4          Dispositions. No Obligor shall, nor shall it permit any of its Restricted Subsidiaries to, make any Disposition, except:

 

(a)            Dispositions of equipment or inventory that is (i) worn, damaged, unnecessary, negligible no longer used or useful, surplus or obsolete, whether now owned or hereafter acquired, in each case, in the Ordinary Course of Business or (ii) obsolete or required for regulatory purposes, so long as in the case of this clause (ii) the Net Cash Proceeds of such Dispositions is used to prepay the Loans in accordance with Section 2.10(b)(i) to the extent required thereunder;

 

(b)            Dispositions or transactions permitted by Section 6.3 (other than 6.3(a)(vi)) or 6.5 (other than 6.5(w));

 

(c)            Dispositions of Inventory to buyers in the Ordinary Course of Business;

 

(d)            Dispositions of cash and Cash Equivalents in the Ordinary Course of Business;

 

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(e)            Dispositions of property by (i) the Borrowers and any of their Restricted Subsidiaries to any other Obligor (other than Holdings), (ii) any Restricted Subsidiary that is not an Obligor to any other Restricted Subsidiary that is not an Obligor, (iii) any Obligor to any Restricted Subsidiary that is not an Obligor (so long as permitted under Section 6.5); provided that (A) the portion (if any) of any Disposition made for less than fair market value and (B) any non-cash consideration received in exchange for any such Disposition, shall in each case constitute an Investment in such Restricted Subsidiary and must be permitted under Section 6.5, and (iv) by any Restricted Subsidiary that is not an Obligor to any Restricted Subsidiary that is an Obligor;

 

(f)             licenses, sublicenses, leases, or subleases granted to third parties in the Ordinary Course of Business not interfering in any material respect with the business of the Borrowers or any of their Restricted Subsidiaries;

 

(g)            sales or exchanges of property solely to replace such equipment with replacement equipment of substantially equivalent or greater value;

 

(h)            issuances of Equity Interests by a Restricted Subsidiary of the Borrowers to a Borrower or any Restricted Subsidiary of the Borrowers constituting an Investment permitted hereunder;

 

(i)             any abandonment or cancellation of intellectual property that, in the reasonable good faith judgment of the Borrowers, is no longer used or useful in any material respect in the business of the Borrowers and their Restricted Subsidiaries taken as a whole, or which abandonment or cancellation is not within the reasonable control of the Borrowers or their Restricted Subsidiaries;

 

(j)             any Disposition of real property to a Governmental Authority as a result of a condemnation, eminent domain, confiscation or requisition of such real property;

 

(k)            the sale or discount, in each case without recourse, of accounts receivable arising in the Ordinary Course of Business, but only in connection with the compromise or collection thereof;

 

(l)             any involuntary loss, damage or destruction of property, including pursuant to an Event of Loss;

 

(m)           Dispositions of non-core assets acquired by the Borrowers and their Restricted Subsidiaries pursuant to a Permitted Acquisition consummated after the Effective Date so long as the consideration received for the assets to be so Disposed is at least equal to the Fair Market Value of such assets and at least 75% of such consideration is paid in cash or Cash Equivalents;

 

(n)            the making of Restricted Payments (other than pursuant to Section 6.6(o)) that are permitted to be made pursuant to this Agreement;

 

(o)            the granting of Permitted Encumbrances;

 

(p)            any swap of assets in exchange for services or other assets; provided that (i) no Event of Default described in clause (a), (b), (h) or (i) of Section 8.1 has occurred and is continuing, (ii) any such swap is for Fair Market Value and (iii) any Collateral that is swapped must be in exchange for assets that become Collateral within the applicable timelines set forth in Section 5.8 and 5.9;

 

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(q)            Dispositions not otherwise permitted under this Section 6.4; provided that (i) at the time of such Disposition, no Event of Default pursuant to Section 8.1(a), (b), (h) or (i) shall exist or would result from such Disposition, and (ii) 75% of the Fair Market Value of all such property Disposed of in any Fiscal Year in excess of the greater of (x) $4,000,000 and (y) 15% of Consolidated EBITDA (determined at the time of any such Disposition (calculated on a pro forma basis) as of the last day of the most recently ended four Fiscal Quarter period for which financial statements have been delivered pursuant to Section 5.1(a) or (b)) is received in the form of cash;

 

(r)             Dispositions of Investments (including Equity Interests) in Joint Ventures to the extent required by, or made pursuant to customary buy/sell arrangements between, the joint venture parties set forth in joint venture arrangements and similar binding arrangements at the time of formation of such Joint Venture or at any time any time another Person that is not an Affiliate of the Obligors becomes a party thereto;

 

(s)            the transfer for fair value of property to another Person in connection with a joint venture arrangement with respect to the transferred property; provided that such transfer is permitted under Section 6.5(r) or (t);

 

(t)             any Disposition in connection with the Acquisition or contemplated pursuant to the Surf Merger Agreement;

 

(u)            Dispositions of real property to any Person for Fair Market Value in connection with any sale-leaseback or similar transaction not to exceed the greater of (i) $7,500,000 and (ii) 25% of Consolidated EBITDA (determined at the time of any such Disposition (calculated on a pro forma basis) as of the last day of the most recently ended four Fiscal Quarter period for which financial statements have been delivered pursuant to Section 5.1(a) or (b)); provided that (i) no Event of Default has occurred and is continuing at the time of such Disposition, (ii) the Borrowers and their Restricted Subsidiaries shall have received at least 75% of such consideration in the form of cash;

 

(v)            Dispositions in connection with any Permitted Reorganization or IPO Reorganization;

 

(w)            any sale of Equity Interests in, or Indebtedness or other securities of, an Unrestricted Subsidiary;

 

(x)            the unwinding or settling of any Swap Obligation or obligation with respect to Cash Management Services in the Ordinary Course of Business;

 

(y)            any sale, transfer and other Disposition of accounts receivable (including write-offs, discounts and compromises) in connection with the compromise, settlement or collection thereof in the Ordinary Course of Business;

 

(z)            Dispositions of Receivables Assets in connection with any Receivables Facility or any Qualified Securitization Financing; and

 

(aa)          any Borrower and any Restricted Subsidiary may (i) convert any intercompany Indebtedness (other than to the extent owing by a non-Obligor to an Obligor) to Equity Interests otherwise permitted hereunder, (ii) discount, write off, forgive or cancel any intercompany Indebtedness or other obligation owing by any Borrower or any Subsidiary Guarantor to a Restricted Subsidiary that is not, in each case, an Obligor or to an Obligor, (iii) settle, discount, write-off, forgive or cancel any Indebtedness owing by any present or former consultants, managers, directors, officers, employees of Holdings, any Borrower or any Subsidiary or any of their successors or assigns, in the Ordinary Course of Business, or (iv) surrender or waive contractual rights and settle, release, surrender or waive contractual or litigation claims, in the case of clause (iv), in the Ordinary Course of Business.

 

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6.5          Investments. No Obligor shall, nor shall it permit any of its Restricted Subsidiaries to, make, or permit to remain outstanding any Investments except:

 

(a)            the Investments outstanding or contemplated on the Effective Date (i) identified on Schedule 6.5 or (ii) in an amount not to exceed $1,000,000 in the aggregate (when taken together with all other Indebtedness outstanding in reliance on this clause (a)(ii)), and, in each case, any modification, replacement, renewal, reinvestment or extension thereof and any modification, renewal, replacement, reinvestment or extension thereof so long as the amount of any Investment subject to any such modification, replacement, renewal, reinvestment or extension does not exceed the amount outstanding (plus any unused commitments, accrued interest, fees and expenses and premiums incurred in connection therewith) on the Effective Date);

 

(b)            Investments in cash and Cash Equivalents;

 

(c)            Investments by (i) any Obligor or a Restricted Subsidiary that is not an Obligor in or to any Obligor (other than Holdings), (ii) any Obligor to a Restricted Subsidiary that is not an Obligor not to exceed, in the aggregate, the greater of (x) $7,500,000 and (y) 25% of Consolidated EBITDA (determined at the time of any such Investment (calculated on a pro forma basis) as of the last day of the most recently ended four Fiscal Quarter period for which financial statements have been delivered pursuant to Section 5.1(a) or (b)) in the aggregate at any time outstanding for all such Investments, minus any amounts utilized pursuant to Section 6.5(i) to make Investments in Persons who do not become Guarantors and assets that do not become Collateral, and (iii) a Restricted Subsidiary that is not an Obligor to another Restricted Subsidiary that is not an Obligor;

 

(d)           Investments made in respect of joint ventures or other similar agreements or partnership not to exceed the greater of (x) $4,500,000 and (y) 15% of Consolidated EBITDA (determined at the time of any such Investment (calculated on a pro forma basis) as of the last day of the most recently ended four Fiscal Quarter period for which financial statements have been delivered pursuant to Section 5.1(a) or (b)) in the aggregate at any time outstanding for all such Investments, minus any the amount of any Investments made pursuant to Section 6.5(r);

 

(e)            Investments in Hedging Agreements permitted under Section 6.11 and Cash Management Services;

 

(f)            Investments consisting of or resulting from Permitted Encumbrances (other than pursuant to clauses (r) and (u) of the definition of Permitted Encumbrances);

 

(g)            [reserved];

 

(h)            Investments constituting (i) accounts receivable arising, (ii) trade debt granted, or (iii) deposits made by the Borrowers or a Restricted Subsidiary in connection with the purchase price of goods or services, in each case in the Ordinary Course of Business;

 

(i)             Permitted Acquisitions; provided that Permitted Acquisitions of Persons who do not become Guarantors and assets that are owned by a Foreign Subsidiary, a non-Wholly Owned Restricted Subsidiary, or an Unrestricted Subsidiary, shall not, in the aggregate, exceed the greater of (x) $7,500,000 and (y) 25% of Consolidated EBITDA (determined at the time of any such Investment (calculated on a pro forma basis) as of the last day of the most recently ended four Fiscal Quarter period for which financial statements have been delivered pursuant to Section 5.1(a) or (b)) in the aggregate at any time outstanding for all such Investments, minus any amounts utilized pursuant to Section 6.5(c) to make Investments in Restricted Subsidiaries that are not Obligors;

 

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(j)             the establishment or creation of Wholly-Owned Domestic Subsidiaries by an Obligor, provided, in each case, such Obligor and such Subsidiary shall have complied with the provisions of Section 5.8 in respect thereof;

 

(k)            any Guarantee of, or assumption of Indebtedness of, any other Person in either case to the extent the Person incurring such Guarantee or assuming such Indebtedness would have been permitted to incur the underlying Indebtedness under Section 6.1;

 

(l)             Investments in negotiable instruments deposited or to be deposited for collection in the Ordinary Course of Business;

 

(m)           equity Investments by any Obligor in any Restricted Subsidiary of such Obligor which is required by law to maintain a minimum net capital requirement or as may be otherwise required by applicable law;

 

(n)            Investments held by a Person acquired in a Permitted Acquisition or other similar permitted Investment to the extent that such Investments were not made in contemplation of or in connection with such Permitted Acquisition and were in existence on the date of such Permitted Acquisition or other similar permitted Investment;

 

(o)            (i) loans and advances to officers, directors or employees for business related travel expenses, moving expenses and other similar expenses, including as part of a recruitment or retention plan, in each case incurred in the Ordinary Course of Business, (ii) non-cash loans to officers, directors and employees of Holdings or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries or Affiliates to simultaneously purchase Equity Interests of Holdings, and (iii) other loans and advances to such officers, directors and employees (including loans in connection with a stock option or restricted stock plan or other benefit or equity incentive plan of Holdings) not to exceed an aggregate amount of $2,000,000 at any time outstanding;

 

(p)            unsecured loans, advances or other extensions of credit with a term not longer than twelve (12) months to Protected Vendors in an aggregate amount at any time outstanding not to exceed $3,000,000 (which cap amount, for purposes of clarity, shall not include trade payables in the Ordinary Course of Business);

 

(q)            any acquisition or other Investments in an amount not to exceed the aggregate amount of net cash proceeds of any Permitted Equity Issuance received by any Borrower or any Restricted Subsidiary (to the extent such proceeds have not previously been (and are not simultaneously being) applied to anything (including any Restricted Payment under Section 6.6(l)) other than such particular use or transaction) made after the Effective Date;

 

(r)             Investments made in Unrestricted Subsidiaries not to exceed the greater of (x) $4,500,000 and (y) 15% of Consolidated EBITDA (determined at the time of any such Investment (calculated on a pro forma basis) as of the last day of the most recently ended four Fiscal Quarter period for which financial statements have been delivered pursuant to Section 5.1(a) or (b)) in the aggregate at any time outstanding for all such Investments, minus any the amount of any Investments made pursuant to Section 6.5(d);

 

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(s)            other Investments (x) at any time outstanding in an aggregate amount up to but not exceeding the greater of (A) $10,000,000 and (B) 35% of Consolidated EBITDA (determined at the time of any such Investment (calculated on a pro forma basis) as of the last day of the most recently ended four Fiscal Quarter period for which financial statements have been delivered pursuant to Section 5.1(a) or (b)) in the aggregate at any time outstanding for all such Investments (the “General Investment Basket”), plus, other than for use in respect of any Investments to be made in Unrestricted Subsidiaries, any unused amounts reallocated from the General Junior Debt Basket and the General Restricted Payment Basket and (y) in an amount such that, after giving effect to any such Investment and incurrence of any Indebtedness in connection therewith, the Consolidated First Lien Leverage Ratio calculated on a pro forma basis as of the last day of the Fiscal Quarter for which financial statements have last been delivered to the Lenders pursuant to Section 5.1(a) or 5.1(b) is not greater than 3.50 to 1.00 (determined at the time any such Investment is made); provided that, for any Investment pursuant to this clause (s)(y), no Event of Default pursuant to Section 8.1(a), (b), (h) or (i) has occurred and is continuing at the time of each such Investment;

 

(t)             Investments using the Available Amount so long as, subject to the Limited Condition Transaction Provision in connection with a Limited Condition Transaction, (i) no Event of Default pursuant to Section 8.1(a), (b), (h) or (i) shall exist or result from the use of such Available Amount, in each case, on such date that the Borrowers elect to apply the same to such Investments and (ii) Consolidated Net Leverage Ratio calculated on a pro forma basis as of the last day of the Fiscal Quarter for which financial statements have last been delivered to the Lenders pursuant to Section 5.1(a) or 5.1(b) is not greater than 4.50 to 1.00 (determined at the time any such Investment is made);

 

(u)            Investments the payment for which consists of Equity Interests (other than Disqualified Equity Interests) of Holdings; provided that the proceeds from such Equity Interests will not increase the Available Amount;

 

(v)            Investments made in connection with any Permitted Reorganization;

 

(w)            promissory notes, securities and other non-cash consideration received in connection with Dispositions permitted by Section 6.4;

 

(x)            Investments made to effect, or otherwise in connection with, the Transactions;

 

(y)            Investments in the Ordinary Course of Business consisting of UCC Article 3 endorsements for collection or deposit and UCC Article 4 customary trade arrangements with customers consistent with past practices;

 

(z)            Investments (including debt obligations and Equity Interests) received in connection with the bankruptcy or reorganization of suppliers and customers or in settlement of delinquent obligations of, or other disputes with, customers and suppliers arising in the Ordinary Course of Business or upon the foreclosure with respect to any secured Investment or other transfer of title with respect to any secured Investment;

 

(aa)          loans and advances to any direct or indirect parent of any Borrower not in excess of the amount of (after giving effect to any other loans, advances or Restricted Payments in respect thereof) Restricted Payments to the extent permitted to be made to such parent in accordance with Section 6.6, such Investment being treated for purposes of the applicable clause of Section 6.6, including any limitations, as if a Restricted Payment had been made pursuant to such clause in an amount equal to such Investment;

 

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(bb)         Investments made in the Ordinary Course of Business in connection with obtaining, maintaining or renewing client contracts and loans or advances made to distributors and suppliers in the Ordinary Course of Business;

 

(cc)          (i) any Investment in a Receivables Subsidiary or a Securitization Subsidiary in order to effectuate a Receivables Facility or a Qualified Securitization Financing, respectively, or any Investment by a Receivables Subsidiary or a Securitization Subsidiary in any other Person in connection with a Receivables Facility or a Qualified Securitization Financing, respectively; provided that any such Investment in a Receivables Subsidiary or a Securitization Subsidiary is in the form of a contribution of additional Receivables Assets, as applicable, and (ii) distributions or payments of Receivables Fees or Securitization Fees and purchases of Receivables Assets pursuant to a Securitization Repurchase Obligation in connection with a Receivables Facility or a Qualified Securitization Financing, respectively;

 

(dd)         Investments in deposit accounts, commodities and securities accounts opened in the Ordinary Course of Business; and

 

(ee)          Loans repurchased by any Borrower or a Restricted Subsidiary pursuant to and in accordance with Sections 2.10 and 10.4(g) under this Agreement;

 

For purposes of this Section 6.5 the aggregate amount of an Investment at any time shall be deemed to be equal to (i) the aggregate amount of cash, together with the aggregate Fair Market Value of property, loaned, advanced, contributed, transferred or otherwise invested that gives rise to such Investment minus (ii) the aggregate amount of distributions or other repayments received in cash in respect of such Investment, and the refund of capital with respect to, and the payment of interest or dividends on, the original principal amount of any such Investment. The amount of an Investment shall not in any event be reduced by reason of any write-off of such Investment nor increased by any increase in the amount of earnings retained in the Person in which such Investment is made or by any increase in the value of such Investment.

 

6.6          Restricted Payments. No Obligor shall, nor shall it permit any of its Restricted Subsidiaries to, declare or make any Restricted Payment, other than:

 

(a)            Restricted Payments by any Restricted Subsidiary to any Borrower or any other Restricted Subsidiary that directly or indirectly owns Equity Interests of such Restricted Subsidiary (and, in the case of a Restricted Payment by a non-Wholly Owned Subsidiary, to a Borrower or such Restricted Subsidiary and to each other owner of Equity Interests of such Restricted Subsidiary based on their relative ownership interests, it being understood, however, that any such Restricted Subsidiary may exclude one or more classes of equity holders from any such Restricted Payment so long as the class or classes of Equity Interests owned by a Borrower or such Restricted Subsidiary are not excluded from any such Restricted Payment);

 

(b)            [reserved];

 

(c)            so long as no Change in Control occurs, Restricted Payments payable in Equity Interests of Holdings;

 

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(d)            (i) payment of reasonable compensation to officers, directors, and employees for actual services rendered to the Obligors (in the case of directors, in an amount not to exceed $750,000 in any Fiscal Year) and reimbursement of out-of-pocket expenses actually incurred by such officers, directors, and employees in the Ordinary Course of Business, and (ii) payments permitted pursuant to Sections 6.7(d) and 6.7(e);

 

(e)            (i) the payment of management fees to Sponsor in an amount not to exceed the amount required by the Management Agreement as in effect as of the Effective Date so long as no Event of Default pursuant to Section 8.1(a), (b), (h) or (i) has occurred and is continuing at such time, it being understood and agreed that during such Event of Default, such fees may continue to accrue and become payable upon the waiver of the relevant Event of Default, (ii) indemnification and reimbursement of expenses to the Sponsor or its designees required by the Management Agreement as in effect on the Effective Date, (iii) other payments under the Management Agreement as in effect on the Effective Date and (iv) so long as no Event of Default pursuant to Section 8.1(a), (b), (h) or (i) has occurred and is continuing, other payments under the Management Agreement as compensation for future services provided by Sponsor (including fees in connection with the closing of any future merger, acquisition, disposition, recapitalization, issuance of securities, financing or other similar transaction but not in the form of a dividend, distribution, repurchase, redemption or management fee);

 

(f)             after an Initial Public Offering, any Restricted Payment by any Borrower or any other direct or indirect parent of any Borrower to pay listing fees and other costs and expenses attributable to being a publicly traded company which are reasonable and customary and additional Restricted Payments in an aggregate amount per calendar year not to exceed an amount equal to 7% of the net cash proceeds received by or contributed to any Borrower or any Restricted Subsidiary from any Initial Public Offering;

 

(g)            a Restricted Payment to pay for the repurchase, retirement or other acquisition or retirement for value of Equity Interests of Holdings held by any former employee, director, officer, consultant, partners or managers (or any spouses, ex-spouses, successors, heirs or estates of any of the foregoing) of a Borrower or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries pursuant to any management equity plan or stock option plan or any other management or employee benefit plan or agreement, or any equity subscription or equity holder agreement (including, for the avoidance of doubt, any principal and interest payable on any notes issued by Holdings in connection with such repurchase, retirement or other acquisition to the extent permitted by Section 6.1(h)), including any Equity Interest issued to management of any Borrower in connection with the Transactions; provided that the aggregate amount of Restricted Payments made under this Section 6.6(g) does not exceed the greater of (x) $4,500,000 and (y) 15% of Consolidated EBITDA (determined at the time of any such Restricted Payment (calculated on a pro forma basis) as of the last day of the most recently ended four Fiscal Quarter period for which financial statements have been delivered pursuant to Section 5.1(a) or 5.1(b)) in any calendar year plus the proceeds of key man life insurance policies received by any Borrower or any Restricted Subsidiary (with unused amounts in any calendar year being carried over to the next two succeeding calendar years); provided further that no Event of Default pursuant to Section 8.1(a), (b), (h) or (i) has occurred and is continuing at the time of such Restricted Payment;

 

(h)            the Borrowers or any Restricted Subsidiary may make distributions to current or former employees, officers, directors, consultants, partners or managers of the Borrowers or any of their Restricted Subsidiaries or Affiliates (or any spouses, ex-spouses, successors, heirs or estate of any of the foregoing) solely in the form of forgiveness of Indebtedness of such Persons owing to the Borrowers or any Restricted Subsidiary on account of repurchases of the stock options, restricted stock units, purchased shares or other Equity Interests of the Borrowers or any such Restricted Subsidiary held by such Persons; provided that such Indebtedness was incurred by such Persons solely to acquire Equity Interests of the Borrowers or any such Restricted Subsidiary;

 

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(i)            (i) Permitted Tax Distributions and (ii) dividends and distributions the proceeds of which shall be used by any Obligor or any Restricted Subsidiary thereof to pay (or make dividends and distributions to allow Holdings or any other direct or indirect parent of any Borrower that is an Obligor to pay) (x) franchise or other similar entity-level taxes, or (y) fees and expenses required to maintain its (or any of such direct or indirect parent’s) corporate or legal existence;

 

(j)            (i) Restricted Payments in an aggregate amount not to exceed the greater of (x) $7,500,000 and (y) and (y) 25% of Consolidated EBITDA (determined at the time of any such Restricted Payment (calculated on a pro forma basis) as of the last day of the most recently ended four Fiscal Quarter period for which financial statements have been delivered pursuant to Section 5.1(a) or 5.1(b)) in the aggregate (the “General Restricted Payment Basket”), minus any amounts reallocated to the General Investment Basket and the General Junior Debt Basket, and (ii) additional Restricted Payments so long as (x) the Consolidated First Lien Leverage Ratio calculated on a pro forma basis as of the last day of the Fiscal Quarter for which financial statements have last been delivered to the Lenders pursuant to Section 5.1(a) or 5.1(b) is not greater than 3.50 to 1.00 and (y) no Event of Default has occurred and is continuing at such time or would result therefrom;

 

(k)            Restricted Payments using the portion, if any, of the Available Amount on such date that the Borrowers elect to reallocate to such Restricted Payments so long as (i) no Event of Default shall exist or result from the use of such Available Amount and (ii) the Consolidated Net Leverage Ratio is not greater than 4.00 to 1.00 calculated on a pro forma basis as of the last day of the Fiscal Quarter for which financial statements have been delivered to the Lenders pursuant to Section 5.1(a) or 5.1(b);

 

(l)             Restricted Payments not to exceed an amount equal to the aggregate amount of net cash proceeds from any Permitted Equity Issuance received by any Restricted Subsidiary (to the extent such proceeds have not previously been (and are not simultaneously being) applied to anything (including any Investment under Section 6.5(q)) other than such particular use or transaction) made after the Effective Date;

 

(m)            the redemption, repurchase, retirement or other acquisition of any Equity Interest, including any accrued and unpaid dividends thereon, of Holdings, in exchange for, or out of the proceeds of, the substantially concurrent sale or issuance (other than to a Subsidiary) of, Equity Interests of Holdings (in each case, other than any Disqualified Equity Interests);

 

(n)            Restricted Payments made (i) to consummate the Transactions on or prior to the Effective Date or promptly thereafter, including any payments required under a corporate tax restructuring, (ii) in respect of working capital adjustments or purchase price adjustments and any other purchase price payment required pursuant to the Surf Merger Agreement, any Permitted Acquisition or other permitted Investments, (iii) in order to satisfy indemnity and other similar obligations under the Surf Merger Agreement, any Permitted Acquisition or other permitted Investments, and (iv) to holders of Equity Interests of any Borrower (immediately prior to giving effect to the Transactions) in connection with, or as a result of, their exercise of appraisal rights and the settlement of any claims or actions (whether actual, contingent or potential) with respect thereto, in each case, with respect to the Transactions;

 

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(o)            to the extent constituting Restricted Payments, the Borrower (or any direct or indirect parent thereof) and its Restricted Subsidiaries may enter into and consummate transactions permitted by any provision of Sections 5.14 (other than 5.14(r)), 6.3, 6.4 (other than 6.4(d)) and 6.5 (other than 6.5(aa));

 

(p)            repurchases of Equity Interests in any Borrower or any Restricted Subsidiary of the Borrowers owned by an director, officer or employee of any Borrower or any Restricted Subsidiary of the Borrowers deemed to occur upon exercise of stock options or warrants if such Equity Interests represent a portion of the exercise price of such options or warrants;

 

(q)            the Borrowers may make Restricted Payments to any direct or indirect parent of the Borrowers to pay:

 

(i)             general corporate, administrative, compliance or other operating (including, expenses related to auditing or other accounting matters and director indemnities, fees and expenses) and overhead costs and expenses of any direct or indirect parent of the Borrowers to the extent such costs and expenses are attributable to the ownership or operation of the Borrowers and the Restricted Subsidiaries, including the Borrowers’ and the Restricted Subsidiaries’ proportionate share of such amount relating to such parent company being a public company, in an aggregate amount not to exceed $1,000,000 in any Fiscal Year with respect to items described in this clause (i);

 

(ii)            (A) fees and expenses (other than taxes), required to maintain the corporate, legal and organizational existence of Holdings or any of its direct or indirect parents and (B) distributions to such direct or indirect parent’s equity owners in proportion to their equity interests sufficient to allow each such equity owner to receive an amount at least equal to the aggregate amount of its out-of-pocket costs to any unaffiliated third parties directly attributable to creating (including any incorporation or registration fees) and maintaining the existence of the applicable equity owner and legal and accounting and other costs directly attributable to maintaining its corporate, legal, or organizational existence and complying with applicable legal requirements, in each case, so long as attributable to the operations of the Borrowers and their Restricted Subsidiaries and such expenses are incurred in the Ordinary Course of Business;

 

(iii)           to finance any Investment that would be permitted to be made pursuant to Sections 5.14 and 6.5 if such parent were subject to such Sections; provided that (A) such Restricted Payment shall be made substantially concurrently with the closing of such Investment, (B) such parent shall, promptly following the closing thereof, cause (1) all property acquired (whether assets or Equity Interests) to be contributed to a Borrower or the Restricted Subsidiaries that are Obligors or (2) the merger (to the extent permitted in Section 6.3) of the Person formed or acquired into a Borrower or its Restricted Subsidiaries that are Obligors (with a Borrower being the surviving or continuing entity to the extent party to such merger) in order to consummate such Permitted Acquisition or Investment, in each case, in accordance with the requirements of Section 5.8 (and such contribution shall not comprise or form a portion of the Excluded Contribution Amount or increase the amounts available for a Restricted Payment pursuant to Section 6.6 or otherwise constitute any portion of the Available Amount) and (C) such contribution shall constitute an Investment by the Borrowers or the applicable Restricted Subsidiaries, as the case may be, at the date of such contribution or merger, as applicable, in an amount equal to the amount of such Restricted Payment;

 

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(iv)           the proceeds of which shall be used by Holdings to pay (or to make Restricted Payments to allow any direct or indirect parent thereof to pay) reasonable fees and expenses (other than to Affiliates) related to any unsuccessful equity or debt offering by Holdings (or any direct or indirect parent thereof) to the extent the proceeds of such offering were (or were intended to be) contributed to a Borrower substantially concurrently with the consummation thereof;

 

(r)             payments made or expected to be made by Holdings, any Borrower or any of the Restricted Subsidiaries in respect of withholding or similar Taxes payable with respect to any repurchases of Equity Interests permitted by Section 6.6(p), including deemed repurchases in connection with the exercise of stock options;

 

(s)            Holdings, any Borrower or any of the Restricted Subsidiaries may pay cash in lieu of fractional Equity Interests in de minimis amounts in connection with any dividend, split or combination thereof or any Permitted Acquisition;

 

(t)             the payment of any Restricted Payment within 60 days after the date of irrevocable declaration thereof, if at the date of declaration or the giving of such notice such payment would have complied with the provisions of this Section 6.6; provided that the making of such Restricted Payment will reduce capacity for Restricted Payments pursuant to such other provision when so made;

 

(u)            the distribution, by dividend or otherwise, of shares of Equity Interests of, or Indebtedness owed to a Borrower or a Restricted Subsidiary by, Unrestricted Subsidiaries or the proceeds thereof;

 

(v)            Restricted Payments in an amount not to exceed the Excluded Contribution Amount; and

 

(w)           the declaration and payment of Restricted Payments by a Borrower to any direct or indirect parent of a Borrower in amounts required for any such direct or indirect parent (or such parent’s direct or indirect equity owners) to pay:

 

(i)             to the extent constituting Restricted Payments, amounts that would be permitted to be paid directly by the Borrower or its Restricted Subsidiaries under Section 5.14 (other than pursuant to Section 5.14(c)) and;

 

(ii)            “AHYDO” payments with respect to Indebtedness of any direct or indirect parent of a Borrower; provided that (A) the proceeds of such Indebtedness have been contributed to a Borrower as a capital contribution and (B) no Event of Default pursuant to Section 8.1(a), (b), (h) or (i) shall be continuing or would result therefrom.

 

6.7          Suja East, LLC. Notwithstanding anything herein to the contrary, Suja East, LLC, a Pennsylvania limited liability company, shall have no operations or assets at any time.

 

6.8          Restrictive Agreements. No Obligor shall, nor shall it permit any of its Restricted Subsidiaries to enter into, incur or permit to exist any agreement or other arrangement that prohibits, restricts or imposes any condition upon (a) the ability of such Obligor or any Restricted Subsidiary to (x) create, incur or permit to exist any Lien upon, or (y) to transfer to another Obligor, any of its assets, or (b) the ability of any Restricted Subsidiary to pay dividends or other distributions with respect to any Equity Interests it has issued or to make or repay loans or advances to the Borrowers or any other Restricted Subsidiary or to Guarantee Indebtedness of the Borrowers or any other Restricted Subsidiary, or invest in any Obligor or any other Restricted Subsidiary (any such agreement or arrangement, a “Restrictive Agreement”); provided that:

 

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(i)             the foregoing shall not apply to (A) restrictions and conditions imposed by law or by the Loan Documents, (B) restrictions and conditions existing on the Effective Date identified on Schedule 6.8 (but shall apply to any extension or renewal of, or any amendment or modification materially expanding the scope of, any such restriction or condition), (C) customary restrictions and conditions contained in agreements relating to the sale of a Person or the sale of any other assets pending such sale, provided such restrictions and conditions apply only to the Person that is, or such assets that are, to be sold and such sale is permitted hereunder, and (D) customary provisions in joint venture agreements or other similar agreements applicable to joint ventures permitted under Section 6.5;

 

(ii)            the foregoing shall not apply to (A) restrictions or conditions imposed by any agreement relating to secured Indebtedness permitted by this Agreement if such restrictions or conditions apply only to the property securing such Indebtedness, (B) customary provisions in leases, licenses and other contracts entered into in the Ordinary Course of Business restricting the assignment thereof, or the transfer of or creation of Liens on assets subject thereto, and (C) customary restrictions that arise in connection with any Permitted Encumbrance on any asset or property that is not, and is not required to be, Collateral, provided such restriction relates only to the specific property subject to such Lien and such restriction is not created for the purposes of avoiding the restrictions of this Section 6.8 or excluding such property from being Collateral;

 

(iii)           the foregoing shall not apply to restrictions that are binding on a Restricted Subsidiary at the time such Restricted Subsidiary first becomes a Restricted Subsidiary of a Borrower, so long as (x) such obligations were not entered into in contemplation of such Person becoming a Restricted Subsidiary of a Borrower and (y) such restriction only applies to the assets of such Restricted Subsidiary that were acquired at the time such Restricted Subsidiary first became a Restricted Subsidiary;

 

(iv)           the foregoing shall not apply to restrictions that represent Indebtedness of a Restricted Subsidiary of a Borrower which is not an Obligor which is permitted by Section 6.1, which does not apply to any Obligor;

 

(v)            the foregoing shall not apply to customary restrictions (as reasonably determined by the Borrowers) that arise in connection with (x) any Lien permitted by Sections 6.2 and relate to the property subject to such Lien or (y) arise in connection with any Disposition permitted by Section 6.3 or 6.4 and relate solely to the assets or Person subject to such Disposition;

 

(vi)           the foregoing shall not apply to negative pledges and restrictions on Liens in favor of any holder of Indebtedness permitted under Section 6.2 but solely to the extent any negative pledge relates to (i) the property financed by such Indebtedness and the proceeds, accessions and products thereof or (ii) the property secured by such Indebtedness and the proceeds, accessions and products thereof so long as the agreements governing such Indebtedness permit the Liens securing the Obligations;

 

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(vii)            the foregoing shall not apply to restrictions on cash or other deposits imposed by customers under contracts entered into in the Ordinary Course of Business and otherwise permitted under Section 6.2;

 

(viii)           the foregoing shall not apply in connection with cash or other deposits permitted under Sections 6.2 and 6.5 and limited to such cash or deposit;

 

(ix)             comprise of restrictions imposed by any agreement governing Indebtedness entered into on or after the Effective Date and permitted under Section 6.1 that are, taken as a whole, in the reasonable good faith judgment of the Borrowers, no more restrictive with respect to the Borrowers or any Restricted Subsidiary than customary current market terms for Indebtedness of such type (and, in any event, are no more restrictive than the restrictions contained in this Agreement), so long as the Borrowers shall have determined in good faith that such restrictions will not affect in any material respect its obligation or ability to make any payments required hereunder;

 

(x)              are restrictions on cash or other deposits or net worth imposed by customers under contracts entered into in the Ordinary Course of Business;

 

(xi)            are restrictions on cash earnest money deposits in favor of sellers in connection with acquisitions not prohibited hereunder;

 

(xii)            other than with respect to the foregoing clause (a)(x), are restrictions that will not materially impair the Borrowers’ ability to make payments under this Agreement and the other Loan Documents;

 

(xiii)           the foregoing shall not apply to Standard Securitization Undertakings created in connection with any Receivables Facility or any Qualified Securitization Financing that, in the good faith determination of the board of directors (or analogous governing body) of the Borrowers, are necessary or advisable to effect such Receivables Facility or Qualified Securitization Financing, as the case may be and that only apply to Receivables Subsidiaries and Securitization Subsidiaries; and

 

(xiv)           any encumbrances or restrictions of the type referred to in this Section 6.8 imposed by any amendments, modifications, restatements, renewals, increases, supplements, refundings, replacements or refinancings of the contracts, instruments or obligations referred to in clauses (i) through (xiii) above; provided that such amendments, modifications, restatements, renewals, increases, extensions, supplements, refundings, replacements, restructurings or refinancings are, in the good faith judgment of the Borrowers, not materially more restrictive with respect to such encumbrance and other restrictions taken as a whole than those prior to such amendment, modification, restatement, renewal, increase, extension, restructuring, supplement, refunding, replacement or refinancing;

 

provided that (x) the priority of any preferred Equity Interests (other than Disqualified Equity Interests) in receiving dividends or liquidating distributions prior to dividends or liquidating distributions being paid on common stock and (y) the subordination of (including the application of any standstill requirements to) loans or advances made to any Borrower or any Restricted Subsidiary that is a Guarantor to other Indebtedness incurred by any Borrower or any Restricted Subsidiary that is a Guarantor shall not be deemed to constitute such an encumbrance or restriction.

 

6.9            Modifications of Certain Documents. No Obligor shall, nor shall it permit any of the Restricted Subsidiaries to, modify, supplement or waive of any of the provisions of (a) its Organizational Documents or the Surf Merger Agreement without the prior written consent of Administrative Agent, other than modifications, supplements or waivers that are not materially adverse to Secured Parties or (b) the Management Agreement, solely with respect to increasing the fees (and other amounts) payable thereunder in excess of those in effect on the Effective Date without the prior written consent of the Administrative Agent.

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6.10          [Reserved]

 

6.11          Hedging Agreements. No Obligor shall, nor shall it permit any of its Restricted Subsidiaries to, enter into any Hedging Agreement, except Hedging Agreements entered into in the Ordinary Course of Business to hedge or mitigate risks to which an Obligor or a Restricted Subsidiary has actual exposure in connection with fluctuations of commodity prices, currencies or interest rates and not for any speculative purposes.

 

6.12          [Reserved].

 

6.13          Use of Proceeds and Letters of Credit. No Obligor shall, nor shall it permit any of its Restricted Subsidiaries to: (a) use the proceeds of the Initial Term Loans and Revolving Credit Loans made on the Effective Date for any purpose other than to (i) consummate the Transactions, (ii) pay the Transaction Costs, (iii) issue Letters of Credit to replace existing letters of credit of the Borrowers and their Restricted Subsidiaries on the Effective Date, (iv) to fund any working capital adjustments required by the Surf Merger Agreement and (v) fund any original issue discount and upfront fees required pursuant to the Fee Letter; provided that the aggregate amount of Revolving Credit Loans made on the Effective Date shall not exceed $3,000,000; (b) use the proceeds of the Revolving Credit Loans and Swingline Loans made after the Effective Date for any purposes other than to fund the Borrowers’ working capital and general corporate purposes (including Permitted Acquisitions but subject to Section 6.15) or, subject to the terms and conditions of this Agreement and the other Loan Documents, the general corporate purposes of any Obligor; and (c) use any part of the proceeds of any Loan, whether directly or indirectly, for any purpose that violates any of the Regulations of the Board, including Regulations U and X. No Obligor shall, directly or knowingly indirectly, use the proceeds of the Loans, or lend, contribute or otherwise make available such proceeds to any Subsidiary, joint venture partner or other Person, (i) to fund any activities or business of or with any Person, or in any country or territory, that, at the time of such funding, is, or whose government is, the subject of comprehensive Sanctions, or (ii) in any other manner that would result in a violation of Sanctions by any Person (including any Person participating in the Loans, whether as underwriter, advisor, investor, or otherwise), or (iii) for any payments to any governmental official or employee, political party, official of a political party, candidate for political office, or anyone else acting in an official capacity, in order to obtain, retain or direct business or obtain any improper advantage, in violation of any Anti-Corruption Laws that may be applicable.

 

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6.14          Limitation on Activities of Holdings. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this Agreement or any other Loan Document: Holdings shall not (i) conduct, transact or otherwise engage in, any material business or material operations or own any material assets other than: (1) maintaining its corporate existence, (2) the execution and delivery of, and the performance of its obligations with respect to, the Loan Documents to which it is a party, (3) owning the Equity Interests of any Borrower and their Subsidiaries, (4) the consummation of the Transactions and the execution, delivery and performance of the obligations under the Surf Merger Agreement and the other agreements contemplated thereby, (5) the payment of Restricted Payments including dividends and distributions, the making of Investments, and the Guarantee of Indebtedness permitted to be incurred hereunder by any Borrower or any Restricted Subsidiary pursuant to Section 6.1, (6) the performing of activities in preparation for and consummating any public offering of its Equity Interests or any other issuance or sale of its Equity Interests (other than Disqualified Equity Interests), including paying fees and expenses related thereto, (7) the participation in tax, accounting and other administrative matters as a member of a consolidated group, including compliance with applicable laws and legal, tax and accounting matters related thereto and activities relating to its officers, directors, managers and employees, (8) subject to Section 5.10, the holding of any cash and Cash Equivalents (but not operating any property) on a temporary basis to consummate a transaction otherwise permitted hereunder, (9) the entry into, and performance of its obligations with respect to, contracts and other arrangements with officers, managers, employees, consultants, independent contractors and directors of Holdings or any of its Subsidiaries relating to their employment or directorships (including the providing of indemnification to such Persons), (10) the obtainment of, and the payment of any fees and expenses for, management, consulting, monitoring, investment banking, advisory and other services to the extent otherwise permitted by this Agreement, (11) any transaction between Holdings and any Borrower or any Subsidiary expressly permitted under this Section 6, including (x) holding any cash or property received in connection with Restricted Payments made by any Borrower or any Subsidiary in accordance with Section 6.6 pending application thereof by Holdings in the manner contemplated by Section 6.6 and (y) the provision of guarantees in the Ordinary Course of Business in respect of obligations of any Borrower or any Restricted Subsidiary to suppliers, customers, franchisees, lessors, licensees, sublicensees or distribution partners; provided, for the avoidance of doubt, that such guarantees shall not be in respect of Indebtedness for borrowed money, (12) maintaining deposit accounts in connection with the conduct of its business, (13) [reserved], (14) if applicable, participating in tax, accounting and other administrative matters as a member of the consolidated group and the provision of administrative and advisory services (including treasury and insurance services) to its Subsidiaries of a type customarily provided by a holding company to its Subsidiaries, (15) providing indemnification to officers and directors, (16) activities reasonably relating to any Permitted Reorganization (17) merging, amalgamating or consolidating with or into any direct or indirect parent or subsidiary of Holdings that becomes “New Holdings” (in compliance with the definitions of “Holdings” and “New Holdings” in this Agreement), (18) activities incidental to Permitted Acquisitions or similar Investments consummated by the Borrowers and the Restricted Subsidiaries, including the formation of acquisition vehicle entities and intercompany loans and/or Investments incidental to such Permitted Acquisitions or similar Investments, (19) any transaction with the Borrowers or any Restricted Subsidiary to the extent expressly permitted under this Article 6, (20) making contributions to the capital of its Subsidiaries and (21) activities incidental to the businesses or activities described in the foregoing clauses (1) through (20), and (ii) incur, create, assume or suffer to exist any Indebtedness or other liabilities or financial obligations, except (1) nonconsensual obligations imposed by operation of law, (2) customary obligations under any stock option or restricted stock plan or other benefit or equity incentive plan, (3) obligations under the Loan Documents, and (4) Indebtedness that is expressly permitted under clause (i) of this Section 6.14.

 

6.15          Prepayments of Indebtedness. No Company shall make any voluntary payment or prepayment of the principal of or interest on, or any other amount owing in respect of, any Subordinated Indebtedness, Indebtedness secured on a junior basis to the Obligations, or unsecured Indebtedness with a principal amount in excess of the greater of (1) $4,500,000 and (2) 15% of Consolidated EBITDA (determined at the time of any such prepayment (calculated on a pro forma basis) as of the last day of the most recently ended four Fiscal Quarter period for which financial statements have been delivered pursuant to Section 5.1(a) or (b)) (“Junior Debt”) except the Borrowers and their Restricted Subsidiaries may (i) make regularly scheduled payments, or redemptions or mandatory prepayments of principal and interest in respect of Junior Debt, (ii) prepay additional Junior Debt in an aggregate amount not to exceed the greater of (x) $7,500,000 and (y) and (y) 25% of Consolidated EBITDA (determined at the time of any such prepayment (calculated on a pro forma basis) as of the last day of the most recently ended four Fiscal Quarter period for which financial statements have been delivered pursuant to Section 5.1(a) or 5.1(b)) in the aggregate (the “General Junior Debt Basket”), minus any amounts reallocated to the General Investment Basket plus any amounts reallocated from the General Restricted Payment Basket, (iii) make payments on Junior Debt in an amount equal to the portion, if any, of the Available Amount on such date so long as, (x) no Event of Default shall exist or result therefrom and (y) the Consolidated Net Leverage Ratio is not greater than 4.00 to 1.00 calculated on a pro forma basis as of the last day of the Fiscal Quarter for which financial statements have been delivered to the Lenders pursuant to Section 5.1(a) or (b), (iv) make payments on Junior Debt in additional amounts so long as (x) no Event of Default shall exist or result therefrom and (y) the Consolidated First Lien Leverage Ratio is not greater than 3.50 to 1.00 calculated on a pro forma basis as of the last day of the Fiscal Quarter for which financial statements have been delivered to the Lenders pursuant to Section 5.1(a) or (b), (v) refinance any Junior Debt with any Indebtedness permitted by Section 6.1, (vi) convert or exchange any Junior Debt to Equity Interests (other than Disqualified Equity Interests) of Holdings or any of its direct or indirect parents, and (vii) make payments on Junior Debt in an amount not to exceed the Excluded Contribution Amount (other than amounts constituting Specified Equity Contributions or the Available Amount).

 

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Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in any Loan Document, (x) the Borrowers may make regularly scheduled payments of interest and fees on any Junior Debt, and may make any payments required by the terms of such Indebtedness in order to avoid the application of Section 163(e)(5) of the Code to such Indebtedness (y) no payment shall be permitted to be made on any earn-out or similar obligation in relation to a Permitted Acquisition or other permitted Investment or any Indebtedness pursuant to Section 6.01(i), in each case to the extent any Event of Default pursuant to Section 8.1(a), (b), (h) or (i) is continuing or would result therefrom.

 

7.             FINANCIAL COVENANT.

 

7.1            Consolidated Net Leverage Ratio. The Borrowers shall not permit the Consolidated Net Leverage Ratio to exceed the applicable ratio set forth below as of the last day of the applicable Fiscal Quarter, commencing with the Fiscal Quarter ending December 31, 2021:

 

Fiscal Quarter Consolidated Net Leverage Ratio
   
Fiscal Quarter ending September 30, 2021 and each Fiscal Quarter ending through and including September 30, 2022 6.00 to 1.00
Fiscal Quarter ending December 31, 2022 and each Fiscal Quarter ending through and including September 30, 2023 5.50 to 1.00
Fiscal Quarter ending December 31, 2023 and each Fiscal Quarter ending thereafter 3.50 to 1.00

 

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8.             EVENTS OF DEFAULT; REMEDIES.

 

8.1            Event of Default. If any of the following events (each such an event, an “Event of Default”) shall occur:

 

  (a)            Obligors shall fail to pay any principal of any Loan or any reimbursement obligation in respect of any LC Disbursement or deposit any funds as cash collateral in respect of any Letter of Credit when and as the same shall become due and payable, whether at the due date thereof or at a date fixed for prepayment thereof or otherwise;

 

  (b)            Obligors shall fail to pay (i) any interest on any Loan or LC Disbursement or (ii) any fee or any other amount (other than an amount referred to in clause (a) of this Section) payable under this Agreement or under any other Loan Document, when and as the same shall become due and payable, and such failure shall continue unremedied for a period of (x) with respect to the foregoing clause (i), five or more Business Days and (ii) with respect to the foregoing clause (ii), ten or more Business Days;

 

  (c)            any certification, representation, or warranty made or deemed made by or on behalf of any Obligor in or in connection with this Agreement or any other Loan Document or in any report, certificate, financial statement, or other document furnished pursuant to or in connection with this Agreement or any other Loan Document, shall prove to have been incorrect in any material respect when made or deemed made (unless any such certification, representation or warranty is qualified as to materiality or as to Material Adverse Effect, in which case such certification, representation and warranty shall prove to have been incorrect in any respect), and such failure shall continue unremedied for a period of 30 or more days with respect to any such failure that is capable of being cured;

 

  (d)            any Obligor shall fail to observe or perform any covenant, condition or agreement contained in Section 5.2(a), 5.3 (with respect to Holdings’ or any Borrower’s existence), 5.17, 6, or 7; provided that (x) the covenant in Section 7 is subject to cure pursuant to Section 8.3, and (y) failure to comply with Section 7 shall not constitute an Event of Default until the termination of the Cure Period;

 

  (e)            any Obligor shall fail to observe or perform any covenant, condition or agreement contained in this Agreement (other than those specified in clause (a), (b), or (d) of this Section) or any other Loan Document and such failure shall continue unremedied for a period of 30 or more days from written notice by the Administrative Agent to the Borrower Representative;

 

  (f)            any Obligor shall fail to make any payment (including of principal or interest and regardless of amount) in respect of any Material Indebtedness, when and as the same shall become due and payable (after giving effect to any applicable notice requirement or grace period);

 

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  (g)            any event or condition occurs that results in any Material Indebtedness (other than the Obligations) becoming due prior to its scheduled maturity or that enables or permits (with or without the giving of notice, the lapse of time or both) the holder or holders of any such Material Indebtedness or any trustee or agent on its or their behalf to cause any such Material Indebtedness to become due, or to require the prepayment, repurchase, redemption or defeasance thereof, prior to its scheduled maturity (after giving effect to any applicable notice requirement or grace period); provided that this clause (g) shall not apply to (i) secured Indebtedness that becomes due as a result of the voluntary sale or transfer of the property securing such Indebtedness in a transaction permitted hereunder, (ii) any Indebtedness if (x) the sole remedy of the holder thereof in the event of the non-payment of such Indebtedness or the non-payment or non-performance of obligations related thereto or (y) sole option is to elect, in each case, to convert such Indebtedness into Qualified Equity Interests and cash in lieu of fractional shares, (iii) in the case of Indebtedness which the holder thereof may elect to convert into Qualified Equity Interests, such Indebtedness from and after the date, if any, on which such conversion has been effected and (iv) any breach or default that is (x) remedied by Holdings, the applicable Borrower or the applicable Restricted Subsidiary or (y) waived (including in the form of amendment) by the required holders of the applicable item of Indebtedness, in either case, prior to any termination of the Commitments or the acceleration of Loans pursuant to this Section 8.1;

 

  (h)            an involuntary proceeding shall be commenced or an involuntary petition shall be filed seeking (i) liquidation, reorganization, conservatorship, bankruptcy, assignment for the benefit of creditors, moratorium, rearrangement, receivership, insolvency or other relief in respect of any Obligor or any of its Material Subsidiaries or debts, or of a substantial part of its assets, under any Debtor Relief Laws or (ii) the appointment of a receiver, trustee, custodian, sequestrator, conservator, liquidator, rehabilitator, or similar official for any Obligor or its Material Subsidiaries or for a substantial part of its or their assets, and, in any such case, such proceeding or petition shall continue undismissed for a period of 60 or more days or an order or decree approving or ordering any of the foregoing shall be entered;

 

  (i)             any Obligor or its Material Subsidiaries shall (i) voluntarily commence any proceeding or file any petition seeking liquidation, reorganization, conservatorship, bankruptcy, assignment for the benefit of creditors, moratorium, rearrangement, receivership, insolvency, or other relief under any Debtor Relief Laws now or hereafter in effect, (ii) consent to the institution of, or fail to contest in a timely and appropriate manner, any proceeding or petition described in clause (h) of this Section, (iii) apply for or consent to the appointment of a receiver, trustee, custodian, sequestrator, conservator, liquidator, rehabilitator, or similar official for any Obligor or its Material Subsidiaries or for a substantial part of its assets, (iv) file an answer admitting the material allegations of a petition filed against it in any such proceeding, (v) make a general assignment for the benefit of creditors, or (vi) take any organizational action to authorize any of the foregoing;

 

  (j)             one or more final and non-appealable judgments for the payment of money in an aggregate amount in excess of the greater of (i) $7,500,000 and (ii) 25.0% of Consolidated EBITDA (exclusive of amounts covered by insurance provided by a financially sound insurance company and for which such insurer has not denied coverage or the indemnity, or has not denied liability, as applicable, after notice) shall be rendered against any Obligor or its Restricted Subsidiary and the same shall remain undischarged for a period of 60 consecutive days during which execution shall not be effectively stayed, or any action shall be legally taken by a judgment creditor to attach or levy upon any assets of any Obligor or its Restricted Subsidiary to enforce any such judgment;

 

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  (k)            an ERISA Event shall have occurred that, when taken together with all other ERISA Events that have occurred, would reasonably be expected to result in liability of any Obligor and its Restricted Subsidiaries in an aggregate amount that would have a Material Adverse Effect;

 

  (l)             [reserved];

 

  (m)            a Change in Control shall occur;

 

  (n)            the Liens created by the Security Documents shall at any time not constitute a valid and perfected first priority Lien on the Collateral intended to be covered thereby (other than any Collateral released under Section 9.10) in favor of Administrative Agent, free and clear of all other Liens (other than Permitted Encumbrances), other than as a result of a failure of the Administrative Agent or the Lenders to take any action required under the Loan Documents or, except for expiration or termination in accordance with its terms or with the consent of Administrative Agent, any of the Loan Documents shall for whatever reason be terminated or cease to be in full force and effect, or enforceability thereof shall be contested by any Obligor, or any Borrower or any Person acting by or on behalf of any Borrower shall deny or disaffirm any Borrower’s obligations under Section 10.22 or Section 10.23;

 

  (o)            [reserved]; or

 

  (p)            (i) an Intercreditor Agreement or the subordination provisions of the documents evidencing or governing any Subordinated Indebtedness constituting Material Indebtedness (the “Subordination Provisions”) shall, in whole or in part, terminate, cease to be effective or cease to be legally valid, binding and enforceable against any holder of such Subordinated Indebtedness constituting Material Indebtedness, other than as a result of a failure of the Administrative Agent or the Lenders to take any action required under the Loan Documents; or (ii) any Obligor or holder of such Subordinated Indebtedness constituting Material Indebtedness shall disavow or contest in any manner (A) the effectiveness, validity or enforceability of any of the Subordination Provisions, (B) that the Subordination Provisions exist for the benefit of Administrative Agent, the Lenders and Issuing Lender, or (C) that all payments of principal of or premium and interest on such Subordinated Indebtedness, or realized from the liquidation of any property of any Obligor, shall be subject to any of the Subordination Provisions; or (iii) any Intercreditor Agreement or Subordination Agreement related to Material Indebtedness shall cease to be in full force and effect or the Loans shall cease to constitute “Senior Indebtedness” (or similar term) thereunder;

 

then, in every such event (other than an event with respect to any Obligor described in clause (h) or (i) of this Section 8.1), and at any time thereafter during the continuance of such event, Administrative Agent may with the consent of the Required Lenders, and at the request of the Required Lenders shall, by notice to the Borrower Representative, take any or all of the following actions, at the same or different times: (i) terminate the Commitments including any obligation of Issuing Lender to issue Letters of Credit, and thereupon the Commitments and obligations shall terminate immediately, (ii) require that the Borrowers cash collateralize the aggregate LC Exposure, (iii) declare the Loans then outstanding to be due and payable in whole (or in part, in which case any principal not so declared to be due and payable may thereafter be declared to be due and payable), and thereupon the principal of the Loans so declared to be due and payable, together with accrued interest thereon and all fees and other obligations of the Obligors accrued hereunder and under the other Loan Documents, shall become due and payable immediately, without presentment, demand, protest, notice of intent to accelerate, notice of acceleration or other notice of any kind, all of which are hereby waived by each Obligor, and (iv) exercise on behalf of itself, the Lenders and Issuing Lender all rights and remedies available to it, the Lenders and Issuing Lender under the Loan Documents and applicable law; and in case of any event with respect to any Obligor described in clause (h) or (i) of this Section 8.1, the Commitments, and Issuing Lender’s obligation to issue Letters of Credit, shall automatically terminate, the obligation of the Borrowers to cash collateralize the LC Exposure shall automatically become effective, and the principal of the Loans then outstanding, together with accrued interest thereon and all fees and other obligations of the Obligors accrued hereunder and under the other Loan Documents, shall automatically become due and payable, without presentment, demand, protest, notice of intent to accelerate, notice of acceleration, or other notice of any kind, all of which are hereby waived by each Obligor. In addition, if any Event of Default shall exist, Administrative Agent may foreclose or otherwise enforce any Lien granted to the Administrative Agent, for the benefit of the Secured Parties, to secure payment and performance of the Obligations in accordance with the terms of the Loan Documents and exercise any and all rights and remedies afforded by applicable law, by any of the Loan Documents, by equity, or otherwise.

 

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8.2            Application of Payment. Subsequent to the acceleration of the Obligations under Section 8.1 hereof, subject to any applicable Intercreditor Agreements, payments and prepayments with respect to the Obligations made to the Administrative Agent, the Lenders, Issuing Lender, Swingline Lender or otherwise received by Administrative Agent, any Lender, Issuing Lender or Swingline Lender (from realization on Collateral or otherwise, but excluding any funds held to cash collateralize the LC Exposure which shall be applied to, or held to pay, the LC Exposure as set forth in Section 2.5(l) and subject to rights of Non-Defaulting Lenders pursuant to Section 2.21) shall be distributed in the following order of priority: FIRST, to the fees, indemnities, expenses and other amounts (including attorneys’ fees and expenses), if any, payable to the Administrative Agent in its capacity as such; SECOND, to the fees, indemnities and other amounts (other than principal, reimbursement obligations in respect of LC Disbursements and interest) payable to the Lenders and the Issuing Lender (including attorneys’ fees and expenses) arising under the Loans Documents, ratably among them in proportion to the respective amounts described in this clause payable to them; THIRD, to the payment of interest then due and payable on the Swingline Loans; FOURTH, to the payment of the principal of any Swingline Loans then outstanding; FIFTH, to the payment of interest then due and payable on any outstanding LC Disbursements, the Revolving Credit Loans, and the Term Loans, on a pro rata basis; SIXTH, on a pro rata basis, to (a) the payment of principal of the Revolving Credit Loans, (b) the payment of principal of the Term Loans, (c) cash collateralize the LC Exposure in accordance with clause (a) of the definition of “Fully Satisfied” set forth in this Agreement, and (d) the payment of any Bank Product Obligations, until each of the foregoing Obligations in clauses (a) through (d) of this Section 8.2 are Fully Satisfied; SEVENTH, to any other Obligations not otherwise referred to in this Section; and EIGHTH, to the applicable Obligors, their successors or assigns, or as a court of competent jurisdiction may otherwise direct. The Administrative Agent shall have absolute discretion as to the time of application of any such proceeds, moneys, or balances in accordance with this Agreement. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary set forth above, in no event shall any proceeds of any Collateral owned, or any Guarantee provided, by any Obligor under any Loan Document be applied to repay or cash collateralize any Excluded Swap Obligation with respect to such Obligor; provided, that Administrative Agent may elect to apply the proceeds of any such Collateral or Guarantee to repay or cash collateralize any Obligations (other than Excluded Swap Obligation with respect to such Obligor) in accordance with the priority set forth above before applying the proceeds of any other Collateral or Guarantee provided under any Loan Document, if in the reasonable determination of Administrative Agent, such order of application will maximize the repayment of all of the Obligations. Upon any sale of Collateral by Administrative Agent (including pursuant to a power of sale granted by statute or under a judicial proceeding), the receipt of the purchase money by Administrative Agent or of the officer making the sale shall be a sufficient discharge to the purchaser or purchasers of the Collateral so sold and such purchaser or purchasers shall not be obligated to see to the application of any part of the purchase money paid over to the Administrative Agent or such officer or be answerable in any way for the misapplication thereof.

 

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8.3            Right to Cure. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in Section 8.1, in the event that the Borrowers fail (or, but for the operation of this Section 8.3, would fail) to comply with the Financial Covenant, as of the last day of any Fiscal Quarter in which such Financial Covenant is required to be tested, at any time after the last day of such Fiscal Quarter until the day that is 15 Business Days after the date that financial statements for such Fiscal Quarter are required to be delivered pursuant to Section 5.1(a) or 5.1(b), Holdings shall have the right to issue Qualified Equity Interests for cash or otherwise receive cash contributions in respect of Qualified Equity Interests which is promptly contributed to the capital of any Borrower, and thereupon such Financial Covenant shall be recalculated by increasing Consolidated EBITDA by the amount of such Specified Equity Contribution with respect to such Fiscal Quarter and any four-quarter period that contains such Fiscal Quarter; provided that, (a) in each 4 consecutive Fiscal Quarter period, there shall be no more than 2 Fiscal Quarters in which a Specified Equity Contribution is made, (b) no more than 5 Specified Equity Contributions may be made in the aggregate during the term of this Agreement, (c) the amount of any Specified Equity Contribution shall be no greater than the amount required to cause the Borrowers to be in compliance with the Financial Covenant, (d) any adjustment on a pro forma basis to Consolidated EBITDA resulting from any Specified Equity Contribution shall be counted as Consolidated EBITDA solely for purposes of determining compliance with the Financial Covenant and shall not be included for any other purpose (including for purposes of determining the Applicable Margin or any financial ratio-based conditions or any “baskets”) during any Fiscal Quarter in which the pro forma adjustment applies, (e) no Lender shall be required to fund any Borrowing or Letter of Credit extension during the 15 Business Day period referred to above unless a Borrower has received the proceeds of the Specified Equity Contribution in an amount required to cause Borrowers to be in compliance with the Financial Covenant, (f) for the avoidance of doubt, in recalculating the Financial Covenant by increasing Consolidated EBITDA as set forth above, there shall be no pro forma effect given to any reduction of Indebtedness with the Specified Equity Contribution in such recalculation of the Financial Covenant for such Fiscal Quarter in which such Specified Equity Contribution is made, (g) no Default or Event of Default shall exist with respect to the Financial Covenant until the end of the 15 Business Day period referenced above (the “Cure Termination Date”) and (h) none of the Administrative Agent, any Lender or any Secured party shall exercise any rights or remedies until after the Cure Termination Date solely on the basis of a Default or Event of Default having occurred and being continuing with respect to the Financial Covenant for the applicable Fiscal Quarter. If, after giving effect to the adjustments in this paragraph, the Borrowers shall then be in compliance with the requirements of the Financial Covenant, the Borrowers shall be deemed to have satisfied the requirements of the Financial Covenant as of the relevant date of determination with the same effect as though there had been no failure to comply therewith at such date, and the applicable breach or default of the Financial Covenant that had occurred shall be deemed cured for the purposes of this Agreement.

 

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8.4            Performance by Administrative Agent. If any Obligor shall fail to perform any covenant or agreement in accordance with the terms of the Loan Documents, if an Event of Default has occurred and is continuing, upon five Business Days’ notice, the Administrative Agent may perform or attempt to perform such covenant or agreement on behalf of the applicable Obligor. In such event, the Borrowers shall, at the request of Administrative Agent promptly pay any amount expended by Administrative Agent in connection with such performance or attempted performance to the Administrative Agent, together with interest thereon at the interest rate provided for in Section 2.12(c) from and including the date of such expenditure to but excluding the date such expenditure is paid in full. Notwithstanding the foregoing, it is expressly agreed that neither Administrative Agent nor any Lender shall have any liability or responsibility for the performance of any obligation of any Obligor under any Loan Documents.

 

9.             ADMINISTRATIVE AGENT

 

9.1            Authorization and Action.

 

  (a)            Each of the Lenders and Issuing Lender hereby irrevocably appoints Administrative Agent to act on its behalf as Administrative Agent hereunder and under the other Loan Documents and authorizes Administrative Agent to take such actions on its behalf and to exercise such powers as are delegated to the Administrative Agent by the terms hereof or thereof, together with such actions and powers as are reasonably incidental thereto. The provisions of this Section 9 are solely for the benefit of Administrative Agent, the Lenders, and Issuing Lender, and no Obligor has rights as a third-party beneficiary of any of such provisions (other than in respect of Sections 9.1, 9.5, 9.6 and 9.10, 9.11, 9.12, 9.13 and 9.14). It is understood and agreed that the use of the term “agent” herein or in any other Loan Documents (or any other similar term) with reference to the Administrative Agent is not intended to connote any fiduciary or other implied (or express) obligations arising under agency doctrine of any applicable law. Instead such term is used as a matter of market custom, and is intended to create or reflect only an administrative relationship between contracting parties.

 

  (b)            Administrative Agent shall also act as the collateral agent under the Loan Documents, and each of the Lenders and Issuing Lender hereby irrevocably appoints and authorizes Administrative Agent to act as the agent of such Lender and Issuing Lender for purposes of acquiring, holding and enforcing any and all Liens on Collateral granted by any of the Obligors to secure any of the Obligations, together with such powers and discretion as are reasonably incidental thereto. In this connection, Administrative Agent, as collateral agent and any co-agents, sub-agents and attorneys-in-fact appointed by Administrative Agent pursuant to Section 9.5 for purposes of holding or enforcing any Lien on the Collateral (or any portion thereof) granted under the Security Documents, (or for exercising any rights and remedies thereunder at the direction of Administrative Agent), shall be entitled to the benefits of all provisions of this Sections 9 and 10 as if set forth in full herein with respect thereto. Administrative Agent is authorized on behalf of all the Lenders, without the necessity of any notice to or further consent from the Lenders or Issuing Lender, from time to time to take any action with respect to any Collateral or the Loan Documents which may be necessary to perfect and maintain perfected the Liens upon any Collateral granted pursuant to any Security Document.

 

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9.2            Administrative Agent and its Affiliates.

 

  (a)            The Person serving as Administrative Agent hereunder shall have the same rights and powers in its capacity as a Lender as any other Lender and may exercise the same as though it were not Administrative Agent and the term “Lender” or “Lenders” shall, unless otherwise expressly indicated or unless the context otherwise requires, include the Person serving as Administrative Agent hereunder in its individual capacity. Such Person and its Affiliates may accept deposits from, own securities of, lend money to, act as the financial advisor or in any advisory capacity for and generally engage in any kind of business with the Borrowers or any Subsidiary or other Affiliate thereof as if it were not Administrative Agent hereunder and without any duty to account therefor to the Lenders.

 

  (b)            Each of the Lenders and Issuing Lender understands that the Person serving as Administrative Agent, acting in its individual capacity, and its Affiliates (collectively, the “Agent’s Group”) is engaged in a wide range of financial services and businesses (including investment management, financing, securities trading, corporate and investment banking and research) (such services and businesses are collectively referred to in this Section 9 as “Activities”) any may engage in the Activities with or on behalf of one or more of the Obligors or their respective Affiliates. Furthermore, the Agent’s Group may, in undertaking the Activities, engage in trading in financial products or undertake other investment businesses for its own account or on behalf of others (including the Obligors and their Affiliates and including holding, for its own account or on behalf of others, equity, debt and similar positions in the Borrowers, another Obligor or their respective Affiliates), including trading in or holding long, short or derivative positions in securities, loans, or other financial products of one or more of the Obligors or their Affiliates. Each Lender understands and agrees that in engaging in the Activities, the Agent’s Group may receive or otherwise obtain information concerning the Obligors or their Affiliates (including information concerning the ability of the Obligors to perform their respective obligations hereunder and under the other Loan Documents) which information may not be available to any of the Lenders that are not members of the Agent’s Group. Neither Administrative Agent nor any other member of the Agent’s Group shall have any duty to disclose to any Lender or use on behalf of the Lenders, nor be liable for the failure to so disclose or use, any information whatsoever about or derived from the Activities or otherwise (including any information concerning the business, prospects, operations, property, financial and other condition or creditworthiness of any Obligor or any Affiliate of any Obligor) or to account for any revenue or profits obtained in connection with the Activities, except that Administrative Agent shall deliver or otherwise make available to each Lender such documents as are expressly required by any Loan Document to be transmitted by Administrative Agent to the Lenders.

 

  (c)            Each Lender further understands that there may be situations where members of the Agent’s Group or their respective customers (including the Obligors and their Affiliates) either now have or may in the future have interests or take actions that may conflict with the interests of any one or more of the Lenders (including the interests of the Lenders hereunder and under the other Loan Documents). Each Lender agrees that no member of the Agent’s Group is or shall be required to restrict its activities as a result of any Person serving as Administrative Agent being a member of the Agent’s Group, and that each member of the Agent’s Group may undertake any Activities without further consultation with or notification of any Lender. None of (i) this Agreement nor any other Loan Document, (ii) the receipt by the Agent’s Group of information (including information concerning the ability of the Obligors to perform their respective obligations hereunder and under the other Loan Documents), or (iii) any other matter, shall give rise to any fiduciary, equitable, or contractual duties (including any duty of trust or confidence) owing by Administrative Agent or any member of the Agent’s Group to any Lender including any such duty that would prevent or restrict the Agent’s Group from acting on behalf of customers (including the Obligors or their Affiliates) or for its own account.

 

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9.3            Duties. Administrative Agent shall not have any duties or obligations except those expressly set forth herein and in the other Loan Documents. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, Administrative Agent:

 

  (a)            shall not be subject to any fiduciary or other implied duties, regardless of whether a Default has occurred and is continuing; additionally, each Lender agrees that it will not assert any claim against the Administrative Agent based on an alleged breach of fiduciary duty by the Administrative Agent in connection with this Agreement and/or the transactions contemplated hereby;

 

  (b)            shall not have any duty to take any discretionary action or exercise any discretionary powers, except discretionary rights and powers expressly contemplated hereby or by the other Loan Documents that Administrative Agent is required to exercise as directed in writing by the Required Lenders (or such other number or percentage of the Lenders as shall be expressly provided for herein or in the other Loan Documents); provided, that the Administrative Agent may seek clarification or direction from the Required Lenders prior to the exercise of any such instructed action and may refrain from acting until such clarification or direction has been provided. Provided, further, that Administrative Agent shall not be required to take any action that, in its opinion or the opinion of its counsel, may expose Administrative Agent to liability or that is contrary to any Loan Document or applicable law, including for the avoidance of doubt any action that may be in violation of the automatic stay under any Debtor Relief Law or that may effect a forfeiture, modification or termination of property of a Defaulting Lender in violation of any Debtor Relief Law;

 

  (c)            shall not, except as expressly set forth herein and in the other Loan Documents, have any duty to disclose, and shall not be liable for the failure to disclose, any information relating to any Obligor or any of their respective Affiliates that is communicated to or obtained by the Person serving as Administrative Agent or any of its Affiliates in any capacity;

 

  (d)            shall not be responsible or have any liability for, or have any duty to ascertain, inquire into, monitor or enforce, compliance with the provisions hereof relating to Disqualified Institutions, and specifically, it shall not ‎(i) be obligated to ascertain, monitor or inquire as to whether any Lender or Participant or prospective Lender or Participant is a Disqualified ‎Institution or (ii) have any liability with respect to or arising out of any assignment or participation of Loans, or disclosure of confidential information, to any ‎Disqualified Institution; and

 

  (e)            shall not be required by this Agreement or any Loan Document to account to any Lender for any sum or the profit element of any sum received by the Administrative Agent for its own account.

 

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9.4            Administrative Agent’s Reliance, Lender Representations, Etc.

 

  (a)            Administrative Agent shall not be liable to the Lenders for any action taken or not taken by it (i) with the consent or at the request of the Required Lenders (or such other number or percentage of the Lenders as shall be necessary, or as Administrative Agent shall believe in good faith shall be necessary, under the circumstances as provided in Sections 10.2 and 8) or (ii) in the absence of its own gross negligence or willful misconduct as determined by a court of competent jurisdiction by final and nonappealable judgment. Administrative Agent shall not be responsible in any manner to any of the Lenders for any recitals, statements, representations or warranties made by any Obligor or any officer thereof contained in this Agreement or any other Loan Document or in any certificate, report, statement or other document referred to or provided for in, or received by the Administrative Agent under or in connection with, this Agreement or any other Loan Document or for the value, validity, effectiveness, genuineness, enforceability or sufficiency of this Agreement or any other Loan Document (including, for the avoidance of doubt, in connection with the Administrative Agent’s reliance on any Electronic Signature transmitted by telecopy, emailed pdf. or any other electronic means that reproduces an image of an actual executed signature page) or for any failure of any Obligor to perform its obligations hereunder or thereunder. Administrative Agent shall be deemed not to have knowledge of any Default unless and until written notice describing such Default is given to the Administrative Agent by an Obligor, a Lender, or Issuing Lender. Administrative Agent shall not be responsible for or have any duty to ascertain or inquire into (i) any statement, warranty or representation made in or in connection with this Agreement or any other Loan Document, (ii) the contents of any certificate, report or other document delivered hereunder or thereunder or in connection herewith or therewith, (iii) the performance or observance of any of the covenants, agreements or other terms or conditions set forth herein or therein or the occurrence of any Default, (iv) the validity, enforceability, effectiveness or genuineness of this Agreement, any other Loan Document or any other agreement, instrument or document, or the creation, perfection or priority of any Lien purported to be created by the Security Documents, or (v) the satisfaction of any condition set forth in Section 4 or elsewhere herein or therein, other than to confirm receipt of items expressly required to be delivered to the Administrative Agent.

 

  (b)            Administrative Agent shall be entitled to rely upon, and shall not incur any liability for relying upon, any notice, request, certificate, consent, statement, instrument, document, or other writing (including any electronic message, Internet or intranet website posting or other distribution) believed in good faith by it to be genuine and to have been signed, sent or otherwise authenticated by the proper Person. Administrative Agent also may rely upon any statement made to it orally or by telephone and believed by it to be made by the proper Person, and shall not incur any liability for relying thereon. In determining compliance with any condition hereunder to the making of a Loan, or the issuance, extension, renewal or increase of a Letter of Credit, that by its terms must be fulfilled to the satisfaction of a Lender or Issuing Lender, Administrative Agent may presume that such condition is satisfactory to such Lender or Issuing Lender unless Administrative Agent shall have received notice to the contrary from such Lender or Issuing Lender prior to the making of such Loan or the issuance of such Letter of Credit. Administrative Agent may consult with legal counsel (who may be counsel for an Obligor), independent accountants and other experts selected by it, and shall not be liable for any action taken or not taken by it in accordance with the advice of any such counsel, accountants or experts. Without limiting the foregoing, the Administrative Agent makes no warranty or representation to any Lender or Issuing Lender and shall not be responsible to any Lender or Issuing Lender for any statements, warranties or representations made by or on behalf of any Obligor in connection with this Agreement or any other Loan Document.

 

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  (c)            Each Lender (x) represents and warrants, as of the date such Person became a Lender party hereto, to, and (y) covenants, from the date such Person became a Lender party hereto to the date such Person ceases being a Lender party hereto, for the benefit of, the Administrative Agent and its Affiliates, and not, for the avoidance of doubt, to or for the benefit of the Borrowers or any other Obligor, that at least one of the following is and will be true:

  

   (i)            such Lender is not using “plan assets” (within the meaning of 29 CFR § 2510.3-101, as modified by Section 3(42) of ERISA) of one or more Benefit Plans in connection with the Loans or the Commitments,

 

   (ii)           the transaction exemption set forth in one or more PTEs, such as PTE 84-14 (a class exemption for certain transactions determined by independent qualified professional asset managers), PTE 95-60 (a class exemption for certain transactions involving insurance company general accounts), PTE 90-1 (a class exemption for certain transactions involving insurance company pooled separate accounts), PTE 91-38 (a class exemption for certain transactions involving bank collective investment funds) or PTE 96-23 (a class exemption for certain transactions determined by in-house asset managers), is applicable with respect to such Lender’s entrance into, participation in, administration of and performance of the Loans, the Commitments and this Agreement,

 

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

 

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

 

  (d)            In addition, unless sub-clause (i) in the immediately preceding clause (c) is true with respect to a Lender or such Lender has not provided another representation, warranty and covenant as provided in sub-clause (iv) in the immediately preceding clause (c), such Lender further (x) represents and warrants, as of the date such Person became a Lender party hereto, to, and (y) covenants, from the date such Person became a Lender party hereto to the date such Person ceases being a Lender party hereto, for the benefit of, the Administrative Agent and its Affiliates, and not, for the avoidance of doubt, to or for the benefit of the Borrowers or any other Obligor, that:

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

   (v)           no fee or other compensation is being paid directly to the Administrative Agent or its Affiliates for investment advice (as opposed to other services) in connection with the Loans, the Commitments or this Agreement.

 

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

 

  (f)             Each Lender, by delivering its signature page to this Agreement on the Effective Date, or delivering its signature page to an Assignment and Assumption or any other Loan Document pursuant to which it shall become a Lender hereunder, shall be deemed to have acknowledged receipt of, and consented to and approved, each Loan Document and each other document required to be delivered to, or be approved by or satisfactory to, the Administrative Agent or the Lenders on the Effective Date or the effective date of any such Assignment and Assumption or any other Loan Document pursuant to which it shall have become a Lender hereunder.

 

9.5            Sub-Agents. Administrative Agent may perform any and all its duties and exercise its rights and powers hereunder or under any other Loan Document by or through any one or more sub-agents appointed by Administrative Agent (other than Disqualified Institutions). Administrative Agent and any such sub-agent may perform any and all its duties and exercise its rights and powers by or through their respective Related Parties. Administrative Agent is authorized on behalf of all the Lenders, without the necessity of any notice to or further consent from the Lenders or Issuing Lender, from time to time to permit any co-agents, sub-agents and attorneys-in-fact appointed by Administrative Agent to take any action with respect to any Collateral or the Loan Documents which may be necessary to perfect and maintain perfected the Liens upon any Collateral granted pursuant to any Security Document. The exculpatory provisions of this Section 9, as well as all other indemnity and expense reimbursement provisions of this Agreement (including, without limitation, Section 10.3), shall apply to any such sub-agent and to the Related Parties of Administrative Agent and any such sub-agent, and shall apply to their respective activities in connection with the syndication of the credit facilities provided for herein as well as activities as Administrative Agent and as though such co-agents, sub-agents and attorneys-in-fact were the “collateral agent” under the Loan Documents. Administrative Agent shall not be responsible to the Lenders for the negligence or misconduct of any sub-agent except to the extent that a court of competent jurisdiction determines in a final and nonappealable judgment that Administrative Agent acted with gross negligence or willful misconduct in the selection of such sub-agents.

 

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9.6            Resignation.

 

  (a)            Administrative Agent may resign at any time by giving notice of its resignation to the Lenders, Issuing Lender, and the Borrower Representative. Upon receipt of any such notice of resignation, the Required Lenders shall have the right, in consultation with and, so long as no Event of Default pursuant to Section 8.1(a), (b), (h) or (i) then exists, subject to the approval (not to be unreasonably withheld or delayed) of, the Borrower Representative, to appoint a successor, which shall be a Lender or a financial institution with an office in the United States, or an Affiliate of any such financial institution with an office in the United States. If no successor shall have been so appointed by the Required Lenders and, if applicable, the Borrowers and shall have accepted such appointment within 30 days after the retiring Administrative Agent gives notice of its resignation (or such earlier day as shall be agreed by the Required Lenders) (the “Resignation Effective Date”), then the retiring Administrative Agent may, on behalf of the Lenders and Issuing Lender, appoint a successor Administrative Agent meeting the qualifications set forth above (including any requisite Borrower consent). Whether or not a successor has been appointed, such resignation shall become effective in accordance with such notice on the Resignation Effective Date. Unless approved by the Borrower Representative in its sole discretion, no Disqualified Institution shall be a successor Administrative Agent.

 

  (b)            With effect from the Resignation Effective Date (a) the retiring Administrative Agent shall be discharged from its duties and obligations hereunder and under the other Loan Documents (except that in the case of any Collateral held by Administrative Agent on behalf of the Lenders or Issuing Lender under any of the Loan Documents, the retiring Administrative Agent shall continue to hold such collateral security until such time as a successor Administrative Agent is appointed) and (b) except for any indemnity payments owed to the retiring Administrative Agent, all payments, communications and determinations provided to be made by, to or through Administrative Agent shall instead be made by or to each Lender and each Issuing Lender directly, until such time as the Required Lenders appoint a successor Administrative Agent as provided for above. Upon the acceptance of a successor’s appointment as Administrative Agent hereunder, such successor shall succeed to and become vested with all of the rights, powers, privileges and duties of the retiring Administrative Agent (other than any rights to indemnity payments owed to the retiring Administrative Agent) and the retiring Administrative Agent shall be discharged from all of its duties and obligations hereunder or under the other Loan Documents. The fees payable by the Borrowers to a successor Administrative Agent shall be the same as those payable to its predecessor unless otherwise agreed between the Borrowers and such successor. After the retiring Administrative Agent’s resignation hereunder and under the other Loan Documents, the provisions of this Section and Section 10.3 shall continue in effect for the benefit of such retiring Administrative Agent, its sub-agents and their respective Related Parties in respect of any actions taken or omitted to be taken by any of them while the retiring Administrative Agent was acting as Administrative Agent.

 

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  (c)            Any resignation by JPMorgan as Administrative Agent pursuant to this Section shall also constitute its resignation as Issuing Lender and, if applicable, Swingline Lender. Upon the acceptance of a successor’s appointment as Administrative Agent hereunder, (i) such successor shall succeed to and become vested with all of the rights, powers, privileges and duties of the retiring Issuing Lender and Swingline Lender, (ii) the retiring Issuing Lender and Swingline Lender shall be discharged from all of their respective duties and obligations hereunder or under the other Loan Documents, and (iii) the successor Issuing Lender shall issue letters of credit in substitution for the Letters of Credit, if any, outstanding at the time of such succession or make other arrangements reasonably satisfactory to the retiring Issuing Lender to effectively assume the obligations of the retiring Issuing Lender with respect to such Letters of Credit.

 

9.7            Lender Credit Decision. Each Lender and Issuing Lender acknowledges that it has, independently and without reliance upon Administrative Agent or any other Lender or any of their Related Parties and based on such documents and information as it has deemed appropriate, made its own credit analysis and decision to enter into this Agreement. Each Lender and Issuing Lender also acknowledges that it will, independently and without reliance upon Administrative Agent or any other Lender or any of their Related Parties and based on such documents and information as it shall from time to time deem appropriate, continue to make its own decisions in taking or not taking action under or based upon this Agreement, any other Loan Document or any related agreement or any document furnished hereunder or thereunder. In this regard, each Lender further acknowledges that King & Spalding, LLP is acting in this transaction as special counsel to JPMorgan only, except to the extent otherwise expressly stated in any legal opinion or any Loan Document. Each other party hereto will consult with its own legal counsel to the extent that it deems necessary in connection with the Loan Documents and the matters contemplated therein.

 

9.8            Other Agent Titles. Anything herein to the contrary notwithstanding, none of the Persons listed as a “Lead Arranger,” “Bookrunner” or “Documentation Agent” on the cover page hereof shall have any powers, duties or responsibilities under this Agreement or any of the other Loan Documents, except in its capacity, as applicable, as Administrative Agent, a Lender or Issuing Lender hereunder.

 

9.9            Agent May File Proofs of Claim; Bankruptcy Events. In case of the pendency of any proceeding under any Debtor Relief Law or any other judicial proceeding relative to any Obligor or any Subsidiary, Administrative Agent (irrespective of whether the principal of any Loan or LC Disbursement shall then be due and payable as herein expressed or by declaration or otherwise and irrespective of whether Administrative Agent shall have made any demand any Obligor or any other Person primarily or secondarily liable) shall be entitled and empowered (but not obligated), by intervention in such proceeding or otherwise:

 

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  (a)            to file and prove a claim for the whole amount of the principal and interest owing and unpaid in respect of the Loans, LC Disbursements and all other Obligations that are owing and unpaid and to file such other documents as may be necessary or advisable in order to have the claims of the Lenders, Issuing Lender and the Administrative Agent (including any claim for the reasonable compensation, expenses, disbursements and advances of the Lenders, Issuing Lender and the Administrative Agent and their respective agents and counsel and all other amounts due the Lenders, Issuing Lender and the Administrative Agent under Sections 2 and 10.3) allowed in such judicial proceeding; and

 

  (b)            to collect and receive any monies or other property payable or deliverable on any such claims and to distribute the same in accordance with this Agreement;

 

and any custodian, receiver, assignee, trustee, liquidator, sequestrator or other similar official in any such judicial proceeding is hereby authorized by each Lender and Issuing Lender to make such payments to the Administrative Agent and, in the event that Administrative Agent shall consent to the making of such payments directly to the Lenders and Issuing Lender, to pay to the Administrative Agent any amount due for the reasonable compensation, expenses, disbursements and advances of Administrative Agent and its agents and counsel, and any other amounts due to the Administrative Agent under Sections 2 and 10.3. Nothing contained herein shall be deemed to authorize Administrative Agent to authorize or consent to or accept or adopt in each case on behalf of any Lender or Issuing Lender any plan of reorganization, arrangement, adjustment or composition affecting the Obligations in any proceeding under any Debtor Relief Law.

 

9.10            Collateral.

 

  (a)            The Secured Parties irrevocably authorize and direct the Administrative Agent:

 

   (i)            to release any Lien (A) on all Collateral upon Full Satisfaction of all the Obligations and termination of the Commitments, (B) with respect to any Collateral that is sold or otherwise Disposed of to a Person other than an Obligor pursuant to a Disposition permitted by Section 6.4 (other than any Disposition permitted by clause (f) of Section 6.4), (C) on Collateral owned by a Subsidiary that is a Guarantor upon release of such Guarantor from its obligations under its Guaranty Agreement pursuant to clause (iii) below, (D) upon property constituting Excluded Property (as defined in the Security Agreement; or any similar term in any Security Document), (E) on Collateral in accordance with the terms of any Intercreditor Agreement or (F) subject to Section 10.2, as may be approved, authorized, or ratified in writing by the Required Lenders;

 

   (ii)           to subordinate any Lien on any Collateral to the holder of any Lien on such property that is permitted by clause (f) of the definition of “Permitted Encumbrances”; and

 

   (iii)          to release any Guarantor from its obligations under the Guaranty Agreement if such Person ceases to be a Subsidiary as a result of a transaction permitted under the Loan Documents or otherwise becomes an Excluded Subsidiary.

 

  (b)            Upon request by Administrative Agent at any time, the Secured Parties will confirm in writing Administrative Agent’s authority to release or subordinate its interest in particular types or items of property or to release any Guarantor from its obligations under the Guaranty Agreement pursuant to this Section 9.10.

 

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  (c)            Administrative Agent, at the sole expense of Obligors, shall execute and deliver to the Obligors all releases or other documents reasonably necessary or desirable to evidence or effect any release of Liens or release of Guaranty Agreement authorized under Section 9.10(a); provided that (i) Administrative Agent shall not be required to execute any document necessary to evidence such release authorized under clause (i)(B) or (ii) of Section 9.10(a) unless a Responsible Officer of the Borrower Representative shall certify in writing to the Administrative Agent that the transaction requiring such release is permitted under the Loan Documents (it being acknowledged that Administrative Agent may rely on any such certificate without further enquiry), (ii) Administrative Agent shall not be required to execute any document necessary to evidence such release on terms that, in Administrative Agent’s opinion, would expose Administrative Agent to liability or create any obligation or entail any consequence other than the release of such Lien without recourse, representation, or warranty, and (iii) no such release shall in any manner discharge, affect, or impair the Obligations or any Liens (other than those expressly being released) upon (or obligations of any Obligors in respect of) all interests retained by Obligors, including, the proceeds of any sale, all of which shall continue to constitute part of the Collateral. To the extent Administrative Agent is required to execute any releases or other documents in accordance with this Section 9.10(c), Administrative Agent shall do so promptly upon request of the Borrower Representative without the consent or further agreement of any Secured Party.

 

  (d)             Administrative Agent shall have no obligation whatsoever to any of the Secured Parties to assure that the Collateral exists or is owned by any Obligor or its Restricted Subsidiaries or is cared for, protected, or insured or has been encumbered, or that Administrative Agent’s Liens have been properly or sufficiently or lawfully created, perfected, protected, or enforced or are entitled to any particular priority, or that any particular items of Collateral meet the eligibility criteria applicable in respect thereof or whether to impose, maintain, reduce, or eliminate any particular reserve hereunder or whether the amount of any such reserve is appropriate or not, or to exercise at all or in any particular manner or under any duty of care, disclosure or fidelity, or to continue exercising, any of the rights, authorities and powers granted or available to the Administrative Agent pursuant to any of the Loan Documents, it being understood and agreed that in respect of the Collateral, or any act, omission, or event related thereto, subject to the terms and conditions contained herein, Administrative Agent may act in any manner it may deem appropriate, in its sole discretion given Administrative Agent’s own interest in the Collateral in its capacity as one of the Lenders and that Administrative Agent shall have no other duty or liability whatsoever to any Secured Party as to any of the foregoing, except as otherwise provided herein.

 

  (e)            The Secured Parties hereby irrevocably authorize Administrative Agent, based upon the instruction of the Required Lenders, to (i) consent to, credit bid, or purchase (either directly or through one or more acquisition vehicles) all or any portion of the Collateral at any sale thereof conducted under the provisions of the Bankruptcy Code, including under Section 363, 1123 or 1129 of the Bankruptcy Code or any similar laws in any other jurisdictions to which a Holdings or a Borrower is subject, (ii) credit bid or purchase (either directly or through one or more acquisition vehicles) all or any portion of the Collateral at any sale or other disposition thereof conducted under the provisions of the UCC, including pursuant to Section 9-610 or 9-620 of the UCC, or (iii) credit bid or purchase (either directly or through one or more acquisition vehicles) all or any portion of the Collateral at any other sale or foreclosure conducted by Administrative Agent (whether by judicial action or otherwise) in accordance with applicable law. In connection with any such credit bid or purchase, (A) the Obligations owed to the Secured Parties shall be entitled to be, and shall be, credit bid on a ratable basis (with Obligations with respect to contingent or unliquidated claims being estimated for such purpose if the fixing or liquidation thereof would not unduly delay the ability of Administrative Agent to credit bid or purchase at such sale or other disposition of the Collateral and, if such claims cannot be estimated without unduly delaying the ability of Administrative Agent to credit bid, then such claims shall be disregarded, not credit bid, and not entitled to any interest in the asset or assets purchased by means of such credit bid) and the Secured Parties whose Obligations are credit bid shall be entitled to receive interests (ratably based upon the proportion of their Obligations credit bid in relation to the aggregate amount of Obligations so credit bid) in the asset or assets so purchased (or in the Equity Interests of the acquisition vehicle or vehicles that are used to consummate such purchase), and (B) Administrative Agent, based upon the instruction of the Required Lenders, may accept non-cash consideration, including debt and equity securities issued by such acquisition vehicle or vehicles and in connection therewith Administrative Agent may reduce the Obligations owed to the Secured Parties (ratably based upon the proportion of their Obligations credit bid in relation to the aggregate amount of Obligations so credit bid) based upon the value of such non-cash consideration.

 

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  (f)             Except with respect to the exercise of setoff rights in accordance with Section 10.08 or with respect to a Secured Party’s right to file a proof of claim in an insolvency proceeding, no Secured Party shall have any right individually to realize upon any of the Collateral or to enforce any Guarantee of the Obligations, it being understood and agreed that all powers, rights and remedies under the Loan Documents may be exercised solely by the Administrative Agent on behalf of the Secured Parties in accordance with the terms thereof. In its capacity, the Administrative Agent is a “representative” of the Secured Parties within the meaning of the term “secured party” as defined in the UCC. In the event that any Collateral is hereafter pledged by any Person as collateral security for the Obligations, the Administrative Agent is hereby authorized, and hereby granted a power of attorney, to execute and deliver on behalf of the Secured Parties any Loan Documents necessary or appropriate to grant and perfect a Lien on such Collateral in favor of the Administrative Agent on behalf of the Secured Parties.

 

9.11          Issuing Lender. Neither Issuing Lender nor any of its Related Parties shall be liable to the Lenders for any action taken or omitted to be taken by any of them hereunder or otherwise in connection with any Loan Document except for its or their own gross negligence or willful misconduct. Without limiting the generality of the preceding sentence, Issuing Lender (a) shall have no duties or responsibilities except those expressly set forth in the Loan Documents, and shall not by reason of any Loan Document be a trustee or fiduciary for any Lender or for Administrative Agent, (b) shall not be required to initiate any litigation or collection proceedings under any Loan Document, (c) shall not be responsible to any Lender or Administrative Agent for any recitals, statements, representations, or warranties contained in any Loan Document, or any certificate or other documentation referred to or provided for in, or received by any of them under, any Loan Document, or for the value, validity, effectiveness, enforceability, or sufficiency of any Loan Document or any other documentation referred to or provided for therein or for any failure by any Person to perform any of its obligations thereunder, (d) may consult with legal counsel (including counsel for the Obligors or Administrative Agent), independent public accountants, and other experts selected by it and shall not be liable for any action taken or omitted to be taken in good faith by it in accordance with the advice of such counsel, accountants, or experts, and (e) shall incur no liability to the Lenders under or in respect of any Loan Document by acting upon any notice, consent, certificate, or other instrument or writing believed by it to be genuine and signed or sent by the proper party or parties. As to any matters not expressly provided for by any Loan Document, Issuing Lender shall in all cases be fully protected in acting, or in refraining from acting, hereunder in accordance with instructions signed by the Required Lenders, and such instructions of the Required Lenders and any action taken or failure to act pursuant thereto shall be binding on all of the Lenders and the Administrative Agent; provided, however, that Issuing Lender shall not be required to take any action which Issuing Lender reasonably believes exposes it to personal liability or which Issuing Lender reasonably believes is contrary to any Loan Document or applicable law.

 

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9.12          Bailee for Perfection. Administrative Agent hereby appoints each of the other Lenders to serve as bailee to perfect Administrative Agent’s Liens in any Collateral in the possession, control or notation of any such other Lender. Each Lender possessing any Collateral agrees to so act as bailee for Administrative Agent in accordance with the terms and provisions hereof. In furtherance of the forgoing, each Lender acknowledges that certain of the Obligors may maintain Deposit Accounts constituting Collateral at one or more of the Lenders (all such accounts (other than any Deposit Account constituting Excluded Property (including, for the avoidance of doubt, any payroll or other employee wage or benefit account, tax account, including any withholding tax, sales tax or tax trust account, or escrow, fiduciary or trust account)) the “Obligor Accounts”). Each Lender agrees to hold its Obligor Accounts as bailee for Administrative Agent to perfect Administrative Agent’s Liens therein. Prior to the receipt by a Lender of a written notice of an Event of Default from Administrative Agent, the Obligors are entitled to make withdrawals from the Obligor Accounts and make deposits into all the Obligor Accounts. When a Lender has received a written notice of an Event of Default from Administrative Agent that includes a statement by Administrative Agent that it will thereafter retain exclusive control over the Obligor Accounts (or automatically upon the occurrence of an Event of Default under clause (h) or (i) of Section 8.1), (a) Administrative Agent shall be the only party entitled to make withdrawals from or otherwise give any direction with respect to the Obligor Accounts and each Lender agrees to comply with the instructions originated by Administrative Agent directing deposition of the funds in or relating to the Obligor Accounts it holds without further consent by any Obligor, and (b) each Lender shall transfer, in immediately available funds by wire transfer to the Administrative Agent, the amount of the collected funds credited to the Obligor Accounts it holds and deliver to the Administrative Agent all moneys or instruments relating thereto or held therein and any other Collateral at any time Administrative Agent demands payment or delivery thereof by such written notice to such Lender. Each Obligor agrees that each Lender is authorized to immediately deliver all such Collateral to the Administrative Agent upon the Lender’s receipt of such notice from Administrative Agent. No Lender (other than Administrative Agent acting for the benefit of the Secured Parties) shall exercise any right of set-off or banker’s lien against any Obligor Account for any obligations other than the Obligations; provided that a Lender shall be entitled to charge, or set-off against an Obligor Account and retain for its own account, any customary fees, costs, charges, and expenses owed to it in connection with the opening, operating and maintaining such Obligor Account and for the amount of any item credited to the Obligor Account that is subsequently returned for any reason.

 

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9.13           Affiliates of Lenders; Bank Product Providers. By accepting the benefits of the Loan Documents, any Affiliate of a Lender that is owed any Obligation is bound by the terms of the Loan Documents. Notwithstanding the foregoing: (a) neither Administrative Agent, any Lender, nor any Obligor shall be obligated to deliver any notice or communication required to be delivered to any Lender under any Loan Documents to any Affiliate of any Lender; and (b) no Affiliate of any Lender that is owed any Obligation shall be included in the determination of the Required Lenders or entitled to consent to, reject, or participate in any manner in any amendment, waiver or other modification of any Loan Document. Administrative Agent shall deal solely and directly with the related Lender of any such Affiliate in connection with all matters relating to the Loan Documents. The Obligation owed to such Affiliate shall be considered the Obligations of its related Lender for all purposes under the Loan Documents and such Lender shall be solely responsible to the other parties hereto for all the obligations of such Affiliate under any Loan Document. It is understood and agreed that the rights and benefits under this Agreement, the Security Documents, and the Guaranty Agreements of each Bank Product Provider, in such capacity, consist exclusively of such Bank Product Provider’s right to share in payments and collections of the Collateral and payments under the Guaranty Agreements; provided that for the avoidance of doubt, (i) obligations of the Borrowers or any Restricted Subsidiary under any Bank Product Agreement shall be secured and guaranteed pursuant to the Security Documents and Guaranty Agreements, respectively, only to the extent that, and for so long as, the other Obligations are so secured and guaranteed and (ii) any release of Collateral or any Guarantors effected in the manner permitted by this Agreement shall not require the consent of holders of obligations under Bank Product Agreements. All Bank Product Obligations shall be secured but on a silent basis, so that notwithstanding any other provision, if any, in this Agreement or any Security Document or Guaranty Agreement, no Bank Product Provider shall be able to take any action in respect of the Collateral or Guaranty Agreements nor instruct the Required Lenders or Administrative Agent to take any such action nor have any rights in connection with the management or release of any Collateral or the obligations of any Guarantor under any Guaranty Agreement. By accepting the benefits of the Collateral and the Guaranty Agreements, such Bank Product Provider shall be deemed to have appointed Administrative Agent as its agent and agreed to be bound by the Loan Documents as a Secured Party, subject to the limitations set forth in this Section 9.13; provided Administrative Agent shall not owe any fiduciary duty, duty of loyalty, duty of care, duty of disclosure, or any other obligation whatsoever to any Bank Product Provider with respect to any Bank Product Obligation. Administrative Agent shall have no duty to determine the amount or the existence of any amounts owing under any Bank Product Obligations. In connection with any such distribution of payments and collections or termination or release by Administrative Agent of any Liens or Guarantors thereunder, Administrative Agent shall be entitled to assume no amounts are due under any Bank Product Agreement unless such Bank Product Provider has notified Administrative Agent in writing of the amount of any such liability owed to it at least five Business Days prior to such distribution, termination or release.

 

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9.14          Erroneous Payments. Each Lender and Issuing Lender hereby agrees that (x) if the Administrative Agent notifies such Lender or Issuing Lender that the Administrative Agent has determined in its reasonable discretion that any funds received by such Lender or Issuing Lender from the Administrative Agent or any of its Affiliates (whether as a payment, prepayment or repayment of principal, interest, fees or otherwise; individually and collectively, a “Payment”) were erroneously transmitted to such Lender or Issuing Lender (whether or not known to such Lender or Issuing Lender), and demands the return of such Payment (or a portion thereof), such Lender or Issuing Lender shall promptly, but in no event later than one Business Day thereafter, return to the Administrative Agent the amount of any such Payment (or portion thereof) as to which such a demand was made in same day funds, together with interest thereon in respect of each day from and including the date such Payment (or portion thereof) was received by such Lender to the date such amount is repaid to the Administrative Agent at the greater of the NYFRB Rate and a rate determined by the Administrative Agent in accordance with banking industry rules on interbank compensation from time to time in effect, and (y) to the extent permitted by applicable law, such Lender or Issuing Lender shall not assert, and hereby waives, as to the Administrative Agent, any claim, counterclaim, defense or right of set-off or recoupment with respect to any demand, claim or counterclaim by the Administrative Agent for the return of any Payments received, including without limitation any defense based on “discharge for value” or any similar doctrine. A notice of the Administrative Agent to any Lender or Issuing Lender under this Section 9.14 shall be conclusive, absent manifest error. Each Lender and each Issuing Lender hereby further agrees that if it receives a Payment from the Administrative Agent or any of its Affiliates (x) that is in a different amount than, or on a different date from, that specified in a notice of payment sent by the Administrative Agent (or any of its Affiliates) with respect to such Payment (a “Payment Notice”) or (y) that was not preceded or accompanied by a Payment Notice, it shall be on notice, in each such case, that an error has been made with respect to such Payment.  Each Lender and each Issuing Lender agrees that, in each such case, or if it otherwise becomes aware a Payment (or portion thereof) may have been sent in error, such Lender or Issuing Lender shall promptly notify the Administrative Agent of such occurrence and, upon demand from the Administrative Agent, it shall promptly, but in no event later than one Business Day thereafter, return to the Administrative Agent the amount of any such Payment (or portion thereof) as to which such a demand was made in same day funds, together with interest thereon in respect of each day from and including the date such Payment (or portion thereof) was received by such Lender or Issuing Lender to the date such amount is repaid to the Administrative Agent at the greater of the NYFRB Rate and a rate determined by the Administrative Agent in accordance with banking industry rules on interbank compensation from time to time in effect. The Borrowers and each other Obligor hereby agrees that (x) in the event an erroneous Payment (or portion thereof) are not recovered from any Lender or Issuing Lender that has received such Payment (or portion thereof) for any reason, the Administrative Agent shall be subrogated to all the rights of such Lender or Issuing Lender with respect to such amount and (y) an erroneous Payment shall not pay, prepay, repay, discharge or otherwise satisfy any Obligations owed by the Borrowers or any other Obligor, except, in each case, to the extent such Payment is, and solely with respect to the amount of such Payment that is, comprised of funds received by the Administrative Agent directly or indirectly from the Borrowers, any Obligor or any Subsidiary (and without duplication of any other claim any such Obligor or Subsidiary may have against the Administrative Agent). Each party’s obligations under this Section 9.14 shall survive the resignation or replacement of the Administrative Agent or any transfer of rights or obligations by, or the replacement of, a Lender, the termination of the Commitments or the repayment, satisfaction or discharge of all Obligations under any Loan Document.

 

9.15          Flood Laws. JPMorgan has adopted internal policies and procedures that address requirements placed on federally regulated lenders under the National Flood Insurance Reform Act of 1994 and related legislation (the “Flood Laws”). JPMorgan, as administrative agent or collateral agent on a syndicated facility, will post on the applicable electronic platform (or otherwise distribute to each Lender in the syndicate) documents that it receives in connection with the Flood Laws. However, JPMorgan reminds each Lender and Participant in the facility that, pursuant to the Flood Laws, each federally regulated Lender (whether acting as a Lender or Participant in the facility) is responsible for assuring its own compliance with the flood insurance requirements.

 

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10.                            MISCELLANEOUS

 

10.1         Notices.

 

  (a)            General Address for Notices. Except in the case of communications expressly permitted to be given by telephone hereunder or under any other Loan Documents, all notices and other communications (“Communications”) provided for herein or in any other Loan Document shall be in writing and shall be delivered by hand or overnight courier service, mailed by certified or registered mail or sent by telecopy or, subject to Section 10.1(b), by electronic communication, as follows:

 

   (i)            if to the Borrowers, to them in care of the Borrower Representative at: 3831 Ocean Ranch Blvd, Oceanside, CA 92056; Attention: Jeff Pedersen, Chief Financial Officer; Email: [***]; Telephone: [***]; and during the existence of an Event of Default, with a copy to Kirkland & Ellis LLP, 300 North LaSalle, Chicago, IL 60654; Attention: Michelle Kilkenney; Email: [***]; Telephone: [***];

 

   (ii)           if to the Administrative Agent, to it at 10 S. Dearborn St., Chicago, IL 60603; Attention: USD Servicing Account Manager, August Dunn; Facsimile: [***]; with a copy to King & Spalding LLP, 110 N. Wacker Drive, Chicago, IL 6060, Attention: Evan Palenschat; Email: [***]; Telephone: [***]; with a copy to King & Spalding LLP, 110 N. Wacker Drive, Chicago, IL 60606, Attention: Amy Peters; Email: [***]; Telephone: [***];

 

   (iii)          if to JPMorgan as Issuing Lender, to it at 10 S. Dearborn St., Chicago, IL 60603; Attention: USD Servicing Account Manager, August Dunn; Facsimile: [***];

 

   (iv)          if to JPMorgan as Swingline Lender, to it at 10 S. Dearborn St., Chicago, IL 60603; Attention: USD Servicing Account Manager, August Dunn; Facsimile: [***];

 

   (v)           if to a Lender (including any Lender (other than JPMorgan) in its capacity as an Issuing Lender), to it at its address (or telecopy number) set forth in its Administrative Questionnaire.

 

Notices sent by hand or overnight courier service, or mailed by certified or registered mail, shall be deemed to have been given when received. Notices sent by telecopier shall be deemed to have been given when sent (except that, if not given before or during normal business hours for the recipient, shall be deemed to have been given at the opening of business on the next Business Day). Notices delivered through electronic communications to the extent provided in Section 10.1(b), shall be effective as provided in such Section 10.1(b).

 

  (b)            Electronic Communications. Communications to the Lenders under the Loan Documents may be delivered or furnished by electronic communications pursuant to procedures approved by Administrative Agent. Administrative Agent or the Borrower Representative may, in its discretion, agree to accept Communications to it under the Loan Documents by electronic communications pursuant to procedures approved by it; provided that approval of such procedures may be limited to particular Communications. Unless Administrative Agent otherwise prescribes, (i) Communications sent to an e-mail address shall be deemed received upon the sender’s receipt of an acknowledgment from the intended recipient (such as by the “return receipt requested” function, as available, return e-mail or other written acknowledgment), and (ii) Communications posted on an Internet or intranet website shall be deemed received upon the deemed receipt by the intended recipient at its e-mail address as described in clause (i) of this Section 10.1(b) notification that such Communication is available and identifying the website address thereof; provided that, for both clauses (i) and (ii) of this Section 10.1(b), if such Communication is not sent before or during the normal business hours of the recipient, such Communication shall be deemed to have been sent at the opening of business on the next Business Day.

 

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  (c)            Change of Address for Notices. Any party hereto may change its address or telecopy number for, or individual designated to receive, Communications under the Loan Documents by notice to the other parties hereto (or, in the case of any such change by a Lender or Issuing Lender, by notice to the Borrower Representative and the Administrative Agent). All Communications given to any party hereto in accordance with the provisions of this Agreement shall be deemed to have been given on the date of receipt.

 

  (d)            Electronic Transmission System. The Borrowers and the Lenders agree that Administrative Agent may make the Communications available to the Lenders, Issuing Lender, and the Borrowers by posting the Communications on Debt Domain, IntraLinks, SyndTrak or a substantially similar electronic transmission system or digital workspace provider (the “Platform”). THE PLATFORM IS PROVIDED “AS IS” AND “AS AVAILABLE”. THE AGENT PARTIES (AS DEFINED BELOW) DO NOT WARRANT THE ACCURACY OR COMPLETENESS OF THE COMMUNICATIONS OR THE ADEQUACY OF THE PLATFORM AND EXPRESSLY DISCLAIM LIABILITY FOR ERRORS OR OMISSIONS IN THE COMMUNICATIONS. NO WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS, IMPLIED, OR STATUTORY, INCLUDING ANY WARRANTY OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, NON-INFRINGEMENT OF THIRD PARTY RIGHTS, OR FREEDOM FROM VIRUSES OR OTHER CODE DEFECTS, IS MADE BY THE AGENT PARTIES IN CONNECTION WITH THE COMMUNICATIONS OR THE PLATFORM. IN NO EVENT SHALL ADMINISTRATIVE AGENT OR ANY OF ITS AFFILIATES OR ANY OF THEIR RELATED PARTIES (COLLECTIVELY, THE “AGENT PARTIES”) HAVE ANY LIABILITY TO THE BORROWERS, ANY LENDER, OR ANY OTHER PERSON OR ENTITY FOR DAMAGES OF ANY KIND INCLUDING DIRECT OR INDIRECT, SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, LOSSES OR EXPENSES (WHETHER IN TORT, CONTRACT, OR OTHERWISE) ARISING OUT OF THE BORROWERS’ OR ADMINISTRATIVE AGENT’S TRANSMISSION OF COMMUNICATIONS THROUGH THE INTERNET, EXCEPT TO THE EXTENT THE LIABILITY OF ANY AGENT PARTY IS FOUND IN A FINAL NON-APPEALABLE JUDGMENT BY A COURT OF COMPETENT JURISDICTION TO HAVE RESULTED FROM SUCH AGENT PARTY’S GROSS NEGLIGENCE, OR A MATERIAL BREACH OF THIS AGREEMENT BY AN AGENT PARTY, BAD FAITH OR WILLFUL MISCONDUCT; PROVIDED, HOWEVER, THAT IN NO EVENT SHALL ANY AGENT PARTY HAVE ANY LIABILITY TO ANY OBLIGOR, ANY LENDER, ISSUING LENDER, OR ANY OTHER PERSON FOR INDIRECT, SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES (AS OPPOSED TO DIRECT OR ACTUAL DAMAGES).

 

  (e)            Communications through the Platform. Each Lender agrees that notice to it (as provided in the next sentence) specifying that the Communications have been posted to the Platform shall constitute effective delivery of the Communications to such Lender for purposes hereof. Each Lender agrees (i) to provide to the Administrative Agent in writing (including by electronic communication), promptly after the date of this Agreement, an e-mail address to which the foregoing notice may be sent by electronic transmission and (ii) that the foregoing notice may be sent to such e-mail address.

 

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  (f)            Reliance on Notices. Administrative Agent, Issuing Lender, and the Lenders shall be entitled to rely and act upon any notices (including telephonic notices of a Borrowing) purportedly given by or on behalf of the Borrowers even if (i) such notices were not made in a manner specified herein, were incomplete or were not preceded or followed by any other form of notice specified herein, or (ii) the terms thereof, as understood by the recipient, varied from any confirmation thereof. The Borrowers shall, jointly and severally, indemnify Administrative Agent, each Issuing Lender, each Lender, and the Related Parties of each of them from all losses, costs, expenses, and liabilities resulting from the reliance by such Person on each notice purportedly given by or on behalf of the Borrowers. All telephonic notices to and other telephonic communications with Administrative Agent may be recorded by Administrative Agent, and each of the parties hereto hereby consents to such recording.

 

10.2           Waivers; Amendments.

 

  (a)            No Deemed Waivers; Remedies Cumulative. No failure or delay by Administrative Agent, Issuing Lender, or any Lender in exercising any right or power hereunder or under any other Loan Document shall operate as a waiver thereof, nor shall any single or partial exercise of any such right or power, or any abandonment or discontinuance of steps to enforce such a right or power, preclude any other or further exercise thereof or the exercise of any other right or power. The rights and remedies of Administrative Agent, Issuing Lender, the Lenders, and the other Secured Parties hereunder and under the other Loan Documents are cumulative and are not exclusive of any rights or remedies that they would otherwise have. No waiver of any provision of any Loan Document or consent to any departure by any Obligor therefrom shall in any event be effective unless the same shall be permitted by Section 10.2(b), and then such waiver or consent shall be effective only in the specific instance and for the purpose for which given. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, the making of a Loan or issuance of a Letter of Credit shall not be construed as a waiver of any Default, regardless of whether Administrative Agent, any Lender, or Issuing Lender may have had notice or knowledge of such Default at the time.

 

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  (b)            Amendments. Neither this Agreement, nor any other Loan Document nor any provision hereof or thereof may be waived, amended, or modified except, in the case of this Agreement, pursuant to an agreement or agreements in writing entered into by the Borrower Representative, Administrative Agent, and the Required Lenders or, in the case of any other Loan Document, pursuant to an agreement or agreements in writing entered into by Administrative Agent and the Obligor or Obligors that are parties thereto, in each case with the consent of the Required Lenders; provided that no such agreement shall (i) increase any Commitment of any Lender without the written consent of such Lender, (ii) reduce the principal amount of any Loan or LC Disbursement or reduce the rate of interest thereon, or reduce the rate of any fees due hereunder, without the written consent of each Lender directly and adversely affected thereby (but not the Required Lenders) (provided that in no event shall (A) the waiver of applicability of Section 2.12(c) (which waiver shall be effective with the written consent of the Required Lenders), or (B) any amendment or modification of defined terms used in the financial covenants in this Agreement or in determining the Applicable Margin or any reduction, deferral or waiver of any mandatory prepayment constitute a reduction in the rate of interest or a reduction of fees for purposes of this clause (ii)), (iii) postpone the scheduled date of payment of the principal amount of any Loan (excluding any payment required by Section 2.10(b)) or LC Disbursement, or any interest thereon, or any fees payable hereunder, or reduce the amount of, waive or excuse any such payment, or extend the Revolving Credit Maturity Date or the Term Loan Maturity Date, without the written consent of each Lender directly and adversely affected thereby (but not the Required Lenders), (iv) modify Section 8.2, without the written consent of each directly and adversely affected Lender (but not the Required Lenders), (v) (A) change any of the provisions of this Section or the definition of the term “Required Lenders” or any other provision hereof specifying the number or percentage of Lenders required to waive, amend or modify any rights hereunder or make any determination or grant any consent hereunder to reduce such percentage, without the written consent of each directly and adversely affected Lender (but not the Required Lenders), or (B) amend the provisions of Section 2.17(c) in a manner that would by its terms alter the pro rata sharing of payments and commitment reductions required thereby, without the prior written consent of each Lender directly and adversely affected thereby (but not the Required Lenders), (vi) contractually subordinate the payment of all the Obligations to any other Indebtedness or contractually subordinate the priority of the Liens on all or substantially all of the Collateral in favor of Administrative Agent to the Liens securing any other Funded Debt, without the written consent of each Lender directly and adversely affected thereby, it being understood that any Lender that is offered the opportunity to participate in such Funded Debt on the same terms (other than bona fide backstop, agency or arrangement fees and reimbursement of counsel fees and other expense in connection with the negotiation of the terms of such transaction) as offered to all other providers (or their affiliates) of such Funded Debt on a pro rata basis when taking into account its Loans and Commitments hereunder shall be deemed to not be directly and adversely affected by any such amendment or modification, and (vii) except as permitted by Section 6.3 and 6.4 as in effect on the Effective Date, (A) release a Borrower or release any Guarantor from any of its guarantee obligations without the written consent of each directly and adversely affected Lender or (B) release all or substantially all of the Collateral, in each case, without the written consent of each directly and adversely affected Lender; provided, however, that (A) no such agreement shall amend, modify or otherwise adversely affect the rights or duties of Administrative Agent, the Swingline Lender or the Issuing Lender hereunder without the prior written consent of Administrative Agent, the Swingline Lender or the Issuing Lender, as the case may be, and (B) the Fee Letter may be amended, or rights or privileges thereunder waived, in a writing executed only by the parties thereto. In addition, notwithstanding the foregoing, this Agreement may be amended with the written consent of the Administrative Agent, the Borrower Representative and the Lenders providing the Replacement Term Loans (as defined below) to permit the refinancing of all or a portion of the outstanding Term Loans of any Class (“Refinanced Term Loans”) with one or more tranches of replacement term loans (“Replacement Term Loans”) hereunder; provided that (1) except as otherwise permitted by Section 2.19, the aggregate principal amount of such Replacement Term Loans shall not exceed the aggregate principal amount of such Refinanced Term Loans (plus accrued interest, fees, expenses and premium), (2) the Weighted Average Life to Maturity of Replacement Term Loans shall not be shorter than the Weighted Average Life to Maturity of such Refinanced Term Loans, at the time of such refinancing (except by virtue of amortization or prepayment of the Refinanced Term Loans prior to the time of such incurrence), (3) such Replacement Term Loans shall constitute and qualify as Credit Agreement Refinancing Indebtedness and (4) all other terms applicable to such Replacement Term Loans shall be as agreed between the Borrowers and the Lenders providing such Replacement Term Loans.

 

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  (c)            Partial Payment Waivers. Anything to the contrary contained herein notwithstanding, if Administrative Agent or any Lender accepts a Guarantee of only a portion of the Obligations pursuant to any Guaranty Agreement, each Borrower hereby waive its right under Section 2822(a) of the California Civil Code or any similar laws of any other applicable jurisdiction to designate the portion of the Obligations satisfied by the applicable guarantor’s partial payment.

 

10.3          Expenses; Limitation of Liability; Indemnity; Damage Waiver.

 

  (a)            Costs and Expenses. The Borrowers, jointly and severally, shall pay (i) all reasonable and documented out-of-pocket expenses incurred by (x) the Administrative Agent and its Affiliates and (y) PGIM and Voya (limited to $100,000 in the aggregate in the case of PGIM and Voya), without duplication, including the reasonable fees, charges and disbursements of counsel for Administrative Agent, in connection with the syndication and distribution (including, without limitation, via the internet or through an Electronic System or Platform) of the credit facilities provided for herein, the preparation, negotiation, execution, delivery and administration of this Agreement and the other Loan Documents or any amendments, modifications or waivers of the provisions hereof or thereof (whether or not the transactions contemplated hereby or thereby shall be consummated), (ii) all reasonable and documented out-of-pocket expenses incurred by Issuing Lender 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 Administrative Agent, Issuing Lender or any Lender, including the reasonable and documented out-of-pocket fees, charges and disbursements of one primary counsel and one local counsel in each relevant, material local jurisdiction (which may be a single local counsel in each relevant, material jurisdiction) for the Administrative Agent, Issuing Lender and the Lenders, but no other advisor without the prior written consent of the Borrowers, in connection with the enforcement or protection of such Person’s rights in connection with this Agreement and the other Loan Documents or the Collateral, including its rights under this Section, or in connection with the Loans made or Letters of Credit issued hereunder, and including all such reasonable and documented out-of-pocket expenses incurred in connection with any bankruptcy or insolvency proceeding, workout, restructuring or related negotiations in respect thereof, and, in the case of an actual or perceived conflict of interest, one additional counsel for each group of similarly affected Persons taken as a whole, and (iv) all reasonable and documented out-of-pocket costs incurred by Administrative Agent in connection with any filing, registration, recording or perfection of any security interest contemplated by any Security Document or any other document referred to therein or, subject to Section 5.6, any audit, verification, inspection or appraisal of the Collateral.

 

  (b)            Limitation of Liability. To the extent permitted by applicable law (i) no Borrower shall assert, and each Borrower hereby waives, any claim against the Administrative Agent, any Issuing Lender and any Lender, and any Related Party of any of the foregoing Persons (each such Person being called a “Lender-Related Person”) for any Liabilities arising from the use by others of information or other materials (including, without limitation, any personal data) obtained through telecommunications, electronic or other information transmission systems (including the Internet), except to the extent such damages are found by a final, non-appealable judgment of a court of competent jurisdiction to arise from the willful misconduct, bad faith or gross negligence of such Lender-Related Person or a material breach of the obligations of such Lender-Related or its Affiliates under this Agreement, and (ii) no party hereto shall assert, and each such party hereby waives, any Liabilities against any other party hereto, on any theory of liability, for special, indirect, consequential, exemplary, lost anticipated profits or punitive damages (as opposed to direct or actual damages) arising out of, in connection with, or as a result of, this Agreement, any other Loan Document, or any agreement or instrument contemplated hereby or thereby, the Transactions, any Loan or Letter of Credit or the use of the proceeds thereof; provided that, nothing in this Section 10.03(b) shall relieve any Borrower of any obligation it may have to indemnify an Indemnitee, as provided in Section 10.03(c), against any special, indirect, consequential, exemplary, lost anticipated profits or punitive damages asserted against such Indemnitee by a third party.

 

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  (c)            Indemnification by the Borrowers. The Borrowers , jointly and severally, shall indemnify Administrative Agent, each Issuing Lender, each Lender, JPMorgan and the other Persons identified on the cover page of this Agreement in their respective separate capacities as a “Lead Arranger,” “Bookrunner” or “Documentation Agent”, and each Related Party of any of the foregoing Persons (each such Person being called an “Indemnitee”) against, and to hold each Indemnitee harmless from, any and all actual losses, claims, damages, liabilities, and related expenses, including the fees, charges, and disbursements of counsel (limited to the reasonable and documented out-of-pocket fees, disbursements and other charges of one primary counsel, one local counsel in each relevant jurisdiction, and one specialty counsel for each relevant specialty for all Indemnitees taken as a whole, and one or more additional counsel if one or more conflicts of interest, or perceived conflicts of interest arise), but no other third party advisors without the prior written consent of the Borrowers, incurred by or asserted against any Indemnitee arising out of, in connection with, or as a result of (i) the execution or delivery of this Agreement or any other Loan Document, the performance by the parties hereto of their respective obligations hereunder or thereunder or the consummation of the Transactions or any other transactions contemplated hereby or thereby, (ii) any Loan or Letter of Credit or the use or proposed use of the proceeds therefrom (including any refusal by Issuing Lender to honor a demand for payment under a Letter of Credit if the documents presented in connection with such demand do not strictly comply with the terms of such Letter of Credit), (iii) any actual or alleged presence or release of Hazardous Materials on or from any of the Mortgaged Properties or any other property owned or operated by any Obligor or any of the Subsidiaries, or any Environmental Liability related in any way to any Obligor, any of the Subsidiaries or any of the Mortgaged Properties, or (iv) any actual or prospective Proceeding relating to any of the foregoing, whether or not such Proceeding is brought by any Borrower or their respective equity holders, Affiliates, creditors or any other third Person and whether based on contract, tort, or any other theory and regardless of whether any Indemnitee is a party thereto; provided that such indemnity shall not, as to any Indemnitee, be available to the extent that such Liabilities, or related expenses are determined by a court of competent jurisdiction by final and nonappealable judgment to have (x) resulted from the gross negligence, bad faith, or willful misconduct of such Indemnitee or related party or a material breach of the obligations of such Indemnitee hereunder, or (y) arisen out of any claim, litigation, investigation or proceeding brought by such Indemnitee solely against one or more other Indemnitees (other than any claim, litigation, investigation or proceeding that is brought by or against Administrative Agent, Issuing Lender, Swingline Lender or any arranger or similar role, acting in its capacity as Administrative Agent, Issuing Lender, Swingline Lender or arranger or similar role) that does not involve any act or omission of any Obligors or any of their respective Subsidiaries or Affiliates. This Section 10.3(c) shall not apply with respect to Taxes, other than any Taxes that represent losses, claims, or damages arising from any non-Tax claim.

 

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  (d)            Reimbursement by Lenders. To the extent that Obligors for any reason fail to pay any amount required to be paid by it to the Administrative Agent (or any sub-agent thereof), Issuing Lender, or Swingline Lender or any Related Party of any of the foregoing (each, an “Agent-Related Person”) under Sections 10.3(a), 10.3(b) and 10.3(c) each Lender severally agrees to pay to the Administrative Agent (or any such sub-agent), Issuing Lender, Swingline Lender, or such Related Party, as the case may be, such Lender’s Pro Rata Share (determined as of the time that the applicable unreimbursed expense or indemnity payment is sought; provided that with respect to such unpaid amounts owed to the Issuing Lender or Swingline Lender solely in its capacity as such, only the Revolving Credit Lenders shall be required to pay such unpaid amounts, such payment to be made severally among them based on such Revolving Credit Lenders’ Revolving Credit Exposure) of such unpaid amount, and agrees to indemnify and hold each Agent-Related Person harmless from and against any and all Liabilities and related expenses, including the fees, charges and disbursements of any kind whatsoever that may at any time (whether before or after the payment of the Loans) be imposed on, incurred by or asserted against such Agent-Related Person in any way relating to or arising out of the Commitments, this Agreement, any of the other Loan Documents or any documents contemplated by or referred to herein or therein or the transactions contemplated hereby or thereby or any action taken or omitted by such Agent-Related Person under or in connection with any of the foregoing; provided that the unreimbursed expense or indemnified loss, claim, damage, liability, or related expense, as the case may be, was incurred by or asserted against Administrative Agent (or any such sub-agent), Issuing Lender or Swingline Lender in its capacity as such, or against any Related Party of any of the foregoing acting for Administrative Agent (or any such sub-agent), Issuing Lender, or Swingline Lender in connection with such capacity. provided, further, that no Lender shall be liable for the payment of any portion of such Liabilities, costs, expenses or disbursements that are found by a final and non-appealable decision of a court of competent jurisdiction to have resulted primarily from such Agent-Related Person’s gross negligence or willful misconduct. The agreements in this Section shall survive the termination of this Agreement and Payment in Full of the Obligations. The obligations of the Lenders under this Section 10.3(d) are subject to the provisions of Section 2.6(c).

 

  (e)            Waiver of Consequential Damages, Etc. To the extent permitted by applicable law, no Indemnitee, Obligor or any Related Party of an Obligor shall have any liability for, and no Indemnitee, Obligor or Related Party shall assert, and each Indemnitee, Obligor and Related Party hereby waives, any claim against any Indemnitee, Obligor or Related Party, on any theory of liability, for special, indirect, consequential or punitive damages (as opposed to direct or actual damages) arising out of, in connection with, or as a result of, this Agreement, any other Loan Document, the Transactions, any Loan or Letter of Credit, or the use of the proceeds thereof; provided that nothing in this sentence shall limit any Indemnitee’s, Obligor’s or Related Party’s indemnity and reimbursement obligations to the extent that such special, indirect, consequential or punitive damages are incurred or paid by an Indemnitee to a third party for which such Indemnitee is otherwise entitled to reimbursement or indemnification as set forth in Section 10.3(a) or (b).

 

  (f)            Payments. All amounts due under this Section shall be payable no later than 30 Business Days after written demand therefor.

 

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10.4          Successors and Assigns.

 

  (a)            Assignments Generally. The provisions of this Agreement shall be binding upon and inure to the benefit of the parties hereto and their respective successors and assigns permitted hereby (including any Affiliate of Issuing Lender that issues any Letter of Credit, any Affiliate of a Lender who is owed any of the Obligations and any Indemnitee), except that (i) except as otherwise permitted, no Obligor may assign or otherwise transfer any of its rights or obligations hereunder or under any other Loan Document without the prior written consent of each Lender (and any attempted assignment or transfer of any Obligor without such consent shall be null and void), and (ii) no Lender may assign or otherwise transfer any of its rights or obligations hereunder except in accordance with this Section (and any attempted assignment or transfer by any Lender that is not in accordance with this Section shall be null and void). Nothing in this Agreement, expressed or implied, shall be construed to confer upon any Person (other than the parties hereto, their respective successors and assigns permitted hereby (including any Affiliate of Issuing Lender that issues any Letter of Credit and any Affiliate of a Lender who is owed any of the Obligations, and, to the extent expressly contemplated hereby, the Related Parties of each of Administrative Agent, Issuing Lender and the Lenders)) any legal or equitable right, remedy, or claim under, or by reason, of this Agreement.

  

  (b)            Assignments by Lenders Generally. Any Lender may at any time assign to one or more assignees all or a portion of its rights and obligations under this Agreement (including all or a portion of its Commitment and the Loans (including for purposes of this Section 10.4(b)), participations in LC Disbursements and in Swingline Loans) at the time owing to it; provided that any such assignment shall be subject to the following conditions:

 

   (i)            Minimum Amounts.

 

      (A)            in the case of an assignment of the entire remaining amount of the assigning Lender’s Commitment or Loans of any Class or contemporaneous assignments to related Funds that equal at least the amount specified in clause (B) of this Section 10.4(b)(i) in the aggregate or in the case of an assignment to a Lender, an Affiliate of a Lender or an Approved Fund, no minimum amount need be assigned; and

 

      (B)             in any case not described in clause (A) of this Section 10.4(b)(i), the aggregate amount of the Commitment (which for this purpose includes Loans outstanding thereunder) or, if the Commitment is not then in effect, the Loans of the assigning Lender subject to each such assignment (determined as of the date the Assignment and Assumption with respect to such assignment is delivered to the Administrative Agent) shall not be less than $2,000,000 with multiples of $500,000 in excess thereof in the case of any assignment of Revolving Credit Loans by any Revolving Credit Lender, or $2,000,000 in the case of any assignment of Term Loans by and Term Loan Lender, unless each of Administrative Agent and, so long as no Event of Default described in clause (a), (b), (h) or (i) of Section 8.1 has occurred and is continuing, the Borrower Representative otherwise consents (each such consent not to be unreasonably withheld or delayed).

 

   (ii)           Proportionate Amounts. Each partial assignment of any Commitment or Class of Loans shall be made as an assignment of a proportionate part of all the assigning Lender’s rights and obligations under this Agreement in respect of such Commitment and Loans assigned, except that this Section 10.4(b)(ii) shall not (A) apply to Swingline Lender’s rights and obligations in respect of Swingline Loans or (B) prohibit any Lender from assigning all or a portion of its rights and obligations among separate Classes on a non-pro rata basis.

 

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   (iii)          Required Consents. No consent shall be required for any assignment except to the extent required by clause (B) of Section 10.4(b)(i) and, in addition:

 

   (A)              the consent of the Borrower Representative (such consent not to be unreasonably withheld or delayed) shall be required unless (i) an Event of Default described in clause (a), (b), (h) or (i) of Section 8.1 has occurred and is continuing at the time of such assignment, or (ii) such assignment is to a Lender, an Affiliate of a Lender or an Approved Fund; provided that the Borrower Representative shall be deemed to have consented to any such assignment unless it shall object thereto by written notice to the Administrative Agent within ten (10) Business Days after having received notice thereof;

 

   (B)               the consent of Administrative Agent (such consent not to be unreasonably withheld or delayed) shall be required for assignments in respect of (i) a Revolving Credit Commitment to a Person that is not a Lender with a Revolving Credit Commitment, an Affiliate of such Lender or any Approved Fund with respect to such Lender; or (ii) any Term Loans to a Person who is not a Lender, an Affiliate of such Lender or an Approved Fund with respect to such Lender; and

 

    (C)              the consent of the Swingline Lender and the Issuing Lender shall be required for any assignment of a Revolving Credit Commitment.

 

   (iv)             Assignment and Assumption. The parties to each assignment shall execute and deliver to the Administrative Agent an Assignment and Assumption, together with a processing and recordation fee of $3,500; provided that (i) no processing and recordation fee shall be required for any assignment by a Lender to an Affiliate or Approved Fund thereof; and (ii) in any other case, the Administrative Agent may, in its sole discretion, elect to waive such processing and recordation fee in the case of any assignment.

 

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

 

   (vi)            No Assignment to Certain Persons. No such assignment shall be made to (A) a Borrower or any of a Borrower’s Affiliates or Subsidiaries (other than pursuant to clauses (g) and (h) of this Section), (B) to any Defaulting Lender or any of its Subsidiaries, or any Person who, upon becoming a Lender hereunder, would constitute any of the foregoing Persons described in this clause (B), or (C) a Person that at such time is a Disqualified Institution.

 

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

 

   (viii)           Certain Additional Payments. In connection with any assignment of rights and obligations of any Defaulting Lender hereunder, no such assignment shall be effective unless and until, in addition to the other conditions thereto set forth herein, the parties to the assignment shall make such additional payments to the Administrative Agent in an aggregate amount sufficient, upon distribution thereof as appropriate (which may be outright payment, purchases by the assignee of participations or subparticipations, or other compensating actions, including funding, with the consent of the Borrower Representative and the Administrative Agent, the applicable pro rata share of Loans previously requested but not funded by the Defaulting Lender, to each of which the applicable assignee and assignor hereby irrevocably consent), to (A) pay and satisfy in full all payment liabilities then owed by such Defaulting Lender to the Administrative Agent, each Issuing Lender, Swingline Lender and each other Lender hereunder (and interest accrued thereon), and (B) acquire (and fund as appropriate) its full pro rata share of all Loans and participations in Letters of Credit and Swingline Loans in accordance with its Pro Rata Share. Notwithstanding the foregoing, in the event that any assignment of rights and obligations of any Defaulting Lender hereunder shall become effective under applicable law without compliance with the provisions of this Section 10.4(b)(viii), then the assignee of such interest shall be deemed to be a Defaulting Lender for all purposes of this Agreement until such compliance occurs.

 

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  (c)            Effectiveness of Assignments. Subject to acceptance and recording thereof pursuant to Section 10.4(d), from and after the effective date specified in each Assignment and Assumption the assignee thereunder shall be a party hereto and, to the extent of the interest assigned by such Assignment and Assumption, have the rights and obligations of a Lender under this Agreement (other than an assignment to a Person that is a Disqualified Institution at such time), and the assigning Lender thereunder shall, to the extent of the interest assigned by such Assignment and Assumption, be released from its obligations under this Agreement and, in the case of an Assignment and Assumption covering all of the assigning Lender’s rights and obligations under this Agreement, such Lender shall cease to be a party hereto but shall continue to be entitled to the rights referred to in Sections 2.14, 2.15, 2.16, and 10.3 with respect to facts and circumstances occurring prior to the effective date of such assignment; provided that except to the extent otherwise expressly agreed by the affected parties, no assignment by a Defaulting Lender will constitute a waiver or release of any claim of any party hereunder arising from that Lender’s having been a Defaulting Lender. Any assignment or transfer by a Lender of rights or obligations under this Agreement that does not comply with this Section shall be treated for purposes of this Agreement as a sale by such Lender of a participation in such rights and obligations in accordance with Section 10.4(e) (other than an assignment to a Disqualified Institution).

 

  (d)            Maintenance of Register by Administrative Agent. Administrative Agent, acting solely for this purpose as a non-fiduciary agent of the Borrowers, shall maintain at one of its offices in the United States a copy of each Assignment and Assumption delivered to it and a register for the recordation of the names and addresses of the Lenders, and the Commitment of, and principal amount (and stated interest) of the Loans and LC Disbursements (each, a “Registered Loan”) owing to, each Lender pursuant to the terms hereof from time to time (the “Register”). A Registered Loan may be assigned or sold in whole or in part only by registration of such assignment or sale on the Register, and any assignment or sale of all or part of such Registered Loan may be effected only by registration of such assignment or sale on the Register. The entries in the Register shall be conclusive absent manifest error, and the Borrowers, Administrative Agent, and the Lenders shall treat each Person whose name is recorded in the Register pursuant to the terms hereof as a Lender hereunder for all purposes of this Agreement, notwithstanding notice to the contrary. The Register shall be available for inspection by Borrowers and any Lender, at any reasonable time and from time to time, upon reasonable prior notice. The parties intend that all extensions of credit to the Borrowers shall at all times be treated as being in registered form within the meaning of Sections 163(f), 871(h)(2), and 881(c)(2) of the Code (and any successor provisions) and regulations thereunder and shall interpret the provisions herein regarding the Register and the Participant Register (as defined in paragraph (e) below) consistent with such intent.

 

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  (e)            Participations. Any Lender may at any time, without the consent of, or notice to, the Borrower Representative, Administrative Agent, Issuing Lender or Swingline Lender, sell participations to any Person (other than a natural Person or a holding company, investment vehicle or trust for, or owned and operated for the primary benefit of, a natural Person, or the Borrowers or any of the Borrowers’ Affiliates or Subsidiaries, or a Person that at such time is a Disqualified Institution) (a “Participant”) in all or a portion of such Lender’s rights or obligations under this Agreement (including all or a portion of its Commitments or the Loans (including such Lender’s participations in LC Disbursements or Swingline Loans) owing to it); provided that (i) such Lender’s obligations under this Agreement shall remain unchanged, (ii) such Lender shall remain solely responsible to the other parties hereto for the performance of such obligations, (iii) such participation shall not increase the obligations of any Obligor under any Loan Document, except as contemplated below, and (iv) the Borrowers, Administrative Agent, Issuing Lender, Swingline Lender, and the other Lenders shall continue to deal solely and directly with such Lender in connection with such Lender’s rights and obligations under this Agreement. For the avoidance of doubt, each Lender shall be responsible for the indemnity under Section 10.3(d) with respect to any payments made by such Lender to its Participants. Any agreement or instrument pursuant to which a Lender sells such a participation shall provide that such Lender shall retain the sole right to enforce this Agreement and to approve any amendment, modification, or waiver of any provision of the Loan Documents; provided that such agreement or instrument may provide that such Lender will not, without the consent of the Participant, agree to any amendment, modification, or waiver described in the first proviso to Section 10.2(b) that directly and adversely affects such Participant. The Borrowers agree that each Participant shall be entitled to the benefits of Sections 2.14, 2.15, and 2.16, (subject to the requirements and limitations therein, including the requirements under Section 2.16(g) (it being understood that the documentation required under Section 2.16(g) 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 Section 10.4(b); provided that such Participant (1) agrees to be subject to the provisions of Section 2.18 as if it were an assignee under Section 10.4(b); and (2) shall not be entitled to receive any greater payment under Sections 2.14 and 2.16, with respect to any participation, than its participating Lender would have been entitled to receive, except to the extent such entitlement to receive a greater payment results from a Change in Law that occurs after the Participant acquired the applicable participation. Each Lender that sells a participation agrees, at the Borrowers’ request and expense, to use reasonable efforts to cooperate with the Borrowers to effectuate the provisions of Section 2.18 with respect to any Participant. To the extent permitted by law, each Participant also shall be entitled to the benefits of Section 10.8 as though it were a Lender; provided that such Participant agrees to be subject to Section 2.17(d). Each Lender that sells a participation shall, acting solely for this purpose as a non-fiduciary agent of the 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 the Loan Documents (the “Participant Register”); provided that no Lender shall have any obligation to disclose all or any portion of the Participant Register (including the identity of any Participant or any information relating to a Participant’s interest in any Commitment, Loan, Letter of Credit or its other obligations under any Loan Document) to any Person except to the extent that such disclosure is necessary to establish that such Commitment, Loan, Letter of Credit, or other obligation is in registered form under Section 5f.103-1(c) of the United States Treasury Regulations. The entries in the Participant Register shall be conclusive absent manifest error, and such Lender shall treat each Person whose name is recorded in the Participant Register as the owner of such participation for all purposes of this Agreement notwithstanding any notice to the contrary. For the avoidance of doubt, Administrative Agent (in its capacity as Administrative Agent) shall have no responsibility for maintaining a Participant Register.

 

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  (f)            Certain Pledges. Any Lender may at any time pledge or assign a security interest in all or any portion of its rights under this Agreement to secure obligations of such Lender, including any pledge or assignment to secure obligations to a Federal Reserve Bank (or other central bank under any central banking system established under the jurisdiction or organization of such Lender (or its parent 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 and no pledge may be made to a Person that is a Disqualified Institution at such time.

 

  (g)            Assignments to Sponsor-Controlled Affiliated Lenders. Any Lender may, at any time, without any consent, assign all or a portion of its rights and obligations with respect to Term Loans (but not, for the avoidance of doubt, any Revolving Credit Loans or Revolving Credit Commitments) under this Agreement to a Person who is or will become, after such assignment, a Sponsor-Controlled Affiliated Lender (without any consent of any Person but subject to acknowledgment by the Administrative Agent (which acknowledgement shall be provided promptly after request therefor)) through (x) Dutch auctions open to all Lenders on a pro rata basis or (y) open market purchases on a non-pro rata basis, in each case subject to the following limitations:

 

   (i)            no assignment of Term Loans to a Sponsor-Controlled Affiliated Lender may be purchased with the proceeds of any Revolving Credit Loan or Swing Line Loan;

 

   (ii)           the assigning Lender and the Sponsor-Controlled Affiliated Lender purchasing such Lender’s Term Loans shall execute and deliver to the Administrative Agent an assignment agreement substantially in the form of Exhibit C hereto (a “Sponsor-Controlled Affiliated Lender Assignment and Assumption”);

 

   (iii)          Sponsor-Controlled Affiliated Lenders (A) will not receive information provided to Lenders by the Administrative Agent or any Lender and that is not also provided to the Borrowers, including through access to electronic information maintained on the Platform, other than the right to receive notices of prepayments and other administrative notices in respect of its Loans or Commitments required to be delivered to Lenders pursuant to Section 2, (B) will not be permitted to attend or participate in conference calls or meetings attended by the Lenders and the Administrative Agent that the Borrowers are also not attending, and (C) will not receive advice of counsel to the Administrative Agent and the Lenders;

 

   (iv)          in connection with each assignment pursuant to this Section 10.4(g), the assigning Lender and the Sponsor-Controlled Affiliated Lender purchasing such Lender’s Term Loans may render customary “big boy” letters to each other regarding information that is not known to such assigning Lender that may be material to the decision by such assigning Lender to enter into such assignment to such Sponsor-Controlled Affiliated Lender and no Sponsor-Controlled Affiliated Lender purchasing any Term Loans shall be required to make a representation that it is not in possession of Material Non-Public Information with respect to Holdings, the Borrowers and their Subsidiaries or their respective securities;

 

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   (v)           the aggregate principal amount of Term Loans (as of the date of consummation of any transaction under this Section 10.4(g)) held at any one time by all Sponsor-Controlled Affiliated Lenders shall not exceed 25% of the then outstanding principal amount of all Term Loans; provided that in addition to the foregoing, the amount of Incremental Term Loans assigned to Sponsor-Controlled Affiliated Lenders pursuant to this Section 10.4(g) shall not exceed 25% of the then outstanding principal amount of all Incremental Loans, in the aggregate for all Sponsor-Controlled Affiliated Lenders (such percentage, the “Sponsor-Controlled Affiliated Lender Cap”); and

 

   (vi)          except with respect to any amendment, modification, waiver, consent or other action (I) in Section 10.4 requiring the consent of all Lenders, all Lenders directly and adversely affected or specifically such Lender, (II) that alters a Sponsor-Controlled Affiliated Lender’s pro rata share of any payments given to all Lenders, or (III) affects the Sponsor-Controlled Affiliated Lender (in its capacity as a Lender) in a manner that is disproportionate to the effect on any Lender in the same Class, the Loans held by a Sponsor-Controlled Affiliated Lender shall be disregarded in both the numerator and denominator in the calculation of any Lender vote (and, in the case of a plan of reorganization that does not adversely affect the Sponsor-Controlled Affiliated Lender in a manner that is adverse to such Sponsor-Controlled Affiliated Lender relative to other Lenders, shall be deemed to have voted its interest in the Term Loans in the same proportion as the other Lenders in the same Class) in the same percentage as all other applicable Lenders voted if necessary to give legal effect to this paragraph) (but, in any event, in connection with any amendment, modification, waiver, consent or other action, shall be entitled to any consent fee, calculated as if all of such Sponsor-Controlled Affiliated Lender’s Loans had voted in favor of any matter for which a consent fee or similar payment is offered).

 

   (vii)         Each Sponsor-Controlled Affiliated Lender agrees to notify the Administrative Agent promptly (and in any event within 5 Business Days) if it acquires any Person who is also a Lender, and each Lender agrees to notify the Administrative Agent promptly (and in any event within 5 Business Days) if it becomes a Sponsor-Controlled Affiliated Lender.

 

   (viii)        Each Lender participating in any assignment to Sponsor-Controlled Affiliated Lenders acknowledges and agrees that in connection with such assignment, (1) the Sponsor-Controlled Affiliated Lenders then may have, and later may come into possession of Excluded Information, (2) such Lender has independently and, without reliance on the Sponsor-Controlled Affiliated Lenders or any of their Subsidiaries, Holdings, the Borrower or any of their Subsidiaries, the Administrative Agent or any other Agent-Related Persons, has made its own analysis and determination to participate in such assignment notwithstanding such Lender’s lack of knowledge of the Excluded Information, (3) none of the Sponsor-Controlled Affiliated Lenders or any of their Subsidiaries, Holdings, the Borrower or their respective Subsidiaries, the Administrative Agent or any other Agent-Related Persons shall have any liability to such Lender, and such Lender hereby waives and releases, to the extent permitted by law, any claims such Lender may have against the Sponsor-Controlled Affiliated Lenders and any of their Subsidiaries, Holdings, the Borrowers and their respective Subsidiaries, the Administrative Agent and any other Agent-Related Persons, under applicable laws or otherwise, with respect to the nondisclosure of the Excluded Information and (4) that information regarding the Borrowers, the Sponsor, their respective affiliates not known to such Lender and that may be material to a decision by such Lender to participate in such prepayment (including Material Non-Public Information) may not be available to the Administrative Agent or the other Lenders.

 

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   (ix)           Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in the Loan Documents, any Term Loans or Incremental Term Loans assigned to a Sponsor-Controlled Affiliated Lender in accordance with this Section 10.4(g) may be contributed to Holdings or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries and be exchanged for equity securities (other than Disqualified Equity Interests) of any Borrower (or any of its direct or indirect parent) to the extent otherwise permitted herein.

 

  (h)            Debt Fund Affiliates. Any Lender may, at any time, assign all or a portion of its rights and obligations with respect to Term Loans under this Agreement to a Person who is or will become, after such assignment, a Debt Fund Affiliate. Notwithstanding anything in Section 10.2 or the definition of “Required Lenders” to the contrary, for purposes of determining whether the Required Lenders have (i) consented (or not consented) to any amendment, modification, waiver, consent or other action with respect to any of the terms of any Loan Document or any departure by any Obligor therefrom, (ii) otherwise acted on any matter related to any Loan Document or (iii) directed or required the Administrative Agent or any Lender to undertake any action (or refrain from taking any action) with respect to or under any Loan Document, all Term Loans held by Debt Fund Affiliates may not account for more than 49.9% (pro rata among such Debt Fund Affiliates) of the Term Loans of consenting Lenders included in determining whether the Required Lenders have consented to any action pursuant to Section 10.4. For the avoidance of doubt, assignments to Debt Fund Affiliates under this Section 10.4(h) shall not be subject to any restrictions set forth in Section 10.4(g).

 

10.5          Survival. All covenants, agreements, certifications, representations and warranties made by the Borrowers or any other Obligor herein or in the other Loan Documents and in the certificates or other instruments delivered in connection with or pursuant to this Agreement or the other Loan Documents shall be considered to have been relied upon by the other parties hereto and shall survive the execution and delivery of this Agreement and the other Loan Documents and the making of any Loans and issuance of any Letters of Credit, regardless of any investigation made by any such other party or on its behalf and notwithstanding that Administrative Agent, Issuing Lender, or any Lender may have had notice or knowledge of any Default or incorrect certification, representation, or warranty at the time any credit is extended hereunder, and shall continue in full force and effect until the Full Satisfaction of the Obligations. The provisions of Sections 2.14, 2.15, 2.16, 10.3, and 10.18 shall survive and remain in full force and effect regardless of the consummation of the transactions contemplated hereby, the termination of the Loan Documents and payment of the Obligations hereunder, or the expiration or termination of the Letters of Credit and the Commitments.

 

10.6          Counterparts; Integration; Effectiveness. This Agreement may be executed in counterparts (and by different parties hereto on different counterparts), each of which shall constitute an original, but all of which when taken together shall constitute a single contract. This Agreement and the other Loan Documents constitute the entire contract between and among the parties relating to the subject matter hereof and supersede any and all previous agreements and understandings, oral or written, relating to the subject matter hereof. Except as provided in Section 4.1, this Agreement shall become effective when it shall have been executed by Administrative Agent and when Administrative Agent shall have received counterparts hereof which, when taken together, bear the signatures of each of the other parties hereto, and thereafter shall be binding upon and inure to the benefit of the parties hereto and their respective successors and assigns permitted hereby. Delivery of an executed counterpart of a signature page of this Agreement by facsimile or in electronic (i.e., “pdf” or “tif”) format shall be effective as delivery of a manually executed counterpart of this Agreement. The words “execution,” “signed,” “signature,” and words of like import in this Agreement or any Loan Document shall be deemed to include electronic signatures or the keeping of records in electronic form, each of which shall be of the same legal effect, validity or enforceability as a manually executed signature or the use of a paper-based recordkeeping system, as the case may be, to the extent and as provided for in any applicable law, including the Federal Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act, the New York State Electronic Signatures and Records Act, or any other similar state laws based on the Uniform Electronic Transactions Act.

 

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

 

10.8          Right of Setoff. If an Event of Default shall have occurred and be continuing, each Lender, Issuing Lender, and each of their respective Affiliates is hereby authorized at any time and from time to time, to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, to set off and apply any and all deposits (general or special, time or demand, provisional or final, in whatever currency) (other than escrow, payroll, employee health and benefits, pension, fiduciary, 401(K), petty cash, trust and tax accounts) at any time held, and other obligations (in whatever currency) at any time owing, by such Lender, Issuing Lender or any such Affiliate, to or for the credit or the account of the Borrowers or any other Obligor against any and all of the obligations of the Borrowers or any other Obligor now or hereafter existing under this Agreement or any other Loan Document to such Lender or Issuing Lender or their respective Affiliates, irrespective of whether or not such Lender, Issuing Lender or Affiliate shall have made any demand under this Agreement or any other Loan Document and although such obligations of the Borrowers or such Obligor may be contingent or unmatured or are owed to a branch, office or Affiliate of such Lender or Issuing Lender different from the branch, office or Affiliate holding such deposit or obligated on such indebtedness; provided that in the event that any Defaulting Lender shall exercise any such right of setoff, (a) all amounts so set off shall be paid over immediately to the Administrative Agent for further application in accordance with the provisions of Section 2.21 and, pending such payment, shall be segregated by such Defaulting Lender from its other funds and deemed held in trust for the benefit of Administrative Agent, Issuing Lender, and the Lenders, and (b) the Defaulting Lender shall provide promptly to the Administrative Agent a statement describing in reasonable detail the Obligations owing to such Defaulting Lender as to which it exercised such right of setoff. The rights of each Lender, Issuing Lender, and their respective Affiliates under this Section are in addition to other rights and remedies (including other rights of setoff) that such Lender, Issuing Lender, or their respective Affiliates may have. Each Lender and Issuing Lender agrees to notify the Borrower Representative and the Administrative Agent promptly after any such setoff and application and share such set-off pursuant to Section 2.17(d); provided that the failure to give such notice shall not affect the validity of such setoff and application.

 

10.9          Governing Law; Jurisdiction; Etc.

 

  (a)            Governing Law. This Agreement and the other Loan Documents (other than those containing a contrary express choice of law provision) shall be construed in accordance with, and this Agreement, the other Loan Documents and all matters arising out of or relating in any way whatsoever to the Loan Documents (whether in contract, tort or otherwise) shall be governed by, the law of the State of New York, other than those conflict of law provisions that would defer to the substantive laws of another jurisdiction. This governing law election has been made by the parties in reliance (at least in part) on Section 5-1401 of the General Obligation Law of the State of New York, as amended (as and to the extent applicable), and other applicable law.

 

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  (b)            Submission to Jurisdiction. Each Obligor, the Administrative Agent, any Lender, any Issuing Lender, or any Related Party hereby irrevocably and unconditionally agrees that it shall not commence any action, litigation or proceeding of any kind or description, whether in law or equity, whether in contract or in tort or otherwise, against any Obligor, the Administrative Agent, any Lender, any Issuing Lender, or any Related Party of the foregoing in any way relating to this Agreement or any other Loan Document or the transactions relating hereto or thereto, in any forum other than the Supreme Court of the State of New York sitting in New York County and of the United States District Court of the Southern District of New York, and any appellate court from any thereof, and each of the parties hereto and each other Obligor hereby irrevocably and unconditionally irrevocably and unconditionally submits to the jurisdiction of such courts and agrees that all claims in respect of any such action, litigation or proceeding may be heard and determined in such New York State court or, to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, in such federal court. Each of the parties hereto agrees that a final judgment in any such action or proceeding shall be conclusive and may be enforced in other jurisdictions by suit on the judgment or in any other manner provided by law. Nothing in this Agreement or in any other Loan Document shall affect any right that Administrative Agent, Issuing Lender, or any Lender may otherwise have to bring any action or proceeding relating to any Loan Document against any Obligor or its properties in the courts of any jurisdiction.

 

  (c)            Waiver of Venue. Each party hereto hereby irrevocably and unconditionally waives, to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, any objection that it may now or hereafter have to the laying of venue of any suit, action or proceeding arising out of or relating to any Loan Document in any court referred to in this Section 10.9(b). Each of the parties hereto hereby irrevocably waives, to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, the defense of an inconvenient forum to the maintenance of such action or proceeding in any such court.

 

  (d)            Service of Process. Each party hereto irrevocably consents to service of process in the manner provided for notices in Section 10.1. Nothing in this Agreement will affect the right of any party to this Agreement to serve process in any other manner permitted by applicable law.

 

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

 

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10.11        Treatment of Certain Information; Confidentiality.

 

  (a)            Confidentiality. Each of Administrative Agent, the Lenders and Issuing Lender agree to maintain the confidentiality of the Information (as defined below), except that Information may be disclosed (i) to its Affiliates and to its Related Parties (it being understood that the Persons to whom such disclosure is made will be informed of the confidential nature of such Information and instructed to keep such Information confidential and to use such Information subject to such Person’s internal regulatory and/or ethical obligations regarding the same); (ii) to the extent required or requested by any regulatory authority purporting to have jurisdiction over such Person or its Related Parties (including any self-regulatory authority, such as the National Association of Insurance Commissioners or any listing authority or stock exchange); (iii) to the extent required by applicable laws or regulations or by any subpoena or similar legal process; provided that prompt written notice to the Borrower Representative shall be provided to the extent not prohibited by applicable laws or regulations; (iv) to any other party hereto; (v) in connection with the exercise of any remedies hereunder or under any other Loan Document or any suit, action or proceeding relating to this Agreement or any other Loan Document or the enforcement of rights hereunder or thereunder; (vi) subject to an agreement containing provisions substantially the same as those of this Section, to (A) any assignee of or Participant in, or any prospective assignee (other than any Disqualified Institution) of or Participant in, any of its rights and obligations under this Agreement or any pledgee under Section 10.4(f), or (B) any actual or prospective party (or its Related Parties) to any swap, derivative or other transaction under which payments are to be made by reference to the Borrowers and their obligations, this Agreement or payments hereunder; (vii) to holders of Equity Interests in any Borrower, (viii) to any Person providing a Guarantee of all or any portion of the Obligations, (ix) on a confidential basis to (A) any rating agency in connection with rating Obligors or their Subsidiaries or the credit facilities under this Agreement or (B) the CUSIP Service Bureau or any similar agency in connection with the issuance and monitoring of CUSIP numbers with respect to this Agreements; (x) with the consent of the Borrower Representative; or (xi) to the extent such Information (A) becomes publicly available other than as a result of a breach of this Section, or (B) becomes available to the Administrative Agent, any Lender, Issuing Lender or any of their respective Affiliates on a nonconfidential basis from a source other than the Obligors that is not to the knowledge (after due inquiry) of the receiving party in violation of any confidentiality restriction. For purposes of this Section, “Information” means all information received from the Obligors or any of their Subsidiaries and/or its Related Parties or representatives relating to the Obligors or any of their Subsidiaries or any of their respective businesses, other than any such information that is available to the Administrative Agent, any Lender or Issuing Lender on a nonconfidential basis prior to disclosure by the Borrowers and other than information pertaining to this Agreement provided by arrangers to data service providers, including league table providers, that serve the lending industry; provided that, in the case of information received from the Borrowers after the date hereof, such information is clearly identified at the time of delivery as confidential. Any Person required to maintain the confidentiality of Information as provided in this Section shall be considered to have complied with its obligation to do so if such Person has exercised the same degree of care to maintain the confidentiality of such Information as such Person would accord to its own confidential information.

  

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                    (b)            Independence of Covenants. All covenants and other agreements contained in this Agreement or any other Loan Document shall be given independent effect so that, if a particular action or condition is not permitted by any of such covenants or other agreements, the fact that such action or condition would be permitted by an exception to, or otherwise be within the limitations of, another covenant or other agreement shall not avoid the occurrence of a Default if such action is taken or such condition exists.

 

10.12       Interest Rate Limitation. Notwithstanding anything herein to the contrary, if at any time the interest rate applicable to any Loan, together with all fees, charges or other amounts that are treated as interest on such Loan under applicable law (collectively the “Charges”), shall exceed the maximum lawful rate (the “Maximum Rate”) that may be contracted for, charged, taken, received, or reserved by the Lender holding such Loan in accordance with applicable law, the rate of interest payable in respect to such Loan hereunder, together with all Charges payable in respect thereof, shall be limited to the Maximum Rate and, to the extent lawful, the interest and Charges that would have been payable in respect of such Loan but were not payable as a result of the operation of this Section shall be cumulated and the interest and Charges payable to such Lender in respect of other Loans or periods shall be increased (but not above the Maximum Rate therefore) until such cumulated amount, shall have been received by such Lender. If Administrative Agent or any Lender shall receive interest in an amount that exceeds the Maximum Rate, the excess interest shall be applied to the principal of the Loans or, if it exceeds such unpaid principal, refunded to the Borrowers.

 

10.13        USA Patriot Act. Each of Administrative Agent, Issuing Lender, and each Lender subject to the USA Patriot Act hereby notifies each Obligor that pursuant to the requirements of the USA Patriot Act, it is required to obtain, verify, and record information that identifies each Obligor and other information that will allow Administrative Agent, such Lender, and Issuing Lender to identify each Obligor in accordance with the USA Patriot Act. The Borrowers hereby agree to provide, and cause each other Obligor to provide, such information promptly upon the request of Administrative Agent or any Lender. Each Lender subject to the USA Patriot Act acknowledges and agrees that neither such Lender, nor any of its Affiliates, participants or assignees, may rely on Administrative Agent 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 Obligor, its Affiliates or its agents, this Agreement, the Loan Documents or the transactions hereunder or contemplated hereby: (a) any identity verification procedures, (b) any record-keeping, (c) comparisons with government lists, (d) customer notices, or (e) other procedures required under the CIP Regulations or such other law.

 

10.14        Press Release and Related Matters. No party hereto shall, and no party hereto shall permit any of its Affiliates to, issue any press release or other public disclosure using the name, logo or otherwise referring to any party hereto or any of their respective Affiliates, the Loan Documents or any transaction contemplated therein without the prior consent of a Borrower, Administrative Agent, or any applicable Lender, as the case may be, except to the extent required to do so under applicable law and then, in any event, such party hereto will advise Borrowers or Administrative Agent, as the case may be, as soon as possible with respect to such press release or other public disclosure.

  

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10.15        No Duty. All attorneys, accountants, appraisers, and other professional Persons and consultants retained by Administrative Agent or any Lender shall have the right to act exclusively in the interest of Administrative Agent and the Lenders and shall have no duty of disclosure, duty of loyalty, duty of care, or other duty or obligation of any type or nature whatsoever to the Borrowers, any holders of Equity Interests of any Obligor, or any other Person.

 

10.16        No Fiduciary Relationship. The relationship between the Borrowers and the other Obligors on the one hand and the Administrative Agent, Issuing Lender, Swingline Lender, each Lender, the Lead Arranger, or any Person listed as a joint bookrunner or documentation agent on the cover page hereof on the other is solely that of debtor and creditor, and no Administrative Agent, Lender, Lead Arranger, or any Person listed as a joint bookrunner or documentation agent on the cover page hereof has any fiduciary, advisory, agency or other special relationship with Borrowers or any other Obligors, and no term or condition of any of the Loan Documents shall be construed so as to deem the relationship between the Borrowers and the other Obligors on the one hand and the Administrative Agent, Issuing Lender, Swingline Lender, each Lender, Lead Arranger, or any Person listed as a joint bookrunner or documentation agent on the cover page hereof on the other to be other than that of debtor and creditor. To the fullest extent permitted by law, each Borrower hereby waives and releases any claims that it may have against any of the Administrative Agent, the Issuing Lender, the Swingline Lender, the Lenders, the Lead Arranger, or any Person listed as a joint bookrunner or documentation agent on the cover page hereof with respect to any breach or alleged breach of agency or fiduciary duty in connection with any aspect of any transaction contemplated hereby.

 

10.17        Construction. The Borrowers, each other Obligor (by its execution of the Loan Documents to which it is a party), Administrative Agent and each Lender acknowledges that each of them has had the benefit of legal counsel of its own choice and has been afforded an opportunity to review the Loan Documents with its legal counsel and that the Loan Documents shall be construed as if jointly drafted by the parties thereto. Section headings and the Table of Contents used herein are for convenience of reference only, are not part of this Agreement and shall not affect the construction of, or be taken into consideration in interpreting, this Agreement.

 

10.18        Payments Set Aside. To the extent that any payment by or on behalf of any Obligor under any Loan Document is made to the Administrative Agent, Issuing Lender or any Lender, or Administrative Agent, Issuing Lender or any Lender exercises its right of setoff as to any Obligor, and such payment or the proceeds of such setoff or any part thereof is subsequently invalidated, declared to be fraudulent or preferential, set aside or required (including pursuant to any settlement entered into by Administrative Agent, Issuing Lender or such Lender in its discretion) to be repaid to a trustee, receiver or any other party, in connection with any proceeding under any Debtor Relief Laws or otherwise, then (a) to the extent of such recovery, the obligation or part thereof originally intended to be satisfied shall be revived and continued in full force and effect as if such payment had not been made or such setoff had not occurred, and (b) each Lender and each Issuing Lender severally agrees to pay to the Administrative Agent upon demand its Pro Rata Share of any amount so recovered from or repaid by Administrative Agent, plus interest thereon from the date of such demand to the date such payment is made at a rate per annum equal to the Federal Funds Effective Rate from time to time in effect.

 

10.19        Benefits of Agreement. The Loan Documents are entered into for the sole protection and benefit of the parties hereto and their permitted successors and assigns, and no other Person (other than any Related Parties of Administrative Agent, the Lenders, Issuing Lender and any Participants to the extent provided for in Section 10.4(e)) shall be a direct or indirect beneficiary of, or shall have any direct or indirect cause of action or claim in connection with, any Loan Document.

 

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10.20       Acknowledgement and Consent to Bail-In of EEA Financial Institutions. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in any Loan Document or in any other agreement, arrangement or understanding among any such parties, each party hereto acknowledges that any liability of any Affected Financial Institution arising under any Loan Document may be subject to the Write-Down and Conversion Powers of the applicable Resolution Authority and agrees and consents to, and acknowledges and agrees to be bound by:

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

10.21       Keepwell. Each Qualified ECP Guarantor hereby jointly and severally absolutely, unconditionally, and irrevocably undertakes to provide such funds or other support as may be needed from time to time by each other Obligor to honor all of its obligations under this Agreement in respect of Swap Obligations (provided, however, that each Qualified ECP Guarantor shall only be liable under this Section 10.21 for the maximum amount of such liability that can be hereby incurred without rendering its obligations under this Section 10.21, or otherwise under this Agreement, voidable under applicable law relating to fraudulent conveyance or fraudulent transfer, and not for any greater amount). The obligations of each Qualified ECP Guarantor under this Section shall remain in full force and effect until Full Satisfaction of the Obligations. Each Qualified ECP Guarantor intends that this Section 10.21 constitute, and this Section 10.21 shall be deemed to constitute, a “keepwell, support, or other agreement” for the benefit of each other obligor for all purposes of Section 1a(18)(A)(v)(II) of the Commodity Exchange Act.

 

10.22        Designation of Additional Borrowers. From time to time, the Borrowers may designate a Restricted Subsidiary incorporated, formed or otherwise organized in the United States to the Administrative Agent as a joint and several additional Borrower under the Loans and such party shall become a party to this Agreement pursuant to a joinder agreement reasonably satisfactory to the Administrative Agent; provided that the Borrower Representative shall have delivered (a) a joinder to this Agreement and the Security Agreement by such new Borrower, and such other Loan Documents as may be required by Section 5.8 or Section 5.9 with respect thereto, (b) a customary written opinion (addressed to the Administrative Agent and the Lenders) of counsel to such new Borrower regarding the Loan Documents consistent with the opinion delivered on the Effective Date, (c) such documents and certificates as Administrative Agent may reasonably request relating to the organization, existence and good standing of such new Borrower consistent with those delivered by the Borrower Representative on the Effective Date, (d) to each of the Lenders, all documents, certificates, and other information relating to the additional Borrower and its Subsidiaries that have been reasonably requested by the Administrative Agent or any Lender relating to the additional Borrower required by applicable regulatory authorities under applicable “know your customer” and anti-money laundering rules and regulations, including, without limitation, those imposed by the PATRIOT Act, and, for any additional Borrower that qualifies as a “legal entity customer” under the Beneficial Ownership Regulation, a Beneficial Ownership Certification in relation to such Borrower, and (e) such other assurances, certificates, documents, consents, or opinions as Administrative Agent or any Lender (through Administrative Agent) may reasonably request. Each Borrower shall be jointly and severally liable with respect to all Obligations.

  

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10.23        Joint and Several Obligations.

 

  (a)            All Obligations shall constitute joint and several obligations of the Borrowers. Each Borrower expressly represents and acknowledges that it is part of a common enterprise with the other Borrower and that any financial accommodations by Administrative Agent, the Lenders, Issuing Lender, and Swingline Lender, or any of them, to any other Borrower hereunder and under the other Loan Documents are and will be of direct and indirect interest, benefit and advantage to all of the Borrowers. Each Borrower acknowledges that any notice of Borrowing or any other notice given by the Borrower Representative to the Administrative Agent, the Lenders, Issuing Lender or Swingline Lender shall bind all of the Borrowers, and that any notice given by Administrative Agent, the Lenders, Issuing Lender or Swingline Lender to the Borrower Representative shall be effective with respect to all of the Borrowers. Each Borrower acknowledges and agrees that each Borrower shall be liable, on a joint and several basis, for all of the Loans and other Obligations, regardless of which such Person actually may have received the proceeds of any of the Loans or other extensions of credit or the amount of such Loans or other extensions of credit received or the manner in which Administrative Agent, the Lenders, Issuing Lender or Swingline Lender accounts among the Borrowers for such Loans or other Obligations on its books and records, and further acknowledges and agrees that Loans and other extensions of credit to any Borrower inure to the mutual benefit of all of the Borrowers and that Administrative Agent, the Lenders, Issuing Lender, and Swingline Lender are relying on the joint and several liability of the Borrowers in extending the Loans and other financial accommodations under the Loan Documents and Bank Product Agreements; provided, that notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this Section, no Borrower shall be liable for any Swap Obligation incurred by an Obligor other than such Borrower, to the extent such Swap Obligation would constitute Excluded Swap Obligations with respect to such Borrower at such time.

 

  (b)            Each Borrower shall be entitled to subrogation and contribution rights from and against the other Borrower to the extent such Person is required to pay to the Administrative Agent, the Lenders, Issuing Lender or Swingline Lender any amount in excess of the Loans advanced directly to, or other Obligations incurred directly by, such Person or as otherwise available under applicable law; provided, however, that such subrogation and contribution rights are and shall be subject to the terms and conditions of Section 10.23(c) and 10.23(d).

 

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  (c)            It is the intent of each Borrower, Administrative Agent, the Lenders, Issuing Lender, Swingline Lender and any other Person holding any of the Obligations that the maximum obligations of each Borrower hereunder (such Person’s “Maximum Borrower Liability”) in any case or proceeding referred to below (but only in such a case or proceeding) shall not be in excess of:

 

  (i)            in a case or proceeding commenced by or against such Person under the Bankruptcy Code on or within one year from the date on which any of the Obligations of such Person are incurred, the maximum amount that would not otherwise cause the Obligations of such Person hereunder (or any other Obligations of such Person to the Administrative Agent, the Lenders, Issuing Lender, Swingline Lender and any other Person holding any of the Obligations) to be avoidable or unenforceable against such Person under (A) Section 548 of the Bankruptcy Code or (B) any state fraudulent transfer or fraudulent conveyance act or statute applied in such case or proceeding by virtue of Section 544 of the Bankruptcy Code; or

 

  (ii)            in a case or proceeding commenced by or against such Person under the Bankruptcy Code subsequent to one year from the date on which any of the Obligations of such Person are incurred, the maximum amount that would not otherwise cause the Obligations of such Person hereunder (or any other Obligations of such Person to the Administrative Agent, the Lenders, Issuing Lender, Swingline Lender and any other Person holding any of the Obligations) to be avoidable or unenforceable against such Person under any state fraudulent transfer or fraudulent conveyance act or statute applied in any such case or proceeding by virtue of Section 544 of the Bankruptcy Code; or

 

  (iii)            in a case or proceeding commenced by or against such Person under any law, statute or regulation other than the Bankruptcy Code relating to dissolution, liquidation, conservatorship, bankruptcy, moratorium, readjustment of debt, compromise, rearrangement, receivership, insolvency, reorganization or similar debtor relief from time to time in effect affecting the rights of creditors generally (collectively, “Other Debtor Relief Law”), the maximum amount that would not otherwise cause the Obligations of such Person hereunder (or any other Obligations of such Person to the Administrative Agent, the Lenders, Issuing Lender, Swingline Lender and any other Person holding any of the Obligations) to be avoidable or unenforceable against such Person under such Other Debtor Relief Law, including, without limitation, any state fraudulent transfer or fraudulent conveyance act or statute applied in any such case or proceeding. (The substantive state or federal laws under which the possible avoidance or unenforceability of the Obligations of any Borrower hereunder (or any other Obligations of such Person to the Administrative Agent, the Lenders, Issuing Lender, Swingline Lender and any other Person holding any of the Obligations) shall be determined in any such case or proceeding shall hereinafter be referred to as the “Avoidance Provisions”).

 

Notwithstanding the foregoing, no provision of this Section 10.23(c) shall limit the liability of any Borrower for loans advanced directly or indirectly to it under this Agreement.

 

  (d)            To the extent set forth in Section 10.23(c), but only to the extent that the Obligations of any Borrower hereunder would otherwise be subject to avoidance under any Avoidance Provisions if such Person is not deemed to have received valuable consideration, fair value, fair consideration or reasonably equivalent value for such transfers or obligations, or if such transfers or obligations of any Borrower hereunder would render such Person insolvent, or leave such Person with an unreasonably small capital or unreasonably small assets to conduct its business, or cause such Person to have incurred debts (or to have intended to have incurred debts) beyond its ability to pay such debts as they mature, in each case as of the time any of the obligations of such Person are deemed to have been incurred and transfers made under such Avoidance Provisions, then the obligations of such Person hereunder shall be reduced to that amount which, after giving effect thereto, would not cause the Obligations of such Person hereunder (or any other Obligations of such Person to the Administrative Agent, the Lenders, Issuing Lender, Swingline Lender and any other Person holding any of the Obligations), as so reduced, to be subject to avoidance under such Avoidance Provisions. This Section 10.23(d) is intended solely to preserve the rights hereunder of Administrative Agent, the Lenders, Issuing Lender, Swingline Lender and any other Person holding any of the Obligations to the maximum extent that would not cause the obligations of the Borrowers hereunder to be subject to avoidance under any Avoidance Provisions, and none of the Borrowers nor any other Person shall have any right, defense, offset, or claim under this Section 10.23(d) as against Administrative Agent, the Lenders, Issuing Lender, Swingline Lender and any other Person holding any of the Obligations that would not otherwise be available to such Person under the Avoidance Provisions.

 

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  (e)            Each Borrower agrees that the Obligations may at any time and from time to time exceed the Maximum Borrower Liability of such Person, and may exceed the aggregate Maximum Borrower Liability of all of the Borrowers hereunder, without impairing this Agreement or any provision contained herein or affecting the rights and remedies of Administrative Agent, the Lenders, Issuing Lender, and Swingline Lender hereunder.

 

  (f)             In the event any Borrower (a “Funding Borrower”) shall make any payment or payments under this Agreement or shall suffer any loss as a result of any realization upon any collateral granted by it to secure its obligations hereunder, each other Borrower (each, a “Contributing Borrower”) shall contribute to such Funding Borrower an amount equal to such payment or payments made, or losses suffered, by such Funding Borrower determined as of the date on which such payment or loss was made multiplied by the ratio of (i) the Maximum Borrower Liability of such Contributing Borrower (without giving effect to any right to receive any contribution or other obligation to make any contribution hereunder), to (ii) the aggregate Maximum Borrower Liability of all of the Borrowers (including the Funding Borrowers) hereunder (without giving effect to any right to receive, or obligation to make, any contribution hereunder). Nothing in this Section 10.23(f) shall affect the joint and several liability of any Borrower to the Administrative Agent, the Lenders, Issuing Lender, and Swingline Lender for the entire amount of its Obligations. Each Borrower covenants and agrees that its right to receive any contribution hereunder from a Contributing Borrower shall be subordinate and junior in right of payment to all obligations of the Borrowers to the Administrative Agent, the Lenders, Issuing Lender, and Swingline Lender hereunder.

 

  (g)            No Borrower will exercise any rights which it may acquire by way of subrogation hereunder or under any other Loan Document or at law by any payment made hereunder or otherwise, nor shall any Borrower seek or be entitled to seek any contribution or reimbursement from any other Borrower in respect of payments made by such Person hereunder or under any other Loan Document, until all amounts owing to the Administrative Agent, the Lenders, Issuing Lender, and Swingline Lender on account of the Obligations are paid in full in cash. If any amounts shall be paid to any Borrower on account of such subrogation or contribution rights at any time when all of the Obligations shall not have been paid in full, such amount shall be held by such Person in trust for Administrative Agent, the Lenders, Issuing Lender, and Swingline Lender, segregated from other funds of such Person, and shall, forthwith upon receipt by such Person, be turned over to the Administrative Agent in the exact form received by such Person (duly endorsed by such Person to the Administrative Agent, if required), to be applied against the Obligations, whether matured or unmatured, as provided for herein.

 

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10.24        Acknowledgement Regarding Any Supported QFCs. To the extent that the Loan Documents provide support, through a guarantee or otherwise, for Hedging Agreements or any other agreement or instrument that is a QFC (such support, “QFC Credit Support” and each such QFC a “Supported QFC”), the parties acknowledge and agree as follows with respect to the resolution power of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation under the Federal Deposit Insurance Act and Title II of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (together with the regulations promulgated thereunder, the “U.S. Special Resolution Regimes”) in respect of such Supported QFC and QFC Credit Support (with the provisions below applicable notwithstanding that the Loan Documents and any Supported QFC may in fact be stated to be governed by the laws of the State of New York and/or of the United States or any other state of the United States):

 

(a)            In the event a Covered Entity that is party to a Supported QFC (each, a “Covered Party”) becomes subject to a proceeding under a U.S. Special Resolution Regime, the transfer of such Supported QFC and the benefit of such QFC Credit Support (and any interest and obligation in or under such Supported QFC and such QFC Credit Support, and any rights in property securing such Supported QFC or such QFC Credit Support) from such Covered Party will be effective to the same extent as the transfer would be effective under the U.S. Special Resolution Regime if the Supported QFC and such QFC Credit Support (and any such interest, obligation and rights in property) were governed by the laws of the United States or a state of the United States. In the event a Covered Party or a BHC Act Affiliate of a Covered Party becomes subject to a proceeding under a U.S. Special Resolution Regime, Default Rights under the Loan Documents that might otherwise apply to such Supported QFC or any QFC Credit Support that may be exercised against such Covered Party are permitted to be exercised to no greater extent than such Default Rights could be exercised under the U.S. Special Resolution Regime if the Supported QFC and the Loan Documents were governed by the laws of the United States or a state of the United States. Without limitation of the foregoing, it is understood and agreed that rights and remedies of the parties with respect to a Defaulting Lender shall in no event affect the rights of any Covered Party with respect to a Supported QFC or any QFC Credit Support.

 

(b)            As used in this Section 10.24, the following terms have the following meanings:

 

“BHC Act Affiliate” of a party means an “affiliate” (as such term is defined under, and interpreted in accordance with, 12 U.S.C. 1841(k)) of such party.

 

“Covered Entity” means any of the following:

 

  (i)             a “covered entity” as that term is defined in, and interpreted in accordance with, 12 C.F.R. § 252.82(b);

 

 (ii)             a “covered bank” as that term is defined in, and interpreted in accordance with, 12 C.F.R. § 47.3(b); or

 

 (iii)            a “covered FSI” as that term is defined in, and interpreted in accordance with, 12 C.F.R. § 382.2(b).

 

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“Default Right” has the meaning assigned to that term in, and shall be interpreted in accordance with, 12 C.F.R. §§ 252.81, 47.2 or 382.1, as applicable.

 

“QFC” has the meaning assigned to the term “qualified financial contract” in, and shall be interpreted in accordance with, 12 U.S.C. 5390(c)(8)(D).

 

10.25        Assumption of Obligations. Immediately following consummation of the Merger on the Effective Date, the Borrower hereby expressly, unconditionally and irrevocably assumes all Obligations of the Initial Borrower under this Agreement and the other Loan Documents as fully as if the Borrower was originally the Initial Borrower, and the Borrower expressly, unconditionally and irrevocably agrees to pay, perform and discharge such Indebtedness and Obligations in accordance with the terms of this Agreement and the other Loan Documents and otherwise be liable for such Indebtedness and to perform and discharge all of the Obligations and any and all covenants and other obligations under this Agreement and the other Loan Documents, and the Borrower will become a “Borrower” for all purposes under this Agreement and the other Loan Documents, and, following the completion of such assumption, the Indebtedness and Obligations of the Initial Borrower as a Borrower hereunder and under the other Loan Documents shall be automatically and irrevocably released (the assumption described in this Section 10.25, the “Effective Date Assumption”).

 

11.          THE BORROWER REPRESENTATIVE.

 

11.1          Appointment; Nature of Relationship. Suja Merger Sub, LLC, prior to the consummation of the Merger, and Suja life, LLC, after the consummation of the Merger and after giving effect to the Effective Date Assumption, is hereby appointed by each of the Borrowers as its contractual representative (herein referred to as the “Borrower Representative”) hereunder and under each other Loan Document, and each of the Borrowers irrevocably authorizes the Borrower Representative to act as the contractual representative of such Borrower with the rights and duties expressly set forth herein and in the other Loan Documents. The Borrower Representative agrees to act as such contractual representative upon the express conditions contained in this Article XI. The Administrative Agent and the Lenders, and their respective officers, directors, agents or employees, shall not be liable to the Borrower Representative or any Borrower for any action taken or omitted to be taken by the Borrower Representative or the Borrowers pursuant to this Section 11.01.

 

11.2          Powers. The Borrower Representative shall have and may exercise such powers under the Loan Documents as are specifically delegated to the Borrower Representative by the terms of each thereof, together with such powers as are reasonably incidental thereto. The Borrower Representative shall have no implied duties to the Borrowers, or any obligation to the Lenders to take any action thereunder except any action specifically provided by the Loan Documents to be taken by the Borrower Representative.

 

11.3          Employment of Agents. The Borrower Representative may execute any of its duties as the Borrower Representative hereunder and under any other Loan Document by or through authorized officers.

 

11.4          Successor Borrower Representative. Upon the prior written consent of the Administrative Agent (such consent not to be unreasonably withheld, denied, delayed or conditioned), the Borrower Representative may resign at any time, such resignation to be effective upon the appointment of a successor Borrower Representative. The Administrative Agent shall give prompt written notice of such resignation to the Lenders.

 

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11.5          Execution of Loan Documents. The Borrowers hereby empower and authorize the Borrower Representative, on behalf of the Borrowers, to execute and deliver to the Administrative Agent and the Lenders the Loan Documents and all related agreements, certificates, documents, or instruments as shall be necessary or appropriate to effect the purposes of the Loan Documents, including, without limitation, the Compliance Certificates. Each Borrower agrees that any action taken by the Borrower Representative or the Borrowers in accordance with the terms of this Agreement or the other Loan Documents, and the exercise by the Borrower Representative of its powers set forth therein or herein, together with such other powers that are reasonably incidental thereto, shall be binding upon all of the Borrowers.

 

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IN WITNESS WHEREOF, each of the parties hereto has caused this Agreement to be duly executed and delivered by its officer or officers thereunto duly authorized as of the date first above written.

 

INITIAL BORROWER: Prior to giving effect to the merger AND THE EFFECTIVE DATE ASSUMPTION
     
  SUJA MERGER SUB, LLC
   
  By: /s/ Jeff Pedersen
    Name: Jeff Pedersen
    Title: Chief Financial Officer

 

BORROWER: after giving effect to the merger AND THE EFFECTIVE DATE ASSUMPTION
     
  SUJA LIFE, LLC
   
  By: /s/ Jeff Pedersen
    Name: Jeff Pedersen
    Title: Chief Financial Officer

 

HOLDINGS: SUJA LIFE INTERMEDIATE II, LLC
     
  By: /s/ Jeff Pedersen
    Name: Jeff Pedersen
    Title: Chief Financial Officer

 

Signature Page to Credit Agreement

 

 

 

ADMINISTRATIVE AGENT AND ISSUING LENDER: JPMORGAN CHASE BANK, N.A., as Administrative Agent
     
  By: /s/ Bryson Kelly
    Name: Bryson Kelly
    Title: Vice President

 

Signature Page to Credit Agreement

 

 

 

[LENDER SIGNATURES ON FILE WITH ADMINISTRATIVE AGENT]

 

 

Exhibit 10.2

 

FIRST AMENDMENT TO CREDIT AGREEMENT

 

THIS FIRST AMENDMENT TO CREDIT AGREEMENT (this “Amendment”) is made and entered into as of December 8, 2021, by and among Suja Life, LLC (as successor by merger to Suja Merger Sub, LLC), a Delaware limited liability company (the “Borrower Representative”), the Lenders (as hereinafter defined) that are parties to this Amendment and JPMORGAN CHASE BANK, N.A., as administrative agent for the Lenders (in such capacity, the “Administrative Agent”).

 

W I T N E S S E T H:

 

WHEREAS, the Borrowers (as defined therein), the Guarantors, the several banks and other financial institutions that are parties thereto (the “Lenders”) and the Administrative Agent are parties to a certain Credit Agreement, dated as of August 23, 2021 (as amended, restated, supplemented or otherwise modified from time to time, the “Credit Agreement”; capitalized terms used herein and not otherwise defined shall have the meanings assigned to such terms in the Credit Agreement), pursuant to which the Lenders have made certain financial accommodations available to the Borrowers;

 

WHEREAS, the Borrower Representative have requested that the Lenders and the Administrative Agent amend certain provisions of the Credit Agreement, and subject to the terms and conditions hereof, the Lenders are willing to do so;

 

NOW, THEREFORE, for good and valuable consideration, the sufficiency and receipt of all of which are acknowledged, the Borrower Representative, the Lenders party hereto (which constitute the Required Lenders) and the Administrative Agent agree as follows:

 

1.              Amendments. Upon satisfaction of the conditions set forth in Section 2 hereof, the Credit Agreement is hereby amended as follows:

 

(a)            Section 1.1 of the Credit Agreement is hereby amended by amending and restating the definition of each of the following terms with the following:

 

““Excess Cash Flow Period” means the period beginning on December 28, 2021 and ending on December 26, 2022 and, thereafter, each Fiscal Year of Holdings and its Restricted Subsidiaries.

 

“Fiscal Quarter” shall mean any of the quarterly accounting periods of each Obligor ending on the Applicable Period End Date with respect to each fiscal quarter.

 

“Fiscal Year” shall mean any of the annual accounting period of each Obligor ending on the Applicable Period End Date with respect to each fiscal year.”

 

(b)            Section 1.1 of the Credit Agreement is hereby further amended by amending and restating clause (1)(x) of the definition of “Applicable Margin” with the following:

 

 

 

 

“(1) (x) with respect to any Base Rate Loan, 4.50% or”

 

(c)            Section 1.1 of the Credit Agreement is hereby further amended by adding the following definition in the appropriate alphabetical order:

 

““Applicable Period End Date” means the relevant fiscal year or fiscal quarter period end dates set forth on Schedule 1.1(a).”

 

(d)           The reference to “Fiscal Quarter ending December 31, 2021” set forth in the definition of Applicable Margin is hereby amended and restated to read “Fiscal Quarter ending December 27, 2021”.

 

(e)            The reference to “Fiscal Year ending December 31, 2022” set forth in the clause (b)(i) of the definition of Available Amount is hereby amended and restated to read “Fiscal Year ending December 26, 2022”.

 

(f)            The final sentence of the definition of “Consolidated EBITDA” is hereby amended and restated to read as follows:

 

“Notwithstanding anything to the contrary, Consolidated EBITDA shall be deemed to be $6,751,025.73 for the Fiscal Quarter ended September 28, 2020, $4,611,123.28 for the Fiscal Quarter ended December 28, 2020, $8,553,718.80 for the Fiscal Quarter ended March 29, 2021 and $8,099,268.35 for the Fiscal Quarter ended June 28, 2021.”

 

(g)           Section 5.1(a) of the Credit Agreement is hereby amended and restated in its entirety as follows:

 

“(a)         within 120 days after the end of each Fiscal Year, (i) commencing with the Fiscal Year ending December 27, 2021, the consolidated balance sheet and related statements of operations, members’ equity and cash flows of the Company and its Subsidiaries, as of the end of and for such year, setting forth, in each case, commencing with the Fiscal Year ending December 26, 2022, in comparative form the figures for the previous Fiscal Year audited by Moss Adams LLP, KPMG or another independent public accountants of recognized national or regional standing (without a “going concern” or substantially similar qualification or exception and without any qualification or exception as to the scope of such audit (except for any such qualification pertaining to (x) the maturity of any Indebtedness occurring within twelve (12) months of the relevant audit, (y) any actual or prospective default under any financial covenant or (z) the activities, operations, financial results, assets or liabilities of Unrestricted Subsidiaries) to the effect that such consolidated financial statements present fairly in all materials respects the financial condition and results of operations of the Company and its Subsidiaries on a consolidated basis in accordance in all material respects with GAAP consistently applied, except as noted therein and (ii) a certification of a Responsible Officer of the Company that such consolidated financial statements present fairly in all material respects the financial condition and results of operations of the Company and the applicable Subsidiaries for such Fiscal Year on a consolidated basis in accordance with GAAP consistently applied; provided, however, that for the Fiscal Year ending December 27, 2021 only, the consolidated financial statements required pursuant to this clause (a) may be provided within 150 days after the end of such Fiscal Year.”

 

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(h)           Section 5.1(b) of the Credit Agreement is hereby amended and restated in its entirety as follows:

 

“(b)         within 45 days after the end of each of the first three Fiscal Quarters of each Fiscal Year (and for the fourth Fiscal Quarter of the 2021 Fiscal Year only) commencing with the Fiscal Quarter ending December 27, 2021, (i) the consolidated balance sheet and related statements of operations and cash flows of the Company and its Subsidiaries as of the end of and for such Fiscal Quarter and the then elapsed portion of the Fiscal Year, setting forth in each case, commencing with the Fiscal Quarter ending March 27, 2023 in comparative form the figures for (or, in the case of the balance sheet, as of the end of) the corresponding period or periods of the previous Fiscal Year and (ii) a certification of a Responsible Officer of the Company that such consolidated financial statements present fairly the financial condition and results of operations of the Company and the applicable Subsidiaries, on a consolidated basis for such period in accordance in all material respects with GAAP consistently applied, subject to normal year-end audit adjustments and the absence of footnotes; provided, however, that for the Fiscal Quarters ending September 27, 2021, December 27, 2021 and March 28, 2022 only, the consolidated financial statements required pursuant to this clause (b) may be provided within 60 days after the end of such Fiscal Quarter;”

 

(i)            Section 5.1(f) of the Credit Agreement is hereby amended and restated in its entirety as follows:

 

“(f)          prior to an Initial Public Offering, as soon as available, but in any event no more than 90 days after the end of each Fiscal Year commencing with the Fiscal Year ending December 27, 2021, an annual consolidated plan, budget and financial projection of the Company and its Restricted Subsidiaries on a consolidated basis, including forecasts prepared by management of the Borrowers in form consistent with past practice, of consolidated balance sheets and statements of income or operations and cash flows of the Company and its Restricted Subsidiaries on a quarterly basis for such Fiscal Year, which shall state the material assumptions used in preparation thereof;”

 

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(j)            Section 7.1 of the Credit Agreement is hereby amended and restated in its entirety as follows:

 

“The Borrowers shall not permit the Consolidated Net Leverage Ratio to exceed the applicable ratio set forth below as of the last day of the applicable Fiscal Quarter, commencing with the Fiscal Quarter ending December 27, 2021:

 

Fiscal Quarter  Consolidated Net Leverage Ratio
Fiscal Quarter ending December 27, 2021 and each Fiscal Quarter ending through and including September 26, 2022  6.00 to 1.00
Fiscal Quarter ending December 26, 2022 and each Fiscal Quarter ending through and including September 25, 2023  5.50 to 1.00
Fiscal Quarter ending January 1, 2024 and each Fiscal Quarter ending thereafter  3.50 to 1.00”

 

(k)           The Schedules to the Credit Agreement are hereby amended by adding Schedule 1.1(a) as set forth on Schedule 1.1(a) attached hereto.

 

2.             Conditions to Effectiveness of this Amendment. Notwithstanding any other provision of this Amendment and without affecting in any manner the rights of the Lenders hereunder, it is understood and agreed that this Amendment shall not become effective, and none of the Borrowers nor any other Obligor shall have any rights under this Amendment, until the Administrative Agent shall have received the following:

 

(a)            executed counterparts to this Amendment from the Borrowers, each other Obligor, the Administrative Agent and the Required Lenders; and

 

(b)            payment of any unpaid fees or invoiced expenses in accordance with Section 10.3 of the Credit Agreement.

 

3.             Representations and Warranties. The Borrower Representative represents and warrants on the date hereof (with each representation and warranty being deemed in effect after giving effect to the Transactions) to the Administrative Agent, the Lenders, and Issuing Lender that:

 

(a)           the Borrower Representative is (i) duly organized, validly existing, and, if applicable in its jurisdiction of organization, in good standing or the equivalent status under the laws of the jurisdiction of its organization, (ii) has all requisite corporate or similar power and authority to execute, deliver and perform its obligations under this Amendment, and (iii) except where the failure to do so, individually or in the aggregate, could not reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect, is duly qualified or licensed and is in good standing as a foreign corporation or other company, and authorized to do business, in each jurisdiction in which the characters of its properties or the nature of its business requires such qualification or authorization;

 

(b)           the execution, delivery and performance by the Borrower Representative of this Amendment and the performance of the Borrower Representative’s obligations hereunder are within the Borrower Representative’s requisite powers and have been duly authorized by all necessary corporate, limited liability company or other organizational action, and, if required, by all necessary action by holders of Equity Interests in the Borrower Representative. This Amendment has been duly executed and delivered by the Borrower Representative and constitute, a legal, valid and binding obligation of the Borrower Representative, enforceable against the Borrower Representative in accordance with its terms, except as such enforceability may be limited by (i) Debtor Relief Laws or similar laws of general applicability affecting the enforcement of creditors’ rights, (ii) the application of general principles of equity (regardless of whether such enforceability is considered in a proceeding in equity or at law) and (iii) the effect of foreign laws, rules and regulations as they relate to pledges of Equity Interests in or Indebtedness owed by Foreign Subsidiaries;

 

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(c)            the execution, delivery and performance by the Borrower Representative of this Amendment and the performance of the Borrower Representative’s obligations hereunder (i) do not require any consent, authorization or approval of, registration or filing with, notice to, or any other action by, any Governmental Authority, except for (A) such as have been obtained or made and are in full force and effect and (B) those that would not reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect, (ii) will not violate (x) any applicable law or regulation applicable to the Borrower Representative or its Restricted Subsidiaries or (y) the Organizational Documents of the Borrower Representative or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries, in the case of clause (x), that would reasonably be expected to result, individually or in the aggregate, in a Material Adverse Effect, (iii) will not conflict with or result in a breach or contravention of, any material order, injunction, writ or decree of any Governmental Authority or any arbitral award to which the Borrower Representative or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries is a party or affecting such Person or its properties that would reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect, and (iv) except for the Liens created pursuant to the Security Documents or Permitted Encumbrances, will not result in the creation or imposition of any Lien on any asset of the Borrower Representative or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries;

 

(d)            the representations and warranties of the Borrower Representative set forth in this Amendment and of the other Loan Documents to which it is a party, is true and correct in all material respects (unless any such representation or warranty is qualified as to materiality or Material Adverse Effect, in which case such representation and warranty is true and correct in all respects) on and as of the date hereof, both before and immediately after giving effect thereto, except to the extent that such representations and warranties specifically refer to an earlier date, in which case they are true and correct in all material respects (unless any such representation or warranty is qualified as to materiality or Material Adverse Effect, in which case such representation and warranty is true and correct in all respects).

 

4.             Effect of Amendment. Except as set forth expressly herein, all terms of the Credit Agreement, as amended hereby, and the other Loan Documents shall be and remain in full force and effect and shall constitute the legal, valid, binding and enforceable obligations of the Borrowers and each other Obligor to the Lenders and the Administrative Agent. The execution, delivery and effectiveness of this Amendment shall not, except as expressly provided herein, operate as a waiver of any right, power or remedy of the Lenders under the Credit Agreement, nor constitute a waiver of any provision of the Credit Agreement. This Amendment shall constitute a Loan Document for all purposes of the Credit Agreement.

 

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5.             Governing Law. This Amendment shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the internal laws of the State of New York, but giving effect to federal laws applicable to national banks. All provisions in Sections 10.9 and 10.10 of the Credit Agreement are hereby incorporated herein, mutatis mutandis.

 

6.             No Novation. This Amendment is not intended by the parties to be, and shall not be construed to be, a novation of the Credit Agreement or any other Loan Document or an accord and satisfaction in regard thereto.

 

7.             Costs and Expenses. The Borrower Representative agrees to promptly pay following request all reasonable out-of-pocket costs and expenses of the Administrative Agent in connection with the preparation, execution and delivery of this Amendment, including, without limitation, the reasonable fees and expenses of legal counsel for the Administrative Agent with respect thereto, in each case in accordance with and subject to, the terms of Section 10.2 of the Credit Agreement.

 

8.             Counterparts. This Amendment may be executed in counterparts (and by different parties hereto on different counterparts), each of which shall constitute an original, but all of which when taken together shall constitute a single contract. Delivery of an executed counterpart of a signature page of this Amendment by facsimile or in electronic (i.e., “pdf” or “tif”) format shall be effective as delivery of a manually executed counterpart of this Agreement. The words “execution,” “signed,” “signature,” and words of like import in this Amendment shall be deemed to include electronic signatures or the keeping of records in electronic form, each of which shall be of the same legal effect, validity or enforceability as a manually executed signature or the use of a paper-based recordkeeping system, as the case may be, to the extent and as provided for in any applicable law, including the Federal Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act, the New York State Electronic Signatures and Records Act, or any other similar state laws based on the Uniform Electronic Transactions Act.

 

9.             Binding Nature. This Amendment shall be binding upon and inure to the benefit of the parties hereto and their respective successors and assigns.

 

10.           Entire Understanding. This Amendment sets forth the entire understanding of the parties with respect to the matters set forth herein and shall supersede any and all previous agreements and understandings, oral or written, relating to the subject matter hereof.

 

[Signature Pages Follow]

 

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

 

  BORROWER:
   
  SUJA LIFE, LLC
   
  By: /s/ Jeff Pedersen
  Name: Jeff Pedersen
  Title: Chief Financial Officer

 

[Signature Page to First Amendment to Credit Agreement]

 

 

 

  JPMORGAN CHASE BANK, N.A., as Administrative Agent and a Lender
   
  By: /s/ Bryson Kelly
  Name: Bryson Kelly
  Title: Vice President

 

[Signature Page to First Amendment to Credit Agreement]

 

 

 

[LENDER SIGNATURES ON FILE WITH ADMINISTRATIVE AGENT]

 

 

Exhibit 10.3

 

SECOND AMENDMENT TO CREDIT AGREEMENT

 

THIS SECOND AMENDMENT TO CREDIT AGREEMENT (this “Amendment”) is made and entered into as of October 11, 2022, by and among Suja Life, LLC (as successor by merger to Suja Merger Sub, LLC), a Delaware limited liability company (the “Borrower Representative”), Suja Life Intermediate II, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company (“Holdings”), the other Guarantors party hereto, the Lenders (as hereinafter defined) that are parties to this Amendment and JPMORGAN CHASE BANK, N.A., as administrative agent for the Lenders (in such capacity, the “Administrative Agent”).

 

W I T N E S S E T H:

 

WHEREAS, the Borrowers (as defined therein), Holdings, the other Guarantors, the several banks and other financial institutions that are parties thereto (the “Lenders”) and the Administrative Agent are parties to a certain Credit Agreement, dated as of August 23, 2021 (as amended by that certain First Amendment to Credit Agreement dated as of December 8, 2021, as amended by this Amendment and as otherwise amended, restated, supplemented or otherwise modified from time to time, the “Credit Agreement” and as in effect prior to giving effect to this Amendment, the “Existing Credit Agreement”; capitalized terms used herein and not otherwise defined shall have the meanings assigned to such terms in the Credit Agreement), pursuant to which the Lenders have made certain financial accommodations available to the Borrowers;

 

WHEREAS, the Borrower Representative has notified the Administrative Agent that it intends to acquire (the “Second Amendment Acquisition”), directly or indirectly, all of the issued and outstanding shares of capital stock of Vive Organic, Inc., a Delaware Corporation (the “Target”), in accordance with the terms of that certain Agreement and Plan of Merger dated as of October 11, 2022 (as amended, modified, supplemented or waived, the “Second Amendment Acquisition Agreement”) by and among Vive Buyer, Inc., a Delaware corporation, Vive Merger Sub I, Inc., a Delaware corporation and the Target;

 

WHEREAS, the Borrower Representative has requested additional term loans on the Second Amendment Effective Date in an aggregate principal amount equal to $42,000,000 (the “Second Amendment Term Loan Commitments” and the additional term loans to be made pursuant thereto, the “Second Amendment Term Loans”), and this Amendment serves as the Notice of Incremental Term Loan Borrowing provided in accordance with Section 2.19(a) of the Credit Agreement;

 

WHEREAS, the lenders set forth on Schedule I attached hereto have elected to provide Second Amendment Term Loan Commitments (any such lender providing a Second Amendment Term Loan Commitment, a “Second Amendment Term Loan Lender”; for the avoidance of doubt, each Second Amendment Term Loan Lender not already constituting a “Lender” under the Credit Agreement, shall constitute a “Lender” under the Credit Agreement upon the effectiveness of this Amendment and all Second Amendment Term Loan Lenders already constituting Lenders prior to making the Second Amendment Term Loans shall continue to constitute Lenders under the Credit Agreement), in each case in the amount set forth opposite such Lender’s name on Schedule I hereto;

 

 

WHEREAS, the Borrower Representative has requested that the Required Lenders and the Administrative Agent amend certain provisions of the Credit Agreement, and subject to the terms and conditions hereof, the Lenders are willing to do so;

 

NOW, THEREFORE, for good and valuable consideration, the sufficiency and receipt of all of which are acknowledged, the Borrower Representative, Holdings, the Lenders party hereto (which constitute the Required Lenders and all Second Amendment Term Loan Lenders) and the Administrative Agent agree as follows:

 

1.Second Amendment Term Loans.

 

(a)       The Borrower Representative confirms and agrees that it has requested the Second Amendment Term Loan Commitments and the Second Amendment Term Loans to be made pursuant thereto, which Second Amendment Term Loan Commitments shall be deemed to be Term Loan Commitments to make Term Loans on the same terms as the Term Loans funded on the Effective Date except as otherwise set forth in the Credit Agreement.

 

(b)       Each Second Amendment Term Loan Lender agrees severally and not jointly (i) that upon the effectiveness of this Amendment on the Second Amendment Effective Date and at all times thereafter, such Second Amendment Term Loan Lender will be bound (or continue to be bound, as applicable) by the provisions of the Credit Agreement and the other Loan Documents and shall perform all of the obligations and have all of the rights of a Lender thereunder, (ii) (x) to provide the Second Amendment Term Loan Commitment in the aggregate principal amount equal to the amount set forth opposite its name on Schedule I hereto and (y) to make the Second Amendment Term Loan on the Second Amendment Effective Date in the aggregate principal amount equal to the amount of its Second Amendment Term Loan Commitment, and, in each case, when made, such Second Amendment Term Loans shall be added to and constitute a part of the outstanding Term Loans under the Credit Agreement.

 

(c)       The Second Amendment Term Loans shall be made as a single borrowing, with an initial Interest Period of one month ending on October 26, 2022.

 

(d)       The Second Amendment Term Loans shall be deemed to be incurred pursuant to Section 2.19(b)(ii)(A) of the Credit Agreement.

 

2.             Amendments. Upon satisfaction of the conditions set forth in Section 3 hereof, the Existing Credit Agreement is hereby amended (x) to delete the stricken red text (indicated textually in the same manner as the following examples: stricken text and stricken text, (y) to add the double-underlined blue text (indicated textually in the same manner as the following examples: double-underlined text and double-underlined text), in each case, as set forth in the marked copy of the Credit Agreement attached as Annex A hereto and (y) Exhibits 2.3, 2.7 and 2.19-2 to the Credit Agreement are hereby amended and restated in their entirety as set forth on Annex B hereto.

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3.             Conditions to Effectiveness of this Amendment. Notwithstanding any other provision of this Amendment and without affecting in any manner the rights of the Lenders hereunder, it is understood and agreed that this Amendment shall not become effective, and none of the Borrowers nor any other Obligor shall have any rights under this Amendment, until the Administrative Agent shall have received the following (such date, the “Second Amendment Effective Date”):

 

(a)executed counterparts (i) to this Amendment from the Borrowers, each other Obligor, the Administrative Agent, each Second Amendment Term Loan Lender and Required Lenders, (ii) that certain Fee Letter, dated as of the date hereof (the “Second Amendment Fee Letter”) executed by the Borrower Representative, the Administrative Agent and (iii) that certain OID and Fee Letter, dated as of the date hereof (the “Second Amendment PGIM Fee Letter”) executed by the Borrower Representative, PGIM, Inc.;

 

(b)payment of the fees due pursuant to the Second Amendment Fee Letter, the Second Amendment PGIM Fee Letter and any other unpaid fees or invoiced expenses in accordance with Section 10.3 of the Credit Agreement;

 

(c)a certificate signed by a Responsible Officer of the Borrower Representative certifying as to the satisfaction of the following conditions:

 

i.no Event of Default shall have occurred and be continuing or shall result, in each case, after giving effect to this Amendment and the Borrowing of the Second Amendment Term Loans;

 

ii.the representations and warranties set forth herein and in the Loan Documents shall be true and correct in all material respects (unless any such representation or warranty is qualified as to materiality or Material Adverse Effect, in which case such representation and warranty shall be true and correct in all respects) on and as of the Second Amendment Effective Date, both before and immediately after giving effect thereto, except to the extent that such representations and warranties specifically refer to an earlier date, in which case they shall be true and correct in all material respects (unless any such representation or warranty is qualified as to materiality or Material Adverse Effect, in which case such representation and warranty shall be true and correct in all respects) as of such earlier date;

 

iii.the Second Amendment Acquisition shall have been or shall be consummated substantially simultaneously with the funding of the Second Amendment Term Loans in accordance with the terms of the Second Amendment Acquisition Agreement in all material respects; and

 

iv.delivery of a certified calculation that after giving effect to the funding of the Second Amendment Term Loans, the Second Amendment Acquisition and all other pro forma adjustment events (and excluding for purposes of computing the Consolidated First Lien Net Leverage Ratio any netting of the cash proceeds of the Second Amendment Term Loans), the Consolidated First Lien Net Leverage Ratio shall not exceed 4.50 to 1.00 as of the last day of the immediately preceding Fiscal Quarter for which financial statements have been delivered to the Administrative Agent pursuant to Section 5.1(a) or 5.1(b) of the Credit Agreement;

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(d)a solvency certificate from the chief executive officer, chief financial officer or other officer with equivalent duties of the Borrower Representative substantially in the form of Exhibit 4.1 to the Credit Agreement;

 

(e)a duly executed Borrowing Request;

 

(f)a customary legal opinion (addressed to the Administrative Agent, the Lenders and Issuing Lender and dated as of the Second Amendment Effective Date) of Kirkland & Ellis LLP, counsel the Obligors;

 

(g)at least three (3) business days prior to the Second Amendment Effective Date all documentation and other information about the Obligors and their subsidiaries that shall have been reasonably requested by the Administrative Agent at least ten (10) business days prior to the Second Amendment Effective Date and that the Administrative Agent reasonably determine is required by applicable regulatory authorities under applicable “know your customer” and anti-money laundering rules and regulations, including, without limitation, the PATRIOT Act;

 

(h)evidence that all existing third party debt for borrowed money of the Target and its Subsidiaries (other than Indebtedness permitted by Section 6.1 of the Credit Agreement) shall have been (or shall be substantially simultaneously) repaid, redeemed, defeased, discharged, refinanced, replaced or termination and all commitments thereunder shall have been (or shall be substantially simultaneously) terminated and all liens (other than Permitted Encumbrances) and guarantees thereunder shall have been (or shall be substantially simultaneously) released or terminated;

 

(i)such documents and certificates as Administrative Agent may reasonably request relating to the organization, existence and good standing of each Obligor as of the Second Amendment Effective Date, the authorization of the transactions contemplated hereby, the identity, authority and capacity of each Responsible Officer authorized to act on behalf of an Obligor in connection with the Loan Documents, this Agreement, or the other Loan Documents;

 

(j)confirmation that the Sponsor has made, directly or indirectly, a cash equity contribution in the form of a common equity investment, Qualified Equity Interests or otherwise on terms acceptable to the Administrative Agent, in an amount not less than (when combined with any rollover or reinvested equity in connection with the Second Amendment Acquisition) $78,419,885.65;

 

(k)the Financial Statements (as defined in the Second Amendment Acquisition Agreement); and

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(l)the Administrative Agent shall have received on account of each applicable Lender, all accrued and unpaid interest under the Credit Agreement.

 

4.             Representations and Warranties. Each of the Obligors represents and warrants on the date hereof (with each representation and warranty being deemed in effect after giving effect to the Transactions) to the Administrative Agent, the Lenders, and Issuing Lender that:

 

(a)           such Obligor is (i) duly organized, validly existing, and, if applicable in its jurisdiction of organization, in good standing or the equivalent status under the laws of the jurisdiction of its organization, (ii) has all requisite corporate or similar power and authority to execute, deliver and perform its obligations under this Amendment, and (iii) except where the failure to do so, individually or in the aggregate, could not reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect, is duly qualified or licensed and is in good standing as a foreign corporation or other company, and authorized to do business, in each jurisdiction in which the characters of its properties or the nature of its business requires such qualification or authorization;

 

(b)           the execution, delivery and performance by such Obligor of this Amendment and the performance of the Obligor’s obligations hereunder are within such Obligor’s requisite powers and have been duly authorized by all necessary corporate, limited liability company or other organizational action, and, if required, by all necessary action by holders of Equity Interests in such Obligor. This Amendment has been duly executed and delivered by such Obligor and constitutes, a legal, valid and binding obligation of such Obligor, enforceable against such Obligor in accordance with its terms, except as such enforceability may be limited by (i) Debtor Relief Laws or similar laws of general applicability affecting the enforcement of creditors’ rights, (ii) the application of general principles of equity (regardless of whether such enforceability is considered in a proceeding in equity or at law) and (iii) the effect of foreign laws, rules and regulations as they relate to pledges of Equity Interests in or Indebtedness owed by Foreign Subsidiaries;

 

(c)            the execution, delivery and performance by such Obligor of this Amendment and the performance of such Obligor’s obligations hereunder (i) do not require any consent, authorization or approval of, registration or filing with, notice to, or any other action by, any Governmental Authority, except for (A) such as have been obtained or made and are in full force and effect and (B) those that would not reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect, (ii) will not violate (x) any applicable law or regulation applicable to such Obligor or its Restricted Subsidiaries or (y) the Organizational Documents of such Obligor or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries, in the case of clause (x), that would reasonably be expected to result, individually or in the aggregate, in a Material Adverse Effect, (iii) will not conflict with or result in a breach or contravention of, any material order, injunction, writ or decree of any Governmental Authority or any arbitral award to which such Obligor or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries is a party or affecting such Person or its properties that would reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect, and (iv) except for the Liens created pursuant to the Security Documents or Permitted Encumbrances, will not result in the creation or imposition of any Lien on any asset of such Obligor or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries; and

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(d)           the representations and warranties of such Obligor set forth in this Amendment and of the other Loan Documents to which it is a party, is true and correct in all material respects (unless any such representation or warranty is qualified as to materiality or Material Adverse Effect, in which case such representation and warranty is true and correct in all respects) on and as of the date hereof, both before and immediately after giving effect thereto, except to the extent that such representations and warranties specifically refer to an earlier date, in which case they are true and correct in all material respects (unless any such representation or warranty is qualified as to materiality or Material Adverse Effect, in which case such representation and warranty is true and correct in all respects).

 

5.              Effect of Amendment. Except as set forth expressly herein, all terms of the Credit Agreement, as amended hereby, and the other Loan Documents shall be and remain in full force and effect and shall constitute the legal, valid, binding and enforceable obligations of the Borrowers and each other Obligor to the Lenders and the Administrative Agent. The execution, delivery and effectiveness of this Amendment shall not, except as expressly provided herein, operate as a waiver of any right, power or remedy of the Lenders under the Credit Agreement, nor constitute a waiver of any provision of the Credit Agreement. This Amendment shall constitute a Loan Document for all purposes of the Credit Agreement.

 

6.              Governing Law. This Amendment shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the internal laws of the State of New York, but giving effect to federal laws applicable to national banks. All provisions in Sections 10.9 and 10.10 of the Credit Agreement are hereby incorporated herein, mutatis mutandis.

 

7.              No Novation. This Amendment is not intended by the parties to be, and shall not be construed to be, a novation of the Credit Agreement or any other Loan Document or an accord and satisfaction in regard thereto.

 

8.              Costs and Expenses. The Borrower Representative agrees to promptly pay following request all reasonable out-of-pocket costs and expenses of the Administrative Agent in connection with the preparation, execution and delivery of this Amendment, including, without limitation, the reasonable fees and expenses of legal counsel for the Administrative Agent with respect thereto, in each case in accordance with and subject to, the terms of Section 10.2 of the Credit Agreement.

 

9.              Counterparts. This Amendment may be executed in counterparts (and by different parties hereto on different counterparts), each of which shall constitute an original, but all of which when taken together shall constitute a single contract. Delivery of an executed counterpart of a signature page of this Amendment by facsimile or in electronic (i.e., “pdf” or “tif”) format shall be effective as delivery of a manually executed counterpart of this Agreement. The words “execution,” “signed,” “signature,” and words of like import in this Amendment shall be deemed to include electronic signatures or the keeping of records in electronic form, each of which shall be of the same legal effect, validity or enforceability as a manually executed signature or the use of a paper-based recordkeeping system, as the case may be, to the extent and as provided for in any applicable law, including the Federal Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act, the New York State Electronic Signatures and Records Act, or any other similar state laws based on the Uniform Electronic Transactions Act.

 

10.            Binding Nature. This Amendment shall be binding upon and inure to the benefit of the parties hereto and their respective successors and assigns.

6

 

11.            Entire Understanding. This Amendment sets forth the entire understanding of the parties with respect to the matters set forth herein and shall supersede any and all previous agreements and understandings, oral or written, relating to the subject matter hereof.

 

12.            Reaffirmation. Each Obligor party hereto ratifies and reaffirms as of the date hereof that, notwithstanding the effectiveness of this Amendment, each Loan Document to which any such Obligor is a party is, and the obligations of such Obligor contingent or otherwise contained in any Loan Document to which it is a party are, and shall continue to be, in full force and effect and are hereby ratified and confirmed in all respects, in each case as amended by this Amendment. For greater certainty and without limiting the foregoing, each Obligor party hereto hereby (i) ratifies and reaffirms each grant of a lien on, or security interest in, its property made pursuant to the Loan Documents (including, without limitation, the grant of security made by such Obligor pursuant to the Security Agreement), (ii) confirms that the existing security interests granted by such Obligor in favor of the Collateral Agent for the benefit of the Secured Parties pursuant to the Loan Documents in the Collateral described therein shall continue to secure the obligations of the Obligors under the Credit Agreement and the other Loan Documents as and to the extent provided in the Loan Documents and (iii) in the case of each Guarantor, ratifies and reaffirms its guaranty of the Obligations pursuant to the Loan Documents.

 

13.            Transition to Term SOFR. From and after the Second Amendment Effective Date, Adjusted Term SOFR shall replace the use of the LIBO Rate (as defined in the Existing Credit Agreement) with respect to the calculation of interest and any Eurodollar Loan (as defined in the Existing Credit Agreement) shall become a SOFR Loan; provided that the Borrower Representative shall not be permitted to request any Lender to fund and, and no Lender shall fund, any Eurodollar Loan and no Loan may be continued as, or converted to, a Eurodollar Loan; provided further, that if the Second Amendment Effective Date falls before the last day of an Interest Period for any Loan: (a) the LIBO Rate shall continue to apply to such Loan for the remainder of such Interest Period, (b) any provisions of the Credit Agreement related to SOFR shall not apply to such Loan for the remainder of such Interest Period and (c) from and after the first day of the immediately succeeding Interest Period (if any) for such Loan, Adjusted Term SOFR shall apply with respect to the calculation of interest and any provisions of the Credit Agreement related to SOFR shall apply to such Loan.

 

[Signature Pages Follow]

7

 

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

 

  BORROWER:
   
  SUJA LIFE, LLC,
  a Delaware limited liability company
   
  By: /s/ Jeff Pedersen 
  Name: Jeff Pedersen 
  Title: Chief Financial Officer
   
  HOLDINGS:
   
  SUJA LIFE INTERMEDIATE II, LLC.,
a Delaware limited liability company
   
  By: /s/ Jeff Pedersen 
  Name: Jeff Pedersen
  Title: Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer

 

[Signature Page to Second Amendment to Credit Agreement]

 

  JPMORGAN CHASE BANK, N.A., as Administrative Agent, as a Second Amendment Term Loan Lender and as a Lender
   
  By: /s/ Bryson Kelly
  Name: Bryson Kelly
  Title: Vice President

  

[Signature Page to Second Amendment to Credit Agreement]

 

 

[LENDER SIGNATURES ON FILE WITH ADMINISTRATIVE AGENT]

 

 

 

ANNEX A

 

(see attached)

 

 

 

 

CREDIT AGREEMENT

 

Dated as of August 23, 2021

 

[as amended by that certain First Amendment to Credit Agreement, dated as of December 8, 2021 and that certain Second Amendment to Credit Agreement, dated as of October 11, 2022]

 

by and among

 

SUJA LIFE INTERMEDIATE II, LLC,

as Holdings,

 

SUJA MERGER SUB, LLC,

as Initial Borrower until the Effective Date Assumption,

and after giving effect to its merger with and into

 

SUJA LIFE, LLC,

as Borrower,

 

THE LENDERS AND THE ISSUING LENDER PARTY HERETO,

 

and

 

JPMORGAN CHASE BANK, N.A.,

as Administrative Agent

 

 

 

JPMORGAN CHASE BANK, N.A.,

as Lead Arranger and Bookrunner

 

JPMORGAN CHASE BANK, N.A. and

PGIM PRIVATE CAPITAL,

as Joint Documentation Agents

 

    TABLE OF CONTENTS  
       
      Page
       
1. DEFINITIONS 1
  1.1 Defined Terms 1
  1.2 Classification of Loans and Borrowings 6871
  1.3 Interpretation 6872
  1.4 Rounding 6972
  1.5 Letter of Credit Amounts 6973
  1.6 Accounting Terms; GAAP 6973
  1.7 Limited Condition Transactions 6974
  1.8 Pro Forma Calculations 7175
  1.9 Compliance with Certain Sections 7377
  1.10 Times of Day 7478
  1.11 Timing of Payment or Performance 7478
  1.12 Available Amount Transactions 7478
  1.13 Letters of Credit 7478
  1.14 Certifications 7478
  1.15 Interest Rates; LIBORBenchmark Notification 7479
       
2. THE CREDITS 7579
  2.1 The Commitments 7579
  2.2 Loans and Borrowings 7680
  2.3 Requests for Borrowings 7681
  2.4 Swingline Loans 7781
  2.5 Letters of Credit 7983
  2.6 Funding of Borrowings 8690
  2.7 Interest Elections 8791
  2.8 Termination and Reduction of the Commitments 8892
  2.9 Repayment of Loans; Evidence of Debt 8993
  2.10 Prepayment of Loans 9095
  2.11 Fees 9599
  2.12 Interest 96100
  2.13 Alternate Rate of Interest; Illegality; LIBOR Successor Rate 96 101
  2.14 Increased Costs 99105
  2.15 Compensation for Losses 100106
  2.16 Taxes 101107
  2.17 Payments Generally; Pro Rata Treatment; Sharing of Set-offs 105111
  2.18 Mitigation Obligations; Replacement of Lenders 107114
  2.19 Increases of the Revolving Credit Commitments; Adjustments to Revolving Credit Commitments; Incremental Term Loans 109115
  2.20 Cash Collateral 113118
  2.21 Defaulting Lenders 113119
  2.22 Refinancing Amendments 116122
  2.23 Extension of Term Loans; Extension of Revolving Credit Loans 117123
       
3. REPRESENTATIONS AND WARRANTIES 121127
  3.1 Organization; Powers 121127
  3.2 Authorization; Enforceability 122127
  3.3 Governmental Approvals; No Conflicts 122128

 i

 

TABLE OF CONTENTS

(Cont’d)

 

      Page
       
  3.4 Financial Condition; No Material Adverse Change 122128
  3.5 Properties 123129
  3.6 Litigation 123129
  3.7 Compliance with Laws 123129
  3.8 Investment Company Status 124129
  3.9 Taxes 124129
  3.10 ERISA 124130
  3.11 Disclosure 124130
  3.12 Federal Reserve Regulations; Use of Credit 125131
  3.13 [Reserved] 125131
  3.14 Existing Subsidiaries 125131
  3.15 Real Property 125131
  3.16 Environmental Matters 125131
  3.17 Sanctions/Anti-Corruption Representations 126132
  3.18 Insurance 127133
  3.19 Labor Matters 127133
  3.20 Solvency 127133
  3.21 [Reserved] 127133
  3.22 Security Documents 127133
       
4. CONDITIONS PRECEDENT. 128133
  4.1 Effective Date 128133
  4.2 Each Credit Event 130136
       
5. AFFIRMATIVE COVENANTS 131137
  5.1 Financial Statements and Other Information 131137
  5.2 Notices of Material Events 134139
  5.3 Existence; Conduct of Business 135140
  5.4 Payment of Obligations 135141
  5.5 Maintenance of Properties; Insurance 135141
  5.6 Books and Records; Inspection Rights 135141
  5.7 Compliance with Laws 136142
  5.8 Certain Obligations Respecting Subsidiaries. 136142
  5.9 Further Assurances 137143
  5.10 Cash Management Systems 139145
  5.11 Post-Closing Deliverables 139145
  5.12 Designation of Subsidiaries 139145
  5.13 Lines of Business 139145
  5.14 Transactions with Affiliates 140146
  5.15 Fiscal Year 142148
  5.16 Ratings 142148
  5.17 Use of Proceeds and Letters of Credit 142148
       
6. NEGATIVE COVENANTS 143149
  6.1 Indebtedness 143149
  6.2 Liens 146152

 ii

 

TABLE OF CONTENTS

(Cont’d)

 

      Page
       
  6.3 Fundamental Changes 146152
  6.4 Dispositions 147153
  6.5 Investments 150156
  6.6 Restricted Payments 153160
  6.7 Suja East, LLC 157164
  6.8 Restrictive Agreements 157164
  6.9 Modifications of Certain Documents 159166
  6.10 [Reserved] 160166
  6.11 Hedging Agreements 160166
  6.12 [Reserved] 160166
  6.13 Use of Proceeds and Letters of Credit 160167
  6.14 Limitation on Activities of Holdings 160167
  6.15 Prepayments of Indebtedness 161168
       
7. FINANCIAL COVENANT. 162169
  7.1 Consolidated Net Leverage Ratio 162169
       
8. EVENTS OF DEFAULT; REMEDIES. 163169
  8.1 Event of Default 163169
  8.2 Application of Payment 166173
  8.3 Right to Cure 167174
  8.4 Performance by Administrative Agent 168174
       
9. ADMINISTRATIVE AGENT 168175
  9.1 Authorization and Action 168175
  9.2 Administrative Agent and its Affiliates 169175
  9.3 Duties 170176
  9.4 Administrative Agent’s Reliance, Lender Representations, Etc. 170177
  9.5 Sub-Agents 173180
  9.6 Resignation 174181
  9.7 Lender Credit Decision 175182
  9.8 Other Agent Titles 175182
  9.9 Agent May File Proofs of Claim; Bankruptcy Events 175182
  9.10 Collateral 176183
  9.11 Issuing Lender 178185
  9.12 Bailee for Perfection 179186
  9.13 Affiliates of Lenders; Bank Product Providers 179187
  9.14 Erroneous Payments 180188
  9.15 Flood Laws 181188
       
10. MISCELLANEOUS 182189
  10.1 Notices 182189
  10.2 Waivers; Amendments 184191
  10.3 Expenses; Limitation of Liability; Indemnity; Damage Waiver 186193
  10.4 Successors and Assigns 189196
  10.5 Survival 195202
  10.6 Counterparts; Integration; Effectiveness 195203

 iii

 

TABLE OF CONTENTS

(Cont’d)

 

      Page
       
  10.7 Severability 196203
  10.8 Right of Setoff 196203
  10.9 Governing Law; Jurisdiction; Etc. 196204
  10.10 WAIVER OF JURY TRIAL 197205
  10.11 Treatment of Certain Information; Confidentiality 198205
  10.12 Interest Rate Limitation 199206
  10.13 USA Patriot Act 199206
  10.14 Press Release and Related Matters 199207
  10.15 No Duty 200207
  10.16 No Fiduciary Relationship 200207
  10.17 Construction 200207
  10.18 Payments Set Aside 200208
  10.19 Benefits of Agreement 200208
  10.20 Acknowledgement and Consent to Bail-In of EEA Financial Institutions 201208
  10.21 Keepwell. 201209
  10.22 Designation of Additional Borrowers 201209
  10.23 Joint and Several Obligations 202209
  10.24 Acknowledgement Regarding Any Supported QFCs 205212
  10.25 Assumption of Obligations 206213
       
11. THE BORROWER REPRESENTATIVE. 206213
  11.1 Appointment; Nature of Relationship. 206213
  11.2 Powers 206214
  11.3 Employment of Agents 206214
  11.4 Successor Borrower Representative 206214
  11.5 Execution of Loan Documents 207214

 iv

 

TABLE OF CONTENTS

(Cont’d)

 

Page

 

 LIST OF SCHEDULES AND EXHIBITS

 

SCHEDULES:

 

Schedule 3.6 - Litigation
Schedule 3.10 - ERISA
Schedule 3.14 - Existing Subsidiaries
Schedule 3.15 - Owned Real Property
Schedule 3.16 - Environmental Matters
Schedule 3.19 - Labor Matters
Schedule 4.1(e) - Mortgaged Property
Schedule 5.11 - Post-Closing Deliverables
Schedule 5.14 - Affiliate Transactions
Schedule 6.1 - Permitted Indebtedness
Schedule 6.2 - Liens
Schedule 6.5 - Investments
Schedule 6.8 - Existing Restrictions

 

EXHIBITS:

 

Exhibit A - Assignment and Assumption
  - Bank Product Provider Letter Agreement
Exhibit B - Sponsor-Controlled Affiliated Lender Assignment and
Exhibit C - Assumption
Exhibit D - Parity Intercreditor Agreement
Exhibit E - Junior Intercreditor Agreement
Exhibit 2.3 - Borrowing Request
Exhibit 2.7 - Interest Election Request
Exhibit 2.16-1 - U.S. Tax Compliance Certificate
Exhibit 2.16-2 - U.S. Tax Compliance Certificate
Exhibit 2.16-3 - U.S. Tax Compliance Certificate
Exhibit 2.16-4 - U.S. Tax Compliance Certificate
Exhibit 2.19-1 - Notice of Incremental Revolving Credit Commitment
Exhibit 2.19-2 - Notice of Incremental Term Loan
Exhibit 4.1 - Solvency Certificate
Exhibit 5.1 - Compliance Certificate

 v

 

This CREDIT AGREEMENT (this “Agreement”) dated as of August 23, 2021, is by and among SUJA LIFE INTERMEDIATE II, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company (“Holdings”), SUJA MERGER SUB, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company (the “Initial Borrower”), after the consummation of the Merger and after giving effect to the Effective Date Assumption, SUJA LIFE, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company (the “Company”, and as successor to the Initial Borrower by operation of law, the “Borrower”; together with each Restricted Subsidiary of Holdings from time to time party hereto designated as an additional Borrower pursuant to Section 10.22, each, individually, a “Borrower”, and collectively, the “Borrowers”), the LENDERS, and JPMORGAN CHASE BANK, N.A. (“JPMorgan”), as Administrative Agent.

 

WITNESSETH

 

WHEREAS, Initial Borrower has requested that the Lenders, the Issuing Lender and the Swingline Lender make available for the purposes specified in this Agreement, a term loan facility and a revolving credit and letter of credit facility; and

 

WHEREAS, the Lenders, the Issuing Lender, and the Swingline Lender are willing to make available to the Borrowers such credit facilities upon the terms and subject to the conditions set forth herein;

 

AGREEMENT

 

NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the premises and the covenants and agreements contained herein, the parties hereto hereby agree as follows:

 

1.DEFINITIONS

 

1.1       Defined Terms. As used in this Agreement (including the foregoing preamble and recitals), the following terms have the meanings specified below:

 

“Acquired Entity or Business” means any Person, any line of business, division or business unit acquired pursuant to a Permitted Acquisition.

 

“Acquired Indebtedness” means Indebtedness secured by any property (other than Mortgaged Property) of any Person prior to and at the time of the acquisition of such asset by a Company or prior to and at the time such Person becomes a Restricted Subsidiary; provided that such Indebtedness (a) was in existence prior to the date of acquisition of such asset or Person and (b) was not incurred in connection with, or in contemplation of, such acquisition of such asset or Person.

 

“Acquisition” means the merger of the Initial Borrower with and into the Company, with the Company surviving, as more fully set forth in and pursuant to the Surf Merger Agreement.

 

“Additional Borrower” means any Wholly-Owned Restricted Subsidiary that is a organized under the laws of any state of the United States or of the District of Columbia or otherwise organized in any jurisdiction reasonably acceptable to the Administrative Agent, in each case that becomes a Borrower after the Effective Date pursuant to Section 10.22.

 

“Additional Lender” has the meaning set forth in Section 2.19.

 

“Adjusted LIBO RateDaily Simple SOFR” means, with respect to any Eurodollar Borrowing for any Interest Period for purposes of any calculation, an interest rate per annum equal to (ia) the LIBO Rate for such Interest Period multiplied by (ii) the Statutory Reserve RateDaily Simple SOFR for such calculation, plus (b) the Term SOFR Adjustment; provided that if the Daily Simple SOFR as so determined would be less than the Floor, such rate shall be deemed to be equal to the Floor for the purposes of this Agreement.

 

“Adjusted Term SOFR Rate” means for purposes of any calculation, an interest rate per annum equal to (a) the Term SOFR Rate for such calculation, plus (b) the Term SOFR Adjustment; provided that if the Adjusted Term SOFR Rate as so determined would be less than the Floor, such rate shall be deemed to be equal to the Floor for the purposes of this Agreement.

 

“Administrative Agent” means JPMorgan, in its capacity as administrative agent for the Lenders under the Loan Documents, and any successor Administrative Agent appointed pursuant to Section 9.

 

“Administrative Questionnaire” means an administrative questionnaire delivered by each Lender in a form supplied by Administrative Agent.

 

“Affected Financial Institution” means (a) any EEA Financial Institution or (b) any UK Financial Institution.

 

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

 

“Agent Parties” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 10.1(d).

 

“Agent’s Group” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 9.2(b).

 

“All-in Yield” means, as to any Indebtedness, the effective yield thereon payable to the lenders providing such Indebtedness, whether in the form of interest rate, margin, original issue discount, up-front fees, rate floors (to the extent the operation of such floor would increase the yield on drawn amounts on the proposed date of incurrence thereof) or otherwise; provided, that original issue discount and up-front fees shall be equated to interest rate assuming a four-year life to maturity (or, if less, the stated life to maturity of such Indebtedness at the time of incurrence of such Indebtedness); and provided, further, that “All-in Yield” shall not include arrangement, commitment, underwriting, structuring, success, ticking, unused, syndication or similar fees paid to arrangers or not shared generally with other lenders and customary consent fees for an amendment paid generally to lenders.

 

“Anti-Corruption Laws” means the laws, and regulations of the jurisdictions applicable to any Obligor or its Subsidiaries from time to time concerning or relating to bribery or corruption, including the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977, as amended.

 

“Anti-Terrorism Laws” means any applicable laws, regulations, or orders of any Governmental Authority of any applicable jurisdiction, including the United States and the United Nations relating to the prohibition of terrorism financing, or money laundering, including, but not limited to, the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. § 1701 et seq.), the Trading With the Enemy Act (50 U.S.C. § 5 et seq.), the International Security Development and Cooperation Act (22 U.S.C. § 2349aa-9 et seq.), the Executive Order No. 13224 on Terrorist Financing, effective September 24, 2001, the Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act of 2001, Public Law 107-56 (the “USA Patriot Act”), and any rules or regulations promulgated pursuant to or under the authority of any of the foregoing. 

2

 

“Applicable Margin” means, for any day, (1) (xw) with respect to any Base Rate Loan, 4.50% or in the form of Initial Term Loans, 4.50%, (x) with respect to any Term Benchmark Loan or RFR Loan in the form of Initial Term Loans, 5.50%, (y) with respect to any Eurodollar Loan, 5 .50%,Base Rate Loans in the form of Second Amendment Term Loans, 4.50% or (z) with respect to any Term Benchmark Loan or RFR Loan in the form of Second Amendment Term Loans, 5.50% or (2) with respect to the commitment fees payable hereunder, the applicable margin per annum set forth below under the caption “Commitment Fee Rate”, based upon the Consolidated Net Leverage Ratio as of the most recent determination date; provided that the Applicable Margin in effect from the Effective Date until the date immediately preceding the date on which a Compliance Certificate is delivered pursuant to Section 5.1(c) in respect of the Fiscal Quarter ending December 27, 2021 shall be determined based upon the applicable rates per annum set for below in Level 1:

 

Level   Consolidated Net
Leverage Ratio
  Commitment
Fee Rate
1   Greater than   0.50%
    3.50:1.00    
         
2   Greater than   0.375%
    3.00:1.00 but less    
    than or equal to    
    3.50:1.00    
         
3   Less than or equal   0.25%
    to 3.00:1.00    
         

 

For purposes of the foregoing, (a) the Consolidated Net Leverage Ratio shall be determined as of the end of each Fiscal Quarter based upon Holdings’ most recent consolidated financial statements delivered pursuant to Section 5.1(a) or 5.1(b), and (b) each change in clause (2) of the Applicable Margin resulting from a change in the Consolidated Net Leverage Ratio shall be effective during the period commencing on and including the date of delivery to the Administrative Agent of such consolidated financial statements indicating such change and ending on the date immediately preceding the effective date of the next such change.

 

“Applicable Period End Date” means the relevant fiscal year or fiscal quarter period end dates set forth on Schedule 1.1(a).

 

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

 

“Asset Sale Threshold” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 2.10(b)(i). 

3

 

“Assignment and Assumption” means an assignment and assumption entered into by a Lender and an Eligible Assignee (with the consent of each party whose consent is required by Section 10.4), and accepted by Administrative Agent, substantially in the form of Exhibit A.

 

“Availability” means as to the Revolving Credit Loan, the amount by which the total Revolving Credit Commitment exceeds the aggregate outstanding Revolving Credit Exposure.

 

“Available Amount” means, at any time, an amount equal to:

 

(a)          the greater of (i) $9,000,000 and (ii) 30.0% of Consolidated EBITDA (determined as of the last day of the most recently ended four Fiscal Quarter period for which financial statements have been delivered),

 

plus

 

(b)          the sum, without duplication, of:

 

(i)          after the delivery of the financial statements to be delivered for the Fiscal Year ending December 26, 2022 pursuant to Section 5.1(a), 100% of Excess Cash Flow not required to be repaid in accordance with Section 2.10(b)(ii) for each Excess Cash Flow Period; provided that such amount shall not be less than $0, plus

 

(ii)         the amount of cash contributions to the common capital of the Borrowers and the net proceeds of any issuance of Qualified Equity Interests of Holdings (or any direct or indirect parent) that is contributed to the Borrowers or the Restricted Subsidiaries, in each case after the Effective Date and through and including such time, which cash proceeds have been contributed as common equity to the capital of a Borrower or a Restricted Subsidiary, other than Specified Equity Contributions or to the extent otherwise applied, plus

 

(iii)        Net Cash Proceeds actually received by the Borrowers or any Restricted Subsidiary in respect of Dispositions to any Person (other than Holdings, a Borrower or any Restricted Subsidiary) of Investments made after the Effective Date until such time, if the making of such Investment initially constituted a use of the Available Amount (up to the amount of the original Investment), plus

 

(iv)        Returns, profits, distributions and similar amounts actually received by the Borrowers or any Restricted Subsidiary in respect of Investments permitted under this Agreement made after the Effective Date until such time, if the making of such Investment initially constituted a use of the Available Amount (up to the amount of the original Investment), plus

 

(v)         Indebtedness and Disqualified Equity Interests exchanged or converted into Qualified Equity Interests of any Borrower (or any direct or indirect parent thereof) after the Effective Date; plus

 

(vi)        the Investments of the Borrowers and their Restricted Subsidiaries (in an amount not to exceed the original amount of the Investment) in any Unrestricted Subsidiary that has been re-designated as a Restricted Subsidiary or that has been merged or consolidated into any Borrower or any Restricted Subsidiary or the Fair Market Value of the assets of any Unrestricted Subsidiary that have been transferred to any Borrower or any Restricted Subsidiary; plus 

4

 

(vii)       the amount of any Declined Proceeds, De Minimis Asset Sale Proceeds and Retained ECF Amount; plus

 

(viii)      cash proceeds (or the Fair Market Value of non-cash proceeds) of the sale of Equity Interests of any Unrestricted Subsidiary or any dividend or other distribution by an Unrestricted Subsidiary, in each case, received by any Borrower or any Restricted Subsidiary to the extent such Subsidiary was originally designated as an Unrestricted Subsidiary using the Available Amount in an amount not to exceed the original amount of the Investment;

 

minus

 

(c)          the aggregate amount of (i) Investments made pursuant to Section 6.5 using the Available Amount, (ii) Restricted Payments made pursuant to Section 6.6 using the Available Amount, and (iii) payments of Junior Debt made pursuant to Section 6.15 using the Available Amount.

 

“Available Tenor” means, as of any date of determination and with respect to the then-current Benchmark, as applicable, any tenor for such Benchmark (or component thereof) or payment period for interest calculated with reference to such Benchmark (or component thereof), as applicable, that is or may be used for determining the length of an Interest Period for any term rate or otherwise, for determining any frequency of making payments of interest calculated pursuant to this Agreement as of such date and not including, for the avoidance of doubt, any tenor for such Benchmark that is then-removed from the definition of “Interest Period” pursuant to Section 2.13(ge).

 

“Bail-In Action” means the exercise of any Write-Down and Conversion Powers by the applicable Resolution Authority in respect of any liability of an Affected Financial Institution.

 

“Bail-In Legislation” means (a) with respect to any EEA Member Country implementing Article 55 of Directive 2014/59/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of the European Union, the implementing law, regulation, rule or requirement for such EEA Member Country from time to time which is described in the EU Bail-In Legislation Schedule and (b) with respect to the United Kingdom, Part I of the United Kingdom Banking Act 2009 (as amended from time to time) and any other law, regulation or rule applicable in the United Kingdom relating to the resolution of unsound or failing banks, investment firms or other financial institutions or their affiliates (other than through liquidation, administration or other insolvency proceedings).

 

“Bank Product” means any financial accommodation extended to an Obligor or its Restricted Subsidiaries by a Bank Product Provider in connection with (a) Hedging Agreements, or (b) Cash Management Services.

 

“Bank Product Agreements” means those agreements entered into from time to time by Obligors or their Restricted Subsidiaries with a Bank Product Provider in connection with the obtaining of any of the Bank Products.

 

“Bank Product Obligations” means all obligations, liabilities, reimbursement obligations, fees, or expenses owing by Obligors or their Restricted Subsidiaries to any Bank Product Provider pursuant to or evidenced by a Bank Product Agreement and irrespective of whether for the payment of money, whether direct or indirect, absolute or contingent, due or to become due, now existing or hereafter arising.

5

 

“Bank Product Provider” means any Lender or any of its Affiliates (or any Person party to a Bank Product Agreement with Obligors or their Restricted Subsidiaries that was a Lender or an Affiliate thereof party to such Bank Product Agreement immediately prior to the assignment of all of its Commitments and Loans hereunder pursuant to Section 2.18(b)); provided, however, that no such Person (other than JPMorgan or its Affiliates) shall constitute a Bank Product Provider with respect to a Bank Product unless Administrative Agent shall have received a Bank Product Provider Letter Agreement from such Person with respect to the applicable Bank Product within 30 days after the provision of such Bank Product to Obligors or their Restricted Subsidiaries, or, if such Bank Product Agreement was entered into prior to the Effective Date or prior to the date on which such Bank Product Provider or its Affiliate, as applicable, became a Lender under this Agreement, within 30 days after the Effective Date or 30 days after the date on which such Bank Product Provider or its Affiliate, as applicable, first became a Lender under this Agreement, as applicable.

 

“Bank Product Provider Letter Agreement” means a letter agreement in substantially the form of Exhibit B, or otherwise in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to the Administrative Agent and the Borrower Representative and duly executed by the applicable Bank Product Provider, the Borrower Representative, and the Administrative Agent.

 

“Bankruptcy Code” means the Bankruptcy Code in Title 11 of the United States Code, as amended, modified, succeeded, or replaced from time to time.

 

“Base Rate” means, at any time, an interest rate per annum equal to the greatest of (a) the Prime Rate at such time, (b) 1/2 of 11.00% in excess of the Federal Funds EffectiveNYFRB Rate at such time, and (c) the Adjusted LIBOTerm SOFR Rate for a EurodollarTerm Benchmark Loan with a one-month Interest Period commencing at such time plus 1.0%; provided that in no event shall the Base Rate be less than zero. For the purposesas published two (2) U.S. Government Securities Business Days prior to such day (or if such day is not a Business Bay, the immediately preceding Business Day, plus 1.00%; provided that, for the purpose of this definition, the Adjusted LIBOTerm SOFR Rate for any day shall be determined using the Adjusted LIBO Rate as otherwise determined by Administrative Agent in accordance with the definition of Adjusted LIBO Rate, except that (i) if a given day is a Business Day, such determination shall be made on such day (rather than two Business Days prior to the commencement of an Interest Period) or (ii) if a given day is not a Business Day, the Adjusted LIBO Rate for such day shall be the rate determined by Administrative Agent pursuant to preceding clause (i) for the most recent Business Day preceding such daybased on the Term SOFR Reference Rate at approximately 6:00 a.m. New York City time on such day (or any amended publication time for the Term SOFR Reference Rate, as specified by the CME Term SOFR Administrator in the Term SOFR Reference Rate methodology); provided further that, in no event shall the Base Rate be less than zero. Any change in the Base Rate due to a change in the Prime Rate, the Federal Funds EffectiveNYFRB Rate, or suchthe Adjusted LIBOTerm SOFR Rate shall be effective as of the opening of business on the dayfrom and including the effective date of such change in the Prime Rate, the Federal Funds EffectiveNYFRB Rate, or such Adjusted LIBO or the Adjusted Term SOFR Rate, respectively. If for any reason Administrative Agent shall have determined (which determination shall be conclusive absent manifest error) that it is unable to ascertain the Federal Funds Effective Rate or the Adjusted LIBO Rate at such time for any reason, including the inability of Administrative Agent to obtain sufficient quotations in accordance with the terms hereof, the Base Ratethe Base Rate is being used as an alternate rate of interest pursuant to Section 2.13 (for the avoidance of doubt, only until the Benchmark Replacement has been determined pursuant to Section 2.13(b)), then the Base Rate shall be the greater of clause (a) and (b) above and shall be determined without regardreference to clause (b) or (c), as applicable, of the first sentence of this definition until the circumstances giving rise to such inability no longer exist. “Base Rate”, whenc) above. When used in reference to any Loan or Borrowing, “Base Rate” refers to whether such Loan, or the Loans comprising such Borrowing, are bearing interest at a rate determined by reference to the Base Rate.

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“Benchmark” means, initially, LIBOwith respect to any Term Benchmark Loan, the Term SOFR Rate; provided that if a Benchmark Transition Event, a Term SOFR Transition Event, an Early Opt-in Election or an Other Benchmark Rate Election, as applicable, and its and the related Benchmark Replacement Date have occurred with respect to LIBOthe Term SOFR Rate or the then-current Benchmark, then “Benchmark” means the applicable Benchmark Replacement to the extent that such Benchmark Replacement has replaced such prior benchmark rate pursuant to clause (b) of Section 2.13(c) or (d).2.13.

 

“Benchmark Replacement” means, for any Available Tenor, the first alternative set forth in the order below that can be determined by the Administrative Agent for the applicable Benchmark Replacement Date; provided that, in the case of an Other Benchmark Rate Election, “Benchmark Replacement” means the alternative set forth in (3) below:

 

(1)          the sum of (a) Term SOFR and (b) the related Benchmark Replacement Adjustment;(2) the sum of (a)Adjusted Daily Simple SOFR and (b) the related Benchmark Replacement Adjustment; or

 

(2)          (3) the sum of: (a) the alternate benchmark rate that has been selected by the Administrative Agent and the Borrower Representative as the replacement for the then-current Benchmark for the applicable Corresponding Tenor giving due consideration to (i) any selection or recommendation of a replacement benchmark rate or the mechanism for determining such a rate by the Relevant Governmental Body orand (ii) any evolving or then-prevailing market convention for determining a benchmark rate as a replacement for the then-current Benchmark for dollar-denominated syndicated credit facilities at such time in the United States and (b) the related Benchmark Replacement Adjustment;

 

provided that, in the case of clause (1), such Unadjusted Benchmark Replacement is displayed on a screen or other information service that publishes such rate from time to time as selected by the Administrative Agent in its reasonable discretion; provided further that, in the case of clause (3), when such clause is used to determine the Benchmark Replacement in connection with the occurrence of an Other Benchmark Rate Election, the alternate benchmark rate selected by the Administrative Agent and the Borrower Representative shall be the term benchmark rate that is used in lieu of a LIBOR-based rate in the relevant other Dollar-denominated syndicated credit facilities; provided further that, notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this Agreement or in any other Loan Document, upon the occurrence of a Term SOFR Transition Event, and the delivery of a Term SOFR Notice, on the applicable Benchmark Replacement Date the “Benchmark Replacement” shall revert to and shall be deemed to be the sum of (a) Term SOFR and (b) the related Benchmark Replacement Adjustment, as set forth in clause (1) of this definition (subject to the first proviso above).If the Benchmark Replacement as determined pursuant to clause (1), (2) or (32) above would be less than the Floor, the Benchmark Replacement will be deemed to be the Floor for the purposes of this Agreement and the other Loan Documents.

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“Benchmark Replacement Adjustment” means, with respect to any replacement of the then-current Benchmark with an Unadjusted Benchmark Replacement for any applicable Interest Period and Available Tenor for any setting of such Unadjusted Benchmark Replacement:

 

(1) for purposes of clauses (1) and (2) of the definition of “Benchmark Replacement,” the first alternative set forth in the order below that can be determined by the Administrative Agent:

 

(a) ​ the spread adjustment, or method for calculating or determining such spread adjustment, (which may be a positive or negative value or zero) as of the Reference Time such Benchmark Replacement is first set for such Interest Period that has been selected or recommended by the Relevant Governmental Body for the replacement of such Benchmark with the applicable Unadjusted Benchmark Replacement for the applicable Corresponding Tenor;

 

(b) the spread adjustment (which may be a positive or negative value or zero) as of the Reference Time such Benchmark Replacement is first set for such Interest Period that would apply to the fallback rate for a derivative transaction referencing the ISDA Definitions to be effective upon an index cessation event with respect to such Benchmark for the applicable Corresponding Tenor; and(2) for purposes of clause (3) of the definition of “Benchmark Replacement,”, the spread adjustment, or method for calculating or determining such spread adjustment, (which may be a positive or negative value or zero) that has been selected by the Administrative Agent and the Borrower Representative for the applicable Corresponding Tenor giving due consideration to (i) any selection or recommendation of a spread adjustment, or method for calculating or determining such spread adjustment, for the replacement of such Benchmark with the applicable Unadjusted Benchmark Replacement by the Relevant Governmental Body on the applicable Benchmark Replacement Date and/or (ii) any evolving or then-prevailing market convention for determining a spread adjustment, or method for calculating or determining such spread adjustment, for the replacement of such Benchmark with the applicable Unadjusted Benchmark Replacement for dollar-denominated syndicated credit facilities;provided that, in the case of clause (1) above, such adjustment is displayed on a screen or other information service that publishes such Benchmark Replacement Adjustment from time to time as selected by the Administrative Agent in its reasonable discretion at such time.

 

“Benchmark Replacement Conforming Changes” means, with respect to any Benchmark Replacement, any technical, administrative or operational changes (including changes to the definition of “Base Rate,” the definition of “Business Day,” the definition of “U.S. Government Securities Business Day,” the definition of “Interest Period,” timing and frequency of determining rates and making payments of interest, timing of borrowing requests or prepayment, conversion or continuation notices, length of lookback periods, the applicability of breakage provisions, and other technical, administrative or operational matters) that the Administrative Agent decides in consultation with the Borrower Representative in its reasonable discretion may be appropriate to reflect the adoption and implementation of such Benchmark Replacement and to permit the administration thereof by the Administrative Agent in a manner substantially consistent with market practice (or, if the Administrative Agent decides that adoption of any portion of such market practice is not administratively feasible or if the Administrative Agent determines that no market practice for the administration of such Benchmark Replacement exists, in such other manner of administration as the Administrative Agent in consultation with the Borrower Representative decides is reasonably necessary in connection with the administration of this Agreement and the other Loan Documents).

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“Benchmark Replacement Date” means, with respect to any Benchmark, the earliest to occur of the following events with respect to thesuch then -current Benchmark:

 

(1) in the case of clause (1) or (2) of the definition of “Benchmark Transition Event,” the later of (a) the date of the public statement or publication of information referenced therein and (b) the date on which the administrator of such Benchmark (or the published component used in the calculation thereof) permanently or indefinitely ceases to provide all Available Tenors of such Benchmark (or such component thereof); or

 

(2) in the case of clause (3) of the definition of “Benchmark Transition Event,” the first date on which such Benchmark (or the published component used in the calculation thereof) has been determined and announced by the regulatory supervisor for the administrator of such Benchmark (or such component thereof) to be no longer representative; provided, that such non-representativeness will be determined by reference to the most recent statement or publication referenced in such clause (3) and even if any Available Tenor of such Benchmark (or such component thereof) continues to be provided on such date;

 

(3) in the case of a Term SOFR Transition Event, the date that is thirty (30) days after the date a Term SOFR Notice is provided to the Lenders and the Borrower Representative pursuant to Section 2.13(d); or(4) in the case of an Early Opt-in Election or an Other Benchmark Rate Election, the sixth (6th) Business Day after the date notice of such Early Opt-in Election or Other Benchmark Rate Election, as applicable, is provided to the Lenders, so long as the Administrative Agent has not received, by 5:00 p.m. (New York City time) on the fifth (5th) Business Day after the date notice of such Early Opt-in Election or Other Benchmark Rate Election, as applicable, is provided to the Lenders, written notice of objection to such Early Opt-in Election or Other Benchmark Rate Election, as applicable, from Lenders comprising the Required Lenders.

 

For the avoidance of doubt, (i) if the event giving rise to the Benchmark Replacement Date occurs on the same day as, but earlier than, the Reference Time in respect of any determination, the Benchmark Replacement Date will be deemed to have occurred prior to the Reference Time for such determination and (ii) the “Benchmark Replacement Date” will be deemed to have occurred in the case of clause (1) or (2) with respect to any Benchmark upon the occurrence of the applicable event or events set forth therein with respect to all then-current Available Tenors of such Benchmark (or the published component used in the calculation thereof).

 

“Benchmark Transition Event” means, with respect to any Benchmark, the occurrence of one or more of the following events with respect to the then-current Benchmark:

 

(1) a public statement or publication of information by or on behalf of the administrator of such Benchmark (or the published component used in the calculation thereof) announcing that such administrator has ceased or will cease to provide all Available Tenors of such Benchmark (or such component thereof), permanently or indefinitely, provided that, at the time of such statement or publication, there is no successor administrator that will continue to provide any Available Tenor of such Benchmark (or such component thereof);

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(2) a public statement or publication of information by the regulatory supervisor for the administrator of such Benchmark (or the published component used in the calculation thereof), the Federal Reserve Board, the NYFRB, the CME Term SOFR Administrator, an insolvency official with jurisdiction over the administrator for such Benchmark (or such component), a resolution authority with jurisdiction over the administrator for such Benchmark (or such component) or a court or an entity with similar insolvency or resolution authority over the administrator for such Benchmark (or such component), in each case, which states that the administrator of such Benchmark (or such component) has ceased or will cease to provide all Available Tenors of such Benchmark (or such component thereof) permanently or indefinitely, provided that, at the time of such statement or publication, there is no successor administrator that will continue to provide any Available Tenor of such Benchmark (or such component thereof); or

 

(3) a public statement or publication of information by the regulatory supervisor for the administrator of such Benchmark (or the published component used in the calculation thereof) announcing that all Available Tenors of such Benchmark (or such component thereof) are no longer, or as of a specified future date will no longer be, representative.

 

For the avoidance of doubt, a “Benchmark Transition Event” will be deemed to have occurred with respect to any Benchmark if a public statement or publication of information set forth above has occurred with respect to each then-current Available Tenor of such Benchmark (or the published component used in the calculation thereof).

 

“Benchmark Unavailability Period” means, with respect to any Benchmark, the period (if any) (x) beginning at the time that a Benchmark Replacement Date pursuant to clauses (1) or (2) of that definition has occurred if, at such time, no Benchmark Replacement has replaced thesuch then-current Benchmark for all purposes hereunder and under any Loan Document in accordance with Section 2.13 and (y) ending at the time that a Benchmark Replacement has replaced thesuch then-current Benchmark for all purposes hereunder and under any Loan Document in accordance with Section 2.13.

 

“Beneficial Ownership Certification” means a certification regarding beneficial ownership as required by the Beneficial Ownership Regulation.

 

“Beneficial Ownership Regulation” means 31 C.F.R. § 1010.230.

 

“Benefit Plan” means any of (a) an “employee benefit plan” (as defined in ERISA) that is subject to Title I of ERISA, (b) a “plan” as defined in and subject to Section 4975 of the Code or (c) any Person whose assets include (for purposes of ERISA Section 3(42) or otherwise for purposes of Title I of ERISA or Section 4975 of the Code) the assets of any such “employee benefit plan” or “plan”.

 

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

 

“Borrowers” has the meaning set forth in the preamble to this Agreement.

 

“Borrower Representative” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 11.01.

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“Borrowing” means (a) Loans of the same Class and Type made, converted or continued on the same date and, in the case of EurodollarTerm Benchmark Loans, as to which a single Interest Period is in effect, or (b) a Swingline Loan.

 

“Borrowing Request” means a request by the Borrower Representative for a Borrowing in accordance with Section 2.3.

 

“Business Day” means any day that is not(other than a Saturday, or a Sunday, or other day) on which commercial banks are open for business in New York City are authorized or required by law to remain closed; provided that, when used in connection with a Eurodollar Loan, the term Business Day shall also exclude any day on which banks are not open for dealings in Dollar deposits in the applicable Benchmark in relation to RFR Loans and any interest rate settings fundings, disbursements, settlements or payments of any such RFR Loan, or any other dealings of such RFR Loan, any such day that is only an U.S. Government Securities Business Day.

 

“Capital Expenditures” means, with respect to any Person for any period, the amount of all expenditures by such Person and its Restricted Subsidiaries during such period that are capital expenditures as determined in accordance with GAAP.

 

“Capital Lease Obligations” means all leases that have been or are required to be, in accordance with GAAP, recorded as capitalized leases; provided that for all purposes hereunder the amount of obligations under any Capital Lease Obligations shall be the amount thereof accounted for as a liability in accordance with GAAP.

 

“Cash Collateralize” means to deposit in a Controlled Account or to pledge and deposit with or deliver to the Administrative Agent, for the benefit of one or more of Issuing Lender or Lenders, as collateral for the LC Exposure or obligations of Lenders to fund participations in respect of the LC Exposure, cash or Deposit Account balances or, if Administrative Agent and each applicable Issuing Lender shall agree in their sole discretion, other credit support, in each case pursuant to documentation in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to the Administrative Agent and each applicable Issuing Lender. “Cash Collateral” shall have a meaning correlative to the foregoing and shall include the proceeds of such cash collateral and other credit support.

 

“Cash Equivalents” means any of the following types of Investments, to the extent owned by any Borrower or any Restricted Subsidiary:

 

(a) Dollars, Euros, Pounds Sterling, Canadian Dollars, or any national currency of any country that is a member state of the European Union or local currencies held from time to time in the Ordinary Course of Business,

 

(b) readily marketable securities issued or directly and fully and unconditionally guaranteed or insured by the United States government, Canada or any country that is a member state of the European Union or any agency or instrumentality thereof the securities of which are unconditionally guaranteed as a full faith and credit obligation of such government with maturities of 24 months or less from the date of acquisition,

 

(c) certificates of deposit, time deposits, and eurodollar time deposits with maturities of one year or less from the date of acquisition, demand deposits, bankers’ acceptances with maturities not exceeding one year, and overnight bank deposits, in each case with any commercial bank having capital and surplus of not less than $500,000,000 in the case of U.S. banks and $500,000,000 (or the foreign currency equivalent thereof as of the date of determination) in the case of foreign banks, including Canadian banks,

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(d) repurchase obligations for underlying securities of the types described in clauses (b) and (c) above and clause (h) below entered into with any financial institution meeting the qualifications specified in clause (c) above,

 

(e) commercial paper rated at least P-2 (or the equivalent thereof) by Moody’s or at least A-2 (or the equivalent thereof) by S&P and in each case maturing within 12 months after the date of acquisition thereof,

 

(f) marketable short-term money market and similar securities having a rating of at least P-2 or A-2 (or, in either case, the equivalent thereof) from either Moody’s or S&P, respectively (or, if at any time neither Moody’s nor S&P shall be rating such obligations, an equivalent rating from another nationally recognized ratings agency) and in each case maturing within 12 months after the date of creation or acquisition thereof,

 

(g) readily marketable direct obligations issued by any state, commonwealth, or territory of the United States or any political subdivision or taxing authority thereof having the highest credit rating obtainable from either Moody’s or S&P with maturities of 24 months or less from the date of acquisition,

 

(h) Indebtedness or preferred Equity Interest issued by Persons with a rating of “A” (or the equivalent thereof) or higher from S&P or “A2” (or the equivalent thereof) or higher from Moody’s with maturities of 24 months or less from the date of acquisition,

 

(i) solely with respect to any Foreign Subsidiary: (i) obligations of the national government of the country in which such Foreign Subsidiary maintains its chief executive office and principal place of business provided such country is a member of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, in each case maturing within one year after the date of investment therein; (ii) certificates of deposit of, bankers acceptances of, or time deposits with, any commercial bank which is organized and existing under the laws of the country in which such Foreign Subsidiary maintains its chief executive office and principal place of business provided such country is a member of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, and whose short-term commercial paper rating from S&P is at least “A-2” or the equivalent thereof or from Moody’s is at least “P-2” or the equivalent thereof (any such bank being an “Approved Foreign Bank”), and in each case with maturities of not more than 24 months from the date of acquisition; and (iii) the equivalent of demand deposit accounts which are maintained with an Approved Foreign Bank, in each case, customarily used by entities for cash management purposes in any jurisdiction outside the United States to the extent reasonably required in connection with any business conducted by such Foreign Subsidiary organized in such jurisdiction, and

 

(j) in the case of investments by any Foreign Subsidiary or investments made in a country outside the United States, Cash Equivalents shall also include investments of the type and maturity described in clauses (a) through (i) above of foreign obligors to the extent such investments are necessary or useful for the business of such Person, which investments have ratings, described in such clauses or equivalent ratings from comparable foreign rating agencies, and

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(k) investment funds investing all or substantially all of their assets in securities of the types described in clauses (a) through (i) above.

 

Notwithstanding the foregoing, Cash Equivalents shall include amounts denominated in currencies other than those set forth in clause (a) above; provided, that such amounts are converted into any currency listed in clause (a) as promptly as practicable and in any event within ten Business Days following the receipt of such amounts.

 

“Cash Management Services” means (a) cash management, treasury or related services (including the Automated Clearing House processing of electronic fund transfers through the direct Federal Reserve Fedline system, credit cards, credit card processing services, debit cards, stored value cards, gift cards, purchase cards (including so-called “procurement cards” or “P-cards”) and controlled disbursement and overdraft services), (b) deposit and other accounts and (c) merchant services (other than those constituting a line of credit) provided by a depository bank to its customers. For the avoidance of doubt, Cash Management Services do not include obligations under Hedging Agreements.

 

“CFC” means any direct or indirect Subsidiary of Borrower that is “a controlled foreign corporation” (within the meaning of Section 957(a) of the Code) any shares of which are treated as owned directly or indirectly by a “United States Shareholder” (within the meaning of Section 951(b) of the Code) as measured for purposes of Section 958 of the Code.

 

“Change in Control” means: (a) at any time prior to an Initial Public Offering, (i) the Permitted Holders shall cease to own and control, directly or indirectly, at least 50.1% of the total voting power of all of the Equity Interests of Holdings or (ii) Holdings (or New Holdings) shall cease to own, directly or indirectly, 100% of the Equity Interests of the Company; or (b) at any time after an Initial Public Offering, another person or group (other than the Permitted Holders and any employee benefit plan and/or person acting as the trustee, agent or other fiduciary or administrator) acquires more than the greater of (x) 35% of the outstanding voting common stock of Holdings, and (y) the percentage of then outstanding voting common stock of Holdings held, directly or indirectly, by the Permitted Holders.

 

Notwithstanding the preceding or any provision of Rule 13d-3 of the Exchange Act (or any successor provision), a Person or group shall not be deemed to beneficially own securities subject to an equity or asset purchase agreement, merger agreement or similar agreement (or voting or option or similar agreement related thereto) until the consummation of the transactions contemplated by such agreement.

 

“Change in Law” means the occurrence, after the date of this Agreement, of any of the following: (a) the adoption or taking effect of any law, rule, regulation or treaty, (b) any change in any law, rule or regulation or treaty or in the administration, interpretation, implementation, or application thereof by any Governmental Authority, or (c) the making or issuance of any request, rule, guideline, or directive (whether or not having the force of law) by any Governmental Authority; provided that notwithstanding anything herein to the contrary, (i) the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act and all requests, rules, guidelines or directives thereunder or issued in connection therewith and (ii) all requests, rules, guidelines or directives promulgated by the Bank for International Settlements, the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (or any successor or similar authority) or the United States or foreign regulatory authorities, in each case pursuant to Basel III, shall in each case be deemed to be a “Change in Law”, regardless of the date enacted, adopted or issued.

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“Class”, when used in reference to any Loan or Borrowing, refers to whether such Loan, or the Loans comprising such Borrowing, are Revolving Credit Loans, Extended Revolving Credit Loans, Initial Term Loans, Second Amendment Term Loans, Refinancing Term Loans, Replacement Term Loans, a given Tranche of Incremental Term Loans or Swingline Loans and, when used in reference to any Commitment, refers to whether such Commitment is a Revolving Credit Commitment or, Initial Term Loan Commitment. or Second Amendment Term Loan Commitment.

 

“CME Term SOFR Administrator” means CME Group Benchmark Administration Limited as administrator of the forward-looking term SOFR (or a successor administrator).

 

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

 

“Collateral” means the property over which a Lien has been or is intended to be granted to the Administrative Agent pursuant to the Security Documents (but in any event excluding the Excluded Property or any similar term in any Security Documents).

 

“Collateral Account” means a blocked, cash collateral account (which may be interest bearing) opened by Administrative Agent and constituting Collateral pursuant to the Security Agreement.

 

“Commitment” means a Revolving Credit Commitment, the Initial Term Loan Commitment, the Second Amendment Term Loan Commitment, or any combination thereof (as the context requires).

 

“Commitment Letter” means that certain amended and restated commitment letter, dated as July 30, 2021, executed by the Initial Borrower, and the Lead Arranger, PGIM and Voya.

 

“Commodity Exchange Act” means the Commodity Exchange Act (7 U.S.C. § 1 et seq.), as amended from time to time, and any successor statute.

 

“Communication” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 10.1(a).

 

“Companies” means Holdings, the Borrower and each Restricted Subsidiary.

 

“Company” has the meaning set forth in the preamble to this Agreement.

 

“Competitor” means any Person that is or becomes a competitor of the Borrowers and/or any of their respective Subsidiaries or an Affiliate of such competitor, in each case to the extent identified by the Borrowers or the Sponsor in writing as a “Disqualified Institution” with the consent of the Administrative Agent (such consent not to be unreasonably withheld, conditioned, denied or delayed) from time to time.

 

“Compliance Certificate” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 5.1(c).

 

“Connection Income Taxes” means Other Connection Taxes that are imposed on or measured by net income (however denominated) or that are franchise Taxes or branch profits Taxes.

 

“Consolidated Current Assets” means, with respect to the Borrowers and the Restricted Subsidiaries on a consolidated basis at any date of determination, all assets (other than cash and Cash Equivalents) that would, in accordance with GAAP, be classified on a consolidated balance sheet of the Borrowers and its Restricted Subsidiaries as current assets at such date of determination, other than amounts related to current or deferred Taxes based on income, profits or capital gains on assets held for sale, loans (permitted) to third parties, pension assets, deferred bank fees and derivative financial instruments, and excluding the effects of adjustments pursuant to GAAP resulting from the application of recapitalization accounting or purchase accounting, as the case may be, in relation to the Acquisition or any consummated acquisition.

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“Consolidated Current Liabilities” means, with respect to the Borrowers and the Restricted Subsidiaries on a consolidated basis at any date of determination, all liabilities that would, in accordance with GAAP, be classified on a consolidated balance sheet of the Borrower sand its Restricted Subsidiaries as current liabilities at such date of determination, other than (a) the current portion of any Indebtedness, (b) the current portion of interest expense, (c) accruals for current or deferred Taxes based on income or profits, (d) accruals of any costs or expenses related to restructuring reserves, (e) deferred revenue, (f) any Revolving Credit Exposure or Revolving Credit Loans, and (f) the current portion of pension liabilities and excluding the effects of adjustments pursuant to GAAP resulting from the application of recapitalization accounting or purchase accounting, as the case may be, in relation to the Acquisition or any consummated acquisition.

 

“Consolidated EBITDA” means, for any period for the Borrowers and the Restricted Subsidiaries:

 

(a)Consolidated Net Income; plus

 

(b)to the extent subtracted in determining such Consolidated Net Income and without duplication:

 

(i)           Interest Expense;

 

(ii)          without duplication, provision for taxes based on income (or similar taxes in lieu of income taxes), profits or capital gains of the Borrowers and the Restricted Subsidiaries, including federal, foreign, state, local, franchise, excise and similar taxes and foreign withholding taxes paid or accrued during such period including penalties and interest related to such taxes or arising from any tax examinations paid or accrued during such period or, to the extent reflected as a charge in the statement of such Consolidated Net Income (regardless of classification), any tax distributions (including Permitted Tax Distributions) made during, or with respect, such period;

 

(iii)         depreciation and amortization expense, including the following non-cash items to the extent constituting depreciation and amortization expense in accordance with GAAP: amortization of deferred financing fees or costs, debt issuance costs, commissions, fees, and expenses, capitalized expenditures, or costs, amortization of expenditures relating to software, license and intellectual property payments, amortization of any lease related assets recorded in purchase accounting, customer acquisition costs, unrecognized prior service costs and actuarial gains and losses related to pensions and other post-employment benefits, the amortization of original issue discount resulting from the issuance of Indebtedness at less than par and incentive payments, conversion costs, and contract acquisition costs of such Person and its Restricted Subsidiaries for such period on a consolidated basis and otherwise determined in accordance with GAAP;

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(iv)         the amount of transaction, management, monitoring, consulting and advisory fees, indemnities and related expenses paid or accrued in such period to (or on behalf of) the Sponsor (including those owed under any Sponsor or other Investor management agreement or any fees owed to the Sponsor for any financial advisory, financing, underwriting or placement services or in respect of other investment banking activities), any other Investor in Holdings, or any direct or indirect parent of Holdings, and the amount of fees, expenses and indemnities paid to directors, including directors of any direct or indirect parent of Holdings, in each case, to the extent permitted hereunder;

 

(v)          Transaction Costs, accruals, charges, payments, expenses and transaction costs and expenses (including rationalization, legal, tax, structuring and other costs and expenses) incurred in connection with Permitted Acquisitions, Investments, Dispositions (other than Ordinary Course Dispositions), issuance, repayment, amendments, or modifications, negotiation, forbearance, extension or waiver of Indebtedness or issuance of Equity Interests, in each case to the extent permitted by this Agreement whether or not consummated;

 

(vi)         all non-cash charges, expenses and losses, including, without limitation, any non-cash asset retirement costs, non-cash compensation charges, non-cash translation (gain) loss and non-cash expense relating to the vesting of warrants (in each case other than to the extent constituting a reserve for a future cash charge);

 

(vii)        extraordinary, non-recurring, exceptional or unusual charges, losses and expenses or special items;

 

(viii)       cost savings, operating expense reductions and synergies related to the Acquisition, or related to mergers and other business combinations, acquisitions, divestitures of business entities or properties or assets constituting a division or line of business of any business entity (and purchases and dispositions of intellectual property if, solely in the case of acquisitions, pro forma treatment is elected by the Borrowers in their discretion on a case-by-case basis), restructurings, cost savings initiatives, new contracts, other operational initiatives (including, to the extent applicable, from the Transactions or the effect of new customer contracts or projects or increased pricing or volume in new or existing customer contracts) and other similar initiatives, including any “run-rate” revenue or cost synergies, operating expense reductions and other operating changes, improvements, initiatives and cost savings, consummated after the Effective Date, in each case that are reasonably identifiable and factually supportable and projected by the Borrowers in good faith to result from actions that have been taken or with respect to which substantial steps have been taken or are expected to be taken (in the good faith determination of the Borrowers) within 24 months after the Effective Date with respect to the Acquisition, or 24 months after a merger or other business combination, acquisition, divestiture, restructuring, cost savings initiative or other initiative is consummated respectively, and, in each case, reasonably anticipated to be realizable within 24 months of such transaction, in each case, net of the amount of actual benefits realized during such period;

 

(ix)         severance, relocation costs, integration and facilities’ opening costs and other business optimization expenses and charges (including related to new product introductions and other strategic or cost saving initiatives, systems design, upgrade and implementation costs), one-time restructuring charges, accruals or reserves (including restructuring and integration costs related to acquisitions after the Effective Date and adjustments to existing reserves), whether or not classified as restructuring expense on the consolidated financial statements, signing bonuses, retention or completion bonuses, including payments made to employees or others who are subject to non-compete agreements, other executive recruiting and retention costs, transition costs, costs related to closure/consolidation of or opening or pre-opening of facilities or discontinued operations, internal costs in respect of strategic initiatives, contract termination costs, stock option and other equity-based compensation expenses, severance costs, including, without limitation, any one-time expense relating to enhanced accounting function or other transaction costs, including those associated with becoming a standalone entity or a public company, and public company costs;

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(x)          add-backs and adjustments (A) set forth in the (x) quality of earnings analysis delivered to the Administrative Agent on June 24, 2021 or any other quality of earnings analysis prepared by other independent registered public accountants of recognized national standing or any other accounting firm reasonably acceptable to the Administrative Agent (it being understood and agreed that any of the “Big Four” accounting firms are acceptable) and delivered to the Administrative Agent in connection with any Permitted Acquisition or other Investment permitted hereunder and (y) the Sponsor model delivered to the Lead Arranger on June 24, 2021 and (B) consistent with Regulation S-X;

 

(xi)         the fees, costs and expenses related to the cumulative effect of a change in accounting principles and the implementation of ASC 606;

 

(xii)        cash receipts (or any netting arrangements resulting in reduced cash expenditures) not representing Consolidated EBITDA or Consolidated Net Income in any period to the extent non-cash gains (other than extraordinary, unusual or non-recurring gains or income) relating to such income were deducted in the calculation of Consolidated EBITDA pursuant to clause (c) below for any previous period and not added back;

 

(xiii)       any non-cash increase in expenses (A) resulting from the revaluation of inventory (including any impact of changes to inventory valuation policy methods including changes in capitalization of variances) or other inventory adjustments, or any other acquisition or (B) due to purchase accounting;

 

(xiv)       proceeds of business interruption insurance (including proceeds expect to be received within one year with a reduction if not received within such period);

 

(xv)        charges, losses or expenses to the extent paid for, reimbursed, indemnified or insured by a third party (or reasonably expected to be so paid or reimbursed within one year after the end of such period with a reduction if not received within such period);

 

(xvi)       minority interest expense to the extent reducing Consolidated Net Income;

 

(xvii)      costs and expenses related to implementation of operational and reporting systems and technology initiatives;

 

(xviii)     letter of credit fees;

 

(xix)        non-recurring costs, expenses and charges in connection with environmental matters and litigation (including related to settlements thereof);

 

(xx)         any director’s fees and related expenses payable to any independent director of Holdings in cash during such period to the extent otherwise permitted hereunder;

 

(xxi)        any net loss (less gains) from disposed, abandoned or discontinued operations or product lines outside of the Ordinary Course of Business;

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(xxii)       payments by the Borrowers and the Restricted Subsidiaries paid or accrued during such period in respect of purchase price holdbacks, earn outs and other similar contingent obligations to the extent deducted in calculating Consolidated Net Income of the Borrowers and the Restricted Subsidiaries other than Indebtedness;

 

(xxiii)      [reserved];

 

(xxiv)      the amount of loss or discount on sale of (x) Receivables Assets and related assets in connection with a Receivables Facility and (y) Securitization Assets and related assets in connection with a Qualified Securitization Financing, in each case, deducted (and not added back) in computing Consolidated Net Income; provided, that such amount of loss or discount on sale shall not exceed 10% of the face value of such assets;

 

(xxv)       the amount of costs and expenses relating to payments made to option holders of any direct or indirect parent of the Borrowers in connection with, or as a result of, any distribution being made to equityholders of such Person;

 

(xxvi)      [reserved]; and

 

(xxvii)     expenses (but not lost revenue) arising from any event, occurrence, fact, condition or change, directly or indirectly arising out of or attributable to COVID-19 in an aggregate amount not to exceed $2,000,000 after the Effective Date; minus

 

(c)            to the extent included in determining such Consolidated Net Income, (i) all non-cash gains and income, and all extraordinary, unusual or non-recurring gains or income, in each case on a consolidated basis determined in accordance with GAAP applied on a consistent basis and (ii) minority interest income added to Consolidated Net Income and not deducted therefrom during such period;

 

provided that the amounts added-back to Consolidated EBITDA pursuant to the foregoing clauses (b)(viii) and (b)(ix) shall in no event in the aggregate exceed 30% of Consolidated EBITDA (calculated after adding-back such amounts); provided further, for the purposes of calculating Consolidated EBITDA for any Fiscal Quarter (a “Reference Period”) for all purposes in this Agreement, (x) if at any time during such Reference Period, the Borrowers or any of their Restricted Subsidiaries shall have made any Material Disposition, the Consolidated EBITDA for such Reference Period shall be reduced by an amount equal to the earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (if positive) attributable to the property that is the subject of such Material Disposition for such Reference Period or increased by an amount equal to the earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (if negative) attributable thereto for such Reference Period, and (y) if during such Reference Period, the Borrowers or any of their Restricted Subsidiaries shall have made a Permitted Acquisition or permitted Investment of a business line or division, Consolidated EBITDA for such Reference Period shall be calculated after giving effect on a pro forma basis to the earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization of any Acquired Entity or Business, including, in each case during such period, as if such Permitted Acquisition had occurred on the first day of such period, in each case in accordance with Section 1.8.

 

Notwithstanding anything to the contrary, Consolidated EBITDA shall be deemed to be $6,751,025.73 for the Fiscal Quarter ended September 28, 2020, $4,611,123.28 for the Fiscal Quarter ended December 28, 2020, $8,553,718.80 for the Fiscal Quarter ended March 29, 2021 and $8,099,268.35 for the Fiscal Quarter ended June 28, 2021.

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“Consolidated First Lien Net Leverage Ratio” means, as of any date of determination, the ratio of (a) (i) the aggregate principal amount of all outstanding Funded Debt of the Borrowers and their Restricted Subsidiaries as of such date that is secured by a lien on the Collateral on a senior or pari passu basis (without regard to remedies) with the Liens on the Collateral securing the Obligations under this Agreement, minus (ii) Unrestricted Cash, in each case as of such date to (b) Consolidated EBITDA for the most recently ended four Fiscal Quarter period for which financial statements have been delivered to the Administrative Agent pursuant to Section 5.1(a) or (b).

 

“Consolidated Net Income” means, for any period, the net income (or loss) of the Borrowers and the Restricted Subsidiaries for such period determined on a consolidated basis in accordance with GAAP; provided that, without duplication,

 

(a)          the costs and expenses related to implementation of operational and reporting systems and technology initiatives shall be excluded;

 

(b)          the fees, costs and expenses related to the cumulative effect of a change in accounting principles and the implementation of ASC 606 shall be excluded;

 

(c)          any non-cash increase in expenses (A) resulting from the revaluation of inventory (including any impact of changes to inventory valuation policy methods including changes in capitalization of variances) or other inventory adjustments, or any other acquisition or (B) due to purchase accounting shall be excluded;

 

(d)          any gains or losses (less all fees, expenses and charges relating thereto) attributable to asset dispositions or abandonments or the sale or other disposition of any Equity Interests of any Person, in each case other than in the Ordinary Course of Business, as determined in good faith by the Borrowers, shall be excluded;

 

(e)          the net income (loss) for such period of any Person that is not a Subsidiary of the Borrowers, or is an Unrestricted Subsidiary, or that is accounted for by the equity method of accounting, shall be excluded; provided that Consolidated Net Income of the Borrowers shall be increased by the amount of dividends or distributions or other payments that are actually paid in cash or Cash Equivalents (or to the extent subsequently converted into cash or Cash Equivalents) from the operations of such Person to the Borrower or a Restricted Subsidiary thereof in respect of such period;

 

(f)           any impairment charge or asset write-off or write-down, including impairment charges or asset write-offs or write-downs related to intangible assets, long-lived assets, investments in debt and equity securities or as a result of a change in law or regulation, in each case, pursuant to GAAP, and the amortization of intangibles arising pursuant to GAAP shall be excluded;

 

(g)          any non-cash compensation charge or expense, including any such charge or expense arising from the grants of stock appreciation or similar rights, stock options, restricted stock or other rights or equity incentive programs or any other equity-based compensation shall be excluded, and any cash charges associated with the rollover, acceleration or payout of Equity Interests by management of the Borrowers or any of its direct or indirect parents in connection with the Transactions or an Initial Public Offering, shall be excluded;

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(h)          any expenses, charges or losses that are covered by indemnification or other reimbursement provisions in connection with any Investment, Permitted Acquisition or any sale, conveyance, transfer or other disposition of assets permitted under this Agreement, to the extent actually reimbursed, or, so long as the Borrowers have made a determination that a reasonable basis exists for indemnification or reimbursement and only to the extent that such amount is in fact indemnified or reimbursed within 365 days of such determination (with a deduction in the applicable future period for any amount so added back to the extent not so indemnified or reimbursed within such 365-day period), shall be excluded;

 

(i)           to the extent covered by insurance and actually reimbursed, or, so long as the Borrowers have made a determination that there exists reasonable evidence that such amount will in fact be reimbursed by the insurer and only to the extent that such amount is in fact reimbursed within 365 days of the date of such determination (with a deduction in the applicable future period for any amount so added back to the extent not so reimbursed within such 365 days), expenses, charges or losses with respect to liability or casualty events or business interruption shall be excluded;

 

(j)           the income (or loss) of any Person accrued prior to the date it becomes a Restricted Subsidiary of the Borrowers or is merged into or consolidated with a Borrower or any of its Subsidiaries or such Person’s assets are acquired by a Borrower or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries shall be excluded (except to the extent required for any calculation of Consolidated EBITDA on a pro forma basis in accordance with Section 1.8);

 

(k)          solely for the purpose of determining the Available Amount pursuant to clause (b) of the definition thereof, the income of any Restricted Subsidiary of a Borrower that is not a Guarantor to the extent that the declaration or payment of dividends or similar distributions by such Restricted Subsidiary of such income is not at the time permitted by operation of the terms of its charter or any agreement, instrument, judgment, decree, order, statute, rule or governmental regulation applicable to such Restricted Subsidiary shall be excluded unless such restriction with respect to the payment of dividends or similar distributions (i) has been legally waived or otherwise released, (ii) is imposed pursuant to this Agreement and other Loan Documents, or (iii) arises pursuant to an agreement or instrument related to any Ratio Debt or Incremental Equivalent Debt incurred pursuant to Section 6.1(ee) if the encumbrances and restrictions contained in any such agreement or instrument taken as a whole are not materially less favorable to the Secured Parties than the encumbrances and restrictions contained in the Loan Documents (as determined by the Borrowers in good faith), except (solely to the extent permitted to be paid) to the extent of the amount of dividends or other distributions actually paid to a Borrower or any of their Restricted Subsidiaries that are Guarantors by such Person during such period in accordance with such documents and regulations;

 

(l)           any deferred tax expense associated with tax deductions or net operating losses arising as a result of the Transactions, or the release of any valuation allowance related to such items, shall be excluded;

 

(m)         gains and losses due solely to fluctuations in currency values and the related tax effects determined in accordance with GAAP for such period shall be excluded;

 

(n)          any non-cash net pension or other post-employment benefit costs representing amortization of unrecognized prior service costs, actuarial losses, including amortization of such amounts arising in prior periods, amortization of the unrecognized net obligation (and loss or cost) existing at the date of initial application of Statement of Financial Accounting Standards Nos. 87, 106 and 112, and any other items of a similar nature, shall be excluded;

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(o)          any non-cash adjustments resulting from the application of Accounting Standards Codification Topic No. 460, Guarantees, or any comparable regulation, shall be excluded;

 

(p)          payments by the Borrowers and the Restricted Subsidiaries paid or accrued during such period in respect of purchase price holdbacks, earn outs and other similar contingent obligations shall be excluded;

 

(q)          extraordinary, non-recurring, exceptional or unusual charges, losses and expenses or special items shall be excluded;

 

(r)           the amount of transaction, management, monitoring, consulting and advisory fees, indemnities and related expenses paid or accrued in such period to (or on behalf of) the Sponsor (including those owed under any Sponsor or other Investor management agreement or any fees owed to the Sponsor for any financial advisory, financing, underwriting or placement services or in respect of other investment banking activities), any other Investor in Holdings, or any direct or indirect parent of Holdings, and the amount of fees, expenses and indemnities paid to directors, including directors of any direct or indirect parent of Holdings, in each case, to the extent permitted hereunder, shall be excluded; and

 

(s)          (xiv) proceeds of business interruption insurance (including proceeds expected to be received within one year with a reduction if not received within such period).

 

For the avoidance of doubt, Consolidated Net Income shall be calculated, including pro forma adjustments, in accordance with Section 1.8.

 

“Consolidated Net Leverage Ratio” means, as of any date of determination, the ratio of (a) (i) the aggregate principal amount of all outstanding Funded Debt of the Borrowers and their Restricted Subsidiaries as of such date, minus (ii) Unrestricted Cash, in each case as of such date to (b) Consolidated EBITDA for the most recently ended four Fiscal Quarter period for which financial statements have been delivered to the Administrative Agent pursuant to Section 5.1(a) or (b).

 

“Consolidated Secured Net Leverage Ratio” means, as of any date of determination, the ratio of (a) (i) the aggregate principal amount of all outstanding Funded Debt of the Borrowers and their Restricted Subsidiaries that is secured by a Lien on the Collateral, minus (ii) Unrestricted Cash, in each case as of such date to (b) Consolidated EBITDA for the most recently ended four Fiscal Quarter period for which financial statements have been delivered to the Administrative Agent pursuant to Section 5.1(a) or (b).

 

“Consolidated Working Capital” means, at any date, the difference of (a) Consolidated Current Assets of the Borrowers and their Restricted Subsidiaries on such date less (b) Consolidated Current Liabilities of Holdings and its Restricted Subsidiaries on such date; provided that increases or decreases in Consolidated Working Capital shall be calculated without regard to any changes in Consolidated Current Assets or Consolidated Current Liabilities as a result of (a) any reclassification in accordance with GAAP of assets or liabilities, as applicable, between current and non-current, (b) the effects of purchase accounting or (c) the effect of fluctuations in the amount of accrued or contingent obligations, assets or liabilities under Swap Obligations.

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“Control Agreements” means, collectively, those control agreements in form and substance reasonably acceptable to the Administrative Agent entered into among (a) the depository institution maintaining any Deposit Account (to the extent required under the Loan Documents), the securities intermediary maintaining any securities account, or the commodity intermediary maintaining any commodity account, (b) an Obligor or Defaulting Lender, as applicable, and (c) Administrative Agent, pursuant to which Administrative Agent obtains control (within the meaning of the applicable provision of the UCC) over such Deposit Account, securities account or commodity account.

 

“Controlled Account” means each Deposit Account, securities account, or commodities account that is subject to a Control Agreement.

 

“Corresponding Tenor” with respect to any Available Tenor means, as applicable, either a tenor (including overnight) or an interest payment period having approximately the same length (disregarding business day adjustment) as such Available Tenor.

 

“Credit Agreement Refinancing Indebtedness” means any Indebtedness issued, incurred or otherwise obtained (including by means of the extension or renewal of existing Indebtedness) by one or more Obligors (other than Holdings (other than as a guarantor)) in exchange for, or to extend, renew, replace or refinance, in whole or part, existing Term Loans or, in whole, existing Revolving Credit Loans (or unused Revolving Credit Commitments) (including any successive Credit Agreement Refinancing Indebtedness) (“Refinanced Debt” and any such Refinanced Debt that consists of Term Loans, “Refinanced Term Debt” and any such Refinanced Debt that is a revolving credit facility, “Refinanced Revolving Debt”); provided that:

 

(a)          such exchanging, extending, renewing, replacing or refinancing Indebtedness is in an original aggregate principal amount not greater than the aggregate principal amount of the Refinanced Debt outstanding at the time of such exchange (plus any unused commitments thereunder), extension, renewal, replacement or refinancing except by an amount equal to unpaid accrued interest and premium (including tender premium) thereon, plus upfront fees and original issue discount on such exchanging, extending, renewing, replacing or refinancing Indebtedness, plus other reasonable and customary fees and expenses in connection with such exchange, extension, renewal, replacement or refinancing and (i) substantially concurrently with the incurrence of any such Refinancing Term Loans, 100% of the proceeds thereof or 100% of the aggregate principal amount thereof shall be applied to repay (or shall be exchanged for, extend, renew or replace) the Refinanced Term Debt (including accrued interest, fees and premiums (if any) payable in connection therewith) and to pay such other reasonable and customary fees and expenses in connection with such exchange, extension, renewal, replacement or refinancing and (ii) substantially concurrently with the effectiveness of such Refinancing Revolving Credit Commitments, all of the Revolving Credit Commitments in effect immediately prior to such effectiveness shall be terminated, and all of the Revolving Credit Loans then outstanding, together with interest thereon and all other amounts accrued for the benefit of the Revolving Credit Lenders, shall be repaid or paid;

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(b)          except in the case of a customary bridge facility that is subject to an automatic conversion within one (1) year of issuance of such bridge facility on terms that would otherwise satisfy this clause (b) such Indebtedness has a maturity the same as or later to occur than, and, in the case of Refinanced Term Debt only, a Weighted Average Life to Maturity equal to or greater than, in each case, the Refinanced Debt;

 

(c)          at no time shall there be more than one tranche or Class of Revolving Credit Commitments hereunder other than with respect to extensions permitted under Section 2.23;

 

(d)          the other terms and documentation in respect of any such Refinanced Term Debt, to the extent inconsistent with the terms and documentation with respect to the existing Term Loan, shall be determined by the Borrowers and shall, at the option of the Borrowers, (a) reflect current market terms and conditions (taken as a whole) at the time of incurrence or issuance (as reasonably determined by the Borrowers), (b) be consistent with the terms of the corresponding Class of Term Loans unless, in the case of this clause (b), (x) the Lenders under the corresponding Class of Term Loans also received the benefit of such more restrictive terms or (y) any such provisions apply only after the maturity date of the relevant Class of Term Loans, or (c) not be materially more restrictive to the Borrowers, when taken as a whole, than the terms of the applicable Class of Term Loans (as reasonably determined by the Borrowers);

 

(e)          such Indebtedness shall not be secured by any assets other than the Collateral and shall not be guaranteed by any Person other than the Guarantors (unless such guaranty affirmatively is declined by the Administrative Agent as credit support for the Obligations, it being agreed, for the avoidance of doubt, that a Person qualifying as an Excluded Subsidiary shall not result in the Administrative Agent being deemed to have declined such guaranty);

 

(f)           the interest rate, margin, original issue discount, up-front fees and other fees and rate floors for such Credit Agreement Refinancing Indebtedness in the form of Refinanced Term Debt may be determined by the Borrowers and the Lenders providing such Refinanced Term Debt, as applicable, providing such Refinanced Term Debt; provided that, in the event that the All-in Yield for any such Refinanced Term Debt that ranks pari passu in right of payment and security with the existing Term Loans incurred (other than in reliance on clause (i) of the Incremental Amount) is greater than the All-in Yield for the existing Term Loans by more than 50 basis points, then the Applicable Margin for the existing Term Loans shall be increased to the extent necessary so that the All-in Yield for such Refinanced Term Debt is no more than 50 basis points higher than the All-in-Yield for the existing Term Loans; provided that, in the event that the All-In Yield for such Refinanced Term Debt is higher than the All-In Yield for the existing Term Loans solely as a result of a higher rate floor for such Refinanced Term Debt, the adjustment to the All-In Yield of the existing Term Loans shall be effected solely by increasing the rate floor;

 

(g)          such Refinanced Debt shall be repaid, defeased or satisfied and discharged, and all accrued interest, fees and premiums (if any) in connection therewith shall be paid, on the date such Credit Agreement Refinancing Indebtedness is issued, incurred or obtained;

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(h)          the aggregate Revolving Credit Commitments under such Credit Agreement Refinancing Indebtedness shall not exceed, without duplication, the Revolving Credit Commitments and existing Revolving Credit Loans being replaced; and

 

(i)           (x) if any Sponsor Controlled Affiliated Lender provides any Credit Agreement Refinancing Indebtedness it shall be subject to the same limitations and restrictions set forth in Section 10.4(g) as if such Sponsor Controlled Affiliated Lender were purchasing Term Loans by assignment and (y) no Sponsor Controlled Affiliated Lender shall provide or hold any Revolving Credit Loans or Revolving Credit Commitments. 

 

“Cure Termination Date” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 8.3.

 

“Daily Simple SOFR” means, for any day, SOFR, with the conventions for this rate (which may include a lookback) being established by the Administrative Agent in accordance with the conventions for this rate selected or recommended by the Relevant Governmental Body for determining “Daily Simple SOFR” for business loans; provided, that if the Administrative Agent decides that any such convention is not administratively feasible for the Administrative Agent, then the Administrative Agent may establish another convention in its reasonable discretion. (a “SOFR Rate Day”), a rate per annum equal to SOFR for the day (such day “SOFR Determination Date”) that is five (5) U.S. Government Securities Business Days prior to (i) if such SOFR Rate Day is a U.S. Government Securities Business Day, such SOFR Rate Day or (ii) if such SOFR Rate Day is not a U.S. Government Securities Business Day, the U.S. Government Securities Business Day immediately preceding such SOFR Rate Day, in each case, as such SOFR is published by the SOFR Administrator on the SOFR Administrator’s Website. Any change in Daily Simple SOFR due to a change in SOFR shall be effective from and including the effective date of such change in SOFR without notice to the Borrower Representative.

 

“Debt Fund Affiliate” means an Affiliate of the Sponsor that is a bona fide debt fund that is primarily engaged in making, purchasing, holding or otherwise investing in commercial loans in the ordinary course of business with respect to which none of the Sponsor, Holdings, the Borrowers or Restricted Subsidiaries or any of their respective Affiliates that is not such a bona fide debt fund makes investment decisions or otherwise has the power to cause the direction of such Affiliates investment decision.

 

“Debtor Relief Laws” means the Bankruptcy Code, and all other liquidation, conservatorship, bankruptcy, assignment for the benefit of creditors, moratorium, rearrangement, receivership, insolvency, reorganization, or similar debtor relief laws of the United States or other applicable jurisdictions from time to time in effect.

 

“Declined Proceeds” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 2.10(d)(iii).

 

“De Minimis Asset Sale Proceeds” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 2.10(b)(i).

 

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

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“Default Rate” means a per annum interest rate equal to (a) in the case of any Loans, 2% plus the rate otherwise applicable to such Loan (including the Applicable Margin) or (b) in the case of any other Obligation, 2% plus the rate applicable to Base Rate Loans (including the Applicable Margin) as provided in Section 2.12(a).

 

“Defaulting Lender” means, subject to Section 2.21(b), any Lender that (a) has failed to (i) fund all or any portion of its Loans within two Business Days of the date such Loans were required to be funded hereunder unless such Lender notifies Administrative Agent and the Borrower Representative in writing that such failure is the result of such Lender’s determination that one or more conditions precedent to funding (each of which conditions precedent, together with any applicable default, shall be specifically identified in such writing) has not been satisfied, or (ii) pay to the Administrative Agent, any Issuing Lender or any other Lender any other amount required to be paid by it hereunder (including in respect of its participation in Letters of Credit) within two Business Days of the date when due, (b) has notified the Borrower Representative, Administrative Agent or any Issuing Lender in writing that it does not intend to comply with its funding obligations hereunder, or has made a public statement to that effect (unless such writing or public statement relates to such Lender’s obligation to fund a Loan hereunder and states that such position is based on such Lender’s determination that a condition precedent to funding (which condition precedent, together with any applicable default, shall be specifically identified in such writing or public statement) cannot be satisfied), (c) has failed, within three Business Days after written request by Administrative Agent or the Borrower Representative, to confirm in writing to the Administrative Agent and the Borrower Representative that it will comply with its prospective funding obligations hereunder (provided that such Lender shall cease to be a Defaulting Lender pursuant to this clause (c) upon receipt of such written confirmation by Administrative Agent and the Borrower Representative), or (d) has, or has a direct or indirect parent company that has, (i) become the subject of a proceeding under any Debtor Relief Laws, (ii) had appointed for it a receiver, custodian, conservator, trustee, administrator, assignee for the benefit of creditors or similar Person charged with reorganization or liquidation of its business or assets, including the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other state or federal regulatory authority acting in such a capacity, or (iii) become the subject of a Bail-In Action; provided that a Lender shall not be a Defaulting Lender solely by virtue of (x) the ownership or acquisition of any Equity Interest in that Lender or any direct or indirect parent company thereof by a Governmental Authority or (y) an Undisclosed Administration of such Lender so long as such ownership interest or Undisclosed Administration does not result in or provide such Lender with immunity from the jurisdiction of courts within the United States or from the enforcement of judgments or writs of attachment on its assets or permit such Lender (or such Governmental Authority) to reject, repudiate, disavow or disaffirm any contracts or agreements made with such Lender. Any determination by Administrative Agent that a Lender is a Defaulting Lender under any one or more of clauses (a) through (d) of this definition shall be conclusive and binding absent manifest error, and such Lender shall be deemed to be a Defaulting Lender (subject to Section 2.21(b)) upon delivery of written notice of such determination to the Borrower Representative, each Issuing Lender and each Lender.

 

“Deposit Account” means a demand, time, savings, passbook, or similar account maintained with an organization engaged in the business of banking, including savings banks, savings and loan associations, credit unions, and trust companies. Neither investment property nor accounts evidenced by an instrument shall constitute a Deposit Account for purposes of this Agreement.

25 

 

“Disposition” means any sale, assignment, lease, license, transfer or other disposition of any property or assets (whether now owned or hereafter acquired) by Holdings or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries to any other Person. The term “Dispose” as a verb has a corresponding meaning.

 

“Disqualified Equity Interests” means any Equity Interest that, by its terms (or by the terms of any security or other Equity Interests into which it is convertible or for which it is exchangeable), or upon the happening of any event or condition (a) matures or is mandatorily redeemable (other than solely for Qualified Equity Interests and cash in lieu of fractional shares), pursuant to a sinking fund obligation or otherwise (except as a result of a change of control, asset sale or similar event so long as any rights of the holders thereof upon the occurrence of a change of control, asset sale or similar event shall be subject to Full Satisfaction of the Obligations), (b) is redeemable at the option of the holder thereof (other than (i) solely for Qualified Equity Interests and cash in lieu of fractional shares or (ii) as a result of a change of control, asset sale or similar event so long as any rights of the holders thereof upon the occurrence of a change of control, asset sale or similar event shall be subject to Full Satisfaction of the Obligations, in whole or in part, (c) provides for the scheduled payments of dividends in cash, or (d) is or becomes convertible into or exchangeable for Indebtedness or any other Equity Interests that would constitute Disqualified Equity Interests, in each case, prior to the date that is 91 days after the Latest Maturity Date at the time of issuance of such Equity Interests; provided that if such Equity Interests are issued pursuant to a plan for the benefit of employees, officers, directors, managers or consultants of Holdings (or any direct or indirect parent thereof), the Borrowers or the Restricted Subsidiaries or by any such plan to such employees, officers, directors, managers or consultants, such Equity Interests shall not constitute Disqualified Equity Interests solely because it may be required to be repurchased by the Borrower or its Restricted Subsidiaries in order to satisfy applicable statutory or regulatory obligations or as a result of the termination, death or disability of such officers, directors, managers or consultants.

 

“Disqualified Institution” means (a) any Disqualified Lending Institution, (b) any Competitor and (c) any Affiliate (other than a Debt Fund Affiliate) of such Disqualified Lending Institution or Competitor that is readily identifiable solely on the basis of such Affiliate’s name; provided that (i) no notice delivered by the Borrower Representative shall apply retroactively to disqualify any Person that has previously acquired an assignment or participation interest in the Loans, and (ii) “Disqualified Institutions” shall exclude any Person that a Borrower Representative has designated as no longer being a “Disqualified Institution” by written (including email) notice delivered to the Administrative Agent from time to time. The list of Disqualified Institutions provided by the Borrower Representative and any permitted updates thereto from time to time may be made available to any Lender that specifically requests a copy from Administrative Agent.

 

“Disqualified Lending Institution” means certain banks, financial institutions, institutional lenders and other entities that have been identified by the Borrower Representative to the Administrative Agent as a “Disqualified Lending Institution” (a) on or prior to the date of the Commitment Letter and (b) as may be updated from time to time by the Borrower Representative after the Effective Date with the consent of the Administrative Agent in its reasonable discretion.

26 

 

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

 

“Domestic Subsidiary” means any Restricted Subsidiary that is not a CFC.

 

“Early Opt-in Election” means, if the then-current Benchmark is LIBO Rate, the occurrence of:(1)          a notification by the Administrative Agent to (or the request by the Borrower Representative to the Administrative Agent to notify) each of the other parties hereto that at least five currently outstanding dollar-denominated syndicated credit facilities at such time contain (as a result of amendment or as originally executed) a SOFR-based rate (including SOFR, a term SOFR or any other rate based upon SOFR) as a benchmark rate (and such syndicated credit facilities are identified in such notice and are publicly available for review), and

 

(2)          the joint election by the Administrative Agent and the Borrower Representative to trigger a fallback from LIBO Rate and the provision, as applicable, by the Administrative Agent of written notice of such election to the Borrower Representative and the Lenders.

 

“ECF Threshold” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 2.10(b)(ii).

 

“EEA Financial Institution” means (a) any credit institution or investment firm established in any EEA Member Country which is subject to the supervision of an EEA Resolution Authority, (b) any entity established in an EEA Member Country which is a parent of an institution described in clause (a) of this definition, or (c) any financial institution established in an EEA Member Country which is a subsidiary of an institution described in clauses (a) or (b) of this definition and is subject to consolidated supervision with its parent.

 

“EEA Member Country” means any of the member states of the European Union, Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Norway.

 

“EEA Resolution Authority” means any public administrative authority or any Person entrusted with public administrative authority of any EEA Member Country (including any delegee) having responsibility for the resolution of any EEA Financial Institution.

 

“Effective Date” means the date on which the conditions set forth in Section 4.1 are satisfied (or waived in accordance with Section 4.1, which date is August 23, 2021).

 

“Effective Date Assumption” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 10.25.

 

“Electronic Signature” means an electronic sound, symbol, or process attached to, or associated with, a contract or other record and adopted by a Person with the intent to sign, authenticate or accept such contract or record.

 

“Electronic System” means any electronic system, including e-mail, e-fax, web portal access for the Borrowers and any other Internet or extranet-based site, whether such electronic system is owned, operated or hosted by the Administrative Agent or the Issuing Bank and any of its respective Related Parties or any other Person, providing for access to data protected by passcodes or other security system.

 

“Eligible Assignee” means any Person that meets the requirements to be an assignee under Sections 10.4(b)(iii), 10.4(b)(vi) and (other than a Disqualified Institution) 10.4(b)(vii) (subject to such consents, if any, as may be required under Section 10.4(b)(iii)).

27 

 

“Environmental Laws” means all laws, rules, regulations, codes, ordinances, orders, decrees, judgments, injunctions, or binding agreements issued, promulgated or entered into by any Governmental Authority, relating to the protection of the environment, human health and workplace safety, preservation or reclamation of natural resources, or the generation, use, handling, transportation, storage, treatment, disposal, management, release or threatened release of any Hazardous Material, including, without limitation, the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C. § 9601 et seq.), as amended.

 

“Environmental Liability” means any liability, contingent or otherwise (including any liability for damages, costs of environmental removal, remediation, fines, penalties or indemnities, and including any Lien securing or on account of such liability filed against any Mortgaged Property), of any Obligor or any Restricted Subsidiary resulting from or based upon (a) any Environmental Law, (b) the generation, use, handling, transportation, storage, treatment or disposal of any Hazardous Materials, (c) exposure to any Hazardous Materials, (d) the release or threatened release of any Hazardous Materials into the environment, or (e) any contract, agreement or other consensual arrangement to the extent liability is assumed or imposed with respect to any of the foregoing.

 

“Equity Interests” means shares of the capital stock (including common and preferred shares), partnership interests, membership interest in a limited liability company, beneficial interests in a trust, or other equity interests; provided that any instrument evidencing Indebtedness convertible or exchangeable for Equity Interests shall not be deemed to be Equity Interests unless and until such instrument is so converted or exchanged.

 

“Equity Rights” means, with respect to any Person, any subscriptions, options, warrants, commitments, preemptive rights or agreements of any kind (including any shareholders’ or voting trust agreements) for the issuance, sale, registration or voting of, or securities convertible into, any additional Equity Interests in such Person.

 

“ERISA” means the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended from time to time, and the regulations promulgated thereunder and any successor thereto.

 

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

 

“ERISA Event” means (a) any “reportable event”, as defined in Section 4043 of ERISA or the regulations issued thereunder with respect to a Plan (other than an event for which the 30-day notice period is waived), (b) the failure to make sufficient contributions to a Plan for any plan year which, in the aggregate, are less than the minimum required contribution determined under Section 412 of the Code, Section 430 of the Code or Section 303 of ERISA for the Plan for the plan year, (c) the existence with respect to any Multiemployer Plan of an “accumulated funding deficiency” (as defined in Section 431 of the Code or Section 304 of ERISA), whether or not waived, (d) the filing pursuant to Section 412(c) of the Code or Section 302(c) of ERISA of an application for a waiver of the minimum funding standard with respect to any Plan, (e) the incurrence by a Borrower or any ERISA Affiliate of any liability under Title IV of ERISA with respect to the termination of any Plan, (f) the receipt by a Borrower or any ERISA Affiliate from the PBGC or a plan administrator of any notice relating to an intention to terminate any Plan or Plans or to appoint a trustee to administer any Plan, (g) the incurrence by a Borrower or any ERISA Affiliate of any liability with respect to the withdrawal or partial withdrawal from any Plan or Multiemployer Plan, or (h) the receipt by a Borrower or any ERISA Affiliate of any notice concerning the imposition of Withdrawal Liability, or a determination that a Multiemployer Plan is, or is expected to be, “insolvent” (within the meaning of Section 4245 of ERISA), or in “endangered” or “critical” status (within the meaning of Section 432 of the Code or Section 305 of ERISA).

28 

 

“EU Bail-In Legislation Schedule” means the EU Bail-In Legislation Schedule published by the Loan Market Association (or any successor Person), as in effect from time to time.

 

“Eurodollar”, when used in reference to any Loan or Borrowing, refers to whether such Loan, or the Loans comprising such Borrowing, bear interest at a rate determined by reference to the Adjusted LIBO Rate.

 

“Eurodollar Illegality Notice” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 2.18(a). “Event of Default” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 8.1.

 

“Event of Loss” means with respect to any asset of any Obligor or its Restricted Subsidiaries, any of the following: (a) any loss, destruction or damage of such equipment, real property or fixed asset or (b) any actual condemnation, seizure or taking, by exercise of the power of eminent domain or otherwise, of such asset, or confiscation of such equipment, real property or fixed asset or requisition of the use of such asset.

 

“Excess Cash Flow” means, for each Excess Cash Flow Period for Holdings and its Restricted Subsidiaries, the excess, if any, of (a) the sum, without duplication, of (i) Consolidated Net Income of Holdings and its Restricted Subsidiaries for such Excess Cash Flow Period, (ii) the amount of all non-cash loss and charges (including depreciation, amortization and non-cash Interest Expense) deducted in arriving at such Consolidated Net Income, and (iii) the amount of the decrease, if any, in Consolidated Working Capital for such Excess Cash Flow Period, minus (b) the sum, without duplication, of (i) the amount of all non-cash gain and income included in arriving at such Consolidated Net Income, (ii) the aggregate amount of all regularly scheduled principal payments of Funded Debt (including, without limitation, the Loans) of the Borrowers and their Restricted Subsidiaries (other than in respect of any revolving credit facility to the extent there is not an equivalent permanent reduction in commitments thereunder) and scheduled repayments of Capital Lease Obligations (excluding any interest expense portion thereof), in each case, actually paid by the Borrowers and their Restricted Subsidiaries using Internally Generated Cash during such Excess Cash Flow Period, (iii) the amount of the increase, if any, in Consolidated Working Capital for such Excess Cash Flow Period, (iv) to the extent not already deducted in determining such Consolidated Net Income, the aggregate amount actually paid by the Borrowers and their Restricted Subsidiaries using Internally Generated Cash during such Excess Cash Flow Period, or, at the Borrowers’ option, committed or budgeted to be used within the next four Fiscal Quarters as applicable, on account of Capital Expenditures, Permitted Acquisitions and other Investments (including Investments in Joint Ventures and any earn-out payment but excluding Investments in cash and Cash Equivalents) and Restricted Payments pursuant to Section 6.6 (excluding Restricted Payments made using clause (b) of the definition of Available Amount), in each case permitted under this Agreement, (v) the amount of cash Taxes paid (including for the avoidance of doubt any Permitted Tax Distributions) or Tax reserves set aside or payable (without duplication) in such period to the extent they exceed the amount of tax expense deducted in determining such Consolidated Net Income for such period (other than the amount of any cash taxes paid in such period to the extent such cash Taxes were subject to a reserve reducing Consolidated Net Income or Excess Cash Flow in a previous period), (vi) to the extent not already deducted in determining such Consolidated Net Income, any fees, expenses or charges paid using Internally Generated Cash during such period, or, at the Borrowers’ option, committed or budgeted to be used within the next four Fiscal Quarters, in connection with any Permitted Acquisition, Investment, Disposition (other than Ordinary Course Dispositions), incurrence or repayment of Indebtedness, issuance of Equity Interests, amendment or modification of any debt instrument (including any amendment or other modification to this Agreement and the other Loan Documents) and including, in each case, any such transaction undertaken but not completed, and any charges paid in cash or non-recurring merger costs incurred during such period as a result of any such transaction, in each case whether or not successful, (vii) cash payments by the Borrowers and their Restricted Subsidiaries during such period in respect of long-term liabilities (other than the current portion thereof) set forth on the balance sheet of the Borrowers and their Restricted Subsidiaries in accordance with GAAP other than Indebtedness to the extent such payments are not expensed during such period or are not deducted in calculating Consolidated Net Income and to the extent financed with Internally Generated Cash, (viii) the aggregate amount of expenditures actually made by the Borrowers and their Restricted Subsidiaries in cash during such period (including Capital Expenditures for the payment of financing fees) to the extent that such expenditures are not expensed during such period, in each case to the extent financed with Internally Generated Cash, (ix) the aggregate amount of any premium, make-whole or penalty payments actually paid in cash by the Borrowers and their Restricted Subsidiaries during such period that are required to be made in connection with any prepayment of Indebtedness, in each case to the extent financed with Internally Generated Cash, (x) cash expenditures in respect of Swap Obligations during such period to the extent not deducted in arriving at such Consolidated Net Income to the extent financed with Internally Generated Cash, (xi) cash payments by the Borrower and the Restricted Subsidiaries during such period in respect of purchase price holdbacks, earn outs, and other similar contingent obligations, to the extent not already deducted from Consolidated Net Income to the extent financed with Internally Generated Cash and (xii) any other cash items excluded in the calculation of Consolidated Net Income to the extent financed with Internally Generated Cash.

29 

 

“Excess Cash Flow Percentage” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 2.10(b)(ii).

 

“Excess Cash Flow Period” means the period beginning on December 28, 2021 and ending on December 26, 2022 and, thereafter, each Fiscal Year of Holdings and its Restricted Subsidiaries.

 

“Exchange Act” means the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended from time to time.

 

“Excluded Contribution Amount” means an amount equal to net cash proceeds received by any Borrower as capital contributions to its common equity capital after the Effective Date or from the issuance or sale (other than (i) to a Restricted Subsidiary of a Borrower, (ii) to any management equity plan or equity option plan or any other management or employee benefit plan or agreement of the Borrower or (iii) Specified Equity Contributions) of Equity Interests (other than Disqualified Equity Interests) of a Borrower or the Fair Market Value of investment grade securities or Qualified Proceeds contributed to a Borrower, in each case, designated as Excluded Contribution Amounts from time to time pursuant to an officer’s certificate executed by a Responsible Officer, which are excluded from the calculation of Available Amount, minus any Excluded Contribution Amount applied or used hereunder after the Effective Date and prior to such time.

30 

 

“Excluded Property” has the meaning assigned to such term in the Security Agreement and any other similar term in the Loan Documents.

 

“Excluded Subsidiary” means unless otherwise elected by the Borrowers (pursuant to the terms of Section 5.8) (a) (i) any Subsidiary that is not a wholly-owned Domestic Subsidiary of the Borrowers or any Obligor; provided, that this clause (i) shall not apply to any Subsidiary that becomes a non-Wholly-Owned Subsidiary as a result of a transaction (x) whose sole purpose was to cause such Subsidiary to become an Excluded Subsidiary, (y) has no other bona fide business rationale and (z) that was consummated at a time when the Borrowers and their Restricted Subsidiaries did not have sufficient capacity under Section 6.3 to make an Investment in an amount equal to the Fair Market Value of 100% of the Equity Interests of such Subsidiary, (ii) any Joint Venture, (b) any Subsidiary for which guarantees of the Obligations are (i) prohibited by Law (including as a result of applicable financial assistance, directors’ duties or corporate benefit requirements or require consent, approval, license or authorization of a Governmental Authority, unless such consent, approval, license or authorization has been received); provided, that there shall be no obligation to obtain such consent or (ii) contractually prohibited on the Effective Date or, following the Effective Date, the date of any acquisition, so long as such prohibition is not created in contemplation of the Transactions or any such acquisition, (c) any other Subsidiary where the Borrowers reasonably determine the burden or cost of providing a Guarantee (including any material adverse tax consequences, adverse accounting consequences or adverse regulatory consequences) shall be excessive in view of the benefits to be obtained by the Lenders therefrom, (d) any not-for-profit Subsidiaries, (e) any Unrestricted Subsidiaries, (f) any special purpose securitization vehicle (or similar entity), including each Receivables Subsidiary and Securitization Subsidiary, (g) any direct or indirect Subsidiary of the Borrowers or any Obligor that is a Foreign Holdco, (h) any Domestic Subsidiary that is a direct or indirect Subsidiary of a CFC, (i) captive insurance Subsidiaries, (j) any Subsidiary that is not a Material Subsidiary, (k) any broker dealer subsidiaries, (l) any Tax Preferred Subsidiary, and (m) any Subsidiary acquired pursuant to a Permitted Acquisition or other Investment permitted under this Agreement and financed with assumed Indebtedness permitted to be incurred pursuant to this Agreement (and not incurred in contemplation of such Permitted Acquisition or Investment), and each Restricted Subsidiary acquired in such Permitted Acquisition or other Investment permitted hereunder that guarantees such Indebtedness, in each case to the extent that, and for so long as, the documentation relating to such Indebtedness to which such Subsidiary is a party prohibits such Subsidiary from guaranteeing the Obligations and such prohibition is not created in contemplation of such Permitted Acquisition or other Investment permitted hereunder.

 

“Excluded Swap Obligation” means, with respect to any Obligor, any Swap Obligation if, and to the extent that, all or a portion of the Guarantee of such Obligor of, or the grant by such Obligor of a security interest to secure, such Swap Obligation (or any Guarantee thereof) is or becomes illegal or unlawful under the Commodity Exchange Act or any rule, regulation or order of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (or the application or official interpretation of any thereof) by virtue of such Obligor’s failure for any reason to constitute an “eligible contract participant” as defined in the Commodity Exchange Act and the regulations thereunder at the time the Guarantee of such Obligor or the grant of such security interest becomes effective with respect to such Swap Obligation. If a Swap Obligation arises under a master agreement governing more than one swap, such exclusion shall apply only to the portion of such Swap Obligation that is attributable to swaps for which such Guarantee or security interest is or becomes illegal.

31 

 

“Excluded Taxes” means any of the following Taxes imposed on or with respect to a Recipient or required to be withheld or deducted from a payment to a Recipient, (a) Taxes imposed on or measured by net income (however denominated), franchise Taxes, and branch profits Taxes, in each case, (i) imposed as a result of such Recipient being organized under the laws of, or having its principal office or, in the case of any Lender, its applicable lending office located in, the jurisdiction imposing such Tax (or any political subdivision thereof) or (ii) that are Other Connection Taxes, (b) in the case of a Lender, U.S. federal withholding Taxes imposed on amounts payable to or for the account of such Lender with respect to an applicable interest in a Loan or Commitment pursuant to a law in effect on the date on which (i) such Lender acquires such interest in the Loan or Commitment (other than pursuant to an assignment request by the Borrower Representative under Section 2.18) or (ii) such Lender changes its lending office, except in each case to the extent that, pursuant to Section 2.16(b) or (d), amounts with respect to such Taxes were payable either to such Lender’s assignor immediately before such Lender became a party hereto or to such Lender immediately before it changed its lending office, (c) Taxes attributable to such Recipient’s failure to comply with Section 2.16(g), and (d) any U.S. federal withholding Taxes imposed under FATCA.

 

“Existing Indebtedness” means that certain (i) Loan and Security Agreement, dated as of August 18, 2015 (as amended, restated, supplemented or otherwise or modified), by and between the Borrower and the lenders party thereto, (ii) Subordinated Loan Agreement, dated as of October 5, 2018 (as amended, restated, supplemented or otherwise modified) by and between the Borrower and the lenders party thereto, (iii) Note Purchase Agreement, dated as of December 19, 2016, by and among the Borrower and the investors party thereto and (iv) Note Purchase Agreement, dated as of April 2, 2019 (as amended, restated, supplemented or otherwise or modified), among the Borrower and the investors party thereto, each as in effect on the Effective Date.

 

“Existing Term Loan Tranche” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 2.23.

 

“Expiring Credit Commitment” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 2.4(e).

 

“Extended Revolving Credit Commitments” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 2.23.

 

“Extended Revolving Credit Loans” means one or more Classes of Revolving Credit Loans that result from an Extension Amendment.

 

“Extended Term Loans” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 2.23.

 

“Extending Revolving Credit Lender” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 2.23.

 

“Extending Term Lender” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 2.23.

 

“Extension” means the establishment of an Extension Series by amending a Loan pursuant to the terms of Section 2.23 and the applicable Extension Amendment.

 

“Extension Amendment” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 2.23.

32 

 

“Extension Election” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 2.23.

 

“Extension Request” means any Term Loan Extension Request or a Revolving Credit Loan Extension Request, as the case may be.

 

“Extension Series” means any Term Loan Extension Series or a Revolving Credit Loan Extension Series, as the case may be.

 

“Facility” means the Revolving Credit Commitment, the Initial Term Loan Commitment, the Second Amendment Term Loan Commitment or a Tranche of Incremental Term Loans, as the context may require.

 

“Fair Market Value” means with respect to any asset or group of assets on any date of determination, the value of the consideration obtainable in a sale of such asset at such date of determination assuming a sale by a willing seller to a willing purchaser dealing at arm’s length and arranged over a period of time having regard to the nature and characteristics of such asset and sale at such time, as reasonably determined in good faith by the Borrowers.

 

“FATCA” means Sections 1471 through 1474 of the Code, as of the date of this Agreement (or any amended or successor version that is substantively comparable and not materially more onerous to comply with), any current or future regulations or official interpretations thereof, any agreements entered into pursuant to Section 1471(b)(1) of the Code, any applicable intergovernmental agreement, treaty, or convention with respect to any of the forgoing (including any legislation, rules or practices adopted pursuant to such agreement, treaty, or convention), and applicable official implementing guidance with respect to any of the foregoing.

 

“FCA” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 1.15.

 

“FDA” means the United States Food and Drug Administration.

 

“Federal Funds Effective Rate” means, for any day, the weighted average ofrate calculated by the ratesNYFRB based on overnightsuch day’s federal funds transactions with members of the Federal Reserve System, asby depositary institutions (as determined in such manner as shall be set forth on the NYFRB’s Website from time to time) and published on the next succeeding Business Day by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, or, if such rate is not so published for any day that is a Business Day, the average of the quotations for such day for such transactions received by Administrative Agent from three federal funds brokers of recognized standing selected by it;NYFRB as the effective federal funds rate, provided that, in no event shall the Federal Funds Effective Rate be less than zero.

 

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

 

“Fee Letter” means that certain amended and restated fee letter, dated as of July 30, 2021, executed by the Initial Borrower and the Lead Arranger and the other parties thereto setting forth the applicable fees relating to this Agreement to be paid to the Administrative Agent, on its behalf and on behalf of the Lenders.

 

“Financial Covenant” means any financial covenant or test set forth in Section 7.

33 

 

“First Amendment” means that certain First Amendment to Credit Agreement, dated as of December 8, 2021 by and among the Borrower Representative, the Lenders party thereto and the Administrative Agent.

 

“Fiscal Quarter” shall mean any of the quarterly accounting periods of each Obligor ending on the Applicable Period End Date with respect to each fiscal quarter.

 

“Fiscal Year” shall mean any of the annual accounting period of each Obligor ending on the Applicable Period End Date with respect to each fiscal year.

 

“Flood Insurance Laws” means, collectively, (i) the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968 as now or hereafter in effect or any successor statute thereto, (ii) the Flood Disaster Protection Act of 1973 as now or hereafter in effect or any successor statute thereto, (iii) the National Flood Insurance Reform Act of 1994 as now or hereafter in effect or any successor statute thereto, (iv) the Flood Insurance Reform Act of 2004 as now or hereafter in effect or any successor statute thereto and (v) the Biggert-Waters Flood Insurance Reform Act of 2012 as now or hereafter in effect or any successor statute thereto.

 

“Floor” means the benchmark rate floor, if any, provided in this Agreement initially (as of the execution of this Agreement, the modification, amendment or renewal of this Agreement or otherwise) with respect to LIBO Ratethe Adjusted Term SOFR Rate or the Adjusted Daily Simple SOFR, as applicable. For the avoidance of doubt, the initial Floor for each of Adjusted Term SOFR Rate or Adjusted Daily Simple SOFR shall be 1.00%.

 

“Food and Agriculture Law” means any law which relates to food safety, quality, or other regulatory obligation including, without limitation, laws and regulations promulgated by the FDA and the USDA, as well as any amendments thereto as well as the Growers’ Lien Laws.

 

“Foreign Casualty Event” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 2.10(b)(vi).

 

“Foreign Disposition” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 2.10(b)(vi).

 

“Foreign Holdco” means any direct or indirect Subsidiary of a Borrower all or substantially all of the assets of which consist of the Equity Interests of and/or debt owing from (including any debt or other instrument treated as equity for U.S. federal income tax purposes), one or more direct or indirect CFCs or Foreign Holdcos and intercompany accounts or cash on a temporary basis.

 

“Foreign Lender” means any Lender or Participant that is not a U.S. Person.

 

“Foreign Subsidiary” means any Restricted Subsidiary of a Borrower that is (a) not a U.S. Person and (b) a controlled foreign corporation (within the meaning of Section 957(a) of the Code) with respect to which such Borrower (or any corporation which in addition to such Borrower is a member of an affiliated group, within the meaning of Section 1504(a) of the Code, for which a consolidated return is filed pursuant to Section 1501 of the Code) is a United States shareholder within the meaning of Section 951(b) of the Code.

 

“Foreign Subsidiary Excess Cash Flow” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 2.10(b)(v).

 

“Fronting Exposure” means, at any time there is a Defaulting Lender, (a) with respect to any Issuing Lender, such Defaulting Lender’s Pro Rata Share of the outstanding LC Exposure with respect to Letters of Credit issued by such Issuing Lender other than LC Exposure as to which such Defaulting Lender’s participation obligation has been reallocated to other Lenders or Cash Collateralized in accordance with the terms hereof, and (b) with respect to Swingline Lender, such Defaulting Lender’s Pro Rata Share of outstanding Swingline Loans made by such Swingline Lender other than Swingline Loans as to which such Defaulting Lender’s participation obligation has been reallocated to other Lenders.

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“Fully Satisfied” or “Full Satisfaction” means, as of any date, that on or before such date, (a) with respect to the Loans and Letters of Credit: (i) the principal of and interest accrued to such date on the Loans and outstanding LC Disbursements (other than the contingent LC Exposure) shall have been paid in full in cash, (ii) all fees, expenses and other amounts then due and payable (other than the contingent LC Exposure and other contingent amounts for which a claim has not been made) shall have been paid in full in cash, (iii) the Commitments shall have expired or irrevocably been terminated, and (iv) the contingent LC Exposure, if any, shall have been: (A) secured by the grant of a first priority, perfected Lien on cash or Cash Equivalents in an amount at least equal to 103% of the amount of such LC Exposure or other collateral which is acceptable to the Issuing Lender in its sole discretion, (B) secured by the issuance of a “back-to-back” letter of credit in form and substance acceptable to the Issuing Lender with an original face amount at least equal to 103% of the amount of such LC Exposure and issued by an issuing bank satisfactory to the Issuing Lender in its sole discretion or (C) with the consent of the applicable Issuing Lender, rolled in to a new credit facility and (b) with respect to Obligations consisting of Swap Obligations or any Obligations related to credit cards, credit card processing services, debit cards, stored value cards, gift cards and purchase cards (including so-called “procurement cards” or “P-cards”)), the termination of such Swap Obligations and such additional Obligations of JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. (or its affiliates) (or the applicable Borrowers and Obligors entering into another arrangement satisfactory to JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. (or its affiliates)).

 

“Fund” means any Person (other than a natural Person) that is (or will be) engaged in making, purchasing, holding or otherwise investing in commercial loans and similar extensions of credit in the ordinary course of its activities.

 

“Funded Debt” means, with respect to the Borrowers and their Restricted Subsidiaries on any date of determination, without duplication, all obligations of the type described in clauses (a), (c) (to the extent such letters of credit are drawn and not reimbursed within 2 Business Days after the date of such drawing), (d), and (e) of the definition of “Indebtedness” (including any obligations of such type owing by a partnership in which Holdings or any Restricted Subsidiary is a general partner to the extent of recourse to Holdings or such Restricted Subsidiary for the payment of such Indebtedness), in each case as and to the extent reflected on the balance sheet of the Borrowers and their Restricted Subsidiaries, and any Guarantee of any of the foregoing, and specifically including, without limitation, the amount of all Obligations hereunder. For the avoidance of doubt, it is understood that obligations (i) under Hedging Agreements and Cash Management Services, (ii) under Receivables Facilities and Securitization Facilities and (iii) owed by Unrestricted Subsidiaries, do not constitute Funded Debt.

 

“GAAP” means generally accepted accounting principles and practices set forth from time to time in the opinions and pronouncements of the Accounting Principles Board and the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and statements and pronouncements of the Financial Accounting Standards Board (or agencies with similar functions of comparable stature and authority within the US accounting profession).

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“Growers’ Lien Laws” means, collectively, state and federal laws of the United States of America applicable to agricultural products purchased on credit from any selling party that create a Lien or imposes a trust upon the agricultural products sold and/or the proceeds of such agricultural products for the benefit of such selling party or a creditor thereof to secure payment for such agricultural products, including without limitation Food Security Act, 7 U.S.C. § 1631 and the Perishable Agricultural Commodities Act of 1930, 7 U.S.C., Chapter 20A, § 499a et seq., and all regulations promulgated thereunder.

 

“Governmental Authority” means the government of the United States or any other nation, or any political subdivision thereof, whether state or local, and any agency, authority, instrumentality, regulatory body, court, central bank or other entity exercising executive, legislative, judicial, taxing, regulatory, or administrative powers or functions of or pertaining to government including any supra-national bodies (such as the European Union or the European Central Bank).

 

“Guarantee” of or by any Person (the guarantor ) means any obligation, contingent or otherwise, of the guarantor guaranteeing or having the economic effect of guaranteeing any Indebtedness or other monetary obligation of any other Person (the primary obligor) in any manner, whether directly or indirectly, and including any obligation of the guarantor, direct or indirect, (a) to purchase or pay (or advance or supply funds for the purchase or payment of) such Indebtedness or other monetary obligation or to purchase (or to advance or supply funds for the purchase of) any security for the payment thereof or pledge any assets to secure the payment thereof, (b) to purchase or lease property, securities or services for the purpose of assuring the owner of such Indebtedness or other monetary obligation of the payment thereof, (c) to maintain working capital, equity capital or any other financial statement condition or liquidity of the primary obligor so as to enable the primary obligor to pay such Indebtedness or other monetary obligation, (d) as an account party in respect of any letter of credit or letter of guaranty issued to support such Indebtedness or monetary obligation, or (e) entered into for the purpose of assuring in any other manner the holder of such Indebtedness or other monetary obligation of the payment or performance thereof or to protect such holder against loss in respect thereof (in whole or in part). The amount of any Guarantee shall be deemed to be an amount equal to the stated or determinable amount of the related primary obligation, or portion thereof, in respect of which such Guarantee is made or, if not stated or determinable, the maximum reasonably anticipated liability in respect thereof as reasonably determined by the guaranteeing Person in good faith. The term “Guarantee” as a verb has a corresponding meaning. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the term Guarantee shall not include endorsements for collection or deposit in the Ordinary Course of Business or customary and reasonable indemnification obligations or product warranties.

 

“Guarantor” means Holdings, each Subsidiary Guarantor, and each other Person executing a Guaranty Agreement.

 

“Guaranty Agreement” means a guaranty agreement delivered to the Administrative Agent from time to time by any Person providing a Guarantee of any of the Obligations, in form and substance reasonably acceptable to the Administrative Agent and including the Administrative Agent as a party thereto.

 

“Hazardous Materials” means all explosive, radioactive, hazardous, or toxic substances, materials, wastes or other pollutants or contaminants, including petroleum or petroleum distillates, asbestos or asbestos containing materials, polychlorinated biphenyls, radon gas, urea formaldehyde, per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, infectious, or medical wastes and all other substances or wastes of any nature regulated pursuant to any Environmental Law due to their hazardous or deleterious properties or characteristics.

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“Hedging Agreement” means any interest rate protection agreement, foreign currency exchange agreement, currency options, spot contracts, collar transactions, commodity price protection agreement, rate swap transactions, basis swaps, forward rate transactions, or other interest rate, currency exchange rate, or commodity price hedging arrangement, or any other similar transactions or any combination of any of the foregoing (including any options to enter into any of the foregoing), designed to provide protection against fluctuations in interest rates, currency exchange rates, or commodity prices, whether or not any such transaction is governed by or subject to any master agreement.

 

“Holdings” has the meaning (i) set forth in the introductory paragraph to this Agreement or (ii) after the Effective Date any other Person (“New Holdings”) that is a Subsidiary of Holdings (to the extent such Subsidiary ceases to be a Subsidiary in connection with becoming New Holdings) direct or indirect parent of Holdings (or the previous New Holdings, as the case may be) but not a Borrower (“Previous Holdings”); provided, that (a) such New Holdings directly owns 100% of the Equity Interests of the Borrower, (b) New Holdings shall expressly assume all the obligations of Previous Holdings under this Agreement and the other Loan Documents pursuant to a supplement hereto or thereto in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to the Administrative Agent and the Borrower, (c) if reasonably requested by the Administrative Agent, a customary opinion of counsel covering matters reasonably requested by the Administrative Agent shall be delivered on behalf of the Borrowers to the Administrative Agent, (d) all Equity Interests of the Borrower and substantially all of the other assets of Previous Holdings are contributed or otherwise transferred, directly or indirectly, to such New Holdings and pledged to secure the Obligations to the extent constituting Collateral, (e) (x) no Event of Default has occurred and is continuing at the time of such substitution and such substitution does not result in any Event of Default, (y) such substitution does not result in any material adverse tax consequences to the Obligors, and (z) such substitution does not result in any adverse tax consequences to any Lender (unless reimbursed hereunder) or to the Administrative Agent (unless reimbursed hereunder), (f) the Administrative Agent shall have received at least ten (10) Business Days’ prior written notice of the proposed transaction and Previous Holdings, New Holdings and the Borrowers shall promptly and in any event at least three (3) Business Days’ prior to the consummation of the transaction provide (i) all information the Administrative Agent (or any Lender through the Administrative Agent) may reasonably request to satisfy its “know your customer” and other similar requirements necessary for such Person to comply with its internal compliance and regulatory requirements with respect to the proposed successor New Holdings and (ii) to the extent the proposed successor New Holdings qualifies as a “legal entity customer” under the Beneficial Ownership Regulation, a certificate regarding beneficial ownership as required by the Beneficial Ownership Regulation with respect to such proposed successor New Holdings, (g) New Holdings shall be an entity organized or existing under the laws of the United States or any state thereof or the District of Columbia (provided that New Holdings is treated as a disregarded entity for United States federal income tax purposes), (h) the Obligors shall execute and deliver amendments, supplements and other modifications to all Loan Documents, instruments and agreements executed in connection therewith necessary, advisable or reasonably requested by the Administrative Agent to perfect and protect the liens and security interests in the Collateral, in each case in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to the Administrative Agent, and (i) the Borrowers deliver a certificate of a Responsible Officer with respect to the satisfaction of the conditions set forth in this definition; provided, further, that if each of the foregoing is satisfied, Previous Holdings shall be automatically released of all its obligations under the Loan Documents and any reference to “Holdings” in the Loan Documents shall refer to New Holdings.

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“Improvements” means any walled and roofed building, any building in the course of construction that qualifies for insurance coverage, and any manufactured (mobile) homes.

 

“Incremental Amendment” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 2.19.

 

“Incremental Amount” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 2.19.

 

“Incremental Commitment” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 2.19.

 

“Incremental Equivalent Debt” means Indebtedness incurred by an Obligor (other than Holdings (other than as a guarantor)); provided that at the time of incurrence thereof:

 

(a)       the aggregate principal amount of all Incremental Equivalent Debt on any date such Indebtedness is incurred (or commitments with respect thereto are made) shall not, together with any Incremental Facilities then outstanding, exceed the Incremental Amount;

 

(b)       (i) the scheduled final maturity date of any Incremental Equivalent Debt (A) that is secured on a pari passu basis with the Obligations will be no earlier than the scheduled final maturity date for the Initial Term Loans and the Second Amendment Term Loans and (B) that is unsecured, secured on a junior basis to the Initial Term Loans and the Second Amendment Term Loans or secured by assets not constituting Collateral shall, in each case, not mature prior to the date that is ninety-one (91) days following the scheduled final maturity date for the Initial Term Loans and the Second Amendment Term Loans, and (ii) the Weighted Average Life to Maturity of any Incremental Equivalent Debt will be no shorter than the remaining Weighted Average Life to Maturity of the Initial Term Loans and the Second Amendment Term Loans;

 

(c)       any Incremental Equivalent Debt may provide for participation (x) on a pro rata basis, greater than a pro rata basis, or less than pro rata basis in any voluntary prepayments with respect to its Class of Term Loans, or (y) on a pro rata basis (with respect to any Incremental Equivalent Debt secured by the Collateral on a pari passu basis with the Initial Term Loans and the Second Amendment Term Loans) or less than pro rata basis in any mandatory prepayments with all Term Loans;

 

(d)       (i) to the extent guaranteed by Holdings or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries, any such Incremental Equivalent Debt shall not be guaranteed by any such Person that is not (or is not required to be) a Guarantor (except (x) any such Person guaranteeing such Incremental Equivalent Debt or Incremental Revolving Facilities, as applicable, that also guarantees the Initial Term Loans, the Second Amendment Term Loans or Revolving Loans, as applicable and (y) unless such guaranty affirmatively is declined by the Administrative Agent as credit support for the Obligations, it being agreed, for the avoidance of doubt, that a Person qualifying as an Excluded Subsidiary shall not result in the Administrative Agent being deemed to have declined such guaranty); and (ii) to the extent secured by Collateral, shall be subject to an Intercreditor Agreement or other subordination arrangements reasonably satisfactory to the Administrative Agent;

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(e)       except as otherwise specifically addressed herein, all terms of Incremental Equivalent Debt shall be determined by the Borrowers and shall either, at the option of the Borrowers, (i) reflect current market terms and conditions (taken as a whole) at the time of incurrence or issuance (as determined by the Borrowers), (ii) be consistent with the terms of the corresponding class under the Facilities unless, in the case of this clause (ii), (x) the Lenders under the corresponding class under the Facilities also receive the benefit of such more restrictive terms or (y) any such provisions apply only after the Latest Maturity Date of the Facilities, or (iii) not be materially more restrictive to the Borrowers, when taken as a whole, than the terms of the applicable class under the Facilities;

 

(f)        the interest rate, margin, original issue discount, up-front fees and other fees and rate floors for such Incremental Equivalent Debt in the form of term loans may be determined by the Borrowers and the Lenders providing such Incremental Equivalent Debt, as applicable, providing such Incremental Equivalent Debt; provided that, in the event that the All-in Yield for any such Incremental Equivalent Debt that ranks pari passu in right of payment and security with the existing Term Loans incurred (other than in reliance on clause (i) of the Incremental Amount) is greater than the All-in Yield for the existing Term Loans by more than 50 basis points, then the Applicable Margin for the existing Term Loans shall be increased to the extent necessary so that the All-in Yield for such Incremental Equivalent Debt is no more than 50 basis points higher than the All-in Yield for the existing Term Loans; provided that, in the event that the All-In Yield for such Incremental Equivalent Debt is higher than the All-In Yield for the existing Term Loans solely as a result of a higher rate floor for such Incremental Equivalent Debt, the adjustment to the All-In Yield of the existing Term Loans shall be effected solely by increasing the rate floor; and

 

(g)       Incremental Equivalent Debt (i) may rank either pari passu or junior in right of payment with any Class of Term Loans (including the Initial Term Loans and the Second Amendment Term Loans) and the initial Revolving Commitments and (ii) for the avoidance of doubt, may be secured on a pari passu basis with the Obligation, on a junior basis to the Obligations, be unsecured or be secured by assets not constituting Collateral.

 

“Incremental Facility Notice” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 2.19.

 

“Incremental Revolving Credit Commitment” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 2.19.

 

“Incremental Term Loan” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 2.19.

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“Indebtedness” of any Person (the “Subject Person”) means, without duplication, (a) all indebtedness for borrowed money (including all indebtedness evidenced by bonds, debentures, notes or similar instruments, or upon which interest payments are customarily paid), (b) the deferred purchase price of assets or services which in accordance with GAAP would be shown to be a liability (on the liability side of a balance sheet), (c) the maximum stated amount of all letters of credit issued or acceptance facilities established for the account of such Subject Person and, without duplication, all drafts drawn thereunder, (d) all Capital Lease Obligations, (e) all Synthetic Lease Obligations, (f) any Disqualified Equity Interests of such Subject Person, valued, as of the date of determination, at the greater of (i) the maximum aggregate amount that would be payable upon maturity, redemption, repayment or repurchase thereof (or of Disqualified Equity Interests or Indebtedness into which such Disqualified Equity Interests are convertible or exchangeable) and (ii) the maximum liquidation preference of such Disqualified Equity Interests, (g) all obligations under any Hedging Agreement (measured at the Termination Value thereof), (h) all obligations under any Qualified Securitization Facility or any Receivables Facility, (i) all indebtedness referred to in clauses (a) through (g) of this definition of another Person secured by any Lien on any property of such Subject Person, whether or not such indebtedness has been assumed, in an amount equal to the lesser of the Fair Market Value of the property of such Subject Person securing such indebtedness and the principal amount of such indebtedness, and (k) all Guarantees by such Subject Person of indebtedness referred to in clauses (a) through (j) of this definition of others, but in each case specifically excluding accrued expenses and trade payables arising or incurred in the Ordinary Course of Business.

 

For all purposes hereof, the Indebtedness of any Person shall (A) include the Indebtedness of any partnership or joint venture (other than a joint venture that is itself a corporation or limited liability company) in which such Person is a general partner, except to the extent such Person’s liability for such Indebtedness is otherwise limited and (B) exclude (i) any earn-out obligation until such obligation is not paid for 5 Business Days after becoming due and payable but not paid, (ii) accruals for payroll and other liabilities accrued in the Ordinary Course of Business, (iii) purchase price holdbacks in respect of a portion of the purchase price of an asset to satisfy warranty or other similar unperformed obligations of the respective seller, (iv) prepaid or deferred revenue arising in the Ordinary Course of Business, and (v) customary obligations under employment agreements and deferred compensation; provided, further that Indebtedness of any direct or indirect parent company appearing upon the balance sheet of the Borrowers solely by reason of push-down accounting under GAAP shall be excluded. The amount of any net obligation under any Swap Obligation on any date shall be deemed to be the termination thereof as of such date.

 

“Indemnified Taxes” means (a) Taxes, other than Excluded Taxes, imposed on or with respect to any payment made by or on account of any obligation of any Obligor under any Loan Document and (b) to the extent not otherwise described in clause (a) of this definition, Other Taxes.

 

“Indemnitee” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 10.3(c).

 

“Initial Borrower” has the meaning set forth in the preamble to this Agreement.

 

“Initial Public Offering” means the issuance by any Borrower or any direct or indirect parent of any Borrower (whether through an initial primary public offering, a direct listing or a merger with and into a special purpose acquisition company or other person that has consummated (or will consummate) an initial primary public offering) of its common Equity Interests (a) pursuant to an effective registration statement filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission or (b) in an underwritten primary public offering (or series of relating offerings of securities to the public pursuant to a final prospectus in accordance with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in accordance with the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (whether alone or in connection with a secondary public offering)) (other than a public offering pursuant to a registration statement on Form S-8) pursuant to an effective registration statement filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in accordance with the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.

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“Initial Term Loan” means a Loan made pursuant to Section 2.1(b).

 

“Initial Term Loan Commitment” means, with respect to each applicable Term Loan Lender, its obligation to make an Initial Term Loan to the Borrowers on the Effective Date in an aggregate principal amount up to, and not to exceed, the amount set forth on such Lender’s signature page hereto under the caption “Term Loan Commitment”. The aggregate amount of the Term Loan Lenders’ Term Loan Commitments is $120,000,000 as of the Effective Date.

 

“Intercreditor Agreements” means, collectively, (i) any Parity Intercreditor Agreement, (ii) any Junior Intercreditor Agreement and (iii) any other intercreditor agreement contemplated by this Agreement, in each case to the extent then in effect.

 

“Interest Election Request” means a request by the Borrower Representative to convert or continue a Borrowing in accordance with Section 2.7.

 

“Interest Expense” means, for any period for Holdings and its Restricted Subsidiaries, the total interest expense (including that attributable to Capital Lease Obligations), net of interest income, of Holdings and its Restricted Subsidiaries, determined on a consolidated basis in accordance with GAAP, with respect to all outstanding Indebtedness of Holdings and its Restricted Subsidiaries, including all commissions, discounts, and other fees and charges owed with respect to letters of credit and bankers’ acceptance financing and net costs under Hedging Agreements, and including any cash payments made during such period in respect of interest on Funded Debt that were amortized or accrued in a previous period (but excluding arrangement and upfront fees).

 

“Interest Payment Date” means (a) with respect to any Base Rate Loan, the second Business Day following each Quarterly Date and the Maturity Date; and (b) with respect to any Eurodollar Loan, the last day of theRFR Loan, each date that is on the numerically corresponding day in each calendar month that is one month after the Borrowing of such Loan (or, if there is no such numerically corresponding day in such month, then the last day of such month) and the Maturity Date, and (c) with respect to any Term Benchmark Loan, the last day of each Interest Period applicable to the Borrowing of which such Loan is a part (and, in the case of a EurodollarTerm Benchmark Borrowing with an Interest Period of more than three months’ duration, each day prior to the last day of such Interest Period that occurs at intervals of three months’ duration after the first day of such Interest Period) and the Maturity Date.

 

“Interest Period” means, with respect to any EurodollarTerm Benchmark Borrowing, the period commencing on the date of such Borrowing and ending on the numerically corresponding day in the calendar month that is one, three, six, or (if availableagreed to eachby the Lender) twelve months or shorter than one month thereafter (in each case, subject to the availability for the Benchmark applicable to the relevant Loan or Commitment), as any Borrower may elect in accordance with Section 2.7; provided that (ai ) if any Interest Period would end on a day other than a Business Day, such Interest Period shall be extended to the next succeeding Business Day unless such next succeeding Business Day would fall in the next calendar month, in which case such Interest Period shall end on the next preceding Business Day, (bii) any Interest Period that commences on the last Business Day of a calendar month (or on a day for which there is no numerically corresponding day in the last calendar month of such Interest Period) shall end on the last Business Day of the last calendar month of such Interest Period and (ciii) no tenor that has been removed from this definition pursuant to Section 2.13(ge) shall be available for specification. For purposes hereof, the date of a Borrowing initially shall be the date on which such Borrowing is made and, in the case of a Borrowing, thereafter shall be the effective date of the most recent conversion or continuation of such Borrowing.

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“Internally Generated Cash” means, with respect to any Person, funds of such Person not constituting of (x) proceeds of the issuance of (or contributions in respect of) Equity Interests (other than Disqualified Equity Interests) of such Person or (y) proceeds of the incurrence of long term Indebtedness by such Person or any of its Subsidiaries (other than under any revolving indebtedness or intercompany indebtedness) of such Person.

 

“Inventory” means, with respect to any Person, all of the “inventory” (as such term is defined in the UCC) of such Person.

 

“Investment” means, for any Person: (a) the acquisition (whether for cash, property, services, or securities or otherwise) of bonds, notes, debentures, or Equity Interests or other securities or substantially all the assets of, or any line of business or division of, any other Person, or the acquisition of assets of another Person that constitute a business unit (including any “short sale” or any sale of any securities at a time when such securities are not owned by the Person entering into such sale), whether direct or indirect or in one transaction or series of transactions; (b) the making of any advance, loan or other extension of credit or capital contribution to, any other Person; (c) the entering into of any Guarantee or assumption of debt of, or other contingent obligation with respect to, Indebtedness or other liability of any other Person and (without duplication) any amount committed to be advanced, lent or extended to such Person; and (d) the entering into of any Hedging Agreement. For purposes of covenant compliance, the amount of any Investment shall be the amount actually invested (which, in the case of any Investment constituting the contribution of an asset or property, shall be based on the Fair Market Value of such asset or property at the original time such Investment is made) plus the cost of all additions thereto, without adjustment for subsequent increases or decreases in the value of such Investment (other than adjustments for the repayment of, or the refund of capital with respect to, or the payment of interest or dividends on, the original principal amount of any such Investment), minus Returns (except with respect to any Returns increasing the Available Amount) in respect of such Investment.

 

“Investors” means the Sponsor and other investors directly or indirectly holding Equity Interests of Holdings as of the Effective Date (together with investors identified in writing by the Sponsor to the Administrative Agent prior to the Effective Date which investors may acquire Equity Interests in Holdings promptly after the Effective Date and, for purposes of this definition, in amounts not to exceed what was disclosed in writing by the Sponsor to the Administrative Agent prior to the Effective Date).

 

“IPO Reorganization” means transactions taken in connection with and reasonably related to consummating an Initial Public Offering, so long as, after giving effect thereto, neither the value of the Collateral Agent’s and Lender’s security interest in the Collateral (including as to the perfection and priority thereof), nor the value of the Guaranty, taken as a whole, is materially impaired (as determined in good faith by the Borrowers).

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“IRS” means the United States Internal Revenue Service.

 

“ISDA Definitions” means the 2006 ISDA Definitions published by the International Swaps and Derivatives Association, Inc. or any successor thereto, as amended or supplemented from time to time, or any successor definitional booklet for interest rate derivatives published from time to time by the International Swaps and Derivatives Association, Inc. or such successor thereto.

 

“ISP” means “International Standby Practices 1998” published by the Institute of International Banking Law & Practice, Inc. (or such later version thereof as may be in effect at the time of issuance).

 

“Issuing Lender” means, individually and collectively as the context may require, (a) JPMorgan, in its capacity as an issuer of Letters of Credit hereunder, and its successors in such capacity as provided in Section 2.5(k), and (b) any Lender selected by the Borrowers that agrees to issue a Letter of Credit hereunder in lieu of JPMorgan.

 

“Joint Venture” means (a) any Person which would constitute an “equity method investee” of the Borrowers or any of their Subsidiaries and (b) any Person in whom the Borrowers or any of their Subsidiaries beneficially owns any Equity Interest that is not a Subsidiary.

 

“Junior Debt” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 6.15.

 

“Junior Intercreditor Agreement” means an intercreditor agreement substantially in the form of Exhibit E (with such changes to such form as may be reasonably acceptable to the Administrative Agent and the Borrowers) among the Borrower Representative, the Administrative Agent, the Collateral Agent and the representatives for purposes thereof for holders of one or more classes of Indebtedness secured on a junior basis with the Obligations (other than the Obligations).

 

“LC Disbursement” means a payment made by Issuing Lender pursuant to a Letter of Credit.

 

“LC Exposure” means, at any time, the sum of (a) the aggregate undrawn amount of all outstanding Letters of Credit at such time plus (b) the aggregate amount of all LC Disbursements that have not been reimbursed by or on behalf of the Borrowers at such time. The LC Exposure of any Revolving Credit Lender at any time shall be its Pro Rata Share of the total LC Exposure at such time. For all purposes of this Agreement, if on any date of determination a Letter of Credit has expired by its terms but any amount may still be drawn thereunder by reason of the operation of Rule 3.14 of the International Standby Practices, International Chamber of Commerce No. 590, such Letter of Credit shall be deemed to be “outstanding” in the amount so remaining available to be drawn.

 

“LCT Election” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 1.7(b).

 

“LCT Test Date” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 1.7(b).

 

“Lead Arranger” means JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A.

 

“Lenders” means the Persons party hereto as a “Lender” (including, for the avoidance of doubt, the Second Amendment Term Loan Lenders) and any other Person that shall have become a party hereto pursuant to an Assignment and Assumption and any Additional Lender in connection with an Incremental Commitment, Extension Commitment, or Refinancing Commitment other than any such Person that ceases to be a party hereto pursuant to an Assignment and Assumption. Unless the context otherwise requires, the term “Lenders” includes Swingline Lender.

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“Letter of Credit” means any standby or (to the extent permitted by the applicable Issuing Lender) commercial letter of credit issued pursuant to this Agreement; provided, however, no such letter of credit issued by an Issuing Lender (other than a Person that is also Administrative Agent or one of its Affiliates) shall be deemed a “Letter of Credit” for purposes of this Agreement unless Administrative Agent shall have received written notice thereof from such Issuing Lender as required pursuant to Section 2.5(p).

 

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

 

“Liabilities” means any losses, claims (including intraparty claims), demands, damages or liabilities of any kind.

 

“LIBO Rate” means, with respect to any Borrowing for any Interest Period, a rate per annum equal to the London interbank offered rate as administered by the ICE Benchmark Administration (or any other Person that takes over the administration of such rate) for deposits in Dollars with a term equivalent to such Interest Period as displayed on the Reuters screen page that displays such rate (currently page LIBOR01) (or, in the event such rate does not appear on a Reuters page or screen, on the appropriate page of such other information service that publishes such rate as shall be selected by Administrative Agent from time to time in its reasonable discretion) at approximately 11:00 a.m., London time, two Business Days prior to the commencement of such Interest Period; provided that in no event shall the LIBO Rate be less than 1.00%. In the event that such rate is not available at such time for any reason, then the LIBO Rate with respect to such Borrowing for such Interest Period shall be the rate at which dollar deposits in the amount of the requested Borrowing and for a maturity comparable to such Interest Period are offered by the principal London office of JPMorgan in immediately available funds in the London interbank market at approximately 11:00 a.m., London time, two Business Days prior to the commencement of such Interest Period.

 

“LIBOR” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 1.15.

 

“LIBOR Screen Rate” means the LIBO Rate quote on the applicable screen page the Administrative Agent designates in its reasonable discretion to determine the LIBO Rate (or such other commercially available source providing such quotations as may be designated by the Administrative Agent in its reasonable discretion from time to time).

 

“Lien” means, with respect to any asset, (a) any mortgage, deed of trust, lien, pledge, option, levy, execution, attachment, garnishment, hypothecation, assignment for security, deposit arrangement, encumbrance, charge, security interest or other preferential arrangement in the nature of a security interest of any kind or nature whatsoever, on or of such asset, or the creation of a statutory trust (or similar arrangement) under any Food and Agricultural Laws and (b) the interest of a vendor or a lessor under any conditional sale agreement, capital lease or title retention agreement (or any financing lease having substantially the same economic effect as any of the foregoing) relating to such asset.

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“Limited Condition Transaction” means (i) any Permitted Acquisition or permitted Investment by the Borrowers or their Restricted Subsidiaries of any assets, business or Person permitted by this Agreement whose consummation is not conditioned on the availability of, or on obtaining, third party acquisition financing or (ii) any redemption, repurchase, defeasance, satisfaction and discharge or repayment of Junior Debt not prohibited by this Agreement requiring irrevocable notice in advance of such redemption, repurchase, defeasance, satisfaction and discharge or repayment,, and, in each case, which is designated as a Limited Condition Transaction by the Borrower Representative in writing to the Administrative Agent and Lenders.

 

“Loan Documents” means, collectively, this Agreement, the First Amendment, the Second Amendment, the Letter of Credit Documents, the Guaranty Agreements, the Security Documents, the Fee Letter, the Second Amendment Fee Letter, the Second Amendment PGIM Fee Letter, all Borrowing Requests, all Interest Election Requests, all Incremental Facility Notices, all requests for the issuance of Letters of Credit, and all other documents, instruments, certificates, and agreements executed, delivered, or acknowledged by an Obligor in connection with or contemplated by this Agreement and designated as a “Loan Document.” For the avoidance of doubt, Hedging Agreements and agreements for the provision of Cash Management Services shall not constitute “Loan Documents.”

 

“Loans” mean the loans made by the Lenders to the Borrowers pursuant to this Agreement in the form of a Term Loan, Revolving Credit Loan, Swingline Loan, Incremental Loan, Extended Loan, Replacement Term Loan or Refinancing Loan.

 

“Management Agreement” means the Management Services Agreement between Paine Schwartz Partners Fund V Management, LLC and Suja Life, LLC, dated as of the Effective Date.

 

“Management Equityholders” means any of (i) any current, former or future director, officer, employee or member of management of Holdings or any of its Subsidiaries or any direct or indirect parent company thereof owning Equity Interests in Holdings or any direct or indirect parent thereof, (ii) any trust, partnership, limited liability company, corporate body or other entity established by any such director, officer, employee or member of management of Holdings or any of its Subsidiaries or any direct or indirect parent thereof or any Person described in the succeeding clause (iii), as applicable, to hold an investment in Holdings or any direct or indirect parent thereof in connection with such Person’s estate or tax planning and (iii) any Person who acquires an investment in Holdings or any direct or indirect parent thereof by will or by the laws of intestate succession as a result of the death of any such director, officer, employee or member of management of Holdings or any of its Subsidiaries or any direct or indirect parent thereof.

 

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

 

“Material Adverse Effect” means a material adverse change in, or a material adverse effect upon (a) the business, results of operations, assets or financial condition of the Borrowers and their Restricted Subsidiaries taken as a whole, (b) the ability of the Borrowers and the Guarantors taken as a whole to perform any of their material payment obligations under this Agreement, the Guaranty Agreements, or any of the Loan Documents or (c) the material rights and remedies of or benefits available to the Administrative Agent or the Lenders under the Loan Documents.

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“Material Disposition” means any Disposition of property or series of related Dispositions of property (other than Dispositions in the Ordinary Course of Business) that yields gross proceeds to any Company in excess of $4,000,000.

 

“Material Indebtedness” means Indebtedness (other than the Loans and Letters of Credit) of any Company in an aggregate principal amount (including undrawn committed or available amounts and including amounts owing to all creditors under any combined or syndicated credit arrangement) exceeding the greater of (a) $7,500,000 and (b) 25% of Consolidated EBITDA. For purposes of determining Material Indebtedness, the principal amount of the obligations of any Person in respect of any Hedging Agreement at any time shall be the Termination Value thereof.

 

“Material Intellectual Property” means all intellectual property that is: (i) necessary for or material to the business of the Borrowers and their Restricted Subsidiaries (taken as a whole) and (ii) owned or exclusively licensed by any Borrower or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries.

 

“Material Non-Public Information” means, with respect to any Person, information that is (a) of a type that would not be publicly available (and could not be derived from publicly available information) if such Person and its Subsidiaries were public reporting companies and (b) material with respect to such Person, its Subsidiaries or the respective securities of such Person and its Subsidiaries for purposes of United States Federal and state securities laws, in each case, assuming such laws were applicable to such Person and its Subsidiaries.

 

“Material Subsidiary” means, at any date of determination, the Borrower and each of the Borrower’s other Domestic Subsidiaries that are Restricted Subsidiaries (a) whose total assets at the last day of the most recent Reference Period were equal to or greater than 5.0% of consolidated total assets at such date or (b) whose Consolidated EBITDA for such Reference Period were equal to or greater than 5.0% of the Consolidated EBITDA of the Borrowers and the Restricted Subsidiaries for such period, in each case determined in accordance with GAAP; provided that if, at any time and from time to time after the Effective Date, Domestic Subsidiaries that are Restricted Subsidiaries that are not Guarantors solely because they do not meet the thresholds set forth in clauses (a) or (b) comprise in the aggregate more than 10.0% of consolidated total assets as of the end of the most recently ended Reference Period or more than 10.0% of the Consolidated EBITDA of the Borrower and the Restricted Subsidiaries for such Reference Period, then the Borrower shall, not later than 60 days after the date by which financial statements for such quarter are required to be delivered pursuant to this Agreement (or such longer period as the Administrative Agent may agree in its reasonable discretion), (i) designate in writing to the Administrative Agent one or more of such Domestic Subsidiaries as “Restricted Subsidiaries” to the extent required such that the foregoing condition ceases to be true and (ii) comply with the provisions of Section 5.8 applicable to such Subsidiary.

 

“Maximum Rate” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 10.12.

 

“Merger” means the consummation of the Surf Merger Agreement on the Effective Date.

 

“Minimum Collateral Amount” means, at any time, (a) with respect to Cash Collateral consisting of cash or Deposit Account balances, an amount equal to 103% of the Fronting Exposure of Issuing Lender with respect to Letters of Credit issued and outstanding at such time and (b) otherwise, an amount determined by Administrative Agent and Issuing Lender in their reasonable discretion.

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“Mortgaged Property” means, initially, each parcel of owned real property and the improvements thereto identified to be mortgaged on Schedule 4.1(e) and includes each other parcel of owned real property and improvements thereto with respect to which a Mortgage is granted (or is required to be granted) pursuant to Section 5.9.

 

“Mortgages” means each mortgage, deed to secure debt, deed of trust, and similar agreement executed by any Obligor for the benefit of Administrative Agent and the Secured Parties, and covering the Mortgaged Property in each case in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to the Administrative Agent and the Borrowers, as amended, restated, modified and supplemented from time to time.

 

“Multiemployer Plan” means a multiemployer plan as defined in Section 4001(a)(3) of ERISA in respect of which a Borrower or any ERISA Affiliate has any current obligation to contribute.

 

“Net Cash Proceeds” means, (a) in connection with any Disposition or any Event of Loss, the proceeds thereof in the form of cash and Cash Equivalents (including any such proceeds received by way of deferred payment of principal pursuant to a note or installment receivable or purchase price adjustment receivable or return of funds held in escrow or otherwise, but only as and when received) of such Disposition or Event of Loss, net of (i) reasonable and customary attorneys’ fees, accountants’ fees, sales commissions, investment banking fees, (ii) amounts required to be applied to the repayment of Indebtedness secured by a Lien permitted hereunder on any asset which is the subject of such Disposition or Event of Loss (other than any Lien pursuant to a Security Document), (iii) any funded escrow established pursuant to the documents evidencing any such sale or disposition to secure any indemnification obligations or adjustments to the purchase price associated with any such sale or disposition (provided that to the extent that any amounts are released from such escrow to a Borrower or a Restricted Subsidiary, such amounts net of any related expenses shall constitute Net Cash Proceeds), (iv) the amount of any reasonable reserve established in accordance with GAAP against any adjustment to the sale price or any liabilities until such time as such reserve is no longer required, (v) other reasonable and customary fees and expenses actually incurred in connection therewith and the amount of cash reserves established to fund contingent liabilities reasonably estimated to be payable and attributable to such disposition or event and net of any Taxes and any Permitted Tax Distributions paid or reasonably estimated to be payable as a result thereof (after taking into account any available tax credits or deductions and any Tax sharing arrangements) and (vi) in the case of any non-Wholly Owned Subsidiary, the pro rata amounts attributable to minority interests and not available for distribution to or for the account of the Borrower or a Wholly-Owned Restricted Subsidiary, or (b) in connection with any incurrence of Indebtedness, the cash proceeds received from such incurrence, net of reasonable and customary attorneys’ fees, investment banking fees, accountants’ fees, underwriting discounts and commissions, upfront fees, placement fees and other customary fees and expenses actually incurred in connection therewith.

 

“Non-Consenting Lender” means any Lender that does not approve any consent, waiver or amendment that (a) requires the approval of all Lenders (or all affected Lenders) in accordance with the terms of Section 10.2 and (b) has been approved by Administrative Agent and the Required Lenders or Required Facility Lenders, as applicable.

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“Non-Debt Fund Affiliate” means any Affiliate of Holdings, including Holdings or any of its Subsidiaries, but excluding (a) any Debt Fund Affiliate and (b) any natural person.

 

“Non-Defaulting Lender” means, at any time, each Lender that is not a Defaulting Lender at such time.

 

“Non-Expiring Credit Commitment” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 2.4(e).

 

“Notice of Incremental Revolving Credit Commitment” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 2.19.

 

“Notice of Incremental Term Loan Borrowing” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 2.19.

 

“NPL” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 3.16(c).

 

“NYFRB” means the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.

 

“NYFRB Rate” means, for any day, the greater of (a) the Federal Funds Effective Rate in effect on such day and (b) the Overnight Bank Funding Rate in effect on such day (or for any day that is not a Business Day, for the immediately preceding Business Day); provided that if none of such rates are published for any day that is a Business Day, the term “NYFRB Rate” means the rate for a federal funds transaction quoted at 11:00 a.m. on such day received by the Administrative Agent from a federal funds broker of recognized standing selected by it; provided, further, that if any of the aforesaid rates as so determined would be less than 0.00%, such rate shall be deemed to be 0.00% for purposes of this Agreement.

 

“NYFRB’s Website” means the website of the NYFRB at http://www.newyorkfed.org, or any successor source.

 

“Obligations” means (a) all of the obligations, indebtedness and liabilities of the Obligors to the Lenders, Swingline Lender, Issuing Lender and the Administrative Agent under this Agreement or any of the other Loan Documents, including principal, interest, fees, prepayment premiums (if any), expenses, reimbursements and indemnification obligations and other amounts, and (b) all of the Bank Product Obligations, in each case whether direct or indirect (including those acquired by assumption), absolute or contingent, due or to become due, now existing or hereafter arising and including interest and fees that accrue after the commencement by or against a Borrower or any Restricted Subsidiary thereof of any proceeding under any Debtor Relief Laws or other similar laws naming such Person as the debtor in such proceeding, regardless of whether such interest and fees are allowed claims in such proceeding; provided that the “Obligations” of an Obligor shall exclude any Excluded Swap Obligations with respect to such Obligor.

 

“Obligor” means each Borrower and each Guarantor.

 

“Obligor Accounts” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 9.12.

 

“Ordinary Course Disposition” means (i) any Disposition among the Obligors and their Restricted Subsidiaries permitted hereunder and (ii) any Disposition permitted under Section 6.4 other than pursuant to clauses (j), (m), (q) and (u).

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“Ordinary Course of Business” means (i) in the ordinary course of business of, or in furtherance of an objective that is in the ordinary course of business of a Borrower or such Subsidiary, as applicable, (ii) customary and usual in the industry or industries of a Borrower and its Subsidiaries in the United States or any other jurisdiction in which a Borrower or any Subsidiary does business, as applicable or (iii) generally consistent with the past practice of a Borrower or such Subsidiary, as applicable.

 

“Organizational Documents” means, with respect to any Person (a) in the case of any corporation, the certificate of incorporation and by-laws (or similar documents) of such Person, (b) in the case of any limited liability company, the certificate or articles of formation and operating agreement (or similar documents) of such Person, (c) in the case of any limited partnership, the certificate of formation and limited partnership agreement (or similar documents) of such Person, (d) in the case of any general partnership, the partnership agreement (or similar document) of such Person, (e) in any other case, the functional equivalent of the foregoing.”Other Benchmark Rate Election” means, with respect to any Loan denominated in Dollars, if the then-current Benchmark is the LIBO Rate, the occurrence of:

 

(a) a request by the Borrower Representative to the Administrative Agent to notify each of the other parties hereto that, at the determination of the Borrower Representative, Dollar-denominated syndicated credit facilities at such time contain (as a result of amendment or as originally executed), in lieu of a LIBOR-based rate, a term benchmark rate as a benchmark rate; and

 

(b) the Administrative Agent, in its sole discretion, and the Borrower Representative jointly elect to trigger a fallback from the LIBO Rate and the provision, as applicable, by the Administrative Agent of written notice of such election to the Borrower Representative and the Lenders.

 

“Other Connection Taxes” means, with respect to any Recipient, Taxes imposed as a result of a present or former connection between such Recipient and the jurisdiction imposing such Tax (other than connections arising from such Recipient having executed, delivered, become a party to, performed its obligations under, received payments under, received or perfected a security interest under, engaged in any other transaction pursuant to or enforced any Loan Document, or sold or assigned an interest in any Loan, Loan Document or Letter of Credit).

 

“Other Taxes” means all present or future stamp, court or documentary, intangible, recording, filing, or similar Taxes that arise from any payment made under, from the execution, delivery, performance, enforcement or registration of, from the receipt or perfection of a security interest under, or otherwise with respect to, any Loan Document, except any such Taxes that are Other Connection Taxes imposed with respect to an assignment (other than an assignment made pursuant to Section 2.18).

 

“Overnight Bank Funding Rate” means, for any day, the rate comprised of both overnight federal funds and overnight eurodollar transactions denominated in Dollars by U.S.-managed banking offices of depository institutions (as such composite rate shall be determined by the NYFRB as set forth on the NYFRB’s Website from time to time) and published on the next succeeding Business Day by the NYFRB as an overnight bank funding rate.

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“Parity Intercreditor Agreement” means an intercreditor agreement substantially in the form of Exhibit D (with such changes to such form as may be reasonably acceptable to the Administrative Agent and the Borrowers) among the Borrower Representative, the Administrative Agent, the Collateral Agent and the representatives for purposes thereof for holders of one or more classes of Indebtedness secured on a pari passu basis with the Obligations (other than the Obligations).

 

“Participant” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 10.4.

 

“Participant Register” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 10.4.

 

“Payment” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 9.14.

 

“Payment Notice” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 9.14.

 

“PBGC” means the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation referred to and defined in ERISA.

 

“Permitted Acquisition” means an acquisition after the Effective Date by any Borrower or any Restricted Subsidiary of all or substantially all the assets of, or any line of business or division or business unit or line of products of, any other Person, or all or a majority of the Equity Interests of any Person (including with respect to an Investment in a Restricted Subsidiary that serves to increase any Borrower’s or such Restricted Subsidiaries’ respective ownership of Equity Interests therein); provided, (a) such acquisition shall be permitted under Section 5.13, (b) Administrative Agent shall have received, to the extent required and in accordance with the requirements of Sections 5.8 and 5.9, all documents reasonably required by Administrative Agent to have a first priority perfected security interest (subject to Permitted Encumbrances) in the Acquired Entity or Business acquired or created in such acquisition, together with all opinions of counsel, certificates, resolutions and other documents (to the extent required by Sections 5.8 and 5.9), (c) any Person acquired will be a Restricted Subsidiary of Holdings immediately after such acquisition if required by the terms of this Agreement, (d) such acquisition shall not be hostile and shall have been approved by the board of directors (or similar governing body) and shareholders of the Acquired Entity or Business, (e) with respect to any such acquisitions with an aggregate purchase price exceeding the greater of (x) $7,500,000 and (y) 25% of Consolidated EBITDA (determined at the time of any such acquisition (calculated on a pro forma basis) as of the last day of the most recently ended four Fiscal Quarter period for which financial statements have been delivered pursuant to Section 5.1(a) or (b)), the Borrowers shall provide to the Administrative Agent (for distribution to the Lenders) a quality of earnings report from a nationally or regionally recognized accounting firm and a customary due diligence package of readily available items that are reasonably requested by the Administrative Agent; provided, that in any event the Borrower Representative shall provide to the Administrative Agent any quality of earnings that is otherwise available in connection with any such Permitted Acquisition, and (f) no Event of Default pursuant to Section 8.1(a), (b), (h) or (i) then exists or would be caused by such acquisition .

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“Permitted Encumbrances” means: (a) Liens for taxes or governmental charges or levies not required to be paid pursuant to Section 5.4; (b) Liens in respect of property imposed by law arising in the Ordinary Course of Business such as materialmen’s, carrier’s, mechanics’, landlord’s, warehousemen’s, grower’s and other like Liens provided that such Liens secure only amounts not more than 90 days past due or are being contested in good faith by appropriate proceedings for which adequate reserves determined in accordance with GAAP have been established (and as to which the property subject to such Lien is not yet subject to foreclosure, sale or loss on account thereof); (c) Liens granted in the Ordinary Course of Business to secure payment of worker’s compensation insurance, unemployment insurance, pensions or social security, property, casualty, or liability insurance, or other insurance programs; (d) Liens in connection with or to secure performance of utilities, tenders, statutory obligations, surety and appeal bonds, bids, leases, government contracts, trade contracts, performance and return-of-money bonds and other similar obligations incurred in the Ordinary Course of Business (other than obligations in respect of the payment of borrowed money); (e) easements, rights-of-way, servitudes, restrictions (including zoning restrictions), defects or irregularities in title and other similar charges or encumbrances not, in any material respect, impairing the use of such property for its intended purposes or interfering with the ordinary conduct of business of any Obligor; (f) Liens securing Capital Lease Obligations or purchase money Indebtedness (which shall include Indebtedness incurred within 270 days of the acquisition, improvement or completion of construction of an asset to finance (or refinance in accordance with Section 6.1(d)) all or a portion of the purchase price or cost of improvement or construction of such asset) to the extent the Capital Lease Obligations or Indebtedness secured by such Lien is permitted by Section 6.1(d) and provided (x) such Lien attaches only to the asset so purchased, constructed or leased and the proceeds and products thereof and customary security deposits and (y) that individual financings of equipment provided by one lender may be cross collateralized to other financings of equipment provided by such lender, in each case, as permitted by Section 6.1(d); (g) licenses or sublicenses (including with respect to patents, trademarks, copyrights, and other intellectual property rights) and leases or subleases granted to others in the Ordinary Course of Business and which could not reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect and any precautionary UCC financing statements filed in connection with such operating lease; (h) 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; (i) liens arising out of judgment or awards in respect of judgments that do not constitute an Event of Default under clause (j) of Section 8.1; (j) Liens in favor of Administrative Agent or for the benefit of the Secured Parties granted pursuant to Loan Documents; (k) customary Liens (including the right of set-off) in favor of banking institutions encumbering deposits held by such banking institutions or in favor of collecting banks incurred in the Ordinary Course of Business; (l) Liens on securities that are the subject of repurchase agreements permitted by the definition of Cash Equivalents; (m) Liens solely on any cash earnest money deposits made in connection with any letter of intent or purchase agreement related to a Capital Expenditure permitted hereunder or a Permitted Acquisition or another Investment permitted hereunder; (n) Liens created under any agreement relating to the sale, lease, transfer or other Disposition of assets permitted hereunder; provided that such Liens relate solely to the assets to be sold, leased, transferred or otherwise disposed of and the proceeds or products thereof and customary security deposits; (o) Liens that are replacements of Permitted Encumbrances to the extent that the original Indebtedness is the subject of permitted Refinancing Indebtedness and so long as the replacement Liens only encumber those assets that secured the original Indebtedness; (p) 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 clause (l) of Section 6.1; (q) Liens on assets that secure Acquired Indebtedness permitted under clause (r) of Section 6.1; provided that such Lien shall not apply to any other assets of Holdings or any Restricted Subsidiary (other than products, proceeds, replacements and accessions thereof pursuant to the terms existing at the time of such acquisition); (r) to the extent constituting Liens, options, put and call arrangements, rights of first refusal and similar rights relating to Equity Interests in Joint Ventures or other Investments in each case permitted pursuant to Section 6.5; (s) Liens set forth on Schedule 6.2; provided that (x) to qualify as a Permitted Encumbrance, any such Lien shall only secure the Indebtedness that is secured on the Effective Date and any Refinancing Indebtedness in respect thereof and shall encumber only such assets and the proceeds and products thereof and customary security deposits as are encumbered by such Liens as of the Effective Date and (y) individual financings provided by one lender with respect to the Indebtedness constituting Capital Lease Obligations or purchase money Indebtedness may be cross collateralized to other financings of provided by such lender; (t) other Liens which may be secured on a pari passu basis with the Obligations (subject to an Intercreditor Agreement or other subordination arrangements reasonably satisfactory to the Administrative Agent) as to which the aggregate amount of the obligations secured thereby does not exceed the greater of (x) $10,000,000 and (y) 35% of Consolidated EBITDA (as of the last day of the most recently ended four Fiscal Quarter period for which financial statements have been delivered pursuant to Section 5.1(a) or (b)) at any time; (u) Liens on Equity Interests of Joint Ventures securing a Guarantee (whether recourse or non-recourse) of obligations of such Joint Venture to the extent such Investment is permitted by Section 6.5; (v) all matters shown on the mortgagee policies of title insurance accepted by Administrative Agent with respect to Mortgaged Properties and any minor survey exceptions and minor defects and irregularities in title and similar encumbrances; (w) Liens securing obligations permitted in respect of any Mortgaged Property by the terms of the applicable Mortgage; (x) Liens on cash or Cash Equivalents securing obligations under Hedging Agreements permitted under this Agreement; (y) Liens arising out of conditional sale, title retention, consignment or similar arrangements with vendors for the sale or purchase of goods entered into by any Borrower or any Restricted Subsidiary in the Ordinary Course of Business; (z) Liens from UCC financing statement filings regarding consignments entered into by any Borrower or any Restricted Subsidiary in the Ordinary Course of Business; (aa) Liens in favor of any Obligor; (bb) Liens securing Indebtedness of Foreign Subsidiaries in an aggregate amount not to exceed the greater of (x) $4,500,000 and (y) 15% of Consolidated EBITDA (as of the last day of the most recently ended four Fiscal Quarter period for which financial statements have been delivered pursuant to Section 5.1(a) or (b))) at any time; (cc) Liens for property taxes on property of a Borrower or any Restricted Subsidiary thereof has determined to abandon if the sole recourse for such tax, assessment, charge, levy, or claim is to such property; (dd) survey exceptions to a title policy with respect to surveys, minor encumbrances, ground leases, easements, or reservations of, rights of others for, licenses, rights-of-way, servitudes, sewers, electric lines, drains, telegraph and telephone and cable television lines, gas and oil pipelines, and other similar purposes, or zoning, building codes, or other restrictions (including, minor defects or irregularities in title and similar encumbrances) as to the use of Real Property or Liens incidental to the conduct of the business of such Person or to the ownership of its properties which were not incurred in connection with Indebtedness for borrowed money and which do not individually or in the aggregate materially adversely affect the value of said properties or materially impair their use in the operation of the business, as currently conducted or as contemplated to be conducted; (ee) customary notices of lis pendens and associated rights related to litigation being contested in good faith by appropriate proceedings for which adequate reserves have been made in accordance with GAAP; (ff) Liens on specific items of inventory or other goods and proceeds of any Person securing such Person’s obligations in respect of bankers’ acceptances or letters of credit issued or created for the account of such person to facilitate the purchase, shipment or storage of such inventory or other goods in the Ordinary Course of Business; (gg) Liens (i) in favor of a Borrower or any Guarantor and (ii) in favor of a Restricted Subsidiary that is not an Obligor on assets of a Restricted Subsidiary that is not an Obligor securing Indebtedness permitted under Section 6.1 and that is not recourse to any Obligor except as otherwise permitted under another clause of this definition of “Permitted Encumbrances” (which, for the avoidance of doubt, shall constitute an incurrence thereunder); (hh) Liens encumbering reasonable customary initial deposits and margin deposits and similar Liens attaching to commodity trading accounts or other brokerage accounts incurred in the Ordinary Course of Business and not for speculative purposes; (ii) Liens that are contractual rights of set-off or rights of pledge (i) relating to the establishment of depository relations with banks or other deposit-taking financial institutions and not given in connection with the issuance of Indebtedness, (ii) relating to pooled deposit or sweep accounts of a Borrower or any Restricted Subsidiary to permit satisfaction of overdraft or similar obligations incurred, in each case, in the Ordinary Course of Business of a Borrower or any Restricted Subsidiary, or (iii) relating to purchase orders and other agreements entered into with customers of a Borrower or any Restricted Subsidiary in the Ordinary Course of Business; (jj) Liens on property subject to any sale-leaseback transaction permitted under Section 6.4(u); (kk) Liens on cash and Cash Equivalents that are earmarked to be used to satisfy or discharge Indebtedness permitted hereunder; provided (i) such cash and/or Cash Equivalents are deposited into an account from which payment is to be made, directly or indirectly, to the Person or Persons holding the Indebtedness that is to be satisfied or discharged, (ii) such Liens extend solely to the account in which such cash and/or Cash Equivalents are deposited and are solely in favor of the Person or Persons holding the Indebtedness (or any agent or trustee for such Person or Persons) that is to be satisfied or discharged, and (iii) the satisfaction or discharge of such Indebtedness is expressly permitted hereunder; (ll) with respect to any Foreign Subsidiary, other Liens and privileges arising mandatorily by any applicable law that are not reasonably expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect; (mm) Liens on Equity Interests and indebtedness of an Unrestricted Subsidiary that secure Indebtedness or other obligations of such Unrestricted Subsidiary; (nn) Liens or rights of set-off against credit balances of a Borrower or any Restricted Subsidiary with credit card issuers or credit card processors or amounts owing by such credit card issuers or credit card processors to a Borrower or any Restricted Subsidiary in the Ordinary Course of Business to secure the obligations of any Subsidiary to the credit card issuers or credit card processors as a result of fees and charges; (oo) customary Liens on Receivables Assets incurred in connection with a Receivables Facility and customary Liens on Receivables Assets arising in connection with a Qualified Securitization Financing; (pp) Liens securing Ratio Debt and Incremental Equivalent Debt; (qq) [reserved]; and (rr) other obligations secured by any asset of a Borrower or any Obligor (other than assets or property required to constitute Collateral) so long as the Secured Obligations are equally and ratably secured thereby.

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“Permitted Equity Issuance” means cash capital contributions to Holdings (other than with respect to Disqualified Equity Interests or a Specified Equity Contribution) or the sale or issuance of any Equity Interests (other than Disqualified Equity Interests) of Holdings, the proceeds of which are contributed to the common equity of any Borrower or any Restricted Subsidiary.

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“Permitted Holders” means (a)(i) the Sponsor, (ii) the other Investors, (iii) management on the Effective Date and (iv) Permitted Transferees of the foregoing, (b) any person or entity with which the Sponsor and the foregoing Investors form a “group” (within the meaning of the federal securities laws) so long as, in the case of this clause (b), such Investors beneficially own more than 50% of the relevant voting stock beneficially owned by such group, and (c) any person acting in the capacity of an underwriter (solely to the extent that and for so long as such person is acting in such capacity) in connection with a public or private offering of capital stock of any parent entity of the Borrowers.

 

“Permitted Reorganizations” means (i) reorganizations and other activities related to tax planning and other reorganizations and (ii) transactions taken in connection with and reasonably related to consummating an Initial Public Offering, in each case, whether or not consummated, in each case, to the extent the Administrative Agent’s security interests in the Collateral are not materially impaired (as reasonably determined in good faith by the Borrowers).

 

“Permitted Tax Distributions” means, if (1) any of the Borrowers or any of their Subsidiaries file a consolidated, combined, affiliated, aggregated, unitary or similar type of income Tax return with Holdings or any direct or indirect owner thereof (including if the Borrowers or any of their Subsidiaries is treated as a disregarded entity for U.S. federal income Tax purposes of a member of any group that files any such Tax return) or (2) any Borrower is treated as a partnership or a disregarded entity (other than a disregarded entity described in clause (1)) for U.S. federal income Tax purposes, then each such Borrower may make payments to Holdings (or another direct or indirect owner thereof) to permit Holdings (or such owner) to pay income or similar Taxes (including to permit Holdings (or such direct or indirect owner) to make distributions to allow its owners (indirect or direct) to pay income or similar Taxes); provided, that (A) for each year that clause (1) is applicable, the aggregate amount of such distributions shall not be greater than the amount of such Taxes that would have been due and payable by such Borrowers and/or those Subsidiaries of such Borrowers that are members, or disregarded entities of members, of the applicable Tax group with Holdings (or another direct or indirect owner) (as determined by the Borrowers in their good faith discretion), had such Borrowers and/or such Subsidiaries filed a consolidated, combined, affiliated, aggregated, unitary or similar type return for such year with the the applicable Borrower(s) as the parent corporation and (B) for each year (or portion thereof) that clause (2) is applicable, the aggregate amount of such distributions shall not be greater than (I) the aggregate amount of positive taxable income of such Borrowers and their Subsidiaries (reduced by any net taxable losses of such Borrowers and their Subsidiaries for prior taxable years, to the extent not previously taken into account as a reduction to income in determining Permitted Tax Distributions) that would be allocated among its actual or hypothetical members (including as a guaranteed payments for the use of capital) for such year if the applicable Borrower(s) was classified as a partnership for U.S. federal income Tax purposes (and each of the Subsidiaries had its actual classification for U.S. federal income Tax purposes), determined without regard to any deduction relating to qualified business income under Section 199A of the Code (or any similar provision of state or local law), multiplied by (II) the maximum combined marginal U.S. federal, state, and local income Tax rate applicable to any owner of Holdings (or any other direct or indirect owner treated as a partnership) for such year (including any Taxes imposed on net investment income and any self-employment Taxes), taking into account the character of the relevant income or gain and the deductibility of state and local Taxes for U.S. federal income Tax purposes (and any limitations thereon); provided that to the extent that the aggregate amount of such distributions made for any such taxable period exceeds the amount of Permitted Tax Distributions that would have been permitted for such taxable period based on Borrowers’ and their Subsidiaries’ actual taxable income, as finally determined at the close of such taxable period, then the amount of such excess shall be credited against the Permitted Tax Distributions permitted to be made with respect to the immediately subsequent taxable period.

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“Permitted Transferee” means (a) in the case of the Sponsor or any Sponsor Associate, (i) the Sponsor, (ii) the heirs, executors, administrators, testamentary trustees, legatees or beneficiaries of the Sponsor or any Sponsor Associate and (iii) any trust, the beneficiaries of which, or a corporation or partnership, the stockholders or partners of which, include only a Sponsor Associate, his or her spouse, parents, siblings, members of his or her immediate family (including adopted children and step children) and/or direct lineal descendants; and (b) in the case of any Management Equityholder, (i) his or her executor, administrator, testamentary trustee, legatee or beneficiaries, (ii) his or her spouse, parents, siblings, members of his or her immediate family (including adopted children and step children) and/or direct lineal descendants or (iii) a trust, the beneficiaries of which, or a corporation or partnership, the stockholders or partners of which, include only a Management Equityholder and his or her spouse, parents, siblings, members of his or her immediate family (including adopted children) and/or direct lineal descendants.

 

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

 

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

 

“Platform” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 10.1(d).

 

“Prime Rate” means the rate of interest published in the Wall Street Journal as the “prime rate” for Dollars on such day; provided that in no event shall the Prime Rate be less than zero. The Prime Rate is not necessarily the lowest rate that JPMorgan is charging any corporate customer.

 

“Principal Payment Dates” means (i) with respect to the Initial Term Loans, March 31, June 30, September 30 and December 31the end of each Fiscal Quarter of each year, commencing with March 31, 2022, and through and including the Term Loan Maturity Date, and (ii) with respect to the Second Amendment Term Loans, the end of each Fiscal Quarter of each year, commencing with March 27, 2023, and through and including the Term Loan Maturity Date and (iii) with respect to any Tranche of Incremental Term Loans, such dates (if any) as may be set forth in the Incremental Amendment applicable to such Tranche of Incremental Term Loans.

 

“Proceeding” means any claim, litigation, investigation, action, suit, arbitration or administrative, judicial or regulatory action or proceeding in any jurisdiction.

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“Pro Rata Share” means, (a) with respect to any Revolving Credit Lender, for purposes of any rights or obligations hereunder affecting or involving Revolving Credit Lenders and not Term Loan Lenders (including any reimbursement obligations in respect of any indemnity claim arising out of an action or omission of Swingline Lender or Issuing Lender under this Agreement), the percentage (carried out to the ninth decimal place) of the total Revolving Credit Commitments represented by such Revolving Credit Lender’s Revolving Credit Commitment, and (b) with respect to any Lender in respect of any rights or obligations affecting or involving all Lenders (including any reimbursement obligations in respect of any indemnity claim arising out of an action or omission of Administrative Agent, Swingline Lender or Issuing Lender under this Agreement), the percentage (carried out to the ninth decimal place) of the total Commitments or Loans, of all Classes hereunder represented by the aggregate amount of such Lender’s Commitments or Loans, as the case may be, of all Classes hereunder. If the Commitments of any Class have terminated or expired, the Pro Rata Share with respect to such Class shall be determined based upon (i) in the case of the Term Loan Lenders of any Class, the outstanding principal amount of the Term Loans of such Class at such time, and (ii) in the case of the Revolving Credit Lenders, Revolving Credit Exposure of all such Revolving Credit Lenders at such time.

 

“Protected Vendor” means any Person that is afforded the benefit of any Lien or trust upon agricultural or animal products sold to the Borrowers and/or their Subsidiaries and/or any proceeds of such agricultural or animal products under any Growers’ Lien Law.

 

“PTE” means a prohibited transaction class exemption issued by the U.S. Department of Labor, as any such exemption may be amended from time to time.

 

“Qualified ECP Guarantor” means, in respect of any Swap Obligation, each Obligor that has total assets exceeding $10,000,000 at the time the relevant Guarantee or grant of the relevant security interests becomes effective with respect to such Swap Obligation or such other person as constitutes an “eligible contract participant” under the Commodity Exchange Act or any regulations promulgated thereunder and can cause another person to qualify as an “eligible contract participant” at such time by entering into a keepwell under Section 1a(18)(A)(v)(II) of the Commodity Exchange Act.

 

“Qualified Equity Interest” means and refers to any Equity Interests that is not a Disqualified Equity Interest.

 

“Qualified Jurisdiction” means the United States, Canada, the Cayman Islands, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Switzerland and Australia.

 

“Qualified Proceeds” means assets that are used or useful in, or Equity Interests of any Person engaged in, any business conducted or proposed to be conducted by the Borrowers and the Restricted Subsidiaries, taken as a whole, on the Effective Date or any other business activities which are reasonable extensions thereof or otherwise similar, incidental, corollary, complementary, synergistic, reasonably related, or ancillary to any of the foregoing or to facilitate any of the foregoing (including non-core incidental businesses acquired in connection with any Permitted Acquisition or permitted Investment), in each case as determined by the Borrowers in good faith.

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“Qualified Securitization Financing” means any Securitization Facility (and any guarantee of such Securitization Facility), that meets the following conditions: (a) the Borrowers shall have determined in good faith that such Securitization Facility (including financing terms, covenants, termination events and other provisions) is in the aggregate economically fair and reasonable to the Borrowers and the Restricted Subsidiaries; (b) all transfers of Receivables Assets and related assets by any Borrower or any Restricted Subsidiary to the Securitization Subsidiary or any other Person are made at Fair Market Value, a portion of which may be paid in the form of an increase in the Seller’s Retained Interest; (c) the financing terms, covenants, termination events and other provisions thereof shall be on then current market terms (as reasonably determined in good faith by the Borrowers) and may include Standard Securitization Undertakings; and (d) the obligations under such Securitization Facility are non -recourse (except for customary representations, warranties, covenants, performance guarantees and indemnities made in connection with such facilities) to any Borrower or any Restricted Subsidiary (other than a Securitization Subsidiary).

 

“Quarterly Dates” means the last day of March, June, September, and December of each year through the later of the Revolving Credit Maturity Date and the Term Loan Maturity Date.

 

“Quarterly Percentage Amount” means, (a)with respect to the Initial Term Loan for each Principal Payment Date, the amount equal to 0.25% of the aggregate principal amount of the Initial Term Loan Commitments on the Effective Date and (b) with respect to the Second Amendment Term Loan for each Principal Payment Date, the amount equal to 0.25% of the aggregate principal amount of the Second Amendment Term Loan Commitments on the Second Amendment Effective Date.

 

“Ratio Debt” means Indebtedness of an Obligor (other than Holdings (other than as a guarantor)); provided that at the time of incurrence thereof:

 

(a)       (i) the scheduled final maturity date of any Ratio Debt (A) that is secured on a pari passu basis with the Obligations will be no earlier than the scheduled final maturity date for the Initial Term Loans and the Second Amendment Term Loans and (B) that is unsecured, secured on a junior basis to the Initial Term Loans and the Second Amendment Term Loans or secured by assets not constituting Collateral shall not mature prior to the date that is ninety-one (91) days following the scheduled final maturity date for the Initial Term Loans and the Second Amendment Term Loans, and (ii) except in the case of a customary bridge facility that is subject to automatic conversion within one (1) year of issuance of such bridge facility on terms that would otherwise satisfy this clause (a), the Weighted Average Life to Maturity of any Ratio Debt will be no shorter than the remaining Weighted Average Life to Maturity of the Initial Term Loans and the Second Amendment Term Loans;

 

(b)       any Ratio Debt may provide for participation (x) on a pro rata basis, greater than a pro rata basis, or less than pro rata basis in any voluntary prepayments with respect to its Class of Term Loans, or (y) on a pro rata basis (with respect to any Ratio Debt secured by the Collateral on a pari passu basis with the Initial Term Loans and the Second Amendment Term Loans) or less than pro rata basis in any mandatory prepayments with all Term Loans;

 

(c)       (i) to the extent guaranteed by Holdings or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries, any such Ratio Debt shall not be guaranteed by any such Person that is not (or is not required to be) a Guarantor (except (x) any such Person guaranteeing such Ratio Debt that also guarantees the Initial Term Loans, the Second Amendment Term Loans or Revolving Loans, as applicable and (y) unless such guaranty affirmatively is declined by the Administrative Agent as credit support for the Obligations, it being agreed, for the avoidance of doubt, that a Person qualifying as an Excluded Subsidiary shall not result in the Administrative Agent being deemed to have declined such guaranty); and (ii) to the extent secured by Collateral, shall be subject to an Intercreditor Agreement or other subordination arrangements reasonably satisfactory to the Administrative Agent and shall not be secured by any assets other than Collateral;

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(d)       except as otherwise specifically addressed herein, all terms of Ratio Debt shall be determined by the Borrowers and shall either, at the option of the Borrowers, (i) reflect current market terms and conditions (taken as a whole) at the time of incurrence or issuance (as determined by the Borrowers), (ii) be consistent with the terms of the corresponding class under the Facilities unless, in the case of this clause (ii), (x) the Lenders under the corresponding class under the Facilities also receive the benefit of such more restrictive terms or (y) any such provisions apply only after the Latest Maturity Date of the Facilities, or (iii) not be materially more restrictive to the Borrowers, when taken as a whole, than the terms of the applicable class under the Facilities;

 

(e)       the interest rate, margin, original issue discount, up-front fees and other fees and rate floors for such Ratio Debt in the form of term loans may be determined by the Borrowers and the Lenders providing such Ratio Debt, as applicable, providing such Ratio Debt; provided that, in the event that the All-in Yield for any such Ratio Debt that is in the form of term loans that ranks pari passu in right of payment and security with the existing Term Loans incurred (other than in reliance on clause (i) of the Incremental Amount at the time of initial incurrence) is greater than the All-in Yield for the existing Term Loans by more than 50 basis points, then the Applicable Margin for the existing Term Loans shall be increased to the extent necessary so that the All-in Yield for such Ratio Debt is no more than 50 basis points higher than the All-in Yield for the existing Term Loans; provided that, in the event that the All-In Yield for such Ratio Debt is higher than the All-In Yield for the existing Term Loans solely as a result of a higher rate floor for such Ratio Debt, the adjustment to the All-In Yield of the existing Term Loans shall be effected solely by increasing the rate floor; and

 

(f)        Ratio Debt (i) may rank either pari passu or junior in right of payment with any Class of Term Loans (including the Initial Term Loans and the Second Amendment Term Loans) and the initial Revolving Commitments and (ii) for the avoidance of doubt, may be secured on a pari passu basis with the Obligations, on a junior basis to the Obligations, be unsecured or be secured by assets not constituting Collateral.

 

“Real Property Requirement” means the requirement that the real property owned by any Obligor and located in the United States shall be a Mortgaged Property as shall be necessary in order that any real property owned on or acquired after the Effective Date by an Obligor located in the United States and with a Fair Market Value measured at the time of acquisition in excess of (a) the greater of (i) $2,000,000 and (ii) 6.5% of Consolidated EBITDA (as of the last day of the most recently ended four Fiscal Quarter period for which financial statements have been delivered pursuant to Section 5.1(a) or (b) individually or (b) the greater of (i) $6,000,000 and (ii) 20% of Consolidated EBITDA (as of the last day of the most recently ended four Fiscal Quarter period for which financial statements have been delivered pursuant to Section 5.1(a) or (b) in the aggregate for all such real property be subject to a Mortgage.

 

“Receivables Assets” means (a) any accounts receivable, including proceeds thereof, owed to a Borrower or a Restricted Subsidiary and arising in the ordinary course of business from the sale of goods and services, and (b) all collateral securing such accounts receivable, all contracts and contract rights, guarantees or other obligations in respect of such accounts receivable, all records with respect to such accounts receivable and any other related assets customarily transferred together with accounts receivable in connection with a non-recourse accounts receivable securitization or factoring arrangement and which are sold, conveyed, assigned or otherwise transferred or pledged in connection with a Receivables Facility.

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“Receivables Facility” means any of one or more receivables financing facilities (and any guarantee of such financing facility) that meets the following conditions: (i) the obligations under such facility are non-recourse (except for customary representations, warranties, covenants and indemnities made in connection with such facilities) to the Borrowers and the Restricted Subsidiaries, (ii) pursuant to such facility any Borrower or any Restricted Subsidiary sells, directly or indirectly, grants a security interest in or otherwise transfers its Receivables Assets to either (a) a Person that is not a Borrower or a Restricted Subsidiary or (b) a Receivables Subsidiary that in turn funds such purchase by (1) transferring its accounts receivable to a Person that is not a Borrower or a Restricted Subsidiary or by borrowing from such Person or from another Receivables Subsidiary that in turn funds itself by borrowing from such Person or (2) the issuance to such Borrower or such Restricted Subsidiary of Seller’s Retained Interests or an increase in such Seller’s Retained Interests and (iii) the financing terms, covenants, termination events and other provisions thereof shall be on market terms (as determined in good faith by the Borrowers) and may include Standard Securitization Undertakings and shall include any guaranty in respect of such financing facility.

 

“Receivables Subsidiary” means any Subsidiary of any Borrower formed for the purpose of, and that solely engages in, facilitating or entering into one or more Receivables Facilities and any other activities reasonably related or incidental thereto or another Person formed for the purposes of engaging in a Receivables Facility in which any Borrower or any Restricted Subsidiary makes an Investment and to which such Borrower or such Restricted Subsidiary transfers accounts receivables and related assets or grants a security interest in Receivables Assets.

 

“Recipient” means (a) Administrative Agent, (b) any Lender or Swingline Lender, and (c) any Issuing Lender, as applicable.

 

“Reference Time” with respect to any setting of the then-current Benchmark means (1) if such Benchmark is LIBO the Term SOFR Rate, 116:00 a.m. (LondonNew York City time) on the day that is two London banking days(2) Business Days preceding the date of such setting, and (2) if the RFR for such Benchmark is Daily Simple SOFR, then four (4) Business Days prior to such setting or (3) if such Benchmark is not LIBO Ratethe Term SOFR Rate or Daily Simple SOFR, the time determined by the Administrative Agent in its reasonable discretion.

 

“Refinanced Term Loans” has the meaning set forth in Section 10.02(b).

 

“Refinancing Amendment” means an amendment to this Agreement executed by (a) the Borrower Representative, (b) the Administrative Agent, (c) each Additional Refinancing Lenders and (d) each Lender that agrees to provide any portion of Refinancing Term Loans, Refinancing Revolving Credit Commitments or Refinancing Revolving Credit Loans incurred pursuant thereto, in accordance with Section 2.22.

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“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, plus the amount of any premiums, make-whole amounts or penalties and accrued and unpaid interest paid thereon, the fees and expenses incurred in connection therewith (including any closing fees and original issue discount) and by the amount of the unfunded commitments with respect thereto unless otherwise permitted under a separate clause of Section 6.1, (b) other than Capital Leases and revolving Indebtedness, such refinancings, renewals, or extensions do not result in a shortening of the scheduled maturity date or the Weighted Average Life to Maturity (measured as of the refinancing, renewal, or extension) of the Indebtedness so refinanced, renewed, or extended, (c) if the Indebtedness that is refinanced, renewed, or extended was unsecured or subordinated in right of payment to the Obligations, then (x) in the case of unsecured Indebtedness, such Refinancing Indebtedness must be unsecured unless otherwise permitted under a separate clause of Section 6.1 and (y) in the case of subordinated Indebtedness, the terms and conditions of the refinancing, renewal, or extension must include subordination terms and conditions (taken as a whole) that are at least as favorable in all material respects to the Secured Parties as those that were applicable to the refinanced, renewed, or extended Indebtedness, and (d) except as otherwise permitted, the Indebtedness that is refinanced, renewed, or extended is not recourse to any Obligor other than those Persons which were obligated with respect to the Indebtedness that was refinanced, renewed, or extended or secured by any property other than property that secured the Indebtedness that was refinanced, renewed or extended.

 

“Refinancing Revolving Credit Commitments” means one or more Classes of Revolving Credit Commitments hereunder that result from a Refinancing Amendment.

 

“Refinancing Revolving Credit Loans” means one or more Classes of Revolving Credit Loans that result from a Refinancing Amendment.

 

“Refinancing Series” means all Refinancing Term Loans or Refinancing Term Commitments that are established pursuant to the same Refinancing Amendment (or any subsequent Refinancing Amendment to the extent such Refinancing Amendment expressly provides that the Refinancing Term Loans or Refinancing Term Commitments, Refinancing Revolving Credit Loans or Refinancing Revolving Credit Commitments provided for therein are intended to be a part of any previously established Refinancing Series) and that provide for the same All-In Yield (other than, for this purpose, any original issue discount or upfront fees), if applicable and amortization schedule.

 

“Refinancing Term Commitments” means one or more term loan commitments hereunder that fund Refinancing Term Loans of the applicable Refinancing Series hereunder pursuant to a Refinancing Amendment.

 

“Refinancing Term Loans” means one or more Classes of Term Loans that result from a Refinancing Amendment.

 

“Register” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 10.4.

 

“Registered Loan” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 10.4.

 

“Reinvestment Assets” means assets used or useful in a Borrower’s or a Restricted Subsidiary’s business, Capital Expenditures, Permitted Acquisitions and other permitted Investments (other than cash and Cash Equivalents).

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“Reinvestment Deferred Amount” means, with respect to any Reinvestment Event, the aggregate Net Cash Proceeds received by any Borrower and its Restricted Subsidiaries in connection therewith that are not applied to prepay the Loans.

 

“Reinvestment Event” means the receipt of any Net Cash Proceeds from any Disposition or Event of Loss in respect of which the Borrowers have elected to reinvest the Net Cash Proceeds in Reinvestment Assets.

 

“Reinvestment Prepayment Amount” means, with respect to any Reinvestment Event, the Reinvestment Deferred Amount relating thereto less any amount expended prior to the relevant Reinvestment Prepayment Date to invest in Reinvestment Assets.

 

“Reinvestment Prepayment Date” means, with respect to any Reinvestment Event, the earlier of (a) the date occurring 365 days after (or 30 days prior to such date, to the extent the applicable Borrower or Restricted Subsidiary has committed to reinvest such proceeds) such Reinvestment Event (or if a Borrower or a Restricted Subsidiary has committed to reinvest such proceeds within such 365 days, within 180 days following such 365 days) and (b) the date on which the Borrowers shall have determined not to invest in Reinvestment Assets.

 

“Rejection Notice” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 2.10(d)(iii).

 

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

 

“Relevant Governmental Body” means the Federal Reserve Board , the NYFRB, and/or the NYFRBCME Term SOFR Administrator, as applicable, or a committee officially endorsed or convened by the Federal Reserve Board and/or the NYFRB, or, in each case, any successor thereto.

 

“Relevant Rate” means (i) with respect to any Term Benchmark Borrowing, the Adjusted Term SOFR Rate or (ii) with respect to any RFR Borrowing, the Adjusted Daily Simple SOFR, as applicable.

 

“Replacement Term Loans” has the meaning set forth in Section 10.02(b).

 

“Required Facility Lenders” means, at any time, with respect to one or more Facilities, Lenders having Revolving Credit Exposures, outstanding Term Loans and/or unused Commitments representing more than 50% of the sum of Revolving Credit Exposures, outstanding Term Loans and/or unused Commitments under such Facility; provided the Commitments of, and the portion of the Revolving Credit Exposure and outstanding Incremental Term Loans held or deemed held by, any Defaulting Lender shall be excluded for purposes of making a determination of Required Facility Lenders.

 

“Required Lenders” means, at any time, Lenders having Revolving Credit Exposures, outstanding Term Loans, and unused Commitments representing more than 50% of the sum of the total Revolving Credit Exposures, total outstanding Term Loans and unused Commitments at such time; provided the Commitments of, and the portion of the Revolving Credit Exposure and outstanding Term Loans held or deemed held by, any Defaulting Lender shall be excluded for purposes of making a determination of Required Lenders; provided, further, that for so long as there are two or more Lenders each holding more than ten percent (10%) of the sum of the total Revolving Credit Exposures, total outstanding Term Loans and unused Commitments at such time, the term “Required Lenders” must include at least two unaffiliated Lenders, each holding no less than five percent (5%) of such total Revolving Credit Exposures, total outstanding Term Loans and unused Commitments.

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“Required Revolving Lenders” means, at any time, Revolving Credit Lenders having Revolving Credit Exposures and unused Revolving Credit Commitments representing more than 50% of the sum of the total Revolving Credit Exposures and unused Revolving Credit Commitments at such time. The Revolving Credit Exposures and unused Revolving Credit Commitments of any Defaulting Lender shall be disregarded in determining Required Revolving Lenders at any time.

 

“Resolution Authority” means an EEA Resolution Authority or, with respect to any UK Financial Institution, a UK Resolution Authority.

 

“Responsible Officer” means the chief executive officer, president, chief financial officer, chief administrative officer, principal accounting officer, treasurer, assistant treasurer, vice president of finance, secretary, assistant secretary or controller of any Person. Any document delivered hereunder that is signed by a Responsible Officer of any Person shall be conclusively presumed to have been authorized by all necessary corporate, partnership and/or other action on the part of such Person.

 

“Restricted Payment” means, with respect to any Person, any dividend or other distribution (whether in cash, securities or other property) with respect to any Equity Interest of or issued by such Person, or any payment (whether in cash, securities or other property), including any sinking fund or similar deposit, on account of the purchase, redemption, retirement, acquisition, cancellation or termination of any Equity Interest or Equity Right of or issued by such Person or any payment of management fees or consulting fees to any holder of Equity Interests of such Person.

 

“Restricted Subsidiary” means any Subsidiary of a Borrower other than an Unrestricted Subsidiary.

 

“Restrictive Agreement” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 6.8.

 

“Retained ECF Amount” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 2.10(b)(ii).

 

“Returns” means, with respect to any Investment, any dividends, distributions, interest, fees, premium, return of capital, repayment of principal, income, profits (from a Disposition or otherwise) and other amounts received or realized in respect of such Investment.

 

“Revolving Credit Availability Period” means the period from and including the Effective Date and ending on the earlier of the Business Day immediately preceding the Revolving Credit Maturity Date and the date of termination of the Revolving Credit Commitments pursuant to the terms hereof.

 

“Revolving Credit Commitment” means at any time, with respect to each Lender, the commitment, if any, of such Lender to make Revolving Credit Loans (including any Incremental Revolving Credit Commitment) and to acquire participations in Letters of Credit and Swingline Loans hereunder, expressed as an amount representing the maximum aggregate amount of such Lender’s Revolving Credit Exposure at such time hereunder, as such commitment may be (a) reduced from time to time pursuant to Section 2.8 or 2.18(b), (b) reduced or increased from time to time pursuant to assignments by or to such Lender pursuant to Section 10.4, or (c) increased pursuant to Section 2.19. The amount of each Lender’s Revolving Credit Commitment as of the Effective Date is set forth below its name or its signature page to this Agreement, or thereafter, in the Assignment and Assumption pursuant to which such Lender becomes a party hereto, as applicable. The initial aggregate amount of the Lenders’ Revolving Credit Commitments is $25,000,000.

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“Revolving Credit Exposure” means, with respect to any Revolving Credit Lender at any time, the sum, without duplication, of the outstanding principal amount of such Lender’s Revolving Credit Loans, LC Exposure and Swingline Exposure at such time.

 

“Revolving Credit Lender” means a Lender with a Revolving Credit Commitment or, if the Revolving Credit Commitments have terminated or expired, a Lender with Revolving Credit Exposure.

 

“Revolving Credit Loan” means a Loan made pursuant to Section 2.1 (including loans made pursuant to an Incremental Revolving Credit Commitment).

 

“Revolving Credit Loan Extension Request” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 2.23.

 

“Revolving Credit Maturity Date” means (i) with respect to the Revolving Credit Commitment on the Effective Date, August 23, 2026, (ii) with respect to any tranche of Extended Revolving Credit Commitments, the final maturity date as specified in the applicable Extension Amendment and (iii) with respect to any Refinancing Revolving Credit Commitments, the final maturity date as specified in the applicable Refinancing Amendment.

 

“RFR Borrowing” means, as to any Borrowing, the RFR Loans comprising such Borrowing.

 

“RFR Loan” means a Loan that bears interest at a rate based on the Adjusted Daily Simple SOFR.

 

“Sanctioned Person” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 3.17.

 

“Sanctions” means any sanctions administered, imposed or enforced by the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control, the U.S. Department of State, the United Nations Security Council or other relevant sanctions authority.

 

“SEC” means the Securities and Exchange Commission.

 

“Second Amendment” means that certain Second Amendment to Credit Agreement, dated as of October 11, 2022 by and among the Borrower Representative, Holdings, the Guarantors party thereto, the Lenders party thereto and the Administrative Agent.

 

“Second Amendment Acquisition” means the acquisition contemplated by the Second Amendment Acquisition Agreement.

 

“Second Amendment Acquisition Agreement” means that certain Agreement and Plan of Merger, dated as of October 11, 2022, by and among Vive Buyer, Inc., a Delaware corporation, Vive Merger Sub I, Inc., a Delaware corporation and Vive Organic.

 

“Second Amendment Effective Date” means October 11, 2022.

 

“Second Amendment Fee Letter” means that certain Fee letter, dated as of October 11, 2022, executed by the Borrower Representative and the Administrative Agent setting forth certain of the applicable fees relating to the Second Amendment to be paid to the Administrative Agent, on its behalf and on behalf of certain of the Lenders.

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“Second Amendment PGIM Fee Letter” means that certain OID and Fee letter, dated as of October 11, 2022, executed by the Borrower Representative and PGIM, Inc. setting forth certain of the applicable fees relating to the Second Amendment to be paid to PGIM, Inc., on its behalf and on behalf of certain of the Lenders.

 

“Second Amendment Transaction Costs” means the fees, costs, and expenses payable by the Obligors in connection with the consummation of the Second Amendment Transactions.

 

“Second Amendment Transactions” mean, collectively, (a) the consummation of the Second Amendment Acquisition, (b) the execution, delivery and performance by each Obligor of the Second Amendment and the other applicable Loan Documents on the Second Amendment Effective Date, (c) the initial borrowing of Second Amendment Term Loans, and (d) the payment of all fees and expenses to be paid on or prior to the Second Amendment Effective Date and owing in connection with the foregoing.

 

“Second Amendment Term Loan” means a Loan made pursuant to Section 2.1(c).

 

“Second Amendment Term Loan Lender” has the meaning assigned to such term in the Second Amendment.

 

“Second Amendment Term Loan Commitment” means, with respect to each applicable Second Amendment Term Loan Lender, its obligation to make a Second Amendment Term Loan to the Borrowers on the Second Amendment Effective Date in an aggregate principal amount up to, and not to exceed, the amount set forth on Schedule I to the Second Amendment under the caption “Second Amendment Term Loan Commitment”. The aggregate amount of the Second Amendment Term Loan Lenders’ Term Loan Commitments is $42,000,000 as of the Second Amendment Effective Date.

 

“Secured Parties” means, collectively, Administrative Agent, the Lenders, Issuing Lender, Swingline Lender, and each Bank Product Provider.

 

“Securities Act” means the Securities Act of 1933, as amended from time to time.

 

“Securitization Asset” means (a) any accounts receivable or related assets and the proceeds thereof owed to a Borrower or any Restricted Subsidiary and arising in the ordinary course of business from the sale of goods or services and (b) all collateral securing such receivable or asset, all contracts and contract rights, guaranties or other obligations in respect of such receivable or asset, lockbox accounts and records with respect to such account or asset and any other related assets customarily transferred (or in respect of which security interests are customarily granted), together with accounts or assets in a securitization financing and which in the case of clause (a) and (b) above are sold, conveyed, assigned or otherwise transferred or pledged in connection with a Qualified Securitization Financing.

 

“Securitization Facility” means any transaction or series of securitization financings that may be entered into by any Borrower or any Restricted Subsidiary pursuant to which any Borrower or any such Restricted Subsidiary may sell, convey or otherwise transfer, or may grant a security interest in, Securitization Assets to either (a) a Person that is not a Borrower or a Restricted Subsidiary or (b) a Securitization Subsidiary that in turn sells such Securitization Assets to a Person that is not a Borrower or a Restricted Subsidiary, or may grant a security interest in, any Securitization Assets of a Borrower or any of its Subsidiaries.

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“Securitization Subsidiary” means any Subsidiary of any Borrower in each case formed for the purpose of, and that solely engages in, one or more Qualified Securitization Financings and other activities reasonably related thereto or another Person formed for the purposes of engaging in a Qualified Securitization Financing in which any Borrower or any Restricted Subsidiary makes an Investment and to which any Borrower or such Restricted Subsidiary transfers Securitization Assets and related assets.

 

“Security Agreement” means the Pledge and Security Agreement, dated as of the Effective Date, among the Borrowers and the other Obligors (and any other Obligor that becomes a party thereto by joinder after the Effective Date), as “Grantors”, and the Administrative Agent.

 

“Security Documents” means, collectively, (a) the Security Agreement, each Mortgage, the Control Agreements, and each other agreement, instrument, or document that creates or purports to create a Lien securing the Obligations in favor of Administrative Agent pursuant to or in connection with this Agreement and all UCC financing statements and fixture filings required by the Security Agreement or any Mortgage, or such other agreement, instrument, or document to be filed with respect to the Liens created pursuant thereto and each other security agreement or other document executed and delivered after the Effective Date to secure any of the Obligations and (b) any amendments, supplements, modifications, renewals, restatements, replacements, consolidations, substitutions and extensions of any of the foregoing in accordance with their respective terms.

 

“Seller’s Retained Interest” means the debt or equity interests held by any Borrower or any Restricted Subsidiary in (i) a Securitization Subsidiary to which Securitization Assets have been transferred, and/or (ii) a Receivables Subsidiary to which Receivables Assets have been transferred including, in each case, any such debt or equity received as consideration for or as a portion of the purchase price for the Securitization Assets and/or Receivables Assets transferred, or any other instrument through which any Borrower or any Restricted Subsidiary has rights to or receives distributions in respect of any deferred purchase price or other residual or excess interest in such Securitization Assets and/or Receivables Assets.

 

“SOFR” means, with respect to any Business Day, a rate per annum equal to the secured overnight financing rate for such Business Day publishedas administered by the SOFR Administrator on the SOFR Administrator’s Website on the immediately succeeding Business Day.

 

“SOFR Administrator” means the NYFRB (or a successor administrator of the secured overnight financing rate).

 

“SOFR Administrator’s Website” means the NYFRB’s websiteWebsite, currently at http://www.newyorkfed.org, or any successor source for the secured overnight financing rate identified as such by the SOFR Administrator from time to time.

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“Solvent” and “Solvency” mean, with respect to any Person and its Restricted Subsidiaries on a consolidated basis on any date of determination, that on such date (a) the fair value of the assets (on a going concern basis) of such Person and its Restricted Subsidiaries, on a consolidated basis, is greater than the debt, including contingent liabilities, of such Person and its Restricted Subsidiaries, on a consolidated basis, (b) the present fair salable value of the assets of such Person and its Restricted Subsidiaries (on a going concern basis), on a consolidated basis, is not less than the amount that will be required to pay the probable liability, on a consolidated basis, of such Person and its Restricted Subsidiaries on their debts as they become absolute and matured in the ordinary course of business, (c) such Person and its Restricted Subsidiaries, on a consolidated basis, do not intend to, or believe that they will, incur debts (including current obligations and contingent liabilities) beyond such Person’s and its Restricted Subsidiaries’, on a consolidated basis, ability to pay such debts as they become due in the ordinary course of business, and (d) the capital of such Person and its Restricted Subsidiaries, on a consolidated basis, is not unreasonably small in relation to the business of such Person and its Restricted Subsidiaries, on a consolidated basis, contemplated on the date of determination. The amount of contingent liabilities at any time shall be computed as the amount that, in the light of all the facts and circumstances existing at such time, represents the amount that can reasonably be expected to become an actual or matured liability in the ordinary course of business.

 

“Specified Equity Contribution” means cash proceeds of a sale of, or contribution to, equity (which equity shall be Qualified Equity Interests) of Holdings, and contributed by Holdings to a Borrower and/or a Restricted Subsidiary of Holdings, designated by the Borrowers as a “Specified Equity Contribution” pursuant to Section 8.3, and made after the last day of the applicable Fiscal Quarter and on or prior to the day that is 15 Business Days after the day on which financial statements are required to be delivered for such Fiscal Quarter pursuant to Section 5.1(a) and (b).

 

“Specified Existing Revolving Credit Commitment” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 2.23.

 

“Specified Purchase Agreement Representations” means each of the representations made by or on behalf of the Borrower, any Affiliate or Subsidiary thereof, or their respective businesses, as set forth in the Surf Merger Agreement, in each case, that are material to the interests of the Lenders, but only to the extent that Holdings, the Initial Borrower or their respective Affiliates have the right to terminate its respective obligations under the Surf Merger Agreement, or to decline to consummate the Acquisition as a result of a breach of such representations in the Surf Merger Agreement.

 

“Specified Representations” means the representations set forth in Sections 3.1(a) (with respect to the organizational existence of the Obligors (other than any Obligor that is not a Material Subsidiary) only), 3.1(c), 3.2, 3.3(b), 3.8, 3.12, 3.17, 3.20 and 3.22 of this Agreement.

 

“Specified Transaction” means any Permitted Acquisition, or any other Investment that results in a Person becoming a Restricted Subsidiary of Holdings, any Material Disposition that results in a Person ceasing to be a Restricted Subsidiary of Holdings, any Investment constituting an acquisition of assets constituting a business unit, line of business or division of another Person or any Material Disposition of a business unit, line of business or division of Holdings or a Restricted Subsidiary, in each case whether by merger, consolidation, amalgamation or otherwise, or any incurrence or repayment of Indebtedness (other than Indebtedness incurred or repaid under any revolving credit facility in the ordinary course of business for working capital purposes without any adjustment to the commitments thereunder), Restricted Payment or other event that by the terms of this Agreement requires a test to be calculated for “pro forma compliance” or on a “pro forma basis” or after giving “pro forma effect.”

 

“Sponsor” means Paine Schwartz Partners, LLC, together with its Sponsor Affiliates.

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“Sponsor Affiliates” means with respect to the Sponsor, any Person that (a) is organized by the Sponsor or an Affiliate of the Sponsor for the purpose of making and/or holding equity or debt investments in one or more companies, and (b), directly or indirectly, is managed, advised or controlled by the Sponsor, but excluding any operating portfolio companies of the foregoing.

 

“Sponsor Associate” means any managing director, director, officer, or employee of the Sponsor.

 

“Sponsor-Controlled Affiliated Lender” means, at any time, any Lender that is the Sponsor or a Non-Debt Fund Affiliate, in each case, other than Holdings, the Borrower or any of its Subsidiaries, any Debt Fund Affiliate or any natural person.

 

“Sponsor -Controlled Affiliated Lender Assignment and Assumption” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 10.4(g).

 

“Sponsor-Controlled Affiliated Lender Cap” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 10.4(g).

 

“Sponsor Equity Contribution” means a cash equity contribution in the form of a common equity investment, Qualified Equity Interests or otherwise on terms acceptable to the Lead Arranger (such approval not to be unreasonably withheld, delayed, conditioned or denied), in an amount not less than (when combined with any rollover or reinvested equity in the Company or a direct or indirect parent thereof received by management of the Company and by other existing direct or indirect equity holders of the Company in connection with the Merger) 50% of the sum of (a) the aggregate gross proceeds of the Loans to be borrowed under this Agreement on the Effective Date (excluding, the aggregate gross proceeds of any Revolving Credit Loans borrowed to fund original issue discount or upfront fees in the Fee Letter and Transaction Costs), plus (b) the amount of the Equity Contribution, contributed, directly or indirectly, by the Sponsor to the Initial Borrower on the Effective Date, as such amount may be modified in accordance with Section 4.1(n)).

 

“Standard Securitization Undertakings” means representations, warranties, covenants, repurchase obligations and indemnities entered into by any Borrower or any Restricted Subsidiary which are customary for a seller or servicer of assets transferred in connection with a non-recourse, bankruptcy-remote financing of accounts receivable.

 

“Statutory Reserve Rate” means a fraction (expressed as a decimal), the numerator of which is the number one and the denominator of which is the number one minus the reserve percentage in effect, whether or not applicable to any Lender, under regulations issued from time to time by the Federal Reserve Board for determining the maximum reserve requirement (including any emergency, special, supplemental or other marginal reserve requirement) with respect to eurocurrency funding (currently referred to as “Eurocurrency liabilities” in Regulation D) or any other reserve ratio or analogous requirement of any central banking or financial regulatory authority imposed in respect of the maintenance of the Commitments or the funding of the Loans. The Statutory Reserve Rate shall be adjusted automatically on and as of the effective date of any change in any reserve percentage.

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“Subordinated Indebtedness” means unsecured Indebtedness incurred pursuant to Section 6.1(p) and owing by an Obligor at any time, provided, that, (a) such Indebtedness does not require any scheduled payment of cash interest or principal (including pursuant to a sinking fund obligation) or mandatory redemption or redemption at the option of the holders thereof prior to the date that is 6 months after the Term Loan Maturity Date, (b) such Indebtedness is contractually subordinated in right of payment and action to the Obligations in a manner reasonably acceptable to the Administrative Agent, (c) such Indebtedness does not contain any financial performance covenants, is not cross defaulted to this Agreement and contains other terms that are reasonably acceptable to the Administrative Agent, provided that all covenants and events of default (including change of control provisions) are not more restrictive than the covenants and events of default contained in this Agreement, taken as a whole, (d) such Indebtedness provides for all interest to be paid in kind (and not in cash) during the term of this Agreement, and (e) both before and after giving effect to incurrence of such Indebtedness, the Borrowers would be in compliance with the Financial Covenant on a pro forma basis as of the end of the most recent Fiscal Quarter for which financial statements have been delivered to the Lenders (whether or not such Financial Covenant is required to be tested for such Fiscal Quarter end), and, no Default or Event of Default shall exist under this Agreement.

 

“Subsidiary” means, with respect to any Person (the “parent”) at any date, any other Person the accounts of which would be consolidated with those of the parent in the parent’s consolidated financial statements if such financial statements were prepared in accordance with GAAP as of such date, as well as any other Person (a) of which more than 50% of the Equity Interests or more than 50% of the ordinary voting power, are as of such date, owned, controlled or held by the parent (either directly or through one or more intermediaries or both) or (b) the management of which is, as of such date, otherwise controlled, by the parent (either directly or through one or more intermediaries or both). Unless otherwise specified, “Subsidiary” means a Subsidiary of Holdings.

 

“Subsidiary Guarantors” means each Restricted Subsidiary that has executed a Guaranty Agreement.

 

“Surf Merger Agreement” means that certain Agreement and Plan of Merger dated as of July 7, 2021, between Holdings, the Initial Borrower and the Borrower, together with all exhibits, schedules, annexes and disclosures relating thereto.

 

“Swap Obligation” means, with respect to any Obligor, any obligation to pay or perform under any agreement, contract, or transaction that constitutes a “swap” within the meaning of Section 1a(47) of the Commodity Exchange Act.

 

“Swingline Exposure” means, at any time, the aggregate principal amount of all Swingline Loans outstanding at such time. The Swingline Exposure of any Revolving Credit Lender at any time shall be its Pro Rata Share of the total Swingline Exposure at such time.

 

“Swingline Lender” means JPMorgan, in its capacity as lender of Swingline Loans hereunder, or any other Lender selected by JPMorgan with the consent of the Borrowers that shall agree with Administrative Agent to act as Swingline Lender.

 

“Swingline Loan” means a Loan made pursuant to Section 2.4.

 

“Synthetic Lease Obligation” means the monetary obligation of a Person under (a) a so-called synthetic, off-balance sheet or tax retention lease, or (b) an agreement for the use or possession of property (including sale and leaseback transactions), in each case, creating obligations that do not appear on the balance sheet of such Person but which, upon the application of any Debtor Relief Laws to such Person, would be characterized as the indebtedness of such Person (without regard to accounting treatment).

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“Tax Preferred Subsidiary” means a Foreign Holdco, a CFC, and any direct or indirect Subsidiary of either of the foregoing.

 

“Taxes” means all present or future taxes, levies, imposts, duties, deductions, withholdings (including backup withholding), assessments, fees or other similar charges imposed by any Governmental Authority, including any interest, additions to tax or penalties applicable thereto imposed by any Governmental Authority.

 

“Term Benchmark” when used in reference to any Loan or Borrowing, refers to whether such Loan, or the Loans comprising such Borrowing, are bearing interest at a rate determined by reference to the Adjusted Term SOFR Rate.

 

“Term Loan” means collectively, the Initial Term Loans, Second Amendment Term Loans and any Incremental Term Loans, Extended Term Loan, Replacement Term Loan or Refinancing Term Loan, in each case to the extent outstanding or in existence.

 

“Term Loan Commitment” means, with respect to each Term Loan Lender, its obligation to make an Initial Term Loan to the Borrowers on the Effective Date in an aggregate principal amount up to, and not to exceed, the amount set forth on such Lender’s signature page hereto under the caption “Term Loan Commitment”. The aggregate amount of the Term Loan Lenders’ Term Loan Commitments is $120,000,000 as of the Effective Date. collectively the Initial Term Loan Commitment and the Second Lien Term Loan Commitment.

 

“Term Loan Lender” means a Lender with a Term Loan Commitment or an outstanding Term Loan, Extended Term Loan or Refinancing Term Loan.

 

“Term Loan Maturity Date” means (i) with respect to the Initial Term Loans and the Second Amendment Term Loans, August 23, 2027, (ii) with respect to any Tranche of Incremental Term Loans, the final maturity as specified in the applicable Incremental Amendment and in accordance with Section 2.19(a), (iii) with respect to any Refinancing Term Loan, Extended Term Loan or Replacement Term Loan, the final maturity date as specified in the applicable Refinancing Amendment and (iv) with respect to any tranche of Extended Term Loans, the final maturity date as specified in the applicable Extension Amendment.

 

“Term SOFR” means, for the applicable Corresponding Tenor as of the applicable Reference Time, the forward-looking term rate based on SOFR that has been selected or recommended by the Relevant Governmental Body. Adjustment” means, for any calculation with respect to a Base Rate Loan or Term Benchmark Loan, a percentage per annum as set forth below for the applicable Type of such Loan and (if applicable) Interest Period therefor:

 

Interest Period   Percentage
One Month   0.10%
Three Months   0.15%
Six Months   0.25%

 

“Term SOFR Notice” means a notification by the Administrative Agent to the Lenders and the Borrowers of the occurrence of a Term SOFR Transition Event. Rate” means, with respect to any Term Benchmark Loan and for any tenor comparable to the applicable Interest Period, the Term SOFR Reference Rate at approximately 6:00 a.m., New York City time, two (2) U.S. Government Securities Business Days prior to the commencement of such tenor comparable to the applicable Interest Period, as such rate is published by the CME Term SOFR Administrator.

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“Term SOFR Transition Event” means the determination by the Administrative Agent that (a) Term SOFR has been recommended for use by the Relevant Governmental Body, (b) the administration of Term SOFR is administratively feasible for the Administrative Agent and (c) a Benchmark Transition Event or an Early Opt- in Election, as applicable (and, for the avoidance of doubt, not in the case of an Other Benchmark Rate Election), has previously occurred resulting in a Benchmark Replacement in accordance with Section 2.13 that is not Term SOFR.Reference Rate” means, for any day and time (such day, the “Term SOFR Determination Day”), and for any tenor comparable to the applicable Interest Period, the rate per annum determined by the Administrative Agent as the forward-looking term rate based on SOFR. If by 5:00 pm (New York City time) on such Term SOFR Determination Day, the “Term SOFR Reference Rate” for the applicable tenor has not been published by the CME Term SOFR Administrator and a Benchmark Replacement Date with respect to the Term SOFR Rate has not occurred, then the Term SOFR Reference Rate for such Term SOFR Determination Day will be the Term SOFR Reference Rate as published in respect of the first preceding U.S. Government Securities Business Day for which such Term SOFR Reference Rate was published by the CME Term SOFR Administrator, so long as such first preceding Business Day is not more than five (5) Business Days prior to such Term SOFR Determination Day.

 

“Termination Value” means, in respect of any Hedging Agreement, after taking into account the effect of any legally enforceable netting agreement relating to such Hedging Agreement, (a) for any date on or after the date such Hedging Agreement has been closed out and termination value determined in accordance therewith, such termination value, and (b) for any date prior to the date referenced in clause (a) of this definition the amount determined as the mark-to-market value for such Hedging Agreement, as determined based upon one or more mid-market or other readily available quotations provided by any recognized dealer in such Hedging Agreement (which may include any Lender or any Affiliate of any Lender).

 

“Total Credit Exposure” means, as to any Lender at any time, the Revolving Credit Exposures, unused Revolving Credit Commitments and outstanding Term Loans of such Lender at such time.

 

“Tranche” means, with respect to any Incremental Term Loans, Extended Term Loans or Refinancing Term Loans, all such Loans made on the same date pursuant to the terms of the same Notice of Borrowing.

 

“Transaction Costs” means the fees, costs, and expenses payable by the Obligors in connection with the consummation of the Transactions.

 

“Transactions” mean, collectively, (a) the consummation of the Acquisition, (b) Holdings’ receipt of the proceeds of the Sponsor Equity Contribution, (c) the execution, delivery and performance by each Obligor of this Agreement and the other Loan Documents to which such Obligor is intended to be a party and the consummation of the transactions on the Effective Date contemplated thereby, (d) the initial borrowing of Loans, (e) subject to Section 5.11, the grant by each Obligor of the Liens granted by it pursuant to the Security Documents to which it is a party, (f) the repayment in full of all obligations under the Existing Indebtedness, (g) [reserved], and (h) the payment of all fees and expenses to be paid on or prior to the Effective Date and owing in connection with the foregoing.

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“Type”, when used in reference to any Loan or Borrowing, refers to whether the rate of interest on such Loan, or on the Loans comprising such Borrowing, is determined by reference to the Adjusted LIBOTerm SOFR Rate, the Adjusted Daily Simple SOFR or the Base Rate.

 

“UCC” means the New York Uniform Commercial Code as adopted in the State of New York; provided in connection with any Lien granted under any Security Document, if the laws of any other jurisdiction would govern the perfection or enforcement of such Lien, “UCC” means the Uniform Commercial Code as in effect in such jurisdiction with respect to such Lien.

 

“UK Financial Institutions” means any BRRD Undertaking (as such term is defined under the PRA Rulebook (as amended from time to time) promulgated by the United Kingdom Prudential Regulation Authority) or any person falling within IFPRU 11.6 of the FCA Handbook (as amended from time to time) promulgated by the United Kingdom Financial Conduct Authority, which includes certain credit institutions and investment firms, and certain affiliates of such credit institutions or investment firms.

 

“UK Resolution Authority” means the Bank of England or any other public administrative authority having responsibility for the resolution of any UK Financial Institution.

 

“Unadjusted Benchmark Replacement” means the applicable Benchmark Replacement excluding the related Benchmark Replacement Adjustment.

 

“Undisclosed Administration” means in relation to a solvent Person, the precautionary appointment of an administrator, conservator, receiver, trustee, custodian or other similar official by a supervisory authority or regulator under or based on the law in the country where such person is subject to home jurisdiction supervision if applicable law requires that such appointment is not to be publicly disclosed.

 

“United States” and “U.S.” mean the United States of America.

 

“Unrestricted Cash” means unrestricted cash and Cash Equivalents of the Obligors held in (a) a pledged account in favor of Administrative Agent such that the Administrative Agent has “control” of such cash and Cash Equivalents under the UCC or (b) maintained in an account with the Administrative Agent; provided that the foregoing requirements in clauses (a) and (b) shall not apply until the date that is ninety (90) days after the Effective Date.

 

“Unrestricted Subsidiary” means any Subsidiary of a Borrower, other than any Borrower or any Additional Borrower, designated (with written notice to the Administrative Agent) by the board of directors (or analogous governing body) of a Borrower as an Unrestricted Subsidiary pursuant to Section 5.12 subsequent to the Effective Date, and any Subsidiary of an Unrestricted Subsidiary.

 

“Unused Revolving Commitment” means, at any time with respect to any Revolving Credit Lender, the amount equal to (a) such Revolving Credit Lender’s Commitment minus (b) the aggregate amount of the outstanding Revolving Credit Loans and LC Exposure of such Revolving Credit Lender.

 

“U.S. Person” means any Person that is a “United States person” as defined in Section 7701(a)(30) of the Code.

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“U.S. Tax Compliance Certificate” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 2.16(g).

 

“USA Patriot Act” has the meaning assigned to such term in the definition of “Anti-Terrorism Laws”.

 

“USDA” means the United States Department of Agriculture.

 

“Vive Organic” means Vive Organic, Inc., a Delaware corporation.

 

“Weighted Average Life to Maturity” when applied to any Indebtedness at any date, means the number of years obtained by dividing (1) the sum of the products obtained by multiplying (a) the amount of each then remaining installment, sinking fund, serial maturity or other required payment of principal, including payment at final maturity, in respect thereof by (b) the number of years (calculated to the nearest one-twelfth) that will elapse between such date and the making of such payment by (2) the then outstanding principal amount of such Indebtedness; provided that for purposes of the Weighted Average Life to Maturity of such Indebtedness, the effects of any prepayments or amortization made on such Indebtedness prior to the date of the applicable modification, refinancing, refunding, renewal, replacement or extension shall be disregarded.

 

“Wholly-Owned” means a Person in which (other than directors’ qualifying shares or other shares required by law) 100% of the Equity Interests and Equity Rights, at the time as of which any determination is being made, is owned, beneficially and of record, by a Borrower, or by one or more of the other Wholly-Owned Subsidiaries of a Borrower, or both.

 

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

 

“Withholding Agent” means any Obligor and the Administrative Agent.

 

“Write-Down and Conversion Powers” means (a) with respect to any EEA Resolution Authority, the write-down and conversion powers of such EEA Resolution Authority from time to time under the Bail-In Legislation for the applicable EEA Member Country, which write-down and conversion powers are described in the EU Bail-In Legislation Schedule, and (b) with respect to the United Kingdom, any powers of the applicable Resolution Authority under the Bail-In Legislation to cancel, reduce, modify or change the form of a liability of any UK Financial Institution or any contract or instrument under which that liability arises, to convert all or part of that liability into shares, securities or obligations of that person or any other person, to provide that any such contract or instrument is to have effect as if a right had been exercised under it or to suspend any obligation in respect of that liability or any of the powers under that Bail-In Legislation that are related to or ancillary to any of those powers.

 

1.2         Classification of Loans and Borrowings. For purposes of this Agreement, Loans may be classified and referred to by Class (e.g., a Revolving Credit Loan) or by Type (e.g., a EurodollarTerm Benchmark Loan) or by Class and Type (e.g., a EurodollarTerm Benchmark Revolving Credit Loan). Borrowings also may be classified and referred to by Class (e.g., a Revolving Credit Loan Borrowing) or by Type (e.g., a EurodollarTerm Benchmark Borrowing) or by Class and Type (e.g., a EurodollarTerm Benchmark Revolving Credit Loan Borrowing).

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1.3         Interpretation. With reference to this Agreement and each other Loan Document, unless other specified herein or in such other Loan Document:

 

(a)          The definitions of terms herein shall apply equally to the singular and plural forms of the terms defined. Whenever the context may require, any pronoun shall include the corresponding masculine, feminine, and neuter forms. The words “include”, “includes” and “including” shall be deemed to be followed by the phrase “without limitation”. The word “will” shall be construed to have the same meaning and effect as the word “shall”. Unless the context requires otherwise (i) any definition of or reference to any agreement, instrument or other document herein shall be construed as referring to such agreement, instrument or other document as from time to time amended, supplemented modified, restated, refinanced, extended, restructured or replaced (subject to any restrictions set forth herein), (ii) any reference herein to any Person shall be construed to include such Person’s permitted successors and assigns, (iii) the words “herein”, “hereof” and “hereunder”, and words of similar import when used in any Loan Document, shall be construed to refer to such Loan Document in its entirety and not to any particular provision thereof, (iv) unless otherwise specified, all references in any Loan Document to Sections, Exhibits and Schedules shall be construed to refer to Sections of, and Exhibits and Schedules to, the Loan Document in which such references appear, (v) any reference to any law shall include all statutory and regulatory provisions consolidating, amending, replacing or interpreting such law and any reference to any law or regulation shall, unless otherwise specified, refer to such law or regulation as amended, modified or supplemented from time to time, (vi) any table of contents, captions and headings are for convenience of reference only and shall not affect the construction of this Agreement or any other Loan Document, (vii) 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 (viii) all references to “knowledge” of any Borrower or any Restricted Subsidiary of Holdings means the actual knowledge of a Responsible Officer.

 

(b)          In the computation of periods of time from a specified date to a later specified date, the word “from” means “from and including;” the words “to” and “until” each mean “to but excluding;” and the word “through” means “to and including.”

 

(c)          For all purposes under the Loan Documents, in connection with any division or plan of division under Delaware law (or any comparable event under a different jurisdiction’s laws): (a) if any asset, right, obligation or liability of any Person becomes the asset, right, obligation or liability of a different Person, then it shall be deemed to have been transferred from the original Person to the subsequent Person, and (b) if any new Person comes into existence, such new Person shall be deemed to have been organized on the first date of its existence by the holders of its Equity Interests at such time.

 

1.4         Rounding. Any financial ratios required to be maintained by Holdings and its Restricted Subsidiaries pursuant to this Agreement shall be calculated by dividing the appropriate component by the other component, carrying the result to one place more than the number of places by which such ratio is expressed herein and rounding the result up or down to the nearest number (with a rounding-up if there is no nearest number).

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1.5         Letter of Credit Amounts. Unless otherwise specified herein, the amount of a Letter of Credit at any time shall be deemed to be the stated amount of such Letter of Credit in effect at such time; provided, that with respect to any Letter of Credit that, by its terms or the terms of any document related thereto, provides for one or more automatic increases in the stated amount thereof, the amount of such Letter of Credit shall be deemed to be the maximum stated amount of such Letter of Credit after giving effect to all such increases, whether or not such maximum stated amount is in effect at such time.

 

1.6         Accounting Terms; GAAP. Except as otherwise expressly provided herein, all terms of an accounting or financial nature shall be construed, and all accounting determinations and computations required under the Loan Documents shall be made, in accordance with GAAP, as in effect from time to time, consistently applied; provided that, (a) if at any time any change in GAAP would affect the computation of any financial ratio or requirement set forth in any Loan Document, and either the Borrower Representative or the Required Lenders (through Administrative Agent) shall so request, Administrative Agent, the Lenders and the Borrower Representative shall negotiate in good faith to amend such ratio or requirement to preserve the original intent thereof in light of such change in GAAP (subject to the approval of the Required Lenders); provided that, until so amended, (i) such ratio or requirement shall continue to be computed in accordance with GAAP prior to such change therein and (ii) the Borrower Representative shall provide to the Administrative Agent and the Lenders financial statements and other documents required under this Agreement or as reasonably requested hereunder setting forth a reconciliation between calculations of such ratio or requirement made before and after giving effect to such change in GAAP, (b) notwithstanding any other provision contained herein, all terms of an accounting or financial nature used herein shall be construed, and all computations of amounts and ratios referred to in Section 7 shall be made, without giving effect to any election under Accounting Standards Codification 825-10 (or any other Financial Accounting Standard having a similar result or effect) to value any Indebtedness or other liabilities of any Obligor or any Subsidiary of any Obligor at “fair value” and (c) notwithstanding any other provision contained herein, unless the Borrower Representative elects otherwise, all obligations of any Person that are or would have been treated as operating leases for purposes of GAAP prior to the issuance by the Financial Accounting Standards Board on February 25, 2016 of Accounting Standards Update 2016-02, Leases (Topic 842) shall continue to be accounted for as operating leases (and not be treated as financing or capital lease obligations or Indebtedness) for purposes of all financial definitions, calculations and deliverables under this Agreement or any other Loan Document (including the calculation of Consolidated Net Income and Consolidated EBITDA) (whether or not such operating lease obligations were in effect on such date) notwithstanding the fact that such obligations are required in accordance with Accounting Standards Update 2016-02, Leases (Topic 842) or any other change in accounting treatment or otherwise (on a prospective or retroactive basis or otherwise) to be treated as or to be recharacterized as financing or capital lease obligations or otherwise accounted for as liabilities in financial statements.

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1.7Limited Condition Transactions.

 

(a)          In connection with any action being taken in connection with a Limited Condition Transaction, for purposes of determining compliance with any provision of this Agreement which requires that no Default, Event of Default or specified Event of Default, as applicable, has occurred, is continuing or would result from any such action, as applicable, such condition shall, at the option of the Borrowers, be deemed satisfied, so long as no Default, Event of Default or specified Event of Default, as applicable, exists on the date the definitive agreements or binding obligations for such Limited Condition Transaction are entered into after giving pro forma effect to such Limited Condition Transaction and the actions to be taken in connection therewith (including any incurrence of Indebtedness and the use of proceeds thereof) as if such Limited Condition Transaction and other actions had occurred on such date. For the avoidance of doubt, if the Borrower Representative has delivered an LCT Election (as defined below), and any Default or Event of Default occurs following the date the definitive agreements for the applicable Limited Condition Transaction were entered into and prior to the consummation of such Limited Condition Transaction, any such Default or Event of Default shall be deemed to not have occurred or be continuing solely for purposes of determining whether any action being taken in connection with such Limited Condition Transaction is permitted hereunder. Notwithstanding the foregoing, in no event shall any Event of Default described in clause (a), (b), (h) or (i) of Section 8.1 exist immediately prior to or after giving effect to any Limited Condition Transaction.

 

(b)          In connection with a Limited Condition Transaction or any action being taken solely in connection with a Limited Condition Transaction, for purposes of:

 

(i)          determining compliance with any provision of this Agreement which requires the calculation of the Consolidated Net Leverage Ratio, Consolidated First Lien Net Leverage Ratio and Consolidated Secured Net Leverage Ratio (but excluding any calculation for purposes of determining the Applicable Margin or actual compliance with Section 7),

 

(ii)         determining compliance with any representations, warranties, defaults or Events of Default (other than for purposes of borrowings of Revolving Loans); or

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(iii)        testing availability under baskets (including any baskets in respect of any Incremental Facility) set forth in this Agreement,

 

in each case, at the option of the Borrower Representative (the Borrower Representative’s election to exercise such option in connection with any Limited Condition Transaction, an “LCT Election”), the date of determination of whether a Limited Condition Transaction or any such action is permitted hereunder, shall be deemed to be (A) in the case of any acquisition or investment, the date the definitive agreements for such Limited Condition Transaction are entered into or (B) in the case of any redemption, repurchase, defeasance, satisfaction and discharge or repayment of Indebtedness, the date irrevocable notice in advance of such redemption, repurchase, defeasance, satisfaction and discharge or repayment is delivered (the “LCT Test Date”), and if, after giving pro forma effect to the Limited Condition Transaction (including, for the avoidance of doubt, the Consolidated EBITDA of or attributable to the target companies or assets associated with any such Limited Condition Transaction) and the other transactions to be entered into in connection therewith (including any incurrence of Indebtedness and the use of proceeds thereof) as if they had occurred at the beginning of the most recent four consecutive Fiscal Quarters ending prior to the LCT Test Date for which financial statements have been delivered to the Administrative Agent, the applicable Company could have taken such action on the relevant LCT Test Date in compliance with such ratio or basket, such ratio or basket shall be deemed to have been complied with. For the avoidance of doubt, if the Borrower Representative has made an LCT Election and any of the ratios or baskets for which compliance was determined or tested as of the LCT Test Date are exceeded as a result of fluctuations in any such ratio or basket, at or prior to the consummation of the relevant transaction or action, such basket or ratio will not be deemed to have been exceeded as a result of such fluctuations solely for purposes of determining whether the relevant transaction or actions is permitted to be consummated or taken; provided, that for any determination to be made pursuant to this Section 1.7, the Borrower Representative may, by delivering a notice in writing to the Administrative Agent, elect to recalculate all such ratios, tests or baskets in respect of the last twelve fiscal months of the Borrowers for which monthly financial statements are available and have been delivered to the Administrative Agent in which case such date of redetermination shall thereafter be deemed to be the applicable LCT Test Date. If the Borrower Representative has made an LCT Election for any Limited Condition Transaction, then in connection with any subsequent calculation of the Financial Covenant, ratio or basket availability on or following the relevant LCT Test Date and prior to the earlier of the date on which such Limited Condition Transaction is consummated or the definitive agreement for such Limited Condition Transaction is terminated or expires without consummation of such Limited Condition Transaction, any such Financial Covenant, ratio or basket availability shall be required to be satisfied both (x) on a pro forma basis assuming such Limited Condition Transaction and other transactions in connection therewith (including any pro forma increase in Consolidated EBITDA resulting from such Limited Condition Transaction, any incurrence of Indebtedness and the use of proceeds thereof) have been consummated, and (y) assuming such Limited Condition Transaction and other transactions in connection therewith (including any such pro forma increase in Consolidated EBITDA, incurrence of Indebtedness and the use of proceeds thereof) have not been consummated; provided that for purposes of the definition of Excess Cash Flow the calculation of Consolidated Net Income shall not include the Consolidated Net Income of the Person or assets to be acquired (this Section 1.7, collectively, the “Limited Condition Transaction Provision”).

 

1.8Pro Forma Calculations.

 

(a)          Notwithstanding anything to the contrary herein, financial ratios and tests, including the Consolidated Total Net Leverage Ratio, the Consolidated First Lien Net Leverage Ratio and, the Consolidated Secured Net Leverage Ratio and Consolidated EBITDA shall be calculated on a pro forma basis in the manner prescribed by this Section 1.8; provided that notwithstanding anything to the contrary in Section 1.8(b), (c) or (d), when calculating the Consolidated Net Leverage Ratio for purposes of (i) the definition of “Applicable Margin”, (ii) the calculation of Excess Cash Flow (other than to the extent otherwise expressly set forth in the definition thereof or in Section 2.10(b)(ii)) and (iii) determining actual compliance (and not Pro Forma Compliance or compliance on a pro forma basis) with any covenant pursuant to Section 7.1, the events described in this Section 1.8 that occurred subsequent to the end of the applicable Reference Period shall not be given pro forma effect. In addition, whenever a financial ratio or test is to be calculated on a pro forma basis, the reference to the “Reference Period” for purposes of calculating such financial ratio or test shall be deemed to be a reference to, and shall be based on, the most recently ended Reference Period for which internal financial statements of the Borrowers are available and have been delivered to the Administrative Agent; provided that, the provisions of this sentence shall not apply for purposes of calculating the Consolidated Net Leverage Ratio for purposes of the definition of “Applicable Margin” and determining actual compliance with Section 7.1 (other than for the purpose of determining pro forma compliance with Section 7.1) and for purposes of calculating Excess Cash Flow, each of which shall be based on the financial statements delivered pursuant to Sections 5.1(a) or (b), as applicable, for the relevant Reference Period.

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(b)          For purposes of calculating any financial ratio or test, Specified Transactions (with any incurrence or repayment of any Indebtedness in connection therewith to be subject to Section 1.8(d)) that have been made (i) during the applicable Reference Period and (ii) if applicable as described in Section 1.8(a), subsequent to such Reference Period and prior to or simultaneously with the event for which the calculation of any such ratio is made shall be calculated on a pro forma basis assuming that all such Specified Transactions (and any increase or decrease in Consolidated EBITDA and the component financial definitions used therein attributable to any Specified Transaction) had occurred on the first day of the applicable Reference Period (or, in the case of the determination of Consolidated Current Assets, the last day). If since the beginning of any applicable Reference Period any Person that subsequently became a Restricted Subsidiary or was merged, amalgamated or consolidated with or into the Borrower or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries since the beginning of such Reference Period shall have made any Specified Transaction that would have required adjustment pursuant to this Section 1.8, then such financial ratio or test (or the calculation of Consolidated Current Assets) shall be calculated to give pro forma effect thereto in accordance with this Section 1.8.

 

(c)          Whenever pro forma effect is to be given to a Specified Transaction, the pro forma calculations shall be made in good faith by a Responsible Officer of the Borrower Representative, shall be subject to any limitations and caps set forth in the definition of “Consolidated EBITDA” and may include, for the avoidance of doubt, the amount of “run-rate” cost savings, operating expense reductions, other operating improvements, cost savings, changes and initiatives and synergies resulting (including, to the extent applicable, from the effect of increased pricing or volume in new or existing customer contracts) from or relating to such initiative or such Specified Transaction projected by the Borrowers in good faith to be realizable as a result of actions taken or expected to be taken (calculated on a pro forma basis as though such cost savings, operating expense reductions, other operating improvements and synergies had been realized on the first day of such period as if such cost savings, operating expense reductions, other operating improvements and synergies were realized during the entirety of such period and such that “run-rate” means the full recurring benefit for a period that is associated with any action taken or expected to be taken (including any savings expected to result from the elimination of a public target’s compliance costs with public company requirements) net of the amount of actual benefits realized during such period from such actions), and any such adjustments shall be included in the initial pro forma calculation of such financial ratios or tests relating to such initiative or such Specified Transaction (and in respect of any subsequent pro forma calculation in which such Specified Transaction is included); provided that (x) a duly completed certificate signed by a Responsible Officer of the Borrower Representative shall be delivered to the Administrative Agent together with the Compliance Certificate next required to be delivered pursuant to Section 5.1(c), certifying that such cost savings, operating expense reductions, other operating improvements and synergies are factually supportable and reasonably anticipated to be realizable in the good faith judgment of the Borrowers, within 24 months after the consummation of a Specified Transaction (with actions from such transactions occurring prior the Effective Date occurring within 24 months after the Effective Date), which is expected to result in such cost savings, expense reductions, other operating improvements or synergies and (y) no cost savings, operating expense reductions and synergies shall be added pursuant to this clause (c) to the extent duplicative of any expenses or charges otherwise added to Consolidated EBITDA (or any component thereof), whether through a pro forma adjustment or otherwise, for such period; provided further that the aggregate amount of such cost savings, operating expense reductions, other operating improvements and “run-rate” synergies shall not, in the aggregate, exceed, when combined with the items in clauses (b)(viii) and (b)(ix) of the definition of Consolidated EBITDA at any given time 30% of Consolidated EBITDA after giving effect to such adjustments.

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(d)          In the event that the Borrowers or any Restricted Subsidiary incurs (including by assumption or guarantees) or repays (including by redemption, repayment, retirement or extinguishment) any Indebtedness (including Disqualified Equity) included in the calculations of any financial ratio or test (in each case, other than Indebtedness incurred or repaid under any revolving credit facility), (i) during the applicable Reference Period or (ii) subject to Section 1.8(a), subsequent to the end of the applicable Reference Period and prior to or simultaneously with the event for which the calculation of any such ratio is made, then such financial ratio or test shall be calculated giving pro forma effect to such incurrence or repayment of Indebtedness, to the extent required, as if the same had occurred on the last day of the applicable Reference Period, in which case such incurrence, assumption, guarantee, repurchase, redemption, repayment, retirement, discharge, defeasance or extinguishment of Indebtedness will be given effect as if the same had occurred on the first day of the applicable Reference Period.

 

(e)          Any provision requiring the pro forma compliance with Section 7.1 shall be made assuming that compliance with the Consolidated Net Leverage Ratio pursuant to such Section is required with respect to the most recent Reference Period prior to such time, and to the extent pro forma compliance is required hereunder prior to the first test date of the financial covenant under Section 7.1, then the requirement shall be pro forma compliance with the first financial covenant level to be tested following the Effective Date.

 

1.9         Compliance with Certain Sections. For purposes of determining compliance with any of Section 5.14 and Article VI, in the event that any Lien, Investment, Indebtedness (whether at the time of incurrence or upon application of all or a portion of the proceeds thereof), Disposition, Affiliate transaction, or prepayment of Indebtedness meets the criteria of one, or more than one, of the “baskets” or categories of transactions then permitted pursuant to any clause or subsection of any such section of Section 5.14 or Article VI, as applicable, such transaction (or portion thereof) at any time shall be permitted under one or more of such clauses of such Section at the time of such transaction or any later time from time to time, in each case, as determined by the Borrowers in its sole discretion at such time and thereafter may be reclassified within such section by the Borrowers in any manner not expressly prohibited by this Agreement. With respect to (x) any amounts incurred (or commitments obtained) or transactions entered into (or consummated or obtained) in reliance on a provision of this Agreement that does not require compliance with a financial ratio or test (including the Consolidated Total Net Leverage Ratio, the Consolidated Secured Net Leverage Ratio and/or the Consolidated First Lien Net Leverage Ratio) substantially concurrently with (y) any amounts incurred (or commitments obtained) or transactions entered into (or consummated or obtained) in reliance on a provision of this Agreement that requires compliance with a financial ratio or test (including the Consolidated Total Net Leverage Ratio, the Consolidated Secured Net Leverage Ratio and/or the Consolidated First Lien Net Leverage Ratio), it is understood and agreed that the amounts in clause (x) shall be disregarded in the calculation of the financial ratio or test applicable to the amounts in clause (y) (for purposes of determining compliance with a financial ratio or test (including the Consolidated Total Net Leverage Ratio, the Consolidated Secured Net Leverage Ratio and/or the Consolidated First Lien Net Leverage Ratio), such amounts incurred (or commitments obtained) or transactions entered into (or consummated or obtained) pursuant to clause (y) shall only be tested once (at the time of such incurrence or transaction) and shall not be subject to satisfaction of any additional incurrence test).

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1.10       Times of Day. Unless otherwise specified, all references herein to times of day shall be references to Eastern time (daylight or standard, as applicable).

 

1.11       Timing of Payment or Performance. Except as otherwise expressly provided herein, when the payment of any obligation or the performance of any covenant, duty or obligation is stated to be due or performance required on a day which is not a Business Day, the date of such payment (other than as described in the definition of “Interest Period”) or performance shall extend to the immediately succeeding Business Day.

 

1.12       Available Amount Transactions. If more than one action occurs on any given date the permissibility of the taking of which is determined hereunder by reference to the amount of the Available Amount immediately prior to the taking of such action, the permissibility of the taking of each such action shall be determined independently and in no event may any two or more such actions be treated as occurring simultaneously.

 

1.13      Letters of Credit. Unless otherwise specified herein, the amount of a Letter of Credit at any time shall be deemed to be the stated Dollar Amount of the undrawn face amount of such Letter of Credit in effect at such time; provided that, with respect to any Letter of Credit that, by its terms or the terms of any issuer document related thereto, provides for one or more automatic increases in the stated amount thereof, the amount of such Letter of Credit shall be deemed to be the Dollar Amount of the maximum stated amount of such Letter of Credit after giving effect to all such increases, whether or not such maximum stated amount is in effect at such time.

 

1.14       Certifications. All certifications to be made hereunder by an officer or representative of an Obligor shall be made by such person in his or her capacity solely as an officer or a representative of such Obligor, on such Obligor’s behalf and not in such Person’s individual capacity.

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1.15      Interest Rates; LIBORBenchmark Notifications. The interest rate on a Loan denominated in dollars may be derived from an interest rate benchmark that may be discontinued or is, or may in the future become, the subject of regulatory reform. Regulators have signaled the need to use alternative benchmark reference rates for some of these interest rate benchmarks and, as a result, such interest rate benchmarks may cease to comply with applicable laws and regulations, may be permanently discontinued, and/or the basis on which they are calculated may change. The interest rate on Eurodollar Loans is determined by reference to the LIBO Rate, which is derived from the London interbank offered rate (“LIBOR”). LIBOR is intended to represent the rate at which contributing banks may obtain short-term borrowings from each other in the London interbank market. On March 5, 2021, the U.K. Financial Conduct Authority (“FCA”) publicly announced that: (a) immediately after December 31, 2021, publication of all seven euro LIBOR settings, and the 1-week and 2-month LIBOR settings will permanently cease; (b) immediately after June 30, 2023, publication of the overnight and 12-month LIBOR settings will permanently cease; and (c) immediately after June 30, 2023, the 1-month, 3-month and 6-month LIBOR settings will cease to be provided or, subject to the FCA’s consideration of the case, be provided on a synthetic basis and no longer be representative of the underlying market and economic reality they are intended to measure and that representativeness will not be restored. There is no assurance that dates announced by the FCA will not change or that the administrator of LIBOR and/or regulators will not take further action that could impact the availability, composition, or characteristics of LIBOR or the currencies and/or tenors for which LIBOR is published. Each party to this agreement should consult its own advisors to stay informed of any such developments. Public and private sector industry initiatives are currently underway to identify new or alternative reference rates to be used in place of LIBOR. Upon the occurrence of a Benchmark Transition Event, a Term SOFR Transition Event, an Early Opt-in Election or an Other Benchmark Rate Election, Section 2.13(c) and (d) provideprovides a mechanism for determining an alternative rate of interest. The Administrative Agent will promptly notify the Borrower Representative, pursuant to Section 2.13(f), of any change to the reference rate upon which the interest rate on Eurodollar Loans is based. However, the Administrative Agent does not warrant or accept any responsibility for, and shall not have any liability with respect to, the administration, submission, performance or any other matter related to LIBOR or other rates in the definition of “LIBO Rate”any interest rate used in this Agreement, or with respect to any alternative or successor rate thereto, or replacement rate thereof (including, without limitation, (i) any such alternative, successor or replacement rate implemented pursuant to Section 2.13(c) or (d), whether upon the occurrence of a Benchmark Transition Event, a Term SOFR Transition Event, an Early Opt-in Election or an Other Benchmark Rate Election, and (ii) the implementation of any Benchmark Replacement Conforming Changes pursuant to Section 2.13(e)), including without limitation, whether the composition or characteristics of any such alternative, successor or replacement reference rate will be similar to, or produce the same value or economic equivalence of, the LIBO Rateexisting interest rate being replaced or have the same volume or liquidity as did the London interbank offered rate (or the euro interbank offered rate, as applicable)any existing interest rate prior to its discontinuance or unavailability. The Administrative Agent and its affiliates and/or other related entities may engage in transactions that affect the calculation of any alternative, successor or alternative rate (including any Benchmark Replacement) and/or any relevant adjustments thereto, in each case, in a manner adverse to the Borrower. The Administrative Agent may select information sources or services in its reasonable discretion to ascertain any benchmark rate, or any component thereof, or rates referenced in the definition thereof, in each case pursuant to the terms of this Agreement, and shall have no liability to the Borrower, any Lender or any other person or entity for damages of any kind, including direct or indirect, special, punitive, incidental or consequential damages, costs, losses or expenses (whether in tort, contract or otherwise and whether at law or in equity), for any error or calculation of any such rate (or component thereof) provided by any such information source or service.

 

2.THE CREDITS

 

2.1          The Commitments.

 

(a)          Revolving Credit Loans. Subject to the terms and conditions set forth herein, each Revolving Credit Lender agrees, severally and not jointly with any other Lender, to make Revolving Credit Loans to the Borrowers from time to time during the Revolving Credit Availability Period in an aggregate principal amount at any time outstanding that will not result in (i) such Lender’s Revolving Credit Exposure exceeding such Lender’s Revolving Credit Commitment or (ii) the sum of the total Revolving Credit Exposures exceeding the total Revolving Credit Commitments. Within the foregoing limits and subject to the terms and conditions set forth herein, the Borrowers may borrow, prepay, and reborrow Revolving Credit Loans (without penalty or premium).

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(b)          Initial Term Loans. Subject to the terms and conditions set forth herein, each Term Loan Lender holding an Initial Term Loan Commitment agrees, severally and not jointly with any other Lenders, to make the Initial Term Loans to the Borrowers on the Effective Date in an aggregate principal amount not exceeding its Initial Term Loan Commitment. Amounts repaid in respect of Initial Term Loans may not be reborrowed.

 

(c)          Second Amendment Term Loans. Subject to the terms and conditions set forth herein and in the Second Amendment, each Second Amendment Term Loan Lender agrees, severally and not jointly with any other Lenders, to make the Second Amendment Term Loans to the Borrowers on the Second Amendment Effective Date in an aggregate principal amount not exceeding its Second Amendment Term Loan Commitment. Amounts repaid in respect of Second Amendment Term Loans may not be reborrowed.

 

2.2          Loans and Borrowings.

 

(a)          Obligations of Lenders. Each Loan shall be made as part of a Borrowing consisting of Loans of the same Class and Type made by the Lenders ratably in accordance with their respective Commitments of the applicable Class. The failure of any Lender to make any Loan required to be made by it shall not relieve any other Lender of its obligations hereunder.

 

(b)          Type of Loans. Subject to Sections 2.7 and 2.13, each Borrowing shall be comprised entirely of Base Rate Loans or EurodollarTerm Benchmark Loans as the Borrowers may request in accordance herewith. Each Swingline Loan shall be a Base Rate Loan. Each Lender at its option may make any EurodollarTerm Benchmark Loan by causing any domestic or foreign branch of such Lender to make such Loan; provided that any exercise of such option shall not affect the obligation of the Borrowers to repay such Loan in accordance with the terms of this Agreement.

 

(c)          Minimum Amounts; Limitation on Number of Borrowing. At the commencement of each Interest Period for any EurodollarTerm Benchmark Borrowing, such Borrowing shall be in an aggregate amount of $1,000,000 or a larger multiple of $100,000 in excess thereof. At the time that each Base Rate Borrowing (other than a Swingline Loan Borrowing or a Base Rate Borrowing on the Effective Date) is made, such Borrowing shall be in an aggregate amount equal to $1,000,000 or a larger multiple of $100,000 in excess thereof; provided that a Base Rate Borrowing may be in an aggregate amount that is equal to the entire unused balance of the total Commitments of the applicable Class or that is required to (i) finance the amount of the reimbursement of an LC Disbursement as contemplated by Section 2.5 or (ii) acquire participations in Swingline Loans pursuant to Section 2.4(c). Each Swingline Loan shall be in an amount equal to $100,000 or a larger multiple of $25,000 in excess thereof. Borrowings of more than one Type and Class may be outstanding at the same time; provided that there shall not at any time be more than a total of seven (7) EurodollarTerm Benchmark Borrowings outstanding plus up to three (3) additional Borrowings for each of any Incremental Term Loans, Extended Term Loans and Refinancing Term Loans.

 

(d)          Limitations on Lengths of Interest Periods. Notwithstanding any other provision of this Agreement, the Borrowers shall not be entitled to request, or to elect to convert to or continue as, a EurodollarTerm Benchmark Borrowing (i) any Revolving Credit Loan Borrowing if the Interest Period requested with respect thereto would end after the Revolving Credit Maturity Date; or (ii) any Term Loan Borrowing if the Interest Period requested with respect thereto would end after the applicable Term Loan Maturity Date.

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2.3          Requests for Borrowings. To request a Borrowing (other than a Swingline Loan), the Borrower Representative shall notify Administrative Agent of such request in writing, which request must be received by Administrative Agent not later than 1:00 p.m., New York City Time, three Business Days before the date of the proposed Borrowing. Each such Borrowing Request shall be irrevocable and shall be in the form of Exhibit 2.3 and signed by the Borrower Representative. Each Borrowing Request shall specify the following information:

 

(a)          whether the requested Borrowing is to be a Revolving Credit Loan Borrowing, or Term Loan Borrowing, if available;

 

(b)the aggregate amount of the requested Borrowing;

 

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

 

(d)whether such Borrowing is to be a Base Rate Borrowing or a EurodollarTerm Benchmark Borrowing;

 

(e)          in the case of a EurodollarTerm Benchmark Borrowing, the initial Interest Period to be applicable thereto (including specifying the duration of such Interest Period and the last day of such Interest Period), which shall be a period contemplated by the definition of the term “Interest Period”; and

 

(f)          the location and number of a Borrower’s accounts or, in connection with the initial Borrowings on the Effective Date, Person to which funds are to be disbursed, which shall comply with the requirements of Section 2.6.

 

If no election as to the Type of Borrowing is specified, then the requested Borrowing shall be a EurodollarTerm Benchmark Borrowing with an Interest Rate Period of one (1) month. If no Interest Period is specified with respect to any requested EurodollarTerm Benchmark Borrowing, then the Borrowers shall be deemed to have selected an Interest Period of one month’s duration. Promptly following receipt of a Borrowing Request in accordance with this Section, Administrative Agent shall advise each Lender that will make a Loan in connection with such Borrowing of the details thereof and of the amount of such Lender’s Loan to be made as part of the requested Borrowing.

 

2.4          Swingline Loans.

 

(a)          Agreement to Make Swingline Loans. Subject to the terms and conditions set forth herein, Swingline Lender agrees to make Swingline Loans to the Borrowers from time to time during the Revolving Credit Availability Period, in an aggregate principal amount at any time outstanding that will not result in (i) the aggregate principal amount of outstanding Swingline Loans exceeding $5,000,000 or (ii) the sum of the total Revolving Credit Exposures exceeding the total Revolving Credit Commitments; provided that after giving effect to any Swingline Loan the Revolving Credit Exposure of any Lender shall not exceed such Lender’s Revolving Credit Commitment, and provided, further, that Swingline Lender shall not be required to make a Swingline Loan to refinance an outstanding Swingline Loan. Within the foregoing limits and subject to the terms and conditions set forth herein, the Borrowers may borrow, prepay, and reborrow Swingline Loans.

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(b)          Notice of Swingline Loans by the Borrowers. To request a Swingline Loan, the Borrower Representative shall notify Swingline Lender of such request in writing, not later than 1:00 p.m., on the day of a proposed Swingline Loan. Each such notice shall be irrevocable and shall specify the requested date (which shall be a Business Day) and amount of the requested Swingline Loan. Unless the limitations set forth in the first sentence of Section 2.4(a) or one or more applicable conditions set forth in Section 4 are not satisfied, Swingline Lender shall make each Swingline Loan available to a Borrower to an account of the applicable Borrower specified in the request (or, in the case of a Swingline Loan made to finance the reimbursement of an LC Disbursement as provided in Section 2.5(f), by remittance to the Issuing Lender) by 3:00 p.m. on the requested date of such Swingline Loan. To the extent that Swingline Lender is not Administrative Agent, Swingline Lender shall provide to the Administrative Agent on each date the Borrower Representative has made a borrowing or paydown request, notice thereof accounting for the outstanding Swingline Loans in form reasonably satisfactory to the Administrative Agent.

 

(c)          Participations by Lenders in Swingline Loans. Immediately upon the making of a Swingline Loan by the Swingline Lender, and without any further action on the part of the Swingline Lender or the Lenders, the Swingline Lender hereby grants to each Revolving Credit Lender, and each Revolving Credit Lender hereby acquires from the Swingline Lender, a participation in such Swingline Loan equal to such Revolving Credit Lender’s Pro Rata Share of such Swingline Loan. The Swingline Lender may, by written notice given to the Administrative Agent not later than 2:00 p.m., New York City time, on any Business Day require the Revolving Credit Lenders to fund such participations in all or a portion of the Swingline Loans outstanding. Such notice to the Administrative Agent shall specify the aggregate amount of Swingline Loans in which the Revolving Credit Lenders will fund such participation. Promptly upon receipt of such notice, Administrative Agent will give notice thereof to each Revolving Credit Lender, specifying in such notice each Revolving Credit Lender’s Pro Rata Share of such Swingline Loan or Loans. Each Revolving Credit Lender hereby absolutely, unconditionally and irrevocably agrees, within one Business Day after receipt of notice as provided in this Section 2.4(c), to pay to the Administrative Agent, for the account of Swingline Lender, such Lender’s Pro Rata Share of such Swingline Loan or Loans. Each Revolving Credit Lender acknowledges and agrees that its obligation to acquire and fund participations in Swingline Loans pursuant to this Section 2.4(c) is absolute, unconditional and irrevocable and shall not be affected by any circumstance whatsoever, including the occurrence and continuance of a Default or reduction or termination of the Revolving Credit Commitments, and that each such payment shall be made without any offset, counterclaim, defense, abatement, withholding or reduction whatsoever. Each Revolving Credit Lender shall comply with its obligation under this Section 2.4(c) by wire transfer of immediately available funds, in the same manner as provided in Section 2.6 with respect to Loans made by such Lender (and Section 2.6 shall apply, mutatis mutandis, to the payment obligations of the Revolving Credit Lenders), and the Administrative Agent shall promptly pay to Swingline Lender the amounts so received by it from the Revolving Credit Lenders. Administrative Agent shall notify the Borrower Representative of any participation in any Swingline Loan acquired pursuant to this Section 2.4(c), and thereafter payments in respect of such Swingline Loan shall be made to the Administrative Agent and not to Swingline Lender. Any amounts received by Swingline Lender from the Borrowers (or other party on behalf of the Borrowers) in respect of a Swingline Loan after receipt by Swingline Lender of the proceeds of a sale of participations therein shall be promptly remitted to the Administrative Agent. Any such amounts received by Administrative Agent shall be promptly remitted by Administrative Agent to the Revolving Credit Lenders that shall have made their payments pursuant to this Section 2.4(c) and to Swingline Lender, as their interests may appear. The purchase of participations in a Swingline Loan pursuant to this Section 2.4(c) shall not relieve the Borrowers of any default in the payment thereof.

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(d)          Payments Directly to Swingline Lender. Except as otherwise provided in Section 2.4(c), the Borrowers shall make all payments of principal and interest in respect of the Swingline Loans directly to Swingline Lender.

 

(e)          If the maturity date shall have occurred in respect of any tranche of Revolving Credit Commitments (the “Expiring Credit Commitment”) at a time when another tranche or tranches of Revolving Credit Commitments is or are in effect with a longer maturity date (each, a “non-Expiring Credit Commitment” and collectively, the “non-Expiring Credit Commitments”), then with respect to each outstanding Swing Line Loan, if consented to by the applicable Swing Line Lender and the Administrative Agent, on the earliest occurring maturity date such Swing Line Loan shall be deemed reallocated to the tranche or tranches of the non-Expiring Credit Commitments on a pro rata basis; provided that (i) to the extent that the amount of such reallocation would cause the aggregate credit exposure to exceed the aggregate amount of such non-Expiring Credit Commitments, immediately prior to such reallocation the amount of Swing Line Loans to be reallocated equal to such excess shall be repaid or Cash Collateralized and (ii) notwithstanding the foregoing, if an Event of Default has occurred and is continuing, the Borrower shall still be obligated to pay Swing Line Loans allocated to the Revolving Credit Lenders holding the Expiring Credit Commitments at the maturity date of the Expiring Credit Commitment or if the Loans have been accelerated prior to the maturity date of the Expiring Credit Commitment. Commencing with the maturity date of any tranche of Revolving Credit Commitments, the sublimit for Swing Line Loans shall be agreed solely with the applicable Swing Line Lender.

 

2.5          Letters of Credit.

 

(a)          General. Subject to the terms and conditions set forth herein, in addition to the Loans provided for in Sections 2.1 and 2.4, the Borrowers may request Issuing Lender to issue, at any time and from time to time during the Revolving Credit Availability Period, Letters of Credit for its own account or for the account of one or more of their Restricted Subsidiaries, and to amend, renew or extend Letters of Credit previously issued by it, in each case, in such form as is reasonably acceptable to the Issuing Lender; provided Issuing Lender shall not be required to issue any Letters of Credit on account of any Restricted Subsidiary of the Borrowers unless Issuing Lender has received the information required by Section 10.13 hereof with respect to such Restricted Subsidiary. Letters of Credit issued, amended, renewed, or extended hereunder shall constitute utilization of the Revolving Credit Commitments. 

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(b)          Notice of Issuance, Amendment, Renewal, or Extension. To request the issuance of a Letter of Credit (or the amendment, renewal or extension of an outstanding Letter of Credit), the Borrower Representative shall at least three Business Days (or such lesser period of time as may be acceptable to the Issuing Lender) prior to the issuance, amendment, renewal or extension hand deliver or telecopy (or transmit by electronic communication, if arrangements for doing so have been approved by Issuing Lender) to the Issuing Lender and the Administrative Agent a notice requesting the issuance of a Letter of Credit, or identifying the Letter of Credit to be amended, renewed or extended, and specifying the date of issuance, amendment, renewal or extension (which shall be a Business Day), the date on which such Letter of Credit is to expire, the amount of such Letter of Credit, the name and address of the beneficiary thereof, the account party, if other than a Borrower, and such other information as shall be reasonably necessary to prepare, amend, renew or extend such Letter of Credit. If requested by Issuing Lender, the Borrower Representative also shall submit a letter of credit application on Issuing Lender’s standard form in connection with any request for a Letter of Credit and such other Letter of Credit Documents as Issuing Lender may reasonably require. In the event of any inconsistency between the terms and conditions of this Agreement and the terms and conditions of any Letter of Credit Document submitted by the Borrowers to, or entered into by the Borrowers with, Issuing Lender relating to any Letter of Credit (other than the Letter of Credit), the terms and conditions of this Agreement shall control. Except as set forth in the immediately preceding sentence, this Section 2.5(b) shall not apply to the automatic extension of any Letter of Credit pursuant to Section 2.5(o).

 

(c)          Limitations on Amounts. Subject to the terms and conditions set forth herein, Issuing Lender agrees to issue, amend, renew, or extend any Letter of Credit at any time and from time to time during the Revolving Credit Availability Period if (and upon issuance, amendment, renewal, or extension of each Letter of Credit, the Borrowers shall be deemed to represent and warrant that), after giving effect to such issuance, amendment, renewal, or extension (i) the aggregate LC Exposures of Issuing Lender (determined for these purposes without giving effect to the participations therein of the Revolving Credit Lenders pursuant to Section 2.5) shall not exceed $3,000,000, (ii) the sum of the total Revolving Credit Exposures shall not exceed the total Revolving Credit Commitments, and (iii) the Revolving Credit Exposure of any Lender shall not exceed such Lender’s Revolving Credit Commitment.

 

(d)          Expiration Date. Each Letter of Credit shall expire at or prior to the close of business on the earlier of (i) the date 12 months after the date of the issuance of such Letter of Credit or such later date as agreed by the Borrowers and the applicable Issuing Lender (or, in the case of any renewal or extension thereof, 12 months after the then-current expiration date of such Letter of Credit or such later date as agreed by the Borrowers and the applicable Issuing Lender), and (ii) the date that is five Business Days prior to the Revolving Credit Maturity Date; provided, the Borrowers may request issuance or renewal of a Letter of Credit with an expiry date after the Revolving Credit Maturity Date if, at the time of such issuance or renewal, the Borrowers deposit into the Collateral Account an amount in immediately available funds equal to 103% of the face amount of such Letter of Credit. No Letter of Credit expiry shall be deemed to have occurred after such earlier date due to the effectiveness of the ISP.

 

(e)          Participations. (i) By the issuance of a Letter of Credit on or after the Effective Date (or an amendment to a Letter of Credit increasing the amount thereof) by Issuing Lender, and without any further action on the part of Issuing Lender or the Revolving Credit Lenders, Issuing Lender hereby grants to each Revolving Credit Lender, and each Revolving Credit Lender hereby acquires from Issuing Lender, a participation in such Letter of Credit equal to such Revolving Credit Lender’s Pro Rata Share of the aggregate amount available to be drawn under such Letter of Credit. Additionally, without any further action on the part of Issuing Lender or the Revolving Credit Lenders, Issuing Lender hereby grants to each Revolving Credit Lender. Each Revolving Credit Lender acknowledges and agrees that its obligation to acquire participations pursuant to this Section 2.5(e) in respect of Letters of Credit is absolute, unconditional and irrevocable and shall not be affected by any circumstance whatsoever, including any amendment, renewal, reinstatement or extension of any Letter of Credit or the occurrence and continuance of a Default or reduction or termination of the Revolving Credit Commitments, and that each such payment or reimbursement shall be made without any offset, counterclaim, defense, abatement, withholding, or reduction whatsoever.

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(ii)          In consideration and in furtherance of the foregoing, each Revolving Credit Lender hereby absolutely, unconditionally and irrevocably agrees to pay to the Administrative Agent, for the account of Issuing Lender, such Revolving Credit Lender’s Pro Rata Share of each LC Disbursement (other than an LC Disbursement made after the Revolving Credit Maturity Date as a result of the issuance a Letter of Credit with an expiry date after the Revolving Credit Maturity Date that has been Cash Collateralized pursuant to the proviso of Section 2.5(d)) made by Issuing Lender promptly upon the request of such Issuing Lender (made through Administrative Agent) at any time from the time of such LC Disbursement until such LC Disbursement is reimbursed by the Borrowers or at any time after any reimbursement payment is required to be refunded to the Borrowers for any reason, including after termination of the Revolving Credit Commitments. Each such payment shall be made in the same manner as provided in Section 2.6 with respect to Loans made by such Revolving Credit Lender (and Section 2.6 shall apply, mutatis mutandis, to the payment obligations of the Lenders), and the Administrative Agent shall promptly pay to the Issuing Lender the amounts so received by it from the Revolving Credit Lenders. Promptly following receipt by Administrative Agent of any payment from the Borrowers pursuant to Section 2.5(f), Administrative Agent shall distribute such payment to the Issuing Lender or, to the extent that the Revolving Credit Lenders have made payments pursuant to this Section 2.5(e) to reimburse Issuing Lender, then to such Lenders and such Issuing Lender as their interests may appear. Any payment made by a Revolving Credit Lender pursuant to this Section 2.5(e) to reimburse Issuing Lender for any LC Disbursement shall not constitute a Loan and shall not relieve the Borrowers of their obligation to reimburse such LC Disbursement.

 

(f)           Reimbursement. (i) If Issuing Lender shall make any LC Disbursement in respect of a Letter of Credit, the Borrowers shall reimburse Issuing Lender in respect of such LC Disbursement by paying to the Administrative Agent an amount equal to such LC Disbursement not later than 2:00 p.m., New York City time, on the Business Day immediately following the day that the Borrower Representative receives written notice, provided that the Borrower Representative may, without being subject to the conditions to borrowing set forth herein, request in accordance with Section 2.1 or 2.4 that such payment be financed with a Base Rate Revolving Credit Loan Borrowing or Swingline Loan in an equivalent amount and, to the extent so financed, the Borrowers’ obligation to make such payment shall be discharged and replaced by the resulting Base Rate Revolving Credit Loan Borrowing or Swingline Loan.

 

(ii)          If the Borrowers fail to make such payment when due, Administrative Agent shall notify each Revolving Credit Lender of the applicable LC Disbursement, the payment then due from the Borrowers in respect thereof and such Lender’s Pro Rata Share thereof, and upon the request of Issuing Lender as provided in Section 2.5(e), each Revolving Credit Lender shall pay to the Administrative Agent, for the account of Issuing Lender, such Lender’s Pro Rata Share thereof in accordance with Section 2.5(e).

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(g)          Obligations Absolute. The Borrowers’ obligation to reimburse LC Disbursements as provided in this Section shall be absolute, unconditional and irrevocable, and shall be performed strictly in accordance with the terms of this Agreement under any and all circumstances whatsoever and irrespective of (i) any lack of validity or enforceability of any Letter of Credit, any other Letter of Credit Document or any Loan Document, or any term or provision therein, (ii) any draft or other document presented under a Letter of Credit proving to be forged, fraudulent, invalid or insufficient in any respect or any statement therein being untrue or inaccurate in any respect, or any loss or delay in the transmission or otherwise of any document required in order to make a drawing under such Letter of Credit, (iii) payment by Issuing Lender under a Letter of Credit against presentation of a draft or other document that does not comply strictly with the terms of such Letter of Credit, or any payment by Issuing Lender under any Letter of Credit to any Person purporting to be a trustee in bankruptcy, debtor-in-possession, assignee for the benefit of creditors, liquidator, receiver or other representative of or successor to any beneficiary or any transferee of such Letter of Credit, including any arising in connection with any proceeding under any Debtor Relief Law, (iv) the existence of any claim, counterclaim, setoff, defense or other right that the Borrowers or any Subsidiary may have at any time against any beneficiary or any transferee of such Letter of Credit (or any Person for whom any such beneficiary or any such transferee may be acting), Issuing Lender or any other Person, whether in connection with this Agreement, the transactions contemplated hereby or by such Letter of Credit or any agreement or instrument relating thereto, or any unrelated transaction, (v) any other event or circumstance whatsoever, whether or not similar to any of the foregoing, that might, but for the provisions of this Section, constitute a legal or equitable discharge of or defense to the Borrowers’ obligations hereunder, (vi) any amendment or waiver of or consent to any departure from any or all of the Loan Documents, (vii) any improper use which may be made of any Letter of Credit or any improper acts or omissions of any beneficiary or transferee of any Letter of Credit in connection therewith, (viii) the existence of any claim, set-off, defense or any right which the Borrowers may have at any time against any beneficiary or any transferee of any Letter of Credit (or Persons for whom any such beneficiary or any such transferee may be acting), any Lender or any other Person, whether in connection with any Letter of Credit, any transaction contemplated by any Letter of Credit, this Agreement, or any other Loan Document, or any unrelated transaction, (ix) the insolvency of any Person issuing any documents in connection with any Letter of Credit, (x) any breach of any agreement between the Borrowers and any beneficiary or transferee of any Letter of Credit, (xi) any irregularity in the transaction with respect to which any Letter of Credit is issued, including any fraud by the beneficiary or any transferee of such Letter of Credit, (xii) any errors, omissions, interruptions or delays in transmission or delivery of any messages, by mail, cable, telegraph, wireless or otherwise, whether or not they are in code, (xiii) any act, error, neglect or default, omission, insolvency or failure of business of any of the correspondents of Issuing Lender, and (xiv) any other circumstances arising from causes beyond the control of Issuing Lender (other than payment or performance). Nothing in this Agreement shall impact the rights of any Obligor to bring action against the beneficiary of any Letter of Credit.

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(h)          Exculpation. Neither Administrative Agent, the Lenders, and Issuing Lender, any of their respective Related Parties nor any correspondent bank of Issuing Lender, shall have any liability or responsibility by reason of or in connection with the issuance (or the amendment, renewal or extension) or transfer of any Letter of Credit by Issuing Lender or any payment or failure to make any payment thereunder (irrespective of any of the circumstances referred to in Section 2.5(g)), or any error, omission, interruption, loss or delay in transmission or delivery of any draft, notice or other communication under or relating to any Letter of Credit (including any document required to make a drawing thereunder), any error in interpretation of technical terms or any consequence arising from causes beyond the control of Issuing Lender; provided that the foregoing shall not be construed to excuse Issuing Lender from liability to the Borrowers to the extent of any direct damages (as opposed to indirect, punitive, exemplary or consequential or exemplary damages, claims in respect of which are hereby waived by the Borrowers to the extent permitted by applicable law) suffered by the Borrowers that are caused by Issuing Lender’s gross negligence, bad faith or willful misconduct or a material breach of this Agreement by such Issuing Lender (in each case, as finally determined by a court of competent jurisdiction) when determining whether drafts and other documents presented under a Letter of Credit comply with the terms thereof. In furtherance and not in limitation of the foregoing, the parties hereto expressly agree that:

 

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

 

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

 

(iii)        Issuing Lender may replace a purportedly lost, stolen, or destroyed original Letter of Credit or missing amendment thereto with a replacement marked as such or waive a requirement of its presentation; and

 

(iv)        clauses (i) and (ii) of Section 2.5(h) establish the standard of care to be exercised by Issuing Lender when determining whether drafts and other documents presented under a Letter of Credit comply with the terms thereof (and the parties hereto hereby waive, to the extent permitted by applicable law, any standard of care inconsistent with the foregoing).

 

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

 

(j)           Interim Interest. If Issuing Lender for any Letter of Credit shall make any LC Disbursement, then, unless the Borrowers shall reimburse such LC Disbursement in full on the date such LC Disbursement is made, the unpaid amount thereof shall bear interest, for each day from and including the date such LC Disbursement is made to but excluding the date that the Borrowers reimburse such LC Disbursement, at the rate per annum then applicable to Base Rate Revolving Credit Loans; provided that, if the Borrowers fail to reimburse such LC Disbursement when due pursuant to Section 2.5(f), then Section 2.12(c) shall apply. Interest accrued pursuant to this Section 2.5(j) shall be for the account of Issuing Lender, except that interest accrued on and after the date of payment by any Revolving Credit Lender pursuant to Section 2.5(e) to reimburse Issuing Lender shall be for the account of such Lender to the extent of such payment.

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(k)          Replacement of Issuing Lender; Replacement Issuing Lender. The Issuing Lender may be replaced upon providing 30 days written notice, at its sole option, by written agreement between the Borrower Representative, Administrative Agent, the replaced Issuing Lender and the successor Issuing Lender. The Borrowers may replace the Issuing Lender for any reason upon 3 days prior written notice to the Administrative Agent and the Issuing Lender and may add an additional Issuing Lender from time to time. Administrative Agent shall notify the Lenders of any such replacement of Issuing Lender or if the Borrowers shall decide to add a new Issuing Lender. At the time any such replacement shall become effective, the Borrowers shall pay all unpaid fees accrued for the account of the replaced Issuing Lender. From and after the effective date of any such replacement or addition, (i) the successor Issuing Lender shall have all the rights and obligations of the replaced Issuing Lender under this Agreement and the other Loan Documents with respect to Letters of Credit to be issued by it thereafter and (ii) references herein to the term “Issuing Lender” shall be deemed to include such successor or the previous Issuing Lender (if applicable), or such successor and the previous Issuing Lender (if applicable), as the context shall require. After the replacement of Issuing Lender hereunder, the replaced Issuing Lender shall remain a party hereto and shall continue to have all the rights and obligations of Issuing Lender under this Agreement and the other Loan Documents with respect to Letters of Credit issued by it prior to such replacement, but shall not be required to issue additional Letters of Credit.

 

(l)           Cash Collateralization. If (i) an Event of Default shall occur and be continuing and the Borrower Representative receives written notice from Administrative Agent or the Required Lenders demanding the deposit of cash collateral pursuant to this Section 2.5(l), or (ii) the Borrowers shall be required to provide cash collateral for LC Exposure pursuant to Section 2.10(b)(iii) or pursuant to Section 8.1, the Borrowers shall immediately deposit into the Collateral Account an amount in cash equal to, in the case of an Event of Default, the LC Exposure as of such date plus any accrued and unpaid interest thereon and, in the case of cash collateral pursuant to Section 2.10(b)(iii) the amount to be deposited shall be the amount required under Section 2.10(b)(iii); provided that the obligation to deposit such cash collateral shall become effective immediately, and such deposit shall become immediately due and payable, without demand or other notice of any kind, upon the occurrence of any Event of Default with respect to the Borrowers described in clause (h) or (i) of Section 8.1; provided further, that any such cash collateral deposited as the result of an Event of Default occurring and continuing shall be returned to the Borrowers once the applicable Event of Default is no longer continuing so long as it has not been applied to the Obligations as permitted hereunder. Such deposit shall be held by Administrative Agent in such Collateral Account for the benefit of the Secured Parties as collateral in the first instance for the LC Exposure under this Agreement and thereafter for the payment of the Obligations. The Borrowers hereby grant a security interest to the Administrative Agent for the benefit of the Secured Parties in such Collateral Account and in any cash, balances, financial assets (as defined in the UCC) or other property held therein and all proceeds thereof.

 

(m)         Applicability of ISP and UCP. Unless otherwise expressly agreed by Issuing Lender and the Borrowers when a Letter of Credit is issued and subject to applicable laws, the Letters of Credit shall be governed by and subject to ISP or the rules of the Uniform Customs and Practice for Documentary Credits, as published in its most recent version by the International Chamber of Commerce on the date any Letter of Credit is issued.

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(n)          Issuing Lender. Issuing Lender shall act on behalf of the Revolving Credit Lenders with respect to any Letters of Credit issued by it and the documents associated therewith. Issuing Lender shall not be obligated to issue Letters of Credit to any beneficiary subject to Sanctions, and Issuing Lender shall have all of the benefits and immunities (i) provided to the Administrative Agent in Section 9 with respect to any acts taken or omissions suffered by Issuing Lender in connection with Letters of Credit issued by it and Letter of Credit Documents pertaining to such Letters of Credit as fully as if the term “Administrative Agent” as used in Section 9 included Issuing Lender with respect to such acts or omissions, and (ii) as additionally provided herein with respect to the Issuing Lender.

 

(o)          Automatic Extension. The Borrowers may request and Issuing Lender shall issue Letters of Credit that may automatically be extended for one or more successive periods not to exceed one year each; provided that Issuing Lender has the option to elect not to extend for any such additional period; and provided, further that, (i) that Issuing Lender shall not elect at any time after the Revolving Credit Maturity Date to extend such Letter of Credit, and (ii) Issuing Lender shall not elect to extend such Letter of Credit if it has knowledge that an Event of Default has occurred and is continuing at the time Issuing Lender must elect whether or not to allow such extension or, subject to Section 2.5(d), if such extension would be terminated on or after the date 5 days prior to the Revolving Credit Maturity Date.

 

(p)          Issuing Lenders other than Administrative Agent. Any Issuing Lender (other than an Issuing Lender that is also Administrative Agent or one of its Affiliates) selected by the Borrowers to issue a Letter of Credit hereunder, shall (i) notify Administrative Agent in writing no later than the Business Day immediately following the Business Day on which the issuance, termination, expiration, reduction, amendment, modification or replacement of any Letter of Credit issued by such Issuing Lender occurs; provided that any notice by an Issuing Lender of the issuance, termination, expiration, reduction, amendment, modification or replacement of a Letter of Credit pursuant to this Section received by Administrative Agent on a day that is not a Business Day, or after 11:00 a.m. (New York City time) on a Business Day, shall be deemed to have been given at the opening of business on the next Business Day, and (ii) deliver to the Administrative Agent, once each week (on such day of the week as Administrative Agent and Issuing Lender shall agree) or during the existence of an Event of Default, as frequently as requested by Administrative Agent, a written report for the prior week of the daily aggregate undrawn amounts of all outstanding Letters of Credit issued by such Issuing Lender.

 

(q)          Illegality under Letters of Credit. If, at any time, it becomes unlawful after the Effective Date for any Issuing Lender to comply with any of its obligations under any Letter of Credit (including, but not limited to, as a result of any sanctions imposed by the United Nations, the United States or any other relevant sanctions authority), the obligations of such Issuing Lender with respect to such Letter of Credit shall be suspended (and all corresponding rights shall cease to accrue) until such time as it may again become lawful for such Issuing Lender to comply its obligations under such Letter of Credit, and such Issuing Lender shall not be liable for any losses that the Obligors may incur as a result.

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(r)           Letters of Credit Issued for Account of Subsidiaries. Notwithstanding that a Letter of Credit issued or outstanding hereunder is in support of any obligations of, or is for the account of, a Subsidiary, the Borrowers shall be obligated to reimburse the Issuing Lender hereunder for any and all drawings under such Letter of Credit. The Borrowers hereby acknowledge that the issuance of Letters of Credit for the account of Subsidiaries inures to the benefit of the Borrowers, and that the Borrowers’ business derives substantial benefits from the businesses of such Subsidiaries.

 

(s)          If the expiration of any Letter of Credit in respect of any tranche of Revolving Credit Commitments occurs prior to the expiry date of any Letter of Credit, then (i) if one or more other tranches of Revolving Credit Commitments in respect of which the Letter of Credit Expiration Date shall not have so occurred are then in effect, such Letters of Credit shall, to the extent such Letters of Credit could have been issued under such other tranches and with the prior consent of each applicable Issuing Lender and the Administrative Agent, automatically be deemed to have been issued (including for purposes of the obligations of the Revolving Credit Lenders to purchase participations therein and to make Revolving Credit Loans and payments in respect thereof pursuant to Section 2.05(e) and (f)) under (and ratably participated in by Lenders pursuant to) the Revolving Credit Commitments in respect of such non-terminating tranches up to an aggregate amount not to exceed the aggregate principal amount of the unutilized Revolving Credit Commitments thereunder at such time (it being understood that no partial face amount of any Letter of Credit may be so reallocated) and (ii) to the extent not reallocated pursuant to the immediately preceding clause (i), the Borrower shall Cash Collateralize any such Letter of Credit in accordance with Section 2.5(l). Commencing with the maturity date of any tranche of Revolving Credit Commitments, the sublimit for Letters of Credit shall be agreed solely with the Issuing Lender.

 

(t)          Conflict with Letter of Credit Application. Notwithstanding anything else to the contrary in this Agreement or any letter of credit application or any other Letter of Credit Document, in the event of any conflict between the terms hereof and the terms of any letter of credit application or any Letter of Credit Document, (i) the terms hereof shall control and (ii) any grant of a security interest or Lien in any letter of credit application or any other Letter of Credit Document shall be null and void.

 

2.6          Funding of Borrowings.

 

(a)          Funding by Lenders. Each Lender shall make each Loan to be made by it hereunder on the proposed date thereof by wire transfer of immediately available funds by 1:00 p.m., New York City time, to the account of Administrative Agent most recently designated by it for such purpose by notice to the Lenders; provided that Swingline Loans shall be made as provided in Section 2.4. Administrative Agent will make such Loans available to any Borrower by promptly crediting the amounts so received, in like funds, to an account designated by such Borrower in the applicable Borrowing Request; provided that Base Rate Revolving Credit Loan Borrowings made to finance the reimbursement of an LC Disbursement as provided in Section 2.5(f) shall be remitted by Administrative Agent to the Issuing Lender. 

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(b)          Presumption by Administrative Agent. Unless Administrative Agent shall have received notice from a Lender prior to the proposed date of any Borrowing that such Lender will not make available to the Administrative Agent such Lender’s share of such Borrowing, Administrative Agent may assume that such Lender has made such share available on such date in accordance with Section 2.6(a) and may, in reliance upon such assumption but without any obligation to do so, make available to such Borrower a corresponding amount. In such event, if a Lender has not in fact made its share of the applicable Borrowing available to the Administrative Agent, then the applicable Lender on the one hand and the Borrowers on the other severally agree to pay to the Administrative Agent forthwith on demand such corresponding amount with interest thereon, for each day from and including the date such amount is made available to the Borrowers to but excluding the date of payment to the Administrative Agent, at (i) in the case of a payment to be made by such Lender, for the first three Business Days the greater of the Federal Funds Effective Rate and a rate determined by Administrative Agent in accordance with banking industry rules on interbank compensation and thereafter at the Base Rate and (ii) in the case of a payment to be made by the Borrowers, the interest rate applicable to Base Rate Loans. If the Borrowers and such Lender shall pay such interest to the Administrative Agent for the same or an overlapping period, Administrative Agent shall promptly remit to the Borrowers the amount of such interest paid by the Borrowers for such period. If such Lender pays its share of the applicable Borrowing to the Administrative Agent, then the amount so paid shall constitute such Lender’s Loan included in such Borrowing. Any payment by the Borrowers shall be without prejudice to any claim the Borrowers may have against a Lender that shall have failed to make such payment to the Administrative Agent. A notice of Administrative Agent to any Lender or the Borrowers with respect to any amount owing under this Section 2.6(b) shall be conclusive, absent manifest error.

 

(c)          Obligations of Lenders Several. The obligations of the Lenders hereunder to make Loans, to fund participations in Letters of Credit and Swingline Loans and to make payments pursuant to Section 10.3(d) are several and not joint. The failure of any Lender to make any Loan, to fund any such participation or to make any payment under Section 10.3(d) on any date required hereunder shall not relieve any other Lender of its corresponding obligation to do so on such date, and no Lender shall be responsible for the failure of any other Lender to so make its Loan, to purchase its participation or to make its payment under Section 10.3(d).

 

2.7          Interest Elections.

 

(a)          Elections by the Borrowers for Borrowings. Each Borrowing initially shall be of the Type specified in the applicable Borrowing Request and, in the case of a EurodollarTerm Benchmark Borrowing, shall have an initial Interest Period specified in such Borrowing Request. Thereafter, subject to the requirements of Section 2.13, a Borrower may elect to convert such Borrowing to a different Type or to continue such Borrowing and, in the case of a EurodollarTerm Benchmark Borrowing, may elect Interest Periods therefor, all as provided in this Section. A Borrower may elect different options with respect to different portions of the affected Borrowing, in which case each such portion shall be allocated ratably among the Lenders holding the Loans comprising such Borrowing, and the Loans comprising each such portion shall be considered a separate Borrowing. This Section shall not apply to Swingline Loan Borrowings, which may not be converted or continued.

 

(b)          Notice of Elections. To make an election pursuant to this Section, the Borrower Representative shall notify Administrative Agent of such election by telephone or by emailing an Interest Election Request to the Administrative Agent, in either case by the time that a Borrowing Request would be required under Section 2.3 if such Borrower was requesting a Borrowing of the Type resulting from such election to be made on the effective date of such election. Each Interest Election Request (whether by telephone or email) shall be irrevocable and any telephonic request shall be confirmed promptly by hand delivery, email or telecopy to the Administrative Agent of a written Interest Election Request in the form of Exhibit 2.7 and signed by the Borrower Representative.

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(c)          Information in Interest Election Requests. Each telephonic and written Interest Election Request shall specify the following information in compliance with Section 2.2:

 

(i)          the Borrowing to which such Interest Election Request applies and, if different options are being elected with respect to different portions thereof, the portions thereof to be allocated to each resulting Borrowing (in which case the information to be specified pursuant to clauses (iii) and (iv) of this Section 2.7(c) shall be specified for each resulting Borrowing);

 

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

 

(iii)        whether the resulting Borrowing is to be a Base Rate Borrowing or a EurodollarTerm Benchmark Borrowing; and

 

(iv)        if the resulting Borrowing is a EurodollarTerm Benchmark Borrowing, the Interest Period to be applicable thereto (by specifying the duration of such Interest Period and the last day of such Interest Period) after giving effect to such election, which shall be a period contemplated by the definition of the term “Interest Period”.

 

If any such Interest Election Request requests a EurodollarTerm Benchmark Borrowing but does not specify an Interest Period, then the Borrowers shall be deemed to have selected an Interest Period of one month’s duration.

 

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

 

(e)          Failure to Elect; Default. If such Borrower Representative fails to deliver a timely and properly completed Interest Election Request with respect to a EurodollarTerm Benchmark Borrowing prior to the end of the Interest Period applicable thereto, then, unless such Borrowing is repaid as provided herein, at the end of such Interest Period such Borrowing shall be converted to a Base Rate Borrowing. Notwithstanding any contrary provision hereof, if a Default has occurred and is continuing and the Administrative Agent, at the request of the Required Lenders, so notifies the Borrower Representative, then, so long as a Default is continuing, (i) no outstanding Borrowing may be converted to or continued as a EurodollarTerm Benchmark Borrowing and (ii) unless repaid, each EurodollarTerm Benchmark Borrowing shall be converted to a Base Rate Borrowing at the end of the Interest Period applicable thereto.

 

(f)           Initial Interest Elections. Anything in Section 2.2 or this Section 2.7 to the contrary notwithstanding, a Borrower may not select a EurodollarTerm Benchmark Borrowing as a Borrowing on the Effective Date unless Administrative Agent receives the applicable Borrowing Request not later than 1:00 p.m., one Business Day prior to the Effective Date, together with an indemnity agreement from the Borrowers agreeing to pay losses as described in Section 2.15, in form and substance reasonably acceptable to the Administrative Agent.

 

2.8         Termination and Reduction of the Commitments.

 

(a)          Scheduled Termination. Unless previously terminated in accordance with the terms hereof, (i) the Initial Term Loan Commitments shall terminate upon the making of the Initial Term Loans on the Effective Date, and (ii) the Revolving Credit Commitments shall terminate on the Revolving Credit Maturity Date, and (iii) the Second Amendment Term Loan Commitments shall terminate upon the making of the Second Amendment Term Loans on the Second Amendment Effective Date.

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(b)          Voluntary Termination or Reduction. The Borrowers may at any time terminate, or from time to time reduce, the Revolving Credit Commitments; provided that (i) each partial reduction of the Revolving Credit Commitments pursuant to this Section shall be in an amount that is $1,000,000 or a larger multiple of $1,000,000 in excess thereof and (ii) the Borrowers shall not terminate or reduce the Revolving Credit Commitments if, after giving effect to any concurrent prepayment of the Revolving Credit Loans in accordance with Section 2.10, the aggregate Revolving Credit Exposures would exceed the total Revolving Credit Commitments.

 

(c)          Notice of Voluntary Termination or Reduction. The Borrower Representative shall notify Administrative Agent of any election to terminate or reduce the Revolving Credit Commitments under Section 2.8(b) by no later than 1:00 p.m., New York City time, at least three Business Days prior to the effective date of such termination or reduction, specifying such election and the effective date thereof. Promptly following receipt of any notice, Administrative Agent shall advise the Lenders of the contents thereof. Each notice delivered by the Borrower Representative pursuant to this Section shall be irrevocable; provided that a notice of termination of the Revolving Credit Commitments delivered by the Borrower Representative may state that such notice is conditioned upon the effectiveness of other credit facilities or occurrence of other transactions or events, in which case such notice may be revoked by the Borrower Representative (by notice to the Administrative Agent on or prior to the specified effective date) if such condition is not satisfied.

 

(d)          Effect of Termination or Reduction. Any termination or reduction of the Revolving Credit Commitments shall be permanent. Each reduction of the Revolving Credit Commitments shall be made ratably among the Lenders in accordance with their respective Revolving Credit Commitments (other than any reduction made pursuant to Section 2.18(b)). All commitment fees accrued on the portion of the Revolving Credit Commitments terminated until the effective date of such termination of the Revolving Credit Commitments shall be paid on the effective date of such termination.

 

2.9          Repayment of Loans; Evidence of Debt.

 

(a)          Repayment. Each Borrower, jointly and severally, hereby unconditionally promises to pay the Loans as follows:

 

(i)          to the Administrative Agent for the ratable account of the Revolving Credit Lenders the aggregate outstanding principal amount of the Revolving Credit Loans on the Revolving Credit Maturity Date or any earlier date of termination of this Agreement or acceleration of the Loans due hereunder in accordance with the terms hereof;

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(ii)         to the Administrative Agent for the ratable account of the applicable Term Loan Lenders, (x) the principal of the Incremental Term Loans of each Tranche on such dates and in such amounts as may be set forth in the Notice of Incremental Term Loan Borrowing for such Tranche, to be applied to the unpaid principal amount of the Incremental Term Loans for such Tranche for which such payment relates, (y) on each Principal Payment Date, the principal of the Initial Term Loans and the Second Amendment Term Loans, as applicable, outstanding in an amount equal to the Quarterly Percentage Amount for each such Class, to be applied to the unpaid principal amount of the Initial Term Loans and the Second Amendment Term Loans on a pro-rata basis, and (z) on the applicable Term Loan Maturity Date or any earlier date of termination of this Agreement or acceleration of the Loans due hereunder in accordance with the terms hereof, the remaining unpaid principal amount of the Initial Term Loans, the Second Amendment Term Loans and/or such other Tranche of Incremental Term Loans, as applicable; provided that the scheduled installments of principal of the Term Loans of any Class set forth above shall be reduced in connection with any voluntary or mandatory prepayments of the Term Loans of such Class in accordance herewith;

 

(iii)        to Swingline Lender the then unpaid principal amount of each Swingline Loan on the earlier of the Revolving Credit Maturity Date (or any earlier date of termination of this Agreement or acceleration of the Loans due hereunder in accordance with the terms hereof) and the date that is five (5) Business Days after such Swingline Loan is made; provided that on each date that a Revolving Credit Loan Borrowing is made, the Borrowers shall repay all Swingline Loans then outstanding.

 

(b)          Manner of Payment. Each repayment or prepayment of Borrowings of any Class shall be applied to repay any outstanding Base Rate Loan Borrowings of such Class before any other Borrowings of such Class.

 

(c)          Maintenance of Loan Accounts by Lenders and the Administrative Agent. Each Lender shall maintain in accordance with its usual practice an account or accounts evidencing the indebtedness of the Borrowers to such Lender resulting from each Loan made by such Lender, including the amounts of principal and interest payable and paid to such Lender from time to time hereunder. Administrative Agent shall maintain on the Register (i) the amount of each Loan made hereunder, the Class and Type thereof and the Interest Period applicable thereto, (ii) the amount of any principal or interest due and payable or to become due and payable from the Borrowers to each Lender hereunder, and (iii) the amount of any sum received by Administrative Agent hereunder for the account of the Lenders and each Lender’s share thereof.

 

(d)          Effect of Entries. The entries made in the accounts maintained pursuant to Section 2.9(c) shall be conclusive evidence of the existence and amounts of the obligations recorded therein; provided that the failure of any Lender or Administrative Agent to maintain such accounts or any error therein shall not in any manner affect the obligation of the Borrowers to repay the Loans in accordance with the terms of this Agreement. In the event of any conflict between the accounts maintained by any Lender and the accounts of Administrative Agent in respect of such matters, the accounts of Administrative Agent shall control in the absence of manifest error.

 

(e)          Participations in Letters of Credit and Swingline Loans. In addition to the accounts maintained pursuant to Section 2.9(c), each Lender and the Administrative Agent shall maintain in accordance with its usual practice account or accounts evidencing the purchases and sales by such Lender of participations in Letters of Credit and Swingline Loans. In the event of any conflict between the accounts maintained by Administrative Agent and the accounts of any Lender in respect of such matters, the accounts and records of Administrative Agent shall control in the absence of manifest error.

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2.10        Prepayment of Loans.

 

(a)          Optional Prepayments. The Borrowers shall have the right at any time and from time to time to prepay any Borrowing in whole or in part, subject to the requirements of this Section (including Section 2.10(d)(vi)) and Section 2.15; provided that each voluntary prepayment of the Term Loans shall be in an amount that is at least $500,000 or a larger multiple of $100,000 in excess thereof or, if less, the entire principal amount thereof then outstanding. Any prepayment of the Term Loans pursuant to this Section 2.10(a) shall be applied to the remaining scheduled amortization payments thereof as set forth in Section 2.10(c).

 

(b)          Mandatory Prepayments. The Borrowers will prepay the Loans (and/or provide cash collateral for LC Exposure, as applicable), as follows:

 

(i)          Sale of Assets or Events of Loss. If on any date a Company shall receive Net Cash Proceeds from (x) any Disposition (excluding any Ordinary Course Disposition) or (y) any Event of Loss, then, unless the Borrower Representative shall have elected to reinvest such Net Cash Proceeds pursuant to a Reinvestment Event so long as no Event of Default described in clause (a), (b), (h) or (i) of Section 8.1 has occurred and is continuing or would result therefrom, within 10 Business Days of the date of receipt by a Company of such Net Cash Proceeds, the Borrowers shall prepay the Term Loans in an amount equal to 100% of the amount of such Net Cash Proceeds in excess of the greater of (A) $4,500,000 and (B) 15% of Consolidated EBITDA (determined at the time of such Disposition or Event of Loss (calculated on a pro forma basis) as of the last day of the most recently ended four Fiscal Quarter period for which financial statements have been delivered pursuant to Section 5.1(a) or (b)) (the “Asset Sale Threshold”) per Fiscal Year for all such Dispositions (it being agreed that the Borrowers may retain all such amount below the Asset Sale Threshold (the “De Minimis Asset Sale Proceeds”)); provided that notwithstanding the foregoing, on each Reinvestment Prepayment Date, the Term Loans shall be prepaid by an amount equal to the Reinvestment Prepayment Amount with respect to the relevant Reinvestment Event, as set forth in Section 2.10(c). The provisions of this Section do not constitute consent to the consummation of any Disposition not permitted by Section 6.4.

 

(ii)         Excess Cash Flow. Not later than the date that is 10 Business Days after the earlier of (x) the date on which the audited financial statements under Section 5.1(a) for the Fiscal Year ending closest to December 31, 2022 and each Fiscal Year thereafter are required to be delivered to the Lenders, and (y) the date such audited financial statements are actually delivered, the Borrowers shall prepay the Term Loans in an aggregate amount equal to (A) 50% of Excess Cash Flow (the “Excess Cash Flow Percentage”) for such Excess Cash Flow Period minus (B) the aggregate amount of voluntary prepayments of Term Loans (except to the extent funded with the proceeds of long term indebtedness) pursuant to Section 2.10(a) and all other Indebtedness secured by the Collateral on a pari passu basis with the Term Loans (and in the case of any revolving loans, accompanied by a corresponding reduction of the commitments in respect thereof), minus (C) optional prepayments on the Revolving Credit Loans (except to the extent funded with proceeds of long term indebtedness) that are accompanied by a corresponding reduction in the Revolving Credit Commitment, such prepayment to be effected in each case in the manner and to the extent specified in Section 2.10(c); provided, however, that (x) the Excess Cash Flow Percentage shall be 25% if the Consolidated First Lien Leverage Ratio as of the last day of the applicable Excess Cash Flow Period is less than 4.00 to 1.00 and (y) the Excess Cash Flow Percentage shall be 0% if the Consolidated First Lien Leverage Ratio as of the last day of the applicable Excess Cash Flow Period is less than to 3.50 to 1.00; provided, further, that such Excess Cash Flow payment shall only be required to the extent exceeding the greater of (A) $3,000,000 and (B) 10% of Consolidated EBITDA as of the last day of the most recently ended four Fiscal Quarter period for which financial statements have been delivered pursuant to Section 5.1(a) or (b)) (the “ECF Threshold”) (it being agreed that the Borrowers may retain all such amount below the ECF Threshold (the “Retained ECF Amount”)) provided, further, that any prepayment of Revolving Loans incurred on the Effective Date to finance any original issue discount or upfront fees required by the Fee Letter shall, at the option of the Borrowers, be applied to any subsequent Fiscal Year to the extent the amount of such prepayments exceeds the amount of prepayments required to be made pursuant to this Section 2.10(b)(ii) for such year.

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(iii)        Insufficient Availability. Until the Revolving Credit Maturity Date, the Borrowers shall from time to time prepay the Revolving Credit Loans and Swingline Loans (or provide cash collateral for LC Exposure as provided in Section 2.5(l)) in such amounts as shall be necessary so that at all times the aggregate outstanding Revolving Credit Exposures shall not exceed the total Revolving Credit Commitments, such amount to be applied FIRST, to repay the outstanding principal balance of the Swingline Loans, until such Swingline Loans shall have been repaid in full, SECOND, to repay, the outstanding principal balance of the Revolving Credit Loans and THIRD, to Cash Collateralize the LC Exposure. In addition, if on any date the LC Exposure shall exceed the Letter of Credit sublimit set forth in Section 2.5(c), the Borrowers shall cash collateralize on such date the outstanding Letters of Credit in an amount equal to such excess.

 

(iv)        Indebtedness Issuance. Without limiting the obligation of the Borrowers to obtain the consent of the Required Lenders pursuant to Section 6.1 to the incurrence of any Indebtedness not otherwise permitted hereunder, upon the incurrence of any Indebtedness (other than Indebtedness permitted under this Agreement (other than Credit Agreement Refinancing Indebtedness)), the Borrowers shall prepay the Loans in an aggregate amount equal to 100% of the Net Cash Proceeds thereof within 5 Business Days of receipt thereof, such prepayment to be effected in the manner and to the extent specified in Section 2.10(c).

 

(v)         Notwithstanding any other provisions of this Section 2.10, (i) to the extent that the repatriation to the United States of any Excess Cash Flow attributable to Foreign Subsidiaries (“Foreign Subsidiary Excess Cash Flow”) would be (x) prohibited or delayed by applicable Law or (y) restricted, prohibited or delayed by applicable material constituent documents or material agreements so long as such restrictions described in this clause (y) are not created in contemplation of such prepayments, an amount equal to the portion of such Foreign Subsidiary Excess Cash Flow that would be so affected were the Borrowers to attempt to repatriate such cash will not be required to be applied to repay Term Loans at the times provided in this Section 2.10 so long, but only so long, as the applicable local law or applicable material documents would not otherwise permit repatriation to the United States (the Borrowers hereby agree to use commercially reasonable efforts during the year following the date such prepayment would otherwise have been required to be paid to overcome or eliminate any such restrictions on repatriation, even if the Borrowers do not intend to actually repatriate such cash, so that an amount equal to the full amount of such Foreign Subsidiary Excess Cash Flow will otherwise be subject to repayment under this Section 2.10), and if at any time within one year following the date on which the respective prepayment would otherwise have been required such repatriation of any of such affected Foreign Subsidiary Excess Cash Flow is permissible under the applicable Law or applicable material documents (even if such cash is actually not repatriated), an amount equal to the amount of the Foreign Subsidiary Excess Cash Flow that could be repatriated will be promptly (and in any event not later than five Business Days after the date that such cash could be repatriated) applied (net of an amount equal to the additional taxes of the Borrowers, their Subsidiaries and the direct and indirect holders of Equity Interests in the Borrowers that would be payable or reserved against as a result of a repatriation and any additional costs that would be incurred as a result of a repatriation, whether or not a repatriation actually occurs) by the Borrowers to the repayment of the Term Loans pursuant to this Section 2.10 and (ii) to the extent that the Borrowers have determined in good faith that repatriation of any Foreign Subsidiary Excess Cash Flow could reasonably be expected to have adverse tax consequences (other than de minimis tax consequences), an amount equal to such Foreign Subsidiary Excess Cash Flow that would be so affected will not be subject to repayment under this Section 2.10; provided that in the case of each of clauses (i) and (ii), such nonpayment prior to the time such amounts must be prepaid shall not constitute an Event of Default (and such amounts shall be available for working capital and other general corporate purposes of the Borrowers and the Restricted Subsidiaries).

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(vi)        Notwithstanding any other provisions of this Section 2.10, (i) to the extent that the repatriation to the United States of any or all of the Net Proceeds of any Disposition by a Foreign Subsidiary (“Foreign Disposition”) or the Net Proceeds of any Event of Loss incurred by a Foreign Subsidiary (“Foreign Casualty Event”) would be (x) prohibited or delayed by applicable law or (y) restricted prohibited or delayed by applicable material agreements (including material constituent documents) so long as such restrictions described in this clause (y) are not created in contemplation of such prepayments, an amount equal to the Net Cash Proceeds that would be so affected were the Borrowers to attempt to repatriate such cash will not be required to be applied to repay Term Loans at the times provided in this Section 2.10 so long, but only so long, as the applicable local law or applicable material documents would not otherwise permit repatriation to the United States (the Borrowers hereby agree to use commercially reasonable efforts during the year following the date such prepayment would otherwise have been required to be made to overcome or eliminate any such restrictions on repatriation even if the Borrower does not intend to actually repatriate such cash, so that an amount equal to the full amount of such Net Cash Proceeds will otherwise be subject to repayment under this Section 2.10), and if at any time within one year following the date on which the respective prepayment would otherwise have been required such repatriation of any of such affected Net Cash Proceeds is permissible under the applicable Law or applicable material documents, even if such cash is not actually repatriated at such time, an amount equal to the amount of the Net Cash Proceeds will be promptly (and in any event not later than five Business Days after the date that such cash could be repatriated) applied (net of an amount equal to the additional Taxes of the Borrowers, their Subsidiaries and the direct and indirect holders of Equity Interests in the Borrowers that would be payable or reserved against as a result of a repatriation and any additional costs that would be incurred as a result of a repatriation, whether or not a repatriation actually occurs) by the Borrowers to the repayment of the Term Loans pursuant to this Section 2.10 and (ii) to the extent that the Borrowers have determined in good faith that repatriation of any of or all the Net Cash Proceeds of any Foreign Disposition or Foreign Casualty Event could reasonably be expected to have adverse Tax (other than de minimis Tax consequences) with respect to such Net Cash Proceeds, an amount equal to such Net Cash Proceeds that would be so affected will not be subject to repayment under this Section 2.10; provided that in the case of each of clauses (i) and (ii), such nonpayment prior to the time such amounts must be prepaid shall not constitute an Event of Default (and such amounts shall be available for working capital and other general corporate purposes of the Borrowers and the Restricted Subsidiaries, in each case, subject to the prepayment provisions in this Section 2.10). For the avoidance of doubt, nothing in this Section 2.10 shall require the Borrowers or any Subsidiary to cause any amounts to be repatriated to the United States (whether or not such amounts are used in or excluded from the determination of the amount of any mandatory prepayments hereunder).

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(c)          Order of Application to Loans. Each such prepayment of the Loans made under Section 2.10(a) shall be applied to any Class of Term Loans or the Revolving Credit Loans as may be selected by the Borrowers and, in connection with voluntary prepayments of such Class of Term Loans, applied to the remaining scheduled amortization payments thereof as the Borrowers shall direct or, absent such direction, in the direct order of maturity or otherwise as may be agreed in the applicable Incremental Amendment for such Tranche. Except as otherwise provided in Section 8.2, each mandatory prepayment of the Loans under Section 2.10(b) (other than any mandatory prepayment of the Loans under Section 2.10(b)(iii)) shall be applied (i) FIRST, to repay accrued interest and fees due on the amount of such repayment, (ii) SECOND, to repay, on a pro rata basis, the outstanding principal balance of the Term Loans (on a pro rata basis to each Class of Term Loans and within each Class, first to such Term Loans that are Base Rate Loans and, then, to such Term Loans that are EurodollarTerm Benchmark Loans), as the Borrowers shall direct or, absent such direction, in the direct order of maturity and thereafter, to the remaining scheduled amortization payments on a pro rata basis, until the Term Loans shall have been repaid in full, (iii) THIRD, to repay the outstanding principal balance of the Swingline Loans, until such Swingline Loans shall have been repaid in full; and (iv) FOURTH, to repay, on a pro rata basis, the outstanding principal balance of the Revolving Credit Loans (without a corresponding reduction in the applicable Revolving Credit Commitment).

 

(d)          Notices, Etc.

 

(i)          The Borrower Representative shall notify Administrative Agent (and, in the case of prepayment of a Swingline Loan, Swingline Lender) in writing of any optional prepayment under Section 2.10(a), (i) in the case of prepayment of a EurodollarTerm Benchmark Borrowing, not later than 2:00 p.m., three Business Days before the date of prepayment, (ii) in the case of prepayment of a Base Rate Borrowing, not later than 11:00 a.m., New York City time, on the date of prepayment or (iii) in the case of prepayment of a Swingline Loan, not later than 12:00 p.m., on the date of prepayment. Each such notice shall specify the prepayment date, and the principal amount of each Borrowing or portion thereof to be prepaid; provided that, if a notice of prepayment is given in connection with a conditional notice of termination of the Revolving Credit Commitments as contemplated by Section 2.8(c), then such notice of prepayment may be revoked if such notice of termination is revoked in accordance with Section 2.8(c). Promptly following receipt of any such notice, Administrative Agent shall advise the relevant Lenders of the contents thereof.

 

(ii)         Prior to or concurrently with any prepayment under Section 2.10(b), the Borrower Representative shall deliver to the Administrative Agent a certificate signed by a Responsible Officer of the Borrower Representative containing a reasonably detailed calculation of the estimated amount of such prepayment.

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(iii)        Promptly following receipt of any prepayment notice relating to a Borrowing or such certificate relating to a prepayment, Administrative Agent shall advise the relevant Lenders of the contents thereof and of the amount of such Lender’s ratable portion of such prepayment. Each Lender may reject all of its pro rata share of any mandatory prepayment (other than prepayments resulting from the incurrence of Credit Agreement Refinancing Indebtedness) (such declined amounts, the “Declined Proceeds”) of Term Loans required to be made pursuant to clauses (i), (ii) and (iv) of Section 2.10(b) by providing written notice (each, a “Rejection Notice”) to the Administrative Agent no later than 5:00 p.m. one Business Day after the date of such Lender’s receipt of notice from the Administrative Agent regarding such prepayment; provided that in no event may the proceeds of any Credit Agreement Refinancing Indebtedness be rejected. If a Lender fails to deliver a Rejection Notice to the Administrative Agent within the time frame specified above such failure will be deemed an acceptance of the total amount of such mandatory prepayment.

 

(iv)        Each partial prepayment of any Borrowing shall be in an amount such that the remaining amount outstanding of each Borrowing would be permitted in the case of a Borrowing of the same Type as provided in Section 2.2 except as necessary to apply fully the required amount of a mandatory prepayment under Section 2.10(b). Each prepayment of a Borrowing shall be applied ratably to the Loans included in the prepaid Borrowing.

 

(v)         Prepayments shall be accompanied by accrued interest to the extent required by Section 2.12 and any amounts required by Section 2.15 and shall be made in the manner specified in Section 2.9(b) and this Section 2.10.

 

(vi)        If any optional prepayment pursuant to Section 2.10(a), Section 2.18(b) (only with respect to optional prepayments made in connection with a Lender who is not a party to the applicable Extension Amendment) or Section 2.22 or mandatory prepayment pursuant to Section 2.10(b)(iv) (in each case, whether before or after the occurrence of an Event of Default, an acceleration of the Obligations or the commencement of a bankruptcy or insolvency proceeding) occurs prior to the date occurring (A) prior to the date that is one year after the Effective Date or (B) on or after the date that is one year after the Effective dateDate but prior to the date that is two years after the Effective Date, the Borrowers jointly and severally agree to pay to the Administrative Agent,(1) for the ratable account of each Term Loan Lender with Initial Term Loans that are subject to a prepayment premium in an amount equal to 2.00% or 1.00%, respectively, of the aggregate principal amount of the Initial Term Loans subject to such prepayment and (2) for the ratable account of each Term Loan Lender with Second Amendment Term Loans that are subject to a prepayment premium in an amount equal to 2.00% or 1.00%, respectively, of the aggregate principal amount of the Second Amendment Term Loans subject to such prepayment.

 

2.11       Fees.

 

(a)          Commitment Fees. Each Borrower, jointly and severally, agrees to pay to the Administrative Agent for the account of each Revolving Credit Lender a commitment fee, which shall accrue at a per annum rate equal to the Applicable Margin applicable for the “Commitment Fee Rate” on the average daily Unused Revolving Commitment of such Lender during the period from and including the Effective Date to but excluding the earlier of the date such Revolving Credit Commitment terminates and the Revolving Credit Maturity Date. Accrued commitment fees for this Section 2.11(a) through and including each Quarterly Date shall be payable on the second Business Day following such Quarterly Date and on the earlier of the date the Revolving Credit Commitment terminates and the Revolving Credit Maturity Date, commencing on the first such date to occur after the Effective Date. All commitment fees shall be computed on the basis of a year of 360 days and shall be payable for the actual number of days elapsed (including the first day but excluding the last day).

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(b)          Letter of Credit Fees. Each Borrower, jointly and severally agrees to pay (i) to the Administrative Agent for the account of each Revolving Credit Lender a participation fee with respect to its participations in Letters of Credit, which shall accrue at a rate per annum equal to the Applicable Margin applicable to interest on EurodollarTerm Benchmark Loans on the daily amount of such Lender’s LC Exposure (excluding any portion thereof attributable to unreimbursed LC Disbursements) attributable to Letters of Credit issued during the period from and including the Effective Date to and excluding the later of the date on which such Revolving Credit Lender’s Commitment terminates and the date on which such Lender ceases to have any LC Exposure, and (ii) to the Issuing Lender for its own account a fronting fee, which shall accrue at the rate of 0.125% on the average daily amount of the LC Exposure (excluding any portion thereof attributable to unreimbursed LC Disbursements) attributable to Letters of Credit issued by it during the period from and including the Effective Date to but excluding the later of the date of termination of the Revolving Credit Commitments and the date on which there ceases to be any LC Exposure, as well as Issuing Lender’s standard fees and other standard costs and charges with respect to the issuance, amendment, renewal or extension of any Letter of Credit or processing of drawings thereunder. Participation fees and fronting fees accrued through and including each Quarterly Date shall be payable on the second Business Day following such Quarterly Date, commencing on the first such date to occur after the Effective Date; provided that all such fees shall be payable on the date on which the Revolving Credit Commitments terminate and any such fees accruing after the date on which the Revolving Credit Commitments terminate shall be payable on demand. Any other fees payable to the Issuing Lender pursuant to this Section 2.11(b) shall be payable within 30 days after written demand. All participation fees and fronting fees shall be computed on the basis of a year of 360 days and shall be payable for the actual number of days elapsed (including the first day but excluding the last day).

 

(c)          Administrative Agent Fees. Each Borrower, jointly and severally agrees to pay to the Administrative Agent, for its own account, fees payable in the amounts and at the times separately agreed upon between the Borrowers and the Administrative Agent and such other fees required by the Fee Letter.

 

(d)          Payment of Fees. All fees payable hereunder shall be paid on the dates due, in immediately available funds in Dollars, to the Administrative Agent (or to the Issuing Lender, in the case of fees payable to it) for distribution, other than in the case of fees payable solely for account of Administrative Agent, to the Lenders entitled thereto. Fees paid shall not be refundable under any circumstances.

 

2.12       Interest.

 

(a)          Base Rate Loans. The Loans comprising each Base Rate Borrowing (including each Swingline Loan Borrowing) shall bear interest at a rate per annum equal to the Base Rate plus the Applicable Margin.

 

(b)          EurodollarTerm Benchmark Loans. The Loans comprising each EurodollarTerm Benchmark Borrowing shall bear interest at a rate per annum equal to the Adjusted LIBOTerm SOFR Rate for the Interest Period in effect for such Borrowing plus the Applicable Margin.

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(c)          Default Interest. The Borrowers shall pay interest on the principal amount of all overdue outstanding Loans and, to the fullest extent permitted by law, the outstanding amount of all overdue interest, fees and other Obligations, at a rate per annum equal to the Default Rate immediately upon the occurrence of any Event of Default described in clause (a), (b), (h) or (i) of Section 8.1.

 

(d)          Payment of Interest. Accrued interest on each Loan shall be payable in arrears on each Interest Payment Date for such Loan and, in the case of Revolving Credit Loans, upon termination of the Revolving Credit Commitments, and, in the case of the Term Loans, on the applicable Term Loan Maturity Date (or earlier date of termination of this Agreement or acceleration of the Loans due hereunder pursuant to the terms hereof); provided that (i) interest accrued pursuant to Section 2.12(c) shall be payable on written demand, (ii) in the event of any repayment or prepayment of any Loan (other than a prepayment of a Base Rate Revolving Credit Loan prior to the Revolving Credit Maturity Date), accrued interest on the principal amount repaid or prepaid shall be payable on the date of such repayment or prepayment, and (iii) in the event of any conversion of any EurodollarTerm Benchmark Borrowing prior to the end of the current Interest Period therefor, accrued interest on such Borrowing shall be payable on the effective date of such conversion. Additionally, the Borrowers shall immediately pay to the Administrative Agent for the account of the applicable Lenders the amount of any interest and fees that may be owing pursuant to the penultimate sentence of the definition of Applicable Margin. The Borrowers’ obligations under this Section 2.12(d) shall survive the termination of the Commitments and the repayment of all other Obligations hereunder.

 

(e)          Computation. All interest hereunderInterest computed by reference to the Term SOFR Rate or Daily Simple SOFR hereunder shall be computed on the basis of a year of 360 days. All interest computed by reference to the Base Rate shall be computed on the basis of a year of 360 days (or 365 or 366 days, as the case may be, in the case of Base Rate Loans based on Prime Rate), and in each case shall be payable for the actual number of days elapsed (including the first day but excluding the last day). The applicable Base Rate or Adjusted LIBOTerm SOFR Rate shall be determined by Administrative Agent, and such determination shall be conclusive absent manifest error.

 

2.13       Alternate Rate of Interest; Illegality; LIBOR Successor Rate.

 

(a)          Alternate Rate of Interest. Subject to clauses (c) through (hb), (c), (d), (e) and (f) of this Section 2.13, after the Effective Date and prior to the commencement of any Interest Period for a Eurodollar Borrowingif:

 

(i)          the Administrative Agent, in consultation with the Borrower Representative, determines (which determination shall be conclusive and binding absent manifest error) (A) prior to commencement of any Interest Period for a Term Benchmark Borrowing, that adequate and reasonable means do not exist for ascertaining the Adjusted LIBO RateTerm SOFR Rate or the Term SOFR Rate, as applicable (including, because the Term SOFR Reference Rate is not available or published on a current basis) for such Interest Period or (B) at any time, that adequate and reasonable means do not exist for ascertaining the applicable Adjusted Daily Simple SOFR or Daily Simple SOFR; or

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(ii)          if such Borrowing is of a particular Class of Loans and the Administrative Agent is advised by Lenders having Total Credit Exposures with respect to such Class representing more than 50% of the Total Credit Exposures of allthe Required Lenders with respect to such Class that the Adjusted LIBO that (A) prior to the commencement of any Interest Period for a Term Benchmark Borrowing, the Adjusted Term SOFR Rate for such Interest Period will not adequately and fairly reflect the cost to such Lenders (or Lender) of making or maintaining their Loans (or Loan) included in such Borrowing for such Interest Period such Interest Period or (B) at any time, the Adjusted Daily Simple SOFR will not adequately and fairly reflect the cost to such Lenders (or Lender) of making or maintaining their Loans (or Loan) included in such Borrowing; 

 

then the Administrative Agent shall give written notice thereof to the Borrower Representative and the Lenders as promptly as practicable thereafter and, until (x) the Administrative Agent notifies the Borrower Representative and the Lenders that the circumstances giving rise to such notice no longer exist,   (i) with respect to the relevant Benchmark and (y) the Borrower Representative delivers a new Interest Election Request in accordance with the terms of Section 2.7 or a new Borrowing Request in accordance with the terms of Section 2.3, any Interest Election Request that requests the conversion of any Borrowing to, or continuation of any Borrowing as, a Eurodollar Term Benchmark Borrowing shall be ineffective, and (ii) if any Borrowing Request that requests a Eurodollar Borrowing, such Borrowing shall be made as a Base Rate Borrowing.(b) Illegality. If any Lender determines that any applicable law has made it unlawful, or that any Governmental Authority has asserted that it is unlawful after the Effective Date, for any Lender or its applicable lending office to make, maintain or fund Eurodollar Loans, or to determine or charge interest rates based upon the Adjusted LIBO Rate, or any Governmental Authority has imposed material restrictions on the authority of such Lender to purchase or sell, or to take deposits of, Dollars in the London interbank market, then, on notice thereof by such Lender toTerm Benchmark Borrowing shall instead be deemed to be an Interest Election Request or a Borrowing Request, as applicable, for (x) an RFR Borrowing so long as the Adjusted Daily Simple SOFR is not also the subject of Section 2.13(a)(i) or (ii) above or (y) be repaid or converted into a Base Rate Borrowing if the Adjusted Daily Simple SOFR also is the subject of Section 2.13(a)(i) or (ii) above; provided that if the circumstances giving rise to such notice affect only one Type of Borrowings, then all other Types of Borrowings shall be permitted. Furthermore, if any Term Benchmark Loan is outstanding on the date of the Borrower Representative through the Administrative Agent, any obligation of such Lender to make or continue Eurodollar Loans or to convert Base Rate Loans to Eurodollar Loans shall be suspended until such Lender notifies the Administrative Agent and’s receipt of the notice from the Administrative Agent referred to in this Section 2.13(a) with respect to a Relevant Rate applicable to such Term Benchmark Loan, then until (x) the Administrative Agent notifies the Borrower Representative and the Lenders that the circumstances giving rise to such determinationnotice no longer exist. Upon receipt of such notice, with respect to the relevant Benchmark and (y) the Borrower Representative delivers a new Interest Election Request in accordance with the terms of Section 2.7 or a new Borrowing Request in accordance with the terms of Section 2.3, (1) any Term Benchmark Loan shall, upon demand from such Lender (with a copy to the Administrative Agent), prepay or, if applicable, convert all Eurodollar Loans of such Lender to Base Rate Loans, either on the last day of the Interest Period therefor, if such Lender may lawfully continue to maintain such Eurodollar Loans to such day, or immediately, if such Lender may not lawfully continue to maintain such Eurodollar Loans. Upon any such prepayment or conversion, the Borrowers shall also pay accrued interest on the amount so prepaid or converted.applicable to such Loan (or the next succeeding Business Day if such day is not a Business Day), be converted by the Administrative Agent to, and shall constitute, (x) an RFR Borrowing so long as the Adjusted Daily Simple SOFR is not also the subject of Section 2.13(a)(i) or (ii) above or (y) a Base Rate Loan if the Adjusted Daily Simple SOFR also is the subject of Section 2.13(a)(i) or (ii) above, on such day.

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(b)          (c) Notwithstanding anything to the contrary herein or in any other Loan Document, if a Benchmark Transition Event, an Early Opt-in Election or an Other Benchmark Rate Election, as applicable, and its related Benchmark Replacement Date have occurred prior to the Reference Time in respect of any setting of the then-current Benchmark, then (x) if a Benchmark Replacement is determined in accordance with clause (1) or (2) of the definition of “Benchmark Replacement” for such Benchmark Replacement Date, such Benchmark Replacement will replace such Benchmark for all purposes hereunder and under any Loan Document in respect of such Benchmark setting and subsequent Benchmark settings without any amendment to, or further action or consent of any other party to, this Agreement or any other Loan Document and (y) if a Benchmark Replacement is determined in accordance with clause (32) of the definition of “Benchmark Replacement” for such Benchmark Replacement Date, such Benchmark Replacement will replace such Benchmark for all purposes hereunder and under any Loan Document in respect of any Benchmark setting at or after 5:00 p.m. (New York City time) on the fifth (5th) Business Day after the date notice of such Benchmark Replacement is provided to the Lenders without any amendment to, or further action or consent of any other party to, this Agreement or any other Loan Document so long as the Administrative Agent has not received, by such time, written notice of objection to such Benchmark Replacement from Lenders comprising the Required Lenders of each Class.

 

(c)          (d) Notwithstanding anything to the contrary herein or in any other Loan Document and subject to the proviso below in this paragraph, if a Term SOFR Transition Event and its related Benchmark Replacement Date have occurred prior to the Reference Time in respect of any setting of the then-current Benchmark, then the applicable Benchmark Replacement will replace the then-current Benchmark for all purposes hereunder or under any Loan Document in respect of such Benchmark setting and subsequent Benchmark settings, without any amendment to, or further action or consent of any other party to, this Agreement or any other Loan Document; provided that, this clause (d) shall not be effective unless the Administrative Agent has delivered to the Lenders and the Borrower Representative a Term SOFR Notice. For the avoidance of doubt, the Administrative Agent shall not be required to deliver a Term SOFR Notice after the occurrence of a Term SOFR Transition Event and may do so in its sole discretion.(e) In connection with the implementation of a Benchmark Replacement, the Administrative Agent in consultation with the Borrower Representative, the Administrative Agent will have the right to make Benchmark Replacement Conforming Changes from time to time and, notwithstanding anything to the contrary herein or in any other Loan Document, any amendments implementing such Benchmark Replacement Conforming Changes will become effective without any further action or consent of any other party to this Agreement or any other Loan Document.

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(d)          (f) The Administrative Agent will promptly notify the Borrower Representative and the Lenders of (i) any occurrence of a Benchmark Transition Event, an Early Opt-in Election or an Other Benchmark Rate Election, as applicable, (ii) the implementation of any Benchmark Replacement, (iii) the effectiveness of any Benchmark Replacement Conforming Changes, (iv) the removal or reinstatement of any tenor of a Benchmark pursuant to clause (df) abovebelow and (v) the commencement or conclusion of any Benchmark Unavailability Period. Any determination, decision or election that may be made by the Administrative Agent or, if applicable, any Lender (or group of Lenders) pursuant to this Section 2.13, in each case in consultation with the Borrower Representative, including any determination with respect to a tenor, rate or adjustment or of the occurrence or non-occurrence of an event, circumstance or date and any decision to take or refrain from taking any action or any selection, will be conclusive and binding absent manifest error and may be made in its or their sole discretion and without consent from any other party to this Agreement or any other Loan Document, except, in each case, as expressly required pursuant to this Section 2.13.

 

(e)          (g) Notwithstanding anything to the contrary herein or in any other Loan Document, at any time (including in connection with the implementation of a Benchmark Replacement), (i) if the then-current Benchmark is a term rate (including the Term SOFR or LIBO Rate) and either (A) any tenor for such Benchmark is not displayed on a screen or other information service that publishes such rate from time to time as selected by the Administrative Agent in its reasonable discretion or (B) the regulatory supervisor for the administrator of such Benchmark has provided a public statement or publication of information announcing that any tenor for such Benchmark is or will be no longer representative, then the Administrative Agent, in consultation with the Borrower Representative, may modify the definition of “Interest Period” for any Benchmark settings at or after such time to remove such unavailable or non-representative tenor and (ii) if a tenor that was removed pursuant to clause (i) above either (A) is subsequently displayed on a screen or information service for a Benchmark (including a Benchmark Replacement) or (B) is not, or is no longer, subject to an announcement that it is or will no longer be representative for a Benchmark (including a Benchmark Replacement), then the Administrative Agent, in consultation with the Borrower Representative, may modify the definition of “Interest Period” for all Benchmark settings at or after such time to reinstate such previously removed tenor.

 

(f)          (h) Upon the Borrower Representative’s receipt of notice of the commencement of a Benchmark Unavailability Period, the Borrower Representative may revoke any request for a EurodollarTerm Benchmark Borrowing of, conversion to or continuation of EurodollarTerm Benchmark Loans to be made, converted or continued during any Benchmark Unavailability Period and, failing that, the Borrowers will be deemed to have converted any such request for a Term Benchmark Borrowing into a request for a Borrowing of or conversion to Base Rate Loans(A) an RFR Borrowing so long as the Adjusted Daily Simple SOFR is not the subject of a Benchmark Transition Event or (B) a Base Rate Borrowing if the Adjusted Daily Simple SOFR is the subject of a Benchmark Transition Event. During any Benchmark Unavailability Period or at any time that a tenor for the then-current Benchmark is not an Available Tenor, the component of Base Rate based upon the then-current Benchmark or such tenor for such Benchmark, as applicable, will not be used in any determination of Base Rate. Furthermore, if any Term Benchmark Loan is outstanding on the date of the Borrower Representative’s receipt of notice of the commencement of a Benchmark Unavailability Period with respect to a Relevant Rate applicable to such Term Benchmark Loan, then until such time as a Benchmark Replacement is implemented pursuant to this Section 2.13, any Term Benchmark Loan shall on the last day of the Interest Period applicable to such Loan (or the next succeeding Business Day if such day is not a Business Day), be converted by the Administrative Agent to, and shall constitute, (x) an RFR Loan so long as the Adjusted Daily Simple SOFR is not the subject of a Benchmark Transition Event or (y) a Base Rate Loan if the Adjusted Daily Simple SOFR is the subject of a Benchmark Transition Event, on such day. Increased Costs.

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(i)          For the avoidance of doubt and not withstanding anything in this Agreement to the contrary, any LIBOR Successor Rate shall be a “qualified rate” as defined in Proposed U.S. Treasury Regulation Section 1.1001-6(a)(3) (or in any final or successor U.S. Treasury Regulations promulgated under Section 1001 of the Code), and the Administrative Agent, the Borrowers and the Lenders shall use commercially reasonable efforts to ensure that any amendment made pursuant to this Section 2.13 satisfies any applicable IRS guidance (including Proposed U.S. Treasury Regulation Section 1.1001-6 and any final or successor U.S. Treasury Regulations promulgated under Section 1001 of the Code)) so that the implementation of any Benchmark Replacement will not be treated as a “deemed exchange” of any Loan under Section 1001 of the Code.

 

2.14Increased Costs.

 

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

 

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

 

(ii)         subject any Recipient to any Taxes (other than (A) Indemnified Taxes, (B) Taxes described in clauses (b) through (d) of the definition of “Excluded Taxes”, and (C) Connection Income Taxes) on its loans, loan principal, letters of credit, commitments, or other obligations, or its deposits, reserves, other liabilities or capital attributable thereto; or

 

(iii)        impose on any Lender or Issuing Lender or the London interbank market any other condition, cost or expense (other than Taxes) affecting this Agreement or EurodollarTerm Benchmark Loans made by such Lender or any Letter of Credit or participation therein;

 

and the result of any of the foregoing shall be to increase the cost to such Lender or such other Recipient of making, converting to, continuing or maintaining any EurodollarTerm Benchmark Loan (or of maintaining its obligation to make any such Loan), or to increase in any material respect the cost to such Lender, Issuing Lender or such other Recipient of participating in, issuing or maintaining any Letter of Credit (or of maintaining its obligation to participate in or to issue any Letter of Credit), or to reduce the amount of any sum received or receivable by such Lender, Issuing Lender, or such other Recipient hereunder (whether of principal, interest or any other amount) then, promptly following written request of such Lender, Issuing Lender, or such other Recipient, the Borrowers will pay to such Lender, Issuing Lender, or other Recipient, as the case may be, such additional amount or amounts as will compensate such Lender, Issuing Lender, or such other Recipient, as the case may be, for such additional costs incurred or reduction suffered.

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

 

(c)          Certificates for Reimbursement. A certificate of a Recipient setting forth the amount or amounts necessary to compensate such Recipient or its holding company, as the case may be, as specified in Section 2.14(a) or 2.14(b) and delivered to the Borrower Representative shall be conclusive absent manifest error. The Borrowers shall pay such Recipient the amount shown as due on any such certificate within 30 days after receipt thereof.

 

(d)          Delay in Requests. Failure or delay on the part of any Lender or Issuing Lender to demand compensation pursuant to this Section shall not constitute a waiver of such Lender’s or Issuing Lender’s right to demand such compensation, provided that the Borrowers shall not be required to compensate a Lender or Issuing Lender pursuant to this Section for any increased costs incurred or reductions suffered more than six months prior to the date that such Lender or Issuing Lender, as the case may be, notifies the Borrower Representative of the Change in Law giving rise to such increased costs or reductions and of such Lender’s or Issuing Lender’s intention to claim compensation therefor (except that, if the Change in Law giving rise to such increased costs or reductions is retroactive, then the six-month period referred to above shall be extended to include the period of retroactive effect thereof).

 

2.15       Compensation for Losses. In the event of (a

 

(a)          With respect to Loans that are not RFR Loans, in the event of (i) the payment of any principal of any Term Benchmark Loan other than on the last day of an Interest Period applicable thereto (including as a result of an Event of Default or any mandatory prepayment), (ii) the conversion of any Term Benchmark Loan other than on the last day of the Interest Period applicable thereto, (iii) the failure to borrow, convert, continue or prepay any Loan on the date specified in any notice delivered pursuant hereto (regardless of whether such notice is permitted to be revocable under Section 2.8(c) and is revoked in accordance herewith), or (iv) the assignment of any Term Benchmark Loan other than on the last day of the Interest Period applicable thereto as a result of a request by the Borrower Representative pursuant to Section 2.18, then, in any such event, the Borrowers shall compensate each Lender for the loss, cost, or expense attributable to such event (excluding any loss of anticipated profits) and any loss or expense arising from the liquidation or reemployment of funds obtained by it to maintain such Loan or from fees payable to terminate the deposits from which such funds were obtained. The Borrowers shall also pay any customary administrative fees charged by such Lender in connection with the foregoing. A certificate of any Lender setting forth any amount or amounts that such Lender is entitled to receive pursuant to this Section shall be delivered to the Borrower Representative and shall be conclusive absent manifest error. The Borrowers shall pay such Lender the amount shown as due on any such certificate within 30 days after receipt thereof.

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(b)       With respect to RFR Loans, on the event of (i) the payment of any principal of any EurodollarRFR Loan other than on the last day of an Interest Period applicable thereto (including as a result of an Event of Default or any mandatory prepayment), (b) the conversion of any Eurodollar Loan other than on the last day of the Interest Period applicable thereto, (ciii) the failure to borrow, convert, continue or prepay any RFR Loan on the date specified in any notice delivered pursuant hereto (regardless of whether such notice is permitted to be revocable under Section 2.8(c) and is revoked in accordance herewith), or (div) the assignment of any EurodollarRFR Loan other than on the last day of the Interest Period applicable thereto as a result of a request by the Borrower Representative pursuant to Section 2.18, then, in any such event, the Borrowers shall compensate each Lender for the loss, cost, or expense attributable to such event (excluding any loss of anticipated profits) and any loss or expense arising from the liquidation or reemployment of funds obtained by it to maintain such Loan or from fees payable to terminate the deposits from which such funds were obtained. The Borrowers shall also pay any customary administrative fees charged by such Lender in connection with the foregoing. For purposes of calculating amounts payable by the Borrowers to the Lenders under this Section 2.15, each Lender shall be deemed to have funded each Eurodollar Loan made by it at the Adjusted LIBO Rate for such Loan by a matching deposit or other borrowing in the London interbank eurodollar market for a comparable amount and for a comparable period, whether or not such Eurodollar Loan was in fact so funded. A certificate of any Lender setting forth any amount or amounts that such Lender is entitled to receive pursuant to this Section shall be delivered to the Borrower Representative and shall be conclusive absent manifest error. The Borrowers shall pay such Lender the amount shown as due on any such certificate within 30 days after receipt thereof.

 

2.16Taxes.

 

(a)         Defined Terms. For purposes of this Section 2.16, the term “Lender” includes any Issuing Lender and the term “applicable law” includes FATCA.

 

(b)          Payments Free of Taxes. Any and all payments by or on account of any obligation of any Obligor under any Loan Document shall be made without deduction or withholding for any Taxes, except as required by applicable law. If any applicable law (as determined in the good faith discretion of an applicable Withholding Agent) requires the deduction or withholding of any Tax from any such payment by a Withholding Agent, then the applicable Withholding Agent shall be entitled to make such deduction or withholding and shall timely pay the full amount deducted or withheld to the relevant Governmental Authority in accordance with applicable law and, if such Tax is an Indemnified Tax, then the sum payable by the applicable Obligor shall be increased as necessary so that after such deduction or withholding has been made (including such deductions and withholdings applicable to additional sums payable under this Section) the applicable Recipient receives an amount equal to the sum it would have received had no such deduction or withholding been made.

 

(c)          Payment of Other Taxes by the Obligors. Without duplication of any amounts payable pursuant to this Section 2.16, the Obligors shall timely pay to the relevant Governmental Authority in accordance with applicable law, or at the option of Administrative Agent timely reimburse it for the payment of, any Other Taxes.

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(d)          Indemnification by the Obligors. Without duplication of any additional amounts paid under Section 2.16(b) or (c), the Obligors shall jointly and severally indemnify each Recipient, within 10 days after demand therefor, for the full amount of any Indemnified Taxes (including Indemnified Taxes imposed or asserted on or attributable to amounts payable under this Section) payable or paid by such Recipient or required to be withheld or deducted from a payment to such Recipient and any reasonable expenses arising therefrom or with respect thereto, whether or not such Indemnified Taxes were correctly or legally imposed or asserted by the relevant Governmental Authority. A certificate as to the amount of such payment or liability delivered to the Borrower Representative by a Lender (with a copy to the Administrative Agent), or by Administrative Agent on its own behalf or on behalf of a Lender, shall be conclusive absent manifest error.

 

(e)          Indemnification by the Lenders. Each Lender shall severally indemnify Administrative Agent, within 10 days after demand therefor, for (i) any Indemnified Taxes attributable to such Lender (but only to the extent that any Obligor has not already indemnified Administrative Agent for such Indemnified Taxes and without limiting or expanding the obligation of the Obligors to do so), (ii) any Taxes attributable to such Lender’s failure to comply with the provisions of Section 10.4(e) relating to the maintenance of a Participant Register and (iii) any Excluded Taxes attributable to such Lender, in each case, that are payable or paid by Administrative Agent in connection with any Loan Document, and any reasonable expenses arising therefrom or with respect thereto, whether or not such Taxes were correctly or legally imposed or asserted by the relevant Governmental Authority. A certificate as to the amount of such payment or liability delivered to any Lender by Administrative Agent shall be conclusive absent manifest error. Each Lender hereby authorizes Administrative Agent to set off and apply any and all amounts at any time owing to such Lender under any Loan Document or otherwise payable by Administrative Agent to the Lender from any other source against any amount due to the Administrative Agent under this Section 2.16(e).

 

(f)          Evidence of Payments. As soon as practicable after any payment of Taxes by any Obligor to a Governmental Authority pursuant to this Section 2.16(f), such Obligor shall deliver to the Administrative Agent the original or a certified copy of a receipt issued by such Governmental Authority evidencing such payment, a copy of the return reporting such payment or other evidence of such payment reasonably satisfactory to the Administrative Agent.

 

(g)         Status of Lenders.

 

(i)         Any Lender that is entitled to an exemption from or reduction of withholding Tax with respect to payments made under any Loan Document shall deliver to the Borrower Representative and the Administrative Agent, at the time or times reasonably requested by the Borrower Representative or Administrative Agent, such properly completed and executed documentation reasonably requested by the Borrower Representative or Administrative Agent as will permit such payments to be made without withholding or at a reduced rate of withholding. In addition, any Lender, if reasonably requested by the Borrower Representative or Administrative Agent, shall deliver such other documentation prescribed by applicable law or reasonably requested by the Borrower Representative or Administrative Agent as will enable the Borrower Representative or Administrative Agent to determine whether or not such Lender is subject to backup withholding or information reporting requirements. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in the preceding two sentences, the completion, execution, and submission of such documentation (other than such documentation set forth in clauses (A), (B), and (D) of Section 2.16(g)(ii)) shall not be required if in the Lender’s reasonable judgment such completion, execution, or submission would subject such Lender to any material unreimbursed cost or expense or would materially prejudice the legal or commercial position of such Lender.

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(ii)           Without limiting the generality of the foregoing,

 

(A)          any Lender that is a U.S. Person shall deliver to the Borrower Representative and Administrative Agent on or prior to the date on which such Lender becomes a Lender under this Agreement (and from time to time thereafter upon the reasonable request of any Obligor or Administrative Agent), properly completed and duly executed originals of IRS Form W-9 or any applicable successor form certifying that such Lender is exempt from U.S. federal backup withholding tax;

 

(B)          any Foreign Lender shall, to the extent it is legally entitled to do so, deliver to the Obligors and Administrative Agent (in such number of copies as shall be requested by the Borrower Representative or the Administrative Agent) on or prior to the date on which such Foreign Lender becomes a Lender under this Agreement (and from time to time thereafter upon the reasonable request of the Obligors or Administrative Agent), whichever of the following is applicable:

 

in the case of a Foreign Lender claiming the benefits of an income tax treaty to which the United States is a party (1) with respect to payments of interest under any Loan Document, properly completed and duly executed originals of IRS Form W-8BEN or IRS Form W-8BEN-E (as applicable, or any successor forms) establishing an exemption from, or reduction of, U.S. federal withholding Tax pursuant to the “interest” article of such tax treaty and (2) with respect to any other applicable payments under any Loan Document, IRS Form W-8BEN or IRS Form W-8BEN-E (as applicable, or any successor forms) establishing an exemption from, or reduction of, U.S. federal withholding Tax pursuant to the “business profits” or “other income” article of such tax treaty;

 

properly completed and duly executed originals of IRS Form W-8ECI (or any successor forms);

 

in the case of a Foreign Lender claiming the benefits of the exemption for portfolio interest under Section 881(c) of the Code, (1) a properly completed and duly executed certificate substantially in the form of Exhibit 2.16-1 to the effect that such Foreign Lender is not a “bank” within the meaning of Section 881(c)(3)(A) of the Code, a “10 percent shareholder” of the Obligors within the meaning of Section 881(c)(3)(B) of the Code, or a “controlled foreign corporation” described in Section 881(c)(3)(C) of the Code (a “U.S. Tax Compliance Certificate”) and (2) properly completed and duly executed originals of IRS Form W-8BEN or IRS Form W-8BEN-E (as applicable, or any successor forms); or

 

to the extent a Foreign Lender is not the beneficial owner, properly completed and duly executed originals of IRS Form W-8IMY (or any successor forms), accompanied by any required IRS Form W-8ECI, IRS Form W-8BEN, IRS Form W-8BEN-E (as applicable, or any successor forms), the applicable U.S. Tax Compliance Certificate substantially in the form of Exhibit 2.16-2 or Exhibit 2.16-3, IRS Form W-9 (or any successor forms), and/or other certification documents from each beneficial owner, as applicable; provided that if the Foreign Lender is a partnership and one or more direct or indirect partners of such Foreign Lender are claiming the portfolio interest exemption, such Foreign Lender may provide a U.S. Tax Compliance Certificate substantially in the form of Exhibit 2.16-4 on behalf of each such direct and indirect partner;

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(C)          any Foreign Lender shall, to the extent it is legally entitled to do so, deliver to the Borrower Representative and the Administrative Agent (in such number of copies as shall be requested by the recipient) on or prior to the date on which such Foreign Lender becomes a Lender under this Agreement (and from time to time thereafter upon the reasonable request of the Borrower Representative or Administrative Agent), executed originals of any other form prescribed by applicable law as a basis for claiming exemption from or a reduction in U.S. federal withholding Tax, duly completed, together with such supplementary documentation as may be prescribed by applicable law to permit Borrower Representative or Administrative Agent to determine the withholding or deduction required to be made; and

 

(D)          if a payment made to a Lender under any Loan Document would be subject to U.S. federal withholding Tax imposed by FATCA if such Lender were to fail to comply with the applicable reporting requirements of FATCA (including those contained in Section 1471(b) or 1472(b) of the Code, as applicable), such Lender shall deliver to the Borrower Representative and the Administrative Agent at the time or times prescribed by law and at such time or times reasonably requested by the Borrower Representative or Administrative Agent such documentation prescribed by applicable law (including as prescribed by Section 1471(b)(3)(C)(i) of the Code) and such additional documentation reasonably requested by the Borrower Representative or Administrative Agent as may be necessary for the Borrower Representative and the Administrative Agent to comply with their obligations under FATCA and to determine that such Lender has complied with such Lender’s obligations under FATCA or to determine the amount to deduct and withhold from such payment. Solely for purposes of this clause (D), “FATCA” shall include any amendments made to FATCA after the date of this Agreement.

 

(iii)          The Administrative Agent shall assume primary withholding responsibility under Chapters 3 and 4 of Subtitle A of the Code and primary IRS Form 1099 and IRS Form 1042-S reporting and backup withholding responsibility with respect to payments it receives on account of any Lender. In furtherance of the foregoing, (A) if the Administrative Agent is a U.S. Person, it shall deliver to the Obligors two properly completed and duly executed copies of IRS Form W-9 certifying that it is exempt from federal backup withholding and (B) if the Administrative Agent is not a U.S. Person, it shall deliver to the Obligors two properly completed and duly executed copies of IRS Form W-8ECI or IRS Form W-8BEN-E, as applicable, with respect to fees received on its own behalf and, with respect to payments received on account of any Lender, two properly completed and duly executed copies of IRS Form W-8IMY certifying that the Administrative Agent is either (1) a “qualified intermediary” assuming primary withholding responsibility under Chapters 3 and 4 of Subtitle A of the Code and primary IRS Form 1099 reporting and backup withholding responsibility for payments it receives for the accounts of others, or (2) a “U.S. branch” and that the payments it receives for the account of others are not effectively connected with the conduct of a trade or business in the United States, and in the case of each of clauses (1) and (2), that the Administrative Agent is using such form as evidence of its agreement with the Obligors to be treated as a U.S. Person with respect to such payments (and the Obligors and the Administrative Agent agree to so treat the Administrative Agent as a U.S. Person with respect to such payments as contemplated by United States Treasury Regulations Section 1.1441- 1(b)(2)(iv)(A)), with the effect that the Obligors can make payments to the Administrative Agent without deduction or withholding of any Taxes imposed by the United States.

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Each Lender and the Administrative Agent agrees that if any form or certification it previously delivered expires or becomes obsolete or inaccurate in any respect, it shall promptly update such form or certification or promptly notify the Borrower Representative and the Administrative Agent in writing of its legal inability to do so.

 

(h)         Treatment of Certain Refunds. If any party determines, in its sole discretion exercised in good faith, that it has received a refund of any Taxes as to which it has been indemnified pursuant to this Section 2.16 (including by the payment of additional amounts pursuant to this Section 2.16), it shall pay to the indemnifying party an amount equal to such refund (but only to the extent of indemnity payments made under this Section with respect to the Taxes giving rise to such refund), net of all out-of-pocket expenses (including Taxes) of such indemnified party and without interest (other than any interest paid by the relevant Governmental Authority with respect to such refund). Such indemnifying party, upon the request of such indemnified party, shall repay to such indemnified party the amount paid over pursuant to this Section 2.16(h) (plus any penalties, interest or other charges imposed by the relevant Governmental Authority) in the event that such indemnified party is required to repay such refund to such Governmental Authority. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this Section 2.16(h), in no event will the indemnified party be required to pay any amount to an indemnifying party pursuant to this Section 2.16(h) the payment of which would place the indemnified party in a less favorable net after-Tax position than the indemnified party would have been in if the Tax subject to indemnification and giving rise to such refund had not been deducted, withheld or otherwise imposed and the indemnification payments or additional amounts with respect to such Tax had never been paid. This Section 2.16(h) shall not be construed to require any indemnified party to make available its Tax returns (or any other information relating to its Taxes that it deems confidential) to the indemnifying party or any other Person.

 

(i)          Survival. Each party’s obligations under this Section 2.16 shall survive the resignation or replacement of Administrative Agent or any assignment of rights by, or the replacement of, a Lender, the expiration or cancellation of all Letters of Credit, the termination of the Commitments and the repayment, satisfaction or discharge of all obligations under any Loan Document.

 

2.17Payments Generally; Pro Rata Treatment; Sharing of Set-offs.

 

(a)         Payments by the Obligors. Each Obligor shall make each payment required to be made by it hereunder (whether of principal, interest, fees or reimbursement of LC Disbursements, or under Section 10.3 or otherwise) or under any other Loan Document (except to the extent otherwise provided therein) prior to 2:00 p.m. on the date when due, in immediately available funds, without counterclaim, set-off, or other deduction or condition. Any amounts received after such time on any date may, in the discretion of Administrative Agent, be deemed to have been received on the next succeeding Business Day for purposes of calculating interest thereon. All such payments shall be made to the Administrative Agent, for the account of the respective Lenders to which such payment is owed, at such account as Administrative Agent may designate to the Borrower Representative in writing from time to time, except (i) as otherwise expressly provided in the relevant Loan Document, (ii) payments to be made directly to the Issuing Lender or Swingline Lender as expressly provided herein, and (iii) that payments pursuant to Sections 2.14, 2.15, 2.16 and 10.3 shall be made directly to the Persons entitled thereto. Administrative Agent shall distribute any such payments received by it for the account of any other Person to the appropriate recipient promptly following receipt thereof in like funds as received by wire transfer to such Lender’s lending office as specified in its Administrative Questionnaire or such other office as notified in writing by such Lender to the Administrative Agent. If any payment hereunder shall be due on a day that is not a Business Day, the date for payment shall be extended to the next succeeding Business Day and, in the case of any payment accruing interest, interest thereon shall be payable for the period of such extension. All payments hereunder or under any other Loan Document shall be made in Dollars.

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

 

(c)         Pro Rata Treatment. Except to the extent otherwise provided herein: (i) each Borrowing of, or conversions of, Loans in a particular Class shall be allocated pro rata among the relevant Lenders according to the amounts of their respective Commitments of such Class (in the case of the making of Loans) or their respective unpaid principal amounts of Loans of such Class (in the case of conversions and continuations of Loans); (ii) each payment of commitment fees under Section 2.11 in respect of Revolving Credit Commitments and each payment of Letter of Credit participation fees under Section 2.11 shall be made for account of the relevant Revolving Credit Lenders, pro rata according to the amounts of their respective Revolving Credit Commitments and their respective LC Exposure, respectively, (iii) each termination or reduction of the amount of the Commitments of a particular Class under Section 2.8 shall be applied to the respective Commitments of such Class of the relevant Lenders, pro rata according to the amounts of their respective Commitments of such Class; (iv) each payment or prepayment of principal of Loans of any Class by the Borrowers, shall be made for account of the relevant Lenders pro rata in accordance with the respective unpaid principal amounts of the Loans of such Class held by them; and (v) each payment of interest on Loans of any Class by the Borrowers shall be made for account of the relevant Lenders pro rata in accordance with the amounts of interest on the Loans of such Class then due and payable to the respective Lenders. 

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(d)        Sharing of Payments by Lenders. If any Lender shall, by exercising any right of set-off or counterclaim or otherwise, obtain payment in respect of any principal of or interest on any of its Loans or participations in LC Disbursements or Swingline Loans in excess of its ratable share of the aggregate amount of outstanding Loans and participations in LC Disbursements and Swingline Loans and accrued interest thereon, then such Lender shall notify Administrative Agent of such fact and shall purchase (for cash at face value) participations in the Loans and participations in LC Disbursements and Swingline Loans of other Lenders to the extent necessary so that the benefit of all such payments shall be shared by the Lenders ratably in accordance with the aggregate amount of principal of and accrued interest on their respective Loans and participations in LC Disbursements and Swingline Loans; provided that (i) if any such participations are purchased and all or any portion of the payment giving rise thereto is recovered, such participations shall be rescinded and the purchase price restored to the extent of such recovery, without interest, and (ii) the provisions of this Section 2.17(d) shall not be construed to apply to any payment made by any Obligor pursuant to and in accordance with the express terms of this Agreement (including the application of funds arising from the existence of Defaulting Lender) or any payment obtained by a Lender as consideration for the assignment of or sale of a participation in any of its Loans or participations in LC Disbursements or Swingline Loans to any assignee or participant, other than to the Borrowers or any Subsidiary or Affiliate thereof (as to which the provisions of this Section 2.17(d) shall apply). Each Obligor consents to the foregoing and agrees, to the extent it may effectively do so under applicable law, that any Lender acquiring a participation pursuant to the foregoing arrangements may exercise against such Obligor rights of set-off and counterclaim with respect to such participation as fully as if such Lender were a direct creditor of such Obligor in the amount of such participation.

 

(e)         Presumptions of Payment. Unless Administrative Agent shall have received notice from the Borrower Representative prior to the date on which any payment is due to the Administrative Agent for the account of the Lenders or Issuing Lender hereunder that the Borrowers will not make such payment, Administrative Agent may assume that the Borrowers have made such payment on such date in accordance herewith and may, in reliance upon such assumption but without any obligation to do so, distribute to the Lenders or Issuing Lender, as the case may be, the amount due. In such event, if the Borrowers have not in fact made such payment, then each of the Lenders or Issuing Lender, as the case may be, severally agrees to repay to the Administrative Agent forthwith on demand the amount so distributed to such Lender or Issuing Lender with interest thereon, for each day from and including the date such amount is distributed to it to but excluding the date of payment to the Administrative Agent, for the first five Business Days at the greater of the Federal Funds Effective Rate and a rate determined by Administrative Agent in accordance with banking industry rules on interbank compensation and thereafter at the Base Rate. A notice of Administrative Agent to any Lender or the Borrowers with respect to any amount owing under this Section 2.17(e) shall be conclusive, absent manifest error.

 

(f)          Certain Deductions by Administrative Agent. If any Lender shall fail to make any payment required to be made by it pursuant to this Agreement (including Sections 2.4, 2.5(e), 2.5(f), 2.6(b) and 2.17(e)), then Administrative Agent may, in its discretion (notwithstanding any contrary provision hereof), apply any amounts thereafter received by Administrative Agent for the account of such Lender to satisfy such Lender’s obligations under such Sections until all such unsatisfied obligations are fully paid.

 

(g)         Return of Proceeds. If at any time payment, in whole or in part, of any amount distributed by Administrative Agent hereunder is rescinded or must otherwise be restored or returned by Administrative Agent as a preference, fraudulent conveyance, or otherwise under any Debtor Relief Law, then each Person receiving any portion of such amount agrees, upon demand, to return the portion of such amount it has received to the Administrative Agent together with a pro rata portion of any interest paid by or other charges imposed on Administrative Agent in connection with such rescinded or restored payment.

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2.18Mitigation Obligations; Replacement of Lenders.

 

(a)         Designation of a Different Lending Office. If any Lender requests compensation under Section 2.14 or 2.16, or if the Borrowers are required to pay any Indemnified Taxes or additional amounts to any Lender or any Governmental Authority for the account of any Lender pursuant to Section 2.14 or 2.16, or if any Lender gives a notice pursuant to Section 2.13(b) suspending its obligation to make or continue Eurodollar Loans or to convert Base Rate Loans to Eurodollar Loans (a “Eurodollar Illegality Notice”), then such Lender shall use reasonable efforts to designate a different lending office for funding or booking its Loans hereunder or to assign its rights and obligations hereunder to another of its offices, branches or Affiliates, if, in the reasonable judgment of such Lender, such designation or assignment (i) would eliminate or reduce amounts payable pursuant to Section 2.14 or 2.16, or eliminate the need for the notice pursuant to Section 2.13(b), as the case may be, in the future and (ii) would not subject such Lender to any unreimbursed cost or expense and would not otherwise be materially disadvantageous to such Lender. The Borrowers hereby agree to pay all reasonable out-of-pocket costs and expenses incurred by any Lender in connection with any such designation or assignment.

 

(b)         Replacement of Lenders. If any Lender requests compensation under Section 2.14 or 2.16, if the Borrowers are required to pay any Indemnified Taxes or additional amount to any Lender or any Governmental Authority for the account of any Lender pursuant to Section 2.14 or 2.16, or if a Lender provides a Eurodollar Illegality Notice and, in each case, such Lender has declined or is unable to designate a different lending office in accordance with Section 2.18(a), or if any Lender is a Defaulting Lender, a Non-Consenting Lender or a Lender who has refused to consent to an Extension Amendment, then the Borrowers may, at Borrowers’ sole expense and effort, upon notice to such Lender and the Administrative Agent, (x) require such Lender to assign and delegate, without recourse (in accordance with and subject to the restrictions contained in, and consents required by, Section 10.4), all its interests, rights (other than its existing rights to payments pursuant to Section 2.14 or 2.16) and obligations under this Agreement and the other Loan Documents to an Eligible Assignee that shall assume such obligations (which assignee may be another Lender, if a Lender accepts such assignment); provided that (i) the Borrowers shall have paid to the Administrative Agent the assignment fee (if any) specified in Section 10.4, (ii) such Lender shall have received payment of an amount equal to the outstanding principal of its Loans and participations in LC Disbursements and Swingline Loans, accrued interest thereon, accrued fees and all other amounts payable to it hereunder and under the other Loan Documents (including any amounts under Section 2.15), from the assignee (to the extent of such outstanding principal and accrued interest and fees) or the Borrowers (in the case of all other amounts), (iii) in the case of any such assignment resulting from a claim for compensation under Section 2.14 or payments required to be made pursuant to Section 2.16, such assignment will result in a reduction in such compensation or payments thereafter, (iv) in the case of any such assignment resulting from a Lender’s delivery of a Eurodollar Illegality Notice, such assignee will not be entitled to deliver a Eurodollar Illegality Notice under Section 2.13(b)[reserved], (v) such assignment does not conflict with applicable law, and (vi) in the case of any assignment resulting from a Lender becoming a Non-Consenting Lender, the applicable assignee shall have consented to the applicable amendment, waiver or consent or (y) make payments and reduce Commitments on a non-pro rata basis. Each Lender agrees that if the Borrowers exercise their option hereunder, they shall promptly execute and deliver all agreements and documentation necessary to effectuate such assignment as set forth in Section 10.4. If such Lender shall refuse or fail to execute and deliver any such Assignment and Assumption prior to the effective date of such replacement as notified by Administrative Agent, such Lender shall be deemed to have executed and delivered such Assignment and Assumption, and shall no longer be a Lender hereunder upon the payment to such Lender of an amount equal to the aggregate amount of outstanding Obligations (other than Bank Product Obligations) owed to such Lender in accordance with the wire transfer instructions for such Lender on file with Administrative Agent. A Lender shall not be required to make any such assignment and delegation if, prior thereto, as a result of a waiver by such Lender or otherwise, the circumstances entitling the Borrowers to require such assignment and delegation cease to apply.

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2.19        Increases of the Revolving Credit Commitments; Adjustments to Revolving Credit Commitments; Incremental Term Loans.

 

(a)         Following the Effective Date, Obligors may from time to time through the Revolving Credit Maturity Date in case of any Incremental Revolving Credit Commitment (as defined below) or the Term Loan Maturity Date in the case of any Incremental Term Loans (as defined below), (i) propose to increase the aggregate amount of the Revolving Credit Commitments (each, an “Incremental Revolving Credit Commitment”) in accordance with this Section by delivering a Notice of Incremental Revolving Credit Commitment to the Administrative Agent substantially in the form of Exhibit 2.19-1 (a “Notice of Incremental Revolving Credit Commitment”), and (ii) propose that one or more additional term loans (including delayed drawn term loans) be made to it in accordance with this Section (each, an “Incremental Term Loan”; together with any Incremental Revolving Credit Commitment, each an “Incremental Commitment”) by delivering a Notice of Incremental Term Loan Borrowing to the Administrative Agent substantially in the form of Exhibit 2.19-2 (a “Notice of Incremental Term Loan Borrowing”; together with any Notice of Incremental Revolving Credit Commitment, each individually an “Incremental Facility Notice”), specifying in each case (subject to the restrictions set forth in Section 2.19(b)) therein (A) the amount of the Incremental Commitments requested, (B) the requested advance date of the proposed Incremental Commitments, (C) the interest rate to be applicable to any Tranche of Incremental Term Loans included in such Incremental Commitments, (D) the amortization for all Incremental Term Loans, if applicable, and (E) the amount of any upfront or closing fees to be paid by the Borrowers to the Lenders and/or Additional Lenders funding such Incremental Commitments requested. In connection with each requested Incremental Commitment, (1) in the case of an Incremental Revolving Credit Commitment, (A) any outstanding Revolving Credit Loans shall be held by the Lenders and Additional Lenders that are Revolving Credit Lenders on a ratable basis after giving effect to such increase, (B) each such Incremental Revolving Credit Commitment shall have the same terms and be made pursuant to the same documentation as the Revolving Credit Facility (other than in respect of any fees payable) and (C) no Sponsor-Controlled Affiliated Lender shall provide any Incremental Revolving Loan Commitment (or any other Revolving Credit Commitment) and if any Sponsor Controlled Affiliated Lender provides any Incremental Term Loans it shall be subject to the same limitations and restrictions set forth in Section 10.4(g) as if such Sponsor Controlled Affiliated Lender were purchasing Term Loans by assignment, (2) the final maturity date of any Incremental Revolving Credit Commitments shall be no earlier than the Revolving Credit Maturity Date, (3) the final maturity date and amortization schedule for any Incremental Term Loan may be determined by the Borrowers and the Lenders and/or Additional Lenders, as applicable, providing such Incremental Term Loan; provided that, except in the case of a customary bridge facility, the terms of which automatically convert into terms that comply with this proviso within one (1) year of issuance of such bridge facility, the final maturity date of any Incremental Term Loans shall be no earlier than the Term Loan Maturity Date and the Weighted Average Life to Maturity of any Tranche of Incremental Term Loans shall be no shorter than the remaining Weighted Average Life to Maturity of the Term Loans outstanding prior to the advance of such Tranche, (4) the interest rate, margin, original issue discount, up-front fees and other fees and rate floors for such Incremental Term Loan may be determined by the Borrowers and the Lenders and/or Additional Lenders, as applicable, providing such Incremental Term Loan; provided that, in the event that the All-in Yield for any such Incremental Term Loan that ranks pari passu in right of payment and security with the existing Term Loans (other than in reliance on Section 2.19(b)(i)) is greater than the All-in Yield for the existing Term Loans by more than 50 basis points, then the Applicable Margin for the existing Term Loans shall be increased to the extent necessary so that the All-in Yield for such Incremental Term Loan is no more than 50 basis points higher than the All-in Yield for the existing Term Loans; provided that, in the event that the All-In Yield for such Incremental Term Loan is higher than the All-In Yield for the existing Term Loans solely as a result of a higher rate floor for such Incremental Term Loan, the adjustment to the All-In Yield of the existing Term Loans shall be effected solely by increasing the rate floor, (5) any Incremental Term Loans that are secured by the Collateral on a junior basis to the Initial Term Loans and the Second Amendment Term Loans or that are unsecured or secured by assets that are not Collateral shall be set forth in documentation that is separate from the Loan Documents and if secured by Collateral shall be subject to an Intercreditor Agreement or other subordination arrangements reasonably satisfactory to the Administrative Agent, (6) any Incremental Commitments or Incremental Term Loans shall not at any time be guaranteed by any Person other than the Guarantors and shall not be secured by a Lien on any property that does not constitute Collateral, (7) (a) any Incremental Revolving Credit Commitment will provide for the ability to permanently repay and terminate such Incremental Revolving Credit Commitment on a pro rata basis with the existing Revolving Credit Commitments and (b) any Incremental Term Loan may provide for participation (x) on a pro rata basis, greater than a pro rata basis, or less than pro rata basis in any voluntary prepayments with respect to its Class of Term Loans, or (y) with respect to any Incremental Term Loans secured by the Collateral on the pari passu basis with the Initial Term Loans and the Second Amendment Term Loans, on a pro rata basis or less than pro rata basis in any mandatory prepayments with all Term Loans, but no Incremental Term Loan shall share more favorably than ratably in any mandatory prepayments of the Term Loans and (8) the other terms and documentation in respect of any Incremental Term Loan, to the extent inconsistent with the terms and documentation with respect to the existing Term Loan, shall be determined by the Borrowers and shall, at the option of the Borrowers, (a) reflect current market terms and conditions (taken as a whole) at the time of incurrence or issuance (as reasonably determined by the Borrowers), (b) be consistent with the terms of the corresponding Class of Term Loans unless, in the case of this clause (b), (x) the Lenders under the corresponding Class of Term Loans also receive the benefit of such more restrictive terms or (y) any such provisions apply only after the maturity date of the relevant Class of Term Loans, or (c) not be materially more restrictive to the Borrowers, when taken as a whole, than the terms of the applicable Class of Term Loans (as reasonably determined by the Borrowers). Notwithstanding the foregoing, no Incremental Commitment shall become effective unless, subject to the Limited Condition Transaction Provision to the extent acceptable to the Lenders and Additional Lenders providing the relevant Incremental Commitment in connection with a Limited Condition Transaction, (i) no Event of Default then exists or would be caused thereby and (ii) the condition to a Borrowing in Section 4.2(a) is satisfied; provided that, in the case of an Incremental Commitment being used to consummate a Limited Condition Transaction, at the Borrowers’ election, to the extent acceptable to the Lenders and/or Additional Lenders providing the relevant Incremental Commitment, the only representations and warranties that will be required to be true and correct in all material respects will be the Specified Representations (conformed as necessary for such acquisition) and such of the representations made by or on behalf of the applicable target, its affiliates, its subsidiaries or their respective businesses in the acquisition agreement governing such Limited Condition Transaction as are material to the interests of the Lenders, but only to the extent that a Company has the right to terminate its obligations under such acquisition agreement or to decline to consummate such Limited Condition Transaction as a result of a breach of such representations in the acquisition agreement.

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(b)          The aggregate principal amount of all Incremental Commitments made pursuant to this Section, shall not exceed (i) the greater of (x) $30,000,000 and (y) 100% of Consolidated EBITDA (determined at the time of incurrence on a pro forma basis as of the last day of the most recently ended four Fiscal Quarter period for which financial statements have been delivered pursuant to Section 5.1(a) or (b)), minus any amount of Incremental Equivalent Debt and Ratio Debt incurred in reliance on this clause (i), plus (ii) an amount that, subject to the Limited Condition Transaction Provision, after giving effect thereto (and after giving effect to any acquisition consummated concurrently therewith and all other pro forma adjustment events, assuming that the entire amount of any Incremental Revolving Credit Commitments that are then being incurred has been borrowed (it being agreed that such test shall only be required on the date such Incremental Revolving Credit Commitments are provided), and excluding for purposes of computing the Consolidated First Lien Net Leverage Ratio, Consolidated Secured Net Leverage Ratio, or Consolidated Net Leverage Ratio, as applicable, any netting of the cash proceeds of any Incremental Term Loans or Revolving Credit Loans made thereunder), would cause (A) with respect to any Incremental Commitments secured on a pari passu basis with the Obligations, the Consolidated First Lien Net Leverage Ratio to be greater than 4.50 to 1.00, (B) with respect to any Incremental Commitments secured on a junior basis to the Obligations, the Consolidated Senior Net Leverage Ratio to be greater than 5.00 to 1.00 or (z) with respect to any Incremental Commitments that are unsecured on secured by assets not constituting Collateral, the Consolidated Net Leverage Ratio to be greater than 5.25 to 1.00, in each case, on a pro forma basis as of the last day of the immediately preceding Fiscal Quarter for which financial statements have been delivered to the Administrative Agent pursuant to Section 5.1(a) or 5.1(b), plus (iii) the amount of all voluntary prepayments of Term Loans and Revolving Credit Loans (including pursuant to buybacks and open market purchases in the amount actually paid in cash) actually paid and not funded with the proceeds of long-term Indebtedness of any Obligor (and in the case of Revolving Credit Loans, accompanied by a permanent reduction of the Revolving Credit Commitments), plus (iv) any payments made to any Term Loan Lender that is replaced pursuant to Section 2.18(b) as a result of its refusal to consent to an amendment or other modification, but solely to the extent the applicable Term Loans are retired and not assigned (the amount of the foregoing clause (i) through (iii), the “Incremental Amount”); provided that, each Incremental Commitment must be at least $1,000,000 and in integral multiples of $1,000,000 in excess thereof (provided that such amounts may be less if representing all remaining availability under the limit set forth above); provided further that, the amount of any Incremental Commitments incurred in reliance on the foregoing clause (i) and (iii) shall be automatically reclassified as incurred under the foregoing clause (ii) from time to time if the Borrowers meet the applicable requirements set forth on a pro forma basis. Borrowers shall provide at least three (3) days’ (or such shorter period as Administrative Agent shall agree) notice to Administrative Agent (which shall promptly provide a copy of such notice to the Lenders, as applicable) of any requested Incremental Commitment.

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(c)         Administrative Agent shall deliver a copy of each Incremental Facility Notice to such Lenders or other Persons that qualify as an Eligible Assignee as may be determined by Administrative Agent in its reasonable discretion with the approval of the Borrower Representative or as may be specified by the Borrower Representative with the consent (not to be unreasonably withheld or delayed) of Administrative Agent. No Lender shall have any obligation to increase its Revolving Credit Commitment or fund any Incremental Term Loan, and any decision by a Lender to increase its Revolving Credit Commitment or fund any Incremental Term Loan shall be made in its sole discretion independently from any other Lender.

 

(d)         The Incremental Facility Notice delivered by the Borrower Representative may specify a date prior to which any commitments must be received. If prior to such specified date (if any) Administrative Agent receives commitments from Lenders and/or from any other Person that (i) qualifies as an Eligible Assignee and is reasonably acceptable to the Borrower Representative and the Administrative Agent and (ii) has agreed to become a Lender in respect of all or a portion of the Incremental Commitment (an “Additional Lender”), in excess of the requested Incremental Commitment, Administrative Agent shall have the right, in its sole discretion but with the consent of the Borrower Representative, to reduce and reallocate (within the minimum and maximum amounts specified by each such Lender or Additional Lender in its notice to the Administrative Agent) the shares of the Incremental Commitment of the Lenders or Additional Lenders willing to fund (or commit to fund) such Incremental Commitment so that the total committed Incremental Commitment equals the requested Incremental Commitment. If as of such specified date (if any) Administrative Agent has not received commitments from Lenders (and/or Additional Lenders) in an amount sufficient to fund the requested Incremental Commitment, Administrative Agent shall so notify the Borrower Representative and the request for Incremental Commitment shall be deemed automatically rescinded; provided the Borrower Representative may submit a replacement Incremental Facility Notice setting forth different terms for the requested Incremental Commitment.

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(e)          An increase in the aggregate amount of the Lenders’ Revolving Credit Commitments or an agreement to fund Incremental Term Loans, pursuant to this Section shall become effective upon the receipt by Administrative Agent of an agreement (an “Incremental Amendment”) in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to the Administrative Agent and the Borrower Representative, signed by each Obligor, by each Additional Lender and by each existing Lender whose Revolving Credit Commitment is to be increased or who has agreed to fund such Incremental Term Loans, setting forth the new Pro Rata Share, Revolving Credit Commitment and/or Incremental Term Loans of such Lenders and setting forth the agreement of each Additional Lender to become a party to this Agreement as a Lender and to be bound by all the terms and provisions hereof, together with customary officer’s certificates and ratification agreements executed by each Obligor and such evidence of appropriate corporate authorization on the part of each Obligor with respect to the requested Incremental Commitment, updates or endorsements to policies of title insurance (to the extent available at a commercially reasonable cost), flood hazard determination certificates (and, if applicable, evidence of flood insurance) with respect to each parcel of Mortgaged Property, the results of lien searches from applicable jurisdictions and such customary opinions of counsel for the Obligors with respect to the requested Incremental Commitment and other assurances as Administrative Agent may reasonably request. The Incremental Amendment may, without the consent of any other Lender or Issuing Lender, effect such amendments to this Agreement and the other Loan Documents as may be necessary or appropriate, in the reasonable opinion of Administrative Agent and the Borrower Representative, to effect the provisions of this Section 2.19. If, after giving effect to any Incremental Commitment, the outstanding Revolving Credit Loans would not be held pro rata in accordance with the new Commitments, the Revolving Credit Lenders (including, without limitation, any Additional Lenders) shall, on the effective date of the applicable Incremental Commitment, make advances among themselves so that after giving effect thereto the Revolving Credit Loans will be held by the Revolving Credit Lenders (including, without limitation, any Additional Lenders), on a pro rata basis in accordance with their respective Revolving Credit Commitments hereunder (after giving effect to the applicable Incremental Commitment). Each Revolving Credit Lender agrees to wire immediately available funds to the Administrative Agent in accordance with this Agreement as may be required by Administrative Agent in connection with the foregoing.

 

(f)          This Section 2.19 shall supersede any provisions in this Agreement, including Section 10.2(b).

 

2.20Cash Collateral.

 

(a)         Certain Credit Support Events. At any time that there shall exist a Defaulting Lender, within one Business Day following the written request of Administrative Agent or any Issuing Lender (with a copy to the Administrative Agent), the Borrowers shall Cash Collateralize Issuing Lender’s Fronting Exposure with respect to such Defaulting Lender (determined after giving effect to Section 2.21(a)(iv) and any Cash Collateral provided by such Defaulting Lender) in an amount not less than the Minimum Collateral Amount.

 

(b)         Grant of Security Interest. The Borrowers, and to the extent provided by any Defaulting Lender, such Defaulting Lender, hereby grant to the Administrative Agent, for the benefit of Issuing Lender, and agree to maintain, a first priority security interest in all such Cash Collateral as security for the Defaulting Lenders’ obligation to fund participations in respect of LC Exposure, to be applied pursuant to Section 2.20(c). If at any time Administrative Agent determines that Cash Collateral is subject to any right or claim of any Person other than Administrative Agent and Issuing Lender as herein provided or that the total amount of such Cash Collateral is less than the Minimum Collateral Amount, the Borrowers shall, promptly upon demand by Administrative Agent, pay or provide to the Administrative Agent additional Cash Collateral in an amount sufficient to eliminate such deficiency (after giving effect to any Cash Collateral provided by the Defaulting Lender).

 

(c)         Application. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in this Agreement, Cash Collateral provided under Section 2.20 or 2.21 in respect of Letters of Credit shall be applied to the satisfaction of the Defaulting Lender’s obligation to fund participations in respect of Letters of Credit (including, as to Cash Collateral provided by a Defaulting Lender, any interest accrued on such obligation) for which the Cash Collateral was so provided prior to any other application of such property as may otherwise be provided for herein.

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(d)          Termination of Requirement. Cash Collateral (or the appropriate portion thereof) provided to reduce any Issuing Lender’s Fronting Exposure shall no longer be required to be held as Cash Collateral pursuant to this Section 2.20 following (i) the elimination of the applicable Fronting Exposure (including by replacement of the Defaulting Lender pursuant to Section 2.18 or the termination of Defaulting Lender status of the applicable Lender), or (ii) the determination by Administrative Agent and each Issuing Lender that there exists excess Cash Collateral; provided that, subject to Section 2.21, the Person providing Cash Collateral and each Issuing Lender may agree that Cash Collateral shall be held to support future anticipated Fronting Exposure or other obligations and provided, further, that to the extent that such Cash Collateral was provided by the Borrowers, such Cash Collateral shall remain subject to the security interest granted pursuant to the Loan Documents.

 

2.21Defaulting Lenders.

 

(a)          Defaulting Lender Adjustments. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in this Agreement, if any Lender becomes a Defaulting Lender, then, until such time as such Lender is no longer a Defaulting Lender, to the extent permitted by applicable law:

 

(i)          Waivers and Amendments. Such Defaulting Lender’s right to approve or disapprove any amendment, waiver or consent with respect to this Agreement shall be restricted as set forth in the definition of Required Lenders, Required Revolving Lenders and Required Facility Lenders, as applicable.

 

(ii)          Defaulting Lender Waterfall. Any payment of principal, interest, fees or other amounts received by Administrative Agent for the account of such Defaulting Lender (whether voluntary or mandatory, at maturity, pursuant to Section 8 or otherwise) or received by Administrative Agent from a Defaulting Lender pursuant to Section 10.8 shall be applied at such time or times as may be determined by Administrative Agent as follows: FIRST, to the payment of any amounts owing by such Defaulting Lender to the Administrative Agent hereunder; SECOND, to the payment on a pro rata basis of any amounts owing by such Defaulting Lender to any Issuing Lender or Swingline Lender hereunder; THIRD, to Cash Collateralize Issuing Lender’s Fronting Exposure with respect to such Defaulting Lender in accordance with Section 2.20; FOURTH, as the Borrower Representative may request (so long as no Default or Event of Default exists), to the funding of any Loan in respect of which such Defaulting Lender has failed to fund its portion thereof as required by this Agreement, as determined by Administrative Agent; FIFTH, if so determined by Administrative Agent and the Borrower Representative, to be held in a Deposit Account controlled by Administrative Agent and released pro rata in order to (y) satisfy such Defaulting Lender’s potential future funding obligations with respect to Revolving Credit Loans under this Agreement and (z) Cash Collateralize Issuing Lender’s future Fronting Exposure with respect to such Defaulting Lender with respect to future Letters of Credit issued under this Agreement, in accordance with Section 2.20; SIXTH, to the payment of any amounts owing to the Lenders, Issuing Lender or Swingline Lender as a result of any judgment of a court of competent jurisdiction obtained by any Lender, Issuing Lender or Swingline Lender against such Defaulting Lender as a result of such Defaulting Lender’s breach of its obligations under this Agreement; SEVENTH, so long as no Default or Event of Default exists, to the payment of any amounts owing to the Borrowers as a result of any judgment of a court of competent jurisdiction obtained by the Borrowers against such Defaulting Lender as a result of such Defaulting Lender’s breach of its obligations under this Agreement; and EIGHTH, to such Defaulting Lender or as otherwise directed by a court of competent jurisdiction; provided that if (y) such payment is a payment of the principal amount of any Loans or LC Disbursements in respect of which such Defaulting Lender has not fully funded its appropriate share, and (z) such Loans were made or the related Letters of Credit and Swingline Loans were issued at a time when the conditions set forth in Section 4.2 were satisfied or waived, such payment shall be applied solely to pay the Loans of, and LC Disbursements owed to, all Non-Defaulting Lenders on a pro rata basis prior to being applied to the payment of any Loans of, or LC Disbursements owed to, such Defaulting Lender until such time as all Loans and funded and unfunded participations in Letters of Credit are held by the Lenders pro rata in accordance with their respective Commitments without giving effect to Section 2.21(a)(iv). Any payments, prepayments or other amounts paid or payable to a Defaulting Lender that are applied (or held) to pay amounts owed by a Defaulting Lender or to post Cash Collateral pursuant to this Section 2.21(a)(ii) shall be deemed paid to and redirected by such Defaulting Lender, and each Lender irrevocably consents hereto.

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(iii)Certain Fees.

 

(A)         No Defaulting Lender shall be entitled to receive any commitment fee pursuant to Section 2.11(a) for any period during which that Lender is a Defaulting Lender (and the Borrowers shall not be required to pay any such fee that otherwise would have been required to have been paid to that Defaulting Lender).

 

(B)          Each Defaulting Lender shall be entitled to receive fees pursuant to Section 2.11(b)(i) for any period during which that Lender is a Defaulting Lender only to the extent allocable to its Pro Rata Share of the stated amount of Letters of Credit for which it has provided Cash Collateral pursuant to Section 2.20.

 

(C)          With respect to any fee not required to be paid to any Defaulting Lender pursuant to Section 2.21(a)(iii)(A) or 2.21(a)(iii)(B), the Borrowers shall (i) pay to each Non-Defaulting Lender that portion of any such fee otherwise payable to such Defaulting Lender with respect to such Defaulting Lender’s participation in Letters of Credit or Swingline Loans that has been reallocated to such Non-Defaulting Lender pursuant to Section 2.21(a)(iv), (ii) pay to each Issuing Lender and Swingline Loans, as applicable, the amount of any such fee otherwise payable to such Defaulting Lender to the extent allocable to such Issuing Lender’s or Swingline Lender’s Fronting Exposure to such Defaulting Lender, and (iii) not be required to pay the remaining amount of any such fee.

 

(D)          No Defaulting Lender shall be entitled to receive any default interest pursuant to Section 2.21(c).

 

(iv)        Reallocation of Participations to Reduce Fronting Exposure. All or any part of such Defaulting Lender’s participation in Letters of Credit and Swingline Loans shall be reallocated among the Non-Defaulting Lenders in accordance with their respective Pro Rata Shares (calculated without regard to such Defaulting Lender’s Revolving Credit Commitment) but only to the extent that (A) no Event of Default exists at the time of such reallocation (and, unless the Borrower Representative shall have otherwise notified Administrative Agent at such time, the Borrowers shall be deemed to have represented and warranted that such condition is satisfied at such time), and (B) such reallocation does not cause the aggregate Revolving Credit Exposure of any Non-Defaulting Lender to exceed such Non-Defaulting Lender’s Revolving Credit Commitment. Subject to Section 10.20, no reallocation hereunder shall constitute a waiver or release of any claim of any party hereunder against a Defaulting Lender arising from that Lender having become a Defaulting Lender, including any claim of a Non-Defaulting Lender as a result of such Non-Defaulting Lender’s increased exposure following such reallocation.

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(v)          Cash Collateral, Repayment of Swingline Loans. If the reallocation described in Section 2.21(a)(iv) cannot, or can only partially, be effected, the Borrowers shall, without prejudice to any right or remedy available to it hereunder or under law, FIRST, prepay Swingline Loans in an amount equal to Swingline Lender’s Fronting Exposure and SECOND, Cash Collateralize Issuing Lender’s Fronting Exposure in accordance with the procedures set forth in Section 2.20.

 

(b)          Defaulting Lender Cure. If the Borrower Representative, Administrative Agent, Swingline Lender, and Issuing Lender agree in writing that a Lender is no longer a Defaulting Lender, Administrative Agent will so notify the parties hereto, whereupon as of the effective date specified in such notice and subject to any conditions set forth therein (which may include arrangements with respect to any Cash Collateral), that Lender will, to the extent applicable, purchase at par that portion of outstanding Revolving Credit Loans of the other Lenders or take such other actions as Administrative Agent may determine to be necessary to cause the Revolving Credit Loans and funded and unfunded participations in Letters of Credit and Swingline Loans to be held pro rata by the Revolving Credit Lenders in accordance with the Revolving Credit Commitments (without giving effect to Section 2.21(a)(iv)), and reimburse each such Revolving Credit Lender for any costs of the type described in Section 2.15 incurred by any Revolving Credit Lender as a result of such purchase, whereupon such Lender will cease to be a Defaulting Lender; provided that no adjustments will be made retroactively with respect to fees accrued or payments made by or on behalf of the Borrowers while that Lender was a Defaulting Lender; and provided, further, that except to the extent otherwise expressly agreed by the affected parties, no change hereunder from Defaulting Lender to Lender will constitute a waiver or release of any claim of any party hereunder arising from that Lender’s having been a Defaulting Lender.

 

(c)         New Swingline Loans/Letters of Credit. So long as any Lender is a Defaulting Lender, (i) Swingline Lender shall not be required to fund any Swingline Loans unless it is satisfied that it will have no Fronting Exposure after giving effect to such Swingline Loan and (ii) no Issuing Lender shall be required to issue, extend, renew or increase any Letter of Credit unless it is satisfied that it will have no Fronting Exposure after giving effect thereto.

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2.22Refinancing Amendments.

 

(a)         On one or more occasions after the Effective Date, the Obligors may obtain, from any Lender, Credit Agreement Refinancing Indebtedness in respect of all or any portion of the Term Loans and the Revolving Credit Loans (or unused Revolving Credit Commitments) then outstanding under this Agreement (which for purposes of this Section 2.22(a) will be deemed to include any then outstanding Refinancing Term Loans or Incremental Term Loans), in the form of Refinancing Term Loans, Refinancing Term Commitments, Refinancing Revolving Credit Commitments or Refinancing Revolving Credit Loans pursuant to a Refinancing Amendment; provided that notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this Section 2.22 or otherwise, (i) the borrowing and repayment (except for (A) payments of interest and fees at different rates on Refinancing Revolving Credit Commitments (and related outstandings), (B) repayments required upon the maturity date of the Refinancing Revolving Credit Commitments and (C) repayment made in connection with a permanent repayment and termination of commitments (subject to clause (iii) below)) of Loans with respect to Refinancing Revolving Credit Commitments after the date of obtaining any Refinancing Revolving Credit Commitments shall be made on a pro rata basis with all other Revolving Credit Commitments, (ii) subject to the provisions of Sections 2.4(e) and 2.5(s) to the extent dealing with Swing Line Loans and Letters of Credit which mature or expire after a maturity date when there exist Extended Revolving Credit Commitments with a longer maturity date, all Swing Line Loans and Letters of Credit shall be participated on a pro rata basis by all Lenders with Commitments in accordance with their percentage of the Revolving Credit Commitments (and except as provided in Sections 2.4(e) and 2.5(s), without giving effect to changes thereto on an earlier maturity date with respect to Swing Line Loans and Letters of Credit theretofore incurred or issued), (iii) the permanent repayment of Revolving Credit Loans with respect to, and termination of, Refinancing Revolving Credit Commitments after the date of obtaining any Refinancing Revolving Credit Commitments shall be made on a pro rata basis with all other Revolving Credit Commitments, except that the Obligors shall be permitted to permanently repay and terminate commitments of any such Class on a better than a pro rata basis as compared to any other Class with a later maturity date than such Class and (iv) assignments and participations of Refinancing Revolving Credit Commitments and Refinancing Revolving Credit Loans shall be governed by the same assignment and participation provisions applicable to Revolving Credit Commitments and Revolving Credit Loans.

 

(b)         Each issuance of Credit Agreement Refinancing Indebtedness under this Section 2.22 shall be in an aggregate principal amount that is (x) not less than $1,000,000 (unless otherwise agreed by Administrative Agent) and (y) an integral multiple of $1,000,000 in excess thereof.

 

(c)         Each of the parties hereto hereby agrees that this Agreement and the other Loan Documents may be amended pursuant to a Refinancing Amendment, without the consent of any other Lenders, to the extent (but only to the extent) necessary to (i) reflect the existence and terms of the Credit Agreement Refinancing Indebtedness incurred pursuant thereto, (ii) make such other changes to this Agreement and the other Loan Documents consistent with the provisions and intent of the second paragraph of Section 10.2 (without the consent of the Required Lenders called for therein) and (iii) effect such other amendments to this Agreement and the other Loan Documents as may be necessary or appropriate, in the reasonable opinion of the Administrative Agent and the Borrower Representative, to effect the provisions of this Section 2.22, and the Lenders hereby expressly authorize the Administrative Agent to enter into any such Refinancing Amendment.

 

(d)          This Section 2.22 shall supersede any provisions of this Agreement to the contrary.

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2.23Extension of Term Loans; Extension of Revolving Credit Loans.

 

(a)          The Borrower Representative may at any time and from time to time request that all or a portion of the Term Loans of a given Class (each, an “Existing Term Loan Tranche”) be amended or converted to extend the scheduled maturity date(s) with respect to all or a portion of any principal amount of such Term Loans (any such Term Loans which have been so amended or converted, “Extended Term Loans”) and to provide for other terms consistent with this Section 2.23. In order to establish any Extended Term Loans, the Borrower Representative shall provide a notice to the Administrative Agent (who shall provide a copy of such notice to each of the Lenders under the applicable Existing Term Loan Tranche) (each, a “Term Loan Extension Request”) setting forth the proposed terms of the Extended Term Loans to be established, which shall (i) be identical as offered to each Lender under such Existing Term Loan Tranche (including as to the proposed interest rates and fees payable) and offered pro rata to each Lender under such Existing Term Loan Tranche and (ii) (except as to interest rates, fees, amortization, final maturity date, “AHYDO” payments, optional prepayments, premium, required prepayment dates and participation in voluntary prepayments, which shall be determined by the Borrower Representative and the Extending Term Lenders and set forth in the relevant Term Loan Extension Request), shall either, at the option of the Borrower Representative, (x) reflect current market terms and conditions (taken as a whole) at the time of incurrence or issuance (as determined in good faith by the Borrower Representative) or (y) be consistent with, or (taken as a whole) not materially more favorable to the lenders providing such Extended Term Loans (unless (I) the lenders under the Existing Term Loan Tranche also receive the benefit of such more restrictive terms or (II) such covenants or other provisions are applicable only to periods after the latest final maturity date of the Existing Term Loan Tranche existing at the time of such refinancing); provided that (1) the scheduled final maturity date shall be extended and all or any of the scheduled amortization payments of principal of the Extended Term Loans may be delayed to later dates than the scheduled amortization of principal of the Term Loans of such Existing Term Loan Tranche; provided that at no time shall there by Classes of Term Loans hereunder (including Refinancing Term Loans and Extended Term Loans) which have more than six different Maturity Dates, (with any such delay resulting in a corresponding adjustment to the scheduled amortization payments reflected in Section 2.07 or in the Joinder Agreement, as the case may be, with respect to the Existing Term Loan Tranche from which such Extended Term Loans were amended or converted, in each case as more particularly set forth in Section 2.10), (2)(A) pricing, fees, optional prepayment or redemption terms shall be determined in good faith by the Borrowers and the interest margins and floors with respect to the Extended Term Loans may be higher or lower than the interest margins and floors for the Term Loans of such Existing Term Loan Tranche, (B) the Weighted Average Life to Maturity of Extended Term Loans shall not be shorter than the Weighted Average Life to Maturity of the Term Loans, at the time of such refinancing (except by virtue of amortization or prepayment of the Term Loans prior to the time of such incurrence), and/or (C) additional fees, premiums or solely to the extent payable after the Term Loan Maturity Date, “AHYDO” payments may be payable to the Lenders providing such Extended Term Loans in addition to or in lieu of any increased margins and floors contemplated by the preceding clause (A), in each case, to the extent provided in the applicable Extension Amendment, (3) the Extended Term Loans may participate on a pro rata basis, greater than pro rata basis or less than pro rata basis in any voluntary prepayment of any Class of Term Loans hereunder and may participate on a pro rata basis or less than pro rata basis (but, except as otherwise permitted by this Agreement, not on a greater than pro rata basis) in any mandatory prepayments of any Class of Term Loans hereunder, (4) Extended Term Loans may have call protection and redemption terms as may be agreed by the Borrowers and the Lenders thereof, (5) any Extended Term Loans shall not at any time be guaranteed by any Person other than the Guarantors and shall not be secured by a Lien on any property that does not constitute Collateral and (6) to the extent that any such provision that applies after the Term Loan Maturity Date is added for the benefit of any such Indebtedness, no consent shall be required by the Administrative Agent or any of the Lenders. No Lender shall have any obligation to agree to have any of its Term Loans of any Existing Term Loan Tranche converted into Extended Term Loans pursuant to any Extension Request. Any Extended Term Loans of any Extension Series shall constitute a separate Class of Term Loans from the Existing Term Loan Tranche from which they were converted; provided, that any Extended Term Loans converted from an Existing Term Loan Class may, to the extent provided in the applicable Extension Amendment, be designated as an increase in any then outstanding Class of Term Loans other than the Existing Term Loan Class from which such Extended Term Loans were converted (in which case scheduled amortization with respect thereto shall be proportionally increased). Any Extended Term Loans amended pursuant to any Term Loan Extension Request shall be designated a series (each, a “Term Loan Extension Series”) of Extended Term Loans for all purposes of this Agreement; provided that any Extended Term Loans amended from an Existing Term Loan Tranche may, to the extent provided in the applicable Extension Amendment, be designated as an increase in any previously established Term Loan Extension Series with respect to such Existing Term Loan Tranche (in which case scheduled amortization with respect thereto shall be proportionally increased). Each Term Loan Extension Series of Extended Term Loans incurred under this Section 2.23 shall be in an aggregate principal amount that is not less than $5,000,000 (or, if less, the entire principal amount of the Indebtedness being extended pursuant to this Section 2.23 or such other amount approved by the Administrative Agent).

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(b)          The Borrower Representative may at any time and from time to time request that all or a portion of the Revolving Commitments of any Class, each existing at the time of such request (each, an “Existing Revolving Credit Commitment” and any related Revolving Loans thereunder, “Existing Revolving Credit Loans”; each Existing Revolving Credit Commitment and related Existing Revolving Credit Loans together being referred to as an “Existing Revolving Credit Class”) be converted to extend the termination date thereof and the scheduled maturity date(s) of any payment of principal with respect to all or a portion of any principal amount of Revolving Loans related to such Existing Revolving Credit Commitments (any such Existing Revolving Credit Commitments which have been so extended, “Extended Revolving Credit Commitments” and any related Revolving Loans, “Extended Revolving Credit Loans”) and to provide for other terms consistent with this Section 2.23. In order to establish any Extended Revolving Credit Commitments, the Borrower Representative shall provide a notice to the Administrative Agent (who shall provide a copy of such notice to each of the Lenders of the applicable Class of Existing Revolving Credit Commitments which such request shall be offered equally to all such Lenders on identical terms) (a “Revolving Credit Loan Extension Request”) setting forth the proposed terms of the Extended Revolving Credit Commitments to be established, which, shall either, at the option of the Borrower, (A) reflect current market terms and conditions (taken as a whole) at the time of incurrence or issuance (as determined in good faith by the Borrowers) or (B) if not consistent with the terms of the applicable Existing Revolving Credit Commitments, shall not be materially more restrictive to the Obligors (as determined in good faith by the Borrower), when taken as a whole, than the terms of such Existing Revolving Credit Commitments (the “Specified Existing Revolving Credit Commitment”) unless (x) the Lenders providing Existing Revolving Credit Loans receive the benefit of such more restrictive terms or (y) any such provisions apply after the latest maturity date of any Revolving Commitments then outstanding under this Agreement, in each case, to the extent provided in the applicable Extension Amendment; provided, however, that (w) all or any of the final maturity dates of such Extended Revolving Credit Commitments may be delayed to later dates than the final maturity dates of the Specified Existing Revolving Credit Commitments, (x) (A) the interest margins and floors with respect to the Extended Revolving Credit Commitments may be higher or lower than the interest margins and floors for the Specified Existing Revolving Credit Commitments and/or (B) additional fees and premiums may be payable to the Lenders providing such Extended Revolving Credit Commitments in addition to or in lieu of any increased margins and floors contemplated by the preceding clause (A) and (y) the commitment fee rate with respect to the Extended Revolving Credit Commitments may be higher or lower than the commitment fee rate for the Specified Existing Revolving Credit Commitment; provided, that, notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this Section 2.23 or otherwise, (1) the borrowing and repayment (other than in connection with a permanent repayment and termination of commitments) of Loans with respect to any Existing Revolving Credit Commitments shall be made on a pro rata basis with all other Existing Revolving Credit Commitments and (2) assignments and participations of Extended Revolving Credit Commitments and Extended Revolving Credit Loans shall be governed by the same assignment and participation provisions applicable to Revolving Credit Commitments. No Lender shall have any obligation to agree to have any of its Revolving Loans or Revolving Commitments of any Existing Revolving Credit Class converted into Extended Revolving Credit Loans or Extended Revolving Credit Commitments pursuant to any Revolving Credit Loan Extension Request. Any Extended Revolving Credit Commitments of any Extension Series shall be designated a series (each, a “Revolving Credit Loan Extension Series”) of Extended Revolving Credit Loans for all purposes of this Agreement and shall constitute a separate Class of revolving credit commitments from the Specified Existing Revolving Credit Commitments; provided that any Extended Revolving Credit Commitments converted from an Existing Revolving Credit Commitment Class may, to the extent provided in the applicable Extension Amendment, be designated as an increase in any then outstanding Class of Revolving Commitments other than the Existing Revolving Credit Commitment Class from which such Extended Revolving Credit Commitments were converted.

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(c)          The Borrower Representative shall provide the applicable Extension Request at least five Business Days prior to the date on which Lenders under the Existing Term Loan Tranche or Existing Revolving Credit Commitment, as applicable, are requested to respond (or such shorter period as agreed by the Administrative Agent), and shall agree to such procedures, if any, as may be established by, or acceptable to, the Administrative Agent and the Borrower Representative, in each case acting reasonably to accomplish the purposes of this Section 2.23. Subject to Section 2.18(b), no Lender shall have any obligation to agree to have any of its Term Loans of any Existing Term Loan Tranche amended into Extended Term Loans or any of its Revolving Credit Commitments amended into Extended Revolving Credit Commitments, as applicable, pursuant to any Extension Request. Any Lender holding a Loan under an Existing Term Loan Tranche (each, an “Extending Term Lender”) wishing to have all or a portion of its Term Loans under the Existing Term Loan Tranche subject to such Extension Request amended or converted into Extended Term Loans and any Revolving Credit Lender (each, an “Extending Revolving Credit Lender”) wishing to have all or a portion of its Revolving Credit Commitments under the Existing Revolving Credit Commitment subject to such Extension Request amended into Extended Revolving Credit Commitments, as applicable, shall notify the Administrative Agent (each, an “Extension Election”) on or prior to the date specified in such Extension Request of the amount of its Term Loans under the Existing Term Loan Tranche or Revolving Credit Commitments under the Existing Revolving Credit Commitment, as applicable, which it has elected to request be amended into Extended Term Loans or Extended Revolving Credit Commitments, as applicable (subject to any minimum denomination requirements imposed by the Administrative Agent). In the event that the aggregate principal amount of Term Loans under the Existing Term Loan Tranche or Revolving Credit Commitments under the Existing Revolving Credit Commitment, as applicable, in respect of which applicable Term Lenders or Revolving Credit Lenders, as the case may be, shall have accepted the relevant Extension Request exceeds the amount of Extended Term Loans or Extended Revolving Credit Commitments, as applicable, requested to be extended pursuant to the Extension Request, Term Loans or Revolving Credit Commitments, as applicable, subject to Extension Elections shall be amended to Extended Term Loans or Revolving Credit Commitments, as applicable, on a pro rata basis (subject to rounding by the Administrative Agent, which shall be conclusive) based on the aggregate principal amount of Term Loans or Revolving Credit Commitments, as applicable, included in each such Extension Election.

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(d)          Extended Term Loans and Extended Revolving Credit Commitments shall be established pursuant to an amendment (each, an “Extension Amendment”) to this Agreement among the Borrower Representative, the Administrative Agent and each Extending Term Lender or Extending Revolving Credit Lender, as applicable, providing an Extended Term Loan or Extended Revolving Credit Commitment, as applicable, thereunder, which shall be consistent with the provisions set forth in Section 2.23(a) or 2.23(b) above, respectively (but which shall not require the consent of any other Lender). The effectiveness of any Extension Amendment shall be subject to the satisfaction (or waiver) on the date thereof each of the conditions set forth in Section 4.2 and, to the extent reasonably requested by the Administrative Agent, receipt by the Administrative Agent of (i) customary legal opinions, board resolutions and officers’ certificates certifying such resolutions and (ii) reaffirmation agreements and/or such amendments to the Security Documents as may be reasonably requested by the Administrative Agent in order to ensure that the Extended Term Loans or Extended Revolving Credit Commitments, as applicable, are provided with the benefit of the applicable Loan Documents. The Administrative Agent shall promptly notify each Lender as to the effectiveness of each Extension Amendment. Each of the parties hereto hereby agrees that this Agreement and the other Loan Documents may be amended pursuant to an Extension Amendment, without the consent of any other Lenders, to the extent (but only to the extent) necessary to (i) reflect the existence and terms of the Extended Term Loans or Extended Revolving Credit Commitments, as applicable, incurred pursuant thereto, (ii) modify the scheduled repayments set forth in Section 2.10 with respect to any Existing Term Loan Tranche subject to an Extension Election to reflect a reduction in the principal amount of the Term Loans thereunder in an amount equal to the aggregate principal amount of the Extended Term Loans amended pursuant to the applicable Extension (with such amount to be applied ratably to reduce scheduled repayments of such Term Loans required pursuant to Section 2.9), (iii) modify the prepayments set forth in Section 2.10 to reflect the existence of the Extended Term Loans and the application of prepayments with respect thereto, (iv) make such other changes to this Agreement and the other Loan Documents (without the consent of the Required Lenders called for therein) and (v) effect such other amendments to this Agreement and the other Loan Documents as may be necessary or appropriate, in the reasonable opinion of the Administrative Agent and the Borrower Representative, to effect the provisions of this Section 2.23, and the Required Lenders hereby expressly authorize the Administrative Agent to enter into any such Extension Amendment.

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(e)          No conversion of Loans pursuant to any Extension in accordance with this Section 2.23 shall constitute a voluntary or mandatory payment or prepayment for purposes of this Agreement. This Section 2.23 shall supersede any provisions herein to the contrary.

 

3.REPRESENTATIONS AND WARRANTIES

 

Holdings (solely in respect of itself and Section 3.1, 3.2, 3.3, 3.8, 3.17 and 3.22), the Borrowers and each other Obligor represents and warrants (with each representation and warranty being deemed in effect after giving effect to the Transactions) to the Administrative Agent, the Lenders, and Issuing Lender that on the Effective Date and on such other dates as such representations and warranties are required to be made:

 

3.1        Organization; Powers. Each of the Obligors is (a) duly organized, validly existing, and, if applicable in its jurisdiction of organization, in good standing or the equivalent status under the laws of the jurisdiction of its organization, (b) except where the failure to do so, individually or in the aggregate, could not reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect, has all requisite corporate or similar power and authority and all governmental licenses, permits, water rights, authorizations, and other approvals and entitlements to own and operate its property, to lease or sublease any property its operates, to occupy any property it occupies, and to carry on its business as now conducted and as contemplated to be conducted by it upon and following the consummation of the Transactions, (c) has all requisite corporate or similar power and authority to execute, deliver and perform its obligations under the Loan Documents to which it is a party, and (d) except where the failure to do so, individually or in the aggregate, could not reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect, is duly qualified or licensed and is in good standing as a foreign corporation or other company, and authorized to do business, in each jurisdiction in which the characters of its properties or the nature of its business requires such qualification or authorization.

 

3.2        Authorization; Enforceability. The execution, delivery and performance by each Obligor of the Loan Documents and the documents related to the Transactions occurring on the Effective Date to which it is a party and the performance of each Obligor’s obligations thereunder are within each Obligor’s requisite powers and have been duly authorized by all necessary corporate, limited liability company or other organizational action, and, if required, by all necessary action by holders of Equity Interests in each such Obligor. The Loan Documents to which each Obligor is a party have been duly executed and delivered by such Obligor and constitute, a legal, valid and binding obligation of such Obligor, enforceable against such Obligor in accordance with its terms, except as such enforceability may be limited by (a) Debtor Relief Laws or similar laws of general applicability affecting the enforcement of creditors’ rights. (b) the application of general principles of equity (regardless of whether such enforceability is considered in a proceeding in equity or at law) and (c) the effect of foreign laws, rules and regulations as they relate to pledges of Equity Interests in or Indebtedness owed by Foreign Subsidiaries.

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3.3         Governmental Approvals; No Conflicts. The execution, delivery and performance by each Obligor of the Loan Documents to which it is a party and the documents related to the Transactions to which it is a party and the performance of each Obligor’s obligations thereunder (a) do not require any consent, authorization or approval of, registration or filing with, notice to, or any other action by, any Governmental Authority, except for (i) such as have been obtained or made and are in full force and effect, (ii) filings and recordings in respect of the Liens created pursuant to the Security Documents and (iii) those that would not reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect, (b) will not violate (x) any applicable law or regulation applicable to any Obligor or its Restricted Subsidiaries or (y) the Organizational Documents of any Obligor or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries, in the case of clause (x), that would reasonably be expected to result, individually or in the aggregate, in a Material Adverse Effect, (c) [reserved], (d) will not conflict with or result in a breach or contravention of, any material order, injunction, writ or decree of any Governmental Authority or any arbitral award to which any Obligor or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries is a party or affecting such Person or its properties that would reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect, and (e) except for the Liens created pursuant to the Security Documents or Permitted Encumbrances, will not result in the creation or imposition of any Lien on any asset of any Obligor or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries.

 

3.4Financial Condition; No Material Adverse Change.

 

(a)          Financial Condition. The Borrower Representative has heretofore furnished to the Administrative Agent and Lenders (i) the audited balance sheet of the Company, as of December 28, 2020, and the related audited statements of operations and comprehensive loss, members’ equity and cash flows of the Company for the year then ended, (ii) an unaudited interim balance sheet of the Company as of April 26, 2021 and the related unaudited interim statements of operations and comprehensive loss, members’ equity and cash flows of the Company for (x) the four-month period ended April 26, 2021 and (y) each subsequent fiscal quarter ended at least forty-five (45) days prior to the Effective Date (in respect of this clause (y), to the extent provided under the Surf Merger Agreement), and (iii) a pro forma consolidated balance sheet and related statements of income of Holdings and its subsidiaries, as of April 26, 2021, prepared after giving effect to the Transactions as if the Transactions had occurred as of such date (in the case of such balance sheet) or at the beginning of such period (in the case of the statement of income), (iv) the audited balance sheets of Vive Organic as of December 31, 2021 and December 30, 2020 and the related audited statements of operations and of cash flows of Vive Organic for the years then ended and (v) the unaudited balance sheet of Vive Organic as of August 31, 2022 and the related statements of operations and cash flows of Vive Organic for the eight-month period then ended, in each case prepared on a consolidated basis in conformity in all material respects with GAAP; provided, that in each case, no financial statements or pro forma financial statements shall be required to include adjustments for purchase accounting (including adjustments of the type contemplated by Financial Accounting Standards Board Accounting Standards Codification 805, Business Combinations (formerly SFAS 141R)). Such financial statements or financial information present fairly in all material respects the financial position and results of operations and cash flows of the Company and as of such dates and for such period in accordance with GAAP (where applicable) in all material respects, subject to year-end audit adjustments and the absence of footnotes in the case of any such unaudited financial statements.

 

(b)          No Material Adverse Change. Since July 7, 2021, no events have occurred that either individually or in the aggregate would reasonably be expected to have or cause a Material Adverse Effect.

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3.5Properties.

 

(a)          Property Generally. Each Borrower and its Restricted Subsidiaries has (a) good and legal title to (in the case of fee interests in real property), (b) valid leasehold interests in (in the case of leasehold interests in real or personal property), and (c) good and marketable title to (or in the case of all other personal property, rights in), all of their respective assets, except for (i) Permitted Encumbrances, or (ii) minor defects in title to property that do not materially interfere with its ability to conduct its business as currently conducted or to use such property for their intended purposes and (iii) as would not reasonably be expected, individually or in the aggregate, to result in a Material Adverse Effect. All such assets are free and clear of Liens except for Permitted Encumbrances.

 

(b)          Intellectual Property. (i) Each Borrower and its Restricted Subsidiaries owns, or is licensed or otherwise has rights to use, all trademarks, tradenames, copyrights, patents and other intellectual property reasonably necessary to the operation of its business, and, (ii) to its knowledge, the use thereof by any Borrower and its Restricted Subsidiaries does not infringe upon the rights of any other Person, in each case of (i) and (ii), except as could not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect.

 

3.6Litigation.

 

Actions, Suits and Proceedings. There are no actions, suits, investigations or proceedings by or before any arbitrator or Governmental Authority now pending against or, to the knowledge of any Borrower or Restricted Subsidiary, threatened against any Borrower or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries (i) that involve any of the Loan Documents or any of the Transactions contemplated hereby or thereby, or (ii) that have a reasonable likelihood of adverse determination and such determination could reasonably be expected, individually or in the aggregate, to result in a Material Adverse Effect, except for matters disclosed on Schedule 3.6.

 

3.7        Compliance with Laws. No Borrower nor any Restricted Subsidiary nor any of their respective products is subject to, in violation of, or in default with respect to, any judgments, laws (including without limitation the Food and Agriculture Law), regulations, orders, writs, injunctions and decrees of any Governmental Authority applicable to it or its property that, individually or in the aggregate, could reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect. As of the Effective Date, there are no existing Liens pursuant to Growers’ Lien Laws. As of the Effective Date, Borrowers and their Subsidiaries are in compliance in all material respects with all notifications, instructions and payment obligations received from creditors of Protected Vendors delivered pursuant to Growers’ Lien Laws.

 

3.8         Investment Company Status. None of the Borrowers, Holdings or any of their Restricted Subsidiaries is or is required to be registered as an “investment company” under the Investment Company Act of 1940.

 

3.9          Taxes. Except, in each case, as would not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect, each Obligor and its Restricted Subsidiaries have filed or caused to be filed all federal, state, local and non-U.S. Tax returns and reports required to have been filed by them by their respective due dates (including any extensions) and have paid or caused to be paid all Taxes shown therein to be due and have paid all other Taxes, except (a) Taxes that are being contested in good faith by appropriate proceedings diligently conducted and for which such Person has set aside on its books adequate reserves in accordance with the GAAP or (b) Taxes which are not yet delinquent for a period of more than thirty (30) days. There is no tax assessment, to the knowledge of any Obligor, that has been proposed or threatened in writing, against any Obligor or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries that has not been finally resolved and would, if paid in full, be reasonably expected to have a Material Adverse Effect. No Obligor nor any Restricted Subsidiary thereof is party to any tax sharing agreement (other than any agreement entered into in the ordinary course of business the primary purpose of which is not related to Taxes).

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3.10       ERISA. Except as set forth on Schedule 3.10, as of the Effective Date, no Borrower nor any of its Restricted Subsidiaries is party to or bound to any Multiemployer Plan. No ERISA Event has occurred or is reasonably expected to occur that, when taken together with all other such ERISA Events for which liability is reasonably expected to occur, would result in a Material Adverse Effect. No Borrower or Restricted Subsidiary is nor will be (a) an employee benefit plan subject to ERISA, (b) a plan or account subject to Section 4975 of the Code; (c) an entity deemed to hold “plan assets” of any such plans or accounts for purposes of ERISA or the Code; or (d) a “governmental plan” within the meaning of ERISA.

 

3.11Disclosure.

 

(a)          The Borrower Representative has delivered to the Administrative Agent and the Lenders the Borrowers’ projected consolidated profit and loss statements and summary cash flow statements prepared on an annual basis for its 2021 through 2025 Fiscal Years. Such projections and all other financial projections and forecasts delivered to the Administrative Agent and the Lenders in connection with this Agreement have been prepared by the Borrowers in good faith based upon reasonable assumptions believed by the Borrowers to be reasonable at the time made available to the Administrative Agent and the Lenders, it being recognized by Administrative Agent and the Lenders that such projections are as to future events and are not to be viewed as facts and are subject to significant uncertainties and contingencies, many of which are beyond the Borrowers’ control, that no assurance can be given that any particular projection will be realized, and that actual results during the period or periods or covered by such projections may differ significantly from the projected results and such differences may be material.

 

(b)         All information (other than the projections and forecasts described in Section 3.11(a), forward-looking statements, budgets, estimates and information of a general economic or industry nature) furnished by or on behalf of any Obligor, to the Administrative Agent or any Lenders in connection with the transactions contemplated hereby and the negotiation of this Agreement and the other Loan Documents or delivered hereunder or thereunder (as modified or supplemented by other information so furnished) is, when furnished and taken as a whole, does not or will not, when furnished and taken as a whole, contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state any material fact necessary to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not materially misleading.

 

(c)          As of the Effective Date, the information included in the Beneficial Ownership Certification delivered by the Borrower Representative pursuant to Section 4.1(j) is true and correct in all material respects.

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3.12       Federal Reserve Regulations; Use of Credit. The Borrowers are not engaged and will not engage, principally or as one of its important activities, in the business of purchasing or carrying Margin Stock, or extending credit for the purpose of purchasing or carrying Margin Stock, and no proceeds of any Borrowings or drawings under any Letter of Credit will be used for any purpose that violates Regulation T, U or X of the Board of Governors of the United States Federal Reserve System.

 

3.13       [Reserved].

 

3.14       Existing Subsidiaries. Set forth on Schedule 3.14 is a complete and correct list of all of the Subsidiaries of Holdings, the Borrowers and their respective Subsidiaries as of the Effective Date, together with, for each such Subsidiary, (i) the jurisdiction of organization, of such Subsidiary; (ii) each Person holding Equity Interests in such Subsidiary; (iii) the Equity Interests issued by such Subsidiary; (iv) the Equity Interests held by each such Person; and (v) the percentage of ownership of such Subsidiary represented by such Equity Interests.

 

3.15       Real Property. Set forth on Part 1 of Schedule 3.15 is a complete and correct list, as of the Effective Date, of all of the Material Real Property owned by any Company, indicating in each case the use of the respective property, the identity of the owner, and the location of the respective property. As of the Effective Date, except as set forth on Part 2 of Schedule 3.15, no Mortgaged Property owned by an Obligor has Improvements located in an area identified as having special flood hazards and in which flood insurance has been made available under the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968.

 

3.16       Environmental Matters. Except as set forth on Schedule 3.16, each Borrower and its Restricted Subsidiaries has obtained all permits, licenses, and other authorizations required under all Environmental Laws to carry on its business, except to the extent failure to have any such permit, license, or authorization would not (either individually or in the aggregate) reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect. Except as set forth on Schedule 3.16, each of such permits, licenses, and authorizations is in full force and effect and each Obligor and its Restricted Subsidiaries is in compliance with the terms and conditions thereof, and is also in compliance with all other limitations, restrictions, conditions, standards, prohibitions, requirements, obligations, schedules, and timetables contained in any applicable Environmental Law, except to the extent failure to comply therewith would not (either individually or in the aggregate) reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect.

 

In addition, except as set forth in Schedule 3.16:

 

(a)          There are no claims, actions, suits, investigations, or proceedings asserted against or, to any Borrower’s or Restricted Subsidiary’s knowledge, threatened against, the Borrower or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries, nor has the Borrower or any of the Restricted Subsidiaries received any written notice, notification, demand, potentially responsible party letter, request for information, citation, summons or order from any Governmental Authority or third party alleging potential liability of the Borrower or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries under any Environmental Law in connection with the conduct of the business of such Borrower or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries or with respect to any generation, treatment, storage, recycling, transportation, discharge or disposal, release or threatened release of any Hazardous Materials, excluding any matter that would not (either individually or in the aggregate) reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect.

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(b)         Except as would not (either individually or in the aggregate) be reasonably expected to have a Material Adverse Effect, (i) no Borrower or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries owns, operates or leases a treatment, storage or disposal facility requiring a permit under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act of 1976, or under any comparable state or local statute; (ii) there are no underground storage tanks or surface impoundments for Hazardous Materials, active or abandoned, at any site or facility now or, to any Borrower’s knowledge, previously owned, operated or leased by any Borrower or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries; (iii) there has been no release or threatened release of any Hazardous Materials at, from, on or under any site or facility now or, to any Borrower’s or Restricted Subsidiary’s knowledge, previously owned, operated or leased by any Borrower or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries in quantities or concentrations requiring remediation by any Borrower or any Restricted Subsidiary under applicable Environmental Law; and (iv) no Borrower or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries has contractually assumed any liability or obligation of any other person under or relating to any applicable Environmental Law.

 

(c)         No written notification of a release of a Hazardous Material has been filed by or on behalf of any Borrower or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries that would reasonably be expected to result (either individually or in the aggregate) in a Material Adverse Effect and no site or facility now or, to any Borrower’s or Restricted Subsidiary’s knowledge, previously owned, operated or leased by any Borrower or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries is listed or, to any Borrower’s or Restricted Subsidiary’s knowledge, proposed for listing on the National Priorities List (“NPL”) under CERCLA, listed for possible inclusion on the NPL by the Environmental Protection Agency in the Superfund Enterprise Management System, as provided for by 40 C.F.R. § 300.5, or any similar state list requiring investigation or clean-up by any Obligor or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries, except for such listing that would not reasonably be expected to result (either individually or in the aggregate) in a Material Adverse Effect.

 

3.17Sanctions/Anti-Corruption Representations.

 

(a)          Each Obligor and its subsidiaries are in compliance in all material respects with all applicable Anti-Terrorism Laws, Anti-Corruption Laws, and laws relating to Sanctions, including all those applicable in the jurisdictions in which Obligor and its Subsidiaries conduct business. No Obligor nor any of its Subsidiaries is in material violation of any Anti-Terrorism Laws, Anti-Corruption Laws or Sanctions or is engaging in or conspiring to engage in any transaction that evades or avoids, or has the purpose of evading or avoiding, or attempting to violate, any of the prohibitions set forth in any Anti-Terrorism Laws, Anti-Corruption Laws or Sanctions.

 

(b)          No Obligor nor any of its Subsidiaries, nor to its knowledge any director, officer, employee or agent of any Obligor, is a Person (each such Person, a “Sanctioned Person”) that is, or is owned or controlled by Persons that are: (i) the subject of any Sanctions, or (ii) located, organized or resident in a country, region or territory that is, or whose government is, the subject of Sanctions (currently, as of the date of this Agreement, the Region of Crimea, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Venezuela and Syria).

 

(c)          No Obligor nor any of its Subsidiaries, nor to its knowledge any director, officer, employee or agent of any Obligor, is engaging in any dealings or transactions with any Sanctioned Person, or in any country or territory, that at the time of the dealing or transaction is, or whose government is, the subject of Sanctions (currently, as of the date of this Agreement, the Region of Crimea, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Venezuela and Syria).

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3.18       Insurance. The properties of each Borrower and its Restricted Subsidiaries are insured with financially sound and reputable insurance companies, in such amounts, in the good faith determination of the Borrowers and giving effect to any self-insurance, with such deductibles and covering such risks as are customarily carried by companies engaged in similar businesses and owning similar properties in localities where any Borrower or the applicable Subsidiary operates, in each case, in accordance with Section 5.5.

 

3.19      Labor Matters. Except as set forth on Schedule 3.19, as of the Effective Date no Borrower nor any of its Restricted Subsidiaries are party to or bound by any collective bargaining agreement. There are no strikes, lockouts, work stoppages or other labor disputes against any Borrower or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries, or, to the best of any Borrower’s knowledge, threatened against or affecting any Borrower or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries, in each case, which could reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect. Each Obligor has paid in all material respects all wages required and due and payable to its employees except where the failure to do so could not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect.

 

3.20        Solvency. On the Effective Date, the Borrowers together with their Restricted Subsidiaries on a consolidated basis, are Solvent.

 

3.21        [Reserved].

 

3.22        Security Documents.

 

The provisions of the Security Documents (taken as a whole) are, or will be at the time of execution and delivery thereof, effective to create in favor of Administrative Agent for the benefit of the Secured Parties a valid and enforceable (except as such enforceability may be limited by (a) Debtor Relief Laws or similar laws of general applicability affecting the enforcement of creditors’ rights. (b) the application of general principles of equity (regardless of whether such enforceability is considered in a proceeding in equity or at law) and (c) the effect of foreign laws, rules and regulations as they relate to pledges of Equity Interests in or Indebtedness owed by Foreign Subsidiaries) first-priority Lien (subject only to Permitted Encumbrances) on all right, title and interest of each Obligor in the Collateral described therein. When all appropriate filings or recordings are made in the appropriate offices or other perfection action taken as contemplated hereby and by the Security Documents, the Liens created by each such Security Document will constitute fully perfected first priority Liens (subject only to Permitted Encumbrances) on and security interests in all right, title and interest of the Obligors in such Collateral subject to the limitations and exceptions set forth in the Security Documents.

 

4.CONDITIONS PRECEDENT.

 

4.1          Effective Date. The obligations of the Lenders to make Loans and of Issuing Lender to issue Letters of Credit hereunder shall not become effective until the date on which Administrative Agent shall have received each of the following, in each case reasonably satisfactory to the Administrative Agent (and to the extent specified below, to each Lender) in form and substance:

 

(a)         Executed Counterparts. From each party thereto, a counterpart of this Agreement and the other Loan Documents to be executed and delivered as of the Effective Date, signed and delivered on behalf of such party.

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(b)         Opinions of Counsel to Obligor. Customary legal opinion (addressed to the Administrative Agent, the Lenders and Issuing Lender and dated the Effective Date) of Kirkland & Ellis LLP, counsel the Obligors.

 

(c)         Corporate Documents. Such documents and certificates as Administrative Agent may reasonably request relating to the organization, existence and good standing of each Obligor as of the Effective Date, the authorization of the Transactions, the identity, authority and capacity of each Responsible Officer authorized to act on behalf of an Obligor in connection with the Loan Documents, this Agreement, the other Loan Documents or the Transactions.

 

(d)         Security Documents. (i) The Security Agreement, duly executed and delivered by the Obligors and the Administrative Agent, (ii) certificates, if any, representing the Equity Interests required to be pledged under the Security Agreement accompanied by undated stock or comparable powers executed in blank, and (iii) proper financing statements (Form UCC-1 or the equivalent) for filing under the UCC or other appropriate filing offices of each jurisdiction as may be necessary to perfect the security interests purported to be created by the foregoing Security Agreement; provided, however, that, the satisfaction of the requirement set forth in clause (ii) above, after the Borrower Representative’s use of commercially reasonable efforts to provide such items on or prior to the Effective Date without undue burden or expense, shall not constitute conditions precedent to the Borrowing on the Effective Date but shall instead be delivered by the Borrower Representative within 90 days after the Effective Date (subject to extensions approved by the Administrative Agent in its reasonable discretion).

 

(e)         Solvency. A solvency certificate from the chief executive officer, chief financial officer or other officer with equivalent duties of the Borrower Representative in the form of Exhibit 4.1.

 

(f)          Repayment of Existing Indebtedness. Evidence that all existing third party debt for borrower money of the Company under the Existing Indebtedness (other than Indebtedness permitted by Section 6.1 hereof) shall have been (or shall be substantially simultaneously) repaid, redeemed, defeased, discharged, refinanced, replaced or termination and all commitments thereunder shall have been (or shall be substantially simultaneously) terminated and all liens and guarantees thereunder shall have been (or shall be substantially simultaneously) released or terminated.

 

(g)         Administrative Agent and, if applicable, Issuing Lender or Swingline Lender shall have received a Borrowing Request.

 

(h)         Financial Statements. The financial statements and financial information referred to in Sections 3.4(a) and 3.11(a).

 

(i)          Fees. Evidence that the Borrowers shall have paid (or shall pay substantially concurrently with the funding of the initial Borrowings under this Agreement on the Effective Date) all accrued fees that are required to be paid on the Effective Date under the terms of the Fee Letter, to the extent invoiced at least three (3) Business Days prior to or on the Effective Date, expenses of Administrative Agent required to be paid on Effective Date pursuant to the Commitment Letter, including the fees, charges and disbursements of King & Spalding LLP, special New York counsel to the Administrative Agent, in connection with the negotiation, preparation, execution and delivery of the Loan Documents (directly to such counsel if requested by Administrative Agent).

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(j)         Know Your Customer Requirements. The Administrative Agent shall have received, at least three (3) business days before the Effective Date, (i) all documentation and other information about the Obligors and their subsidiaries that shall have been reasonably requested by the Administrative Agents or the Lead Arranger at least ten (10) business days prior to the Effective Date and that the Administrative Agent and the Lead Arranger reasonably determine is required by applicable regulatory authorities under applicable “know your customer” and anti-money laundering rules and regulations, including, without limitation, the PATRIOT Act and (ii) to the extent any Borrower or any Guarantor qualifies as a “legal entity customer” under the Beneficial Ownership Regulation, a certificate regarding beneficial ownership as required by the Beneficial Ownership Regulation with respect to such Borrower or such Guarantor which certification shall be substantially similar in form and substance to the form of Certification Regarding Beneficial Owners of Legal Entity Customers published jointly, in May 2018, by the Loan Syndications and Trading Association and Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association, that in each case has been requested at least ten (10) business days prior to the Effective Date.

 

(k)         Material Adverse Effect. Since July 7, 2021, no “Material Adverse Effect” (as defined in the Surf Merger Agreement) shall have occurred.

 

(l)         Consummation of the Acquisition. Substantially simultaneously with the funding of the initial Borrowings under this Agreement on the Effective Date, the Acquisition shall be consummated in all material respects in accordance with the terms of the Surf Merger Agreement, but without giving effect to any alteration, amendment, change, supplement, waiver or consent that is materially adverse to the interests of the Lead Arranger, in any such case without the consent of the Lead Arranger (such consent not to be unreasonably withheld, delayed or conditioned and provided that the Lead Arranger shall be deemed to have consented to such waiver, amendment, consent or other modification unless it shall object thereto within three (3) business days after written notice of such waiver, amendment, supplement, consent or other modification) (it being understood (a) any change to the definition of “Material Adverse Effect” or the “Xerox” provisions contained in the Surf Merger Agreement shall be deemed to be material and adverse to the Lead Arranger, (b) any reduction to the purchase price shall be deemed not to be materially adverse to the interests of the Lenders if such reduction (i) does not, in the aggregate, exceed 15% of the purchase price set forth in the Surf Merger Agreement as of July 7, 2021 or (ii) is equal to or in excess of 15% of the purchase price set forth in the Surf Merger Agreement as of July 7, 2021 and is applied (1) first, at the option of the Initial Borrower, to a reduction of the Sponsor Equity Contribution and (2) thereafter, to a reduction in the amount of the Initial Term Loans and the Equity Contribution on a pro rata basis, (c) any increase in the purchase price shall not be deemed to be materially adverse to the interests of the Lenders if such increase is funded with an increase in the aggregate amount of the Sponsor Equity Contribution and (d) any purchase price adjustment contemplated by the Surf Merger Agreement (including any working capital purchase price adjustment) shall not be considered an amendment or waiver of the Surf Merger Agreement).

 

(m)        Specified Purchase Agreement Representations. The Specified Purchase Agreement Representations shall be true and correct in all material respects (or to the extent as of a specified earlier date, true and correct in all material respects as of such date).

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(n)         Sponsor Equity Contribution. Prior to or substantially simultaneously with the funding of the initial Borrowings under this Agreement on the Effective Date, Holdings shall have received the Sponsor Equity Contribution.

 

(o)         Specified Representations. With respect to the funding of the initial Borrowings on the Effective Date, the Specified Representations shall be true and correct in all material respects (unless any such representation or warranty is qualified as to materiality or Material Adverse Effect, in which case such representation and warranty shall be true and correct in all respects) on and as of the Effective Date, both before and immediately after giving effect thereto, except to the extent that such representations and warranties specifically refer to an earlier date, in which case they shall be true and correct in all material respects (unless any such representation or warranty is qualified as to materiality or Material Adverse Effect, in which case such representation and warranty shall be true and correct in all respects) as of such earlier date.

 

Administrative Agent shall notify the Borrower Representative, Issuing Lender and the Lenders of the Effective Date, and such notice shall be conclusive and binding. Each Lender that has signed this Agreement shall be deemed to have consented to, approved or accepted or to be satisfied with, each document or other matter required thereunder to be consented to or approved by or acceptable or satisfactory to a Lender unless Administrative Agent shall have received notice from such Lender prior to the proposed Effective Date specifying its objection thereto.

 

4.2          Each Credit Event. The obligation of each Lender to make a Loan after the Effective Date (including any Incremental Term Loan), and of Issuing Lender to issue, amend, renew or extend any Letter of Credit, is subject to the satisfaction of the following conditions:

 

(a)         the representations and warranties of each Obligor set forth in this Agreement and of the other Loan Documents to which it is a party, shall be true and correct in all material respects (unless any such representation or warranty is qualified as to materiality or Material Adverse Effect, in which case such representation and warranty shall be true and correct in all respects) on and as of the date of such Borrowing or the date of issuance, amendment, renewal or extension of such Letter of Credit, as applicable, both before and immediately after giving effect thereto, except to the extent that such representations and warranties specifically refer to an earlier date, in which case they shall be true and correct in all material respects (unless any such representation or warranty is qualified as to materiality or Material Adverse Effect, in which case such representation and warranty shall be true and correct in all respects) as of such earlier date, and except that for purposes of this Section 4.2, the representations and warranties contained in Section 3.4(a) shall be deemed to refer to the most recent statements furnished pursuant to Sections 5.1(a) and 5.1(b), respectively;

 

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

 

(c)         at the time of and immediately after giving effect to such Borrowing or the issuance, amendment, renewal or extension of such Letter of Credit, as applicable, the total Revolving Credit Exposures shall not exceed the total Revolving Credit Commitments;

 

(d)         Administrative Agent and, if applicable, Issuing Lender or Swingline Lender shall have received a Borrowing Request or a notice requesting the issuance, amendment, renewal, or extension of such Letter of Credit, as the case may be, in each case, in accordance with the requirements of this Agreement.

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Each making of a Loan and each issuance, amendment, renewal, or extension of a Letter of Credit shall be deemed to constitute a representation and warranty by the Borrowers on the date thereof as to the matters specified in clauses (a), (b) and (c) of this Section 4.2.

 

5.AFFIRMATIVE COVENANTS

 

So long as any Commitment is outstanding and thereafter until all Obligations are Fully Satisfied, each Obligor covenants and agrees with Administrative Agent, Issuing Lender and the Lenders that:

 

5.1         Financial Statements and Other Information. The Borrower Representative will furnish to the Administrative Agent (for distribution to each Lender):

 

(a)          within 120 days after the end of each Fiscal Year, (i) commencing with the Fiscal Year ending December 27, 2021, the consolidated balance sheet and related statements of operations, members’ equity and cash flows of the Company and its Subsidiaries, as of the end of and for such year, setting forth, in each case, commencing with the Fiscal Year ending December 26, 2022, in comparative form the figures for the previous Fiscal Year audited by Moss Adams LLP, KPMG or another independent public accountants of recognized national or regional standing (without a “going concern” or substantially similar qualification or exception and without any qualification or exception as to the scope of such audit (except for any such qualification pertaining to (x) the maturity of any Indebtedness occurring within twelve (12) months of the relevant audit, (y) any actual or prospective default under any financial covenant or (z) the activities, operations, financial results, assets or liabilities of Unrestricted Subsidiaries) to the effect that such consolidated financial statements present fairly in all materials respects the financial condition and results of operations of the Company and its Subsidiaries on a consolidated basis in accordance in all material respects with GAAP consistently applied, except as noted therein and (ii) a certification of a Responsible Officer of the Company that such consolidated financial statements present fairly in all material respects the financial condition and results of operations of the Company and the applicable Subsidiaries for such Fiscal Year on a consolidated basis in accordance with GAAP consistently applied; provided, however, that for the Fiscal Year ending December 27, 2021 only, the consolidated financial statements required pursuant to this clause (a) may be provided within 150 days after the end of such Fiscal Year.

 

(b)          within 45 days after the end of each of the first three Fiscal Quarters of each Fiscal Year (and for the fourth Fiscal Quarter of the 2021 Fiscal Year only) commencing with the Fiscal Quarter ending December 27, 2021, (i) the consolidated balance sheet and related statements of operations and cash flows of the Company and its Subsidiaries as of the end of and for such Fiscal Quarter and the then elapsed portion of the Fiscal Year, setting forth in each case, commencing with the Fiscal Quarter ending March 27, 2023 in comparative form the figures for (or, in the case of the balance sheet, as of the end of) the corresponding period or periods of the previous Fiscal Year and (ii) a certification of a Responsible Officer of the Company that such consolidated financial statements present fairly the financial condition and results of operations of the Company and the applicable Subsidiaries, on a consolidated basis for such period in accordance in all material respects with GAAP consistently applied, subject to normal year-end audit adjustments and the absence of footnotes; provided, however, that for the Fiscal Quarters ending September 27, 2021, December 27, 2021 and March 28, 2022 only, the consolidated financial statements required pursuant to this clause (b) may be provided within 60 days after the end of such Fiscal Quarter;

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(c)       concurrently with any delivery of financial statements under clause (a) or (b) of this Section, a certificate in substantially the form of Exhibit 5.1 of a Responsible Officer of the Borrower Representative (a “Compliance Certificate”) (i) certifying as to whether a Default exists and, if a Default exists, specifying the details thereof and any action taken or proposed to be taken with respect thereto, (ii) setting forth reasonably detailed calculations of the Financial Covenant and, to the extent required to be tested for such period, whether the Borrowers were in compliance with the Financial Covenant for such period, and (iii) stating whether any change in GAAP or in the application thereof that has an impact on the financial statements of the Company and its Subsidiaries or the calculation of the Financial Covenant hereof has occurred since the date of the audited financial statements referred to in Section 3.4 and, if any such change has occurred, specifying the effect of such change on the financial statements accompanying such certificate;

 

(d)       promptly after the same become publicly available, copies of all periodic and other reports, proxy statements and other materials filed by the Borrowers or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries with the SEC, or with any national securities exchange, or any financial statements (including any related management discussion and analysis) distributed by the Borrowers to any holder of Material Indebtedness of the Borrowers or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries pursuant to the terms of any indenture, loan or credit or similar agreement and not otherwise required to be furnished hereunder, as the case may be;

 

(e)       prior to an Initial Public Offering, concurrently with the delivery of the financial statements under clauses (a) and (b) of this Section, a management discussion and analysis with respect to such financial statements;

 

(f)         prior to an Initial Public Offering, as soon as available, but in any event no more than 90 days after the end of each Fiscal Year commencing with the Fiscal Year ending December 27, 2021, an annual consolidated plan, budget and financial projection of the Company and its Restricted Subsidiaries on a consolidated basis, including forecasts prepared by management of the Borrowers in form consistent with past practice, of consolidated balance sheets and statements of income or operations and cash flows of the Company and its Restricted Subsidiaries on a quarterly basis for such Fiscal Year, which shall state the material assumptions used in preparation thereof;

 

(g)        promptly after any request by Administrative Agent or any Lender (through Administrative Agent) (subject in each case to any confidentiality restrictions not entered into in contemplation hereof), copies of any detailed audit reports, final management letters or recommendations submitted to the board of directors (or the audit committee of the board of directors) of any Obligor by independent accountants in connection with the accounts or books of any Obligor or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries, or any audit of any of them;

 

(h)       concurrently with the delivery of the financial statements under clause (a) and (b) of this Section, consolidating financial statements of the Borrowers and their Subsidiaries that eliminate the accounts of Unrestricted Subsidiaries;

 

(i)         [reserved];

 

(j)         [reserved];

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(k)         promptly following any request therefor, such other information and reports regarding each Obligor or any of its Subsidiaries, or compliance with the terms of this Agreement and the other Loan Documents, as Administrative Agent or any Lender (through Administrative Agent) may reasonably request (other than any such information or reports that are subject to attorney-client privilege, third-party confidentiality obligations not entered into in contemplation hereof, trade secrets, non-financial proprietary information or applicable law); and

 

Documents required to be delivered pursuant to this Section 5.1 may be delivered electronically and if so, shall be deemed to have been delivered on the date on which such documents are posted electronically by any Obligor or on such Obligor’s behalf on the Platform to which each Lender and the Administrative Agent have access or on the Company’s website; provided that: (i) the Borrower Representative shall deliver paper copies of such documents to the Administrative Agent for any Lender who requests the Borrower Representative to deliver such paper copies until written request to cease delivering paper copies is given by Administrative Agent or such Lender; (ii) the Borrower Representative shall notify (which may be by facsimile or electronic mail) Administrative Agent and each Lender of the posting of any such documents and provide to the Administrative Agent by email electronic versions (i.e. soft copies) of such documents; and (iii) upon written request by Administrative Agent, the Borrower Representative shall provide paper copies of the Compliance Certificate required by clause (c) of this Section 5.1 to the Administrative Agent. Administrative Agent shall have no obligation to request the delivery or to maintain copies of the documents referred to above, and in any event, shall have no responsibility to monitor compliance by the Borrowers with any such request for delivery, and each Lender shall be solely responsible for requesting delivery to it or maintaining its copies of such documents.

 

Notwithstanding the foregoing, the obligations in Section 5.1(a) and 5.1(b) may be satisfied with respect to financial information of Holdings and the Restricted Subsidiaries by furnishing (I) the applicable financial statements of Holdings (or any direct or indirect parent of Holdings) or (II) Holdings’ (or any direct or indirect parent thereof), as applicable, Form 10-K or 10-Q, as applicable filed with the SEC; provided that, with respect to the foregoing clauses (I) and (II), (i) to the extent such information relates to Holdings or a parent of Holdings, such information is accompanied by information that explains in reasonable detail the differences between the information relating to Holdings (or such parent), on the one hand, and the information relating to the Borrowers and the Restricted Subsidiaries on a standalone basis, on the other hand and (ii) to the extent such information is in lieu of information required to be provided under Section 5.1(a), such materials are accompanied by a report of independent public accountants of nationally or regionally recognized standing and shall not be subject to any “going concern” or substantially similar qualification or exception and without any qualification or exception as to the scope of such audit (except for any such qualification pertaining to (x) the maturity of any Indebtedness occurring within twelve (12) months of the relevant audit), (y) any actual or prospective default under any financial covenant or (z) the activities, operations, financial results, assets or liabilities of Unrestricted Subsidiaries).

 

5.2          Notices of Material Events. Each Obligor will furnish to the Administrative Agent and each Lender prompt written notice of the following, after a Responsible Officer of any Obligor has obtained knowledge thereof:

 

(a)          the occurrence of any Event of Default;

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(b)       filing or commencement of, or any material development in, any action, suit or proceeding by or before any arbitrator or Governmental Authority against or affecting any Obligor or any of their respective Restricted Subsidiaries that (i) involves any Loan Document or the Transactions, or (ii) that has a reasonable likelihood of adverse determination and such determination described in this subclause (ii) could reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect;

 

(c)       the occurrence of (i) any notice or other action by the FDA, the USDA or any comparable Governmental Authority to limit, suspend, revoke or terminate any permit, license or authorization that is necessary to any Company’s business, or (ii) any request or proceedings by the FDA, the USDA, or any comparable Governmental Authority seeking the withdrawal, recall, suspension, import detention, or seizure of, or any corrective action relating to any product produced or distributed by any Company or (iii) any Borrower, facility, or product becoming subject to any administrative or regulatory action, inspection, Form FDA 483 observation, warning letter, notice of violation, or other comparable notice by or from the FDA, the USDA or any comparable Governmental Authority (with copies to be provided to Agent of same), or of any product of a Borrower being seized, detained, or subject to a suspension of manufacturing, or the commencement of any proceedings to seize, detain, or suspend manufacturing of a product, in the case of each of clauses (ii) and (iii), that are expected to have a Material Adverse Effect;

 

(d)       the occurrence of any ERISA Event that, alone or together with any other ERISA Events that have occurred, would reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect;

 

(e)       the assertion of any claim pursuant to applicable Environmental Law, including alleged violations of or non-compliance with permits, licenses or other authorizations issued pursuant to applicable Environmental Law, by any Person against, or with respect to the activities of, any Obligor or any of their respective Restricted Subsidiaries, that could (either individually or in the aggregate) reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect;

 

(f)         [reserved];

 

(g)        [reserved];

 

(h)        [reserved]; and

 

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

 

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

 

5.3         Existence; Conduct of Business. Each Obligor shall, and shall cause each of its Restricted Subsidiaries to, do or cause to be done all things necessary to preserve, renew and keep in full force and effect its legal existence and, except as could not reasonably be expected to have, either individually or in the aggregate, a Material Adverse Effect, the rights (including water rights), licenses, permits, privileges and franchises material to the conduct of its business; provided that the foregoing shall not prohibit any transaction permitted by Article VI.

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5.4         Payment of Obligations. Each Obligor shall, and shall cause each of its Restricted Subsidiaries to, timely pay all Tax liabilities, governmental charges and levies, in each case in the nature of a Tax, that are due and payable by it, in each case, unless (a) the validity or amount thereof is being contested in good faith by appropriate proceedings and such Obligor or such Restricted Subsidiary has set aside on its books adequate reserves with respect thereto in accordance with GAAP or (b) the failure to make such payment could not reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect.

 

5.5         Maintenance of Properties; Insurance. Each Obligor shall, and shall cause each of its Restricted Subsidiaries to, (a) maintain all tangible property material to the conduct of its business in good working order and condition, and maintain and protect all intellectual property owned by any Obligor or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries, other than (i) where such action could not reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect and (ii) ordinary wear, tear, casualty, condemnation and dispositions permitted under Section 6.4, and (b) maintain, with financially sound and reputable insurance companies, insurance in such amounts and against such risks as are customarily maintained by similarly sized companies engaged in the same or similar businesses operating in the same or similar locations including any flood insurance required by Section 3.15, in the good faith determination of the Borrowers and giving effect to any self-insurance. The Borrower Representative will furnish to the Administrative Agent, upon request of Administrative Agent, once per calendar year, information in reasonable detail as to the insurance so maintained. Each general liability insurance policy shall name Administrative Agent as additional insured. Each insurance policy covering Collateral shall name Administrative Agent as lender’s loss payee and shall provide that such policy will not be canceled without 30 days (10 days solely with respect to cancellation for nonpayment of premium) (or such shorter period as reasonably acceptable to the Administrative Agent) prior written notice to the Administrative Agent.

 

5.6Books and Records; Inspection Rights.

 

(a)          Each Obligor shall, and shall cause each of its Restricted Subsidiaries to, keep proper books of record and account in which full, true, and correct entries in accordance in all material respects with GAAP are made of all material dealings and transactions in relation to its business and activities. Each Obligor will, and will cause each of its Restricted Subsidiaries to, permit any representatives (including consultants, auditors, accountants and advisors) designated by Administrative Agent, upon reasonable prior notice if no Event of Default then exists, to visit and inspect its properties during normal business hours, to examine and make extracts from its books and records, and to discuss its affairs, finances and condition with its employees (provided an authorized representative of the Borrowers shall be allowed, but not required, to be present during such discussion), independent accountants, or officers, all at such reasonable times and as often as reasonably requested; provided that, in no event shall any Obligor or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries be required pursuant to the terms of this Section 5.6 to allow any such Person to inspect or examine, or be required to discuss, any records, documents or other information (x) with respect to which any Obligor or any its Subsidiaries has obligations of confidentiality or (y) that (i) is subject to attorney client-privilege or otherwise constitutes attorney work-product, (ii) constitutes non-financial trade secrets or non-financial proprietary information, or (iii) in respect of which disclosure to the Administrative Agent (or its respective representatives or contractors) is prohibited by applicable law; and provided, further, that excluding any such visits and inspections during the continuation of an Event of Default, (i) only Administrative Agent on behalf of the Lenders may exercise rights under this Section 5.6 (and such information will be shared with the Lenders), and (ii) Administrative Agent shall not exercise such rights more often than one time during any calendar year.

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(b)          The Borrower Representative shall, upon the request of Administrative Agent or the Required Lenders, hold a conference call once each Fiscal Year to which Administrative Agent and the Lenders shall be invited, in each case at such time as may be agreed to by the Borrower Representative and the Administrative Agent.

 

5.7         Compliance with Laws. Each Obligor shall, and shall cause each of its Restricted Subsidiaries and each of Obligor’s and Restricted Subsidiary’s products to, comply with all laws, rules, regulations, and orders of any Governmental Authority applicable to it or its property (including any Food and Agriculture Law), except where the failure to do so, individually or in the aggregate, could not reasonably be expected to result in (i) a Material Adverse Effect, and (ii) with respect to compliance of Anti-Corruption Laws, Anti-Terrorism Laws, applicable anti-money laundering rules and regulations and Sanctions, be material to the Borrowers, taken as a whole. The Borrowers will maintain in effect, after the date set forth on Schedule 5.11, policies and procedures reasonably designed to promote compliance by the Borrowers, their Restricted Subsidiaries and their respective directors, officers, employees and agents with applicable Anti- Terrorism Laws, Anti-Corruption Laws and Sanctions. So long as the Borrowers or any of their respective Restricted Subsidiaries purchases agricultural products from Protected Vendors, the Borrowers or such Restricted Subsidiaries shall monitor the receipt of notices of Liens and/or trusts (or of any intent to preserve any rights or benefits pursuant to any trust created in favor of any supplier, seller or agent or disclosing a security interest created by a seller of Farm Products) on its assets and notices of non-payment or dishonored checks, in each case, under Food and Agricultural Laws, and provide prompt written notice thereof to Administrative Agent following receipt thereof.

 

5.8         Certain Obligations Respecting Subsidiaries. Borrowers shall take such action, and shall cause each of its Restricted Subsidiaries to take such action, from time to time as shall be necessary to ensure that all Subsidiaries (other than (x) any Excluded Subsidiary or (y) any Unrestricted Subsidiary) are “Subsidiary Guarantors” hereunder. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, in the event that the Borrowers or any of their Restricted Subsidiaries shall form or acquire any new Subsidiary, the Borrowers shall, and shall cause each of their Subsidiaries (other than (x) any Excluded Subsidiary or (y) any Unrestricted Subsidiary) to, within 60 days (or such longer period as the Administrative Agent may reasonably agree) after such formation, acquisition, or, in the case of any (I) Subsidiary becoming a Material Subsidiary, after the date financial statements are delivered pursuant to Section 5.1(a) or 5.1(b) showing such change and (II) Unrestricted Subsidiary being designated as a Restricted Subsidiary (and is not otherwise an Excluded Subsidiary), take the following actions:

 

(a)          such Subsidiary will become a “Subsidiary Guarantor” hereunder by executing and delivering a Guaranty Agreement (or joinder thereto), and become a “Grantor” under the Security Agreement by executing and delivering a supplement to the Security Agreement;

 

(b)          the Borrower Representative shall furnish to the Administrative Agent an updated Schedules 3.14, 3.15 and 4.1(e) with respect to such Subsidiary;

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(c)        the Borrower Representative shall cause such Subsidiary (or any Guarantor that is the owner of the shares or other Equity Interests of such Subsidiary, as applicable) to take such action (including delivering certificates evidencing such Equity Interests, delivering such Uniform Commercial Code financing statements, and executing and delivering security agreements for filing and recording in the United States Patent and Trademark Office and the United States Copyright Office) as shall be necessary or reasonably advisable in the reasonable opinion of Administrative Agent, and in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to the Administrative Agent, to create and perfect valid and enforceable first-priority Liens, subject to no other Liens except for Permitted Encumbrances, on the Collateral of such Subsidiary and all of the Equity Interests in such Subsidiary to the extent consisting Collateral as collateral security for the Obligations;

 

(d)       the Borrower Representative shall cause such Subsidiary to deliver such proof of corporate action, incumbency of officers, opinions of counsel, “Know your customer” information and other documents as is consistent with those delivered by each Obligor pursuant to Section 4.1 on the Effective Date, in each case, as Administrative Agent shall have reasonably requested; and

 

(e)        if such Subsidiary is formed or incorporated in a non-U.S. jurisdiction, (i) such jurisdiction shall be a Qualified Jurisdiction, (ii) any form of security and guaranty agreements have to be in form reasonably acceptable to Administrative Agent and the Borrower Representative (consistent, to the extent in effect on the Effective Date, with the security and guaranty agreements in effect on the Effective Date or otherwise consistent with the customary market practice in the applicable jurisdiction) and Administrative Agent shall have completed any “Know your customer” diligence;

 

provided, however, if a Borrower or any of its Subsidiaries that is a Guarantor forms or acquires a new Tax Preferred Subsidiary, such Borrower shall only be required to, or cause the Guarantor that is the owner of the Equity Interests of such Tax Preferred Subsidiary that constitutes Collateral to, take such action (including delivering certificates and transfer powers for such Equity Interests and delivering Uniform Commercial Code financing statements) as shall be necessary or advisable in the opinion of Administrative Agent, and in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to the Administrative Agent, to create and perfect valid and enforceable first-priority Liens, subject to no other Liens except for Permitted Encumbrances, on 65% of the voting Equity Interests (solely to the extent that the pledge of more than 65% would result in material adverse tax consequences to the Obligors) and 100% of the non-voting Equity Interests in each such new Tax Preferred Subsidiary as collateral security for the Obligations.

 

5.9Further Assurances.

 

(a)      General Further Assurances. Subject to the terms of the Loan Documents, the Borrower Representative shall, and shall cause each other Obligor to, execute any and all further documents, financing statements, agreements and instruments, and take all such further actions (including the filing and recording of financing statements, fixture filings, mortgages, deeds of trust and other documents), which Administrative Agent may reasonably request, to effectuate the transactions contemplated by the Loan Documents or, to grant, preserve, protect or perfect the Liens created or intended to be created by the Security Documents or the validity or priority of any such Lien, all at the expense of the Borrowers. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in this Agreement or the other Loan Documents, unless otherwise elected by the Borrowers no actions in, or required by the applicable laws of, any non-U.S. jurisdiction shall be required in order to create any security interests in any assets or to perfect or make enforceable such security interests (including in Equity Interests of CFCs or any intellectual property rights), there shall be no security agreements or pledge agreements governed under the applicable laws of any non-U.S. jurisdiction and there shall be no requirement to make any filings or take any action in any office in any foreign jurisdiction (including with respect to foreign intellectual property) or register or apply to register any intellectual property rights.

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(b)        Real Property Requirement. If the Real Property Requirement shall cease to be satisfied, the Borrower Representative shall, no later than 120 days after the acquisition of any owned real property (or such longer period as Administrative Agent shall agree to in writing in its sole discretion), cause the Real Property Requirement to be satisfied by causing such additional owned real property or other owned real property to be subjected to a Lien securing the Obligations and shall take, and cause the other Obligors to take, such actions as are necessary or reasonably requested by Administrative Agent to grant and perfect such Liens and deliver such other documents (including the delivery of such Mortgages, title insurance commitments (to the extent available at commercially reasonable cost), exception documents, surveys, flood hazard determination certificates (and related Borrower notices), evidence of flood insurance (if applicable), available environmental assessments, opinions of counsel and other documents, in each case, as may be reasonably requested by Administrative Agent) as is consistent with those delivered by each Obligor on the Effective Date, all at the expense of the Obligors to the extent provided for under Section 10.3.

 

Notwithstanding anything to the contrary herein or in any other Loan Document, it is understood and agreed that:

 

(i)          no control agreements with respect to control agreements related to deposit accounts and securities accounts or commodities accounts shall be required hereunder or under any other Loan Document;

 

(ii)          no landlord waivers, collateral access agreements, bailee waivers, estoppel letters or other similar agreements with respect to the Collateral shall be required hereunder or under any other Loan Document;

 

(iii)         other than to the extent readily available, no environmental reports shall be required to be delivered hereunder or under any other Loan Document; and

 

(iv)        no Obligors shall be required to (A) perfect any pledges and security interests by any means other than by (1) filings pursuant to the Uniform Commercial Code in the office of the secretary of state (or similar central filing office) of the relevant state(s) and filings in the applicable real estate records with respect to Mortgaged Properties or any fixtures relating to Mortgaged Properties, (2) filings in United States government offices with respect to intellectual property and (3) delivery to the Administrative Agent to be held in its possession of all Collateral consisting of intercompany notes (other than Excluded Property), security certificates of issuers owned by Holdings, the Borrowers or the Guarantors and instruments (other than Excluded Property) issued to the Borrowers or Guarantors, together with customary endorsements or transfer powers, in each case, as required by the Security Agreement, (B) provide any notice to or obtain the consent of governmental authorities under the Federal Assignment of Claims Act (or any state equivalent thereof), or (C) enter into any source code escrow arrangement (or be obligated to register intellectual property).

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5.10          Cash Management Systems. Within 180 days after the Effective Date (or such later day as the Administrative Agent may agree in its reasonable discretion), each Obligor shall establish their primary depository and treasury management relationships with JPMorgan or one of its Affiliates and thereafter for so long as JPMorgan is a Lender hereunder, maintain its primary depository and treasury management relationships with JPMorgan or one of its Affiliates.

 

5.11          Post-Closing Deliverables. The Borrower Representative shall deliver to the Administrative Agent all documents required to be delivered pursuant to the Schedule 5.11 by the deadlines set forth therein; it being understood that, notwithstanding anything else set forth in this Agreement or the other Loan Documents to the contrary, such documents shall not be required to be delivered prior to such deadline.

 

5.12           Designation of Subsidiaries. The Borrowers may at any time after the Effective Date designate or redesignate any Restricted Subsidiary of any Borrower as an Unrestricted Subsidiary or any Unrestricted Subsidiary as a Restricted Subsidiary; provided that, (i) immediately before and after such designation or redesignation, no Event of Default pursuant to Section 8.1(a), (b), (d) (solely with respect to Section 7), (e) (solely with respect to Section 5.1(a), (b) or (c)), (h) or (i) shall have occurred and be continuing and (ii) after giving Pro Forma Effect to such designation or redesignation, the Borrowers are in compliance with the Financial Covenant. The designation or redesignation of any Subsidiary as an Unrestricted Subsidiary after the Effective Date shall constitute an Investment by the Borrowers therein at the date of designation or redesignation in an amount equal to the Fair Market Value as reasonably determined in good faith by the Borrowers of the Borrower’s or its Subsidiary’s (as applicable) Investment therein. The designation or redesignation of any Unrestricted Subsidiary as a Restricted Subsidiary shall constitute (i) an Investment, the incurrence of Indebtedness and any Liens at the time of designation (to the extent any Investment, Indebtedness or Liens of such Subsidiary exists at such time) and (ii) a return on any Investment by the Borrower in Unrestricted Subsidiaries pursuant to the preceding sentence in an amount equal to the Fair Market Value of such Subsidiary on the date of designation or redesignation, as reasonably determined in good faith by the Borrowers at the date of such designation or redesignation. No Material Intellectual Property or exclusive license in any Material Intellectual Property shall be permitted to be transferred by Holdings or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries to any Unrestricted Subsidiary, whether by designation hereunder or other transfer or disposition, other than non-exclusive licenses in the Ordinary Course of Business.

 

5.13           Lines of Business. Engage in any material line of business substantially different from those lines of business conducted by the Borrowers or any of the Restricted Subsidiaries on the Effective Date or any business or any other activities that are reasonably similar, ancillary, corollary, synergistic, complementary or related to, or a reasonable extension, development or expansion of, the businesses conducted by the Borrowers or any of the Restricted Subsidiaries on the Effective Date (and non-core incidental businesses acquired in connection with any Permitted Acquisition or permitted Investment), or to facilitate any of the foregoing, in each case as reasonably determined by the Borrowers in good faith.

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5.14       Transactions with Affiliates. No Obligor shall, nor shall it permit any of its Restricted Subsidiaries to, sell, lease or otherwise transfer any assets to, or purchase, lease or otherwise acquire any assets from, or otherwise engage in any other transactions with, any of its Affiliates, if the value of such transaction is in excess of the greater of (x) $4,500,000 and (y) 15% of Consolidated EBITDA (determined at the time of any such transaction (calculated on a pro forma basis) as of the last day of the most recently ended four Fiscal Quarter period for which financial statements have been delivered pursuant to Sections 5.1(a) and (b)) except:

 

(a)        transactions at prices and on terms and conditions that are fair and reasonable and not materially less favorable to such Obligor or such Restricted Subsidiary than could be obtained on an arm’s length basis from unrelated third parties as determined in good faith by the Borrowers;

 

(b)         transactions expressly permitted by Sections 6.1, 6.3, 6.4, and 6.5(d), (j), (o) and (v);

 

(c)        any Restricted Payments permitted by Section 6.6 (other than Section 6.6(e)(iv) or (o));

 

(d)         a customary indemnity provided for the benefit of officers and directors (or comparable managers) of such Company;

 

(e)        so long as it has been approved by such Company’s board of directors (or comparable governing body) in accordance with applicable law, the payment of reasonable compensation, severance, reimbursement or employee benefit arrangements (including severance benefits and health, welfare and retirement benefits and equity incentive and option plans) to employees, officers, and outside directors of such Company in the Ordinary Course of Business;

 

(f)         (i) transactions between any Obligors, and (ii) transactions between Restricted Subsidiaries that are not Obligors;

 

(g)        loans or advances to employees of any Obligor or its Restricted Subsidiaries permitted hereunder;

 

(h)       the Management Agreement and the payments pursuant thereto (other than Section 6.6(e)(iv)), without giving effect to amendments, modifications, or waivers of the Management Agreement with respect to payment amounts after the Effective Date that are, when taken as a whole, materially adverse to the Lenders compared to the Management Agreement in effect on the Effective Date;

 

(i)          the Acquisition and any transaction contemplated by the Surf Merger Agreement;

 

(j)          transactions among any Obligors and their Restricted Subsidiaries constituting any part of a Permitted Reorganization or IPO Reorganization;  

 

(k)        transactions among any Borrower and its Restricted Subsidiaries or any entity that becomes a Restricted Subsidiary or an additional Borrower as a result of such transaction;

 

(l)          loans and other transactions made by Holdings and its Restricted Subsidiaries to joint ventures (to the extent any such joint venture is only an Affiliate as a result of Investments by Holdings and its Restricted Subsidiaries in such joint venture) to the extent otherwise permitted under Section 6.5;

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(m)       employment, consulting and severance arrangements between a Borrower (or any direct or indirect parent) and its Restricted Subsidiaries and their respective officers and employees in the Ordinary Course of Business (including loans and advances in connection therewith) and transactions pursuant to stock option plans and employee benefit plans and arrangements in the Ordinary Course of Business;

 

(n)        the payment of customary fees and reasonable out-of-pocket costs to, and indemnities provided on behalf of, directors, officers, employees and consultants of the Borrowers and their Restricted Subsidiaries (or any direct or indirect parent of a Borrower) in the Ordinary Course of Business to the extent attributable to the ownership or operation of the Borrowers and their Restricted Subsidiaries;

 

(o)         transactions pursuant to any arrangement or agreement in existence on the Effective Date and set forth on Schedule 5.14, or any amendment, extension, renewal, modification or replacement of any such arrangement or agreement (so long as any such amendment, extension, renewal, modification or replacement would not be materially adverse to the Lenders or the Administrative Agent);

 

(p)         so long as no Event of Default pursuant to Section 8.1(a), (b), (h) or (i) has occurred and is continuing, customary payments by the Borrowers and any of their Restricted Subsidiaries to the Sponsor made for any financial advisory, financing, underwriting or placement services or in respect of other investment banking activities (including in connection with acquisitions or divestitures) which payments are approved by the majority of the members of the board of directors (or analogous governing body) or a majority of the disinterested members of the board of directors (or analogous governing body) of the applicable Borrower in good faith;

 

(q)         payments by a Borrower or any of its Subsidiaries pursuant to any tax sharing agreements with any direct or indirect parent of the Borrower to the extent attributable to the ownership or operation of the Borrower and the Subsidiaries, but only to the extent permitted by Section 6.6;

 

(r)          the issuance or transfer of Equity Interests (other than Disqualified Equity Interests) of a Borrower (or any direct or indirect parent) or any one of its Subsidiaries to the extent not otherwise prohibited by the Loan Documents;

 

(s)          transactions in which a Borrower or any of the Restricted Subsidiaries, as the case may be, deliver to the Administrative Agent a letter from an independent financial advisor stating that such transaction is fair to the applicable Borrower or such Restricted Subsidiary from a financial point of view or meets the requirements of Section 5.14;

 

(t)          payments to or from, and transactions with, joint ventures (to the extent any such joint venture is only an Affiliate as a result of Investments by Holdings and the Restricted Subsidiaries in such joint venture) in the ordinary course of business to the extent otherwise permitted under Section 6.5;

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(u)         Affiliate repurchases of (i) the Loans or Commitments to the extent permitted hereunder or (ii) any other Indebtedness, and, in the case of each of the foregoing, the payments and other transactions reasonably related thereto; and

 

(v)          transactions approved by a majority of the disinterested members of the board of directors (or similar governing body) of the Borrowers; provided that if the value of such transaction (or series of transactions) exceeds the greater of (x) $7,500,000 and (y) 25% of Consolidated EBITDA (calculated on a pro forma basis as of the last day of the most recently ended four Fiscal Quarter period for which financial statements have been delivered pursuant to Section 5.1(a) or (b)) then the Borrower Representative shall notify (along with reasonable detail) the Administrative Agent of any such transaction.

 

5.15       Fiscal Year. No Obligor shall, nor shall it permit any of its Subsidiaries to change the Fiscal Year end date of any Obligor or is Subsidiaries without notice to the Administrative Agent.

 

5.16       Ratings. The Borrowers shall use commercially reasonable efforts to (a) obtain a private corporate rating (but not a specific rating) of Borrower and a private rating (but not a specific rating) for the Term Loans from at least one (1) nationally recognized statistical rating agency, and (b) maintain and refresh such rating as reasonably requested by the Administrative Agent.

 

5.17       Use of Proceeds and Letters of Credit. No Obligor shall, nor shall it permit any of its Restricted Subsidiaries to: (a) use the proceeds of the Initial Term Loans and Revolving Credit Loans made on the Effective Date for any purpose other than to (i) consummate the Transactions, (ii) pay the Transaction Costs (solely with the proceeds of the Initial Term Loans), (iii) issue Letters of Credit, (iv) to fund any working capital adjustments required by the Surf Merger Agreement and (v) fund any original issue discount and upfront fees required pursuant to the Fee Letter; provided that the aggregate amount of Revolving Credit Loans made on the Effective Date shall not exceed $3,000,000; (b) use the proceeds of the Revolving Credit Loans and Swingline Loans made after the Effective Date for any purposes other than to fund the Borrowers’ working capital and general corporate purposes (including Permitted Acquisitions but subject to Section 6.15) or, subject to the terms and conditions of this Agreement and the other Loan Documents, the general corporate purposes of any Obligor; and (c) use any part of the proceeds of any Loan for any purpose that violates any of the Regulations of the Board, including Regulations U and X and (d) use the proceeds of the Second Amendment Term Loans made on the Second Amendment Effective Date for any purpose other than to (i) consummate the Second Amendment Acquisition and (ii) pay the Second Amendment Transaction Costs. No Obligor shall, directly or knowingly indirectly, use the proceeds of the Loans, or lend or contribute such proceeds to any Subsidiary, joint venture partner or other Person, (i) to fund any activities or business of or with any Person, or in any country or territory, that, at the time of such funding, is, or whose government is, the subject of comprehensive Sanctions, or (ii) in any other manner that would result in a violation of Sanctions by any Person (including any Person participating in the Loans, whether as underwriter, advisor, investor, or otherwise), or (iii) for any payments to any governmental official or employee, political party, official of a political party, candidate for political office, or anyone else acting in an official capacity, in order to obtain, retain or direct business or obtain any improper advantage, in violation of any Anti-Corruption Laws that may be applicable

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6.NEGATIVE COVENANTS

 

So long as any Commitment is outstanding and thereafter until all Obligations are Fully Satisfied, each Obligor covenants and agrees with Administrative Agent, Issuing Lender and the Lenders that:

 

6.1          Indebtedness. No Obligor shall, nor shall it permit any of its Restricted Subsidiaries to, create, incur, assume, or permit to exist any Indebtedness, except:

 

(a)          Indebtedness under this Agreement and the other Loan Documents;

 

(b)         the Indebtedness (i) described on Schedule 6.1 or (ii) outstanding on the Effective Date not in excess of $1,000,000 in the aggregate (when taken together with all other Indebtedness outstanding in reliance on this clause (b)(ii)), and any Refinancing Indebtedness in respect of the foregoing Indebtedness;

 

(c)         intercompany Indebtedness among any of the Obligors permitted under Section 6.5;

 

(d)         Indebtedness of the Borrowers and their Restricted Subsidiaries consisting of Capital Lease Obligations and Indebtedness incurred to finance the acquisition, construction or improvement of any asset, including mortgage financings (other than Mortgaged Property and so long as the Real Property Requirement remains satisfied), or finance such acquisition, construction or improvement within 270 days within the incurrence of such Indebtedness; provided that (i) such Indebtedness when incurred does not exceed the purchase price or cost of construction of such asset (other than giving effect to the interest component thereof), and (ii) the aggregate principal amount of Indebtedness permitted by this clause (d) does not exceed the greater of (x) $7,500,000 and (y) 25% of Consolidated EBITDA (determined at the time of incurrence of any such Indebtedness (calculated on a pro forma basis) as of the last day of the most recently ended four Fiscal Quarter period for which financial statements have been delivered pursuant to Section 5.1(a) or (b)) at any time outstanding, and any Refinancing Indebtedness in respect of such Indebtedness;

 

(e)          [reserved];

 

(f)           Indebtedness incurred in the Ordinary Course of Business under surety and appeal bonds, performance bonds, bid bonds, appeal bonds, and similar obligations;

 

(g)         Indebtedness consisting of (i) Guarantees arising with respect to customary indemnification obligations to purchasers in connection with Dispositions permitted under Section 6.4; and (ii) Guarantees with respect to Indebtedness of any Borrower or any Restricted Subsidiary, to the extent that the Person that is obligated under such Guarantee could have incurred such underlying Indebtedness pursuant to this Agreement or it constitutes an Investment permitted under Section 6.5;

 

(h)         Indebtedness owing to former employees, officers, or directors of Holdings or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries or Affiliates (or any spouses, ex-spouses, successors, heirs, or estates of any of the foregoing) incurred in connection with the repurchase by Holdings of the Equity Interests of Holdings that has been issued to such Persons, so long as the aggregate amount of all such Indebtedness outstanding at any one time does not exceed the greater of (i) $3,000,000 and (y) 10% of Consolidated EBITDA (determined at the time of incurrence of any such Indebtedness (calculated on a pro forma basis) as of the last day of the most recently ended four Fiscal Quarter period for which financial statements have been delivered pursuant to Section 5.1(a) or (b)) in the aggregate;

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(i)         other unsecured Indebtedness owing to sellers of assets or Equity Interests to an Obligor or a Restricted Subsidiary that is incurred by the applicable Obligor or a Restricted Subsidiary in connection with the consummation of one or more Permitted Acquisitions so long as the aggregate principal amount for all such unsecured Indebtedness does not exceed the greater of (x) $6,000,000 and (y) 20% of Consolidated EBITDA (determined at the time of incurrence of any such Indebtedness (calculated on a pro forma basis) as of the last day of the most recently ended four Fiscal Quarter period for which financial statements have been delivered pursuant to Section 5.1(a) or (b)) at any one time outstanding;

 

(j)          unsecured Indebtedness in respect of earn-outs, contingent liabilities in respect of any indemnification obligation, expense reimbursement obligations, adjustments of purchase price, or similar obligations to the extent (i) required by the Surf Merger Agreement, or (ii) owing to sellers of assets or Equity Interests to any Obligor or its Restricted Subsidiaries that are incurred in connection with the consummation of one or more Permitted Acquisitions or other similar permitted Investments;

 

(k)          Indebtedness incurred in the Ordinary Course of Business in respect of employee severance and employment agreements, workers’ compensation claims, unemployment or other insurance or self-insurance obligations, health, disability or other benefits to employees or former employees and their families;

 

(l)           Indebtedness owed to any Person providing property, casualty, liability, or other insurance to the Borrowers or any of their Restricted Subsidiaries incurred only to defer the cost of such insurance, and, to the extent secured, shall only be secured by the applicable insurance policies (or proceeds arising therefrom);

 

(m)         Indebtedness incurred in the Ordinary Course of Business in respect of Cash Management Services;

 

(n)         to the extent constituting Indebtedness, obligations in respect of bankers’ acceptances, and completion guarantees, standby letters of credit and warranty and contractual service obligations of a like nature, trade letters of credit and documentary letters of credit and similar bonds or guarantees provided in the Ordinary Course of Business in connection with the construction or build-out of any owned or leased real property;

 

(o)         endorsements of instruments or other payment items for deposit;

 

(p)         Subordinated Indebtedness of the Borrowers and their Restricted Subsidiaries in an aggregate principal amount not exceeding the greater of (i) $7,500,000 and (ii) 25% of Consolidated EBITDA (determined at the time of incurrence of any such Indebtedness (calculated on a pro forma basis) as of the last day of the most recently ended four Fiscal Quarter period for which financial statements have been delivered pursuant to Section 5.1(a) or (b)) at any time outstanding;

 

(q)       Indebtedness of Foreign Subsidiaries in an aggregate principal amount not exceeding the greater of (i) $4,500,000 and (ii) 15% of Consolidated EBITDA (determined at the time of incurrence of any such Indebtedness (calculated on a pro forma basis) as of the last day of the most recently ended four Fiscal Quarter period for which financial statements have been delivered pursuant to Section 5.1(a) or (b)) at any time outstanding;

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(r)         Acquired Indebtedness of the Borrowers and their Restricted Subsidiaries so long as (i) such Indebtedness is not incurred in contemplation of the applicable acquisition, (ii) such Indebtedness is unsecured or secured only by acquired assets, proceeds, products or cross collateralized Capital Leases and not guaranteed by any Obligors unless otherwise permitted by this Agreement, (iii) at the time of the applicable acquisition and after giving effect thereto, no Event of Default has occurred and is continuing and (iv) the outstanding amount of such Acquired Indebtedness does not exceed the greater of (x) $7,500,000 and (y) 25% of Consolidated EBITDA (determined at the time of incurrence of any such Indebtedness (calculated on a pro forma basis) as of the last day of the most recently ended four Fiscal Quarter period for which financial statements have been delivered pursuant to Section 5.1(a) or (b)) outstanding at any one time;

 

(s)         to the extent constituting Indebtedness, contingent obligations arising under indemnity agreements to title insurance companies to cause such title insurers to issue title insurance policies in the Ordinary Course of Business with respect to real property of the Borrowers or any of their Restricted Subsidiaries;

 

(t)          customer deposits and advance payments received in the Ordinary Course of Business from customers for goods purchased;

 

(u)       other Indebtedness of a Borrower or its Restricted Subsidiary in an aggregate principal amount not exceeding the greater of (i) $10,000,000 and (ii) 35% of Consolidated EBITDA (determined at the time of incurrence of any such Indebtedness (calculated on a pro forma basis) as of the last day of the most recently ended four Fiscal Quarter period for which financial statements have been delivered pursuant to Section 5.1(a) or (b)) at any time outstanding;

 

(v)         Indebtedness (i) of any Securitization Subsidiary arising under any Qualified Securitization Financing, (ii) of any Borrower or any Restricted Subsidiary arising under any Receivables Facility or (iii) of any Foreign Subsidiary in connection with customary accounts receivable factoring facilities in the Ordinary Course of Business, in an aggregate principal amount under this clause (v) not exceeding the greater of (i) $9,000,000 and (ii) 30% of Consolidated EBITDA (determined at the time of incurrence of any such Indebtedness (calculated on a pro forma basis) as of the last day of the most recently ended four Fiscal Quarter period for which financial statements have been delivered pursuant to Section 5.1(a) or (b));

 

(w)        Indebtedness representing deferred compensation or similar arrangements to employees of any Borrower or any Restricted Subsidiary incurred in the Ordinary Course of Business;

 

(x)        Indebtedness incurred by any Borrower or any Restricted Subsidiary in a Permitted Acquisition, any other Investment, merger or Disposition permitted hereunder or transaction with Affiliates permitted hereunder, in each case, constituting customary indemnification obligations;

 

(y)         Indebtedness incurred in the Ordinary Course of Business consisting of obligations of any Borrower or any Restricted Subsidiary under deferred compensation or other similar arrangements incurred by such Person in connection with the Transactions, Permitted Acquisitions, or any other Investment, in each case, otherwise permitted hereunder;

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(z)          Cash Management Services and other Indebtedness in respect of netting services, automatic clearinghouse arrangements, overdraft protections, employee credit card programs and other cash management and similar arrangements in the Ordinary Course of Business and any Guarantees thereof or the honoring by a bank or other financial institution of a check, draft or similar instrument drawn against insufficient funds in the ordinary course of business, so long as such Indebtedness is extinguished within 5 Business Days of its incurrence;

 

(aa)        Indebtedness consisting of take-or-pay obligations contained in supply arrangements, in each case, in the Ordinary Course of Business;

 

(bb)       Credit Agreement Refinancing Indebtedness;

 

(cc)        Indebtedness consisting of fees to the Sponsor payable pursuant to the Management Agreement;

 

(dd)        Indebtedness of the Borrowers and their Restricted Subsidiaries in an amount not to exceed at any time outstanding 100% of the Excluded Contribution Amount;

 

(ee)       Ratio Debt so long as (i) if secured by the Collateral on a pari passu basis with the Obligations, the Consolidated First Lien Net Leverage Ratio calculated on a pro forma basis as of the last day of the Fiscal Quarter for which financial statements have last been delivered to the Lenders pursuant to Section 5.1(a) or 5.1(b) is not greater than 4.50 to 1.00, (ii) if secured on a junior basis to the Liens securing the Obligations, the Consolidated Secured Net Leverage Ratio calculated on a pro forma basis as of the last day of the Fiscal Quarter for which financial statements have last been delivered to the Lenders pursuant to Section 5.1(a) or 5.1(b) is not greater than 5.25 to 1.00 and (iii) if unsecured or secured by assets not constituting Collateral, the Consolidated Total Net Leverage Ratio calculated on a pro forma basis as of the last day of the Fiscal Quarter for which financial statements have last been delivered to the Lenders pursuant to Section 5.1(a) or 5.1(b) is not greater than 5.25 to 1.00;

 

(ff)         Incremental Equivalent Debt; and

 

(gg)       to the extent constituting Indebtedness, all premiums (if any), interest (including post-petition interest), fees, expenses, charges and additional or contingent interest on obligations described in clauses (a) through (ff) above.

 

6.2        Liens. No Obligor shall, nor shall it permit any of its Restricted Subsidiaries to, create, incur, assume, or permit to exist any Lien on any property or asset now owned or hereafter acquired by it, except for Permitted Encumbrances.

 

6.3Fundamental Changes.

 

(a)          No Obligor shall, nor shall it permit any of its Restricted Subsidiaries to, merge into or consolidate with any other Person, or permit any other Person to merge into or consolidate with it, or sell, transfer, lease or otherwise dispose of (in one transaction or in a series of transactions) all or substantially all of its assets, (in each case, whether now owned or hereafter acquired), or liquidate, wind up, or dissolve, except that:

 

(i)          any Subsidiary of a Borrower may merge or consolidate into any Borrower or any Restricted Subsidiary (including any Person that will be a Restricted Subsidiary upon the consummation of a Permitted Acquisition); provided, (x) if a Borrower is party to any such transaction, a Borrower shall be the surviving entity, and (y) if a Borrower is not a party to such transaction but an Obligor (other than Holdings) is, (A) an Obligor shall be the surviving entity or (B) if a Restricted Subsidiary that is not an Obligor shall be the surviving entity or the transferee of such assets, such merger shall be deemed to constitute a Disposition and must be permitted under Section 6.4(e) or (q); provided that, in each case, at the time thereof and immediately after giving effect thereto, no Event of Default pursuant to Section 8.1(a), (b), (h) or (i) shall have occurred and be continuing;

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(ii)         the Borrowers or any Restricted Subsidiary of the Borrowers may sell, transfer, merger, consolidate, lease or otherwise dispose of its assets as permitted pursuant to Section 6.4;

 

(iii)         any Restricted Subsidiary may liquidate, wind up, or dissolve, or suspend or consolidate its operations, if (x) the Borrowers determine in good faith that such liquidation, winding up, dissolution, suspension, or consolidation is in the best interest of the Borrowers and is not materially disadvantageous to the Lenders, and (y) in the case of any liquidation, winding up or dissolution of an Obligor, all of the assets of such Obligor are transferred to an Obligor (other than Holdings) that is not liquidating, winding up, or dissolving; provided that, in each case, at the time thereof and immediately after giving effect thereto, no Event of Default pursuant to Section 8.1(a), (b), (h) or (i) shall have occurred and be continuing;

 

(iv)         any Restricted Subsidiary may merge or consolidate with any other Person in order to effect an Investment permitted pursuant to Section 6.5; provided that (x) the continuing or surviving Person shall be a Restricted Subsidiary of a Borrower, which together with each of its Restricted Subsidiaries, shall have complied with the requirements of Section 5.8 and Section 5.9 to the extent required, (y) if an Obligor is a party to such transaction, the surviving Person shall be an Obligor and (z) if a Borrower is party to such transaction, the surviving party shall be a Borrower;

 

(v)          any Borrower and any Restricted Subsidiarity may consummate the transactions contemplated by the Surf Merger Agreement (and documents related thereto) and the Transactions; and

 

(vi)         a merger, dissolution, liquidation, consolidation or Disposition, the purpose of which is to effect a Disposition permitted pursuant to Section 6.4 (other than pursuant to 6.4(b)), a Permitted Acquisition, permitted Investment, a Permitted Reorganization or an IPO Reorganization Transaction; provided that if any Borrower is party to such transaction, the surviving party shall be a Borrower.

 

6.4          Dispositions. No Obligor shall, nor shall it permit any of its Restricted Subsidiaries to, make any Disposition, except:

 

(a)          Dispositions of equipment or inventory that is (i) worn, damaged, unnecessary, negligible no longer used or useful, surplus or obsolete, whether now owned or hereafter acquired, in each case, in the Ordinary Course of Business or (ii) obsolete or required for regulatory purposes, so long as in the case of this clause (ii) the Net Cash Proceeds of such Dispositions is used to prepay the Loans in accordance with Section 2.10(b)(i) to the extent required thereunder;

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(b)       Dispositions or transactions permitted by Section 6.3 (other than 6.3(a)(vi)) or 6.5 (other than 6.5(w)); 

 

(c)        Dispositions of Inventory to buyers in the Ordinary Course of Business;

 

(d)        Dispositions of cash and Cash Equivalents in the Ordinary Course of Business;

 

(e)        Dispositions of property by (i) the Borrowers and any of their Restricted Subsidiaries to any other Obligor (other than Holdings), (ii) any Restricted Subsidiary that is not an Obligor to any other Restricted Subsidiary that is not an Obligor, (iii) any Obligor to any Restricted Subsidiary that is not an Obligor (so long as permitted under Section 6.5); provided that (A) the portion (if any) of any Disposition made for less than fair market value and (B) any non-cash consideration received in exchange for any such Disposition, shall in each case constitute an Investment in such Restricted Subsidiary and must be permitted under Section 6.5, and (iv) by any Restricted Subsidiary that is not an Obligor to any Restricted Subsidiary that is an Obligor;

 

(f)         licenses, sublicenses, leases, or subleases granted to third parties in the Ordinary Course of Business not interfering in any material respect with the business of the Borrowers or any of their Restricted Subsidiaries;

 

(g)        sales or exchanges of property solely to replace such equipment with replacement equipment of substantially equivalent or greater value;

 

(h)        issuances of Equity Interests by a Restricted Subsidiary of the Borrowers to a Borrower or any Restricted Subsidiary of the Borrowers constituting an Investment permitted hereunder;

 

(i)         any abandonment or cancellation of intellectual property that, in the reasonable good faith judgment of the Borrowers, is no longer used or useful in any material respect in the business of the Borrowers and their Restricted Subsidiaries taken as a whole, or which abandonment or cancellation is not within the reasonable control of the Borrowers or their Restricted Subsidiaries;

 

(j)         any Disposition of real property to a Governmental Authority as a result of a condemnation, eminent domain, confiscation or requisition of such real property;

 

(k)        the sale or discount, in each case without recourse, of accounts receivable arising in the Ordinary Course of Business, but only in connection with the compromise or collection thereof;

 

(l)         any involuntary loss, damage or destruction of property, including pursuant to an Event of Loss;

 

(m)       Dispositions of non-core assets acquired by the Borrowers and their Restricted Subsidiaries pursuant to a Permitted Acquisition consummated after the Effective Date so long as the consideration received for the assets to be so Disposed is at least equal to the Fair Market Value of such assets and at least 75% of such consideration is paid in cash or Cash Equivalents;

 

(n)        the making of Restricted Payments (other than pursuant to Section 6.6(o)) that are permitted to be made pursuant to this Agreement;

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(o)        the granting of Permitted Encumbrances;

 

(p)        any swap of assets in exchange for services or other assets; provided that (i) no Event of Default described in clause (a), (b), (h) or (i) of Section 8.1 has occurred and is continuing, (ii) any such swap is for Fair Market Value and (iii) any Collateral that is swapped must be in exchange for assets that become Collateral within the applicable timelines set forth in Section 5.8 and 5.9;

 

(q)      Dispositions not otherwise permitted under this Section 6.4; provided that (i) at the time of such Disposition, no Event of Default pursuant to Section 8.1(a), (b), (h) or (i) shall exist or would result from such Disposition, and (ii) 75% of the Fair Market Value of all such property Disposed of in any Fiscal Year in excess of the greater of (x) $4,000,000 and (y) 15% of Consolidated EBITDA (determined at the time of any such Disposition (calculated on a pro forma basis) as of the last day of the most recently ended four Fiscal Quarter period for which financial statements have been delivered pursuant to Section 5.1(a) or (b)) is received in the form of cash;

 

(r)       Dispositions of Investments (including Equity Interests) in Joint Ventures to the extent required by, or made pursuant to customary buy/sell arrangements between, the joint venture parties set forth in joint venture arrangements and similar binding arrangements at the time of formation of such Joint Venture or at any time any time another Person that is not an Affiliate of the Obligors becomes a party thereto;

 

(s)       the transfer for fair value of property to another Person in connection with a joint venture arrangement with respect to the transferred property; provided that such transfer is permitted under Section 6.5(r) or (t);

 

(t)        any Disposition in connection with the Acquisition or contemplated pursuant to the Surf Merger Agreement;

 

(u)       Dispositions of real property to any Person for Fair Market Value in connection with any sale-leaseback or similar transaction not to exceed the greater of (i) $7,500,000 and (ii) 25% of Consolidated EBITDA (determined at the time of any such Disposition (calculated on a pro forma basis) as of the last day of the most recently ended four Fiscal Quarter period for which financial statements have been delivered pursuant to Section 5.1(a) or (b)); provided that (i) no Event of Default has occurred and is continuing at the time of such Disposition, (ii) the Borrowers and their Restricted Subsidiaries shall have received at least 75% of such consideration in the form of cash;

 

(v)        Dispositions in connection with any Permitted Reorganization or IPO Reorganization;

 

(w)       any sale of Equity Interests in, or Indebtedness or other securities of, an Unrestricted Subsidiary;

 

(x)        the unwinding or settling of any Swap Obligation or obligation with respect to Cash Management Services in the Ordinary Course of Business;

 

(y)       any sale, transfer and other Disposition of accounts receivable (including write-offs, discounts and compromises) in connection with the compromise, settlement or collection thereof in the Ordinary Course of Business;

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(z)          Dispositions of Receivables Assets in connection with any Receivables Facility or any Qualified Securitization Financing; and

 

(aa)        any Borrower and any Restricted Subsidiary may (i) convert any intercompany Indebtedness (other than to the extent owing by a non-Obligor to an Obligor) to Equity Interests otherwise permitted hereunder, (ii) discount, write off, forgive or cancel any intercompany Indebtedness or other obligation owing by any Borrower or any Subsidiary Guarantor to a Restricted Subsidiary that is not, in each case, an Obligor or to an Obligor, (iii) settle, discount, write-off, forgive or cancel any Indebtedness owing by any present or former consultants, managers, directors, officers, employees of Holdings, any Borrower or any Subsidiary or any of their successors or assigns, in the Ordinary Course of Business, or (iv) surrender or waive contractual rights and settle, release, surrender or waive contractual or litigation claims, in the case of clause (iv), in the Ordinary Course of Business.

 

6.5          Investments. No Obligor shall, nor shall it permit any of its Restricted Subsidiaries to, make, or permit to remain outstanding any Investments except:

 

(a)         the Investments outstanding or contemplated on the Effective Date (i) identified on Schedule 6.5 or (ii) in an amount not to exceed $1,000,000 in the aggregate (when taken together with all other Indebtedness outstanding in reliance on this clause (a)(ii)), and, in each case, any modification, replacement, renewal, reinvestment or extension thereof and any modification, renewal, replacement, reinvestment or extension thereof so long as the amount of any Investment subject to any such modification, replacement, renewal, reinvestment or extension does not exceed the amount outstanding (plus any unused commitments, accrued interest, fees and expenses and premiums incurred in connection therewith) on the Effective Date);

 

(b)          Investments in cash and Cash Equivalents;

 

(c)         Investments by (i) any Obligor or a Restricted Subsidiary that is not an Obligor in or to any Obligor (other than Holdings), (ii) any Obligor to a Restricted Subsidiary that is not an Obligor not to exceed, in the aggregate, the greater of (x) $7,500,000 and (y) 25% of Consolidated EBITDA (determined at the time of any such Investment (calculated on a pro forma basis) as of the last day of the most recently ended four Fiscal Quarter period for which financial statements have been delivered pursuant to Section 5.1(a) or (b)) in the aggregate at any time outstanding for all such Investments, minus any amounts utilized pursuant to Section 6.5(i) to make Investments in Persons who do not become Guarantors and assets that do not become Collateral, and (iii) a Restricted Subsidiary that is not an Obligor to another Restricted Subsidiary that is not an Obligor;

 

(d)        Investments made in respect of joint ventures or other similar agreements or partnership not to exceed the greater of (x) $4,500,000 and (y) 15% of Consolidated EBITDA (determined at the time of any such Investment (calculated on a pro forma basis) as of the last day of the most recently ended four Fiscal Quarter period for which financial statements have been delivered pursuant to Section 5.1(a) or (b)) in the aggregate at any time outstanding for all such Investments, minus any the amount of any Investments made pursuant to Section 6.5(r);

 

(e)         Investments in Hedging Agreements permitted under Section 6.11 and Cash Management Services;

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(f)          Investments consisting of or resulting from Permitted Encumbrances (other than pursuant to clauses (r) and (u) of the definition of Permitted Encumbrances);

 

(g)          [reserved];

 

(h)         Investments constituting (i) accounts receivable arising, (ii) trade debt granted, or (iii) deposits made by the Borrowers or a Restricted Subsidiary in connection with the purchase price of goods or services, in each case in the Ordinary Course of Business;

 

(i)          Permitted Acquisitions; provided that Permitted Acquisitions of Persons who do not become Guarantors and assets that are owned by a Foreign Subsidiary, a non-Wholly Owned Restricted Subsidiary, or an Unrestricted Subsidiary, shall not, in the aggregate, exceed the greater of (x) $7,500,000 and (y) 25% of Consolidated EBITDA (determined at the time of any such Investment (calculated on a pro forma basis) as of the last day of the most recently ended four Fiscal Quarter period for which financial statements have been delivered pursuant to Section 5.1(a) or (b)) in the aggregate at any time outstanding for all such Investments, minus any amounts utilized pursuant to Section 6.5(c) to make Investments in Restricted Subsidiaries that are not Obligors;

 

(j)          the establishment or creation of Wholly-Owned Domestic Subsidiaries by an Obligor, provided, in each case, such Obligor and such Subsidiary shall have complied with the provisions of Section 5.8 in respect thereof;

 

(k)         any Guarantee of, or assumption of Indebtedness of, any other Person in either case to the extent the Person incurring such Guarantee or assuming such Indebtedness would have been permitted to incur the underlying Indebtedness under Section 6.1;

 

(l)          Investments in negotiable instruments deposited or to be deposited for collection in the Ordinary Course of Business;

 

(m)        equity Investments by any Obligor in any Restricted Subsidiary of such Obligor which is required by law to maintain a minimum net capital requirement or as may be otherwise required by applicable law;

 

(n)        Investments held by a Person acquired in a Permitted Acquisition or other similar permitted Investment to the extent that such Investments were not made in contemplation of or in connection with such Permitted Acquisition and were in existence on the date of such Permitted Acquisition or other similar permitted Investment;

 

(o)         (i) loans and advances to officers, directors or employees for business related travel expenses, moving expenses and other similar expenses, including as part of a recruitment or retention plan, in each case incurred in the Ordinary Course of Business, (ii) non-cash loans to officers, directors and employees of Holdings or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries or Affiliates to simultaneously purchase Equity Interests of Holdings, and (iii) other loans and advances to such officers, directors and employees (including loans in connection with a stock option or restricted stock plan or other benefit or equity incentive plan of Holdings) not to exceed an aggregate amount of $2,000,000 at any time outstanding;

 

(p)         unsecured loans, advances or other extensions of credit with a term not longer than twelve (12) months to Protected Vendors in an aggregate amount at any time outstanding not to exceed $3,000,000 (which cap amount, for purposes of clarity, shall not include trade payables in the Ordinary Course of Business);

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(q)         any acquisition or other Investments in an amount not to exceed the aggregate amount of net cash proceeds of any Permitted Equity Issuance received by any Borrower or any Restricted Subsidiary (to the extent such proceeds have not previously been (and are not simultaneously being) applied to anything (including any Restricted Payment under Section 6.6(l)) other than such particular use or transaction) made after the Effective Date;

 

(r)          Investments made in Unrestricted Subsidiaries not to exceed the greater of (x) $4,500,000 and (y) 15% of Consolidated EBITDA (determined at the time of any such Investment (calculated on a pro forma basis) as of the last day of the most recently ended four Fiscal Quarter period for which financial statements have been delivered pursuant to Section 5.1(a) or (b)) in the aggregate at any time outstanding for all such Investments, minus any the amount of any Investments made pursuant to Section 6.5(d);

 

(s)         other Investments (x) at any time outstanding in an aggregate amount up to but not exceeding the greater of (A) $10,000,000 and (B) 35% of Consolidated EBITDA (determined at the time of any such Investment (calculated on a pro forma basis) as of the last day of the most recently ended four Fiscal Quarter period for which financial statements have been delivered pursuant to Section 5.1(a) or (b)) in the aggregate at any time outstanding for all such Investments (the “General Investment Basket”), plus, other than for use in respect of any Investments to be made in Unrestricted Subsidiaries, any unused amounts reallocated from the General Junior Debt Basket and the General Restricted Payment Basket and (y) in an amount such that, after giving effect to any such Investment and incurrence of any Indebtedness in connection therewith, the Consolidated First Lien Leverage Ratio calculated on a pro forma basis as of the last day of the Fiscal Quarter for which financial statements have last been delivered to the Lenders pursuant to Section 5.1(a) or 5.1(b) is not greater than 3.50 to 1.00 (determined at the time any such Investment is made); provided that, for any Investment pursuant to this clause (s)(y), no Event of Default pursuant to Section 8.1(a), (b), (h) or (i) has occurred and is continuing at the time of each such Investment;

 

(t)         Investments using the Available Amount so long as, subject to the Limited Condition Transaction Provision in connection with a Limited Condition Transaction, (i) no Event of Default pursuant to Section 8.1(a), (b), (h) or (i) shall exist or result from the use of such Available Amount, in each case, on such date that the Borrowers elect to apply the same to such Investments and (ii) Consolidated Net Leverage Ratio calculated on a pro forma basis as of the last day of the Fiscal Quarter for which financial statements have last been delivered to the Lenders pursuant to Section 5.1(a) or 5.1(b) is not greater than 4.50 to 1.00 (determined at the time any such Investment is made);

 

(u)        Investments the payment for which consists of Equity Interests (other than Disqualified Equity Interests) of Holdings; provided that the proceeds from such Equity Interests will not increase the Available Amount;

 

(v)          Investments made in connection with any Permitted Reorganization;

 

(w)         promissory notes, securities and other non-cash consideration received in connection with Dispositions permitted by Section 6.4;

 

(x)         Investments made to effect, or otherwise in connection with, the Transactions;

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(y)       Investments in the Ordinary Course of Business consisting of UCC Article 3 endorsements for collection or deposit and UCC Article 4 customary trade arrangements with customers consistent with past practices;

 

(z)        Investments (including debt obligations and Equity Interests) received in connection with the bankruptcy or reorganization of suppliers and customers or in settlement of delinquent obligations of, or other disputes with, customers and suppliers arising in the Ordinary Course of Business or upon the foreclosure with respect to any secured Investment or other transfer of title with respect to any secured Investment;

 

(aa)       loans and advances to any direct or indirect parent of any Borrower not in excess of the amount of (after giving effect to any other loans, advances or Restricted Payments in respect thereof) Restricted Payments to the extent permitted to be made to such parent in accordance with Section 6.6, such Investment being treated for purposes of the applicable clause of Section 6.6, including any limitations, as if a Restricted Payment had been made pursuant to such clause in an amount equal to such Investment;

 

(bb)      Investments made in the Ordinary Course of Business in connection with obtaining, maintaining or renewing client contracts and loans or advances made to distributors and suppliers in the Ordinary Course of Business;

 

(cc)       (i) any Investment in a Receivables Subsidiary or a Securitization Subsidiary in order to effectuate a Receivables Facility or a Qualified Securitization Financing, respectively, or any Investment by a Receivables Subsidiary or a Securitization Subsidiary in any other Person in connection with a Receivables Facility or a Qualified Securitization Financing, respectively; provided that any such Investment in a Receivables Subsidiary or a Securitization Subsidiary is in the form of a contribution of additional Receivables Assets, as applicable, and (ii) distributions or payments of Receivables Fees or Securitization Fees and purchases of Receivables Assets pursuant to a Securitization Repurchase Obligation in connection with a Receivables Facility or a Qualified Securitization Financing, respectively;

 

(dd)      Investments in deposit accounts, commodities and securities accounts opened in the Ordinary Course of Business; and

 

(ee)       Loans repurchased by any Borrower or a Restricted Subsidiary pursuant to and in accordance with Sections 2.10 and 10.4(g) under this Agreement;

 

For purposes of this Section 6.5 the aggregate amount of an Investment at any time shall be deemed to be equal to (i) the aggregate amount of cash, together with the aggregate Fair Market Value of property, loaned, advanced, contributed, transferred or otherwise invested that gives rise to such Investment minus (ii) the aggregate amount of distributions or other repayments received in cash in respect of such Investment, and the refund of capital with respect to, and the payment of interest or dividends on, the original principal amount of any such Investment. The amount of an Investment shall not in any event be reduced by reason of any write-off of such Investment nor increased by any increase in the amount of earnings retained in the Person in which such Investment is made or by any increase in the value of such Investment.

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6.6          Restricted Payments. No Obligor shall, nor shall it permit any of its Restricted Subsidiaries to, declare or make any Restricted Payment, other than:

 

(a)          Restricted Payments by any Restricted Subsidiary to any Borrower or any other Restricted Subsidiary that directly or indirectly owns Equity Interests of such Restricted Subsidiary (and, in the case of a Restricted Payment by a non-Wholly Owned Subsidiary, to a Borrower or such Restricted Subsidiary and to each other owner of Equity Interests of such Restricted Subsidiary based on their relative ownership interests, it being understood, however, that any such Restricted Subsidiary may exclude one or more classes of equity holders from any such Restricted Payment so long as the class or classes of Equity Interests owned by a Borrower or such Restricted Subsidiary are not excluded from any such Restricted Payment);

 

(b)           [reserved];

 

(c)          so long as no Change in Control occurs, Restricted Payments payable in Equity Interests of Holdings;

 

(d)          (i) payment of reasonable compensation to officers, directors, and employees for actual services rendered to the Obligors (in the case of directors, in an amount not to exceed $750,000 in any Fiscal Year) and reimbursement of out-of-pocket expenses actually incurred by such officers, directors, and employees in the Ordinary Course of Business, and (ii) payments permitted pursuant to Sections 6.7(d) and 6.7(e);

 

(e)          (i) the payment of management fees to Sponsor in an amount not to exceed the amount required by the Management Agreement as in effect as of the Effective Date so long as no Event of Default pursuant to Section 8.1(a), (b), (h) or (i) has occurred and is continuing at such time, it being understood and agreed that during such Event of Default, such fees may continue to accrue and become payable upon the waiver of the relevant Event of Default, (ii) indemnification and reimbursement of expenses to the Sponsor or its designees required by the Management Agreement as in effect on the Effective Date, (iii) other payments under the Management Agreement as in effect on the Effective Date and (iv) so long as no Event of Default pursuant to Section 8.1(a), (b), (h) or (i) has occurred and is continuing, other payments under the Management Agreement as compensation for future services provided by Sponsor (including fees in connection with the closing of any future merger, acquisition, disposition, recapitalization, issuance of securities, financing or other similar transaction but not in the form of a dividend, distribution, repurchase, redemption or management fee);

 

(f)          after an Initial Public Offering, any Restricted Payment by any Borrower or any other direct or indirect parent of any Borrower to pay listing fees and other costs and expenses attributable to being a publicly traded company which are reasonable and customary and additional Restricted Payments in an aggregate amount per calendar year not to exceed an amount equal to 7% of the net cash proceeds received by or contributed to any Borrower or any Restricted Subsidiary from any Initial Public Offering;

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(g)          a Restricted Payment to pay for the repurchase, retirement or other acquisition or retirement for value of Equity Interests of Holdings held by any former employee, director, officer, consultant, partners or managers (or any spouses, ex-spouses, successors, heirs or estates of any of the foregoing) of a Borrower or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries pursuant to any management equity plan or stock option plan or any other management or employee benefit plan or agreement, or any equity subscription or equity holder agreement (including, for the avoidance of doubt, any principal and interest payable on any notes issued by Holdings in connection with such repurchase, retirement or other acquisition to the extent permitted by Section 6.1(h)), including any Equity Interest issued to management of any Borrower in connection with the Transactions; provided that the aggregate amount of Restricted Payments made under this Section 6.6(g) does not exceed the greater of (x) $4,500,000 and (y) 15% of Consolidated EBITDA (determined at the time of any such Restricted Payment (calculated on a pro forma basis) as of the last day of the most recently ended four Fiscal Quarter period for which financial statements have been delivered pursuant to Section 5.1(a) or 5.1(b)) in any calendar year plus the proceeds of key man life insurance policies received by any Borrower or any Restricted Subsidiary (with unused amounts in any calendar year being carried over to the next two succeeding calendar years); provided further that no Event of Default pursuant to Section 8.1(a), (b), (h) or (i) has occurred and is continuing at the time of such Restricted Payment;

 

(h)          the Borrowers or any Restricted Subsidiary may make distributions to current or former employees, officers, directors, consultants, partners or managers of the Borrowers or any of their Restricted Subsidiaries or Affiliates (or any spouses, ex-spouses, successors, heirs or estate of any of the foregoing) solely in the form of forgiveness of Indebtedness of such Persons owing to the Borrowers or any Restricted Subsidiary on account of repurchases of the stock options, restricted stock units, purchased shares or other Equity Interests of the Borrowers or any such Restricted Subsidiary held by such Persons; provided that such Indebtedness was incurred by such Persons solely to acquire Equity Interests of the Borrowers or any such Restricted Subsidiary;

 

(i)           (i) Permitted Tax Distributions and (ii) dividends and distributions the proceeds of which shall be used by any Obligor or any Restricted Subsidiary thereof to pay (or make dividends and distributions to allow Holdings or any other direct or indirect parent of any Borrower that is an Obligor to pay) (x) franchise or other similar entity-level taxes, or (y) fees and expenses required to maintain its (or any of such direct or indirect parent’s) corporate or legal existence;

 

(j)           (i) Restricted Payments in an aggregate amount not to exceed the greater of (x) $7,500,000 and (y) and (y) 25% of Consolidated EBITDA (determined at the time of any such Restricted Payment (calculated on a pro forma basis) as of the last day of the most recently ended four Fiscal Quarter period for which financial statements have been delivered pursuant to Section 5.1(a) or 5.1(b)) in the aggregate (the “General Restricted Payment Basket”), minus any amounts reallocated to the General Investment Basket and the General Junior Debt Basket, and (ii) additional Restricted Payments so long as (x) the Consolidated First Lien Leverage Ratio calculated on a pro forma basis as of the last day of the Fiscal Quarter for which financial statements have last been delivered to the Lenders pursuant to Section 5.1(a) or 5.1(b) is not greater than 3.50 to 1.00 and (y) no Event of Default has occurred and is continuing at such time or would result therefrom;

 

(k)          Restricted Payments using the portion, if any, of the Available Amount on such date that the Borrowers elect to reallocate to such Restricted Payments so long as (i) no Event of Default shall exist or result from the use of such Available Amount and (ii) the Consolidated Net Leverage Ratio is not greater than 4.00 to 1.00 calculated on a pro forma basis as of the last day of the Fiscal Quarter for which financial statements have been delivered to the Lenders pursuant to Section 5.1(a) or 5.1(b);

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(l)          Restricted Payments not to exceed an amount equal to the aggregate amount of net cash proceeds from any Permitted Equity Issuance received by any Restricted Subsidiary (to the extent such proceeds have not previously been (and are not simultaneously being) applied to anything (including any Investment under Section 6.5(q)) other than such particular use or transaction) made after the Effective Date;

 

(m)        the redemption, repurchase, retirement or other acquisition of any Equity Interest, including any accrued and unpaid dividends thereon, of Holdings, in exchange for, or out of the proceeds of, the substantially concurrent sale or issuance (other than to a Subsidiary) of, Equity Interests of Holdings (in each case, other than any Disqualified Equity Interests);

 

(n)        Restricted Payments made (i) to consummate the Transactions on or prior to the Effective Date or promptly thereafter, including any payments required under a corporate tax restructuring, (ii) in respect of working capital adjustments or purchase price adjustments and any other purchase price payment required pursuant to the Surf Merger Agreement, any Permitted Acquisition or other permitted Investments, (iii) in order to satisfy indemnity and other similar obligations under the Surf Merger Agreement, any Permitted Acquisition or other permitted Investments, and (iv) to holders of Equity Interests of any Borrower (immediately prior to giving effect to the Transactions) in connection with, or as a result of, their exercise of appraisal rights and the settlement of any claims or actions (whether actual, contingent or potential) with respect thereto, in each case, with respect to the Transactions;

 

(o)        to the extent constituting Restricted Payments, the Borrower (or any direct or indirect parent thereof) and its Restricted Subsidiaries may enter into and consummate transactions permitted by any provision of Sections 5.14 (other than 5.14(r)), 6.3, 6.4 (other than 6.4(d)) and 6.5 (other than 6.5(aa));

 

(p)          repurchases of Equity Interests in any Borrower or any Restricted Subsidiary of the Borrowers owned by an director, officer or employee of any Borrower or any Restricted Subsidiary of the Borrowers deemed to occur upon exercise of stock options or warrants if such Equity Interests represent a portion of the exercise price of such options or warrants;

 

(q)         the Borrowers may make Restricted Payments to any direct or indirect parent of the Borrowers to pay:

 

(i)          general corporate, administrative, compliance or other operating (including, expenses related to auditing or other accounting matters and director indemnities, fees and expenses) and overhead costs and expenses of any direct or indirect parent of the Borrowers to the extent such costs and expenses are attributable to the ownership or operation of the Borrowers and the Restricted Subsidiaries, including the Borrowers’ and the Restricted Subsidiaries’ proportionate share of such amount relating to such parent company being a public company, in an aggregate amount not to exceed $1,000,000 in any Fiscal Year with respect to items described in this clause (i);

 

(ii)          (A) fees and expenses (other than taxes), required to maintain the corporate, legal and organizational existence of Holdings or any of its direct or indirect parents and (B) distributions to such direct or indirect parent’s equity owners in proportion to their equity interests sufficient to allow each such equity owner to receive an amount at least equal to the aggregate amount of its out-of-pocket costs to any unaffiliated third parties directly attributable to creating (including any incorporation or registration fees) and maintaining the existence of the applicable equity owner and legal and accounting and other costs directly attributable to maintaining its corporate, legal, or organizational existence and complying with applicable legal requirements, in each case, so long as attributable to the operations of the Borrowers and their Restricted Subsidiaries and such expenses are incurred in the Ordinary Course of Business;

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(iii)          to finance any Investment that would be permitted to be made pursuant to Sections 5.14 and 6.5 if such parent were subject to such Sections; provided that (A) such Restricted Payment shall be made substantially concurrently with the closing of such Investment, (B) such parent shall, promptly following the closing thereof, cause (1) all property acquired (whether assets or Equity Interests) to be contributed to a Borrower or the Restricted Subsidiaries that are Obligors or (2) the merger (to the extent permitted in Section 6.3) of the Person formed or acquired into a Borrower or its Restricted Subsidiaries that are Obligors (with a Borrower being the surviving or continuing entity to the extent party to such merger) in order to consummate such Permitted Acquisition or Investment, in each case, in accordance with the requirements of Section 5.8 (and such contribution shall not comprise or form a portion of the Excluded Contribution Amount or increase the amounts available for a Restricted Payment pursuant to Section 6.6 or otherwise constitute any portion of the Available Amount) and (C) such contribution shall constitute an Investment by the Borrowers or the applicable Restricted Subsidiaries, as the case may be, at the date of such contribution or merger, as applicable, in an amount equal to the amount of such Restricted Payment;

 

(iv)           the proceeds of which shall be used by Holdings to pay (or to make Restricted Payments to allow any direct or indirect parent thereof to pay) reasonable fees and expenses (other than to Affiliates) related to any unsuccessful equity or debt offering by Holdings (or any direct or indirect parent thereof) to the extent the proceeds of such offering were (or were intended to be) contributed to a Borrower substantially concurrently with the consummation thereof;

 

(r)           payments made or expected to be made by Holdings, any Borrower or any of the Restricted Subsidiaries in respect of withholding or similar Taxes payable with respect to any repurchases of Equity Interests permitted by Section 6.6(p), including deemed repurchases in connection with the exercise of stock options;

 

(s)        Holdings, any Borrower or any of the Restricted Subsidiaries may pay cash in lieu of fractional Equity Interests in de minimis amounts in connection with any dividend, split or combination thereof or any Permitted Acquisition;

 

(t)           the payment of any Restricted Payment within 60 days after the date of irrevocable declaration thereof, if at the date of declaration or the giving of such notice such payment would have complied with the provisions of this Section 6.6; provided that the making of such Restricted Payment will reduce capacity for Restricted Payments pursuant to such other provision when so made;

 

(u)         the distribution, by dividend or otherwise, of shares of Equity Interests of, or Indebtedness owed to a Borrower or a Restricted Subsidiary by, Unrestricted Subsidiaries or the proceeds thereof;

 

(v)         Restricted Payments in an amount not to exceed the Excluded Contribution Amount; and

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(w)      the declaration and payment of Restricted Payments by a Borrower to any direct or indirect parent of a Borrower in amounts required for any such direct or indirect parent (or such parent’s direct or indirect equity owners) to pay:

 

(i)       to the extent constituting Restricted Payments, amounts that would be permitted to be paid directly by the Borrower or its Restricted Subsidiaries under Section 5.14 (other than pursuant to Section 5.14(c)) and;

 

(ii)      “AHYDO” payments with respect to Indebtedness of any direct or indirect parent of a Borrower; provided that (A) the proceeds of such Indebtedness have been contributed to a Borrower as a capital contribution and (B) no Event of Default pursuant to Section 8.1(a), (b), (h) or (i) shall be continuing or would result therefrom.

 

6.7         Suja East, LLC. Notwithstanding anything herein to the contrary, Suja East, LLC, a Pennsylvania limited liability company, shall have no operations or assets at any time.

 

6.8         Restrictive Agreements. No Obligor shall, nor shall it permit any of its Restricted Subsidiaries to enter into, incur or permit to exist any agreement or other arrangement that prohibits, restricts or imposes any condition upon (a) the ability of such Obligor or any Restricted Subsidiary to (x) create, incur or permit to exist any Lien upon, or (y) to transfer to another Obligor, any of its assets, or (b) the ability of any Restricted Subsidiary to pay dividends or other distributions with respect to any Equity Interests it has issued or to make or repay loans or advances to the Borrowers or any other Restricted Subsidiary or to Guarantee Indebtedness of the Borrowers or any other Restricted Subsidiary, or invest in any Obligor or any other Restricted Subsidiary (any such agreement or arrangement, a “Restrictive Agreement”); provided that:

 

(i)       the foregoing shall not apply to (A) restrictions and conditions imposed by law or by the Loan Documents, (B) restrictions and conditions existing on the Effective Date identified on Schedule 6.8 (but shall apply to any extension or renewal of, or any amendment or modification materially expanding the scope of, any such restriction or condition), (C) customary restrictions and conditions contained in agreements relating to the sale of a Person or the sale of any other assets pending such sale, provided such restrictions and conditions apply only to the Person that is, or such assets that are, to be sold and such sale is permitted hereunder, and (D) customary provisions in joint venture agreements or other similar agreements applicable to joint ventures permitted under Section 6.5;

 

(ii)      the foregoing shall not apply to (A) restrictions or conditions imposed by any agreement relating to secured Indebtedness permitted by this Agreement if such restrictions or conditions apply only to the property securing such Indebtedness, (B) customary provisions in leases, licenses and other contracts entered into in the Ordinary Course of Business restricting the assignment thereof, or the transfer of or creation of Liens on assets subject thereto, and (C) customary restrictions that arise in connection with any Permitted Encumbrance on any asset or property that is not, and is not required to be, Collateral, provided such restriction relates only to the specific property subject to such Lien and such restriction is not created for the purposes of avoiding the restrictions of this Section 6.8 or excluding such property from being Collateral;

 

(iii)     the foregoing shall not apply to restrictions that are binding on a Restricted Subsidiary at the time such Restricted Subsidiary first becomes a Restricted Subsidiary of a Borrower, so long as (x) such obligations were not entered into in contemplation of such Person becoming a Restricted Subsidiary of a Borrower and (y) such restriction only applies to the assets of such Restricted Subsidiary that were acquired at the time such Restricted Subsidiary first became a Restricted Subsidiary;

 

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(iv)    the foregoing shall not apply to restrictions that represent Indebtedness of a Restricted Subsidiary of a Borrower which is not an Obligor which is permitted by Section 6.1, which does not apply to any Obligor;

 

(v)      the foregoing shall not apply to customary restrictions (as reasonably determined by the Borrowers) that arise in connection with (x) any Lien permitted by Sections 6.2 and relate to the property subject to such Lien or (y) arise in connection with any Disposition permitted by Section 6.3 or 6.4 and relate solely to the assets or Person subject to such Disposition;

 

(vi)     the foregoing shall not apply to negative pledges and restrictions on Liens in favor of any holder of Indebtedness permitted under Section 6.2 but solely to the extent any negative pledge relates to (i) the property financed by such Indebtedness and the proceeds, accessions and products thereof or (ii) the property secured by such Indebtedness and the proceeds, accessions and products thereof so long as the agreements governing such Indebtedness permit the Liens securing the Obligations;

 

(vii)    the foregoing shall not apply to restrictions on cash or other deposits imposed by customers under contracts entered into in the Ordinary Course of Business and otherwise permitted under Section 6.2;

 

(viii)   the foregoing shall not apply in connection with cash or other deposits permitted under Sections 6.2 and 6.5 and limited to such cash or deposit;

 

(ix)     comprise of restrictions imposed by any agreement governing Indebtedness entered into on or after the Effective Date and permitted under Section 6.1 that are, taken as a whole, in the reasonable good faith judgment of the Borrowers, no more restrictive with respect to the Borrowers or any Restricted Subsidiary than customary current market terms for Indebtedness of such type (and, in any event, are no more restrictive than the restrictions contained in this Agreement), so long as the Borrowers shall have determined in good faith that such restrictions will not affect in any material respect its obligation or ability to make any payments required hereunder;

 

(x)      are restrictions on cash or other deposits or net worth imposed by customers under contracts entered into in the Ordinary Course of Business;

 

(xi)      are restrictions on cash earnest money deposits in favor of sellers in connection with acquisitions not prohibited hereunder;

 

(xii)    other than with respect to the foregoing clause (a)(x), are restrictions that will not materially impair the Borrowers’ ability to make payments under this Agreement and the other Loan Documents;

 

(xiii)   the foregoing shall not apply to Standard Securitization Undertakings created in connection with any Receivables Facility or any Qualified Securitization Financing that, in the good faith determination of the board of directors (or analogous governing body) of the Borrowers, are necessary or advisable to effect such Receivables Facility or Qualified Securitization Financing, as the case may be and that only apply to Receivables Subsidiaries and Securitization Subsidiaries; and

 

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(xiv)   any encumbrances or restrictions of the type referred to in this Section 6.8 imposed by any amendments, modifications, restatements, renewals, increases, supplements, refundings, replacements or refinancings of the contracts, instruments or obligations referred to in clauses (i) through (xiii) above; provided that such amendments, modifications, restatements, renewals, increases, extensions, supplements, refundings, replacements, restructurings or refinancings are, in the good faith judgment of the Borrowers, not materially more restrictive with respect to such encumbrance and other restrictions taken as a whole than those prior to such amendment, modification, restatement, renewal, increase, extension, restructuring, supplement, refunding, replacement or refinancing;

 

provided that (x) the priority of any preferred Equity Interests (other than Disqualified Equity Interests) in receiving dividends or liquidating distributions prior to dividends or liquidating distributions being paid on common stock and (y) the subordination of (including the application of any standstill requirements to) loans or advances made to any Borrower or any Restricted Subsidiary that is a Guarantor to other Indebtedness incurred by any Borrower or any Restricted Subsidiary that is a Guarantor shall not be deemed to constitute such an encumbrance or restriction.

 

6.9         Modifications of Certain Documents. No Obligor shall, nor shall it permit any of the Restricted Subsidiaries to, modify, supplement or waive of any of the provisions of (a) its Organizational Documents  or, the Surf Merger Agreement or the Second Amendment Acquisition Agreement without the prior written consent of Administrative Agent, other than modifications, supplements or waivers that are not materially adverse to Secured Parties or (b) the Management Agreement, solely with respect to increasing the fees (and other amounts) payable thereunder in excess of those in effect on the Effective Date without the prior written consent of the Administrative Agent.

 

6.10[Reserved]

 

6.11      Hedging Agreements. No Obligor shall, nor shall it permit any of its Restricted Subsidiaries to, enter into any Hedging Agreement, except Hedging Agreements entered into in the Ordinary Course of Business to hedge or mitigate risks to which an Obligor or a Restricted Subsidiary has actual exposure in connection with fluctuations of commodity prices, currencies or interest rates and not for any speculative purposes.

 

6.12[Reserved].

 

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6.13      Use of Proceeds and Letters of Credit. No Obligor shall, nor shall it permit any of its Restricted Subsidiaries to: (a) use the proceeds of the Initial Term Loans and Revolving Credit Loans made on the Effective Date for any purpose other than to (i) consummate the Transactions, (ii) pay the Transaction Costs, (iii) issue Letters of Credit to replace existing letters of credit of the Borrowers and their Restricted Subsidiaries on the Effective Date, (iv) to fund any working capital adjustments required by the Surf Merger Agreement and (v) fund any original issue discount and upfront fees required pursuant to the Fee Letter; provided that the aggregate amount of Revolving Credit Loans made on the Effective Date shall not exceed $3,000,000; (b) use the proceeds of the Revolving Credit Loans and Swingline Loans made after the Effective Date for any purposes other than to fund the Borrowers’ working capital and general corporate purposes (including Permitted Acquisitions but subject to Section 6.15) or, subject to the terms and conditions of this Agreement and the other Loan Documents, the general corporate purposes of any Obligor; and (c) use any part of the proceeds of any Loan, whether directly or indirectly, for any purpose that violates any of the Regulations of the Board, including Regulations U and X; or (d) use the proceeds of the Second Amendment Term Loans made on the Second Amendment Effective Date for any purpose other than to (i) consummate the Second Amendment Acquisition and (ii) pay the Second Amendment Transaction Costs. No Obligor shall, directly or knowingly indirectly, use the proceeds of the Loans, or lend, contribute or otherwise make available such proceeds to any Subsidiary, joint venture partner or other Person, (i)  to fund any activities or business of or with any Person, or in any country or territory, that, at the time of such funding, is, or whose government is, the subject of comprehensive Sanctions, or (ii)  in any other manner that would result in a violation of Sanctions by any Person (including any Person participating in the Loans, whether as underwriter, advisor, investor, or otherwise), or (iii)   for any payments to any governmental official or employee, political party, official of a political party, candidate for political office, or anyone else acting in an official capacity, in order to obtain, retain or direct business or obtain any improper advantage, in violation of any Anti-Corruption Laws that may be applicable.

 

6.14     Limitation on Activities of Holdings. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this Agreement or any other Loan Document: Holdings shall not (i) conduct, transact or otherwise engage in, any material business or material operations or own any material assets other than: (1) maintaining its corporate existence, (2) the execution and delivery of, and the performance of its obligations with respect to, the Loan Documents to which it is a party, (3) owning the Equity Interests of any Borrower and their Subsidiaries, (4) the consummation of the Transactions and the execution, delivery and performance of the obligations under the Surf Merger Agreement and the other agreements contemplated thereby, (5) the payment of Restricted Payments including dividends and distributions, the making of Investments, and the Guarantee of Indebtedness permitted to be incurred hereunder by any Borrower or any Restricted Subsidiary pursuant to Section 6.1, (6) the performing of activities in preparation for and consummating any public offering of its Equity Interests or any other issuance or sale of its Equity Interests (other than Disqualified Equity Interests), including paying fees and expenses related thereto, (7) the participation in tax, accounting and other administrative matters as a member of a consolidated group, including compliance with applicable laws and legal, tax and accounting matters related thereto and activities relating to its officers, directors, managers and employees, (8) subject to Section 5.10, the holding of any cash and Cash Equivalents (but not operating any property) on a temporary basis to consummate a transaction otherwise permitted hereunder, (9) the entry into, and performance of its obligations with respect to, contracts and other arrangements with officers, managers, employees, consultants, independent contractors and directors of Holdings or any of its Subsidiaries relating to their employment or directorships (including the providing of indemnification to such Persons), (10) the obtainment of, and the payment of any fees and expenses for, management, consulting, monitoring, investment banking, advisory and other services to the extent otherwise permitted by this Agreement, (11) any transaction between Holdings and any Borrower or any Subsidiary expressly permitted under this Section 6, including (x)  holding any cash or property received in connection with Restricted Payments made by any Borrower or any Subsidiary in accordance with Section 6.6 pending application thereof by Holdings in the manner contemplated by Section 6.6 and (y) the provision of guarantees in the Ordinary Course of Business in respect of obligations of any Borrower or any Restricted Subsidiary to suppliers, customers, franchisees, lessors, licensees, sublicensees or distribution partners; provided, for the avoidance of doubt, that such guarantees shall not be in respect of Indebtedness for borrowed money, (12) maintaining deposit accounts in connection with the conduct of its business, (13) [reserved], (14) if applicable, participating in tax, accounting and other administrative matters as a member of the consolidated group and the provision of administrative and advisory services (including treasury and insurance services) to its Subsidiaries of a type customarily provided by a holding company to its Subsidiaries, (15) providing indemnification to officers and directors, (16) activities reasonably relating to any Permitted Reorganization (17) merging, amalgamating or consolidating with or into any direct or indirect parent or subsidiary of Holdings that becomes “New Holdings” (in compliance with the definitions of “Holdings” and “New Holdings” in this Agreement), (18) activities incidental to Permitted Acquisitions or similar Investments consummated by the Borrowers and the Restricted Subsidiaries, including the formation of acquisition vehicle entities and intercompany loans and/or Investments incidental to such Permitted Acquisitions or similar Investments, (19) any transaction with the Borrowers or any Restricted Subsidiary to the extent expressly permitted under this Article 6, (20) making contributions to the capital of its Subsidiaries and (21) activities incidental to the businesses or activities described in the foregoing clauses (1) through (20), and (ii) incur, create, assume or suffer to exist any Indebtedness or other liabilities or financial obligations, except (1) nonconsensual obligations imposed by operation of law, (2) customary obligations under any stock option or restricted stock plan or other benefit or equity incentive plan, (3) obligations under the Loan Documents, and (4) Indebtedness that is expressly permitted under clause (i) of this Section 6.14.

 

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6.15      Prepayments of Indebtedness. No Company shall make any voluntary payment or prepayment of the principal of or interest on, or any other amount owing in respect of, any Subordinated Indebtedness, Indebtedness secured on a junior basis to the Obligations, or unsecured Indebtedness with a principal amount in excess of the greater of (1) $4,500,000 and (2) 15% of Consolidated EBITDA (determined at the time of any such prepayment (calculated on a pro forma basis) as of the last day of the most recently ended four Fiscal Quarter period for which financial statements have been delivered pursuant to Section 5.1(a) or (b)) (“Junior Debt”) except the Borrowers and their Restricted Subsidiaries may (i) make regularly scheduled payments, or redemptions or mandatory prepayments of principal and interest in respect of Junior Debt, (ii) prepay additional Junior Debt in an aggregate amount not to exceed the greater of (x) $7,500,000 and (y) and (y) 25% of Consolidated EBITDA (determined at the time of any such prepayment (calculated on a pro forma basis) as of the last day of the most recently ended four Fiscal Quarter period for which financial statements have been delivered pursuant to Section 5.1(a) or 5.1(b)) in the aggregate (the “General Junior Debt Basket”), minus any amounts reallocated to the General Investment Basket plus any amounts reallocated from the General Restricted Payment Basket, (iii) make payments on Junior Debt in an amount equal to the portion, if any, of the Available Amount on such date so long as, (x) no Event of Default shall exist or result therefrom and (y) the Consolidated Net Leverage Ratio is not greater than 4.00 to 1.00 calculated on a pro forma basis as of the last day of the Fiscal Quarter for which financial statements have been delivered to the Lenders pursuant to Section 5.1(a) or (b), (iv) make payments on Junior Debt in additional amounts so long as (x) no Event of Default shall exist or result therefrom and (y) the Consolidated First Lien Leverage Ratio is not greater than 3.50 to 1.00 calculated on a pro forma basis as of the last day of the Fiscal Quarter for which financial statements have been delivered to the Lenders pursuant to Section 5.1(a) or (b), (v) refinance any Junior Debt with any Indebtedness permitted by Section 6.1, (vi) convert or exchange any Junior Debt to Equity Interests (other than Disqualified Equity Interests) of Holdings or any of its direct or indirect parents, and (vii) make payments on Junior Debt in an amount not to exceed the Excluded Contribution Amount (other than amounts constituting Specified Equity Contributions or the Available Amount).

 

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Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in any Loan Document, (x) the Borrowers may make regularly scheduled payments of interest and fees on any Junior Debt, and may make any payments required by the terms of such Indebtedness in order to avoid the application of Section 163(e)(5) of the Code to such Indebtedness (y) no payment shall be permitted to be made on any earn-out or similar obligation in relation to a Permitted Acquisition or other permitted Investment or any Indebtedness pursuant to Section 6.01(i), in each case to the extent any Event of Default pursuant to Section 8.1(a), (b), (h) or (i) is continuing or would result therefrom.

 

7.FINANCIAL COVENANT.

 

7.1         Consolidated Net Leverage Ratio. The Borrowers shall not permit the Consolidated Net Leverage Ratio to exceed the applicable ratio set forth below as of the last day of the applicable Fiscal Quarter, commencing with the Fiscal Quarter ending December 27, 2021::

 

Fiscal Quarter   Consolidated Net Leverage Ratio
Fiscal Quarter ending December 27, 2021 and each Fiscal Quarter ending through and including September 26, 2022   6.00 to 1.00
   
Fiscal Quarter ending December 26, 2022 and each Fiscal Quarter ending through and including September 25, 2023   5.50 to 1.00
   
Fiscal Quarter ending January 1,  2024 and each Fiscal Quarter ending thereafter   3.50 to 1.00

 

8.EVENTS OF DEFAULT; REMEDIES.

 

8.1         Event of Default. If any of the following events (each such an event, an “Event of Default”) shall occur:

 

(a)      Obligors shall fail to pay any principal of any Loan or any reimbursement obligation in respect of any LC Disbursement or deposit any funds as cash collateral in respect of any Letter of Credit when and as the same shall become due and payable, whether at the due date thereof or at a date fixed for prepayment thereof or otherwise;

 

(b)      Obligors shall fail to pay (i) any interest on any Loan or LC Disbursement or (ii) any fee or any other amount (other than an amount referred to in clause (a) of this Section) payable under this Agreement or under any other Loan Document, when and as the same shall become due and payable, and such failure shall continue unremedied for a period of (x) with respect to the foregoing clause (i), five or more Business Days and (ii) with respect to the foregoing clause (ii), ten or more Business Days;

 

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(c)      any certification, representation, or warranty made or deemed made by or on behalf of any Obligor in or in connection with this Agreement or any other Loan Document or in any report, certificate, financial statement, or other document furnished pursuant to or in connection with this Agreement or any other Loan Document, shall prove to have been incorrect in any material respect when made or deemed made (unless any such certification, representation or warranty is qualified as to materiality or as to Material Adverse Effect, in which case such certification, representation and warranty shall prove to have been incorrect in any respect), and such failure shall continue unremedied for a period of 30 or more days with respect to any such failure that is capable of being cured;

 

(d)      any Obligor shall fail to observe or perform any covenant, condition or agreement contained in Section 5.2(a), 5.3 (with respect to Holdings’ or any Borrower’s existence), 5.17, 6, or 7; provided that (x) the covenant in Section 7 is subject to cure pursuant to Section 8.3, and (y) failure to comply with Section 7 shall not constitute an Event of Default until the termination of the Cure Period;

 

(e)      any Obligor shall fail to observe or perform any covenant, condition or agreement contained in this Agreement (other than those specified in clause (a), (b), or (d) of this Section) or any other Loan Document and such failure shall continue unremedied for a period of 30 or more days from written notice by the Administrative Agent to the Borrower Representative;

 

(f)      any Obligor shall fail to make any payment (including of principal or interest and regardless of amount) in respect of any Material Indebtedness, when and as the same shall become due and payable (after giving effect to any applicable notice requirement or grace period);

 

(g)     any event or condition occurs that results in any Material Indebtedness (other than the Obligations) becoming due prior to its scheduled maturity or that enables or permits (with or without the giving of notice, the lapse of time or both) the holder or holders of any such Material Indebtedness or any trustee or agent on its or their behalf to cause any such Material Indebtedness to become due, or to require the prepayment, repurchase, redemption or defeasance thereof, prior to its scheduled maturity (after giving effect to any applicable notice requirement or grace period); provided that this clause (g) shall not apply to (i) secured Indebtedness that becomes due as a result of the voluntary sale or transfer of the property securing such Indebtedness in a transaction permitted hereunder, (ii) any Indebtedness if (x) the sole remedy of the holder thereof in the event of the non-payment of such Indebtedness or the non-payment or non-performance of obligations related thereto or (y) sole option is to elect, in each case, to convert such Indebtedness into Qualified Equity Interests and cash in lieu of fractional shares, (iii) in the case of Indebtedness which the holder thereof may elect to convert into Qualified Equity Interests, such Indebtedness from and after the date, if any, on which such conversion has been effected and (iv) any breach or default that is (x) remedied by Holdings, the applicable Borrower or the applicable Restricted Subsidiary or (y) waived (including in the form of amendment) by the required holders of the applicable item of Indebtedness, in either case, prior to any termination of the Commitments or the acceleration of Loans pursuant to this Section 8.1;

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(h)     an involuntary proceeding shall be commenced or an involuntary petition shall be filed seeking (i) liquidation, reorganization, conservatorship, bankruptcy, assignment for the benefit of creditors, moratorium, rearrangement, receivership, insolvency or other relief in respect of any Obligor or any of its Material Subsidiaries or debts, or of a substantial part of its assets, under any Debtor Relief Laws or (ii) the appointment of a receiver, trustee, custodian, sequestrator, conservator, liquidator, rehabilitator, or similar official for any Obligor or its Material Subsidiaries or for a substantial part of its or their assets, and, in any such case, such proceeding or petition shall continue undismissed for a period of 60 or more days or an order or decree approving or ordering any of the foregoing shall be entered;

 

(i)      any Obligor or its Material Subsidiaries shall (i) voluntarily commence any proceeding or file any petition seeking liquidation, reorganization, conservatorship, bankruptcy, assignment for the benefit of creditors, moratorium, rearrangement, receivership, insolvency, or other relief under any Debtor Relief Laws now or hereafter in effect, (ii) consent to the institution of, or fail to contest in a timely and appropriate manner, any proceeding or petition described in clause (h) of this Section, (iii) apply for or consent to the appointment of a receiver, trustee, custodian, sequestrator, conservator, liquidator, rehabilitator, or similar official for any Obligor or its Material Subsidiaries or for a substantial part of its assets, (iv) file an answer admitting the material allegations of a petition filed against it in any such proceeding, (v) make a general assignment for the benefit of creditors, or (vi) take any organizational action to authorize any of the foregoing;

 

(j)      one or more final and non-appealable judgments for the payment of money in an aggregate amount in excess of the greater of (i) $7,500,000 and (ii) 25.0% of Consolidated EBITDA (exclusive of amounts covered by insurance provided by a financially sound insurance company and for which such insurer has not denied coverage or the indemnity, or has not denied liability, as applicable, after notice) shall be rendered against any Obligor or its Restricted Subsidiary and the same shall remain undischarged for a period of 60 consecutive days during which execution shall not be effectively stayed, or any action shall be legally taken by a judgment creditor to attach or levy upon any assets of any Obligor or its Restricted Subsidiary to enforce any such judgment;

 

(k)      an ERISA Event shall have occurred that, when taken together with all other ERISA Events that have occurred, would reasonably be expected to result in liability of any Obligor and its Restricted Subsidiaries in an aggregate amount that would have a Material Adverse Effect;

 

(l)       [reserved];

 

(m)     a Change in Control shall occur;

 

(n)      the Liens created by the Security Documents shall at any time not constitute a valid and perfected first priority Lien on the Collateral intended to be covered thereby (other than any Collateral released under Section 9.10) in favor of Administrative Agent, free and clear of all other Liens (other than Permitted Encumbrances), other than as a result of a failure of the Administrative Agent or the Lenders to take any action required under the Loan Documents or, except for expiration or termination in accordance with its terms or with the consent of Administrative Agent, any of the Loan Documents shall for whatever reason be terminated or cease to be in full force and effect, or enforceability thereof shall be contested by any Obligor, or any Borrower or any Person acting by or on behalf of any Borrower shall deny or disaffirm any Borrower’s obligations under Section 10.22 or Section 10.23;

 

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(o)      [reserved]; or

 

(p)      (i) an Intercreditor Agreement or the subordination provisions of the documents evidencing or governing any Subordinated Indebtedness constituting Material Indebtedness (the “Subordination Provisions”) shall, in whole or in part, terminate, cease to be effective or cease to be legally valid, binding and enforceable against any holder of such Subordinated Indebtedness constituting Material Indebtedness, other than as a result of a failure of the Administrative Agent or the Lenders to take any action required under the Loan Documents; or (ii) any Obligor or holder of such Subordinated Indebtedness constituting Material Indebtedness shall disavow or contest in any manner (A) the effectiveness, validity or enforceability of any of the Subordination Provisions, (B) that the Subordination Provisions exist for the benefit of Administrative Agent, the Lenders and Issuing Lender, or (C) that all payments of principal of or premium and interest on such Subordinated Indebtedness, or realized from the liquidation of any property of any Obligor, shall be subject to any of the Subordination Provisions; or (iii) any Intercreditor Agreement or Subordination Agreement related to Material Indebtedness shall cease to be in full force and effect or the Loans shall cease to constitute “Senior Indebtedness” (or similar term) thereunder;

 

then, in every such event (other than an event with respect to any Obligor described in clause (h) or (i) of this Section 8.1), and at any time thereafter during the continuance of such event, Administrative Agent may with the consent of the Required Lenders, and at the request of the Required Lenders shall, by notice to the Borrower Representative, take any or all of the following actions, at the same or different times: (i) terminate the Commitments including any obligation of Issuing Lender to issue Letters of Credit, and thereupon the Commitments and obligations shall terminate immediately, (ii) require that the Borrowers cash collateralize the aggregate LC Exposure, (iii) declare the Loans then outstanding to be due and payable in whole (or in part, in which case any principal not so declared to be due and payable may thereafter be declared to be due and payable), and thereupon the principal of the Loans so declared to be due and payable, together with accrued interest thereon and all fees and other obligations of the Obligors accrued hereunder and under the other Loan Documents, shall become due and payable immediately, without presentment, demand, protest, notice of intent to accelerate, notice of acceleration or other notice of any kind, all of which are hereby waived by each Obligor, and (iv) exercise on behalf of itself, the Lenders and Issuing Lender all rights and remedies available to it, the Lenders and Issuing Lender under the Loan Documents and applicable law; and in case of any event with respect to any Obligor described in clause (h) or (i) of this Section 8.1, the Commitments, and Issuing Lender’s obligation to issue Letters of Credit, shall automatically terminate, the obligation of the Borrowers to cash collateralize the LC Exposure shall automatically become effective, and the principal of the Loans then outstanding, together with accrued interest thereon and all fees and other obligations of the Obligors accrued hereunder and under the other Loan Documents, shall automatically become due and payable, without presentment, demand, protest, notice of intent to accelerate, notice of acceleration, or other notice of any kind, all of which are hereby waived by each Obligor. In addition, if any Event of Default shall exist, Administrative Agent may foreclose or otherwise enforce any Lien granted to the Administrative Agent, for the benefit of the Secured Parties, to secure payment and performance of the Obligations in accordance with the terms of the Loan Documents and exercise any and all rights and remedies afforded by applicable law, by any of the Loan Documents, by equity, or otherwise.

 

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8.2     Application of Payment. Subsequent to the acceleration of the Obligations under Section 8.1 hereof, subject to any applicable Intercreditor Agreements, payments and prepayments with respect to the Obligations made to the Administrative Agent, the Lenders, Issuing Lender, Swingline Lender or otherwise received by Administrative Agent, any Lender, Issuing Lender or Swingline Lender (from realization on Collateral or otherwise, but excluding any funds held to cash collateralize the LC Exposure which shall be applied to, or held to pay, the LC Exposure as set forth in Section 2.5(l) and subject to rights of Non-Defaulting Lenders pursuant to Section 2.21) shall be distributed in the following order of priority: FIRST, to the fees, indemnities, expenses and other amounts (including attorneys’ fees and expenses), if any, payable to the Administrative Agent in its capacity as such; SECOND, to the fees, indemnities and other amounts (other than principal, reimbursement obligations in respect of LC Disbursements and interest) payable to the Lenders and the Issuing Lender (including attorneys’ fees and expenses) arising under the Loans Documents, ratably among them in proportion to the respective amounts described in this clause payable to them; THIRD, to the payment of interest then due and payable on the Swingline Loans; FOURTH, to the payment of the principal of any Swingline Loans then outstanding; FIFTH, to the payment of interest then due and payable on any outstanding LC Disbursements, the Revolving Credit Loans, and the Term Loans, on a pro rata basis; SIXTH, on a pro rata basis, to (a) the payment of principal of the Revolving Credit Loans, (b) the payment of principal of the Term Loans, (c) cash collateralize the LC Exposure in accordance with clause (a) of the definition of “Fully Satisfied” set forth in this Agreement, and (d)   the payment of any Bank Product Obligations, until each of the foregoing Obligations in clauses (a) through (d) of this Section 8.2 are Fully Satisfied; SEVENTH, to any other Obligations not otherwise referred to in this Section; and EIGHTH, to the applicable Obligors, their successors or assigns, or as a court of competent jurisdiction may otherwise direct. The Administrative Agent shall have absolute discretion as to the time of application of any such proceeds, moneys, or balances in accordance with this Agreement. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary set forth above, in no event shall any proceeds of any Collateral owned, or any Guarantee provided, by any Obligor under any Loan Document be applied to repay or cash collateralize any Excluded Swap Obligation with respect to such Obligor; provided, that Administrative Agent may elect to apply the proceeds of any such Collateral or Guarantee to repay or cash collateralize any Obligations (other than Excluded Swap Obligation with respect to such Obligor) in accordance with the priority set forth above before applying the proceeds of any other Collateral or Guarantee provided under any Loan Document, if in the reasonable determination of Administrative Agent, such order of application will maximize the repayment of all of the Obligations. Upon any sale of Collateral by Administrative Agent (including pursuant to a power of sale granted by statute or under a judicial proceeding), the receipt of the purchase money by Administrative Agent or of the officer making the sale shall be a sufficient discharge to the purchaser or purchasers of the Collateral so sold and such purchaser or purchasers shall not be obligated to see to the application of any part of the purchase money paid over to the Administrative Agent or such officer or be answerable in any way for the misapplication thereof.

 

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8.3      Right to Cure. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in Section 8.1, in the event that the Borrowers fail (or, but for the operation of this Section 8.3, would fail) to comply with the Financial Covenant, as of the last day of any Fiscal Quarter in which such Financial Covenant is required to be tested, at any time after the last day of such Fiscal Quarter until the day that is 15 Business Days after the date that financial statements for such Fiscal Quarter are required to be delivered pursuant to Section 5.1(a) or 5.1(b), Holdings shall have the right to issue Qualified Equity Interests for cash or otherwise receive cash contributions in respect of Qualified Equity Interests which is promptly contributed to the capital of any Borrower, and thereupon such Financial Covenant shall be recalculated by increasing Consolidated EBITDA by the amount of such Specified Equity Contribution with respect to such Fiscal Quarter and any four-quarter period that contains such Fiscal Quarter; provided that, (a) in each 4 consecutive Fiscal Quarter period, there shall be no more than 2 Fiscal Quarters in which a Specified Equity Contribution is made, (b) no more than 5 Specified Equity Contributions may be made in the aggregate during the term of this Agreement, (c) the amount of any Specified Equity Contribution shall be no greater than the amount required to cause the Borrowers to be in compliance with the Financial Covenant, (d) any adjustment on a pro forma basis to Consolidated EBITDA resulting from any Specified Equity Contribution shall be counted as Consolidated EBITDA solely for purposes of determining compliance with the Financial Covenant and shall not be included for any other purpose (including for purposes of determining the Applicable Margin or any financial ratio-based conditions or any “baskets”) during any Fiscal Quarter in which the pro forma adjustment applies, (e) no Lender shall be required to fund any Borrowing or Letter of Credit extension during the 15 Business Day period referred to above unless a Borrower has received the proceeds of the Specified Equity Contribution in an amount required to cause Borrowers to be in compliance with the Financial Covenant, (f) for the avoidance of doubt, in recalculating the Financial Covenant by increasing Consolidated EBITDA as set forth above, there shall be no pro forma effect given to any reduction of Indebtedness with the Specified Equity Contribution in such recalculation of the Financial Covenant for such Fiscal Quarter in which such Specified Equity Contribution is made, (g) no Default or Event of Default shall exist with respect to the Financial Covenant until the end of the 15 Business Day period referenced above (the “Cure Termination Date”) and (h) none of the Administrative Agent, any Lender or any Secured party shall exercise any rights or remedies until after the Cure Termination Date solely on the basis of a Default or Event of Default having occurred and being continuing with respect to the Financial Covenant for the applicable Fiscal Quarter. If, after giving effect to the adjustments in this paragraph, the Borrowers shall then be in compliance with the requirements of the Financial Covenant, the Borrowers shall be deemed to have satisfied the requirements of the Financial Covenant as of the relevant date of determination with the same effect as though there had been no failure to comply therewith at such date, and the applicable breach or default of the Financial Covenant that had occurred shall be deemed cured for the purposes of this Agreement.

 

8.4      Performance by Administrative Agent. If any Obligor shall fail to perform any covenant or agreement in accordance with the terms of the Loan Documents, if an Event of Default has occurred and is continuing, upon five Business Days’ notice, the Administrative Agent may perform or attempt to perform such covenant or agreement on behalf of the applicable Obligor. In such event, the Borrowers shall, at the request of Administrative Agent promptly pay any amount expended by Administrative Agent in connection with such performance or attempted performance to the Administrative Agent, together with interest thereon at the interest rate provided for in Section 2.12(c) from and including the date of such expenditure to but excluding the date such expenditure is paid in full. Notwithstanding the foregoing, it is expressly agreed that neither Administrative Agent nor any Lender shall have any liability or responsibility for the performance of any obligation of any Obligor under any Loan Documents.

 

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9.          ADMINISTRATIVE AGENT

 

9.1          Authorization and Action.

 

(a)      Each of the Lenders and Issuing Lender hereby irrevocably appoints Administrative Agent to act on its behalf as Administrative Agent hereunder and under the other Loan Documents and authorizes Administrative Agent to take such actions on its behalf and to exercise such powers as are delegated to the Administrative Agent by the terms hereof or thereof, together with such actions and powers as are reasonably incidental thereto. The provisions of this Section 9 are solely for the benefit of Administrative Agent, the Lenders, and Issuing Lender, and no Obligor has rights as a third-party beneficiary of any of such provisions (other than in respect of Sections 9.1, 9.5, 9.6 and 9.10, 9.11, 9.12, 9.13 and 9.14). It is understood and agreed that the use of the term “agent” herein or in any other Loan Documents (or any other similar term) with reference to the Administrative Agent is not intended to connote any fiduciary or other implied (or express) obligations arising under agency doctrine of any applicable law. Instead such term is used as a matter of market custom, and is intended to create or reflect only an administrative relationship between contracting parties.

 

(b)      Administrative Agent shall also act as the collateral agent under the Loan Documents, and each of the Lenders and Issuing Lender hereby irrevocably appoints and authorizes Administrative Agent to act as the agent of such Lender and Issuing Lender for purposes of acquiring, holding and enforcing any and all Liens on Collateral granted by any of the Obligors to secure any of the Obligations, together with such powers and discretion as are reasonably incidental thereto. In this connection, Administrative Agent, as collateral agent and any co-agents, sub-agents and attorneys-in-fact appointed by Administrative Agent pursuant to Section 9.5 for purposes of holding or enforcing any Lien on the Collateral (or any portion thereof) granted under the Security Documents, (or for exercising any rights and remedies thereunder at the direction of Administrative Agent), shall be entitled to the benefits of all provisions of this Sections 9 and 10 as if set forth in full herein with respect thereto. Administrative Agent is authorized on behalf of all the Lenders, without the necessity of any notice to or further consent from the Lenders or Issuing Lender, from time to time to take any action with respect to any Collateral or the Loan Documents which may be necessary to perfect and maintain perfected the Liens upon any Collateral granted pursuant to any Security Document.

 

9.2         Administrative Agent and its Affiliates.

 

(a)      The Person serving as Administrative Agent hereunder shall have the same rights and powers in its capacity as a Lender as any other Lender and may exercise the same as though it were not Administrative Agent and the term “Lender” or “Lenders” shall, unless otherwise expressly indicated or unless the context otherwise requires, include the Person serving as Administrative Agent hereunder in its individual capacity. Such Person and its Affiliates may accept deposits from, own securities of, lend money to, act as the financial advisor or in any advisory capacity for and generally engage in any kind of business with the Borrowers or any Subsidiary or other Affiliate thereof as if it were not Administrative Agent hereunder and without any duty to account therefor to the Lenders.

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(b)      Each of the Lenders and Issuing Lender understands that the Person serving as Administrative Agent, acting in its individual capacity, and its Affiliates (collectively, the “Agent’s Group”) is engaged in a wide range of financial services and businesses (including investment management, financing, securities trading, corporate and investment banking and research) (such services and businesses are collectively referred to in this Section 9 as “Activities”) any may engage in the Activities with or on behalf of one or more of the Obligors or their respective Affiliates. Furthermore, the Agent’s Group may, in undertaking the Activities, engage in trading in financial products or undertake other investment businesses for its own account or on behalf of others (including the Obligors and their Affiliates and including holding, for its own account or on behalf of others, equity, debt and similar positions in the Borrowers, another Obligor or their respective Affiliates), including trading in or holding long, short or derivative positions in securities, loans, or other financial products of one or more of the Obligors or their Affiliates. Each Lender understands and agrees that in engaging in the Activities, the Agent’s Group may receive or otherwise obtain information concerning the Obligors or their Affiliates (including information concerning the ability of the Obligors to perform their respective obligations hereunder and under the other Loan Documents) which information may not be available to any of the Lenders that are not members of the Agent’s Group. Neither Administrative Agent nor any other member of the Agent’s Group shall have any duty to disclose to any Lender or use on behalf of the Lenders, nor be liable for the failure to so disclose or use, any information whatsoever about or derived from the Activities or otherwise (including any information concerning the business, prospects, operations, property, financial and other condition or creditworthiness of any Obligor or any Affiliate of any Obligor) or to account for any revenue or profits obtained in connection with the Activities, except that Administrative Agent shall deliver or otherwise make available to each Lender such documents as are expressly required by any Loan Document to be transmitted by Administrative Agent to the Lenders.

 

(c)      Each Lender further understands that there may be situations where members of the Agent’s Group or their respective customers (including the Obligors and their Affiliates) either now have or may in the future have interests or take actions that may conflict with the interests of any one or more of the Lenders (including the interests of the Lenders hereunder and under the other Loan Documents). Each Lender agrees that no member of the Agent’s Group is or shall be required to restrict its activities as a result of any Person serving as Administrative Agent being a member of the Agent’s Group, and that each member of the Agent’s Group may undertake any Activities without further consultation with or notification of any Lender. None of (i) this Agreement nor any other Loan Document, (ii) the receipt by the Agent’s Group of information (including information concerning the ability of the Obligors to perform their respective obligations hereunder and under the other Loan Documents), or (iii) any other matter, shall give rise to any fiduciary, equitable, or contractual duties (including any duty of trust or confidence) owing by Administrative Agent or any member of the Agent’s Group to any Lender including any such duty that would prevent or restrict the Agent’s Group from acting on behalf of customers (including the Obligors or their Affiliates) or for its own account.

 

9.3         Duties. Administrative Agent shall not have any duties or obligations except those expressly set forth herein and in the other Loan Documents. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, Administrative Agent:

 

(a)      shall not be subject to any fiduciary or other implied duties, regardless of whether a Default has occurred and is continuing; additionally, each Lender agrees that it will not assert any claim against the Administrative Agent based on an alleged breach of fiduciary duty by the Administrative Agent in connection with this Agreement and/or the transactions contemplated hereby; 

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(b)      shall not have any duty to take any discretionary action or exercise any discretionary powers, except discretionary rights and powers expressly contemplated hereby or by the other Loan Documents that Administrative Agent is required to exercise as directed in writing by the Required Lenders (or such other number or percentage of the Lenders as shall be expressly provided for herein or in the other Loan Documents); provided, that the Administrative Agent may seek clarification or direction from the Required Lenders prior to the exercise of any such instructed action and may refrain from acting until such clarification or direction has been provided. Provided, further, that Administrative Agent shall not be required to take any action that, in its opinion or the opinion of its counsel, may expose Administrative Agent to liability or that is contrary to any Loan Document or applicable law, including for the avoidance of doubt any action that may be in violation of the automatic stay under any Debtor Relief Law or that may effect a forfeiture, modification or termination of property of a Defaulting Lender in violation of any Debtor Relief Law;

 

(c)      shall not, except as expressly set forth herein and in the other Loan Documents, have any duty to disclose, and shall not be liable for the failure to disclose, any information relating to any Obligor or any of their respective Affiliates that is communicated to or obtained by the Person serving as Administrative Agent or any of its Affiliates in any capacity;

 

(d)      shall not be responsible or have any liability for, or have any duty to ascertain, inquire into, monitor or enforce, compliance with the provisions hereof relating to Disqualified Institutions, and specifically, it shall not (i) be obligated to ascertain, monitor or inquire as to whether any Lender or Participant or prospective Lender or Participant is a Disqualified Institution or (ii) have any liability with respect to or arising out of any assignment or participation of Loans, or disclosure of confidential information, to any Disqualified Institution; and

 

(e)      shall not be required by this Agreement or any Loan Document to account to any Lender for any sum or the profit element of any sum received by the Administrative Agent for its own account.

 

9.4          Administrative Agent’s Reliance, Lender Representations, Etc.

 

(a)      Administrative Agent shall not be liable to the Lenders for any action taken or not taken by it (i) with the consent or at the request of the Required Lenders (or such other number or percentage of the Lenders as shall be necessary, or as Administrative Agent shall believe in good faith shall be necessary, under the circumstances as provided in Sections 10.2 and 8) or (ii) in the absence of its own gross negligence or willful misconduct as determined by a court of competent jurisdiction by final and nonappealable judgment. Administrative Agent shall not be responsible in any manner to any of the Lenders for any recitals, statements, representations or warranties made by any Obligor or any officer thereof contained in this Agreement or any other Loan Document or in any certificate, report, statement or other document referred to or provided for in, or received by the Administrative Agent under or in connection with, this Agreement or any other Loan Document or for the value, validity, effectiveness, genuineness, enforceability or sufficiency of this Agreement or any other Loan Document (including, for the avoidance of doubt, in connection with the Administrative Agent’s reliance on any Electronic Signature transmitted by telecopy, emailed pdf. or any other electronic means that reproduces an image of an actual executed signature page) or for any failure of any Obligor to perform its obligations hereunder or thereunder. Administrative Agent shall be deemed not to have knowledge of any Default unless and until written notice describing such Default is given to the Administrative Agent by an Obligor, a Lender, or Issuing Lender. Administrative Agent shall not be responsible for or have any duty to ascertain or inquire into (i) any statement, warranty or representation made in or in connection with this Agreement or any other Loan Document, (ii) the contents of any certificate, report or other document delivered hereunder or thereunder or in connection herewith or therewith, (iii) the performance or observance of any of the covenants, agreements or other terms or conditions set forth herein or therein or the occurrence of any Default, (iv) the validity, enforceability, effectiveness or genuineness of this Agreement, any other Loan Document or any other agreement, instrument or document, or the creation, perfection or priority of any Lien purported to be created by the Security Documents, or (v) the satisfaction of any condition set forth in Section 4 or elsewhere herein or therein, other than to confirm receipt of items expressly required to be delivered to the Administrative Agent.

 

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(b)      Administrative Agent shall be entitled to rely upon, and shall not incur any liability for relying upon, any notice, request, certificate, consent, statement, instrument, document, or other writing (including any electronic message, Internet or intranet website posting or other distribution) believed in good faith by it to be genuine and to have been signed, sent or otherwise authenticated by the proper Person. Administrative Agent also may rely upon any statement made to it orally or by telephone and believed by it to be made by the proper Person, and shall not incur any liability for relying thereon. In determining compliance with any condition hereunder to the making of a Loan, or the issuance, extension, renewal or increase of a Letter of Credit, that by its terms must be fulfilled to the satisfaction of a Lender or Issuing Lender, Administrative Agent may presume that such condition is satisfactory to such Lender or Issuing Lender unless Administrative Agent shall have received notice to the contrary from such Lender or Issuing Lender prior to the making of such Loan or the issuance of such Letter of Credit. Administrative Agent may consult with legal counsel (who may be counsel for an Obligor), independent accountants and other experts selected by it, and shall not be liable for any action taken or not taken by it in accordance with the advice of any such counsel, accountants or experts. Without limiting the foregoing, the Administrative Agent makes no warranty or representation to any Lender or Issuing Lender and shall not be responsible to any Lender or Issuing Lender for any statements, warranties or representations made by or on behalf of any Obligor in connection with this Agreement or any other Loan Document.

 

(c)      Each Lender (x) represents and warrants, as of the date such Person became a Lender party hereto, to, and (y) covenants, from the date such Person became a Lender party hereto to the date such Person ceases being a Lender party hereto, for the benefit of, the Administrative Agent and its Affiliates, and not, for the avoidance of doubt, to or for the benefit of the Borrowers or any other Obligor, that at least one of the following is and will be true:

 

(i)       such Lender is not using “plan assets” (within the meaning of 29 CFR § 2510.3-101, as modified by Section 3(42) of ERISA) of one or more Benefit Plans in connection with the Loans or the Commitments,

 

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(ii)      the transaction exemption set forth in one or more PTEs, such as PTE 84-14 (a class exemption for certain transactions determined by independent qualified professional asset managers), PTE 95-60 (a class exemption for certain transactions involving insurance company general accounts), PTE 90-1 (a class exemption for certain transactions involving insurance company pooled separate accounts), PTE 91-38 (a class exemption for certain transactions involving bank collective investment funds) or PTE 96-23 (a class exemption for certain transactions determined by in-house asset managers), is applicable with respect to such Lender’s entrance into, participation in, administration of and performance of the Loans, the Commitments and this Agreement,

 

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

 

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

 

(d)      In addition, unless sub-clause (i) in the immediately preceding clause (c) is true with respect to a Lender or such Lender has not provided another representation, warranty and covenant as provided in sub-clause (iv) in the immediately preceding clause (c), such Lender further (x) represents and warrants, as of the date such Person became a Lender party hereto, to, and (y) covenants, from the date such Person became a Lender party hereto to the date such Person ceases being a Lender party hereto, for the benefit of, the Administrative Agent and its Affiliates, and not, for the avoidance of doubt, to or for the benefit of the Borrowers or any other Obligor, that:

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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(v)      no fee or other compensation is being paid directly to the Administrative Agent or its Affiliates for investment advice (as opposed to other services) in connection with the Loans, the Commitments or this Agreement.

 

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

 

(f)      Each Lender, by delivering its signature page to this Agreement on the Effective Date, or delivering its signature page to an Assignment and Assumption or any other Loan Document pursuant to which it shall become a Lender hereunder, shall be deemed to have acknowledged receipt of, and consented to and approved, each Loan Document and each other document required to be delivered to, or be approved by or satisfactory to, the Administrative Agent or the Lenders on the Effective Date or the effective date of any such Assignment and Assumption or any other Loan Document pursuant to which it shall have become a Lender hereunder.

 

9.5         Sub-Agents. Administrative Agent may perform any and all its duties and exercise its rights and powers hereunder or under any other Loan Document by or through any one or more sub-agents appointed by Administrative Agent (other than Disqualified Institutions). Administrative Agent and any such sub-agent may perform any and all its duties and exercise its rights and powers by or through their respective Related Parties. Administrative Agent is authorized on behalf of all the Lenders, without the necessity of any notice to or further consent from the Lenders or Issuing Lender, from time to time to permit any co-agents, sub-agents and attorneys-in-fact appointed by Administrative Agent to take any action with respect to any Collateral or the Loan Documents which may be necessary to perfect and maintain perfected the Liens upon any Collateral granted pursuant to any Security Document. The exculpatory provisions of this Section 9, as well as all other indemnity and expense reimbursement provisions of this Agreement (including, without limitation, Section 10.3), shall apply to any such sub-agent and to the Related Parties of Administrative Agent and any such sub-agent, and shall apply to their respective activities in connection with the syndication of the credit facilities provided for herein as well as activities as Administrative Agent and as though such co-agents, sub-agents and attorneys-in-fact were the “collateral agent” under the Loan Documents. Administrative Agent shall not be responsible to the Lenders for the negligence or misconduct of any sub-agent except to the extent that a court of competent jurisdiction determines in a final and nonappealable judgment that Administrative Agent acted with gross negligence or willful misconduct in the selection of such sub-agents.

 

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9.6         Resignation.

 

(a)      Administrative Agent may resign at any time by giving notice of its resignation to the Lenders, Issuing Lender, and the Borrower Representative. Upon receipt of any such notice of resignation, the Required Lenders shall have the right, in consultation with and, so long as no Event of Default pursuant to Section 8.1(a), (b), (h) or (i) then exists, subject to the approval (not to be unreasonably withheld or delayed) of, the Borrower Representative, to appoint a successor, which shall be a Lender or a financial institution with an office in the United States, or an Affiliate of any such financial institution with an office in the United States. If no successor shall have been so appointed by the Required Lenders and, if applicable, the Borrowers and shall have accepted such appointment within 30 days after the retiring Administrative Agent gives notice of its resignation (or such earlier day as shall be agreed by the Required Lenders) (the “Resignation Effective Date”), then the retiring Administrative Agent may, on behalf of the Lenders and Issuing Lender, appoint a successor Administrative Agent meeting the qualifications set forth above (including any requisite Borrower consent). Whether or not a successor has been appointed, such resignation shall become effective in accordance with such notice on the Resignation Effective Date. Unless approved by the Borrower Representative in its sole discretion, no Disqualified Institution shall be a successor Administrative Agent.

 

(b)      With effect from the Resignation Effective Date (a) the retiring Administrative Agent shall be discharged from its duties and obligations hereunder and under the other Loan Documents (except that in the case of any Collateral held by Administrative Agent on behalf of the Lenders or Issuing Lender under any of the Loan Documents, the retiring Administrative Agent shall continue to hold such collateral security until such time as a successor Administrative Agent is appointed) and (b) except for any indemnity payments owed to the retiring Administrative Agent, all payments, communications and determinations provided to be made by, to or through Administrative Agent shall instead be made by or to each Lender and each Issuing Lender directly, until such time as the Required Lenders appoint a successor Administrative Agent as provided for above. Upon the acceptance of a successor’s appointment as Administrative Agent hereunder, such successor shall succeed to and become vested with all of the rights, powers, privileges and duties of the retiring Administrative Agent (other than any rights to indemnity payments owed to the retiring Administrative Agent) and the retiring Administrative Agent shall be discharged from all of its duties and obligations hereunder or under the other Loan Documents. The fees payable by the Borrowers to a successor Administrative Agent shall be the same as those payable to its predecessor unless otherwise agreed between the Borrowers and such successor. After the retiring Administrative Agent’s resignation hereunder and under the other Loan Documents, the provisions of this Section and Section 10.3 shall continue in effect for the benefit of such retiring Administrative Agent, its sub-agents and their respective Related Parties in respect of any actions taken or omitted to be taken by any of them while the retiring Administrative Agent was acting as Administrative Agent.

 

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(c)      Any resignation by JPMorgan as Administrative Agent pursuant to this Section shall also constitute its resignation as Issuing Lender and, if applicable, Swingline Lender. Upon the acceptance of a successor’s appointment as Administrative Agent hereunder, (i) such successor shall succeed to and become vested with all of the rights, powers, privileges and duties of the retiring Issuing Lender and Swingline Lender, (ii) the retiring Issuing Lender and Swingline Lender shall be discharged from all of their respective duties and obligations hereunder or under the other Loan Documents, and (iii) the successor Issuing Lender shall issue letters of credit in substitution for the Letters of Credit, if any, outstanding at the time of such succession or make other arrangements reasonably satisfactory to the retiring Issuing Lender to effectively assume the obligations of the retiring Issuing Lender with respect to such Letters of Credit.

 

9.7         Lender Credit Decision. Each Lender and Issuing Lender acknowledges that it has, independently and without reliance upon Administrative Agent or any other Lender or any of their Related Parties and based on such documents and information as it has deemed appropriate, made its own credit analysis and decision to enter into this Agreement. Each Lender and Issuing Lender also acknowledges that it will, independently and without reliance upon Administrative Agent or any other Lender or any of their Related Parties and based on such documents and information as it shall from time to time deem appropriate, continue to make its own decisions in taking or not taking action under or based upon this Agreement, any other Loan Document or any related agreement or any document furnished hereunder or thereunder. In this regard, each Lender further acknowledges that King & Spalding, LLP is acting in this transaction as special counsel to JPMorgan only, except to the extent otherwise expressly stated in any legal opinion or any Loan Document. Each other party hereto will consult with its own legal counsel to the extent that it deems necessary in connection with the Loan Documents and the matters contemplated therein.

 

9.8         Other Agent Titles. Anything herein to the contrary notwithstanding, none of the Persons listed as a “Lead Arranger,” “Bookrunner” or “Documentation Agent” on the cover page hereof shall have any powers, duties or responsibilities under this Agreement or any of the other Loan Documents, except in its capacity, as applicable, as Administrative Agent, a Lender or Issuing Lender hereunder.

 

9.9         Agent May File Proofs of Claim; Bankruptcy Events. In case of the pendency of any proceeding under any Debtor Relief Law or any other judicial proceeding relative to any Obligor or any Subsidiary, Administrative Agent (irrespective of whether the principal of any Loan or LC Disbursement shall then be due and payable as herein expressed or by declaration or otherwise and irrespective of whether Administrative Agent shall have made any demand any Obligor or any other Person primarily or secondarily liable) shall be entitled and empowered (but not obligated), by intervention in such proceeding or otherwise:

 

(a)      to file and prove a claim for the whole amount of the principal and interest owing and unpaid in respect of the Loans, LC Disbursements and all other Obligations that are owing and unpaid and to file such other documents as may be necessary or advisable in order to have the claims of the Lenders, Issuing Lender and the Administrative Agent (including any claim for the reasonable compensation, expenses, disbursements and advances of the Lenders, Issuing Lender and the Administrative Agent and their respective agents and counsel and all other amounts due the Lenders, Issuing Lender and the Administrative Agent under Sections 2 and 10.3) allowed in such judicial proceeding; and

 

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(b)     to collect and receive any monies or other property payable or deliverable on any such claims and to distribute the same in accordance with this Agreement; and any custodian, receiver, assignee, trustee, liquidator, sequestrator or other similar official in any such judicial proceeding is hereby authorized by each Lender and Issuing Lender to make such payments to the Administrative Agent and, in the event that Administrative Agent shall consent to the making of such payments directly to the Lenders and Issuing Lender, to pay to the Administrative Agent any amount due for the reasonable compensation, expenses, disbursements and advances of Administrative Agent and its agents and counsel, and any other amounts due to the Administrative Agent under Sections 2 and 10.3. Nothing contained herein shall be deemed to authorize Administrative Agent to authorize or consent to or accept or adopt in each case on behalf of any Lender or Issuing Lender any plan of reorganization, arrangement, adjustment or composition affecting the Obligations in any proceeding under any Debtor Relief Law.

 

9.10Collateral.

 

(a)      The Secured Parties irrevocably authorize and direct the Administrative Agent:

 

(i)       to release any Lien (A) on all Collateral upon Full Satisfaction of all the Obligations and termination of the Commitments, (B) with respect to any Collateral that is sold or otherwise Disposed of to a Person other than an Obligor pursuant to a Disposition permitted by Section 6.4 (other than any Disposition permitted by clause (f) of Section 6.4), (C) on Collateral owned by a Subsidiary that is a Guarantor upon release of such Guarantor from its obligations under its Guaranty Agreement pursuant to clause (iii) below, (D) upon property constituting Excluded Property (as defined in the Security Agreement; or any similar term in any Security Document), (E) on Collateral in accordance with the terms of any Intercreditor Agreement or (F) subject to Section 10.2, as may be approved, authorized, or ratified in writing by the Required Lenders;

 

(ii)      to subordinate any Lien on any Collateral to the holder of any Lien on such property that is permitted by clause (f) of the definition of “Permitted Encumbrances”; and

 

(iii)     to release any Guarantor from its obligations under the Guaranty Agreement if such Person ceases to be a Subsidiary as a result of a transaction permitted under the Loan Documents or otherwise becomes an Excluded Subsidiary.

 

(b)     Upon request by Administrative Agent at any time, the Secured Parties will confirm in writing Administrative Agent’s authority to release or subordinate its interest in particular types or items of property or to release any Guarantor from its obligations under the Guaranty Agreement pursuant to this Section 9.10.

 

(c)      Administrative Agent, at the sole expense of Obligors, shall execute and deliver to the Obligors all releases or other documents reasonably necessary or desirable to evidence or effect any release of Liens or release of Guaranty Agreement authorized under Section 9.10(a); provided that (i) Administrative Agent shall not be required to execute any document necessary to evidence such release authorized under clause (i)(B) or (ii) of Section 9.10(a) unless a Responsible Officer of the Borrower Representative shall certify in writing to the Administrative Agent that the transaction requiring such release is permitted under the Loan Documents (it being acknowledged that Administrative Agent may rely on any such certificate without further enquiry), (ii) Administrative Agent shall not be required to execute any document necessary to evidence such release on terms that, in Administrative Agent’s opinion, would expose Administrative Agent to liability or create any obligation or entail any consequence other than the release of such Lien without recourse, representation, or warranty, and (iii) no such release shall in any manner discharge, affect, or impair the Obligations or any Liens (other than those expressly being released) upon (or obligations of any Obligors in respect of) all interests retained by Obligors, including, the proceeds of any sale, all of which shall continue to constitute part of the Collateral. To the extent Administrative Agent is required to execute any releases or other documents in accordance with this Section 9.10(c), Administrative Agent shall do so promptly upon request of the Borrower Representative without the consent or further agreement of any Secured Party.

 

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(d)      Administrative Agent shall have no obligation whatsoever to any of the Secured Parties to assure that the Collateral exists or is owned by any Obligor or its Restricted Subsidiaries or is cared for, protected, or insured or has been encumbered, or that Administrative Agent’s Liens have been properly or sufficiently or lawfully created, perfected, protected, or enforced or are entitled to any particular priority, or that any particular items of Collateral meet the eligibility criteria applicable in respect thereof or whether to impose, maintain, reduce, or eliminate any particular reserve hereunder or whether the amount of any such reserve is appropriate or not, or to exercise at all or in any particular manner or under any duty of care, disclosure or fidelity, or to continue exercising, any of the rights, authorities and powers granted or available to the Administrative Agent pursuant to any of the Loan Documents, it being understood and agreed that in respect of the Collateral, or any act, omission, or event related thereto, subject to the terms and conditions contained herein, Administrative Agent may act in any manner it may deem appropriate, in its sole discretion given Administrative Agent’s own interest in the Collateral in its capacity as one of the Lenders and that Administrative Agent shall have no other duty or liability whatsoever to any Secured Party as to any of the foregoing, except as otherwise provided herein.

 

(e)      The Secured Parties hereby irrevocably authorize Administrative Agent, based upon the instruction of the Required Lenders, to (i) consent to, credit bid, or purchase (either directly or through one or more acquisition vehicles) all or any portion of the Collateral at any sale thereof conducted under the provisions of the Bankruptcy Code, including under Section 363, 1123 or 1129 of the Bankruptcy Code or any similar laws in any other jurisdictions to which a Holdings or a Borrower is subject, (ii) credit bid or purchase (either directly or through one or more acquisition vehicles) all or any portion of the Collateral at any sale or other disposition thereof conducted under the provisions of the UCC, including pursuant to Section 9-610 or 9-620 of the UCC, or (iii) credit bid or purchase (either directly or through one or more acquisition vehicles) all or any portion of the Collateral at any other sale or foreclosure conducted by Administrative Agent (whether by judicial action or otherwise) in accordance with applicable law. In connection with any such credit bid or purchase, (A) the Obligations owed to the Secured Parties shall be entitled to be, and shall be, credit bid on a ratable basis (with Obligations with respect to contingent or unliquidated claims being estimated for such purpose if the fixing or liquidation thereof would not unduly delay the ability of Administrative Agent to credit bid or purchase at such sale or other disposition of the Collateral and, if such claims cannot be estimated without unduly delaying the ability of Administrative Agent to credit bid, then such claims shall be disregarded, not credit bid, and not entitled to any interest in the asset or assets purchased by means of such credit bid) and the Secured Parties whose Obligations are credit bid shall be entitled to receive interests (ratably based upon the proportion of their Obligations credit bid in relation to the aggregate amount of Obligations so credit bid) in the asset or assets so purchased (or in the Equity Interests of the acquisition vehicle or vehicles that are used to consummate such purchase), and (B) Administrative Agent, based upon the instruction of the Required Lenders, may accept non-cash consideration, including debt and equity securities issued by such acquisition vehicle or vehicles and in connection therewith Administrative Agent may reduce the Obligations owed to the Secured Parties (ratably based upon the proportion of their Obligations credit bid in relation to the aggregate amount of Obligations so credit bid) based upon the value of such non-cash consideration.

 

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(f)      Except with respect to the exercise of setoff rights in accordance with Section 10.08 or with respect to a Secured Party’s right to file a proof of claim in an insolvency proceeding, no Secured Party shall have any right individually to realize upon any of the Collateral or to enforce any Guarantee of the Obligations, it being understood and agreed that all powers, rights and remedies under the Loan Documents may be exercised solely by the Administrative Agent on behalf of the Secured Parties in accordance with the terms thereof. In its capacity, the Administrative Agent is a “representative” of the Secured Parties within the meaning of the term “secured party” as defined in the UCC. In the event that any Collateral is hereafter pledged by any Person as collateral security for the Obligations, the Administrative Agent is hereby authorized, and hereby granted a power of attorney, to execute and deliver on behalf of the Secured Parties any Loan Documents necessary or appropriate to grant and perfect a Lien on such Collateral in favor of the Administrative Agent on behalf of the Secured Parties.

 

9.11       Issuing Lender. Neither Issuing Lender nor any of its Related Parties shall be liable to the Lenders for any action taken or omitted to be taken by any of them hereunder or otherwise in connection with any Loan Document except for its or their own gross negligence or willful misconduct. Without limiting the generality of the preceding sentence, Issuing Lender (a) shall have no duties or responsibilities except those expressly set forth in the Loan Documents, and shall not by reason of any Loan Document be a trustee or fiduciary for any Lender or for Administrative Agent, (b) shall not be required to initiate any litigation or collection proceedings under any Loan Document, (c) shall not be responsible to any Lender or Administrative Agent for any recitals, statements, representations, or warranties contained in any Loan Document, or any certificate or other documentation referred to or provided for in, or received by any of them under, any Loan Document, or for the value, validity, effectiveness, enforceability, or sufficiency of any Loan Document or any other documentation referred to or provided for therein or for any failure by any Person to perform any of its obligations thereunder, (d) may consult with legal counsel (including counsel for the Obligors or Administrative Agent), independent public accountants, and other experts selected by it and shall not be liable for any action taken or omitted to be taken in good faith by it in accordance with the advice of such counsel, accountants, or experts, and (e) shall incur no liability to the Lenders under or in respect of any Loan Document by acting upon any notice, consent, certificate, or other instrument or writing believed by it to be genuine and signed or sent by the proper party or parties. As to any matters not expressly provided for by any Loan Document, Issuing Lender shall in all cases be fully protected in acting, or in refraining from acting, hereunder in accordance with instructions signed by the Required Lenders, and such instructions of the Required Lenders and any action taken or failure to act pursuant thereto shall be binding on all of the Lenders and the Administrative Agent; provided, however, that Issuing Lender shall not be required to take any action which Issuing Lender reasonably believes exposes it to personal liability or which Issuing Lender reasonably believes is contrary to any Loan Document or applicable law.

 

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9.12      Bailee for Perfection. Administrative Agent hereby appoints each of the other Lenders to serve as bailee to perfect Administrative Agent’s Liens in any Collateral in the possession, control or notation of any such other Lender. Each Lender possessing any Collateral agrees to so act as bailee for Administrative Agent in accordance with the terms and provisions hereof. In furtherance of the forgoing, each Lender acknowledges that certain of the Obligors may maintain Deposit Accounts constituting Collateral at one or more of the Lenders (all such accounts (other than any Deposit Account constituting Excluded Property (including, for the avoidance of doubt, any payroll or other employee wage or benefit account, tax account, including any withholding tax, sales tax or tax trust account, or escrow, fiduciary or trust account)) the “Obligor Accounts”). Each Lender agrees to hold its Obligor Accounts as bailee for Administrative Agent to perfect Administrative Agent’s Liens therein. Prior to the receipt by a Lender of a written notice of an Event of Default from Administrative Agent, the Obligors are entitled to make withdrawals from the Obligor Accounts and make deposits into all the Obligor Accounts. When a Lender has received a written notice of an Event of Default from Administrative Agent that includes a statement by Administrative Agent that it will thereafter retain exclusive control over the Obligor Accounts (or automatically upon the occurrence of an Event of Default under clause (h) or (i) of Section 8.1), (a) Administrative Agent shall be the only party entitled to make withdrawals from or otherwise give any direction with respect to the Obligor Accounts and each Lender agrees to comply with the instructions originated by Administrative Agent directing deposition of the funds in or relating to the Obligor Accounts it holds without further consent by any Obligor, and (b) each Lender shall transfer, in immediately available funds by wire transfer to the Administrative Agent, the amount of the collected funds credited to the Obligor Accounts it holds and deliver to the Administrative Agent all moneys or instruments relating thereto or held therein and any other Collateral at any time Administrative Agent demands payment or delivery thereof by such written notice to such Lender. Each Obligor agrees that each Lender is authorized to immediately deliver all such Collateral to the Administrative Agent upon the Lender’s receipt of such notice from Administrative Agent. No Lender (other than Administrative Agent acting for the benefit of the Secured Parties) shall exercise any right of set-off or banker’s lien against any Obligor Account for any obligations other than the Obligations; provided that a Lender shall be entitled to charge, or set-off against an Obligor Account and retain for its own account, any customary fees, costs, charges, and expenses owed to it in connection with the opening, operating and maintaining such Obligor Account and for the amount of any item credited to the Obligor Account that is subsequently returned for any reason.

 

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9.13      Affiliates of Lenders; Bank Product Providers. By accepting the benefits of the Loan Documents, any Affiliate of a Lender that is owed any Obligation is bound by the terms of the Loan Documents. Notwithstanding the foregoing: (a) neither Administrative Agent, any Lender, nor any Obligor shall be obligated to deliver any notice or communication required to be delivered to any Lender under any Loan Documents to any Affiliate of any Lender; and (b) no Affiliate of any Lender that is owed any Obligation shall be included in the determination of the Required Lenders or entitled to consent to, reject, or participate in any manner in any amendment, waiver or other modification of any Loan Document. Administrative Agent shall deal solely and directly with the related Lender of any such Affiliate in connection with all matters relating to the Loan Documents. The Obligation owed to such Affiliate shall be considered the Obligations of its related Lender for all purposes under the Loan Documents and such Lender shall be solely responsible to the other parties hereto for all the obligations of such Affiliate under any Loan Document. It is understood and agreed that the rights and benefits under this Agreement, the Security Documents, and the Guaranty Agreements of each Bank Product Provider, in such capacity, consist exclusively of such Bank Product Provider’s right to share in payments and collections of the Collateral and payments under the Guaranty Agreements; provided that for the avoidance of doubt, (i) obligations of the Borrowers or any Restricted Subsidiary under any Bank Product Agreement shall be secured and guaranteed pursuant to the Security Documents and Guaranty Agreements, respectively, only to the extent that, and for so long as, the other Obligations are so secured and guaranteed and (ii) any release of Collateral or any Guarantors effected in the manner permitted by this Agreement shall not require the consent of holders of obligations under Bank Product Agreements. All Bank Product Obligations shall be secured but on a silent basis, so that notwithstanding any other provision, if any, in this Agreement or any Security Document or Guaranty Agreement, no Bank Product Provider shall be able to take any action in respect of the Collateral or Guaranty Agreements nor instruct the Required Lenders or Administrative Agent to take any such action nor have any rights in connection with the management or release of any Collateral or the obligations of any Guarantor under any Guaranty Agreement. By accepting the benefits of the Collateral and the Guaranty Agreements, such Bank Product Provider shall be deemed to have appointed Administrative Agent as its agent and agreed to be bound by the Loan Documents as a Secured Party, subject to the limitations set forth in this Section 9.13; provided Administrative Agent shall not owe any fiduciary duty, duty of loyalty, duty of care, duty of disclosure, or any other obligation whatsoever to any Bank Product Provider with respect to any Bank Product Obligation. Administrative Agent shall have no duty to determine the amount or the existence of any amounts owing under any Bank Product Obligations. In connection with any such distribution of payments and collections or termination or release by Administrative Agent of any Liens or Guarantors thereunder, Administrative Agent shall be entitled to assume no amounts are due under any Bank Product Agreement unless such Bank Product Provider has notified Administrative Agent in writing of the amount of any such liability owed to it at least five Business Days prior to such distribution, termination or release.

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9.14      Erroneous Payments. Each Lender and Issuing Lender hereby agrees that (x) if the Administrative Agent notifies such Lender or Issuing Lender that the Administrative Agent has determined in its reasonable discretion that any funds received by such Lender or Issuing Lender from the Administrative Agent or any of its Affiliates (whether as a payment, prepayment or repayment of principal, interest, fees or otherwise; individually and collectively, a “Payment”) were erroneously transmitted to such Lender or Issuing Lender (whether or not known to such Lender or Issuing Lender), and demands the return of such Payment (or a portion thereof), such Lender or Issuing Lender shall promptly, but in no event later than one Business Day thereafter, return to the Administrative Agent the amount of any such Payment (or portion thereof) as to which such a demand was made in same day funds, together with interest thereon in respect of each day from and including the date such Payment (or portion thereof) was received by such Lender to the date such amount is repaid to the Administrative Agent at the greater of the NYFRB Rate and a rate determined by the Administrative Agent in accordance with banking industry rules on interbank compensation from time to time in effect, and (y) to the extent permitted by applicable law, such Lender or Issuing Lender shall not assert, and hereby waives, as to the Administrative Agent, any claim, counterclaim, defense or right of set-off or recoupment with respect to any demand, claim or counterclaim by the Administrative Agent for the return of any Payments received, including without limitation any defense based on “discharge for value” or any similar doctrine. A notice of the Administrative Agent to any Lender or Issuing Lender under this Section 9.14 shall be conclusive, absent manifest error. Each Lender and each Issuing Lender hereby further agrees that if it receives a Payment from the Administrative Agent or any of its Affiliates (x) that is in a different amount than, or on a different date from, that specified in a notice of payment sent by the Administrative Agent (or any of its Affiliates) with respect to such Payment (a “Payment Notice”) or (y) that was not preceded or accompanied by a Payment Notice, it shall be on notice, in each such case, that an error has been made with respect to such Payment. Each Lender and each Issuing Lender agrees that, in each such case, or if it otherwise becomes aware a Payment (or portion thereof) may have been sent in error, such Lender or Issuing Lender shall promptly notify the Administrative Agent of such occurrence and, upon demand from the Administrative Agent, it shall promptly, but in no event later than one Business Day thereafter, return to the Administrative Agent the amount of any such Payment (or portion thereof) as to which such a demand was made in same day funds, together with interest thereon in respect of each day from and including the date such Payment (or portion thereof) was received by such Lender or Issuing Lender to the date such amount is repaid to the Administrative Agent at the greater of the NYFRB Rate and a rate determined by the Administrative Agent in accordance with banking industry rules on interbank compensation from time to time in effect. The Borrowers and each other Obligor hereby agrees that (x) in the event an erroneous Payment (or portion thereof) are not recovered from any Lender or Issuing Lender that has received such Payment (or portion thereof) for any reason, the Administrative Agent shall be subrogated to all the rights of such Lender or Issuing Lender with respect to such amount and (y) an erroneous Payment shall not pay, prepay, repay, discharge or otherwise satisfy any Obligations owed by the Borrowers or any other Obligor, except, in each case, to the extent such Payment is, and solely with respect to the amount of such Payment that is, comprised of funds received by the Administrative Agent directly or indirectly from the Borrowers, any Obligor or any Subsidiary (and without duplication of any other claim any such Obligor or Subsidiary may have against the Administrative Agent). Each party’s obligations under this Section 9.14 shall survive the resignation or replacement of the Administrative Agent or any transfer of rights or obligations by, or the replacement of, a Lender, the termination of the Commitments or the repayment, satisfaction or discharge of all Obligations under any Loan Document. 

 

9.15      Flood Laws. JPMorgan has adopted internal policies and procedures that address requirements placed on federally regulated lenders under the National Flood Insurance Reform Act of 1994 and related legislation (the “Flood Laws”). JPMorgan, as administrative agent or collateral agent on a syndicated facility, will post on the applicable electronic platform (or otherwise distribute to each Lender in the syndicate) documents that it receives in connection with the Flood Laws. However, JPMorgan reminds each Lender and Participant in the facility that, pursuant to the Flood Laws, each federally regulated Lender (whether acting as a Lender or Participant in the facility) is responsible for assuring its own compliance with the flood insurance requirements. 

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10.          MISCELLANEOUS

 

10.1       Notices.

 

(a)      General Address for Notices. Except in the case of communications expressly permitted to be given by telephone hereunder or under any other Loan Documents, all notices and other communications (“Communications”) provided for herein or in any other Loan Document shall be in writing and shall be delivered by hand or overnight courier service, mailed by certified or registered mail or sent by telecopy or, subject to Section 10.1(b), by electronic communication, as follows:

 

(i)       if to the Borrowers, to them in care of the Borrower Representative at: 3831 Ocean Ranch Blvd, Oceanside, CA 92056; Attention: Jeff Pedersen, Chief Financial Officer; Email: [***]; Telephone: [***]; and during the existence of an Event of Default, with a copy to Kirkland & Ellis LLP, 300 North LaSalle, Chicago, IL 60654; Attention: Michelle Kilkenney; Email: [***]; Telephone: [***];

 

(ii)      if to the Administrative Agent, to it at 10 S. Dearborn St., Chicago, IL 60603; Attention: USD Servicing Account Manager, August Dunn; Facsimile: [***]; with a copy to King & Spalding LLP, 110 N. Wacker Drive,Proskauer Rose LLP, 70 West Madison, Suite 3800, Chicago, IL 6060,60602, Attention: Evan Palenschat; Email: [***]; Telephone: [***] with a copy to King & Spalding LLP, 110 N. Wacker Drive, Chicago, IL 60606, Attention: Amy Peters; Email: [***]; Telephone: [***];

 

(iii)     if to JPMorgan as Issuing Lender, to it at 10 S. Dearborn St., Chicago, IL 60603; Attention: USD Servicing Account Manager, August Dunn; Facsimile: [***];

 

(iv)     if to JPMorgan as Swingline Lender, to it at 10 S. Dearborn St., Chicago, IL 60603; Attention: USD Servicing Account Manager, August Dunn; Facsimile: [***];

 

(v)      if to a Lender (including any Lender (other than JPMorgan) in its capacity as an Issuing Lender), to it at its address (or telecopy number) set forth in its Administrative Questionnaire.

 

Notices sent by hand or overnight courier service, or mailed by certified or registered mail, shall be deemed to have been given when received. Notices sent by telecopier shall be deemed to have been given when sent (except that, if not given before or during normal business hours for the recipient, shall be deemed to have been given at the opening of business on the next Business Day). Notices delivered through electronic communications to the extent provided in Section 10.1(b), shall be effective as provided in such Section 10.1(b).

 

(b)      Electronic Communications. Communications to the Lenders under the Loan Documents may be delivered or furnished by electronic communications pursuant to procedures approved by Administrative Agent. Administrative Agent or the Borrower Representative may, in its discretion, agree to accept Communications to it under the Loan Documents by electronic communications pursuant to procedures approved by it; provided that approval of such procedures may be limited to particular Communications. Unless Administrative Agent otherwise prescribes, (i) Communications sent to an e-mail address shall be deemed received upon the sender’s receipt of an acknowledgment from the intended recipient (such as by the “return receipt requested” function, as available, return e-mail or other written acknowledgment), and (ii) Communications posted on an Internet or intranet website shall be deemed received upon the deemed receipt by the intended recipient at its e-mail address as described in clause (i) of this Section 10.1(b) notification that such Communication is available and identifying the website address thereof; provided that, for both clauses (i) and (ii) of this Section 10.1(b), if such Communication is not sent before or during the normal business hours of the recipient, such Communication shall be deemed to have been sent at the opening of business on the next Business Day.

 

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(c)      Change of Address for Notices. Any party hereto may change its address or telecopy number for, or individual designated to receive, Communications under the Loan Documents by notice to the other parties hereto (or, in the case of any such change by a Lender or Issuing Lender, by notice to the Borrower Representative and the Administrative Agent). All Communications given to any party hereto in accordance with the provisions of this Agreement shall be deemed to have been given on the date of receipt.

 

(d)      Electronic Transmission System. The Borrowers and the Lenders agree that Administrative Agent may make the Communications available to the Lenders, Issuing Lender, and the Borrowers by posting the Communications on Debt Domain, IntraLinks, SyndTrak or a substantially similar electronic transmission system or digital workspace provider (the “Platform”). THE PLATFORM IS PROVIDED “AS IS” AND “AS AVAILABLE”. THE AGENT PARTIES (AS DEFINED BELOW) DO NOT WARRANT THE ACCURACY OR COMPLETENESS OF THE COMMUNICATIONS OR THE ADEQUACY OF THE PLATFORM AND EXPRESSLY DISCLAIM LIABILITY FOR ERRORS OR OMISSIONS IN THE COMMUNICATIONS. NO WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS, IMPLIED, OR STATUTORY, INCLUDING ANY WARRANTY OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, NON-INFRINGEMENT OF THIRD PARTY RIGHTS, OR FREEDOM FROM VIRUSES OR OTHER CODE DEFECTS, IS MADE BY THE AGENT PARTIES IN CONNECTION WITH THE COMMUNICATIONS OR THE PLATFORM. IN NO EVENT SHALL ADMINISTRATIVE AGENT OR ANY OF ITS AFFILIATES OR ANY OF THEIR RELATED PARTIES (COLLECTIVELY, THE “AGENT PARTIES”) HAVE ANY LIABILITY TO THE BORROWERS, ANY LENDER, OR ANY OTHER PERSON OR ENTITY FOR DAMAGES OF ANY KIND INCLUDING DIRECT OR INDIRECT, SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, LOSSES OR EXPENSES (WHETHER IN TORT, CONTRACT, OR OTHERWISE) ARISING OUT OF THE BORROWERS’ OR ADMINISTRATIVE AGENT’S TRANSMISSION OF COMMUNICATIONS THROUGH THE INTERNET, EXCEPT TO THE EXTENT THE LIABILITY OF ANY AGENT PARTY IS FOUND IN A FINAL NON-APPEALABLE JUDGMENT BY A COURT OF COMPETENT JURISDICTION TO HAVE RESULTED FROM SUCH AGENT PARTY’S GROSS NEGLIGENCE, OR A MATERIAL BREACH OF THIS AGREEMENT BY AN AGENT PARTY, BAD FAITH OR WILLFUL MISCONDUCT; PROVIDED, HOWEVER, THAT IN NO EVENT SHALL ANY AGENT PARTY HAVE ANY LIABILITY TO ANY OBLIGOR, ANY LENDER, ISSUING LENDER, OR ANY OTHER PERSON FOR INDIRECT, SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES (AS OPPOSED TO DIRECT OR ACTUAL DAMAGES).

 

(e)      Communications through the Platform. Each Lender agrees that notice to it (as provided in the next sentence) specifying that the Communications have been posted to the Platform shall constitute effective delivery of the Communications to such Lender for purposes hereof. Each Lender agrees (i) to provide to the Administrative Agent in writing (including by electronic communication), promptly after the date of this Agreement, an e-mail address to which the foregoing notice may be sent by electronic transmission and (ii) that the foregoing notice may be sent to such e-mail address.

 

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(f)      Reliance on Notices. Administrative Agent, Issuing Lender, and the Lenders shall be entitled to rely and act upon any notices (including telephonic notices of a Borrowing) purportedly given by or on behalf of the Borrowers even if (i) such notices were not made in a manner specified herein, were incomplete or were not preceded or followed by any other form of notice specified herein, or (ii) the terms thereof, as understood by the recipient, varied from any confirmation thereof. The Borrowers shall, jointly and severally, indemnify Administrative Agent, each Issuing Lender, each Lender, and the Related Parties of each of them from all losses, costs, expenses, and liabilities resulting from the reliance by such Person on each notice purportedly given by or on behalf of the Borrowers. All telephonic notices to and other telephonic communications with Administrative Agent may be recorded by Administrative Agent, and each of the parties hereto hereby consents to such recording.

 

10.2       Waivers; Amendments.

 

(a)      No Deemed Waivers; Remedies Cumulative. No failure or delay by Administrative Agent, Issuing Lender, or any Lender in exercising any right or power hereunder or under any other Loan Document shall operate as a waiver thereof, nor shall any single or partial exercise of any such right or power, or any abandonment or discontinuance of steps to enforce such a right or power, preclude any other or further exercise thereof or the exercise of any other right or power. The rights and remedies of Administrative Agent, Issuing Lender, the Lenders, and the other Secured Parties hereunder and under the other Loan Documents are cumulative and are not exclusive of any rights or remedies that they would otherwise have. No waiver of any provision of any Loan Document or consent to any departure by any Obligor therefrom shall in any event be effective unless the same shall be permitted by Section 10.2(b), and then such waiver or consent shall be effective only in the specific instance and for the purpose for which given. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, the making of a Loan or issuance of a Letter of Credit shall not be construed as a waiver of any Default, regardless of whether Administrative Agent, any Lender, or Issuing Lender may have had notice or knowledge of such Default at the time.

 

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(b)      Amendments. Neither this Agreement, nor any other Loan Document nor any provision hereof or thereof may be waived, amended, or modified except, in the case of this Agreement, pursuant to an agreement or agreements in writing entered into by the Borrower Representative, Administrative Agent, and the Required Lenders or, in the case of any other Loan Document, pursuant to an agreement or agreements in writing entered into by Administrative Agent and the Obligor or Obligors that are parties thereto, in each case with the consent of the Required Lenders; provided that no such agreement shall (i) increase any Commitment of any Lender without the written consent of such Lender, (ii) reduce the principal amount of any Loan or LC Disbursement or reduce the rate of interest thereon, or reduce the rate of any fees due hereunder, without the written consent of each Lender directly and adversely affected thereby (but not the Required Lenders) (provided that in no event shall (A) the waiver of applicability of Section 2.12(c) (which waiver shall be effective with the written consent of the Required Lenders), or (B) any amendment or modification of defined terms used in the financial covenants in this Agreement or in determining the Applicable Margin or any reduction, deferral or waiver of any mandatory prepayment constitute a reduction in the rate of interest or a reduction of fees for purposes of this clause (ii)), (iii) postpone the scheduled date of payment of the principal amount of any Loan (excluding any payment required by Section 2.10(b)) or LC Disbursement, or any interest thereon, or any fees payable hereunder, or reduce the amount of, waive or excuse any such payment, or extend the Revolving Credit Maturity Date or the Term Loan Maturity Date, without the written consent of each Lender directly and adversely affected thereby (but not the Required Lenders), (iv) modify Section 8.2, without the written consent of each directly and adversely affected Lender (but not the Required Lenders), (v) (A) change any of the provisions of this Section or the definition of the term “Required Lenders” or any other provision hereof specifying the number or percentage of Lenders required to waive, amend or modify any rights hereunder or make any determination or grant any consent hereunder to reduce such percentage, without the written consent of each directly and adversely affected Lender (but not the Required Lenders), or (B) amend the provisions of Section 2.17(c) in a manner that would by its terms alter the pro rata sharing of payments and commitment reductions required thereby, without the prior written consent of each Lender directly and adversely affected thereby (but not the Required Lenders), (vi) contractually subordinate the payment of all the Obligations to any other Indebtedness or contractually subordinate the priority of the Liens on all or substantially all of the Collateral in favor of Administrative Agent to the Liens securing any other Funded Debt, without the written consent of each Lender directly and adversely affected thereby, it being understood that any Lender that is offered the opportunity to participate in such Funded Debt on the same terms (other than bona fide backstop, agency or arrangement fees and reimbursement of counsel fees and other expense in connection with the negotiation of the terms of such transaction) as offered to all other providers (or their affiliates) of such Funded Debt on a pro rata basis when taking into account its Loans and Commitments hereunder shall be deemed to not be directly and adversely affected by any such amendment or modification, and (vii) except as permitted by Section 6.3 and 6.4 as in effect on the Effective Date, (A) release a Borrower or release any Guarantor from any of its guarantee obligations without the written consent of each directly and adversely affected Lender or (B) release all or substantially all of the Collateral, in each case, without the written consent of each directly and adversely affected Lender; provided, however, that (A) no such agreement shall amend, modify or otherwise adversely affect the rights or duties of Administrative Agent, the Swingline Lender or the Issuing Lender hereunder without the prior written consent of Administrative Agent, the Swingline Lender or the Issuing Lender, as the case may be, and (B) the Fee Letter, the Second Amendment Fee Letter and the Second Amendment PGIM Fee Letter may be amended, or rights or privileges thereunder waived, in a writing executed only by the parties thereto. In addition, notwithstanding the foregoing, this Agreement may be amended with the written consent of the Administrative Agent, the Borrower Representative and the Lenders providing the Replacement Term Loans (as defined below) to permit the refinancing of all or a portion of the outstanding Term Loans of any Class (“Refinanced Term Loans”) with one or more tranches of replacement term loans (“Replacement Term Loans”) hereunder; provided that (1) except as otherwise permitted by Section 2.19, the aggregate principal amount of such Replacement Term Loans shall not exceed the aggregate principal amount of such Refinanced Term Loans (plus accrued interest, fees, expenses and premium), (2) the Weighted Average Life to Maturity of Replacement Term Loans shall not be shorter than the Weighted Average Life to Maturity of such Refinanced Term Loans, at the time of such refinancing (except by virtue of amortization or prepayment of the Refinanced Term Loans prior to the time of such incurrence), (3) such Replacement Term Loans shall constitute and qualify as Credit Agreement Refinancing Indebtedness and (4) all other terms applicable to such Replacement Term Loans shall be as agreed between the Borrowers and the Lenders providing such Replacement Term Loans.

 

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(c)      Partial Payment Waivers. Anything to the contrary contained herein notwithstanding, if Administrative Agent or any Lender accepts a Guarantee of only a portion of the Obligations pursuant to any Guaranty Agreement, each Borrower hereby waive its right under Section 2822(a) of the California Civil Code or any similar laws of any other applicable jurisdiction to designate the portion of the Obligations satisfied by the applicable guarantor’s partial payment.

 

10.3       Expenses; Limitation of Liability; Indemnity; Damage Waiver.

 

(a)      Costs and Expenses. The Borrowers, jointly and severally, shall pay (i) all reasonable and documented out-of-pocket expenses incurred by (x) the Administrative Agent and its Affiliates and (y) PGIM and Voya (limited to $100,000 in the aggregate in the case of PGIM and Voya), without duplication, including the reasonable fees, charges and disbursements of counsel for Administrative Agent, in connection with the syndication and distribution (including, without limitation, via the internet or through an Electronic System or Platform) of the credit facilities provided for herein, the preparation, negotiation, execution, delivery and administration of this Agreement and the other Loan Documents or any amendments, modifications or waivers of the provisions hereof or thereof (whether or not the transactions contemplated hereby or thereby shall be consummated), (ii) all reasonable and documented out-of-pocket expenses incurred by Issuing Lender 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 Administrative Agent, Issuing Lender or any Lender, including the reasonable and documented out-of-pocket fees, charges and disbursements of one primary counsel and one local counsel in each relevant, material local jurisdiction (which may be a single local counsel in each relevant, material jurisdiction) for the Administrative Agent, Issuing Lender and the Lenders, but no other advisor without the prior written consent of the Borrowers, in connection with the enforcement or protection of such Person’s rights in connection with this Agreement and the other Loan Documents or the Collateral, including its rights under this Section, or in connection with the Loans made or Letters of Credit issued hereunder, and including all such reasonable and documented out-of-pocket expenses incurred in connection with any bankruptcy or insolvency proceeding, workout, restructuring or related negotiations in respect thereof, and, in the case of an actual or perceived conflict of interest, one additional counsel for each group of similarly affected Persons taken as a whole, and (iv) all reasonable and documented out-of-pocket costs incurred by Administrative Agent in connection with any filing, registration, recording or perfection of any security interest contemplated by any Security Document or any other document referred to therein or, subject to Section 5.6, any audit, verification, inspection or appraisal of the Collateral.

 

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(b)      Limitation of Liability. To the extent permitted by applicable law (i) no Borrower shall assert, and each Borrower hereby waives, any claim against the Administrative Agent, any Issuing Lender and any Lender, and any Related Party of any of the foregoing Persons (each such Person being called a “Lender-Related Person”) for any Liabilities arising from the use by others of information or other materials (including, without limitation, any personal data) obtained through telecommunications, electronic or other information transmission systems (including the Internet), except to the extent such damages are found by a final, non-appealable judgment of a court of competent jurisdiction to arise from the willful misconduct, bad faith or gross negligence of such Lender-Related Person or a material breach of the obligations of such Lender-Related or its Affiliates under this Agreement, and (ii) no party hereto shall assert, and each such party hereby waives, any Liabilities against any other party hereto, on any theory of liability, for special, indirect, consequential, exemplary, lost anticipated profits or punitive damages (as opposed to direct or actual damages) arising out of, in connection with, or as a result of, this Agreement, any other Loan Document, or any agreement or instrument contemplated hereby or thereby, the Transactions, any Loan or Letter of Credit or the use of the proceeds thereof; provided that, nothing in this Section 10.03(b) shall relieve any Borrower of any obligation it may have to indemnify an Indemnitee, as provided in Section 10.03(c), against any special, indirect, consequential, exemplary, lost anticipated profits or punitive damages asserted against such Indemnitee by a third party.

 

(c)      Indemnification by the Borrowers. The Borrowers , jointly and severally, shall indemnify Administrative Agent, each Issuing Lender, each Lender, JPMorgan and the other Persons identified on the cover page of this Agreement in their respective separate capacities as a “Lead Arranger,” “Bookrunner” or “Documentation Agent”, and each Related Party of any of the foregoing Persons (each such Person being called an “Indemnitee”) against, and to hold each Indemnitee harmless from, any and all actual losses, claims, damages, liabilities, and related expenses, including the fees, charges, and disbursements of counsel (limited to the reasonable and documented out-of-pocket fees, disbursements and other charges of one primary counsel, one local counsel in each relevant jurisdiction, and one specialty counsel for each relevant specialty for all Indemnitees taken as a whole, and one or more additional counsel if one or more conflicts of interest, or perceived conflicts of interest arise), but no other third party advisors without the prior written consent of the Borrowers, incurred by or asserted against any Indemnitee arising out of, in connection with, or as a result of (i) the execution or delivery of this Agreement or any other Loan Document, the performance by the parties hereto of their respective obligations hereunder or thereunder or the consummation of the Transactions or any other transactions contemplated hereby or thereby, (ii) any Loan or Letter of Credit or the use or proposed use of the proceeds therefrom (including any refusal by Issuing Lender to honor a demand for payment under a Letter of Credit if the documents presented in connection with such demand do not strictly comply with the terms of such Letter of Credit), (iii) any actual or alleged presence or release of Hazardous Materials on or from any of the Mortgaged Properties or any other property owned or operated by any Obligor or any of the Subsidiaries, or any Environmental Liability related in any way to any Obligor, any of the Subsidiaries or any of the Mortgaged Properties, or (iv) any actual or prospective Proceeding relating to any of the foregoing, whether or not such Proceeding is brought by any Borrower or their respective equity holders, Affiliates, creditors or any other third Person and whether based on contract, tort, or any other theory and regardless of whether any Indemnitee is a party thereto; provided that such indemnity shall not, as to any Indemnitee, be available to the extent that such Liabilities, or related expenses are determined by a court of competent jurisdiction by final and nonappealable judgment to have (x) resulted from the gross negligence, bad faith, or willful misconduct of such Indemnitee or related party or a material breach of the obligations of such Indemnitee hereunder, or (y) arisen out of any claim, litigation, investigation or proceeding brought by such Indemnitee solely against one or more other Indemnitees (other than any claim, litigation, investigation or proceeding that is brought by or against Administrative Agent, Issuing Lender, Swingline Lender or any arranger or similar role, acting in its capacity as Administrative Agent, Issuing Lender, Swingline Lender or arranger or similar role) that does not involve any act or omission of any Obligors or any of their respective Subsidiaries or Affiliates. This Section 10.3(c) shall not apply with respect to Taxes, other than any Taxes that represent losses, claims, or damages arising from any non-Tax claim.

 

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(d)      Reimbursement by Lenders. To the extent that Obligors for any reason fail to pay any amount required to be paid by it to the Administrative Agent (or any sub-agent thereof), Issuing Lender, or Swingline Lender or any Related Party of any of the foregoing (each, an “Agent-Related Person”) under Sections 10.3(a), 10.3(b) and 10.3(c) each Lender severally agrees to pay to the Administrative Agent (or any such sub-agent), Issuing Lender, Swingline Lender, or such Related Party, as the case may be, such Lender’s Pro Rata Share (determined as of the time that the applicable unreimbursed expense or indemnity payment is sought; provided that with respect to such unpaid amounts owed to the Issuing Lender or Swingline Lender solely in its capacity as such, only the Revolving Credit Lenders shall be required to pay such unpaid amounts, such payment to be made severally among them based on such Revolving Credit Lenders’ Revolving Credit Exposure) of such unpaid amount, and agrees to indemnify and hold each Agent-Related Person harmless from and against any and all Liabilities and related expenses, including the fees, charges and disbursements of any kind whatsoever that may at any time (whether before or after the payment of the Loans) be imposed on, incurred by or asserted against such Agent-Related Person in any way relating to or arising out of the Commitments, this Agreement, any of the other Loan Documents or any documents contemplated by or referred to herein or therein or the transactions contemplated hereby or thereby or any action taken or omitted by such Agent-Related Person under or in connection with any of the foregoing; provided that the unreimbursed expense or indemnified loss, claim, damage, liability, or related expense, as the case may be, was incurred by or asserted against Administrative Agent (or any such sub-agent), Issuing Lender or Swingline Lender in its capacity as such, or against any Related Party of any of the foregoing acting for Administrative Agent (or any such sub-agent), Issuing Lender, or Swingline Lender in connection with such capacity. provided, further, that no Lender shall be liable for the payment of any portion of such Liabilities, costs, expenses or disbursements that are found by a final and non-appealable decision of a court of competent jurisdiction to have resulted primarily from such Agent-Related Person’s gross negligence or willful misconduct. The agreements in this Section shall survive the termination of this Agreement and Payment in Full of the Obligations. The obligations of the Lenders under this Section 10.3(d) are subject to the provisions of Section 2.6(c).

 

(e)      Waiver of Consequential Damages, Etc. To the extent permitted by applicable law, no Indemnitee, Obligor or any Related Party of an Obligor shall have any liability for, and no Indemnitee, Obligor or Related Party shall assert, and each Indemnitee, Obligor and Related Party hereby waives, any claim against any Indemnitee, Obligor or Related Party, on any theory of liability, for special, indirect, consequential or punitive damages (as opposed to direct or actual damages) arising out of, in connection with, or as a result of, this Agreement, any other Loan Document, the Transactions, any Loan or Letter of Credit, or the use of the proceeds thereof; provided that nothing in this sentence shall limit any Indemnitee’s, Obligor’s or Related Party’s indemnity and reimbursement obligations to the extent that such special, indirect, consequential or punitive damages are incurred or paid by an Indemnitee to a third party for which such Indemnitee is otherwise entitled to reimbursement or indemnification as set forth in Section 10.3(a) or (b).

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(f)      Payments. All amounts due under this Section shall be payable no later than 30 Business Days after written demand therefor.

 

10.4       Successors and Assigns.

 

(a)      Assignments Generally. The provisions of this Agreement shall be binding upon and inure to the benefit of the parties hereto and their respective successors and assigns permitted hereby (including any Affiliate of Issuing Lender that issues any Letter of Credit, any Affiliate of a Lender who is owed any of the Obligations and any Indemnitee), except that (i) except as otherwise permitted, no Obligor may assign or otherwise transfer any of its rights or obligations hereunder or under any other Loan Document without the prior written consent of each Lender (and any attempted assignment or transfer of any Obligor without such consent shall be null and void), and (ii) no Lender may assign or otherwise transfer any of its rights or obligations hereunder except in accordance with this Section (and any attempted assignment or transfer by any Lender that is not in accordance with this Section shall be null and void). Nothing in this Agreement, expressed or implied, shall be construed to confer upon any Person (other than the parties hereto, their respective successors and assigns permitted hereby (including any Affiliate of Issuing Lender that issues any Letter of Credit and any Affiliate of a Lender who is owed any of the Obligations, and, to the extent expressly contemplated hereby, the Related Parties of each of Administrative Agent, Issuing Lender and the Lenders)) any legal or equitable right, remedy, or claim under, or by reason, of this Agreement.

 

(b)      Assignments by Lenders Generally. Any Lender may at any time assign to one or more assignees all or a portion of its rights and obligations under this Agreement (including all or a portion of its Commitment and the Loans (including for purposes of this Section 10.4(b)), participations in LC Disbursements and in Swingline Loans) at the time owing to it; provided that any such assignment shall be subject to the following conditions:

 

(i)     Minimum Amounts.

 

(A)      in the case of an assignment of the entire remaining amount of the assigning Lender’s Commitment or Loans of any Class or contemporaneous assignments to related Funds that equal at least the amount specified in clause (B) of this Section 10.4(b)(i) in the aggregate or in the case of an assignment to a Lender, an Affiliate of a Lender or an Approved Fund, no minimum amount need be assigned; and

 

(B)      in any case not described in clause (A) of this Section 10.4(b)(i), the aggregate amount of the Commitment (which for this purpose includes Loans outstanding thereunder) or, if the Commitment is not then in effect, the Loans of the assigning Lender subject to each such assignment (determined as of the date the Assignment and Assumption with respect to such assignment is delivered to the Administrative Agent) shall not be less than $2,000,000 with multiples of $500,000 in excess thereof in the case of any assignment of Revolving Credit Loans by any Revolving Credit Lender, or $2,000,000 in the case of any assignment of Term Loans by and Term Loan Lender, unless each of Administrative Agent and, so long as no Event of Default described in clause (a), (b), (h) or (i) of Section 8.1 has occurred and is continuing, the Borrower Representative otherwise consents (each such consent not to be unreasonably withheld or delayed).

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(ii)      Proportionate Amounts. Each partial assignment of any Commitment or Class of Loans shall be made as an assignment of a proportionate part of all the assigning Lender’s rights and obligations under this Agreement in respect of such Commitment and Loans assigned, except that this Section 10.4(b)(ii) shall not (A) apply to Swingline Lender’s rights and obligations in respect of Swingline Loans or (B) prohibit any Lender from assigning all or a portion of its rights and obligations among separate Classes on a non-pro rata basis.

 

(iii)      Required Consents. No consent shall be required for any assignment except to the extent required by clause (B) of Section 10.4(b)(i) and, in addition:

 

(A)      the consent of the Borrower Representative (such consent not to be unreasonably withheld or delayed) shall be required unless (i) an Event of Default described in clause (a), (b), (h) or (i) of Section 8.1 has occurred and is continuing at the time of such assignment, or (ii) such assignment is to a Lender, an Affiliate of a Lender or an Approved Fund; provided that the Borrower Representative shall be deemed to have consented to any such assignment unless it shall object thereto by written notice to the Administrative Agent within ten (10) Business Days after having received notice thereof;

 

(B)      the consent of Administrative Agent (such consent not to be unreasonably withheld or delayed) shall be required for assignments in respect of (i) a Revolving Credit Commitment to a Person that is not a Lender with a Revolving Credit Commitment, an Affiliate of such Lender or any Approved Fund with respect to such Lender; or (ii) any Term Loans to a Person who is not a Lender, an Affiliate of such Lender or an Approved Fund with respect to such Lender; and

 

(C)      the consent of the Swingline Lender and the Issuing Lender shall be required for any assignment of a Revolving Credit Commitment.

 

(iv)    Assignment and Assumption. The parties to each assignment shall execute and deliver to the Administrative Agent an Assignment and Assumption, together with a processing and recordation fee of $3,500; provided that (i) no processing and recordation fee shall be required for any assignment by a Lender to an Affiliate or Approved Fund thereof; and (ii) in any other case, the Administrative Agent may, in its sole discretion, elect to waive such processing and recordation fee in the case of any assignment.

 

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

 

(vi)     No Assignment to Certain Persons. No such assignment shall be made to (A) a Borrower or any of a Borrower’s Affiliates or Subsidiaries (other than pursuant to clauses (g) and (h) of this Section), (B) to any Defaulting Lender or any of its Subsidiaries, or any Person who, upon becoming a Lender hereunder, would constitute any of the foregoing Persons described in this clause (B), or (C) a Person that at such time is a Disqualified Institution.

 

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

 

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(viii)      Certain Additional Payments. In connection with any assignment of rights and obligations of any Defaulting Lender hereunder, no such assignment shall be effective unless and until, in addition to the other conditions thereto set forth herein, the parties to the assignment shall make such additional payments to the Administrative Agent in an aggregate amount sufficient, upon distribution thereof as appropriate (which may be outright payment, purchases by the assignee of participations or subparticipations, or other compensating actions, including funding, with the consent of the Borrower Representative and the Administrative Agent, the applicable pro rata share of Loans previously requested but not funded by the Defaulting Lender, to each of which the applicable assignee and assignor hereby irrevocably consent), to (A) pay and satisfy in full all payment liabilities then owed by such Defaulting Lender to the Administrative Agent, each Issuing Lender, Swingline Lender and each other Lender hereunder (and interest accrued thereon), and (B) acquire (and fund as appropriate) its full pro rata share of all Loans and participations in Letters of Credit and Swingline Loans in accordance with its Pro Rata Share. Notwithstanding the foregoing, in the event that any assignment of rights and obligations of any Defaulting Lender hereunder shall become effective under applicable law without compliance with the provisions of this Section 10.4(b)(viii), then the assignee of such interest shall be deemed to be a Defaulting Lender for all purposes of this Agreement until such compliance occurs.

 

(c)      Effectiveness of Assignments. Subject to acceptance and recording thereof pursuant to Section 10.4(d), from and after the effective date specified in each Assignment and Assumption the assignee thereunder shall be a party hereto and, to the extent of the interest assigned by such Assignment and Assumption, have the rights and obligations of a Lender under this Agreement (other than an assignment to a Person that is a Disqualified Institution at such time), and the assigning Lender thereunder shall, to the extent of the interest assigned by such Assignment and Assumption, be released from its obligations under this Agreement and, in the case of an Assignment and Assumption covering all of the assigning Lender’s rights and obligations under this Agreement, such Lender shall cease to be a party hereto but shall continue to be entitled to the rights referred to in Sections 2.14, 2.15, 2.16, and 10.3 with respect to facts and circumstances occurring prior to the effective date of such assignment; provided that except to the extent otherwise expressly agreed by the affected parties, no assignment by a Defaulting Lender will constitute a waiver or release of any claim of any party hereunder arising from that Lender’s having been a Defaulting Lender. Any assignment or transfer by a Lender of rights or obligations under this Agreement that does not comply with this Section shall be treated for purposes of this Agreement as a sale by such Lender of a participation in such rights and obligations in accordance with Section 10.4(e) (other than an assignment to a Disqualified Institution).

 

(d)      Maintenance of Register by Administrative Agent. Administrative Agent, acting solely for this purpose as a non-fiduciary agent of the Borrowers, shall maintain at one of its offices in the United States a copy of each Assignment and Assumption delivered to it and a register for the recordation of the names and addresses of the Lenders, and the Commitment of, and principal amount (and stated interest) of the Loans and LC Disbursements (each, a “Registered Loan”) owing to, each Lender pursuant to the terms hereof from time to time (the “Register”). A Registered Loan may be assigned or sold in whole or in part only by registration of such assignment or sale on the Register, and any assignment or sale of all or part of such Registered Loan may be effected only by registration of such assignment or sale on the Register. The entries in the Register shall be conclusive absent manifest error, and the Borrowers, Administrative Agent, and the Lenders shall treat each Person whose name is recorded in the Register pursuant to the terms hereof as a Lender hereunder for all purposes of this Agreement, notwithstanding notice to the contrary. The Register shall be available for inspection by Borrowers and any Lender, at any reasonable time and from time to time, upon reasonable prior notice. The parties intend that all extensions of credit to the Borrowers shall at all times be treated as being in registered form within the meaning of Sections 163(f), 871(h)(2), and 881(c)(2) of the Code (and any successor provisions) and regulations thereunder and shall interpret the provisions herein regarding the Register and the Participant Register (as defined in paragraph (e) below) consistent with such intent.

 

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(e)      Participations. Any Lender may at any time, without the consent of, or notice to, the Borrower Representative, Administrative Agent, Issuing Lender or Swingline Lender, sell participations to any Person (other than a natural Person or a holding company, investment vehicle or trust for, or owned and operated for the primary benefit of, a natural Person, or the Borrowers or any of the Borrowers’ Affiliates or Subsidiaries, or a Person that at such time is a Disqualified Institution) (a “Participant”) in all or a portion of such Lender’s rights or obligations under this Agreement (including all or a portion of its Commitments or the Loans (including such Lender’s participations in LC Disbursements or Swingline Loans) owing to it); provided that (i) such Lender’s obligations under this Agreement shall remain unchanged, (ii) such Lender shall remain solely responsible to the other parties hereto for the performance of such obligations, (iii) such participation shall not increase the obligations of any Obligor under any Loan Document, except as contemplated below, and (iv) the Borrowers, Administrative Agent, Issuing Lender, Swingline Lender, and the other Lenders shall continue to deal solely and directly with such Lender in connection with such Lender’s rights and obligations under this Agreement. For the avoidance of doubt, each Lender shall be responsible for the indemnity under Section 10.3(d) with respect to any payments made by such Lender to its Participants. Any agreement or instrument pursuant to which a Lender sells such a participation shall provide that such Lender shall retain the sole right to enforce this Agreement and to approve any amendment, modification, or waiver of any provision of the Loan Documents; provided that such agreement or instrument may provide that such Lender will not, without the consent of the Participant, agree to any amendment, modification, or waiver described in the first proviso to Section 10.2(b) that directly and adversely affects such Participant. The Borrowers agree that each Participant shall be entitled to the benefits of Sections 2.14, 2.15, and 2.16, (subject to the requirements and limitations therein, including the requirements under Section 2.16(g) (it being understood that the documentation required under Section 2.16(g) 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 Section 10.4(b); provided that such Participant (1) agrees to be subject to the provisions of Section 2.18 as if it were an assignee under Section 10.4(b); and (2) shall not be entitled to receive any greater payment under Sections 2.14 and 2.16, with respect to any participation, than its participating Lender would have been entitled to receive, except to the extent such entitlement to receive a greater payment results from a Change in Law that occurs after the Participant acquired the applicable participation. Each Lender that sells a participation agrees, at the Borrowers’ request and expense, to use reasonable efforts to cooperate with the Borrowers to effectuate the provisions of Section 2.18 with respect to any Participant. To the extent permitted by law, each Participant also shall be entitled to the benefits of Section 10.8 as though it were a Lender; provided that such Participant agrees to be subject to Section 2.17(d). Each Lender that sells a participation shall, acting solely for this purpose as a non-fiduciary agent of the 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 the Loan Documents (the “Participant Register”); provided that no Lender shall have any obligation to disclose all or any portion of the Participant Register (including the identity of any Participant or any information relating to a Participant’s interest in any Commitment, Loan, Letter of Credit or its other obligations under any Loan Document) to any Person except to the extent that such disclosure is necessary to establish that such Commitment, Loan, Letter of Credit, or other obligation is in registered form under Section 5f.103-1(c) of the United States Treasury Regulations. The entries in the Participant Register shall be conclusive absent manifest error, and such Lender shall treat each Person whose name is recorded in the Participant Register as the owner of such participation for all purposes of this Agreement notwithstanding any notice to the contrary. For the avoidance of doubt, Administrative Agent (in its capacity as Administrative Agent) shall have no responsibility for maintaining a Participant Register.

 

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(f)      Certain Pledges. Any Lender may at any time pledge or assign a security interest in all or any portion of its rights under this Agreement to secure obligations of such Lender, including any pledge or assignment to secure obligations to a Federal Reserve Bank (or other central bank under any central banking system established under the jurisdiction or organization of such Lender (or its parent 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 and no pledge may be made to a Person that is a Disqualified Institution at such time.

 

(g)      Assignments to Sponsor-Controlled Affiliated Lenders. Any Lender may, at any time, without any consent, assign all or a portion of its rights and obligations with respect to Term Loans (but not, for the avoidance of doubt, any Revolving Credit Loans or Revolving Credit Commitments) under this Agreement to a Person who is or will become, after such assignment, a Sponsor-Controlled Affiliated Lender (without any consent of any Person but subject to acknowledgment by the Administrative Agent (which acknowledgement shall be provided promptly after request therefor)) through (x) Dutch auctions open to all Lenders on a pro rata basis or (y) open market purchases on a non-pro rata basis, in each case subject to the following limitations:

 

(i)      no assignment of Term Loans to a Sponsor-Controlled Affiliated Lender may be purchased with the proceeds of any Revolving Credit Loan or Swing Line Loan;

 

(ii)     the assigning Lender and the Sponsor-Controlled Affiliated Lender purchasing such Lender’s Term Loans shall execute and deliver to the Administrative Agent an assignment agreement substantially in the form of Exhibit C hereto (a “Sponsor-Controlled Affiliated Lender Assignment and Assumption”);

 

(iii)    Sponsor-Controlled Affiliated Lenders (A) will not receive information provided to Lenders by the Administrative Agent or any Lender and that is not also provided to the Borrowers, including through access to electronic information maintained on the Platform, other than the right to receive notices of prepayments and other administrative notices in respect of its Loans or Commitments required to be delivered to Lenders pursuant to Section 2, (B) will not be permitted to attend or participate in conference calls or meetings attended by the Lenders and the Administrative Agent that the Borrowers are also not attending, and (C) will not receive advice of counsel to the Administrative Agent and the Lenders;

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(iv)        in connection with each assignment pursuant to this Section 10.4(g), the assigning Lender and the Sponsor-Controlled Affiliated Lender purchasing such Lender’s Term Loans may render customary “big boy” letters to each other regarding information that is not known to such assigning Lender that may be material to the decision by such assigning Lender to enter into such assignment to such Sponsor-Controlled Affiliated Lender and no Sponsor-Controlled Affiliated Lender purchasing any Term Loans shall be required to make a representation that it is not in possession of Material Non-Public Information with respect to Holdings, the Borrowers and their Subsidiaries or their respective securities;

 

(v)        the aggregate principal amount of Term Loans (as of the date of consummation of any transaction under this Section 10.4(g)) held at any one time by all Sponsor-Controlled Affiliated Lenders shall not exceed 25% of the then outstanding principal amount of all Term Loans; provided that in addition to the foregoing, the amount of Incremental Term Loans assigned to Sponsor-Controlled Affiliated Lenders pursuant to this Section 10.4(g) shall not exceed 25% of the then outstanding principal amount of all Incremental Loans, in the aggregate for all Sponsor-Controlled Affiliated Lenders (such percentage, the “Sponsor-Controlled Affiliated Lender Cap”); and

 

(vi)       except with respect to any amendment, modification, waiver, consent or other action (I) in Section 10.4 requiring the consent of all Lenders, all Lenders directly and adversely affected or specifically such Lender, (II) that alters a Sponsor-Controlled Affiliated Lender’s pro rata share of any payments given to all Lenders, or (III) affects the Sponsor-Controlled Affiliated Lender (in its capacity as a Lender) in a manner that is disproportionate to the effect on any Lender in the same Class, the Loans held by a Sponsor-Controlled Affiliated Lender shall be disregarded in both the numerator and denominator in the calculation of any Lender vote (and, in the case of a plan of reorganization that does not adversely affect the Sponsor-Controlled Affiliated Lender in a manner that is adverse to such Sponsor-Controlled Affiliated Lender relative to other Lenders, shall be deemed to have voted its interest in the Term Loans in the same proportion as the other Lenders in the same Class) in the same percentage as all other applicable Lenders voted if necessary to give legal effect to this paragraph) (but, in any event, in connection with any amendment, modification, waiver, consent or other action, shall be entitled to any consent fee, calculated as if all of such Sponsor-Controlled Affiliated Lender’s Loans had voted in favor of any matter for which a consent fee or similar payment is offered).

 

(vii)      Each Sponsor-Controlled Affiliated Lender agrees to notify the Administrative Agent promptly (and in any event within 5 Business Days) if it acquires any Person who is also a Lender, and each Lender agrees to notify the Administrative Agent promptly (and in any event within 5 Business Days) if it becomes a Sponsor-Controlled Affiliated Lender.

 

(viii)     Each Lender participating in any assignment to Sponsor-Controlled Affiliated Lenders acknowledges and agrees that in connection with such assignment, (1) the Sponsor-Controlled Affiliated Lenders then may have, and later may come into possession of Excluded Information, (2) such Lender has independently and, without reliance on the Sponsor-Controlled Affiliated Lenders or any of their Subsidiaries, Holdings, the Borrower or any of their Subsidiaries, the Administrative Agent or any other Agent-Related Persons, has made its own analysis and determination to participate in such assignment notwithstanding such Lender’s lack of knowledge of the Excluded Information, (3) none of the Sponsor-Controlled Affiliated Lenders or any of their Subsidiaries, Holdings, the Borrower or their respective Subsidiaries, the Administrative Agent or any other Agent-Related Persons shall have any liability to such Lender, and such Lender hereby waives and releases, to the extent permitted by law, any claims such Lender may have against the Sponsor-Controlled Affiliated Lenders and any of their Subsidiaries, Holdings, the Borrowers and their respective Subsidiaries, the Administrative Agent and any other Agent-Related Persons, under applicable laws or otherwise, with respect to the nondisclosure of the Excluded Information and (4) that information regarding the Borrowers, the Sponsor, their respective affiliates not known to such Lender and that may be material to a decision by such Lender to participate in such prepayment (including Material Non-Public Information) may not be available to the Administrative Agent or the other Lenders.

 

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(ix)        Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in the Loan Documents, any Term Loans or Incremental Term Loans assigned to a Sponsor-Controlled Affiliated Lender in accordance with this Section 10.4(g) may be contributed to Holdings or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries and be exchanged for equity securities (other than Disqualified Equity Interests) of any Borrower (or any of its direct or indirect parent) to the extent otherwise permitted herein.

 

(h)      Debt Fund Affiliates. Any Lender may, at any time, assign all or a portion of its rights and obligations with respect to Term Loans under this Agreement to a Person who is or will become, after such assignment, a Debt Fund Affiliate. Notwithstanding anything in Section 10.2 or the definition of “Required Lenders” to the contrary, for purposes of determining whether the Required Lenders have (i) consented (or not consented) to any amendment, modification, waiver, consent or other action with respect to any of the terms of any Loan Document or any departure by any Obligor therefrom, (ii) otherwise acted on any matter related to any Loan Document or (iii) directed or required the Administrative Agent or any Lender to undertake any action (or refrain from taking any action) with respect to or under any Loan Document, all Term Loans held by Debt Fund Affiliates may not account for more than 49.9% (pro rata among such Debt Fund Affiliates) of the Term Loans of consenting Lenders included in determining whether the Required Lenders have consented to any action pursuant to Section 10.4. For the avoidance of doubt, assignments to Debt Fund Affiliates under this Section 10.4(h) shall not be subject to any restrictions set forth in Section 10.4(g).

 

10.5       Survival. All covenants, agreements, certifications, representations and warranties made by the Borrowers or any other Obligor herein or in the other Loan Documents and in the certificates or other instruments delivered in connection with or pursuant to this Agreement or the other Loan Documents shall be considered to have been relied upon by the other parties hereto and shall survive the execution and delivery of this Agreement and the other Loan Documents and the making of any Loans and issuance of any Letters of Credit, regardless of any investigation made by any such other party or on its behalf and notwithstanding that Administrative Agent, Issuing Lender, or any Lender may have had notice or knowledge of any Default or incorrect certification, representation, or warranty at the time any credit is extended hereunder, and shall continue in full force and effect until the Full Satisfaction of the Obligations. The provisions of Sections 2.14, 2.15, 2.16, 10.3, and 10.18 shall survive and remain in full force and effect regardless of the consummation of the transactions contemplated hereby, the termination of the Loan Documents and payment of the Obligations hereunder, or the expiration or termination of the Letters of Credit and the Commitments.

 

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10.6      Counterparts; Integration; Effectiveness. This Agreement may be executed in counterparts (and by different parties hereto on different counterparts), each of which shall constitute an original, but all of which when taken together shall constitute a single contract. This Agreement and the other Loan Documents constitute the entire contract between and among the parties relating to the subject matter hereof and supersede any and all previous agreements and understandings, oral or written, relating to the subject matter hereof. Except as provided in Section 4.1, this Agreement shall become effective when it shall have been executed by Administrative Agent and when Administrative Agent shall have received counterparts hereof which, when taken together, bear the signatures of each of the other parties hereto, and thereafter shall be binding upon and inure to the benefit of the parties hereto and their respective successors and assigns permitted hereby. Delivery of an executed counterpart of a signature page of this Agreement by facsimile or in electronic (i.e., “pdf” or “tif”) format shall be effective as delivery of a manually executed counterpart of this Agreement. The words “execution,” “signed,” “signature,” and words of like import in this Agreement or any Loan Document shall be deemed to include electronic signatures or the keeping of records in electronic form, each of which shall be of the same legal effect, validity or enforceability as a manually executed signature or the use of a paper-based recordkeeping system, as the case may be, to the extent and as provided for in any applicable law, including the Federal Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act, the New York State Electronic Signatures and Records Act, or any other similar state laws based on the Uniform Electronic Transactions Act.

 

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

 

10.8      Right of Setoff. If an Event of Default shall have occurred and be continuing, each Lender, Issuing Lender, and each of their respective Affiliates is hereby authorized at any time and from time to time, to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, to set off and apply any and all deposits (general or special, time or demand, provisional or final, in whatever currency) (other than escrow, payroll, employee health and benefits, pension, fiduciary, 401(K), petty cash, trust and tax accounts) at any time held, and other obligations (in whatever currency) at any time owing, by such Lender, Issuing Lender or any such Affiliate, to or for the credit or the account of the Borrowers or any other Obligor against any and all of the obligations of the Borrowers or any other Obligor now or hereafter existing under this Agreement or any other Loan Document to such Lender or Issuing Lender or their respective Affiliates, irrespective of whether or not such Lender, Issuing Lender or Affiliate shall have made any demand under this Agreement or any other Loan Document and although such obligations of the Borrowers or such Obligor may be contingent or unmatured or are owed to a branch, office or Affiliate of such Lender or Issuing Lender different from the branch, office or Affiliate holding such deposit or obligated on such indebtedness; provided that in the event that any Defaulting Lender shall exercise any such right of setoff, (a) all amounts so set off shall be paid over immediately to the Administrative Agent for further application in accordance with the provisions of Section 2.21 and, pending such payment, shall be segregated by such Defaulting Lender from its other funds and deemed held in trust for the benefit of Administrative Agent, Issuing Lender, and the Lenders, and (b) the Defaulting Lender shall provide promptly to the Administrative Agent a statement describing in reasonable detail the Obligations owing to such Defaulting Lender as to which it exercised such right of setoff. The rights of each Lender, Issuing Lender, and their respective Affiliates under this Section are in addition to other rights and remedies (including other rights of setoff) that such Lender, Issuing Lender, or their respective Affiliates may have. Each Lender and Issuing Lender agrees to notify the Borrower Representative and the Administrative Agent promptly after any such setoff and application and share such set-off pursuant to Section 2.17(d); provided that the failure to give such notice shall not affect the validity of such setoff and application.

 

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10.9       Governing Law; Jurisdiction; Etc.

 

(a)      Governing Law. This Agreement and the other Loan Documents (other than those containing a contrary express choice of law provision) shall be construed in accordance with, and this Agreement, the other Loan Documents and all matters arising out of or relating in any way whatsoever to the Loan Documents (whether in contract, tort or otherwise) shall be governed by, the law of the State of New York, other than those conflict of law provisions that would defer to the substantive laws of another jurisdiction. This governing law election has been made by the parties in reliance (at least in part) on Section 5-1401 of the General Obligation Law of the State of New York, as amended (as and to the extent applicable), and other applicable law.

 

(b)      Submission to Jurisdiction. Each Obligor, the Administrative Agent, any Lender, any Issuing Lender, or any Related Party hereby irrevocably and unconditionally agrees that it shall not commence any action, litigation or proceeding of any kind or description, whether in law or equity, whether in contract or in tort or otherwise, against any Obligor, the Administrative Agent, any Lender, any Issuing Lender, or any Related Party of the foregoing in any way relating to this Agreement or any other Loan Document or the transactions relating hereto or thereto, in any forum other than the Supreme Court of the State of New York sitting in New York County and of the United States District Court of the Southern District of New York, and any appellate court from any thereof, and each of the parties hereto and each other Obligor hereby irrevocably and unconditionally irrevocably and unconditionally submits to the jurisdiction of such courts and agrees that all claims in respect of any such action, litigation or proceeding may be heard and determined in such New York State court or, to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, in such federal court. Each of the parties hereto agrees that a final judgment in any such action or proceeding shall be conclusive and may be enforced in other jurisdictions by suit on the judgment or in any other manner provided by law. Nothing in this Agreement or in any other Loan Document shall affect any right that Administrative Agent, Issuing Lender, or any Lender may otherwise have to bring any action or proceeding relating to any Loan Document against any Obligor or its properties in the courts of any jurisdiction.

 

(c)      Waiver of Venue. Each party hereto hereby irrevocably and unconditionally waives, to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, any objection that it may now or hereafter have to the laying of venue of any suit, action or proceeding arising out of or relating to any Loan Document in any court referred to in this Section 10.9(b). Each of the parties hereto hereby irrevocably waives, to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, the defense of an inconvenient forum to the maintenance of such action or proceeding in any such court.

 

(d)      Service of Process. Each party hereto irrevocably consents to service of process in the manner provided for notices in Section 10.1. Nothing in this Agreement will affect the right of any party to this Agreement to serve process in any other manner permitted by applicable law. 

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

 

10.11Treatment of Certain Information; Confidentiality.

 

(a)      Confidentiality. Each of Administrative Agent, the Lenders and Issuing Lender agree to maintain the confidentiality of the Information (as defined below), except that Information may be disclosed (i) to its Affiliates and to its Related Parties (it being understood that the Persons to whom such disclosure is made will be informed of the confidential nature of such Information and instructed to keep such Information confidential and to use such Information subject to such Person’s internal regulatory and/or ethical obligations regarding the same); (ii) to the extent required or requested by any regulatory authority purporting to have jurisdiction over such Person or its Related Parties (including any self-regulatory authority, such as the National Association of Insurance Commissioners or any listing authority or stock exchange); (iii) to the extent required by applicable laws or regulations or by any subpoena or similar legal process; provided that prompt written notice to the Borrower Representative shall be provided to the extent not prohibited by applicable laws or regulations; (iv) to any other party hereto; (v) in connection with the exercise of any remedies hereunder or under any other Loan Document or any suit, action or proceeding relating to this Agreement or any other Loan Document or the enforcement of rights hereunder or thereunder; (vi) subject to an agreement containing provisions substantially the same as those of this Section, to (A) any assignee of or Participant in, or any prospective assignee (other than any Disqualified Institution) of or Participant in, any of its rights and obligations under this Agreement or any pledgee under Section 10.4(f), or (B) any actual or prospective party (or its Related Parties) to any swap, derivative or other transaction under which payments are to be made by reference to the Borrowers and their obligations, this Agreement or payments hereunder; (vii) to holders of Equity Interests in any Borrower, (viii) to any Person providing a Guarantee of all or any portion of the Obligations, (ix) on a confidential basis to (A) any rating agency in connection with rating Obligors or their Subsidiaries or the credit facilities under this Agreement or (B) the CUSIP Service Bureau or any similar agency in connection with the issuance and monitoring of CUSIP numbers with respect to this Agreements; (x) with the consent of the Borrower Representative; or (xi) to the extent such Information (A) becomes publicly available other than as a result of a breach of this Section, or (B) becomes available to the Administrative Agent, any Lender, Issuing Lender or any of their respective Affiliates on a nonconfidential basis from a source other than the Obligors that is not to the knowledge (after due inquiry) of the receiving party in violation of any confidentiality restriction. For purposes of this Section, “Information” means all information received from the Obligors or any of their Subsidiaries and/or its Related Parties or representatives relating to the Obligors or any of their Subsidiaries or any of their respective businesses, other than any such information that is available to the Administrative Agent, any Lender or Issuing Lender on a nonconfidential basis prior to disclosure by the Borrowers and other than information pertaining to this Agreement provided by arrangers to data service providers, including league table providers, that serve the lending industry; provided that, in the case of information received from the Borrowers after the date hereof, such information is clearly identified at the time of delivery as confidential. Any Person required to maintain the confidentiality of Information as provided in this Section shall be considered to have complied with its obligation to do so if such Person has exercised the same degree of care to maintain the confidentiality of such Information as such Person would accord to its own confidential information.

 

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(b)      Independence of Covenants. All covenants and other agreements contained in this Agreement or any other Loan Document shall be given independent effect so that, if a particular action or condition is not permitted by any of such covenants or other agreements, the fact that such action or condition would be permitted by an exception to, or otherwise be within the limitations of, another covenant or other agreement shall not avoid the occurrence of a Default if such action is taken or such condition exists.

 

10.12     Interest Rate Limitation. Notwithstanding anything herein to the contrary, if at any time the interest rate applicable to any Loan, together with all fees, charges or other amounts that are treated as interest on such Loan under applicable law (collectively the “Charges”), shall exceed the maximum lawful rate (the “Maximum Rate”) that may be contracted for, charged, taken, received, or reserved by the Lender holding such Loan in accordance with applicable law, the rate of interest payable in respect to such Loan hereunder, together with all Charges payable in respect thereof, shall be limited to the Maximum Rate and, to the extent lawful, the interest and Charges that would have been payable in respect of such Loan but were not payable as a result of the operation of this Section shall be cumulated and the interest and Charges payable to such Lender in respect of other Loans or periods shall be increased (but not above the Maximum Rate therefore) until such cumulated amount, shall have been received by such Lender. If Administrative Agent or any Lender shall receive interest in an amount that exceeds the Maximum Rate, the excess interest shall be applied to the principal of the Loans or, if it exceeds such unpaid principal, refunded to the Borrowers.

 

10.13     USA Patriot Act. Each of Administrative Agent, Issuing Lender, and each Lender subject to the USA Patriot Act hereby notifies each Obligor that pursuant to the requirements of the USA Patriot Act, it is required to obtain, verify, and record information that identifies each Obligor and other information that will allow Administrative Agent, such Lender, and Issuing Lender to identify each Obligor in accordance with the USA Patriot Act. The Borrowers hereby agree to provide, and cause each other Obligor to provide, such information promptly upon the request of Administrative Agent or any Lender. Each Lender subject to the USA Patriot Act acknowledges and agrees that neither such Lender, nor any of its Affiliates, participants or assignees, may rely on Administrative Agent 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 Obligor, its Affiliates or its agents, this Agreement, the Loan Documents or the transactions hereunder or contemplated hereby: (a) any identity verification procedures, (b) any record-keeping, (c) comparisons with government lists, (d) customer notices, or (e) other procedures required under the CIP Regulations or such other law. 

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10.14     Press Release and Related Matters. No party hereto shall, and no party hereto shall permit any of its Affiliates to, issue any press release or other public disclosure using the name, logo or otherwise referring to any party hereto or any of their respective Affiliates, the Loan Documents or any transaction contemplated therein without the prior consent of a Borrower, Administrative Agent, or any applicable Lender, as the case may be, except to the extent required to do so under applicable law and then, in any event, such party hereto will advise Borrowers or Administrative Agent, as the case may be, as soon as possible with respect to such press release or other public disclosure.

 

10.15     No Duty. All attorneys, accountants, appraisers, and other professional Persons and consultants retained by Administrative Agent or any Lender shall have the right to act exclusively in the interest of Administrative Agent and the Lenders and shall have no duty of disclosure, duty of loyalty, duty of care, or other duty or obligation of any type or nature whatsoever to the Borrowers, any holders of Equity Interests of any Obligor, or any other Person.

 

10.16     No Fiduciary Relationship. The relationship between the Borrowers and the other Obligors on the one hand and the Administrative Agent, Issuing Lender, Swingline Lender, each Lender, the Lead Arranger, or any Person listed as a joint bookrunner or documentation agent on the cover page hereof on the other is solely that of debtor and creditor, and no Administrative Agent, Lender, Lead Arranger, or any Person listed as a joint bookrunner or documentation agent on the cover page hereof has any fiduciary, advisory, agency or other special relationship with Borrowers or any other Obligors, and no term or condition of any of the Loan Documents shall be construed so as to deem the relationship between the Borrowers and the other Obligors on the one hand and the Administrative Agent, Issuing Lender, Swingline Lender, each Lender, Lead Arranger, or any Person listed as a joint bookrunner or documentation agent on the cover page hereof on the other to be other than that of debtor and creditor. To the fullest extent permitted by law, each Borrower hereby waives and releases any claims that it may have against any of the Administrative Agent, the Issuing Lender, the Swingline Lender, the Lenders, the Lead Arranger, or any Person listed as a joint bookrunner or documentation agent on the cover page hereof with respect to any breach or alleged breach of agency or fiduciary duty in connection with any aspect of any transaction contemplated hereby.

 

10.17     Construction. The Borrowers, each other Obligor (by its execution of the Loan Documents to which it is a party), Administrative Agent and each Lender acknowledges that each of them has had the benefit of legal counsel of its own choice and has been afforded an opportunity to review the Loan Documents with its legal counsel and that the Loan Documents shall be construed as if jointly drafted by the parties thereto. Section headings and the Table of Contents used herein are for convenience of reference only, are not part of this Agreement and shall not affect the construction of, or be taken into consideration in interpreting, this Agreement.

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10.18      Payments Set Aside.     To the extent that any payment by or on behalf of any Obligor under any Loan Document is made to the Administrative Agent, Issuing Lender or any Lender, or Administrative Agent, Issuing Lender or any Lender exercises its right of setoff as to any Obligor, and such payment or the proceeds of such setoff or any part thereof is subsequently invalidated, declared to be fraudulent or preferential, set aside or required (including pursuant to any settlement entered into by Administrative Agent, Issuing Lender or such Lender in its discretion) to be repaid to a trustee, receiver or any other party, in connection with any proceeding under any Debtor Relief Laws or otherwise, then (a) to the extent of such recovery, the obligation or part thereof originally intended to be satisfied shall be revived and continued in full force and effect as if such payment had not been made or such setoff had not occurred, and (b)   each Lender and each Issuing Lender severally agrees to pay to the Administrative Agent upon demand its Pro Rata Share of any amount so recovered from or repaid by Administrative Agent, plus interest thereon from the date of such demand to the date such payment is made at a rate per annum equal to the Federal Funds Effective Rate from time to time in effect.

 

10.19      Benefits of Agreement.     The Loan Documents are entered into for the sole protection and benefit of the parties hereto and their permitted successors and assigns, and no other Person (other than any Related Parties of Administrative Agent, the Lenders, Issuing Lender and any Participants to the extent provided for in Section 10.4(e)) shall be a direct or indirect beneficiary of, or shall have any direct or indirect cause of action or claim in connection with, any Loan Document.

 

10.20      Acknowledgement and Consent to Bail-In of EEA Financial Institutions.     Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in any Loan Document or in any other agreement, arrangement or understanding among any such parties, each party hereto acknowledges that any liability of any Affected Financial Institution arising under any Loan Document may be subject to the Write-Down and Conversion Powers of the applicable Resolution Authority and agrees and consents to, and acknowledges and agrees to be bound by:

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

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10.21      Keepwell.    Each Qualified ECP Guarantor hereby jointly and severally absolutely, unconditionally, and irrevocably undertakes to provide such funds or other support as may be needed from time to time by each other Obligor to honor all of its obligations under this Agreement in respect of Swap Obligations (provided, however, that each Qualified ECP Guarantor shall only be liable under this Section 10.21 for the maximum amount of such liability that can be hereby incurred without rendering its obligations under this Section 10.21, or otherwise under this Agreement, voidable under applicable law relating to fraudulent conveyance or fraudulent transfer, and not for any greater amount). The obligations of each Qualified ECP Guarantor under this Section shall remain in full force and effect until Full Satisfaction of the Obligations. Each Qualified ECP Guarantor intends that this Section 10.21 constitute, and this Section 10.21 shall be deemed to constitute, a “keepwell, support, or other agreement” for the benefit of each other obligor for all purposes of Section 1a(18)(A)(v)(II) of the Commodity Exchange Act.

 

10.22      Designation of Additional Borrowers.    From time to time, the Borrowers may designate a Restricted Subsidiary incorporated, formed or otherwise organized in the United States to the Administrative Agent as a joint and several additional Borrower under the Loans and such party shall become a party to this Agreement pursuant to a joinder agreement reasonably satisfactory to the Administrative Agent; provided that the Borrower Representative shall have delivered (a) a joinder to this Agreement and the Security Agreement by such new Borrower, and such other Loan Documents as may be required by Section 5.8 or Section 5.9 with respect thereto, (b) a customary written opinion (addressed to the Administrative Agent and the Lenders) of counsel to such new Borrower regarding the Loan Documents consistent with the opinion delivered on the Effective Date, (c) such documents and certificates as Administrative Agent may reasonably request relating to the organization, existence and good standing of such new Borrower consistent with those delivered by the Borrower Representative on the Effective Date, (d) to each of the Lenders, all documents, certificates, and other information relating to the additional Borrower and its Subsidiaries that have been reasonably requested by the Administrative Agent or any Lender relating to the additional Borrower required by applicable regulatory authorities under applicable “know your customer” and anti-money laundering rules and regulations, including, without limitation, those imposed by the PATRIOT Act, and, for any additional Borrower that qualifies as a “legal entity customer” under the Beneficial Ownership Regulation, a Beneficial Ownership Certification in relation to such Borrower, and (e) such other assurances, certificates, documents, consents, or opinions as Administrative Agent or any Lender (through Administrative Agent) may reasonably request. Each Borrower shall be jointly and severally liable with respect to all Obligations.

 

10.23Joint and Several Obligations.

 

(a)           All Obligations shall constitute joint and several obligations of the Borrowers. Each Borrower expressly represents and acknowledges that it is part of a common enterprise with the other Borrower and that any financial accommodations by Administrative Agent, the Lenders, Issuing Lender, and Swingline Lender, or any of them, to any other Borrower hereunder and under the other Loan Documents are and will be of direct and indirect interest, benefit and advantage to all of the Borrowers. Each Borrower acknowledges that any notice of Borrowing or any other notice given by the Borrower Representative to the Administrative Agent, the Lenders, Issuing Lender or Swingline Lender shall bind all of the Borrowers, and that any notice given by Administrative Agent, the Lenders, Issuing Lender or Swingline Lender to the Borrower Representative shall be effective with respect to all of the Borrowers. Each Borrower acknowledges and agrees that each Borrower shall be liable, on a joint and several basis, for all of the Loans and other Obligations, regardless of which such Person actually may have received the proceeds of any of the Loans or other extensions of credit or the amount of such Loans or other extensions of credit received or the manner in which Administrative Agent, the Lenders, Issuing Lender or Swingline Lender accounts among the Borrowers for such Loans or other Obligations on its books and records, and further acknowledges and agrees that Loans and other extensions of credit to any Borrower inure to the mutual benefit of all of the Borrowers and that Administrative Agent, the Lenders, Issuing Lender, and Swingline Lender are relying on the joint and several liability of the Borrowers in extending the Loans and other financial accommodations under the Loan Documents and Bank Product Agreements; provided, that notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this Section, no Borrower shall be liable for any Swap Obligation incurred by an Obligor other than such Borrower, to the extent such Swap Obligation would constitute Excluded Swap Obligations with respect to such Borrower at such time.

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(b)           Each Borrower shall be entitled to subrogation and contribution rights from and against the other Borrower to the extent such Person is required to pay to the Administrative Agent, the Lenders, Issuing Lender or Swingline Lender any amount in excess of the Loans advanced directly to, or other Obligations incurred directly by, such Person or as otherwise available under applicable law; provided, however, that such subrogation and contribution rights are and shall be subject to the terms and conditions of Section 10.23(c) and 10.23(d).

 

(c)           It is the intent of each Borrower, Administrative Agent, the Lenders, Issuing Lender, Swingline Lender and any other Person holding any of the Obligations that the maximum obligations of each Borrower hereunder (such Person’s “Maximum Borrower Liability”) in any case or proceeding referred to below (but only in such a case or proceeding) shall not be in excess of:

 

(i)             in a case or proceeding commenced by or against such Person under the Bankruptcy Code on or within one year from the date on which any of the Obligations of such Person are incurred, the maximum amount that would not otherwise cause the Obligations of such Person hereunder (or any other Obligations of such Person to the Administrative Agent, the Lenders, Issuing Lender, Swingline Lender and any other Person holding any of the Obligations) to be avoidable or unenforceable against such Person under (A) Section 548 of the Bankruptcy Code or (B) any state fraudulent transfer or fraudulent conveyance act or statute applied in such case or proceeding by virtue of Section 544 of the Bankruptcy Code; or

 

(ii)           in a case or proceeding commenced by or against such Person under the Bankruptcy Code subsequent to one year from the date on which any of the Obligations of such Person are incurred, the maximum amount that would not otherwise cause the Obligations of such Person hereunder (or any other Obligations of such Person to the Administrative Agent, the Lenders, Issuing Lender, Swingline Lender and any other Person holding any of the Obligations) to be avoidable or unenforceable against such Person under any state fraudulent transfer or fraudulent conveyance act or statute applied in any such case or proceeding by virtue of Section 544 of the Bankruptcy Code; or

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(iii)           in a case or proceeding commenced by or against such Person under any law, statute or regulation other than the Bankruptcy Code relating to dissolution, liquidation, conservatorship, bankruptcy, moratorium, readjustment of debt, compromise, rearrangement, receivership, insolvency, reorganization or similar debtor relief from time to time in effect affecting the rights of creditors generally (collectively, “Other Debtor Relief Law”), the maximum amount that would not otherwise cause the Obligations of such Person hereunder (or any other Obligations of such Person to the Administrative Agent, the Lenders, Issuing Lender, Swingline Lender and any other Person holding any of the Obligations) to be avoidable or unenforceable against such Person under such Other Debtor Relief Law, including, without limitation, any state fraudulent transfer or fraudulent conveyance act or statute applied in any such case or proceeding. (The substantive state or federal laws under which the possible avoidance or unenforceability of the Obligations of any Borrower hereunder (or any other Obligations of such Person to the Administrative Agent, the Lenders, Issuing Lender, Swingline Lender and any other Person holding any of the Obligations) shall be determined in any such case or proceeding shall hereinafter be referred to as the “Avoidance Provisions”).

 

Notwithstanding the foregoing, no provision of this Section 10.23(c) shall limit the liability of any Borrower for loans advanced directly or indirectly to it under this Agreement.

 

(d)           To the extent set forth in Section 10.23(c), but only to the extent that the Obligations of any Borrower hereunder would otherwise be subject to avoidance under any Avoidance Provisions if such Person is not deemed to have received valuable consideration, fair value, fair consideration or reasonably equivalent value for such transfers or obligations, or if such transfers or obligations of any Borrower hereunder would render such Person insolvent, or leave such Person with an unreasonably small capital or unreasonably small assets to conduct its business, or cause such Person to have incurred debts (or to have intended to have incurred debts) beyond its ability to pay such debts as they mature, in each case as of the time any of the obligations of such Person are deemed to have been incurred and transfers made under such Avoidance Provisions, then the obligations of such Person hereunder shall be reduced to that amount which, after giving effect thereto, would not cause the Obligations of such Person hereunder (or any other Obligations of such Person to the Administrative Agent, the Lenders, Issuing Lender, Swingline Lender and any other Person holding any of the Obligations), as so reduced, to be subject to avoidance under such Avoidance Provisions. This Section 10.23(d) is intended solely to preserve the rights hereunder of Administrative Agent, the Lenders, Issuing Lender, Swingline Lender and any other Person holding any of the Obligations to the maximum extent that would not cause the obligations of the Borrowers hereunder to be subject to avoidance under any Avoidance Provisions, and none of the Borrowers nor any other Person shall have any right, defense, offset, or claim under this Section 10.23(d) as against Administrative Agent, the Lenders, Issuing Lender, Swingline Lender and any other Person holding any of the Obligations that would not otherwise be available to such Person under the Avoidance Provisions.

 

(e)           Each Borrower agrees that the Obligations may at any time and from time to time exceed the Maximum Borrower Liability of such Person, and may exceed the aggregate Maximum Borrower Liability of all of the Borrowers hereunder, without impairing this Agreement or any provision contained herein or affecting the rights and remedies of Administrative Agent, the Lenders, Issuing Lender, and Swingline Lender hereunder.

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(f)            In the event any Borrower (a “Funding Borrower”) shall make any payment or payments under this Agreement or shall suffer any loss as a result of any realization upon any collateral granted by it to secure its obligations hereunder, each other Borrower (each, a “Contributing Borrower”) shall contribute to such Funding Borrower an amount equal to such payment or payments made, or losses suffered, by such Funding Borrower determined as of the date on which such payment or loss was made multiplied by the ratio of (i) the Maximum Borrower Liability of such Contributing Borrower (without giving effect to any right to receive any contribution or other obligation to make any contribution hereunder), to (ii) the aggregate Maximum Borrower Liability of all of the Borrowers (including the Funding Borrowers) hereunder (without giving effect to any right to receive, or obligation to make, any contribution hereunder). Nothing in this Section 10.23(f) shall affect the joint and several liability of any Borrower to the Administrative Agent, the Lenders, Issuing Lender, and Swingline Lender for the entire amount of its Obligations. Each Borrower covenants and agrees that its right to receive any contribution hereunder from a Contributing Borrower shall be subordinate and junior in right of payment to all obligations of the Borrowers to the Administrative Agent, the Lenders, Issuing Lender, and Swingline Lender hereunder.

 

(g)           No Borrower will exercise any rights which it may acquire by way of subrogation hereunder or under any other Loan Document or at law by any payment made hereunder or otherwise, nor shall any Borrower seek or be entitled to seek any contribution or reimbursement from any other Borrower in respect of payments made by such Person hereunder or under any other Loan Document, until all amounts owing to the Administrative Agent, the Lenders, Issuing Lender, and Swingline Lender on account of the Obligations are paid in full in cash. If any amounts shall be paid to any Borrower on account of such subrogation or contribution rights at any time when all of the Obligations shall not have been paid in full, such amount shall be held by such Person in trust for Administrative Agent, the Lenders, Issuing Lender, and Swingline Lender, segregated from other funds of such Person, and shall, forthwith upon receipt by such Person, be turned over to the Administrative Agent in the exact form received by such Person (duly endorsed by such Person to the Administrative Agent, if required), to be applied against the Obligations, whether matured or unmatured, as provided for herein.

 

10.24     Acknowledgement Regarding Any Supported QFCs.      To the extent that the Loan Documents provide support, through a guarantee or otherwise, for Hedging Agreements or any other agreement or instrument that is a QFC (such support, “QFC Credit Support” and each such QFC a “Supported QFC”), the parties acknowledge and agree as follows with respect to the resolution power of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation under the Federal Deposit Insurance Act and Title II of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (together with the regulations promulgated thereunder, the “U.S. Special Resolution Regimes”) in respect of such Supported QFC and QFC Credit Support (with the provisions below applicable notwithstanding that the Loan Documents and any Supported QFC may in fact be stated to be governed by the laws of the State of New York and/or of the United States or any other state of the United States):

 

(a)           In the event a Covered Entity that is party to a Supported QFC (each, a “Covered Party”) becomes subject to a proceeding under a U.S. Special Resolution Regime, the transfer of such Supported QFC and the benefit of such QFC Credit Support (and any interest and obligation in or under such Supported QFC and such QFC Credit Support, and any rights in property securing such Supported QFC or such QFC Credit Support) from such Covered Party will be effective to the same extent as the transfer would be effective under the U.S. Special Resolution Regime if the Supported QFC and such QFC Credit Support (and any such interest, obligation and rights in property) were governed by the laws of the United States or a state of the United States. In the event a Covered Party or a BHC Act Affiliate of a Covered Party becomes subject to a proceeding under a U.S. Special Resolution Regime, Default Rights under the Loan Documents that might otherwise apply to such Supported QFC or any QFC Credit Support that may be exercised against such Covered Party are permitted to be exercised to no greater extent than such Default Rights could be exercised under the U.S. Special Resolution Regime if the Supported QFC and the Loan Documents were governed by the laws of the United States or a state of the United States. Without limitation of the foregoing, it is understood and agreed that rights and remedies of the parties with respect to a Defaulting Lender shall in no event affect the rights of any Covered Party with respect to a Supported QFC or any QFC Credit Support.

 

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(b)          As used in this Section 10.24, the following terms have the following meanings:

 

“BHC Act Affiliate” of a party means an “affiliate” (as such term is defined under, and interpreted in accordance with, 12 U.S.C. 1841(k)) of such party.

 

“Covered Entity” means any of the following:

 

(i)          a “covered entity” as that term is defined in, and interpreted in accordance with, 12 C.F.R. § 252.82(b);

 

(ii)         a “covered bank” as that term is defined in, and interpreted in accordance with, 12 C.F.R. § 47.3(b); or

 

(iii)        a “covered FSI” as that term is defined in, and interpreted in accordance with, 12 C.F.R. § 382.2(b).

 

“Default Right” has the meaning assigned to that term in, and shall be interpreted in accordance with, 12 C.F.R. §§ 252.81, 47.2 or 382.1, as applicable.

 

“QFC” has the meaning assigned to the term “qualified financial contract” in, and shall be interpreted in accordance with, 12 U.S.C. 5390(c)(8)(D).

 

10.25     Assumption of Obligations.     Immediately following consummation of the Merger on the Effective Date, the Borrower hereby expressly, unconditionally and irrevocably assumes all Obligations of the Initial Borrower under this Agreement and the other Loan Documents as fully as if the Borrower was originally the Initial Borrower, and the Borrower expressly, unconditionally and irrevocably agrees to pay, perform and discharge such Indebtedness and Obligations in accordance with the terms of this Agreement and the other Loan Documents and otherwise be liable for such Indebtedness and to perform and discharge all of the Obligations and any and all covenants and other obligations under this Agreement and the other Loan Documents, and the Borrower will become a “Borrower” for all purposes under this Agreement and the other Loan Documents, and, following the completion of such assumption, the Indebtedness and Obligations of the Initial Borrower as a Borrower hereunder and under the other Loan Documents shall be automatically and irrevocably released (the assumption described in this Section 10.25, the “Effective Date Assumption”).

 

11.THE BORROWER REPRESENTATIVE.

 

11.1        Appointment; Nature of Relationship.     Suja Merger Sub, LLC, prior to the consummation of the Merger, and Suja life, LLC, after the consummation of the Merger and after giving effect to the Effective Date Assumption, is hereby appointed by each of the Borrowers as its contractual representative (herein referred to as the “Borrower Representative”) hereunder and under each other Loan Document, and each of the Borrowers irrevocably authorizes the Borrower Representative to act as the contractual representative of such Borrower with the rights and duties expressly set forth herein and in the other Loan Documents. The Borrower Representative agrees to act as such contractual representative upon the express conditions contained in this Article XI. The Administrative Agent and the Lenders, and their respective officers, directors, agents or employees, shall not be liable to the Borrower Representative or any Borrower for any action taken or omitted to be taken by the Borrower Representative or the Borrowers pursuant to this Section 11.01.

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11.2        Powers.    The Borrower Representative shall have and may exercise such powers under the Loan Documents as are specifically delegated to the Borrower Representative by the terms of each thereof, together with such powers as are reasonably incidental thereto. The Borrower Representative shall have no implied duties to the Borrowers, or any obligation to the Lenders to take any action thereunder except any action specifically provided by the Loan Documents to be taken by the Borrower Representative.

 

11.3        Employment of Agents.      The Borrower Representative may execute any of its duties as the Borrower Representative hereunder and under any other Loan Document by or through authorized officers.

 

11.4       Successor Borrower Representative.     Upon the prior written consent of the Administrative Agent (such consent not to be unreasonably withheld, denied, delayed or conditioned), the Borrower Representative may resign at any time, such resignation to be effective upon the appointment of a successor Borrower Representative. The Administrative Agent shall give prompt written notice of such resignation to the Lenders.

 

11.5        Execution of Loan Documents.     The Borrowers hereby empower and authorize the Borrower Representative, on behalf of the Borrowers, to execute and deliver to the Administrative Agent and the Lenders the Loan Documents and all related agreements, certificates, documents, or instruments as shall be necessary or appropriate to effect the purposes of the Loan Documents, including, without limitation, the Compliance Certificates. Each Borrower agrees that any action taken by the Borrower Representative or the Borrowers in accordance with the terms of this Agreement or the other Loan Documents, and the exercise by the Borrower Representative of its powers set forth therein or herein, together with such other powers that are reasonably incidental thereto, shall be binding upon all of the Borrowers.

 

[remainder of this page intentionally left blank]

214

 

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, each of the parties hereto has caused this Agreement to be duly executed and delivered by its officer or officers thereunto duly authorized as of the date first above written.

 

INITIAL BORROWER:

PRIOR TO GIVING EFFECT TO THE MERGER AND THE EFFECTIVE  DATE ASSUMPTION

 

SUJA MERGER SUB, LLC

   
  By:  
     
  Name:
  Title:
     
BORROWER:

AFTER GIVING EFFECT TO THE MERGER AND THE EFFECTIVE  DATE ASSUMPTION

 

SUJA LIFE, LLC

   
  By:  
     
  Name: 
  Title: 
     
HOLDINGS: SUJA LIFE INTERMEDIATE II, LLC
   
  By:  
     
    Name:
    Title:

 

 

signature page to Credit Agreement

 

 

 

ADMINISTRATIVE AGENT AND ISSUING LENDER: JPMORGAN CHASE BANK, N.A., as Administrative Agent
   
  By:  
    Name:
    Title

 

[LENDER SIGNATURES ON FILE WITH ADMINISTRATIVE AGENT]

   

signature page to Credit Agreement

 

 

 

ANNEX B

 

(see attached)

 

 

 

 

EXHIBIT 2.3

 

FORM OF

BORROWING REQUEST

 

(See Attached)

 

 

 

 

BORROWING REQUEST

 

                              , 20                   

 

JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., in its capacity as Administrative Agent

10 S Dearborn St,

Chicago, IL 60603 

Attn: August Dunn, Client Services Specialist

Fax: [***] 

Email: [***]; [***]

 

Ladies and Gentlemen:

 

The undersigned, SUJA LIFE, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company (“Borrower”; together with each Restricted Subsidiary of Holdings from time to time party to the Credit Agreement (as defined below) designated as an additional Borrower pursuant to Section 10.22 thereof, each, individually, a “Borrower ”, and collectively, “Borrowers”), refer to that certain Credit Agreement dated as of August 23, 2021 (as amended, restated, supplemented, extended or otherwise modified from time to time, the “Credit Agreement”) by and among Borrowers, the LENDERS, and JPMORGAN CHASE BANK, N.A., in its capacity as administrative agent (the “Administrative Agent”). Capitalized terms used herein and not otherwise defined herein shall have the meanings assigned to such terms in the Credit Agreement. 

 

 

The Borrower Representative hereby gives you notice that the Borrowers request a Borrowing pursuant to the provisions of Section 2.3 of the Credit Agreement, and in connection therewith sets forth below the terms on which such Loan is requested to be made:

 

(A) Type of Borrowing   (Check One)  
           
      Term Loan        
      Revolving Credit Loan        
               
(B) Date of Borrowing2        
             
(C) Aggregate principal amount of Borrowing3        
             
(D) Interest rate basis   (Check One)  
           
      Term Benchmark Loan        
      Base Rate Loan        
               
(E) Interest Period and the last day thereof4    

[month (s)]; ending on

 
           , 20                 
         
(F) Location and number of Borrower’s accounts or,      
  in connection with the initial Borrowings on the      
  Effective Date, Person to which funds are to be      
  disbursed:      

 

[Remainder of Page Intentionally Left Blank]

 


2Must be a Business Day.

3Must be a minimum of $1,000,000 if a Term Benchmark Loan or a larger multiple of $100,000 in excess thereof. Must be a minimum of $1,000,000 if a Term Benchmark Loan or a larger multiple of $100,000 in excess thereof (other than a Swingline Loan Borrowing or a Base Rate Borrowing on the Effective Date) provided that a Base Rate Borrowing may be in an aggregate amount that is equal to the entire unused balance of the total Commitments of the applicable Class or that is required to (i) finance the amount of the reimbursement of an LC Disbursement as contemplated by Section 2.5 of the Credit Agreement or (ii) acquire participations in Swingline Loans pursuant to Section 2.4(c) of the Credit Agreement.

4For Term Benchmark Loans only.

 

 

Borrowers hereby represent, and upon acceptance of any or all of the Loans made in response to this request, Borrowers shall be deemed to have represented and warranted, that the conditions to lending specified in Sections 4.2(a), (b) and (c) of the Credit Agreement have been satisfied.

 

  Very truly yours,
       
BORROWER REPRESENTATIVE: SUJA LIFE, LLC
       
  By:    
    Name:  
    Title:  
       

 

BORROWING REQUEST

 

 

 

EXHIBIT 2.7

 

FORM OF

INTEREST ELECTION REQUEST

 

(See Attached)

 

 

 

INTEREST ELECTION REQUEST

 

                              , 20                   

 

JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., in its capacity as Administrative Agent

10 S Dearborn St,

Chicago, IL 60603

Attn: August Dunn, Client Services Specialist

Fax: [***] 

Email: [***]; [***]

 

Ladies and Gentlemen:

 

The undersigned, SUJA LIFE, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company (“Borrower”; together with each Restricted Subsidiary of Holdings from time to time party to the Credit Agreement (as defined below) designated as an additional Borrower pursuant to Section 10.22 thereof, each, individually, a “Borrower ”, and collectively, “Borrowers”), refer to that certain Credit Agreement dated as of August 23, 2021 (as amended, restated, supplemented, extended or otherwise modified from time to time, the “Credit Agreement”) by and among Borrowers, the LENDERS, and JPMORGAN CHASE BANK, N.A., in its capacity as administrative agent (the “Administrative Agent”). Capitalized terms used herein and not otherwise defined herein shall have the meanings assigned to such terms in the Credit Agreement. 

 

 

The Borrower Representative hereby gives you notice pursuant to the provisions of Section 2.7 of the Credit Agreement, that the Borrowers request an extension or conversion of a Revolving Credit Loan or a portion of a Term Loan outstanding under the Credit Agreement and in connection therewith sets forth below the terms on which such extension or conversion is requested to be made:

 

(A) Type of Loan to be extended or converted   (Check One)  
  Revolving Credit Loan      
         
      Base Rate Loan        
      Term        
               
  Benchmark Loan        
           
    Term Loan        
         
      Base Rate Loan        
      Term Benchmark Loan        
               
(B) Date of extension or conversion1        
               
(C) Aggregate principal amount of extension or conversion2        
               
(D) Interest rate basis for Loan as extended or converted   (Check One)    
               
      Base Rate Loan        
      Term Benchmark Loan        
             
(E) Interest Period and the last day thereof3     month (s); ending on  
            , 20                

  

[Remainder of Page Intentionally Left Blank]

 


1Must be a Business Day.

2Must be a minimum of $1,000,000 if a Term Benchmark Loan and $1,000,000 increments in excess thereof, and $1,000,000 if a Base Rate Loan and $100,000 increments in excess thereof, provided that a Base Rate Borrowing may be in an aggregate amount that is equal to the entire unused balance of the total Commitments of the applicable Class or that is required to (i) finance the amount of the reimbursement of an LC Disbursement as contemplated by Section 2.5 of the Credit Agreement or (ii) acquire participations in Swingline Loans pursuant to Section 2.4(c) of the Credit Agreement.

3For Term Benchmark Loans only.

 

 

  Very truly yours,
   
  BORROWER REPRESENTATIVE:
       
SUJA LIFE, LLC
       
  By:    
    Name:  
    Title:  
       

 

Interest Election Request

 

 

 

EXHIBIT 2.19-2

 

FORM OF

NOTICE OF INCREMENTAL TERM LOAN BORROWING

 

(See Attached)

 

 

 

NOTICE OF INCREMENTAL TERM LOAN BORROWING

 

                              , 20                   

 

JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., in its capacity as Administrative Agent

10 S Dearborn St,

Chicago, IL 60603 

Attn: August Dunn, Client Services Specialist

Fax: [***] 

Email: [***]; [***]

 

Ladies and Gentlemen:

 

The undersigned, SUJA LIFE, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company (“Borrower”; together with each Restricted Subsidiary of Holdings from time to time party to the Credit Agreement (as defined below) designated as an additional Borrower pursuant to Section 10.22 thereof, each, individually, a “Borrower ”, and collectively, “Borrowers”), refer to that certain Credit Agreement dated as of August 23, 2021 (as amended, restated, supplemented, extended or otherwise modified from time to time, the “Credit Agreement”) by and among Borrowers, the LENDERS, and JPMORGAN CHASE BANK, N.A., in its capacity as administrative agent (the “Administrative Agent”). Capitalized terms used herein and not otherwise defined herein shall have the meanings assigned to such terms in the Credit Agreement.

 

The Borrower Representative hereby gives you notice pursuant to Section 2.19(a) of the Credit Agreement, that the Borrowers hereby request a Tranche of Incremental Term Loans under the Credit Agreement, and in connection therewith sets forth below the terms relating to such Tranche of Incremental Term Loans (the “Proposed Borrowing”), as required by Section 2.19(a) of the Credit Agreement:

 

1.         The Tranche of Incremental Term Loans to be borrowed is in an aggregate principal amount of $[                ]1.

 

2.         The advance date of the proposed Incremental Term Loans comprising such Tranche is [         , 20  ].

 

3.         All Incremental Term Loans comprising such Tranche shall accrue interest at a per annum rate equal to the Adjusted Term SOFR Rate plus an Applicable Margin of [      ]% for Term Benchmark Borrowings, and the Base Rate plus an Applicable Margin of [         ]% for Base Rate Borrowings, with such interest payable as set forth in the Credit Agreement.

 


1Incremental Term Loans shall be at least $1,000,000 and in integral multiples of $1,000,000 in excess thereof (provided that such amounts may be less if representing all remaining availability under the limit set forth in the Credit Agreement).

 

 

4.       The maturity date of the Incremental Term Loans comprising such Tranche is [                ].

 

5.       Borrower shall repay the principal amount of the Incremental Term Loans comprising such Tranche (with such payments being applied to all Incremental Term Loans comprising such Tranche on a pro rata basis) on the principal payment dates below as follows:

 

Principal Payment Date Amount of Installment
[                              , 20                        ] $ [                          ]
[                              , 20                        ] $ [                          ]
Term Loan Maturity Date $ [                          ]

 

6.       Borrowers hereby request that the proceeds of the Incremental Term Loans made pursuant to this notice be wired to the following account: [insert wire information].

 

7.       The Tranche of Incremental Term Loans advanced in connection with the Proposed Borrowing shall be identified as Tranche No. [   ].

 

1

 

[Remainder of Page Intentionally Left Blank]

 


1No need to include this here, it will be documented in the applicable incremental amendment/fee letter.

 

 

  Very truly yours,  
         
  SUJA LIFE LLC, as Borrower Representative  
         
  By:      
    Name:    
    Title:    
         

Notice of Incremental Term Loan Borrowing

 

Exhibit 10.4

 

THIRD AMENDMENT TO CREDIT AGREEMENT

 

THIS THIRD AMENDMENT TO CREDIT AGREEMENT (this “Amendment”) is made and entered into as of October 31, 2024, by and among Suja Life, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company (the “Borrower Representative”), Suja Life Intermediate II, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company (“Holdings”), the other Guarantors party hereto, the Lenders (as hereinafter defined) that are parties to this Amendment and JPMORGAN CHASE BANK, N.A., as administrative agent for the Lenders (in such capacity, the “Administrative Agent”).

 

W I T N E S S E T H:

 

WHEREAS, the Borrowers (as defined therein), Holdings, the other Guarantors, the several banks and other financial institutions that are parties thereto (the “Lenders”) and the Administrative Agent are parties to a certain Credit Agreement, dated as of August 23, 2021 (as amended by that certain (i) First Amendment to Credit Agreement dated as of December 8, 2021, (ii) Second Amendment to Credit Agreement dated as of October 11, 2022, (iii) this Amendment and, as otherwise amended, restated, amended and restated, supplemented or otherwise modified from time to time, the “Credit Agreement” and as in effect prior to giving effect to this Amendment, the “Existing Credit Agreement”; capitalized terms used herein and not otherwise defined shall have the meanings assigned to such terms in the Credit Agreement), pursuant to which the Lenders have made certain financial accommodations available to the Borrowers;

  

WHEREAS, the Borrower Representative has requested that (i) all of the Initial Term Loans and Second Amendment Term Loans be amended to extend the scheduled maturity date of such Term Loans and (ii) all of the Revolving Credit Commitments and Revolving Credit Loans be amended to extend the scheduled maturity date of such Revolving Credit Commitments and Revolving Credit Loans, and this Amendment serves as a Term Loan Extension Request as provided in accordance with Section 2.23(a) of the Credit Agreement and a Revolving Credit Loan Extension Request as provided in accordance with Section 2.23(b) of the Credit Agreement, and any notice required to be provided by the Borrower Representative in accordance with Section 2.23(c) of the Credit Agreement is deemed waived with respect to such Extension Requests;

 

WHEREAS, the Borrower Representative has requested (i) additional term loans on the Third Amendment Effective Date in an aggregate principal amount equal to $112,035,000 (the “Third Amendment Term Loan Commitments” and the additional term loans to be made pursuant thereto, the “Third Amendment Term Loans”) and (ii) an increase in the aggregate amount of the Revolving Credit Commitments in an aggregate principal amount of $15,000,000 (the “Third Amendment Revolver Increase” and the Incremental Revolving Credit Commitments provided in accordance with the Third Amendment Revolver Increase, the “Third Amendment Revolving Credit Commitments”), and this Amendment serves as a Notice of Incremental Term Loan Borrowing and a Notice of Incremental Revolving Credit Commitment, in each case, as provided in accordance with Section 2.19(a) of the Credit Agreement, and any notice required to be provided to Administrative Agent in accordance with Section 2.19(b) of the Credit Agreement is deemed waived with respect to such Incremental Facility Notices;

 

 

 

 

WHEREAS, the Lenders set forth on Schedule I attached hereto have agreed to amend (x) their respective Initial Term Loans and Second Amendment Term Loans, as applicable, into Extended Term Loans (as defined in the Credit Agreement) (any such lender, an “Extending Term Loan Lender”) and (y) their Revolving Credit Commitments and Revolving Credit Loans, as applicable, into Extended Revolving Credit Commitments and Extended Revolving Credit Loans (in each case as defined in the Credit Agreement) (any such lender, an “Extending Revolving Credit Lender”), in each case, in the amount set forth opposite such Lender’s name on Schedule I hereto.

 

WHEREAS, the lenders set forth on Schedule II attached hereto have elected to provide (x) Third Amendment Term Loan Commitments (any such lender providing a Third Amendment Term Loan Commitment, a “Third Amendment Term Loan Lender”) and (y) Third Amendment Revolving Credit Commitments (any such lender providing a Third Amendment Revolving Credit Commitment, a “Third Amendment Revolving Credit Lender” and together with the Third Amendment Term Loan Lenders, the “Third Amendment Lenders”), in each case, in the amount set forth opposite such Lender’s name on Schedule II hereto. For the avoidance of doubt, each Third Amendment Lender not already constituting a “Lender” under the Credit Agreement, shall constitute a “Lender” under the Credit Agreement upon the effectiveness of this Amendment and all Third Amendment Lenders already constituting Lenders prior to making the Third Amendment Term Loans or providing the Third Amendment Revolving Credit Commitments, as applicable, shall continue to constitute Lenders under the Credit Agreement, in each case in the amount set forth opposite such Lender’s name on Schedule II hereto, and each Third Amendment Revolving Credit Lender shall be a “Revolving Credit Lender” and shall have all the rights and obligations of a Revolving Credit Lender holding a Revolving Credit Commitment immediately prior to the Third Amendment Effective Date (an “Existing Revolving Credit Lender”);

 

WHEREAS, Voya Investment Management Co. LLC has assigned (i) $19,450,000.00 of Initial Term Loans, (ii) $6,877,500.01 of Second Amendment Term Loans ((i) and (ii) collectively, the “Assigned Term Amounts”) and (iii) $10,000,000.00 of Revolving Commitments (the “Assigned Revolving Amounts”) to PGIM, Inc. pursuant to that certain Assignment and Assumption Agreement, dated as of October 31, 2024, by and among Voya Investment Management Co. LLC and PGIM, Inc.;

 

WHEREAS, the Borrower Representative has requested that the Lenders and the Administrative Agent amend certain provisions of the Credit Agreement, and subject to the terms and conditions hereof, the Lenders are willing to do so;

 

NOW, THEREFORE, for good and valuable consideration, the sufficiency and receipt of all of which are acknowledged, the Borrower Representative, Holdings, the Lenders party hereto (which constitute the Lenders and all Third Amendment Lenders) and the Administrative Agent agree as follows:

 

1.             Extended Term Loans, Extended Revolving Credit Commitments and Extended Revolving Credit Loans. On the Third Amendment Effective Date, subject to the terms and conditions set forth herein, for all purposes of the Loan Documents, (a) each Initial Term Loan and Second Amendment Term Loan shall constitute an “Extended Term Loan” and (b) each Revolving Credit Commitment and Revolving Credit Loan shall constitute an “Extended Revolving Credit Commitment” and an “Extended Revolving Credit Loan”, respectively.

 

2 

 

 

2.Third Amendment Term Loans and Third Amendment Revolver Increase.

 

(a)          The Borrower Representative confirms and agrees that it has requested the Third Amendment Term Loan Commitments, the Third Amendment Term Loans to be made pursuant thereto and the Third Amendment Revolving Credit Commitments, and (x)   the Third Amendment Term Loan Commitments shall be deemed to be Term Loan Commitments to make Term Loans on the same terms as the Term Loans funded on the Effective Date except as otherwise set forth in the Credit Agreement and (y) the Third Amendment Revolving Credit Commitments shall be deemed to be Revolving Credit Commitments to make Revolving Credit Loans on the same terms as the Revolving Credit Commitments established on the Effective Date.

 

(b)          Each Third Amendment Lender agrees severally and not jointly (i) that upon the effectiveness of this Amendment on the Third Amendment Effective Date and at all times thereafter, such Third Amendment Lender will be bound (or continue to be bound, as applicable) by the provisions of the Credit Agreement and the other Loan Documents and shall perform all of the obligations and have all of the rights of a Lender thereunder, (ii)(x) to provide the Third Amendment Term Loan Commitment or Third Amendment Revolving Credit Commitment, as applicable, in the aggregate principal amount equal to the amount set forth opposite its name on Schedule II hereto and (y) to make the Third Amendment Term Loan on the Third Amendment Effective Date in the aggregate principal amount equal to the amount of its Third Amendment Term Loan Commitment, and, in each case, when made, such Third Amendment Term Loans shall be added to and constitute a part of the outstanding Term Loans under the Credit Agreement.

 

(c)          On the Third Amendment Effective Date, (A) subject to the terms and conditions set forth herein, for all purposes of the Loan Documents, each Third Amendment Revolving Credit Commitment shall constitute a “Revolving Credit Commitment” and (B) subject to the satisfaction or waiver of the conditions in Section 4, each of the Existing Revolving Lenders shall automatically and without further action be deemed to have assigned to each relevant Third Amendment Revolving Credit Lender, and each relevant Third Amendment Revolving Credit Lender shall automatically and without further action be deemed to have purchased and assumed, a portion of such Existing Revolving Lender’s participations under the Credit Agreement in outstanding Letters of Credit, so that after giving effect to each such deemed assignment and assumption and participation, the aggregate outstanding participations under the Credit Agreement in such Letters of Credit will be held by Lenders (including each such Third Amendment Revolving Credit Lender) ratably in accordance with their respective Revolving Credit Commitments after giving effect to this Amendment and (ii) each of the Existing Revolving Lenders shall assign, and each other Existing Revolving Lender and/or Third Amendment Revolving Credit Lender shall purchase and assume, at the principal amount thereof, such interests in the Revolving Credit Loans outstanding on the Third Amendment Effective Date as shall be necessary in order that, after giving effect to all such assignments and assumptions, the Revolving Credit Loans will be held by Revolving Credit Lenders (including each such Third Amendment Revolving Credit Lender) ratably in accordance with their respective Revolving Credit Commitments after giving effect to this Third Amendment. The assignments and assumptions contemplated by clause (ii) of the preceding sentence shall be made through the Administrative Agent in accordance with the Administrative Agent’s instructions to each Revolving Credit Lender and each Revolving Credit Lender hereby authorizes the Administrative Agent to take any actions as may be necessary or advisable to give effect to the reallocation of Revolving Credit Loans contemplated thereby.

 

3 

 

 

(d)          The Third Amendment Term Loans shall be made as a single borrowing, with an initial Interest Period of one month ending on November 30, 2024.

 

(e)          The Third Amendment Term Loans and Third Amendment Revolving Credit Commitments shall be deemed to be incurred pursuant to Section 2.19(b)(ii)(A) of the Credit Agreement notwithstanding the conditions of such section.

 

3.           Amendments. Upon satisfaction of the conditions set forth in Section 4 hereof, (a)   the Existing Credit Agreement is hereby amended to (x) delete the stricken red text (indicated textually in the same manner as the following examples: stricken text and stricken text), and (y) to add the double-underlined blue text (indicated textually in the same manner as the following examples: double-underlined text and double-underlined text), in each case, as set forth in the marked copy of the Credit Agreement attached as Annex A hereto and (b) Schedule 1.1(a) of the Existing Credit Agreement is hereby amended and restated in its entirety as set forth on Annex B hereto.

 

4.           Conditions to Effectiveness of this Amendment. Notwithstanding any other provision of this Amendment and without affecting in any manner the rights of the Lenders hereunder, it is understood and agreed that this Amendment shall not become effective, and none of the Borrowers nor any other Obligor shall have any rights under this Amendment, until the Administrative Agent shall have received the following (such date, the “Third Amendment Effective Date”):

 

(a)executed counterparts (i) to this Amendment from the Borrowers, each other Obligor, the Administrative Agent, each Third Amendment Lender and each Lender, (ii) that certain Fee Letter, dated as of the date hereof (the “Third Amendment Fee Letter”) executed by the Borrower Representative, the Administrative Agent and (iii) that certain OID and Fee Letter, dated as of the date hereof (the “Third Amendment PGIM Fee Letter”) executed by the Borrower Representative, PGIM, Inc.;

 

(b)payment of the fees due pursuant to the Third Amendment Fee Letter, the Third Amendment PGIM Fee Letter and any other unpaid fees or invoiced expenses in accordance with Section 10.3 of the Credit Agreement;

 

4 

 

 

(c)a certificate signed by a Responsible Officer of the Borrower Representative certifying as to the satisfaction of the following conditions:

 

i.no Event of Default shall have occurred and be continuing or shall result, in each case, after giving effect to this Amendment and the Borrowing of the Third Amendment Term Loans; and

 

ii.the representations and warranties set forth herein and in the Loan Documents shall be true and correct in all material respects (unless any such representation or warranty is qualified as to materiality or Material Adverse Effect, in which case such representation and warranty shall be true and correct in all respects) on and as of the Third Amendment Effective Date, both before and immediately after giving effect thereto, except to the extent that such representations and warranties specifically refer to an earlier date, in which case they shall be true and correct in all material respects (unless any such representation or warranty is qualified as to materiality or Material Adverse Effect, in which case such representation and warranty shall be true and correct in all respects) as of such earlier date.

 

(d)a solvency certificate from the chief executive officer, chief financial officer or other officer with equivalent duties of the Borrower Representative substantially in the form of Exhibit 4.1 to the Credit Agreement;

 

(e)a duly executed Borrowing Request;

 

(f)a customary legal opinion (addressed to the Administrative Agent, the Lenders and Issuing Lender and dated as of the Third Amendment Effective Date) of Kirkland & Ellis LLP, counsel the Obligors;

 

(g)at least three (3) business days prior to the Third Amendment Effective Date all documentation and other information about the Obligors and their subsidiaries that shall have been reasonably requested by the Administrative Agent at least ten (10) business days prior to the Third Amendment Effective Date and that the Administrative Agent reasonably determine is required by applicable regulatory authorities under applicable “know your customer” and anti-money laundering rules and regulations, including, without limitation, the PATRIOT Act; and

 

(h)such documents and certificates as Administrative Agent may reasonably request relating to the organization, existence and good standing of each Obligor as of the Third Amendment Effective Date, the authorization of the transactions contemplated hereby, the identity, authority and capacity of each Responsible Officer authorized to act on behalf of an Obligor in connection with the Loan Documents, this Agreement, or the other Loan Documents.

 

5 

 

 

5.             Representations and Warranties. Each of the Obligors represents and warrants on the date hereof (with each representation and warranty being deemed in effect after giving effect to the transactions contemplated hereby) to the Administrative Agent, the Lenders, and Issuing Lender that:

 

(a)           such Obligor is (i) duly organized, validly existing, and, if applicable in its jurisdiction of organization, in good standing or the equivalent status under the laws of the jurisdiction of its organization, (ii) has all requisite corporate or similar power and authority to execute, deliver and perform its obligations under this Amendment, and (iii) except where the failure to do so, individually or in the aggregate, could not reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect, is duly qualified or licensed and is in good standing as a foreign corporation or other company, and authorized to do business, in each jurisdiction in which the characters of its properties or the nature of its business requires such qualification or authorization;

 

(b)           the execution, delivery and performance by such Obligor of this Amendment and the performance of the Obligor’s obligations hereunder are within such Obligor’s requisite powers and have been duly authorized by all necessary corporate, limited liability company or other organizational action, and, if required, by all necessary action by holders of Equity Interests in such Obligor. This Amendment has been duly executed and delivered by such Obligor and constitutes, a legal, valid and binding obligation of such Obligor, enforceable against such Obligor in accordance with its terms, except as such enforceability may be limited by (i) Debtor Relief Laws or similar laws of general applicability affecting the enforcement of creditors’ rights, (ii) the application of general principles of equity (regardless of whether such enforceability is considered in a proceeding in equity or at law) and (iii) the effect of foreign laws, rules and regulations as they relate to pledges of Equity Interests in or Indebtedness owed by Foreign Subsidiaries;

 

(c)           the execution, delivery and performance by such Obligor of this Amendment and the performance of such Obligor’s obligations hereunder (i) do not require any consent, authorization or approval of, registration or filing with, notice to, or any other action by, any Governmental Authority, except for (A) such as have been obtained or made and are in full force and effect and (B) those that would not reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect, (ii) will not violate (x) any applicable law or regulation applicable to such Obligor or its Restricted Subsidiaries or (y) the Organizational Documents of such Obligor or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries, in the case of clause (x), that would reasonably be expected to result, individually or in the aggregate, in a Material Adverse Effect, (iii) will not conflict with or result in a breach or contravention of, any material order, injunction, writ or decree of any Governmental Authority or any arbitral award to which such Obligor or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries is a party or affecting such Person or its properties that would reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect, and (iv) except for the Liens created pursuant to the Security Documents or Permitted Encumbrances, will not result in the creation or imposition of any Lien on any asset of such Obligor or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries; and

 

(d)           the representations and warranties of such Obligor set forth in this Amendment and of the other Loan Documents to which it is a party, is true and correct in all material respects (unless any such representation or warranty is qualified as to materiality or Material Adverse Effect, in which case such representation and warranty is true and correct in all respects) on and as of the date hereof, both before and immediately after giving effect thereto, except to the extent that such representations and warranties specifically refer to an earlier date, in which case they are true and correct in all material respects (unless any such representation or warranty is qualified as to materiality or Material Adverse Effect, in which case such representation and warranty is true and correct in all respects).

 

6 

 

 

6.             Effect of Amendment. Except as set forth expressly herein, all terms of the Credit Agreement, as amended hereby, and the other Loan Documents shall be and remain in full force and effect and shall constitute the legal, valid, binding and enforceable obligations of the Borrowers and each other Obligor to the Lenders and the Administrative Agent. The execution, delivery and effectiveness of this Amendment shall not, except as expressly provided herein, operate as a waiver of any right, power or remedy of the Lenders under the Credit Agreement, nor constitute a waiver of any provision of the Credit Agreement. This Amendment shall constitute a Loan Document for all purposes of the Credit Agreement.

 

7.             Governing Law. This Amendment shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the internal laws of the State of New York, but giving effect to federal laws applicable to national banks. All provisions in Sections 10.9 and 10.10 of the Credit Agreement are hereby incorporated herein, mutatis mutandis.

 

8.             No Novation. This Amendment is not intended by the parties to be, and shall not be construed to be, a novation of the Credit Agreement or any other Loan Document or an accord and satisfaction in regard thereto.

 

9.             Costs and Expenses. The Borrower Representative agrees to promptly pay following request all reasonable out-of-pocket costs and expenses of the Administrative Agent in connection with the preparation, execution and delivery of this Amendment, including, without limitation, the reasonable fees and expenses of legal counsel for the Administrative Agent with respect thereto, in each case in accordance with and subject to, the terms of Section 10.2 of the Credit Agreement.

 

10.           Counterparts. This Amendment may be executed in counterparts (and by different parties hereto on different counterparts), each of which shall constitute an original, but all of which when taken together shall constitute a single contract. Delivery of an executed counterpart of a signature page of this Amendment by facsimile or in electronic (i.e., “pdf” or “tif”) format shall be effective as delivery of a manually executed counterpart of this Agreement. The words “execution,” “signed,” “signature,” and words of like import in this Amendment shall be deemed to include electronic signatures or the keeping of records in electronic form, each of which shall be of the same legal effect, validity or enforceability as a manually executed signature or the use of a paper-based recordkeeping system, as the case may be, to the extent and as provided for in any applicable law, including the Federal Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act, the New York State Electronic Signatures and Records Act, or any other similar state laws based on the Uniform Electronic Transactions Act.

 

11.           Binding Nature. This Amendment shall be binding upon and inure to the benefit of the parties hereto and their respective successors and assigns.

 

12.           Entire Understanding. This Amendment sets forth the entire understanding of the parties with respect to the matters set forth herein and shall supersede any and all previous agreements and understandings, oral or written, relating to the subject matter hereof.

 

7 

 

 

13.          Reaffirmation. Each Obligor party hereto ratifies and reaffirms as of the date hereof that, notwithstanding the effectiveness of this Amendment, each Loan Document to which any such Obligor is a party is, and the obligations of such Obligor contingent or otherwise contained in any Loan Document to which it is a party are, and shall continue to be, in full force and effect and are hereby ratified and confirmed in all respects, in each case as amended by this Amendment. For greater certainty and without limiting the foregoing, each Obligor party hereto hereby (i) ratifies and reaffirms each grant of a lien on, or security interest in, its property made pursuant to the Loan Documents (including, without limitation, the grant of security made by such Obligor pursuant to the Security Agreement), (ii) confirms that the existing security interests granted by such Obligor in favor of the Collateral Agent for the benefit of the Secured Parties pursuant to the Loan Documents in the Collateral described therein shall continue to secure the obligations of the Obligors under the Credit Agreement and the other Loan Documents as and to the extent provided in the Loan Documents and (iii) in the case of each Guarantor, ratifies and reaffirms its guaranty of the Obligations pursuant to the Loan Documents.

 

[Remainder of Page Intentionally Left Blank; Signature Pages Follow]

 

8 

 

 

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

 

  BORROWER:
     
  SUJA LIFE, LLC,
  a Delaware limited liability company
     
  By: /s/ Jeff Pedersen

  Name: Jeff Pedersen
  Title: Chief Financial Officer

 

  HOLDINGS:
     
  SUJA LIFE INTERMEDIATE II, LLC,
a Delaware limited liability company
     
  By: /s/ Jeff Pedersen

  Name: Jeff Pedersen
  Title: Chief Financial Officer

 

  GUARANTORS:
     
  VIVE BUYER, INC.,
a Delaware corporation
  VIVE ORGANIC, INC.,
a Delaware corporation
  VIVE PARENT, INC.,
a Delaware corporation
     
  By: /s/ Jeff Pedersen

  Name: Jeff Pedersen
  Title: Chief Financial Officer

 

[Signature Page to Third Amendment to Credit Agreement]

 

 

 

 

  JPMORGAN CHASE BANK, N.A., as
Administrative Agent, as a Third Amendment Lender and as a Lender
     
  By: /s/ Bryson Kelly

  Name: Bryson Kelly
  Title: Executive Director

 

[Signature Page to Third Amendment to Credit Agreement]

 

 

 

 

[LENDER SIGNATURES ON FILE WITH ADMINISTRATIVE AGENT]

 

 

 

ANNEX A

 

Credit Agreement

 

(see attached)

 

 

 

 

Execution Version

 

CREDIT AGREEMENT

 

Dated as of August 23, 2021

 

[as amended by that certain First Amendment to Credit Agreement, dated as of December 8,
2021 and, that certain Second Amendment to Credit Agreement, dated as of October 11, 2022  
and that certain Third Amendment to Credit Agreement, dated as of October 31, 2024]

 

by and among

 

SUJA LIFE INTERMEDIATE II, LLC,

 as Holdings,

 

SUJA MERGER SUB, LLC,

as Initial Borrower until the Effective Date Assumption,
and after giving effect to its merger with and into

 

SUJA LIFE, LLC,

as Borrower,

 

THE LENDERS AND THE ISSUING LENDER PARTY HERETO,

 

and

 

JPMORGAN CHASE BANK, N.A.,

as Administrative Agent

 

 

 

JPMORGAN CHASE BANK, N.A.,

as Lead Arranger and Bookrunner

 

JPMORGAN CHASE BANK, N.A. and

PGIM PRIVATE CAPITAL,

as Joint Documentation Agents

 

 

 

 

    TABLE OF CONTENTS  
      Page
1. DEFINITIONS 1
  1.1 Defined Terms 1
  1.2 Classification of Loans and Borrowings 7070
  1.3 Interpretation 7071
  1.4 Rounding 7171
  1.5 Letter of Credit Amounts 7172
  1.6 Accounting Terms; GAAP 7172
  1.7 Limited Condition Transactions 7273
  1.8 Pro Forma Calculations 7374
  1.9 Compliance with Certain Sections 7576
  1.10 Times of Day 7677
  1.11 Timing of Payment or Performance 7677
  1.12 Available Amount Transactions 7677
  1.13 Letters of Credit 7677
  1.14 Certifications 7677
  1.15 Interest Rates; Benchmark Notification 7677
       
2. THE CREDITS 7778
  2.1 The Commitments 7778
  2.2 Loans and Borrowings 7778
  2.3 Requests for Borrowings 7879
  2.4 Swingline Loans 7980
  2.5 Letters of Credit 8182
  2.6 Funding of Borrowings 8889
  2.7 Interest Elections 8990
  2.8 Termination and Reduction of the Commitments 9091
  2.9 Repayment of Loans; Evidence of Debt 9192
  2.10 Prepayment of Loans 9293
  2.11 Fees 9798
  2.12 Interest 9899
  2.13 Alternate Rate of Interest; Illegality 99100
  2.14 Increased Costs 103
  2.15 Compensation for Losses 103104
  2.16 Taxes 105
  2.17 Payments Generally; Pro Rata Treatment; Sharing of Set-offs 108109
  2.18 Mitigation Obligations; Replacement of Lenders 110111
  2.19 Increases of the Revolving Credit Commitments; Adjustments to Revolving Credit Commitments; Incremental Term Loans 111113
  2.20 Cash Collateral 116
  2.21 Defaulting Lenders 116117
  2.22 Refinancing Amendments 119
  2.23 Extension of Term Loans; Extension of Revolving Credit Loans 121
       
3. REPRESENTATIONS AND WARRANTIES 124124
  3.1 Organization; Powers 124125
  3.2 Authorization; Enforceability 125

 

i 

 

TABLE OF CONTENTS

 (Cont’d)

 

      Page
  3.3 Governmental Approvals; No Conflicts 125
  3.4 Financial Condition; No Material Adverse Change 126
  3.5 Properties 126
  3.6 Litigation 127
  3.7 Compliance with Laws 127
  3.8 Investment Company Status 127
  3.9 Taxes 127
  3.10 ERISA 127127
  3.11 Disclosure 128
  3.12 Federal Reserve Regulations; Use of Credit 128
  3.13 [Reserved] 128129
  3.14 Existing Subsidiaries 128129
  3.15 Real Property 129
  3.16 Environmental Matters 129
  3.17 Sanctions/Anti-Corruption Representations 130
  3.18 Insurance 130
  3.19 Labor Matters 130131
  3.20 Solvency 131
  3.21 [Reserved] 131
  3.22 Security Documents 131
       
4. CONDITIONS PRECEDENT 131
  4.1 Effective Date 131
  4.2 Each Credit Event 134
       
5. AFFIRMATIVE COVENANTS 135
  5.1 Financial Statements and Other Information 135
  5.2 Notices of Material Events 137
  5.3 Existence; Conduct of Business 138
  5.4 Payment of Obligations 138
  5.5 Maintenance of Properties; Insurance 139139
  5.6 Books and Records; Inspection Rights 139
  5.7 Compliance with Laws 140140
  5.8 Certain Obligations Respecting Subsidiaries 140
  5.9 Further Assurances 141
  5.10 Cash Management Systems 143143
  5.11 Post-Closing Deliverables 143143
  5.12 Designation of Subsidiaries 143143
  5.13 Lines of Business 143
  5.14 Transactions with Affiliates 144
  5.15 Fiscal Year 146146
  5.16 Ratings 146146
  5.17 Use of Proceeds and Letters of Credit 146146
       
6. NEGATIVE COVENANTS 147
  6.1 Indebtedness 147

 

ii 

 

TABLE OF CONTENTS

 (Cont’d)

 

      Page
  6.2 Liens 150
  6.3 Fundamental Changes 150
  6.4 Dispositions 151
  6.5 Investments 154154
  6.6 Restricted Payments 157
  6.7 Suja East, LLC 162162
  6.8 Restrictive Agreements 162162
  6.9 Modifications of Certain Documents 164164
  6.10 [Reserved] 164164
  6.11 Hedging Agreements 164164
  6.12 [Reserved] 164164
  6.13 Use of Proceeds and Letters of Credit 165
  6.14 Limitation on Activities of Holdings 165165
  6.15 Prepayments of Indebtedness 166166
       
7. FINANCIAL COVENANT 167167
  7.1 Consolidated Net Leverage Ratio 167167
       
8.     EVENTS OF DEFAULT; REMEDIES 168
  8.1 Event of Default 168
  8.2 Application of Payment 171
  8.3 Right to Cure 172
  8.4 Performance by Administrative Agent 173
       
9. ADMINISTRATIVE AGENT 173
  9.1 Authorization and Action 173
  9.2 Administrative Agent and its Affiliates 174
  9.3 Duties 175
  9.4 Administrative Agent’s Reliance, Lender Representations, Etc. 176
  9.5 Sub-Agents 179
  9.6 Resignation 179179
  9.7 Lender Credit Decision 180180
  9.8 Other Agent Titles 180181
  9.9 Agent May File Proofs of Claim; Bankruptcy Events 181
  9.10 Collateral 181181
  9.11 Issuing Lender 183184
  9.12 Bailee for Perfection 184184
  9.13 Affiliates of Lenders; Bank Product Providers 185
  9.14 Erroneous Payments 186
  9.15 Flood Laws 187
       
10. MISCELLANEOUS 187
  10.1 Notices 187
  10.2 Waivers; Amendments 189190
  10.3 Expenses; Limitation of Liability; Indemnity; Damage Waiver 191191
  10.4 Successors and Assigns 194194
  10.5 Survival 200201

 

iii 

 

TABLE OF CONTENTS

 (Cont’d)

 

      Page
  10.6 Counterparts; Integration; Effectiveness 201201
  10.7 Severability 201202
  10.8 Right of Setoff 201202
  10.9 Governing Law; Jurisdiction; Etc. 202202
  10.10 WAIVER OF JURY TRIAL 203203
  10.11 Treatment of Certain Information; Confidentiality 203204
  10.12 Interest Rate Limitation 204205
  10.13 USA Patriot Act 204205
  10.14 Press Release and Related Matters 205205
  10.15 No Duty 205206
  10.16 No Fiduciary Relationship 205206
  10.17 Construction 205206
  10.18 Payments Set Aside 206206
  10.19 Benefits of Agreement 206207
  10.20 Acknowledgement and Consent to Bail-In of EEA Financial Institutions 206207
  10.21 Keepwell 207207
  10.22 Designation of Additional Borrowers 207208
  10.23 Joint and Several Obligations 207208
  10.24 Acknowledgement Regarding Any Supported QFCs 210211
  10.25 Assumption of Obligations 211212
  10.26 ICAV Claims 212
       
11. THE BORROWER REPRESENTATIVE 212213
  11.1 Appointment; Nature of Relationship 212213
  11.2 Powers 212213
  11.3 Employment of Agents 212213
  11.4 Successor Borrower Representative 212213
  11.5 Execution of Loan Documents 212213

 

iv 

 

TABLE OF CONTENTS

(Cont’d)

 

Page

 

LIST OF SCHEDULES AND EXHIBITS

 

SCHEDULES:

 

Schedule 1.1(a) - Accounting Period Calendar
Schedule 3.6 - Litigation
Schedule 3.10 - ERISA
Schedule 3.14 - Existing Subsidiaries
Schedule 3.15 - Owned Real Property
Schedule 3.16 - Environmental Matters
Schedule 3.19 - Labor Matters
Schedule 4.1(e) - Mortgaged Property
Schedule 5.11 - Post-Closing Deliverables
Schedule 5.14 - Affiliate Transactions
Schedule 6.1 - Permitted Indebtedness
Schedule 6.2 - Liens
Schedule 6.5 - Investments
Schedule 6.8 - Existing Restrictions

 

  EXHIBITS:

 

Exhibit A - Assignment and Assumption
  - Bank Product Provider Letter Agreement
Exhibit B - Sponsor-Controlled Affiliated Lender Assignment and
Exhibit C - Assumption
Exhibit D - Parity Intercreditor Agreement
Exhibit E - Junior Intercreditor Agreement
Exhibit 2.3 - Borrowing Request
Exhibit 2.7 - Interest Election Request
Exhibit 2.16-1 - U.S. Tax Compliance Certificate
Exhibit 2.16-2 - U.S. Tax Compliance Certificate
Exhibit 2.16-3 - U.S. Tax Compliance Certificate
Exhibit 2.16-4 - U.S. Tax Compliance Certificate
Exhibit 2.19-1 - Notice of Incremental Revolving Credit Commitment
Exhibit 2.19-2 - Notice of Incremental Term Loan
Exhibit 4.1 - Solvency Certificate
Exhibit 5.1 - Compliance Certificate

 

v

 

 

This CREDIT AGREEMENT (this “Agreement”) dated as of August 23, 2021, is by and among SUJA LIFE INTERMEDIATE II, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company (“Holdings”), SUJA MERGER SUB, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company (the “Initial Borrower”), after the consummation of the Merger and after giving effect to the Effective Date Assumption, SUJA LIFE, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company (the “Company”, and as successor to the Initial Borrower by operation of law, the “Borrower”; together with each Restricted Subsidiary of Holdings from time to time party hereto designated as an additional Borrower pursuant to Section 10.22, each, individually, a “Borrower”, and collectively, the “Borrowers”), the LENDERS, and JPMORGAN CHASE BANK, N.A. (“JPMorgan”), as Administrative Agent.

 

WITNESSETH

 

WHEREAS, Initial Borrower has requested that the Lenders, the Issuing Lender and the Swingline Lender make available for the purposes specified in this Agreement, a term loan facility and a revolving credit and letter of credit facility; and

 

WHEREAS, the Lenders, the Issuing Lender, and the Swingline Lender are willing to make available to the Borrowers such credit facilities upon the terms and subject to the conditions set forth herein;

 

AGREEMENT

 

NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the premises and the covenants and agreements contained herein, the parties hereto hereby agree as follows:

 

1.DEFINITIONS

 

1.1       Defined Terms. As used in this Agreement (including the foregoing preamble and recitals), the following terms have the meanings specified below:

 

“Acquired Entity or Business” means any Person, any line of business, division or business unit acquired pursuant to a Permitted Acquisition.

 

“Acquired Indebtedness” means Indebtedness secured by any property (other than Mortgaged Property) of any Person prior to and at the time of the acquisition of such asset by a Company or prior to and at the time such Person becomes a Restricted Subsidiary; provided that such Indebtedness (a) was in existence prior to the date of acquisition of such asset or Person and (b) was not incurred in connection with, or in contemplation of, such acquisition of such asset or Person.

 

“Acquisition” means the merger of the Initial Borrower with and into the Company, with the Company surviving, as more fully set forth in and pursuant to the Surf Merger Agreement.

 

“Additional Borrower” means any Wholly-Owned Restricted Subsidiary that is a organized under the laws of any state of the United States or of the District of Columbia or otherwise organized in any jurisdiction reasonably acceptable to the Administrative Agent, in each case that becomes a Borrower after the Effective Date pursuant to Section 10.22.

 

“Additional Lender” has the meaning set forth in Section 2.19.

 

“Adjusted Daily Simple SOFR” means for purposes of any calculation, an interest rate per annum equal to (a) the Daily Simple SOFR for such calculation, plus (b) the Term SOFR Adjustment; provided that if the Daily Simple SOFR as so determined would be less than the Floor, such rate shall be deemed to be equal to the Floor for the purposes of this Agreement.

 

1

 

 

“Adjusted Term SOFR Rate” means for purposes of any calculation, an interest rate per annum equal to (a) the Term SOFR Rate for such calculation, plus (b) the Term SOFR Adjustment; provided that if the Adjusted Term SOFR Rate as so determined would be less than the Floor, such rate shall be deemed to be equal to the Floor for the purposes of this Agreement.

 

“Administrative Agent” means JPMorgan, in its capacity as administrative agent for the Lenders under the Loan Documents, and any successor Administrative Agent appointed pursuant to Section 9.

 

“Administrative Questionnaire” means an administrative questionnaire delivered by each Lender in a form supplied by Administrative Agent.

 

“Affected Financial Institution” means (a) any EEA Financial Institution or (b) any UK Financial Institution.

 

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

 

“Agent Parties” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 10.1(d).

 

“Agent’s Group” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 9.2(b).

 

“All-in Yield” means, as to any Indebtedness, the effective yield thereon payable to the lenders providing such Indebtedness, whether in the form of interest rate, margin, original issue discount, up-front fees, rate floors (to the extent the operation of such floor would increase the yield on drawn amounts on the proposed date of incurrence thereof) or otherwise; provided, that original issue discount and up-front fees shall be equated to interest rate assuming a four-year life to maturity (or, if less, the stated life to maturity of such Indebtedness at the time of incurrence of such Indebtedness); and provided, further, that “All-in Yield” shall not include arrangement, commitment, underwriting, structuring, success, ticking, unused, syndication or similar fees paid to arrangers or not shared generally with other lenders and customary consent fees for an amendment paid generally to lenders.

 

“Anti-Corruption Laws” means the laws, and regulations of the jurisdictions applicable to any Obligor or its Subsidiaries from time to time concerning or relating to bribery or corruption, including the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977, as amended.

 

“Anti-Money Laundering Laws” means any requirement of law in jurisdictions in which any Obligor or its Subsidiaries operate relating to money laundering, including, without limitation, (a) the Money Laundering Control Act of 1986 (i.e., 18 U.S.C. §§ 1956 and 1957), (b) the Bank Secrecy Act of 1970 (31 U.S.C. §§ 5311-5330 and 12 U.S.C. §§ 1818(s), 1820(b) and 1951-1959), and the implementing regulations promulgated thereunder and (c) any similar laws enacted in the United States or any other jurisdictions in which any Obligor or its Subsidiaries operate.

 

2

 

 

“Anti-Terrorism Laws” means any applicable laws, regulations, or orders of any Governmental Authority of any applicable jurisdiction, including the United States and the United Nations relating to the prohibition of terrorism financing, or money laundering, including, but not limited to, the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. § 1701 et seq.), the Trading With the Enemy Act (50 U.S.C. § 5 et seq.), the International Security Development and Cooperation Act (22 U.S.C. § 2349aa-9 et seq.), the Executive Order No. 13224 on Terrorist Financing, effective September 24, 2001, the Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act of 2001, Public Law 107-56 (the “USA Patriot Act”), and any rules or regulations promulgated pursuant to or under the authority of any of the foregoing.

 

“Applicable Margin” means,

 

(a)       from and after the Effective Date through (but not including) the Third Amendment Effective Date, (w) with respect to any Base Rate Loan in the form of Initial Term Loans, 4.50%, (x) with respect to any Term Benchmark Loan or RFR Loan in the form of Initial Term Loans, 5.50%, (y) with respect to any Base Rate Loans in the form of Second Amendment Term Loans, 4.50% or (z) with respect to any Term Benchmark Loan or RFR Loan in the form of Second Amendment Term Loans, 5.50%;

 

(b)        “Applicable Margin” means, for any day, (1) (w)from and after the Third Amendment Effective Date, with respect to any Base Rate Loan in the form of Initial Term Loans, 4.50%, (x) with respect to any, Term Benchmark Loan or RFR Loan in the form of Initial Term Loans, 5.50%, (y) with respect to any Base Rate Loans in the form of Second Amendment Term Loans, 4.50% or (z) with respect to any Term Benchmark Loan or RFR Loan in the form of Second Amendment Term Loans, 5.50% or (2) with respect to the commitment fees payable hereunder, the applicable margin per annum set forth below under the caption “Commitment Fee Rate”Base Rate Loan” or “Term Benchmark Loan / RFR Loan”, as the case may be, based upon the Consolidated Net Leverage Ratio as of the most recent determination date; provided that the Applicable Margin in effect from the Third Amendment Effective Date until the date immediately preceding the date on which a Compliance Certificate is delivered pursuant to Section 5.1(c) in respect of the Fiscal Quarter ending December 2730, 20212024 shall be determined based upon the applicable rates per annum set forforth below in Level 1:

 

Level   Consolidated Net
Leverage Ratio
  Base Rate
Loan
  Term
Benchmark Loan

Loan / RFR
1  

Greater than

3.50:1.00 

  4.50%   5.50%
2
 
 
 
Less than or equal
to 3.50:1.00
 
 
4.25%
 
 
 
5.25%
 

3

 

(c)      for any day, with respect to the commitment fees payable hereunder, the applicable margin per annum set forth below under the caption “Commitment Fee Rate”, based upon the Consolidated Net Leverage Ratio as of the most recent determination date; provided that the Applicable Margin in effect from the Effective Date until the date immediately preceding the date on which a Compliance Certificate is delivered pursuant to Section 5.1(c) in respect of the Fiscal Quarter ending December 27, 2021 shall be determined based upon the applicable rates per annum set forth below in Level 1:

 

Level   Consolidated Net
Leverage Ratio
  Commitment
Fee Rate
1    Greater than
3.50:1.00
  0.50% 
2   Greater than   0.375%
    3.00:1.00 but less    
    than or equal to    
    3.50:1.00    
3   Less than or equal   0.25%
    to 3.00:1.00    

 

For purposes of the foregoing clauses (b) and (c), (ai) the Consolidated Net Leverage Ratio shall be determined as of the end of each Fiscal Quarter based upon Holdings’ most recent consolidated financial statements delivered pursuant to Section 5.1(a) or 5.1(b), and (bii) each change in clause (2b) or (c), as applicable, of the Applicable Margin resulting from a change in the Consolidated Net Leverage Ratio shall be effective during the period commencing on and includingon the day that is three (3) Business Days following the date of delivery to the Administrative Agent of such consolidated financial statements indicating such change and ending on the date immediately preceding the effective date of the next such change.

 

If, at any time, any annual or quarterly financial statement was required to have been delivered pursuant to Section 5.1(a) or 5.1(b) but was not delivered (or the Compliance Certificate related to such financial statement was required to have been delivered pursuant to Section 5.1(c) but was not delivered (in each case, after giving effect to any applicable grace period in Section 8.1)), the Applicable Margin or Commitment Fee Rate, as applicable, shall be determined based upon the applicable rates set forth above in Level 1 of each grid commencing with the third Business Day immediately following the date on which such financial statements (or, if later, the Compliance Certificate related to such financial statements) were required to have been delivered. In the event that any financial statement or Compliance Certificate delivered pursuant to Section 5.1(a), 5.1(b) or 5.1(c) is determined to be inaccurate, and such inaccuracy, if corrected, would have led to the application of a higher Applicable Margin or Commitment Fee Rate, as applicable, for any period than the Applicable Margin or Commitment Fee Rate, as applicable, applied for the relevant Interest Period, then (a) the Borrower Representative shall promptly (and in any event within five (5) Business Days) following such determination deliver to the Administrative Agent corrected financial statements and a corrected Compliance Certificate required for such Interest Period, (b) the Applicable Margin or Commitment Fee Rate, as applicable, for the relevant Interest Period shall be determined as if the Consolidated Net Leverage Ratio were determined based on the amounts set forth in such corrected Compliance Certificate and (c) the Borrowers shall promptly (and in any event within five (5) Business Days) following delivery of such corrected financial statements and Compliance Certificate pay to the Administrative Agent the accrued additional interest owing as a result of such increased Applicable Margin or Commitment Fee Rate, as applicable, for the relevant Interest Period; provided, for the avoidance of doubt, no Default or Event of Default under Section 8.1(b) shall be deemed to have occurred with respect to such deficiency prior to such date.

 

4

 

 

“Applicable Period End Date” means the relevant fiscal year or fiscal quarter period end dates set forth on Schedule 1.1(a).

 

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

 

“Asset Sale Threshold” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 2.10(b)(i).

 

“Assignment and Assumption” means an assignment and assumption entered into by a Lender and an Eligible Assignee (with the consent of each party whose consent is required by Section 10.4), and accepted by Administrative Agent, substantially in the form of Exhibit A.

 

“Availability” means as to the Revolving Credit Loan, the amount by which the total Revolving Credit Commitment exceeds the aggregate outstanding Revolving Credit Exposure.

 

“Available Amount” means, at any time, an amount equal to:

 

(a)            the greater of (i) $9,000,000 and (ii) 30.0% of Consolidated EBITDA (determined as of the last day of the most recently ended four Fiscal Quarter period for which financial statements have been delivered),

 

plus

 

(b)           the sum, without duplication, of:

 

(i)          after the delivery of the financial statements to be delivered for the Fiscal Year ending December 26, 2022 pursuant to Section 5.1(a), 100% of Excess Cash Flow not required to be repaid in accordance with Section 2.10(b)(ii) for each Excess Cash Flow Period; provided that such amount shall not be less than $0, plus

 

(ii)        the amount of cash contributions to the common capital of the Borrowers and the net proceeds of any issuance of Qualified Equity Interests of Holdings (or any direct or indirect parent) that is contributed to the Borrowers or the Restricted Subsidiaries, in each case after the Effective Date and through and including such time, which cash proceeds have been contributed as common equity to the capital of a Borrower or a Restricted Subsidiary, other than Specified Equity Contributions or to the extent otherwise applied, plus

 

(iii)        Net Cash Proceeds actually received by the Borrowers or any Restricted Subsidiary in respect of Dispositions to any Person (other than Holdings, a Borrower or any Restricted Subsidiary) of Investments made after the Effective Date until such time, if the making of such Investment initially constituted a use of the Available Amount (up to the amount of the original Investment), plus

 

(iv)       Returns, profits, distributions and similar amounts actually received by the Borrowers or any Restricted Subsidiary in respect of Investments permitted under this Agreement made after the Effective Date until such time, if the making of such Investment initially constituted a use of the Available Amount (up to the amount of the original Investment), plus

 

5

 

 

(v)         Indebtedness and Disqualified Equity Interests exchanged or converted into Qualified Equity Interests of any Borrower (or any direct or indirect parent thereof) after the Effective Date; plus

 

(vi)        the Investments of the Borrowers and their Restricted Subsidiaries (in an amount not to exceed the original amount of the Investment) in any Unrestricted Subsidiary that has been re-designated as a Restricted Subsidiary or that has been merged or consolidated into any Borrower or any Restricted Subsidiary or the Fair Market Value of the assets of any Unrestricted Subsidiary that have been transferred to any Borrower or any Restricted Subsidiary; plus

 

(vii)       the amount of any Declined Proceeds, De Minimis Asset Sale Proceeds and Retained ECF Amount; plus

 

(viii)     cash proceeds (or the Fair Market Value of non-cash proceeds) of the sale of Equity Interests of any Unrestricted Subsidiary or any dividend or other distribution by an Unrestricted Subsidiary, in each case, received by any Borrower or any Restricted Subsidiary to the extent such Subsidiary was originally designated as an Unrestricted Subsidiary using the Available Amount in an amount not to exceed the original amount of the Investment;

 

minus

 

(c)            the aggregate amount of (i) Investments made pursuant to Section 6.5 using the Available Amount, (ii) Restricted Payments made pursuant to Section 6.6 using the Available Amount, and (iii) payments of Junior Debt made pursuant to Section 6.15 using the Available Amount.

 

“Available Tenor” means, as of any date of determination and with respect to the then-current Benchmark, as applicable, any tenor for such Benchmark (or component thereof) or payment period for interest calculated with reference to such Benchmark (or component thereof), as applicable, that is or may be used for determining the length of an Interest Period for any term rate or otherwise, for determining any frequency of making payments of interest calculated pursuant to this Agreement as of such date and not including, for the avoidance of doubt, any tenor for such Benchmark that is then-removed from the definition of “Interest Period” pursuant to Section 2.13(e).

 

“Bail-In Action” means the exercise of any Write-Down and Conversion Powers by the applicable Resolution Authority in respect of any liability of an Affected Financial Institution.

 

“Bail-In Legislation” means (a) with respect to any EEA Member Country implementing Article 55 of Directive 2014/59/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of the European Union, the implementing law, regulation, rule or requirement for such EEA Member Country from time to time which is described in the EU Bail-In Legislation Schedule and (b) with respect to the United Kingdom, Part I of the United Kingdom Banking Act 2009 (as amended from time to time) and any other law, regulation or rule applicable in the United Kingdom relating to the resolution of unsound or failing banks, investment firms or other financial institutions or their affiliates (other than through liquidation, administration or other insolvency proceedings).

 

6

 

 

“Bank Product” means any financial accommodation extended to an Obligor or its Restricted Subsidiaries by a Bank Product Provider in connection with (a) Hedging Agreements, or (b) Cash Management Services.

 

“Bank Product Agreements” means those agreements entered into from time to time by Obligors or their Restricted Subsidiaries with a Bank Product Provider in connection with the obtaining of any of the Bank Products.

 

“Bank Product Obligations” means all obligations, liabilities, reimbursement obligations, fees, or expenses owing by Obligors or their Restricted Subsidiaries to any Bank Product Provider pursuant to or evidenced by a Bank Product Agreement and irrespective of whether for the payment of money, whether direct or indirect, absolute or contingent, due or to become due, now existing or hereafter arising.

 

“Bank Product Provider” means any Lender or any of its Affiliates (or any Person party to a Bank Product Agreement with Obligors or their Restricted Subsidiaries that was a Lender or an Affiliate thereof party to such Bank Product Agreement immediately prior to the assignment of all of its Commitments and Loans hereunder pursuant to Section 2.18(b)); provided, however, that no such Person (other than JPMorgan or its Affiliates) shall constitute a Bank Product Provider with respect to a Bank Product unless Administrative Agent shall have received a Bank Product Provider Letter Agreement from such Person with respect to the applicable Bank Product within 30 days after the provision of such Bank Product to Obligors or their Restricted Subsidiaries, or, if such Bank Product Agreement was entered into prior to the Effective Date or prior to the date on which such Bank Product Provider or its Affiliate, as applicable, became a Lender under this Agreement, within 30 days after the Effective Date or 30 days after the date on which such Bank Product Provider or its Affiliate, as applicable, first became a Lender under this Agreement, as applicable.

 

“Bank Product Provider Letter Agreement” means a letter agreement in substantially the form of Exhibit B, or otherwise in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to the Administrative Agent and the Borrower Representative and duly executed by the applicable Bank Product Provider, the Borrower Representative, and the Administrative Agent.

 

“Bankruptcy Code” means the Bankruptcy Code in Title 11 of the United States Code, as amended, modified, succeeded, or replaced from time to time.

 

“Base Rate” means, at any time, an interest rate per annum equal to the greatest of (a) the Prime Rate at such time, (b) 1/2 of 1.00% in excess of the NYFRB Rate at such time, and (c) the Adjusted Term SOFR Rate for a Term Benchmark Loan with a one-month Interest Period as published two (2) U.S. Government Securities Business Days prior to such day (or if such day is not a Business Bay, the immediately preceding Business Day, plus 1.00%; provided that, for the purpose of this definition, the Adjusted Term SOFR Rate for any day shall be based on the Term SOFR Reference Rate at approximately 6:00 a.m. New York City time on such day (or any amended publication time for the Term SOFR Reference Rate, as specified by the CME Term SOFR Administrator in the Term SOFR Reference Rate methodology); provided further that, in no event shall the Base Rate be less than zero. Any change in the Base Rate due to a change in the Prime Rate, the NYFRB Rate or the Adjusted Term SOFR Rate shall be effective from and including the effective date of such change in the Prime Rate, the NYFRB Rate or the Adjusted Term SOFR Rate, respectively. If the Base Rate is being used as an alternate rate of interest pursuant to Section 2.13 (for the avoidance of doubt, only until the Benchmark Replacement has been determined pursuant to Section 2.13(b)), then the Base Rate shall be the greater of clause (a) and (b) above and shall be determined without reference to clause (c) above. When used in reference to any Loan or Borrowing, “Base Rate” refers to whether such Loan, or the Loans comprising such Borrowing, are bearing interest at a rate determined by reference to the Base Rate.

 

7

 

 

“Benchmark” means, initially, with respect to any Term Benchmark Loan, the Term SOFR Rate; provided that if a Benchmark Transition Event and the related Benchmark Replacement Date have occurred with respect to the Term SOFR Rate or the then-current Benchmark, then “Benchmark” means the applicable Benchmark Replacement to the extent that such Benchmark Replacement has replaced such prior benchmark rate pursuant to clause (b) of Section 2.13.

 

“Benchmark Replacement” means, for any Available Tenor, the first alternative set forth in the order below that can be determined by the Administrative Agent for the applicable Benchmark Replacement Date:

 

(1)          the Adjusted Daily Simple SOFR; or

 

(2)          the sum of: (a) the alternate benchmark rate that has been selected by the Administrative Agent and the Borrower Representative as the replacement for the then-current Benchmark for the applicable Corresponding Tenor giving due consideration to (i) any selection or recommendation of a replacement benchmark rate or the mechanism for determining such a rate by the Relevant Governmental Body and (ii) any evolving or then-prevailing market convention for determining a benchmark rate as a replacement for the then-current Benchmark for dollar-denominated syndicated credit facilities at such time in the United States and (b) the related Benchmark Replacement Adjustment;

 

If the Benchmark Replacement as determined pursuant to clause (1) or (2) above would be less than the Floor, the Benchmark Replacement will be deemed to be the Floor for the purposes of this Agreement and the other Loan Documents.

 

“Benchmark Replacement Adjustment” means, with respect to any replacement of the then-current Benchmark with an Unadjusted Benchmark Replacement for any applicable Interest Period and Available Tenor for any setting of such Unadjusted Benchmark Replacement, the spread adjustment, or method for calculating or determining such spread adjustment, (which may be a positive or negative value or zero) that has been selected by the Administrative Agent and the Borrower Representative for the applicable Corresponding Tenor giving due consideration to (i) any selection or recommendation of a spread adjustment, or method for calculating or determining such spread adjustment, for the replacement of such Benchmark with the applicable Unadjusted Benchmark Replacement by the Relevant Governmental Body on the applicable Benchmark Replacement Date and/or (ii) any evolving or then-prevailing market convention for determining a spread adjustment, or method for calculating or determining such spread adjustment, for the replacement of such Benchmark with the applicable Unadjusted Benchmark Replacement for dollar-denominated syndicated credit facilities at such time.

 

8

 

 

“Benchmark Replacement Conforming Changes” means, with respect to any Benchmark Replacement, any technical, administrative or operational changes (including changes to the definition of “Base Rate,” the definition of “Business Day,” the definition of “U.S. Government Securities Business Day,” the definition of “Interest Period,” timing and frequency of determining rates and making payments of interest, timing of borrowing requests or prepayment, conversion or continuation notices, length of lookback periods, the applicability of breakage provisions, and other technical, administrative or operational matters) that the Administrative Agent decides in consultation with the Borrower Representative in its reasonable discretion may be appropriate to reflect the adoption and implementation of such Benchmark Replacement and to permit the administration thereof by the Administrative Agent in a manner substantially consistent with market practice (or, if the Administrative Agent decides that adoption of any portion of such market practice is not administratively feasible or if the Administrative Agent determines that no market practice for the administration of such Benchmark Replacement exists, in such other manner of administration as the Administrative Agent in consultation with the Borrower Representative decides is reasonably necessary in connection with the administration of this Agreement and the other Loan Documents).

 

“Benchmark Replacement Date” means, with respect to any Benchmark, the earliest to occur of the following events with respect to such then-current Benchmark:

 

(1)       in the case of clause (1) or (2) of the definition of “Benchmark Transition Event,” the later of (a) the date of the public statement or publication of information referenced therein and (b) the date on which the administrator of such Benchmark (or the published component used in the calculation thereof) permanently or indefinitely ceases to provide all Available Tenors of such Benchmark (or such component thereof); or

 

(2)       in the case of clause (3) of the definition of “Benchmark Transition Event,” the first date on which such Benchmark (or the published component used in the calculation thereof) has been determined and announced by the regulatory supervisor for the administrator of such Benchmark (or such component thereof) to be no longer representative; provided, that such non-representativeness will be determined by reference to the most recent statement or publication referenced in such clause (3) and even if any Available Tenor of such Benchmark (or such component thereof) continues to be provided on such date.

 

For the avoidance of doubt, the “Benchmark Replacement Date” will be deemed to have occurred in the case of clause (1) or (2) with respect to any Benchmark upon the occurrence of the applicable event or events set forth therein with respect to all then-current Available Tenors of such Benchmark (or the published component used in the calculation thereof).

 

“Benchmark Transition Event” means, with respect to any Benchmark, the occurrence of one or more of the following events with respect to the then-current Benchmark:

 

(1) a public statement or publication of information by or on behalf of the administrator of such Benchmark (or the published component used in the calculation thereof) announcing that such administrator has ceased or will cease to provide all Available Tenors of such Benchmark (or such component thereof), permanently or indefinitely, provided that, at the time of such statement or publication, there is no successor administrator that will continue to provide any Available Tenor of such Benchmark (or such component thereof);

 

9

 

 

(2) a public statement or publication of information by the regulatory supervisor for the administrator of such Benchmark (or the published component used in the calculation thereof), the Federal Reserve Board, the NYFRB, the CME Term SOFR Administrator, an insolvency official with jurisdiction over the administrator for such Benchmark (or such component), a resolution authority with jurisdiction over the administrator for such Benchmark (or such component) or a court or an entity with similar insolvency or resolution authority over the administrator for such Benchmark (or such component), in each case, which states that the administrator of such Benchmark (or such component) has ceased or will cease to provide all Available Tenors of such Benchmark (or such component thereof) permanently or indefinitely, provided that, at the time of such statement or publication, there is no successor administrator that will continue to provide any Available Tenor of such Benchmark (or such component thereof); or

 

(3) a public statement or publication of information by the regulatory supervisor for the administrator of such Benchmark (or the published component used in the calculation thereof) announcing that all Available Tenors of such Benchmark (or such component thereof) are no longer, or as of a specified future date will no longer be, representative.

 

For the avoidance of doubt, a “Benchmark Transition Event” will be deemed to have occurred with respect to any Benchmark if a public statement or publication of information set forth above has occurred with respect to each then-current Available Tenor of such Benchmark (or the published component used in the calculation thereof).

 

“Benchmark Unavailability Period” means, with respect to any Benchmark, the period (if any) (x) beginning at the time that a Benchmark Replacement Date has occurred if, at such time, no Benchmark Replacement has replaced such then-current Benchmark for all purposes hereunder and under any Loan Document in accordance with Section 2.13 and (y) ending at the time that a Benchmark Replacement has replaced such then-current Benchmark for all purposes hereunder and under any Loan Document in accordance with Section 2.13.

 

“Beneficial Ownership Certification” means a certification regarding beneficial ownership as required by the Beneficial Ownership Regulation.

 

“Beneficial Ownership Regulation” means 31 C.F.R. § 1010.230.

 

“Benefit Plan” means any of (a) an “employee benefit plan” (as defined in ERISA) that is subject to Title I of ERISA, (b) a “plan” as defined in and subject to Section 4975 of the Code or (c) any Person whose assets include (for purposes of ERISA Section 3(42) or otherwise for purposes of Title I of ERISA or Section 4975 of the Code) the assets of any such “employee benefit plan” or “plan”.

 

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

 

“Borrowers” has the meaning set forth in the preamble to this Agreement.

 

“Borrower Representative” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 11.01.

 

“Borrowing” means (a) Loans of the same Class and Type made, converted or continued on the same date and, in the case of Term Benchmark Loans, as to which a single Interest Period is in effect, or (b) a Swingline Loan.

 

10

 

  

“Borrowing Request” means a request by the Borrower Representative for a Borrowing in accordance with Section 2.3.

 

“Business Day” means any day (other than a Saturday or a Sunday) on which banks are open for business in New York City; provided that in relation to RFR Loans and any interest rate settings fundings, disbursements, settlements or payments of any such RFR Loan, or any other dealings of such RFR Loan, any such day that is only an U.S. Government Securities Business Day.

 

“Capital Expenditures” means, with respect to any Person for any period, the amount of all expenditures by such Person and its Restricted Subsidiaries during such period that are capital expenditures as determined in accordance with GAAP.

 

“Capital Lease Obligations” means all leases that have been or are required to be, in accordance with GAAP, recorded as capitalized leases; provided that for all purposes hereunder the amount of obligations under any Capital Lease Obligations shall be the amount thereof accounted for as a liability in accordance with GAAP.

 

“Cash Collateralize” means to deposit in a Controlled Account or to pledge and deposit with or deliver to the Administrative Agent, for the benefit of one or more of Issuing Lender or Lenders, as collateral for the LC Exposure or obligations of Lenders to fund participations in respect of the LC Exposure, cash or Deposit Account balances or, if Administrative Agent and each applicable Issuing Lender shall agree in their sole discretion, other credit support, in each case pursuant to documentation in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to the Administrative Agent and each applicable Issuing Lender. “Cash Collateral” shall have a meaning correlative to the foregoing and shall include the proceeds of such cash collateral and other credit support.

 

“Cash Equivalents” means any of the following types of Investments, to the extent owned by any Borrower or any Restricted Subsidiary:

 

(a)      (a) Dollars, Euros, Pounds Sterling, Canadian Dollars, or any national currency of any country that is a member state of the European Union or local currencies held from time to time in the Ordinary Course of Business,

 

(b)      (b) readily marketable securities issued or directly and fully and unconditionally guaranteed or insured by the United States government, Canada or any country that is a member state of the European Union or any agency or instrumentality thereof the securities of which are unconditionally guaranteed as a full faith and credit obligation of such government with maturities of 24 months or less from the date of acquisition,

 

(c)      (c) certificates of deposit, time deposits, and eurodollar time deposits with maturities of one year or less from the date of acquisition, demand deposits, bankers’ acceptances with maturities not exceeding one year, and overnight bank deposits, in each case with any commercial bank having capital and surplus of not less than $500,000,000 in the case of U.S. banks and $500,000,000 (or the foreign currency equivalent thereof as of the date of determination) in the case of foreign banks, including Canadian banks,

 

(d)      (d) repurchase obligations for underlying securities of the types described in clauses (b) and (c) above and clause (h) below entered into with any financial institution meeting the qualifications specified in clause (c) above,

 

11

 

 

(e)      (e) commercial paper rated at least P-2 (or the equivalent thereof) by Moody’s or at least A-2 (or the equivalent thereof) by S&P and in each case maturing within 12 months after the date of acquisition thereof,

 

(f)       (f) marketable short-term money market and similar securities having a rating of at least P-2 or A-2 (or, in either case, the equivalent thereof) from either Moody’s or S&P, respectively (or, if at any time neither Moody’s nor S&P shall be rating such obligations, an equivalent rating from another nationally recognized ratings agency) and in each case maturing within 12 months after the date of creation or acquisition thereof,

 

(g)      (g) readily marketable direct obligations issued by any state, commonwealth, or territory of the United States or any political subdivision or taxing authority thereof having the highest credit rating obtainable from either Moody’s or S&P with maturities of 24 months or less from the date of acquisition,

 

(h)      (h) Indebtedness or preferred Equity Interest issued by Persons with a rating of “A” (or the equivalent thereof) or higher from S&P or “A2” (or the equivalent thereof) or higher from Moody’s with maturities of 24 months or less from the date of acquisition,

 

(i)       (i) solely with respect to any Foreign Subsidiary: (i) obligations of the national government of the country in which such Foreign Subsidiary maintains its chief executive office and principal place of business provided such country is a member of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, in each case maturing within one year after the date of investment therein; (ii) certificates of deposit of, bankers acceptances of, or time deposits with, any commercial bank which is organized and existing under the laws of the country in which such Foreign Subsidiary maintains its chief executive office and principal place of business provided such country is a member of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, and whose short-term commercial paper rating from S&P is at least “A-2” or the equivalent thereof or from Moody’s is at least “P-2” or the equivalent thereof (any such bank being an “Approved Foreign Bank”), and in each case with maturities of not more than 24 months from the date of acquisition; and (iii) the equivalent of demand deposit accounts which are maintained with an Approved Foreign Bank, in each case, customarily used by entities for cash management purposes in any jurisdiction outside the United States to the extent reasonably required in connection with any business conducted by such Foreign Subsidiary organized in such jurisdiction, and

 

(j)       (j) in the case of investments by any Foreign Subsidiary or investments made in a country outside the United States, Cash Equivalents shall also include investments of the type and maturity described in clauses (a) through (i) above of foreign obligors to the extent such investments are necessary or useful for the business of such Person, which investments have ratings, described in such clauses or equivalent ratings from comparable foreign rating agencies, and

 

(k)      (k) investment funds investing all or substantially all of their assets in securities of the types described in clauses (a) through (i) above.

 

Notwithstanding the foregoing, Cash Equivalents shall include amounts denominated in currencies other than those set forth in clause (a) above; provided, that such amounts are converted into any currency listed in clause (a) as promptly as practicable and in any event within ten Business Days following the receipt of such amounts.

 

12

 

 

“Cash Management Services” means (a) cash management, treasury or related services (including the Automated Clearing House processing of electronic fund transfers through the direct Federal Reserve Fedline system, credit cards, credit card processing services, debit cards, stored value cards, gift cards, purchase cards (including so-called “procurement cards” or “P-cards”) and controlled disbursement and overdraft services), (b) deposit and other accounts and (c) merchant services (other than those constituting a line of credit) provided by a depository bank to its customers. For the avoidance of doubt, Cash Management Services do not include obligations under Hedging Agreements.

 

“CFC” means any direct or indirect Subsidiary of Borrower that is “a controlled foreign corporation” (within the meaning of Section 957(a) of the Code) any shares of which are treated as owned directly or indirectly by a “United States Shareholder” (within the meaning of Section 951(b) of the Code) as measured for purposes of Section 958 of the Code.

 

“Change in Control” means: (a) at any time prior to an Initial Public Offering, (i) the Permitted Holders shall cease to own and control, directly or indirectly, at least 50.1% of the total voting power of all of the Equity Interests of Holdings or (ii) Holdings (or New Holdings) shall cease to own, directly or indirectly, 100% of the Equity Interests of the Company; or (b) at any time after an Initial Public Offering, another person or group (other than the Permitted Holders and any employee benefit plan and/or person acting as the trustee, agent or other fiduciary or administrator) acquires more than the greater of (x) 35% of the outstanding voting common stock of Holdings, and (y) the percentage of then outstanding voting common stock of Holdings held, directly or indirectly, by the Permitted Holders.

 

Notwithstanding the preceding or any provision of Rule 13d-3 of the Exchange Act (or any successor provision), a Person or group shall not be deemed to beneficially own securities subject to an equity or asset purchase agreement, merger agreement or similar agreement (or voting or option or similar agreement related thereto) until the consummation of the transactions contemplated by such agreement.

 

“Change in Law” means the occurrence, after the date of this Agreement, of any of the following: (a) the adoption or taking effect of any law, rule, regulation or treaty, (b) any change in any law, rule or regulation or treaty or in the administration, interpretation, implementation, or application thereof by any Governmental Authority, or (c) the making or issuance of any request, rule, guideline, or directive (whether or not having the force of law) by any Governmental Authority; provided that notwithstanding anything herein to the contrary, (i) the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act and all requests, rules, guidelines or directives thereunder or issued in connection therewith and (ii) all requests, rules, guidelines or directives promulgated by the Bank for International Settlements, the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (or any successor or similar authority) or the United States or foreign regulatory authorities, in each case pursuant to Basel III, shall in each case be deemed to be a “Change in Law”, regardless of the date enacted, adopted or issued.

 

“Claim” has the meaning set forth in Section 10.26.

 

“Class”, when used in reference to any Loan or Borrowing, refers to whether such Loan, or the Loans comprising such Borrowing, are Revolving Credit Loans, Extended Revolving Credit Loans, Initial Term Loans, Second Amendment Term Loans, Third Amendment Term Loans, Refinancing Term Loans, Replacement Term Loans, a given Tranche of Incremental Term Loans or Swingline Loans and, when used in reference to any Commitment, refers to whether such Commitment is a Revolving Credit Commitment, Initial Term Loan Commitment or, Second Amendment Term Loan Commitment or Third Amendment Term Loan Commitment.

 

13

 

 

“CME Term SOFR Administrator” means CME Group Benchmark Administration Limited as administrator of the forward-looking term SOFR (or a successor administrator).

 

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

 

“Collateral” means the property over which a Lien has been or is intended to be granted to the Administrative Agent pursuant to the Security Documents (but in any event excluding the Excluded Property or any similar term in any Security Documents).

 

“Collateral Account” means a blocked, cash collateral account (which may be interest bearing) opened by Administrative Agent and constituting Collateral pursuant to the Security Agreement.

 

“Commitment” means a Revolving Credit Commitment, the Initial Term Loan Commitment, the Second Amendment Term Loan Commitment, the Third Amendment Term Loan Commitment, or any combination thereof (as the context requires).

 

“Commitment Letter” means that certain amended and restated commitment letter, dated as July 30, 2021, executed by the Initial Borrower, and the Lead Arranger, PGIM and Voya.

 

“Commodity Exchange Act” means the Commodity Exchange Act (7 U.S.C. § 1 et seq.), as amended from time to time, and any successor statute.

 

“Communication” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 10.1(a).

 

“Companies” means Holdings, the Borrower and each Restricted Subsidiary.

 

“Company” has the meaning set forth in the preamble to this Agreement.

 

“Competitor” means any Person that is or becomes a competitor of the Borrowers and/or any of their respective Subsidiaries or an Affiliate of such competitor, in each case to the extent identified by the Borrowers or the Sponsor in writing as a “Disqualified Institution” with the consent of the Administrative Agent (such consent not to be unreasonably withheld, conditioned, denied or delayed) from time to time.

 

“Compliance Certificate” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 5.1(c).

 

“Connection Income Taxes” means Other Connection Taxes that are imposed on or measured by net income (however denominated) or that are franchise Taxes or branch profits Taxes.

 

“Consolidated Current Assets” means, with respect to the Borrowers and the Restricted Subsidiaries on a consolidated basis at any date of determination, all assets (other than cash and Cash Equivalents) that would, in accordance with GAAP, be classified on a consolidated balance sheet of the Borrowers and its Restricted Subsidiaries as current assets at such date of determination, other than amounts related to current or deferred Taxes based on income, profits or capital gains on assets held for sale, loans (permitted) to third parties, pension assets, deferred bank fees and derivative financial instruments, and excluding the effects of adjustments pursuant to GAAP resulting from the application of recapitalization accounting or purchase accounting, as the case may be, in relation to the Acquisition or any consummated acquisition.

 

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“Consolidated Current Liabilities” means, with respect to the Borrowers and the Restricted Subsidiaries on a consolidated basis at any date of determination, all liabilities that would, in accordance with GAAP, be classified on a consolidated balance sheet of the Borrower sand its Restricted Subsidiaries as current liabilities at such date of determination, other than (a) the current portion of any Indebtedness, (b) the current portion of interest expense, (c) accruals for current or deferred Taxes based on income or profits, (d) accruals of any costs or expenses related to restructuring reserves, (e) deferred revenue, (f) any Revolving Credit Exposure or Revolving Credit Loans, and (f) the current portion of pension liabilities and excluding the effects of adjustments pursuant to GAAP resulting from the application of recapitalization accounting or purchase accounting, as the case may be, in relation to the Acquisition or any consummated acquisition.

 

“Consolidated EBITDA” means, for any period for the Borrowers and the Restricted Subsidiaries:

 

(a)Consolidated Net Income; plus

 

(b)to the extent subtracted in determining such Consolidated Net Income and without duplication:

  

(i)           Interest Expense;

 

(ii)          without duplication, provision for taxes based on income (or similar taxes in lieu of income taxes), profits or capital gains of the Borrowers and the Restricted Subsidiaries, including federal, foreign, state, local, franchise, excise and similar taxes and foreign withholding taxes paid or accrued during such period including penalties and interest related to such taxes or arising from any tax examinations paid or accrued during such period or, to the extent reflected as a charge in the statement of such Consolidated Net Income (regardless of classification), any tax distributions (including Permitted Tax Distributions) made during, or with respect, such period;

 

(iii)        depreciation and amortization expense, including the following non-cash items to the extent constituting depreciation and amortization expense in accordance with GAAP: amortization of deferred financing fees or costs, debt issuance costs, commissions, fees, and expenses, capitalized expenditures, or costs, amortization of expenditures relating to software, license and intellectual property payments, amortization of any lease related assets recorded in purchase accounting, customer acquisition costs, unrecognized prior service costs and actuarial gains and losses related to pensions and other post-employment benefits, the amortization of original issue discount resulting from the issuance of Indebtedness at less than par and incentive payments, conversion costs, and contract acquisition costs of such Person and its Restricted Subsidiaries for such period on a consolidated basis and otherwise determined in accordance with GAAP;

 

(iv)        the amount of transaction, management, monitoring, consulting and advisory fees, indemnities and related expenses paid or accrued in such period to (or on behalf of) the Sponsor (including those owed under any Sponsor or other Investor management agreement or any fees owed to the Sponsor for any financial advisory, financing, underwriting or placement services or in respect of other investment banking activities), any other Investor in Holdings, or any direct or indirect parent of Holdings, and the amount of fees, expenses and indemnities paid to directors, including directors of any direct or indirect parent of Holdings, in each case, to the extent permitted hereunder;

 

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(v)         Transaction Costs, accruals, charges, payments, expenses and transaction costs and expenses (including rationalization, legal, tax, structuring and other costs and expenses) incurred in connection with Permitted Acquisitions, Investments, Dispositions (other than Ordinary Course Dispositions), issuance, repayment, amendments, or modifications, negotiation, forbearance, extension or waiver of Indebtedness or issuance of Equity Interests, in each case to the extent permitted by this Agreement whether or not consummated;

 

(vi)        all non-cash charges, expenses and losses, including, without limitation, any non-cash asset retirement costs, non-cash compensation charges, non-cash translation (gain) loss and non-cash expense relating to the vesting of warrants (in each case other than to the extent constituting a reserve for a future cash charge);

 

(vii)       extraordinary, non-recurring, exceptional or unusual charges, losses and expenses or special items;

 

(viii)      cost savings, operating expense reductions and synergies related to the Acquisition, or related to mergers and other business combinations, acquisitions, divestitures of business entities or properties or assets constituting a division or line of business of any business entity (and purchases and dispositions of intellectual property if, solely in the case of acquisitions, pro forma treatment is elected by the Borrowers in their discretion on a case-by-case basis), restructurings, cost savings initiatives, new contracts, other operational initiatives (including, to the extent applicable, from the Transactions or the effect of new customer contracts or projects orimplemented increased pricing or volume in new or existing customer contracts) and other similar initiatives, including any “run-rate” revenue or cost synergies, operating expense reductions and other operating changes, improvements, initiatives and cost savings (but excluding “run-rate” revenue synergies and revenue enhancements (other than implemented increased pricing), consummated after the Effective Date, in each case that are reasonably identifiable and factually supportable and projected by the Borrowers in good faith to result from actions that have been taken or with respect to which substantial steps have been taken or are expected to be taken (in the good faith determination of the Borrowers) within 24 months after the Effective Date with respect to the Acquisition, or 24 months after a merger or other business combination, acquisition, divestiture, restructuring, cost savings initiative or other initiative is consummated respectively, and, in each case, reasonably anticipated to be realizable within 24 months of such transaction, in each case, net of the amount of actual benefits realized during such period; provided that no addbacks pursuant to this clause (viii) shall be permitted with respect to Second Amendment Acquisition starting with the Fiscal Quarter ended September 30, 2024;

 

(ix)         severance, relocation costs, integration and facilities’ opening costs and other business optimization expenses and charges (including related to new product introductions and other strategic or cost saving initiatives, systems design, upgrade and implementation costs), one-time restructuring charges, accruals or reserves (including restructuring and integration costs related to acquisitions after the Effective Date and adjustments to existing reserves), whether or not classified as restructuring expense on the consolidated financial statements, signing bonuses, retention or completion bonuses, including payments made to employees or others who are subject to non-compete agreements, other executive recruiting and retention costs, transition costs, costs related to closure/consolidation of or opening or pre-opening of facilities or discontinued operations, internal costs in respect of strategic initiatives, contract termination costs, stock option and other equity-based compensation expenses, severance costs, including, without limitation, any one-time expense relating to enhanced accounting function or other transaction costs, including those associated with becoming a standalone entity or a public company, and public company costs;

 

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(x)          add-backs and adjustments (A) set forth in the (x) quality of earnings analysis delivered to the Administrative Agent on June 24, 2021 or any other quality of earnings analysis prepared by other independent registered public accountants of recognized national standing or any other accounting firm reasonably acceptable to the Administrative Agent (it being understood and agreed that any of the “Big Four” accounting firms are acceptable) and delivered to the Administrative Agent in connection with any Permitted Acquisition or other Investment permitted hereunder and (y) the Sponsor model delivered to the Lead Arranger on June 24, 2021 and (B) consistent with Regulation S-X;

 

(xi)         the fees, costs and expenses related to the cumulative effect of a change in accounting principles and the implementation of ASC 606;

 

(xii)        cash receipts (or any netting arrangements resulting in reduced cash expenditures) not representing Consolidated EBITDA or Consolidated Net Income in any period to the extent non-cash gains (other than extraordinary, unusual or non-recurring gains or income) relating to such income were deducted in the calculation of Consolidated EBITDA pursuant to clause (c) below for any previous period and not added back;

 

(xiii)       any non-cash increase in expenses (A) resulting from the revaluation of inventory (including any impact of changes to inventory valuation policy methods including changes in capitalization of variances) or other inventory adjustments, or any other acquisition or (B) due to purchase accounting;

 

(xiv)       proceeds of business interruption insurance (including proceeds expect to be received within one year with a reduction if not received within such period);

 

(xv)        charges, losses or expenses to the extent paid for, reimbursed, indemnified or insured by a third party (or reasonably expected to be so paid or reimbursed within one year after the end of such period with a reduction if not received within such period);

 

(xvi)       minority interest expense to the extent reducing Consolidated Net Income;

 

(xvii)      costs and expenses related to implementation of operational and reporting systems and technology initiatives;

 

(xviii)     letter of credit fees;

 

(xix)       non-recurring costs, expenses and charges in connection with environmental matters and litigation (including related to settlements thereof);

 

(xx)        any director’s fees and related expenses payable to any independent director of Holdings in cash during such period to the extent otherwise permitted hereunder;

 

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(xxi)       any net loss (less gains) from disposed, abandoned or discontinued operations or product lines outside of the Ordinary Course of Business;

 

(xxii)      payments by the Borrowers and the Restricted Subsidiaries paid or accrued during such period in respect of purchase price holdbacks, earn outs and other similar contingent obligations to the extent deducted in calculating Consolidated Net Income of the Borrowers and the Restricted Subsidiaries other than Indebtedness;

 

(xxiii)     [reserved];

 

(xxiv)     the amount of loss or discount on sale of (x) Receivables Assets and related assets in connection with a Receivables Facility and (y) Securitization Assets and related assets in connection with a Qualified Securitization Financing, in each case, deducted (and not added back) in computing Consolidated Net Income; provided, that such amount of loss or discount on sale shall not exceed 10% of the face value of such assets;

 

(xxv)     the amount of costs and expenses relating to payments made to option holders of any direct or indirect parent of the Borrowers in connection with, or as a result of, any distribution being made to equityholders of such Person;

 

(xxvi)     [reserved]; and

 

(xxvii)    expenses (but not lost revenue) arising from any event, occurrence, fact, condition or change, directly or indirectly arising out of or attributable to COVID-19 in an aggregate amount not to exceed $2,000,000 after the Effective Date; minus

 

(c)         to the extent included in determining such Consolidated Net Income, (i) all non-cash gains and income, and all extraordinary, unusual or non-recurring gains or income, in each case on a consolidated basis determined in accordance with GAAP applied on a consistent basis and (ii) minority interest income added to Consolidated Net Income and not deducted therefrom during such period;

 

provided that the amounts added-back to Consolidated EBITDA pursuant to the foregoing clauses (b)(viii) and (b)(ix) shall in no event in the aggregate exceed 30% of Consolidated EBITDA (calculated after adding-back such amounts); provided further, for the purposes of calculating Consolidated EBITDA for any Fiscal Quarter (a “Reference Period”) for all purposes in this Agreement, (x) if at any time during such Reference Period, the Borrowers or any of their Restricted Subsidiaries shall have made any Material Disposition, the Consolidated EBITDA for such Reference Period shall be reduced by an amount equal to the earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (if positive) attributable to the property that is the subject of such Material Disposition for such Reference Period or increased by an amount equal to the earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (if negative) attributable thereto for such Reference Period, and (y) if during such Reference Period, the Borrowers or any of their Restricted Subsidiaries shall have made a Permitted Acquisition or permitted Investment of a business line or division, Consolidated EBITDA for such Reference Period shall be calculated after giving effect on a pro forma basis to the earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization of any Acquired Entity or Business, including, in each case during such period, as if such Permitted Acquisition had occurred on the first day of such period, in each case in accordance with Section 1.8.

 

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Notwithstanding anything to the contrary, (I) Consolidated EBITDA shall be deemed to be $6,751,025.73 for the Fiscal Quarter ended September 28, 2020, $4,611,123.28 for the Fiscal Quarter ended December 28, 2020, $8,553,718.80 for the Fiscal Quarter ended March 29, 2021 and, $8,099,268.35 for the Fiscal Quarter ended June 28, 2021., (II) Consolidated EBITDA shall be deemed to be $12,427,000, $17,380,000, $18,836,000 and $11,816,000 for the Fiscal Quarters ended September 25, 2023, January 1, 2024, April 1, 2024 and July 1, 2024, respectively, it being understood and agreed that any adjustments included in the foregoing amounts set forth in this clause (II) that are adjustments described under clauses (b)(viii) and (b)(ix) of this definition shall be subject to the 30% cap set forth in the proviso immediately following clause (c) of this definition, and (III) in no event shall anything in this definition be interpreted to permit any add-back for revenue synergies, revenue enhancement, future revenue from new or amended contracts (other than with respect to implemented increased pricing).

 

“Consolidated First Lien Net Leverage Ratio” means, as of any date of determination, the ratio of (a) (i) the aggregate principal amount of all outstanding Funded Debt of the Borrowers and their Restricted Subsidiaries as of such date that is secured by a lien on the Collateral on a senior or pari passu basis (without regard to remedies) with the Liens on the Collateral securing the Obligations under this Agreement, minus (ii) Unrestricted Cash, in each case as of such date to (b) Consolidated EBITDA for the most recently ended four Fiscal Quarter period for which financial statements have been delivered to the Administrative Agent pursuant to Section 5.1(a) or (b).

 

“Consolidated Net Income” means, for any period, the net income (or loss) of the Borrowers and the Restricted Subsidiaries for such period determined on a consolidated basis in accordance with GAAP; provided that, without duplication,

 

(a)         the costs and expenses related to implementation of operational and reporting systems and technology initiatives shall be excluded;

 

(b)        the fees, costs and expenses related to the cumulative effect of a change in accounting principles and the implementation of ASC 606 shall be excluded;

 

(c)        any non-cash increase in expenses (A) resulting from the revaluation of inventory (including any impact of changes to inventory valuation policy methods including changes in capitalization of variances) or other inventory adjustments, or any other acquisition or (B) due to purchase accounting shall be excluded;

 

(d)        any gains or losses (less all fees, expenses and charges relating thereto) attributable to asset dispositions or abandonments or the sale or other disposition of any Equity Interests of any Person, in each case other than in the Ordinary Course of Business, as determined in good faith by the Borrowers, shall be excluded;

 

(e)        the net income (loss) for such period of any Person that is not a Subsidiary of the Borrowers, or is an Unrestricted Subsidiary, or that is accounted for by the equity method of accounting, shall be excluded; provided that Consolidated Net Income of the Borrowers shall be increased by the amount of dividends or distributions or other payments that are actually paid in cash or Cash Equivalents (or to the extent subsequently converted into cash or Cash Equivalents) from the operations of such Person to the Borrower or a Restricted Subsidiary thereof in respect of such period;

 

(f)         any impairment charge or asset write-off or write-down, including impairment charges or asset write-offs or write-downs related to intangible assets, long-lived assets, investments in debt and equity securities or as a result of a change in law or regulation, in each case, pursuant to GAAP, and the amortization of intangibles arising pursuant to GAAP shall be excluded;

 

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(g)        any non-cash compensation charge or expense, including any such charge or expense arising from the grants of stock appreciation or similar rights, stock options, restricted stock or other rights or equity incentive programs or any other equity-based compensation shall be excluded, and any cash charges associated with the rollover, acceleration or payout of Equity Interests by management of the Borrowers or any of its direct or indirect parents in connection with the Transactions or an Initial Public Offering, shall be excluded;

 

(h)        any expenses, charges or losses that are covered by indemnification or other reimbursement provisions in connection with any Investment, Permitted Acquisition or any sale, conveyance, transfer or other disposition of assets permitted under this Agreement, to the extent actually reimbursed, or, so long as the Borrowers have made a determination that a reasonable basis exists for indemnification or reimbursement and only to the extent that such amount is in fact indemnified or reimbursed within 365 days of such determination (with a deduction in the applicable future period for any amount so added back to the extent not so indemnified or reimbursed within such 365-day period), shall be excluded;

 

(i)          to the extent covered by insurance and actually reimbursed, or, so long as the Borrowers have made a determination that there exists reasonable evidence that such amount will in fact be reimbursed by the insurer and only to the extent that such amount is in fact reimbursed within 365 days of the date of such determination (with a deduction in the applicable future period for any amount so added back to the extent not so reimbursed within such 365 days), expenses, charges or losses with respect to liability or casualty events or business interruption shall be excluded;

 

(j)         the income (or loss) of any Person accrued prior to the date it becomes a Restricted Subsidiary of the Borrowers or is merged into or consolidated with a Borrower or any of its Subsidiaries or such Person’s assets are acquired by a Borrower or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries shall be excluded (except to the extent required for any calculation of Consolidated EBITDA on a pro forma basis in accordance with Section 1.8);

 

(k)        solely for the purpose of determining the Available Amount pursuant to clause (b) of the definition thereof, the income of any Restricted Subsidiary of a Borrower that is not a Guarantor to the extent that the declaration or payment of dividends or similar distributions by such Restricted Subsidiary of such income is not at the time permitted by operation of the terms of its charter or any agreement, instrument, judgment, decree, order, statute, rule or governmental regulation applicable to such Restricted Subsidiary shall be excluded unless such restriction with respect to the payment of dividends or similar distributions (i) has been legally waived or otherwise released, (ii) is imposed pursuant to this Agreement and other Loan Documents, or (iii) arises pursuant to an agreement or instrument related to any Ratio Debt or Incremental Equivalent Debt incurred pursuant to Section 6.1(ee) if the encumbrances and restrictions contained in any such agreement or instrument taken as a whole are not materially less favorable to the Secured Parties than the encumbrances and restrictions contained in the Loan Documents (as determined by the Borrowers in good faith), except (solely to the extent permitted to be paid) to the extent of the amount of dividends or other distributions actually paid to a Borrower or any of their Restricted Subsidiaries that are Guarantors by such Person during such period in accordance with such documents and regulations;

 

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(l)         any deferred tax expense associated with tax deductions or net operating losses arising as a result of the Transactions, or the release of any valuation allowance related to such items, shall be excluded;

 

(m)       gains and losses due solely to fluctuations in currency values and the related tax effects determined in accordance with GAAP for such period shall be excluded;

 

(n)        any non-cash net pension or other post-employment benefit costs representing amortization of unrecognized prior service costs, actuarial losses, including amortization of such amounts arising in prior periods, amortization of the unrecognized net obligation (and loss or cost) existing at the date of initial application of Statement of Financial Accounting Standards Nos. 87, 106 and 112, and any other items of a similar nature, shall be excluded;

 

(o)        any non-cash adjustments resulting from the application of Accounting Standards Codification Topic No. 460, Guarantees, or any comparable regulation, shall be excluded;

 

(p)        payments by the Borrowers and the Restricted Subsidiaries paid or accrued during such period in respect of purchase price holdbacks, earn outs and other similar contingent obligations shall be excluded;

 

(q)        extraordinary, non-recurring, exceptional or unusual charges, losses and expenses or special items shall be excluded;

 

(r)         the amount of transaction, management, monitoring, consulting and advisory fees, indemnities and related expenses paid or accrued in such period to (or on behalf of) the Sponsor (including those owed under any Sponsor or other Investor management agreement or any fees owed to the Sponsor for any financial advisory, financing, underwriting or placement services or in respect of other investment banking activities), any other Investor in Holdings, or any direct or indirect parent of Holdings, and the amount of fees, expenses and indemnities paid to directors, including directors of any direct or indirect parent of Holdings, in each case, to the extent permitted hereunder, shall be excluded; and

 

(s)         (xiv) proceeds of business interruption insurance (including proceeds expected to be received within one year with a reduction if not received within such period).

 

For the avoidance of doubt, Consolidated Net Income shall be calculated, including pro forma adjustments, in accordance with Section 1.8.

 

“Consolidated Net Leverage Ratio” means, as of any date of determination, the ratio of (a) (i) the aggregate principal amount of all outstanding Funded Debt of the Borrowers and their Restricted Subsidiaries as of such date, minus (ii) Unrestricted Cash, in each case as of such date to (b) Consolidated EBITDA for the most recently ended four Fiscal Quarter period for which financial statements have been delivered to the Administrative Agent pursuant to Section 5.1(a) or (b).

 

“Consolidated Secured Net Leverage Ratio” means, as of any date of determination, the ratio of (a) (i) the aggregate principal amount of all outstanding Funded Debt of the Borrowers and their Restricted Subsidiaries that is secured by a Lien on the Collateral, minus (ii) Unrestricted Cash, in each case as of such date to (b) Consolidated EBITDA for the most recently ended four Fiscal Quarter period for which financial statements have been delivered to the Administrative Agent pursuant to Section 5.1(a) or (b).

 

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“Consolidated Working Capital” means, at any date, the difference of (a) Consolidated Current Assets of the Borrowers and their Restricted Subsidiaries on such date less (b) Consolidated Current Liabilities of Holdings and its Restricted Subsidiaries on such date; provided that increases or decreases in Consolidated Working Capital shall be calculated without regard to any changes in Consolidated Current Assets or Consolidated Current Liabilities as a result of (a) any reclassification in accordance with GAAP of assets or liabilities, as applicable, between current and non-current, (b) the effects of purchase accounting or (c) the effect of fluctuations in the amount of accrued or contingent obligations, assets or liabilities under Swap Obligations.

 

“Control Agreements” means, collectively, those control agreements in form and substance reasonably acceptable to the Administrative Agent entered into among (a) the depository institution maintaining any Deposit Account (to the extent required under the Loan Documents), the securities intermediary maintaining any securities account, or the commodity intermediary maintaining any commodity account, (b) an Obligor or Defaulting Lender, as applicable, and (c) Administrative Agent, pursuant to which Administrative Agent obtains control (within the meaning of the applicable provision of the UCC) over such Deposit Account, securities account or commodity account.

 

“Controlled Account” means each Deposit Account, securities account, or commodities account that is subject to a Control Agreement.

 

“Corresponding Tenor” with respect to any Available Tenor means, as applicable, either a tenor (including overnight) or an interest payment period having approximately the same length (disregarding business day adjustment) as such Available Tenor.

 

“Credit Agreement Refinancing Indebtedness” means any Indebtedness issued, incurred or otherwise obtained (including by means of the extension or renewal of existing Indebtedness) by one or more Obligors (other than Holdings (other than as a guarantor)) in exchange for, or to extend, renew, replace or refinance, in whole or part, existing Term Loans or, in whole, existing Revolving Credit Loans (or unused Revolving Credit Commitments) (including any successive Credit Agreement Refinancing Indebtedness) (“Refinanced Debt” and any such Refinanced Debt that consists of Term Loans, “Refinanced Term Debt” and any such Refinanced Debt that is a revolving credit facility, “Refinanced Revolving Debt”); provided that:

 

(a)        such exchanging, extending, renewing, replacing or refinancing Indebtedness is in an original aggregate principal amount not greater than the aggregate principal amount of the Refinanced Debt outstanding at the time of such exchange (plus any unused commitments thereunder), extension, renewal, replacement or refinancing except by an amount equal to unpaid accrued interest and premium (including tender premium) thereon, plus upfront fees and original issue discount on such exchanging, extending, renewing, replacing or refinancing Indebtedness, plus other reasonable and customary fees and expenses in connection with such exchange, extension, renewal, replacement or refinancing and (i) substantially concurrently with the incurrence of any such Refinancing Term Loans, 100% of the proceeds thereof or 100% of the aggregate principal amount thereof shall be applied to repay (or shall be exchanged for, extend, renew or replace) the Refinanced Term Debt (including accrued interest, fees and premiums (if any) payable in connection therewith) and to pay such other reasonable and customary fees and expenses in connection with such exchange, extension, renewal, replacement or refinancing and (ii) substantially concurrently with the effectiveness of such Refinancing Revolving Credit Commitments, all of the Revolving Credit Commitments in effect immediately prior to such effectiveness shall be terminated, and all of the Revolving Credit Loans then outstanding, together with interest thereon and all other amounts accrued for the benefit of the Revolving Credit Lenders, shall be repaid or paid;

 

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(b)        except in the case of a customary bridge facility that is subject to an automatic conversion within one (1) year of issuance of such bridge facility on terms that would otherwise satisfy this clause (b) such Indebtedness has a maturity the same as or later to occur than, and, in the case of Refinanced Term Debt only, a Weighted Average Life to Maturity equal to or greater than, in each case, the Refinanced Debt;

 

(c)        at no time shall there be more than one tranche or Class of Revolving Credit Commitments hereunder other than with respect to extensions permitted under Section 2.23;

 

(d)        the other terms and documentation in respect of any such Refinanced Term Debt, to the extent inconsistent with the terms and documentation with respect to the existing Term Loan, shall be determined by the Borrowers and shall, at the option of the Borrowers, (a) reflect current market terms and conditions (taken as a whole) at the time of incurrence or issuance (as reasonably determined by the Borrowers), (b) be consistent with the terms of the corresponding Class of Term Loans unless, in the case of this clause (b), (x) the Lenders under the corresponding Class of Term Loans also received the benefit of such more restrictive terms or (y) any such provisions apply only after the maturity date of the relevant Class of Term Loans, or (c) not be materially more restrictive to the Borrowers, when taken as a whole, than the terms of the applicable Class of Term Loans (as reasonably determined by the Borrowers);

 

(e)        such Indebtedness shall not be secured by any assets other than the Collateral and shall not be guaranteed by any Person other than the Guarantors (unless such guaranty affirmatively is declined by the Administrative Agent as credit support for the Obligations, it being agreed, for the avoidance of doubt, that a Person qualifying as an Excluded Subsidiary shall not result in the Administrative Agent being deemed to have declined such guaranty);

 

(f)         the interest rate, margin, original issue discount, up-front fees and other fees and rate floors for such Credit Agreement Refinancing Indebtedness in the form of Refinanced Term Debt may be determined by the Borrowers and the Lenders providing such Refinanced Term Debt, as applicable, providing such Refinanced Term Debt; provided that, in the event that the All-in Yield for any such Refinanced Term Debt that ranks pari passu in right of payment and security with the existing Term Loans incurred (other than in reliance on clause (i) of the Incremental Amount) is greater than the All-in Yield for the existing Term Loans by more than 50 basis points, then the Applicable Margin for the existing Term Loans shall be increased to the extent necessary so that the All-in Yield for such Refinanced Term Debt is no more than 50 basis points higher than the All-in-Yield for the existing Term Loans; provided that, in the event that the All-In Yield for such Refinanced Term Debt is higher than the All-In Yield for the existing Term Loans solely as a result of a higher rate floor for such Refinanced Term Debt, the adjustment to the All-In Yield of the existing Term Loans shall be effected solely by increasing the rate floor;

 

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(g)        such Refinanced Debt shall be repaid, defeased or satisfied and discharged, and all accrued interest, fees and premiums (if any) in connection therewith shall be paid, on the date such Credit Agreement Refinancing Indebtedness is issued, incurred or obtained;

 

(h)        the aggregate Revolving Credit Commitments under such Credit Agreement Refinancing Indebtedness shall not exceed, without duplication, the Revolving Credit Commitments and existing Revolving Credit Loans being replaced; and

 

(i)         (x) if any Sponsor Controlled Affiliated Lender provides any Credit Agreement Refinancing Indebtedness it shall be subject to the same limitations and restrictions set forth in Section 10.4(g) as if such Sponsor Controlled Affiliated Lender were purchasing Term Loans by assignment and (y) no Sponsor Controlled Affiliated Lender shall provide or hold any Revolving Credit Loans or Revolving Credit Commitments.

 

“Cure Termination Date” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 8.3.

 

“Daily Simple SOFR” means, for any day (a “SOFR Rate Day”), a rate per annum equal to SOFR for the day (such day “SOFR Determination Date”) that is five (5) U.S. Government Securities Business Days prior to (i) if such SOFR Rate Day is a U.S. Government Securities Business Day, such SOFR Rate Day or (ii) if such SOFR Rate Day is not a U.S. Government Securities Business Day, the U.S. Government Securities Business Day immediately preceding such SOFR Rate Day, in each case, as such SOFR is published by the SOFR Administrator on the SOFR Administrator’s Website; provided that if Daily Simple SOFR as so determined would be less than the Floor, such rate shall be deemed to be equal to the Floor for the purposes of this Agreement. Any change in Daily Simple SOFR due to a change in SOFR shall be effective from and including the effective date of such change in SOFR without notice to the Borrower Representative.

 

“Debt Fund Affiliate” means an Affiliate of the Sponsor that is a bona fide debt fund that is primarily engaged in making, purchasing, holding or otherwise investing in commercial loans in the ordinary course of business with respect to which none of the Sponsor, Holdings, the Borrowers or Restricted Subsidiaries or any of their respective Affiliates that is not such a bona fide debt fund makes investment decisions or otherwise has the power to cause the direction of such Affiliates investment decision.

 

“Debtor Relief Laws” means the Bankruptcy Code, and all other liquidation, conservatorship, bankruptcy, assignment for the benefit of creditors, moratorium, rearrangement, receivership, insolvency, reorganization, or similar debtor relief laws of the United States or other applicable jurisdictions from time to time in effect.

 

“Declined Proceeds” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 2.10(d)(iii).

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“De Minimis Asset Sale Proceeds” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 2.10(b)(i).

 

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

 

“Default Rate” means a per annum interest rate equal to (a) in the case of any Loans, 2% plus the rate otherwise applicable to such Loan (including the Applicable Margin) or (b) in the case of any other Obligation, 2% plus the rate applicable to Base Rate Loans (including the Applicable Margin) as provided in Section 2.12(a).

 

“Defaulting Lender” means, subject to Section 2.21(b), any Lender that (a) has failed to (i) fund all or any portion of its Loans within two Business Days of the date such Loans were required to be funded hereunder unless such Lender notifies Administrative Agent and the Borrower Representative in writing that such failure is the result of such Lender’s determination that one or more conditions precedent to funding (each of which conditions precedent, together with any applicable default, shall be specifically identified in such writing) has not been satisfied, or (ii) pay to the Administrative Agent, any Issuing Lender or any other Lender any other amount required to be paid by it hereunder (including in respect of its participation in Letters of Credit) within two Business Days of the date when due, (b) has notified the Borrower Representative, Administrative Agent or any Issuing Lender in writing that it does not intend to comply with its funding obligations hereunder, or has made a public statement to that effect (unless such writing or public statement relates to such Lender’s obligation to fund a Loan hereunder and states that such position is based on such Lender’s determination that a condition precedent to funding (which condition precedent, together with any applicable default, shall be specifically identified in such writing or public statement) cannot be satisfied), (c) has failed, within three Business Days after written request by Administrative Agent or the Borrower Representative, to confirm in writing to the Administrative Agent and the Borrower Representative that it will comply with its prospective funding obligations hereunder (provided that such Lender shall cease to be a Defaulting Lender pursuant to this clause (c) upon receipt of such written confirmation by Administrative Agent and the Borrower Representative), or (d) has, or has a direct or indirect parent company that has, (i) become the subject of a proceeding under any Debtor Relief Laws, (ii) had appointed for it a receiver, custodian, conservator, trustee, administrator, assignee for the benefit of creditors or similar Person charged with reorganization or liquidation of its business or assets, including the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other state or federal regulatory authority acting in such a capacity, or (iii) become the subject of a Bail-In Action; provided that a Lender shall not be a Defaulting Lender solely by virtue of (x) the ownership or acquisition of any Equity Interest in that Lender or any direct or indirect parent company thereof by a Governmental Authority or (y) an Undisclosed Administration of such Lender so long as such ownership interest or Undisclosed Administration does not result in or provide such Lender with immunity from the jurisdiction of courts within the United States or from the enforcement of judgments or writs of attachment on its assets or permit such Lender (or such Governmental Authority) to reject, repudiate, disavow or disaffirm any contracts or agreements made with such Lender. Any determination by Administrative Agent that a Lender is a Defaulting Lender under any one or more of clauses (a) through (d) of this definition shall be conclusive and binding absent manifest error, and such Lender shall be deemed to be a Defaulting Lender (subject to Section 2.21(b)) upon delivery of written notice of such determination to the Borrower Representative, each Issuing Lender and each Lender.

 

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“Deposit Account” means a demand, time, savings, passbook, or similar account maintained with an organization engaged in the business of banking, including savings banks, savings and loan associations, credit unions, and trust companies. Neither investment property nor accounts evidenced by an instrument shall constitute a Deposit Account for purposes of this Agreement.

 

“Disposition” means any sale, assignment, lease, license, transfer or other disposition of any property or assets (whether now owned or hereafter acquired) by Holdings or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries to any other Person. The term “Dispose” as a verb has a corresponding meaning.

 

“Disqualified Equity Interests” means any Equity Interest that, by its terms (or by the terms of any security or other Equity Interests into which it is convertible or for which it is exchangeable), or upon the happening of any event or condition (a) matures or is mandatorily redeemable (other than solely for Qualified Equity Interests and cash in lieu of fractional shares), pursuant to a sinking fund obligation or otherwise (except as a result of a change of control, asset sale or similar event so long as any rights of the holders thereof upon the occurrence of a change of control, asset sale or similar event shall be subject to Full Satisfaction of the Obligations), (b) is redeemable at the option of the holder thereof (other than (i) solely for Qualified Equity Interests and cash in lieu of fractional shares or (ii) as a result of a change of control, asset sale or similar event so long as any rights of the holders thereof upon the occurrence of a change of control, asset sale or similar event shall be subject to Full Satisfaction of the Obligations, in whole or in part, (c) provides for the scheduled payments of dividends in cash, or (d) is or becomes convertible into or exchangeable for Indebtedness or any other Equity Interests that would constitute Disqualified Equity Interests, in each case, prior to the date that is 91 days after the Latest Maturity Date at the time of issuance of such Equity Interests; provided that if such Equity Interests are issued pursuant to a plan for the benefit of employees, officers, directors, managers or consultants of Holdings (or any direct or indirect parent thereof), the Borrowers or the Restricted Subsidiaries or by any such plan to such employees, officers, directors, managers or consultants, such Equity Interests shall not constitute Disqualified Equity Interests solely because it may be required to be repurchased by the Borrower or its Restricted Subsidiaries in order to satisfy applicable statutory or regulatory obligations or as a result of the termination, death or disability of such officers, directors, managers or consultants.

 

“Disqualified Institution” means (a) any Disqualified Lending Institution, (b) any Competitor and (c) any Affiliate (other than a Debt Fund Affiliate) of such Disqualified Lending Institution or Competitor that is readily identifiable solely on the basis of such Affiliate’s name; provided that (i) no notice delivered by the Borrower Representative shall apply retroactively to disqualify any Person that has previously acquired an assignment or participation interest in the Loans, and or entered into a Trade, (ii) “Disqualified Institutions” shall exclude any Person that a Borrower Representative has designated as no longer being a “Disqualified Institution” by written (including email) notice delivered to the Administrative Agent at JPMDQ_Contact@jpmorgan.com from time to time, and (iii) any such designation shall be effective three (3) Business Days after the relevant notice has been delivered to the Administrative Agent. The list of Disqualified Institutions provided by the Borrower Representative and any permitted updates thereto from time to time may be made available to any Lender that specifically requests a copy from Administrative Agent.

 

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“Disqualified Lending Institution” means certain banks, financial institutions, institutional lenders and other entities that have been identified by the Borrower Representative to the Administrative Agent as a “Disqualified Lending Institution” (a) on or prior to the date of the Commitment Letter and (b) as may be updated from time to time by the Borrower Representative after the Effective Date with the consent of the Administrative Agent in its reasonable discretion. (such request to be delivered to the Administrative Agent at JPMDQ_Contact@jpmorgan.com and provided that any such designation shall be effective three (3) Business Days after the Administrative Agent has consented).

 

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

 

“Domestic Subsidiary” means any Restricted Subsidiary that is not a CFC.

 

“ECF Threshold” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 2.10(b)(ii).

 

“EEA Financial Institution” means (a) any credit institution or investment firm established in any EEA Member Country which is subject to the supervision of an EEA Resolution Authority, (b) any entity established in an EEA Member Country which is a parent of an institution described in clause (a) of this definition, or (c) any financial institution established in an EEA Member Country which is a subsidiary of an institution described in clauses (a) or (b) of this definition and is subject to consolidated supervision with its parent.

 

“EEA Member Country” means any of the member states of the European Union, Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Norway.

 

“EEA Resolution Authority” means any public administrative authority or any Person entrusted with public administrative authority of any EEA Member Country (including any delegee) having responsibility for the resolution of any EEA Financial Institution.

 

“Effective Date” means the date on which the conditions set forth in Section 4.1 are satisfied (or waived in accordance with Section 4.1, which date is August 23, 2021).

 

“Effective Date Assumption” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 10.25.

 

“Electronic Signature” means an electronic sound, symbol, or process attached to, or associated with, a contract or other record and adopted by a Person with the intent to sign, authenticate or accept such contract or record.

 

“Electronic System” means any electronic system, including e-mail, e-fax, web portal access for the Borrowers and any other Internet or extranet-based site, whether such electronic system is owned, operated or hosted by the Administrative Agent or the Issuing Bank and any of its respective Related Parties or any other Person, providing for access to data protected by passcodes or other security system.

 

“Eligible Assignee” means any Person that meets the requirements to be an assignee under Sections 10.4(b)(iii), 10.4(b)(vi) and (other than a Disqualified Institution) 10.4(b)(vii) (subject to such consents, if any, as may be required under Section 10.4(b)(iii)).

 

“Environmental Laws” means all laws, rules, regulations, codes, ordinances, orders, decrees, judgments, injunctions, or binding agreements issued, promulgated or entered into by any Governmental Authority, relating to the protection of the environment, human health and workplace safety, preservation or reclamation of natural resources, or the generation, use, handling, transportation, storage, treatment, disposal, management, release or threatened release of any Hazardous Material, including, without limitation, the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C. § 9601 et seq.), as amended.

 

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“Environmental Liability” means any liability, contingent or otherwise (including any liability for damages, costs of environmental removal, remediation, fines, penalties or indemnities, and including any Lien securing or on account of such liability filed against any Mortgaged Property), of any Obligor or any Restricted Subsidiary resulting from or based upon (a) any Environmental Law, (b) the generation, use, handling, transportation, storage, treatment or disposal of any Hazardous Materials, (c) exposure to any Hazardous Materials, (d) the release or threatened release of any Hazardous Materials into the environment, or (e) any contract, agreement or other consensual arrangement to the extent liability is assumed or imposed with respect to any of the foregoing.

 

“Equity Interests” means shares of the capital stock (including common and preferred shares), partnership interests, membership interest in a limited liability company, beneficial interests in a trust, or other equity interests; provided that any instrument evidencing Indebtedness convertible or exchangeable for Equity Interests shall not be deemed to be Equity Interests unless and until such instrument is so converted or exchanged.

 

“Equity Rights” means, with respect to any Person, any subscriptions, options, warrants, commitments, preemptive rights or agreements of any kind (including any shareholders’ or voting trust agreements) for the issuance, sale, registration or voting of, or securities convertible into, any additional Equity Interests in such Person.

 

“ERISA” means the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended from time to time, and the regulations promulgated thereunder and any successor thereto.

 

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

 

“ERISA Event” means (a) any “reportable event”, as defined in Section 4043 of ERISA or the regulations issued thereunder with respect to a Plan (other than an event for which the 30-day notice period is waived), (b) the failure to make sufficient contributions to a Plan for any plan year which, in the aggregate, are less than the minimum required contribution determined under Section 412 of the Code, Section 430 of the Code or Section 303 of ERISA for the Plan for the plan year, (c) the existence with respect to any Multiemployer Plan of an “accumulated funding deficiency” (as defined in Section 431 of the Code or Section 304 of ERISA), whether or not waived, (d) the filing pursuant to Section 412(c) of the Code or Section 302(c) of ERISA of an application for a waiver of the minimum funding standard with respect to any Plan, (e) the incurrence by a Borrower or any ERISA Affiliate of any liability under Title IV of ERISA with respect to the termination of any Plan, (f) the receipt by a Borrower or any ERISA Affiliate from the PBGC or a plan administrator of any notice relating to an intention to terminate any Plan or Plans or to appoint a trustee to administer any Plan, (g) the incurrence by a Borrower or any ERISA Affiliate of any liability with respect to the withdrawal or partial withdrawal from any Plan or Multiemployer Plan, or (h) the receipt by a Borrower or any ERISA Affiliate of any notice concerning the imposition of Withdrawal Liability, or a determination that a Multiemployer Plan is, or is expected to be, “insolvent” (within the meaning of Section 4245 of ERISA), or in “endangered” or “critical” status (within the meaning of Section 432 of the Code or Section 305 of ERISA).

 

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“EU Bail-In Legislation Schedule” means the EU Bail-In Legislation Schedule published by the Loan Market Association (or any successor Person), as in effect from time to time. “Event of Default” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 8.1.

 

“Event of Loss” means with respect to any asset of any Obligor or its Restricted Subsidiaries, any of the following: (a) any loss, destruction or damage of such equipment, real property or fixed asset or (b) any actual condemnation, seizure or taking, by exercise of the power of eminent domain or otherwise, of such asset, or confiscation of such equipment, real property or fixed asset or requisition of the use of such asset.

 

“Excess Cash Flow” means, for each Excess Cash Flow Period for Holdings and its Restricted Subsidiaries, the excess, if any, of (a) the sum, without duplication, of (i) Consolidated Net Income of Holdings and its Restricted Subsidiaries for such Excess Cash Flow Period, (ii) the amount of all non-cash loss and charges (including depreciation, amortization and non-cash Interest Expense) deducted in arriving at such Consolidated Net Income, and (iii) the amount of the decrease, if any, in Consolidated Working Capital for such Excess Cash Flow Period, minus (b) the sum, without duplication, of (i) the amount of all non-cash gain and income included in arriving at such Consolidated Net Income, (ii) the aggregate amount of all regularly scheduled principal payments of Funded Debt (including, without limitation, the Loans) of the Borrowers and their Restricted Subsidiaries (other than in respect of any revolving credit facility to the extent there is not an equivalent permanent reduction in commitments thereunder) and scheduled repayments of Capital Lease Obligations (excluding any interest expense portion thereof), in each case, actually paid by the Borrowers and their Restricted Subsidiaries using Internally Generated Cash during such Excess Cash Flow Period, (iii) the amount of the increase, if any, in Consolidated Working Capital for such Excess Cash Flow Period, (iv) to the extent not already deducted in determining such Consolidated Net Income, the aggregate amount actually paid by the Borrowers and their Restricted Subsidiaries using Internally Generated Cash during such Excess Cash Flow Period, or, at the Borrowers’ option, committed or budgeted to be used within the next four Fiscal Quarters as applicable, on account of Capital Expenditures, Permitted Acquisitions and other Investments (including Investments in Joint Ventures and any earn-out payment but excluding Investments in cash and Cash Equivalents) and Restricted Payments pursuant to Section 6.6 (excluding Restricted Payments made using clause (b) of the definition of Available Amount), in each case permitted under this Agreement, (v) the amount of cash Taxes paid (including for the avoidance of doubt any Permitted Tax Distributions) or Tax reserves set aside or payable (without duplication) in such period to the extent they exceed the amount of tax expense deducted in determining such Consolidated Net Income for such period (other than the amount of any cash taxes paid in such period to the extent such cash Taxes were subject to a reserve reducing Consolidated Net Income or Excess Cash Flow in a previous period), (vi) to the extent not already deducted in determining such Consolidated Net Income, any fees, expenses or charges paid using Internally Generated Cash during such period, or, at the Borrowers’ option, committed or budgeted to be used within the next four Fiscal Quarters, in connection with any Permitted Acquisition, Investment, Disposition (other than Ordinary Course Dispositions), incurrence or repayment of Indebtedness, issuance of Equity Interests, amendment or modification of any debt instrument (including any amendment or other modification to this Agreement and the other Loan Documents) and including, in each case, any such transaction undertaken but not completed, and any charges paid in cash or non-recurring merger costs incurred during such period as a result of any such transaction, in each case whether or not successful, (vii) cash payments by the Borrowers and their Restricted Subsidiaries during such period in respect of long-term liabilities (other than the current portion thereof) set forth on the balance sheet of the Borrowers and their Restricted Subsidiaries in accordance with GAAP other than Indebtedness to the extent such payments are not expensed during such period or are not deducted in calculating Consolidated Net Income and to the extent financed with Internally Generated Cash, (viii) the aggregate amount of expenditures actually made by the Borrowers and their Restricted Subsidiaries in cash during such period (including Capital Expenditures for the payment of financing fees) to the extent that such expenditures are not expensed during such period, in each case to the extent financed with Internally Generated Cash, (ix) the aggregate amount of any premium, make-whole or penalty payments actually paid in cash by the Borrowers and their Restricted Subsidiaries during such period that are required to be made in connection with any prepayment of Indebtedness, in each case to the extent financed with Internally Generated Cash, (x) cash expenditures in respect of Swap Obligations during such period to the extent not deducted in arriving at such Consolidated Net Income to the extent financed with Internally Generated Cash, (xi) cash payments by the Borrower and the Restricted Subsidiaries during such period in respect of purchase price holdbacks, earn outs, and other similar contingent obligations, to the extent not already deducted from Consolidated Net Income to the extent financed with Internally Generated Cash and (xii) any other cash items excluded in the calculation of Consolidated Net Income to the extent financed with Internally Generated Cash.

 

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“Excess Cash Flow Percentage” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 2.10(b)(ii).

 

“Excess Cash Flow Period” means the period beginning on December 28, 2021 and ending on December 26, 2022 and, thereafter, each Fiscal Year of Holdings and its Restricted Subsidiaries.

 

“Exchange Act” means the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended from time to time.

 

“Excluded Contribution Amount” means an amount equal to net cash proceeds received by any Borrower as capital contributions to its common equity capital after the Effective Date or from the issuance or sale (other than (i) to a Restricted Subsidiary of a Borrower, (ii) to any management equity plan or equity option plan or any other management or employee benefit plan or agreement of the Borrower or (iii) Specified Equity Contributions) of Equity Interests (other than Disqualified Equity Interests) of a Borrower or the Fair Market Value of investment grade securities or Qualified Proceeds contributed to a Borrower, in each case, designated as Excluded Contribution Amounts from time to time pursuant to an officer’s certificate executed by a Responsible Officer, which are excluded from the calculation of Available Amount, minus any Excluded Contribution Amount applied or used hereunder after the Effective Date and prior to such time.

 

“Excluded Property” has the meaning assigned to such term in the Security Agreement and any other similar term in the Loan Documents.

 

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“Excluded Subsidiary” means unless otherwise elected by the Borrowers (pursuant to the terms of Section 5.8) (a) (i) any Subsidiary that is not a wholly-owned Domestic Subsidiary of the Borrowers or any Obligor; provided, that this clause (i) shall not apply to any Subsidiary that becomes a non-Wholly-Owned Subsidiary as a result of a transaction (x) whose sole purpose was to cause such Subsidiary to become an Excluded Subsidiary, (y) has no other bona fide business rationale and (z) that was consummated at a time when the Borrowers and their Restricted Subsidiaries did not have sufficient capacity under Section 6.3 to make an Investment in an amount equal to the Fair Market Value of 100% of the Equity Interests of such Subsidiary, (ii) any Joint Venture, (b) any Subsidiary for which guarantees of the Obligations are (i) prohibited by Law (including as a result of applicable financial assistance, directors’ duties or corporate benefit requirements or require consent, approval, license or authorization of a Governmental Authority, unless such consent, approval, license or authorization has been received); provided, that there shall be no obligation to obtain such consent or (ii) contractually prohibited on the Effective Date or, following the Effective Date, the date of any acquisition, so long as such prohibition is not created in contemplation of the Transactions or any such acquisition, (c) any other Subsidiary where the Borrowers reasonably determine the burden or cost of providing a Guarantee (including any material adverse tax consequences, adverse accounting consequences or adverse regulatory consequences) shall be excessive in view of the benefits to be obtained by the Lenders therefrom, (d) any not-for-profit Subsidiaries, (e) any Unrestricted Subsidiaries, (f) any special purpose securitization vehicle (or similar entity), including each Receivables Subsidiary and Securitization Subsidiary, (g) any direct or indirect Subsidiary of the Borrowers or any Obligor that is a Foreign Holdco, (h) any Domestic Subsidiary that is a direct or indirect Subsidiary of a CFC, (i) captive insurance Subsidiaries, (j) any Subsidiary that is not a Material Subsidiary, (k) any broker dealer subsidiaries, (l) any Tax Preferred Subsidiary, and (m) any Subsidiary acquired pursuant to a Permitted Acquisition or other Investment permitted under this Agreement and financed with assumed Indebtedness permitted to be incurred pursuant to this Agreement (and not incurred in contemplation of such Permitted Acquisition or Investment), and each Restricted Subsidiary acquired in such Permitted Acquisition or other Investment permitted hereunder that guarantees such Indebtedness, in each case to the extent that, and for so long as, the documentation relating to such Indebtedness to which such Subsidiary is a party prohibits such Subsidiary from guaranteeing the Obligations and such prohibition is not created in contemplation of such Permitted Acquisition or other Investment permitted hereunder.

 

“Excluded Swap Obligation” means, with respect to any Obligor, any Swap Obligation if, and to the extent that, all or a portion of the Guarantee of such Obligor of, or the grant by such Obligor of a security interest to secure, such Swap Obligation (or any Guarantee thereof) is or becomes illegal or unlawful under the Commodity Exchange Act or any rule, regulation or order of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (or the application or official interpretation of any thereof) by virtue of such Obligor’s failure for any reason to constitute an “eligible contract participant” as defined in the Commodity Exchange Act and the regulations thereunder at the time the Guarantee of such Obligor or the grant of such security interest becomes effective with respect to such Swap Obligation. If a Swap Obligation arises under a master agreement governing more than one swap, such exclusion shall apply only to the portion of such Swap Obligation that is attributable to swaps for which such Guarantee or security interest is or becomes illegal.

 

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“Excluded Taxes” means any of the following Taxes imposed on or with respect to a Recipient or required to be withheld or deducted from a payment to a Recipient, (a) Taxes imposed on or measured by net income (however denominated), franchise Taxes, and branch profits Taxes, in each case, (i) imposed as a result of such Recipient being organized under the laws of, or having its principal office or, in the case of any Lender, its applicable lending office located in, the jurisdiction imposing such Tax (or any political subdivision thereof) or (ii) that are Other Connection Taxes, (b) in the case of a Lender, U.S. federal withholding Taxes imposed on amounts payable to or for the account of such Lender with respect to an applicable interest in a Loan or Commitment pursuant to a law in effect on the date on which (i) such Lender acquires such interest in the Loan or Commitment (other than pursuant to an assignment request by the Borrower Representative under Section 2.18) or (ii) such Lender changes its lending office, except in each case to the extent that, pursuant to Section 2.16(b) or (d), amounts with respect to such Taxes were payable either to such Lender’s assignor immediately before such Lender became a party hereto or to such Lender immediately before it changed its lending office, (c) Taxes attributable to such Recipient’s failure to comply with Section 2.16(g), and (d) any U.S. federal withholding Taxes imposed under FATCA.

 

“Existing Indebtedness” means that certain (i) Loan and Security Agreement, dated as of August 18, 2015 (as amended, restated, supplemented or otherwise or modified), by and between the Borrower and the lenders party thereto, (ii) Subordinated Loan Agreement, dated as of October 5, 2018 (as amended, restated, supplemented or otherwise modified) by and between the Borrower and the lenders party thereto, (iii) Note Purchase Agreement, dated as of December 19, 2016, by and among the Borrower and the investors party thereto and (iv) Note Purchase Agreement, dated as of April 2, 2019 (as amended, restated, supplemented or otherwise or modified), among the Borrower and the investors party thereto, each as in effect on the Effective Date.

 

“Existing Term Loan Tranche” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 2.23.

 

“Expiring Credit Commitment” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 2.4(e).

 

“Extended Revolving Credit Commitments” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 2.23.

 

“Extended Revolving Credit Loans” means one or more Classes of Revolving Credit Loans that result from an Extension Amendment.

 

“Extended Term Loans” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 2.23.

 

“Extending Revolving Credit Lender” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 2.23.

 

“Extending Term Lender” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 2.23.

 

“Extension” means the establishment of an Extension Series by amending a Loan pursuant to the terms of Section 2.23 and the applicable Extension Amendment.

 

“Extension Amendment” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 2.23.

 

“Extension Election” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 2.23.

 

“Extension Request” means any Term Loan Extension Request or a Revolving Credit Loan Extension Request, as the case may be.

 

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“Extension Series” means any Term Loan Extension Series or a Revolving Credit Loan Extension Series, as the case may be.

 

“Facility” means the Revolving Credit Commitment, the Initial Term Loan Commitment, the Second Amendment Term Loan Commitment, the Third Amendment Term Loan Commitment or a Tranche of Incremental Term Loans, as the context may require.

 

“Fair Market Value” means with respect to any asset or group of assets on any date of determination, the value of the consideration obtainable in a sale of such asset at such date of determination assuming a sale by a willing seller to a willing purchaser dealing at arm’s length and arranged over a period of time having regard to the nature and characteristics of such asset and sale at such time, as reasonably determined in good faith by the Borrowers.

 

“FATCA” means Sections 1471 through 1474 of the Code, as of the date of this Agreement (or any amended or successor version that is substantively comparable and not materially more onerous to comply with), any current or future regulations or official interpretations thereof, any agreements entered into pursuant to Section 1471(b)(1) of the Code, any applicable intergovernmental agreement, treaty, or convention with respect to any of the forgoing (including any legislation, rules or practices adopted pursuant to such agreement, treaty, or convention), and applicable official implementing guidance with respect to any of the foregoing.

 

“FCA” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 1.15.

 

“FDA” means the United States Food and Drug Administration.

 

“Federal Funds Effective Rate” means, for any day, the rate calculated by the NYFRB based on such day’s federal funds transactions by depositary institutions (as determined in such manner as shall be set forth on the NYFRB’s Website from time to time) and published on the next succeeding Business Day by the NYFRB as the effective federal funds rate, provided that, in no event shall the Federal Funds Effective Rate be less than zero.

 

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

 

“Fee Letter” means that certain amended and restated fee letter, dated as of July 30, 2021, executed by the Initial Borrower and the Lead Arranger and the other parties thereto setting forth the applicable fees relating to this Agreement to be paid to the Administrative Agent, on its behalf and on behalf of the Lenders.

 

“Financial Covenant” means any financial covenant or test set forth in Section 7.

 

“First Amendment” means that certain First Amendment to Credit Agreement, dated as of December 8, 2021 by and among the Borrower Representative, the Lenders party thereto and the Administrative Agent.

 

“Fiscal Quarter” shall mean any of the quarterly accounting periods of each Obligor ending on the Applicable Period End Date with respect to each fiscal quarter.

 

“Fiscal Year” shall mean any of the annual accounting period of each Obligor ending on the Applicable Period End Date with respect to each fiscal year.

 

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“Flood Insurance Laws” means, collectively, (i) the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968 as now or hereafter in effect or any successor statute thereto, (ii) the Flood Disaster Protection Act of 1973 as now or hereafter in effect or any successor statute thereto, (iii) the National Flood Insurance Reform Act of 1994 as now or hereafter in effect or any successor statute thereto, (iv) the Flood Insurance Reform Act of 2004 as now or hereafter in effect or any successor statute thereto and (v) the Biggert-Waters Flood Insurance Reform Act of 2012 as now or hereafter in effect or any successor statute thereto.

 

“Floor” means the benchmark rate floor, if any, provided in this Agreement initially (as of the execution of this Agreement, the modification, amendment or renewal of this Agreement or otherwise) with respect to the Adjusted Term SOFR Rate or the Adjusted Daily Simple SOFR, as applicable. For the avoidance of doubt, the initial Floor for each of the Adjusted Term SOFR Rate or Adjusted Daily Simple SOFR shall be 1.00%.

 

“Food and Agriculture Law” means any law which relates to food safety, quality, or other regulatory obligation including, without limitation, laws and regulations promulgated by the FDA and the USDA, as well as any amendments thereto as well as the Growers’ Lien Laws.

 

“Foreign Casualty Event” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 2.10(b)(vi).

 

“Foreign Disposition” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 2.10(b)(vi).

 

“Foreign Holdco” means any direct or indirect Subsidiary of a Borrower all or substantially all of the assets of which consist of the Equity Interests of and/or debt owing from (including any debt or other instrument treated as equity for U.S. federal income tax purposes), one or more direct or indirect CFCs or Foreign Holdcos and intercompany accounts or cash on a temporary basis.

 

“Foreign Lender” means any Lender or Participant that is not a U.S. Person.

 

“Foreign Subsidiary” means any Restricted Subsidiary of a Borrower that is (a) not a U.S. Person and (b) a controlled foreign corporation (within the meaning of Section 957(a) of the Code) with respect to which such Borrower (or any corporation which in addition to such Borrower is a member of an affiliated group, within the meaning of Section 1504(a) of the Code, for which a consolidated return is filed pursuant to Section 1501 of the Code) is a United States shareholder within the meaning of Section 951(b) of the Code.

 

“Foreign Subsidiary Excess Cash Flow” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 2.10(b)(v).

 

“Fronting Exposure” means, at any time there is a Defaulting Lender, (a) with respect to any Issuing Lender, such Defaulting Lender’s Pro Rata Share of the outstanding LC Exposure with respect to Letters of Credit issued by such Issuing Lender other than LC Exposure as to which such Defaulting Lender’s participation obligation has been reallocated to other Lenders or Cash Collateralized in accordance with the terms hereof, and (b) with respect to Swingline Lender, such Defaulting Lender’s Pro Rata Share of outstanding Swingline Loans made by such Swingline Lender other than Swingline Loans as to which such Defaulting Lender’s participation obligation has been reallocated to other Lenders.

 

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“Fully Satisfied” or “Full Satisfaction” means, as of any date, that on or before such date, (a) with respect to the Loans and Letters of Credit: (i) the principal of and interest accrued to such date on the Loans and outstanding LC Disbursements (other than the contingent LC Exposure) shall have been paid in full in cash, (ii) all fees, expenses and other amounts then due and payable (other than the contingent LC Exposure and other contingent amounts for which a claim has not been made) shall have been paid in full in cash, (iii) the Commitments shall have expired or irrevocably been terminated, and (iv) the contingent LC Exposure, if any, shall have been: (A) secured by the grant of a first priority, perfected Lien on cash or Cash Equivalents in an amount at least equal to 103% of the amount of such LC Exposure or other collateral which is acceptable to the Issuing Lender in its sole discretion, (B) secured by the issuance of a “back-to-back” letter of credit in form and substance acceptable to the Issuing Lender with an original face amount at least equal to 103% of the amount of such LC Exposure and issued by an issuing bank satisfactory to the Issuing Lender in its sole discretion or (C) with the consent of the applicable Issuing Lender, rolled in to a new credit facility and (b) with respect to Obligations consisting of Swap Obligations or any Obligations related to credit cards, credit card processing services, debit cards, stored value cards, gift cards and purchase cards (including so-called “procurement cards” or “P-cards”)), the termination of such Swap Obligations and such additional Obligations of JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. (or its affiliates) (or the applicable Borrowers and Obligors entering into another arrangement satisfactory to JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. (or its affiliates)).

 

“Fund” means any Person (other than a natural Person) that is (or will be) engaged in making, purchasing, holding or otherwise investing in commercial loans and similar extensions of credit in the ordinary course of its activities.

 

“Funded Debt” means, with respect to the Borrowers and their Restricted Subsidiaries on any date of determination, without duplication, all obligations of the type described in clauses (a), (c) (to the extent such letters of credit are drawn and not reimbursed within 2 Business Days after the date of such drawing), (d), and (e) of the definition of “Indebtedness” (including any obligations of such type owing by a partnership in which Holdings or any Restricted Subsidiary is a general partner to the extent of recourse to Holdings or such Restricted Subsidiary for the payment of such Indebtedness), in each case as and to the extent reflected on the balance sheet of the Borrowers and their Restricted Subsidiaries, and any Guarantee of any of the foregoing, and specifically including, without limitation, the amount of all Obligations hereunder. For the avoidance of doubt, it is understood that obligations (i) under Hedging Agreements and Cash Management Services, (ii) under Receivables Facilities and Securitization Facilities and (iii) owed by Unrestricted Subsidiaries, do not constitute Funded Debt.

 

“GAAP” means generally accepted accounting principles and practices set forth from time to time in the opinions and pronouncements of the Accounting Principles Board and the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and statements and pronouncements of the Financial Accounting Standards Board (or agencies with similar functions of comparable stature and authority within the US accounting profession).

 

“Growers’ Lien Laws” means, collectively, state and federal laws of the United States of America applicable to agricultural products purchased on credit from any selling party that create a Lien or imposes a trust upon the agricultural products sold and/or the proceeds of such agricultural products for the benefit of such selling party or a creditor thereof to secure payment for such agricultural products, including without limitation Food Security Act, 7 U.S.C. § 1631 and the Perishable Agricultural Commodities Act of 1930, 7 U.S.C., Chapter 20A, § 499a et seq., and all regulations promulgated thereunder.

 

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“Governmental Authority” means the government of the United States or any other nation, or any political subdivision thereof, whether state or local, and any agency, authority, instrumentality, regulatory body, court, central bank or other entity exercising executive, legislative, judicial, taxing, regulatory, or administrative powers or functions of or pertaining to government including any supra-national bodies (such as the European Union or the European Central Bank).

 

“Guarantee” of or by any Person (the guarantor) means any obligation, contingent or otherwise, of the guarantor guaranteeing or having the economic effect of guaranteeing any Indebtedness or other monetary obligation of any other Person (the primary obligor) in any manner, whether directly or indirectly, and including any obligation of the guarantor, direct or indirect, (a) to purchase or pay (or advance or supply funds for the purchase or payment of) such Indebtedness or other monetary obligation or to purchase (or to advance or supply funds for the purchase of) any security for the payment thereof or pledge any assets to secure the payment thereof, (b) to purchase or lease property, securities or services for the purpose of assuring the owner of such Indebtedness or other monetary obligation of the payment thereof, (c) to maintain working capital, equity capital or any other financial statement condition or liquidity of the primary obligor so as to enable the primary obligor to pay such Indebtedness or other monetary obligation, (d) as an account party in respect of any letter of credit or letter of guaranty issued to support such Indebtedness or monetary obligation, or (e) entered into for the purpose of assuring in any other manner the holder of such Indebtedness or other monetary obligation of the payment or performance thereof or to protect such holder against loss in respect thereof (in whole or in part). The amount of any Guarantee shall be deemed to be an amount equal to the stated or determinable amount of the related primary obligation, or portion thereof, in respect of which such Guarantee is made or, if not stated or determinable, the maximum reasonably anticipated liability in respect thereof as reasonably determined by the guaranteeing Person in good faith. The term “Guarantee” as a verb has a corresponding meaning. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the term Guarantee shall not include endorsements for collection or deposit in the Ordinary Course of Business or customary and reasonable indemnification obligations or product warranties.

 

“Guarantor” means Holdings, each Subsidiary Guarantor, and each other Person executing a Guaranty Agreement.

 

“Guaranty Agreement” means a guaranty agreement delivered to the Administrative Agent from time to time by any Person providing a Guarantee of any of the Obligations, in form and substance reasonably acceptable to the Administrative Agent and including the Administrative Agent as a party thereto.

 

“Hazardous Materials” means all explosive, radioactive, hazardous, or toxic substances, materials, wastes or other pollutants or contaminants, including petroleum or petroleum distillates, asbestos or asbestos containing materials, polychlorinated biphenyls, radon gas, urea formaldehyde, per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, infectious, or medical wastes and all other substances or wastes of any nature regulated pursuant to any Environmental Law due to their hazardous or deleterious properties or characteristics.

 

“Hedging Agreement” means any interest rate protection agreement, foreign currency exchange agreement, currency options, spot contracts, collar transactions, commodity price protection agreement, rate swap transactions, basis swaps, forward rate transactions, or other interest rate, currency exchange rate, or commodity price hedging arrangement, or any other similar transactions or any combination of any of the foregoing (including any options to enter into any of the foregoing), designed to provide protection against fluctuations in interest rates, currency exchange rates, or commodity prices, whether or not any such transaction is governed by or subject to any master agreement.

 

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“Holdings” has the meaning (i) set forth in the introductory paragraph to this Agreement or (ii) after the Effective Date any other Person (“New Holdings”) that is a Subsidiary of Holdings (to the extent such Subsidiary ceases to be a Subsidiary in connection with becoming New Holdings) direct or indirect parent of Holdings (or the previous New Holdings, as the case may be) but not a Borrower (“Previous Holdings”); provided, that (a) such New Holdings directly owns 100% of the Equity Interests of the Borrower, (b) New Holdings shall expressly assume all the obligations of Previous Holdings under this Agreement and the other Loan Documents pursuant to a supplement hereto or thereto in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to the Administrative Agent and the Borrower, (c) if reasonably requested by the Administrative Agent, a customary opinion of counsel covering matters reasonably requested by the Administrative Agent shall be delivered on behalf of the Borrowers to the Administrative Agent, (d) all Equity Interests of the Borrower and substantially all of the other assets of Previous Holdings are contributed or otherwise transferred, directly or indirectly, to such New Holdings and pledged to secure the Obligations to the extent constituting Collateral, (e) (x) no Event of Default has occurred and is continuing at the time of such substitution and such substitution does not result in any Event of Default, (y) such substitution does not result in any material adverse tax consequences to the Obligors, and (z) such substitution does not result in any adverse tax consequences to any Lender (unless reimbursed hereunder) or to the Administrative Agent (unless reimbursed hereunder), (f) the Administrative Agent shall have received at least ten (10) Business Days’ prior written notice of the proposed transaction and Previous Holdings, New Holdings and the Borrowers shall promptly and in any event at least three (3) Business Days’ prior to the consummation of the transaction provide (i) all information the Administrative Agent (or any Lender through the Administrative Agent) may reasonably request to satisfy its “know your customer” and other similar requirements necessary for such Person to comply with its internal compliance and regulatory requirements with respect to the proposed successor New Holdings and (ii) to the extent the proposed successor New Holdings qualifies as a “legal entity customer” under the Beneficial Ownership Regulation, a certificate regarding beneficial ownership as required by the Beneficial Ownership Regulation with respect to such proposed successor New Holdings, (g) New Holdings shall be an entity organized or existing under the laws of the United States or any state thereof or the District of Columbia (provided that New Holdings is treated as a disregarded entity for United States federal income tax purposes), (h) the Obligors shall execute and deliver amendments, supplements and other modifications to all Loan Documents, instruments and agreements executed in connection therewith necessary, advisable or reasonably requested by the Administrative Agent to perfect and protect the liens and security interests in the Collateral, in each case in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to the Administrative Agent, and (i) the Borrowers deliver a certificate of a Responsible Officer with respect to the satisfaction of the conditions set forth in this definition; provided, further, that if each of the foregoing is satisfied, Previous Holdings shall be automatically released of all its obligations under the Loan Documents and any reference to “Holdings” in the Loan Documents shall refer to New Holdings.

 

“ICAV” means PGIM Private Capital Fund (Ireland) ICAV.

 

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“Improvements” means any walled and roofed building, any building in the course of construction that qualifies for insurance coverage, and any manufactured (mobile) homes.

 

“Incremental Amendment” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 2.19.

 

“Incremental Amount” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 2.19.

 

“Incremental Commitment” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 2.19.

 

“Incremental Equivalent Debt” means Indebtedness incurred by an Obligor (other than Holdings (other than as a guarantor)); provided that at the time of incurrence thereof:

 

(a)       the aggregate principal amount of all Incremental Equivalent Debt on any date such Indebtedness is incurred (or commitments with respect thereto are made) shall not, together with any Incremental Facilities then outstanding, exceed the Incremental Amount;

 

(b)       (i) the scheduled final maturity date of any Incremental Equivalent Debt (A) that is secured on a pari passu basis with the Obligations will be no earlier than the scheduled final maturity date for the Initial Term Loans and, the Second Amendment Term Loans and the Third Amendment Term Loans and (B) that is unsecured, secured on a junior basis to the Initial Term Loans and, the Second Amendment Term Loans and the Third Amendment Term Loans or secured by assets not constituting Collateral shall, in each case, not mature prior to the date that is ninety-one (91) days following the scheduled final maturity date for the Initial Term Loans and, the Second Amendment Term Loans and the Third Amendment Term Loans, and (ii) the Weighted Average Life to Maturity of any Incremental Equivalent Debt will be no shorter than the remaining Weighted Average Life to Maturity of the Initial Term Loans and, the Second Amendment Term Loans and the Third Amendment Term Loans;

 

(c)       any Incremental Equivalent Debt may provide for participation (x) on a pro rata basis, greater than a pro rata basis, or less than pro rata basis in any voluntary prepayments with respect to its Class of Term Loans, or (y) on a pro rata basis (with respect to any Incremental Equivalent Debt secured by the Collateral on a pari passu basis with the Initial Term Loans and, the Second Amendment Term Loans and the Third Amendment Term Loans) or less than pro rata basis in any mandatory prepayments with all Term Loans;

 

(d)       (i) to the extent guaranteed by Holdings or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries, any such Incremental Equivalent Debt shall not be guaranteed by any such Person that is not (or is not required to be) a Guarantor (except (x) any such Person guaranteeing such Incremental Equivalent Debt or Incremental Revolving Facilities, as applicable, that also guarantees the Initial Term Loans, the Second Amendment Term Loans, the Third Amendment Term Loans or Revolving Loans, as applicable and (y) unless such guaranty affirmatively is declined by the Administrative Agent as credit support for the Obligations, it being agreed, for the avoidance of doubt, that a Person qualifying as an Excluded Subsidiary shall not result in the Administrative Agent being deemed to have declined such guaranty); and (ii) to the extent secured by Collateral, shall be subject to an Intercreditor Agreement or other subordination arrangements reasonably satisfactory to the Administrative Agent;

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(e)          except as otherwise specifically addressed herein, all terms of Incremental Equivalent Debt shall be determined by the Borrowers and shall either, at the option of the Borrowers, (i) reflect current market terms and conditions (taken as a whole) at the time of incurrence or issuance (as determined by the Borrowers), (ii) be consistent with the terms of the corresponding class under the Facilities unless, in the case of this clause (ii), (x) the Lenders under the corresponding class under the Facilities also receive the benefit of such more restrictive terms or (y) any such provisions apply only after the Latest Maturity Date of the Facilities, or (iii) not be materially more restrictive to the Borrowers, when taken as a whole, than the terms of the applicable class under the Facilities;

 

(f)           the interest rate, margin, original issue discount, up-front fees and other fees and rate floors for such Incremental Equivalent Debt in the form of term loans may be determined by the Borrowers and the Lenders providing such Incremental Equivalent Debt, as applicable, providing such Incremental Equivalent Debt; provided that, in the event that the All-in Yield for any such Incremental Equivalent Debt that ranks pari passu in right of payment and security with the existing Term Loans incurred (other than in reliance on clause (i) of the Incremental Amount) is greater than the All-in Yield for the existing Term Loans by more than 50 basis points, then the Applicable Margin for the existing Term Loans shall be increased to the extent necessary so that the All-in Yield for such Incremental Equivalent Debt is no more than 50 basis points higher than the All-in Yield for the existing Term Loans; provided that, in the event that the All-In Yield for such Incremental Equivalent Debt is higher than the All-In Yield for the existing Term Loans solely as a result of a higher rate floor for such Incremental Equivalent Debt, the adjustment to the All-In Yield of the existing Term Loans shall be effected solely by increasing the rate floor; and

 

(g)          Incremental Equivalent Debt (i) may rank either pari passu or junior in right of payment with any Class of Term Loans (including the Initial Term Loans and, the Second Amendment Term Loans and the Third Amendment Term Loans) and the initial Revolving Commitments and (ii) for the avoidance of doubt, may be secured on a pari passu basis with the Obligation, on a junior basis to the Obligations, be unsecured or be secured by assets not constituting Collateral.

  

“Incremental Facility Notice” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 2.19.

 

“Incremental Revolving Credit Commitment” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 2.19.

 

“Incremental Term Loan” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 2.19.

 

“Indebtedness” of any Person (the “Subject Person”) means, without duplication, (a) all indebtedness for borrowed money (including all indebtedness evidenced by bonds, debentures, notes or similar instruments, or upon which interest payments are customarily paid), (b) the deferred purchase price of assets or services which in accordance with GAAP would be shown to be a liability (on the liability side of a balance sheet), (c) the maximum stated amount of all letters of credit issued or acceptance facilities established for the account of such Subject Person and, without duplication, all drafts drawn thereunder, (d) all Capital Lease Obligations, (e) all Synthetic Lease Obligations, (f) any Disqualified Equity Interests of such Subject Person, valued, as of the date of determination, at the greater of (i) the maximum aggregate amount that would be payable upon maturity, redemption, repayment or repurchase thereof (or of Disqualified Equity Interests or Indebtedness into which such Disqualified Equity Interests are convertible or exchangeable) and (ii) the maximum liquidation preference of such Disqualified Equity Interests, (g) all obligations under any Hedging Agreement (measured at the Termination Value thereof), (h) all obligations under any Qualified Securitization Facility or any Receivables Facility, (i) all indebtedness referred to in clauses (a) through (g) of this definition of another Person secured by any Lien on any property of such Subject Person, whether or not such indebtedness has been assumed, in an amount equal to the lesser of the Fair Market Value of the property of such Subject Person securing such indebtedness and the principal amount of such indebtedness, and (k) all Guarantees by such Subject Person of indebtedness referred to in clauses (a) through (j) of this definition of others, but in each case specifically excluding accrued expenses and trade payables arising or incurred in the Ordinary Course of Business.

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For all purposes hereof, the Indebtedness of any Person shall (A) include the Indebtedness of any partnership or joint venture (other than a joint venture that is itself a corporation or limited liability company) in which such Person is a general partner, except to the extent such Person’s liability for such Indebtedness is otherwise limited and (B) exclude (i) any earn-out obligation until such obligation is not paid for 5 Business Days after becoming due and payable but not paid, (ii) accruals for payroll and other liabilities accrued in the Ordinary Course of Business, (iii) purchase price holdbacks in respect of a portion of the purchase price of an asset to satisfy warranty or other similar unperformed obligations of the respective seller, (iv) prepaid or deferred revenue arising in the Ordinary Course of Business, and (v) customary obligations under employment agreements and deferred compensation; provided, further that Indebtedness of any direct or indirect parent company appearing upon the balance sheet of the Borrowers solely by reason of push-down accounting under GAAP shall be excluded. The amount of any net obligation under any Swap Obligation on any date shall be deemed to be the termination thereof as of such date.

 

“Indemnified Taxes” means (a) Taxes, other than Excluded Taxes, imposed on or with respect to any payment made by or on account of any obligation of any Obligor under any Loan Document and (b) to the extent not otherwise described in clause (a) of this definition, Other Taxes.

 

“Indemnitee” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 10.3(c).

 

“Initial Borrower” has the meaning set forth in the preamble to this Agreement.

 

“Initial Public Offering” means the issuance by any Borrower or any direct or indirect parent of any Borrower (whether through an initial primary public offering, a direct listing or a merger with and into a special purpose acquisition company or other person that has consummated (or will consummate) an initial primary public offering) of its common Equity Interests (a) pursuant to an effective registration statement filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission or (b) in an underwritten primary public offering (or series of relating offerings of securities to the public pursuant to a final prospectus in accordance with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in accordance with the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (whether alone or in connection with a secondary public offering)) (other than a public offering pursuant to a registration statement on Form S-8) pursuant to an effective registration statement filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in accordance with the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.

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“Initial Term Loan” means a Loan made pursuant to Section 2.1(b).

 

“Initial Term Loan Commitment” means, with respect to each applicable Term Loan Lender, its obligation to make an Initial Term Loan to the Borrowers on the Effective Date in an aggregate principal amount up to, and not to exceed, the amount set forth on such Lender’s signature page hereto under the caption “Term Loan Commitment”. The aggregate amount of the Term Loan Lenders’ Term Loan Commitments is $120,000,000 as of the Effective Date.

 

“Intercreditor Agreements” means, collectively, (i) any Parity Intercreditor Agreement, (ii) any Junior Intercreditor Agreement and (iii) any other intercreditor agreement contemplated by this Agreement, in each case to the extent then in effect.

 

“Interest Election Request” means a request by the Borrower Representative to convert or continue a Borrowing in accordance with Section 2.7.

 

“Interest Expense” means, for any period for Holdings and its Restricted Subsidiaries, the total interest expense (including that attributable to Capital Lease Obligations), net of interest income, of Holdings and its Restricted Subsidiaries, determined on a consolidated basis in accordance with GAAP, with respect to all outstanding Indebtedness of Holdings and its Restricted Subsidiaries, including all commissions, discounts, and other fees and charges owed with respect to letters of credit and bankers’ acceptance financing and net costs under Hedging Agreements, and including any cash payments made during such period in respect of interest on Funded Debt that were amortized or accrued in a previous period (but excluding arrangement and upfront fees).

 

“Interest Payment Date” means (a) with respect to any Base Rate Loan, the second Business Day following each Quarterly Date and the Maturity Date; and (b) with respect to any RFR Loan, each date that is on the numerically corresponding day in each calendar month that is one month after the Borrowing of such Loan (or, if there is no such numerically corresponding day in such month, then the last day of such month) and the Maturity Date, and (c) with respect to any Term Benchmark Loan, the last day of each Interest Period applicable to the Borrowing of which such Loan is a part (and, in the case of a Term Benchmark Borrowing with an Interest Period of more than three months’ duration, each day prior to the last day of such Interest Period that occurs at intervals of three months’ duration after the first day of such Interest Period) and the Maturity Date.

 

“Interest Period” means, with respect to any Term Benchmark Borrowing, the period commencing on the date of such Borrowing and ending on the numerically corresponding day in the calendar month that is one, three, six, or (if agreed to by the Lender) twelve months thereafter (in each case, subject to the availability for the Benchmark applicable to the relevant Loan or Commitment), as any Borrower may elect in accordance with Section 2.7; provided that (i) if any Interest Period would end on a day other than a Business Day, such Interest Period shall be extended to the next succeeding Business Day unless such next succeeding Business Day would fall in the next calendar month, in which case such Interest Period shall end on the next preceding Business Day, (ii) any Interest Period that commences on the last Business Day of a calendar month (or on a day for which there is no numerically corresponding day in the last calendar month of such Interest Period) shall end on the last Business Day of the last calendar month of such Interest Period and (iii) no tenor that has been removed from this definition pursuant to Section 2.13(e) shall be available for specification. For purposes hereof, the date of a Borrowing initially shall be the date on which such Borrowing is made and thereafter shall be the effective date of the most recent conversion or continuation of such Borrowing.

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“Internally Generated Cash” means, with respect to any Person, funds of such Person not constituting of (x) proceeds of the issuance of (or contributions in respect of) Equity Interests (other than Disqualified Equity Interests) of such Person or (y) proceeds of the incurrence of long term Indebtedness by such Person or any of its Subsidiaries (other than under any revolving indebtedness or intercompany indebtedness) of such Person.

 

“Inventory” means, with respect to any Person, all of the “inventory” (as such term is defined in the UCC) of such Person.

 

“Investment” means, for any Person: (a) the acquisition (whether for cash, property, services, or securities or otherwise) of bonds, notes, debentures, or Equity Interests or other securities or substantially all the assets of, or any line of business or division of, any other Person, or the acquisition of assets of another Person that constitute a business unit (including any “short sale” or any sale of any securities at a time when such securities are not owned by the Person entering into such sale), whether direct or indirect or in one transaction or series of transactions; (b) the making of any advance, loan or other extension of credit or capital contribution to, any other Person; (c) the entering into of any Guarantee or assumption of debt of, or other contingent obligation with respect to, Indebtedness or other liability of any other Person and (without duplication) any amount committed to be advanced, lent or extended to such Person; and (d) the entering into of any Hedging Agreement. For purposes of covenant compliance, the amount of any Investment shall be the amount actually invested (which, in the case of any Investment constituting the contribution of an asset or property, shall be based on the Fair Market Value of such asset or property at the original time such Investment is made) plus the cost of all additions thereto, without adjustment for subsequent increases or decreases in the value of such Investment (other than adjustments for the repayment of, or the refund of capital with respect to, or the payment of interest or dividends on, the original principal amount of any such Investment), minus Returns (except with respect to any Returns increasing the Available Amount) in respect of such Investment.

 

“Investors” means the Sponsor and other investors directly or indirectly holding Equity Interests of Holdings as of the Effective Date (together with investors identified in writing by the Sponsor to the Administrative Agent prior to the Effective Date which investors may acquire Equity Interests in Holdings promptly after the Effective Date and, for purposes of this definition, in amounts not to exceed what was disclosed in writing by the Sponsor to the Administrative Agent prior to the Effective Date).

 

“IPO Reorganization” means transactions taken in connection with and reasonably related to consummating an Initial Public Offering, so long as, after giving effect thereto, neither the value of the Collateral Agent’s and Lender’s security interest in the Collateral (including as to the perfection and priority thereof), nor the value of the Guaranty, taken as a whole, is materially impaired (as determined in good faith by the Borrowers).

 

“IRS” means the United States Internal Revenue Service.

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“ISDA Definitions” means the 2006 ISDA Definitions published by the International Swaps and Derivatives Association, Inc. or any successor thereto, as amended or supplemented from time to time, or any successor definitional booklet for interest rate derivatives published from time to time by the International Swaps and Derivatives Association, Inc. or such successor thereto.

 

“ISP” means “International Standby Practices 1998” published by the Institute of International Banking Law & Practice, Inc. (or such later version thereof as may be in effect at the time of issuance).

 

“Issuing Lender” means, individually and collectively as the context may require, (a) JPMorgan, in its capacity as an issuer of Letters of Credit hereunder, and its successors in such capacity as provided in Section 2.5(k), and (b) any Lender selected by the Borrowers that agrees to issue a Letter of Credit hereunder in lieu of JPMorgan.

 

“Joint Venture” means (a) any Person which would constitute an “equity method investee” of the Borrowers or any of their Subsidiaries and (b) any Person in whom the Borrowers or any of their Subsidiaries beneficially owns any Equity Interest that is not a Subsidiary.

 

“Junior Debt” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 6.15.

 

“Junior Intercreditor Agreement” means an intercreditor agreement substantially in the form of Exhibit E (with such changes to such form as may be reasonably acceptable to the Administrative Agent and the Borrowers) among the Borrower Representative, the Administrative Agent, the Collateral Agent and the representatives for purposes thereof for holders of one or more classes of Indebtedness secured on a junior basis with the Obligations (other than the Obligations).

 

“LC Disbursement” means a payment made by Issuing Lender pursuant to a Letter of Credit.

 

“LC Exposure” means, at any time, the sum of (a) the aggregate undrawn amount of all outstanding Letters of Credit at such time plus (b) the aggregate amount of all LC Disbursements that have not been reimbursed by or on behalf of the Borrowers at such time. The LC Exposure of any Revolving Credit Lender at any time shall be its Pro Rata Share of the total LC Exposure at such time. For all purposes of this Agreement, if on any date of determination a Letter of Credit has expired by its terms but any amount may still be drawn thereunder by reason of the operation of Rule 3.14 of the International Standby Practices, International Chamber of Commerce No. 590, such Letter of Credit shall be deemed to be “outstanding” in the amount so remaining available to be drawn.

 

“LCT Election” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 1.7(b).

 

“LCT Test Date” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 1.7(b).

 

“Lead Arranger” means JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A.

 

“Lenders” means the Persons party hereto as a “Lender” (including, for the avoidance of doubt, the Second Amendment Term Loan Lenders and the Third Amendment Term Loan Lenders) and any other Person that shall have become a party hereto pursuant to an Assignment and Assumption and any Additional Lender in connection with an Incremental Commitment, Extension Commitment, or Refinancing Commitment other than any such Person that ceases to be a party hereto pursuant to an Assignment and Assumption. Unless the context otherwise requires, the term “Lenders” includes Swingline Lender.

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“Letter of Credit” means any standby or (to the extent permitted by the applicable Issuing Lender) commercial letter of credit issued pursuant to this Agreement; provided, however, no such letter of credit issued by an Issuing Lender (other than a Person that is also Administrative Agent or one of its Affiliates) shall be deemed a “Letter of Credit” for purposes of this Agreement unless Administrative Agent shall have received written notice thereof from such Issuing Lender as required pursuant to Section 2.5(p).

 

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

 

“Liabilities” means any losses, claims (including intraparty claims), demands, damages or liabilities of any kind.

 

“Lien” means, with respect to any asset, (a) any mortgage, deed of trust, lien, pledge, option, levy, execution, attachment, garnishment, hypothecation, assignment for security, deposit arrangement, encumbrance, charge, security interest or other preferential arrangement in the nature of a security interest of any kind or nature whatsoever, on or of such asset, or the creation of a statutory trust (or similar arrangement) under any Food and Agricultural Laws and (b) the interest of a vendor or a lessor under any conditional sale agreement, capital lease or title retention agreement (or any financing lease having substantially the same economic effect as any of the foregoing) relating to such asset.

 

“Limited Condition Transaction” means (i) any Permitted Acquisition or permitted Investment by the Borrowers or their Restricted Subsidiaries of any assets, business or Person permitted by this Agreement whose consummation is not conditioned on the availability of, or on obtaining, third party acquisition financing or (ii) any redemption, repurchase, defeasance, satisfaction and discharge or repayment of Junior Debt not prohibited by this Agreement requiring irrevocable notice in advance of such redemption, repurchase, defeasance, satisfaction and discharge or repayment,, and, in each case, which is designated as a Limited Condition Transaction by the Borrower Representative in writing to the Administrative Agent and Lenders.

 

“Loan Documents” means, collectively, this Agreement, the First Amendment, the Second Amendment, the Third Amendment, the Letter of Credit Documents, the Guaranty Agreements, the Security Documents, the Fee Letter, the Second Amendment Fee Letter, the Second Amendment PGIM Fee Letter, the Third Amendment Fee Letter, the Third Amendment PGIM Fee Letter, all Borrowing Requests, all Interest Election Requests, all Incremental Facility Notices, all requests for the issuance of Letters of Credit, and all other documents, instruments, certificates, and agreements executed, delivered, or acknowledged by an Obligor in connection with or contemplated by this Agreement and designated as a “Loan Document.” For the avoidance of doubt, Hedging Agreements and agreements for the provision of Cash Management Services shall not constitute “Loan Documents.”

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“Loans” mean the loans made by the Lenders to the Borrowers pursuant to this Agreement in the form of a Term Loan, Revolving Credit Loan, Swingline Loan, Incremental Loan, Extended Loan, Replacement Term Loan or Refinancing Loan.

 

“Management Agreement” means the Management Services Agreement between Paine Schwartz Partners Fund V Management, LLC and, Suja Life, LLC and any Sponsor Affiliate (including, for the avoidance of doubt, any person that otherwise solely qualifies under clause (b) of such definition) party thereto from time to time, dated as of the Effective Date.

 

“Management Equityholders” means any of (i) any current, former or future director, officer, employee or member of management of Holdings or any of its Subsidiaries or any direct or indirect parent company thereof owning Equity Interests in Holdings or any direct or indirect parent thereof, (ii) any trust, partnership, limited liability company, corporate body or other entity established by any such director, officer, employee or member of management of Holdings or any of its Subsidiaries or any direct or indirect parent thereof or any Person described in the succeeding clause (iii), as applicable, to hold an investment in Holdings or any direct or indirect parent thereof in connection with such Person’s estate or tax planning and (iii) any Person who acquires an investment in Holdings or any direct or indirect parent thereof by will or by the laws of intestate succession as a result of the death of any such director, officer, employee or member of management of Holdings or any of its Subsidiaries or any direct or indirect parent thereof.

 

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

 

“Material Adverse Effect” means a material adverse change in, or a material adverse effect upon (a) the business, results of operations, assets or financial condition of the Borrowers and their Restricted Subsidiaries taken as a whole, (b) the ability of the Borrowers and the Guarantors taken as a whole to perform any of their material payment obligations under this Agreement, the Guaranty Agreements, or any of the Loan Documents or (c) the material rights and remedies of or benefits available to the Administrative Agent or the Lenders under the Loan Documents.

 

“Material Disposition” means any Disposition of property or series of related Dispositions of property (other than Dispositions in the Ordinary Course of Business) that yields gross proceeds to any Company in excess of $4,000,000.

 

“Material Indebtedness” means Indebtedness (other than the Loans and Letters of Credit) of any Company in an aggregate principal amount (including undrawn committed or available amounts and including amounts owing to all creditors under any combined or syndicated credit arrangement) exceeding the greater of (a) $7,500,000 and (b) 25% of Consolidated EBITDA. For purposes of determining Material Indebtedness, the principal amount of the obligations of any Person in respect of any Hedging Agreement at any time shall be the Termination Value thereof.

 

“Material Intellectual Property” means all intellectual property that is: (i) necessary for or material to the business of the Borrowers and their Restricted Subsidiaries (taken as a whole) and (ii) owned or exclusively licensed by any Borrower or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries.

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“Material Non-Public Information” means, with respect to any Person, information that is (a) of a type that would not be publicly available (and could not be derived from publicly available information) if such Person and its Subsidiaries were public reporting companies and (b) material with respect to such Person, its Subsidiaries or the respective securities of such Person and its Subsidiaries for purposes of United States Federal and state securities laws, in each case, assuming such laws were applicable to such Person and its Subsidiaries.

 

“Material Subsidiary” means, at any date of determination, the Borrower and each of the Borrower’s other Domestic Subsidiaries that are Restricted Subsidiaries (a) whose total assets at the last day of the most recent Reference Period were equal to or greater than 5.0% of consolidated total assets at such date or (b) whose Consolidated EBITDA for such Reference Period were equal to or greater than 5.0% of the Consolidated EBITDA of the Borrowers and the Restricted Subsidiaries for such period, in each case determined in accordance with GAAP; provided that if, at any time and from time to time after the Effective Date, Domestic Subsidiaries that are Restricted Subsidiaries that are not Guarantors solely because they do not meet the thresholds set forth in clauses (a) or (b) comprise in the aggregate more than 10.0% of consolidated total assets as of the end of the most recently ended Reference Period or more than 10.0% of the Consolidated EBITDA of the Borrower and the Restricted Subsidiaries for such Reference Period, then the Borrower shall, not later than 60 days after the date by which financial statements for such quarter are required to be delivered pursuant to this Agreement (or such longer period as the Administrative Agent may agree in its reasonable discretion), (i) designate in writing to the Administrative Agent one or more of such Domestic Subsidiaries as “Restricted Subsidiaries” to the extent required such that the foregoing condition ceases to be true and (ii) comply with the provisions of Section 5.8 applicable to such Subsidiary.

 

“Maximum Rate” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 10.12.

 

“Merger” means the consummation of the Surf Merger Agreement on the Effective Date.

 

“Minimum Collateral Amount” means, at any time, (a) with respect to Cash Collateral consisting of cash or Deposit Account balances, an amount equal to 103% of the Fronting Exposure of Issuing Lender with respect to Letters of Credit issued and outstanding at such time and (b) otherwise, an amount determined by Administrative Agent and Issuing Lender in their reasonable discretion.

 

“Mortgaged Property” means, initially, each parcel of owned real property and the improvements thereto identified to be mortgaged on Schedule 4.1(e) and includes each other parcel of owned real property and improvements thereto with respect to which a Mortgage is granted (or is required to be granted) pursuant to Section 5.9.

 

“Mortgages” means each mortgage, deed to secure debt, deed of trust, and similar agreement executed by any Obligor for the benefit of Administrative Agent and the Secured Parties, and covering the Mortgaged Property in each case in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to the Administrative Agent and the Borrowers, as amended, restated, modified and supplemented from time to time.

 

“Multiemployer Plan” means a multiemployer plan as defined in Section 4001(a)(3) of ERISA in respect of which a Borrower or any ERISA Affiliate has any current obligation to contribute.

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“Net Cash Proceeds” means, (a) in connection with any Disposition or any Event of Loss, the proceeds thereof in the form of cash and Cash Equivalents (including any such proceeds received by way of deferred payment of principal pursuant to a note or installment receivable or purchase price adjustment receivable or return of funds held in escrow or otherwise, but only as and when received) of such Disposition or Event of Loss, net of (i) reasonable and customary attorneys’ fees, accountants’ fees, sales commissions, investment banking fees, (ii) amounts required to be applied to the repayment of Indebtedness secured by a Lien permitted hereunder on any asset which is the subject of such Disposition or Event of Loss (other than any Lien pursuant to a Security Document), (iii) any funded escrow established pursuant to the documents evidencing any such sale or disposition to secure any indemnification obligations or adjustments to the purchase price associated with any such sale or disposition (provided that to the extent that any amounts are released from such escrow to a Borrower or a Restricted Subsidiary, such amounts net of any related expenses shall constitute Net Cash Proceeds), (iv) the amount of any reasonable reserve established in accordance with GAAP against any adjustment to the sale price or any liabilities until such time as such reserve is no longer required, (v) other reasonable and customary fees and expenses actually incurred in connection therewith and the amount of cash reserves established to fund contingent liabilities reasonably estimated to be payable and attributable to such disposition or event and net of any Taxes and any Permitted Tax Distributions paid or reasonably estimated to be payable as a result thereof (after taking into account any available tax credits or deductions and any Tax sharing arrangements) and (vi) in the case of any non-Wholly Owned Subsidiary, the pro rata amounts attributable to minority interests and not available for distribution to or for the account of the Borrower or a Wholly-Owned Restricted Subsidiary, or (b) in connection with any incurrence of Indebtedness, the cash proceeds received from such incurrence, net of reasonable and customary attorneys’ fees, investment banking fees, accountants’ fees, underwriting discounts and commissions, upfront fees, placement fees and other customary fees and expenses actually incurred in connection therewith.

 

“Non-Consenting Lender” means any Lender that does not approve any consent, waiver or amendment that (a) requires the approval of all Lenders (or all affected Lenders) in accordance with the terms of Section 10.2 and (b) has been approved by Administrative Agent and the Required Lenders or Required Facility Lenders, as applicable.

 

“Non-Debt Fund Affiliate” means any Affiliate of Holdings, including Holdings or any of its Subsidiaries, but excluding (a) any Debt Fund Affiliate and (b) any natural person.

 

“Non-Defaulting Lender” means, at any time, each Lender that is not a Defaulting Lender at such time.

 

“Non-Expiring Credit Commitment” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 2.4(e).

 

“Notice of Incremental Revolving Credit Commitment” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 2.19.

 

“Notice of Incremental Term Loan Borrowing” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 2.19.

 

“NPL” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 3.16(c).

 

“NYFRB” means the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.

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“NYFRB Rate” means, for any day, the greater of (a) the Federal Funds Effective Rate in effect on such day and (b) the Overnight Bank Funding Rate in effect on such day (or for any day that is not a Business Day, for the immediately preceding Business Day); provided that if none of such rates are published for any day that is a Business Day, the term “NYFRB Rate” means the rate for a federal funds transaction quoted at 11:00 a.m. on such day received by the Administrative Agent from a federal funds broker of recognized standing selected by it; provided, further, that if any of the aforesaid rates as so determined would be less than 0.00%, such rate shall be deemed to be 0.00% for purposes of this Agreement.

 

“NYFRB’s Website” means the website of the NYFRB at http://www.newyorkfed.org, or any successor source.

 

“Obligations” means (a) all of the obligations, indebtedness and liabilities of the Obligors to the Lenders, Swingline Lender, Issuing Lender and the Administrative Agent under this Agreement or any of the other Loan Documents, including principal, interest, fees, prepayment premiums (if any), expenses, reimbursements and indemnification obligations and other amounts, and (b) all of the Bank Product Obligations, in each case whether direct or indirect (including those acquired by assumption), absolute or contingent, due or to become due, now existing or hereafter arising and including interest and fees that accrue after the commencement by or against a Borrower or any Restricted Subsidiary thereof of any proceeding under any Debtor Relief Laws or other similar laws naming such Person as the debtor in such proceeding, regardless of whether such interest and fees are allowed claims in such proceeding; provided that the “Obligations” of an Obligor shall exclude any Excluded Swap Obligations with respect to such Obligor.

 

“Obligor” means each Borrower and each Guarantor.

 

“Obligor Accounts” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 9.12.

 

“Ordinary Course Disposition” means (i) any Disposition among the Obligors and their Restricted Subsidiaries permitted hereunder and (ii) any Disposition permitted under Section 6.4 other than pursuant to clauses (j), (m), (q) and (u).

 

“Ordinary Course of Business” means (i) in the ordinary course of business of, or in furtherance of an objective that is in the ordinary course of business of a Borrower or such Subsidiary, as applicable, (ii) customary and usual in the industry or industries of a Borrower and its Subsidiaries in the United States or any other jurisdiction in which a Borrower or any Subsidiary does business, as applicable or (iii) generally consistent with the past practice of a Borrower or such Subsidiary, as applicable.

 

“Organizational Documents” means, with respect to any Person (a) in the case of any corporation, the certificate of incorporation and by-laws (or similar documents) of such Person, (b) in the case of any limited liability company, the certificate or articles of formation and operating agreement (or similar documents) of such Person, (c) in the case of any limited partnership, the certificate of formation and limited partnership agreement (or similar documents) of such Person, (d) in the case of any general partnership, the partnership agreement (or similar document) of such Person, (e) in any other case, the functional equivalent of the foregoing.

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“Other Connection Taxes” means, with respect to any Recipient, Taxes imposed as a result of a present or former connection between such Recipient and the jurisdiction imposing such Tax (other than connections arising from such Recipient having executed, delivered, become a party to, performed its obligations under, received payments under, received or perfected a security interest under, engaged in any other transaction pursuant to or enforced any Loan Document, or sold or assigned an interest in any Loan, Loan Document or Letter of Credit).

 

“Other Taxes” means all present or future stamp, court or documentary, intangible, recording, filing, or similar Taxes that arise from any payment made under, from the execution, delivery, performance, enforcement or registration of, from the receipt or perfection of a security interest under, or otherwise with respect to, any Loan Document, except any such Taxes that are Other Connection Taxes imposed with respect to an assignment (other than an assignment made pursuant to Section 2.18).

 

“Overnight Bank Funding Rate” means, for any day, the rate comprised of both overnight federal funds and overnight eurodollar transactions denominated in Dollars by U.S.-managed banking offices of depository institutions (as such composite rate shall be determined by the NYFRB as set forth on the NYFRB’s Website from time to time) and published on the next succeeding Business Day by the NYFRB as an overnight bank funding rate.

 

“Parity Intercreditor Agreement” means an intercreditor agreement substantially in the form of Exhibit D (with such changes to such form as may be reasonably acceptable to the Administrative Agent and the Borrowers) among the Borrower Representative, the Administrative Agent, the Collateral Agent and the representatives for purposes thereof for holders of one or more classes of Indebtedness secured on a pari passu basis with the Obligations (other than the Obligations).

 

“Participant” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 10.4.

 

“Participant Register” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 10.4.

 

“Payment” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 9.14.

 

“Payment Notice” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 9.14.

 

“PBGC” means the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation referred to and defined in ERISA.

 

“Permitted Acquisition” means an acquisition after the Effective Date by any Borrower or any Restricted Subsidiary of all or substantially all the assets of, or any line of business or division or business unit or line of products of, any other Person, or all or a majority of the Equity Interests of any Person (including with respect to an Investment in a Restricted Subsidiary that serves to increase any Borrower’s or such Restricted Subsidiaries’ respective ownership of Equity Interests therein); provided, (a) such acquisition shall be permitted under Section 5.13, (b) Administrative Agent shall have received, to the extent required and in accordance with the requirements of Sections 5.8 and 5.9, all documents reasonably required by Administrative Agent to have a first priority perfected security interest (subject to Permitted Encumbrances) in the Acquired Entity or Business acquired or created in such acquisition, together with all opinions of counsel, certificates, resolutions and other documents (to the extent required by Sections 5.8 and 5.9), (c) any Person acquired will be a Restricted Subsidiary of Holdings immediately after such acquisition if required by the terms of this Agreement, (d) such acquisition shall not be hostile and shall have been approved by the board of directors (or similar governing body) and shareholders of the Acquired Entity or Business, (e) with respect to any such acquisitions with an aggregate purchase price exceeding the greater of (x) $7,500,000 and (y) 25% of Consolidated EBITDA (determined at the time of any such acquisition (calculated on a pro forma basis) as of the last day of the most recently ended four Fiscal Quarter period for which financial statements have been delivered pursuant to Section 5.1(a) or (b)), the Borrowers shall provide to the Administrative Agent (for distribution to the Lenders) a quality of earnings report from a nationally or regionally recognized accounting firm and a customary due diligence package of readily available items that are reasonably requested by the Administrative Agent; provided, that in any event the Borrower Representative shall provide to the Administrative Agent any quality of earnings that is otherwise available in connection with any such Permitted Acquisition and (f) no Event of Default pursuant to Section 8.1(a), (b), (h) or (i) then exists or would be caused by such acquisition.

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“Permitted Encumbrances” means: (a) Liens for taxes or governmental charges or levies not required to be paid pursuant to Section 5.4; (b) Liens in respect of property imposed by law arising in the Ordinary Course of Business such as materialmen’s, carrier’s, mechanics’, landlord’s, warehousemen’s, grower’s and other like Liens provided that such Liens secure only amounts not more than 90 days past due or are being contested in good faith by appropriate proceedings for which adequate reserves determined in accordance with GAAP have been established (and as to which the property subject to such Lien is not yet subject to foreclosure, sale or loss on account thereof); (c) Liens granted in the Ordinary Course of Business to secure payment of worker’s compensation insurance, unemployment insurance, pensions or social security, property, casualty, or liability insurance, or other insurance programs; (d) Liens in connection with or to secure performance of utilities, tenders, statutory obligations, surety and appeal bonds, bids, leases, government contracts, trade contracts, performance and return-of-money bonds and other similar obligations incurred in the Ordinary Course of Business (other than obligations in respect of the payment of borrowed money); (e) easements, rights-of-way, servitudes, restrictions (including zoning restrictions), defects or irregularities in title and other similar charges or encumbrances not, in any material respect, impairing the use of such property for its intended purposes or interfering with the ordinary conduct of business of any Obligor; (f) Liens securing Capital Lease Obligations or purchase money Indebtedness (which shall include Indebtedness incurred within 270 days of the acquisition, improvement or completion of construction of an asset to finance (or refinance in accordance with Section 6.1(d)) all or a portion of the purchase price or cost of improvement or construction of such asset) to the extent the Capital Lease Obligations or Indebtedness secured by such Lien is permitted by Section 6.1(d) and provided (x) such Lien attaches only to the asset so purchased, constructed or leased and the proceeds and products thereof and customary security deposits and (y) that individual financings of equipment provided by one lender may be cross collateralized to other financings of equipment provided by such lender, in each case, as permitted by Section 6.1(d); (g) licenses or sublicenses (including with respect to patents, trademarks, copyrights, and other intellectual property rights) and leases or subleases granted to others in the Ordinary Course of Business and which could not reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect and any precautionary UCC financing statements filed in connection with such operating lease; (h) 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; (i) liens arising out of judgment or awards in respect of judgments that do not constitute an Event of Default under clause (j) of Section 8.1; (j) Liens in favor of Administrative Agent or for the benefit of the Secured Parties granted pursuant to Loan Documents; (k) customary Liens (including the right of set-off) in favor of banking institutions encumbering deposits held by such banking institutions or in favor of collecting banks incurred in the Ordinary Course of Business; (l) Liens on securities that are the subject of repurchase agreements permitted by the definition of Cash Equivalents; (m) Liens solely on any cash earnest money deposits made in connection with any letter of intent or purchase agreement related to a Capital Expenditure permitted hereunder or a Permitted Acquisition or another Investment permitted hereunder; (n) Liens created under any agreement relating to the sale, lease, transfer or other Disposition of assets permitted hereunder; provided that such Liens relate solely to the assets to be sold, leased, transferred or otherwise disposed of and the proceeds or products thereof and customary security deposits; (o) Liens that are replacements of Permitted Encumbrances to the extent that the original Indebtedness is the subject of permitted Refinancing Indebtedness and so long as the replacement Liens only encumber those assets that secured the original Indebtedness; (p) 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 clause (l) of Section 6.1; (q) Liens on assets that secure Acquired Indebtedness permitted under clause (r) of Section 6.1; provided that such Lien shall not apply to any other assets of Holdings or any Restricted Subsidiary (other than products, proceeds, replacements and accessions thereof pursuant to the terms existing at the time of such acquisition); (r) to the extent constituting Liens, options, put and call arrangements, rights of first refusal and similar rights relating to Equity Interests in Joint Ventures or other Investments in each case permitted pursuant to Section 6.5; (s) Liens set forth on Schedule 6.2; provided that (x) to qualify as a Permitted Encumbrance, any such Lien shall only secure the Indebtedness that is secured on the Effective Date and any Refinancing Indebtedness in respect thereof and shall encumber only such assets and the proceeds and products thereof and customary security deposits as are encumbered by such Liens as of the Effective Date and (y) individual financings provided by one lender with respect to the Indebtedness constituting Capital Lease Obligations or purchase money Indebtedness may be cross collateralized to other financings of provided by such lender; (t) other Liens which may be secured on a pari passu basis with the Obligations (subject to an Intercreditor Agreement or other subordination arrangements reasonably satisfactory to the Administrative Agent) as to which the aggregate amount of the obligations secured thereby does not exceed the greater of (x) $10,000,000 and (y) 35% of Consolidated EBITDA (as of the last day of the most recently ended four Fiscal Quarter period for which financial statements have been delivered pursuant to Section 5.1(a) or (b)) at any time; (u) Liens on Equity Interests of Joint Ventures securing a Guarantee (whether recourse or non-recourse) of obligations of such Joint Venture to the extent such Investment is permitted by Section 6.5; (v) all matters shown on the mortgagee policies of title insurance accepted by Administrative Agent with respect to Mortgaged Properties and any minor survey exceptions and minor defects and irregularities in title and similar encumbrances; (w) Liens securing obligations permitted in respect of any Mortgaged Property by the terms of the applicable Mortgage; (x) Liens on cash or Cash Equivalents securing obligations under Hedging Agreements permitted under this Agreement; (y) Liens arising out of conditional sale, title retention, consignment or similar arrangements with vendors for the sale or purchase of goods entered into by any Borrower or any Restricted Subsidiary in the Ordinary Course of Business; (z) Liens from UCC financing statement filings regarding consignments entered into by any Borrower or any Restricted Subsidiary in the Ordinary Course of Business; (aa) Liens in favor of any Obligor; (bb) Liens securing Indebtedness of Foreign Subsidiaries in an aggregate amount not to exceed the greater of (x) $4,500,000 and (y) 15% of Consolidated EBITDA (as of the last day of the most recently ended four Fiscal Quarter period for which financial statements have been delivered pursuant to Section 5.1(a) or (b))) at any time; (cc) Liens for property taxes on property of a Borrower or any Restricted Subsidiary thereof has determined to abandon if the sole recourse for such tax, assessment, charge, levy, or claim is to such property; (dd) survey exceptions to a title policy with respect to surveys, minor encumbrances, ground leases, easements, or reservations of, rights of others for, licenses, rights-of-way, servitudes, sewers, electric lines, drains, telegraph and telephone and cable television lines, gas and oil pipelines, and other similar purposes, or zoning, building codes, or other restrictions (including, minor defects or irregularities in title and similar encumbrances) as to the use of Real Property or Liens incidental to the conduct of the business of such Person or to the ownership of its properties which were not incurred in connection with Indebtedness for borrowed money and which do not individually or in the aggregate materially adversely affect the value of said properties or materially impair their use in the operation of the business, as currently conducted or as contemplated to be conducted; (ee) customary notices of lis pendens and associated rights related to litigation being contested in good faith by appropriate proceedings for which adequate reserves have been made in accordance with GAAP; (ff) Liens on specific items of inventory or other goods and proceeds of any Person securing such Person’s obligations in respect of bankers’ acceptances or letters of credit issued or created for the account of such person to facilitate the purchase, shipment or storage of such inventory or other goods in the Ordinary Course of Business; (gg) Liens (i) in favor of a Borrower or any Guarantor and (ii) in favor of a Restricted Subsidiary that is not an Obligor on assets of a Restricted Subsidiary that is not an Obligor securing Indebtedness permitted under Section 6.1 and that is not recourse to any Obligor except as otherwise permitted under another clause of this definition of “Permitted Encumbrances” (which, for the avoidance of doubt, shall constitute an incurrence thereunder); (hh) Liens encumbering reasonable customary initial deposits and margin deposits and similar Liens attaching to commodity trading accounts or other brokerage accounts incurred in the Ordinary Course of Business and not for speculative purposes; (ii) Liens that are contractual rights of set-off or rights of pledge (i) relating to the establishment of depository relations with banks or other deposit-taking financial institutions and not given in connection with the issuance of Indebtedness, (ii) relating to pooled deposit or sweep accounts of a Borrower or any Restricted Subsidiary to permit satisfaction of overdraft or similar obligations incurred, in each case, in the Ordinary Course of Business of a Borrower or any Restricted Subsidiary, or (iii) relating to purchase orders and other agreements entered into with customers of a Borrower or any Restricted Subsidiary in the Ordinary Course of Business; (jj) Liens on property subject to any sale-leaseback transaction permitted under Section 6.4(u); (kk) Liens on cash and Cash Equivalents that are earmarked to be used to satisfy or discharge Indebtedness permitted hereunder; provided (i) such cash and/or Cash Equivalents are deposited into an account from which payment is to be made, directly or indirectly, to the Person or Persons holding the Indebtedness that is to be satisfied or discharged, (ii) such Liens extend solely to the account in which such cash and/or Cash Equivalents are deposited and are solely in favor of the Person or Persons holding the Indebtedness (or any agent or trustee for such Person or Persons) that is to be satisfied or discharged, and (iii) the satisfaction or discharge of such Indebtedness is expressly permitted hereunder; (ll) with respect to any Foreign Subsidiary, other Liens and privileges arising mandatorily by any applicable law that are not reasonably expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect; (mm) Liens on Equity Interests and indebtedness of an Unrestricted Subsidiary that secure Indebtedness or other obligations of such Unrestricted Subsidiary; (nn) Liens or rights of set-off against credit balances of a Borrower or any Restricted Subsidiary with credit card issuers or credit card processors or amounts owing by such credit card issuers or credit card processors to a Borrower or any Restricted Subsidiary in the Ordinary Course of Business to secure the obligations of any Subsidiary to the credit card issuers or credit card processors as a result of fees and charges; (oo) customary Liens on Receivables Assets incurred in connection with a Receivables Facility and customary Liens on Receivables Assets arising in connection with a Qualified Securitization Financing; (pp) Liens securing Ratio Debt and Incremental Equivalent Debt; (qq) [reserved]; and (rr) other obligations secured by any asset of a Borrower or any Obligor (other than assets or property required to constitute Collateral) so long as the Secured Obligations are equally and ratably secured thereby.

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“Permitted Equity Issuance” means cash capital contributions to Holdings (other than with respect to Disqualified Equity Interests or a Specified Equity Contribution) or the sale or issuance of any Equity Interests (other than Disqualified Equity Interests) of Holdings, the proceeds of which are contributed to the common equity of any Borrower or any Restricted Subsidiary.

 

“Permitted Holders” means (a)(i) the Sponsor, (ii) the other Investors, (iii) management on the Effective Date and (iv) Permitted Transferees of the foregoing, (b) any person or entity with which the Sponsor and the foregoing Investors form a “group” (within the meaning of the federal securities laws) so long as, in the case of this clause (b), such Investors beneficially own more than 50% of the relevant voting stock beneficially owned by such group, and (c) any person acting in the capacity of an underwriter (solely to the extent that and for so long as such person is acting in such capacity) in connection with a public or private offering of capital stock of any parent entity of the Borrowers.

 

“Permitted Reorganizations” means (i) reorganizations and other activities related to tax planning and other reorganizations and (ii) transactions taken in connection with and reasonably related to consummating an Initial Public Offering, in each case, whether or not consummated, in each case, to the extent the Administrative Agent’s security interests in the Collateral are not materially impaired (as reasonably determined in good faith by the Borrowers).

 

“Permitted Tax Distributions” means, if (1) any of the Borrowers or any of their Subsidiaries file a consolidated, combined, affiliated, aggregated, unitary or similar type of income Tax return with Holdings or any direct or indirect owner thereof (including if the Borrowers or any of their Subsidiaries is treated as a disregarded entity for U.S. federal income Tax purposes of a member of any group that files any such Tax return) or (2) any Borrower is treated as a partnership or a disregarded entity (other than a disregarded entity described in clause (1)) for U.S. federal income Tax purposes, then each such Borrower may make payments to Holdings (or another direct or indirect owner thereof) to permit Holdings (or such owner) to pay income or similar Taxes (including to permit Holdings (or such direct or indirect owner) to make distributions to allow its owners (indirect or direct) to pay income or similar Taxes); provided, that (A) for each year that clause (1) is applicable, the aggregate amount of such distributions shall not be greater than the amount of such Taxes that would have been due and payable by such Borrowers and/or those Subsidiaries of such Borrowers that are members, or disregarded entities of members, of the applicable Tax group with Holdings (or another direct or indirect owner) (as determined by the Borrowers in their good faith discretion), had such Borrowers and/or such Subsidiaries filed a consolidated, combined, affiliated, aggregated, unitary or similar type return for such year with the the applicable Borrower(s) as the parent corporation and (B) for each year (or portion thereof) that clause (2) is applicable, the aggregate amount of such distributions shall not be greater than (I) the aggregate amount of positive taxable income of such Borrowers and their Subsidiaries (reduced by any net taxable losses of such Borrowers and their Subsidiaries for prior taxable years, to the extent not previously taken into account as a reduction to income in determining Permitted Tax Distributions) that would be allocated among its actual or hypothetical members (including as a guaranteed payments for the use of capital) for such year if the applicable Borrower(s) was classified as a partnership for U.S. federal income Tax purposes (and each of the Subsidiaries had its actual classification for U.S. federal income Tax purposes), determined without regard to any deduction relating to qualified business income under Section 199A of the Code (or any similar provision of state or local law), multiplied by (II) the maximum combined marginal U.S. federal, state, and local income Tax rate applicable to any owner of Holdings (or any other direct or indirect owner treated as a partnership) for such year (including any Taxes imposed on net investment income and any self-employment Taxes), taking into account the character of the relevant income or gain and the deductibility of state and local Taxes for U.S. federal income Tax purposes (and any limitations thereon); provided that to the extent that the aggregate amount of such distributions made for any such taxable period exceeds the amount of Permitted Tax Distributions that would have been permitted for such taxable period based on Borrowers’ and their Subsidiaries’ actual taxable income, as finally determined at the close of such taxable period, then the amount of such excess shall be credited against the Permitted Tax Distributions permitted to be made with respect to the immediately subsequent taxable period.

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“Permitted Transferee” means (a) in the case of the Sponsor or any Sponsor Associate, (i) the Sponsor, (ii) the heirs, executors, administrators, testamentary trustees, legatees or beneficiaries of the Sponsor or any Sponsor Associate and (iii) any trust, the beneficiaries of which, or a corporation or partnership, the stockholders or partners of which, include only a Sponsor Associate, his or her spouse, parents, siblings, members of his or her immediate family (including adopted children and step children) and/or direct lineal descendants; and (b) in the case of any Management Equityholder, (i) his or her executor, administrator, testamentary trustee, legatee or beneficiaries, (ii) his or her spouse, parents, siblings, members of his or her immediate family (including adopted children and step children) and/or direct lineal descendants or (iii) a trust, the beneficiaries of which, or a corporation or partnership, the stockholders or partners of which, include only a Management Equityholder and his or her spouse, parents, siblings, members of his or her immediate family (including adopted children) and/or direct lineal descendants.

 

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

 

“PGIM Fund” means any subfund of the ICAV, including PGIM US Investors/Non-US Senior Debt Levered I Fund.

 

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

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“Platform” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 10.1(d).

 

“Prepayment Premium” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 2.10(d)(vi).

 

“Prime Rate” means the rate of interest published in the Wall Street Journal as the “prime rate” for Dollars on such day; provided that in no event shall the Prime Rate be less than zero. The Prime Rate is not necessarily the lowest rate that JPMorgan is charging any corporate customer.

 

“Principal Payment Dates” means (i) with respect to the Initial Term Loans, the end of each Fiscal Quarter of each year, commencing with March 31, 2022, and through and including the Term Loan Maturity Date, (ii) with respect to the Second Amendment Term Loans, the end of each Fiscal Quarter of each year, commencing with March 27, 2023, and through and including the Term Loan Maturity Date and, (iii) with respect to the Third Amendment Term Loans, the end of each Fiscal Quarter of each year, commencing with March 31, 2025, and through and including the Term Loan Maturity Date and (iv) with respect to any Tranche of Incremental Term Loans, such dates (if any) as may be set forth in the Incremental Amendment applicable to such Tranche of Incremental Term Loans.

 

“Proceeding” means any claim, litigation, investigation, action, suit, arbitration or administrative, judicial or regulatory action or proceeding in any jurisdiction.

 

“Pro Rata Share” means, (a) with respect to any Revolving Credit Lender, for purposes of any rights or obligations hereunder affecting or involving Revolving Credit Lenders and not Term Loan Lenders (including any reimbursement obligations in respect of any indemnity claim arising out of an action or omission of Swingline Lender or Issuing Lender under this Agreement), the percentage (carried out to the ninth decimal place) of the total Revolving Credit Commitments represented by such Revolving Credit Lender’s Revolving Credit Commitment, and (b) with respect to any Lender in respect of any rights or obligations affecting or involving all Lenders (including any reimbursement obligations in respect of any indemnity claim arising out of an action or omission of Administrative Agent, Swingline Lender or Issuing Lender under this Agreement), the percentage (carried out to the ninth decimal place) of the total Commitments or Loans, of all Classes hereunder represented by the aggregate amount of such Lender’s Commitments or Loans, as the case may be, of all Classes hereunder. If the Commitments of any Class have terminated or expired, the Pro Rata Share with respect to such Class shall be determined based upon (i) in the case of the Term Loan Lenders of any Class, the outstanding principal amount of the Term Loans of such Class at such time, and (ii) in the case of the Revolving Credit Lenders, Revolving Credit Exposure of all such Revolving Credit Lenders at such time.

 

“Protected Vendor” means any Person that is afforded the benefit of any Lien or trust upon agricultural or animal products sold to the Borrowers and/or their Subsidiaries and/or any proceeds of such agricultural or animal products under any Growers’ Lien Law.

 

“PTE” means a prohibited transaction class exemption issued by the U.S. Department of Labor, as any such exemption may be amended from time to time.

 

“Qualified ECP Guarantor” means, in respect of any Swap Obligation, each Obligor that has total assets exceeding $10,000,000 at the time the relevant Guarantee or grant of the relevant security interests becomes effective with respect to such Swap Obligation or such other person as constitutes an “eligible contract participant” under the Commodity Exchange Act or any regulations promulgated thereunder and can cause another person to qualify as an “eligible contract participant” at such time by entering into a keepwell under Section 1a(18)(A)(v)(II) of the Commodity Exchange Act.

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“Qualified Equity Interest” means and refers to any Equity Interests that is not a Disqualified Equity Interest.

 

“Qualified Jurisdiction” means the United States, Canada, the Cayman Islands, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Switzerland and Australia.

 

“Qualified Proceeds” means assets that are used or useful in, or Equity Interests of any Person engaged in, any business conducted or proposed to be conducted by the Borrowers and the Restricted Subsidiaries, taken as a whole, on the Effective Date or any other business activities which are reasonable extensions thereof or otherwise similar, incidental, corollary, complementary, synergistic, reasonably related, or ancillary to any of the foregoing or to facilitate any of the foregoing (including non-core incidental businesses acquired in connection with any Permitted Acquisition or permitted Investment), in each case as determined by the Borrowers in good faith.

 

“Qualified Securitization Financing” means any Securitization Facility (and any guarantee of such Securitization Facility), that meets the following conditions: (a) the Borrowers shall have determined in good faith that such Securitization Facility (including financing terms, covenants, termination events and other provisions) is in the aggregate economically fair and reasonable to the Borrowers and the Restricted Subsidiaries; (b) all transfers of Receivables Assets and related assets by any Borrower or any Restricted Subsidiary to the Securitization Subsidiary or any other Person are made at Fair Market Value, a portion of which may be paid in the form of an increase in the Seller’s Retained Interest; (c) the financing terms, covenants, termination events and other provisions thereof shall be on then current market terms (as reasonably determined in good faith by the Borrowers) and may include Standard Securitization Undertakings; and (d) the obligations under such Securitization Facility are non-recourse (except for customary representations, warranties, covenants, performance guarantees and indemnities made in connection with such facilities) to any Borrower or any Restricted Subsidiary (other than a Securitization Subsidiary).

 

“Quarterly Dates” means the last day of March, June, September, and December of each year through the later of the Revolving Credit Maturity Date and the Term Loan Maturity Date.

 

“Quarterly Percentage Amount” means (a) with respect to the Initial Term Loan for each Principal Payment Date, the amount equal to 0.25% of the aggregate principal amount of the Initial Term Loan Commitments on the Effective Date and, (b) with respect to the Second Amendment Term Loan for each Principal Payment Date, the amount equal to 0.25% of the aggregate principal amount of the Second Amendment Term Loan Commitments on the Second Amendment Effective Date and (c) with respect to the Third Amendment Term Loan for each Principal Payment Date, the amount equal to 0.25% of the aggregate principal amount of the Third Amendment Term Loan Commitments on the Third Amendment Effective Date.

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“Ratio Debt” means Indebtedness of an Obligor (other than Holdings (other than as a guarantor)); provided that at the time of incurrence thereof:

 

(a)          (i) the scheduled final maturity date of any Ratio Debt (A) that is secured on a pari passu basis with the Obligations will be no earlier than the scheduled final maturity date for the Initial Term Loans and, the Second Amendment Term Loans and the Third Amendment Term Loans and (B) that is unsecured, secured on a junior basis to the Initial Term Loans and, the Second Amendment Term Loans and the Third Amendment Term Loans or secured by assets not constituting Collateral shall not mature prior to the date that is ninety-one (91) days following the scheduled final maturity date for the Initial Term Loans and, the Second Amendment Term Loans and the Third Amendment Term Loans, and (ii) except in the case of a customary bridge facility that is subject to automatic conversion within one (1) year of issuance of such bridge facility on terms that would otherwise satisfy this clause (a), the Weighted Average Life to Maturity of any Ratio Debt will be no shorter than the remaining Weighted Average Life to Maturity of the Initial Term Loans and, the Second Amendment Term Loans and the Third Amendment Term Loans;

 

(b)          any Ratio Debt may provide for participation (x) on a pro rata basis, greater than a pro rata basis, or less than pro rata basis in any voluntary prepayments with respect to its Class of Term Loans, or (y) on a pro rata basis (with respect to any Ratio Debt secured by the Collateral on a pari passu basis with the Initial Term Loans and, the Second Amendment Term Loans and the Third Amendment Term Loans) or less than pro rata basis in any mandatory prepayments with all Term Loans;

 

(c)          (i) to the extent guaranteed by Holdings or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries, any such Ratio Debt shall not be guaranteed by any such Person that is not (or is not required to be) a Guarantor (except (x) any such Person guaranteeing such Ratio Debt that also guarantees the Initial Term Loans, the Second Amendment Term Loans, the Third Amendment Term Loans or Revolving Loans, as applicable and (y) unless such guaranty affirmatively is declined by the Administrative Agent as credit support for the Obligations, it being agreed, for the avoidance of doubt, that a Person qualifying as an Excluded Subsidiary shall not result in the Administrative Agent being deemed to have declined such guaranty); and (ii) to the extent secured by Collateral, shall be subject to an Intercreditor Agreement or other subordination arrangements reasonably satisfactory to the Administrative Agent and shall not be secured by any assets other than Collateral;

 

(d)          except as otherwise specifically addressed herein, all terms of Ratio Debt shall be determined by the Borrowers and shall either, at the option of the Borrowers, (i) reflect current market terms and conditions (taken as a whole) at the time of incurrence or issuance (as determined by the Borrowers), (ii) be consistent with the terms of the corresponding class under the Facilities unless, in the case of this clause (ii), (x) the Lenders under the corresponding class under the Facilities also receive the benefit of such more restrictive terms or (y) any such provisions apply only after the Latest Maturity Date of the Facilities, or (iii) not be materially more restrictive to the Borrowers, when taken as a whole, than the terms of the applicable class under the Facilities;

 

(e)          the interest rate, margin, original issue discount, up-front fees and other fees and rate floors for such Ratio Debt in the form of term loans may be determined by the Borrowers and the Lenders providing such Ratio Debt, as applicable, providing such Ratio Debt; provided that, in the event that the All-in Yield for any such Ratio Debt that is in the form of term loans that ranks pari passu in right of payment and security with the existing Term Loans incurred (other than in reliance on clause (i) of the Incremental Amount at the time of initial incurrence) is greater than the All-in Yield for the existing Term Loans by more than 50 basis points, then the Applicable Margin for the existing Term Loans shall be increased to the extent necessary so that the All-in Yield for such Ratio Debt is no more than 50 basis points higher than the All-in Yield for the existing Term Loans; provided that, in the event that the All-In Yield for such Ratio Debt is higher than the All-In Yield for the existing Term Loans solely as a result of a higher rate floor for such Ratio Debt, the adjustment to the All-In Yield of the existing Term Loans shall be effected solely by increasing the rate floor; and

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(f)          Ratio Debt (i) may rank either pari passu or junior in right of payment with any Class of Term Loans (including the Initial Term Loans and, the Second Amendment Term Loans and the Third Amendment Term Loans) and the initial Revolving Commitments and (ii) for the avoidance of doubt, may be secured on a pari passu basis with the Obligations, on a junior basis to the Obligations, be unsecured or be secured by assets not constituting Collateral.

 

“Real Property Requirement” means the requirement that the real property owned by any Obligor and located in the United States shall be a Mortgaged Property as shall be necessary in order that any real property owned on or acquired after the Effective Date by an Obligor located in the United States and with a Fair Market Value measured at the time of acquisition in excess of (a) the greater of (i) $2,000,000 and (ii) 6.5% of Consolidated EBITDA (as of the last day of the most recently ended four Fiscal Quarter period for which financial statements have been delivered pursuant to Section 5.1(a) or (b) individually or (b) the greater of (i) $6,000,000 and (ii) 20% of Consolidated EBITDA (as of the last day of the most recently ended four Fiscal Quarter period for which financial statements have been delivered pursuant to Section 5.1(a) or (b) in the aggregate for all such real property be subject to a Mortgage.

 

“Receivables Assets” means (a) any accounts receivable, including proceeds thereof, owed to a Borrower or a Restricted Subsidiary and arising in the ordinary course of business from the sale of goods and services, and (b) all collateral securing such accounts receivable, all contracts and contract rights, guarantees or other obligations in respect of such accounts receivable, all records with respect to such accounts receivable and any other related assets customarily transferred together with accounts receivable in connection with a non-recourse accounts receivable securitization or factoring arrangement and which are sold, conveyed, assigned or otherwise transferred or pledged in connection with a Receivables Facility.

 

“Receivables Facility” means any of one or more receivables financing facilities (and any guarantee of such financing facility) that meets the following conditions: (i) the obligations under such facility are non-recourse (except for customary representations, warranties, covenants and indemnities made in connection with such facilities) to the Borrowers and the Restricted Subsidiaries, (ii) pursuant to such facility any Borrower or any Restricted Subsidiary sells, directly or indirectly, grants a security interest in or otherwise transfers its Receivables Assets to either (a) a Person that is not a Borrower or a Restricted Subsidiary or (b) a Receivables Subsidiary that in turn funds such purchase by (1) transferring its accounts receivable to a Person that is not a Borrower or a Restricted Subsidiary or by borrowing from such Person or from another Receivables Subsidiary that in turn funds itself by borrowing from such Person or (2) the issuance to such Borrower or such Restricted Subsidiary of Seller’s Retained Interests or an increase in such Seller’s Retained Interests and (iii) the financing terms, covenants, termination events and other provisions thereof shall be on market terms (as determined in good faith by the Borrowers) and may include Standard Securitization Undertakings and shall include any guaranty in respect of such financing facility.

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“Receivables Subsidiary” means any Subsidiary of any Borrower formed for the purpose of, and that solely engages in, facilitating or entering into one or more Receivables Facilities and any other activities reasonably related or incidental thereto or another Person formed for the purposes of engaging in a Receivables Facility in which any Borrower or any Restricted Subsidiary makes an Investment and to which such Borrower or such Restricted Subsidiary transfers accounts receivables and related assets or grants a security interest in Receivables Assets.

 

“Recipient” means (a) Administrative Agent, (b) any Lender or Swingline Lender, and (c) any Issuing Lender, as applicable.

 

“Reference Time” with respect to any setting of the then-current Benchmark means (1) if such Benchmark is the Term SOFR Rate, 6:00 a.m. (New York City time) on the day that is two (2) Business Days preceding the date of such setting, (2) if the RFR for such Benchmark is Daily Simple SOFR, then four (4) Business Days prior to such setting or (3) if such Benchmark is not the Term SOFR Rate or Daily Simple SOFR, the time determined by the Administrative Agent in its reasonable discretion.

 

“Refinanced Term Loans” has the meaning set forth in Section 10.02(b).

 

“Refinancing Amendment” means an amendment to this Agreement executed by (a) the Borrower Representative, (b) the Administrative Agent, (c) each Additional Refinancing Lenders and (d) each Lender that agrees to provide any portion of Refinancing Term Loans, Refinancing Revolving Credit Commitments or Refinancing Revolving Credit Loans incurred pursuant thereto, in accordance with Section 2.22.

 

“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, plus the amount of any premiums, make-whole amounts or penalties and accrued and unpaid interest paid thereon, the fees and expenses incurred in connection therewith (including any closing fees and original issue discount) and by the amount of the unfunded commitments with respect thereto unless otherwise permitted under a separate clause of Section 6.1, (b) other than Capital Leases and revolving Indebtedness, such refinancings, renewals, or extensions do not result in a shortening of the scheduled maturity date or the Weighted Average Life to Maturity (measured as of the refinancing, renewal, or extension) of the Indebtedness so refinanced, renewed, or extended, (c) if the Indebtedness that is refinanced, renewed, or extended was unsecured or subordinated in right of payment to the Obligations, then (x) in the case of unsecured Indebtedness, such Refinancing Indebtedness must be unsecured unless otherwise permitted under a separate clause of Section 6.1 and (y) in the case of subordinated Indebtedness, the terms and conditions of the refinancing, renewal, or extension must include subordination terms and conditions (taken as a whole) that are at least as favorable in all material respects to the Secured Parties as those that were applicable to the refinanced, renewed, or extended Indebtedness, and (d) except as otherwise permitted, the Indebtedness that is refinanced, renewed, or extended is not recourse to any Obligor other than those Persons which were obligated with respect to the Indebtedness that was refinanced, renewed, or extended or secured by any property other than property that secured the Indebtedness that was refinanced, renewed or extended.

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“Refinancing Revolving Credit Commitments” means one or more Classes of Revolving Credit Commitments hereunder that result from a Refinancing Amendment.

 

“Refinancing Revolving Credit Loans” means one or more Classes of Revolving Credit Loans that result from a Refinancing Amendment.

 

“Refinancing Series” means all Refinancing Term Loans or Refinancing Term Commitments that are established pursuant to the same Refinancing Amendment (or any subsequent Refinancing Amendment to the extent such Refinancing Amendment expressly provides that the Refinancing Term Loans or Refinancing Term Commitments, Refinancing Revolving Credit Loans or Refinancing Revolving Credit Commitments provided for therein are intended to be a part of any previously established Refinancing Series) and that provide for the same All-In Yield (other than, for this purpose, any original issue discount or upfront fees), if applicable and amortization schedule.

 

“Refinancing Term Commitments” means one or more term loan commitments hereunder that fund Refinancing Term Loans of the applicable Refinancing Series hereunder pursuant to a Refinancing Amendment.

 

“Refinancing Term Loans” means one or more Classes of Term Loans that result from a Refinancing Amendment.

 

“Register” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 10.4.

 

“Registered Loan” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 10.4.

 

“Reinvestment Assets” means assets used or useful in a Borrower’s or a Restricted Subsidiary’s business, Capital Expenditures, Permitted Acquisitions and other permitted Investments (other than cash and Cash Equivalents).

 

“Reinvestment Deferred Amount” means, with respect to any Reinvestment Event, the aggregate Net Cash Proceeds received by any Borrower and its Restricted Subsidiaries in connection therewith that are not applied to prepay the Loans.

 

“Reinvestment Event” means the receipt of any Net Cash Proceeds from any Disposition or Event of Loss in respect of which the Borrowers have elected to reinvest the Net Cash Proceeds in Reinvestment Assets.

 

“Reinvestment Prepayment Amount” means, with respect to any Reinvestment Event, the Reinvestment Deferred Amount relating thereto less any amount expended prior to the relevant Reinvestment Prepayment Date to invest in Reinvestment Assets.

 

“Reinvestment Prepayment Date” means, with respect to any Reinvestment Event, the earlier of (a) the date occurring 365 days after (or 30 days prior to such date, to the extent the applicable Borrower or Restricted Subsidiary has committed to reinvest such proceeds) such Reinvestment Event (or if a Borrower or a Restricted Subsidiary has committed to reinvest such proceeds within such 365 days, within 180 days following such 365 days) and (b) the date on which the Borrowers shall have determined not to invest in Reinvestment Assets.

 

“Rejection Notice” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 2.10(d)(iii).

 

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

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“Relevant Governmental Body” means the Federal Reserve Board, the NYFRB, and/or the CME Term SOFR Administrator, as applicable, or a committee officially endorsed or convened by the Federal Reserve Board and/or the NYFRB, or, in each case, any successor thereto.

 

“Relevant Rate” means (i) with respect to any Term Benchmark Borrowing, the Adjusted Term SOFR Rate or (ii) with respect to any RFR Borrowing, the Adjusted Daily Simple SOFR, as applicable.

 

“Replacement Term Loans” has the meaning set forth in Section 10.02(b).

 

“Required Facility Lenders” means, at any time, with respect to one or more Facilities, Lenders having Revolving Credit Exposures, outstanding Term Loans and/or unused Commitments representing more than 50% of the sum of Revolving Credit Exposures, outstanding Term Loans and/or unused Commitments under such Facility; provided the Commitments of, and the portion of the Revolving Credit Exposure and outstanding Incremental Term Loans held or deemed held by, any Defaulting Lender shall be excluded for purposes of making a determination of Required Facility Lenders.

 

“Required Lenders” means, at any time, Lenders having Revolving Credit Exposures, outstanding Term Loans, and unused Commitments representing more than 50% of the sum of the total Revolving Credit Exposures, total outstanding Term Loans and unused Commitments at such time; provided the Commitments of, and the portion of the Revolving Credit Exposure and outstanding Term Loans held or deemed held by, any Defaulting Lender shall be excluded for purposes of making a determination of Required Lenders; provided, further, that for so long as there are two or more Lenders each holding more than ten percent (10%) of the sum of the total Revolving Credit Exposures, total outstanding Term Loans and unused Commitments at such time, the term “Required Lenders” must include at least two unaffiliated Lenders, each holding no less than five percent (5%) of such total Revolving Credit Exposures, total outstanding Term Loans and unused Commitments.

 

“Required Revolving Lenders” means, at any time, Revolving Credit Lenders having Revolving Credit Exposures and unused Revolving Credit Commitments representing more than 50% of the sum of the total Revolving Credit Exposures and unused Revolving Credit Commitments at such time. The Revolving Credit Exposures and unused Revolving Credit Commitments of any Defaulting Lender shall be disregarded in determining Required Revolving Lenders at any time.

 

“Resolution Authority” means an EEA Resolution Authority or, with respect to any UK Financial Institution, a UK Resolution Authority.

 

“Responsible Officer” means the chief executive officer, president, chief financial officer, chief administrative officer, principal accounting officer, treasurer, assistant treasurer, vice president of finance, secretary, assistant secretary or controller of any Person. Any document delivered hereunder that is signed by a Responsible Officer of any Person shall be conclusively presumed to have been authorized by all necessary corporate, partnership and/or other action on the part of such Person.

 

“Restricted Payment” means, with respect to any Person, any dividend or other distribution (whether in cash, securities or other property) with respect to any Equity Interest of or issued by such Person, or any payment (whether in cash, securities or other property), including any sinking fund or similar deposit, on account of the purchase, redemption, retirement, acquisition, cancellation or termination of any Equity Interest or Equity Right of or issued by such Person or any payment of management fees or consulting fees to any holder of Equity Interests of such Person.

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“Restricted Subsidiary” means any Subsidiary of a Borrower other than an Unrestricted Subsidiary.

 

“Restrictive Agreement” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 6.8.

 

“Retained ECF Amount” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 2.10(b)(ii).

 

“Returns” means, with respect to any Investment, any dividends, distributions, interest, fees, premium, return of capital, repayment of principal, income, profits (from a Disposition or otherwise) and other amounts received or realized in respect of such Investment.

 

“Revolving Credit Availability Period” means the period from and including the Effective Date and ending on the earlier of the Business Day immediately preceding the Revolving Credit Maturity Date and the date of termination of the Revolving Credit Commitments pursuant to the terms hereof.

 

“Revolving Credit Commitment” means at any time, with respect to each Lender, the commitment, if any, of such Lender to make Revolving Credit Loans (including any Incremental Revolving Credit Commitment) and to acquire participations in Letters of Credit and Swingline Loans hereunder, expressed as an amount representing the maximum aggregate amount of such Lender’s Revolving Credit Exposure at such time hereunder, as such commitment may be (a) reduced from time to time pursuant to Section 2.8 or 2.18(b), (b) reduced or increased from time to time pursuant to assignments by or to such Lender pursuant to Section 10.4, or (c) increased pursuant to Section 2.19. The amount of each Lender’s Revolving Credit Commitment as of the Effective Date is set forth below its name or its signature page to this Agreement, or thereafter, in the Assignment and Assumption pursuant to which such Lender becomes a party hereto, as applicable. The initialAs of the Third Amendment Effective Date, the aggregate amount of the Lenders’ Revolving Credit Commitments is $25,000,00040,000,000.

 

“Revolving Credit Exposure” means, with respect to any Revolving Credit Lender at any time, the sum, without duplication, of the outstanding principal amount of such Lender’s Revolving Credit Loans, LC Exposure and Swingline Exposure at such time.

 

“Revolving Credit Lender” means a Lender with a Revolving Credit Commitment or, if the Revolving Credit Commitments have terminated or expired, a Lender with Revolving Credit Exposure.

 

“Revolving Credit Loan” means a Loan made pursuant to Section 2.1 (including loans made pursuant to an Incremental Revolving Credit Commitment).

 

“Revolving Credit Loan Extension Request” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 2.23.

 

“Revolving Credit Maturity Date” means (i) with respect to the Revolving Credit Commitment on the Effective Date, August 23, 20262028, (ii) with respect to any tranche of Extended Revolving Credit Commitments, the final maturity date as specified in the applicable Extension Amendment and (iii) with respect to any Refinancing Revolving Credit Commitments, the final maturity date as specified in the applicable Refinancing Amendment.

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“RFR Borrowing” means, as to any Borrowing, the RFR Loans comprising such Borrowing.

 

“RFR Loan” means a Loan that bears interest at a rate based on the Adjusted Daily Simple SOFR.

 

“Sanctioned Person” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 3.17.

 

“Sanctions” means any sanctions administered, imposed or enforced by the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control, the U.S. Department of State, the United Nations Security Council or other relevant sanctions authority.

 

“SEC” means the Securities and Exchange Commission.

 

“Second Amendment” means that certain Second Amendment to Credit Agreement, dated as of October 11, 2022 by and among the Borrower Representative, Holdings, the Guarantors party thereto, the Lenders party thereto and the Administrative Agent.

 

“Second Amendment Acquisition” means the acquisition contemplated by the Second Amendment Acquisition Agreement.

 

“Second Amendment Acquisition Agreement” means that certain Agreement and Plan of Merger, dated as of October 11, 2022, by and among Vive Buyer, Inc., a Delaware corporation, Vive Merger Sub I, Inc., a Delaware corporation and Vive Organic.

 

“Second Amendment Effective Date” means October 11, 2022.

 

“Second Amendment Fee Letter” means that certain Fee letter, dated as of October 11, 2022, executed by the Borrower Representative and the Administrative Agent setting forth certain of the applicable fees relating to the Second Amendment to be paid to the Administrative Agent, on its behalf and on behalf of certain of the Lenders.

 

“Second Amendment PGIM Fee Letter” means that certain OID and Fee letter, dated as of October 11, 2022, executed by the Borrower Representative and PGIM, Inc. setting forth certain of the applicable fees relating to the Second Amendment to be paid to PGIM, Inc., on its behalf and on behalf of certain of the Lenders.

 

“Second Amendment Transaction Costs” means the fees, costs, and expenses payable by the Obligors in connection with the consummation of the Second Amendment Transactions.

 

“Second Amendment Transactions” mean, collectively, (a) the consummation of the Second Amendment Acquisition, (b) the execution, delivery and performance by each Obligor of the Second Amendment and the other applicable Loan Documents on the Second Amendment Effective Date, (c) the initial borrowing of Second Amendment Term Loans, and (d) the payment of all fees and expenses to be paid on or prior to the Second Amendment Effective Date and owing in connection with the foregoing.

 

“Second Amendment Term Loan” means a Loan made pursuant to Section 2.1(c).

 

“Second Amendment Term Loan Lender” has the meaning assigned to such term in the Second Amendment.

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“Second Amendment Term Loan Commitment” means, with respect to each applicable Second Amendment Term Loan Lender, its obligation to make a Second Amendment Term Loan to the Borrowers on the Second Amendment Effective Date in an aggregate principal amount up to, and not to exceed, the amount set forth on Schedule I to the Second Amendment under the caption “Second Amendment Term Loan Commitment”. The aggregate amount of the Second Amendment Term Loan Lenders’ Term Loan Commitments is $42,000,000 as of the Second Amendment Effective Date.

 

“Secured Parties” means, collectively, Administrative Agent, the Lenders, Issuing Lender, Swingline Lender, and each Bank Product Provider.

 

“Securities Act” means the Securities Act of 1933, as amended from time to time.

 

“Securitization Asset” means (a) any accounts receivable or related assets and the proceeds thereof owed to a Borrower or any Restricted Subsidiary and arising in the ordinary course of business from the sale of goods or services and (b) all collateral securing such receivable or asset, all contracts and contract rights, guaranties or other obligations in respect of such receivable or asset, lockbox accounts and records with respect to such account or asset and any other related assets customarily transferred (or in respect of which security interests are customarily granted), together with accounts or assets in a securitization financing and which in the case of clause (a) and (b) above are sold, conveyed, assigned or otherwise transferred or pledged in connection with a Qualified Securitization Financing.

 

“Securitization Facility” means any transaction or series of securitization financings that may be entered into by any Borrower or any Restricted Subsidiary pursuant to which any Borrower or any such Restricted Subsidiary may sell, convey or otherwise transfer, or may grant a security interest in, Securitization Assets to either (a) a Person that is not a Borrower or a Restricted Subsidiary or (b) a Securitization Subsidiary that in turn sells such Securitization Assets to a Person that is not a Borrower or a Restricted Subsidiary, or may grant a security interest in, any Securitization Assets of a Borrower or any of its Subsidiaries.

 

“Securitization Subsidiary” means any Subsidiary of any Borrower in each case formed for the purpose of, and that solely engages in, one or more Qualified Securitization Financings and other activities reasonably related thereto or another Person formed for the purposes of engaging in a Qualified Securitization Financing in which any Borrower or any Restricted Subsidiary makes an Investment and to which any Borrower or such Restricted Subsidiary transfers Securitization Assets and related assets.

 

“Security Agreement” means the Pledge and Security Agreement, dated as of the Effective Date, among the Borrowers and the other Obligors (and any other Obligor that becomes a party thereto by joinder after the Effective Date), as “Grantors”, and the Administrative Agent.

 

“Security Documents” means, collectively, (a) the Security Agreement, each Mortgage, the Control Agreements, and each other agreement, instrument, or document that creates or purports to create a Lien securing the Obligations in favor of Administrative Agent pursuant to or in connection with this Agreement and all UCC financing statements and fixture filings required by the Security Agreement or any Mortgage, or such other agreement, instrument, or document to be filed with respect to the Liens created pursuant thereto and each other security agreement or other document executed and delivered after the Effective Date to secure any of the Obligations and (b) any amendments, supplements, modifications, renewals, restatements, replacements, consolidations, substitutions and extensions of any of the foregoing in accordance with their respective terms.

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“Seller’s Retained Interest” means the debt or equity interests held by any Borrower or any Restricted Subsidiary in (i) a Securitization Subsidiary to which Securitization Assets have been transferred, and/or (ii) a Receivables Subsidiary to which Receivables Assets have been transferred including, in each case, any such debt or equity received as consideration for or as a portion of the purchase price for the Securitization Assets and/or Receivables Assets transferred, or any other instrument through which any Borrower or any Restricted Subsidiary has rights to or receives distributions in respect of any deferred purchase price or other residual or excess interest in such Securitization Assets and/or Receivables Assets.

 

“SOFR” means a rate per annum equal to the secured overnight financing rate as administered by the SOFR Administrator.

 

“SOFR Administrator” means the NYFRB (or a successor administrator of the secured overnight financing rate).

 

“SOFR Administrator’s Website” means the NYFRB’s Website, currently at http://www.newyorkfed.org, or any successor source for the secured overnight financing rate identified as such by the SOFR Administrator from time to time.

 

“Solvent” and “Solvency” mean, with respect to any Person and its Restricted Subsidiaries on a consolidated basis on any date of determination, that on such date (a) the fair value of the assets (on a going concern basis) of such Person and its Restricted Subsidiaries, on a consolidated basis, is greater than the debt, including contingent liabilities, of such Person and its Restricted Subsidiaries, on a consolidated basis, (b) the present fair salable value of the assets of such Person and its Restricted Subsidiaries (on a going concern basis), on a consolidated basis, is not less than the amount that will be required to pay the probable liability, on a consolidated basis, of such Person and its Restricted Subsidiaries on their debts as they become absolute and matured in the ordinary course of business, (c) such Person and its Restricted Subsidiaries, on a consolidated basis, do not intend to, or believe that they will, incur debts (including current obligations and contingent liabilities) beyond such Person’s and its Restricted Subsidiaries’, on a consolidated basis, ability to pay such debts as they become due in the ordinary course of business, and (d) the capital of such Person and its Restricted Subsidiaries, on a consolidated basis, is not unreasonably small in relation to the business of such Person and its Restricted Subsidiaries, on a consolidated basis, contemplated on the date of determination. The amount of contingent liabilities at any time shall be computed as the amount that, in the light of all the facts and circumstances existing at such time, represents the amount that can reasonably be expected to become an actual or matured liability in the ordinary course of business.

 

“Specified Equity Contribution” means cash proceeds of a sale of, or contribution to, equity (which equity shall be Qualified Equity Interests) of Holdings, and contributed by Holdings to a Borrower and/or a Restricted Subsidiary of Holdings, designated by the Borrowers as a “Specified Equity Contribution” pursuant to Section 8.3, and made after the last day of the applicable Fiscal Quarter and on or prior to the day that is 15 Business Days after the day on which financial statements are required to be delivered for such Fiscal Quarter pursuant to Section 5.1(a) and (b).

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“Specified Existing Revolving Credit Commitment” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 2.23.

 

“Specified Purchase Agreement Representations” means each of the representations made by or on behalf of the Borrower, any Affiliate or Subsidiary thereof, or their respective businesses, as set forth in the Surf Merger Agreement, in each case, that are material to the interests of the Lenders, but only to the extent that Holdings, the Initial Borrower or their respective Affiliates have the right to terminate its respective obligations under the Surf Merger Agreement, or to decline to consummate the Acquisition as a result of a breach of such representations in the Surf Merger Agreement.

 

“Specified Representations” means the representations set forth in Sections 3.1(a) (with respect to the organizational existence of the Obligors (other than any Obligor that is not a Material Subsidiary) only), 3.1(c), 3.2, 3.3(b), 3.8, 3.12, 3.17, 3.20 and 3.22 of this Agreement.

 

“Specified Transaction” means any Permitted Acquisition, or any other Investment that results in a Person becoming a Restricted Subsidiary of Holdings, any Material Disposition that results in a Person ceasing to be a Restricted Subsidiary of Holdings, any Investment constituting an acquisition of assets constituting a business unit, line of business or division of another Person or any Material Disposition of a business unit, line of business or division of Holdings or a Restricted Subsidiary, in each case whether by merger, consolidation, amalgamation or otherwise, or any incurrence or repayment of Indebtedness (other than Indebtedness incurred or repaid under any revolving credit facility in the ordinary course of business for working capital purposes without any adjustment to the commitments thereunder), Restricted Payment or other event that by the terms of this Agreement requires a test to be calculated for “pro forma compliance” or on a “pro forma basis” or after giving “pro forma effect.”

 

“Sponsor” means Paine Schwartz Partners, LLC, together with its Sponsor Affiliates.

 

“Sponsor Affiliates” means with respect to the Sponsor, any Person (including, for the avoidance of doubt, any continuation fund or similar vehicle that otherwise qualifies under clause (a) or (b) of this definition) that (a) is organized by the Sponsor or an Affiliate of the Sponsor for the purpose of making and/or holding equity or debt investments in one or more companies, and (b), directly or indirectly, is managed, advised or controlled by the Sponsor, but excluding any operating portfolio companies of the foregoing.

 

“Sponsor Associate” means any managing director, director, officer, or employee of the Sponsor.

 

“Sponsor-Controlled Affiliated Lender” means, at any time, any Lender that is the Sponsor or a Non-Debt Fund Affiliate, in each case, other than Holdings, the Borrower or any of its Subsidiaries, any Debt Fund Affiliate or any natural person.

 

“Sponsor-Controlled Affiliated Lender Assignment and Assumption” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 10.4(g).

 

“Sponsor-Controlled Affiliated Lender Cap” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 10.4(g).

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“Sponsor Equity Contribution” means a cash equity contribution in the form of a common equity investment, Qualified Equity Interests or otherwise on terms acceptable to the Lead Arranger (such approval not to be unreasonably withheld, delayed, conditioned or denied), in an amount not less than (when combined with any rollover or reinvested equity in the Company or a direct or indirect parent thereof received by management of the Company and by other existing direct or indirect equity holders of the Company in connection with the Merger) 50% of the sum of (a) the aggregate gross proceeds of the Loans to be borrowed under this Agreement on the Effective Date (excluding, the aggregate gross proceeds of any Revolving Credit Loans borrowed to fund original issue discount or upfront fees in the Fee Letter and Transaction Costs), plus (b) the amount of the Equity Contribution, contributed, directly or indirectly, by the Sponsor to the Initial Borrower on the Effective Date, as such amount may be modified in accordance with Section 4.1(n)).

 

“Standard Securitization Undertakings” means representations, warranties, covenants, repurchase obligations and indemnities entered into by any Borrower or any Restricted Subsidiary which are customary for a seller or servicer of assets transferred in connection with a non-recourse, bankruptcy-remote financing of accounts receivable.

 

“Subordinated Indebtedness” means unsecured Indebtedness incurred pursuant to Section 6.1(p) and owing by an Obligor at any time, provided, that, (a) such Indebtedness does not require any scheduled payment of cash interest or principal (including pursuant to a sinking fund obligation) or mandatory redemption or redemption at the option of the holders thereof prior to the date that is 6 months after the Term Loan Maturity Date, (b) such Indebtedness is contractually subordinated in right of payment and action to the Obligations in a manner reasonably acceptable to the Administrative Agent, (c) such Indebtedness does not contain any financial performance covenants, is not cross defaulted to this Agreement and contains other terms that are reasonably acceptable to the Administrative Agent, provided that all covenants and events of default (including change of control provisions) are not more restrictive than the covenants and events of default contained in this Agreement, taken as a whole, (d) such Indebtedness provides for all interest to be paid in kind (and not in cash) during the term of this Agreement, and (e) both before and after giving effect to incurrence of such Indebtedness, the Borrowers would be in compliance with the Financial Covenant on a pro forma basis as of the end of the most recent Fiscal Quarter for which financial statements have been delivered to the Lenders (whether or not such Financial Covenant is required to be tested for such Fiscal Quarter end), and, no Default or Event of Default shall exist under this Agreement.

 

“Subsidiary” means, with respect to any Person (the “parent”) at any date, any other Person the accounts of which would be consolidated with those of the parent in the parent’s consolidated financial statements if such financial statements were prepared in accordance with GAAP as of such date, as well as any other Person (a) of which more than 50% of the Equity Interests or more than 50% of the ordinary voting power, are as of such date, owned, controlled or held by the parent (either directly or through one or more intermediaries or both) or (b) the management of which is, as of such date, otherwise controlled, by the parent (either directly or through one or more intermediaries or both). Unless otherwise specified, “Subsidiary” means a Subsidiary of Holdings.

 

“Subsidiary Guarantors” means each Restricted Subsidiary that has executed a Guaranty Agreement.

 

“Surf Merger Agreement” means that certain Agreement and Plan of Merger dated as of July 7, 2021, between Holdings, the Initial Borrower and the Borrower, together with all exhibits, schedules, annexes and disclosures relating thereto.

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“Swap Obligation” means, with respect to any Obligor, any obligation to pay or perform under any agreement, contract, or transaction that constitutes a “swap” within the meaning of Section 1a(47) of the Commodity Exchange Act.

 

“Swingline Exposure” means, at any time, the aggregate principal amount of all Swingline Loans outstanding at such time. The Swingline Exposure of any Revolving Credit Lender at any time shall be its Pro Rata Share of the total Swingline Exposure at such time.

 

“Swingline Lender” means JPMorgan, in its capacity as lender of Swingline Loans hereunder, or any other Lender selected by JPMorgan with the consent of the Borrowers that shall agree with Administrative Agent to act as Swingline Lender.

 

“Swingline Loan” means a Loan made pursuant to Section 2.4.

 

“Synthetic Lease Obligation” means the monetary obligation of a Person under (a) a so-called synthetic, off-balance sheet or tax retention lease, or (b) an agreement for the use or possession of property (including sale and leaseback transactions), in each case, creating obligations that do not appear on the balance sheet of such Person but which, upon the application of any Debtor Relief Laws to such Person, would be characterized as the indebtedness of such Person (without regard to accounting treatment).

 

“Tax Preferred Subsidiary” means a Foreign Holdco, a CFC, and any direct or indirect Subsidiary of either of the foregoing.

 

“Taxes” means all present or future taxes, levies, imposts, duties, deductions, withholdings (including backup withholding), assessments, fees or other similar charges imposed by any Governmental Authority, including any interest, additions to tax or penalties applicable thereto imposed by any Governmental Authority.

 

“Term Benchmark” when used in reference to any Loan or Borrowing, refers to whether such Loan, or the Loans comprising such Borrowing, are bearing interest at a rate determined by reference to the Adjusted Term SOFR Rate.

 

“Term Loan” means, collectively, the Initial Term Loans, Second Amendment Term Loans, the Third Amendment Term Loans and any Incremental Term Loans, Extended Term Loan, Replacement Term Loan or Refinancing Term Loan, in each case to the extent outstanding or in existence.

 

“Term Loan Commitment” means, collectively, the Initial Term Loan Commitment and, the Second Lien Term Loan Commitment and the Third Amendment Term Loan Commitment.

 

“Term Loan Lender” means a Lender with a Term Loan Commitment or an outstanding Term Loan, Extended Term Loan or Refinancing Term Loan.

 

“Term Loan Maturity Date” means (i) with respect to the Initial Term Loans and, the Second Amendment Term Loans and the Third Amendment Term Loans, August 23, 20272029, (ii) with respect to any Tranche of Incremental Term Loans, the final maturity as specified in the applicable Incremental Amendment and in accordance with Section 2.19(a), (iii) with respect to any Refinancing Term Loan, Extended Term Loan or Replacement Term Loan, the final maturity date as specified in the applicable Refinancing Amendment and (iv) with respect to any tranche of Extended Term Loans, the final maturity date as specified in the applicable Extension Amendment.

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“Term SOFR Adjustment” means, for any calculation with respect to a Base Rate Loan or Term Benchmark Loan, a percentage per annum as set forth below for the applicable Type of such Loan and (if applicable) Interest Period therefor:

 

Interest Period   Percentage
One Month   0.10%
Three Months   0.15%
Six Months   0.25%

 

“Term SOFR Rate” means, with respect to any Term Benchmark Loan and for any tenor comparable to the applicable Interest Period, the Term SOFR Reference Rate at approximately 6:00 a.m., New York City time, two (2) U.S. Government Securities Business Days prior to the commencement of such tenor comparable to the applicable Interest Period, as such rate is published by the CME Term SOFR Administrator; provided that if the Term SOFR Rate as so determined would be less than the Floor, such rate shall be deemed to be equal to the Floor for the purposes of this Agreement.

 

“Term SOFR Reference Rate” means, for any day and time (such day, the “Term SOFR Determination Day”), and for any tenor comparable to the applicable Interest Period, the rate per annum determined by the Administrative Agent as the forward-looking term rate based on SOFR. If by 5:00 pm (New York City time) on such Term SOFR Determination Day, the “Term SOFR Reference Rate” for the applicable tenor has not been published by the CME Term SOFR Administrator and a Benchmark Replacement Date with respect to the Term SOFR Rate has not occurred, then the Term SOFR Reference Rate for such Term SOFR Determination Day will be the Term SOFR Reference Rate as published in respect of the first preceding U.S. Government Securities Business Day for which such Term SOFR Reference Rate was published by the CME Term SOFR Administrator, so long as such first preceding Business Day is not more than five (5) Business Days prior to such Term SOFR Determination Day.

 

“Termination Value” means, in respect of any Hedging Agreement, after taking into account the effect of any legally enforceable netting agreement relating to such Hedging Agreement, (a) for any date on or after the date such Hedging Agreement has been closed out and termination value determined in accordance therewith, such termination value, and (b) for any date prior to the date referenced in clause (a) of this definition the amount determined as the mark-to-market value for such Hedging Agreement, as determined based upon one or more mid-market or other readily available quotations provided by any recognized dealer in such Hedging Agreement (which may include any Lender or any Affiliate of any Lender).

 

“Third Amendment” means that certain Third Amendment to Credit Agreement, dated as of October 31, 2024 by and among the Borrower Representative, Holdings, the Guarantors party thereto, the Lenders party thereto and the Administrative Agent.

 

“Third Amendment Dividend” means that certain one-time dividend or distribution in an aggregate amount not to exceed $135,000,000 to be made by the Borrowers and their Restricted Subsidiaries on or about the Third Amendment Effective Date to Holdings (or any direct or indirect parent thereof).

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“Third Amendment Effective Date” means October 31, 2024.

 

“Third Amendment Fee Letter” means that certain Fee letter, dated as of October 31, 2024, executed by the Borrower Representative and the Administrative Agent setting forth certain of the applicable fees relating to the Third Amendment to be paid to the Administrative Agent, on its behalf and on behalf of certain of the Lenders.

 

“Third Amendment PGIM Fee Letter” means that certain OID and Fee letter, dated as of October 31, 2024, executed by the Borrower Representative and PGIM, Inc. setting forth certain of the applicable fees relating to the Third Amendment to be paid to PGIM, Inc., on its behalf and on behalf of certain of the Lenders.

 

“Third Amendment Transaction Costs” means the fees, costs, and expenses payable by the Obligors in connection with the consummation of the Third Amendment Transactions.

 

“Third Amendment Transactions” mean, collectively, (a) the execution, delivery and performance by each Obligor of the Third Amendment and the other applicable Loan Documents on the Third Amendment Effective Date, (b) the initial borrowing of Third Amendment Term Loans, (c) the making of the Third Amendment Dividend, and (d) the payment of all fees and expenses to be paid on or prior to the Third Amendment Effective Date and owing in connection with the foregoing.

 

“Third Amendment Term Loan” means a Loan made pursuant to Section 2.1(d).

 

“Third Amendment Term Loan Lender” has the meaning assigned to such term in the Third Amendment.

 

“Third Amendment Term Loan Commitment” means, with respect to each applicable Third Amendment Term Loan Lender, its obligation to make a Third Amendment Term Loan to the Borrowers on the Third Amendment Effective Date in an aggregate principal amount up to, and not to exceed, the amount set forth on Schedule I to the Third Amendment under the caption “Third Amendment Term Loan Commitment”. The aggregate amount of the Third Amendment Term Loan Lenders’ Term Loan Commitments is $112,035,000 as of the Third Amendment Effective Date.

 

“Total Credit Exposure” means, as to any Lender at any time, the Revolving Credit Exposures, unused Revolving Credit Commitments and outstanding Term Loans of such Lender at such time.

 

“Trade” means any binding arrangement to sell and assign or participate all or a portion of the applicable Lender’s rights and/or obligations under, and in accordance with the terms of, this Agreement.

 

“Trade Date” means the date on which the applicable Lender entered into a Trade.

 

“Tranche” means, with respect to any Incremental Term Loans, Extended Term Loans or Refinancing Term Loans, all such Loans made on the same date pursuant to the terms of the same Notice of Borrowing.

 

“Transaction Costs” means the fees, costs, and expenses payable by the Obligors in connection with the consummation of the Transactions.

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“Transactions” mean, collectively, (a) the consummation of the Acquisition, (b) Holdings’ receipt of the proceeds of the Sponsor Equity Contribution, (c) the execution, delivery and performance by each Obligor of this Agreement and the other Loan Documents to which such Obligor is intended to be a party and the consummation of the transactions on the Effective Date contemplated thereby, (d) the initial borrowing of Loans, (e) subject to Section 5.11, the grant by each Obligor of the Liens granted by it pursuant to the Security Documents to which it is a party, (f) the repayment in full of all obligations under the Existing Indebtedness, (g) [reserved], and (h) the payment of all fees and expenses to be paid on or prior to the Effective Date and owing in connection with the foregoing.

 

“Type”, when used in reference to any Loan or Borrowing, refers to whether the rate of interest on such Loan, or on the Loans comprising such Borrowing, is determined by reference to the Adjusted Term SOFR Rate, the Adjusted Daily Simple SOFR or the Base Rate.

 

“UCC” means the New York Uniform Commercial Code as adopted in the State of New York; provided in connection with any Lien granted under any Security Document, if the laws of any other jurisdiction would govern the perfection or enforcement of such Lien, “UCC” means the Uniform Commercial Code as in effect in such jurisdiction with respect to such Lien.

 

“UK Financial Institutions” means any BRRD Undertaking (as such term is defined under the PRA Rulebook (as amended from time to time) promulgated by the United Kingdom Prudential Regulation Authority) or any person falling within IFPRU 11.6 of the FCA Handbook (as amended from time to time) promulgated by the United Kingdom Financial Conduct Authority, which includes certain credit institutions and investment firms, and certain affiliates of such credit institutions or investment firms.

 

“UK Resolution Authority” means the Bank of England or any other public administrative authority having responsibility for the resolution of any UK Financial Institution.

 

“Unadjusted Benchmark Replacement” means the applicable Benchmark Replacement excluding the related Benchmark Replacement Adjustment.

 

“Undisclosed Administration” means in relation to a solvent Person, the precautionary appointment of an administrator, conservator, receiver, trustee, custodian or other similar official by a supervisory authority or regulator under or based on the law in the country where such person is subject to home jurisdiction supervision if applicable law requires that such appointment is not to be publicly disclosed.

 

“United States” and “U.S.” mean the United States of America.

 

“Unrestricted Cash” means unrestricted cash and Cash Equivalents of the Obligors held in (a) a pledged account in favor of Administrative Agent such that the Administrative Agent has “control” of such cash and Cash Equivalents under the UCC or (b) maintained in an account with the Administrative Agent; provided that the foregoing requirements in clauses (a) and (b) shall not apply until the date that is ninety (90) days after the Effective Date.

 

“Unrestricted Subsidiary” means any Subsidiary of a Borrower, other than any Borrower or any Additional Borrower, designated (with written notice to the Administrative Agent) by the board of directors (or analogous governing body) of a Borrower as an Unrestricted Subsidiary pursuant to Section 5.12 subsequent to the Effective Date, and any Subsidiary of an Unrestricted Subsidiary.

 

“Unused Revolving Commitment” means, at any time with respect to any Revolving Credit Lender, the amount equal to (a) such Revolving Credit Lender’s Commitment minus (b) the aggregate amount of the outstanding Revolving Credit Loans and LC Exposure of such Revolving Credit Lender.

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“U.S. Person” means any Person that is a “United States person” as defined in Section 7701(a)(30) of the Code.

 

“U.S. Tax Compliance Certificate” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 2.16(g).

 

“USA Patriot Act” has the meaning assigned to such term in the definition of “Anti-Terrorism Laws”.

 

“USDA” means the United States Department of Agriculture.

 

“Vive Organic” means Vive Organic, Inc., a Delaware corporation.

 

“Weighted Average Life to Maturity” when applied to any Indebtedness at any date, means the number of years obtained by dividing (1) the sum of the products obtained by multiplying (a) the amount of each then remaining installment, sinking fund, serial maturity or other required payment of principal, including payment at final maturity, in respect thereof by (b) the number of years (calculated to the nearest one-twelfth) that will elapse between such date and the making of such payment by (2) the then outstanding principal amount of such Indebtedness; provided that for purposes of the Weighted Average Life to Maturity of such Indebtedness, the effects of any prepayments or amortization made on such Indebtedness prior to the date of the applicable modification, refinancing, refunding, renewal, replacement or extension shall be disregarded.

 

“Wholly-Owned” means a Person in which (other than directors’ qualifying shares or other shares required by law) 100% of the Equity Interests and Equity Rights, at the time as of which any determination is being made, is owned, beneficially and of record, by a Borrower, or by one or more of the other Wholly-Owned Subsidiaries of a Borrower, or both.

 

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

 

“Withholding Agent” means any Obligor and the Administrative Agent.

 

“Write-Down and Conversion Powers” means (a) with respect to any EEA Resolution Authority, the write-down and conversion powers of such EEA Resolution Authority from time to time under the Bail-In Legislation for the applicable EEA Member Country, which write-down and conversion powers are described in the EU Bail-In Legislation Schedule, and (b) with respect to the United Kingdom, any powers of the applicable Resolution Authority under the Bail-In Legislation to cancel, reduce, modify or change the form of a liability of any UK Financial Institution or any contract or instrument under which that liability arises, to convert all or part of that liability into shares, securities or obligations of that person or any other person, to provide that any such contract or instrument is to have effect as if a right had been exercised under it or to suspend any obligation in respect of that liability or any of the powers under that Bail-In Legislation that are related to or ancillary to any of those powers.

 

1.2          Classification of Loans and Borrowings. For purposes of this Agreement, Loans may be classified and referred to by Class (e.g., a Revolving Credit Loan) or by Type (e.g., a Term Benchmark Loan) or by Class and Type (e.g., a Term Benchmark Revolving Credit Loan ). Borrowings also may be classified and referred to by Class (e.g., a Revolving Credit Loan Borrowing) or by Type (e.g., a Term Benchmark Borrowing) or by Class and Type (e.g., a Term Benchmark Revolving Credit Loan Borrowing).

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1.3          Interpretation. With reference to this Agreement and each other Loan Document, unless other specified herein or in such other Loan Document:

 

(a)          The definitions of terms herein shall apply equally to the singular and plural forms of the terms defined. Whenever the context may require, any pronoun shall include the corresponding masculine, feminine, and neuter forms. The words “include”, “includes” and “including” shall be deemed to be followed by the phrase “without limitation”. The word “will” shall be construed to have the same meaning and effect as the word “shall”. Unless the context requires otherwise (i) any definition of or reference to any agreement, instrument or other document herein shall be construed as referring to such agreement, instrument or other document as from time to time amended, supplemented modified, restated, refinanced, extended, restructured or replaced (subject to any restrictions set forth herein), (ii) any reference herein to any Person shall be construed to include such Person’s permitted successors and assigns, (iii) the words “herein”, “hereof” and “hereunder”, and words of similar import when used in any Loan Document, shall be construed to refer to such Loan Document in its entirety and not to any particular provision thereof, (iv) unless otherwise specified, all references in any Loan Document to Sections, Exhibits and Schedules shall be construed to refer to Sections of, and Exhibits and Schedules to, the Loan Document in which such references appear, (v) any reference to any law shall include all statutory and regulatory provisions consolidating, amending, replacing or interpreting such law and any reference to any law or regulation shall, unless otherwise specified, refer to such law or regulation as amended, modified or supplemented from time to time, (vi) any table of contents, captions and headings are for convenience of reference only and shall not affect the construction of this Agreement or any other Loan Document, (vii) 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 (viii) all references to “knowledge” of any Borrower or any Restricted Subsidiary of Holdings means the actual knowledge of a Responsible Officer.

 

(b)          In the computation of periods of time from a specified date to a later specified date, the word “from” means “from and including;” the words “to” and “until” each mean “to but excluding;” and the word “through” means “to and including.”

 

(c)          For all purposes under the Loan Documents, in connection with any division or plan of division under Delaware law (or any comparable event under a different jurisdiction’s laws): (a) if any asset, right, obligation or liability of any Person becomes the asset, right, obligation or liability of a different Person, then it shall be deemed to have been transferred from the original Person to the subsequent Person, and (b) if any new Person comes into existence, such new Person shall be deemed to have been organized on the first date of its existence by the holders of its Equity Interests at such time.

 

1.4          Rounding. Any financial ratios required to be maintained by Holdings and its Restricted Subsidiaries pursuant to this Agreement shall be calculated by dividing the appropriate component by the other component, carrying the result to one place more than the number of places by which such ratio is expressed herein and rounding the result up or down to the nearest number (with a rounding-up if there is no nearest number).

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1.5          Letter of Credit Amounts. Unless otherwise specified herein, the amount of a Letter of Credit at any time shall be deemed to be the stated amount of such Letter of Credit in effect at such time; provided, that with respect to any Letter of Credit that, by its terms or the terms of any document related thereto, provides for one or more automatic increases in the stated amount thereof, the amount of such Letter of Credit shall be deemed to be the maximum stated amount of such Letter of Credit after giving effect to all such increases, whether or not such maximum stated amount is in effect at such time.

 

1.6          Accounting Terms; GAAP. Except as otherwise expressly provided herein, all terms of an accounting or financial nature shall be construed, and all accounting determinations and computations required under the Loan Documents shall be made, in accordance with GAAP, as in effect from time to time, consistently applied; provided that, (a) if at any time any change in GAAP would affect the computation of any financial ratio or requirement set forth in any Loan Document, and either the Borrower Representative or the Required Lenders (through Administrative Agent) shall so request, Administrative Agent, the Lenders and the Borrower Representative shall negotiate in good faith to amend such ratio or requirement to preserve the original intent thereof in light of such change in GAAP (subject to the approval of the Required Lenders); provided that, until so amended, (i) such ratio or requirement shall continue to be computed in accordance with GAAP prior to such change therein and (ii) the Borrower Representative shall provide to the Administrative Agent and the Lenders financial statements and other documents required under this Agreement or as reasonably requested hereunder setting forth a reconciliation between calculations of such ratio or requirement made before and after giving effect to such change in GAAP, (b) notwithstanding any other provision contained herein, all terms of an accounting or financial nature used herein shall be construed, and all computations of amounts and ratios referred to in Section 7 shall be made, without giving effect to any election under Accounting Standards Codification 825-10 (or any other Financial Accounting Standard having a similar result or effect) to value any Indebtedness or other liabilities of any Obligor or any Subsidiary of any Obligor at “fair value” and (c) notwithstanding any other provision contained herein, unless the Borrower Representative elects otherwise, all obligations of any Person that are or would have been treated as operating leases for purposes of GAAP prior to the issuance by the Financial Accounting Standards Board on February 25, 2016 of Accounting Standards Update 2016-02, Leases (Topic 842) shall continue to be accounted for as operating leases (and not be treated as financing or capital lease obligations or Indebtedness) for purposes of all financial definitions, calculations and deliverables under this Agreement or any other Loan Document (including the calculation of Consolidated Net Income and Consolidated EBITDA) (whether or not such operating lease obligations were in effect on such date) notwithstanding the fact that such obligations are required in accordance with Accounting Standards Update 2016-02, Leases (Topic 842) or any other change in accounting treatment or otherwise (on a prospective or retroactive basis or otherwise) to be treated as or to be recharacterized as financing or capital lease obligations or otherwise accounted for as liabilities in financial statements.

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1.7Limited Condition Transactions.

 

(a)          In connection with any action being taken in connection with a Limited Condition Transaction, for purposes of determining compliance with any provision of this Agreement which requires that no Default, Event of Default or specified Event of Default, as applicable, has occurred, is continuing or would result from any such action, as applicable, such condition shall, at the option of the Borrowers, be deemed satisfied, so long as no Default, Event of Default or specified Event of Default, as applicable, exists on the date the definitive agreements or binding obligations for such Limited Condition Transaction are entered into after giving pro forma effect to such Limited Condition Transaction and the actions to be taken in connection therewith (including any incurrence of Indebtedness and the use of proceeds thereof) as if such Limited Condition Transaction and other actions had occurred on such date. For the avoidance of doubt, if the Borrower Representative has delivered an LCT Election (as defined below), and any Default or Event of Default occurs following the date the definitive agreements for the applicable Limited Condition Transaction were entered into and prior to the consummation of such Limited Condition Transaction, any such Default or Event of Default shall be deemed to not have occurred or be continuing solely for purposes of determining whether any action being taken in connection with such Limited Condition Transaction is permitted hereunder. Notwithstanding the foregoing, in no event shall any Event of Default described in clause (a), (b), (h) or (i) of Section 8.1 exist immediately prior to or after giving effect to any Limited Condition Transaction.

 

(b)          In connection with a Limited Condition Transaction or any action being taken solely in connection with a Limited Condition Transaction, for purposes of:

 

(i)         determining compliance with any provision of this Agreement which requires the calculation of the Consolidated Net Leverage Ratio, Consolidated First Lien Net Leverage Ratio and Consolidated Secured Net Leverage Ratio (but excluding any calculation for purposes of determining the Applicable Margin or actual compliance with Section 7),

 

(ii)        determining compliance with any representations, warranties, defaults or Events of Default (other than for purposes of borrowings of Revolving Loans); or

 

(iii)        testing availability under baskets (including any baskets in respect of any Incremental Facility) set forth in this Agreement,

 

in each case, at the option of the Borrower Representative (the Borrower Representative’s election to exercise such option in connection with any Limited Condition Transaction, an “LCT Election”), the date of determination of whether a Limited Condition Transaction or any such action is permitted hereunder, shall be deemed to be (A) in the case of any acquisition or investment, the date the definitive agreements for such Limited Condition Transaction are entered into or (B) in the case of any redemption, repurchase, defeasance, satisfaction and discharge or repayment of Indebtedness, the date irrevocable notice in advance of such redemption, repurchase, defeasance, satisfaction and discharge or repayment is delivered (the “LCT Test Date”), and if, after giving pro forma effect to the Limited Condition Transaction (including, for the avoidance of doubt, the Consolidated EBITDA of or attributable to the target companies or assets associated with any such Limited Condition Transaction) and the other transactions to be entered into in connection therewith (including any incurrence of Indebtedness and the use of proceeds thereof) as if they had occurred at the beginning of the most recent four consecutive Fiscal Quarters ending prior to the LCT Test Date for which financial statements have been delivered to the Administrative Agent, the applicable Company could have taken such action on the relevant LCT Test Date in compliance with such ratio or basket, such ratio or basket shall be deemed to have been complied with. For the avoidance of doubt, if the Borrower Representative has made an LCT Election and any of the ratios or baskets for which compliance was determined or tested as of the LCT Test Date are exceeded as a result of fluctuations in any such ratio or basket, at or prior to the consummation of the relevant transaction or action, such basket or ratio will not be deemed to have been exceeded as a result of such fluctuations solely for purposes of determining whether the relevant transaction or actions is permitted to be consummated or taken; provided, that for any determination to be made pursuant to this Section 1.7, the Borrower Representative may, by delivering a notice in writing to the Administrative Agent, elect to recalculate all such ratios, tests or baskets in respect of the last twelve fiscal months of the Borrowers for which monthly financial statements are available and have been delivered to the Administrative Agent in which case such date of redetermination shall thereafter be deemed to be the applicable LCT Test Date. If the Borrower Representative has made an LCT Election for any Limited Condition Transaction, then in connection with any subsequent calculation of the Financial Covenant, ratio or basket availability on or following the relevant LCT Test Date and prior to the earlier of the date on which such Limited Condition Transaction is consummated or the definitive agreement for such Limited Condition Transaction is terminated or expires without consummation of such Limited Condition Transaction, any such Financial Covenant, ratio or basket availability shall be required to be satisfied both (x) on a pro forma basis assuming such Limited Condition Transaction and other transactions in connection therewith (including any pro forma increase in Consolidated EBITDA resulting from such Limited Condition Transaction, any incurrence of Indebtedness and the use of proceeds thereof) have been consummated, and (y) assuming such Limited Condition Transaction and other transactions in connection therewith (including any such pro forma increase in Consolidated EBITDA, incurrence of Indebtedness and the use of proceeds thereof) have not been consummated; provided that for purposes of the definition of Excess Cash Flow the calculation of Consolidated Net Income shall not include the Consolidated Net Income of the Person or assets to be acquired (this Section 1.7, collectively, the “Limited Condition Transaction Provision”).

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1.8Pro Forma Calculations.

 

(a)          Notwithstanding anything to the contrary herein, financial ratios and tests, including the Consolidated Total Net Leverage Ratio, the Consolidated First Lien Net Leverage Ratio, the Consolidated Secured Net Leverage Ratio and Consolidated EBITDA shall be calculated on a pro forma basis in the manner prescribed by this Section 1.8; provided that notwithstanding anything to the contrary in Section 1.8(b), (c) or (d), when calculating the Consolidated Net Leverage Ratio for purposes of (i) the definition of “Applicable Margin”, (ii) the calculation of Excess Cash Flow (other than to the extent otherwise expressly set forth in the definition thereof or in Section 2.10(b)(ii)) and (iii) determining actual compliance (and not Pro Forma Compliance or compliance on a pro forma basis) with any covenant pursuant to Section 7.1, the events described in this Section 1.8 that occurred subsequent to the end of the applicable Reference Period shall not be given pro forma effect. In addition, whenever a financial ratio or test is to be calculated on a pro forma basis, the reference to the “Reference Period” for purposes of calculating such financial ratio or test shall be deemed to be a reference to, and shall be based on, the most recently ended Reference Period for which internal financial statements of the Borrowers are available and have been delivered to the Administrative Agent; provided that, the provisions of this sentence shall not apply for purposes of calculating the Consolidated Net Leverage Ratio for purposes of the definition of “Applicable Margin” and determining actual compliance with Section 7.1 (other than for the purpose of determining pro forma compliance with Section 7.1) and for purposes of calculating Excess Cash Flow, each of which shall be based on the financial statements delivered pursuant to Sections 5.1(a) or (b), as applicable, for the relevant Reference Period.

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(b)          For purposes of calculating any financial ratio or test, Specified Transactions (with any incurrence or repayment of any Indebtedness in connection therewith to be subject to Section 1.8(d)) that have been made (i) during the applicable Reference Period and (ii) if applicable as described in Section 1.8(a), subsequent to such Reference Period and prior to or simultaneously with the event for which the calculation of any such ratio is made shall be calculated on a pro forma basis assuming that all such Specified Transactions (and any increase or decrease in Consolidated EBITDA and the component financial definitions used therein attributable to any Specified Transaction) had occurred on the first day of the applicable Reference Period (or, in the case of the determination of Consolidated Current Assets, the last day). If since the beginning of any applicable Reference Period any Person that subsequently became a Restricted Subsidiary or was merged, amalgamated or consolidated with or into the Borrower or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries since the beginning of such Reference Period shall have made any Specified Transaction that would have required adjustment pursuant to this Section 1.8, then such financial ratio or test (or the calculation of Consolidated Current Assets) shall be calculated to give pro forma effect thereto in accordance with this Section 1.8.

 

(c)          Whenever pro forma effect is to be given to a Specified Transaction, the pro forma calculations shall be made in good faith by a Responsible Officer of the Borrower Representative, shall be subject to any limitations and caps set forth in the definition of “Consolidated EBITDA” and may include, for the avoidance of doubt, the amount of “run-rate” cost savings, operating expense reductions, other operating improvements, cost savings, changes and initiatives and synergies resulting (including, to the extent applicable, from the effect of increased pricing or volume in new or existing customer contracts) from or relating to such initiative or such Specified Transaction projected by the Borrowers in good faith to be realizable as a result of actions taken or expected to be taken (calculated on a pro forma basis as though such cost savings, operating expense reductions, other operating improvements and synergies had been realized on the first day of such period as if such cost savings, operating expense reductions, other operating improvements and synergies were realized during the entirety of such period and such that “run-rate” means the full recurring benefit for a period that is associated with any action taken or expected to be taken (including any savings expected to result from the elimination of a public target’s compliance costs with public company requirements) net of the amount of actual benefits realized during such period from such actions), and any such adjustments shall be included in the initial pro forma calculation of such financial ratios or tests relating to such initiative or such Specified Transaction (and in respect of any subsequent pro forma calculation in which such Specified Transaction is included); provided that (x) a duly completed certificate signed by a Responsible Officer of the Borrower Representative shall be delivered to the Administrative Agent together with the Compliance Certificate next required to be delivered pursuant to Section 5.1(c), certifying that such cost savings, operating expense reductions, other operating improvements and synergies are factually supportable and reasonably anticipated to be realizable in the good faith judgment of the Borrowers, within 24 months after the consummation of a Specified Transaction (with actions from such transactions occurring prior the Effective Date occurring within 24 months after the Effective Date), which is expected to result in such cost savings, expense reductions, other operating improvements or synergies and (y) no cost savings, operating expense reductions and synergies shall be added pursuant to this clause (c) to the extent duplicative of any expenses or charges otherwise added to Consolidated EBITDA (or any component thereof), whether through a pro forma adjustment or otherwise, for such period; provided further that the aggregate amount of such cost savings, operating expense reductions, other operating improvements and “run-rate” synergies shall not, in the aggregate, exceed, when combined with the items in clauses (b)(viii) and (b)(ix) of the definition of Consolidated EBITDA at any given time 30% of Consolidated EBITDA after giving effect to such adjustments.

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(d)          In the event that the Borrowers or any Restricted Subsidiary incurs (including by assumption or guarantees) or repays (including by redemption, repayment, retirement or extinguishment) any Indebtedness (including Disqualified Equity) included in the calculations of any financial ratio or test (in each case, other than Indebtedness incurred or repaid under any revolving credit facility), (i) during the applicable Reference Period or (ii) subject to Section 1.8(a), subsequent to the end of the applicable Reference Period and prior to or simultaneously with the event for which the calculation of any such ratio is made, then such financial ratio or test shall be calculated giving pro forma effect to such incurrence or repayment of Indebtedness, to the extent required, as if the same had occurred on the last day of the applicable Reference Period, in which case such incurrence, assumption, guarantee, repurchase, redemption, repayment, retirement, discharge, defeasance or extinguishment of Indebtedness will be given effect as if the same had occurred on the first day of the applicable Reference Period.

 

(e)          Any provision requiring the pro forma compliance with Section 7.1 shall be made assuming that compliance with the Consolidated Net Leverage Ratio pursuant to such Section is required with respect to the most recent Reference Period prior to such time, and to the extent pro forma compliance is required hereunder prior to the first test date of the financial covenant under Section 7.1, then the requirement shall be pro forma compliance with the first financial covenant level to be tested following the Effective Date.

 

1.9          Compliance with Certain Sections. For purposes of determining compliance with any of Section 5.14 and Article VI, in the event that any Lien, Investment, Indebtedness (whether at the time of incurrence or upon application of all or a portion of the proceeds thereof), Disposition, Affiliate transaction, or prepayment of Indebtedness meets the criteria of one, or more than one, of the “baskets” or categories of transactions then permitted pursuant to any clause or subsection of any such section of Section 5.14 or Article VI, as applicable, such transaction (or portion thereof) at any time shall be permitted under one or more of such clauses of such Section at the time of such transaction or any later time from time to time, in each case, as determined by the Borrowers in its sole discretion at such time and thereafter may be reclassified within such section by the Borrowers in any manner not expressly prohibited by this Agreement. With respect to (x) any amounts incurred (or commitments obtained) or transactions entered into (or consummated or obtained) in reliance on a provision of this Agreement that does not require compliance with a financial ratio or test (including the Consolidated Total Net Leverage Ratio, the Consolidated Secured Net Leverage Ratio and/or the Consolidated First Lien Net Leverage Ratio) substantially concurrently with (y) any amounts incurred (or commitments obtained) or transactions entered into (or consummated or obtained) in reliance on a provision of this Agreement that requires compliance with a financial ratio or test (including the Consolidated Total Net Leverage Ratio, the Consolidated Secured Net Leverage Ratio and/or the Consolidated First Lien Net Leverage Ratio), it is understood and agreed that the amounts in clause (x) shall be disregarded in the calculation of the financial ratio or test applicable to the amounts in clause (y) (for purposes of determining compliance with a financial ratio or test (including the Consolidated Total Net Leverage Ratio, the Consolidated Secured Net Leverage Ratio and/or the Consolidated First Lien Net Leverage Ratio), such amounts incurred (or commitments obtained) or transactions entered into (or consummated or obtained) pursuant to clause (y) shall only be tested once (at the time of such incurrence or transaction) and shall not be subject to satisfaction of any additional incurrence test).

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1.10        Times of Day. Unless otherwise specified, all references herein to times of day shall be references to Eastern time (daylight or standard, as applicable).

 

1.11        Timing of Payment or Performance. Except as otherwise expressly provided herein, when the payment of any obligation or the performance of any covenant, duty or obligation is stated to be due or performance required on a day which is not a Business Day, the date of such payment (other than as described in the definition of “Interest Period”) or performance shall extend to the immediately succeeding Business Day.

 

1.12        Available Amount Transactions. If more than one action occurs on any given date the permissibility of the taking of which is determined hereunder by reference to the amount of the Available Amount immediately prior to the taking of such action, the permissibility of the taking of each such action shall be determined independently and in no event may any two or more such actions be treated as occurring simultaneously.

 

1.13        Letters of Credit. Unless otherwise specified herein, the amount of a Letter of Credit at any time shall be deemed to be the stated Dollar Amount of the undrawn face amount of such Letter of Credit in effect at such time; provided that, with respect to any Letter of Credit that, by its terms or the terms of any issuer document related thereto, provides for one or more automatic increases in the stated amount thereof, the amount of such Letter of Credit shall be deemed to be the Dollar Amount of the maximum stated amount of such Letter of Credit after giving effect to all such increases, whether or not such maximum stated amount is in effect at such time.

 

1.14        Certifications. All certifications to be made hereunder by an officer or representative of an Obligor shall be made by such person in his or her capacity solely as an officer or a representative of such Obligor, on such Obligor’s behalf and not in such Person’s individual capacity.

 

1.15        Interest Rates; Benchmark Notifications. The interest rate on a Loan denominated in dollars may be derived from an interest rate benchmark that may be discontinued or is, or may in the future become, the subject of regulatory reform. Upon the occurrence of a Benchmark Transition Event, Section 2.13(c) provides a mechanism for determining an alternative rate of interest. The Administrative Agent does not warrant or accept any responsibility for, and shall not have any liability with respect to, the administration, submission, performance or any other matter related to any interest rate used in this Agreement, or with respect to any alternative or successor rate thereto, or replacement rate thereof, including without limitation, whether the composition or characteristics of any such alternative, successor or replacement reference rate will be similar to, or produce the same value or economic equivalence of, the existing interest rate being replaced or have the same volume or liquidity as did any existing interest rate prior to its discontinuance or unavailability. The Administrative Agent and its affiliates and/or other related entities may engage in transactions that affect the calculation of any alternative, successor or alternative rate (including any Benchmark Replacement) and/or any relevant adjustments thereto, in each case, in a manner adverse to the Borrower. The Administrative Agent may select information sources or services in its reasonable discretion to ascertain any benchmark rate, or any component thereof, or rates referenced in the definition thereof, in each case pursuant to the terms of this Agreement, and shall have no liability to the Borrower, any Lender or any other person or entity for damages of any kind, including direct or indirect, special, punitive, incidental or consequential damages, costs, losses or expenses (whether in tort, contract or otherwise and whether at law or in equity), for any error or calculation of any such rate (or component thereof) provided by any such information source or service.

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2.THE CREDITS

 

2.1The Commitments.

 

(a)          Revolving Credit Loans. Subject to the terms and conditions set forth herein, each Revolving Credit Lender agrees, severally and not jointly with any other Lender, to make Revolving Credit Loans to the Borrowers from time to time during the Revolving Credit Availability Period in an aggregate principal amount at any time outstanding that will not result in (i) such Lender’s Revolving Credit Exposure exceeding such Lender’s Revolving Credit Commitment or (ii) the sum of the total Revolving Credit Exposures exceeding the total Revolving Credit Commitments. Within the foregoing limits and subject to the terms and conditions set forth herein, the Borrowers may borrow, prepay, and reborrow Revolving Credit Loans (without penalty or premium).

 

(b)          Initial Term Loans. Subject to the terms and conditions set forth herein, each Term Loan Lender holding an Initial Term Loan Commitment agrees, severally and not jointly with any other Lenders, to make the Initial Term Loans to the Borrowers on the Effective Date in an aggregate principal amount not exceeding its Initial Term Loan Commitment. Amounts repaid in respect of Initial Term Loans may not be reborrowed.

 

(c)          Second Amendment Term Loans. Subject to the terms and conditions set forth herein and in the Second Amendment, each Second Amendment Term Loan Lender agrees, severally and not jointly with any other Lenders, to make the Second Amendment Term Loans to the Borrowers on the Second Amendment Effective Date in an aggregate principal amount not exceeding its Second Amendment Term Loan Commitment. Amounts repaid in respect of Second Amendment Term Loans may not be reborrowed.

 

(d)          Third Amendment Term Loans. Subject to the terms and conditions set forth herein and in the Third Amendment, each Third Amendment Term Loan Lender agrees, severally and not jointly with any other Lenders, to make the Third Amendment Term Loans to the Borrowers on the Third Amendment Effective Date in an aggregate principal amount not exceeding its Third Amendment Term Loan Commitment. Amounts repaid in respect of Third Amendment Term Loans may not be reborrowed.

 

2.2Loans and Borrowings.

 

(a)          Obligations of Lenders. Each Loan shall be made as part of a Borrowing consisting of Loans of the same Class and Type made by the Lenders ratably in accordance with their respective Commitments of the applicable Class. The failure of any Lender to make any Loan required to be made by it shall not relieve any other Lender of its obligations hereunder.

 

(b)          Type of Loans. Subject to Sections 2.7 and 2.13, each Borrowing shall be comprised entirely of Base Rate Loans or Term Benchmark Loans as the Borrowers may request in accordance herewith. Each Swingline Loan shall be a Base Rate Loan. Each Lender at its option may make any Term Benchmark Loan by causing any domestic or foreign branch of such Lender to make such Loan; provided that any exercise of such option shall not affect the obligation of the Borrowers to repay such Loan in accordance with the terms of this Agreement.

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(c)          Minimum Amounts; Limitation on Number of Borrowing. At the commencement of each Interest Period for any Term Benchmark Borrowing, such Borrowing shall be in an aggregate amount of $1,000,000 or a larger multiple of $100,000 in excess thereof. At the time that each Base Rate Borrowing (other than a Swingline Loan Borrowing or a Base Rate Borrowing on the Effective Date) is made, such Borrowing shall be in an aggregate amount equal to $1,000,000 or a larger multiple of $100,000 in excess thereof; provided that a Base Rate Borrowing may be in an aggregate amount that is equal to the entire unused balance of the total Commitments of the applicable Class or that is required to (i) finance the amount of the reimbursement of an LC Disbursement as contemplated by Section 2.5 or (ii) acquire participations in Swingline Loans pursuant to Section 2.4(c). Each Swingline Loan shall be in an amount equal to $100,000 or a larger multiple of $25,000 in excess thereof. Borrowings of more than one Type and Class may be outstanding at the same time; provided that there shall not at any time be more than a total of seven (7) Term Benchmark Borrowings outstanding plus up to three (3) additional Borrowings for each of any Incremental Term Loans, Extended Term Loans and Refinancing Term Loans.

 

(d)          Limitations on Lengths of Interest Periods. Notwithstanding any other provision of this Agreement, the Borrowers shall not be entitled to request, or to elect to convert to or continue as, a Term Benchmark Borrowing (i) any Revolving Credit Loan Borrowing if the Interest Period requested with respect thereto would end after the Revolving Credit Maturity Date; or (ii) any Term Loan Borrowing if the Interest Period requested with respect thereto would end after the applicable Term Loan Maturity Date.

 

2.3          Requests for Borrowings. To request a Borrowing (other than a Swingline Loan), the Borrower Representative shall notify Administrative Agent of such request in writing, which request must be received by Administrative Agent not later than 1:00 p.m., New York City Time, three Business Days before the date of the proposed Borrowing. Each such Borrowing Request shall be irrevocable and shall be in the form of Exhibit 2.3 and signed by the Borrower Representative. Each Borrowing Request shall specify the following information:

 

(a)          whether the requested Borrowing is to be a Revolving Credit Loan Borrowing, or Term Loan Borrowing, if available;

 

(b)          the aggregate amount of the requested Borrowing;

 

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

 

(d)          whether such Borrowing is to be a Base Rate Borrowing or a Term Benchmark Borrowing;

 

(e)          in the case of a Term Benchmark Borrowing, the initial Interest Period to be applicable thereto (including specifying the duration of such Interest Period and the last day of such Interest Period), which shall be a period contemplated by the definition of the term “Interest Period”; and

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(f)          the location and number of a Borrower’s accounts or, in connection with the initial Borrowings on the Effective Date, Person to which funds are to be disbursed, which shall comply with the requirements of Section 2.6.

 

If no election as to the Type of Borrowing is specified, then the requested Borrowing shall be a Term Benchmark Borrowing with an Interest Rate Period of one (1) month. If no Interest Period is specified with respect to any requested Term Benchmark Borrowing, then the Borrowers shall be deemed to have selected an Interest Period of one month’s duration. Promptly following receipt of a Borrowing Request in accordance with this Section, Administrative Agent shall advise each Lender that will make a Loan in connection with such Borrowing of the details thereof and of the amount of such Lender’s Loan to be made as part of the requested Borrowing.

 

2.4Swingline Loans.

 

(a)          Agreement to Make Swingline Loans. Subject to the terms and conditions set forth herein, Swingline Lender agrees to make Swingline Loans to the Borrowers from time to time during the Revolving Credit Availability Period, in an aggregate principal amount at any time outstanding that will not result in (i) the aggregate principal amount of outstanding Swingline Loans exceeding $5,000,000 or (ii) the sum of the total Revolving Credit Exposures exceeding the total Revolving Credit Commitments; provided that after giving effect to any Swingline Loan the Revolving Credit Exposure of any Lender shall not exceed such Lender’s Revolving Credit Commitment, and provided, further, that Swingline Lender shall not be required to make a Swingline Loan to refinance an outstanding Swingline Loan. Within the foregoing limits and subject to the terms and conditions set forth herein, the Borrowers may borrow, prepay, and reborrow Swingline Loans.

 

(b)          Notice of Swingline Loans by the Borrowers. To request a Swingline Loan, the Borrower Representative shall notify Swingline Lender of such request in writing, not later than 1:00 p.m., on the day of a proposed Swingline Loan. Each such notice shall be irrevocable and shall specify the requested date (which shall be a Business Day) and amount of the requested Swingline Loan. Unless the limitations set forth in the first sentence of Section 2.4(a) or one or more applicable conditions set forth in Section 4 are not satisfied, Swingline Lender shall make each Swingline Loan available to a Borrower to an account of the applicable Borrower specified in the request (or, in the case of a Swingline Loan made to finance the reimbursement of an LC Disbursement as provided in Section 2.5(f), by remittance to the Issuing Lender) by 3:00 p.m. on the requested date of such Swingline Loan. To the extent that Swingline Lender is not Administrative Agent, Swingline Lender shall provide to the Administrative Agent on each date the Borrower Representative has made a borrowing or paydown request, notice thereof accounting for the outstanding Swingline Loans in form reasonably satisfactory to the Administrative Agent.

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(c)          Participations by Lenders in Swingline Loans. Immediately upon the making of a Swingline Loan by the Swingline Lender, and without any further action on the part of the Swingline Lender or the Lenders, the Swingline Lender hereby grants to each Revolving Credit Lender, and each Revolving Credit Lender hereby acquires from the Swingline Lender, a participation in such Swingline Loan equal to such Revolving Credit Lender’s Pro Rata Share of such Swingline Loan. The Swingline Lender may, by written notice given to the Administrative Agent not later than 2:00 p.m., New York City time, on any Business Day require the Revolving Credit Lenders to fund such participations in all or a portion of the Swingline Loans outstanding. Such notice to the Administrative Agent shall specify the aggregate amount of Swingline Loans in which the Revolving Credit Lenders will fund such participation. Promptly upon receipt of such notice, Administrative Agent will give notice thereof to each Revolving Credit Lender, specifying in such notice each Revolving Credit Lender’s Pro Rata Share of such Swingline Loan or Loans. Each Revolving Credit Lender hereby absolutely, unconditionally and irrevocably agrees, within one Business Day after receipt of notice as provided in this Section 2.4(c), to pay to the Administrative Agent, for the account of Swingline Lender, such Lender’s Pro Rata Share of such Swingline Loan or Loans. Each Revolving Credit Lender acknowledges and agrees that its obligation to acquire and fund participations in Swingline Loans pursuant to this Section 2.4(c) is absolute, unconditional and irrevocable and shall not be affected by any circumstance whatsoever, including the occurrence and continuance of a Default or reduction or termination of the Revolving Credit Commitments, and that each such payment shall be made without any offset, counterclaim, defense, abatement, withholding or reduction whatsoever. Each Revolving Credit Lender shall comply with its obligation under this Section 2.4(c) by wire transfer of immediately available funds, in the same manner as provided in Section 2.6 with respect to Loans made by such Lender (and Section 2.6 shall apply, mutatis mutandis, to the payment obligations of the Revolving Credit Lenders), and the Administrative Agent shall promptly pay to Swingline Lender the amounts so received by it from the Revolving Credit Lenders. Administrative Agent shall notify the Borrower Representative of any participation in any Swingline Loan acquired pursuant to this Section 2.4(c), and thereafter payments in respect of such Swingline Loan shall be made to the Administrative Agent and not to Swingline Lender. Any amounts received by Swingline Lender from the Borrowers (or other party on behalf of the Borrowers) in respect of a Swingline Loan after receipt by Swingline Lender of the proceeds of a sale of participations therein shall be promptly remitted to the Administrative Agent. Any such amounts received by Administrative Agent shall be promptly remitted by Administrative Agent to the Revolving Credit Lenders that shall have made their payments pursuant to this Section 2.4(c) and to Swingline Lender, as their interests may appear. The purchase of participations in a Swingline Loan pursuant to this Section 2.4(c) shall not relieve the Borrowers of any default in the payment thereof.

 

(d)          Payments Directly to Swingline Lender. Except as otherwise provided in Section 2.4(c), the Borrowers shall make all payments of principal and interest in respect of the Swingline Loans directly to Swingline Lender.

 

(e)          If the maturity date shall have occurred in respect of any tranche of Revolving Credit Commitments (the “Expiring Credit Commitment”) at a time when another tranche or tranches of Revolving Credit Commitments is or are in effect with a longer maturity date (each, a “non-Expiring Credit Commitment” and collectively, the “non-Expiring Credit Commitments”), then with respect to each outstanding Swing Line Loan, if consented to by the applicable Swing Line Lender and the Administrative Agent, on the earliest occurring maturity date such Swing Line Loan shall be deemed reallocated to the tranche or tranches of the non-Expiring Credit Commitments on a pro rata basis; provided that (i) to the extent that the amount of such reallocation would cause the aggregate credit exposure to exceed the aggregate amount of such non-Expiring Credit Commitments, immediately prior to such reallocation the amount of Swing Line Loans to be reallocated equal to such excess shall be repaid or Cash Collateralized and (ii) notwithstanding the foregoing, if an Event of Default has occurred and is continuing, the Borrower shall still be obligated to pay Swing Line Loans allocated to the Revolving Credit Lenders holding the Expiring Credit Commitments at the maturity date of the Expiring Credit Commitment or if the Loans have been accelerated prior to the maturity date of the Expiring Credit Commitment. Commencing with the maturity date of any tranche of Revolving Credit Commitments, the sublimit for Swing Line Loans shall be agreed solely with the applicable Swing Line Lender.

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2.5Letters of Credit.

 

(a)          General. Subject to the terms and conditions set forth herein, in addition to the Loans provided for in Sections 2.1 and 2.4, the Borrowers may request Issuing Lender to issue, at any time and from time to time during the Revolving Credit Availability Period, Letters of Credit for its own account or for the account of one or more of their Restricted Subsidiaries, and to amend, renew or extend Letters of Credit previously issued by it, in each case, in such form as is reasonably acceptable to the Issuing Lender; provided Issuing Lender shall not be required to issue any Letters of Credit on account of any Restricted Subsidiary of the Borrowers unless Issuing Lender has received the information required by Section 10.13 hereof with respect to such Restricted Subsidiary. Letters of Credit issued, amended, renewed, or extended hereunder shall constitute utilization of the Revolving Credit Commitments.

 

(b)          Notice of Issuance, Amendment, Renewal, or Extension. To request the issuance of a Letter of Credit (or the amendment, renewal or extension of an outstanding Letter of Credit), the Borrower Representative shall at least three Business Days (or such lesser period of time as may be acceptable to the Issuing Lender) prior to the issuance, amendment, renewal or extension hand deliver or telecopy (or transmit by electronic communication, if arrangements for doing so have been approved by Issuing Lender) to the Issuing Lender and the Administrative Agent a notice requesting the issuance of a Letter of Credit, or identifying the Letter of Credit to be amended, renewed or extended, and specifying the date of issuance, amendment, renewal or extension (which shall be a Business Day), the date on which such Letter of Credit is to expire, the amount of such Letter of Credit, the name and address of the beneficiary thereof, the account party, if other than a Borrower, and such other information as shall be reasonably necessary to prepare, amend, renew or extend such Letter of Credit. If requested by Issuing Lender, the Borrower Representative also shall submit a letter of credit application on Issuing Lender’s standard form in connection with any request for a Letter of Credit and such other Letter of Credit Documents as Issuing Lender may reasonably require. In the event of any inconsistency between the terms and conditions of this Agreement and the terms and conditions of any Letter of Credit Document submitted by the Borrowers to, or entered into by the Borrowers with, Issuing Lender relating to any Letter of Credit (other than the Letter of Credit), the terms and conditions of this Agreement shall control. Except as set forth in the immediately preceding sentence, this Section 2.5(b) shall not apply to the automatic extension of any Letter of Credit pursuant to Section 2.5(o).

 

(c)          Limitations on Amounts. Subject to the terms and conditions set forth herein, Issuing Lender agrees to issue, amend, renew, or extend any Letter of Credit at any time and from time to time during the Revolving Credit Availability Period if (and upon issuance, amendment, renewal, or extension of each Letter of Credit, the Borrowers shall be deemed to represent and warrant that), after giving effect to such issuance, amendment, renewal, or extension (i) the aggregate LC Exposures of Issuing Lender (determined for these purposes without giving effect to the participations therein of the Revolving Credit Lenders pursuant to Section 2.5) shall not exceed $3,000,000, (ii) the sum of the total Revolving Credit Exposures shall not exceed the total Revolving Credit Commitments, and (iii) the Revolving Credit Exposure of any Lender shall not exceed such Lender’s Revolving Credit Commitment.

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(d)           Expiration Date. Each Letter of Credit shall expire at or prior to the close of business on the earlier of (i) the date 12 months after the date of the issuance of such Letter of Credit or such later date as agreed by the Borrowers and the applicable Issuing Lender (or, in the case of any renewal or extension thereof, 12 months after the then-current expiration date of such Letter of Credit or such later date as agreed by the Borrowers and the applicable Issuing Lender), and (ii) the date that is five Business Days prior to the Revolving Credit Maturity Date; provided, the Borrowers may request issuance or renewal of a Letter of Credit with an expiry date after the Revolving Credit Maturity Date if, at the time of such issuance or renewal, the Borrowers deposit into the Collateral Account an amount in immediately available funds equal to 103% of the face amount of such Letter of Credit. No Letter of Credit expiry shall be deemed to have occurred after such earlier date due to the effectiveness of the ISP.

 

(e)           Participations. (i) By the issuance of a Letter of Credit on or after the Effective Date (or an amendment to a Letter of Credit increasing the amount thereof) by Issuing Lender, and without any further action on the part of Issuing Lender or the Revolving Credit Lenders, Issuing Lender hereby grants to each Revolving Credit Lender, and each Revolving Credit Lender hereby acquires from Issuing Lender, a participation in such Letter of Credit equal to such Revolving Credit Lender’s Pro Rata Share of the aggregate amount available to be drawn under such Letter of Credit. Additionally, without any further action on the part of Issuing Lender or the Revolving Credit Lenders, Issuing Lender hereby grants to each Revolving Credit Lender. Each Revolving Credit Lender acknowledges and agrees that its obligation to acquire participations pursuant to this Section 2.5(e) in respect of Letters of Credit is absolute, unconditional and irrevocable and shall not be affected by any circumstance whatsoever, including any amendment, renewal, reinstatement or extension of any Letter of Credit or the occurrence and continuance of a Default or reduction or termination of the Revolving Credit Commitments, and that each such payment or reimbursement shall be made without any offset, counterclaim, defense, abatement, withholding, or reduction whatsoever.

 

(ii)        In consideration and in furtherance of the foregoing, each Revolving Credit Lender hereby absolutely, unconditionally and irrevocably agrees to pay to the Administrative Agent, for the account of Issuing Lender, such Revolving Credit Lender’s Pro Rata Share of each LC Disbursement (other than an LC Disbursement made after the Revolving Credit Maturity Date as a result of the issuance a Letter of Credit with an expiry date after the Revolving Credit Maturity Date that has been Cash Collateralized pursuant to the proviso of Section 2.5(d)) made by Issuing Lender promptly upon the request of such Issuing Lender (made through Administrative Agent) at any time from the time of such LC Disbursement until such LC Disbursement is reimbursed by the Borrowers or at any time after any reimbursement payment is required to be refunded to the Borrowers for any reason, including after termination of the Revolving Credit Commitments. Each such payment shall be made in the same manner as provided in Section 2.6 with respect to Loans made by such Revolving Credit Lender (and Section 2.6 shall apply, mutatis mutandis, to the payment obligations of the Lenders), and the Administrative Agent shall promptly pay to the Issuing Lender the amounts so received by it from the Revolving Credit Lenders. Promptly following receipt by Administrative Agent of any payment from the Borrowers pursuant to Section 2.5(f), Administrative Agent shall distribute such payment to the Issuing Lender or, to the extent that the Revolving Credit Lenders have made payments pursuant to this Section 2.5(e) to reimburse Issuing Lender, then to such Lenders and such Issuing Lender as their interests may appear. Any payment made by a Revolving Credit Lender pursuant to this Section 2.5(e) to reimburse Issuing Lender for any LC Disbursement shall not constitute a Loan and shall not relieve the Borrowers of their obligation to reimburse such LC Disbursement.

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(f)           Reimbursement. (i) If Issuing Lender shall make any LC Disbursement in respect of a Letter of Credit, the Borrowers shall reimburse Issuing Lender in respect of such LC Disbursement by paying to the Administrative Agent an amount equal to such LC Disbursement not later than 2:00 p.m., New York City time, on the Business Day immediately following the day that the Borrower Representative receives written notice, provided that the Borrower Representative may, without being subject to the conditions to borrowing set forth herein, request in accordance with Section 2.1 or 2.4 that such payment be financed with a Base Rate Revolving Credit Loan Borrowing or Swingline Loan in an equivalent amount and, to the extent so financed, the Borrowers’ obligation to make such payment shall be discharged and replaced by the resulting Base Rate Revolving Credit Loan Borrowing or Swingline Loan.

 

(ii)        If the Borrowers fail to make such payment when due, Administrative Agent shall notify each Revolving Credit Lender of the applicable LC Disbursement, the payment then due from the Borrowers in respect thereof and such Lender’s Pro Rata Share thereof, and upon the request of Issuing Lender as provided in Section 2.5(e), each Revolving Credit Lender shall pay to the Administrative Agent, for the account of Issuing Lender, such Lender’s Pro Rata Share thereof in accordance with Section 2.5(e).

 

(g)           Obligations Absolute. The Borrowers’ obligation to reimburse LC Disbursements as provided in this Section shall be absolute, unconditional and irrevocable, and shall be performed strictly in accordance with the terms of this Agreement under any and all circumstances whatsoever and irrespective of (i) any lack of validity or enforceability of any Letter of Credit, any other Letter of Credit Document or any Loan Document, or any term or provision therein, (ii) any draft or other document presented under a Letter of Credit proving to be forged, fraudulent, invalid or insufficient in any respect or any statement therein being untrue or inaccurate in any respect, or any loss or delay in the transmission or otherwise of any document required in order to make a drawing under such Letter of Credit, (iii) payment by Issuing Lender under a Letter of Credit against presentation of a draft or other document that does not comply strictly with the terms of such Letter of Credit, or any payment by Issuing Lender under any Letter of Credit to any Person purporting to be a trustee in bankruptcy, debtor-in-possession, assignee for the benefit of creditors, liquidator, receiver or other representative of or successor to any beneficiary or any transferee of such Letter of Credit, including any arising in connection with any proceeding under any Debtor Relief Law, (iv) the existence of any claim, counterclaim, setoff, defense or other right that the Borrowers or any Subsidiary may have at any time against any beneficiary or any transferee of such Letter of Credit (or any Person for whom any such beneficiary or any such transferee may be acting), Issuing Lender or any other Person, whether in connection with this Agreement, the transactions contemplated hereby or by such Letter of Credit or any agreement or instrument relating thereto, or any unrelated transaction, (v) any other event or circumstance whatsoever, whether or not similar to any of the foregoing, that might, but for the provisions of this Section, constitute a legal or equitable discharge of or defense to the Borrowers’ obligations hereunder, (vi) any amendment or waiver of or consent to any departure from any or all of the Loan Documents, (vii) any improper use which may be made of any Letter of Credit or any improper acts or omissions of any beneficiary or transferee of any Letter of Credit in connection therewith, (viii) the existence of any claim, set-off, defense or any right which the Borrowers may have at any time against any beneficiary or any transferee of any Letter of Credit (or Persons for whom any such beneficiary or any such transferee may be acting), any Lender or any other Person, whether in connection with any Letter of Credit, any transaction contemplated by any Letter of Credit, this Agreement, or any other Loan Document, or any unrelated transaction, (ix) the insolvency of any Person issuing any documents in connection with any Letter of Credit, (x) any breach of any agreement between the Borrowers and any beneficiary or transferee of any Letter of Credit, (xi) any irregularity in the transaction with respect to which any Letter of Credit is issued, including any fraud by the beneficiary or any transferee of such Letter of Credit, (xii) any errors, omissions, interruptions or delays in transmission or delivery of any messages, by mail, cable, telegraph, wireless or otherwise, whether or not they are in code, (xiii) any act, error, neglect or default, omission, insolvency or failure of business of any of the correspondents of Issuing Lender, and (xiv) any other circumstances arising from causes beyond the control of Issuing Lender (other than payment or performance). Nothing in this Agreement shall impact the rights of any Obligor to bring action against the beneficiary of any Letter of Credit.

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(h)          Exculpation. Neither Administrative Agent, the Lenders, and Issuing Lender, any of their respective Related Parties nor any correspondent bank of Issuing Lender, shall have any liability or responsibility by reason of or in connection with the issuance (or the amendment, renewal or extension) or transfer of any Letter of Credit by Issuing Lender or any payment or failure to make any payment thereunder (irrespective of any of the circumstances referred to in Section 2.5(g)), or any error, omission, interruption, loss or delay in transmission or delivery of any draft, notice or other communication under or relating to any Letter of Credit (including any document required to make a drawing thereunder), any error in interpretation of technical terms or any consequence arising from causes beyond the control of Issuing Lender; provided that the foregoing shall not be construed to excuse Issuing Lender from liability to the Borrowers to the extent of any direct damages (as opposed to indirect, punitive, exemplary or consequential or exemplary damages, claims in respect of which are hereby waived by the Borrowers to the extent permitted by applicable law) suffered by the Borrowers that are caused by Issuing Lender’s gross negligence, bad faith or willful misconduct or a material breach of this Agreement by such Issuing Lender (in each case, as finally determined by a court of competent jurisdiction) when determining whether drafts and other documents presented under a Letter of Credit comply with the terms thereof. In furtherance and not in limitation of the foregoing, the parties hereto expressly agree that:

 

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

 

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

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(iii)       Issuing Lender may replace a purportedly lost, stolen, or destroyed original Letter of Credit or missing amendment thereto with a replacement marked as such or waive a requirement of its presentation; and

 

(iv)        clauses (i) and (ii) of Section 2.5(h) establish the standard of care to be exercised by Issuing Lender when determining whether drafts and other documents presented under a Letter of Credit comply with the terms thereof (and the parties hereto hereby waive, to the extent permitted by applicable law, any standard of care inconsistent with the foregoing).

 

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

 

(j)          Interim Interest. If Issuing Lender for any Letter of Credit shall make any LC Disbursement, then, unless the Borrowers shall reimburse such LC Disbursement in full on the date such LC Disbursement is made, the unpaid amount thereof shall bear interest, for each day from and including the date such LC Disbursement is made to but excluding the date that the Borrowers reimburse such LC Disbursement, at the rate per annum then applicable to Base Rate Revolving Credit Loans; provided that, if the Borrowers fail to reimburse such LC Disbursement when due pursuant to Section 2.5(f), then Section 2.12(c) shall apply. Interest accrued pursuant to this Section 2.5(j) shall be for the account of Issuing Lender, except that interest accrued on and after the date of payment by any Revolving Credit Lender pursuant to Section 2.5(e) to reimburse Issuing Lender shall be for the account of such Lender to the extent of such payment.

 

(k)         Replacement of Issuing Lender; Replacement Issuing Lender. The Issuing Lender may be replaced upon providing 30 days written notice, at its sole option, by written agreement between the Borrower Representative, Administrative Agent, the replaced Issuing Lender and the successor Issuing Lender. The Borrowers may replace the Issuing Lender for any reason upon 3 days prior written notice to the Administrative Agent and the Issuing Lender and may add an additional Issuing Lender from time to time. Administrative Agent shall notify the Lenders of any such replacement of Issuing Lender or if the Borrowers shall decide to add a new Issuing Lender. At the time any such replacement shall become effective, the Borrowers shall pay all unpaid fees accrued for the account of the replaced Issuing Lender. From and after the effective date of any such replacement or addition, (i) the successor Issuing Lender shall have all the rights and obligations of the replaced Issuing Lender under this Agreement and the other Loan Documents with respect to Letters of Credit to be issued by it thereafter and (ii) references herein to the term “Issuing Lender” shall be deemed to include such successor or the previous Issuing Lender (if applicable), or such successor and the previous Issuing Lender (if applicable), as the context shall require. After the replacement of Issuing Lender hereunder, the replaced Issuing Lender shall remain a party hereto and shall continue to have all the rights and obligations of Issuing Lender under this Agreement and the other Loan Documents with respect to Letters of Credit issued by it prior to such replacement, but shall not be required to issue additional Letters of Credit.

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(l)         Cash Collateralization. If (i) an Event of Default shall occur and be continuing and the Borrower Representative receives written notice from Administrative Agent or the Required Lenders demanding the deposit of cash collateral pursuant to this Section 2.5(l), or (ii) the Borrowers shall be required to provide cash collateral for LC Exposure pursuant to Section 2.10(b)(iii) or pursuant to Section 8.1, the Borrowers shall immediately deposit into the Collateral Account an amount in cash equal to, in the case of an Event of Default, the LC Exposure as of such date plus any accrued and unpaid interest thereon and, in the case of cash collateral pursuant to Section 2.10(b)(iii) the amount to be deposited shall be the amount required under Section 2.10(b)(iii); provided that the obligation to deposit such cash collateral shall become effective immediately, and such deposit shall become immediately due and payable, without demand or other notice of any kind, upon the occurrence of any Event of Default with respect to the Borrowers described in clause (h) or (i) of Section 8.1; provided further, that any such cash collateral deposited as the result of an Event of Default occurring and continuing shall be returned to the Borrowers once the applicable Event of Default is no longer continuing so long as it has not been applied to the Obligations as permitted hereunder. Such deposit shall be held by Administrative Agent in such Collateral Account for the benefit of the Secured Parties as collateral in the first instance for the LC Exposure under this Agreement and thereafter for the payment of the Obligations. The Borrowers hereby grant a security interest to the Administrative Agent for the benefit of the Secured Parties in such Collateral Account and in any cash, balances, financial assets (as defined in the UCC) or other property held therein and all proceeds thereof.

 

(m)       Applicability of ISP and UCP. Unless otherwise expressly agreed by Issuing Lender and the Borrowers when a Letter of Credit is issued and subject to applicable laws, the Letters of Credit shall be governed by and subject to ISP or the rules of the Uniform Customs and Practice for Documentary Credits, as published in its most recent version by the International Chamber of Commerce on the date any Letter of Credit is issued.

 

(n)        Issuing Lender. Issuing Lender shall act on behalf of the Revolving Credit Lenders with respect to any Letters of Credit issued by it and the documents associated therewith. Issuing Lender shall not be obligated to issue Letters of Credit to any beneficiary subject to Sanctions, and Issuing Lender shall have all of the benefits and immunities (i) provided to the Administrative Agent in Section 9 with respect to any acts taken or omissions suffered by Issuing Lender in connection with Letters of Credit issued by it and Letter of Credit Documents pertaining to such Letters of Credit as fully as if the term “Administrative Agent” as used in Section 9 included Issuing Lender with respect to such acts or omissions, and (ii) as additionally provided herein with respect to the Issuing Lender.

 

(o)        Automatic Extension. The Borrowers may request and Issuing Lender shall issue Letters of Credit that may automatically be extended for one or more successive periods not to exceed one year each; provided that Issuing Lender has the option to elect not to extend for any such additional period; and provided, further that, (i) that Issuing Lender shall not elect at any time after the Revolving Credit Maturity Date to extend such Letter of Credit, and (ii) Issuing Lender shall not elect to extend such Letter of Credit if it has knowledge that an Event of Default has occurred and is continuing at the time Issuing Lender must elect whether or not to allow such extension or, subject to Section 2.5(d), if such extension would be terminated on or after the date 5 days prior to the Revolving Credit Maturity Date.

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(p)          Issuing Lenders other than Administrative Agent. Any Issuing Lender (other than an Issuing Lender that is also Administrative Agent or one of its Affiliates) selected by the Borrowers to issue a Letter of Credit hereunder, shall (i) notify Administrative Agent in writing no later than the Business Day immediately following the Business Day on which the issuance, termination, expiration, reduction, amendment, modification or replacement of any Letter of Credit issued by such Issuing Lender occurs; provided that any notice by an Issuing Lender of the issuance, termination, expiration, reduction, amendment, modification or replacement of a Letter of Credit pursuant to this Section received by Administrative Agent on a day that is not a Business Day, or after 11:00 a.m. (New York City time) on a Business Day, shall be deemed to have been given at the opening of business on the next Business Day, and (ii) deliver to the Administrative Agent, once each week (on such day of the week as Administrative Agent and Issuing Lender shall agree) or during the existence of an Event of Default, as frequently as requested by Administrative Agent, a written report for the prior week of the daily aggregate undrawn amounts of all outstanding Letters of Credit issued by such Issuing Lender.

 

(q)          Illegality under Letters of Credit. If, at any time, it becomes unlawful after the Effective Date for any Issuing Lender to comply with any of its obligations under any Letter of Credit (including, but not limited to, as a result of any sanctions imposed by the United Nations, the United States or any other relevant sanctions authority), the obligations of such Issuing Lender with respect to such Letter of Credit shall be suspended (and all corresponding rights shall cease to accrue) until such time as it may again become lawful for such Issuing Lender to comply its obligations under such Letter of Credit, and such Issuing Lender shall not be liable for any losses that the Obligors may incur as a result.

 

(r)          Letters of Credit Issued for Account of Subsidiaries. Notwithstanding that a Letter of Credit issued or outstanding hereunder is in support of any obligations of, or is for the account of, a Subsidiary, the Borrowers shall be obligated to reimburse the Issuing Lender hereunder for any and all drawings under such Letter of Credit. The Borrowers hereby acknowledge that the issuance of Letters of Credit for the account of Subsidiaries inures to the benefit of the Borrowers, and that the Borrowers’ business derives substantial benefits from the businesses of such Subsidiaries.

 

(s)          If the expiration of any Letter of Credit in respect of any tranche of Revolving Credit Commitments occurs prior to the expiry date of any Letter of Credit, then (i) if one or more other tranches of Revolving Credit Commitments in respect of which the Letter of Credit Expiration Date shall not have so occurred are then in effect, such Letters of Credit shall, to the extent such Letters of Credit could have been issued under such other tranches and with the prior consent of each applicable Issuing Lender and the Administrative Agent, automatically be deemed to have been issued (including for purposes of the obligations of the Revolving Credit Lenders to purchase participations therein and to make Revolving Credit Loans and payments in respect thereof pursuant to Section 2.05(e) and (f)) under (and ratably participated in by Lenders pursuant to) the Revolving Credit Commitments in respect of such non-terminating tranches up to an aggregate amount not to exceed the aggregate principal amount of the unutilized Revolving Credit Commitments thereunder at such time (it being understood that no partial face amount of any Letter of Credit may be so reallocated) and (ii) to the extent not reallocated pursuant to the immediately preceding clause (i), the Borrower shall Cash Collateralize any such Letter of Credit in accordance with Section 2.5(l). Commencing with the maturity date of any tranche of Revolving Credit Commitments, the sublimit for Letters of Credit shall be agreed solely with the Issuing Lender.

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(t)          Conflict with Letter of Credit Application. Notwithstanding anything else to the contrary in this Agreement or any letter of credit application or any other Letter of Credit Document, in the event of any conflict between the terms hereof and the terms of any letter of credit application or any Letter of Credit Document, (i) the terms hereof shall control and (ii) any grant of a security interest or Lien in any letter of credit application or any other Letter of Credit Document shall be null and void.

 

2.6Funding of Borrowings.

 

(a)          Funding by Lenders. Each Lender shall make each Loan to be made by it hereunder on the proposed date thereof by wire transfer of immediately available funds by 1:00 p.m., New York City time, to the account of Administrative Agent most recently designated by it for such purpose by notice to the Lenders; provided that Swingline Loans shall be made as provided in Section 2.4. Administrative Agent will make such Loans available to any Borrower by promptly crediting the amounts so received, in like funds, to an account designated by such Borrower in the applicable Borrowing Request; provided that Base Rate Revolving Credit Loan Borrowings made to finance the reimbursement of an LC Disbursement as provided in Section 2.5(f) shall be remitted by Administrative Agent to the Issuing Lender.

 

(b)          Presumption by Administrative Agent. Unless Administrative Agent shall have received notice from a Lender prior to the proposed date of any Borrowing that such Lender will not make available to the Administrative Agent such Lender’s share of such Borrowing, Administrative Agent may assume that such Lender has made such share available on such date in accordance with Section 2.6(a) and may, in reliance upon such assumption but without any obligation to do so, make available to such Borrower a corresponding amount. In such event, if a Lender has not in fact made its share of the applicable Borrowing available to the Administrative Agent, then the applicable Lender on the one hand and the Borrowers on the other severally agree to pay to the Administrative Agent forthwith on demand such corresponding amount with interest thereon, for each day from and including the date such amount is made available to the Borrowers to but excluding the date of payment to the Administrative Agent, at (i) in the case of a payment to be made by such Lender, for the first three Business Days the greater of the Federal Funds Effective Rate and a rate determined by Administrative Agent in accordance with banking industry rules on interbank compensation and thereafter at the Base Rate and (ii) in the case of a payment to be made by the Borrowers, the interest rate applicable to Base Rate Loans. If the Borrowers and such Lender shall pay such interest to the Administrative Agent for the same or an overlapping period, Administrative Agent shall promptly remit to the Borrowers the amount of such interest paid by the Borrowers for such period. If such Lender pays its share of the applicable Borrowing to the Administrative Agent, then the amount so paid shall constitute such Lender’s Loan included in such Borrowing. Any payment by the Borrowers shall be without prejudice to any claim the Borrowers may have against a Lender that shall have failed to make such payment to the Administrative Agent. A notice of Administrative Agent to any Lender or the Borrowers with respect to any amount owing under this Section 2.6(b) shall be conclusive, absent manifest error.

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(c)          Obligations of Lenders Several. The obligations of the Lenders hereunder to make Loans, to fund participations in Letters of Credit and Swingline Loans and to make payments pursuant to Section 10.3(d) are several and not joint. The failure of any Lender to make any Loan, to fund any such participation or to make any payment under Section 10.3(d) on any date required hereunder shall not relieve any other Lender of its corresponding obligation to do so on such date, and no Lender shall be responsible for the failure of any other Lender to so make its Loan, to purchase its participation or to make its payment under Section 10.3(d).

 

2.7Interest Elections.

 

(a)          Elections by the Borrowers for Borrowings. Each Borrowing initially shall be of the Type specified in the applicable Borrowing Request and, in the case of a Term Benchmark Borrowing, shall have an initial Interest Period specified in such Borrowing Request. Thereafter, subject to the requirements of Section 2.13, a Borrower may elect to convert such Borrowing to a different Type or to continue such Borrowing and, in the case of a Term Benchmark Borrowing, may elect Interest Periods therefor, all as provided in this Section. A Borrower may elect different options with respect to different portions of the affected Borrowing, in which case each such portion shall be allocated ratably among the Lenders holding the Loans comprising such Borrowing, and the Loans comprising each such portion shall be considered a separate Borrowing. This Section shall not apply to Swingline Loan Borrowings, which may not be converted or continued.

 

(b)          Notice of Elections. To make an election pursuant to this Section, the Borrower Representative shall notify Administrative Agent of such election by telephone or by emailing an Interest Election Request to the Administrative Agent, in either case by the time that a Borrowing Request would be required under Section 2.3 if such Borrower was requesting a Borrowing of the Type resulting from such election to be made on the effective date of such election. Each Interest Election Request (whether by telephone or email) shall be irrevocable and any telephonic request shall be confirmed promptly by hand delivery, email or telecopy to the Administrative Agent of a written Interest Election Request in the form of Exhibit 2.7 and signed by the Borrower Representative.

 

(c)          Information in Interest Election Requests. Each telephonic and written Interest Election Request shall specify the following information in compliance with Section 2.2:

 

(i)         the Borrowing to which such Interest Election Request applies and, if different options are being elected with respect to different portions thereof, the portions thereof to be allocated to each resulting Borrowing (in which case the information to be specified pursuant to clauses (iii) and (iv) of this Section 2.7(c) shall be specified for each resulting Borrowing);

 

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

 

(iii)       whether the resulting Borrowing is to be a Base Rate Borrowing or a Term Benchmark Borrowing; and

 

(iv)       if the resulting Borrowing is a Term Benchmark Borrowing, the Interest Period to be applicable thereto (by specifying the duration of such Interest Period and the last day of such Interest Period) after giving effect to such election, which shall be a period contemplated by the definition of the term “Interest Period”.

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If any such Interest Election Request requests a Term Benchmark Borrowing but does not specify an Interest Period, then the Borrowers shall be deemed to have selected an Interest Period of one month’s duration.

 

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

 

(e)         Failure to Elect; Default. If such Borrower Representative fails to deliver a timely and properly completed Interest Election Request with respect to a Term Benchmark Borrowing prior to the end of the Interest Period applicable thereto, then, unless such Borrowing is repaid as provided herein, at the end of such Interest Period such Borrowing shall be converted to a Base Rate Borrowing. Notwithstanding any contrary provision hereof, if a Default has occurred and is continuing and the Administrative Agent, at the request of the Required Lenders, so notifies the Borrower Representative, then, so long as a Default is continuing, (i) no outstanding Borrowing may be converted to or continued as a Term Benchmark Borrowing and (ii) unless repaid, each Term Benchmark Borrowing shall be converted to a Base Rate Borrowing at the end of the Interest Period applicable thereto.

 

(f)          Initial Interest Elections. Anything in Section 2.2 or this Section 2.7 to the contrary notwithstanding, a Borrower may not select a Term Benchmark Borrowing as a Borrowing on the Effective Date unless Administrative Agent receives the applicable Borrowing Request not later than 1:00 p.m., one Business Day prior to the Effective Date, together with an indemnity agreement from the Borrowers agreeing to pay losses as described in Section 2.15, in form and substance reasonably acceptable to the Administrative Agent.

  

2.8          Termination and Reduction of the Commitments.

 

(a)         Scheduled Termination. Unless previously terminated in accordance with the terms hereof, (i) the Initial Term Loan Commitments shall terminate upon the making of the Initial Term Loans on the Effective Date, (ii) the Revolving Credit Commitments shall terminate on the Revolving Credit Maturity Date, and (iii) the Second Amendment Term Loan Commitments shall terminate upon the making of the Second Amendment Term Loans on the Second Amendment Effective Date, and (iv) the Third Amendment Term Loans Commitments shall terminate upon the making of the Third Amendment Term Loans on the Third Amendment Effective Date.

  

(b)         Voluntary Termination or Reduction. The Borrowers may at any time terminate, or from time to time reduce, the Revolving Credit Commitments; provided that (i) each partial reduction of the Revolving Credit Commitments pursuant to this Section shall be in an amount that is $1,000,000 or a larger multiple of $1,000,000 in excess thereof and (ii) the Borrowers shall not terminate or reduce the Revolving Credit Commitments if, after giving effect to any concurrent prepayment of the Revolving Credit Loans in accordance with Section 2.10, the aggregate Revolving Credit Exposures would exceed the total Revolving Credit Commitments.

 

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(c)          Notice of Voluntary Termination or Reduction. The Borrower Representative shall notify Administrative Agent of any election to terminate or reduce the Revolving Credit Commitments under Section 2.8(b) by no later than 1:00 p.m., New York City time, at least three Business Days prior to the effective date of such termination or reduction, specifying such election and the effective date thereof. Promptly following receipt of any notice, Administrative Agent shall advise the Lenders of the contents thereof. Each notice delivered by the Borrower Representative pursuant to this Section shall be irrevocable; provided that a notice of termination of the Revolving Credit Commitments delivered by the Borrower Representative may state that such notice is conditioned upon the effectiveness of other credit facilities or occurrence of other transactions or events, in which case such notice may be revoked by the Borrower Representative (by notice to the Administrative Agent on or prior to the specified effective date) if such condition is not satisfied.

 

(d)          Effect of Termination or Reduction. Any termination or reduction of the Revolving Credit Commitments shall be permanent. Each reduction of the Revolving Credit Commitments shall be made ratably among the Lenders in accordance with their respective Revolving Credit Commitments (other than any reduction made pursuant to Section 2.18(b)). All commitment fees accrued on the portion of the Revolving Credit Commitments terminated until the effective date of such termination of the Revolving Credit Commitments shall be paid on the effective date of such termination.

 

2.9          Repayment of Loans; Evidence of Debt.

 

(a)          Repayment. Each Borrower, jointly and severally, hereby unconditionally promises to pay the Loans as follows:

 

(i)           to the Administrative Agent for the ratable account of the Revolving Credit Lenders the aggregate outstanding principal amount of the Revolving Credit Loans on the Revolving Credit Maturity Date or any earlier date of termination of this Agreement or acceleration of the Loans due hereunder in accordance with the terms hereof;

 

(ii)          to the Administrative Agent for the ratable account of the applicable Term Loan Lenders, (x) the principal of the Incremental Term Loans of each Tranche on such dates and in such amounts as may be set forth in the Notice of Incremental Term Loan Borrowing for such Tranche, to be applied to the unpaid principal amount of the Incremental Term Loans for such Tranche for which such payment relates, (y) on each Principal Payment Date, the principal of the Initial Term Loans and, the Second Amendment Term Loans and the Third Amendment Term Loans, as applicable, outstanding in an amount equal to the Quarterly Percentage Amount for each such Class, to be applied to the unpaid principal amount of the Initial Term Loans and, the Second Amendment Term Loans and the Third Amendment Term Loans on a pro-rata basis, and (z) on the applicable Term Loan Maturity Date or any earlier date of termination of this Agreement or acceleration of the Loans due hereunder in accordance with the terms hereof, the remaining unpaid principal amount of the Initial Term Loans, the Second Amendment Term Loans, the Third Amendment Term Loans and/or such other Tranche of Incremental Term Loans, as applicable; provided that the scheduled installments of principal of the Term Loans of any Class set forth above shall be reduced in connection with any voluntary or mandatory prepayments of the Term Loans of such Class in accordance herewith;

 

(iii)         to Swingline Lender the then unpaid principal amount of each Swingline Loan on the earlier of the Revolving Credit Maturity Date (or any earlier date of termination of this Agreement or acceleration of the Loans due hereunder in accordance with the terms hereof) and the date that is five (5) Business Days after such Swingline Loan is made; provided that on each date that a Revolving Credit Loan Borrowing is made, the Borrowers shall repay all Swingline Loans then outstanding.

 

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(b)         Manner of Payment. Each repayment or prepayment of Borrowings of any Class shall be applied to repay any outstanding Base Rate Loan Borrowings of such Class before any other Borrowings of such Class.

 

(c)         Maintenance of Loan Accounts by Lenders and the Administrative Agent. Each Lender shall maintain in accordance with its usual practice an account or accounts evidencing the indebtedness of the Borrowers to such Lender resulting from each Loan made by such Lender, including the amounts of principal and interest payable and paid to such Lender from time to time hereunder. Administrative Agent shall maintain on the Register (i) the amount of each Loan made hereunder, the Class and Type thereof and the Interest Period applicable thereto, (ii) the amount of any principal or interest due and payable or to become due and payable from the Borrowers to each Lender hereunder, and (iii) the amount of any sum received by Administrative Agent hereunder for the account of the Lenders and each Lender’s share thereof.

 

(d)         Effect of Entries. The entries made in the accounts maintained pursuant to Section 2.9(c) shall be conclusive evidence of the existence and amounts of the obligations recorded therein; provided that the failure of any Lender or Administrative Agent to maintain such accounts or any error therein shall not in any manner affect the obligation of the Borrowers to repay the Loans in accordance with the terms of this Agreement. In the event of any conflict between the accounts maintained by any Lender and the accounts of Administrative Agent in respect of such matters, the accounts of Administrative Agent shall control in the absence of manifest error.

 

(e)         Participations in Letters of Credit and Swingline Loans. In addition to the accounts maintained pursuant to Section 2.9(c), each Lender and the Administrative Agent shall maintain in accordance with its usual practice account or accounts evidencing the purchases and sales by such Lender of participations in Letters of Credit and Swingline Loans. In the event of any conflict between the accounts maintained by Administrative Agent and the accounts of any Lender in respect of such matters, the accounts and records of Administrative Agent shall control in the absence of manifest error.

 

2.10        Prepayment of Loans.

 

(a)         Optional Prepayments. The Borrowers shall have the right at any time and from time to time to prepay any Borrowing in whole or in part, subject to the requirements of this Section (including Section 2.10(d)(vi)) and Section 2.15; provided that each voluntary prepayment of the Term Loans shall be in an amount that is at least $500,000 or a larger multiple of $100,000 in excess thereof or, if less, the entire principal amount thereof then outstanding. Any prepayment of the Term Loans pursuant to this Section 2.10(a) shall be applied to the remaining scheduled amortization payments thereof as set forth in Section 2.10(c).

 

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(b)          Mandatory Prepayments. The Borrowers will prepay the Loans (and/or provide cash collateral for LC Exposure, as applicable), as follows:

 

(i)           Sale of Assets or Events of Loss. If on any date a Company shall receive Net Cash Proceeds from (x) any Disposition (excluding any Ordinary Course Disposition) or (y) any Event of Loss, then, unless the Borrower Representative shall have elected to reinvest such Net Cash Proceeds pursuant to a Reinvestment Event so long as no Event of Default described in clause (a), (b), (h) or (i) of Section 8.1 has occurred and is continuing or would result therefrom, within 10 Business Days of the date of receipt by a Company of such Net Cash Proceeds, the Borrowers shall prepay the Term Loans in an amount equal to 100% of the amount of such Net Cash Proceeds in excess of the greater of (A) $4,500,000 and (B) 15% of Consolidated EBITDA (determined at the time of such Disposition or Event of Loss (calculated on a pro forma basis) as of the last day of the most recently ended four Fiscal Quarter period for which financial statements have been delivered pursuant to Section 5.1(a) or (b)) (the “Asset Sale Threshold”) per Fiscal Year for all such Dispositions (it being agreed that the Borrowers may retain all such amount below the Asset Sale Threshold (the “De Minimis Asset Sale Proceeds”)); provided that notwithstanding the foregoing, on each Reinvestment Prepayment Date, the Term Loans shall be prepaid by an amount equal to the Reinvestment Prepayment Amount with respect to the relevant Reinvestment Event, as set forth in Section 2.10(c). The provisions of this Section do not constitute consent to the consummation of any Disposition not permitted by Section 6.4.

 

(ii)          Excess Cash Flow. Not later than the date that is 10 Business Days after the earlier of (x) the date on which the audited financial statements under Section 5.1(a) for the Fiscal Year ending closest to December 31, 2022 and each Fiscal Year thereafter are required to be delivered to the Lenders, and (y) the date such audited financial statements are actually delivered, the Borrowers shall prepay the Term Loans in an aggregate amount equal to (A) 50% of Excess Cash Flow (the “Excess Cash Flow Percentage”) for such Excess Cash Flow Period minus (B) the aggregate amount of voluntary prepayments of Term Loans (except to the extent funded with the proceeds of long term indebtedness) pursuant to Section 2.10(a) and all other Indebtedness secured by the Collateral on a pari passu basis with the Term Loans (and in the case of any revolving loans, accompanied by a corresponding reduction of the commitments in respect thereof), minus (C) optional prepayments on the Revolving Credit Loans (except to the extent funded with proceeds of long term indebtedness) that are accompanied by a corresponding reduction in the Revolving Credit Commitment, such prepayment to be effected in each case in the manner and to the extent specified in Section 2.10(c); provided, however, that (x) the Excess Cash Flow Percentage shall be 25% if the Consolidated First Lien Leverage Ratio as of the last day of the applicable Excess Cash Flow Period is less than 4.00 to 1.00 and (y) the Excess Cash Flow Percentage shall be 0% if the Consolidated First Lien Leverage Ratio as of the last day of the applicable Excess Cash Flow Period is less than to 3.50 to 1.00; provided, further, that such Excess Cash Flow payment shall only be required to the extent exceeding the greater of (A) $3,000,000 and (B) 10% of Consolidated EBITDA as of the last day of the most recently ended four Fiscal Quarter period for which financial statements have been delivered pursuant to Section 5.1(a) or (b)) (the “ECF Threshold”) (it being agreed that the Borrowers may retain all such amount below the ECF Threshold (the “Retained ECF Amount”)) provided, further, that any prepayment of Revolving Loans incurred on the Effective Date to finance any original issue discount or upfront fees required by the Fee Letter shall, at the option of the Borrowers, be applied to any subsequent Fiscal Year to the extent the amount of such prepayments exceeds the amount of prepayments required to be made pursuant to this Section 2.10(b)(ii) for such year.

 

(iii)        Insufficient Availability. Until the Revolving Credit Maturity Date, the Borrowers shall from time to time prepay the Revolving Credit Loans and Swingline Loans (or provide cash collateral for LC Exposure as provided in Section 2.5(l)) in such amounts as shall be necessary so that at all times the aggregate outstanding Revolving Credit Exposures shall not exceed the total Revolving Credit Commitments, such amount to be applied FIRST, to repay the outstanding principal balance of the Swingline Loans, until such Swingline Loans shall have been repaid in full, SECOND, to repay, the outstanding principal balance of the Revolving Credit Loans and THIRD, to Cash Collateralize the LC Exposure. In addition, if on any date the LC Exposure shall exceed the Letter of Credit sublimit set forth in Section 2.5(c), the Borrowers shall cash collateralize on such date the outstanding Letters of Credit in an amount equal to such excess.

 

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(iv)        Indebtedness Issuance. Without limiting the obligation of the Borrowers to obtain the consent of the Required Lenders pursuant to Section 6.1 to the incurrence of any Indebtedness not otherwise permitted hereunder, upon the incurrence of any Indebtedness (other than Indebtedness permitted under this Agreement (other than Credit Agreement Refinancing Indebtedness)), the Borrowers shall prepay the Loans in an aggregate amount equal to 100% of the Net Cash Proceeds thereof within 5 Business Days of receipt thereof, such prepayment to be effected in the manner and to the extent specified in Section 2.10(c).

 

(v)         Notwithstanding any other provisions of this Section 2.10, (i) to the extent that the repatriation to the United States of any Excess Cash Flow attributable to Foreign Subsidiaries (“Foreign Subsidiary Excess Cash Flow”) would be (x) prohibited or delayed by applicable Law or (y) restricted, prohibited or delayed by applicable material constituent documents or material agreements so long as such restrictions described in this clause (y) are not created in contemplation of such prepayments, an amount equal to the portion of such Foreign Subsidiary Excess Cash Flow that would be so affected were the Borrowers to attempt to repatriate such cash will not be required to be applied to repay Term Loans at the times provided in this Section 2.10 so long, but only so long, as the applicable local law or applicable material documents would not otherwise permit repatriation to the United States (the Borrowers hereby agree to use commercially reasonable efforts during the year following the date such prepayment would otherwise have been required to be paid to overcome or eliminate any such restrictions on repatriation, even if the Borrowers do not intend to actually repatriate such cash, so that an amount equal to the full amount of such Foreign Subsidiary Excess Cash Flow will otherwise be subject to repayment under this Section 2.10), and if at any time within one year following the date on which the respective prepayment would otherwise have been required such repatriation of any of such affected Foreign Subsidiary Excess Cash Flow is permissible under the applicable Law or applicable material documents (even if such cash is actually not repatriated), an amount equal to the amount of the Foreign Subsidiary Excess Cash Flow that could be repatriated will be promptly (and in any event not later than five Business Days after the date that such cash could be repatriated) applied (net of an amount equal to the additional taxes of the Borrowers, their Subsidiaries and the direct and indirect holders of Equity Interests in the Borrowers that would be payable or reserved against as a result of a repatriation and any additional costs that would be incurred as a result of a repatriation, whether or not a repatriation actually occurs) by the Borrowers to the repayment of the Term Loans pursuant to this Section 2.10 and (ii) to the extent that the Borrowers have determined in good faith that repatriation of any Foreign Subsidiary Excess Cash Flow could reasonably be expected to have adverse tax consequences (other than de minimis tax consequences), an amount equal to such Foreign Subsidiary Excess Cash Flow that would be so affected will not be subject to repayment under this Section 2.10; provided that in the case of each of clauses (i) and (ii), such nonpayment prior to the time such amounts must be prepaid shall not constitute an Event of Default (and such amounts shall be available for working capital and other general corporate purposes of the Borrowers and the Restricted Subsidiaries).

 

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(vi)        Notwithstanding any other provisions of this Section 2.10, (i) to the extent that the repatriation to the United States of any or all of the Net Proceeds of any Disposition by a Foreign Subsidiary (“Foreign Disposition”) or the Net Proceeds of any Event of Loss incurred by a Foreign Subsidiary (“Foreign Casualty Event”) would be (x) prohibited or delayed by applicable law or (y) restricted prohibited or delayed by applicable material agreements (including material constituent documents) so long as such restrictions described in this clause (y) are not created in contemplation of such prepayments, an amount equal to the Net Cash Proceeds that would be so affected were the Borrowers to attempt to repatriate such cash will not be required to be applied to repay Term Loans at the times provided in this Section 2.10 so long, but only so long, as the applicable local law or applicable material documents would not otherwise permit repatriation to the United States (the Borrowers hereby agree to use commercially reasonable efforts during the year following the date such prepayment would otherwise have been required to be made to overcome or eliminate any such restrictions on repatriation even if the Borrower does not intend to actually repatriate such cash, so that an amount equal to the full amount of such Net Cash Proceeds will otherwise be subject to repayment under this Section 2.10), and if at any time within one year following the date on which the respective prepayment would otherwise have been required such repatriation of any of such affected Net Cash Proceeds is permissible under the applicable Law or applicable material documents, even if such cash is not actually repatriated at such time, an amount equal to the amount of the Net Cash Proceeds will be promptly (and in any event not later than five Business Days after the date that such cash could be repatriated) applied (net of an amount equal to the additional Taxes of the Borrowers, their Subsidiaries and the direct and indirect holders of Equity Interests in the Borrowers that would be payable or reserved against as a result of a repatriation and any additional costs that would be incurred as a result of a repatriation, whether or not a repatriation actually occurs) by the Borrowers to the repayment of the Term Loans pursuant to this Section 2.10 and (ii) to the extent that the Borrowers have determined in good faith that repatriation of any of or all the Net Cash Proceeds of any Foreign Disposition or Foreign Casualty Event could reasonably be expected to have adverse Tax (other than de minimis Tax consequences) with respect to such Net Cash Proceeds, an amount equal to such Net Cash Proceeds that would be so affected will not be subject to repayment under this Section 2.10; provided that in the case of each of clauses (i) and (ii), such nonpayment prior to the time such amounts must be prepaid shall not constitute an Event of Default (and such amounts shall be available for working capital and other general corporate purposes of the Borrowers and the Restricted Subsidiaries, in each case, subject to the prepayment provisions in this Section 2.10). For the avoidance of doubt, nothing in this Section 2.10 shall require the Borrowers or any Subsidiary to cause any amounts to be repatriated to the United States (whether or not such amounts are used in or excluded from the determination of the amount of any mandatory prepayments hereunder).

 

(c)          Order of Application to Loans. Each such prepayment of the Loans made under Section 2.10(a) shall be applied to any Class of Term Loans or the Revolving Credit Loans as may be selected by the Borrowers and, in connection with voluntary prepayments of such Class of Term Loans, applied to the remaining scheduled amortization payments thereof as the Borrowers shall direct or, absent such direction, in the direct order of maturity or otherwise as may be agreed in the applicable Incremental Amendment for such Tranche. Except as otherwise provided in Section 8.2, each mandatory prepayment of the Loans under Section 2.10(b) (other than any mandatory prepayment of the Loans under Section 2.10(b)(iii)) shall be applied (i) FIRST, to repay accrued interest and fees due on the amount of such repayment, (ii) SECOND, to repay, on a pro rata basis, the outstanding principal balance of the Term Loans (on a pro rata basis to each Class of Term Loans and within each Class, first to such Term Loans that are Base Rate Loans and, then, to such Term Loans that are Term Benchmark Loans), as the Borrowers shall direct or, absent such direction, in the direct order of maturity and thereafter, to the remaining scheduled amortization payments on a pro rata basis, until the Term Loans shall have been repaid in full, (iii) THIRD, to repay the outstanding principal balance of the Swingline Loans, until such Swingline Loans shall have been repaid in full; and (iv) FOURTH, to repay, on a pro rata basis, the outstanding principal balance of the Revolving Credit Loans (without a corresponding reduction in the applicable Revolving Credit Commitment).

 

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(d)          Notices, Etc.

 

(i)           The Borrower Representative shall notify Administrative Agent (and, in the case of prepayment of a Swingline Loan, Swingline Lender) in writing of any optional prepayment under Section 2.10(a), (i) in the case of prepayment of a Term Benchmark Borrowing, not later than 2:00 p.m., three Business Days before the date of prepayment, (ii) in the case of prepayment of a Base Rate Borrowing, not later than 11:00 a.m., New York City time, on the date of prepayment or (iii) in the case of prepayment of a Swingline Loan, not later than 12:00 p.m., on the date of prepayment. Each such notice shall specify the prepayment date, and the principal amount of each Borrowing or portion thereof to be prepaid; provided that, if a notice of prepayment is given in connection with a conditional notice of termination of the Revolving Credit Commitments as contemplated by Section 2.8(c), then such notice of prepayment may be revoked if such notice of termination is revoked in accordance with Section 2.8(c). Promptly following receipt of any such notice, Administrative Agent shall advise the relevant Lenders of the contents thereof.

 

(ii)          Prior to or concurrently with any prepayment under Section 2.10(b), the Borrower Representative shall deliver to the Administrative Agent a certificate signed by a Responsible Officer of the Borrower Representative containing a reasonably detailed calculation of the estimated amount of such prepayment.

 

(iii)         Promptly following receipt of any prepayment notice relating to a Borrowing or such certificate relating to a prepayment, Administrative Agent shall advise the relevant Lenders of the contents thereof and of the amount of such Lender’s ratable portion of such prepayment. Each Lender may reject all of its pro rata share of any mandatory prepayment (other than prepayments resulting from the incurrence of Credit Agreement Refinancing Indebtedness) (such declined amounts, the “Declined Proceeds”) of Term Loans required to be made pursuant to clauses (i), (ii) and (iv) of Section 2.10(b) by providing written notice (each, a “Rejection Notice”) to the Administrative Agent no later than 5:00 p.m. one Business Day after the date of such Lender’s receipt of notice from the Administrative Agent regarding such prepayment; provided that in no event may the proceeds of any Credit Agreement Refinancing Indebtedness be rejected. If a Lender fails to deliver a Rejection Notice to the Administrative Agent within the time frame specified above such failure will be deemed an acceptance of the total amount of such mandatory prepayment.

 

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(iv)        Each partial prepayment of any Borrowing shall be in an amount such that the remaining amount outstanding of each Borrowing would be permitted in the case of a Borrowing of the same Type as provided in Section 2.2 except as necessary to apply fully the required amount of a mandatory prepayment under Section 2.10(b). Each prepayment of a Borrowing shall be applied ratably to the Loans included in the prepaid Borrowing.

 

(v)         Prepayments shall be accompanied by accrued interest to the extent required by Section 2.12 and any amounts required by Section 2.15 and shall be made in the manner specified in Section 2.9(b) and this Section 2.10.

 

(vi)        If any optional prepayment pursuant to Section 2.10(a), Section 2.18(b) (only with respect to optional prepayments made in connection with a Lender who is not a party to the applicable Extension Amendment) or Section 2.22 or mandatory prepayment pursuant to Section 2.10(b)(iv) (in each case, whether before or after the occurrence of an Event of Default, an acceleration of the Obligations or the commencement of a bankruptcy or insolvency proceeding) occurs prior to the date occurring (A) prior to the date that is one year after the Third Amendment Effective Date or (B) on or after the date that is one year after the Third Amendment Effective Date but prior to the date that is two years after the Third Amendment Effective Date, the Borrowers jointly and severally agree to pay to the Administrative Agent (1) for the ratable account of each Term Loan Lender with Initial Term Loans that are subject to a prepayment premium in an amount equal to 2.00% or 1.00%, respectively, of the aggregate principal amount of the Initial Term Loans subject to such prepayment and, (2) for the ratable account of each Term Loan Lender with Second Amendment Term Loans that are subject to a prepayment premium in an amount equal to 2.00% or 1.00%, respectively, of the aggregate principal amount of the Second Amendment Term Loans subject to such prepayment. and (3) for the ratable account of each Term Loan Lender with Third Amendment Term Loans that are subject to a prepayment premium in an amount equal to 2.00% or 1.00%, respectively, of the aggregate principal amount of the Third Amendment Term Loans subject to such prepayment (this clause (vi), the “Prepayment Premium”).

 

2.11        Fees.

 

(a)          Commitment Fees. Each Borrower, jointly and severally, agrees to pay to the Administrative Agent for the account of each Revolving Credit Lender a commitment fee, which shall accrue at a per annum rate equal to the Applicable Margin applicable for the “Commitment Fee Rate” on the average daily Unused Revolving Commitment of such Lender during the period from and including the Effective Date to but excluding the earlier of the date such Revolving Credit Commitment terminates and the Revolving Credit Maturity Date. Accrued commitment fees for this Section 2.11(a) through and including each Quarterly Date shall be payable on the second Business Day following such Quarterly Date and on the earlier of the date the Revolving Credit Commitment terminates and the Revolving Credit Maturity Date, commencing on the first such date to occur after the Effective Date. All commitment fees shall be computed on the basis of a year of 360 days and shall be payable for the actual number of days elapsed (including the first day but excluding the last day).

 

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(b)          Letter of Credit Fees. Each Borrower, jointly and severally agrees to pay (i) to the Administrative Agent for the account of each Revolving Credit Lender a participation fee with respect to its participations in Letters of Credit, which shall accrue at a rate per annum equal to the Applicable Margin applicable to interest on Term Benchmark Loans on the daily amount of such Lender’s LC Exposure (excluding any portion thereof attributable to unreimbursed LC Disbursements) attributable to Letters of Credit issued during the period from and including the Effective Date to and excluding the later of the date on which such Revolving Credit Lender’s Commitment terminates and the date on which such Lender ceases to have any LC Exposure, and (ii) to the Issuing Lender for its own account a fronting fee, which shall accrue at the rate of 0.125% on the average daily amount of the LC Exposure (excluding any portion thereof attributable to unreimbursed LC Disbursements) attributable to Letters of Credit issued by it during the period from and including the Effective Date to but excluding the later of the date of termination of the Revolving Credit Commitments and the date on which there ceases to be any LC Exposure, as well as Issuing Lender’s standard fees and other standard costs and charges with respect to the issuance, amendment, renewal or extension of any Letter of Credit or processing of drawings thereunder. Participation fees and fronting fees accrued through and including each Quarterly Date shall be payable on the second Business Day following such Quarterly Date, commencing on the first such date to occur after the Effective Date; provided that all such fees shall be payable on the date on which the Revolving Credit Commitments terminate and any such fees accruing after the date on which the Revolving Credit Commitments terminate shall be payable on demand. Any other fees payable to the Issuing Lender pursuant to this Section 2.11(b) shall be payable within 30 days after written demand. All participation fees and fronting fees shall be computed on the basis of a year of 360 days and shall be payable for the actual number of days elapsed (including the first day but excluding the last day).

 

(c)          Administrative Agent Fees. Each Borrower, jointly and severally agrees to pay to the Administrative Agent, for its own account, fees payable in the amounts and at the times separately agreed upon between the Borrowers and the Administrative Agent and such other fees required by the Fee Letter.

 

(d)          Payment of Fees. All fees payable hereunder shall be paid on the dates due, in immediately available funds in Dollars, to the Administrative Agent (or to the Issuing Lender, in the case of fees payable to it) for distribution, other than in the case of fees payable solely for account of Administrative Agent, to the Lenders entitled thereto. Fees paid shall not be refundable under any circumstances.

 

2.12        Interest.

 

(a)          Base Rate Loans. The Loans comprising each Base Rate Borrowing (including each Swingline Loan Borrowing) shall bear interest at a rate per annum equal to the Base Rate plus the Applicable Margin.

 

(b)          Term Benchmark Loans. The Loans comprising each Term Benchmark Borrowing shall bear interest at a rate per annum equal to the Adjusted Term SOFR Rate for the Interest Period in effect for such Borrowing plus the Applicable Margin.

 

(c)          Default Interest. The Borrowers shall pay interest on the principal amount of all overdue outstanding Loans and, to the fullest extent permitted by law, the outstanding amount of all overdue interest, fees and other Obligations, at a rate per annum equal to the Default Rate immediately upon the occurrence of any Event of Default described in clause (a), (b), (h) or (i) of Section 8.1.

 

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(d)          Payment of Interest. Accrued interest on each Loan shall be payable in arrears on each Interest Payment Date for such Loan and, in the case of Revolving Credit Loans, upon termination of the Revolving Credit Commitments, and, in the case of the Term Loans, on the applicable Term Loan Maturity Date (or earlier date of termination of this Agreement or acceleration of the Loans due hereunder pursuant to the terms hereof); provided that (i) interest accrued pursuant to Section 2.12(c) shall be payable on written demand, (ii) in the event of any repayment or prepayment of any Loan (other than a prepayment of a Base Rate Revolving Credit Loan prior to the Revolving Credit Maturity Date), accrued interest on the principal amount repaid or prepaid shall be payable on the date of such repayment or prepayment, and (iii) in the event of any conversion of any Term Benchmark Borrowing prior to the end of the current Interest Period therefor, accrued interest on such Borrowing shall be payable on the effective date of such conversion. Additionally, the Borrowers shall immediately pay to the Administrative Agent for the account of the applicable Lenders the amount of any interest and fees that may be owing pursuant to the penultimate sentence of the definition of Applicable Margin. The Borrowers’ obligations under this Section 2.12(d) shall survive the termination of the Commitments and the repayment of all other Obligations hereunder.

 

(e)          Computation. Interest computed by reference to the Term SOFR Rate or Daily Simple SOFR hereunder shall be computed on the basis of a year of 360 days. All interest computed by reference to the Base Rate shall be computed on the basis of a year of 360 days (or 365 or 366 days, as the case may be, in the case of Base Rate Loans based on Prime Rate), and in each case shall be payable for the actual number of days elapsed (including the first day but excluding the last day). The applicable Base Rate or Adjusted Term SOFR Rate shall be determined by Administrative Agent, and such determination shall be conclusive absent manifest error.

 

2.13        Alternate Rate of Interest; Illegality.

 

(a)          Subject to clauses (b), (c), (d), (e) and (f) of this Section 2.13, if:

 

(i)           the Administrative Agent, in consultation with the Borrower Representative, determines (which determination shall be conclusive and binding absent manifest error) (A) prior to commencement of any Interest Period for a Term Benchmark Borrowing, that adequate and reasonable means do not exist for ascertaining the Adjusted Term SOFR Rate or the Term SOFR Rate, as applicable (including, because the Term SOFR Reference Rate is not available or published on a current basis) for such Interest Period or (B) at any time, that adequate and reasonable means do not exist for ascertaining the applicable Adjusted Daily Simple SOFR or Daily Simple SOFR; or

 

(ii)          the Administrative Agent is advised by the Required Lenders that (A) prior to the commencement of any Interest Period for a Term Benchmark Borrowing, the Adjusted Term SOFR Rate for such Interest Period will not adequately and fairly reflect the cost to such Lenders (or Lender) of making or maintaining their Loans (or Loan) included in such Borrowing for such Interest Period or (B) at any time, the Adjusted Daily Simple SOFR will not adequately and fairly reflect the cost to such Lenders (or Lender) of making or maintaining their Loans (or Loan) included in such Borrowing;

 

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then the Administrative Agent shall give written notice thereof to the Borrower Representative and the Lenders as promptly as practicable thereafter and, until (x) the Administrative Agent notifies the Borrower Representative and the Lenders that the circumstances giving rise to such notice no longer exist with respect to the relevant Benchmark and (y) the Borrower Representative delivers a new Interest Election Request in accordance with the terms of Section 2.7 or a new Borrowing Request in accordance with the terms of Section 2.3, any Interest Election Request that requests the conversion of any Borrowing to, or continuation of any Borrowing as, a Term Benchmark Borrowing and any Borrowing Request that requests a Term Benchmark Borrowing shall instead be deemed to be an Interest Election Request or a Borrowing Request, as applicable, for (x) an RFR Borrowing so long as the Adjusted Daily Simple SOFR is not also the subject of Section 2.13(a)(i) or (ii) above or (y) be repaid or converted into a Base Rate Borrowing if the Adjusted Daily Simple SOFR also is the subject of Section 2.13(a)(i) or (ii) above; provided that if the circumstances giving rise to such notice affect only one Type of Borrowings, then all other Types of Borrowings shall be permitted. Furthermore, if any Term Benchmark Loan is outstanding on the date of the Borrower Representative’s receipt of the notice from the Administrative Agent referred to in this Section 2.13(a) with respect to a Relevant Rate applicable to such Term Benchmark Loan, then until (x) the Administrative Agent notifies the Borrower Representative and the Lenders that the circumstances giving rise to such notice no longer exist with respect to the relevant Benchmark and (y) the Borrower Representative delivers a new Interest Election Request in accordance with the terms of Section 2.7 or a new Borrowing Request in accordance with the terms of Section 2.3, (1) any Term Benchmark Loan shall on the last day of the Interest Period applicable to such Loan (or the next succeeding Business Day if such day is not a Business Day), be converted by the Administrative Agent to, and shall constitute, (x) an RFR Borrowing so long as the Adjusted Daily Simple SOFR is not also the subject of Section 2.13(a)(i) or (ii) above or (y) a Base Rate Loan if the Adjusted Daily Simple SOFR also is the subject of Section 2.13(a)(i) or (ii) above, on such day.

 

(b)          Notwithstanding anything to the contrary herein or in any other Loan Document, if a Benchmark Transition Event and its related Benchmark Replacement Date have occurred prior to the Reference Time in respect of any setting of the then-current Benchmark, then (x) if a Benchmark Replacement is determined in accordance with clause (1) of the definition of “Benchmark Replacement” for such Benchmark Replacement Date, such Benchmark Replacement will replace such Benchmark for all purposes hereunder and under any Loan Document in respect of such Benchmark setting and subsequent Benchmark settings without any amendment to, or further action or consent of any other party to, this Agreement or any other Loan Document and (y) if a Benchmark Replacement is determined in accordance with clause (2) of the definition of “Benchmark Replacement” for such Benchmark Replacement Date, such Benchmark Replacement will replace such Benchmark for all purposes hereunder and under any Loan Document in respect of any Benchmark setting at or after 5:00 p.m. (New York City time) on the fifth (5th) Business Day after the date notice of such Benchmark Replacement is provided to the Lenders without any amendment to, or further action or consent of any other party to, this Agreement or any other Loan Document so long as the Administrative Agent has not received, by such time, written notice of objection to such Benchmark Replacement from Lenders comprising the Required Lenders of each Class.

 

(c)          Notwithstanding anything to the contrary herein or in any other Loan Document, the Administrative Agent will have the right to make Benchmark Replacement Conforming Changes from time to time and, notwithstanding anything to the contrary herein or in any other Loan Document, any amendments implementing such Benchmark Replacement Conforming Changes will become effective without any further action or consent of any other party to this Agreement or any other Loan Document.

 

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(d)          The Administrative Agent will promptly notify the Borrower Representative and the Lenders of (i) any occurrence of a Benchmark Transition Event (ii) the implementation of any Benchmark Replacement, (iii) the effectiveness of any Benchmark Replacement Conforming Changes, (iv) the removal or reinstatement of any tenor of a Benchmark pursuant to clause (f) below and (v) the commencement or conclusion of any Benchmark Unavailability Period. Any determination, decision or election that may be made by the Administrative Agent or, if applicable, any Lender (or group of Lenders) pursuant to this Section 2.13, in each case in consultation with the Borrower Representative, including any determination with respect to a tenor, rate or adjustment or of the occurrence or non-occurrence of an event, circumstance or date and any decision to take or refrain from taking any action or any selection, will be conclusive and binding absent manifest error and may be made in its or their sole discretion and without consent from any other party to this Agreement or any other Loan Document, except, in each case, as expressly required pursuant to this Section 2.13.

 

(e)          Notwithstanding anything to the contrary herein or in any other Loan Document, at any time (including in connection with the implementation of a Benchmark Replacement), (i) if the then-current Benchmark is a term rate (including the Term SOFR Rate) and either (A) any tenor for such Benchmark is not displayed on a screen or other information service that publishes such rate from time to time as selected by the Administrative Agent in its reasonable discretion or (B) the regulatory supervisor for the administrator of such Benchmark has provided a public statement or publication of information announcing that any tenor for such Benchmark is or will be no longer representative, then the Administrative Agent in consultation with the Borrower Representative may modify the definition of “Interest Period” for any Benchmark settings at or after such time to remove such unavailable or non-representative tenor and (ii) if a tenor that was removed pursuant to clause (i) above either (A) is subsequently displayed on a screen or information service for a Benchmark (including a Benchmark Replacement) or (B) is not, or is no longer, subject to an announcement that it is or will no longer be representative for a Benchmark (including a Benchmark Replacement), then the Administrative Agent, in consultation with the Borrower Representative may modify the definition of “Interest Period” for all Benchmark settings at or after such time to reinstate such previously removed tenor.

 

(f)           Upon the Borrower Representative’s receipt of notice of the commencement of a Benchmark Unavailability Period, the Borrower Representative may revoke any request for a Term Benchmark Borrowing of, conversion to or continuation of Term Benchmark Loans to be made, converted or continued during any Benchmark Unavailability Period and, failing that, the Borrowers will be deemed to have converted any request for a Term Benchmark Borrowing into a request for a Borrowing of or conversion to (A) an RFR Borrowing so long as the Adjusted Daily Simple SOFR is not the subject of a Benchmark Transition Event or (B) a Base Rate Borrowing if the Adjusted Daily Simple SOFR is the subject of a Benchmark Transition Event. During any Benchmark Unavailability Period or at any time that a tenor for the then-current Benchmark is not an Available Tenor, the component of Base Rate based upon the then-current Benchmark or such tenor for such Benchmark, as applicable, will not be used in any determination of Base Rate. Furthermore, if any Term Benchmark Loan is outstanding on the date of the Borrower Representative’s receipt of notice of the commencement of a Benchmark Unavailability Period with respect to a Relevant Rate applicable to such Term Benchmark Loan, then until such time as a Benchmark Replacement is implemented pursuant to this Section 2.13, any Term Benchmark Loan shall on the last day of the Interest Period applicable to such Loan (or the next succeeding Business Day if such day is not a Business Day), be converted by the Administrative Agent to, and shall constitute, (x) an RFR Loan so long as the Adjusted Daily Simple SOFR is not the subject of a Benchmark Transition Event or (y) a Base Rate Loan if the Adjusted Daily Simple SOFR is the subject of a Benchmark Transition Event, on such day. Increased Costs.

 

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2.14        Increased Costs.

 

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

 

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

 

(ii)          subject any Recipient to any Taxes (other than (A) Indemnified Taxes, (B) Taxes described in clauses (b) through (d) of the definition of “Excluded Taxes”, and (C) Connection Income Taxes) on its loans, loan principal, letters of credit, commitments, or other obligations, or its deposits, reserves, other liabilities or capital attributable thereto; or

 

(iii)         impose on any Lender or Issuing Lender or the London interbank market any other condition, cost or expense (other than Taxes) affecting this Agreement or Term Benchmark Loans made by such Lender or any Letter of Credit or participation therein;

 

and the result of any of the foregoing shall be to increase the cost to such Lender or such other Recipient of making, converting to, continuing or maintaining any Term Benchmark Loan (or of maintaining its obligation to make any such Loan), or to increase in any material respect the cost to such Lender, Issuing Lender or such other Recipient of participating in, issuing or maintaining any Letter of Credit (or of maintaining its obligation to participate in or to issue any Letter of Credit), or to reduce the amount of any sum received or receivable by such Lender, Issuing Lender, or such other Recipient hereunder (whether of principal, interest or any other amount) then, promptly following written request of such Lender, Issuing Lender, or such other Recipient, the Borrowers will pay to such Lender, Issuing Lender, or other Recipient, as the case may be, such additional amount or amounts as will compensate such Lender, Issuing Lender, or such other Recipient, as the case may be, for such additional costs incurred or reduction suffered.

 

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

 

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(c)          Certificates for Reimbursement. A certificate of a Recipient setting forth the amount or amounts necessary to compensate such Recipient or its holding company, as the case may be, as specified in Section 2.14(a) or 2.14(b) and delivered to the Borrower Representative shall be conclusive absent manifest error. The Borrowers shall pay such Recipient the amount shown as due on any such certificate within 30 days after receipt thereof.

 

(d)          Delay in Requests. Failure or delay on the part of any Lender or Issuing Lender to demand compensation pursuant to this Section shall not constitute a waiver of such Lender’s or Issuing Lender’s right to demand such compensation, provided that the Borrowers shall not be required to compensate a Lender or Issuing Lender pursuant to this Section for any increased costs incurred or reductions suffered more than six months prior to the date that such Lender or Issuing Lender, as the case may be, notifies the Borrower Representative of the Change in Law giving rise to such increased costs or reductions and of such Lender’s or Issuing Lender’s intention to claim compensation therefor (except that, if the Change in Law giving rise to such increased costs or reductions is retroactive, then the six-month period referred to above shall be extended to include the period of retroactive effect thereof).

 

2.15        Compensation for Losses.

 

(a)          With respect to Loans that are not RFR Loans, in the event of (i) the payment of any principal of any Term Benchmark Loan other than on the last day of an Interest Period applicable thereto (including as a result of an Event of Default or any mandatory prepayment), (ii) the conversion of any Term Benchmark Loan other than on the last day of the Interest Period applicable thereto, (iii) the failure to borrow, convert, continue or prepay any Loan on the date specified in any notice delivered pursuant hereto (regardless of whether such notice is permitted to be revocable under Section 2.8(c) and is revoked in accordance herewith), or (iv) the assignment of any Term Benchmark Loan other than on the last day of the Interest Period applicable thereto as a result of a request by the Borrower Representative pursuant to Section 2.18, then, in any such event, the Borrowers shall compensate each Lender for the loss, cost, or expense attributable to such event (excluding any loss of anticipated profits) and any loss or expense arising from the liquidation or reemployment of funds obtained by it to maintain such Loan or from fees payable to terminate the deposits from which such funds were obtained. The Borrowers shall also pay any customary administrative fees charged by such Lender in connection with the foregoing. A certificate of any Lender setting forth any amount or amounts that such Lender is entitled to receive pursuant to this Section shall be delivered to the Borrower Representative and shall be conclusive absent manifest error. The Borrowers shall pay such Lender the amount shown as due on any such certificate within 30 days after receipt thereof.

 

(b)          With respect to RFR Loans, on the event of (i) the payment of any principal of any RFR Loan other than on the last day of an Interest Period applicable thereto (including as a result of an Event of Default or any mandatory prepayment), (iii) the failure to borrow, convert, continue or prepay any RFR Loan on the date specified in any notice delivered pursuant hereto (regardless of whether such notice is permitted to be revocable under Section 2.8(c) and is revoked in accordance herewith), or (iv) the assignment of any RFR Loan other than on the last day of the Interest Period applicable thereto as a result of a request by the Borrower Representative pursuant to Section 2.18, then, in any such event, the Borrowers shall compensate each Lender for the loss, cost, or expense attributable to such event (excluding any loss of anticipated profits) and any loss or expense arising from the liquidation or reemployment of funds obtained by it to maintain such Loan or from fees payable to terminate the deposits from which such funds were obtained. The Borrowers shall also pay any customary administrative fees charged by such Lender in connection with the foregoing. A certificate of any Lender setting forth any amount or amounts that such Lender is entitled to receive pursuant to this Section shall be delivered to the Borrower Representative and shall be conclusive absent manifest error. The Borrowers shall pay such Lender the amount shown as due on any such certificate within 30 days after receipt thereof.

 

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2.16        Taxes.

 

(a)          Defined Terms. For purposes of this Section 2.16, the term “Lender” includes any Issuing Lender and the term “applicable law” includes FATCA.

 

(b)         Payments Free of Taxes. Any and all payments by or on account of any obligation of any Obligor under any Loan Document shall be made without deduction or withholding for any Taxes, except as required by applicable law. If any applicable law (as determined in the good faith discretion of an applicable Withholding Agent) requires the deduction or withholding of any Tax from any such payment by a Withholding Agent, then the applicable Withholding Agent shall be entitled to make such deduction or withholding and shall timely pay the full amount deducted or withheld to the relevant Governmental Authority in accordance with applicable law and, if such Tax is an Indemnified Tax, then the sum payable by the applicable Obligor shall be increased as necessary so that after such deduction or withholding has been made (including such deductions and withholdings applicable to additional sums payable under this Section) the applicable Recipient receives an amount equal to the sum it would have received had no such deduction or withholding been made.

 

(c)          Payment of Other Taxes by the Obligors. Without duplication of any amounts payable pursuant to this Section 2.16, the Obligors shall timely pay to the relevant Governmental Authority in accordance with applicable law, or at the option of Administrative Agent timely reimburse it for the payment of, any Other Taxes.

 

(d)          Indemnification by the Obligors. Without duplication of any additional amounts paid under Section 2.16(b) or (c), the Obligors shall jointly and severally indemnify each Recipient, within 10 days after demand therefor, for the full amount of any Indemnified Taxes (including Indemnified Taxes imposed or asserted on or attributable to amounts payable under this Section) payable or paid by such Recipient or required to be withheld or deducted from a payment to such Recipient and any reasonable expenses arising therefrom or with respect thereto, whether or not such Indemnified Taxes were correctly or legally imposed or asserted by the relevant Governmental Authority. A certificate as to the amount of such payment or liability delivered to the Borrower Representative by a Lender (with a copy to the Administrative Agent), or by Administrative Agent on its own behalf or on behalf of a Lender, shall be conclusive absent manifest error.

 

(e)          Indemnification by the Lenders. Each Lender shall severally indemnify Administrative Agent, within 10 days after demand therefor, for (i) any Indemnified Taxes attributable to such Lender (but only to the extent that any Obligor has not already indemnified Administrative Agent for such Indemnified Taxes and without limiting or expanding the obligation of the Obligors to do so), (ii) any Taxes attributable to such Lender’s failure to comply with the provisions of Section 10.4(e) relating to the maintenance of a Participant Register and (iii) any Excluded Taxes attributable to such Lender, in each case, that are payable or paid by Administrative Agent in connection with any Loan Document, and any reasonable expenses arising therefrom or with respect thereto, whether or not such Taxes were correctly or legally imposed or asserted by the relevant Governmental Authority. A certificate as to the amount of such payment or liability delivered to any Lender by Administrative Agent shall be conclusive absent manifest error. Each Lender hereby authorizes Administrative Agent to set off and apply any and all amounts at any time owing to such Lender under any Loan Document or otherwise payable by Administrative Agent to the Lender from any other source against any amount due to the Administrative Agent under this Section 2.16(e).

 

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(f)           Evidence of Payments. As soon as practicable after any payment of Taxes by any Obligor to a Governmental Authority pursuant to this Section 2.16(f), such Obligor shall deliver to the Administrative Agent the original or a certified copy of a receipt issued by such Governmental Authority evidencing such payment, a copy of the return reporting such payment or other evidence of such payment reasonably satisfactory to the Administrative Agent.

 

(g)          Status of Lenders.

 

(i)          Any Lender that is entitled to an exemption from or reduction of withholding Tax with respect to payments made under any Loan Document shall deliver to the Borrower Representative and the Administrative Agent, at the time or times reasonably requested by the Borrower Representative or Administrative Agent, such properly completed and executed documentation reasonably requested by the Borrower Representative or Administrative Agent as will permit such payments to be made without withholding or at a reduced rate of withholding. In addition, any Lender, if reasonably requested by the Borrower Representative or Administrative Agent, shall deliver such other documentation prescribed by applicable law or reasonably requested by the Borrower Representative or Administrative Agent as will enable the Borrower Representative or Administrative Agent to determine whether or not such Lender is subject to backup withholding or information reporting requirements. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in the preceding two sentences, the completion, execution, and submission of such documentation (other than such documentation set forth in clauses (A), (B), and (D) of Section 2.16(g)(ii)) shall not be required if in the Lender’s reasonable judgment such completion, execution, or submission would subject such Lender to any material unreimbursed cost or expense or would materially prejudice the legal or commercial position of such Lender.

 

(ii)          Without limiting the generality of the foregoing,

 

(A)          any Lender that is a U.S. Person shall deliver to the Borrower Representative and Administrative Agent on or prior to the date on which such Lender becomes a Lender under this Agreement (and from time to time thereafter upon the reasonable request of any Obligor or Administrative Agent), properly completed and duly executed originals of IRS Form W-9 or any applicable successor form certifying that such Lender is exempt from U.S. federal backup withholding tax;

 

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(B)           any Foreign Lender shall, to the extent it is legally entitled to do so, deliver to the Obligors and Administrative Agent (in such number of copies as shall be requested by the Borrower Representative or the Administrative Agent) on or prior to the date on which such Foreign Lender becomes a Lender under this Agreement (and from time to time thereafter upon the reasonable request of the Obligors or Administrative Agent), whichever of the following is applicable:

 

in the case of a Foreign Lender claiming the benefits of an income tax treaty to which the United States is a party (1) with respect to payments of interest under any Loan Document, properly completed and duly executed originals of IRS Form W-8BEN or IRS Form W-8BEN-E (as applicable, or any successor forms) establishing an exemption from, or reduction of, U.S. federal withholding Tax pursuant to the “interest” article of such tax treaty and (2) with respect to any other applicable payments under any Loan Document, IRS Form W-8BEN or IRS Form W-8BEN-E (as applicable, or any successor forms) establishing an exemption from, or reduction of, U.S. federal withholding Tax pursuant to the “business profits” or “other income” article of such tax treaty;

 

properly completed and duly executed originals of IRS Form W-8ECI (or any successor forms);

 

in the case of a Foreign Lender claiming the benefits of the exemption for portfolio interest under Section 881(c) of the Code, (1) a properly completed and duly executed certificate substantially in the form of Exhibit 2.16-1 to the effect that such Foreign Lender is not a “bank” within the meaning of Section 881(c)(3)(A) of the Code, a “10 percent shareholder” of the Obligors within the meaning of Section 881(c)(3)(B) of the Code, or a “controlled foreign corporation” described in Section 881(c)(3)(C) of the Code (a “U.S. Tax Compliance Certificate”) and (2) properly completed and duly executed originals of IRS Form W-8BEN or IRS Form W-8BEN-E (as applicable, or any successor forms); or

 

to the extent a Foreign Lender is not the beneficial owner, properly completed and duly executed originals of IRS Form W-8IMY (or any successor forms), accompanied by any required IRS Form W-8ECI, IRS Form W-8BEN, IRS Form W-8BEN-E (as applicable, or any successor forms), the applicable U.S. Tax Compliance Certificate substantially in the form of Exhibit 2.16-2 or Exhibit 2.16-3, IRS Form W-9 (or any successor forms), and/or other certification documents from each beneficial owner, as applicable; provided that if the Foreign Lender is a partnership and one or more direct or indirect partners of such Foreign Lender are claiming the portfolio interest exemption, such Foreign Lender may provide a U.S. Tax Compliance Certificate substantially in the form of Exhibit 2.16-4 on behalf of each such direct and indirect partner;

 

(C)          any Foreign Lender shall, to the extent it is legally entitled to do so, deliver to the Borrower Representative and the Administrative Agent (in such number of copies as shall be requested by the recipient) on or prior to the date on which such Foreign Lender becomes a Lender under this Agreement (and from time to time thereafter upon the reasonable request of the Borrower Representative or Administrative Agent), executed originals of any other form prescribed by applicable law as a basis for claiming exemption from or a reduction in U.S. federal withholding Tax, duly completed, together with such supplementary documentation as may be prescribed by applicable law to permit Borrower Representative or Administrative Agent to determine the withholding or deduction required to be made; and

 

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(D)           if a payment made to a Lender under any Loan Document would be subject to U.S. federal withholding Tax imposed by FATCA if such Lender were to fail to comply with the applicable reporting requirements of FATCA (including those contained in Section 1471(b) or 1472(b) of the Code, as applicable), such Lender shall deliver to the Borrower Representative and the Administrative Agent at the time or times prescribed by law and at such time or times reasonably requested by the Borrower Representative or Administrative Agent such documentation prescribed by applicable law (including as prescribed by Section 1471(b)(3)(C)(i) of the Code) and such additional documentation reasonably requested by the Borrower Representative or Administrative Agent as may be necessary for the Borrower Representative and the Administrative Agent to comply with their obligations under FATCA and to determine that such Lender has complied with such Lender’s obligations under FATCA or to determine the amount to deduct and withhold from such payment. Solely for purposes of this clause (D), “FATCA” shall include any amendments made to FATCA after the date of this Agreement.

 

(iii)         The Administrative Agent shall assume primary withholding responsibility under Chapters 3 and 4 of Subtitle A of the Code and primary IRS Form 1099 and IRS Form 1042-S reporting and backup withholding responsibility with respect to payments it receives on account of any Lender. In furtherance of the foregoing, (A) if the Administrative Agent is a U.S. Person, it shall deliver to the Obligors two properly completed and duly executed copies of IRS Form W-9 certifying that it is exempt from federal backup withholding and (B) if the Administrative Agent is not a U.S. Person, it shall deliver to the Obligors two properly completed and duly executed copies of IRS Form W-8ECI or IRS Form W-8BEN-E, as applicable, with respect to fees received on its own behalf and, with respect to payments received on account of any Lender, two properly completed and duly executed copies of IRS Form W-8IMY certifying that the Administrative Agent is either (1) a “qualified intermediary” assuming primary withholding responsibility under Chapters 3 and 4 of Subtitle A of the Code and primary IRS Form 1099 reporting and backup withholding responsibility for payments it receives for the accounts of others, or (2) a “U.S. branch” and that the payments it receives for the account of others are not effectively connected with the conduct of a trade or business in the United States, and in the case of each of clauses (1) and (2), that the Administrative Agent is using such form as evidence of its agreement with the Obligors to be treated as a U.S. Person with respect to such payments (and the Obligors and the Administrative Agent agree to so treat the Administrative Agent as a U.S. Person with respect to such payments as contemplated by United States Treasury Regulations Section 1.1441- 1(b)(2)(iv)(A)), with the effect that the Obligors can make payments to the Administrative Agent without deduction or withholding of any Taxes imposed by the United States.

 

Each Lender and the Administrative Agent agrees that if any form or certification it previously delivered expires or becomes obsolete or inaccurate in any respect, it shall promptly update such form or certification or promptly notify the Borrower Representative and the Administrative Agent in writing of its legal inability to do so.

 

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(h)          Treatment of Certain Refunds. If any party determines, in its sole discretion exercised in good faith, that it has received a refund of any Taxes as to which it has been indemnified pursuant to this Section 2.16 (including by the payment of additional amounts pursuant to this Section 2.16), it shall pay to the indemnifying party an amount equal to such refund (but only to the extent of indemnity payments made under this Section with respect to the Taxes giving rise to such refund), net of all out-of-pocket expenses (including Taxes) of such indemnified party and without interest (other than any interest paid by the relevant Governmental Authority with respect to such refund). Such indemnifying party, upon the request of such indemnified party, shall repay to such indemnified party the amount paid over pursuant to this Section 2.16(h) (plus any penalties, interest or other charges imposed by the relevant Governmental Authority) in the event that such indemnified party is required to repay such refund to such Governmental Authority. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this Section 2.16(h), in no event will the indemnified party be required to pay any amount to an indemnifying party pursuant to this Section 2.16(h) the payment of which would place the indemnified party in a less favorable net after-Tax position than the indemnified party would have been in if the Tax subject to indemnification and giving rise to such refund had not been deducted, withheld or otherwise imposed and the indemnification payments or additional amounts with respect to such Tax had never been paid. This Section 2.16(h) shall not be construed to require any indemnified party to make available its Tax returns (or any other information relating to its Taxes that it deems confidential) to the indemnifying party or any other Person.

 

(i)           Survival. Each party’s obligations under this Section 2.16 shall survive the resignation or replacement of Administrative Agent or any assignment of rights by, or the replacement of, a Lender, the expiration or cancellation of all Letters of Credit, the termination of the Commitments and the repayment, satisfaction or discharge of all obligations under any Loan Document.

 

2.17        Payments Generally; Pro Rata Treatment; Sharing of Set-offs.

 

(a)          Payments by the Obligors. Each Obligor shall make each payment required to be made by it hereunder (whether of principal, interest, fees or reimbursement of LC Disbursements, or under Section 10.3 or otherwise) or under any other Loan Document (except to the extent otherwise provided therein) prior to 2:00 p.m. on the date when due, in immediately available funds, without counterclaim, set-off, or other deduction or condition. Any amounts received after such time on any date may, in the discretion of Administrative Agent, be deemed to have been received on the next succeeding Business Day for purposes of calculating interest thereon. All such payments shall be made to the Administrative Agent, for the account of the respective Lenders to which such payment is owed, at such account as Administrative Agent may designate to the Borrower Representative in writing from time to time, except (i) as otherwise expressly provided in the relevant Loan Document, (ii) payments to be made directly to the Issuing Lender or Swingline Lender as expressly provided herein, and (iii) that payments pursuant to Sections 2.14, 2.15, 2.16 and 10.3 shall be made directly to the Persons entitled thereto. Administrative Agent shall distribute any such payments received by it for the account of any other Person to the appropriate recipient promptly following receipt thereof in like funds as received by wire transfer to such Lender’s lending office as specified in its Administrative Questionnaire or such other office as notified in writing by such Lender to the Administrative Agent. If any payment hereunder shall be due on a day that is not a Business Day, the date for payment shall be extended to the next succeeding Business Day and, in the case of any payment accruing interest, interest thereon shall be payable for the period of such extension. All payments hereunder or under any other Loan Document shall be made in Dollars.

 

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

 

(c)          Pro Rata Treatment. Except to the extent otherwise provided herein: (i) each Borrowing of, or conversions of, Loans in a particular Class shall be allocated pro rata among the relevant Lenders according to the amounts of their respective Commitments of such Class (in the case of the making of Loans) or their respective unpaid principal amounts of Loans of such Class (in the case of conversions and continuations of Loans); (ii) each payment of commitment fees under Section 2.11 in respect of Revolving Credit Commitments and each payment of Letter of Credit participation fees under Section 2.11 shall be made for account of the relevant Revolving Credit Lenders, pro rata according to the amounts of their respective Revolving Credit Commitments and their respective LC Exposure, respectively, (iii) each termination or reduction of the amount of the Commitments of a particular Class under Section 2.8 shall be applied to the respective Commitments of such Class of the relevant Lenders, pro rata according to the amounts of their respective Commitments of such Class; (iv) each payment or prepayment of principal of Loans of any Class by the Borrowers, shall be made for account of the relevant Lenders pro rata in accordance with the respective unpaid principal amounts of the Loans of such Class held by them; and (v) each payment of interest on Loans of any Class by the Borrowers shall be made for account of the relevant Lenders pro rata in accordance with the amounts of interest on the Loans of such Class then due and payable to the respective Lenders.

 

(d)          Sharing of Payments by Lenders. If any Lender shall, by exercising any right of set-off or counterclaim or otherwise, obtain payment in respect of any principal of or interest on any of its Loans or participations in LC Disbursements or Swingline Loans in excess of its ratable share of the aggregate amount of outstanding Loans and participations in LC Disbursements and Swingline Loans and accrued interest thereon, then such Lender shall notify Administrative Agent of such fact and shall purchase (for cash at face value) participations in the Loans and participations in LC Disbursements and Swingline Loans of other Lenders to the extent necessary so that the benefit of all such payments shall be shared by the Lenders ratably in accordance with the aggregate amount of principal of and accrued interest on their respective Loans and participations in LC Disbursements and Swingline Loans; provided that (i) if any such participations are purchased and all or any portion of the payment giving rise thereto is recovered, such participations shall be rescinded and the purchase price restored to the extent of such recovery, without interest, and (ii) the provisions of this Section 2.17(d) shall not be construed to apply to any payment made by any Obligor pursuant to and in accordance with the express terms of this Agreement (including the application of funds arising from the existence of Defaulting Lender) or any payment obtained by a Lender as consideration for the assignment of or sale of a participation in any of its Loans or participations in LC Disbursements or Swingline Loans to any assignee or participant, other than to the Borrowers or any Subsidiary or Affiliate thereof (as to which the provisions of this Section 2.17(d) shall apply). Each Obligor consents to the foregoing and agrees, to the extent it may effectively do so under applicable law, that any Lender acquiring a participation pursuant to the foregoing arrangements may exercise against such Obligor rights of set-off and counterclaim with respect to such participation as fully as if such Lender were a direct creditor of such Obligor in the amount of such participation.

 

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(e)          Presumptions of Payment. Unless Administrative Agent shall have received notice from the Borrower Representative prior to the date on which any payment is due to the Administrative Agent for the account of the Lenders or Issuing Lender hereunder that the Borrowers will not make such payment, Administrative Agent may assume that the Borrowers have made such payment on such date in accordance herewith and may, in reliance upon such assumption but without any obligation to do so, distribute to the Lenders or Issuing Lender, as the case may be, the amount due. In such event, if the Borrowers have not in fact made such payment, then each of the Lenders or Issuing Lender, as the case may be, severally agrees to repay to the Administrative Agent forthwith on demand the amount so distributed to such Lender or Issuing Lender with interest thereon, for each day from and including the date such amount is distributed to it to but excluding the date of payment to the Administrative Agent, for the first five Business Days at the greater of the Federal Funds Effective Rate and a rate determined by Administrative Agent in accordance with banking industry rules on interbank compensation and thereafter at the Base Rate. A notice of Administrative Agent to any Lender or the Borrowers with respect to any amount owing under this Section 2.17(e) shall be conclusive, absent manifest error.

 

(f)          Certain Deductions by Administrative Agent. If any Lender shall fail to make any payment required to be made by it pursuant to this Agreement (including Sections 2.4, 2.5(e), 2.5(f), 2.6(b) and 2.17(e)), then Administrative Agent may, in its discretion (notwithstanding any contrary provision hereof), apply any amounts thereafter received by Administrative Agent for the account of such Lender to satisfy such Lender’s obligations under such Sections until all such unsatisfied obligations are fully paid.

 

(g)          Return of Proceeds. If at any time payment, in whole or in part, of any amount distributed by Administrative Agent hereunder is rescinded or must otherwise be restored or returned by Administrative Agent as a preference, fraudulent conveyance, or otherwise under any Debtor Relief Law, then each Person receiving any portion of such amount agrees, upon demand, to return the portion of such amount it has received to the Administrative Agent together with a pro rata portion of any interest paid by or other charges imposed on Administrative Agent in connection with such rescinded or restored payment.

 

2.18        Mitigation Obligations; Replacement of Lenders.

 

(a)          Designation of a Different Lending Office. If any Lender requests compensation under Section 2.14 or 2.16, or if the Borrowers are required to pay any Indemnified Taxes or additional amounts to any Lender or any Governmental Authority for the account of any Lender pursuant to Section 2.14 or 2.16, then such Lender shall use reasonable efforts to designate a different lending office for funding or booking its Loans hereunder or to assign its rights and obligations hereunder to another of its offices, branches or Affiliates, if, in the reasonable judgment of such Lender, such designation or assignment (i) would eliminate or reduce amounts payable pursuant to Section 2.14 or 2.16, or eliminate the need for the notice pursuant to Section 2.13(b), as the case may be, in the future and (ii) would not subject such Lender to any unreimbursed cost or expense and would not otherwise be materially disadvantageous to such Lender. The Borrowers hereby agree to pay all reasonable out-of-pocket costs and expenses incurred by any Lender in connection with any such designation or assignment.

 

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(b)          Replacement of Lenders. If any Lender requests compensation under Section 2.14 or 2.16, if the Borrowers are required to pay any Indemnified Taxes or additional amount to any Lender or any Governmental Authority for the account of any Lender pursuant to Section 2.14 or 2.16, or if any Lender is a Defaulting Lender, a Non-Consenting Lender or a Lender who has refused to consent to an Extension Amendment, then the Borrowers may, at Borrowers’ sole expense and effort, upon notice to such Lender and the Administrative Agent, (x) require such Lender to assign and delegate, without recourse (in accordance with and subject to the restrictions contained in, and consents required by, Section 10.4), all its interests, rights (other than its existing rights to payments pursuant to Section 2.14 or 2.16) and obligations under this Agreement and the other Loan Documents to an Eligible Assignee that shall assume such obligations (which assignee may be another Lender, if a Lender accepts such assignment); provided that (i) the Borrowers shall have paid to the Administrative Agent the assignment fee (if any) specified in Section 10.4, (ii) such Lender shall have received payment of an amount equal to the outstanding principal of its Loans and participations in LC Disbursements and Swingline Loans, accrued interest thereon, accrued fees and all other amounts payable to it hereunder and under the other Loan Documents (including any amounts under Section 2.15), from the assignee (to the extent of such outstanding principal and accrued interest and fees) or the Borrowers (in the case of all other amounts), (iii) in the case of any such assignment resulting from a claim for compensation under Section 2.14 or payments required to be made pursuant to Section 2.16, such assignment will result in a reduction in such compensation or payments thereafter, (iv) [reserved], (v) such assignment does not conflict with applicable law, and (vi) in the case of any assignment resulting from a Lender becoming a Non-Consenting Lender, the applicable assignee shall have consented to the applicable amendment, waiver or consent or (y) make payments and reduce Commitments on a non-pro rata basis. Each Lender agrees that if the Borrowers exercise their option hereunder, they shall promptly execute and deliver all agreements and documentation necessary to effectuate such assignment as set forth in Section 10.4. If such Lender shall refuse or fail to execute and deliver any such Assignment and Assumption prior to the effective date of such replacement as notified by Administrative Agent, such Lender shall be deemed to have executed and delivered such Assignment and Assumption, and shall no longer be a Lender hereunder upon the payment to such Lender of an amount equal to the aggregate amount of outstanding Obligations (other than Bank Product Obligations) owed to such Lender in accordance with the wire transfer instructions for such Lender on file with Administrative Agent. A Lender shall not be required to make any such assignment and delegation if, prior thereto, as a result of a waiver by such Lender or otherwise, the circumstances entitling the Borrowers to require such assignment and delegation cease to apply.

 

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2.19        Increases of the Revolving Credit Commitments; Adjustments to Revolving Credit Commitments; Incremental Term Loans.

 

(a)          Following the Effective Date, Obligors may from time to time through the Revolving Credit Maturity Date in case of any Incremental Revolving Credit Commitment (as defined below) or the Term Loan Maturity Date in the case of any Incremental Term Loans (as defined below), (i) propose to increase the aggregate amount of the Revolving Credit Commitments (each, an “Incremental Revolving Credit Commitment”) in accordance with this Section by delivering a Notice of Incremental Revolving Credit Commitment to the Administrative Agent substantially in the form of Exhibit 2.19-1 (a “Notice of Incremental Revolving Credit Commitment”), and (ii) propose that one or more additional term loans (including delayed drawn term loans) be made to it in accordance with this Section (each, an “Incremental Term Loan”; together with any Incremental Revolving Credit Commitment, each an “Incremental Commitment”) by delivering a Notice of Incremental Term Loan Borrowing to the Administrative Agent substantially in the form of Exhibit 2.19-2 (a “Notice of Incremental Term Loan Borrowing”; together with any Notice of Incremental Revolving Credit Commitment, each individually an “Incremental Facility Notice”), specifying in each case (subject to the restrictions set forth in Section 2.19(b)) therein (A) the amount of the Incremental Commitments requested, (B) the requested advance date of the proposed Incremental Commitments, (C) the interest rate to be applicable to any Tranche of Incremental Term Loans included in such Incremental Commitments, (D) the amortization for all Incremental Term Loans, if applicable, and (E) the amount of any upfront or closing fees to be paid by the Borrowers to the Lenders and/or Additional Lenders funding such Incremental Commitments requested. In connection with each requested Incremental Commitment, (1) in the case of an Incremental Revolving Credit Commitment, (A) any outstanding Revolving Credit Loans shall be held by the Lenders and Additional Lenders that are Revolving Credit Lenders on a ratable basis after giving effect to such increase, (B) each such Incremental Revolving Credit Commitment shall have the same terms and be made pursuant to the same documentation as the Revolving Credit Facility (other than in respect of any fees payable) and (C) no Sponsor-Controlled Affiliated Lender shall provide any Incremental Revolving Loan Commitment (or any other Revolving Credit Commitment) and if any Sponsor Controlled Affiliated Lender provides any Incremental Term Loans it shall be subject to the same limitations and restrictions set forth in Section 10.4(g) as if such Sponsor Controlled Affiliated Lender were purchasing Term Loans by assignment, (2) the final maturity date of any Incremental Revolving Credit Commitments shall be no earlier than the Revolving Credit Maturity Date, (3) the final maturity date and amortization schedule for any Incremental Term Loan may be determined by the Borrowers and the Lenders and/or Additional Lenders, as applicable, providing such Incremental Term Loan; provided that, except in the case of a customary bridge facility, the terms of which automatically convert into terms that comply with this proviso within one (1) year of issuance of such bridge facility, the final maturity date of any Incremental Term Loans shall be no earlier than the Term Loan Maturity Date and the Weighted Average Life to Maturity of any Tranche of Incremental Term Loans shall be no shorter than the remaining Weighted Average Life to Maturity of the Term Loans outstanding prior to the advance of such Tranche, (4) the interest rate, margin, original issue discount, up-front fees and other fees and rate floors for such Incremental Term Loan may be determined by the Borrowers and the Lenders and/or Additional Lenders, as applicable, providing such Incremental Term Loan; provided that, in the event that the All-in Yield for any such Incremental Term Loan that ranks pari passu in right of payment and security with the existing Term Loans (other than in reliance on Section 2.19(b)(i)) is greater than the All-in Yield for the existing Term Loans by more than 50 basis points, then the Applicable Margin for the existing Term Loans shall be increased to the extent necessary so that the All-in Yield for such Incremental Term Loan is no more than 50 basis points higher than the All-in Yield for the existing Term Loans; provided that, in the event that the All-In Yield for such Incremental Term Loan is higher than the All-In Yield for the existing Term Loans solely as a result of a higher rate floor for such Incremental Term Loan, the adjustment to the All-In Yield of the existing Term Loans shall be effected solely by increasing the rate floor, (5) any Incremental Term Loans that are secured by the Collateral on a junior basis to the Initial Term Loans and, the Second Amendment Term Loans and the Third Amendment Term Loans or that are unsecured or secured by assets that are not Collateral shall be set forth in documentation that is separate from the Loan Documents and if secured by Collateral shall be subject to an Intercreditor Agreement or other subordination arrangements reasonably satisfactory to the Administrative Agent, (6) any Incremental Commitments or Incremental Term Loans shall not at any time be guaranteed by any Person other than the Guarantors and shall not be secured by a Lien on any property that does not constitute Collateral, (7) (a) any Incremental Revolving Credit Commitment will provide for the ability to permanently repay and terminate such Incremental Revolving Credit Commitment on a pro rata basis with the existing Revolving Credit Commitments and (b) any Incremental Term Loan may provide for participation (x) on a pro rata basis, greater than a pro rata basis, or less than pro rata basis in any voluntary prepayments with respect to its Class of Term Loans, or (y) with respect to any Incremental Term Loans secured by the Collateral on the pari passu basis with the Initial Term Loans and, the Second Amendment Term Loans and the Third Amendment Term Loans, on a pro rata basis or less than pro rata basis in any mandatory prepayments with all Term Loans, but no Incremental Term Loan shall share more favorably than ratably in any mandatory prepayments of the Term Loans and (8) the other terms and documentation in respect of any Incremental Term Loan, to the extent inconsistent with the terms and documentation with respect to the existing Term Loan, shall be determined by the Borrowers and shall, at the option of the Borrowers, (a) reflect current market terms and conditions (taken as a whole) at the time of incurrence or issuance (as reasonably determined by the Borrowers), (b) be consistent with the terms of the corresponding Class of Term Loans unless, in the case of this clause (b), (x) the Lenders under the corresponding Class of Term Loans also receive the benefit of such more restrictive terms or (y) any such provisions apply only after the maturity date of the relevant Class of Term Loans, or (c) not be materially more restrictive to the Borrowers, when taken as a whole, than the terms of the applicable Class of Term Loans (as reasonably determined by the Borrowers). Notwithstanding the foregoing, no Incremental Commitment shall become effective unless, subject to the Limited Condition Transaction Provision to the extent acceptable to the Lenders and Additional Lenders providing the relevant Incremental Commitment in connection with a Limited Condition Transaction, (i) no Event of Default then exists or would be caused thereby and (ii) the condition to a Borrowing in Section 4.2(a) is satisfied; provided that, in the case of an Incremental Commitment being used to consummate a Limited Condition Transaction, at the Borrowers’ election, to the extent acceptable to the Lenders and/or Additional Lenders providing the relevant Incremental Commitment, the only representations and warranties that will be required to be true and correct in all material respects will be the Specified Representations (conformed as necessary for such acquisition) and such of the representations made by or on behalf of the applicable target, its affiliates, its subsidiaries or their respective businesses in the acquisition agreement governing such Limited Condition Transaction as are material to the interests of the Lenders, but only to the extent that a Company has the right to terminate its obligations under such acquisition agreement or to decline to consummate such Limited Condition Transaction as a result of a breach of such representations in the acquisition agreement.

 

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(b)          The aggregate principal amount of all Incremental Commitments made pursuant to this Section, shall not exceed (i) the greater of (x) $30,000,000 and (y) 100% of Consolidated EBITDA (determined at the time of incurrence on a pro forma basis as of the last day of the most recently ended four Fiscal Quarter period for which financial statements have been delivered pursuant to Section 5.1(a) or (b)), minus any amount of Incremental Equivalent Debt and Ratio Debt incurred in reliance on this clause (i), plus (ii) an amount that, subject to the Limited Condition Transaction Provision, after giving effect thereto (and after giving effect to any acquisition consummated concurrently therewith and all other pro forma adjustment events, assuming that the entire amount of any Incremental Revolving Credit Commitments that are then being incurred has been borrowed (it being agreed that such test shall only be required on the date such Incremental Revolving Credit Commitments are provided), and excluding for purposes of computing the Consolidated First Lien Net Leverage Ratio, Consolidated Secured Net Leverage Ratio, or Consolidated Net Leverage Ratio, as applicable, any netting of the cash proceeds of any Incremental Term Loans or Revolving Credit Loans made thereunder), would cause (A) with respect to any Incremental Commitments secured on a pari passu basis with the Obligations, the Consolidated First Lien Net Leverage Ratio to be greater than 4.50 to 1.00, (B) with respect to any Incremental Commitments secured on a junior basis to the Obligations, the Consolidated Senior Net Leverage Ratio to be greater than 5.00 to 1.00 or (z) with respect to any Incremental Commitments that are unsecured on secured by assets not constituting Collateral, the Consolidated Net Leverage Ratio to be greater than 5.25 to 1.00, in each case, on a pro forma basis as of the last day of the immediately preceding Fiscal Quarter for which financial statements have been delivered to the Administrative Agent pursuant to Section 5.1(a) or 5.1(b), plus (iii) the amount of all voluntary prepayments of Term Loans and Revolving Credit Loans (including pursuant to buybacks and open market purchases in the amount actually paid in cash) actually paid and not funded with the proceeds of long-term Indebtedness of any Obligor (and in the case of Revolving Credit Loans, accompanied by a permanent reduction of the Revolving Credit Commitments), plus (iv) any payments made to any Term Loan Lender that is replaced pursuant to Section 2.18(b) as a result of its refusal to consent to an amendment or other modification, but solely to the extent the applicable Term Loans are retired and not assigned (the amount of the foregoing clause (i) through (iii), the “Incremental Amount”); provided that, each Incremental Commitment must be at least $1,000,000 and in integral multiples of $1,000,000 in excess thereof (provided that such amounts may be less if representing all remaining availability under the limit set forth above); provided further that, the amount of any Incremental Commitments incurred in reliance on the foregoing clause (i) and (iii) shall be automatically reclassified as incurred under the foregoing clause (ii) from time to time if the Borrowers meet the applicable requirements set forth on a pro forma basis. Borrowers shall provide at least three (3) days’ (or such shorter period as Administrative Agent shall agree) notice to Administrative Agent (which shall promptly provide a copy of such notice to the Lenders, as applicable) of any requested Incremental Commitment.

 

(c)         Administrative Agent shall deliver a copy of each Incremental Facility Notice to such Lenders or other Persons that qualify as an Eligible Assignee as may be determined by Administrative Agent in its reasonable discretion with the approval of the Borrower Representative or as may be specified by the Borrower Representative with the consent (not to be unreasonably withheld or delayed) of Administrative Agent. No Lender shall have any obligation to increase its Revolving Credit Commitment or fund any Incremental Term Loan, and any decision by a Lender to increase its Revolving Credit Commitment or fund any Incremental Term Loan shall be made in its sole discretion independently from any other Lender.

 

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(d)         The Incremental Facility Notice delivered by the Borrower Representative may specify a date prior to which any commitments must be received. If prior to such specified date (if any) Administrative Agent receives commitments from Lenders and/or from any other Person that (i) qualifies as an Eligible Assignee and is reasonably acceptable to the Borrower Representative and the Administrative Agent and (ii) has agreed to become a Lender in respect of all or a portion of the Incremental Commitment (an “Additional Lender”), in excess of the requested Incremental Commitment, Administrative Agent shall have the right, in its sole discretion but with the consent of the Borrower Representative, to reduce and reallocate (within the minimum and maximum amounts specified by each such Lender or Additional Lender in its notice to the Administrative Agent) the shares of the Incremental Commitment of the Lenders or Additional Lenders willing to fund (or commit to fund) such Incremental Commitment so that the total committed Incremental Commitment equals the requested Incremental Commitment. If as of such specified date (if any) Administrative Agent has not received commitments from Lenders (and/or Additional Lenders) in an amount sufficient to fund the requested Incremental Commitment, Administrative Agent shall so notify the Borrower Representative and the request for Incremental Commitment shall be deemed automatically rescinded; provided the Borrower Representative may submit a replacement Incremental Facility Notice setting forth different terms for the requested Incremental Commitment.

 

(e)         An increase in the aggregate amount of the Lenders’ Revolving Credit Commitments or an agreement to fund Incremental Term Loans, pursuant to this Section shall become effective upon the receipt by Administrative Agent of an agreement (an “Incremental Amendment”) in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to the Administrative Agent and the Borrower Representative, signed by each Obligor, by each Additional Lender and by each existing Lender whose Revolving Credit Commitment is to be increased or who has agreed to fund such Incremental Term Loans, setting forth the new Pro Rata Share, Revolving Credit Commitment and/or Incremental Term Loans of such Lenders and setting forth the agreement of each Additional Lender to become a party to this Agreement as a Lender and to be bound by all the terms and provisions hereof, together with customary officer’s certificates and ratification agreements executed by each Obligor and such evidence of appropriate corporate authorization on the part of each Obligor with respect to the requested Incremental Commitment, updates or endorsements to policies of title insurance (to the extent available at a commercially reasonable cost), flood hazard determination certificates (and, if applicable, evidence of flood insurance) with respect to each parcel of Mortgaged Property, the results of lien searches from applicable jurisdictions and such customary opinions of counsel for the Obligors with respect to the requested Incremental Commitment and other assurances as Administrative Agent may reasonably request. The Incremental Amendment may, without the consent of any other Lender or Issuing Lender, effect such amendments to this Agreement and the other Loan Documents as may be necessary or appropriate, in the reasonable opinion of Administrative Agent and the Borrower Representative, to effect the provisions of this Section 2.19. If, after giving effect to any Incremental Commitment, the outstanding Revolving Credit Loans would not be held pro rata in accordance with the new Commitments, the Revolving Credit Lenders (including, without limitation, any Additional Lenders) shall, on the effective date of the applicable Incremental Commitment, make advances among themselves so that after giving effect thereto the Revolving Credit Loans will be held by the Revolving Credit Lenders (including, without limitation, any Additional Lenders), on a pro rata basis in accordance with their respective Revolving Credit Commitments hereunder (after giving effect to the applicable Incremental Commitment). Each Revolving Credit Lender agrees to wire immediately available funds to the Administrative Agent in accordance with this Agreement as may be required by Administrative Agent in connection with the foregoing.

 

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(f)           This Section 2.19 shall supersede any provisions in this Agreement, including Section 10.2(b).

 

2.20        Cash Collateral.

 

(a)          Certain Credit Support Events. At any time that there shall exist a Defaulting Lender, within one Business Day following the written request of Administrative Agent or any Issuing Lender (with a copy to the Administrative Agent), the Borrowers shall Cash Collateralize Issuing Lender’s Fronting Exposure with respect to such Defaulting Lender (determined after giving effect to Section 2.21(a)(iv) and any Cash Collateral provided by such Defaulting Lender) in an amount not less than the Minimum Collateral Amount.

 

(b)          Grant of Security Interest. The Borrowers, and to the extent provided by any Defaulting Lender, such Defaulting Lender, hereby grant to the Administrative Agent, for the benefit of Issuing Lender, and agree to maintain, a first priority security interest in all such Cash Collateral as security for the Defaulting Lenders’ obligation to fund participations in respect of LC Exposure, to be applied pursuant to Section 2.20(c). If at any time Administrative Agent determines that Cash Collateral is subject to any right or claim of any Person other than Administrative Agent and Issuing Lender as herein provided or that the total amount of such Cash Collateral is less than the Minimum Collateral Amount, the Borrowers shall, promptly upon demand by Administrative Agent, pay or provide to the Administrative Agent additional Cash Collateral in an amount sufficient to eliminate such deficiency (after giving effect to any Cash Collateral provided by the Defaulting Lender).

 

(c)          Application. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in this Agreement, Cash Collateral provided under Section 2.20 or 2.21 in respect of Letters of Credit shall be applied to the satisfaction of the Defaulting Lender’s obligation to fund participations in respect of Letters of Credit (including, as to Cash Collateral provided by a Defaulting Lender, any interest accrued on such obligation) for which the Cash Collateral was so provided prior to any other application of such property as may otherwise be provided for herein.

 

(d)          Termination of Requirement. Cash Collateral (or the appropriate portion thereof) provided to reduce any Issuing Lender’s Fronting Exposure shall no longer be required to be held as Cash Collateral pursuant to this Section 2.20 following (i) the elimination of the applicable Fronting Exposure (including by replacement of the Defaulting Lender pursuant to Section 2.18 or the termination of Defaulting Lender status of the applicable Lender), or (ii) the determination by Administrative Agent and each Issuing Lender that there exists excess Cash Collateral; provided that, subject to Section 2.21, the Person providing Cash Collateral and each Issuing Lender may agree that Cash Collateral shall be held to support future anticipated Fronting Exposure or other obligations and provided, further, that to the extent that such Cash Collateral was provided by the Borrowers, such Cash Collateral shall remain subject to the security interest granted pursuant to the Loan Documents.

 

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2.21        Defaulting Lenders.

 

(a)          Defaulting Lender Adjustments. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in this Agreement, if any Lender becomes a Defaulting Lender, then, until such time as such Lender is no longer a Defaulting Lender, to the extent permitted by applicable law:

 

(i)           Waivers and Amendments. Such Defaulting Lender’s right to approve or disapprove any amendment, waiver or consent with respect to this Agreement shall be restricted as set forth in the definition of Required Lenders, Required Revolving Lenders and Required Facility Lenders, as applicable.

 

(ii)          Defaulting Lender Waterfall. Any payment of principal, interest, fees or other amounts received by Administrative Agent for the account of such Defaulting Lender (whether voluntary or mandatory, at maturity, pursuant to Section 8 or otherwise) or received by Administrative Agent from a Defaulting Lender pursuant to Section 10.8 shall be applied at such time or times as may be determined by Administrative Agent as follows: FIRST, to the payment of any amounts owing by such Defaulting Lender to the Administrative Agent hereunder; SECOND, to the payment on a pro rata basis of any amounts owing by such Defaulting Lender to any Issuing Lender or Swingline Lender hereunder; THIRD, to Cash Collateralize Issuing Lender’s Fronting Exposure with respect to such Defaulting Lender in accordance with Section 2.20; FOURTH, as the Borrower Representative may request (so long as no Default or Event of Default exists), to the funding of any Loan in respect of which such Defaulting Lender has failed to fund its portion thereof as required by this Agreement, as determined by Administrative Agent; FIFTH, if so determined by Administrative Agent and the Borrower Representative, to be held in a Deposit Account controlled by Administrative Agent and released pro rata in order to (y) satisfy such Defaulting Lender’s potential future funding obligations with respect to Revolving Credit Loans under this Agreement and (z) Cash Collateralize Issuing Lender’s future Fronting Exposure with respect to such Defaulting Lender with respect to future Letters of Credit issued under this Agreement, in accordance with Section 2.20; SIXTH, to the payment of any amounts owing to the Lenders, Issuing Lender or Swingline Lender as a result of any judgment of a court of competent jurisdiction obtained by any Lender, Issuing Lender or Swingline Lender against such Defaulting Lender as a result of such Defaulting Lender’s breach of its obligations under this Agreement; SEVENTH, so long as no Default or Event of Default exists, to the payment of any amounts owing to the Borrowers as a result of any judgment of a court of competent jurisdiction obtained by the Borrowers against such Defaulting Lender as a result of such Defaulting Lender’s breach of its obligations under this Agreement; and EIGHTH, to such Defaulting Lender or as otherwise directed by a court of competent jurisdiction; provided that if (y) such payment is a payment of the principal amount of any Loans or LC Disbursements in respect of which such Defaulting Lender has not fully funded its appropriate share, and (z) such Loans were made or the related Letters of Credit and Swingline Loans were issued at a time when the conditions set forth in Section 4.2 were satisfied or waived, such payment shall be applied solely to pay the Loans of, and LC Disbursements owed to, all Non-Defaulting Lenders on a pro rata basis prior to being applied to the payment of any Loans of, or LC Disbursements owed to, such Defaulting Lender until such time as all Loans and funded and unfunded participations in Letters of Credit are held by the Lenders pro rata in accordance with their respective Commitments without giving effect to Section 2.21(a)(iv). Any payments, prepayments or other amounts paid or payable to a Defaulting Lender that are applied (or held) to pay amounts owed by a Defaulting Lender or to post Cash Collateral pursuant to this Section 2.21(a)(ii) shall be deemed paid to and redirected by such Defaulting Lender, and each Lender irrevocably consents hereto.

 

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(iii)         Certain Fees.

 

(A)          No Defaulting Lender shall be entitled to receive any commitment fee pursuant to Section 2.11(a) for any period during which that Lender is a Defaulting Lender (and the Borrowers shall not be required to pay any such fee that otherwise would have been required to have been paid to that Defaulting Lender).

 

(B)          Each Defaulting Lender shall be entitled to receive fees pursuant to Section 2.11(b)(i) for any period during which that Lender is a Defaulting Lender only to the extent allocable to its Pro Rata Share of the stated amount of Letters of Credit for which it has provided Cash Collateral pursuant to Section 2.20.

 

(C)          With respect to any fee not required to be paid to any Defaulting Lender pursuant to Section 2.21(a)(iii)(A) or 2.21(a)(iii)(B), the Borrowers shall (i) pay to each Non-Defaulting Lender that portion of any such fee otherwise payable to such Defaulting Lender with respect to such Defaulting Lender’s participation in Letters of Credit or Swingline Loans that has been reallocated to such Non-Defaulting Lender pursuant to Section 2.21(a)(iv), (ii) pay to each Issuing Lender and Swingline Loans, as applicable, the amount of any such fee otherwise payable to such Defaulting Lender to the extent allocable to such Issuing Lender’s or Swingline Lender’s Fronting Exposure to such Defaulting Lender, and (iii) not be required to pay the remaining amount of any such fee.

 

(D)          No Defaulting Lender shall be entitled to receive any default interest pursuant to Section 2.21(c).

 

(iv)       Reallocation of Participations to Reduce Fronting Exposure. All or any part of such Defaulting Lender’s participation in Letters of Credit and Swingline Loans shall be reallocated among the Non-Defaulting Lenders in accordance with their respective Pro Rata Shares (calculated without regard to such Defaulting Lender’s Revolving Credit Commitment) but only to the extent that (A) no Event of Default exists at the time of such reallocation (and, unless the Borrower Representative shall have otherwise notified Administrative Agent at such time, the Borrowers shall be deemed to have represented and warranted that such condition is satisfied at such time), and (B) such reallocation does not cause the aggregate Revolving Credit Exposure of any Non-Defaulting Lender to exceed such Non-Defaulting Lender’s Revolving Credit Commitment. Subject to Section 10.20, no reallocation hereunder shall constitute a waiver or release of any claim of any party hereunder against a Defaulting Lender arising from that Lender having become a Defaulting Lender, including any claim of a Non-Defaulting Lender as a result of such Non-Defaulting Lender’s increased exposure following such reallocation.

 

(v)         Cash Collateral, Repayment of Swingline Loans. If the reallocation described in Section 2.21(a)(iv) cannot, or can only partially, be effected, the Borrowers shall, without prejudice to any right or remedy available to it hereunder or under law, FIRST, prepay Swingline Loans in an amount equal to Swingline Lender’s Fronting Exposure and SECOND, Cash Collateralize Issuing Lender’s Fronting Exposure in accordance with the procedures set forth in Section 2.20.

 

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(b)          Defaulting Lender Cure. If the Borrower Representative, Administrative Agent, Swingline Lender, and Issuing Lender agree in writing that a Lender is no longer a Defaulting Lender, Administrative Agent will so notify the parties hereto, whereupon as of the effective date specified in such notice and subject to any conditions set forth therein (which may include arrangements with respect to any Cash Collateral), that Lender will, to the extent applicable, purchase at par that portion of outstanding Revolving Credit Loans of the other Lenders or take such other actions as Administrative Agent may determine to be necessary to cause the Revolving Credit Loans and funded and unfunded participations in Letters of Credit and Swingline Loans to be held pro rata by the Revolving Credit Lenders in accordance with the Revolving Credit Commitments (without giving effect to Section 2.21(a)(iv)), and reimburse each such Revolving Credit Lender for any costs of the type described in Section 2.15 incurred by any Revolving Credit Lender as a result of such purchase, whereupon such Lender will cease to be a Defaulting Lender; provided that no adjustments will be made retroactively with respect to fees accrued or payments made by or on behalf of the Borrowers while that Lender was a Defaulting Lender; and provided, further, that except to the extent otherwise expressly agreed by the affected parties, no change hereunder from Defaulting Lender to Lender will constitute a waiver or release of any claim of any party hereunder arising from that Lender’s having been a Defaulting Lender.

 

(c)          New Swingline Loans/Letters of Credit. So long as any Lender is a Defaulting Lender, (i) Swingline Lender shall not be required to fund any Swingline Loans unless it is satisfied that it will have no Fronting Exposure after giving effect to such Swingline Loan and (ii) no Issuing Lender shall be required to issue, extend, renew or increase any Letter of Credit unless it is satisfied that it will have no Fronting Exposure after giving effect thereto.

 

2.22        Refinancing Amendments.

 

(a)          On one or more occasions after the Effective Date, the Obligors may obtain, from any Lender, Credit Agreement Refinancing Indebtedness in respect of all or any portion of the Term Loans and the Revolving Credit Loans (or unused Revolving Credit Commitments) then outstanding under this Agreement (which for purposes of this Section 2.22(a) will be deemed to include any then outstanding Refinancing Term Loans or Incremental Term Loans), in the form of Refinancing Term Loans, Refinancing Term Commitments, Refinancing Revolving Credit Commitments or Refinancing Revolving Credit Loans pursuant to a Refinancing Amendment; provided that notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this Section 2.22 or otherwise, (i) the borrowing and repayment (except for (A) payments of interest and fees at different rates on Refinancing Revolving Credit Commitments (and related outstandings), (B) repayments required upon the maturity date of the Refinancing Revolving Credit Commitments and (C) repayment made in connection with a permanent repayment and termination of commitments (subject to clause (iii) below)) of Loans with respect to Refinancing Revolving Credit Commitments after the date of obtaining any Refinancing Revolving Credit Commitments shall be made on a pro rata basis with all other Revolving Credit Commitments, (ii) subject to the provisions of Sections 2.4(e) and 2.5(s) to the extent dealing with Swing Line Loans and Letters of Credit which mature or expire after a maturity date when there exist Extended Revolving Credit Commitments with a longer maturity date, all Swing Line Loans and Letters of Credit shall be participated on a pro rata basis by all Lenders with Commitments in accordance with their percentage of the Revolving Credit Commitments (and except as provided in Sections 2.4(e) and 2.5(s), without giving effect to changes thereto on an earlier maturity date with respect to Swing Line Loans and Letters of Credit theretofore incurred or issued), (iii) the permanent repayment of Revolving Credit Loans with respect to, and termination of, Refinancing Revolving Credit Commitments after the date of obtaining any Refinancing Revolving Credit Commitments shall be made on a pro rata basis with all other Revolving Credit Commitments, except that the Obligors shall be permitted to permanently repay and terminate commitments of any such Class on a better than a pro rata basis as compared to any other Class with a later maturity date than such Class and (iv) assignments and participations of Refinancing Revolving Credit Commitments and Refinancing Revolving Credit Loans shall be governed by the same assignment and participation provisions applicable to Revolving Credit Commitments and Revolving Credit Loans.

 

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(b)          Each issuance of Credit Agreement Refinancing Indebtedness under this Section 2.22 shall be in an aggregate principal amount that is (x) not less than $1,000,000 (unless otherwise agreed by Administrative Agent) and (y) an integral multiple of $1,000,000 in excess thereof.

 

(c)          Each of the parties hereto hereby agrees that this Agreement and the other Loan Documents may be amended pursuant to a Refinancing Amendment, without the consent of any other Lenders, to the extent (but only to the extent) necessary to (i) reflect the existence and terms of the Credit Agreement Refinancing Indebtedness incurred pursuant thereto, (ii) make such other changes to this Agreement and the other Loan Documents consistent with the provisions and intent of the second paragraph of Section 10.2 (without the consent of the Required Lenders called for therein) and (iii) effect such other amendments to this Agreement and the other Loan Documents as may be necessary or appropriate, in the reasonable opinion of the Administrative Agent and the Borrower Representative, to effect the provisions of this Section 2.22, and the Lenders hereby expressly authorize the Administrative Agent to enter into any such Refinancing Amendment.

 

(d)          This Section 2.22 shall supersede any provisions of this Agreement to the contrary.

 

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2.23        Extension of Term Loans; Extension of Revolving Credit Loans.

 

(a)          The Borrower Representative may at any time and from time to time request that all or a portion of the Term Loans of a given Class (each, an “Existing Term Loan Tranche”) be amended or converted to extend the scheduled maturity date(s) with respect to all or a portion of any principal amount of such Term Loans (any such Term Loans which have been so amended or converted, “Extended Term Loans”) and to provide for other terms consistent with this Section 2.23. In order to establish any Extended Term Loans, the Borrower Representative shall provide a notice to the Administrative Agent (who shall provide a copy of such notice to each of the Lenders under the applicable Existing Term Loan Tranche) (each, a “Term Loan Extension Request”) setting forth the proposed terms of the Extended Term Loans to be established, which shall (i) be identical as offered to each Lender under such Existing Term Loan Tranche (including as to the proposed interest rates and fees payable) and offered pro rata to each Lender under such Existing Term Loan Tranche and (ii) (except as to interest rates, fees, amortization, final maturity date, “AHYDO” payments, optional prepayments, premium, required prepayment dates and participation in voluntary prepayments, which shall be determined by the Borrower Representative and the Extending Term Lenders and set forth in the relevant Term Loan Extension Request), shall either, at the option of the Borrower Representative, (x) reflect current market terms and conditions (taken as a whole) at the time of incurrence or issuance (as determined in good faith by the Borrower Representative) or (y) be consistent with, or (taken as a whole) not materially more favorable to the lenders providing such Extended Term Loans (unless (I) the lenders under the Existing Term Loan Tranche also receive the benefit of such more restrictive terms or (II) such covenants or other provisions are applicable only to periods after the latest final maturity date of the Existing Term Loan Tranche existing at the time of such refinancing); provided that (1) the scheduled final maturity date shall be extended and all or any of the scheduled amortization payments of principal of the Extended Term Loans may be delayed to later dates than the scheduled amortization of principal of the Term Loans of such Existing Term Loan Tranche; provided that at no time shall there by Classes of Term Loans hereunder (including Refinancing Term Loans and Extended Term Loans) which have more than six different Maturity Dates, (with any such delay resulting in a corresponding adjustment to the scheduled amortization payments reflected in Section 2.07 or in the Joinder Agreement, as the case may be, with respect to the Existing Term Loan Tranche from which such Extended Term Loans were amended or converted, in each case as more particularly set forth in Section 2.10), (2)(A) pricing, fees, optional prepayment or redemption terms shall be determined in good faith by the Borrowers and the interest margins and floors with respect to the Extended Term Loans may be higher or lower than the interest margins and floors for the Term Loans of such Existing Term Loan Tranche, (B) the Weighted Average Life to Maturity of Extended Term Loans shall not be shorter than the Weighted Average Life to Maturity of the Term Loans, at the time of such refinancing (except by virtue of amortization or prepayment of the Term Loans prior to the time of such incurrence), and/or (C) additional fees, premiums or solely to the extent payable after the Term Loan Maturity Date, “AHYDO” payments may be payable to the Lenders providing such Extended Term Loans in addition to or in lieu of any increased margins and floors contemplated by the preceding clause (A), in each case, to the extent provided in the applicable Extension Amendment, (3) the Extended Term Loans may participate on a pro rata basis, greater than pro rata basis or less than pro rata basis in any voluntary prepayment of any Class of Term Loans hereunder and may participate on a pro rata basis or less than pro rata basis (but, except as otherwise permitted by this Agreement, not on a greater than pro rata basis) in any mandatory prepayments of any Class of Term Loans hereunder, (4) Extended Term Loans may have call protection and redemption terms as may be agreed by the Borrowers and the Lenders thereof, (5) any Extended Term Loans shall not at any time be guaranteed by any Person other than the Guarantors and shall not be secured by a Lien on any property that does not constitute Collateral and (6) to the extent that any such provision that applies after the Term Loan Maturity Date is added for the benefit of any such Indebtedness, no consent shall be required by the Administrative Agent or any of the Lenders. No Lender shall have any obligation to agree to have any of its Term Loans of any Existing Term Loan Tranche converted into Extended Term Loans pursuant to any Extension Request. Any Extended Term Loans of any Extension Series shall constitute a separate Class of Term Loans from the Existing Term Loan Tranche from which they were converted; provided, that any Extended Term Loans converted from an Existing Term Loan Class may, to the extent provided in the applicable Extension Amendment, be designated as an increase in any then outstanding Class of Term Loans other than the Existing Term Loan Class from which such Extended Term Loans were converted (in which case scheduled amortization with respect thereto shall be proportionally increased). Any Extended Term Loans amended pursuant to any Term Loan Extension Request shall be designated a series (each, a “Term Loan Extension Series”) of Extended Term Loans for all purposes of this Agreement; provided that any Extended Term Loans amended from an Existing Term Loan Tranche may, to the extent provided in the applicable Extension Amendment, be designated as an increase in any previously established Term Loan Extension Series with respect to such Existing Term Loan Tranche (in which case scheduled amortization with respect thereto shall be proportionally increased). Each Term Loan Extension Series of Extended Term Loans incurred under this Section 2.23 shall be in an aggregate principal amount that is not less than $5,000,000 (or, if less, the entire principal amount of the Indebtedness being extended pursuant to this Section 2.23 or such other amount approved by the Administrative Agent).

 

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(b)         The Borrower Representative may at any time and from time to time request that all or a portion of the Revolving Commitments of any Class, each existing at the time of such request (each, an “Existing Revolving Credit Commitment” and any related Revolving Loans thereunder, “Existing Revolving Credit Loans”; each Existing Revolving Credit Commitment and related Existing Revolving Credit Loans together being referred to as an “Existing Revolving Credit Class”) be converted to extend the termination date thereof and the scheduled maturity date(s) of any payment of principal with respect to all or a portion of any principal amount of Revolving Loans related to such Existing Revolving Credit Commitments (any such Existing Revolving Credit Commitments which have been so extended, “Extended Revolving Credit Commitments” and any related Revolving Loans, “Extended Revolving Credit Loans”) and to provide for other terms consistent with this Section 2.23. In order to establish any Extended Revolving Credit Commitments, the Borrower Representative shall provide a notice to the Administrative Agent (who shall provide a copy of such notice to each of the Lenders of the applicable Class of Existing Revolving Credit Commitments which such request shall be offered equally to all such Lenders on identical terms) (a “Revolving Credit Loan Extension Request”) setting forth the proposed terms of the Extended Revolving Credit Commitments to be established, which, shall either, at the option of the Borrower, (A) reflect current market terms and conditions (taken as a whole) at the time of incurrence or issuance (as determined in good faith by the Borrowers) or (B) if not consistent with the terms of the applicable Existing Revolving Credit Commitments, shall not be materially more restrictive to the Obligors (as determined in good faith by the Borrower), when taken as a whole, than the terms of such Existing Revolving Credit Commitments (the “Specified Existing Revolving Credit Commitment”) unless (x) the Lenders providing Existing Revolving Credit Loans receive the benefit of such more restrictive terms or (y) any such provisions apply after the latest maturity date of any Revolving Commitments then outstanding under this Agreement, in each case, to the extent provided in the applicable Extension Amendment; provided, however, that (w) all or any of the final maturity dates of such Extended Revolving Credit Commitments may be delayed to later dates than the final maturity dates of the Specified Existing Revolving Credit Commitments, (x) (A) the interest margins and floors with respect to the Extended Revolving Credit Commitments may be higher or lower than the interest margins and floors for the Specified Existing Revolving Credit Commitments and/or (B) additional fees and premiums may be payable to the Lenders providing such Extended Revolving Credit Commitments in addition to or in lieu of any increased margins and floors contemplated by the preceding clause (A) and (y) the commitment fee rate with respect to the Extended Revolving Credit Commitments may be higher or lower than the commitment fee rate for the Specified Existing Revolving Credit Commitment; provided, that, notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this Section 2.23 or otherwise, (1) the borrowing and repayment (other than in connection with a permanent repayment and termination of commitments) of Loans with respect to any Existing Revolving Credit Commitments shall be made on a pro rata basis with all other Existing Revolving Credit Commitments and (2) assignments and participations of Extended Revolving Credit Commitments and Extended Revolving Credit Loans shall be governed by the same assignment and participation provisions applicable to Revolving Credit Commitments. No Lender shall have any obligation to agree to have any of its Revolving Loans or Revolving Commitments of any Existing Revolving Credit Class converted into Extended Revolving Credit Loans or Extended Revolving Credit Commitments pursuant to any Revolving Credit Loan Extension Request. Any Extended Revolving Credit Commitments of any Extension Series shall be designated a series (each, a “Revolving Credit Loan Extension Series”) of Extended Revolving Credit Loans for all purposes of this Agreement and shall constitute a separate Class of revolving credit commitments from the Specified Existing Revolving Credit Commitments; provided that any Extended Revolving Credit Commitments converted from an Existing Revolving Credit Commitment Class may, to the extent provided in the applicable Extension Amendment, be designated as an increase in any then outstanding Class of Revolving Commitments other than the Existing Revolving Credit Commitment Class from which such Extended Revolving Credit Commitments were converted.

 

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(c)          The Borrower Representative shall provide the applicable Extension Request at least five Business Days prior to the date on which Lenders under the Existing Term Loan Tranche or Existing Revolving Credit Commitment, as applicable, are requested to respond (or such shorter period as agreed by the Administrative Agent), and shall agree to such procedures, if any, as may be established by, or acceptable to, the Administrative Agent and the Borrower Representative, in each case acting reasonably to accomplish the purposes of this Section 2.23. Subject to Section 2.18(b), no Lender shall have any obligation to agree to have any of its Term Loans of any Existing Term Loan Tranche amended into Extended Term Loans or any of its Revolving Credit Commitments amended into Extended Revolving Credit Commitments, as applicable, pursuant to any Extension Request. Any Lender holding a Loan under an Existing Term Loan Tranche (each, an “Extending Term Lender”) wishing to have all or a portion of its Term Loans under the Existing Term Loan Tranche subject to such Extension Request amended or converted into Extended Term Loans and any Revolving Credit Lender (each, an “Extending Revolving Credit Lender”) wishing to have all or a portion of its Revolving Credit Commitments under the Existing Revolving Credit Commitment subject to such Extension Request amended into Extended Revolving Credit Commitments, as applicable, shall notify the Administrative Agent (each, an “Extension Election”) on or prior to the date specified in such Extension Request of the amount of its Term Loans under the Existing Term Loan Tranche or Revolving Credit Commitments under the Existing Revolving Credit Commitment, as applicable, which it has elected to request be amended into Extended Term Loans or Extended Revolving Credit Commitments, as applicable (subject to any minimum denomination requirements imposed by the Administrative Agent). In the event that the aggregate principal amount of Term Loans under the Existing Term Loan Tranche or Revolving Credit Commitments under the Existing Revolving Credit Commitment, as applicable, in respect of which applicable Term Lenders or Revolving Credit Lenders, as the case may be, shall have accepted the relevant Extension Request exceeds the amount of Extended Term Loans or Extended Revolving Credit Commitments, as applicable, requested to be extended pursuant to the Extension Request, Term Loans or Revolving Credit Commitments, as applicable, subject to Extension Elections shall be amended to Extended Term Loans or Revolving Credit Commitments, as applicable, on a pro rata basis (subject to rounding by the Administrative Agent, which shall be conclusive) based on the aggregate principal amount of Term Loans or Revolving Credit Commitments, as applicable, included in each such Extension Election.

 

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(d)          Extended Term Loans and Extended Revolving Credit Commitments shall be established pursuant to an amendment (each, an “Extension Amendment”) to this Agreement among the Borrower Representative, the Administrative Agent and each Extending Term Lender or Extending Revolving Credit Lender, as applicable, providing an Extended Term Loan or Extended Revolving Credit Commitment, as applicable, thereunder, which shall be consistent with the provisions set forth in Section 2.23(a) or 2.23(b) above, respectively (but which shall not require the consent of any other Lender). The effectiveness of any Extension Amendment shall be subject to the satisfaction (or waiver) on the date thereof each of the conditions set forth in Section 4.2 and, to the extent reasonably requested by the Administrative Agent, receipt by the Administrative Agent of (i) customary legal opinions, board resolutions and officers’ certificates certifying such resolutions and (ii) reaffirmation agreements and/or such amendments to the Security Documents as may be reasonably requested by the Administrative Agent in order to ensure that the Extended Term Loans or Extended Revolving Credit Commitments, as applicable, are provided with the benefit of the applicable Loan Documents. The Administrative Agent shall promptly notify each Lender as to the effectiveness of each Extension Amendment. Each of the parties hereto hereby agrees that this Agreement and the other Loan Documents may be amended pursuant to an Extension Amendment, without the consent of any other Lenders, to the extent (but only to the extent) necessary to (i) reflect the existence and terms of the Extended Term Loans or Extended Revolving Credit Commitments, as applicable, incurred pursuant thereto, (ii) modify the scheduled repayments set forth in Section 2.10 with respect to any Existing Term Loan Tranche subject to an Extension Election to reflect a reduction in the principal amount of the Term Loans thereunder in an amount equal to the aggregate principal amount of the Extended Term Loans amended pursuant to the applicable Extension (with such amount to be applied ratably to reduce scheduled repayments of such Term Loans required pursuant to Section 2.9), (iii) modify the prepayments set forth in Section 2.10 to reflect the existence of the Extended Term Loans and the application of prepayments with respect thereto, (iv) make such other changes to this Agreement and the other Loan Documents (without the consent of the Required Lenders called for therein) and (v) effect such other amendments to this Agreement and the other Loan Documents as may be necessary or appropriate, in the reasonable opinion of the Administrative Agent and the Borrower Representative, to effect the provisions of this Section 2.23, and the Required Lenders hereby expressly authorize the Administrative Agent to enter into any such Extension Amendment.

 

(e)          No conversion of Loans pursuant to any Extension in accordance with this Section 2.23 shall constitute a voluntary or mandatory payment or prepayment for purposes of this Agreement. This Section 2.23 shall supersede any provisions herein to the contrary.

 

3.            REPRESENTATIONS AND WARRANTIES

 

Holdings (solely in respect of itself and Section 3.1, 3.2, 3.3, 3.8, 3.17 and 3.22), the Borrowers and each other Obligor represents and warrants (with each representation and warranty being deemed in effect after giving effect to the Transactions) to the Administrative Agent, the Lenders, and Issuing Lender that on the Effective Date and on such other dates as such representations and warranties are required to be made:

 

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3.1          Organization; Powers. Each of the Obligors is (a) duly organized, validly existing, and, if applicable in its jurisdiction of organization, in good standing or the equivalent status under the laws of the jurisdiction of its organization, (b) except where the failure to do so, individually or in the aggregate, could not reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect, has all requisite corporate or similar power and authority and all governmental licenses, permits, water rights, authorizations, and other approvals and entitlements to own and operate its property, to lease or sublease any property its operates, to occupy any property it occupies, and to carry on its business as now conducted and as contemplated to be conducted by it upon and following the consummation of the Transactions, (c) has all requisite corporate or similar power and authority to execute, deliver and perform its obligations under the Loan Documents to which it is a party, and (d) except where the failure to do so, individually or in the aggregate, could not reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect, is duly qualified or licensed and is in good standing as a foreign corporation or other company, and authorized to do business, in each jurisdiction in which the characters of its properties or the nature of its business requires such qualification or authorization.

 

3.2          Authorization; Enforceability. The execution, delivery and performance by each Obligor of the Loan Documents and the documents related to the Transactions occurring on the Effective Date to which it is a party and the performance of each Obligor’s obligations thereunder are within each Obligor’s requisite powers and have been duly authorized by all necessary corporate, limited liability company or other organizational action, and, if required, by all necessary action by holders of Equity Interests in each such Obligor. The Loan Documents to which each Obligor is a party have been duly executed and delivered by such Obligor and constitute, a legal, valid and binding obligation of such Obligor, enforceable against such Obligor in accordance with its terms, except as such enforceability may be limited by (a) Debtor Relief Laws or similar laws of general applicability affecting the enforcement of creditors’ rights. (b) the application of general principles of equity (regardless of whether such enforceability is considered in a proceeding in equity or at law) and (c) the effect of foreign laws, rules and regulations as they relate to pledges of Equity Interests in or Indebtedness owed by Foreign Subsidiaries.

 

3.3          Governmental Approvals; No Conflicts. The execution, delivery and performance by each Obligor of the Loan Documents to which it is a party and the documents related to the Transactions to which it is a party and the performance of each Obligor’s obligations thereunder (a) do not require any consent, authorization or approval of, registration or filing with, notice to, or any other action by, any Governmental Authority, except for (i) such as have been obtained or made and are in full force and effect, (ii) filings and recordings in respect of the Liens created pursuant to the Security Documents and (iii) those that would not reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect, (b) will not violate (x) any applicable law or regulation applicable to any Obligor or its Restricted Subsidiaries or (y) the Organizational Documents of any Obligor or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries, in the case of clause (x), that would reasonably be expected to result, individually or in the aggregate, in a Material Adverse Effect, (c) [reserved], (d) will not conflict with or result in a breach or contravention of, any material order, injunction, writ or decree of any Governmental Authority or any arbitral award to which any Obligor or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries is a party or affecting such Person or its properties that would reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect, and (e) except for the Liens created pursuant to the Security Documents or Permitted Encumbrances, will not result in the creation or imposition of any Lien on any asset of any Obligor or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries.

 

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3.4          Financial Condition; No Material Adverse Change.

 

(a)          Financial Condition. The Borrower Representative has heretofore furnished to the Administrative Agent and Lenders (i) the audited balance sheet of the Company, as of December 28, 2020, and the related audited statements of operations and comprehensive loss, members’ equity and cash flows of the Company for the year then ended, (ii) an unaudited interim balance sheet of the Company as of April 26, 2021 and the related unaudited interim statements of operations and comprehensive loss, members’ equity and cash flows of the Company for (x) the four-month period ended April 26, 2021 and (y) each subsequent fiscal quarter ended at least forty-five (45) days prior to the Effective Date (in respect of this clause (y), to the extent provided under the Surf Merger Agreement), (iii) a pro forma consolidated balance sheet and related statements of income of Holdings and its subsidiaries, as of April 26, 2021, prepared after giving effect to the Transactions as if the Transactions had occurred as of such date (in the case of such balance sheet) or at the beginning of such period (in the case of the statement of income), (iv) the audited balance sheets of Vive Organic as of December 31, 2021 and December 30, 2020 and the related audited statements of operations and of cash flows of Vive Organic for the years then ended and (v) the unaudited balance sheet of Vive Organic as of August 31, 2022 and the related statements of operations and cash flows of Vive Organic for the eight-month period then ended, in each case prepared on a consolidated basis in conformity in all material respects with GAAP; provided, that in each case, no financial statements or pro forma financial statements shall be required to include adjustments for purchase accounting (including adjustments of the type contemplated by Financial Accounting Standards Board Accounting Standards Codification 805, Business Combinations (formerly SFAS 141R)). Such financial statements or financial information present fairly in all material respects the financial position and results of operations and cash flows of the Company and as of such dates and for such period in accordance with GAAP (where applicable) in all material respects, subject to year-end audit adjustments and the absence of footnotes in the case of any such unaudited financial statements.

 

(b)          No Material Adverse Change. Since July 7, 2021, no events have occurred that either individually or in the aggregate would reasonably be expected to have or cause a Material Adverse Effect.

 

3.5          Properties.

 

(a)          Property Generally. Each Borrower and its Restricted Subsidiaries has (a) good and legal title to (in the case of fee interests in real property), (b) valid leasehold interests in (in the case of leasehold interests in real or personal property), and (c) good and marketable title to (or in the case of all other personal property, rights in), all of their respective assets, except for (i) Permitted Encumbrances, or (ii) minor defects in title to property that do not materially interfere with its ability to conduct its business as currently conducted or to use such property for their intended purposes and (iii) as would not reasonably be expected, individually or in the aggregate, to result in a Material Adverse Effect. All such assets are free and clear of Liens except for Permitted Encumbrances.

 

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(b)          Intellectual Property. (i) Each Borrower and its Restricted Subsidiaries owns, or is licensed or otherwise has rights to use, all trademarks, tradenames, copyrights, patents and other intellectual property reasonably necessary to the operation of its business, and, (ii) to its knowledge, the use thereof by any Borrower and its Restricted Subsidiaries does not infringe upon the rights of any other Person, in each case of (i) and (ii), except as could not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect.

 

3.6          Litigation.

 

Actions, Suits and Proceedings. There are no actions, suits, investigations or proceedings by or before any arbitrator or Governmental Authority now pending against or, to the knowledge of any Borrower or Restricted Subsidiary, threatened against any Borrower or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries (i) that involve any of the Loan Documents or any of the Transactions contemplated hereby or thereby, or (ii) that have a reasonable likelihood of adverse determination and such determination could reasonably be expected, individually or in the aggregate, to result in a Material Adverse Effect, except for matters disclosed on Schedule 3.6.

 

3.7          Compliance with Laws. No Borrower nor any Restricted Subsidiary nor any of their respective products is subject to, in violation of, or in default with respect to, any judgments, laws (including without limitation the Food and Agriculture Law), regulations, orders, writs, injunctions and decrees of any Governmental Authority applicable to it or its property that, individually or in the aggregate, could reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect. As of the Effective Date, there are no existing Liens pursuant to Growers’ Lien Laws. As of the Effective Date, Borrowers and their Subsidiaries are in compliance in all material respects with all notifications, instructions and payment obligations received from creditors of Protected Vendors delivered pursuant to Growers’ Lien Laws.

 

3.8          Investment Company Status. None of the Borrowers, Holdings or any of their Restricted Subsidiaries is or is required to be registered as an “investment company” under the Investment Company Act of 1940.

 

3.9          Taxes. Except, in each case, as would not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect, each Obligor and its Restricted Subsidiaries have filed or caused to be filed all federal, state, local and non-U.S. Tax returns and reports required to have been filed by them by their respective due dates (including any extensions) and have paid or caused to be paid all Taxes shown therein to be due and have paid all other Taxes, except (a) Taxes that are being contested in good faith by appropriate proceedings diligently conducted and for which such Person has set aside on its books adequate reserves in accordance with the GAAP or (b) Taxes which are not yet delinquent for a period of more than thirty (30) days. There is no tax assessment, to the knowledge of any Obligor, that has been proposed or threatened in writing, against any Obligor or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries that has not been finally resolved and would, if paid in full, be reasonably expected to have a Material Adverse Effect. No Obligor nor any Restricted Subsidiary thereof is party to any tax sharing agreement (other than any agreement entered into in the ordinary course of business the primary purpose of which is not related to Taxes).

 

3.10        ERISA. Except as set forth on Schedule 3.10, as of the Effective Date, no Borrower nor any of its Restricted Subsidiaries is party to or bound to any Multiemployer Plan. No ERISA Event has occurred or is reasonably expected to occur that, when taken together with all other such ERISA Events for which liability is reasonably expected to occur, would result in a Material Adverse Effect. No Borrower or Restricted Subsidiary is nor will be (a) an employee benefit plan subject to ERISA, (b) a plan or account subject to Section 4975 of the Code; (c) an entity deemed to hold “plan assets” of any such plans or accounts for purposes of ERISA or the Code; or (d) a “governmental plan” within the meaning of ERISA.

 

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3.11        Disclosure.

 

(a)          The Borrower Representative has delivered to the Administrative Agent and the Lenders the Borrowers’ projected consolidated profit and loss statements and summary cash flow statements prepared on an annual basis for its 2021 through 2025 Fiscal Years. Such projections and all other financial projections and forecasts delivered to the Administrative Agent and the Lenders in connection with this Agreement have been prepared by the Borrowers in good faith based upon reasonable assumptions believed by the Borrowers to be reasonable at the time made available to the Administrative Agent and the Lenders, it being recognized by Administrative Agent and the Lenders that such projections are as to future events and are not to be viewed as facts and are subject to significant uncertainties and contingencies, many of which are beyond the Borrowers’ control, that no assurance can be given that any particular projection will be realized, and that actual results during the period or periods or covered by such projections may differ significantly from the projected results and such differences may be material.

 

(b)          All information (other than the projections and forecasts described in Section 3.11(a), forward-looking statements, budgets, estimates and information of a general economic or industry nature) furnished by or on behalf of any Obligor, to the Administrative Agent or any Lenders in connection with the transactions contemplated hereby and the negotiation of this Agreement and the other Loan Documents or delivered hereunder or thereunder (as modified or supplemented by other information so furnished) is, when furnished and taken as a whole, does not or will not, when furnished and taken as a whole, contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state any material fact necessary to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not materially misleading.

 

(c)          As of the Effective Date, the information included in the Beneficial Ownership Certification delivered by the Borrower Representative pursuant to Section 4.1(j) is true and correct in all material respects.

 

3.12       Federal Reserve Regulations; Use of Credit. The Borrowers are not engaged and will not engage, principally or as one of its important activities, in the business of purchasing or carrying Margin Stock, or extending credit for the purpose of purchasing or carrying Margin Stock, and no proceeds of any Borrowings or drawings under any Letter of Credit will be used for any purpose that violates Regulation T, U or X of the Board of Governors of the United States Federal Reserve System.

  

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3.13        [Reserved].

 

3.14        Existing Subsidiaries. Set forth on Schedule 3.14 is a complete and correct list of all of the Subsidiaries of Holdings, the Borrowers and their respective Subsidiaries as of the Effective Date, together with, for each such Subsidiary, (i) the jurisdiction of organization, of such Subsidiary; (ii) each Person holding Equity Interests in such Subsidiary; (iii) the Equity Interests issued by such Subsidiary; (iv) the Equity Interests held by each such Person; and (v) the percentage of ownership of such Subsidiary represented by such Equity Interests.

 

3.15        Real Property. Set forth on Part 1 of Schedule 3.15 is a complete and correct list, as of the Effective Date, of all of the Material Real Property owned by any Company, indicating in each case the use of the respective property, the identity of the owner, and the location of the respective property. As of the Effective Date, except as set forth on Part 2 of Schedule 3.15, no Mortgaged Property owned by an Obligor has Improvements located in an area identified as having special flood hazards and in which flood insurance has been made available under the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968.

 

3.16        Environmental Matters. Except as set forth on Schedule 3.16, each Borrower and its Restricted Subsidiaries has obtained all permits, licenses, and other authorizations required under all Environmental Laws to carry on its business, except to the extent failure to have any such permit, license, or authorization would not (either individually or in the aggregate) reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect. Except as set forth on Schedule 3.16, each of such permits, licenses, and authorizations is in full force and effect and each Obligor and its Restricted Subsidiaries is in compliance with the terms and conditions thereof, and is also in compliance with all other limitations, restrictions, conditions, standards, prohibitions, requirements, obligations, schedules, and timetables contained in any applicable Environmental Law, except to the extent failure to comply therewith would not (either individually or in the aggregate) reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect.

 

In addition, except as set forth in Schedule 3.16:

 

(a)         There are no claims, actions, suits, investigations, or proceedings asserted against or, to any Borrower’s or Restricted Subsidiary’s knowledge, threatened against, the Borrower or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries, nor has the Borrower or any of the Restricted Subsidiaries received any written notice, notification, demand, potentially responsible party letter, request for information, citation, summons or order from any Governmental Authority or third party alleging potential liability of the Borrower or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries under any Environmental Law in connection with the conduct of the business of such Borrower or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries or with respect to any generation, treatment, storage, recycling, transportation, discharge or disposal, release or threatened release of any Hazardous Materials, excluding any matter that would not (either individually or in the aggregate) reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect.

 

(b)          Except as would not (either individually or in the aggregate) be reasonably expected to have a Material Adverse Effect, (i) no Borrower or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries owns, operates or leases a treatment, storage or disposal facility requiring a permit under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act of 1976, or under any comparable state or local statute; (ii) there are no underground storage tanks or surface impoundments for Hazardous Materials, active or abandoned, at any site or facility now or, to any Borrower’s knowledge, previously owned, operated or leased by any Borrower or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries; (iii) there has been no release or threatened release of any Hazardous Materials at, from, on or under any site or facility now or, to any Borrower’s or Restricted Subsidiary’s knowledge, previously owned, operated or leased by any Borrower or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries in quantities or concentrations requiring remediation by any Borrower or any Restricted Subsidiary under applicable Environmental Law; and (iv) no Borrower or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries has contractually assumed any liability or obligation of any other person under or relating to any applicable Environmental Law.

 

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(c)          No written notification of a release of a Hazardous Material has been filed by or on behalf of any Borrower or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries that would reasonably be expected to result (either individually or in the aggregate) in a Material Adverse Effect and no site or facility now or, to any Borrower’s or Restricted Subsidiary’s knowledge, previously owned, operated or leased by any Borrower or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries is listed or, to any Borrower’s or Restricted Subsidiary’s knowledge, proposed for listing on the National Priorities List (“NPL”) under CERCLA, listed for possible inclusion on the NPL by the Environmental Protection Agency in the Superfund Enterprise Management System, as provided for by 40 C.F.R. § 300.5, or any similar state list requiring investigation or clean-up by any Obligor or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries, except for such listing that would not reasonably be expected to result (either individually or in the aggregate) in a Material Adverse Effect.

 

3.17        Sanctions/Anti-Corruption Representations.

 

(a)          Each Obligor and its subsidiaries are in compliance in all material respects with all applicable Anti-Terrorism Laws, Anti-Corruption Laws, and laws relating to Sanctions, including all those applicable in the jurisdictions in which Obligor and its Subsidiaries conduct business. No Obligor nor any of its Subsidiaries is in material violation of any Anti-Terrorism Laws, Anti-Corruption Laws or Sanctions or is engaging in or conspiring to engage in any transaction that evades or avoids, or has the purpose of evading or avoiding, or attempting to violate, any of the prohibitions set forth in any Anti-Terrorism Laws, Anti-Corruption Laws or Sanctions.

 

(b)          No Obligor nor any of its Subsidiaries, nor to its knowledge any director, officer, nor to its knowledge, any other employee or, agent or representative of any Obligor, is a Person (each such Person, a “Sanctioned Person”) that is, or is owned or controlled by Persons that are: (i) the subject of any Sanctions, or (ii) located, organized or resident in a country, region or territory that is, or whose government is, the subject of Sanctions (currently, as of the date of this Agreement, the Region of Crimea, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Venezuela and Syria).

 

(c)          No Obligor nor any of its Subsidiaries, nor to its knowledge any director, officer, nor to its knowledge, any other employee or, agent or representative of any Obligor, is engaging in any dealings or transactions with any Sanctioned Person, or in any country or territory, that at the time of the dealing or transaction is, or whose government is, the subject of Sanctions (currently, as of the date of this Agreement, the Region of Crimea, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Venezuela and Syria), in violation of Sanctions.

 

3.18       Insurance. The properties of each Borrower and its Restricted Subsidiaries are insured with financially sound and reputable insurance companies, in such amounts, in the good faith determination of the Borrowers and giving effect to any self-insurance, with such deductibles and covering such risks as are customarily carried by companies engaged in similar businesses and owning similar properties in localities where any Borrower or the applicable Subsidiary operates, in each case, in accordance with Section 5.5.

 

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3.19        Labor Matters. Except as set forth on Schedule 3.19, as of the Effective Date no Borrower nor any of its Restricted Subsidiaries are party to or bound by any collective bargaining agreement. There are no strikes, lockouts, work stoppages or other labor disputes against any Borrower or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries, or, to the best of any Borrower’s knowledge, threatened against or affecting any Borrower or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries, in each case, which could reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect. Each Obligor has paid in all material respects all wages required and due and payable to its employees except where the failure to do so could not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect.

 

3.20        Solvency. On the Effective Date, the Borrowers together with their Restricted Subsidiaries on a consolidated basis, are Solvent.

 

3.21        [Reserved].

 

3.22        Security Documents. The provisions of the Security Documents (taken as a whole) are, or will be at the time of execution and delivery thereof, effective to create in favor of Administrative Agent for the benefit of the Secured Parties a valid and enforceable (except as such enforceability may be limited by (a) Debtor Relief Laws or similar laws of general applicability affecting the enforcement of creditors’ rights. (b) the application of general principles of equity (regardless of whether such enforceability is considered in a proceeding in equity or at law) and (c) the effect of foreign laws, rules and regulations as they relate to pledges of Equity Interests in or Indebtedness owed by Foreign Subsidiaries) first-priority Lien (subject only to Permitted Encumbrances) on all right, title and interest of each Obligor in the Collateral described therein. When all appropriate filings or recordings are made in the appropriate offices or other perfection action taken as contemplated hereby and by the Security Documents, the Liens created by each such Security Document will constitute fully perfected first priority Liens (subject only to Permitted Encumbrances) on and security interests in all right, title and interest of the Obligors in such Collateral subject to the limitations and exceptions set forth in the Security Documents.

 

4.            CONDITIONS PRECEDENT.

 

4.1       Effective Date. The obligations of the Lenders to make Loans and of Issuing Lender to issue Letters of Credit hereunder shall not become effective until the date on which Administrative Agent shall have received each of the following, in each case reasonably satisfactory to the Administrative Agent (and to the extent specified below, to each Lender) in form and substance:

 

(a)          Executed Counterparts. From each party thereto, a counterpart of this Agreement and the other Loan Documents to be executed and delivered as of the Effective Date, signed and delivered on behalf of such party.

 

(b)          Opinions of Counsel to Obligor. Customary legal opinion (addressed to the Administrative Agent, the Lenders and Issuing Lender and dated the Effective Date) of Kirkland & Ellis LLP, counsel the Obligors.

 

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(c)          Corporate Documents. Such documents and certificates as Administrative Agent may reasonably request relating to the organization, existence and good standing of each Obligor as of the Effective Date, the authorization of the Transactions, the identity, authority and capacity of each Responsible Officer authorized to act on behalf of an Obligor in connection with the Loan Documents, this Agreement, the other Loan Documents or the Transactions.

 

(d)         Security Documents. (i) The Security Agreement, duly executed and delivered by the Obligors and the Administrative Agent, (ii) certificates, if any, representing the Equity Interests required to be pledged under the Security Agreement accompanied by undated stock or comparable powers executed in blank, and (iii) proper financing statements (Form UCC-1 or the equivalent) for filing under the UCC or other appropriate filing offices of each jurisdiction as may be necessary to perfect the security interests purported to be created by the foregoing Security Agreement; provided, however, that, the satisfaction of the requirement set forth in clause (ii) above, after the Borrower Representative’s use of commercially reasonable efforts to provide such items on or prior to the Effective Date without undue burden or expense, shall not constitute conditions precedent to the Borrowing on the Effective Date but shall instead be delivered by the Borrower Representative within 90 days after the Effective Date (subject to extensions approved by the Administrative Agent in its reasonable discretion).

 

(e)          Solvency. A solvency certificate from the chief executive officer, chief financial officer or other officer with equivalent duties of the Borrower Representative in the form of Exhibit 4.1.

 

(f)          Repayment of Existing Indebtedness. Evidence that all existing third party debt for borrower money of the Company under the Existing Indebtedness (other than Indebtedness permitted by Section 6.1 hereof) shall have been (or shall be substantially simultaneously) repaid, redeemed, defeased, discharged, refinanced, replaced or termination and all commitments thereunder shall have been (or shall be substantially simultaneously) terminated and all liens and guarantees thereunder shall have been (or shall be substantially simultaneously) released or terminated.

 

(g)          Administrative Agent and, if applicable, Issuing Lender or Swingline Lender shall have received a Borrowing Request.

 

(h)          Financial Statements. The financial statements and financial information referred to in Sections 3.4(a) and 3.11(a).

 

(i)           Fees. Evidence that the Borrowers shall have paid (or shall pay substantially concurrently with the funding of the initial Borrowings under this Agreement on the Effective Date) all accrued fees that are required to be paid on the Effective Date under the terms of the Fee Letter, to the extent invoiced at least three (3) Business Days prior to or on the Effective Date, expenses of Administrative Agent required to be paid on Effective Date pursuant to the Commitment Letter, including the fees, charges and disbursements of King & Spalding LLP, special New York counsel to the Administrative Agent, in connection with the negotiation, preparation, execution and delivery of the Loan Documents (directly to such counsel if requested by Administrative Agent).

 

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(j)           Know Your Customer Requirements. The Administrative Agent shall have received, at least three (3) business days before the Effective Date, (i) all documentation and other information about the Obligors and their subsidiaries that shall have been reasonably requested by the Administrative Agents or the Lead Arranger at least ten (10) business days prior to the Effective Date and that the Administrative Agent and the Lead Arranger reasonably determine is required by applicable regulatory authorities under applicable “know your customer” and anti-money laundering rules and regulations, including, without limitation, the PATRIOT Act and (ii) to the extent any Borrower or any Guarantor qualifies as a “legal entity customer” under the Beneficial Ownership Regulation, a certificate regarding beneficial ownership as required by the Beneficial Ownership Regulation with respect to such Borrower or such Guarantor which certification shall be substantially similar in form and substance to the form of Certification Regarding Beneficial Owners of Legal Entity Customers published jointly, in May 2018, by the Loan Syndications and Trading Association and Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association, that in each case has been requested at least ten (10) business days prior to the Effective Date.

 

(k)          Material Adverse Effect. Since July 7, 2021, no “Material Adverse Effect” (as defined in the Surf Merger Agreement) shall have occurred.

 

(l)           Consummation of the Acquisition. Substantially simultaneously with the funding of the initial Borrowings under this Agreement on the Effective Date, the Acquisition shall be consummated in all material respects in accordance with the terms of the Surf Merger Agreement, but without giving effect to any alteration, amendment, change, supplement, waiver or consent that is materially adverse to the interests of the Lead Arranger, in any such case without the consent of the Lead Arranger (such consent not to be unreasonably withheld, delayed or conditioned and provided that the Lead Arranger shall be deemed to have consented to such waiver, amendment, consent or other modification unless it shall object thereto within three (3) business days after written notice of such waiver, amendment, supplement, consent or other modification) (it being understood (a) any change to the definition of “Material Adverse Effect” or the “Xerox” provisions contained in the Surf Merger Agreement shall be deemed to be material and adverse to the Lead Arranger, (b) any reduction to the purchase price shall be deemed not to be materially adverse to the interests of the Lenders if such reduction (i) does not, in the aggregate, exceed 15% of the purchase price set forth in the Surf Merger Agreement as of July 7, 2021 or (ii) is equal to or in excess of 15% of the purchase price set forth in the Surf Merger Agreement as of July 7, 2021 and is applied (1) first, at the option of the Initial Borrower, to a reduction of the Sponsor Equity Contribution and (2) thereafter, to a reduction in the amount of the Initial Term Loans and the Equity Contribution on a pro rata basis, (c) any increase in the purchase price shall not be deemed to be materially adverse to the interests of the Lenders if such increase is funded with an increase in the aggregate amount of the Sponsor Equity Contribution and (d) any purchase price adjustment contemplated by the Surf Merger Agreement (including any working capital purchase price adjustment) shall not be considered an amendment or waiver of the Surf Merger Agreement).

 

(m)         Specified Purchase Agreement Representations. The Specified Purchase Agreement Representations shall be true and correct in all material respects (or to the extent as of a specified earlier date, true and correct in all material respects as of such date).

 

(n)          Sponsor Equity Contribution. Prior to or substantially simultaneously with the funding of the initial Borrowings under this Agreement on the Effective Date, Holdings shall have received the Sponsor Equity Contribution.

 

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(o)          Specified Representations. With respect to the funding of the initial Borrowings on the Effective Date, the Specified Representations shall be true and correct in all material respects (unless any such representation or warranty is qualified as to materiality or Material Adverse Effect, in which case such representation and warranty shall be true and correct in all respects) on and as of the Effective Date, both before and immediately after giving effect thereto, except to the extent that such representations and warranties specifically refer to an earlier date, in which case they shall be true and correct in all material respects (unless any such representation or warranty is qualified as to materiality or Material Adverse Effect, in which case such representation and warranty shall be true and correct in all respects) as of such earlier date.

 

Administrative Agent shall notify the Borrower Representative, Issuing Lender and the Lenders of the Effective Date, and such notice shall be conclusive and binding. Each Lender that has signed this Agreement shall be deemed to have consented to, approved or accepted or to be satisfied with, each document or other matter required thereunder to be consented to or approved by or acceptable or satisfactory to a Lender unless Administrative Agent shall have received notice from such Lender prior to the proposed Effective Date specifying its objection thereto.

 

4.2          Each Credit Event. The obligation of each Lender to make a Loan after the Effective Date (including any Incremental Term Loan), and of Issuing Lender to issue, amend, renew or extend any Letter of Credit, is subject to the satisfaction of the following conditions:

 

(a)          the representations and warranties of each Obligor set forth in this Agreement and of the other Loan Documents to which it is a party, shall be true and correct in all material respects (unless any such representation or warranty is qualified as to materiality or Material Adverse Effect, in which case such representation and warranty shall be true and correct in all respects) on and as of the date of such Borrowing or the date of issuance, amendment, renewal or extension of such Letter of Credit, as applicable, both before and immediately after giving effect thereto, except to the extent that such representations and warranties specifically refer to an earlier date, in which case they shall be true and correct in all material respects (unless any such representation or warranty is qualified as to materiality or Material Adverse Effect, in which case such representation and warranty shall be true and correct in all respects) as of such earlier date, and except that for purposes of this Section 4.2, the representations and warranties contained in Section 3.4(a) shall be deemed to refer to the most recent statements furnished pursuant to Sections 5.1(a) and 5.1(b), respectively;

 

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

 

(c)          at the time of and immediately after giving effect to such Borrowing or the issuance, amendment, renewal or extension of such Letter of Credit, as applicable, the total Revolving Credit Exposures shall not exceed the total Revolving Credit Commitments;

 

(d)          Administrative Agent and, if applicable, Issuing Lender or Swingline Lender shall have received a Borrowing Request or a notice requesting the issuance, amendment, renewal, or extension of such Letter of Credit, as the case may be, in each case, in accordance with the requirements of this Agreement.

 

Each making of a Loan and each issuance, amendment, renewal, or extension of a Letter of Credit shall be deemed to constitute a representation and warranty by the Borrowers on the date thereof as to the matters specified in clauses (a), (b) and (c) of this Section 4.2.

 

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5.AFFIRMATIVE COVENANTS

 

So long as any Commitment is outstanding and thereafter until all Obligations are Fully Satisfied, each Obligor covenants and agrees with Administrative Agent, Issuing Lender and the Lenders that:

 

5.1        Financial Statements and Other Information. The Borrower Representative will furnish to the Administrative Agent (for distribution to each Lender):

 

(a)          within 120 days after the end of each Fiscal Year, (i) commencing with the Fiscal Year ending December 27, 2021, the consolidated balance sheet and related statements of operations, members’ equity and cash flows of the Company and its Subsidiaries, as of the end of and for such year, setting forth, in each case, commencing with the Fiscal Year ending December 26, 2022, in comparative form the figures for the previous Fiscal Year audited by Moss Adams LLP, KPMG or another independent public accountants of recognized national or regional standing (without a “going concern” or substantially similar qualification or exception and without any qualification or exception as to the scope of such audit (except for any such qualification pertaining to (x) the maturity of any Indebtedness occurring within twelve (12) months of the relevant audit, (y) any actual or prospective default under any financial covenant or (z) the activities, operations, financial results, assets or liabilities of Unrestricted Subsidiaries) to the effect that such consolidated financial statements present fairly in all materials respects the financial condition and results of operations of the Company and its Subsidiaries on a consolidated basis in accordance in all material respects with GAAP consistently applied, except as noted therein and (ii) a certification of a Responsible Officer of the Company that such consolidated financial statements present fairly in all material respects the financial condition and results of operations of the Company and the applicable Subsidiaries for such Fiscal Year on a consolidated basis in accordance with GAAP consistently applied; provided, however, that for the Fiscal Year ending December 27, 2021 only, the consolidated financial statements required pursuant to this clause (a) may be provided within 150 days after the end of such Fiscal Year.

 

(b)          within 45 days after the end of each of the first three Fiscal Quarters of each Fiscal Year (and for the fourth Fiscal Quarter of the 2021 Fiscal Year only) commencing with the Fiscal Quarter ending December 27, 2021, (i) the consolidated balance sheet and related statements of operations and cash flows of the Company and its Subsidiaries as of the end of and for such Fiscal Quarter and the then elapsed portion of the Fiscal Year, setting forth in each case, commencing with the Fiscal Quarter ending March 27, 2023 in comparative form the figures for (or, in the case of the balance sheet, as of the end of) the corresponding period or periods of the previous Fiscal Year and (ii) a certification of a Responsible Officer of the Company that such consolidated financial statements present fairly the financial condition and results of operations of the Company and the applicable Subsidiaries, on a consolidated basis for such period in accordance in all material respects with GAAP consistently applied, subject to normal year-end audit adjustments and the absence of footnotes; provided, however, that for the Fiscal Quarters ending September 27, 2021, December 27, 2021 and, March 28, 2022 and September 30, 2024 only, the consolidated financial statements required pursuant to this clause (b) may be provided within 60 days after the end of such Fiscal Quarter;

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(c)          concurrently with any delivery of financial statements under clause (a) or (b) of this Section, a certificate in substantially the form of Exhibit 5.1 of a Responsible Officer of the Borrower Representative (a “Compliance Certificate”) (i) certifying as to whether a Default exists and, if a Default exists, specifying the details thereof and any action taken or proposed to be taken with respect thereto, (ii) setting forth reasonably detailed calculations of the Financial Covenant and, to the extent required to be tested for such period, whether the Borrowers were in compliance with the Financial Covenant for such period, and (iii) stating whether any change in GAAP or in the application thereof that has an impact on the financial statements of the Company and its Subsidiaries or the calculation of the Financial Covenant hereof has occurred since the date of the audited financial statements referred to in Section 3.4 and, if any such change has occurred, specifying the effect of such change on the financial statements accompanying such certificate;

 

(d)          promptly after the same become publicly available, copies of all periodic and other reports, proxy statements and other materials filed by the Borrowers or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries with the SEC, or with any national securities exchange, or any financial statements (including any related management discussion and analysis) distributed by the Borrowers to any holder of Material Indebtedness of the Borrowers or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries pursuant to the terms of any indenture, loan or credit or similar agreement and not otherwise required to be furnished hereunder, as the case may be;

 

(e)          prior to an Initial Public Offering, concurrently with the delivery of the financial statements under clauses (a) and (b) of this Section, a management discussion and analysis with respect to such financial statements;

 

(f)           prior to an Initial Public Offering, as soon as available, but in any event no more than 90 days after the end of each Fiscal Year commencing with the Fiscal Year ending December 27, 2021, an annual consolidated plan, budget and financial projection of the Company and its Restricted Subsidiaries on a consolidated basis, including forecasts prepared by management of the Borrowers in form consistent with past practice, of consolidated balance sheets and statements of income or operations and cash flows of the Company and its Restricted Subsidiaries on a quarterly basis for such Fiscal Year, which shall state the material assumptions used in preparation thereof;

 

(g)          promptly after any request by Administrative Agent or any Lender (through Administrative Agent) (subject in each case to any confidentiality restrictions not entered into in contemplation hereof), copies of any detailed audit reports, final management letters or recommendations submitted to the board of directors (or the audit committee of the board of directors) of any Obligor by independent accountants in connection with the accounts or books of any Obligor or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries, or any audit of any of them;

 

(h)          concurrently with the delivery of the financial statements under clause (a) and (b) of this Section, consolidating financial statements of the Borrowers and their Subsidiaries that eliminate the accounts of Unrestricted Subsidiaries;

 

(i)           [reserved];

 

(j)           [reserved];

 

(k)          promptly following any request therefor, such other information and reports regarding each Obligor or any of its Subsidiaries, or compliance with the terms of this Agreement and the other Loan Documents, as Administrative Agent or any Lender (through Administrative Agent) may reasonably request (other than any such information or reports that are subject to attorney-client privilege, third-party confidentiality obligations not entered into in contemplation hereof, trade secrets, non-financial proprietary information or applicable law); and

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Documents required to be delivered pursuant to this Section 5.1 may be delivered electronically and if so, shall be deemed to have been delivered on the date on which such documents are posted electronically by any Obligor or on such Obligor’s behalf on the Platform to which each Lender and the Administrative Agent have access or on the Company’s website; provided that: (i) the Borrower Representative shall deliver paper copies of such documents to the Administrative Agent for any Lender who requests the Borrower Representative to deliver such paper copies until written request to cease delivering paper copies is given by Administrative Agent or such Lender; (ii) the Borrower Representative shall notify (which may be by facsimile or electronic mail) Administrative Agent and each Lender of the posting of any such documents and provide to the Administrative Agent by email electronic versions (i.e. soft copies) of such documents; and (iii) upon written request by Administrative Agent, the Borrower Representative shall provide paper copies of the Compliance Certificate required by clause (c) of this Section 5.1 to the Administrative Agent. Administrative Agent shall have no obligation to request the delivery or to maintain copies of the documents referred to above, and in any event, shall have no responsibility to monitor compliance by the Borrowers with any such request for delivery, and each Lender shall be solely responsible for requesting delivery to it or maintaining its copies of such documents.

 

Notwithstanding the foregoing, the obligations in Section 5.1(a) and 5.1(b) may be satisfied with respect to financial information of Holdings and the Restricted Subsidiaries by furnishing (I) the applicable financial statements of Holdings (or any direct or indirect parent of Holdings) or (II) Holdings’ (or any direct or indirect parent thereof), as applicable, Form 10-K or 10-Q, as applicable filed with the SEC; provided that, with respect to the foregoing clauses (I) and (II), (i) to the extent such information relates to Holdings or a parent of Holdings, such information is accompanied by information that explains in reasonable detail the differences between the information relating to Holdings (or such parent), on the one hand, and the information relating to the Borrowers and the Restricted Subsidiaries on a standalone basis, on the other hand and (ii) to the extent such information is in lieu of information required to be provided under Section 5.1(a), such materials are accompanied by a report of independent public accountants of nationally or regionally recognized standing and shall not be subject to any “going concern” or substantially similar qualification or exception and without any qualification or exception as to the scope of such audit (except for any such qualification pertaining to (x) the maturity of any Indebtedness occurring within twelve (12) months of the relevant audit), (y) any actual or prospective default under any financial covenant or (z) the activities, operations, financial results, assets or liabilities of Unrestricted Subsidiaries).

 

5.2          Notices of Material Events. Each Obligor will furnish to the Administrative Agent and each Lender prompt written notice of the following, after a Responsible Officer of any Obligor has obtained knowledge thereof:

 

(a)         the occurrence of any Event of Default;

 

(b)         filing or commencement of, or any material development in, any action, suit or proceeding by or before any arbitrator or Governmental Authority against or affecting any Obligor or any of their respective Restricted Subsidiaries that (i) involves any Loan Document or the Transactions, or (ii) that has a reasonable likelihood of adverse determination and such determination described in this subclause (ii) could reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect;

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(c)         the occurrence of (i) any notice or other action by the FDA, the USDA or any comparable Governmental Authority to limit, suspend, revoke or terminate any permit, license or authorization that is necessary to any Company’s business, or (ii) any request or proceedings by the FDA, the USDA, or any comparable Governmental Authority seeking the withdrawal, recall, suspension, import detention, or seizure of, or any corrective action relating to any product produced or distributed by any Company or (iii) any Borrower, facility, or product becoming subject to any administrative or regulatory action, inspection, Form FDA 483 observation, warning letter, notice of violation, or other comparable notice by or from the FDA, the USDA or any comparable Governmental Authority (with copies to be provided to Agent of same), or of any product of a Borrower being seized, detained, or subject to a suspension of manufacturing, or the commencement of any proceedings to seize, detain, or suspend manufacturing of a product, in the case of each of clauses (ii) and (iii), that are expected to have a Material Adverse Effect;

 

(d)         the occurrence of any ERISA Event that, alone or together with any other ERISA Events that have occurred, would reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect;

 

(e)         the assertion of any claim pursuant to applicable Environmental Law, including alleged violations of or non-compliance with permits, licenses or other authorizations issued pursuant to applicable Environmental Law, by any Person against, or with respect to the activities of, any Obligor or any of their respective Restricted Subsidiaries, that could (either individually or in the aggregate) reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect;

 

(f)          [reserved];

 

(g)         [reserved];

 

(h)         [reserved]; and

 

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

 

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

 

5.3         Existence; Conduct of Business. Each Obligor shall, and shall cause each of its Restricted Subsidiaries to, do or cause to be done all things necessary to preserve, renew and keep in full force and effect its legal existence and, except as could not reasonably be expected to have, either individually or in the aggregate, a Material Adverse Effect, the rights (including water rights), licenses, permits, privileges and franchises material to the conduct of its business; provided that the foregoing shall not prohibit any transaction permitted by Article VI.

 

5.4         Payment of Obligations. Each Obligor shall, and shall cause each of its Restricted Subsidiaries to, timely pay all Tax liabilities, governmental charges and levies, in each case in the nature of a Tax, that are due and payable by it, in each case, unless (a) the validity or amount thereof is being contested in good faith by appropriate proceedings and such Obligor or such Restricted Subsidiary has set aside on its books adequate reserves with respect thereto in accordance with GAAP or (b) the failure to make such payment could not reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect.

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5.5         Maintenance of Properties; Insurance. Each Obligor shall, and shall cause each of its Restricted Subsidiaries to, (a) maintain all tangible property material to the conduct of its business in good working order and condition, and maintain and protect all intellectual property owned by any Obligor or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries, other than (i) where such action could not reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect and (ii) ordinary wear, tear, casualty, condemnation and dispositions permitted under Section 6.4, and (b) maintain, with financially sound and reputable insurance companies, insurance in such amounts and against such risks as are customarily maintained by similarly sized companies engaged in the same or similar businesses operating in the same or similar locations including any flood insurance required by Section 3.15, in the good faith determination of the Borrowers and giving effect to any self-insurance. The Borrower Representative will furnish to the Administrative Agent, upon request of Administrative Agent, once per calendar year, information in reasonable detail as to the insurance so maintained. Each general liability insurance policy shall name Administrative Agent as additional insured. Each insurance policy covering Collateral shall name Administrative Agent as lender’s loss payee and shall provide that such policy will not be canceled without 30 days (10 days solely with respect to cancellation for nonpayment of premium) (or such shorter period as reasonably acceptable to the Administrative Agent) prior written notice to the Administrative Agent.

 

5.6         Books and Records; Inspection Rights.

 

(a)          Each Obligor shall, and shall cause each of its Restricted Subsidiaries to, keep proper books of record and account in which full, true, and correct entries in accordance in all material respects with GAAP are made of all material dealings and transactions in relation to its business and activities. Each Obligor will, and will cause each of its Restricted Subsidiaries to, permit any representatives (including consultants, auditors, accountants and advisors) designated by Administrative Agent, upon reasonable prior notice if no Event of Default then exists, to visit and inspect its properties during normal business hours, to examine and make extracts from its books and records, and to discuss its affairs, finances and condition with its employees (provided an authorized representative of the Borrowers shall be allowed, but not required, to be present during such discussion), independent accountants, or officers, all at such reasonable times and as often as reasonably requested; provided that, in no event shall any Obligor or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries be required pursuant to the terms of this Section 5.6 to allow any such Person to inspect or examine, or be required to discuss, any records, documents or other information (x) with respect to which any Obligor or any its Subsidiaries has obligations of confidentiality or (y) that (i) is subject to attorney client-privilege or otherwise constitutes attorney work-product, (ii) constitutes non-financial trade secrets or non-financial proprietary information, or (iii) in respect of which disclosure to the Administrative Agent (or its respective representatives or contractors) is prohibited by applicable law; and provided, further, that excluding any such visits and inspections during the continuation of an Event of Default, (i) only Administrative Agent on behalf of the Lenders may exercise rights under this Section 5.6 (and such information will be shared with the Lenders), and (ii) Administrative Agent shall not exercise such rights more often than one time during any calendar year.

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(b)          The Borrower Representative shall, upon the request of Administrative Agent or the Required Lenders, hold a conference call once each Fiscal Year to which Administrative Agent and the Lenders shall be invited, in each case at such time as may be agreed to by the Borrower Representative and the Administrative Agent.

 

5.7          Compliance with Laws. Each Obligor shall, and shall cause each of its Restricted Subsidiaries and each of Obligor’s and Restricted Subsidiary’s products to, comply with all laws, rules, regulations, and orders of any Governmental Authority applicable to it or its property (including any Food and Agriculture Law), except where the failure to do so, individually or in the aggregate, could not reasonably be expected to result in (i) a Material Adverse Effect, and (ii) with respect to compliance of Anti-Corruption Laws, Anti-Terrorism Laws, applicable anti-money laundering rules and regulationsAnti-Money Laundering Laws and Sanctions, be material to the Borrowers, taken as a whole. The Borrowers will maintain in effect, after the date set forth on Schedule 5.11, policies and procedures reasonably designed to promote compliance by the Borrowers, their Restricted Subsidiaries and their respective directors, officers, employees and agents with applicable Anti- Terrorism Laws, Anti-Corruption Laws and Sanctions. So long as the Borrowers or any of their respective Restricted Subsidiaries purchases agricultural products from Protected Vendors, the Borrowers or such Restricted Subsidiaries shall monitor the receipt of notices of Liens and/or trusts (or of any intent to preserve any rights or benefits pursuant to any trust created in favor of any supplier, seller or agent or disclosing a security interest created by a seller of Farm Products) on its assets and notices of non-payment or dishonored checks, in each case, under Food and Agricultural Laws, and provide prompt written notice thereof to Administrative Agent following receipt thereof.

 

5.8          Certain Obligations Respecting Subsidiaries. Borrowers shall take such action, and shall cause each of its Restricted Subsidiaries to take such action, from time to time as shall be necessary to ensure that all Subsidiaries (other than (x) any Excluded Subsidiary or (y) any Unrestricted Subsidiary) are “Subsidiary Guarantors” hereunder. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, in the event that the Borrowers or any of their Restricted Subsidiaries shall form or acquire any new Subsidiary, the Borrowers shall, and shall cause each of their Subsidiaries (other than (x) any Excluded Subsidiary or (y) any Unrestricted Subsidiary) to, within 60 days (or such longer period as the Administrative Agent may reasonably agree) after such formation, acquisition, or, in the case of any (I) Subsidiary becoming a Material Subsidiary, after the date financial statements are delivered pursuant to Section 5.1(a) or 5.1(b) showing such change and (II) Unrestricted Subsidiary being designated as a Restricted Subsidiary (and is not otherwise an Excluded Subsidiary), take the following actions:

 

(a)          such Subsidiary will become a “Subsidiary Guarantor” hereunder by executing and delivering a Guaranty Agreement (or joinder thereto), and become a “Grantor” under the Security Agreement by executing and delivering a supplement to the Security Agreement;

 

(b)          the Borrower Representative shall furnish to the Administrative Agent an updated Schedules 3.14, 3.15 and 4.1(e) with respect to such Subsidiary;

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(c)          the Borrower Representative shall cause such Subsidiary (or any Guarantor that is the owner of the shares or other Equity Interests of such Subsidiary, as applicable) to take such action (including delivering certificates evidencing such Equity Interests, delivering such Uniform Commercial Code financing statements, and executing and delivering security agreements for filing and recording in the United States Patent and Trademark Office and the United States Copyright Office) as shall be necessary or reasonably advisable in the reasonable opinion of Administrative Agent, and in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to the Administrative Agent, to create and perfect valid and enforceable first-priority Liens, subject to no other Liens except for Permitted Encumbrances, on the Collateral of such Subsidiary and all of the Equity Interests in such Subsidiary to the extent consisting Collateral as collateral security for the Obligations;

 

(d)          the Borrower Representative shall cause such Subsidiary to deliver such proof of corporate action, incumbency of officers, opinions of counsel, “Know your customer” information and other documents as is consistent with those delivered by each Obligor pursuant to Section 4.1 on the Effective Date, in each case, as Administrative Agent shall have reasonably requested; and

 

(e)          if such Subsidiary is formed or incorporated in a non-U.S. jurisdiction, (i) such jurisdiction shall be a Qualified Jurisdiction, (ii) any form of security and guaranty agreements have to be in form reasonably acceptable to Administrative Agent and the Borrower Representative (consistent, to the extent in effect on the Effective Date, with the security and guaranty agreements in effect on the Effective Date or otherwise consistent with the customary market practice in the applicable jurisdiction) and Administrative Agent shall have completed any “Know your customer” diligence;

 

provided, however, if a Borrower or any of its Subsidiaries that is a Guarantor forms or acquires a new Tax Preferred Subsidiary, such Borrower shall only be required to, or cause the Guarantor that is the owner of the Equity Interests of such Tax Preferred Subsidiary that constitutes Collateral to, take such action (including delivering certificates and transfer powers for such Equity Interests and delivering Uniform Commercial Code financing statements) as shall be necessary or advisable in the opinion of Administrative Agent, and in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to the Administrative Agent, to create and perfect valid and enforceable first-priority Liens, subject to no other Liens except for Permitted Encumbrances, on 65% of the voting Equity Interests (solely to the extent that the pledge of more than 65% would result in material adverse tax consequences to the Obligors) and 100% of the non-voting Equity Interests in each such new Tax Preferred Subsidiary as collateral security for the Obligations.

 

5.9          Further Assurances.

 

(a)          General Further Assurances. Subject to the terms of the Loan Documents, the Borrower Representative shall, and shall cause each other Obligor to, execute any and all further documents, financing statements, agreements and instruments, and take all such further actions (including the filing and recording of financing statements, fixture filings, mortgages, deeds of trust and other documents), which Administrative Agent may reasonably request, to effectuate the transactions contemplated by the Loan Documents or, to grant, preserve, protect or perfect the Liens created or intended to be created by the Security Documents or the validity or priority of any such Lien, all at the expense of the Borrowers. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in this Agreement or the other Loan Documents, unless otherwise elected by the Borrowers no actions in, or required by the applicable laws of, any non-U.S. jurisdiction shall be required in order to create any security interests in any assets or to perfect or make enforceable such security interests (including in Equity Interests of CFCs or any intellectual property rights), there shall be no security agreements or pledge agreements governed under the applicable laws of any non-U.S. jurisdiction and there shall be no requirement to make any filings or take any action in any office in any foreign jurisdiction (including with respect to foreign intellectual property) or register or apply to register any intellectual property rights.

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(b)          Real Property Requirement. If the Real Property Requirement shall cease to be satisfied, the Borrower Representative shall, no later than 120 days after the acquisition of any owned real property (or such longer period as Administrative Agent shall agree to in writing in its sole discretion), cause the Real Property Requirement to be satisfied by causing such additional owned real property or other owned real property to be subjected to a Lien securing the Obligations and shall take, and cause the other Obligors to take, such actions as are necessary or reasonably requested by Administrative Agent to grant and perfect such Liens and deliver such other documents (including the delivery of such Mortgages, title insurance commitments (to the extent available at commercially reasonable cost), exception documents, surveys, flood hazard determination certificates (and related Borrower notices), evidence of flood insurance (if applicable), available environmental assessments, opinions of counsel and other documents, in each case, as may be reasonably requested by Administrative Agent) as is consistent with those delivered by each Obligor on the Effective Date, all at the expense of the Obligors to the extent provided for under Section 10.3.

 

Notwithstanding anything to the contrary herein or in any other Loan Document, it is understood and agreed that:

 

(i)          no control agreements with respect to control agreements related to deposit accounts and securities accounts or commodities accounts shall be required hereunder or under any other Loan Document;

 

(ii)         no landlord waivers, collateral access agreements, bailee waivers, estoppel letters or other similar agreements with respect to the Collateral shall be required hereunder or under any other Loan Document;

 

(iii)        other than to the extent readily available, no environmental reports shall be required to be delivered hereunder or under any other Loan Document; and

 

(iv)        no Obligors shall be required to (A) perfect any pledges and security interests by any means other than by (1) filings pursuant to the Uniform Commercial Code in the office of the secretary of state (or similar central filing office) of the relevant state(s) and filings in the applicable real estate records with respect to Mortgaged Properties or any fixtures relating to Mortgaged Properties, (2) filings in United States government offices with respect to intellectual property and (3) delivery to the Administrative Agent to be held in its possession of all Collateral consisting of intercompany notes (other than Excluded Property), security certificates of issuers owned by Holdings, the Borrowers or the Guarantors and instruments (other than Excluded Property) issued to the Borrowers or Guarantors, together with customary endorsements or transfer powers, in each case, as required by the Security Agreement, (B) provide any notice to or obtain the consent of governmental authorities under the Federal Assignment of Claims Act (or any state equivalent thereof), or (C) enter into any source code escrow arrangement (or be obligated to register intellectual property).

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5.10        Cash Management Systems. Within 180 days after the Effective Date (or such later day as the Administrative Agent may agree in its reasonable discretion), each Obligor shall establish their primary depository and treasury management relationships with JPMorgan or one of its Affiliates and thereafter for so long as JPMorgan is a Lender hereunder, maintain its primary depository and treasury management relationships with JPMorgan or one of its Affiliates.

 

5.11        Post-Closing Deliverables. The Borrower Representative shall deliver to the Administrative Agent all documents required to be delivered pursuant to the Schedule 5.11 by the deadlines set forth therein; it being understood that, notwithstanding anything else set forth in this Agreement or the other Loan Documents to the contrary, such documents shall not be required to be delivered prior to such deadline.

 

5.12        Designation of Subsidiaries. The Borrowers may at any time after the Effective Date designate or redesignate any Restricted Subsidiary of any Borrower as an Unrestricted Subsidiary or any Unrestricted Subsidiary as a Restricted Subsidiary; provided that, (i) immediately before and after such designation or redesignation, no Event of Default pursuant to Section 8.1(a), (b), (d) (solely with respect to Section 7), (e) (solely with respect to Section 5.1(a), (b) or (c)), (h) or (i) shall have occurred and be continuing and (ii) after giving Pro Forma Effect to such designation or redesignation, the Borrowers are in compliance with the Financial Covenant. The designation or redesignation of any Subsidiary as an Unrestricted Subsidiary after the Effective Date shall constitute an Investment by the Borrowers therein at the date of designation or redesignation in an amount equal to the Fair Market Value as reasonably determined in good faith by the Borrowers of the Borrower’s or its Subsidiary’s (as applicable) Investment therein. The designation or redesignation of any Unrestricted Subsidiary as a Restricted Subsidiary shall constitute (i) an Investment, the incurrence of Indebtedness and any Liens at the time of designation (to the extent any Investment, Indebtedness or Liens of such Subsidiary exists at such time) and (ii) a return on any Investment by the Borrower in Unrestricted Subsidiaries pursuant to the preceding sentence in an amount equal to the Fair Market Value of such Subsidiary on the date of designation or redesignation, as reasonably determined in good faith by the Borrowers at the date of such designation or redesignation. No Material Intellectual Property or exclusive license in any Material Intellectual Property shall be permitted to be transferred by Holdings or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries to any Unrestricted Subsidiary, whether by designation hereunder or other transfer or disposition, other than non-exclusive licenses in the Ordinary Course of Business.

 

5.13        Lines of Business. Engage in any material line of business substantially different from those lines of business conducted by the Borrowers or any of the Restricted Subsidiaries on the Effective Date or any business or any other activities that are reasonably similar, ancillary, corollary, synergistic, complementary or related to, or a reasonable extension, development or expansion of, the businesses conducted by the Borrowers or any of the Restricted Subsidiaries on the Effective Date (and non-core incidental businesses acquired in connection with any Permitted Acquisition or permitted Investment), or to facilitate any of the foregoing, in each case as reasonably determined by the Borrowers in good faith.

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5.14        Transactions with Affiliates. No Obligor shall, nor shall it permit any of its Restricted Subsidiaries to, sell, lease or otherwise transfer any assets to, or purchase, lease or otherwise acquire any assets from, or otherwise engage in any other transactions with, any of its Affiliates, if the value of such transaction is in excess of the greater of (x) $4,500,000 and (y) 15% of Consolidated EBITDA (determined at the time of any such transaction (calculated on a pro forma basis) as of the last day of the most recently ended four Fiscal Quarter period for which financial statements have been delivered pursuant to Sections 5.1(a) and (b)) except:

 

(a)          transactions at prices and on terms and conditions that are fair and reasonable and not materially less favorable to such Obligor or such Restricted Subsidiary than could be obtained on an arm’s length basis from unrelated third parties as determined in good faith by the Borrowers;

 

(b)          transactions expressly permitted by Sections 6.1, 6.3, 6.4, and 6.5(d), (j), (o) and (v);

 

(c)          any Restricted Payments permitted by Section 6.6 (other than Section 6.6(e)(iv) or (o));

 

(d)          a customary indemnity provided for the benefit of officers and directors (or comparable managers) of such Company;

 

(e)          so long as it has been approved by such Company’s board of directors (or comparable governing body) in accordance with applicable law, the payment of reasonable compensation, severance, reimbursement or employee benefit arrangements (including severance benefits and health, welfare and retirement benefits and equity incentive and option plans) to employees, officers, and outside directors of such Company in the Ordinary Course of Business;

 

(f)           (i) transactions between any Obligors, and (ii) transactions between Restricted Subsidiaries that are not Obligors;

 

(g)          loans or advances to employees of any Obligor or its Restricted Subsidiaries permitted hereunder;

 

(h)          the Management Agreement and the payments pursuant thereto (other than Section 6.6(e)(iv)), without giving effect to amendments, modifications, or waivers of the Management Agreement with respect to payment amounts after the Effective Date that are, when taken as a whole, materially adverse to the Lenders compared to the Management Agreement in effect on the Effective Date;

 

(i)           the Acquisition and any transaction contemplated by the Surf Merger Agreement;

 

(j)           transactions among any Obligors and their Restricted Subsidiaries constituting any part of a Permitted Reorganization or IPO Reorganization;

 

(k)          transactions among any Borrower and its Restricted Subsidiaries or any entity that becomes a Restricted Subsidiary or an additional Borrower as a result of such transaction;

 

(l)           loans and other transactions made by Holdings and its Restricted Subsidiaries to joint ventures (to the extent any such joint venture is only an Affiliate as a result of Investments by Holdings and its Restricted Subsidiaries in such joint venture) to the extent otherwise permitted under Section 6.5;

 

(m)         employment, consulting and severance arrangements between a Borrower (or any direct or indirect parent) and its Restricted Subsidiaries and their respective officers and employees in the Ordinary Course of Business (including loans and advances in connection therewith) and transactions pursuant to stock option plans and employee benefit plans and arrangements in the Ordinary Course of Business;

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(n)          the payment of customary fees and reasonable out-of-pocket costs to, and indemnities provided on behalf of, directors, officers, employees and consultants of the Borrowers and their Restricted Subsidiaries (or any direct or indirect parent of a Borrower) in the Ordinary Course of Business to the extent attributable to the ownership or operation of the Borrowers and their Restricted Subsidiaries;

 

(o)          transactions pursuant to any arrangement or agreement in existence on the Effective Date and set forth on Schedule 5.14, or any amendment, extension, renewal, modification or replacement of any such arrangement or agreement (so long as any such amendment, extension, renewal, modification or replacement would not be materially adverse to the Lenders or the Administrative Agent);

 

(p)          so long as no Event of Default pursuant to Section 8.1(a), (b), (h) or (i) has occurred and is continuing, customary payments by the Borrowers and any of their Restricted Subsidiaries to the Sponsor made for any financial advisory, financing, underwriting or placement services or in respect of other investment banking activities (including in connection with acquisitions or divestitures) which payments are approved by the majority of the members of the board of directors (or analogous governing body) or a majority of the disinterested members of the board of directors (or analogous governing body) of the applicable Borrower in good faith;

 

(q)          payments by a Borrower or any of its Subsidiaries pursuant to any tax sharing agreements with any direct or indirect parent of the Borrower to the extent attributable to the ownership or operation of the Borrower and the Subsidiaries, but only to the extent permitted by Section 6.6;

 

(r)           the issuance or transfer of Equity Interests (other than Disqualified Equity Interests) of a Borrower (or any direct or indirect parent) or any one of its Subsidiaries to the extent not otherwise prohibited by the Loan Documents;

 

(s)          transactions in which a Borrower or any of the Restricted Subsidiaries, as the case may be, deliver to the Administrative Agent a letter from an independent financial advisor stating that such transaction is fair to the applicable Borrower or such Restricted Subsidiary from a financial point of view or meets the requirements of Section 5.14;

 

(t)           payments to or from, and transactions with, joint ventures (to the extent any such joint venture is only an Affiliate as a result of Investments by Holdings and the Restricted Subsidiaries in such joint venture) in the ordinary course of business to the extent otherwise permitted under Section 6.5;

 

(u)          Affiliate repurchases of (i) the Loans or Commitments to the extent permitted hereunder or (ii) any other Indebtedness, and, in the case of each of the foregoing, the payments and other transactions reasonably related thereto; and

 

(v)          transactions approved by a majority of the disinterested members of the board of directors (or similar governing body) of the Borrowers; provided that if the value of such transaction (or series of transactions) exceeds the greater of (x) $7,500,000 and (y) 25% of Consolidated EBITDA (calculated on a pro forma basis as of the last day of the most recently ended four Fiscal Quarter period for which financial statements have been delivered pursuant to Section 5.1(a) or (b)) then the Borrower Representative shall notify (along with reasonable detail) the Administrative Agent of any such transaction.

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5.15          Fiscal Year. No Obligor shall, nor shall it permit any of its Subsidiaries to change the Fiscal Year end date of any Obligor or is Subsidiaries without notice to the Administrative Agent.

 

5.16          Ratings. The Borrowers shall use commercially reasonable efforts to (a) obtain a private corporate rating (but not a specific rating) of Borrower and a private rating (but not a specific rating) for the Term Loans from at least one (1) nationally recognized statistical rating agency, and (b) maintain and refresh such rating as reasonably requested by the Administrative Agent.

 

5.17          Use of Proceeds and Letters of Credit. No Obligor shall, nor shall it permit any of its Restricted Subsidiaries to: (a) use the proceeds of the Initial Term Loans and Revolving Credit Loans made on the Effective Date for any purpose other than to (i) consummate the Transactions, (ii) pay the Transaction Costs (solely with the proceeds of the Initial Term Loans), (iii) issue Letters of Credit, (iv) to fund any working capital adjustments required by the Surf Merger Agreement and (v) fund any original issue discount and upfront fees required pursuant to the Fee Letter; provided that the aggregate amount of Revolving Credit Loans made on the Effective Date shall not exceed $3,000,000; (b) use the proceeds of the Revolving Credit Loans and Swingline Loans made after the Effective Date for any purposes other than to fund the Borrowers’ working capital and general corporate purposes (including Permitted Acquisitions but subject to Section 6.15) or, subject to the terms and conditions of this Agreement and the other Loan Documents, the general corporate purposes of any Obligor; (c) use any part of the proceeds of any Loan for any purpose that violates any of the Regulations of the Board, including Regulations U and X and, (d) use the proceeds of the Second Amendment Term Loans made on the Second Amendment Effective Date for any purpose other than to (i) consummate the Second Amendment Acquisition and (ii) pay the Second Amendment Transaction Costs and (e) use the proceeds of the Third Amendment Term Loans made on the Third Amendment Effective Date for any purpose other than to (i) make the Third Amendment Dividend and (ii) pay the Third Amendment Transaction Costs. No Obligor shall, directly or knowingly indirectly, use the proceeds of the Loans, or lend or contribute such proceeds to any Subsidiary, joint venture partner or other Person, (i) to fund any activities or business of or with any Person, or in any country or territory, that, at the time of such funding, is, or whose government is, the subject of comprehensive Sanctions in violation of Sanctions, or (ii) in any other manner that would result in a violation of any applicable Anti-Money Laundering Laws, Anti-Corruption Laws or Sanctions by any Person (including any Person participating in the Loans, whether as underwriter, advisor, investor, or otherwise), or (iii) for any payments to any governmental official or employee, political party, official of a political party, candidate for political office, or anyone else acting in an official capacity,the purpose of making any improper payments, including bribes, to any official of any Governmental Authority or commercial counterparty in order to obtain, retain or direct business or obtain any improper advantage, in each case which would be in violation of any, or cause any Lender to be in violation of, any applicable Anti-Corruption Laws that may be applicable, Anti-Money Laundering Laws or Sanctions.

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6.NEGATIVE COVENANTS

 

So long as any Commitment is outstanding and thereafter until all Obligations are Fully Satisfied, each Obligor covenants and agrees with Administrative Agent, Issuing Lender and the Lenders that:

 

6.1          Indebtedness. No Obligor shall, nor shall it permit any of its Restricted Subsidiaries to, create, incur, assume, or permit to exist any Indebtedness, except:

 

(a)          Indebtedness under this Agreement and the other Loan Documents;

 

(b)          the Indebtedness (i) described on Schedule 6.1 or (ii) outstanding on the Effective Date not in excess of $1,000,000 in the aggregate (when taken together with all other Indebtedness outstanding in reliance on this clause (b)(ii)), and any Refinancing Indebtedness in respect of the foregoing Indebtedness;

 

(c)          intercompany Indebtedness among any of the Obligors permitted under Section 6.5;

 

(d)          Indebtedness of the Borrowers and their Restricted Subsidiaries consisting of Capital Lease Obligations and Indebtedness incurred to finance the acquisition, construction or improvement of any asset, including mortgage financings (other than Mortgaged Property and so long as the Real Property Requirement remains satisfied), or finance such acquisition, construction or improvement within 270 days within the incurrence of such Indebtedness; provided that (i) such Indebtedness when incurred does not exceed the purchase price or cost of construction of such asset (other than giving effect to the interest component thereof), and (ii) the aggregate principal amount of Indebtedness permitted by this clause (d) does not exceed the greater of (x) $7,500,000 and (y) 25% of Consolidated EBITDA (determined at the time of incurrence of any such Indebtedness (calculated on a pro forma basis) as of the last day of the most recently ended four Fiscal Quarter period for which financial statements have been delivered pursuant to Section 5.1(a) or (b)) at any time outstanding, and any Refinancing Indebtedness in respect of such Indebtedness;

 

(e)          [reserved];

 

(f)           Indebtedness incurred in the Ordinary Course of Business under surety and appeal bonds, performance bonds, bid bonds, appeal bonds, and similar obligations;

 

(g)          Indebtedness consisting of (i) Guarantees arising with respect to customary indemnification obligations to purchasers in connection with Dispositions permitted under Section 6.4; and (ii) Guarantees with respect to Indebtedness of any Borrower or any Restricted Subsidiary, to the extent that the Person that is obligated under such Guarantee could have incurred such underlying Indebtedness pursuant to this Agreement or it constitutes an Investment permitted under Section 6.5;

 

(h)          Indebtedness owing to former employees, officers, or directors of Holdings or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries or Affiliates (or any spouses, ex-spouses, successors, heirs, or estates of any of the foregoing) incurred in connection with the repurchase by Holdings of the Equity Interests of Holdings that has been issued to such Persons, so long as the aggregate amount of all such Indebtedness outstanding at any one time does not exceed the greater of (i) $3,000,000 and (y) 10% of Consolidated EBITDA (determined at the time of incurrence of any such Indebtedness (calculated on a pro forma basis) as of the last day of the most recently ended four Fiscal Quarter period for which financial statements have been delivered pursuant to Section 5.1(a) or (b)) in the aggregate;

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(i)           other unsecured Indebtedness owing to sellers of assets or Equity Interests to an Obligor or a Restricted Subsidiary that is incurred by the applicable Obligor or a Restricted Subsidiary in connection with the consummation of one or more Permitted Acquisitions so long as the aggregate principal amount for all such unsecured Indebtedness does not exceed the greater of (x) $6,000,000 and (y) 20% of Consolidated EBITDA (determined at the time of incurrence of any such Indebtedness (calculated on a pro forma basis) as of the last day of the most recently ended four Fiscal Quarter period for which financial statements have been delivered pursuant to Section 5.1(a) or (b)) at any one time outstanding;

 

(j)           unsecured Indebtedness in respect of earn-outs, contingent liabilities in respect of any indemnification obligation, expense reimbursement obligations, adjustments of purchase price, or similar obligations to the extent (i) required by the Surf Merger Agreement, or (ii) owing to sellers of assets or Equity Interests to any Obligor or its Restricted Subsidiaries that are incurred in connection with the consummation of one or more Permitted Acquisitions or other similar permitted Investments;

 

(k)          Indebtedness incurred in the Ordinary Course of Business in respect of employee severance and employment agreements, workers’ compensation claims, unemployment or other insurance or self-insurance obligations, health, disability or other benefits to employees or former employees and their families;

 

(l)           Indebtedness owed to any Person providing property, casualty, liability, or other insurance to the Borrowers or any of their Restricted Subsidiaries incurred only to defer the cost of such insurance, and, to the extent secured, shall only be secured by the applicable insurance policies (or proceeds arising therefrom);

 

(m)         Indebtedness incurred in the Ordinary Course of Business in respect of Cash Management Services;

 

(n)          to the extent constituting Indebtedness, obligations in respect of bankers’ acceptances, and completion guarantees, standby letters of credit and warranty and contractual service obligations of a like nature, trade letters of credit and documentary letters of credit and similar bonds or guarantees provided in the Ordinary Course of Business in connection with the construction or build-out of any owned or leased real property;

 

(o)          endorsements of instruments or other payment items for deposit;

 

(p)          Subordinated Indebtedness of the Borrowers and their Restricted Subsidiaries in an aggregate principal amount not exceeding the greater of (i) $7,500,000 and (ii) 25% of Consolidated EBITDA (determined at the time of incurrence of any such Indebtedness (calculated on a pro forma basis) as of the last day of the most recently ended four Fiscal Quarter period for which financial statements have been delivered pursuant to Section 5.1(a) or (b)) at any time outstanding;

 

(q)          Indebtedness of Foreign Subsidiaries in an aggregate principal amount not exceeding the greater of (i) $4,500,000 and (ii) 15% of Consolidated EBITDA (determined at the time of incurrence of any such Indebtedness (calculated on a pro forma basis) as of the last day of the most recently ended four Fiscal Quarter period for which financial statements have been delivered pursuant to Section 5.1(a) or (b)) at any time outstanding;

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(r)         Acquired Indebtedness of the Borrowers and their Restricted Subsidiaries so long as (i) such Indebtedness is not incurred in contemplation of the applicable acquisition, (ii) such Indebtedness is unsecured or secured only by acquired assets, proceeds, products or cross collateralized Capital Leases and not guaranteed by any Obligors unless otherwise permitted by this Agreement, (iii) at the time of the applicable acquisition and after giving effect thereto, no Event of Default has occurred and is continuing and (iv) the outstanding amount of such Acquired Indebtedness does not exceed the greater of (x) $7,500,000 and (y) 25% of Consolidated EBITDA (determined at the time of incurrence of any such Indebtedness (calculated on a pro forma basis) as of the last day of the most recently ended four Fiscal Quarter period for which financial statements have been delivered pursuant to Section 5.1(a) or (b)) outstanding at any one time;

 

(s)         to the extent constituting Indebtedness, contingent obligations arising under indemnity agreements to title insurance companies to cause such title insurers to issue title insurance policies in the Ordinary Course of Business with respect to real property of the Borrowers or any of their Restricted Subsidiaries;

 

(t)          customer deposits and advance payments received in the Ordinary Course of Business from customers for goods purchased;

 

(u)         other Indebtedness of a Borrower or its Restricted Subsidiary in an aggregate principal amount not exceeding the greater of (i) $10,000,000 and (ii) 35% of Consolidated EBITDA (determined at the time of incurrence of any such Indebtedness (calculated on a pro forma basis) as of the last day of the most recently ended four Fiscal Quarter period for which financial statements have been delivered pursuant to Section 5.1(a) or (b)) at any time outstanding;

 

(v)         Indebtedness (i) of any Securitization Subsidiary arising under any Qualified Securitization Financing, (ii) of any Borrower or any Restricted Subsidiary arising under any Receivables Facility or (iii) of any Foreign Subsidiary in connection with customary accounts receivable factoring facilities in the Ordinary Course of Business, in an aggregate principal amount under this clause (v) not exceeding the greater of (i) $9,000,000 and (ii) 30% of Consolidated EBITDA (determined at the time of incurrence of any such Indebtedness (calculated on a pro forma basis) as of the last day of the most recently ended four Fiscal Quarter period for which financial statements have been delivered pursuant to Section 5.1(a) or (b));

 

(w)         Indebtedness representing deferred compensation or similar arrangements to employees of any Borrower or any Restricted Subsidiary incurred in the Ordinary Course of Business;

 

(x)          Indebtedness incurred by any Borrower or any Restricted Subsidiary in a Permitted Acquisition, any other Investment, merger or Disposition permitted hereunder or transaction with Affiliates permitted hereunder, in each case, constituting customary indemnification obligations;

 

(y)          Indebtedness incurred in the Ordinary Course of Business consisting of obligations of any Borrower or any Restricted Subsidiary under deferred compensation or other similar arrangements incurred by such Person in connection with the Transactions, Permitted Acquisitions, or any other Investment, in each case, otherwise permitted hereunder;

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(z)          Cash Management Services and other Indebtedness in respect of netting services, automatic clearinghouse arrangements, overdraft protections, employee credit card programs and other cash management and similar arrangements in the Ordinary Course of Business and any Guarantees thereof or the honoring by a bank or other financial institution of a check, draft or similar instrument drawn against insufficient funds in the ordinary course of business, so long as such Indebtedness is extinguished within 5 Business Days of its incurrence;

 

(aa)        Indebtedness consisting of take-or-pay obligations contained in supply arrangements, in each case, in the Ordinary Course of Business;

 

(bb)        Credit Agreement Refinancing Indebtedness;

 

(cc)        Indebtedness consisting of fees to the Sponsor payable pursuant to the Management Agreement;

 

(dd)        Indebtedness of the Borrowers and their Restricted Subsidiaries in an amount not to exceed at any time outstanding 100% of the Excluded Contribution Amount;

 

(ee)        Ratio Debt so long as (i) if secured by the Collateral on a pari passu basis with the Obligations, the Consolidated First Lien Net Leverage Ratio calculated on a pro forma basis as of the last day of the Fiscal Quarter for which financial statements have last been delivered to the Lenders pursuant to Section 5.1(a) or 5.1(b) is not greater than 4.50 to 1.00, (ii) if secured on a junior basis to the Liens securing the Obligations, the Consolidated Secured Net Leverage Ratio calculated on a pro forma basis as of the last day of the Fiscal Quarter for which financial statements have last been delivered to the Lenders pursuant to Section 5.1(a) or 5.1(b) is not greater than 5.25 to 1.00 and (iii) if unsecured or secured by assets not constituting Collateral, the Consolidated Total Net Leverage Ratio calculated on a pro forma basis as of the last day of the Fiscal Quarter for which financial statements have last been delivered to the Lenders pursuant to Section 5.1(a) or 5.1(b) is not greater than 5.25 to 1.00;

 

(ff)          Incremental Equivalent Debt; and

 

(gg)        to the extent constituting Indebtedness, all premiums (if any), interest (including post-petition interest), fees, expenses, charges and additional or contingent interest on obligations described in clauses (a) through (ff) above.

 

6.2          Liens.   No Obligor shall, nor shall it permit any of its Restricted Subsidiaries to, create, incur, assume, or permit to exist any Lien on any property or asset now owned or hereafter acquired by it, except for Permitted Encumbrances.

 

6.3          Fundamental Changes.

 

(a)          No Obligor shall, nor shall it permit any of its Restricted Subsidiaries to, merge into or consolidate with any other Person, or permit any other Person to merge into or consolidate with it, or sell, transfer, lease or otherwise dispose of (in one transaction or in a series of transactions) all or substantially all of its assets, (in each case, whether now owned or hereafter acquired), or liquidate, wind up, or dissolve, except that:

 

(i)          any Subsidiary of a Borrower may merge or consolidate into any Borrower or any Restricted Subsidiary (including any Person that will be a Restricted Subsidiary upon the consummation of a Permitted Acquisition); provided, (x) if a Borrower is party to any such transaction, a Borrower shall be the surviving entity, and (y) if a Borrower is not a party to such transaction but an Obligor (other than Holdings) is, (A) an Obligor shall be the surviving entity or (B) if a Restricted Subsidiary that is not an Obligor shall be the surviving entity or the transferee of such assets, such merger shall be deemed to constitute a Disposition and must be permitted under Section 6.4(e) or (q); provided that, in each case, at the time thereof and immediately after giving effect thereto, no Event of Default pursuant to Section 8.1(a), (b), (h) or (i) shall have occurred and be continuing;

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(ii)         the Borrowers or any Restricted Subsidiary of the Borrowers may sell, transfer, merger, consolidate, lease or otherwise dispose of its assets as permitted pursuant to Section 6.4;

 

(iii)        any Restricted Subsidiary may liquidate, wind up, or dissolve, or suspend or consolidate its operations, if (x) the Borrowers determine in good faith that such liquidation, winding up, dissolution, suspension, or consolidation is in the best interest of the Borrowers and is not materially disadvantageous to the Lenders, and (y) in the case of any liquidation, winding up or dissolution of an Obligor, all of the assets of such Obligor are transferred to an Obligor (other than Holdings) that is not liquidating, winding up, or dissolving; provided that, in each case, at the time thereof and immediately after giving effect thereto, no Event of Default pursuant to Section 8.1(a), (b), (h) or (i) shall have occurred and be continuing;

 

(iv)       any Restricted Subsidiary may merge or consolidate with any other Person in order to effect an Investment permitted pursuant to Section 6.5; provided that (x) the continuing or surviving Person shall be a Restricted Subsidiary of a Borrower, which together with each of its Restricted Subsidiaries, shall have complied with the requirements of Section 5.8 and Section 5.9 to the extent required, (y) if an Obligor is a party to such transaction, the surviving Person shall be an Obligor and (z) if a Borrower is party to such transaction, the surviving party shall be a Borrower;

 

(v)        any Borrower and any Restricted Subsidiarity may consummate the transactions contemplated by the Surf Merger Agreement (and documents related thereto) and the Transactions; and

 

(vi)       a merger, dissolution, liquidation, consolidation or Disposition, the purpose of which is to effect a Disposition permitted pursuant to Section 6.4 (other than pursuant to 6.4(b)), a Permitted Acquisition, permitted Investment, a Permitted Reorganization or an IPO Reorganization Transaction; provided that if any Borrower is party to such transaction, the surviving party shall be a Borrower.

 

6.4          Dispositions. No Obligor shall, nor shall it permit any of its Restricted Subsidiaries to, make any Disposition, except:

 

(a)          Dispositions of equipment or inventory that is (i) worn, damaged, unnecessary, negligible no longer used or useful, surplus or obsolete, whether now owned or hereafter acquired, in each case, in the Ordinary Course of Business or (ii) obsolete or required for regulatory purposes, so long as in the case of this clause (ii) the Net Cash Proceeds of such Dispositions is used to prepay the Loans in accordance with Section 2.10(b)(i) to the extent required thereunder;

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(b)          Dispositions or transactions permitted by Section 6.3 (other than 6.3(a)(vi)) or 6.5 (other than 6.5(w));

 

(c)          Dispositions of Inventory to buyers in the Ordinary Course of Business;

 

(d)          Dispositions of cash and Cash Equivalents in the Ordinary Course of Business;

 

(e)          Dispositions of property by (i) the Borrowers and any of their Restricted Subsidiaries to any other Obligor (other than Holdings), (ii) any Restricted Subsidiary that is not an Obligor to any other Restricted Subsidiary that is not an Obligor, (iii) any Obligor to any Restricted Subsidiary that is not an Obligor (so long as permitted under Section 6.5); provided that (A) the portion (if any) of any Disposition made for less than fair market value and (B) any non-cash consideration received in exchange for any such Disposition, shall in each case constitute an Investment in such Restricted Subsidiary and must be permitted under Section 6.5, and (iv) by any Restricted Subsidiary that is not an Obligor to any Restricted Subsidiary that is an Obligor;

 

(f)           licenses, sublicenses, leases, or subleases granted to third parties in the Ordinary Course of Business not interfering in any material respect with the business of the Borrowers or any of their Restricted Subsidiaries;

 

(g)          sales or exchanges of property solely to replace such equipment with replacement equipment of substantially equivalent or greater value;

 

(h)          issuances of Equity Interests by a Restricted Subsidiary of the Borrowers to a Borrower or any Restricted Subsidiary of the Borrowers constituting an Investment permitted hereunder;

 

(i)           any abandonment or cancellation of intellectual property that, in the reasonable good faith judgment of the Borrowers, is no longer used or useful in any material respect in the business of the Borrowers and their Restricted Subsidiaries taken as a whole, or which abandonment or cancellation is not within the reasonable control of the Borrowers or their Restricted Subsidiaries;

 

(j)           any Disposition of real property to a Governmental Authority as a result of a condemnation, eminent domain, confiscation or requisition of such real property;

 

(k)          the sale or discount, in each case without recourse, of accounts receivable arising in the Ordinary Course of Business, but only in connection with the compromise or collection thereof;

 

(l)           any involuntary loss, damage or destruction of property, including pursuant to an Event of Loss;

 

(m)         Dispositions of non-core assets acquired by the Borrowers and their Restricted Subsidiaries pursuant to a Permitted Acquisition consummated after the Effective Date so long as the consideration received for the assets to be so Disposed is at least equal to the Fair Market Value of such assets and at least 75% of such consideration is paid in cash or Cash Equivalents;

 

(n)          the making of Restricted Payments (other than pursuant to Section 6.6(o)) that are permitted to be made pursuant to this Agreement;

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(o)          the granting of Permitted Encumbrances;

 

(p)          any swap of assets in exchange for services or other assets; provided that (i) no Event of Default described in clause (a), (b), (h) or (i) of Section 8.1 has occurred and is continuing, (ii) any such swap is for Fair Market Value and (iii) any Collateral that is swapped must be in exchange for assets that become Collateral within the applicable timelines set forth in Section 5.8 and 5.9;

 

(q)          Dispositions not otherwise permitted under this Section 6.4; provided that (i) at the time of such Disposition, no Event of Default pursuant to Section 8.1(a), (b), (h) or (i) shall exist or would result from such Disposition, and (ii) 75% of the Fair Market Value of all such property Disposed of in any Fiscal Year in excess of the greater of (x) $4,000,000 and (y) 15% of Consolidated EBITDA (determined at the time of any such Disposition (calculated on a pro forma basis) as of the last day of the most recently ended four Fiscal Quarter period for which financial statements have been delivered pursuant to Section 5.1(a) or (b)) is received in the form of cash;

 

(r)           Dispositions of Investments (including Equity Interests) in Joint Ventures to the extent required by, or made pursuant to customary buy/sell arrangements between, the joint venture parties set forth in joint venture arrangements and similar binding arrangements at the time of formation of such Joint Venture or at any time any time another Person that is not an Affiliate of the Obligors becomes a party thereto;

 

(s)          the transfer for fair value of property to another Person in connection with a joint venture arrangement with respect to the transferred property; provided that such transfer is permitted under Section 6.5(r) or (t);

 

(t)           any Disposition in connection with the Acquisition or contemplated pursuant to the Surf Merger Agreement;

 

(u)          Dispositions of real property to any Person for Fair Market Value in connection with any sale-leaseback or similar transaction not to exceed the greater of (i) $7,500,000 and (ii) 25% of Consolidated EBITDA (determined at the time of any such Disposition (calculated on a pro forma basis) as of the last day of the most recently ended four Fiscal Quarter period for which financial statements have been delivered pursuant to Section 5.1(a) or (b)); provided that (i) no Event of Default has occurred and is continuing at the time of such Disposition, (ii) the Borrowers and their Restricted Subsidiaries shall have received at least 75% of such consideration in the form of cash;

 

(v)          Dispositions in connection with any Permitted Reorganization or IPO Reorganization;

 

(w)         any sale of Equity Interests in, or Indebtedness or other securities of, an Unrestricted Subsidiary;

 

(x)           the unwinding or settling of any Swap Obligation or obligation with respect to Cash Management Services in the Ordinary Course of Business;

 

(y)          any sale, transfer and other Disposition of accounts receivable (including write-offs, discounts and compromises) in connection with the compromise, settlement or collection thereof in the Ordinary Course of Business;

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(z)           Dispositions of Receivables Assets in connection with any Receivables Facility or any Qualified Securitization Financing; and

 

(aa)        any Borrower and any Restricted Subsidiary may (i) convert any intercompany Indebtedness (other than to the extent owing by a non-Obligor to an Obligor) to Equity Interests otherwise permitted hereunder, (ii) discount, write off, forgive or cancel any intercompany Indebtedness or other obligation owing by any Borrower or any Subsidiary Guarantor to a Restricted Subsidiary that is not, in each case, an Obligor or to an Obligor, (iii) settle, discount, write-off, forgive or cancel any Indebtedness owing by any present or former consultants, managers, directors, officers, employees of Holdings, any Borrower or any Subsidiary or any of their successors or assigns, in the Ordinary Course of Business, or (iv) surrender or waive contractual rights and settle, release, surrender or waive contractual or litigation claims, in the case of clause (iv), in the Ordinary Course of Business.

 

6.5          Investments.  No Obligor shall, nor shall it permit any of its Restricted Subsidiaries to, make, or permit to remain outstanding any Investments except:

 

(a)          the Investments outstanding or contemplated on the Effective Date (i) identified on Schedule 6.5 or (ii) in an amount not to exceed $1,000,000 in the aggregate (when taken together with all other Indebtedness outstanding in reliance on this clause (a)(ii)), and, in each case, any modification, replacement, renewal, reinvestment or extension thereof and any modification, renewal, replacement, reinvestment or extension thereof so long as the amount of any Investment subject to any such modification, replacement, renewal, reinvestment or extension does not exceed the amount outstanding (plus any unused commitments, accrued interest, fees and expenses and premiums incurred in connection therewith) on the Effective Date);

 

(b)          Investments in cash and Cash Equivalents;

 

(c)          Investments by (i) any Obligor or a Restricted Subsidiary that is not an Obligor in or to any Obligor (other than Holdings), (ii) any Obligor to a Restricted Subsidiary that is not an Obligor not to exceed, in the aggregate, the greater of (x) $7,500,000 and (y) 25% of Consolidated EBITDA (determined at the time of any such Investment (calculated on a pro forma basis) as of the last day of the most recently ended four Fiscal Quarter period for which financial statements have been delivered pursuant to Section 5.1(a) or (b)) in the aggregate at any time outstanding for all such Investments, minus any amounts utilized pursuant to Section 6.5(i) to make Investments in Persons who do not become Guarantors and assets that do not become Collateral, and (iii) a Restricted Subsidiary that is not an Obligor to another Restricted Subsidiary that is not an Obligor;

 

(d)          Investments made in respect of joint ventures or other similar agreements or partnership not to exceed the greater of (x) $4,500,000 and (y) 15% of Consolidated EBITDA (determined at the time of any such Investment (calculated on a pro forma basis) as of the last day of the most recently ended four Fiscal Quarter period for which financial statements have been delivered pursuant to Section 5.1(a) or (b)) in the aggregate at any time outstanding for all such Investments, minus any the amount of any Investments made pursuant to Section 6.5(r);

 

(e)          Investments in Hedging Agreements permitted under Section 6.11 and Cash Management Services;

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(f)          Investments consisting of or resulting from Permitted Encumbrances (other than pursuant to clauses (r) and (u) of the definition of Permitted Encumbrances);

 

(g)         [reserved];

 

(h)         Investments constituting (i) accounts receivable arising, (ii) trade debt granted, or (iii) deposits made by the Borrowers or a Restricted Subsidiary in connection with the purchase price of goods or services, in each case in the Ordinary Course of Business;

 

(i)          Permitted Acquisitions; provided that Permitted Acquisitions of Persons who do not become Guarantors and assets that are owned by a Foreign Subsidiary, a non-Wholly Owned Restricted Subsidiary, or an Unrestricted Subsidiary, shall not, in the aggregate, exceed the greater of (x) $7,500,000 and (y) 25% of Consolidated EBITDA (determined at the time of any such Investment (calculated on a pro forma basis) as of the last day of the most recently ended four Fiscal Quarter period for which financial statements have been delivered pursuant to Section 5.1(a) or (b)) in the aggregate at any time outstanding for all such Investments, minus any amounts utilized pursuant to Section 6.5(c) to make Investments in Restricted Subsidiaries that are not Obligors;

 

(j)          the establishment or creation of Wholly-Owned Domestic Subsidiaries by an Obligor, provided, in each case, such Obligor and such Subsidiary shall have complied with the provisions of Section 5.8 in respect thereof;

 

(k)         any Guarantee of, or assumption of Indebtedness of, any other Person in either case to the extent the Person incurring such Guarantee or assuming such Indebtedness would have been permitted to incur the underlying Indebtedness under Section 6.1;

 

(l)          Investments in negotiable instruments deposited or to be deposited for collection in the Ordinary Course of Business;

 

(m)        equity Investments by any Obligor in any Restricted Subsidiary of such Obligor which is required by law to maintain a minimum net capital requirement or as may be otherwise required by applicable law;

 

(n)         Investments held by a Person acquired in a Permitted Acquisition or other similar permitted Investment to the extent that such Investments were not made in contemplation of or in connection with such Permitted Acquisition and were in existence on the date of such Permitted Acquisition or other similar permitted Investment;

 

(o)         (i) loans and advances to officers, directors or employees for business related travel expenses, moving expenses and other similar expenses, including as part of a recruitment or retention plan, in each case incurred in the Ordinary Course of Business, (ii) non-cash loans to officers, directors and employees of Holdings or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries or Affiliates to simultaneously purchase Equity Interests of Holdings, and (iii) other loans and advances to such officers, directors and employees (including loans in connection with a stock option or restricted stock plan or other benefit or equity incentive plan of Holdings) not to exceed an aggregate amount of $2,000,000 at any time outstanding;

 

(p)          unsecured loans, advances or other extensions of credit with a term not longer than twelve (12) months to Protected Vendors in an aggregate amount at any time outstanding not to exceed $3,000,000 (which cap amount, for purposes of clarity, shall not include trade payables in the Ordinary Course of Business);

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(q)          any acquisition or other Investments in an amount not to exceed the aggregate amount of net cash proceeds of any Permitted Equity Issuance received by any Borrower or any Restricted Subsidiary (to the extent such proceeds have not previously been (and are not simultaneously being) applied to anything (including any Restricted Payment under Section 6.6(l)) other than such particular use or transaction) made after the Effective Date;

 

(r)           Investments made in Unrestricted Subsidiaries not to exceed the greater of (x) $4,500,000 and (y) 15% of Consolidated EBITDA (determined at the time of any such Investment (calculated on a pro forma basis) as of the last day of the most recently ended four Fiscal Quarter period for which financial statements have been delivered pursuant to Section 5.1(a) or (b)) in the aggregate at any time outstanding for all such Investments, minus any the amount of any Investments made pursuant to Section 6.5(d);

 

(s)          other Investments (x) at any time outstanding in an aggregate amount up to but not exceeding the greater of (A) $10,000,000 and (B) 35% of Consolidated EBITDA (determined at the time of any such Investment (calculated on a pro forma basis) as of the last day of the most recently ended four Fiscal Quarter period for which financial statements have been delivered pursuant to Section 5.1(a) or (b)) in the aggregate at any time outstanding for all such Investments (the “General Investment Basket”), plus, other than for use in respect of any Investments to be made in Unrestricted Subsidiaries, any unused amounts reallocated from the General Junior Debt Basket and the General Restricted Payment Basket and (y) in an amount such that, after giving effect to any such Investment and incurrence of any Indebtedness in connection therewith, the Consolidated First Lien Leverage Ratio calculated on a pro forma basis as of the last day of the Fiscal Quarter for which financial statements have last been delivered to the Lenders pursuant to Section 5.1(a) or 5.1(b) is not greater than 3.50 to 1.00 (determined at the time any such Investment is made); provided that, for any Investment pursuant to this clause (s)(y), no Event of Default pursuant to Section 8.1(a), (b), (h) or (i) has occurred and is continuing at the time of each such Investment;

 

(t)           Investments using the Available Amount so long as, subject to the Limited Condition Transaction Provision in connection with a Limited Condition Transaction, (i) no Event of Default pursuant to Section 8.1(a), (b), (h) or (i) shall exist or result from the use of such Available Amount, in each case, on such date that the Borrowers elect to apply the same to such Investments and (ii) Consolidated Net Leverage Ratio calculated on a pro forma basis as of the last day of the Fiscal Quarter for which financial statements have last been delivered to the Lenders pursuant to Section 5.1(a) or 5.1(b) is not greater than 4.50 to 1.00 (determined at the time any such Investment is made);

 

(u)          Investments the payment for which consists of Equity Interests (other than Disqualified Equity Interests) of Holdings; provided that the proceeds from such Equity Interests will not increase the Available Amount;

 

(v)          Investments made in connection with any Permitted Reorganization;

 

(w)         promissory notes, securities and other non-cash consideration received in connection with Dispositions permitted by Section 6.4;

 

(x)           Investments made to effect, or otherwise in connection with, the Transactions;

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(y)          Investments in the Ordinary Course of Business consisting of UCC Article 3 endorsements for collection or deposit and UCC Article 4 customary trade arrangements with customers consistent with past practices;

 

(z)           Investments (including debt obligations and Equity Interests) received in connection with the bankruptcy or reorganization of suppliers and customers or in settlement of delinquent obligations of, or other disputes with, customers and suppliers arising in the Ordinary Course of Business or upon the foreclosure with respect to any secured Investment or other transfer of title with respect to any secured Investment;

 

(aa)        loans and advances to any direct or indirect parent of any Borrower not in excess of the amount of (after giving effect to any other loans, advances or Restricted Payments in respect thereof) Restricted Payments to the extent permitted to be made to such parent in accordance with Section 6.6, such Investment being treated for purposes of the applicable clause of Section 6.6, including any limitations, as if a Restricted Payment had been made pursuant to such clause in an amount equal to such Investment;

 

(bb)        Investments made in the Ordinary Course of Business in connection with obtaining, maintaining or renewing client contracts and loans or advances made to distributors and suppliers in the Ordinary Course of Business;

 

(cc)        (i) any Investment in a Receivables Subsidiary or a Securitization Subsidiary in order to effectuate a Receivables Facility or a Qualified Securitization Financing, respectively, or any Investment by a Receivables Subsidiary or a Securitization Subsidiary in any other Person in connection with a Receivables Facility or a Qualified Securitization Financing, respectively; provided that any such Investment in a Receivables Subsidiary or a Securitization Subsidiary is in the form of a contribution of additional Receivables Assets, as applicable, and (ii) distributions or payments of Receivables Fees or Securitization Fees and purchases of Receivables Assets pursuant to a Securitization Repurchase Obligation in connection with a Receivables Facility or a Qualified Securitization Financing, respectively;

 

(dd)        Investments in deposit accounts, commodities and securities accounts opened in the Ordinary Course of Business; and

 

(ee)        Loans repurchased by any Borrower or a Restricted Subsidiary pursuant to and in accordance with Sections 2.10 and 10.4(g) under this Agreement;

 

For purposes of this Section 6.5 the aggregate amount of an Investment at any time shall be deemed to be equal to (i) the aggregate amount of cash, together with the aggregate Fair Market Value of property, loaned, advanced, contributed, transferred or otherwise invested that gives rise to such Investment minus (ii) the aggregate amount of distributions or other repayments received in cash in respect of such Investment, and the refund of capital with respect to, and the payment of interest or dividends on, the original principal amount of any such Investment. The amount of an Investment shall not in any event be reduced by reason of any write-off of such Investment nor increased by any increase in the amount of earnings retained in the Person in which such Investment is made or by any increase in the value of such Investment.

 

6.6          Restricted Payments. No Obligor shall, nor shall it permit any of its Restricted Subsidiaries to, declare or make any Restricted Payment, other than:

 

(a)          Restricted Payments by any Restricted Subsidiary to any Borrower or any other Restricted Subsidiary that directly or indirectly owns Equity Interests of such Restricted Subsidiary (and, in the case of a Restricted Payment by a non-Wholly Owned Subsidiary, to a Borrower or such Restricted Subsidiary and to each other owner of Equity Interests of such Restricted Subsidiary based on their relative ownership interests, it being understood, however, that any such Restricted Subsidiary may exclude one or more classes of equity holders from any such Restricted Payment so long as the class or classes of Equity Interests owned by a Borrower or such Restricted Subsidiary are not excluded from any such Restricted Payment);

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(b)          [reserved];

 

(c)          so long as no Change in Control occurs, Restricted Payments payable in Equity Interests of Holdings;

 

(d)          (i) payment of reasonable compensation to officers, directors, and employees for actual services rendered to the Obligors (in the case of directors, in an amount not to exceed $750,000 in any Fiscal Year) and reimbursement of out-of-pocket expenses actually incurred by such officers, directors, and employees in the Ordinary Course of Business, and (ii) payments permitted pursuant to Sections 6.7(d) and 6.7(e);

 

(e)          (i) the payment of management fees to Sponsor in an amount not to exceed the amount required by the Management Agreement as in effect as of the Effective Date so long as no Event of Default pursuant to Section 8.1(a), (b), (h) or (i) has occurred and is continuing at such time, it being understood and agreed that during such Event of Default, such fees may continue to accrue and become payable upon the waiver of the relevant Event of Default, (ii) indemnification and reimbursement of expenses to the Sponsor or its designees required by the Management Agreement as in effect on the Effective Date, (iii) other payments under the Management Agreement as in effect on the Effective Date and (iv) so long as no Event of Default pursuant to Section 8.1(a), (b), (h) or (i) has occurred and is continuing, other payments under the Management Agreement as compensation for future services provided by Sponsor (including fees in connection with the closing of any future merger, acquisition, disposition, recapitalization, issuance of securities, financing or other similar transaction but not in the form of a dividend, distribution, repurchase, redemption or management fee);

 

(f)          after an Initial Public Offering, any Restricted Payment by any Borrower or any other direct or indirect parent of any Borrower to pay listing fees and other costs and expenses attributable to being a publicly traded company which are reasonable and customary and additional Restricted Payments in an aggregate amount per calendar year not to exceed an amount equal to 7% of the net cash proceeds received by or contributed to any Borrower or any Restricted Subsidiary from any Initial Public Offering;

 

(g)          a Restricted Payment to pay for the repurchase, retirement or other acquisition or retirement for value of Equity Interests of Holdings held by any former employee, director, officer, consultant, partners or managers (or any spouses, ex-spouses, successors, heirs or estates of any of the foregoing) of a Borrower or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries pursuant to any management equity plan or stock option plan or any other management or employee benefit plan or agreement, or any equity subscription or equity holder agreement (including, for the avoidance of doubt, any principal and interest payable on any notes issued by Holdings in connection with such repurchase, retirement or other acquisition to the extent permitted by Section 6.1(h)), including any Equity Interest issued to management of any Borrower in connection with the Transactions; provided that the aggregate amount of Restricted Payments made under this Section 6.6(g) does not exceed the greater of (x) $4,500,000 and (y) 15% of Consolidated EBITDA (determined at the time of any such Restricted Payment (calculated on a pro forma basis) as of the last day of the most recently ended four Fiscal Quarter period for which financial statements have been delivered pursuant to Section 5.1(a) or 5.1(b)) in any calendar year plus the proceeds of key man life insurance policies received by any Borrower or any Restricted Subsidiary (with unused amounts in any calendar year being carried over to the next two succeeding calendar years); provided further that no Event of Default pursuant to Section 8.1(a), (b), (h) or (i) has occurred and is continuing at the time of such Restricted Payment;

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(h)          the Borrowers or any Restricted Subsidiary may make distributions to current or former employees, officers, directors, consultants, partners or managers of the Borrowers or any of their Restricted Subsidiaries or Affiliates (or any spouses, ex-spouses, successors, heirs or estate of any of the foregoing) solely in the form of forgiveness of Indebtedness of such Persons owing to the Borrowers or any Restricted Subsidiary on account of repurchases of the stock options, restricted stock units, purchased shares or other Equity Interests of the Borrowers or any such Restricted Subsidiary held by such Persons; provided that such Indebtedness was incurred by such Persons solely to acquire Equity Interests of the Borrowers or any such Restricted Subsidiary;

 

(i)           (i) Permitted Tax Distributions and (ii) dividends and distributions the proceeds of which shall be used by any Obligor or any Restricted Subsidiary thereof to pay (or make dividends and distributions to allow Holdings or any other direct or indirect parent of any Borrower that is an Obligor to pay) (x) franchise or other similar entity-level taxes, or (y) fees and expenses required to maintain its (or any of such direct or indirect parent’s) corporate or legal existence;

 

(j)           (i) Restricted Payments in an aggregate amount not to exceed the greater of (x) $7,500,000 and (y) and (y) 25% of Consolidated EBITDA (determined at the time of any such Restricted Payment (calculated on a pro forma basis) as of the last day of the most recently ended four Fiscal Quarter period for which financial statements have been delivered pursuant to Section 5.1(a) or 5.1(b)) in the aggregate (the “General Restricted Payment Basket”), minus any amounts reallocated to the General Investment Basket and the General Junior Debt Basket, and (ii) additional Restricted Payments so long as (x) the Consolidated First Lien Leverage Ratio calculated on a pro forma basis as of the last day of the Fiscal Quarter for which financial statements have last been delivered to the Lenders pursuant to Section 5.1(a) or 5.1(b) is not greater than 3.50 to 1.00 and (y) no Event of Default has occurred and is continuing at such time or would result therefrom;

 

(k)          Restricted Payments using the portion, if any, of the Available Amount on such date that the Borrowers elect to reallocate to such Restricted Payments so long as (i) no Event of Default shall exist or result from the use of such Available Amount and (ii) the Consolidated Net Leverage Ratio is not greater than 4.00 to 1.00 calculated on a pro forma basis as of the last day of the Fiscal Quarter for which financial statements have been delivered to the Lenders pursuant to Section 5.1(a) or 5.1(b);

 

(l)           Restricted Payments not to exceed an amount equal to the aggregate amount of net cash proceeds from any Permitted Equity Issuance received by any Restricted Subsidiary (to the extent such proceeds have not previously been (and are not simultaneously being) applied to anything (including any Investment under Section 6.5(q)) other than such particular use or transaction) made after the Effective Date;

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(m)         the redemption, repurchase, retirement or other acquisition of any Equity Interest, including any accrued and unpaid dividends thereon, of Holdings, in exchange for, or out of the proceeds of, the substantially concurrent sale or issuance (other than to a Subsidiary) of, Equity Interests of Holdings (in each case, other than any Disqualified Equity Interests);

 

(n)          Restricted Payments made (i) to consummate the Transactions on or prior to the Effective Date or promptly thereafter, including any payments required under a corporate tax restructuring, (ii) in respect of working capital adjustments or purchase price adjustments and any other purchase price payment required pursuant to the Surf Merger Agreement, any Permitted Acquisition or other permitted Investments, (iii) in order to satisfy indemnity and other similar obligations under the Surf Merger Agreement, any Permitted Acquisition or other permitted Investments, and (iv) to holders of Equity Interests of any Borrower (immediately prior to giving effect to the Transactions) in connection with, or as a result of, their exercise of appraisal rights and the settlement of any claims or actions (whether actual, contingent or potential) with respect thereto, in each case, with respect to the Transactions;

 

(o)          to the extent constituting Restricted Payments, the Borrower (or any direct or indirect parent thereof) and its Restricted Subsidiaries may enter into and consummate transactions permitted by any provision of Sections 5.14 (other than 5.14(r)), 6.3, 6.4 (other than 6.4(d)) and 6.5 (other than 6.5(aa));

 

(p)          repurchases of Equity Interests in any Borrower or any Restricted Subsidiary of the Borrowers owned by an director, officer or employee of any Borrower or any Restricted Subsidiary of the Borrowers deemed to occur upon exercise of stock options or warrants if such Equity Interests represent a portion of the exercise price of such options or warrants;

 

(q)          the Borrowers may make Restricted Payments to any direct or indirect parent of the Borrowers to pay:

 

(i)          general corporate, administrative, compliance or other operating (including, expenses related to auditing or other accounting matters and director indemnities, fees and expenses) and overhead costs and expenses of any direct or indirect parent of the Borrowers to the extent such costs and expenses are attributable to the ownership or operation of the Borrowers and the Restricted Subsidiaries, including the Borrowers’ and the Restricted Subsidiaries’ proportionate share of such amount relating to such parent company being a public company, in an aggregate amount not to exceed $1,000,000 in any Fiscal Year with respect to items described in this clause (i);

 

(ii)         (A) fees and expenses (other than taxes), required to maintain the corporate, legal and organizational existence of Holdings or any of its direct or indirect parents and (B) distributions to such direct or indirect parent’s equity owners in proportion to their equity interests sufficient to allow each such equity owner to receive an amount at least equal to the aggregate amount of its out-of-pocket costs to any unaffiliated third parties directly attributable to creating (including any incorporation or registration fees) and maintaining the existence of the applicable equity owner and legal and accounting and other costs directly attributable to maintaining its corporate, legal, or organizational existence and complying with applicable legal requirements, in each case, so long as attributable to the operations of the Borrowers and their Restricted Subsidiaries and such expenses are incurred in the Ordinary Course of Business;

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(iii)        to finance any Investment that would be permitted to be made pursuant to Sections 5.14 and 6.5 if such parent were subject to such Sections; provided that (A) such Restricted Payment shall be made substantially concurrently with the closing of such Investment, (B) such parent shall, promptly following the closing thereof, cause (1) all property acquired (whether assets or Equity Interests) to be contributed to a Borrower or the Restricted Subsidiaries that are Obligors or (2) the merger (to the extent permitted in Section 6.3) of the Person formed or acquired into a Borrower or its Restricted Subsidiaries that are Obligors (with a Borrower being the surviving or continuing entity to the extent party to such merger) in order to consummate such Permitted Acquisition or Investment, in each case, in accordance with the requirements of Section 5.8 (and such contribution shall not comprise or form a portion of the Excluded Contribution Amount or increase the amounts available for a Restricted Payment pursuant to Section 6.6 or otherwise constitute any portion of the Available Amount) and (C) such contribution shall constitute an Investment by the Borrowers or the applicable Restricted Subsidiaries, as the case may be, at the date of such contribution or merger, as applicable, in an amount equal to the amount of such Restricted Payment;

 

(iv)       the proceeds of which shall be used by Holdings to pay (or to make Restricted Payments to allow any direct or indirect parent thereof to pay) reasonable fees and expenses (other than to Affiliates) related to any unsuccessful equity or debt offering by Holdings (or any direct or indirect parent thereof) to the extent the proceeds of such offering were (or were intended to be) contributed to a Borrower substantially concurrently with the consummation thereof;

 

(r)          payments made or expected to be made by Holdings, any Borrower or any of the Restricted Subsidiaries in respect of withholding or similar Taxes payable with respect to any repurchases of Equity Interests permitted by Section 6.6(p), including deemed repurchases in connection with the exercise of stock options;

 

(s)          Holdings, any Borrower or any of the Restricted Subsidiaries may pay cash in lieu of fractional Equity Interests in de minimis amounts in connection with any dividend, split or combination thereof or any Permitted Acquisition;

 

(t)          the payment of any Restricted Payment within 60 days after the date of irrevocable declaration thereof, if at the date of declaration or the giving of such notice such payment would have complied with the provisions of this Section 6.6; provided that the making of such Restricted Payment will reduce capacity for Restricted Payments pursuant to such other provision when so made;

 

(u)         the distribution, by dividend or otherwise, of shares of Equity Interests of, or Indebtedness owed to a Borrower or a Restricted Subsidiary by, Unrestricted Subsidiaries or the proceeds thereof;

 

(v)         Restricted Payments in an amount not to exceed the Excluded Contribution Amount; and

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(w)         the declaration and payment of Restricted Payments by a Borrower to any direct or indirect parent of a Borrower in amounts required for any such direct or indirect parent (or such parent’s direct or indirect equity owners) to pay:

 

(i)          to the extent constituting Restricted Payments, amounts that would be permitted to be paid directly by the Borrower or its Restricted Subsidiaries under Section 5.14 (other than pursuant to Section 5.14(c)); and;

 

(ii)         “AHYDO” payments with respect to Indebtedness of any direct or indirect parent of a Borrower; provided that (A) the proceeds of such Indebtedness have been contributed to a Borrower as a capital contribution and (B) no Event of Default pursuant to Section 8.1(a), (b), (h) or (i) shall be continuing or would result therefrom.; and

 

(x)          the making of the Third Amendment Dividend.

 

6.7          Suja East, LLC. Notwithstanding anything herein to the contrary, Suja East, LLC, a Pennsylvania limited liability company, shall have no operations or assets at any time.

 

6.8          Restrictive Agreements. No Obligor shall, nor shall it permit any of its Restricted Subsidiaries to enter into, incur or permit to exist any agreement or other arrangement that prohibits, restricts or imposes any condition upon (a) the ability of such Obligor or any Restricted Subsidiary to (x) create, incur or permit to exist any Lien upon, or (y) to transfer to another Obligor, any of its assets, or (b) the ability of any Restricted Subsidiary to pay dividends or other distributions with respect to any Equity Interests it has issued or to make or repay loans or advances to the Borrowers or any other Restricted Subsidiary or to Guarantee Indebtedness of the Borrowers or any other Restricted Subsidiary, or invest in any Obligor or any other Restricted Subsidiary (any such agreement or arrangement, a “Restrictive Agreement”); provided that:

 

(i)          the foregoing shall not apply to (A) restrictions and conditions imposed by law or by the Loan Documents, (B) restrictions and conditions existing on the Effective Date identified on Schedule 6.8 (but shall apply to any extension or renewal of, or any amendment or modification materially expanding the scope of, any such restriction or condition), (C) customary restrictions and conditions contained in agreements relating to the sale of a Person or the sale of any other assets pending such sale, provided such restrictions and conditions apply only to the Person that is, or such assets that are, to be sold and such sale is permitted hereunder, and (D) customary provisions in joint venture agreements or other similar agreements applicable to joint ventures permitted under Section 6.5;

 

(ii)         the foregoing shall not apply to (A) restrictions or conditions imposed by any agreement relating to secured Indebtedness permitted by this Agreement if such restrictions or conditions apply only to the property securing such Indebtedness, (B) customary provisions in leases, licenses and other contracts entered into in the Ordinary Course of Business restricting the assignment thereof, or the transfer of or creation of Liens on assets subject thereto, and (C) customary restrictions that arise in connection with any Permitted Encumbrance on any asset or property that is not, and is not required to be, Collateral, provided such restriction relates only to the specific property subject to such Lien and such restriction is not created for the purposes of avoiding the restrictions of this Section 6.8 or excluding such property from being Collateral;

 

(iii)        the foregoing shall not apply to restrictions that are binding on a Restricted Subsidiary at the time such Restricted Subsidiary first becomes a Restricted Subsidiary of a Borrower, so long as (x) such obligations were not entered into in contemplation of such Person becoming a Restricted Subsidiary of a Borrower and (y) such restriction only applies to the assets of such Restricted Subsidiary that were acquired at the time such Restricted Subsidiary first became a Restricted Subsidiary;

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(iv)       the foregoing shall not apply to restrictions that represent Indebtedness of a Restricted Subsidiary of a Borrower which is not an Obligor which is permitted by Section 6.1, which does not apply to any Obligor;

 

(v)        the foregoing shall not apply to customary restrictions (as reasonably determined by the Borrowers) that arise in connection with (x) any Lien permitted by Sections 6.2 and relate to the property subject to such Lien or (y) arise in connection with any Disposition permitted by Section 6.3 or 6.4 and relate solely to the assets or Person subject to such Disposition;

 

(vi)       the foregoing shall not apply to negative pledges and restrictions on Liens in favor of any holder of Indebtedness permitted under Section 6.2 but solely to the extent any negative pledge relates to (i) the property financed by such Indebtedness and the proceeds, accessions and products thereof or (ii) the property secured by such Indebtedness and the proceeds, accessions and products thereof so long as the agreements governing such Indebtedness permit the Liens securing the Obligations;

 

(vii)      the foregoing shall not apply to restrictions on cash or other deposits imposed by customers under contracts entered into in the Ordinary Course of Business and otherwise permitted under Section 6.2;

 

(viii)     the foregoing shall not apply in connection with cash or other deposits permitted under Sections 6.2 and 6.5 and limited to such cash or deposit;

 

(ix)        comprise of restrictions imposed by any agreement governing Indebtedness entered into on or after the Effective Date and permitted under Section 6.1 that are, taken as a whole, in the reasonable good faith judgment of the Borrowers, no more restrictive with respect to the Borrowers or any Restricted Subsidiary than customary current market terms for Indebtedness of such type (and, in any event, are no more restrictive than the restrictions contained in this Agreement), so long as the Borrowers shall have determined in good faith that such restrictions will not affect in any material respect its obligation or ability to make any payments required hereunder;

 

(x)         are restrictions on cash or other deposits or net worth imposed by customers under contracts entered into in the Ordinary Course of Business;

 

(xi)        are restrictions on cash earnest money deposits in favor of sellers in connection with acquisitions not prohibited hereunder;

 

(xii)      other than with respect to the foregoing clause (a)(x), are restrictions that will not materially impair the Borrowers’ ability to make payments under this Agreement and the other Loan Documents;

 

(xiii)     the foregoing shall not apply to Standard Securitization Undertakings created in connection with any Receivables Facility or any Qualified Securitization Financing that, in the good faith determination of the board of directors (or analogous governing body) of the Borrowers, are necessary or advisable to effect such Receivables Facility or Qualified Securitization Financing, as the case may be and that only apply to Receivables Subsidiaries and Securitization Subsidiaries; and

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(xiv)     any encumbrances or restrictions of the type referred to in this Section 6.8 imposed by any amendments, modifications, restatements, renewals, increases, supplements, refundings, replacements or refinancings of the contracts, instruments or obligations referred to in clauses (i) through (xiii) above; provided that such amendments, modifications, restatements, renewals, increases, extensions, supplements, refundings, replacements, restructurings or refinancings are, in the good faith judgment of the Borrowers, not materially more restrictive with respect to such encumbrance and other restrictions taken as a whole than those prior to such amendment, modification, restatement, renewal, increase, extension, restructuring, supplement, refunding, replacement or refinancing;

 

provided that (x) the priority of any preferred Equity Interests (other than Disqualified Equity Interests) in receiving dividends or liquidating distributions prior to dividends or liquidating distributions being paid on common stock and (y) the subordination of (including the application of any standstill requirements to) loans or advances made to any Borrower or any Restricted Subsidiary that is a Guarantor to other Indebtedness incurred by any Borrower or any Restricted Subsidiary that is a Guarantor shall not be deemed to constitute such an encumbrance or restriction.

 

6.9          Modifications of Certain Documents. No Obligor shall, nor shall it permit any of the Restricted Subsidiaries to, modify, supplement or waive of any of the provisions of (a) its Organizational Documents, the Surf Merger Agreement or the Second Amendment Acquisition Agreement without the prior written consent of Administrative Agent, other than modifications, supplements or waivers that are not materially adverse to Secured Parties or (b) the Management Agreement, solely with respect to increasing the fees (and other amounts) payable thereunder in excess of those in effect on the Effective Date without the prior written consent of the Administrative Agent.

 

6.10       [Reserved]

 

6.11       Hedging Agreements. No Obligor shall, nor shall it permit any of its Restricted Subsidiaries to, enter into any Hedging Agreement, except Hedging Agreements entered into in the Ordinary Course of Business to hedge or mitigate risks to which an Obligor or a Restricted Subsidiary has actual exposure in connection with fluctuations of commodity prices, currencies or interest rates and not for any speculative purposes.

 

6.12       [Reserved].

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6.13       Use of Proceeds and Letters of Credit. No Obligor shall, nor shall it permit any of its Restricted Subsidiaries to: (a) use the proceeds of the Initial Term Loans and Revolving Credit Loans made on the Effective Date for any purpose other than to (i) consummate the Transactions, (ii) pay the Transaction Costs, (iii) issue Letters of Credit to replace existing letters of credit of the Borrowers and their Restricted Subsidiaries on the Effective Date, (iv) to fund any working capital adjustments required by the Surf Merger Agreement and (v) fund any original issue discount and upfront fees required pursuant to the Fee Letter; provided that the aggregate amount of Revolving Credit Loans made on the Effective Date shall not exceed $3,000,000; (b) use the proceeds of the Revolving Credit Loans and Swingline Loans made after the Effective Date for any purposes other than to fund the Borrowers’ working capital and general corporate purposes (including Permitted Acquisitions but subject to Section 6.15) or, subject to the terms and conditions of this Agreement and the other Loan Documents, the general corporate purposes of any Obligor; (c) use any part of the proceeds of any Loan, whether directly or indirectly, for any purpose that violates any of the Regulations of the Board, including Regulations U and X; or (d) use the proceeds of the Second Amendment Term Loans made on the Second Amendment Effective Date for any purpose other than to (i) consummate the Second Amendment Acquisition and (ii) pay the Second Amendment Transaction Costs; or (e) use the proceeds of the Third Amendment Term Loans made on the Third Amendment Effective Date for any purpose other than to (i) make the Third Amendment Dividend and (ii) pay the Third Amendment Transaction Costs. No Obligor shall, directly or knowingly indirectly, use the proceeds of the Loans, or lend, contribute or otherwise make available such proceeds to any Subsidiary, joint venture partner or other Person, (i) to fund any activities or business of or with any Person, or in any country or territory, that, at the time of such funding, is, or whose government is, the subject of comprehensive Sanctions in violation of Sanctions, or (ii) in any other manner that would result in a violation of Sanctions by any Person (including any Person participating in the Loans, whether as underwriter, advisor, investor, or otherwise), or (iii) for any payments to any governmental official or employee, political party, official of a political party, candidate for political office, or anyone else acting in an official capacity, in order to obtain, retain or direct business or obtain any improper advantage, in violation of any Anti-Corruption Laws that may be applicable.

 

6.14       Limitation on Activities of Holdings. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this Agreement or any other Loan Document: Holdings shall not (i) conduct, transact or otherwise engage in, any material business or material operations or own any material assets other than: (1) maintaining its corporate existence, (2) the execution and delivery of, and the performance of its obligations with respect to, the Loan Documents to which it is a party, (3) owning the Equity Interests of any Borrower and their Subsidiaries, (4) the consummation of the Transactions and the execution, delivery and performance of the obligations under the Surf Merger Agreement and the other agreements contemplated thereby, (5) the payment of Restricted Payments including dividends and distributions, the making of Investments, and the Guarantee of Indebtedness permitted to be incurred hereunder by any Borrower or any Restricted Subsidiary pursuant to Section 6.1, (6) the performing of activities in preparation for and consummating any public offering of its Equity Interests or any other issuance or sale of its Equity Interests (other than Disqualified Equity Interests), including paying fees and expenses related thereto, (7) the participation in tax, accounting and other administrative matters as a member of a consolidated group, including compliance with applicable laws and legal, tax and accounting matters related thereto and activities relating to its officers, directors, managers and employees, (8) subject to Section 5.10, the holding of any cash and Cash Equivalents (but not operating any property) on a temporary basis to consummate a transaction otherwise permitted hereunder, (9) the entry into, and performance of its obligations with respect to, contracts and other arrangements with officers, managers, employees, consultants, independent contractors and directors of Holdings or any of its Subsidiaries relating to their employment or directorships (including the providing of indemnification to such Persons), (10) the obtainment of, and the payment of any fees and expenses for, management, consulting, monitoring, investment banking, advisory and other services to the extent otherwise permitted by this Agreement, (11) any transaction between Holdings and any Borrower or any Subsidiary expressly permitted under this Section 6, including (x) holding any cash or property received in connection with Restricted Payments made by any Borrower or any Subsidiary in accordance with Section 6.6 pending application thereof by Holdings in the manner contemplated by Section 6.6 and (y) the provision of guarantees in the Ordinary Course of Business in respect of obligations of any Borrower or any Restricted Subsidiary to suppliers, customers, franchisees, lessors, licensees, sublicensees or distribution partners; provided, for the avoidance of doubt, that such guarantees shall not be in respect of Indebtedness for borrowed money, (12) maintaining deposit accounts in connection with the conduct of its business, (13) [reserved], (14) if applicable, participating in tax, accounting and other administrative matters as a member of the consolidated group and the provision of administrative and advisory services (including treasury and insurance services) to its Subsidiaries of a type customarily provided by a holding company to its Subsidiaries, (15) providing indemnification to officers and directors, (16) activities reasonably relating to any Permitted Reorganization (17) merging, amalgamating or consolidating with or into any direct or indirect parent or subsidiary of Holdings that becomes “New Holdings” (in compliance with the definitions of “Holdings” and “New Holdings” in this Agreement), (18) activities incidental to Permitted Acquisitions or similar Investments consummated by the Borrowers and the Restricted Subsidiaries, including the formation of acquisition vehicle entities and intercompany loans and/or Investments incidental to such Permitted Acquisitions or similar Investments, (19) any transaction with the Borrowers or any Restricted Subsidiary to the extent expressly permitted under this Article 6, (20) making contributions to the capital of its Subsidiaries and (21) activities incidental to the businesses or activities described in the foregoing clauses (1) through (20), and (ii) incur, create, assume or suffer to exist any Indebtedness or other liabilities or financial obligations, except (1) nonconsensual obligations imposed by operation of law, (2) customary obligations under any stock option or restricted stock plan or other benefit or equity incentive plan, (3) obligations under the Loan Documents, and (4) Indebtedness that is expressly permitted under clause (i) of this Section 6.14.

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6.15       Prepayments of Indebtedness. No Company shall make any voluntary payment or prepayment of the principal of or interest on, or any other amount owing in respect of, any Subordinated Indebtedness, Indebtedness secured on a junior basis to the Obligations, or unsecured Indebtedness with a principal amount in excess of the greater of (1) $4,500,000 and (2) 15% of Consolidated EBITDA (determined at the time of any such prepayment (calculated on a pro forma basis) as of the last day of the most recently ended four Fiscal Quarter period for which financial statements have been delivered pursuant to Section 5.1(a) or (b)) (“Junior Debt”) except the Borrowers and their Restricted Subsidiaries may (i) make regularly scheduled payments, or redemptions or mandatory prepayments of principal and interest in respect of Junior Debt, (ii) prepay additional Junior Debt in an aggregate amount not to exceed the greater of (x) $7,500,000 and (y) and (y) 25% of Consolidated EBITDA (determined at the time of any such prepayment (calculated on a pro forma basis) as of the last day of the most recently ended four Fiscal Quarter period for which financial statements have been delivered pursuant to Section 5.1(a) or 5.1(b)) in the aggregate (the “General Junior Debt Basket”), minus any amounts reallocated to the General Investment Basket plus any amounts reallocated from the General Restricted Payment Basket, (iii) make payments on Junior Debt in an amount equal to the portion, if any, of the Available Amount on such date so long as, (x) no Event of Default shall exist or result therefrom and (y) the Consolidated Net Leverage Ratio is not greater than 4.00 to 1.00 calculated on a pro forma basis as of the last day of the Fiscal Quarter for which financial statements have been delivered to the Lenders pursuant to Section 5.1(a) or (b), (iv) make payments on Junior Debt in additional amounts so long as (x) no Event of Default shall exist or result therefrom and (y) the Consolidated First Lien Leverage Ratio is not greater than 3.50 to 1.00 calculated on a pro forma basis as of the last day of the Fiscal Quarter for which financial statements have been delivered to the Lenders pursuant to Section 5.1(a) or (b), (v) refinance any Junior Debt with any Indebtedness permitted by Section 6.1, (vi) convert or exchange any Junior Debt to Equity Interests (other than Disqualified Equity Interests) of Holdings or any of its direct or indirect parents, and (vii) make payments on Junior Debt in an amount not to exceed the Excluded Contribution Amount (other than amounts constituting Specified Equity Contributions or the Available Amount).

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Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in any Loan Document, (x) the Borrowers may make regularly scheduled payments of interest and fees on any Junior Debt, and may make any payments required by the terms of such Indebtedness in order to avoid the application of Section 163(e)(5) of the Code to such Indebtedness (y) no payment shall be permitted to be made on any earn-out or similar obligation in relation to a Permitted Acquisition or other permitted Investment or any Indebtedness pursuant to Section 6.01(i), in each case to the extent any Event of Default pursuant to Section 8.1(a), (b), (h) or (i) is continuing or would result therefrom.

 

7.FINANCIAL COVENANT.

 

7.1         Consolidated Net Leverage Ratio. The Borrowers shall not permit the Consolidated Net Leverage Ratio to exceed the applicable ratio set forth below as of the last day of the applicable Fiscal Quarter, commencing with the Fiscal Quarter ending December 27, 2021::

 

Fiscal Quarter   Consolidated Net Leverage Ratio
Fiscal Quarter ending December 27, 2021 and each Fiscal Quarter ending through and including September 26, 2022   6.00 to 1.00
     
Fiscal Quarter ending December 26, 2022 and each Fiscal Quarter ending through and including September 25, 2023   5.50 to 1.00
     
Fiscal Quarter ending January 1, 2024 and each Fiscal Quarter ending thereafterthrough and including September 30, 2024   3.50 to 1.00
     
Fiscal Quarter ending December 30, 2024 and each Fiscal Quarter ending through and including December 29, 2025   6.50 to 1.00
     
Fiscal Quarter ending March 30, 2026 and each Fiscal Quarter ending through and including December 28, 2026   5.50 to 1.00
     
Fiscal Quarter ending March 29, 2027 and each Fiscal Quarter ending through and including December 27, 2027   4.50 to 1.00
     
Fiscal Quarter ending March 27, 2028 and each Fiscal Quarter ending thereafter   3.50 to 1.00

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8.EVENTS OF DEFAULT; REMEDIES.

 

8.1         Event of Default. If any of the following events (each such an event, an “Event of Default”) shall occur:

 

(a)         Obligors shall fail to pay any principal of any Loan or any reimbursement obligation in respect of any LC Disbursement or deposit any funds as cash collateral in respect of any Letter of Credit when and as the same shall become due and payable, whether at the due date thereof or at a date fixed for prepayment thereof or otherwise;

 

(b)         Obligors shall fail to pay (i) any interest on any Loan or LC Disbursement or (ii) any fee or any other amount (other than an amount referred to in clause (a) of this Section) payable under this Agreement or under any other Loan Document, when and as the same shall become due and payable, and such failure shall continue unremedied for a period of (x) with respect to the foregoing clause (i), five or more Business Days and (ii) with respect to the foregoing clause (ii), ten or more Business Days;

 

(c)         any certification, representation, or warranty made or deemed made by or on behalf of any Obligor in or in connection with this Agreement or any other Loan Document or in any report, certificate, financial statement, or other document furnished pursuant to or in connection with this Agreement or any other Loan Document, shall prove to have been incorrect in any material respect when made or deemed made (unless any such certification, representation or warranty is qualified as to materiality or as to Material Adverse Effect, in which case such certification, representation and warranty shall prove to have been incorrect in any respect), and such failure shall continue unremedied for a period of 30 or more days with respect to any such failure that is capable of being cured;

 

(d)         any Obligor shall fail to observe or perform any covenant, condition or agreement contained in Section 5.2(a), 5.3 (with respect to Holdings’ or any Borrower’s existence), 5.17, 6, or 7; provided that (x) the covenant in Section 7 is subject to cure pursuant to Section 8.3, and (y) failure to comply with Section 7 shall not constitute an Event of Default until the termination of the Cure Period;

 

(e)          any Obligor shall fail to observe or perform any covenant, condition or agreement contained in this Agreement (other than those specified in clause (a), (b), or (d) of this Section) or any other Loan Document and such failure shall continue unremedied for a period of 30 or more days from written notice by the Administrative Agent to the Borrower Representative;

 

(f)          any Obligor shall fail to make any payment (including of principal or interest and regardless of amount) in respect of any Material Indebtedness, when and as the same shall become due and payable (after giving effect to any applicable notice requirement or grace period);

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(g)         any event or condition occurs that results in any Material Indebtedness (other than the Obligations) becoming due prior to its scheduled maturity or that enables or permits (with or without the giving of notice, the lapse of time or both) the holder or holders of any such Material Indebtedness or any trustee or agent on its or their behalf to cause any such Material Indebtedness to become due, or to require the prepayment, repurchase, redemption or defeasance thereof, prior to its scheduled maturity (after giving effect to any applicable notice requirement or grace period); provided that this clause (g) shall not apply to (i) secured Indebtedness that becomes due as a result of the voluntary sale or transfer of the property securing such Indebtedness in a transaction permitted hereunder, (ii) any Indebtedness if (x) the sole remedy of the holder thereof in the event of the non-payment of such Indebtedness or the non-payment or non-performance of obligations related thereto or (y) sole option is to elect, in each case, to convert such Indebtedness into Qualified Equity Interests and cash in lieu of fractional shares, (iii) in the case of Indebtedness which the holder thereof may elect to convert into Qualified Equity Interests, such Indebtedness from and after the date, if any, on which such conversion has been effected and (iv) any breach or default that is (x) remedied by Holdings, the applicable Borrower or the applicable Restricted Subsidiary or (y) waived (including in the form of amendment) by the required holders of the applicable item of Indebtedness, in either case, prior to any termination of the Commitments or the acceleration of Loans pursuant to this Section 8.1;

 

(h)         an involuntary proceeding shall be commenced or an involuntary petition shall be filed seeking (i) liquidation, reorganization, conservatorship, bankruptcy, assignment for the benefit of creditors, moratorium, rearrangement, receivership, insolvency or other relief in respect of any Obligor or any of its Material Subsidiaries or debts, or of a substantial part of its assets, under any Debtor Relief Laws or (ii) the appointment of a receiver, trustee, custodian, sequestrator, conservator, liquidator, rehabilitator, or similar official for any Obligor or its Material Subsidiaries or for a substantial part of its or their assets, and, in any such case, such proceeding or petition shall continue undismissed for a period of 60 or more days or an order or decree approving or ordering any of the foregoing shall be entered;

 

(i)         any Obligor or its Material Subsidiaries shall (i) voluntarily commence any proceeding or file any petition seeking liquidation, reorganization, conservatorship, bankruptcy, assignment for the benefit of creditors, moratorium, rearrangement, receivership, insolvency, or other relief under any Debtor Relief Laws now or hereafter in effect, (ii) consent to the institution of, or fail to contest in a timely and appropriate manner, any proceeding or petition described in clause (h) of this Section, (iii) apply for or consent to the appointment of a receiver, trustee, custodian, sequestrator, conservator, liquidator, rehabilitator, or similar official for any Obligor or its Material Subsidiaries or for a substantial part of its assets, (iv) file an answer admitting the material allegations of a petition filed against it in any such proceeding, (v) make a general assignment for the benefit of creditors, or (vi) take any organizational action to authorize any of the foregoing;

 

(j)         one or more final and non-appealable judgments for the payment of money in an aggregate amount in excess of the greater of (i) $7,500,000 and (ii) 25.0% of Consolidated EBITDA (exclusive of amounts covered by insurance provided by a financially sound insurance company and for which such insurer has not denied coverage or the indemnity, or has not denied liability, as applicable, after notice) shall be rendered against any Obligor or its Restricted Subsidiary and the same shall remain undischarged for a period of 60 consecutive days during which execution shall not be effectively stayed, or any action shall be legally taken by a judgment creditor to attach or levy upon any assets of any Obligor or its Restricted Subsidiary to enforce any such judgment;

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(k)         an ERISA Event shall have occurred that, when taken together with all other ERISA Events that have occurred, would reasonably be expected to result in liability of any Obligor and its Restricted Subsidiaries in an aggregate amount that would have a Material Adverse Effect;

 

(l)           [reserved];

 

(m)        a Change in Control shall occur;

 

(n)         the Liens created by the Security Documents shall at any time not constitute a valid and perfected first priority Lien on the Collateral intended to be covered thereby (other than any Collateral released under Section 9.10) in favor of Administrative Agent, free and clear of all other Liens (other than Permitted Encumbrances), other than as a result of a failure of the Administrative Agent or the Lenders to take any action required under the Loan Documents or, except for expiration or termination in accordance with its terms or with the consent of Administrative Agent, any of the Loan Documents shall for whatever reason be terminated or cease to be in full force and effect, or enforceability thereof shall be contested by any Obligor, or any Borrower or any Person acting by or on behalf of any Borrower shall deny or disaffirm any Borrower’s obligations under Section 10.22 or Section 10.23;

 

(o)         [reserved]; or

 

(p)         (i) an Intercreditor Agreement or the subordination provisions of the documents evidencing or governing any Subordinated Indebtedness constituting Material Indebtedness (the “Subordination Provisions”) shall, in whole or in part, terminate, cease to be effective or cease to be legally valid, binding and enforceable against any holder of such Subordinated Indebtedness constituting Material Indebtedness, other than as a result of a failure of the Administrative Agent or the Lenders to take any action required under the Loan Documents; or (ii) any Obligor or holder of such Subordinated Indebtedness constituting Material Indebtedness shall disavow or contest in any manner (A) the effectiveness, validity or enforceability of any of the Subordination Provisions, (B) that the Subordination Provisions exist for the benefit of Administrative Agent, the Lenders and Issuing Lender, or (C) that all payments of principal of or premium and interest on such Subordinated Indebtedness, or realized from the liquidation of any property of any Obligor, shall be subject to any of the Subordination Provisions; or (iii) any Intercreditor Agreement or Subordination Agreement related to Material Indebtedness shall cease to be in full force and effect or the Loans shall cease to constitute “Senior Indebtedness” (or similar term) thereunder;

 

then, in every such event (other than an event with respect to any Obligor described in clause (h) or (i) of this Section 8.1), and at any time thereafter during the continuance of such event, Administrative Agent may with the consent of the Required Lenders, and at the request of the Required Lenders shall, by notice to the Borrower Representative, take any or all of the following actions, at the same or different times: (i) terminate the Commitments including any obligation of Issuing Lender to issue Letters of Credit, and thereupon the Commitments and obligations shall terminate immediately, (ii) require that the Borrowers cash collateralize the aggregate LC Exposure, (iii) declare the Loans then outstanding to be due and payable in whole (or in part, in which case any principal not so declared to be due and payable may thereafter be declared to be due and payable), and thereupon the principal of the Loans so declared to be due and payable, together with accrued interest thereon and all fees and other obligations of the Obligors accrued hereunder and under the other Loan Documents, shall become due and payable immediately, without presentment, demand, protest, notice of intent to accelerate, notice of acceleration or other notice of any kind, all of which are hereby waived by each Obligor, and (iv) exercise on behalf of itself, the Lenders and Issuing Lender all rights and remedies available to it, the Lenders and Issuing Lender under the Loan Documents and applicable law; and in case of any event with respect to any Obligor described in clause (h) or (i) of this Section 8.1, the Commitments, and Issuing Lender’s obligation to issue Letters of Credit, shall automatically terminate, the obligation of the Borrowers to cash collateralize the LC Exposure shall automatically become effective, and the principal of the Loans then outstanding, together with accrued interest thereon and all fees and other obligations of the Obligors accrued hereunder and under the other Loan Documents, shall automatically become due and payable, without presentment, demand, protest, notice of intent to accelerate, notice of acceleration, or other notice of any kind, all of which are hereby waived by each Obligor. In addition, if any Event of Default shall exist, Administrative Agent may foreclose or otherwise enforce any Lien granted to the Administrative Agent, for the benefit of the Secured Parties, to secure payment and performance of the Obligations in accordance with the terms of the Loan Documents and exercise any and all rights and remedies afforded by applicable law, by any of the Loan Documents, by equity, or otherwise.

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8.2         Application of Payment. Subsequent to the acceleration of the Obligations under Section 8.1 hereof, subject to any applicable Intercreditor Agreements, payments and prepayments with respect to the Obligations made to the Administrative Agent, the Lenders, Issuing Lender, Swingline Lender or otherwise received by Administrative Agent, any Lender, Issuing Lender or Swingline Lender (from realization on Collateral or otherwise, but excluding any funds held to cash collateralize the LC Exposure which shall be applied to, or held to pay, the LC Exposure as set forth in Section 2.5(l) and subject to rights of Non-Defaulting Lenders pursuant to Section 2.21) shall be distributed in the following order of priority: FIRST, to the fees, indemnities, expenses and other amounts (including attorneys’ fees and expenses), if any, payable to the Administrative Agent in its capacity as such; SECOND, to the fees, indemnities and other amounts (other than principal, reimbursement obligations in respect of LC Disbursements and interest) payable to the Lenders and the Issuing Lender (including attorneys’ fees and expenses) arising under the Loans Documents, ratably among them in proportion to the respective amounts described in this clause payable to them; THIRD, to the payment of interest then due and payable on the Swingline Loans; FOURTH, to the payment of the principal of any Swingline Loans then outstanding; FIFTH, to the payment of interest then due and payable on any outstanding LC Disbursements, the Revolving Credit Loans, and the Term Loans, on a pro rata basis; SIXTH, on a pro rata basis, to (a) the payment of principal of the Revolving Credit Loans, (b) the payment of principal of the Term Loans, (c) cash collateralize the LC Exposure in accordance with clause (a) of the definition of “Fully Satisfied” set forth in this Agreement, and (d) the payment of any Bank Product Obligations, until each of the foregoing Obligations in clauses (a) through (d) of this Section 8.2 are Fully Satisfied; SEVENTH, to any other Obligations not otherwise referred to in this Section; and EIGHTH, to the applicable Obligors, their successors or assigns, or as a court of competent jurisdiction may otherwise direct. The Administrative Agent shall have absolute discretion as to the time of application of any such proceeds, moneys, or balances in accordance with this Agreement. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary set forth above, in no event shall any proceeds of any Collateral owned, or any Guarantee provided, by any Obligor under any Loan Document be applied to repay or cash collateralize any Excluded Swap Obligation with respect to such Obligor; provided, that Administrative Agent may elect to apply the proceeds of any such Collateral or Guarantee to repay or cash collateralize any Obligations (other than Excluded Swap Obligation with respect to such Obligor) in accordance with the priority set forth above before applying the proceeds of any other Collateral or Guarantee provided under any Loan Document, if in the reasonable determination of Administrative Agent, such order of application will maximize the repayment of all of the Obligations. Upon any sale of Collateral by Administrative Agent (including pursuant to a power of sale granted by statute or under a judicial proceeding), the receipt of the purchase money by Administrative Agent or of the officer making the sale shall be a sufficient discharge to the purchaser or purchasers of the Collateral so sold and such purchaser or purchasers shall not be obligated to see to the application of any part of the purchase money paid over to the Administrative Agent or such officer or be answerable in any way for the misapplication thereof.

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8.3         Right to Cure. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in Section 8.1, in the event that the Borrowers fail (or, but for the operation of this Section 8.3, would fail) to comply with the Financial Covenant, as of the last day of any Fiscal Quarter in which such Financial Covenant is required to be tested, at any time after the last day of such Fiscal Quarter until the day that is 15 Business Days after the date that financial statements for such Fiscal Quarter are required to be delivered pursuant to Section 5.1(a) or 5.1(b), Holdings shall have the right to issue Qualified Equity Interests for cash or otherwise receive cash contributions in respect of Qualified Equity Interests which is promptly contributed to the capital of any Borrower, and thereupon such Financial Covenant shall be recalculated by increasing Consolidated EBITDA by the amount of such Specified Equity Contribution with respect to such Fiscal Quarter and any four-quarter period that contains such Fiscal Quarter; provided that, (a) in each 4 consecutive Fiscal Quarter period, there shall be no more than 2 Fiscal Quarters in which a Specified Equity Contribution is made, (b) no more than 5 Specified Equity Contributions may be made in the aggregate during the term of this Agreement, (c) the amount of any Specified Equity Contribution shall be no greater than the amount required to cause the Borrowers to be in compliance with the Financial Covenant, (d) any adjustment on a pro forma basis to Consolidated EBITDA resulting from any Specified Equity Contribution shall be counted as Consolidated EBITDA solely for purposes of determining compliance with the Financial Covenant and shall not be included for any other purpose (including for purposes of determining the Applicable Margin or any financial ratio-based conditions or any “baskets”) during any Fiscal Quarter in which the pro forma adjustment applies, (e) no Lender shall be required to fund any Borrowing or Letter of Credit extension during the 15 Business Day period referred to above unless a Borrower has received the proceeds of the Specified Equity Contribution in an amount required to cause Borrowers to be in compliance with the Financial Covenant, (f) for the avoidance of doubt, in recalculating the Financial Covenant by increasing Consolidated EBITDA as set forth above, there shall be no pro forma effect given to any reduction of Indebtedness with the Specified Equity Contribution in such recalculation of the Financial Covenant for such Fiscal Quarter in which such Specified Equity Contribution is made, (g) no Default or Event of Default shall exist with respect to the Financial Covenant until the end of the 15 Business Day period referenced above (the “Cure Termination Date”) and (h) none of the Administrative Agent, any Lender or any Secured party shall exercise any rights or remedies until after the Cure Termination Date solely on the basis of a Default or Event of Default having occurred and being continuing with respect to the Financial Covenant for the applicable Fiscal Quarter. If, after giving effect to the adjustments in this paragraph, the Borrowers shall then be in compliance with the requirements of the Financial Covenant, the Borrowers shall be deemed to have satisfied the requirements of the Financial Covenant as of the relevant date of determination with the same effect as though there had been no failure to comply therewith at such date, and the applicable breach or default of the Financial Covenant that had occurred shall be deemed cured for the purposes of this Agreement.

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8.4       Performance by Administrative Agent. If any Obligor shall fail to perform any covenant or agreement in accordance with the terms of the Loan Documents, if an Event of Default has occurred and is continuing, upon five Business Days’ notice, the Administrative Agent may perform or attempt to perform such covenant or agreement on behalf of the applicable Obligor. In such event, the Borrowers shall, at the request of Administrative Agent promptly pay any amount expended by Administrative Agent in connection with such performance or attempted performance to the Administrative Agent, together with interest thereon at the interest rate provided for in Section 2.12(c) from and including the date of such expenditure to but excluding the date such expenditure is paid in full. Notwithstanding the foregoing, it is expressly agreed that neither Administrative Agent nor any Lender shall have any liability or responsibility for the performance of any obligation of any Obligor under any Loan Documents.

 

9.ADMINISTRATIVE AGENT

 

9.1         Authorization and Action.

 

(a)         Each of the Lenders and Issuing Lender hereby irrevocably appoints Administrative Agent to act on its behalf as Administrative Agent hereunder and under the other Loan Documents and authorizes Administrative Agent to take such actions on its behalf and to exercise such powers as are delegated to the Administrative Agent by the terms hereof or thereof, together with such actions and powers as are reasonably incidental thereto. The provisions of this Section 9 are solely for the benefit of Administrative Agent, the Lenders, and Issuing Lender, and no Obligor has rights as a third-party beneficiary of any of such provisions (other than in respect of Sections 9.1, 9.5, 9.6 and 9.10, 9.11, 9.12, 9.13 and 9.14). It is understood and agreed that the use of the term “agent” herein or in any other Loan Documents (or any other similar term) with reference to the Administrative Agent is not intended to connote any fiduciary or other implied (or express) obligations arising under agency doctrine of any applicable law. Instead such term is used as a matter of market custom, and is intended to create or reflect only an administrative relationship between contracting parties.

 

(b)         Administrative Agent shall also act as the collateral agent under the Loan Documents, and each of the Lenders and Issuing Lender hereby irrevocably appoints and authorizes Administrative Agent to act as the agent of such Lender and Issuing Lender for purposes of acquiring, holding and enforcing any and all Liens on Collateral granted by any of the Obligors to secure any of the Obligations, together with such powers and discretion as are reasonably incidental thereto. In this connection, Administrative Agent, as collateral agent and any co-agents, sub-agents and attorneys-in-fact appointed by Administrative Agent pursuant to Section 9.5 for purposes of holding or enforcing any Lien on the Collateral (or any portion thereof) granted under the Security Documents, (or for exercising any rights and remedies thereunder at the direction of Administrative Agent), shall be entitled to the benefits of all provisions of this Sections 9 and 10 as if set forth in full herein with respect thereto. Administrative Agent is authorized on behalf of all the Lenders, without the necessity of any notice to or further consent from the Lenders or Issuing Lender, from time to time to take any action with respect to any Collateral or the Loan Documents which may be necessary to perfect and maintain perfected the Liens upon any Collateral granted pursuant to any Security Document.

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9.2         Administrative Agent and its Affiliates.

 

(a)         The Person serving as Administrative Agent hereunder shall have the same rights and powers in its capacity as a Lender as any other Lender and may exercise the same as though it were not Administrative Agent and the term “Lender” or “Lenders” shall, unless otherwise expressly indicated or unless the context otherwise requires, include the Person serving as Administrative Agent hereunder in its individual capacity. Such Person and its Affiliates may accept deposits from, own securities of, lend money to, act as the financial advisor or in any advisory capacity for and generally engage in any kind of business with the Borrowers or any Subsidiary or other Affiliate thereof as if it were not Administrative Agent hereunder and without any duty to account therefor to the Lenders.

 

(b)         Each of the Lenders and Issuing Lender understands that the Person serving as Administrative Agent, acting in its individual capacity, and its Affiliates (collectively, the “Agent’s Group”) is engaged in a wide range of financial services and businesses (including investment management, financing, securities trading, corporate and investment banking and research) (such services and businesses are collectively referred to in this Section 9 as “Activities”) any may engage in the Activities with or on behalf of one or more of the Obligors or their respective Affiliates. Furthermore, the Agent’s Group may, in undertaking the Activities, engage in trading in financial products or undertake other investment businesses for its own account or on behalf of others (including the Obligors and their Affiliates and including holding, for its own account or on behalf of others, equity, debt and similar positions in the Borrowers, another Obligor or their respective Affiliates), including trading in or holding long, short or derivative positions in securities, loans, or other financial products of one or more of the Obligors or their Affiliates. Each Lender understands and agrees that in engaging in the Activities, the Agent’s Group may receive or otherwise obtain information concerning the Obligors or their Affiliates (including information concerning the ability of the Obligors to perform their respective obligations hereunder and under the other Loan Documents) which information may not be available to any of the Lenders that are not members of the Agent’s Group. Neither Administrative Agent nor any other member of the Agent’s Group shall have any duty to disclose to any Lender or use on behalf of the Lenders, nor be liable for the failure to so disclose or use, any information whatsoever about or derived from the Activities or otherwise (including any information concerning the business, prospects, operations, property, financial and other condition or creditworthiness of any Obligor or any Affiliate of any Obligor) or to account for any revenue or profits obtained in connection with the Activities, except that Administrative Agent shall deliver or otherwise make available to each Lender such documents as are expressly required by any Loan Document to be transmitted by Administrative Agent to the Lenders.

 

(c)         Each Lender further understands that there may be situations where members of the Agent’s Group or their respective customers (including the Obligors and their Affiliates) either now have or may in the future have interests or take actions that may conflict with the interests of any one or more of the Lenders (including the interests of the Lenders hereunder and under the other Loan Documents). Each Lender agrees that no member of the Agent’s Group is or shall be required to restrict its activities as a result of any Person serving as Administrative Agent being a member of the Agent’s Group, and that each member of the Agent’s Group may undertake any Activities without further consultation with or notification of any Lender. None of (i) this Agreement nor any other Loan Document, (ii) the receipt by the Agent’s Group of information (including information concerning the ability of the Obligors to perform their respective obligations hereunder and under the other Loan Documents), or (iii) any other matter, shall give rise to any fiduciary, equitable, or contractual duties (including any duty of trust or confidence) owing by Administrative Agent or any member of the Agent’s Group to any Lender including any such duty that would prevent or restrict the Agent’s Group from acting on behalf of customers (including the Obligors or their Affiliates) or for its own account.

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9.3         Duties. Administrative Agent shall not have any duties or obligations except those expressly set forth herein and in the other Loan Documents. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, Administrative Agent:

 

(a)         shall not be subject to any fiduciary or other implied duties, regardless of whether a Default has occurred and is continuing; additionally, each Lender agrees that it will not assert any claim against the Administrative Agent based on an alleged breach of fiduciary duty by the Administrative Agent in connection with this Agreement and/or the transactions contemplated hereby;

 

(b)         shall not have any duty to take any discretionary action or exercise any discretionary powers, except discretionary rights and powers expressly contemplated hereby or by the other Loan Documents that Administrative Agent is required to exercise as directed in writing by the Required Lenders (or such other number or percentage of the Lenders as shall be expressly provided for herein or in the other Loan Documents); provided, that the Administrative Agent may seek clarification or direction from the Required Lenders prior to the exercise of any such instructed action and may refrain from acting until such clarification or direction has been provided. Provided, further, that Administrative Agent shall not be required to take any action that, in its opinion or the opinion of its counsel, may expose Administrative Agent to liability or that is contrary to any Loan Document or applicable law, including for the avoidance of doubt any action that may be in violation of the automatic stay under any Debtor Relief Law or that may effect a forfeiture, modification or termination of property of a Defaulting Lender in violation of any Debtor Relief Law;

 

(c)         shall not, except as expressly set forth herein and in the other Loan Documents, have any duty to disclose, and shall not be liable for the failure to disclose, any information relating to any Obligor or any of their respective Affiliates that is communicated to or obtained by the Person serving as Administrative Agent or any of its Affiliates in any capacity;

 

(d)         shall not be responsible or have any liability for, or have any duty to ascertain, inquire into, monitor or enforce, compliance with the provisions hereof relating to Disqualified Institutions, and specifically, it shall not (i) be obligated to ascertain, monitor or inquire as to whether any Lender or Participant or prospective Lender or Participant is a Disqualified Institution or (ii) have any liability with respect to or arising out of any assignment or participation of Loans, or disclosure of confidential information, to any Disqualified Institution; and

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(e)          shall not be required by this Agreement or any Loan Document to account to any Lender for any sum or the profit element of any sum received by the Administrative Agent for its own account.

 

9.4Administrative Agent’s Reliance, Lender Representations, Etc.

 

(a)          Administrative Agent shall not be liable to the Lenders for any action taken or not taken by it (i) with the consent or at the request of the Required Lenders (or such other number or percentage of the Lenders as shall be necessary, or as Administrative Agent shall believe in good faith shall be necessary, under the circumstances as provided in Sections 10.2 and 8) or (ii) in the absence of its own gross negligence or willful misconduct as determined by a court of competent jurisdiction by final and nonappealable judgment. Administrative Agent shall not be responsible in any manner to any of the Lenders for any recitals, statements, representations or warranties made by any Obligor or any officer thereof contained in this Agreement or any other Loan Document or in any certificate, report, statement or other document referred to or provided for in, or received by the Administrative Agent under or in connection with, this Agreement or any other Loan Document or for the value, validity, effectiveness, genuineness, enforceability or sufficiency of this Agreement or any other Loan Document (including, for the avoidance of doubt, in connection with the Administrative Agent’s reliance on any Electronic Signature transmitted by telecopy, emailed pdf. or any other electronic means that reproduces an image of an actual executed signature page) or for any failure of any Obligor to perform its obligations hereunder or thereunder. Administrative Agent shall be deemed not to have knowledge of any Default unless and until written notice describing such Default is given to the Administrative Agent by an Obligor, a Lender, or Issuing Lender. Administrative Agent shall not be responsible for or have any duty to ascertain or inquire into (i) any statement, warranty or representation made in or in connection with this Agreement or any other Loan Document, (ii) the contents of any certificate, report or other document delivered hereunder or thereunder or in connection herewith or therewith, (iii) the performance or observance of any of the covenants, agreements or other terms or conditions set forth herein or therein or the occurrence of any Default, (iv) the validity, enforceability, effectiveness or genuineness of this Agreement, any other Loan Document or any other agreement, instrument or document, or the creation, perfection or priority of any Lien purported to be created by the Security Documents, or (v) the satisfaction of any condition set forth in Section 4 or elsewhere herein or therein, other than to confirm receipt of items expressly required to be delivered to the Administrative Agent.

 

(b)          Administrative Agent shall be entitled to rely upon, and shall not incur any liability for relying upon, any notice, request, certificate, consent, statement, instrument, document, or other writing (including any electronic message, Internet or intranet website posting or other distribution) believed in good faith by it to be genuine and to have been signed, sent or otherwise authenticated by the proper Person. Administrative Agent also may rely upon any statement made to it orally or by telephone and believed by it to be made by the proper Person, and shall not incur any liability for relying thereon. In determining compliance with any condition hereunder to the making of a Loan, or the issuance, extension, renewal or increase of a Letter of Credit, that by its terms must be fulfilled to the satisfaction of a Lender or Issuing Lender, Administrative Agent may presume that such condition is satisfactory to such Lender or Issuing Lender unless Administrative Agent shall have received notice to the contrary from such Lender or Issuing Lender prior to the making of such Loan or the issuance of such Letter of Credit. Administrative Agent may consult with legal counsel (who may be counsel for an Obligor), independent accountants and other experts selected by it, and shall not be liable for any action taken or not taken by it in accordance with the advice of any such counsel, accountants or experts. Without limiting the foregoing, the Administrative Agent makes no warranty or representation to any Lender or Issuing Lender and shall not be responsible to any Lender or Issuing Lender for any statements, warranties or representations made by or on behalf of any Obligor in connection with this Agreement or any other Loan Document.

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(c)          Each Lender (x) represents and warrants, as of the date such Person became a Lender party hereto, to, and (y) covenants, from the date such Person became a Lender party hereto to the date such Person ceases being a Lender party hereto, for the benefit of, the Administrative Agent and its Affiliates, and not, for the avoidance of doubt, to or for the benefit of the Borrowers or any other Obligor, that at least one of the following is and will be true:

 

(i)          such Lender is not using “plan assets” (within the meaning of 29 CFR § 2510.3-101, as modified by Section 3(42) of ERISA) of one or more Benefit Plans in connection with the Loans or the Commitments,

 

(ii)         the transaction exemption set forth in one or more PTEs, such as PTE 84-14 (a class exemption for certain transactions determined by independent qualified professional asset managers), PTE 95-60 (a class exemption for certain transactions involving insurance company general accounts), PTE 90-1 (a class exemption for certain transactions involving insurance company pooled separate accounts), PTE 91-38 (a class exemption for certain transactions involving bank collective investment funds) or PTE 96-23 (a class exemption for certain transactions determined by in-house asset managers), is applicable with respect to such Lender’s entrance into, participation in, administration of and performance of the Loans, the Commitments and this Agreement,

 

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

 

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

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(d)          In addition, unless sub-clause (i) in the immediately preceding clause (c) is true with respect to a Lender or such Lender has not provided another representation, warranty and covenant as provided in sub-clause (iv) in the immediately preceding clause (c), such Lender further (x) represents and warrants, as of the date such Person became a Lender party hereto, to, and (y) covenants, from the date such Person became a Lender party hereto to the date such Person ceases being a Lender party hereto, for the benefit of, the Administrative Agent and its Affiliates, and not, for the avoidance of doubt, to or for the benefit of the Borrowers or any other Obligor, that:

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

(v)         no fee or other compensation is being paid directly to the Administrative Agent or its Affiliates for investment advice (as opposed to other services) in connection with the Loans, the Commitments or this Agreement.

 

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

 

(f)          Each Lender, by delivering its signature page to this Agreement on the Effective Date, or delivering its signature page to an Assignment and Assumption or any other Loan Document pursuant to which it shall become a Lender hereunder, shall be deemed to have acknowledged receipt of, and consented to and approved, each Loan Document and each other document required to be delivered to, or be approved by or satisfactory to, the Administrative Agent or the Lenders on the Effective Date or the effective date of any such Assignment and Assumption or any other Loan Document pursuant to which it shall have become a Lender hereunder.

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9.5         Sub-Agents. Administrative Agent may perform any and all its duties and exercise its rights and powers hereunder or under any other Loan Document by or through any one or more sub-agents appointed by Administrative Agent (other than Disqualified Institutions). Administrative Agent and any such sub-agent may perform any and all its duties and exercise its rights and powers by or through their respective Related Parties. Administrative Agent is authorized on behalf of all the Lenders, without the necessity of any notice to or further consent from the Lenders or Issuing Lender, from time to time to permit any co-agents, sub-agents and attorneys-in-fact appointed by Administrative Agent to take any action with respect to any Collateral or the Loan Documents which may be necessary to perfect and maintain perfected the Liens upon any Collateral granted pursuant to any Security Document. The exculpatory provisions of this Section 9, as well as all other indemnity and expense reimbursement provisions of this Agreement (including, without limitation, Section 10.3), shall apply to any such sub-agent and to the Related Parties of Administrative Agent and any such sub-agent, and shall apply to their respective activities in connection with the syndication of the credit facilities provided for herein as well as activities as Administrative Agent and as though such co-agents, sub-agents and attorneys-in-fact were the “collateral agent” under the Loan Documents. Administrative Agent shall not be responsible to the Lenders for the negligence or misconduct of any sub-agent except to the extent that a court of competent jurisdiction determines in a final and nonappealable judgment that Administrative Agent acted with gross negligence or willful misconduct in the selection of such sub-agents.

 

9.6Resignation.

 

(a)          Administrative Agent may resign at any time by giving notice of its resignation to the Lenders, Issuing Lender, and the Borrower Representative. Upon receipt of any such notice of resignation, the Required Lenders shall have the right, in consultation with and, so long as no Event of Default pursuant to Section 8.1(a), (b), (h) or (i) then exists, subject to the approval (not to be unreasonably withheld or delayed) of, the Borrower Representative, to appoint a successor, which shall be a Lender or a financial institution with an office in the United States, or an Affiliate of any such financial institution with an office in the United States. If no successor shall have been so appointed by the Required Lenders and, if applicable, the Borrowers and shall have accepted such appointment within 30 days after the retiring Administrative Agent gives notice of its resignation (or such earlier day as shall be agreed by the Required Lenders) (the “Resignation Effective Date”), then the retiring Administrative Agent may, on behalf of the Lenders and Issuing Lender, appoint a successor Administrative Agent meeting the qualifications set forth above (including any requisite Borrower consent). Whether or not a successor has been appointed, such resignation shall become effective in accordance with such notice on the Resignation Effective Date. Unless approved by the Borrower Representative in its sole discretion, no Disqualified Institution shall be a successor Administrative Agent.

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(b)          With effect from the Resignation Effective Date (a) the retiring Administrative Agent shall be discharged from its duties and obligations hereunder and under the other Loan Documents (except that in the case of any Collateral held by Administrative Agent on behalf of the Lenders or Issuing Lender under any of the Loan Documents, the retiring Administrative Agent shall continue to hold such collateral security until such time as a successor Administrative Agent is appointed) and (b) except for any indemnity payments owed to the retiring Administrative Agent, all payments, communications and determinations provided to be made by, to or through Administrative Agent shall instead be made by or to each Lender and each Issuing Lender directly, until such time as the Required Lenders appoint a successor Administrative Agent as provided for above. Upon the acceptance of a successor’s appointment as Administrative Agent hereunder, such successor shall succeed to and become vested with all of the rights, powers, privileges and duties of the retiring Administrative Agent (other than any rights to indemnity payments owed to the retiring Administrative Agent) and the retiring Administrative Agent shall be discharged from all of its duties and obligations hereunder or under the other Loan Documents. The fees payable by the Borrowers to a successor Administrative Agent shall be the same as those payable to its predecessor unless otherwise agreed between the Borrowers and such successor. After the retiring Administrative Agent’s resignation hereunder and under the other Loan Documents, the provisions of this Section and Section 10.3 shall continue in effect for the benefit of such retiring Administrative Agent, its sub-agents and their respective Related Parties in respect of any actions taken or omitted to be taken by any of them while the retiring Administrative Agent was acting as Administrative Agent.

 

(c)          Any resignation by JPMorgan as Administrative Agent pursuant to this Section shall also constitute its resignation as Issuing Lender and, if applicable, Swingline Lender. Upon the acceptance of a successor’s appointment as Administrative Agent hereunder, (i) such successor shall succeed to and become vested with all of the rights, powers, privileges and duties of the retiring Issuing Lender and Swingline Lender, (ii) the retiring Issuing Lender and Swingline Lender shall be discharged from all of their respective duties and obligations hereunder or under the other Loan Documents, and (iii) the successor Issuing Lender shall issue letters of credit in substitution for the Letters of Credit, if any, outstanding at the time of such succession or make other arrangements reasonably satisfactory to the retiring Issuing Lender to effectively assume the obligations of the retiring Issuing Lender with respect to such Letters of Credit.

 

9.7         Lender Credit Decision. Each Lender and Issuing Lender acknowledges that it has, independently and without reliance upon Administrative Agent or any other Lender or any of their Related Parties and based on such documents and information as it has deemed appropriate, made its own credit analysis and decision to enter into this Agreement. Each Lender and Issuing Lender also acknowledges that it will, independently and without reliance upon Administrative Agent or any other Lender or any of their Related Parties and based on such documents and information as it shall from time to time deem appropriate, continue to make its own decisions in taking or not taking action under or based upon this Agreement, any other Loan Document or any related agreement or any document furnished hereunder or thereunder. In this regard, each Lender further acknowledges that King & Spalding, LLP is acting in this transaction as special counsel to JPMorgan only, except to the extent otherwise expressly stated in any legal opinion or any Loan Document. Each other party hereto will consult with its own legal counsel to the extent that it deems necessary in connection with the Loan Documents and the matters contemplated therein.

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9.8          Other Agent Titles. Anything herein to the contrary notwithstanding, none of the Persons listed as a “Lead Arranger,” “Bookrunner” or “Documentation Agent” on the cover page hereof shall have any powers, duties or responsibilities under this Agreement or any of the other Loan Documents, except in its capacity, as applicable, as Administrative Agent, a Lender or Issuing Lender hereunder.

 

9.9          Agent May File Proofs of Claim; Bankruptcy Events. In case of the pendency of any proceeding under any Debtor Relief Law or any other judicial proceeding relative to any Obligor or any Subsidiary, Administrative Agent (irrespective of whether the principal of any Loan or LC Disbursement shall then be due and payable as herein expressed or by declaration or otherwise and irrespective of whether Administrative Agent shall have made any demand any Obligor or any other Person primarily or secondarily liable) shall be entitled and empowered (but not obligated), by intervention in such proceeding or otherwise:

 

(a)          to file and prove a claim for the whole amount of the principal and interest owing and unpaid in respect of the Loans, LC Disbursements and all other Obligations that are owing and unpaid and to file such other documents as may be necessary or advisable in order to have the claims of the Lenders, Issuing Lender and the Administrative Agent (including any claim for the reasonable compensation, expenses, disbursements and advances of the Lenders, Issuing Lender and the Administrative Agent and their respective agents and counsel and all other amounts due the Lenders, Issuing Lender and the Administrative Agent under Sections 2 and 10.3) allowed in such judicial proceeding; and

 

(b)          to collect and receive any monies or other property payable or deliverable on any such claims and to distribute the same in accordance with this Agreement;

 

and any custodian, receiver, assignee, trustee, liquidator, sequestrator or other similar official in any such judicial proceeding is hereby authorized by each Lender and Issuing Lender to make such payments to the Administrative Agent and, in the event that Administrative Agent shall consent to the making of such payments directly to the Lenders and Issuing Lender, to pay to the Administrative Agent any amount due for the reasonable compensation, expenses, disbursements and advances of Administrative Agent and its agents and counsel, and any other amounts due to the Administrative Agent under Sections 2 and 10.3. Nothing contained herein shall be deemed to authorize Administrative Agent to authorize or consent to or accept or adopt in each case on behalf of any Lender or Issuing Lender any plan of reorganization, arrangement, adjustment or composition affecting the Obligations in any proceeding under any Debtor Relief Law.

 

9.10Collateral.

 

(a)The Secured Parties irrevocably authorize and direct the Administrative Agent:

 

(i)          to release any Lien (A) on all Collateral upon Full Satisfaction of all the Obligations and termination of the Commitments, (B) with respect to any Collateral that is sold or otherwise Disposed of to a Person other than an Obligor pursuant to a Disposition permitted by Section 6.4 (other than any Disposition permitted by clause (f) of Section 6.4), (C) on Collateral owned by a Subsidiary that is a Guarantor upon release of such Guarantor from its obligations under its Guaranty Agreement pursuant to clause (iii) below, (D) upon property constituting Excluded Property (as defined in the Security Agreement; or any similar term in any Security Document), (E) on Collateral in accordance with the terms of any Intercreditor Agreement or (F) subject to Section 10.2, as may be approved, authorized, or ratified in writing by the Required Lenders;

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(ii)         to subordinate any Lien on any Collateral to the holder of any Lien on such property that is permitted by clause (f) of the definition of “Permitted Encumbrances”; and

 

(iii)        to release any Guarantor from its obligations under the Guaranty Agreement if such Person ceases to be a Subsidiary as a result of a transaction permitted under the Loan Documents or otherwise becomes an Excluded Subsidiary.

 

(b)          Upon request by Administrative Agent at any time, the Secured Parties will confirm in writing Administrative Agent’s authority to release or subordinate its interest in particular types or items of property or to release any Guarantor from its obligations under the Guaranty Agreement pursuant to this Section 9.10.

 

(c)          Administrative Agent, at the sole expense of Obligors, shall execute and deliver to the Obligors all releases or other documents reasonably necessary or desirable to evidence or effect any release of Liens or release of Guaranty Agreement authorized under Section 9.10(a); provided that (i) Administrative Agent shall not be required to execute any document necessary to evidence such release authorized under clause (i)(B) or (ii) of Section 9.10(a) unless a Responsible Officer of the Borrower Representative shall certify in writing to the Administrative Agent that the transaction requiring such release is permitted under the Loan Documents (it being acknowledged that Administrative Agent may rely on any such certificate without further enquiry), (ii) Administrative Agent shall not be required to execute any document necessary to evidence such release on terms that, in Administrative Agent’s opinion, would expose Administrative Agent to liability or create any obligation or entail any consequence other than the release of such Lien without recourse, representation, or warranty, and (iii) no such release shall in any manner discharge, affect, or impair the Obligations or any Liens (other than those expressly being released) upon (or obligations of any Obligors in respect of) all interests retained by Obligors, including, the proceeds of any sale, all of which shall continue to constitute part of the Collateral. To the extent Administrative Agent is required to execute any releases or other documents in accordance with this Section 9.10(c), Administrative Agent shall do so promptly upon request of the Borrower Representative without the consent or further agreement of any Secured Party.

 

(d)          Administrative Agent shall have no obligation whatsoever to any of the Secured Parties to assure that the Collateral exists or is owned by any Obligor or its Restricted Subsidiaries or is cared for, protected, or insured or has been encumbered, or that Administrative Agent’s Liens have been properly or sufficiently or lawfully created, perfected, protected, or enforced or are entitled to any particular priority, or that any particular items of Collateral meet the eligibility criteria applicable in respect thereof or whether to impose, maintain, reduce, or eliminate any particular reserve hereunder or whether the amount of any such reserve is appropriate or not, or to exercise at all or in any particular manner or under any duty of care, disclosure or fidelity, or to continue exercising, any of the rights, authorities and powers granted or available to the Administrative Agent pursuant to any of the Loan Documents, it being understood and agreed that in respect of the Collateral, or any act, omission, or event related thereto, subject to the terms and conditions contained herein, Administrative Agent may act in any manner it may deem appropriate, in its sole discretion given Administrative Agent’s own interest in the Collateral in its capacity as one of the Lenders and that Administrative Agent shall have no other duty or liability whatsoever to any Secured Party as to any of the foregoing, except as otherwise provided herein.

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(e)          The Secured Parties hereby irrevocably authorize Administrative Agent, based upon the instruction of the Required Lenders, to (i) consent to, credit bid, or purchase (either directly or through one or more acquisition vehicles) all or any portion of the Collateral at any sale thereof conducted under the provisions of the Bankruptcy Code, including under Section 363, 1123 or 1129 of the Bankruptcy Code or any similar laws in any other jurisdictions to which a Holdings or a Borrower is subject, (ii) credit bid or purchase (either directly or through one or more acquisition vehicles) all or any portion of the Collateral at any sale or other disposition thereof conducted under the provisions of the UCC, including pursuant to Section 9-610 or 9-620 of the UCC, or (iii) credit bid or purchase (either directly or through one or more acquisition vehicles) all or any portion of the Collateral at any other sale or foreclosure conducted by Administrative Agent (whether by judicial action or otherwise) in accordance with applicable law. In connection with any such credit bid or purchase, (A) the Obligations owed to the Secured Parties shall be entitled to be, and shall be, credit bid on a ratable basis (with Obligations with respect to contingent or unliquidated claims being estimated for such purpose if the fixing or liquidation thereof would not unduly delay the ability of Administrative Agent to credit bid or purchase at such sale or other disposition of the Collateral and, if such claims cannot be estimated without unduly delaying the ability of Administrative Agent to credit bid, then such claims shall be disregarded, not credit bid, and not entitled to any interest in the asset or assets purchased by means of such credit bid) and the Secured Parties whose Obligations are credit bid shall be entitled to receive interests (ratably based upon the proportion of their Obligations credit bid in relation to the aggregate amount of Obligations so credit bid) in the asset or assets so purchased (or in the Equity Interests of the acquisition vehicle or vehicles that are used to consummate such purchase), and (B) Administrative Agent, based upon the instruction of the Required Lenders, may accept non-cash consideration, including debt and equity securities issued by such acquisition vehicle or vehicles and in connection therewith Administrative Agent may reduce the Obligations owed to the Secured Parties (ratably based upon the proportion of their Obligations credit bid in relation to the aggregate amount of Obligations so credit bid) based upon the value of such non-cash consideration.

 

(f)          Except with respect to the exercise of setoff rights in accordance with Section 10.08 or with respect to a Secured Party’s right to file a proof of claim in an insolvency proceeding, no Secured Party shall have any right individually to realize upon any of the Collateral or to enforce any Guarantee of the Obligations, it being understood and agreed that all powers, rights and remedies under the Loan Documents may be exercised solely by the Administrative Agent on behalf of the Secured Parties in accordance with the terms thereof. In its capacity, the Administrative Agent is a “representative” of the Secured Parties within the meaning of the term “secured party” as defined in the UCC. In the event that any Collateral is hereafter pledged by any Person as collateral security for the Obligations, the Administrative Agent is hereby authorized, and hereby granted a power of attorney, to execute and deliver on behalf of the Secured Parties any Loan Documents necessary or appropriate to grant and perfect a Lien on such Collateral in favor of the Administrative Agent on behalf of the Secured Parties.

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9.11       Issuing Lender. Neither Issuing Lender nor any of its Related Parties shall be liable to the Lenders for any action taken or omitted to be taken by any of them hereunder or otherwise in connection with any Loan Document except for its or their own gross negligence or willful misconduct. Without limiting the generality of the preceding sentence, Issuing Lender (a) shall have no duties or responsibilities except those expressly set forth in the Loan Documents, and shall not by reason of any Loan Document be a trustee or fiduciary for any Lender or for Administrative Agent, (b) shall not be required to initiate any litigation or collection proceedings under any Loan Document, (c) shall not be responsible to any Lender or Administrative Agent for any recitals, statements, representations, or warranties contained in any Loan Document, or any certificate or other documentation referred to or provided for in, or received by any of them under, any Loan Document, or for the value, validity, effectiveness, enforceability, or sufficiency of any Loan Document or any other documentation referred to or provided for therein or for any failure by any Person to perform any of its obligations thereunder, (d) may consult with legal counsel (including counsel for the Obligors or Administrative Agent), independent public accountants, and other experts selected by it and shall not be liable for any action taken or omitted to be taken in good faith by it in accordance with the advice of such counsel, accountants, or experts, and (e) shall incur no liability to the Lenders under or in respect of any Loan Document by acting upon any notice, consent, certificate, or other instrument or writing believed by it to be genuine and signed or sent by the proper party or parties. As to any matters not expressly provided for by any Loan Document, Issuing Lender shall in all cases be fully protected in acting, or in refraining from acting, hereunder in accordance with instructions signed by the Required Lenders, and such instructions of the Required Lenders and any action taken or failure to act pursuant thereto shall be binding on all of the Lenders and the Administrative Agent; provided, however, that Issuing Lender shall not be required to take any action which Issuing Lender reasonably believes exposes it to personal liability or which Issuing Lender reasonably believes is contrary to any Loan Document or applicable law.

 

9.12       Bailee for Perfection. Administrative Agent hereby appoints each of the other Lenders to serve as bailee to perfect Administrative Agent’s Liens in any Collateral in the possession, control or notation of any such other Lender. Each Lender possessing any Collateral agrees to so act as bailee for Administrative Agent in accordance with the terms and provisions hereof. In furtherance of the forgoing, each Lender acknowledges that certain of the Obligors may maintain Deposit Accounts constituting Collateral at one or more of the Lenders (all such accounts (other than any Deposit Account constituting Excluded Property (including, for the avoidance of doubt, any payroll or other employee wage or benefit account, tax account, including any withholding tax, sales tax or tax trust account, or escrow, fiduciary or trust account)) the “Obligor Accounts”). Each Lender agrees to hold its Obligor Accounts as bailee for Administrative Agent to perfect Administrative Agent’s Liens therein. Prior to the receipt by a Lender of a written notice of an Event of Default from Administrative Agent, the Obligors are entitled to make withdrawals from the Obligor Accounts and make deposits into all the Obligor Accounts. When a Lender has received a written notice of an Event of Default from Administrative Agent that includes a statement by Administrative Agent that it will thereafter retain exclusive control over the Obligor Accounts (or automatically upon the occurrence of an Event of Default under clause (h) or (i) of Section 8.1), (a) Administrative Agent shall be the only party entitled to make withdrawals from or otherwise give any direction with respect to the Obligor Accounts and each Lender agrees to comply with the instructions originated by Administrative Agent directing deposition of the funds in or relating to the Obligor Accounts it holds without further consent by any Obligor, and (b) each Lender shall transfer, in immediately available funds by wire transfer to the Administrative Agent, the amount of the collected funds credited to the Obligor Accounts it holds and deliver to the Administrative Agent all moneys or instruments relating thereto or held therein and any other Collateral at any time Administrative Agent demands payment or delivery thereof by such written notice to such Lender. Each Obligor agrees that each Lender is authorized to immediately deliver all such Collateral to the Administrative Agent upon the Lender’s receipt of such notice from Administrative Agent. No Lender (other than Administrative Agent acting for the benefit of the Secured Parties) shall exercise any right of set-off or banker’s lien against any Obligor Account for any obligations other than the Obligations; provided that a Lender shall be entitled to charge, or set-off against an Obligor Account and retain for its own account, any customary fees, costs, charges, and expenses owed to it in connection with the opening, operating and maintaining such Obligor Account and for the amount of any item credited to the Obligor Account that is subsequently returned for any reason.

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9.13       Affiliates of Lenders; Bank Product Providers. By accepting the benefits of the Loan Documents, any Affiliate of a Lender that is owed any Obligation is bound by the terms of the Loan Documents. Notwithstanding the foregoing: (a) neither Administrative Agent, any Lender, nor any Obligor shall be obligated to deliver any notice or communication required to be delivered to any Lender under any Loan Documents to any Affiliate of any Lender; and (b) no Affiliate of any Lender that is owed any Obligation shall be included in the determination of the Required Lenders or entitled to consent to, reject, or participate in any manner in any amendment, waiver or other modification of any Loan Document. Administrative Agent shall deal solely and directly with the related Lender of any such Affiliate in connection with all matters relating to the Loan Documents. The Obligation owed to such Affiliate shall be considered the Obligations of its related Lender for all purposes under the Loan Documents and such Lender shall be solely responsible to the other parties hereto for all the obligations of such Affiliate under any Loan Document. It is understood and agreed that the rights and benefits under this Agreement, the Security Documents, and the Guaranty Agreements of each Bank Product Provider, in such capacity, consist exclusively of such Bank Product Provider’s right to share in payments and collections of the Collateral and payments under the Guaranty Agreements; provided that for the avoidance of doubt, (i) obligations of the Borrowers or any Restricted Subsidiary under any Bank Product Agreement shall be secured and guaranteed pursuant to the Security Documents and Guaranty Agreements, respectively, only to the extent that, and for so long as, the other Obligations are so secured and guaranteed and (ii) any release of Collateral or any Guarantors effected in the manner permitted by this Agreement shall not require the consent of holders of obligations under Bank Product Agreements. All Bank Product Obligations shall be secured but on a silent basis, so that notwithstanding any other provision, if any, in this Agreement or any Security Document or Guaranty Agreement, no Bank Product Provider shall be able to take any action in respect of the Collateral or Guaranty Agreements nor instruct the Required Lenders or Administrative Agent to take any such action nor have any rights in connection with the management or release of any Collateral or the obligations of any Guarantor under any Guaranty Agreement. By accepting the benefits of the Collateral and the Guaranty Agreements, such Bank Product Provider shall be deemed to have appointed Administrative Agent as its agent and agreed to be bound by the Loan Documents as a Secured Party, subject to the limitations set forth in this Section 9.13; provided Administrative Agent shall not owe any fiduciary duty, duty of loyalty, duty of care, duty of disclosure, or any other obligation whatsoever to any Bank Product Provider with respect to any Bank Product Obligation. Administrative Agent shall have no duty to determine the amount or the existence of any amounts owing under any Bank Product Obligations. In connection with any such distribution of payments and collections or termination or release by Administrative Agent of any Liens or Guarantors thereunder, Administrative Agent shall be entitled to assume no amounts are due under any Bank Product Agreement unless such Bank Product Provider has notified Administrative Agent in writing of the amount of any such liability owed to it at least five Business Days prior to such distribution, termination or release.

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9.14       Erroneous Payments. Each Lender and Issuing Lender hereby agrees that (x) if the Administrative Agent notifies such Lender or Issuing Lender that the Administrative Agent has determined in its reasonable discretion that any funds received by such Lender or Issuing Lender from the Administrative Agent or any of its Affiliates (whether as a payment, prepayment or repayment of principal, interest, fees or otherwise; individually and collectively, a “Payment”) were erroneously transmitted to such Lender or Issuing Lender (whether or not known to such Lender or Issuing Lender), and demands the return of such Payment (or a portion thereof), such Lender or Issuing Lender shall promptly, but in no event later than one Business Day thereafter, return to the Administrative Agent the amount of any such Payment (or portion thereof) as to which such a demand was made in same day funds, together with interest thereon in respect of each day from and including the date such Payment (or portion thereof) was received by such Lender to the date such amount is repaid to the Administrative Agent at the greater of the NYFRB Rate and a rate determined by the Administrative Agent in accordance with banking industry rules on interbank compensation from time to time in effect, and (y) to the extent permitted by applicable law, such Lender or Issuing Lender shall not assert, and hereby waives, as to the Administrative Agent, any claim, counterclaim, defense or right of set-off or recoupment with respect to any demand, claim or counterclaim by the Administrative Agent for the return of any Payments received, including without limitation any defense based on “discharge for value” or any similar doctrine. A notice of the Administrative Agent to any Lender or Issuing Lender under this Section 9.14 shall be conclusive, absent manifest error. Each Lender and each Issuing Lender hereby further agrees that if it receives a Payment from the Administrative Agent or any of its Affiliates (x) that is in a different amount than, or on a different date from, that specified in a notice of payment sent by the Administrative Agent (or any of its Affiliates) with respect to such Payment (a “Payment Notice”) or (y) that was not preceded or accompanied by a Payment Notice, it shall be on notice, in each such case, that an error has been made with respect to such Payment. Each Lender and each Issuing Lender agrees that, in each such case, or if it otherwise becomes aware a Payment (or portion thereof) may have been sent in error, such Lender or Issuing Lender shall promptly notify the Administrative Agent of such occurrence and, upon demand from the Administrative Agent, it shall promptly, but in no event later than one Business Day thereafter, return to the Administrative Agent the amount of any such Payment (or portion thereof) as to which such a demand was made in same day funds, together with interest thereon in respect of each day from and including the date such Payment (or portion thereof) was received by such Lender or Issuing Lender to the date such amount is repaid to the Administrative Agent at the greater of the NYFRB Rate and a rate determined by the Administrative Agent in accordance with banking industry rules on interbank compensation from time to time in effect. The Borrowers and each other Obligor hereby agrees that (x) in the event an erroneous Payment (or portion thereof) are not recovered from any Lender or Issuing Lender that has received such Payment (or portion thereof) for any reason, the Administrative Agent shall be subrogated to all the rights of such Lender or Issuing Lender with respect to such amount and (y) an erroneous Payment shall not pay, prepay, repay, discharge or otherwise satisfy any Obligations owed by the Borrowers or any other Obligor, except, in each case, to the extent such Payment is, and solely with respect to the amount of such Payment that is, comprised of funds received by the Administrative Agent directly or indirectly from the Borrowers, any Obligor or any Subsidiary (and without duplication of any other claim any such Obligor or Subsidiary may have against the Administrative Agent). Each party’s obligations under this Section 9.14 shall survive the resignation or replacement of the Administrative Agent or any transfer of rights or obligations by, or the replacement of, a Lender, the termination of the Commitments or the repayment, satisfaction or discharge of all Obligations under any Loan Document.

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9.15      Flood Laws. JPMorgan has adopted internal policies and procedures that address requirements placed on federally regulated lenders under the National Flood Insurance Reform Act of 1994 and related legislation (the “Flood Laws”). JPMorgan, as administrative agent or collateral agent on a syndicated facility, will post on the applicable electronic platform (or otherwise distribute to each Lender in the syndicate) documents that it receives in connection with the Flood Laws. However, JPMorgan reminds each Lender and Participant in the facility that, pursuant to the Flood Laws, each federally regulated Lender (whether acting as a Lender or Participant in the facility) is responsible for assuring its own compliance with the flood insurance requirements.

 

10.MISCELLANEOUS

 

10.1Notices.

 

(a)          General Address for Notices. Except in the case of communications expressly permitted to be given by telephone hereunder or under any other Loan Documents, all notices and other communications (“Communications”) provided for herein or in any other Loan Document shall be in writing and shall be delivered by hand or overnight courier service, mailed by certified or registered mail or sent by telecopy or, subject to Section 10.1(b), by electronic communication, as follows:

 

(i)          if to the Borrowers, to them in care of the Borrower Representative at: [***]; Attention: Jeff Pedersen, Chief Financial Officer; Email: [***]; Telephone: [***]; and during the existence of an Event of Default, with a copy to Kirkland & Ellis LLP, 300 North LaSalle, Chicago, IL 60654; Attention: Michelle Kilkenney; Email: [***]; Telephone: [***];

 

(ii)          if to the Administrative Agent from the Borrower, to JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., at the address separately provided to the Borrower;

 

(iii)        (ii) if to the Administrative Agent, to it at 10 S. Dearborn St., Chicago, IL 60603; Attention: USD Servicing Account Manager, August Dunn; Facsimile: [***] from the Lenders, to JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., 4041 Ogletown Stanton Road, Floor 2, Newark, DE 19713, United States; with a copy to Proskauer Rose LLP, 70 West Madison, Suite 3800, Chicago, IL 60602, Attention: Evan Palenschat; Email: [***]; Telephone: [***];

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(iv)          if to an Issuing Bank, to JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., at the address separately provided to the Borrower;

 

(v)          if to any of the Swingline Lender, to JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., at the address separately provided to the Borrower;

 

(iii) if to JPMorgan as Issuing Lender, to it at 10 S. Dearborn St., Chicago, IL 60603; Attention: USD Servicing Account Manager, August Dunn; Facsimile: (844) 490-5663;

 

(iv) if to JPMorgan as Swingline Lender, to it at 10 S. Dearborn St., Chicago, IL 60603; Attention: USD Servicing Account Manager, August Dunn; Facsimile: (844) 490-5663;

 

(vi)        (v) if to a Lender (including any Lender (other than JPMorgan) in its capacity as an Issuing Lender)any other Lender, to it at its address (or telecopy number) set forth in its Administrative Questionnaire.

 

Notices sent by hand or overnight courier service, or mailed by certified or registered mail, shall be deemed to have been given when received. Notices sent by telecopier shall be deemed to have been given when sent (except that, if not given before or during normal business hours for the recipient, shall be deemed to have been given at the opening of business on the next Business Day). Notices delivered through electronic communications to the extent provided in Section 10.1(b), shall be effective as provided in such Section 10.1(b).

 

(b)          Electronic Communications. Communications to the Lenders under the Loan Documents may be delivered or furnished by electronic communications pursuant to procedures approved by Administrative Agent. Administrative Agent or the Borrower Representative may, in its discretion, agree to accept Communications to it under the Loan Documents by electronic communications pursuant to procedures approved by it; provided that approval of such procedures may be limited to particular Communications. Unless Administrative Agent otherwise prescribes, (i) Communications sent to an e-mail address shall be deemed received upon the sender’s receipt of an acknowledgment from the intended recipient (such as by the “return receipt requested” function, as available, return e-mail or other written acknowledgment), and (ii) Communications posted on an Internet or intranet website shall be deemed received upon the deemed receipt by the intended recipient at its e-mail address as described in clause (i) of this Section 10.1(b) notification that such Communication is available and identifying the website address thereof; provided that, for both clauses (i) and (ii) of this Section 10.1(b), if such Communication is not sent before or during the normal business hours of the recipient, such Communication shall be deemed to have been sent at the opening of business on the next Business Day.

 

(c)          Change of Address for Notices. Any party hereto may change its address or telecopy number for, or individual designated to receive, Communications under the Loan Documents by notice to the other parties hereto (or, in the case of any such change by a Lender or Issuing Lender, by notice to the Borrower Representative and the Administrative Agent). All Communications given to any party hereto in accordance with the provisions of this Agreement shall be deemed to have been given on the date of receipt.

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(d)          Electronic Transmission System. The Borrowers and the Lenders agree that Administrative Agent may make the Communications available to the Lenders, Issuing Lender, and the Borrowers by posting the Communications on Debt Domain, IntraLinks, SyndTrak or a substantially similar electronic transmission system or digital workspace provider (the “Platform”). THE PLATFORM IS PROVIDED “AS IS” AND “AS AVAILABLE”. THE AGENT PARTIES (AS DEFINED BELOW) DO NOT WARRANT THE ACCURACY OR COMPLETENESS OF THE COMMUNICATIONS OR THE ADEQUACY OF THE PLATFORM AND EXPRESSLY DISCLAIM LIABILITY FOR ERRORS OR OMISSIONS IN THE COMMUNICATIONS. NO WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS, IMPLIED, OR STATUTORY, INCLUDING ANY WARRANTY OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, NON-INFRINGEMENT OF THIRD PARTY RIGHTS, OR FREEDOM FROM VIRUSES OR OTHER CODE DEFECTS, IS MADE BY THE AGENT PARTIES IN CONNECTION WITH THE COMMUNICATIONS OR THE PLATFORM. IN NO EVENT SHALL ADMINISTRATIVE AGENT OR ANY OF ITS AFFILIATES OR ANY OF THEIR RELATED PARTIES (COLLECTIVELY, THE “AGENT PARTIES”) HAVE ANY LIABILITY TO THE BORROWERS, ANY LENDER, OR ANY OTHER PERSON OR ENTITY FOR DAMAGES OF ANY KIND INCLUDING DIRECT OR INDIRECT, SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, LOSSES OR EXPENSES (WHETHER IN TORT, CONTRACT, OR OTHERWISE) ARISING OUT OF THE BORROWERS’ OR ADMINISTRATIVE AGENT’S TRANSMISSION OF COMMUNICATIONS THROUGH THE INTERNET, EXCEPT TO THE EXTENT THE LIABILITY OF ANY AGENT PARTY IS FOUND IN A FINAL NON-APPEALABLE JUDGMENT BY A COURT OF COMPETENT JURISDICTION TO HAVE RESULTED FROM SUCH AGENT PARTY’S GROSS NEGLIGENCE, OR A MATERIAL BREACH OF THIS AGREEMENT BY AN AGENT PARTY, BAD FAITH OR WILLFUL MISCONDUCT; PROVIDED, HOWEVER, THAT IN NO EVENT SHALL ANY AGENT PARTY HAVE ANY LIABILITY TO ANY OBLIGOR, ANY LENDER, ISSUING LENDER, OR ANY OTHER PERSON FOR INDIRECT, SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES (AS OPPOSED TO DIRECT OR ACTUAL DAMAGES).

 

(e)          Communications through the Platform. Each Lender agrees that notice to it (as provided in the next sentence) specifying that the Communications have been posted to the Platform shall constitute effective delivery of the Communications to such Lender for purposes hereof. Each Lender agrees (i) to provide to the Administrative Agent in writing (including by electronic communication), promptly after the date of this Agreement, an e-mail address to which the foregoing notice may be sent by electronic transmission and (ii) that the foregoing notice may be sent to such e-mail address.

 

(f)           Reliance on Notices. Administrative Agent, Issuing Lender, and the Lenders shall be entitled to rely and act upon any notices (including telephonic notices of a Borrowing) purportedly given by or on behalf of the Borrowers even if (i) such notices were not made in a manner specified herein, were incomplete or were not preceded or followed by any other form of notice specified herein, or (ii) the terms thereof, as understood by the recipient, varied from any confirmation thereof. The Borrowers shall, jointly and severally, indemnify Administrative Agent, each Issuing Lender, each Lender, and the Related Parties of each of them from all losses, costs, expenses, and liabilities resulting from the reliance by such Person on each notice purportedly given by or on behalf of the Borrowers. All telephonic notices to and other telephonic communications with Administrative Agent may be recorded by Administrative Agent, and each of the parties hereto hereby consents to such recording.

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10.2Waivers; Amendments.

 

(a)          No Deemed Waivers; Remedies Cumulative. No failure or delay by Administrative Agent, Issuing Lender, or any Lender in exercising any right or power hereunder or under any other Loan Document shall operate as a waiver thereof, nor shall any single or partial exercise of any such right or power, or any abandonment or discontinuance of steps to enforce such a right or power, preclude any other or further exercise thereof or the exercise of any other right or power. The rights and remedies of Administrative Agent, Issuing Lender, the Lenders, and the other Secured Parties hereunder and under the other Loan Documents are cumulative and are not exclusive of any rights or remedies that they would otherwise have. No waiver of any provision of any Loan Document or consent to any departure by any Obligor therefrom shall in any event be effective unless the same shall be permitted by Section 10.2(b), and then such waiver or consent shall be effective only in the specific instance and for the purpose for which given. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, the making of a Loan or issuance of a Letter of Credit shall not be construed as a waiver of any Default, regardless of whether Administrative Agent, any Lender, or Issuing Lender may have had notice or knowledge of such Default at the time.

 

(b)          Amendments. Neither this Agreement, nor any other Loan Document nor any provision hereof or thereof may be waived, amended, or modified except, in the case of this Agreement, pursuant to an agreement or agreements in writing entered into by the Borrower Representative, Administrative Agent, and the Required Lenders or, in the case of any other Loan Document, pursuant to an agreement or agreements in writing entered into by Administrative Agent and the Obligor or Obligors that are parties thereto, in each case with the consent of the Required Lenders; provided that no such agreement shall (i) increase any Commitment of any Lender without the written consent of such Lender, (ii) reduce the principal amount of any Loan or LC Disbursement or reduce the rate of interest thereon, or reduce the rate of any fees due hereunder, without the written consent of each Lender directly and adversely affected thereby (but not the Required Lenders) (provided that in no event shall (A) the waiver of applicability of Section 2.12(c) (which waiver shall be effective with the written consent of the Required Lenders), or (B) any amendment or modification of defined terms used in the financial covenants in this Agreement or in determining the Applicable Margin or any reduction, deferral or waiver of any mandatory prepayment constitute a reduction in the rate of interest or a reduction of fees for purposes of this clause (ii)), (iii) postpone the scheduled date of payment of the principal amount of any Loan (excluding any payment required by Section 2.10(b)) or LC Disbursement, or any interest thereon, or any fees payable hereunder, or reduce the amount of, waive or excuse any such payment, or extend the Revolving Credit Maturity Date or the Term Loan Maturity Date, without the written consent of each Lender directly and adversely affected thereby (but not the Required Lenders), (iv) modify Section 8.2, without the written consent of each directly and adversely affected Lender (but not the Required Lenders), (v) (A) change any of the provisions of this Section or the definition of the term “Required Lenders” or any other provision hereof specifying the number or percentage of Lenders required to waive, amend or modify any rights hereunder or make any determination or grant any consent hereunder to reduce such percentage, without the written consent of each directly and adversely affected Lender (but not the Required Lenders), or (B) amend the provisions of Section 2.17(c) in a manner that would by its terms alter the pro rata sharing of payments and commitment reductions required thereby, without the prior written consent of each Lender directly and adversely affected thereby (but not the Required Lenders), (vi) contractually subordinate the payment of all the Obligations to any other Indebtedness or contractually subordinate the priority of the Liens on all or substantially all of the Collateral in favor of Administrative Agent to the Liens securing any other Funded Debt, without the written consent of each Lender directly and adversely affected thereby, it being understood that any Lender that is offered the opportunity to participate in such Funded Debt on the same terms (other than bona fide backstop, agency or arrangement fees and reimbursement of counsel fees and other expense in connection with the negotiation of the terms of such transaction) as offered to all other providers (or their affiliates) of such Funded Debt on a pro rata basis when taking into account its Loans and Commitments hereunder shall be deemed to not be directly and adversely affected by any such amendment or modification, and (vii) except as permitted by Section 6.3 and 6.4 as in effect on the Effective Date, (A) release a Borrower or release any Guarantor from any of its guarantee obligations without the written consent of each directly and adversely affected Lender or (B) release all or substantially all of the Collateral, in each case, without the written consent of each directly and adversely affected Lender; provided, however, that (A) no such agreement shall amend, modify or otherwise adversely affect the rights or duties of Administrative Agent, the Swingline Lender or the Issuing Lender hereunder without the prior written consent of Administrative Agent, the Swingline Lender or the Issuing Lender, as the case may be, and (B) the Fee Letter, the Second Amendment Fee Letter and, the Second Amendment PGIM Fee Letter, the Third Amendment Fee Letter and the Third Amendment PGIM Fee Letter may be amended, or rights or privileges thereunder waived, in a writing executed only by the parties thereto. In addition, notwithstanding the foregoing, this Agreement may be amended with the written consent of the Administrative Agent, the Borrower Representative and the Lenders providing the Replacement Term Loans (as defined below) to permit the refinancing of all or a portion of the outstanding Term Loans of any Class (“Refinanced Term Loans”) with one or more tranches of replacement term loans (“Replacement Term Loans”) hereunder; provided that (1) except as otherwise permitted by Section 2.19, the aggregate principal amount of such Replacement Term Loans shall not exceed the aggregate principal amount of such Refinanced Term Loans (plus accrued interest, fees, expenses and premium), (2) the Weighted Average Life to Maturity of Replacement Term Loans shall not be shorter than the Weighted Average Life to Maturity of such Refinanced Term Loans, at the time of such refinancing (except by virtue of amortization or prepayment of the Refinanced Term Loans prior to the time of such incurrence), (3) such Replacement Term Loans shall constitute and qualify as Credit Agreement Refinancing Indebtedness and (4) all other terms applicable to such Replacement Term Loans shall be as agreed between the Borrowers and the Lenders providing such Replacement Term Loans.

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(c)          Partial Payment Waivers. Anything to the contrary contained herein notwithstanding, if Administrative Agent or any Lender accepts a Guarantee of only a portion of the Obligations pursuant to any Guaranty Agreement, each Borrower hereby waive its right under Section 2822(a) of the California Civil Code or any similar laws of any other applicable jurisdiction to designate the portion of the Obligations satisfied by the applicable guarantor’s partial payment.

 

10.3Expenses; Limitation of Liability; Indemnity; Damage Waiver.

 

(a)          Costs and Expenses. The Borrowers, jointly and severally, shall pay (i) all reasonable and documented out-of-pocket expenses incurred by (x) the Administrative Agent and its Affiliates and (y) PGIM and Voya (limited to $100,000 in the aggregate in the case of PGIM and Voya), without duplication, including the reasonable fees, charges and disbursements of counsel for Administrative Agent, in connection with the syndication and distribution (including, without limitation, via the internet or through an Electronic System or Platform) of the credit facilities provided for herein, the preparation, negotiation, execution, delivery and administration of this Agreement and the other Loan Documents or any amendments, modifications or waivers of the provisions hereof or thereof (whether or not the transactions contemplated hereby or thereby shall be consummated), (ii) all reasonable and documented out-of-pocket expenses incurred by Issuing Lender 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 Administrative Agent, Issuing Lender or any Lender, including the reasonable and documented out-of- pocket fees, charges and disbursements of one primary counsel and one local counsel in each relevant, material local jurisdiction (which may be a single local counsel in each relevant, material jurisdiction) for the Administrative Agent, Issuing Lender and the Lenders, but no other advisor without the prior written consent of the Borrowers, in connection with the enforcement or protection of such Person’s rights in connection with this Agreement and the other Loan Documents or the Collateral, including its rights under this Section, or in connection with the Loans made or Letters of Credit issued hereunder, and including all such reasonable and documented out-of-pocket expenses incurred in connection with any bankruptcy or insolvency proceeding, workout, restructuring or related negotiations in respect thereof, and, in the case of an actual or perceived conflict of interest, one additional counsel for each group of similarly affected Persons taken as a whole, and (iv) all reasonable and documented out-of-pocket costs incurred by Administrative Agent in connection with any filing, registration, recording or perfection of any security interest contemplated by any Security Document or any other document referred to therein or, subject to Section 5.6, any audit, verification, inspection or appraisal of the Collateral.

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(b)          Limitation of Liability. To the extent permitted by applicable law (i) no Borrower shall assert, and each Borrower hereby waives, any claim against the Administrative Agent, any Issuing Lender and any Lender, and any Related Party of any of the foregoing Persons (each such Person being called a “Lender-Related Person”) for any Liabilities arising from the use by others of information or other materials (including, without limitation, any personal data) obtained through telecommunications, electronic or other information transmission systems (including the Internet), except to the extent such damages are found by a final, non-appealable judgment of a court of competent jurisdiction to arise from the willful misconduct, bad faith or gross negligence of such Lender-Related Person or a material breach of the obligations of such Lender-Related or its Affiliates under this Agreement, and (ii) no party hereto shall assert, and each such party hereby waives, any Liabilities against any other party hereto, on any theory of liability, for special, indirect, consequential, exemplary, lost anticipated profits or punitive damages (as opposed to direct or actual damages) arising out of, in connection with, or as a result of, this Agreement, any other Loan Document, or any agreement or instrument contemplated hereby or thereby, the Transactions, any Loan or Letter of Credit or the use of the proceeds thereof; provided that, nothing in this Section 10.03(b) shall relieve any Borrower of any obligation it may have to indemnify an Indemnitee, as provided in Section 10.03(c), against any special, indirect, consequential, exemplary, lost anticipated profits or punitive damages asserted against such Indemnitee by a third party.

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(c)          Indemnification by the Borrowers. The Borrowers, jointly and severally, shall indemnify Administrative Agent, each Issuing Lender, each Lender, JPMorgan and the other Persons identified on the cover page of this Agreement in their respective separate capacities as a “Lead Arranger,” “Bookrunner” or “Documentation Agent”, and each Related Party of any of the foregoing Persons (each such Person being called an “Indemnitee”) against, and to hold each Indemnitee harmless from, any and all actual losses, claims, damages, liabilities, and related expenses, including the fees, charges, and disbursements of counsel (limited to the reasonable and documented out-of-pocket fees, disbursements and other charges of one primary counsel, one local counsel in each relevant jurisdiction, and one specialty counsel for each relevant specialty for all Indemnitees taken as a whole, and one or more additional counsel if one or more conflicts of interest, or perceived conflicts of interest arise), but no other third party advisors without the prior written consent of the Borrowers, incurred by or asserted against any Indemnitee arising out of, in connection with, or as a result of (i) the execution or delivery of this Agreement or any other Loan Document, the performance by the parties hereto of their respective obligations hereunder or thereunder or the consummation of the Transactions or any other transactions contemplated hereby or thereby, (ii) any Loan or Letter of Credit or the use or proposed use of the proceeds therefrom (including any refusal by Issuing Lender to honor a demand for payment under a Letter of Credit if the documents presented in connection with such demand do not strictly comply with the terms of such Letter of Credit), (iii) any actual or alleged presence or release of Hazardous Materials on or from any of the Mortgaged Properties or any other property owned or operated by any Obligor or any of the Subsidiaries, or any Environmental Liability related in any way to any Obligor, any of the Subsidiaries or any of the Mortgaged Properties, or (iv) any actual or prospective Proceeding relating to any of the foregoing, whether or not such Proceeding is brought by any Borrower or their respective equity holders, Affiliates, creditors or any other third Person and whether based on contract, tort, or any other theory and regardless of whether any Indemnitee is a party thereto; provided that such indemnity shall not, as to any Indemnitee, be available to the extent that such Liabilities, or related expenses are determined by a court of competent jurisdiction by final and nonappealable judgment to have (x) resulted from the gross negligence, bad faith, or willful misconduct of such Indemnitee or related party or a material breach of the obligations of such Indemnitee hereunder, or (y) arisen out of any claim, litigation, investigation or proceeding brought by such Indemnitee solely against one or more other Indemnitees (other than any claim, litigation, investigation or proceeding that is brought by or against Administrative Agent, Issuing Lender, Swingline Lender or any arranger or similar role, acting in its capacity as Administrative Agent, Issuing Lender, Swingline Lender or arranger or similar role) that does not involve any act or omission of any Obligors or any of their respective Subsidiaries or Affiliates. This Section 10.3(c) shall not apply with respect to Taxes, other than any Taxes that represent losses, claims, or damages arising from any non-Tax claim.

 

(d)          Reimbursement by Lenders. To the extent that Obligors for any reason fail to pay any amount required to be paid by it to the Administrative Agent (or any sub-agent thereof), Issuing Lender, or Swingline Lender or any Related Party of any of the foregoing (each, an “Agent-Related Person”) under Sections 10.3(a), 10.3(b) and 10.3(c) each Lender severally agrees to pay to the Administrative Agent (or any such sub-agent), Issuing Lender, Swingline Lender, or such Related Party, as the case may be, such Lender’s Pro Rata Share (determined as of the time that the applicable unreimbursed expense or indemnity payment is sought; provided that with respect to such unpaid amounts owed to the Issuing Lender or Swingline Lender solely in its capacity as such, only the Revolving Credit Lenders shall be required to pay such unpaid amounts, such payment to be made severally among them based on such Revolving Credit Lenders’ Revolving Credit Exposure) of such unpaid amount, and agrees to indemnify and hold each Agent-Related Person harmless from and against any and all Liabilities and related expenses, including the fees, charges and disbursements of any kind whatsoever that may at any time (whether before or after the payment of the Loans) be imposed on, incurred by or asserted against such Agent-Related Person in any way relating to or arising out of the Commitments, this Agreement, any of the other Loan Documents or any documents contemplated by or referred to herein or therein or the transactions contemplated hereby or thereby or any action taken or omitted by such Agent-Related Person under or in connection with any of the foregoing; provided that the unreimbursed expense or indemnified loss, claim, damage, liability, or related expense, as the case may be, was incurred by or asserted against Administrative Agent (or any such sub-agent), Issuing Lender or Swingline Lender in its capacity as such, or against any Related Party of any of the foregoing acting for Administrative Agent (or any such sub-agent), Issuing Lender, or Swingline Lender in connection with such capacity. provided, further, that no Lender shall be liable for the payment of any portion of such Liabilities, costs, expenses or disbursements that are found by a final and non-appealable decision of a court of competent jurisdiction to have resulted primarily from such Agent-Related Person’s gross negligence or willful misconduct. The agreements in this Section shall survive the termination of this Agreement and Payment in Full of the Obligations. The obligations of the Lenders under this Section 10.3(d) are subject to the provisions of Section 2.6(c).

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(e)          Waiver of Consequential Damages, Etc. To the extent permitted by applicable law, no Indemnitee, Obligor or any Related Party of an Obligor shall have any liability for, and no Indemnitee, Obligor or Related Party shall assert, and each Indemnitee, Obligor and Related Party hereby waives, any claim against any Indemnitee, Obligor or Related Party, on any theory of liability, for special, indirect, consequential or punitive damages (as opposed to direct or actual damages) arising out of, in connection with, or as a result of, this Agreement, any other Loan Document, the Transactions, any Loan or Letter of Credit, or the use of the proceeds thereof; provided that nothing in this sentence shall limit any Indemnitee’s, Obligor’s or Related Party’s indemnity and reimbursement obligations to the extent that such special, indirect, consequential or punitive damages are incurred or paid by an Indemnitee to a third party for which such Indemnitee is otherwise entitled to reimbursement or indemnification as set forth in Section 10.3(a) or (b).

 

(f)          Payments. All amounts due under this Section shall be payable no later than 30 Business Days after written demand therefor.

 

10.4Successors and Assigns.

 

(a)          Assignments Generally. The provisions of this Agreement shall be binding upon and inure to the benefit of the parties hereto and their respective successors and assigns permitted hereby (including any Affiliate of Issuing Lender that issues any Letter of Credit, any Affiliate of a Lender who is owed any of the Obligations and any Indemnitee), except that (i) except as otherwise permitted, no Obligor may assign or otherwise transfer any of its rights or obligations hereunder or under any other Loan Document without the prior written consent of each Lender (and any attempted assignment or transfer of any Obligor without such consent shall be null and void), and (ii) no Lender may assign or otherwise transfer any of its rights or obligations hereunder except in accordance with this Section (and any attempted assignment or transfer by any Lender that is not in accordance with this Section shall be null and void). Nothing in this Agreement, expressed or implied, shall be construed to confer upon any Person (other than the parties hereto, their respective successors and assigns permitted hereby (including any Affiliate of Issuing Lender that issues any Letter of Credit and any Affiliate of a Lender who is owed any of the Obligations, and, to the extent expressly contemplated hereby, the Related Parties of each of Administrative Agent, Issuing Lender and the Lenders)) any legal or equitable right, remedy, or claim under, or by reason, of this Agreement.

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(b)          Assignments by Lenders Generally. Any Lender may at any time assign to one or more assignees all or a portion of its rights and obligations under this Agreement (including all or a portion of its Commitment and the Loans (including for purposes of this Section 10.4(b)), participations in LC Disbursements and in Swingline Loans) at the time owing to it; provided that any such assignment shall be subject to the following conditions:

 

(i)Minimum Amounts.

 

(A)          in the case of an assignment of the entire remaining amount of the assigning Lender’s Commitment or Loans of any Class or contemporaneous assignments to related Funds that equal at least the amount specified in clause (B) of this Section 10.4(b)(i) in the aggregate or in the case of an assignment to a Lender, an Affiliate of a Lender or an Approved Fund, no minimum amount need be assigned; and

 

(B)          in any case not described in clause (A) of this Section 10.4(b)(i), the aggregate amount of the Commitment (which for this purpose includes Loans outstanding thereunder) or, if the Commitment is not then in effect, the Loans of the assigning Lender subject to each such assignment (determined as of the date the Assignment and Assumption with respect to such assignment is delivered to the Administrative AgentTrade Date) shall not be less than $2,000,000 with multiples of $500,000 in excess thereof in the case of any assignment of Revolving Credit Loans by any Revolving Credit Lender, or $2,000,000 in the case of any assignment of Term Loans by and Term Loan Lender, unless each of Administrative Agent and, so long as no Event of Default described in clause (a), (b), (h) or (i) of Section 8.1 has occurred and is continuing, the Borrower Representative otherwise consents (each such consent not to be unreasonably withheld or delayed).

 

(ii)          Proportionate Amounts. Each partial assignment of any Commitment or Class of Loans shall be made as an assignment of a proportionate part of all the assigning Lender’s rights and obligations under this Agreement in respect of such Commitment and Loans assigned, except that this Section 10.4(b)(ii) shall not (A) apply to Swingline Lender’s rights and obligations in respect of Swingline Loans or (B) prohibit any Lender from assigning all or a portion of its rights and obligations among separate Classes on a non-pro rata basis.

 

(iii)         Required Consents. No consent shall be required for any assignment except to the extent required by clause (B) of Section 10.4(b)(i) and, in addition:

 

(A)          the consent of the Borrower Representative (such consent not to be unreasonably withheld or delayed) shall be required unless (i) an Event of Default described in clause (a), (b), (h) or (i) of Section 8.1 has occurred and is continuing at the time of such assignment, or (ii) such assignment is to a Lender, an Affiliate of a Lender or an Approved Fund; provided that the Borrower Representative shall be deemed to have consented to any such assignment unless it shall object thereto by written notice to the Administrative Agent within ten (10) Business Days after having received notice thereof;

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(B)          the consent of Administrative Agent (such consent not to be unreasonably withheld or delayed) shall be required for assignments in respect of (i) a Revolving Credit Commitment to a Person that is not a Lender with a Revolving Credit Commitment, an Affiliate of such Lender or any Approved Fund with respect to such Lender; or (ii) any Term Loans to a Person who is not a Lender, an Affiliate of such Lender or an Approved Fund with respect to such Lender; and

 

(C)          the consent of the Swingline Lender and the Issuing Lender shall be required for any assignment of a Revolving Credit Commitment.

 

(iv)         Assignment and Assumption. The parties to each assignment shall execute and deliver to the Administrative Agent an Assignment and Assumption, together with a processing and recordation fee of $3,500; provided that (i) no processing and recordation fee shall be required for any assignment by a Lender to an Affiliate or Approved Fund thereof; and (ii) in any other case, the Administrative Agent may, in its sole discretion, elect to waive such processing and recordation fee in the case of any assignment.

 

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

 

(vi)         No Assignment to Certain Persons. No such assignment shall be made to (A) a Borrower or any of a Borrower’s Affiliates or Subsidiaries (other than pursuant to clauses (g) and (h) of this Section), (B) to any Defaulting Lender or any of its Subsidiaries, or any Person who, upon becoming a Lender hereunder, would constitute any of the foregoing Persons described in this clause (B), or (C) a Person that at such time is a Disqualified Institution.

 

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

 

(viii)       Certain Additional Payments. In connection with any assignment of rights and obligations of any Defaulting Lender hereunder, no such assignment shall be effective unless and until, in addition to the other conditions thereto set forth herein, the parties to the assignment shall make such additional payments to the Administrative Agent in an aggregate amount sufficient, upon distribution thereof as appropriate (which may be outright payment, purchases by the assignee of participations or subparticipations, or other compensating actions, including funding, with the consent of the Borrower Representative and the Administrative Agent, the applicable pro rata share of Loans previously requested but not funded by the Defaulting Lender, to each of which the applicable assignee and assignor hereby irrevocably consent), to (A) pay and satisfy in full all payment liabilities then owed by such Defaulting Lender to the Administrative Agent, each Issuing Lender, Swingline Lender and each other Lender hereunder (and interest accrued thereon), and (B) acquire (and fund as appropriate) its full pro rata share of all Loans and participations in Letters of Credit and Swingline Loans in accordance with its Pro Rata Share. Notwithstanding the foregoing, in the event that any assignment of rights and obligations of any Defaulting Lender hereunder shall become effective under applicable law without compliance with the provisions of this Section 10.4(b)(viii), then the assignee of such interest shall be deemed to be a Defaulting Lender for all purposes of this Agreement until such compliance occurs.

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(c)          Effectiveness of Assignments. Subject to acceptance and recording thereof pursuant to Section 10.4(d), from and after the effective date specified in each Assignment and Assumption the assignee thereunder shall be a party hereto and, to the extent of the interest assigned by such Assignment and Assumption, have the rights and obligations of a Lender under this Agreement (other than an assignment to a Person that is a Disqualified Institution at such time), and the assigning Lender thereunder shall, to the extent of the interest assigned by such Assignment and Assumption, be released from its obligations under this Agreement and, in the case of an Assignment and Assumption covering all of the assigning Lender’s rights and obligations under this Agreement, such Lender shall cease to be a party hereto but shall continue to be entitled to the rights referred to in Sections 2.14, 2.15, 2.16, and 10.3 with respect to facts and circumstances occurring prior to the effective date of such assignment; provided that except to the extent otherwise expressly agreed by the affected parties, no assignment by a Defaulting Lender will constitute a waiver or release of any claim of any party hereunder arising from that Lender’s having been a Defaulting Lender. Any assignment or transfer by a Lender of rights or obligations under this Agreement that does not comply with this Section shall be treated for purposes of this Agreement as a sale by such Lender of a participation in such rights and obligations in accordance with Section 10.4(e) (other than an assignment to a Disqualified Institution).

 

(d)          Maintenance of Register by Administrative Agent. Administrative Agent, acting solely for this purpose as a non-fiduciary agent of the Borrowers, shall maintain at one of its offices in the United States a copy of each Assignment and Assumption delivered to it and a register for the recordation of the names and addresses of the Lenders, and the Commitment of, and principal amount (and stated interest) of the Loans and LC Disbursements (each, a “Registered Loan”) owing to, each Lender pursuant to the terms hereof from time to time (the “Register”). A Registered Loan may be assigned or sold in whole or in part only by registration of such assignment or sale on the Register, and any assignment or sale of all or part of such Registered Loan may be effected only by registration of such assignment or sale on the Register. The entries in the Register shall be conclusive absent manifest error, and the Borrowers, Administrative Agent, and the Lenders shall treat each Person whose name is recorded in the Register pursuant to the terms hereof as a Lender hereunder for all purposes of this Agreement, notwithstanding notice to the contrary. The Register shall be available for inspection by Borrowers and any Lender, at any reasonable time and from time to time, upon reasonable prior notice. The parties intend that all extensions of credit to the Borrowers shall at all times be treated as being in registered form within the meaning of Sections 163(f), 871(h)(2), and 881(c)(2) of the Code (and any successor provisions) and regulations thereunder and shall interpret the provisions herein regarding the Register and the Participant Register (as defined in paragraph (e) below) consistent with such intent.

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(e)          Participations. Any Lender may at any time, without the consent of, or notice to, the Borrower Representative, Administrative Agent, Issuing Lender or Swingline Lender, sell participations to any Person (other than a natural Person or a holding company, investment vehicle or trust for, or owned and operated for the primary benefit of, a natural Person, or the Borrowers or any of the Borrowers’ Affiliates or Subsidiaries, or a Person that at such time is a Disqualified Institution) (a “Participant”) in all or a portion of such Lender’s rights or obligations under this Agreement (including all or a portion of its Commitments or the Loans (including such Lender’s participations in LC Disbursements or Swingline Loans) owing to it); provided that (i) such Lender’s obligations under this Agreement shall remain unchanged, (ii) such Lender shall remain solely responsible to the other parties hereto for the performance of such obligations, (iii) such participation shall not increase the obligations of any Obligor under any Loan Document, except as contemplated below, and (iv) the Borrowers, Administrative Agent, Issuing Lender, Swingline Lender, and the other Lenders shall continue to deal solely and directly with such Lender in connection with such Lender’s rights and obligations under this Agreement. For the avoidance of doubt, each Lender shall be responsible for the indemnity under Section 10.3(d) with respect to any payments made by such Lender to its Participants. Any agreement or instrument pursuant to which a Lender sells such a participation shall provide that such Lender shall retain the sole right to enforce this Agreement and to approve any amendment, modification, or waiver of any provision of the Loan Documents; provided that such agreement or instrument may provide that such Lender will not, without the consent of the Participant, agree to any amendment, modification, or waiver described in the first proviso to Section 10.2(b) that directly and adversely affects such Participant. The Borrowers agree that each Participant shall be entitled to the benefits of Sections 2.14, 2.15, and 2.16, (subject to the requirements and limitations therein, including the requirements under Section 2.16(g) (it being understood that the documentation required under Section 2.16(g) 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 Section 10.4(b); provided that such Participant (1) agrees to be subject to the provisions of Section 2.18 as if it were an assignee under Section 10.4(b); and (2) shall not be entitled to receive any greater payment under Sections 2.14 and 2.16, with respect to any participation, than its participating Lender would have been entitled to receive, except to the extent such entitlement to receive a greater payment results from a Change in Law that occurs after the Participant acquired the applicable participation. Each Lender that sells a participation agrees, at the Borrowers’ request and expense, to use reasonable efforts to cooperate with the Borrowers to effectuate the provisions of Section 2.18 with respect to any Participant. To the extent permitted by law, each Participant also shall be entitled to the benefits of Section 10.8 as though it were a Lender; provided that such Participant agrees to be subject to Section 2.17(d). Each Lender that sells a participation shall, acting solely for this purpose as a non-fiduciary agent of the 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 the Loan Documents (the “Participant Register”); provided that no Lender shall have any obligation to disclose all or any portion of the Participant Register (including the identity of any Participant or any information relating to a Participant’s interest in any Commitment, Loan, Letter of Credit or its other obligations under any Loan Document) to any Person except to the extent that such disclosure is necessary to establish that such Commitment, Loan, Letter of Credit, or other obligation is in registered form under Section 5f.103-1(c) of the United States Treasury Regulations. The entries in the Participant Register shall be conclusive absent manifest error, and such Lender shall treat each Person whose name is recorded in the Participant Register as the owner of such participation for all purposes of this Agreement notwithstanding any notice to the contrary. For the avoidance of doubt, Administrative Agent (in its capacity as Administrative Agent) shall have no responsibility for maintaining a Participant Register.

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(f)          Certain Pledges. Any Lender may at any time pledge or assign a security interest in all or any portion of its rights under this Agreement to secure obligations of such Lender, including any pledge or assignment to secure obligations to a Federal Reserve Bank (or other central bank under any central banking system established under the jurisdiction or organization of such Lender (or its parent 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 and no pledge may be made to a Person that is a Disqualified Institution at such time.

 

(g)          Assignments to Sponsor-Controlled Affiliated Lenders. Any Lender may, at any time, without any consent, assign all or a portion of its rights and obligations with respect to Term Loans (but not, for the avoidance of doubt, any Revolving Credit Loans or Revolving Credit Commitments) under this Agreement to a Person who is or will become, after such assignment, a Sponsor-Controlled Affiliated Lender (without any consent of any Person but subject to acknowledgment by the Administrative Agent (which acknowledgement shall be provided promptly after request therefor)) through (x) Dutch auctions open to all Lenders on a pro rata basis or (y) open market purchases on a non-pro rata basis, in each case subject to the following limitations:

 

(i)          no assignment of Term Loans to a Sponsor-Controlled Affiliated Lender may be purchased with the proceeds of any Revolving Credit Loan or Swing Line Loan;

 

(ii)         the assigning Lender and the Sponsor-Controlled Affiliated Lender purchasing such Lender’s Term Loans shall execute and deliver to the Administrative Agent an assignment agreement substantially in the form of Exhibit C hereto (a “Sponsor-Controlled Affiliated Lender Assignment and Assumption”);

 

(iii)        Sponsor-Controlled Affiliated Lenders (A) will not receive information provided to Lenders by the Administrative Agent or any Lender and that is not also provided to the Borrowers, including through access to electronic information maintained on the Platform, other than the right to receive notices of prepayments and other administrative notices in respect of its Loans or Commitments required to be delivered to Lenders pursuant to Section 2, (B) will not be permitted to attend or participate in conference calls or meetings attended by the Lenders and the Administrative Agent that the Borrowers are also not attending, and (C) will not receive advice of counsel to the Administrative Agent and the Lenders;

 

(iv)        in connection with each assignment pursuant to this Section 10.4(g), the assigning Lender and the Sponsor-Controlled Affiliated Lender purchasing such Lender’s Term Loans may render customary “big boy” letters to each other regarding information that is not known to such assigning Lender that may be material to the decision by such assigning Lender to enter into such assignment to such Sponsor-Controlled Affiliated Lender and no Sponsor-Controlled Affiliated Lender purchasing any Term Loans shall be required to make a representation that it is not in possession of Material Non-Public Information with respect to Holdings, the Borrowers and their Subsidiaries or their respective securities;

 

(v)         the aggregate principal amount of Term Loans (as of the date of consummation of any transaction under this Section 10.4(g)) held at any one time by all Sponsor-Controlled Affiliated Lenders shall not exceed 25% of the then outstanding principal amount of all Term Loans; provided that in addition to the foregoing, the amount of Incremental Term Loans assigned to Sponsor-Controlled Affiliated Lenders pursuant to this Section 10.4(g) shall not exceed 25% of the then outstanding principal amount of all Incremental Loans, in the aggregate for all Sponsor-Controlled Affiliated Lenders (such percentage, the “Sponsor-Controlled Affiliated Lender Cap”); and

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(vi)        except with respect to any amendment, modification, waiver, consent or other action (I) in Section 10.4 requiring the consent of all Lenders, all Lenders directly and adversely affected or specifically such Lender, (II) that alters a Sponsor-Controlled Affiliated Lender’s pro rata share of any payments given to all Lenders, or (III) affects the Sponsor-Controlled Affiliated Lender (in its capacity as a Lender) in a manner that is disproportionate to the effect on any Lender in the same Class, the Loans held by a Sponsor-Controlled Affiliated Lender shall be disregarded in both the numerator and denominator in the calculation of any Lender vote (and, in the case of a plan of reorganization that does not adversely affect the Sponsor-Controlled Affiliated Lender in a manner that is adverse to such Sponsor- Controlled Affiliated Lender relative to other Lenders, shall be deemed to have voted its interest in the Term Loans in the same proportion as the other Lenders in the same Class) in the same percentage as all other applicable Lenders voted if necessary to give legal effect to this paragraph) (but, in any event, in connection with any amendment, modification, waiver, consent or other action, shall be entitled to any consent fee, calculated as if all of such Sponsor-Controlled Affiliated Lender’s Loans had voted in favor of any matter for which a consent fee or similar payment is offered).

 

(vii)       Each Sponsor-Controlled Affiliated Lender agrees to notify the Administrative Agent promptly (and in any event within 5 Business Days) if it acquires any Person who is also a Lender, and each Lender agrees to notify the Administrative Agent promptly (and in any event within 5 Business Days) if it becomes a Sponsor-Controlled Affiliated Lender.

 

(viii)      Each Lender participating in any assignment to Sponsor-Controlled Affiliated Lenders acknowledges and agrees that in connection with such assignment, (1) the Sponsor-Controlled Affiliated Lenders then may have, and later may come into possession of Excluded Information, (2) such Lender has independently and, without reliance on the Sponsor-Controlled Affiliated Lenders or any of their Subsidiaries, Holdings, the Borrower or any of their Subsidiaries, the Administrative Agent or any other Agent-Related Persons, has made its own analysis and determination to participate in such assignment notwithstanding such Lender’s lack of knowledge of the Excluded Information, (3) none of the Sponsor-Controlled Affiliated Lenders or any of their Subsidiaries, Holdings, the Borrower or their respective Subsidiaries, the Administrative Agent or any other Agent-Related Persons shall have any liability to such Lender, and such Lender hereby waives and releases, to the extent permitted by law, any claims such Lender may have against the Sponsor-Controlled Affiliated Lenders and any of their Subsidiaries, Holdings, the Borrowers and their respective Subsidiaries, the Administrative Agent and any other Agent-Related Persons, under applicable laws or otherwise, with respect to the nondisclosure of the Excluded Information and (4) that information regarding the Borrowers, the Sponsor, their respective affiliates not known to such Lender and that may be material to a decision by such Lender to participate in such prepayment (including Material Non-Public Information) may not be available to the Administrative Agent or the other Lenders.

 

(ix)         Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in the Loan Documents, any Term Loans or Incremental Term Loans assigned to a Sponsor-Controlled Affiliated Lender in accordance with this Section 10.4(g) may be contributed to Holdings or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries and be exchanged for equity securities (other than Disqualified Equity Interests) of any Borrower (or any of its direct or indirect parent) to the extent otherwise permitted herein.

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(h)         Debt Fund Affiliates. Any Lender may, at any time, assign all or a portion of its rights and obligations with respect to Term Loans under this Agreement to a Person who is or will become, after such assignment, a Debt Fund Affiliate. Notwithstanding anything in Section 10.2 or the definition of “Required Lenders” to the contrary, for purposes of determining whether the Required Lenders have (i) consented (or not consented) to any amendment, modification, waiver, consent or other action with respect to any of the terms of any Loan Document or any departure by any Obligor therefrom, (ii) otherwise acted on any matter related to any Loan Document or (iii) directed or required the Administrative Agent or any Lender to undertake any action (or refrain from taking any action) with respect to or under any Loan Document, all Term Loans held by Debt Fund Affiliates may not account for more than 49.9% (pro rata among such Debt Fund Affiliates) of the Term Loans of consenting Lenders included in determining whether the Required Lenders have consented to any action pursuant to Section 10.4. For the avoidance of doubt, assignments to Debt Fund Affiliates under this Section 10.4(h) shall not be subject to any restrictions set forth in Section 10.4(g).

 

10.5       Survival. All covenants, agreements, certifications, representations and warranties made by the Borrowers or any other Obligor herein or in the other Loan Documents and in the certificates or other instruments delivered in connection with or pursuant to this Agreement or the other Loan Documents shall be considered to have been relied upon by the other parties hereto and shall survive the execution and delivery of this Agreement and the other Loan Documents and the making of any Loans and issuance of any Letters of Credit, regardless of any investigation made by any such other party or on its behalf and notwithstanding that Administrative Agent, Issuing Lender, or any Lender may have had notice or knowledge of any Default or incorrect certification, representation, or warranty at the time any credit is extended hereunder, and shall continue in full force and effect until the Full Satisfaction of the Obligations. The provisions of Sections 2.14, 2.15, 2.16, 10.3, and 10.18 shall survive and remain in full force and effect regardless of the consummation of the transactions contemplated hereby, the termination of the Loan Documents and payment of the Obligations hereunder, or the expiration or termination of the Letters of Credit and the Commitments.

 

10.6       Counterparts; Integration; Effectiveness. This Agreement may be executed in counterparts (and by different parties hereto on different counterparts), each of which shall constitute an original, but all of which when taken together shall constitute a single contract. This Agreement and the other Loan Documents constitute the entire contract between and among the parties relating to the subject matter hereof and supersede any and all previous agreements and understandings, oral or written, relating to the subject matter hereof. Except as provided in Section 4.1, this Agreement shall become effective when it shall have been executed by Administrative Agent and when Administrative Agent shall have received counterparts hereof which, when taken together, bear the signatures of each of the other parties hereto, and thereafter shall be binding upon and inure to the benefit of the parties hereto and their respective successors and assigns permitted hereby. Delivery of an executed counterpart of a signature page of this Agreement by facsimile or in electronic (i.e., “pdf” or “tif”) format shall be effective as delivery of a manually executed counterpart of this Agreement. The words “execution,” “signed,” “signature,” and words of like import in this Agreement or any Loan Document shall be deemed to include electronic signatures or the keeping of records in electronic form, each of which shall be of the same legal effect, validity or enforceability as a manually executed signature or the use of a paper-based recordkeeping system, as the case may be, to the extent and as provided for in any applicable law, including the Federal Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act, the New York State Electronic Signatures and Records Act, or any other similar state laws based on the Uniform Electronic Transactions Act.

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

 

10.8       Right of Setoff. If an Event of Default shall have occurred and be continuing, each Lender, Issuing Lender, and each of their respective Affiliates is hereby authorized at any time and from time to time, to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, to set off and apply any and all deposits (general or special, time or demand, provisional or final, in whatever currency) (other than escrow, payroll, employee health and benefits, pension, fiduciary, 401(K), petty cash, trust and tax accounts) at any time held, and other obligations (in whatever currency) at any time owing, by such Lender, Issuing Lender or any such Affiliate, to or for the credit or the account of the Borrowers or any other Obligor against any and all of the obligations of the Borrowers or any other Obligor now or hereafter existing under this Agreement or any other Loan Document to such Lender or Issuing Lender or their respective Affiliates, irrespective of whether or not such Lender, Issuing Lender or Affiliate shall have made any demand under this Agreement or any other Loan Document and although such obligations of the Borrowers or such Obligor may be contingent or unmatured or are owed to a branch, office or Affiliate of such Lender or Issuing Lender different from the branch, office or Affiliate holding such deposit or obligated on such indebtedness; provided that in the event that any Defaulting Lender shall exercise any such right of setoff, (a) all amounts so set off shall be paid over immediately to the Administrative Agent for further application in accordance with the provisions of Section 2.21 and, pending such payment, shall be segregated by such Defaulting Lender from its other funds and deemed held in trust for the benefit of Administrative Agent, Issuing Lender, and the Lenders, and (b) the Defaulting Lender shall provide promptly to the Administrative Agent a statement describing in reasonable detail the Obligations owing to such Defaulting Lender as to which it exercised such right of setoff. The rights of each Lender, Issuing Lender, and their respective Affiliates under this Section are in addition to other rights and remedies (including other rights of setoff) that such Lender, Issuing Lender, or their respective Affiliates may have. Each Lender and Issuing Lender agrees to notify the Borrower Representative and the Administrative Agent promptly after any such setoff and application and share such set-off pursuant to Section 2.17(d); provided that the failure to give such notice shall not affect the validity of such setoff and application.

 

10.9Governing Law; Jurisdiction; Etc.

 

(a)          Governing Law. This Agreement and the other Loan Documents (other than those containing a contrary express choice of law provision) shall be construed in accordance with, and this Agreement, the other Loan Documents and all matters arising out of or relating in any way whatsoever to the Loan Documents (whether in contract, tort or otherwise) shall be governed by, the law of the State of New York, other than those conflict of law provisions that would defer to the substantive laws of another jurisdiction. This governing law election has been made by the parties in reliance (at least in part) on Section 5-1401 of the General Obligation Law of the State of New York, as amended (as and to the extent applicable), and other applicable law.

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(b)          Submission to Jurisdiction. Each Obligor, the Administrative Agent, any Lender, any Issuing Lender, or any Related Party hereby irrevocably and unconditionally agrees that it shall not commence any action, litigation or proceeding of any kind or description, whether in law or equity, whether in contract or in tort or otherwise, against any Obligor, the Administrative Agent, any Lender, any Issuing Lender, or any Related Party of the foregoing in any way relating to this Agreement or any other Loan Document or the transactions relating hereto or thereto, in any forum other than the Supreme Court of the State of New York sitting in New York County and of the United States District Court of the Southern District of New York, and any appellate court from any thereof, and each of the parties hereto and each other Obligor hereby irrevocably and unconditionally irrevocably and unconditionally submits to the jurisdiction of such courts and agrees that all claims in respect of any such action, litigation or proceeding may be heard and determined in such New York State court or, to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, in such federal court. Each of the parties hereto agrees that a final judgment in any such action or proceeding shall be conclusive and may be enforced in other jurisdictions by suit on the judgment or in any other manner provided by law. Nothing in this Agreement or in any other Loan Document shall affect any right that Administrative Agent, Issuing Lender, or any Lender may otherwise have to bring any action or proceeding relating to any Loan Document against any Obligor or its properties in the courts of any jurisdiction.

 

(c)          Waiver of Venue. Each party hereto hereby irrevocably and unconditionally waives, to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, any objection that it may now or hereafter have to the laying of venue of any suit, action or proceeding arising out of or relating to any Loan Document in any court referred to in this Section 10.9(b). Each of the parties hereto hereby irrevocably waives, to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, the defense of an inconvenient forum to the maintenance of such action or proceeding in any such court.

 

(d)          Service of Process. Each party hereto irrevocably consents to service of process in the manner provided for notices in Section 10.1. Nothing in this Agreement will affect the right of any party to this Agreement to serve process in any other manner permitted by applicable law.

 

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

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10.11Treatment of Certain Information; Confidentiality.

 

(a)          Confidentiality. Each of Administrative Agent, the Lenders and Issuing Lender agree to maintain the confidentiality of the Information (as defined below), except that Information may be disclosed (i) to its Affiliates and to its Related Parties (it being understood that the Persons to whom such disclosure is made will be informed of the confidential nature of such Information and instructed to keep such Information confidential and to use such Information subject to such Person’s internal regulatory and/or ethical obligations regarding the same); (ii) to the extent required or requested by any regulatory authority purporting to have jurisdiction over such Person or its Related Parties (including any self-regulatory authority, such as the National Association of Insurance Commissioners or any listing authority or stock exchange); (iii) to the extent required by applicable laws or regulations or by any subpoena or similar legal process; provided that prompt written notice to the Borrower Representative shall be provided to the extent not prohibited by applicable laws or regulations; (iv) to any other party hereto; (v) in connection with the exercise of any remedies hereunder or under any other Loan Document or any suit, action or proceeding relating to this Agreement or any other Loan Document or the enforcement of rights hereunder or thereunder; (vi) subject to an agreement containing provisions substantially the same as those of this Section, to (A) any assignee of or Participant in, or any prospective assignee (other than any Disqualified Institution) of or Participant in, any of its rights and obligations under this Agreement or any pledgee under Section 10.4(f), or (B) any actual or prospective party (or its Related Parties) to any swap, derivative or other transaction under which payments are to be made by reference to the Borrowers and their obligations, this Agreement or payments hereunder; (vii) to holders of Equity Interests in any Borrower, (viii) to any Person providing a Guarantee of all or any portion of the Obligations, (ix) on a confidential basis to (A) any rating agency in connection with rating Obligors or their Subsidiaries or the credit facilities under this Agreement or (B) the CUSIP Service Bureau or any similar agency in connection with the issuance and monitoring of CUSIP numbers with respect to this Agreements; (x) with the consent of the Borrower Representative; or (xi) to the extent such Information (A) becomes publicly available other than as a result of a breach of this Section, or (B) becomes available to the Administrative Agent, any Lender, Issuing Lender or any of their respective Affiliates on a nonconfidential basis from a source other than the Obligors that is not to the knowledge (after due inquiry) of the receiving party in violation of any confidentiality restriction. For purposes of this Section, “Information” means all information received from the Obligors or any of their Subsidiaries and/or its Related Parties or representatives relating to the Obligors or any of their Subsidiaries or any of their respective businesses, other than any such information that is available to the Administrative Agent, any Lender or Issuing Lender on a nonconfidential basis prior to disclosure by the Borrowers and other than information pertaining to this Agreement provided by arrangers to data service providers, including league table providers, that serve the lending industry; provided that, in the case of information received from the Borrowers after the date hereof, such information is clearly identified at the time of delivery as confidential. Any Person required to maintain the confidentiality of Information as provided in this Section shall be considered to have complied with its obligation to do so if such Person has exercised the same degree of care to maintain the confidentiality of such Information as such Person would accord to its own confidential information.

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(b)          Independence of Covenants. All covenants and other agreements contained in this Agreement or any other Loan Document shall be given independent effect so that, if a particular action or condition is not permitted by any of such covenants or other agreements, the fact that such action or condition would be permitted by an exception to, or otherwise be within the limitations of, another covenant or other agreement shall not avoid the occurrence of a Default if such action is taken or such condition exists.

 

10.12     Interest Rate Limitation. Notwithstanding anything herein to the contrary, if at any time the interest rate applicable to any Loan, together with all fees, charges or other amounts that are treated as interest on such Loan under applicable law (collectively the “Charges”), shall exceed the maximum lawful rate (the “Maximum Rate”) that may be contracted for, charged, taken, received, or reserved by the Lender holding such Loan in accordance with applicable law, the rate of interest payable in respect to such Loan hereunder, together with all Charges payable in respect thereof, shall be limited to the Maximum Rate and, to the extent lawful, the interest and Charges that would have been payable in respect of such Loan but were not payable as a result of the operation of this Section shall be cumulated and the interest and Charges payable to such Lender in respect of other Loans or periods shall be increased (but not above the Maximum Rate therefore) until such cumulated amount, shall have been received by such Lender. If Administrative Agent or any Lender shall receive interest in an amount that exceeds the Maximum Rate, the excess interest shall be applied to the principal of the Loans or, if it exceeds such unpaid principal, refunded to the Borrowers.

 

10.13     USA Patriot Act. Each of Administrative Agent, Issuing Lender, and each Lender subject to the USA Patriot Act hereby notifies each Obligor that pursuant to the requirements of the USA Patriot Act, it is required to obtain, verify, and record information that identifies each Obligor and other information that will allow Administrative Agent, such Lender, and Issuing Lender to identify each Obligor in accordance with the USA Patriot Act. The Borrowers hereby agree to provide, and cause each other Obligor to provide, such information promptly upon the request of Administrative Agent or any Lender. Each Lender subject to the USA Patriot Act acknowledges and agrees that neither such Lender, nor any of its Affiliates, participants or assignees, may rely on Administrative Agent 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 Obligor, its Affiliates or its agents, this Agreement, the Loan Documents or the transactions hereunder or contemplated hereby: (a) any identity verification procedures, (b) any record-keeping, (c) comparisons with government lists, (d) customer notices, or (e) other procedures required under the CIP Regulations or such other law.

 

10.14     Press Release and Related Matters. No party hereto shall, and no party hereto shall permit any of its Affiliates to, issue any press release or other public disclosure using the name, logo or otherwise referring to any party hereto or any of their respective Affiliates, the Loan Documents or any transaction contemplated therein without the prior consent of a Borrower, Administrative Agent, or any applicable Lender, as the case may be, except to the extent required to do so under applicable law and then, in any event, such party hereto will advise Borrowers or Administrative Agent, as the case may be, as soon as possible with respect to such press release or other public disclosure.

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10.15     No Duty. All attorneys, accountants, appraisers, and other professional Persons and consultants retained by Administrative Agent or any Lender shall have the right to act exclusively in the interest of Administrative Agent and the Lenders and shall have no duty of disclosure, duty of loyalty, duty of care, or other duty or obligation of any type or nature whatsoever to the Borrowers, any holders of Equity Interests of any Obligor, or any other Person.

 

10.16     No Fiduciary Relationship. The relationship between the Borrowers and the other Obligors on the one hand and the Administrative Agent, Issuing Lender, Swingline Lender, each Lender, the Lead Arranger, or any Person listed as a joint bookrunner or documentation agent on the cover page hereof on the other is solely that of debtor and creditor, and no Administrative Agent, Lender, Lead Arranger, or any Person listed as a joint bookrunner or documentation agent on the cover page hereof has any fiduciary, advisory, agency or other special relationship with Borrowers or any other Obligors, and no term or condition of any of the Loan Documents shall be construed so as to deem the relationship between the Borrowers and the other Obligors on the one hand and the Administrative Agent, Issuing Lender, Swingline Lender, each Lender, Lead Arranger, or any Person listed as a joint bookrunner or documentation agent on the cover page hereof on the other to be other than that of debtor and creditor. To the fullest extent permitted by law, each Borrower hereby waives and releases any claims that it may have against any of the Administrative Agent, the Issuing Lender, the Swingline Lender, the Lenders, the Lead Arranger, or any Person listed as a joint bookrunner or documentation agent on the cover page hereof with respect to any breach or alleged breach of agency or fiduciary duty in connection with any aspect of any transaction contemplated hereby.

 

10.17     Construction. The Borrowers, each other Obligor (by its execution of the Loan Documents to which it is a party), Administrative Agent and each Lender acknowledges that each of them has had the benefit of legal counsel of its own choice and has been afforded an opportunity to review the Loan Documents with its legal counsel and that the Loan Documents shall be construed as if jointly drafted by the parties thereto. Section headings and the Table of Contents used herein are for convenience of reference only, are not part of this Agreement and shall not affect the construction of, or be taken into consideration in interpreting, this Agreement.

 

10.18     Payments Set Aside. To the extent that any payment by or on behalf of any Obligor under any Loan Document is made to the Administrative Agent, Issuing Lender or any Lender, or Administrative Agent, Issuing Lender or any Lender exercises its right of setoff as to any Obligor, and such payment or the proceeds of such setoff or any part thereof is subsequently invalidated, declared to be fraudulent or preferential, set aside or required (including pursuant to any settlement entered into by Administrative Agent, Issuing Lender or such Lender in its discretion) to be repaid to a trustee, receiver or any other party, in connection with any proceeding under any Debtor Relief Laws or otherwise, then (a) to the extent of such recovery, the obligation or part thereof originally intended to be satisfied shall be revived and continued in full force and effect as if such payment had not been made or such setoff had not occurred, and (b) each Lender and each Issuing Lender severally agrees to pay to the Administrative Agent upon demand its Pro Rata Share of any amount so recovered from or repaid by Administrative Agent, plus interest thereon from the date of such demand to the date such payment is made at a rate per annum equal to the Federal Funds Effective Rate from time to time in effect.

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10.19     Benefits of Agreement. The Loan Documents are entered into for the sole protection and benefit of the parties hereto and their permitted successors and assigns, and no other Person (other than any Related Parties of Administrative Agent, the Lenders, Issuing Lender and any Participants to the extent provided for in Section 10.4(e)) shall be a direct or indirect beneficiary of, or shall have any direct or indirect cause of action or claim in connection with, any Loan Document.

 

10.20     Acknowledgement and Consent to Bail-In of EEA Financial Institutions. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in any Loan Document or in any other agreement, arrangement or understanding among any such parties, each party hereto acknowledges that any liability of any Affected Financial Institution arising under any Loan Document may be subject to the Write-Down and Conversion Powers of the applicable Resolution Authority and agrees and consents to, and acknowledges and agrees to be bound by:

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

10.21     Keepwell. Each Qualified ECP Guarantor hereby jointly and severally absolutely, unconditionally, and irrevocably undertakes to provide such funds or other support as may be needed from time to time by each other Obligor to honor all of its obligations under this Agreement in respect of Swap Obligations (provided, however, that each Qualified ECP Guarantor shall only be liable under this Section 10.21 for the maximum amount of such liability that can be hereby incurred without rendering its obligations under this Section 10.21, or otherwise under this Agreement, voidable under applicable law relating to fraudulent conveyance or fraudulent transfer, and not for any greater amount). The obligations of each Qualified ECP Guarantor under this Section shall remain in full force and effect until Full Satisfaction of the Obligations. Each Qualified ECP Guarantor intends that this Section 10.21 constitute, and this Section 10.21 shall be deemed to constitute, a “keepwell, support, or other agreement” for the benefit of each other obligor for all purposes of Section 1a(18)(A)(v)(II) of the Commodity Exchange Act.

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10.22     Designation of Additional Borrowers. From time to time, the Borrowers may designate a Restricted Subsidiary incorporated, formed or otherwise organized in the United States to the Administrative Agent as a joint and several additional Borrower under the Loans and such party shall become a party to this Agreement pursuant to a joinder agreement reasonably satisfactory to the Administrative Agent; provided that the Borrower Representative shall have delivered (a) a joinder to this Agreement and the Security Agreement by such new Borrower, and such other Loan Documents as may be required by Section 5.8 or Section 5.9 with respect thereto, (b) a customary written opinion (addressed to the Administrative Agent and the Lenders) of counsel to such new Borrower regarding the Loan Documents consistent with the opinion delivered on the Effective Date, (c) such documents and certificates as Administrative Agent may reasonably request relating to the organization, existence and good standing of such new Borrower consistent with those delivered by the Borrower Representative on the Effective Date, (d) to each of the Lenders, all documents, certificates, and other information relating to the additional Borrower and its Subsidiaries that have been reasonably requested by the Administrative Agent or any Lender relating to the additional Borrower required by applicable regulatory authorities under applicable “know your customer” and anti-money laundering rules and regulations, including, without limitation, those imposed by the PATRIOT Act, and, for any additional Borrower that qualifies as a “legal entity customer” under the Beneficial Ownership Regulation, a Beneficial Ownership Certification in relation to such Borrower, and (e) such other assurances, certificates, documents, consents, or opinions as Administrative Agent or any Lender (through Administrative Agent) may reasonably request. Each Borrower shall be jointly and severally liable with respect to all Obligations.

 

10.23Joint and Several Obligations.

 

(a)          All Obligations shall constitute joint and several obligations of the Borrowers. Each Borrower expressly represents and acknowledges that it is part of a common enterprise with the other Borrower and that any financial accommodations by Administrative Agent, the Lenders, Issuing Lender, and Swingline Lender, or any of them, to any other Borrower hereunder and under the other Loan Documents are and will be of direct and indirect interest, benefit and advantage to all of the Borrowers. Each Borrower acknowledges that any notice of Borrowing or any other notice given by the Borrower Representative to the Administrative Agent, the Lenders, Issuing Lender or Swingline Lender shall bind all of the Borrowers, and that any notice given by Administrative Agent, the Lenders, Issuing Lender or Swingline Lender to the Borrower Representative shall be effective with respect to all of the Borrowers. Each Borrower acknowledges and agrees that each Borrower shall be liable, on a joint and several basis, for all of the Loans and other Obligations, regardless of which such Person actually may have received the proceeds of any of the Loans or other extensions of credit or the amount of such Loans or other extensions of credit received or the manner in which Administrative Agent, the Lenders, Issuing Lender or Swingline Lender accounts among the Borrowers for such Loans or other Obligations on its books and records, and further acknowledges and agrees that Loans and other extensions of credit to any Borrower inure to the mutual benefit of all of the Borrowers and that Administrative Agent, the Lenders, Issuing Lender, and Swingline Lender are relying on the joint and several liability of the Borrowers in extending the Loans and other financial accommodations under the Loan Documents and Bank Product Agreements; provided, that notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this Section, no Borrower shall be liable for any Swap Obligation incurred by an Obligor other than such Borrower, to the extent such Swap Obligation would constitute Excluded Swap Obligations with respect to such Borrower at such time.

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(b)          Each Borrower shall be entitled to subrogation and contribution rights from and against the other Borrower to the extent such Person is required to pay to the Administrative Agent, the Lenders, Issuing Lender or Swingline Lender any amount in excess of the Loans advanced directly to, or other Obligations incurred directly by, such Person or as otherwise available under applicable law; provided, however, that such subrogation and contribution rights are and shall be subject to the terms and conditions of Section 10.23(c) and 10.23(d).

 

(c)          It is the intent of each Borrower, Administrative Agent, the Lenders, Issuing Lender, Swingline Lender and any other Person holding any of the Obligations that the maximum obligations of each Borrower hereunder (such Person’s “Maximum Borrower Liability”) in any case or proceeding referred to below (but only in such a case or proceeding) shall not be in excess of:

 

(i)          in a case or proceeding commenced by or against such Person under the Bankruptcy Code on or within one year from the date on which any of the Obligations of such Person are incurred, the maximum amount that would not otherwise cause the Obligations of such Person hereunder (or any other Obligations of such Person to the Administrative Agent, the Lenders, Issuing Lender, Swingline Lender and any other Person holding any of the Obligations) to be avoidable or unenforceable against such Person under (A) Section 548 of the Bankruptcy Code or (B) any state fraudulent transfer or fraudulent conveyance act or statute applied in such case or proceeding by virtue of Section 544 of the Bankruptcy Code; or

 

(ii)         in a case or proceeding commenced by or against such Person under the Bankruptcy Code subsequent to one year from the date on which any of the Obligations of such Person are incurred, the maximum amount that would not otherwise cause the Obligations of such Person hereunder (or any other Obligations of such Person to the Administrative Agent, the Lenders, Issuing Lender, Swingline Lender and any other Person holding any of the Obligations) to be avoidable or unenforceable against such Person under any state fraudulent transfer or fraudulent conveyance act or statute applied in any such case or proceeding by virtue of Section 544 of the Bankruptcy Code; or

 

(iii)        in a case or proceeding commenced by or against such Person under any law, statute or regulation other than the Bankruptcy Code relating to dissolution, liquidation, conservatorship, bankruptcy, moratorium, readjustment of debt, compromise, rearrangement, receivership, insolvency, reorganization or similar debtor relief from time to time in effect affecting the rights of creditors generally (collectively, “Other Debtor Relief Law”), the maximum amount that would not otherwise cause the Obligations of such Person hereunder (or any other Obligations of such Person to the Administrative Agent, the Lenders, Issuing Lender, Swingline Lender and any other Person holding any of the Obligations) to be avoidable or unenforceable against such Person under such Other Debtor Relief Law, including, without limitation, any state fraudulent transfer or fraudulent conveyance act or statute applied in any such case or proceeding. (The substantive state or federal laws under which the possible avoidance or unenforceability of the Obligations of any Borrower hereunder (or any other Obligations of such Person to the Administrative Agent, the Lenders, Issuing Lender, Swingline Lender and any other Person holding any of the Obligations) shall be determined in any such case or proceeding shall hereinafter be referred to as the “Avoidance Provisions”).

 

Notwithstanding the foregoing, no provision of this Section 10.23(c) shall limit the liability of any Borrower for loans advanced directly or indirectly to it under this Agreement.

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(d)          To the extent set forth in Section 10.23(c), but only to the extent that the Obligations of any Borrower hereunder would otherwise be subject to avoidance under any Avoidance Provisions if such Person is not deemed to have received valuable consideration, fair value, fair consideration or reasonably equivalent value for such transfers or obligations, or if such transfers or obligations of any Borrower hereunder would render such Person insolvent, or leave such Person with an unreasonably small capital or unreasonably small assets to conduct its business, or cause such Person to have incurred debts (or to have intended to have incurred debts) beyond its ability to pay such debts as they mature, in each case as of the time any of the obligations of such Person are deemed to have been incurred and transfers made under such Avoidance Provisions, then the obligations of such Person hereunder shall be reduced to that amount which, after giving effect thereto, would not cause the Obligations of such Person hereunder (or any other Obligations of such Person to the Administrative Agent, the Lenders, Issuing Lender, Swingline Lender and any other Person holding any of the Obligations), as so reduced, to be subject to avoidance under such Avoidance Provisions. This Section 10.23(d) is intended solely to preserve the rights hereunder of Administrative Agent, the Lenders, Issuing Lender, Swingline Lender and any other Person holding any of the Obligations to the maximum extent that would not cause the obligations of the Borrowers hereunder to be subject to avoidance under any Avoidance Provisions, and none of the Borrowers nor any other Person shall have any right, defense, offset, or claim under this Section 10.23(d) as against Administrative Agent, the Lenders, Issuing Lender, Swingline Lender and any other Person holding any of the Obligations that would not otherwise be available to such Person under the Avoidance Provisions.

 

(e)          Each Borrower agrees that the Obligations may at any time and from time to time exceed the Maximum Borrower Liability of such Person, and may exceed the aggregate Maximum Borrower Liability of all of the Borrowers hereunder, without impairing this Agreement or any provision contained herein or affecting the rights and remedies of Administrative Agent, the Lenders, Issuing Lender, and Swingline Lender hereunder.

 

(f)           In the event any Borrower (a “Funding Borrower”) shall make any payment or payments under this Agreement or shall suffer any loss as a result of any realization upon any collateral granted by it to secure its obligations hereunder, each other Borrower (each, a “Contributing Borrower”) shall contribute to such Funding Borrower an amount equal to such payment or payments made, or losses suffered, by such Funding Borrower determined as of the date on which such payment or loss was made multiplied by the ratio of (i) the Maximum Borrower Liability of such Contributing Borrower (without giving effect to any right to receive any contribution or other obligation to make any contribution hereunder), to (ii) the aggregate Maximum Borrower Liability of all of the Borrowers (including the Funding Borrowers) hereunder (without giving effect to any right to receive, or obligation to make, any contribution hereunder). Nothing in this Section 10.23(f) shall affect the joint and several liability of any Borrower to the Administrative Agent, the Lenders, Issuing Lender, and Swingline Lender for the entire amount of its Obligations. Each Borrower covenants and agrees that its right to receive any contribution hereunder from a Contributing Borrower shall be subordinate and junior in right of payment to all obligations of the Borrowers to the Administrative Agent, the Lenders, Issuing Lender, and Swingline Lender hereunder.

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(g)          No Borrower will exercise any rights which it may acquire by way of subrogation hereunder or under any other Loan Document or at law by any payment made hereunder or otherwise, nor shall any Borrower seek or be entitled to seek any contribution or reimbursement from any other Borrower in respect of payments made by such Person hereunder or under any other Loan Document, until all amounts owing to the Administrative Agent, the Lenders, Issuing Lender, and Swingline Lender on account of the Obligations are paid in full in cash. If any amounts shall be paid to any Borrower on account of such subrogation or contribution rights at any time when all of the Obligations shall not have been paid in full, such amount shall be held by such Person in trust for Administrative Agent, the Lenders, Issuing Lender, and Swingline Lender, segregated from other funds of such Person, and shall, forthwith upon receipt by such Person, be turned over to the Administrative Agent in the exact form received by such Person (duly endorsed by such Person to the Administrative Agent, if required), to be applied against the Obligations, whether matured or unmatured, as provided for herein.

 

10.24     Acknowledgement Regarding Any Supported QFCs. To the extent that the Loan Documents provide support, through a guarantee or otherwise, for Hedging Agreements or any other agreement or instrument that is a QFC (such support, “QFC Credit Support” and each such QFC a “Supported QFC”), the parties acknowledge and agree as follows with respect to the resolution power of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation under the Federal Deposit Insurance Act and Title II of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (together with the regulations promulgated thereunder, the “U.S. Special Resolution Regimes”) in respect of such Supported QFC and QFC Credit Support (with the provisions below applicable notwithstanding that the Loan Documents and any Supported QFC may in fact be stated to be governed by the laws of the State of New York and/or of the United States or any other state of the United States):

 

(a)           In the event a Covered Entity that is party to a Supported QFC (each, a “Covered Party”) becomes subject to a proceeding under a U.S. Special Resolution Regime, the transfer of such Supported QFC and the benefit of such QFC Credit Support (and any interest and obligation in or under such Supported QFC and such QFC Credit Support, and any rights in property securing such Supported QFC or such QFC Credit Support) from such Covered Party will be effective to the same extent as the transfer would be effective under the U.S. Special Resolution Regime if the Supported QFC and such QFC Credit Support (and any such interest, obligation and rights in property) were governed by the laws of the United States or a state of the United States. In the event a Covered Party or a BHC Act Affiliate of a Covered Party becomes subject to a proceeding under a U.S. Special Resolution Regime, Default Rights under the Loan Documents that might otherwise apply to such Supported QFC or any QFC Credit Support that may be exercised against such Covered Party are permitted to be exercised to no greater extent than such Default Rights could be exercised under the U.S. Special Resolution Regime if the Supported QFC and the Loan Documents were governed by the laws of the United States or a state of the United States. Without limitation of the foregoing, it is understood and agreed that rights and remedies of the parties with respect to a Defaulting Lender shall in no event affect the rights of any Covered Party with respect to a Supported QFC or any QFC Credit Support.

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(b)As used in this Section 10.24, the following terms have the following meanings:

 

“BHC Act Affiliate” of a party means an “affiliate” (as such term is defined under, and interpreted in accordance with, 12 U.S.C. 1841(k)) of such party.

 

“Covered Entity” means any of the following:

  

(i)           a “covered entity” as that term is defined in, and interpreted in accordance with, 12 C.F.R. § 252.82(b);

 

(ii)          a “covered bank” as that term is defined in, and interpreted in accordance with, 12 C.F.R. § 47.3(b); or

 

(iii)         a “covered FSI” as that term is defined in, and interpreted in accordance with, 12 C.F.R. § 382.2(b).

 

“Default Right” has the meaning assigned to that term in, and shall be interpreted in accordance with, 12 C.F.R. §§ 252.81, 47.2 or 382.1, as applicable.

 

“QFC” has the meaning assigned to the term “qualified financial contract” in, and shall be interpreted in accordance with, 12 U.S.C. 5390(c)(8)(D).

 

10.25     Assumption of Obligations. Immediately following consummation of the Merger on the Effective Date, the Borrower hereby expressly, unconditionally and irrevocably assumes all Obligations of the Initial Borrower under this Agreement and the other Loan Documents as fully as if the Borrower was originally the Initial Borrower, and the Borrower expressly, unconditionally and irrevocably agrees to pay, perform and discharge such Indebtedness and Obligations in accordance with the terms of this Agreement and the other Loan Documents and otherwise be liable for such Indebtedness and to perform and discharge all of the Obligations and any and all covenants and other obligations under this Agreement and the other Loan Documents, and the Borrower will become a “Borrower” for all purposes under this Agreement and the other Loan Documents, and, following the completion of such assumption, the Indebtedness and Obligations of the Initial Borrower as a Borrower hereunder and under the other Loan Documents shall be automatically and irrevocably released (the assumption described in this Section 10.25, the “Effective Date Assumption”).

 

10.26     ICAV Claims. Any recourse of a party hereto against the ICAV in respect of any claims arising under or in relation to this Agreement against any PGIM Fund (“Claims”) shall be limited to the assets of such PGIM Fund and no such party shall have any recourse to any other assets of the ICAV or any other PGIM Fund. If, following the realization of all of the assets of the relevant PGIM Fund and the application of such realization proceeds in payment of all Claims relating to such PGIM Fund (if any) and all other liabilities (if any) of such PGIM Fund ranking pari passu with or senior to the Claims which have recourse to such PGIM Fund, the Claims are not paid in full, (a) the amount outstanding in respect of the Claims relating to such PGIM Fund shall be automatically extinguished, and (b) no party hereto shall have any further right of payment in respect thereof.

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11.THE BORROWER REPRESENTATIVE.

 

11.1       Appointment; Nature of Relationship. Suja Merger Sub, LLC, prior to the consummation of the Merger, and Suja life, LLC, after the consummation of the Merger and after giving effect to the Effective Date Assumption, is hereby appointed by each of the Borrowers as its contractual representative (herein referred to as the “Borrower Representative”) hereunder and under each other Loan Document, and each of the Borrowers irrevocably authorizes the Borrower Representative to act as the contractual representative of such Borrower with the rights and duties expressly set forth herein and in the other Loan Documents. The Borrower Representative agrees to act as such contractual representative upon the express conditions contained in this Article XI. The Administrative Agent and the Lenders, and their respective officers, directors, agents or employees, shall not be liable to the Borrower Representative or any Borrower for any action taken or omitted to be taken by the Borrower Representative or the Borrowers pursuant to this Section 11.01.

 

11.2       Powers. The Borrower Representative shall have and may exercise such powers under the Loan Documents as are specifically delegated to the Borrower Representative by the terms of each thereof, together with such powers as are reasonably incidental thereto. The Borrower Representative shall have no implied duties to the Borrowers, or any obligation to the Lenders to take any action thereunder except any action specifically provided by the Loan Documents to be taken by the Borrower Representative.

 

11.3       Employment of Agents. The Borrower Representative may execute any of its duties as the Borrower Representative hereunder and under any other Loan Document by or through authorized officers.

 

11.4       Successor Borrower Representative. Upon the prior written consent of the Administrative Agent (such consent not to be unreasonably withheld, denied, delayed or conditioned), the Borrower Representative may resign at any time, such resignation to be effective upon the appointment of a successor Borrower Representative. The Administrative Agent shall give prompt written notice of such resignation to the Lenders.

 

11.5       Execution of Loan Documents. The Borrowers hereby empower and authorize the Borrower Representative, on behalf of the Borrowers, to execute and deliver to the Administrative Agent and the Lenders the Loan Documents and all related agreements, certificates, documents, or instruments as shall be necessary or appropriate to effect the purposes of the Loan Documents, including, without limitation, the Compliance Certificates. Each Borrower agrees that any action taken by the Borrower Representative or the Borrowers in accordance with the terms of this Agreement or the other Loan Documents, and the exercise by the Borrower Representative of its powers set forth therein or herein, together with such other powers that are reasonably incidental thereto, shall be binding upon all of the Borrowers.

 

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ANNEX B

 

Schedule 1.1(a) to Credit Agreement

 

 

 

 

Schedule 1.1(a)

 

Applicable Period End Dates

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Exhibit 10.5

 

FOURTH AMENDMENT TO CREDIT AGREEMENT

 

THIS FOURTH AMENDMENT TO CREDIT AGREEMENT (this “Amendment”) is made and entered into as of January 13, 2026, by and among Suja Life, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company (the “Borrower Representative”), Suja Life Intermediate II, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company (“Holdings”), the other Guarantors party hereto, the financial institutions set forth on Schedule I hereto as Fourth Amendment Delayed Draw Term Loan Lenders (as hereinafter defined), each of the other Lenders (as hereinafter defined) that are parties to this Amendment (constituting at least the Required Lenders) and JPMORGAN CHASE BANK, N.A., as administrative agent for the Lenders (in such capacity, the “Administrative Agent”).

 

W  I T N E S S E T H:

 

WHEREAS, the Borrower Representative, Holdings, the other Guarantors, the several banks and other financial institutions that are parties thereto (the “Lenders”) and the Administrative Agent are parties to a certain Credit Agreement, dated as of August 23, 2021 (as amended by (i) that certain First Amendment to Credit Agreement, dated as of December 8, 2021, (ii) that certain Second Amendment to Credit Agreement, dated as of October 11, 2022, (iii) that certain Third Amendment to Credit Agreement, dated as of October 31, 2024, (iv) this Amendment and, as otherwise amended, restated, amended and restated, supplemented or otherwise modified from time to time, the “Credit Agreement” and as in effect immediately prior to giving effect to this Amendment, the “Existing Credit Agreement”; capitalized terms used herein and not otherwise defined shall have the respective meanings assigned to such terms in the Credit Agreement), pursuant to which the Lenders have made certain financial accommodations available to the Borrower;

 

WHEREAS, the Borrower Representative has requested additional extensions of credit in the form of delayed draw term loan commitments on the Fourth Amendment Effective Date in an aggregate principal amount equal to $15,000,000 (the “Fourth Amendment Delayed Draw Term Loan Commitments” and the additional term loans to be made pursuant thereto, the “Fourth Amendment Delayed Draw Term Loans”), and this Amendment serves as a Notice of Incremental Delayed Draw Term Loan Commitment, as provided in accordance with Section 2.19(a) of the Credit Agreement, and any notice required to be provided to Administrative Agent in accordance with Section 2.19(b) of the Credit Agreement is deemed waived with respect to such Incremental Facility Notice;

 

WHEREAS, the lenders set forth on Schedule I attached hereto have elected to provide Fourth Amendment Delayed Draw Term Loan Commitments (any such lender providing a Fourth Amendment Delayed Draw Term Loan Commitment, a “Fourth Amendment Delayed Draw Term Loan Lender”), in the amount set forth opposite such Lender’s name on Schedule I hereto. For the avoidance of doubt, each Fourth Amendment Delayed Draw Term Loan Lender not already constituting a “Lender” under the Credit Agreement, shall constitute a “Lender” under the Credit Agreement upon the effectiveness of this Amendment and all Fourth Amendment Delayed Draw Term Loan Lenders already constituting Lenders prior to extending the Fourth Amendment Delayed Draw Term Loan Commitments shall continue to constitute Lenders under the Credit Agreement, in each case in the amount set forth opposite such Lender’s name on Schedule I hereto;

 

 

 

 

WHEREAS, the Borrower Representative has requested that the Required Lenders and the Administrative Agent amend certain provisions of the Credit Agreement, and subject to the terms and conditions hereof, the Lenders are willing to do so;

 

NOW, THEREFORE, for good and valuable consideration, the sufficiency and receipt of all of which are acknowledged, the Borrower Representative, Holdings, the Lenders party hereto (which constitute all the Fourth Amendment Delayed Draw Term Loan Lenders and at least the Required Lenders) and the Administrative Agent agree as follows:

 

1.       Fourth Amendment Delayed Draw Term Loan Commitments.

 

(a)       The Borrower Representative confirms and agrees that it has requested the Fourth Amendment Delayed Draw Term Loan Commitments and the Fourth Amendment Delayed Draw Term Loans to be made pursuant thereto, and the Fourth Amendment Delayed Draw Term Loan Commitments shall be deemed to be Term Loan Commitments to make Term Loans on the same terms as the Term Loans funded on the Effective Date except as otherwise set forth in the Credit Agreement.

 

(b)       Each Fourth Amendment Delayed Draw Term Loan Lender agrees severally and not jointly (i) that upon the effectiveness of this Amendment on the Fourth Amendment Effective Date and at all times thereafter, such Fourth Amendment Delayed Draw Term Loan Lender will be bound (or continue to be bound, as applicable) by the provisions of the Credit Agreement and the other Loan Documents and shall perform all of the obligations and have all of the rights of a Lender thereunder, (ii)(x) to provide its Fourth Amendment Delayed Draw Term Loan Commitment in the aggregate principal amount equal to the amount set forth opposite its name on Schedule I hereto and (y) to make Fourth Amendment Delayed Draw Term Loans on the terms and subject to the express conditions set forth in the Credit Agreement, and, in each case, when made, such Fourth Amendment Delayed Draw Term Loans shall be added to and constitute a part of the outstanding Term Loans under the Credit Agreement.

 

(c)       The Fourth Amendment Delayed Draw Term Loans shall be deemed to be incurred pursuant to Section 2.19(b)(ii)(A) of the Credit Agreement notwithstanding the conditions of such section.

 

2.       Amendments. Upon satisfaction or waiver of the conditions set forth in Section 4 hereof, (a) the Existing Credit Agreement is hereby amended to (x) delete the stricken red and green text (indicated textually in the same manner as the following examples: stricken text and stricken text), and (y) to add the double-underlined blue and green text (indicated textually in the same manner as the following examples: double-underlined text and double- underlined text), in each case, as set forth in the marked copy of the Credit Agreement attached as Annex A hereto and (b) the exhibits to the Existing Credit Agreement are hereby supplemented by adding Exhibit 2.19-3 thereto as set forth on Annex B hereto.

 

2

 

 

3.       Conditions to Effectiveness of this Amendment. Notwithstanding any other provision of this Amendment and without affecting in any manner the rights of the Lenders hereunder, it is understood and agreed that this Amendment shall not become effective, and none of the Borrower Representative nor any other Obligor shall have any rights under this Amendment, until the Administrative Agent shall have received the following (such date, the “Fourth Amendment Effective Date”):

 

(a)executed counterparts (i) to this Amendment from the Borrower Representative, each other Obligor, the Administrative Agent, each Fourth Amendment Delayed Draw Term Loan Lender and the other Lenders party hereto (constituting at least the Required Lenders), (ii) that certain Fee Letter, dated as of the date hereof (the “Fourth Amendment Fee Letter”) executed by the Borrower Representative and the Administrative Agent and (iii) that certain OID and Fee Letter, dated as of the date hereof (the “Fourth Amendment PGIM Fee Letter”) executed by the Borrower Representative and PGIM, Inc.;

 

(b)payment of the fees due pursuant to the Fourth Amendment Fee Letter, the Fourth Amendment PGIM Fee Letter and any other unpaid fees or invoiced expenses in accordance with Section 10.3 of the Credit Agreement;

 

(c)a certificate signed by a Responsible Officer of the Borrower Representative certifying as to the satisfaction of the following conditions:

 

i.no Event of Default shall have occurred and be continuing or shall result, in each case, after giving effect to this Amendment and the establishment of the Fourth Amendment Delayed Draw Term Loan Commitments; and

 

ii.the representations and warranties set forth herein and in the Loan Documents shall be true and correct in all material respects (unless any such representation or warranty is qualified as to materiality or Material Adverse Effect, in which case such representation and warranty shall be true and correct in all respects) on and as of the Fourth Amendment Effective Date, both before and immediately after giving effect thereto, except to the extent that such representations and warranties specifically refer to an earlier date, in which case they shall be true and correct in all material respects (unless any such representation or warranty is qualified as to materiality or Material Adverse Effect, in which case such representation and warranty shall be true and correct in all respects) as of such earlier date.

 

(d)a solvency certificate from the chief executive officer, chief financial officer or other officer with equivalent duties of the Borrower Representative substantially in the form of Exhibit 4.1 to the Credit Agreement;

 

3

 

 

(e)a customary legal opinion (addressed to the Administrative Agent, the Lenders and Issuing Lender and dated as of the Fourth Amendment Effective Date) of Kirkland & Ellis LLP, counsel to the Borrower Representative;

 

(f)at least three (3) business days prior to the Fourth Amendment Effective Date all documentation and other information about the Obligors and their subsidiaries that shall have been reasonably requested by the Administrative Agent at least ten (10) business days prior to the Fourth Amendment Effective Date and that the Administrative Agent reasonably determine is required by applicable regulatory authorities under applicable “know your customer” and anti-money laundering rules and regulations, including, without limitation, the PATRIOT Act; and

 

(g)such documents and certificates as Administrative Agent may reasonably request relating to the organization, existence and good standing of each Obligor as of the Fourth Amendment Effective Date, the authorization of the transactions contemplated hereby, the identity, authority and capacity of each Responsible Officer authorized to act on behalf of an Obligor in connection with the Loan Documents, this Agreement, or the other Loan Documents.

 

4.       Representations and Warranties. Each of the Obligors represents and warrants on the date hereof (with each representation and warranty being deemed in effect after giving effect to the transactions contemplated hereby) to the Administrative Agent, the Lenders, and Issuing Lender that:

 

(a)     such Obligor is (i) duly organized, validly existing, and, if applicable in its jurisdiction of organization, in good standing or the equivalent status under the laws of the jurisdiction of its organization, (ii) has all requisite corporate or similar power and authority to execute, deliver and perform its obligations under this Amendment, and (iii) except where the failure to do so, individually or in the aggregate, could not reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect, is duly qualified or licensed and is in good standing as a foreign corporation or other company, and authorized to do business, in each jurisdiction in which the characters of its properties or the nature of its business requires such qualification or authorization;

 

(b)     the execution, delivery and performance by such Obligor of this Amendment and the performance of the Obligor’s obligations hereunder are within such Obligor’s requisite powers and have been duly authorized by all necessary corporate, limited liability company or other organizational action, and, if required, by all necessary action by holders of Equity Interests in such Obligor. This Amendment has been duly executed and delivered by such Obligor and constitutes, a legal, valid and binding obligation of such Obligor, enforceable against such Obligor in accordance with its terms, except as such enforceability may be limited by (i) Debtor Relief Laws or similar laws of general applicability affecting the enforcement of creditors’ rights, (ii) the application of general principles of equity (regardless of whether such enforceability is considered in a proceeding in equity or at law) and (iii) the effect of foreign laws, rules and regulations as they relate to pledges of Equity Interests in or Indebtedness owed by Foreign Subsidiaries;

 

4

 

 

(c)     the execution, delivery and performance by such Obligor of this Amendment and the performance of such Obligor’s obligations hereunder (i) do not require any consent, authorization or approval of, registration or filing with, notice to, or any other action by, any Governmental Authority, except for (A) such as have been obtained or made and are in full force and effect and (B) those that would not reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect, (ii) will not violate (x) any applicable law or regulation applicable to such Obligor or its Restricted Subsidiaries or (y) the Organizational Documents of such Obligor or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries, in the case of clause (x), that would reasonably be expected to result, individually or in the aggregate, in a Material Adverse Effect, (iii) will not conflict with or result in a breach or contravention of, any material order, injunction, writ or decree of any Governmental Authority or any arbitral award to which such Obligor or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries is a party or affecting such Person or its properties that would reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect, and (iv) except for the Liens created pursuant to the Security Documents or Permitted Encumbrances, will not result in the creation or imposition of any Lien on any asset of such Obligor or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries; and

 

(d)     the representations and warranties of such Obligor set forth in this Amendment and of the other Loan Documents to which it is a party, is true and correct in all material respects (unless any such representation or warranty is qualified as to materiality or Material Adverse Effect, in which case such representation and warranty is true and correct in all respects) on and as of the date hereof, both before and immediately after giving effect thereto, except to the extent that such representations and warranties specifically refer to an earlier date, in which case they are true and correct in all material respects (unless any such representation or warranty is qualified as to materiality or Material Adverse Effect, in which case such representation and warranty is true and correct in all respects).

 

5.       Effect of Amendment. Except as set forth expressly herein, all terms of the Credit Agreement, as amended hereby, and the other Loan Documents shall be and remain in full force and effect and shall constitute the legal, valid, binding and enforceable obligations of the Borrower and each other Obligor to the Lenders and the Administrative Agent. The execution, delivery and effectiveness of this Amendment shall not, except as expressly provided herein, operate as a waiver of any right, power or remedy of the Lenders under the Credit Agreement, nor constitute a waiver of any provision of the Credit Agreement. This Amendment shall constitute a Loan Document for all purposes of the Credit Agreement.

 

6.       Governing Law. This Amendment shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the internal laws of the State of New York, but giving effect to federal laws applicable to national banks. All provisions in Sections 10.9 and 10.10 of the Credit Agreement are hereby incorporated herein, mutatis mutandis.

 

7.       No Novation. This Amendment is not intended by the parties to be, and shall not be construed to be, a novation of the Credit Agreement or any other Loan Document or an accord and satisfaction in regard thereto.

 

8.       Costs and Expenses. The Borrower Representative agrees to promptly pay following request all reasonable out-of-pocket costs and expenses of the Administrative Agent in connection with the preparation, execution and delivery of this Amendment, including, without limitation, the reasonable fees and expenses of legal counsel for the Administrative Agent with respect thereto, in each case in accordance with and subject to, the terms of Section 10.2 of the Credit Agreement.

 

5

 

 

9.       Counterparts. This Amendment may be executed in counterparts (and by different parties hereto on different counterparts), each of which shall constitute an original, but all of which when taken together shall constitute a single contract. Delivery of an executed counterpart of a signature page of this Amendment by facsimile or in electronic (i.e., “pdf” or “tif”) format shall be effective as delivery of a manually executed counterpart of this Agreement. The words “execution,” “signed,” “signature,” and words of like import in this Amendment shall be deemed to include electronic signatures or the keeping of records in electronic form, each of which shall be of the same legal effect, validity or enforceability as a manually executed signature or the use of a paper-based recordkeeping system, as the case may be, to the extent and as provided for in any applicable law, including the Federal Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act, the New York State Electronic Signatures and Records Act, or any other similar state laws based on the Uniform Electronic Transactions Act.

 

10.     Binding Nature. This Amendment shall be binding upon and inure to the benefit of the parties hereto and their respective successors and assigns.

 

11.     Entire Understanding. This Amendment sets forth the entire understanding of the parties with respect to the matters set forth herein and shall supersede any and all previous agreements and understandings, oral or written, relating to the subject matter hereof.

 

12.     Reaffirmation. Each Obligor party hereto ratifies and reaffirms as of the date hereof that, notwithstanding the effectiveness of this Amendment, each Loan Document to which any such Obligor is a party is, and the obligations of such Obligor contingent or otherwise contained in any Loan Document to which it is a party are, and shall continue to be, in full force and effect and are hereby ratified and confirmed in all respects, in each case as amended by this Amendment. For greater certainty and without limiting the foregoing, each Obligor party hereto hereby (i) ratifies and reaffirms each grant of a lien on, or security interest in, its property made pursuant to the Loan Documents (including, without limitation, the grant of security made by such Obligor pursuant to the Security Agreement), (ii) confirms that the existing security interests granted by such Obligor in favor of the Collateral Agent for the benefit of the Secured Parties pursuant to the Loan Documents in the Collateral described therein shall continue to secure the obligations of the Obligors under the Credit Agreement and the other Loan Documents as and to the extent provided in the Loan Documents and (iii) in the case of each Guarantor, ratifies and reaffirms its guaranty of the Obligations pursuant to the Loan Documents.

 

[Remainder of Page Intentionally Left Blank; Signature Pages Follow]

 

6

 

 

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

 

  BORROWER:
   
  SUJA LIFE, LLC
   
  By: /s/ Maria D. Stipp
  Name: Maria D. Stipp
  Title: Chief Executive Officer
   
  HOLDINGS:
   
  SUJA LIFE INTERMEDIATE II, LLC
   
  By: /s/ Maria D. Stipp
  Name: Maria D. Stipp
  Title: Chief Executive Officer

 

[Signature Page to Fourth Amendment to Credit Agreement]

 

 

 

  GUARANTORS:
   
  VIVE PARENT, INC.
   
  By: /s/ Maria D. Stipp
  Name: Maria D. Stipp
  Title: Chief Executive Officer
   
  VIVE BUYER, INC.
   
  By: /s/ Maria D. Stipp
  Name: Maria D. Stipp
  Title: Chief Executive Officer
     
  VIVE ORGANIC, INC.
     
  By: /s/ Maria D. Stipp
  Name: Maria D. Stipp
  Title: Chief Executive Officer
     
  SLICE REAL, LLC
     
  By: /s/ Maria D. Stipp
  Name: Maria D. Stipp
  Title: Chief Executive Officer
     
  SLICE LIFE HOLDINGS, LLC
     
  By: /s/ Maria D. Stipp
  Name: Maria D. Stipp
  Title: Chief Executive Officer

 

[Signature Page to Fourth Amendment to Credit Agreement]

 

 

 

  JPMORGAN CHASE BANK, N.A.,
  as Administrative Agent and a Lender
   
  By: /s/ Jamal Toukhi
  Name: Jamal Toukhi
  Title: Authorized Officer

 

[Signature Page to Fourth Amendment to Credit Agreement]

 

 

 

 

[LENDER SIGNATURES ON FILE WITH ADMINISTRATIVE AGENT]

 

 

 

 

ANNEX A

 

Credit Agreement

 

[See attached]

 

 

 

CREDIT AGREEMENT

 

Dated as of August 23, 2021

 

[as amended by that certain First Amendment to Credit Agreement, dated as of December 8,
2021, that certain Second Amendment to Credit Agreement, dated as of October 11, 2022 and,
that certain Third Amendment to Credit Agreement, dated as of October 31, 2024, and that
certain Fourth Amendment to Credit Agreement, dated as of January 13, 2026
]

 

by and among

 

SUJA LIFE INTERMEDIATE II, LLC,

as Holdings,

 

SUJA MERGER SUB, LLC,

as Initial Borrower until the Effective Date Assumption,
and after giving effect to its merger with and into

 

SUJA LIFE, LLC,

as Borrower,

 

THE LENDERS AND THE ISSUING LENDER PARTY HERETO,

 

and

 

JPMORGAN CHASE BANK, N.A.,

as Administrative Agent


 

JPMORGAN CHASE BANK, N.A.,

as Lead Arranger and Bookrunner

 

JPMORGAN CHASE BANK, N.A. and

 

PGIM PRIVATE CAPITAL,

as Joint Documentation Agents

 

 

 

TABLE OF CONTENTS

 

      Page
       
1. DEFINITIONS 1
     
  1.1 Defined Terms 1
  1.2 Classification of Loans and Borrowings 713
  1.3 Interpretation 713
  1.4 Rounding 724
  1.5 Letter of Credit Amounts 724
  1.6 Accounting Terms; GAAP 724
  1.7 Limited Condition Transactions 735
  1.8 Pro Forma Calculations 746
  1.9 Compliance with Certain Sections 7678
  1.10 Times of Day 7779
  1.11 Timing of Payment or Performance 7779
  1.12 Available Amount Transactions 7779
  1.13 Letters of Credit 7779
  1.14 Certifications 7779
  1.15 Interest Rates; Benchmark Notification 7780
       
2. THE CREDITS 780
     
  2.1 The Commitments 780
  2.2 Loans and Borrowings 7981
  2.3 Requests for Borrowings 7982
  2.4 Swingline Loans 803
  2.5 Letters of Credit 824
  2.6 Funding of Borrowings 891
  2.7 Interest Elections 902
  2.8 Termination and Reduction of the Commitments 914
  2.9 Repayment of Loans; Evidence of Debt 925
  2.10 Prepayment of Loans 936
  2.11 Fees 98101
  2.12 Interest 99103
  2.13 Alternate Rate of Interest; Illegality 1004
  2.14 Increased Costs 1026
  2.15 Compensation for Losses 1047
  2.16 Taxes 1048
  2.17 Payments Generally; Pro Rata Treatment; Sharing of Set-offs 10913
  2.18 Mitigation Obligations; Replacement of Lenders 1115
  2.19 Increases of the Revolving Credit Commitments; Adjustments to Revolving Credit Commitments; Incremental Term Loans; Incremental Delayed Draw Term Loans 1126
  2.20 Cash Collateral 11619
  2.21 Defaulting Lenders 11720
  2.22 Refinancing Amendments 11923
  2.23 Extension of Term Loans; Extension of Revolving Credit Loans 1204
       
3. REPRESENTATIONS AND WARRANTIES 12527
     
  3.1 Organization; Powers 12725

 

i

 

 

TABLE OF CONTENTS

(Cont’d)

 

      Page
  3.2 Authorization; Enforceability 12725
  3.3 Governmental Approvals; No Conflicts 12825
  3.4 Financial Condition; No Material Adverse Change 12628
  3.5 Properties 12629
  3.6 Litigation 12729
  3.7 Compliance with Laws 12729
  3.8 Investment Company Status 12729
  3.9 Taxes 12729
  3.10 ERISA 12830
  3.11 Disclosure 12830
  3.12 Federal Reserve Regulations; Use of Credit 12831
  3.13 [Reserved] 12931
  3.14 Existing Subsidiaries 12931
  3.15 Real Property 12931
  3.16 Environmental Matters 12931
  3.17 Sanctions/Anti-Corruption Representations 1302
  3.18 Insurance 1303
  3.19 Labor Matters 1313
  3.20 Solvency 1313
  3.21 [Reserved] 1313
  3.22 Security Documents 1313
       
4. CONDITIONS PRECEDENT. 1314
     
  4.1 Effective Date 1314
  4.2 Each Credit Event 1346
       
5. AFFIRMATIVE COVENANTS 1347
     
  5.1 Financial Statements and Other Information 13537
  5.2 Notices of Material Events 13740
  5.3 Existence; Conduct of Business 13841
  5.4 Payment of Obligations 13841
  5.5 Maintenance of Properties; Insurance 13841
  5.6 Books and Records; Inspection Rights 13942
  5.7 Compliance with Laws 13942
  5.8 Certain Obligations Respecting Subsidiaries. 1403
  5.9 Further Assurances 1414
  5.10 Cash Management Systems 14245
  5.11 Post-Closing Deliverables 14245
  5.12 Designation of Subsidiaries 14245
  5.13 Lines of Business 14346
  5.14 Transactions with Affiliates 14346
  5.15 Fiscal Year 14548
  5.16 Ratings 14548
  5.17 Use of Proceeds and Letters of Credit 14548

 

ii

 

 

TABLE OF CONTENTS

(Cont’d)

 

6. NEGATIVE COVENANTS 14946
      Page
  6.1 Indebtedness 14946
  6.2 Liens 1503
  6.3 Fundamental Changes 1503
  6.4 Dispositions 1514
  6.5 Investments 15356
  6.6 Restricted Payments 16057
  6.7 Suja East, LLC 1614
  6.8 Restrictive Agreements 1614
  6.9 Modifications of Certain Documents 16366
  6.10 [Reserved] 16367
  6.11 Hedging Agreements 16367
  6.12 [Reserved] 16367
  6.13 Use of Proceeds and Letters of Credit 16467
  6.14 Limitation on Activities of Holdings 16468
  6.15 Prepayments of Indebtedness 16573
       
7. FINANCIAL COVENANT. 16669
     
  7.1 Consolidated Net Leverage Ratio 16669
       
8. EVENTS OF DEFAULT; REMEDIES. 16769
     
  8.1 Event of Default 16769
  8.2 Application of Payment 1703
  8.3 Right to Cure 1714
  8.4 Performance by Administrative Agent 17274
       
9. ADMINISTRATIVE AGENT 17275
     
  9.1 Authorization and Action 17275
  9.2 Administrative Agent and its Affiliates 17375
  9.3 Duties 17476
  9.4 Administrative Agent’s Reliance, Lender Representations, Etc. 17577
  9.5 Sub-Agents 1780
  9.6 Resignation 1781
  9.7 Lender Credit Decision 18279
  9.8 Other Agent Titles 17982
  9.9 Agent May File Proofs of Claim; Bankruptcy Events 1802
  9.10 Collateral 1803
  9.11 Issuing Lender 18285
  9.12 Bailee for Perfection 18386
  9.13 Affiliates of Lenders; Bank Product Providers 18487
  9.14 Erroneous Payments 18588
  9.15 Flood Laws 18688
       
10. MISCELLANEOUS 18689
     
  10.1 Notices 18689
  10.2 Waivers; Amendments 18891
  10.3 Expenses; Limitation of Liability; Indemnity; Damage Waiver 1903
  10.4 Successors and Assigns 196193

 

iii

 

 

TABLE OF CONTENTS

(Cont’d)

 

      Page
  10.5 Survival 199203
  10.6 Counterparts; Integration; Effectiveness 2003
  10.7 Severability 2003
  10.8 Right of Setoff 2004
  10.9 Governing Law; Jurisdiction; Etc. 20401
  10.10 WAIVER OF JURY TRIAL 20502
  10.11 Treatment of Certain Information; Confidentiality 20206
  10.12 Interest Rate Limitation 20306
  10.13 USA Patriot Act 20307
  10.14 Press Release and Related Matters 20407
  10.15 No Duty 20407
  10.16 No Fiduciary Relationship 20407
  10.17 Construction 20408
  10.18 Payments Set Aside 20408
  10.19 Benefits of Agreement 20508
  10.20 Acknowledgement and Consent to Bail-In of EEA Financial Institutions 20508
  10.21 Keepwell. 20509
  10.22 Designation of Additional Borrowers 20609
  10.23 Joint and Several Obligations 20610
  10.24 Acknowledgement Regarding Any Supported QFCs 20913
  10.25 Assumption of Obligations 2103
  10.26 ICAV Claims 2 1014
       
11. THE BORROWER REPRESENTATIVE. 21014
     
  11.1 Appointment; Nature of Relationship. 21014
  11.2 Powers 21114
  11.3 Employment of Agents 21114
  11.4 Successor Borrower Representative 21114
  11.5 Execution of Loan Documents 21114

 

iv

 

 

TABLE OF CONTENTS

(Cont’d)

 

    Page
     
LIST OF SCHEDULES AND EXHIBITS
SCHEDULES:
     
Schedule 1.1(a) - Accounting Period Calendar
Schedule 3.6 - Litigation
Schedule 3.6 - Litigation
Schedule 3.10 - ERISA
Schedule 3.14 - Existing Subsidiaries
Schedule 3.15 - Owned Real Property
Schedule 3.16 - Environmental Matters
Schedule 3.19 - Labor Matters
Schedule 4.1(e) - Mortgaged Property
Schedule 5.11 - Post-Closing Deliverables
Schedule 5.11 - Post-Closing Deliverables
Schedule 5.14 - Affiliate Transactions
Schedule 6.1 - Permitted Indebtedness
Schedule 6.2 - Liens
Schedule 6.5 - Investments
Schedule 6.8 - Existing Restrictions
     
EXHIBITS:
 
Exhibit A - Assignment and Assumption
Exhibit B - Bank Product Provider Letter Agreement
Exhibit C - Sponsor-Controlled Affiliated Lender Assignment and Assumption
Exhibit C - Sponsor-Controlled Affiliated Lender Assignment and Assumption
Exhibit D - Parity Intercreditor Agreement
Exhibit E - Junior Intercreditor Agreement
Exhibit 2.3 - Borrowing Request
Exhibit 2.7 - Interest Election Request
Exhibit 2.16-1 - U.S. Tax Compliance Certificate
Exhibit 2.16-2 - U.S. Tax Compliance Certificate
Exhibit 2.16-3 - U.S. Tax Compliance Certificate
Exhibit 2.16-4 - U.S. Tax Compliance Certificate
Exhibit 2.19-1 - Notice of Incremental Revolving Credit Commitment
Exhibit 2.19-2 - Notice of Incremental Term Loan
Exhibit 4.1 - Solvency Certificate
Exhibit 2.19-3 - Notice of Incremental Delayed Draw Term Loan Commitment
Exhibit 4.1 - Solvency Certificate
Exhibit 5.1 - Compliance Certificate

 

v

 

 

This CREDIT AGREEMENT (this “Agreement”) dated as of August 23, 2021, is by and among SUJA LIFE INTERMEDIATE II, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company (“Holdings”), SUJA MERGER SUB, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company (the “Initial Borrower”), after the consummation of the Merger and after giving effect to the Effective Date Assumption, SUJA LIFE, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company (the “Company”, and as successor to the Initial Borrower by operation of law, the “Borrower”; together with each Restricted Subsidiary of Holdings from time to time party hereto designated as an additional Borrower pursuant to Section 10.22, each, individually, a “Borrower”, and collectively, the “Borrowers”), the LENDERS, and JPMORGAN CHASE BANK, N.A. (“JPMorgan”), as Administrative Agent.

 

WITNESSETH

 

WHEREAS, Initial Borrower has requested that the Lenders, the Issuing Lender and the Swingline Lender make available for the purposes specified in this Agreement, a term loan facility and a revolving credit and letter of credit facility; and

 

WHEREAS, the Lenders, the Issuing Lender, and the Swingline Lender are willing to make available to the Borrowers such credit facilities upon the terms and subject to the conditions set forth herein;

 

AGREEMENT

 

NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the premises and the covenants and agreements contained herein, the parties hereto hereby agree as follows:

 

1.DEFINITIONS

 

1.1       Defined Terms. As used in this Agreement (including the foregoing preamble and recitals), the following terms have the meanings specified below:

 

“Acquired Entity or Business” means any Person, any line of business, division or business unit acquired pursuant to a Permitted Acquisition.

 

“Acquired Indebtedness” means Indebtedness secured by any property (other than Mortgaged Property) of any Person prior to and at the time of the acquisition of such asset by a Company or prior to and at the time such Person becomes a Restricted Subsidiary; provided that such Indebtedness (a) was in existence prior to the date of acquisition of such asset or Person and

 

(b) was not incurred in connection with, or in contemplation of, such acquisition of such asset or Person.

 

“Acquisition” means the merger of the Initial Borrower with and into the Company, with the Company surviving, as more fully set forth in and pursuant to the Surf Merger Agreement.

 

“Additional Borrower” means any Wholly-Owned Restricted Subsidiary that is a organized under the laws of any state of the United States or of the District of Columbia or otherwise organized in any jurisdiction reasonably acceptable to the Administrative Agent, in each case that becomes a Borrower after the Effective Date pursuant to Section 10.22.

 

“Additional Lender” has the meaning set forth in Section 2.19.

 

“Adjusted Daily Simple SOFR” means for purposes of any calculation, an interest rate per annum equal to (a) the Daily Simple SOFR for such calculation, plus (b) the Term SOFR Adjustment; provided that if the Daily Simple SOFR as so determined would be less than the Floor, such rate shall be deemed to be equal to the Floor for the purposes of this Agreement.

 

 

 

“Adjusted Term SOFR Rate” means for purposes of any calculation, an interest rate per annum equal to (a) the Term SOFR Rate for such calculation, plus (b) the Term SOFR Adjustment; provided that if the Adjusted Term SOFR Rate as so determined would be less than the Floor, such rate shall be deemed to be equal to the Floor for the purposes of this Agreement.

 

“Administrative Agent” means JPMorgan, in its capacity as administrative agent for the Lenders under the Loan Documents, and any successor Administrative Agent appointed pursuant to Section 9.

 

“Administrative Questionnaire” means an administrative questionnaire delivered by each Lender in a form supplied by Administrative Agent.

 

“Affected Financial Institution” means (a) any EEA Financial Institution or (b) any UK Financial Institution.

 

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

 

“Agent Parties” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 10.1(d). “Agent’s Group” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 9.2(b).

 

“All-in Yield” means, as to any Indebtedness, the effective yield thereon payable to the lenders providing such Indebtedness, whether in the form of interest rate, margin, original issue discount, up-front fees, rate floors (to the extent the operation of such floor would increase the yield on drawn amounts on the proposed date of incurrence thereof) or otherwise; provided, that original issue discount and up-front fees shall be equated to interest rate assuming a four-year life to maturity (or, if less, the stated life to maturity of such Indebtedness at the time of incurrence of such Indebtedness); and provided, further, that “All-in Yield” shall not include arrangement, commitment, underwriting, structuring, success, ticking, unused, syndication or similar fees paid to arrangers or not shared generally with other lenders and customary consent fees for an amendment paid generally to lenders.

 

“Anti-Corruption Laws” means the laws, and regulations of the jurisdictions applicable to any Obligor or its Subsidiaries from time to time concerning or relating to bribery or corruption, including the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977, as amended.

 

“Anti-Money Laundering Laws” means any requirement of law in jurisdictions in which any Obligor or its Subsidiaries operate relating to money laundering, including, without limitation, (a) the Money Laundering Control Act of 1986 (i.e., 18 U.S.C. §§ 1956 and 1957), (b) the Bank Secrecy Act of 1970 (31 U.S.C. §§ 5311-5330 and 12 U.S.C. §§ 1818(s), 1820(b) and 1951-1959), and the implementing regulations promulgated thereunder and (c) any similar laws enacted in the United States or any other jurisdictions in which any Obligor or its Subsidiaries operate.

 

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“Anti-Terrorism Laws” means any applicable laws, regulations, or orders of any Governmental Authority of any applicable jurisdiction, including the United States and the United Nations relating to the prohibition of terrorism financing, or money laundering, including, but not limited to, the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. § 1701 et seq.), the Trading With the Enemy Act (50 U.S.C. § 5 et seq.), the International Security Development and Cooperation Act (22 U.S.C. § 2349aa-9 et seq.), the Executive Order No. 13224 on Terrorist Financing, effective September 24, 2001, the Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act of 2001, Public Law 107-56 (the “USA Patriot Act”), and any rules or regulations promulgated pursuant to or under the authority of any of the foregoing.

 

“Applicable Margin” means,

 

(a)       from and after the Effective Date through (but not including) the Third Amendment Effective Date, (w) with respect to any Base Rate Loan in the form of Initial Term Loans, 4.50%, (x) with respect to any Term Benchmark Loan or RFR Loan in the form of Initial Term Loans, 5.50%, (y) with respect to any Base Rate Loans in the form of Second Amendment Term Loans, 4.50% or (z) with respect to any Term Benchmark Loan or RFR Loan in the form of Second Amendment Term Loans, 5.50%;

 

(b)       from and after the Third Amendment Effective Date, with respect to any Base Rate Loan, Term Benchmark Loan or RFR Loan in the form of Term Loans, the applicable margin per annum set forth below under the caption “Base Rate Loan” or “Term Benchmark Loan / RFR Loan”, as the case may be, based upon the Consolidated Net Leverage Ratio as of the most recent determination date; provided that the Applicable Margin in effect from the Third Amendment Effective Date until the date immediately preceding the date on which a Compliance Certificate is delivered pursuant to Section 5.1(c) in respect of the Fiscal Quarter ending December 30, 2024 shall be determined based upon the applicable rates per annum set forth below in Level 1:

 

 

Level

Consolidated Net Leverage
Ratio
Base Rate
Loan
Term Benchmark Loan / RFR
Loan
     
1 Greater than 3.50:1.00 4.50% 5.50%
2 Less than or equal to 3.50:1.00 4.25% 5.25%

 

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(c)       for any day, with respect to the commitment fees payable hereunder, the applicable margin per annum set forth below under the caption “Commitment Fee Rate”, based upon the Consolidated Net Leverage Ratio as of the most recent determination date; provided that the Applicable Margin in effect from the Effective Date until the date immediately preceding the date on which a Compliance Certificate is delivered pursuant to Section 5.1(c) in respect of the Fiscal Quarter ending December 27, 2021 shall be determined based upon the applicable rates per annum set forth below in Level 1:

 

Level Consolidated Net Leverage Ratio Commitment Fee Rate
   
1 Greater than 3.50:1.00 0.50%
2 Greater than 3.00:1.00 but less than or equal to 3.50:1.00 0.375%
3 Less than or equal to 3.00:1.00 0.25%

 

For purposes of the foregoing clauses (b) and (c), (i) the Consolidated Net Leverage Ratio shall be determined as of the end of each Fiscal Quarter based upon Holdings’ most recent consolidated financial statements delivered pursuant to Section 5.1(a) or 5.1(b), and (ii) each change in clause (b) or (c), as applicable, of the Applicable Margin resulting from a change in the Consolidated Net Leverage Ratio shall be effective on the day that is three (3) Business Days following the date of delivery to the Administrative Agent of such consolidated financial statements indicating such change and ending on the date immediately preceding the effective date of the next such change.

 

If, at any time, any annual or quarterly financial statement was required to have been delivered pursuant to Section 5.1(a) or 5.1(b) but was not delivered (or the Compliance Certificate related to such financial statement was required to have been delivered pursuant to Section 5.1(c) but was not delivered (in each case, after giving effect to any applicable grace period in Section 8.1)), the Applicable Margin or Commitment Fee Rate, as applicable, shall be determined based upon the applicable rates set forth above in Level 1 of each grid commencing with the third Business Day immediately following the date on which such financial statements (or, if later, the Compliance Certificate related to such financial statements) were required to have been delivered. In the event that any financial statement or Compliance Certificate delivered pursuant to Section 5.1(a), 5.1(b) or 5.1(c) is determined to be inaccurate, and such inaccuracy, if corrected, would have led to the application of a higher Applicable Margin or Commitment Fee Rate, as applicable, for any period than the Applicable Margin or Commitment Fee Rate, as applicable, applied for the relevant Interest Period, then (a) the Borrower Representative shall promptly (and in any event within five (5) Business Days) following such determination deliver to the Administrative Agent corrected financial statements and a corrected Compliance Certificate required for such Interest Period, (b) the Applicable Margin or Commitment Fee Rate, as applicable, for the relevant Interest Period shall be determined as if the Consolidated Net Leverage Ratio were determined based on the amounts set forth in such corrected Compliance Certificate and (c) the Borrowers shall promptly (and in any event within five (5) Business Days) following delivery of such corrected financial statements and Compliance Certificate pay to the Administrative Agent the accrued additional interest owing as a result of such increased Applicable Margin or Commitment Fee Rate, as applicable, for the relevant Interest Period; provided, for the avoidance of doubt, no Default or Event of Default under Section 8.1(b) shall be deemed to have occurred with respect to such deficiency prior to such date.

 

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“Applicable Period End Date” means the relevant fiscal year or fiscal quarter period end dates set forth on Schedule 1.1(a).

 

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

 

“Asset Sale Threshold” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 2.10(b)(i). “Assignment and Assumption” means an assignment and assumption entered into by a Lender and an Eligible Assignee (with the consent of each party whose consent is required by Section 10.4), and accepted by Administrative Agent, substantially in the form of Exhibit A.

 

“Availability” means as to the Revolving Credit Loan, the amount by which the total Revolving Credit Commitment exceeds the aggregate outstanding Revolving Credit Exposure.

 

“Available Amount” means, at any time, an amount equal to:

 

(a)       the greater of (i) $9,000,000 and (ii) 30.0% of Consolidated EBITDA (determined as of the last day of the most recently ended four Fiscal Quarter period for which financial statements have been delivered), plus

 

(b)       the sum, without duplication, of:

 

(i)           after the delivery of the financial statements to be delivered for the Fiscal Year ending December 26, 2022 pursuant to Section 5.1(a), 100% of Excess Cash Flow not required to be repaid in accordance with Section 2.10(b)(ii) for each Excess Cash Flow Period; provided that such amount shall not be less than $0, plus

 

(ii)          the amount of cash contributions to the common capital of the Borrowers and the net proceeds of any issuance of Qualified Equity Interests of Holdings (or any direct or indirect parent) that is contributed to the Borrowers or the Restricted Subsidiaries, in each case after the Effective Date and through and including such time, which cash proceeds have been contributed as common equity to the capital of a Borrower or a Restricted Subsidiary, other than Specified Equity Contributions or to the extent otherwise applied, plus

 

(iii)         Net Cash Proceeds actually received by the Borrowers or any Restricted Subsidiary in respect of Dispositions to any Person (other than Holdings, a Borrower or any Restricted Subsidiary) of Investments made after the Effective Date until such time, if the making of such Investment initially constituted a use of the Available Amount (up to the amount of the original Investment), plus

 

(iv)        Returns, profits, distributions and similar amounts actually received by the Borrowers or any Restricted Subsidiary in respect of Investments permitted under this Agreement made after the Effective Date until such time, if the making of such Investment initially constituted a use of the Available Amount (up to the amount of the original Investment), plus

 

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(v)          Indebtedness and Disqualified Equity Interests exchanged or converted into Qualified Equity Interests of any Borrower (or any direct or indirect parent thereof) after the Effective Date; plus

 

(vi)         the Investments of the Borrowers and their Restricted Subsidiaries (in an amount not to exceed the original amount of the Investment) in any Unrestricted Subsidiary that has been re-designated as a Restricted Subsidiary or that has been merged or consolidated into any Borrower or any Restricted Subsidiary or the Fair Market Value of the assets of any Unrestricted Subsidiary that have been transferred to any Borrower or any Restricted Subsidiary; plus

 

(vii)        the amount of any Declined Proceeds, De Minimis Asset Sale Proceeds and Retained ECF Amount; plus

 

(viii)      cash proceeds (or the Fair Market Value of non-cash proceeds) of the sale of Equity Interests of any Unrestricted Subsidiary or any dividend or other distribution by an Unrestricted Subsidiary, in each case, received by any Borrower or any Restricted Subsidiary to the extent such Subsidiary was originally designated as an Unrestricted Subsidiary using the Available Amount in an amount not to exceed the original amount of the Investment; minus

 

(c)       the aggregate amount of (i) Investments made pursuant to Section 6.5 using the Available Amount, (ii) Restricted Payments made pursuant to Section 6.6 using the Available Amount, and (iii) payments of Junior Debt made pursuant to Section 6.15 using the Available Amount.

 

“Available Tenor” means, as of any date of determination and with respect to the then-current Benchmark, as applicable, any tenor for such Benchmark (or component thereof) or payment period for interest calculated with reference to such Benchmark (or component thereof), as applicable, that is or may be used for determining the length of an Interest Period for any term rate or otherwise, for determining any frequency of making payments of interest calculated pursuant to this Agreement as of such date and not including, for the avoidance of doubt, any tenor for such Benchmark that is then-removed from the definition of “Interest Period” pursuant to Section 2.13(e).

 

“Bail-In Action” means the exercise of any Write-Down and Conversion Powers by the applicable Resolution Authority in respect of any liability of an Affected Financial Institution.

 

“Bail-In Legislation” means (a) with respect to any EEA Member Country implementing Article 55 of Directive 2014/59/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of the European Union, the implementing law, regulation, rule or requirement for such EEA Member Country from time to time which is described in the EU Bail-In Legislation Schedule and (b) with respect to the United Kingdom, Part I of the United Kingdom Banking Act 2009 (as amended from time to time) and any other law, regulation or rule applicable in the United Kingdom relating to the resolution of unsound or failing banks, investment firms or other financial institutions or their affiliates (other than through liquidation, administration or other insolvency proceedings).

 

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“Bank Product” means any financial accommodation extended to an Obligor or its Restricted Subsidiaries by a Bank Product Provider in connection with (a) Hedging Agreements, or (b) Cash Management Services.

 

“Bank Product Agreements” means those agreements entered into from time to time by Obligors or their Restricted Subsidiaries with a Bank Product Provider in connection with the obtaining of any of the Bank Products.

 

“Bank Product Obligations” means all obligations, liabilities, reimbursement obligations, fees, or expenses owing by Obligors or their Restricted Subsidiaries to any Bank Product Provider pursuant to or evidenced by a Bank Product Agreement and irrespective of whether for the payment of money, whether direct or indirect, absolute or contingent, due or to become due, now existing or hereafter arising.

 

“Bank Product Provider” means any Lender or any of its Affiliates (or any Person party to a Bank Product Agreement with Obligors or their Restricted Subsidiaries that was a Lender or an Affiliate thereof party to such Bank Product Agreement immediately prior to the assignment of all of its Commitments and Loans hereunder pursuant to Section 2.18(b)); provided, however, that no such Person (other than JPMorgan or its Affiliates) shall constitute a Bank Product Provider with respect to a Bank Product unless Administrative Agent shall have received a Bank Product Provider Letter Agreement from such Person with respect to the applicable Bank Product within 30 days after the provision of such Bank Product to Obligors or their Restricted Subsidiaries, or, if such Bank Product Agreement was entered into prior to the Effective Date or prior to the date on which such Bank Product Provider or its Affiliate, as applicable, became a Lender under this Agreement, within 30 days after the Effective Date or 30 days after the date on which such Bank Product Provider or its Affiliate, as applicable, first became a Lender under this Agreement, as applicable.

 

“Bank Product Provider Letter Agreement” means a letter agreement in substantially the form of Exhibit B, or otherwise in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to the Administrative Agent and the Borrower Representative and duly executed by the applicable Bank Product Provider, the Borrower Representative, and the Administrative Agent.

 

“Bankruptcy Code” means the Bankruptcy Code in Title 11 of the United States Code, as amended, modified, succeeded, or replaced from time to time.

 

“Base Rate” means, at any time, an interest rate per annum equal to the greatest of (a) the Prime Rate at such time, (b) 1/2 of 1.00% in excess of the NYFRB Rate at such time, and (c) the Adjusted Term SOFR Rate for a Term Benchmark Loan with a one-month Interest Period as published two (2) U.S. Government Securities Business Days prior to such day (or if such day is not a Business Bay, the immediately preceding Business Day, plus 1.00%; provided that, for the purpose of this definition, the Adjusted Term SOFR Rate for any day shall be based on the Term SOFR Reference Rate at approximately 6:00 a.m. New York City time on such day (or any amended publication time for the Term SOFR Reference Rate, as specified by the CME Term SOFR Administrator in the Term SOFR Reference Rate methodology); provided further that, in no event shall the Base Rate be less than zero. Any change in the Base Rate due to a change in the Prime Rate, the NYFRB Rate or the Adjusted Term SOFR Rate shall be effective from and including the effective date of such change in the Prime Rate, the NYFRB Rate or the Adjusted Term SOFR Rate, respectively. If the Base Rate is being used as an alternate rate of interest pursuant to Section 2.13 (for the avoidance of doubt, only until the Benchmark Replacement has been determined pursuant to Section 2.13(b)), then the Base Rate shall be the greater of clause (a) and (b) above and shall be determined without reference to clause (c) above. When used in reference to any Loan or Borrowing, “Base Rate” refers to whether such Loan, or the Loans comprising such Borrowing, are bearing interest at a rate determined by reference to the Base Rate.

 

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“Benchmark” means, initially, with respect to any Term Benchmark Loan, the Term SOFR Rate; provided that if a Benchmark Transition Event and the related Benchmark Replacement Date have occurred with respect to the Term SOFR Rate or the then-current Benchmark, then “Benchmark” means the applicable Benchmark Replacement to the extent that such Benchmark Replacement has replaced such prior benchmark rate pursuant to clause (b) of Section 2.13.

 

“Benchmark Replacement” means, for any Available Tenor, the first alternative set forth in the order below that can be determined by the Administrative Agent for the applicable Benchmark Replacement Date:

 

(1)       Adjusted Daily Simple SOFR; or

 

(2)       the sum of: (a) the alternate benchmark rate that has been selected by the Administrative Agent and the Borrower Representative as the replacement for the then-current Benchmark for the applicable Corresponding Tenor giving due consideration to (i) any selection or recommendation of a replacement benchmark rate or the mechanism for determining such a rate by the Relevant Governmental Body and (ii) any evolving or then-prevailing market convention for determining a benchmark rate as a replacement for the then-current Benchmark for dollar-denominated syndicated credit facilities at such time in the United States and (b) the related Benchmark Replacement Adjustment;

 

If the Benchmark Replacement as determined pursuant to clause (1) or (2) above would be less than the Floor, the Benchmark Replacement will be deemed to be the Floor for the purposes of this Agreement and the other Loan Documents.

 

“Benchmark Replacement Adjustment” means, with respect to any replacement of the then-current Benchmark with an Unadjusted Benchmark Replacement for any applicable Interest Period and Available Tenor for any setting of such Unadjusted Benchmark Replacement, the spread adjustment, or method for calculating or determining such spread adjustment, (which may be a positive or negative value or zero) that has been selected by the Administrative Agent and the Borrower Representative for the applicable Corresponding Tenor giving due consideration to (i) any selection or recommendation of a spread adjustment, or method for calculating or determining such spread adjustment, for the replacement of such Benchmark with the applicable Unadjusted Benchmark Replacement by the Relevant Governmental Body on the applicable Benchmark Replacement Date and/or (ii) any evolving or then-prevailing market convention for determining a spread adjustment, or method for calculating or determining such spread adjustment, for the replacement of such Benchmark with the applicable Unadjusted Benchmark Replacement for dollar-denominated syndicated credit facilities at such time.

 

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“Benchmark Replacement Conforming Changes” means, with respect to any Benchmark Replacement, any technical, administrative or operational changes (including changes to the definition of “Base Rate,” the definition of “Business Day,” the definition of “U.S. Government Securities Business Day,” the definition of “Interest Period,” timing and frequency of determining rates and making payments of interest, timing of borrowing requests or prepayment, conversion or continuation notices, length of lookback periods, the applicability of breakage provisions, and other technical, administrative or operational matters) that the Administrative Agent decides in consultation with the Borrower Representative in its reasonable discretion may be appropriate to reflect the adoption and implementation of such Benchmark Replacement and to permit the administration thereof by the Administrative Agent in a manner substantially consistent with market practice (or, if the Administrative Agent decides that adoption of any portion of such market practice is not administratively feasible or if the Administrative Agent determines that no market practice for the administration of such Benchmark Replacement exists, in such other manner of administration as the Administrative Agent in consultation with the Borrower Representative decides is reasonably necessary in connection with the administration of this Agreement and the other Loan Documents).

 

“Benchmark Replacement Date” means, with respect to any Benchmark, the earliest to occur of the following events with respect to such then-current Benchmark:

 

(1)       in the case of clause (1) or (2) of the definition of “Benchmark Transition Event,” the later of (a) the date of the public statement or publication of information referenced therein and (b) the date on which the administrator of such Benchmark (or the published component used in the calculation thereof) permanently or indefinitely ceases to provide all Available Tenors of such Benchmark (or such component thereof); or

 

(2)       in the case of clause (3) of the definition of “Benchmark Transition Event,” the first date on which such Benchmark (or the published component used in the calculation thereof) has been determined and announced by the regulatory supervisor for the administrator of such Benchmark (or such component thereof) to be no longer representative; provided, that such non-representativeness will be determined by reference to the most recent statement or publication referenced in such clause (3) and even if any Available Tenor of such Benchmark (or such component thereof) continues to be provided on such date.

 

For the avoidance of doubt, the “Benchmark Replacement Date” will be deemed to have occurred in the case of clause (1) or (2) with respect to any Benchmark upon the occurrence of the applicable event or events set forth therein with respect to all then-current Available Tenors of such Benchmark (or the published component used in the calculation thereof).

 

“Benchmark Transition Event” means, with respect to any Benchmark, the occurrence of one or more of the following events with respect to the then-current Benchmark:

 

(1)       a public statement or publication of information by or on behalf of the administrator of such Benchmark (or the published component used in the calculation thereof) announcing that such administrator has ceased or will cease to provide all Available Tenors of such Benchmark (or such component thereof), permanently or indefinitely, provided that, at the time of such statement or publication, there is no successor administrator that will continue to provide any Available Tenor of such Benchmark (or such component thereof);

 

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(2)       a public statement or publication of information by the regulatory supervisor for the administrator of such Benchmark (or the published component used in the calculation thereof), the Federal Reserve Board, the NYFRB, the CME Term SOFR Administrator, an insolvency official with jurisdiction over the administrator for such Benchmark (or such component), a resolution authority with jurisdiction over the administrator for such Benchmark (or such component) or a court or an entity with similar insolvency or resolution authority over the administrator for such Benchmark (or such component), in each case, which states that the administrator of such Benchmark (or such component) has ceased or will cease to provide all Available Tenors of such Benchmark (or such component thereof) permanently or indefinitely, provided that, at the time of such statement or publication, there is no successor administrator that will continue to provide any Available Tenor of such Benchmark (or such component thereof); or

 

(3)       a public statement or publication of information by the regulatory supervisor for the administrator of such Benchmark (or the published component used in the calculation thereof) announcing that all Available Tenors of such Benchmark (or such component thereof) are no longer, or as of a specified future date will no longer be, representative.

 

For the avoidance of doubt, a “Benchmark Transition Event” will be deemed to have occurred with respect to any Benchmark if a public statement or publication of information set forth above has occurred with respect to each then-current Available Tenor of such Benchmark (or the published component used in the calculation thereof).

 

“Benchmark Unavailability Period” means, with respect to any Benchmark, the period (if any) (x) beginning at the time that a Benchmark Replacement Date has occurred if, at such time, no Benchmark Replacement has replaced such then-current Benchmark for all purposes hereunder and under any Loan Document in accordance with Section 2.13 and (y) ending at the time that a Benchmark Replacement has replaced such then-current Benchmark for all purposes hereunder and under any Loan Document in accordance with Section 2.13.

 

“Beneficial Ownership Certification” means a certification regarding beneficial ownership as required by the Beneficial Ownership Regulation.

 

“Beneficial Ownership Regulation” means 31 C.F.R. § 1010.230.

 

“Benefit Plan” means any of (a) an “employee benefit plan” (as defined in ERISA) that is subject to Title I of ERISA, (b) a “plan” as defined in and subject to Section 4975 of the Code or (c) any Person whose assets include (for purposes of ERISA Section 3(42) or otherwise for purposes of Title I of ERISA or Section 4975 of the Code) the assets of any such “employee benefit plan” or “plan”.

 

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

 

“Borrowers” has the meaning set forth in the preamble to this Agreement. “Borrower Representative” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 11.01.

 

“Borrowing” means (a) Loans of the same Class and Type made, converted or continued on the same date and, in the case of Term Benchmark Loans, as to which a single Interest Period is in effect, or (b) a Swingline Loan.

 

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“Borrowing Request” means a request by the Borrower Representative for a Borrowing in accordance with Section 2.3.

 

“Business Day” means any day (other than a Saturday or a Sunday) on which banks are open for business in New York City; provided that in relation to RFR Loans and any interest rate settings fundings, disbursements, settlements or payments of any such RFR Loan, or any other dealings of such RFR Loan, any such day that is only an U.S. Government Securities Business Day.

 

“Capital Expenditures” means, with respect to any Person for any period, the amount of all expenditures by such Person and its Restricted Subsidiaries during such period that are capital expenditures as determined in accordance with GAAP.

 

“Capital Lease Obligations” means all leases that have been or are required to be, in accordance with GAAP, recorded as capitalized leases; provided that for all purposes hereunder the amount of obligations under any Capital Lease Obligations shall be the amount thereof accounted for as a liability in accordance with GAAP.

 

“Cash Collateralize” means to deposit in a Controlled Account or to pledge and deposit with or deliver to the Administrative Agent, for the benefit of one or more of Issuing Lender or Lenders, as collateral for the LC Exposure or obligations of Lenders to fund participations in respect of the LC Exposure, cash or Deposit Account balances or, if Administrative Agent and each applicable Issuing Lender shall agree in their sole discretion, other credit support, in each case pursuant to documentation in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to the Administrative Agent and each applicable Issuing Lender. “Cash Collateral” shall have a meaning correlative to the foregoing and shall include the proceeds of such cash collateral and other credit support.

 

“Cash Equivalents” means any of the following types of Investments, to the extent owned by any Borrower or any Restricted Subsidiary:

 

(a)       Dollars, Euros, Pounds Sterling, Canadian Dollars, or any national currency of any country that is a member state of the European Union or local currencies held from time to time in the Ordinary Course of Business,

 

(b)       readily marketable securities issued or directly and fully and unconditionally guaranteed or insured by the United States government, Canada or any country that is a member state of the European Union or any agency or instrumentality thereof the securities of which are unconditionally guaranteed as a full faith and credit obligation of such government with maturities of 24 months or less from the date of acquisition,

 

(c)       certificates of deposit, time deposits, and eurodollar time deposits with maturities of one year or less from the date of acquisition, demand deposits, bankers’ acceptances with maturities not exceeding one year, and overnight bank deposits, in each case with any commercial bank having capital and surplus of not less than $500,000,000 in the case of U.S. banks and $500,000,000 (or the foreign currency equivalent thereof as of the date of determination) in the case of foreign banks, including Canadian banks,

 

(d)       repurchase obligations for underlying securities of the types described in clauses (b) and (c) above and clause (h) below entered into with any financial institution meeting the qualifications specified in clause (c) above,

 

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(e)       commercial paper rated at least P-2 (or the equivalent thereof) by Moody’s or at least A-2 (or the equivalent thereof) by S&P and in each case maturing within 12 months after the date of acquisition thereof,

 

(f)        marketable short-term money market and similar securities having a rating of at least P-2 or A-2 (or, in either case, the equivalent thereof) from either Moody’s or S&P, respectively (or, if at any time neither Moody’s nor S&P shall be rating such obligations, an equivalent rating from another nationally recognized ratings agency) and in each case maturing within 12 months after the date of creation or acquisition thereof,

 

(g)       readily marketable direct obligations issued by any state, commonwealth, or territory of the United States or any political subdivision or taxing authority thereof having the highest credit rating obtainable from either Moody’s or S&P with maturities of 24 months or less from the date of acquisition,

 

(h)       Indebtedness or preferred Equity Interest issued by Persons with a rating of “A” (or the equivalent thereof) or higher from S&P or “A2” (or the equivalent thereof) or higher from Moody’s with maturities of 24 months or less from the date of acquisition,

 

(i)        solely with respect to any Foreign Subsidiary: (i) obligations of the national government of the country in which such Foreign Subsidiary maintains its chief executive office and principal place of business provided such country is a member of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, in each case maturing within one year after the date of investment therein; (ii) certificates of deposit of, bankers acceptances of, or time deposits with, any commercial bank which is organized and existing under the laws of the country in which such Foreign Subsidiary maintains its chief executive office and principal place of business provided such country is a member of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, and whose short-term commercial paper rating from S&P is at least “A-2” or the equivalent thereof or from Moody’s is at least “P-2” or the equivalent thereof (any such bank being an “Approved Foreign Bank”), and in each case with maturities of not more than 24 months from the date of acquisition; and (iii) the equivalent of demand deposit accounts which are maintained with an Approved Foreign Bank, in each case, customarily used by entities for cash management purposes in any jurisdiction outside the United States to the extent reasonably required in connection with any business conducted by such Foreign Subsidiary organized in such jurisdiction, and

 

(j)        in the case of investments by any Foreign Subsidiary or investments made in a country outside the United States, Cash Equivalents shall also include investments of the type and maturity described in clauses (a) through (i) above of foreign obligors to the extent such investments are necessary or useful for the business of such Person, which investments have ratings, described in such clauses or equivalent ratings from comparable foreign rating agencies, and

 

(k)        investment funds investing all or substantially all of their assets in securities of the types described in clauses (a) through (i) above.

 

Notwithstanding the foregoing, Cash Equivalents shall include amounts denominated in currencies other than those set forth in clause (a) above; provided, that such amounts are converted into any currency listed in clause (a) as promptly as practicable and in any event within ten Business Days following the receipt of such amounts.

 

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“Cash Management Services” means (a) cash management, treasury or related services (including the Automated Clearing House processing of electronic fund transfers through the direct Federal Reserve Fedline system, credit cards, credit card processing services, debit cards, stored value cards, gift cards, purchase cards (including so-called “procurement cards” or “P-cards”) and controlled disbursement and overdraft services), (b) deposit and other accounts and (c) merchant services (other than those constituting a line of credit) provided by a depository bank to its customers. For the avoidance of doubt, Cash Management Services do not include obligations under Hedging Agreements.

 

“CFC” means any direct or indirect Subsidiary of Borrower that is “a controlled foreign corporation” (within the meaning of Section 957(a) of the Code) any shares of which are treated as owned directly or indirectly by a “United States Shareholder” (within the meaning of Section 951(b) of the Code) as measured for purposes of Section 958 of the Code.

 

“Change in Control” means: (a) at any time prior to an Initial Public Offering, (i) the Permitted Holders shall cease to own and control, directly or indirectly, at least 50.1% of the total voting power of all of the Equity Interests of Holdings or (ii) Holdings (or New Holdings) shall cease to own, directly or indirectly, 100% of the Equity Interests of the Company; or (b) at any time after an Initial Public Offering, another person or group (other than the Permitted Holders and any employee benefit plan and/or person acting as the trustee, agent or other fiduciary or administrator) acquires more than the greater of (x) 35% of the outstanding voting common stock of Holdings, and (y) the percentage of then outstanding voting common stock of Holdings held, directly or indirectly, by the Permitted Holders.

 

Notwithstanding the preceding or any provision of Rule 13d-3 of the Exchange Act (or any successor provision), a Person or group shall not be deemed to beneficially own securities subject to an equity or asset purchase agreement, merger agreement or similar agreement (or voting or option or similar agreement related thereto) until the consummation of the transactions contemplated by such agreement.

 

“Change in Law” means the occurrence, after the date of this Agreement, of any of the following: (a) the adoption or taking effect of any law, rule, regulation or treaty, (b) any change in any law, rule or regulation or treaty or in the administration, interpretation, implementation, or application thereof by any Governmental Authority, or (c) the making or issuance of any request, rule, guideline, or directive (whether or not having the force of law) by any Governmental Authority; provided that notwithstanding anything herein to the contrary, (i) the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act and all requests, rules, guidelines or directives thereunder or issued in connection therewith and (ii) all requests, rules, guidelines or directives promulgated by the Bank for International Settlements, the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (or any successor or similar authority) or the United States or foreign regulatory authorities, in each case pursuant to Basel III, shall in each case be deemed to be a “Change in Law”, regardless of the date enacted, adopted or issued.

 

“Claim” has the meaning set forth in Section 10.26.

 

“Class”, when used in reference to any Loan or Borrowing, refers to whether such Loan, or the Loans comprising such Borrowing, are Revolving Credit Loans, Extended Revolving Credit Loans, Initial Term Loans, Second Amendment Term Loans, Third Amendment Term Loans, Fourth Amendment Delayed Draw Term Loans, Refinancing Term Loans, Replacement Term Loans, Refinancing Delayed Draw Term Loans, a given Tranche of Incremental Term Loans, a given Tranche of Incremental Delayed Draw Term Loans or Swingline Loans and, when used in reference to any Commitment, refers to whether such Commitment is a Revolving Credit Commitment, Initial Term Loan Commitment, Second Amendment Term Loan Commitment or, Third Amendment Term Loan Commitment or Fourth Amendment Delayed Draw Term Loan Commitment.

 

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“CME Term SOFR Administrator” means CME Group Benchmark Administration Limited as administrator of the forward-looking term SOFR (or a successor administrator).

 

“Code” means the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended from time to time. “Collateral” means the property over which a Lien has been or is intended to be granted

 

to the Administrative Agent pursuant to the Security Documents (but in any event excluding the Excluded Property or any similar term in any Security Documents).

 

“Collateral Account” means a blocked, cash collateral account (which may be interest bearing) opened by Administrative Agent and constituting Collateral pursuant to the Security Agreement.

 

“Commitment” means a Revolving Credit Commitment, the Initial Term Loan Commitment, the Second Amendment Term Loan Commitment, the Third Amendment Term Loan Commitment, a Fourth Amendment Delayed Draw Term Loan Commitment or any combination thereof (as the context requires).

 

“Commitment Letter” means that certain amended and restated commitment letter, dated as July 30, 2021, executed by the Initial Borrower, and the Lead Arranger, PGIM and Voya.

 

“Commodity Exchange Act” means the Commodity Exchange Act (7 U.S.C. § 1 et seq.), as amended from time to time, and any successor statute.

 

“Communication” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 10.1(a). “Companies” means Holdings, the Borrower and each Restricted Subsidiary. “Company” has the meaning set forth in the preamble to this Agreement.

 

“Competitor” means any Person that is or becomes a competitor of the Borrowers and/or any of their respective Subsidiaries or an Affiliate of such competitor, in each case to the extent identified by the Borrowers or the Sponsor in writing as a “Disqualified Institution” with the consent of the Administrative Agent (such consent not to be unreasonably withheld, conditioned, denied or delayed) from time to time.

 

“Compliance Certificate” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 5.1(c). “Connection Income Taxes” means Other Connection Taxes that are imposed on or measured by net income (however denominated) or that are franchise Taxes or branch profits Taxes.

 

“Consolidated Current Assets” means, with respect to the Borrowers and the Restricted Subsidiaries on a consolidated basis at any date of determination, all assets (other than cash and Cash Equivalents) that would, in accordance with GAAP, be classified on a consolidated balance sheet of the Borrowers and its Restricted Subsidiaries as current assets at such date of determination, other than amounts related to current or deferred Taxes based on income, profits or capital gains on assets held for sale, loans (permitted) to third parties, pension assets, deferred bank fees and derivative financial instruments, and excluding the effects of adjustments pursuant to GAAP resulting from the application of recapitalization accounting or purchase accounting, as the case may be, in relation to the Acquisition or any consummated acquisition.

 

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“Consolidated Current Liabilities” means, with respect to the Borrowers and the Restricted Subsidiaries on a consolidated basis at any date of determination, all liabilities that would, in accordance with GAAP, be classified on a consolidated balance sheet of the Borrower sand its Restricted Subsidiaries as current liabilities at such date of determination, other than (a) the current portion of any Indebtedness, (b) the current portion of interest expense, (c) accruals for current or deferred Taxes based on income or profits, (d) accruals of any costs or expenses related to restructuring reserves, (e) deferred revenue, (f) any Revolving Credit Exposure or Revolving Credit Loans, and (f) the current portion of pension liabilities and excluding the effects of adjustments pursuant to GAAP resulting from the application of recapitalization accounting or purchase accounting, as the case may be, in relation to the Acquisition or any consummated acquisition.

 

“Consolidated EBITDA” means, for any period for the Borrowers and the Restricted Subsidiaries:

 

(a)           Consolidated Net Income; plus

 

(b)           to the extent subtracted in determining such Consolidated Net Income and without duplication:

 

(i)         Interest Expense;

 

(ii)       without duplication, provision for taxes based on income (or similar taxes in lieu of income taxes), profits or capital gains of the Borrowers and the Restricted Subsidiaries, including federal, foreign, state, local, franchise, excise and similar taxes and foreign withholding taxes paid or accrued during such period including penalties and interest related to such taxes or arising from any tax examinations paid or accrued during such period or, to the extent reflected as a charge in the statement of such Consolidated Net Income (regardless of classification), any tax distributions (including Permitted Tax Distributions) made during, or with respect, such period;

 

(iii)       depreciation and amortization expense, including the following non-cash items to the extent constituting depreciation and amortization expense in accordance with GAAP: amortization of deferred financing fees or costs, debt issuance costs, commissions, fees, and expenses, capitalized expenditures, or costs, amortization of expenditures relating to software, license and intellectual property payments, amortization of any lease related assets recorded in purchase accounting, customer acquisition costs, unrecognized prior service costs and actuarial gains and losses related to pensions and other post-employment benefits, the amortization of original issue discount resulting from the issuance of Indebtedness at less than par and incentive payments, conversion costs, and contract acquisition costs of such Person and its Restricted Subsidiaries for such period on a consolidated basis and otherwise determined in accordance with GAAP;

 

(iv)       the amount of transaction, management, monitoring, consulting and advisory fees, indemnities and related expenses paid or accrued in such period to (or on behalf of) the Sponsor (including those owed under any Sponsor or other Investor management agreement or any fees owed to the Sponsor for any financial advisory, financing, underwriting or placement services or in respect of other investment banking activities), any other Investor in Holdings, or any direct or indirect parent of Holdings, and the amount of fees, expenses and indemnities paid to directors, including directors of any direct or indirect parent of Holdings, in each case, to the extent permitted hereunder;

 

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(v)       Transaction Costs, accruals, charges, payments, expenses and transaction costs and expenses (including rationalization, legal, tax, structuring and other costs and expenses) incurred in connection with Permitted Acquisitions, Investments, Dispositions (other than Ordinary Course Dispositions), issuance, repayment, amendments, or modifications, negotiation, forbearance, extension or waiver of Indebtedness or issuance of Equity Interests, in each case to the extent permitted by this Agreement whether or not consummated;

 

(vi)       all non-cash charges, expenses and losses, including, without limitation, any non-cash asset retirement costs, non-cash compensation charges, non-cash translation (gain) loss and non-cash expense relating to the vesting of warrants (in each case other than to the extent constituting a reserve for a future cash charge);

 

(vii)      extraordinary, non-recurring, exceptional or unusual charges, losses and expenses or special items;

 

(viii)     cost savings, operating expense reductions and synergies related to the Acquisition, or related to mergers and other business combinations, acquisitions, divestitures of business entities or properties or assets constituting a division or line of business of any business entity (and purchases and dispositions of intellectual property if, solely in the case of acquisitions, pro forma treatment is elected by the Borrowers in their discretion on a case-by-case basis), restructurings, cost savings initiatives, other operational initiatives (including, to the extent applicable, from the Transactions or implemented increased pricing) and other similar initiatives, including any “run-rate” cost synergies, operating expense reductions and other operating changes, improvements, initiatives and cost savings (but excluding “run-rate” revenue synergies and revenue enhancements (other than implemented increased pricing), consummated after the Effective Date, in each case that are reasonably identifiable and factually supportable and projected by the Borrowers in good faith to result from actions that have been taken or with respect to which substantial steps have been taken or are expected to be taken (in the good faith determination of the Borrowers) within 24 months after the Effective Date with respect to the Acquisition, or 24 months after a merger or other business combination, acquisition, divestiture, restructuring, cost savings initiative or other initiative is consummated respectively, and, in each case, reasonably anticipated to be realizable within 24 months of such transaction, in each case, net of the amount of actual benefits realized during such period; provided that no addbacks pursuant to this clause (viii) shall be permitted with respect to Second Amendment Acquisition starting with the Fiscal Quarter ended September 30, 2024;

 

(ix)       severance, relocation costs, integration and facilities’ opening costs and other business optimization expenses and charges (including related to new product introductions and other strategic or cost saving initiatives, systems design, upgrade and implementation costs), one-time restructuring charges, accruals or reserves (including restructuring and integration costs related to acquisitions after the Effective Date and adjustments to existing reserves), whether or not classified as restructuring expense on the consolidated financial statements, signing bonuses, retention or completion bonuses, including payments made to employees or others who are subject to non-compete agreements, other executive recruiting and retention costs, transition costs, costs related to closure/consolidation of or opening or pre-opening of facilities or discontinued operations, internal costs in respect of strategic initiatives, contract termination costs, stock option and other equity-based compensation expenses, severance costs, including, without limitation, any one-time expense relating to enhanced accounting function or other transaction costs, including those associated with becoming a standalone entity or a public company, and public company costs;

 

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(x)       add-backs and adjustments (A) set forth in the (x) quality of earnings analysis delivered to the Administrative Agent on June 24, 2021 or any other quality of earnings analysis prepared by other independent registered public accountants of recognized national standing or any other accounting firm reasonably acceptable to the Administrative Agent (it being understood and agreed that any of the “Big Four” accounting firms are acceptable) and delivered to the Administrative Agent in connection with any Permitted Acquisition or other Investment permitted hereunder and (y) the Sponsor model delivered to the Lead Arranger on June 24, 2021 and (B) consistent with Regulation S-X;

 

(xi)         the fees, costs and expenses related to the cumulative effect of a change in accounting principles and the implementation of ASC 606;

 

(xii)        cash receipts (or any netting arrangements resulting in reduced cash expenditures) not representing Consolidated EBITDA or Consolidated Net Income in any period to the extent non-cash gains (other than extraordinary, unusual or non-recurring gains or income) relating to such income were deducted in the calculation of Consolidated EBITDA pursuant to clause (c) below for any previous period and not added back;

 

(xiii)       any non-cash increase in expenses (A) resulting from the revaluation of inventory (including any impact of changes to inventory valuation policy methods including changes in capitalization of variances) or other inventory adjustments, or any other acquisition or (B) due to purchase accounting;

 

(xiv)       proceeds of business interruption insurance (including proceeds expect to be received within one year with a reduction if not received within such period);

 

(xv)        charges, losses or expenses to the extent paid for, reimbursed, indemnified or insured by a third party (or reasonably expected to be so paid or reimbursed within one year after the end of such period with a reduction if not received within such period);

 

(xvi)       minority interest expense to the extent reducing Consolidated Net Income;

 

(xvii)      costs and expenses related to implementation of operational and reporting systems and technology initiatives;

 

(xviii)     letter of credit fees;

 

(xix)       non-recurring costs, expenses and charges in connection with environmental matters and litigation (including related to settlements thereof);

 

(xx)        any director’s fees and related expenses payable to any independent director of Holdings in cash during such period to the extent otherwise permitted hereunder;

 

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(xxi)       any net loss (less gains) from disposed, abandoned or discontinued operations or product lines outside of the Ordinary Course of Business;

 

(xxii)       payments by the Borrowers and the Restricted Subsidiaries paid or accrued during such period in respect of purchase price holdbacks, earn outs and other similar contingent obligations to the extent deducted in calculating Consolidated Net Income of the Borrowers and the Restricted Subsidiaries other than Indebtedness;

 

(xxiii)     [reserved];

 

(xxiv)     the amount of loss or discount on sale of (x) Receivables Assets and related assets in connection with a Receivables Facility and (y) Securitization Assets and related assets in connection with a Qualified Securitization Financing, in each case, deducted (and not added back) in computing Consolidated Net Income; provided, that such amount of loss or discount on sale shall not exceed 10% of the face value of such assets;

 

(xxv)      the amount of costs and expenses relating to payments made to option holders of any direct or indirect parent of the Borrowers in connection with, or as a result of, any distribution being made to equityholders of such Person;

 

(xxvi)      [reserved]; and

 

(xxvii)    expenses (but not lost revenue) arising from any event, occurrence, fact, condition or change, directly or indirectly arising out of or attributable to COVID-19 in an aggregate amount not to exceed $2,000,000 after the Effective Date; minus

 

(c)       to the extent included in determining such Consolidated Net Income, (i) all non-cash gains and income, and all extraordinary, unusual or non-recurring gains or income, in each case on a consolidated basis determined in accordance with GAAP applied on a consistent basis and (ii) minority interest income added to Consolidated Net Income and not deducted therefrom during such period; provided that the amounts added-back to Consolidated EBITDA pursuant to the foregoing clauses (b)(viii) and (b)(ix) shall in no event in the aggregate exceed 30% of Consolidated EBITDA (calculated after adding-back such amounts); provided further, for the purposes of calculating Consolidated EBITDA for any Fiscal Quarter (a “Reference Period”) for all purposes in this Agreement, (x) if at any time during such Reference Period, the Borrowers or any of their Restricted Subsidiaries shall have made any Material Disposition, the Consolidated EBITDA for such Reference Period shall be reduced by an amount equal to the earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (if positive) attributable to the property that is the subject of such Material Disposition for such Reference Period or increased by an amount equal to the earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (if negative) attributable thereto for such Reference Period, and (y) if during such Reference Period, the Borrowers or any of their Restricted Subsidiaries shall have made a Permitted Acquisition or permitted Investment of a business line or division, Consolidated EBITDA for such Reference Period shall be calculated after giving effect on a pro forma basis to the earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization of any Acquired Entity or Business, including, in each case during such period, as if such Permitted Acquisition had occurred on the first day of such period, in each case in accordance with Section 1.8.

 

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Notwithstanding anything to the contrary, (I) Consolidated EBITDA shall be deemed to be $6,751,025.73 for the Fiscal Quarter ended September 28, 2020, $4,611,123.28 for the Fiscal Quarter ended December 28, 2020, $8,553,718.80 for the Fiscal Quarter ended March 29, 2021, $8,099,268.35 for the Fiscal Quarter ended June 28, 2021, (II) Consolidated EBITDA shall be deemed to be $12,427,000, $17,380,000, $18,836,000 and $11,816,000 for the Fiscal Quarters ended September 25, 2023, January 1, 2024, April 1, 2024 and July 1, 2024, respectively, it being understood and agreed that any adjustments included in the foregoing amounts set forth in this clause (II) that are adjustments described under clauses (b)(viii) and (b)(ix) of this definition shall be subject to the 30% cap set forth in the proviso immediately following clause (c) of this definition, and (III) in no event shall anything in this definition be interpreted to permit any add-back for revenue synergies, revenue enhancement, future revenue from new or amended contracts (other than with respect to implemented increased pricing).

 

“Consolidated First Lien Net Leverage Ratio” means, as of any date of determination, the ratio of (a)(i) the aggregate principal amount of all outstanding Funded Debt of the Borrowers and their Restricted Subsidiaries as of such date that is secured by a lien on the Collateral on a senior or pari passu basis (without regard to remedies) with the Liens on the Collateral securing the Obligations under this Agreement, minus (ii) Unrestricted Cash, in each case as of such date to (b) Consolidated EBITDA for the most recently ended four Fiscal Quarter period for which financial statements have been delivered to the Administrative Agent pursuant to Section 5.1(a) or (b).

 

“Consolidated Net Income” means, for any period, the net income (or loss) of the Borrowers and the Restricted Subsidiaries for such period determined on a consolidated basis in accordance with GAAP; provided that, without duplication,

 

(a)       the costs and expenses related to implementation of operational and reporting systems and technology initiatives shall be excluded;

 

(b)       the fees, costs and expenses related to the cumulative effect of a change in accounting principles and the implementation of ASC 606 shall be excluded;

 

(c)       any non-cash increase in expenses (A) resulting from the revaluation of inventory (including any impact of changes to inventory valuation policy methods including changes in capitalization of variances) or other inventory adjustments, or any other acquisition or (B) due to purchase accounting shall be excluded;

 

(d)       any gains or losses (less all fees, expenses and charges relating thereto) attributable to asset dispositions or abandonments or the sale or other disposition of any Equity Interests of any Person, in each case other than in the Ordinary Course of Business, as determined in good faith by the Borrowers, shall be excluded;

 

(e)       the net income (loss) for such period of any Person that is not a Subsidiary of the Borrowers, or is an Unrestricted Subsidiary, or that is accounted for by the equity method of accounting, shall be excluded; provided that Consolidated Net Income of the Borrowers shall be increased by the amount of dividends or distributions or other payments that are actually paid in cash or Cash Equivalents (or to the extent subsequently converted into cash or Cash Equivalents) from the operations of such Person to the Borrower or a Restricted Subsidiary thereof in respect of such period;

 

(f)       any impairment charge or asset write-off or write-down, including impairment charges or asset write-offs or write-downs related to intangible assets, long-lived assets, investments in debt and equity securities or as a result of a change in law or regulation, in each case, pursuant to GAAP, and the amortization of intangibles arising pursuant to GAAP shall be excluded;

 

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(g)       any non-cash compensation charge or expense, including any such charge or expense arising from the grants of stock appreciation or similar rights, stock options, restricted stock or other rights or equity incentive programs or any other equity-based compensation shall be excluded, and any cash charges associated with the rollover, acceleration or payout of Equity Interests by management of the Borrowers or any of its direct or indirect parents in connection with the Transactions or an Initial Public Offering, shall be excluded;

 

(h)       any expenses, charges or losses that are covered by indemnification or other reimbursement provisions in connection with any Investment, Permitted Acquisition or any sale, conveyance, transfer or other disposition of assets permitted under this Agreement, to the extent actually reimbursed, or, so long as the Borrowers have made a determination that a reasonable basis exists for indemnification or reimbursement and only to the extent that such amount is in fact indemnified or reimbursed within 365 days of such determination (with a deduction in the applicable future period for any amount so added back to the extent not so indemnified or reimbursed within such 365-day period), shall be excluded;

 

(i)        to the extent covered by insurance and actually reimbursed, or, so long as the Borrowers have made a determination that there exists reasonable evidence that such amount will in fact be reimbursed by the insurer and only to the extent that such amount is in fact reimbursed within 365 days of the date of such determination (with a deduction in the applicable future period for any amount so added back to the extent not so reimbursed within such 365 days), expenses, charges or losses with respect to liability or casualty events or business interruption shall be excluded;

 

(j)        the income (or loss) of any Person accrued prior to the date it becomes a Restricted Subsidiary of the Borrowers or is merged into or consolidated with a Borrower or any of its Subsidiaries or such Person’s assets are acquired by a Borrower or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries shall be excluded (except to the extent required for any calculation of Consolidated EBITDA on a pro forma basis in accordance with Section 1.8);

 

(k)       solely for the purpose of determining the Available Amount pursuant to clause (b) of the definition thereof, the income of any Restricted Subsidiary of a Borrower that is not a Guarantor to the extent that the declaration or payment of dividends or similar distributions by such Restricted Subsidiary of such income is not at the time permitted by operation of the terms of its charter or any agreement, instrument, judgment, decree, order, statute, rule or governmental regulation applicable to such Restricted Subsidiary shall be excluded unless such restriction with respect to the payment of dividends or similar distributions (i) has been legally waived or otherwise released, (ii) is imposed pursuant to this Agreement and other Loan Documents, or (iii) arises pursuant to an agreement or instrument related to any Ratio Debt or Incremental Equivalent Debt incurred pursuant to Section 6.1(ee) if the encumbrances and restrictions contained in any such agreement or instrument taken as a whole are not materially less favorable to the Secured Parties than the encumbrances and restrictions contained in the Loan Documents (as determined by the Borrowers in good faith), except (solely to the extent permitted to be paid) to the extent of the amount of dividends or other distributions actually paid to a Borrower or any of their Restricted Subsidiaries that are Guarantors by such Person during such period in accordance with such documents and regulations;

 

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(l)        any deferred tax expense associated with tax deductions or net operating losses arising as a result of the Transactions, or the release of any valuation allowance related to such items, shall be excluded;

 

(m)       gains and losses due solely to fluctuations in currency values and the related tax effects determined in accordance with GAAP for such period shall be excluded;

 

(n)       any non-cash net pension or other post-employment benefit costs representing amortization of unrecognized prior service costs, actuarial losses, including amortization of such amounts arising in prior periods, amortization of the unrecognized net obligation (and loss or cost) existing at the date of initial application of Statement of Financial Accounting Standards Nos. 87, 106 and 112, and any other items of a similar nature, shall be excluded;

 

(o)       any non-cash adjustments resulting from the application of Accounting Standards Codification Topic No. 460, Guarantees, or any comparable regulation, shall be excluded;

 

(p)       payments by the Borrowers and the Restricted Subsidiaries paid or accrued during such period in respect of purchase price holdbacks, earn outs and other similar contingent obligations shall be excluded;

 

(q)       extraordinary, non-recurring, exceptional or unusual charges, losses and expenses or special items shall be excluded;

 

(r)        the amount of transaction, management, monitoring, consulting and advisory fees, indemnities and related expenses paid or accrued in such period to (or on behalf of) the Sponsor (including those owed under any Sponsor or other Investor management agreement or any fees owed to the Sponsor for any financial advisory, financing, underwriting or placement services or in respect of other investment banking activities), any other Investor in Holdings, or any direct or indirect parent of Holdings, and the amount of fees, expenses and indemnities paid to directors, including directors of any direct or indirect parent of Holdings, in each case, to the extent permitted hereunder, shall be excluded; and

 

(s)       proceeds of business interruption insurance (including proceeds expected to be received within one year with a reduction if not received within such period).

 

For the avoidance of doubt, Consolidated Net Income shall be calculated, including pro forma adjustments, in accordance with Section 1.8.

 

“Consolidated Net Leverage Ratio” means, as of any date of determination, the ratio of (a)(i) the aggregate principal amount of all outstanding Funded Debt of the Borrowers and their Restricted Subsidiaries as of such date, minus (ii) Unrestricted Cash, in each case as of such date to (b) Consolidated EBITDA for the most recently ended four Fiscal Quarter period for which financial statements have been delivered to the Administrative Agent pursuant to Section 5.1(a) or (b).

 

“Consolidated Secured Net Leverage Ratio” means, as of any date of determination, the ratio of (a)(i) the aggregate principal amount of all outstanding Funded Debt of the Borrowers and their Restricted Subsidiaries that is secured by a Lien on the Collateral, minus (ii) Unrestricted Cash, in each case as of such date to (b) Consolidated EBITDA for the most recently ended four Fiscal Quarter period for which financial statements have been delivered to the Administrative Agent pursuant to Section 5.1(a) or (b).

 

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“Consolidated Working Capital” means, at any date, the difference of (a) Consolidated Current Assets of the Borrowers and their Restricted Subsidiaries on such date less (b) Consolidated Current Liabilities of Holdings and its Restricted Subsidiaries on such date; provided that increases or decreases in Consolidated Working Capital shall be calculated without regard to any changes in Consolidated Current Assets or Consolidated Current Liabilities as a result of (a) any reclassification in accordance with GAAP of assets or liabilities, as applicable, between current and non-current, (b) the effects of purchase accounting or (c) the effect of fluctuations in the amount of accrued or contingent obligations, assets or liabilities under Swap Obligations.

 

“Control Agreements” means, collectively, those control agreements in form and substance reasonably acceptable to the Administrative Agent entered into among (a) the depository institution maintaining any Deposit Account (to the extent required under the Loan Documents), the securities intermediary maintaining any securities account, or the commodity intermediary maintaining any commodity account, (b) an Obligor or Defaulting Lender, as applicable, and (c) Administrative Agent, pursuant to which Administrative Agent obtains control (within the meaning of the applicable provision of the UCC) over such Deposit Account, securities account or commodity account.

 

“Controlled Account” means each Deposit Account, securities account, or commodities account that is subject to a Control Agreement.

 

“Corresponding Tenor” with respect to any Available Tenor means, as applicable, either a tenor (including overnight) or an interest payment period having approximately the same length (disregarding business day adjustment) as such Available Tenor.

 

“Credit Agreement Refinancing Indebtedness” means any Indebtedness issued, incurred or otherwise obtained (including by means of the extension or renewal of existing Indebtedness) by one or more Obligors (other than Holdings (other than as a guarantor)) in exchange for, or to extend, renew, replace or refinance, in whole or in part, existing Term Loans or, in whole or in part, existing Revolving Credit Loans (or unused Revolving Credit Commitments) (including any successive Credit Agreement Refinancing Indebtedness) (“Refinanced Debt” and any such Refinanced Debt that consists of Term Loans, “Refinanced Term Debt” and any such Refinanced Debt that is a revolving credit facility, “Refinanced Revolving Debt”); provided that:

 

(a)       such exchanging, extending, renewing, replacing or refinancing Indebtedness is in an original aggregate principal amount not greater than the aggregate principal amount of the Refinanced Debt outstanding at the time of such exchange (plus any unused commitments thereunder), extension, renewal, replacement or refinancing except by an amount equal to unpaid accrued interest and premium (including tender premium) thereon, plus upfront fees and original issue discount on such exchanging, extending, renewing, replacing or refinancing Indebtedness, plus other reasonable and customary fees and expenses in connection with such exchange, extension, renewal, replacement or refinancing and (i) substantially concurrently with the incurrence of any such Refinancing Term Loans, 100% of the proceeds thereof or 100% of the aggregate principal amount thereof shall be applied to repay (or shall be exchanged for, extend, renew or replace) the Refinanced Term Debt (including accrued interest, fees and premiums (if any) payable in connection therewith) and to pay such other reasonable and customary fees and expenses in connection with such exchange, extension, renewal, replacement or refinancing and, (ii) substantially concurrently with the effectiveness of such Refinancing Revolving Credit Commitments, all of the Revolving Credit Commitments in effect immediately prior to such effectiveness shall be terminated, and all of the Revolving Credit Loans then outstanding, together with interest thereon and all other amounts accrued for the benefit of the Revolving Credit Lenders, shall be repaid or paid;, (iii) substantially concurrently with the effectiveness of such Refinancing Delayed Draw Term Loan Commitments, all of the applicable DDTL Commitments in effect immediately prior to such effectiveness shall be terminated and (iv) on the date such Refinancing Delayed Draw Term Loans are issued, incurred or obtained, 100% of the proceeds thereof or 100% of the aggregate principal amount thereof shall be applied to repay (or shall be exchanged for, extend, renew or replace) the Refinanced Debt (including accrued interest, fees and premiums (if any) payable in connection therewith) and to pay such other reasonable and customary fees and expenses and accrued interest and premium in connection with such exchange, extension, renewal, replacement or refinancing;

 

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(b)       except in the case of a customary bridge facility that is subject to an automatic conversion within one (1) year of issuance of such bridge facility on terms that would otherwise satisfy this clause (b) such Indebtedness has a maturity the same as or later to occur than, and, in the case of Refinanced Term Debt only, a Weighted Average Life to Maturity equal to or greater than, in each case, the Refinanced Debt;

 

(c)       at no time shall there be more than one tranche or Class of Revolving Credit Commitments hereunder other than with respect to extensions permitted under Section 2.23;

 

(d)       the other terms and documentation in respect of any such Refinanced Term Debt, to the extent inconsistent with the terms and documentation with respect to the existing Term Loan, shall be determined by the Borrowers and shall, at the option of the Borrowers, (a) reflect current market terms and conditions (taken as a whole) at the time of incurrence or issuance (as reasonably determined by the Borrowers), (b) be consistent with the terms of the corresponding Class of Term Loans unless, in the case of this clause (b), (x) the Lenders under the corresponding Class of Term Loans also received the benefit of such more restrictive terms or (y) any such provisions apply only after the maturity date of the relevant Class of Term Loans, or (c) not be materially more restrictive to the Borrowers, when taken as a whole, than the terms of the applicable Class of Term Loans (as reasonably determined by the Borrowers);

 

(e)       such Indebtedness shall not be secured by any assets other than the Collateral and shall not be guaranteed by any Person other than the Guarantors (unless such guaranty affirmatively is declined by the Administrative Agent as credit support for the Obligations, it being agreed, for the avoidance of doubt, that a Person qualifying as an Excluded Subsidiary shall not result in the Administrative Agent being deemed to have declined such guaranty);

 

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(f)        the interest rate, margin, original issue discount, up-front fees and other fees and rate floors for such Credit Agreement Refinancing Indebtedness in the form of Refinanced Term Debt may be determined by the Borrowers and the Lenders providing such Refinanced Term Debt, as applicable, providing such Refinanced Term Debt; provided that, in the event that the All-in Yield for any such Refinanced Term Debt that ranks pari passu in right of payment and security with the existing Term Loans incurred (other than in reliance on clause (i) of the Incremental Amount) is greater than the All-in Yield for the existing Term Loans by more than 50 basis points, then the Applicable Margin for the existing Term Loans shall be increased to the extent necessary so that the All-in Yield for such Refinanced Term Debt is no more than 50 basis points higher than the All-in-Yield for the existing Term Loans; provided that, in the event that the All-In Yield for such Refinanced Term Debt is higher than the All-In Yield for the existing Term Loans solely as a result of a higher rate floor for such Refinanced Term Debt, the adjustment to the All-In Yield of the existing Term Loans shall be effected solely by increasing the rate floor;

 

(g)        such Refinanced Debt shall be repaid, defeased or satisfied and discharged, and all accrued interest, fees and premiums (if any) in connection therewith shall be paid, on the date such Credit Agreement Refinancing Indebtedness is issued, incurred or obtained;

 

(h)        the aggregate Revolving Credit Commitments under such Credit Agreement Refinancing Indebtedness shall not exceed, without duplication, the Revolving Credit Commitments and existing Revolving Credit Loans being replaced; and

 

(i)        the aggregate DDTL Commitments under such Credit Agreement Refinancing Indebtedness shall not exceed, without duplication, the applicable DDTL Commitments and existing Delayed Draw Term Loans being replaced; and

 

(j)        (i) (x) if any Sponsor Controlled Affiliated Lender provides any Credit Agreement Refinancing Indebtedness it shall be subject to the same limitations and restrictions set forth in Section 10.4(g) as if such Sponsor Controlled Affiliated Lender were purchasing Term Loans by assignment and (y) no Sponsor Controlled Affiliated Lender shall provide or hold any Revolving Credit Loans or Revolving Credit Commitments.

 

“Cure Termination Date” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 8.3.

 

“Daily Simple SOFR” means, for any day (a “SOFR Rate Day”), a rate per annum equal to SOFR for the day (such day “SOFR Determination Date”) that is five (5) U.S. Government Securities Business Days prior to (i) if such SOFR Rate Day is a U.S. Government Securities Business Day, such SOFR Rate Day or (ii) if such SOFR Rate Day is not a U.S. Government Securities Business Day, the U.S. Government Securities Business Day immediately preceding such SOFR Rate Day, in each case, as such SOFR is published by the SOFR Administrator on the SOFR Administrator’s Website; provided that if Daily Simple SOFR as so determined would be less than the Floor, such rate shall be deemed to be equal to the Floor for the purposes of this Agreement. Any change in Daily Simple SOFR due to a change in SOFR shall be effective from and including the effective date of such change in SOFR without notice to the Borrower Representative.

 

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“DDTL Commitment” means at any time, with respect to each Lender, the commitment, if any, of such Lender to make Delayed Draw Term Loans, as such commitment may be (a) reduced from time to time pursuant to Section 2.8 and (b) reduced or increased from time to time pursuant to assignments by or to such DDTL Lender pursuant to Section 10.4, or (c) increased pursuant to Section 2.19. As of the Fourth Amendment Effective Date, the DDTL Commitments include the Fourth Amendment Delayed Draw Term Loan Commitments.

 

“DDTL Lender” means each Lender with a DDTL Commitment or who holds Delayed Draw Term Loans.

 

“Debt Fund Affiliate” means an Affiliate of the Sponsor that is a bona fide debt fund that is primarily engaged in making, purchasing, holding or otherwise investing in commercial loans in the ordinary course of business with respect to which none of the Sponsor, Holdings, the Borrowers or Restricted Subsidiaries or any of their respective Affiliates that is not such a bona fide debt fund makes investment decisions or otherwise has the power to cause the direction of such Affiliates investment decision.

 

“Debtor Relief Laws” means the Bankruptcy Code, and all other liquidation, conservatorship, bankruptcy, assignment for the benefit of creditors, moratorium, rearrangement, receivership, insolvency, reorganization, or similar debtor relief laws of the United States or other applicable jurisdictions from time to time in effect.

 

“Declined Proceeds” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 2.10(d)(iii).

 

“De Minimis Asset Sale Proceeds” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 2.10(b)(i).

 

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

 

“Default Rate” means a per annum interest rate equal to (a) in the case of any Loans, 2% plus the rate otherwise applicable to such Loan (including the Applicable Margin) or (b) in the case of any other Obligation, 2% plus the rate applicable to Base Rate Loans (including the Applicable Margin) as provided in Section 2.12(a).

 

“Defaulting Lender” means, subject to Section 2.21(b), any Lender that (a) has failed to (i) fund all or any portion of its Loans within two Business Days of the date such Loans were required to be funded hereunder unless such Lender notifies Administrative Agent and the Borrower Representative in writing that such failure is the result of such Lender’s determination that one or more conditions precedent to funding (each of which conditions precedent, together with any applicable default, shall be specifically identified in such writing) has not been satisfied, or (ii) pay to the Administrative Agent, any Issuing Lender or any other Lender any other amount required to be paid by it hereunder (including in respect of its participation in Letters of Credit) within two Business Days of the date when due, (b) has notified the Borrower Representative, Administrative Agent or any Issuing Lender in writing that it does not intend to comply with its funding obligations hereunder, or has made a public statement to that effect (unless such writing or public statement relates to such Lender’s obligation to fund a Loan hereunder and states that such position is based on such Lender’s determination that a condition precedent to funding (which condition precedent, together with any applicable default, shall be specifically identified in such writing or public statement) cannot be satisfied), (c) has failed, within three Business Days after written request by Administrative Agent or the Borrower Representative, to confirm in writing to the Administrative Agent and the Borrower Representative that it will comply with its prospective funding obligations hereunder (provided that such Lender shall cease to be a Defaulting Lender pursuant to this clause (c) upon receipt of such written confirmation by Administrative Agent and the Borrower Representative), or (d) has, or has a direct or indirect parent company that has, (i) become the subject of a proceeding under any Debtor Relief Laws, (ii) had appointed for it a receiver, custodian, conservator, trustee, administrator, assignee for the benefit of creditors or similar Person charged with reorganization or liquidation of its business or assets, including the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other state or federal regulatory authority acting in such a capacity, or (iii) become the subject of a Bail-In Action; provided that a Lender shall not be a Defaulting Lender solely by virtue of (x) the ownership or acquisition of any Equity Interest in that Lender or any direct or indirect parent company thereof by a Governmental Authority or (y) an Undisclosed Administration of such Lender so long as such ownership interest or Undisclosed Administration does not result in or provide such Lender with immunity from the jurisdiction of courts within the United States or from the enforcement of judgments or writs of attachment on its assets or permit such Lender (or such Governmental Authority) to reject, repudiate, disavow or disaffirm any contracts or agreements made with such Lender. Any determination by Administrative Agent that a Lender is a Defaulting Lender under any one or more of clauses (a) through (d) of this definition shall be conclusive and binding absent manifest error, and such Lender shall be deemed to be a Defaulting Lender (subject to Section 2.21(b)) upon delivery of written notice of such determination to the Borrower Representative, each Issuing Lender and each Lender.

 

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“Delayed Draw Term Loan” means (a) each term loan funded under the Fourth Amendment Delayed Draw Term Loan Commitments pursuant to Section 2.1(e) or (b) any other DDTL Commitment.

 

“Deposit Account” means a demand, time, savings, passbook, or similar account maintained with an organization engaged in the business of banking, including savings banks, savings and loan associations, credit unions, and trust companies. Neither investment property nor accounts evidenced by an instrument shall constitute a Deposit Account for purposes of this Agreement.

 

“Disposition” means any sale, assignment, lease, license, transfer or other disposition of any property or assets (whether now owned or hereafter acquired) by Holdings or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries to any other Person. The term “Dispose” as a verb has a corresponding meaning.

 

“Disqualified Equity Interests” means any Equity Interest that, by its terms (or by the terms of any security or other Equity Interests into which it is convertible or for which it is exchangeable), or upon the happening of any event or condition (a) matures or is mandatorily redeemable (other than solely for Qualified Equity Interests and cash in lieu of fractional shares), pursuant to a sinking fund obligation or otherwise (except as a result of a change of control, asset sale or similar event so long as any rights of the holders thereof upon the occurrence of a change of control, asset sale or similar event shall be subject to Full Satisfaction of the Obligations), (b) is redeemable at the option of the holder thereof (other than (i) solely for Qualified Equity Interests and cash in lieu of fractional shares or (ii) as a result of a change of control, asset sale or similar event so long as any rights of the holders thereof upon the occurrence of a change of control, asset sale or similar event shall be subject to Full Satisfaction of the Obligations, in whole or in part, (c) provides for the scheduled payments of dividends in cash, or (d) is or becomes convertible into or exchangeable for Indebtedness or any other Equity Interests that would constitute Disqualified Equity Interests, in each case, prior to the date that is 91 days after the Latest Maturity Date at the time of issuance of such Equity Interests; provided that if such Equity Interests are issued pursuant to a plan for the benefit of employees, officers, directors, managers or consultants of Holdings (or any direct or indirect parent thereof), the Borrowers or the Restricted Subsidiaries or by any such plan to such employees, officers, directors, managers or consultants, such Equity Interests shall not constitute Disqualified Equity Interests solely because it may be required to be repurchased by the Borrower or its Restricted Subsidiaries in order to satisfy applicable statutory or regulatory obligations or as a result of the termination, death or disability of such officers, directors, managers or consultants.

 

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“Disqualified Institution” means (a) any Disqualified Lending Institution, (b) any Competitor and (c) any Affiliate (other than a Debt Fund Affiliate) of such Disqualified Lending Institution or Competitor that is readily identifiable solely on the basis of such Affiliate’s name; provided that (i) no notice delivered by the Borrower Representative shall apply retroactively to disqualify any Person that has previously acquired an assignment or participation interest in the Loans or entered into a Trade, (ii) “Disqualified Institutions” shall exclude any Person that a Borrower Representative has designated as no longer being a “Disqualified Institution” by written notice delivered to the Administrative Agent at JPMDQ_Contact@jpmorgan.com from time to time, and (iii) any such designation shall be effective three (3) Business Days after the relevant notice has been delivered to the Administrative Agent. The list of Disqualified Institutions provided by the Borrower Representative and any permitted updates thereto from time to time may be made available to any Lender that specifically requests a copy from Administrative Agent.

 

“Disqualified Lending Institution” means certain banks, financial institutions, institutional lenders and other entities that have been identified by the Borrower Representative to the Administrative Agent as a “Disqualified Lending Institution” (a) on or prior to the date of the Commitment Letter and (b) as may be updated from time to time by the Borrower Representative after the Effective Date with the consent of the Administrative Agent in its reasonable discretion (such request to be delivered to the Administrative Agent at JPMDQ_Contact@jpmorgan.com and provided that any such designation shall be effective three (3) Business Days after the Administrative Agent has consented).

 

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

 

“Domestic Subsidiary” means any Restricted Subsidiary that is not a CFC.

 

“ECF Threshold” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 2.10(b)(ii).

 

“EEA Financial Institution” means (a) any credit institution or investment firm established in any EEA Member Country which is subject to the supervision of an EEA Resolution Authority, (b) any entity established in an EEA Member Country which is a parent of an institution described in clause (a) of this definition, or (c) any financial institution established in an EEA Member Country which is a subsidiary of an institution described in clauses (a) or (b) of this definition and is subject to consolidated supervision with its parent.

 

“EEA Member Country” means any of the member states of the European Union, Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Norway.

 

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“EEA Resolution Authority” means any public administrative authority or any Person entrusted with public administrative authority of any EEA Member Country (including any delegee) having responsibility for the resolution of any EEA Financial Institution.

 

“Effective Date” means the date on which the conditions set forth in Section 4.1 are satisfied (or waived in accordance with Section 4.1, which date is August 23, 2021).

 

“Effective Date Assumption” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 10.25.

 

“Electronic Signature” means an electronic sound, symbol, or process attached to, or associated with, a contract or other record and adopted by a Person with the intent to sign, authenticate or accept such contract or record.

 

“Electronic System” means any electronic system, including e-mail, e-fax, web portal access for the Borrowers and any other Internet or extranet-based site, whether such electronic system is owned, operated or hosted by the Administrative Agent or the Issuing Bank and any of its respective Related Parties or any other Person, providing for access to data protected by passcodes or other security system.

 

“Eligible Assignee” means any Person that meets the requirements to be an assignee under Sections 10.4(b)(iii), 10.4(b)(vi) and (other than a Disqualified Institution) 10.4(b)(vii) (subject to such consents, if any, as may be required under Section 10.4(b)(iii)).

 

“Environmental Laws” means all laws, rules, regulations, codes, ordinances, orders, decrees, judgments, injunctions, or binding agreements issued, promulgated or entered into by any Governmental Authority, relating to the protection of the environment, human health and workplace safety, preservation or reclamation of natural resources, or the generation, use, handling, transportation, storage, treatment, disposal, management, release or threatened release of any Hazardous Material, including, without limitation, the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C. § 9601 et seq.), as amended.

 

“Environmental Liability” means any liability, contingent or otherwise (including any liability for damages, costs of environmental removal, remediation, fines, penalties or indemnities, and including any Lien securing or on account of such liability filed against any Mortgaged Property), of any Obligor or any Restricted Subsidiary resulting from or based upon (a) any Environmental Law, (b) the generation, use, handling, transportation, storage, treatment or disposal of any Hazardous Materials, (c) exposure to any Hazardous Materials, (d) the release or threatened release of any Hazardous Materials into the environment, or (e) any contract, agreement or other consensual arrangement to the extent liability is assumed or imposed with respect to any of the foregoing.

 

“Equity Interests” means shares of the capital stock (including common and preferred shares), partnership interests, membership interest in a limited liability company, beneficial interests in a trust, or other equity interests; provided that any instrument evidencing Indebtedness convertible or exchangeable for Equity Interests shall not be deemed to be Equity Interests unless and until such instrument is so converted or exchanged.

 

“Equity Rights” means, with respect to any Person, any subscriptions, options, warrants, commitments, preemptive rights or agreements of any kind (including any shareholders’ or voting trust agreements) for the issuance, sale, registration or voting of, or securities convertible into, any additional Equity Interests in such Person.

 

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“ERISA” means the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended from time to time, and the regulations promulgated thereunder and any successor thereto.

 

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

 

“ERISA Event” means (a) any “reportable event”, as defined in Section 4043 of ERISA or the regulations issued thereunder with respect to a Plan (other than an event for which the 30-day notice period is waived), (b) the failure to make sufficient contributions to a Plan for any plan year which, in the aggregate, are less than the minimum required contribution determined under Section 412 of the Code, Section 430 of the Code or Section 303 of ERISA for the Plan for the plan year, (c) the existence with respect to any Multiemployer Plan of an “accumulated funding deficiency” (as defined in Section 431 of the Code or Section 304 of ERISA), whether or not waived, (d) the filing pursuant to Section 412(c) of the Code or Section 302(c) of ERISA of an application for a waiver of the minimum funding standard with respect to any Plan, (e) the incurrence by a Borrower or any ERISA Affiliate of any liability under Title IV of ERISA with respect to the termination of any Plan, (f) the receipt by a Borrower or any ERISA Affiliate from the PBGC or a plan administrator of any notice relating to an intention to terminate any Plan or Plans or to appoint a trustee to administer any Plan, (g) the incurrence by a Borrower or any ERISA Affiliate of any liability with respect to the withdrawal or partial withdrawal from any Plan or Multiemployer Plan, or (h) the receipt by a Borrower or any ERISA Affiliate of any notice concerning the imposition of Withdrawal Liability, or a determination that a Multiemployer Plan is, or is expected to be, “insolvent” (within the meaning of Section 4245 of ERISA), or in “endangered” or “critical” status (within the meaning of Section 432 of the Code or Section 305 of ERISA).

 

“EU Bail-In Legislation Schedule” means the EU Bail-In Legislation Schedule published by the Loan Market Association (or any successor Person), as in effect from time to time. “Event of Default” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 8.1.

 

“Event of Loss” means with respect to any asset of any Obligor or its Restricted Subsidiaries, any of the following: (a) any loss, destruction or damage of such equipment, real property or fixed asset or (b) any actual condemnation, seizure or taking, by exercise of the power of eminent domain or otherwise, of such asset, or confiscation of such equipment, real property or fixed asset or requisition of the use of such asset.

 

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“Excess Cash Flow” means, for each Excess Cash Flow Period for Holdings and its Restricted Subsidiaries, the excess, if any, of (a) the sum, without duplication, of (i) Consolidated Net Income of Holdings and its Restricted Subsidiaries for such Excess Cash Flow Period, (ii) the amount of all non-cash loss and charges (including depreciation, amortization and non-cash Interest Expense) deducted in arriving at such Consolidated Net Income, and (iii) the amount of the decrease, if any, in Consolidated Working Capital for such Excess Cash Flow Period, minus (b) the sum, without duplication, of (i) the amount of all non-cash gain and income included in arriving at such Consolidated Net Income, (ii) the aggregate amount of all regularly scheduled principal payments of Funded Debt (including, without limitation, the Loans) of the Borrowers and their Restricted Subsidiaries (other than in respect of any revolving credit facility to the extent there is not an equivalent permanent reduction in commitments thereunder) and scheduled repayments of Capital Lease Obligations (excluding any interest expense portion thereof), in each case, actually paid by the Borrowers and their Restricted Subsidiaries using Internally Generated Cash during such Excess Cash Flow Period, (iii) the amount of the increase, if any, in Consolidated Working Capital for such Excess Cash Flow Period, (iv) to the extent not already deducted in determining such Consolidated Net Income, the aggregate amount actually paid by the Borrowers and their Restricted Subsidiaries using Internally Generated Cash during such Excess Cash Flow Period, or, at the Borrowers’ option, committed or budgeted to be used within the next four Fiscal Quarters as applicable, on account of Capital Expenditures, Permitted Acquisitions and other Investments (including Investments in Joint Ventures and any earn-out payment but excluding Investments in cash and Cash Equivalents) and Restricted Payments pursuant to Section 6.6 (excluding Restricted Payments made using clause (b) of the definition of Available Amount), in each case permitted under this Agreement, (v) the amount of cash Taxes paid (including for the avoidance of doubt any Permitted Tax Distributions) or Tax reserves set aside or payable (without duplication) in such period to the extent they exceed the amount of tax expense deducted in determining such Consolidated Net Income for such period (other than the amount of any cash taxes paid in such period to the extent such cash Taxes were subject to a reserve reducing Consolidated Net Income or Excess Cash Flow in a previous period), (vi) to the extent not already deducted in determining such Consolidated Net Income, any fees, expenses or charges paid using Internally Generated Cash during such period, or, at the Borrowers’ option, committed or budgeted to be used within the next four Fiscal Quarters, in connection with any Permitted Acquisition, Investment, Disposition (other than Ordinary Course Dispositions), incurrence or repayment of Indebtedness, issuance of Equity Interests, amendment or modification of any debt instrument (including any amendment or other modification to this Agreement and the other Loan Documents) and including, in each case, any such transaction undertaken but not completed, and any charges paid in cash or non-recurring merger costs incurred during such period as a result of any such transaction, in each case whether or not successful, (vii) cash payments by the Borrowers and their Restricted Subsidiaries during such period in respect of long-term liabilities (other than the current portion thereof) set forth on the balance sheet of the Borrowers and their Restricted Subsidiaries in accordance with GAAP other than Indebtedness to the extent such payments are not expensed during such period or are not deducted in calculating Consolidated Net Income and to the extent financed with Internally Generated Cash, (viii) the aggregate amount of expenditures actually made by the Borrowers and their Restricted Subsidiaries in cash during such period (including Capital Expenditures for the payment of financing fees) to the extent that such expenditures are not expensed during such period, in each case to the extent financed with Internally Generated Cash, (ix) the aggregate amount of any premium, make-whole or penalty payments actually paid in cash by the Borrowers and their Restricted Subsidiaries during such period that are required to be made in connection with any prepayment of Indebtedness, in each case to the extent financed with Internally Generated Cash, (x) cash expenditures in respect of Swap Obligations during such period to the extent not deducted in arriving at such Consolidated Net Income to the extent financed with Internally Generated Cash, (xi) cash payments by the Borrower and the Restricted Subsidiaries during such period in respect of purchase price holdbacks, earn outs, and other similar contingent obligations, to the extent not already deducted from Consolidated Net Income to the extent financed with Internally Generated Cash and (xii) any other cash items excluded in the calculation of Consolidated Net Income to the extent financed with Internally Generated Cash.

 

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“Excess Cash Flow Percentage” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 2.10(b)(ii).

 

“Excess Cash Flow Period” means the period beginning on December 28, 2021 and ending on December 26, 2022 and, thereafter, each Fiscal Year of Holdings and its Restricted Subsidiaries.

 

“Exchange Act” means the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended from time to time.

 

“Excluded Contribution Amount” means an amount equal to net cash proceeds received by any Borrower as capital contributions to its common equity capital after the Effective Date or from the issuance or sale (other than (i) to a Restricted Subsidiary of a Borrower, (ii) to any management equity plan or equity option plan or any other management or employee benefit plan or agreement of the Borrower or (iii) Specified Equity Contributions) of Equity Interests (other than Disqualified Equity Interests) of a Borrower or the Fair Market Value of investment grade securities or Qualified Proceeds contributed to a Borrower, in each case, designated as Excluded Contribution Amounts from time to time pursuant to an officer’s certificate executed by a Responsible Officer, which are excluded from the calculation of Available Amount, minus any Excluded Contribution Amount applied or used hereunder after the Effective Date and prior to such time.

 

“Excluded Property” has the meaning assigned to such term in the Security Agreement and any other similar term in the Loan Documents.

 

“Excluded Subsidiary” means unless otherwise elected by the Borrowers (pursuant to the terms of Section 5.8) (a)(i) any Subsidiary that is not a wholly-owned Domestic Subsidiary of the Borrowers or any Obligor; provided, that this clause (i) shall not apply to any Subsidiary that becomes a non-Wholly-Owned Subsidiary as a result of a transaction (x) whose sole purpose was to cause such Subsidiary to become an Excluded Subsidiary, (y) has no other bona fide business rationale and (z) that was consummated at a time when the Borrowers and their Restricted Subsidiaries did not have sufficient capacity under Section 6.3 to make an Investment in an amount equal to the Fair Market Value of 100% of the Equity Interests of such Subsidiary, (i) any Joint Venture, (b) any Subsidiary for which guarantees of the Obligations are (i) prohibited by Law (including as a result of applicable financial assistance, directors’ duties or corporate benefit requirements or require consent, approval, license or authorization of a Governmental Authority, unless such consent, approval, license or authorization has been received); provided, that there shall be no obligation to obtain such consent or (ii) contractually prohibited on the Effective Date or, following the Effective Date, the date of any acquisition, so long as such prohibition is not created in contemplation of the Transactions or any such acquisition, (c) any other Subsidiary where the Borrowers reasonably determine the burden or cost of providing a Guarantee (including any material adverse tax consequences, adverse accounting consequences or adverse regulatory consequences) shall be excessive in view of the benefits to be obtained by the Lenders therefrom, (d) any not-for-profit Subsidiaries, (e) any Unrestricted Subsidiaries, (f) any special purpose securitization vehicle (or similar entity), including each Receivables Subsidiary and Securitization Subsidiary, (g) any direct or indirect Subsidiary of the Borrowers or any Obligor that is a Foreign Holdco, (h) any Domestic Subsidiary that is a direct or indirect Subsidiary of a CFC, (i) captive insurance Subsidiaries, (j) any Subsidiary that is not a Material Subsidiary, (k) any broker dealer subsidiaries, (l) any Tax Preferred Subsidiary, and (m) any Subsidiary acquired pursuant to a Permitted Acquisition or other Investment permitted under this Agreement and financed with assumed Indebtedness permitted to be incurred pursuant to this Agreement (and not incurred in contemplation of such Permitted Acquisition or Investment), and each Restricted Subsidiary acquired in such Permitted Acquisition or other Investment permitted hereunder that guarantees such Indebtedness, in each case to the extent that, and for so long as, the documentation relating to such Indebtedness to which such Subsidiary is a party prohibits such Subsidiary from guaranteeing the Obligations and such prohibition is not created in contemplation of such Permitted Acquisition or other Investment permitted hereunder.

 

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“Excluded Swap Obligation” means, with respect to any Obligor, any Swap Obligation if, and to the extent that, all or a portion of the Guarantee of such Obligor of, or the grant by such Obligor of a security interest to secure, such Swap Obligation (or any Guarantee thereof) is or becomes illegal or unlawful under the Commodity Exchange Act or any rule, regulation or order of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (or the application or official interpretation of any thereof) by virtue of such Obligor’s failure for any reason to constitute an “eligible contract participant” as defined in the Commodity Exchange Act and the regulations thereunder at the time the Guarantee of such Obligor or the grant of such security interest becomes effective with respect to such Swap Obligation. If a Swap Obligation arises under a master agreement governing more than one swap, such exclusion shall apply only to the portion of such Swap Obligation that is attributable to swaps for which such Guarantee or security interest is or becomes illegal.

 

“Excluded Taxes” means any of the following Taxes imposed on or with respect to a Recipient or required to be withheld or deducted from a payment to a Recipient, (a) Taxes imposed on or measured by net income (however denominated), franchise Taxes, and branch profits Taxes, in each case, (i) imposed as a result of such Recipient being organized under the laws of, or having its principal office or, in the case of any Lender, its applicable lending office located in, the jurisdiction imposing such Tax (or any political subdivision thereof) or (ii) that are Other Connection Taxes, (b) in the case of a Lender, U.S. federal withholding Taxes imposed on amounts payable to or for the account of such Lender with respect to an applicable interest in a Loan or Commitment pursuant to a law in effect on the date on which (i) such Lender acquires such interest in the Loan or Commitment (other than pursuant to an assignment request by the Borrower Representative under Section 2.18) or (ii) such Lender changes its lending office, except in each case to the extent that, pursuant to Section 2.16(b) or (d), amounts with respect to such Taxes were payable either to such Lender’s assignor immediately before such Lender became a party hereto or to such Lender immediately before it changed its lending office, (c) Taxes attributable to such Recipient’s failure to comply with Section 2.16(g), and (d) any U.S. federal withholding Taxes imposed under FATCA.

 

“Existing Indebtedness” means that certain (i) Loan and Security Agreement, dated as of August 18, 2015 (as amended, restated, supplemented or otherwise or modified), by and between the Borrower and the lenders party thereto, (ii) Subordinated Loan Agreement, dated as of October 5, 2018 (as amended, restated, supplemented or otherwise modified) by and between the Borrower and the lenders party thereto, (iii) Note Purchase Agreement, dated as of December 19, 2016, by and among the Borrower and the investors party thereto and (iv) Note Purchase Agreement, dated as of April 2, 2019 (as amended, restated, supplemented or otherwise or modified), among the Borrower and the investors party thereto , each as in effect on the Effective Date.

 

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“Existing Term Loan Tranche” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 2.23.

 

“Expiring Credit Commitment” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 2.4(e).

 

“Extended Revolving Credit Commitments” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 2.23.

 

“Extended Revolving Credit Loans” means one or more Classes of Revolving Credit Loans that result from an Extension Amendment.

 

“Extended Term Loans” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 2.23.

 

“Extending Revolving Credit Lender” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 2.23.

 

“Extending Term Lender” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 2.23.

 

“Extension” means the establishment of an Extension Series by amending a Loan pursuant to the terms of Section 2.23 and the applicable Extension Amendment.

 

“Extension Amendment” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 2.23.

 

“Extension Election” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 2.23.

 

“Extension Request” means any Term Loan Extension Request or a Revolving Credit Loan Extension Request, as the case may be.

 

“Extension Series” means any Term Loan Extension Series or a Revolving Credit Loan Extension Series, as the case may be.

 

“Facility” means the Revolving Credit Commitment, the Initial Term Loan Commitment, the Second Amendment Term Loan Commitment, the Third Amendment Term Loan Commitment, the Fourth Amendment Delayed Draw Term Loan Commitment, a Tranche of Incremental Term Loans or a Tranche of Incremental Delayed Draw Term Loans, as the context may require.

 

“Fair Market Value” means with respect to any asset or group of assets on any date of determination, the value of the consideration obtainable in a sale of such asset at such date of determination assuming a sale by a willing seller to a willing purchaser dealing at arm’s length and arranged over a period of time having regard to the nature and characteristics of such asset and sale at such time, as reasonably determined in good faith by the Borrowers.

 

“FATCA” means Sections 1471 through 1474 of the Code, as of the date of this Agreement (or any amended or successor version that is substantively comparable and not materially more onerous to comply with), any current or future regulations or official interpretations thereof, any agreements entered into pursuant to Section 1471(b)(1) of the Code, any applicable intergovernmental agreement, treaty, or convention with respect to any of the forgoing (including any legislation, rules or practices adopted pursuant to such agreement, treaty, or convention), and applicable official implementing guidance with respect to any of the foregoing.

 

“FCA” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 1.15.

 

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“FDA” means the United States Food and Drug Administration.

 

“Federal Funds Effective Rate” means, for any day, the rate calculated by the NYFRB based on such day’s federal funds transactions by depositary institutions (as determined in such manner as shall be set forth on the NYFRB’s Website from time to time) and published on the next succeeding Business Day by the NYFRB as the effective federal funds rate, provided that, in no event shall the Federal Funds Effective Rate be less than zero.

 

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

 

“Fee Letter” means that certain amended and restated fee letter, dated as of July 30, 2021, executed by the Initial Borrower and the Lead Arranger and the other parties thereto setting forth the applicable fees relating to this Agreement to be paid to the Administrative Agent, on its behalf and on behalf of the Lenders.

 

“Financial Covenant” means any financial covenant or test set forth in Section 7.

 

“First Amendment” means that certain First Amendment to Credit Agreement, dated as of December 8, 2021 by and among the Borrower Representative, the Lenders party thereto and the Administrative Agent.

 

“Fiscal Quarter” shall mean any of the quarterly accounting periods of each Obligor ending on the Applicable Period End Date with respect to each fiscal quarter.

 

“Fiscal Year” shall mean any of the annual accounting period of each Obligor ending on the Applicable Period End Date with respect to each fiscal year.

 

“Flood Insurance Laws” means, collectively, (i) the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968 as now or hereafter in effect or any successor statute thereto, (ii) the Flood Disaster Protection Act of 1973 as now or hereafter in effect or any successor statute thereto, (iii) the National Flood Insurance Reform Act of 1994 as now or hereafter in effect or any successor statute thereto, (iv) the Flood Insurance Reform Act of 2004 as now or hereafter in effect or any successor statute thereto and (v) the Biggert-Waters Flood Insurance Reform Act of 2012 as now or hereafter in effect or any successor statute thereto.

 

“Floor” means the benchmark rate floor, if any, provided in this Agreement initially (as of the execution of this Agreement, the modification, amendment or renewal of this Agreement or otherwise) with respect to the Adjusted Term SOFR Rate or Adjusted Daily Simple SOFR, as applicable. For the avoidance of doubt, the initial Floor for each of the Adjusted Term SOFR Rate or Adjusted Daily Simple SOFR shall be 1.00%.

 

“Food and Agriculture Law” means any law which relates to food safety, quality, or other regulatory obligation including, without limitation, laws and regulations promulgated by the FDA and the USDA, as well as any amendments thereto as well as the Growers’ Lien Laws.

 

“Foreign Casualty Event” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 2.10(b)(vi).

 

“Foreign Disposition” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 2.10(b)(vi).

 

“Foreign Holdco” means any direct or indirect Subsidiary of a Borrower all or substantially all of the assets of which consist of the Equity Interests of and/or debt owing from (including any debt or other instrument treated as equity for U.S. federal income tax purposes), one or more direct or indirect CFCs or Foreign Holdcos and intercompany accounts or cash on a temporary basis.

 

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“Foreign Lender” means any Lender or Participant that is not a U.S. Person.

 

“Foreign Subsidiary” means any Restricted Subsidiary of a Borrower that is (a) not a U.S. Person and (b) a controlled foreign corporation (within the meaning of Section 957(a) of the Code) with respect to which such Borrower (or any corporation which in addition to such Borrower is a member of an affiliated group, within the meaning of Section 1504(a) of the Code, for which a consolidated return is filed pursuant to Section 1501 of the Code) is a United States shareholder within the meaning of Section 951(b) of the Code.

 

“Foreign Subsidiary Excess Cash Flow” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 2.10(b)(v).

 

“Fourth Amendment” means that certain Fourth Amendment to Credit Agreement, dated as of the Fourth Amendment Effective Date, by and among the Borrower Representative, Holdings, the Guarantors party thereto, the Fourth Amendment Delayed Draw Term Loan Lenders party thereto, the other Lenders party thereto and the Administrative Agent.

 

“Fourth Amendment DDTL Commitment Termination Date” means the earliest to occur of (a) July 13, 2027; provided that if such day is not a Business Day, then on the immediately succeeding Business Day, (b) the date on which the aggregate Fourth Amendment Delayed Draw Term Loan Commitment is fully drawn and (c) the date the unfunded DDTL Commitment is terminated in accordance with the terms of this Agreement.

 

“Fourth Amendment Effective Date” means January 13, 2026.

 

“Fourth Amendment Fee Letter” means that certain Fee Letter, dated as of the Fourth Amendment Effective Date, executed by the Borrower Representative and the Administrative Agent setting forth certain of the applicable fees relating to the Fourth Amendment to be paid to the Administrative Agent, on its behalf and on behalf of certain of the Lenders.

 

“Fourth Amendment PGIM Fee Letter” means that certain PGIM Lender Fee Letter, dated as of the Fourth Amendment Effective Date, executed by the Borrower Representative and PGIM, Inc. setting forth certain of the applicable fees relating to the Fourth Amendment to be paid to PGIM, Inc., on its behalf and on behalf of certain of the Lenders.

 

“Fourth Amendment Transaction Costs” means the fees, costs, and expenses payable by the Obligors in connection with the consummation of the Fourth Amendment Transactions.

 

“Fourth Amendment Transactions” mean, collectively, (a) the execution, delivery and performance by each Obligor of the Fourth Amendment and the other applicable Loan Documents on the Fourth Amendment Effective Date, (b) the initial borrowing (if any) of Fourth Amendment Delayed Draw Term Loans, and (c) the payment of all fees and expenses to be paid on or prior to the Fourth Amendment Effective Date and owing in connection with the foregoing.

 

“Fourth Amendment Delayed Draw Term Loan” means a Loan made pursuant to Section 2.1(e).

 

“Fourth Amendment Delayed Draw Term Loan Commitment” means, with respect to each applicable Fourth Amendment Delayed Draw Term Loan Lender, the commitment of such Lender to make Fourth Amendment Delayed Draw Term Loans to the Borrowers in the amount of each Fourth Amendment Delayed Draw Term Loan Lender’s Fourth Amendment Delayed Draw Term Loan Commitment as of the Fourth Amendment Effective Date in the amount set forth on Schedule I to the Fourth Amendment under the caption “Fourth Amendment Delayed Draw Term Loan Commitment”. The aggregate amount of the Fourth Amendment Delayed Draw Term Loan Lenders’ Fourth Amendment Delayed Draw Term Loan Commitments is $15,000,000 as of the Fourth Amendment Effective Date.

 

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“Fourth Amendment Delayed Draw Term Loan Lender” means each Lender with a Fourth Amendment Delayed Draw Term Loan Commitment or who holds a Fourth Amendment Delayed Draw Term Loan.

 

“Fronting Exposure” means, at any time there is a Defaulting Lender, (a) with respect to any Issuing Lender, such Defaulting Lender’s Pro Rata Share of the outstanding LC Exposure with respect to Letters of Credit issued by such Issuing Lender other than LC Exposure as to which such Defaulting Lender’s participation obligation has been reallocated to other Lenders or Cash Collateralized in accordance with the terms hereof, and (b) with respect to Swingline Lender, such Defaulting Lender’s Pro Rata Share of outstanding Swingline Loans made by such Swingline Lender other than Swingline Loans as to which such Defaulting Lender’s participation obligation has been reallocated to other Lenders.

 

“Fully Satisfied” or “Full Satisfaction” means, as of any date, that on or before such date, (a) with respect to the Loans and Letters of Credit: (i) the principal of and interest accrued to such date on the Loans and outstanding LC Disbursements (other than the contingent LC Exposure) shall have been paid in full in cash, (ii) all fees, expenses and other amounts then due and payable (other than the contingent LC Exposure and other contingent amounts for which a claim has not been made) shall have been paid in full in cash, (iii) the Commitments shall have expired or irrevocably been terminated, and (iv) the contingent LC Exposure, if any, shall have been: (A) secured by the grant of a first priority, perfected Lien on cash or Cash Equivalents in an amount at least equal to 103% of the amount of such LC Exposure or other collateral which is acceptable to the Issuing Lender in its sole discretion, (B) secured by the issuance of a “back-to-back” letter of credit in form and substance acceptable to the Issuing Lender with an original face amount at least equal to 103% of the amount of such LC Exposure and issued by an issuing bank satisfactory to the Issuing Lender in its sole discretion or (C) with the consent of the applicable Issuing Lender, rolled in to a new credit facility and (b) with respect to Obligations consisting of Swap Obligations or any Obligations related to credit cards, credit card processing services, debit cards, stored value cards, gift cards and purchase cards (including so-called “procurement cards” or “P-cards”)), the termination of such Swap Obligations and such additional Obligations of JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. (or its affiliates) (or the applicable Borrowers and Obligors entering into another arrangement satisfactory to JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. (or its affiliates)).

 

“Fund” means any Person (other than a natural Person) that is (or will be) engaged in making, purchasing, holding or otherwise investing in commercial loans and similar extensions of credit in the ordinary course of its activities.

 

“Funded Debt” means, with respect to the Borrowers and their Restricted Subsidiaries on any date of determination, without duplication, all obligations of the type described in clauses (a), (c) (to the extent such letters of credit are drawn and not reimbursed within 2 Business Days after the date of such drawing), (d), and (e) of the definition of “Indebtedness” (including any obligations of such type owing by a partnership in which Holdings or any Restricted Subsidiary is a general partner to the extent of recourse to Holdings or such Restricted Subsidiary for the payment of such Indebtedness), in each case as and to the extent reflected on the balance sheet of the Borrowers and their Restricted Subsidiaries, and any Guarantee of any of the foregoing, and specifically including, without limitation, the amount of all Obligations hereunder. For the avoidance of doubt, it is understood that obligations (i) under Hedging Agreements and Cash Management Services, (ii) under Receivables Facilities and Securitization Facilities and (iii) owed by Unrestricted Subsidiaries, do not constitute Funded Debt.

 

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“GAAP” means generally accepted accounting principles and practices set forth from time to time in the opinions and pronouncements of the Accounting Principles Board and the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and statements and pronouncements of the Financial Accounting Standards Board (or agencies with similar functions of comparable stature and authority within the US accounting profession).

 

“Growers’ Lien Laws” means, collectively, state and federal laws of the United States of America applicable to agricultural products purchased on credit from any selling party that create a Lien or imposes a trust upon the agricultural products sold and/or the proceeds of such agricultural products for the benefit of such selling party or a creditor thereof to secure payment for such agricultural products, including without limitation Food Security Act, 7 U.S.C. § 1631 and the Perishable Agricultural Commodities Act of 1930, 7 U.S.C., Chapter 20A, § 499a et seq., and all regulations promulgated thereunder.

 

“Governmental Authority” means the government of the United States or any other nation, or any political subdivision thereof, whether state or local, and any agency, authority, instrumentality, regulatory body, court, central bank or other entity exercising executive, legislative, judicial, taxing, regulatory, or administrative powers or functions of or pertaining to government including any supra-national bodies (such as the European Union or the European Central Bank).

 

“Guarantee” of or by any Person (the “guarantor”) means any obligation, contingent or otherwise, of the guarantor guaranteeing or having the economic effect of guaranteeing any Indebtedness or other monetary obligation of any other Person (the “primary obligor”) in any manner, whether directly or indirectly, and including any obligation of the guarantor, direct or indirect, (a) to purchase or pay (or advance or supply funds for the purchase or payment of) such Indebtedness or other monetary obligation or to purchase (or to advance or supply funds for the purchase of) any security for the payment thereof or pledge any assets to secure the payment thereof, (b) to purchase or lease property, securities or services for the purpose of assuring the owner of such Indebtedness or other monetary obligation of the payment thereof, (c) to maintain working capital, equity capital or any other financial statement condition or liquidity of the primary obligor so as to enable the primary obligor to pay such Indebtedness or other monetary obligation, (d) as an account party in respect of any letter of credit or letter of guaranty issued to support such Indebtedness or monetary obligation, or (e) entered into for the purpose of assuring in any other manner the holder of such Indebtedness or other monetary obligation of the payment or performance thereof or to protect such holder against loss in respect thereof (in whole or in part). The amount of any Guarantee shall be deemed to be an amount equal to the stated or determinable amount of the related primary obligation, or portion thereof, in respect of which such Guarantee is made or, if not stated or determinable, the maximum reasonably anticipated liability in respect thereof as reasonably determined by the guaranteeing Person in good faith.

 

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The term “Guarantee” as a verb has a corresponding meaning. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the term Guarantee shall not include endorsements for collection or deposit in the Ordinary Course of Business or customary and reasonable indemnification obligations or product warranties.

 

“Guarantor” means Holdings, each Subsidiary Guarantor, and each other Person executing a Guaranty Agreement.

 

“Guaranty Agreement” means a guaranty agreement delivered to the Administrative Agent from time to time by any Person providing a Guarantee of any of the Obligations, in form and substance reasonably acceptable to the Administrative Agent and including the Administrative Agent as a party thereto.

 

“Hazardous Materials” means all explosive, radioactive, hazardous, or toxic substances, materials, wastes or other pollutants or contaminants, including petroleum or petroleum distillates, asbestos or asbestos containing materials, polychlorinated biphenyls, radon gas, urea formaldehyde, per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, infectious, or medical wastes and all other substances or wastes of any nature regulated pursuant to any Environmental Law due to their hazardous or deleterious properties or characteristics.

 

“Hedging Agreement” means any interest rate protection agreement, foreign currency exchange agreement, currency options, spot contracts, collar transactions, commodity price protection agreement, rate swap transactions, basis swaps, forward rate transactions, or other interest rate, currency exchange rate, or commodity price hedging arrangement, or any other similar transactions or any combination of any of the foregoing (including any options to enter into any of the foregoing), designed to provide protection against fluctuations in interest rates, currency exchange rates, or commodity prices, whether or not any such transaction is governed by or subject to any master agreement. 

 

“Holdings” has the meaning (i) set forth in the introductory paragraph to this Agreement or (ii) after the Effective Date any other Person (“New Holdings”) that is a Subsidiary of Holdings (to the extent such Subsidiary ceases to be a Subsidiary in connection with becoming New Holdings) direct or indirect parent of Holdings (or the previous New Holdings, as the case may be) but not a Borrower (“Previous Holdings”); provided, that (a) such New Holdings directly owns 100% of the Equity Interests of the Borrower, (b) New Holdings shall expressly assume all the obligations of Previous Holdings under this Agreement and the other Loan Documents pursuant to a supplement hereto or thereto in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to the Administrative Agent and the Borrower, (c) if reasonably requested by the Administrative Agent, a customary opinion of counsel covering matters reasonably requested by the Administrative Agent shall be delivered on behalf of the Borrowers to the Administrative Agent, (d) all Equity Interests of the Borrower and substantially all of the other assets of Previous Holdings are contributed or otherwise transferred, directly or indirectly, to such New Holdings and pledged to secure the Obligations to the extent constituting Collateral, (e)(x) no Event of Default has occurred and is continuing at the time of such substitution and such substitution does not result in any Event of Default, (y) such substitution does not result in any material adverse tax consequences to the Obligors, and (z) such substitution does not result in any adverse tax consequences to any Lender (unless reimbursed hereunder) or to the Administrative Agent (unless reimbursed hereunder), (f) the Administrative Agent shall have received at least ten (10) Business Days’ prior written notice of the proposed transaction and Previous Holdings, New Holdings and the Borrowers shall promptly and in any event at least three (3) Business Days’ prior to the consummation of the transaction provide (i) all information the Administrative Agent (or any Lender through the Administrative Agent) may reasonably request to satisfy its “know your customer” and other similar requirements necessary for such Person to comply with its internal compliance and regulatory requirements with respect to the proposed successor New Holdings and (ii) to the extent the proposed successor New Holdings qualifies as a “legal entity customer” under the Beneficial Ownership Regulation, a certificate regarding beneficial ownership as required by the Beneficial Ownership Regulation with respect to such proposed successor New Holdings, (g) New Holdings shall be an entity organized or existing under the laws of the United States or any state thereof or the District of Columbia (provided that New Holdings is treated as a disregarded entity for United States federal income tax purposes), (h) the Obligors shall execute and deliver amendments, supplements and other modifications to all Loan Documents, instruments and agreements executed in connection therewith necessary, advisable or reasonably requested by the Administrative Agent to perfect and protect the liens and security interests in the Collateral, in each case in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to the Administrative Agent, and (i) the Borrowers deliver a certificate of a Responsible Officer with respect to the satisfaction of the conditions set forth in this definition; provided, further, that if each of the foregoing is satisfied, Previous Holdings shall be automatically released of all its obligations under the Loan Documents and any reference to “Holdings” in the Loan Documents shall refer to New Holdings.

 

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“ICAV” means PGIM Private Capital Fund (Ireland) ICAV.

 

“Improvements” means any walled and roofed building, any building in the course of construction that qualifies for insurance coverage, and any manufactured (mobile) homes.

 

“Incremental Amendment” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 2.19.

 

“Incremental Amount” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 2.19.

 

“Incremental Commitment” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 2.19.

 

“Incremental Delayed Draw Term Loan Commitment” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 2.19(a).

 

“Incremental Delayed Draw Term Loan” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 2.19(a).

 

“Incremental Equivalent Debt” means Indebtedness incurred by an Obligor (other than Holdings (other than as a guarantor)); provided that at the time of incurrence thereof:

 

(a)       the aggregate principal amount of all Incremental Equivalent Debt on any date such Indebtedness is incurred (or commitments with respect thereto are made) shall not, together with any Incremental Facilities then outstanding, exceed the Incremental Amount;

 

(b)       (i) the scheduled final maturity date of any Incremental Equivalent Debt (A) that is secured on a pari passu basis with the Obligations will be no earlier than the scheduled final maturity date for the Initial Term Loans, the Second Amendment Term Loans and the Third Amendment Term Loans and (B) that is unsecured, secured on a junior basis to the Initial Term Loans, the Second Amendment Term Loans and the Third Amendment Term Loans or secured by assets not constituting Collateral shall, in each case, not mature prior to the date that is ninety-one (91) days following the scheduled final maturity date for the Initial Term Loans, the Second Amendment Term Loans and the Third Amendment Term Loans, and (ii) the Weighted Average Life to Maturity of any Incremental Equivalent Debt will be no shorter than the remaining Weighted Average Life to Maturity of the Initial Term Loans, the Second Amendment Term Loans and the Third Amendment Term Loans;

 

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(c)       any Incremental Equivalent Debt may provide for participation (x) on a pro rata basis, greater than a pro rata basis, or less than pro rata basis in any voluntary prepayments with respect to its Class of Term Loans, or (y) on a pro rata basis (with respect to any Incremental Equivalent Debt secured by the Collateral on a pari passu basis with the Initial Term Loans, the Second Amendment Term Loans and the Third Amendment Term Loans) or less than pro rata basis in any mandatory prepayments with all Term Loans;

 

(d)       (i) to the extent guaranteed by Holdings or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries, any such Incremental Equivalent Debt shall not be guaranteed by any such Person that is not (or is not required to be) a Guarantor (except (x) any such Person guaranteeing such Incremental Equivalent Debt or Incremental Revolving Facilities, as applicable, that also guarantees the Initial Term Loans, the Second Amendment Term Loans, the Third Amendment Term Loans or Revolving Loans, as applicable and (y) unless such guaranty affirmatively is declined by the Administrative Agent as credit support for the Obligations, it being agreed, for the avoidance of doubt, that a Person qualifying as an Excluded Subsidiary shall not result in the Administrative Agent being deemed to have declined such guaranty); and (ii) to the extent secured by Collateral, shall be subject to an Intercreditor Agreement or other subordination arrangements reasonably satisfactory to the Administrative Agent;

 

(e)       except as otherwise specifically addressed herein, all terms of Incremental Equivalent Debt shall be determined by the Borrowers and shall either, at the option of the Borrowers, (i) reflect current market terms and conditions (taken as a whole) at the time of incurrence or issuance (as determined by the Borrowers), (ii) be consistent with the terms of the corresponding class under the Facilities unless, in the case of this clause (ii), (x) the Lenders under the corresponding class under the Facilities also receive the benefit of such more restrictive terms or (y) any such provisions apply only after the Latest Maturity Date of the Facilities, or (iii) not be materially more restrictive to the Borrowers, when taken as a whole, than the terms of the applicable class under the Facilities;

 

(f)       the interest rate, margin, original issue discount, up-front fees and other fees and rate floors for such Incremental Equivalent Debt in the form of term loans may be determined by the Borrowers and the Lenders providing such Incremental Equivalent Debt, as applicable, providing such Incremental Equivalent Debt; provided that, in the event that the All-in Yield for any such Incremental Equivalent Debt that ranks pari passu in right of payment and security with the existing Term Loans incurred (other than in reliance on clause (i) of the Incremental Amount) is greater than the All-in Yield for the existing Term Loans by more than 50 basis points, then the Applicable Margin for the existing Term Loans shall be increased to the extent necessary so that the All-in Yield for such Incremental Equivalent Debt is no more than 50 basis points higher than the All-in Yield for the existing Term Loans; provided that, in the event that the All-In Yield for such Incremental Equivalent Debt is higher than the All-In Yield for the existing Term Loans solely as a result of a higher rate floor for such Incremental Equivalent Debt, the adjustment to the All-In Yield of the existing Term Loans shall be effected solely by increasing the rate floor; and

 

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(g)       Incremental Equivalent Debt (i) may rank either pari passu or junior in right of payment with any Class of Term Loans (including the Initial Term Loans, the Second Amendment Term Loans and the Third Amendment Term Loans) and the initial Revolving Commitments and (ii) for the avoidance of doubt, may be secured on a pari passu basis with the Obligation, on a junior basis to the Obligations, be unsecured or be secured by assets not constituting Collateral.

 

“Incremental Facility Notice” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 2.19.

 

“Incremental Revolving Credit Commitment” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 2.19.

 

“Incremental Term Loan” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 2.19.

 

“Indebtedness” of any Person (the “Subject Person”) means, without duplication, (a) all indebtedness for borrowed money (including all indebtedness evidenced by bonds, debentures, notes or similar instruments, or upon which interest payments are customarily paid), (b) the deferred purchase price of assets or services which in accordance with GAAP would be shown to be a liability (on the liability side of a balance sheet), (c) the maximum stated amount of all letters of credit issued or acceptance facilities established for the account of such Subject Person and, without duplication, all drafts drawn thereunder, (d) all Capital Lease Obligations, (e) all Synthetic Lease Obligations, (f) any Disqualified Equity Interests of such Subject Person, valued, as of the date of determination, at the greater of (i) the maximum aggregate amount that would be payable upon maturity, redemption, repayment or repurchase thereof (or of Disqualified Equity Interests or Indebtedness into which such Disqualified Equity Interests are convertible or exchangeable) and (ii) the maximum liquidation preference of such Disqualified Equity Interests, (g) all obligations under any Hedging Agreement (measured at the Termination Value thereof), (h) all obligations under any Qualified Securitization Facility or any Receivables Facility, (i) all indebtedness referred to in clauses (a) through (g) of this definition of another Person secured by any Lien on any property of such Subject Person, whether or not such indebtedness has been assumed, in an amount equal to the lesser of the Fair Market Value of the property of such Subject Person securing such indebtedness and the principal amount of such indebtedness, and (k) all Guarantees by such Subject Person of indebtedness referred to in clauses (a) through (j) of this definition of others, but in each case specifically excluding accrued expenses and trade payables arising or incurred in the Ordinary Course of Business.

 

For all purposes hereof, the Indebtedness of any Person shall (A) include the Indebtedness of any partnership or joint venture (other than a joint venture that is itself a corporation or limited liability company) in which such Person is a general partner, except to the extent such Person’s liability for such Indebtedness is otherwise limited and (B) exclude (i) any earn-out obligation until such obligation is not paid for 5 Business Days after becoming due and payable but not paid, (ii) accruals for payroll and other liabilities accrued in the Ordinary Course of Business, (iii) purchase price holdbacks in respect of a portion of the purchase price of an asset to satisfy warranty or other similar unperformed obligations of the respective seller, (i) prepaid or deferred revenue arising in the Ordinary Course of Business, and (v) customary obligations under employment agreements and deferred compensation; provided, further that Indebtedness of any direct or indirect parent company appearing upon the balance sheet of the Borrowers solely by reason of push-down accounting under GAAP shall be excluded. The amount of any net obligation under any Swap Obligation on any date shall be deemed to be the termination thereof as of such date.

 

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“Indemnified Taxes” means (a) Taxes, other than Excluded Taxes, imposed on or with respect to any payment made by or on account of any obligation of any Obligor under any Loan Document and (b) to the extent not otherwise described in clause (a) of this definition, Other Taxes.

 

“Indemnitee” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 10.3(c).

 

“Initial Borrower” has the meaning set forth in the preamble to this Agreement.

 

“Initial Public Offering” means the issuance by any Borrower or any direct or indirect parent of any Borrower (whether through an initial primary public offering, a direct listing or a merger with and into a special purpose acquisition company or other person that has consummated (or will consummate) an initial primary public offering) of its common Equity Interests (a) pursuant to an effective registration statement filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission or (b) in an underwritten primary public offering (or series of relating offerings of securities to the public pursuant to a final prospectus in accordance with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in accordance with the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (whether alone or in connection with a secondary public offering)) (other than a public offering pursuant to a registration statement on Form S-8) pursuant to an effective registration statement filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in accordance with the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.

 

“Initial Term Loan” means a Loan made pursuant to Section 2.1(b).

 

“Initial Term Loan Commitment” means, with respect to each applicable Term Loan Lender, its obligation to make an Initial Term Loan to the Borrowers on the Effective Date in an aggregate principal amount up to, and not to exceed, the amount set forth on such Lender’s signature page hereto under the caption “Term Loan Commitment”. The aggregate amount of the Term Loan Lenders’ Term Loan Commitments is $120,000,000 as of the Effective Date.

 

“Intercreditor Agreements” means, collectively, (i) any Parity Intercreditor Agreement, (ii) any Junior Intercreditor Agreement and (iii) any other intercreditor agreement contemplated by this Agreement, in each case to the extent then in effect.

 

“Interest Election Request” means a request by the Borrower Representative to convert or continue a Borrowing in accordance with Section 2.7.

 

“Interest Expense” means, for any period for Holdings and its Restricted Subsidiaries, the total interest expense (including that attributable to Capital Lease Obligations), net of interest income, of Holdings and its Restricted Subsidiaries, determined on a consolidated basis in accordance with GAAP, with respect to all outstanding Indebtedness of Holdings and its Restricted Subsidiaries, including all commissions, discounts, and other fees and charges owed with respect to letters of credit and bankers’ acceptance financing and net costs under Hedging Agreements, and including any cash payments made during such period in respect of interest on Funded Debt that were amortized or accrued in a previous period (but excluding arrangement and upfront fees).

 

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“Interest Payment Date” means (a) with respect to any Base Rate Loan, the second Business Day following each Quarterly Date and the Maturity Date; and (b) with respect to any RFR Loan, each date that is on the numerically corresponding day in each calendar month that is one month after the Borrowing of such Loan (or, if there is no such numerically corresponding day in such month, then the last day of such month) and the Maturity Date, and (c) with respect to any Term Benchmark Loan, the last day of each Interest Period applicable to the Borrowing of which such Loan is a part (and, in the case of a Term Benchmark Borrowing with an Interest Period of more than three months’ duration, each day prior to the last day of such Interest Period that occurs at intervals of three months’ duration after the first day of such Interest Period) and the Maturity Date.

 

“Interest Period” means, with respect to any Term Benchmark Borrowing, the period commencing on the date of such Borrowing and ending on the numerically corresponding day in the calendar month that is one, three, six, or (if agreed to by the Lender) twelve months thereafter (in each case, subject to the availability for the Benchmark applicable to the relevant Loan or Commitment), as any Borrower may elect in accordance with Section 2.7; provided that (i) if any Interest Period would end on a day other than a Business Day, such Interest Period shall be extended to the next succeeding Business Day unless such next succeeding Business Day would fall in the next calendar month, in which case such Interest Period shall end on the next preceding Business Day, (ii) any Interest Period that commences on the last Business Day of a calendar month (or on a day for which there is no numerically corresponding day in the last calendar month of such Interest Period) shall end on the last Business Day of the last calendar month of such Interest Period and (iii) no tenor that has been removed from this definition pursuant to Section 2.13(e) shall be available for specification. For purposes hereof, the date of a Borrowing initially shall be the date on which such Borrowing is made and thereafter shall be the effective date of the most recent conversion or continuation of such Borrowing.

 

“Internally Generated Cash” means, with respect to any Person, funds of such Person not constituting of (x) proceeds of the issuance of (or contributions in respect of) Equity Interests (other than Disqualified Equity Interests) of such Person or (y) proceeds of the incurrence of long term Indebtedness by such Person or any of its Subsidiaries (other than under any revolving indebtedness or intercompany indebtedness) of such Person.

 

“Inventory” means, with respect to any Person, all of the “inventory” (as such term is defined in the UCC) of such Person.

 

“Investment” means, for any Person: (a) the acquisition (whether for cash, property, services, or securities or otherwise) of bonds, notes, debentures, or Equity Interests or other securities or substantially all the assets of, or any line of business or division of, any other Person, or the acquisition of assets of another Person that constitute a business unit (including any “short sale” or any sale of any securities at a time when such securities are not owned by the Person entering into such sale), whether direct or indirect or in one transaction or series of transactions; (b) the making of any advance, loan or other extension of credit or capital contribution to, any other Person; (c) the entering into of any Guarantee or assumption of debt of, or other contingent obligation with respect to, Indebtedness or other liability of any other Person and (without duplication) any amount committed to be advanced, lent or extended to such Person; and (d) the entering into of any Hedging Agreement. For purposes of covenant compliance, the amount of any Investment shall be the amount actually invested (which, in the case of any Investment constituting the contribution of an asset or property, shall be based on the Fair Market Value of such asset or property at the original time such Investment is made) plus the cost of all additions thereto, without adjustment for subsequent increases or decreases in the value of such Investment (other than adjustments for the repayment of, or the refund of capital with respect to, or the payment of interest or dividends on, the original principal amount of any such Investment), minus Returns (except with respect to any Returns increasing the Available Amount) in respect of such Investment.

 

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“Investors” means the Sponsor and other investors directly or indirectly holding Equity Interests of Holdings as of the Effective Date (together with investors identified in writing by the Sponsor to the Administrative Agent prior to the Effective Date which investors may acquire Equity Interests in Holdings promptly after the Effective Date and, for purposes of this definition, in amounts not to exceed what was disclosed in writing by the Sponsor to the Administrative Agent prior to the Effective Date).

 

“IPO Reorganization” means transactions taken in connection with and reasonably related to consummating an Initial Public Offering, so long as, after giving effect thereto, neither the value of the Collateral Agent’s and Lender’s security interest in the Collateral (including as to the perfection and priority thereof), nor the value of the Guaranty, taken as a whole, is materially impaired (as determined in good faith by the Borrowers).

 

“IRS” means the United States Internal Revenue Service.

 

“ISDA Definitions” means the 2006 ISDA Definitions published by the International Swaps and Derivatives Association, Inc. or any successor thereto, as amended or supplemented from time to time, or any successor definitional booklet for interest rate derivatives published from time to time by the International Swaps and Derivatives Association, Inc. or such successor thereto.

 

“ISP” means “International Standby Practices 1998” published by the Institute of International Banking Law & Practice, Inc. (or such later version thereof as may be in effect at the time of issuance).

 

“Issuing Lender” means, individually and collectively as the context may require, (a) JPMorgan, in its capacity as an issuer of Letters of Credit hereunder, and its successors in such capacity as provided in Section 2.5(k), and (b) any Lender selected by the Borrowers that agrees to issue a Letter of Credit hereunder in lieu of JPMorgan.

 

“Joint Venture” means (a) any Person which would constitute an “equity method investee” of the Borrowers or any of their Subsidiaries and (b) any Person in whom the Borrowers or any of their Subsidiaries beneficially owns any Equity Interest that is not a Subsidiary.

 

“Junior Debt” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 6.15.

 

“Junior Intercreditor Agreement” means an intercreditor agreement substantially in the form of Exhibit E (with such changes to such form as may be reasonably acceptable to the Administrative Agent and the Borrowers) among the Borrower Representative, the Administrative Agent, the Collateral Agent and the representatives for purposes thereof for holders of one or more classes of Indebtedness secured on a junior basis with the Obligations (other than the Obligations).

 

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“LC Disbursement” means a payment made by Issuing Lender pursuant to a Letter of Credit.

 

“LC Exposure” means, at any time, the sum of (a) the aggregate undrawn amount of all outstanding Letters of Credit at such time plus (b) the aggregate amount of all LC Disbursements that have not been reimbursed by or on behalf of the Borrowers at such time. The LC Exposure of any Revolving Credit Lender at any time shall be its Pro Rata Share of the total LC Exposure at such time. For all purposes of this Agreement, if on any date of determination a Letter of Credit has expired by its terms but any amount may still be drawn thereunder by reason of the operation of Rule 3.14 of the International Standby Practices, International Chamber of Commerce No. 590, such Letter of Credit shall be deemed to be “outstanding” in the amount so remaining available to be drawn.

 

“LCT Election” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 1.7(b).

 

“LCT Test Date” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 1.7(b).

 

“Lead Arranger” means JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A.

 

“Lenders” means the Persons party hereto as a “Lender” (including, for the avoidance of doubt, the Second Amendment Term Loan Lenders and, the Third Amendment Term Loan Lenders and the Fourth Amendment Delayed Draw Term Loan Lenders) and any other Person that shall have become a party hereto pursuant to an Assignment and Assumption and any Additional Lender in connection with an Incremental Commitment, Extension Commitment, or Refinancing Commitment other than any such Person that ceases to be a party hereto pursuant to an Assignment and Assumption. Unless the context otherwise requires, the term “Lenders” includes Swingline Lender.

 

“Letter of Credit” means any standby or (to the extent permitted by the applicable Issuing Lender) commercial letter of credit issued pursuant to this Agreement; provided, however, no such letter of credit issued by an Issuing Lender (other than a Person that is also Administrative Agent or one of its Affiliates) shall be deemed a “Letter of Credit” for purposes of this Agreement unless Administrative Agent shall have received written notice thereof from such Issuing Lender as required pursuant to Section 2.5(p).

 

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

 

“Liabilities” means any losses, claims (including intraparty claims), demands, damages or liabilities of any kind.

 

“Lien” means, with respect to any asset, (a) any mortgage, deed of trust, lien, pledge, option, levy, execution, attachment, garnishment, hypothecation, assignment for security, deposit arrangement, encumbrance, charge, security interest or other preferential arrangement in the nature of a security interest of any kind or nature whatsoever, on or of such asset, or the creation of a statutory trust (or similar arrangement) under any Food and Agricultural Laws and (b) the interest of a vendor or a lessor under any conditional sale agreement, capital lease or title retention agreement (or any financing lease having substantially the same economic effect as any of the foregoing) relating to such asset.

 

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“Limited Condition Transaction” means (i) any Permitted Acquisition or permitted Investment by the Borrowers or their Restricted Subsidiaries of any assets, business or Person permitted by this Agreement whose consummation is not conditioned on the availability of, or on obtaining, third party acquisition financing or (ii) any redemption, repurchase, defeasance, satisfaction and discharge or repayment of Junior Debt not prohibited by this Agreement requiring irrevocable notice in advance of such redemption, repurchase, defeasance, satisfaction and discharge or repayment,, and, in each case, which is designated as a Limited Condition Transaction by the Borrower Representative in writing to the Administrative Agent and Lenders.

 

“Limited Condition Transaction Agreement” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 1.7(a).

 

“Loan Documents” means, collectively, this Agreement, the First Amendment, the Second Amendment, the Third Amendment, the Fourth Amendment, the Letter of Credit Documents, the Guaranty Agreements, the Security Documents, the Fee Letter, the Second Amendment Fee Letter, the Second Amendment PGIM Fee Letter, the Third Amendment Fee Letter, the Third Amendment PGIM Fee Letter, the Fourth Amendment Fee Letter, the Fourth Amendment PGIM Fee Letter, all Borrowing Requests, all Interest Election Requests, all Incremental Facility Notices, all requests for the issuance of Letters of Credit, and all other documents, instruments, certificates, and agreements executed, delivered, or acknowledged by an Obligor in connection with or contemplated by this Agreement and designated as a “Loan Document.” For the avoidance of doubt, Hedging Agreements and agreements for the provision of Cash Management Services shall not constitute “Loan Documents.”

 

“Loans” mean the loans made by the Lenders to the Borrowers pursuant to this Agreement in the form of a Term Loan, Revolving Credit Loan, Swingline Loan, Incremental Loan, Extended Loan, Replacement Term Loan or Refinancing Loan.

 

“Management Agreement” means the Management Services Agreement between Paine Schwartz Partners Fund V Management, LLC, Suja Life, LLC and any Sponsor Affiliate (including, for the avoidance of doubt, any person that otherwise solely qualifies under clause (b) of such definition) party thereto from time to time, dated as of the Effective Date.

 

“Management Equityholders” means any of (i) any current, former or future director, officer, employee or member of management of Holdings or any of its Subsidiaries or any direct or indirect parent company thereof owning Equity Interests in Holdings or any direct or indirect parent thereof, (ii) any trust, partnership, limited liability company, corporate body or other entity established by any such director, officer, employee or member of management of Holdings or any of its Subsidiaries or any direct or indirect parent thereof or any Person described in the succeeding clause (iii), as applicable, to hold an investment in Holdings or any direct or indirect parent thereof in connection with such Person’s estate or tax planning and (iii) any Person who acquires an investment in Holdings or any direct or indirect parent thereof by will or by the laws of intestate succession as a result of the death of any such director, officer, employee or member of management of Holdings or any of its Subsidiaries or any direct or indirect parent thereof.

 

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

 

“Material Adverse Effect” means a material adverse change in, or a material adverse effect upon (a) the business, results of operations, assets or financial condition of the Borrowers and their Restricted Subsidiaries taken as a whole, (b) the ability of the Borrowers and the Guarantors taken as a whole to perform any of their material payment obligations under this Agreement, the Guaranty Agreements, or any of the Loan Documents or (c) the material rights and remedies of or benefits available to the Administrative Agent or the Lenders under the Loan Documents.

 

“Material Disposition” means any Disposition of property or series of related Dispositions of property (other than Dispositions in the Ordinary Course of Business) that yields gross proceeds to any Company in excess of $4,000,000.

 

“Material Indebtedness” means Indebtedness (other than the Loans and Letters of Credit) of any Company in an aggregate principal amount (including undrawn committed or available amounts and including amounts owing to all creditors under any combined or syndicated credit arrangement) exceeding the greater of (a) $7,500,000 and (b) 25% of Consolidated EBITDA. For purposes of determining Material Indebtedness, the principal amount of the obligations of any Person in respect of any Hedging Agreement at any time shall be the Termination Value thereof.

 

“Material Intellectual Property” means all intellectual property that is: (i) necessary for or material to the business of the Borrowers and their Restricted Subsidiaries (taken as a whole) and (ii) owned or exclusively licensed by any Borrower or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries.

 

“Material Non-Public Information” means, with respect to any Person, information that is (a) of a type that would not be publicly available (and could not be derived from publicly available information) if such Person and its Subsidiaries were public reporting companies and (b) material with respect to such Person, its Subsidiaries or the respective securities of such Person and its Subsidiaries for purposes of United States Federal and state securities laws, in each case, assuming such laws were applicable to such Person and its Subsidiaries.

 

“Material Subsidiary” means, at any date of determination, the Borrower and each of the Borrower’s other Domestic Subsidiaries that are Restricted Subsidiaries (a) whose total assets at the last day of the most recent Reference Period were equal to or greater than 5.0% of consolidated total assets at such date or (b) whose Consolidated EBITDA for such Reference Period were equal to or greater than 5.0% of the Consolidated EBITDA of the Borrowers and the Restricted Subsidiaries for such period, in each case determined in accordance with GAAP; provided that if, at any time and from time to time after the Effective Date, Domestic Subsidiaries that are Restricted Subsidiaries that are not Guarantors solely because they do not meet the thresholds set forth in clauses (a) or (b) comprise in the aggregate more than 10.0% of consolidated total assets as of the end of the most recently ended Reference Period or more than 10.0% of the Consolidated EBITDA of the Borrower and the Restricted Subsidiaries for such Reference Period, then the Borrower shall, not later than 60 days after the date by which financial statements for such quarter are required to be delivered pursuant to this Agreement (or such longer period as the Administrative Agent may agree in its reasonable discretion), (i) designate in writing to the Administrative Agent one or more of such Domestic Subsidiaries as “Restricted Subsidiaries” to the extent required such that the foregoing condition ceases to be true and (ii) comply with the provisions of Section 5.8 applicable to such Subsidiary.

 

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“Maximum Rate” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 10.12.

 

“Merger” means the consummation of the Surf Merger Agreement on the Effective Date.

 

“Minimum Collateral Amount” means, at any time, (a) with respect to Cash Collateral consisting of cash or Deposit Account balances, an amount equal to 103% of the Fronting Exposure of Issuing Lender with respect to Letters of Credit issued and outstanding at such time and (b) otherwise, an amount determined by Administrative Agent and Issuing Lender in their reasonable discretion.

 

“Mortgaged Property” means, initially, each parcel of owned real property and the improvements thereto identified to be mortgaged on Schedule 4.1(e) and includes each other parcel of owned real property and improvements thereto with respect to which a Mortgage is granted (or is required to be granted) pursuant to Section 5.9.

 

“Mortgages” means each mortgage, deed to secure debt, deed of trust, and similar agreement executed by any Obligor for the benefit of Administrative Agent and the Secured Parties, and covering the Mortgaged Property in each case in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to the Administrative Agent and the Borrowers, as amended, restated, modified and supplemented from time to time.

 

“Multiemployer Plan” means a multiemployer plan as defined in Section 4001(a)(3) of ERISA in respect of which a Borrower or any ERISA Affiliate has any current obligation to contribute.

 

“Net Cash Proceeds” means, (a) in connection with any Disposition or any Event of Loss, the proceeds thereof in the form of cash and Cash Equivalents (including any such proceeds received by way of deferred payment of principal pursuant to a note or installment receivable or purchase price adjustment receivable or return of funds held in escrow or otherwise, but only as and when received) of such Disposition or Event of Loss, net of (i) reasonable and customary attorneys’ fees, accountants’ fees, sales commissions, investment banking fees, (ii) amounts required to be applied to the repayment of Indebtedness secured by a Lien permitted hereunder on any asset which is the subject of such Disposition or Event of Loss (other than any Lien pursuant to a Security Document), (iii) any funded escrow established pursuant to the documents evidencing any such sale or disposition to secure any indemnification obligations or adjustments to the purchase price associated with any such sale or disposition (provided that to the extent that any amounts are released from such escrow to a Borrower or a Restricted Subsidiary, such amounts net of any related expenses shall constitute Net Cash Proceeds), (iv) the amount of any reasonable reserve established in accordance with GAAP against any adjustment to the sale price or any liabilities until such time as such reserve is no longer required, (v) other reasonable and customary fees and expenses actually incurred in connection therewith and the amount of cash reserves established to fund contingent liabilities reasonably estimated to be payable and attributable to such disposition or event and net of any Taxes and any Permitted Tax Distributions paid or reasonably estimated to be payable as a result thereof (after taking into account any available tax credits or deductions and any Tax sharing arrangements) and (vi) in the case of any non-Wholly Owned Subsidiary, the pro rata amounts attributable to minority interests and not available for distribution to or for the account of the Borrower or a Wholly-Owned Restricted Subsidiary, or (b) in connection with any incurrence of Indebtedness, the cash proceeds received from such incurrence, net of reasonable and customary attorneys’ fees, investment banking fees, accountants’ fees, underwriting discounts and commissions, upfront fees, placement fees and other customary fees and expenses actually incurred in connection therewith.

 

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“Non-Consenting Lender” means any Lender that does not approve any consent, waiver or amendment that (a) requires the approval of all Lenders (or all affected Lenders) in accordance with the terms of Section 10.2 and (b) has been approved by Administrative Agent and the Required Lenders or Required Facility Lenders, as applicable.

 

“Non-Debt Fund Affiliate” means any Affiliate of Holdings, including Holdings or any of its Subsidiaries, but excluding (a) any Debt Fund Affiliate and (b) any natural person.

 

“Non-Defaulting Lender” means, at any time, each Lender that is not a Defaulting Lender at such time.

 

“Non-Expiring Credit Commitment” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 2.4(e).

 

“Notice of Incremental Delayed Draw Term Loan Commitment” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 2.19.

 

“Notice of Incremental Revolving Credit Commitment” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 2.19.

 

“Notice of Incremental Term Loan Borrowing” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 2.19.

 

“NPL” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 3.16(c).

 

“NYFRB” means the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.

 

“NYFRB Rate” means, for any day, the greater of (a) the Federal Funds Effective Rate in effect on such day and (b) the Overnight Bank Funding Rate in effect on such day (or for any day that is not a Business Day, for the immediately preceding Business Day); provided that if none of such rates are published for any day that is a Business Day, the term “NYFRB Rate” means the rate for a federal funds transaction quoted at 11:00 a.m. on such day received by the Administrative Agent from a federal funds broker of recognized standing selected by it; provided, further, that if any of the aforesaid rates as so determined would be less than 0.00%, such rate shall be deemed to be 0.00% for purposes of this Agreement.

 

“NYFRB’s Website” means the website of the NYFRB at http://www.newyorkfed.org, or any successor source.

 

“Obligations” means (a) all of the obligations, indebtedness and liabilities of the Obligors to the Lenders, Swingline Lender, Issuing Lender and the Administrative Agent under this Agreement or any of the other Loan Documents, including principal, interest, fees, prepayment premiums (if any), expenses, reimbursements and indemnification obligations and other amounts, and (b) all of the Bank Product Obligations, in each case whether direct or indirect (including those acquired by assumption), absolute or contingent, due or to become due, now existing or hereafter arising and including interest and fees that accrue after the commencement by or against a Borrower or any Restricted Subsidiary thereof of any proceeding under any Debtor Relief Laws or other similar laws naming such Person as the debtor in such proceeding, regardless of whether such interest and fees are allowed claims in such proceeding; provided that the “Obligations” of an Obligor shall exclude any Excluded Swap Obligations with respect to such Obligor.

 

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“Obligor” means each Borrower and each Guarantor.

 

“Obligor Accounts” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 9.12.

 

“Ordinary Course Disposition” means (i) any Disposition among the Obligors and their Restricted Subsidiaries permitted hereunder and (ii) any Disposition permitted under Section 6.4 other than pursuant to clauses (j), (m), (q) and (u).

 

“Ordinary Course of Business” means (i) in the ordinary course of business of, or in furtherance of an objective that is in the ordinary course of business of a Borrower or such Subsidiary, as applicable, (ii) customary and usual in the industry or industries of a Borrower and its Subsidiaries in the United States or any other jurisdiction in which a Borrower or any Subsidiary does business, as applicable or (iii) generally consistent with the past practice of a Borrower or such Subsidiary, as applicable.

 

“Organizational Documents” means, with respect to any Person (a) in the case of any corporation, the certificate of incorporation and by-laws (or similar documents) of such Person, (b) in the case of any limited liability company, the certificate or articles of formation and operating agreement (or similar documents) of such Person, (c) in the case of any limited partnership, the certificate of formation and limited partnership agreement (or similar documents) of such Person, (d) in the case of any general partnership, the partnership agreement (or similar document) of such Person, (e) in any other case, the functional equivalent of the foregoing.

 

“Other Connection Taxes” means, with respect to any Recipient, Taxes imposed as a result of a present or former connection between such Recipient and the jurisdiction imposing such Tax (other than connections arising from such Recipient having executed, delivered, become a party to, performed its obligations under, received payments under, received or perfected a security interest under, engaged in any other transaction pursuant to or enforced any Loan Document, or sold or assigned an interest in any Loan, Loan Document or Letter of Credit).

 

“Other Taxes” means all present or future stamp, court or documentary, intangible, recording, filing, or similar Taxes that arise from any payment made under, from the execution, delivery, performance, enforcement or registration of, from the receipt or perfection of a security interest under, or otherwise with respect to, any Loan Document, except any such Taxes that are Other Connection Taxes imposed with respect to an assignment (other than an assignment made pursuant to Section 2.18).

 

“Overnight Bank Funding Rate” means, for any day, the rate comprised of both overnight federal funds and overnight eurodollar transactions denominated in Dollars by U.S.-managed banking offices of depository institutions (as such composite rate shall be determined by the NYFRB as set forth on the NYFRB’s Website from time to time) and published on the next succeeding Business Day by the NYFRB as an overnight bank funding rate. 

 

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“Parity Intercreditor Agreement” means an intercreditor agreement substantially in the form of Exhibit D (with such changes to such form as may be reasonably acceptable to the Administrative Agent and the Borrowers) among the Borrower Representative, the Administrative Agent, the Collateral Agent and the representatives for purposes thereof for holders of one or more classes of Indebtedness secured on a pari passu basis with the Obligations (other than the Obligations).

 

“Participant” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 10.4.

 

“Participant Register” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 10.4.

 

“Payment” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 9.14.

 

“Payment Notice” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 9.14.

 

“PBGC” means the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation referred to and defined in ERISA.

 

“Permitted Acquisition” means an acquisition after the Effective Date by any Borrower or any Restricted Subsidiary of all or substantially all the assets of, or any line of business or division or business unit or line of products of, any other Person, or all or a majority of the Equity Interests of any Person (including with respect to an Investment in a Restricted Subsidiary that serves to increase any Borrower’s or such Restricted Subsidiaries’ respective ownership of Equity Interests therein); provided, (a) such acquisition shall be permitted under Section 5.13, (b) Administrative Agent shall have received, to the extent required and in accordance with the requirements of Sections 5.8 and 5.9, all documents reasonably required by Administrative Agent to have a first priority perfected security interest (subject to Permitted Encumbrances) in the Acquired Entity or Business acquired or created in such acquisition, together with all opinions of counsel, certificates, resolutions and other documents (to the extent required by Sections 5.8 and 5.9), (c) any Person acquired will be a Restricted Subsidiary of Holdings immediately after such acquisition if required by the terms of this Agreement, (d) such acquisition shall not be hostile and shall have been approved by the board of directors (or similar governing body) and shareholders of the Acquired Entity or Business, (e) with respect to any such acquisitions with an aggregate purchase price exceeding the greater of (x) $7,500,000 and (y) 25% of Consolidated EBITDA (determined at the time of any such acquisition (calculated on a pro forma basis) as of the last day of the most recently ended four Fiscal Quarter period for which financial statements have been delivered pursuant to Section 5.1(a) or (b)), the Borrowers shall provide to the Administrative Agent (for distribution to the Lenders) a quality of earnings report from a nationally or regionally recognized accounting firm and a customary due diligence package of readily available items that are reasonably requested by the Administrative Agent; provided, that in any event the Borrower Representative shall provide to the Administrative Agent any quality of earnings that is otherwise available in connection with any such Permitted Acquisition and (f) no Event of Default pursuant to Section 8.1(a), (b), (h) or (i) then exists or would be caused by such acquisition.

 

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“Permitted Encumbrances” means: (a) Liens for taxes or governmental charges or levies not required to be paid pursuant to Section 5.4; (b) Liens in respect of property imposed by law arising in the Ordinary Course of Business such as materialmen’s, carrier’s, mechanics’, landlord’s, warehousemen’s, grower’s and other like Liens provided that such Liens secure only amounts not more than 90 days past due or are being contested in good faith by appropriate proceedings for which adequate reserves determined in accordance with GAAP have been established (and as to which the property subject to such Lien is not yet subject to foreclosure, sale or loss on account thereof); (c) Liens granted in the Ordinary Course of Business to secure payment of worker’s compensation insurance, unemployment insurance, pensions or social security, property, casualty, or liability insurance, or other insurance programs; (d) Liens in connection with or to secure performance of utilities, tenders, statutory obligations, surety and appeal bonds, bids, leases, government contracts, trade contracts, performance and return-of-money bonds and other similar obligations incurred in the Ordinary Course of Business (other than obligations in respect of the payment of borrowed money); (e) easements, rights-of-way, servitudes, restrictions (including zoning restrictions), defects or irregularities in title and other similar charges or encumbrances not, in any material respect, impairing the use of such property for its intended purposes or interfering with the ordinary conduct of business of any Obligor; (f) Liens securing Capital Lease Obligations or purchase money Indebtedness (which shall include Indebtedness incurred within 270 days of the acquisition, improvement or completion of construction of an asset to finance (or refinance in accordance with Section 6.1(d)) all or a portion of the purchase price or cost of improvement or construction of such asset) to the extent the Capital Lease Obligations or Indebtedness secured by such Lien is permitted by Section 6.1(d) and provided (x) such Lien attaches only to the asset so purchased, constructed or leased and the proceeds and products thereof and customary security deposits and (y) that individual financings of equipment provided by one lender may be cross collateralized to other financings of equipment provided by such lender, in each case, as permitted by Section 6.1(d); (g) licenses or sublicenses (including with respect to patents, trademarks, copyrights, and other intellectual property rights) and leases or subleases granted to others in the Ordinary Course of Business and which could not reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect and any precautionary UCC financing statements filed in connection with such operating lease; (h) 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; (i) liens arising out of judgment or awards in respect of judgments that do not constitute an Event of Default under clause (j) of Section 8.1; (j) Liens in favor of Administrative Agent or for the benefit of the Secured Parties granted pursuant to Loan Documents; (k) customary Liens (including the right of set-off) in favor of banking institutions encumbering deposits held by such banking institutions or in favor of collecting banks incurred in the Ordinary Course of Business; (l) Liens on securities that are the subject of repurchase agreements permitted by the definition of Cash Equivalents; (m) Liens solely on any cash earnest money deposits made in connection with any letter of intent or purchase agreement related to a Capital Expenditure permitted hereunder or a Permitted Acquisition or another Investment permitted hereunder; (n) Liens created under any agreement relating to the sale, lease, transfer or other Disposition of assets permitted hereunder; provided that such Liens relate solely to the assets to be sold, leased, transferred or otherwise disposed of and the proceeds or products thereof and customary security deposits; (o) Liens that are replacements of Permitted Encumbrances to the extent that the original Indebtedness is the subject of permitted Refinancing Indebtedness and so long as the replacement Liens only encumber those assets that secured the original Indebtedness; (p) 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 clause (l) of Section 6.1; (q) Liens on assets that secure Acquired Indebtedness permitted under clause (r) of Section 6.1; provided that such Lien shall not apply to any other assets of Holdings or any Restricted Subsidiary (other than products, proceeds, replacements and accessions thereof pursuant to the terms existing at the time of such acquisition); (r) to the extent constituting Liens, options, put and call arrangements, rights of first refusal and similar rights relating to Equity Interests in Joint Ventures or other Investments in each case permitted pursuant to Section 6.5; (s) Liens set forth on Schedule 6.2; provided that (x) to qualify as a Permitted Encumbrance, any such Lien shall only secure the Indebtedness that is secured on the Effective Date and any Refinancing Indebtedness in respect thereof and shall encumber only such assets and the proceeds and products thereof and customary security deposits as are encumbered by such Liens as of the Effective Date and (y) individual financings provided by one lender with respect to the Indebtedness constituting Capital Lease Obligations or purchase money Indebtedness may be cross collateralized to other financings of provided by such lender; (t) other Liens which may be secured on a pari passu basis with the Obligations (subject to an Intercreditor Agreement or other subordination arrangements reasonably satisfactory to the Administrative Agent) as to which the aggregate amount of the obligations secured thereby does not exceed the greater of (x) $10,000,000 and (y) 35% of Consolidated EBITDA (as of the last day of the most recently ended four Fiscal Quarter period for which financial statements have been delivered pursuant to Section 5.1(a) or (b)) at any time; (u) Liens on Equity Interests of Joint Ventures securing a Guarantee (whether recourse or non-recourse) of obligations of such Joint Venture to the extent such Investment is permitted by Section 6.5; (v) all matters shown on the mortgagee policies of title insurance accepted by Administrative Agent with respect to Mortgaged Properties and any minor survey exceptions and minor defects and irregularities in title and similar encumbrances; (w) Liens securing obligations permitted in respect of any Mortgaged Property by the terms of the applicable Mortgage; (x) Liens on cash or Cash Equivalents securing obligations under Hedging Agreements permitted under this Agreement; (y) Liens arising out of conditional sale, title retention, consignment or similar arrangements with vendors for the sale or purchase of goods entered into by any Borrower or any Restricted Subsidiary in the Ordinary Course of Business; (z) Liens from UCC financing statement filings regarding consignments entered into by any Borrower or any Restricted Subsidiary in the Ordinary Course of Business; (aa) Liens in favor of any Obligor; (bb) Liens securing Indebtedness of Foreign Subsidiaries in an aggregate amount not to exceed the greater of (x) $4,500,000 and (y) 15% of Consolidated EBITDA (as of the last day of the most recently ended four Fiscal Quarter period for which financial statements have been delivered pursuant to Section 5.1(a) or (b))) at any time; (cc) Liens for property taxes on property of a Borrower or any Restricted Subsidiary thereof has determined to abandon if the sole recourse for such tax, assessment, charge, levy, or claim is to such property; (dd) survey exceptions to a title policy with respect to surveys, minor encumbrances, ground leases, easements, or reservations of, rights of others for, licenses, rights-of-way, servitudes, sewers, electric lines, drains, telegraph and telephone and cable television lines, gas and oil pipelines, and other similar purposes, or zoning, building codes, or other restrictions (including, minor defects or irregularities in title and similar encumbrances) as to the use of Real Property or Liens incidental to the conduct of the business of such Person or to the ownership of its properties which were not incurred in connection with Indebtedness for borrowed money and which do not individually or in the aggregate materially adversely affect the value of said properties or materially impair their use in the operation of the business, as currently conducted or as contemplated to be conducted; (ee) customary notices of lis pendens and associated rights related to litigation being contested in good faith by appropriate proceedings for which adequate reserves have been made in accordance with GAAP; (ff) Liens on specific items of inventory or other goods and proceeds of any Person securing such Person’s obligations in respect of bankers’ acceptances or letters of credit issued or created for the account of such person to facilitate the purchase, shipment or storage of such inventory or other goods in the Ordinary Course of Business; (gg) Liens (i) in favor of a Borrower or any Guarantor and (ii) in favor of a Restricted Subsidiary that is not an Obligor on assets of a Restricted Subsidiary that is not an Obligor securing Indebtedness permitted under Section 6.1 and that is not recourse to any Obligor except as otherwise permitted under another clause of this definition of “Permitted Encumbrances” (which, for the avoidance of doubt, shall constitute an incurrence thereunder); (hh) Liens encumbering reasonable customary initial deposits and margin deposits and similar Liens attaching to commodity trading accounts or other brokerage accounts incurred in the Ordinary Course of Business and not for speculative purposes; (ii) Liens that are contractual rights of set-off or rights of pledge (i) relating to the establishment of depository relations with banks or other deposit-taking financial institutions and not given in connection with the issuance of Indebtedness, (ii) relating to pooled deposit or sweep accounts of a Borrower or any Restricted Subsidiary to permit satisfaction of overdraft or similar obligations incurred, in each case, in the Ordinary Course of Business of a Borrower or any Restricted Subsidiary, or (iii) relating to purchase orders and other agreements entered into with customers of a Borrower or any Restricted Subsidiary in the Ordinary Course of Business; (jj) Liens on property subject to any sale-leaseback transaction permitted under Section 6.4(u); (kk) Liens on cash and Cash Equivalents that are earmarked to be used to satisfy or discharge Indebtedness permitted hereunder; provided (i) such cash and/or Cash Equivalents are deposited into an account from which payment is to be made, directly or indirectly, to the Person or Persons holding the Indebtedness that is to be satisfied or discharged, (ii) such Liens extend solely to the account in which such cash and/or Cash Equivalents are deposited and are solely in favor of the Person or Persons holding the Indebtedness (or any agent or trustee for such Person or Persons) that is to be satisfied or discharged, and (iii) the satisfaction or discharge of such Indebtedness is expressly permitted hereunder; (ll) with respect to any Foreign Subsidiary, other Liens and privileges arising mandatorily by any applicable law that are not reasonably expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect; (mm) Liens on Equity Interests and indebtedness of an Unrestricted Subsidiary that secure Indebtedness or other obligations of such Unrestricted Subsidiary; (nn) Liens or rights of set-off against credit balances of a Borrower or any Restricted Subsidiary with credit card issuers or credit card processors or amounts owing by such credit card issuers or credit card processors to a Borrower or any Restricted Subsidiary in the Ordinary Course of Business to secure the obligations of any Subsidiary to the credit card issuers or credit card processors as a result of fees and charges; (oo) customary Liens on Receivables Assets incurred in connection with a Receivables Facility and customary Liens on Receivables Assets arising in connection with a Qualified Securitization Financing; (pp) Liens securing Ratio Debt and Incremental Equivalent Debt; (qq) [reserved]; and (rr) other obligations secured by any asset of a Borrower or any Obligor (other than assets or property required to constitute Collateral) so long as the Secured Obligations are equally and ratably secured thereby.

 

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“Permitted Equity Issuance” means cash capital contributions to Holdings (other than with respect to Disqualified Equity Interests or a Specified Equity Contribution) or the sale or issuance of any Equity Interests (other than Disqualified Equity Interests) of Holdings, the proceeds of which are contributed to the common equity of any Borrower or any Restricted Subsidiary. 

 

“Permitted Holders” means (a)(i) the Sponsor, (ii) the other Investors, (iii) management on the Effective Date and (iv) Permitted Transferees of the foregoing, (b) any person or entity with which the Sponsor and the foregoing Investors form a “group” (within the meaning of the federal securities laws) so long as, in the case of this clause (b), such Investors beneficially own more than 50% of the relevant voting stock beneficially owned by such group, and (c) any person acting in the capacity of an underwriter (solely to the extent that and for so long as such person is acting in such capacity) in connection with a public or private offering of capital stock of any parent entity of the Borrowers.

 

“Permitted Reorganizations” means (i) reorganizations and other activities related to tax planning and other reorganizations and (ii) transactions taken in connection with and reasonably related to consummating an Initial Public Offering, in each case, whether or not consummated, in each case, to the extent the Administrative Agent’s security interests in the Collateral are not materially impaired (as reasonably determined in good faith by the Borrowers).

 

“Permitted Tax Distributions” means, if (1) any of the Borrowers or any of their Subsidiaries file a consolidated, combined, affiliated, aggregated, unitary or similar type of income Tax return with Holdings or any direct or indirect owner thereof (including if the Borrowers or any of their Subsidiaries is treated as a disregarded entity for U.S. federal income Tax purposes of a member of any group that files any such Tax return) or (2) any Borrower is treated as a partnership or a disregarded entity (other than a disregarded entity described in clause (1)) for U.S. federal income Tax purposes, then each such Borrower may make payments to Holdings (or another direct or indirect owner thereof) to permit Holdings (or such owner) to pay income or similar Taxes (including to permit Holdings (or such direct or indirect owner) to make distributions to allow its owners (indirect or direct) to pay income or similar Taxes); provided, that (A) for each year that clause (1) is applicable, the aggregate amount of such distributions shall not be greater than the amount of such Taxes that would have been due and payable by such Borrowers and/or those Subsidiaries of such Borrowers that are members, or disregarded entities of members, of the applicable Tax group with Holdings (or another direct or indirect owner) (as determined by the Borrowers in their good faith discretion), had such Borrowers and/or such Subsidiaries filed a consolidated, combined, affiliated, aggregated, unitary or similar type return for such year with the the applicable Borrower(s) as the parent corporation and (B) for each year (or portion thereof) that clause (2) is applicable, the aggregate amount of such distributions shall not be greater than (I) the aggregate amount of positive taxable income of such Borrowers and their Subsidiaries (reduced by any net taxable losses of such Borrowers and their Subsidiaries for prior taxable years, to the extent not previously taken into account as a reduction to income in determining Permitted Tax Distributions) that would be allocated among its actual or hypothetical members (including as a guaranteed payments for the use of capital) for such year if the applicable Borrower(s) was classified as a partnership for U.S. federal income Tax purposes (and each of the Subsidiaries had its actual classification for U.S. federal income Tax purposes), determined without regard to any deduction relating to qualified business income under Section 199A of the Code (or any similar provision of state or local law), multiplied by (II) the maximum combined marginal U.S. federal, state, and local income Tax rate applicable to any owner of Holdings (or any other direct or indirect owner treated as a partnership) for such year (including any Taxes imposed on net investment income and any self-employment Taxes), taking into account the character of the relevant income or gain and the deductibility of state and local Taxes for U.S. federal income Tax purposes (and any limitations thereon); provided that to the extent that the aggregate amount of such distributions made for any such taxable period exceeds the amount of Permitted Tax Distributions that would have been permitted for such taxable period based on Borrowers’ and their Subsidiaries’ actual taxable income, as finally determined at the close of such taxable period, then the amount of such excess shall be credited against the Permitted Tax Distributions permitted to be made with respect to the immediately subsequent taxable period.

 

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“Permitted Transferee” means (a) in the case of the Sponsor or any Sponsor Associate, (i) the Sponsor, (ii) the heirs, executors, administrators, testamentary trustees, legatees or beneficiaries of the Sponsor or any Sponsor Associate and (iii) any trust, the beneficiaries of which, or a corporation or partnership, the stockholders or partners of which, include only a Sponsor Associate, his or her spouse, parents, siblings, members of his or her immediate family (including adopted children and step children) and/or direct lineal descendants; and (b) in the case of any Management Equityholder, (i) his or her executor, administrator, testamentary trustee, legatee or beneficiaries, (ii) his or her spouse, parents, siblings, members of his or her immediate family (including adopted children and step children) and/or direct lineal descendants or (iii) a trust, the beneficiaries of which, or a corporation or partnership, the stockholders or partners of which, include only a Management Equityholder and his or her spouse, parents, siblings, members of his or her immediate family (including adopted children) and/or direct lineal descendants.

 

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

 

“PGIM Fund” means any subfund of the ICAV, including PGIM US Investors/Non-US Senior Debt Levered I Fund.

 

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

 

“Platform” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 10.1(d).

 

“Prepayment Premium” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 2.10(d)(vi).

 

“Prime Rate” means the rate of interest published in the Wall Street Journal as the “prime rate” for Dollars on such day; provided that in no event shall the Prime Rate be less than zero. The Prime Rate is not necessarily the lowest rate that JPMorgan is charging any corporate customer.

 

“Principal Payment Dates” means (i) with respect to the Initial Term Loans, the end of each Fiscal Quarter of each year, commencing with March 31, 2022, and through and including the Term Loan Maturity Date, (ii) with respect to the Second Amendment Term Loans, the end of each Fiscal Quarter of each year, commencing with March 27, 2023, and through and including the Term Loan Maturity Date, (iii) with respect to the Third Amendment Term Loans, the end of each Fiscal Quarter of each year, commencing with March 31, 2025, and through and including the Term Loan Maturity Date and, (iv) with respect to the Fourth Amendment Delayed Draw Term Loans, the end of each Fiscal Quarter of each year ending after the funding of such Fourth Amendment Delayed Draw Term Loans through and including the Term Loan Maturity Date and (v) with respect to any Tranche of Incremental Term Loans, such dates (if any) as may be set forth in the Incremental Amendment applicable to such Tranche of Incremental Term Loans.

 

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“Proceeding” means any claim, litigation, investigation, action, suit, arbitration or administrative, judicial or regulatory action or proceeding in any jurisdiction.

 

“Pro Rata Share” means, (a) with respect to any Revolving Credit Lender, for purposes of any rights or obligations hereunder affecting or involving Revolving Credit Lenders and not Term Loan Lenders (including any reimbursement obligations in respect of any indemnity claim arising out of an action or omission of Swingline Lender or Issuing Lender under this Agreement), the percentage (carried out to the ninth decimal place) of the total Revolving Credit Commitments represented by such Revolving Credit Lender’s Revolving Credit Commitment, and (b) with respect to any Lender in respect of any rights or obligations affecting or involving all Lenders (including any reimbursement obligations in respect of any indemnity claim arising out of an action or omission of Administrative Agent, Swingline Lender or Issuing Lender under this Agreement), the percentage (carried out to the ninth decimal place) of the total Commitments or Loans, of all Classes hereunder represented by the aggregate amount of such Lender’s Commitments or Loans, as the case may be, of all Classes hereunder. If the Commitments of any Class have terminated or expired, the Pro Rata Share with respect to such Class shall be determined based upon (i) in the case of the Term Loan Lenders of any Class, the outstanding principal amount of the Term Loans of such Class at such time, and (ii) in the case of the Revolving Credit Lenders, Revolving Credit Exposure of all such Revolving Credit Lenders at such time.

 

“Protected Vendor” means any Person that is afforded the benefit of any Lien or trust upon agricultural or animal products sold to the Borrowers and/or their Subsidiaries and/or any proceeds of such agricultural or animal products under any Growers’ Lien Law.

 

“PTE” means a prohibited transaction class exemption issued by the U.S. Department of Labor, as any such exemption may be amended from time to time.

 

“Qualified ECP Guarantor” means, in respect of any Swap Obligation, each Obligor that has total assets exceeding $10,000,000 at the time the relevant Guarantee or grant of the relevant security interests becomes effective with respect to such Swap Obligation or such other person as constitutes an “eligible contract participant” under the Commodity Exchange Act or any regulations promulgated thereunder and can cause another person to qualify as an “eligible contract participant” at such time by entering into a keepwell under Section 1a(18)(A)(v)(II) of the Commodity Exchange Act.

 

“Qualified Equity Interest” means and refers to any Equity Interests that is not a Disqualified Equity Interest.

 

“Qualified Jurisdiction” means the United States, Canada, the Cayman Islands, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Switzerland and Australia.

 

“Qualified Proceeds” means assets that are used or useful in, or Equity Interests of any Person engaged in, any business conducted or proposed to be conducted by the Borrowers and the Restricted Subsidiaries, taken as a whole, on the Effective Date or any other business activities which are reasonable extensions thereof or otherwise similar, incidental, corollary, complementary, synergistic, reasonably related, or ancillary to any of the foregoing or to facilitate any of the foregoing (including non-core incidental businesses acquired in connection with any Permitted Acquisition or permitted Investment), in each case as determined by the Borrowers in good faith.

 

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“Qualified Securitization Financing” means any Securitization Facility (and any guarantee of such Securitization Facility), that meets the following conditions: (a) the Borrowers shall have determined in good faith that such Securitization Facility (including financing terms, covenants, termination events and other provisions) is in the aggregate economically fair and reasonable to the Borrowers and the Restricted Subsidiaries; (b) all transfers of Receivables Assets and related assets by any Borrower or any Restricted Subsidiary to the Securitization Subsidiary or any other Person are made at Fair Market Value, a portion of which may be paid in the form of an increase in the Seller’s Retained Interest; (c) the financing terms, covenants, termination events and other provisions thereof shall be on then current market terms (as reasonably determined in good faith by the Borrowers) and may include Standard Securitization Undertakings; and (d) the obligations under such Securitization Facility are non-recourse (except for customary representations, warranties, covenants, performance guarantees and indemnities made in connection with such facilities) to any Borrower or any Restricted Subsidiary (other than a Securitization Subsidiary).

 

“Quarterly Dates” means the last day of March, June, September, and December of each year through the later of the Revolving Credit Maturity Date and the Term Loan Maturity Date.

 

“Quarterly Percentage Amount” means (a) with respect to the Initial Term Loan for each Principal Payment Date, the amount equal to 0.25% of the aggregate principal amount of the Initial Term Loan Commitments on the Effective Date, (b) with respect to the Second Amendment Term Loan for each Principal Payment Date, the amount equal to 0.25% of the aggregate principal amount of the Second Amendment Term Loan Commitments on the Second Amendment Effective Date and, (c) with respect to the Third Amendment Term Loan for each Principal Payment Date, the amount equal to 0.25% of the aggregate principal amount of the Third Amendment Term Loan Commitments on the Third Amendment Effective Date and (d) with respect to any Fourth Amendment Delayed Draw Term Loans for each Principal Payment Date, the amount equal to 0.25% of the initial principal amount of such Fourth Amendment Delayed Draw Term Loans.

 

“Ratio Debt” means Indebtedness of an Obligor (other than Holdings (other than as a guarantor)); provided that at the time of incurrence thereof:

 

(a)       (i) the scheduled final maturity date of any Ratio Debt (A) that is secured on a pari passu basis with the Obligations will be no earlier than the scheduled final maturity date for the Initial Term Loans, the Second Amendment Term Loans and the Third Amendment Term Loans and (B) that is unsecured, secured on a junior basis to the Initial Term Loans, the Second Amendment Term Loans and the Third Amendment Term Loans or secured by assets not constituting Collateral shall not mature prior to the date that is ninety-one (91) days following the scheduled final maturity date for the Initial Term Loans, the Second Amendment Term Loans and the Third Amendment Term Loans, and (ii) except in the case of a customary bridge facility that is subject to automatic conversion within one (1) year of issuance of such bridge facility on terms that would otherwise satisfy this clause (a), the Weighted Average Life to Maturity of any Ratio Debt will be no shorter than the remaining Weighted Average Life to Maturity of the Initial Term Loans, the Second Amendment Term Loans and the Third Amendment Term Loans;

 

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(b)       any Ratio Debt may provide for participation (x) on a pro rata basis, greater than a pro rata basis, or less than pro rata basis in any voluntary prepayments with respect to its Class of Term Loans, or (y) on a pro rata basis (with respect to any Ratio Debt secured by the Collateral on a pari passu basis with the Initial Term Loans, the Second Amendment Term Loans and the Third Amendment Term Loans) or less than pro rata basis in any mandatory prepayments with all Term Loans;

 

(c)       (i) to the extent guaranteed by Holdings or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries, any such Ratio Debt shall not be guaranteed by any such Person that is not (or is not required to be) a Guarantor (except (x) any such Person guaranteeing such Ratio Debt that also guarantees the Initial Term Loans, the Second Amendment Term Loans, the Third Amendment Term Loans or Revolving Loans, as applicable and (y) unless such guaranty affirmatively is declined by the Administrative Agent as credit support for the Obligations, it being agreed, for the avoidance of doubt, that a Person qualifying as an Excluded Subsidiary shall not result in the Administrative Agent being deemed to have declined such guaranty); and (ii) to the extent secured by Collateral, shall be subject to an Intercreditor Agreement or other subordination arrangements reasonably satisfactory to the Administrative Agent and shall not be secured by any assets other than Collateral;

 

(d)       except as otherwise specifically addressed herein, all terms of Ratio Debt shall be determined by the Borrowers and shall either, at the option of the Borrowers, (i) reflect current market terms and conditions (taken as a whole) at the time of incurrence or issuance (as determined by the Borrowers), (ii) be consistent with the terms of the corresponding class under the Facilities unless, in the case of this clause (ii), (x) the Lenders under the corresponding class under the Facilities also receive the benefit of such more restrictive terms or (y) any such provisions apply only after the Latest Maturity Date of the Facilities, or (iii) not be materially more restrictive to the Borrowers, when taken as a whole, than the terms of the applicable class under the Facilities;

 

(e)       the interest rate, margin, original issue discount, up-front fees and other fees and rate floors for such Ratio Debt in the form of term loans may be determined by the Borrowers and the Lenders providing such Ratio Debt, as applicable, providing such Ratio Debt; provided that, in the event that the All-in Yield for any such Ratio Debt that is in the form of term loans that ranks pari passu in right of payment and security with the existing Term Loans incurred (other than in reliance on clause (i) of the Incremental Amount at the time of initial incurrence) is greater than the All-in Yield for the existing Term Loans by more than 50 basis points, then the Applicable Margin for the existing Term Loans shall be increased to the extent necessary so that the All-in Yield for such Ratio Debt is no more than 50 basis points higher than the All-in Yield for the existing Term Loans; provided that, in the event that the All-In Yield for such Ratio Debt is higher than the All-In Yield for the existing Term Loans solely as a result of a higher rate floor for such Ratio Debt, the adjustment to the All-In Yield of the existing Term Loans shall be effected solely by increasing the rate floor; and

 

(f)       Ratio Debt (i) may rank either pari passu or junior in right of payment with any Class of Term Loans (including the Initial Term Loans, the Second Amendment Term Loans and the Third Amendment Term Loans) and the initial Revolving Commitments and (ii) for the avoidance of doubt, may be secured on a pari passu basis with the Obligations, on a junior basis to the Obligations, be unsecured or be secured by assets not constituting Collateral.

 

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“Real Property Requirement” means the requirement that the real property owned by any Obligor and located in the United States shall be a Mortgaged Property as shall be necessary in order that any real property owned on or acquired after the Effective Date by an Obligor located in the United States and with a Fair Market Value measured at the time of acquisition in excess of (a) the greater of (i) $2,000,000 and (ii) 6.5% of Consolidated EBITDA (as of the last day of the most recently ended four Fiscal Quarter period for which financial statements have been delivered pursuant to Section 5.1(a) or (b) individually or (b) the greater of (i) $6,000,000 and (ii) 20% of Consolidated EBITDA (as of the last day of the most recently ended four Fiscal Quarter period for which financial statements have been delivered pursuant to Section 5.1(a) or (b) in the aggregate for all such real property be subject to a Mortgage.

 

“Receivables Assets” means (a) any accounts receivable, including proceeds thereof, owed to a Borrower or a Restricted Subsidiary and arising in the ordinary course of business from the sale of goods and services, and (b) all collateral securing such accounts receivable, all contracts and contract rights, guarantees or other obligations in respect of such accounts receivable, all records with respect to such accounts receivable and any other related assets customarily transferred together with accounts receivable in connection with a non-recourse accounts receivable securitization or factoring arrangement and which are sold, conveyed, assigned or otherwise transferred or pledged in connection with a Receivables Facility.

 

“Receivables Facility” means any of one or more receivables financing facilities (and any guarantee of such financing facility) that meets the following conditions: (i) the obligations under such facility are non-recourse (except for customary representations, warranties, covenants and indemnities made in connection with such facilities) to the Borrowers and the Restricted Subsidiaries, (ii) pursuant to such facility any Borrower or any Restricted Subsidiary sells, directly or indirectly, grants a security interest in or otherwise transfers its Receivables Assets to either (a) a Person that is not a Borrower or a Restricted Subsidiary or (b) a Receivables Subsidiary that in turn funds such purchase by (1) transferring its accounts receivable to a Person that is not a Borrower or a Restricted Subsidiary or by borrowing from such Person or from another Receivables Subsidiary that in turn funds itself by borrowing from such Person or (2) the issuance to such Borrower or such Restricted Subsidiary of Seller's Retained Interests or an increase in such Seller's Retained Interests and (iii) the financing terms, covenants, termination events and other provisions thereof shall be on market terms (as determined in good faith by the Borrowers) and may include Standard Securitization Undertakings and shall include any guaranty in respect of such financing facility.

 

“Receivables Subsidiary” means any Subsidiary of any Borrower formed for the purpose of, and that solely engages in, facilitating or entering into one or more Receivables Facilities and any other activities reasonably related or incidental thereto or another Person formed for the purposes of engaging in a Receivables Facility in which any Borrower or any Restricted Subsidiary makes an Investment and to which such Borrower or such Restricted Subsidiary transfers accounts receivables and related assets or grants a security interest in Receivables Assets.

 

“Recipient” means (a) Administrative Agent, (b) any Lender or Swingline Lender, and (c) any Issuing Lender, as applicable.

 

“Reference Time” with respect to any setting of the then-current Benchmark means (1) if such Benchmark is the Term SOFR Rate, 6:00 a.m. (New York City time) on the day that is two (2) Business Days preceding the date of such setting, (2) if the RFR for such Benchmark is Daily Simple SOFR, then four (4) Business Days prior to such setting or (3) if such Benchmark is not the Term SOFR Rate or Daily Simple SOFR, the time determined by the Administrative Agent in its reasonable discretion.

 

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“Refinanced Term Loans” has the meaning set forth in Section 10.02(b).

 

“Refinancing Amendment” means an amendment to this Agreement executed by (a) the Borrower Representative, (b) the Administrative Agent, (c) each Additional Refinancing Lenders and (d) each Lender that agrees to provide any portion of Refinancing Term Loans, Refinancing Delayed Draw Term Loans, Refinancing Revolving Credit Commitments or Refinancing Revolving Credit Loans incurred pursuant thereto, in accordance with Section 2.22.

 

“Refinancing Delayed Draw Term Loan Commitments” means one or more delayed draw term loan commitments hereunder that fund Refinancing Delayed Draw Term Loans of the applicable Refinancing Series hereunder pursuant to a Refinancing Amendment.

 

“Refinancing Delayed Draw Term Loans” means one or more Classes of Delayed Draw Term Loans that result from a Refinancing Amendment.

 

“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, plus the amount of any premiums, make-whole amounts or penalties and accrued and unpaid interest paid thereon, the fees and expenses incurred in connection therewith (including any closing fees and original issue discount) and by the amount of the unfunded commitments with respect thereto unless otherwise permitted under a separate clause of Section 6.1, (b) other than Capital Leases and revolving Indebtedness, such refinancings, renewals, or extensions do not result in a shortening of the scheduled maturity date or the Weighted Average Life to Maturity (measured as of the refinancing, renewal, or extension) of the Indebtedness so refinanced, renewed, or extended, (c) if the Indebtedness that is refinanced, renewed, or extended was unsecured or subordinated in right of payment to the Obligations, then (x) in the case of unsecured Indebtedness, such Refinancing Indebtedness must be unsecured unless otherwise permitted under a separate clause of Section 6.1 and (y) in the case of subordinated Indebtedness, the terms and conditions of the refinancing, renewal, or extension must include subordination terms and conditions (taken as a whole) that are at least as favorable in all material respects to the Secured Parties as those that were applicable to the refinanced, renewed, or extended Indebtedness, and (d) except as otherwise permitted, the Indebtedness that is refinanced, renewed, or extended is not recourse to any Obligor other than those Persons which were obligated with respect to the Indebtedness that was refinanced, renewed, or extended or secured by any property other than property that secured the Indebtedness that was refinanced, renewed or extended.

 

“Refinancing Revolving Credit Commitments” means one or more Classes of Revolving Credit Commitments hereunder that result from a Refinancing Amendment.

 

“Refinancing Revolving Credit Loans” means one or more Classes of Revolving Credit Loans that result from a Refinancing Amendment.

 

“Refinancing Series” means all Refinancing Term Loans, Refinancing Delayed Draw Term Loans or Refinancing Term Commitments that are established pursuant to the same Refinancing Amendment (or any subsequent Refinancing Amendment to the extent such Refinancing Amendment expressly provides that the Refinancing Term Loans or Refinancing Term Commitments, Refinancing Delayed Draw Term Loans or Refinancing Delayed Draw Term Loan Commitments, Refinancing Revolving Credit Loans or Refinancing Revolving Credit Commitments provided for therein are intended to be a part of any previously established Refinancing Series) and that provide for the same All-In Yield (other than, for this purpose, any original issue discount or upfront fees), if applicable and amortization schedule.

 

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“Refinancing Term Commitments” means one or more term loan commitments hereunder that fund Refinancing Term Loans of the applicable Refinancing Series hereunder pursuant to a Refinancing Amendment.

 

“Refinancing Term Loans” means one or more Classes of Term Loans that result from a Refinancing Amendment.

 

“Register” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 10.4.

 

“Registered Loan” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 10.4.

 

“Reinvestment Assets” means assets used or useful in a Borrower’s or a Restricted Subsidiary’s business, Capital Expenditures, Permitted Acquisitions and other permitted Investments (other than cash and Cash Equivalents).

 

“Reinvestment Deferred Amount” means, with respect to any Reinvestment Event, the aggregate Net Cash Proceeds received by any Borrower and its Restricted Subsidiaries in connection therewith that are not applied to prepay the Loans.

 

“Reinvestment Event” means the receipt of any Net Cash Proceeds from any Disposition or Event of Loss in respect of which the Borrowers have elected to reinvest the Net Cash Proceeds in Reinvestment Assets.

 

“Reinvestment Prepayment Amount” means, with respect to any Reinvestment Event, the Reinvestment Deferred Amount relating thereto less any amount expended prior to the relevant Reinvestment Prepayment Date to invest in Reinvestment Assets.

 

“Reinvestment Prepayment Date” means, with respect to any Reinvestment Event, the earlier of (a) the date occurring 365 days after (or 30 days prior to such date, to the extent the applicable Borrower or Restricted Subsidiary has committed to reinvest such proceeds) such Reinvestment Event (or if a Borrower or a Restricted Subsidiary has committed to reinvest such proceeds within such 365 days, within 180 days following such 365 days) and (b) the date on which the Borrowers shall have determined not to invest in Reinvestment Assets.

 

“Rejection Notice” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 2.10(d)(iii).

 

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

 

“Relevant Governmental Body” means the Federal Reserve Board, the NYFRB, and/or the CME Term SOFR Administrator, as applicable, or a committee officially endorsed or convened by the Federal Reserve Board and/or the NYFRB, or, in each case, any successor thereto.

 

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“Relevant Rate” means (i) with respect to any Term Benchmark Borrowing, the Adjusted Term SOFR Rate or (ii) with respect to any RFR Borrowing, Adjusted Daily Simple SOFR, as applicable.

 

“Replacement Term Loans” has the meaning set forth in Section 10.02(b).

 

“Required DDTL Lenders” means, at any time with respect to any Class of Delayed Draw Term Loans, Lenders having unused DDTL Commitments of such Class representing more than 50% of the sum of the total unused DDTL Commitments of such Class at such time. The unused DDTL Commitments of any Defaulting Lender shall be disregarded in determining Required DDTL Lenders at any time.

 

“Required Facility Lenders” means, at any time, with respect to one or more Facilities, Lenders having Revolving Credit Exposures, outstanding Term Loans and/or unused Commitments representing more than 50% of the sum of Revolving Credit Exposures, outstanding Term Loans and/or unused Commitments under such Facility; provided the Commitments of, and the portion of the Revolving Credit Exposure and outstanding Incremental Term Loans held or deemed held by, any Defaulting Lender shall be excluded for purposes of making a determination of Required Facility Lenders.

 

“Required Lenders” means, at any time, Lenders having Revolving Credit Exposures, outstanding Term Loans, and unused Commitments (subject to Section 2.19(f)) representing more than 50% of the sum of the total Revolving Credit Exposures, total outstanding Term Loans and unused Commitments at such time; provided the Commitments of, and the portion of the Revolving Credit Exposure and outstanding Term Loans held or deemed held by, any Defaulting Lender shall be excluded for purposes of making a determination of Required Lenders; provided, further, that for so long as there are two or more Lenders each holding more than ten percent (10%) of the sum of the total Revolving Credit Exposures, total outstanding Term Loans and unused Commitments at such time, the term “Required Lenders” must include at least two unaffiliated Lenders, each holding no less than five percent (5%) of such total Revolving Credit Exposures, total outstanding Term Loans and unused Commitments.

 

“Required Revolving Lenders” means, at any time, Revolving Credit Lenders having Revolving Credit Exposures and unused Revolving Credit Commitments representing more than 50% of the sum of the total Revolving Credit Exposures and unused Revolving Credit Commitments at such time. The Revolving Credit Exposures and unused Revolving Credit Commitments of any Defaulting Lender shall be disregarded in determining Required Revolving Lenders at any time.

 

“Resolution Authority” means an EEA Resolution Authority or, with respect to any UK Financial Institution, a UK Resolution Authority.

 

“Responsible Officer” means the chief executive officer, president, chief financial officer, chief administrative officer, principal accounting officer, treasurer, assistant treasurer, vice president of finance, secretary, assistant secretary or controller of any Person. Any document delivered hereunder that is signed by a Responsible Officer of any Person shall be conclusively presumed to have been authorized by all necessary corporate, partnership and/or other action on the part of such Person.

 

“Restricted Payment” means, with respect to any Person, any dividend or other distribution (whether in cash, securities or other property) with respect to any Equity Interest of or issued by such Person, or any payment (whether in cash, securities or other property), including any sinking fund or similar deposit, on account of the purchase, redemption, retirement, acquisition, cancellation or termination of any Equity Interest or Equity Right of or issued by such Person or any payment of management fees or consulting fees to any holder of Equity Interests of such Person.

 

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“Restricted Subsidiary” means any Subsidiary of a Borrower other than an Unrestricted Subsidiary.

 

“Restrictive Agreement” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 6.8.

 

“Retained ECF Amount” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 2.10(b)(ii).

 

“Returns” means, with respect to any Investment, any dividends, distributions, interest, fees, premium, return of capital, repayment of principal, income, profits (from a Disposition or otherwise) and other amounts received or realized in respect of such Investment.

 

“Revolving Credit Availability Period” means the period from and including the Effective Date and ending on the earlier of the Business Day immediately preceding the Revolving Credit Maturity Date and the date of termination of the Revolving Credit Commitments pursuant to the terms hereof.

 

“Revolving Credit Commitment” means at any time, with respect to each Lender, the commitment, if any, of such Lender to make Revolving Credit Loans (including any Incremental Revolving Credit Commitment) and to acquire participations in Letters of Credit and Swingline Loans hereunder, expressed as an amount representing the maximum aggregate amount of such Lender’s Revolving Credit Exposure at such time hereunder, as such commitment may be (a) reduced from time to time pursuant to Section 2.8 or 2.18(b), (b) reduced or increased from time to time pursuant to assignments by or to such Lender pursuant to Section 10.4, or (c) increased pursuant to Section 2.19. The amount of each Lender’s Revolving Credit Commitment as of the Effective Date is set forth below its name or its signature page to this Agreement, or thereafter, in the Assignment and Assumption pursuant to which such Lender becomes a party hereto, as applicable. As of the Third Amendment Effective Date, the aggregate amount of the Lenders’ Revolving Credit Commitments is $40,000,000.

 

“Revolving Credit Exposure” means, with respect to any Revolving Credit Lender at any time, the sum, without duplication, of the outstanding principal amount of such Lender’s Revolving Credit Loans, LC Exposure and Swingline Exposure at such time.

 

“Revolving Credit Lender” means a Lender with a Revolving Credit Commitment or, if the Revolving Credit Commitments have terminated or expired, a Lender with Revolving Credit Exposure.

 

“Revolving Credit Loan” means a Loan made pursuant to Section 2.1 (including loans made pursuant to an Incremental Revolving Credit Commitment).

 

“Revolving Credit Loan Extension Request” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 2.23.

 

“Revolving Credit Maturity Date” means (i) with respect to the Revolving Credit Commitment on the Effective Date, August 23, 2028, (ii) with respect to any tranche of Extended Revolving Credit Commitments, the final maturity date as specified in the applicable Extension Amendment and (iii) with respect to any Refinancing Revolving Credit Commitments, the final maturity date as specified in the applicable Refinancing Amendment.

 

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“RFR Borrowing” means, as to any Borrowing, the RFR Loans comprising such Borrowing.

 

“RFR Loan” means a Loan that bears interest at a rate based on the Adjusted Daily Simple SOFR.

 

“Sanctioned Person” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 3.17.

 

“Sanctions” means any sanctions administered, imposed or enforced by the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control, the U.S. Department of State, the United Nations Security Council or other relevant sanctions authority.

 

“SEC” means the Securities and Exchange Commission.

 

“Second Amendment” means that certain Second Amendment to Credit Agreement, dated as of October 11, 2022 by and among the Borrower Representative, Holdings, the Guarantors party thereto, the Lenders party thereto and the Administrative Agent.

 

“Second Amendment Acquisition” means the acquisition contemplated by the Second Amendment Acquisition Agreement.

 

“Second Amendment Acquisition Agreement” means that certain Agreement and Plan of Merger, dated as of October 11, 2022, by and among Vive Buyer, Inc., a Delaware corporation, Vive Merger Sub I, Inc., a Delaware corporation and Vive Organic.

 

“Second Amendment Effective Date” means October 11, 2022.

 

“Second Amendment Fee Letter” means that certain Fee lLetter, dated as of October 11, 2022, executed by the Borrower Representative and the Administrative Agent setting forth certain of the applicable fees relating to the Second Amendment to be paid to the Administrative Agent, on its behalf and on behalf of certain of the Lenders.

 

“Second Amendment PGIM Fee Letter” means that certain OID and Fee lLetter, dated as of October 11, 2022, executed by the Borrower Representative and PGIM, Inc. setting forth certain of the applicable fees relating to the Second Amendment to be paid to PGIM, Inc., on its behalf and on behalf of certain of the Lenders.

 

“Second Amendment Transaction Costs” means the fees, costs, and expenses payable by the Obligors in connection with the consummation of the Second Amendment Transactions.

 

“Second Amendment Transactions” mean, collectively, (a) the consummation of the Second Amendment Acquisition, (b) the execution, delivery and performance by each Obligor of the Second Amendment and the other applicable Loan Documents on the Second Amendment Effective Date, (c) the initial borrowing of Second Amendment Term Loans, and (d) the payment of all fees and expenses to be paid on or prior to the Second Amendment Effective Date and owing in connection with the foregoing.

 

“Second Amendment Term Loan” means a Loan made pursuant to Section 2.1(c).

 

“Second Amendment Term Loan Lender” has the meaning assigned to such term in the Second Amendment.

 

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“Second Amendment Term Loan Commitment” means, with respect to each applicable Second Amendment Term Loan Lender, its obligation to make a Second Amendment Term Loan to the Borrowers on the Second Amendment Effective Date in an aggregate principal amount up to, and not to exceed, the amount set forth on Schedule I to the Second Amendment under the caption “Second Amendment Term Loan Commitment”. The aggregate amount of the Second Amendment Term Loan Lenders’ Term Loan Commitments is $42,000,000 as of the Second Amendment Effective Date.

 

“Secured Parties” means, collectively, Administrative Agent, the Lenders, Issuing Lender, Swingline Lender, and each Bank Product Provider.

 

“Securities Act” means the Securities Act of 1933, as amended from time to time.

 

“Securitization Asset” means (a) any accounts receivable or related assets and the proceeds thereof owed to a Borrower or any Restricted Subsidiary and arising in the ordinary course of business from the sale of goods or services and (b) all collateral securing such receivable or asset, all contracts and contract rights, guaranties or other obligations in respect of such receivable or asset, lockbox accounts and records with respect to such account or asset and any other related assets customarily transferred (or in respect of which security interests are customarily granted), together with accounts or assets in a securitization financing and which in the case of clause (a) and (b) above are sold, conveyed, assigned or otherwise transferred or pledged in connection with a Qualified Securitization Financing.

 

“Securitization Facility” means any transaction or series of securitization financings that may be entered into by any Borrower or any Restricted Subsidiary pursuant to which any Borrower or any such Restricted Subsidiary may sell, convey or otherwise transfer, or may grant a security interest in, Securitization Assets to either (a) a Person that is not a Borrower or a Restricted Subsidiary or (b) a Securitization Subsidiary that in turn sells such Securitization Assets to a Person that is not a Borrower or a Restricted Subsidiary, or may grant a security interest in, any Securitization Assets of a Borrower or any of its Subsidiaries.

 

“Securitization Subsidiary” means any Subsidiary of any Borrower in each case formed for the purpose of, and that solely engages in, one or more Qualified Securitization Financings and other activities reasonably related thereto or another Person formed for the purposes of engaging in a Qualified Securitization Financing in which any Borrower or any Restricted Subsidiary makes an Investment and to which any Borrower or such Restricted Subsidiary transfers Securitization Assets and related assets.

 

“Security Agreement” means the Pledge and Security Agreement, dated as of the Effective Date, among the Borrowers and the other Obligors (and any other Obligor that becomes a party thereto by joinder after the Effective Date), as “Grantors”, and the Administrative Agent.

 

“Security Documents” means, collectively, (a) the Security Agreement, each Mortgage, the Control Agreements, and each other agreement, instrument, or document that creates or purports to create a Lien securing the Obligations in favor of Administrative Agent pursuant to or in connection with this Agreement and all UCC financing statements and fixture filings required by the Security Agreement or any Mortgage, or such other agreement, instrument, or document to be filed with respect to the Liens created pursuant thereto and each other security agreement or other document executed and delivered after the Effective Date to secure any of the Obligations and (b) any amendments, supplements, modifications, renewals, restatements, replacements, consolidations, substitutions and extensions of any of the foregoing in accordance with their respective terms.

 

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“Seller’s Retained Interest” means the debt or equity interests held by any Borrower or any Restricted Subsidiary in (i) a Securitization Subsidiary to which Securitization Assets have been transferred, and/or (ii) a Receivables Subsidiary to which Receivables Assets have been transferred including, in each case, any such debt or equity received as consideration for or as a portion of the purchase price for the Securitization Assets and/or Receivables Assets transferred, or any other instrument through which any Borrower or any Restricted Subsidiary has rights to or receives distributions in respect of any deferred purchase price or other residual or excess interest in such Securitization Assets and/or Receivables Assets.

 

“SOFR” means a rate per annum equal to the secured overnight financing rate as administered by the SOFR Administrator.

 

“SOFR Administrator” means the NYFRB (or a successor administrator of the secured overnight financing rate).

 

“SOFR Administrator’s Website” means the NYFRB’s Website, currently at http://www.newyorkfed.org, or any successor source for the secured overnight financing rate identified as such by the SOFR Administrator from time to time.

 

“Solvent” and “Solvency” mean, with respect to any Person and its Restricted Subsidiaries on a consolidated basis on any date of determination, that on such date (a) the fair value of the assets (on a going concern basis) of such Person and its Restricted Subsidiaries, on a consolidated basis, is greater than the debt, including contingent liabilities, of such Person and its Restricted Subsidiaries, on a consolidated basis, (b) the present fair salable value of the assets of such Person and its Restricted Subsidiaries (on a going concern basis), on a consolidated basis, is not less than the amount that will be required to pay the probable liability, on a consolidated basis, of such Person and its Restricted Subsidiaries on their debts as they become absolute and matured in the ordinary course of business, (c) such Person and its Restricted Subsidiaries, on a consolidated basis, do not intend to, or believe that they will, incur debts (including current obligations and contingent liabilities) beyond such Person’s and its Restricted Subsidiaries’, on a consolidated basis, ability to pay such debts as they become due in the ordinary course of business, and (d) the capital of such Person and its Restricted Subsidiaries, on a consolidated basis, is not unreasonably small in relation to the business of such Person and its Restricted Subsidiaries, on a consolidated basis, contemplated on the date of determination. The amount of contingent liabilities at any time shall be computed as the amount that, in the light of all the facts and circumstances existing at such time, represents the amount that can reasonably be expected to become an actual or matured liability in the ordinary course of business.

 

“Specified Equity Contribution” means cash proceeds of a sale of, or contribution to, equity (which equity shall be Qualified Equity Interests) of Holdings, and contributed by Holdings to a Borrower and/or a Restricted Subsidiary of Holdings, designated by the Borrowers as a “Specified Equity Contribution” pursuant to Section 8.3, and made after the last day of the applicable Fiscal Quarter and on or prior to the day that is 15 Business Days after the day on which financial statements are required to be delivered for such Fiscal Quarter pursuant to Section 5.1(a) and (b).

 

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“Specified Existing Revolving Credit Commitment” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 2.23.

 

“Specified Purchase Agreement Representations” means each of the representations made by or on behalf of the Borrower, any Affiliate or Subsidiary thereof, or their respective businesses, as set forth in the Surf Merger Agreement, in each case, that are material to the interests of the Lenders, but only to the extent that Holdings, the Initial Borrower or their respective Affiliates have the right to terminate its respective obligations under the Surf Merger Agreement, or to decline to consummate the Acquisition as a result of a breach of such representations in the Surf Merger Agreement.

 

“Specified Representations” means the representations set forth in Sections 3.1(a) (with respect to the organizational existence of the Obligors (other than any Obligor that is not a Material Subsidiary) only), 3.1(c), 3.2, 3.3(b), 3.8, 3.12, 3.17, 3.20 and 3.22 of this Agreement.

 

“Specified Transaction” means any Permitted Acquisition, or any other Investment that results in a Person becoming a Restricted Subsidiary of Holdings, any Material Disposition that results in a Person ceasing to be a Restricted Subsidiary of Holdings, any Investment constituting an acquisition of assets constituting a business unit, line of business or division of another Person or any Material Disposition of a business unit, line of business or division of Holdings or a Restricted Subsidiary, in each case whether by merger, consolidation, amalgamation or otherwise, or any incurrence or repayment of Indebtedness (other than Indebtedness incurred or repaid under any revolving credit facility in the ordinary course of business for working capital purposes without any adjustment to the commitments thereunder), Restricted Payment or other event that by the terms of this Agreement requires a test to be calculated for “pro forma compliance” or on a “pro forma basis” or after giving “pro forma effect.”

 

“Sponsor” means Paine Schwartz Partners, LLC, together with its Sponsor Affiliates.

 

“Sponsor Affiliates” means with respect to the Sponsor, any Person (including, for the avoidance of doubt, any continuation fund or similar vehicle that otherwise qualifies under clause (a) or (b) of this definition) that (a) is organized by the Sponsor or an Affiliate of the Sponsor for the purpose of making and/or holding equity or debt investments in one or more companies, and (b), directly or indirectly, is managed, advised or controlled by the Sponsor, but excluding any operating portfolio companies of the foregoing.

 

“Sponsor Associate” means any managing director, director, officer, or employee of the Sponsor.

 

“Sponsor-Controlled Affiliated Lender” means, at any time, any Lender that is the Sponsor or a Non-Debt Fund Affiliate, in each case, other than Holdings, the Borrower or any of its Subsidiaries, any Debt Fund Affiliate or any natural person.

 

“Sponsor-Controlled Affiliated Lender Assignment and Assumption” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 10.4(g).

 

“Sponsor-Controlled Affiliated Lender Cap” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 10.4(g).

 

“Sponsor Equity Contribution” means a cash equity contribution in the form of a common equity investment, Qualified Equity Interests or otherwise on terms acceptable to the Lead Arranger (such approval not to be unreasonably withheld, delayed, conditioned or denied), in an amount not less than (when combined with any rollover or reinvested equity in the Company or a direct or indirect parent thereof received by management of the Company and by other existing direct or indirect equity holders of the Company in connection with the Merger) 50% of the sum of (a) the aggregate gross proceeds of the Loans to be borrowed under this Agreement on the Effective Date (excluding, the aggregate gross proceeds of any Revolving Credit Loans borrowed to fund original issue discount or upfront fees in the Fee Letter and Transaction Costs), plus (b) the amount of the Equity Contribution, contributed, directly or indirectly, by the Sponsor to the Initial Borrower on the Effective Date, as such amount may be modified in accordance with Section 4.1(n)).

 

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“Standard Securitization Undertakings” means representations, warranties, covenants, repurchase obligations and indemnities entered into by any Borrower or any Restricted Subsidiary which are customary for a seller or servicer of assets transferred in connection with a non-recourse, bankruptcy-remote financing of accounts receivable.

 

“Subordinated Indebtedness” means unsecured Indebtedness incurred pursuant to Section 6.1(p) and owing by an Obligor at any time, provided, that, (a) such Indebtedness does not require any scheduled payment of cash interest or principal (including pursuant to a sinking fund obligation) or mandatory redemption or redemption at the option of the holders thereof prior to the date that is 6 months after the Term Loan Maturity Date, (b) such Indebtedness is contractually subordinated in right of payment and action to the Obligations in a manner reasonably acceptable to the Administrative Agent, (c) such Indebtedness does not contain any financial performance covenants, is not cross defaulted to this Agreement and contains other terms that are reasonably acceptable to the Administrative Agent, provided that all covenants and events of default (including change of control provisions) are not more restrictive than the covenants and events of default contained in this Agreement, taken as a whole, (d) such Indebtedness provides for all interest to be paid in kind (and not in cash) during the term of this Agreement, and (e) both before and after giving effect to incurrence of such Indebtedness, the Borrowers would be in compliance with the Financial Covenant on a pro forma basis as of the end of the most recent Fiscal Quarter for which financial statements have been delivered to the Lenders (whether or not such Financial Covenant is required to be tested for such Fiscal Quarter end), and, no Default or Event of Default shall exist under this Agreement.

 

“Subsidiary” means, with respect to any Person (the “parent”) at any date, any other Person the accounts of which would be consolidated with those of the parent in the parent’s consolidated financial statements if such financial statements were prepared in accordance with GAAP as of such date, as well as any other Person (a) of which more than 50% of the Equity Interests or more than 50% of the ordinary voting power, are as of such date, owned, controlled or held by the parent (either directly or through one or more intermediaries or both) or (b) the management of which is, as of such date, otherwise controlled, by the parent (either directly or through one or more intermediaries or both). Unless otherwise specified, “Subsidiary” means a Subsidiary of Holdings.

 

“Subsidiary Guarantors” means each Restricted Subsidiary that has executed a Guaranty Agreement.

 

“Surf Merger Agreement” means that certain Agreement and Plan of Merger dated as of July 7, 2021, between Holdings, the Initial Borrower and the Borrower, together with all exhibits, schedules, annexes and disclosures relating thereto.

 

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“Swap Obligation” means, with respect to any Obligor, any obligation to pay or perform under any agreement, contract, or transaction that constitutes a “swap” within the meaning of Section 1a(47) of the Commodity Exchange Act.

 

“Swingline Exposure” means, at any time, the aggregate principal amount of all Swingline Loans outstanding at such time. The Swingline Exposure of any Revolving Credit Lender at any time shall be its Pro Rata Share of the total Swingline Exposure at such time.

 

“Swingline Lender” means JPMorgan, in its capacity as lender of Swingline Loans hereunder, or any other Lender selected by JPMorgan with the consent of the Borrowers that shall agree with Administrative Agent to act as Swingline Lender.

 

“Swingline Loan” means a Loan made pursuant to Section 2.4.

 

“Synthetic Lease Obligation” means the monetary obligation of a Person under (a) a so-called synthetic, off-balance sheet or tax retention lease, or (b) an agreement for the use or possession of property (including sale and leaseback transactions), in each case, creating obligations that do not appear on the balance sheet of such Person but which, upon the application of any Debtor Relief Laws to such Person, would be characterized as the indebtedness of such Person (without regard to accounting treatment).

 

“Tax Preferred Subsidiary” means a Foreign Holdco, a CFC, and any direct or indirect Subsidiary of either of the foregoing.

 

“Taxes” means all present or future taxes, levies, imposts, duties, deductions, withholdings (including backup withholding), assessments, fees or other similar charges imposed by any Governmental Authority, including any interest, additions to tax or penalties applicable thereto imposed by any Governmental Authority.

 

“Term Benchmark” when used in reference to any Loan or Borrowing, refers to whether such Loan, or the Loans comprising such Borrowing, are bearing interest at a rate determined by reference to the Adjusted Term SOFR Rate.

 

“Term Loan” means, collectively, the Initial Term Loans, Second Amendment Term Loans, the Third Amendment Term Loans and, Fourth Amendment Delayed Draw Term Loans, any Incremental Term Loans, Extended Term Loans, Incremental Delayed Draw Term Loans, Replacement Term Loans or, Refinancing Term Loans or Refinancing Delayed Draw Term Loans, in each case, to the extent outstanding or in existence.

 

“Term Loan Commitment” means, collectively, the Initial Term Loan Commitment, the Second Lien Term Loan Commitment and, the Third Amendment Term Loan Commitment and the Fourth Amendment Delayed Draw Term Loan Commitment.

 

“Term Loan Lender” means a Lender with a Term Loan Commitment or an outstanding Term Loan, DDTL Commitment, Extended Term Loan or Refinancing Term Loan.

 

“Term Loan Maturity Date” means (i) with respect to the Initial Term Loans, the Second Amendment Term Loans and, the Third Amendment Term Loans and the Fourth Amendment Delayed Draw Term Loans, August 23, 2029, (ii) with respect to any Tranche of Incremental Term Loans, the final maturity as specified in the applicable Incremental Amendment and in accordance with Section 2.19(a), (iii) with respect to any Refinancing Term Loan, Extended Term Loan or Replacement Term Loan, the final maturity date as specified in the applicable Refinancing Amendment and (iv) with respect to any tranche of Extended Term Loans, the final maturity date as specified in the applicable Extension Amendment.

 

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“Term SOFR Adjustment” means, for any calculation with respect to a Base Rate Loan or Term Benchmark Loan, a percentage per annum as set forth below for the applicable Type of such Loan and (if applicable) Interest Period therefor:

 

Interest Period Percentage
One Month 0.10%
Three Months 0.15%
Six Months 0.25%

 

“Term SOFR Rate” means, with respect to any Term Benchmark Loan and for any tenor comparable to the applicable Interest Period, the Term SOFR Reference Rate at approximately 6:00 a.m., New York City time, two (2) U.S. Government Securities Business Days prior to the commencement of such tenor comparable to the applicable Interest Period, as such rate is published by the CME Term SOFR Administrator; provided that if the Term SOFR Rate as so determined would be less than the Floor, such rate shall be deemed to be equal to the Floor for the purposes of this Agreement.

 

“Term SOFR Reference Rate” means, for any day and time (such day, the “Term SOFR Determination Day”), and for any tenor comparable to the applicable Interest Period, the rate per annum determined by the Administrative Agent as the forward-looking term rate based on SOFR. If by 5:00 pm (New York City time) on such Term SOFR Determination Day, the “Term SOFR Reference Rate” for the applicable tenor has not been published by the CME Term SOFR Administrator and a Benchmark Replacement Date with respect to the Term SOFR Rate has not occurred, then the Term SOFR Reference Rate for such Term SOFR Determination Day will be the Term SOFR Reference Rate as published in respect of the first preceding U.S. Government Securities Business Day for which such Term SOFR Reference Rate was published by the CME Term SOFR Administrator, so long as such first preceding Business Day is not more than five (5) Business Days prior to such Term SOFR Determination Day.

 

“Termination Value” means, in respect of any Hedging Agreement, after taking into account the effect of any legally enforceable netting agreement relating to such Hedging Agreement, (a) for any date on or after the date such Hedging Agreement has been closed out and termination value determined in accordance therewith, such termination value, and (b) for any date prior to the date referenced in clause (a) of this definition the amount determined as the mark-to-market value for such Hedging Agreement, as determined based upon one or more mid-market or other readily available quotations provided by any recognized dealer in such Hedging Agreement (which may include any Lender or any Affiliate of any Lender).

 

“Third Amendment” means that certain Third Amendment to Credit Agreement, dated as of October 31, 2024 by and among the Borrower Representative, Holdings, the Guarantors party thereto, the Lenders party thereto and the Administrative Agent.

 

“Third Amendment Dividend” means that certain one-time dividend or distribution in an aggregate amount not to exceed $135,000,000 to be made by the Borrowers and their Restricted Subsidiaries on or about the Third Amendment Effective Date to Holdings (or any direct or indirect parent thereof).

 

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“Third Amendment Effective Date” means October 31, 2024.

 

“Third Amendment Fee Letter” means that certain Fee lLetter, dated as of October 31, 2024, executed by the Borrower Representative and the Administrative Agent setting forth certain of the applicable fees relating to the Third Amendment to be paid to the Administrative Agent, on its behalf and on behalf of certain of the Lenders.

 

“Third Amendment PGIM Fee Letter” means that certain OID and Fee lLetter, dated as of October 31, 2024, executed by the Borrower Representative and PGIM, Inc. setting forth certain of the applicable fees relating to the Third Amendment to be paid to PGIM, Inc., on its behalf and on behalf of certain of the Lenders.

 

“Third Amendment Transaction Costs” means the fees, costs, and expenses payable by the Obligors in connection with the consummation of the Third Amendment Transactions.

 

“Third Amendment Transactions” mean, collectively, (a) the execution, delivery and performance by each Obligor of the Third Amendment and the other applicable Loan Documents on the Third Amendment Effective Date, (b) the initial borrowing of Third Amendment Term Loans, (c) the making of the Third Amendment Dividend, and (d) the payment of all fees and expenses to be paid on or prior to the Third Amendment Effective Date and owing in connection with the foregoing.

 

“Third Amendment Term Loan” means a Loan made pursuant to Section 2.1(d).

 

“Third Amendment Term Loan Lender” has the meaning assigned to such term in the Third Amendment.

 

“Third Amendment Term Loan Commitment” means, with respect to each applicable Third Amendment Term Loan Lender, its obligation to make a Third Amendment Term Loan to the Borrowers on the Third Amendment Effective Date in an aggregate principal amount up to, and not to exceed, the amount set forth on Schedule I to the Third Amendment under the caption “Third Amendment Term Loan Commitment”. The aggregate amount of the Third Amendment Term Loan Lenders’ Term Loan Commitments is $112,035,000 as of the Third Amendment Effective Date.

 

“Total Credit Exposure” means, as to any Lender at any time, the Revolving Credit Exposures, unused Revolving Credit Commitments and outstanding Term Loans of such Lender at such time.

 

“Trade” means any binding arrangement to sell and assign or participate all or a portion of the applicable Lender’s rights and/or obligations under, and in accordance with the terms of, this Agreement.

 

“Trade Date” means the date on which the applicable Lender entered into a Trade.

 

“Tranche” means, with respect to any Incremental Term Loans, Extended Term Loans or Refinancing Term Loans, all such Loans made on the same date pursuant to the terms of the same Notice of Borrowing.

 

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“Transaction Costs” means the fees, costs, and expenses payable by the Obligors in connection with the consummation of the Transactions.

 

“Transactions” mean, collectively, (a) the consummation of the Acquisition, (b) Holdings’ receipt of the proceeds of the Sponsor Equity Contribution, (c) the execution, delivery and performance by each Obligor of this Agreement and the other Loan Documents to which such Obligor is intended to be a party and the consummation of the transactions on the Effective Date contemplated thereby, (d) the initial borrowing of Loans, (e) subject to Section 5.11, the grant by each Obligor of the Liens granted by it pursuant to the Security Documents to which it is a party, (f) the repayment in full of all obligations under the Existing Indebtedness, (g) [reserved], and (h) the payment of all fees and expenses to be paid on or prior to the Effective Date and owing in connection with the foregoing.

 

“Type”, when used in reference to any Loan or Borrowing, refers to whether the rate of interest on such Loan, or on the Loans comprising such Borrowing, is determined by reference to the Adjusted Term SOFR Rate, Adjusted Daily Simple SOFR or the Base Rate.

 

“UCC” means the New York Uniform Commercial Code as adopted in the State of New York; provided in connection with any Lien granted under any Security Document, if the laws of any other jurisdiction would govern the perfection or enforcement of such Lien, “UCC” means the Uniform Commercial Code as in effect in such jurisdiction with respect to such Lien.

 

“UK Financial Institutions” means any BRRD Undertaking (as such term is defined under the PRA Rulebook (as amended from time to time) promulgated by the United Kingdom Prudential Regulation Authority) or any person falling within IFPRU 11.6 of the FCA Handbook (as amended from time to time) promulgated by the United Kingdom Financial Conduct Authority, which includes certain credit institutions and investment firms, and certain affiliates of such credit institutions or investment firms.

 

“UK Resolution Authority” means the Bank of England or any other public administrative authority having responsibility for the resolution of any UK Financial Institution.

 

“Unadjusted Benchmark Replacement” means the applicable Benchmark Replacement excluding the related Benchmark Replacement Adjustment.

 

“Undisclosed Administration” means in relation to a solvent Person, the precautionary appointment of an administrator, conservator, receiver, trustee, custodian or other similar official by a supervisory authority or regulator under or based on the law in the country where such person is subject to home jurisdiction supervision if applicable law requires that such appointment is not to be publicly disclosed.

 

“United States” and “U.S.” mean the United States of America.

 

“Unrestricted Cash” means unrestricted cash and Cash Equivalents of the Obligors held in (a) a pledged account in favor of Administrative Agent such that the Administrative Agent has “control” of such cash and Cash Equivalents under the UCC or (b) maintained in an account with the Administrative Agent; provided that the foregoing requirements in clauses (a) and (b) shall not apply until the date that is ninety (90) days after the Effective Date.

 

“Unrestricted Subsidiary” means any Subsidiary of a Borrower, other than any Borrower or any Additional Borrower, designated (with written notice to the Administrative Agent) by the board of directors (or analogous governing body) of a Borrower as an Unrestricted Subsidiary pursuant to Section 5.12 subsequent to the Effective Date, and any Subsidiary of an Unrestricted Subsidiary.

 

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“Unused DDTL Commitment” means, at any time with respect to any DDTL Lender, the amount equal to (a) such DDTL Lender’s DDTL Commitment minus (b) the aggregate amount of the outstanding Delayed Draw Term Loans of such DDTL Lender.

 

“Unused Revolving Commitment” means, at any time with respect to any Revolving Credit Lender, the amount equal to (a) such Revolving Credit Lender’s Commitment minus (b) the aggregate amount of the outstanding Revolving Credit Loans and LC Exposure of such Revolving Credit Lender.

 

“U.S. Person” means any Person that is a “United States person” as defined in Section 7701(a)(30) of the Code.

 

“U.S. Tax Compliance Certificate” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 2.16(g).

 

“USA Patriot Act” has the meaning assigned to such term in the definition of “Anti-Terrorism Laws”.

 

“USDA” means the United States Department of Agriculture.

 

“Vive Organic” means Vive Organic, Inc., a Delaware corporation.

 

“Weighted Average Life to Maturity” when applied to any Indebtedness at any date, means the number of years obtained by dividing (1) the sum of the products obtained by multiplying (a) the amount of each then remaining installment, sinking fund, serial maturity or other required payment of principal, including payment at final maturity, in respect thereof by (b) the number of years (calculated to the nearest one-twelfth) that will elapse between such date and the making of such payment by (2) the then outstanding principal amount of such Indebtedness; provided that for purposes of the Weighted Average Life to Maturity of such Indebtedness, the effects of any prepayments or amortization made on such Indebtedness prior to the date of the applicable modification, refinancing, refunding, renewal, replacement or extension shall be disregarded.

 

“Wholly-Owned” means a Person in which (other than directors’ qualifying shares or other shares required by law) 100% of the Equity Interests and Equity Rights, at the time as of which any determination is being made, is owned, beneficially and of record, by a Borrower, or by one or more of the other Wholly-Owned Subsidiaries of a Borrower, or both.

 

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

 

“Withholding Agent” means any Obligor and the Administrative Agent.

 

“Write-Down and Conversion Powers” means (a) with respect to any EEA Resolution Authority, the write-down and conversion powers of such EEA Resolution Authority from time to time under the Bail-In Legislation for the applicable EEA Member Country, which write-down and conversion powers are described in the EU Bail-In Legislation Schedule, and (b) with respect to the United Kingdom, any powers of the applicable Resolution Authority under the Bail-In Legislation to cancel, reduce, modify or change the form of a liability of any UK Financial Institution or any contract or instrument under which that liability arises, to convert all or part of that liability into shares, securities or obligations of that person or any other person, to provide that any such contract or instrument is to have effect as if a right had been exercised under it or to suspend any obligation in respect of that liability or any of the powers under that Bail-In Legislation that are related to or ancillary to any of those powers.

 

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1.2       Classification of Loans and Borrowings. For purposes of this Agreement, Loans may be classified and referred to by Class (e.g., a Revolving Credit Loan) or by Type (e.g., a Term Benchmark Loan) or by Class and Type (e.g., a Term Benchmark Revolving Credit Loan). Borrowings also may be classified and referred to by Class (e.g., a Revolving Credit Loan Borrowing) or by Type (e.g., a Term Benchmark Borrowing) or by Class and Type (e.g., a Term Benchmark Revolving Credit Loan Borrowing).

 

1.3       Interpretation. With reference to this Agreement and each other Loan Document, unless other specified herein or in such other Loan Document:

 

(a)       The definitions of terms herein shall apply equally to the singular and plural forms of the terms defined. Whenever the context may require, any pronoun shall include the corresponding masculine, feminine, and neuter forms. The words “include”, “includes” and “including” shall be deemed to be followed by the phrase “without limitation”. The word “will” shall be construed to have the same meaning and effect as the word “shall”. Unless the context requires otherwise (i) any definition of or reference to any agreement, instrument or other document herein shall be construed as referring to such agreement, instrument or other document as from time to time amended, supplemented modified, restated, refinanced, extended, restructured or replaced (subject to any restrictions set forth herein), (ii) any reference herein to any Person shall be construed to include such Person’s permitted successors and assigns, (iii) the words “herein”, “hereof” and “hereunder”, and words of similar import when used in any Loan Document, shall be construed to refer to such Loan Document in its entirety and not to any particular provision thereof, (iv) unless otherwise specified, all references in any Loan Document to Sections, Exhibits and Schedules shall be construed to refer to Sections of, and Exhibits and Schedules to, the Loan Document in which such references appear, (v) any reference to any law shall include all statutory and regulatory provisions consolidating, amending, replacing or interpreting such law and any reference to any law or regulation shall, unless otherwise specified, refer to such law or regulation as amended, modified or supplemented from time to time, (vi) any table of contents, captions and headings are for convenience of reference only and shall not affect the construction of this Agreement or any other Loan Document, (vii) 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 (viii) all references to “knowledge” of any Borrower or any Restricted Subsidiary of Holdings means the actual knowledge of a Responsible Officer.

 

(b)       In the computation of periods of time from a specified date to a later specified date, the word “from” means “from and including;” the words “to” and “until” each mean “to but excluding;” and the word “through” means “to and including.”

 

(c)       For all purposes under the Loan Documents, in connection with any division or plan of division under Delaware law (or any comparable event under a different jurisdiction’s laws): (a) if any asset, right, obligation or liability of any Person becomes the asset, right, obligation or liability of a different Person, then it shall be deemed to have been transferred from the original Person to the subsequent Person, and (b) if any new Person comes into existence, such new Person shall be deemed to have been organized on the first date of its existence by the holders of its Equity Interests at such time.

 

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1.4       Rounding. Any financial ratios required to be maintained by Holdings and its Restricted Subsidiaries pursuant to this Agreement shall be calculated by dividing the appropriate component by the other component, carrying the result to one place more than the number of places by which such ratio is expressed herein and rounding the result up or down to the nearest number (with a rounding-up if there is no nearest number).

 

1.5       Letter of Credit Amounts. Unless otherwise specified herein, the amount of a Letter of Credit at any time shall be deemed to be the stated amount of such Letter of Credit in effect at such time; provided, that with respect to any Letter of Credit that, by its terms or the terms of any document related thereto, provides for one or more automatic increases in the stated amount thereof, the amount of such Letter of Credit shall be deemed to be the maximum stated amount of such Letter of Credit after giving effect to all such increases, whether or not such maximum stated amount is in effect at such time.

 

1.6       Accounting Terms; GAAP. Except as otherwise expressly provided herein, all terms of an accounting or financial nature shall be construed, and all accounting determinations and computations required under the Loan Documents shall be made, in accordance with GAAP, as in effect from time to time, consistently applied; provided that, (a) if at any time any change in GAAP would affect the computation of any financial ratio or requirement set forth in any Loan Document, and either the Borrower Representative or the Required Lenders (through Administrative Agent) shall so request, Administrative Agent, the Lenders and the Borrower Representative shall negotiate in good faith to amend such ratio or requirement to preserve the original intent thereof in light of such change in GAAP (subject to the approval of the Required Lenders); provided that, until so amended, (i) such ratio or requirement shall continue to be computed in accordance with GAAP prior to such change therein and (ii) the Borrower Representative shall provide to the Administrative Agent and the Lenders financial statements and other documents required under this Agreement or as reasonably requested hereunder setting forth a reconciliation between calculations of such ratio or requirement made before and after giving effect to such change in GAAP, (b) notwithstanding any other provision contained herein, all terms of an accounting or financial nature used herein shall be construed, and all computations of amounts and ratios referred to in Section 7 shall be made, without giving effect to any election under Accounting Standards Codification 825-10 (or any other Financial Accounting Standard having a similar result or effect) to value any Indebtedness or other liabilities of any Obligor or any Subsidiary of any Obligor at “fair value” and (c) notwithstanding any other provision contained herein, unless the Borrower Representative elects otherwise, all obligations of any Person that are or would have been treated as operating leases for purposes of GAAP prior to the issuance by the Financial Accounting Standards Board on February 25, 2016 of Accounting Standards Update 2016-02, Leases (Topic 842) shall continue to be accounted for as operating leases (and not be treated as financing or capital lease obligations or Indebtedness) for purposes of all financial definitions, calculations and deliverables under this Agreement or any other Loan Document (including the calculation of Consolidated Net Income and Consolidated EBITDA) (whether or not such operating lease obligations were in effect on such date) notwithstanding the fact that such obligations are required in accordance with Accounting Standards Update 2016-02, Leases (Topic 842) or any other change in accounting treatment or otherwise (on a prospective or retroactive basis or otherwise) to be treated as or to be recharacterized as financing or capital lease obligations or otherwise accounted for as liabilities in financial statements.

 

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1.7           Limited Condition Transactions.

 

(a)           In connection with any action being taken in connection with a Limited Condition Transaction, for purposes of determining compliance with any provision of this Agreement which requires that no Default, Event of Default or specified Event of Default, as applicable, has occurred, is continuing or would result from any such action, as applicable, such condition shall, at the option of the Borrowers, be deemed satisfied, so long as no Default, Event of Default or specified Event of Default, as applicable, exists on the date the definitive agreements or binding obligations for such Limited Condition Transaction (each such definitive agreement or binding obligation, a “Limited Condition Transaction Agreement”) are entered into after giving pro forma effect to such Limited Condition Transaction and the actions to be taken in connection therewith (including any incurrence of Indebtedness and the use of proceeds thereof) as if such Limited Condition Transaction and other actions had occurred on such date. For the avoidance of doubt, if the Borrower Representative has delivered an LCT Election (as defined below), and any Default or Event of Default occurs following the date the definitive agreements for the applicable Limited Condition Transaction Agreements were entered into and prior to the consummation of such Limited Condition Transaction, any such Default or Event of Default shall be deemed to not have occurred or be continuing solely for purposes of determining whether any action being taken in connection with such Limited Condition Transaction is permitted hereunder. Notwithstanding the foregoing, in no event shall any Event of Default described in clause (a), (b), (h) or (i) of Section 8.1 exist immediately prior to or after giving effect to any Limited Condition Transaction.

 

(b)           In connection with a Limited Condition Transaction or any action being taken solely in connection with a Limited Condition Transaction, for purposes of:

 

(i)        determining compliance with any provision of this Agreement which requires the calculation of the Consolidated Net Leverage Ratio, Consolidated First Lien Net Leverage Ratio and Consolidated Secured Net Leverage Ratio (but excluding any calculation for purposes of determining the Applicable Margin or actual compliance with Section 7), ;

 

(ii)       determining compliance with any representations, warranties, defaults or Events of Default (other than for purposes of borrowings of Revolving Loans); or

 

(iii)       testing availability under baskets (including any baskets in respect of any Incremental Facility) set forth in this Agreement,

 

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in each case, at the option of the Borrower Representative (the Borrower Representative’s election to exercise such option in connection with any Limited Condition Transaction, an “LCT Election”), the date of determination of whether a Limited Condition Transaction or any such action is permitted hereunder, shall be deemed to be (A) in the case of any acquisition or investment, the date the definitive agreements for such Limited Condition Transaction are entered into or (B) in the case of any redemption, repurchase, defeasance, satisfaction and discharge or repayment of Indebtedness, the date irrevocable notice in advance of such redemption, repurchase, defeasance, satisfaction and discharge or repayment is delivered (the “LCT Test Date”), and if, after giving pro forma effect to the Limited Condition Transaction (including, for the avoidance of doubt, the Consolidated EBITDA of or attributable to the target companies or assets associated with any such Limited Condition Transaction) and the other transactions to be entered into in connection therewith (including any incurrence of Indebtedness and the use of proceeds thereof) as if they had occurred at the beginning of the most recent four consecutive Fiscal Quarters ending prior to the LCT Test Date for which financial statements have been delivered to the Administrative Agent, the applicable Company could have taken such action on the relevant LCT Test Date in compliance with such ratio or basket, such ratio or basket shall be deemed to have been complied with. For the avoidance of doubt, if the Borrower Representative has made an LCT Election and any of the ratios or baskets for which compliance was determined or tested as of the LCT Test Date are exceeded as a result of fluctuations in any such ratio or basket, at or prior to the consummation of the relevant transaction or action, such basket or ratio will not be deemed to have been exceeded as a result of such fluctuations solely for purposes of determining whether the relevant transaction or actions is permitted to be consummated or taken; provided, that for any determination to be made pursuant to this Section 1.7, the Borrower Representative may, by delivering a notice in writing to the Administrative Agent, elect to recalculate all such ratios, tests or baskets in respect of the last twelve fiscal months of the Borrowers for which monthly financial statements are available and have been delivered to the Administrative Agent in which case such date of redetermination shall thereafter be deemed to be the applicable LCT Test Date. If the Borrower Representative has made an LCT Election for any Limited Condition Transaction, then in connection with any subsequent calculation of the Financial Covenant, ratio or basket availability on or following the relevant LCT Test Date and prior to the earlier of the date on which such Limited Condition Transaction is consummated or the definitive agreement for such Limited Condition Transaction is terminated or expires without consummation of such Limited Condition Transaction, any such Financial Covenant, ratio or basket availability shall be required to be satisfied both (x) on a pro forma basis assuming such Limited Condition Transaction and other transactions in connection therewith (including any pro forma increase in Consolidated EBITDA resulting from such Limited Condition Transaction, any incurrence of Indebtedness and the use of proceeds thereof) have been consummated, and (y) assuming such Limited Condition Transaction and other transactions in connection therewith (including any such pro forma increase in Consolidated EBITDA, incurrence of Indebtedness and the use of proceeds thereof) have not been consummated; provided that for purposes of the definition of Excess Cash Flow the calculation of Consolidated Net Income shall not include the Consolidated Net Income of the Person or assets to be acquired (this Section 1.7, collectively, the “Limited Condition Transaction Provision”).

 

1.8           Pro Forma Calculations.

 

(a)           Notwithstanding anything to the contrary herein, financial ratios and tests, including the Consolidated Total Net Leverage Ratio, the Consolidated First Lien Net Leverage Ratio, the Consolidated Secured Net Leverage Ratio and Consolidated EBITDA shall be calculated on a pro forma basis in the manner prescribed by this Section 1.8; provided that notwithstanding anything to the contrary in Section 1.8(b), (c) or (d), when calculating the Consolidated Net Leverage Ratio for purposes of (i) the definition of “Applicable Margin”, (ii) the calculation of Excess Cash Flow (other than to the extent otherwise expressly set forth in the definition thereof or in Section 2.10(b)(ii)) and (iii) determining actual compliance (and not Pro Forma Compliance or compliance on a pro forma basis) with any covenant pursuant to Section 7.1, the events described in this Section 1.8 that occurred subsequent to the end of the applicable Reference Period shall not be given pro forma effect. In addition, whenever a financial ratio or test is to be calculated on a pro forma basis, the reference to the “Reference Period” for purposes of calculating such financial ratio or test shall be deemed to be a reference to, and shall be based on, the most recently ended Reference Period for which internal financial statements of the Borrowers are available and have been delivered to the Administrative Agent; provided that, the provisions of this sentence shall not apply for purposes of calculating the Consolidated Net Leverage Ratio for purposes of the definition of “Applicable Margin” and determining actual compliance with Section 7.1 (other than for the purpose of determining pro forma compliance with Section 7.1) and for purposes of calculating Excess Cash Flow, each of which shall be based on the financial statements delivered pursuant to Sections 5.1(a) or (b), as applicable, for the relevant Reference Period.

 

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(b)           For purposes of calculating any financial ratio or test, Specified Transactions (with any incurrence or repayment of any Indebtedness in connection therewith to be subject to Section 1.8(d)) that have been made (i) during the applicable Reference Period and (ii) if applicable as described in Section 1.8(a), subsequent to such Reference Period and prior to or simultaneously with the event for which the calculation of any such ratio is made shall be calculated on a pro forma basis assuming that all such Specified Transactions (and any increase or decrease in Consolidated EBITDA and the component financial definitions used therein attributable to any Specified Transaction) had occurred on the first day of the applicable Reference Period (or, in the case of the determination of Consolidated Current Assets, the last day). If since the beginning of any applicable Reference Period any Person that subsequently became a Restricted Subsidiary or was merged, amalgamated or consolidated with or into the Borrower or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries since the beginning of such Reference Period shall have made any Specified Transaction that would have required adjustment pursuant to this Section 1.8, then such financial ratio or test (or the calculation of Consolidated Current Assets) shall be calculated to give pro forma effect thereto in accordance with this Section 1.8.

 

(c)           Whenever pro forma effect is to be given to a Specified Transaction, the pro forma calculations shall be made in good faith by a Responsible Officer of the Borrower Representative, shall be subject to any limitations and caps set forth in the definition of “Consolidated EBITDA” and may include, for the avoidance of doubt, the amount of “run-rate” cost savings, operating expense reductions, other operating improvements, cost savings, changes and initiatives and synergies resulting (including, to the extent applicable, from the effect of increased pricing or volume in new or existing customer contracts) from or relating to such initiative or such Specified Transaction projected by the Borrowers in good faith to be realizable as a result of actions taken or expected to be taken (calculated on a pro forma basis as though such cost savings, operating expense reductions, other operating improvements and synergies had been realized on the first day of such period as if such cost savings, operating expense reductions, other operating improvements and synergies were realized during the entirety of such period and such that “run-rate” means the full recurring benefit for a period that is associated with any action taken or expected to be taken (including any savings expected to result from the elimination of a public target’s compliance costs with public company requirements) net of the amount of actual benefits realized during such period from such actions), and any such adjustments shall be included in the initial pro forma calculation of such financial ratios or tests relating to such initiative or such Specified Transaction (and in respect of any subsequent pro forma calculation in which such Specified Transaction is included); provided that (x) a duly completed certificate signed by a Responsible Officer of the Borrower Representative shall be delivered to the Administrative Agent together with the Compliance Certificate next required to be delivered pursuant to Section 5.1(c), certifying that such cost savings, operating expense reductions, other operating improvements and synergies are factually supportable and reasonably anticipated to be realizable in the good faith judgment of the Borrowers, within 24 months after the consummation of a Specified Transaction (with actions from such transactions occurring prior the Effective Date occurring within 24 months after the Effective Date), which is expected to result in such cost savings, expense reductions, other operating improvements or synergies and (y) no cost savings, operating expense reductions and synergies shall be added pursuant to this clause (c) to the extent duplicative of any expenses or charges otherwise added to Consolidated EBITDA (or any component thereof), whether through a pro forma adjustment or otherwise, for such period; provided further that the aggregate amount of such cost savings, operating expense reductions, other operating improvements and “run-rate” synergies shall not, in the aggregate, exceed, when combined with the items in clauses (b)(viii) and (b)(ix) of the definition of Consolidated EBITDA at any given time 30% of Consolidated EBITDA after giving effect to such adjustments.

 

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(d)           In the event that the Borrowers or any Restricted Subsidiary incurs (including by assumption or guarantees) or repays (including by redemption, repayment, retirement or extinguishment) any Indebtedness (including Disqualified Equity) included in the calculations of any financial ratio or test (in each case, other than Indebtedness incurred or repaid under any revolving credit facility), (i) during the applicable Reference Period or (ii) subject to Section 1.8(a), subsequent to the end of the applicable Reference Period and prior to or simultaneously with the event for which the calculation of any such ratio is made, then such financial ratio or test shall be calculated giving pro forma effect to such incurrence or repayment of Indebtedness, to the extent required, as if the same had occurred on the last day of the applicable Reference Period, in which case such incurrence, assumption, guarantee, repurchase, redemption, repayment, retirement, discharge, defeasance or extinguishment of Indebtedness will be given effect as if the same had occurred on the first day of the applicable Reference Period.

 

(e)           Any provision requiring the pro forma compliance with Section 7.1 shall be made assuming that compliance with the Consolidated Net Leverage Ratio pursuant to such Section is required with respect to the most recent Reference Period prior to such time, and to the extent pro forma compliance is required hereunder prior to the first test date of the financial covenant under Section 7.1, then the requirement shall be pro forma compliance with the first financial covenant level to be tested following the Effective Date.

 

1.9           Compliance with Certain Sections. For purposes of determining compliance with any of Section 5.14 and Article VI, in the event that any Lien, Investment, Indebtedness (whether at the time of incurrence or upon application of all or a portion of the proceeds thereof), Disposition, Affiliate transaction, or prepayment of Indebtedness meets the criteria of one, or more than one, of the “baskets” or categories of transactions then permitted pursuant to any clause or subsection of any such section of Section 5.14 or Article VI, as applicable, such transaction (or portion thereof) at any time shall be permitted under one or more of such clauses of such Section at the time of such transaction or any later time from time to time, in each case, as determined by the Borrowers in its sole discretion at such time and thereafter may be reclassified within such section by the Borrowers in any manner not expressly prohibited by this Agreement. With respect to (x) any amounts incurred (or commitments obtained) or transactions entered into (or consummated or obtained) in reliance on a provision of this Agreement that does not require compliance with a financial ratio or test (including the Consolidated Total Net Leverage Ratio, the Consolidated Secured Net Leverage Ratio and/or the Consolidated First Lien Net Leverage Ratio) substantially concurrently with (y) any amounts incurred (or commitments obtained) or transactions entered into (or consummated or obtained) in reliance on a provision of this Agreement that requires compliance with a financial ratio or test (including the Consolidated Total Net Leverage Ratio, the Consolidated Secured Net Leverage Ratio and/or the Consolidated First Lien Net Leverage Ratio), it is understood and agreed that the amounts in clause (x) shall be disregarded in the calculation of the financial ratio or test applicable to the amounts in clause (y) (for purposes of determining compliance with a financial ratio or test (including the Consolidated Total Net Leverage Ratio, the Consolidated Secured Net Leverage Ratio and/or the Consolidated First Lien Net Leverage Ratio), such amounts incurred (or commitments obtained) or transactions entered into (or consummated or obtained) pursuant to clause (y) shall only be tested once (at the time of such incurrence or transaction) and shall not be subject to satisfaction of any additional incurrence test).

 

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1.10        Times of Day. Unless otherwise specified, all references herein to times of day shall be references to Eastern time (daylight or standard, as applicable).

 

1.11        Timing of Payment or Performance. Except as otherwise expressly provided herein, when the payment of any obligation or the performance of any covenant, duty or obligation is stated to be due or performance required on a day which is not a Business Day, the date of such payment (other than as described in the definition of “Interest Period”) or performance shall extend to the immediately succeeding Business Day.

 

1.12        Available Amount Transactions. If more than one action occurs on any given date the permissibility of the taking of which is determined hereunder by reference to the amount of the Available Amount immediately prior to the taking of such action, the permissibility of the taking of each such action shall be determined independently and in no event may any two or more such actions be treated as occurring simultaneously.

 

1.13        Letters of Credit. Unless otherwise specified herein, the amount of a Letter of Credit at any time shall be deemed to be the stated Dollar Amount of the undrawn face amount of such Letter of Credit in effect at such time; provided that, with respect to any Letter of Credit that, by its terms or the terms of any issuer document related thereto, provides for one or more automatic increases in the stated amount thereof, the amount of such Letter of Credit shall be deemed to be the Dollar Amount of the maximum stated amount of such Letter of Credit after giving effect to all such increases, whether or not such maximum stated amount is in effect at such time.

 

1.14        Certifications. All certifications to be made hereunder by an officer or representative of an Obligor shall be made by such person in his or her capacity solely as an officer or a representative of such Obligor, on such Obligor’s behalf and not in such Person’s individual capacity.

 

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1.15        Interest Rates; Benchmark Notifications. The interest rate on a Loan denominated in dollars may be derived from an interest rate benchmark that may be discontinued or is, or may in the future become, the subject of regulatory reform. Upon the occurrence of a Benchmark Transition Event, Section 2.13(c) provides a mechanism for determining an alternative rate of interest. The Administrative Agent does not warrant or accept any responsibility for, and shall not have any liability with respect to, the administration, submission, performance or any other matter related to any interest rate used in this Agreement, or with respect to any alternative or successor rate thereto, or replacement rate thereof, including without limitation, whether the composition or characteristics of any such alternative, successor or replacement reference rate will be similar to, or produce the same value or economic equivalence of, the existing interest rate being replaced or have the same volume or liquidity as did any existing interest rate prior to its discontinuance or unavailability. The Administrative Agent and its affiliates and/or other related entities may engage in transactions that affect the calculation of any alternative, successor or alternative rate (including any Benchmark Replacement) and/or any relevant adjustments thereto, in each case, in a manner adverse to the Borrower. The Administrative Agent may select information sources or services in its reasonable discretion to ascertain any benchmark rate, or any component thereof, or rates referenced in the definition thereof, in each case pursuant to the terms of this Agreement, and shall have no liability to the Borrower, any Lender or any other person or entity for damages of any kind, including direct or indirect, special, punitive, incidental or consequential damages, costs, losses or expenses (whether in tort, contract or otherwise and whether at law or in equity), for any error or calculation of any such rate (or component thereof) provided by any such information source or service.

 

2.       THE CREDITS

 

2.1          The Commitments.

 

(a)       Revolving Credit Loans. Subject to the terms and conditions set forth herein, each Revolving Credit Lender agrees, severally and not jointly with any other Lender, to make Revolving Credit Loans to the Borrowers from time to time during the Revolving Credit Availability Period in an aggregate principal amount at any time outstanding that will not result in (i) such Lender’s Revolving Credit Exposure exceeding such Lender’s Revolving Credit Commitment or (ii) the sum of the total Revolving Credit Exposures exceeding the total Revolving Credit Commitments. Within the foregoing limits and subject to the terms and conditions set forth herein, the Borrowers may borrow, prepay, and reborrow Revolving Credit Loans (without penalty or premium).

 

(b)       Initial Term Loans. Subject to the terms and conditions set forth herein, each Term Loan Lender holding an Initial Term Loan Commitment agrees, severally and not jointly with any other Lenders, to make the Initial Term Loans to the Borrowers on the Effective Date in an aggregate principal amount not exceeding its Initial Term Loan Commitment. Amounts repaid in respect of Initial Term Loans may not be reborrowed.

 

(c)       Second Amendment Term Loans. Subject to the terms and conditions set forth herein and in the Second Amendment, each Second Amendment Term Loan Lender agrees, severally and not jointly with any other Lenders, to make the Second Amendment Term Loans to the Borrowers on the Second Amendment Effective Date in an aggregate principal amount not exceeding its Second Amendment Term Loan Commitment. Amounts repaid in respect of Second Amendment Term Loans may not be reborrowed.

 

(d)       Third Amendment Term Loans. Subject to the terms and conditions set forth herein and in the Third Amendment, each Third Amendment Term Loan Lender agrees, severally and not jointly with any other Lenders, to make the Third Amendment Term Loans to the Borrowers on the Third Amendment Effective Date in an aggregate principal amount not exceeding its Third Amendment Term Loan Commitment. Amounts repaid in respect of Third Amendment Term Loans may not be reborrowed.

 

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(e)            Fourth Amendment Delayed Draw Term Loans. Subject to the terms and conditions set forth herein, each Fourth Amendment Delayed Draw Term Loan Lender agrees, severally and not jointly with any other Lenders, to make the Fourth Amendment Delayed Draw Term Loans to the Borrowers from time to time during the period commencing on the Fourth Amendment Effective Date through the Fourth Amendment DDTL Commitment Termination Date in an aggregate principal amount not exceeding such Fourth Amendment Delayed Draw Term Loan Lender’s Fourth Amendment Delayed Draw Term Loan Commitment; provided that in no event shall more than six (6) Borrowings of Fourth Amendment Delayed Draw Term Loans be advanced to the Borrowers; provided, further, that each Borrowing of Fourth Amendment Delayed Draw Term Loans shall be in a principal amount of at least $1,000,000 and integral multiples of $100,000 in excess thereof (or such lesser principal amount as may be available to be borrowed under the Fourth Amendment Delayed Draw Term Loan Commitments). Each Fourth Amendment Delayed Draw Term Loan made to the Borrowers shall result in an immediate and permanent reduction in the Fourth Amendment Delayed Draw Term Loan Commitments in the principal amount of such Fourth Amendment Delayed Draw Term Loan so made, to be shared by the Fourth Amendment Delayed Draw Term Loan Lenders in accordance with their pro rata shares of the Fourth Amendment Delayed Draw Term Loan Commitment then in effect. Amounts paid or prepaid in respect of Fourth Amendment Delayed Draw Term Loans may not be reborrowed. The Fourth Amendment Delayed Draw Term Loan Commitment shall terminate in its entirety on the Fourth Amendment DDTL Commitment Termination Date.

 

2.2           Loans and Borrowings.

 

(a)           Obligations of Lenders. Each Loan shall be made as part of a Borrowing consisting of Loans of the same Class and Type made by the Lenders ratably in accordance with their respective Commitments of the applicable Class. The failure of any Lender to make any Loan required to be made by it shall not relieve any other Lender of its obligations hereunder.

 

(b)           Type of Loans. Subject to Sections 2.7 and 2.13, each Borrowing shall be comprised entirely of Base Rate Loans or Term Benchmark Loans as the Borrowers may request in accordance herewith. Each Swingline Loan shall be a Base Rate Loan. Each Lender at its option may make any Term Benchmark Loan by causing any domestic or foreign branch of such Lender to make such Loan; provided that any exercise of such option shall not affect the obligation of the Borrowers to repay such Loan in accordance with the terms of this Agreement.

 

(c)           Minimum Amounts; Limitation on Number of Borrowing. At the commencement of each Interest Period for any Term Benchmark Borrowing, such Borrowing shall be in an aggregate amount of $1,000,000 or a larger multiple of $100,000 in excess thereof. At the time that each Base Rate Borrowing (other than a Swingline Loan Borrowing or a Base Rate Borrowing on the Effective Date) is made, such Borrowing shall be in an aggregate amount equal to $1,000,000 or a larger multiple of $100,000 in excess thereof; provided that a Base Rate Borrowing may be in an aggregate amount that is equal to the entire unused balance of the total Commitments of the applicable Class or that is required to (i) finance the amount of the reimbursement of an LC Disbursement as contemplated by Section 2.5 or (ii) acquire participations in Swingline Loans pursuant to Section 2.4(c). Each Swingline Loan shall be in an amount equal to $100,000 or a larger multiple of $25,000 in excess thereof. Borrowings of more than one Type and Class may be outstanding at the same time; provided that there shall not at any time be more than a total of seven (7) Term Benchmark Borrowings outstanding plus up to three (3) additional Borrowings for each of any Incremental Term Loans, Extended Term Loans and Refinancing Term Loans.

 

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(d)           Limitations on Lengths of Interest Periods. Notwithstanding any other provision of this Agreement, the Borrowers shall not be entitled to request, or to elect to convert to or continue as, a Term Benchmark Borrowing (i) any Revolving Credit Loan Borrowing if the Interest Period requested with respect thereto would end after the Revolving Credit Maturity Date; or (ii) any Term Loan Borrowing if the Interest Period requested with respect thereto would end after the applicable Term Loan Maturity Date.

 

2.3          Requests for Borrowings. To request a Borrowing (other than a Swingline Loan), the Borrower Representative shall notify Administrative Agent of such request in writing, which request must be received by Administrative Agent not later than 1:00 p.m., New York City Time, three (3) Business Days (or, in the case of any borrowing of Fourth Amendment Delayed Draw Term Loans, five (5) Business Days) before the date of the proposed Borrowing. Each such Borrowing Request shall be irrevocable and shall be in the form of Exhibit 2.3 and signed by the Borrower Representative. Each Borrowing Request shall specify the following information:

 

(a)           whether the requested Borrowing is to be a Revolving Credit Loan Borrowing, orTerm Loan Borrowing or Delayed Draw Term Loan Borrowing, if available;

 

(b)           the aggregate amount of the requested Borrowing;

 

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

 

(d)           whether such Borrowing is to be a Base Rate Borrowing or a Term Benchmark Borrowing;

 

(e)            in the case of a Term Benchmark Borrowing, the initial Interest Period to be applicable thereto (including specifying the duration of such Interest Period and the last day of such Interest Period), which shall be a period contemplated by the definition of the term “Interest Period”; and

 

(f)            the location and number of a Borrower’s accounts or, in connection with the initial Borrowings on the Effective Date, Person to which funds are to be disbursed, which shall comply with the requirements of Section 2.6.

 

If no election as to the Type of Borrowing is specified, then the requested Borrowing shall be a Term Benchmark Borrowing with an Interest Rate Period of one (1) month. If no Interest Period is specified with respect to any requested Term Benchmark Borrowing, then the Borrowers shall be deemed to have selected an Interest Period of one month’s duration. Promptly following receipt of a Borrowing Request in accordance with this Section, Administrative Agent shall advise each Lender that will make a Loan in connection with such Borrowing of the details thereof and of the amount of such Lender’s Loan to be made as part of the requested Borrowing.

 

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2.4          Swingline Loans.

 

(a)           Agreement to Make Swingline Loans. Subject to the terms and conditions set forth herein, Swingline Lender agrees to make Swingline Loans to the Borrowers from time to time during the Revolving Credit Availability Period, in an aggregate principal amount at any time outstanding that will not result in (i) the aggregate principal amount of outstanding Swingline Loans exceeding $5,000,000 or (ii) the sum of the total Revolving Credit Exposures exceeding the total Revolving Credit Commitments; provided that after giving effect to any Swingline Loan the Revolving Credit Exposure of any Lender shall not exceed such Lender’s Revolving Credit Commitment, and provided, further, that Swingline Lender shall not be required to make a Swingline Loan to refinance an outstanding Swingline Loan. Within the foregoing limits and subject to the terms and conditions set forth herein, the Borrowers may borrow, prepay, and reborrow Swingline Loans.

 

(b)           Notice of Swingline Loans by the Borrowers. To request a Swingline Loan, the Borrower Representative shall notify Swingline Lender of such request in writing, not later than 1:00 p.m., on the day of a proposed Swingline Loan. Each such notice shall be irrevocable and shall specify the requested date (which shall be a Business Day) and amount of the requested Swingline Loan. Unless the limitations set forth in the first sentence of Section 2.4(a) or one or more applicable conditions set forth in Section 4 are not satisfied, Swingline Lender shall make each Swingline Loan available to a Borrower to an account of the applicable Borrower specified in the request (or, in the case of a Swingline Loan made to finance the reimbursement of an LC Disbursement as provided in Section 2.5(f), by remittance to the Issuing Lender) by 3:00 p.m. on the requested date of such Swingline Loan. To the extent that Swingline Lender is not Administrative Agent, Swingline Lender shall provide to the Administrative Agent on each date the Borrower Representative has made a borrowing or paydown request, notice thereof accounting for the outstanding Swingline Loans in form reasonably satisfactory to the Administrative Agent.

 

(c)           Participations by Lenders in Swingline Loans. Immediately upon the making of a Swingline Loan by the Swingline Lender, and without any further action on the part of the Swingline Lender or the Lenders, the Swingline Lender hereby grants to each Revolving Credit Lender, and each Revolving Credit Lender hereby acquires from the Swingline Lender, a participation in such Swingline Loan equal to such Revolving Credit Lender’s Pro Rata Share of such Swingline Loan. The Swingline Lender may, by written notice given to the Administrative Agent not later than 2:00 p.m., New York City time, on any Business Day require the Revolving Credit Lenders to fund such participations in all or a portion of the Swingline Loans outstanding. Such notice to the Administrative Agent shall specify the aggregate amount of Swingline Loans in which the Revolving Credit Lenders will fund such participation. Promptly upon receipt of such notice, Administrative Agent will give notice thereof to each Revolving Credit Lender, specifying in such notice each Revolving Credit Lender’s Pro Rata Share of such Swingline Loan or Loans. Each Revolving Credit Lender hereby absolutely, unconditionally and irrevocably agrees, within one Business Day after receipt of notice as provided in this Section 2.4(c), to pay to the Administrative Agent, for the account of Swingline Lender, such Lender’s Pro Rata Share of such Swingline Loan or Loans. Each Revolving Credit Lender acknowledges and agrees that its obligation to acquire and fund participations in Swingline Loans pursuant to this Section 2.4(c) is absolute, unconditional and irrevocable and shall not be affected by any circumstance whatsoever, including the occurrence and continuance of a Default or reduction or termination of the Revolving Credit Commitments, and that each such payment shall be made without any offset, counterclaim, defense, abatement, withholding or reduction whatsoever. Each Revolving Credit Lender shall comply with its obligation under this Section 2.4(c) by wire transfer of immediately available funds, in the same manner as provided in Section 2.6 with respect to Loans made by such Lender (and Section 2.6 shall apply, mutatis mutandis, to the payment obligations of the Revolving Credit Lenders), and the Administrative Agent shall promptly pay to Swingline Lender the amounts so received by it from the Revolving Credit Lenders. Administrative Agent shall notify the Borrower Representative of any participation in any Swingline Loan acquired pursuant to this Section 2.4(c), and thereafter payments in respect of such Swingline Loan shall be made to the Administrative Agent and not to Swingline Lender. Any amounts received by Swingline Lender from the Borrowers (or other party on behalf of the Borrowers) in respect of a Swingline Loan after receipt by Swingline Lender of the proceeds of a sale of participations therein shall be promptly remitted to the Administrative Agent. Any such amounts received by Administrative Agent shall be promptly remitted by Administrative Agent to the Revolving Credit Lenders that shall have made their payments pursuant to this Section 2.4(c) and to Swingline Lender, as their interests may appear. The purchase of participations in a Swingline Loan pursuant to this Section 2.4(c) shall not relieve the Borrowers of any default in the payment thereof.

 

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(d)           Payments Directly to Swingline Lender. Except as otherwise provided in Section 2.4(c), the Borrowers shall make all payments of principal and interest in respect of the Swingline Loans directly to Swingline Lender.

 

(e)           If the maturity date shall have occurred in respect of any tranche of Revolving Credit Commitments (the “Expiring Credit Commitment”) at a time when another tranche or tranches of Revolving Credit Commitments is or are in effect with a longer maturity date (each, a “non-Expiring Credit Commitment” and collectively, the “non-Expiring Credit Commitments”), then with respect to each outstanding Swing Line Loan, if consented to by the applicable Swing Line Lender and the Administrative Agent, on the earliest occurring maturity date such Swing Line Loan shall be deemed reallocated to the tranche or tranches of the non-Expiring Credit Commitments on a pro rata basis; provided that (i) to the extent that the amount of such reallocation would cause the aggregate credit exposure to exceed the aggregate amount of such non-Expiring Credit Commitments, immediately prior to such reallocation the amount of Swing Line Loans to be reallocated equal to such excess shall be repaid or Cash Collateralized and (ii) notwithstanding the foregoing, if an Event of Default has occurred and is continuing, the Borrower shall still be obligated to pay Swing Line Loans allocated to the Revolving Credit Lenders holding the Expiring Credit Commitments at the maturity date of the Expiring Credit Commitment or if the Loans have been accelerated prior to the maturity date of the Expiring Credit Commitment. Commencing with the maturity date of any tranche of Revolving Credit Commitments, the sublimit for Swing Line Loans shall be agreed solely with the applicable Swing Line Lender.

 

2.5           Letters of Credit.

 

(a)           General. Subject to the terms and conditions set forth herein, in addition to the Loans provided for in Sections 2.1 and 2.4, the Borrowers may request Issuing Lender to issue, at any time and from time to time during the Revolving Credit Availability Period, Letters of Credit for its own account or for the account of one or more of their Restricted Subsidiaries, and to amend, renew or extend Letters of Credit previously issued by it, in each case, in such form as is reasonably acceptable to the Issuing Lender; provided Issuing Lender shall not be required to issue any Letters of Credit on account of any Restricted Subsidiary of the Borrowers unless Issuing Lender has received the information required by Section 10.13 hereof with respect to such Restricted Subsidiary. Letters of Credit issued, amended, renewed, or extended hereunder shall constitute utilization of the Revolving Credit Commitments.

 

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(b)           Notice of Issuance, Amendment, Renewal, or Extension. To request the issuance of a Letter of Credit (or the amendment, renewal or extension of an outstanding Letter of Credit), the Borrower Representative shall at least three Business Days (or such lesser period of time as may be acceptable to the Issuing Lender) prior to the issuance, amendment, renewal or extension hand deliver or telecopy (or transmit by electronic communication, if arrangements for doing so have been approved by Issuing Lender) to the Issuing Lender and the Administrative Agent a notice requesting the issuance of a Letter of Credit, or identifying the Letter of Credit to be amended, renewed or extended, and specifying the date of issuance, amendment, renewal or extension (which shall be a Business Day), the date on which such Letter of Credit is to expire, the amount of such Letter of Credit, the name and address of the beneficiary thereof, the account party, if other than a Borrower, and such other information as shall be reasonably necessary to prepare, amend, renew or extend such Letter of Credit. If requested by Issuing Lender, the Borrower Representative also shall submit a letter of credit application on Issuing Lender’s standard form in connection with any request for a Letter of Credit and such other Letter of Credit Documents as Issuing Lender may reasonably require. In the event of any inconsistency between the terms and conditions of this Agreement and the terms and conditions of any Letter of Credit Document submitted by the Borrowers to, or entered into by the Borrowers with, Issuing Lender relating to any Letter of Credit (other than the Letter of Credit), the terms and conditions of this Agreement shall control. Except as set forth in the immediately preceding sentence, this Section 2.5(b) shall not apply to the automatic extension of any Letter of Credit pursuant to Section 2.5(o).

 

(c)           Limitations on Amounts. Subject to the terms and conditions set forth herein, Issuing Lender agrees to issue, amend, renew, or extend any Letter of Credit at any time and from time to time during the Revolving Credit Availability Period if (and upon issuance, amendment, renewal, or extension of each Letter of Credit, the Borrowers shall be deemed to represent and warrant that), after giving effect to such issuance, amendment, renewal, or extension (i) the aggregate LC Exposures of Issuing Lender (determined for these purposes without giving effect to the participations therein of the Revolving Credit Lenders pursuant to Section 2.5) shall not exceed $3,000,000, (ii) the sum of the total Revolving Credit Exposures shall not exceed the total Revolving Credit Commitments, and (iii) the Revolving Credit Exposure of any Lender shall not exceed such Lender’s Revolving Credit Commitment.

 

(d)           Expiration Date. Each Letter of Credit shall expire at or prior to the close of business on the earlier of (i) the date 12 months after the date of the issuance of such Letter of Credit or such later date as agreed by the Borrowers and the applicable Issuing Lender (or, in the case of any renewal or extension thereof, 12 months after the then-current expiration date of such Letter of Credit or such later date as agreed by the Borrowers and the applicable Issuing Lender), and (ii) the date that is five Business Days prior to the Revolving Credit Maturity Date; provided, the Borrowers may request issuance or renewal of a Letter of Credit with an expiry date after the Revolving Credit Maturity Date if, at the time of such issuance or renewal, the Borrowers deposit into the Collateral Account an amount in immediately available funds equal to 103% of the face amount of such Letter of Credit. No Letter of Credit expiry shall be deemed to have occurred after such earlier date due to the effectiveness of the ISP.

 

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(e)           Participations. (i) By the issuance of a Letter of Credit on or after the Effective Date (or an amendment to a Letter of Credit increasing the amount thereof) by Issuing Lender, and without any further action on the part of Issuing Lender or the Revolving Credit Lenders, Issuing Lender hereby grants to each Revolving Credit Lender, and each Revolving Credit Lender hereby acquires from Issuing Lender, a participation in such Letter of Credit equal to such Revolving Credit Lender’s Pro Rata Share of the aggregate amount available to be drawn under such Letter of Credit. Additionally, without any further action on the part of Issuing Lender or the Revolving Credit Lenders, Issuing Lender hereby grants to each Revolving Credit Lender. Each Revolving Credit Lender acknowledges and agrees that its obligation to acquire participations pursuant to this Section 2.5(e) in respect of Letters of Credit is absolute, unconditional and irrevocable and shall not be affected by any circumstance whatsoever, including any amendment, renewal, reinstatement or extension of any Letter of Credit or the occurrence and continuance of a Default or reduction or termination of the Revolving Credit Commitments, and that each such payment or reimbursement shall be made without any offset, counterclaim, defense, abatement, withholding, or reduction whatsoever.

 

(ii)       In consideration and in furtherance of the foregoing, each Revolving Credit Lender hereby absolutely, unconditionally and irrevocably agrees to pay to the Administrative Agent, for the account of Issuing Lender, such Revolving Credit Lender’s Pro Rata Share of each LC Disbursement (other than an LC Disbursement made after the Revolving Credit Maturity Date as a result of the issuance a Letter of Credit with an expiry date after the Revolving Credit Maturity Date that has been Cash Collateralized pursuant to the proviso of Section 2.5(d)) made by Issuing Lender promptly upon the request of such Issuing Lender (made through Administrative Agent) at any time from the time of such LC Disbursement until such LC Disbursement is reimbursed by the Borrowers or at any time after any reimbursement payment is required to be refunded to the Borrowers for any reason, including after termination of the Revolving Credit Commitments. Each such payment shall be made in the same manner as provided in Section 2.6 with respect to Loans made by such Revolving Credit Lender (and Section 2.6 shall apply, mutatis mutandis, to the payment obligations of the Lenders), and the Administrative Agent shall promptly pay to the Issuing Lender the amounts so received by it from the Revolving Credit Lenders. Promptly following receipt by Administrative Agent of any payment from the Borrowers pursuant to Section 2.5(f), Administrative Agent shall distribute such payment to the Issuing Lender or, to the extent that the Revolving Credit Lenders have made payments pursuant to this Section 2.5(e) to reimburse Issuing Lender, then to such Lenders and such Issuing Lender as their interests may appear. Any payment made by a Revolving Credit Lender pursuant to this Section 2.5(e) to reimburse Issuing Lender for any LC Disbursement shall not constitute a Loan and shall not relieve the Borrowers of their obligation to reimburse such LC Disbursement.

 

(f)            Reimbursement. (i) If Issuing Lender shall make any LC Disbursement in respect of a Letter of Credit, the Borrowers shall reimburse Issuing Lender in respect of such LC Disbursement by paying to the Administrative Agent an amount equal to such LC Disbursement not later than 2:00 p.m., New York City time, on the Business Day immediately following the day that the Borrower Representative receives written notice, provided that the Borrower Representative may, without being subject to the conditions to borrowing set forth herein, request in accordance with Section 2.1 or 2.4 that such payment be financed with a Base Rate Revolving Credit Loan Borrowing or Swingline Loan in an equivalent amount and, to the extent so financed, the Borrowers’ obligation to make such payment shall be discharged and replaced by the resulting Base Rate Revolving Credit Loan Borrowing or Swingline Loan.

 

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(ii)       If the Borrowers fail to make such payment when due, Administrative Agent shall notify each Revolving Credit Lender of the applicable LC Disbursement, the payment then due from the Borrowers in respect thereof and such Lender’s Pro Rata Share thereof, and upon the request of Issuing Lender as provided in Section 2.5(e), each Revolving Credit Lender shall pay to the Administrative Agent, for the account of Issuing Lender, such Lender’s Pro Rata Share thereof in accordance with Section 2.5(e).

 

(g)           Obligations Absolute. The Borrowers’ obligation to reimburse LC Disbursements as provided in this Section shall be absolute, unconditional and irrevocable, and shall be performed strictly in accordance with the terms of this Agreement under any and all circumstances whatsoever and irrespective of (i) any lack of validity or enforceability of any Letter of Credit, any other Letter of Credit Document or any Loan Document, or any term or provision therein, (ii) any draft or other document presented under a Letter of Credit proving to be forged, fraudulent, invalid or insufficient in any respect or any statement therein being untrue or inaccurate in any respect, or any loss or delay in the transmission or otherwise of any document required in order to make a drawing under such Letter of Credit, (iii) payment by Issuing Lender under a Letter of Credit against presentation of a draft or other document that does not comply strictly with the terms of such Letter of Credit, or any payment by Issuing Lender under any Letter of Credit to any Person purporting to be a trustee in bankruptcy, debtor-in-possession, assignee for the benefit of creditors, liquidator, receiver or other representative of or successor to any beneficiary or any transferee of such Letter of Credit, including any arising in connection with any proceeding under any Debtor Relief Law, (iv) the existence of any claim, counterclaim, setoff, defense or other right that the Borrowers or any Subsidiary may have at any time against any beneficiary or any transferee of such Letter of Credit (or any Person for whom any such beneficiary or any such transferee may be acting), Issuing Lender or any other Person, whether in connection with this Agreement, the transactions contemplated hereby or by such Letter of Credit or any agreement or instrument relating thereto, or any unrelated transaction, (v) any other event or circumstance whatsoever, whether or not similar to any of the foregoing, that might, but for the provisions of this Section, constitute a legal or equitable discharge of or defense to the Borrowers’ obligations hereunder, (vi) any amendment or waiver of or consent to any departure from any or all of the Loan Documents, (vii) any improper use which may be made of any Letter of Credit or any improper acts or omissions of any beneficiary or transferee of any Letter of Credit in connection therewith, (viii) the existence of any claim, set-off, defense or any right which the Borrowers may have at any time against any beneficiary or any transferee of any Letter of Credit (or Persons for whom any such beneficiary or any such transferee may be acting), any Lender or any other Person, whether in connection with any Letter of Credit, any transaction contemplated by any Letter of Credit, this Agreement, or any other Loan Document, or any unrelated transaction, (ix) the insolvency of any Person issuing any documents in connection with any Letter of Credit, (x) any breach of any agreement between the Borrowers and any beneficiary or transferee of any Letter of Credit, (xi) any irregularity in the transaction with respect to which any Letter of Credit is issued, including any fraud by the beneficiary or any transferee of such Letter of Credit, (xii) any errors, omissions, interruptions or delays in transmission or delivery of any messages, by mail, cable, telegraph, wireless or otherwise, whether or not they are in code, (xiii) any act, error, neglect or default, omission, insolvency or failure of business of any of the correspondents of Issuing Lender, and (xiv) any other circumstances arising from causes beyond the control of Issuing Lender (other than payment or performance). Nothing in this Agreement shall impact the rights of any Obligor to bring action against the beneficiary of any Letter of Credit.

 

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(h)           Exculpation. Neither Administrative Agent, the Lenders, and Issuing Lender, any of their respective Related Parties nor any correspondent bank of Issuing Lender, shall have any liability or responsibility by reason of or in connection with the issuance (or the amendment, renewal or extension) or transfer of any Letter of Credit by Issuing Lender or any payment or failure to make any payment thereunder (irrespective of any of the circumstances referred to in Section 2.5(g)), or any error, omission, interruption, loss or delay in transmission or delivery of any draft, notice or other communication under or relating to any Letter of Credit (including any document required to make a drawing thereunder), any error in interpretation of technical terms or any consequence arising from causes beyond the control of Issuing Lender; provided that the foregoing shall not be construed to excuse Issuing Lender from liability to the Borrowers to the extent of any direct damages (as opposed to indirect, punitive, exemplary or consequential or exemplary damages, claims in respect of which are hereby waived by the Borrowers to the extent permitted by applicable law) suffered by the Borrowers that are caused by Issuing Lender’s gross negligence, bad faith or willful misconduct or a material breach of this Agreement by such Issuing Lender (in each case, as finally determined by a court of competent jurisdiction) when determining whether drafts and other documents presented under a Letter of Credit comply with the terms thereof. In furtherance and not in limitation of the foregoing, the parties hereto expressly agree that:

 

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

 

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

 

(iii)      Issuing Lender may replace a purportedly lost, stolen, or destroyed original Letter of Credit or missing amendment thereto with a replacement marked as such or waive a requirement of its presentation; and

 

(iv)      clauses (i) and (ii) of Section 2.5(h) establish the standard of care to be exercised by Issuing Lender when determining whether drafts and other documents presented under a Letter of Credit comply with the terms thereof (and the parties hereto hereby waive, to the extent permitted by applicable law, any standard of care inconsistent with the foregoing).

 

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

 

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(j)            Interim Interest. If Issuing Lender for any Letter of Credit shall make any LC Disbursement, then, unless the Borrowers shall reimburse such LC Disbursement in full on the date such LC Disbursement is made, the unpaid amount thereof shall bear interest, for each day from and including the date such LC Disbursement is made to but excluding the date that the Borrowers reimburse such LC Disbursement, at the rate per annum then applicable to Base Rate Revolving Credit Loans; provided that, if the Borrowers fail to reimburse such LC Disbursement when due pursuant to Section 2.5(f), then Section 2.12(c) shall apply. Interest accrued pursuant to this Section 2.5(j) shall be for the account of Issuing Lender, except that interest accrued on and after the date of payment by any Revolving Credit Lender pursuant to Section 2.5(e) to reimburse Issuing Lender shall be for the account of such Lender to the extent of such payment.

 

(k)           Replacement of Issuing Lender; Replacement Issuing Lender. The Issuing Lender may be replaced upon providing 30 days written notice, at its sole option, by written agreement between the Borrower Representative, Administrative Agent, the replaced Issuing Lender and the successor Issuing Lender. The Borrowers may replace the Issuing Lender for any reason upon 3 days prior written notice to the Administrative Agent and the Issuing Lender and may add an additional Issuing Lender from time to time. Administrative Agent shall notify the Lenders of any such replacement of Issuing Lender or if the Borrowers shall decide to add a new Issuing Lender. At the time any such replacement shall become effective, the Borrowers shall pay all unpaid fees accrued for the account of the replaced Issuing Lender. From and after the effective date of any such replacement or addition, (i) the successor Issuing Lender shall have all the rights and obligations of the replaced Issuing Lender under this Agreement and the other Loan Documents with respect to Letters of Credit to be issued by it thereafter and (ii) references herein to the term “Issuing Lender” shall be deemed to include such successor or the previous Issuing Lender (if applicable), or such successor and the previous Issuing Lender (if applicable), as the context shall require. After the replacement of Issuing Lender hereunder, the replaced Issuing Lender shall remain a party hereto and shall continue to have all the rights and obligations of Issuing Lender under this Agreement and the other Loan Documents with respect to Letters of Credit issued by it prior to such replacement, but shall not be required to issue additional Letters of Credit.

 

(l)            Cash Collateralization. If (i) an Event of Default shall occur and be continuing and the Borrower Representative receives written notice from Administrative Agent or the Required Lenders demanding the deposit of cash collateral pursuant to this Section 2.5(l), or (ii) the Borrowers shall be required to provide cash collateral for LC Exposure pursuant to Section 2.10(b)(iii) or pursuant to Section 8.1, the Borrowers shall immediately deposit into the Collateral Account an amount in cash equal to, in the case of an Event of Default, the LC Exposure as of such date plus any accrued and unpaid interest thereon and, in the case of cash collateral pursuant to Section 2.10(b)(iii) the amount to be deposited shall be the amount required under Section 2.10(b)(iii); provided that the obligation to deposit such cash collateral shall become effective immediately, and such deposit shall become immediately due and payable, without demand or other notice of any kind, upon the occurrence of any Event of Default with respect to the Borrowers described in clause (h) or (i) of Section 8.1; provided further, that any such cash collateral deposited as the result of an Event of Default occurring and continuing shall be returned to the Borrowers once the applicable Event of Default is no longer continuing so long as it has not been applied to the Obligations as permitted hereunder. Such deposit shall be held by Administrative Agent in such Collateral Account for the benefit of the Secured Parties as collateral in the first instance for the LC Exposure under this Agreement and thereafter for the payment of the Obligations. The Borrowers hereby grant a security interest to the Administrative Agent for the benefit of the Secured Parties in such Collateral Account and in any cash, balances, financial assets (as defined in the UCC) or other property held therein and all proceeds thereof.

 

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(m)          Applicability of ISP and UCP. Unless otherwise expressly agreed by Issuing Lender and the Borrowers when a Letter of Credit is issued and subject to applicable laws, the Letters of Credit shall be governed by and subject to ISP or the rules of the Uniform Customs and Practice for Documentary Credits, as published in its most recent version by the International Chamber of Commerce on the date any Letter of Credit is issued.

 

(n)           Issuing Lender. Issuing Lender shall act on behalf of the Revolving Credit Lenders with respect to any Letters of Credit issued by it and the documents associated therewith. Issuing Lender shall not be obligated to issue Letters of Credit to any beneficiary subject to Sanctions, and Issuing Lender shall have all of the benefits and immunities (i) provided to the Administrative Agent in Section 9 with respect to any acts taken or omissions suffered by Issuing Lender in connection with Letters of Credit issued by it and Letter of Credit Documents pertaining to such Letters of Credit as fully as if the term “Administrative Agent” as used in Section 9 included Issuing Lender with respect to such acts or omissions, and (ii) as additionally provided herein with respect to the Issuing Lender.

 

(o)           Automatic Extension. The Borrowers may request and Issuing Lender shall issue Letters of Credit that may automatically be extended for one or more successive periods not to exceed one year each; provided that Issuing Lender has the option to elect not to extend for any such additional period; and provided, further that, (i) that Issuing Lender shall not elect at any time after the Revolving Credit Maturity Date to extend such Letter of Credit, and (ii) Issuing Lender shall not elect to extend such Letter of Credit if it has knowledge that an Event of Default has occurred and is continuing at the time Issuing Lender must elect whether or not to allow such extension or, subject to Section 2.5(d), if such extension would be terminated on or after the date 5 days prior to the Revolving Credit Maturity Date.

 

(p)           Issuing Lenders other than Administrative Agent. Any Issuing Lender (other than an Issuing Lender that is also Administrative Agent or one of its Affiliates) selected by the Borrowers to issue a Letter of Credit hereunder, shall (i) notify Administrative Agent in writing no later than the Business Day immediately following the Business Day on which the issuance, termination, expiration, reduction, amendment, modification or replacement of any Letter of Credit issued by such Issuing Lender occurs; provided that any notice by an Issuing Lender of the issuance, termination, expiration, reduction, amendment, modification or replacement of a Letter of Credit pursuant to this Section received by Administrative Agent on a day that is not a Business Day, or after 11:00 a.m. (New York City time) on a Business Day, shall be deemed to have been given at the opening of business on the next Business Day, and (ii) deliver to the Administrative Agent, once each week (on such day of the week as Administrative Agent and Issuing Lender shall agree) or during the existence of an Event of Default, as frequently as requested by Administrative Agent, a written report for the prior week of the daily aggregate undrawn amounts of all outstanding Letters of Credit issued by such Issuing Lender.

 

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(q)           Illegality under Letters of Credit. If, at any time, it becomes unlawful after the Effective Date for any Issuing Lender to comply with any of its obligations under any Letter of Credit (including, but not limited to, as a result of any sanctions imposed by the United Nations, the United States or any other relevant sanctions authority), the obligations of such Issuing Lender with respect to such Letter of Credit shall be suspended (and all corresponding rights shall cease to accrue) until such time as it may again become lawful for such Issuing Lender to comply its obligations under such Letter of Credit, and such Issuing Lender shall not be liable for any losses that the Obligors may incur as a result.

 

(r)            Letters of Credit Issued for Account of Subsidiaries. Notwithstanding that a Letter of Credit issued or outstanding hereunder is in support of any obligations of, or is for the account of, a Subsidiary, the Borrowers shall be obligated to reimburse the Issuing Lender hereunder for any and all drawings under such Letter of Credit. The Borrowers hereby acknowledge that the issuance of Letters of Credit for the account of Subsidiaries inures to the benefit of the Borrowers, and that the Borrowers’ business derives substantial benefits from the businesses of such Subsidiaries.

 

(s)            If the expiration of any Letter of Credit in respect of any tranche of Revolving Credit Commitments occurs prior to the expiry date of any Letter of Credit, then (i) if one or more other tranches of Revolving Credit Commitments in respect of which the Letter of Credit Expiration Date shall not have so occurred are then in effect, such Letters of Credit shall, to the extent such Letters of Credit could have been issued under such other tranches and with the prior consent of each applicable Issuing Lender and the Administrative Agent, automatically be deemed to have been issued (including for purposes of the obligations of the Revolving Credit Lenders to purchase participations therein and to make Revolving Credit Loans and payments in respect thereof pursuant to Section 2.05(e) and (f)) under (and ratably participated in by Lenders pursuant to) the Revolving Credit Commitments in respect of such non-terminating tranches up to an aggregate amount not to exceed the aggregate principal amount of the unutilized Revolving Credit Commitments thereunder at such time (it being understood that no partial face amount of any Letter of Credit may be so reallocated) and (ii) to the extent not reallocated pursuant to the immediately preceding clause (i), the Borrower shall Cash Collateralize any such Letter of Credit in accordance with Section 2.5(l). Commencing with the maturity date of any tranche of Revolving Credit Commitments, the sublimit for Letters of Credit shall be agreed solely with the Issuing Lender.

 

(t)            Conflict with Letter of Credit Application. Notwithstanding anything else to the contrary in this Agreement or any letter of credit application or any other Letter of Credit Document, in the event of any conflict between the terms hereof and the terms of any letter of credit application or any Letter of Credit Document, (i) the terms hereof shall control and (ii) any grant of a security interest or Lien in any letter of credit application or any other Letter of Credit Document shall be null and void.

 

2.6       Funding of Borrowings.

 

(a)           Funding by Lenders. Each Lender shall make each Loan to be made by it hereunder on the proposed date thereof by wire transfer of immediately available funds by 1:00 p.m., New York City time, to the account of Administrative Agent most recently designated by it for such purpose by notice to the Lenders; provided that Swingline Loans shall be made as provided in Section 2.4. Administrative Agent will make such Loans available to any Borrower by promptly crediting the amounts so received, in like funds, to an account designated by such Borrower in the applicable Borrowing Request; provided that Base Rate Revolving Credit Loan Borrowings made to finance the reimbursement of an LC Disbursement as provided in Section 2.5(f) shall be remitted by Administrative Agent to the Issuing Lender.

 

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(b)           Presumption by Administrative Agent. Unless Administrative Agent shall have received notice from a Lender prior to the proposed date of any Borrowing that such Lender will not make available to the Administrative Agent such Lender’s share of such Borrowing, Administrative Agent may assume that such Lender has made such share available on such date in accordance with Section 2.6(a) and may, in reliance upon such assumption but without any obligation to do so, make available to such Borrower a corresponding amount. In such event, if a Lender has not in fact made its share of the applicable Borrowing available to the Administrative Agent, then the applicable Lender on the one hand and the Borrowers on the other severally agree to pay to the Administrative Agent forthwith on demand such corresponding amount with interest thereon, for each day from and including the date such amount is made available to the Borrowers to but excluding the date of payment to the Administrative Agent, at (i) in the case of a payment to be made by such Lender, for the first three Business Days the greater of the Federal Funds Effective Rate and a rate determined by Administrative Agent in accordance with banking industry rules on interbank compensation and thereafter at the Base Rate and (ii) in the case of a payment to be made by the Borrowers, the interest rate applicable to Base Rate Loans. If the Borrowers and such Lender shall pay such interest to the Administrative Agent for the same or an overlapping period, Administrative Agent shall promptly remit to the Borrowers the amount of such interest paid by the Borrowers for such period. If such Lender pays its share of the applicable Borrowing to the Administrative Agent, then the amount so paid shall constitute such Lender’s Loan included in such Borrowing. Any payment by the Borrowers shall be without prejudice to any claim the Borrowers may have against a Lender that shall have failed to make such payment to the Administrative Agent. A notice of Administrative Agent to any Lender or the Borrowers with respect to any amount owing under this Section 2.6(b) shall be conclusive, absent manifest error.

 

(c)           Obligations of Lenders Several. The obligations of the Lenders hereunder to make Loans, to fund participations in Letters of Credit and Swingline Loans and to make payments pursuant to Section 10.3(d) are several and not joint. The failure of any Lender to make any Loan, to fund any such participation or to make any payment under Section 10.3(d) on any date required hereunder shall not relieve any other Lender of its corresponding obligation to do so on such date, and no Lender shall be responsible for the failure of any other Lender to so make its Loan, to purchase its participation or to make its payment under Section 10.3(d).

 

2.7           Interest Elections.

 

(a)           Elections by the Borrowers for Borrowings. Each Borrowing initially shall be of the Type specified in the applicable Borrowing Request and, in the case of a Term Benchmark Borrowing, shall have an initial Interest Period specified in such Borrowing Request. Thereafter, subject to the requirements of Section 2.13, a Borrower may elect to convert such Borrowing to a different Type or to continue such Borrowing and, in the case of a Term Benchmark Borrowing, may elect Interest Periods therefor, all as provided in this Section. A Borrower may elect different options with respect to different portions of the affected Borrowing, in which case each such portion shall be allocated ratably among the Lenders holding the Loans comprising such Borrowing, and the Loans comprising each such portion shall be considered a separate Borrowing. This Section shall not apply to Swingline Loan Borrowings, which may not be converted or continued.

 

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(b)           Notice of Elections. To make an election pursuant to this Section, the Borrower Representative shall notify Administrative Agent of such election by telephone or by emailing an Interest Election Request to the Administrative Agent, in either case by the time that a Borrowing Request would be required under Section 2.3 if such Borrower was requesting a Borrowing of the Type resulting from such election to be made on the effective date of such election. Each Interest Election Request (whether by telephone or email) shall be irrevocable and any telephonic request shall be confirmed promptly by hand delivery, email or telecopy to the Administrative Agent of a written Interest Election Request in the form of Exhibit 2.7 and signed by the Borrower Representative.

 

(c)            Information in Interest Election Requests. Each telephonic and written Interest Election Request shall specify the following information in compliance with Section 2.2:

 

(i)        the Borrowing to which such Interest Election Request applies and, if different options are being elected with respect to different portions thereof, the portions thereof to be allocated to each resulting Borrowing (in which case the information to be specified pursuant to clauses (iii) and (iv) of this Section 2.7(c) shall be specified for each resulting Borrowing);

 

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

 

(iii)      whether the resulting Borrowing is to be a Base Rate Borrowing or a Term Benchmark Borrowing; and

 

(iv)      if the resulting Borrowing is a Term Benchmark Borrowing, the Interest Period to be applicable thereto (by specifying the duration of such Interest Period and the last day of such Interest Period) after giving effect to such election, which shall be a period contemplated by the definition of the term “Interest Period”.

 

If any such Interest Election Request requests a Term Benchmark Borrowing but does not specify an Interest Period, then the Borrowers shall be deemed to have selected an Interest Period of one month’s duration.

 

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

    

(e)            Failure to Elect; Default. If such Borrower Representative fails to deliver a timely and properly completed Interest Election Request with respect to a Term Benchmark Borrowing prior to the end of the Interest Period applicable thereto, then, unless such Borrowing is repaid as provided herein, at the end of such Interest Period such Borrowing shall be converted to a Base Rate Borrowing. Notwithstanding any contrary provision hereof, if a Default has occurred and is continuing and the Administrative Agent, at the request of the Required Lenders, so notifies the Borrower Representative, then, so long as a Default is continuing, (i) no outstanding Borrowing may be converted to or continued as a Term Benchmark Borrowing and (ii) unless repaid, each Term Benchmark Borrowing shall be converted to a Base Rate Borrowing at the end of the Interest Period applicable thereto.

 

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(f)            Initial Interest Elections. Anything in Section 2.2 or this Section 2.7 to the contrary notwithstanding, a Borrower may not select a Term Benchmark Borrowing as a Borrowing on the Effective Date unless Administrative Agent receives the applicable Borrowing Request not later than 1:00 p.m., one Business Day prior to the Effective Date, together with an indemnity agreement from the Borrowers agreeing to pay losses as described in Section 2.15, in form and substance reasonably acceptable to the Administrative Agent.

 

2.8           Termination and Reduction of the Commitments.

 

(a)           Scheduled Termination. Unless previously terminated in accordance with the terms hereof, (i) the Initial Term Loan Commitments shall terminate upon the making of the Initial Term Loans on the Effective Date, (ii) the Revolving Credit Commitments shall terminate on the Revolving Credit Maturity Date, (iii) the Second Amendment Term Loan Commitments shall terminate upon the making of the Second Amendment Term Loans on the Second Amendment Effective Date, and (iv) the Third Amendment Term Loans Commitments shall terminate upon the making of the Third Amendment Term Loans on the Third Amendment Effective Date and (v) the Fourth Amendment Delayed Draw Term Loan Commitments shall terminate on the Fourth Amendment DDTL Commitment Termination Date.

 

(b)           Voluntary Termination or Reduction. The Borrowers may at any time terminate, or from time to time reduce, (i) the Revolving Credit Commitments; provided that (ix) each partial reduction of the Revolving Credit Commitments pursuant to this Section shall be in an amount that is $1,000,000 or a larger multiple of $1,000,000 in excess thereof and (iiy) the Borrowers shall not terminate or reduce the Revolving Credit Commitments if, after giving effect to any concurrent prepayment of the Revolving Credit Loans in accordance with Section 2.10, the aggregate Revolving Credit Exposures would exceed the total Revolving Credit Commitments and (ii) the DDTL Commitments; provided that each partial reduction of the DDTL Commitments pursuant to this Section shall be in an amount that is $1,000,000 or a larger multiple of $1,000,000 in excess thereof.

 

(c)           Notice of Voluntary Termination or Reduction. The Borrower Representative shall notify Administrative Agent of any election to terminate or reduce the Revolving Creditany Commitments under Section 2.8(b) by no later than 1:00 p.m., New York City time, at least three Business Days prior to the effective date of such termination or reduction, specifying such election and the effective date thereof. Promptly following receipt of any notice, Administrative Agent shall advise the Lenders of the contents thereof. Each notice delivered by the Borrower Representative pursuant to this Section shall be irrevocable; provided that a notice of termination of the Revolving Credit Commitments delivered by the Borrower Representative may state that such notice is conditioned upon the effectiveness of other credit facilities or occurrence of other transactions or events, in which case such notice may be revoked by the Borrower Representative (by notice to the Administrative Agent on or prior to the specified effective date) if such condition is not satisfied.

 

(d)           Effect of Termination or Reduction.

 

(i)        Any termination or reduction of the Revolving Credit Commitments shall be permanent. Each reduction of the Revolving Credit Commitments shall be made ratably among the Lenders in accordance with their respective Revolving Credit Commitments (other than any reduction made pursuant to Section 2.18(b)). All commitment fees accrued on the portion of the Revolving Credit Commitments terminated until the effective date of such termination of the Revolving Credit Commitments shall be paid on the effective date of such termination.

 

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(ii)       Any termination or reduction of the DDTL Commitments shall be permanent. Each reduction of the DDTL Commitments shall be made ratably among the Lenders in accordance with their respective DDTL Commitments (other than any reduction made pursuant to Section 2.18(b)). All commitment fees accrued on the portion of the DDTL Commitments terminated until the effective date of such termination of such DDTL Commitments shall be paid on the effective date of such termination.

 

2.9       Repayment of Loans; Evidence of Debt.

 

(a)           Repayment. Each Borrower, jointly and severally, hereby unconditionally promises to pay the Loans as follows:

 

(i)        to the Administrative Agent for the ratable account of the Revolving Credit Lenders the aggregate outstanding principal amount of the Revolving Credit Loans on the Revolving Credit Maturity Date or any earlier date of termination of this Agreement or acceleration of the Loans due hereunder in accordance with the terms hereof;

 

(ii)       to the Administrative Agent for the ratable account of the applicable Term Loan Lenders, (x) the principal of the Incremental Term Loans of each Tranche on such dates and in such amounts as may be set forth in the Notice of Incremental Term Loan Borrowing for such Tranche, to be applied to the unpaid principal amount of the Incremental Term Loans for such Tranche for which such payment relates, (y) on each Principal Payment Date, (A) the principal of the Initial Term Loans, the Second Amendment Term Loans and the Third Amendment Term Loans, as applicable, outstanding in an amount equal to the Quarterly Percentage Amount for each such Class, to be applied to the unpaid principal amount of the Initial Term Loans, the Second Amendment Term Loans and the Third Amendment Term Loans on a pro-rata basis,pro rata basis, (B) the principal of any Fourth Amendment Delayed Draw Term Loans outstanding in an amount equal to the Quarterly Percentage Amount of the initial principal balance of such Fourth Amendment Delayed Draw Term Loans when originally incurred, to be applied to the unpaid principal amount of such Delayed Draw Term Loans on a pro rata basis and (z) on the applicable Term Loan Maturity Date or any earlier date of termination of this Agreement or acceleration of the Loans due hereunder in accordance with the terms hereof, the remaining unpaid principal amount of the Initial Term Loans, the Second Amendment Term Loans, the Third Amendment Term Loans, the Fourth Amendment Delayed Draw Term Loans and/or such other Tranche of Incremental Term Loans, as applicable; provided that the scheduled installments of principal of the Term Loans of any Class set forth above shall be reduced in connection with any voluntary or mandatory prepayments of the Term Loans of such Class in accordance herewith;

 

(iii)       to Swingline Lender the then unpaid principal amount of each Swingline Loan on the earlier of the Revolving Credit Maturity Date (or any earlier date of termination of this Agreement or acceleration of the Loans due hereunder in accordance with the terms hereof) and the date that is five (5) Business Days after such Swingline Loan is made; provided that on each date that a Revolving Credit Loan Borrowing is made, the Borrowers shall repay all Swingline Loans then outstanding.

 

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(b)           Manner of Payment. Each repayment or prepayment of Borrowings of any Class shall be applied to repay any outstanding Base Rate Loan Borrowings of such Class before any other Borrowings of such Class.

 

(c)           Maintenance of Loan Accounts by Lenders and the Administrative Agent. Each Lender shall maintain in accordance with its usual practice an account or accounts evidencing the indebtedness of the Borrowers to such Lender resulting from each Loan made by such Lender, including the amounts of principal and interest payable and paid to such Lender from time to time hereunder. Administrative Agent shall maintain on the Register (i) the amount of each Loan made hereunder, the Class and Type thereof and the Interest Period applicable thereto, (ii) the amount of any principal or interest due and payable or to become due and payable from the Borrowers to each Lender hereunder, and (iii) the amount of any sum received by Administrative Agent hereunder for the account of the Lenders and each Lender’s share thereof.

 

(d)           Effect of Entries. The entries made in the accounts maintained pursuant to Section 2.9(c) shall be conclusive evidence of the existence and amounts of the obligations recorded therein; provided that the failure of any Lender or Administrative Agent to maintain such accounts or any error therein shall not in any manner affect the obligation of the Borrowers to repay the Loans in accordance with the terms of this Agreement. In the event of any conflict between the accounts maintained by any Lender and the accounts of Administrative Agent in respect of such matters, the accounts of Administrative Agent shall control in the absence of manifest error.

 

(e)           Participations in Letters of Credit and Swingline Loans. In addition to the accounts maintained pursuant to Section 2.9(c), each Lender and the Administrative Agent shall maintain in accordance with its usual practice account or accounts evidencing the purchases and sales by such Lender of participations in Letters of Credit and Swingline Loans. In the event of any conflict between the accounts maintained by Administrative Agent and the accounts of any Lender in respect of such matters, the accounts and records of Administrative Agent shall control in the absence of manifest error.

 

2.10        Prepayment of Loans.

 

(a)           Optional Prepayments. The Borrowers shall have the right at any time and from time to time to prepay any Borrowing in whole or in part, subject to the requirements of this Section (including Section 2.10(d)(vi)) and Section 2.15; provided that each voluntary prepayment of the Term Loans shall be in an amount that is at least $500,000 or a larger multiple of $100,000 in excess thereof or, if less, the entire principal amount thereof then outstanding. Any prepayment of the Term Loans pursuant to this Section 2.10(a) shall be applied to the remaining scheduled amortization payments thereof as set forth in Section 2.10(c).

 

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(b)           Mandatory Prepayments. The Borrowers will prepay the Loans (and/or provide cash collateral for LC Exposure, as applicable), as follows:

 

(i)        Sale of Assets or Events of Loss. If on any date a Company shall receive Net Cash Proceeds from (x) any Disposition (excluding any Ordinary Course Disposition) or (y) any Event of Loss, then, unless the Borrower Representative shall have elected to reinvest such Net Cash Proceeds pursuant to a Reinvestment Event so long as no Event of Default described in clause (a), (b), (h) or (i) of Section 8.1 has occurred and is continuing or would result therefrom, within 10 Business Days of the date of receipt by a Company of such Net Cash Proceeds, the Borrowers shall prepay the Term Loans in an amount equal to 100% of the amount of such Net Cash Proceeds in excess of the greater of (A) $4,500,000 and (B) 15% of Consolidated EBITDA (determined at the time of such Disposition or Event of Loss (calculated on a pro forma basis) as of the last day of the most recently ended four Fiscal Quarter period for which financial statements have been delivered pursuant to Section 5.1(a) or (b)) (the “Asset Sale Threshold”) per Fiscal Year for all such Dispositions (it being agreed that the Borrowers may retain all such amount below the Asset Sale Threshold (the “De Minimis Asset Sale Proceeds”)); provided that notwithstanding the foregoing, on each Reinvestment Prepayment Date, the Term Loans shall be prepaid by an amount equal to the Reinvestment Prepayment Amount with respect to the relevant Reinvestment Event, as set forth in Section 2.10(c). The provisions of this Section do not constitute consent to the consummation of any Disposition not permitted by Section 6.4.

 

(ii)       Excess Cash Flow. Not later than the date that is 10 Business Days after the earlier of (x) the date on which the audited financial statements under Section 5.1(a) for the Fiscal Year ending closest to December 31, 2022 and each Fiscal Year thereafter are required to be delivered to the Lenders, and (y) the date such audited financial statements are actually delivered, the Borrowers shall prepay the Term Loans in an aggregate amount equal to (A) 50% of Excess Cash Flow (the “Excess Cash Flow Percentage”) for such Excess Cash Flow Period minus (B) the aggregate amount of voluntary prepayments of Term Loans (except to the extent funded with the proceeds of long term indebtedness) pursuant to Section 2.10(a) and all other Indebtedness secured by the Collateral on a pari passu basis with the Term Loans (and in the case of any revolving loans, accompanied by a corresponding reduction of the commitments in respect thereof), minus (C) optional prepayments on the Revolving Credit Loans (except to the extent funded with proceeds of long term indebtedness) that are accompanied by a corresponding reduction in the Revolving Credit Commitment, such prepayment to be effected in each case in the manner and to the extent specified in Section 2.10(c); provided, however, that (x) the Excess Cash Flow Percentage shall be 25% if the Consolidated First Lien Leverage Ratio as of the last day of the applicable Excess Cash Flow Period is less than 4.00 to 1.00 and (y) the Excess Cash Flow Percentage shall be 0% if the Consolidated First Lien Leverage Ratio as of the last day of the applicable Excess Cash Flow Period is less than to 3.50 to 1.00; provided, further, that such Excess Cash Flow payment shall only be required to the extent exceeding the greater of (A) $3,000,000 and (B) 10% of Consolidated EBITDA as of the last day of the most recently ended four Fiscal Quarter period for which financial statements have been delivered pursuant to Section 5.1(a) or (b)) (the “ECF Threshold”) (it being agreed that the Borrowers may retain all such amount below the ECF Threshold (the “Retained ECF Amount”)); provided, further, that any prepayment of Revolving Loans incurred on the Effective Date to finance any original issue discount or upfront fees required by the Fee Letter shall, at the option of the Borrowers, be applied to any subsequent Fiscal Year to the extent the amount of such prepayments exceeds the amount of prepayments required to be made pursuant to this Section 2.10(b)(ii) for such year.

 

(iii)       Insufficient Availability. Until the Revolving Credit Maturity Date, the Borrowers shall from time to time prepay the Revolving Credit Loans and Swingline Loans (or provide cash collateral for LC Exposure as provided in Section 2.5(l)) in such amounts as shall be necessary so that at all times the aggregate outstanding Revolving Credit Exposures shall not exceed the total Revolving Credit Commitments, such amount to be applied FIRST, to repay the outstanding principal balance of the Swingline Loans, until such Swingline Loans shall have been repaid in full, SECOND, to repay, the outstanding principal balance of the Revolving Credit Loans and THIRD, to Cash Collateralize the LC Exposure. In addition, if on any date the LC Exposure shall exceed the Letter of Credit sublimit set forth in Section 2.5(c), the Borrowers shall cash collateralize on such date the outstanding Letters of Credit in an amount equal to such excess.

 

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(iv)       Indebtedness Issuance. Without limiting the obligation of the Borrowers to obtain the consent of the Required Lenders pursuant to Section 6.1 to the incurrence of any Indebtedness not otherwise permitted hereunder, upon the incurrence of any Indebtedness (other than Indebtedness permitted under this Agreement (other than Credit Agreement Refinancing Indebtedness)), the Borrowers shall prepay the Loans in an aggregate amount equal to 100% of the Net Cash Proceeds thereof within 5 Business Days of receipt thereof, such prepayment to be effected in the manner and to the extent specified in Section 2.10(c).

 

(v)       Notwithstanding any other provisions of this Section 2.10, (i) to the extent that the repatriation to the United States of any Excess Cash Flow attributable to Foreign Subsidiaries (“Foreign Subsidiary Excess Cash Flow”) would be (x) prohibited or delayed by applicable Law or (y) restricted, prohibited or delayed by applicable material constituent documents or material agreements so long as such restrictions described in this clause (y) are not created in contemplation of such prepayments, an amount equal to the portion of such Foreign Subsidiary Excess Cash Flow that would be so affected were the Borrowers to attempt to repatriate such cash will not be required to be applied to repay Term Loans at the times provided in this Section 2.10 so long, but only so long, as the applicable local law or applicable material documents would not otherwise permit repatriation to the United States (the Borrowers hereby agree to use commercially reasonable efforts during the year following the date such prepayment would otherwise have been required to be paid to overcome or eliminate any such restrictions on repatriation, even if the Borrowers do not intend to actually repatriate such cash, so that an amount equal to the full amount of such Foreign Subsidiary Excess Cash Flow will otherwise be subject to repayment under this Section 2.10), and if at any time within one year following the date on which the respective prepayment would otherwise have been required such repatriation of any of such affected Foreign Subsidiary Excess Cash Flow is permissible under the applicable Law or applicable material documents (even if such cash is actually not repatriated), an amount equal to the amount of the Foreign Subsidiary Excess Cash Flow that could be repatriated will be promptly (and in any event not later than five Business Days after the date that such cash could be repatriated) applied (net of an amount equal to the additional taxes of the Borrowers, their Subsidiaries and the direct and indirect holders of Equity Interests in the Borrowers that would be payable or reserved against as a result of a repatriation and any additional costs that would be incurred as a result of a repatriation, whether or not a repatriation actually occurs) by the Borrowers to the repayment of the Term Loans pursuant to this Section 2.10 and (ii) to the extent that the Borrowers have determined in good faith that repatriation of any Foreign Subsidiary Excess Cash Flow could reasonably be expected to have adverse tax consequences (other than de minimis tax consequences), an amount equal to such Foreign Subsidiary Excess Cash Flow that would be so affected will not be subject to repayment under this Section 2.10; provided that in the case of each of clauses (i) and (ii), such nonpayment prior to the time such amounts must be prepaid shall not constitute an Event of Default (and such amounts shall be available for working capital and other general corporate purposes of the Borrowers and the Restricted Subsidiaries).

 

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(vi)      Notwithstanding any other provisions of this Section 2.10, (i) to the extent that the repatriation to the United States of any or all of the Net Proceeds of any Disposition by a Foreign Subsidiary (“Foreign Disposition”) or the Net Proceeds of any Event of Loss incurred by a Foreign Subsidiary (“Foreign Casualty Event”) would be (x) prohibited or delayed by applicable law or (y) restricted prohibited or delayed by applicable material agreements (including material constituent documents) so long as such restrictions described in this clause (y) are not created in contemplation of such prepayments, an amount equal to the Net Cash Proceeds that would be so affected were the Borrowers to attempt to repatriate such cash will not be required to be applied to repay Term Loans at the times provided in this Section 2.10 so long, but only so long, as the applicable local law or applicable material documents would not otherwise permit repatriation to the United States (the Borrowers hereby agree to use commercially reasonable efforts during the year following the date such prepayment would otherwise have been required to be made to overcome or eliminate any such restrictions on repatriation even if the Borrower does not intend to actually repatriate such cash, so that an amount equal to the full amount of such Net Cash Proceeds will otherwise be subject to repayment under this Section 2.10), and if at any time within one year following the date on which the respective prepayment would otherwise have been required such repatriation of any of such affected Net Cash Proceeds is permissible under the applicable Law or applicable material documents, even if such cash is not actually repatriated at such time, an amount equal to the amount of the Net Cash Proceeds will be promptly (and in any event not later than five Business Days after the date that such cash could be repatriated) applied (net of an amount equal to the additional Taxes of the Borrowers, their Subsidiaries and the direct and indirect holders of Equity Interests in the Borrowers that would be payable or reserved against as a result of a repatriation and any additional costs that would be incurred as a result of a repatriation, whether or not a repatriation actually occurs) by the Borrowers to the repayment of the Term Loans pursuant to this Section 2.10 and (ii) to the extent that the Borrowers have determined in good faith that repatriation of any of or all the Net Cash Proceeds of any Foreign Disposition or Foreign Casualty Event could reasonably be expected to have adverse Tax (other than de minimis Tax consequences) with respect to such Net Cash Proceeds, an amount equal to such Net Cash Proceeds that would be so affected will not be subject to repayment under this Section 2.10; provided that in the case of each of clauses (i) and (ii), such nonpayment prior to the time such amounts must be prepaid shall not constitute an Event of Default (and such amounts shall be available for working capital and other general corporate purposes of the Borrowers and the Restricted Subsidiaries, in each case, subject to the prepayment provisions in this Section 2.10). For the avoidance of doubt, nothing in this Section 2.10 shall require the Borrowers or any Subsidiary to cause any amounts to be repatriated to the United States (whether or not such amounts are used in or excluded from the determination of the amount of any mandatory prepayments hereunder).

 

(c)           Order of Application to Loans. Each such prepayment of the Loans made under Section 2.10(a) shall be applied to any Class of Term Loans or the Revolving Credit Loans as may be selected by the Borrowers and, in connection with voluntary prepayments of such Class of Term Loans, applied to the remaining scheduled amortization payments thereof as the Borrowers shall direct or, absent such direction, in the direct order of maturity or otherwise as may be agreed in the applicable Incremental Amendment for such Tranche. Except as otherwise provided in Section 8.2, each mandatory prepayment of the Loans under Section 2.10(b) (other than any mandatory prepayment of the Loans under Section 2.10(b)(iii)) shall be applied (i) FIRST, to repay accrued interest and fees due on the amount of such repayment, (ii) SECOND, to repay, on a pro rata basis, the outstanding principal balance of the Term Loans (on a pro rata basis to each Class of Term Loans and within each Class, first to such Term Loans that are Base Rate Loans and, then, to such Term Loans that are Term Benchmark Loans), as the Borrowers shall direct or, absent such direction, in the direct order of maturity and thereafter, to the remaining scheduled amortization payments on a pro rata basis, until the Term Loans shall have been repaid in full, (iii) THIRD, to repay the outstanding principal balance of the Swingline Loans, until such Swingline Loans shall have been repaid in full; and (iv) FOURTH, to repay, on a pro rata basis, the outstanding principal balance of the Revolving Credit Loans (without a corresponding reduction in the applicable Revolving Credit Commitment).

 

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(d)           Notices, Etc.

 

(i)        The Borrower Representative shall notify Administrative Agent (and, in the case of prepayment of a Swingline Loan, Swingline Lender) in writing of any optional prepayment under Section 2.10(a), (i) in the case of prepayment of a Term Benchmark Borrowing, not later than 2:00 p.m., three Business Days before the date of prepayment, (ii) in the case of prepayment of a Base Rate Borrowing, not later than 11:00 a.m., New York City time, on the date of prepayment or (iii) in the case of prepayment of a Swingline Loan, not later than 12:00 p.m., on the date of prepayment. Each such notice shall specify the prepayment date, and the principal amount of each Borrowing or portion thereof to be prepaid; provided that, if a notice of prepayment is given in connection with a conditional notice of termination of the Revolving Credit Commitments as contemplated by Section 2.8(c), then such notice of prepayment may be revoked if such notice of termination is revoked in accordance with Section 2.8(c). Promptly following receipt of any such notice, Administrative Agent shall advise the relevant Lenders of the contents thereof.

 

(ii)       Prior to or concurrently with any prepayment under Section 2.10(b), the Borrower Representative shall deliver to the Administrative Agent a certificate signed by a Responsible Officer of the Borrower Representative containing a reasonably detailed calculation of the estimated amount of such prepayment.

 

(iii)       Promptly following receipt of any prepayment notice relating to a Borrowing or such certificate relating to a prepayment, Administrative Agent shall advise the relevant Lenders of the contents thereof and of the amount of such Lender’s ratable portion of such prepayment. Each Lender may reject all of its pro rata share of any mandatory prepayment (other than prepayments resulting from the incurrence of Credit Agreement Refinancing Indebtedness) (such declined amounts, the “Declined Proceeds”) of Term Loans required to be made pursuant to clauses (i), (ii) and (iv) of Section 2.10(b) by providing written notice (each, a “Rejection Notice”) to the Administrative Agent no later than 5:00 p.m. one Business Day after the date of such Lender’s receipt of notice from the Administrative Agent regarding such prepayment; provided that in no event may the proceeds of any Credit Agreement Refinancing Indebtedness be rejected. If a Lender fails to deliver a Rejection Notice to the Administrative Agent within the time frame specified above such failure will be deemed an acceptance of the total amount of such mandatory prepayment.

 

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(iv)      Each partial prepayment of any Borrowing shall be in an amount such that the remaining amount outstanding of each Borrowing would be permitted in the case of a Borrowing of the same Type as provided in Section 2.2 except as necessary to apply fully the required amount of a mandatory prepayment under Section 2.10(b). Each prepayment of a Borrowing shall be applied ratably to the Loans included in the prepaid Borrowing.

 

(v)       Prepayments shall be accompanied by accrued interest to the extent required by Section 2.12 and any amounts required by Section 2.15 and shall be made in the manner specified in Section 2.9(b) and this Section 2.10.

 

(vi)       If any optional prepayment pursuant to Section 2.10(a), Section 2.18(b) (only with respect to optional prepayments made in connection with a Lender who is not a party to the applicable Extension Amendment) or Section 2.22 or mandatory prepayment pursuant to Section 2.10(b)(iv) (in each case, whether before or after the occurrence of an Event of Default, an acceleration of the Obligations or the commencement of a bankruptcy or insolvency proceeding) occurs prior to the date occurring (A) prior to the date that is one year after the Third Amendment Effective Date or (B) on or after the date that is one year after the Third Amendment Effective Date but prior to the date that is two years after the Third Amendment Effective Date, the Borrowers jointly and severally agree to pay to the Administrative Agent (1) for the ratable account of each Term Loan Lender with Initial Term Loans that are subject to a prepayment premium in an amount equal to 2.00% or 1.00%, respectively, of the aggregate principal amount of the Initial Term Loans subject to such prepayment, (2) for the ratable account of each Term Loan Lender with Second Amendment Term Loans that are subject to a prepayment premium in an amount equal to 2.00% or 1.00%, respectively, of the aggregate principal amount of the Second Amendment Term Loans subject to such prepayment and, (3) for the ratable account of each Term Loan Lender with Third Amendment Term Loans that are subject to a prepayment premium in an amount equal to 2.00% or 1.00%, respectively, of the aggregate principal amount of the Third Amendment Term Loans subject to such prepayment and (4) for the ratable account of each Term Loan Lender with Fourth Amendment Delayed Draw Term Loans, as applicable, that are subject to a prepayment premium in an amount equal to 2.00% or 1.00%, respectively, of the aggregate principal amount of the Fourth Amendment Delayed Draw Term Loans subject to such prepayment (this clause (vi), the “Prepayment Premium”). Notwithstanding any provision set forth in this Agreement to the contrary, the Prepayment Premium shall be equal to 0.00% for any prepayment of Fourth Amendment Delayed Draw Term Loans in connection with a “change of control” transaction (including a sale of any Borrower (or any of their respective direct or indirect parents) or all or substantially all of their respective assets).

 

2.11       Fees.

 

(a)       Commitment Fees.

 

(i)       Each Borrower, jointly and severally, agrees to pay to the Administrative Agent for the account of each Revolving Credit Lender a commitment fee, which shall accrue at a per annum rate equal to the Applicable Margin applicable for the “Commitment Fee Rate” on the average daily Unused Revolving Commitment of such Lender during the period from and including the Effective Date to but excluding the earlier of the date such Revolving Credit Commitment terminates and the Revolving Credit Maturity Date. Accrued commitment fees for this Section 2.11(a) through and including each Quarterly Date shall be payable on the second Business Day following such Quarterly Date and on the earlier of the date the Revolving Credit Commitment terminates and the Revolving Credit Maturity Date, commencing on the first such date to occur after the Effective Date. All commitment fees shall be computed on the basis of a year of 360 days and shall be payable for the actual number of days elapsed (including the first day but excluding the last day).

 

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(ii)       Each Borrower, jointly and severally, agrees to pay to the Administrative Agent for the account of each Fourth Amendment Delayed Draw Term Loan Lender a commitment fee, which shall accrue at a per annum rate equal to (x) from and including the Fourth Amendment Effective Date through July 13, 2026, 0.50%, and (b) thereafter to but excluding the Fourth Amendment DDTL Commitment Termination Date, 1.00% on the average daily Unused Fourth Amendment Delayed Draw Term Loan Commitment of such Lender. Accrued commitment fees under this Section 2.11(a)(ii) through and including each Quarterly Date shall be payable in Dollars (calculated as the Dollar Equivalent thereof) on the last Business Day of each Fiscal Quarter and on the earlier of Fourth Amendment DDTL Commitment Termination Date and the Term Loan Maturity Date, commencing on the first such date to occur after the Fourth Amendment Effective Date. All such commitment fees shall be computed on the basis of a year of 360 days and shall be payable for the actual number of days elapsed (including the first day but excluding the last day).

 

(b)       Letter of Credit Fees. Each Borrower, jointly and severally agrees to pay (i) to the Administrative Agent for the account of each Revolving Credit Lender a participation fee with respect to its participations in Letters of Credit, which shall accrue at a rate per annum equal to the Applicable Margin applicable to interest on Term Benchmark Loans on the daily amount of such Lender’s LC Exposure (excluding any portion thereof attributable to unreimbursed LC Disbursements) attributable to Letters of Credit issued during the period from and including the Effective Date to and excluding the later of the date on which such Revolving Credit Lender’s Commitment terminates and the date on which such Lender ceases to have any LC Exposure, and (ii) to the Issuing Lender for its own account a fronting fee, which shall accrue at the rate of 0.125% on the average daily amount of the LC Exposure (excluding any portion thereof attributable to unreimbursed LC Disbursements) attributable to Letters of Credit issued by it during the period from and including the Effective Date to but excluding the later of the date of termination of the Revolving Credit Commitments and the date on which there ceases to be any LC Exposure, as well as Issuing Lender’s standard fees and other standard costs and charges with respect to the issuance, amendment, renewal or extension of any Letter of Credit or processing of drawings thereunder. Participation fees and fronting fees accrued through and including each Quarterly Date shall be payable on the second Business Day following such Quarterly Date, commencing on the first such date to occur after the Effective Date; provided that all such fees shall be payable on the date on which the Revolving Credit Commitments terminate and any such fees accruing after the date on which the Revolving Credit Commitments terminate shall be payable on demand. Any other fees payable to the Issuing Lender pursuant to this Section 2.11(b) shall be payable within 30 days after written demand. All participation fees and fronting fees shall be computed on the basis of a year of 360 days and shall be payable for the actual number of days elapsed (including the first day but excluding the last day).

 

(c)       Administrative Agent Fees. Each Borrower, jointly and severally agrees to pay to the Administrative Agent, for its own account, fees payable in the amounts and at the times separately agreed upon between the Borrowers and the Administrative Agent and such other fees required by the Fee Letter.

 

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(d)       Payment of Fees. All fees payable hereunder shall be paid on the dates due, in immediately available funds in Dollars, to the Administrative Agent (or to the Issuing Lender, in the case of fees payable to it) for distribution, other than in the case of fees payable solely for account of Administrative Agent, to the Lenders entitled thereto. Fees paid shall not be refundable under any circumstances.

 

2.12        Interest.

 

(a)           Base Rate Loans. The Loans comprising each Base Rate Borrowing (including each Swingline Loan Borrowing) shall bear interest at a rate per annum equal to the Base Rate plus the Applicable Margin.

 

(b)           Term Benchmark Loans. The Loans comprising each Term Benchmark Borrowing shall bear interest at a rate per annum equal to the Adjusted Term SOFR Rate for the Interest Period in effect for such Borrowing plus the Applicable Margin.

 

(c)           Default Interest. The Borrowers shall pay interest on the principal amount of all overdue outstanding Loans and, to the fullest extent permitted by law, the outstanding amount of all overdue interest, fees and other Obligations, at a rate per annum equal to the Default Rate immediately upon the occurrence of any Event of Default described in clause (a), (b), (h) or (i) of Section 8.1.

 

(d)           Payment of Interest. Accrued interest on each Loan shall be payable in arrears on each Interest Payment Date for such Loan and, in the case of Revolving Credit Loans, upon termination of the Revolving Credit Commitments, and, in the case of the Term Loans, on the applicable Term Loan Maturity Date (or earlier date of termination of this Agreement or acceleration of the Loans due hereunder pursuant to the terms hereof); provided that (i) interest accrued pursuant to Section 2.12(c) shall be payable on written demand, (ii) in the event of any repayment or prepayment of any Loan (other than a prepayment of a Base Rate Revolving Credit Loan prior to the Revolving Credit Maturity Date), accrued interest on the principal amount repaid or prepaid shall be payable on the date of such repayment or prepayment, and (iii) in the event of any conversion of any Term Benchmark Borrowing prior to the end of the current Interest Period therefor, accrued interest on such Borrowing shall be payable on the effective date of such conversion. Additionally, the Borrowers shall immediately pay to the Administrative Agent for the account of the applicable Lenders the amount of any interest and fees that may be owing pursuant to the penultimate sentence of the definition of Applicable Margin. The Borrowers’ obligations under this Section 2.12(d) shall survive the termination of the Commitments and the repayment of all other Obligations hereunder.

 

(e)           Computation. Interest computed by reference to the Term SOFR Rate or Daily Simple SOFR hereunder shall be computed on the basis of a year of 360 days. All interest computed by reference to the Base Rate shall be computed on the basis of a year of 360 days (or 365 or 366 days, as the case may be, in the case of Base Rate Loans based on Prime Rate), and in each case shall be payable for the actual number of days elapsed (including the first day but excluding the last day). The applicable Base Rate or Adjusted Term SOFR Rate shall be determined by Administrative Agent, and such determination shall be conclusive absent manifest error.

 

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2.13        Alternate Rate of Interest; Illegality.

 

(a)           Subject to clauses (b), (c), (d), (e) and (f) of this Section 2.13, if:

 

(i)         the Administrative Agent, in consultation with the Borrower Representative, determines (which determination shall be conclusive and binding absent manifest error) (A) prior to commencement of any Interest Period for a Term Benchmark Borrowing, that adequate and reasonable means do not exist for ascertaining the Adjusted Term SOFR Rate (including, because the Term SOFR Reference Rate is not available or published on a current basis) for such Interest Period or (B) at any time, that adequate and reasonable means do not exist for ascertaining the applicable Adjusted Daily Simple SOFR; or

 

(ii)        the Administrative Agent is advised by the Required Lenders that (A) prior to the commencement of any Interest Period for a Term Benchmark Borrowing, the Adjusted Term SOFR Rate for such Interest Period will not adequately and fairly reflect the cost to such Lenders (or Lender) of making or maintaining their Loans (or Loan) included in such Borrowing for such Interest Period or (B) at any time, Adjusted Daily Simple SOFR will not adequately and fairly reflect the cost to such Lenders (or Lender) of making or maintaining their Loans (or Loan) included in such Borrowing;

 

then the Administrative Agent shall give written notice thereof to the Borrower Representative and the Lenders as promptly as practicable thereafter and, until (x) the Administrative Agent notifies the Borrower Representative and the Lenders that the circumstances giving rise to such notice no longer exist with respect to the relevant Benchmark and (y) the Borrower Representative delivers a new Interest Election Request in accordance with the terms of Section 2.7 or a new Borrowing Request in accordance with the terms of Section 2.3, any Interest Election Request that requests the conversion of any Borrowing to, or continuation of any Borrowing as, a Term Benchmark Borrowing and any Borrowing Request that requests a Term Benchmark Borrowing shall instead be deemed to be an Interest Election Request or a Borrowing Request, as applicable, for (x) an RFR Borrowing so long as Adjusted Daily Simple SOFR is not also the subject of Section 2.13(a)(i) or (ii) above or (y) be repaid or converted into a Base Rate Borrowing if Adjusted Daily Simple SOFR also is the subject of Section 2.13(a)(i) or (ii) above; provided that if the circumstances giving rise to such notice affect only one Type of Borrowings, then all other Types of Borrowings shall be permitted. Furthermore, if any Term Benchmark Loan is outstanding on the date of the Borrower Representative’s receipt of the notice from the Administrative Agent referred to in this Section 2.13(a) with respect to a Relevant Rate applicable to such Term Benchmark Loan, then until (x) the Administrative Agent notifies the Borrower Representative and the Lenders that the circumstances giving rise to such notice no longer exist with respect to the relevant Benchmark and (y) the Borrower Representative delivers a new Interest Election Request in accordance with the terms of Section 2.7 or a new Borrowing Request in accordance with the terms of Section 2.3, (1) any Term Benchmark Loan shall on the last day of the Interest Period applicable to such Loan (or the next succeeding Business Day if such day is not a Business Day), be converted by the Administrative Agent to, and shall constitute, (x) an RFR Borrowing so long as Adjusted Daily Simple SOFR is not also the subject of Section 2.13(a)(i) or (ii) above or (y) a Base Rate Loan if Adjusted Daily Simple SOFR also is the subject of Section 2.13(a)(i) or (ii) above, on such day.

 

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(b)           Notwithstanding anything to the contrary herein or in any other Loan Document, if a Benchmark Transition Event and its related Benchmark Replacement Date have occurred prior to the Reference Time in respect of any setting of the then-current Benchmark, then (x) if a Benchmark Replacement is determined in accordance with clause (1) of the definition of “Benchmark Replacement” for such Benchmark Replacement Date, such Benchmark Replacement will replace such Benchmark for all purposes hereunder and under any Loan Document in respect of such Benchmark setting and subsequent Benchmark settings without any amendment to, or further action or consent of any other party to, this Agreement or any other Loan Document and (y) if a Benchmark Replacement is determined in accordance with clause (2) of the definition of “Benchmark Replacement” for such Benchmark Replacement Date, such Benchmark Replacement will replace such Benchmark for all purposes hereunder and under any Loan Document in respect of any Benchmark setting at or after 5:00 p.m. (New York City time) on the fifth (5th) Business Day after the date notice of such Benchmark Replacement is provided to the Lenders without any amendment to, or further action or consent of any other party to, this Agreement or any other Loan Document so long as the Administrative Agent has not received, by such time, written notice of objection to such Benchmark Replacement from Lenders comprising the Required Lenders of each Class.

 

(c)            Notwithstanding anything to the contrary herein or in any other Loan Document, the Administrative Agent will have the right to make Benchmark Replacement Conforming Changes from time to time and, notwithstanding anything to the contrary herein or in any other Loan Document, any amendments implementing such Benchmark Replacement Conforming Changes will become effective without any further action or consent of any other party to this Agreement or any other Loan Document.

 

(d)           The Administrative Agent will promptly notify the Borrower Representative and the Lenders of (i) any occurrence of a Benchmark Transition Event (ii) the implementation of any Benchmark Replacement, (iii) the effectiveness of any Benchmark Replacement Conforming Changes, (iv) the removal or reinstatement of any tenor of a Benchmark pursuant to clause (f) below and (v) the commencement or conclusion of any Benchmark Unavailability Period. Any determination, decision or election that may be made by the Administrative Agent or, if applicable, any Lender (or group of Lenders) pursuant to this Section 2.13, in each case in consultation with the Borrower Representative, including any determination with respect to a tenor, rate or adjustment or of the occurrence or non-occurrence of an event, circumstance or date and any decision to take or refrain from taking any action or any selection, will be conclusive and binding absent manifest error and may be made in its or their sole discretion and without consent from any other party to this Agreement or any other Loan Document, except, in each case, as expressly required pursuant to this Section 2.13.

 

(e)           Notwithstanding anything to the contrary herein or in any other Loan Document, at any time (including in connection with the implementation of a Benchmark Replacement), (i) if the then-current Benchmark is a term rate (including the Term SOFR Rate) and either (A) any tenor for such Benchmark is not displayed on a screen or other information service that publishes such rate from time to time as selected by the Administrative Agent in its reasonable discretion or (B) the regulatory supervisor for the administrator of such Benchmark has provided a public statement or publication of information announcing that any tenor for such Benchmark is or will be no longer representative, then the Administrative Agent in consultation with the Borrower Representative may modify the definition of “Interest Period” for any Benchmark settings at or after such time to remove such unavailable or non-representative tenor and (ii) if a tenor that was removed pursuant to clause (i) above either (A) is subsequently displayed on a screen or information service for a Benchmark (including a Benchmark Replacement) or (B) is not, or is no longer, subject to an announcement that it is or will no longer be representative for a Benchmark (including a Benchmark Replacement), then the Administrative Agent, in consultation with the Borrower Representative may modify the definition of “Interest Period” for all Benchmark settings at or after such time to reinstate such previously removed tenor.

 

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(f)            Upon the Borrower Representative’s receipt of notice of the commencement of a Benchmark Unavailability Period, the Borrower Representative may revoke any request for a Term Benchmark Borrowing of, conversion to or continuation of Term Benchmark Loans to be made, converted or continued during any Benchmark Unavailability Period and, failing that, the Borrowers will be deemed to have converted any request for a Term Benchmark Borrowing into a request for a Borrowing of or conversion to (A) an RFR Borrowing so long as Adjusted Daily Simple SOFR is not the subject of a Benchmark Transition Event or (B)       a Base Rate Borrowing if Adjusted Daily Simple SOFR is the subject of a Benchmark Transition Event. During any Benchmark Unavailability Period or at any time that a tenor for the then-current Benchmark is not an Available Tenor, the component of Base Rate based upon the then-current Benchmark or such tenor for such Benchmark, as applicable, will not be used in any determination of Base Rate. Furthermore, if any Term Benchmark Loan is outstanding on the date of the Borrower Representative’s receipt of notice of the commencement of a Benchmark Unavailability Period with respect to a Relevant Rate applicable to such Term Benchmark Loan, then until such time as a Benchmark Replacement is implemented pursuant to this Section 2.13, any Term Benchmark Loan shall on the last day of the Interest Period applicable to such Loan (or the next succeeding Business Day if such day is not a Business Day), be converted by the Administrative Agent to, and shall constitute, (x) an RFR Loan so long as Adjusted Daily Simple SOFR is not the subject of a Benchmark Transition Event or (y) a Base Rate Loan if Adjusted Daily Simple SOFR is the subject of a Benchmark Transition Event, on such day. Increased Costs.

 

2.14       Increased Costs.

 

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

 

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

 

(ii)       subject any Recipient to any Taxes (other than (A) Indemnified Taxes, (B) Taxes described in clauses (b) through (d) of the definition of “Excluded Taxes”, and (C)       Connection Income Taxes) on its loans, loan principal, letters of credit, commitments, or other obligations, or its deposits, reserves, other liabilities or capital attributable thereto; or

 

(iii)       impose on any Lender or Issuing Lender or the London interbank market any other condition, cost or expense (other than Taxes) affecting this Agreement or Term Benchmark Loans made by such Lender or any Letter of Credit or participation therein;

 

and the result of any of the foregoing shall be to increase the cost to such Lender or such other Recipient of making, converting to, continuing or maintaining any Term Benchmark Loan (or of maintaining its obligation to make any such Loan), or to increase in any material respect the cost to such Lender, Issuing Lender or such other Recipient of participating in, issuing or maintaining any Letter of Credit (or of maintaining its obligation to participate in or to issue any Letter of Credit), or to reduce the amount of any sum received or receivable by such Lender, Issuing Lender, or such other Recipient hereunder (whether of principal, interest or any other amount) then, promptly following written request of such Lender, Issuing Lender, or such other Recipient, the Borrowers will pay to such Lender, Issuing Lender, or other Recipient, as the case may be, such additional amount or amounts as will compensate such Lender, Issuing Lender, or such other Recipient, as the case may be, for such additional costs incurred or reduction suffered.

 

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

 

(c)            Certificates for Reimbursement. A certificate of a Recipient setting forth the amount or amounts necessary to compensate such Recipient or its holding company, as the case may be, as specified in Section 2.14(a) or 2.14(b) and delivered to the Borrower Representative shall be conclusive absent manifest error. The Borrowers shall pay such Recipient the amount shown as due on any such certificate within 30 days after receipt thereof.

 

(d)           Delay in Requests. Failure or delay on the part of any Lender or Issuing Lender to demand compensation pursuant to this Section shall not constitute a waiver of such Lender’s or Issuing Lender’s right to demand such compensation, provided that the Borrowers shall not be required to compensate a Lender or Issuing Lender pursuant to this Section for any increased costs incurred or reductions suffered more than six months prior to the date that such Lender or Issuing Lender, as the case may be, notifies the Borrower Representative of the Change in Law giving rise to such increased costs or reductions and of such Lender’s or Issuing Lender’s intention to claim compensation therefor (except that, if the Change in Law giving rise to such increased costs or reductions is retroactive, then the six-month period referred to above shall be extended to include the period of retroactive effect thereof).

 

2.15        Compensation for Losses.

 

(a)            With respect to Loans that are not RFR Loans, in the event of (i) the payment of any principal of any Term Benchmark Loan other than on the last day of an Interest Period applicable thereto (including as a result of an Event of Default or any mandatory prepayment), (ii) the conversion of any Term Benchmark Loan other than on the last day of the Interest Period applicable thereto, (iii) the failure to borrow, convert, continue or prepay any Loan on the date specified in any notice delivered pursuant hereto (regardless of whether such notice is permitted to be revocable under Section 2.8(c) and is revoked in accordance herewith), or (iv) the assignment of any Term Benchmark Loan other than on the last day of the Interest Period applicable thereto as a result of a request by the Borrower Representative pursuant to Section 2.18, then, in any such event, the Borrowers shall compensate each Lender for the loss, cost, or expense attributable to such event (excluding any loss of anticipated profits) and any loss or expense arising from the liquidation or reemployment of funds obtained by it to maintain such Loan or from fees payable to terminate the deposits from which such funds were obtained. The Borrowers shall also pay any customary administrative fees charged by such Lender in connection with the foregoing. A certificate of any Lender setting forth any amount or amounts that such Lender is entitled to receive pursuant to this Section shall be delivered to the Borrower Representative and shall be conclusive absent manifest error. The Borrowers shall pay such Lender the amount shown as due on any such certificate within 30 days after receipt thereof.

 

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(b)           With respect to RFR Loans, on the event of (i) the payment of any principal of any RFR Loan other than on the last day of an Interest Period applicable thereto (including as a result of an Event of Default or any mandatory prepayment), (iii) the failure to borrow, convert, continue or prepay any RFR Loan on the date specified in any notice delivered pursuant hereto (regardless of whether such notice is permitted to be revocable under Section 2.8(c) and is revoked in accordance herewith), or (iv) the assignment of any RFR Loan other than on the last day of the Interest Period applicable thereto as a result of a request by the Borrower Representative pursuant to Section 2.18, then, in any such event, the Borrowers shall compensate each Lender for the loss, cost, or expense attributable to such event (excluding any loss of anticipated profits) and any loss or expense arising from the liquidation or reemployment of funds obtained by it to maintain such Loan or from fees payable to terminate the deposits from which such funds were obtained. The Borrowers shall also pay any customary administrative fees charged by such Lender in connection with the foregoing. A certificate of any Lender setting forth any amount or amounts that such Lender is entitled to receive pursuant to this Section shall be delivered to the Borrower Representative and shall be conclusive absent manifest error. The Borrowers shall pay such Lender the amount shown as due on any such certificate within 30 days after receipt thereof.

 

2.16        Taxes.

 

(a)           Defined Terms. For purposes of this Section 2.16, the term “Lender” includes any Issuing Lender and the term “applicable law” includes FATCA.

 

(b)           Payments Free of Taxes. Any and all payments by or on account of any obligation of any Obligor under any Loan Document shall be made without deduction or withholding for any Taxes, except as required by applicable law. If any applicable law (as determined in the good faith discretion of an applicable Withholding Agent) requires the deduction or withholding of any Tax from any such payment by a Withholding Agent, then the applicable Withholding Agent shall be entitled to make such deduction or withholding and shall timely pay the full amount deducted or withheld to the relevant Governmental Authority in accordance with applicable law and, if such Tax is an Indemnified Tax, then the sum payable by the applicable Obligor shall be increased as necessary so that after such deduction or withholding has been made (including such deductions and withholdings applicable to additional sums payable under this Section) the applicable Recipient receives an amount equal to the sum it would have received had no such deduction or withholding been made.

 

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(c)           Payment of Other Taxes by the Obligors. Without duplication of any amounts payable pursuant to this Section 2.16, the Obligors shall timely pay to the relevant Governmental Authority in accordance with applicable law, or at the option of Administrative Agent timely reimburse it for the payment of, any Other Taxes.

 

(d)           Indemnification by the Obligors. Without duplication of any additional amounts paid under Section 2.16(b) or (c), the Obligors shall jointly and severally indemnify each Recipient, within 10 days after demand therefor, for the full amount of any Indemnified Taxes (including Indemnified Taxes imposed or asserted on or attributable to amounts payable under this Section) payable or paid by such Recipient or required to be withheld or deducted from a payment to such Recipient and any reasonable expenses arising therefrom or with respect thereto, whether or not such Indemnified Taxes were correctly or legally imposed or asserted by the relevant Governmental Authority. A certificate as to the amount of such payment or liability delivered to the Borrower Representative by a Lender (with a copy to the Administrative Agent), or by Administrative Agent on its own behalf or on behalf of a Lender, shall be conclusive absent manifest error.

 

(e)           Indemnification by the Lenders. Each Lender shall severally indemnify Administrative Agent, within 10 days after demand therefor, for (i) any Indemnified Taxes attributable to such Lender (but only to the extent that any Obligor has not already indemnified Administrative Agent for such Indemnified Taxes and without limiting or expanding the obligation of the Obligors to do so), (ii) any Taxes attributable to such Lender’s failure to comply with the provisions of Section 10.4(e) relating to the maintenance of a Participant Register and (iii) any Excluded Taxes attributable to such Lender, in each case, that are payable or paid by Administrative Agent in connection with any Loan Document, and any reasonable expenses arising therefrom or with respect thereto, whether or not such Taxes were correctly or legally imposed or asserted by the relevant Governmental Authority. A certificate as to the amount of such payment or liability delivered to any Lender by Administrative Agent shall be conclusive absent manifest error. Each Lender hereby authorizes Administrative Agent to set off and apply any and all amounts at any time owing to such Lender under any Loan Document or otherwise payable by Administrative Agent to the Lender from any other source against any amount due to the Administrative Agent under this Section 2.16(e).

 

(f)            Evidence of Payments. As soon as practicable after any payment of Taxes by any Obligor to a Governmental Authority pursuant to this Section 2.16(f), such Obligor shall deliver to the Administrative Agent the original or a certified copy of a receipt issued by such Governmental Authority evidencing such payment, a copy of the return reporting such payment or other evidence of such payment reasonably satisfactory to the Administrative Agent.

 

(g)           Status of Lenders.

 

(i)            Any Lender that is entitled to an exemption from or reduction of withholding Tax with respect to payments made under any Loan Document shall deliver to the Borrower Representative and the Administrative Agent, at the time or times reasonably requested by the Borrower Representative or Administrative Agent, such properly completed and executed documentation reasonably requested by the Borrower Representative or Administrative Agent as will permit such payments to be made without withholding or at a reduced rate of withholding. In addition, any Lender, if reasonably requested by the Borrower Representative or Administrative Agent, shall deliver such other documentation prescribed by applicable law or reasonably requested by the Borrower Representative or Administrative Agent as will enable the Borrower Representative or Administrative Agent to determine whether or not such Lender is subject to backup withholding or information reporting requirements. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in the preceding two sentences, the completion, execution, and submission of such documentation (other than such documentation set forth in clauses (A), (B), and (D) of Section 2.16(g)(ii)) shall not be required if in the Lender’s reasonable judgment such completion, execution, or submission would subject such Lender to any material unreimbursed cost or expense or would materially prejudice the legal or commercial position of such Lender.

 

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(ii)           Without limiting the generality of the foregoing,

 

(A)      any Lender that is a U.S. Person shall deliver to the Borrower Representative and Administrative Agent on or prior to the date on which such Lender becomes a Lender under this Agreement (and from time to time thereafter upon the reasonable request of any Obligor or Administrative Agent), properly completed and duly executed originals of IRS Form W-9 or any applicable successor form certifying that such Lender is exempt from U.S. federal backup withholding tax;

 

(B)       any Foreign Lender shall, to the extent it is legally entitled to do so, deliver to the Obligors and Administrative Agent (in such number of copies as shall be requested by the Borrower Representative or the Administrative Agent) on or prior to the date on which such Foreign Lender becomes a Lender under this Agreement (and from time to time thereafter upon the reasonable request of the Obligors or Administrative Agent), whichever of the following is applicable:

 

    in the case of a Foreign Lender claiming the benefits of an income tax treaty to which the United States is a party (1) with respect to payments of interest under any Loan Document, properly completed and duly executed originals of IRS Form W-8BEN or IRS Form W-8BEN-E (as applicable, or any successor forms) establishing an exemption from, or reduction of, U.S. federal withholding Tax pursuant to the “interest” article of such tax treaty and (2) with respect to any other applicable payments under any Loan Document, IRS Form W-8BEN or IRS Form W-8BEN-E (as applicable, or any successor forms) establishing an exemption from, or reduction of, U.S. federal withholding Tax pursuant to the “business profits” or “other income” article of such tax treaty;

 

    properly completed and duly executed originals of IRS Form W-8ECI (or any successor forms);

 

    in the case of a Foreign Lender claiming the benefits of the exemption for portfolio interest under Section 881(c) of the Code, (1) a properly completed and duly executed certificate substantially in the form of Exhibit 2.16-1 to the effect that such Foreign Lender is not a “bank” within the meaning of Section 881(c)(3)(A) of the Code, a “10 percent shareholder” of the Obligors within the meaning of Section 881(c)(3)(B) of the Code, or a “controlled foreign corporation” described in Section 881(c)(3)(C) of the Code (a “U.S. Tax Compliance Certificate”) and (2) properly completed and duly executed originals of IRS Form W-8BEN or IRS Form W-8BEN-E (as applicable, or any successor forms); or

 

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    to the extent a Foreign Lender is not the beneficial owner, properly completed and duly executed originals of IRS Form W-8IMY (or any successor forms), accompanied by any required IRS Form W-8ECI, IRS Form W-8BEN, IRS Form W-8BEN-E (as applicable, or any successor forms), the applicable U.S. Tax Compliance Certificate substantially in the form of Exhibit 2.16-2 or Exhibit 2.16-3, IRS Form W-9 (or any successor forms), and/or other certification documents from each beneficial owner, as applicable; provided that if the Foreign Lender is a partnership and one or more direct or indirect partners of such Foreign Lender are claiming the portfolio interest exemption, such Foreign Lender may provide a U.S. Tax Compliance Certificate substantially in the form of Exhibit 2.16-4 on behalf of each such direct and indirect partner;

 

(C)       any Foreign Lender shall, to the extent it is legally entitled to do so, deliver to the Borrower Representative and the Administrative Agent (in such number of copies as shall be requested by the recipient) on or prior to the date on which such Foreign Lender becomes a Lender under this Agreement (and from time to time thereafter upon the reasonable request of the Borrower Representative or Administrative Agent), executed originals of any other form prescribed by applicable law as a basis for claiming exemption from or a reduction in U.S. federal withholding Tax, duly completed, together with such supplementary documentation as may be prescribed by applicable law to permit Borrower Representative or Administrative Agent to determine the withholding or deduction required to be made; and

 

(D)       if a payment made to a Lender under any Loan Document would be subject to U.S. federal withholding Tax imposed by FATCA if such Lender were to fail to comply with the applicable reporting requirements of FATCA (including those contained in Section 1471(b) or 1472(b) of the Code, as applicable), such Lender shall deliver to the Borrower Representative and the Administrative Agent at the time or times prescribed by law and at such time or times reasonably requested by the Borrower Representative or Administrative Agent such documentation prescribed by applicable law (including as prescribed by Section 1471(b)(3)(C)(i) of the Code) and such additional documentation reasonably requested by the Borrower Representative or Administrative Agent as may be necessary for the Borrower Representative and the Administrative Agent to comply with their obligations under FATCA and to determine that such Lender has complied with such Lender’s obligations under FATCA or to determine the amount to deduct and withhold from such payment. Solely for purposes of this clause (D), “FATCA” shall include any amendments made to FATCA after the date of this Agreement.

 

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(iii)       The Administrative Agent shall assume primary withholding responsibility under Chapters 3 and 4 of Subtitle A of the Code and primary IRS Form 1099 and IRS Form 1042-S reporting and backup withholding responsibility with respect to payments it receives on account of any Lender. In furtherance of the foregoing, (A) if the Administrative Agent is a U.S. Person, it shall deliver to the Obligors two properly completed and duly executed copies of IRS Form W-9 certifying that it is exempt from federal backup withholding and (B) if the Administrative Agent is not a U.S. Person, it shall deliver to the Obligors two properly completed and duly executed copies of IRS Form W-8ECI or IRS Form W-8BEN-E, as applicable, with respect to fees received on its own behalf and, with respect to payments received on account of any Lender, two properly completed and duly executed copies of IRS Form W-8IMY certifying that the Administrative Agent is either (1) a “qualified intermediary” assuming primary withholding responsibility under Chapters 3 and 4 of Subtitle A of the Code and primary IRS Form 1099 reporting and backup withholding responsibility for payments it receives for the accounts of others, or (2) a “U.S. branch” and that the payments it receives for the account of others are not effectively connected with the conduct of a trade or business in the United States, and in the case of each of clauses (1) and (2), that the Administrative Agent is using such form as evidence of its agreement with the Obligors to be treated as a U.S. Person with respect to such payments (and the Obligors and the Administrative Agent agree to so treat the Administrative Agent as a U.S. Person with respect to such payments as contemplated by United States Treasury Regulations Section 1.1441- 1(b)(2)(iv)(A)), with the effect that the Obligors can make payments to the Administrative Agent without deduction or withholding of any Taxes imposed by the United States.

 

Each Lender and the Administrative Agent agrees that if any form or certification it previously delivered expires or becomes obsolete or inaccurate in any respect, it shall promptly update such form or certification or promptly notify the Borrower Representative and the Administrative Agent in writing of its legal inability to do so.

 

(h)           Treatment of Certain Refunds. If any party determines, in its sole discretion exercised in good faith, that it has received a refund of any Taxes as to which it has been indemnified pursuant to this Section 2.16 (including by the payment of additional amounts pursuant to this Section 2.16), it shall pay to the indemnifying party an amount equal to such refund (but only to the extent of indemnity payments made under this Section with respect to the Taxes giving rise to such refund), net of all out-of-pocket expenses (including Taxes) of such indemnified party and without interest (other than any interest paid by the relevant Governmental Authority with respect to such refund). Such indemnifying party, upon the request of such indemnified party, shall repay to such indemnified party the amount paid over pursuant to this Section 2.16(h) (plus any penalties, interest or other charges imposed by the relevant Governmental Authority) in the event that such indemnified party is required to repay such refund to such Governmental Authority. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this Section 2.16(h), in no event will the indemnified party be required to pay any amount to an indemnifying party pursuant to this Section 2.16(h) the payment of which would place the indemnified party in a less favorable net after-Tax position than the indemnified party would have been in if the Tax subject to indemnification and giving rise to such refund had not been deducted, withheld or otherwise imposed and the indemnification payments or additional amounts with respect to such Tax had never been paid. This Section 2.16(h) shall not be construed to require any indemnified party to make available its Tax returns (or any other information relating to its Taxes that it deems confidential) to the indemnifying party or any other Person.

 

(i)            Survival. Each party’s obligations under this Section 2.16 shall survive the resignation or replacement of Administrative Agent or any assignment of rights by, or the replacement of, a Lender, the expiration or cancellation of all Letters of Credit, the termination of the Commitments and the repayment, satisfaction or discharge of all obligations under any Loan Document.

 

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2.17        Payments Generally; Pro Rata Treatment; Sharing of Set-offs.

 

(a)           Payments by the Obligors. Each Obligor shall make each payment required to be made by it hereunder (whether of principal, interest, fees or reimbursement of LC Disbursements, or under Section 10.3 or otherwise) or under any other Loan Document (except to the extent otherwise provided therein) prior to 2:00 p.m. on the date when due, in immediately available funds, without counterclaim, set-off, or other deduction or condition. Any amounts received after such time on any date may, in the discretion of Administrative Agent, be deemed to have been received on the next succeeding Business Day for purposes of calculating interest thereon. All such payments shall be made to the Administrative Agent, for the account of the respective Lenders to which such payment is owed, at such account as Administrative Agent may designate to the Borrower Representative in writing from time to time, except (i) as otherwise expressly provided in the relevant Loan Document, (ii) payments to be made directly to the Issuing Lender or Swingline Lender as expressly provided herein, and (iii) that payments pursuant to Sections 2.14, 2.15, 2.16 and 10.3 shall be made directly to the Persons entitled thereto. Administrative Agent shall distribute any such payments received by it for the account of any other Person to the appropriate recipient promptly following receipt thereof in like funds as received by wire transfer to such Lender’s lending office as specified in its Administrative Questionnaire or such other office as notified in writing by such Lender to the Administrative Agent. If any payment hereunder shall be due on a day that is not a Business Day, the date for payment shall be extended to the next succeeding Business Day and, in the case of any payment accruing interest, interest thereon shall be payable for the period of such extension. All payments hereunder or under any other Loan Document shall be made in Dollars.

 

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

 

(c)           Pro Rata Treatment. Except to the extent otherwise provided herein: (i) each Borrowing of, or conversions of, Loans in a particular Class shall be allocated pro rata among the relevant Lenders according to the amounts of their respective Commitments of such Class (in the case of the making of Loans) or their respective unpaid principal amounts of Loans of such Class (in the case of conversions and continuations of Loans); (ii) each payment of commitment fees under Section 2.11 in respect of Revolving Credit Commitments and each payment of Letter of Credit participation fees under Section 2.11 shall be made for account of the relevant Revolving Credit Lenders, pro rata according to the amounts of their respective Revolving Credit Commitments and their respective LC Exposure, respectively, (iii) each termination or reduction of the amount of the Commitments of a particular Class under Section 2.8 shall be applied to the respective Commitments of such Class of the relevant Lenders, pro rata according to the amounts of their respective Commitments of such Class; (iv) each payment or prepayment of principal of Loans of any Class by the Borrowers, shall be made for account of the relevant Lenders pro rata in accordance with the respective unpaid principal amounts of the Loans of such Class held by them; and (v) each payment of interest on Loans of any Class by the Borrowers shall be made for account of the relevant Lenders pro rata in accordance with the amounts of interest on the Loans of such Class then due and payable to the respective Lenders.

 

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(d)           Sharing of Payments by Lenders. If any Lender shall, by exercising any right of set-off or counterclaim or otherwise, obtain payment in respect of any principal of or interest on any of its Loans or participations in LC Disbursements or Swingline Loans in excess of its ratable share of the aggregate amount of outstanding Loans and participations in LC Disbursements and Swingline Loans and accrued interest thereon, then such Lender shall notify Administrative Agent of such fact and shall purchase (for cash at face value) participations in the Loans and participations in LC Disbursements and Swingline Loans of other Lenders to the extent necessary so that the benefit of all such payments shall be shared by the Lenders ratably in accordance with the aggregate amount of principal of and accrued interest on their respective Loans and participations in LC Disbursements and Swingline Loans; provided that (i) if any such participations are purchased and all or any portion of the payment giving rise thereto is recovered, such participations shall be rescinded and the purchase price restored to the extent of such recovery, without interest, and (ii) the provisions of this Section 2.17(d) shall not be construed to apply to any payment made by any Obligor pursuant to and in accordance with the express terms of this Agreement (including the application of funds arising from the existence of Defaulting Lender) or any payment obtained by a Lender as consideration for the assignment of or sale of a participation in any of its Loans or participations in LC Disbursements or Swingline Loans to any assignee or participant, other than to the Borrowers or any Subsidiary or Affiliate thereof (as to which the provisions of this Section 2.17(d) shall apply). Each Obligor consents to the foregoing and agrees, to the extent it may effectively do so under applicable law, that any Lender acquiring a participation pursuant to the foregoing arrangements may exercise against such Obligor rights of set-off and counterclaim with respect to such participation as fully as if such Lender were a direct creditor of such Obligor in the amount of such participation.

 

(e)           Presumptions of Payment. Unless Administrative Agent shall have received notice from the Borrower Representative prior to the date on which any payment is due to the Administrative Agent for the account of the Lenders or Issuing Lender hereunder that the Borrowers will not make such payment, Administrative Agent may assume that the Borrowers have made such payment on such date in accordance herewith and may, in reliance upon such assumption but without any obligation to do so, distribute to the Lenders or Issuing Lender, as the case may be, the amount due. In such event, if the Borrowers have not in fact made such payment, then each of the Lenders or Issuing Lender, as the case may be, severally agrees to repay to the Administrative Agent forthwith on demand the amount so distributed to such Lender or Issuing Lender with interest thereon, for each day from and including the date such amount is distributed to it to but excluding the date of payment to the Administrative Agent, for the first five Business Days at the greater of the Federal Funds Effective Rate and a rate determined by Administrative Agent in accordance with banking industry rules on interbank compensation and thereafter at the Base Rate. A notice of Administrative Agent to any Lender or the Borrowers with respect to any amount owing under this Section 2.17(e) shall be conclusive, absent manifest error.

 

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(f)            Certain Deductions by Administrative Agent. If any Lender shall fail to make any payment required to be made by it pursuant to this Agreement (including Sections 2.4, 2.5(e), 2.5(f), 2.6(b) and 2.17(e)), then Administrative Agent may, in its discretion (notwithstanding any contrary provision hereof), apply any amounts thereafter received by Administrative Agent for the account of such Lender to satisfy such Lender’s obligations under such Sections until all such unsatisfied obligations are fully paid.

 

(g)           Return of Proceeds. If at any time payment, in whole or in part, of any amount distributed by Administrative Agent hereunder is rescinded or must otherwise be restored or returned by Administrative Agent as a preference, fraudulent conveyance, or otherwise under any Debtor Relief Law, then each Person receiving any portion of such amount agrees, upon demand, to return the portion of such amount it has received to the Administrative Agent together with a pro rata portion of any interest paid by or other charges imposed on Administrative Agent in connection with such rescinded or restored payment.

 

2.18        Mitigation Obligations; Replacement of Lenders.

 

(a)           Designation of a Different Lending Office. If any Lender requests compensation under Section 2.14 or 2.16, or if the Borrowers are required to pay any Indemnified Taxes or additional amounts to any Lender or any Governmental Authority for the account of any Lender pursuant to Section 2.14 or 2.16, then such Lender shall use reasonable efforts to designate a different lending office for funding or booking its Loans hereunder or to assign its rights and obligations hereunder to another of its offices, branches or Affiliates, if, in the reasonable judgment of such Lender, such designation or assignment (i) would eliminate or reduce amounts payable pursuant to Section 2.14 or 2.16, or eliminate the need for the notice pursuant to Section 2.13(b), as the case may be, in the future and (ii) would not subject such Lender to any unreimbursed cost or expense and would not otherwise be materially disadvantageous to such Lender. The Borrowers hereby agree to pay all reasonable out-of-pocket costs and expenses incurred by any Lender in connection with any such designation or assignment.

 

(b)           Replacement of Lenders. If any Lender requests compensation under Section 2.14 or 2.16, if the Borrowers are required to pay any Indemnified Taxes or additional amount to any Lender or any Governmental Authority for the account of any Lender pursuant to Section 2.14 or 2.16, or if any Lender is a Defaulting Lender, a Non-Consenting Lender or a Lender who has refused to consent to an Extension Amendment, then the Borrowers may, at Borrowers’ sole expense and effort, upon notice to such Lender and the Administrative Agent, (x) require such Lender to assign and delegate, without recourse (in accordance with and subject to the restrictions contained in, and consents required by, Section 10.4), all its interests, rights (other than its existing rights to payments pursuant to Section 2.14 or 2.16) and obligations under this Agreement and the other Loan Documents to an Eligible Assignee that shall assume such obligations (which assignee may be another Lender, if a Lender accepts such assignment); provided that (i) the Borrowers shall have paid to the Administrative Agent the assignment fee (if any) specified in Section 10.4, (ii) such Lender shall have received payment of an amount equal to the outstanding principal of its Loans and participations in LC Disbursements and Swingline Loans, accrued interest thereon, accrued fees and all other amounts payable to it hereunder and under the other Loan Documents (including any amounts under Section 2.15), from the assignee (to the extent of such outstanding principal and accrued interest and fees) or the Borrowers (in the case of all other amounts), (iii) in the case of any such assignment resulting from a claim for compensation under Section 2.14 or payments required to be made pursuant to Section 2.16, such assignment will result in a reduction in such compensation or payments thereafter, (iv) [reserved], (v) such assignment does not conflict with applicable law, and (vi) in the case of any assignment resulting from a Lender becoming a Non-Consenting Lender, the applicable assignee shall have consented to the applicable amendment, waiver or consent or (y) make payments and reduce Commitments on a non-pro rata basis. Each Lender agrees that if the Borrowers exercise their option hereunder, they shall promptly execute and deliver all agreements and documentation necessary to effectuate such assignment as set forth in Section 10.4. If such Lender shall refuse or fail to execute and deliver any such Assignment and Assumption prior to the effective date of such replacement as notified by Administrative Agent, such Lender shall be deemed to have executed and delivered such Assignment and Assumption, and shall no longer be a Lender hereunder upon the payment to such Lender of an amount equal to the aggregate amount of outstanding Obligations (other than Bank Product Obligations) owed to such Lender in accordance with the wire transfer instructions for such Lender on file with Administrative Agent. A Lender shall not be required to make any such assignment and delegation if, prior thereto, as a result of a waiver by such Lender or otherwise, the circumstances entitling the Borrowers to require such assignment and delegation cease to apply.

 

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2.19        Increases of the Revolving Credit Commitments; Adjustments to Revolving Credit Commitments; Incremental Term Loans; Incremental Delayed Draw Term Loans.

 

(a)           Following the Effective Date, Obligors may from time to time through the Revolving Credit Maturity Date in case of any Incremental Revolving Credit Commitment (as defined below) or the Term Loan Maturity Date in the case of any Incremental Term Loans (as defined below) or any Incremental Delayed Draw Term Loan Commitments (as defined below), (i) propose to increase the aggregate amount of the Revolving Credit Commitments (each, an “Incremental Revolving Credit Commitment”) in accordance with this Section by delivering a Notice of Incremental Revolving Credit Commitment to the Administrative Agent substantially in the form of Exhibit 2.19-1 (a “Notice of Incremental Revolving Credit Commitment”), and (ii) propose that one or more additional term loans (including delayed drawn term loans) be made to it in accordance with this Section (each, an “Incremental Term Loan”; together with any Incremental Revolving Credit Commitment, each an “Incremental Commitment”) by delivering a Notice of Incremental Term Loan Borrowing to the Administrative Agent substantially in the form of Exhibit 2.19-2 (a “Notice of Incremental Term Loan Borrowing”); and (iii) propose to increase the aggregate amount of the DDTL Commitments or that one or more additional delayed draw term loan commitments be made to it in accordance with this Section (each, an “Incremental Delayed Draw Term Loan Commitment” and the loans thereunder, an “Incremental Delayed Draw Term Loan”; each Incremental Delayed Draw Term Loan Commitment, together with any Incremental Revolving Credit Commitment and any Incremental Term Loan, each, an “Incremental Commitment”) by delivering a Notice of Incremental Delayed Draw Term Loan Commitment to the Lead Arrangers substantially in the form of Exhibit 2.19-3 (a “Notice of Incremental Delayed Draw Term Loan Commitment” together with any Notice of Incremental Revolving Credit Commitment and any Notice of Incremental Term Loan Borrowing, each individually an “Incremental Facility Notice”), specifying in each case (subject to the restrictions set forth in Section 2.19(b)) therein (A) the amount of the Incremental Commitments requested, (B) the requested advance date of the proposed Incremental Commitments, (C) the interest rate to be applicable to any Tranche of Incremental Term Loans and/or Incremental Delayed Draw Term Loans included in such Incremental Commitments, (D) the amortization for all Incremental Term Loans, if or Incremental Delated Draw Term Loans, if and as applicable, and (E) the amount of any upfront or closing fees to be paid by the Borrowers to the Lenders and/or Additional Lenders funding such Incremental Commitments requested. In connection with each requested Incremental Commitment, (1) in the case of an Incremental Revolving Credit Commitment, (A) any outstanding Revolving Credit Loans shall be held by the Lenders and Additional Lenders that are Revolving Credit Lenders on a ratable basis after giving effect to such increase, (B) each such Incremental Revolving Credit Commitment shall have the same terms and be made pursuant to the same documentation as the Revolving Credit Facility (other than in respect of any fees payable) and (C) no Sponsor-Controlled Affiliated Lender shall provide any Incremental Revolving Loan Commitment (or any other Revolving Credit Commitment) and if any Sponsor Controlled Affiliated Lender provides any Incremental Term Loans and/or Incremental Delayed Draw Term Loans it shall be subject to the same limitations and restrictions set forth in Section 10.4(g) as if such Sponsor Controlled Affiliated Lender were purchasing Term Loans by assignment, (2) the final maturity date of any Incremental Revolving Credit Commitments or any Incremental Delayed Draw Term Loan Commitments shall be no earlier than the Revolving Credit Maturity Date or the Term Loan Maturity Date, as applicable, (3) the scheduled final maturity date and amortization schedule for any Incremental Term Loan and/or Incremental Delayed Draw Term Loans may be determined by the Borrowers and the Lenders and/or Additional Lenders, as applicable, providing such Incremental Term Loan and/or Incremental Delayed Draw Term Loans; provided that, except in the case of a customary bridge facility, the terms of which automatically convert into terms that comply with this proviso within one (1) year of issuance of such bridge facility, the scheduled final maturity date of any Incremental Term Loans and/or Incremental Delayed Draw Term Loans shall be no earlier than the Term Loan Maturity Date and the Weighted Average Life to Maturity of any Tranche of Incremental Term Loans and/or Incremental Delayed Draw Term Loans shall be no shorter than the remaining Weighted Average Life to Maturity of the Term Loans outstanding prior to the advance of such Tranche, (4) the interest rate, margin, original issue discount, up-front fees and other fees and rate floors for such Incremental Term Loan and/or Incremental Delayed Draw Term Loans may be determined by the Borrowers and the Lenders and/or Additional Lenders, as applicable, providing such Incremental Term Loan and/or Incremental Delayed Draw Term Loans; provided that, in the event that the All-in Yield for any such Incremental Term Loan and/or Incremental Delayed Draw Term Loans that ranks pari passu in right of payment and security with the existing Term Loans (other than in reliance on Section 2.19(b)(i)) is greater than the All-in Yield for the existing Term Loans by more than 50 basis points, then the Applicable Margin for the existing Term Loans shall be increased to the extent necessary so that the All-in Yield for such Incremental Term Loan and/or Incremental Delayed Draw Term Loans, as applicable, is no more than 50 basis points higher than the All-in Yield for the existing Term Loans; provided that, in the event that the All-In Yield for such Incremental Term Loan and/or Incremental Delayed Draw Term Loans is higher than the All-In Yield for the existing Term Loans and/or Incremental Delayed Draw Term Loans solely as a result of a higher rate floor for such Incremental Term Loan and/or Incremental Delayed Draw Term Loans, as applicable, the adjustment to the All-In Yield of the existing Term Loans shall be effected solely by increasing the rate floor, (5) any Incremental Term Loans and/or Incremental Delayed Draw Term Loans that are secured by the Collateral on a junior basis to the Initial Term Loans, the Second Amendment Term Loans and, the Third Amendment Term Loans and Fourth Amendment Delayed Draw Term Loans or that are unsecured or secured by assets that are not Collateral shall be set forth in documentation that is separate from the Loan Documents and if secured by Collateral shall be subject to an Intercreditor Agreement or other subordination arrangements reasonably satisfactory to the Administrative Agent, (6) any Incremental Commitments or Incremental Term Loans and/or Incremental Delayed Draw Term Loans shall not at any time be guaranteed by any Person other than the Guarantors and shall not be secured by a Lien on any property that does not constitute Collateral, (7)(a) any Incremental Revolving Credit Commitment will provide for the ability to permanently repay and terminate such Incremental Revolving Credit Commitment on a pro rata basis with the existing Revolving Credit Commitments and (b) any Incremental Term Loan and/or Incremental Delayed Draw Term Loans may provide for participation (x) on a pro rata basis, greater than a pro rata basis, or less than pro rata basis in any voluntary prepayments with respect to its Class of Term Loans, or (y) with respect to any Incremental Term Loans secured by the Collateral on the pari passu basis with the Initial Term Loans, the Second Amendment Term Loans and, the Third Amendment Term Loans and Fourth Amendment Delayed Draw Term Loans, on a pro rata basis or less than pro rata basis in any mandatory prepayments with all Term Loans, but no Incremental Term Loan shall share more favorably than ratably in any mandatory prepayments of the Term Loans and (8) the other terms and documentation in respect of any Incremental Term Loan and/or Incremental Delayed Draw Term Loans, to the extent inconsistent with the terms and documentation with respect to the existing Term Loan, shall be determined by the Borrowers and shall, at the option of the Borrowers, (a) reflect current market terms and conditions (taken as a whole) at the time of incurrence or issuance (as reasonably determined by the Borrowers), (b) be consistent with the terms of the corresponding Class of Term Loans unless, in the case of this clause (b), (x) the Lenders under the corresponding Class of Term Loans also receive the benefit of such more restrictive terms or (y) any such provisions apply only after the maturity date of the relevant Class of Term Loans, or (c) not be materially more restrictive to the Borrowers, when taken as a whole, than the terms of the applicable Class of Term Loans (as reasonably determined by the Borrowers). Notwithstanding the foregoing, no Incremental Commitment shall become effective unless, subject to the Limited Condition Transaction Provision to the extent acceptable to the Lenders and Additional Lenders providing the relevant Incremental Commitment in connection with a Limited Condition Transaction, (i) no Event of Default then exists or would be caused thereby and (ii) the condition to a Borrowing in Section 4.2(a) is satisfied; provided that, in the case of an Incremental Commitment being used to consummate a Limited Condition Transaction, at the Borrowers’ election, to the extent acceptable to the Lenders and/or Additional Lenders providing the relevant Incremental Commitment, the only representations and warranties that will be required to be true and correct in all material respects will be the Specified Representations (conformed as necessary for such acquisition) and such of the representations made by or on behalf of the applicable target, its affiliates, its subsidiaries or their respective businesses in the acquisition agreement governing such Limited Condition Transaction as are material to the interests of the Lenders, but only to the extent that a Company has the right to terminate its obligations under such acquisition agreement or to decline to consummate such Limited Condition Transaction as a result of a breach of such representations in the acquisition agreement.

 

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(b)           The aggregate principal amount of all Incremental Commitments made pursuant to this Section, shall not exceed (i) the greater of (x) $30,000,000 and (y) 100% of Consolidated EBITDA (determined at the time of incurrence on a pro forma basis as of the last day of the most recently ended four Fiscal Quarter period for which financial statements have been delivered pursuant to Section 5.1(a) or (b)) (it being agreed that the Fourth Amendment Delayed Draw Term Loan Commitment has been approved by the Required Lenders within the Fourth Amendment and shall not reduce the amounts available in this subclause (i)), minus any amount of Incremental Equivalent Debt and Ratio Debt incurred in reliance on this clause (i), plus (ii) an amount that, subject to the Limited Condition Transaction Provision, after giving effect thereto (and after giving effect to any acquisition consummated concurrently therewith and all other pro forma adjustment events, assuming that the entire amount of any Incremental Revolving Credit Commitments that are then being incurred has been borrowed (it being agreed that such test shall only be required on the date such Incremental Revolving Credit Commitments are provided), and excluding for purposes of computing the Consolidated First Lien Net Leverage Ratio, Consolidated Secured Net Leverage Ratio, or Consolidated Net Leverage Ratio, as applicable, any netting of the cash proceeds of any Incremental Term Loans or Revolving Credit Loans made thereunder), would cause (A) with respect to any Incremental Commitments secured on a pari passu basis with the Obligations, the Consolidated First Lien Net Leverage Ratio to be greater than 4.50 to 1.00, (B) with respect to any Incremental Commitments secured on a junior basis to the Obligations, the Consolidated Senior Net Leverage Ratio to be greater than 5.00 to 1.00 or (z) with respect to any Incremental Commitments that are unsecured on secured by assets not constituting Collateral, the Consolidated Net Leverage Ratio to be greater than 5.25 to 1.00, in each case, on a pro forma basis as of the last day of the immediately preceding Fiscal Quarter for which financial statements have been delivered to the Administrative Agent pursuant to Section 5.1(a) or 5.1(b), plus (iii) the amount of all voluntary prepayments of Term Loans and Revolving Credit Loans (including pursuant to buybacks and open market purchases in the amount actually paid in cash) actually paid and not funded with the proceeds of long-term Indebtedness of any Obligor (and in the case of Revolving Credit Loans, accompanied by a permanent reduction of the Revolving Credit Commitments), plus (iv) any payments made to any Term Loan Lender that is replaced pursuant to Section 2.18(b) as a result of its refusal to consent to an amendment or other modification, but solely to the extent the applicable Term Loans are retired and not assigned (the amount of the foregoing clause (i) through (iii), the “Incremental Amount”); provided that, each Incremental Commitment must be at least $1,000,000 and in integral multiples of $1,000,000 in excess thereof (provided that such amounts may be less if representing all remaining availability under the limit set forth above); provided further that, the amount of any Incremental Commitments incurred in reliance on the foregoing clause (i) and (iii) shall be automatically reclassified as incurred under the foregoing clause (ii) from time to time if the Borrowers meet the applicable requirements set forth on a pro forma basis. Borrowers shall provide at least three (3) days’ (or such shorter period as Administrative Agent shall agree) notice to Administrative Agent (which shall promptly provide a copy of such notice to the Lenders, as applicable) of any requested Incremental Commitment.

 

(c)           Administrative Agent shall deliver a copy of each Incremental Facility Notice to such Lenders or other Persons that qualify as an Eligible Assignee as may be determined by Administrative Agent in its reasonable discretion with the approval of the Borrower Representative or as may be specified by the Borrower Representative with the consent (not to be unreasonably withheld or delayed) of Administrative Agent. No Lender shall have any obligation to increase its Revolving Credit Commitment or fund any Incremental Term Loan, and any decision by a Lender to increase its Revolving Credit Commitment or fund any Incremental Term Loan shall be made in its sole discretion independently from any other Lender.

 

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(d)           The Incremental Facility Notice delivered by the Borrower Representative may specify a date prior to which any commitments must be received. If prior to such specified date (if any) Administrative Agent receives commitments from Lenders and/or from any other Person that (i) qualifies as an Eligible Assignee and is reasonably acceptable to the Borrower Representative and the Administrative Agent and (ii) has agreed to become a Lender in respect of all or a portion of the Incremental Commitment (an “Additional Lender”), in excess of the requested Incremental Commitment, Administrative Agent shall have the right, in its sole discretion but with the consent of the Borrower Representative, to reduce and reallocate (within the minimum and maximum amounts specified by each such Lender or Additional Lender in its notice to the Administrative Agent) the shares of the Incremental Commitment of the Lenders or Additional Lenders willing to fund (or commit to fund) such Incremental Commitment so that the total committed Incremental Commitment equals the requested Incremental Commitment. If as of such specified date (if any) Administrative Agent has not received commitments from Lenders (and/or Additional Lenders) in an amount sufficient to fund the requested Incremental Commitment, Administrative Agent shall so notify the Borrower Representative and the request for Incremental Commitment shall be deemed automatically rescinded; provided the Borrower Representative may submit a replacement Incremental Facility Notice setting forth different terms for the requested Incremental Commitment.

 

(e)           An increase in the aggregate amount of the Lenders’ Revolving Credit Commitments or Incremental Delayed Draw Term Loan Commitment or an agreement to fund Incremental Term Loans or Incremental Delayed Draw Term Loans, pursuant to this Section shall become effective upon the receipt by Administrative Agent of an agreement (an “Incremental Amendment”) in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to the Administrative Agent and the Borrower Representative, signed by each Obligor, by each Additional Lender and by each existing Lender whose Revolving Credit Commitment is to be increased or who has agreed to fund such Incremental Term Loans or Incremental Delayed Draw Term Loans or to provide Incremental Delayed Draw Term Loan Commitments, setting forth the new Pro Rata Share, Revolving Credit Commitment and/or Incremental Term Loans of such Lenders and setting forth the agreement of each Additional Lender to become a party to this Agreement as a Lender and to be bound by all the terms and provisions hereof, together with customary officer’s certificates and ratification agreements executed by each Obligor and such evidence of appropriate corporate authorization on the part of each Obligor with respect to the requested Incremental Commitment, updates or endorsements to policies of title insurance (to the extent available at a commercially reasonable cost), flood hazard determination certificates (and, if applicable, evidence of flood insurance) with respect to each parcel of Mortgaged Property, the results of lien searches from applicable jurisdictions and such customary opinions of counsel for the Obligors with respect to the requested Incremental Commitment and other assurances as Administrative Agent may reasonably request. The Incremental Amendment may, without the consent of any other Lender or Issuing Lender, effect such amendments to this Agreement and the other Loan Documents as may be necessary or appropriate, in the reasonable opinion of Administrative Agent and the Borrower Representative, to effect the provisions of this Section 2.19. If, after giving effect to any Incremental Commitment, the outstanding Revolving Credit Loans would not be held pro rata in accordance with the new Commitments, the Revolving Credit Lenders (including, without limitation, any Additional Lenders) shall, on the effective date of the applicable Incremental Commitment, make advances among themselves so that after giving effect thereto the Revolving Credit Loans will be held by the Revolving Credit Lenders (including, without limitation, any Additional Lenders), on a pro rata basis in accordance with their respective Revolving Credit Commitments hereunder (after giving effect to the applicable Incremental Commitment). Each Revolving Credit Lender agrees to wire immediately available funds to the Administrative Agent in accordance with this Agreement as may be required by Administrative Agent in connection with the foregoing.

 

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(f)            Other than with respect to the the Fourth Amendment Delayed Draw Term Loan Commitments, for purposes of determining that the Required Lenders have (A) consented (or not consented) to any amendment, modification, waiver, consent or other action with respect to any of the terms of any Loan Document or any departure by any Obligor therefrom, (B) otherwise acted on any matter related to any Loan Document or (C) directed or required the Administrative Agent or any Lender to undertake any action (or refrain from taking any action) with respect to or under any Loan Document, no Incremental Delayed Draw Term Loan Commitments shall be included in such calculation, other than Incremental Delayed Draw Term Loan Commitments in an amount equal to the amount of Incremental Delayed Draw Loans that could be funded under such commitments on such date in accordance with this Agreement so long as any such Incremental Delayed Draw Term Loan Commitments were established for a bona fide business purpose.

 

(g)           (f) This Section 2.19 shall supersede any provisions in this Agreement, including Section 10.2(b).

 

2.20        Cash Collateral.

 

(a)           Certain Credit Support Events. At any time that there shall exist a Defaulting Lender, within one Business Day following the written request of Administrative Agent or any Issuing Lender (with a copy to the Administrative Agent), the Borrowers shall Cash Collateralize Issuing Lender’s Fronting Exposure with respect to such Defaulting Lender (determined after giving effect to Section 2.21(a)(iv) and any Cash Collateral provided by such Defaulting Lender) in an amount not less than the Minimum Collateral Amount.

 

(b)           Grant of Security Interest. The Borrowers, and to the extent provided by any Defaulting Lender, such Defaulting Lender, hereby grant to the Administrative Agent, for the benefit of Issuing Lender, and agree to maintain, a first priority security interest in all such Cash Collateral as security for the Defaulting Lenders’ obligation to fund participations in respect of LC Exposure, to be applied pursuant to Section 2.20(c). If at any time Administrative Agent determines that Cash Collateral is subject to any right or claim of any Person other than Administrative Agent and Issuing Lender as herein provided or that the total amount of such Cash Collateral is less than the Minimum Collateral Amount, the Borrowers shall, promptly upon demand by Administrative Agent, pay or provide to the Administrative Agent additional Cash Collateral in an amount sufficient to eliminate such deficiency (after giving effect to any Cash Collateral provided by the Defaulting Lender).

 

(c)           Application. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in this Agreement, Cash Collateral provided under Section 2.20 or 2.21 in respect of Letters of Credit shall be applied to the satisfaction of the Defaulting Lender’s obligation to fund participations in respect of Letters of Credit (including, as to Cash Collateral provided by a Defaulting Lender, any interest accrued on such obligation) for which the Cash Collateral was so provided prior to any other application of such property as may otherwise be provided for herein.

 

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(d)           Termination of Requirement. Cash Collateral (or the appropriate portion thereof) provided to reduce any Issuing Lender’s Fronting Exposure shall no longer be required to be held as Cash Collateral pursuant to this Section 2.20 following (i) the elimination of the applicable Fronting Exposure (including by replacement of the Defaulting Lender pursuant to Section 2.18 or the termination of Defaulting Lender status of the applicable Lender), or (ii) the determination by Administrative Agent and each Issuing Lender that there exists excess Cash Collateral; provided that, subject to Section 2.21, the Person providing Cash Collateral and each Issuing Lender may agree that Cash Collateral shall be held to support future anticipated Fronting Exposure or other obligations and provided, further, that to the extent that such Cash Collateral was provided by the Borrowers, such Cash Collateral shall remain subject to the security interest granted pursuant to the Loan Documents.

 

2.21        Defaulting Lenders.

 

(a)           Defaulting Lender Adjustments. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in this Agreement, if any Lender becomes a Defaulting Lender, then, until such time as such Lender is no longer a Defaulting Lender, to the extent permitted by applicable law:

 

(i)        Waivers and Amendments. Such Defaulting Lender’s right to approve or disapprove any amendment, waiver or consent with respect to this Agreement shall be restricted as set forth in the definition of Required Lenders, Required Revolving Lenders, Required DDTL Lenders and Required Facility Lenders, as applicable.

 

(ii)        Defaulting Lender Waterfall. Any payment of principal, interest, fees or other amounts received by Administrative Agent for the account of such Defaulting Lender (whether voluntary or mandatory, at maturity, pursuant to Section 8 or otherwise) or received by Administrative Agent from a Defaulting Lender pursuant to Section 10.8 shall be applied at such time or times as may be determined by Administrative Agent as follows: FIRST, to the payment of any amounts owing by such Defaulting Lender to the Administrative Agent hereunder; SECOND, to the payment on a pro rata basis of any amounts owing by such Defaulting Lender to any Issuing Lender or Swingline Lender hereunder; THIRD, to Cash Collateralize Issuing Lender’s Fronting Exposure with respect to such Defaulting Lender in accordance with Section 2.20; FOURTH, as the Borrower Representative may request (so long as no Default or Event of Default exists), to the funding of any Loan in respect of which such Defaulting Lender has failed to fund its portion thereof as required by this Agreement, as determined by Administrative Agent; FIFTH, if so determined by Administrative Agent and the Borrower Representative, to be held in a Deposit Account controlled by Administrative Agent and released pro rata in order to (y) satisfy such Defaulting Lender’s potential future funding obligations with respect to Revolving Credit Loans or Delayed Draw Term Loans under this Agreement and (z) Cash Collateralize Issuing Lender’s future Fronting Exposure with respect to such Defaulting Lender with respect to future Letters of Credit issued under this Agreement, in accordance with Section 2.20; SIXTH, to the payment of any amounts owing to the Lenders, Issuing Lender or Swingline Lender as a result of any judgment of a court of competent jurisdiction obtained by any Lender, Issuing Lender or Swingline Lender against such Defaulting Lender as a result of such Defaulting Lender’s breach of its obligations under this Agreement; SEVENTH, so long as no Default or Event of Default exists, to the payment of any amounts owing to the Borrowers as a result of any judgment of a court of competent jurisdiction obtained by the Borrowers against such Defaulting Lender as a result of such Defaulting Lender’s breach of its obligations under this Agreement; and EIGHTH, to such Defaulting Lender or as otherwise directed by a court of competent jurisdiction; provided that if (y) such payment is a payment of the principal amount of any Loans or LC Disbursements in respect of which such Defaulting Lender has not fully funded its appropriate share, and (z) such Loans were made or the related Letters of Credit and Swingline Loans were issued at a time when the conditions set forth in Section 4.2 were satisfied or waived, such payment shall be applied solely to pay the Loans of, and LC Disbursements owed to, all Non-Defaulting Lenders on a pro rata basis prior to being applied to the payment of any Loans of, or LC Disbursements owed to, such Defaulting Lender until such time as all Loans and funded and unfunded participations in Letters of Credit are held by the Lenders pro rata in accordance with their respective Commitments without giving effect to Section 2.21(a)(iv). Any payments, prepayments or other amounts paid or payable to a Defaulting Lender that are applied (or held) to pay amounts owed by a Defaulting Lender or to post Cash Collateral pursuant to this Section 2.21(a)(ii) shall be deemed paid to and redirected by such Defaulting Lender, and each Lender irrevocably consents hereto.

 

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(iii)      Certain Fees.

 

(A)       No Defaulting Lender shall be entitled to receive any commitment fee pursuant to Section 2.11(a) for any period during which that Lender is a Defaulting Lender (and the Borrowers shall not be required to pay any such fee that otherwise would have been required to have been paid to that Defaulting Lender).

 

(B)       Each Defaulting Lender shall be entitled to receive fees pursuant to Section 2.11(b)(i) for any period during which that Lender is a Defaulting Lender only to the extent allocable to its Pro Rata Share of the stated amount of Letters of Credit for which it has provided Cash Collateral pursuant to Section 2.20.

 

(C)       With respect to any fee not required to be paid to any Defaulting Lender pursuant to Section 2.21(a)(iii)(A) or 2.21(a)(iii)(B), the Borrowers shall (i) pay to each Non-Defaulting Lender that portion of any such fee otherwise payable to such Defaulting Lender with respect to such Defaulting Lender’s participation in Letters of Credit or Swingline Loans that has been reallocated to such Non-Defaulting Lender pursuant to Section 2.21(a)(iv), (ii) pay to each Issuing Lender and Swingline Loans, as applicable, the amount of any such fee otherwise payable to such Defaulting Lender to the extent allocable to such Issuing Lender’s or Swingline Lender’s Fronting Exposure to such Defaulting Lender, and (iii) not be required to pay the remaining amount of any such fee.

 

(D)       No Defaulting Lender shall be entitled to receive any default interest pursuant to Section 2.21(c).

 

(iv)       Reallocation of Participations to Reduce Fronting Exposure. All or any part of such Defaulting Lender’s participation in Letters of Credit and Swingline Loans shall be reallocated among the Non-Defaulting Lenders in accordance with their respective Pro Rata Shares (calculated without regard to such Defaulting Lender’s Revolving Credit Commitment) but only to the extent that (A) no Event of Default exists at the time of such reallocation (and, unless the Borrower Representative shall have otherwise notified Administrative Agent at such time, the Borrowers shall be deemed to have represented and warranted that such condition is satisfied at such time), and (B) such reallocation does not cause the aggregate Revolving Credit Exposure of any Non-Defaulting Lender to exceed such Non-Defaulting Lender’s Revolving Credit Commitment. Subject to Section 10.20, no reallocation hereunder shall constitute a waiver or release of any claim of any party hereunder against a Defaulting Lender arising from that Lender having become a Defaulting Lender, including any claim of a Non-Defaulting Lender as a result of such Non-Defaulting Lender’s increased exposure following such reallocation.

 

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(v)       Cash Collateral, Repayment of Swingline Loans. If the reallocation described in Section 2.21(a)(iv) cannot, or can only partially, be effected, the Borrowers shall, without prejudice to any right or remedy available to it hereunder or under law, FIRST, prepay Swingline Loans in an amount equal to Swingline Lender’s Fronting Exposure and SECOND, Cash Collateralize Issuing Lender’s Fronting Exposure in accordance with the procedures set forth in Section 2.20.

 

(b)       Defaulting Lender Cure. If the Borrower Representative, Administrative Agent, Swingline Lender, and Issuing Lender agree in writing that a Lender is no longer a Defaulting Lender, Administrative Agent will so notify the parties hereto, whereupon as of the effective date specified in such notice and subject to any conditions set forth therein (which may include arrangements with respect to any Cash Collateral), that Lender will, to the extent applicable, purchase at par that portion of outstanding Revolving Credit Loans of the other Lenders or take such other actions as Administrative Agent may determine to be necessary to cause the Revolving Credit Loans and funded and unfunded participations in Letters of Credit and Swingline Loans to be held pro rata by the Revolving Credit Lenders in accordance with the Revolving Credit Commitments (without giving effect to Section 2.21(a)(iv)), and reimburse each such Revolving Credit Lender for any costs of the type described in Section 2.15 incurred by any Revolving Credit Lender as a result of such purchase, whereupon such Lender will cease to be a Defaulting Lender; provided that no adjustments will be made retroactively with respect to fees accrued or payments made by or on behalf of the Borrowers while that Lender was a Defaulting Lender; and provided, further, that except to the extent otherwise expressly agreed by the affected parties, no change hereunder from Defaulting Lender to Lender will constitute a waiver or release of any claim of any party hereunder arising from that Lender’s having been a Defaulting Lender.

 

(c)       New Swingline Loans/Letters of Credit. So long as any Lender is a Defaulting Lender, (i) Swingline Lender shall not be required to fund any Swingline Loans unless it is satisfied that it will have no Fronting Exposure after giving effect to such Swingline Loan and (ii) no Issuing Lender shall be required to issue, extend, renew or increase any Letter of Credit unless it is satisfied that it will have no Fronting Exposure after giving effect thereto.

 

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2.22       Refinancing Amendments.

 

(a)       On one or more occasions after the Effective Date, the Obligors may obtain, from any Lender, Credit Agreement Refinancing Indebtedness in respect of all or any portion of the Term Loans, the Delayed Draw Term Loans (or unused DDTL Commitments) and the Revolving Credit Loans (or unused Revolving Credit Commitments) then outstanding under this Agreement (which for purposes of this Section 2.22(a) will be deemed to include any then outstanding Refinancing Term Loans or Incremental Term Loans, Refinancing Delayed Draw Term Loans or Incremental Delayed Draw Term Loans), in the form of Refinancing Term Loans, Refinancing Term Commitments, Refinancing Delayed Draw Term Loan Commitments, Refinancing Delayed Draw Term Loans, Refinancing Revolving Credit Commitments or Refinancing Revolving Credit Loans pursuant to a Refinancing Amendment; provided that notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this Section 2.22 or otherwise, (i) the borrowing and repayment (except for (A) payments of interest and fees at different rates on Refinancing Revolving Credit Commitments (and related outstandings), (B) repayments required upon the maturity date of the Refinancing Revolving Credit Commitments and (C) repayment made in connection with a permanent repayment and termination of commitments (subject to clause (iii) below)) of Loans with respect to Refinancing Revolving Credit Commitments after the date of obtaining any Refinancing Revolving Credit Commitments shall be made on a pro rata basis with all other Revolving Credit Commitments, (ii) subject to the provisions of Sections 2.4(e) and 2.5(s) to the extent dealing with Swing Line Loans and Letters of Credit which mature or expire after a maturity date when there exist Extended Revolving Credit Commitments with a longer maturity date, all Swing Line Loans and Letters of Credit shall be participated on a pro rata basis by all Lenders with Commitments in accordance with their percentage of the Revolving Credit Commitments (and except as provided in Sections 2.4(e) and 2.5(s), without giving effect to changes thereto on an earlier maturity date with respect to Swing Line Loans and Letters of Credit theretofore incurred or issued), (iii) the permanent repayment of Revolving Credit Loans with respect to, and termination of, Refinancing Revolving Credit Commitments after the date of obtaining any Refinancing Revolving Credit Commitments shall be made on a pro rata basis with all other Revolving Credit Commitments, except that the Obligors shall be permitted to permanently repay and terminate commitments of any such Class on a better than a pro rata basis as compared to any other Class with a later maturity date than such Class and (iv) assignments and participations of Refinancing Revolving Credit Commitments and Refinancing Revolving Credit Loans shall be governed by the same assignment and participation provisions applicable to Revolving Credit Commitments and Revolving Credit Loans.

 

(b)       Each issuance of Credit Agreement Refinancing Indebtedness under this Section 2.22 shall be in an aggregate principal amount that is (x) not less than $1,000,000 (unless otherwise agreed by Administrative Agent) and (y) an integral multiple of $1,000,000 in excess thereof.

 

(c)       Each of the parties hereto hereby agrees that this Agreement and the other Loan Documents may be amended pursuant to a Refinancing Amendment, without the consent of any other Lenders, to the extent (but only to the extent) necessary to (i) reflect the existence and terms of the Credit Agreement Refinancing Indebtedness incurred pursuant thereto, (ii) make such other changes to this Agreement and the other Loan Documents consistent with the provisions and intent of the second paragraph of Section 10.2 (without the consent of the Required Lenders called for therein) and (iii) effect such other amendments to this Agreement and the other Loan Documents as may be necessary or appropriate, in the reasonable opinion of the Administrative Agent and the Borrower Representative, to effect the provisions of this Section 2.22, and the Lenders hereby expressly authorize the Administrative Agent to enter into any such Refinancing Amendment.

 

(d)       This Section 2.22 shall supersede any provisions of this Agreement to the contrary.

 

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2.23       Extension of Term Loans; Extension of Revolving Credit Loans.

 

(a)       The Borrower Representative may at any time and from time to time request that all or a portion of the Term Loans (including, for the avoidance of doubt, any Delayed Draw Term Loans) of a given Class (each, an “Existing Term Loan Tranche”) be amended or converted to extend the scheduled maturity date(s) with respect to all or a portion of any principal amount of such Term Loans (any such Term Loans which have been so amended or converted, “Extended Term Loans”) and to provide for other terms consistent with this Section 2.23. In order to establish any Extended Term Loans, the Borrower Representative shall provide a notice to the Administrative Agent (who shall provide a copy of such notice to each of the Lenders under the applicable Existing Term Loan Tranche) (each, a “Term Loan Extension Request”) setting forth the proposed terms of the Extended Term Loans to be established, which shall (i) be identical as offered to each Lender under such Existing Term Loan Tranche (including as to the proposed interest rates and fees payable) and offered pro rata to each Lender under such Existing Term Loan Tranche and (ii) (except as to interest rates, fees, amortization, final maturity date, “AHYDO” payments, optional prepayments, premium, required prepayment dates and participation in voluntary prepayments, which shall be determined by the Borrower Representative and the Extending Term Lenders and set forth in the relevant Term Loan Extension Request), shall either, at the option of the Borrower Representative, (x) reflect current market terms and conditions (taken as a whole) at the time of incurrence or issuance (as determined in good faith by the Borrower Representative) or (y) be consistent with, or (taken as a whole) not materially more favorable to the lenders providing such Extended Term Loans (unless (I) the lenders under the Existing Term Loan Tranche also receive the benefit of such more restrictive terms or (II) such covenants or other provisions are applicable only to periods after the latest final maturity date of the Existing Term Loan Tranche existing at the time of such refinancing); provided that (1) the scheduled final maturity date shall be extended and all or any of the scheduled amortization payments of principal of the Extended Term Loans may be delayed to later dates than the scheduled amortization of principal of the Term Loans of such Existing Term Loan Tranche; provided that at no time shall there by Classes of Term Loans hereunder (including Refinancing Term Loans, Refinancing Delayed Draw Term Loans and Extended Term Loans) which have more than six different Maturity Dates, (with any such delay resulting in a corresponding adjustment to the scheduled amortization payments reflected in Section 2.07 or in the Joinder Agreement, as the case may be, with respect to the Existing Term Loan Tranche from which such Extended Term Loans were amended or converted, in each case as more particularly set forth in Section 2.10), (2)(A) pricing, fees, optional prepayment or redemption terms shall be determined in good faith by the Borrowers and the interest margins and floors with respect to the Extended Term Loans may be higher or lower than the interest margins and floors for the Term Loans of such Existing Term Loan Tranche, (B) the Weighted Average Life to Maturity of Extended Term Loans shall not be shorter than the Weighted Average Life to Maturity of the Term Loans, at the time of such refinancing (except by virtue of amortization or prepayment of the Term Loans prior to the time of such incurrence), and/or (C) additional fees, premiums or solely to the extent payable after the Term Loan Maturity Date, “AHYDO” payments may be payable to the Lenders providing such Extended Term Loans in addition to or in lieu of any increased margins and floors contemplated by the preceding clause (A), in each case, to the extent provided in the applicable Extension Amendment, (3) the Extended Term Loans may participate on a pro rata basis, greater than pro rata basis or less than pro rata basis in any voluntary prepayment of any Class of Term Loans hereunder and may participate on a pro rata basis or less than pro rata basis (but, except as otherwise permitted by this Agreement, not on a greater than pro rata basis) in any mandatory prepayments of any Class of Term Loans hereunder, (4) Extended Term Loans may have call protection and redemption terms as may be agreed by the Borrowers and the Lenders thereof, (5) any Extended Term Loans shall not at any time be guaranteed by any Person other than the Guarantors and shall not be secured by a Lien on any property that does not constitute Collateral and (6) to the extent that any such provision that applies after the Term Loan Maturity Date is added for the benefit of any such Indebtedness, no consent shall be required by the Administrative Agent or any of the Lenders. No Lender shall have any obligation to agree to have any of its Term Loans of any Existing Term Loan Tranche converted into Extended Term Loans pursuant to any Extension Request. Any Extended Term Loans of any Extension Series shall constitute a separate Class of Term Loans from the Existing Term Loan Tranche from which they were converted; provided, that any Extended Term Loans converted from an Existing Term Loan Class may, to the extent provided in the applicable Extension Amendment, be designated as an increase in any then outstanding Class of Term Loans other than the Existing Term Loan Class from which such Extended Term Loans were converted (in which case scheduled amortization with respect thereto shall be proportionally increased). Any Extended Term Loans amended pursuant to any Term Loan Extension Request shall be designated a series (each, a “Term Loan Extension Series”) of Extended Term Loans for all purposes of this Agreement; provided that any Extended Term Loans amended from an Existing Term Loan Tranche may, to the extent provided in the applicable Extension Amendment, be designated as an increase in any previously established Term Loan Extension Series with respect to such Existing Term Loan Tranche (in which case scheduled amortization with respect thereto shall be proportionally increased). Each Term Loan Extension Series of Extended Term Loans incurred under this Section 2.23 shall be in an aggregate principal amount that is not less than $5,000,000 (or, if less, the entire principal amount of the Indebtedness being extended pursuant to this Section 2.23 or such other amount approved by the Administrative Agent).

 

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(b)       The Borrower Representative may at any time and from time to time request that all or a portion of the Revolving Commitments of any Class, each existing at the time of such request (each, an “Existing Revolving Credit Commitment” and any related Revolving Loans thereunder, “Existing Revolving Credit Loans”; each Existing Revolving Credit Commitment and related Existing Revolving Credit Loans together being referred to as an “Existing Revolving Credit Class”) be converted to extend the termination date thereof and the scheduled maturity date(s) of any payment of principal with respect to all or a portion of any principal amount of Revolving Loans related to such Existing Revolving Credit Commitments (any such Existing Revolving Credit Commitments which have been so extended, “Extended Revolving Credit Commitments” and any related Revolving Loans, “Extended Revolving Credit Loans”) and to provide for other terms consistent with this Section 2.23. In order to establish any Extended Revolving Credit Commitments, the Borrower Representative shall provide a notice to the Administrative Agent (who shall provide a copy of such notice to each of the Lenders of the applicable Class of Existing Revolving Credit Commitments which such request shall be offered equally to all such Lenders on identical terms) (a “Revolving Credit Loan Extension Request”) setting forth the proposed terms of the Extended Revolving Credit Commitments to be established, which, shall either, at the option of the Borrower, (A) reflect current market terms and conditions (taken as a whole) at the time of incurrence or issuance (as determined in good faith by the Borrowers) or (B) if not consistent with the terms of the applicable Existing Revolving Credit Commitments, shall not be materially more restrictive to the Obligors (as determined in good faith by the Borrower), when taken as a whole, than the terms of such Existing Revolving Credit Commitments (the “Specified Existing Revolving Credit Commitment”) unless (x) the Lenders providing Existing Revolving Credit Loans receive the benefit of such more restrictive terms or (y) any such provisions apply after the latest maturity date of any Revolving Commitments then outstanding under this Agreement, in each case, to the extent provided in the applicable Extension Amendment; provided, however, that (w) all or any of the final maturity dates of such Extended Revolving Credit Commitments may be delayed to later dates than the final maturity dates of the Specified Existing Revolving Credit Commitments, (x) (A) the interest margins and floors with respect to the Extended Revolving Credit Commitments may be higher or lower than the interest margins and floors for the Specified Existing Revolving Credit Commitments and/or (B) additional fees and premiums may be payable to the Lenders providing such Extended Revolving Credit Commitments in addition to or in lieu of any increased margins and floors contemplated by the preceding clause (A) and (y) the commitment fee rate with respect to the Extended Revolving Credit Commitments may be higher or lower than the commitment fee rate for the Specified Existing Revolving Credit Commitment; provided, that, notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this Section 2.23 or otherwise, (1) the borrowing and repayment (other than in connection with a permanent repayment and termination of commitments) of Loans with respect to any Existing Revolving Credit Commitments shall be made on a pro rata basis with all other Existing Revolving Credit Commitments and (2) assignments and participations of Extended Revolving Credit Commitments and Extended Revolving Credit Loans shall be governed by the same assignment and participation provisions applicable to Revolving Credit Commitments. No Lender shall have any obligation to agree to have any of its Revolving Loans or Revolving Commitments of any Existing Revolving Credit Class converted into Extended Revolving Credit Loans or Extended Revolving Credit Commitments pursuant to any Revolving Credit Loan Extension Request. Any Extended Revolving Credit Commitments of any Extension Series shall be designated a series (each, a “Revolving Credit Loan Extension Series”) of Extended Revolving Credit Loans for all purposes of this Agreement and shall constitute a separate Class of revolving credit commitments from the Specified Existing Revolving Credit Commitments; provided that any Extended Revolving Credit Commitments converted from an Existing Revolving Credit Commitment Class may, to the extent provided in the applicable Extension Amendment, be designated as an increase in any then outstanding Class of Revolving Commitments other than the Existing Revolving Credit Commitment Class from which such Extended Revolving Credit Commitments were converted.

 

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(c)       The Borrower Representative shall provide the applicable Extension Request at least five Business Days prior to the date on which Lenders under the Existing Term Loan Tranche or Existing Revolving Credit Commitment, as applicable, are requested to respond (or such shorter period as agreed by the Administrative Agent), and shall agree to such procedures, if any, as may be established by, or acceptable to, the Administrative Agent and the Borrower Representative, in each case acting reasonably to accomplish the purposes of this Section 2.23. Subject to Section 2.18(b), no Lender shall have any obligation to agree to have any of its Term Loans of any Existing Term Loan Tranche amended into Extended Term Loans or any of its Revolving Credit Commitments amended into Extended Revolving Credit Commitments, as applicable, pursuant to any Extension Request. Any Lender holding a Loan under an Existing Term Loan Tranche (each, an “Extending Term Lender”) wishing to have all or a portion of its Term Loans under the Existing Term Loan Tranche subject to such Extension Request amended or converted into Extended Term Loans and any Revolving Credit Lender (each, an “Extending Revolving Credit Lender”) wishing to have all or a portion of its Revolving Credit Commitments under the Existing Revolving Credit Commitment subject to such Extension Request amended into Extended Revolving Credit Commitments, as applicable, shall notify the Administrative Agent (each, an “Extension Election”) on or prior to the date specified in such Extension Request of the amount of its Term Loans under the Existing Term Loan Tranche or Revolving Credit Commitments under the Existing Revolving Credit Commitment, as applicable, which it has elected to request be amended into Extended Term Loans or Extended Revolving Credit Commitments, as applicable (subject to any minimum denomination requirements imposed by the Administrative Agent). In the event that the aggregate principal amount of Term Loans under the Existing Term Loan Tranche or Revolving Credit Commitments under the Existing Revolving Credit Commitment, as applicable, in respect of which applicable Term Lenders or Revolving Credit Lenders, as the case may be, shall have accepted the relevant Extension Request exceeds the amount of Extended Term Loans or Extended Revolving Credit Commitments, as applicable, requested to be extended pursuant to the Extension Request, Term Loans or Revolving Credit Commitments, as applicable, subject to Extension Elections shall be amended to Extended Term Loans or Revolving Credit Commitments, as applicable, on a pro rata basis (subject to rounding by the Administrative Agent, which shall be conclusive) based on the aggregate principal amount of Term Loans or Revolving Credit Commitments, as applicable, included in each such Extension Election.

 

(d)       Extended Term Loans and Extended Revolving Credit Commitments shall be established pursuant to an amendment (each, an “Extension Amendment”) to this Agreement among the Borrower Representative, the Administrative Agent and each Extending Term Lender or Extending Revolving Credit Lender, as applicable, providing an Extended Term Loan or Extended Revolving Credit Commitment, as applicable, thereunder, which shall be consistent with the provisions set forth in Section 2.23(a) or 2.23(b) above, respectively (but which shall not require the consent of any other Lender). The effectiveness of any Extension Amendment shall be subject to the satisfaction (or waiver) on the date thereof each of the conditions set forth in Section 4.2 and, to the extent reasonably requested by the Administrative Agent, receipt by the Administrative Agent of (i) customary legal opinions, board resolutions and officers’ certificates certifying such resolutions and (ii) reaffirmation agreements and/or such amendments to the Security Documents as may be reasonably requested by the Administrative Agent in order to ensure that the Extended Term Loans or Extended Revolving Credit Commitments, as applicable, are provided with the benefit of the applicable Loan Documents. The Administrative Agent shall promptly notify each Lender as to the effectiveness of each Extension Amendment. Each of the parties hereto hereby agrees that this Agreement and the other Loan Documents may be amended pursuant to an Extension Amendment, without the consent of any other Lenders, to the extent (but only to the extent) necessary to (i) reflect the existence and terms of the Extended Term Loans or Extended Revolving Credit Commitments, as applicable, incurred pursuant thereto, (ii) modify the scheduled repayments set forth in Section 2.10 with respect to any Existing Term Loan Tranche subject to an Extension Election to reflect a reduction in the principal amount of the Term Loans thereunder in an amount equal to the aggregate principal amount of the Extended Term Loans amended pursuant to the applicable Extension (with such amount to be applied ratably to reduce scheduled repayments of such Term Loans required pursuant to Section 2.9), (iii) modify the prepayments set forth in Section 2.10 to reflect the existence of the Extended Term Loans and the application of prepayments with respect thereto, (iv) make such other changes to this Agreement and the other Loan Documents (without the consent of the Required Lenders called for therein) and (v) effect such other amendments to this Agreement and the other Loan Documents as may be necessary or appropriate, in the reasonable opinion of the Administrative Agent and the Borrower Representative, to effect the provisions of this Section 2.23, and the Required Lenders hereby expressly authorize the Administrative Agent to enter into any such Extension Amendment.

 

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(e)       No conversion of Loans pursuant to any Extension in accordance with this Section 2.23 shall constitute a voluntary or mandatory payment or prepayment for purposes of this Agreement. This Section 2.23 shall supersede any provisions herein to the contrary.

 

3.            REPRESENTATIONS AND WARRANTIES

 

Holdings (solely in respect of itself and Section 3.1, 3.2, 3.3, 3.8, 3.17 and 3.22), the Borrowers and each other Obligor represents and warrants (with each representation and warranty being deemed in effect after giving effect to the Transactions) to the Administrative Agent, the Lenders, and Issuing Lender that on the Effective Date and on such other dates as such representations and warranties are required to be made:

 

3.1         Organization; Powers. Each of the Obligors is (a) duly organized, validly existing, and, if applicable in its jurisdiction of organization, in good standing or the equivalent status under the laws of the jurisdiction of its organization, (b) except where the failure to do so, individually or in the aggregate, could not reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect, has all requisite corporate or similar power and authority and all governmental licenses, permits, water rights, authorizations, and other approvals and entitlements to own and operate its property, to lease or sublease any property its operates, to occupy any property it occupies, and to carry on its business as now conducted and as contemplated to be conducted by it upon and following the consummation of the Transactions, (c) has all requisite corporate or similar power and authority to execute, deliver and perform its obligations under the Loan Documents to which it is a party, and (d) except where the failure to do so, individually or in the aggregate, could not reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect, is duly qualified or licensed and is in good standing as a foreign corporation or other company, and authorized to do business, in each jurisdiction in which the characters of its properties or the nature of its business requires such qualification or authorization.

 

3.2          Authorization; Enforceability. The execution, delivery and performance by each Obligor of the Loan Documents and the documents related to the Transactions occurring on the Effective Date to which it is a party and the performance of each Obligor’s obligations thereunder are within each Obligor’s requisite powers and have been duly authorized by all necessary corporate, limited liability company or other organizational action, and, if required, by all necessary action by holders of Equity Interests in each such Obligor. The Loan Documents to which each Obligor is a party have been duly executed and delivered by such Obligor and constitute, a legal, valid and binding obligation of such Obligor, enforceable against such Obligor in accordance with its terms, except as such enforceability may be limited by (a) Debtor Relief Laws or similar laws of general applicability affecting the enforcement of creditors’ rights. (b) the application of general principles of equity (regardless of whether such enforceability is considered in a proceeding in equity or at law) and (c) the effect of foreign laws, rules and regulations as they relate to pledges of Equity Interests in or Indebtedness owed by Foreign Subsidiaries.

 

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3.3         Governmental Approvals; No Conflicts. The execution, delivery and performance by each Obligor of the Loan Documents to which it is a party and the documents related to the Transactions to which it is a party and the performance of each Obligor’s obligations thereunder (a) do not require any consent, authorization or approval of, registration or filing with, notice to, or any other action by, any Governmental Authority, except for (i) such as have been obtained or made and are in full force and effect, (ii) filings and recordings in respect of the Liens created pursuant to the Security Documents and (iii) those that would not reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect, (b) will not violate (x) any applicable law or regulation applicable to any Obligor or its Restricted Subsidiaries or (y) the Organizational Documents of any Obligor or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries, in the case of clause (x), that would reasonably be expected to result, individually or in the aggregate, in a Material Adverse Effect, (c) [reserved], (d) will not conflict with or result in a breach or contravention of, any material order, injunction, writ or decree of any Governmental Authority or any arbitral award to which any Obligor or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries is a party or affecting such Person or its properties that would reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect, and (e) except for the Liens created pursuant to the Security Documents or Permitted Encumbrances, will not result in the creation or imposition of any Lien on any asset of any Obligor or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries.

 

3.4          Financial Condition; No Material Adverse Change.

 

(a)       Financial Condition. The Borrower Representative has heretofore furnished to the Administrative Agent and Lenders (i) the audited balance sheet of the Company, as of December 28, 2020, and the related audited statements of operations and comprehensive loss, members’ equity and cash flows of the Company for the year then ended, (ii) an unaudited interim balance sheet of the Company as of April 26, 2021 and the related unaudited interim statements of operations and comprehensive loss, members’ equity and cash flows of the Company for (x) the four-month period ended April 26, 2021 and (y) each subsequent fiscal quarter ended at least forty-five (45) days prior to the Effective Date (in respect of this clause (y), to the extent provided under the Surf Merger Agreement), (iii) a pro forma consolidated balance sheet and related statements of income of Holdings and its subsidiaries, as of April 26, 2021, prepared after giving effect to the Transactions as if the Transactions had occurred as of such date (in the case of such balance sheet) or at the beginning of such period (in the case of the statement of income), (iv) the audited balance sheets of Vive Organic as of December 31, 2021 and December 30, 2020 and the related audited statements of operations and of cash flows of Vive Organic for the years then ended and (v) the unaudited balance sheet of Vive Organic as of August 31, 2022 and the related statements of operations and cash flows of Vive Organic for the eight-month period then ended, in each case prepared on a consolidated basis in conformity in all material respects with GAAP; provided, that in each case, no financial statements or pro forma financial statements shall be required to include adjustments for purchase accounting (including adjustments of the type contemplated by Financial Accounting Standards Board Accounting Standards Codification 805, Business Combinations (formerly SFAS 141R)). Such financial statements or financial information present fairly in all material respects the financial position and results of operations and cash flows of the Company and as of such dates and for such period in accordance with GAAP (where applicable) in all material respects, subject to year-end audit adjustments and the absence of footnotes in the case of any such unaudited financial statements.

 

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(b)       No Material Adverse Change. Since July 7, 2021, no events have occurred that either individually or in the aggregate would reasonably be expected to have or cause a Material Adverse Effect.

 

3.5          Properties.

 

(a)       Property Generally. Each Borrower and its Restricted Subsidiaries has (a) good and legal title to (in the case of fee interests in real property), (b) valid leasehold interests in (in the case of leasehold interests in real or personal property), and (c) good and marketable title to (or in the case of all other personal property, rights in), all of their respective assets, except for (i) Permitted Encumbrances, or (ii) minor defects in title to property that do not materially interfere with its ability to conduct its business as currently conducted or to use such property for their intended purposes and (iii) as would not reasonably be expected, individually or in the aggregate, to result in a Material Adverse Effect. All such assets are free and clear of Liens except for Permitted Encumbrances.

 

(b)       Intellectual Property. (i) Each Borrower and its Restricted Subsidiaries owns, or is licensed or otherwise has rights to use, all trademarks, tradenames, copyrights, patents and other intellectual property reasonably necessary to the operation of its business, and, (ii) to its knowledge, the use thereof by any Borrower and its Restricted Subsidiaries does not infringe upon the rights of any other Person, in each case of (i) and (ii), except as could not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect.

 

3.6          Litigation.

 

Actions, Suits and Proceedings. There are no actions, suits, investigations or proceedings by or before any arbitrator or Governmental Authority now pending against or, to the knowledge of any Borrower or Restricted Subsidiary, threatened against any Borrower or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries (i) that involve any of the Loan Documents or any of the Transactions contemplated hereby or thereby, or (ii) that have a reasonable likelihood of adverse determination and such determination could reasonably be expected, individually or in the aggregate, to result in a Material Adverse Effect, except for matters disclosed on Schedule 3.6.

 

3.7         Compliance with Laws. No Borrower nor any Restricted Subsidiary nor any of their respective products is subject to, in violation of, or in default with respect to, any judgments, laws (including without limitation the Food and Agriculture Law), regulations, orders, writs, injunctions and decrees of any Governmental Authority applicable to it or its property that, individually or in the aggregate, could reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect. As of the Effective Date, there are no existing Liens pursuant to Growers’ Lien Laws. As of the Effective Date, Borrowers and their Subsidiaries are in compliance in all material respects with all notifications, instructions and payment obligations received from creditors of Protected Vendors delivered pursuant to Growers’ Lien Laws.

 

3.8         Investment Company Status. None of the Borrowers, Holdings or any of their Restricted Subsidiaries is or is required to be registered as an “investment company” under the Investment Company Act of 1940.

 

3.9         Taxes. Except, in each case, as would not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect, each Obligor and its Restricted Subsidiaries have filed or caused to be filed all federal, state, local and non-U.S. Tax returns and reports required to have been filed by them by their respective due dates (including any extensions) and have paid or caused to be paid all Taxes shown therein to be due and have paid all other Taxes, except (a) Taxes that are being contested in good faith by appropriate proceedings diligently conducted and for which such Person has set aside on its books adequate reserves in accordance with the GAAP or (b) Taxes which are not yet delinquent for a period of more than thirty (30) days. There is no tax assessment, to the knowledge of any Obligor, that has been proposed or threatened in writing, against any Obligor or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries that has not been finally resolved and would, if paid in full, be reasonably expected to have a Material Adverse Effect. No Obligor nor any Restricted Subsidiary thereof is party to any tax sharing agreement (other than any agreement entered into in the ordinary course of business the primary purpose of which is not related to Taxes).

 

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3.10         ERISA. Except as set forth on Schedule 3.10, as of the Effective Date, no Borrower nor any of its Restricted Subsidiaries is party to or bound to any Multiemployer Plan. No ERISA Event has occurred or is reasonably expected to occur that, when taken together with all other such ERISA Events for which liability is reasonably expected to occur, would result in a Material Adverse Effect. No Borrower or Restricted Subsidiary is nor will be (a) an employee benefit plan subject to ERISA, (b) a plan or account subject to Section 4975 of the Code; (c) an entity deemed to hold “plan assets” of any such plans or accounts for purposes of ERISA or the Code; or (d) a “governmental plan” within the meaning of ERISA.

 

3.11         Disclosure.

 

(a)         The Borrower Representative has delivered to the Administrative Agent and the Lenders the Borrowers’ projected consolidated profit and loss statements and summary cash flow statements prepared on an annual basis for its 2021 through 2025 Fiscal Years. Such projections and all other financial projections and forecasts delivered to the Administrative Agent and the Lenders in connection with this Agreement have been prepared by the Borrowers in good faith based upon reasonable assumptions believed by the Borrowers to be reasonable at the time made available to the Administrative Agent and the Lenders, it being recognized by Administrative Agent and the Lenders that such projections are as to future events and are not to be viewed as facts and are subject to significant uncertainties and contingencies, many of which are beyond the Borrowers’ control, that no assurance can be given that any particular projection will be realized, and that actual results during the period or periods or covered by such projections may differ significantly from the projected results and such differences may be material.

 

(b)         All information (other than the projections and forecasts described in Section 3.11(a), forward-looking statements, budgets, estimates and information of a general economic or industry nature) furnished by or on behalf of any Obligor, to the Administrative Agent or any Lenders in connection with the transactions contemplated hereby and the negotiation of this Agreement and the other Loan Documents or delivered hereunder or thereunder (as modified or supplemented by other information so furnished) is, when furnished and taken as a whole, does not or will not, when furnished and taken as a whole, contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state any material fact necessary to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not materially misleading.

 

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(c)         As of the Effective Date, the information included in the Beneficial Ownership Certification delivered by the Borrower Representative pursuant to Section 4.1(j) is true and correct in all material respects.

 

3.12         Federal Reserve Regulations; Use of Credit. The Borrowers are not engaged and will not engage, principally or as one of its important activities, in the business of purchasing or carrying Margin Stock, or extending credit for the purpose of purchasing or carrying Margin Stock, and no proceeds of any Borrowings or drawings under any Letter of Credit will be used for any purpose that violates Regulation T, U or X of the Board of Governors of the United States Federal Reserve System.

 

3.13         [Reserved].

 

3.14         Existing Subsidiaries. Set forth on Schedule 3.14 is a complete and correct list of all of the Subsidiaries of Holdings, the Borrowers and their respective Subsidiaries as of the Effective Date, together with, for each such Subsidiary, (i) the jurisdiction of organization, of such Subsidiary; (ii) each Person holding Equity Interests in such Subsidiary; (iii) the Equity Interests issued by such Subsidiary; (iv) the Equity Interests held by each such Person; and (v) the percentage of ownership of such Subsidiary represented by such Equity Interests.

 

3.15         Real Property. Set forth on Part 1 of Schedule 3.15 is a complete and correct list, as of the Effective Date, of all of the Material Real Property owned by any Company, indicating in each case the use of the respective property, the identity of the owner, and the location of the respective property. As of the Effective Date, except as set forth on Part 2 of Schedule 3.15, no Mortgaged Property owned by an Obligor has Improvements located in an area identified as having special flood hazards and in which flood insurance has been made available under the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968.

 

3.16         Environmental Matters. Except as set forth on Schedule 3.16, each Borrower and its Restricted Subsidiaries has obtained all permits, licenses, and other authorizations required under all Environmental Laws to carry on its business, except to the extent failure to have any such permit, license, or authorization would not (either individually or in the aggregate) reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect. Except as set forth on Schedule 3.16, each of such permits, licenses, and authorizations is in full force and effect and each Obligor and its Restricted Subsidiaries is in compliance with the terms and conditions thereof, and is also in compliance with all other limitations, restrictions, conditions, standards, prohibitions, requirements, obligations, schedules, and timetables contained in any applicable Environmental Law, except to the extent failure to comply therewith would not (either individually or in the aggregate) reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect.

 

In addition, except as set forth in Schedule 3.16:

 

(a)         There are no claims, actions, suits, investigations, or proceedings asserted against or, to any Borrower’s or Restricted Subsidiary’s knowledge, threatened against, the Borrower or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries, nor has the Borrower or any of the Restricted Subsidiaries received any written notice, notification, demand, potentially responsible party letter, request for information, citation, summons or order from any Governmental Authority or third party alleging potential liability of the Borrower or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries under any Environmental Law in connection with the conduct of the business of such Borrower or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries or with respect to any generation, treatment, storage, recycling, transportation, discharge or disposal, release or threatened release of any Hazardous Materials, excluding any matter that would not (either individually or in the aggregate) reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect.

 

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(b)         Except as would not (either individually or in the aggregate) be reasonably expected to have a Material Adverse Effect, (i) no Borrower or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries owns, operates or leases a treatment, storage or disposal facility requiring a permit under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act of 1976, or under any comparable state or local statute; (ii) there are no underground storage tanks or surface impoundments for Hazardous Materials, active or abandoned, at any site or facility now or, to any Borrower’s knowledge, previously owned, operated or leased by any Borrower or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries; (iii) there has been no release or threatened release of any Hazardous Materials at, from, on or under any site or facility now or, to any Borrower’s or Restricted Subsidiary’s knowledge, previously owned, operated or leased by any Borrower or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries in quantities or concentrations requiring remediation by any Borrower or any Restricted Subsidiary under applicable Environmental Law; and (iv) no Borrower or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries has contractually assumed any liability or obligation of any other person under or relating to any applicable Environmental Law.

 

(c)         No written notification of a release of a Hazardous Material has been filed by or on behalf of any Borrower or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries that would reasonably be expected to result (either individually or in the aggregate) in a Material Adverse Effect and no site or facility now or, to any Borrower’s or Restricted Subsidiary’s knowledge, previously owned, operated or leased by any Borrower or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries is listed or, to any Borrower’s or Restricted Subsidiary’s knowledge, proposed for listing on the National Priorities List (“NPL”) under CERCLA, listed for possible inclusion on the NPL by the Environmental Protection Agency in the Superfund Enterprise Management System, as provided for by 40 C.F.R. § 300.5, or any similar state list requiring investigation or clean-up by any Obligor or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries, except for such listing that would not reasonably be expected to result (either individually or in the aggregate) in a Material Adverse Effect.

 

3.17         Sanctions/Anti-Corruption Representations.

 

(a)         Each Obligor and its subsidiaries are in compliance in all material respects with all applicable Anti-Terrorism Laws, Anti-Corruption Laws, and laws relating to Sanctions, including all those applicable in the jurisdictions in which Obligor and its Subsidiaries conduct business. No Obligor nor any of its Subsidiaries is in material violation of any Anti-Terrorism Laws, Anti-Corruption Laws or Sanctions or is engaging in or conspiring to engage in any transaction that evades or avoids, or has the purpose of evading or avoiding, or attempting to violate, any of the prohibitions set forth in any Anti-Terrorism Laws, Anti-Corruption Laws or Sanctions.

 

(b)         No Obligor nor any of its Subsidiaries, nor any director, officer, nor to its knowledge, any other employee, agent or representative of any Obligor, is a Person (each such Person, a “Sanctioned Person”) that is, or is owned or controlled by Persons that are: (i) the subject of any Sanctions, or (ii) located, organized or resident in a country, region or territory that is, or whose government is, the subject of Sanctions (currently, as of the date of this Agreement, the Region of Crimea, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Venezuela and Syria).

 

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(c)         No Obligor nor any of its Subsidiaries, nor any director, officer, nor to its knowledge, any other employee, agent or representative of any Obligor, is engaging in any dealings or transactions with any Sanctioned Person, or in any country or territory, that at the time of the dealing or transaction is, or whose government is, the subject of Sanctions (currently, as of the date of this Agreement, the Region of Crimea, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Venezuela and Syria), in violation of Sanctions.

 

3.18         Insurance. The properties of each Borrower and its Restricted Subsidiaries are insured with financially sound and reputable insurance companies, in such amounts, in the good faith determination of the Borrowers and giving effect to any self-insurance, with such deductibles and covering such risks as are customarily carried by companies engaged in similar businesses and owning similar properties in localities where any Borrower or the applicable Subsidiary operates, in each case, in accordance with Section 5.5.

 

3.19         Labor Matters. Except as set forth on Schedule 3.19, as of the Effective Date no Borrower nor any of its Restricted Subsidiaries are party to or bound by any collective bargaining agreement. There are no strikes, lockouts, work stoppages or other labor disputes against any Borrower or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries, or, to the best of any Borrower’s knowledge, threatened against or affecting any Borrower or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries, in each case, which could reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect. Each Obligor has paid in all material respects all wages required and due and payable to its employees except where the failure to do so could not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect.

 

3.20         Solvency. On the Effective Date, the Borrowers together with their Restricted Subsidiaries on a consolidated basis, are Solvent.

 

3.21        [Reserved].

 

3.22         Security Documents. The provisions of the Security Documents (taken as a whole) are, or will be at the time of execution and delivery thereof, effective to create in favor of Administrative Agent for the benefit of the Secured Parties a valid and enforceable (except as such enforceability may be limited by (a) Debtor Relief Laws or similar laws of general applicability affecting the enforcement of creditors’ rights. (b) the application of general principles of equity (regardless of whether such enforceability is considered in a proceeding in equity or at law) and (c) the effect of foreign laws, rules and regulations as they relate to pledges of Equity Interests in or Indebtedness owed by Foreign Subsidiaries) first-priority Lien (subject only to Permitted Encumbrances) on all right, title and interest of each Obligor in the Collateral described therein. When all appropriate filings or recordings are made in the appropriate offices or other perfection action taken as contemplated hereby and by the Security Documents, the Liens created by each such Security Document will constitute fully perfected first priority Liens (subject only to Permitted Encumbrances) on and security interests in all right, title and interest of the Obligors in such Collateral subject to the limitations and exceptions set forth in the Security Documents.

 

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4.         CONDITIONS PRECEDENT.

 

4.1         Effective Date. The obligations of the Lenders to make Loans and of Issuing Lender to issue Letters of Credit hereunder shall not become effective until the date on which Administrative Agent shall have received each of the following, in each case reasonably satisfactory to the Administrative Agent (and to the extent specified below, to each Lender) in form and substance:

 

(a)         Executed Counterparts. From each party thereto, a counterpart of this Agreement and the other Loan Documents to be executed and delivered as of the Effective Date, signed and delivered on behalf of such party.

 

(b)         Opinions of Counsel to Obligor. Customary legal opinion (addressed to the Administrative Agent, the Lenders and Issuing Lender and dated the Effective Date) of Kirkland & Ellis LLP, counsel the Obligors.

 

(c)         Corporate Documents. Such documents and certificates as Administrative Agent may reasonably request relating to the organization, existence and good standing of each Obligor as of the Effective Date, the authorization of the Transactions, the identity, authority and capacity of each Responsible Officer authorized to act on behalf of an Obligor in connection with the Loan Documents, this Agreement, the other Loan Documents or the Transactions.

 

(d)         Security Documents. (i) The Security Agreement, duly executed and delivered by the Obligors and the Administrative Agent, (ii) certificates, if any, representing the Equity Interests required to be pledged under the Security Agreement accompanied by undated stock or comparable powers executed in blank, and (iii) proper financing statements (Form UCC-1 or the equivalent) for filing under the UCC or other appropriate filing offices of each jurisdiction as may be necessary to perfect the security interests purported to be created by the foregoing Security Agreement; provided, however, that, the satisfaction of the requirement set forth in clause (ii) above, after the Borrower Representative’s use of commercially reasonable efforts to provide such items on or prior to the Effective Date without undue burden or expense, shall not constitute conditions precedent to the Borrowing on the Effective Date but shall instead be delivered by the Borrower Representative within 90 days after the Effective Date (subject to extensions approved by the Administrative Agent in its reasonable discretion).

 

(e)         Solvency. A solvency certificate from the chief executive officer, chief financial officer or other officer with equivalent duties of the Borrower Representative in the form of Exhibit 4.1.

 

(f)          Repayment of Existing Indebtedness. Evidence that all existing third party debt for borrower money of the Company under the Existing Indebtedness (other than Indebtedness permitted by Section 6.1 hereof) shall have been (or shall be substantially simultaneously) repaid, redeemed, defeased, discharged, refinanced, replaced or termination and all commitments thereunder shall have been (or shall be substantially simultaneously) terminated and all liens and guarantees thereunder shall have been (or shall be substantially simultaneously) released or terminated.

 

(g)         Administrative Agent and, if applicable, Issuing Lender or Swingline Lender shall have received a Borrowing Request.

 

(h)         Financial Statements. The financial statements and financial information referred to in Sections 3.4(a) and 3.11(a).

 

(i)          Fees. Evidence that the Borrowers shall have paid (or shall pay substantially concurrently with the funding of the initial Borrowings under this Agreement on the Effective Date) all accrued fees that are required to be paid on the Effective Date under the terms of the Fee Letter, to the extent invoiced at least three (3) Business Days prior to or on the Effective Date, expenses of Administrative Agent required to be paid on Effective Date pursuant to the Commitment Letter, including the fees, charges and disbursements of King & Spalding LLP, special New York counsel to the Administrative Agent, in connection with the negotiation, preparation, execution and delivery of the Loan Documents (directly to such counsel if requested by Administrative Agent).

 

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(j)         Know Your Customer Requirements. The Administrative Agent shall have received, at least three (3) business days before the Effective Date, (i) all documentation and other information about the Obligors and their subsidiaries that shall have been reasonably requested by the Administrative Agents or the Lead Arranger at least ten (10) business days prior to the Effective Date and that the Administrative Agent and the Lead Arranger reasonably determine is required by applicable regulatory authorities under applicable “know your customer” and anti-money laundering rules and regulations, including, without limitation, the PATRIOT Act and (ii) to the extent any Borrower or any Guarantor qualifies as a “legal entity customer” under the Beneficial Ownership Regulation, a certificate regarding beneficial ownership as required by the Beneficial Ownership Regulation with respect to such Borrower or such Guarantor which certification shall be substantially similar in form and substance to the form of Certification Regarding Beneficial Owners of Legal Entity Customers published jointly, in May 2018, by the Loan Syndications and Trading Association and Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association, that in each case has been requested at least ten (10) business days prior to the Effective Date.

 

(k)         Material Adverse Effect. Since July 7, 2021, no “Material Adverse Effect” (as defined in the Surf Merger Agreement) shall have occurred.

 

(l)         Consummation of the Acquisition. Substantially simultaneously with the funding of the initial Borrowings under this Agreement on the Effective Date, the Acquisition shall be consummated in all material respects in accordance with the terms of the Surf Merger Agreement, but without giving effect to any alteration, amendment, change, supplement, waiver or consent that is materially adverse to the interests of the Lead Arranger, in any such case without the consent of the Lead Arranger (such consent not to be unreasonably withheld, delayed or conditioned and provided that the Lead Arranger shall be deemed to have consented to such waiver, amendment, consent or other modification unless it shall object thereto within three (3) business days after written notice of such waiver, amendment, supplement, consent or other modification) (it being understood (a) any change to the definition of “Material Adverse Effect” or the “Xerox” provisions contained in the Surf Merger Agreement shall be deemed to be material and adverse to the Lead Arranger, (b) any reduction to the purchase price shall be deemed not to be materially adverse to the interests of the Lenders if such reduction (i) does not, in the aggregate, exceed 15% of the purchase price set forth in the Surf Merger Agreement as of July 7, 2021 or (ii) is equal to or in excess of 15% of the purchase price set forth in the Surf Merger Agreement as of July 7, 2021 and is applied (1) first, at the option of the Initial Borrower, to a reduction of the Sponsor Equity Contribution and (2) thereafter, to a reduction in the amount of the Initial Term Loans and the Equity Contribution on a pro rata basis, (c) any increase in the purchase price shall not be deemed to be materially adverse to the interests of the Lenders if such increase is funded with an increase in the aggregate amount of the Sponsor Equity Contribution and (d) any purchase price adjustment contemplated by the Surf Merger Agreement (including any working capital purchase price adjustment) shall not be considered an amendment or waiver of the Surf Merger Agreement).

 

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(m)         Specified Purchase Agreement Representations. The Specified Purchase Agreement Representations shall be true and correct in all material respects (or to the extent as of a specified earlier date, true and correct in all material respects as of such date).

 

(n)         Sponsor Equity Contribution. Prior to or substantially simultaneously with the funding of the initial Borrowings under this Agreement on the Effective Date, Holdings shall have received the Sponsor Equity Contribution.

 

(o)         Specified Representations. With respect to the funding of the initial Borrowings on the Effective Date, the Specified Representations shall be true and correct in all material respects (unless any such representation or warranty is qualified as to materiality or Material Adverse Effect, in which case such representation and warranty shall be true and correct in all respects) on and as of the Effective Date, both before and immediately after giving effect thereto, except to the extent that such representations and warranties specifically refer to an earlier date, in which case they shall be true and correct in all material respects (unless any such representation or warranty is qualified as to materiality or Material Adverse Effect, in which case such representation and warranty shall be true and correct in all respects) as of such earlier date.

 

Administrative Agent shall notify the Borrower Representative, Issuing Lender and the Lenders of the Effective Date, and such notice shall be conclusive and binding. Each Lender that has signed this Agreement shall be deemed to have consented to, approved or accepted or to be satisfied with, each document or other matter required thereunder to be consented to or approved by or acceptable or satisfactory to a Lender unless Administrative Agent shall have received notice from such Lender prior to the proposed Effective Date specifying its objection thereto.

 

4.2         Each Credit Event. The obligation of each Lender to make a Loan after the Effective Date (including any Delayed Draw Term Loan, Incremental Term Loan, and/or Incremental Delayed Draw Term Loan), and of Issuing Lender to issue, amend, renew or extend any Letter of Credit, is subject to the satisfaction of the following conditions:

 

(a)         the representations and warranties of each Obligor set forth in this Agreement and of the other Loan Documents to which it is a party, shall be true and correct in all material respects (unless any such representation or warranty is qualified as to materiality or Material Adverse Effect, in which case such representation and warranty shall be true and correct in all respects) on and as of the date of such Borrowing or the date of issuance, amendment, renewal or extension of such Letter of Credit, as applicable, both before and immediately after giving effect thereto, except to the extent that such representations and warranties specifically refer to an earlier date, in which case they shall be true and correct in all material respects (unless any such representation or warranty is qualified as to materiality or Material Adverse Effect, in which case such representation and warranty shall be true and correct in all respects) as of such earlier date, and except that for purposes of this Section 4.2, the representations and warranties contained in Section 3.4(a) shall be deemed to refer to the most recent statements furnished pursuant to Sections 5.1(a) and 5.1(b), respectively;

 

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

 

(c)         with respect to Revolving Credit Loans or the issuance of any Letter of Credit, at the time of and immediately after giving effect to such Borrowing or the issuance, amendment, renewal or extension of such Letter of Credit, as applicable, the total Revolving Credit Exposures shall not exceed the total Revolving Credit Commitments;

 

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(d)         Administrative Agent and, if applicable, the Issuing Lender or the Swingline Lender shall have received a Borrowing Request or a notice requesting the issuance, amendment, renewal, or extension of such Letter of Credit, as the case may be, in each case, in accordance with the requirements of this Agreement.;

 

(e)         with respect to Fourth Amendment Delayed Draw Term Loans, the amount of the proposed Fourth Amendment Delayed Draw Term Loans to be made on such date would not exceed the Fourth Amendment Delayed Draw Term Loan Commitments; and

 

(f)         with respect to Fourth Amendment Delayed Draw Term Loans, as of the last day of the most recently ended Reference Period, the Consolidated Net Leverage Ratio (recomputed on a pro forma basis, and for the avoidance of doubt, not disregarding any Loans funded substantially concurrently pursuant to the Fourth Amendment Delayed Draw Term Loan Commitments (it being understood and agreed that the proceeds of any Fourth Amendment Delayed Draw Term Loans shall not be netted for purposes of this calculation)) shall not exceed 5.25 to 1.00.

 

Each making of a Loan and each issuance, amendment, renewal, or extension of a Letter of Credit shall be deemed to constitute a representation and warranty by the Borrowers on the date thereof as to the matters specified in clauses (a), (b) and (c) of this Section 4.2.

 

To the extent that proceeds of a Fourth Amendment Delayed Draw Term Loan are used to finance a Limited Condition Transaction, the requirements of paragraphs (a) and (b) in this Section 4.2 are subject to the limitations relating to a Limited Condition Transaction.

 

5.             AFFIRMATIVE COVENANTS

 

So long as any Commitment is outstanding and thereafter until all Obligations are Fully Satisfied, each Obligor covenants and agrees with Administrative Agent, Issuing Lender and the Lenders that:

 

5.1           Financial Statements and Other Information. The Borrower Representative will furnish to the Administrative Agent (for distribution to each Lender):

 

(a)         within 120 days after the end of each Fiscal Year, (i) commencing with the Fiscal Year ending December 27, 2021, the consolidated balance sheet and related statements of operations, members’ equity and cash flows of the Company and its Subsidiaries, as of the end of and for such year, setting forth, in each case, commencing with the Fiscal Year ending December 26, 2022, in comparative form the figures for the previous Fiscal Year audited by Moss Adams LLP, KPMG or another independent public accountants of recognized national or regional standing (without a “going concern” or substantially similar qualification or exception and without any qualification or exception as to the scope of such audit (except for any such qualification pertaining to (x) the maturity of any Indebtedness occurring within twelve (12) months of the relevant audit, (y) any actual or prospective default under any financial covenant or (z) the activities, operations, financial results, assets or liabilities of Unrestricted Subsidiaries) to the effect that such consolidated financial statements present fairly in all materials respects the financial condition and results of operations of the Company and its Subsidiaries on a consolidated basis in accordance in all material respects with GAAP consistently applied, except as noted therein and (ii) a certification of a Responsible Officer of the Company that such consolidated financial statements present fairly in all material respects the financial condition and results of operations of the Company and the applicable Subsidiaries for such Fiscal Year on a consolidated basis in accordance with GAAP consistently applied; provided, however, that for the Fiscal Year ending December 27, 2021 only, the consolidated financial statements required pursuant to this clause (a) may be provided within 150 days after the end of such Fiscal Year.

 

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(b)         within 45 days after the end of each of the first three Fiscal Quarters of each Fiscal Year (and for the fourth Fiscal Quarter of the 2021 Fiscal Year only) commencing with the Fiscal Quarter ending December 27, 2021, (i) the consolidated balance sheet and related statements of operations and cash flows of the Company and its Subsidiaries as of the end of and for such Fiscal Quarter and the then elapsed portion of the Fiscal Year, setting forth in each case, commencing with the Fiscal Quarter ending March 27, 2023 in comparative form the figures for (or, in the case of the balance sheet, as of the end of) the corresponding period or periods of the previous Fiscal Year and (ii) a certification of a Responsible Officer of the Company that such consolidated financial statements present fairly the financial condition and results of operations of the Company and the applicable Subsidiaries, on a consolidated basis for such period in accordance in all material respects with GAAP consistently applied, subject to normal year-end audit adjustments and the absence of footnotes; provided, however, that for the Fiscal Quarters ending September 27, 2021, December 27, 2021, March 28, 2022 and September 30, 2024 only, the consolidated financial statements required pursuant to this clause (b) may be provided within 60 days after the end of such Fiscal Quarter;

 

(c)         concurrently with any delivery of financial statements under clause (a) or (b) of this Section, a certificate in substantially the form of Exhibit 5.1 of a Responsible Officer of the Borrower Representative (a “Compliance Certificate”) (i) certifying as to whether a Default exists and, if a Default exists, specifying the details thereof and any action taken or proposed to be taken with respect thereto, (ii) setting forth reasonably detailed calculations of the Financial Covenant and, to the extent required to be tested for such period, whether the Borrowers were in compliance with the Financial Covenant for such period, and (iii) stating whether any change in GAAP or in the application thereof that has an impact on the financial statements of the Company and its Subsidiaries or the calculation of the Financial Covenant hereof has occurred since the date of the audited financial statements referred to in Section 3.4 and, if any such change has occurred, specifying the effect of such change on the financial statements accompanying such certificate;

 

(d)         promptly after the same become publicly available, copies of all periodic and other reports, proxy statements and other materials filed by the Borrowers or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries with the SEC, or with any national securities exchange, or any financial statements (including any related management discussion and analysis) distributed by the Borrowers to any holder of Material Indebtedness of the Borrowers or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries pursuant to the terms of any indenture, loan or credit or similar agreement and not otherwise required to be furnished hereunder, as the case may be;

 

(e)         prior to an Initial Public Offering, concurrently with the delivery of the financial statements under clauses (a) and (b) of this Section, a management discussion and analysis with respect to such financial statements;

 

(f)         prior to an Initial Public Offering, as soon as available, but in any event no more than 90 days after the end of each Fiscal Year commencing with the Fiscal Year ending December 27, 2021, an annual consolidated plan, budget and financial projection of the Company and its Restricted Subsidiaries on a consolidated basis, including forecasts prepared by management of the Borrowers in form consistent with past practice, of consolidated balance sheets and statements of income or operations and cash flows of the Company and its Restricted Subsidiaries on a quarterly basis for such Fiscal Year, which shall state the material assumptions used in preparation thereof;

 

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(g)         promptly after any request by Administrative Agent or any Lender (through Administrative Agent) (subject in each case to any confidentiality restrictions not entered into in contemplation hereof), copies of any detailed audit reports, final management letters or recommendations submitted to the board of directors (or the audit committee of the board of directors) of any Obligor by independent accountants in connection with the accounts or books of any Obligor or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries, or any audit of any of them;

 

(h)         concurrently with the delivery of the financial statements under clause (a) and (b) of this Section, consolidating financial statements of the Borrowers and their Subsidiaries that eliminate the accounts of Unrestricted Subsidiaries;

 

(i)         [reserved];

 

(j)         [reserved];

 

(k)         promptly following any request therefor, such other information and reports regarding each Obligor or any of its Subsidiaries, or compliance with the terms of this Agreement and the other Loan Documents, as Administrative Agent or any Lender (through Administrative Agent) may reasonably request (other than any such information or reports that are subject to attorney-client privilege, third-party confidentiality obligations not entered into in contemplation hereof, trade secrets, non-financial proprietary information or applicable law); and

 

Documents required to be delivered pursuant to this Section 5.1 may be delivered electronically and if so, shall be deemed to have been delivered on the date on which such documents are posted electronically by any Obligor or on such Obligor’s behalf on the Platform to which each Lender and the Administrative Agent have access or on the Company’s website; provided that: (i) the Borrower Representative shall deliver paper copies of such documents to the Administrative Agent for any Lender who requests the Borrower Representative to deliver such paper copies until written request to cease delivering paper copies is given by Administrative Agent or such Lender; (ii) the Borrower Representative shall notify (which may be by facsimile or electronic mail) Administrative Agent and each Lender of the posting of any such documents and provide to the Administrative Agent by email electronic versions (i.e. soft copies) of such documents; and (iii) upon written request by Administrative Agent, the Borrower Representative shall provide paper copies of the Compliance Certificate required by clause (c) of this Section 5.1 to the Administrative Agent. Administrative Agent shall have no obligation to request the delivery or to maintain copies of the documents referred to above, and in any event, shall have no responsibility to monitor compliance by the Borrowers with any such request for delivery, and each Lender shall be solely responsible for requesting delivery to it or maintaining its copies of such documents.

 

Notwithstanding the foregoing, the obligations in Section 5.1(a) and 5.1(b) may be satisfied with respect to financial information of Holdings and the Restricted Subsidiaries by furnishing (I) the applicable financial statements of Holdings (or any direct or indirect parent of Holdings) or (II) Holdings’ (or any direct or indirect parent thereof), as applicable, Form 10-K or 10-Q, as applicable filed with the SEC; provided that, with respect to the foregoing clauses (I) and (II), (i) to the extent such information relates to Holdings or a parent of Holdings, such information is accompanied by information that explains in reasonable detail the differences between the information relating to Holdings (or such parent), on the one hand, and the information relating to the Borrowers and the Restricted Subsidiaries on a standalone basis, on the other hand and (ii) to the extent such information is in lieu of information required to be provided under Section 5.1(a), such materials are accompanied by a report of independent public accountants of nationally or regionally recognized standing and shall not be subject to any “going concern” or substantially similar qualification or exception and without any qualification or exception as to the scope of such audit (except for any such qualification pertaining to (x) the maturity of any Indebtedness occurring within twelve (12) months of the relevant audit), (y) any actual or prospective default under any financial covenant or (z) the activities, operations, financial results, assets or liabilities of Unrestricted Subsidiaries).

 

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5.2          Notices of Material Events. Each Obligor will furnish to the Administrative Agent and each Lender prompt written notice of the following, after a Responsible Officer of any Obligor has obtained knowledge thereof:

 

(a)         the occurrence of any Default;

 

(b)         filing or commencement of, or any material development in, any action, suit or proceeding by or before any arbitrator or Governmental Authority against or affecting any Obligor or any of their respective Restricted Subsidiaries that (i) involves any Loan Document or the Transactions, or (ii) that has a reasonable likelihood of adverse determination and such determination described in this subclause (ii) could reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect;

 

(c)         the occurrence of (i) any notice or other action by the FDA, the USDA or any comparable Governmental Authority to limit, suspend, revoke or terminate any permit, license or authorization that is necessary to any Company’s business, or (ii) any request or proceedings by the FDA, the USDA, or any comparable Governmental Authority seeking the withdrawal, recall, suspension, import detention, or seizure of, or any corrective action relating to any product produced or distributed by any Company or (iii) any Borrower, facility, or product becoming subject to any administrative or regulatory action, inspection, Form FDA 483 observation, warning letter, notice of violation, or other comparable notice by or from the FDA, the USDA or any comparable Governmental Authority (with copies to be provided to Agent of same), or of any product of a Borrower being seized, detained, or subject to a suspension of manufacturing, or the commencement of any proceedings to seize, detain, or suspend manufacturing of a product, in the case of each of clauses (ii) and (iii), that are expected to have a Material Adverse Effect;

 

(d)         the occurrence of any ERISA Event that, alone or together with any other ERISA Events that have occurred, would reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect;

 

(e)         the assertion of any claim pursuant to applicable Environmental Law, including alleged violations of or non-compliance with permits, licenses or other authorizations issued pursuant to applicable Environmental Law, by any Person against, or with respect to the activities of, any Obligor or any of their respective Restricted Subsidiaries, that could (either individually or in the aggregate) reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect;

 

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(f)         [reserved];

 

(g)        [reserved];

 

(h)        [reserved]; and

 

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

 

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

 

5.3         Existence; Conduct of Business. Each Obligor shall, and shall cause each of its Restricted Subsidiaries to, do or cause to be done all things necessary to preserve, renew and keep in full force and effect its legal existence and, except as could not reasonably be expected to have, either individually or in the aggregate, a Material Adverse Effect, the rights (including water rights), licenses, permits, privileges and franchises material to the conduct of its business; provided that the foregoing shall not prohibit any transaction permitted by Article VI.

 

5.4         Payment of Obligations. Each Obligor shall, and shall cause each of its Restricted Subsidiaries to, timely pay all Tax liabilities, governmental charges and levies, in each case in the nature of a Tax, that are due and payable by it, in each case, unless (a) the validity or amount thereof is being contested in good faith by appropriate proceedings and such Obligor or such Restricted Subsidiary has set aside on its books adequate reserves with respect thereto in accordance with GAAP or (b) the failure to make such payment could not reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect.

 

5.5         Maintenance of Properties; Insurance. Each Obligor shall, and shall cause each of its Restricted Subsidiaries to, (a) maintain all tangible property material to the conduct of its business in good working order and condition, and maintain and protect all intellectual property owned by any Obligor or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries, other than (i) where such action could not reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect and (ii) ordinary wear, tear, casualty, condemnation and dispositions permitted under Section 6.4, and (b) maintain, with financially sound and reputable insurance companies, insurance in such amounts and against such risks as are customarily maintained by similarly sized companies engaged in the same or similar businesses operating in the same or similar locations including any flood insurance required by Section 3.15, in the good faith determination of the Borrowers and giving effect to any self-insurance. The Borrower Representative will furnish to the Administrative Agent, upon request of Administrative Agent, once per calendar year, information in reasonable detail as to the insurance so maintained. Each general liability insurance policy shall name Administrative Agent as additional insured. Each insurance policy covering Collateral shall name Administrative Agent as lender’s loss payee and shall provide that such policy will not be canceled without 30 days (10 days solely with respect to cancellation for nonpayment of premium) (or such shorter period as reasonably acceptable to the Administrative Agent) prior written notice to the Administrative Agent.

 

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5.6         Books and Records; Inspection Rights.

 

(a)         Each Obligor shall, and shall cause each of its Restricted Subsidiaries to, keep proper books of record and account in which full, true, and correct entries in accordance in all material respects with GAAP are made of all material dealings and transactions in relation to its business and activities. Each Obligor will, and will cause each of its Restricted Subsidiaries to, permit any representatives (including consultants, auditors, accountants and advisors) designated by Administrative Agent, upon reasonable prior notice if no Event of Default then exists, to visit and inspect its properties during normal business hours, to examine and make extracts from its books and records, and to discuss its affairs, finances and condition with its employees (provided an authorized representative of the Borrowers shall be allowed, but not required, to be present during such discussion), independent accountants, or officers, all at such reasonable times and as often as reasonably requested; provided that, in no event shall any Obligor or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries be required pursuant to the terms of this Section 5.6 to allow any such Person to inspect or examine, or be required to discuss, any records, documents or other information (x) with respect to which any Obligor or any its Subsidiaries has obligations of confidentiality or (y) that (i) is subject to attorney client-privilege or otherwise constitutes attorney work-product, (ii) constitutes non-financial trade secrets or non-financial proprietary information, or (iii) in respect of which disclosure to the Administrative Agent (or its respective representatives or contractors) is prohibited by applicable law; and provided, further, that excluding any such visits and inspections during the continuation of an Event of Default, (i) only Administrative Agent on behalf of the Lenders may exercise rights under this Section 5.6 (and such information will be shared with the Lenders), and (ii) Administrative Agent shall not exercise such rights more often than one time during any calendar year.

 

(b)         The Borrower Representative shall, upon the request of Administrative Agent or the Required Lenders, hold a conference call once each Fiscal Year to which Administrative Agent and the Lenders shall be invited, in each case at such time as may be agreed to by the Borrower Representative and the Administrative Agent.

 

5.7         Compliance with Laws. Each Obligor shall, and shall cause each of its Restricted Subsidiaries and each of Obligor’s and Restricted Subsidiary’s products to, comply with all laws, rules, regulations, and orders of any Governmental Authority applicable to it or its property (including any Food and Agriculture Law), except where the failure to do so, individually or in the aggregate, could not reasonably be expected to result in (i) a Material Adverse Effect, and (ii) with respect to compliance of Anti-Corruption Laws, Anti-Terrorism Laws, applicable Anti-Money Laundering Laws and Sanctions, be material to the Borrowers, taken as a whole. The Borrowers will maintain in effect, after the date set forth on Schedule 5.11, policies and procedures reasonably designed to promote compliance by the Borrowers, their Restricted Subsidiaries and their respective directors, officers, employees and agents with applicable Anti- Terrorism Laws, Anti-Corruption Laws and Sanctions. So long as the Borrowers or any of their respective Restricted Subsidiaries purchases agricultural products from Protected Vendors, the Borrowers or such Restricted Subsidiaries shall monitor the receipt of notices of Liens and/or trusts (or of any intent to preserve any rights or benefits pursuant to any trust created in favor of any supplier, seller or agent or disclosing a security interest created by a seller of Farm Products) on its assets and notices of non-payment or dishonored checks, in each case, under Food and Agricultural Laws, and provide prompt written notice thereof to Administrative Agent following receipt thereof.

 

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5.8         Certain Obligations Respecting Subsidiaries. Borrowers shall take such action, and shall cause each of its Restricted Subsidiaries to take such action, from time to time as shall be necessary to ensure that all Subsidiaries (other than (x) any Excluded Subsidiary or (y) any Unrestricted Subsidiary) are “Subsidiary Guarantors” hereunder. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, in the event that the Borrowers or any of their Restricted Subsidiaries shall form or acquire any new Subsidiary, the Borrowers shall, and shall cause each of their Subsidiaries (other than (x) any Excluded Subsidiary or (y) any Unrestricted Subsidiary) to, within 60 days (or such longer period as the Administrative Agent may reasonably agree) after such formation, acquisition, or, in the case of any (I) Subsidiary becoming a Material Subsidiary, after the date financial statements are delivered pursuant to Section 5.1(a) or 5.1(b) showing such change and (II) Unrestricted Subsidiary being designated as a Restricted Subsidiary (and is not otherwise an Excluded Subsidiary), take the following actions:

 

(a)         such Subsidiary will become a “Subsidiary Guarantor” hereunder by executing and delivering a Guaranty Agreement (or joinder thereto), and become a “Grantor” under the Security Agreement by executing and delivering a supplement to the Security Agreement;

 

(b)         the Borrower Representative shall furnish to the Administrative Agent an updated Schedules 3.14, 3.15 and 4.1(e) with respect to such Subsidiary;

 

(c)         the Borrower Representative shall cause such Subsidiary (or any Guarantor that is the owner of the shares or other Equity Interests of such Subsidiary, as applicable) to take such action (including delivering certificates evidencing such Equity Interests, delivering such Uniform Commercial Code financing statements, and executing and delivering security agreements for filing and recording in the United States Patent and Trademark Office and the United States Copyright Office) as shall be necessary or reasonably advisable in the reasonable opinion of Administrative Agent, and in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to the Administrative Agent, to create and perfect valid and enforceable first-priority Liens, subject to no other Liens except for Permitted Encumbrances, on the Collateral of such Subsidiary and all of the Equity Interests in such Subsidiary to the extent consisting Collateral as collateral security for the Obligations;

 

(d)         the Borrower Representative shall cause such Subsidiary to deliver such proof of corporate action, incumbency of officers, opinions of counsel, “Know your customer” information and other documents as is consistent with those delivered by each Obligor pursuant to Section 4.1 on the Effective Date, in each case, as Administrative Agent shall have reasonably requested; and

 

(e)         if such Subsidiary is formed or incorporated in a non-U.S. jurisdiction, (i) such jurisdiction shall be a Qualified Jurisdiction, (ii) any form of security and guaranty agreements have to be in form reasonably acceptable to Administrative Agent and the Borrower Representative (consistent, to the extent in effect on the Effective Date, with the security and guaranty agreements in effect on the Effective Date or otherwise consistent with the customary market practice in the applicable jurisdiction) and Administrative Agent shall have completed any “Know your customer” diligence;

 

provided, however, if a Borrower or any of its Subsidiaries that is a Guarantor forms or acquires a new Tax Preferred Subsidiary, such Borrower shall only be required to, or cause the Guarantor that is the owner of the Equity Interests of such Tax Preferred Subsidiary that constitutes Collateral to, take such action (including delivering certificates and transfer powers for such Equity Interests and delivering Uniform Commercial Code financing statements) as shall be necessary or advisable in the opinion of Administrative Agent, and in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to the Administrative Agent, to create and perfect valid and enforceable first-priority Liens, subject to no other Liens except for Permitted Encumbrances, on 65% of the voting Equity Interests (solely to the extent that the pledge of more than 65% would result in material adverse tax consequences to the Obligors) and 100% of the non-voting Equity Interests in each such new Tax Preferred Subsidiary as collateral security for the Obligations.

 

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5.9         Further Assurances.

 

(a)         General Further Assurances. Subject to the terms of the Loan Documents, the Borrower Representative shall, and shall cause each other Obligor to, execute any and all further documents, financing statements, agreements and instruments, and take all such further actions (including the filing and recording of financing statements, fixture filings, mortgages, deeds of trust and other documents), which Administrative Agent may reasonably request, to effectuate the transactions contemplated by the Loan Documents or, to grant, preserve, protect or perfect the Liens created or intended to be created by the Security Documents or the validity or priority of any such Lien, all at the expense of the Borrowers. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in this Agreement or the other Loan Documents, unless otherwise elected by the Borrowers no actions in, or required by the applicable laws of, any non-U.S. jurisdiction shall be required in order to create any security interests in any assets or to perfect or make enforceable such security interests (including in Equity Interests of CFCs or any intellectual property rights), there shall be no security agreements or pledge agreements governed under the applicable laws of any non-U.S. jurisdiction and there shall be no requirement to make any filings or take any action in any office in any foreign jurisdiction (including with respect to foreign intellectual property) or register or apply to register any intellectual property rights.

 

(b)         Real Property Requirement. If the Real Property Requirement shall cease to be satisfied, the Borrower Representative shall, no later than 120 days after the acquisition of any owned real property (or such longer period as Administrative Agent shall agree to in writing in its sole discretion), cause the Real Property Requirement to be satisfied by causing such additional owned real property or other owned real property to be subjected to a Lien securing the Obligations and shall take, and cause the other Obligors to take, such actions as are necessary or reasonably requested by Administrative Agent to grant and perfect such Liens and deliver such other documents (including the delivery of such Mortgages, title insurance commitments (to the extent available at commercially reasonable cost), exception documents, surveys, flood hazard determination certificates (and related Borrower notices), evidence of flood insurance (if applicable), available environmental assessments, opinions of counsel and other documents, in each case, as may be reasonably requested by Administrative Agent) as is consistent with those delivered by each Obligor on the Effective Date, all at the expense of the Obligors to the extent provided for under Section 10.3.

 

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Notwithstanding anything to the contrary herein or in any other Loan Document, it is understood and agreed that:

 

(i)         no control agreements with respect to control agreements related to deposit accounts and securities accounts or commodities accounts shall be required hereunder or under any other Loan Document;

 

(ii)        no landlord waivers, collateral access agreements, bailee waivers, estoppel letters or other similar agreements with respect to the Collateral shall be required hereunder or under any other Loan Document;

 

(iii)       other than to the extent readily available, no environmental reports shall be required to be delivered hereunder or under any other Loan Document; and

 

(iv)        no Obligors shall be required to (A) perfect any pledges and security interests by any means other than by (1) filings pursuant to the Uniform Commercial Code in the office of the secretary of state (or similar central filing office) of the relevant state(s) and filings in the applicable real estate records with respect to Mortgaged Properties or any fixtures relating to Mortgaged Properties, (2) filings in United States government offices with respect to intellectual property and (3) delivery to the Administrative Agent to be held in its possession of all Collateral consisting of intercompany notes (other than Excluded Property), security certificates of issuers owned by Holdings, the Borrowers or the Guarantors and instruments (other than Excluded Property) issued to the Borrowers or Guarantors, together with customary endorsements or transfer powers, in each case, as required by the Security Agreement, (B) provide any notice to or obtain the consent of governmental authorities under the Federal Assignment of Claims Act (or any state equivalent thereof), or (C) enter into any source code escrow arrangement (or be obligated to register intellectual property).

 

5.10         Cash Management Systems. Within 180 days after the Effective Date (or such later day as the Administrative Agent may agree in its reasonable discretion), each Obligor shall establish their primary depository and treasury management relationships with JPMorgan or one of its Affiliates and thereafter for so long as JPMorgan is a Lender hereunder, maintain its primary depository and treasury management relationships with JPMorgan or one of its Affiliates.

 

5.11         Post-Closing Deliverables. The Borrower Representative shall deliver to the Administrative Agent all documents required to be delivered pursuant to the Schedule 5.11 by the deadlines set forth therein; it being understood that, notwithstanding anything else set forth in this Agreement or the other Loan Documents to the contrary, such documents shall not be required to be delivered prior to such deadline.

 

5.12         Designation of Subsidiaries. The Borrowers may at any time after the Effective Date designate or redesignate any Restricted Subsidiary of any Borrower as an Unrestricted Subsidiary or any Unrestricted Subsidiary as a Restricted Subsidiary; provided that, (i) immediately before and after such designation or redesignation, no Event of Default pursuant to Section 8.1(a), (b), (d) (solely with respect to Section 7), (e) (solely with respect to Section 5.1(a), (b) or (c)), (h) or (i) shall have occurred and be continuing and (ii) after giving Pro Forma Effect to such designation or redesignation, the Borrowers are in compliance with the Financial Covenant. The designation or redesignation of any Subsidiary as an Unrestricted Subsidiary after the Effective Date shall constitute an Investment by the Borrowers therein at the date of designation or redesignation in an amount equal to the Fair Market Value as reasonably determined in good faith by the Borrowers of the Borrower’s or its Subsidiary’s (as applicable) Investment therein. The designation or redesignation of any Unrestricted Subsidiary as a Restricted Subsidiary shall constitute (i) an Investment, the incurrence of Indebtedness and any Liens at the time of designation (to the extent any Investment, Indebtedness or Liens of such Subsidiary exists at such time) and (ii) a return on any Investment by the Borrower in Unrestricted Subsidiaries pursuant to the preceding sentence in an amount equal to the Fair Market Value of such Subsidiary on the date of designation or redesignation, as reasonably determined in good faith by the Borrowers at the date of such designation or redesignation. No Material Intellectual Property or exclusive license in any Material Intellectual Property shall be permitted to be transferred by Holdings or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries to any Unrestricted Subsidiary, whether by designation hereunder or other transfer or disposition, other than non-exclusive licenses in the Ordinary Course of Business.

 

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5.13         Lines of Business. Engage in any material line of business substantially different from those lines of business conducted by the Borrowers or any of the Restricted Subsidiaries on the Effective Date or any business or any other activities that are reasonably similar, ancillary, corollary, synergistic, complementary or related to, or a reasonable extension, development or expansion of, the businesses conducted by the Borrowers or any of the Restricted Subsidiaries on the Effective Date (and non-core incidental businesses acquired in connection with any Permitted Acquisition or permitted Investment), or to facilitate any of the foregoing, in each case as reasonably determined by the Borrowers in good faith.

 

5.14         Transactions with Affiliates. No Obligor shall, nor shall it permit any of its Restricted Subsidiaries to, sell, lease or otherwise transfer any assets to, or purchase, lease or otherwise acquire any assets from, or otherwise engage in any other transactions with, any of its Affiliates, if the value of such transaction is in excess of the greater of (x) $4,500,000 and (y) 15% of Consolidated EBITDA (determined at the time of any such transaction (calculated on a pro forma basis) as of the last day of the most recently ended four Fiscal Quarter period for which financial statements have been delivered pursuant to Sections 5.1(a) and (b)) except:

 

(a)         transactions at prices and on terms and conditions that are fair and reasonable and not materially less favorable to such Obligor or such Restricted Subsidiary than could be obtained on an arm’s length basis from unrelated third parties as determined in good faith by the Borrowers;

 

(b)         transactions expressly permitted by Sections 6.1, 6.3, 6.4, and 6.5(d), (j), (o) and (v);

 

(c)         any Restricted Payments permitted by Section 6.6 (other than Section 6.6(e)(iv) or (o));

 

(d)         a customary indemnity provided for the benefit of officers and directors (or comparable managers) of such Company;

 

(e)         so long as it has been approved by such Company’s board of directors (or comparable governing body) in accordance with applicable law, the payment of reasonable compensation, severance, reimbursement or employee benefit arrangements (including severance benefits and health, welfare and retirement benefits and equity incentive and option plans) to employees, officers, and outside directors of such Company in the Ordinary Course of Business;

 

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(f)         (i) transactions between any Obligors, and (ii) transactions between Restricted Subsidiaries that are not Obligors;

 

(g)         loans or advances to employees of any Obligor or its Restricted Subsidiaries permitted hereunder;

 

(h)         the Management Agreement and the payments pursuant thereto (other than Section 6.6(e)(iv)), without giving effect to amendments, modifications, or waivers of the Management Agreement with respect to payment amounts after the Effective Date that are, when taken as a whole, materially adverse to the Lenders compared to the Management Agreement in effect on the Effective Date;

 

(i)          the Acquisition and any transaction contemplated by the Surf Merger Agreement;

 

(j)         transactions among any Obligors and their Restricted Subsidiaries constituting any part of a Permitted Reorganization or IPO Reorganization;

 

(k)         transactions among any Borrower and its Restricted Subsidiaries or any entity that becomes a Restricted Subsidiary or an additional Borrower as a result of such transaction;

 

(l)          loans and other transactions made by Holdings and its Restricted Subsidiaries to joint ventures (to the extent any such joint venture is only an Affiliate as a result of Investments by Holdings and its Restricted Subsidiaries in such joint venture) to the extent otherwise permitted under Section 6.5;

 

(m)        employment, consulting and severance arrangements between a Borrower (or any direct or indirect parent) and its Restricted Subsidiaries and their respective officers and employees in the Ordinary Course of Business (including loans and advances in connection therewith) and transactions pursuant to stock option plans and employee benefit plans and arrangements in the Ordinary Course of Business;

 

(n)         the payment of customary fees and reasonable out-of-pocket costs to, and indemnities provided on behalf of, directors, officers, employees and consultants of the Borrowers and their Restricted Subsidiaries (or any direct or indirect parent of a Borrower) in the Ordinary Course of Business to the extent attributable to the ownership or operation of the Borrowers and their Restricted Subsidiaries;

 

(o)         transactions pursuant to any arrangement or agreement in existence on the Effective Date and set forth on Schedule 5.14, or any amendment, extension, renewal, modification or replacement of any such arrangement or agreement (so long as any such amendment, extension, renewal, modification or replacement would not be materially adverse to the Lenders or the Administrative Agent);

 

(p)         so long as no Event of Default pursuant to Section 8.1(a), (b), (h) or (i) has occurred and is continuing, customary payments by the Borrowers and any of their Restricted Subsidiaries to the Sponsor made for any financial advisory, financing, underwriting or placement services or in respect of other investment banking activities (including in connection with acquisitions or divestitures) which payments are approved by the majority of the members of the board of directors (or analogous governing body) or a majority of the disinterested members of the board of directors (or analogous governing body) of the applicable Borrower in good faith;

 

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(q)          payments by a Borrower or any of its Subsidiaries pursuant to any tax sharing agreements with any direct or indirect parent of the Borrower to the extent attributable to the ownership or operation of the Borrower and the Subsidiaries, but only to the extent permitted by Section 6.6;

 

(r)          the issuance or transfer of Equity Interests (other than Disqualified Equity Interests) of a Borrower (or any direct or indirect parent) or any one of its Subsidiaries to the extent not otherwise prohibited by the Loan Documents;

 

(s)          transactions in which a Borrower or any of the Restricted Subsidiaries, as the case may be, deliver to the Administrative Agent a letter from an independent financial advisor stating that such transaction is fair to the applicable Borrower or such Restricted Subsidiary from a financial point of view or meets the requirements of Section 5.14;

 

(t)          payments to or from, and transactions with, joint ventures (to the extent any such joint venture is only an Affiliate as a result of Investments by Holdings and the Restricted Subsidiaries in such joint venture) in the ordinary course of business to the extent otherwise permitted under Section 6.5;

 

(u)         Affiliate repurchases of (i) the Loans or Commitments to the extent permitted hereunder or (ii) any other Indebtedness, and, in the case of each of the foregoing, the payments and other transactions reasonably related thereto; and

 

(v)         transactions approved by a majority of the disinterested members of the board of directors (or similar governing body) of the Borrowers; provided that if the value of such transaction (or series of transactions) exceeds the greater of (x) $7,500,000 and (y) 25% of Consolidated EBITDA (calculated on a pro forma basis as of the last day of the most recently ended four Fiscal Quarter period for which financial statements have been delivered pursuant to Section 5.1(a) or (b)) then the Borrower Representative shall notify (along with reasonable detail) the Administrative Agent of any such transaction.

 

5.15         Fiscal Year. No Obligor shall, nor shall it permit any of its Subsidiaries to change the Fiscal Year end date of any Obligor or is Subsidiaries without notice to the Administrative Agent.

 

5.16         Ratings. The Borrowers shall use commercially reasonable efforts to (a) obtain a private corporate rating (but not a specific rating) of Borrower and a private rating (but not a specific rating) for the Term Loans from at least one (1) nationally recognized statistical rating agency, and (b) maintain and refresh such rating as reasonably requested by the Administrative Agent.

 

5.17         Use of Proceeds and Letters of Credit. No Obligor shall, nor shall it permit any of its Restricted Subsidiaries to: (a) use the proceeds of the Initial Term Loans and Revolving Credit Loans made on the Effective Date for any purpose other than to (i) consummate the Transactions, (ii) pay the Transaction Costs (solely with the proceeds of the Initial Term Loans), (iii) issue Letters of Credit, (iv) to fund any working capital adjustments required by the Surf Merger Agreement and (v) fund any original issue discount and upfront fees required pursuant to the Fee Letter; provided that the aggregate amount of Revolving Credit Loans made on the Effective Date shall not exceed $3,000,000; (b) use the proceeds of the Revolving Credit Loans and Swingline Loans made after the Effective Date for any purposes other than to fund the Borrowers’ working capital and general corporate purposes (including Permitted Acquisitions but subject to Section 6.15) or, subject to the terms and conditions of this Agreement and the other Loan Documents, the general corporate purposes of any Obligor; (c) use any part of the proceeds of any Loan for any purpose that violates any of the Regulations of the Board, including Regulations U and X, (d) use the proceeds of the Second Amendment Term Loans made on the Second Amendment Effective Date for any purpose other than to (i) consummate the Second Amendment Acquisition and (ii) pay the Second Amendment Transaction Costs and (e) use the proceeds of the Third Amendment Term Loans made on the Third Amendment Effective Date for any purpose other than to (i) make the Third Amendment Dividend and (ii) pay the Third Amendment Transaction Costs. No Obligor shall, directly or knowingly indirectly, use the proceeds of the Loans, or lend or contribute such proceeds to any Subsidiary, joint venture partner or other Person, (i) to fund any activities or business of or with any Person, or in any country or territory, that, at the time of such funding, is, or whose government is, the subject of comprehensive Sanctions in violation of Sanctions, or (ii) in any other manner that would result in a violation of any applicable Anti-Money Laundering Laws, Anti-Corruption Laws or Sanctions by any Person participating in the Loans, whether as underwriter, advisor, investor, or otherwise, or (iii) for the purpose of making any improper payments, including bribes, to any official of any Governmental Authority or commercial counterparty in order to obtain, retain or direct business or obtain any improper advantage, in each case which would be in violation of, or cause any Lender to be in violation of, any applicable Anti-Corruption Laws, Anti-Money Laundering Laws or Sanctions.

 

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6.NEGATIVE COVENANTS

 

So long as any Commitment is outstanding and thereafter until all Obligations are Fully Satisfied, each Obligor covenants and agrees with Administrative Agent, Issuing Lender and the Lenders that:

 

6.1          Indebtedness. No Obligor shall, nor shall it permit any of its Restricted Subsidiaries to, create, incur, assume, or permit to exist any Indebtedness, except:

 

(a)          Indebtedness under this Agreement and the other Loan Documents;

 

(b)         the Indebtedness (i) described on Schedule 6.1 or (ii) outstanding on the Effective Date not in excess of $1,000,000 in the aggregate (when taken together with all other Indebtedness outstanding in reliance on this clause (b)(ii)), and any Refinancing Indebtedness in respect of the foregoing Indebtedness;

 

(c)         intercompany Indebtedness among any of the Obligors permitted under Section 6.5;

 

(d)         Indebtedness of the Borrowers and their Restricted Subsidiaries consisting of Capital Lease Obligations and Indebtedness incurred to finance the acquisition, construction or improvement of any asset, including mortgage financings (other than Mortgaged Property and so long as the Real Property Requirement remains satisfied), or finance such acquisition, construction or improvement within 270 days within the incurrence of such Indebtedness; provided that (i) such Indebtedness when incurred does not exceed the purchase price or cost of construction of such asset (other than giving effect to the interest component thereof), and (ii) the aggregate principal amount of Indebtedness permitted by this clause (d) does not exceed the greater of (x) $7,500,000 and (y) 25% of Consolidated EBITDA (determined at the time of incurrence of any such Indebtedness (calculated on a pro forma basis) as of the last day of the most recently ended four Fiscal Quarter period for which financial statements have been delivered pursuant to Section 5.1(a) or (b)) at any time outstanding, and any Refinancing Indebtedness in respect of such Indebtedness;

 

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(e)         [reserved];

 

(f)          Indebtedness incurred in the Ordinary Course of Business under surety and appeal bonds, performance bonds, bid bonds, appeal bonds, and similar obligations;

 

(g)         Indebtedness consisting of (i) Guarantees arising with respect to customary indemnification obligations to purchasers in connection with Dispositions permitted under Section 6.4; and (ii) Guarantees with respect to Indebtedness of any Borrower or any Restricted Subsidiary, to the extent that the Person that is obligated under such Guarantee could have incurred such underlying Indebtedness pursuant to this Agreement or it constitutes an Investment permitted under Section 6.5;

 

(h)         Indebtedness owing to former employees, officers, or directors of Holdings or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries or Affiliates (or any spouses, ex-spouses, successors, heirs, or estates of any of the foregoing) incurred in connection with the repurchase by Holdings of the Equity Interests of Holdings that has been issued to such Persons, so long as the aggregate amount of all such Indebtedness outstanding at any one time does not exceed the greater of (i) $3,000,000 and (y) 10% of Consolidated EBITDA (determined at the time of incurrence of any such Indebtedness (calculated on a pro forma basis) as of the last day of the most recently ended four Fiscal Quarter period for which financial statements have been delivered pursuant to Section 5.1(a) or (b)) in the aggregate;

 

(i)          other unsecured Indebtedness owing to sellers of assets or Equity Interests to an Obligor or a Restricted Subsidiary that is incurred by the applicable Obligor or a Restricted Subsidiary in connection with the consummation of one or more Permitted Acquisitions so long as the aggregate principal amount for all such unsecured Indebtedness does not exceed the greater of (x) $6,000,000 and (y) 20% of Consolidated EBITDA (determined at the time of incurrence of any such Indebtedness (calculated on a pro forma basis) as of the last day of the most recently ended four Fiscal Quarter period for which financial statements have been delivered pursuant to Section 5.1(a) or (b)) at any one time outstanding;

 

(j)         unsecured Indebtedness in respect of earn-outs, contingent liabilities in respect of any indemnification obligation, expense reimbursement obligations, adjustments of purchase price, or similar obligations to the extent (i) required by the Surf Merger Agreement, or

 

(ii)         owing to sellers of assets or Equity Interests to any Obligor or its Restricted Subsidiaries that are incurred in connection with the consummation of one or more Permitted Acquisitions or other similar permitted Investments;

 

(k)         Indebtedness incurred in the Ordinary Course of Business in respect of employee severance and employment agreements, workers’ compensation claims, unemployment or other insurance or self-insurance obligations, health, disability or other benefits to employees or former employees and their families;

 

(l)          Indebtedness owed to any Person providing property, casualty, liability, or other insurance to the Borrowers or any of their Restricted Subsidiaries incurred only to defer the

 

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cost of such insurance, and, to the extent secured, shall only be secured by the applicable insurance policies (or proceeds arising therefrom);

 

(m)         Indebtedness incurred in the Ordinary Course of Business in respect of Cash Management Services;

 

(n)         to the extent constituting Indebtedness, obligations in respect of bankers’ acceptances, and completion guarantees, standby letters of credit and warranty and contractual service obligations of a like nature, trade letters of credit and documentary letters of credit and similar bonds or guarantees provided in the Ordinary Course of Business in connection with the construction or build-out of any owned or leased real property;

 

(o)         endorsements of instruments or other payment items for deposit;

 

(p)         Subordinated Indebtedness of the Borrowers and their Restricted Subsidiaries in an aggregate principal amount not exceeding the greater of (i) $7,500,000 and (ii) 25% of Consolidated EBITDA (determined at the time of incurrence of any such Indebtedness (calculated on a pro forma basis) as of the last day of the most recently ended four Fiscal Quarter period for which financial statements have been delivered pursuant to Section 5.1(a) or (b)) at any time outstanding;

 

(q)         Indebtedness of Foreign Subsidiaries in an aggregate principal amount not exceeding the greater of (i) $4,500,000 and (ii) 15% of Consolidated EBITDA (determined at the time of incurrence of any such Indebtedness (calculated on a pro forma basis) as of the last day of the most recently ended four Fiscal Quarter period for which financial statements have been delivered pursuant to Section 5.1(a) or (b)) at any time outstanding;

 

(r)         Acquired Indebtedness of the Borrowers and their Restricted Subsidiaries so long as (i) such Indebtedness is not incurred in contemplation of the applicable acquisition, (ii) such Indebtedness is unsecured or secured only by acquired assets, proceeds, products or cross collateralized Capital Leases and not guaranteed by any Obligors unless otherwise permitted by this Agreement, (iii) at the time of the applicable acquisition and after giving effect thereto, no Event of Default has occurred and is continuing and (iv) the outstanding amount of such Acquired Indebtedness does not exceed the greater of (x) $7,500,000 and (y) 25% of Consolidated EBITDA (determined at the time of incurrence of any such Indebtedness (calculated on a pro forma basis) as of the last day of the most recently ended four Fiscal Quarter period for which financial statements have been delivered pursuant to Section 5.1(a) or (b)) outstanding at any one time;

 

(s)         to the extent constituting Indebtedness, contingent obligations arising under indemnity agreements to title insurance companies to cause such title insurers to issue title insurance policies in the Ordinary Course of Business with respect to real property of the Borrowers or any of their Restricted Subsidiaries;

 

(t)          customer deposits and advance payments received in the Ordinary Course of Business from customers for goods purchased;

 

(u)         other Indebtedness of a Borrower or its Restricted Subsidiary in an aggregate principal amount not exceeding the greater of (i) $10,000,000 and (ii) 35% of Consolidated EBITDA (determined at the time of incurrence of any such Indebtedness (calculated on a pro forma basis) as of the last day of the most recently ended four Fiscal Quarter period for which financial statements have been delivered pursuant to Section 5.1(a) or (b)) at any time outstanding;

 

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(v)         Indebtedness (i) of any Securitization Subsidiary arising under any Qualified Securitization Financing, (ii) of any Borrower or any Restricted Subsidiary arising under any Receivables Facility or (iii) of any Foreign Subsidiary in connection with customary accounts receivable factoring facilities in the Ordinary Course of Business, in an aggregate principal amount under this clause (v) not exceeding the greater of (i) $9,000,000 and (ii) 30% of Consolidated EBITDA (determined at the time of incurrence of any such Indebtedness (calculated on a pro forma basis) as of the last day of the most recently ended four Fiscal Quarter period for which financial statements have been delivered pursuant to Section 5.1(a) or (b));

 

(w)         Indebtedness representing deferred compensation or similar arrangements to employees of any Borrower or any Restricted Subsidiary incurred in the Ordinary Course of Business;

 

(x)          Indebtedness incurred by any Borrower or any Restricted Subsidiary in a Permitted Acquisition, any other Investment, merger or Disposition permitted hereunder or transaction with Affiliates permitted hereunder, in each case, constituting customary indemnification obligations;

 

(y)         Indebtedness incurred in the Ordinary Course of Business consisting of obligations of any Borrower or any Restricted Subsidiary under deferred compensation or other similar arrangements incurred by such Person in connection with the Transactions, Permitted Acquisitions, or any other Investment, in each case, otherwise permitted hereunder;

 

(z)         Cash Management Services and other Indebtedness in respect of netting services, automatic clearinghouse arrangements, overdraft protections, employee credit card programs and other cash management and similar arrangements in the Ordinary Course of Business and any Guarantees thereof or the honoring by a bank or other financial institution of a check, draft or similar instrument drawn against insufficient funds in the ordinary course of business, so long as such Indebtedness is extinguished within 5 Business Days of its incurrence;

 

(aa)       Indebtedness consisting of take-or-pay obligations contained in supply arrangements, in each case, in the Ordinary Course of Business;

 

(bb)       Credit Agreement Refinancing Indebtedness;

 

(cc)        Indebtedness consisting of fees to the Sponsor payable pursuant to the Management Agreement;

 

(dd)       Indebtedness of the Borrowers and their Restricted Subsidiaries in an amount not to exceed at any time outstanding 100% of the Excluded Contribution Amount;

 

(ee)        Ratio Debt so long as (i) if secured by the Collateral on a pari passu basis with the Obligations, the Consolidated First Lien Net Leverage Ratio calculated on a pro forma basis as of the last day of the Fiscal Quarter for which financial statements have last been delivered to the Lenders pursuant to Section 5.1(a) or 5.1(b) is not greater than 4.50 to 1.00, (ii) if secured on a junior basis to the Liens securing the Obligations, the Consolidated Secured Net Leverage Ratio calculated on a pro forma basis as of the last day of the Fiscal Quarter for which financial statements have last been delivered to the Lenders pursuant to Section 5.1(a) or 5.1(b) is not greater than 5.25 to 1.00 and (iii) if unsecured or secured by assets not constituting Collateral, the Consolidated Total Net Leverage Ratio calculated on a pro forma basis as of the last day of the Fiscal Quarter for which financial statements have last been delivered to the Lenders pursuant to Section 5.1(a) or 5.1(b) is not greater than 5.25 to 1.00;

 

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(ff)         Incremental Equivalent Debt; and

 

(gg)       to the extent constituting Indebtedness, all premiums (if any), interest (including post-petition interest), fees, expenses, charges and additional or contingent interest on obligations described in clauses (a) through (ff) above.

 

6.2         Liens. No Obligor shall, nor shall it permit any of its Restricted Subsidiaries to, create, incur, assume, or permit to exist any Lien on any property or asset now owned or hereafter acquired by it, except for Permitted Encumbrances.

 

6.3         Fundamental Changes.

 

(a)         No Obligor shall, nor shall it permit any of its Restricted Subsidiaries to, merge into or consolidate with any other Person, or permit any other Person to merge into or consolidate with it, or sell, transfer, lease or otherwise dispose of (in one transaction or in a series of transactions) all or substantially all of its assets, (in each case, whether now owned or hereafter acquired), or liquidate, wind up, or dissolve, except that:

 

(i)          any Subsidiary of a Borrower may merge or consolidate into any Borrower or any Restricted Subsidiary (including any Person that will be a Restricted Subsidiary upon the consummation of a Permitted Acquisition); provided, (x) if a Borrower is party to any such transaction, a Borrower shall be the surviving entity, and (y) if a Borrower is not a party to such transaction but an Obligor (other than Holdings) is, (A) an Obligor shall be the surviving entity or (B) if a Restricted Subsidiary that is not an Obligor shall be the surviving entity or the transferee of such assets, such merger shall be deemed to constitute a Disposition and must be permitted under Section 6.4(e) or (q); provided that, in each case, at the time thereof and immediately after giving effect thereto, no Event of Default pursuant to Section 8.1(a), (b), (h) or

 

(i)          shall have occurred and be continuing;

 

(ii)         the Borrowers or any Restricted Subsidiary of the Borrowers may sell, transfer, merger, consolidate, lease or otherwise dispose of its assets as permitted pursuant to Section 6.4;

 

(iii)        any Restricted Subsidiary may liquidate, wind up, or dissolve, or suspend or consolidate its operations, if (x) the Borrowers determine in good faith that such liquidation, winding up, dissolution, suspension, or consolidation is in the best interest of the Borrowers and is not materially disadvantageous to the Lenders, and (y) in the case of any liquidation, winding up or dissolution of an Obligor, all of the assets of such Obligor are transferred to an Obligor (other than Holdings) that is not liquidating, winding up, or dissolving; provided that, in each case, at the time thereof and immediately after giving effect thereto, no Event of Default pursuant to Section 8.1(a), (b), (h) or (i) shall have occurred and be continuing;

 

(iv)        any Restricted Subsidiary may merge or consolidate with any other Person in order to effect an Investment permitted pursuant to Section 6.5; provided that (x) the continuing or surviving Person shall be a Restricted Subsidiary of a Borrower, which together with each of its Restricted Subsidiaries, shall have complied with the requirements of Section 5.8 and Section 5.9 to the extent required, (y) if an Obligor is a party to such transaction, the surviving Person shall be an Obligor and (z) if a Borrower is party to such transaction, the surviving party shall be a Borrower;

 

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(v)        any Borrower and any Restricted Subsidiarity may consummate the transactions contemplated by the Surf Merger Agreement (and documents related thereto) and the Transactions; and

 

(vi)       a merger, dissolution, liquidation, consolidation or Disposition, the purpose of which is to effect a Disposition permitted pursuant to Section 6.4 (other than pursuant to 6.4(b)), a Permitted Acquisition, permitted Investment, a Permitted Reorganization or an IPO Reorganization Transaction; provided that if any Borrower is party to such transaction, the surviving party shall be a Borrower.

 

6.4         Dispositions. No Obligor shall, nor shall it permit any of its Restricted Subsidiaries to, make any Disposition, except:

 

(a)         Dispositions of equipment or inventory that is (i) worn, damaged, unnecessary, negligible no longer used or useful, surplus or obsolete, whether now owned or hereafter acquired, in each case, in the Ordinary Course of Business or (ii) obsolete or required for regulatory purposes, so long as in the case of this clause (ii) the Net Cash Proceeds of such Dispositions is used to prepay the Loans in accordance with Section 2.10(b)(i) to the extent required thereunder;

 

(b)         Dispositions or transactions permitted by Section 6.3 (other than 6.3(a)(vi)) or 6.5 (other than 6.5(w));

 

(c)         Dispositions of Inventory to buyers in the Ordinary Course of Business;

 

(d)         Dispositions of cash and Cash Equivalents in the Ordinary Course of Business;

 

(e)         Dispositions of property by (i) the Borrowers and any of their Restricted Subsidiaries to any other Obligor (other than Holdings), (ii) any Restricted Subsidiary that is not an Obligor to any other Restricted Subsidiary that is not an Obligor, (iii) any Obligor to any Restricted Subsidiary that is not an Obligor (so long as permitted under Section 6.5); provided that (A) the portion (if any) of any Disposition made for less than fair market value and (B) any non-cash consideration received in exchange for any such Disposition, shall in each case constitute an Investment in such Restricted Subsidiary and must be permitted under Section 6.5, and (iv) by any Restricted Subsidiary that is not an Obligor to any Restricted Subsidiary that is an Obligor;

 

(f)          licenses, sublicenses, leases, or subleases granted to third parties in the Ordinary Course of Business not interfering in any material respect with the business of the Borrowers or any of their Restricted Subsidiaries;

 

(g)         sales or exchanges of property solely to replace such equipment with replacement equipment of substantially equivalent or greater value;

 

(h)         issuances of Equity Interests by a Restricted Subsidiary of the Borrowers to a Borrower or any Restricted Subsidiary of the Borrowers constituting an Investment permitted hereunder;

 

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(i)          any abandonment or cancellation of intellectual property that, in the reasonable good faith judgment of the Borrowers, is no longer used or useful in any material respect in the business of the Borrowers and their Restricted Subsidiaries taken as a whole, or which abandonment or cancellation is not within the reasonable control of the Borrowers or their Restricted Subsidiaries;

 

(j)          any Disposition of real property to a Governmental Authority as a result of a condemnation, eminent domain, confiscation or requisition of such real property;

 

(k)         the sale or discount, in each case without recourse, of accounts receivable arising in the Ordinary Course of Business, but only in connection with the compromise or collection thereof;

 

(l)           any involuntary loss, damage or destruction of property, including pursuant to an Event of Loss;

 

(m)         Dispositions of non-core assets acquired by the Borrowers and their Restricted Subsidiaries pursuant to a Permitted Acquisition consummated after the Effective Date so long as the consideration received for the assets to be so Disposed is at least equal to the Fair Market Value of such assets and at least 75% of such consideration is paid in cash or Cash Equivalents;

 

(n)         the making of Restricted Payments (other than pursuant to Section 6.6(o)) that are permitted to be made pursuant to this Agreement;

 

(o)         the granting of Permitted Encumbrances;

 

(p)         any swap of assets in exchange for services or other assets; provided that

 

(i)          no Event of Default described in clause (a), (b), (h) or (i) of Section 8.1 has occurred and is continuing, (ii) any such swap is for Fair Market Value and (iii) any Collateral that is swapped must be in exchange for assets that become Collateral within the applicable timelines set forth in Section 5.8 and 5.9;

 

(q)         Dispositions not otherwise permitted under this Section 6.4; provided that

 

(i)          at the time of such Disposition, no Event of Default pursuant to Section 8.1(a), (b), (h) or (i) shall exist or would result from such Disposition, and (ii) 75% of the Fair Market Value of all such property Disposed of in any Fiscal Year in excess of the greater of (x) $4,000,000 and (y) 15% of Consolidated EBITDA (determined at the time of any such Disposition (calculated on a pro forma basis) as of the last day of the most recently ended four Fiscal Quarter period for which financial statements have been delivered pursuant to Section 5.1(a) or (b)) is received in the form of cash;

 

(r)          Dispositions of Investments (including Equity Interests) in Joint Ventures to the extent required by, or made pursuant to customary buy/sell arrangements between, the joint venture parties set forth in joint venture arrangements and similar binding arrangements at the time of formation of such Joint Venture or at any time any time another Person that is not an Affiliate of the Obligors becomes a party thereto;

 

(s)         the transfer for fair value of property to another Person in connection with a joint venture arrangement with respect to the transferred property; provided that such transfer is permitted under Section 6.5(r) or (t);

 

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(t)          any Disposition in connection with the Acquisition or contemplated pursuant to the Surf Merger Agreement;

 

(u)         Dispositions of real property to any Person for Fair Market Value in connection with any sale-leaseback or similar transaction not to exceed the greater of (i) $7,500,000 and (ii) 25% of Consolidated EBITDA (determined at the time of any such Disposition (calculated on a pro forma basis) as of the last day of the most recently ended four Fiscal Quarter period for which financial statements have been delivered pursuant to Section 5.1(a) or (b)); provided that (i) no Event of Default has occurred and is continuing at the time of such Disposition, (ii) the Borrowers and their Restricted Subsidiaries shall have received at least 75% of such consideration in the form of cash;

 

(v)         Dispositions in connection with any Permitted Reorganization or IPO Reorganization;

 

(w)        any sale of Equity Interests in, or Indebtedness or other securities of, an Unrestricted Subsidiary;

 

(x)         the unwinding or settling of any Swap Obligation or obligation with respect to Cash Management Services in the Ordinary Course of Business;

 

(y)         any sale, transfer and other Disposition of accounts receivable (including write-offs, discounts and compromises) in connection with the compromise, settlement or collection thereof in the Ordinary Course of Business;

 

(z)         Dispositions of Receivables Assets in connection with any Receivables Facility or any Qualified Securitization Financing; and

 

(aa)      any Borrower and any Restricted Subsidiary may (i) convert any intercompany Indebtedness (other than to the extent owing by a non-Obligor to an Obligor) to Equity Interests otherwise permitted hereunder, (ii) discount, write off, forgive or cancel any intercompany Indebtedness or other obligation owing by any Borrower or any Subsidiary Guarantor to a Restricted Subsidiary that is not, in each case, an Obligor or to an Obligor, (iii) settle, discount, write-off, forgive or cancel any Indebtedness owing by any present or former consultants, managers, directors, officers, employees of Holdings, any Borrower or any Subsidiary or any of their successors or assigns, in the Ordinary Course of Business, or (iv) surrender or waive contractual rights and settle, release, surrender or waive contractual or litigation claims, in the case of clause (iv), in the Ordinary Course of Business.

 

6.5          Investments. No Obligor shall, nor shall it permit any of its Restricted Subsidiaries to, make, or permit to remain outstanding any Investments except:

 

(a)         the Investments outstanding or contemplated on the Effective Date (i) identified on Schedule 6.5 or (ii) in an amount not to exceed $1,000,000 in the aggregate (when taken together with all other Indebtedness outstanding in reliance on this clause (a)(ii)), and, in each case, any modification, replacement, renewal, reinvestment or extension thereof and any modification, renewal, replacement, reinvestment or extension thereof so long as the amount of any Investment subject to any such modification, replacement, renewal, reinvestment or extension does not exceed the amount outstanding (plus any unused commitments, accrued interest, fees and expenses and premiums incurred in connection therewith) on the Effective Date);

 

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(b)         Investments in cash and Cash Equivalents;

 

(c)         Investments by (i) any Obligor or a Restricted Subsidiary that is not an Obligor in or to any Obligor (other than Holdings), (ii) any Obligor to a Restricted Subsidiary that is not an Obligor not to exceed, in the aggregate, the greater of (x) $7,500,000 and (y) 25% of Consolidated EBITDA (determined at the time of any such Investment (calculated on a pro forma basis) as of the last day of the most recently ended four Fiscal Quarter period for which financial statements have been delivered pursuant to Section 5.1(a) or (b)) in the aggregate at any time outstanding for all such Investments, minus any amounts utilized pursuant to Section 6.5(i) to make Investments in Persons who do not become Guarantors and assets that do not become Collateral, and (iii) a Restricted Subsidiary that is not an Obligor to another Restricted Subsidiary that is not an Obligor;

 

(d)         Investments made in respect of joint ventures or other similar agreements or partnership not to exceed the greater of (x) $4,500,000 and (y) 15% of Consolidated EBITDA (determined at the time of any such Investment (calculated on a pro forma basis) as of the last day of the most recently ended four Fiscal Quarter period for which financial statements have been delivered pursuant to Section 5.1(a) or (b)) in the aggregate at any time outstanding for all such Investments, minus any the amount of any Investments made pursuant to Section 6.5(r);

 

(e)         Investments in Hedging Agreements permitted under Section 6.11 and Cash Management Services;

 

(f)         Investments consisting of or resulting from Permitted Encumbrances (other than pursuant to clauses (r) and (u) of the definition of Permitted Encumbrances);

 

(g)         [reserved];

 

(h)         Investments constituting (i) accounts receivable arising, (ii) trade debt granted, or (iii) deposits made by the Borrowers or a Restricted Subsidiary in connection with the purchase price of goods or services, in each case in the Ordinary Course of Business;

 

(i)          Permitted Acquisitions; provided that Permitted Acquisitions of Persons who do not become Guarantors and assets that are owned by a Foreign Subsidiary, a non-Wholly Owned Restricted Subsidiary, or an Unrestricted Subsidiary, shall not, in the aggregate, exceed the greater of (x) $7,500,000 and (y) 25% of Consolidated EBITDA (determined at the time of any such Investment (calculated on a pro forma basis) as of the last day of the most recently ended four Fiscal Quarter period for which financial statements have been delivered pursuant to Section 5.1(a) or (b)) in the aggregate at any time outstanding for all such Investments, minus any amounts utilized pursuant to Section 6.5(c) to make Investments in Restricted Subsidiaries that are not Obligors;

 

(j)          the establishment or creation of Wholly-Owned Domestic Subsidiaries by an Obligor, provided, in each case, such Obligor and such Subsidiary shall have complied with the provisions of Section 5.8 in respect thereof;

 

(k)         any Guarantee of, or assumption of Indebtedness of, any other Person in either case to the extent the Person incurring such Guarantee or assuming such Indebtedness would have been permitted to incur the underlying Indebtedness under Section 6.1;

 

(l)          Investments in negotiable instruments deposited or to be deposited for collection in the Ordinary Course of Business;

 

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(m)         equity Investments by any Obligor in any Restricted Subsidiary of such Obligor which is required by law to maintain a minimum net capital requirement or as may be otherwise required by applicable law;

 

(n)         Investments held by a Person acquired in a Permitted Acquisition or other similar permitted Investment to the extent that such Investments were not made in contemplation of or in connection with such Permitted Acquisition and were in existence on the date of such Permitted Acquisition or other similar permitted Investment;

 

(o)         (i) loans and advances to officers, directors or employees for business related travel expenses, moving expenses and other similar expenses, including as part of a recruitment or retention plan, in each case incurred in the Ordinary Course of Business, (ii) non-cash loans to officers, directors and employees of Holdings or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries or Affiliates to simultaneously purchase Equity Interests of Holdings, and (iii) other loans and advances to such officers, directors and employees (including loans in connection with a stock option or restricted stock plan or other benefit or equity incentive plan of Holdings) not to exceed an aggregate amount of $2,000,000 at any time outstanding;

 

(p)         unsecured loans, advances or other extensions of credit with a term not longer than twelve (12) months to Protected Vendors in an aggregate amount at any time outstanding not to exceed $3,000,000 (which cap amount, for purposes of clarity, shall not include trade payables in the Ordinary Course of Business);

 

(q)         any acquisition or other Investments in an amount not to exceed the aggregate amount of net cash proceeds of any Permitted Equity Issuance received by any Borrower or any Restricted Subsidiary (to the extent such proceeds have not previously been (and are not simultaneously being) applied to anything (including any Restricted Payment under Section 6.6(l)) other than such particular use or transaction) made after the Effective Date;

 

(r)         Investments made in Unrestricted Subsidiaries not to exceed the greater of

 

(x) $4,500,000 and (y) 15% of Consolidated EBITDA (determined at the time of any such Investment (calculated on a pro forma basis) as of the last day of the most recently ended four Fiscal Quarter period for which financial statements have been delivered pursuant to Section 5.1(a) or (b)) in the aggregate at any time outstanding for all such Investments, minus any the amount of any Investments made pursuant to Section 6.5(d);

 

(s)         other Investments (x) at any time outstanding in an aggregate amount up to but not exceeding the greater of (A) $10,000,000 and (B) 35% of Consolidated EBITDA (determined at the time of any such Investment (calculated on a pro forma basis) as of the last day of the most recently ended four Fiscal Quarter period for which financial statements have been delivered pursuant to Section 5.1(a) or (b)) in the aggregate at any time outstanding for all such Investments (the “General Investment Basket”), plus, other than for use in respect of any Investments to be made in Unrestricted Subsidiaries, any unused amounts reallocated from the General Junior Debt Basket and the General Restricted Payment Basket and (y) in an amount such that, after giving effect to any such Investment and incurrence of any Indebtedness in connection therewith, the Consolidated First Lien Leverage Ratio calculated on a pro forma basis as of the last day of the Fiscal Quarter for which financial statements have last been delivered to the Lenders pursuant to Section 5.1(a) or 5.1(b) is not greater than 3.50 to 1.00 (determined at the time any such Investment is made); provided that, for any Investment pursuant to this clause (s)(y), no Event of Default pursuant to Section 8.1(a), (b), (h) or (i) has occurred and is continuing at the time of each such Investment;

 

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(t)         Investments using the Available Amount so long as, subject to the Limited Condition Transaction Provision in connection with a Limited Condition Transaction, (i) no Event of Default pursuant to Section 8.1(a), (b), (h) or (i) shall exist or result from the use of such Available Amount, in each case, on such date that the Borrowers elect to apply the same to such Investments and (ii) Consolidated Net Leverage Ratio calculated on a pro forma basis as of the last day of the Fiscal Quarter for which financial statements have last been delivered to the Lenders pursuant to Section 5.1(a) or 5.1(b) is not greater than 4.50 to 1.00 (determined at the time any such Investment is made);

 

(u)         Investments the payment for which consists of Equity Interests (other than Disqualified Equity Interests) of Holdings; provided that the proceeds from such Equity Interests will not increase the Available Amount;

 

(v)         Investments made in connection with any Permitted Reorganization;

 

(w)         promissory notes, securities and other non-cash consideration received in connection with Dispositions permitted by Section 6.4;

 

(x)         Investments made to effect, or otherwise in connection with, the Transactions;

 

(y)         Investments in the Ordinary Course of Business consisting of UCC Article 3 endorsements for collection or deposit and UCC Article 4 customary trade arrangements with customers consistent with past practices;

 

(z)         Investments (including debt obligations and Equity Interests) received in connection with the bankruptcy or reorganization of suppliers and customers or in settlement of delinquent obligations of, or other disputes with, customers and suppliers arising in the Ordinary Course of Business or upon the foreclosure with respect to any secured Investment or other transfer of title with respect to any secured Investment;

 

(aa)       loans and advances to any direct or indirect parent of any Borrower not in excess of the amount of (after giving effect to any other loans, advances or Restricted Payments in respect thereof) Restricted Payments to the extent permitted to be made to such parent in accordance with Section 6.6, such Investment being treated for purposes of the applicable clause of Section 6.6, including any limitations, as if a Restricted Payment had been made pursuant to such clause in an amount equal to such Investment;

 

(bb)      Investments made in the Ordinary Course of Business in connection with obtaining, maintaining or renewing client contracts and loans or advances made to distributors and suppliers in the Ordinary Course of Business;

 

(cc)       (i) any Investment in a Receivables Subsidiary or a Securitization Subsidiary in order to effectuate a Receivables Facility or a Qualified Securitization Financing, respectively, or any Investment by a Receivables Subsidiary or a Securitization Subsidiary in any other Person in connection with a Receivables Facility or a Qualified Securitization Financing, respectively; provided that any such Investment in a Receivables Subsidiary or a Securitization Subsidiary is in the form of a contribution of additional Receivables Assets, as applicable, and (ii) distributions or payments of Receivables Fees or Securitization Fees and purchases of Receivables Assets pursuant to a Securitization Repurchase Obligation in connection with a Receivables Facility or a Qualified Securitization Financing, respectively;

 

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(dd)      Investments in deposit accounts, commodities and securities accounts opened in the Ordinary Course of Business; and

 

(ee)       Loans repurchased by any Borrower or a Restricted Subsidiary pursuant to and in accordance with Sections 2.10 and 10.4(g) under this Agreement;

 

For purposes of this Section 6.5 the aggregate amount of an Investment at any time shall be deemed to be equal to (i) the aggregate amount of cash, together with the aggregate Fair Market Value of property, loaned, advanced, contributed, transferred or otherwise invested that gives rise to such Investment minus (ii) the aggregate amount of distributions or other repayments received in cash in respect of such Investment, and the refund of capital with respect to, and the payment of interest or dividends on, the original principal amount of any such Investment. The amount of an Investment shall not in any event be reduced by reason of any write-off of such Investment nor increased by any increase in the amount of earnings retained in the Person in which such Investment is made or by any increase in the value of such Investment.

 

6.6          Restricted Payments. No Obligor shall, nor shall it permit any of its Restricted Subsidiaries to, declare or make any Restricted Payment, other than:

 

(a)         Restricted Payments by any Restricted Subsidiary to any Borrower or any other Restricted Subsidiary that directly or indirectly owns Equity Interests of such Restricted Subsidiary (and, in the case of a Restricted Payment by a non-Wholly Owned Subsidiary, to a Borrower or such Restricted Subsidiary and to each other owner of Equity Interests of such Restricted Subsidiary based on their relative ownership interests, it being understood, however, that any such Restricted Subsidiary may exclude one or more classes of equity holders from any such Restricted Payment so long as the class or classes of Equity Interests owned by a Borrower or such Restricted Subsidiary are not excluded from any such Restricted Payment);

 

(b)         [reserved];

 

(c)         so long as no Change in Control occurs, Restricted Payments payable in Equity Interests of Holdings;

 

(d)         (i) payment of reasonable compensation to officers, directors, and employees for actual services rendered to the Obligors (in the case of directors, in an amount not to exceed $750,000 in any Fiscal Year) and reimbursement of out-of-pocket expenses actually incurred by such officers, directors, and employees in the Ordinary Course of Business, and (ii) payments permitted pursuant to Sections 6.7(d) and 6.7(e);

 

(e)         (i) the payment of management fees to Sponsor in an amount not to exceed the amount required by the Management Agreement as in effect as of the Effective Date so long as no Event of Default pursuant to Section 8.1(a), (b), (h) or (i) has occurred and is continuing at such time, it being understood and agreed that during such Event of Default, such fees may continue to accrue and become payable upon the waiver of the relevant Event of Default, (ii) indemnification and reimbursement of expenses to the Sponsor or its designees required by the Management Agreement as in effect on the Effective Date, (iii) other payments under the Management Agreement as in effect on the Effective Date and (iv) so long as no Event of Default pursuant to Section 8.1(a), (b), (h) or (i) has occurred and is continuing, other payments under the Management Agreement as compensation for future services provided by Sponsor (including fees in connection with the closing of any future merger, acquisition, disposition, recapitalization, issuance of securities, financing or other similar transaction but not in the form of a dividend, distribution, repurchase, redemption or management fee);

 

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(f)         after an Initial Public Offering, any Restricted Payment by any Borrower or any other direct or indirect parent of any Borrower to pay listing fees and other costs and expenses attributable to being a publicly traded company which are reasonable and customary and additional Restricted Payments in an aggregate amount per calendar year not to exceed an amount equal to 7% of the net cash proceeds received by or contributed to any Borrower or any Restricted Subsidiary from any Initial Public Offering;

 

(g)         a Restricted Payment to pay for the repurchase, retirement or other acquisition or retirement for value of Equity Interests of Holdings held by any former employee, director, officer, consultant, partners or managers (or any spouses, ex-spouses, successors, heirs or estates of any of the foregoing) of a Borrower or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries pursuant to any management equity plan or stock option plan or any other management or employee benefit plan or agreement, or any equity subscription or equity holder agreement (including, for the avoidance of doubt, any principal and interest payable on any notes issued by Holdings in connection with such repurchase, retirement or other acquisition to the extent permitted by Section 6.1(h)), including any Equity Interest issued to management of any Borrower in connection with the Transactions; provided that the aggregate amount of Restricted Payments made under this Section 6.6(g) does not exceed the greater of (x) $4,500,000 and (y) 15% of Consolidated EBITDA (determined at the time of any such Restricted Payment (calculated on a pro forma basis) as of the last day of the most recently ended four Fiscal Quarter period for which financial statements have been delivered pursuant to Section 5.1(a) or 5.1(b)) in any calendar year plus the proceeds of key man life insurance policies received by any Borrower or any Restricted Subsidiary (with unused amounts in any calendar year being carried over to the next two succeeding calendar years); provided further that no Event of Default pursuant to Section 8.1(a), (b), (h) or (i) has occurred and is continuing at the time of such Restricted Payment;

 

(h)         the Borrowers or any Restricted Subsidiary may make distributions to current or former employees, officers, directors, consultants, partners or managers of the Borrowers or any of their Restricted Subsidiaries or Affiliates (or any spouses, ex-spouses, successors, heirs or estate of any of the foregoing) solely in the form of forgiveness of Indebtedness of such Persons owing to the Borrowers or any Restricted Subsidiary on account of repurchases of the stock options, restricted stock units, purchased shares or other Equity Interests of the Borrowers or any such Restricted Subsidiary held by such Persons; provided that such Indebtedness was incurred by such Persons solely to acquire Equity Interests of the Borrowers or any such Restricted Subsidiary;

 

(i)         (i) Permitted Tax Distributions and (ii) dividends and distributions the proceeds of which shall be used by any Obligor or any Restricted Subsidiary thereof to pay (or make dividends and distributions to allow Holdings or any other direct or indirect parent of any Borrower that is an Obligor to pay) (x) franchise or other similar entity-level taxes, or (y) fees and expenses required to maintain its (or any of such direct or indirect parent’s) corporate or legal existence;

 

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(j)         (i) Restricted Payments in an aggregate amount not to exceed the greater of (x) $7,500,000 and (y) and (y) 25% of Consolidated EBITDA (determined at the time of any such Restricted Payment (calculated on a pro forma basis) as of the last day of the most recently ended four Fiscal Quarter period for which financial statements have been delivered pursuant to Section 5.1(a) or 5.1(b)) in the aggregate (the “General Restricted Payment Basket”), minus any amounts reallocated to the General Investment Basket and the General Junior Debt Basket, and (ii) additional Restricted Payments so long as (x) the Consolidated First Lien Leverage Ratio calculated on a pro forma basis as of the last day of the Fiscal Quarter for which financial statements have last been delivered to the Lenders pursuant to Section 5.1(a) or 5.1(b) is not greater than 3.50 to 1.00 and (y) no Event of Default has occurred and is continuing at such time or would result therefrom;

 

(k)         Restricted Payments using the portion, if any, of the Available Amount on such date that the Borrowers elect to reallocate to such Restricted Payments so long as (i) no Event of Default shall exist or result from the use of such Available Amount and (ii) the Consolidated Net Leverage Ratio is not greater than 4.00 to 1.00 calculated on a pro forma basis as of the last day of the Fiscal Quarter for which financial statements have been delivered to the Lenders pursuant to Section 5.1(a) or 5.1(b);

 

(l)          Restricted Payments not to exceed an amount equal to the aggregate amount of net cash proceeds from any Permitted Equity Issuance received by any Restricted Subsidiary (to the extent such proceeds have not previously been (and are not simultaneously being) applied to anything (including any Investment under Section 6.5(q)) other than such particular use or transaction) made after the Effective Date;

 

(m)         the redemption, repurchase, retirement or other acquisition of any Equity Interest, including any accrued and unpaid dividends thereon, of Holdings, in exchange for, or out of the proceeds of, the substantially concurrent sale or issuance (other than to a Subsidiary) of, Equity Interests of Holdings (in each case, other than any Disqualified Equity Interests);

 

(n)         Restricted Payments made (i) to consummate the Transactions on or prior to the Effective Date or promptly thereafter, including any payments required under a corporate tax restructuring, (ii) in respect of working capital adjustments or purchase price adjustments and any other purchase price payment required pursuant to the Surf Merger Agreement, any Permitted Acquisition or other permitted Investments, (iii) in order to satisfy indemnity and other similar obligations under the Surf Merger Agreement, any Permitted Acquisition or other permitted Investments, and (iv) to holders of Equity Interests of any Borrower (immediately prior to giving effect to the Transactions) in connection with, or as a result of, their exercise of appraisal rights and the settlement of any claims or actions (whether actual, contingent or potential) with respect thereto, in each case, with respect to the Transactions;

 

(o)         to the extent constituting Restricted Payments, the Borrower (or any direct or indirect parent thereof) and its Restricted Subsidiaries may enter into and consummate transactions permitted by any provision of Sections 5.14 (other than 5.14(r)), 6.3, 6.4 (other than 6.4(d)) and 6.5 (other than 6.5(aa));

 

(p)         repurchases of Equity Interests in any Borrower or any Restricted Subsidiary of the Borrowers owned by an director, officer or employee of any Borrower or any Restricted Subsidiary of the Borrowers deemed to occur upon exercise of stock options or warrants if such Equity Interests represent a portion of the exercise price of such options or warrants;

 

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(q)         the Borrowers may make Restricted Payments to any direct or indirect parent of the Borrowers to pay:

 

(i)         general corporate, administrative, compliance or other operating (including, expenses related to auditing or other accounting matters and director indemnities, fees and expenses) and overhead costs and expenses of any direct or indirect parent of the Borrowers to the extent such costs and expenses are attributable to the ownership or operation of the Borrowers and the Restricted Subsidiaries, including the Borrowers’ and the Restricted Subsidiaries’ proportionate share of such amount relating to such parent company being a public company, in an aggregate amount not to exceed $1,000,000 in any Fiscal Year with respect to items described in this clause (i);

 

(ii)         (A) fees and expenses (other than taxes), required to maintain the corporate, legal and organizational existence of Holdings or any of its direct or indirect parents and (B) distributions to such direct or indirect parent’s equity owners in proportion to their equity interests sufficient to allow each such equity owner to receive an amount at least equal to the aggregate amount of its out-of-pocket costs to any unaffiliated third parties directly attributable to creating (including any incorporation or registration fees) and maintaining the existence of the applicable equity owner         and legal and accounting and other costs directly attributable to maintaining its corporate, legal, or organizational existence and complying with applicable legal requirements, in each case, so long as attributable to the operations of the Borrowers and their Restricted Subsidiaries and such expenses are incurred in the Ordinary Course of Business;

 

(iii)       to finance any Investment that would be permitted to be made pursuant to Sections 5.14 and 6.5 if such parent were subject to such Sections; provided that (A) such Restricted Payment shall be made substantially concurrently with the closing of such Investment, (B) such parent shall, promptly following the closing thereof, cause (1) all property acquired (whether assets or Equity Interests) to be contributed to a Borrower or the Restricted Subsidiaries that are Obligors or (2) the merger (to the extent permitted in Section 6.3) of the Person formed or acquired into a Borrower or its Restricted Subsidiaries that are Obligors (with a Borrower being the surviving or continuing entity to the extent party to such merger) in order to consummate such Permitted Acquisition or Investment, in each case, in accordance with the requirements of Section 5.8 (and such contribution shall not comprise or form a portion of the Excluded Contribution Amount or increase the amounts available for a Restricted Payment pursuant to Section 6.6 or otherwise constitute any portion of the Available Amount) and (C) such contribution shall constitute an Investment by the Borrowers or the applicable Restricted Subsidiaries, as the case may be, at the date of such contribution or merger, as applicable, in an amount equal to the amount of such Restricted Payment;

 

(iv)       the proceeds of which shall be used by Holdings to pay (or to make Restricted Payments to allow any direct or indirect parent thereof to pay) reasonable fees and expenses (other than to Affiliates) related to any unsuccessful equity or debt offering by Holdings (or any direct or indirect parent thereof) to the extent the proceeds of such offering were (or were intended to be) contributed to a Borrower substantially concurrently with the consummation thereof;

 

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(r)         payments made or expected to be made by Holdings, any Borrower or any of the Restricted Subsidiaries in respect of withholding or similar Taxes payable with respect to any repurchases of Equity Interests permitted by Section 6.6(p), including deemed repurchases in connection with the exercise of stock options;

 

(s)         Holdings, any Borrower or any of the Restricted Subsidiaries may pay cash in lieu of fractional Equity Interests in de minimis amounts in connection with any dividend, split or combination thereof or any Permitted Acquisition;

 

(t)         the payment of any Restricted Payment within 60 days after the date of irrevocable declaration thereof, if at the date of declaration or the giving of such notice such payment would have complied with the provisions of this Section 6.6; provided that the making of such Restricted Payment will reduce capacity for Restricted Payments pursuant to such other provision when so made;

 

(u)         the distribution, by dividend or otherwise, of shares of Equity Interests of, or Indebtedness owed to a Borrower or a Restricted Subsidiary by, Unrestricted Subsidiaries or the proceeds thereof;

 

(v)         Restricted Payments in an amount not to exceed the Excluded Contribution Amount;

 

(w)         the declaration and payment of Restricted Payments by a Borrower to any direct or indirect parent of a Borrower in amounts required for any such direct or indirect parent (or such parent’s direct or indirect equity owners) to pay:

 

(i)         to the extent constituting Restricted Payments, amounts that would be permitted to be paid directly by the Borrower or its Restricted Subsidiaries under Section 5.14 (other than pursuant to Section 5.14(c)); and

 

(ii)        “AHYDO” payments with respect to Indebtedness of any direct or indirect parent of a Borrower; provided that (A) the proceeds of such Indebtedness have been contributed to a Borrower as a capital contribution and (B) no Event of Default pursuant to Section 8.1(a), (b), (h) or (i) shall be continuing or would result therefrom; and

 

(x)         the making of the Third Amendment Dividend.

 

6.7         Suja East, LLC. Notwithstanding anything herein to the contrary, Suja East, LLC, a Pennsylvania limited liability company, shall have no operations or assets at any time.

 

6.8         Restrictive Agreements. No Obligor shall, nor shall it permit any of its Restricted Subsidiaries to enter into, incur or permit to exist any agreement or other arrangement that prohibits, restricts or imposes any condition upon (a) the ability of such Obligor or any Restricted Subsidiary to (x) create, incur or permit to exist any Lien upon, or (y) to transfer to another Obligor, any of its assets, or (b) the ability of any Restricted Subsidiary to pay dividends or other distributions with respect to any Equity Interests it has issued or to make or repay loans or advances to the Borrowers or any other Restricted Subsidiary or to Guarantee Indebtedness of the Borrowers or any other Restricted Subsidiary, or invest in any Obligor or any other Restricted Subsidiary (any such agreement or arrangement, a “Restrictive Agreement”); provided that:

 

(i)         the foregoing shall not apply to (A) restrictions and conditions imposed by law or by the Loan Documents, (B) restrictions and conditions existing on the Effective Date identified on Schedule 6.8 (but shall apply to any extension or renewal of, or any amendment or modification materially expanding the scope of, any such restriction or condition), (C) customary restrictions and conditions contained in agreements relating to the sale of a Person or the sale of any other assets pending such sale, provided such restrictions and conditions apply only to the Person that is, or such assets that are, to be sold and such sale is permitted hereunder, and (D) customary provisions in joint venture agreements or other similar agreements applicable to joint ventures permitted under Section 6.5;

 

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(ii)         the foregoing shall not apply to (A) restrictions or conditions imposed by any agreement relating to secured Indebtedness permitted by this Agreement if such restrictions or conditions apply only to the property securing such Indebtedness, (B) customary provisions in leases, licenses and other contracts entered into in the Ordinary Course of Business restricting the assignment thereof, or the transfer of or creation of Liens on assets subject thereto, and (C) customary restrictions that arise in connection with any Permitted Encumbrance on any asset or property that is not, and is not required to be, Collateral, provided such restriction relates only to the specific property subject to such Lien and such restriction is not created for the purposes of avoiding the restrictions of this Section 6.8 or excluding such property from being Collateral;

 

(iii)         the foregoing shall not apply to restrictions that are binding on a Restricted Subsidiary at the time such Restricted Subsidiary first becomes a Restricted Subsidiary of a Borrower, so long as (x) such obligations were not entered into in contemplation of such Person becoming a Restricted Subsidiary of a Borrower and (y) such restriction only applies to the assets of such Restricted Subsidiary that were acquired at the time such Restricted Subsidiary first became a Restricted Subsidiary;

 

(iv)         the foregoing shall not apply to restrictions that represent Indebtedness of a Restricted Subsidiary of a Borrower which is not an Obligor which is permitted by Section 6.1, which does not apply to any Obligor;

 

(v)          the foregoing shall not apply to customary restrictions (as reasonably determined by the Borrowers) that arise in connection with (x) any Lien permitted by Sections 6.2 and relate to the property subject to such Lien or (y) arise in connection with any Disposition permitted by Section 6.3 or 6.4 and relate solely to the assets or Person subject to such Disposition;

 

(vi)         the foregoing shall not apply to negative pledges and restrictions on Liens in favor of any holder of Indebtedness permitted under Section 6.2 but solely to the extent any negative pledge relates to (i) the property financed by such Indebtedness and the proceeds, accessions and products thereof or (ii) the property secured by such Indebtedness and the proceeds, accessions and products thereof so long as the agreements governing such Indebtedness permit the Liens securing the Obligations;

 

(vii)        the foregoing shall not apply to restrictions on cash or other deposits imposed by customers under contracts entered into in the Ordinary Course of Business and otherwise permitted under Section 6.2;

 

(viii)       the foregoing shall not apply in connection with cash or other deposits permitted under Sections 6.2 and 6.5 and limited to such cash or deposit;

 

(ix)         comprise of restrictions imposed by any agreement governing Indebtedness entered into on or after the Effective Date and permitted under Section 6.1 that are, taken as a whole, in the reasonable good faith judgment of the Borrowers, no more restrictive with respect to the Borrowers or any Restricted Subsidiary than customary current market terms for Indebtedness of such type (and, in any event, are no more restrictive than the restrictions contained in this Agreement), so long as the Borrowers shall have determined in good faith that such restrictions will not affect in any material respect its obligation or ability to make any payments required hereunder;

 

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(x)          are restrictions on cash or other deposits or net worth imposed by customers under contracts entered into in the Ordinary Course of Business;

 

(xi)         are restrictions on cash earnest money deposits in favor of sellers in connection with acquisitions not prohibited hereunder;

 

(xii)        other than with respect to the foregoing clause (a)(x), are restrictions that will not materially impair the Borrowers’ ability to make payments under this Agreement and the other Loan Documents;

 

(xiii)        the foregoing shall not apply to Standard Securitization Undertakings created in connection with any Receivables Facility or any Qualified Securitization Financing that, in the good faith determination of the board of directors (or analogous governing body) of the Borrowers, are necessary or advisable to effect such Receivables Facility or Qualified Securitization Financing, as the case may be and that only apply to Receivables Subsidiaries and Securitization Subsidiaries; and

 

(xiv)        any encumbrances or restrictions of the type referred to in this Section 6.8 imposed by any amendments, modifications, restatements, renewals, increases, supplements, refundings, replacements or refinancings of the contracts, instruments or obligations referred to in clauses (i) through (xiii) above; provided that such amendments, modifications, restatements, renewals, increases, extensions, supplements, refundings, replacements, restructurings or refinancings are, in the good faith judgment of the Borrowers, not materially more restrictive with respect to such encumbrance and other restrictions taken as a whole than those prior to such amendment, modification, restatement, renewal, increase, extension, restructuring, supplement, refunding, replacement or refinancing;

 

provided that (x) the priority of any preferred Equity Interests (other than Disqualified Equity Interests) in receiving dividends or liquidating distributions prior to dividends or liquidating distributions being paid on common stock and (y) the subordination of (including the application of any standstill requirements to) loans or advances made to any Borrower or any Restricted Subsidiary that is a Guarantor to other Indebtedness incurred by any Borrower or any Restricted Subsidiary that is a Guarantor shall not be deemed to constitute such an encumbrance or restriction.

 

6.9         Modifications of Certain Documents. No Obligor shall, nor shall it permit any of the Restricted Subsidiaries to, modify, supplement or waive of any of the provisions of (a) its Organizational Documents, the Surf Merger Agreement or the Second Amendment Acquisition Agreement without the prior written consent of Administrative Agent, other than modifications, supplements or waivers that are not materially adverse to Secured Parties or (b) the Management Agreement, solely with respect to increasing the fees (and other amounts) payable thereunder in excess of those in effect on the Effective Date without the prior written consent of the Administrative Agent.

 

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6.10         [Reserved].

 

6.11         Hedging Agreements. No Obligor shall, nor shall it permit any of its Restricted Subsidiaries to, enter into any Hedging Agreement, except Hedging Agreements entered into in the Ordinary Course of Business to hedge or mitigate risks to which an Obligor or a Restricted Subsidiary has actual exposure in connection with fluctuations of commodity prices, currencies or interest rates and not for any speculative purposes.

 

6.12         [Reserved].

 

6.13         Use of Proceeds and Letters of Credit. No Obligor shall, nor shall it permit any of its Restricted Subsidiaries to: (a) use the proceeds of the Initial Term Loans and Revolving Credit Loans made on the Effective Date for any purpose other than to (i) consummate the Transactions, (ii) pay the Transaction Costs, (iii) issue Letters of Credit to replace existing letters of credit of the Borrowers and their Restricted Subsidiaries on the Effective Date, (iv) to fund any working capital adjustments required by the Surf Merger Agreement and (v) fund any original issue discount and upfront fees required pursuant to the Fee Letter; provided that the aggregate amount of Revolving Credit Loans made on the Effective Date shall not exceed $3,000,000; (b) use the proceeds of the Revolving Credit Loans and Swingline Loans made after the Effective Date for any purposes other than to fund the Borrowers’ working capital and general corporate purposes (including Permitted Acquisitions but subject to Section 6.15) or, subject to the terms and conditions of this Agreement and the other Loan Documents, the general corporate purposes of any Obligor; (c) use any part of the proceeds of any Loan, whether directly or indirectly, for any purpose that violates any of the Regulations of the Board, including Regulations U and X; (d) use the proceeds of the Second Amendment Term Loans made on the Second Amendment Effective Date for any purpose other than to (i) consummate the Second Amendment Acquisition and (ii) pay the Second Amendment Transaction Costs; or (e) use the proceeds of the Third Amendment Term Loans made on the Third Amendment Effective Date for any purpose other than to (i) make the Third Amendment Dividend and (ii) pay the Third Amendment Transaction Costs. No Obligor shall, directly or knowingly indirectly, use the proceeds of the Loans, or lend, contribute or otherwise make available such proceeds to any Subsidiary, joint venture partner or other Person, (i) to fund any activities or business of or with any Person, or in any country or territory, that, at the time of such funding, is, or whose government is, the subject of comprehensive Sanctions in violation of Sanctions, or (ii) in any other manner that would result in a violation of Sanctions by any Person participating in the Loans, whether as underwriter, advisor, investor, or otherwise, or (iii) for any payments to any governmental official or employee, political party, official of a political party, candidate for political office, or anyone else acting in an official capacity, in order to obtain, retain or direct business or obtain any improper advantage, in violation of any Anti-Corruption Laws that may be applicable. The proceeds of the Fourth Amendment Delayed Draw Term Loans shall only be used to (A) pay Fourth Amendment Transaction Costs, (B) fund (or reimburse) Capital Expenditures, (C) to repay Revolving Credit Loans and/or replenish balance sheet cash used for the foregoing purposes, and (D) to pay fees and expenses in connection with the foregoing, and the Borrowers shall be permitted to seek reimbursement of any such expenditure, including any such expenditure originally funded with the proceeds of a Revolving Credit Loan or balance sheet cash, up to and including one hundred twenty (120) days following the date of the relevant expenditure.

 

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6.14         Limitation on Activities of Holdings. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this Agreement or any other Loan Document: Holdings shall not (i) conduct, transact or otherwise engage in, any material business or material operations or own any material assets other than: (1) maintaining its corporate existence, (2) the execution and delivery of, and the performance of its obligations with respect to, the Loan Documents to which it is a party, (3) owning the Equity Interests of any Borrower and their Subsidiaries, (4) the consummation of the Transactions and the execution, delivery and performance of the obligations under the Surf Merger Agreement and the other agreements contemplated thereby, (5) the payment of Restricted Payments including dividends and distributions, the making of Investments, and the Guarantee of Indebtedness permitted to be incurred hereunder by any Borrower or any Restricted Subsidiary pursuant to Section 6.1, (6) the performing of activities in preparation for and consummating any public offering of its Equity Interests or any other issuance or sale of its Equity Interests (other than Disqualified Equity Interests), including paying fees and expenses related thereto, (7) the participation in tax, accounting and other administrative matters as a member of a consolidated group, including compliance with applicable laws and legal, tax and accounting matters related thereto and activities relating to its officers, directors, managers and employees, (8) subject to Section 5.10, the holding of any cash and Cash Equivalents (but not operating any property) on a temporary basis to consummate a transaction otherwise permitted hereunder, (9) the entry into, and performance of its obligations with respect to, contracts and other arrangements with officers, managers, employees, consultants, independent contractors and directors of Holdings or any of its Subsidiaries relating to their employment or directorships (including the providing of indemnification to such Persons), (10) the obtainment of, and the payment of any fees and expenses for, management, consulting, monitoring, investment banking, advisory and other services to the extent otherwise permitted by this Agreement, (11) any transaction between Holdings and any Borrower or any Subsidiary expressly permitted under this Section 6, including (x) holding any cash or property received in connection with Restricted Payments made by any Borrower or any Subsidiary in accordance with Section 6.6 pending application thereof by Holdings in the manner contemplated by Section 6.6 and (y) the provision of guarantees in the Ordinary Course of Business in respect of obligations of any Borrower or any Restricted Subsidiary to suppliers, customers, franchisees, lessors, licensees, sublicensees or distribution partners; provided, for the avoidance of doubt, that such guarantees shall not be in respect of Indebtedness for borrowed money, (12) maintaining deposit accounts in connection with the conduct of its business, (13) [reserved], (14) if applicable, participating in tax, accounting and other administrative matters as a member of the consolidated group and the provision of administrative and advisory services (including treasury and insurance services) to its Subsidiaries of a type customarily provided by a holding company to its Subsidiaries, (15) providing indemnification to officers and directors, (16) activities reasonably relating to any Permitted Reorganization (17) merging, amalgamating or consolidating with or into any direct or indirect parent or subsidiary of Holdings that becomes “New Holdings” (in compliance with the definitions of “Holdings” and “New Holdings” in this Agreement), (18) activities incidental to Permitted Acquisitions or similar Investments consummated by the Borrowers and the Restricted Subsidiaries, including the formation of acquisition vehicle entities and intercompany loans and/or Investments incidental to such Permitted Acquisitions or similar Investments, (19) any transaction with the Borrowers or any Restricted Subsidiary to the extent expressly permitted under this Article 6, (20) making contributions to the capital of its Subsidiaries and (21) activities incidental to the businesses or activities described in the foregoing clauses (1) through (20), and (ii) incur, create, assume or suffer to exist any Indebtedness or other liabilities or financial obligations, except (1) nonconsensual obligations imposed by operation of law, (2) customary obligations under any stock option or restricted stock plan or other benefit or equity incentive plan, (3) obligations under the Loan Documents, and (4) Indebtedness that is expressly permitted under clause (i) of this Section 6.14.Prepayments of Indebtedness. No Company shall make any voluntary payment or prepayment of the principal of or interest on, or any other amount owing in respect of, any Subordinated Indebtedness, Indebtedness secured on a junior basis to the Obligations, or unsecured Indebtedness with a principal amount in excess of the greater of (1) $4,500,000 and (2) 15% of Consolidated EBITDA (determined at the time of any such prepayment (calculated on a pro forma basis) as of the last day of the most recently ended four Fiscal Quarter period for which financial statements have been delivered pursuant to Section 5.1(a) or (b)) (“Junior Debt”) except the Borrowers and their Restricted Subsidiaries may (i) make regularly scheduled payments, or redemptions or mandatory prepayments of principal and interest in respect of Junior Debt, (ii) prepay additional Junior Debt in an aggregate amount not to exceed the greater of (x) $7,500,000 and (y) and (y) 25% of Consolidated EBITDA (determined at the time of any such prepayment (calculated on a pro forma basis) as of the last day of the most recently ended four Fiscal Quarter period for which financial statements have been delivered pursuant to Section 5.1(a) or 5.1(b)) in the aggregate (the “General Junior Debt Basket”), minus any amounts reallocated to the General Investment Basket plus any amounts reallocated from the General Restricted Payment Basket, (iii) make payments on Junior Debt in an amount equal to the portion, if any, of the Available Amount on such date so long as, (x) no Event of Default shall exist or result therefrom and (y) the Consolidated Net Leverage Ratio is not greater than 4.00 to 1.00 calculated on a pro forma basis as of the last day of the Fiscal Quarter for which financial statements have been delivered to the Lenders pursuant to Section 5.1(a) or (b), (iv) make payments on Junior Debt in additional amounts so long as (x) no Event of Default shall exist or result therefrom and (y) the Consolidated First Lien Leverage Ratio is not greater than 3.50 to 1.00 calculated on a pro forma basis as of the last day of the Fiscal Quarter for which financial statements have been delivered to the Lenders pursuant to Section 5.1(a) or (b), (v) refinance any Junior Debt with any Indebtedness permitted by Section 6.1, (vi) convert or exchange any Junior Debt to Equity Interests (other than Disqualified Equity Interests) of Holdings or any of its direct or indirect parents, and (vii) make payments on Junior Debt in an amount not to exceed the Excluded Contribution Amount (other than amounts constituting Specified Equity Contributions or the Available Amount).

 

Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in any Loan Document, (x) the Borrowers may make regularly scheduled payments of interest and fees on any Junior Debt, and may make any payments required by the terms of such Indebtedness in order to avoid the application of Section 163(e)(5) of the Code to such Indebtedness (y) no payment shall be permitted to be made on any earn-out or similar obligation in relation to a Permitted Acquisition or other permitted Investment or any Indebtedness pursuant to Section 6.01(i), in each case to the extent any Event of Default pursuant to Section 8.1(a), (b), (h) or (i) is continuing or would result therefrom.

 

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7.FINANCIAL COVENANT.

 

7.1         Consolidated Net Leverage Ratio. The Borrowers shall not permit the Consolidated Net Leverage Ratio to exceed the applicable ratio set forth below as of the last day of the applicable Fiscal Quarter, commencing with the Fiscal Quarter ending December 27, 2021:

 

Fiscal Quarter   Consolidated Net Leverage Ratio
Fiscal Quarter ending December 27, 2021 and each Fiscal Quarter ending through and including September 26, 2022   6.00 to 1.00
     
Fiscal Quarter ending December 26, 2022 and each Fiscal Quarter ending through and including September 25, 2023   5.50 to 1.00
     
Fiscal Quarter ending January 1, 2024 and each Fiscal Quarter ending through and including September 30, 2024   3.50 to 1.00
     
Fiscal Quarter ending December 30, 2024 and each Fiscal Quarter ending through and including December 29, 2025   6.50 to 1.00
     
Fiscal Quarter ending March 30, 2026 and each Fiscal Quarter ending through and including December 28, 2026   5.50 to 1.00
     
Fiscal Quarter ending March 29, 2027 and each Fiscal Quarter ending through and including December 27, 2027   4.50 to 1.00
     
Fiscal Quarter ending March 27, 2028 and each Fiscal Quarter ending thereafter   3.50 to 1.00

 

8.EVENTS OF DEFAULT; REMEDIES.

 

8.1         Event of Default. If any of the following events (each such an event, an “Event of Default”) shall occur:

 

(a)         Obligors shall fail to pay any principal of any Loan or any reimbursement obligation in respect of any LC Disbursement or deposit any funds as cash collateral in respect of any Letter of Credit when and as the same shall become due and payable, whether at the due date thereof or at a date fixed for prepayment thereof or otherwise;

 

(b)         Obligors shall fail to pay (i) any interest on any Loan or LC Disbursement or (ii) any fee or any other amount (other than an amount referred to in clause (a) of this Section) payable under this Agreement or under any other Loan Document, when and as the same shall become due and payable, and such failure shall continue unremedied for a period of (x) with respect to the foregoing clause (i), five or more Business Days and (ii) with respect to the foregoing clause (ii), ten or more Business Days;

 

(c)         any certification, representation, or warranty made or deemed made by or on behalf of any Obligor in or in connection with this Agreement or any other Loan Document or in any report, certificate, financial statement, or other document furnished pursuant to or in connection with this Agreement or any other Loan Document, shall prove to have been incorrect in any material respect when made or deemed made (unless any such certification, representation or warranty is qualified as to materiality or as to Material Adverse Effect, in which case such certification, representation and warranty shall prove to have been incorrect in any respect), and such failure shall continue unremedied for a period of 30 or more days with respect to any such failure that is capable of being cured;

 

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(d)          any Obligor shall fail to observe or perform any covenant, condition or agreement contained in Section 5.2(a), 5.3 (with respect to Holdings’ or any Borrower’s existence), 5.17, 6, or 7; provided that (x) the covenant in Section 7 is subject to cure pursuant to Section 8.3, and (y) failure to comply with Section 7 shall not constitute an Event of Default until the termination of the Cure Period;

 

(e)          any Obligor shall fail to observe or perform any covenant, condition or agreement contained in this Agreement (other than those specified in clause (a), (b), or (d) of this Section) or any other Loan Document and such failure shall continue unremedied for a period of 30 or more days from written notice by the Administrative Agent to the Borrower Representative;

 

(f)          any Obligor shall fail to make any payment (including of principal or interest and regardless of amount) in respect of any Material Indebtedness, when and as the same shall become due and payable (after giving effect to any applicable notice requirement or grace period);

 

(g)         any event or condition occurs that results in any Material Indebtedness (other than the Obligations) becoming due prior to its scheduled maturity or that enables or permits (with or without the giving of notice, the lapse of time or both) the holder or holders of any such Material Indebtedness or any trustee or agent on its or their behalf to cause any such Material Indebtedness to become due, or to require the prepayment, repurchase, redemption or defeasance thereof, prior to its scheduled maturity (after giving effect to any applicable notice requirement or grace period); provided that this clause (g) shall not apply to (i) secured Indebtedness that becomes due as a result of the voluntary sale or transfer of the property securing such Indebtedness in a transaction permitted hereunder, (ii) any Indebtedness if (x) the sole remedy of the holder thereof in the event of the non-payment of such Indebtedness or the non-payment or non-performance of obligations related thereto or (y) sole option is to elect, in each case, to convert such Indebtedness into Qualified Equity Interests and cash in lieu of fractional shares, (iii) in the case of Indebtedness which the holder thereof may elect to convert into Qualified Equity Interests, such Indebtedness from and after the date, if any, on which such conversion has been effected and (iv) any breach or default that is (x) remedied by Holdings, the applicable Borrower or the applicable Restricted Subsidiary or (y) waived (including in the form of amendment) by the required holders of the applicable item of Indebtedness, in either case, prior to any termination of the Commitments or the acceleration of Loans pursuant to this Section 8.1;

 

(h)          an involuntary proceeding shall be commenced or an involuntary petition shall be filed seeking (i) liquidation, reorganization, conservatorship, bankruptcy, assignment for the benefit of creditors, moratorium, rearrangement, receivership, insolvency or other relief in respect of any Obligor or any of its Material Subsidiaries or debts, or of a substantial part of its assets, under any Debtor Relief Laws or (ii) the appointment of a receiver, trustee, custodian, sequestrator, conservator, liquidator, rehabilitator, or similar official for any Obligor or its Material Subsidiaries or for a substantial part of its or their assets, and, in any such case, such proceeding or petition shall continue undismissed for a period of 60 or more days or an order or decree approving or ordering any of the foregoing shall be entered;

 

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(i)           any Obligor or its Material Subsidiaries shall (i) voluntarily commence any proceeding or file any petition seeking liquidation, reorganization, conservatorship, bankruptcy, assignment for the benefit of creditors, moratorium, rearrangement, receivership, insolvency, or other relief under any Debtor Relief Laws now or hereafter in effect, (ii) consent to the institution of, or fail to contest in a timely and appropriate manner, any proceeding or petition described in clause (h) of this Section, (iii) apply for or consent to the appointment of a receiver, trustee, custodian, sequestrator, conservator, liquidator, rehabilitator, or similar official for any Obligor or its Material Subsidiaries or for a substantial part of its assets, (iv) file an answer admitting the material allegations of a petition filed against it in any such proceeding, (v) make a general assignment for the benefit of creditors, or (vi) take any organizational action to authorize any of the foregoing;

 

(j)           one or more final and non-appealable judgments for the payment of money in an aggregate amount in excess of the greater of (i) $7,500,000 and (ii) 25.0% of Consolidated EBITDA (exclusive of amounts covered by insurance provided by a financially sound insurance company and for which such insurer has not denied coverage or the indemnity, or has not denied liability, as applicable, after notice) shall be rendered against any Obligor or its Restricted Subsidiary and the same shall remain undischarged for a period of 60 consecutive days during which execution shall not be effectively stayed, or any action shall be legally taken by a judgment creditor to attach or levy upon any assets of any Obligor or its Restricted Subsidiary to enforce any such judgment;

 

(k)          an ERISA Event shall have occurred that, when taken together with all other ERISA Events that have occurred, would reasonably be expected to result in liability of any Obligor and its Restricted Subsidiaries in an aggregate amount that would have a Material Adverse Effect;

 

(l)           [reserved];

 

(m)         a Change in Control shall occur;

 

(n)          the Liens created by the Security Documents shall at any time not constitute a valid and perfected first priority Lien on the Collateral intended to be covered thereby (other than any Collateral released under Section 9.10) in favor of Administrative Agent, free and clear of all other Liens (other than Permitted Encumbrances), other than as a result of a failure of the Administrative Agent or the Lenders to take any action required under the Loan Documents or, except for expiration or termination in accordance with its terms or with the consent of Administrative Agent, any of the Loan Documents shall for whatever reason be terminated or cease to be in full force and effect, or enforceability thereof shall be contested by any Obligor, or any Borrower or any Person acting by or on behalf of any Borrower shall deny or disaffirm any Borrower’s obligations under Section 10.22 or Section 10.23;

 

(o)          [reserved]; or

 

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(p)          (i) an Intercreditor Agreement or the subordination provisions of the documents evidencing or governing any Subordinated Indebtedness constituting Material Indebtedness (the “Subordination Provisions”) shall, in whole or in part, terminate, cease to be effective or cease to be legally valid, binding and enforceable against any holder of such Subordinated Indebtedness constituting Material Indebtedness, other than as a result of a failure of the Administrative Agent or the Lenders to take any action required under the Loan Documents; or (ii) any Obligor or holder of such Subordinated Indebtedness constituting Material Indebtedness shall disavow or contest in any manner (A) the effectiveness, validity or enforceability of any of the Subordination Provisions, (B) that the Subordination Provisions exist for the benefit of Administrative Agent, the Lenders and Issuing Lender, or (C) that all payments of principal of or premium and interest on such Subordinated Indebtedness, or realized from the liquidation of any property of any Obligor, shall be subject to any of the Subordination Provisions; or (iii) any Intercreditor Agreement or Subordination Agreement related to Material Indebtedness shall cease to be in full force and effect or the Loans shall cease to constitute “Senior Indebtedness” (or similar term) thereunder;

 

then, in every such event (other than an event with respect to any Obligor described in clause (h) or (i) of this Section 8.1), and at any time thereafter during the continuance of such event, Administrative Agent may with the consent of the Required Lenders, and at the request of the Required Lenders shall, by notice to the Borrower Representative, take any or all of the following actions, at the same or different times: (i) terminate the Commitments including any obligation of Issuing Lender to issue Letters of Credit, and thereupon the Commitments and obligations shall terminate immediately, (ii) require that the Borrowers cash collateralize the aggregate LC Exposure, (iii) declare the Loans then outstanding to be due and payable in whole (or in part, in which case any principal not so declared to be due and payable may thereafter be declared to be due and payable), and thereupon the principal of the Loans so declared to be due and payable, together with accrued interest thereon and all fees and other obligations of the Obligors accrued hereunder and under the other Loan Documents, shall become due and payable immediately, without presentment, demand, protest, notice of intent to accelerate, notice of acceleration or other notice of any kind, all of which are hereby waived by each Obligor, and (iv) exercise on behalf of itself, the Lenders and Issuing Lender all rights and remedies available to it, the Lenders and Issuing Lender under the Loan Documents and applicable law; and in case of any event with respect to any Obligor described in clause (h) or (i) of this Section 8.1, the Commitments, and Issuing Lender’s obligation to issue Letters of Credit, shall automatically terminate, the obligation of the Borrowers to cash collateralize the LC Exposure shall automatically become effective, and the principal of the Loans then outstanding, together with accrued interest thereon and all fees and other obligations of the Obligors accrued hereunder and under the other Loan Documents, shall automatically become due and payable, without presentment, demand, protest, notice of intent to accelerate, notice of acceleration, or other notice of any kind, all of which are hereby waived by each Obligor. In addition, if any Event of Default shall exist, Administrative Agent may foreclose or otherwise enforce any Lien granted to the Administrative Agent, for the benefit of the Secured Parties, to secure payment and performance of the Obligations in accordance with the terms of the Loan Documents and exercise any and all rights and remedies afforded by applicable law, by any of the Loan Documents, by equity, or otherwise.

 

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8.2          Application of Payment. Subsequent to the acceleration of the Obligations under Section 8.1 hereof, subject to any applicable Intercreditor Agreements, payments and prepayments with respect to the Obligations made to the Administrative Agent, the Lenders, Issuing Lender, Swingline Lender or otherwise received by Administrative Agent, any Lender, Issuing Lender or Swingline Lender (from realization on Collateral or otherwise, but excluding any funds held to cash collateralize the LC Exposure which shall be applied to, or held to pay, the LC Exposure as set forth in Section 2.5(l) and subject to rights of Non-Defaulting Lenders pursuant to Section 2.21) shall be distributed in the following order of priority: FIRST, to the fees, indemnities, expenses and other amounts (including attorneys’ fees and expenses), if any, payable to the Administrative Agent in its capacity as such; SECOND, to the fees, indemnities and other amounts (other than principal, reimbursement obligations in respect of LC Disbursements and interest) payable to the Lenders and the Issuing Lender (including attorneys’ fees and expenses) arising under the Loans Documents, ratably among them in proportion to the respective amounts described in this clause payable to them; THIRD, to the payment of interest then due and payable on the Swingline Loans; FOURTH, to the payment of the principal of any Swingline Loans then outstanding; FIFTH, to the payment of interest then due and payable on any outstanding LC Disbursements, the Revolving Credit Loans, and the Term Loans, on a pro rata basis; SIXTH, on a pro rata basis, to (a) the payment of principal of the Revolving Credit Loans, (b) the payment of principal of the Term Loans, (c) cash collateralize the LC Exposure in accordance with clause (a) of the definition of “Fully Satisfied” set forth in this Agreement, and (d) the payment of any Bank Product Obligations, until each of the foregoing Obligations in clauses (a) through (d) of this Section 8.2 are Fully Satisfied; SEVENTH, to any other Obligations not otherwise referred to in this Section; and EIGHTH, to the applicable Obligors, their successors or assigns, or as a court of competent jurisdiction may otherwise direct. The Administrative Agent shall have absolute discretion as to the time of application of any such proceeds, moneys, or balances in accordance with this Agreement. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary set forth above, in no event shall any proceeds of any Collateral owned, or any Guarantee provided, by any Obligor under any Loan Document be applied to repay or cash collateralize any Excluded Swap Obligation with respect to such Obligor; provided, that Administrative Agent may elect to apply the proceeds of any such Collateral or Guarantee to repay or cash collateralize any Obligations (other than Excluded Swap Obligation with respect to such Obligor) in accordance with the priority set forth above before applying the proceeds of any other Collateral or Guarantee provided under any Loan Document, if in the reasonable determination of Administrative Agent, such order of application will maximize the repayment of all of the Obligations. Upon any sale of Collateral by Administrative Agent (including pursuant to a power of sale granted by statute or under a judicial proceeding), the receipt of the purchase money by Administrative Agent or of the officer making the sale shall be a sufficient discharge to the purchaser or purchasers of the Collateral so sold and such purchaser or purchasers shall not be obligated to see to the application of any part of the purchase money paid over to the Administrative Agent or such officer or be answerable in any way for the misapplication thereof.

 

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8.3          Right to Cure. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in Section 8.1, in the event that the Borrowers fail (or, but for the operation of this Section 8.3, would fail) to comply with the Financial Covenant, as of the last day of any Fiscal Quarter in which such Financial Covenant is required to be tested, at any time after the last day of such Fiscal Quarter until the day that is 15 Business Days after the date that financial statements for such Fiscal Quarter are required to be delivered pursuant to Section 5.1(a) or 5.1(b), Holdings shall have the right to issue Qualified Equity Interests for cash or otherwise receive cash contributions in respect of Qualified Equity Interests which is promptly contributed to the capital of any Borrower, and thereupon such Financial Covenant shall be recalculated by increasing Consolidated EBITDA by the amount of such Specified Equity Contribution with respect to such Fiscal Quarter and any four-quarter period that contains such Fiscal Quarter; provided that, (a) in each 4 consecutive Fiscal Quarter period, there shall be no more than 2 Fiscal Quarters in which a Specified Equity Contribution is made, (b) no more than 5 Specified Equity Contributions may be made in the aggregate during the term of this Agreement, (c) the amount of any Specified Equity Contribution shall be no greater than the amount required to cause the Borrowers to be in compliance with the Financial Covenant, (d) any adjustment on a pro forma basis to Consolidated EBITDA resulting from any Specified Equity Contribution shall be counted as Consolidated EBITDA solely for purposes of determining compliance with the Financial Covenant and shall not be included for any other purpose (including for purposes of determining the Applicable Margin or any financial ratio-based conditions or any “baskets”) during any Fiscal Quarter in which the pro forma adjustment applies, (e) no Lender shall be required to fund any Borrowing or Letter of Credit extension during the 15 Business Day period referred to above unless a Borrower has received the proceeds of the Specified Equity Contribution in an amount required to cause Borrowers to be in compliance with the Financial Covenant, (f) for the avoidance of doubt, in recalculating the Financial Covenant by increasing Consolidated EBITDA as set forth above, there shall be no pro forma effect given to any reduction of Indebtedness with the Specified Equity Contribution in such recalculation of the Financial Covenant for such Fiscal Quarter in which such Specified Equity Contribution is made, (g) no Default or Event of Default shall exist with respect to the Financial Covenant until the end of the 15 Business Day period referenced above (the “Cure Termination Date”) and (h) none of the Administrative Agent, any Lender or any Secured party shall exercise any rights or remedies until after the Cure Termination Date solely on the basis of a Default or Event of Default having occurred and being continuing with respect to the Financial Covenant for the applicable Fiscal Quarter. If, after giving effect to the adjustments in this paragraph, the Borrowers shall then be in compliance with the requirements of the Financial Covenant, the Borrowers shall be deemed to have satisfied the requirements of the Financial Covenant as of the relevant date of determination with the same effect as though there had been no failure to comply therewith at such date, and the applicable breach or default of the Financial Covenant that had occurred shall be deemed cured for the purposes of this Agreement.

 

8.4          Performance by Administrative Agent. If any Obligor shall fail to perform any covenant or agreement in accordance with the terms of the Loan Documents, if an Event of Default has occurred and is continuing, upon five Business Days’ notice, the Administrative Agent may perform or attempt to perform such covenant or agreement on behalf of the applicable Obligor. In such event, the Borrowers shall, at the request of Administrative Agent promptly pay any amount expended by Administrative Agent in connection with such performance or attempted performance to the Administrative Agent, together with interest thereon at the interest rate provided for in Section 2.12(c) from and including the date of such expenditure to but excluding the date such expenditure is paid in full. Notwithstanding the foregoing, it is expressly agreed that neither Administrative Agent nor any Lender shall have any liability or responsibility for the performance of any obligation of any Obligor under any Loan Documents.

 

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9.             ADMINISTRATIVE AGENT

 

9.1          Authorization and Action.

 

(a)          Each of the Lenders and Issuing Lender hereby irrevocably appoints Administrative Agent to act on its behalf as Administrative Agent hereunder and under the other Loan Documents and authorizes Administrative Agent to take such actions on its behalf and to exercise such powers as are delegated to the Administrative Agent by the terms hereof or thereof, together with such actions and powers as are reasonably incidental thereto. The provisions of this Section 9 are solely for the benefit of Administrative Agent, the Lenders, and Issuing Lender, and no Obligor has rights as a third-party beneficiary of any of such provisions (other than in respect of Sections 9.1, 9.5, 9.6 and 9.10, 9.11, 9.12, 9.13 and 9.14). It is understood and agreed that the use of the term “agent” herein or in any other Loan Documents (or any other similar term) with reference to the Administrative Agent is not intended to connote any fiduciary or other implied (or express) obligations arising under agency doctrine of any applicable law. Instead such term is used as a matter of market custom, and is intended to create or reflect only an administrative relationship between contracting parties.

 

(b)          Administrative Agent shall also act as the collateral agent under the Loan Documents, and each of the Lenders and Issuing Lender hereby irrevocably appoints and authorizes Administrative Agent to act as the agent of such Lender and Issuing Lender for purposes of acquiring, holding and enforcing any and all Liens on Collateral granted by any of the Obligors to secure any of the Obligations, together with such powers and discretion as are reasonably incidental thereto. In this connection, Administrative Agent, as collateral agent and any co-agents, sub-agents and attorneys-in-fact appointed by Administrative Agent pursuant to Section 9.5 for purposes of holding or enforcing any Lien on the Collateral (or any portion thereof) granted under the Security Documents, (or for exercising any rights and remedies thereunder at the direction of Administrative Agent), shall be entitled to the benefits of all provisions of this Sections 9 and 10 as if set forth in full herein with respect thereto. Administrative Agent is authorized on behalf of all the Lenders, without the necessity of any notice to or further consent from the Lenders or Issuing Lender, from time to time to take any action with respect to any Collateral or the Loan Documents which may be necessary to perfect and maintain perfected the Liens upon any Collateral granted pursuant to any Security Document.

 

9.2          Administrative Agent and its Affiliates.

 

(a)          The Person serving as Administrative Agent hereunder shall have the same rights and powers in its capacity as a Lender as any other Lender and may exercise the same as though it were not Administrative Agent and the term “Lender” or “Lenders” shall, unless otherwise expressly indicated or unless the context otherwise requires, include the Person serving as Administrative Agent hereunder in its individual capacity. Such Person and its Affiliates may accept deposits from, own securities of, lend money to, act as the financial advisor or in any advisory capacity for and generally engage in any kind of business with the Borrowers or any Subsidiary or other Affiliate thereof as if it were not Administrative Agent hereunder and without any duty to account therefor to the Lenders.

 

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(b)          Each of the Lenders and Issuing Lender understands that the Person serving as Administrative Agent, acting in its individual capacity, and its Affiliates (collectively, the “Agent’s Group”) is engaged in a wide range of financial services and businesses (including investment management, financing, securities trading, corporate and investment banking and research) (such services and businesses are collectively referred to in this Section 9 as “Activities”) any may engage in the Activities with or on behalf of one or more of the Obligors or their respective Affiliates. Furthermore, the Agent’s Group may, in undertaking the Activities, engage in trading in financial products or undertake other investment businesses for its own account or on behalf of others (including the Obligors and their Affiliates and including holding, for its own account or on behalf of others, equity, debt and similar positions in the Borrowers, another Obligor or their respective Affiliates), including trading in or holding long, short or derivative positions in securities, loans, or other financial products of one or more of the Obligors or their Affiliates. Each Lender understands and agrees that in engaging in the Activities, the Agent’s Group may receive or otherwise obtain information concerning the Obligors or their Affiliates (including information concerning the ability of the Obligors to perform their respective obligations hereunder and under the other Loan Documents) which information may not be available to any of the Lenders that are not members of the Agent’s Group. Neither Administrative Agent nor any other member of the Agent’s Group shall have any duty to disclose to any Lender or use on behalf of the Lenders, nor be liable for the failure to so disclose or use, any information whatsoever about or derived from the Activities or otherwise (including any information concerning the business, prospects, operations, property, financial and other condition or creditworthiness of any Obligor or any Affiliate of any Obligor) or to account for any revenue or profits obtained in connection with the Activities, except that Administrative Agent shall deliver or otherwise make available to each Lender such documents as are expressly required by any Loan Document to be transmitted by Administrative Agent to the Lenders.

 

(c)          Each Lender further understands that there may be situations where members of the Agent’s Group or their respective customers (including the Obligors and their Affiliates) either now have or may in the future have interests or take actions that may conflict with the interests of any one or more of the Lenders (including the interests of the Lenders hereunder and under the other Loan Documents). Each Lender agrees that no member of the Agent’s Group is or shall be required to restrict its activities as a result of any Person serving as Administrative Agent being a member of the Agent’s Group, and that each member of the Agent’s Group may undertake any Activities without further consultation with or notification of any Lender. None of (i) this Agreement nor any other Loan Document, (ii) the receipt by the Agent’s Group of information (including information concerning the ability of the Obligors to perform their respective obligations hereunder and under the other Loan Documents), or (iii) any other matter, shall give rise to any fiduciary, equitable, or contractual duties (including any duty of trust or confidence) owing by Administrative Agent or any member of the Agent’s Group to any Lender including any such duty that would prevent or restrict the Agent’s Group from acting on behalf of customers (including the Obligors or their Affiliates) or for its own account.

 

9.3          Duties. Administrative Agent shall not have any duties or obligations except those expressly set forth herein and in the other Loan Documents. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, Administrative Agent:

 

(a)          shall not be subject to any fiduciary or other implied duties, regardless of whether a Default has occurred and is continuing; additionally, each Lender agrees that it will not assert any claim against the Administrative Agent based on an alleged breach of fiduciary duty by the Administrative Agent in connection with this Agreement and/or the transactions contemplated hereby;

 

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(b)          shall not have any duty to take any discretionary action or exercise any discretionary powers, except discretionary rights and powers expressly contemplated hereby or by the other Loan Documents that Administrative Agent is required to exercise as directed in writing by the Required Lenders (or such other number or percentage of the Lenders as shall be expressly provided for herein or in the other Loan Documents); provided, that the Administrative Agent may seek clarification or direction from the Required Lenders prior to the exercise of any such instructed action and may refrain from acting until such clarification or direction has been provided. Provided, further, that Administrative Agent shall not be required to take any action that, in its opinion or the opinion of its counsel, may expose Administrative Agent to liability or that is contrary to any Loan Document or applicable law, including for the avoidance of doubt any action that may be in violation of the automatic stay under any Debtor Relief Law or that may effect a forfeiture, modification or termination of property of a Defaulting Lender in violation of any Debtor Relief Law;

 

(c)          shall not, except as expressly set forth herein and in the other Loan Documents, have any duty to disclose, and shall not be liable for the failure to disclose, any information relating to any Obligor or any of their respective Affiliates that is communicated to or obtained by the Person serving as Administrative Agent or any of its Affiliates in any capacity;

 

(d)          shall not be responsible or have any liability for, or have any duty to ascertain, inquire into, monitor or enforce, compliance with the provisions hereof relating to Disqualified Institutions, and specifically, it shall not (i) be obligated to ascertain, monitor or inquire as to whether any Lender or Participant or prospective Lender or Participant is a Disqualified Institution or (ii) have any liability with respect to or arising out of any assignment or participation of Loans, or disclosure of confidential information, to any Disqualified Institution; and

 

(e)          shall not be required by this Agreement or any Loan Document to account to any Lender for any sum or the profit element of any sum received by the Administrative Agent for its own account.

 

9.4          Administrative Agent’s Reliance, Lender Representations, Etc.

 

(a)          Administrative Agent shall not be liable to the Lenders for any action taken or not taken by it (i) with the consent or at the request of the Required Lenders (or such other number or percentage of the Lenders as shall be necessary, or as Administrative Agent shall believe in good faith shall be necessary, under the circumstances as provided in Sections 10.2 and 8) or (ii) in the absence of its own gross negligence or willful misconduct as determined by a court of competent jurisdiction by final and nonappealable judgment. Administrative Agent shall not be          responsible in any manner to any of the Lenders for any recitals, statements, representations or warranties made by any Obligor or any officer thereof contained in this Agreement or any other Loan Document or in any certificate, report, statement or other document referred to or provided for in, or received by the Administrative Agent under or in connection with, this Agreement or any other Loan Document or for the value, validity, effectiveness, genuineness, enforceability or sufficiency of this Agreement or any other Loan Document (including, for the avoidance of doubt, in connection with the Administrative Agent’s reliance on any Electronic Signature transmitted by telecopy, emailed pdf. or any other electronic means that reproduces an image of an actual executed signature page) or for any failure of any Obligor to perform its obligations hereunder or thereunder. Administrative Agent shall be deemed not to have knowledge of any Default unless and until written notice describing such Default is given to the Administrative Agent by an Obligor, a Lender, or Issuing Lender. Administrative Agent shall not be responsible for or have any duty to ascertain or inquire into (i) any statement, warranty or representation made in or in connection with this Agreement or any other Loan Document, (ii) the contents of any certificate, report or other document delivered hereunder or thereunder or in connection herewith or therewith, (iii) the performance or observance of any of the covenants, agreements or other terms or conditions set forth herein or therein or the occurrence of any Default, (iv) the validity, enforceability, effectiveness or genuineness of this Agreement, any other Loan Document or any other agreement, instrument or document, or the creation, perfection or priority of any Lien purported to be created by the Security Documents, or (v) the satisfaction of any condition set forth in Section 4 or elsewhere herein or therein, other than to confirm receipt of items expressly required to be delivered to the Administrative Agent.

 

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(b)          Administrative Agent shall be entitled to rely upon, and shall not incur any liability for relying upon, any notice, request, certificate, consent, statement, instrument, document, or other writing (including any electronic message, Internet or intranet website posting or other distribution) believed in good faith by it to be genuine and to have been signed, sent or otherwise authenticated by the proper Person. Administrative Agent also may rely upon any statement made to it orally or by telephone and believed by it to be made by the proper Person, and shall not incur any liability for relying thereon. In determining compliance with any condition hereunder to the making of a Loan, or the issuance, extension, renewal or increase of a Letter of Credit, that by its terms must be fulfilled to the satisfaction of a Lender or Issuing Lender, Administrative Agent may presume that such condition is satisfactory to such Lender or Issuing Lender unless Administrative Agent shall have received notice to the contrary from such Lender or Issuing Lender prior to the making of such Loan or the issuance of such Letter of Credit. Administrative Agent may consult with legal counsel (who may be counsel for an Obligor), independent accountants and other experts selected by it, and shall not be liable for any action taken or not taken by it in accordance with the advice of any such counsel, accountants or experts. Without limiting the foregoing, the Administrative Agent makes no warranty or representation to any Lender or Issuing Lender and shall not be responsible to any Lender or Issuing Lender for any statements, warranties or representations made by or on behalf of any Obligor in connection with this Agreement or any other Loan Document.

 

(c)          Each Lender (x) represents and warrants, as of the date such Person became a Lender party hereto, to, and (y) covenants, from the date such Person became a Lender party hereto to the date such Person ceases being a Lender party hereto, for the benefit of, the Administrative Agent and its Affiliates, and not, for the avoidance of doubt, to or for the benefit of the Borrowers or any other Obligor, that at least one of the following is and will be true:

 

(i)            such Lender is not using “plan assets” (within the meaning of 29 CFR § 2510.3-101, as modified by Section 3(42) of ERISA) of one or more Benefit Plans in connection with the Loans or the Commitments,

 

(ii)           the transaction exemption set forth in one or more PTEs, such as PTE 84-14 (a class exemption for certain transactions determined by independent qualified professional asset managers), PTE 95-60 (a class exemption for certain transactions involving insurance company general accounts), PTE 90-1 (a class exemption for certain transactions involving insurance company pooled separate accounts), PTE 91-38 (a class exemption for certain transactions involving bank collective investment funds) or PTE 96-23 (a class exemption for certain transactions determined by in-house asset managers), is applicable with respect to such Lender’s entrance into, participation in, administration of and performance of the Loans, the Commitments and this Agreement,

 

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

 

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

 

(d)          In addition, unless sub-clause (i) in the immediately preceding clause (c) is true with respect to a Lender or such Lender has not provided another representation, warranty and covenant as provided in sub-clause (iv) in the immediately preceding clause (c), such Lender further (x) represents and warrants, as of the date such Person became a Lender party hereto, to, and (y) covenants, from the date such Person became a Lender party hereto to the date such Person ceases being a Lender party hereto, for the benefit of, the Administrative Agent and its Affiliates, and not, for the avoidance of doubt, to or for the benefit of the Borrowers or any other Obligor, that:

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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(v)           no fee or other compensation is being paid directly to the Administrative Agent or its Affiliates for investment advice (as opposed to other services) in connection with the Loans, the Commitments or this Agreement.

 

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

 

(f)           Each Lender, by delivering its signature page to this Agreement on the Effective Date, or delivering its signature page to an Assignment and Assumption or any other Loan Document pursuant to which it shall become a Lender hereunder, shall be deemed to have acknowledged receipt of, and consented to and approved, each Loan Document and each other document required to be delivered to, or be approved by or satisfactory to, the Administrative Agent or the Lenders on the Effective Date or the effective date of any such Assignment and Assumption or any other Loan Document pursuant to which it shall have become a Lender hereunder.

 

9.5          Sub-Agents. Administrative Agent may perform any and all its duties and exercise its rights and powers hereunder or under any other Loan Document by or through any one or more sub-agents appointed by Administrative Agent (other than Disqualified Institutions). Administrative Agent and any such sub-agent may perform any and all its duties and exercise its rights and powers by or through their respective Related Parties. Administrative Agent is authorized on behalf of all the Lenders, without the necessity of any notice to or further consent from the Lenders or Issuing Lender, from time to time to permit any co-agents, sub-agents and attorneys-in-fact appointed by Administrative Agent to take any action with respect to any Collateral or the Loan Documents which may be necessary to perfect and maintain perfected the Liens upon any Collateral granted pursuant to any Security Document.          The exculpatory provisions of this Section 9, as well as all other indemnity and expense reimbursement provisions of this Agreement (including, without limitation, Section 10.3), shall apply to any such sub-agent and to the Related Parties of Administrative Agent and any such sub-agent, and shall apply to their respective activities in connection with the syndication of the credit facilities provided for herein as well as activities as Administrative Agent and as though such co-agents, sub-agents and attorneys-in-fact were the “collateral agent” under the Loan Documents. Administrative Agent shall not be responsible to the Lenders for the negligence or misconduct of any sub-agent except to the extent that a court of competent jurisdiction determines in a final and nonappealable judgment that Administrative Agent acted with gross negligence or willful misconduct in the selection of such sub-agents.

 

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9.6          Resignation.

 

(a)          Administrative Agent may resign at any time by giving notice of its resignation to the Lenders, Issuing Lender, and the Borrower Representative. Upon receipt of any such notice of resignation, the Required Lenders shall have the right, in consultation with and, so long as no Event of Default pursuant to Section 8.1(a), (b), (h) or (i) then exists, subject to the approval (not to be unreasonably withheld or delayed) of, the Borrower Representative, to appoint a successor, which shall be a Lender or a financial institution with an office in the United States, or an Affiliate of any such financial institution with an office in the United States. If no successor shall have been so appointed by the Required Lenders and, if applicable, the Borrowers and shall have accepted such appointment within 30 days after the retiring Administrative Agent gives notice of its resignation (or such earlier day as shall be agreed by the Required Lenders) (the “Resignation Effective Date”), then the retiring Administrative Agent may, on behalf of the Lenders and Issuing Lender, appoint a successor Administrative Agent meeting the qualifications set forth above (including any requisite Borrower consent). Whether or not a successor has been appointed, such resignation shall become effective in accordance with such notice on the Resignation Effective Date. Unless approved by the Borrower Representative in its sole discretion, no Disqualified Institution shall be a successor Administrative Agent.

 

(b)          With effect from the Resignation Effective Date (a) the retiring Administrative Agent shall be discharged from its duties and obligations hereunder and under the other Loan Documents (except that in the case of any Collateral held by Administrative Agent on behalf of the Lenders or Issuing Lender under any of the Loan Documents, the retiring Administrative Agent shall continue to hold such collateral security until such time as a successor Administrative Agent is appointed) and (b) except for any indemnity payments owed to the retiring Administrative Agent, all payments, communications and determinations provided to be made by, to or through Administrative Agent shall instead be made by or to each Lender and each Issuing Lender directly, until such time as the Required Lenders appoint a successor Administrative Agent as provided for above. Upon the acceptance of a successor’s appointment as Administrative Agent hereunder, such successor shall succeed to and become vested with all of the rights, powers, privileges and duties of the retiring Administrative Agent (other than any rights to indemnity payments owed to the retiring Administrative Agent) and the retiring Administrative Agent shall be discharged from all of its duties and obligations hereunder or under the other Loan Documents. The fees payable by the Borrowers to a successor Administrative Agent shall be the same as those payable to its predecessor unless otherwise agreed between the Borrowers and such successor. After the retiring Administrative Agent’s resignation hereunder and under the other Loan Documents, the provisions of this Section and Section 10.3 shall continue in effect for the benefit of such retiring Administrative Agent, its sub-agents and their respective Related Parties in respect of any actions taken or omitted to be taken by any of them while the retiring Administrative Agent was acting as Administrative Agent.

 

(c)          Any resignation by JPMorgan as Administrative Agent pursuant to this Section shall also constitute its resignation as Issuing Lender and, if applicable, Swingline Lender. Upon the acceptance of a successor’s appointment as Administrative Agent hereunder, (i) such successor shall succeed to and become vested with all of the rights, powers, privileges and duties of the retiring Issuing Lender and Swingline Lender, (ii) the retiring Issuing Lender and Swingline Lender shall be discharged from all of their respective duties and obligations hereunder or under the other Loan Documents, and (iii) the successor Issuing Lender shall issue letters of credit in substitution for the Letters of Credit, if any, outstanding at the time of such succession or make other arrangements reasonably satisfactory to the retiring Issuing Lender to effectively assume the obligations of the retiring Issuing Lender with respect to such Letters of Credit.

 

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9.7          Lender Credit Decision. Each Lender and Issuing Lender acknowledges that it has, independently and without reliance upon Administrative Agent or any other Lender or any of their Related Parties and based on such documents and information as it has deemed appropriate, made its own credit analysis and decision to enter into this Agreement. Each Lender and Issuing Lender also acknowledges that it will, independently and without reliance upon Administrative Agent or any other Lender or any of their Related Parties and based on such documents and information as it shall from time to time deem appropriate, continue to make its own decisions in taking or not taking action under or based upon this Agreement, any other Loan Document or any related agreement or any document furnished hereunder or thereunder. In this regard, each Lender further acknowledges that King & Spalding, LLP is acting in this transaction as special counsel to JPMorgan only, except to the extent otherwise expressly stated in any legal opinion or any Loan Document. Each other party hereto will consult with its own legal counsel to the extent that it deems necessary in connection with the Loan Documents and the matters contemplated therein.

 

9.8          Other Agent Titles. Anything herein to the contrary notwithstanding, none of the Persons listed as a “Lead Arranger,” “Bookrunner” or “Documentation Agent” on the cover page hereof shall have any powers, duties or responsibilities under this Agreement or any of the other Loan Documents, except in its capacity, as applicable, as Administrative Agent, a Lender or Issuing Lender hereunder.

 

9.9          Agent May File Proofs of Claim; Bankruptcy Events. In case of the pendency of any proceeding under any Debtor Relief Law or any other judicial proceeding relative to any Obligor or any Subsidiary, Administrative Agent (irrespective of whether the principal of any Loan or LC Disbursement shall then be due and payable as herein expressed or by declaration or otherwise and irrespective of whether Administrative Agent shall have made any demand any Obligor or any other Person primarily or secondarily liable) shall be entitled and empowered (but not obligated), by intervention in such proceeding or otherwise:

 

(a)          to file and prove a claim for the whole amount of the principal and interest owing and unpaid in respect of the Loans, LC Disbursements and all other Obligations that are owing and unpaid and to file such other documents as may be necessary or advisable in order to have the claims of the Lenders, Issuing Lender and the Administrative Agent (including any claim for the reasonable compensation, expenses, disbursements and advances of the Lenders, Issuing Lender and the Administrative Agent and their respective agents and counsel and all other amounts due the Lenders, Issuing Lender and the Administrative Agent under Sections 2 and 10.3) allowed in such judicial proceeding; and

 

(b)          to collect and receive any monies or other property payable or deliverable on any such claims and to distribute the same in accordance with this Agreement;

 

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and any custodian, receiver, assignee, trustee, liquidator, sequestrator or other similar official in any such judicial proceeding is hereby authorized by each Lender and Issuing Lender to make such payments to the Administrative Agent and, in the event that Administrative Agent shall consent to the making of such payments directly to the Lenders and Issuing Lender, to pay to the Administrative Agent any amount due for the reasonable compensation, expenses, disbursements and advances of Administrative Agent and its agents and counsel, and any other amounts due to the Administrative Agent under Sections 2 and 10.3. Nothing contained herein shall be deemed to authorize Administrative Agent to authorize or consent to or accept or adopt in each case on behalf of any Lender or Issuing Lender any plan of reorganization, arrangement, adjustment or composition affecting the Obligations in any proceeding under any Debtor Relief Law.

 

9.10        Collateral.

 

(a)          The Secured Parties irrevocably authorize and direct the Administrative Agent:

 

(i)            to release any Lien (A) on all Collateral upon Full Satisfaction of all the Obligations and termination of the Commitments, (B) with respect to any Collateral that is sold or otherwise Disposed of to a Person other than an Obligor pursuant to a Disposition permitted by Section 6.4 (other than any Disposition permitted by clause (f) of Section 6.4), (C) on Collateral owned by a Subsidiary that is a Guarantor upon release of such Guarantor from its obligations under its Guaranty Agreement pursuant to clause (iii) below, (D) upon property constituting Excluded Property (as defined in the Security Agreement; or any similar term in any Security Document), (E) on Collateral in accordance with the terms of any Intercreditor Agreement or (F) subject to Section 10.2, as may be approved, authorized, or ratified in writing by the Required Lenders;

 

(ii)           to subordinate any Lien on any Collateral to the holder of any Lien on such property that is permitted by clause (f) of the definition of “Permitted Encumbrances”; and

 

(iii)          to release any Guarantor from its obligations under the Guaranty Agreement if such Person ceases to be a Subsidiary as a result of a transaction permitted under the Loan Documents or otherwise becomes an Excluded Subsidiary.

 

(b)          Upon request by Administrative Agent at any time, the Secured Parties will confirm in writing Administrative Agent’s authority to release or subordinate its interest in particular types or items of property or to release any Guarantor from its obligations under the Guaranty Agreement pursuant to this Section 9.10.

 

(c)          Administrative Agent, at the sole expense of Obligors, shall execute and deliver to the Obligors all releases or other documents reasonably necessary or desirable to evidence or effect any release of Liens or release of Guaranty Agreement authorized under Section 9.10(a); provided that (i) Administrative Agent shall not be required to execute any document necessary to evidence such release authorized under clause (i)(B) or (ii) of Section 9.10(a) unless a Responsible Officer of the Borrower Representative shall certify in writing to the Administrative Agent that the transaction requiring such release is permitted under the Loan Documents (it being acknowledged that Administrative Agent may rely on any such certificate without further enquiry), (ii) Administrative Agent shall not be required to execute any document necessary to evidence such release on terms that, in Administrative Agent’s opinion, would expose Administrative Agent to liability or create any obligation or entail any consequence other than the release of such Lien without recourse, representation, or warranty, and (iii) no such release shall in any manner discharge, affect, or impair the Obligations or any Liens (other than those expressly being released) upon (or obligations of any Obligors in respect of) all interests retained by Obligors, including, the proceeds of any sale, all of which shall continue to constitute part of the Collateral. To the extent Administrative Agent is required to execute any releases or other documents in accordance with this Section 9.10(c), Administrative Agent shall do so promptly upon request of the Borrower Representative without the consent or further agreement of any Secured Party.

 

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(d)          Administrative Agent shall have no obligation whatsoever to any of the Secured Parties to assure that the Collateral exists or is owned by any Obligor or its Restricted Subsidiaries or is cared for, protected, or insured or has been encumbered, or that Administrative Agent’s Liens have been properly or sufficiently or lawfully created, perfected, protected, or enforced or are entitled to any particular priority, or that any particular items of Collateral meet the eligibility criteria applicable in respect thereof or whether to impose, maintain, reduce, or eliminate any particular reserve hereunder or whether the amount of any such reserve is appropriate or not, or to exercise at all or in any particular manner or under any duty of care, disclosure or fidelity, or to continue exercising, any of the rights, authorities and powers granted or available to the Administrative Agent pursuant to any of the Loan Documents, it being understood and agreed that in respect of the Collateral, or any act, omission, or event related thereto, subject to the terms and conditions contained herein, Administrative Agent may act in any manner it may deem appropriate, in its sole discretion given Administrative Agent’s own interest in the Collateral in its capacity as one of the Lenders and that Administrative Agent shall have no other duty or liability whatsoever to any Secured Party as to any of the foregoing, except as otherwise provided herein.

 

(e)          The Secured Parties hereby irrevocably authorize Administrative Agent, based upon the instruction of the Required Lenders, to (i) consent to, credit bid, or purchase (either directly or through one or more acquisition vehicles) all or any portion of the Collateral at any sale thereof conducted under the provisions of the Bankruptcy Code, including under Section 363, 1123 or 1129 of the Bankruptcy Code or any similar laws in any other jurisdictions to which a Holdings or a Borrower is subject, (ii) credit bid or purchase (either directly or through one or more acquisition vehicles) all or any portion of the Collateral at any sale or other disposition thereof conducted under the provisions of the UCC, including pursuant to Section 9-610 or 9-620 of the UCC, or (iii) credit bid or purchase (either directly or through one or more acquisition vehicles) all or any portion of the Collateral at any other sale or foreclosure conducted by Administrative Agent (whether by judicial action or otherwise) in accordance with applicable law. In connection with any such credit bid or purchase, (A) the Obligations owed to the Secured Parties shall be entitled to be, and shall be, credit bid on a ratable basis (with Obligations with respect to contingent or unliquidated claims being estimated for such purpose if the fixing or liquidation thereof would not unduly delay the ability of Administrative Agent to credit bid or purchase at such sale or other disposition of the Collateral and, if such claims cannot be estimated without unduly delaying the ability of Administrative Agent to credit bid, then such claims shall be disregarded, not credit bid, and not entitled to any interest in the asset or assets purchased by means of such credit bid) and the Secured Parties whose Obligations are credit bid shall be entitled to receive interests (ratably based upon the proportion of their Obligations credit bid in relation to the aggregate amount of Obligations so credit bid) in the asset or assets so purchased (or in the Equity Interests of the acquisition vehicle or vehicles that are used to consummate such purchase), and (B) Administrative Agent, based upon the instruction of the Required Lenders, may accept non-cash consideration, including debt and equity securities issued by such acquisition vehicle or vehicles and in connection therewith Administrative Agent may reduce the Obligations owed to the Secured Parties (ratably based upon the proportion of their Obligations credit bid in relation to the aggregate amount of Obligations so credit bid) based upon the value of such non-cash consideration.

 

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(f)          Except with respect to the exercise of setoff rights in accordance with Section 10.08 or with respect to a Secured Party’s right to file a proof of claim in an insolvency proceeding, no Secured Party shall have any right individually to realize upon any of the Collateral or to enforce any Guarantee of the Obligations, it being understood and agreed that all powers, rights and remedies under the Loan Documents may be exercised solely by the Administrative Agent on behalf of the Secured Parties in accordance with the terms thereof. In its capacity, the Administrative Agent is a “representative” of the Secured Parties within the meaning of the term “secured party” as defined in the UCC. In the event that any Collateral is hereafter pledged by any Person as collateral security for the Obligations, the Administrative Agent is hereby authorized, and hereby granted a power of attorney, to execute and deliver on behalf of the Secured Parties any Loan Documents necessary or appropriate to grant and perfect a Lien on such Collateral in favor of the Administrative Agent on behalf of the Secured Parties.

 

9.11        Issuing Lender. Neither Issuing Lender nor any of its Related Parties shall be liable to the Lenders for any action taken or omitted to be taken by any of them hereunder or otherwise in connection with any Loan Document except for its or their own gross negligence or willful misconduct. Without limiting the generality of the preceding sentence, Issuing Lender (a) shall have no duties or responsibilities except those expressly set forth in the Loan Documents, and shall not by reason of any Loan Document be a trustee or fiduciary for any Lender or for Administrative Agent, (b) shall not be required to initiate any litigation or collection proceedings under any Loan Document, (c) shall not be responsible to any Lender or Administrative Agent for any recitals, statements, representations, or warranties contained in any Loan Document, or any certificate or other documentation referred to or provided for in, or received by any of them under, any Loan Document, or for the value, validity, effectiveness, enforceability, or sufficiency of any Loan Document or any other documentation referred to or provided for therein or for any failure by any Person to perform any of its obligations thereunder, (d) may consult with legal counsel (including counsel for the Obligors or Administrative Agent), independent public accountants, and other experts selected by it and shall not be liable for any action taken or omitted to be taken in good faith by it in accordance with the advice of such counsel, accountants, or experts, and (e) shall incur no liability to the Lenders under or in respect of any Loan Document by acting upon any notice, consent, certificate, or other instrument or writing believed by it to be genuine and signed or sent by the proper party or parties. As to any matters not expressly provided for by any Loan Document, Issuing Lender shall in all cases be fully protected in acting, or in refraining from acting, hereunder in accordance with instructions signed by the Required Lenders, and such instructions of the Required Lenders and any action taken or failure to act pursuant thereto shall be binding on all of the Lenders and the Administrative Agent; provided, however, that Issuing Lender shall not be required to take any action which Issuing Lender reasonably believes exposes it to personal liability or which Issuing Lender reasonably believes is contrary to any Loan Document or applicable law.

 

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9.12        Bailee for Perfection. Administrative Agent hereby appoints each of the other Lenders to serve as bailee to perfect Administrative Agent’s Liens in any Collateral in the possession, control or notation of any such other Lender. Each Lender possessing any Collateral agrees to so act as bailee for Administrative Agent in accordance with the terms and provisions hereof. In furtherance of the forgoing, each Lender acknowledges that certain of the Obligors may maintain Deposit Accounts constituting Collateral at one or more of the Lenders (all such accounts (other than any Deposit Account constituting Excluded Property (including, for the avoidance of doubt, any payroll or other employee wage or benefit account, tax account, including any withholding tax, sales tax or tax trust account, or escrow, fiduciary or trust account)) the “Obligor Accounts”). Each Lender agrees to hold its Obligor Accounts as bailee for Administrative Agent to perfect Administrative Agent’s Liens therein. Prior to the receipt by a Lender of a written notice of an Event of Default from Administrative Agent, the Obligors are entitled to make withdrawals from the Obligor Accounts and make deposits into all the Obligor Accounts. When a Lender has received a written notice of an Event of Default from Administrative Agent that includes a statement by Administrative Agent that it will thereafter retain exclusive control over the Obligor Accounts (or automatically upon the occurrence of an Event of Default under clause (h) or (i) of Section 8.1), (a) Administrative Agent shall be the only party entitled to make withdrawals from or otherwise give any direction with respect to the Obligor Accounts and each Lender agrees to comply with the instructions originated by Administrative Agent directing deposition of the funds in or relating to the Obligor Accounts it holds without further consent by any Obligor, and (b) each Lender shall transfer, in immediately available funds by wire transfer to the Administrative Agent, the amount of the collected funds credited to the Obligor Accounts it holds and deliver to the Administrative Agent all moneys or instruments relating thereto or held therein and any other Collateral at any time Administrative Agent demands payment or delivery thereof by such written notice to such Lender. Each Obligor agrees that each Lender is authorized to immediately deliver all such Collateral to the Administrative Agent upon the Lender’s receipt of such notice from Administrative Agent. No Lender (other than Administrative Agent acting for the benefit of the Secured Parties) shall exercise any right of set-off or banker’s lien against any Obligor Account for any obligations other than the Obligations; provided that a Lender shall be entitled to charge, or set-off against an Obligor Account and retain for its own account, any customary fees, costs, charges, and expenses owed to it in connection with the opening, operating and maintaining such Obligor Account and for the amount of any item credited to the Obligor Account that is subsequently returned for any reason.

 

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9.13        Affiliates of Lenders; Bank Product Providers. By accepting the benefits of the Loan Documents, any Affiliate of a Lender that is owed any Obligation is bound by the terms of the Loan Documents. Notwithstanding the foregoing: (a) neither Administrative Agent, any Lender, nor any Obligor shall be obligated to deliver any notice or communication required to be delivered to any Lender under any Loan Documents to any Affiliate of any Lender; and (b) no Affiliate of any Lender that is owed any Obligation shall be included in the determination of the Required Lenders or entitled to consent to, reject, or participate in any manner in any amendment, waiver or other modification of any Loan Document. Administrative Agent shall deal solely and directly with the related Lender of any such Affiliate in connection with all matters relating to the Loan Documents. The Obligation owed to such Affiliate shall be considered the Obligations of its related Lender for all purposes under the Loan Documents and such Lender shall be solely responsible to the other parties hereto for all the obligations of such Affiliate under any Loan Document. It is understood and agreed that the rights and benefits under this Agreement, the Security Documents, and the Guaranty Agreements of each Bank Product Provider, in such capacity, consist exclusively of such Bank Product Provider’s right to share in payments and collections of the Collateral and payments under the Guaranty Agreements; provided that for the avoidance of doubt, (i) obligations of the Borrowers or any Restricted Subsidiary under any Bank Product Agreement shall be secured and guaranteed pursuant to the Security Documents and Guaranty Agreements, respectively, only to the extent that, and for so long as, the other Obligations are so secured and guaranteed and (ii) any release of Collateral or any Guarantors effected in the manner permitted by this Agreement shall not require the consent of holders of obligations under Bank Product Agreements. All Bank Product Obligations shall be secured but on a silent basis, so that notwithstanding any other provision, if any, in this Agreement or any Security Document or Guaranty Agreement, no Bank Product Provider shall be able to take any action in respect of the Collateral or Guaranty Agreements nor instruct the Required Lenders or Administrative Agent to take any such action nor have any rights in connection with the management or release of any Collateral or the obligations of any Guarantor under any Guaranty Agreement. By accepting the benefits of the Collateral and the Guaranty Agreements, such Bank Product Provider shall be deemed to have appointed Administrative Agent as its agent and agreed to be bound by the Loan Documents as a Secured Party, subject to the limitations set forth in this Section 9.13; provided Administrative Agent shall not owe any fiduciary duty, duty of loyalty, duty of care, duty of disclosure, or any other obligation whatsoever to any Bank Product Provider with respect to any Bank Product Obligation. Administrative Agent shall have no duty to determine the amount or the existence of any amounts owing under any Bank Product Obligations. In connection with any such distribution of payments and collections or termination or release by Administrative Agent of any Liens or Guarantors thereunder, Administrative Agent shall be entitled to assume no amounts are due under any Bank Product Agreement unless such Bank Product Provider has notified Administrative Agent in writing of the amount of any such liability owed to it at least five Business Days prior to such distribution, termination or release.

 

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9.14        Erroneous Payments. Each Lender and Issuing Lender hereby agrees that (x) if the Administrative Agent notifies such Lender or Issuing Lender that the Administrative Agent has determined in its reasonable discretion that any funds received by such Lender or Issuing Lender from the Administrative Agent or any of its Affiliates (whether as a payment, prepayment or repayment of principal, interest, fees or otherwise; individually and collectively, a “Payment”) were erroneously transmitted to such Lender or Issuing Lender (whether or not known to such Lender or Issuing Lender), and demands the return of such Payment (or a portion thereof), such Lender or Issuing Lender shall promptly, but in no event later than one Business Day thereafter, return to the Administrative Agent the amount of any such Payment (or portion thereof) as to which such a demand was made in same day funds, together with interest thereon in respect of each day from and including the date such Payment (or portion thereof) was received by such Lender to the date such amount is repaid to the Administrative Agent at the greater of the NYFRB Rate and a rate determined by the Administrative Agent in accordance with banking industry rules on interbank compensation from time to time in effect, and (y) to the extent permitted by applicable law, such Lender or Issuing Lender shall not assert, and hereby waives, as to the Administrative Agent, any claim, counterclaim, defense or right of set-off or recoupment with respect to any demand, claim or counterclaim by the Administrative Agent for the return of any Payments received, including without limitation any defense based on “discharge for value” or any similar doctrine. A notice of the Administrative Agent to any Lender or Issuing Lender under this Section 9.14 shall be conclusive, absent manifest error. Each Lender and each Issuing Lender hereby further agrees that if it receives a Payment from the Administrative Agent or any of its Affiliates (x) that is in a different amount than, or on a different date from, that specified in a notice of payment sent by the Administrative Agent (or any of its Affiliates) with respect to such Payment (a “Payment Notice”) or (y) that was not preceded or accompanied by a Payment Notice, it shall be on notice, in each such case, that an error has been made with respect to such Payment. Each Lender and each Issuing Lender agrees that, in each such case, or if it otherwise becomes aware a Payment (or portion thereof) may have been sent in error, such Lender or Issuing Lender shall promptly notify the Administrative Agent of such occurrence and, upon demand from the Administrative Agent, it shall promptly, but in no event later than one Business Day thereafter, return to the Administrative Agent the amount of any such Payment (or portion thereof) as to which such a demand was made in same day funds, together with interest thereon in respect of each day from and including the date such Payment (or portion thereof) was received by such Lender or Issuing Lender to the date such amount is repaid to the Administrative Agent at the greater of the NYFRB Rate and a rate determined by the Administrative Agent in accordance with banking industry rules on interbank compensation from time to time in effect. The Borrowers and each other Obligor hereby agrees that (x) in the event an erroneous Payment (or portion thereof) are not recovered from any Lender or Issuing Lender that has received such Payment (or portion thereof) for any reason, the Administrative Agent shall be subrogated to all the rights of such Lender or Issuing Lender with respect to such amount and (y) an erroneous Payment shall not pay, prepay, repay, discharge or otherwise satisfy any Obligations owed by the Borrowers or any other Obligor, except, in each case, to the extent such Payment is, and solely with respect to the amount of such Payment that is, comprised of funds received by the Administrative Agent directly or indirectly from the Borrowers, any Obligor or any Subsidiary (and without duplication of any other claim any such Obligor or Subsidiary may have against the Administrative Agent). Each party’s obligations under this Section 9.14 shall survive the resignation or replacement of the Administrative Agent or any transfer of rights or obligations by, or the replacement of, a Lender, the termination of the Commitments or the repayment, satisfaction or discharge of all Obligations under any Loan Document.

 

9.15        Flood Laws. JPMorgan has adopted internal policies and procedures that address requirements placed on federally regulated lenders under the National Flood Insurance Reform Act of 1994 and related legislation (the “Flood Laws”). JPMorgan, as administrative agent or collateral agent on a syndicated facility, will post on the applicable electronic platform (or otherwise distribute to each Lender in the syndicate) documents that it receives in connection with the Flood Laws. However, JPMorgan reminds each Lender and Participant in the facility that, pursuant to the Flood Laws, each federally regulated Lender (whether acting as a Lender or Participant in the facility) is responsible for assuring its own compliance with the flood insurance requirements.

 

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10.          MISCELLANEOUS

 

10.1        Notices.

 

(a)          General Address for Notices. Except in the case of communications expressly permitted to be given by telephone hereunder or under any other Loan Documents, all notices and other communications (“Communications”) provided for herein or in any other Loan Document shall be in writing and shall be delivered by hand or overnight courier service, mailed by certified or registered mail or sent by telecopy or, subject to Section 10.1(b), by electronic communication, as follows:

 

(i)            if to the Borrowers, to them in care of the Borrower Representative at: [***]; Attention: Jeff Pedersen, Chief Financial Officer; Email: [***]; Telephone: [***]; and during the existence of an Event of Default, with a copy to Kirkland & Ellis LLP, 300 North LaSalle, Chicago, IL 60654; Attention: Michelle Kilkenney; Email: [***]; Telephone: [***];

 

(ii)           if to the Administrative Agent from the Borrower, to JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., at the address separately provided to the Borrower;

 

(iii)          if to the Administrative Agent from the Lenders, to JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., 4041 Ogletown Stanton Road, Floor 2, Newark, DE 19713, United States; with a copy to Proskauer Rose LLP, 70 West Madison, Suite 3800, Chicago, IL 60602, Attention: Evan Palenschat; Email: [***]; Telephone: [***];

 

(iv)          if to an Issuing Bank, to JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., at the address separately provided to the Borrower;

 

(v)           if to any of the Swingline Lender, to JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., at the address separately provided to the Borrower;

 

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

 

Notices sent by hand or overnight courier service, or mailed by certified or registered mail, shall be deemed to have been given when received. Notices sent by telecopier shall be deemed to have been given when sent (except that, if not given before or during normal business hours for the recipient, shall be deemed to have been given at the opening of business on the next Business Day). Notices delivered through electronic communications to the extent provided in Section 10.1(b), shall be effective as provided in such Section 10.1(b).

 

(b)          Electronic Communications. Communications to the Lenders under the Loan Documents may be delivered or furnished by electronic communications pursuant to procedures approved by Administrative Agent. Administrative Agent or the Borrower Representative may, in its discretion, agree to accept Communications to it under the Loan Documents by electronic communications pursuant to procedures approved by it; provided that approval of such procedures may be limited to particular Communications. Unless Administrative Agent otherwise prescribes, (i) Communications sent to an e-mail address shall be deemed received upon the sender’s receipt of an acknowledgment from the intended recipient (such as by the “return receipt requested” function, as available, return e-mail or other written acknowledgment), and (ii) Communications posted on an Internet or intranet website shall be deemed received upon the deemed receipt by the intended recipient at its e-mail address as described in clause (i) of this Section 10.1(b) notification that such Communication is available and identifying the website address thereof; provided that, for both clauses (i) and (ii) of this Section 10.1(b), if such Communication is not sent before or during the normal business hours of the recipient, such Communication shall be deemed to have been sent at the opening of business on the next Business Day.

 

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(c)          Change of Address for Notices. Any party hereto may change its address or telecopy number for, or individual designated to receive, Communications under the Loan Documents by notice to the other parties hereto (or, in the case of any such change by a Lender or Issuing Lender, by notice to the Borrower Representative and the Administrative Agent). All Communications given to any party hereto in accordance with the provisions of this Agreement shall be deemed to have been given on the date of receipt.

 

(d)          Electronic Transmission System. The Borrowers and the Lenders agree that Administrative Agent may make the Communications available to the Lenders, Issuing Lender, and the Borrowers by posting the Communications on Debt Domain, IntraLinks, SyndTrak or a substantially similar electronic transmission system or digital workspace provider (the “Platform”). THE PLATFORM IS PROVIDED “AS IS” AND “AS AVAILABLE”. THE AGENT PARTIES (AS DEFINED BELOW) DO NOT WARRANT THE ACCURACY OR COMPLETENESS OF THE COMMUNICATIONS OR THE ADEQUACY OF THE PLATFORM AND EXPRESSLY DISCLAIM LIABILITY FOR ERRORS OR OMISSIONS IN THE COMMUNICATIONS. NO WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS, IMPLIED, OR STATUTORY, INCLUDING ANY WARRANTY OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, NON-INFRINGEMENT OF THIRD PARTY RIGHTS, OR FREEDOM FROM VIRUSES OR OTHER CODE DEFECTS, IS MADE BY THE AGENT PARTIES IN CONNECTION WITH THE COMMUNICATIONS OR THE PLATFORM. IN NO EVENT SHALL ADMINISTRATIVE AGENT OR ANY OF ITS AFFILIATES OR ANY OF THEIR RELATED PARTIES (COLLECTIVELY, THE “AGENT PARTIES”) HAVE ANY LIABILITY TO THE BORROWERS, ANY LENDER, OR ANY OTHER PERSON OR ENTITY FOR DAMAGES OF ANY KIND INCLUDING DIRECT OR INDIRECT, SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, LOSSES OR EXPENSES (WHETHER IN TORT, CONTRACT, OR OTHERWISE) ARISING OUT OF THE BORROWERS’ OR ADMINISTRATIVE AGENT’S TRANSMISSION OF COMMUNICATIONS THROUGH THE INTERNET, EXCEPT TO THE EXTENT THE LIABILITY OF ANY AGENT PARTY IS FOUND IN A FINAL NON-APPEALABLE JUDGMENT BY A COURT OF COMPETENT JURISDICTION TO HAVE RESULTED FROM SUCH AGENT PARTY’S GROSS NEGLIGENCE, OR A MATERIAL BREACH OF THIS AGREEMENT BY AN AGENT PARTY, BAD FAITH OR WILLFUL MISCONDUCT; PROVIDED, HOWEVER, THAT IN NO EVENT SHALL ANY AGENT PARTY HAVE ANY LIABILITY TO ANY OBLIGOR, ANY LENDER, ISSUING LENDER, OR ANY OTHER PERSON FOR INDIRECT, SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES (AS OPPOSED TO DIRECT OR ACTUAL DAMAGES).

 

(e)          Communications through the Platform. Each Lender agrees that notice to it (as provided in the next sentence) specifying that the Communications have been posted to the Platform shall constitute effective delivery of the Communications to such Lender for purposes hereof. Each Lender agrees (i) to provide to the Administrative Agent in writing (including by electronic communication), promptly after the date of this Agreement, an e-mail address to which the foregoing notice may be sent by electronic transmission and (ii) that the foregoing notice may be sent to such e-mail address.

 

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(f)           Reliance on Notices. Administrative Agent, Issuing Lender, and the Lenders shall be entitled to rely and act upon any notices (including telephonic notices of a Borrowing) purportedly given by or on behalf of the Borrowers even if (i) such notices were not made in a manner specified herein, were incomplete or were not preceded or followed by any other form of notice specified herein, or (ii) the terms thereof, as understood by the recipient, varied from any confirmation thereof. The Borrowers shall, jointly and severally, indemnify Administrative Agent, each Issuing Lender, each Lender, and the Related Parties of each of them from all losses, costs, expenses, and liabilities resulting from the reliance by such Person on each notice purportedly given by or on behalf of the Borrowers. All telephonic notices to and other telephonic communications with Administrative Agent may be recorded by Administrative Agent, and each of the parties hereto hereby consents to such recording.

 

10.2        Waivers; Amendments.

 

(a)          No Deemed Waivers; Remedies Cumulative. No failure or delay by Administrative Agent, Issuing Lender, or any Lender in exercising any right or power hereunder or under any other Loan Document shall operate as a waiver thereof, nor shall any single or partial exercise of any such right or power, or any abandonment or discontinuance of steps to enforce such a right or power, preclude any other or further exercise thereof or the exercise of any other right or power. The rights and remedies of Administrative Agent, Issuing Lender, the Lenders, and the other Secured Parties hereunder and under the other Loan Documents are cumulative and are not exclusive of any rights or remedies that they would otherwise have. No waiver of any provision of any Loan Document or consent to any departure by any Obligor therefrom shall in any event be effective unless the same shall be permitted by Section 10.2(b), and then such waiver or consent shall be effective only in the specific instance and for the purpose for which given. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, the making of a Loan or issuance of a Letter of Credit shall not be construed as a waiver of any Default, regardless of whether Administrative Agent, any Lender, or Issuing Lender may have had notice or knowledge of such Default at the time.

 

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(b)          Amendments. Neither this Agreement, nor any other Loan Document nor any provision hereof or thereof may be waived, amended, or modified except, in the case of this Agreement, pursuant to an agreement or agreements in writing entered into by the Borrower Representative, Administrative Agent, and the Required Lenders or, in the case of any other Loan Document, pursuant to an agreement or agreements in writing entered into by Administrative Agent and the Obligor or Obligors that are parties thereto, in each case with the consent of the Required Lenders; provided that no such agreement shall (i) increase any Commitment of any Lender without the written consent of such Lender, (ii) reduce the principal amount of any Loan or LC Disbursement or reduce the rate of interest thereon, or reduce the rate of any fees due hereunder, without the written consent of each Lender directly and adversely affected thereby (but not the Required Lenders) (provided that in no event shall (A) the waiver of applicability of Section 2.12(c) (which waiver shall be effective with the written consent of the Required Lenders), or (B) any amendment or modification of defined terms used in the financial covenants in this Agreement or in determining the Applicable Margin or any reduction, deferral or waiver of any mandatory prepayment constitute a reduction in the rate of interest or a reduction of fees for purposes of this clause (ii)), (iii) postpone the scheduled date of payment of the principal amount of any Loan (excluding any payment required by Section 2.10(b)) or LC Disbursement, or any interest thereon, or any fees payable hereunder, or reduce the amount of, waive or excuse any such payment, or extend the Revolving Credit Maturity Date or the Term Loan Maturity Date, without the written consent of each Lender directly and adversely affected thereby (but not the Required Lenders), (iv) modify Section 8.2, without the written consent of each directly and adversely affected Lender (but not the Required Lenders), (v) (A) change any of the provisions of this Section or the definition of the term “Required Lenders”, “Required DDTL Lenders” or any other provision hereof specifying the number or percentage of Lenders (or Lenders of any Class) required to waive, amend or modify any rights hereunder or make any determination or grant any consent hereunder to reduce such percentage, (including, for the avoidance of doubt, Section 2.19(f)), without the written consent of each directly and adversely affected Lender (or each Lender of such Class) (but not the Required Lenders), or (B) amend the provisions of Section 2.17(c) in a manner that would by its terms alter the pro rata sharing of payments and commitment reductions required thereby, without the prior written consent of each Lender directly and adversely affected thereby (but not the Required Lenders), (vi) contractually subordinate the payment of all the Obligations to any other Indebtedness or contractually subordinate the priority of the Liens on all or substantially all of the Collateral in favor of Administrative Agent to the Liens securing any other Funded Debt, without the written consent of each Lender directly and adversely affected thereby, it being understood that any Lender that is offered the opportunity to participate in such Funded Debt on the same terms (other than bona fide backstop, agency or arrangement fees and reimbursement of counsel fees and other expense in connection with the negotiation of the terms of such transaction) as offered to all other providers (or their affiliates) of such Funded Debt on a pro rata basis when taking into account its Loans and Commitments hereunder shall be deemed to not be directly and adversely affected by any such amendment or modification, and (vii) except as permitted by Section 6.3 and 6.4 as in effect on the Effective Date, (A) release a Borrower or release any Guarantor from any of its guarantee obligations without the written consent of each directly and adversely affected Lender or (B) release all or substantially all of the Collateral, in each case, without the written consent of each directly and adversely affected Lender; provided, however, that (A) no such agreement shall amend, modify or otherwise adversely affect the rights or duties of Administrative Agent, the Swingline Lender or the Issuing Lender hereunder without the prior written consent of Administrative Agent, the Swingline Lender or the Issuing Lender, as the case may be, and (B) the Fee Letter, the Second Amendment Fee Letter, the Second Amendment PGIM Fee Letter, the Third Amendment Fee Letter and, the Third Amendment PGIM Fee Letter, the Fourth Amendment Fee Letter and the Fourth Amendment PGIM Fee Letter may be amended, or rights or privileges thereunder waived, in a writing executed only by the parties thereto. In addition, notwithstanding the foregoing, this Agreement may be amended with the written consent of the Administrative Agent, the Borrower Representative and the Lenders providing the Replacement Term Loans (as defined below) to permit the refinancing of all or a portion of the outstanding Term Loans of any Class (“Refinanced Term Loans”) with one or more tranches of replacement term loans (“Replacement Term Loans”) hereunder; provided that (1) except as otherwise permitted by Section 2.19, the aggregate principal amount of such Replacement Term Loans shall not exceed the aggregate principal amount of such Refinanced Term Loans (plus accrued interest, fees, expenses and premium), (2) the Weighted Average Life to Maturity of Replacement Term Loans shall not be shorter than the Weighted Average Life to Maturity of such Refinanced Term Loans, at the time of such refinancing (except by virtue of amortization or prepayment of the Refinanced Term Loans prior to the time of such incurrence), (3) such Replacement Term Loans shall constitute and qualify as Credit Agreement Refinancing Indebtedness and (4) all other terms applicable to such Replacement Term Loans shall be as agreed between the Borrowers and the Lenders providing such Replacement Term Loans, and (viii) waive any condition precedent set forth in Section 4.2 with respect to any Borrowing of Delayed Draw Term Loans of any Class without the written consent of the Required DDTL Lenders of such Class.

 

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(c)          Partial Payment Waivers. Anything to the contrary contained herein notwithstanding, if Administrative Agent or any Lender accepts a Guarantee of only a portion of the Obligations pursuant to any Guaranty Agreement, each Borrower hereby waive its right under Section 2822(a) of the California Civil Code or any similar laws of any other applicable jurisdiction to designate the portion of the Obligations satisfied by the applicable guarantor’s partial payment.

 

10.3        Expenses; Limitation of Liability; Indemnity; Damage Waiver.

 

(a)          Costs and Expenses. The Borrowers, jointly and severally, shall pay (i) all reasonable and documented out-of-pocket expenses incurred by (x) the Administrative Agent and its Affiliates and (y) PGIM and Voya (limited to $100,000 in the aggregate in the case of PGIM and Voya), without duplication, including the reasonable fees, charges and disbursements of counsel for Administrative Agent, in connection with the syndication and distribution (including, without limitation, via the internet or through an Electronic System or Platform) of the credit facilities provided for herein, the preparation, negotiation, execution, delivery and administration of this Agreement and the other Loan Documents or any amendments, modifications or waivers of the provisions hereof or thereof (whether or not the transactions contemplated hereby or thereby shall be consummated), (ii) all reasonable and documented out-of-pocket expenses incurred by Issuing Lender 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 Administrative Agent, Issuing Lender or any Lender, including the reasonable and documented out-of-pocket fees, charges and disbursements of one primary counsel and one local counsel in each relevant, material local jurisdiction (which may be a single local counsel in each relevant, material jurisdiction) for the Administrative Agent, Issuing Lender and the Lenders, but no other advisor without the prior written consent of the Borrowers, in connection with the enforcement or protection of such Person’s rights in connection with this Agreement and the other Loan Documents or the Collateral, including its rights under this Section, or in connection with the Loans made or Letters of Credit issued hereunder, and including all such reasonable and documented out-of-pocket expenses incurred in connection with any bankruptcy or insolvency proceeding, workout, restructuring or related negotiations in respect thereof, and, in the case of an actual or perceived conflict of interest, one additional counsel for each group of similarly affected Persons taken as a whole, and (iv) all reasonable and documented out-of-pocket costs incurred by Administrative Agent in connection with any filing, registration, recording or perfection of any security interest contemplated by any Security Document or any other document referred to therein or, subject to Section 5.6, any audit, verification, inspection or appraisal of the Collateral.

 

(b)          Limitation of Liability. To the extent permitted by applicable law (i) no Borrower shall assert, and each Borrower hereby waives, any claim against the Administrative Agent, any Issuing Lender and any Lender, and any Related Party of any of the foregoing Persons (each such Person being called a “Lender-Related Person”) for any Liabilities arising from the use by others of information or other materials (including, without limitation, any personal data) obtained through telecommunications, electronic or other information transmission systems (including the Internet), except to the extent such damages are found by a final, non-appealable judgment of a court of competent jurisdiction to arise from the willful misconduct, bad faith or gross negligence of such Lender-Related Person or a material breach of the obligations of such Lender-Related or its Affiliates under this Agreement, and (ii) no party hereto shall assert, and each such party hereby waives, any Liabilities against any other party hereto, on any theory of liability, for special, indirect, consequential, exemplary, lost anticipated profits or punitive damages (as opposed to direct or actual damages) arising out of, in connection with, or as a result of, this Agreement, any other Loan Document, or any agreement or instrument contemplated hereby or thereby, the Transactions, any Loan or Letter of Credit or the use of the proceeds thereof; provided that, nothing in this Section 10.03(b) shall relieve any Borrower of any obligation it may have to indemnify an Indemnitee, as provided in Section 10.03(c), against any special, indirect, consequential, exemplary, lost anticipated profits or punitive damages asserted against such Indemnitee by a third party.

 

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(c)          Indemnification by the Borrowers. The Borrowers , jointly and severally, shall indemnify Administrative Agent, each Issuing Lender, each Lender, JPMorgan and the other Persons identified on the cover page of this Agreement in their respective separate capacities as a “Lead Arranger,” “Bookrunner” or “Documentation Agent”, and each Related Party of any of the foregoing Persons (each such Person being called an “Indemnitee”) against, and to hold each Indemnitee harmless from, any and all actual losses, claims, damages, liabilities, and related expenses, including the fees, charges, and disbursements of counsel (limited to the reasonable and documented out-of-pocket fees, disbursements and other charges of one primary counsel, one local counsel in each relevant jurisdiction, and one specialty counsel for each relevant specialty for all Indemnitees taken as a whole, and one or more additional counsel if one or more conflicts of interest, or perceived conflicts of interest arise), but no other third party advisors without the prior written consent of the Borrowers, incurred by or asserted against any Indemnitee arising out of, in connection with, or as a result of (i) the execution or delivery of this Agreement or any other Loan Document, the performance by the parties hereto of their respective obligations hereunder or thereunder or the consummation of the Transactions or any other transactions contemplated hereby or thereby, (ii) any Loan or Letter of Credit or the use or proposed use of the proceeds therefrom (including any refusal by Issuing Lender to honor a demand for payment under a Letter of Credit if the documents presented in connection with such demand do not strictly comply with the terms of such Letter of Credit), (iii) any actual or alleged presence or release of Hazardous Materials on or from any of the Mortgaged Properties or any other property owned or operated by any Obligor or any of the Subsidiaries, or any Environmental Liability related in any way to any Obligor, any of the Subsidiaries or any of the Mortgaged Properties, or (iv) any actual or prospective Proceeding relating to any of the foregoing, whether or not such Proceeding is brought by any Borrower or their respective equity holders, Affiliates, creditors or any other third Person and whether based on contract, tort, or any other theory and regardless of whether any Indemnitee is a party thereto; provided that such indemnity shall not, as to any Indemnitee, be available to the extent that such Liabilities, or related expenses are determined by a court of competent jurisdiction by final and nonappealable judgment to have (x) resulted from the gross negligence, bad faith, or willful misconduct of such Indemnitee or related party or a material breach of the obligations of such Indemnitee hereunder, or (y) arisen out of any claim, litigation, investigation or proceeding brought by such Indemnitee solely against one or more other Indemnitees (other than any claim, litigation, investigation or proceeding that is brought by or against Administrative Agent, Issuing Lender, Swingline Lender or any arranger or similar role, acting in its capacity as Administrative Agent, Issuing Lender, Swingline Lender or arranger or similar role) that does not involve any act or omission of any Obligors or any of their respective Subsidiaries or Affiliates. This Section 10.3(c) shall not apply with respect to Taxes, other than any Taxes that represent losses, claims, or damages arising from any non-Tax claim.

 

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(d)          Reimbursement by Lenders. To the extent that Obligors for any reason fail to pay any amount required to be paid by it to the Administrative Agent (or any sub-agent thereof), Issuing Lender, or Swingline Lender or any Related Party of any of the foregoing (each, an “Agent-Related Person”) under Sections 10.3(a), 10.3(b) and 10.3(c) each Lender severally agrees to pay to the Administrative Agent (or any such sub-agent), Issuing Lender, Swingline Lender, or such Related Party, as the case may be, such Lender’s Pro Rata Share (determined as of the time that the applicable unreimbursed expense or indemnity payment is sought; provided that with respect to such unpaid amounts owed to the Issuing Lender or Swingline Lender solely in its capacity as such, only the Revolving Credit Lenders shall be required to pay such unpaid amounts, such payment to be made severally among them based on such Revolving Credit Lenders’ Revolving Credit Exposure) of such unpaid amount, and agrees to indemnify and hold each Agent-Related Person harmless from and against any and all Liabilities and related expenses, including the fees, charges and disbursements of any kind whatsoever that may at any time (whether before or after the payment of the Loans) be imposed on, incurred by or asserted against such Agent-Related Person in any way relating to or arising out of the Commitments, this Agreement, any of the other Loan Documents or any documents contemplated by or referred to herein or therein or the transactions contemplated hereby or thereby or any action taken or omitted by such Agent-Related Person under or in connection with any of the foregoing; provided that the unreimbursed expense or indemnified loss, claim, damage, liability, or related expense, as the case may be, was incurred by or asserted against Administrative Agent (or any such sub-agent), Issuing Lender or Swingline Lender in its capacity as such, or against any Related Party of any of the foregoing acting for Administrative Agent (or any such sub-agent), Issuing Lender, or Swingline Lender in connection with such capacity. provided, further, that no Lender shall be liable for the payment of any portion of such Liabilities, costs, expenses or disbursements that are found by a final and non-appealable decision of a court of competent jurisdiction to have resulted primarily from such Agent-Related Person’s gross negligence or willful misconduct. The agreements in this Section shall survive the termination of this Agreement and Payment in Full of the Obligations. The obligations of the Lenders under this Section 10.3(d) are subject to the provisions of Section 2.6(c).

 

(e)          Waiver of Consequential Damages, Etc. To the extent permitted by applicable law, no Indemnitee, Obligor or any Related Party of an Obligor shall have any liability for, and no Indemnitee, Obligor or Related Party shall assert, and each Indemnitee, Obligor and Related Party hereby waives, any claim against any Indemnitee, Obligor or Related Party, on any theory of liability, for special, indirect, consequential or punitive damages (as opposed to direct or actual damages) arising out of, in connection with, or as a result of, this Agreement, any other Loan Document, the Transactions, any Loan or Letter of Credit, or the use of the proceeds thereof; provided that nothing in this sentence shall limit any Indemnitee’s, Obligor’s or Related Party’s indemnity and reimbursement obligations to the extent that such special, indirect, consequential or punitive damages are incurred or paid by an Indemnitee to a third party for which such Indemnitee is otherwise entitled to reimbursement or indemnification as set forth in Section 10.3(a) or (b).

 

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(f)          Payments. All amounts due under this Section shall be payable no later than 30 Business Days after written demand therefor.

 

10.4        Successors and Assigns.

 

(a)          Assignments Generally. The provisions of this Agreement shall be binding upon and inure to the benefit of the parties hereto and their respective successors and assigns permitted hereby (including any Affiliate of Issuing Lender that issues any Letter of Credit, any Affiliate of a Lender who is owed any of the Obligations and any Indemnitee), except that (i) except as otherwise permitted, no Obligor may assign or otherwise transfer any of its rights or obligations hereunder or under any other Loan Document without the prior written consent of each Lender (and any attempted assignment or transfer of any Obligor without such consent shall be null and void), and (ii) no Lender may assign or otherwise transfer any of its rights or obligations hereunder except in accordance with this Section (and any attempted assignment or transfer by any Lender that is not in accordance with this Section shall be null and void). Nothing in this Agreement, expressed or implied, shall be construed to confer upon any Person (other than the parties hereto, their respective successors and assigns permitted hereby (including any Affiliate of Issuing Lender that issues any Letter of Credit and any Affiliate of a Lender who is owed any of the Obligations, and, to the extent expressly contemplated hereby, the Related Parties of each of Administrative Agent, Issuing Lender and the Lenders)) any legal or equitable right, remedy, or claim under, or by reason, of this Agreement.

 

(b)          Assignments by Lenders Generally. Any Lender may at any time assign to one or more assignees all or a portion of its rights and obligations under this Agreement (including all or a portion of its Commitment and the Loans (including for purposes of this Section 10.4(b)), participations in LC Disbursements and in Swingline Loans) at the time owing to it; provided that any such assignment shall be subject to the following conditions:

 

(i)            Minimum Amounts.

 

(A)          in the case of an assignment of the entire remaining amount of the assigning Lender’s Commitment or Loans of any Class or contemporaneous assignments to related Funds that equal at least the amount specified in clause (B) of this Section 10.4(b)(i) in the aggregate or in the case of an assignment to a Lender, an Affiliate of a Lender or an Approved Fund, no minimum amount need be assigned; and

 

(B)          in any case not described in clause (A) of this Section 10.4(b)(i), the aggregate amount of the Commitment (which for this purpose includes Loans outstanding thereunder) or, if the Commitment is not then in effect, the Loans of the assigning Lender subject to each such assignment (determined as of the Trade Date) shall not be less than $2,000,000 with multiples of $500,000 in excess thereof in the case of any assignment of Revolving Credit Loans by any Revolving Credit Lender, or $2,000,000 in the case of any assignment of Term Loans by and Term Loan Lender, unless each of Administrative Agent and, so long as no Event of Default described in clause (a), (b), (h) or (i) of Section 8.1 has occurred and is continuing, the Borrower Representative otherwise consents (each such consent not to be unreasonably withheld or delayed).

 

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(ii)           Proportionate Amounts. Each partial assignment of any Commitment or Class of Loans shall be made as an assignment of a proportionate part of all the assigning Lender’s rights and obligations under this Agreement in respect of such Commitment and Loans assigned, except that this Section 10.4(b)(ii) shall not (A) apply to Swingline Lender’s rights and obligations in respect of Swingline Loans or (B) prohibit any Lender from assigning all or a portion of its rights and obligations among separate Classes on a non-pro rata basis.

 

(iii)          Required Consents. No consent shall be required for any assignment except to the extent required by clause (B) of Section 10.4(b)(i) and, in addition:

 

(A)          the consent of the Borrower Representative (such consent not to be unreasonably withheld or delayed) shall be required unless (i) an Event of Default described in clause (a), (b), (h) or (i) of Section 8.1 has occurred and is continuing at the time of such assignment, or (ii) such assignment is to a Lender, an Affiliate of a Lender or an Approved Fund; provided that the Borrower Representative shall be deemed to have consented to any such assignment unless it shall object thereto by written notice to the Administrative Agent within ten (10) Business Days after having received notice thereof;

 

(B)          the consent of Administrative Agent (such consent not to be unreasonably withheld or delayed) shall be required for assignments in respect of (i) a Revolving Credit Commitment to a Person that is not a Lender with a Revolving Credit Commitment, an Affiliate of such Lender or any Approved Fund with respect to such Lender; or (ii) any Term Loans or DDTL Commitments to a Person who is not a Lender, an Affiliate of such Lender or an Approved Fund with respect to such Lender; and

 

(C)          the consent of the Swingline Lender and the Issuing Lender shall be required for any assignment of a Revolving Credit Commitment.

 

(iv)          Assignment and Assumption. The parties to each assignment shall execute and deliver to the Administrative Agent an Assignment and Assumption, together with a processing and recordation fee of $3,500; provided that (i) no processing and recordation fee shall be required for any assignment by a Lender to an Affiliate or Approved Fund thereof; and (ii) in any other case, the Administrative Agent may, in its sole discretion, elect to waive such processing and recordation fee in the case of any assignment.

 

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

 

(vi)          No Assignment to Certain Persons. No such assignment shall be made to (A) a Borrower or any of a Borrower’s Affiliates or Subsidiaries (other than pursuant to clauses (g) and (h) of this Section), (B) to any Defaulting Lender or any of its Subsidiaries, or any Person who, upon becoming a Lender hereunder, would constitute any of the foregoing Persons described in this clause (B), or (C) a Person that at such time is a Disqualified Institution.

 

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

 

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(viii)        Certain Additional Payments. In connection with any assignment of rights and obligations of any Defaulting Lender hereunder, no such assignment shall be effective unless and until, in addition to the other conditions thereto set forth herein, the parties to the assignment shall make such additional payments to the Administrative Agent in an aggregate amount sufficient, upon distribution thereof as appropriate (which may be outright payment, purchases by the assignee of participations or subparticipations, or other compensating actions, including funding, with the consent of the Borrower Representative and the Administrative Agent, the applicable pro rata share of Loans previously requested but not funded by the Defaulting Lender, to each of which the applicable assignee and assignor hereby irrevocably consent), to (A) pay and satisfy in full all payment liabilities then owed by such Defaulting Lender to the Administrative Agent, each Issuing Lender, Swingline Lender and each other Lender hereunder (and interest accrued thereon), and (B) acquire (and fund as appropriate) its full pro rata share of all Loans and participations in Letters of Credit and Swingline Loans in accordance with its Pro Rata Share. Notwithstanding the foregoing, in the event that any assignment of rights and obligations of any Defaulting Lender hereunder shall become effective under applicable law without compliance with the provisions of this Section 10.4(b)(viii), then the assignee of such interest shall be deemed to be a Defaulting Lender for all purposes of this Agreement until such compliance occurs.

 

(c)          Effectiveness of Assignments. Subject to acceptance and recording thereof pursuant to Section 10.4(d), from and after the effective date specified in each Assignment and Assumption the assignee thereunder shall be a party hereto and, to the extent of the interest assigned by such Assignment and Assumption, have the rights and obligations of a Lender under this Agreement (other than an assignment to a Person that is a Disqualified Institution at such time), and the assigning Lender thereunder shall, to the extent of the interest assigned by such Assignment and Assumption, be released from its obligations under this Agreement and, in the case of an Assignment and Assumption covering all of the assigning Lender’s rights and obligations under this Agreement, such Lender shall cease to be a party hereto but shall continue to be entitled to the rights referred to in Sections 2.14, 2.15, 2.16, and 10.3 with respect to facts and circumstances occurring prior to the effective date of such assignment; provided that except to the extent otherwise expressly agreed by the affected parties, no assignment by a Defaulting Lender will constitute a waiver or release of any claim of any party hereunder arising from that Lender’s having been a Defaulting Lender. Any assignment or transfer by a Lender of rights or obligations under this Agreement that does not comply with this Section shall be treated for purposes of this Agreement as a sale by such Lender of a participation in such rights and obligations in accordance with Section 10.4(e) (other than an assignment to a Disqualified Institution).

 

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(d)          Maintenance of Register by Administrative Agent. Administrative Agent, acting solely for this purpose as a non-fiduciary agent of the Borrowers, shall maintain at one of its offices in the United States a copy of each Assignment and Assumption delivered to it and a register for the recordation of the names and addresses of the Lenders, and the Commitment of, and principal amount (and stated interest) of the Loans and LC Disbursements (each, a “Registered Loan”) owing to, each Lender pursuant to the terms hereof from time to time (the “Register”). The Administrative Agent may, from time to time, update the Register (and shall provide notice of such update to each DDTL Lender, solely to the extent such update relates to any funded Delayed Draw Term Loan or DDTL Commitment held by such DDTL Lender) to reflect that any funded Delayed Draw Term Loans issued on a given date have been de-linked from the related remaining DDTL Commitment (which, for the avoidance of doubt, shall have been reduced by the aggregate amount of all related funded Delayed Draw Term Loans). A Registered Loan may be assigned or sold in whole or in part only by registration of such assignment or sale on the Register, and any assignment or sale of all or part of such Registered Loan may be effected only by registration of such assignment or sale on the Register. The entries in the Register shall be conclusive absent manifest error, and the Borrowers, Administrative Agent, and the Lenders shall treat each Person whose name is recorded in the Register pursuant to the terms hereof as a Lender hereunder for all purposes of this Agreement, notwithstanding notice to the contrary. The Register shall be available for inspection by Borrowers and any Lender, at any reasonable time and from time to time, upon reasonable prior notice. The parties intend that all extensions of credit to the Borrowers shall at all times be treated as being in registered form within the meaning of Sections 163(f), 871(h)(2), and 881(c)(2) of the Code (and any successor provisions) and regulations thereunder and shall interpret the provisions herein regarding the Register and the Participant Register (as defined in paragraph (e) below) consistent with such intent.

 

(e)          Participations. Any Lender may at any time, without the consent of, or notice to, the Borrower Representative, Administrative Agent, Issuing Lender or Swingline Lender, sell participations to any Person (other than a natural Person or a holding company, investment vehicle or trust for, or owned and operated for the primary benefit of, a natural Person, or the Borrowers or any of the Borrowers’ Affiliates or Subsidiaries, or a Person that at such time is a Disqualified Institution) (a “Participant”) in all or a portion of such Lender’s rights or obligations under this Agreement (including all or a portion of its Commitments or the Loans (including such Lender’s participations in LC Disbursements or Swingline Loans) owing to it); provided that (i) such Lender’s obligations under this Agreement shall remain unchanged, (ii) such Lender shall remain solely responsible to the other parties hereto for the performance of such obligations, (iii) such participation shall not increase the obligations of any Obligor under any Loan Document, except as contemplated below, and (iv) the Borrowers, Administrative Agent, Issuing Lender, Swingline Lender, and the other Lenders shall continue to deal solely and directly with such Lender in connection with such Lender’s rights and obligations under this Agreement. For the avoidance of doubt, each Lender shall be responsible for the indemnity under Section 10.3(d) with respect to any payments made by such Lender to its Participants. Any agreement or instrument pursuant to which a Lender sells such a participation shall provide that such Lender shall retain the sole right to enforce this Agreement and to approve any amendment, modification, or waiver of any provision of the Loan Documents; provided that such agreement or instrument may provide that such Lender will not, without the consent of the Participant, agree to any amendment, modification, or waiver described in the first proviso to Section 10.2(b) that directly and adversely affects such Participant. The Borrowers agree that each Participant shall be entitled to the benefits of Sections 2.14, 2.15, and 2.16, (subject to the requirements and limitations therein, including the requirements under Section 2.16(g) (it being understood that the documentation required under Section 2.16(g) 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 Section 10.4(b); provided that such Participant (1) agrees to be subject to the provisions of Section 2.18 as if it were an assignee under Section 10.4(b); and (2) shall not be entitled to receive any greater payment under Sections 2.14 and 2.16, with respect to any participation, than its participating Lender would have been entitled to receive, except to the extent such entitlement to receive a greater payment results from a Change in Law that occurs after the Participant acquired the applicable participation. Each Lender that sells a participation agrees, at the Borrowers’ request and expense, to use reasonable efforts to cooperate with the Borrowers to effectuate the provisions of Section 2.18 with respect to any Participant. To the extent permitted by law, each Participant also shall be entitled to the benefits of Section 10.8 as though it were a Lender; provided that such Participant agrees to be subject to Section 2.17(d). Each Lender that sells a participation shall, acting solely for this purpose as a non-fiduciary agent of the 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 the Loan Documents (the “Participant Register”); provided that no Lender shall have any obligation to disclose all or any portion of the Participant Register (including the identity of any Participant or any information relating to a Participant’s interest in any Commitment, Loan, Letter of Credit or its other obligations under any Loan Document) to any Person except to the extent that such disclosure is necessary to establish that such Commitment, Loan, Letter of Credit, or other obligation is in registered form under Section 5f.103-1(c) of the United States Treasury Regulations. The entries in the Participant Register shall be conclusive absent manifest error, and such Lender shall treat each Person whose name is recorded in the Participant Register as the owner of such participation for all purposes of this Agreement notwithstanding any notice to the contrary. For the avoidance of doubt, Administrative Agent (in its capacity as Administrative Agent) shall have no responsibility for maintaining a Participant Register.

 

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(f)          Certain Pledges. Any Lender may at any time pledge or assign a security interest in all or any portion of its rights under this Agreement to secure obligations of such Lender, including any pledge or assignment to secure obligations to a Federal Reserve Bank (or other central bank under any central banking system established under the jurisdiction or organization of such Lender (or its parent 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 and no pledge may be made to a Person that is a Disqualified Institution at such time.

 

(g)          Assignments to Sponsor-Controlled Affiliated Lenders. Any Lender may, at any time, without any consent, assign all or a portion of its rights and obligations with respect to Term Loans (but not, for the avoidance of doubt, any Revolving Credit Loans or Revolving Credit Commitments) under this Agreement to a Person who is or will become, after such assignment, a Sponsor-Controlled Affiliated Lender (without any consent of any Person but subject to acknowledgment by the Administrative Agent (which acknowledgement shall be provided promptly after request therefor)) through (x) Dutch auctions open to all Lenders on a pro rata basis or (y) open market purchases on a non-pro rata basis, in each case subject to the following limitations:

 

(i)            no assignment of Term Loans to a Sponsor-Controlled Affiliated Lender may be purchased with the proceeds of any Revolving Credit Loan or Swing Line Loan;

 

(ii)           the assigning Lender and the Sponsor-Controlled Affiliated Lender purchasing such Lender’s Term Loans shall execute and deliver to the Administrative Agent an assignment agreement substantially in the form of Exhibit C hereto (a “Sponsor-Controlled Affiliated Lender Assignment and Assumption”);

 

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(iii)          Sponsor-Controlled Affiliated Lenders (A) will not receive information provided to Lenders by the Administrative Agent or any Lender and that is not also provided to the Borrowers, including through access to electronic information maintained on the Platform, other than the right to receive notices of prepayments and other administrative notices in respect of its Loans or Commitments required to be delivered to Lenders pursuant to Section 2, (B) will not be permitted to attend or participate in conference calls or meetings attended by the Lenders and the Administrative Agent that the Borrowers are also not attending, and (C) will not receive advice of counsel to the Administrative Agent and the Lenders;

 

(iv)          in connection with each assignment pursuant to this Section 10.4(g), the assigning Lender and the Sponsor-Controlled Affiliated Lender purchasing such Lender’s Term Loans may render customary “big boy” letters to each other regarding information that is not known to such assigning Lender that may be material to the decision by such assigning Lender to enter into such assignment to such Sponsor-Controlled Affiliated Lender and no Sponsor-Controlled Affiliated Lender purchasing any Term Loans shall be required to make a representation that it is not in possession of Material Non-Public Information with respect to Holdings, the Borrowers and their Subsidiaries or their respective securities;

 

(v)           the aggregate principal amount of Term Loans (as of the date of consummation of any transaction under this Section 10.4(g)) held at any one time by all Sponsor-Controlled Affiliated Lenders shall not exceed 25% of the then outstanding principal amount of all Term Loans; provided that in addition to the foregoing, the amount of Incremental Term Loans assigned to Sponsor-Controlled Affiliated Lenders pursuant to this Section 10.4(g) shall not exceed 25% of the then outstanding principal amount of all Incremental Loans, in the aggregate for all Sponsor-Controlled Affiliated Lenders (such percentage, the “Sponsor-Controlled Affiliated Lender Cap”); and

 

(vi)          except with respect to any amendment, modification, waiver, consent or other action (I) in Section 10.4 requiring the consent of all Lenders, all Lenders directly and adversely affected or specifically such Lender, (II) that alters a Sponsor-Controlled Affiliated Lender’s pro rata share of any payments given to all Lenders, or (III) affects the Sponsor-Controlled Affiliated Lender (in its capacity as a Lender) in a manner that is disproportionate to the effect on any Lender in the same Class, the Loans held by a Sponsor-Controlled Affiliated Lender shall be disregarded in both the numerator and denominator in the calculation of any Lender vote (and, in the case of a plan of reorganization that does not adversely affect the Sponsor-Controlled Affiliated Lender in a manner that is adverse to such Sponsor-Controlled Affiliated Lender relative to other Lenders, shall be deemed to have voted its interest in the Term Loans in the same proportion as the other Lenders in the same Class) in the same percentage as all other applicable Lenders voted if necessary to give legal effect to this paragraph) (but, in any event, in connection with any amendment, modification, waiver, consent or other action, shall be entitled to any consent fee, calculated as if all of such Sponsor-Controlled Affiliated Lender’s Loans had voted in favor of any matter for which a consent fee or similar payment is offered).

 

(vii)         Each Sponsor-Controlled Affiliated Lender agrees to notify the Administrative Agent promptly (and in any event within 5 Business Days) if it acquires any Person who is also a Lender, and each Lender agrees to notify the Administrative Agent promptly (and in any event within 5 Business Days) if it becomes a Sponsor-Controlled Affiliated Lender.

 

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(viii)        Each Lender participating in any assignment to Sponsor-Controlled Affiliated Lenders acknowledges and agrees that in connection with such assignment, (1) the Sponsor-Controlled Affiliated Lenders then may have, and later may come into possession of Excluded Information, (2) such Lender has independently and, without reliance on the Sponsor-Controlled Affiliated Lenders or any of their Subsidiaries, Holdings, the Borrower or any of their Subsidiaries, the Administrative Agent or any other Agent-Related Persons, has made its own analysis and determination to participate in such assignment notwithstanding such Lender’s lack of knowledge of the Excluded Information, (3) none of the Sponsor-Controlled Affiliated Lenders or any of their Subsidiaries, Holdings, the Borrower or their respective Subsidiaries, the Administrative Agent or any other Agent-Related Persons shall have any liability to such Lender, and such Lender hereby waives and releases, to the extent permitted by law, any claims such Lender may have against the Sponsor-Controlled Affiliated Lenders and any of their Subsidiaries, Holdings, the Borrowers and their respective Subsidiaries, the Administrative Agent and any other Agent-Related Persons, under applicable laws or otherwise, with respect to the nondisclosure of the Excluded Information and (4) that information regarding the Borrowers, the Sponsor, their respective affiliates not known to such Lender and that may be material to a decision by such Lender to participate in such prepayment (including Material Non-Public Information) may not be available to the Administrative Agent or the other Lenders.

 

(ix)          Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in the Loan Documents, any Term Loans or, Incremental Term Loans or Incremental Delayed Draw Term Loans assigned to a Sponsor-Controlled Affiliated Lender in accordance with this Section 10.4(g) may be contributed to Holdings or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries and be exchanged for equity securities (other than Disqualified Equity Interests) of any Borrower (or any of its direct or indirect parent) to the extent otherwise permitted herein.

 

(h)          Debt Fund Affiliates. Any Lender may, at any time, assign all or a portion of its rights and obligations with respect to Term Loans under this Agreement to a Person who is or will become, after such assignment, a Debt Fund Affiliate. Notwithstanding anything in Section 10.2 or the definition of “Required Lenders” to the contrary, for purposes of determining whether the Required Lenders have (i) consented (or not consented) to any amendment, modification, waiver, consent or other action with respect to any of the terms of any Loan Document or any departure by any Obligor therefrom, (ii) otherwise acted on any matter related to any Loan Document or (iii) directed or required the Administrative Agent or any Lender to undertake any action (or refrain from taking any action) with respect to or under any Loan Document, all Term Loans held by Debt Fund Affiliates may not account for more than 49.9% (pro rata among such Debt Fund Affiliates) of the Term Loans of consenting Lenders included in determining whether the Required Lenders have consented to any action pursuant to Section 10.4. For the avoidance of doubt, assignments to Debt Fund Affiliates under this Section 10.4(h) shall not be subject to any restrictions set forth in Section 10.4(g).

 

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10.5        Survival. All covenants, agreements, certifications, representations and warranties made by the Borrowers or any other Obligor herein or in the other Loan Documents and in the certificates or other instruments delivered in connection with or pursuant to this Agreement or the other Loan Documents shall be considered to have been relied upon by the other parties hereto and shall survive the execution and delivery of this Agreement and the other Loan Documents and the making of any Loans and issuance of any Letters of Credit, regardless of any investigation made by any such other party or on its behalf and notwithstanding that Administrative Agent, Issuing Lender, or any Lender may have had notice or knowledge of any Default or incorrect certification, representation, or warranty at the time any credit is extended hereunder, and shall continue in full force and effect until the Full Satisfaction of the Obligations. The provisions of Sections 2.14, 2.15, 2.16, 10.3, and 10.18 shall survive and remain in full force and effect regardless of the consummation of the transactions contemplated hereby, the termination of the Loan Documents and payment of the Obligations hereunder, or the expiration or termination of the Letters of Credit and the Commitments.

 

10.6        Counterparts; Integration; Effectiveness. This Agreement may be executed in counterparts (and by different parties hereto on different counterparts), each of which shall constitute an original, but all of which when taken together shall constitute a single contract. This Agreement and the other Loan Documents constitute the entire contract between and among the parties relating to the subject matter hereof and supersede any and all previous agreements and understandings, oral or written, relating to the subject matter hereof. Except as provided in Section 4.1, this Agreement shall become effective when it shall have been executed by Administrative Agent and when Administrative Agent shall have received counterparts hereof which, when taken together, bear the signatures of each of the other parties hereto, and thereafter shall be binding upon and inure to the benefit of the parties hereto and their respective successors and assigns permitted hereby. Delivery of an executed counterpart of a signature page of this Agreement by facsimile or in electronic (i.e., “pdf” or “tif”) format shall be effective as delivery of a manually executed counterpart of this Agreement.          The words “execution,” “signed,” “signature,” and words of like import in this Agreement or any Loan Document shall be deemed to include electronic signatures or the keeping of records in electronic form, each of which shall be of the same legal effect, validity or enforceability as a manually executed signature or the use of a paper-based recordkeeping system, as the case may be, to the extent and as provided for in any applicable law, including the Federal Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act, the New York State Electronic Signatures and Records Act, or any other similar state laws based on the Uniform Electronic Transactions Act.

 

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

 

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10.8        Right of Setoff. If an Event of Default shall have occurred and be continuing, each Lender, Issuing Lender, and each of their respective Affiliates is hereby authorized at any time and from time to time, to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, to set off and apply any and all deposits (general or special, time or demand, provisional or final, in whatever currency) (other than escrow, payroll, employee health and benefits, pension, fiduciary, 401(K), petty cash, trust and tax accounts) at any time held, and other obligations (in whatever currency) at any time owing, by such Lender, Issuing Lender or any such Affiliate, to or for the credit or the account of the Borrowers or any other Obligor against any and all of the obligations of the Borrowers or any other Obligor now or hereafter existing under this Agreement or any other Loan Document to such Lender or Issuing Lender or their respective Affiliates, irrespective of whether or not such Lender, Issuing Lender or Affiliate shall have made any demand under this Agreement or any other Loan Document and although such obligations of the Borrowers or such Obligor may be contingent or unmatured or are owed to a branch, office or Affiliate of such Lender or Issuing Lender different from the branch, office or Affiliate holding such deposit or obligated on such indebtedness; provided that in the event that any Defaulting Lender shall exercise any such right of setoff, (a) all amounts so set off shall be paid over immediately to the Administrative Agent for further application in accordance with the provisions of Section 2.21 and, pending such payment, shall be segregated by such Defaulting Lender from its other funds and deemed held in trust for the benefit of Administrative Agent, Issuing Lender, and the Lenders, and (b) the Defaulting Lender shall provide promptly to the Administrative Agent a statement describing in reasonable detail the Obligations owing to such Defaulting Lender as to which it exercised such right of setoff. The rights of each Lender, Issuing Lender, and their respective Affiliates under this Section are in addition to other rights and remedies (including other rights of setoff) that such Lender, Issuing Lender, or their respective Affiliates may have. Each Lender and Issuing Lender agrees to notify the Borrower Representative and the Administrative Agent promptly after any such setoff and application and share such set-off pursuant to Section 2.17(d); provided that the failure to give such notice shall not affect the validity of such setoff and application.

 

10.9        Governing Law; Jurisdiction; Etc.

 

(a)          Governing Law. This Agreement and the other Loan Documents (other than those containing a contrary express choice of law provision) shall be construed in accordance with, and this Agreement, the other Loan Documents and all matters arising out of or relating in any way whatsoever to the Loan Documents (whether in contract, tort or otherwise) shall be governed by, the law of the State of New York, other than those conflict of law provisions that would defer to the substantive laws of another jurisdiction. This governing law election has been made by the parties in reliance (at least in part) on Section 5-1401 of the General Obligation Law of the State of New York, as amended (as and to the extent applicable), and other applicable law.

 

(b)          Submission to Jurisdiction. Each Obligor, the Administrative Agent, any Lender, any Issuing Lender, or any Related Party hereby irrevocably and unconditionally agrees that it shall not commence any action, litigation or proceeding of any kind or description, whether in law or equity, whether in contract or in tort or otherwise, against any Obligor, the Administrative Agent, any Lender, any Issuing Lender, or any Related Party of the foregoing in any way relating to this Agreement or any other Loan Document or the transactions relating hereto or thereto, in any forum other than the Supreme Court of the State of New York sitting in New York County and of the United States District Court of the Southern District of New York, and any appellate court from any thereof, and each of the parties hereto and each other Obligor hereby irrevocably and unconditionally irrevocably and unconditionally submits to the jurisdiction of such courts and agrees that all claims in respect of any such action, litigation or proceeding may be heard and determined in such New York State court or, to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, in such federal court. Each of the parties hereto agrees that a final judgment in any such action or proceeding shall be conclusive and may be enforced in other jurisdictions by suit on the judgment or in any other manner provided by law. Nothing in this Agreement or in any other Loan Document shall affect any right that Administrative Agent, Issuing Lender, or any Lender may otherwise have to bring any action or proceeding relating to any Loan Document against any Obligor or its properties in the courts of any jurisdiction.

 

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(c)          Waiver of Venue. Each party hereto hereby irrevocably and unconditionally waives, to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, any objection that it may now or hereafter have to the laying of venue of any suit, action or proceeding arising out of or relating to any Loan Document in any court referred to in this Section 10.9(b). Each of the parties hereto hereby irrevocably waives, to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, the defense of an inconvenient forum to the maintenance of such action or proceeding in any such court.

 

(d)          Service of Process. Each party hereto irrevocably consents to service of process in the manner provided for notices in Section 10.1. Nothing in this Agreement will affect the right of any party to this Agreement to serve process in any other manner permitted by applicable law.

 

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

 

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10.11      Treatment of Certain Information; Confidentiality.

 

(a)          Confidentiality. Each of Administrative Agent, the Lenders and Issuing Lender agree to maintain the confidentiality of the Information (as defined below), except that Information may be disclosed (i) to its Affiliates and to its Related Parties (it being understood that the Persons to whom such disclosure is made will be informed of the confidential nature of such Information and instructed to keep such Information confidential and to use such Information subject to such Person’s internal regulatory and/or ethical obligations regarding the same); (ii) to the extent required or requested by any regulatory authority purporting to have jurisdiction over such Person or its Related Parties (including any self-regulatory authority, such as the National Association of Insurance Commissioners or any listing authority or stock exchange); (iii) to the extent required by applicable laws or regulations or by any subpoena or similar legal process; provided that prompt written notice to the Borrower Representative shall be provided to the extent not prohibited by applicable laws or regulations; (iv) to any other party hereto; (v) in connection with the exercise of any remedies hereunder or under any other Loan Document or any suit, action or proceeding relating to this Agreement or any other Loan Document or the enforcement of rights hereunder or thereunder; (vi) subject to an agreement containing provisions substantially the same as those of this Section, to (A) any assignee of or Participant in, or any prospective assignee (other than any Disqualified Institution) of or Participant in, any of its rights and obligations under this Agreement or any pledgee under Section 10.4(f), or (B) any actual or prospective party (or its Related Parties) to any swap, derivative or other transaction under which payments are to be made by reference to the Borrowers and their obligations, this Agreement or payments hereunder; (vii) to holders of Equity Interests in any Borrower, (viii) to any Person providing a Guarantee of all or any portion of the Obligations, (ix) on a confidential basis to (A) any rating agency in connection with rating Obligors or their Subsidiaries or the credit facilities under this Agreement or (B) the CUSIP Service Bureau or any similar agency in connection with the issuance and monitoring of CUSIP numbers with respect to this Agreements; (x) with the consent of the Borrower Representative; or (xi) to the extent such Information (A) becomes publicly available other than as a result of a breach of this Section, or (B) becomes available to the Administrative Agent, any Lender, Issuing Lender or any of their respective Affiliates on a nonconfidential basis from a source other than the Obligors that is not to the knowledge (after due inquiry) of the receiving party in violation of any confidentiality restriction. For purposes of this Section, “Information” means all information received from the Obligors or any of their Subsidiaries and/or its Related Parties or representatives relating to the Obligors or any of their Subsidiaries or any of their respective businesses, other than any such information that is available to the Administrative Agent, any Lender or Issuing Lender on a nonconfidential basis prior to disclosure by the Borrowers and other than information pertaining to this Agreement provided by arrangers to data service providers, including league table providers, that serve the lending industry; provided that, in the case of information received from the Borrowers after the date hereof, such information is clearly identified at the time of delivery as confidential. Any Person required to maintain the confidentiality of Information as provided in this Section shall be considered to have complied with its obligation to do so if such Person has exercised the same degree of care to maintain the confidentiality of such Information as such Person would accord to its own confidential information.

 

(b)          Independence of Covenants. All covenants and other agreements contained in this Agreement or any other Loan Document shall be given independent effect so that, if a particular action or condition is not permitted by any of such covenants or other agreements, the fact that such action or condition would be permitted by an exception to, or otherwise be within the limitations of, another covenant or other agreement shall not avoid the occurrence of a Default if such action is taken or such condition exists.

 

10.12      Interest Rate Limitation. Notwithstanding anything herein to the contrary, if at any time the interest rate applicable to any Loan, together with all fees, charges or other amounts that are treated as interest on such Loan under applicable law (collectively the “Charges”), shall exceed the maximum lawful rate (the “Maximum Rate”) that may be contracted for, charged, taken, received, or reserved by the Lender holding such Loan in accordance with applicable law, the rate of interest payable in respect to such Loan hereunder, together with all Charges payable in respect thereof, shall be limited to the Maximum Rate and, to the extent lawful, the interest and Charges that would have been payable in respect of such Loan but were not payable as a result of the operation of this Section shall be cumulated and the interest and Charges payable to such Lender in respect of other Loans or periods shall be increased (but not above the Maximum Rate therefore) until such cumulated amount, shall have been received by such Lender. If Administrative Agent or any Lender shall receive interest in an amount that exceeds the Maximum Rate, the excess interest shall be applied to the principal of the Loans or, if it exceeds such unpaid principal, refunded to the Borrowers.

 

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10.13      USA Patriot Act. Each of Administrative Agent, Issuing Lender, and each Lender subject to the USA Patriot Act hereby notifies each Obligor that pursuant to the requirements of the USA Patriot Act, it is required to obtain, verify, and record information that identifies each Obligor and other information that will allow Administrative Agent, such Lender, and Issuing Lender to identify each Obligor in accordance with the USA Patriot Act. The Borrowers hereby agree to provide, and cause each other Obligor to provide, such information promptly upon the request of Administrative Agent or any Lender. Each Lender subject to the USA Patriot Act acknowledges and agrees that neither such Lender, nor any of its Affiliates, participants or assignees, may rely on Administrative Agent 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 Obligor, its Affiliates or its agents, this Agreement, the Loan Documents or the transactions hereunder or contemplated hereby: (a) any identity verification procedures, (b) any record-keeping, (c) comparisons with government lists, (d) customer notices, or (e) other procedures required under the CIP Regulations or such other law.

 

10.14      Press Release and Related Matters. No party hereto shall, and no party hereto shall permit any of its Affiliates to, issue any press release or other public disclosure using the name, logo or otherwise referring to any party hereto or any of their respective Affiliates, the Loan Documents or any transaction contemplated therein without the prior consent of a Borrower, Administrative Agent, or any applicable Lender, as the case may be, except to the extent required to do so under applicable law and then, in any event, such party hereto will advise Borrowers or Administrative Agent, as the case may be, as soon as possible with respect to such press release or other public disclosure.

 

10.15      No Duty. All attorneys, accountants, appraisers, and other professional Persons and consultants retained by Administrative Agent or any Lender shall have the right to act exclusively in the interest of Administrative Agent and the Lenders and shall have no duty of disclosure, duty of loyalty, duty of care, or other duty or obligation of any type or nature whatsoever to the Borrowers, any holders of Equity Interests of any Obligor, or any other Person.

 

10.16      No Fiduciary Relationship. The relationship between the Borrowers and the other Obligors on the one hand and the Administrative Agent, Issuing Lender, Swingline Lender, each Lender, the Lead Arranger, or any Person listed as a joint bookrunner or documentation agent on the cover page hereof on the other is solely that of debtor and creditor, and no Administrative Agent, Lender, Lead Arranger, or any Person listed as a joint bookrunner or documentation agent on the cover page hereof has any fiduciary, advisory, agency or other special relationship with Borrowers or any other Obligors, and no term or condition of any of the Loan Documents shall be construed so as to deem the relationship between the Borrowers and the other Obligors on the one hand and the Administrative Agent, Issuing Lender, Swingline Lender, each Lender, Lead Arranger, or any Person listed as a joint bookrunner or documentation agent on the cover page hereof on the other to be other than that of debtor and creditor. To the fullest extent permitted by law, each Borrower hereby waives and releases any claims that it may have against any of the Administrative Agent, the Issuing Lender, the Swingline Lender, the Lenders, the Lead Arranger, or any Person listed as a joint bookrunner or documentation agent on the cover page hereof with respect to any breach or alleged breach of agency or fiduciary duty in connection with any aspect of any transaction contemplated hereby.

 

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10.17      Construction. The Borrowers, each other Obligor (by its execution of the Loan Documents to which it is a party), Administrative Agent and each Lender acknowledges that each of them has had the benefit of legal counsel of its own choice and has been afforded an opportunity to review the Loan Documents with its legal counsel and that the Loan Documents shall be construed as if jointly drafted by the parties thereto. Section headings and the Table of Contents used herein are for convenience of reference only, are not part of this Agreement and shall not affect the construction of, or be taken into consideration in interpreting, this Agreement.

 

10.18      Payments Set Aside. To the extent that any payment by or on behalf of any Obligor under any Loan Document is made to the Administrative Agent, Issuing Lender or any Lender, or Administrative Agent, Issuing Lender or any Lender exercises its right of setoff as to any Obligor, and such payment or the proceeds of such setoff or any part thereof is subsequently invalidated, declared to be fraudulent or preferential, set aside or required (including pursuant to any settlement entered into by Administrative Agent, Issuing Lender or such Lender in its discretion) to be repaid to a trustee, receiver or any other party, in connection with any proceeding under any Debtor Relief Laws or otherwise, then (a) to the extent of such recovery, the obligation or part thereof originally intended to be satisfied shall be revived and continued in full force and effect as if such payment had not been made or such setoff had not occurred, and (b) each Lender and each Issuing Lender severally agrees to pay to the Administrative Agent upon demand its Pro Rata Share of any amount so recovered from or repaid by Administrative Agent, plus interest thereon from the date of such demand to the date such payment is made at a rate per annum equal to the Federal Funds Effective Rate from time to time in effect.

 

10.19      Benefits of Agreement. The Loan Documents are entered into for the sole protection and benefit of the parties hereto and their permitted successors and assigns, and no other Person (other than any Related Parties of Administrative Agent, the Lenders, Issuing Lender and any Participants to the extent provided for in Section 10.4(e)) shall be a direct or indirect beneficiary of, or shall have any direct or indirect cause of action or claim in connection with, any Loan Document.

 

10.20      Acknowledgement and Consent to Bail-In of EEA Financial Institutions. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in any Loan Document or in any other agreement, arrangement or understanding among any such parties, each party hereto acknowledges that any liability of any Affected Financial Institution arising under any Loan Document may be subject to the Write-Down and Conversion Powers of the applicable Resolution Authority and agrees and consents to, and acknowledges and agrees to be bound by:

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

10.21      Keepwell. Each Qualified ECP Guarantor hereby jointly and severally absolutely, unconditionally, and irrevocably undertakes to provide such funds or other support as may be needed from time to time by each other Obligor to honor all of its obligations under this Agreement in respect of Swap Obligations (provided, however, that each Qualified ECP Guarantor shall only be liable under this Section 10.21 for the maximum amount of such liability that can be hereby incurred without rendering its obligations under this Section 10.21, or otherwise under this Agreement, voidable under applicable law relating to fraudulent conveyance or fraudulent transfer, and not for any greater amount). The obligations of each Qualified ECP Guarantor under this Section shall remain in full force and effect until Full Satisfaction of the Obligations. Each Qualified ECP Guarantor intends that this Section 10.21 constitute, and this Section 10.21 shall be deemed to constitute, a “keepwell, support, or other agreement” for the benefit of each other obligor for all purposes of Section 1a(18)(A)(v)(II) of the Commodity Exchange Act.

 

10.22      Designation of Additional Borrowers. From time to time, the Borrowers may designate a Restricted Subsidiary incorporated, formed or otherwise organized in the United States to the Administrative Agent as a joint and several additional Borrower under the Loans and such party shall become a party to this Agreement pursuant to a joinder agreement reasonably satisfactory to the Administrative Agent; provided that the Borrower Representative shall have delivered (a) a joinder to this Agreement and the Security Agreement by such new Borrower, and such other Loan Documents as may be required by Section 5.8 or Section 5.9 with respect thereto, (b) a customary written opinion (addressed to the Administrative Agent and the Lenders) of counsel to such new Borrower regarding the Loan Documents consistent with the opinion delivered on the Effective Date, (c) such documents and certificates as Administrative Agent may reasonably request relating to the organization, existence and good standing of such new Borrower consistent with those delivered by the Borrower Representative on the Effective Date, (d) to each of the Lenders, all documents, certificates, and other information relating to the additional Borrower and its Subsidiaries that have been reasonably requested by the Administrative Agent or any Lender relating to the additional Borrower required by applicable regulatory authorities under applicable “know your customer” and anti-money laundering rules and regulations, including, without limitation, those imposed by the PATRIOT Act, and, for any additional Borrower that qualifies as a “legal entity customer” under the Beneficial Ownership Regulation, a Beneficial Ownership Certification in relation to such Borrower, and (e) such other assurances, certificates, documents, consents, or opinions as Administrative Agent or any Lender (through Administrative Agent) may reasonably request. Each Borrower shall be jointly and severally liable with respect to all Obligations.

 

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10.23      Joint and Several Obligations.

 

(a)          All Obligations shall constitute joint and several obligations of the Borrowers. Each Borrower expressly represents and acknowledges that it is part of a common enterprise with the other Borrower and that any financial accommodations by Administrative Agent, the Lenders, Issuing Lender, and Swingline Lender, or any of them, to any other Borrower hereunder and under the other Loan Documents are and will be of direct and indirect interest, benefit and advantage to all of the Borrowers. Each Borrower acknowledges that any notice of Borrowing or any other notice given by the Borrower Representative to the Administrative Agent, the Lenders, Issuing Lender or Swingline Lender shall bind all of the Borrowers, and that any notice given by Administrative Agent, the Lenders, Issuing Lender or Swingline Lender to the Borrower Representative shall be effective with respect to all of the Borrowers. Each Borrower acknowledges and agrees that each Borrower shall be liable, on a joint and several basis, for all of the Loans and other Obligations, regardless of which such Person actually may have received the proceeds of any of the Loans or other extensions of credit or the amount of such Loans or other extensions of credit received or the manner in which Administrative Agent, the Lenders, Issuing Lender or Swingline Lender accounts among the Borrowers for such Loans or other Obligations on its books and records, and further acknowledges and agrees that Loans and other extensions of credit to any Borrower inure to the mutual benefit of all of the Borrowers and that Administrative Agent, the Lenders, Issuing Lender, and Swingline Lender are relying on the joint and several liability of the Borrowers in extending the Loans and other financial accommodations under the Loan Documents and Bank Product Agreements; provided, that notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this Section, no Borrower shall be liable for any Swap Obligation incurred by an Obligor other than such Borrower, to the extent such Swap Obligation would constitute Excluded Swap Obligations with respect to such Borrower at such time.

 

(b)          Each Borrower shall be entitled to subrogation and contribution rights from and against the other Borrower to the extent such Person is required to pay to the Administrative Agent, the Lenders, Issuing Lender or Swingline Lender any amount in excess of the Loans advanced directly to, or other Obligations incurred directly by, such Person or as otherwise available under applicable law; provided, however, that such subrogation and contribution rights are and shall be subject to the terms and conditions of Section 10.23(c) and 10.23(d).

 

(c)          It is the intent of each Borrower, Administrative Agent, the Lenders, Issuing Lender, Swingline Lender and any other Person holding any of the Obligations that the maximum obligations of each Borrower hereunder (such Person’s “Maximum Borrower Liability”) in any case or proceeding referred to below (but only in such a case or proceeding) shall not be in excess of:

 

(i)            in a case or proceeding commenced by or against such Person under the Bankruptcy Code on or within one year from the date on which any of the Obligations of such Person are incurred, the maximum amount that would not otherwise cause the Obligations of such Person hereunder (or any other Obligations of such Person to the Administrative Agent, the Lenders, Issuing Lender, Swingline Lender and any other Person holding any of the Obligations) to be avoidable or unenforceable against such Person under (A) Section 548 of the Bankruptcy Code or (B) any state fraudulent transfer or fraudulent conveyance act or statute applied in such case or proceeding by virtue of Section 544 of the Bankruptcy Code; or

 

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(ii)           in a case or proceeding commenced by or against such Person under the Bankruptcy Code subsequent to one year from the date on which any of the Obligations of such Person are incurred, the maximum amount that would not otherwise cause the Obligations of such Person hereunder (or any other Obligations of such Person to the Administrative Agent, the Lenders, Issuing Lender, Swingline Lender and any other Person holding any of the Obligations) to be avoidable or unenforceable against such Person under any state fraudulent transfer or fraudulent conveyance act or statute applied in any such case or proceeding by virtue of Section 544 of the Bankruptcy Code; or

 

(iii)          in a case or proceeding commenced by or against such Person under any law, statute or regulation other than the Bankruptcy Code relating to dissolution, liquidation, conservatorship, bankruptcy, moratorium, readjustment of debt, compromise, rearrangement, receivership, insolvency, reorganization or similar debtor relief from time to time in effect affecting the rights of creditors generally (collectively, “Other Debtor Relief Law”), the maximum amount that would not otherwise cause the Obligations of such Person hereunder (or any other Obligations of such Person to the Administrative Agent, the Lenders, Issuing Lender, Swingline Lender and any other Person holding any of the Obligations) to be avoidable or unenforceable against such Person under such Other Debtor Relief Law, including, without limitation, any state fraudulent transfer or fraudulent conveyance act or statute applied in any such case or proceeding. (The substantive state or federal laws under which the possible avoidance or unenforceability of the Obligations of any Borrower hereunder (or any other Obligations of such Person to the Administrative Agent, the Lenders, Issuing Lender, Swingline Lender and any other Person holding any of the Obligations) shall be determined in any such case or proceeding shall hereinafter be referred to as the “Avoidance Provisions”).

 

Notwithstanding the foregoing, no provision of this Section 10.23(c) shall limit the liability of any Borrower for loans advanced directly or indirectly to it under this Agreement.

 

(d)          To the extent set forth in Section 10.23(c), but only to the extent that the Obligations of any Borrower hereunder would otherwise be subject to avoidance under any Avoidance Provisions if such Person is not deemed to have received valuable consideration, fair value, fair consideration or reasonably equivalent value for such transfers or obligations, or if such transfers or obligations of any Borrower hereunder would render such Person insolvent, or leave such Person with an unreasonably small capital or unreasonably small assets to conduct its business, or cause such Person to have incurred debts (or to have intended to have incurred debts) beyond its ability to pay such debts as they mature, in each case as of the time any of the obligations of such Person are deemed to have been incurred and transfers made under such Avoidance Provisions, then the obligations of such Person hereunder shall be reduced to that amount which, after giving effect thereto, would not cause the Obligations of such Person hereunder (or any other Obligations of such Person to the Administrative Agent, the Lenders, Issuing Lender, Swingline Lender and any other Person holding any of the Obligations), as so reduced, to be subject to avoidance under such Avoidance Provisions. This Section 10.23(d) is intended solely to preserve the rights hereunder of Administrative Agent, the Lenders, Issuing Lender, Swingline Lender and any other Person holding any of the Obligations to the maximum extent that would not cause the obligations of the Borrowers hereunder to be subject to avoidance under any Avoidance Provisions, and none of the Borrowers nor any other Person shall have any right, defense, offset, or claim under this Section 10.23(d) as against Administrative Agent, the Lenders, Issuing Lender, Swingline Lender and any other Person holding any of the Obligations that would not otherwise be available to such Person under the Avoidance Provisions.

 

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(e)          Each Borrower agrees that the Obligations may at any time and from time to time exceed the Maximum Borrower Liability of such Person, and may exceed the aggregate Maximum Borrower Liability of all of the Borrowers hereunder, without impairing this Agreement or any provision contained herein or affecting the rights and remedies of Administrative Agent, the Lenders, Issuing Lender, and Swingline Lender hereunder.

 

(f)           In the event any Borrower (a “Funding Borrower”) shall make any payment or payments under this Agreement or shall suffer any loss as a result of any realization upon any collateral granted by it to secure its obligations hereunder, each other Borrower (each, a “Contributing Borrower”) shall contribute to such Funding Borrower an amount equal to such payment or payments made, or losses suffered, by such Funding Borrower determined as of the date on which such payment or loss was made multiplied by the ratio of (i) the Maximum Borrower Liability of such Contributing Borrower (without giving effect to any right to receive any contribution or other obligation to make any contribution hereunder), to (ii) the aggregate Maximum Borrower Liability of all of the Borrowers (including the Funding Borrowers) hereunder (without giving effect to any right to receive, or obligation to make, any contribution hereunder). Nothing in this Section 10.23(f) shall affect the joint and several liability of any Borrower to the Administrative Agent, the Lenders, Issuing Lender, and Swingline Lender for the entire amount of its Obligations. Each Borrower covenants and agrees that its right to receive any contribution hereunder from a Contributing Borrower shall be subordinate and junior in right of payment to all obligations of the Borrowers to the Administrative Agent, the Lenders, Issuing Lender, and Swingline Lender hereunder.

 

(g)          No Borrower will exercise any rights which it may acquire by way of subrogation hereunder or under any other Loan Document or at law by any payment made hereunder or otherwise, nor shall any Borrower seek or be entitled to seek any contribution or reimbursement from any other Borrower in respect of payments made by such Person hereunder or under any other Loan Document, until all amounts owing to the Administrative Agent, the Lenders, Issuing Lender, and Swingline Lender on account of the Obligations are paid in full in cash. If any amounts shall be paid to any Borrower on account of such subrogation or contribution rights at any time when all of the Obligations shall not have been paid in full, such amount shall be held by such Person in trust for Administrative Agent, the Lenders, Issuing Lender, and Swingline Lender, segregated from other funds of such Person, and shall, forthwith upon receipt by such Person, be turned over to the Administrative Agent in the exact form received by such Person (duly endorsed by such Person to the Administrative Agent, if required), to be applied against the Obligations, whether matured or unmatured, as provided for herein.

 

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10.24      Acknowledgement Regarding Any Supported QFCs. To the extent that the Loan Documents provide support, through a guarantee or otherwise, for Hedging Agreements or any other agreement or instrument that is a QFC (such support, “QFC Credit Support” and each such QFC a “Supported QFC”), the parties acknowledge and agree as follows with respect to the resolution power of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation under the Federal Deposit Insurance Act and Title II of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (together with the regulations promulgated thereunder, the “U.S. Special Resolution Regimes”) in respect of such Supported QFC and QFC Credit Support (with the provisions below applicable notwithstanding that the Loan Documents and any Supported QFC may in fact be stated to be governed by the laws of the State of New York and/or of the United States or any other state of the United States):

 

(a)           In the event a Covered Entity that is party to a Supported QFC (each, a “Covered Party”) becomes subject to a proceeding under a U.S. Special Resolution Regime, the transfer of such Supported QFC and the benefit of such QFC Credit Support (and any interest and obligation in or under such Supported QFC and such QFC Credit Support, and any rights in property securing such Supported QFC or such QFC Credit Support) from such Covered Party will be effective to the same extent as the transfer would be effective under the U.S. Special Resolution Regime if the Supported QFC and such QFC Credit Support (and any such interest, obligation and rights in property) were governed by the laws of the United States or a state of the United States. In the event a Covered Party or a BHC Act Affiliate of a Covered Party becomes subject to a proceeding under a U.S. Special Resolution Regime, Default Rights under the Loan Documents that might otherwise apply to such Supported QFC or any QFC Credit Support that may be exercised against such Covered Party are permitted to be exercised to no greater extent than such Default Rights could be exercised under the U.S. Special Resolution Regime if the Supported QFC and the Loan Documents were governed by the laws of the United States or a state of the United States. Without limitation of the foregoing, it is understood and agreed that rights and remedies of the parties with respect to a Defaulting Lender shall in no event affect the rights of any Covered Party with respect to a Supported QFC or any QFC Credit Support.

 

(b)           As used in this Section 10.24, the following terms have the following meanings:

 

“BHC Act Affiliate” of a party means an “affiliate” (as such term is defined under, and interpreted in accordance with, 12 U.S.C. 1841(k)) of such party.

 

“Covered Entity” means any of the following:

 

(i)          a “covered entity” as that term is defined in, and interpreted in accordance with, 12 C.F.R. § 252.82(b);

 

(ii)          a “covered bank” as that term is defined in, and interpreted in accordance with, 12 C.F.R. § 47.3(b); or

 

(iii)          a “covered FSI” as that term is defined in, and interpreted in accordance with, 12 C.F.R. § 382.2(b).

 

“Default Right” has the meaning assigned to that term in, and shall be interpreted in accordance with, 12 C.F.R. §§ 252.81, 47.2 or 382.1, as applicable.

 

“QFC” has the meaning assigned to the term “qualified financial contract” in, and shall be interpreted in accordance with, 12 U.S.C. 5390(c)(8)(D).

 

10.25      Assumption of Obligations. Immediately following consummation of the Merger on the Effective Date, the Borrower hereby expressly, unconditionally and irrevocably assumes all Obligations of the Initial Borrower under this Agreement and the other Loan Documents as fully as if the Borrower was originally the Initial Borrower, and the Borrower expressly, unconditionally and irrevocably agrees to pay, perform and discharge such Indebtedness and Obligations in accordance with the terms of this Agreement and the other Loan Documents and otherwise be liable for such Indebtedness and to perform and discharge all of the Obligations and any and all covenants and other obligations under this Agreement and the other Loan Documents, and the Borrower will become a “Borrower” for all purposes under this Agreement and the other Loan Documents, and, following the completion of such assumption, the Indebtedness and Obligations of the Initial Borrower as a Borrower hereunder and under the other Loan Documents shall be automatically and irrevocably released (the assumption described in this Section 10.25, the “Effective Date Assumption”).

 

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10.26      ICAV Claims. Any recourse of a party hereto against the ICAV in respect of any claims arising under or in relation to this Agreement against any PGIM Fund (“Claims”) shall be limited to the assets of such PGIM Fund and no such party shall have any recourse to any other assets of the ICAV or any other PGIM Fund. If, following the realization of all of the assets of the relevant PGIM Fund and the application of such realization proceeds in payment of all Claims relating to such PGIM Fund (if any) and all other liabilities (if any) of such PGIM Fund ranking pari passu with or senior to the Claims which have recourse to such PGIM Fund, the Claims are not paid in full, (a) the amount outstanding in respect of the Claims relating to such PGIM Fund shall be automatically extinguished, and (b) no party hereto shall have any further right of payment in respect thereof.

 

11.          THE BORROWER REPRESENTATIVE.

 

11.1        Appointment; Nature of Relationship. Suja Merger Sub, LLC, prior to the consummation of the Merger, and Suja life, LLC, after the consummation of the Merger and after giving effect to the Effective Date Assumption, is hereby appointed by each of the Borrowers as its contractual representative (herein referred to as the “Borrower Representative”) hereunder and under each other Loan Document, and each of the Borrowers irrevocably authorizes the Borrower Representative to act as the contractual representative of such Borrower with the rights and duties expressly set forth herein and in the other Loan Documents. The Borrower Representative agrees to act as such contractual representative upon the express conditions contained in this Article XI. The Administrative Agent and the Lenders, and their respective officers, directors, agents or employees, shall not be liable to the Borrower Representative or any Borrower for any action taken or omitted to be taken by the Borrower Representative or the Borrowers pursuant to this Section 11.01.

 

11.2        Powers. The Borrower Representative shall have and may exercise such powers under the Loan Documents as are specifically delegated to the Borrower Representative by the terms of each thereof, together with such powers as are reasonably incidental thereto. The Borrower Representative shall have no implied duties to the Borrowers, or any obligation to the Lenders to take any action thereunder except any action specifically provided by the Loan Documents to be taken by the Borrower Representative.

 

11.3        Employment of Agents. The Borrower Representative may execute any of its duties as the Borrower Representative hereunder and under any other Loan Document by or through authorized officers.

 

11.4        Successor Borrower Representative. Upon the prior written consent of the Administrative Agent (such consent not to be unreasonably withheld, denied, delayed or conditioned), the Borrower Representative may resign at any time, such resignation to be effective upon the appointment of a successor Borrower Representative. The Administrative Agent shall give prompt written notice of such resignation to the Lenders.

 

11.5        Execution of Loan Documents. The Borrowers hereby empower and authorize the Borrower Representative, on behalf of the Borrowers, to execute and deliver to the Administrative Agent and the Lenders the Loan Documents and all related agreements, certificates, documents, or instruments as shall be necessary or appropriate to effect the purposes of the Loan Documents, including, without limitation, the Compliance Certificates. Each Borrower agrees that any action taken by the Borrower Representative or the Borrowers in accordance with the terms of this Agreement or the other Loan Documents, and the exercise by the Borrower Representative of its powers set forth therein or herein, together with such other powers that are reasonably incidental thereto, shall be binding upon all of the Borrowers.

 

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ANNEX B

 

Exhibit 2.19-3 to Credit Agreement

 

[See attached]

 

 

 

NOTICE OF INCREMENTAL DELAYED DRAW
TERM LOAN [COMMITMENT] [BORROWING]

 

                      , 20             

 

JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., in its capacity as Administrative Agent

10 S Dearborn St,

Chicago, IL 60603

Attn: August Dunn, Client Services Specialist

Fax: [***]

Email: [***]; [***]

 

Ladies and Gentlemen:

 

The undersigned, SUJA LIFE, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company (“Borrower”; together with each Restricted Subsidiary of Holdings from time to time party to the Credit Agreement (as defined below) designated as an additional Borrower pursuant to Section 10.22 thereof, each, individually, a “Borrower”, and collectively, “Borrowers”), refer to that certain Credit Agreement dated as of August 23, 2021 (as amended, restated, supplemented, extended or otherwise modified from time to time, the “Credit Agreement”) by and among Borrowers, the LENDERS, and JPMORGAN CHASE BANK, N.A., in its capacity as administrative agent (the “Administrative Agent”). Capitalized terms used herein and not otherwise defined herein shall have the meanings assigned to such terms in the Credit Agreement.

 

The Borrower Representative hereby gives you notice pursuant to Section 2.19(a) of the Credit Agreement, that the Borrowers hereby request [an increase in the aggregate amount of the DDTL Commitments pursuant to the provisions of Section 2.19] [a Tranche of Incremental Delayed Draw Term Loans] under the Credit Agreement, and in connection therewith sets forth below the terms [on which such increase is requested to be made] [relating to such Tranche of Incremental Delayed Draw Term Loans (the “Proposed Borrowing”), as required by Section 2.19(a) of the Credit Agreement]:

 

1.             The [requested Incremental Delayed Draw Term Loan Commitment] [Tranche of Incremental Delayed Draw Term Loans to be borrowed] is in an aggregate principal amount of $[      ]1.

 

2.             The [effective date of the requested Incremental Delayed Draw Term Loan Commitment] [advance date of the proposed Incremental Delayed Draw Term Loans comprising such Tranche] is [             , 20 ].

 

 
1 Incremental Delayed Draw Term Loans shall be at least $1,000,000 and in integral multiples of $1,000,000 in excess thereof (provided that such amounts may be less if representing all remaining availability under the limit set forth in the Credit Agreement).

 

 

 

3.             [All Incremental Delayed Draw Term Loans comprising such Tranche shall accrue interest at a per annum rate equal to the Adjusted Term SOFR R a t e plus an Applicable Margin of [            ]% for Term Benchmark Borrowings, and the Base Rate plus an Applicable Margin of [                        ]% for Base Rate Borrowings, with such interest payable as set forth in the Credit Agreement.

 

4.             The maturity date of the Incremental Delayed Draw Term Loans comprising such Tranche is [              ].

 

5.             Borrower shall repay the principal amount of the Incremental Delayed Draw Term Loans comprising such Tranche (with such payments being applied to all Incremental Delayed Draw Term Loans comprising such Tranche on a pro rata basis) on the principal payment dates below as follows:

 

Principal Payment Date Amount of Installment
[                      , 20     ] $[                         ]
[                      , 20     ] $[                         ]
Term Loan Maturity Date $[                         ]

 

6.             Borrowers hereby request that the proceeds of the Incremental Delayed Draw Term Loans made pursuant to this notice be wired to the following account: [insert wire information].

 

7.             The Tranche of Incremental Delayed Draw Term Loans advanced in connection with the Proposed Borrowing shall be identified as Tranche No. [  ]. ]

 

[Remainder of Page Intentionally Left Blank]

 

 

 

 

  Very truly yours,
   
  SUJA LIFE LLC,
as Borrower Representative
     
  By:  
    Name:
    Title:

 

NOTICE OF INCREMENTAL DELAYED DRAW TERM LOAN

 

Exhibit 10.9

 

FORM OF

 

INDEMNIFICATION AGREEMENT

 

THIS INDEMNIFICATION AGREEMENT (this “Agreement”) is made and entered into as of [         ], 20[      ] between Suja Life, Inc., a Delaware corporation (the “Company”), and [        ] (the “Indemnitee”). Capitalized terms used but not otherwise defined herein shall have the meaning set forth in Section 14 hereof.

 

WHEREAS, highly competent persons have become more reluctant to serve corporations as directors or officers or in other capacities unless they are provided with adequate protection through insurance or adequate indemnification against inordinate risks of claims and actions against them arising out of their service to and activities on behalf of the corporation;

 

WHEREAS, the bylaws of the Company (as amended, restated, modified, and/or supplemented from to time, the “Bylaws”) require indemnification of the directors and officers of the Company;

 

WHEREAS, the certificate of incorporation of the Company (as amended, restated, modified and/or supplemented from to time, the “Charter”), the Bylaws and the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware (the “DGCL”) expressly contemplate that contracts may be entered into between the Company and members of the Board of Directors of the Company (the “Board”), officers of the Company and other persons with respect to indemnification and advancement of Expenses;

 

WHEREAS, the uncertainties relating to insurance and indemnification have increased the difficulty of attracting and retaining directors and officers;

 

WHEREAS, the Board has determined that the increased difficulty in attracting and retaining directors and officers is detrimental to the best interests of the Company and its stockholders and that the Company should act to assure such persons that there will be increased certainty of such protection in the future;

 

WHEREAS, it is reasonable, prudent and necessary for the Company to indemnify, and to advance Expenses on behalf of, the Company’s directors and officers to the Fullest Extent Permitted By Applicable Law; [and]1

 

[WHEREAS, the Indemnitee may have certain rights to indemnification, advancement of Expenses and/or insurance provided by Paine Schwartz Partners, which the Indemnitee, the Company and Paine Schwartz Partners intend to be secondary to the primary obligation of the Company to indemnify the Indemnitee as provided herein, with the Company’s acknowledgment of and agreement to the foregoing being a material condition to the Indemnitee’s willingness to serve as a director and/or officer of the Company; and]2

 

 

1Note to Draft: Bracketed language to be included for officers and non-Paine Schwartz Partners-affiliated directors.
2Note to Draft: Bracketed language to be included for Paine Schwartz Partners-affiliated directors.

 

 

 

 

WHEREAS, the Indemnitee may not be willing to serve or continue to serve as an officer or director without adequate protection, and the Company desires the Indemnitee to serve or continue to serve in such capacity.

 

NOW, THEREFORE, each party hereto, intending to be legally bound hereby, agrees as follows:

 

1.Indemnity of the Indemnitee. On the terms and subject to the conditions set forth in this Agreement, the Company hereby agrees to hold harmless and indemnify the Indemnitee to the Fullest Extent Permitted By Applicable Law. In furtherance of the foregoing indemnification, and without limiting the generality thereof:

 

(a)Proceedings Other Than Proceedings by or in the Right of the Company. The Indemnitee shall be entitled to the rights of indemnification provided in this Section 1(a) if the Indemnitee has been or is, or is threatened to be made, a party to or participant in, or otherwise becomes involved in, any Proceeding other than a Proceeding by or in the right of the Company. Pursuant to this Section 1(a), the Indemnitee shall be indemnified to the Fullest Extent Permitted By Applicable Law against all Losses and Expenses actually and reasonably incurred by the Indemnitee or on the Indemnitee’s behalf in connection with such Proceeding or any claim, issue or matter therein, if the Indemnitee acted in good faith and in a manner the Indemnitee reasonably believed to be in or not opposed to the best interests of the Company, and with respect to any criminal Proceeding, had no reasonable cause to believe the Indemnitee’s conduct was unlawful.

 

(b)Proceedings by or in the Right of the Company. The Indemnitee shall be entitled to the rights of indemnification provided in this Section 1(b) if the Indemnitee has been or is, or is threatened to be made, a party to or participant in, or otherwise becomes involved in, any Proceeding brought by or in the right of the Company. Pursuant to this Section 1(b), the Indemnitee shall be indemnified to the Fullest Extent Permitted By Applicable Law against all Expenses actually and reasonably incurred by the Indemnitee or on the Indemnitee’s behalf in connection with such Proceeding or any claim, issue or matter therein if the Indemnitee acted in good faith and in a manner the Indemnitee reasonably believed to be in or not opposed to the best interests of the Company; provided, however, if applicable law so provides, no indemnification against such Expenses shall be made in respect of any claim, issue or matter in such Proceeding as to which the Indemnitee shall have been adjudged to be liable to the Company unless and only to the extent that the Chancery Court of the State of Delaware (the “Delaware Court”) or the court in which such Proceeding was brought shall determine that the Indemnitee is fairly and reasonably entitled to such indemnification.

 

 2 

 

 

(c)Indemnification for Expenses of a Party Who is Wholly or Partly Successful. Notwithstanding any other provision of this Agreement (other than Section 9), to the extent that the Indemnitee is successful, on the merits or otherwise, in defense of any Proceeding, the Indemnitee shall be indemnified to the Fullest Extent Permitted By Applicable Law against all Expenses actually and reasonably incurred by the Indemnitee or on the Indemnitee’s behalf in connection therewith. If the Indemnitee is not wholly successful in such Proceeding but is successful, on the merits or otherwise, as to one or more but less than all claims, issues or matters in such Proceeding, the Company shall indemnify the Indemnitee against all Expenses actually and reasonably incurred by the Indemnitee or on the Indemnitee’s behalf in connection with each successfully resolved claim, issue, or matter. For purposes of this Section 1(c) and without limitation, the termination of any claim, issue or matter in such a Proceeding by dismissal, with or without prejudice, on substantive or procedural grounds, shall be deemed to be a successful result as to such claim, issue or matter.

 

2.Additional Indemnity. Notwithstanding any limitations in Section 1 of this Agreement, the Company shall indemnify the Indemnitee to the Fullest Extent Permitted By Applicable Law if the Indemnitee is, or is threatened to be made, a party to or a participant in any Proceeding (including a Proceeding by or in the right of the Company to procure a judgment in its favor) for all Losses and Expenses actually and reasonably incurred by the Indemnitee or on the Indemnitee’s behalf.

 

3.Contribution.

 

(a)Whether or not the indemnification provided in Sections 1 and 2 hereof is available, in respect of any threatened, pending or completed Proceeding in which the Company is jointly liable with the Indemnitee (or would be if joined in such Proceeding), to the Fullest Extent Permitted By Applicable Law, the Company shall pay, in the first instance, the entire amount of any judgment or settlement of such Proceeding without requiring the Indemnitee to contribute to such payment and the Company hereby waives and relinquishes any right of contribution it may have against the Indemnitee. The Company shall not enter into any settlement of any Proceeding in which the Company is jointly liable with the Indemnitee (or would be if joined in such Proceeding) unless such settlement (i) provides for a full and final release of all claims asserted against the Indemnitee and (ii) does not impose any Loss, Expense or limitation on the Indemnitee.

 

(b)Without diminishing or impairing the obligations of the Company set forth in the preceding subsection, if, for any reason, the Indemnitee shall elect or be required to pay all or any portion of any judgment or settlement in any threatened, pending or completed Proceeding in which the Company is jointly liable with the Indemnitee (or would be if joined in such Proceeding), to the Fullest Extent Permitted By Applicable Law, the Company shall contribute to the amount of Losses and Expenses actually and reasonably incurred and paid or payable by the Indemnitee in proportion to the relative benefits received by the Company and all officers, directors or employees of the Company, other than the Indemnitee, who are jointly liable with the Indemnitee (or would be if joined in such Proceeding), on the one hand, and the Indemnitee, on the other hand, from the transaction or events from which such Proceeding arose; provided, however, that the proportion determined on the basis of relative benefit may, to the extent necessary to conform to law, be further adjusted by reference to the relative fault of the Company and all officers, directors or employees of the Company, other than the Indemnitee, who are jointly liable with the Indemnitee (or would be if joined in such Proceeding), on the one hand, and the Indemnitee, on the other hand, in connection with the transaction or events that resulted in such Losses or Expenses, as well as any other equitable considerations which applicable law may require to be considered. The relative fault of the Company and all officers, directors or employees of the Company, other than the Indemnitee, who are jointly liable with the Indemnitee (or would be if joined in such Proceeding), on the one hand, and the Indemnitee, on the other hand, shall be determined by reference to, among other things, the degree to which their actions were motivated by intent to gain personal profit or advantage, the degree to which their liability is primary or secondary and the degree to which their conduct is active or passive.

 

 3 

 

 

(c)To the Fullest Extent Permitted By Applicable Law, the Company hereby agrees to fully indemnify and hold the Indemnitee harmless from any claims of contribution that may be brought by officers, directors, or employees of the Company, other than the Indemnitee, who may be jointly liable with the Indemnitee.

 

(d)To the Fullest Extent Permitted By Applicable Law, if the indemnification provided for in this Agreement is unavailable to the Indemnitee for any reason whatsoever, the Company, in lieu of indemnifying the Indemnitee, shall contribute to the amount incurred by the Indemnitee, whether for Losses and/or for Expenses, in connection with any claim relating to an indemnifiable event under this Agreement, in such proportion as is deemed fair and reasonable in light of all of the circumstances of such Proceeding in order to reflect (i) the relative benefits received by the Company and the Indemnitee as a result of the event(s) and/or transaction(s) giving cause to such Proceeding, and/or (ii) the relative fault of the Company (and its directors, officers, employees and agents) and the Indemnitee in connection with such event(s) and/or transaction(s).

 

4.Indemnification for Expenses of a Witness. Notwithstanding any other provision of this Agreement (other than Section 9), to the Fullest Extent Permitted By Applicable Law and to the extent that the Indemnitee is a witness, or is made (or asked) to respond to discovery requests, in any Proceeding to which the Indemnitee is not a party, the Indemnitee shall be indemnified against all Expenses actually and reasonably incurred by the Indemnitee or on the Indemnitee’s behalf in connection therewith.

 

5.Advancement of Expenses. Notwithstanding any other provision of this Agreement, the Company shall advance, to the Fullest Extent Permitted By Applicable Law, all Expenses incurred by or on behalf of the Indemnitee in connection with any Proceeding within 30 days after the receipt by the Company of a statement or statements from the Indemnitee requesting such advance or advances from time to time, whether prior to or after final disposition of such Proceeding. Such statement or statements shall reasonably evidence the Expenses incurred by the Indemnitee. The Indemnitee’s execution and delivery to the Company of this Agreement shall constitute an undertaking providing that the Indemnitee undertakes to repay the amounts advanced by the Company pursuant to this Agreement, if and only to the extent that it is ultimately determined that the Indemnitee is not entitled to be indemnified by the Company. No other form of undertaking shall be required other than the execution of this Agreement. Any advances and undertakings to repay pursuant to this Agreement shall be unsecured and interest free.

 

 4 

 

 

6.Procedures and Presumptions for Determination of Entitlement to Indemnification. It is the intent of this Agreement to secure for the Indemnitee rights of indemnity that are as favorable as may be permitted under the DGCL and the public policy of the State of Delaware. Accordingly, the parties agree that the following procedures and presumptions shall apply in the event of any question as to whether the Indemnitee is entitled to indemnification under this Agreement:

 

(a)To obtain indemnification under this Agreement, the Indemnitee shall submit to the Company a written request, including therein or therewith such documentation and information as is reasonably available to the Indemnitee and is reasonably necessary to determine whether and to what extent the Indemnitee is entitled to indemnification. The Secretary of the Company shall, promptly upon receipt of such a request for indemnification, advise the Board in writing that the Indemnitee has requested indemnification. Notwithstanding the foregoing, any failure of the Indemnitee to provide such a request to the Company, or to provide such a request in a timely fashion, shall not relieve the Company of any liability that it may have to the Indemnitee unless, and to the extent that, such failure actually and materially prejudices the interests of the Company.

 

(b)Upon written request by the Indemnitee for indemnification pursuant to the first sentence of Section 6(a) hereof, a determination with respect to the Indemnitee’s entitlement thereto shall be made in the specific case by one of the following four methods, which shall be at the election of the Board: (i) by a majority vote of the Disinterested Directors, even though less than a quorum, (ii) by a committee of Disinterested Directors designated by a majority vote of the Disinterested Directors, even though less than a quorum, (iii) if there are no Disinterested Directors or if the Disinterested Directors so direct, by Independent Counsel in a written opinion to the Board, a copy of which shall be delivered to the Indemnitee, or (iv) if so directed by the Board, by the stockholders of the Company; provided, however, that if a Change in Control has occurred, the determination with respect to the Indemnitee’s entitlement to indemnification shall be made by Independent Counsel.

 

 5 

 

 

(c)If the determination of entitlement to indemnification is to be made by Independent Counsel pursuant to Section 6(b) hereof, the Independent Counsel shall be selected as provided in this Section 6(c). If a Change in Control has not occurred, the Independent Counsel shall be selected by the Board, and the Company shall give written notice to the Indemnitee advising the Indemnitee of the identity of the Independent Counsel so selected. The Indemnitee may, within 10 days after such written notice of selection shall have been given, deliver to the Company a written objection to such selection; provided, however, that such objection may be asserted only on the ground that the Independent Counsel so selected does not meet the requirements of “Independent Counsel” as defined in Section 14 of this Agreement, and the objection shall set forth with particularity the factual basis of such assertion. Absent a proper and timely objection, the person so selected shall act as Independent Counsel. If a written objection is made and substantiated, the Independent Counsel selected may not serve as Independent Counsel unless and until such objection is withdrawn or a court has determined that such objection is without merit. If a Change in Control has occurred, the Independent Counsel shall be selected by the Indemnitee (unless the Indemnitee requests that such selection be made by the Board, in which event the preceding sentence shall apply) and approved by the Board (which approval shall not be unreasonably withheld). If (i) an Independent Counsel is to make the determination of entitlement pursuant to this Section 6, and (ii) within 20 days after submission by the Indemnitee of a written request for indemnification pursuant to Section 6(a) hereof, no Independent Counsel shall have been selected (and not objected to), either the Company or the Indemnitee may petition the Delaware Court or other court of competent jurisdiction for resolution of any objection which shall have been made by the Indemnitee to the Company’s selection of Independent Counsel and/or for the appointment as Independent Counsel of a person selected by the court or by such other person as the court shall designate, and the person with respect to whom all objections are so resolved or the person so appointed shall act as Independent Counsel under Section 6(b) hereof. The Company shall pay any and all reasonable fees and expenses of Independent Counsel incurred by such Independent Counsel in connection with acting pursuant to Section 6(b) hereof, and the Company shall pay all reasonable fees and expenses incident to the procedures of this Section 6(c), regardless of the manner in which such Independent Counsel was selected or appointed.

 

(d)In making a determination with respect to entitlement to indemnification hereunder, the person, persons or entity making such determination shall, to the Fullest Extent Permitted By Applicable Law, presume that the Indemnitee is entitled to indemnification under this Agreement, and the burden of proof and the burden of persuasion by clear and convincing evidence to overcome this presumption shall be on the Company. Neither the failure of the Company (including by its directors or Independent Counsel) to have made a determination prior to the commencement of any action pursuant to this Agreement that indemnification is proper in the circumstances because the Indemnitee has met the applicable standard of conduct, nor an actual determination by the Company (including by its directors or Independent Counsel) that the Indemnitee has not met such applicable standard of conduct, shall be a defense to the action or create a presumption that the Indemnitee has not met the applicable standard of conduct.

 

 6 

 

 

(e)The Indemnitee shall be deemed to have acted in good faith if the Indemnitee’s action is based on the records or books of account of the Enterprise, including financial statements, on information supplied to the Indemnitee by the officers of the Enterprise in the course of their duties, on the advice of legal counsel for the Enterprise, or on information or records given or reports made to the Enterprise by an independent certified public accountant or by an appraiser or other expert selected with reasonable care by the Enterprise. In addition, the knowledge and/or actions, or failure to act, of any other director, officer, agent, or employee of the Enterprise shall not be imputed to the Indemnitee for purposes of determining the right to indemnification under this Agreement. Whether or not the foregoing provisions of this Section 6(e) are satisfied, it shall in any event be presumed that the Indemnitee has at all times acted in good faith and in a manner the Indemnitee reasonably believed to be in or not opposed to the best interests of the Company and the burden of proof and the burden of persuasion by clear and convincing evidence to overcome this presumption shall be on the Company.

 

(f)If the person, persons or entity empowered or selected under Section 6 to determine whether the Indemnitee is entitled to indemnification shall not have made a determination within 60 days after receipt by the Company of the request therefor, the requisite determination of entitlement to indemnification shall, to the Fullest Extent Permitted By Applicable Law, be deemed to have been made and the Indemnitee shall be entitled to such indemnification absent (i) a misstatement by the Indemnitee of a material fact, or an omission of a material fact necessary to make the Indemnitee’s statement not materially misleading, in connection with the request for indemnification, (ii) a prohibition of such indemnification under applicable law or (iii) if the determination of entitlement to indemnification is to be made by Independent Counsel pursuant to Section 6(b) of this Agreement; provided, however, that such 60-day period may be extended for a reasonable time, not to exceed an additional 30 days, if the person, persons or entity making such determination with respect to entitlement to indemnification in good faith requires such additional time to obtain or evaluate documentation and/or information relating thereto; and provided, further, that the foregoing provisions of this Section 6(f) shall not apply if the determination of entitlement to indemnification is to be made by the stockholders pursuant to Section 6(b) of this Agreement and if (A) within 15 days after receipt by the Company of the request for such determination, the Board or the Disinterested Directors, if appropriate, resolve to submit such determination to the stockholders for their consideration at an annual meeting thereof to be held within 75 days after such receipt and such determination is made thereat, or (B) a special meeting of stockholders is called within 15 days after such receipt for the purpose of making such determination, such meeting is held for such purpose within 60 days after having been so called and such determination is made thereat.

 

 7 

 

 

(g)The Indemnitee shall cooperate with the person, persons or entity making such determination with respect to the Indemnitee’s entitlement to indemnification, including providing to such person, persons or entity upon reasonable advance request any documentation or information that is not privileged or otherwise protected from disclosure and that is reasonably available to the Indemnitee and reasonably necessary to such determination. Any Independent Counsel, member of the Board or stockholder of the Company shall act reasonably and in good faith in making a determination regarding the Indemnitee’s entitlement to indemnification under this Agreement. Any costs or Expenses (including attorneys’ fees and disbursements) incurred by the Indemnitee in so cooperating with the person, persons or entity making such determination shall be borne by the Company (irrespective of the determination as to the Indemnitee’s entitlement to indemnification) and the Company hereby indemnifies and agrees to hold the Indemnitee harmless therefrom.

 

(h)The Company acknowledges that a settlement or other disposition of any action, claim or proceeding to which the Indemnitee is a party or potential party short of final judgment may be successful on the merits or otherwise if it permits the Indemnitee to avoid the expense, delay, distraction, disruption, and uncertainty of litigation. In the event that any action, claim or proceeding to which the Indemnitee is a party is resolved in any manner other than by adverse judgment against the Indemnitee (including, without limitation, settlement of such action, claim or proceeding with or without payment of money or other consideration), it shall to the Fullest Extent Permitted By Applicable Law be presumed that the Indemnitee has been successful on the merits or otherwise in such Proceeding, and the burden of proof and the burden of persuasion by clear and convincing evidence to overcome this presumption shall be on the Company.

 

(i)The termination of any Proceeding or of any claim, issue or matter therein, by judgment, order, settlement or conviction, or upon a plea of nolo contendere or its equivalent, shall not (except as otherwise expressly provided in this Agreement) of itself adversely affect the right of the Indemnitee to indemnification or create a presumption that the Indemnitee did not act in good faith and in a manner which the Indemnitee reasonably believed to be in, or not opposed to, the best interests of the Company or, with respect to any criminal Proceeding, that the Indemnitee had reasonable cause to believe that the Indemnitee’s conduct was unlawful.

 

7.Remedies of the Indemnitee.

 

(a)In the event that (i) a determination is made pursuant to Section 6 of this Agreement that the Indemnitee is not entitled to indemnification under this Agreement, (ii) advancement of Expenses is not timely made pursuant to Section 5 of this Agreement, (iii) no determination of entitlement to indemnification is made pursuant to Section 6(b) of this Agreement within 90 days after receipt by the Company of the request for indemnification, (iv) if no determination is required to be made by the Company pursuant to Section 1(c) of this Agreement, payment of indemnification is not made pursuant to Section 1(c) of this Agreement within 30 days after receipt by the Company of a written request therefor or (v) payment of indemnification is not made within 30 days after a determination has been made that the Indemnitee is entitled to indemnification or such determination is deemed to have been made pursuant to Section 6 of this Agreement, the Indemnitee shall be entitled to an adjudication in an appropriate court, pursuant to Section 22 of this Agreement, of the Indemnitee’s entitlement to such indemnification, contribution or advancement of Expenses.

 

 8 

 

 

(b)In the event that a determination shall have been made pursuant to Section 6(b) of this Agreement that the Indemnitee is not entitled to indemnification, any judicial proceeding or arbitration commenced pursuant to this Section 7 shall be conducted in all respects as a de novo trial, or arbitration, on the merits, and the Indemnitee shall not be prejudiced by reason of the adverse determination under Section 6(b). In any judicial proceeding or arbitration commenced pursuant to this Section 7, the Indemnitee shall be presumed to be entitled to indemnification under this Agreement and the Company shall have the burden of proving the Indemnitee is not entitled to indemnification or advancement of Expenses, as the case may be. If the Indemnitee commences a judicial proceeding or arbitration pursuant to this Section 7, the Indemnitee shall not be required to reimburse the Company for any advances pursuant to Section 5 until a final determination is made with respect to the Indemnitee’s entitlement to indemnification (as to which all rights of appeal have been exhausted or lapsed).

 

(c)If a determination shall have been made pursuant to Section 6(b) of this Agreement that the Indemnitee is entitled to indemnification, the Company shall be bound by such determination in any judicial proceeding or arbitration commenced pursuant to this Section 7, absent (i) a misstatement by the Indemnitee of a material fact, or an omission of a material fact, necessary to make the Indemnitee’s misstatement not materially misleading in connection with the application for indemnification, or (ii) a prohibition of such indemnification under applicable law.

 

(d)In the event that the Indemnitee, pursuant to this Section 7, incurs costs in a judicial or arbitration proceeding or otherwise seeking to enforce the Indemnitee’s rights under, or to recover damages for breach of, this Agreement, or to recover under any directors’ and officers’ liability insurance policies maintained by the Company, the Company shall, to the Fullest Extent Permitted By Applicable Law, indemnify the Indemnitee against any and all Expenses and, if requested by the Indemnitee, shall (within 10 days after receipt by the Company of a written request therefor) advance, to the Fullest Extent Permitted By Applicable Law, such Expenses to the Indemnitee that are incurred by or on behalf of the Indemnitee in connection with any action brought by the Indemnitee for indemnification or advancement of Expenses from the Company under this Agreement or under any directors’ and officers’ liability insurance policies maintained by the Company.

 

In the case of any action brought by the Indemnitee for indemnification, if the Indemnitee (i) is wholly successful, on the merits or otherwise, on the underlying claims, the Company shall indemnify the Indemnitee to the Fullest Extent Permitted By Applicable Law, against all Expenses actually and reasonably incurred by the Indemnitee or on the Indemnitee’s behalf in connection therewith, or (ii) is not wholly successful on the underlying claims but is successful, on the merits or otherwise, as to one or more but less than all claims, the Company shall indemnify the Indemnitee against all Expenses actually and reasonably incurred by the Indemnitee or on the Indemnitee’s behalf in connection with each successfully resolved claim.

 

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(e)The Company agrees that it shall not assert in any judicial or arbitral proceeding commenced pursuant to this Section 7 that the procedures and presumptions of this Agreement are not valid, binding and enforceable and shall stipulate in any such court or before any such arbitrator that the Company is bound by all the provisions of this Agreement.

 

(f)Notwithstanding anything in this Agreement to the contrary, no determination as to entitlement to indemnification under this Agreement shall be required to be made prior to the final disposition of the Proceeding.

 

8.Non-Exclusivity; Survival of Rights; Insurance; Subrogation.

 

(a)The rights of indemnification and to receive advancement of Expenses as provided by this Agreement shall not be deemed exclusive of any other rights to which the Indemnitee may at any time be entitled under applicable law, the Charter, any agreement, a vote of stockholders, a resolution of directors of the Company, or otherwise; provided, however, that this Agreement shall supersede and replace any rights and obligations of the Company and the Indemnitee with respect to indemnification and the advancement of Expenses that are granted pursuant to the Bylaws, and, for so long as this Agreement is in effect, the Indemnitee waives any right to indemnification or advancement of Expenses from the Company under the Bylaws that is not permitted or provided by this Agreement. No amendment, alteration, or repeal of this Agreement or of any provision hereof shall eliminate, reduce, or otherwise adversely affect any right or protection of the Indemnitee under this Agreement with respect to any Proceeding involving any action or omission that occurred or allegedly occurred prior to such amendment, alteration, or repeal. To the extent that a change in the DGCL, whether by statute or judicial decision, permits greater indemnification than would be afforded currently under the Charter, the Bylaws and this Agreement, it is the intent of the parties hereto that the Indemnitee shall enjoy by this Agreement the greater benefits so afforded by such change, and the scope of indemnification provided by this Agreement shall be automatically extended to include such greater indemnification rights. No right or remedy herein conferred is intended to be exclusive of any other right or remedy, and every other right and remedy shall be cumulative and in addition to every other right and remedy given hereunder or now or hereafter existing at law or in equity or otherwise. The assertion or employment of any right or remedy hereunder, or otherwise, shall not prevent the concurrent assertion or employment of any other right or remedy.

 

 10 

 

 

(b)The Company shall make commercially reasonable efforts to obtain and maintain in effect during the entire period for which the Company is obligated to indemnify the Indemnitee under this Agreement, one or more policies of insurance with reputable insurance companies to provide the directors and officers of the Company with commercially reasonable coverage for losses from wrongful acts and omissions and to ensure the Company’s performance of its indemnification obligations under this Agreement. The Indemnitee shall be covered by such policy or policies in accordance with its or their terms to the maximum extent of the coverage available for any director or officer under such policy or policies. In all such insurance policies, the Indemnitee shall be named as an insured in such a manner as to provide the Indemnitee with the same rights and benefits as are accorded to the most favorably insured of the Company’s directors and officers. At the time of the receipt of a notice of a claim pursuant to the terms hereof, the Company shall give prompt notice of the commencement of such proceeding to the insurers in accordance with the procedures set forth in the respective policies. The Company shall thereafter take all necessary or desirable action to cause such insurers to pay, on behalf of the Indemnitee, all amounts payable as a result of such proceeding in accordance with the terms of such policies.

 

(c)[The Company hereby acknowledges that the Indemnitee has certain rights to indemnification, advancement of Expenses and/or insurance provided by Paine Schwartz Partners. With respect to any amounts that are subject to indemnity under this Agreement and also subject to an indemnity obligation owed by Paine Schwartz Partners, the Company hereby agrees (i) that, as compared to Paine Schwartz Partners, the Company is the indemnitor of first resort with respect to any rights to indemnification provided to the Indemnitee herein (i.e., its obligations to the Indemnitee are primary and any obligation of Paine Schwartz Partners to advance Expenses or to provide indemnification for the same Expenses or liabilities incurred by the Indemnitee is secondary), (ii) that the Company shall be required to advance the full amount of Expenses incurred by the Indemnitee and shall be liable for the full amount of all Losses and Expenses to the extent legally permitted and as required by the terms of this Agreement and the Charter or Bylaws of the Company (or any other agreement between the Company and the Indemnitee), without regard to any rights the Indemnitee may have against Paine Schwartz Partners, and (iii) that the Company irrevocably waives, relinquishes and releases Paine Schwartz Partners from any and all claims against Paine Schwartz Partners for contribution, subrogation or any other recovery of any kind in respect thereof. The Company further agrees that no advancement or payment by Paine Schwartz Partners on behalf of the Indemnitee with respect to any claim for which the Indemnitee has sought indemnification from the Company shall affect the foregoing and Paine Schwartz Partners shall have a right of contribution and/or be subrogated to the extent of such advancement or payment to all of the rights of recovery of the Indemnitee against the Company. The Company and the Indemnitee agree that Paine Schwartz Partners is an express third-party beneficiary of the terms of this Section 8(c).]3

 

 

3Note to Draft: Bracketed language to be included for Paine Schwartz Partners-affiliated directors.

 

 11 

 

 

(d)[Except as provided in Section 8(c) above, in]4 In the event of any payment under this Agreement, the Company shall be subrogated to the extent of such payment to all of the rights of recovery of the Indemnitee [other than against Paine Schwartz Partners)]5, who shall execute all papers required and take all action necessary to secure such rights, including execution of such documents as are necessary to enable the Company to bring suit to enforce such rights.

 

(e)[Except as provided in Section 8(c) above, the]6 The Company shall not be liable under this Agreement to make any payment of amounts otherwise indemnifiable (or for which advancement of Expenses is provided) hereunder if and to the extent that the Indemnitee has otherwise actually received such payment under any insurance policy, contract, agreement or otherwise.

 

9.Exception to Right of Indemnification. Notwithstanding any provision in this Agreement, the Charter or the Bylaws, the Company shall not be obligated under this Agreement, the Charter, or the Bylaws to make any indemnity or advancement of Expenses in connection with any claim made against the Indemnitee:

 

(a)for which payment has actually been made to or on behalf of the Indemnitee under any insurance policy or other indemnity provision, except with respect to any excess beyond the amount paid under any insurance policy or other indemnity provision; [provided, that the foregoing shall not affect the rights of the Indemnitee or Paine Schwartz Partners set forth in Section 8(c) above;]7 or

 

(b)for an accounting of profits made from the purchase and sale (or sale and purchase) by the Indemnitee of securities of the Company within the meaning of Section 16(b) of the Exchange Act, or similar provisions of state statutory law or common law; or

 

(c)for reimbursement to the Company of any bonus or other incentive-based or equity-based compensation or of any profits realized by the Indemnitee from the sale of securities of the Company, in each case as required under the Exchange Act (including any such reimbursements that arise from an accounting restatement of the Company pursuant to Section 304 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, as amended (the “Sarbanes-Oxley Act”), or Section 954 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act in connection with an accounting restatement of the Company or the payment to the Company of profits arising from the purchase and sale by the Indemnitee of securities in violation of Section 306 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act); or

 

 

4Note to Draft: Bracketed language to be included for Paine Schwartz Partners-affiliated directors.
5Note to Draft: Bracketed language to be included for Paine Schwartz Partners-affiliated directors.
6Note to Draft: Bracketed language to be included for Paine Schwartz Partners-affiliated directors.
7Note to Draft: Bracketed language to be included for Paine Schwartz Partners-affiliated directors.

 

 12 

 

 

(d)in connection with any Proceeding (or any part of any Proceeding) initiated by the Indemnitee, including any Proceeding (or any part of any Proceeding) initiated by the Indemnitee against the Company or its directors, officers, employees or other indemnitees, unless (i) the Board authorized the Proceeding (or any such part of any Proceeding) prior to its initiation, (ii) the Company provides the indemnification, in its sole discretion, pursuant to the powers vested in the Company under applicable law, or (iii) the Proceeding is one to enforce the Indemnitee’s rights under this Agreement; or

 

(e)reimbursement of the Company (such Proceeding, a “Clawback Proceeding”) by the Indemnitee of any compensation pursuant to any compensation recoupment or clawback policy adopted by the Board or the compensation committee of the Board, including, but not limited to, any such policy adopted to comply with stock exchange listing requirements implementing Section 10D of the Exchange Act (a “Clawback Policy”).

 

(f)In furtherance of paragraph (e) of this Section 9, the Indemnitee hereby agrees to abide by the terms of any Clawback Policy, including, without limitation, by returning any compensation to the Company to the extent required by, and in a manner permitted by, the Clawback Policy, and hereby understands and agrees that Indemnitee shall not be entitled to any (x) indemnification for any liability (including any amounts owed by the Indemnitee in a judgment or settlement of any Clawback Proceeding) or Losses incurred by the Indemnitee in connection with any Clawback Proceeding or (y) indemnification or advancement of Expenses from the Company or any subsidiary of the Company incurred by the Indemnitee in connection with any Clawback Proceeding; provided, however, that if the Indemnitee is successful on the merits in the defense of any claim asserted against the Indemnitee in a Clawback Proceeding, the Indemnitee shall be indemnified for the Expenses that the Indemnitee reasonably incurred to defend such claim. The Indemnitee hereby knowingly, voluntarily and intentionally waives, and agrees not to assert any claim regarding, all indemnification, advancement of Expenses and other rights to which the Indemnitee is now or becomes entitled to under this Agreement, the Charter, the Bylaws, the governing documents of each subsidiary of the Company and the DGCL, in each case to the extent such waiver and agreement is necessary to give effect to the preceding sentence of this paragraph. The Indemnitee agrees and acknowledges that the compensation the Indemnitee has or will receive from the Company or any of its subsidiaries constitutes fair and adequate consideration in exchange for the waiver and agreement provided by the Indemnitee in this paragraph.

 

 13 

 

 

10.Duration of Agreement. All agreements and obligations of the Company contained herein shall continue after the Indemnitee has ceased to be a director, officer, partner, trustee, member, manager, employee, agent, or fiduciary of the Company or of any other Enterprise. This Agreement shall be binding upon and inure to the benefit of and be enforceable by the parties hereto and their respective successors (including any direct or indirect successor by purchase, merger, consolidation or otherwise to all, substantially all or a substantial part of the business and/or assets of the Company), assigns, spouses, heirs, executors, administrators, and personal and legal representatives.

 

11.Security. To the extent requested by the Indemnitee and approved by the Board, the Company may at any time and from time to time provide security to the Indemnitee for the Company’s obligations hereunder through an irrevocable bank line of credit, funded trust, or other collateral. Any such security, once provided to the Indemnitee, may not be revoked or released without the prior written consent of the Indemnitee.

 

12.[Indemnification of Paine Schwartz Partners. If (i) the Indemnitee is or was affiliated with Paine Schwartz Partners, (ii) Paine Schwartz Partners is, or is threatened to be made, a party to or a participant in any Proceeding, and (iii) Paine Schwartz Partners’ involvement in the Proceeding results from any claim based on the Indemnitee’s service to the Company as a director or other fiduciary of the Company, Paine Schwartz Partners will be entitled to indemnification and advancement of Expenses hereunder to the same extent, and upon the same terms and conditions, as the Indemnitee. The Company and the Indemnitee agree that Paine Schwartz Partners is an express third-party beneficiary of the terms of this Section 12.]8 [RESERVED.]

 

13.Enforcement.

 

(a)The Company expressly confirms and agrees that it has entered into this Agreement and assumes the obligations imposed on it hereby in order to induce the Indemnitee to serve and to continue to serve as a director and/or officer of the Company, and the Company acknowledges that the Indemnitee is relying upon this Agreement in serving and continuing to serve as a director and/or officer of the Company.

 

(b)This Agreement constitutes the entire agreement between the parties hereto with respect to the subject matter hereof and supersedes all prior agreements and understandings, oral, written, and implied, between the parties hereto with respect to the subject matter hereof.

 

(c)The Company shall not seek from a court, or agree to, a “bar order” that would have the effect of prohibiting or limiting the Indemnitee’s rights to receive advancement of Expenses under this Agreement.

 

(d)The Company shall require and cause any successor (including any direct or indirect successor by purchase, merger, consolidation or otherwise to all, substantially all or a substantial part of the business and/or assets of the Company) to expressly assume and agree to perform this Agreement in the same manner and to the same extent that the Company would be required to perform if no such succession had taken place.

 

 

8Note to Draft: Bracketed language to be included for Paine Schwartz Partners-affiliated directors.

 

 14 

 

 

(e)The Company and the Indemnitee agree herein that a monetary remedy for breach of this Agreement, at some later date, may be inadequate, impracticable, and difficult of proof, and further agree that such breach may cause the Indemnitee irreparable harm. Accordingly, the parties hereto agree that the Indemnitee may enforce this Agreement by seeking injunctive relief and/or specific performance hereof, without any necessity of showing actual damage or irreparable harm and that by seeking injunctive relief and/or specific performance, the Indemnitee shall not be precluded from seeking or obtaining any other relief to which the Indemnitee may be entitled. The Company and the Indemnitee further agree that the Indemnitee shall be entitled to such specific performance and injunctive relief, including temporary restraining orders, preliminary injunctions, and permanent injunctions, without the necessity of posting bonds or other undertaking in connection therewith. The Company acknowledges that in the absence of a waiver, a bond or undertaking may be required of the Indemnitee by the court, and the Company hereby waives any such requirement of such a bond or undertaking.

 

14.Definitions. For purposes of this Agreement:

 

(a)“Beneficial Owner” shall have the meaning given to such term in Rule 13d-3 under the Exchange Act.

 

(b)“Change in Control” shall be deemed to occur upon the earliest to occur after the date of this Agreement of any of the following events:

 

(i)a change in ownership or control of the Company effected through a transaction or series of transactions (other than an offering of shares to the general public through a registration statement filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission or similar non-U.S. regulatory agency) whereby any “person,” as such term is used in Sections 13(d) and 14(d) of the Exchange Act (other than the Company, any trustee or other fiduciary holding securities under any employee benefit plan of the Company, or any company owned, directly or indirectly, by the stockholders of the Company in substantially the same proportions as their ownership of the Company), becomes the Beneficial Owner, directly or indirectly, of securities of the Company representing 50% or more of the combined voting power of the Company’s then-outstanding securities, excluding for purposes herein, acquisitions pursuant to a Business Combination that does not constitute a Change in Control as defined in Section 14(b)(ii);

 

 15 

 

 

(ii)the consummation of a merger, reorganization or consolidation of the Company with or into the Company or in which equity securities of the Company are issued (each, a “Business Combination”), other than a merger, reorganization or consolidation that would result in the voting securities of the Company outstanding immediately prior thereto continuing to represent (either by remaining outstanding or by being converted into voting securities of the surviving entity or its direct or indirect parent) more than 50% of the combined voting power of the voting securities of the Company or such surviving entity (or, as applicable, a direct or indirect parent of the Company or such surviving entity), outstanding immediately after such merger, reorganization or consolidation; provided, however, that a merger, reorganization or consolidation effected to implement a recapitalization of the Company (or similar transaction) in which no person (other than those covered by the exceptions in Section 14(b)(i)) acquires more than 50% of the combined voting power of the Company’s then-outstanding securities shall not constitute a Change in Control;

 

(iii)the date, within any consecutive two-year period commencing on or after the date of this Agreement, upon which individuals who, at the beginning of such period, constitute the Board together with any new director(s) (other than a director designated by a person who has entered into an agreement with the Company to effect a transaction described in Section 14(b)(i), 14(b)(ii) or 14(b)(iv) of this Agreement) whose election by the Board or nomination for election by the Company’s stockholders was approved by a vote of at least two-thirds of the directors then in office who either were directors at the beginning of the two-year period or whose election or nomination for election was previously so approved, cease for any reason to constitute a majority thereof;

 

(iv)a complete liquidation or dissolution of the Company or the consummation of a sale or disposition by the Company of all or substantially all of the Company’s assets other than the sale or disposition of all or substantially all of the assets of the Company to a person or persons who beneficially own, directly or indirectly, 50% or more of the combined voting power of the outstanding voting securities of the Company at the time of the sale; or

 

(v)the occurrence of any other event of a nature that would be required to be reported in response to Item 6(e) of Schedule 14A of Regulation 14A (or a response to any similar item on any similar schedule or form) promulgated under the Exchange Act, whether or not the Company is then subject to such reporting requirement, except the completion of the Company’s initial public offering shall not be considered a Change in Control.

 

Notwithstanding anything contained herein, a transaction shall not constitute a “Change in Control” for the purposes of this definition if (1) the Company becomes a direct or indirect wholly owned subsidiary of a holding company and (2) the direct or indirect holders of the voting stock of such holding company immediately following that transaction are substantially the same as the holders of the Company’s voting stock immediately prior to that transaction.

 

 16 

 

 

(c)“Corporate Status” describes the status of a person who is or was a director, officer, partner, trustee, member, manager, employee, agent, or fiduciary of the Company or of any other Enterprise.

 

(d)“Disinterested Director” means a director of the Company who is not and was not a party to the Proceeding in respect of which indemnification is sought by the Indemnitee.

 

(e)“Enterprise” shall mean the Company and any corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust, limited liability company, employee benefit plan or other enterprise that the Indemnitee is or was serving at the request of the Company as a director, officer, trustee, partner, member, manager, employee, agent, or fiduciary.

 

(f)“Exchange Act” means the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended.

 

(g)“Expenses” shall mean all reasonable direct and indirect costs, fees and expenses of any type or nature whatsoever and shall specifically include, without limitation, all reasonable attorneys’ fees, retainers, court costs, transcript costs, fees and costs of experts and other professionals, witness fees, travel expenses, duplicating costs, printing and binding costs, telephone charges, postage, delivery service fees and all other disbursements or expenses of the types customarily incurred in connection with prosecuting, defending, preparing to prosecute or defend, investigating, participating, or being or preparing to be a witness in, or otherwise participating in, a Proceeding, or responding to, or objecting to, a request to provide discovery in any Proceeding. Expenses also shall include Expenses incurred in connection with any appeal resulting from any Proceeding, including, without limitation, the premium, security for, and other costs relating to any cost bond, supersedeas bond, or other appeal bond or its equivalent, and any federal, state, local or foreign taxes imposed on the Indemnitee as a result of the actual or deemed receipt of any payments under this Agreement, as well as all reasonable attorneys’ fees and all other expenses incurred by or on behalf of the Indemnitee in connection with preparing and submitting any requests or statements for indemnification, advancement, contribution or any other right provided by this Agreement. Expenses, however, shall not include amounts paid in settlement by the Indemnitee or the amount of judgments or fines against the Indemnitee.

 

(h)“Fullest Extent Permitted By Applicable Law” includes, but is not limited to: (a) to the fullest extent permitted by the applicable provision of the DGCL, or the corresponding provision of any amendment to or replacement of the DGCL, and (b) to the fullest extent authorized or permitted by any amendments to or replacements of the DGCL adopted after the date of this Agreement that increase the extent to which a corporation may indemnify its directors and officers.

 

 17 

 

 

(i)“Independent Counsel” means a law firm, or a member of a law firm, that is experienced in matters of Delaware corporation law and neither presently is, nor in the past 5 years has been, retained to represent: (i) the Company or the Indemnitee in any matter material to either such party (other than with respect to matters concerning the Indemnitee under this Agreement, or of other indemnitees under similar indemnification agreements), or (ii) any other party to the Proceeding giving rise to a claim for indemnification hereunder. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the term “Independent Counsel” shall not include any person who, under the applicable standards of professional conduct then prevailing, would have a conflict of interest in representing either the Company or the Indemnitee in an action to determine the Indemnitee’s rights under this Agreement.

 

(j)“Losses” means all liabilities, judgments, fines, penalties, costs, losses, excise taxes or penalties under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended from time to time, amounts paid in settlement (including all interest assessments and other charges paid or payable in connection with or in respect of such liabilities, losses, judgements, fines, excise taxes, penalties and costs) and other amounts that the Indemnitee reasonably incurs and that result from, arise in connection with or are by reason of the Indemnitee’s Corporate Status.

 

(k)“Proceeding” includes any threatened, pending or completed action, suit, claim, counterclaim, cross claim, arbitration, mediation, alternate dispute resolution mechanism, investigation, inquiry, administrative hearing or any other actual, threatened or completed proceeding, whether brought by or in the right of the Company or otherwise and whether civil, criminal, administrative or investigative, in which the Indemnitee was, is or will be involved as a party, potential party, non-party witness or otherwise, by reason of the Indemnitee’s Corporate Status or by reason of any action taken by the Indemnitee or of any inaction on the Indemnitee’s part while acting in the Indemnitee’s Corporate Status, in each case whether or not the Indemnitee is acting or serving in any such capacity at the time any liability or expense is incurred for which indemnification can be provided under this Agreement, and including one pending on or before the date of this Agreement, but excluding one initiated by an Indemnitee pursuant to Section 7 of this Agreement to enforce the Indemnitee’s rights under this Agreement.

 

(l)[“Paine Schwartz Partners” means, collectively, Paine Schwartz Partners, LLC and any entity that controls, is controlled by or under common control with Paine Schwartz Partners, LLC (other than the Company and any entity that is controlled by the Company), and any investment vehicles or funds managed or controlled, directly or indirectly, by or otherwise affiliated with Paine Schwartz Partners, LLC.]9

 

 

9Note to Draft: Bracketed language to be included for Paine Schwartz Partners-affiliated directors.

 

 18 

 

 

15.Severability. If any provision or provisions of this Agreement shall be held to be invalid, illegal or unenforceable for any reason whatsoever: (i) the validity, legality and enforceability of the remaining provisions of this Agreement (including, without limitation, each portion of any section, paragraph or sentence of this Agreement containing any such provision held to be invalid, illegal or unenforceable, that is not itself invalid, illegal or unenforceable) shall not in any way be affected or impaired thereby and shall remain enforceable to the Fullest Extent Permitted By Applicable Law, (ii) such provision or provisions shall be deemed reformed to the fullest extent necessary to conform to applicable law and to give the maximum effect to the intent of the parties hereto, and (iii) to the Fullest Extent Permitted By Applicable Law, the provisions of this Agreement (including, without limitation, each portion of any section, paragraph or sentence of this Agreement containing any such provision held to be invalid, illegal or unenforceable, that is not itself invalid, illegal or unenforceable) shall be construed so as to give effect to the intent manifested thereby. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, this Agreement is intended to confer upon the Indemnitee [and Paine Schwartz Partners] 10 indemnification rights to the Fullest Extent Permitted By Applicable Law.

 

16.Modification and Waiver. No supplement, modification, termination, or amendment of this Agreement shall be binding unless executed in writing by both of the parties hereto. No waiver of any of the provisions of this Agreement shall be deemed or shall constitute a waiver of any other provisions hereof (whether or not similar) nor shall such waiver constitute a continuing waiver.

 

17.Notice By the Indemnitee. The Indemnitee agrees to promptly notify the Company in writing upon being served with or otherwise receiving any summons, citation, subpoena, complaint, indictment, information, or other document relating to any Proceeding or matter which may be subject to indemnification or advancement of Expenses covered hereunder. The failure to so notify the Company shall not relieve the Company of any obligation which it may have to the Indemnitee under this Agreement or otherwise unless and only to the extent that such failure or delay materially prejudices the interests of the Company.

 

18.Notices. All notices and other communications given or made pursuant to this Agreement shall be in writing and shall be deemed effectively given: (i) upon personal delivery to the party to be notified, (ii) when sent by confirmed electronic mail or facsimile if sent during normal business hours of the recipient, and if not so confirmed, then on the next business day, (iii) 5 days after having been sent by registered or certified mail, return receipt requested, postage prepaid, or (iv) 1 day after deposit with a nationally recognized overnight courier, specifying next day delivery, with written verification of receipt. All communications shall be sent:

 

(a)To the Indemnitee at the address set forth below the Indemnitee’s signature hereto.

 

 

10Note to Draft: Bracketed language to be included for Paine Schwartz Partners-affiliated directors.

 

 19 

 

 

(b)To the Company at:

 

Suja Life, Inc.
3831 Ocean Ranch Blvd.

Oceanside, CA 92056
Attention: Heather Thomaselli Baker, Chief Administration Officer and Secretary
E-mail: [***]

 

or to such other address as may have been furnished to the Indemnitee by the Company or to the Company by the Indemnitee, as the case may be.

 

19.Construction. Whenever required by the context, as used in this Agreement the singular number shall include the plural, the plural shall include the singular, and all words herein in any gender shall be deemed to include (as appropriate) the masculine, feminine and neuter genders. References to “day” shall mean a calendar day unless expressly stated to the contrary.

 

20.Counterparts. This Agreement may be executed in two or more counterparts, each of which shall be deemed an original, but all of which together shall constitute one and the same Agreement. Counterparts may be delivered via facsimile, electronic mail (including pdf or any electronic signature complying with the U.S. federal ESIGN Act of 2000, e.g., www.docusign.com) or other transmission method and any counterpart so delivered shall be deemed to have been duly and validly delivered and be valid and effective for all purposes.

 

21.Headings. The headings of the paragraphs of this Agreement are inserted for convenience only and shall not be deemed to constitute part of this Agreement or to affect the construction thereof.

 

22.Governing Law and Consent to Jurisdiction. This Agreement and the legal relations among the parties shall be governed by, and construed and enforced in accordance with, the laws of the State of Delaware, without regard to its conflict of laws rules. The Company and the Indemnitee hereby irrevocably and unconditionally (i) agree that any action or proceeding arising out of or in connection with this Agreement shall, unless the Company consents in writing to the selection of an alternate forum, be brought only in the Delaware Court (or, if and only if the Delaware Court lacks subject matter jurisdiction, any state court located within the State of Delaware or, if and only if all such state courts lack subject matter jurisdiction, the federal district court for the District of Delaware), (ii) generally and unconditionally consent to submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of the Delaware Court for purposes of any action or proceeding arising out of or in connection with this Agreement, (iii) irrevocably appoint, to the extent such party is not otherwise subject to service of process in the State of Delaware, The Corporation Trust Company, 1209 Orange Street, Wilmington, County of New Castle, Delaware 19801, as its agent in the State of Delaware as such party’s agent for acceptance of legal process in connection with any such action or proceeding against such party with the same legal force and validity as if such party had been personally served within the State of Delaware, (iv) waive any objection to the laying of venue of any such action or proceeding in the Delaware Court, and (v) waive, and agree not to plead or to make, any claim that any such action or proceeding brought in the Delaware Court has been brought in an improper or inconvenient forum.

 

23.[Non-Exclusive Capacities of Indemnitee. The Company acknowledges and agrees that Indemnitee provides services to entities other than the Company. The Company further acknowledges and agrees that Paine Schwartz Partners invests in entities other than the Company, and may also provide financial, operational, and other advisory services to such entities in connection with such investments.] 11

 

[SIGNATURE PAGE FOLLOWS]

 

 

11Note to Draft: Bracketed language to be included for Paine Schwartz Partners-affiliated directors.

 

 20 

 

 

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have executed this Agreement on and as of the day and year first above written.

 

  SUJA LIFE, INC.
   
  By:  
    Name:
    Title:
   
  INDEMNITEE
   
   
  Name:
  Address:
   
   
   
   
   

 

[Signature Page to Indemnification Agreement]

 

 

 

Exhibit 10.10

 

FORM OF
DIRECTOR DESIGNATION AGREEMENT

 

THIS DIRECTOR DESIGNATION AGREEMENT (this “Agreement”) is made and entered into as of [●], 2026, by and among Suja Life, Inc., a Delaware corporation (the “Company”), Paine Schwartz Food Chain Fund V B, L.P., Paine Schwartz Food Chain Fund V C, L.P., Paine Schwartz Food Chain Fund V D, L.P., and PSP Suja Life Holdings, L.P. (collectively, “Paine Schwartz”). This Agreement shall become effective (the “Effective Date”) upon the closing of the Company’s proposed initial public offering (the “IPO”) of shares of its Common Stock (as defined below).

 

WHEREAS, as of the date hereof, Paine Schwartz Beneficially Owns (as defined below) a majority of the equity interests in the Company;

 

WHEREAS, Paine Schwartz is contemplating causing the Company to effect an IPO;

 

WHEREAS, in consideration of Paine Schwartz agreeing to undertake the IPO, the Company has agreed to permit Paine Schwartz to designate persons to the board of directors of the Company (the “Board”) following the Effective Date on the terms and conditions set forth herein;

 

NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the mutual covenants contained herein and other good and valuable consideration, the receipt and sufficiency of which are hereby acknowledged, each of the parties to this Agreement agrees as follows:

 

1.             Board Designation Rights.

 

(a)           From the Effective Date, Paine Schwartz shall have the right, but not the obligation, to designate to the Board a number of designees as follows: (i) a majority of Directors (as defined below), so long as Paine Schwartz continuously from the time of the IPO Beneficially Owns shares of either Class A common stock, par value $0.0001 per share or Class V common stock, par value $0.0001 per share (collectively, the “Common Stock”), representing at least 40% of the Fully Diluted Securities (as defined below); (ii) a number of Directors equal to 40% of the Total Number of Directors, so long as Paine Schwartz continuously from the time of the IPO Beneficially Owns shares of Common Stock representing at least 30% and less than 40% of the Fully Diluted Securities; (iii) a number of Directors equal to 30% of the Total Number of Directors, so long as Paine Schwartz continuously from the time of the IPO Beneficially Owns shares of Common Stock representing at least 20% and less than 30% of the Fully Diluted Securities; (iv) a number of Directors equal to 20% of the Total Number of Directors, so long as Paine Schwartz continuously from the time of the IPO Beneficially Owns shares of Common Stock representing at least 10% and less than 20% of the Fully Diluted Securities; and (v) one Director, so long as Paine Schwartz continuously from the time of the IPO Beneficially Owns shares of Common Stock representing at least 5% and less than 10% of the Fully Diluted Securities (such persons, the “Nominees”). For purposes of calculating the number of Directors that Paine Schwartz is entitled to designate pursuant to the immediately preceding sentence, any fractional amounts shall automatically be rounded up to the nearest whole number (e.g., 1 ¼ Directors shall equate to 2 Directors) and any such calculations shall be made after taking into account any increase in the Total Number of Directors.

 

 

 

 

(b)           In the event that Paine Schwartz has designated less than the total number of designees Paine Schwartz shall be entitled to designate pursuant to Section 1(a), Paine Schwartz shall have the right, at any time, to designate such additional designees to which it is entitled, in which case, the Company shall take, and the Company hereby covenants that the Directors shall take, all necessary corporation action to (i) enable Paine Schwartz to designate and effect the election or appointment of such additional individuals, whether by increasing the size of the Board, or otherwise and (ii) appoint such additional individuals designated by Paine Schwartz to fill such newly created directorships or to fill any other existing vacancies in accordance with Section 1(e) of this Agreement.

 

(c)           If the size of the Board is expanded, Paine Schwartz shall be entitled to designate a number of Nominees to fill the newly created directorships such that the total number of Nominees serving on the Board following such expansion will be equal to that number of Nominees that Paine Schwartz would be entitled to designate in accordance with Section 1(a) if such expansion occurred immediately prior to any meeting of the stockholders of the Company called with respect to the election of members of the Board. The Company shall take, and the Company hereby covenants that the Directors shall take, all necessary corporation action to (i) enable Paine Schwartz to designate and effect the election or appointment of additional designees in accordance with the preceding sentence and (ii) appoint such additional designees in accordance with Section 1(e) of this Agreement.

 

(d)           In the event that any Nominee shall cease to serve as a Director for any reason, Paine Schwartz shall be entitled to designate such person’s successor in accordance with this Agreement (regardless of the number of shares of Common Stock Beneficially Owned by Paine Schwartz at the time of such vacancy). The Company shall take, and the Company hereby covenants that the Directors shall take, all necessary corporation action to (i) enable Paine Schwartz to designate and effect the election or appointment of successor designees in accordance with the preceding sentence and (ii) appoint such successor designees in accordance with Section 1(e) of this Agreement. It is understood that any such designee shall serve the remainder of the term of the Director whom such designee replaces.

 

(e)           In each case where the Company has covenanted that the Directors shall take action to appoint a Nominee as a Director pursuant to any of Sections 1(a) through (d) of this Agreement:

 

(i)            The Directors shall appoint such Nominee unless the Board determines, in good faith, that appointing such Nominee would cause the Directors to breach their fiduciary duties to the Company or its stockholders, in which case the Company shall provide Paine Schwartz with a notice explaining in reasonable detail the basis for the Board’s determination, and Paine Schwartz shall have the right to designate an alternative Nominee in accordance with Sections 1(a) through (d) of this Agreement; and

 

 2 

 

 

(ii)           The Company hereby covenants that the Directors shall not fill any vacant or newly created directorship for which Paine Schwartz is entitled to designate a Nominee other than in accordance with Sections 1(a) through (d) of this Agreement.

 

Without limiting the remedies available against the Company for breach of its covenants set forth in this Agreement, during any time that the Directors have failed to appoint a Nominee as a Director (including without limitation for the reasons set forth in the foregoing clauses (i) or (ii)), or if the Directors have appointed a person as a Director in lieu of a Nominee that Paine Schwartz has designated in accordance with this Agreement:

 

(x)the Company shall not, without the prior written consent of Paine Schwartz, consummate (and, to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law shall not enter into) any transaction that would constitute a “Business Combination” under any of [clauses (i) through (iii) of Section 4(c) of Article Ten] of the Company’s Certificate of Incorporation, except for purposes of applying this sentence the term “Interested Stockholder” shall mean any person or entity, whether or not a record or beneficial owner of stock of the Company, other than Paine Schwartz; and

 

(y)the Company shall, promptly following a written request from Paine Schwartz, (i) call a special meeting of stockholders for the purpose of appointing a nominee to fill the vacant or newly created directorship that has resulted in the right of Paine Schwartz to designate a Nominee pursuant to this Agreement; (ii) shall prepare a proxy statement and proxy card in connection with such special meeting, and shall include each Nominee in such proxy statement (together with a supporting statement provided by Paine Schwartz), including in the notice of meeting transmitted therewith, and proxy card as a nominee for Director; and (iii) reimburse Paine Schwartz for any expenses it reasonably incurs in connection with preparing its own proxy statement and proxy card and soliciting proxies or votes to appoint one or more Nominees as Directors in connection with such meeting.

 

(f)            The Company shall pay all reasonable out-of-pocket expenses incurred by the Nominees in connection with the performance of his or her duties as a Director and in connection with his or her attendance at any meeting of the Board or a committee thereof.

 

(g)           For purposes of this Agreement:

 

(i)            “Affiliate” of any person shall mean any other person controlled by, controlling, or under common control with such person; where “control” (including, with its correlative meanings, “controlling,” “controlled by,” and “under common control with”) means possession, directly or indirectly, of power to direct or cause the direction of management or policies (whether through ownership of securities, by contract, or otherwise).

 

 3 

 

 

(ii)           “Beneficially Own” shall mean that a specified person has or shares the right, directly or indirectly, through any contract, arrangement, understanding, relationship, or otherwise, to vote shares of capital stock of the Company.

 

(iii)          “Director” means any member of the Board.

 

(iv)          “Fully Diluted Securities” means the total number of shares of our Common Stock outstanding upon completion of the IPO, as adjusted for any reorganization, recapitalization, stock dividend, stock split, reverse stock split, or similar changes in the Company’s capitalization.

 

(v)           “Total Number of Directors” means the total number of Directors comprising the Board.

 

(h)           No reduction in the number of shares of Common Stock that Paine Schwartz Beneficially Owns shall shorten the term of any incumbent Director. At the Effective Date, the Board shall be comprised of seven members and the initial Nominees shall be: Alex Corbacho, Bob DeBorde, Randy Papadellis, Kevin Schwartz, Maria Stipp, Mark Partin, and Kathy Vrabeck.

 

(i)            So long as Paine Schwartz has the right to designate Nominees under Sections 1(a) through (d) or any such Nominee is serving on the Board, the Company shall use its reasonable best efforts to maintain in effect at all times Directors and officers indemnity insurance coverage reasonably satisfactory to Paine Schwartz and the Company’s Certificate of Incorporation and Bylaws (each as may be further amended, supplemented, or waived in accordance with its terms) shall at all times provide for indemnification, exculpation, and advancement of expenses to the fullest extent permitted under applicable law.

 

(j)            At such time as the Company ceases to be a “controlled company” and is required by applicable law or The Nasdaq Global Select Market (the “Exchange”) listing standards to have a majority of the Board comprised of “independent directors” (subject in each case to any applicable phase-in periods), the Nominees shall include a number of persons that qualify as “independent directors” under applicable law and the Exchange listing standards such that, together with any other “independent directors” then serving on the Board that are not Nominees, the Board is comprised of a majority of “independent directors.”

 

(k)             At any time that Paine Schwartz shall have any designation rights under Section 1, the Company shall not take any action and the Company hereby covenants that the Directors shall not take any action, (including in each case effecting any amendment to the Company’s Certificate of Incorporation or Bylaws), that could reasonably be expected to adversely affect the rights of Paine Schwartz under this Agreement without the prior written consent of Paine Schwartz.

 

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2.             Company Obligations. The Company agrees to use all necessary corporation action to ensure that, prior to the date that Paine Schwartz ceases to Beneficially Own shares of Common Stock representing at least 5% of the Fully Diluted Securities, (i) each Nominee is included in the Board’s slate of Nominees to the stockholders (the “Board’s Slate”) for each election of Directors, unless the Board determines, in good faith, that the inclusion of a Nominee in the Board’s Slate would not be in the best interest of the Company and its stockholders (other than Paine Schwartz), in which case, Paine Schwartz shall have the right to designate an alternate Nominee for inclusion in the Board’s Slate; and (ii) whether or not a Nominee is included in the Board’s Slate, each Nominee shall be included in the proxy statement (together with a supporting statement provided by Paine Schwartz) and proxy card prepared by management of the Company in connection with soliciting proxies for every meeting of the stockholders of the Company called with respect to the election of members of the Board (each, a “Director Election Proxy Statement”), and at every adjournment or postponement thereof, and on every action or approval by written consent of the stockholders of the Company or the Board with respect to the election of members of the Board. Paine Schwartz will promptly provide reporting to the Company after Paine Schwartz ceases to Beneficially Own at least 5% of the Fully Diluted Securities, such that the Company is informed of when this obligation terminates. The calculation of the number of Nominees that Paine Schwartz is entitled to designate to the Board’s Slate for any election of Directors shall be based on the percentage of the Fully Diluted Securities immediately prior to the mailing to shareholders of the Director Election Proxy Statement relating to such election (or, if earlier, the filing of the definitive Director Election Proxy Statement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”)). Unless Paine Schwartz notifies the Company otherwise prior to the mailing to shareholders of the Director Election Proxy Statement relating to an election of Directors, the  Nominees for such election shall be presumed to be the same Nominees currently serving on the Board, and no further action shall be required of Paine Schwartz for the Board to include such Nominees on the Board’s Slate as contemplated by clause (i) of this Section 2; provided that, in the event Paine Schwartz is no longer entitled to designate the full number of Nominees then serving on the Board, Paine Schwartz shall provide advance written notice to the Company of which currently serving Nominee(s) shall be excluded from the Board’s Slate and of any other changes to the list of Nominees. If Paine Schwartz fails to provide such notice prior to the mailing to shareholders of the Director Election Proxy Statement relating to such election (or, if earlier, the filing of the definitive Director Election Proxy Statement with the SEC), a majority of the independent Directors then serving on the Board shall determine which of the Nominees then serving on the Board will be included in the Board’s Slate as contemplated by clause (i) of this Section 2. Furthermore, the Company agrees for so long as the Company qualifies as a “controlled company” under the rules of the Exchange, the Company will elect to be a “controlled company” for purposes of the Exchange and will disclose in its annual meeting proxy statement that it is a “controlled company” and the basis for that determination. The Company and Paine Schwartz acknowledge and agree that, as of the Effective Date, the Company is a “controlled company” for purposes of the Exchange.

 

3.             Committees. From and after the Effective Date hereof, the Company hereby covenants that the Board shall not form or designate any committee of the Board unless Paine Schwartz has consented to such formation or designation, until such time as Paine Schwartz ceases to Beneficially Own shares of Common Stock representing at least 5% of the Fully Diluted Securities. Notwithstanding the preceding sentence, the consent of Paine Schwartz shall not be required if:

 

(a)           Paine Schwartz has been provided the opportunity to designate a number of members of each committee of the Board equal to the nearest whole number greater than the product obtained by multiplying (i) the number of shares of Common Stock continuously Beneficially Owned by Paine Schwartz divided by the number of Fully Diluted Securities and (ii) the number of positions, including any vacancies, on the applicable committee; or

 

 5 

 

 

(b)           none of the Directors designated by Paine Schwartz pursuant to this Agreement are eligible to serve on the applicable committee under applicable law or listing standards of the Exchange, including any applicable independence requirements (subject in each case to any applicable exceptions, including those for newly public companies and for “controlled companies,” and any applicable phase-in periods).

 

The Company hereby covenants that the Nominees designated to serve on a Board committee shall have the right to remain on such committee until the next election of Directors, regardless of the percentage of the Fully Diluted Securities Beneficially Owned by Paine Schwartz following such designation. Unless Paine Schwartz notifies the Company otherwise prior to the time the Board takes action to change the composition of a Board committee, and to the extent Paine Schwartz has the requisite percentage of the Fully Diluted Securities to designate a Board committee member at the time the Board takes action to change the composition of any such Board committee, any Nominee currently designated by Paine Schwartz to serve on a committee shall be presumed to be re-designated for such committee. Without limiting the remedies available to Paine Schwartz, the Company shall not consummate any act or transaction approved or recommended by a committee of the Board formed or designated in a manner inconsistent with this Section 3 without the prior written consent of Paine Schwartz.

 

4.            Amendment and Waiver. Any provision of this Agreement may be amended or waived if, but only if, such amendment or waiver is in writing and is signed, in the case of an amendment, by the Company and Paine Schwartz or in the case of a waiver, by the party against whom the waiver is to be effective. No failure or delay by any party in exercising any right, power, or privilege hereunder shall operate as a waiver thereof nor shall any single or partial exercise thereof preclude any other or further exercise thereof or the exercise of any other right, power, or privilege. The rights and remedies herein provided shall be cumulative and not exclusive of any rights or remedies provided by law. Paine Schwartz shall not be obligated to designate all (or any) of the Nominees it is entitled to designate pursuant to this Agreement for any election of Directors, but the failure to do so shall not constitute a waiver of its rights hereunder for any purpose; provided, however, that, subject to Section 2, in the event Paine Schwartz fails to designate all (or any) of the Nominees they are each entitled to designate pursuant to this Agreement prior to the mailing to shareholders of the Director Election Proxy Statement relating to such election (or, if earlier, the filing of the definitive Director Election Proxy Statement with the SEC), the Compensation and Nominating Committee of the Board shall be entitled to nominate individuals in lieu of such Nominees for inclusion in the Board’s Slate and the applicable Director Election Proxy Statement with respect to the election for which such failure occurred, and Paine Schwartz shall be deemed to have waived its rights hereunder solely with respect to such election. The rights and remedies herein provided shall be cumulative and not exclusive of any rights or remedies provided by law.

 

 6 

 

 

5.             Benefit of Parties. This Agreement shall be binding upon and shall inure to the benefit of the parties hereto and their respective permitted successors and assigns. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Company may not assign any of its rights or obligations hereunder without the prior written consent of Paine Schwartz. Except as otherwise expressly provided in Section 6, nothing herein contained shall confer or is intended to confer on any third party or entity that is not a party to this Agreement any rights under this Agreement.

 

6.             Assignment. Upon written notice to the Company, Paine Schwartz may assign to any Affiliate of Paine Schwartz (other than a portfolio company), all of its rights hereunder and, following such assignment, such assignee shall be deemed to be “Paine Schwartz” for all purposes hereunder.

 

7.             Indemnification.

 

(a)           The Company shall defend, indemnify, and hold harmless Paine Schwartz, their Affiliates, partners, employees, agents, Directors, managers, officers, and controlling persons (collectively, the “Indemnified Parties”) from and against any and all actions, causes of action, suits, claims, liabilities, losses, damages, costs, expenses, or obligations of any kind or nature (whether accrued or fixed, absolute or contingent) in connection therewith (including reasonable attorneys’ and experts’ fees and expenses) incurred by the Indemnified Parties before or after the date of this Agreement (each, an “Action”) arising directly or indirectly out of, or in any way relating to, (i) Paine Schwartz or their Affiliates’ Beneficial Ownership of Common Stock or other equity securities of the Company or control or ability to influence the Company or any of its subsidiaries (other than any such Actions (x) to the extent such Actions arise out of any breach of this Agreement by an Indemnified Party or its Affiliates or the breach of any fiduciary or other duty or obligation of such Indemnified Party to its direct or indirect equity holders, creditors, or Affiliates or (y) to the extent such Actions are directly caused by such person’s willful misconduct), (ii) the business, operations, properties, assets, or other rights or liabilities of the Company or any of its subsidiaries, or (iii) any services provided prior, on, or after the date of this Agreement by Paine Schwartz or their respective Affiliates to the Company or any of its subsidiaries. The Company shall defend at its own cost and expense in respect of any Action which may be brought against the Company and/or its Affiliates and the Indemnified Parties. The Company shall defend at its own cost and expense any and all Actions which may be brought in which the Indemnified Parties may be impleaded with others upon any Action by the Indemnified Parties, except that if such damage shall be proven to be the direct result of gross negligence, bad faith, or willful misconduct by any of the Indemnified Parties, then such Indemnified Party shall reimburse the Company for the costs of defense and other costs incurred by the Company in proportion to such Indemnified Party’s culpability as proven. In the event of the assertion against any Indemnified Party of any Action or the commencement of any Action, the Company shall be entitled to participate in such Action and in the investigation of such Action and, after written notice from the Company to such Indemnified Party, to assume the investigation or defense of such Action (at the Company’s sole cost and expense) with counsel of the Company’s choice at the Company’s expense; provided, however, that such counsel shall be reasonably satisfactory to the Indemnified Party. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained herein, the Company may retain one firm of counsel to represent all Indemnified Parties in such Action; provided, however, that the Indemnified Party shall have the right to employ a single firm of separate counsel (and any necessary local counsel) and to participate in the defense or investigation of such Action, and the Company shall bear the expense of such separate counsel (and local counsel, if applicable). The Company further agrees that with respect to any Indemnified Party who is employed, retained, or otherwise associated with, or appointed or nominated by, Paine Schwartz or any of their Affiliates and who acts or serves as a Director, officer, manager, fiduciary, employee, consultant, advisor, or agent of, for, or to the Company or any of its subsidiaries, that the Company or such subsidiaries, as applicable, shall be primarily liable for all indemnification, reimbursements, advancements, or similar payments (the “Indemnity Obligations”) afforded to such Indemnified Party acting in such capacity or capacities on behalf or at the request of the Company, whether the Indemnity Obligations are created by law, organizational or constituent documents, contract (including this Agreement), or otherwise. The Company hereby agrees that in no event shall the Company or any of its subsidiaries have any right or claim against Paine Schwartz for contribution or have rights of subrogation against Paine Schwartz through an Indemnified Party for any payment made by the Company or any of its subsidiaries with respect to any Indemnity Obligation. In addition, the Company hereby agrees that in the event that Paine Schwartz pay or advance an Indemnified Party any expenses with respect to an Indemnity Obligation, the Company will, or will cause its subsidiaries to, as applicable, promptly reimburse Paine Schwartz for such payment or advance upon request, subject to the receipt by the Company of a written undertaking executed by the Indemnified Party and Paine Schwartz that makes such payment or advance to repay any such amounts if it shall ultimately be determined by a court of competent jurisdiction that such Indemnified Party was not entitled to be indemnified by the Company. The foregoing right to indemnity and advancement shall be in addition to any rights that any Indemnified Party may have at common law, pursuant to the Company’s Certificate of Incorporation or Bylaws, pursuant to any other contract with the Company or otherwise, and shall remain in full force and effect following the completion or any termination of the engagement. If for any reason the foregoing indemnification is unavailable to any Indemnified Party or insufficient to hold it harmless as and to the extent contemplated by this Section 7, then the Company shall contribute to the amount paid or payable by the Indemnified Party as a result of such Action in such proportion as is appropriate to reflect the relative benefits received by the Company, on the one hand, and the Indemnified Party, as the case may be, on the other hand, as well as any other relevant equitable considerations.

 

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(b)           The Company hereby acknowledges that certain of the Indemnified Parties have certain rights to indemnification, advancement of expenses, and/or insurance provided by investment funds managed by Paine Schwartz and certain of its Affiliates (collectively, the “Fund Indemnitors”). The Company hereby agrees with respect to any indemnification, hold harmless obligation, expense advancement, reimbursement provision, or any other similar obligation whether pursuant to or with respect to this Agreement, the organizational documents of the Company or any of its subsidiaries, or any other agreement, as applicable, (i) that the Company and its subsidiaries are the indemnitor of first resort (i.e., their obligations to the Indemnified Parties are primary and any obligation of the Fund Indemnitors to advance expenses or to provide indemnification for claims, expenses, or obligations arising out of the same or similar facts and circumstances suffered by any Indemnified Party are secondary), (ii) that the Company shall be required to advance the full amount of expenses incurred by any Indemnified Party and shall be liable for the full amount of all expenses, liabilities, obligations, judgments, penalties, fines, and amounts paid in settlement to the extent legally permitted and as required by the terms of this Agreement, the organizational documents of the Company or any of its subsidiaries, or any other agreement, as applicable, without regard to any rights any Indemnified Party may have against the Fund Indemnitors, and (iii) that the Company, on behalf of itself and each of its subsidiaries, irrevocably waives, relinquishes, and releases the Fund Indemnitors from any and all Actions against the Fund Indemnitors for contribution, subrogation, or any other recovery of any kind in respect thereof. The Company further agrees that no advancement or payment by the Fund Indemnitors on behalf of any Indemnified Party with respect to any Action for which any Indemnified Party has sought indemnification from the Company shall affect the foregoing, and the Fund Indemnitors shall have a right of contribution and/or be subrogated to the extent of such advancement or payment to all of the rights of recovery of any Indemnified Party against the Company. The Company agrees that the Fund Indemnitors are express third-party beneficiaries of the terms of this Section 7(b).

 

 8 

 

 

8.             Headings. Headings are for ease of reference only and shall not form a part of this Agreement.

 

9.             Governing Law. This Agreement shall be construed in accordance with and governed by the law of the State of Delaware without giving effect to the principles of conflicts of laws thereof.

 

10.           Jurisdiction. Any suit, action, or proceeding seeking to enforce any provision of, or based on any matter arising out of or in connection with, this Agreement may be brought against any of the parties in any federal court located in the State of Delaware or any Delaware state court, and each of the parties hereby consents to the exclusive jurisdiction of such court (and of the appropriate appellate courts) in any such suit, action, or proceeding and waives any objection to venue laid therein. Process in any such suit, action, or proceeding may be served on any party anywhere in the world, whether within or without the jurisdiction of any such court. Without limiting the foregoing, each of the parties agrees that service of process upon such party at the address referred to in Section 17, together with written notice of such service to such party, shall be deemed effective service of process upon such party.

 

11.           WAIVER OF JURY TRIAL. EACH OF THE PARTIES HERETO HEREBY IRREVOCABLY WAIVES ANY AND ALL RIGHT TO TRIAL BY JURY IN ANY LEGAL PROCEEDING ARISING OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THIS AGREEMENT.

 

12.           Entire Agreement. This Agreement constitutes the entire agreement among the parties with respect to the subject matter hereof and supersedes all prior agreements, understandings, and negotiations, both written and oral, among the parties with respect to the subject matter hereof.

 

13.           Counterparts; Effectiveness. This Agreement may be signed in any number of counterparts, each of which shall be deemed an original. This Agreement shall become effective when each party shall have received a counterpart hereof signed by each of the other parties. An executed copy or counterpart hereof delivered by facsimile shall be deemed an original instrument.

 

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14.           Severability. If any provision of this Agreement or the application thereof to any person or circumstance shall be invalid or unenforceable to any extent, the remainder of this Agreement and the application of such provisions to other persons or circumstances shall not be affected thereby and shall be enforced to the greatest extent permitted by law. If any provision of this Agreement, or the application thereof to any person or entity or any circumstance, is found to be invalid or unenforceable in any jurisdiction, (a) a suitable and equitable provision shall be substituted therefor in order to carry out, so far as may be valid and enforceable, the intent and purpose of such invalid or unenforceable provision and (b) the remainder of this Agreement and the application of such provision to other persons, entities or circumstances shall not be affected by such invalidity or unenforceability, nor shall such invalidity or unenforceability affect the validity or enforceability of such provision, or the application thereof, in any other jurisdiction.

 

15.           Further Assurances. Each of the parties hereto shall execute and deliver such further instruments and do such further acts and things as may be required to carry out the intent and purpose of this Agreement.

 

16.           Specific Performance. Each of the parties hereto agree that, notwithstanding any other provision of this Agreement, irreparable damage would occur if any provision of this Agreement were not performed in accordance with the terms hereof and that the parties shall be entitled to an injunction or injunctions to prevent breaches of this Agreement or to enforce specifically the performance of the terms and provisions hereof in any federal or state court located in the State of Delaware, in addition to any other remedy to which they are entitled at law or in equity.

 

17.           Notices. All notices, requests, and other communications to any party or to the Company shall be in writing (including telecopy or similar writing) and shall be given,

 

If to the Company:

 

Suja Life, Inc.
3831 Ocean Ranch Blvd.
Oceanside, CA 92056
Attention: [●]
Email: [***]

 

If to any member of Paine Schwartz or any Nominee:

 

Paine Schwartz Partners
One Franklin Parkway, Building 910, Suite 120
San Mateo, CA 94403
Attention: [●]
Email: [***]

 

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In each case, with a copy to (which shall not constitute notice):

 

c/c Kirkland & Ellis LLP
333 West Wolf Point Plaza
Chicago, IL 60654

Attention:Michael P. Keeley, P.C.
  Ben Richards

Email: [***]; [***]

 

or to such other address or telecopier number as such party or the Company may hereafter specify for the purpose of notice to the other parties and the Company. Each such notice, request, or other communication shall be effective when delivered at the address specified in this Section 17 during regular business hours.

 

18.             Enforcement. Each of the parties hereto covenant and agree that the disinterested members of the Board have the right to enforce, waive, or take any other action with respect to this Agreement on behalf of the Company.

 

* * * * *

 

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IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have executed this Agreement on the date first above written.

 

  SUJA LIFE, INC.
     
  By:  
    Name: [●]
    Title: [●]
     
  Paine Schwartz Food Chain Fund V B, L.P.
     
  By:  
    Name: [●]
    Title: [●]
     
  Paine Schwartz Food Chain Fund V C, L.P.
     
  By:  
    Name: [●]
    Title: [●]
     
  Paine Schwartz Food Chain Fund V D, L.P.
     
  By:  
    Name: [●]
    Title: [●]
     
  PSP Suja Life Holdings, L.P
     
  By:  
    Name: [●]
    Title: [●]

 

[Signature Page to Director Nomination Agreement]

 

 

 

 

Exhibit 10.11

 

SUJA LIFE, INC.

 

 

 

FORM OF 2026 OMNIBUS INCENTIVE PLAN

 

 

 

Article I
PURPOSE

 

The purpose of this Suja Life, Inc. 2026 Omnibus Incentive Plan (this “Plan”) is to promote the success of the Company’s business for the benefit of its stockholders by enabling the Company to offer Eligible Individuals cash and stock-based incentives in order to attract, retain, and reward such individuals and strengthen the mutuality of interests between such individuals and the Company’s stockholders. This Plan is effective as of the date set forth in Article XIV.

 

Article II
DEFINITIONS

 

For purposes of this Plan, the following terms shall have the following meanings:

 

2.1          “Affiliate” means a corporation or other entity controlled by, controlling, or under common control with the Company. The term “control” (including, with correlative meaning, the terms “controlled by” and “under common control with”), as applied to any Person, means the possession, directly or indirectly, of the power to direct or cause the direction of management and policies of such Person, whether through the ownership of voting or other securities, by contract or otherwise.

 

2.2          “Applicable Law” means the requirements relating to the administration of equity-based awards and the related shares under U.S. state corporate law, U.S. federal and state securities laws, the rules or requirements of any stock exchange or quotation system on which the shares are listed or quoted, and any other applicable laws, including tax laws, of any U.S. or non-U.S. jurisdictions where Awards are, or will be, granted under this Plan.

 

2.3          “Award” means any award under this Plan of any Stock Option, Stock Appreciation Right, Restricted Stock, Restricted Stock Units, Performance Award, Other Stock-Based Award, or Cash Award. All Awards shall be evidenced by and subject to the terms of an Award Agreement.

 

2.4          “Award Agreement” means the written or electronic agreement, contract, certificate, or other instrument or document evidencing the terms and conditions of an individual Award. Each Award Agreement shall be subject to the terms and conditions of this Plan.

 

2.5          “Board” means the Board of Directors of the Company.

 

2.6          “Cash Award” means an Award granted to an Eligible Individual pursuant to Section 9.3 of this Plan and payable in cash at such time or times and subject to such terms and conditions as determined by the Committee in its sole discretion.

 

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2.7          “Cause” means, unless otherwise determined by the Committee in the applicable Award Agreement, with respect to a Participant’s Termination of Service, the following: (a) in the case where there is no employment agreement, offer letter, consulting agreement, change in control agreement, or similar agreement in effect between the Company or an Affiliate and the Participant at the time of the grant of the Award (or where there is such agreement in effect but it does not define “cause” (or words of like import)), the Participant’s (i) commission of, or plea of guilty or no contest to, a felony or a crime involving moral turpitude or the commission of any other act involving willful malfeasance or material fiduciary breach with respect to the Company or an Affiliate; (ii) substantial and repeated failure to perform duties as reasonably directed by the person to whom the Participant reports; (iii) conduct that brings or is reasonably likely to bring the Company or an Affiliate negative publicity or into public disgrace, embarrassment, or disrepute; (iv) gross negligence or willful misconduct with respect to the Company or an Affiliate; (v) material violation of the Company’s policies or codes of conduct, including policies related to discrimination, harassment, performance of illegal or unethical activities, or ethical misconduct; or (vi) any breach of any non-competition, non-solicitation, no-hire, or confidentiality covenant between the Participant and the Company or an Affiliate; or (b) in the case where there is an employment agreement, offer letter, consulting agreement, change in control agreement, or similar agreement in effect between the Company or an Affiliate and the Participant at the time of the grant of the Award that defines “cause” (or words of like import), “cause” as defined under such agreement; provided, however, that with regard to any agreement under which the definition of “cause” only applies on occurrence of a change in control, such definition of “cause” shall not apply until a change in control (as defined in such agreement) actually takes place and then only with regard to a termination thereafter.

 

2.8          “Change in Control” means and includes each of the following, unless otherwise determined by the Committee in the applicable Award Agreement or other written agreement with a Participant approved by the Committee:

 

(a)          any Person (other than the Company, any trustee or other fiduciary holding securities under any employee benefit plan of the Company, or any company owned, directly or indirectly, by the stockholders of the Company in substantially the same proportions as their ownership of the Company), becoming the beneficial owner (as defined in Rule 13d-3 under the Exchange Act), directly or indirectly, of securities of the Company representing fifty percent (50%) or more of the combined voting power of the Company’s then outstanding securities, excluding for purposes herein, acquisitions pursuant to a Business Combination (as defined below) that does not constitute a Change in Control as defined in Section 2.8(b);

 

(b)          consummation of a merger, reorganization, or consolidation of the Company or in which equity securities of the Company are issued (each, a “Business Combination”), other than a merger, reorganization or consolidation which would result in the voting securities of the Company outstanding immediately prior thereto continuing to represent (either by remaining outstanding or by being converted into voting securities of the surviving entity or its direct or indirect parent) more than fifty percent (50%) of the combined voting power of the voting securities of the Company or such surviving entity (or, as applicable, a direct or indirect parent of the Company or such surviving entity) outstanding immediately after such merger, reorganization or consolidation; provided, however, that a merger, reorganization or consolidation effected to implement a recapitalization of the Company (or similar transaction) in which no Person (other than those covered by the exceptions in Section 2.8(a)) acquires more than fifty percent (50%) of the combined voting power of the Company’s then outstanding securities shall not constitute a Change in Control;

 

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(c)          during the period of two (2) consecutive years, individuals who, at the beginning of such period, constitute the Board together with any new director(s) (other than a director designated by a Person who has entered into an agreement with the Company to effect a transaction described in Sections 2.8(a) or (b)) whose election by the Board or nomination for election by the Company’s stockholders was approved by a vote of at least two-thirds of the directors then still in office who either were directors at the beginning of the two (2) year period or whose election or nomination for election was previously so approved (and, for clarity, any individual whose election or nomination is pursuant to the Director Designation Agreement by and between the Company and Paine Schwartz Partners shall be deemed to be approved for this purpose), cease for any reason to constitute a majority thereof; or

 

(d)          shareholder approval of a complete liquidation or dissolution of the Company or the consummation of a sale or disposition by the Company of all or substantially all of the Company’s assets other than the sale or disposition of all or substantially all of the assets of the Company to a Person or Persons who beneficially own, directly or indirectly, fifty percent (50%) or more of the combined voting power of the outstanding voting securities of the Company at the time of the sale.

 

For purposes of this Section 2.8, acquisitions or dispositions of securities of the Company by Paine Schwartz Food Chain Fund V GP, Ltd., any of its respective affiliates, or any investment vehicle or fund controlled by or managed by, or otherwise affiliated with Paine Schwartz Food Chain Fund V GP, Ltd. shall not constitute a Change in Control. Notwithstanding the foregoing, with respect to any Award that is characterized as “nonqualified deferred compensation” within the meaning of Section 409A of the Code, an event shall not be considered to be a Change in Control under this Plan for purposes of payment of such Award unless such event is also a “change in ownership,” a “change in effective control,” or a “change in the ownership of a substantial portion of the assets” of the Company within the meaning of Section 409A of the Code.

 

2.9          “Change in Control Price” means the highest price per Share paid in any transaction related to a Change in Control as determined by the Committee in its discretion.

 

2.10        “Code” means the U.S. Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended from time to time. Any reference to any section of the Code shall also be a reference to any successor provision and any guidance and treasury regulation promulgated thereunder.

 

2.11        “Committee” means any committee of the Board duly authorized by the Board to administer this Plan; provided, however, that unless otherwise determined by the Board, the Committee shall consist solely of two or more members of the Board who are each (a) a “non-employee director” within the meaning of Rule 16b-3(b), and (b) “independent” under the listing standards or rules of the securities exchange upon which the Common Stock is traded, but only to the extent such independence is required in order to take the action at issue pursuant to such standards or rules. If no committee is duly authorized by the Board to administer this Plan, the term “Committee” shall be deemed to refer to the Board for all purposes under this Plan. The Board may abolish any Committee or re-vest in itself any previously delegated authority from time to time, and will retain the right to exercise the authority of the Committee to the extent consistent with Applicable Law.

 

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2.12        “Common Stock” means the Class A common stock, $0.0001 par value per share, of the Company.

 

2.13        “Company” means Suja Life, Inc., a Delaware corporation, and its successors by operation of law.

 

2.14        “Consultant” means any natural person who is an advisor or consultant or other service provider to the Company or any of its Affiliates.

 

2.15        “Detrimental Conduct” means, as determined by the Company, a Participant’s serious misconduct or unethical behavior, including any of the following: (a) any violation by the Participant of a restrictive covenant agreement that the Participant has entered into with the Company or an Affiliate (covering, for example, confidentiality, non-competition, non-solicitation, non-disparagement, etc.); (b) any conduct by the Participant that could result in the Participant’s Termination of Service for Cause; (c) the commission of a criminal act by the Participant, whether or not performed in the workplace, that subjects, or if generally known would subject, the Company or an Affiliate to public ridicule or embarrassment, or other improper or intentional conduct by the Participant causing reputational harm to the Company, an Affiliate, or a client or former client of the Company or an Affiliate; (d) the Participant’s breach of a fiduciary duty owed to the Company or an Affiliate or a client or former client of the Company or an Affiliate; (e) the Participant’s intentional violation, or grossly negligent disregard, of the Company’s or an Affiliate’s policies, rules, or procedures; or (f) the Participant taking or maintaining trading positions that result in a need to restate financial results in a subsequent reporting period or that result in a significant financial loss to the Company or an Affiliate.

 

2.16        “Disability” means, unless otherwise determined by the Committee in the applicable Award Agreement, with respect to a Participant’s Termination of Service, that the Participant is unable to engage in any substantial gainful activity by reason of any medically determinable physical or mental impairment, after accounting for reasonable accommodations (if applicable and required by Applicable Law); provided, however, for purposes of an Incentive Stock Option, the term Disability shall have the meaning ascribed to it under Section 22(e)(3) of the Code. The determination of whether an individual has a Disability shall be determined by the Committee, and the Committee may rely on any determination that a Participant is disabled for purposes of benefits under any long-term disability plan in which a Participant participates that is maintained by the Company or any Affiliate.

 

2.17        “Dividend Equivalent Rights” means a right granted to a Participant under this Plan to receive the equivalent value (in cash or Shares) of dividends paid on Shares.

 

2.18        “Effective Date” means the effective date of this Plan as defined in Article XIV.

 

2.19        “Eligible Employee” means each employee of the Company or any of its Affiliates. An employee on a leave of absence may be an Eligible Employee.

 

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2.20        “Eligible Individual” means an Eligible Employee, Non-Employee Director, or Consultant who is designated by the Committee in its discretion as eligible to receive Awards subject to the terms and conditions set forth herein.

 

2.21        “Exchange Act” means the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended from time to time. Reference to a specific section of the Exchange Act or regulation thereunder shall include such section or regulation, any valid regulation or interpretation promulgated under such section, and any comparable provision of any future legislation or regulation amending, supplementing, or superseding such section or regulation.

 

2.22        “Fair Market Value” means, for purposes of this Plan, unless otherwise required by any applicable provision of the Code or any regulations issued thereunder, as of any date and except as provided below, the last sales price reported for the Common Stock on the applicable date: (a) as reported on the principal national securities exchange in the United States on which it is then traded, listed or otherwise reported or quoted or (b) if the Common Stock is not traded, listed, or otherwise reported or quoted, the Committee shall determine in good faith the Fair Market Value in whatever manner it considers appropriate, taking into account the requirements of Section 409A of the Code. For purposes of the grant of any Award, the applicable date shall be the trading day immediately prior to the date on which the Award is granted. For purposes of the exercise of any Award, the applicable date shall be the date a notice of exercise is received by the Committee or, if not a date on which the applicable market is open, the next day that it is open. Notwithstanding the foregoing, with respect to any Award granted on the pricing date of the Company’s initial public offering, the Fair Market Value shall mean the initial public offering price of a Share as set forth in the Company’s final prospectus relating to its initial public offering filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

 

2.23        “Family Member” means “family member” as defined in Section A.1.(a)(5) of the general instructions of Form S-8.

 

2.24        “Incentive Stock Option” means any Stock Option granted to an Eligible Employee who is an employee of the Company, its Parents or its Subsidiaries under this Plan and that is intended to be, and is designated as, an “Incentive Stock Option” within the meaning of Section 422 of the Code.

 

2.25        “Non-Employee Director” means a director on the Board who is not an employee of the Company.

 

2.26        “Non-Qualified Stock Option” means any Stock Option granted under this Plan that is not an Incentive Stock Option.

 

2.27        “Other Stock-Based Award” means an Award granted under Article IX of this Plan that is valued in whole or in part by reference to, or is payable in or otherwise based on, Shares, but may be settled in the form of Shares or cash.

 

2.28        “Parent” means any parent corporation of the Company within the meaning of Section 424(e) of the Code.

 

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2.29        “Participant” means an Eligible Individual to whom an Award has been granted pursuant to this Plan.

 

2.30        “Performance Award” means an Award granted under Article VIII of this Plan.

 

2.31        “Performance Goals” means goals established by the Committee as contingencies for Awards to vest and/or become exercisable or distributable.

 

2.32        “Performance Period” means the designated period during which the Performance Goals must be satisfied with respect to the Award to which the Performance Goals relate.

 

2.33        “Person” means any “person” as such term is used in Sections 13(d) and 14(d) of the Exchange Act.

 

2.34        “Restricted Stock” means an Award of Shares granted under Article VII of this Plan.

 

2.35        “Restricted Stock Unit” means an unfunded, unsecured right to receive, on the applicable settlement date, one Share or an amount in cash or other consideration determined by the Committee to be of equal value as of such settlement date, subject to certain vesting conditions and other restrictions.

 

2.36        “Rule 16b-3” means Rule 16b-3 under Section 16(b) of the Exchange Act as then in effect or any successor provision.

 

2.37        “Section 409A of the Code” means the nonqualified deferred compensation rules under Section 409A of the Code and any applicable treasury regulations and other official guidance thereunder.

 

2.38        “Securities Act” means the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and all rules and regulations promulgated thereunder. Reference to a specific section of the Securities Act or regulation thereunder shall include such section or regulation, any valid regulation or interpretation promulgated under such section, and any comparable provision of any future legislation or regulation amending, supplementing, or superseding such section or regulation.

 

2.39        “Shares” means shares of Common Stock.

 

2.40        “Stock Appreciation Right” means a stock appreciation right granted under Article VI of this Plan.

 

2.41        “Stock Option” or “Option” means any option to purchase Shares granted pursuant to Article VI of this Plan.

 

2.42        “Subsidiary” means any subsidiary corporation of the Company within the meaning of Section 424(f) of the Code.

 

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2.43        “Ten Percent Stockholder” means a Person owning stock representing more than ten percent (10%) of the total combined voting power of all classes of stock of the Company, its Parents or its Subsidiaries.

 

2.44        “Termination of Service” means the termination of the applicable Participant’s employment with, or performance of services for, the Company and its Affiliates. Unless otherwise determined by the Committee, (a) if a Participant’s employment or services with the Company and its Affiliates terminates but such Participant continues to provide services to the Company and its Affiliates in a non-employee capacity, such change in status shall not be deemed a Termination of Service with the Company and its Affiliates and (b) a Participant employed by, or performing services for an Affiliate that ceases to be an Affiliate shall also be deemed to have incurred a Termination of Service provided the Participant does not immediately thereafter become an employee of the Company or another Affiliate. Notwithstanding the foregoing provisions of this definition, with respect to any Award that constitutes a “nonqualified deferred compensation plan” within the meaning of Section 409A of the Code, a Participant shall not be considered to have experienced a “Termination of Service” unless the Participant has experienced a “separation from service” within the meaning of Section 409A of the Code.

 

Article III
ADMINISTRATION

 

3.1          Authority of the Committee. This Plan shall be administered by the Committee. Subject to the terms of this Plan and Applicable Law, the Committee shall have full authority to grant Awards to Eligible Individuals under this Plan. In particular, the Committee shall have the authority to:

 

(a)          determine whether and to what extent Awards, or any combination thereof, are to be granted hereunder to one or more Eligible Individuals;

 

(b)          determine the number of Shares to be covered by each Award granted hereunder;

 

(c)          determine the terms and conditions, not inconsistent with the terms of this Plan, of any Award granted hereunder (including, but not limited to, the exercise or purchase price (if any), any restriction or limitation, any vesting schedule or acceleration thereof, or any forfeiture restrictions or waiver thereof, regarding any Award and the Shares, if any, relating thereto, based on such factors, if any, as the Committee shall determine, in its sole discretion);

 

(d)          determine the amount of cash to be covered by each Award granted hereunder;

 

(e)          determine whether, to what extent, and under what circumstances grants of Options and other Awards under this Plan are to operate on a tandem basis and/or in conjunction with or apart from other awards made by the Company outside of this Plan;

 

(f)          determine whether and under what circumstances an Award may be settled in cash, Shares, other property, or a combination of the foregoing;

 

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(g)          determine whether, to what extent and under what circumstances cash, Shares, or other property and other amounts payable with respect to an Award under this Plan shall be deferred either automatically or at the election of the Participant;

 

(h)          modify, waive, amend, or adjust the terms and conditions of any Award, at any time or from time to time, including but not limited to Performance Goals;

 

(i)          determine whether a Stock Option is an Incentive Stock Option or Non-Qualified Stock Option;

 

(j)          determine whether to require a Participant, as a condition of the granting of any Award, to not sell or otherwise dispose of Shares acquired pursuant to the exercise or vesting of an Award for a period of time as determined by the Committee, in its sole discretion, following the date of the acquisition of such Award or Shares;

 

(k)          modify, extend, or renew an Award, subject to Article XI and Section 6.8(g) of this Plan; and

 

(l)           determine how the Disability, death, retirement, authorized leave of absence or any other change or purported change in a Participant’s status affects an Award and the extent to which, and the period during which, the Participant, the Participant’s legal representative, conservator, guardian or beneficiary may exercise rights under the Award, if applicable.

 

3.2          Guidelines. Subject to Article XI of this Plan, the Committee shall have the authority to adopt, alter, and repeal such administrative rules, guidelines, and practices governing this Plan and perform all acts, including the delegation of its responsibilities (to the extent permitted by Applicable Law and applicable stock exchange rules), as it shall, from time to time, deem advisable; to construe and interpret the terms and provisions of this Plan and any Award issued under this Plan (and any agreements or sub-plans relating thereto); and to otherwise supervise the administration of this Plan. The Committee may correct any defect, supply any omission, or reconcile any inconsistency in this Plan or in any agreement relating thereto in the manner and to the extent it shall deem necessary to effectuate the purpose and intent of this Plan. The Committee may adopt special rules, sub-plans, guidelines, and provisions for persons who are residing in or employed in, or subject to, the taxes of any domestic or foreign jurisdictions to satisfy or accommodate applicable foreign laws or to qualify for preferred tax treatment of such domestic or foreign jurisdictions.

 

3.3          Decisions Final. Any decision, interpretation, or other action made or taken in good faith by or at the direction of the Company, the Board, or the Committee (or any of its members) arising out of or in connection with this Plan shall be within the absolute discretion of all and each of them, as the case may be, and shall be final, binding, and conclusive on the Company and all employees and Participants and their respective heirs, executors, administrators, successors, and assigns.

 

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3.4          Designation of Consultants/Liability; Delegation of Authority.

 

(a)          The Committee may employ such legal counsel, consultants, and agents as it may deem desirable for the administration of this Plan and may rely upon any opinion received from any such counsel or consultant and any computation received from any such consultant or agent. Expenses incurred by the Committee or the Board in the engagement of any such counsel, consultant, or agent shall be paid by the Company. The Committee, its members, and any person designated pursuant to this Section 3.4 shall not be liable for any action or determination made in good faith with respect to this Plan. To the maximum extent permitted by Applicable Law, no officer of the Company or member or former member of the Committee or of the Board shall be liable for any action or determination made in good faith with respect to this Plan or any Award granted under it.

 

(b)          The Committee may delegate any or all of its powers and duties under this Plan to a subcommittee of directors or to any officer of the Company, including the power to perform administrative functions (including executing agreements or other documents on behalf of the Committee) and grant Awards; provided, that such delegation does not (i) violate Applicable Law, or (ii) result in the loss of an exemption under Rule 16b-3(d)(1) for Awards granted to Participants subject to Section 16 of the Exchange Act in respect of the Company. Upon any such delegation, all references in this Plan to the “Committee,” shall be deemed to include any subcommittee or officer of the Company to whom such powers have been delegated by the Committee. Any such delegation shall not limit the right of such subcommittee members or such an officer to receive Awards; provided, however, that such subcommittee members and any such officer may not grant Awards to himself or herself, a member of the Board, or any executive officer of the Company or an Affiliate, or take any action with respect to any Award previously granted to himself or herself, a member of the Board, or any executive officer of the Company or an Affiliate. The Committee may also designate employees or professional advisors who are not executive officers of the Company or members of the Board to assist in administering this Plan, provided, however, that such individuals may not be delegated the authority to grant or modify any Awards that will, or may, be settled in Shares.

 

3.5          Indemnification. To the maximum extent permitted by Applicable Law and to the extent not covered by insurance directly insuring such person, each current and former officer or employee of the Company or any of its Affiliates and member or former member of the Committee or the Board shall be indemnified and held harmless by the Company against any cost or expense (including reasonable fees of counsel acceptable to the Committee) or liability (including any sum paid in settlement of a claim with the approval of the Committee), and advanced amounts necessary to pay the foregoing at the earliest time and to the fullest extent permitted, arising out of any act or omission to act in connection with the administration of this Plan, except to the extent arising out of such officer’s, employee’s, member’s, or former member’s own fraud or bad faith. Such indemnification shall be in addition to any right of indemnification that the current or former employee, officer or member may have under Applicable Law or under the by-laws of the Company or any of its Affiliates. Notwithstanding anything else herein, this indemnification will not apply to the actions or determinations made by an individual with regard to Awards granted to such individual under this Plan.

 

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Article IV
SHARE LIMITATION

 

4.1          Shares. The aggregate number of Shares that may be issued pursuant to this Plan shall not exceed [●]1 Shares (subject to any increase or decrease pursuant to this Article IV), which may be either authorized and unissued Shares or Shares held in or acquired for the treasury of the Company or both. The number of Shares that may be issued pursuant to this Plan shall be subject to an annual increase on January 1 of each calendar year beginning in 2026, and ending and including January 1, 2035, equal to the lesser of (a) 4% of the aggregate number of Shares outstanding on December 31 of the immediately preceding calendar year and (b) such smaller number of Shares as is determined by the Board. The aggregate number of Shares that may be issued or used with respect to any Incentive Stock Option shall not exceed [●]2 Shares (subject to any increase or decrease pursuant to Section 4.3). Any Award under this Plan settled in cash shall not be counted against the foregoing maximum share limitations. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained herein, Shares subject to an Award under this Plan shall again be made available for issuance or delivery under this Plan if such Shares are (i) Shares delivered, withheld or surrendered in payment of the exercise or purchase price of an Award, (ii) Shares delivered, withheld, or surrendered to satisfy any tax withholding obligation or (iii) Shares subject to a stock-settled Award that expires or is canceled, forfeited, or terminated without issuance of the full number of Shares to which the Award related.

 

4.2          Substitute Awards. In connection with an entity’s merger or consolidation with the Company or the Company’s acquisition of an entity’s property or stock, the Committee may grant Awards in substitution for any options or other stock or stock-based awards granted before such merger or consolidation by such entity or its affiliate (“Substitute Awards”). Substitute Awards may be granted on such terms as the Committee deems appropriate, notwithstanding limitations on Awards in this Plan. Substitute Awards will not count against the Shares authorized for grant under this Plan (nor shall Shares subject to a Substitute Award be added to the Shares available for Awards under this Plan as provided under Section 4.1 above), except that Shares acquired by exercise of substitute Incentive Stock Options will count against the maximum number of Shares that may be issued pursuant to the exercise of Incentive Stock Options under this Plan, as set forth in Section 4.1 above. Additionally, in the event that a Person acquired by the Company or any Subsidiary or with which the Company or any Subsidiary combines has shares available under a pre-existing plan approved by stockholders and not adopted in contemplation of such acquisition or combination, the shares available for grants pursuant to the terms of such pre-existing plan (as adjusted, to the extent appropriate, using the exchange ratio or other adjustment or valuation ratio or formula used in such acquisition or combination to determine the consideration payable to the holders of common stock of the entities party to such acquisition or combination) may be used for Awards under this Plan and shall not reduce the Shares authorized for grant under this Plan (and Shares subject to such Awards shall not be added to the Shares available for Awards under this Plan as provided under Section 4.1 above); provided that Awards using such available shares shall not be made after the date awards or grants could have been made under the terms of the pre-existing plan, absent the acquisition or combination, and shall only be made to individuals who were not Eligible Employees or Non-Employee Directors prior to such acquisition or combination.

 

 

1 Note to Draft: To be 10% of FDE.

 

2 Note to Draft: To be the number of the share reserve.

 

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4.3          Adjustments.

 

(a)          The existence of this Plan and the Awards granted hereunder shall not affect in any way the right or power of the Board or the stockholders of the Company to make or authorize (i) any adjustment, recapitalization, reorganization, or other change in the Company’s capital structure or its business, (ii) any merger or consolidation of the Company or any Affiliate, (iii) any issuance of bonds, debentures, or preferred or prior preference stock ahead of or affecting the Shares, (iv) the dissolution or liquidation of the Company or any Affiliate, (v) any sale or transfer of all or part of the assets or business of the Company or any Affiliate, or (vi) any other corporate act or proceeding.

 

(b)          Subject to the provisions of Section 10.1:

 

(i)            If the Company at any time subdivides (by any split, recapitalization or otherwise) the outstanding Shares into a greater number of Shares, or combines (by reverse split, combination, or otherwise) its outstanding Shares into a lesser number of Shares, then the respective exercise prices for outstanding Awards that provide for a Participant-elected exercise and the number of Shares covered by outstanding Awards shall be appropriately adjusted by the Committee to prevent dilution or enlargement of the rights granted to, or available for, Participants under this Plan; provided, that the Committee in its sole discretion shall determine whether an adjustment is appropriate.

 

(ii)           Excepting transactions covered by Section 4.3(b)(i), if the Company effects any merger, consolidation, statutory exchange, spin-off, extraordinary dividend, reorganization, sale or transfer of all or substantially all the Company’s assets or business, or other corporate transaction or event in such a manner that the Company’s outstanding Shares are converted into the right to receive (or the holders of Common Stock are entitled to receive in exchange therefor), either immediately or upon liquidation of the Company, securities or other property of the Company or other entity, then, subject to the provisions of Section 10.1, (A) the aggregate number or kind of securities that thereafter may be issued under this Plan, (B) the number or kind of securities or other property (including cash) to be issued pursuant to Awards granted under this Plan (including as a result of the assumption of this Plan and the obligations hereunder by a successor entity, as applicable), or (C) the exercise or purchase price thereof, shall be appropriately adjusted by the Committee to prevent dilution or enlargement of the rights granted to, or available for, Participants under this Plan.

 

(iii)          If there shall occur any change in the capital structure of the Company other than those covered by Section 4.3(b)(i) or 4.3(b)(ii), any conversion, any adjustment, or any issuance of any class of securities convertible or exercisable into, or exercisable for, any class of equity securities of the Company, then the Committee shall adjust any Award and make such other adjustments to this Plan to prevent dilution or enlargement of the rights granted to, or available for, Participants under this Plan.

 

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(iv)          In the event of any pending stock dividend, stock split, combination or exchange of shares, merger, consolidation or other distribution (other than normal cash dividends) of Company assets to stockholders, or any other extraordinary transaction or change affecting the Shares or the Share price, including any securities offering or other similar transaction, for administrative convenience, the Committee may refuse to permit the exercise of any Award for up to sixty (60) days before or after such transaction.

 

(v)           The Committee may adjust the Performance Goals applicable to any Awards to reflect any unusual or non-recurring events and other extraordinary items, impact of charges for restructurings, discontinued operations, and the cumulative effects of accounting or tax changes, each as defined by generally accepted accounting principles or as identified in the Company’s financial statements, notes to the financial statements, management’s discussion and analysis, or other Company public filing.

 

(vi)          Any such adjustment determined by the Committee pursuant to this Section 4.3(b) shall be final, binding, and conclusive on the Company and all Participants and their respective heirs, executors, administrators, successors, and permitted assigns. Any adjustment to, or assumption or substitution of, an Award under this Section 4.3(b) shall be intended to comply with the requirements of Section 409A of the Code and Treasury Regulation §1.424-1 (and any amendments thereto), to the extent applicable. Except as expressly provided in this Section 4.3 or in the applicable Award Agreement, a Participant shall have no additional rights under this Plan by reason of any transaction or event described in this Section 4.3.

 

4.4          Annual Limit on Non-Employee Director Compensation. In each calendar year during any part of which this Plan is in effect, a Non-Employee Director may not receive Awards for such individual’s service on the Board that, taken together with any cash fees paid to such Non-Employee Director during such calendar year for such individual’s service on the Board, have a value in excess of $600,000 (calculating the value of any such Awards based on the grant date fair value of such Awards for financial reporting purposes); provided, that (a) the Committee may make exceptions to this limit, except that the Non-Employee Director receiving such additional compensation may not participate in the decision to award such compensation or in other contemporaneous decisions involving compensation for Non-Employee Directors and (b) for any calendar year in which a Non-Employee Director (i) first commences service on the Board, (ii) serves on a special committee of the Board, or (iii) serves as lead director or non-executive chair of the Board, such limit shall be increased to $1,200,000; provided, further, that the limit set forth in this Section 4.4 shall be applied without regard to Awards or other compensation, if any, provided to a Non-Employee Director during any period in which such individual was an employee of the Company or any Affiliate or was otherwise providing services to the Company or to any Affiliate other than in the capacity as a Non-Employee Director.

 

Article V
ELIGIBILITY

 

5.1          General Eligibility. All current and prospective Eligible Individuals are eligible to be granted Awards. Eligibility for the grant of Awards and actual participation in this Plan shall be determined by the Committee in its sole discretion. No Eligible Individual will automatically be granted any Award under this Plan.

 

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5.2          Incentive Stock Options. Notwithstanding the foregoing, only Eligible Employees who are employees of the Company, its Parents or its Subsidiaries are eligible to be granted Incentive Stock Options under this Plan. Eligibility for the grant of an Incentive Stock Option and actual participation in this Plan shall be determined by the Committee in its sole discretion.

 

5.3          General Requirement. The vesting and exercise of Awards granted to a prospective Eligible Individual are conditioned upon such individual actually becoming an Eligible Employee, Consultant, or Non-Employee Director, as applicable.

 

Article VI
STOCK OPTIONS; STOCK APPRECIATION RIGHTS

 

6.1          General. Stock Options or Stock Appreciation Rights may be granted alone or in addition to other Awards granted under this Plan Each Stock Option granted under this Plan shall be of one of two types: (a) an Incentive Stock Option or (b) a Non-Qualified Stock Option. Stock Options and Stock Appreciation Rights granted under this Plan shall be evidenced by an Award Agreement and subject to the terms, conditions and limitations in this Plan, including any limitations applicable to Incentive Stock Options.

 

6.2          Grants. The Committee shall have the authority to grant to any Eligible Individual one or more Incentive Stock Options, Non-Qualified Stock Options, and/or Stock Appreciation Rights; provided, however, that Incentive Stock Options may only be granted to an Eligible Employee who is an employee of the Company, its Parents or its Subsidiaries. To the extent that any Stock Option does not qualify as an Incentive Stock Option (whether because of its provisions or the time or manner of its exercise or otherwise), such Stock Option or the portion thereof which does not so qualify shall constitute a separate Non-Qualified Stock Option.

 

6.3          Exercise Price. The exercise price per Share subject to a Stock Option or Stock Appreciation Right shall be determined by the Committee at the time of grant; provided that the per share exercise price of a Stock Option or Stock Appreciation Right shall not be less than one hundred percent (100%) (or, in the case of an Incentive Stock Option granted to a Ten Percent Stockholder, one hundred and ten percent (110%)) of the Fair Market Value at the time of grant. Notwithstanding the foregoing, in the case of a Stock Option or Stock Appreciation Right that is a Substitute Award, the exercise price per Share for such Stock Option or Stock Appreciation Right may be less than the Fair Market Value on the date of grant; provided, that, such exercise price is determined in a manner consistent with the provisions of Section 409A of the Code and, if applicable, Section 424(a) of the Code.

 

6.4          Term. The term of each Stock Option or Stock Appreciation Right shall be fixed by the Committee, provided that no Stock Option or Stock Appreciation Right shall be exercisable more than ten (10) years (or, in the case of an Incentive Stock Option granted to a Ten Percent Stockholder, five (5) years) after the date on which the Stock Option or Stock Appreciation Right, as applicable, is granted.

 

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6.5          Exercisability. Unless otherwise provided by the Committee in accordance with the provisions of this Section 6.5, Stock Options and Stock Appreciation Rights granted under this Plan shall be exercisable at such time or times and subject to such terms and conditions as shall be determined by the Committee at the time of grant. The Committee may, but shall not be required to, provide for an acceleration of vesting and exercisability upon the occurrence of a specified event. Unless otherwise determined by the Committee, if the exercise of a Non-Qualified Stock Option or Stock Appreciation Right within the permitted time periods is prohibited because such exercise would violate the registration requirements under the Securities Act or any other Applicable Law or the rules of any securities exchange or interdealer quotation system, the Company’s insider trading policy (including any blackout periods) or a “lock-up” agreement entered into in connection with the issuance of securities by the Company, then the expiration of such Non-Qualified Stock Option or Stock Appreciation Right shall be extended until the date that is thirty (30) days after the end of the period during which the exercise of the Non-Qualified Stock Option or Stock Appreciation Right would be in violation of such registration requirement or other Applicable Law or rules, blackout period or lock-up agreement, as determined by the Committee; provided, however, that in no event shall any such extension result in any Non-Qualified Stock Option or Stock Appreciation Right remaining exercisable after the ten (10)-year term of the applicable Non-Qualified Stock Option or Stock Appreciation Right.

 

6.6          Method of Exercise. Subject to any applicable waiting period or exercisability provisions under Section 6.5, to the extent vested, Stock Options and Stock Appreciation Rights may be exercised in whole or in part at any time during the term of the applicable Stock Option or Stock Appreciation Right, by giving written notice of exercise (which may be electronic) to the Company specifying the number of Stock Options or Stock Appreciation Rights, as applicable, being exercised. Such notice shall be accompanied by payment in full of the exercise price (which shall equal the product of such number of Shares to be purchased multiplied by the applicable exercise price). The exercise price for the Stock Options may be paid upon such terms and conditions as shall be established by the Committee and set forth in the applicable Award Agreement. Without limiting the foregoing, the Committee may establish payment terms for the exercise of Stock Options pursuant to which the Company may withhold a number of Shares that otherwise would be issued to the Participant in connection with the exercise of the Stock Option having a Fair Market Value on the date of exercise equal to the exercise price, or that permit the Participant to deliver cash or Shares with a Fair Market Value equal to the exercise price on the date of payment, or through a simultaneous sale through a broker of Shares acquired on exercise, all as permitted by Applicable Law. No Shares shall be issued until payment therefor, as provided herein, has been made or provided for. Upon the exercise of a Stock Appreciation Right a Participant shall be entitled to receive, for each right exercised, up to, but no more than, an amount in cash and/or Shares (as chosen by the Committee in its sole discretion) equal in value to the excess of the Fair Market Value of one (1) Share on the date that the right is exercised over the Fair Market Value of one (1) Share on the date that the right was awarded to the Participant.

 

6.7          Non-Transferability. No Stock Option or Stock Appreciation Right shall be transferable by the Participant other than by will or by the laws of descent and distribution, and all Stock Options and Stock Appreciation Rights shall be exercisable, during the Participant’s lifetime, only by the Participant. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Committee may determine, in its sole discretion, at the time of grant or thereafter that a Non-Qualified Stock Option that is otherwise not transferable pursuant to this Section 6.7 is transferable to a Family Member of the Participant in whole or in part and in such circumstances, and under such conditions, as specified by the Committee. A Non-Qualified Stock Option that is transferred to a Family Member pursuant to the preceding sentence (a) may not be subsequently transferred other than by will or by the laws of descent and distribution and (b) remains subject to the terms of this Plan and the applicable Award Agreement. Any Shares acquired upon the exercise of a Non-Qualified Stock Option by a permissible transferee of a Non-Qualified Stock Option or a permissible transferee pursuant to a transfer after the exercise of the Non-Qualified Stock Option shall be subject to the terms of this Plan and the applicable Award Agreement.

 

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6.8          Termination. Unless otherwise determined by the Committee at grant or, if no rights of the Participant are reduced, thereafter, subject to the provisions of the applicable Award Agreement and this Plan, upon a Participant’s Termination of Service for any reason, Stock Options and Stock Appreciation Rights may remain exercisable following a Participant’s Termination of Service as follows:

 

(a)          Termination by Death or Disability. Unless otherwise provided in the applicable Award Agreement, or otherwise determined by the Committee at the time of grant or, if no rights of the Participant are reduced, thereafter, if a Participant’s Termination of Service is by reason of death or Disability, all Stock Options and Stock Appreciation Rights that are held by such Participant that are vested and exercisable at the time of the Participant’s Termination of Service may be exercised by the Participant (or in the case of the Participant’s death, by the legal representative of the Participant’s estate) at any time within a period of one (1) year from the date of such Termination of Service, but in no event beyond the expiration of the stated term of such Stock Options and Stock Appreciation Rights; provided, however, that, in the event of a Participant’s Termination of Service by reason of Disability, if the Participant dies within such exercise period, all unexercised Stock Options and Stock Appreciation Rights held by such Participant shall thereafter be exercisable, to the extent to which they were exercisable at the time of death, for a period of one (1) year from the date of such death, but in no event beyond the expiration of the stated term of such Stock Options and/or Stock Appreciation Rights.

 

(b)          Involuntary Termination Without Cause. Unless otherwise provided in the applicable Award Agreement or otherwise determined by the Committee at the time of grant or, if no rights of the Participant are reduced, thereafter, if a Participant’s Termination of Service is by involuntary termination by the Company without Cause, all Stock Options and Stock Appreciation Rights that are held by such Participant that are vested and exercisable at the time of the Participant’s Termination of Service may be exercised by the Participant at any time within a period of ninety (90) days from the date of such Termination of Service, but in no event beyond the expiration of the stated term of such Stock Options or Stock Appreciation Rights.

 

(c)          Voluntary Resignation. Unless otherwise provided in the applicable Award Agreement or otherwise determined by the Committee at the time of grant or, if no rights of the Participant are reduced, thereafter, if a Participant’s Termination of Service is voluntary (other than a voluntary termination described in Section 6.8(d) hereof), all Stock Options and Stock Appreciation Rights that are held by such Participant that are vested and exercisable at the time of the Participant’s Termination of Service may be exercised by the Participant at any time within a period of thirty (30) days from the date of such Termination of Service, but in no event beyond the expiration of the stated term of such Stock Options or Stock Appreciation Rights.

 

(d)          Termination for Cause. Unless otherwise provided in the applicable Award Agreement or determined by the Committee at the time of grant, or if no rights of the Participant are reduced, thereafter, if a Participant’s Termination of Service (i) is for Cause or (ii) is a voluntary Termination of Service (as provided in Section 6.8(c)) after the occurrence of an event that would be grounds for a Termination of Service for Cause, all Stock Options and Stock Appreciation Rights, whether vested or not vested, that are held by such Participant shall thereupon immediately terminate and expire as of the date of such Termination of Service.

 

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(e)          Unvested Stock Options and Stock Appreciation Rights. Unless otherwise provided in the applicable Award Agreement or determined by the Committee at the time of grant or, if no rights of the Participant are reduced, thereafter, Stock Options and Stock Appreciation Rights that are not vested as of the date of a Participant’s Termination of Service for any reason shall terminate and expire as of the date of such Termination of Service.

 

(f)           Incentive Stock Option Limitations. To the extent that the aggregate Fair Market Value (determined as of the time of grant) of the Shares with respect to which Incentive Stock Options are exercisable for the first time by an Eligible Employee during any calendar year under this Plan and/or any other stock option plan of the Company, any Parent or any Subsidiary exceeds $100,000, such Options shall be treated as Non-Qualified Stock Options. In addition, if an Eligible Employee does not remain employed by the Company, any Parent or any Subsidiary at all times from the time an Incentive Stock Option is granted until three (3) months prior to the date of exercise thereof (or such other period as required by Applicable Law), such Stock Option shall be treated as a Non-Qualified Stock Option. Should any provision of this Plan not be necessary in order for the Stock Options to qualify as Incentive Stock Options, or should any additional provisions be required, the Committee may amend this Plan accordingly, without the necessity of obtaining the approval of the stockholders of the Company.

 

(g)          Modification, Extension and Renewal of Stock Options. The Committee may (i) modify, extend, or renew outstanding Stock Options granted under this Plan (provided that the rights of a Participant are not reduced without such Participant’s consent and provided, further that such action does not subject the Stock Options to Section 409A of the Code without the consent of the Participant), and (ii) accept the surrender of outstanding Stock Options (to the extent not theretofore exercised) and authorize the granting of new Stock Options in substitution therefor (to the extent not theretofore exercised).

 

6.9          Automatic Exercise. The Committee may include a provision in an Award Agreement providing for the automatic exercise of a Non-Qualified Stock Option or Stock Appreciation Right on a cashless basis on the last day of the term of such Option or Stock Appreciation Right if the Participant has failed to exercise the Non-Qualified Stock Option or Stock Appreciation Right as of such date, with respect to which the Fair Market Value of the Shares underlying the Non-Qualified Stock Option or Stock Appreciation Right exceeds the exercise price of such Non-Qualified Stock Option or Stock Appreciation Right on the date of expiration of such Option or Stock Appreciation Right, subject to Section 13.4.

 

6.10        Dividends. No dividends or Dividend Equivalent Rights shall be granted with respect to Stock Options or Stock Appreciation Rights.

 

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6.11        Other Terms and Conditions. As the Committee shall deem appropriate, Stock Options and Stock Appreciation Rights may be subject to additional terms and conditions or other provisions, which shall not be inconsistent with any of the terms of this Plan.

 

Article VII
RESTRICTED STOCK; RESTRICTED STOCK UNITS

 

7.1          Awards of Restricted Stock and Restricted Stock Units. Shares of Restricted Stock and Restricted Stock Units may be granted alone or in addition to other Awards granted under this Plan. The Committee shall determine the Eligible Individuals to whom, and the time or times at which, grants of Restricted Stock and/or Restricted Stock Units shall be made, the number of shares of Restricted Stock or Restricted Stock Units to be awarded, the price (if any) to be paid by the Participant (subject to Section 7.2), the time or times within which such Awards may be subject to forfeiture, the vesting schedule and rights to acceleration thereof, and all other terms and conditions of the Awards. The Committee shall determine and set forth in the Award Agreement the terms and conditions for each Award of Restricted Stock and Restricted Stock Units, subject to the conditions and limitations contained in this Plan, including any vesting or forfeiture conditions.

 

The Committee may condition the grant or vesting of Restricted Stock and Restricted Stock Units upon the attainment of specified Performance Goals or such other factor as the Committee may determine in its sole discretion.

 

7.2          Awards and Certificates. Restricted Stock and Restricted Stock Units granted under this Plan shall be evidenced by an Award Agreement and subject to the following terms and conditions and shall be in such form and contain such additional terms and conditions not inconsistent with the terms of this Plan, as the Committee shall deem desirable:

 

(a)          Restricted Stock.

 

(i)          Purchase Price. The purchase price of Restricted Stock shall be fixed by the Committee. The purchase price for shares of Restricted Stock may be zero to the extent permitted by Applicable Law, and, to the extent not so permitted, such purchase price may not be less than par value.

 

(ii)          Legend. Each Participant receiving Restricted Stock shall be issued a stock certificate in respect of such shares of Restricted Stock, unless the Committee elects to use another system, such as book entries by the Company’s transfer agent, as evidencing ownership of shares of Restricted Stock. Such certificate shall be registered in the name of such Participant, and shall, in addition to such legends required by Applicable Law, bear an appropriate legend referring to the terms, conditions, and restrictions applicable to such Restricted Stock.

 

(iii)         Custody. If stock certificates are issued in respect of shares of Restricted Stock, the Committee may require that any stock certificates evidencing such shares be held in custody by the Company until the restrictions thereon shall have lapsed, and that, as a condition of any grant of Restricted Stock, the Participant shall have delivered a duly signed stock power or other instruments of assignment (including a power of attorney), each endorsed in blank with a guarantee of signature if deemed necessary or appropriate by the Company, which would permit transfer to the Company of all or a portion of the shares subject to the Award of Restricted Stock in the event that such Award is forfeited in whole or part.

 

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(iv)        Rights as a Stockholder. Except as provided in Section 7.3(a) and this Section 7.2(a) or as otherwise determined by the Committee in an Award Agreement, the Participant shall have, with respect to the shares of Restricted Stock, all of the rights of a holder of Shares, including, without limitation, the right to receive dividends, the right to vote such shares, and, subject to and conditioned upon the full vesting of shares of Restricted Stock, the right to tender such shares; provided that the Award Agreement shall specify on what terms and conditions the applicable Participant shall be entitled to dividends payable on the Shares.

 

(v)         Lapse of Restrictions. If and when the Restriction Period expires without a prior forfeiture of the Restricted Stock, the certificates for such Shares shall be delivered to the Participant. All legends shall be removed from said certificates at the time of delivery to the Participant, except as otherwise required by Applicable Law or other limitations imposed by the Committee.

 

(b)          Restricted Stock Units.

 

(i)          Settlement. The Committee may provide that settlement of Restricted Stock Units will occur upon or as soon as reasonably practical after the Restricted Stock Units vest or will instead be deferred, on a mandatory basis or at the Participant’s election, in a manner intended to comply with Section 409A of the Code.

 

(ii)          Rights as a Stockholder. A Participant will have no rights of a stockholder with respect to Shares subject to any Restricted Stock Unit unless and until Shares are delivered in settlement of the Restricted Stock Units.

 

(iii)         Dividend Equivalent Rights. If the Committee so provides, a grant of Restricted Stock Units may provide a Participant with the right to receive Dividend Equivalent Rights. Dividend Equivalent Rights may be paid currently or credited to an account for the Participant, settled in cash or Shares, and subject to other terms and conditions as set forth in the Award Agreement.

 

7.3          Restrictions and Conditions.

 

(a)          Restriction Period.

 

(i)          The Participant shall not be permitted to transfer shares of Restricted Stock awarded under this Plan or vest in Restricted Stock Units during the period or periods set by the Committee (the “Restriction Period”) commencing on the date of such Award, as set forth in the applicable Award Agreement and such agreement shall set forth a vesting schedule and any event that would accelerate vesting of the Restricted Stock and/or Restricted Stock Units. Within these limits, based on service, attainment of Performance Goals pursuant to Section 7.3(a)(i), and/or such other factors or criteria as the Committee may determine in its sole discretion, the Committee may condition the grant or provide for the lapse of such restrictions in installments in whole or in part, or may accelerate the vesting of all or any part of any Award of Restricted Stock or Restricted Stock Units and/or waive the deferral limitations for all or any part of any Award of Restricted Stock or Restricted Stock Units.

 

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(ii)          If the grant of shares of Restricted Stock or Restricted Stock Units or the lapse of restrictions or vesting schedule is based on the attainment of Performance Goals, the Committee shall establish the objective Performance Goals and the applicable vesting percentage applicable to each Participant or class of Participants in the applicable Award Agreement prior to the beginning of the applicable fiscal year or at such later date as otherwise determined by the Committee and while the outcome of the Performance Goals are substantially uncertain. Such Performance Goals may incorporate provisions for disregarding (or adjusting for) changes in accounting methods, corporate transactions (including, without limitation, dispositions and acquisitions), and other similar types of events or circumstances.

 

(b)          Termination. Unless otherwise provided in the applicable Award Agreement or determined by the Committee at grant or, if no rights of the Participant are reduced, thereafter, upon a Participant’s Termination of Service for any reason during the relevant Restriction Period, all Restricted Stock or Restricted Stock Units still subject to restriction will be forfeited in accordance with the terms and conditions established by the Committee at grant or thereafter.

 

Article VIII

PERFORMANCE AWARDS

 

The Committee may grant a Performance Award to a Participant payable upon the attainment of specific Performance Goals either alone or in addition to other Awards granted under this Plan. The Performance Goals to be achieved during the Performance Period and the length of the Performance Period shall be determined by the Committee upon the grant of each Performance Award. The conditions for grant or vesting and the other provisions of Performance Awards (including, without limitation, any applicable Performance Goals) need not be the same with respect to each Participant. Performance Awards may be paid in cash, Shares, other property, or any combination thereof, in the sole discretion of the Committee as set forth in the applicable Award Agreement. If the Committee so provides, a grant of a Performance Award may provide a Participant with the right to receive dividends or Dividend Equivalent Rights. Dividend Equivalent Rights may be paid currently or credited to an account for the Participant, settled in cash or Shares and subject to other terms and conditions as set forth in the Award Agreement.

 

Article IX
OTHER STOCK-BASED AND CASH AWARDS

 

9.1          Other Stock-Based Awards. The Committee is authorized to grant to Eligible Individuals Other Stock-Based Awards that are payable in, valued in whole or in part by reference to, or otherwise based on or related to Shares, including but not limited to, Shares awarded purely as a bonus and not subject to restrictions or conditions, Shares in payment of the amounts due under an incentive or performance plan sponsored or maintained by the Company, stock equivalent units, and Awards valued by reference to the book value of Shares. Other Stock-Based Awards may be granted either alone or in addition to or in tandem with other Awards granted under this Plan.

 

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Subject to the provisions of this Plan, the Committee shall have authority to determine the Eligible Individuals, to whom, and the time or times at which, such Other Stock-Based Awards shall be made, the number of Shares to be awarded pursuant to such Awards, and all other conditions of the Awards. The Committee may also provide for the grant of Shares under such Awards upon the completion of a specified Performance Period. The Committee may condition the grant or vesting of Other Stock-Based Awards upon the attainment of specified Performance Goals as the Committee may determine, in its sole discretion.

 

9.2          Terms and Conditions. Other Stock-Based Awards made pursuant to this Article IX shall be evidenced by an Award Agreement and subject to the following terms and conditions and shall be in such form and contain such additional terms and conditions not inconsistent with the terms of this Plan, as the Committee shall deem desirable:

 

(a)          Non-Transferability. Subject to the applicable provisions of the Award Agreement and this Plan, Shares subject to Other Stock-Based Awards may not be transferred prior to the date on which the Shares are issued or, if later, the date on which any applicable restriction, performance, or deferral period lapses.

 

(b)          Dividends. Unless otherwise determined by the Committee at the time of the grant of an Other Stock-Based Award, subject to the provisions of the Award Agreement and this Plan, the recipient of an Other Stock-Based Award shall not be entitled to receive, currently or on a deferred basis, dividends or Dividend Equivalent Rights in respect of the number of Shares covered by the Other Stock-Based Award.

 

(c)          Vesting. Any Other Stock-Based Award and any Shares covered by any such Other Stock-Based Award shall vest or be forfeited to the extent so provided in the Award Agreement, as determined by the Committee, in its sole discretion.

 

(d)          Price. Shares under this Article IX may be issued for no cash consideration. Shares purchased pursuant to a purchase right awarded pursuant to an Other Stock-Based Award shall be priced, as determined by the Committee in its sole discretion.

 

9.3          Cash Awards. The Committee may from time to time grant Cash Awards to Eligible Individuals in such amounts, on such terms and conditions, and for such consideration, including no consideration or such minimum consideration as may be required by Applicable Law, as it shall determine in its sole discretion. Cash Awards may be granted subject to the satisfaction of vesting conditions or may be awarded purely as a bonus and not subject to restrictions or conditions, and if subject to vesting conditions, the Committee may accelerate the vesting of such Awards at any time in its sole discretion. The grant of a Cash Award shall not require a segregation of any of the Company’s assets for satisfaction of the Company’s payment obligation thereunder.

 

Article X
CHANGE IN CONTROL PROVISIONS

 

10.1        Benefits. In the event of a Change in Control, and except as otherwise provided by the Committee in an Award Agreement or any applicable employment agreement, offer letter, consulting agreement, change in control agreement, or similar agreement in effect between the Company or an Affiliate and the Participant, a Participant’s unvested Awards shall not vest automatically and a Participant’s Awards shall be treated in accordance with one or more of the following methods as determined by the Committee:

 

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(a)          Awards, whether or not then vested, shall be continued, be assumed, or have new rights substituted therefor, as determined by the Committee in a manner consistent with the requirements of Section 409A of the Code, and restrictions to which shares of Restricted Stock or any other Award granted prior to the Change in Control are subject shall not lapse upon a Change in Control and the Restricted Stock or other Award shall, where appropriate in the sole discretion of the Committee, receive the same distribution as other Shares on such terms as determined by the Committee; provided that the Committee may decide to award additional Restricted Stock or other Awards in lieu of any cash distribution. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary herein, for purposes of Incentive Stock Options, any assumed or substituted Stock Option shall comply with the requirements of Treasury Regulation Section 1.424-1 (and any amendment thereto).

 

(b)          The Committee, in its sole discretion, may provide for the purchase of any Awards by the Company for an amount of cash equal to the excess (if any) of the Change in Control Price of the Shares covered by such Awards, over the aggregate exercise price of such Awards; provided, however, that if the exercise price of an Option or Stock Appreciation Right exceeds the Change in Control Price, such Award may be cancelled for no consideration.

 

(c)          The Committee may, in its sole discretion, terminate all outstanding and unexercised Stock Options, Stock Appreciation Rights, or any Other Stock-Based Award that provides for a Participant-elected exercise, effective as of the date of the Change in Control, by delivering notice of termination to each Participant at least twenty (20) days prior to the date of consummation of the Change in Control, in which case during the period from the date on which such notice of termination is delivered to the consummation of the Change in Control, each such Participant shall have the right to exercise in full all of such Participant’s Awards that are then outstanding (without regard to any limitations on exercisability otherwise contained in the Award Agreements), but any such exercise shall be contingent on the occurrence of the Change in Control, and, provided that, if the Change in Control does not take place within a specified period after giving such notice for any reason whatsoever, the notice and exercise pursuant thereto shall be null and void.

 

(d)          Notwithstanding any other provision herein to the contrary, the Committee may, in its sole discretion, provide for accelerated vesting or lapse of restrictions, of an Award at any time.

 

Article XI
TERMINATION OR AMENDMENT OF PLAN

 

Notwithstanding any other provision of this Plan, the Board or the Committee may at any time, and from time to time, amend, in whole or in part, any or all of the provisions of this Plan (including any amendment deemed necessary to ensure that the Company may comply with any Applicable Law), or suspend or terminate it entirely, retroactively or otherwise; provided, however, that, unless otherwise required by Applicable Law or specifically provided herein, the rights of a Participant with respect to Awards granted prior to such amendment, suspension, or termination may not be materially impaired without the consent of such Participant and, provided, further, that without the approval of the holders of the Shares entitled to vote in accordance with Applicable Law, no amendment may be made that would (a) increase the aggregate number of Shares that may be issued under this Plan (except by operation of Section 4.1); or (b) change the classification of individuals eligible to receive Awards under this Plan. In addition, the Board or the Committee shall, without the approval of the holders of the Shares entitled to vote in accordance with Applicable Law, have the authority to (i) amend any outstanding Option or Stock Appreciation Right to reduce its exercise price per Share or (ii) cancel any Option or Stock Appreciation Right in exchange for cash or another Award. Notwithstanding anything herein to the contrary, the Board or the Committee may amend this Plan or any Award Agreement at any time without a Participant’s consent to comply with Applicable Law, including Section 409A of the Code. The Committee may amend the terms of any Award theretofore granted, prospectively or retroactively, but, subject to Article IV or as otherwise specifically provided herein, no such amendment or other action by the Committee shall materially impair the rights of any Participant without the Participant’s consent.

 

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Article XII
UNFUNDED STATUS OF PLAN

 

This Plan is intended to constitute an “unfunded” plan for incentive and deferred compensation. With respect to any payment as to which a Participant has a fixed and vested interest but which is not yet made to a Participant by the Company, nothing contained herein shall give any such Participant any right that is greater than those of a general unsecured creditor of the Company.

 

Article XIII
GENERAL PROVISIONS

 

13.1        Lock-Up; Legend. The Committee may require each person receiving Shares pursuant to a Stock Option or other Award under this Plan to represent to and agree with the Company in writing that the Participant is acquiring the Shares without a view to distribution thereof. The Company may, in connection with registering the offering of any Company securities under the Securities Act, prohibit Participants from, directly or indirectly, selling or otherwise transferring any Shares or other Company securities during any period determined by the underwriter or the Company. In addition to any legend required by this Plan, the certificates for such Shares may include any legend that the Committee deems appropriate to reflect any restrictions on transfer. All certificates for Shares delivered under this Plan shall be subject to such stop transfer orders and other restrictions as the Committee may deem advisable under the rules, regulations, and other requirements of the Securities and Exchange Commission, any stock exchange upon which the Common Stock is then listed or any national securities exchange system upon whose system the Common Stock is then quoted, and any Applicable Law, and the Committee may cause a legend or legends to be put on any such certificates to make appropriate reference to such restrictions. If the Shares are held in book-entry form, then the book-entry will indicate any restrictions on such Shares.

 

13.2        Other Plans. Nothing contained in this Plan shall prevent the Board from adopting other or additional compensation arrangements, subject to stockholder approval if such approval is required, and such arrangements may be either generally applicable or applicable only in specific cases.

 

13.3        No Right to Employment/Directorship/Consultancy. Neither this Plan nor the grant of any Award hereunder shall give any Participant or other employee, Consultant or Non-Employee Director any right with respect to continuance of employment, consultancy or directorship by the Company or any Affiliate, nor shall there be a limitation in any way on the right of the Company or any Affiliate by which an employee is employed or a Consultant or Non-Employee Director is retained to terminate such employment, consultancy, or directorship at any time.

 

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13.4        Withholding of Taxes. A Participant shall be required to pay to the Company or one of its Affiliates, as applicable, or make arrangements satisfactory to the Company regarding the payment of, any income tax, social insurance contribution or other applicable taxes that are required to be withheld in respect of an Award. The Committee may (but is not obligated to), in its sole discretion, permit or require a Participant to satisfy all or any portion of the applicable taxes that are required to be withheld with respect to an Award by (a) the delivery of Shares (which are not subject to any pledge or other security interest) that have been both held by the Participant and vested for at least six (6) months (or such other period as established from time to time by the Committee in order to avoid adverse accounting treatment under applicable accounting standards) having an aggregate Fair Market Value equal to such withholding liability (or portion thereof); (b) having the Company withhold from the Shares otherwise issuable or deliverable to, or that would otherwise be retained by, the Participant upon the grant, exercise, vesting, or settlement of the Award, as applicable, a number of Shares with an aggregate Fair Market Value equal to the amount of such withholding liability; or (c) by any other means specified in the applicable Award Agreement or otherwise determined by the Committee.

 

13.5        Fractional Shares. No fractional Shares shall be issued or delivered pursuant to this Plan. The Committee shall determine whether cash, additional Awards, or other securities or property shall be used or paid in lieu of fractional Shares or whether any fractional shares should be rounded, forfeited, or otherwise eliminated.

 

13.6        No Assignment of Benefits. No Award or other benefit payable under this Plan shall, except as otherwise specifically provided in this Plan or under Applicable Law or permitted by the Committee, be transferable in any manner, and any attempt to transfer any such benefit shall be void, and any such benefit shall not in any manner be liable for or subject to the debts, contracts, liabilities, engagements, or torts of any person who shall be entitled to such benefit, nor shall it be subject to attachment or legal process for or against such person.

 

13.7        Clawbacks; Detrimental Conduct.

 

(a)          Clawbacks. All awards, amounts, or benefits received or outstanding under this Plan will be subject to clawback, cancellation, recoupment, rescission, payback, reduction, or other similar action in accordance with any Company clawback or similar policy or any Applicable Law related to such actions. A Participant’s acceptance of an Award will constitute the Participant’s acknowledgement of and consent to the Company’s application, implementation, and enforcement of any applicable Company clawback or similar policy that may apply to the Participant, whether adopted before or after the Effective Date, and any Applicable Law relating to clawback, cancellation, recoupment, rescission, payback, or reduction of compensation, and the Participant’s agreement that the Company may take any actions that may be necessary to effectuate any such policy or Applicable Law, without further consideration or action.

 

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(b)          Detrimental Conduct. Except as otherwise determined by the Committee, notwithstanding any other term or condition of this Plan, if a Participant engages in Detrimental Conduct, whether during or after the Participant’s service, in addition to any other penalties or restrictions that may apply under this Plan, Applicable Law or otherwise, the Participant must forfeit or pay to the Company the following:

 

(i)          any and all outstanding Awards granted to the Participant, including Awards that have become vested or exercisable;

 

(ii)          any cash or Shares received by the Participant in connection with this Plan within the 36-month period immediately before the date the Company determines the Participant has engaged in Detrimental Conduct; and

 

(iii)         the profit realized by the Participant from the sale, or other disposition for consideration, of any Shares received by the Participant under this Plan within the 36-month period immediately before the date the Company determines the Participant has engaged in Detrimental Conduct.

 

13.8        Listing and Other Conditions.

 

(a)          Unless otherwise determined by the Committee, as long as the Common Stock is listed on a national securities exchange or system sponsored by a national securities association, the issuance of Shares pursuant to an Award shall be conditioned upon such Shares being listed on such exchange or system. The Company shall have no obligation to issue such Shares unless and until such Shares are so listed, and the right to exercise any Option or other Award with respect to such Shares shall be suspended until such listing has been effected.

 

(b)          If at any time counsel to the Company advises the Company that any sale or delivery of Shares pursuant to an Award is or may in the circumstances be unlawful or result in the imposition of excise taxes on the Company under Applicable Law, the Company shall have no obligation to make such sale or delivery, or to make any application or to effect or to maintain any qualification or registration under the Securities Act or otherwise, with respect to Shares or Awards, and the right to exercise any Option or other Award shall be suspended until, based on the advice of said counsel, such sale or delivery shall be lawful or will not result in the imposition of excise taxes on the Company.

 

(c)          Upon termination of any period of suspension under this Section 13.8, any Award affected by such suspension which shall not then have expired or terminated shall be reinstated as to all Shares available before such suspension and as to Shares which would otherwise have become available during the period of such suspension, but no such suspension shall extend the term of any Award.

 

(d)         A Participant shall be required to supply the Company with certificates, representations, and information that the Company requests and otherwise cooperate with the Company in obtaining any listing, registration, qualification, exemption, consent, or approval that the Company deems necessary or appropriate.

 

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13.9        Governing Law. This Plan and actions taken in connection herewith shall be governed and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of Delaware, without reference to principles of conflict of laws.

 

13.10     Construction. Wherever any words are used in this Plan in the masculine gender they shall be construed as though they were also used in the feminine gender in all cases where they would so apply, and wherever words are used herein in the singular form they shall be construed as though they were also used in the plural form in all cases where they would so apply.

 

13.11      Other Benefits. No Award granted or paid out under this Plan shall be deemed compensation for purposes of computing benefits under any retirement plan of the Company or its Affiliates or affect any benefit or compensation under any other plan now or subsequently in effect under which the availability or amount of benefits is related to the level of compensation.

 

13.12     Costs. The Company shall bear all expenses associated with administering this Plan, including expenses of issuing Shares pursuant to Awards hereunder.

 

13.13     No Right to Same Benefits. The provisions of Awards need not be the same with respect to each Participant, and such Awards to individual Participants need not be the same in subsequent years.

 

13.14     Death/Disability. The Committee may in its discretion require the transferee of a Participant to supply it with written notice of the Participant’s death or Disability and to supply it with a copy of the will (in the case of the Participant’s death) or such other evidence as the Committee deems necessary to establish the validity of the transfer of an Award. The Committee may also require the agreement of the transferee to be bound by all of the terms and conditions of this Plan.

 

13.15     Section 16(b) of the Exchange Act. It is the intent of the Company that this Plan satisfy, and be interpreted in a manner that satisfies, the applicable requirements of Rule 16b-3 as promulgated under Section 16 of the Exchange Act so that Participants will be entitled to the benefit of Rule 16b-3, or any other rule promulgated under Section 16 of the Exchange Act, and will not be subject to short-swing liability under Section 16 of the Exchange Act. Accordingly, if the operation of any provision of this Plan would conflict with the intent expressed in this Section 13.15, such provision to the extent possible shall be interpreted and/or deemed amended so as to avoid such conflict.

 

13.16      Deferral of Awards. The Committee may establish one or more programs under this Plan to permit selected Participants the opportunity to elect to defer receipt of consideration upon exercise of an Award, satisfaction of performance criteria, or other event that absent the election would entitle the Participant to payment or receipt of Shares or other consideration under an Award. The Committee may establish the election procedures, the timing of such elections, the mechanisms for payments of, and accrual of interest or other earnings, if any, on amounts, Shares or other consideration so deferred, and such other terms, conditions, rules, and procedures that the Committee deems advisable for the administration of any such deferral program.

 

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13.17      Section 409A of the Code. This Plan and Awards are intended to comply with or be exempt from the applicable requirements of Section 409A of the Code and shall be limited, construed, and interpreted in accordance with such intent. To the extent that any Award is subject to Section 409A of the Code, it shall be paid in a manner that will comply with Section 409A of the Code. Notwithstanding anything herein to the contrary, any provision in this Plan that is inconsistent with Section 409A of the Code shall be deemed to be amended to comply with or be exempt from Section 409A of the Code and, to the extent such provision cannot be amended to comply therewith or be exempt therefrom, such provision shall be null and void. The Company shall have no liability to a Participant, or any other party, if an Award that is intended to be exempt from, or compliant with, Section 409A of the Code is not so exempt or compliant or for any action taken by the Committee or the Company and, in the event that any amount or benefit under this Plan becomes subject to penalties under Section 409A of the Code, responsibility for payment of such penalties shall rest solely with the affected Participants and not with the Company. Notwithstanding any contrary provision in this Plan or Award Agreement, any payment(s) of “nonqualified deferred compensation” (within the meaning of Section 409A of the Code) that are otherwise required to be made under this Plan to a “specified employee” (as defined under Section 409A of the Code) as a result of such employee’s separation from service (other than a payment that is not subject to Section 409A of the Code) shall be delayed for the first six (6) months following such separation from service (or, if earlier, until the date of death of the specified employee) and shall instead be paid (in a manner set forth in the Award Agreement) upon expiration of such delay period.

 

13.18     Data Privacy. As a condition of receipt of any Award, each Participant explicitly and unambiguously consents to the collection, use, and transfer, in electronic or other form, of personal data as described in this Section 13.18 by and among, as applicable, the Company and its Affiliates, for the exclusive purpose of implementing, administering, and managing this Plan and Awards and the Participant’s participation in this Plan. In furtherance of such implementation, administration, and management, the Company and its Affiliates may hold certain personal information about a Participant, including, but not limited to, the Participant’s name, home address, telephone number, date of birth, social security or insurance number or other identification number, salary, nationality, job title(s), information regarding any securities of the Company or any of its Affiliates, and details of all Awards (the “Data”). In addition to transferring the Data amongst themselves as necessary for the purpose of implementation, administration, and management of this Plan and Awards and the Participant’s participation in this Plan, the Company and its Affiliates may each transfer the Data to any third parties assisting the Company in the implementation, administration, and management of this Plan and Awards and the Participant’s participation in this Plan. Recipients of the Data may be located in the Participant’s country or elsewhere, and the Participant’s country and any given recipient’s country may have different data privacy laws and protections. By accepting an Award, each Participant authorizes such recipients to receive, possess, use, retain, and transfer the Data, in electronic or other form, for the purposes of assisting the Company in the implementation, administration, and management of this Plan and Awards and the Participant’s participation in this Plan, including any requisite transfer of such Data as may be required to a broker or other third party with whom the Company or the Participant may elect to deposit any shares of Common Stock. The Data related to a Participant will be held only as long as is necessary to implement, administer, and manage this Plan and Awards and the Participant’s participation in this Plan. A Participant may, at any time, view the Data held by the Company with respect to such Participant, request additional information about the storage and processing of the Data with respect to such Participant, recommend any necessary corrections to the Data with respect to the Participant, or refuse or withdraw the consents herein in writing, in any case without cost, by contacting his or her local human resources representative. The Company may cancel the Participant’s eligibility to participate in this Plan, and in the Committee’s discretion, the Participant may forfeit any outstanding Awards if the Participant refuses or withdraws the consents described herein. For more information on the consequences of refusal to consent or withdrawal of consent, Participants may contact their local human resources representative.

 

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13.19     Successor and Assigns. This Plan shall be binding on all successors and permitted assigns of a Participant, including, without limitation, the estate of such Participant and the executor, administrator, or trustee of such estate.

 

13.20     Severability of Provisions. If any provision of this Plan shall be held invalid or unenforceable, such invalidity or unenforceability shall not affect any other provisions hereof, and this Plan shall be construed and enforced as if such provisions had not been included.

 

13.21     Headings and Captions. The headings and captions herein are provided for reference and convenience only, shall not be considered part of this Plan, and shall not be employed in the construction of this Plan.

 

Article XIV
EFFECTIVE DATE OF PLAN

 

This Plan shall become effective on [●], 2026, which is the date of its adoption by the Board, subject to the approval of this Plan by the stockholders of the Company in accordance with the requirements of the laws of the State of Delaware.

 

Article XV
TERM OF PLAN

 

No Award shall be granted pursuant to this Plan on or after the tenth (10th) anniversary of the earlier of the date that this Plan is adopted by the Board or the date of stockholder approval, but Awards granted prior to such tenth (10th) anniversary may extend beyond that date.

 

*      *      *      *      *

 

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Exhibit 10.12

 

EXECUTIVE EMPLOYMENT AGREEMENT

 

This EMPLOYMENT AGREEMENT (this “Agreement”) is entered into as of February 20th, 2024 (the “Effective Date”), between Suja Life, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company (the “Company”), and Maria Stipp (the “Executive”).

 

W I T N E S S E T H:

 

WHEREAS, the Company desires to retain the services and employment of the Executive, and the Executive desires to provide Executive’s services to and be employed by the Company, in each case upon the terms and conditions hereinafter set forth.

 

NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the premises and mutual covenants contained herein and for other good and valuable consideration, the receipt and sufficiency of which are mutually acknowledged, the Company and the Executive agree as follows:

 

1.          EMPLOYMENT TERM. The term of the Executive’s employment under this Agreement will commence on the Effective Date and continue until terminated by the Company or the Executive in accordance with Section 5 (the “Employment Term”).

 

2.          POSITION AND DUTIES.

 

(a)          During the Employment Term, the Executive will serve as the Chief Executive Officer of the Company, reporting to the board of managers (the “Board”) of Suja Life Holdings, L.P. (“Parent”). In this capacity, the Executive will have authority and duties that are ordinary, customary, and necessary in such role and such other authority and duties commensurate with such role as may be directed by the Board.

 

(b)          During the Employment Term, the Executive’s principal place of employment will be in Oceanside, California (the “Headquarters”); provided that the Executive may be required to travel from time to time on Company business during the Employment Term. Executive acknowledges and agrees that the expectation is that Executive will travel to the Headquarters (i) at least three weeks out of every calendar month commencing on the Effective Date through the month of June 2024 and (ii) at least ten days out of every calendar month from and after July 2024. Notwithstanding the foregoing, Executive further acknowledges and agrees that it may be necessary, intermittently, to travel to the Headquarters on a more frequent basis based on business necessities or as required in order to fully perform Executive’s duties as Chief Executive Officer and leader of the Company’s management team. Executive will be reimbursed for Executive’s airfare to and from the Headquarters subject to any documentation requirements set forth in the Company’s expense reimbursement policy. In addition, the Company shall secure, at the Company’s expense, corporate housing for Executive during such times as Executive is travelling to the Headquarters.

 

(c)          During the Employment Term, the Executive will devote all of the Executive’s business time to the performance of the Executive’s duties to the Company; provided that the foregoing will not prevent the Executive from: (i) serving on the boards of directors of nonprofit organizations; (ii) participating in charitable, civic, educational, professional, community or industry affairs; and (iii) managing the Executive’s personal investments, in each case so long as such activities do not (A) individually or in the aggregate interfere or conflict with the Executive’s duties hereunder, (B) violate any restrictive covenant with the Company or any of its affiliates or subsidiaries by which the Executive is bound or (C) create a potential business or fiduciary conflict. For the avoidance of doubt, Executive may continue holding Board Directorships at Seite Foods, California Olive Ranch, and Monte Vista Farms.

 

 

 

 

(d)          The Executive will be appointed as a member of the Board so long as Executive serves as Chief Executive Officer of the Company.

 

3.          COMPENSATION.

 

(a)          BASE SALARY. During the Employment Term, the Company will pay the Executive a salary (as adjusted from time to time, the “Base Salary”) at an annual rate of $600,000, in accordance with the Company’s regular payroll practices. The Base Salary is subject to annual review by the Board, in its sole discretion, and may be adjusted from time to time.

 

(b)          ANNUAL BONUSES. Executive will be eligible to receive (i) a discretionary annual bonus with a target amount equal to $600,000 for each calendar year ending during the Employment Term based on the satisfaction of performance goals determined by the Board in its sole discretion (the “Annual Bonus”) and (ii) an additional discretionary annual over-achievement bonus with a target amount equal to $300,000 for each calendar year ending during the Employment Term based on the achievement of certain stretch budget performance goals determined by the Board in its sole discretion (the “Over-Achievement Bonus”). The Annual Bonus and Over-Achievement Bonus (if any) will be subject to the terms and conditions of the Company’s annual bonus plan and paid to the Executive at the same time as annual bonuses are generally payable to other senior executives of the Company, subject to the Executive’s continued employment through the applicable payment date.

 

(c)          SIGN-ON BONUS. On the first normal payroll date following the commencement of the Employment Term, the Company will pay Executive a one-time $550,000 sign-on bonus, subject to repayment of the full value of the sign-on bonus if Executive does not remain actively employed with the Company for at least 12 months after the commencement of the Employment Term due to Executive’s voluntary termination of employment without Good Reason (as defined below) or a termination by the Company for Cause (as defined below).

 

4.          EMPLOYEE BENEFITS.

 

(a)          BENEFIT PLANS. During the Employment Term, the Executive will be eligible to participate in employee benefit plans, policies and programs and to receive such other fringe benefits as the Company may make available from time to time to the Company’s executives generally, subject to and in accordance with the terms and conditions of such plans, policies and programs in effect or amended from time to time in the Company’s sole discretion. The Executive’s participation in any such plan or program will be subject to the terms of the applicable plan documents and Company policies. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Company may amend, modify or terminate any employee benefit plan or program at any time without violation of this Agreement.

 

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(b)          BUSINESS EXPENSES. The Company will reimburse the Executive for all reasonable and necessary out-of-pocket business and travel expenses incurred by the Executive in connection with the performance of the Executive’s duties hereunder in accordance with the Company’s expense reimbursement policy.

 

(c)          VACATIONS. During the Employment Term, the Executive shall be eligible for paid vacation in accordance with the Company’s vacation policies in effect from time to time for other similarly situated executives of the Company.

 

(d)          CAR ALLOWANCE. During the Employment Term, the Company will provide an allowance for monthly automobile expenses when Executive is traveling to the Headquarters, in accordance with the Company executive car allowance policy, as determined from time to time by the Board.

 

(e)          TRANSACTION BONUS. In the event that (i) Executive is and has been employed by the company through the consummation of a Change in Control and (ii) the Investors achieve a Target Multiple of at least 2.0x but less than 2.50x, the Company will pay or cause to be paid to executive in connection with, but no later than 30 days following the consummation of, such Change in Control a one-time cash bonus equal to $1,000,000 (the “Transaction Bonus”). The Company will have the right to deduct from the Transaction Bonus any applicable withholding taxes or other deductions required by law to be withheld with respect to the Transaction Bonus and to take such action as may be necessary in the determination of the Company to satisfy all obligations for the payment of such taxes. The Transaction Bonus is a special payment to Executive and will not be taken into account in computing the amount of salary or compensation for purposes of determining any bonus, incentive, pension, retirement, death or other benefit under any other bonus, incentive, pension, retirement, insurance or other employee benefit plan of the Company. No Transaction Bonus shall be payable in the event the Investors achieve a Target Multiple of less than 2.0x or more than 2.50x.

 

(f)          INCENTIVE GRANT. Promptly following the commencement of the Employment Term, Parent will issue or cause to be issued to Executive a grant of incentive units which will entitle Executive to a portion of the profits of Parent above a Target Multiple of 2.50x (the “Incentive Units”). The Incentive Units are expected to be structured as profits interests for U.S. tax purposes and to provide Executive with an anticipated value of $2,500,000 if the Investors achieve a Target Multiple of 2.5x, an anticipated value of $5,000,000 if the Investors achieve a Target Multiple of 3.0x and an anticipated value of $10,000,000 if the Investors achieve a Target Multiple of 4.0x, with linear interpolation between each such Target Multiple. The Incentive Units be subject to certain terms and conditions set forth in the Parent LP Agreement and an incentive equity grant agreement to be entered into by and between Executive and Parent.

 

(g)          DEFINITIONS. For purposes of this Section 4, the following terms shall have the following meanings:

 

(i)          “Change of Control” shall mean a “Sale of the Partnership” as such term is defined in the Parent LP Agreement.

 

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(ii)          “Investor Investment Amount” means, without duplication, as of any measurement date, the total of (i) the amount funded by the Investors and their affiliates pursuant to that certain Investor Purchase Agreement, dated as of August 23, 2021, by and among the Partnership, the Investors and the other parties thereto plus (ii) any additional capital contributions, payments, investments, loans, promissory notes, debt or equity infusions (including any guarantees of third party indebtedness) by the Investors and their affiliates with respect to or in exchange for Equity Securities (as such term is defined in the Parent LP Agreement) of Parent (whether such payments are made to Parent or any third party) plus (iii) all out-of-pocket fees and expenses incurred by the Investors or their affiliates (or any person at the direction of the Investors or their affiliates) relating to Parent or its affiliates, including legal fees, accounting fees and fees paid to government agencies, in each case of this clause (iii), which are not subject to repayment or reimbursement by any person, including Parent or its subsidiaries.

 

(iii)          “Investor Proceeds” means, as of any measurement date, the total amount of cash actually received by the Investors with respect to Equity Securities (as such term is defined in the Parent LP Agreement) pursuant to Sections 4.1 and/or 10.2 of the Parent LP Agreement (which, for the avoidance of doubt, shall not include tax distributions or amounts payable pursuant to the Management Services Agreement by and between Suja Life, LLC and Paine Schwartz Partners Fund V Management, LLC) determined after giving effect to any payments or incentive grants that have vested, would vest or would become payable as a result of a Change of Control or the achievement of any specific Target Multiple; provided that in the event the Investors receive property other than cash as a distribution from Parent pursuant to Section 4.1 of the Parent LP Agreement, such property shall become Investor Proceeds on the date that it is sold, exchanged, transferred or otherwise converted into cash.

 

(iv)          “Investors” means, PSP Suja Life Holdings, L.P., a Delaware limited partnership and any other PSP Fund that at any time executes a counterpart to the LP Agreement.

 

(v)          “Parent LP Agreement” means the Fourth Amended and Restated Limited Partnership Agreement of the Partnership, dated as of November 27, 2023, as amended, supplemented, modified or restated from time to time.

 

(vi)          “Target Multiple” means a number equal to the result of (i) all Investor Proceeds divided by (ii) the Investor Investment Amount.

 

5.          TERMINATION OF THE EMPLOYMENT TERM. The Employment Term may be terminated by either the Company or the Executive at any time and for any reason or for no reason, subject to any notice requirements set forth herein. Upon termination of the Employment Term, the Executive is only entitled to the compensation and benefits described in Section 6 and has no further rights to any compensation or any other benefits from the Company or any of its affiliates or subsidiaries other than vested rights or claims to indemnification and any right to receive benefits under any 401(k) or pension plans. The Employment Term may terminate:

 

(a)          DEATH. Automatically upon the Executive’s death.

 

(b)          DISABILITY. Upon ten days’ prior written notice by the Company to the Executive of termination due to Disability. For purposes of this Agreement, “Disability” means the Executive’s inability, due to physical or mental incapacity, to perform the essential functions of the Executive’s job, with or without reasonable accommodation, for 180 days out of any 365-day period or for 120 consecutive days.

 

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(c)          CAUSE. Immediately upon written notice by the Company to the Executive of a termination for Cause. “Cause” means any of the following, as reasonably determined by the Board: (i) conviction of, or entry of a plea of guilty or nolo contendere to, a felony or any other crime involving moral turpitude; (ii) fraud, theft, embezzlement or misappropriation involving the Executive’s employment with the Company or any of its subsidiaries or affiliates; (iii) gross negligence or willful misconduct in connection with the performance of the Executive’s responsibilities as an executive of the Company, or the violation of any duty of loyalty to the Company or the Company’s ethics policies or code of business conduct (including any Company policy against harassment); (iv) willful failure or refusal to perform the Executive’s duties or to follow the lawful and reasonable directives of the Board which is not cured within 15 days following written demand by the Company (to the extent curable); (v) an intentional and material breach of any non-competition, non-solicitation, non-disparagement and/or non-disclosure obligations set forth in any agreement between the Executive and the Company; (vi) act of discrimination or harassment based on race, sex, national origin, religion, gender identity, disability, age or other protected category which the Board reasonably concludes has or will adversely affect the business or reputation of the Company; or (vii) material breach of this Agreement or any other written agreement between the Executive and the Company or any of its affiliates which is not cured within 15 days following written demand by the Company (to the extent curable).

 

(d)          WITHOUT CAUSE. Immediately upon written notice by the Company to the Executive of an involuntary termination without Cause (other than for death or Disability).

 

(e)          GOOD REASON. Upon written notice by the Executive to the Company of a termination for Good Reason. “Good Reason” means the occurrence of any of the following events, without the written consent of the Executive: (i) material diminution in the Executive’s Base Salary (other than a reduction in Base Salary that affects all similarly situated executives); (ii) material diminution in the Executive’s position, title, authority, or responsibilities (e.g., requiring Executive to report to someone other than the Board); or (iii) relocation of the Executive’s principal office to a location that is more than fifty (50) miles from the location as of the Effective Date (provided that a relocation will not include: (A) a temporary relocation while the Executive is physically or mentally incapacitated or as required by applicable law, (B) the Executive’s travel for business in the course of performing the Executive’s duties for the Company or any of its affiliates, (C) the Executive working remotely from a location of Executive’s choosing, or (D) the Company or any of its affiliates requiring the Executive to report to the office within the Executive’s then-current principal office (instead of working remotely)); provided that any assertion by the Executive of a termination for Good Reason shall not be effective unless all of the following conditions are satisfied: (x) the Executive provided the Company with a notice detailing the specific circumstances alleged to constitute Good Reason within 30 days after the first occurrence of such circumstances, (y) the Company failed to cure such events in all material respects within 30 days after receipt of such notice, and (z) the Executive in fact terminated employment within 30 days following the expiration of the Company’s cure period. Otherwise, any claim of such circumstances as “Good Reason” will be deemed irrevocably waived for the specific circumstances that occurred and for the avoidance of doubt, such waiver will not apply to any similar circumstances or any future circumstances. For the avoidance of doubt, a change of control, directly or indirectly, of the Company shall not in and of itself constitute Good Reason.

 

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(f)          WITHOUT GOOD REASON. Upon 30 days’ prior written notice by the Executive to the Company of the Executive’s resignation without Good Reason. In the event of the Executive’s resignation without Good Reason, the Company may, in its sole discretion, make the resignation effective as of a date that is earlier than the 30th day after the date on which the Executive delivered such notice.

 

6.          CONSEQUENCES OF TERMINATION.

 

(a)          DEATH; DISABILITY; CAUSE; WITHOUT GOOD REASON. In the event of any termination of the Executive’s employment pursuant to Sections 5(a), 5(b), 5(c) or 5(f), the Executive or the Executive’s estate, as the case may be, will be entitled to the following:

 

(i)          any accrued but unpaid Base Salary through the date of termination, payable on the pay date immediately following the date of the Executive’s termination in accordance with the Company’s regular payroll practices;

 

(ii)          reimbursement for unreimbursed business expenses properly incurred by the Executive, payable in accordance with the Company’s expense reimbursement policy; and

 

(iii)          any vested amounts or benefits pursuant to the Company’s employee benefit plans, policies and programs (collectively, entitlements under Section 6(a)(i) through 6(a)(iii) hereof, the “Accrued Benefits”).

 

(b)          WITHOUT CAUSE; GOOD REASON. In the event of any termination of the Executive’s employment pursuant to Sections 5(d) or 5(e), the Executive will be entitled to the following:

 

(i)          the Accrued Benefits;

 

(ii)          any earned but unpaid Annual Bonus for the completed fiscal year that ended immediately prior to the date of termination of the Executive, payable at the same time as paid to other similar management employees pursuant to the Company’s then-current Annual Bonus plan; and

 

(iii)          subject to the Executive’s continued compliance with the obligations in Sections 8 and 9 and any other restrictive covenant with the Company or any of its affiliates or subsidiaries by which the Executive is bound, (x) the continued payment of the Base Salary for a period of 12 months following the date of the termination in accordance with the Company’s regular payroll practices and (y) a pro-rata portion (determined by multiplying the amount of such bonus which would be due for the full fiscal year by a fraction, the numerator of which is the number of days during the fiscal year of termination that the Executive is employed by the Company and the denominator of which is 365) of the Executive’s Annual Bonus for the fiscal year in which the Executive’s termination occurs to the extent the Company actually achieves the applicable performance results required for such Annual Bonus for such fiscal year, payable at the same time bonuses for such year are paid to other senior executives of the Company.

 

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7.          RELEASE OF CLAIMS; CONTINUED COMPLIANCE. Notwithstanding any provision herein to the contrary, the payment of any amount or provision of any benefit pursuant to Sections 6(b)(iii) (the “Severance Benefits”) will be conditioned upon the Executive’s execution and delivery to the Company of a general release of claims in a form provided by the Company (the “Release of Claims”) (and the expiration of any revocation period contained in such Release of Claims) within the period of time set forth in the Release of Claims. To the extent the Severance Benefits qualify as “nonqualified deferred compensation” for purposes of Section 409A (as defined below), the Severance Benefits will be made or commence upon the 60th day following date of termination. The first such payment of the Severance Benefits will include all amounts that otherwise would have been due prior thereto under the terms of this Agreement had such payments commenced immediately upon the date of termination. Any delay in the payment of the Severance Benefits will not extend the period of time that the Severance Benefits are payable pursuant to Sections 6(b)(iii) hereof. If the Executive fails to execute the Release of Claims in such a timely manner so as to permit any revocation period to expire, or timely revokes the Release of Claims following its execution, the Executive will not be entitled to any of the Severance Benefits. Any amounts payable under Sections 6(b)(iii) that are contingent on the execution and non-revocation of the Release of Claims that involves a release consideration time period that begins in one calendar year and ends in the next calendar year, will be paid as soon as practicable in the second calendar year even if the Executive executes the Release of Claims and such release becomes irrevocable in the first calendar year. During such time that the Executive is receiving the Severance Benefits, if within one year following the Executive’s termination, the Company discovers grounds constituting Cause existed before the Executive’s termination, the Executive’s right to receive the Severance Benefits will immediately cease and be forfeited, and any Severance Benefits previously paid to the Executive will be immediately repaid by the Executive.

 

8.          RESTRICTIVE COVENANTS.

 

(a)          CONFIDENTIALITY. During the course of the Employment Term, the Executive will learn and have access to Confidential Information (as defined below). The Executive agrees that the Executive shall not, directly or indirectly, use, make available, sell, disclose or otherwise communicate to any person, other than in the course of the Executive’s assigned duties and for the benefit of the Company, either during the period of the Executive’s service or at any time thereafter, any business and technical information or trade secrets, nonpublic proprietary or confidential information, knowledge or data relating to the Company or any of its affiliates or subsidiaries, or received from third parties subject to a duty on the Company’s part to maintain the confidentiality of such information and to use it only for certain limited purposes, in each case which shall have been obtained by the Executive during the Executive’s employment with the Company (collectively, the “Confidential Information”). The foregoing shall not apply to information that (i) was known to the public prior to its disclosure to the Executive or (ii) becomes generally known to the public subsequent to disclosure to the Executive through no wrongful act of the Executive or any representative of the Executive. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Executive is permitted to disclose Confidential Information to the extent it is required to be disclose by applicable law, regulation or legal process (provided that, to the extent not legally prohibited, the Executive provides the Company with prior notice of the contemplated disclosure and provides all reasonable cooperation with the Company at its expense in seeking a protective order or other appropriate protection of such information). 18 U.S.C. § 1833(b) provides: “An individual shall not be held criminally or civilly liable under any Federal or State trade secret law for the disclosure of a trade secret that—(A) is made—(i) in confidence to a Federal, State, or local government official, either directly or indirectly, or to an attorney; and (ii) solely for the purpose of reporting or investigating a suspected violation of law; or (B) is made in a complaint or other document filed in a lawsuit or other proceeding, if such filing is made under seal.” Nothing in this Agreement is intended to conflict with 18 U.S.C. § 1833(b) or create liability for disclosures of trade secrets that are expressly allowed by 18 U.S.C. § 1833(b). Accordingly, the parties to this Agreement have the right to disclose in confidence trade secrets to federal, state, and local government officials, or to an attorney, for the sole purpose of reporting or investigating a suspected violation of law. The parties also have the right to disclose trade secrets in a document filed in a lawsuit or other proceeding, but only if the filing is made under seal and protected from public disclosure.

 

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(b)          INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY.

 

(i)          The Executive acknowledges and agrees that all ideas, methods, inventions, discoveries, improvements, work products, developments or works of authorship (“Inventions”), whether patentable or unpatentable, (A) that relate to the Executive’s work with the Company, made or conceived by the Executive, solely or jointly with others, at any time the Executive is or was employed by the Company or any of its affiliates or subsidiaries, or (B) result from any work that the Executive performs in connection with the Company or any of its affiliates or subsidiaries, either while performing the Executive’s duties to the Company or on the Executive’s own time, but only insofar as the Inventions are related to the Executive’s work as an executive of the Company or any of its affiliates or subsidiaries (collectively, “Company Inventions”), shall belong exclusively to the Company (or their respective designees), whether or not patent applications are filed thereon. The Executive will keep full and complete written records regarding Company Inventions (the “Records”), in the manner prescribed by the Company, of all Company Inventions, and will promptly disclose all Company Inventions completely and in writing to the Company upon request by the Company. The Records shall be the sole and exclusive property of the Company, and the Executive shall surrender them upon a termination of the Executive’s employment with the Company, or upon the request of the Company.

 

(ii)          The Executive acknowledges and agrees that all Company Inventions will be deemed Work for Hire, as such term is defined under the copyright laws of the United States, on behalf of the Company, and the Executive agrees that the Company will be the sole owner of the Company Inventions and all underlying rights therein in all media now known or hereinafter devised throughout the universe and in perpetuity without any further obligations to the Executive. If the Company Inventions, or any portion thereof, are deemed not to be Work for Hire, the Executive hereby irrevocably conveys, transfers and assigns to the Company, all rights, in all media now known or hereinafter devised, throughout the universe and in perpetuity, in and to the Company Inventions, including, without limitation, all of the Executive’s right, title and interest in the Intellectual Property in connection therewith including, without limitation, all patents together with the right to file, in the Executive’s name or in the name of the Company (or its designee), applications for patents and equivalent rights (the “Applications”), and all other rights of any kind or any nature now or hereafter recognized, including, without limitation, the unrestricted right to make modifications, adaptations and revisions to the Company Inventions, to exploit and allow others to exploit the Company Inventions and all rights to sue at law or in equity for any infringement, or other unauthorized use or conduct in derogation of the Company Inventions, known or unknown, prior to the date hereof, including, without limitation, the right to receive all proceeds and damages therefrom. In addition, the Executive hereby waives any so-called “moral rights” with respect to the Company Inventions. To the extent that the Executive has any rights in the Company Inventions that cannot be assigned in the manner described herein, the Executive agrees to unconditionally waive the enforcement of such rights. The Executive hereby waives any and all currently existing and future monetary rights in and to the Company Inventions and all patents that may issue thereon, including, without limitation, any rights that would otherwise accrue to the Executive’s benefit by virtue of the Executive being an employee of the Company. The assignment of Inventions as described in this Section 8(b) shall not apply to an invention that qualifies fully under the provisions of California Labor Code Section 2870, which provides as follows:

 

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Any provision in an employment agreement which provides that an employee shall assign, or offer to assign, any of his or her rights in an invention to his or her employer shall not apply to an invention that the employee developed entirely on his or her own time without using the employer’s equipment, supplies, facilities, or trade secret information except for those inventions that either: (1) relate at the time of conception or reduction to practice of the invention to the employer’s business, or actual or demonstrably anticipated research or development of the employer; or (2) result from any work performed by the employee for the employer.

 

Nothing in this Agreement is intended to expand the scope of protection, if any, provided to the Executive by Sections 2870 through 2872 of the California Labor Code.

 

(iii)          The Executive shall, at any time during and subsequent to a termination of the Executive’s employment with the Company, make such applications, sign such papers, take all rightful oaths and perform all acts as may be reasonably requested from time to time by the Company with respect to the Company Inventions. The Executive shall also provide the Company and its attorneys all reasonable assistance (including the giving of testimony) to obtain the Company Inventions for the Company’s benefit, all without additional compensation to the Executive from the Company, but entirely at the Company’s expense.

 

(iv)          The requirements set forth in Section 8(b) of this Agreement shall not apply to an Invention that the Executive develops entirely on Executive’s own time without using the equipment, supplies, facilities, or trade secret information of the Company or its affiliates or subsidiaries except for those Inventions that either (A) relate at the time of conception or reduction to practice of the Invention to the business of the Company, or actual or demonstrably anticipated research or development of the Company or its affiliates or subsidiaries or (B) result from any work performed by the Executive for the Company or its affiliates or subsidiaries.

 

(v)          For the purposes of this Agreement, “Intellectual Property” means all intellectual and industrial property (in any form or medium), together with all rights, title and interests therein, in all jurisdictions throughout the world, including all of the following: (i) utility and design patents, patent applications and patent disclosures; (ii) trade secrets and other confidential information (including, with respect to the Company, the Confidential Information), inventions, industrial designs, modifications, and improvements; (iii) trademarks, service marks, trade dress, trade names, corporate names, logos and slogans (and all translations, adaptations, derivations and combinations of the foregoing), other indicia of source or origin, and Internet domain names, together with all goodwill associated with any of the foregoing; (iv) computer software, including source code, executable code, firmware, systems, tools, data, databases, and other collections of data, and all information and documentation related to any of the foregoing;

 

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(v)          other works of authorship, copyrights, and copyrightable works, including derivative works; and (vi) registrations, renewals, and applications for registration or renewal of any of the foregoing (i) through (v).

 

(c)          NONCOMPETITION. The Executive acknowledges that the Executive will perform services of a unique nature for the Company that are irreplaceable, and that the Executive’s performance of such services to any person, firm, corporation or other entity, in whatever form, engaged in competition with the Company or any of its affiliates or subsidiaries or in any other material business in which the Company or any of its affiliates or subsidiaries is engaged on the date of the termination of the Executive’s employment or in which they have planned, on or before such date, to be engaged in on or after such date will result in irreparable harm to the Company. Accordingly, to the extent permitted by applicable law, during the Executive’s employment with the Company, the Executive agrees that the Executive shall not, directly or indirectly, own, manage, operate, control, be employed by (whether as an employee, consultant, independent contractor or otherwise, and whether or not for compensation) or render services to any person, firm, corporation or other entity, in whatever form, engaged in the competition with the Company or any of its affiliates or subsidiaries or in any other business in which the Company or any of its affiliates or subsidiaries is engaged or in which they have taken steps to be engaged in any country, state, municipality, locale or jurisdiction in which the Company is engaged in providing services. Notwithstanding the foregoing, nothing herein shall prohibit the Executive from directly or indirectly owning not more than two percent (2%) of the issued and outstanding securities of any class of any publicly-traded securities of any company.

 

(d)          NONSOLICITATION; NONINTERFERENCE. During the Executive’s employment with the Company, the Executive agrees that Executive shall not, except in the furtherance of Executive’s duties as an executive of the Company, directly or indirectly, individually or on behalf of any other person, firm, corporation or other entity: (i) solicit, aid or induce any customer of the Company or any of its affiliates or subsidiaries to purchase goods or services then sold by the Company or any of its affiliates or subsidiaries from another person, firm, corporation or other entity or assist or aid any other persons or entity in identifying or soliciting any such purchase from any such customer; (ii) solicit, aid or induce any employee or substantially full-time or exclusive independent contractor or service provider of the Company or any of its affiliates or subsidiaries (each, a “Restricted Person”) to leave such service or retention or render services to or with any other person unaffiliated with the Company or any of its affiliates or subsidiaries or hire or retain any such Restricted Person, or take any action to materially assist or aid any other person in identifying, hiring or soliciting any such Restricted Person; or (iii) interfere, or aid or induce any other person in interfering, with the relationship between the Company or any of its affiliates or subsidiaries and any of their respective vendors (including any third-party service providers that do not constitute Restricted Persons), joint ventures or licensors; provided that the foregoing shall not prohibit the Executive, following Executive’s termination of employment hereunder, directly or indirectly through others, from making general employment solicitations (such as through advertisements in publicly available media) so long as such solicitations are not specifically targeted at any Restricted Person and no Restricted Person is hired as a result of such solicitations. A Restricted Person shall be deemed covered by the foregoing clause (i) while serving in such capacity and for a period of twelve months thereafter.

 

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(e)          NON-DISPARAGEMENT. During the course of the Executive’s employment with the Company and thereafter, the Executive agrees not to disparage any member of the Company or any of its affiliates or subsidiaries or their respective officers, directors, employees, shareholders, members, agents or products. The foregoing provisions of this Section 8(e) shall not be violated by the Executive exercising the Executive’s protected rights, including rights under California law, the National Labor Relations Act or the federal securities laws, including the Dodd-Frank Act, to the extent that such rights cannot be waived bv agreement or from complying with any applicable law or regulation or a valid order of the court of competent jurisdiction or an authorized government agency, provided that such compliance does not exceed that required by the law, regulation or order or by any truthful statements in response to legal process, required governmental testimony or filings, or administrative or arbitral proceedings (including, without limitation, depositions in connection with such proceedings) or by communicating truthfully with the Executive’s advisors, or making any truthful statements or comments in connection with the performance of the Executive’s duties as an employee or beneficial owner of the Company. Nothing in this Agreement prevents the Executive from discussing or disclosing information about unlawful acts in the workplace, such as harassment or discrimination or any other conduct that the Executive has reason to believe is unlawful.

 

(f)          RETURN OF PROPERTY AND INFORMATION. Upon a termination of the Executive’s employment (or at any time prior thereto at the request of the Company), the Executive shall return all property belonging to the Company (including, but not limited to, Confidential Information and any laptops, computers, cell phones, wireless electronic mail devices or other equipment, or documents provided by the Company and any other property belonging to the Company).

 

(g)          REASONABLENESS OF COVENANTS. In signing this Agreement, the Executive gives the Company assurance that the Executive has carefully read and considered all of the terms and conditions of this Agreement, including the restraints imposed under Sections 8 and 9. The Executive agrees that these restraints are necessary for the reasonable and proper protection of the Company or any of its affiliates or subsidiaries and their trade secrets and Confidential Information and that each and every one of the restraints is reasonable in respect of subject matter, length of time and geographic area, and that these restraints, individually or in the aggregate, will not prevent the Executive from obtaining other suitable employment during the period in which the Executive is bound by the restraints. The Executive acknowledges that each of these covenants has a unique, very substantial and immeasurable value to the Company and any of its affiliates and subsidiaries and that the Executive has sufficient assets and skills to provide a livelihood while such covenants remain in force. The Executive further covenants that the Executive shall not challenge the reasonableness or enforceability of any of the covenants set forth in Sections 8 and 9. It is also agreed that the Company or any of its affiliates or subsidiaries, will have the right to enforce all of the Executive’s obligations to that entity under this Agreement, including without limitation pursuant to this Section 8.

 

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(h)          REFORMATION. If it is determined by a court of competent jurisdiction in any state that any restriction in this Section 8 is excessive in duration or scope or is unreasonable or unenforceable under applicable law, it is the intention of the parties that such restriction may be modified or amended by the court to render it enforceable to the maximum extent permitted by the laws of that state.

 

(i)          TOLLING. In the event of any violation of the provisions of this Section 8, the Executive acknowledges and agrees that the post-termination restrictions contained in this Section 8 shall be extended by a period of time equal to the period of such violation, it being the intention of the parties hereto that the running of the applicable post-termination restriction period shall be tolled during any period of such violation.

 

(j)          SURVIVAL OF PROVISIONS. The obligations contained in Sections 8 and 9 shall survive the termination date and shall be fully enforceable thereafter. Each of the Executive and the Company agrees that the restrictive covenants outlined above shall (i) be construed as an agreement independent of any other provision of this Agreement and shall survive any order of a court of competent jurisdiction terminating any other provision of this Agreement, and (ii) in the case of the non-competition, non-solicitation, non-interference and/or non-disparagement restrictive covenants, be deemed to be a series of separate covenants, one for each county or province of each and every state, territory or jurisdiction of each country within the applicable geographic territory and one for each month of the applicable restricted period.

 

9.          COOPERATION. The parties agree that certain matters in which the Executive will be involved during the Employment Term may necessitate the Executive’s cooperation in the future. Accordingly, following the termination of the Employment Term, if applicable, for any reason, to the extent reasonably requested by the Board, the Executive will cooperate with the Company in connection with matters arising out of the Executive’s employment with the Company; provided that the Company will make reasonable efforts to minimize disruption of the Executive’s other activities. Upon presentation of appropriate documentation, the Company will reimburse the Executive for reasonable out-of-pocket business and travel expenses incurred in connection with such cooperation.

 

10.          WHISTLEBLOWER PROTECTION. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained herein, no provision of this Agreement will be interpreted so as to impede the Executive (or any other individual) from: (i) making any disclosure of relevant and necessary information or documents in any action, investigation, or proceeding relating to this Agreement, or as required by law or legal process, including with respect to possible violations of law; (ii) participating, cooperating or testifying in any action, investigation or proceeding with, or providing information to, any governmental agency, legislative body or any self-regulatory organization, including, but not limited to, the Department of Justice, the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Congress, and any agency Inspector General; (iii) accepting any U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Awards; or (iv) making other disclosures under the whistleblower provisions of federal law or regulation. In addition, nothing in this Agreement or any other agreement or Company policy prohibits or restricts the Executive from initiating communications with, or responding to any inquiry from, any administrative, governmental, regulatory or supervisory authority regarding any good faith concerns about possible violations of law or regulation. The Executive does not need the prior authorization of the Company to make any such reports or disclosures and the Executive will not be not required to notify the Company that such reports or disclosures have been made.

 

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11.          NO ASSIGNMENTS. This Agreement is personal to each of the parties hereto. Except as provided in this Section 11, no party may assign or delegate any rights or obligations hereunder without first obtaining the written consent of the other party hereto. The Company may assign this Agreement to any successor to all or substantially all of the business and/or assets of the Company.

 

12.          EXPENSES. In the event that either party to this Agreement institutes any legal action to enforce the rights under this Agreement, the prevailing party shall be entitled to recover from the other party any actual expenses for attorneys’ fees, court costs and disbursements reasonably incurred by such prevailing party.

 

13.          INDEMNIFICATION. The Company will indemnify and hold the Executive harmless to the fullest extent applicable to any other officer or director of the Company/to the maximum extent permitted under applicable law and the Company’s bylaws for acts and omissions resulting from the Executive’s good-faith performance of the Executive’s duties to the Company.

 

14.          NOTICE. Any notice provided for in this Agreement will be in writing and will be either personally delivered, sent by reputable overnight courier service, mailed by first class mail, return receipt requested, or electronic mail to the recipient at the address below indicated:

 

To the Company: c/o Paine Schwartz Partners, LLC
  610 Broadway
  3rd Floor
  New York, New York 10012
  Attn: Alex Corbacho; John Gallotta; Renata
  Malavazzi
  E-mail: [***]
  [***]
  [***]
   
With a copy to Company’s counsel at: Kirkland & Ellis LLP
  300 North LaSalle
  Chicago, Illinois 60654
  Attn: Corey D. Fox, P.C.; Peter Stach,
  P.C.; Kevin Stocks
  Email: [***]
  [***]
  [***]
   
To the Executive: Maria Stipp
  [***]

 

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or such other address or to the attention of such other person as the recipient party will have specified by prior written notice to the sending party. Any notice under this Agreement will be deemed to have been given when so delivered, sent or mailed.

 

15.          SECTION HEADINGS; INCONSISTENCY. The section headings used in this Agreement are included solely for convenience and will not affect, or be used in connection with, the interpretation of this Agreement. In the event of any inconsistency between the terms of this Agreement and any form, award, plan or policy of the Company, the terms of this Agreement will govern and control.

 

16.          SEVERABILITY. The provisions of this Agreement are deemed severable. The invalidity or unenforceability of any provision of this Agreement in any jurisdiction will not affect the validity, legality or enforceability of the remainder of this Agreement in such jurisdiction or the validity, legality or enforceability of any provision of this Agreement in any other jurisdiction, it being intended that all rights and obligations of the parties hereunder are enforceable to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law.

 

17.          COUNTERPARTS. This Agreement may be executed in several counterparts, each of which is deemed to be an original but all of which together will constitute one and the same instrument.

 

18.          APPLICABLE LAW; SUBMISSION TO JURISDICTION; SERVICE OF PROCESS. This Agreement shall in all respects be construed according to the laws of the State of California without regard to its conflict of laws principles that would result in the application of the laws of another jurisdiction. With respect to any claim or dispute related to or arising under this Agreement, the parties hereby agree that should any resort to a court be necessary and permitted under this Agreement, then they consent to the exclusive jurisdiction, forum and venue of the state and federal courts (as applicable) located in California.

 

19.          MISCELLANEOUS. No provision of this Agreement may be amended, modified, waived or discharged unless such waiver, modification or discharge is agreed to in writing and signed by the Executive and such officer or director as may be designated by the Board. Such writing shall be delivered to the other party in person or by any of the means set forth in Section 14 of this Agreement. No waiver by either party hereto at any time of any breach by the other party hereto of, or compliance with, any condition or provision of this Agreement to be performed by such other party will be deemed a waiver of similar or dissimilar provisions or conditions at the same or at any prior or subsequent time. This Agreement, together with the annexes hereto, sets forth the entire agreement of the parties in respect of the subject matter contained herein and supersedes any and all prior agreements or understandings between the Executive and the Company with respect to the subject matter contained herein. No agreements or representations, oral or otherwise, express or implied, with respect to the subject matter contained herein have been made by either party that are not expressly set forth in this Agreement.

 

20.          REPRESENTATIONS. The Executive represents and warrants to the Company that (a) the Executive has the legal right to enter into this Agreement and to perform all of the obligations on the Executive’s part to be performed hereunder in accordance with its terms and (b) the Executive is not a party to any agreement or understanding, written or oral, and is not subject to any restriction, that, in either case, could prevent the Executive from entering into this Agreement or performing, or impairing the ability to perform, all of the Executive’s duties hereunder. The Company may terminate the Executive’s employment immediately, and the Company will have no further obligations to the Executive, including any obligations contained in Section 6, if the representation made by the Executive under this Section 20(b) is false.

 

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21.          TAX MATTERS.

 

(a)          WITHHOLDING. During the Employment Term, the Company may withhold from, and remit for the account of the Executive to the proper authority, any and all amounts payable under this Agreement or otherwise such federal, state and local taxes as may be required to be withheld pursuant to any applicable law or regulation. In the event that the Company fails to withhold any taxes required to be withheld by applicable law or regulation, the Executive agrees to indemnify the Company for any taxes of the Executive that should have been withheld to the extent the Executive fails to pay such taxes himself.

 

(b)          SECTION 409A COMPLIANCE.

 

(i)          The intent of the parties is that payments and benefits under this Agreement be exempt from or comply with Section 409A of the Code and the regulations and guidance promulgated thereunder (collectively “Section 409A”); accordingly, to the maximum extent permitted, this Agreement will be interpreted in a manner consistent with such intent. To the extent that any provision hereof is modified in order to comply with Section 409A, such modification will be made in good faith and will, to the maximum extent reasonably possible, maintain the original intent and economic benefit to the Executive and the Company of the applicable provision without violating the provisions of Section 409A. In no event whatsoever will the Company be liable for any additional tax, interest or penalty that may be imposed on the Executive by Section 409A or damages for failing to comply with Section 409A.

 

(ii)          A termination of employment will not be deemed to have occurred for purposes of any provision of this Agreement providing for the payment of any amounts or benefits upon or following a termination of employment unless such termination is also a “separation from service” within the meaning of Section 409A, and for purposes of any such provision of this Agreement, references to a “termination,” “termination of employment” or like terms will mean “separation from service.” Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this Agreement, if the Executive is deemed on the date of termination to be a “specified employee” within the meaning under Section 409A(a)(2)(B), then with regard to any payment or the provision of any benefit that is considered deferred compensation under Section 409A payable on account of a “separation from service,” such payment or benefit will not be made or provided until the date that is the earlier of (A) the expiration of the six-month period measured from the date of such “separation from service” of the Executive and (B) the date of the Executive’s death, to the extent required under Section 409A. Upon the expiration of the foregoing delay period, all payments and benefits delayed pursuant to this Section  21(b)(ii) (whether they would have otherwise been payable in a single sum or in installments in the absence of such delay) will be paid or reimbursed to the Executive in a lump sum, and any remaining payments and benefits due under this Agreement will be paid or provided in accordance with the normal payment dates specified for them herein.

 

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(iii)          To the extent that reimbursements or other in-kind benefits under this Agreement constitute “nonqualified deferred compensation” for purposes of Section 409A, (A) all expenses or other reimbursements hereunder will be made on or before the last day of the taxable year following the taxable year in which such expenses were incurred by the Executive, (B) any right to reimbursement or in-kind benefits will not be subject to liquidation or exchange for another benefit and (C) no such reimbursement, expenses eligible for reimbursement, or in-kind benefits provided in any taxable year will in any way affect the expenses eligible for reimbursement, or in-kind benefits to be provided, in any other taxable year.

 

(iv)          For purposes of Section 409A, the Executive’s right to receive any installment payments pursuant to this Agreement is treated as a right to receive a series of separate and distinct payments. Whenever a payment under this Agreement specifies a payment period with reference to a number of days, the actual date of payment within the specified period is within the sole discretion of the Company.

 

(v)          Notwithstanding any provision of this Agreement to the contrary, in no event will any payment under this Agreement that constitutes “nonqualified deferred compensation” for purposes of Section 409A be subject to offset by any other amount unless otherwise permitted by Section 409A.

 

[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 written above.

 

  SUJA LIFE, LLC
   
  By: /s/ Alexander Corbacho
  Name: Alexander Corbacho
  Title: Board Director
   
  EXECUTIVE
   
  /s/ Maria Stipp
  Maria Stipp

 

 

 

 

Exhibit 10.13

 

 

SUJA EMPLOYMENT OFFER

 

Date: July 4, 2019

 

To: Jeff

 

Welcome to SUJA, Jeffery Pedersen!

 

This letter will serve as a formal confirmation of a job offer as well as the details of your employment with SUJA. If you have any questions regarding this offer, please do not hesitate to contact me or our CAO, Heather Thomaselli-Baker.

 

Position Overview: The Chief Financial Officer is responsible for managing all aspects of finance and accounting throughout a growing organization. The CFO will take a leadership role in financial decision making, provide strategic financial input to senior management and the board of directors. They will play a key role in developing and implementing financial procedures to improve and maintain the health of the company while aiding in its growth. The CFO will be a senior member of the executive management team, reporting to the CEO, Jeff Church.

 

Key Responsibilities:

 

·Finance

 

oOversee the Company’s treasury function

 

oInterface with the Company’s lenders and other financial partners

 

oAid in the development of the Company’s financial and tax strategies

 

oLead the annual budgeting process and periodic forecasting, including identification of key variances and identifying potential corrective actions

 

oAssist in standard review of key promotional plans, tracking of promotional spending compared to set budgets and targets, and strategic customer planning

 

oParticipate in key decisions, such as pricing and growth strategies; provide analytical support to inform these decisions

 

oAid in the analysis of capital expenditure requests

 

·Accounting

 

oManage financial controls and accounting procedures

 

oEnsure full financial and accounting transparency across the organization

 

oAssist in the production of accurate and timely monthly financial statements and MD&A o Assist in the preparation of the quarterly board package

 

oAssist cost accounting and sales management in the review of significant customer pricing programs.

 

oWork closely with cost accounting personnel in maintaining accurate product cost standards and the updating of these costs at least annually for the business plan.

 

 

 

 

 

 

oOversee A/R and A/P functions and help drive overall working capital efficiencies

 

·Risk Management

 

oEnsure that record keeping meets the requirements of auditors and government agencies

 

oMaintain relations with external auditors and investigate their findings and recommendations

 

·Strategic

 

oM&A – Aid in the financial diligence of potential acquisitions and play a key role on the post-acquisition implementation team

 

oERP and Formula Management Software – Play a key role in the implementation of the Company’s ERP and Formula Management System

 

·Management

 

oLead Finance department.

 

oManagement of two direct reports

 

oInterviewing, hiring, and training employees; planning, assigning, and directing work; appraising performance; rewarding and disciplining employees; addressing complaints and resolving problems

 

oEnsure that the responsibilities, authorities, and accountability of all direct reports are defined and understood

 

Work Week: Full-time exempt status (hours are subject to change due to business necessities).

 

Salary: $10,192.30 ($265,000 annually) paid bi-weekly. The proposed start date for this position is on July 29, 2019.

 

Bonus: Based upon the goals and objectives agreed to in the performance development planning process with your supervisor and the company for 2020, you may be eligible for an annual bonus of up to 30% of your current yearly compensation rate. For 2019, the executive team is working with our board to establish a bonus program for the balance of 2019. We will also look at a small bonus, subject to not being in a negative cash flow position, for 2019. For purposes of your planning however I wouldn’t assume much, if any bonus for 2019.

 

Long Term Incentive: The executive team and board are working on modifying the current long-term incentive program to be more market based with emerging brands in our space. This will likely be completed in the 3rd quarter. You will be an integral part of the plan development and as well as a beneficiary and you will engage with our board as part of that process.

 

Benefits:

 

·Basic Medical, Dental, and Vision Insurance, and 401K plan is provided by Suja the 1st of the month following 60 days of hire. Suja will contribute $190.00 monthly towards employee’s Medical Insurance.

 

 

 

 

 

 

·Employee will be eligible to participate for the new incentive unit program expected to be implemented in the next six months. Eligibility and total number of percentage units will be based on employee performance and continued employment with the company.

 

·Reimbursement of Approved Business Expenses (receipts required).

 

·Suja will provide employee with a company laptop for business use.

 

Vacation and Sick Days:

 

·Accrual of up to 15 vacation days for first year of service

 

·3 paid sick days

 

At Will Employment: Employment with Suja is employment at-will. Employment at-will may be terminated with or without cause and with or without notice at any time at the will of either you or the Company. Terms and conditions of employment with the Company may be modified at the sole discretion of the Company with or without cause and with or without notice. Other than Suja’s CEO, Jeff Church, no one has the authority to make any agreement for employment other than for employment at-will or to make any agreement limiting the Company's discretion to modify the terms and conditions of employment. This letter confirms that you have entered into an employment relationship with SUJA voluntarily and acknowledge that there is no specified length of employment. Accordingly, either you or SUJA can terminate the relationship at will, with or without cause, at any time, so long as there is no violation of applicable federal or state law.

 

Confidential Information and Invention Assignment Agreement: As a condition to your employment with the Company, you acknowledge that you have executed and delivered a copy of the Company's Proprietary Information and Inventions Agreement and will abide by its terms. You acknowledge that a remedy at law for any breach or threatened breach by you of the provisions of the Proprietary Information and Inventions Agreement would be inadequate, and you therefore agree that the Company shall be entitled to injunctive relief in case of any such breach or threatened breach.

 

Your First Day:

 

On your first day, you will be given an orientation by Suzanne Pham, Human Resources Manager, at 9:00 a.m. which will include completing employment forms, reviewing the Employee Handbook, and touring the premises. Please bring appropriate documentation for the completion of your new hire forms, including proof that you are presently eligible to work in the United States for I-9 purposes. Failure to provide appropriate documentation within 3 days of hire will result in immediate termination of employment in accordance with the terms of the Immigration Reform and Control Act. The I-9 form with a list of acceptable verification documents will be sent to you.

 

This offer of employment, if not previously accepted by you, will expire seven days from the date of this letter, although additional time for consideration of the offer can be made available if you find it necessary. If you wish to accept the offer, please sign in the place provided below and return it to Human Resources via mail or email [***] within the prescribed time.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Acknowledgement:

 

I acknowledge receipt of the Offer of Employment information.

 

  /s/ Jeff Church
  Name: Jeff Church
  Date: July 4, 2019
   
  /s/ Jeff Pedersen
  Name: Jeff Pedersen
  Date: July 4, 2019

 

 

 

 

 

 

Exhibit 10.14

 

SUJA EMPLOYMENT OFFER

 

Date: October 28, 2016

 

To: Mike Box

 

Welcome to SUJA, Mike!

 

This letter will serve as a formal confirmation of a job offer as well as the details of your employment with SUJA. It will be subject to a references review that we would like to pursue when you are ready.

 

Position Overview: The Chief Operations Officer will be primarily responsible for leading across functional teams, directing and managing all production, maintenance, engineering and supply chain of the company. Actively involved in operational strategic planning with the executive leadership team to ensure meeting and exceeding goals for the growing business. Manage operational P&L, deliver annual budgets and lead numerous capital projects. Execute the Master facility and site plans. This position reports to the Chief Executive Officer, Jeff Church.

 

Key Responsibilities:

 

·Responsible for efficiencies of operation and insuring processes, achieve company goals and objectives as they relate to safety, quality, delivery, and cost targets. Ensure all metrics for quality; recordable downtime and capacity utilization are met.

·Drive continuous improvement activities to achieve manufacturing excellence by leading and reinforcing a Lean culture.

·Ensure that processes and procedures are being followed at all times as it relates to food safety and quality assurance programs.

·Responsible for developing an annual budget and establishing clear performance metrics. Track and report progress to plan and budget status on a monthly basis. Identify cost saving opportunities in production processes.

·Ensure all areas are operating at a World Class level for plant operations, personal safety, process and food safety, as well as develop bench strength that will allow for expansion.

·Work closely with Safety Team to guide efforts to protect all employees and ensure facilities are safe and secure. Develop long term plans in alignment with company strategic goals for facilities, to include machinery and equipment.

·Develop a high performing team, driven by solid talent identification, development and succession planning which will support expansion.

·Build and maintain collaborative, team oriented relationships with other functional leaders while fostering an environment of continuous improvement to drive efficiencie.

 

 

 

 

Work Week: Full-time exempt status (hours are subject to change due to business necessities).

 

Salary: $10,576.92 ($275,000 annually) paid bi-weekly. The proposed start date for this position is two (2) week following notice given to current employer or sooner if the opportunity presents itself (ideally as soon as possible!).

 

Benefits:

 

·Suja will provide a family PPO Medical and Dental Insurance following the completion of the 60-day introductory period. During the 60 day window please make sure that you have COBRA.

·You will receive a $500 a month stipend toward their automobile expense, plus monthly mileage reimbursement for non-commute Suja related travel. The Company will pay for your travel back and forth to Bakersfield until you move your family to the San Diego area.

·The Company will pay the entire costs of your move from Bakersfield to the San Diego area. We would appreciate you moving no later than late summer, 2017. We will also pay you for house hunting trips, if applicable.

·The Company will pay you a $15k bonus to help defray moving costs and help you get settled in during your transition.

·We recognize and understand that you have prior commitments to watching your son wrestle in college. We will be flexible with you as you need to take time off to attend matches. This times does not need to apply to vacation time and does not need to be made up.

·For the first twelve months of employment, you will receive a $5,000 monthly stipend toward housing. What ever amount is unused for housing will be incremental income for you to help defray the cost of transition.

·Reimbursement of Approved Business Expenses (receipts required).

·Suja will provide employee with a company laptop for business use.

·Accrual of up to 20 vacation days (4 weeks) for first year of service.

 

Incentive Units and Other Equity and Bonus Guarantee:

 

·Suja will issue employee 24.0 Non-Voting Profit Incentive units that will vest over a period of three years, in accordance to the terms of the Non-Voting Profit Interest Grant Agreement. These units will vest in three annual installments with the first commencing 12 months after your start date. If the Company has a change of control event prior to the full vesting of the units then they shall be considered fully vested for your benefit. The units shall have a threshold value of the recent transaction with KO and Goldman Sachs of $300m. Based on our enterprise value at the time that KO exercise its option the following enterprise values would have the following values for the 24 units (subject of course to a reduction for dilution if needed):

 

·$400m = $1.1m

·$500m = $2.1m

·$600m = $3.2m

·$700m = $4.3m

·$800m = $5.3m

 

·The above units are based on: a 50/50 weighting between net revenue and ebitda during the 12-month period ending 6/30/18. The calculation for Net revenue during the 12 months ending 6/30/18 will be multiplied by 3.0 and weighted at 50%. The sum of this will be added to the EBITDA during the same 12-month period, multiplied by 16 and then also weighted at 50%. The sum of these two calculations shall form the basis of the enterprise value. Further adjustments up or down for the net cash after debt shall also be applied to reach a “valuation” amount that KO can acquire the % of equity that it current doesn’t own which is roughly 71%.

 

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·The treatment for the incentive units shall be LT capital gains if issued for more than 12 months.

 

·In addition to the above terms, Suja will pay you a $300k incremental bonus upon a change of control. This assumes that you are still employed at Suja.

 

·I will assign over to you 1 unit of my common equity with a $.01 penny value. In other word’s, it will not be subject to a threshold level and at $300k will be worth $133k.

 

·Based on the $300k guarantee and the individual unit your base guarantee at a $300m valuation, before the incentive units are in the money is $433k.

 

Confidentiality: I know that you share this same philosophy, its imperative that you not bring any materials that would be misconstrued as trade secrets by Bolthouse. We need you for your talents, your leadership, your technical knowledge, your management and your work ethic. We do not desire any proprietary information from Bolthouse.

 

At Will Employment: You have entered into my employment relationship with SUJA voluntarily and acknowledge that there is no specified length of employment. Accordingly, either you or SUJA can terminate the relationship at will, with or without cause, at any time, so long as there is no violation of applicable federal or state law.

 

Acknowledgement:

 

I acknowledge receipt of the Offer of Employment information.

 

/s/ Jeff Church   10/28/16   /s/ Mike Box   10/31/16
Employer Signature   Date   Employee Signature   Date

 

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Exhibit 10.15

 

AIR COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE ASSOCIATION

 

STANDARD INDUSTRIAL/COMMERCIAL MULTI-TENANT LEASE - NET

 

1.            Basic Provisions (“Basic Provisions”).

 

1.1.         Parties: This Lease (“Lease”), dated for reference purposes only September, 2015 (“Effective Date”)      , is made by and between FR Financing Partnership, L.P. a Delaware limited partnership                                                            (“Lessor”) and Suja Life LLC, a Delaware limited liability company                                                                                                                                                (“Lessee”), (collectively the “Parties”, or individually a “Party”).

 

1.2.         Premises: That certain portion of the Project (as defined below), including all improvements therein or to be provided by Lessor under the terms of this Lease, commonly known by the street address of 3831 Oceanside Ranch Boulevard (“Building 2”) and 3841 Oceanside Ranch Boulevard, (“Building 1”)      , located in the city of Oceanside      , county of San Diego            , State of California            , with zip code 92056, as outlined on Exhibit      attached hereto (“Premises”) and generally described as (describe briefly the nature of the Premises): approximately 171,676 square feet of warehouse and office space comprised of approximately 108,414 square feet in Building 2 and approximately 63,262 square feet in Building 1                              .

 

In addition to Lessee’s rights to use and occupy the Premises as hereinafter specified, Lessee shall have non-exclusive rights to any utility raceways of the Building 1 and/or Building 2 (collectively, the “Building”) building containing the Premises (“Building”) and to the common Areas (as defined in Paragraph 2.7 below), but shall not have any rights to the roof or exterior walls of the Building or to any other buildings in the Project (except as otherwise provided herein). The Premises, the Building, the Common Areas, the land upon which they are located, along with all other buildings and improvements thereon, are herein collectively referred to as the “Project.” (See also Paragraph 2)

 

1.2(b)     Parking: 2.07 spaces per 1,000 rentable square feet (unreserved)      unreserved vehicle parking spaces. (See also Paragraph 2.6)

 

1.3.         Term:                  years and 96            months (“Original Term”) commencing April 1, 2016      (“Commencement Date”) and ending March 31, 2024            (“Expiration Date”). (See also Paragraph 3)

 

1.4.          Early Possession: If the Premises are available Lessee may have non-exclusive possession of the Premises commencing See Rider            (“Early Possession Date”).(See also Paragraphs 3.2 and 3.3)

 

1.5.         Base Rent: $      65,000.00      per month (“Base Rent”), payable on the first            day of each month commencing      April 1, 2016                  . (See also Paragraph 4)

 

🗹 If this box is checked, there are provisions in this Lease for the Base Rent to be adjusted. See Rider Paragraph

 

1.6.          Lessee’s Share of Common Area Operating Expenses: seventy-two and 34/100 percent (72.34%) (“Lessee’s Share”). In the event that the size of the Premises and/or the Project are modified during the term of this Lease, Lessor shall recalculate Lessee’s Share to reflect such modification.

 

1.7.          Base Rent and Other Monies Paid Upon Execution:

 

(a)           Base Rent: $65,000.00            for the period April 1, 2016 – April 30, 2016.

 

(b)           Common Area Operating Expenses: $      32,618.44 for the period April 1, 2016-April 30, 2016.

 

(c)           Security Deposit: $137,240.89            (“Security Deposit”). (See also Paragraph 5)

 

(d)           Other: $ N/A      for

 

(e)           Total Due Upon Execution of this Lease: $234,858.89            .

 

1.8.         Agreed Use: General office, manufacturing, distribution and other legal related uses and uses permitted under Project Zoning.                                                                                                            (See also Paragraph 6)

 

1.9.          Insuring Party. Lessor is the “Insuring Party”. (See also

 

 

 

 

1.10.        Real Estate Brokers: (See also Paragraph 15 and 25)

 

(a)            Representation: The following real estate brokers (the “Brokers”) and brokerage relationships exist in this transaction

(check applicable boxes):

🗹DTZ                              represents Lessor exclusively (“Lessor’s Broker”);

🗹Jones Lang LaSalle                        represents Lessee exclusively (“Lessee’s Broker”); or

🗹                                    represents both Lessor and Lessee (“Dual Agency”).

 

(b)           Payment to Brokers: Upon execution and delivery of this Lease by both Parties, Lessor shall pay to the Brokers the brokerage fee agreed to in a separate written agreement (or if there is no such agreement, the sum of            or      % of the total Base Rent) for the brokerage services rendered by the Brokers.

 

1.11.       Guarantor. The obligations of the Lessee under this Lease are to be guaranteed by N/A                                          (“Guarantor”). (See also Paragraph 37)

 

1.12.        Attachments. Attached hereto are the following, all of which constitute a part of this Lease:

 

¨            an Addendum consisting of Paragraphs    through          ;

 

¨            a site plan depicting the Premises;

 

¨            a site plan depicting the Project;

 

¨            a current set of the Rules and Regulations for the Project;

 

¨            a current set of the Rules and Regulations adopted by the owners’ association;

 

¨            a Work Letter;

 

x           other (specify);      A Rider                                                                                                                                                                                                                         

 

2.            Premises.

 

2.1.            Letting. Lessor hereby leases to Lessee, and Lessee hereby leases from Lessor, the Premises, for the term, at the rental, and upon all of the terms, covenants and conditions set forth in this Lease. While the approximate square footage of the Premises may have been used in the marketing of the Premises for purposes of comparison, the Base Rent stated herein is NOT tied to square footage and is not subject to adjustment should the actual size be determined to be different. NOTE: Lessee is advised to verify the actual size prior to executing this Lease.

 

2.2.            Condition. Lessor shall deliver that portion of the Premises contained within the Building (“Unit”) to Lessee broom clean and free of debris on the Commencement Date or the Early Possession Date, whichever first occurs on October 18, 2015 (with respect to Building 1) and on September 26, 2015 (with respect to Building 2) (each such date or the date on which delivery of the Premises is actually made to Lessee, whichever is later, the (“Start Date”), and, so long as the required service contracts described in Paragraph 7.1(b) below are obtained by Lessee and in effect within thirty forty-five days following the Start Date, warrants that the existing electrical, plumbing, fire sprinkler, lighting, heating, ventilating and air conditioning systems (“HVAC”), loading doors, sump pumps, if any, and all other such elements in the Unit, other than those constructed by Lessee, shall be in good operating condition on said date, that the structural elements of the roof, bearing walls and foundation of the Unit shall be free of material defects, and that the Unit does not contain hazardous levels of any mold or fungi defined as toxic under applicable state or federal law. If a non-compliance with such warranty exists as of the Start Date, or if one of such systems or elements should malfunction or fail within the appropriate warranty period, Lessor shall, as Lessor’s sole obligation with respect to such matter, except as otherwise provided in this Lease, promptly after receipt of written notice from Lessee setting forth with specificity the nature and extent of such non-compliance, malfunction or failure, rectify same at Lessor’s expense. The warranty periods shall be as follows: (i) 6 months as to the HVAC systems, and (ii) 30 days as to the remaining systems and other elements of the Unit. 12 months from the respective Start Date for each Building for the systems installed by Lessor in such Building. If Lessee does not give Lessor the required notice within the appropriate warranty period, correction of any such non-compliance, malfunction or failure shall be the obligation of Lessee at Lessee’s sole cost and expense (except for the repairs to the fire sprinkler systems, roof, foundations, and/or bearing walls - see Paragraph 7). Lessor also warrants, that unless otherwise specified in writing, Lessor is unaware of (i) any recorded Notices of Default affecting the Premise; (ii) any delinquent amounts due under any loan secured by the Premises; and (iii) any bankruptcy proceeding affecting the Premises.

 

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2.3.          Compliance. Lessor warrants that to the best of its knowledge the improvements on the Premises comply with the building codes, applicable laws, covenants or restrictions of record, regulations, and ordinances (“Applicable Requirements”) that were in effect at the time that each improvement, or portion thereof, was constructed. Said warranty does not apply to the use to which Lessee will put the Premises, modifications which may be required by the Americans with Disabilities Act or any similar laws as a result of Lessee’s use (see Paragraph 49), or to any Alterations or Utility Installations (as defined in Paragraph 7.3(a)) made or to be made by Lessee. NOTE: Lessee is responsible for determining whether or not the Applicable Requirements and especially the zoning are appropriate for Lessee’s intended use, and acknowledges that past uses of the Premises may no longer be allowed. If the Premises do not comply with said warranty, Lessor shall, except as otherwise provided, promptly after receipt of written notice from Lessee setting forth with specificity the nature and extent of such non-compliance, rectify the same at Lessor’s expense. If Lessee does not give Lessor written notice of a non-compliance with this warranty within 6 12 months following the Start Date, correction of that non-compliance shall be the obligation of Lessee at Lessee’s sole cost and expense. If the Applicable Requirements are hereafter changed so as to require during the term of this Lease the construction of an addition to or an alteration of the Unit, Premises and/or Building, the remediation of any Hazardous Substance, or the reinforcement or other physical modification of the Unit, Premises and/or Building (“Capital Expenditure”), Lessor and Lessee shall allocate the cost of such work as follows:

 

(a)            Subject to Paragraph 2.3(c) below, if such Capital Expenditures are required as a result of the specific and unique use of the Premises by Lessee as compared with uses by tenants in general, Lessee shall be fully responsible for the cost thereof, provided, however that if such Capital Expenditure is required during the last 2 years of this Lease and the cost thereof exceeds 6 months’ Base Rent, Lessee may instead terminate this Lease unless Lessor notifies Lessee, in writing, within 10 days after receipt of Lessee’s termination notice that Lessor has elected to pay the difference between the actual cost thereof and the amount equal to 6 months’ Base Rent. If Lessee elects termination, Lessee shall immediately cease the use of the Premises which requires such Capital Expenditure and deliver to Lessor written notice specifying a termination date at least 90 days thereafter. Such termination date shall, however, in no event be earlier than the last day that Lessee could legally utilize the Premises without commencing such Capital Expenditure.

 

(b)            If such Capital Expenditure is not the result of the specific and unique use of the Premises by Lessee (such as, governmentally mandated seismic modifications), then Lessor shall pay for such Capital Expenditure and Lessee shall only be obligated to pay, each month during the remainder of the term of this Lease or any extension thereof, on the date that on which the Base Rent is due, an amount equal to 1/144th 160th of the portion of such costs reasonably attributable to the Premises. Lessee shall pay Interest on the balance but may prepay its obligation at any time. If, however, such Capital Expenditure is required during the last 2 1 years of this Lease or if Lessor reasonably determines that it is not economically feasible to pay its share thereof, Lessor shall have the option to terminate this Lease upon 90 days prior written notice to Lessee unless Lessee notifies Lessor, in writing, within 10 days after receipt of Lessor’s termination notice that Lessee will pay for such Capital Expenditure. If Lessor does not elect to terminate, and fails to tender its share of any such Capital Expenditure, Lessee may advance such funds and deduct same, with Interest, from Rent until Lessor’s share of such costs have been fully paid. If Lessee is unable to finance Lessor’s share, or if the balance of the Rent due and payable for the remainder of this Lease is not sufficient to fully reimburse Lessee on an offset basis, Lessee shall have the right to terminate this Lease upon 30 days written notice to Lessor.

 

(c)            Notwithstanding the above, the provisions concerning Capital Expenditures are intended to apply only to non-voluntary, unexpected, and new Applicable Requirements. If the Capital Expenditures are instead triggered by Lessee as a result of an actual or proposed change in use, change in intensity of use, or modification to the Premises then, and in that event, Lessee shall either: (i) immediately cease such changed use or intensity of use and/or take such other steps as may be necessary to eliminate the requirement for such Capital Expenditure, or (ii) complete such Capital Expenditure at its own expense. Lessee shall not have any right to terminate this Lease.

 

2.4.          Acknowledgements. Lessee acknowledges that: (a) it has been given an opportunity to inspect and measure the Premises, (b) it has been advised by Lessor and/or Brokers to satisfy itself with respect to the size and condition of the Premises (including but not limited to the electrical, HVAC and fire sprinkler systems, security, environmental aspects, and compliance with Applicable Requirements and the Americans with Disabilities Act), and their suitability for Lessee’s intended use, (c) Lessee has made such investigation as it deems necessary with reference to such matters and assumes all responsibility therefor as the same relate to its occupancy of the Premises, (d) it is not relying on any representation as to the size of the Premises made by Brokers or Lessor, (e) the square footage of the Premises was not material to Lessee’s decision to lease the Premises and pay the Rent stated herein, and (f) neither Lessor, Lessor’s agents, nor Brokers have made any oral or written representations or warranties with respect to said matters other than as set forth in this Lease. In addition, Lessor acknowledges that: (i) Brokers have made no representations, promises or warranties concerning Lessee’s ability to honor the Lease or suitability to occupy the Premises, and (ii) it is Lessor’s sole responsibility to investigate the financial capability and/or suitability of all proposed tenants.

 

2.5.            Lessee as Prior Owner/Occupant. The warranties made by Lessor in Paragraph 2 shall be of no force or effect if immediately prior to the Start Date Lessee was the owner or occupant of the Premises. In such event, Lessee shall be responsible for any necessary corrective work.

 

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2.6.          Vehicle Parking. Lessee shall be entitled to use at no additional charge Lessee’s Share of the number of parking spaces specified in Paragraph 1.2(b) on those portions of the Common Areas designated from time to time by Lessor for parking. Lessee shall not use more parking spaces than said number. Said parking spaces shall be used for parking by vehicles no larger than full-size passenger automobiles or pick-up trucks, herein called “Permitted Size Vehicles.” Lessor may regulate the loading and unloading of vehicles by adopting Rules and Regulations as provided in Paragraph 2.9. No vehicles other than Permitted Size Vehicles may be parked in the Common Area without the prior written permission of Lessor. In addition:

 

(a)            Lessee shall not permit or allow any vehicles that belong to or are controlled by Lessee or Lessee’s employees, suppliers, shippers, customers, contractors or invitees to be loaded, unloaded, or parked in areas other than those designated by Lessor for such activities.

 

(b)            Lessee shall not service or store any vehicles in the Common Areas.

 

(c)            If Lessee permits or allows any of the prohibited activities described in this Paragraph 2.6, then Lessor shall have the right, without notice, in addition to such other rights and remedies that it may have, to remove or tow away the vehicle involved and charge the cost to Lessee, which cost shall be immediately payable upon demand by Lessor.

 

(d)            Lessee may designate up to four (4) assigned parking spaces in the parking areas located in front of the Premises for its guests’ use at Lessee’s discretion.

 

2.7.          Common Areas - Definition. The term “Common Areas” is defined as all areas and facilities outside the Premises and within the exterior boundary line of the Project and interior utility raceways and installations within the Unit that are provided and designated by the Lessor from time to time for the general non-exclusive use of Lessor, Lessee and other tenants of the Project and their respective employees, suppliers, shippers, customers, contractors and invitees, including parking areas, loading and unloading areas, trash areas, roadways, walkways, driveways and landscaped areas.

 

2.8.          Common Areas - Lessee’s Rights. Lessor grants to Lessee, for the benefit of Lessee and its employees, suppliers, shippers, contractors, customers and invitees, during the term of this Lease, the non-exclusive right to use, in common with others entitled to such use, the Common Areas as they exist from time to time, subject to any rights, powers, and privileges reserved by Lessor under the terms hereof or under the terms of any rules and regulations or restrictions governing the use of the Project. Under no circumstances shall the right herein granted to use the Common Areas be deemed to include the right to store any property, temporarily or permanently, in the Common Areas. Any such storage shall be permitted only by the prior written consent of Lessor or Lessor’s designated agent, which consent may be revoked at any time. In the event that any unauthorized storage shall occur then Lessor shall have the right, without notice, in addition to such other rights and remedies that it may have, to remove the property and charge the cost to Lessee, which cost shall be immediately payable upon demand by Lessor.

 

2.9.          Common Areas - Rules and Regulations. Lessor or such other person(s) as Lessor may appoint shall have the exclusive control and management of the Common Areas and shall have the right, from time to time, to establish, modify, amend and enforce reasonable rules and regulations (“Rules and Regulations”) for the management, safety, care, and cleanliness of the grounds, the parking and unloading of vehicles and the preservation of good order, as well as for the convenience of other occupants or tenants of the Building and the Project and their invitees. Lessee agrees to abide by and conform to all such Rules and Regulations, and shall use its best efforts to cause its employees, suppliers, shippers, customers, contractors and invitees to so abide and conform. Lessor shall not be responsible to Lessee for the non-compliance with said Rules and Regulations by other tenants of the Project.

 

2.10.          Common Areas - Changes. Lessor shall have the right, in Lessor’s sole discretion, from time to time:

 

(a)            To make changes to the Common Areas, including, without limitation, changes in the location, size, shape and number of driveways, entrances, parking spaces, parking areas, loading and unloading areas, ingress, egress, direction of traffic, landscaped areas, walkways and utility raceways;

 

(b)            To close temporarily any of the Common Areas for maintenance purposes so long as reasonable access to the Premises remains available;

 

(c)            To designate other land outside the boundaries of the Project to be a part of the Common Areas;

 

(d)            To add additional buildings and improvements to the Common Areas;

 

(e)            To use the Common Areas while engaged in making additional improvements, repairs or alterations to the Project, or any portion thereof; and

 

(f)             To do and perform such other acts and make such other changes in, to or with respect to the Common Areas and Project as Lessor may, in the exercise of sound business judgment, deem to be appropriate.

 

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3.            Term.

 

3.1.          Term. The Commencement Date, Expiration Date and Original Term of this Lease are as specified in Paragraph 1.3.

 

3.2.          Early Possession. Any provision herein granting Lessee Early Possession of the Premises is subject to and conditioned upon the Premises being available for such possession prior to the Commencement Date. Any grant of Early Possession only conveys a non-exclusive right to occupy the Premises. If Lessee totally or partially occupies the Premises prior to the Commencement Date, the obligation to pay Base Rent and Lessee’s share of Common Area Operating Expenses, Real Property Taxes and Insurance premiums shall be abated for the period of such Early Possession. All other terms of this Lease (including but not limited to the obligations to maintain the insurance policies set forth in Paragraph 8 of the Lease and to pay Lessee’s Share of Common Area Operating Expenses, Real Property Taxes and insurance premiums the cost of utilities and to maintain the Premises) shall be in effect during such period. Any such Early Possession shall not affect the Expiration Date.

 

3.3.          Delay In Possession. Lessor agrees to use its best commercially reasonable efforts to deliver possession of the Premises to Lessee by the Commencement Date. If, despite said efforts, Lessor fails is unable to deliver possession by such date, Lessor shall not be subject to any liability therefor, nor shall such failure affect the validity of this Lease or change the Expiration Date. Lessee shall not, however, be obligated to pay Rent or perform its other obligations until Lessor delivers possession of the Premises and any period of rent abatement that Lessee would otherwise have enjoyed shall run from the date of delivery of possession and continue for a period equal to what Lessee would otherwise have enjoyed under the terms hereof, but minus any days of delay caused by the acts or omissions of Lessee. If possession is not delivered within 60 days after the Commencement Date, as the same may be extended under the terms of any Work Letter executed by Parties, Lessee may, at its option, by notice in writing within 10 days after the end of such 60 day period, cancel this Lease, in which event the Parties shall be discharged from all obligations hereunder. If such written notice is not received by Lessor within said 10 day period, Lessee’s right to cancel shall terminate. If possession of the Premises is not delivered within 120 days after the Commencement Date, this Lease shall terminate unless other agreements are reached between Lessor and Lessee, in writing.

 

3.4.          Lessee Compliance. Lessor shall not be required to tender possession of the Premises to Lessee until Lessee complies with its obligation to provide evidence of insurance (Paragraph 8.5). Pending delivery of such evidence, Lessee shall be required to perform all of its obligations under this Lease from and after the Start Date, including the payment of Rent, notwithstanding Lessor’s election to withhold possession pending receipt of such evidence of insurance. Further, if Lessee is required to perform any other conditions prior to or concurrent with the Start Date, the Start Date shall occur but Lessor may elect to withhold possession until such conditions are satisfied.

 

4.            Rent.

 

4.1.          Rent Defined. All monetary obligations of Lessee to Lessor under the terms of this Lease (except for the Security Deposit) are deemed to be rent (“Rent”).

 

4.2.          Common Area Operating Expenses. Lessee shall pay to Lessor during the term hereof, in addition to the Base Rent, Lessee’s Share (as specified in Paragraph 1.6) of all Common Area Operating Expenses, as hereinafter defined, during each calendar year of the term of this Lease, in accordance with the following provisions:

 

(a)            “Common Area Operating Expenses” are defined, for purposes of this Lease, as all costs relating to the ownership and operation of the Project, including, but not limited to, the following:

 

(i)            The operation, repair and maintenance, in neat, clean, good order and condition, and if necessary the replacement, of the following:

 

(aa)         The Common Areas and Common Area improvements, including parking areas, loading and unloading areas, trash areas, roadways, parkways, walkways, driveways, landscaped areas, bumpers, irrigation systems, Common Area lighting facilities, fences and gates, elevators, roofs, exterior walls of the buildings, building systems and roof drainage systems.

 

(bb)         Exterior signs and any tenant directories.

 

(cc)         Any fire sprinkler systems.

 

(dd)        All other areas and improvements that are within the exterior boundaries of the Project but outside of the Premises and/or any other space occupied by a tenant.

 

(ii)            The cost of water, gas, electricity and telephone to service the Common Areas and any utilities not separately metered.

 

(iii)           The cost of trash disposal, pest control services, property management, security services, owners’ association dues and fees, the cost to repaint the exterior of any structures and the cost of any environmental inspections.

 

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(iv)           Reserves set aside for maintenance, repair and/or replacement of Common Area improvements and equipment.

 

(v)            Real Property Taxes (as defined in Paragraph 10).

 

(vi)           The cost of the premiums for the insurance maintained by Lessor pursuant to Paragraph 8.

 

(vii)          Any deductible portion of an insured loss concerning the Building or the Common Areas.

 

(viii)         Auditors’, accountants’ and attorneys’ fees and costs related to the operation, maintenance, repair and replacement of the Project.

 

(ix)            The cost of any capital improvement to the Building or the Project not covered under the provisions of Paragraph 2.3 provided; however, that Lessor shall allocate the cost of any such capital improvement over a 12 year period and Lessee shall not be required to pay more than Lessee’s Share of 1/144th of the cost of such capital improvement in any given month.

 

(x)            The cost of any other services to be provided by Lessor that are stated elsewhere in this Lease to be a Common Area Operating Expense.

 

(xi)            Management fees to Lessor or other persons or management entities actually involved in the management and operation of the Project, which management fee shall not exceed 3% per annum of all Rent, collected from all tenants at the Project.

 

(b)           Any Common Area Operating Expenses and Real Property Taxes that are specifically attributable to the Unit, the Building or to any other building in the Project or to the operation, repair and maintenance thereof, shall be allocated entirely to such Unit, Building, or other building. However, any Common Area Operating Expenses and Real Property Taxes that are not specifically attributable to the Building or to any other building or to the operation, repair and maintenance thereof, shall be equitably allocated by Lessor to all buildings in the Project.

 

(c)            The inclusion of the improvements, facilities and services set forth in Subparagraph 4.2(a) shall not be deemed to impose an obligation upon Lessor to either have said improvements or facilities or to provide those services unless the Project already has the same, Lessor already provides the services, or Lessor has agreed elsewhere in this Lease to provide the same or some of them.

 

(d)            Lessee’s Share of Common Area Operating Expenses is payable monthly on the same day as the Base Rent is due hereunder. The amount of such payments shall be based on Lessor’s estimate of the annual Common Area Operating Expenses. Within 60 90 days after written request (but not more than once each year) Lessor shall deliver to Lessee a reasonably detailed statement showing Lessee’s Share of the actual Common Area Operating Expenses for the preceding year. If Lessee’s payments during such year exceed Lessee’s Share, Lessor shall credit the amount of such over-payment against Lessee’s future payments. If Lessee’s payments during such year were less than Lessee’s Share, Lessee shall pay to Lessor the amount of the deficiency within 10 days after delivery by Lessor to Lessee of the statement.

 

(e)            Common Area Operating Expenses shall not include any expenses paid by any tenant directly to third parties, or as to which Lessor is otherwise reimbursed by any third party, other tenant, or insurance proceeds.

 

4.3.          Payment. Lessee shall cause payment of Rent to be received by Lessor in lawful money of the United States, without offset or deduction (except as specifically permitted in this Lease), on or before the day on which it is due. All monetary amounts shall be rounded to the nearest whole dollar. In the event that any invoice prepared by Lessor is inaccurate such inaccuracy shall not constitute a waiver and Lessee shall be obligated to pay the amount set forth in this Lease. Rent for any period during the term hereof which is for less than one full calendar month shall be prorated based upon the actual number of days of said month. Payment of Rent shall be made to Lessor at, if sent by mail, First Industrial Financing LP, Dept. 730050, P.O. Box 660919, Dallas, TX 75266-0919, if sent by overnight First Industrial Financing, LP, c/o Fifth Third Bank, Attn: Fifth Third Wholesale Lockbox Dept. 730050, 615 Freeport Parkway, Coppell, TX 75019 or if sent by wire, Fifth Third Bank, ABA Route #042000314, Acct Name: First Industrial Financing Partnership, LP, Account #7240696349, Reference: 3841 Ocean Ranch Blvd., and 3831 Ocean Ranch Blvd., Oceanside, CA its address stated herein or to such other persons or place as Lessor may from time to time designate in writing. Acceptance of a payment which is less than the amount then due shall not be a waiver of Lessor’s rights to the balance of such Rent, regardless of Lessor’s endorsement of any check so stating. In the event that any check, draft, or other instrument of payment given by Lessee to Lessor is dishonored for any reason, Lessee agrees to pay to Lessor the sum of $25 in addition to any Late Charge and Lessor, at its option, may require all future Rent be paid by cashier’s check. Payments will be applied first to accrued late charges and attorney’s fees, second to accrued interest, then to Base Rent and Common Area Operating Expenses, and any remaining amount to any other outstanding charges or costs.

 

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5.            Security Deposit.

 

Lessee shall deposit with Lessor upon execution hereof the Security Deposit as security for Lessee’s faithful performance of its obligations under this Lease. If Lessee fails to pay Rent beyond applicable cure period, or otherwise Defaults under this Lease, Lessor may use, apply or retain all or any portion of said Security Deposit for the payment of any amount already due Lessor, for Rents which will be due in the future, and/ or to reimburse or compensate Lessor for any liability, expense, loss or damage which Lessor may suffer or incur by reason thereof. If Lessor uses or applies all or any portion of the Security Deposit, Lessee shall within 10 days after written request therefor deposit monies with Lessor sufficient to restore said Security Deposit to the full amount required by this Lease. If the Base Rent increases during the term of this Lease, Lessee shall, upon written request from Lessor, deposit additional monies with Lessor so that the total amount of the Security Deposit shall at all times bear the same proportion to the increased Base Rent as the initial Security Deposit bore to the initial Base Rent. Should the Agreed Use be amended to accommodate a material change in the business of Lessee or to accommodate a sublessee or assignee, Lessor shall have the right to increase the Security Deposit to the extent necessary, in Lessor’s reasonable judgment, to account for any increased wear and tear that the Premises may suffer as a result thereof. If a change in control of Lessee occurs during this Lease and following such change the financial condition of Lessee is, in Lessor’s reasonable judgment, significantly reduced, Lessee shall deposit such additional monies with Lessor as shall be sufficient to cause the Security Deposit to be at a commercially reasonable level based on such change in financial condition. Lessor shall not be required to keep the Security Deposit separate from its general accounts. Within 9060 days after the expiration or termination of this Lease, Lessor shall return that portion of the Security Deposit not used or applied by Lessor. No part of the Security Deposit shall be considered to be held in trust, to bear interest or to be prepayment for any monies to be paid by Lessee under this Lease.

 

6.            Use.

 

6.1.         Use. Lessee shall use and occupy the Premises only for the Agreed Use, or any other legal use which is reasonably comparable thereto, and for no other purpose. Lessee shall not use or permit the use of the Premises in a manner that is unlawful, creates damage, waste or a nuisance, or that disturbs occupants of or causes damage to neighboring premises or properties. Other than guide, signal and seeing eye dogs, Lessee shall not keep or allow in the Premises any pets, animals, birds, fish, or reptiles. Lessor shall not unreasonably withhold or delay its consent to any written request for a modification of the Agreed Use, so long as the same will not impair the structural integrity of the Building or the mechanical or electrical systems therein, and/or is not significantly more burdensome to the Project. If Lessor elects to withhold consent, Lessor shall within 7 days after such request give written notification of same, which notice shall include an explanation of Lessor’s objections to the change in the Agreed Use. Lessee shall complete and deliver to Lessor a “Lessee Operations Inquiry Form” in the form reasonably requested by Lessor describing the nature of Lessee’s proposed business operations at the Premises, which form is intended to, and shall be, relied upon by Lessor.

 

6.2.          Hazardous Substances.

 

(a)            Reportable Uses Require Consent. The term “Hazardous Substance” as used in this Lease shall mean any product, substance, or waste whose presence, use, manufacture, disposal, transportation, or release, either by itself or in combination with other materials expected to be on the Premises, is either: (i) potentially injurious to the public health, safety or welfare, the environment or the Premises, (ii) regulated or monitored by any governmental authority, or (iii) a basis for potential liability of Lessor to any governmental agency or third party under any applicable statute or common law theory. Hazardous Substances shall include, but not be limited to, hydrocarbons, petroleum, gasoline, and/or crude oil or any products, by-products or fractions thereof. Lessee shall not engage in any activity in or on the Premises which constitutes a Reportable Use of Hazardous Substances without the express prior written consent of Lessor and timely compliance (at Lessee’s expense) with all Applicable Requirements. “Reportable Use” shall mean (i) the installation or use of any above or below ground storage tank, (ii) the generation, possession, storage, use, transportation, or disposal of a Hazardous Substance that requires a permit from, or with respect to which a report, notice, registration or business plan is required to be filed with, any governmental authority, and/or (iii) the presence at the Premises of a Hazardous Substance with respect to which any Applicable Requirements requires that a notice be given to persons entering or occupying the Premises or neighboring properties. Notwithstanding the foregoing, Lessee may use any ordinary and customary materials reasonably required to be used in the normal course of the Agreed Use, ordinary office supplies (copier toner, liquid paper, glue, etc.) and common household cleaning materials, so long as such use is in compliance with all Applicable Requirements, is not a Reportable Use, and does not expose the Premises or neighboring property to any meaningful risk of contamination or damage or expose Lessor to any liability therefor. In addition, Lessor may condition its consent to any Reportable Use upon receiving such additional assurances as Lessor reasonably deems necessary to protect itself, the public, the Premises and/or the environment against damage, contamination, injury and/or liability, including, but not limited to, the installation (and removal on or before Lease expiration or termination) of protective modifications (such as concrete encasements) and/or increasing the Security Deposit.

 

(b)            Duty to Inform Lessor. If Lessee knows, or has reasonable cause to believe, that a Hazardous Substance has come to be located in, on, under or about the Premises, other than as previously consented to by Lessor, Lessee shall immediately give written notice of such fact to Lessor, and provide Lessor with a copy of any report, notice, claim or other documentation which it has concerning the presence of such Hazardous Substance.

 

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(c)            Lessee Remediation. Lessee shall not cause or permit any Hazardous Substance to be spilled or released in, on, under, or about the Premises (including through the plumbing or sanitary sewer system) and shall promptly, at Lessee’s expense, comply with all Applicable Requirements and take all investigatory and/or remedial action reasonably recommended, whether or not formally ordered or required, for the cleanup of any contamination of, and for the maintenance, security and/or monitoring of the Premises or neighboring properties, that was caused or materially contributed to by Lessee, or any Lessee Party (as defined in the Rider) or pertaining to or involving any Hazardous Substance brought onto the Premises during the term of this Lease, by or for Lessee, or any third party Lessee Parties.

 

(d)            Lessee Indemnification. Lessee shall and hereby does indemnify, defend and hold Lessor, its agents, employees, lenders and ground lessor, if any, harmless from and against any and all loss of rents and/or damages, liabilities, judgments, claims, expenses, penalties, and attorneys’ and consultants’ fees (collectively, “Losses”) arising out of or involving any Hazardous Substance brought onto the Premises by or for Lessee, or any Lessee Party third party (provided, however, that Lessee shall have no liability under this Lease with respect to underground migration of any Hazardous Substance under the Premises from areas outside of the Project not caused or contributed to by Lessee). Losses and therefore, Lessee’s obligations shall include, but not be limited to, the effects of any contamination or injury to person, property or the environment created or suffered by Lessee, and the cost of investigation, removal, remediation, restoration and/or abatement, and shall survive the expiration or termination of this Lease. No termination, cancellation or release agreement entered into by Lessor and Lessee shall release Lessee from its obligations under this Lease with respect to Hazardous Substances, unless specifically so agreed by Lessor in writing at the time of such agreement.

 

(e)            Lessor Indemnification. Except as otherwise provided in paragraph 8.7, Lessor and its successors and assigns shall and hereby do indemnify, defend, reimburse and hold Lessee, its employees and lenders, harmless from and against any and all environmental damages Losses, including but not limited to, the cost of remediation, which Losses are suffered as a direct result of Hazardous Substances on the Premises prior to Lessee taking possession or which that are solely and directly caused by the gross negligence or willful misconduct of Lessor, its agents or employees, except to the extent Lessee contributes to or exacerbates, the existence or condition of such Hazardous Substances. Lessor’s obligations, as and when required by the Applicable Requirements, shall include, but not be limited to, the actual out-of-pocket cost incurred of Lessor in connection with the investigation, removal, remediation, restoration and/or abatement, and shall survive the expiration or termination of this Lease.

 

(f)            Investigations and Remediations. Lessor shall retain the responsibility and pay for any investigations or remediation measures required by governmental entities having jurisdiction with respect to the existence of Hazardous Substances on the Premises prior to the Lessee taking possession, unless such remediation measure is required as a result of Lessee’s use (including “Alterations”, as defined in paragraph 7.3(a) below) of the Premises, in which event Lessee shall be responsible for such payment. Lessee shall cooperate fully in any such activities at the request of Lessor, including allowing Lessor and Lessor’s agents to have reasonable access to the Premises at reasonable times in order to carry out Lessor’s investigative and remedial responsibilities.

 

(g)            Lessor Termination Option. If a Hazardous Substance Condition (see Paragraph 9.1(e)) occurs during the term of this Lease, unless Lessee is legally responsible therefor (in which case Lessee shall make the investigation and remediation thereof required by the Applicable Requirements and this Lease shall continue in full force and effect, but subject to Lessor’s rights under Paragraph 6.2(d) and Paragraph 13), Lessor may, at Lessor’s option, either (i) investigate and remediate such Hazardous Substance Condition, if required, as soon as reasonably possible at Lessor’s expense, in which event this Lease shall continue in full force and effect, or (ii) if the estimated cost to remediate such condition exceeds 12 times the then monthly Base Rent or $100,000, whichever is greater, give written notice to Lessee, within 30 days after receipt by Lessor of knowledge of the occurrence of such Hazardous Substance Condition, of Lessor’s desire to terminate this Lease as of the date 60 days following the date of such notice. In the event Lessor elects to give a termination notice, Lessee may, within 10 days thereafter, give written notice to Lessor of Lessee’s commitment to pay the amount by which the cost of the remediation of such Hazardous Substance Condition exceeds an amount equal to 12 times the then monthly Base Rent or $100,000, whichever is greater. Lessee shall provide Lessor with said funds or satisfactory assurance thereof within 30 days following such commitment. In such event, this Lease shall continue in full force and effect, and Lessor shall proceed to make such remediation as soon as reasonably possible after the required funds are available. If Lessee does not give such notice and provide the required funds or assurance thereof within the time provided, this Lease shall terminate as of the date specified in Lessor’s notice of termination.

 

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6.3.          Lessee’s Compliance with Applicable Requirements. Except as otherwise provided in this Lease, Lessee shall, at Lessee’s sole expense, fully, diligently and in a timely manner, materially comply with all Applicable Requirements, the requirements of any applicable fire insurance underwriter or rating bureau, and the recommendations of Lessor’s engineers and/or consultants which relate in any manner to the Premises, without regard to whether said Applicable Requirements are now in effect or become effective after the Start Date. Lessee shall, within 10 days after receipt of Lessor’s written request, provide Lessor with copies of all permits and other documents, and other information evidencing Lessee’s compliance with any Applicable Requirements specified by Lessor, and shall immediately upon receipt, notify Lessor in writing (with copies of any documents involved) of any threatened or actual claim, notice, citation, warning, complaint or report pertaining to or involving the failure of Lessee or the Premises to comply with any Applicable Requirements. Likewise, Lessee shall immediately give written notice to Lessor of: (i) any water damage to the Premises and any suspected seepage, pooling, dampness or other condition conducive to the production of mold; or (ii) any mustiness or other odors that might indicate the presence of mold in the Premises.

 

6.4.          Inspection; Compliance. Lessor and Lessor’s “Lender” (as defined in Paragraph 30) and consultants shall have the right to enter into Premises at any time, in the case of an emergency, and otherwise at reasonable times after reasonable notice (but in no event less than 24 hours notice except in an emergency), for the purpose of inspecting the condition of the Premises and for verifying compliance by Lessee with this Lease. The cost of any such inspections shall be paid by Lessor, unless a violation of Applicable Requirements, or a Hazardous Substance Condition (see Paragraph 9.1) is found to exist or be imminent, or the inspection is requested or ordered by a governmental authority. In such case, Lessee shall upon request reimburse Lessor for the cost of such inspection, so long as such inspection is reasonably related to the violation or contamination. In addition, Lessee shall provide copies of all relevant material safety data sheets (MSDS) to Lessor within 10 days of the receipt of written request therefor.

 

7.            Maintenance; Repairs, Utility Installations; Trade Fixtures and Alterations.

 

7.1.          Lessee’s Obligations.

 

(a)            In General. Subject to the provisions of Paragraph 2.2 (Condition), 2.3 (Compliance), 6.3 (Lessee’s Compliance with Applicable Requirements), 7.2 (Lessor’s Obligations), 9 (Damage or Destruction), and 14 (Condemnation), Lessee shall, at Lessee’s sole expense, keep the Premises, Utility Installations (intended for Lessee’s exclusive use, no matter where located), and Alterations in good order, condition and repair (whether or not the portion of the Premises requiring repairs, or the means of repairing the same, are reasonably or readily accessible to Lessee, and whether or not the need for such repairs occurs as a result of Lessee’s use, any prior use, the elements or the age of such portion of the Premises), including, but not limited to, all equipment or facilities, such as plumbing, heating, ventilating and air conditions systems (“HVAC”) equipment, electrical, lighting facilities, boilers, pressure vessels, fixtures, interior walls, interior surfaces of exterior walls, ceilings, floors, windows, doors, plate glass, and skylights but excluding any items which are the responsibility of Lessor pursuant to Paragraph 7.2. Lessee, in keeping the Premises in good order, condition and repair, shall exercise and perform good maintenance practices, specifically including the procurement and maintenance of the service contracts required by Paragraph 7.1(b) below. Lessee’s obligations shall include restorations, replacements or renewals when necessary to keep the Premises and all improvements thereon or a part thereof in good order, condition and state of repair, provided, however, utility installations, plumbing, ceilings and skylights shall be governed by Paragraph 7.1(d).

 

(b)            Service Contracts. Lessee shall, at Lessee’s sole expense, procure and maintain contracts, with copies to Lessor, in customary form and substance for, and with contractors specializing and experienced in the maintenance of the following equipment and improvements, if any, if and when installed on the Premises: (i) HVAC equipment, (ii) boiler and pressure vessels, and (iii) clarifiers. However, Lessor reserves the right, upon notice to Lessee, to procure and maintain any or all of such service contracts, and Lessee shall reimburse Lessor, upon demand, for the cost thereof. With respect to the service contract for the HVAC equipment. Lessee shall maintain in full force and effect, a preventative maintenance and service contract with a reputable service provider for maintenance of the HVAC equipment of the Premises (the “HVAC Maintenance Contract”). The terms and provisions of the HVAC Maintenance Contract shall require that the service provider maintain the Premises HVAC system. In accordance with the manufacturer’s recommendations and otherwise in accordance with normal, customary and reasonable practices in the geographic areas in which the Premises is located and for HVAC equipment comparable to the Premises’ HVAC system. Within 30 days following the Commencement Date, Lessee shall procure and delivery to Lessor the HVAC Maintenance Contract, Thereafter, lessee Mall provide to Lessor a copy of renewals or replacements of such HVAC Maintenance Contract no later than 30 days prior to the then-applicable expiration date of the existing HVAC Maintenance Contract. If Lessee fails to timely deliver to Lessor the HVAC Maintenance Contract (or any applicable renewal or replacement thereof), then Lessor shall have the right to contract directly for the periodic maintenance of the HVAC equipment in the Premises and to charge the cost thereof back to Lessee as Rent.

 

(c)            Failure to Perform. If Lessee fails to perform Lessee’s obligations under this Paragraph 7.1, Lessor may enter upon the Premises after 10 days’ prior written notice to Lessee (except in the case of an emergency, in which case no notice shall be required), perform such obligations on Lessee’s behalf, and put the Premises in good order, condition and repair, and Lessee shall promptly pay to Lessor a sum equal to 115% of the cost thereof.

 

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(d)            Replacement. Subject to Lessee’s indemnification of Lessor as set forth in Paragraph 8.7 below, and without relieving Lessee of liability resulting from Lessee’s failure to exercise and perform good maintenance practices, if utility installations plumbing, ceilings or skylights installed by Lessor, if an item described in Paragraph 7.1(b) that was installed by Lessor cannot be repaired other than at a cost which is in excess of 50% of the cost of replacing such item, then such item shall be replaced by Lessor, and the cost thereof shall be prorated between the Parties and Lessee shall only be obligated to pay, each month during the remainder of the term of this Lease, on the date on which Base Rent is due, an amount equal to the product of multiplying the cost of such replacement by a fraction, the numerator of which is one, and the denominator of which is 144 (i.e. 1/144th of the cost per month). Lessee shall pay Interest on the unamortized balance but may prepay its obligation at any time. For avoidance of doubt, both parties acknowledge and agree that Lessor shall have no obligations to replace any Items referenced in this Paragraph 7.1(d) that were installed by Lessee.

 

7.2.          Lessor’s Obligations. See Rider. Subject to the provisions of Paragraphs 2.2 (Condition), 2.3 (Compliance), 4.2 (Common Area Operating Expenses), 6 (Use), 7.1 (Lessee’s Obligations), 9 (Damage or Destruction) and 14 (Condemnation), Lessor, subject to reimbursement pursuant to Paragraph 4.2, shall keep in good order, condition and repair the foundations, exterior walls, structural condition of interior bearing walls, exterior roof, fire sprinkler system, Common Area fire alarm and/or smoke detection systems, fire hydrants, parking lots, walkways, parkways, driveways, landscaping, fences, signs and utility systems serving the Common Areas and all parts thereof, as well as providing the services for which there is a Common Area Operating Expense pursuant to Paragraph 4.2. Lessor shall not be obligated to paint the exterior or interior surfaces of exterior walls nor shall Lessor be obligated to maintain, repair or replace windows, doors or plate glass of the Premises. Lessee expressly waives the benefit of any statute now or hereafter in effect to the extent it is inconsistent with the terms of this Lease.

 

7.3.          Utility Installations; Trade Fixtures; Alterations.

 

(a)            Definitions. The term “Utility Installations” refers to all floor and window coverings, air and/or vacuum lines, power panels, electrical distribution, security and fire protection systems, communication cabling, lighting fixtures, HVAC equipment, plumbing, and fencing in or on the Premises. The term “Trade Fixtures” shall mean Lessee’s machinery and equipment that can be removed without doing material damage to the Premises and shall expressly include all Hiperbaric processing machines, other juice processing machines and other equipment used by Lessee in connection with the production of juice. The term “Alterations” shall mean any modification of the improvements, other than Utility Installations or Trade Fixtures, whether by addition or deletion. “Lessee Owned Alterations and/or Utility Installations” are defined as Alterations and/or Utility Installations made by Lessee that are not yet owned by Lessor pursuant to Paragraph 7.4(a).

 

(b)            Consent. Lessee shall not make any Alterations or Utility Installations to the Premises without Lessor’s prior written consent. Lessee may, however, make non-structural Alterations or Utility Installations to the interior of the Premises (excluding the roof) without such consent but upon notice to Lessor, as long as they are not visible from the outside, do not involve puncturing, relocating or removing the roof or any existing walls, will not affect the electrical, plumbing, HVAC, and/or life safety systems, and the cumulative cost thereof during this Lease as extended does not exceed a sum equal to 3 month’s Base Rent in the aggregate or a sum equal to one month’s Base Rent in any one year. Notwithstanding the foregoing except as otherwise provided herein, Lessee shall not make or permit any roof penetrations and/or install anything on the roof without the prior written approval of Lessor. Lessor may, as a precondition to granting such approval, require Lessee to utilize a contractor chosen and/or approved by Lessor. Any Alterations or Utility Installations that Lessee shall desire to make and which require the consent of the Lessor shall be presented to Lessor in written form with detailed plans. Consent shall be deemed conditioned upon Lessee’s: (i) acquiring all applicable governmental permits, (ii) furnishing Lessor with copies of both the permits and the plans and specifications prior to commencement of the work, and (iii) compliance with all conditions of said permits and other Applicable Requirements in a prompt and expeditious manner. Any Alterations or Utility Installations shall be performed in a workmanlike manner with good and sufficient materials. Lessee shall promptly upon completion furnish Lessor with as-built plans and specifications. For work which costs an amount in excess of one month’s Base Rent, Lessor may condition its consent upon Lessee providing a lien and completion bond in an amount equal to 150% of the estimated cost of such Alteration or Utility Installation and/or upon Lessee’s posting an additional Security Deposit with Lessor.

 

(c)            Liens; Bonds. Lessee shall pay, when due, all claims for labor or materials furnished or alleged to have been furnished to or for Lessee at or for use on the Premises, which claims are or may be secured by any mechanic’s or materialman’s lien against the Premises or any interest therein. Lessee shall give Lessor not less than 10 days notice prior to the commencement of any work in, on or about the Premises, and Lessor shall have the right to post notices of non-responsibility. If Lessee shall contest the validity of any such lien, claim or demand, then Lessee shall, at its sole expense defend and protect itself, Lessor and the Premises against the same and shall pay and satisfy any such adverse judgment that may be rendered thereon before the enforcement thereof. If Lessor shall require, Lessee shall furnish a surety bond in an amount equal to 150% of the amount of such contested lien, claim or demand, indemnifying Lessor against liability for the same. If Lessor elects to participate in any such action, Lessee shall pay Lessor’s attorneys’ fees and costs.

 

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7.4.            Ownership; Removal; Surrender; and Restoration.

 

(a)            Ownership. Subject to Lessor’s right to require removal or elect ownership as hereinafter provided, all Alterations and Utility Installations made by Lessee shall be the property of Lessee, but considered a part of the Premises. Lessor may, at any time, elect in writing to be the owner of all or any specified part of the Lessee Owned Alterations and Utility Installations. Unless otherwise instructed per paragraph 7.4(b) hereof, all Lessee Owned Alterations and Utility Installations shall, at the expiration or termination of this Lease, become the property of Lessor and be surrendered by Lessee with the Premises.

 

(b)            Removal. By delivery to Lessee of written notice from Lessor not earlier than 90 and not later than 30 days prior to the end of the term of this Lease, Lessor may require that any or all Lessee Owned Alterations or Utility Installations be removed by the expiration or termination of this Lease. Lessor may require the removal at any time of all or any part of any Lessee Owned Alterations or Utility Installations made without the required consent.

 

(c)            Surrender; Restoration. Lessee shall surrender the Premises by the Expiration Date or any earlier termination date, with all of the improvements, parts and surfaces thereof broom clean and free of debris, and in good operating order, condition and state of repair, and in a condition that would reasonable be expected with normal and customary use in accordance with product operating practices and in accordance with the covenants and requirements imposed under this Lease, ordinary wear and tear excepted. “Ordinary wear and tear” shall not include any damage or deterioration that would have been prevented by good maintenance practice. Notwithstanding the foregoing, if this Lease is for 12 months or less, then Lessee shall surrender the Premises in the same condition as delivered to Lessee on the Start Date with NO allowance for ordinary wear and tear. Lessee shall repair any damage occasioned by the installation, maintenance or removal of Trade Fixtures, Lessee owned Alterations and/or Utility Installations, furnishings, and equipment as well as the removal of any storage tank installed by or for Lessee. Lessee shall also remove from the Premises any and all Hazardous Substances brought onto the Premises by or for Lessee, or any third party (except Hazardous Substances which were deposited via underground migration from areas outside of the Project) to the level specified in Applicable Requirements. Trade Fixtures shall remain the property of Lessee and shall be removed by Lessee. Any personal property of Lessee not removed on or before the Expiration Date or any earlier termination date shall be deemed to have been abandoned by Lessee and may be disposed of or retained by Lessor as Lessor may desire. The failure by Lessee to timely vacate the Premises pursuant to this Paragraph 7.4(c) without the express written consent of Lessor shall constitute a holdover under the provisions of Paragraph 26 below.

 

8.            Insurance; Indemnity.

 

8.1.          Payment of Premiums. The cost of the premiums for the insurance policies required to be carried by Lessor, pursuant to Paragraphs 8.2(b), 8.3(a) and 8.3(b), shall be a Common Area Operating Expense. Premiums for policy periods commencing prior to, or extending beyond, the term of this Lease shall be prorated to coincide with the corresponding Start Date or Expiration Date.

 

8.2.          Liability Insurance.

 

(a)            Carried by Lessee. Lessee shall obtain and keep in force a Commercial General Liability policy of insurance protecting Lessee and Lessor as an additional insured against claims for bodily injury, personal injury and property damage based upon or arising out of the ownership, use, occupancy or maintenance of the Premises and all areas appurtenant thereto. Such insurance shall be on an occurrence basis providing single limit coverage in an amount not less than $1 $2,000,000 per occurrence with an annual aggregate of not less than $2 $5,000,000. Lessee shall add Lessor as an additional insured by means of an endorsement at least as broad as the Insurance Service Organization’s “Additional Insured-Managers or Lessors of Premises” Endorsement. The policy shall not contain any intra-insured exclusions as between insured persons or organizations, but shall include coverage for liability assumed under this Lease as an “insured contract” for the performance of Lessee’s indemnity obligations under this Lease. The limits of said insurance shall not, however, limit the liability of Lessee nor relieve Lessee of any obligation hereunder. Lessee shall provide an endorsement on its liability policy(ies) which provides that its insurance shall be primary to and not contributory with any similar insurance carried by Lessor, whose insurance shall be considered excess insurance only.

 

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(b)            Carried by Lessor. Lessor shall maintain liability insurance as described in Paragraph 8.2(a), in addition to, and not in lieu of, the insurance required to be maintained by Lessee. Lessee shall not be named as an additional insured therein.

 

8.3.          Property Insurance - Building, Improvements and Rental Value.

 

(a)            Building and Improvements. Lessor shall obtain and keep in force a policy or policies of insurance in the name of Lessor, with loss payable to Lessor, any ground-lessor, and to any Lender insuring loss or damage to the Premises (which policy(ies) shall include earthquake and flood coverage). The amount of such insurance shall be equal to the full insurable replacement cost of the Premises, as the same shall exist from time to time, or the amount required by any Lender, but in no event more than the commercially reasonable and available insurable value thereof. Lessee Owned Alterations and Utility Installations, Trade Fixtures, and Lessee’s personal property shall be insured by Lessee not by Lessor. If the coverage is available and commercially appropriate, such policy or policies shall insure against all risks of direct physical loss or damage (except the perils of flood and/or earthquake unless required by a Lender), including coverage for debris removal and the enforcement of any Applicable Requirements requiring the upgrading, demolition, reconstruction or replacement of any portion of the Premises as the result of a covered loss. Said policy or policies shall also contain an agreed valuation provision in lieu of any coinsurance clause, waiver of subrogation, and inflation guard protection causing an increase in the annual property insurance coverage amount by a factor of not less than the adjusted U.S. Department of Labor Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers for the city nearest to where the Premises are located. If such insurance coverage has a deductible clause, the deductible amount shall be for a per occurrence deductible not to exceed $50,000 per occurrence not to exceed $5,000 per occurrence.

 

(b)            Rental Value. Lessor shall also obtain and keep in force a policy or policies in the name of Lessor with loss payable to Lessor and any Lender, insuring the loss of the full Rent for one year with an extended period of indemnity for an additional 180 days (“Rental Value insurance”). Said insurance shall contain an agreed valuation provision in lieu of any coinsurance clause, and the amount of coverage shall be adjusted annually to reflect the projected Rent otherwise payable by Lessee, for the next 12 month period.

 

(c)            Adjacent Premises. Lessee shall pay for any increase in the premiums for the property insurance of the Building and for the Common Areas or other buildings in the Project if said increase is caused by Lessee’s acts, omissions, use or occupancy of the Premises.

 

(d)            Lessee’s Improvements. Since Lessor is the Insuring Party, Lessor shall not be required to insure Lessee Owned Alterations and Utility Installations unless the item in question has become the property of Lessor under the terms of this Lease.

 

8.4.          Lessee’s Property; Business Interruption Insurance; Worker’s Compensation Insurance.

 

(a)            Property Damage. Lessee shall obtain and maintain insurance coverage on all of Lessee’s personal property, Trade Fixtures, and Lessee Owned Alterations and Utility Installations. Such insurance shall be full replacement cost coverage with a deductible of not to exceed $1,000 per occurrence. The proceeds from any such insurance shall be used by Lessee for the replacement of personal property, Trade Fixtures and Lessee Owned Alterations and Utility Installations.

 

(b)            Business Interruption. Lessee shall obtain and maintain loss of income and extra expense insurance in amounts as will reimburse Lessee for direct or indirect loss of earnings attributable to all perils commonly insured against by prudent lessees in the business of Lessee or attributable to prevention of access to the Premises as a result of such perils.

 

(c)            Worker’s Compensation Insurance. Lessee shall obtain and maintain Worker’s Compensation Insurance in such amount as may be required by Applicable Requirements. Such policy shall include a ‘Waiver of Subrogation’ endorsement. Lessee shall provide Lessor with a copy of such endorsement along with the certificate of insurance or copy of the policy required by paragraph 8.5.

 

(d)            No Representation of Adequate Coverage. Lessor makes no representation that the limits or forms of coverage of insurance specified herein are adequate to cover Lessee’s property, business operations or obligations under this Lease.

 

8.5.          Insurance Policies. Insurance required herein shall be by companies maintaining during the policy term a “General Policyholders Rating” of at least A-, VII, as set forth in the most current issue of “Best’s Insurance Guide”, or such other rating as may be required by a Lender. Lessee shall not do or permit to be done anything which invalidates the required insurance policies. Lessee shall, prior to the Start Date, deliver to Lessor certified copies of policies of such insurance or certificates with copies of the required endorsements evidencing the existence and amounts of the required insurance. No such policy shall be cancelable or subject to modification except after 30 days prior written notice to Lessor. Lessee shall, at least 10 days prior to the expiration of such policies, furnish Lessor with evidence of renewals or “insurance binders” evidencing renewal thereof, or Lessor may order such insurance and charge the cost thereof to Lessee, which amount shall be payable by Lessee to Lessor upon demand. Such policies shall be for a term of at least one year, or the length of the remaining term of this Lease, whichever is less. If either Party shall fail to procure and maintain the insurance required to be carried by it, the other Party may, but shall not be required to, procure and maintain the same. In addition, in the event that Lessee fails, at any time or from time to time, to procure and maintain the insurance required to be carried by Lessee, Lessor may impose on Lessee, as additional Rent, a monthly delinquency fee, for each month during which Lessee fails to comply with the foregoing obligation, in an amount equal to five percent (5%) of the base Rent then in effect,

 

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8.6.          Waiver of Subrogation. Without affecting any other rights or remedies, Lessee and Lessor each hereby release and relieve the other, and waive their entire right to recover damages against the other, for loss of or damage to its property arising out of or incident to the perils required to be insured against herein. The effect of such releases and waivers is not limited by the amount of insurance carried or required, or by any deductibles applicable hereto. The Parties agree to have their respective property damage insurance carriers waive any right to subrogation that such companies may have against Lessor or Lessee, as the case may be, so long as the insurance is not invalidated thereby.

 

8.7.          Indemnity. Except for Lessor’s gross negligence or willful misconduct, Lessee shall indemnify, protect, defend and hold harmless the Premises, Lessor and its agents, Lessor’s master or ground lessor, partners and Lenders, from and against any and all claims, loss of rents and/or damages, liens, judgments, penalties, attorneys’ and consultants’ fees, expenses and/or liabilities arising out of, involving, or in connection with, the use and/or occupancy of the Premises by Lessee. If any action or proceeding is brought against Lessor by reason of any of the foregoing matters, Lessee shall upon notice defend the same at Lessee’s expense by counsel reasonably satisfactory to Lessor and Lessor shall cooperate with Lessee in such defense. Lessor need not have first paid any such claim in order to be defended or indemnified.

 

8.8.          Exemption of Lessor and its Agents from Liability. Notwithstanding the negligence or breach of this Lease by Lessor or its agents, neither Lessor nor its agents shall be liable under any circumstances for: (i) injury or damage to the person or goods, wares, merchandise or other property of Lessee, Lessee’s employees, contractors, invitees, customers, or any other person in or about the Premises, whether such damage or injury is caused by or results from fire, steam, electricity, gas, water or rain, indoor air quality, the presence of mold or from the breakage, leakage, obstruction or other defects of pipes, fire sprinklers, wires, appliances, plumbing, HVAC or lighting fixtures, or from any other cause, whether the said injury or damage results from conditions arising upon the Premises or upon other portions of the Building, or from other sources or places, (ii) any damages arising from any act or neglect of any other tenant of Lessor or from the failure of Lessor or its agents to enforce the provisions of any other lease in the Project, or (iii) injury to Lessee’s business or for any loss of income or profit therefrom. Instead, it is intended that Lessee’s sole recourse in the event of such damages or injury be to file a claim on the insurance policy(ies) that Lessee is required to maintain pursuant to the provisions of paragraph 8.

 

8.9.          Failure to Provide Insurance. Lessee acknowledges that any failure on its part to obtain or maintain the insurance required herein will expose Lessor to risks and potentially cause Lessor to incur costs not contemplated by this Lease, the extent of which will be extremely difficult to ascertain. Accordingly, for any month or portion thereof that Lessee does not maintain the required insurance and/or does not provide Lessor with the required binders or certificates evidencing the existence of the required insurance, the Base Rent shall be automatically increased, without any requirement for notice to Lessee, by an amount equal to 105% of the then existing Base Rent or $100, whichever is greater. The parties agree that such increase in Base Rent represents fair and reasonable compensation for the additional risk/costs that Lessor will incur by reason of Lessee’s failure to maintain the required insurance. Such increase in Base Rent shall in no event constitute a waiver of Lessee’s Default or Breach with respect to the failure to maintain such insurance, prevent the exercise of any of the other rights and remedies granted hereunder, nor relieve Lessee of its obligation to maintain the insurance specified in this Lease. Any increase in Base Rent under this section shall be eliminated upon Lessee furnishing evidence of the required insurance.

 

9.            Damage or Destruction.

 

9.1.          Definitions.

 

(a)            “Premises Partial Damage” shall mean damage or destruction to the improvements on the Premises, other than Lessee Owned Alterations and Utility Installations, which can reasonably be repaired in 3 months or less from the date of the damage or destruction, and the cost thereof does not exceed a sum equal to 6 month’s Base Rent. Lessor shall notify Lessee in writing within 30 days from the date of the damage or destruction as to whether or not the damage is Partial or Total.

 

(b)            “Premises Total Destruction” shall mean damage or destruction to the improvements on the Premises, other than Lessee Owned Alterations and Utility Installations and Trade Fixtures, which cannot reasonably be repaired in 3 months or less from the date of the damage or destruction and/or the cost thereof exceeds a sum equal to 6 month’s Base Rent. Lessor shall notify Lessee in writing within 30 days from the date of the damage or destruction as to whether or not the damage is Partial or Total.

 

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(c)            “Insured Loss” shall mean damage or destruction to improvements on the Premises, other than Lessee Owned Alterations and Utility Installations and Trade Fixtures, which was caused by an event required to be covered by the insurance described in Paragraph 8.3(a), irrespective of any deductible amounts or coverage limits involved.

 

(d)            “Replacement Cost” shall mean the cost to repair or rebuild the improvements owned by Lessor at the time of the occurrence to their condition existing immediately prior thereto, including demolition, debris removal and upgrading required by the operation of Applicable Requirements, and without deduction for depreciation.

 

(e)            “Hazardous Substance Condition” shall mean the occurrence or discovery of a condition involving the presence of, or a contamination by, a Hazardous Substance, in, on, or under the Premises which requires restoration.

 

9.2.          Partial Damage - Insured Loss. If a Premises Partial Damage that is an Insured Loss occurs, then Lessor shall, at Lessor’s expense, repair such damage (but not Lessee’s Trade Fixtures or Lessee Owned Alterations and Utility Installations) as soon as reasonably possible and this Lease shall continue in full force and effect; provided, however, that Lessee shall, at Lessor’s election, make the repair of any damage or destruction the total cost to repair of which is $10,000 or less, and, in such event, Lessor shall make any applicable insurance proceeds available to Lessee on a reasonable basis for that purpose. Notwithstanding the foregoing, if the required insurance was not in force or the insurance proceeds are not sufficient to effect such repair, the Insuring Party shall promptly contribute the shortage in proceeds as and when required to complete said repairs. In the event, however, such shortage was due to the fact that, by reason of the unique nature of the improvements, full replacement cost insurance coverage was not commercially reasonable and available, Lessor shall have no obligation to pay for the shortage in insurance proceeds or to fully restore the unique aspects of the Premises unless Lessee provides Lessor with the funds to cover same, or adequate assurance thereof, within 10 days following receipt of written notice of such shortage and request therefor. If Lessor receives said funds or adequate assurance thereof within said 10 day period, the party responsible for making the repairs shall complete them as soon as reasonably possible and this Lease shall remain in full force and effect. If such funds or assurance are not received, Lessor may nevertheless elect by written notice to Lessee within 10 days thereafter to: (i) make such restoration and repair as is commercially reasonable with Lessor paying any shortage in proceeds, in which case this Lease shall remain in full force and effect, or (ii) have this Lease terminate 30 days thereafter. Lessee shall not be entitled to reimbursement of any funds contributed by Lessee to repair any such damage or destruction. Premises Partial Damage due to flood or earthquake shall be subject to Paragraph 9.3, notwithstanding that there may be some insurance coverage, but the net proceeds of any such insurance shall be made available for the repairs if made by either Party.

 

9.3.          Partial Damage - Uninsured Loss. If a Premises Partial Damage that is not an Insured Loss occurs, unless caused by a negligent or willful act of Lessee (in which event Lessee shall make the repairs at Lessee’s expense), Lessor may either: (i) repair such damage as soon as reasonably possible at Lessor’s expense (subject to reimbursement pursuant to Paragraph 4.2), in which event this Lease shall continue in full force and effect, or (ii) terminate this Lease by giving written notice to Lessee within 30 days after receipt by Lessor of knowledge of the occurrence of such damage. Such termination shall be effective 60 days following the date of such notice. In the event Lessor elects to terminate this Lease, Lessee shall have the right within 10 days after receipt of the termination notice to give written notice to Lessor of Lessee’s commitment to pay for the repair of such damage without reimbursement from Lessor. Lessee shall provide Lessor with said funds or satisfactory assurance thereof within 30 days after making such commitment. In such event this Lease shall continue in full force and effect, and Lessor shall proceed to make such repairs as soon as reasonably possible after the required funds are available. If Lessee does not make the required commitment, this Lease shall terminate as of the date specified in the termination notice.

 

9.4.          Total Destruction. Notwithstanding any other provision hereof, if a Premises Total Destruction occurs, this Lease shall terminate 60 days following such Destruction. If the damage or destruction was caused by the gross negligence or willful misconduct of Lessee, Lessor shall have the right to recover Lessor’s damages from Lessee, except as provided in Paragraph 8.6.

 

9.5.          Damage Near End of Term. If at any time during the last 6 months of this Lease there is damage for which the cost to repair exceeds one month’s Base Rent, whether or not an Insured Loss, Lessor may terminate this Lease effective 60 days following the date of occurrence of such damage by giving a written termination notice to Lessee within 30 days after the date of occurrence of such damage. Notwithstanding the foregoing, if Lessee at that time has an exercisable option to extend this Lease or to purchase the Premises, then Lessee may preserve this Lease by, (a) exercising such option and (b) providing Lessor with any shortage in insurance proceeds (or adequate assurance thereof) needed to make the repairs on or before the earlier of (i) the date which is 10 days after Lessee’s receipt of Lessor’s written notice purporting to terminate this Lease, or (ii) the day prior to the date upon which such option expires. If Lessee duly exercises such option during such period and provides Lessor with funds (or adequate assurance thereof) to cover any shortage in insurance proceeds, Lessor shall, at Lessor’s commercially reasonable expense, repair such damage as soon as reasonably possible and this Lease shall continue in full force and effect. If Lessee fails to exercise such option and provide such funds or assurance during such period, then this Lease shall terminate on the date specified in the termination notice and Lessee’s option shall be extinguished.

 

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9.6.          Abatement of Rent; Lessee’s Remedies.

 

(a)            Abatement. In the event of Premises Partial Damage or Premises Total Destruction or a Hazardous Substance Condition for which Lessee is not responsible under this Lease, the Rent payable by Lessee for the period required for the repair, remediation or restoration of such damage shall be abated in proportion to the degree to which Lessee’s use of the Premises is impaired, but not to exceed the proceeds received from the Rental Value insurance. All other obligations of Lessee hereunder shall be performed by Lessee, and Lessor shall have no liability for any such damage, destruction, remediation, repair or restoration except as provided herein.

 

(b)            Remedies. If Lessor is obligated to repair or restore the Premises and does not commence, in a substantial and meaningful way, such repair or restoration within 90 days after such obligation shall accrue, Lessee may, at any time prior to the commencement of such repair or restoration, give written notice to Lessor and to any Lenders of which Lessee has actual notice, of Lessee’s election to terminate this Lease on a date not less than 60 days following the giving of such notice. If Lessee gives such notice and such repair or restoration is not commenced within 30 days thereafter, this Lease shall terminate as of the date specified in said notice. If the repair or restoration is commenced within such 30 days, this Lease shall continue in full force and effect. “Commence” shall mean either the unconditional authorization of the preparation of the required plans, or the beginning of the actual work on the Premises, whichever first occurs.

 

9.7.          Termination; Advance Payments. Upon termination of this Lease pursuant to Paragraph 6.2(g) or Paragraph 9, an equitable adjustment shall be made concerning advance Base Rent and any other advance payments made by Lessee to Lessor. Lessor shall, in addition, return to Lessee so much of Lessee’s Security Deposit as has not been, or is not then required to be, used by Lessor.

 

9.8.          Lessee waives and releases all statutory rights and remedies in favor of Lessee in the event of damage or destruction, inducting without limitation those available under California CMI Code Sections 1932 and 1933(4).

 

10.           Real Property Taxes.

 

10.1.        Definition. As used herein, the term “Real Property Taxes” shall include any form of assessment; real estate, general, special, ordinary or extraordinary, or rental levy or tax (other than inheritance, personal income or estate taxes); improvement bond; and/or license fee imposed upon or levied against any legal or equitable interest of Lessor in the Project, Lessor’s right to other income therefrom, and/or Lessor’s business of leasing, by any authority having the direct or indirect power to tax and where the funds are generated with reference to the Project address and where the proceeds so generated are to be applied by the city, county or other local taxing authority of a jurisdiction within which the Project is located. The term “Real Property Taxes” shall also include any tax, fee, levy, assessment or charge, or any increase therein: (i) imposed by reason of events occurring during the term of this Lease, including but not limited to, a change in the ownership of the Project, (ii) a change in the improvements thereon, and/or (iii) levied or assessed on machinery or equipment provided by Lessor to Lessee pursuant to this Lease. In calculating Real Property Taxes for any calendar year, the Real Property Taxes for any real estate tax year shall be included in the calculation of Real Property Taxes for such calendar year based upon the number of days which such calendar year and tax year have in common.

 

10.2.        Payment of Taxes. Except as otherwise provided in Paragraph 10.3, Lessor shall pay the Real Property Taxes applicable to the Project, and said payments shall be included in the calculation of Common Area Operating Expenses in accordance with the provisions of Paragraph 4.2.

 

10.3.        Additional Improvements. Common Area Operating Expenses shall not include Real Property Taxes specified in the tax assessor’s records and work sheets as being caused by additional improvements placed upon the Project by other lessees or by Lessor for the exclusive enjoyment of such other lessees. Notwithstanding Paragraph 10.2 hereof, Lessee shall, however, pay to Lessor at the time Common Area Operating Expenses are payable under Paragraph 4.2, the entirety of any increase in Real Property Taxes if assessed solely by reason of Alterations, Trade Fixtures or Utility Installations placed upon the Premises by Lessee or at Lessee’s request or by reason of any alterations or improvements to the Premises made by Lessor subsequent to the execution of this Lease by the Parties.

 

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10.4.        Joint Assessment. If the Building is not separately assessed, Real Property Taxes allocated to the Building shall be an equitable proportion of the Real Property Taxes for all of the land and improvements included within the tax parcel assessed, such proportion to be determined by Lessor from the respective valuations assigned in the assessor’s work sheets or such other information as may be reasonably available. Lessor’s reasonable determination thereof, in good faith, shall be conclusive.

 

10.5.        Personal Property Taxes. Lessee shall pay prior to delinquency all taxes assessed against and levied upon Lessee Owned Alterations and Utility Installations, Trade Fixtures, furnishings, equipment and all personal property of Lessee contained in the Premises. When possible, Lessee shall cause its Lessee Owned Alterations and Utility Installations, Trade Fixtures, furnishings, equipment and all other personal property to be assessed and billed separately from the real property of Lessor. If any of Lessee’s said property shall be assessed with Lessor’s real property, Lessee shall pay Lessor the taxes attributable to Lessee’s property within 10 days after receipt of a written statement setting forth the taxes applicable to Lessee’s property.

 

11.           Utilities and Services.

 

Lessee shall pay for all water, gas, heat, light, power, telephone, trash disposal and other utilities and services supplied to the Premises, together with any taxes thereon. Notwithstanding the provisions of Paragraph 4.2, if at any time in Lessor’s sole judgment, Lessor determines that Lessee is using a disproportionate amount of water, electricity or other commonly metered utilities, or that Lessee is generating such a large volume of trash as to require an increase in the size of the trash receptacle and/or an increase in the number of times per month that it is emptied, then Lessor may increase Lessee’s Base Rent by an amount equal to such increased costs. There shall be no abatement of Rent and Lessor shall not be liable in any respect whatsoever for the inadequacy, stoppage, interruption or discontinuance of any utility or service due to riot, strike, labor dispute, breakdown, accident, repair or other cause beyond Lessor’s reasonable control or in cooperation with governmental request or directions.

 

Lessee hereby authorizes Lessor to obtain information from time to time throughout the Term. regarding Lessee’s utility and energy usage at the Premises directly from the applicable utility providers and lessee shall execute, within ten (10) business days of Lessors request, any additional documentation required by any applicable utility provider evidencing such authorization. Further, throughout the Term. (i) within the ten (10) business days of Lessor’s request Lessee shall provide to Lessor all requested information regarding Lessee’s utility and energy usage at the Premises, and (ii) upon Lessor’s delivery to Lessee of written request, Lessee shall deliver to Lessor copies of its utilities bills for the immediately preceding twelve (12) calendar months.

 

12.          Assignment and Subletting.

 

12.1.        Lessor’s Consent Required.

 

(a)            Except as otherwise provided herein, Lessee shall not voluntarily or by operation of law assign, transfer, mortgage or encumber (collectively, “assign or assignment”) or sublet all or any part of Lessee’s interest in this Lease or in the Premises without Lessor’s prior written consent, not to be unreasonably withheld, conditioned or delayed.

 

(b)            Unless Lessee is a corporation and its stock is publicly traded on a national stock exchange, a change in the control of Lessee shall constitute an assignment requiring consent. The transfer, on a cumulative basis, of 2549% or more of the voting control of Lessee shall constitute a change in control for this purpose.

 

(c)            The involvement of Lessee or its assets in any transaction, or series of transactions (by way of merger, sale, acquisition, financing, transfer, leveraged buy-out or otherwise), whether or not a formal assignment or hypothecation of this Lease or Lessee’s assets occurs, which results or will result in a reduction of the Net Worth of Lessee by an amount greater than 25% of such Net Worth as it was represented at the time of the execution of this Lease or at the time of the most recent assignment to which Lessor has consented, or as it exists immediately prior to said transaction or transactions constituting such reduction, whichever was or is greater, shall be considered an assignment of this Lease to which Lessor may withhold its consent. “Net Worth of Lessee” shall mean the net worth of Lessee (excluding any guarantors) established under generally accepted accounting principles.

 

(d)            An assignment or subletting without consent shall, at Lessor’s option, be a Default curable after notice per Paragraph 13.1(d), or a noncurable Breach without the necessity of any notice and grace period. If Lessor elects to treat such unapproved assignment or subletting as a noncurable Breach, Lessor may either: (i) terminate this Lease, or (ii) upon 30 days written notice, increase the monthly Base Rent to 110% of the Base Rent then in effect. Further, in the event of such Breach and rental adjustment, (i) the purchase price of any option to purchase the Premises held by Lessee shall be subject to similar adjustment to 110% of the price previously in effect, and (ii) all fixed and non-fixed rental adjustments scheduled during the remainder of the Lease term shall be increased to 110% of the scheduled adjusted rent.

 

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(e)            Lessee’s remedy for any breach of Paragraph 12.1 by Lessor shall be limited to compensatory damages and/or injunctive relief.

 

(f)            Lessor may reasonably withhold consent to a proposed assignment or subletting if Lessee is in Default at the time consent is requested.

 

(g)            Notwithstanding the foregoing, allowing a de minimis portion of the Premises, ie. 20 square feet or less, to be used by a third party vendor in connection with the installation of a vending machine or payphone shall not constitute a subletting.

 

12.2.       Terms and Conditions Applicable to Assignment and Subletting.

 

(a)            Regardless of Lessor’s consent, no assignment or subletting shall: (i) be effective without the express written assumption by such assignee or sublessee of the obligations of Lessee under this Lease, (ii) release Lessee of any obligations hereunder, or (iii) alter the primary liability of Lessee for the payment of Rent or for the performance of any other obligations to be performed by Lessee unless otherwise agreed by Lessor in writing.

 

(b)            Lessor may accept Rent or performance of Lessee’s obligations from any person other than Lessee pending approval or disapproval of an assignment. Neither a delay in the approval or disapproval of such assignment nor the acceptance of Rent or performance shall constitute a waiver or estoppel of Lessor’s right to exercise its remedies for Lessee’s Default or Breach.

 

(c)            Lessor’s consent to any assignment or subletting shall not constitute consent to any subsequent assignment or subletting.

 

(d)            In the event of any Default or Breach by Lessee, Lessor may proceed directly against Lessee, any Guarantors or anyone else responsible for the performance of Lessee’s obligations under this Lease, including any assignee or sublessee, without first exhausting Lessor’s remedies against any other person or entity responsible therefore to Lessor, or any security held by Lessor.

 

(e)            Each request for consent to an assignment or subletting shall be in writing, accompanied by information relevant to Lessor’s determination as to the financial and operational responsibility and appropriateness of the proposed assignee or sublessee, including but not limited to the intended use and/or required modification of the Premises, if any, together with a fee of $500 as consideration for Lessor’s considering and processing said request. Lessee agrees to provide Lessor with such other or additional information and/or documentation as may be reasonably requested. (See also Paragraph 36)

 

(f)            Any assignee of, or sublessee under, this Lease shall, by reason of accepting such assignment, entering into such sublease, or entering into possession of the Premises or any portion thereof, be deemed to have assumed and agreed to conform and comply with each and every term, covenant, condition and obligation herein to be observed or performed by Lessee during the term of said assignment or sublease, other than such obligations as are contrary to or inconsistent with provisions of an assignment or sublease to which Lessor has specifically consented to in writing.

 

(g)            Lessor’s consent to any assignment or subletting shall not transfer to the assignee or sublessee any Option granted to the original Lessee by this Lease unless such transfer is specifically consented to by Lessor in writing. (See Paragraph 39.2)

 

12.3.        Additional Terms and Conditions Applicable to Subletting. The following terms and conditions shall apply to any subletting by Lessee of all or any part of the Premises and shall be deemed included in all subleases under this Lease whether or not expressly incorporated therein:

 

(a)            Lessee hereby assigns and transfers to Lessor all of Lessee’s interest in all Rent payable on any sublease, and Lessor may collect such Rent and apply same toward Lessee’s obligations under this Lease; provided, however, that until a Breach shall occur in the performance of Lessee’s obligations, Lessee may collect said Rent. In the event that the amount collected by Lessor exceeds Lessee’s then outstanding obligations any such excess shall be retained by Lessor after reimbursing Lessee for all of the Lessee’s reasonable costs related to such subleasing. refunded to Lessee. Lessor shall not, by reason of the foregoing or any assignment of such sublease, nor by reason of the collection of Rent, be deemed liable to the sublessee for any failure of Lessee to perform and comply with any of Lessee’s obligations to such sublessee. Lessee hereby irrevocably authorizes and directs any such sublessee, upon receipt of a written notice from Lessor stating that a Breach exists in the performance of Lessee’s obligations under this Lease, to pay to Lessor all Rent due and to become due under the sublease. Sublessee shall rely upon any such notice from Lessor and shall pay all Rents to Lessor without any obligation or right to inquire as to whether such Breach exists, notwithstanding any claim from Lessee to the contrary.

 

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(b)            In the event of a Breach by Lessee, Lessor may, at its option, require sublessee to attorn to Lessor, in which event Lessor shall undertake the obligations of the sublessor under such sublease from the time of the exercise of said option to the expiration of such sublease; provided, however, Lessor shall not be liable for any prepaid rents or security deposit paid by such sublessee to such sublessor or for any prior Defaults or Breaches of such sublessor.

 

(c)            Any matter requiring the consent of the sublessor under a sublease shall also require the consent of Lessor.

 

(d)            No sublessee shall further assign or sublet all or any part of the Premises without Lessor’s prior written consent.

 

(e)            Lessor shall deliver a copy of any notice of Default or Breach by Lessee to the sublessee, who shall have the right to cure the Default of Lessee within the grace period, if any, specified in such notice. The sublessee shall have a right of reimbursement and offset from and against Lessee for any such Defaults cured by the sublessee.

 

13.           Default; Breach; Remedies.

 

13.1.        Default; Breach. A “Default” is defined as a failure by the Lessee to comply with or perform any of the terms, covenants, conditions or Rules and Regulations under this Lease. A “Breach” is defined as the occurrence of one or more of the following Defaults, and the failure of Lessee to cure such Default within any applicable grace period:

 

(a)            The abandonment of the Premises; or the vacating of the Premises without providing a commercially reasonable level of security, or where the coverage of the property insurance described in Paragraph 8.3 is jeopardized as a result thereof, or without providing reasonable assurances to minimize potential vandalism.

 

(b)            The failure of Lessee to make any payment of Rent or any Security Deposit required to be made by Lessee hereunder, whether to Lessor or to a third party, when due, to provide reasonable evidence of insurance or surety bond, or to fulfill any obligation under this Lease which endangers or threatens life or property, where such failure continues for a period of 3 business days following written notice to Lessee. THE ACCEPTANCE BY LESSOR OF A PARTIAL PAYMENT OF RENT OR SECURITY DEPOSIT SHALL NOT CONSTITUTE A WAIVER OF ANY OF LESSOR’S RIGHTS, INCLUDING LESSOR’S RIGHT TO RECOVER POSSESSION OF THE PREMISES.

 

(c)            The failure of Lessee to allow Lessor and/or its agents access to the Premises or the commission of waste, act or acts constituting public or private nuisance, and/or an illegal activity on the Premises by Lessee, where such actions continue for a period of 3 business days following written notice to Lessee. In the event that Lessee commits waste, a nuisance or an illegal activity a second time then, the Lessor may elect to treat such conduct as a non-curable Breach rather than a Default.

 

(d)            The failure by Lessee to provide (i) reasonable written evidence of compliance with Applicable Requirements, (ii) the service contracts, (iii) the rescission of an unauthorized assignment or subletting, (iv) an Estoppel Certificate or financial statements, (v) a requested subordination, (vi) evidence concerning any guaranty and/or Guarantor, (vii) any document requested under Paragraph 41, (viii) material data safety sheets (MSDS), or (ix) any other documentation or information which Lessor may reasonably require of Lessee under the terms of this Lease, where any such failure continues for a period of 10 days following written notice to Lessee.

 

(e)            A Default by Lessee as to the terms, covenants, conditions or provisions of this Lease, or of the rules adopted under Paragraph 2.9 hereof, other than those described in subparagraphs 13.1(a), (b), (c) or (d), above, where such Default continues for a period of 30 days after written notice; provided, however, that if the nature of Lessee’s Default is such that more than 30 days are reasonably required for its cure, then it shall not be deemed to be a Breach if Lessee commences such cure within said 30 day period and thereafter diligently prosecutes such cure to completion.

 

(f)            The occurrence of any of the following events: (i) the making of any general arrangement or assignment for the benefit of creditors; (ii) becoming a “debtor” as defined in 11 U.S.C. § 101 or any successor statute thereto (unless, in the case of a petition filed against Lessee, the same is dismissed within 60 days); (iii) the appointment of a trustee or receiver to take possession of substantially all of Lessee’s assets located at the Premises or of Lessee’s interest in this Lease, where possession is not restored to Lessee within 30 days; or (iv) the attachment, execution or other judicial seizure of substantially all of Lessee’s assets located at the Premises or of Lessee’s interest in this Lease, where such seizure is not discharged within 30 days; provided, however, in the event that any provision of this subparagraph is contrary to any applicable law, such provision shall be of no force or effect, and not affect the validity of the remaining provisions.

 

(g)            The discovery that any financial statement of Lessee or of any Guarantor given to Lessor was materially false.

 

(h)            If the performance of Lessee’s obligations under this Lease is guaranteed: (i) the death of a Guarantor, (ii) the termination of a Guarantor’s liability with respect to this Lease other than in accordance with the terms of such guaranty, (iii) a Guarantor’s becoming insolvent or the subject of a bankruptcy filing, (iv) a Guarantor’s refusal to honor the guaranty, or (v) a Guarantor’s breach of its guaranty obligation on an anticipatory basis, and Lessee’s failure, within 60 days following written notice of any such event, to provide written alternative assurance or security, which, when coupled with the then existing resources of Lessee, equals or exceeds the combined financial resources of Lessee and the Guarantors that existed at the time of execution of this Lease.

 

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13.2.        Remedies. If Lessee fails to perform any of its affirmative duties or obligations, within 10 days after written notice (or in case of an emergency, without notice), Lessor may, at its option, perform such duty or obligation on Lessee’s behalf, including but not limited to the obtaining of reasonably required bonds, insurance policies, or governmental licenses, permits or approvals. The notice provided for in the Section 13.2 shall be in lieu of any notices required by the California Code of Civil Procedure Section 1161, et.seq. Lessee shall pay to Lessor an amount equal to 115% of the costs and expenses incurred by Lessor in such performance upon receipt of an invoice therefor. In the event of a Breach, Lessor may, with or without further notice or demand, and without limiting Lessor in the exercise of any right or remedy which Lessor may have by reason of such Breach:

 

(a)            Terminate Lessee’s right to possession of the Premises by any lawful means, in which case this Lease shall terminate and Lessee shall immediately surrender possession to Lessor. In such event Lessor shall be entitled to recover from Lessee: (i) the unpaid Rent which had been earned at the time of termination; (ii) the worth at the time of award of the amount by which the unpaid rent which would have been earned after termination until the time of award exceeds the amount of such rental loss that the Lessee proves could have been reasonably avoided; (iii) the worth at the time of award of the amount by which the unpaid rent for the balance of the term after the time of award exceeds the amount of such rental loss that the Lessee proves could be reasonably avoided; and (iv) any other amount necessary to compensate Lessor for all the detriment proximately caused by the Lessee’s failure to perform its obligations under this Lease or which in the ordinary course of things would be likely to result therefrom, including but not limited to the cost of recovering possession of the Premises, expenses of reletting, including necessary renovation and alteration of the Premises, reasonable attorneys’ fees, and that portion of any leasing commission paid by Lessor in connection with this Lease applicable to the unexpired term of this Lease. The worth at the time of award of the amount referred to in provision (iii) of the immediately preceding sentence shall be computed by discounting such amount at the discount rate of the Federal Reserve Bank of the District within which the Premises are located at the time of award plus one percent. Efforts by Lessor to mitigate damages caused by Lessee’s Breach of this Lease shall not waive Lessor’s right to recover any damages to which Lessor is otherwise entitled. If termination of this Lease is obtained through the provisional remedy of unlawful detainer, Lessor shall have the right to recover in such proceeding any unpaid Rent and damages as are recoverable therein, or Lessor may reserve the right to recover all or any part thereof in a separate suit. If a notice and grace period required under Paragraph 13.1 was not previously given, a notice to pay rent or quit, or to perform or quit given to Lessee under the unlawful detainer statute shall also constitute the notice required by Paragraph 13.1. In such case, the applicable grace period required by Paragraph 13.1 and the unlawful detainer statute shall run concurrently, and the failure of Lessee to cure the Default within the greater of the two such grace periods shall constitute both an unlawful detainer and a Breach of this Lease entitling Lessor to the remedies provided for in this Lease and/or by said statute.

 

(b)            As set forth in California Civil Code Section 1951.4, continue the Lease and Lessee’s right to possession and recover the Rent as it becomes due, in which event Lessee may sublet or assign, subject only to reasonable limitations. Acts of maintenance, efforts to relet, and/or the appointment of a receiver to protect the Lessor’s interests, shall not constitute a termination of the Lessee’s right to possession. Even though a Breach may have occurred, this Lease shall continue in effect for so long as Lessor does not Terminate Lessee’s right to possession, and Lessor may enforce all of Lessor’s rights and remedies under this Lease, including without limitation the remedy described in California Civil Code Section 1951.4 (Lessor may continue the Lease in effect after Lessee’s breach and abandonment and recover Rent as it becomes due, if Lessee has the right to sublet or assign, subject only to reasonable limitations) to recover Rent as ft become, due.

 

(c)            Pursue any other remedy now or hereafter available under the laws or judicial decisions of the state wherein the Premises are located. The expiration or termination of this Lease and/or the termination of Lessee’s right to possession shall not relieve Lessee from liability under any indemnity provisions of this Lease as to matters occurring or accruing during the term hereof or by reason of Lessee’s occupancy of the Premises.

 

(d)            Lessee hereby waives the provisions of California Civil Code Section 3275 and California Code of Civil Procedure Sections 1174(c) and 1179.

 

13.3.        Inducement Recapture. Any agreement for free or abated rent or other charges, including, without invitation, as set forth in Section 2 of the Rider, the cost of tenant improvements for Lessee paid for or performed by Lessor, or for the giving or paying by Lessor to or for Lessee of any cash or other bonus, inducement or consideration for Lessee’s entering into this Lease, all of which concessions are hereinafter referred to as “Inducement Provisions”, shall be deemed conditioned upon Lessee’s full and faithful performance of all of the terms, covenants and conditions of this Lease. Upon Breach of this Lease by Lessee, any such Inducement Provision shall automatically be deemed deleted from this Lease and of no further force or effect, and any rent, other charge, bonus, inducement or consideration theretofore abated, given or paid by Lessor under such an Inducement Provision shall be immediately due and payable by Lessee to Lessor, notwithstanding any subsequent cure of said Breach by Lessee. The acceptance by Lessor of rent or the cure of the Breach which initiated the operation of this paragraph shall not be deemed a waiver by Lessor of the provisions of this paragraph unless specifically so stated in writing by Lessor at the time of such acceptance.

 

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13.4.        Late Charges. Lessee hereby acknowledges that late payment by Lessee of Rent will cause Lessor to incur costs not contemplated by this Lease, the exact amount of which will be extremely difficult to ascertain. Such costs include, but are not limited to, processing and accounting charges, and late charges which may be imposed upon Lessor by any Lender. Accordingly, if any Rent shall not be received by Lessor within 5 days after such amount shall be due, then, without any requirement for notice to Lessee, Lessee shall immediately pay to Lessor a one-time late charge equal to 105% of each such overdue amount or $100, whichever is greater. The parties hereby agree that such late charge represents a fair and reasonable estimate of the costs Lessor will incur by reason of such late payment. Acceptance of such late charge by Lessor shall in no event constitute a waiver of Lessee’s Default or Breach with respect to such overdue amount, nor prevent the exercise of any of the other rights and remedies granted hereunder. In the event that a late charge is payable hereunder, whether or not collected, for 3 consecutive installments of Base Rent, then notwithstanding any provision of this Lease to the contrary, Base Rent shall, at Lessor’s option, become due and payable quarterly in advance.

 

13.5.        Interest. Any monetary payment due Lessor hereunder, other than late charges, not received by Lessor, when due shall bear interest from the 31st day after it was due. The interest (“Interest”) charged shall be computed at the rate of 10% per annum but shall not exceed the maximum rate allowed by law. Interest is payable in addition to the potential late charge provided for in Paragraph 13.4.

 

13.6.        Breach by Lessor.

 

(a)            Notice of Breach. Lessor shall not be deemed in breach of this Lease unless Lessor fails within a reasonable time to perform an obligation required to be performed by Lessor. For purposes of this Paragraph, a reasonable time shall in no event be less than 30 days after receipt by Lessor, and any Lender whose name and address shall have been furnished Lessee in writing for such purpose, of written notice specifying wherein such obligation of Lessor has not been performed; provided, however, that if the nature of Lessor’s obligation is such that more than 30 days are reasonably required for its performance, then Lessor shall not be in breach if performance is commenced within such 30 day period and thereafter diligently pursued to completion.

 

(b)            Performance by Lessee on Behalf of Lessor. In the event that neither Lessor nor Lender cures said breach within 30 days after receipt of said notice, or if having commenced said cure they do not diligently pursue it to completion, then Lessee may elect to cure said breach at Lessee’s expense and offset from Rent the actual and reasonable cost to perform such cure, provided however, that such offset shall not exceed an amount equal to the greater of one month’s Base Rent or the Security Deposit, reserving Lessee’s right to reimbursement from Lessor for any such expense in excess of such offset. Lessee shall document the cost of said cure and supply said documentation to Lessor.

 

14.           Condemnation.

 

If the Premises or any portion thereof are taken under the power of eminent domain or sold under the threat of the exercise of said power (collectively “Condemnation”), this Lease shall terminate as to the part taken as of the date the condemning authority takes title or possession, whichever first occurs. If more than 10% of the floor area of the Unit, or more than 25% of the parking spaces is taken by Condemnation, Lessee may, at Lessee’s option, to be exercised in writing within 10 days after Lessor shall have given Lessee written notice of such taking (or in the absence of such notice, within 10 days after the condemning authority shall have taken possession) terminate this Lease as of the date the condemning authority takes such possession. If Lessee does not terminate this Lease in accordance with the foregoing, this Lease shall remain in full force and effect as to the portion of the Premises remaining, except that the Base Rent shall be reduced in proportion to the reduction in utility of the Premises caused by such Condemnation. Condemnation awards and/or payments s hall be the property of Lessor, whether such award shall be made as compensation for diminution in value of the leasehold, the value of the part taken, or for severance damages; provided, however, that Lessee shall be entitled to any compensation paid by the condemnor for Lessee’s relocation expenses, loss of business goodwill and/or Trade Fixtures, without regard to whether or not this Lease is terminated pursuant to the provisions of this Paragraph. All Alterations and Utility Installations made to the Premises by Lessee, for purposes of Condemnation only, shall be considered the property of the Lessee and Lessee shall be entitled to any and all compensation which is payable therefor. In the event that this Lease is not terminated by reason of the Condemnation, Lessor shall repair any damage to the Premises caused by such Condemnation. Lessor and Lessee hereby wavier any statutory right in conflict with the provisions of this Paragraph 14, includig without limitation, rights under California Code of Civil Procedure Sections 1265.110, 1265.120 and 1265.130

 

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15.           Brokerage Fees.

 

15.1.        Additional Commission. In addition to the payments owed pursuant to Paragraph 1.10 above, and unless Lessor and the Brokers otherwise agree in writing, Lessor agrees that: (a) if Lessee exercises any Option, (b) if Lessee or anyone affiliated with Lessee acquires from Lessor any rights to the Premises or other premises owned by Lessor and located within the Project, (c) if Lessee remains in possession of the Premises, with the consent of Lessor, after the expiration of this Lease, or (d) if Base Rent is increased, whether by agreement or operation of an escalation clause herein, then, Lessor shall pay Brokers a fee in accordance with the fee schedule of the Brokers in effect at the time the Lease was executed.

 

15.2.        Assumption of Obligations. Any buyer or transferee of Lessor’s interest in this Lease shall be deemed to have assumed Lessor’s obligation hereunder. Brokers shall be third party beneficiaries of the provisions of Paragraphs 1.10, 15, 22 and 31. If Lessor fails to pay to Brokers any amounts due as and for brokerage fees pertaining to this Lease when due, then such amounts shall accrue Interest. In addition, if Lessor fails to pay any amounts to Lessee’s Broker when due, Lessee’s Broker may send written notice to Lessor and Lessee of such failure and if Lessor fails to pay such amounts within 10 days after said notice, Lessee shall pay said monies to its Broker and offset such amounts against Rent. In addition, Lessee’s Broker shall be deemed to be a third party beneficiary of any commission agreement entered into by and/or between Lessor and Lessor’s Broker for the limited purpose of collecting any brokerage fee owed.

 

15.3.        Representations and Indemnities of Broker Relationships. Lessee and Lessor each represent and warrant to the other that it has had no dealings with any person, firm, broker or finder (other than the Brokers, if any) in connection with this Lease, and that no one other than said named Brokers is entitled to any commission or finder’s fee in connection herewith. Lessee and Lessor do each hereby agree to indemnify, protect, defend and hold the other harmless from and against liability for compensation or charges which may be claimed by any such unnamed broker, finder or other similar party by reason of any dealings or actions of the indemnifying Party, including any costs, expenses, attorneys’ fees reasonably incurred with respect thereto.

 

16.           Estoppel Certificates.

 

(a)            Each Party (as “Responding Party”) shall within 10 days after written notice from the other Party (the “Requesting Party”) execute, acknowledge and deliver to the Requesting Party a statement in writing in a form as may be reasonably required by the Requesting Party containing such similar to the then most current “Estoppel Certificate” form published by the AIR Commercial Real Estate Association, plus such additional information, confirmation and/or statements as may be reasonably requested by the Requesting Party.

 

(b)            If the Responding Party shall fail to execute or deliver the Estoppel Certificate within such 10 day period, the Requesting Party may execute an Estoppel Certificate stating that: (i) the Lease is in full force and effect without modification except as may be represented by the Requesting Party, (ii) there are no uncured defaults in the Requesting Party’s performance, and (iii) if Lessor is the Requesting Party, not more than one month’s rent has been paid in advance. Prospective purchasers and encumbrancers may rely upon the Requesting Party’s Estoppel Certificate, and the Responding Party shall be estopped from denying the truth of the facts contained in said Certificate. In addition, Lessee acknowledges that any failure on its part to provide such an Estoppel Certificate will expose Lessor to risks and potentially cause Lessor to incur costs not contemplated by this Lease, the extent of which will be extremely difficult to ascertain. Accordingly, should the Lessee fail to execute and/or deliver a requested Estoppel Certificate in a timely fashion the monthly Base Rent shall be automatically increased, without any requirement for notice to Lessee, by an amount equal to 10% of the then existing Base Rent or $100, whichever is greater for remainder of the Lease. The Parties agree that such increase in Base Rent represents fair and reasonable compensation for the additional risk/costs that Lessor will incur by reason of Lessee’s failure to provide the Estoppel Certificate. Such increase in Base Rent shall in no event constitute a waiver of Lessee’s Default or Breach with respect to the failure to provide the Estoppel Certificate nor prevent the exercise of any of the other rights and remedies granted hereunder.

 

(c)            If Lessor desires to finance, refinance, or sell the Premises, or any part thereof, Lessee and all Guarantors shall within 10 days after written notice from Lessor deliver to any potential lender or purchaser designated by Lessor such financial statements as may be reasonably required by such lender or purchaser, including but not limited to Lessee’s financial statements for the past 3 years. All such financial statements shall be received by Lessor and such lender or purchaser in confidence and shall be used only for the purposes herein set forth.

 

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17.           Definition of Lessor. The term “Lessor” as used herein shall mean the owner or owners at the time in question of the fee title to the Premises, or, if this is a sublease, of the Lessee’s interest in the prior lease. In the event of a transfer of Lessor’s title or interest in the Premises or this Lease, Lessor shall deliver to the transferee or assignee (in cash or by credit) any unused Security Deposit held by Lessor. Except as provided in Paragraph 15, upon such transfer or assignment and delivery of the Security Deposit, as aforesaid, the prior Lessor shall be relieved of all liability with respect to the obligations and/or covenants under this Lease thereafter to be performed by the Lessor. Subject to the foregoing, the obligations and/or covenants in this Lease to be performed by the Lessor shall be binding only upon the Lessor as hereinabove defined.

 

18.           Severability. The invalidity of any provision of this Lease, as determined by a court of competent jurisdiction, shall in no way affect the validity of any other provision hereof.

 

19.           Days. Unless otherwise specifically indicated to the contrary, the word “days” as used in this Lease shall mean and refer to calendar days.

 

20.           Limitation on Liability. The obligations of Lessor under this Lease shall not constitute personal obligations of Lessor, or its partners, members, directors, officers or shareholders, and Lessee shall look to the Premises, and to no other assets of Lessor, for the satisfaction of any liability of Lessor with respect to this Lease, and shall not seek recourse against Lessor’s partners, members, directors, officers or shareholders, or any of their personal assets for such satisfaction.

 

21.           Time of Essence. Time is of the essence with respect to the performance of all obligations to be performed or observed by the Parties under this Lease.

 

22.           No Prior or Other Agreements; Broker Disclaimer. This Lease contains all agreements between the Parties with respect to any matter mentioned herein, and no other prior or contemporaneous agreement or understanding shall be effective. Lessor and Lessee each represents and warrants to the Brokers that it has made, and is relying solely upon, its own investigation as to the nature, quality, character and financial responsibility of the other Party to this Lease and as to the use, nature, quality and character of the Premises. Brokers have no responsibility with respect thereto or with respect to any default or breach hereof by either Party.

 

23.           Notices.

 

23.1.        Notice Requirements. All notices required or permitted by this Lease or applicable law shall be in writing and may be delivered in person (by hand or by courier) or may be sent by regular, certified or registered mail or U.S. Postal Service Express Mail, with postage prepaid, or by facsimile transmission, or by email, and shall be deemed sufficiently given if served in a manner specified in this Paragraph 23. The addresses noted adjacent to a Party’s signature on this Lease shall be that Party’s address for delivery or mailing of notices. Either Party may by written notice to the other specify a different address for notice, except that upon Lessee’s taking possession of the Premises, the Premises shall constitute Lessee’s address for notice. A copy of all notices to Lessor shall be concurrently transmitted to such party or parties at such addresses as Lessor may from time to time hereafter designate in writing. A copy of any notice delivered to Lessor shall also be sent to (i) Fires Industrial Realty Trust, Inc., 311 South Wacker Drive, Suite 3900, Chicago. Illinois 60606, Attn: Executive Vice President-Operations; and (ii) Barack Ferrazzano Kirschbaum & Nagelborg LLP, 200 West Madison Street, Suite 3900, Chicago, Illinois 60606. Attn: Suzanne Bessette-Smith.

 

23.2.        Date of Notice. Any notice sent by registered or certified mail, return receipt requested, shall be deemed given on the date of delivery shown on the receipt card, or if no delivery date is shown, the postmark thereon. If sent by regular mail the notice shall be deemed given 72 hours after the same is addressed as required herein and mailed with postage prepaid. Notices delivered by United States Express Mail or overnight courier that guarantees next day delivery shall be deemed given 24 hours after delivery of the same to the Postal Service or courier. Notices delivered by hand, or transmitted by facsimile transmission or by email shall be deemed delivered upon actual receipt. If notice is received on a Saturday, Sunday or legal holiday, it shall be deemed received on the next business day.

 

24.           Waivers.

 

(a)            No waiver by Lessor of the Default or Breach of any term, covenant or condition hereof by Lessee, shall be deemed a waiver of any other term, covenant or condition hereof, or of any subsequent Default or Breach by Lessee of the same or of any other term, covenant or condition hereof. Lessor’s consent to, or approval of, any act shall not be deemed to render unnecessary the obtaining of Lessor’s consent to, or approval of, any subsequent or similar act by Lessee, or be construed as the basis of an estoppel to enforce the provision or provisions of this Lease requiring such consent.

 

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(b)            The acceptance of Rent by Lessor shall not be a waiver of any Default or Breach by Lessee. Any payment by Lessee may be accepted by Lessor on account of moneys or damages due Lessor, notwithstanding any qualifying statements or conditions made by Lessee in connection therewith, which such statements and/or conditions shall be of no force or effect whatsoever unless specifically agreed to in writing by Lessor at or before the time of deposit of such payment.

 

(c)            THE PARTIES AGREE THAT THE TERMS OF THIS LEASE SHALL GOVERN WITH REGARD TO ALL MATTERS RELATED THERETO AND HEREBY WAIVE THE PROVISIONS OF ANY PRESENT OR FUTURE STATUTE TO THE EXTENT THAT SUCH STATUTE IS INCONSISTENT WITH THIS LEASE.

 

25.           Disclosures Regarding The Nature of a Real Estate Agency Relationship.

 

(a)            When entering into a discussion with a real estate agent regarding a real estate transaction, a Lessor or Lessee should from the outset understand what type of agency relationship or representation it has with the agent or agents in the transaction. Lessor and Lessee acknowledge being advised by the Brokers in this transaction, as follows:

 

(i)            Lessor’s Agent. A Lessor’s agent under a listing agreement with the Lessor acts as the agent for the Lessor only. A Lessor’s agent or subagent has the following affirmative obligations: To the Lessor: A fiduciary duty of utmost care, integrity, honesty, and loyalty in dealings with the Lessor. To the Lessee and the Lessor: (a) Diligent exercise of reasonable skills and care in performance of the agent’s duties. (b) A duty of honest and fair dealing and good faith. (c) A duty to disclose all facts known to the agent materially affecting the value or desirability of the property that are not known to, or within the diligent attention and observation of, the Parties. An agent is not obligated to reveal to either Party any confidential information obtained from the other Party which does not involve the affirmative duties set forth above.

 

(ii)            Lessee’s Agent. An agent can agree to act as agent for the Lessee only. In these situations, the agent is not the Lessor’s agent, even if by agreement the agent may receive compensation for services rendered, either in full or in part from the Lessor. An agent acting only for a Lessee has the following affirmative obligations. To the Lessee: A fiduciary duty of utmost care, integrity, honesty, and loyalty in dealings with the Lessee. To the Lessee and the Lessor: (a) Diligent exercise of reasonable skills and care in performance of the agent’s duties. (b) A duty of honest and fair dealing and good faith. (c) A duty to disclose all facts known to the agent materially affecting the value or desirability of the property that are not known to, or within the diligent attention and observation of, the Parties. An agent is not obligated to reveal to either Party any confidential information obtained from the other Party which does not involve the affirmative duties set forth above.

 

(iii)            (Agent Representing Both Lessor and Lessee. A real estate agent, either acting directly or through one or more associate licenses, can legally be the agent of both the Lessor and the Lessee in a transaction, but only with the knowledge and consent of both the Lessor and the Lessee. In a dual agency situation, the agent has the following affirmative obligations to both the Lessor and the Lessee: (a) A fiduciary duty of utmost care, integrity, honesty and loyalty in the dealings with either Lessor or the Lessee. (b) Other duties to the Lessor and the Lessee as stated above in subparagraphs (i) or (ii). In representing both Lessor and Lessee, the agent may not without the express permission of the respective Party, disclose to the other Party that the Lessor will accept rent in an amount less than that indicated in the listing or that the Lessee is willing to pay a higher rent than that offered. The above duties of the agent in a real estate transaction do not relieve a Lessor or Lessee from the responsibility to protect their own interests. Lessor and Lessee should carefully read all agreements to assure that they adequately express their understanding of the transaction. A real estate agent is a person qualified to advise about real estate. If legal or tax advice is desired, consult a competent professional.

 

(b)            Brokers have no responsibility with respect to any Default or Breach hereof by either Party. The Parties agree that no lawsuit or other legal proceeding involving any breach of duty, error or omission relating to this Lease may be brought against Broker more than one year after the Start Date and that the liability (including court costs and attorneys’ fees), of any Broker with respect to any such lawsuit and/or legal proceeding shall not exceed the fee received by such Broker pursuant to this Lease; provided, however, that the foregoing limitation on each Broker’s liability shall not be applicable to any gross negligence or willful misconduct of such Broker.

 

(c)            Lessor and Lessee agree to identify to Brokers as “Confidential” any communication or information given Brokers that is considered by such Party to be confidential.

 

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26.           No Right To Holdover. Lessee has no right to retain possession of the Premises or any part thereof beyond the expiration or termination of this Lease. In the event that Lessee holds over, then the Base Rent shall be increased to 150125% (increasing to 150% after the first 60 days) of the Base Rent applicable immediately preceding the expiration or termination. Holdover Base Rent shall be calculated on monthly basis. Nothing contained herein shall be construed as consent by Lessor to any holding over by Lessee.

 

27.           Cumulative Remedies. No remedy or election hereunder shall be deemed exclusive but shall, wherever possible, be cumulative with all other remedies at law or in equity.

 

28.           Covenants and Conditions; Construction of Agreement. All provisions of this Lease to be observed or performed by Lessee are both covenants and conditions. In construing this Lease, all headings and titles are for the convenience of the Parties only and shall not be considered a part of this Lease. Whenever required by the context, the singular shall include the plural and vice versa. This Lease shall not be construed as if prepared by one of the Parties, but rather according to its fair meaning as a whole, as if both Parties had prepared it.

 

29.           Binding Effect; Choice of Law. This Lease shall be binding upon the parties, their personal representatives, successors and assigns and be governed by the laws of the State in which the Premises are located. Any litigation between the Parties hereto concerning this Lease shall be initiated in the county in which the Premises are located.

 

30.           Subordination; Attornment; Non-Disturbance.

 

30.1.        Subordination. This Lease and any Option granted hereby shall be subject and subordinate to any ground lease, mortgage, deed of trust, or other hypothecation or security device (collectively, “Security Device”), now or hereafter placed upon the Premises, to any and all advances made on the security thereof, and to all renewals, modifications, and extensions thereof. Lessee agrees that the holders of any such Security Devices (in this Lease together referred to as “Lender”) shall have no liability or obligation to perform any of the obligations of Lessor under this Lease. Any Lender may elect to have this Lease and/or any Option granted hereby superior to the lien of its Security Device by giving written notice thereof to Lessee, whereupon this Lease and such Options shall be deemed prior to such Security Device, notwithstanding the relative dates of the documentation or recordation thereof.

 

30.2.        Attornment. In the event that Lessor transfers title to the Premises, or the Premises are acquired by another upon the foreclosure or termination of a Security Device to which this Lease is subordinated (i) Lessee shall, subject to the non-disturbance provisions of Paragraph 30.3, attorn to such new owner, and upon request, enter into a new lease, containing all of the terms and provisions of this Lease, with such new owner for the remainder of the term hereof, or, at the election of the new owner, this Lease will automatically become a new lease between Lessee and such new owner, and (ii) Lessor shall thereafter be relieved of any further obligations hereunder and such new owner shall assume all of Lessor’s obligations, except that such new owner shall not: (a) be liable for any act or omission of any prior lessor or with respect to events occurring prior to acquisition of ownership; (b) be subject to any offsets or defenses which Lessee might have against any prior lessor, (c) be bound by prepayment of more than one month’s rent, or (d) be liable for the return of any security deposit paid to any prior lessor which was not paid or credited to such new owner.

 

30.3.        Non-Disturbance. With respect to Security Devices entered into by Lessor after the execution of this Lease, Lessee’s subordination of this Lease shall be subject to receiving a commercially reasonable non-disturbance agreement (a “Non-Disturbance Agreement”) from the Lender which Non-Disturbance Agreement provides that Lessee’s possession of the Premises, and this Lease, including any options to extend the term hereof, will not be disturbed so long as Lessee is not in Breach hereof and attorns to the record owner of the Premises. Further, within 60 days after the execution of this Lease, Lessor shall, if requested by Lessee, use its commercially reasonable efforts to obtain a Non-Disturbance Agreement from the holder of any pre-existing Security Device which is secured by the Premises. In the event that Lessor is unable to provide the Non-Disturbance Agreement within said 60 days, then Lessee may, at Lessee’s option, directly contact Lender and attempt to negotiate for the execution and delivery of a Non-Disturbance Agreement.

 

30.4.        Self-Executing. The agreements contained in this Paragraph 30 shall be effective without the execution of any further documents; provided, however, that, upon written request from Lessor or a Lender in connection with a sale, financing or refinancing of the Premises, Lessee and Lessor shall execute such further writings as may be reasonably required to separately document any subordination, attornment and/or Non-Disturbance Agreement provided for herein.

 

31.           Attorneys’ Fees. If any Party or Broker brings an action or proceeding involving the Premises whether founded in tort, contract or equity, or to declare rights hereunder, the Prevailing Party (as hereafter defined) in any such proceeding, action, or appeal thereon, shall be entitled to reasonable attorneys’ fees. Such fees may be awarded in the same suit or recovered in a separate suit, whether or not such action or proceeding is pursued to decision or judgment. The term, “Prevailing Party” shall include, without limitation, a Party or Broker who substantially obtains or defeats the relief sought, as the case may be, whether by compromise, settlement, judgment, or the abandonment by the other Party or Broker of its claim or defense. The attorneys’ fees award shall not be computed in accordance with any court fee schedule, but shall be such as to fully reimburse all attorneys’ fees reasonably incurred. In addition, Lessor shall be entitled to attorneys’ fees, costs and expenses incurred in the preparation and service of notices of Default and consultations in connection therewith, whether or not a legal action is subsequently commenced in connection with such Default or resulting Breach ($200 is a reasonable minimum per occurrence for such services and consultation).

 

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32.           Lessor’s Access; Showing Premises; Repairs. Lessor and Lessor’s agents shall have the right to enter the Premises at any time, in the case of an emergency, and otherwise at reasonable times after reasonable prior notice (but in no event less than 24 hours’ prior notice) for the purpose of showing the same to prospective purchasers, lenders, or tenants, and making such alterations, repairs, improvements or additions to the Premises as Lessor may deem necessary or desirable and the erecting, using and maintaining of utilities, services, pipes and conduits through the Premises and/or other premises as long as there is no material adverse effect on Lessee’s use of the Premises. All such activities shall be without abatement of rent or liability to Lessee.

 

33.           Auctions. Lessee shall not conduct, nor permit to be conducted, any auction upon the Premises without Lessor’s prior written consent. Lessor shall not be obligated to exercise any standard of reasonableness in determining whether to permit an auction.

 

34.           Signs. Lessor may place on the Premises ordinary “For Sale” signs at any time and ordinary “For Lease” signs during the last 6 months of the term hereof. Except for ordinary “For Sublease” signs which may be placed only on the Premises, Lessee shall not place any sign upon the Project without Lessor’s prior written consent. All signs must comply with all Applicable Requirements.

 

35.           Termination; Merger. Unless specifically stated otherwise in writing by Lessor, the voluntary or other surrender of this Lease by Lessee, the mutual termination or cancellation hereof, or a termination hereof by Lessor for Breach by Lessee, shall automatically terminate any sublease or lesser estate in the Premises; provided, however, that Lessor may elect to continue any one or all existing subtenancies. Lessor’s failure within 10 days following any such event to elect to the contrary by written notice to the holder of any such lesser interest, shall constitute Lessor’s election to have such event constitute the termination of such interest.

 

36.           Consents. Except as otherwise provided herein, wherever in this Lease the consent of a Party is required to an act by or for the other Party, such consent shall not be unreasonably withheld or delayed. Lessor’s actual reasonable costs and expenses (including but not limited to architects’, attorneys’, engineers’ and other consultants’ fees) incurred in the consideration of, or response to, a request by Lessee for any Lessor consent, including but not limited to consents to an assignment, a subletting or the presence or use of a Hazardous Substance, shall be paid by Lessee upon receipt of an invoice and supporting documentation therefor. Lessor’s consent to any act, assignment or subletting shall not constitute an acknowledgment that no Default or Breach by Lessee of this Lease exists, nor shall such consent be deemed a waiver of any then existing Default or Breach, except as may be otherwise specifically stated in writing by Lessor at the time of such consent. The failure to specify herein any particular condition to Lessor’s consent shall not preclude the imposition by Lessor at the time of consent of such further or other conditions as are then reasonable with reference to the particular matter for which consent is being given. In the event that either Party disagrees with any determination made by the other hereunder and reasonably requests the reasons for such determination, the determining party shall furnish its reasons in writing and in reasonable detail within 10 business days following such request.

 

37.          Guarantor.

 

37.1.        Execution. The Guarantors, if any, shall each execute a guaranty in the form most recently published by the AIR Commercial Real Estate Association.

 

37.2.        Default. It shall constitute a Default of the Lessee if any Guarantor fails or refuses, upon request to provide: (a) evidence of the execution of the guaranty, including the authority of the party signing on Guarantor’s behalf to obligate Guarantor, and in the case of a corporate Guarantor, a certified copy of a resolution of its board of directors authorizing the making of such guaranty, (b) current financial statements, (c) an Estoppel Certificate, or (d) written confirmation that the guaranty is still in effect.

 

38.           Quiet Possession. Subject to payment by Lessee of the Rent and performance of all of the covenants, conditions and provisions on Lessee’s part to be observed and performed under this Lease, Lessee shall have quiet possession and quiet enjoyment of the Premises during the term hereof. Lessee shall have 24 hour access to the Premises.

 

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39.           Options. If Lessee is granted any option, as defined below, then the following provisions shall apply.

 

39.1.        Definition. “Option” shall mean: (a) the right to extend or reduce the term of or renew this Lease or to extend or reduce the term of or renew any lease that Lessee has on other property of Lessor; (b) the righ t of first refusal or first offer to lease either the Premises or other property of Lessor; (c) the right to purchase, the right of first offer to purchase or the right of first refusal to purchase the Premises or other property of Lessor.

 

39.2.        Options Personal To Original Lessee. Any Option granted to Lessee in this Lease is personal to the original Lessee, and cannot be assigned or exercised by anyone other than said original Lessee and only while the original Lessee is in full possession of the Premises and, if requested by Lessor, with Lessee certifying that Lessee has no intention of thereafter assigning or subletting.

 

39.3.        Multiple Options. In the event that Lessee has any multiple Options to extend or renew this Lease, a later Option cannot be exercised unless the prior Options have been validly exercised.

 

39.4.        Effect of Default on Options.

 

(a)            Lessee shall have no right to exercise an Option: (i) during the period commencing with the giving of any notice of Default and continuing until said Default is cured, (ii) during the period of time any Rent is unpaid (without regard to whether notice thereof is given Lessee), (iii) during the time Lessee is in Breach of this Lease, or (iv) in the event that Lessee has been given 3 or more notices of separate Default, whether or not the Defaults are cured, during the 12 month period immediately preceding the exercise of the Option.

 

(b)            The period of time within which an Option may be exercised shall not be extended or enlarged by reason of Lessee’s inability to exercise an Option because of the provisions of Paragraph 39.4(a).

 

(c)            An Option shall terminate and be of no further force or effect, notwithstanding Lessee’s due and timely exercise of the Option, if, after such exercise and prior to the commencement of the extended term or completion of the purchase, (i) Lessee fails to pay Rent for a period of 30 days after such Rent becomes due (without any necessity of Lessor to give notice thereof), or (ii) if Lessee commits a Breach of this Lease.

 

40.           Security Measures. Lessee hereby acknowledges that the Rent payable to Lessor hereunder does not include the cost of guard service or other security measures, and that Lessor shall have no obligation whatsoever to provide same. Lessee assumes all responsibility for the protection of the Premises, Lessee, its agents and invitees and their property from the acts of third parties.

 

41.           Reservations. Lessor reserves the right: (i) to grant, without the consent or joinder of Lessee, such easements, rights and dedications that Lessor deems necessary, (ii) to cause the recordation of parcel maps and restrictions, and (iii) to create and/or install new utility raceways, so long as such easements, rights, dedications, maps, restrictions, and utility raceways do not unreasonably interfere with the use of the Premises by Lessee. Lessee agrees to sign any documents reasonably requested by Lessor to effectuate such rights.

 

42.           Performance Under Protest. If at any time a dispute shall arise as to any amount or sum of money to be paid by one Party to the other under the provisions hereof, the Party against whom the obligation to pay the money is asserted shall have the right to make payment “under protest” and such payment shall not be regarded as a voluntary payment and there shall survive the right on the part of said Party to institute suit for recovery of such sum. If it shall be adjudged that there was no legal obligation on the part of said Party to pay such sum or any part thereof, said Party shall be entitled to recover such sum or so much thereof as it was not legally required to pay. A Party who does not initiate suit for the recovery of sums paid “under protest” within 6 months shall be deemed to have waived its right to protest such payment.

 

43.           Authority; Multiple Parties; Execution.

 

(a)            If either Party hereto is a corporation, trust, limited liability company, partnership, or similar entity, each individual executing this Lease on behalf of such entity represents and warrants that he or she is duly authorized to execute and deliver this Lease on its behalf. Each Party shall, within 30 days after request, deliver to the other Party satisfactory evidence of such authority.

 

(b)            If this Lease is executed by more than one person or entity as “Lessee”, each such person or entity shall be jointly and severally liable hereunder. It is agreed that any one of the named Lessees shall be empowered to execute any amendment to this Lease, or other document ancillary thereto and bind all of the named Lessees, and Lessor may rely on the same as if all of the named Lessees had executed such document.

 

(c)            This Lease may be executed by the Parties in counterparts, each of which shall be deemed an original and all of which together shall constitute one and the same instrument.

 

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44.           Conflict. Any conflict between the printed provisions of this Lease and the typewritten or handwritten provisions shall be controlled by the typewritten or handwritten provisions.

 

45.           Offer. Preparation of this Lease by either party or their agent and submission of same to the other Party shall not be deemed an offer to lease to the other Party. This Lease is not intended to be binding until executed and delivered by all Parties hereto.

 

46.           Amendments. This Lease may be modified only in writing, signed by the Parties in interest at the time of the modification. As long as they do not materially change Lessee’s obligations hereunder, Lessee agrees to make such reasonable non-monetary modifications to this Lease as may be reasonably required by a Lender in connection with the obtaining of normal financing or refinancing of the Premises.

 

47.           Waiver of Jury Trial. THE PARTIES HEREBY WAIVE THEIR RESPECTIVE RIGHTS TO TRIAL BY JURY IN ANY ACTION OR PROCEEDING INVOLVING THE PROPERTY OR ARISING OUT OF THIS AGREEMENT.

 

48.           Arbitration of Disputes. An Addendum requiring the Arbitration of all disputes between the Parties and/or Brokers arising out of this Lease

 

¨ is 🗹 is not attached to this Lease.

 

49.           Accessibility; Americans with Disabilities Act.

 

(a)            The Premises: 🗹 have not undergone an inspection by a Certified Access Specialist (CASp). ¨ have undergone an inspection by a Certified Access Specialist (CASp) and it was determined that the Premises met all applicable construction-related accessibility standards pursuant to California Civil Code §55.51 et seq.¨  have undergone an inspection by a Certified Access Specialist (CASp) and it was determined that the Premises did not meet all applicable construction-related accessibility standards pursuant to California Civil Code §55.51 et seq.

 

(b)            Since compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is dependent upon Lessee’s specific use of the Premises, Lessor makes no warranty or representation as to whether or not the Premises comply with ADA or any similar legislation. In the event that Lessee’s use of the Premises requires modifications or additions to the Premises in order to be in ADA compliance, Lessee agrees to make any such necessary modifications and/or additions at Lessee’s expense.

 

LESSOR AND LESSEE HAVE CAREFULLY READ AND REVIEWED THIS LEASE AND EACH TERM AND PROVISION CONTAINED HEREIN, AND BY THE EXECUTION OF THIS LEASE SHOW THEIR INFORMED AND VOLUNTARY CONSENT THERETO. THE PARTIES HEREBY AGREE THAT, AT THE TIME THIS LEASE IS EXECUTED, THE TERMS OF THIS LEASE ARE COMMERCIALLY REASONABLE AND EFFECTUATE THE INTENT AND PURPOSE OF LESSOR AND LESSEE WITH RESPECT TO THE PREMISES.

 

ATTENTION: NO REPRESENTATION OR RECOMMENDATION IS MADE BY THE AIR COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE ASSOCIATION OR BY ANY BROKER AS TO THE LEGAL SUFFICIENCY, LEGAL EFFECT, OR TAX CONSEQUENCES OF THIS LEASE OR THE TRANSACTION TO WHICH IT RELATES. THE PARTIES ARE URGED TO:

 

1.SEEK ADVICE OF COUNSEL AS TO THE LEGAL AND TAX CONSEQUENCES OF THIS LEASE.

 

2.RETAIN APPROPRIATE CONSULTANTS TO REVIEW AND INVESTIGATE THE CONDITION OF THE PREMISES. SAID INVESTIGATION SHOULD INCLUDE BUT NOT BE LIMITED TO: THE POSSIBLE PRESENCE OF HAZARDOUS SUBSTANCES, THE ZONING OF THE PREMISES, THE STRUCTURAL INTEGRITY, THE CONDITION OF THE ROOF AND OPERATING SYSTEMS, COMPLIANCE WITH THE AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT AND THE SUITABILITY OF THE PREMISES FOR LESSEE’S INTENDED USE.

 

WARNING: IF THE PREMISES ARE LOCATED IN A STATE OT HER THAN CALIFORNIA, CERTAIN PROVISIONS OF THE LEASE MAY NEED TO BE REVISED TO COMPLY WITH THE LAWS OF THE STATE IN WHICH THE PREMISES ARE LOCATED.

 

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The parties hereto have executed this Lease at the place and on the dates specified above their respective signatures.

 

Executed at:
 
Executed at:

Suja Life, LLC

On:
 
On:

9/11/2015

   
By LESSOR: By LESSEE:
   

First Industrial Financing, L.P., a Delaware limited

SUJA LIFE LLC

partnership

 
       
By:

First Industrial Finance Corporation, its general partner

By:

/s/ Todd Fisher

Name Printed:
 
Name Printed

Todd Fisher

Title:
 
Title:

CFO

       
By:
 
By:
 
Name Printed:
 
Name Printed
 
Title:
 
Title:
 
Address:
 
Address:
 
 
 
 
 
Telephone:

(     )

Telephone:

[***]

Facsimile:

(     )

Facsimile:

[***]

Email:
 
Email:

[***]

Email:
 
Email:

[***]

Federal ID No:
 
Federal ID No:

[***]

                               

 

BROKER: BROKER:
 
 
 
 
       
Attn:
 
Attn:
 
Title:
 
Title:
 
Address:
 
Address:
 
 
 
 
 
Telephone:

(     )

Telephone:

(     )

Facsimile:

(     )

Facsimile:

(     )

Email:
 
Email:
 
Federal ID No:
 
Federal ID No:
 
Broker/Agent RE License #:
 
Broker/Agent RE License #:
 
 
 
 
 
                                 

 

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NOTICE: These forms are often modified to meet changing requirements of law and industry needs. Always write or call to make sure you are utilizing the most current form: AIR Commercial Real Estate Association, 500 N Brand Blvd, Suite 900, Glendale, CA 91203.

 

Telephone No. (213) 687-8777. Fax No.: (213) 687-8616.

 

©Copyright 1999 By AIR Commercial Real Estate Association.

 

All rights reserved. No part of these works may be reproduced in any form without permission in writing.

 

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Exhibit 10.16

 

RIDER

 

This Rider (“Rider”) is a part of and incorporated into that certain Standard Industrial/Commercial Multi-Tenant Lease-Net (the “Original Lease;” the Original Lease, together with the Rider, the “Lease”) dated as of September                  , 2015 by and between FR Financing Partnership, L.P., a Delaware limited partnership (“Lessor”) and Suja Life LLC, a Delaware limited liability company (“Lessee”). Capitalized terms used herein and not otherwise defined herein shall have the meanings ascribed to them in the Original Lease.

 

1.            Conflict. If there is a conflict between the terms of this Rider and the Original Lease, the terms of this Rider shall control.

 

2.            Base Rent. Lessee shall pay Base Rent to Lessor in monthly installments, in advance, on the first day of each and every calendar month during the Original Term (commencing on the later of: (a) the Commencement Date, or (b) the Start Date for Building 1 or Building 2, whichever is later), in the amounts and for the periods set forth below:

 

Lease Period  Monthly Base Rent 
Month 1  $65,000 
Months 2 — 7*   N/A 
Months 8 — 9  $65,000 
Months 10 - 24  $114,937.08 
Months 25 - 36  $118,385.19 
Months 37 - 48  $121,936.75 
Months 49 - 60  $125,594.85 
Months 61 - 72  $129,362.70 
Months 73 — 84  $133,243.58 
Months 85 - 96  $137,240.89 

 

*Subject to Paragraph 13.3 of the Original Lease, Base Rent is conditionally abated during this period, however, Lessee shall be required to pay Lessee’s Share of Common Area Operating Expenses (including Real Property Taxes), utilities, and services during this Base Rent abatement period.

 

3.            Cap on Common Area Operating Expenses. Notwithstanding anything contained in the Lease to the contrary, the maximum amount of Controllable Operating Expenses (defined below) that may be included in Operating Expenses for any calendar year beginning with calendar year 2017 shall be limited to the actual amount of Controllable Operating Expenses paid or incurred by Lessor attributable to calendar year 2016, increased on a cumulative, compounding basis at five percent (5%) per annum through the applicable calendar year. Lessee shall remain fully liable in each year for the whole amount of Lessee’s Share of Operating Expenses which are not Controllable Operating Expenses. In the event that the cap applies to limit Lessee’s Share of Operating Expenses attributable to Controllable Operating Expenses for any calendar year, the excluded amount shall be carried forward to succeeding calendar years and recaptured by Lessor so long as the foregoing limit on the increase in the portion of Operating Expenses attributable to Controllable Operating Expenses is not exceeded in any such succeeding year such that amounts that could not be included in Operating Expenses during such prior years may be re-captured by Lessor. The term “Controllable Operating Expenses” shall mean only those Common Area Operating Expenses described in Paragraphs 4.2(a)(i), (iii) (excluding the cost of owner’s association dues and fees), (x), (viii) and (xi) of the Original Lease, and in no event shall Real Property Taxes, insurance premiums, insurance deductibles and utility costs constitute Controllable Operating Expenses.

 

 

 

 

4.            Lessee Improvement Allowance. Lessor hereby agrees to provide for the benefit of Lessee a Lessee Improvement Allowance in an aggregate amount not to exceed $1,916,760.00 (the “Lessee Improvement Allowance”) to be used exclusively towards the cost of Lessee’s Signage (as hereinafter defined) and improvements to the Premises (such improvements, together with Lessee’s Signage, collectively, the “Lessee Improvements”) and for Lessee’s moving costs and expenses, which may include, without limitation, expenses for moving manufacturing and processing equipment, office equipment, reinforcements to the mezzanine, costs related to refrigeration build-out, and any associated labor or service fees (“Moving Costs”), but for no other purposes. All Lessee Improvements shall be approved in writing by Lessor, which approval shall not be unreasonably withheld, conditioned, or delayed, and shall be performed by Lessee in compliance with the requirements of the Lease, including, without limitation Paragraph 7.3 of the Original Lease. Lessee Improvements shall include all build out related expenses, including labor and other service fees, to develop Buildings 1& 2 to a production ready state for the manufacturing and warehousing of Suja Life, LLC products and materials, without limitation, the build out of cold storage, production and filling lines, office space, installation of plumbing lines, purchase and installation of telephone and data cabling equipment and supplemental HVAC systems, space planning, design and project management costs, and any associated labor or service fees. At the time of approving the Lessee Improvements in writing, Lessor shaft indicate in writing which of the Lessee Improvements that Lessee shall be required to remove at the expiration or termination of the Lease; provided, however, that Lessor agrees that Lessee shall not be required to remove any of nonspecialized Lessee Improvements or the below grade sewer lines, water lines and epoxy flooring that may be approved by Lessor as part of the Lessee Improvements. Lessor shall have the right to approve of Lessee’s general contractor (“Lessee’s Contractor”) and architect, which approval shall not be unreasonably withheld, conditioned or delayed. Lessor shall deliver the Premises to Lessee with the base, shell, and core complete.

 

All costs associated with Lessee Improvements, including but not limited to architectural & engineering, permits and fees, testing and construction (“Lessee Improvements Costs”), shall be the sole cost and expense of Lessee, subject to Lessee’s right to utilize the Lessee Improvement Allowance. Additionally, upon Lessee’s request and at Lessee’s sole cost and expense, Lessor shall provide reasonable oversight and management of the construction of the Lessee Improvements at the Premises. Absent Lessee’s request for Lessor’s assistance, Lessee shall not be responsible for any construction management or administrative fees to Lessor related to the Lessee Improvements. Periodically, but no more frequently than twice per calendar month, Lessee may request in writing a disbursement of the Lessee Improvement Allowance to pay for the Lessee Improvement Costs or the Moving Costs incurred by Lessee through the date of the request, which request shall include both (a) copies of invoices evidencing the Lessee Improvement Costs and/or Moving Costs for which payment is being requested, (b) conditional lien waivers with respect to the Lessee Improvements for which payment is sought; and (c) unconditional lien waivers with respect to Lessee Improvements for which payment has already been disbursed. Lessor shall have the right to review such submissions and inspect Lessee’s request for reimbursement submissions and the Premises, for a period of thirty (30) days following receipt of Lessee’s request for reimbursement. Promptly after completing its review of Lessee’s submissions and if applicable, an inspection of the Lessee Improvements, but in all events within thirty (30) days following Lessor’s receipt of Lessee’s request for disbursement, provided that no Default exists under the Lease, Lessor shall disburse to Lessee out of the Lessee Improvement Allowance the amount so requested by Lessee and approved by Lessor (which approval shall not be unreasonably withheld, conditioned, or delayed); provided, however, that Lessor shall not be required to pay any amount in excess of the Lessee Improvement Allowance. Upon completion of the Lessee Improvements, Lessee shall (x) certify in writing to Lessor that all of the Lessee Improvements have been completed, (y) deliver to Lessor copies of invoices (marked paid) for the Lessee Improvements and/or Moving Costs for which Lessee requesting reimbursement out of the Lessee Improvement Allowance, and (z) Lessee shall promptly deliver to Lessor executed unconditional and final mechanic’s lien waivers from Lessee’s Contractor and all other contractors, subcontractors, and suppliers who performed work or furnished materials or supplies for, or in connection with, the Lessee Improvements and such other evidence as Lessor may reasonably request to evidence that no liens can arise from the performance of the Lessee Improvements.

 

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To the extent that any portion of the Lessee Improvement Allowance has not been disbursed to Lessee as of the June 30, 2017 (“TI Deadline”) (exclusive of any outstanding invoices that have been submitted by Lessee to Lessor, in writing, prior to the TI Deadline), Lessee shall forfeit, and shall not be entitled to receive, any portion of the remaining Lessee Improvement Allowance.

 

5.            Lessor’s Obligations.

 

(a)            Subject to the provisions of Paragraphs 2.2 (Condition), 2.3 (Compliance), 4.2 (Common Area Operating Expenses), 6 (Use), 7.1 (Lessee’s Obligations), 9 (Damage or Destruction) and 14 (Condemnation) of the Original Lease, Lessor, subject to reimbursement pursuant to Paragraph 4.2 of the Original Lease, shall keep in good order, condition and repair the non-structural elements of the roof (including the roof membrane), fire sprinkler system, Common Area fire alarm and/or smoke detection systems, fire hydrants, parking lots, walkways, parkways, driveways, landscaping, fences, signs and utility systems serving the Common Areas and all parts thereof, as well as providing the services for which there is Common Area Operating Expense pursuant to Paragraph 4.2 of the Original Lease. In addition, subject to reimbursement pursuant to Paragraph 4.2 of the Original Lease, Lessor shall be responsible for painting the exterior or interior surfaces of exterior walls.

 

3

 

 

(b)            Subject to the provisions of Paragraphs 2.2 (Condition), 2.3 (Compliance), 6 (Use), 7.1 (Lessee’s Obligations), 9 (Damage or Destruction) and 14 (Condemnation) of the Original Lease, Lessor, at Lessor’s sole costs and expense, shall keep in good order, condition and repair all structural walls, foundations, concrete subflooring, structural elements of the roof and underground utilities. Provided, however, if any such work to comply with the terms of this Section 5(b) is required as a result of the negligence or misconduct of Lessee or any of Lessee’s contractors, agents, servants, employees, invitees and licensees (“Lessee Parties”), Lessee’s failure to repair and maintain the Premises or the misuse of the Premises or the Property by Lessee or the Lessee Parties (any of the foregoing, a “Lessee Necessitated Repair”), Lessee shall reimburse Lessor for all reasonable costs paid or incurred by Lessor for such work upon demand as Rent. Lessor shall not be obligated to maintain, repair or replace windows, door or plate glass of the Premises. Lessee expressly waives the benefit of any statute now or hereafter in effect to the extent it is inconsistent with the terms of this Lease.

 

6.            Permitted Transfers. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in the Lease, Lessee may, without obtaining Lessor’s consent but upon delivering advance written notice to Lessor, assign its entire interest in the Lease or sublease a portion of the Premises to: (a) any entity controlling or controlled by or under common control with Lessee; or (b) any entity in which or with which Lessee is merged or consolidated, in accordance with applicable statutory provisions for merger or consolidation; or (c) any entity that both acquires the Lease and substantially all of Lessee’s assets or the equity in Lessee (collectively, “Permitted Transferees”); provided (i) Lessee remains fully liable under the Lease; (ii) the use of the Premises remains unchanged; (iii) the transfer is not a subterfuge by Lessee to avoid its obligations under the Lease; (iv) after such transaction is effected, the tangible net worth of the lessee under the Lease is equal to or greater than the greater of the (i) Net Worth of Lessee as of the date of the Lease or (ii) Net Worth of Lessee prior to such transfer, and (v) Lessor shall have received an executed copy of all documentation effecting such transfer on or before its effective date. Lessor shall have no rent recapture rights or profit participation rights in the event of any assignment or sublease to a Permitted Transferee.

 

7.            Excess Sublease or Assignment Rent. In the event that the rent due and payable by a sublessee or assignee (except as the same relates to an assignment or sublease to a Permitted Transferee) (or a combination of the rental payable under such sublease or assignment, plus any bonus or other consideration therefor or incident thereto) exceeds the Rent payable under this Lease, then Lessee, after the recovery of all reasonable expenses associated with the sublease or assignment, including tenant improvement costs, architectural fees, commissions, legal fees not to exceed $5,000 per sublease or assignment, and any other reasonable concessions provided, shall be bound and obligated to pay Lessor, as Rent hereunder, one-half of all such excess rent and other excess consideration within ten (10) days following receipt thereof by Lessee.

 

8.            Option to Renew.

 

8.1            Lessee shall have the option (“Renewal Option”) to renew the Lease for two (2) additional consecutive terms of sixty (60) months each (each, a “Renewal Term”), on all the same terms and conditions set forth in the Lease, except that Base Rent during each Renewal Term shall be equal to Fair Market Rent (as defined in Section 8.2 below). Lessee shall deliver written notice to Lessor of Lessee’s election to exercise the Renewal Option (“Renewal Notice”) not less than nine (9) months, nor more than twelve (12) months, prior to the expiration date of the Original Term or the then-applicable Renewal Term; and if Lessee fails to timely deliver the Renewal Notice to Lessor, then Lessee shall automatically be deemed to have irrevocably waived and relinquished the entire Renewal Option.

 

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8.2            “Fair Market Rent” shall be determined by Lessor, in its sole, but good faith, discretion based upon the annual base rental rates then being charged (as of the date on which Lessee delivers the Renewal Notice) in the industrial market sector of the geographic area where the Building is situated for comparable space and for a lease term commencing on or about the commencement date of the Renewal Term and equal in duration to the Renewal Term, taking into consideration: the geographic location, quality and age of the building; the location and configuration of the relevant space within the applicable building; the extent of service to be provided to the proposed Lessee thereunder; applicable distinctions between “gross” lease and “net” leases; the creditworthiness and quality of Lessee; leasing commissions; market Lessee Improvement Allowances, market concessions and any other relevant term or condition in making such evaluation, as reasonably determined by Lessor. In no event, however (and notwithstanding any provision to the contrary in Section 8.3.3 below), shall the Fair Market Rent ever be less than the rate of Base Rent in effect as of the expiration date of the Original Term or the first Renewal Term, as applicable (the “Renewal Rent Floor”). Lessor shall notify Lessee of Lessor’s determination of Fair Market Rent for the Renewal Term, in writing (the “Base Rent Notice”) within thirty (30) days after receiving the applicable Renewal Notice.

 

8.3            Lessee shall then have twenty-one (21) days after Lessor’s delivery of the Base Rent Notice in which to advise Lessor, in writing (the “Base Rent Response Notice”) whether Lessee (i) is prepared to accept the Fair Market Rent established by Lessor in the Base Rent Notice and proceed to lease the Premises, during the applicable Renewal Term, at that Fair Market Rent; or (ii) elects to withdraw and revoke its Renewal Notice, whereupon the entire Renewal Option shall automatically be rendered null and void; or (iii) elects to contest Lessor’s determination of Fair Market Rent. In the event that Lessee fails to timely deliver the Base Rent Response Notice, then Lessee shall automatically be deemed to have elected (i) above. Alternatively, if Lessee timely elects (ii), then the Lease shall expire on the original expiration date of the original Term or the first Renewal Term, as applicable. If, however, Lessee timely elects (iii), then the following provisions shall apply:

 

8.3.1            The Fair Market Rent shall be determined by either the Independent Brokers or the Determining Broker, as provided and defined below, but in no event shall the Fair Market Rent be less than the Renewal Rent Floor.

 

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8.3.2            Within fifteen (15) days after Lessee delivers its Base Rent Response Notice, electing (iii), each of Lessor and Lessee shall advise the other, in writing (the “Arbitration Notice”) of both (i) the identity of the individual that each of Lessor and Lessee, respectively, is designating to act as Lessor’s or Lessee’s, as the case may be, duly authorized representative for purposes of the determination of Fair Market Rent pursuant to this Section 8.3 (the “Representatives”); and (ii) a list of three (3) proposed licensed real estate brokers, any of which may serve as one of the Independent Brokers (collectively, the “Broker Candidates”). Each Broker Candidate:

 

(A)            shall be duly licensed in the jurisdiction in which the Premises is located;

 

(B)            shall have at least five (5) years’ experience, on a full-time basis, leasing industrial space (warehouse/distribution/ancillary office) in the same general geographic area as that in which the Premises is located, and at least three (3) of those five (5) years of experience shall have been consecutive and shall have elapsed immediately preceding the date on which Lessee delivers the Renewal Notice; and

 

(C)            shall be independent and have no then-pending (as of the date Lessor or Lessee designates the broker as a Broker Candidate) brokerage relationship, formal or informal, oral or written, with any or all of Lessor, Lessee, and any affiliates of either or both of Lessor and Lessee (“Brokerage Relationship”), nor may there have been any such Brokerage Relationship at any time during the two (2) year period immediately preceding the broker’s designation, by Lessor or Lessee, as a Broker Candidate.

 

8.3.3            Within fifteen (15) days after each of Lessor and Lessee delivers its Arbitration Notice to the other, Lessor and Lessee shall cause their respective Representatives to conduct a telephonic meeting at a mutually convenient time. At that meeting, the two (2) Representatives shall examine the list of six (6) Broker Candidates and shall each eliminate two (2) names from the list on a peremptory basis. In order to eliminate these four (4) total names, first, the Lessee’s Representative shall eliminate a name from the list and then the Lessor’s Representative shall eliminate a name therefrom. The two (2) Representatives shall alternate in eliminating names from the list of six (6) Broker Candidates in this manner until each of them has eliminated two (2) names. The two (2) Representatives shall immediately contact the remaining two (2) Broker Candidates (the “Independent Brokers”), and engage them, as behalf of Lessor and Lessee, to determine the Fair Market Rent in accordance with the provisions of this Section 8.3.

 

8.3.4            The Independent Brokers shall determine the Fair Market Rent within thirty (30) days of their appointment. Lessor and Lessee shall each make a written submission to the Independent Brokers (no more than ten (10) pages in length, in the aggregate, per submitting party), advising of the rate that the submitting party believes should be the Fair Market Rate, together with whatever written evidence or supporting data that the submitting party desires in order to justify its desired rate of Fair Market Rent; provided, in all events, however, that the aggregate maximum length of each party’s submission shall not exceed ten (10) pages (each such submission package, a “FMR Submission”). The Independent Brokers shall be obligated to choose one (1) of the parties’ specific proposed rates of Fair Market Rent, without being permitted to effectuate any compromise position.

 

8.3.5            In the event, however, that the Independent Brokers fail to reach agreement, within twenty (20) days after the date on which both Lessor and Lessee deliver the FMR Submissions to the Independent Brokers (the “Decision Period”), as to which of the two (2) proposed rates of Fair Market Rent should be selected, then, within five (5) days after the expiration of the Decision Period, the Independent Brokers shall jointly select a real estate broker who (x) meets all of the qualifications of a Broker Candidate, but was not included in the original list of six (6) Broker Candidates; and (y) is not affiliated with any or all of (A) either or both of the Independent Brokers and (B) the real estate brokerage companies with which either or both of the Independent Brokers is affiliated (the “Determining Broker”). The Independent Brokers shall engage the Determining Broker on behalf of Lessor and Lessee (but without expense to the Independent Brokers), and shall deliver the FMR Submissions to the Determining Broker within five (5) days after the date on which the Independent Brokers select the Determining Broker pursuant to the preceding sentence (the “Submission Period”).

 

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8.3.6            The Determining Broker shall make a determination of the Fair Market Rent within twenty (20) days after the date on which the Submission Period expires. The Determining Broker shall be required to select one of the parties’ specific proposed rates of Fair Market Rent, without being permitted to effectuate any compromise position.

 

8.3.7            The decision of the Independent Brokers or the Determining Broker, as the case may be, shall be conclusive and binding on Lessor and Lessee, and neither party shall have any right to contest or appeal such decision. Judgment may be entered, in a court of competent jurisdiction, upon the decision of the Independent Brokers or the Determining Broker, as the case may be.

 

8.3.8            In the event that the initial Term expires and the Renewal Term commences prior to the date on which the Independent Brokers or the Determining Broker, as the case may be, renders their/its decision as to the Fair Market Rent, then from the commencement date of the Renewal Term through the date on which the Fair Market Rent is determined under this Section 8.3 (the “Determination Date”), Lessee shall pay monthly Base Rent to Lessor at a rate equal to 110% of the rate of monthly Base Rent in effect on the expiration date of the initial Term (the “Temporary Base Rent”). Within ten (10) business days after the Determination Date, Lessor shall pay to Lessee, or Lessee shall pay to Lessor, depending on whether the Fair Market Rent is less than or greater than the Temporary Base Rent, whatever sum that Lessor or Lessee, as the case may be, owes the other (the “Catch-Up Payment”), based on the Temporary Base Rent actually paid and the Fair Market Rent due (as determined by the Independent Brokers or the Determining Broker, as the case may be) during that portion of the Renewal Term that elapses before the Catch-Up Payment is paid, in full (together with interest thereon, as provided below). The Catch-Up Payment shall bear interest at the rate of Prime (defined below), plus five percent (5.0%) per annum from the Determination Date through the date on which the Catch-Up Payment is paid, in full (inclusive of interest thereon). For purposes hereof, “Prime” shall mean the per annum rate of interest publicly announced by Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. (or its successor), from time to time, as its “prime” or “base” or “reference” rate of interest.

 

8.3.9            The party whose proposed rate of Fair Market Rent is not selected by the Independent Brokers or the Determining Broker, as the case may be, shall bear all reasonable costs of all counsel, experts or other representatives that are retained by both parties, together with all other costs of the arbitration proceeding described in this Section 8.3, including, without limitation, the fees, costs and expenses imposed or incurred by any or all of the Independent Brokers and the Determining Broker.

 

8.3.10            Unless otherwise expressly agreed in writing, during the period of time that any arbitration proceeding is pending under this Section 8.3, Lessor and Lessee shall continue to comply with all those terms and provisions of the Lease that are not the subject of their dispute and arbitration proceeding, most specifically including, but not limited to, Lessee’s monetary obligations under the Lease; and, with respect to the payment of Base Rent during that portion of the Renewal Term that elapses during the pendency of any arbitration proceeding under this Section 8.3, the provisions of Section 8.3.8 shall apply.

 

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8.3.11            During any period of time that an arbitration is pending or proceeding under this Section 8.3, Lessee shall have no right to assign the Lease or enter into any sublease for all or any portion of the Premises, notwithstanding any provision to the contrary in the Lease. Furthermore, if the Lease requires that Lessor perform any Lessee improvement work in connection with the Renewal Term, Lessor shall be relieved of any such obligation during the pendency of any arbitration proceeding under this Section 8.3.

 

8.4            The Renewal Option is granted subject to all of the following conditions:

 

(a)As of the date on which Lessee delivers its Renewal Notice and continuing through the commencement date of the applicable Renewal Term, the Lease shall be in full force and effect and no act or omission shall occur which, with the giving of notice or the passage of time, or both, shall constitute a Breach or Default by Lessee under the Lease.

 

(b)There shall be no further right of renewal after the expiration of the second Renewal Term.

 

(c)The Renewal Option is personal to Lessee. In the event that Lessee assigns its interest under the Lease or subleases all or any portion of the Premises, whether or not in accordance with the requirements of the Lease, and whether directly or indirectly, the provisions of this Section 8 shall not be available to, or run to the benefit of, and may not be exercised by, any assignee or sublessee except for a Permitted Transferee.

 

9.            Satellite Antennae. With Lessor’s prior written approval (not to be unreasonably withheld, conditioned or delayed), Lessee may install, maintain and replace, from time to time and at its sole cost and expense, one (1) satellite antennae and other equipment for similar purposes (“Satellite Antennae”) and supplemental HVAC equipment (“Supplemental HVAC”) on the roof of the Building, subject to the following requirements:

 

(a)            Lessee shall install the Satellite Antennae and Supplemental HVAC in compliance with Applicable Requirements and all covenants, conditions and restrictions encumbering the Project (“CC&RS”) and Lessee shall use such equipment solely in connection with Lessee’s Agreed Use. Lessee shall not do or permit anything which would void any warranty on the roof.

 

(b)            Upon Lessor’s request, Lessee shall remove the Satellite Antennae and Supplemental HVAC on or before the expiration or termination of the Lease, and shall repair any damage to the Building or the Premises caused by its installation, maintenance, use or removal of such equipment.

 

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(c)            The size and location of the Satellite Antennae and Supplemental HVAC shall be subject to Lessor’s approval, which shall not be unreasonably withheld, conditioned or delayed.

 

(d)            Lessee shall not be permitted to have access to the roof without a representative of Lessor present; in the event Lessor does not furnish a representative for such purpose within forty-eight (48) hours following Lessee’s written request therefor, Lessee shall have the right to service, maintain and otherwise attend to the Satellite Antennae and Supplemental HVAC in the event of an emergency.

 

(e)            The Satellite Antennae and Supplemental HVAC equipment shall be mounted on a non-penetrating skid or otherwise installed so that it will not penetrate or otherwise damage the roof.

 

10.            Generator. Subject to Lessor’s approval of the plans and specifications related thereto (which plans shall include fencing and such curbing as is necessary to contain any fuel spill), which shall not be unreasonably withheld, conditioned, or delayed, and subject to Applicable Requirements and CC&Rs, Lessee may, at Lessee’s sole cost, install and maintain, repair and replace a backup electrical generator and above ground fuel tanks, in compliance with all applicable Legal Requirements and CC&Rs, adjacent to the Building or another location approved by Lessor (which approval shall not be unreasonably withheld, conditioned or delayed) (“Generator”). The Generator shall be used only for periodic testing and in the event Lessee’s primary electrical service is interrupted. The Generator shall be used only for backup power, and may not be used as a primary power source, nor may it be used by any occupant of any other building. Upon expiration or earlier termination of this Lease, Lessee shall (a) remove the Generator and all associated tanks and equipment and shall restore the Generator pad (if any) to a clean, paved condition, and (b) cap and make safe the electrical conduit for the Generator.

 

11.            Lessee Equipment. Subject to Lessor’s approval, not to be unreasonably withheld, conditioned or delayed, but which may be conditioned on Lessee’s installation of fencing, and subject to Applicable Requirements and CC&Rs, Lessee shall have the right to install Lessee’s equipment (“Lessee Equipment”), at Lessee’s sole cost and expense, in the portion of the Common Areas near the Building approved by Lessor for such installation. Lessee shall be solely responsible for monitoring such Lessee Equipment and Lessor shall have no liability in connection therewith. Upon expiration or earlier termination of the Lease, Lessee shall remove the Lessee Equipment and shall restore the area in which the Lessee Equipment was located to substantially the same condition it was in prior to such installation, ordinary wear and tear excepted. Lessee’s obligations under this Section shall survive the expiration or earlier termination of the Lease.

 

12.            Security Systems. Lessor hereby agrees that Lessee shall have the right to install the Lessee’s integrated security systems in the Premises (the “Security Systems”). The Security Systems shall be considered an Alteration for all purposes under the Lease; provided, however, that notwithstanding anything to the contrary set forth in the Lease, the Security Systems shall (i) be subject to Lessor’s reasonable review and approval of the plans and specifications in connection therewith, and (ii) be removed upon the expiration or termination of the Lease (including all wiring installed by Lessee in connection with the Security System). Lessee, at its sole cost and expense, shall (a) repair all damage to the Premises and the Project caused by the removal of the Security Systems, and (b) restore the Premises and the Project to the condition that it was in prior to the installation of the Security Systems, ordinary wear and tear excepted. Lessee’s obligations under this Section shall survive the expiration or earlier termination of this Lease.

 

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13.            Signage. Lessee shall have the right to install signage on the exterior and/or top of each Building (“Lessee’s Signage”), the cost of which can be paid out of the Lessee Improvement Allowance. Lessor shall have the right to approve the design of any signage, which approval shall not be unreasonably withheld or delayed, provided that the exact location, size, style, color, materials and lighting (if applicable) of Lessee’s Signage shall be consistent and compatible with the Building’s design, and shall comply with all Applicable Requirements and all covenants, conditions and restrictions encumbering the Project. Prior to termination of the Lease, Lessee shall remove Lessee’s Signage and shall promptly repair any damage sustained by the Project in connection therewith. Lessor agrees that Lessee shall have exclusive signage rights for each Building as long as Lessee is the sole tenant of such Building. Lessee’s obligations under this Section shall survive the expiration or earlier termination of this Lease.

 

14.            Lessor’s Work. Lessee agrees that Lessee is familiar with the condition of the Premises, and Lessee hereby accepts the foregoing on an “AS-IS,” “WHERE-IS” basis, subject to all Applicable Requirements and the CC&R, except only as is otherwise expressly and specifically set forth in Paragraphs 2.2 and 2.3 of the Original Lease or as described on Exhibit A attached hereto and incorporated herein by this reference, it being understood that, if Lessor has agreed to perform any lessee improvements in or to the Premises in consideration of Lessee’s entry into this Lease (collectively, “Lessor’s Work”), all of Lessor’s Work shall be described on Exhibit A. Except as specifically set forth in the Lease, including, but not limited to, Exhibit A, Lessor shall have no obligation to make any repairs, replacements or improvements (whether structural or otherwise) of any kind or nature to the foregoing in connection with, or in consideration of, this Lease. The Lessor’s Work for Building 1 shall include increasing the electrical service to Building 1 from 3,000 AMPS of electric power as noted in Schedule 1 of Exhibit A to 4,000 AMPS of electric power. In addition, Lessor shall provide a second transformer with an electrical output of 4,000 AMPS. The total electric power for Building 1 shall be a total of 8,000 AMPS to Building I with the two (2) transformers and infrastructure to support a maximum 8,000 AMPs of electric power (the “Building 1 Electrical Work”). Lessor’s Work shall be at Lessor’s sole cost and expense and shall not be included in the Lessee Improvement Allowance. Both Parties acknowledge and agree that the Building 1 Electrical Work may be completed after the Start Date for Building 1, although Lessor shall make good faith efforts to complete the Building 1 Electrical Work by the Start Date or as soon as possible thereafter.

 

15.            Water Utility Application. Both Lessor and Lessee acknowledge and agree that Lessee shall be responsible for completing and filing the water utility department application in connection with Lessee’s use and occupancy of the Premises. Lessee shall also be responsible, at Lessee’s sole cost and expense, for all fees or sub-charges in connection with the approval of its application.

 

16.            Early Possession. If the Premises are available, Lessee may have non-exclusive possession of Building 1 and Building 2 on the applicable Start Date for each such Building for the purpose of constructing its improvements, installing equipment and installing fixtures. Both Parties acknowledge and agree that the Start Dates are not dates by which Lessor shall have a certificate of occupancy or the date by which the Lessor shall have completed the electrical work noted in Schedule 1 (“Electrical Power Work”), but rather are dates that Lessor will be substantially complete with its work inside the Premises and Lessor can give access to Lessee to commence its work while Lessor finalizes the Lessor’s Work, including the Building 1 Electrical Work.

 

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17.            Exhibits. Attached as Exhibit B hereto is the site plan for the Premises. On or prior to the date hereof, Lessee has completed and delivered for the benefit of Lessor a “Lessee Operations Inquiry Form,” in the form attached hereto as Exhibit C describing the nature of Lessee’s proposed business operations at the Premises, which form is intended to be, and shall be, relied upon by Lessor. From time to time during the Term (but no more often than once in any twelve month period unless Lessee is in default hereunder or unless Lessee assigns the Lease or subleases all or any portion of the Premises, whether or not in accordance with Paragraph 12 of the Original Lease), Lessee shall provide an updated and current Lessee Operations Inquiry Form upon Lessor’s request. Simultaneously with the execution and delivery of the Lease, Lessee shall complete and deliver to Lessor a “Lessee Contact Sheet” in the form attached hereto as Exhibit D. From time to time during the Term, Lessee shall provide an updated and current Lessee Contact Sheet upon Lessor’s request.

 

18.            Auditing of Common Area Operating Expense. Within ninety (90) days after each calendar year, Lessor shall provide Lessee with a reasonably detailed statement (a “Statement”) setting forth Lessee’s actual ultimate liability for Lessee’s Share of Common Area Operating Expense charges for the subject calendar year. If Lessee disputes the amount set forth in a given Statement, Lessee shall have the right, at Lessee’s sole expense, to cause Lessor’s books and records with respect to the particular calendar year that is the subject of that particular Statement to be audited (the “Audit”) by a certified public accountant acceptable to Lessee (the “Accountant”), provided Lessee (i) is not in Default and (ii) delivers written notice (an “Audit Notice”) to Lessor on or prior to the date that is ninety (90) days after Lessor delivers the Statement in question to Lessee (such 90-day period, the “Response Period”). If Lessee fails to timely deliver an Audit Notice with respect to a given Statement, then Lessee’s right to undertake an Audit with respect to that Statement and the calendar year to which that particular Statement relates shall automatically and irrevocably be waived. Any Statement shall be final and binding upon Lessee and shall, as between the parties, be conclusively deemed correct, at the end of the applicable Response Period, unless prior thereto, Lessee timely delivers an Audit Notice with respect to the then-applicable Statement. If Lessee timely delivers an Audit Notice, Lessee must commence such Audit within forty-five (45) days after the Audit Notice is delivered to Lessor, and the Audit must be completed within thirty (30) days of the date on which it is begun. If Lessee fails, for any reason, to commence and complete the Audit within such periods, the Statement that Lessee elected to Audit shall be deemed final and binding upon Lessee and shall, as between the parties, be conclusively deemed correct. The Audit shall take place at the offices of Lessor where its books and records are located, at a mutually convenient time during Lessor’s regular business hours. Before conducting the Audit, Lessee must pay the full amount of the Common Area Operating Expense charges billed under the Statement then in question. Lessee hereby covenants and agrees that the Accountant engaged by Lessee to conduct the Audit shall be compensated on an hourly basis and shall not be compensated based upon a percentage of overcharges it discovers. If an Audit is conducted in a timely manner, such Audit shall be deemed final and binding upon Lessor and Lessee and shall, as between the parties, be conclusively deemed correct. If the results of the Audit reveal that the Lessee’s ultimate liability for Common Area Operating Expense charges does not equal the aggregate amount of estimated Common Area Operating Expense charges actually paid by Lessee to Lessor during the calendar year that is the subject of the Audit, the appropriate adjustment shall be made between Lessor and Lessee, and any payment required to be made by Lessor or Lessee to the other shall be made within thirty (30) days after the Accountant’s determination. In the event the Audit shows Lessee was overcharged Lessee’s Share of the actual Common Area Operating Expenses by ten percent (10%) or more, Lessee shall receive a credit toward Rent in the amount of the reasonable costs of the Audit, not to exceed $2,500. In no event shall this Lease be terminable based upon any disagreement regarding an adjustment of Common Area Operating Expense charges. Lessee agrees that the results of any Audit shall be kept strictly confidential by Lessee and shall not be disclosed to any person or entity except for Lessee’s attorneys or accountants, if necessary.

 

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19.            Lessor’s Indemnification of Lessee. Lessor hereby indemnifies, defends and holds Lessee harmless from and against any and all claims, damages, costs, liens, judgments, penalties, reasonable attorneys’ and reasonable consultants’ fees, expenses and/or liabilities (“Losses”) actually suffered or incurred by Lessee as the sole and direct result of any negligent, willful or intentional acts or omissions of Lessor. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary set forth in this Lease, however, in all events and under all circumstances, the liability of Lessor to Lessee, whether under this Section 19 or any other provision of the Lease, shall be limited to the interest of Lessor in the Property, and Lessee agrees to look solely to Lessor’s interest in the Property for the recovery of any judgment or award against Lessor, it being intended that Lessor shall not be personally liable for any judgment or deficiency.

 

20.            Real Property Taxes and Prop 13 Reassessments. Notwithstanding the provisions of Paragraphs 10.1 and 10.2 of the Original Lease, in the event that Lessor conveys the Project after the date of this Lease and before March 31, 2019 (the “Cutoff Date”), then in the event that Real Property Taxes are increased in response to such conveyance pursuant to the terms of Proposition 13 (as adopted by the voters of the State of California in the June 1978 election) (a “Prop 13 Reassessment”), then the amount by which such Real Property Taxes are increased solely by such Prop 13 Reassessment (the “Prop 13 Reassessment Amount”) shall be deemed to be excluded from Real Property Taxes for the purpose of Tenant’s obligations under Section 10.2 of the Original Lease. Any such exclusion of the Prop 13 Reassessment Amount shall be applicable during the term of the Lease. The foregoing shall not apply to (i) any conveyance on or after the Cutoff Date, (ii) any increase in Real Property Taxes that is not attributed to a Prop 13 Reassessment, (iii) any annual inflationary increase in real estate taxes, or (iv) any change attributable to the initial assessment of the value of the Project, the base, shell and core of the Project, or any improvements to the Project.

 

21.            Counterparts. This Rider may be executed in two (2) or more counterparts, each of which shall be considered an original and all of which, when taken together, shall constitute one (1) instrument. A facsimile or PDF counterpart of this Rider shall be deemed an original for all relevant purposes.

 

[SIGNATURE PAGES TO FOLLOW]

 

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IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the Parties have executed this Rider on the date first above written.

 

  LESSOR:
   
  FIRST INDUSTRIAL FINANCING, L.P., a Delaware limited partnership
   
  By: First Industrial Finance Corporation, its General partner
   
    By:  
   
    Name:  
   
    Its:  
   
  LESSEE:
   
  SUJA LIFE, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company
   
  By: /s/ Todd Fisher
   
  Name: Todd Fisher
   
  Its: CFO

 

 

 

RIDER EXHIBIT A

 

LESSOR’S WORK

 

Lessor covenants and agrees, at Lessor’s sole cost and expense (except as set forth below to the contrary), to cause those improvements described or depicted on Schedule 1 attached hereto to be performed by the applicable Start Date for Building 1 and Building 2, as applicable; provided, however, that in the event Lessor fails to complete the Lessor’s Work by the applicable Start Date, Lessor shall have no liability to Lessee, but Lessor shall diligently continue to complete the Lessor’s Work. In the event Lessor provides Lessee with access to the Premises prior to Lessor’s completion of the Lessor’s Work, Lessee agrees that neither Lessee nor any of the Lessee Party shall interfere with the Lessor’s Work and Lessee and Lessee Parties shall cooperate and work in harmony Lessor and its agents and contractors in doing the Lessor’s Work to ensure that there are no delays in Lessor’s schedule and in order for Lessor to obtain a certificate of occupancy and complete the Electrical Power Work.

 

A-1

 

 

SCHEDULE 1

 

Exhibit A

Outline Specifications

 

FIRST Park at Ocean Ranch      OCEAN RANCH

BLVD.

OCEANSIDE, CALIFORNIA

 

(includes 100% concrete yards, ESFR fire
protection, interior painted walls and main/ multi-
meter switchgear service, excludes any TI and WH
lighting)

 

OUTLINE SHELL SPECIFICATIONS
FOR A (3) BUILDING PROJECT

August 6, 2015

Rev 6

 

237,275 SF - 26-30' Clear

 

15.8 ACRES

 

OWNER: First Industrial Financing Partnership, L.P.

 

CONTRACTOR/DEVELOPER:

 

McDONALD PROPERTY GROUP, INC.

 

Bruce McDonald
450 Newport Center Dr. Suite 625
Newport Beach, CA 92660
Phone: [***]
Fax: [***]

 

 

 

LOCATION:

Ocean Ranch Boulevard (east of Rancho Del Oro),

Oceanside, CA

APN # 160-572-19

Building Size:

Total — 237,275 SF- consisting of three (3) buildings.

Building 1- 108,413 SF (includes I - 5,000 SF - SF mezz)

Building 2- 63,262 SF

Building 3- 65,600 SF

Site: Approximately 688,248 SF or 15.8 acres. (34.0% coverage)
Building Dimensions: Building 1- 206’ deep / Buildings 2 &3 — 143’-165’ deep
Dock Wells: (47) - Dock Doors - 48” — Single Load Docks in a dock well design with (17) Grade Level doors
Offices and Baths: (12) future possible TI office Suites — NIC
Interior Clear Height: Bldg. 1 -30’ minimum clear and Bldg. 2 & 3 - 26’ minimum clear height to the underside of the bar joist from 181 column on storefront side of building
Perimeter Wall Height: As required — 34-38’ perimeter wall heights are estimated or per final design. Roof slopes one direction- no ridge line. Building 1 typical panel height is 38’1” and Buildings 2 & 3 typical panel height is 33’.
Bay Spacing: 52’ wide (east-west) x 50’ deep (north-south); 60’ wide interior staging bay
Parking: A minimum of 490 vehicle stalls or 2.0 stalls per 1000
Construction Type: Concrete tilt-up walls, steel truss hybrid roof structure with VP wood deck (Type III-B construction, non-rated).
Skylights: Three percent (3.0%) non louvered skylights.
Truck Yard: A minimum of 126’ up to 176’.
Plans:

Per Permitted Drawings — see list of plans attached Exhibit “A-1”. Ware Malcomb Permit Delta #3 set drawings dated April 30, 2015 s, Permit Grading / Storm Drain Plan prepared by K&S Engineering dated March 23, 2015, and Permit Landscape Plan by Ridge Landscape Architects dated May 26, 2015.

 

NOTE: If there are any conflicts in these Outline Specifications with the permit drawings, the permit drawings will supersede.

 

Schedule 1-2

 

 

SITE WORK: All items below in Grading will be per soils report and governing agencies
Grading:

·      Cut and Fill as necessary assume 1’ average to build semi dock high pad with dock wells. Assume balanced site. No import/ export assumed.

·      Sub grade to be re-compacted up to 5’ below slab and footings, non-expansive native material.

·      Erosion and Dust control / SWPPP to be provided.

·      Loading dock and yard areas - 100% PCC 7” thick - 2500 p.s.i concrete unreinforced in all truck trailer yard areas

Demolition / Existing Improvements: ·      None- site is level graded and all perimeter slope landscaping is installed All offsite street improvements exist including all SD, Sewer and Water laterals, and parkway landscaping including sidewalks
Auto Parking/Loading Area Paving:

·      100% concrete yard area will extend throughout all dock yard and dock drive aisle areas, will be six inches (7”) thick, 3/4” diameter x 16” long bar at 12” o.c. at all construction joints, unreinforced 4,000 psi concrete over native on recompacted on native. Saw cut 15’ o.c.

·      Asphalt paving 3”/7” AB will extend throughout all auto parking and visitor areas and 3”/8” AB throughout all auto drive areas.

·      Provide curb and gutter between all paving and landscaping.

·      Paving slope to be no greater than an average of 3.5% in the loading areas and 5% in the auto parking areas

Yard Includes:

·      One (1) new westerly drive approach w/decorative paving. Easterly driveway is existing.

·      Gutters & planter curbs and retaining wall at bio-detention basins. Retaining walls (if applicable) to be located adjacent to the basin.

·      Underground storm drain - (5) on-site detention basins located in landscape bio-detention areas per plan and/ or underground on-site SD pipe connections per plan. Bio- detention basins to contain 18.24” sand over 18”-24” gravel over perforated pipe, all with an overall liner containment. Parking lot striping and fire lanes. Eight (8) On site fire hydrants or as required. Offsite hydrants exist

·      Underground storm water storage system- approximately 350 LF of self contained 60” pipe, along with sufficient strength in the pavement section above such underground storage to allow for loading consistent for truck trailer yard uses per the soils report.

 

Schedule 1-3

 

 

FENCING:  
  ·      None.
UTILITIES:  
 

·      One (1) 6” exterior sewer lateral service with (2) clean outs per building and extended 6” sewer line under slab throughout length of building located 30’ from exterior wall- for future TI. Building 1 to have a “T” for future to dock.

·      One (1) 1.5” domestic water service with BFP per building and a 2” water line extended overhead throughout length of building for future TI

·      One (1) 2” irrigation water service with BFP to service entire site

·      One (1) 3” telephone service conduit per building

·      Per building - One (1) 3000 amp UGPS and a 1,000 amp main switchgear along with 4 separate meter sections and a 100 amp house panel switchgear services installed, 277/480 volt, 3 phase, 4 wire power service. The manufacturer will be Square D or equal.

·      Required UG Storm Drain on-site - 12”- 18”- BDPE, drain boxes, and fossil filters, and curb inlet catch basins, and five (5) separate above grade storm water storage/bio-detention areas, one UG storm water underground storage system and two (2) filter devises- all per concept grading plan.

LANDSCAPING:  
 

·      The landscaping area will meet minimum City requirements and will have automatic sprinklers and include a drought tolerant design

·      All Off-site Parkway landscaping and perimeter slope landscaping is existing

 

Schedule 1-4

 

 

FIRE PROTECTION SYSTEM:  
 

·      Fire protection system will be designed 52 psi with a low pressure ESFR system with K-25 sprinkler heads. Temperature rating of fire sprinkler heads to be 165 degrees (F).

·      A complete on-site fire protection underground system shall be provided per NFPA 24 and specific requirements of the local authorities. Base design is existing water service with no fire pumps required, complete public loop 8’ Class 150 pvc onsite, eight (8) on site fire hydrants, sectional valves, (2) 10” DDC street connection backflow back flow prevention, Fire Department connections and connections to the public water supply.

·      Office areas shall be designed for light hazard and provide with chrome semi-recessed ceiling sprinklers.

·      6”“ sprinkler Riser ( or size as required) assemblies shall include mechanical alarm valves. System control valves shall either be riser mounted with wall post extensions or exterior post indicator valves as required by the local authority. All required devices for central station alarm system interface shall be provided.

·      System Design, Material and installation shall comply with NFPA 13 and the other previous NFPA standards. It shall also comply with UBC and UFC standards. Approvals will also be obtained from the owner’s insurance authority.

·      Excludes in-rack sprinklers and fire hose cabinets on roof

·      Fire Alarm System and Monitoring included

·      Excludes fire access road.

DOORS:  
 

·      Forty-seven (47) 9.0’ X 10.0’ truck doors with vertical lift, sectional door (shipping/receiving), each with 8” X 16” vision light, 24 gauge.

·      Seventeen (17) 12’ X 14’ drive in dock doors vertical lift, standard grade with 8” X 16” vision light, 24 gauge.

·      All dock and ramp doors non-motorized

·      Provide two (2) concrete filled bollards at interior and exterior of drive- in grade level door locations and “Z” guards at all 47 dock door jamb locations

·      One pair of dock bumpers at each truck door, shop assembled, fabric reinforced rubber pads.

·      Code required hollow metal exterior legal exit man doors, along with weather strip caulking around doorjamb and bottom and an above door metal drip system.

·      All dock equipment is excluded.

Schedule 1-5

 

 

GLASS AND GLAZING/ ARCHITECTURAL FEATURE:
 

·      Storefront and windows at office areas per City approved elevation plans referenced herein. Single pane clear glazed glass storefront to meet 2013 Energy code, high performance, and rear set hung.

·      Main Suite entries / exterior design per approved City plan

SKYLIGHTS:  
  ·      Three percent (3.0%) standard, non-louvered, curb mounted skylights.. Design of skylight to be per local jurisdiction code.
ROOF STRUCTURE:  
 

·      52’ X 50’ bay spacing (60’ staging bay)

·      Panelized hybrid system

·      Open web steel truss purlin and girder beams (gray primer)

·      1/2” minimum O.S.B. wood sheathing throughout

·      Roof Structure base roof is 12 lb load design and to meet all 2014 applicable codes for earthquake, wind and loads, and accommodate fire sprinkler loads and future office roof top HVAC unit loads. Also, roof structure over office areas ( 20% of total roof area-1st Bay) to meet load requirements for solar mandate which is 18 lbs psf.

ROOFING:  
 

·      Class “A”, 4-ply asphaltic built up roof system

·      Conglass or JM or equal, installed per manufacturer’s specifications (or equivalent).

·      Reglect flashing where required.

·      10 Year NDL

Schedule 1-6

 

 

ROOF DRAINAGE:  
 

·      The roof will drain in one direction slope and exit through interior ABS pipe downspouts, with overflow scuppers located away from office area entries terminating through the curb or directly connecting to site storm drain per conceptual grading plan.

·      Roof will slope in one direction from high point at dock line

 

(low parapet height) and low point at storefronts ( higher parapet)

FLOOR SLAB: All items below will be per soils report and governing agencies
Warehouse Slab:  
 

·      Minimum of 6” thick 4,000 psi reinforced concrete with #3 @ 18” o.c.e.w. at structural bays only. In addition, 3/4” dowel basket reinforcement at all construction and control joints.

·      Saw cut slab at three (3) times thickness of slab in feet O.C.E.W. maximum, centered between construction joints.

·      Flat slab design (no slope).

Sub grade:  
  ·      To be recompacted, non-expansive native material. The compaction will be 95% for the top 12” of the pad.
Curing:  
  ·      To be a minimum of seven (7) days of wet cure with burleen blankets or chemical cure is acceptable.
Joints:  
  ·      Caulking of floor joints is excluded.

Schedule 1-7

 

 

Vapor Barrier:  
  ·      Vapor barrier and will be provided at the office areas only.
Finish:  
  ·      Burnish hard machine finish to meet or exceed FF 50 FL 35.
Sealer:  
  ·      Lapidolith Seal applied 100% to concrete floor area -1 coat.
FOUNDATION and EXTERIOR TILT WALLS:
 

·      To be reinforced minimum 3,000 minimum psi concrete continuous footings.

·      Wall panels to be 10” thick typical (Building 1) and 9 V.” thick typical (Building 2 & 3) and all 4000 psi maximum or per structural engineers recommendations

·      All Buildings to have one (1) - 9.5” thick concrete shear wall or as required by structural engineer Building 1 shear wall is 2 bays and buildings 2 and 3 shear wall is 1 bay.

·      Dock well walls- exterior yard retaining low concrete walls as required

·      (1) - 5,000 SF mezzanine with gyperete floor topping plus 2 finished stairwells located in the NWC Building 1,

·      All interior and exterior panel joints ( slab on grade MC) to be fully caulked.

INSULATION:
Warehouse Insulation:
  ·      None
BATTERY CHARGE AREA:
  ·      Excluded. In future TI package

Schedule 1-8

 

 

PAINTING:
 

·      The exterior concrete walls will have one (1) coat of primer and one (1) finish coat of acrylic paint.

·      The interior concrete walls will have one (1) coat of paint.

·      The interior’s structural columns will have white paint and yellow paint first 8’.

·      All bollards painted

ELECTRICAL:
 

·      Per building - One (1) 3000 amp UGPS and a 1,000 amp main switchgear along with 4 separate meter sections and a 100 amp house panel switchgear services installed, 277/480 volt, 3 phase, 4 wire power service. The manufacturer will be Square D or equal.

·      Yard and Site lighting: satisfactory parapet lights, pole lights, and soffit lights all at one (1) foot candle average.

·      Warehouse Lighting is not included throughout at 20 FC, T-5 fixtures at general warehouse layout- separate circuits per future suite design installed to coincide with anticipated demising walls- NIC

·      Per building, provide a finished interior electrical room for electrical panels and switch gear per plan.

·      Provide emergency exit lights as required by code.

·      All exterior lighting and warehouse lighting shall meet the requirements of the new 2013 Energy Code with sensors etc.

HVAC/PLUMBING:
Warehouse:  
  ·      Air exchange minimum to code established mechanical roof with louvers on dock wall. 4” under slab sewer entire length of each building located 30’ off the face of wall to serve future TI with invert designs to be capable for gravity flow for interior slab sewer to future extend to all corners of each building.
TENANT IMPROVEMENTS:
  ·      None at this time.

Schedule 1-9

 

 

SIGNAGE:
 

·      Per building- Building address signs at elevation corners only.

·      I monument sign with electrical conduit rough - allowance $ 5,000

OFFSITE IMPROVEMENTS:
 

·      None - Parkway landscape and sidewalk exist along the entire street perimeter,

·      (1) one new street driveway per plan. East common driveway exists.

·      Water and Sewer laterals exist into site, require extension into each building.

CONSULTANTS:
Architectural -     Ware Malcomb Architects, Inc.
Structural -     Miyamoto International
Civil -     K & S Engineering
Landscape -     Ridge Landscape Architects
Fire Protection -     Shambaugh and Sons (Allan Automatic)
Soils -     NorCal
General Contractor -     Fulfiller Construction
MPE -     RPM

Schedule 1-10

 

 

EXHIBIT “A-1”

 

FIRST PARK @ OCEAN RANCH
3841, 3831, 3821 OCEAN RANCH BLVD, OCEANSIDE

 

SCHEDULE OF DRAWINGS - PERMIT SET

 

Architectural Sheets by Ware Malcomb
Page # Sheet Name
A0.1 Title Sheet
A0.2 General Notes& Door Schedule
A0.3 Accessibility Details
A0.4 Cal Green Requirements
A0.4a Cal Green Requirements
Al.! Site Plan
A2.1 First/Mezzanine Floor Plan — Building 1
A2.2 Floor Plan — Building 2
A2.3 Floor Plan—Building 3
A3.1 Roof Plan — Building 1
A3.2 Roof Plan — Building 2
A3.3 Roof Plan — Building 3
A4.1 Exterior Elevations — Building 1
A4.2 Exterior Elevations — Building 2
A4.3 Exterior Elevations — Building 3
A4,4 Typical Exterior Painting Scheme
A5.1 Building Sections
A6.1 Enlarged Elevation/Wall Sections
A6.2 Wall Sections
A6.3 Enlarged Elevation/Wall Sites
A6.4 Wall Sections
A6.5 Partial Floor Plan& Stair Sections
A8.1 Details
A8.2 Details
A8.3 Details
A8.4 Details
A8.3 Details
A8,6 Wall Details
   
Structural Sheets by Miyamoto International
Page # Sheet Name
S1.1 General Notes
S1.2 General Notes
52,1 Foundation Plan — Building 1
S2.2A Foundation Plan— Building 2
S2.2B Foundation Plan — Building 2
S2.3A Foundation Plan — Building 3
S2.3B Foundation Plan — Building 3

 

Schedule 1-11

 

 

S3.1 Mezzanine Framing Plan — Building 1
S3.2A Roof Framing Plan — Building 2
53.2B Roof Framing Plan — Building 2
53.3A Roof Framing Plan — Building 3
53.3B Roof Framing Plan — Building 3
S4.1 Roof Framing Plan — Building 1
WP1 Typical Wall Panels Details
WP1.1 Wall Panel Elevations — Building 1
WP1.2 Wall Panel Elevations — Building 1
WP1.3 Wall Panel Elevations — Building 1
WP 1.4 Wall Panel Elevations — Building 1
WP 1.5 Wall Panel Elevations — Building 1
WP2.1 Wall Panel Elevations — Building 2
WP2.2 Wall Panel Elevations — Building 2
WP2.3 Wall Panel Elevations — Building 2
WP2.4 Wall Panel Elevations — Building 2
WP2.5 Wall Panel Elevations — Building 2
WP3.1 Wall Panel Elevations — Building 3
WP3.2 Wall Panel Elevations — Building 3
WP3.3 Wall Panel Elevations — Building 3
WP3 .4 Wall Panel Elevations — Building 3
WP3 .5 Wall Panel Elevations — Building 3
SDI Typical Concrete Details
SD2 Typical Foundation Details
5D3 Typical Framing Details
SD4 Typical Framing Details
SD5 Typical Framing Details
5136  Typical Framing Details
SD7 Typical Framing Details
   

Plumbing sheets by RPM Engineers 

Page # Sheet Name
P-1 Plumbing Notes, Details, Schedules& Specifications
P-1.1 Plumbing Site Plan — Building 1
P-1.2 Plumbing Roof Plan — Building 1
P-2.1 Plumbing Site Plan — Building 2
P-2.2 Plumbing Roof Plan — Building 2
P-3.1 Plumbing Site Plan — Building 3
P-3.2 Plumbing Roof Plan — Building3
   

Electrical sheets by RPM Engineers 

Page # Sheet Name
E-0.1 Electrical Symbol List, Fixture Schedule
E-0.2 Overall Electrical Site Plan
E-0.3 Overall Site Photometric Plan
E-1.1 Electrical Site Plan — Building 1
E-1.2 Building 1- Single Line

 

Schedule 1-12

 

 

E-1.3 Building 1— Indoor Title 24 Forms
E-1.4 Building 1 — Outdoor Title 24 Forma\s
E-2.1 Building 2 — Electrical Site Plan
E-2.2 Building 2 Single Line Diagram
E-2.3 Building 2 — Indoor Title 24 Forms
E-2.4 Building 2 — Outdoor Title 24 Forma\s
E-3.1 Electrical Site Plan — Building 3
E-3.2 Building 3 — Single Line Diagram
E-3.3 Building 3 — Indoor Title 24 Forms
E-3.4 Building 3 — Outdoor Title 24 Forma\s
   

Mechanical sheets by RPM Engineers 

Page # Sheet Name
M1 HVAC Schedules, Details, Notes, and Specs
M2.1 HVAC Plan
M2.2 HVAC Plan
M2.3 HVAC Plan

 

Schedule 1-13

 

 

EXHIBIT “B”

 

Site Plan

 

 

 

B-1

 

 

EXHIBIT C

 

LESSEE’S OPERATION FORM

 

LEASE EXHIBIT C

 

TENANT OPERATIONS INQUIRY FORM

 

1.Name of Company/Contact  

 

2.Address/Phone  

 

 

 

3.Provide a brief description of your business and operations:  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

4.Will you be required to make filings and notices or obtain permits as required by Federal and/or State regulations for the operations at the proposed facility? Specifically:

 

  a.

SARA Title III Section 312 (Tier II) reports (> 10,0001bs. of hazardous materials STORED at any one time)

YES NO
  b. SARA Title III Section 313 (Tier HI) Form R reports (> 10,0001bs, of hazardous materials USED per year) YES NO
  c. NPDES or SPDES Stormwater Discharge permit (answer “No” if “No-Exposure Certification” filed) YES NO
  d. EPA Hazardous Waste Generator ID Number YES NO

 

C-1

 

 

5.Provide a list of chemicals and wastes that will be used and/or generated at the proposed location.

 

Chemical/Waste

Approximate Annual

Quality Used or
Generated

Storage Container(s)

(i.e. Drums, Cartons,
Totes, Bags, ASTs,
USTs, etc)

     
     
     
     
     
     

 

C-2

 

 

EXHIBIT D

 

CONTRACT SHEET

 

EXHIBIT D

 

Please take the time to update the contact list below and fax to [***] or email to [***] Even If there aren’t any changes, please update and return, In case we don’t have your Information on file

 

Prop #/Lease # 13148/13149/  
Tenant Name     
Property Address    

 

Accounting contact: Emergency contact #1: (required for afterhours emergencies)
   
Name Name
Title Title
Address Address
Address Address
City, State, Zip City, State, Zip
Business Phone Business Phone
Business Fax Business Fax
Cell Phone Cell Phone
Email address Email address
   
Marketing contact: Emergency contact #2:
   
Name Name
Title Title
Address Address
Address Address
City, State, Zip City, State, Zip
Business Phone Business Phone
Business Fax Business Fax
Cell Phone Cell Phone
Email address Email address
   
Survey contact: Office contact:
   
Name Name
Title Title
Address Address
Address Address
City, State, Zip City, State, Zip
Business Phone Business Phone
Business Fax Business Fax
Cell Phone Cell Phone
Email address Email address

 

D-1

 

 

Exhibit 10.17

 

SECOND AMENDMENT TO STANDARD INDUSTRIAL/COMMERCIAL

MULTI-TENANT LEASE-NET

 

THIS SECOND AMENDMENT (“Amendment”) to Lease Agreement is dated May 23, 2022, by and between FIRST INDUSTRIAL FINANCING PARTNERSHIP, L.P., a Delaware limited partnership (“Lessor”), and SUJA LIFE, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company (“Lessee”).

 

RECITALS

 

WHEREAS Lessor and Lessee entered into a certain Standard Industrial/Commercial Multi-Tenant Lease-Net dated September 14, 2015 (“Original Lease”), as amended by that certain First Amendment dated November 3, 2015 (“First Amendment”) (collectively "Lease"), whereby Lessor leased to Lessee, and Lessee accepted and leased from Lessor, that approximately 171,676 square feet of warehouse and office space comprised of 108,414 square feet at 3841 Ocean Ranch Boulevard and 63,262 square feet at 3831 Ocean Ranch Boulevard located in the City of Oceanside CA, 92056 ("Original Premises"); and

 

WHEREAS, the Lessee wishes to lease additional space in a building located on the Property and, in conjunction therewith, extend the term of the Lease, all on the same terms and conditions as stated in the Lease, except as otherwise provided in this Amendment.

 

WITNESSETH

 

NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the foregoing Recitals and the mutual covenants herein contained, Lessor and Lessee hereby agree as follows:

 

1.Recitals. The recitals set forth above are incorporated herein by this reference with the same force and effect as if fully set forth hereinafter.

 

2.Capitalized Terms. Capitalized terms not otherwise defined herein shall have the meaning ascribed to them in the Lease.

 

3.Expansion of Premises. From and after January 1, 2023 (the “Expansion Date”), the Original Premises shall be expanded to include that certain 65,600 rentable square feet, as depicted on Exhibit “A” attached hereto and incorporated herein by this reference, known as 3821 Ocean Ranch Boulevard in the Property (“Expansion Space”) (the Original Premises and Expansion Space are collectively “Premises”) such that the Premises shall be comprised of 237,276 rentable square feet (“Building”), in the aggregate. From and after the Expansion Date, Lessee’s Share shall be 100% and any references in the Lease to the Premises shall be deemed to mean the aggregate of the Original Premises and the Expansion Space. The Term of the Expansion Space shall be coterminous with the Term of the Original Premises, as extended herein.

 

4.Term. The Term of the Lease for the Original Premises is hereby extended, commencing on January 1, 2023 (“Extended Term Commencement Date”) and expiring on May 31, 2033 (such period, the “Extended Term”). During the Extended Term, all of the conditions set forth in the Lease shall remain in full force and effect, except as expressly modified by, or inconsistent with, the terms of this Amendment. All references in the Lease to the Term, except for any reference in relation to a renewal option, shall be deemed to also mean the Extended Term, as applicable, and all references in the Lease to the Expiration Date shall be deemed to mean the date on which the Extended Term expires.

 

5.Base Rent. Lessee acknowledges that Lessee shall continue to pay the Base Rent for the Original Premises per the terms and conditions of the Lease through December 31, 2022 and starting January 1, 2023 and continuing for the remainder of the Term, as extended by the Extended Term, the Base Rent for the Original Premises and the Expansion Space shall be as set forth below (and the Base Rent set forth in the Original Lease as amended by the First Amendment shall be of no further effect):

 

-1- 

 

 

Base Rent Payments for Original Premises and Expansion Space

 

Lease Period Monthly Base Rent Base Rent Net of Abated
    Rent (If Applicable) *
1/1/2023 – 1/31/2023 $253,885.32 N/A
2/1/2023 – 6/30/2023 $253,885.32 $0.00
7/1/2023 – 12/31/2023 $253,885.32 N/A
1/1/2024 – 12/31/2024 $262,771.31 N/A
1/1/2025 – 12/31/2025 $271,968.30 N/A
1/1/2026 – 12/31/2026 $281,487.19 N/A
1/1/2027 – 12/31/2027 $291,339.24 N/A
1/1/2028 – 12/31/2028 $301,536.12 N/A
1/1/2029 – 12/31/2029 $312,089.88 N/A
1/1/2030 – 12/31/2030 $323,013.03 N/A
1/1/2031 – 12/31/2031 $334,318.48 N/A
1/1/2032 – 12/31/2032 $346,019.63 N/A
1/1/2033 – 5/31/2033 $358,130.32 N/A

 

Monthly installments of Base Rent shall be conditionally abated as follows. Base Rent shall be abated 100% from February 1, 2023 through June 30, 2023, such that Base Rent shall be $0.00 per month, subject to all terms of this Section 5 of this Amendment. All other sums due under the Lease, including Rent, shall not be abated and shall be payable as provided in the Lease. The abatement of Base Rent as set forth in this Amendment is conditioned upon Lessee's full and timely performance of all of its obligations under the Lease.

 

6.Cap on Common Area Operating Expenses. Commencing on the Extended Term Commencement Date, the cap on Common Area Operating Expenses referenced in Section 3 of the Rider of the Original Lease shall be deleted.

 

-2- 

 

 

7.Security Deposit and Letter of Credit. Lessor is currently holding $137,240.89 in cash as Security Deposit on Original Premises. Contemporaneously with the execution of this Lease, Lessee shall deliver to Lessor a letter of credit in form substantially similar to the form attached hereto as Exhibit “C” in the amount of $720,000.00 (“L/C”). The L/C shall be issued by a national U.S. banking institution (the “Issuer”) reasonably acceptable to Lessor. Lessee specifically acknowledges and agrees the L/C shall provide, inter alia, as follows: (i) the L/C shall be automatically renewing for the duration of the Term plus the subsequent 2 months with a minimum of 3 months’ prior written notice from L/C Bank to Lessor to exercise an early termination right by L/C Bank; (ii) the L/C shall be fully transferrable to any successor or assignee of Lessor at no cost to Lessor and no cost to any such successor or assignee of Lessor; (iii) any draw or transfer of the L/C shall be permitted by facsimile or nationally recognized courier service to L/C Bank and shall not require a representative of Lessor to be present at such presentation or delivery to L/C Bank; (iv) any draws or transfers of the L/C shall only require signature by an authorized representative of Lessor as notarized by a notary public in the state in which Lessor’s authorized representative is located at the time of such signature, and Lessor shall provide a certificate that such representative is authorized to make such draw or transfer demand certified by the Secretary of Lessor or Lessor’s parent (or such Secretary’s designee or any general partner or member of Lessor); and (v) in no event shall any draw or transfer demand require a signature authentication of Lessor’s signatory by Lessor’s bank or any other authenticating organization (other than a public notary as provided in subsection (iv) above). Notwithstanding the foregoing requirements with respect to the L/C, any fee required to be paid in connection with any transfer of the L/C by Lessor to any successor or assignee shall be paid by Lessee within 30 days after receipt of invoice from Lessor. Lessor may deliver the L/C to any lender with a mortgage lien encumbering the Property or to any Successor Lessor, and thereupon, Lessor shall be discharged from any further liability with respect to the L/C. In the event Lessee acknowledges and agrees that the L/C shall constitute an independent contract between the L/C Bank and Lessor, and the proceeds of any draws by Lessor under the L/C shall not constitute property of Lessee as debtor in any bankruptcy proceeding. The proceeds of the L/C shall be held or applied by Lessor in its sole discretion, and the receipt by Lessor of proceeds of the L/C under one or more draws hereunder shall not relieve Lessee of any obligations to make installment or other payments of Rent under this Lease, or otherwise discharge or release or relieve Lessee of compliance or performance of any terms and conditions under this Lease. The delivery of the L/C and/or exercise by Lessor of its rights under such L/C shall not constitute liquidated damages or otherwise release, waive, or estop Lessor from asserting any and all claims, or exercising any and all rights and remedies Lessor has or may have with the passage of time under this Lease and applicable Law. The L/C shall expressly provide that Lessor (and/or its successors and assigns) is entitled to make one or more draws from time to time under the L/C, in whole or in part, and Lessor shall have such right under this Lease, upon delivery of a written statement to the issuer of the L/C that one or more of the following events has occurred: (A) Lessee has failed to comply with or perform under any of the terms and conditions of this Lease; (B) a petition has been filed by or against Lessee commencing a case under Title 11 of the United States Code or other state or federal bankruptcy or insolvency laws, as amended or reenacted with the passage of time; (C) Lessee has failed to provide a replacement L/C, in form and substance acceptable to Lessor, at least 60 days prior to the expiration of the existing L/C; or (D) Lessee has failed to cause the delivery to Lessor of an amendment to the L/C, in form and substance acceptable to Lessor, extending the L/C for the duration of the Term plus the subsequent 2 months. Lessee shall procure the issuance of a replacement or amended L/C in the L/C Amount concurrently with any assignment of this Lease by Lessee, or the vesting of this Lease in Lessee as a reorganized debtor or other successor emerging from bankruptcy, so as to assure the continued ability of Lessor to draw under the L/C as contemplated herein. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this Lease, it shall be an automatic Default if at any time during the Term there is no valid L/C. The use of the L/C by Lessor shall not prevent Lessor from exercising any other remedy provided by this Lease or by law and shall not operate as either liquidated damages or as a limitation on any recovery to which Lessor may otherwise be entitled. Lessor shall return the L/C to the issuer thereof within 60 days after the Surrender Date, Lessee’s surrender of possession of the Premises to Lessor in the condition required under this Lease, and Lessee’s payment of all outstanding Rent. If the L/C is drawn on by Lessor, Lessee shall, within 10 days after the written demand therefor is made by Lessor, restore the L/C to the L/C Amount. If Lessor has reason to believe that the L/C Bank or any successor to such institution, including the FDIC, would not fully honor such L/C, Lessor may require Lessee to replace the L/C with a new L/C issued by a new L/C Bank within 5 business days after receipt of a written request from Lessor to replace the L/C. Lessee’s failure to do so timely shall, notwithstanding anything else in this Lease to the contrary, constitute a Default for which there shall be no notice or grace or cure periods being applicable thereto other than such 5 business-day period. For purposes herein, the “L/C Bank” means a bank or financial institution: (a) the deposits of which are insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation; (b) whose long-term, unsecured and unsubordinated debt obligations are rated in the highest category by at least 2 of Fitch Ratings Ltd., Moody’s Investors Service, Inc. and an A rating with Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services or their respective successors (“Rating Agencies”); (c) which has a short term deposit rating in the highest category from at least 2 Rating Agencies; (d) which has offices that accept deliveries by facsimile or nationally recognized courier service; and (e) is otherwise acceptable to Lessor in Lessor’s sole discretion and continues to be acceptable to Lessor for the duration of the Term plus the subsequent 2 months. “Surrender Date” means the Expiration Date or any earlier date on which the Lease is terminated.

 

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8.Roof Rights. At Lessee’s sole cost and expense and provided there is no Default, Lessee (but not any sublessee) shall have nonexclusive access to the roof of the Building, in designated areas mutually agreed upon, in advance, by Lessor and Lessee, for the purpose of installation of a solar panels, air compressors, a backup generator and vacuum pumps and/or supplemental HVAC equipment (collectively, the “Roof Equipment”) provided: (i) the Roof Equipment does not affect, impact or negate Lessor’s roof warranty; (ii) the Roof Equipment (and the installation thereof) complies with all applicable Laws; (iii) Lessee obtains Lessor’s prior written consent thereto, including without limitation approval of (a) the placement of the Roof Equipment, (b) any roof penetrations, (c) an elevation or representational drawing of what the Roof Equipment will look like when mounted to the roof of the Building, (d) representations as to the roof load; and (e) a specific scope of work from Lessee’s contractor; (v) Lessee removes the Roof Equipment and restores the roof to its original condition (in Lessor’s reasonable determination) prior to the Surrender Date, but by no means be required to replace or recoat the entire roof. If Lessor determines it to be reasonably necessary, Lessor shall have the right to require, at Lessee’s expense, any of: (i) that a structural engineering report be prepared prior to Lessor’s approval of any proposed Roof Equipment and scope of work; (ii) that Lessor’s roof warranty provider review the Roof Equipment and Lessee’s scope of work; and/or (iii) Lessor’s roofing consultant review the Roof Equipment and Lessee’s scope of work. At Lessor’s request, if not then adequately screened, Lessee shall, at Lessee’s expense, screen the Roof Equipment on all sides, which screening shall be subject to Lessor’s prior reasonable approval including, without limitation, the materials and appearance of the screening. The Roof Equipment is deemed Lessee’s Property and shall be for the sole benefit of Lessee, relate specifically to Lessee’s use of the Premises, and not be used as a switching station, amplification station, or by other lessees or third parties. Lessee is solely responsible for all costs associated with the installation, maintenance, and removal of the Roof Equipment. Lessee shall make a request for approval of the Roof Equipment by submission of specific plans and specifications for the work to be performed. Lessor shall respond in writing within 15 business days after receipt of the same, advising Lessee of approved contractors and those portions of the work that are acceptable and disapproving those portions of the work that are, in Lessor’s reasonable judgment, unacceptable and with respect to the plans, detailing the nature of Lessor’s objection. Lessee shall be solely responsible for all damages caused by the Roof Equipment, the removal of the Roof Equipment, and the restoration of the roof prior to the Surrender Date, unless directed in writing by Lessor otherwise. Lessor shall be named as an additional insured on all Lessee insurance relating to the Roof Equipment. All installation, repair, replacement, and modification of the Roof Equipment shall be coordinated with Lessor, use only contractors approved in writing by Lessor, and be in accordance with all applicable Laws and the rules and regulations set forth in the Lease. If Lessee exercises its option under this subsection, upon Lessor’s request Lessee shall execute Lessor’s customary roof equipment license agreement. The provisions of this Section shall survive the Surrender Date.

 

9.Contingency. This Amendment is contingent (“Leasing Contingency”) upon Brixton (“Other Tenant”) not exercising its option to renew in the Expansion Premises. If the Leasing Contingency is not satisfied by August 1, 2022 (“Outside Date”), Lessor shall provide written notice on or before the Outside Date, as to whether the Leasing Contingency has been satisfied and such notice shall be sufficient for establishing whether the forgoing contingency has been satisfied. In the event that Lessor advises Lessee that the Leasing Contingency has not been satisfied, then this Amendment shall terminate and be of no further force and effect as of the date of Lessee’s receipt of Lessor’s notice.

 

10.Condition of Premises. Lessee acknowledges that Lessee currently occupies the Premises pursuant to the Lease and is familiar with the condition of both the Premises and the Property, and, Lessee hereby accepts the Expansion Space during the Extended Term on a completely “AS-IS,” “WHERE-IS” basis. Lessee shall cause to be completed the Lessee’s Improvements set forth in Exhibit “B” attached hereto. Lessee acknowledges that neither Lessor, nor any representative of Lessor, has made any representation as to the condition of the Premises for Lessee’s intended use. Lessee represents and warrants that Lessee has made its own inspection of the Expansion Space prior to the Expansion Date. Lessor shall not be obligated to make any repairs, replacements or improvements (whether structural or otherwise) of any kind or nature to the Premises in connection with, or in consideration of, this Amendment, except if and as specifically set forth in this Amendment.

 

11.Renewal Options. The two Renewal Options in Section 8 of the Rider of the Original Lease remain in full force and effect and shall also apply to the Expansion Premises.

 

12.Broker. Lessee covenants, warrants and represents that Jones Lang LaSalle, Brokerage Inc. was the only broker/consultant to represent Lessee in the negotiation of this Amendment. Each party agrees to and hereby does defend, indemnify and hold the other harmless against and from any brokerage commissions or finder’s fees or claims therefore by a party claiming to have dealt with the indemnifying party and all costs, expenses and liabilities in connection therewith, including, without limitation, reasonable attorneys’ fees and expenses, for any breach of the foregoing. The foregoing indemnification shall survive the termination or expiration of the Lease.

 

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13.Counterparts, Electronic Signature, Facsimile, PDF. This Amendment may be executed in any number of identical counterparts, all of which, when taken together, shall constitute the same instrument. The parties acknowledge and consent to be bound by electronic signatures, including signatures of any required witness. A facsimile or .pdf copy of this Amendment shall be deemed an original for all relevant purposes.

 

14.Ratification. Except as modified by this Amendment, the Lease shall remain otherwise unmodified and in full force and effect and the parties ratify and confirm the terms of the Lease as modified by this Amendment. The Lease (as amended hereby) contains the entire agreement between Lessor and Lessee as to the Premises, and there are no other agreements, oral or written, between Lessor and Lessee relating to the Premises.

 

15.Conflict. Except as amended hereby, the Lease shall be and remain in full force and effect. In the event of any conflict between the terms of the Lease and the terms of this Amendment, the terms of this Amendment shall control.

 

16.Lessee Operations Inquiry. Lessee has made certain disclosures in Exhibit “C” of the Original Lease with respect to Lessee’s Operations Inquiry Form and Hazardous Substance (collectively, “Disclosures”). Lessee represents and warrants that as of the date of this Amendment, Lessee has no modifications, changes, or additions to the Disclosures and that such Disclosures remain true, correct and complete in all material respects. Lessee shall indemnify, defend and hold harmless Lessor for any breach of the foregoing representation and warranty.

 

17.Required Accessibility Disclosure. Lessor hereby advises Lessee that the Project has not undergone an inspection by a certified access specialist, and except to the extent expressly set forth in this Lease, Lessor shall have no liability or responsibility to make any repairs or modifications to the Premises or the Project in order to comply with accessibility standards. The following disclosure is hereby made pursuant to applicable California law:

 

“A Certified Access Specialist (CASp) can inspect the subject premises and determine whether the subject premises comply with all of the applicable construction-related accessibility standards under state law. Although state law does not require a CASp inspection of the subject premises, the commercial property owner or lessor may not prohibit the lessee or tenant from obtaining a CASp inspection of the subject premises for the occupancy or potential occupancy of the lessee or tenant, if requested by the lessee or tenant. The parties shall mutually agree on the arrangements for the time and manner of the CASp inspection, the payment of the fee for the CASp inspection, and the cost of making any repairs necessary to correct violations of construction-related accessibility standards within the premises.”

 

Notwithstanding the foregoing, should Lessee desire to obtain a CASp inspection, such inspection shall be performed at Lessee’s sole cost and expense, and Lessee, at Lessee’s sole cost and expense, shall be responsible to complete any repairs and correct any issues identified in such report

 

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18.JUDICIAL REFERENCE. THE PARTIES HEREBY WAIVE, TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, THE RIGHT TO TRIAL BY JURY IN ANY LITIGATION ARISING OUT OF OR RELATING TO THE LEASE, AS MAY BE AMENDED FROM TIME TO TIME. IF THE JURY WAIVER PROVISIONS OF THE LEASE ARE NOT ENFORCEABLE UNDER CALIFORNIA LAW, THEN THE FOLLOWING PROVISIONS SHALL APPLY: IT IS THE DESIRE AND INTENTION OF THE PARTIES TO AGREE UPON A MECHANISM AND PROCEDURE UNDER WHICH CONTROVERSIES AND DISPUTES ARISING OUT OF THE LEASE (AS AMENDED) OR RELATED TO THE PREMISES WILL BE RESOLVED IN A PROMPT AND EXPEDITIOUS MANNER. ACCORDINGLY, EXCEPT WITH RESPECT TO ACTIONS FOR UNLAWFUL OR FORCIBLE DETAINER OR WITH RESPECT TO THE PREJUDGMENT REMEDY OF ATTACHMENT, ANY ACTION, PROCEEDING OR COUNTERCLAIM BROUGHT BY EITHER PARTY HERETO AGAINST THE OTHER (AND/OR AGAINST ITS OFFICERS, DIRECTORS, EMPLOYEES, AGENTS OR SUBSIDIARIES OR AFFILIATED ENTITIES) ON ANY MATTERS WHATSOEVER ARISING OUT OF OR IN ANY WAY CONNECTED WITH THE LEASE (AS MAY BE AMENDED), TENANT'S USE OR OCCUPANCY OF THE PREMISES AND/OR ANY CLAIM OF INJURY OR DAMAGE, WHETHER SOUNDING IN CONTRACT, TORT, OR OTHERWISE, SHALL BE HEARD AND RESOLVED BY A REFEREE UNDER THE PROVISIONS OF THE CALIFORNIA CODE OF CIVIL PROCEDURE, SECTIONS 638 — 645.1, INCLUSIVE (AS SAME MAY BE AMENDED, OR ANY SUCCESSOR STATUTE(S) THERETO) (THE “REFEREE SECTIONS”). ANY FEE TO INITIATE THE JUDICIAL REFERENCE PROCEEDINGS AND ALL FEES CHARGED AND COSTS INCURRED BY THE REFEREE SHALL BE PAID BY THE PARTY INITIATING SUCH PROCEDURE (EXCEPT THAT IF A REPORTER IS REQUESTED BY EITHER PARTY, THEN A REPORTER SHALL BE PRESENT AT ALL PROCEEDINGS WHERE REQUESTED AND THE FEES OF SUCH REPORTER – EXCEPT FOR COPIES ORDERED BY THE OTHER PARTIES – SHALL BE BORNE BY THE PARTY REQUESTING THE REPORTER); PROVIDED HOWEVER, THAT ALLOCATION OF THE COSTS AND FEES, INCLUDING ANY INITIATION FEE, OF SUCH PROCEEDING SHALL BE ULTIMATELY DETERMINED IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF THE LEASE (LEGAL COSTS). THE VENUE OF THE PROCEEDINGS SHALL BE IN THE COUNTY IN WHICH THE PREMISES ARE LOCATED. WITHIN TEN (10) DAYS OF RECEIPT BY ANY PARTY OF A WRITTEN REQUEST TO RESOLVE ANY DISPUTE OR CONTROVERSY PURSUANT TO THIS, THE PARTIES SHALL AGREE UPON A SINGLE REFEREE WHO SHALL TRY ALL ISSUES, WHETHER OF FACT OR LAW, AND REPORT A FINDING AND JUDGMENT ON SUCH ISSUES AS REQUIRED BY THE REFEREE SECTIONS. IF THE PARTIES ARE UNABLE TO AGREE UPON A REFEREE WITHIN SUCH TEN (10) DAY PERIOD, THEN ANY PARTY MAY THEREAFTER FILE A LAWSUIT IN THE COUNTY IN WHICH THE PREMISES ARE LOCATED FOR THE PURPOSE OF APPOINTMENT OF A REFEREE UNDER THE REFEREE SECTIONS. IF THE REFEREE IS APPOINTED BY THE COURT, THE REFEREE SHALL BE A NEUTRAL AND IMPARTIAL RETIRED JUDGE WITH SUBSTANTIAL EXPERIENCE IN THE RELEVANT MATTERS TO BE DETERMINED, FROM SIGNATURE RESOLUTION, JAMS, JUDICATE WEST, THE AMERICAN ARBITRATION ASSOCIATION OR SIMILAR MEDIATION/ARBITRATION ENTITY. THE PROPOSED REFEREE MAY BE CHALLENGED BY ANY PARTY FOR ANY OF THE GROUNDS LISTED IN THE REFEREE SECTIONS. THE REFEREE SHALL HAVE THE POWER TO DECIDE ALL ISSUES OF FACT AND LAW AND REPORT HIS OR HER DECISION ON SUCH ISSUES, AND TO ISSUE ALL RECOGNIZED REMEDIES AVAILABLE AT LAW OR IN EQUITY FOR ANY CAUSE OF ACTION THAT IS BEFORE THE REFEREE, INCLUDING AN AWARD OF ATTORNEYS' FEES AND COSTS IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE LEASE (AS AMENDED). THE REFEREE SHALL NOT, HOWEVER, HAVE THE POWER TO AWARD PUNITIVE DAMAGES, NOR ANY OTHER DAMAGES WHICH ARE NOT PERMITTED BY THE EXPRESS PROVISIONS OF THIS LEASE, AND THE PARTIES HEREBY WAIVE ANY RIGHT TO RECOVER ANY SUCH DAMAGES. THE PARTIES SHALL BE ENTITLED TO CONDUCT ALL DISCOVERY AS PROVIDED IN THE CALIFORNIA CODE OF CIVIL PROCEDURE, AND THE REFEREE SHALL OVERSEE DISCOVERY AND MAY ENFORCE ALL DISCOVERY ORDERS IN THE SAME MANNER AS ANY TRIAL COURT JUDGE, WITH RIGHTS TO REGULATE DISCOVERY AND TO ISSUE AND ENFORCE SUBPOENAS, PROTECTIVE ORDERS AND OTHER LIMITATIONS ON DISCOVERY AVAILABLE UNDER CALIFORNIA LAW. THE REFERENCE PROCEEDING SHALL BE CONDUCTED IN ACCORDANCE WITH CALIFORNIA LAW (INCLUDING THE RULES OF EVIDENCE), AND IN ALL REGARDS, THE REFEREE SHALL FOLLOW CALIFORNIA LAW APPLICABLE AT THE TIME OF THE REFERENCE PROCEEDING. THE PARTIES SHALL PROMPTLY AND DILIGENTLY COOPERATE WITH ONE ANOTHER AND THE REFEREE, AND SHALL PERFORM SUCH ACTS AS MAY BE NECESSARY TO OBTAIN A PROMPT AND EXPEDITIOUS RESOLUTION OF THE DISPUTE OR CONTROVERSY IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE TERMS OF THIS SECTION. IN THIS REGARD, THE PARTIES AGREE THAT THE PARTIES AND THE REFEREE SHALL USE BEST EFFORTS TO ENSURE THAT (A) DISCOVERY BE CONDUCTED FOR A PERIOD NO LONGER THAN SIX (6) MONTHS FROM THE DATE THE REFEREE IS APPOINTED, EXCLUDING MOTIONS REGARDING DISCOVERY, AND (B) A TRIAL DATE BE SET WITHIN NINE (9) MONTHS OF THE DATE THE REFEREE IS APPOINTED. IN ACCORDANCE WITH SECTION 644 OF THE CALIFORNIA CODE OF CIVIL PROCEDURE, THE DECISION OF THE REFEREE UPON THE WHOLE ISSUE MUST STAND AS THE DECISION OF THE COURT, AND UPON THE FILING OF THE STATEMENT OF DECISION WITH THE CLERK OF THE COURT, OR WITH THE JUDGE IF THERE IS NO CLERK, JUDGMENT MAY BE ENTERED THEREON IN THE SAME MANNER AS IF THE ACTION HAD BEEN TRIED BY THE COURT. ANY DECISION OF THE REFEREE AND/OR JUDGMENT OR OTHER ORDER ENTERED THEREON SHALL BE APPEALABLE TO THE SAME EXTENT AND IN THE SAME MANNER THAT SUCH DECISION, JUDGMENT, OR ORDER WOULD BE APPEALABLE IF RENDERED BY A JUDGE OF THE SUPERIOR COURT IN WHICH VENUE IS PROPER HEREUNDER. THE REFEREE SHALL IN HIS/HER STATEMENT OF DECISION SET FORTH HIS/HER FINDINGS OF FACT AND CONCLUSIONS OF LAW. THE PARTIES INTEND THIS GENERAL REFERENCE AGREEMENT TO BE SPECIFICALLY ENFORCEABLE IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CODE OF CIVIL PROCEDURE. NOTHING IN THIS SECTION SHALL PREJUDICE THE RIGHT OF ANY PARTY TO OBTAIN PROVISIONAL RELIEF OR OTHER EQUITABLE REMEDIES FROM A COURT OF COMPETENT JURISDICTION AS SHALL OTHERWISE BE AVAILABLE UNDER THE CODE OF CIVIL PROCEDURE AND/OR APPLICABLE COURT RULES.

 

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IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties have executed this Amendment the day and year first above written.

 

  LESSOR:

 

  First Industrial Financing Partnership, L.P., a Delaware limited partnership

 

  By: First Industrial Finance Corporation, a Maryland corporation, its sole general partner

 

  /s/ Johannson Yap
  By: Johannson Yap
  Its: Chief Investment Officer and Executive Vice President
  West Region

 

  May 23, 2022
  Date

 

  Lessor’s Address for Notices:

 

  First Industrial Realty Trust, Inc.
898 N. Pacific Coast Highway
Suite 175
El Segundo, CA 90245
Attn: Ryan McClean

 

  with a copy to:

 

  First Industrial Realty Trust, Inc.
898 N. Pacific Coast Highway
Suite 175
El Segundo, CA 90245
Attn: Patrick Foudy

 

  with copy by email only to:
Legal.Notices@firstindustrial.com

 

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  LESSEE:

 

  Suja Life, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company

 

  By: /s/ Bob DeBorde
  Name: Bob DeBorde
  Its: Chief Executive Officer
  Date: 5/23/2022

 

  Lessee’s Address for Notices:

 

  [***]
  [***]

 

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EXHIBIT A

Expansion Space

 

 

 

-9- 

 

 

EXHIBIT B

LESSEE IMPROVEMENTS WORK LETTER

 

This Exhibit B (“Exhibit”) is a part of the Amendment to which this Exhibit is attached.

 

Lessee shall cause to be completed certain improvements to the Premises (“Lessee Improvements”), at Lessee’s sole cost and expense, subject to the Improvement Allowance (as hereinafter defined). Lessee shall not commence construction of any Lessee Improvements until Lessor has consented in writing to such Lessee Improvements, which consent shall not be unreasonably withheld, conditioned or delayed. Additional Lessee Improvements shall be considered “Alterations” under Section 7 of the Original Lease and subject to all requirements therein. No changes to the approved Lessee Improvements are permissible without Lessor’s prior written consent, not to be unreasonably withheld, conditioned, or delayed.

 

Except to the extent otherwise approved by Lessor in writing, Lessee will cause the Lessee Improvements to be constructed or installed to Building standard or better. Lessee shall not impact, modify, or otherwise alter any structural components of the Building (including without limitation, the roofing system), and any Building systems in connection with the Lessee Improvements.

 

Prior to commencing construction of the Lessee Improvements, (a) Lessee shall apply for, and pay the cost of, obtaining all permits, licenses, approvals and certificates required by any governmental authority as a condition precedent to the performance of the Lessee Improvements (collectively “Permits”) and (b) Lessee shall deliver to Lessor copies of all Permits and the certificates of insurance as required by the Lease for all contractors and subcontractors.

 

Throughout the performance of the Lessee’s Improvements, Lessee shall comply with the reasonable construction rules of Lessor with respect to safety, coordination and timing of work, use of parking areas by contractors, disposal of materials, and such other reasonable construction rules provided by Lessor, in writing. Lessee shall make (and shall cause all parties involved in the performance of the Lessee Improvements to make) reasonable and diligent efforts not to materially obstruct or materially interfere with the rights of, or otherwise materially disturb or injure, other lessees or occupants of the Building during the performance of the Lessee Improvements. Lessee’s contractors shall coordinate with any contractors of Lessor in the performance of Lessee Improvements so as not to delay Lessor’s contractors performing other work to the Building.

 

Lessor reserves the right to periodically inspect and to be present during the performance of the Lessee Improvements, but Lessor will have no obligation to so inspect or be present and, if Lessor elects to so inspect, or to be present during the performance of all or any portion of the Lessee Improvements, neither such inspection nor such presence shall give rise to any liability by Lessor to Lessee or to any other person or entity. Under no circumstances shall Lessor be deemed to (i) have any responsibility or liability with respect to the performance of the Lessee Improvements and any methodology or tools used in connection therewith; or (ii) make any representation or warranty with respect to any aspect of the design or implementation of the Lessee Improvements.

 

Provided there is no Default under the Lease, Lessor will reimburse Lessee an amount equal to the lesser of (a) $757,190.00; and (b) the actual and reasonable third party costs incurred by Lessee for the Lessee Improvements (such lesser amount being hereinafter referred to as the “Improvement Allowance”). Following completion of the Lessee Improvements (including any punchlist work), Lessor will pay the Improvement Allowance to Lessee within 30 days after Lessor’s receipt of an invoice therefor, together with reasonable supporting documentation, in connection therewith, including but not limited to, evidence of payment in full, by Lessee, of all costs to perform and install the Lessee Improvements and unconditional final lien waivers (on Lessor’s form therefor) from all contractors, subcontractors and materialmen providing services or goods in connection with the Lessee Improvements. Any portion of the Improvement Allowance not requested by Lessee on or before June 30, 2023 will be deemed waived by Lessee and will not be paid to Lessee or credited against Rent.

 

The completion of the Lessee Improvements shall not be a condition precedent to the commencement of the Extended Term.

 

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EXHIBIT C

Letter of Credit

 

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Exhibit 21.1

 

SUBSIDIARIES OF SUJA LIFE, INC.

 

1.Suja Life Sub, Inc. (Delaware)

 

2.Vive Aggregator, LLC (Delaware)

 

3.Vive Parent, Inc. (Delaware)

 

4.Vive Buyer, Inc. (Delaware)

 

5.Suja Life Holdings, L.P. (Delaware)

 

6.Suja Life Intermediate I, LLC (Delaware)

 

7.Suja Life Intermediate II, LLC (Delaware)

 

8.Suja Life, LLC (Delaware)

 

9.Vive Organic, LLC (Delaware)

 

10.Slice Real, LLC (Delaware)

 

11.PSP Suja Life Blocker, LLC (Delaware)

 

 

 

 

Exhibit 23.1

 

CONSENT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM

 

We consent to the use in this Registration Statement on Form S-1 of our report dated March 20, 2026, relating to the financial statement of Suja Life, Inc. We also consent to the reference to us under the heading "Experts" in such Registration Statement.

 

/s/ Deloitte & Touche LLP

San Diego, California

April 10, 2026

 

 

 

 

Exhibit 23.2

 

CONSENT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM

 

We consent to the use in this Registration Statement on Form S-1 of our report dated March 20, 2026, relating to the financial statements of Suja Life Holdings, L.P. We also consent to the reference to us under the heading "Experts" in such Registration Statement.

 

/s/ Deloitte & Touche LLP

San Diego, California

April 10, 2026

 

 

 

 

Exhibit 99.1

 

The undersigned hereby consents to being named in the registration statement on Form S-1 and in all subsequent amendments and post-effective amendments or supplements thereto and in any registration statement for the same offering that is to be effective upon filing pursuant to Rule 462(b) under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Registration Statement”) of Suja Life, Inc. (the “Company”) as an individual to become a director of the Company and to the inclusion of their biographical and other information in the Registration Statement. The undersigned also hereby consents to being named in any registration statement on Form S-8 filed by the Company that incorporates by reference the prospectus forming part of the Registration Statement.

 

In witness whereof, this consent is signed and dated as of the date set forth below.

 

Date: April 10, 2026  
   

/s/ Alex Corbacho

 
Name: Alex Corbacho  

 

 

 

 

Exhibit 99.2

 

The undersigned hereby consents to being named in the registration statement on Form S-1 and in all subsequent amendments and post-effective amendments or supplements thereto and in any registration statement for the same offering that is to be effective upon filing pursuant to Rule 462(b) under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Registration Statement”) of Suja Life, Inc. (the “Company”) as an individual to become a director of the Company and to the inclusion of their biographical and other information in the Registration Statement. The undersigned also hereby consents to being named in any registration statement on Form S-8 filed by the Company that incorporates by reference the prospectus forming part of the Registration Statement.

 

In witness whereof, this consent is signed and dated as of the date set forth below.

 

Date: April 10, 2026  
   

/s/ Robert DeBorde

 
Name: Robert DeBorde  

 

 

 

 

Exhibit 99.3

 

The undersigned hereby consents to being named in the registration statement on Form S-1 and in all subsequent amendments and post-effective amendments or supplements thereto and in any registration statement for the same offering that is to be effective upon filing pursuant to Rule 462(b) under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Registration Statement”) of Suja Life, Inc. (the “Company”) as an individual to become a director of the Company and to the inclusion of their biographical and other information in the Registration Statement. The undersigned also hereby consents to being named in any registration statement on Form S-8 filed by the Company that incorporates by reference the prospectus forming part of the Registration Statement.

 

In witness whereof, this consent is signed and dated as of the date set forth below.

 

Date: April 10, 2026  
   

/s/ Randy Papadellis

 
Name: Randy Papadellis  

 

 

 

 

Exhibit 99.4

 

The undersigned hereby consents to being named in the registration statement on Form S-1 and in all subsequent amendments and post-effective amendments or supplements thereto and in any registration statement for the same offering that is to be effective upon filing pursuant to Rule 462(b) under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Registration Statement”) of Suja Life, Inc. (the “Company”) as an individual to become a director of the Company and to the inclusion of their biographical and other information in the Registration Statement. The undersigned also hereby consents to being named in any registration statement on Form S-8 filed by the Company that incorporates by reference the prospectus forming part of the Registration Statement.

 

In witness whereof, this consent is signed and dated as of the date set forth below.

 

Date: April 10, 2026  
   

/s/ Mark Partin

 
Name: Mark Partin  

 

 

 

 

Exhibit 99.5

 

The undersigned hereby consents to being named in the registration statement on Form S-1 and in all subsequent amendments and post-effective amendments or supplements thereto and in any registration statement for the same offering that is to be effective upon filing pursuant to Rule 462(b) under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Registration Statement”) of Suja Life, Inc. (the “Company”) as an individual to become a director of the Company and to the inclusion of their biographical and other information in the Registration Statement. The undersigned also hereby consents to being named in any registration statement on Form S-8 filed by the Company that incorporates by reference the prospectus forming part of the Registration Statement.

 

In witness whereof, this consent is signed and dated as of the date set forth below.

 

Date: April 10, 2026  
   

/s/ Kevin Schwartz

 
Name: Kevin Schwartz  

 

 

 

 

Exhibit 99.6

 

The undersigned hereby consents to being named in the registration statement on Form S- 1 and in all subsequent amendments and post-effective amendments or supplements thereto and in any registration statement for the same offering that is to be effective upon filing pursuant to Rule 462(b) under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Registration Statement”) of Suja Life, Inc. (the “Company”) as an individual to become a director of the Company and to the inclusion of their biographical and other information in the Registration Statement. The undersigned also hereby consents to being named in any registration statement on Form S-8 filed by the Company that incorporates by reference the prospectus forming part of the Registration Statement.

 

In witness whereof, this consent is signed and dated as of the date set forth below.

 

Date: April 10, 2026

 

/s/ Kathy Vrabeck  

Name: Kathy Vrabeck