form8_k.htm
UNITED
STATES
SECURITIES
AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington,
D.C. 20549
FORM
8-K
CURRENT
REPORT
Pursuant
to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934
Date of
Report (Date of earliest event reported): October 26,
2008
PILGRIM'S
PRIDE CORPORATION
(Exact
name of registrant as specified in its charter)
Delaware
|
|
1-9273
|
|
75-1285071
|
(State
or other jurisdiction of incorporation)
|
|
(Commission
File
Number)
|
|
(IRS
Employer
Identification
No.)
|
4843
US Hwy. 271 N., Pittsburg, Texas
|
|
75686-0093
|
(Address
of principal executive offices)
|
|
(Zip
Code)
|
Registrant's
telephone number, including area code: (903) 434-1000
Not
Applicable
(Former
name or former address, if changed since last report)
Check the
appropriate box below if the Form 8-K filing is intended to simultaneously
satisfy the filing obligation of the registrant under any of the following
provisions:
[ ]
Written communications pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act (17 CFR
230.425)
[ ]
Soliciting material pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange Act (17 CFR
240.14a-12)
[ ]
Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 14d-2(b) under the Exchange Act
(17 CFR 240.14d-2(b))
[ ]
Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 13e-4(c) under the Exchange Act
(17 CFR 240.13e-4(c))
Item
1.01. Entry
into a Material Definitive Agreement.
As
previously disclosed, Pilgrim's Pride Corporation (the "Company") obtained
temporary waivers of its non-compliance with the fixed charge coverage ratio
covenants under its principal credit facilities as of the fiscal year ending
September 27, 2008 ("fiscal year end"). These previously disclosed
waivers are scheduled to expire in accordance with their terms on October 28,
2008.
On
October 26, 2008, the Company entered into temporary waivers of the Company's
non-compliance with its fixed charge coverage ratio covenants and potential
non-compliance with its leverage ratio covenants under its principal credit
facilities as of fiscal year end, which waivers will be effective from October
28, 2008 through November 26, 2008 (the "Waiver
Period"). Specifically, on October 26, 2008, the Company entered
into: (i) a Limited Duration Waiver of Potential Defaults and Events of Default
under Credit Agreement (the "CoBank Waiver") by and among the Company, CoBank,
ACB, as administrative agent ("CoBank"), and the other syndication parties
signatory thereto (collectively with CoBank, the "CoBank Lending Group"),
waiving certain potential defaults and events of default relating to
non-compliance with the fixed charge coverage ratio and leverage ratio covenants
under the 2006 Amended and Restated Credit Agreement dated as of September 21,
2006, as amended (the "CoBank Agreement"); (ii) a Limited Duration Waiver
Agreement (the "BMO Waiver") by and among the Company, To-Ricos, Ltd., To-Ricos
Distribution, Ltd., Bank of Montreal, as administrative agent, and certain other
bank parties thereto (such bank parties, collectively with Bank of Montreal, the
"BMO Lending Group"), waiving certain potential defaults and events of default
relating to non-compliance with the fixed charge coverage ratio and leverage
ratio covenants under the Fourth Amended and Restated Secured Credit Agreement
dated as of February 8, 2007, as amended (the "BMO Agreement"); and (iii) a
Limited Duration Waiver Agreement (the "RPA Waiver" and, collectively with the
CoBank Waiver and the BMO Waiver, the "Waivers") by and among the Company,
Pilgrim's Pride Funding Corporation, BMO Capital Markets Corp., as administrator
("BMO Capital Markets"), and Fairway Finance Company, LLC ("Fairway") waiving
certain events of termination and termination events relating to non-compliance
with the fixed charge coverage ratio and leverage ratio covenants under the
Amended and Restated Receivables Purchase Agreement dated as of September 26,
2008, as amended (the "Amended and Restated Receivables Purchase
Agreement"). The foregoing Waivers and agreements are collectively
referred to herein as the "Credit Documents."
Below is
a description of certain terms and conditions of the Waivers:
CoBank
Waiver
Pursuant
to the CoBank Waiver, the CoBank Lending Group has granted the Company a waiver
for the Waiver Period of potential defaults and events of default of the
Company's covenants to maintain a certain minimum fixed charge coverage ratio
and leverage ratio under the CoBank Agreement. The CoBank Waiver
further provides that, during the Waiver Period, (i) unless otherwise approved
by the CoBank Lending Group, the Company will maintain aggregate undrawn
commitments under the CoBank Agreement and the BMO Agreement of at least $35
million; (ii) so long as aggregate undrawn commitments under the CoBank
Agreement and the BMO Agreement are $75 million or less, the Company will obtain
and pay loans under the CoBank Agreement and the BMO Agreement only on a pro
rata basis; and (iii) the Company will be unable to convert any portion of the
outstanding Revolving Loan (as defined in the CoBank Agreement) into a term loan
or add additional collateral to the available amount under the CoBank Agreement
for borrowing availability purposes. In addition, the CoBank Waiver
requires the Company to engage a chief restructuring officer within ten business
days after the Company receives a list of candidates for such position from
CoBank. The Company is not obligated to engage any of the candidates
on such list but must engage a person or firm that is reasonably acceptable to
the CoBank Lending Group. In connection with entering into the CoBank
Waiver, the Company has agreed to pay a waiver fee equal to 0.10% of the total
obligations outstanding under the CoBank Agreement. The above
discussion is a summary of certain terms and conditions of the CoBank Waiver and
is qualified in its entirety by the terms and conditions of the CoBank Waiver
and the CoBank Agreement. For the complete terms and conditions of
the CoBank Waiver summarized in this report, please refer to the CoBank Waiver
attached hereto as Exhibit 10.1 and incorporated by reference
herein.
BMO
Waiver
Pursuant
to the BMO Waiver, the BMO Lending Group has granted the Company a waiver for
the Waiver Period of defaults and events of default relating to the Company's
covenants to maintain a certain minimum fixed charge coverage ratio and leverage
ratio under the BMO Agreement. The BMO Waiver further provides that,
during the Waiver Period, so long as aggregate undrawn commitments under the
CoBank Agreement and the BMO Agreement are $75 million or less, the Company will
be entitled to obtain loans under the BMO Agreement, and the Company will obtain
and pay loans under the BMO Agreement and the CoBank Agreement only on a pro
rata basis. In addition, the BMO Waiver requires the Company to
engage a chief restructuring officer within ten business days after the Company
receives a list of candidates for such position from Bank of
Montreal. The Company is not obligated to engage any of the
candidates on such list but must engage a person or firm that is reasonably
acceptable to the BMO Lending Group. In connection with entering into
the BMO Waiver, the Company has agreed to pay a waiver fee equal to 0.10% of the
aggregate commitment under the BMO Agreement. The above discussion is
a summary of certain terms and conditions of the BMO Waiver and is qualified in
its entirety by the terms and conditions of the BMO Waiver and the BMO
Agreement. For the complete terms and conditions of the BMO Waiver
summarized in this report, please refer to the BMO Waiver attached hereto as
Exhibit 10.2 and incorporated by reference herein.
RPA
Waiver
Pursuant
to the RPA Waiver, BMO Capital Markets and Fairway have granted the Company a
waiver for the Waiver Period of any non-compliance with its covenants to
maintain a minimum fixed charge coverage ratio and leverage ratio under the
Amended and Restated Receivables Purchase Agreement. In connection
with entering into the RPA Waiver, the Company has agreed to pay a waiver fee
equal to 0.10% of the purchase limit under the Amended and Restated Receivables
Purchase Agreement plus other specified fees and expenses. The above
discussion is a summary of certain terms and conditions of the RPA Waiver and is
qualified in its entirety by the terms and conditions of the RPA Waiver and the
Amended and Restated Receivables Purchase Agreement. For the complete
terms and conditions of the RPA Waiver summarized in this report, please refer
to the RPA Waiver attached hereto as Exhibit 10.3 and incorporated by reference
herein.
The
effectiveness of the waivers contained in the Waivers is conditioned upon, among
other things, the Company's continued compliance with the Company's obligations
under the Credit Documents and forbearance from paying any interest on the
Company's 8-3/8% Senior Subordinated Notes due 2017 or its 7-5/8% Senior Notes
due May 1, 2015. Upon expiration or any termination of the Waiver
Period, unless extended or the Credit Documents are amended, the waivers
contained in the Waivers will no longer be effective and an event of default or
event of termination will exist under the Credit Documents permitting the CoBank
Lending Group, the BMO Lending Group and BMO Capital Markets to exercise their
remedies and preclude the Company from drawing funds or selling additional
receivables under the Credit Documents.
Item
5.02.
|
Departure
of Directors or Certain Officers; Election of Directors; Appointment of
Certain Officers; Compensatory Arrangements of Certain
Officers.
|
On
October 21, 2008, the Company entered into Change in Control Agreements
(collectively, the "Change in Control Agreements") with each of Lonnie Ken
Pilgrim, Chairman, J. Clinton Rivers, President and Chief Executive Officer,
Robert A. Wright, Chief Operating Officer, and Richard A. Cogdill, Chief
Financial Officer (each, an "Executive"). The Change in Control
Agreements have an initial term of three years. The term of the
agreements automatically renew on their anniversary for a period of two years
from the renewal date, unless, in each case, the Company gives the Executive
notice at least 60 days prior to the renewal date that the term will not be
extended.
Generally,
the Change in Control Agreements provide that, if the Company terminates an
Executive's employment within a specified time period (the "Employment Period")
following a Change in Control (as defined in the Change in Control Agreement)
other than for cause or the Executive's disability or if the Executive resigns
during the Employment Period for good reason because the Company has not met its
obligations under the Change in Control Agreement, then the Executive will be
entitled to certain severance benefits. The Employment Period is 24
months in the case of Mr. Pilgrim and 18 months in the case of Messrs. Rivers,
Wright and Cogdill. Upon the termination of an Executive's employment
during the Employment Period under the circumstances discussed above, the Change
in Control Agreements provide (1) for a lump sum severance payment that includes
(a) the Executive's target annual bonus for the fiscal year in which the
termination occurs, prorated through the date of termination, and (b) an amount
based on the sum of the Executive's annual base salary and target annual bonus
multiplied by 3.0 in the case of Mr. Pilgrim and 2.5 in the case of Messrs.
Rivers, Wright and Cogdill; (2) that the Executives may be entitled to receive a
tax gross-up payment to compensate them for specified excise taxes, if any,
imposed on the severance payment; and (3) that any stock options and other
equity awards held by the Executives will become fully vested and
exercisable. In addition, the Change in Control Agreements provide
that, for a period of 24 months in the case of Mr. Pilgrim and, 18 months in the
case of Messrs. Rivers, Wright and Cogdill, from the date of any termination of
the Executive's employment that results in a severance payment under the
Executive's Change in Control Agreement, the Executive will not (a) divulge
confidential information regarding the Company, (b) solicit or induce employees
of the Company to terminate their employment with the Company, or (c) seek or
obtain any employment or consulting relationship with any specified competitor
of the Company.
The above
discussion is a summary of certain terms and conditions of the Change in Control
Agreements and is qualified in its entirety by the terms and conditions of the
Change in Control Agreements. For the complete terms and conditions
of the Change in Control Agreements summarized in this report, please refer to
the form of Change in Control Agreement attached hereto as Exhibit 10.4 and
incorporated by reference herein.
Item
7.01. Regulation FD
Disclosure.
On October 27, 2008, the Company
issued a press release announcing temporary waivers under its principal credit
facilities as of fiscal year end. A copy of the press release is
furnished pursuant to Regulation FD as Exhibit 99.1 to this report.
The
information contained in Item 7.01 of this report and in Exhibit 99.1 shall not
be deemed "filed" for purposes of Section 18 of the Securities Exchange Act of
1934, as amended (the "Exchange Act"), or incorporated by reference in any
filing under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the Exchange Act, except
as shall be expressly set forth by specific reference in such a
filing.
Item
9.01. Financial
Statements and Exhibits.
(d) Exhibits
|
10.1
|
Limited Duration Waiver
of Potential Defaults and Events of Default under Credit Agreement dated
October
26, 2008 by and among
Pilgrim's Pride
Corporation, as borrower, CoBank, ACB,
as
administrative agent, and the other
syndication parties signatory thereto.
|
|
10.2
|
Limited Duration
Waiver
Agreement dated as of October 26, 2008 by and among
Pilgrim's Pride
Corporation, as borrower, Bank of
Montreal, as administrative agent, and certain
other bank parties thereto.
|
|
10.3
|
Limited Duration Waiver
Agreement
dated as of October 26, 2008 by and among
Pilgrim's Pride
Corporation, Pilgrim's Pride Funding
Corporation, BMO Capital Markets Corp., as administrator, and Fairway
Finance
Company, LLC.
|
|
10.4
|
Form of Change in
Control Agreement dated as of October 21, 2008 between the Company and the
Executives.
|
|
99.1
|
Press Release dated
October
27,
2008.
|
SIGNATURES
Pursuant
to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has
duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned hereunto
duly authorized.
PILGRIM'S
PRIDE CORPORATION
Date: October 27,
2008
|
By: /s/ Richard a. Cogdill
Richard A.
Cogdill
Chief Financial Officer,
Secretary and Treasurer
|
EXHIBIT
INDEX
Exhibit
Number
|
|
Description
|
10.1
|
|
Limited Duration Waiver
of Potential Defaults and Events of Default under Credit Agreement dated
October
26, 2008 by and among
Pilgrim's Pride
Corporation, as borrower, CoBank,
ACB, as
administrative
agent, and
the other syndication parties signatory thereto.
|
10.2
|
|
Limited Duration
Waiver
Agreement dated as of October 26, 2008 by and among
Pilgrim's Pride
Corporation, as borrower, Bank of
Montreal, as administrative agent, and certain other bank parties
thereto.
|
10.3
|
|
Limited Duration Waiver
Agreement
dated as of October 26, 2008 by and among
Pilgrim's Pride
Corporation, Pilgrim's Pride Funding
Corporation, BMO Capital Markets Corp., as administrator, and Fairway
Finance Company, LLC.
|
10.4
|
|
Form of Change in
Control Agreement dated as of October 21, 2008 between the Company and the
Executives.
|
99.1
|
|
Press Release dated
October
27,
2008.
|
DALDMS/650752.7
ex10_1.htm
LIMITED
DURATION WAIVER OF POTENTIAL DEFAULTS AND EVENTS OF DEFAULT UNDER CREDIT
AGREEMENT
This
Limited Duration Waiver Of Potential Defaults And Events Of Default Under Credit
Agreement (herein, the “Agreement”) is made as of
October 26, 2008, by and among the Pilgrim’s Pride Corporation, a Delaware
Corporation (“Borrower”), the Syndication
Parties (whose signatures appear below), and CoBank ACB, as Administrative Agent
for the Syndication Parties (“CoBank”).
Recitals:
A.CoBank (in
its capacity as the Administrative Agent (sometimes also referred to herein as
the “Agent”), the
Syndication Parties signatory thereto, and Borrower have entered into that
certain 2006 Amended and Restated Credit Agreement (Convertible Revolving Loan
and Term Loan) dated as of September 21, 2006, that certain First Amendment to
Credit Agreement dated as of December 13, 2006, that certain Second Amendment to
Credit Agreement dated as of January 4, 2007, that certain Third Amendment to
Credit Agreement dated as of February 7, 2007, that certain Fourth Amendment to
Credit Agreement dated as of July 3, 2007, that certain Fifth Amendment to
Credit Agreement dated as of August 7, 2007, that certain Sixth Amendment to
Credit Agreement dated as of November 7, 2007, that certain Seventh Amendment to
Credit Agreement dated as of March 10, 2008, and that certain Eighth Amendment
to Credit Agreement dated as of May 1, 2008 (as so amended and as amended,
modified, or supplemented from time to time in the future, the “Credit Agreement”) pursuant to
which the Syndication Parties have extended certain credit facilities to
Borrower under the terms and conditions set forth in the Credit
Agreement.
B.Certain
Potential Defaults and Events of Default either exist or will exist as a result
of (a) the Borrower’s Fixed Charge Coverage Ratio at September 30, 2008 failing
to meet the requirements of Section 10.12.5 of
the Credit Agreement, an Event of Default described in Section 13.1(d) of
the Credit Agreement, (b) the Borrower's Leverage
Ratio at of September 27, 2008 potentially failing to meet the
requirements of Section 10.12.1 of
the Credit Agreement, an Event of Default described in Section 13.1(d) of
the Credit Agreement, and (c) Borrower failing to maintain compliance with the
Fourth Amended and Restated Credit Agreement dated as of February 8, 2007 by and
among Borrower, Bank of Montreal, as Agent, and the other lenders party thereto
(the “BMO Credit
Agreement”) as required by Section 10.4 of the
Credit Agreement, Events of Default described in Section 13.1(d), and
Section 13.1(g)
of the Credit Agreement (collectively, the “Subject
Defaults”).
C.Borrower
has requested that the Agent and the Syndication Parties temporarily waive the
Subject Defaults which the Agent and the Syndication Parties are willing to do
subject to the terms and conditions as set forth in this Agreement.
D.Borrower
and the Required Lenders executed a Limited Duration Waiver Of Potential
Defaults And Events Of Default Under Credit Agreement dated September 26, 2008
(“September Limited Duration
Waiver”). Under the September Limited Duration Waiver, the
Syndication Parties consented to the granting by the Borrower to Bank of
Montreal, as agent under the BMO Credit Agreement, of a security interest in all
Collateral granted to the Agent pursuant to the Credit Agreement and other Loan
Documents (“BMO
Collateral”), provided that such security
interest was and remained subject and subordinate to the Agent’s security
interests therein pursuant to an intercreditor agreement (the “BMO Intercreditor
Agreement”).
Now,
Therefore, for good and valuable consideration, the receipt and sufficiency of
which is hereby acknowledged, the parties hereto agree as follows:
1.Incorporation of Recitals; Defined
Terms. The Borrower acknowledges that the Recitals set forth
above are true and correct in all material respects. The defined
terms in the Recitals set forth above are hereby incorporated into this
Agreement by reference. All other capitalized terms used herein
without definition shall have the same meanings herein as such terms have in the
Credit Agreement.
2.Limited Duration
Waiver.
2.1Except as provided in this Subsection 2.1 of this Agreement, the Agent and
the Syndication Parties reserve the right to exercise any and all of their
rights, powers and remedies under the Credit Agreement and the other Loan
Documents, including the right to cease making Loans, and the right to
accelerate the maturity of all outstanding Bank Debt. Subject to
satisfaction of the terms and conditions contained in this Agreement, the Agent
and the Syndication Parties agree to waive the Subject Defaults and shall, with
respect to the Subject Defaults (but not with respect to any other Potential
Default or Event of Default that may be existing or that may occur), not
exercise their rights, powers and remedies under the Credit Agreement or the
other Loan Documents commencing on the date hereof and ending on November 26,
2008 (the “Waiver
Period”).
2.2The
waiver of the Subject Defaults shall become null and void on the expiration of
the Waiver Period and from and after such expiration of the Waiver Period the
Agent and the Syndication Parties shall have all rights and remedies available
to them as a result of the occurrence of the Subject Defaults as though this
waiver had never been granted.
3.Additional
Agreements. The Borrower further agrees
that:
(a)The Agent
(or its counsel) shall have the right to engage on behalf of the Syndication
Parties a financial advisor, selected by the Agent and acceptable to the
Syndication Parties, to review, evaluate and advise the Agent and the
Syndication Parties as to the reports, analyses and cash flow forecasts and
other materials prepared by the Borrower’s financial consultants relating to the
financial condition, operating performance, and business prospects of the
Borrower and its Subsidiaries and to perform such other information gathering or
evaluation acts as may be reasonably requested by the Agent, and the reasonable
costs and expenses of such financial advisor shall be borne by the Borrower and
constitute part of the Borrower’s obligations outstanding under the Credit
Agreement. The Borrower shall take reasonable steps to make available
to such financial advisor and its representatives such information respecting
the financial condition, operating performance, and business prospects of the
Borrower and its Subsidiaries as may be reasonably requested and shall make the
Borrower’s financial consultants, officers, employees, and independent public
accountants available with reasonable prior notice to discuss such information
with such financial advisor and its representatives.
(b)The
Borrower shall provide to the Agent and the Syndication Parties a 13-week cash
flow forecast (the “Forecast”) showing projected
cash receipts and cash disbursements of the Borrower and its Subsidiaries over
the following 13-week period, together with a reconciliation of actual cash
receipts and cash disbursements of the Borrower and its Subsidiaries from the
prior week against the cash flow forecast previously furnished to the Agent and
the Syndication Parties and showing any deviations on a cumulative basis),
prepared by the Borrower and in form and substance, and with such detail, as the
Agent may request. Each Forecast shall be provided to the Agent and
the Syndication Parties no later than 5:00 p.m., Central time, on Wednesday of
each week (beginning October 29, 2008).
(c)During the
Waiver Period, unless approved by the Required Lenders, the Borrower shall have
at all times undrawn commitments under the Credit Agreement and the BMO Credit
Agreement in an aggregate amount not less than $35,000,000.
(d)No later
than October 31, 2008, the Borrower shall deliver to the Syndication
Parties a budget for the 90-day period ending January 31, 2009, in form and
substance reasonably satisfactory to the Agent and its financial
advisor.
(e)No later
than the 5th Business Day after the date the BMO Intercreditor Agreement is
executed and delivered by the parties thereto, the Borrower shall grant to the
Agent for the benefit of the Syndication Parties valid, enforceable liens and
security interests on all of the collateral securing the BMO Credit Agreement,
subject to the liens and security interests granted to BMO in such
property. This additional collateral shall be Collateral under the
Credit Agreement and subject to the terms of the Credit Agreement applicable to
Collateral generally. The Borrower shall pay all taxes, costs, and
expenses incurred by the Agent in obtaining and perfecting such security
interests and shall supply to the Agent at the Borrower’s cost and expense such
board resolutions and other instruments, documents, certificates, and opinions
reasonably required by the Agent in connection therewith.
(f)During the
Waiver Period the Borrower shall obtain loans under the Credit Agreement and the
BMO Credit Agreement, and shall repay loans under the Credit Agreement and the
BMO Credit Agreement, only on a pro rata basis, determined on the basis of the
undrawn amount of the commitments under each of the two credit agreements at the
close of business in Chicago, Illinois, on September 24, 2008, as stated in
Section 8(f) hereof, until the aggregate undrawn
commitments under the Credit Agreement and the BMO Credit Agreement are
$75,000,000. Thereafter (i) the lenders under the BMO Credit
Agreement shall have no obligation to extend further credit to Borrower under
the BMO Credit Agreement until such time as the aggregate undrawn commitments
under the Credit Agreement and the BMO Credit Agreement exceed $75,000,000 in
which case the Borrower may obtain and repay loans under the Credit Agreement
and the BMO Credit Agreement only on a pro rata basis as described above until
the aggregate undrawn commitments under the Credit Agreement and the BMO Credit
Agreement are $75,000,000, and (ii) at any time that until the aggregate
undrawn commitments under the Credit Agreement and the BMO Credit Agreement are
$75,000,000 or less, the Borrower may obtain loans under the Credit Agreement
(such loans are referred to as “Additional Loans”) and may repay Additional Loans without a concurrent
repayment of loans under the BMO Credit Agreement until such time as the
aggregate undrawn commitments under the Credit Agreement and the BMO Credit
Agreement exceed $75,000,000 in which case the Borrower may obtain and repay
loans under the Credit Agreement and the BMO Credit Agreement only on a pro rata
basis as described above until the aggregate undrawn commitments under the
Credit Agreement and the BMO Credit Agreement are $75,000,000.
(g)The
Borrower shall engage a chief restructuring officer reasonably acceptable to the
Required Lenders no later than the 10th Business Day after the date the Agent
provides the Borrower with a list of potential candidates that would be
acceptable to the Required Lenders, but the Borrower shall have no obligation to
engage any of the potential candidates named on such list and may engage any
other person or firm that is reasonably acceptable to the Required
Lenders. The scope of the chief restructuring officer’s engagement
and the authority granted to such chief restructuring officer must be reasonably
satisfactory to the Required Lenders.
(h)The
Borrower agrees that the amounts on deposit in all of its operating accounts
(including without limitation its accounts at Merrill Lynch) will not exceed at
any time the amount needed by the Borrower and its Subsidiaries for their
operating expenses and liquidity needs in the ordinary course of
business.
(i)The
Borrower shall promptly provide any financial information concerning the
Borrower and its Subsidiaries and their respective businesses that the Agent or
the Required Lenders may reasonably request.
4.Credit
Agreement:
4.1Notwithstanding the terms of Section 2.10 of the Credit Agreement and related
terms in other Sections of the Credit Agreement, during the Waiver Period
Borrower shall not have the right to convert any portion of the outstanding
balance under the Revolving Loan into a non-revolving term loan (referred to in
the Credit Agreement as a Voluntary Converted Loan).
4.2Notwithstanding the terms of Section 10.18 of the Credit Agreement and
related terms in other Sections of the Credit Agreement, during the Waiver
Period no additional Collateral shall be included in the calculation of the
Available Amount.
4.3To
the extent available, no later than November 10, 2008, the Borrower shall
deliver all legal descriptions with respect to the Borrower’s interest in each
unencumbered property of the Borrower pursuant to section 10.18(f) of the Credit
Agreement. As soon as practicable (with respect to such property) and
in no event later than November 24, 2008, the Borrower shall execute and deliver
a deed of trust or mortgage and assignment of leases and rents with respect to
Borrower’s interest in the property.
5.Waiver
Termination. As used in this Agreement, “Waiver Termination” shall
mean the occurrence of the expiration of the Waiver Period, or, if earlier, the
occurrence of any one or more of the following events:
(a) any
Potential Default or Event of Default under the Credit Agreement, in each case
other than the Subject Defaults;
(b)any
failure by the Borrower for any reason to comply with any term, condition, or
provision contained in this Agreement, including
without limitation the engagement of a chief restructuring officer as required
by Section 3(g) hereof, or in any document signed in connection
herewith;
(c)any
representation made by the Borrower in this Agreement or pursuant to it proves
to be incorrect or misleading in any material respect when made;
(d)the
BMO Limited Duration Waiver (as defined in Section 13(b) hereof) shall for
any reason not be or shall cease to be in full force and effect or is declared
to be null and void, or BMO or any other party to the BMO Credit Agreement takes
any action for the purpose of terminating, repudiating or rescinding the BMO
Limited Duration Waiver or any of its obligations thereunder;
(e)the
Fairway Limited Duration Waiver (as defined in Section 13(c) hereof) shall
for any reason not be or shall cease to be in full force and effect or is
declared to be null and void, or the Securitization Agent (as defined below) or
any other party to the Amended and Restated Receivables Purchase Agreement dated
as of September 26, 2008, among Pilgrim’s Pride Funding Corporation, as Seller,
the Borrower, as Servicer, Fairway Finance Company, LLC, as Purchaser, the
various purchasers and purchaser agents from time to time party thereto and BMO
Capital Markets Corp., as Administrator (the “Securitization Agent”), as amended, supplemented
and otherwise modified (as so amended,
supplemented and otherwise modified, the “Receivables Purchase
Agreement”),
takes any action for the purpose of terminating, repudiating or rescinding the
Fairway Limited Duration Waiver or any of its obligations thereunder;
(f)the
BMO Intercreditor Agreement, or any part thereof, shall for any reason not be or
shall cease to be in full force and effect or is declared to be null and void,
or BMO, as agent under the BMO Credit Agreement, or any other lender under the
BMO Credit Agreement, takes any action for the purpose of terminating,
repudiating or rescinding the BMO Credit Agreement or any of its obligations
thereunder; or
(g)the
Borrower shall pay any interest on its 8-3/8% Senior Subordinated Notes due 2017
or its 7-5/8% Senior Notes due May 1, 2015.
Upon the
occurrence of a Waiver Termination, the Waiver Period is automatically
terminated and the Syndication Parties are then permitted and entitled, with
respect to the Subject Defaults and any other Event of Default then in existence
under the Credit Agreement, among other things, to cease making Loans to the
Borrower, to accelerate the Borrower’s indebtedness, obligations and liabilities
under the Loan Documents, and to exercise any other rights and remedies that may
be available under the Loan Documents or applicable law.
6.Limited Waiver and Reservation of
Rights. The Borrower acknowledges and agrees that immediately
upon expiration or termination of the Waiver Period, the Agent and the
Syndication Parties have all of their rights and remedies with respect to the
Subject Defaults to the same extent, and with the same force and effect, as if
the waiver contained herein had not been granted. The Borrower will
not assert and hereby forever waives any right to assert that the Agent or the
Syndication Parties are obligated in any way to continue to waive the Subject
Defaults beyond the Waiver Period or to forbear from enforcing their rights or
remedies with respect to the Subject Defaults after the Waiver Period or that
the Agent and the Syndication Parties are not entitled to act on the Subject
Defaults after the occurrence of a Waiver Termination as if such default had
just occurred and the Waiver Period had never existed. The Borrower
acknowledges that the Syndication Parties have made no representations as to
what actions, if any, the Syndication Parties will take after the Waiver Period
or upon the occurrence of any Waiver Termination, Potential Default or Event of
Default, and the Syndication Parties and the Agent must and do hereby
specifically reserve any and all rights, remedies, and claims they have (after
giving effect hereto) with respect to the Subject Defaults and each other
Potential Default or Event of Default that may occur.
7.Acknowledgement of
Liens. The Borrower hereby acknowledges and agrees that all
indebtedness, obligations and liabilities of the Borrower, owing to the Agent
and the Syndication Parties arising out of or in any manner relating to the Loan
Documents, shall continue to be secured by liens and security interests on all
of the Collateral pursuant to the Loan Documents heretofore or hereafter
executed and delivered by the Borrower, and nothing herein
contained shall in any manner affect or impair the priority of the liens and
security interests created and provided for thereby as to the indebtedness,
obligations, and liabilities which would be secured thereby prior to giving
effect to this Agreement.
8.Representations and
Warranties. The Borrowers represent and warrant to the Agent
and the Syndication Parties that:
(a) the
Borrower has full right and authority to enter into this Agreement and to
perform all of its obligations hereunder, and the Borrower has full right and
authority to grant to the Agent the liens and security interests contemplated
hereby;
(b)this
Agreement and the performance or observance by the Borrower of any of the
matters and things herein or therein provided for do not (i) contravene or
constitute a default under any provision of law or any judgment, injunction,
order or decree binding upon the Borrower or any provision of the organizational
documents (e.g.,
certificate or articles of incorporation and by-laws) of the Borrower, or
(ii) contravene or constitute a default under any covenant, indenture or
agreement of or affecting the Borrower or any of its Property;
(c)the
obligations of the Borrower under this Agreement and each of the Loan Documents
executed and delivered by it are legal, valid, enforceable (except as
enforcement may be limited by equitable principles or by bankruptcy, insolvency,
reorganization, moratorium, or similar laws relating to or limiting creditors’
rights generally) and subsisting and not subject to set-off, defense (other than
payment) or counterclaim;
(d)other than
the Subject Defaults, no Potential Default or Event of Default has occurred and
is continuing;
(e)the
Borrower’s indebtedness, obligations and liabilities to the Agent and the
Syndication Parties under the Loan Documents constitute “Designated Senior
indebtedness” as defined in the First Supplemental Indenture dated as of January
24, 2007, between the Borrower and Wells Fargo Bank, National Association, as
Trustee, relating to the Borrower’s 8-3/8% Senior Subordinated Notes due 2017;
(f)as of the
close of business in Chicago, Illinois on September 24, 2008, the undrawn amount
of all commitments under the CoBank Credit Agreement was $143,000,000 and the
undrawn amount of all Revolving Credit Commitments under the Credit Agreement
was $35,500,000; and
(g)the
Borrower has decided that during the Waiver Period it will not pay any interest
on its 8-3/8% Senior Subordinated Notes due 2017 or its 7-5/8% Senior Notes due
May-1, 2015.
9. Amendment. Borrower,
Agent and the Required Lenders agree to negotiate in good faith to amend the
Credit Agreement specifically in respect of the Mandatory Prepayment,
Appraisals, Borrowing, Liens and any other similar provisions to permit the
grant of the second liens to BMO as agent in the BMO Collateral and to permit
the grant of a security interest to CoBank as agent for the Syndication Parties
in the assets and properties in addition to the existing Collateral on or prior
to the execution of the BMO Intercreditor Agreement.
10.Release. For value
received, including without limitation, the agreements of the Syndication
Parties in this Agreement, the Borrower hereby releases the Agent and each
Syndication Party, its current and former shareholders, directors, officers,
agents, employees, attorneys, consultants, and professional advisors
(collectively, the “Released
Parties”) of and from any and all demands, actions, causes of action,
suits, controversies, acts and omissions, liabilities, and other claims of every
kind or nature whatsoever, both in law and in equity, known or unknown, which
such Borrower has or ever had against the Released Parties from the beginning of
the world to this date arising in any way out of the existing financing
arrangements between the Borrowers and the Syndication Parties, and the Borrower
further acknowledges that, as of the date hereof, it does not have any
counterclaim, set-off, or defense against the Released Parties, each of which
the Borrower hereby expressly waives.
11.Loan Documents Remain
Effective. Except as expressly set forth in this Agreement,
the Loan Documents and all of the obligations of the Borrower thereunder, the
rights and benefits of the Agent and Syndication Parties thereunder, and the
liens and security interests created thereby remain in full force and
effect. Without limiting the foregoing, the Borrower agrees to comply
with all of the terms, conditions, and provisions of the Loan Documents except
to the extent such compliance is irreconcilably inconsistent with the express
provisions of this Agreement. This Agreement and the Loan Documents
are intended by the Syndication Parties as a final expression of their agreement
and are intended as a complete and exclusive statement of the terms and
conditions of that agreement.
12.Fees and
Expenses.
12.1The
Borrower shall have paid the Administrative Agent, by wire transfer of
immediately available federal funds (a) all fees presently due under the Credit
Agreement; (b) all expenses owing pursuant to Section 15.1 of the Credit
Agreement.
12.2The
Borrower shall pay on demand all fees and expenses (including attorneys’ fees)
incurred by the Agent and its counsel in connection with this Agreement and the
other instruments and documents being executed and delivered in connection
herewith, and all fees and expenses of counsel to the Agent with respect to the
credit facilities subject to the Credit Agreement .
12.3.The
Borrower shall pay a fee in consideration of this Agreement, in an amount equal
to the total obligations outstanding under the Credit Agreement multiplied by 10
basis points.
13.Conditions
Precedent. The effectiveness of this Agreement is subject to
the satisfaction of the following conditions precedent:
(a)the
Borrower, the Agent, and the Required Lenders shall have executed and delivered
this Agreement, on or before October 27, 2008;
(b)the
Agent shall have received a copy of a fully executed limited duration waiver
from the lenders party to the BMO Credit Agreement and Bank of Montreal, as
agent for such lenders, waiving any default under the BMO Credit Agreement that
is analogous to the Subject Defaults for a period ending no earlier than
November 26, 2008, which limited duration waiver shall not contain any other
terms or provisions that are not contained in this Agreement or that are
inconsistent with the terms of this Agreement or that are more favorable to the
lenders under the BMO Credit Agreement than the terms of this Agreement are
favorable to the Syndication Parties, and which otherwise shall be in form and
substance reasonably satisfactory to the Agent (the “BMO Limited Duration Waiver”),
and such limited duration waiver shall be effective;
(c)the
Agent shall have received a copy of a fully executed limited duration waiver
from the lenders party to the Receivables Purchase Agreement and the
Securitization Agent, waiving any default under the Receivables Purchase
Agreement that is analogous to the Subject Defaults for a period ending no
earlier than November 26, 2008, agreeing to extend any amendments to the Amended
and Restated Receivables Purchase Agreement dated as of October 10, 2008
and agreeing to continue to provide credit thereunder during the Waiver Period,
which limited duration waiver shall not contain any other terms or provisions
that are not contained in this Agreement or more favorable to the purchasers
under the Receivables Purchase Agreement than the terms of this Agreement are
favorable to the Syndication Parties, and which otherwise shall be in form and
substance reasonably satisfactory to the Agent (the “Fairway Limited Duration
Waiver”) and such Fairway Limited Duration Waiver shall be effective;
(d)the
payment of the legal fees and expenses referred to in Section 12 above;
and
(e)the
payment of the fee pursuant to Section 12.3 of this Agreement.
14.Authorization to Enter into
Collateral Documents and Intercreditor Agreement. The Required
Lenders hereby irrevocably authorize the Agent to execute and deliver
(a) such amendments (including an amendment and restatement) to the
Security Agreement or such security agreements, mortgages, deeds of trust and
other instruments as the Agent may deem appropriate to obtain the liens and
security interests contemplated by this Agreement (collectively, the “Additional Security
Documents”), and (b) the BMO Intercreditor Agreement on behalf of
each of the Syndication Parties and to take such action and exercise such powers
under the Additional Security Documents and the BMO Intercreditor Agreement as
the Agent considers appropriate. Each Syndication Party acknowledges
and agrees that it will be bound by the terms and conditions of the BMO
Intercreditor Agreement upon the execution and delivery thereof by the
Agent. Except as otherwise specifically provided for herein, no
Syndication Party, other than the Agent, shall have the right to institute any
suit, action or proceeding in equity or at law for the enforcement of any remedy
under the Additional Security Documents or the BMO Intercreditor Agreement; it
being understood and intended that no one or more of the Syndication Parties
shall have any right in any manner whatsoever to enforce any right thereunder,
and that all proceedings at law or in equity shall be instituted, had, and
maintained by the Agent for the benefit of the Syndication
Parties. The parties hereto hereby acknowledge and agree that each of
the Additional Security Documents and the BMO Intercreditor Agreement shall
constitute a Loan Document for all purposes of the Credit Agreement and the
other Loan Documents.
15.General
Provisions.
15.1Authority
of Borrower. By its acceptance hereof, the Borrower hereby represents
that it has the necessary power and authority to execute, deliver, and perform
the undertakings contained herein, and that this Agreement constitutes the valid
and binding obligation of the Borrower enforceable against it in accordance with
its terms.
15.2Severability. Any
provision of this Agreement held 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 provision hereof; and the
invalidity of a particular provision in a particular jurisdiction shall not
invalidate such provision in any other jurisdiction.
15.3Loan
Document. The parties hereto hereby acknowledge and agree that this
Agreement shall constitute a Loan Document for all purposes of the Credit
Agreement and the other Loan Documents.
15.4Survivability. Unless
otherwise expressly stated herein, the provisions of this Agreement shall
survive the termination of the Waiver Period.
15.5Counterparts. This
Agreement may be executed in counterparts and by different parties on separate
counterpart signature pages, each of which constitutes an original and all of
which taken together constitute one and the same instrument. Delivery
of executed counterparts of this Agreement by telecopy shall be effective as an
original. This Agreement may be executed by the parties hereto in
separate counterparts, each of which, when so executed and delivered, shall be
an original, but all such counterparts shall together constitute one and the
same instrument. Each counterpart may consist of a number of
copies hereof, each signed by less than all, but together signed by all, of the
parties hereto. Copies of documents or signature pages bearing
original signatures, and executed documents or signature pages delivered by a
party by telefax, facsimile, or e-mail transmission of an Adobe® file format
document (also known as a PDF file) shall, in each such instance, be deemed to
be, and shall constitute and be treated as, an original signed document or
counterpart, as applicable. Any party delivering an executed
counterpart of this Agreement by telefax, facsimile, or e-mail transmission of
an Adobe® file format document also shall deliver an original executed
counterpart of this Agreement, but the failure to deliver an original executed
counterpart shall not affect the validity, enforceability, and binding effect of
this Agreement.
15.6Governing
Law. This Agreement shall be governed by Colorado law and shall be
governed and interpreted on the same basis as the Credit Agreement.
15.7Successors and
Assigns. This Agreement shall be binding upon and inure to the
benefit of Borrower, Agent, and the Syndication Parties, and their respective
successors and assigns, except that Borrower may not assign or transfer its
rights or obligations hereunder without the prior written consent of all the
Syndication Parties.
15.8Headings. The
captions or headings in this Agreement are for convenience only and in no way
define, limit or describe the scope or intent of any provision of this
Agreement.
15.9No Other
Modifications. The Credit Agreement, except as expressly modified
herein, shall continue in full force and effect and be binding upon the parties
thereto.
[Signature
Pages to Follow]
IN
WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have caused this Agreement to be executed as
of the date and year first above written.
ADMINISTRATIVE
AGENT:CoBank, ACB
By:
Name:James
Matzat
Title:Vice
President
BORROWER:Pilgrim’s
Pride Corporation
By:
Name:Richard
A. Cogdill
Title:Exe.
VP, CFO, Sec & Treas.
SYNDICATION
PARTIES:CoBank, ACB
By:
Name:James
Matzat
Title:Vice
President
Agriland, FCS
By:
Name:Dwayne
Young
Title:Chief
Executive Officer
Deere Credit, Inc.
By:
Name:Michael
P. Kuehn
Title:Manager,
AFS Johnson Credit Operations
{Signature
Page to Agreement}
Bank
of the West
By:
Name:
Title:
John
Hancock Life Insurance Company
By:
Name:
Title:
The
Variable Annuity Life Insurance Company
AIG
Global Investment Corp., investment advisor
By:
Name:
Title:
The
United States Life Insurance Company in the City of New York
AIG
Global Investment Corp., investment advisor
By:
Name:
Title:
Merit
Life Insurance Co.
AIG
Global Investment Corp., investment advisor
By:
Name:
Title:
{Signature
Page to Agreement}
American
General Assurance Company
AIG
Global Investment Corp., investment advisor
By:
Name:
Title:
AIG
International Group, Inc.
AIG
Global Investment Corp., investment advisor
By:
Name:
Title:
AIG
Annuity Insurance Company
AIG
Global Investment Corp., investment advisor
By:
Name:
Title:
Transamerica
Life Insurance Company
By:
Name:
Title:
The
CIT Group/Business Credit, Inc.
By:
Name:
Title:
Metropolitan
Life Insurance Company
By:
Name:
Title:
{Signature
Page to Agreement }
Cooperatieve
Centrale Raiffeisen-Boerenleenbank B.A., “Rabobank-Nederland” New York
Branch
By:
Name:
Title:
By:
Name:
Title:
Farm
Credit Services of America, PCA
By:
Name:
Title:
The
Prudential Insurance Company of America
By:
Name:
Title:
{Signature
Page to Agreement}
ex10_2.htm
Pilgrim’s
Pride Corporation
Limited
Duration Waiver Agreement
This
Limited Duration Waiver Agreement (herein, the “Agreement”) is made as of
October 26, 2008, by and among Pilgrim’s Pride Corporation, a Delaware
corporation (the “Company”), To-Ricos, Ltd., a
Bermuda company (“To-Ricos”), To-Ricos
Distribution, Ltd., a Bermuda company (“To-Ricos Distribution”; and
together with To-Ricos, the “Foreign Borrowers”; the
Company and the Foreign Borrowers collectively, the “Borrowers” and individually,
a “Borrower”), the Banks party hereto,
and Bank of Montreal, a Canadian chartered bank acting through its Chicago
branch, as administrative agent for the Banks (the “Agent”).
Recitals:
A.The Banks
currently extend credit to the Borrowers on the terms and conditions set forth
in that certain Fourth Amended and Restated Secured Credit Agreement dated as of
February 8, 2007, as amended, by and among the Borrowers, the Banks, and
the Agent (the “Credit
Agreement”).
B.The Company
has informed the Banks that the Company was not in compliance with
Section 7.12 (Fixed Charge Coverage Ratio) of the Credit Agreement as of
September 27, 2008 and may not be in compliance with Section 7.8 (Leverage
Ratio) of the Credit Agreement as of September 27, 2008 (such instances of
noncompliance being hereinafter collectively referred to as the “Subject Default”).
C.The Company
has requested that the Required Banks waive the Subject Default during the
period ending November 26, 2008, and the Required Banks are willing to do
so subject to the terms and conditions contained in this Agreement.
Now,
Therefore, for good and valuable consideration, the receipt and sufficiency of
which is hereby acknowledged, the parties hereto agree as follows:
1.Incorporation of Recitals; Defined
Terms. The Borrowers acknowledge that the Recitals set forth
above are true and correct in all material respects. The defined
terms in the Recitals set forth above are hereby incorporated into this
Agreement by reference. All other capitalized terms used herein
without definition shall have the same meanings herein as such terms have in the
Credit Agreement.
2.Amounts Owing. The
Borrowers acknowledge and agree that the principal amount of Loans,
Reimbursement Obligations and L/Cs as of October 24, 2008, is $284,289,540
($0 in Bid Loans, $203,245,000 in Revolving Credit Loans, $0 in Swing
Loans, $0 in Bond Reimbursement Obligations, $25,239,727 in the Bond L/C, $0 in
Reimbursement Obligations, and $81,044,540 in issued and currently undrawn
L/Cs), and such amount (together with interest and fees thereon) is justly and
truly owing by the Borrowers without defense, offset or
counterclaim.
3.Limited Duration
Waiver. Subject to the terms and conditions contained in this
Agreement, the Required Banks waive the Subject Default but only for the period
(the “Waiver Period”)
beginning October 28, 2008, and ending on November 26, 2008 (the “Scheduled Waiver Expiration
Date”). The foregoing waiver shall become null and void on the
Scheduled Waiver Expiration Date and from and after the Scheduled Waiver
Expiration Date the Agent and the Banks shall have all rights and remedies
available to them as a result of the occurrence of the Subject Default as though
this waiver had never been granted.
4.Additional
Agreements. The Borrower further agrees
that:
(a)The Agent
(or its counsel) and the Banks (or their special counsel) shall have the right
to engage jointly on behalf of the Banks a financial advisor, selected by the
Agent and acceptable to the Required Banks, to review, evaluate and advise the
Agent and the Banks as to the reports, analyses and cash flow forecasts and
other materials prepared by the Company’s financial consultants relating to the
financial condition, operating performance, and business prospects of the
Company and its Subsidiaries and to perform such other information gathering or
evaluation acts as may be reasonably requested by the Agent or the Required
Banks, and the reasonable costs and expenses of such financial advisor shall be
borne by the Company and constitute part of the Company’s obligations
outstanding under the Credit Agreement. The Company shall take
reasonable steps to make available to such financial advisor and its
representatives such information respecting the financial condition, operating
performance, and business prospects of the Company and its Subsidiaries as may
be reasonably requested and shall make the Company’s financial consultants,
officers, employees, and independent public accountants available with
reasonable prior notice to discuss such information with such financial advisor
and its representatives.
(b)The
Company shall provide to the Agent and the Banks a 13-week cash flow forecast
(the “Forecast”)
showing projected cash receipts and cash disbursements of the Company and its
Subsidiaries over the following 13-week period, together with a reconciliation
of actual cash receipts and cash disbursements of the Company and its
Subsidiaries from the prior week against the cash flow forecast previously
furnished to the Agent and the Banks and showing any deviations on a cumulative
basis), prepared by the Company and in form and substance, and with such detail,
as the Agent may request. Each Forecast shall be provided to the
Agent and the Banks no later than 5:00 p.m., Central time, on Wednesday of each
week (beginning October 29, 2008).
(c)The
Company shall engage a chief restructuring officer reasonably acceptable to the
Required Banks no later than the 10th Business Day after the date the Agent
provides the Company with a list of potential candidates that would be
acceptable to the Required Banks, but the Company shall have no obligation to
engage any of the potential candidates named on such list and may engage any
other person or firm that is reasonably acceptable to the Required
Banks. The scope of the chief restructuring officer’s engagement and
the authority granted to such chief restructuring officer must be reasonably
satisfactory to the Required Banks.
(d)No later
than October 31, 2008, the Company shall deliver to the Banks a budget for
the 90-day period ending January 31, 2009, in form and substance
satisfactory to the Agent and its financial advisor.
(e)No later
than the 5th Business Day after the date the CoBank Intercreditor Agreement (as
defined below) is executed and delivered by the parties thereto, the Company
shall grant to the Agent for the benefit of the Banks valid, enforceable liens
and security interests on all of the collateral securing the CoBank Credit
Agreement (the “CoBank
Collateral”), including without limitation mortgages or deeds of trust on
all real property, buildings and improvements on which CoBank presently has or
hereafter obtains a mortgage or deed of trust (other than IRB Collateral (as
defined below)), subject to the liens and security interests granted to CoBank
in such property or permitted under the CoBank Credit Agreement and the Loan
Documents (as defined in the CoBank Credit Agreement). In the case of
any CoBank Collateral that is subject or requires a consent or an approval by
any person in respect of any industrial revenue bonds, notes, debentures or
similar instruments issued by a governmental entity (the “IRB Collateral”), the
Company shall use its reasonable best efforts to, as soon as reasonably
practical, grant to the Agent for the benefit of the Banks valid, enforceable
liens and security interests on all of such IRB Collateral securing the CoBank
Credit Agreement, including without limitation mortgages or deeds of trust on
all real property, buildings and improvements on which CoBank presently has or
hereafter obtains a mortgage or deed of trust on such IRB Collateral, subject to
the liens and security interests granted to CoBank in such property or permitted
under the CoBank Credit Agreement and the Loan Documents (as defined in the
CoBank Credit Agreement). The Company shall pay all taxes, costs, and
expenses incurred by the Agent in obtaining and perfecting such security
interests and shall supply to the Agent at the Company’s cost and expense such
board resolutions and other instruments, documents, certificates, and opinions
reasonably required by the Agent in connection therewith.
(f)During the
Waiver Period the Company shall obtain loans under the Credit Agreement and the
Amended and Restated Credit Agreement dated as of September 21, 2006, among
the Company, CoBank, ACB, as Administrative, Documentation and Collateral Agent
for the benefit of the present and future Syndication Parties and as a
Syndication Party, Lead Arranger and Book Manager thereunder (“CoBank”), Farm Credit
Services of America, FLCA, as Co-Arranger and as a Syndication Party, and the
other Syndication Parties party thereto, as amended, supplemented, restated and
otherwise modified from time to time (as so amended, supplemented, restated and
otherwise modified from time to time, the “CoBank Credit Agreement”),
and shall repay loans under the Credit Agreement and the CoBank Credit
Agreement, only on a pro rata basis, determined on the basis of the undrawn
amount of the commitments under each of the two credit agreements at the close
of business in Chicago, Illinois, on September 24, 2008, as stated in Section
8(f) hereof, until the aggregate undrawn commitments under the Credit Agreement
and the CoBank Credit Agreement are $75,000,000. Thereafter (i) the
Banks shall have no obligation to extend further credit to the Company under the
Credit Agreement until such time as the aggregate undrawn commitments under the
Credit Agreement and the CoBank Credit Agreement exceed $75,000,000 in which
case the Company may obtain and repay loans under the Credit Agreement and the
CoBank Credit Agreement only on a pro rata basis as described above until the
aggregate undrawn commitments under the Credit Agreement and the CoBank Credit
Agreement are $75,000,000, and (ii) at any time that until the aggregate undrawn
commitments under the Credit Agreement and the CoBank Credit Agreement are
$75,000,000 or less, the Company may obtain loans under the CoBank Credit
Agreement (such loans are referred to as “Additional Loans”) and may
repay Additional Loans without a concurrent repayment of loans under the Credit
Agreement until such time as the aggregate undrawn commitments under the Credit
Agreement and the CoBank Credit Agreement exceed $75,000,000 in which case the
Company may obtain and repay loans under the Credit Agreement and the CoBank
Credit Agreement only on a pro rata basis as described above until the aggregate
undrawn commitments under the Credit Agreement and the CoBank Credit Agreement
are $75,000,000.
(g)The
Required Banks hereby consent to the granting by the Company to CoBank, as agent
under the CoBank Credit Agreement, of a security interest in all Collateral
granted to the Agent pursuant to the Third Amended and Restated Security
Agreement Re: Inventory and Farm Products dated as of October 13, 2008, provided that such security
interest shall be subject and subordinate to the Agent’s security interests
therein pursuant to an intercreditor agreement that provides, among other
things, that all of the subordinated liens and security interests granted by the
Company to the parties thereto may not be enforced without the approval of the
holder of the senior liens and security interests in the same property and that
shall otherwise be acceptable in form and substance to the Agent, between the
Agent and CoBank, as agent under the CoBank Credit Agreement (the “CoBank Intercreditor
Agreement”).
(h)The
Company agrees that the amounts on deposit in all of its operating accounts
(including without limitation its accounts at Merrill Lynch) will not exceed at
any time the amount needed by the Company and its Subsidiaries for their
operating expenses and liquidity needs in the ordinary course of
business.
(i)The
Company shall promptly provide any financial information concerning the Company
and its Subsidiaries and their respective businesses that the Agent or the
Required Banks may reasonably request.
5.Waiver
Termination. As used in this Agreement, “Waiver Termination” shall
mean the occurrence of the Scheduled Waiver Expiration Date, or, if earlier, the
occurrence of any one or more of the following events: (a) any Potential
Default or Event of Default under the Credit Agreement, in each case other than
the Subject Default; (b) any failure by the Company for any reason to
comply with any term, condition, or provision contained in this Agreement,
including without limitation the engagement of a chief restructuring officer as
required by Section 4(c) hereof, or in any document signed in connection
herewith; (c) any representation made by the Company in this Agreement or
pursuant to it proves to be incorrect or misleading in any material respect when
made; (d) the CoBank Limited Duration Waiver (as defined in
Section 13(b) hereof) shall for any reason not be or shall cease to be in
full force and effect or is declared to be null and void, or CoBank or any other
party to the CoBank Credit Agreement takes any action for the purpose of
terminating, repudiating or rescinding the CoBank Limited Duration Waiver or any
of its obligations thereunder; (e) the Fairway Limited Duration Waiver (as
defined in Section 13(c) hereof) shall for any reason not be or shall cease
to be in full force and effect or is declared to be null and void, or the
Securitization Agent (as defined below) or any other party to the Amended and
Restated Receivables Purchase Agreement dated as of September 26, 1998, among
Pilgrim’s Pride Funding Corporation, as Seller, the Company, as Servicer,
Fairway Finance Company, LLC, as Purchaser, the various purchasers and purchaser
agents from time to time party thereto and BMO Capital Markets Corp., as
Administrator (the “Securitization Agent”), as
amended, supplemented and otherwise modified (as so amended,
supplemented and otherwise modified, the “Receivables Purchase
Agreement”), takes any action for the purpose of terminating, repudiating
or rescinding the Fairway Limited Duration Waiver or any of its obligations
thereunder; (f) the CoBank Intercreditor Agreement, or any part thereof,
shall for any reason not be or shall cease to be in full force and effect or is
declared to be null and void, or CoBank, as agent under the CoBank Credit
Agreement, or any other lender under the CoBank Credit Agreement, takes any
action for the purpose of terminating, repudiating or rescinding the CoBank
Credit Agreement or any of its obligations thereunder; or (g) the Company
shall pay any interest on its 8-3/8% Senior Subordinated Notes due 2017 or its
7-5/8% Senior Notes due May 1, 2015. Upon the occurrence of a
Waiver Termination, the Waiver Period is automatically terminated and the Banks
are then permitted and entitled, with respect to the Subject Default and any
other Event of Default then in existence, under Sections 6.2, 8.2, 8.3, 8.4
and 8.5 of the Credit Agreement, among other things, to decline to provide
additional credit to the Borrowers, to permanently terminate the Revolving
Credit Commitments, to accelerate the Borrowers’ indebtedness, obligations and
liabilities under the Loan Documents, to require cash collateral for outstanding
L/Cs, and to exercise any other rights and remedies that may be available under
the Loan Documents or applicable law.
6.Limited Waiver and Reservation of
Rights. The Borrowers acknowledge and agree that immediately
upon expiration or termination of the Waiver Period, the Agent and the Banks
have all of their rights and remedies with respect to the Subject Default to the
same extent, and with the same force and effect, as if the waiver contained
herein had not been granted. The Borrowers will not assert and hereby
forever waives any right to assert that the Agent or the Banks are obligated in
any way to continue to waive the Subject Default beyond the Waiver Period or to
forbear from enforcing their rights or remedies with respect to the Subject
Default after the Waiver Period or that the Agent and the Banks are not entitled
to act on the Subject Default after the occurrence of a Waiver Termination as if
such default had just occurred and the Waiver Period had never
existed. The Borrowers acknowledge that the Banks have made no
representations as to what actions, if any, the Banks will take after the Waiver
Period or upon the occurrence of any Waiver Termination, Potential Default or
Event of Default, and the Banks and the Agent must and do hereby specifically
reserve any and all rights, remedies, and claims they have (after giving effect
hereto) with respect to the Subject Default and each other Potential Default or
Event of Default that may occur.
7.Acknowledgement of
Liens. The Company hereby acknowledges and agrees that all
indebtedness, obligations and liabilities of the Borrowers, or any of them,
owing to the Agent and the Banks arising out of or in any manner relating to the
Loan Documents, as well as all Hedging Liability and Funds Transfer and Deposit
Account Liability, shall continue to be secured by liens and security interests
on all of the Collateral pursuant to the Loan Documents heretofore or hereafter
executed and delivered by the Company, and nothing herein
contained shall in any manner affect or impair the priority of the liens and
security interests created and provided for thereby as to the indebtedness,
obligations, and liabilities which would be secured thereby prior to giving
effect to this Agreement.
8.Representations and
Warranties. The Borrowers represent and warrant to the Agent
and the Banks that:
(a)each
Borrower has full right and authority to enter into this Agreement and to
perform all of its obligations hereunder, and the Company has full right and
authority to grant to the Agent the liens and security interests contemplated
hereby;
(b)this
Agreement and the performance or observance by the Borrowers of any of the
matters and things herein or therein provided for do not (i) contravene or
constitute a default under any provision of law or any judgment, injunction,
order or decree binding upon any Borrower or any provision of the organizational
documents (e.g.,
certificate or articles of incorporation and by-laws) of any Borrower, or
(ii) contravene or constitute a default under any covenant, indenture or
agreement of or affecting any Borrower or any of its Property;
(c)the
obligations of each Borrower and the Guarantor under this Agreement and each of
the Loan Documents executed and delivered by it are legal, valid, enforceable
(except as enforcement may be limited by equitable principles or by bankruptcy,
insolvency, reorganization, moratorium, or similar laws relating to or limiting
creditors’ rights generally) and subsisting and not subject to set-off, defense
(other than payment) or counterclaim;
(d)no
Potential Default or Event of Default has occurred and is continuing, other than
the Subject Default;
(e)the
Company’s indebtedness, obligations and liabilities to the Agent and the Banks
under the Loan Documents constitute “Designated Senior indebtedness” as defined
in the First Supplemental Indenture dated as of January 24, 2007, between the
Company and Wells Fargo Bank, National Association, as Trustee, relating to the
Company’s 8-3/8% Senior Subordinated Notes due 2017;
(f)as of the
close of business in Chicago, Illinois on September 24, 2008, the undrawn amount
of all commitments under the CoBank Credit Agreement was $143,000,000 and the
undrawn amount of all Revolving Credit Commitments under the Credit Agreement
was $35,500,000; and
(g)the
Company has decided that during the Waiver Period it will not pay any interest
on its 8-3/8% Senior Subordinated Notes due 2017 or its 7-5/8% Senior Notes due
May-1, 2015.
9.Second Liens. The
Required Banks hereby agree that (a) neither the Security Agreement nor
clauses (n) and (q) of Section 7.15 of the Credit Agreement shall prohibit the
liens on the Company’s assets described in Sections 4(e) and (g) of this
Agreement, so long as such liens are granted in compliance with the requirements
of said Sections 4(e) and (g), and (b) for purposes of Section 7.16(i) of
the Credit Agreement, the word “Collateral” shall be replaced by the phrase
“Collateral consisting of Inventory”.
10.Release. For value
received, including without limitation, the agreements of the Banks in this
Agreement, each Borrower hereby releases the Agent and each Bank, its current
and former shareholders, directors, officers, agents, employees, attorneys,
consultants, and professional advisors (collectively, the “Released Parties”) of and
from any and all demands, actions, causes of action, suits, controversies, acts
and omissions, liabilities, and other claims of every kind or nature whatsoever,
both in law and in equity, known or unknown, which such Borrower has or ever had
against the Released Parties from the beginning of the world to this date
arising in any way out of the existing financing arrangements between the
Borrowers and the Banks, and each Borrower further acknowledges that, as of the
date hereof, it does not have any counterclaim, set-off, or defense against the
Released Parties, each of which each Borrower hereby expressly
waives.
11.Loan Documents Remain
Effective. Except as expressly set forth in this Agreement,
the Loan Documents and all of the obligations of the Borrowers thereunder, the
rights and benefits of the Agent and Banks thereunder, and the liens and
security interests created thereby remain in full force and
effect. Without limiting the foregoing, each Borrower agrees to
comply with all of the terms, conditions, and provisions of the Loan Documents
except to the extent such compliance is irreconcilably inconsistent with the
express provisions of this Agreement. This Agreement and the Loan
Documents are intended by the Banks as a final expression of their agreement and
are intended as a complete and exclusive statement of the terms and conditions
of that agreement.
12.Fees and
Expenses. The Company shall pay on demand all fees and
expenses (including attorneys’ fees) incurred by the Agent and its counsel,
special counsel to the Banks and counsel to each Bank in connection with this
Agreement and the other instruments and documents being executed and delivered
in connection herewith, and all fees and expenses of counsel to the Agent and
special counsel to the Banks with respect to the credit facilities subject to
the Credit Agreement.
13.Conditions
Precedent. The effectiveness of this Agreement is subject to
the satisfaction of the following conditions precedent:
(a)the
Borrowers, the Agent, and the Required Banks shall have executed and delivered
this Agreement, and the Guarantor shall have executed and delivered its
reaffirmation, acknowledgment, and consent in the space provided for that
purpose below, on or before October 28, 2008;
(b)the
Agent shall have received a copy of a fully executed limited duration waiver
from the lenders party to the CoBank Credit Agreement and CoBank, as agent for
such lenders, waiving any default under the CoBank Credit Agreement that is
analogous to the Subject Default for a period ending no earlier that the
Scheduled Waiver Expiration Date, which limited duration waiver shall not
contain any other terms or provisions that are not contained in this Agreement
or that are inconsistent with the terms of this Agreement or that are more
favorable to the lenders under the CoBank Credit Agreement than the terms of
this Agreement are favorable to the Banks, and which otherwise shall be in form
and substance reasonably satisfactory to the Agent (the “CoBank Limited Duration
Waiver”), provided that the CoBank
Limited Duration Waiver may (x) require the Company to grant mortgages and deeds
of trust to CoBank, as agent under the CoBank Credit Agreement, on real property
and buildings and improvements thereon that are currently unencumbered so long
as not later than the latter of: (i) the date the CoBank Intercreditor Agreement
is executed and delivered by the parties thereto or (ii) the date the Company
grants such mortgages and deeds of trust, the Company concurrently grants to the
Agent a second priority mortgage or deed of trust thereon, and such limited
duration waiver shall be effective, and (y) allow the Company to obtain
Additional Loans and require the Company to repay Additional Loans as described
in Section 4(f) above;
(c)the
Agent shall have received a copy of a fully executed limited duration waiver
from the lenders party to the Receivables Purchase Agreement and the
Securitization Agent, waiving any default under the Receivables Purchase
Agreement that is analogous to the Subject Default for a period ending no
earlier that the Scheduled Waiver Expiration Date, agreeing to extend the
existing amendments to the Amended and Restated Receivables Purchase Agreement
during the Waiver Period and agreeing to continue to provide credit thereunder
during the Waiver Period, which limited duration waiver shall not contain any
other terms or provisions that are not contained in this Agreement or that are
inconsistent with the terms of this Agreement or that are more favorable to the
lenders under the Receivables Purchase Agreement than the terms of this
Agreement are favorable to the Banks, and which otherwise shall be in form and
substance reasonably satisfactory to the Agent (the “Fairway Limited Duration
Waiver”) and such Fairway Limited Duration Waiver shall be effective;
(d)the
payment of the current legal fees and expenses referred to in Section 12
above; and
(e)payment
for the account of the Banks on a pro rata basis of a non-refundable waiver fee
in an amount equal to 0.10% of the Revolving Credit Commitments and the Bond
Letter of Credit.
14.Authorization to Enter into
Collateral Documents and Intercreditor Agreement. The Required
Banks hereby irrevocably authorize the Agent to execute and deliver
(a) such amendments (including an amendment and restatement) to the
Security Agreement or such security agreements, mortgages, deeds of trust and
other instruments as the Agent may deem appropriate to obtain the liens and
security interests contemplated by Section 4(f) of this Agreement
(collectively, the “Additional
Security Documents”), and (b) the CoBank Intercreditor Agreement on
behalf of each of the Banks and their Affiliates and the L/C Issuers and to
take such action and exercise such powers under the Additional Security
Documents and the CoBank Intercreditor Agreement as the Agent considers
appropriate, provided
the Agent shall not amend Additional Security Documents or the CoBank
Intercreditor Agreement unless such amendment is agreed to in writing by the
Required Lenders. Each Bank and L/C Issuer acknowledges and
agrees that it will be bound by the terms and conditions of the CoBank
Intercreditor Agreement upon the execution and delivery thereof by the
Agent. Except as otherwise specifically provided for herein, no Bank
(or its Affiliates) or L/C Issuer, other than the Agent, shall have the
right to institute any suit, action or proceeding in equity or at law for the
enforcement of any remedy under the Additional Security Documents or the CoBank
Intercreditor Agreement; it being understood and intended that no one or more of
the Banks (or their Affiliates) or L/C Issuer shall have any right in any
manner whatsoever to enforce any right thereunder, and that all proceedings at
law or in equity shall be instituted, had, and maintained by the Agent for the
benefit of the Banks, the L/C Issuers, and their Affiliates. The
parties hereto hereby acknowledge and agree that each of the Additional Security
Documents and the CoBank Intercreditor Agreement shall constitute a Loan
Document for all purposes of the Credit Agreement and the other Loan
Documents.
15.Miscellaneous. By
its acceptance hereof, each Borrower hereby represents that it has the necessary
power and authority to execute, deliver, and perform the undertakings contained
herein, and that this Agreement constitutes the valid and binding obligation of
each Borrower enforceable against it in accordance with its
terms. Any provision of this Agreement held 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 provision
hereof; and the invalidity of a particular provision in a particular
jurisdiction shall not invalidate such provision in any other
jurisdiction. The parties hereto hereby acknowledge and agree that
this Agreement shall constitute a Loan Document for all purposes of the Credit
Agreement and the other Loan Documents. Unless otherwise expressly
stated herein, the provisions of this Agreement shall survive the termination of
the Waiver Period. This Agreement may be executed in counterparts and
by different parties on separate counterpart signature pages, each of which
constitutes an original and all of which taken together constitute one and the
same instrument. Delivery of executed counterparts of this Agreement
by telecopy shall be effective as an original. This Agreement shall
be governed by Illinois law and shall be governed and interpreted on the same
basis as the Credit Agreement.
[Signature
Pages to Follow]
This
Limited Duration Waiver Agreement is entered into as of the date and year first
above written.
|
Pilgrim’s
Pride Corporation
|
|
Its
Chief Financial Officer
|
|
Its
Executive Vice President, Treasurer and Assistant
Secretary
|
|
To-Ricos
Distribution, Ltd.
|
|
Its
Executive Vice President, Treasurer and Assistant
Secretary
|
Accepted
and agreed to.
|
Bank
of Montreal, as Agent
|
|
BMO
Capital Markets Financing, Inc., individually and as Swing
Bank
|
|
U.S.
Bank National Association
|
|
Wells
Fargo Bank National Association
|
|
Credit
Suisse, Cayman Islands Branch
|
|
JP
Morgan Chase Bank, N.A.
|
|
Deutsche
Bank Trust Company Americas
|
|
First
National Bank of Omaha
|
Reaffirmation,
Acknowledgement, and Consent of Guarantor
The
undersigned, Pilgrim Interests, Ltd., a Texas limited partnership (the “Guarantor”), has executed
and delivered a Second Amended and Restated Guaranty Agreement dated as of
February 8, 2007 (the “Guaranty”) to the
Banks. As an additional inducement to and in consideration of the
Banks’ acceptance of the Limited Duration Waiver Agreement dated as of
October 26, 2008 (the “Limited Duration Waiver”),
the Guarantor hereby agrees with the Banks as follows:
1.The
Guarantor consents to the execution of the Limited Duration Waiver by the
Borrowers and acknowledges that this consent is not required under the terms of
the Guaranty and that the execution hereof by the Guarantor shall not be
construed to require the Banks to obtain the Guarantor’s consent to any future
amendment, modification or waiver of any term of the Credit Agreement except as
otherwise provided in said Guaranty. The Guarantor hereby agrees that
the Guaranty shall apply to all indebtedness, obligations and liabilities of the
Borrowers to the Banks, the Agent and the L/C Issuers under the Credit
Agreement. The Guarantor further agrees that the Guaranty shall be and remain in
full force and effect.
2.All
terms used herein shall have the same meaning as in the Limited Duration Waiver,
unless otherwise expressly defined herein.
Dated as
of October 26, 2008.
|
Lonnie
A. Pilgrim, as trustee of the Lonnie A. Pilgrim 1998 Revocable Trust
created by agreement dated September 9, 1998, as
amended
|
|
Who
Represent and Warrant that they have Authority to Bind the
Partnership
|
ex10_3.htm
EXHIBIT
10.3
EXECUTION
COPY
Pilgrim’s Pride
Corporation
Limited Duration Waiver
Agreement
This Limited Duration Waiver Agreement (herein, the " Agreement ") is made as of October 26,
2008, by and among PILGRIM’S PRIDE CORPORATION, a Delaware corporation (the
" Servicer "), PILGRIM’S PRIDE FUNDING
CORPORATION, a Delaware limited liability company (the " Seller " and, together with
the Servicer, the " Seller
Parties "), the PURCHASERS AND PURCHASER AGENTS ON THE SIGNATURE PAGES
HERETO (collectively, the " Purchasers ")
and BMO CAPITAL MARKETS CORP., as administrator (in such capacity, together with
its successors and assigns, the " Administrator ").
Recitals:
A. Fairway and each other purchaser from time to time
party to the Receivables Purchase Agreement (as defined below) (collectively,
the " Purchasers "
and, together with the Administrator, the " Waiving
Parties ") currently purchase and make reinvestments of undivided
percentage ownership interests with regard to the Participation from the Seller
on the terms and conditions set forth in that certain Amended and Restated
Receivables Purchase Agreement dated as of September 26, 2008, by and among the
Servicer, the Seller, the Purchasers and the Administrator (as amended,
restated, supplemented or otherwise modified from time to time, the " Receivables
Purchase Agreement ").
B. The Servicer has informed the Waiving Parties
that the Servicer was not in compliance with clause (v) of Exhibit IV to the
Receivables Purchase Agreement (Fixed Charge Coverage Ratio) as of
September 27, 2008 and expects that it will not be in compliance with
clause (t) of Exhibit IV to the Receivables Purchase Agreement (Leverage Ratio)
(each such instance of noncompliance being hereinafter referred to collectively
as the " Subject
Default ").
C.
The Seller Parties have requested that the Waiving Parties waive the Subject
Default during the period ending November 26, 2008, and the Waiving Parties are
willing to do so subject to the terms and conditions contained in this
Agreement.
Now, Therefore, for good and
valuable consideration, the receipt and sufficiency of which is hereby
acknowledged, the parties hereto agree as follows:
1. Incorporation of
Recitals; Defined Terms. The Seller Parties acknowledge that the Recitals
set forth above are true and correct in all material respects. The defined terms
in the Recitals set forth above are hereby incorporated into this Agreement by
reference. All other capitalized terms used herein without definition shall have
the same meanings herein as such terms have in the Receivables Purchase
Agreement.
2.
Amounts
Owing. The Seller Parties acknowledge and agree that there are amounts
outstanding, including Investment and Discount in respect of the Participation
and other amounts, that are payable by the Originator, the Seller or the
Servicer, as applicable, to the Purchasers and the Administrator (and any other
Indemnified Party and Affected Person under the Transaction Documents, as
applicable), and such amounts (together with interest and fees thereon) are
justly and truly owing by the Seller without defense, offset or counterclaim.
3.
Limited
Duration Waiver. Subject to the terms and conditions contained in this
Agreement, the Waiving Parties waive the Subject Default but only for the period
(the "Waiver
Period") beginning October 28, 2008, and ending on November 26, 2008 (the
"Scheduled
Waiver Expiration Date"). The foregoing waiver shall become null and void
on the Scheduled Waiver Expiration Date and from and after the Scheduled Waiver
Expiration Date the Administrator and the Purchasers shall have all rights and
remedies available to them as a result of the occurrence of the Subject Default
as though this waiver had never been granted.
4.
Additional
Agreements. The Seller Parties further agree that:
(a) The Administrator
(or its counsel) shall have the right to engage on behalf of the Purchasers a
financial advisor, selected by the Administrator and acceptable to the
Purchasers, to review, evaluate and advise the Administrator and the Purchasers
as to the reports, analyses and cash flow forecasts and other materials prepared
by the Seller’s and the Servicer’s financial consultants relating to the
financial condition, operating performance, and business prospects of the Seller
and the Servicer and their Subsidiaries and to perform such other information
gathering or evaluation acts as may be reasonably requested by the
Administrator, and the reasonable costs and expenses of such financial advisor
shall be borne by the Seller and constitute part of the Seller’s obligations
outstanding under the Receivables Purchase Agreement. Each of the Seller and the
Servicer shall take reasonable steps to make available to such financial advisor
and its representatives such information respecting the financial condition,
operating performance, and business prospects of the Seller and the Servicer and
their Subsidiaries as may be reasonably requested and shall make the Seller’s
and the Servicer’s financial consultants, officers, employees, and independent
public accountants available with reasonable prior notice to discuss such
information with such financial advisor and its representatives.
(b) The Seller (or
the Servicer on its behalf) shall provide to the Administrator and the
Purchasers a 13-week cash flow forecast (the " Forecast ")
showing projected cash receipts and cash disbursements of the Seller and the
Servicer and their Subsidiaries over the following 13-week period, together with
a reconciliation of actual cash receipts and cash disbursements of the Seller
and the Servicer and their Subsidiaries from the prior week against the cash
flow forecast previously furnished to the Administrator and the Purchasers and
showing any deviations on a cumulative basis), prepared by the Servicer and in
form and substance, and with such detail, as the Administrator may request. Each
Forecast shall be provided to the Administrator and the Purchasers no later than
5:00 p.m. Central time, on Wednesday of each week (beginning October 29,
2008).
(c) [Intentionally
Omitted].
(d) No later than
October 31, 2008, the Seller shall deliver to the Administrator and the
Purchasers a budget for the 90-day period ending January 31, 2009, in form and
substance satisfactory to the Administrator and the Purchasers and their
financial advisors.
(e) No later than
October 28, 2008, the Seller and the Servicer shall permit the Administrator or
its administrators or representatives to begin to conduct an on-site audit in
accordance with clause (h) of Exhibit IV to the Receivables Purchase Agreement,
and each of the Seller Parties hereby agrees (i) that this clause (k)
constitutes reasonable notice of such audit as contemplated by the Receivables
Purchase Agreement and (ii) to pay on demand in immediately available funds all
fees and expenses in connection therewith.
5.
Waiver
Termination. As used in this Agreement, "Waiver
Termination" shall mean the occurrence of the Scheduled Waiver Expiration
Date, or, if earlier, the occurrence of any one or more of the following events:
(a) any Unmatured Termination Event or Termination Event, in each case
other than the Subject Default; (b) any failure by the Seller or the
Servicer for any reason to comply with any term, condition, or provision
contained in this Agreement; (c) any representation made by the Seller or
the Servicer in this Agreement or pursuant to it proves to be incorrect or
misleading in any material respect when made; (d) the CoBank Limited
Duration Waiver (as defined in Section 13(b) hereof) shall for any reason
not be or shall cease to be in full force and effect or is declared to be null
and void, or CoBank or any other party to the Amended and Restated Credit
Agreement dated as of September 21, 2006, among the Servicer, CoBank, ACB, as
Administrative, Documentation and Collateral Agent for the benefit of the
present and future Syndication Parties and as a Syndication Party, Lead Arranger
and Book Manager thereunder (" Co-Bank "),
Farm Credit Services of America, FLCA, as Co-Arranger and as a Syndication
Party, and the other Syndication Parties party thereto, as amended,
supplemented, restated and otherwise modified from time to time (as so amended,
supplemented, restated and otherwise modified from time to time, the " CoBank
Credit Agreement ") takes any
action for the purpose of terminating, repudiating or rescinding the CoBank
Limited Duration Waiver or any of its obligations thereunder; (e) the
Credit Agreement Limited Duration Waiver (as defined in Section 13(c)
hereof) shall for any reason not be or shall cease to be in full force and
effect or is declared to be null and void, or the Credit Agent (as defined
below) or any other party to the Fourth Amended and Restated Secured Credit
Agreement dated as of February 8, 2007, among Seller, as a borrower, To-Ricos,
Ltd., To-Ricos Distribution, Ltd., the various banks party thereto and Bank of
Montreal, as agent (the " Credit
Agent "), as
amended, supplemented and otherwise modified (as so
amended, supplemented and otherwise modified, the " Credit
Agreement "), takes
any action for the purpose of terminating, repudiating or rescinding the Credit
Agreement Limited Duration Waiver or any of its obligations thereunder or (f)
the Servicer shall pay any interest on its 8-3/8% Senior Subordinated Notes due
2017 (as defined in the 2007 Senior Subordinated Indenture (as defined in the
Credit Agreement)) or its 7-5/8% Senior Notes due May 1, 2015 (as defined in the
2007 Senior Indenture (as defined in the Credit Agreement)) (such interest
payments under this clause (f), collectively, the " Indenture
Interest Payments "). Upon the occurrence of a Waiver Termination, the
Waiver Period is automatically terminated and the Administrator and the
Purchasers are then permitted and entitled, with respect to the Subject Default
and any other Termination Event then in existence, under the Receivables
Purchase Agreement, including without limitation Section 4.4 thereof, among
other things, to do all things necessary or desirable, in the determination of
the Administrator, to collect any and all amounts or portions thereof due under
any and all Pool Receivables or Related Security, including, without limitation,
endorsing the name of the Seller on checks and other instruments representing
Collections and enforcing such Pool Receivables, Related Security and the
related Contracts, to cease making purchases and reinvestments, to permanently
terminate the commitments thereunder, to accelerate the Seller’s indebtedness,
obligations and liabilities under the Transaction Documents, and to exercise any
other rights and remedies that may be available under the Transaction Documents
or applicable law.
6. Limited Waiver and
Reservation of Rights. The Seller Parties acknowledge and agree that
immediately upon expiration or termination of the Waiver Period, the
Administrator and the Purchasers have all of their rights and remedies with
respect to the Subject Default to the same extent, and with the same force and
effect, as if the waiver contained herein had not been granted. The Seller
Parties will not assert and hereby forever waives any right to assert that the
Administrator or the Purchasers are obligated in any way to continue to waive
the Subject Default beyond the Waiver Period or to forbear from enforcing their
rights or remedies with respect to the Subject Default after the Waiver Period
or that the Administrator and the Purchasers are not entitled to act on the
Subject Default after the occurrence of a Waiver Termination as if such default
had just occurred and the Waiver Period had never existed. The Seller Parties
acknowledge that none of the Administrator or the Purchasers have made any
representations as to what actions, if any, such party will take after the
Waiver Period or upon the occurrence of any Waiver Termination, Unmatured
Termination Event or Termination Event, and the Purchasers and the Administrator
must and do hereby specifically reserve any and all rights, remedies, and claims
they have (after giving effect hereto) with respect to the Subject Default and
each other default or Termination Event that may occur.
7.
Acknowledgement of
Liens. The Seller Parties hereby acknowledge and agree that all
indebtedness, obligations and liabilities of the Seller owing to the
Administrator and the Purchasers arising out of or in any manner relating to the
Transaction Documents shall continue to be secured by liens and security
interests on all of the Receivables, Contracts and Related Security and all
other collateral pursuant to the Transaction Documents heretofore or hereafter
executed and delivered by the Seller or the Servicer, and nothing
herein contained shall in any manner affect or impair the priority of the liens
and security interests created and provided for thereby as to the indebtedness,
obligations, and liabilities which would be secured thereby prior to giving
effect to this Agreement.
(b) this Agreement and the
performance or observance by the Seller Parties of any of the matters and things
herein or therein provided for do not (i) contravene or constitute a
default under any provision of law or any judgment, injunction, order or decree
binding upon any Seller Party or any provision of the organizational documents
(e.g.,
certificate or articles of incorporation and by-laws) of any Seller Party, or
(ii) contravene or constitute a default under any covenant, indenture or
agreement of or affecting any Seller Party or any of its Property;
(c) the obligations of each Seller Party under this Agreement and each of the
Transaction Documents executed and delivered by it are legal, valid, enforceable
(except as enforcement may be limited by equitable principles or by bankruptcy,
insolvency, reorganization, moratorium, or similar laws relating to or limiting
creditors’ rights generally) and subsisting and not subject to set-off, defense
(other than payment) or counterclaim;
(e) as of the close of business in Chicago, Illinois on September 24, 2008, the
undrawn amount of all commitments under the CoBank Credit Agreement was
$143,000,000 and the undrawn amount of all revolving credit commitments under
the Credit Agreement was $35,500,000;
(f) the Servicer has decided that during the Waiver Period it will not make the
Indenture Interest Payments; and
(g)
Each Seller Party represents and warrants that (i) each of the Lock-Box Accounts
and lock-boxes set forth on Schedule I hereto is subject to a Lock-Box
Agreement, (ii) the Lock-Box Accounts and lock-boxes set forth on Schedule I
hereto cover all of the accounts and lock-boxes into which Obligors are
instructed to deposit Collections and any other amounts related to Receivables
and (iii) all Obligors have been instructed to make payments of all Receivables
(A) only to one or more of the Lock-Box Accounts or lock-boxes set forth on
Schedule I hereto or (B) solely with respect to any Unscheduled Accounts, as
otherwise reasonably acceptable to the Administrator.
9.
Amendments
and agreements.
(a)
Exhibit
I to the Receivables Purchase Agreement is hereby amended by adding
the following new definition thereto in the appropriate alphabetical
order:
" October
PPC Limited Duration Waiver Agreement " means the Pilgrim’s Pride
Corporation Limited Duration Waiver Agreement, dated as of October 26, 2008,
among Pilgrim’s Pride Corporation, Pilgrim’s Pride Funding Corporation, the
various purchasers and purchaser agents party thereto and BMO Capital Markets
Corp.
(b)
The definition of "Waiver Period" set forth in Exhibit
I to the Receivables Purchase Agreement is hereby amended and
restated in its entirety as follow:
" Waiver
Period " means the period beginning on September 26, 2008 and ending
on the earliest of (a) the date of the Waiver Termination (as defined in the PPC
Limited Duration Waiver Agreement) if such Waiver Termination is not the result
of the Scheduled Waiver Expiration Date (as defined in the PPC Limited Duration
Waiver Agreement), (b) the Scheduled Waiver Expiration Date (as defined in the
October PPC Limited Duration Waiver Agreement) and (c) the date of the Waiver
Termination (as defined in the October PPC Limited Duration Waiver
Agreement).
(c)
Based solely on the Seller Parties’ representations and warranties set forth in
Section 8(g), and solely so long as such representations and warranties continue
to be true and correct, the Administrator and the Purchasers acknowledge and
agree that they do not presently intend to direct Obligors to redirect funds
during the Waiver Period; provided ,
that such acknowledgment is not in limitation of, and the Administrator and the
Purchasers specifically reserve, the right to exercise any and all enforcement
rights and remedies under the Transaction Documents, including, without
limitation, Section 4.4 of the Receivables Purchase
Agreement.
(d)
The Administrator and the Purchasers acknowledge and agree that the Seller
Parties’ election not to make the Indenture Interest Payments during the Waiver
Period shall not, during the Waiver Period, constitute a Termination Event under
clause (e) of the Exhibit V to the Receivables Purchase Agreement.
(e) On or before 5:00
pm Chicago time on October 27, 2008, the Seller shall:
(i) pay to the
Administrator in immediately available funds of (x) an upfront fee equal to the
product of (i) 0.10% multiplied
by (ii) the Purchase Limit
and (y) out-of-pocket expenses in an amount equal to $20,000;
and
(ii) pay to Mayer
Brown LLP, counsel to the Administrator and the Purchasers, in immediately
available funds (x) $174,293.79 in outstanding legal fees and (y) any other
current legal fees and expenses referred to in Section 12
below.
10.
Release. For
value received, including without limitation, the agreements of the
Administrator and the Purchasers in this Agreement, each Seller Party hereby
releases the Administrator, each Purchaser, each Indemnified Party and their
respective current and former shareholders, directors, officers, agents,
employees, attorneys, consultants, and professional advisors (collectively, the
"Released
Parties") of and from any and all demands, actions, causes of action,
suits, controversies, acts and omissions, liabilities, and other claims of every
kind or nature whatsoever, both in law and in equity, known or unknown, which
such Seller Party has or ever had against the Released Parties from the
beginning of the world to this date arising in any way out of the existing
financing arrangements between the Seller Parties, the Administrator and the
Purchasers, and each Seller Party further acknowledges that, as of the date
hereof, it does not have any counterclaim, set-off, or defense against the
Released Parties, each of which each Seller Party hereby expressly
waives.
11.
Transaction
Documents Remain Effective. Except as expressly set forth in this
Agreement, the Transaction Documents and all of the obligations of the Seller
Parties thereunder, the rights and benefits of the Administrator and Purchasers
thereunder, and the liens and security interests created thereby remain in full
force and effect. Without limiting the foregoing, each Seller Party agrees to
comply with all of the terms, conditions, and provisions of the Transaction
Documents except to the extent such compliance is irreconcilably inconsistent
with the express provisions of this Agreement. This Agreement and the
Transaction Documents are intended by the Administrator and the Purchasers as a
final expression of their agreement and are intended as a complete and exclusive
statement of the terms and conditions of that agreement.
12.
Fees and
Expenses. The Seller and the Servicer shall pay on demand all fees and
expenses (including attorneys’ fees) incurred by the Administrator and its
counsel in connection with this Agreement and the other instruments and
documents being executed and delivered in connection herewith, and all fees and
expenses of counsel to the Administrator with respect to the securitization
facility subject to the Receivables Purchase Agreement.
13.
Conditions
Precedent. The effectiveness of this Agreement is subject to the
satisfaction of the following conditions precedent:
(a) the Seller
Parties, the Administrator, and the Purchasers shall have executed and delivered
this Agreement on or before October 28, 2008;
(b) the Administrator
shall have received a copy of a fully executed limited duration waiver from the
lenders party to the CoBank Credit Agreement and CoBank, as agent for such
lenders, waiving any default under the CoBank Credit Agreement that is analogous
to the Subject Default for a period ending no earlier that the Scheduled Waiver
Expiration Date, which limited duration waiver shall not contain any terms or
provisions that are not contained in this Agreement materially adverse to the
Administrator and the Purchasers or that are, in any material respect, more
favorable to the lenders under the CoBank Credit Agreement than the terms of
this Agreement are favorable to the Administrator and the Purchasers, and which
otherwise shall be in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to the
Administrator (the " CoBank
Limited Duration Waiver "), provided
that the CoBank Limited Duration Waiver may require the Servicer to grant
mortgages and deeds of trust to CoBank, as agent under the CoBank Credit
Agreement, on real property and buildings and improvements thereon that are
currently unencumbered, and such limited duration waiver shall be effective;
and
(c) the Administrator
shall have received a copy of a fully executed limited duration waiver from the
lenders party to the Credit Agreement and the Credit Agent, waiving any default
under the Credit Agreement that is analogous to the Subject Default for a period
ending no earlier that the Scheduled Waiver Expiration Date, which limited
duration waiver shall not contain any terms or provisions that are not contained
in this Agreement materially adverse to the Administrator and the Purchasers or
that are, in any material respect, more favorable to the lenders under the
Credit Agreement than the terms of this Agreement are favorable to the
Administrator and the Purchasers, and which otherwise shall be in form and
substance reasonably satisfactory to the Administrator (the " Credit
Agreement Limited Duration Waiver "), and such limited duration waiver
shall be effective.
14.
Miscellaneous.
By its acceptance hereof, each Seller Party hereby represents that it has the
necessary power and authority to execute, deliver, and perform the undertakings
contained herein, and that this Agreement constitutes the valid and binding
obligation of such Seller Party enforceable against it in accordance with its
terms. Any provision of this Agreement held 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 provision hereof; and
the invalidity of a particular provision in a particular jurisdiction shall not
invalidate such provision in any other jurisdiction. The parties hereto hereby
acknowledge and agree that this Agreement shall constitute a Transaction
Document for all purposes of the Receivables Purchase Agreement and the other
Transaction Documents. Unless otherwise expressly stated herein, the provisions
of this Agreement shall survive the termination of the Waiver Period. This
Agreement may be executed in counterparts and by different parties on separate
counterpart signature pages, each of which constitutes an original and all of
which taken together constitute one and the same instrument. Delivery of
executed counterparts of this Agreement by telecopy shall be effective as an
original. This Agreement shall be governed by Texas law and shall be governed
and interpreted on the same basis as the Receivables Purchase
Agreement.
[Signature Pages to Follow]
This Limited Duration Waiver Agreement is entered into as of
the date and year first above written.
Pilgrim’s Pride Corporation, as Servicer
By
Name:
Title:
Pilgrim’s Pride Funding Corporation, as Seller
By
Name:
Title:
Accepted and agreed to:
BMO Capital Markets Corp., as Administrator
By
Name:
Title:
BMO Capital Markets Corp., as Purchaser Agent
By
Name:
Title:
Fairway Finance Company, LLC, as Uncommitted Purchaser and as
Related Committed Purchaser
By
Name:
Title:
ex10_4.htm
________________________________
CHANGE IN CONTROL AGREEMENT
BETWEEN
«Name»
AND
PILGRIM’S PRIDE
CORPORATION
2. Employment Period 2
3. Terms of Employment 2
4. Termination of Employment 4
(a) Death or Disability 4
(b) Cause 5
(c) Good Reason 6
(d) Notice of Termination 6
(e) Date of Termination
7
5. Obligations of the Company upon
Termination 7
(a) Termination by Executive for Good
Reason; Termination by the Company Other than for Cause or Disability
7
(b) Death or Disability 8
(c) Cause; Other than for Good Reason
8
(d) Expiration of Employment Period
8
6. Non-Exclusivity of Rights 9
7. Full Settlement; No Mitigation
9
8. Costs of Enforcement 9
9. Certain Additional Payments by the
Company 9
10. Restrictions on Conduct of Executive
11
(a) General 11
(b) Definitions
12
(c) Restrictive Covenants 13
(d) Enforcement of Restrictive Covenants
14
11. Arbitration 14
12. Successors 15
13. Miscellaneous 15
(a) Governing Law 15
(b) Captions 15
(c) Amendments 15
(d) Notices 15
(e) Severability 16
(f) Withholding 16
(g) Waivers 16
(h) Status Before and After Effective Date
16
CHANGE IN CONTROL
AGREEMENT
AGREEMENT by and between Pilgrim’s
Pride Corporation, a Delaware corporation (the "Company") and
«Name» ("Executive"), dated as of
«DateSigned» (the
"Agreement").
The Board of
Directors of the Company (the "Board") has determined that it is in the best
interests of the Company and its shareholders to assure that the Company will
have the continued dedication of Executive, notwithstanding the possibility,
threat or occurrence of a Change in Control (as defined below) of the Company.
The Board believes it is imperative to diminish the inevitable distraction of
Executive by virtue of the personal uncertainties and risks created by a pending
or threatened Change in Control and to encourage Executive’s full attention and
dedication to the Company currently and in the event of any threatened or
pending Change in Control, and to provide Executive with compensation and
benefits arrangements upon a Change in Control which ensure that the
compensation and benefits expectations of Executive will be satisfied and which
are competitive with those of other corporations. Therefore, in order to
accomplish these objectives, the Board has caused the Company to enter into this
Agreement.
NOW, THEREFORE,
IT IS HEREBY AGREED AS FOLLOWS:
-
- Certain
Definitions .
-
-
-
- "Effective Date" shall mean the first date during the Change in
Control Period (as defined in Section l(c) hereof) on which a Change in
Control (as defined in Section 1(b) hereof) occurs. Anything in this
Agreement to the contrary notwithstanding, if Executive’s employment with
the Company is terminated within three months prior to the date on which a
Change in Control occurs, and if it is reasonably demonstrated by Executive
that such termination of employment (i) was at the request of a third
party who has taken steps reasonably calculated to effect a Change in
Control or (ii) otherwise arose in connection with or anticipation of a
Change in Control and if the Change in Control is consummated, then for all
purposes of this Agreement, the "Effective Date" shall mean the date
immediately prior to the date of such termination of employment.
-
- "Change in Control" shall mean
the occurrence of any of the following events: (i) a direct or indirect
sale, transfer, conveyance or other disposition (other than by way of merger
or consolidation) of all or substantially all the assets of the Company and
its subsidiaries taken as a whole to any "Person" or "group" (as such terms
are used in Section 13(d)(3) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as
amended) (other than the Pilgrim Family or a direct or an indirect
subsidiary of the Company) as an entirety or substantially as an entirety in
one transaction or series of transactions; (ii) the consummation of any
transaction (including, without limitation, any merger, consolidation or
recapitalization) to which the Company is a party the result of which is
that immediately after such transaction the stockholders of the Company
immediately prior to such transaction hold less than 50.1% of the total
voting power generally entitled to vote in the election of directors,
managers or trustees of the Person surviving such transaction; (iii)
any "Person" or "group"
(as such terms are used in Section 13(d)(3) of the Securities Exchange Act
of 1934, as amended), other than the Pilgrim Family, becomes the ultimate
"beneficial owner," as defined in Rule 13d-3 under the Securities Exchange
Act of 1934, as amended, of more than 50% of the
total voting power generally entitled to vote in the election of directors,
managers or trustees of the Company on a fully-diluted basis; (iv)
during any period of two consecutive years, individuals who at the beginning
of such period constituted the members of the Board (together with any new
directors whose election by such Board or whose nomination for election by
the stockholders of the Company was approved by a vote of a majority of the
directors then still in office who were either directors at the beginning of
such period or whose election or nomination for election was previously so
approved) cease for any reason to constitute a majority of the members of
the Board then in office; or (v) the adoption of a plan for the liquidation
or dissolution of the Company. For purposes hereof, the Pilgrim Family shall
be deemed to be a "beneficial owner" of the voting power generally entitled
to vote in the election of directors, managers or trustees of the Company if
the Pilgrim Family either directly or indirectly legally or beneficially own
such voting power.
-
- "Change in Control Period"
shall mean the period commencing on the date hereof and ending on the third
anniversary of the date hereof; provided, however, that
commencing on the date one year after the date hereof, and on each annual
anniversary of such date (such date and each annual anniversary thereof
shall be hereinafter referred to as the "Renewal Date"), unless previously
terminated, the Change in Control Period shall be automatically extended so
as to terminate two years from such Renewal Date, unless at least 60 days
prior to the Renewal Date the Company shall give notice to Executive that
the Change in Control Period shall not be so extended.
-
- "Code" shall mean the Internal
Revenue Code of 1986, as amended.
-
- "Employment Period" means
«EmploymentPeriod», provided, however, that the Employment
Period shall terminate upon Executive’s termination of employment for any
reason.
-
- "Person" shall mean and include
any individual, sole proprietorship, partnership, joint venture, trust,
unincorporated organization, association, corporation, institution, entity,
party or government (whether national, federal, state, county, city,
municipal, or otherwise, including, without limitation, any instrumentality,
division, agency, body or department thereof).
-
- "Pilgrim Family" means Lonnie A.
"Bo" Pilgrim, his spouse, his issue, his estate, and any trust, partnership
(including, without limitation, Pilgrim Interests Ltd.) or other entity
primarily for the benefit of him, his spouse and/or issue, including any
direct or indirect trustee, managing partner or such other Person serving a
similar function.
-
-
- Employment
Period . The Company hereby agrees to continue
Executive in its employ, and Executive hereby agrees to remain in the employ
of the Company subject to the terms and conditions of this Agreement, for the
period commencing on the Effective Date and ending on the last day of the
Employment Period.
-
- Terms
of Employment .
-
-
-
- Position
and Duties .
-
-
- During the Employment Period, (A) Executive’s
position (including status, offices, titles and reporting requirements),
authority, duties and responsibilities shall be at least commensurate in
all material respects with the most significant of those held, exercised
and assigned at any time during the 120-day period immediately preceding
the Effective Date and (B) Executive’s services shall be performed at
the location (or locations) where Executive was employed immediately
preceding the Effective Date or any office or location less than 35
miles from such location (or locations).
-
- During the Employment Period, and excluding any
periods of vacation and sick leave to which Executive is entitled,
Executive agrees to devote reasonable attention and time during normal
business hours to the business and affairs of the Company and, to the
extent necessary to discharge the responsibilities assigned to Executive
hereunder, to use Executive’s reasonable best efforts to perform
faithfully and efficiently such responsibilities. During the Employment
Period it shall not be a violation of this Agreement for Executive to
(A) serve on corporate, civic or charitable boards or committees, (B)
deliver lectures, fulfill speaking engagements or teach at educational
institutions and (C) manage personal investments, so long as such
activities do not significantly interfere with the performance of
Executive’s responsibilities as an employee of the Company in accordance
with this Agreement. It is expressly understood and agreed that to the
extent that any such activities have been conducted by Executive prior
to the Effective Date, the continued conduct of such activities (or the
conduct of activities similar in nature and scope thereto) subsequent to
the Effective Date shall not thereafter be deemed to interfere with the
performance of Executive’s responsibilities to the Company.
-
- Compensation .
-
-
- Base Salary. During the Employment
Period, Executive shall receive an annual base salary ("Annual Base
Salary") at a rate at least equal to the rate of base salary in effect
on the date of this Agreement or, if greater, on the Effective Date,
paid or payable (including any base salary which has been earned but
deferred) to Executive by the Company and its affiliated companies.
During the Employment Period, the Annual Base Salary shall be reviewed
no more than twelve months after the last salary increase awarded to
Executive prior to the Effective Date and thereafter at least annually
(the date of such review being referred to herein as the "Annual Review
Date"). Within 30 days after each Annual Review Date, Executive's Annual
Base Salary immediately prior to such Annual Review Date shall be
increased, effective as of such Annual Review Date, by an amount not
less than a percentage increase equal to at least 75% of the annual
percentage increase, if any,
in the cost of living for the preceding year based upon the U.S.
Consumer Price Index-All Items-U.S. Cities Average, All Urban Consumers
(2008=100) published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S.
Department of Labor (the "CPI"). In the event the CPI ceases to be
published, the most comparable substitute will be used thereafter as
selected by the mutual agreement of the parties. Any increase in Annual Base Salary shall not
serve to limit or reduce any other obligation to Executive under this
Agreement. Annual Base Salary shall not be reduced after any such
increase and the term Annual Base Salary as used in this Agreement shall
refer to Annual Base Salary as so increased. As used in this Agreement,
the term "affiliated companies" shall include any company controlled by,
controlling or under common control with the Company.
-
- Annual Bonus. In addition to Annual
Base Salary, Executive shall be provided, for each fiscal year ending
during the Employment Period, an annual bonus opportunity at least equal
to Executive’s highest bonus opportunity under the Pilgrim's Pride
Corporation Performance Bonus Plan, or any comparable bonus opportunity
under any predecessor or successor plans, for the last full fiscal year
prior to the Effective Date (annualized in the event that Executive was
not employed by the Company for the whole of such fiscal year). Each
annual bonus payable under this Section 3(b)(ii) shall be paid no later
than two and one-half months into the fiscal year next following the
fiscal year for which the annual bonus is awarded, unless Executive
shall elect to defer the receipt of such Annual Bonus pursuant to an
arrangement that satisfies the requirements of Section 409A of the
Code.
-
- Incentive, Savings and Retirement Plans. During the Employment Period, Executive shall be entitled to
participate in all incentive, savings and retirement plans, practices,
policies and programs applicable generally to other peer executives of
the Company and its affiliated companies, but in no event shall such
plans, practices, policies and programs provide Executive with incentive
opportunities (measured with respect to both regular and special
incentive opportunities, to the extent, if any, that such distinction is
applicable), savings opportunities and retirement benefit opportunities,
in each case, less favorable, in the aggregate, than the most favorable
of those provided by the Company and its affiliated companies for
Executive under such plans, practices, policies and programs as in
effect at any time during the 120-day period immediately preceding the
Effective Date or if more favorable to Executive, those provided
generally at any time after the Effective Date to other peer executives
of the Company and its affiliated companies.
-
- Acceleration of Vesting of Equity Awards. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in any applicable
award agreement, upon the Effective Date, (A) all of Executive’s
outstanding stock options and other equity awards in the nature of
rights that may be exercised shall become fully vested and exercisable,
(B) all time-based vesting restrictions on Executive’s outstanding
equity awards shall lapse, and (C) the target payout opportunities
attainable under all of Executive’s outstanding performance-based equity
awards shall be deemed to have been fully earned as of the Effective
Date based upon an assumed achievement of all relevant performance goals
at the "target" level and there shall be a prorata payout to Executive
or his or her estate within 30 days following the Effective Date based
upon the length of time within the performance period that has elapsed
prior to the Effective Date. To the extent necessary, this Agreement is
hereby deemed an amendment of any such outstanding equity
award.
-
- Welfare Benefit Plans. During the
Employment Period, Executive and/or Executive’s eligible dependents, as
the case may be, shall be eligible for participation in and shall
receive all benefits under welfare benefit plans, practices, policies
and programs provided by the Company and its affiliated companies
(including, without limitation, medical, prescription, dental,
disability, employee life, group life, accidental death and travel
accident insurance plans and programs) to the extent applicable
generally to other peer executives of the Company and its affiliated
companies, but in no event shall such plans, practices, policies and
programs provide Executive with benefits which are less favorable, in
the aggregate, than the most favorable of such plans, practices,
policies and programs in effect for Executive at any time during the
120-day period immediately preceding the Effective Date or, if more
favorable to Executive, those provided generally at any time after the
Effective Date to other peer executives of the Company and its
affiliated companies.
-
- Expenses. During the Employment
Period, Executive shall be entitled to receive prompt reimbursement for
all reasonable expenses incurred by Executive in accordance with the
most favorable policies, practices and procedures of the Company and its
affiliated companies in effect for Executive at any time during the
120-day period immediately preceding the Effective Date or, if more
favorable to Executive, as in effect generally at any time thereafter
with respect to other peer executives of the Company and its affiliated
companies.
-
- Fringe Benefits. During the
Employment Period, Executive shall be entitled to fringe benefits,
including, without limitation, tax and financial planning services,
payment of club dues, and, if applicable, use of an automobile and
payment of related expenses, in accordance with the most favorable
plans, practices, programs and policies of the Company and its
affiliated companies in effect for Executive at any time during the
120-day period immediately preceding the Effective Date or, if more
favorable to Executive, as in effect generally at any time thereafter
with respect to other peer executives of the Company and its affiliated
companies.
-
- Vacation. During the Employment
Period, Executive shall be entitled to paid vacation in accordance with
the most favorable plans, policies, programs and practices of the
Company and its affiliated companies as in effect for Executive at any
time during the 120-day period immediately preceding the Effective Date
or, if more favorable to Executive, as in effect generally at any time
thereafter with respect to other peer executives of the Company and its
affiliated companies.
-
- Termination
of Employment .
-
-
-
- Death
or Disability . Executive’s employment shall terminate
automatically upon Executive’s death during the Employment Period. If the
Company determines in good faith that the Disability of Executive has
occurred during the Employment Period (pursuant to the definition of
Disability set forth below), it may give to Executive written notice of
its intention to terminate Executive’s employment. In such event,
Executive’s employment with the Company shall terminate effective on the
30th day after receipt of such written notice by Executive (the
"Disability Effective Date"), provided that, within the 30 days after such
receipt, Executive shall not have returned to full-time performance of
Executive’s duties. For purposes of this Agreement, "Disability" shall
mean the inability of Executive, as determined by the Board, to perform
the responsibilities and functions of the position held by Executive, with
or without reasonable accommodation, by reason of any medically determined
physical or mental impairment which has lasted (or can reasonably be
expected to last) for a period of not less than one hundred eighty (180)
consecutive days. At the request of Executive or his or her personal
representative, the Board’s determination that the Disability of Executive
has occurred shall be certified by two physicians mutually agreed upon by
Executive, or his or her personal representative, and the Company. Failing
such independent certification (if so requested by Executive), Executive’s
termination shall be deemed a termination by the Company without Cause and
not a termination by reason of his or her
Disability.
-
- Cause .
The Company may terminate Executive’s employment during the Employment
Period for Cause. For purposes of this Agreement, a termination shall be
considered to be for "Cause" if Executive is terminated upon the
occurrence after the Effective Date, as determined by the Board, of any
one of the following specific material acts or failure to act by
Executive:
-
-
- Executive’s conviction in a court of law of, or
entry of a guilty plea or plea of no contest, to a felony charge
(regardless of whether subject to appeal);
-
- the willful and continued failure of Executive to
perform substantially Executive’s duties (as contemplated by Section
3(a) hereof) with the Company or any of its affiliated companies (other
than any such failure resulting from incapacity due to physical or
mental illness or following Executive’s delivery of a Notice of
Termination for Good Reason);
-
- any willful act that constitutes, on the part of
Executive, fraud, dishonesty in any material respect, breach of
fiduciary duty, misappropriation, embezzlement or gross misfeasance of
duty;
-
- willful disregard or continued breach in any
material respect of published Company (or of any of its affiliated
companies) policies and procedures, codes of ethics or business conduct
or any material duty or obligation under Section 10(c) hereof;
-
provided, however, that in the case of (ii) and (iv) above, such
conduct or omission shall not constitute "Cause" unless the Board, the
Chief Executive Officer or the Company shall have delivered to Executive
notice identifying with specificity (A) the conduct or omission the Board,
Chief Executive Officer or the Company believes constitutes "Cause,"
(B) reasonable action that would remedy such objection, and (C) a
reasonable time (not less than 30 days) within which Executive may
take such remedial action, and Executive shall not have taken such
specified remedial action within the specified time.
For purposes of this Section
4(b), no act, or failure to act, on the part of Executive shall be
considered "willful" unless it is done, or omitted to be done, by
Executive in bad faith or without reasonable belief that Executive’s
action or omission was in the best interests of the Company. Any act, or
failure to act, based upon authority given pursuant to a resolution duly
adopted by the Board or upon the instructions of the Chief Executive
Officer or a senior officer of the Company or based upon the advice of
counsel for the Company shall be conclusively presumed to be done, or
omitted to be done, by Executive in good faith and in the best interests
of the Company. The cessation of employment of Executive shall not be
deemed to be for Cause unless and until there shall have been delivered to
Executive a copy of a resolution duly adopted by the affirmative vote of
not less than three-quarters of the entire membership of the Board
(excluding Executive, if Executive is a member of the Board) at a meeting
of the Board called and held for such purpose (after reasonable notice is
provided to Executive and Executive is given an opportunity, together with
counsel for Executive, to be heard before the Board), finding that, in the
good faith opinion of the Board, Executive is guilty of any of the conduct
described in Section 4(b)(i) through (iv), and specifying the particulars
thereof in detail (references in this Section 4(b) to the Board shall
refer to any successor board of directors if the Board is no longer
constituted).
- Good
Reason . Executive’s employment may be terminated by Executive
for Good Reason. For purposes of this Agreement, "Good Reason" shall
mean:
-
-
- the assignment to Executive of any duties
inconsistent in any material respect with Executive’s position
(including status, offices, titles and reporting requirements),
authority, duties or responsibilities as contemplated by Section 3(a) of
this Agreement or any other action by the Company which results in a
material diminution in such position, authority, duties or
responsibilities, excluding for this purpose an isolated, insubstantial
and inadvertent action not taken in bad faith and which is remedied by
the Company promptly after receipt of notice;
-
- any failure in any material respect by the Company
to comply with any of the provisions of Section 3(b) hereof, other than
an isolated, insubstantial and inadvertent failure not occurring in bad
faith and which is remedied by the Company promptly after receipt of
notice thereof given by Executive;
-
- the Company’s requiring Executive to be based at any
office or location other than as provided in Section 3(a)(i)(B) hereof,
(ii) to be based at a location other than the principal executive
offices of the Company if Executive was employed at such location
immediately preceding the Effective Date, or (iii) to travel on Company
business to a substantially greater extent than required immediately
prior to the Effective Date;
-
- any purported termination by the Company of
Executive’s employment otherwise than as expressly permitted by this
Agreement;
-
- any failure by the Company to comply with and
satisfy Section 12(c) hereof; or
-
- any other material breach by the Company of any
provision of this Agreement.
-
A termination by Executive shall
not constitute termination for Good Reason unless Executive shall first
have delivered to the Company written notice identifying with specificity
the occurrence claimed to give rise to a right to terminate for Good
Reason, and there shall have passed a reasonable time (not less than 30
days) within which the Company may take action to correct, rescind or
otherwise substantially reverse the event supporting the basis for a
termination for Good Reason as identified by Executive. Executive’s mental
or physical incapacity following the occurrence of an event described in
Sections 4(c)(i) through (vi) hereof shall not affect Executive’s ability
to terminate employment for Good Reason.
- Notice
of Termination . Any termination by the Company or Executive
shall be communicated by Notice of Termination to the other party hereto
given in accordance with Section 13(d) hereof. For purposes of this
Agreement, a "Notice of Termination" means a written notice which
(i) indicates the specific termination provision in this Agreement
relied upon, (ii) to the extent applicable, sets forth in reasonable
detail the facts and circumstances claimed to provide a basis for
termination of Executive’s employment under the provision so indicated,
and (iii) if the Date of Termination (as defined below) is other than the
date of receipt of such notice, specifies the termination date. The
failure by Executive or the Company to set forth in the Notice of
Termination any fact or circumstance which contributes to a showing of
Good Reason or Cause shall not waive any right of Executive or the
Company, respectively, hereunder or preclude Executive or the Company,
respectively, from asserting such fact or circumstance in enforcing
Executive’s or the Company’s rights hereunder.
-
- Date
of Termination . "Date of Termination" means (i) if Executive’s
employment is terminated by the Company for Cause, or by Executive for
Good Reason, the date of receipt of the Notice of Termination or any later
date specified therein within 60 days after receipt of the Notice of
Termination, as the case may be, (ii) if Executive’s employment is
terminated by the Company other than for Cause or Disability, the Date of
Termination shall be the date on which the Company notifies Executive of
such termination, and (iii) if Executive’s employment is terminated by
reason of death or Disability, the Date of Termination shall be the date
of death of Executive or the Disability Effective Date, as the case may
be. The Company and Executive shall take all steps necessary (including
with regard to any post-termination services by Executive) to ensure that
any termination described in this Section 4 constitutes a "separation from
service" within the meaning of Section 409A of the Code, and
notwithstanding anything contained herein to the contrary, the date on
which such separation from service takes place shall be the "Date of
Termination."
-
- Obligations
of the Company upon Termination .
-
-
-
- Termination
by Executive for Good Reason; Termination by the Company Other than for
Cause or Disability . If, during the Employment Period, the
Company terminates Executive’s employment other than for Cause or
Disability, or Executive terminates his or her employment for Good Reason
during the 270-day period following the occurrence of an event giving rise
to Good Reason:
-
-
- the Company shall pay to Executive in a lump sum in
cash within 30 days after the Date of Termination the aggregate of
the following amounts:
-
-
- the sum of (1) Executive’s Annual Base Salary
through the Date of Termination to the extent not theretofore paid,
(2) Executive’s annual bonus for the fiscal year immediately preceding
the fiscal year in which the Date of Termination occurs, if such bonus
has not been paid as of the Date of Termination, (3) any accrued
vacation pay to the extent not theretofore paid (the sum of the
amounts described in clauses (1), (2) and (3) shall be hereinafter
referred to as the "Accrued Obligations") and (4) the product of (x)
Executive’s target annual incentive bonus for the fiscal year in which
the Date of Termination occurs or if none, the target annual incentive
bonus for the year in which the Change in Control occurred ("Target
Annual Bonus") and (y) a fraction, the numerator of which is the
number of days in the current fiscal year through the Date of
Termination, and the denominator of which is 365 (the "Pro Rata
Bonus"); provided, however, that, notwithstanding the
foregoing, if Executive has made an irrevocable election under any
deferred compensation arrangement subject to Section 409A of the Code
to defer any portion of the annual bonus described in clause (2)
above, then for all purposes of this Section 5, such deferral
election, and the terms of the applicable arrangement shall apply to
the same portion of the amount described in such clause (2), and such
portion shall not be considered as part of the "Accrued Obligations"
but shall instead be an "Other Accrued Benefit" (as defined below);
and
-
- an amount equal to «CIC Factor», times the
sum of Executive’s Annual Base Salary and Target Annual Bonus;
and
-
- Provided Executive timely elects coverage, the
Company shall pay for the premiums to maintain group coverage for
Executive and his or her dependents under the continuation coverage
provisions of the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985
("COBRA") for eighteen (18) months after the Date of Termination,
or until Executive becomes eligible for group insurance benefits from
another employer (including self-employment), whichever occurs first.
Executive understands that Executive has an obligation to inform the
Company if Executive receives group coverage from another employer and
that Executive may not increase the number of designated dependants if
any, during this period of Company-paid coverage unless Executive does
so at Executive’s own expense. The period of such Company-paid COBRA
coverage shall be considered part of Executive’s COBRA coverage
entitlement period, and may, for tax purposes, be considered income to
Executive; and
-
- to the extent not theretofore paid or provided, the
Company shall timely pay or provide to Executive any Other Accrued
Benefits (as defined in Section 6 hereof).
-
Notwithstanding the foregoing
provisions of this Section 5(a), in the event that as of the Date of
Termination Executive is a "specified employee" within the meaning of
Section 409A of the Code (as determined in accordance with the methodology
established by the Company as in effect on the Date of Termination) (a
"Specified Employee"), amounts or benefits that are deferred compensation
subject to Section 409A, as determined in the sole discretion of the
Company, that would otherwise be payable or provided under Sections
5(a)(i) during the six-month period immediately following the Date of
Termination (other than the Accrued Obligations and Other Accrued
Benefits) shall instead be paid or provided, with interest on any delayed
payment at the prime lending rate prevailing at such time, as published in
the Wall Street Journal, on the first business day after the date that is
six months following Executive’s "separation from service" within the
meaning of Section 409A of the Code.
- Death
or Disability . If Executive’s employment is terminated by
reason of Executive’s death or Disability during the Employment Period,
this Agreement shall terminate without further obligations to Executive or
Executive’s legal representatives under this Agreement, other than for
payment of Accrued Obligations and the timely payment or provision of
Other Accrued Benefits. Accrued Obligations shall be paid to Executive or
Executive’s estate or beneficiaries, as applicable, in a lump sum in cash
within 30 days of the Date of Termination. With respect to the provision
of Other Accrued Benefits, the term Other Accrued Benefits as used in this
Section 5(b) shall include, without limitation, and Executive or
Executive’s estate and/or beneficiaries shall be entitled to receive,
benefits under such plans, programs, practices and policies relating to
death or disability benefits, if any, as are applicable to Executive on
the Date of Termination.
-
- Cause;
Other than for Good Reason . If Executive’s employment shall be
terminated for Cause during the Employment Period, this Agreement shall
terminate without further obligations to Executive other than the
obligation to pay to Executive the Accrued Obligations and any Other
Accrued Benefits, in each case to the extent theretofore unpaid. If
Executive voluntarily terminates employment during the Employment Period,
excluding a resignation for Good Reason, this Agreement shall terminate
without further obligations to Executive, other than the obligation to pay
to Executive the Accrued Obligations and any Other Accrued Benefits, in
each case to the extent theretofore unpaid.
-
- Expiration
of Employment Period . If Executive’s employment shall be
terminated due to the normal expiration of the Employment Period, this
Agreement shall terminate without further obligations to Executive, other
than for payment of Accrued Obligations and the timely payment or
provision of Other Accrued Benefits.
-
- Non-Exclusivity
of Rights . Nothing in this Agreement shall prevent or limit
Executive’s continuing or future participation in any employee benefit plan,
program, policy or practice provided by the Company or its affiliated
companies and for which Executive may qualify, except as specifically provided
herein. Amounts that are vested benefits or which Executive is otherwise
entitled to receive under any plan, policy, practice or program of the Company
or any of its affiliated companies at or subsequent to the Date of Termination
("Other Accrued Benefits") shall be payable in accordance with such plan,
policy, practice or program except as explicitly modified by this Agreement.
Anything to the contrary in the foregoing or in this Agreement, if Executive
receives payments and benefits pursuant to Section 5(a)(i) hereof, Executive
shall not be entitled to any severance pay or benefits under any severance
plan, program or policy of the Company and its affiliated companies, unless
otherwise specifically provided therein in a specific reference to this
Agreement.
-
- Full
Settlement; No Mitigation . The Company’s obligation to make the
payments provided for in this Agreement and otherwise to perform its
obligations hereunder shall not be affected by any set-off, counterclaim,
recoupment, defense or other claim, right or action which the Company may have
against Executive or others. In no event shall Executive be obligated to seek
other employment or take any other action by way of mitigation of the amounts
payable to Executive under any of the provisions of this Agreement and such
amounts shall not be reduced whether or not Executive obtains other
employment.
-
- Costs
of Enforcement . The Company shall reimburse Executive, on a current
basis, for all reasonable legal fees and related expenses incurred by
Executive in connection with this Agreement, including, without limitation,
all such fees and expenses, if any, incurred (i) by Executive in contesting or
disputing any termination of Executive’s employment, or (ii) Executive’s
seeking to obtain or enforce any right or benefit provided by this Agreement,
in each case, regardless of whether or not Executive’s claim is upheld by an
arbitral panel or a court of competent jurisdiction; provided,
however, Executive shall be required to repay to the Company any such
amounts to the extent that an arbitral panel or a court issues a final and
non-appealable order, judgment, decree or award setting forth the
determination that the position taken by Executive was frivolous or advanced
by Executive in bad faith. In addition, Executive shall be entitled to be paid
all reasonable legal fees and expenses, if any, incurred in connection with
any tax audit or proceeding to the extent attributable to the application of
Section 4999 of the Code to any payment or benefit hereunder. All such
payments shall be made within five business days after delivery of Executive’s
respective written requests for payment accompanied with such evidence of fees
and expenses incurred as the Company reasonably may
require.
-
- Certain
Additional Payments by the Company .
-
-
-
- Anything in this Agreement to the contrary
notwithstanding and except as set forth below, in the event it shall be
determined that any payment or distribution by the Company to or for the
benefit of Executive (whether paid or payable or distributed or
distributable pursuant to the terms of this Agreement or otherwise, but
determined without regard to any additional payments required under this
Section 9) (a "Payment") would be subject to the excise tax imposed by
Section 4999 of the Code or any interest or penalties are incurred by
Executive with respect to such excise tax (such excise tax, together with
any such interest and penalties, are hereinafter collectively referred to as
the "Excise Tax"), then Executive shall be entitled to receive an additional
payment (a "Gross-Up Payment") in an amount such that after payment by
Executive of all taxes (including any interest or penalties imposed with
respect to such taxes), including, without limitation, any income taxes (and
any interest and penalties imposed with respect thereto) and Excise Tax
imposed upon the Gross-Up Payment, Executive retains an amount of the
Gross-Up Payment equal to the Excise Tax imposed upon the
Payments.
-
Notwithstanding the foregoing
provisions of this Section 9(a), with respect to each Executive (other than
the Chairman, the CEO, the COO and the CFO), if the Parachute Value (as
defined below) of all Payments does not exceed 110% of such Executive’s Safe
Harbor Amount (as defined below), then the Company shall, at its option, not
pay Executive a Gross-Up Payment, and the Payments due under this Agreement
shall be reduced so that the Parachute Value of all Payments, in the
aggregate, equals the Safe Harbor Amount; provided, that if even after all
Payments due under this Agreement are reduced to zero, the Parachute Value
of all Payments would still exceed the Safe Harbor Amount, then no reduction
of any Payments shall be made and the Gross-Up Payment shall be made. The
reduction of the Payments due hereunder, if applicable, shall be made by
first reducing the Payments under Section 5(a)(i)(B), unless an alternative
method of reduction is elected by Executive, and in any event shall be made
in such a manner as to maximize the economic present value of all Payments
actually made to Executive, determined by the Accounting Firm (as defined in
Section 9(b) below) as of the date of the Change in Control for purposes of
Section 280G of the Code using the discount rate required by
Section 280G(d)(4) of the Code. For purposes of this Section 9, the
"Parachute Value" of a Payment means the present value as of the date of the
Change in Control for purposes of Section 280G of the Code of the portion of
such Payment that constitutes a "parachute payment" under Section 280G(b)(2)
of the Code, as determined by the Accounting Firm for purposes of
determining whether and to what extent the Excise Tax will apply to such
Payment. For purposes of this Section 9, Executive’s "Safe Harbor Amount"
means one dollar less than three times Executive’s "base amount" within the
meaning of Section 280G(b)(3) of the Code.
- Subject to the provisions of Section 9(c) hereof, all
determinations required to be made under this Section 9, including whether
and when a Gross-Up Payment is required and the amount of such Gross-Up
Payment and the assumptions to be used in arriving at such determination,
shall be made in accordance with the principles of Section 280G of the Code
by PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP or such other certified public accounting firm
as may be designated by Executive (the "Accounting Firm") which shall
provide detailed supporting calculations both to the Company and Executive
within 15 business days of the receipt of notice from Executive that there
has been a Payment, or such earlier time as is requested by the Company. In
the event that the Accounting Firm is serving as accountant or auditor for
the individual, entity or group effecting the Change in Control, Executive
shall appoint another nationally recognized accounting firm to make the
determinations required hereunder (which accounting firm shall then be
referred to as the Accounting Firm hereunder). All fees and expenses of the
Accounting Firm shall be borne solely by the Company. Any Gross-Up Payment,
as determined pursuant to this Section 9, shall be paid by the Company to
Executive within five days of the receipt of the Accounting Firm’s
determination. Any determination by the Accounting Firm shall be binding
upon the Company and Executive. As a result of the uncertainty in the
application of Section 4999 of the Code at the time of the initial
determination by the Accounting Firm hereunder, it is possible that Gross-Up
Payments which will not have been made by the Company should have been made
("Underpayment"), consistent with the calculations required to be made
hereunder. In the event that the Company exhausts its remedies pursuant to
Section 9(c) and Executive thereafter is required to make a payment of any
Excise Tax, the Accounting Firm shall determine the amount of the
Underpayment that has occurred and any such Underpayment shall be promptly
paid by the Company to or for the benefit of Executive.
-
- Executive shall notify the Company in writing of any
claim by the Internal Revenue Service that, if successful, would require the
payment by the Company of the Gross-Up Payment. Such notification shall be
given as soon as practicable but no later than thirty days after Executive
is informed in writing of such claim and shall apprise the Company of the
nature of such claim and the date on which such claim is requested to be
paid. Executive shall not pay such claim prior to the expiration of the
30-day period following the date on which it gives such notice to the
Company (or such shorter period ending on the date that any payment of taxes
with respect to such claim is due). If the Company notifies Executive in
writing prior to the expiration of such period that it desires to contest
such claim, Executive shall:
-
-
-
-
-
- give the Company any information reasonably
requested by the Company relating to such claim,
-
- take such action in connection with contesting such
claim as the Company shall reasonably request in writing from time to
time, including, without limitation, accepting legal representation with
respect to such claim by an attorney reasonably selected by the
Company,
-
- cooperate with the Company in good faith in order
effectively to contest such claim, and
-
- permit the Company to participate in any proceedings
relating to such claim;
-
provided,
however, that the Company shall bear and pay directly all costs and
expenses (including additional interest and penalties) incurred in connection
with such contest and shall indemnify and hold Executive harmless, on an
after-tax basis, for any Excise Tax or income tax (including interest and
penalties with respect thereto) imposed as a result of such representation and
payment of costs and expenses. Without limitation of the foregoing provisions to
this Section 9(c), the Company shall control all proceedings taken in connection
with such contest and, at its sole option, may pursue or forgo any and all
administrative appeals, proceedings, hearings and conferences with the taxing
authority in respect of such claim and may, at its sole option, either direct
Executive to pay the tax claimed and sue for a refund or contest the claim in
any permissible manner, and Executive agrees to prosecute such contest to a
determination before any administrative tribunal, in a court of initial
jurisdiction and in one or more appellate courts, as the Company shall
determine; provided, however, that if the Company directs
Executive to pay such claim and sue for a refund, the Company shall advance the
amount of such payment to Executive, on an interest-free basis and shall
indemnify and hold Executive harmless, on an after-tax basis, from any Excise
Tax or income tax (including interest or penalties with respect thereto) imposed
with respect to such advance or with respect to any imputed income with respect
to such advance, and further provided that any extension of the statute of
limitations relating to payment of taxes for the taxable year of Executive with
respect to which such contested amount is claimed to be due is limited solely to
such contested amount. Furthermore, the Company’s control of the contest shall
be limited to issues with respect to which a Gross-Up Payment would be payable
hereunder and Executive shall be entitled to settle or contest, as the case may
be, any other issue raised by the Internal Revenue Service or any other taxing
authority.
-
-
- If, after the receipt by Executive of an amount advanced
by the Company pursuant to Section 9(c) hereof, Executive becomes entitled
to receive any refund with respect to such claim, Executive shall (subject
to the Company’s complying with the requirements of Section 9(c) hereof)
promptly pay to the Company the amount of such refund (together with any
interest paid or credited thereon after taxes applicable thereto). If, after
the receipt by Executive of an amount advanced by the Company pursuant to
Section 9(c) hereof, a determination is made that Executive shall not be
entitled to any refund with respect to such claim and the Company does not
notify Executive in writing of its intent to contest such denial of refund
prior to the expiration of 30 days after such determination, then such
advance shall be forgiven and shall not be required to be repaid and the
amount of such advance shall offset, to the extent thereof, the amount of
Gross-Up Payment required to be paid.
-
-
- Restrictions
on Conduct of Executive .
-
-
-
- General .
Executive and the Company understand and agree that the purpose of the
provisions of this Section 10 is to protect legitimate business interests
of the Company, as more fully described below, and is not intended to
impair or infringe upon Executive’s right to work, earn a living, or
acquire and possess property from the fruits of his or her labor.
Executive hereby acknowledges that Executive has received good and
valuable consideration for the employment and post-employment restrictions
set forth in this Section 10 in the form of the compensation and
benefits provided for herein. Executive hereby further acknowledges that
the post-employment restrictions set forth in this Section 10 are
reasonable and that they do not, and will not, unduly impair his or her
ability to earn a living after the termination of this
Agreement.
-
Therefore, Executive shall be
subject to the restrictions set forth in this Section 10.
- Definitions .
The following capitalized terms used in this Section 10 shall have the
meanings assigned to them below, which definitions shall apply to both the
singular and the plural forms of such terms:
-
"Competitive Position" means any
employment or consulting arrangement with a Competitor in which Executive
will use or is likely to use any Confidential Information or Trade
Secrets, or in which Executive has duties for such Competitor that are the
same or similar to those services actually performed by Executive for the
Company;
"Competitor" means the business
units of the following entities engaged in poultry production (including
without limitation broiler production, processing, sales and marketing):
Tyson Foods, Inc.; Perdue Farms, Inc.; Wayne Farms LLC; Sanderson Farms,
Inc. and each successor and assign of such business units that is engaged
in such poultry production to the extent such successor or assign is among
the five largest producers in the poultry industry measured by the volume
of poultry production.
"Confidential Information" means
all information regarding the Company, its activities, business or clients
that is the subject of reasonable efforts by the Company to maintain its
confidentiality and that is not generally disclosed by practice or
authority to persons not employed by the Company, but that does not rise
to the level of a Trade Secret. "Confidential Information" shall include,
but is not limited to, financial plans and data concerning the Company or
any of its affiliated companies; management planning information; business
plans; operational methods; market studies; marketing plans or strategies;
product development techniques or plans; customer lists; customer files,
data and financial information, details of customer contracts; current and
anticipated customer requirements; identifying and other information
pertaining to business referral sources; past, current and planned
research and development; business acquisition plans; and new personnel
acquisition plans. "Confidential Information" shall not include
information that has become generally available to the public by the act
of one who has the right to disclose such information without violating
any right or privilege of the Company. This definition shall not limit any
definition of "confidential information" or any equivalent term under
state or federal law.
"Determination Date" means the
Date of Termination or any earlier date (during the Employment Period) of
an alleged breach of the Restrictive Covenants by Executive.
"Person" means any individual or
any corporation, partnership, joint venture, limited liability company,
association or other entity or enterprise.
"Principal or Representative"
means a principal, owner, partner; stockholder, joint venturer, investor,
member, trustee, director, officer, manager, employee, agent,
representative or consultant.
"Protected Employees" means
employees of the Company who were employed by the Company or its
affiliated companies at any time within six months prior to the
Determination Date, other than those who were discharged by the Company or
such affiliated employer without cause.
"Restricted Period" means
«RestrictedPeriod», from the Date of Termination; provided, however, that the
Restricted Period shall end with respect to the covenants in clauses (ii)
and (iii) of Section 10(c) on the 60th day after the Date of Termination
in the event the Company breaches its obligation, if any, to make any
payment required under Section 5(a)(i).
"Restricted Territory" means the
States of Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, North
Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia and West Virginia and
Mexico.
"Restrictive Covenants" means the
restrictive covenants contained in Section 10(c) hereof.
"Third Party Information" means
confidential or proprietary information subject to a duty on the part of
the Company or its affiliated companies to maintain the confidentiality of
such information and to use it only for certain limited
purposes.
"Trade Secret" means all
information, without regard to form, including, but not limited to,
technical or nontechnical data, a formula, a pattern, a compilation, a
program, a device, a method, a technique, a drawing, a process, financial
data, financial plans, product plans, distribution lists or a list of
actual or potential customers, advertisers or suppliers which is not
commonly known by or available to the public and which information: (A)
derives economic value, actual or potential, from not being generally
known to, and not being readily ascertainable by proper means by, other
persons who can obtain economic value from its disclosure or use; and (B)
is the subject of efforts that are reasonable under the circumstances to
maintain its secrecy. Without limiting the foregoing, Trade Secret means
any item of confidential information that constitutes a "trade secret(s)"
under the common law or statutory law of any of the States of Alabama,
Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, North Carolina, South
Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia and West Virginia and
Mexico.
- Restrictive
Covenants .
-
-
- Restriction
on Disclosure and Use of Confidential Information and Trade
Secrets. Executive understands and agrees
that the Confidential Information and Trade Secrets constitute valuable
assets of the Company and its affiliated companies, and may not be
converted to Executive’s own use. Accordingly, Executive hereby agrees
that Executive shall not, directly or indirectly, at any time beginning
on the date of this Agreement and continuing during the Restricted
Period reveal, divulge, or disclose to any Person not expressly
authorized by the Company any Confidential Information, and Executive
shall not, directly or indirectly; at any time, during the Restricted
Period use or make use of any Confidential Information in connection
with any business activity other than that of the Company. Throughout
the term of this Agreement and at all times after the date that this
Agreement terminates for any reason, Executive shall not directly or
indirectly transmit or disclose any Trade Secret of the Company to any
Person, and shall not make use of any such Trade Secret, directly or
indirectly, for himself or herself or for others, without the prior
written consent of the Company. The parties acknowledge and agree that
this Agreement is not intended to, and does not, alter either the
Company’s rights or Executive’s obligations under any state or federal
statutory or common law regarding trade secrets and unfair trade
practices.
-
Anything herein to the contrary
notwithstanding, Executive shall not be restricted from disclosing or
using Confidential Information or any Trade Secret that is required to
be disclosed by law, court order or other legal process;
provided, however, that in the event disclosure is
required by law, Executive shall provide the Company with prompt notice
of such requirement so that the Company may seek an appropriate
protective order prior to any such required disclosure by
Executive.
- Nonsolicitation
of Protected Employees. Executive understands
and agrees that the relationship between the Company and each of its
Protected Employees constitutes a valuable asset of the Company and may
not be converted to Executive’s own use. Accordingly, Executive hereby
agrees that beginning on the date of this Agreement and continuing
during the Restricted Period, Executive shall not, directly or
indirectly, on Executive’s own behalf or as a Principal or
Representative of any Person or otherwise solicit or induce any
Protected Employee to terminate his or her employment relationship with
the Company or any of its affiliated companies or to enter into
employment with any other Person.
-
- Noncompetition
with the Company. In consideration of the
compensation and benefits being paid and to be paid by the Company to
Executive hereunder, Executive hereby agrees that, during the Restricted
Period, Executive will not, without prior written consent of the
Company, directly or indirectly, seek or obtain a Competitive Position
in the Restricted Territory. Executive acknowledges that in the
performance of his or her duties for the Company he or she is charged
with operating on the Company’s behalf throughout the Restricted
Territory and he or she hereby acknowledges, therefore, that the
Restricted Territory is reasonable.
-
- Enforcement
of Restrictive Covenants .
-
-
- Rights
and Remedies Upon Breach. In the event
Executive breaches, or threatens to commit a breach of any of the
provisions of the Restrictive Covenants, the Company shall have the
right and remedy to enjoin, preliminarily and permanently, Executive
from violating or threatening to violate the Restrictive Covenants and
to have the Restrictive Covenants specifically enforced by any court or
tribunal of competent jurisdiction, it being agreed that any breach or
threatened breach of the Restrictive Covenants would cause irreparable
injury to the Company and that money damages would not provide an
adequate remedy to the Company. Such right and remedy shall be
independent of any others and severally enforceable, and shall be in
addition to and not in lieu of, any other rights and remedies available
to the Company at law or in equity.
-
- Severability
of Covenants. Executive acknowledges and
agrees that the Restrictive Covenants are reasonable and valid in time
and scope and in all other respects. The covenants set forth in this
Agreement shall be considered and construed as separate and independent
covenants. Should any part or provision of any covenant be held invalid,
void or unenforceable, such invalidity, voidness or unenforceability
shall not render invalid, void or unenforceable any other part or
provision of this Agreement. If any portion of the foregoing provisions
is found to be invalid or unenforceable because its duration, the
territory, the definition of activities or the definition of information
covered is considered to be invalid or unreasonable in scope, the
invalid or unreasonable term shall be redefined, or a new enforceable
term provided, such that the intent of the Company and Executive in
agreeing to the provisions of this Agreement will not be impaired and
the provision in question shall be enforceable to the fullest extent of
the applicable laws.
-
- Arbitration
Any claim or dispute arising under or relating to this
Agreement or the breach, termination, or validity of any term of this
Agreement shall be subject to arbitration, and prior to commencing any court
action, the parties agree that they shall arbitrate all controversies;
provided, however, that nothing in this Section 11 shall prohibit the
Company from exercising its right under Section 10 hereof to pursue
injunctive remedies with respect to a breach or threatened breach of the
Restrictive Covenants. The arbitration shall be conducted in Dallas, Texas, in
accordance with the Employment Dispute Rules of the American Arbitration
Association and the Federal Arbitration Act, 9 U.S.C. §l, et. seq. Any
award shall be binding and conclusive upon the parties hereto, subject to 9
U.S.C. §10. Each party shall have the right to have the award made the
judgment of a court of competent jurisdiction. Any fees and related expenses
associated with the cost of arbitration will be borne by the
Company. Subject to the preceding provisions
of this Section 11, the courts of Dallas County, Texas shall have exclusive
jurisdiction and be the venue of all disputes between the Company and Employee
whether such disputes arise from this Agreement or otherwise. In addition,
Employee expressly waives any right to sue or be sued in the county of
Employee's residence and consents to venue in Dallas County,
Texas.
-
- Successors .
-
-
-
- This Agreement is personal to Executive and without the
prior written consent of the Company shall not be assignable by Executive
otherwise than by will or the laws of descent and distribution. This
Agreement shall inure to the benefit of and be enforceable by Executive’s
legal representatives.
-
- This Agreement shall inure to the benefit of and be
binding upon the Company and its successors and assigns.
-
- The Company will require any successor (whether direct
or indirect by purchase, merger, consolidation or otherwise) to all or
substantially all of the business and/or assets of the Company to assume
expressly and agree to perform this Agreement in the same manner and to the
same extent that the Company would be required to perform it if no such
succession had taken place. As used in this Agreement, "Company" shall mean
the Company as hereinbefore defined and any successor to its business and/or
assets as aforesaid which assumes and agrees to perform this Agreement by
operation of law, or otherwise.
-
-
- Miscellaneous .
-
-
-
- Governing
Law . This Agreement, and all disputes and controversies arising
hereunder or related to this Agreement, shall be governed by and construed
in accordance with the laws of the State of Texas, without reference to
principles of conflict of laws that would apply any other
law.
-
- Captions .
The captions of this Agreement are not part of the provisions hereof and
shall have no force or effect.
-
- Amendments .
This Agreement may not be amended or modified otherwise than by a written
agreement executed by the parties hereto or their respective successors
and legal representatives.
-
- Notices .
All notices and other communications hereunder shall be in writing and
shall be given by hand delivery to the other party or by registered or
certified mail, return receipt requested, postage prepaid, addressed as
follows:
-
If to Executive: «Name»
«MailingAddress»
«City»,
«State» «Zip»
If to the Company: Pilgrim’s Pride
Corporation
4845 US Highway 271 North
Pittsburg, TX 75686
Attention: Executive Vice President
Human Resources
or to such other address as
either party shall have furnished to the other in writing in accordance
herewith. Notice and communications shall be effective when actually
received by the addressee.
- Severability .
The invalidity or unenforceability of any provision of this Agreement
shall not affect the validity or enforceability of any other provision of
this Agreement.
-
- Withholding .
The Company may withhold from any amounts payable under this Agreement
such Federal, state, local or foreign taxes as shall be required to be
withheld pursuant to any applicable law or
regulation.
-
- Waivers .
Executive’s or the Company’s failure to insist upon strict compliance with
any provision of this Agreement or the failure to assert any right
Executive or the Company may have hereunder, shall not be deemed to be a
waiver of such provision or right or any other provision or right of this
Agreement.
-
- Status
Before and After Effective Date . Executive and the Company
acknowledge that, except as may otherwise be provided under any other
written agreement between Executive and the Company, the employment of
Executive by the Company is "at will" and, subject to Section 1(a) hereof,
Executive’s employment and/or this Agreement may be terminated by either
Executive or the Company at any time prior to the Effective Date, in which
case Executive shall have no further rights under this Agreement. From and
after the Effective Date this Agreement shall supersede any other
agreement between the parties with respect to the subject matter
hereof.
-
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, Executive has
hereunto set Executive’s hand and, pursuant to the authorization from its Board
of Directors, the Company has caused these presents to be executed in its name
on its behalf, all as of the day and year first above written.
«Name»
PILGRIM’S PRIDE CORPORATION
By:
b
«SigningOfficerName»
«SigningOfficerTitle»
ex99_1.htm
PILGRIM'S
PRIDE CORPORATION ANNOUNCES EXTENSION OF
TEMPORARY COVENANT WAIVER WITH
LENDERS
PITTSBURG,
Texas, October 27, 2008 – Pilgrim's Pride Corporation (NYSE: PPC) today
announced that it has reached an agreement with its lenders to extend the
temporary waiver under its credit facilities through November 26, 2008. Lenders
have also agreed to provide continued liquidity under credit facilities during
this same period in accordance with the terms of the waiver
agreements.
The company and its
advisors have been working diligently on a comprehensive business plan that
addresses the financial and operational challenges currently facing Pilgrim’s
Pride and the chicken industry. The extension announced today provides Pilgrim’s
Pride with flexibility while it continues to evaluate its opportunities to
refinance and recapitalize its business. The company is working toward a
solution to improve its long-term liquidity and position itself to capitalize on
its strategic advantages.
The Company
stated:
We have made significant
progress in developing an appropriate and effective strategic response to the
issues facing Pilgrim’s Pride and we look forward to executing against that
plan. Lenders have been constructive and supportive throughout this challenging
period and we believe that like us, they are encouraged by recent industry egg
set data and the continued decline in grain and other feed ingredient prices,
which if sustained should bode well for our Company and the industry as a whole.
In fact, the annualized benefit of the current feed ingredient prices relative
to those that existed at the time of the Company’s third fiscal quarter
conference call held on July 29, 2008; is approximately $1.1 billion. We look
forward to working with all of our stakeholders throughout this
process.
Pilgrim’s Pride also
announced that the company intends to exercise its 30-day grace period in making
the $25.7 million interest payment due November 3, 2008, on its 7 5/8% Senior
Notes and 8 3/8% Senior Subordinated Notes. Additional details can be found in
the Company’s Form 8-K filed today with the Securities and Exchange
Commission.
As previously announced,
the Company has retained Lazard as its investment banker to provide strategic
advice regarding refinancing and recapitalization opportunities and Bain
Corporate Renewal Group to work with management on a range of strategic issues
and operational improvements.
About Pilgrim’s
Pride
Pilgrim's Pride
Corporation is the largest chicken company in the United States and Puerto Rico
and the second-largest in Mexico. Pilgrim's Pride employs approximately 50,000
people and operates 35 chicken processing plants and 11 prepared-foods
facilities. Pilgrim's Pride products are sold to foodservice, retail and frozen
entree customers. The Company's primary distribution is through retailers,
foodservice distributors and restaurants throughout the United States and Puerto
Rico and in the Northern and Central regions of Mexico. For more information,
please visit http://www.pilgrimspride.com.
Forward-Looking
Statements
Statements contained in
this press release that state the intentions, plans, hopes, beliefs,
anticipations, expectations or predictions of the future of Pilgrim's Pride
Corporation and its management, including as to anticipated hedging gains or
losses and changes in pricing, demand and market conditions for chicken products
and profitability, are forward-looking statements. It is important to note that
the actual results could differ materially from those projected in such
forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ
materially from those projected in such forward-looking statements include:
matters affecting the poultry industry generally, including fluctuations in the
commodity prices of feed ingredients and chicken; compliance with covenants in
credit facilities in a volatile and adverse market; additional outbreaks of
avian influenza or other diseases, either in our own flocks or elsewhere,
affecting our ability to conduct our operations and/or demand for our
poultry products;
contamination of our products, which has previously and can in the future lead
to product liability claims and product recalls; exposure to risks related to
product liability, product recalls, property damage and injuries to persons, for
which insurance coverage is expensive, limited and potentially inadequate;
management of our cash resources, particularly in light of our substantial
leverage; restrictions imposed by, and as a result of, our substantial leverage;
changes in laws or regulations affecting our operations or the application
thereof; new immigration
legislation or increased enforcement efforts in connection with existing
immigration legislation that cause our costs of doing business to increase,
cause us to change the way in which we do business, or otherwise disrupt our
operations; competitive factors and pricing pressures or the loss of one or more
of our largest customers; inability to consummate, or effectively integrate, any
acquisition or realize the associated cost savings and operating synergies
currently anticipated; currency exchange rate
fluctuations, trade barriers, exchange controls, expropriation and other risks
associated with foreign operations; disruptions in international markets and
distribution channels; and the impact of uncertainties of litigation as well as
other risks described under "Risk Factors" in our Annual Report on Form 10-K and
subsequent filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Pilgrim's Pride
Corporation undertakes no obligation to update or revise publicly any
forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new
information, future events or otherwise.
b
Contact: Investors:
Gary Rhodes
Vice President, Corporate
Communications & Investor Relations
(903) 434-1495
Media:
Ray Atkinson
Director, Corporate
Communications
(903)
434-1811