Exhibit 10.1
DEBT CONVERSION
AGREEMENT
This DEBT CONVERSION AGREEMENT (this
“ Agreement ”) is dated as of October 16,
2009, and is among VITESSE SEMICONDUCTOR CORPORATION, a Delaware
corporation (the “ Company ”) and the holders of
the Company’s Notes (as defined below) signatory hereto
(each, a “ Noteholder ” and collectively, the
“ Noteholders ”).
W I T N E S S E T
H:
WHEREAS, the Noteholders are the
beneficial owners of 1.50% Convertible Subordinated Debentures due
2024 of the Company (the “ Notes ”), in the
original principal amount set forth opposite such
Noteholders’ names in Exhibit A , which in the
aggregate total $93,547,000 in original principal amount (such
Noteholders’ Notes, the “ Exchanged Notes
”).
WHEREAS, the Noteholders have
exercised their rights to require the Company to repurchase the
Exchanged Notes on October 1, 2009 pursuant to
Section 11.1 of the indenture governing the Notes, dated as of
September 22, 2004, between the Company and U.S. Bank National
Association (as amended and supplemented, or otherwise
modified, the “ Indenture ”).
WHEREAS, pursuant to the Indenture,
the Company was required to pay on October 1, 2009 to each of
the Noteholders, in exchange for the Exchanged Notes, a repurchase
price (consisting of the original principal amount of the Exchanged
Notes, the put premium on such amount and accrued and unpaid
interest as of October 1, 2009), and, as of the date hereof,
the Company has not made such payments to the
Noteholders.
WHEREAS, certain of the Noteholders
and the Company have entered on October 1, 2009, and
subsequently, on October 9, 2009 into forbearance agreements
(the “ Initial Forbearance Agreements ”), with
respect to certain Specified Defaults (as defined in the Initial
Forbearance Agreements) of the Company, pursuant to which, the
Company has requested that the Noteholders agree to forbear, and
the Noteholders have agreed to forbear, from exercising their
rights and remedies with respect to the Specified Defaults until
October 16, 2009, under the terms and conditions set forth in
the Forbearance Agreements.
WHEREAS, the Noteholders and the
Company have entered into a Forbearance Agreement, dated as of
October 16, 2009 (the “ Exchange Forbearance
Agreement ”), in respect of the Specified Defaults (as
defined in the Exchange Forbearance Agreement), and pursuant to
which, the Company has requested that the Noteholders agree to
forbear, and the Noteholders have agreed to forbear, from
exercising their rights and remedies with respect to the Specified
Defaults, under the terms and conditions set forth therein, during
the period set forth therein.
WHEREAS, the Company and the
Noteholders have agreed to exchange the Exchanged Notes with New
Securities and Cash Consideration, subject to the terms and
conditions set forth herein.
WHEREAS, prior to and/or
simultaneously with the execution and delivery of this Agreement,
the Company has executed and/or is executing and delivering to the
Noteholders
certain agreements including the
Restructuring Agreements.
NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of
the premises and covenants set forth herein and for other good and
valuable consideration, the receipt and sufficiency of which are
hereby acknowledged, intending to be legally bound hereby, the
parties agree as follows:
Article I.
DEFINITIONS
Section 1.01
Definitions. The following terms, as used herein,
have the following meanings:“ Applicable Law ”
means, with respect to any Person, any federal, state or local law
(statutory, common or otherwise), constitution, treaty, convention,
ordinance, code, rule, regulation, order, injunction, judgment,
decree, ruling or other similar requirement enacted, adopted,
promulgated or applied by a Governmental Authority that is binding
upon or applicable to such Person, as amended unless expressly
specified otherwise.
“ Cash Consideration
” means an amount equal to $6,413,147.21
“ Cash Consideration
Portion ” means, with respect to each Noteholder, the
amount of cash payable to such Noteholder as set forth opposite
such Noteholder’s name in Exhibit A .
“ Code ” shall
have the same meaning as set forth in the Whitebox Loan
Agreement.
“ Common Stock ”
means the Company’s Common Stock as defined in the
Certificate of Incorporation, in effect as of the date
hereof.
“ Contract ”
means any contract, agreement, arrangement or understanding,
whether written or oral and whether express or implied.
“ Daily Regular Interest
Amount ” means, with respect to each Noteholder, the
amount set forth opposite such Noteholder’s name in
Exhibit A .
“ Denomination Cash
Amount ” means, with respect to each Noteholder, the cash
amount payable to such Noteholder at the Closing as set forth
opposite such Noteholder’s name on Exhibit A
under the title “Denomination Cash Amount”
.
“ ERISA ” shall
have the same meaning as set forth in the Whitebox Loan
Agreement.
“ GAAP ” means
United States generally accepted accounting principles and
practices as in effect on the date hereof.
“ Global Security
” shall have the meaning assigned to it in the New
Indenture.
“ Governmental
Authority ” means any transnational, domestic or foreign
federal, state or local, governmental authority, department, court,
agency or official, including any political subdivision
thereof.
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“ Guarantor ”
shall have the meaning set forth in the New Indenture.
“ Law ” means any
statute, law, ordinance, regulation, rule, code, executive order,
injunction, judgment, decree or order of any Governmental
Authority.
“ Lien ” shall
have the meaning assigned to it in the New Indenture.
“ Losses ” means
any losses, damages, liabilities, claims, interest, awards,
judgments, penalties, costs and expenses (including reasonable
attorneys’ fees, costs and other out-of-pocket expenses
incurred in investigating, preparing or defending the
foregoing).
“ Majority Note holders
” means Noteholders holding, in the aggregate, at least
$87,800,000 of the principal amount of the Exchanged
Notes.
“ Material Adverse
Effect ” means a material adverse effect upon any of the
conditions (financial or otherwise), business, assets or results of
operations of the Company and its Subsidiaries taken as a whole or
the ability of the Company to perform any of its obligations under
this Agreement; provided, however, that Material Adverse Effect
shall exclude any effect resulting or arising from (a) any
change in any Applicable Law, (b) any change in economic
conditions, (c) any change that is generally applicable to the
industries in which the Company or any of its Subsidiaries
operates, (d) any national or international political event or
occurrence, including acts of war or terrorism, (e) the
announcement of this Agreement and the consummation of the
transactions contemplated hereby, provided that, with respect to
clauses (a), (b), (c) and (d), the impact of such effect is
not disproportionately adverse to the Company and its Subsidiaries
taken as a whole.
“ New Common Stock
” means the shares of Common Stock to be issued to
Noteholders under the terms hereunder.
“ New Common Stock
Amount ” means 174,493,231shares of New Common
Stock.
“ New Common Stock
Consideration ” means, with respect to each Noteholder,
the amount of New Common Stock to be issued to such Noteholder as
specified opposite such Noteholder’s name in
Exhibit C-1 .
“ New Convertible Notes
” means the 8% Convertible Second Lien Debentures due 2014,
issued by the Company pursuant to the New Indenture.
“ New Convertible Notes
Consideration ” means, with respect to each Noteholder,
the principal amount of New Convertible Notes to be issued to such
Noteholder as specified opposite such Noteholder’s name on
Exhibit C-2 .
“ New Indenture ”
means the Indenture governing the New Convertible Notes.
“ Non-Participating Notes
Amount ” means $3,586,852.80
“ New Securities
” means the New Common Stock, New Convertible Notes and the
Preferred Stock.
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“ Other Transactions
” means the transactions specifically described in the
Restructuring Agreements, other than those contemplated by this
Agreement.
“ Person ” means
an individual, corporation, partnership, limited liability company,
association, trust or other entity or organization, including a
Governmental Authority.
“ Plan ” shall
have the same meaning as set forth in the Whitebox Loan
Agreement.
“ Preferred Stock
” means the Series B Participating Non-Cumulative
Convertible Preferred Stock of the Company having the rights and
preferences set forth in the Certificate of Designations attached
hereto as Exhibit B .
“ Preferred Stock
Consideration ” means, with respect to each Noteholder
listed on Exhibit C-3 , the amount of shares of
Preferred Stock set forth opposite such Noteholder’s name in
Exhibit C-3 .
“ Real Estate Lease
” means leases, including ground leases and space leases,
pursuant to which the Company or any of its Subsidiaries leases or
subleases any real property.
“ Regular Interest
Payment ” means, with respect to each Noteholder, an
amount equal to the product of (i) such Noteholder’s
Daily Regular Interest Amount times the number of days from
October 16, 2009 (inclusive) through the date hereof
(inclusive).
“ Reportable Event
” shall have the same meaning as set forth in the Whitebox
Loan Agreement.
“ Restructuring
Agreements ” means the New Indenture, the Second Lien
Security Documents (as defined in the New Indenture), and the
Intercreditor Agreement (as defined in the New
Indenture).
“ Rights Agreement
” means the Rights Agreement between the Company and
EquiServe Trust Company, N.A., as Rights Agent, dated as of
March 3, 2003 as amended, supplemented or restated
thereafter).
“ Second Lien Security
Documents ” shall have the meaning assigned to such term
in the Indenture.
“ Securities Act
” means the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or any
similar federal statute, and the rules and regulations
thereunder as the same shall be in effect at the time.
“ Senior Lender ”
shall mean the Agent and the lenders under the Whitebox Loan
Agreement.
“ Senior Lender Paydown
Amount ” shall mean an amount equal $5,000,050.00, which
amount includes the prepayment fee associated with a $5,000,000
paydown under the amounts due under the Whitebox Loan
Agreement.
“ Subsidiary ”
means, with respect to any Person, any other Person controlled by
such
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first Person, directly or
indirectly, through one or more intermediaries.
“ Whitebox Loan
Agreement ” means that certain Loan Agreement dated as of
August 23, 2007 by and among Whitebox VSC, Ltd, a limited
partnership organized under the law of the British Virgin Islands,
as agent thereunder (the “ Agent ”), the Company
and certain lenders signatory thereto from time to time.
“ Total Cash
Consideration ” means, with respect to each Noteholder,
such Noteholder’s
(i)
Cash Consideration
Portion;
(ii)
Regular Interest Payment;
and
(iii)
Denomination Cash
Amount.
“ Transfer Agent
” means Computershare Investor Services.
“ Trustee ” shall
have the meanings assigned to it in the Indenture and the New
Indenture.
Each of the following terms is
defined in the Section set forth opposite such
term:
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Term
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Section
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Agreement
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Preamble
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Balance Sheet
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4.23
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Board
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5.03(f)
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Bylaws
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4.06
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Certificate of
Incorporation
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4.06
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Company
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Preamble
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Core Representation
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7.04(a)
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Closing
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2.02
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Closing Date
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2.02
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Disclosure Schedule
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Article IV
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DTC
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2.03
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Exchange
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2.01(b)
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Exchange Act
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4.05(a)
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Exchanged Notes
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Recitals
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Forbearance Agreement
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Recitals
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Indenture
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Recitals
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Initial Forbearance
Agreement
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Recitals
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Intellectual Property
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4.16
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Litigation
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4.07
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Material Agreements
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4.14
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New Indenture
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1.01
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Notes
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Recitals
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Noteholder(s)
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Preamble
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Noteholder Indemnified
Party
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7.04(b)
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5
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Original Repurchase Price
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Recitals
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SEC
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Article IV
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SEC Reports
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Article IV
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Trust Indenture Act
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4.05(f)
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Underlying Shares
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6.04
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Section 1.02
Other Definitional and Interpretative Provisions . The
words “hereof,” “herein” and
“hereunder” and words of like import used in this
Agreement shall refer to this Agreement as a whole and not to any
particular provision of this Agreement. The captions herein
are included for convenience of reference only and shall be ignored
in the construction or interpretation hereof. References to
Articles, Sections, Exhibits and Schedules are to Articles,
Sections, Exhibits and Schedules of this Agreement unless otherwise
specified. All Exhibits and Schedules annexed hereto or
referred to herein are hereby incorporated in and made a part of
this Agreement as if set forth in full herein. Any
capitalized terms used in any Exhibit or Schedule but not
otherwise defined therein, shall have the meaning as defined in
this Agreement. Any singular term in this Agreement shall be
deemed to include the plural, and any plural term the
singular. Whenever the words “include,”
“includes” or “including” are used in this
Agreement, they shall be deemed to be followed by the words
“without limitation,” whether or not they are in fact
followed by those words or words of like import.
“Writing,” “written” and comparable terms
refer to printing, typing and other means of reproducing words
(including electronic media) in a visible form. References to
any agreement or contract are to that agreement or contract as
amended, modified or supplemented from time to time in accordance
with the terms hereof and thereof; provided that with respect to
any agreement or contract listed on any schedules hereto, all such
amendments, modifications or supplements must also be listed in the
appropriate schedule. References to any Person include the
successors and permitted assigns of that Person. References
from or through any date mean, unless otherwise specified, from and
including or through and including, respectively. References
to “law,” “laws” or to a particular statute
or law shall be deemed also to include any and all Applicable
Law.
Article II.
EXCHANGE
Section 2.01
Exchange.
(a)
Upon the terms and subject to the conditions of this Agreement, and
in express reliance upon such terms and conditions and the
representations, warranties and covenants of this Agreement, at the
closing (the “ Closing ”) of the Exchange,
each Noteholder shall be deemed to have exchanged the Exchanged
Notes and the Company shall issue the New Securities and pay the
Cash Consideration to the Noteholders (the “
Exchange ”) as
follows:
(iv)
to each Noteholder, its New Common Stock Consideration;
(v)
to each Noteholder, its New
Convertible Notes Consideration;
(vi)
to each Noteholder listed on
Exhibit C-3 , its Preferred Stock Consideration;
and
(vii)
to each Noteholder, its Total Cash
Consideration. .
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(b)
The failure of any Person to perform the actions contemplated by
this Agreement (including the failure to deliver any New Securities
to the Noteholders in accordance with the terms hereof) shall not
impair the rights and obligations of any party under this
Agreement, and notwithstanding any such failure, except as
specifically set forth in this Agreement, the parties shall
endeavor in good faith to consummate the Exchange upon terms as
close as practicable to those set forth herein.
Section 2.02
Closing . The Exchange shall take place at a closing
(the “ Closing ”), and the Restructuring
Agreements shall be released from escrow, to be held at the offices
of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP, 200 Park Avenue, New York,
NY 10166, at 10:00 a.m., on the first Business Day following
the satisfaction or, to the extent permitted by Applicable Law,
waiver of all conditions to the obligations of the parties set
forth in Article V (other than such conditions as may, by
their terms, only be satisfied at the Closing or on the Closing
Date), or at such other place or at such other time or on such
other date as the Company and the Noteholders mutually may agree in
writing. The day on which the Closing takes place is referred
to as the “ Closing Date. ”
Section 2.03
Delivery of the New Convertible
Notes . On or prior to the
Closing Date, the Company shall deliver to the Trustee a signed
Global Security, and the Company and the Noteholders shall deliver
to the Trustee a written notice in the form attached hereto as
Exhibit G instructing the Trustee to execute the New
Indenture and to take such action as may be required to distribute
the New Convertible Notes through the facilities of the Depository
Trust Company (“ DTC ”) as set forth in
Section 2.01 hereof.
Section 2.04
Delivery of the New Common Stock . At the Closing, the
Company shall deliver to each of the Noteholders evidence from the
DTC that the New Common Stock Consideration to which such
Noteholder is entitled in accordance with Section 2.01
has been transferred from the Company’s respective accounts
at DTC to the accounts of such Noteholder or its DTC participant in
accordance with the terms hereof.
Section 2.05
Delivery of the Preferred Stock . At the Closing, the
Company shall deliver to all Noteholders entitled to receive
Preferred Stock Consideration, certificates evidencing the amount
of shares of Preferred Stock to which such Noteholders are
entitled.
Article III.
REPRESENTATIONS AND WARRANTIES OF THE
NOTEHOLDER
Each Noteholder, separately solely
as to itself, and not jointly and severally, represents and
warrants to the Company as of the date hereof and as of the Closing
Date, that:
Section 3.01
Existence . The Noteholder is duly organized and
validly existing under the laws of its jurisdiction of
organization.
Section 3.02
Authorization . The execution, delivery and
performance by the Noteholder of this Agreement and the
consummation of the transactions contemplated hereby are within the
Noteholder’s powers and have been duly authorized by all
necessary action on the part of the Noteholder. This
Agreement constitutes a valid and binding agreement of the
Noteholder.
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Section 3.03
Governmental Authorization . The execution, delivery
and performance by the Noteholder of this Agreement and the
consummation of the transactions contemplated hereby require no
action by or in respect of, or filing with, any Governmental
Authority, by the Noteholder.
Section 3.04
Noncontravention . The execution, delivery and
performance by the Noteholder of this Agreement and the
consummation of the transactions contemplated hereby do not and
will not (i) violate the organizational documents of the
Noteholder or any Applicable Law binding upon the Noteholder, or
(ii) require any consent or other action by any Person under,
constitute a default under, or give rise to any right of
ter