Certain Covenants
Limitation on Liens
We will not, nor will we permit any Subsidiary to, issue, incur, create, assume or guarantee (collectively, “incur”) any debt for borrowed money, including all obligations evidenced by bonds, debentures, notes or similar instruments (collectively, a “debt”), secured by a mortgage, deed of trust, security interest, pledge, lien, charge or other encumbrance (collectively, a “lien”) upon any Principal Property (as defined herein) or upon any shares of stock of any Principal Subsidiary (as defined herein) (whether such Principal Property or shares are now existing or owned or hereafter created or acquired) without in any such case effectively providing, substantially concurrently with or prior to the creation or assumption of such lien, that the notes (together with, if we shall so determine, any other indebtedness of or guarantee by us or such Subsidiary ranking equally with the notes) shall be secured equally and ratably with (or, at our option, prior to) such secured debt. The foregoing restriction, however, will not apply to each of the following:
(a) liens on property, shares of stock or other assets of any person existing at the time such person becomes a Subsidiary or existing at the time of acquisition thereof by us or a Subsidiary, provided that such liens are not incurred in anticipation of such person’s becoming a Subsidiary or such acquisition and do not extend to (i) any Principal Property or (ii) any shares of stock of any Principal Subsidiary that, in each case, were not previously encumbered by such liens;
(b) liens on property of a person existing at the time such person is merged into or consolidated with us or a Subsidiary or at the time of a sale, lease or other disposition of the properties of such person (or a division thereof) as an entirety or substantially as an entirety to us or a Subsidiary, provided that such liens are not incurred in anticipation of such merger or consolidation or sale, lease or other disposition and do not extend to (i) any Principal Property or (ii) any shares of stock of any Principal Subsidiary that, in each case, were not previously encumbered by such liens;
(c) liens to secure all or part of the cost of acquisition, construction, development or improvement of any property or to secure debt incurred to provide funds for any such purpose (including purchase money security interests or purchase money mortgages), provided that the commitment of the creditor to extend the credit secured by any such lien is obtained not later than 24 months after the later of (i) the completion of acquisition, construction, development or improvement of such property and (ii) the placing in operation of such property or of such property as so constructed, developed or improved;
(d) liens in favor of, or which secure debt owing to, us or any of our Subsidiaries;
(e) liens existing at the date of the issuance of the old notes;
(f) liens in favor of the United States of America or any state, territory or possession thereof (or the District of Columbia), or any department, agency, instrumentality or political subdivision of the United States of America or any state, territory or possession thereof (or the District of Columbia), to secure partial, progress, advance or other payments pursuant to any contract or statute or to secure any indebtedness incurred for the purpose of financing all or any part of the purchase price or the cost of constructing or improving the property subject to such liens;
(g) liens incurred or assumed in connection with the issuance of revenue bonds the interest on which is exempt from federal taxation pursuant to Section 103(b) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended; and
(h) extensions, renewals or replacements of any liens referred to in the foregoing clauses, provided that (i) the principal amount of debt secured thereby shall not exceed the principal amount of debt so secured at the time of such extension, renewal or replacement and (ii) such extension, renewal or replacement liens will be limited to all or part of the same property and improvement thereon which secured the debt so secured at the time of such extension, renewal or replacement.
Notwithstanding the restrictions in the preceding paragraphs, we or any Subsidiary of ours may incur debt secured by a lien which would otherwise be prohibited by such restrictions, without equally and ratably securing
25