SECOND LIEN CREDIT AGREEMENT Dated as of January 11, 2007 among RISKMETRICS GROUP HOLDINGS, LLC,

Exhibit 10.4

Execution Version

Published CUSIP Number: 000000XX0

$125,000,000

SECOND LIEN CREDIT AGREEMENT

Dated as of January 11, 2007

among

RISKMETRICS GROUP HOLDINGS, LLC,

as Borrower,

RISKMETRICS GROUP, INC.,

as Holdings,

BANK OF AMERICA, N.A.,

as Administrative Agent

and

The Other Lenders Party Hereto

BANC OF AMERICA SECURITIES LLC

and

CREDIT SUISSE SECURITIES (USA) LLC,

as Joint Lead Arrangers and Joint Book Managers

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Section		Page

	ARTICLE I
	DEFINITIONS AND ACCOUNTING TERMS

1.01.	Defined Terms	1
1.02.	Other Interpretive Provisions	28
1.03.	Accounting Terms	28
1.04.	Rounding	29
1.05.	Times of Day	29
1.06.	[Reserved]	29
1.07.	Currency Equivalents Generally	29

	ARTICLE II
	THE LOANS

2.01.	The Loans	29
2.02.	Borrowing, Conversions and Continuations of Loans	29
2.03.	[Reserved]	31
2.04.	[Reserved]	31
2.05.	Prepayments	31
2.06.	Termination of Commitments	34
2.07.	Repayment of Loans	34
2.08.	Interest	34
2.09.	Fees	35
2.10.	Computation of Interest and Fees	35
2.11.	Evidence of Debt	35
2.12.	Payments Generally; Administrative Agent’s Clawback	36
2.13.	Sharing of Payments by Lenders	37
2.14.	Increase in Facility	38

	ARTICLE III
	TAXES, YIELD PROTECTION AND ILLEGALITY

3.01.	Taxes	40
3.02.	Illegality	42
3.03.	Inability to Determine Rates	42
3.04.	Increased Costs; Reserves on Eurodollar Rate Loans	43
3.05.	Compensation for Losses	44
3.06.	Mitigation Obligations; Replacement of Lenders	44
3.07.	Survival	45

	ARTICLE IV
	CONDITIONS PRECEDENT TO THE LOANS

4.01.	Conditions of the Loans	45

		Page

	ARTICLE V
	REPRESENTATIONS AND WARRANTIES

5.01.	Existence, Qualification and Power	49
5.02.	Authorization; No Contravention	49
5.03.	Governmental Authorization; Other Consents	50
5.04.	Binding Effect	50
5.05.	Financial Statements; No Material Adverse Effect	50
5.06.	Litigation	51
5.07.	No Default	51
5.08.	Ownership of Property	52
5.09.	Environmental Compliance	52
5.10.	Insurance	52
5.11.	Taxes	52
5.12.	ERISA Compliance	53
5.13.	Subsidiaries; Loan Parties	54
5.14.	Margin Regulations; Investment Company Act	54
5.15.	Disclosure	54
5.16.	Intellectual Property; Licenses, Etc.	55
5.17.	Solvency	55
5.18.	Collateral Documents	55

	ARTICLE VI
	AFFIRMATIVE COVENANTS

6.01.	Financial Statements	55
6.02.	Certificates; Other Information	56
6.03.	Notices	59
6.04.	Payment of Obligations	59
6.05.	Preservation of Existence, Etc.	60
6.06.	Maintenance of Properties	60
6.07.	Maintenance of Insurance	60
6.08.	Compliance with Laws	60
6.09.	Books and Records	60
6.10.	Inspection Rights	60
6.11.	Use of Proceeds	61
6.12.	Covenant to Guarantee Obligations and Give Security	61
6.13.	Compliance with Environmental Laws	62
6.14.	Further Assurances	63
6.15.	[Reserved]	63
6.16.	Material Contracts	63
6.17.	Designation of Unrestricted Subsidiaries	63
6.18.	Post-Closing Covenant	64

		Page

	ARTICLE VII
	NEGATIVE COVENANTS

7.01.	Liens	65
7.02.	Indebtedness	67
7.03.	Investments	68
7.04.	Fundamental Changes	70
7.05.	Dispositions	71
7.06.	Restricted Payments	72
7.07.	Change in Nature of Business	73
7.08.	Transactions with Affiliates	73
7.09.	Burdensome Agreements	74
7.10.	Use of Proceeds	75
7.11.	Consolidated Leverage Ratio	75
7.12.	Capital Expenditures	76
7.13.	Amendments of Organization Documents	76
7.14.	Accounting Changes	76
7.15.	Prepayments, Etc. of Indebtedness	76
7.16.	Amendment, Etc. of Indebtedness	76
7.17.	Holding Company	77
7.18.	General Partner	77

	ARTICLE VIII
	EVENTS OF DEFAULT AND REMEDIES

8.01.	Events of Default	77
8.02.	Remedies upon Event of Default	81
8.03.	Application of Funds	81

	ARTICLE IX
	ADMINISTRATIVE AGENT

9.01.	Appointment and Authority	82
9.02.	Rights as a Lender	82
9.03.	Exculpatory Provisions	82
9.04.	Reliance by Administrative Agent	83
9.05.	Delegation of Duties	83
9.06.	Resignation of Administrative Agent	84
9.07.	Non-Reliance on Administrative Agent and Other Lenders	84
9.08.	No Other Duties, Etc.	85
9.09.	Administrative Agent May File Proofs of Claim	85
9.10.	Collateral and Guaranty Matters	85

iii

		Page

	ARTICLE X
	CONTINUING GUARANTY

10.01.	Guaranty	86
10.02.	Rights of Lenders	86
10.03.	Certain Waivers	87
10.04.	Obligations Independent	87
10.05.	Subrogation	87
10.06.	Termination; Reinstatement	87
10.07.	Subordination	88
10.08.	Stay of Acceleration	88
10.09.	Condition of Borrower	88

	ARTICLE XI
	MISCELLANEOUS

11.01.	Amendments, Etc.	88
11.02.	Notices; Effectiveness; Electronic Communications	90
11.03.	No Waiver; Cumulative Remedies	92
11.04.	Expenses; Indemnity; Damage Waiver	92
11.05.	Payments Set Aside	94
11.06.	Successors and Assigns	95
11.07.	Treatment of Certain Information; Confidentiality	98
11.08.	Right of Setoff	99
11.09.	Interest Rate Limitation	99
11.10.	Counterparts; Integration; Effectiveness	99
11.11.	Survival of Representations and Warranties	100
11.12.	Severability	100
11.13.	Replacement of Lenders	100
11.14.	Governing Law; Jurisdiction, Etc.	101
11.15.	Waiver of Jury Trial	102
11.16.	No Advisory or Fiduciary Responsibility	102
11.17.	USA PATRIOT Act Notice	103

SIGNATURES		S-1

SCHEDULES

	1.01(a)	Indebtedness to be Repaid
	2.01	Commitments and Applicable Percentages
	5.03	Certain Authorizations
	5.13	Subsidiaries and Other Equity Investments; Loan Parties
	5.17	Intellectual Property Matters
	6.12	Guarantors
	7.01(b)	Existing Liens
	7.02	Existing Indebtedness
	7.03(f)	Existing Investments
	11.02	Administrative Agent’s Office, Certain Addresses for Notices

EXHIBITS

	Form of

	A	Committed Loan Notice
	B	[Reserved]
	C	Note
	D	Compliance Certificate
	E	Assignment and Assumption
	F	Guaranty
	G	Security Agreement
	H	Opinion Matters
	I	Perfection Certificate
	J	Intercreditor Agreement
	K	Notice of Election

SECOND LIEN CREDIT AGREEMENT

This SECOND LIEN CREDIT AGREEMENT (“Agreement”) is entered into as of January 11, 2007, among RISKMETRICS GROUP HOLDINGS, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company (the “Borrower”), RISKMETRICS GROUP, INC., a Delaware corporation (“Holdings”), each lender from time to time party hereto (collectively, the “Lenders” and individually, a “Lender”), BANK OF AMERICA, N.A., as Administrative Agent and BANC OF AMERICA SECURITIES LLC and CREDIT SUISSE SECURITIES (USA) LLC, as joint lead arrangers and joint book managers (collectively, the “Arrangers”).

PRELIMINARY STATEMENTS:

Pursuant to the Agreement and Plan of Merger dated October 31, 2006 among RiskMetrics, Inc., formerly known as RiskMetrics Group, Inc. (“RiskMetrics”), RMG Holdco, Inc. (“RMG Holdco”), RMG Merger Sub, Inc. (“RMG Merger Sub”), ISS Merger Sub, Inc. (“ISS Merger Sub”), and Institutional Shareholder Services Holdings, Inc. (“Seller”), as amended by Amendment No. 1 to Agreement and Plan of Merger dated November 14, 2006 among RiskMetrics, RMG Holdco, RMG Merger Sub, ISS Merger Sub and Seller and Amendment No. 2 dated November 30, 2006 among Borrower, RiskMetrics, RMG Holdco, RMG Merger Sub, ISS Merger Sub and Seller (collectively, the “Merger Agreement”) RiskMetrics has agreed to consummate a business combination between RiskMetrics and Seller as follows: The Borrower will acquire all of the capital stock of RiskMetrics and Seller by means of (i) the merger of a wholly owned subsidiary, RMG Merger Sub, Inc. with and into RiskMetrics (the “RMG Merger”), with RiskMetrics continuing as the surviving corporation, and (ii) the merger of a wholly owned subsidiary, ISS Merger Sub, Inc., with and into Seller (the “ISS Merger” and collectively with the RMG Merger, the “Merger”), with Seller continuing as the surviving corporation. Immediately following the Merger, each of RiskMetrics and Seller will be a direct wholly owned subsidiary of Borrower. In connection with the Merger, there will be a rollover by certain of the existing common equity holders of Seller into Holdings (the “Rollover Equity Contribution”).

The Borrower has requested that the Lenders provide a term loan facility to pay to the Seller’s stockholders and optionholders the cash consideration for their shares and vested options of Seller in the ISS Merger, to pay transaction fees and expenses and to refinance certain Indebtedness of Seller on the terms and subject to the conditions set forth herein.

In consideration of the mutual covenants and agreements herein contained, the parties hereto covenant and agree as follows:

ARTICLE I

DEFINITIONS AND ACCOUNTING TERMS

1.01. Defined Terms. As used in this Agreement, the following terms shall have the meanings set forth below:

“Administrative Agent” means Bank of America in its capacity as administrative agent under any of the Loan Documents, or any successor administrative agent.

“Administrative Agent’s Office” means the Administrative Agent’s address and, as appropriate, account as set forth on Schedule 10.02, or such other address or account as the Administrative Agent may from time to time notify to the Borrower and the Lenders.

“Administrative Questionnaire” means an Administrative Questionnaire in a form supplied by the Administrative Agent.

“Affiliate” means, with respect to any Person, another Person that directly, or indirectly through one or more intermediaries, Controls or is Controlled by or is under common Control with the Person specified.

“Aggregate Commitments” means the Commitments of all the Lenders.

“Agreement” means this Credit Agreement.

“Applicable Percentage” means, at any time, the percentage (carried out to the ninth decimal place) of the Facility represented by (i) on or prior to the Closing Date, such Lender’s Commitment at such time and (ii) thereafter, the principal amount of such Lender’s Loans at such time. The initial Applicable Percentage of each Lender is set forth opposite the name of such Lender on Schedule 2.01 or in the Assignment and Assumption pursuant to which such Lender becomes a party hereto, as applicable.

“Applicable Rate” means 4.50% per annum for Base Rate Loans and 5.50% per annum for Eurodollar Rate Loans.

“Appropriate Lender” means, at any time, a Lender that has a Commitment or holds a Loan, respectively, at such time.

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

“Arrangers” has the meaning specified in the introductory paragraph hereto.

“Assignee Group” means two or more Eligible Assignees that are Affiliates of one another or two or more Approved Funds managed by the same investment advisor.

“Assignment and Assumption” means an assignment and assumption entered into by a Lender and an Eligible Assignee (with the consent of any party whose consent is required by Section 11.06(b)), and accepted by the Administrative Agent, in substantially the form of Exhibit E or any other form approved by the Administrative Agent.

“Attributable Indebtedness” means, on any date, (a) in respect of any Capitalized Lease of any Person, the capitalized amount thereof that would appear on a balance sheet of such Person prepared as of such date in accordance with GAAP, (b) in respect of any Synthetic Lease Obligation, the capitalized amount of the remaining lease or similar payments under the relevant lease or other applicable agreement or instrument that would appear on a balance sheet of such

Person prepared as of such date in accordance with GAAP if such lease or other agreement or instrument were accounted for as a Capitalized Lease and (c) all Synthetic Debt of such Person.

“Bank of America” means Bank of America, N.A. and its successors.

“Base Rate” means for any day a fluctuating rate per annum equal to the higher of (a) the Federal Funds Rate plus 1/2 of 1% and (b) the rate of interest in effect for such day as publicly announced from time to time by Bank of America as its “prime rate.” The “prime rate” is a rate set by Bank of America based upon various factors including Bank of America’s costs and desired return, general economic conditions and other factors, and is used as a reference point for pricing some loans, which may be priced at, above, or below such announced rate. Any change in such rate announced by Bank of America shall take effect at the opening of business on the day specified in the public announcement of such change.

“Base Rate Loan” means a Loan that bears interest based on the Base Rate.

“Xxxxxx Family” means (a) Xxxxx Xxxxxx, his spouse, members of his immediate family, and/or any of the lineal descendants of any thereof and/or (b) any trust or similar entity all of the beneficiaries of which, or a corporation, partnership or limited liability company all of the stockholders and other equity holders, limited and general partners or members of which, are (i) solely the Persons identified in the foregoing clause (a) and/or (ii) any entity described in this clause (b) all the beneficiaries of which, or all the stockholders and other equity holders, limited and general partners of which, are solely the Persons identified in the foregoing clause (a).

“Borrower” has the meaning specified in the introductory paragraph hereto.

“Borrower Materials” has the meaning specified in Section 6.02.

“Borrowing” means a borrowing consisting of simultaneous Loans of the same Type and, in the case of Eurodollar Rate Loans, having the same Interest Period, made by each of the Lenders pursuant to Section 2.01.

“Business Day” means any day other than a Saturday, Sunday or other day on which commercial banks are authorized to close under the Laws of, or are in fact closed in, the state where the Administrative Agent’s Office is located and, if such day relates to any Eurodollar Rate Loan, means any such day on which dealings in Dollar deposits are conducted by and between banks in the London interbank eurodollar market.

“Capex Carryover Amount” means, for any fiscal year of Holdings, the excess of (a) the amount of Capital Expenditures set forth for such fiscal year in the chart contained in Section 7.12 over (b) the aggregate amount of Capital Expenditures made by Holdings and its Subsidiaries during such fiscal year.

“Capital Expenditures” means, with respect to any Person for any period, any expenditure in respect of the purchase or other acquisition of any fixed or capital asset (excluding normal replacements and maintenance which are properly charged to current

operations); provided that “Capital Expenditures” shall not include: (a) any expenditures made with cash that could otherwise be paid by Holdings in compliance with Section 7.06(g), (b) expenditures made in connection with the replacement, substitution or restoration of assets (i) to the extent financed from insurance proceeds or (ii) with awards of compensation arising from the taking by eminent domain or condemnation of the assets being replaced, (c) the purchase price of equipment that is purchased simultaneously with the trade in of existing equipment to the extent that the gross amount of such purchase price is reduced by the credit granted by the seller of such equipment for the equipment being traded in at such time and (d) any capital expenditures deemed to be made as part of any acquisition permitted by Section 7.03.

“Capitalized Leases” means all leases that have been or should be, in accordance with GAAP, recorded as capitalized leases.

“Cash Equivalents” means any of the following types of Investments: (a) obligations issued or directly and fully guaranteed or insured by the United States of America or any agency or instrumentality thereof having maturities of not more than 360 days from the date of acquisition thereof; provided that the full faith and credit of the United States of America is pledged in support thereof; (b) deposits, time deposits, eurodollar time deposits or overnight bank deposits with, or insured certificates of deposit or bankers’ acceptances of, any commercial bank that (i) (A) is a Lender or an Affiliate of a Lender or (B) is organized under the laws of the United States of America, any state thereof or the District of Columbia or is the principal banking subsidiary of a bank holding company organized under the laws of the United States of America, any state thereof or the District of Columbia, and is a member of the Federal Reserve System, or under the laws of a foreign country (or political subdivision thereof) in which a Subsidiary making such deposits operates its business and (ii)(A) has combined capital and surplus of at least $250,000,000, (B) whose senior unsecured debt is rated at least A-1 by S&P and at least P-1 by Xxxxx’x; (C) has a short-term commercial paper rating (at the time of acquisition of such security) by S&P of at least A-1 or the equivalent thereof or by Xxxxx’x of at least Prime-1 or the equivalent thereof; or (D) has a long-term unsecured debt rating (at the time of acquisition of such security) of at least AA or the equivalent thereof by S&P or at least Aa2 or the equivalent thereof by Xxxxx’x (each commercial bank referred to in this clause (b), being an “Approved Bank”); (c) deposits, time deposits, eurodollar time deposits or overnight bank deposits with, or certificates of deposit or bankers’ acceptances of any commercial bank that is organized under the laws of a foreign country but is not an Approved Bank with a long-term unsecured debt rating (at the time of acquisition of such security) of at least AA or the equivalent thereof by S&P or at least Aa2 or the equivalent thereof by Xxxxx’x; (d) commercial paper and variable or fixed rate notes issued by any Approved Bank or by the parent company of any Approved Bank; (e) commercial paper and variable rate notes issued by, or guaranteed by, any industrial or financial company with a short-term commercial paper rating (at the time of acquisition of such security) of at least A-1 or the equivalent thereof by S&P or at least Prime-1 or the equivalent thereof by Xxxxx’x, or issued by, or guaranteed by any industrial company with a long-term unsecured debt rating (at the time of acquisition of such security) of at least AA or the equivalent thereof by S&P or at least Aa or the equivalent thereof by Xxxxx’x and in each case maturing within one year after the date of acquisition; (f) repurchase obligations of any Approved Bank, having a term of not more than 30 days, with respect to securities issued or fully guaranteed or insured by the United States government; (g) repurchase agreements with any

Lender or any primary dealer maturing within one year from the date of acquisition that are fully collateralized by investment instruments that would otherwise be Cash Equivalents; provided that the terms of such repurchase agreements comply with the guidelines set forth in the “Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council Supervisory Policy -Repurchase Agreements of Depository Institutions With Securities Dealers and Others, as adopted by the Comptroller of the Currency on October 31, 1985”; (h) investments, classified in accordance with GAAP as current assets of Holdings or any of its Subsidiaries, in money market investment programs registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940, which are administered by financial institutions that have the highest rating obtainable from either Xxxxx’x or S&P, and the portfolios of which are limited solely to Investments of the character, quality and maturity described in clauses (a) through (g) of this definition; (i) auction rate securities including tax-exempt, DRD and fully-taxable issues rated AA2/AA or better and with a maximum term between auctions of 180 days; and (j) investments in municipal money market funds, or direct investments in municipal money market securities including, but not limited to, Variable Rate Demand Obligations (VRDOs), synthetic floaters (P-Floats), R-Floats, municipal commercial paper, municipal notes and bonds with maturities or resets of one year or less from settlement date and a minimum rating of at least A-1 or VMIG-1 or underlying rating of Aa2 or AA or better.

“CFC” means a Person that is a controlled foreign corporation under Section 957 of the Code.

“Change in Law” means the occurrence, after the date of this Agreement, of any of the following: (a) the adoption or taking effect of any law, rule, regulation or treaty, (b) any change in any law, rule, regulation or treaty or in the administration, interpretation or application thereof by any Governmental Authority or (c) the making or issuance of any request, guideline or directive (whether or not having the force of law) by any Governmental Authority.

“Change of Control” means an event or series of events by which:

(a) at any time prior to the creation of a Public Market, the Permitted Holders, in the aggregate, shall cease to own and control legally and beneficially (free and clear of all Liens), either directly or indirectly, equity securities in Holdings representing more than 50% of the combined economic and voting power of all of the equity securities entitled to vote for members of the board of directors or equivalent governing body of Holdings on a fully-diluted basis but excluding unvested options and stock appreciation rights (and taking into account all such securities that the Permitted Holders have the right to acquire pursuant to any option right (as defined in clause (b) below)); or

(b) at any time after the creation of a Public Market, any “person” or “group”, (as such terms are used in Sections 13(d) and 14(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, but excluding any employee benefit plan of such person or its subsidiaries, and any person or entity acting in its capacity as trustee, agent or other fiduciary or administrator of any such plan) other than the Permitted Holders becomes the “beneficial owner” (as defined in Rules 13d-3 and 13 d-5 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, except that a person or group shall be deemed to have “beneficial ownership” of all securities that such person or group has the right to acquire, whether such right is exercisable

immediately or only after the passage of time (such right, an “option right”)), directly or indirectly, of more than 35% of the equity securities of Holdings entitled to vote for members of the board of directors or equivalent governing body of Holdings on a fully-diluted basis (and taking into account all such securities that such “person” or “group” has the right to acquire pursuant to any option right); or

(c) Holdings shall cease, directly or indirectly, to own and control legally and beneficially all of the Equity Interests in the Borrower.

“Closing Date” means January 11, 2007.

“Code” means the Internal Revenue Code of 1986.

“Collateral” means all of the “Collateral” or “Pledged Collateral” referred to in the Collateral Documents and all of the other property that is or is intended under the terms of the Collateral Documents to be subject to Liens in favor of the Administrative Agent for the benefit of the Secured Parties, other than Excluded Property.

“Collateral Documents” means, collectively, the Security Agreement, the Intellectual Property Security Agreement, each of the mortgages, collateral assignments, Joinder Agreements, intellectual property security agreement supplements, security agreements, pledge agreements or other similar agreements delivered to the Administrative Agent pursuant to Section 6.12, and each of the other agreements, instruments or documents that creates or purports to create a Lien in favor of the Administrative Agent for the benefit of the Secured Parties.

“Commitment” means, as to each Lender, its obligation to make Loans to the Borrower pursuant to Section 2.01 in an aggregate principal amount at any one time outstanding not to exceed the amount set forth opposite such Lender’s name on Schedule 2.01 under the caption “Commitment” or opposite such caption in the Assignment and Assumption pursuant to which such Lender becomes a party hereto, as applicable, as such amount may be adjusted from time to time in accordance with this Agreement.

“Committed Loan Notice” means a notice of (a) a Borrowing, (b) a conversion of Loans from one Type to the other, or (c) a continuation of Eurodollar Rate Loans, pursuant to Section 2.02(a), which, if in writing, shall be substantially in the form of Exhibit A.

“Compliance Certificate” means a certificate substantially in the form of Exhibit D.

“Consolidated Adjusted EBITDA” means, at any date of determination, an amount equal to Consolidated Net Income of Holdings and its Subsidiaries on a consolidated basis for the most recently completed Measurement Period plus (a) the following to the extent deducted in calculating such Consolidated Net Income: (i) Consolidated Interest Charges, (ii) the provision for Federal, state, local and foreign income taxes payable, (iii) depreciation and amortization expense, (iv) impairment of goodwill and other non-cash charges (including write downs and impairment of property, plant, equipment and intangibles and other long lived assets) or expenses which do not represent a cash item in such period or in any future period (excluding

any such non-cash charge or expense to the extent that it represents amortization of a prepaid cash expense), (v) unrealized losses (or minus unrealized gains) from xxxxxx and other financial derivatives, ordinary course foreign currency exposure, xxxx-to-market activity and lower of cost or market adjustments, (vi) non-cash compensation expense, or other non-cash expenses or charges which do not represent a cash item in such period or in any future period, arising from the granting of stock options, the granting of stock appreciation rights and similar arrangements (including any strike price reductions’ for dividends paid, repricing, amendment, modification, substitution or change of any stock option, stock appreciation rights or similar arrangements), (vii) any financing or financial advisory fees, accounting fees, legal fees, transfer or mortgage recording taxes and other out-of-pocket expenses of Holdings or any of its Subsidiaries (including expenses of third parties paid or reimbursed by Holdings or any of its Subsidiaries) incurred in connection with the Merger, (viii) unusual and non-recurring cash charges, (ix) any financing or financial advisory fees, accounting fees, legal fees, transfer or other mortgage recording taxes and related out-of-pocket expenses of Holdings and its Subsidiaries (including expenses of third parties paid or reimbursed by Holdings or any of its Subsidiaries) incurred as a result of any acquisition permitted under the terms of this Agreement or the issuance of any debt or equity securities (including any Public Offering), any refinancing transaction or any amendment or other modification of any debt instruments to the extent not prohibited by the terms of the Loan Documents, (x) any other non-recurring expenses reducing such Consolidated Net Income which do not represent a cash item in such period or any future period (in each case of or by Holdings and its Subsidiaries for such Measurement Period), (xi) that portion of any Deferred Revenue Adjustment that would, in the absence of purchase accounting adjustments relating to the Merger or any Permitted Acquisition, have been recorded as revenue in such Measurement Period and (xii) with respect to any Permitted Acquisition, expenses associated with the termination of any contracts with third parties or the severance of any senior management of a Person acquired in such Permitted Acquisition minus (b) the following to the extent included in calculating such Consolidated Net Income: (i) Federal, state, local and foreign income tax credits, (ii) all non-cash items increasing Consolidated Net Income other than ordinary course accruals in accordance with GAAP and (iii) that portion of any Deferred Cost Adjustment that would, in the absence of purchase accounting adjustments relating to the Merger or any Permitted Acquisition, have been recorded as an expense in such Measurement Period (in each case of or by Holdings and its Subsidiaries for such Measurement Period); provided that (a) Consolidated Adjusted EBITDA for the fiscal quarter ended (i) June 30, 2006 shall be $12,757,161 and (ii) September 30, 2006 shall be $15,375,989 and (b) Consolidated Adjusted EBITDA for the fiscal quarters ended December 31, 2006 and March 31, 2007 shall each be calculated on a pro forma basis as if the Merger had occurred on October 1, 2006 with such pro forma adjustments as are consistent with those implied by the calculations in the preceding clause (a) and otherwise are reasonably acceptable to the Administrative Agent.

Consolidated Adjusted EBITDA shall be calculated on a Pro Forma Basis to give effect to the Merger, any Permitted Acquisitions and Disposition (other than any dispositions in the ordinary course of business) consummated at any time on or after the first day of any Measurement Period of Holdings as if the Merger and each such Permitted Acquisition had been effected on the first day of such Measurement Period and as if each such Disposition had been consummated on the day prior to the first day of such Measurement Period, except that such pro forma calculations may include operating expense and cost reductions for such period resulting

from such transaction which is being given pro forma effect that (i) have been realized or (ii)(a) for which the steps necessary for the realization have been taken (or are taken concurrently with such transaction) or (b) with respect to any transactions for which the steps necessary for realization are reasonably expected to be taken within the six month period following such transaction, in each case, including but not limited to (1) reductions in personnel expenses, (2) reductions of costs related to administrative functions, (3) reductions of costs related to leased or owned properties and (4) reductions from the consolidation of operations and streamlining of corporate overhead; provided that any such operating expense and cost reductions for such period included in such pro forma calculations shall be certified to the Administrative Agent by the chief financial officer of the Borrower.

“Consolidated Funded Indebtedness” means, as of any date of determination, for Holdings and its Subsidiaries on a consolidated basis, the sum of (a) the outstanding principal amount of all obligations, whether current or long-term, for borrowed money (including Obligations hereunder) and all obligations evidenced by bonds, debentures, notes, loan agreements or other similar instruments, (b) all purchase money Indebtedness, (c) all direct obligations arising under letters of credit (including standby and commercial), bankers’ acceptances, bank guaranties, surety bonds and similar instruments, (d) all obligations in respect of the deferred purchase price of property or services (other than trade accounts payable in the ordinary course of business), (e) all Attributable Indebtedness, (f) without duplication, all Guarantees with respect to outstanding Indebtedness of the types specified in clauses (a) through (e) above of Persons other than the Borrower or any Subsidiary, and (g) all Indebtedness of the types referred to in clauses (a) through (f) above of any partnership or joint venture (other than a joint venture that is itself a corporation or limited liability company) in which the Borrower or a Subsidiary is a general partner or joint venturer, unless such Indebtedness is expressly made non-recourse to the Borrower or such Subsidiary.

“Consolidated Interest Charges” means, for any Measurement Period, the sum of (a) all interest, premium payments, debt discount, fees, charges and related expenses in connection with borrowed money (including capitalized interest) or in connection with the deferred purchase price of assets, in each case to the extent treated as interest in accordance with GAAP and (b) the portion of rent expense under Capitalized Leases that is treated as interest in accordance with GAAP, in each case, of or by Holdings and its Subsidiaries on a consolidated basis for the most recently completed Measurement Period.

“Consolidated Leverage Ratio” means, as of any date of determination, the ratio of (a) Consolidated Funded Indebtedness less Excess Cash (as defined below) as of such date to (b) Consolidated Adjusted EBITDA of Holdings and its Subsidiaries on a consolidated basis for the most recently completed Measurement Period. “Excess Cash” means, as of any date of determination, the amount of cash and Cash Equivalents of Holdings and its Subsidiaries in excess of $3,000,000.

“Consolidated Net Income” means, at any date of determination, the net income (or loss) of Holdings and its Subsidiaries on a consolidated basis for the most recently completed Measurement Period; provided that Consolidated Net Income shall exclude (a) extraordinary gains and extraordinary losses for such Measurement Period, (b) the net income of any

Subsidiary during such Measurement Period to the extent that the declaration or payment of dividends or similar distributions by such Subsidiary of such income is not permitted by operation of the terms of its Organization Documents or any agreement, instrument or Law applicable to such Subsidiary during such Measurement Period, except that Holdings’ equity in any net loss of any such Subsidiary for such Measurement Period shall be included in determining Consolidated Net Income, and (c) any income (or loss) for such Period of any Person if such Person is not a Subsidiary, except that Holdings’ equity in the net income of any such Person for such Measurement Period shall be included in Consolidated Net Income up to the aggregate amount of cash actually distributed by such Person during such Period to Holdings or a Subsidiary as a dividend or other distribution (and in the case of a dividend or other distribution to a Subsidiary, such Subsidiary is not precluded from further distributing such amount to Holdings as described in clause (b) of this proviso) and (d) any non-cash after-tax gains or losses attributable to any Disposition or returned surplus assets of any Plan.

“Contractual Obligation” means, as to any Person, any provision of any security issued by such Person or of any agreement, instrument or other undertaking to which such Person is a party or by which it or any of its property is bound.

“Control” means the possession, directly or indirectly, of the power to direct or cause the direction of the management or policies of a Person, whether through the ability to exercise voting power, by contract or otherwise. “Controlling” and “Controlled” have meanings correlative thereto.

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

“Default” means any event or condition that constitutes an Event of Default or that, with the giving of any notice, the passage of time, or both, would be an Event of Default.

“Default Rate” means an interest rate equal to (i) the Base Rate plus (ii) the Applicable Rate, if any, applicable to Base Rate Loans plus (iii) 2% per annum; provided, however, that with respect to a Eurodollar Rate Loan, the Default Rate shall be an interest rate equal to the interest rate (including any Applicable Rate) otherwise applicable to such Loan plus 2% per annum.

“Defaulting Lender” means any Lender that (a) has failed to fund any portion of the Loans required to be funded by it hereunder within one Business Day of the date required to be funded by it hereunder, (b) has otherwise failed to pay over to the Administrative Agent or any other Lender any other amount required to be paid by it hereunder within one Business Day of the date when due, unless the subject of a good faith dispute, or (c) has been deemed insolvent or become the subject of a bankruptcy or insolvency proceeding.

“Deferred Cost Adjustment” means, with respect to the Merger or any Permitted Acquisition, the reduction in the deferred costs reflected on the most recent balance sheet of,

with respect to the Merger, Seller or, with respect to any Permitted Acquisition the Person acquired resulting from fair valuing such deferred costs under the purchase method of accounting for the Merger for such Permitted Acquisition

“Deferred Revenue Adjustment” means, with respect to the Merger or any Permitted Acquisition, the reduction in the deferred revenue reflected on the most recent balance sheet of, with respect to the Merger, Seller or, with respect to any Permitted Acquisition, the Person acquired resulting from fair valuing such deferred revenue under the purchase method of accounting for the Merger or such Permitted Acquisition.

“Disposition” or “Dispose” means the sale, transfer, license, lease or other disposition (including any sale and leaseback transaction) of any property by any Person (or the granting of any option or other right to do any of the foregoing), including any sale, assignment, transfer or other disposal, with or without recourse, of any notes or accounts receivable or any rights and claims associated therewith.

“Disqualified Capital Stock” means any Equity Interests of a Person or a Subsidiary thereof issued after the date hereof which, by its terms (or by the terms of any security into which it is convertible or for which it is exchangeable at the option of the holder), or upon the happening of any event other than a change of control, matures or is mandatorily redeemable, pursuant to a sinking fund obligation or otherwise, or is redeemable at the option of the holder thereof, in whole or in part, or would require the mandatory payment of cash dividends on or prior to the Maturity Date, for cash or securities constituting Indebtedness. Without limitation of the foregoing, Disqualified Capital Stock shall be deemed to include any preferred stock of a Person or a Subsidiary of such Person, with respect to which, under the terms of such preferred stock, by agreement or otherwise, such Person or Subsidiary is obligated to pay current dividends or distributions in cash during the period prior to the Maturity Date; provided, however, that preferred stock of a Person that is issued with the benefit of provisions requiring a change of control offer to be made for such preferred stock in the event of a change of control of such Person will not be deemed to be Disqualified Capital Stock solely by virtue of such provisions.

“Dollar” and “$” mean lawful money of the United States.

“Domestic Subsidiary” means any Subsidiary that is organized under the laws of any political subdivision of the United States.

“Eligible Assignee” means any Person that meets the requirements to be an assignee under Section 11.06(b)(iii), (v) and (vi) (subject to such consents, if any, as may be required under Section 11.06(b)(iii)).

“Environmental Laws” means any and all Federal, state, local, and foreign statutes, laws, regulations, ordinances, rules, judgments, orders, decrees, permits, concessions, grants, franchises, licenses, agreements or governmental restrictions relating to pollution and the protection of the environment or the release of any materials into the environment, including those related to hazardous substances or wastes, air emissions and discharges to waste or public systems.

“Environmental Liability” means any liability, contingent or otherwise (including any liability for damages, costs of environmental remediation, fines, penalties or indemnities),of Holdings, any other Loan Party or any of their respective Subsidiaries directly or indirectly resulting from or based upon (a) violation of any Environmental Law, (b) the generation, use, handling, transportation, storage, treatment or disposal of any Hazardous Materials, (c) exposure to any Hazardous Materials, (d) the release or threatened release of any Hazardous Materials into the environment or (e) any contract pursuant to which liability is assumed or imposed with respect to any of the foregoing.

“Environmental Permit” means any permit, approval or license under any Environmental Law.

“Equity Interests” means, with respect to any Person, all of the shares of capital stock of (or other ownership or profit interests in) such Person, all of the warrants, options or other rights for the purchase or acquisition from such Person of shares of capital stock of (or other ownership or profit interests in) such Person, all of the securities convertible into or exchangeable for shares of capital stock of (or other ownership or profit interests in) such Person or warrants, rights or options for the purchase or acquisition from such Person of such shares (or such other interests), and all of the other ownership or profit interests in such Person (including partnership, member or trust interests therein), whether voting or nonvoting, and whether or not such shares, warrants, options, rights or other interests are outstanding on any date of determination.

“ERISA” means the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974.

“ERISA Affiliate” means any trade or business (whether or not incorporated) under common control with the Borrower within the meaning of Section 414(b) or (c) of the Code (and Sections 414(m) and (o) of the Code for purposes of provisions relating to Section 412 of the Code).

“ERISA Event” means (a) a Reportable Event with respect to a Pension Plan; (b) with respect to a Pension Plan, the failure to satisfy the minimum funding standard of Section 412 of the Code or the failure to make by its due date a required contribution under Section 412(m) of the Code; (c) a withdrawal by the Borrower or any ERISA Affiliate from a Pension Plan subject to Section 4063 of ERISA during a plan year in which it was a substantial employer (as defined in Section 4001(a)(2) of ERISA) or a cessation of operations that is treated as such a withdrawal under Section 4062(e) of ERISA; (d) a complete or partial withdrawal by the Borrower or any ERISA Affiliate from a Multiemployer Plan or notification that a Multiemployer Plan is in reorganization; (e) the filing of a notice of intent to terminate a Pension Plan, the treatment of a Plan amendment as a termination under Section 4041 or 4041A of ERISA, or the commencement of proceedings by the PBGC to terminate a Pension Plan or Multiemployer Plan; (f) an event or condition which constitutes grounds under Section 4042 of ERISA for the termination of, or the appointment of a trustee to administer, any Pension Plan or Multiemployer Plan; (g) the making of any amendment to any Pension Plan which would result in the imposition of a lien or the posting of a bond or other security; (h) the occurrence of a non-exempt prohibited transaction (within the meaning of Section 4975 of the Code or Section 406 of ERISA) which would result in liability to the Borrower; or (i) the imposition of any liability

under Title IV of ERISA, other than for PBGC premiums due but not delinquent under Section 4007 of ERISA, upon the Borrower or any ERISA Affiliate.

“Eurodollar Rate” means, for any Interest Period with respect to a Eurodollar Rate Loan, the rate per annum equal to the British Bankers Association LIBOR Rate (“BBA LIBOR”), as published by Reuters (or other commercially available source providing quotations of BBA LIBOR as designated by the Administrative Agent from time to time) at approximately 11:00 a.m., London time, two Business Days prior to the commencement of such Interest Period, for Dollar deposits (for delivery on the first day of such Interest Period) with a term equivalent to such Interest Period. If such rate is not available at such time for any reason, then the “Eurodollar Rate” for such Interest Period shall be the rate per annum determined by the Administrative Agent to be the rate at which deposits in Dollars for delivery on the first day of such Interest Period in same day funds in the approximate amount of the Eurodollar Rate Loan being made, continued or converted by Bank of America and with a term equivalent to such Interest Period would be offered by Bank of America’s London Branch to major banks in the London interbank eurodollar market at their request at approximately 11:00 a.m. (London time) two Business Days prior to the commencement of such Interest Period.

“Eurodollar Rate Loan” means a Loan that bears interest at a rate based on the Eurodollar Rate.

“Event of Default” has the meaning specified in Section 8.01.

“Excess Cash Flow” means, for any fiscal year of Holdings, the excess (if any) of (a) the sum of (i) Consolidated Adjusted EBITDA for such fiscal year and (ii) the Capex Carryover Amount for a prior fiscal year permitted to be used for Capital Expenditures during such fiscal year to the extent not so used during such fiscal year over (b) the sum (for such fiscal year) of (i) Consolidated Interest Charges actually paid in cash by Holdings and its Subsidiaries, (ii) an amount equal to the aggregate amount of all regularly scheduled principal payments or redemptions of outstanding Consolidated Funded Indebtedness made during such period by Holdings and its Subsidiaries and the aggregate principal amount of all prepayments made in respect of such Consolidated Funded Indebtedness (other than any such prepayment in respect of the Loans pursuant to Section 2.05(a)(i) during such period), (iii) all income taxes actually paid in cash by Holdings and its Subsidiaries, (iv) Capital Expenditures (except to the extent financed by incurring Consolidated Funded Indebtedness or issuing Equity Interests) actually made by Holdings and its Subsidiaries in such fiscal year, (v) the Capex Carryover Amount for such fiscal year and (vi) cash expenses, costs, fees or charges to the extent included in Consolidated Adjusted EBITDA for such fiscal year pursuant to clauses (a)(vii), (viii), (ix) or (xii) of the definition of “Consolidated Adjusted EBITDA” (including giving effect to any cash pro forma adjustments from the Merger, any Permitted Acquisition and any Disposition).

“Excluded Property” means: (a) any lease, license, permit, contract, property right or agreement to which any Loan Party is a party or any of such Loan Party’s rights or interests thereunder if and only for so long as the grant of a Lien thereon shall (i) give any other Person party to such lease, license, permit, contract, property rights or agreement the right to terminate its obligations thereunder, (ii) constitute or result in the abandonment, invalidation or unenforceability of any right, title or interest of any Loan Party therein or (iii) constitute or result

in a breach or termination pursuant to the terms of, or a default under, any such lease, license, permit, contract, property rights or agreement (other than to the extent that any such term would be rendered ineffective pursuant to Sections 9-406, 9-407, 9-408 or 9-409 of the UCC (or any successor provision or provisions)); provided that such lease, license, permit, contract, property right or agreement shall be Excluded Property only to the extent and for so long as the consequences specified above shall exist and shall cease to be Excluded Property and shall become subject to the Liens granted under the Collateral Documents, immediately and automatically, at such time as such consequences shall no longer exist; (b) any equipment (as such term is defined in the UCC) owned by any Loan Party that is subject to a purchase money Lien or a Capitalized Lease permitted pursuant to this Agreement if the contract or other agreement in which such Lien is granted (or in the documentation providing for such Capitalized Lease) prohibits or requires the consent of any Person other than any Loan Party as a condition to the creation of any other Lien on such equipment, but only, in each case, to the extent, and for so long as, the Indebtedness secured by the applicable Lien or the Capitalized Lease has not been repaid in full or the applicable prohibition (or consent requirement) has not otherwise been removed or terminated; (c) any Equity Interests in Holdings; (d) any Equity Interests in or property of any Excluded Subsidiary; (e) any leasehold property or owned real property with a fair market value of less than $4,000,000, (f) after the date hereof, any property acquired by any Loan Party if and to the extent that the Administrative Agent shall have reasonably determined that the costs (including, without limitation, recording taxes and filing fees) of creating and perfecting a Lien on such property interests are excessive in relation to the value of the security afforded thereby; (g) motor vehicles (as such term is defined in the UCC) and (h) cash, Cash Equivalents and all deposit and securities accounts (except to the extent that the foregoing are or contain proceeds of any other Collateral).

“Excluded Subsidiary” means any (i) Unrestricted Subsidiary, (ii) Subsidiary that is owned directly or indirectly by a CFC or (iii) Subsidiary formed or acquired after the Closing Date that has (a) less than $50,000 of assets and (b) revenues for its most recent fiscal year of $50,000 or less.

“Excluded Taxes” means, with respect to the Administrative Agent, any Lender or any other recipient of any payment to be made by or on account of any obligation of the Borrower hereunder, (a) taxes imposed on or measured by its overall net income (however denominated), and franchise taxes imposed on it (in lieu of net income taxes), by the jurisdiction (or any political subdivision thereof) under the laws of which such recipient is organized or in which its principal office is located or in which its applicable Lending Office is located (in the case of any Lender) or in which it is engaged in business (other than business that the Administrative Agent, any Lender or any other recipient of any payment to be made by or on account of any obligation of the Borrower hereunder is engaged in solely by reason of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement), (b) any branch profits taxes imposed by the United States or any similar tax imposed by any other jurisdiction in which the Borrower is located and (c) in the case of a Foreign Lender (other than an assignee pursuant to a request by the Borrower under Section 11.13), any United States federal withholding tax that is imposed on amounts payable to such Foreign Lender at the time such Foreign Lender becomes a party hereto (or designates a new Lending Office) or is attributable to such Foreign Lender’s failure or inability (other than as a result of a Change in Law) to comply with Section 3.01(e), except to the

extent that such Foreign Lender (or its assignor, if any) was entitled, at the time of designation of a new Lending Office (or assignment), to receive additional amounts from the Borrower with respect to such withholding tax pursuant to Section 3.01(a).

“Extraordinary Receipt” means any cash received by or paid to or for the account of any Person in respect of (a) proceeds of insurance (other than proceeds of business interruption insurance to the extent such proceeds constitute compensation for lost earnings), or (b) condemnation awards (and payments in lieu thereof).

“Facility” means, at any time, (a) on or prior to the Closing Date, the aggregate amount of the Commitments at such time and (b) thereafter, the aggregate principal amount of the Loans of all Lenders outstanding at such time.

“Federal Funds Rate” means, for any day, the rate per annum equal to the weighted average of the rates on overnight Federal funds transactions with members of the Federal Reserve System arranged by Federal funds brokers on such day, as published by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York on the Business Day next succeeding such day; provided that (a) if such day is not a Business Day, the Federal Funds Rate for such day shall be such rate on such transactions on the next preceding Business Day as so published on the next succeeding Business Day, and (b) if no such rate is so published on such next succeeding Business Day, the Federal Funds Rate for such day shall be the average rate (rounded upward, if necessary, to a whole multiple of 1/100 of 1%) charged to Bank of America on such day on such transactions as determined by the Administrative Agent.

“Fee Letter” means the letter agreement, dated October 30, 2006, among RiskMetrics, the Administrative Agent and Banc of America Securities LLC.

“First Lien Loan Documents” means the First Lien Credit Agreement and the other Loan Documents (as defined in the First Lien Credit Agreement).

“First Lien Loans” means the senior secured term b loan facility and the revolving credit facility under the First Lien Credit Agreement.

“First Lien Credit Agreement” means (i) that certain credit agreement dated as of the date hereof among the Borrower, Holdings, the lenders party thereto, Bank of America, N.A., as administrative agent, swing line lender and 1/c issuer, as amended, restated, supplemented or modified from time to time to the extent permitted by this Agreement and the Intercreditor Agreement and (ii) any other credit agreement, loan agreement, note agreement, promissory note, indenture or other agreement or instrument evidencing or governing the terms of any indebtedness or other financial accommodation that has been incurred to extend (subject to the limitations set forth herein and in the Intercreditor Agreement) or refinance in whole or in part the indebtedness and other obligations outstanding under the (x) credit agreement referred to in clause (i) or (y) any subsequent First Lien Credit Agreement, unless such agreement or instrument expressly provides that it is not intended to be and is not a First Lien Credit Agreement hereunder. Any reference to the First Lien Credit Agreement hereunder shall be deemed a reference to any First Lien Credit Agreement then in existence.

“Foreign Government Scheme or Arrangement” has the meaning specified in Section 5.12(d).

“Foreign Lender” means any Lender that is not a “United States Person” within the meaning of Section 7701(a)(30) of the Code.

“Foreign Plan” has the meaning specified in Section 5.12(d).

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

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

“GAAP” means generally accepted accounting principles in the United States set forth in the opinions and pronouncements of the Accounting Principles Board and the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and statements and pronouncements of the Financial Accounting Standards Board or such other principles as may be approved by a significant segment of the accounting profession in the United States, that are applicable to the circumstances as of the date of determination, consistently applied.

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

“Guarantee” means, as to any Person, any (a) any obligation, contingent or otherwise, of such Person guaranteeing or having the economic effect of guaranteeing any Indebtedness or other obligation payable or performable by another Person (the “primary obligor”) in any manner, whether directly or indirectly, and including any obligation of such Person, direct or indirect, (i) to purchase or pay (or advance or supply funds for the purchase or payment of) such Indebtedness or other obligation, (ii) to purchase or lease property, securities or services for the purpose of assuring the obligee in respect of such Indebtedness or other obligation of the payment or performance of such Indebtedness or other obligation, (iii) to maintain working capital, equity capital or any other financial statement condition or liquidity or level of income or cash flow of the primary obligor so as to enable the primary obligor to pay such Indebtedness or other obligation, or (iv) entered into for the purpose of assuring in any other manner the obligee in respect of such Indebtedness or other obligation of the payment or performance thereof or to protect such obligee against loss in respect thereof (in whole or in part), or (b) any Lien on any assets of such Person securing any Indebtedness or other obligation of any other Person, whether or not such Indebtedness or other obligation is assumed by such Person (or any right, contingent or otherwise, of any holder of such Indebtedness to obtain any such Lien). The amount of any Guarantee shall be deemed to be an amount equal to the stated or determinable amount of the related primary obligation, or portion thereof, in respect of which

such Guarantee is made or, if not stated or determinable, the maximum reasonably anticipated liability in respect thereof as determined by the guaranteeing Person in good faith. The term “Guarantee” as a verb has a corresponding meaning.

“Guarantors” means, collectively, Holdings, the direct and indirect Subsidiaries of Holdings listed on Schedule 6.12 and each other Subsidiary of Holdings that shall be required to execute and deliver a guaranty or guaranty supplement pursuant to Section 6.12.

“Guaranty” means, collectively, the Guaranty made by Holdings under Article X in favor of the Secured Parties and the Guaranty made by the other Guarantors in favor of the Secured Parties, substantially in the form of Exhibit F, together with each other guaranty and guaranty supplement delivered pursuant to Section 6.12.

“Hazardous Materials” means all explosive or radioactive substances or wastes and all hazardous or toxic substances, wastes or other pollutants, including petroleum or petroleum distillates, asbestos or asbestos-containing materials, polychlorinated biphenyls, radon gas, infectious or medical wastes, in each case, where regulated pursuant to any applicable Environmental Law.

“Holdings” has the meaning specified in the introductory paragraph hereto.

“Increase Effective Date” has the meaning specified in Section 2.14(a).

“Increase Joinder” has the meaning specified in Section 2.14(c).

“Incremental Commitment” has the meeting specified in Section 2.14(a).

“Incremental Loans” has the meaning specified in Section 2.14(c).

“Incremental Maturity Date” has the meaning specified in Section 2.14(c).

“Indebtedness” means, as to any Person at a particular time, without duplication, all of the following, whether or not included as indebtedness or liabilities in accordance with GAAP:

(a) all obligations of such Person for borrowed money and all obligations of such Person evidenced by bonds, debentures, notes, loan agreements or other similar instruments;

(b) the maximum amount of all direct or contingent obligations of such Person arising under letters of credit (including standby and commercial), bankers’ acceptances, bank guaranties, surety bonds and similar instruments;

(d) all obligations of such Person to pay the deferred purchase price of property or services;

(e) indebtedness (excluding prepaid interest thereon) secured by a Lien on property owned or being purchased by such Person (including indebtedness arising under conditional sales or other title retention agreements), whether or not such indebtedness shall have been assumed by such Person or is limited in recourse;

(f) all Attributable Indebtedness in respect of Capitalized Leases and Synthetic Lease Obligations of such Person and all Synthetic Debt of such Person;

(g) all obligations of such Person to purchase, redeem, retire, defease or otherwise make any payment in respect of any Equity Interest in such Person or any other Person or any warrant, right or option to acquire such Equity Interest, valued, in the case of a redeemable preferred interest, at the greater of its voluntary or involuntary liquidation preference plus accrued and unpaid dividends; and

(h) all Guarantees of such Person in respect of any of the foregoing;

provided, however, that “Indebtedness” shall not include (i) any obligations under any operating leases, (ii) trade accounts payable, trade credit or accrued expenses arising in the ordinary course of business and trade letters of credit issued in support of trade accounts payable and, trade credit arising in the ordinary course of business, (iii) any obligation to reimburse issuers of surety bonds issued in the ordinary course of business, or (iv) amounts owing in respect of existing preferred stock and other preferred stock (other than Disqualified Stock issued after the Closing Date that would be treated as Indebtedness under GAAP as in effect at such time).

For all purposes hereof, the Indebtedness of any Person shall include the Indebtedness of any partnership or joint venture (other than a joint venture that is itself a corporation or limited liability company) in which such Person is a general partner or a joint venturer, unless such Indebtedness is expressly made non-recourse to such Person. The amount of any net obligation under any Swap Contract on any date shall be deemed to be the Swap Termination Value thereof as of such date.

“Indebtedness to be Repaid” means the obligations set forth on Schedule 1.01(a).

“Indemnified Taxes” means Taxes other than Excluded Taxes.

“Indemnitees” has the meaning specified in Section 11.04(b).

“Information” has the meaning specified in Section 11.07.

“Intellectual Property Security Agreement” has the meaning specified in Section 4.01(a)(v).

“Intercompany Note” has the meaning specified in the Security Agreement.

“Intercreditor Agreement” shall mean that certain Intercreditor Agreement dated as of the Closing Date among the Administrative Agent and Bank of America, N.A. as the

administrative agent under the First Lien Credit Agreement, and acknowledged by the Borrower, substantially in the form of Exhibit J.

“Interest Payment Date” means, (a) as to any Eurodollar Rate Loan, the last day of each Interest Period applicable to such Loan and the Maturity Date; provided, however, that if any Interest Period for a Eurodollar Rate Loan exceeds three months, the respective dates that fall every three months after the beginning of such Interest Period shall also be Interest Payment Dates; and (b) as to any Base Rate Loan, the last Business Day of each March, June, September and December and the Maturity Date.

“Interest Period” means, as to each Eurodollar Rate Loan, the period commencing on the date such Eurodollar Rate Loan is disbursed or converted to or continued as a Eurodollar Rate Loan and ending on the date one, two, three or six months thereafter, as selected by the Borrower in its Committed Loan Notice or such other period that is twelve months or less requested by the Borrower, if consented to by all Lenders; provided that:

(a) any Interest Period that would otherwise end on a day that is not a Business Day shall be extended to the next succeeding Business Day unless such Business Day falls in another calendar month, in which case such Interest Period shall end on the next preceding Business Day;

(b) any Interest Period that begins on the last Business Day of a calendar month (or on a day for which there is no numerically corresponding day in the calendar month at the end of such Interest Period) shall end on the last Business Day of the calendar month at the end of such Interest Period; and

“Investment” means, as to any Person, any direct or indirect acquisition or investment by such Person, whether by means of (a) the purchase or other acquisition of Equity Interests of another Person, (b) a loan, advance or capital contribution to, Guarantee or assumption of debt of, or purchase or other acquisition of any other debt or interest in, another Person,, or (c) the purchase or other acquisition (in one transaction or a series of transactions) of assets of another Person that constitute a business unit or all or a substantial part of the business of, such Person. For purposes of covenant compliance, the amount of any Investment shall be the amount actually invested (net of any return of capital in respect thereof), without adjustment for subsequent increases or decreases in the value of such Investment.

“JRS” means the United States Internal Revenue Service.

“ISS” has the meaning specified in preliminary statements hereto.

“ISS Audited Financial Statements” means the audited consolidated balance sheet of Seller and its Subsidiaries for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2005, and the related consolidated statements of income or operations, shareholders’ equity and cash flows for such fiscal year of Seller and its Subsidiaries, including the notes thereto.

“ISS Material Adverse Effect” means “Material Adverse Effect” as defined in the Merger Agreement.

“ISS Merger” has the meaning specified in preliminary statements hereto.

“Joinder Agreement” has the meaning specified in the Security Agreement.

“Joint Venture” means a corporation, partnership, limited liability company, joint venture or other similar arrangement (whether created by contract or conducted through a separate legal entity) which is not a Subsidiary of any Loan Party or any of their respective Subsidiaries and which is now or hereafter formed by any Loan Party or any of their respective Subsidiaries with another Person in order to conduct a common venture or enterprise with such Person.

“Laws” means, collectively, all international, foreign, Federal, state and local statutes, treaties, rules, guidelines, regulations, ordinances, codes and administrative or judicial precedents or. authorities and all applicable administrative orders, directed duties, licenses, authorizations and permits of, and agreements with, any Governmental Authority, in each case where such have the force of law.

“Lender” has the meaning specified in the introductory paragraph hereto and at any time, (a) on or prior to the Closing Date, any Lender that has a Commitment at such time and (b) at any time after the Closing Date, any Lender that holds Loans at such time.

“Lending Office” means, as to any Lender, the office or offices of such Lender described as such in such Lender’s Administrative Questionnaire, or such other office or offices as a Lender may from time to time notify the Borrower and the Administrative Agent.

“Licensed Intellectual Property” has the meaning specified in Section 5.16.

“Lien“ means, with respect to any property, (a) any mortgage, deed of trust, deed to secure debt, lien (statutory or otherwise), pledge, hypothecation, encumbrance, collateral assignment, charge or security interest in, on or of such property, (b) the interest of a vendor or a lessor under any conditional sale agreement, capital lease or title retention agreement (or any financing lease having substantially the same economic effect as any of the foregoing), relating to such Property, and (c) in the case of Equity Interests or debt securities, any purchase option, call or similar right of a third party with respect to such Equity Interests or debt securities. For the avoidance of doubt, “Lien” shall not include any netting or set-off arrangements under any Contractual Obligation (other than any Contractual Obligation constituting debt for borrowed money or having the effect of debt for borrowed money) otherwise permitted under the terms of this Agreement.

“Loan” means an advance made by any Lender to the Borrower under Article II.

“Loan Documents” means, collectively, (a) this Agreement, (b) the Notes, (c) the Guaranty, (d) the Collateral Documents, and (e) the Intercreditor Agreement.

“Loan Parties” means, collectively, the Borrower and each Guarantor.

“Material Adverse Effect” means (a) a material adverse change in, or a material adverse effect upon, the results of operations, business, properties, or financial condition of Holdings and its Subsidiaries taken as a whole; (b) a material impairment of the rights and remedies, taken as a whole, of the Administrative Agent or any Lender under any Loan Document, or of the ability of any Loan Party to perform its material obligations under any Loan Document to which it is a party; or (c) a material adverse effect upon the legality, validity, binding effect or enforceability against any Loan Party of any Loan Document to which it is a party.

“Material Contract” means, with respect to any Person, each contract to which such Person is a party involving aggregate consideration payable to or by such Person of $5,000,000 or more in any year or otherwise material to the business, financial condition or results of operations of such Person.

“Maturity Date” means July 11, 2014; provided, however, that, in each case, if such date is not a Business Day, the Maturity Date shall be the next preceding Business Day.

“Measurement Period” means, at any date of determination, the most recently completed four fiscal quarters of Holdings or, if fewer than four consecutive fiscal quarters of Holdings have been completed since the Closing Date, the fiscal quarters of Holdings that have been completed since the Closing Date taken together with the number of fiscal quarters preceding the Closing Date of the Borrower on a pro forma combined basis equal to four minus the number of fiscal quarters of Holdings that have been completed since the Closing Date.

“Merger” has the meaning specified in the Preliminary Statements.

“Merger Agreement” has the meaning specified in the Preliminary Statements.

“Moody’s” means Xxxxx’x Investors Service, Inc. and any successor thereto.

“Multiemployer Plan” means any employee benefit plan of the type described in Section 4001(a)(3) of ERISA, to which the Borrower or any ERISA Affiliate makes or is obligated to make contributions, or during the preceding five plan years, has made or been obligated to make contributions.

“Net Cash Proceeds” means, (a) with respect to any Disposition (other than any Disposition permitted under Section 7.05(a) through (f) or Section 7.05(h)), the excess, if any, of (i) the sum of cash and Cash Equivalents received in connection with such Disposition (including any cash or Cash Equivalents received by way of deferred payment pursuant to, or by monetization of, a note receivable or otherwise, but only as and when so received) over (ii) the sum of (A) the principal amount of any Indebtedness (other than Indebtedness under the Loan Documents) that is secured by such asset and that is required to be repaid in connection with such Disposition, (B) the out-of-pocket costs, fees, commissions, premiums and expenses (including attorneys fees, accountants’ fees, investment banking fees, survey costs, title insurance premiums and related search and recording charges, transfer taxes, deed or mortgage

recording taxes) incurred by Holdings or its Subsidiaries in connection with such Disposition, and (C) provisions for all federal, state, provincial, foreign and local taxes reasonably estimated to be actually payable by the Loan Parties and their Subsidiaries in connection with such Disposition, and (D) amounts required to be paid to any Person (other than the Borrower or any Subsidiary of the Borrower) having an interest in the asset subject to such Disposition; provided however, that Net Cash Proceeds shall not include any such amounts that do not exceed $2,500,000 in the aggregate in any fiscal year;

(b) with respect to the incurrence or issuance of any Indebtedness by Holdings or any of its Subsidiaries (other than Indebtedness incurred or issued pursuant to Section 7.02), the excess of (i) the sum of cash and Cash Equivalents received in connection with such incurrence or issuance over (ii) the underwriting discounts and commissions or other similar payments and other out-of-pocket costs, fees, commissions, premiums and expenses (including attorneys fees, accountants’ fees, investment banking fees, survey costs, title insurance premiums and related search and recording charges, transfer taxes, deed or mortgage recording taxes) incurred by Holdings or its Subsidiaries in connection with such incurrence or issuance; and

(c) with respect to any Extraordinary Receipt, the excess of (i) the sum of the cash and Cash Equivalents received in connection with such Extraordinary Receipt over (ii) the sum of (A) the principal amount of any Indebtedness (other than Indebtedness under the Loan Documents) that is secured by the asset in respect of which such Extraordinary Receipt is received and that is required to be repaid with such Extraordinary Receipt, (B) the out-of-pocket costs, fees, commissions, premiums and expenses (including attorneys fees, accountants’ fees, investment banking fees, survey costs, title insurance premiums and related search and recording charges, transfer taxes, deed or mortgage recording taxes) incurred by Holdings or its Subsidiaries in connection with such Extraordinary Receipt, and (C) provisions for all federal, state, provincial, foreign and local taxes reasonably estimated (on a consolidated basis) to be actually payable as a result of such Extraordinary Receipt, and (D) amounts required to be paid to any Person (other than the Borrower or any Subsidiary of the Borrower) having an interest in the asset in respect of which such Extraordinary Receipt is received; provided, however, that Net Cash Proceeds shall not include any such amounts that do not exceed $2,500,000 in the aggregate in any fiscal year.

“Note” means a promissory note made by the Borrower in favor of a Lender, evidencing Loans made by such Lender, substantially in the form of Exhibit C.

“Notice of Election” means a notice substantially in the form of Exhibit K hereto.

“Obligations” means all advances to, and debts, liabilities, obligations, covenants and duties of, any Loan Party arising under any Loan Document or otherwise with respect to any Loan, whether direct or indirect (including those acquired by assumption), absolute or contingent, due or to become due, now existing or hereafter arising and including interest and fees that accrue after the commencement by or against any Loan Party or any Affiliate thereof of any proceeding under any Debtor Relief Laws naming such Person as the debtor in such proceeding, regardless of whether such interest and fees are allowed claims in such proceeding.

“Organization Documents” means, (a) with respect to any corporation, the certificate or articles of incorporation and the bylaws (or equivalent or comparable constitutive documents with respect to any non-U.S. jurisdiction); (b) with respect to any limited liability company, the certificate or articles of formation or organization and operating agreement; and (c) with respect to any partnership, joint venture, trust or other form of business entity, the partnership, joint venture or other applicable agreement of formation or organization and any agreement, instrument, filing or notice with respect thereto filed in connection with its formation or organization with the applicable Governmental Authority in the jurisdiction of its formation or organization and, if applicable, any certificate or articles of formation or organization of such entity.

“Other Taxes” means all present or future stamp or documentary taxes or any other excise or property taxes, charges or similar levies arising from any payment made hereunder or under any other Loan Document or from the execution, delivery or enforcement of, or otherwise with respect to, this Agreement or any other Loan Document.

“Owned Intellectual Property” has the meaning specified in Section 5.16.

“Participant” has the meaning specified in Section 11.06(d).

“PBGC” means the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation.

“PCAOB” means the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board.

“Pension Plan” means any “employee pension benefit plan” (as such term is defined in Section 3(2) of ERISA), other than a Multiemployer Plan, that is subject to Title IV of ERISA and is sponsored or maintained by the Borrower or any ERISA Affiliate or to which the Borrower or any ERISA Affiliate contributes or has an obligation to contribute, or in the case of a multiple employer or other plan described in Section 4064(a) of ERISA, has made contributions at any time during the immediately preceding five plan years.

“Perfection Certificate” means a certificate in the form of Exhibit I or any other form approved by the Administrative Agent, as the same shall be supplemented from time to time.

“Permitted Acquisition” has the meaning specified in Section 7.03(h).

“Permitted Holders” means Sponsor and any member of the Xxxxxx Family.

“Permitted Refinancing” means, with respect to any Person, any modification, refinancing, refunding, renewal or extension of any Indebtedness of such Person; provided that (i) the principal amount (or accreted value, if applicable) thereof does not exceed the principal amount (or accreted value, if applicable) of the Indebtedness so modified, refinanced, refunded, renewed or extended except by an amount equal to any interest capitalized in connection with, any premium or other reasonable amount paid, and fees and expenses reasonably incurred, in connection with such modification, refinancing, refunding, renewal or extension and by an amount equal to any existing commitments unutilized thereunder or as otherwise permitted

pursuant to Section 7.02, (ii) such modification, refinancing, refunding, renewal or extension has a final maturity date equal to or later than the final maturity date of, and has a Weighted Average Life to Maturity equal to or greater than the Weighted Average Life to Maturity of, the Indebtedness being modified, refinanced, refunded, renewed or extended, (iii) if the Indebtedness being modified, refinanced, refunded, renewed or extended is subordinated in right of payment to the Obligations, such modification, refinancing, refunding, renewal or extension is subordinated in right of payment to the Obligations on terms at least as favorable on the whole to the Lenders as those contained in the documentation governing the Indebtedness being modified, refinanced, refunded, renewed or extended, (iv) such modification, refinancing, refunding, renewal or extension is incurred by the Person who is the obligor on the Indebtedness being modified, refinanced, refunded, renewed or extended, and (v) at the time thereof, no Event of Default shall have occurred and be continuing.

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

“Plan” means any “employee benefit plan” (as such term is defined in Section 3(3) of ERISA) established by any Loan Party or, with respect to any such plan that is subject to Section 412 of the Code or Title IV of ERISA, any ERISA Affiliate.

“Platform” has the meaning specified in Section 6.02.

“Pledged Securities” has the meaning specified in the Security Agreement.

“Pro Forma Basis” shall mean on a basis consistent with GAAP and Regulation S-X under the Securities Act of 1933 or as otherwise agreed to by the Arrangers.

“Public Market” shall exist if (a) a Public Offering has been consummated and (b) any Equity Interests of Holdings have been distributed by means of an effective registration statement under the Securities Act of 1933.

“Public Offering” means a public offering of the Equity Interests of Holdings. pursuant to an effective registration statement under the Securities Act of 1933.

“Register” has the meaning specified in Section 11 .06(c).

“Registered Public Accounting Firm” has the meaning specified by the Securities Laws and shall be independent of Holdings as prescribed by the Securities Laws.

“Related Parties” means, with respect to any Person, such Person’s Affiliates and the partners, directors, officers, employees, agents and advisors of such Person and of such Person’s Affiliates.

“Reportable Event” means any of the events set forth in Section 4043(c) of ERISA, other than events for which the 30 day notice period has been waived.

“Request for Credit Extension” means with respect to a Borrowing, conversion or continuation of Loans, a Committed Loan Notice.

“Required Lenders” means, as of any date of determination, Lenders holding more than 50% of the Facility on such date; provided that the portion of the Facility held by any Defaulting Lender shall be excluded for purposes of making a determination, of Required Lenders.

“Responsible Officer” means the chief executive officer, president, chief financial officer, treasurer, assistant treasurer or controller of a Loan Party. Any document delivered hereunder that is signed by a Responsible Officer of a Loan Party shall be conclusively presumed to have been authorized by all necessary corporate, partnership and/or other action on the part of such Loan Party and such Responsible Officer shall be conclusively presumed to have acted on behalf of such Loan Party.

“Restricted Payment” means any dividend or other distribution (whether in cash, securities or other property) with respect to any capital stock or other Equity Interest of any Person or any of its Subsidiaries, or any payment (whether in cash, securities or other property), including any sinking fund or similar deposit, on account of the purchase, redemption, retirement, defeasance, acquisition, cancellation or termination of any such capital stock or other Equity Interest, or on account of any return of capital to any Person’s stockholders, partners or members (or the equivalent of any thereof), or any option, warrant or other right to acquire any such dividend or other distribution or payment.

“RiskMetrics” has the meaning specified in the Preliminary Statements.

“RMG Audited Financial Statements” means the audited consolidated balance sheet of RiskMetrics and its Subsidiaries for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2005, and the related consolidated statements of income or operations, shareholders’ equity’ and cash flows for’ such fiscal year of RiskMetrics and its Subsidiaries, including the notes thereto.

“RMG Holdco” has the meaning specified in the Preliminary Statements.

“RMG Merger” has the meaning specified in the Preliminary Statements.

“RMG Merger Sub” has the meaning specified in the Preliminary Statements.

“S&P” means Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services, a ‘division of The XxXxxx-Xxxx Companies, Inc., and any successor thereto.

“SEC” means the Securities and Exchange Commission, or any Governmental Authority succeeding to any of its principal functions.

“Secured Parties” means, collectively, the Administrative Agent, the Lenders, each co-agent or sub-agent appointed by the Administrative Agent from time to time pursuant to Section 9.05.

“Securities Laws” means the Securities Act of 1933, the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, Xxxxxxxx-Xxxxx, and the applicable accounting and auditing principles, rules, standards and practices promulgated, approved or incorporated by the SEC or the PCAOB.

“Security Agreement” has the meaning specified in Section 4.01(a)(iii).

“Seller” has the meaning specified in the Preliminary Statements.

“Significant Subsidiary” means, at any date of determination, any Subsidiary of the Borrower that, either individually or together with its Subsidiaries, taken as a whole, has revenues, assets or earnings in an amount equal to at least 2% of (a) the consolidated revenues of the Borrower and its Subsidiaries for the most recently completed fiscal quarter for which the Lenders have received financial statements of Holdings and its Subsidiaries pursuant to Section 6.01(a) or 6.01(b), (b) the consolidated assets of the Borrower and its Subsidiaries as of the last day of the most recently completed fiscal quarter for which the Lenders have received financial statements of Holdings and its Subsidiaries pursuant to Section 6.01(a) or 6.01(b), or (c) the consolidated net earnings of the Borrower and its Subsidiaries for the most recently completed fiscal quarter for which the Lenders have received financial statements of Holdings and its Subsidiaries pursuant to Section 6.01(a) or 6.01(b), respectively, in each case determined in accordance with GAAP for such period.

“Solvent” and “Solvency” mean, with respect to any Person on any date of determination, that on such date (a) the fair value of the property of such Person and its Subsidiaries, on a consolidated basis, is greater than the total amount of liabilities, including contingent liabilities, of such Person and its Subsidiaries, on a consolidated basis, (b) the present fair salable value of the assets of such Person and its Subsidiaries, on a consolidated basis, is not less than the amount that will be required to pay the probable liability, of such Person on its debts as they become absolute and matured, (c) such Person does not intend to, and does not believe that it will, incur debts or liabilities beyond such Person’s and its Subsidiaries’, on a consolidated basis, ability to pay such debts and liabilities as they mature, and (d) such Person and its Subsidiaries, on a consolidated basis, is not engaged in business or a transaction, and is not about to engage in business or a transaction, for which such Person’s and its Subsidiaries’, on a consolidated basis, property would constitute an unreasonably small capital. The amount of contingent liabilities at any time shall be computed as the amount that, in the light of all the facts and circumstances existing at such time, represents the amount that can reasonably be expected to become an actual or matured liability.

“Sponsor” means, collectively, (i) Spectrum Equity Investors IV, L.P., Spectrum Equity Investors V, L.P., Applegate & Xxxxxxxx, Inc., Applegate & Xxxxxxxx, LLC and their respective controlled Affiliates, (ii) controlled Affiliates of General Atlantic LLC and (iii) Technology Crossover Management V, L.L.C. and its controlled Affiliates.

“Subsidiary” of a Person means a corporation, partnership, joint venture, limited liability company or other business entity of which a majority of the shares of securities or other interests having ordinary voting power for the election of directors or other governing body (other than securities or interests having such power only by reason of the happening of a contingency) are at the time beneficially owned, or the management of which is otherwise

controlled, directly, or indirectly through one or more intermediaries, or both, by such Person. Unless otherwise specified, all references herein to a “Subsidiary” or to “Subsidiaries” shall refer to a Subsidiary or Subsidiaries of Holdings. Notwithstanding the foregoing (except for the definition of “Unrestricted Subsidiary” contained herein), an Unrestricted Subsidiary shall be deemed not to be a Subsidiary of Holdings or any of its Subsidiaries for purposes of this Agreement.

“Subsidiary Redesignation” has the meaning specified in Section 6.17.

“Swap Contract” means (a) any and all rate swap transactions, basis swaps, credit derivative transactions, forward rate transactions, commodity swaps, commodity options, forward commodity contracts, equity or equity index swaps or options, bond or bond price or bond index swaps or options or forward bond or forward bond price Or forward bond index transactions, interest rate options, forward foreign exchange transactions, cap transactions, floor transactions, collar transactions, currency swap transactions, cross-currency rate swap transactions, currency options, spot contracts, or any other similar transactions or any combination of any of the foregoing (including any options to enter into any of the foregoing), whether or not any such transaction is governed by or subject to any master agreement, and (b) any and all transactions of any kind, and the related confirmations, which are subject to the terms and conditions of, or governed by, any form of master agreement published by the International Swaps and Derivatives Association, Inc., any International Foreign Exchange Master Agreement, or any other master agreement (any such master agreement, together with any related schedules, a “Master Agreement”), including any such obligations or liabilities under any Master Agreement.

“Swap Termination Value” means, in respect of any one or more Swap Contracts, after taking into account the effect of any legally enforceable netting agreement relating to such Swap Contracts, (a) for any date on or after the date such Swap Contracts have been closed out and termination value(s) determined in accordance therewith, such termination value(s), and (b) for any date prior to the date referenced in clause (a), the amount(s) determined as the xxxx-to-market value(s) for such Swap Contracts, as determined based upon one or more mid-market or other readily available quotations provided by any recognized dealer in such Swap Contracts (which may include a Lender or any Affiliate of a Lender).

“Synthetic Debt” means, with respect to any Person as of any date of determination thereof, all obligations of such Person in respect of transactions entered into by such Person that are intended to function primarily as a borrowing of funds (including any minority interest transactions that function primarily as a borrowing) but are not otherwise included in the definition of “Indebtedness” or’ as a liability on the consolidated balance sheet of such Person and its Subsidiaries in accordance with GAAP.

“Synthetic Lease Obligation” means the monetary obligation of a Person under (a) a so-called synthetic, off-balance sheet or tax retention lease, or (b) an agreement for the use or possession of property (including sale and leaseback transactions), in each case, creating obligations that do not appear on the balance sheet of such Person but which, upon the application of any Debtor Relief Laws to such Person, would be characterized as the indebtedness of such Person (without regard to accounting treatment).

“Taxes” means all present or future taxes, levies, imposts, duties, deductions, withholdings, assessments, fees or other charges imposed by any Governmental Authority, including any interest, additions. to tax or penalties applicable thereto.

“Threshold Amount” means $12,500,000.

“Transaction” means, collectively, (a) the organization of Holdings and the issuance of Equity Interests therein to the Permitted Holders and other stockholders and option holders of RiskMetrics, the Rollover Equity Contribution, the rollover of options in the Seller into Holdings, and the granting of options and stock appreciation rights in Holdings to employees of the Loan Parties, (b) the consummation of the Merger, (c) the entering into by the Loan Parties and their applicable Subsidiaries of the Loan Documents to which they are or are intended to be a party, (d) the refinancing of certain outstanding Indebtedness of the Borrower, Seller and their respective Subsidiaries and the termination of all commitments with respect thereto and (e) the payment of the fees and expenses incurred in connection with the consummation of the foregoing.

“Type” means, with respect to. a Loan, its. character as a Base Rate Loan or a Eurodollar Rate Loan.

“UCC” means the Uniform Commercial Code as in effect in the State of New York; provided that, if perfection or the effect of perfection, or non-perfection or the priority of any security interest in any Collateral is governed by the Uniform Commercial Code as in effect in a jurisdiction other than the State of New York, “UCC” means the Uniform Commercial Code as in effect from time to time in such other jurisdiction for purposes of the provisions hereof relating to such perfection, effect of perfection or non-perfection or priority.

“Unfunded Pension Liability” means, the excess of a Pension Plan’s benefit liabilities under Section 4001(a)(16) of ERISA, over the current value of that Pension Plan’s assets, determined in accordance with the assumptions used for funding the Pension Plan pursuant to Section 412 of the Code for the applicable plan year.

“United States” and “U.S.” mean the United States of America.

“Unrestricted Subsidiary” means any Subsidiary of Holdings designated as an Unrestricted Subsidiary pursuant to Section 6.17.

“U.S. Loan Party” means any Loan Party that is organized under the laws of one of the states of the United States of America and that is not a CFC.

“Weighted Average Life to Maturity” means, when applied to any Indebtedness at any date, the number of years obtained by dividing: (i) the sum of the products obtained by multiplying (A) the amount of each then remaining installment, sinking fund, serial maturity or other required payments of principal, including payment at final maturity, in respect thereof, by (B) the number of years (calculated to the nearest one-twelfth) that will elapse between such date and the making of such payment; by (ii) the then outstanding principal amount of such Indebtedness.

1.02. Other Interpretive Provisions. With reference to this Agreement and each other Loan Document, unless otherwise specified herein or in such other Loan Document:

(a) The definitions of terms herein shall apply equally to the singular and plural forms of the terms defined. Whenever the context may require, any pronoun shall include the corresponding masculine, feminine and neuter forms. The words “include,” “includes” and “including” shall be deemed to be followed by the phrase “without limitation.” The word “will” shall be construed to have the same meaning and effect as the word “shall.” Unless the context requires otherwise, (i) any definition of or reference to any agreement, instrument or other document (including any Organization Document) shall be construed as referring to such agreement, instrument or other document as from time to time amended, supplemented or otherwise modified (subject to any restrictions on such amendments, supplements or modifications set forth herein or in any Other Loan Document), (ii) any reference herein to any Person shall be construed to include such Person’s successors and assigns, (iii) the words “herein,” “hereof” and “hereunder,” and words of similar import when used in any Loan Document, shall be construed to refer to such Loan Document in its entirety and not to any particular provision thereof, (iv) all references in a Loan Document to Articles, Sections, Preliminary Statements, Exhibits and Schedules shall be construed to refer to Articles and Sections of, and Preliminary Statements, Exhibits and Schedules to, the Loan Document in which such references appear, (v) any reference to any law shall include all statutory and regulatory provisions consolidating, amending, replacing or interpreting such law and any reference to any law or regulation shall, unless otherwise specified, refer to such law or regulation as amended, modified or supplemented from time to time, and (vi) the words “asset“ and “property” shall be construed to have the same meaning and effect and to refer to any and all tangible and intangible assets and properties, including cash, securities, accounts and contract rights.

(b) In the computation of periods of time from a specified date to a later specified date, the word “from” means “from and including;” the words “to” and “until” each mean “to but excluding;” and the word “through” means “to and including.”

(c) Section headings herein and in the other Loan Documents are included for convenience of reference only and shall not affect the interpretation of this Agreement or any other Loan Document.

1.03. Accounting Terms.

(a) Generally. All accounting terms not specifically or completely defined herein shall be construed in conformity with, and all, financial data (including financial ratios and other financial calculations) required to be submitted pursuant to this Agreement shall be prepared in conformity with, GAAP applied on a consistent basis, as in effect from time to time.

(b) Changes in GAAP. If at any time any change in GAAP would affect the computation of any financial ratio or requirement set forth in any Loan Document, and either the Borrower or the Required Lenders shall so request, the Administrative Agent, the Lenders and the Borrower shall negotiate in good faith to amend such ratio or requirement to preserve the original intent thereof in light of such change in GAAP (subject to the approval of the Required

Lenders); provided that, until so amended, (i) such ratio or requirement shall continue to be computed in accordance with GAAP prior to such change therein and (ii) the Borrower shall provide to the Administrative Agent and the Lenders financial statements and other documents required under this Agreement or as reasonably requested hereunder setting forth a reconciliation between calculations of such ratio or requirement made before and after giving effect to such change in GAAP.

1.04. Rounding. Any financial ratios required to be maintained by the Borrower pursuant to this Agreement shall be calculated by dividing the appropriate component by the other component, carrying the result to one place more than the number of places by which such ratio is expressed herein and rounding the result up or down to the nearest number (with a rounding-up if there is no nearest number).

1.05. Times of Day. Unless otherwise specified, all references herein to times of day shall be references to Eastern time (daylight or standard, as applicable).

1.06. [Reserved].

1.07. Currency Equivalents Generally. Any amount specified in this Agreement (other than in Articles II, IX and X) or any of the other Loan Documents to be in Dollars shall also include the equivalent of such amount in any currency other than Dollars, such equivalent amount thereof in the applicable currency to be determined by the Administrative Agent at such time on the basis of the Spot Rate (as defined below) for the purchase of such currency with Dollars. For purposes of this Section 1.07, the “Spot Rate” for a currency means the rate determined by the Administrative Agent to be the rate quoted by the Person acting in such capacity as the spot rate for the purchase by such Person of such currency with another currency through its principal foreign exchange trading office at approximately 11:00 a.m. on the date two Business Days prior to the date of such determination; provided that the Administrative Agent may obtain such spot rate from another financial institution designated by the Administrative Agent if the Person acting in such capacity does not have as of the date of determination a spot buying rate for any such currency.

ARTICLE II
THE LOANS

2.01. The Loans. Subject to the terms and conditions set forth herein, each Lender severally agrees to make a single loan to the Borrower on the Closing Date in an amount not to exceed such Lender’s Commitment. The Borrowing shall consist of Loans. made simultaneously by the Lenders in accordance with their respective Commitments. Amounts borrowed under this Section 2.01 and repaid or prepaid may not be reborrowed. Loans may be Base Rate Loans or Eurodollar Rate Loans as further provided herein.

2.02. Borrowing, Conversions and Continuations of Loans.

(a) The Borrowing, each conversion of Loans from one Type to the other, and each continuation of Eurodollar Rate Loans shall be made upon the Borrower’s irrevocable notice to the Administrative Agent, which may be given by telephone. Each such notice must be

received by the Administrative Agent not later than 11:00 a.m. (i) three Business Days prior to the requested date of the Borrowing of, conversion to or continuation of Eurodollar Rate Loans or of any conversion of Eurodollar Rate Loans to Base Rate Loans, and (ii) on the requested date of the Borrowing of Base Rate Loans; provided, however, that if the Borrower wishes to request Eurodollar Rate Loans having an Interest Period other than one, two, three or six months in duration as provided in the definition of “Interest Period,” the applicable notice must be received by the Administrative Agent not later than 11:00 a.m. four Business Days prior to the requested date of the Borrowing, or such conversion or continuation, whereupon the Administrative Agent shall give prompt notice to the Lenders of such request and determine whether the requested Interest Period is acceptable to all of them. Not later than 11:00 a.m., three Business Days before the requested date of the Borrowing, or such conversion or continuation, the Administrative Agent shall notify the Borrower (which notice may be by telephone) whether or not the requested Interest Period has been consented to by all the Lenders. Each telephonic notice by the Borrower pursuant to this Section 2.02(a) must be confirmed promptly by delivery to the Administrative Agent of a written Committed Loan Notice, appropriately completed and signed by a Responsible Officer of the Borrower. The Borrowing of, conversion to or continuation of Eurodollar Rate Loans shall be in a principal amount of $2,000,000 or a whole multiple of $1,000,000 in excess thereof. Each Borrowing of or conversion to Base Rate Loans shall be in a principal amount of $500,000 or a whole multiple of $100,000 in excess thereof. Each Committed Loan Notice (whether telephonic or written) shall specify (i) whether the Borrower is requesting the Borrowing, a conversion of Loans from one Type to the other, or a continuation of Eurodollar Rate Loans, (ii) the requested date of the Borrowing, conversion or continuation, as the case may be (which shall be a Business Day), (iii) the principal amount of Loans to be borrowed, converted or continued, (iv) the Type of Loans to be borrowed or to which existing Loans are to be converted, and (v) if applicable, the duration of the Interest Period with respect thereto. If the Borrower fails to specify a Type of Loan in a Committed Loan Notice or if the Borrower fails to give a timely notice requesting a conversion or continuation, then the applicable Loans shall be made as, or converted to, Base Rate Loans. Any such automatic conversion to Base Rate Loans shall be effective as of the last day of the Interest Period then in effect with respect to the applicable Eurodollar Rate Loans. If the Borrower requests the Borrowing of, conversion to, or continuation of Eurodollar Rate Loans in any such Committed Loan Notice, but fails to specify an Interest Period, it will be deemed to have specified an Interest Period of one month.

(b) Following receipt of a Committed Loan Notice, the Administrative Agent shall promptly notify each Lender of the amount of its Applicable Percentage of the Loans, and if no timely notice of a conversion or continuation is provided by the Borrower, the Administrative Agent shall notify each Lender of the details of any automatic conversion to Base Rate Loans described in Section 2.02(a). In the case of the Borrowing, each Appropriate Lender shall make the amount of its Loan available to the Administrative Agent in immediately available funds at the Administrative Agent’s Office not later than 1:00 p.m. on the Business Day specified in the applicable Committed Loan Notice. Upon satisfaction of the applicable conditions set forth in Section 4.01, the Administrative Agent shall make all funds so received available to the Borrower in like funds as received by the Administrative Agent either by (i) crediting the account of the Borrower on the books of Bank of America with the amount of such

funds or (ii) wire transfer of such funds, in each case in accordance with instructions provided to (and reasonably acceptable to) the Administrative Agent by the Borrower.

(c) Except as otherwise provided herein, a Eurodollar Rate Loan may be continued or converted only on the last day of an Interest Period for such Eurodollar Rate Loan. During the existence of a Default, no Loans may be requested as, converted to or continued as Eurodollar Rate Loans without the consent of the Required Lenders.

(d) The Administrative Agent shall promptly notify the Borrower and the Lenders of the interest rate applicable to any Interest Period for Eurodollar Rate Loans upon determination of such interest rate. At any time that Base Rate Loans are outstanding, the Administrative Agent shall notify the Borrower and the Lenders of any change in Bank of America’s prime rate used in determining the Base Rate promptly following the public announcement of such change.

(e) After giving effect to the Borrowing, all conversions of Loans from one Type to the other, and all continuations of Loans as the same Type, there shall not be more than six Interest Periods in effect.

(f) Anything in this Section 2.02 to the contrary notwithstanding, the Borrower may not select (i) the Eurodollar Rate for the Loans made on the Closing Date or (ii) Interest Periods for Eurodollar Rate Loans that have a duration of more than one month during the period from the date hereof to 30 days after the Closing Date (or such earlier date as shall be specified by the Administrative Agent in a notice to the Borrower and the Lenders).

2.03. [Reserved].

2.04. [Reserved].

2.05. Prepayments.

(a) Optional.

(i) If and to the extent (and only to the extent) permitted pursuant to the First Lien Credit Agreement and the Intercreditor Agreement, the Borrower may, upon notice to the Administrative Agent, at any time or from time to time voluntarily prepay Loans in whole or in part; provided that (A) such notice must be received by the Administrative Agent not later than 11:00 a.m. (1) three Business Days prior to any date of prepayment of Eurodollar Rate Loans and (2) on the date of prepayment of Base Rate Loans; (B) any prepayment of Eurodollar Rate Loans shall be in a principal amount of $2,000,000 or a whole multiple of $1,000,000 in excess thereof; and (C) any prepayment of Base Rate Loans shall be in a principal amount of $500,000 or a whole multiple of $100,000 in excess thereof or, in each case, if less, the entire principal amount thereof then outstanding. Each such notice shall specify the date and amount of such prepayment and the Type(s) of Loans to be prepaid and, if Eurodollar Rate Loans are to be prepaid, the Interest Period(s) of such Loans. The Administrative Agent will promptly notify each Lender of its receipt of each such notice, and of the amount of such Lender’s ratable

portion of such prepayment (based on such Lender’s Applicable Percentage). If such notice is given by the Borrower, the Borrower shall make such prepayment and the payment amount specified in such notice shall be due and payable on the date specified therein. Any prepayment of a Eurodollar Rate Loan shall be accompanied by all accrued interest on the amount prepaid, together with any additional amounts required pursuant to Section 3.05. Each prepayment of the outstanding Loans pursuant to this Section 2.05(a) shall be applied to the Loans, and each such prepayment shall be paid to the Lenders in accordance with their respective Applicable Percentages.

(ii) Each prepayment pursuant to this Section 2.05(a) (which; for the avoidance of doubt, shall not include any prepayments as a result of the opt-out provisions of Section 2.05(c) of the First Lien Credit Agreement) shall be accompanied by a premium payable by the Borrowers equal to (i) if such prepayment or payment is made during the first year following the Closing Date (A) and with the net cash proceeds of an Initial Public Offering, 1% of the principal amount of the Loans so prepaid, or (B) and the foregoing clause (A) does not apply, 2% of the principal amount of the Loans so prepaid, (ii) if such prepayment or payment is made during the second year following the Closing Date, 1% of the principal amount of the Loans so prepaid and (iii) if such prepayment or payment is made after the second year following the Closing Date, 0% of the principal amount of the Loans so prepaid.

(b) Mandatory.

(i) If and to the extent (and only to the extent) permitted pursuant to the First Lien Credit Agreement and the Intercreditor Agreement, no later than five Business Days following the delivery by the Borrower of its annual audited financial reports required pursuant to Section 6.01(a) and the related Compliance Certificate has been delivered pursuant to Section 6.02(b), the Borrower shall deliver to the Administrative Agent a calculation of the Excess Cash Flow for the fiscal year last ended and, no later than ten Business Days following the delivery of such calculation, the Borrower shall prepay an aggregate principal amount of Loans equal to the excess (if any) of (A) 50% (or if the Consolidated Leverage Ratio as set forth in such Compliance Certificates is less than 4.5:1.0, 25% or if the Consolidated Leverage Ratio as set forth in such Compliance Certificate is less than 3.5:1.0, 0%) of Excess Cash Flow for the fiscal year covered by such financial statements over (B) the aggregate principal amount of Loans prepaid pursuant to Section 2.05(a)(i) during such fiscal year (such prepayments to be applied as set forth in clauses (v) and (vii) below).

(ii) If and to the extent (and only to the extent) permitted pursuant to the First Lien Credit Agreement and the Intercreditor Agreement, if Holdings or any of its. Subsidiaries Disposes of any property (other than any Disposition of any property permitted by Section 7.05(a), through (i)) which results in the realization by such Person of Net Cash Proceeds, the Borrower shall, (i) no later than one Business Day following. the receipt of any Net Cash Proceeds by Holdings or such Subsidiary, the Borrower shall deliver to the Administrative Agent a calculation of the amount of such Net Cash Proceeds and (ii) on the date that is 10 Business Days following the receipt of such Net

Cash Proceeds prepay an aggregate principal amount of Loans equal to 100% of such Net Cash Proceeds immediately upon receipt thereof by such Person (such prepayments to be applied as set forth in clauses (v) and (vii) below); provided, however, that, with respect to any Net Cash Proceeds realized under a Disposition described in this Section 2.05(b)(ii), at the election of the Borrower (as notified by the Borrower to the Administrative Agent within ten Business Days of such Disposition), and so long as no Default or Event of Default pursuant to Sections 8.01(a), (f) or (g) shall have occurred and be continuing or any Event of Default (other than pursuant to Sections 8.01(a), (f) or (g)) shall have occurred and be continuing for 10 calendar days, Holdings or such Subsidiary may reinvest all or any portion of such Net Cash Proceeds in operating assets so long as within 15 months after the receipt of such Net Cash Proceeds, such purchase shall have been consummated or if Holdings or such Subsidiary enters into a definitive agreement to reinvest such Net Cash Proceeds during such 15 month period, within 18 months after the receipt of such Net Cash Proceeds (as certified by the Borrower in writing to the Administrative Agent); and provided further, however, that any Net Cash Proceeds not subject to such definitive agreement or so reinvested shall be immediately applied to the prepayment of the Loans as set forth in this Section 2.05(b)(ii).

(iii) If and to the extent (and only to the extent) permitted pursuant to the First Lien Credit Agreement and the Intercreditor Agreement, upon the incurrence or issuance by Holdings or any of its Subsidiaries of any Indebtedness (other than Indebtedness expressly permitted to be incurred or issued pursuant to Section 7.02), the Borrower shall, concurrently with the receipt of any Net Cash Proceeds by Holdings, the Borrower or any Subsidiary, deliver to the Administrative Agent a calculation of the amount of such Net Cash Proceeds, and no later than ten Business Days following the delivery of such calculation, prepay an aggregate principal amount of Loans equal to 100% of all Net Cash Proceeds received therefrom by Holdings or such Subsidiary (such prepayments to be applied as set forth in clauses (v) and (vii) below).

(iv) If and to the extent (and only to the extent) permitted pursuant to the First Lien Credit Agreement and the Intercreditor Agreement, upon any Extraordinary Receipt received by or paid to or for the account of Holdings or any of its Subsidiaries, and not otherwise included in clause (ii), (iii) or (iv) of this Section 2.05(b), the Borrower shall, concurrently with the receipt of any Net Cash Proceeds by Holdings, the Borrower or any Subsidiary, deliver to the Administrative Agent a calculation of the amount of such Net Cash Proceeds, and no later than ten Business Days following the delivery of such calculation, the Borrower shall prepay an aggregate principal amount of Loans equal to 100% of all Net Cash Proceeds received therefrom by Holdings or such Subsidiary (such prepayments to be applied as set forth in clauses (vi) and (ix) below); provided, however, that at the election of the Borrower (as notified by the Borrower to the Administrative Agent within ten Business Days the date of receipt of such Extraordinary Receipt, Holdings or such Subsidiary may reinvest all or any portion of such Net Cash Proceeds in operating assets so long as within 15 months after the receipt of such Net Cash Proceeds such purchase shall have been consummated or if Holdings or any such Subsidiary enters into a definitive agreement to reinvest such Net Cash Proceeds within such 15 month period within 18 months of the receipt of such Net Cash Proceeds; and provided further,

however, that any Net Cash Proceeds not so applied shall be immediately applied to the prepayment of the Loans as set forth in this Section 2.05(b)(iv).

(v) Each prepayment of Loans pursuant to the foregoing provisions of this Section 2.05(b) shall be applied ratably to the repayment of the Loans and the Borrowings in accordance with the terms of this Agreement.

(c) Opt-Out. So long as any Loans remain outstanding, any Lender may elect to decline the entire portion of the prepayment of its Loans pursuant to Section 2.05 (other than an optional prepayment pursuant to clause (a) of Section 2.05 that has not been designated by the Borrower as being subject to this Section 2.05(c)) by delivery of a completed Notice of Election to the Administrative Agent by telecopy at least five Business Days prior to the applicable prepayment date, in which case the aggregate amount of the prepayment that would have been applied to prepay Loans but was so declined shall be re-offered to those Lenders under this Agreement who have initially accepted such prepayment (such re-offer to be made to each such Lender based on the percentage which such Lender’s Loans represents of the aggregate Loans of all such Lenders who have initially accepted such prepayment). In the event of such a re-offer, the relevant Lenders may elect to decline in such Notice of Election all of the amount of such prepayment that is re-offered to them, in which case the aggregate amount of the prepayment that would have been applied to prepay such Loans pursuant to such re-offer but was so declined shall be applied in the following order: first, to repay the Revolving Credit Facility (as defined in the First Lien Credit Agreement) in the manner set forth in clause (vii) of Section 2.05(b) of the First Lien Credit Agreement and second the remainder, if any, shall be returned to the Borrower. In the absence of delivery of a completed Notice of Election with respect to any prepayment at least five Business Days prior to the applicable prepayment date, such Lender shall automatically be deemed to have accepted such prepayment and any re-offer in respect thereof.

2.06. Termination of Commitments. The Aggregate Commitments shall be automatically and permanently reduced to zero on the date of the Borrowing.

2.07. Repayment of Loans. The Borrower shall repay to the Lenders the aggregate principal amount of all Loans outstanding on the Maturity Date.

2.08. Interest.

(a) Subject to the provisions of Section 2.08(b). (i) each Eurodollar Rate Loan shall bear interest on the outstanding principal amount thereof for each Interest Period at a rate per annum equal to the Eurodollar Rate for such Interest Period plus the Applicable Rate; and (ii) each Base Rate Loan shall bear interest on the outstanding principal amount thereof from the applicable borrowing date at a rate per annum equal to the Base Rate plus the Applicable Rate.

(b) (i) If any amount (other than principal of any Loan) payable by the Borrower under any Loan Document is not paid when due (without regard to any applicable grace periods), whether at stated maturity, by acceleration or otherwise, then upon the request of the Required Lenders such amount shall thereafter bear interest at a fluctuating interest rate per annum at all times equal to the Default Rate to the fullest extent permitted by applicable Laws.

(ii) While any Event of Default pursuant to Sections 8.01(a), (f) or (g) exists, the Borrower shall pay interest on the principal amount of all outstanding Obligations hereunder at a fluctuating interest rate per annum at all times equal to the Default Rate to the fullest extent permitted by applicable Laws.

(iii) Accrued and unpaid interest on past due amounts (including interest on past due interest) shall be due and payable upon demand.

(c) Interest on each Loan shall be the obligation of the Borrower and shall be due and payable in arrears on each Interest Payment Date applicable thereto and at such other times as may be specified herein. Interest hereunder shall be due and payable in accordance with the terms hereof before and after judgment, and before and after the commencement of any proceeding under any Debtor Relief Law.

2.09. Fees. The Borrower shall pay to the Arrangers and the Administrative Agent for their own respective accounts fees in the amounts and at the times specified in the Fee Letter. Such fees shall be fully earned when paid and shall not be refundable for any reason whatsoever.

2.10. Computation of Interest and Fees. All computations of interest for Base Rate Loans when the Base Rate is determined by Bank of America’s “prime rate” shall be made on the basis of a year of 365 or 366 days, as the case may be, and actual days elapsed. All other computations of fees and interest shall be made on the basis of a 360-day year and actual days elapsed (which results in more fees or interest, as applicable, being paid than if computed on the basis of a 365-day year). Interest shall accrue on each Loan for the day on which the Loan is made, and shall not accrue on a Loan, or any portion. thereof, for the day on which the Loan or such portion is paid, provided that any Loan that is repaid on the same day on which it is made shall, subject to Section 2.1 2(a), bear interest for one day. Each determination by the Administrative Agent of an interest rate or fee hereunder shall be conclusive and binding for all purposes, absent manifest error.

2.11. Evidence of Debt. The Loans made by each Lender shall be evidenced by one or more accounts or records maintained by such Lender and by the Administrative Agent in the ordinary course of business. The accounts or records maintained by the Administrative Agent and each Lender shall be conclusive absent manifest error of the amount of the Loans made by the Lenders to the Borrower and the interest and payments thereon. Any failure to so record or any error in doing so shall not, however, limit or otherwise affect the obligation of the Borrower hereunder to pay any amount owing with respect to the Obligations. In the event of any conflict between the accounts and records maintained by any Lender and the accounts and records of the Administrative Agent in respect of such matters, the accounts and records of the Administrative Agent shall control in the absence of manifest error. Upon the request of any Lender made through the Administrative Agent, the Borrower shall execute and deliver to such Lender (through the Administrative Agent) a Note, which shall evidence such Lender’s Loans in addition to such accounts or records. Each Lender may attach schedules to its Note and endorse thereon the date, Type (if applicable), amount and maturity of its Loans and payments with respect thereto.

2.12. Payments Generally: Administrative Agent’s Clawback.

(a) General. All payments to be made by the Borrower shall be made without condition or deduction for any counterclaim, defense, recoupment or setoff. Except as otherwise expressly provided herein, all payments by the Borrower hereunder shall be made to the Administrative Agent, for the account of the respective Lenders to which such payment is owed, at the Administrative Agent’s Office in Dollars and in immediately available funds not later than 2:00 p.m. on the date specified herein. The Administrative Agent will promptly distribute to each Lender its Applicable Percentage in respect of the relevant Facility (or other applicable share as provided herein) of such payment in like funds as received by wire transfer to such Lender’s Lending Office. All payments received by the Administrative Agent after 2:00 p.m. shall be deemed received on the next succeeding Business Day and any applicable interest or fee shall continue to accrue. If any payment to be made by the Borrower shall come due on a day, other than a Business Day, payment shall be made on the next following Business Day, and such extension of time shall be reflected on computing interest or fees, as the case may be.

(b) (i) Funding by Lenders: Presumption by Administrative Agent. Unless the Administrative Agent shall have received notice from a Lender prior to the proposed date of any Borrowing of Eurodollar Rate Loans (or, in the case of any Borrowing of Base Rate Loans, prior to 12:00 noon on the date of such Borrowing) that such Lender will not make available to the Administrative Agent such Lender’s share of such Borrowing, the Administrative Agent may assume that such Lender has made such share available on such date in accordance with Section 2.02 (or, in the case of a Borrowing of Base Rate Loans, that such Lender has made such share available in accordance with and at the time required by Section 2.02) and may, in reliance upon such assumption, make available to the Borrower a corresponding amount. In such event, if a Lender has not in fact made its share of the applicable Borrowing available to the Administrative Agent, then the applicable Lender and the Borrower agrees to pay to the Administrative Agent forthwith on demand such corresponding amount in immediately available funds with interest thereon, for each day from and including the date such amount is made available to the Borrower to but excluding the date of payment to the Administrative Agent, at (A) in the case of a payment to be made by such Lender, the greater of the Federal Funds Rate and a rate determined by the Administrative Agent in accordance with banking industry rules on interbank compensation, plus any administrative, processing or similar fees customarily charged by the Administrative Agent in connection with the foregoing, and (B) in the case of a payment to be made by the Borrower, the interest rate applicable to Base Rate Loans. If the Borrower and such Lender shall pay such interest to the Administrative Agent for the same or an overlapping period, the Administrative Agent shall promptly remit to the Borrower the amount of such interest paid by the Borrower for such period. If such Lender pays its share of the applicable Borrowing to the Administrative Agent, then the amount so paid shall constitute such Lender’s Loan included in such Borrowing. Any payment by the Borrower shall be without prejudice to any claim the Borrower may have against a Lender that shall have failed to make such payment to the Administrative Agent.

(ii) Payments by Borrower: Presumptions by Administrative Agent. Unless the Administrative Agent shall have received notice from the Borrower prior to the time at which any payment is due to the Administrative Agent for the account of the Lenders hereunder that the Borrower will not make such payment, the Administrative Agent may assume that the Borrower

has made such payment on such date in accordance herewith and may, in reliance upon such assumption, distribute to the Appropriate Lenders the amount due. In such event, if the Borrower has not in fact made such payment, then each of the Appropriate Lenders severally agrees to repay to the Administrative Agent forthwith on demand the amount so distributed to such Lender, in immediately available funds with interest thereon, for each day from and including the date such amount is distributed to it to but excluding the date of payment to the Administrative Agent, at the greater of the Federal Funds Rate and a rate determined by the Administrative Agent in accordance with banking industry rules on interbank compensation.

A notice of the Administrative Agent to any Lender or the Borrower with respect to any amount owing under this subsection (b) shall be conclusive, absent manifest error.

(c) Failure to Satisfy Conditions Precedent. If any Lender makes available to the Administrative Agent funds for any Loan to be made by such Lender as provided in the foregoing provisions of this Article II, and such funds are not made available to the Borrower by the Administrative Agent because the conditions to the Loans set forth in Article IV are not satisfied or waived in accordance with the terms hereof, the Administrative Agent shall return such funds (in like funds as received from such Lender) to such Lender, without interest.

(d) Obligations of Lenders Several. The obligations of the Lenders hereunder to make Loans and to make payments pursuant to Section 11.04(c) are several and not joint. The failure of any Lender to make any Loan, to fund any such participation or to make any payment under Section 11.04(c) on any date required hereunder shall not relieve any other Lender of its corresponding obligation to do so on such date,, and no Lender shall be responsible for the failure of any other Lender to so make its Loan, to purchase its participation or to make its payment under Section 11.04(c).

(e) Funding Source. Nothing herein shall be deemed to obligate any Lender to obtain the funds for any Loan in any particular place or manner or to constitute a representation by any Lender that it has obtained or will obtain the funds for any Loan in any particular place or manner.

(f) Insufficient Funds. If at any time insufficient funds are received by and available to the Administrative Agent to pay fully all amounts of principal, interest and fees then due hereunder, such funds shall be applied (i) first, toward payment of interest and fees then due hereunder, ratably among the parties entitled thereto in accordance with the amounts of interest and fees then due to such parties, and (ii) second, toward payment of principal then due hereunder, ratably among the parties entitled thereto in accordance with the amounts of principal then due to such parties.

2.13. Sharing of Payments by Lenders. If any Lender shall, by exercising any right of setoff or counterclaim or otherwise, obtain payment in respect of (a) Obligations due and payable to such Lender hereunder and under the other Loan Documents at such time in excess of its ratable share (according to the proportion of (i) the amount of such Obligations due and payable to such Lender at such time to (ii) the aggregate amount of the Obligations due and payable to all Lenders hereunder and under the other Loan Documents at such time) of payments on account of the Obligations due and payable to all Lenders hereunder and under the other Loan

Documents at such time obtained by all the Lenders at such time or (b) Obligations owing (but not due and payable) to such Lender hereunder and under the other Loan Documents at such time in excess of its ratable share (according to the proportion of (i) the amount of such Obligations owing (but not due and payable) to such Lender at such time to (ii) the aggregate amount of the Obligations’ owing (but not due and payable) to all Lenders hereunder and under the other Loan Parties at such time) of payment on account of the Obligations owing (but not due and payable) to all Lenders hereunder and under the other Loan Documents at such time obtained by all of the Lenders at such time then the Lender receiving such greater proportion shall (a) notify the Administrative Agent of such fact, and (b) purchase (for cash at face value) participations in the Loans of the other Lenders, or make such other adjustments as shall be equitable, so that the benefit of all such payments shall be shared by the Lenders ratably in accordance with the aggregate amount of Obligations then due and payable to the Lenders or owing (but not due and, payable) to the Lenders, as the case may be, provided ,that:

(i) if any such participations or subparticipations are purchased and all or any portion of the payment giving rise thereto is recovered, such participations or subparticipations shall be rescinded and the purchase price restored to the extent of such recovery, without interest; and

(ii) the provisions of this Section shall not be construed to apply to (A) any payment made by the Borrower pursuant to and in accordance with, the express terms of this Agreement or (B) any payment obtained by a Lender as consideration for the assignment of or sale of a participation in any of its Loans to any assignee or participant, other than to the Borrower or any Subsidiary thereof (as to which the provisions of this Section shall apply).

Each Loan Party consents to the foregoing and agrees, to the extent it may effectively do so under applicable law, that any Lender acquiring a participation pursuant to the foregoing arrangements may exercise against such Loan Party rights of setoff and counterclaim with respect to such participation as fully as if such Lender were a direct creditor of such Loan Party in the amount of such participation.

2.14. Increase in Facility.

(a) Borrower Request. The Borrower may by written notice to the Administrative Agent elect to request the establishment of one or more new Commitments (each, an “Incremental Commitment”) by an amount not in excess of $60,000,000 in the aggregate and, not less than $15,000,000 individually. Each such notice shall specify (i) the date (each, an “Increase Effective Date”) on which the Borrower proposes that the increased or new Commitments shall be effective, which shall be a date not less than 10 Business Days after the date on which such notice is delivered to the Administrative Agent and (ii) the identity of each Eligible Assignee to whom the Borrower proposes any portion of such increased or new Commitments be allocated and the amounts of such allocations; provided that any existing Lender approached to provide all or a portion of the increased or new Commitments may elect or decline, in its sole discretion, to provide such increased or new Commitment.

(b) Conditions. The increased or new Commitments shall become effective, as of such Increase Effective Date; provided that:

(i) each of the conditions set forth in Section 4.01(j), (k) and (l) shall be satisfied;

(ii) no Default shall have occurred and be continuing or would result from the borrowings to be made on the Increase Effective Date;

(iii) the Borrower shall deliver or cause to be delivered any legal opinions or other documents reasonably requested by the Administrative Agent in connection with any such transaction consisting of Incremental Commitments of at least $25,000,000 in the aggregate.

(c) Terms of New Loans and Commitments. The terms and provisions of Loans made pursuant to the new Commitments shall be as follows:

(i) terms and provisions of Loans made pursuant to Incremental Commitments (“Incremental Loans”) shall be, except as otherwise set forth herein or in the Increase Joinder, identical to the Loans (it being understood that Incremental Loans may be a part of the Loans); provided that the rate of interest and the amortization schedule applicable to the Incremental Loans shall be determined by the Borrower and the applicable new Lenders and shall be set forth in the applicable Increase Joinder;

(ii) the weighted average life to maturity of any Incremental Loans shall be no shorter than the weighted average life to maturity of the existing Loans; and

(iii) the maturity date of Incremental Loans (the “Incremental Maturity Date”) shall not be earlier than the Maturity Date;

The increased or new Commitments shall be effected by a joinder agreement (the “Increase Joinder”) executed by the Borrower, the Administrative Agent and each Lender making such increased or new Commitment, in form and substance satisfactory to each of them. The Increase Joinder may, without the consent of any other Lenders, effect such amendments to this Agreement and the other Loan Documents as may be necessary or appropriate, in the opinion of the Administrative Agent, to effect the provisions of this Section 2.14. In addition, unless otherwise specifically provided herein, all references in Loan Documents to Loans shall be deemed, unless the context otherwise requires, to include references to Incremental Loans, made pursuant to this Agreement.

(d) Making of New Loans. On any Increase Effective Date on which new Commitments for Loans are effective, subject to the satisfaction of the foregoing terms and conditions, each Lender of such new Commitment shall make a Loan to the Borrower in an amount equal to its new Commitment.

(e) Equal and Ratable Benefit. The Loans and ‘Commitments established pursuant to this Section shall constitute Loans and Commitments under, and shall be entitled to

all the benefits afforded by, this Agreement and the other Loan Documents, and shall, without limiting the foregoing, benefit equally and ratably from the Guaranties and security interests created by the Security Documents. The Loan Parties shall take any actions reasonably required by the Administrative Agent to ensure and/or demonstrate that the Lien and security interests granted by the Security Documents continue to be perfected under the UCC or otherwise after giving effect to the establishment of any such Class of Term Loans or any such new Commitments.

ARTICLE III
TAXES, YIELD PROTECTION AND ILLEGALITY

3.01. Taxes.

(a) Payments Free of Taxes. Any and all payments by or on account of any obligation any Loan Party or Holdings hereunder or under any other Loan Document shall be made free and clear of and without reduction or withholding for any Indemnified Taxes or Other Taxes, provided that if any Loan Party shall be required by applicable law to withhold or deduct any Indemnified Taxes (including any Other Taxes) from such payments, then (i) the sum payable shall be increased as necessary so that after making all required withholdings or deductions (including withholdings or deductions applicable to additional sums payable under this Section) the Administrative Agent or any Lender, as the case may be, receives an amount equal to the sum it would have received had no such withholdings or deductions been made, (ii) the applicable Loan Party, as the case may be, shall make such withholdings or deductions and (iii) the applicable Loan Party, as the case may be, shall timely pay the full amount withheld or deducted to the relevant Governmental Authority in accordance with applicable law.

(b) Payment of Other Taxes by the Borrower and Holdings. Without limiting the provisions of subsection (a) above, the Borrower and Holdings shall timely pay any Other Taxes to the relevant Governmental Authority in accordance with applicable law.

(c) Indemnification by the Borrower and Holdings. The Borrower and Holdings shall, jointly and severally, indemnify the Administrative Agent and each Lender within 30 days after demand therefor, for the full amount of any Indemnified Taxes or Other Taxes (including Indemnified Taxes or Other Taxes imposed or asserted on or attributable to amounts payable under this Section) paid by the Administrative Agent or such Lender, as the case may be, and any penalties, interest and reasonable expenses arising therefrom or with respect thereto, whether or not such Indemnified Taxes or Other Taxes were correctly or legally imposed or asserted by the relevant Governmental Authority. A certificate as to the amount of such payment or liability delivered to the Borrower by a Lender (with a copy to the Administrative Agent), or by the Administrative Agent on its own behalf or on behalf of a Lender, shall be conclusive absent manifest error.

(d) Evidence of Payments. As soon as practicable after any payment of Indemnified Taxes or Other Taxes by any Loan Party to a Governmental Authority, such Loan Party shall deliver to the Administrative Agent the original or a certified copy of a receipt issued by such Governmental Authority evidencing such payment, or other evidence of such payment reasonably satisfactory to the Administrative Agent.

(e) Status of Lenders. Any Foreign Lender that is entitled to an exemption from or reduction of withholding tax under the law of the jurisdiction in which the Borrower or Holdings, as the case may be, is resident for tax purposes, or any treaty to which such jurisdiction is a party, with respect to payments hereunder or under any other Loan Document shall deliver to the Borrower and Holdings (with a copy to the Administrative Agent), at the time or times prescribed by applicable law or reasonably requested by the Borrower, Holdings or the Administrative Agent, such properly completed and executed documentation prescribed by applicable law as will permit such payments to be made without withholding or at a reduced rate of withholding. In addition, any Lender, if requested by the Borrower, Holdings or the Administrative Agent, shall deliver such other documentation prescribed by applicable law or reasonably requested by the Borrower, Holdings or the Administrative Agent as will enable the Borrower, Holdings or the Administrative Agent to determine whether or not such Lender is subject to backup withholding or information reporting requirements.

Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, if the Borrower or Holdings, as the case may be, is resident for tax purposes in the United States, to the extent it is legally entitled to do so, any Foreign Lender shall deliver to the Borrower, Holdings and the Administrative Agent (in such number of copies as shall be requested by the recipient) on or prior to the date on which such Foreign Lender becomes a Lender under this Agreement (and from time to time thereafter upon the request of the Borrower, Holdings or the Administrative Agent), whichever of the following is applicable:

(i) duly completed copies of Internal Revenue Service Form W-8BEN claiming eligibility for benefits of an income tax treaty to which the United States is a party,

(ii) duly completed copies of Internal Revenue Service Form W-8ECI,

(iii) in the case of a Foreign Lender claiming the benefits of the exemption for portfolio interest under Section 881(c) of the Code, (A) a certificate to the effect that such Foreign Lender is not (1) a “bank” within the meaning of Section 881(c)(3)(A) of the Code, (2) a “10 percent shareholder” of the Borrower or Holdings within the meaning of Section 881(c)(3)(B) of the Code, or (3) a “controlled foreign corporation” described in Section 881(c)(3)(C) of the Code and (B) duly completed copies of Internal Revenue Service Form W-8BEN, or

(iv) any other form prescribed by applicable law as a basis for claiming exemption from or a reduction in United States Federal withholding tax duly completed together with such supplementary documentation as may be prescribed by applicable law to permit the Borrower to determine the withholding or deduction required to be made.

(f) Treatment of Certain Refunds. If the Administrative Agent or any Lender determines, in its sole discretion, that it has received a refund of any Taxes or Other Taxes as to which it has been indemnified by the Borrower or Holdings, as the case may be, or with respect to which the Borrower or Holdings, as the case may be, has paid additional amounts pursuant to this Section, it shall pay to the Borrower or Holdings, as the case may be, an amount equal to such refund (but only to the extent of indemnity payments made and additional amounts paid, by

the Borrower or Holdings under this Section with respect to the Taxes or Other Taxes giving rise to such refund), net of all out-of-pocket expenses of the Administrative Agent or such Lender, as the case may be, and without interest (other than any interest paid, by the relevant Governmental Authority with respect to such refund), provided that the Borrower or Holdings, as the case may be, upon the request of the Administrative Agent or such Lender, agree to repay the amount paid over to the Borrower (plus any penalties, interest or other charges imposed by the relevant Governmental Authority) to the Administrative Agent or such Lender if the Administrative Agent or such Lender is required to repay such refund to such Governmental Authority. This subsection shall not be construed to require the Administrative Agent or any Lender to make available its tax returns (or any other information relating to its taxes that it deems confidential), to the Borrower, Holdings or any other Person.

3.02. Illegality. If any Lender determines that any Law has made it unlawful, or that any Governmental Authority has asserted that it is unlawful, for any Lender or its applicable Lending Office to make, maintain or fund Eurodollar Rate Loans, or to determine or charge interest rates based upon the Eurodollar Rate, or any Governmental Authority has imposed material restrictions on the authority of such Lender to purchase or sell, or to take deposits of, Dollars in the London interbank market, then, on notice thereof by such Lender to the Borrower through the Administrative Agent, any obligation of such Lender to make or continue Eurodollar Rate Loans or to convert Base Rate Loans to Eurodollar Rate Loans shall be suspended until such Lender notifies the Administrative Agent and the Borrower that the circumstances giving rise to such determination no longer exist. Upon receipt of such notice, the Borrower shall, upon demand from such Lender (with a copy to the Administrative Agent), prepay or, if applicable, convert all Eurodollar Rate Loans of such Lender to Base Rate Loans, either on the last day of the Interest Period therefor, if such Lender may lawfully continue to maintain such Eurodollar Rate Loans to such day, or immediately, if such Lender may not lawfully continue to maintain such Eurodollar Rate Loans. Upon any such prepayment or conversion, the Borrower shall also pay accrued interest on the amount so prepaid or converted.

3.03. Inability to Determine Rates. If the Required Lenders determine that for any reason in connection with any request for a Eurodollar Rate Loan or a conversion to or continuation’ thereof that (a) Dollar deposits are not being offered to banks in the London interbank eurodollar market for the applicable amount and Interest Period of such Eurodollar Rate Loan, (b) adequate and reasonable means do not exist for determining the Eurodollar Rate for any requested Interest Period with respect to a proposed Eurodollar Rate Loan, or (c) the Eurodollar Rate for any requested Interest Period with respect to a proposed Eurodollar Rate Loan does not adequately and fairly reflect the cost to such Lenders of funding such Loan, the Administrative Agent will promptly so notify the Borrower and each Lender. Thereafter, the obligation of the Lenders to make or maintain Eurodollar Rate Loans shall be suspended until the Administrative Agent (upon the instruction of the Required Lenders) revokes such notice. Upon receipt of such notice, the Borrower may revoke any pending request for a Borrowing of, conversion to or continuation of Eurodollar Rate Loans or, failing that, will be deemed to have converted such request into a request for a Committed Borrowing of Base Rate Loans in the amount specified therein.

3.04. Increased Costs: Reserves on Eurodollar Rate Loans.

(a) Increased Costs Generally. If any Change in Law shall:

(i) impose, modify or deem applicable any reserve, special deposit, compulsory loan, insurance charge or similar requirement against assets of, deposits with or for the account of, or credit extended or participated in by, any Lender (except any reserve requirement contemplated by Section 3.04(e));

(ii) subject any Lender to any tax of any kind whatsoever with respect to this Agreement or any Eurodollar Rate Loan made by it, or change the basis of taxation of payments to such Lender in respect thereof (except for Indemnified Taxes or Other Taxes covered by Section 3.01 and the imposition of, or any change in the rate of, any Excluded Tax payable by such Lender); or

(iii) impose on any Lender or the London interbank market any other condition, cost or expense affecting this Agreement or Eurodollar Rate Loans made by such Lender;

and the result of any of the foregoing shall be to increase the cost to such Lender of making or maintaining any Eurodollar Rate Loan (or of maintaining its obligation to make any such. Loan), or to reduce the amount of any sum received or receivable by such Lender hereunder (whether of principal, interest or any other amount) then, upon request of such Lender, the Borrower will pay to such Lender such additional amount or amounts as will compensate such Lender for such additional costs incurred or reduction suffered.

(b) Capital Requirements. If any Lender determines that any Change in Law affecting such Lender or any Lending Office of such Lender or such Lender’s holding company, if any, regarding capital requirements has or would have the effect of reducing the rate of return on such Lender’s capital or on the capital of such Lender’s holding company, if any, as a consequence of this Agreement, the Commitments of such Lender or the Loans made by such Lender to a level below that which such Lender or such Lender’s holding company could have achieved but for such Change in Law (taking into consideration such Lender’s policies and the policies of such Lender’s holding company with respect to capital adequacy), then from time to time the Borrower will pay to such Lender such additional amount or amounts as will compensate such Lender or such Lender’s holding company for any such reduction suffered.

(c) Certificates for Reimbursement. A certificate of a Lender setting forth the amount or amounts necessary to compensate such Lender its holding company, as the case may be, as specified in subsection (a) or (b) of this Section and delivered to the Borrower shall be conclusive absent manifest error. The Borrower shall pay such Lender the amount shown as due on any such certificate within 10 days after receipt thereof.

(d) Delay in Requests. Failure or delay on the part of any Lender to demand compensation pursuant to the foregoing provisions of this Section shall not constitute a waiver of such Lender’s right to demand such compensation, provided that the Borrower shall not be required to compensate a Lender pursuant to the foregoing provisions of this Section for any increased costs incurred or reductions suffered more than nine months prior to the date that such Lender notifies the Borrower of the Change in Law giving rise to such increased costs or

reductions and of such Lender’s intention to claim compensation therefor (except that, if the Change in Law giving rise to such increased costs or reductions is retroactive, then the nine-month period referred to above shall be extended to include the period of retroactive effect thereof).

(e) Reserves on Eurodollar Rate Loans. The Borrower shall pay to each Lender, as long as such Lender shall be required to maintain reserves with respect to liabilities or assets consisting of or including Eurocurrency funds or deposits (currently known as “Eurocurrency liabilities”), additional interest on the unpaid principal amount of each Eurodollar Rate Loan equal to the actual costs of such reserves allocated to such Loan by such Lender (as determined by such Lender in good faith, which determination shall be conclusive), which shall be due and payable on each date on which interest is payable on such Loan, provided the Borrower shall have received at least 10 days’ prior notice (with a copy to the Administrative Agent) of such additional interest from such Lender. If a Lender fails to give notice 10 days prior to the relevant Interest Payment Date, such additional interest shall be due and payable 10 days from receipt of such notice.

3.05. Compensation for Losses. Upon demand of any Lender (with a copy to the Administrative Agent) from time to time, the Borrower shall promptly compensate such Lender for and hold such Lender harmless from any loss, cost or expense incurred by it, if any, as a result of:

(a) any continuation, conversion, payment or prepayment of any Loan other than a Base Rate Loan on a day other than the last day of the Interest Period for such Loan (whether voluntary, mandatory, automatic, by reason of acceleration, or otherwise);

(b) any failure by the Borrower (for a reason other than the failure of such Lender to make a Loan) to prepay; borrow, continue or convert any Loan other than a Base Rate Loan on the date or in the amount notified by the Borrower; or

(c) any assignment of a Eurodollar Rate Loan on a day other than the last day of the Interest Period therefor as a result of a request by the Borrower pursuant to Section 11.13;

including any loss or expense arising from the liquidation or reemployment of funds obtained by it to maintain such Loan or from fees payable to terminate the deposits from which such funds were obtained (but excluding any loss of anticipated profit). The Borrower shall also pay any customary administrative fees charged by such Lender in connection with the foregoing.

3.06. Mitigation Obligations: Replacement of Lenders.

(a) Designation of a Different Lending Office. If any Lender requests compensation under Section 3.04, or the Borrower is required to pay any additional amount to any Lender or any Governmental Authority for the account of any Lender pursuant to Section 3.01, or if any Lender gives a notice pursuant to Section 3.02, then such Lender shall use reasonable efforts to designate a different Lending Office for funding or booking its Loans hereunder or to assign its rights and obligations hereunder to another of its offices, branches or affiliates, if, in the judgment of such Lender, such designation or assignment (i) would eliminate

or reduce amounts payable pursuant to Section 3.01 or 3.04 as the case may be, in the future, or eliminate the need for the notice pursuant to Section 3.02, as applicable, and (ii) in each case, would not subject such Lender to any unreimbursed cost or expense and would not otherwise be disadvantageous to such Lender. The Borrower hereby agrees to pay all reasonable costs and expenses incurred by any Lender in connection with any such designation or assignment.

(b) Replacement of Lenders. If any Lender requests compensation under Section 3.04, or if the Borrower is required to pay any additional amount to any Lender or any Governmental Authority for the account of any Lender pursuant to Section 3.01, the Borrower may replace such Lender in accordance with Section 11.13.

3.07. Survival. All of the Borrower’s obligations under this Article III shall survive termination of the Aggregate Commitments and repayment of all other Obligations hereunder.

ARTICLE IV
CONDITIONS PRECEDENT TO THE LOANS

4.01. Conditions of the Loans. The obligation of each Lender to make its Loan hereunder is subject to satisfaction of the following conditions precedent:

(a) The Administrative Agent’s receipt of the following, each of which shall be originals or telecopies (followed promptly by originals) unless otherwise specified, each properly executed by a Responsible Officer of the signing Loan Party, each dated the Closing Date (or, in the case of certificates of governmental officials, a recent date before the Closing Date) and each in form and substance satisfactory to the Administrative Agent and each of the Lenders:

(i) executed counterparts of this Agreement and the Guaranty of Holdings’ Subsidiaries, sufficient in number for distribution to the Administrative Agent, each Lender and the Borrower;

(ii) a Note executed by the Borrower in favor of each Lender requesting a Note;

(iii) a pledge and security agreement, in substantially the form of Exhibit G (together with each other pledge and security agreement and pledge and security agreement supplement delivered pursuant to Section 6.12, in each case as amended, the “Security Agreement”), duly executed by each Loan Party, together with (to the extent required by the Security Agreement):

(A) certificates representing the Pledged Securities referred to therein accompanied by undated stock powers executed in blank and instruments evidencing the Intercompany Notes indorsed in blank,

(B) proper financing statements in form appropriate for filing under the Uniform Commercial Code of the State of Delaware, covering the Collateral described in the Security Agreement,

(C) completed Perfection Certificate and requests for information, dated on or before the Closing Date, listing all effective financing statements filed in the jurisdictions referred to in clause (B) above that name any Loan Party as debtor, together with copies of such other financing statements, and

(D) evidence that all other action that the Administrative Agent may reasonably deem necessary in order to perfect the Liens created under the Security Agreement has been taken (including receipt of duly executed payoff letters, UCC-3 termination statements and landlords’ and bailees waiver and consent agreements);

(iv) an intellectual property security agreement, in substantially the form of Exhibit 6, 7 and 8 to the Security Agreement, as applicable (together with each other intellectual property security agreement and intellectual property security agreement supplement delivered pursuant to Section 6.12, in each case as amended, the “Intellectual Property Security Agreement”), duly executed by each Loan Party, together with evidence that all action that the Administrative Agent may reasonably deem necessary in order to perfect the Liens created under the Intellectual Property Security Agreement has been taken;

(v) such certificates of resolutions or other action, incumbency certificates and/or other certificates of Responsible Officers and/or the Secretary of each Loan Party as the Administrative Agent may reasonably require evidencing the identity, authority and capacity of each Responsible Officer thereof authorized to act as a Responsible Officer in connection with this Agreement and the other Loan Documents to which such Loan Party is a party or is to be a party;

(vi) such documents and certifications as the Administrative Agent may reasonably require to evidence that each Loan Party is duly organized or formed, and that each of Holdings and its Subsidiaries is validly existing, in good standing and qualified to engage in business in each jurisdiction where its ownership, lease or operation of properties or the conduct of its business requires such qualification;

(vii) a favorable opinion of Shearman & Sterling LLP, counsel to the Loan Parties, and a favorable opinion of Xxxxxx Xxxxx Xxxxxxxx & Xxxxxxx LLP, counsel to the Loan Parties, in each case, addressed to the Administrative Agent and each Lender, collectively, as to the matters set forth in Exhibit H and such other matters concerning the Loan Parties and the Loan Documents as the Administrative Agent may reasonably request;

(viii) a certificate signed by a Responsible Officer of the Borrower certifying (A) that the conditions specified in Sections 4.01(i) and (k) have been satisfied, and (B) that there has been no event or circumstance since the date of the ISS Audited Financial

Statements that has had or would be reasonably expected to have, either individually or in the aggregate, an ISS Material Adverse Effect;

(ix) certificates attesting to the Solvency of Holdings and its Subsidiaries as a whole before and after giving effect to the Transaction, from its chief financial officer;

(x) evidence that all insurance required to be maintained pursuant to the Loan Documents has been obtained and is in effect, together with the certificates of insurance, naming the Administrative Agent, on behalf of the Lenders, as an additional insured or loss payee, as the case may be, under all insurance policies maintained with respect to the assets and properties of the Loan Parties that constitute Collateral;

(xi) promptly following the .Closing Date, certified copies of a certificate of merger or other confirmation satisfactory to the Administrative Agent of the consummation of the Merger from the Secretary of State of the State of Delaware;

(xii) evidence that the Indebtedness to be repaid as shown on the pro forma balance sheet of Holdings delivered pursuant to Section 4.01(h) has been, or concurrently with the Closing Date is being, terminated and all Liens securing obligations under such Indebtedness have been, or concurrently with the Closing Date are being, released.

Notwithstanding anything to the contrary herein, with respect to any Collateral, the security interest in which may not be perfected by the filing of a UCC financing statement, if the perfection of the security interest in such Collateral may not be accomplished on or prior to the Closing Date without undue burden or expense, then the delivery of documents and instruments for perfection of such security interest shall not constitute a condition precedent to the initial Borrowing on the Closing Date. To the extent that any such security interest is not so perfected on or prior to the Closing Date, then Holdings and the Borrower agree to deliver or cause to be delivered such documents and instruments, and take or cause to be taken such other. actions as may be required to perfect such security interests, on or prior to the date that is 30 days after the Closing Date, or such longer period as may be acceptable to the Arrangers in their sole discretion.

(b) (i) All fees required to be paid to the Administrative Agent and the Arrangers on or before the Closing Date shall have been paid and (ii) all fees required to be paid to the Lenders on or before the Closing Date shall have been paid.

(c) Unless waived by the Administrative Agent, the Borrower shall have paid all fees, charges and disbursements of counsel to the Administrative Agent (directly to such counsel if requested by the Administrative Agent) to the extent invoiced at least three calendar days prior to the Closing Date (it being understood that the failure to invoice such fees shall not relieve the Borrower of its obligations under Section 11.04), plus such additional amounts of such fees, charges and disbursements as shall constitute its reasonable estimate of such fees, charges and disbursements incurred or to be incurred by it through the closing proceedings (provided that such estimate shall not thereafter preclude a final settling of accounts between the Borrower and the Administrative Agent).

(d) The Merger Agreement shall be in full force and effect.

(e) The Merger shall have been consummated, contemporaneously with the Loans, strictly in accordance with the terms of the Merger Agreement, which shall not have been amended or modified or any condition therein waived or otherwise unsatisfied in a manner that is, in the reasonable judgment of the Arrangers, material and adverse to the Lenders (including, without limitation any amendment, modification or waiver of any condition precedent requiring the absence of a material adverse effect and ‘without giving effect to any exclusion from the definition of a material adverse effect resulting from actions consented to or directed by the Borrower or any of its affiliates) without the prior written consent of the Administrative Agent and in compliance with all applicable requirements of Law.

(f) The Administrative Agent shall have received reasonably satisfactory evidence of availability to the Borrower of not less than $325,000,000 aggregate principal amount of First Lien Loans.

(g) The Rollover Equity Contribution shall have been consummated on terms reasonably acceptable to the Administrative Agent.

(h) The Administrative Agent and Lenders shall have received: audited consolidated financial statements of Seller and its Subsidiaries for the three most recent fiscal years ended 90 days or more prior to the Closing Date, unaudited consolidated financial statements of RiskMetrics, Seller and their respective subsidiaries for any interim quarterly periods that have ended more than 45 days before the Closing Date, and a pro forma balance sheet prepared by management of Holdings and its Subsidiaries giving effect to the Transaction as of November 30, 2006, which shall be reasonably satisfactory in form and substance to the Administrative Agent and the Lenders (it being recognized by the Administrative Agent and the Lenders that such balance sheet does not give effect to changes arising from any purchase accounting valuation adjustments in accordance with the Transaction and otherwise represents the Borrower’s good faith estimate of the pro forma items contained therein and that such estimate is inherently uncertain and subject to change).

(i) The representations and warranties in the Merger Agreement relating to Seller, its Subsidiaries and their respective businesses that are material to the interests of the Lenders shall be true and correct on and as of the Closing Date (except where such representations and warranties shall have been true and correct as of such earlier date) unless, as a result of any failure to be so true and correct, RiskMetrics does not have the right to terminate, its obligations under the Merger Agreement.

(j) The representations and warranties of the Borrower and each other Loan Party contained in Article V or any other Loan Document, or which are contained in any document when furnished under or in connection herewith or therewith, shall be true and correct in all material respects on and as of the date of the Borrowing, except to the extent that such representations and warranties specifically refer to an earlier date, in which case they shall be true and correct in all material respects as of such earlier date; provided that in the case of any Loan to be made on the Closing Date, only the Specified Representations shall apply for purposes of this Section 4.01(j). For purposes of this Section 4.01(j), the “Specified

Representations” shall mean the representations and warranties set forth in Sections 5.01(b) (excluding clause (b)(i) thereof),
5.02(a), 5.04, 5.14 and 5.18.

(k) Except in the case of any Loan made on the Closing Date, no Default or Event of Default shall exist, or would result from such proposed Loan or from the application of the proceeds thereof.

(1) The Administrative Agent shall have received a Request for Credit Extension in accordance with the requirements hereof.

Without limiting the generality of the provisions of Section 9.04, for purposes of determining compliance with the conditions specified in this Section 4.01, each Lender that has signed this Agreement shall be deemed to have consented to, approved or accepted or to be satisfied with, each document or other matter required thereunder to be consented to or approved by or acceptable or satisfactory to a Lender unless the Administrative Agent shall have received notice from such Lender prior to the proposed Closing Date specifying its objection thereto.

ARTICLE V
REPRESENTATIONS AND WARRANTIES

Each Loan Party (other than Seller and its Subsidiaries) represents and warrants to the Administrative Agent and the Lenders on the Closing Date, and each Loan Party represents and warrants to the Administrative Agent and the Lenders on the date of each Increase Effective Date:

5.01. Existence, Qualification and Power. Each Loan Party and each of its Subsidiaries (a) is duly organized or formed, validly existing and, as applicable, in good standing under the Laws of the jurisdiction of its incorporation or organization, (b) has all requisite power and authority and all requisite governmental authorizations to (i) own, operate, lease and otherwise hold its assets and carry on its business as it is now being conducted and (ii) execute, deliver and perform its obligations under the Loan Documents to which it is a party and consummate the Transaction, and (c) is duly qualified and is licensed and, as applicable, in good standing under the Laws of each jurisdiction where the character of the properties owned, leased or operated by it or the nature of its assets, business or activities makes such qualification or licensing necessary; except in each case referred to in clause (b)(i) or (c), to the extent that failure to do so would not reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect.

5.02. Authorization; No Contravention. (a) The execution, delivery and performance by each Loan Party of each Loan Document to which such Person is or is to be a party have been duly authorized by all necessary corporate or other organizational action, and (b) do not and will, not result in any violation or default (with or without notice or lapse of time or both) under or give rise to a right of acceleration, termination or cancellation of any obligation or result in the creation of any Lien upon any of the properties or assets of Holdings or its Subsidiaries under, any provision of (i) any of such Person’s Organization Documents; (ii) any Contractual Obligation to which such Person is a party or affecting such Person or the properties of such Person or any of its Subsidiaries; (iii) any order, injunction, writ or decree of any Governmental Authority or any arbitral award to which such Person or its property is subject; or

(iv) any Law other than, in the case of clause (ii), (iii) or (iv), such items that would not have a Material Adverse Effect.

5.03. Governmental Authorization: Other Consents. Except as set forth on Schedule 5.03, no approval, consent, exemption, authorization, or other action by, or notice to, or filing with, any Governmental Authority is required in connection with (a) the execution, delivery or performance by any Loan Party of this Agreement or any other Loan Document or for the consummation of the Transaction, (b) the grant by any Loan Party of the Liens granted by it pursuant to the Collateral Documents, (c) the perfection or maintenance of the Liens created under the Collateral Documents (including the second priority nature thereof), other than the filing of appropriate UCC financing statements and appropriate filings with the United States Patent and Trademark Office and the United States Copyright Office, or (d) the exercise by the Administrative Agent or any Lender of its rights under the Loan Documents or remedies in respect of the Collateral pursuant to the Collateral Documents except (i) approvals, consents, exemptions, authorizations, actions, notices or filings required by securities or applicable law in connection with an exercise of remedies, (ii) approvals, consents, exemptions, authorizations, actions, notices to, or filings with any Governmental Authority, the absence of which or the failure to make would not reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect or (iii) those that have been obtained and are in full force and effect.

5.04. Binding Effect. This Agreement has been, and each other Loan Document, when delivered hereunder, will have been, duly executed and delivered by each Loan Party that is party thereto. This Agreement constitutes, and each other Loan Document when so delivered will constitute, a legal, valid and binding obligation of such Loan Party, enforceable against each Loan Party that is party thereto in accordance with its terms, except as may be limited by bankruptcy, insolvency, reorganization, moratorium or similar laws relating to or limiting creditors’ rights generally or by equitable principles relating to enforceability.

5.05. Financial Statements: No Material Adverse Effect.

(a) The RMG Audited Financial Statements (i) were prepared in accordance with GAAP consistently applied throughout the period covered thereby, except as otherwise expressly noted therein; (ii) fairly present in all material respects the financial condition of RiskMetrics and its Subsidiaries as of the date thereof and their results of operations for the period covered thereby in accordance with GAAP consistently applied throughout the period, covered thereby, except as otherwise expressly noted therein; and (iii) show all material indebtedness and other liabilities, direct or contingent, to the extent required to be reflected on the face of a balance sheet in accordance with GAAP, of RiskMetrics and its Subsidiaries as of the date thereof, including liabilities for taxes, material commitments and Indebtedness.

(b) The ISS Audited Financial Statements (i) are accurate and complete in all material respects, have been prepared in accordance with GAAP consistently applied, (ii) are consistent with the books and records of Seller and (iii) fairly present, in all material respects, the consolidated financial condition, results of operations and cash flows of Seller and its Subsidiaries as of the dates and for the periods indicated therein.

(c) The unaudited consolidated balance sheet of Seller and its Subsidiaries dated September 30, 2006, and the related unaudited consolidated statements of operation and cash flows for the nine-month period ended on that date (i) are accurate and complete in all material respects, have been prepared in accordance with GAAP consistently applied, except as otherwise expressly noted in Schedule 5.6 of the Merger Agreement, (ii) are consistent with the books and records of Seller and its Subsidiaries and (iii) fairly present, in all material respects, the consolidated financial condition, results of operations and cash flows of Seller and its Subsidiaries as of the date thereof and for the periods indicated therein, subject, in the case of clauses (i) and (ii), to the absence of footnotes and to normal year-end audit adjustments and other presentation items.

(d) Since December 31, 2006, there has been no event or circumstance, either individually or in the aggregate, that has had or would reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect.

(e) The consolidated pro forma balance sheet prepared by management of Holdings and its Subsidiaries as of the November 30, 2006 delivered pursuant to Section 4.01(h) fairly presented in all material respects on the Closing Date the consolidated pro forma financial condition of Holdings and its Subsidiaries at such date, giving effect to the Transaction (it being recognized by the Administrative Agent and the Lenders that such balance sheet does not give effect to changes arising from any purchase accounting valuation adjustments in accordance with the Transaction and otherwise represents the Borrower’s good faith estimate of the pro forma items contained therein and that such estimate is inherently uncertain and subject to change).

(f) The consolidated forecasted balance sheet, statements of income and cash flows of Holdings and its Subsidiaries delivered pursuant to Section 6.01(c) after the Closing Date were prepared in good faith on the basis of the assumptions stated therein, which assumptions were reasonable in light of the conditions existing at the time of delivery of such forecasts, and represented, at the time of delivery, the Borrower’s good faith estimate of its future financial condition and performance (it being recognized by Administrative Agent and the Lenders that such consolidated forecasted balance sheet, statements of income and cash flows are not to be viewed as facts and that actual results during the period or periods covered thereby may vary and that such variances may be material).

5.06. Litigation. There are no actions, suits, proceedings, claims or disputes pending or, to the knowledge of the Borrower, threatened at law, in equity, in arbitration or before any Governmental Authority, by or against the Borrower or any of its Subsidiaries or against any of their properties or revenues that (a) purport to affect or pertain to this Agreement, any other Loan Document, or the consummation of the Transaction, or (b) either individually or in the aggregate, if determined adversely, would reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect.

5.07. No Default. Neither any Loan Party nor any Subsidiary thereof is in default under or with respect to, or a party to, any Contractual Obligation that would, either individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect. No Default has occurred and is continuing or would result from the consummation of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement or any other Loan Document.

5.08. Ownership of Property.

(a) Each Loan Party and each of its Subsidiaries has good record and marketable title in fee simple to, or leasehold interests in, all real property necessary or used in the ordinary conduct of its business, except for such defects in title as would not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect.

(b) As of the Closing Date, no Loan Party owns any real property.

5.09. Environmental Compliance. Except as would not reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect and to the knowledge of the Loan Parties, the Loan Parties and their respective Subsidiaries are in compliance in all material respects with all applicable Environmental Laws. No Loan Party has caused, arranged or allowed, or contracted with any party for, the transportation, treatment, storage or disposal of any Hazardous Materials. Except as would not reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect and to the Borrower’s knowledge, no Hazardous Materials have been released into the environment on or from the premises of the Loan Parties or their respective Subsidiaries which is required under applicable Environmental Law to be abated or remediated by any Loan Party. Except as would not reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect and to the Borrower’s knowledge, there are no past or present conditions, events, circumstances or facts that can reasonably be expected to form the basis of any claim or legal proceedings against or involving any Loan Party based on or related to any violation of any Environmental Law. For the avoidance of doubt, this Section 5.09 represents the sole and exclusive representations and warranties of the Loan Parties regarding compliance with Environmental Laws.

5.10. Insurance. The properties of Holdings and its Subsidiaries are insured with financially sound and reputable insurance companies not Affiliates of the Borrower, in such amounts, with such deductibles and covering such risks as are customarily carried by companies engaged in similar businesses and owning similar properties in localities where Holdings or the applicable Subsidiary operates.

5.11. Taxes. Holdings and its Subsidiaries have filed all material Federal, state and other tax returns and reports required to be filed, and have paid all material Federal, state and other taxes, assessments, fees and other governmental charges levied or imposed upon them or their properties (whether or not any such items are shown on a tax return), income or assets otherwise due and payable, except those which are being contested in good faith by appropriate proceedings and for which adequate reserves have been provided in accordance with GAAP. Neither any Loan Party nor any Subsidiary thereof is party to any tax sharing agreement.

None of Holdings or its Subsidiaries has ever been a party to any understanding or arrangement constituting a “tax shelter” within the meaning of Section 6662(d)(2)(C)(iii) of the Code or within the meaning of Section 6111(c) or
Section 6111(d) of the Code as in effect immediately prior to the enactment of the American Jobs Creation of 2004, or has ever “participated” in a “reportable transaction” within the meaning of Treasury Regulation Section 1.6011-4, except as would not, individually or in the aggregate, have a Material Adverse Effect.

5.12. ERISA Compliance.

(a) Except as has not resulted and would not reasonably be expected to result. in a Material Adverse Effect, each Plan is in compliance with the applicable provisions of ERISA, the Code and other Federal or state Laws. Each Plan that is intended to qualify under Section 401(a) of the Code has received a favorable determination letter from the IRS or an application for such a letter is currently being processed by the IRS with respect thereto and, to the best knowledge of the Borrower, nothing has occurred which would prevent, or cause the loss of, such qualification. Holdings and each ERISA Affiliate have made all required contributions to each Plan subject to Section 412 of the Code, and no application for a funding waiver or an extension of any amortization period pursuant, to Section 412 of the Code has been made with respect to any Plan.

(b) There are no pending or, to the best knowledge of the Borrower, threatened claims, actions or lawsuits, or action by any Governmental Authority, with respect to any Plan that would reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect. There has been no prohibited transaction or violation of the fiduciary responsibility rules with respect to any Plan that has resulted or would reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect.

(c) (i) No ERISA Event has occurred or is reasonably expected to occur; (ii) no Pension Plan has any Unfunded Pension Liability; (iii) neither the Borrower nor any ERISA Affiliate has incurred, or reasonably expects to incur, any liability under Title IV of ERISA with respect to any Pension Plan (other than premiums due and not delinquent under
Section 4007 of ERISA); (iv) neither the Borrower nor any ERISA Affiliate has incurred, or reasonably expects to incur, any liability (and no event has occurred which, with the giving of notice under Section 4219 of ERISA, would result in such liability) under Section 4201 or 4243 of ERISA with respect to a Multiemployer Plan; and (v) neither the Borrower nor any ERISA Affiliate has engaged in a transaction that would be subject to Section 4069 or 42 12(c) of ERISA.

(d) With respect to each scheme or arrangement mandated by a government other than the United States (a “Foreign Government Scheme or Arrangement”) and with respect to each employee benefit plan maintained or contributed to by any Loan Party or any Subsidiary of any Loan Party that is not subject to United States law (a “Foreign Plan”):

(i) any employer and employee contributions required by law or by the terms of any Foreign Government Scheme or Arrangement or any Foreign Plan have been made, or, if applicable, accrued, in accordance with normal accounting practices;

(ii) the fair market value of the assets of each funded Foreign Plan, the liability of each insurer for any Foreign Plan funded through insurance or the book reserve established for any Foreign Plan, together with any accrued contributions, is sufficient to procure or provide for the accrued benefit obligations, as of the date hereof, with respect to all current and former participants in such Foreign Plan according to the actuarial assumptions and valuations most recently used to account for such obligations in accordance with applicable generally accepted accounting principles and to the extent required by applicable laws; and

(iii) each Foreign Plan required to be registered has been registered and has been maintained in good standing with applicable regulatory authorities.

5.13. Subsidiaries; Loan Parties. As of the Closing Date (after giving effect to the Merger), no Loan Party has any Subsidiaries other than those specifically disclosed in Part (a) of Schedule 5.13, and all of the outstanding Equity Interests in such Subsidiaries have been validly issued, are fully paid and non-assessable and are owned by a Loan Party in the amounts specified on Part (a) of Schedule 5.13 free and clear of all Liens except those permitted under the Loan Documents. All of the outstanding Equity Interests in the Borrower have been validly issued, are fully paid and non-assessable and as of the Closing Date (after giving effect to the Merger) are owned by Holdings in the amounts specified on Part (b) of Schedule 5.13 free and clear of all Liens except those permitted under the Loan Documents. Set forth on Part (c) of Schedule 5.13 is a complete and accurate list of all Loan Parties as of the Closing Date (after giving effect to the Merger), showing as of the Closing Date (after giving effect to the Merger) (as to each Loan Party) the jurisdiction of its organization, the address of its principal place of business and its U.S. taxpayer identification number or, in the case of any non-U.S. Loan Party that does not have a U.S. taxpayer identification number, its unique identification number issued to it by the jurisdiction of its organization, if any. As of the Closing Date (after giving effect to the Merger), the copy of the charter (or the equivalent thereof) of each Loan Party and each amendment thereto provided pursuant to Section 4.01(a)(vi) is a true and correct copy of each such document, each of which is valid and in full force and effect.

5.14. Margin Regulations: Investment Company Act.

(a) The Borrower is not engaged and will not engage, principally or as one of its important activities, in the business of purchasing or carrying margin stock (within the meaning of Regulation U issued by the FRB), or extending credit for the purpose of purchasing or carrying margin stock.

(b) No Loan Party is required to be registered as an “investment company” under the Investment Company Act of 1940.

5.15. Disclosure. To the best knowledge of the Responsible Officers of the Borrower, (a) all written factual information (other than the Projections (as defined below) and other forward-looking information and information of a general economic or industry specific nature), that has been made available to the Administrative Agent or any of the Lenders by or on behalf of any Loan Party in connection with the Merger and the other transactions contemplated hereby on or prior to the date hereto, taken as a whole, was complete and correct in all material respects when furnished and did not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary to make the statements contained therein, not misleading in light of the circumstances under which such statements were made and after giving effect to all supplements thereto and (b) all financial projections concerning Holdings and its Subsidiaries that have been made available to the Administrative Agent or any of the Lenders by or on behalf of any Loan Party (the “Projections”) and other forward-looking information and information of a general economic or industry specific nature, taken as a whole, has been prepared in good faith based upon reasonable assumptions (it being recognized by the Administrative Agent and the Lenders that such Projections and forward-looking information are not to be viewed as facts and

that actual results during the period or periods covered thereby may vary and that such variances may be material).

5.16. Intellectual Property Licenses. Etc. Schedule 5.17 sets forth as of the Closing Date a true and complete list of (i) all registered patents and patent applications, registered trademarks and trademark applications, registered copyrights and copyright applications and domain names owned by Holdings and its Subsidiaries (collectively, “Owned Intellectual Property”) and (ii) material licenses of intellectual property granted by third parties to Holdings or any of its Subsidiaries, or to third parties by Holdings or any or its Subsidiaries, except (A) licenses of commercially available off-the-shelf software, (B) licenses of market and other data used in the ordinary course of business and (C) those licenses the failure of which to remain in full force and effect would not reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect (“Licensed Intellectual Property”). Except as would not have a Material Adverse Effect, Holdings or one of its Subsidiaries: (a) is the owner of each listed item of Owned Intellectual Property, and (b) is entitled to use each item of Licensed Intellectual Property in the operation of its business as currently conducted. The Owned Intellectual Property is free and clear of any Lien other than any Lien permitted under the terms of the Loan Documents.

5.17. Solvency. Holdings is, together with its Subsidiaries on a consolidated basis, Solvent.

5.18. Collateral Documents. The provisions of the Collateral Documents are effective (to the extent complied with) to create in favor of the Administrative Agent for the benefit of the Secured Parties a valid and perfected second priority Lien (subject to Liens permitted by Section 7.01) on all right, title and interest of the respective Loan Parties in the Collateral described therein. Except for filings completed prior to the Closing Date and as contemplated hereby and by the Collateral Documents, no filing or other action (except to the extent possession of portions of the Collateral is required for perfection) will be necessary to perfect or protect such Liens.

ARTICLE VI
AFFIRMATIVE COVENANTS

So long as any Lender shall have any Commitment hereunder, any Loan or other Obligation (other than any contingent indemnification obligations) hereunder shall remain unpaid or unsatisfied, Holdings shall, and shall (except in the case of the covenants set forth in Sections 6.01, 6.02, 6.03 and 6.11) cause each Subsidiary to:

6.01. Financial Statements. Deliver to the Administrative Agent:

(a) as soon as available, but in any event within 120 days after (i) the end of each fiscal year of Holdings (commencing with the fiscal year ended December 31, 2007, a consolidated balance sheet of Holdings and its Subsidiaries as at the end of such fiscal year, and (ii) December 31, 2006, a consolidated balance sheet of RiskMetrics and its Subsidiaries as at the end of such fiscal year, and (iii) December 31, 2006, a consolidated balance sheet of Seller and its Subsidiaries as at the end of such fiscal year, and, in the case of each of the foregoing clauses and (i), (ii) and (iii), the related consolidated statements of income or operations, shareholders equity

and cash flows for such fiscal year, setting forth in each case in comparative form the figures for the previous fiscal year, (commencing with fiscal year 2008), all in reasonable detail and prepared in accordance with GAAP, audited and accompanied by a report and opinion of a Registered Public Accounting Firm of nationally recognized standing reasonably acceptable to the Required Lenders, which report and opinion shall be prepared in accordance with generally accepted auditing standards and shall not be subject to any “going concern” or like qualification or exception or any qualification or exception as to the scope of such audit or with respect to the absence of any material misstatement;

(b) as soon as available, but in any event within 45 days after (i) the end of each fiscal quarter of Holdings (commencing with the fiscal quarter ended March 31, 2007), a consolidated balance sheet of Holdings and its Subsidiaries as at the end of such fiscal quarter, (ii) December 31, 2006, a consolidated balance sheet of RiskMetrics and its Subsidiaries as at the end of such fiscal quarter, and (iii) December 31, 2006, a consolidated balance sheet of Seller and its Subsidiaries as at the end of such fiscal quarter, and in the case of each of the foregoing clauses (i), (ii) and (iii), the related consolidated statements of income or operations, shareholders’ equity and cash flows for such fiscal quarter and for the portion of the fiscal year then ended, setting forth in each case in comparative form the figures for the corresponding fiscal quarter (commencing with the fiscal quarter ended March 31, 2008) of the previous fiscal year and the corresponding portion of the previous fiscal year, all in reasonable detail, certified by the chief executive officer, chief financial officer, treasurer or controller of Holdings as fairly presenting the financial condition, results of operations, shareholders’ equity and cash flows of Holdings and its Subsidiaries in accordance with GAAP, subject only to normal year-end audit adjustments and the absence of footnotes; and

(c) as soon as available, but in any event not later than 60 days after the first day of each fiscal year of Holdings (commencing with fiscal year 2008), an annual business plan and budget of Holdings and its Subsidiaries on a consolidated basis for such fiscal year, including forecasts prepared by management of the Borrower in the form customarily prepared by management of the Borrower for its internal use, of consolidated balance sheets and statements of income or operations and cash flows of Holdings and its Subsidiaries on a quarterly basis for the immediately following fiscal year (including the fiscal year in which the Maturity Date occurs).

As to any information contained in materials furnished pursuant to Section 6.02(d), the Borrower shall not be separately required to furnish such information under Section 6.01(a) or (b) above, but the foregoing shall not be in derogation of the obligation of the Borrower to furnish the information and materials described in Sections 6.01(a) and (b) above at the times specified therein.

6.02. Certificates: Other Information. Deliver to the Administrative Agent:

(a) concurrently with the delivery of the financial statements referred to in Section 6.01(a) (commencing with the delivery of the financial statements for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2007, a certificate of its independent certified public accountants certifying such financial statements and stating that in making the examination necessary therefor no knowledge was obtained of any Default under Section 7.11 or, if any such Default shall exist,

stating the nature and status of such event; provided that if, as a matter of policy, such accountants cease to provided such statements generally (and not only to the Borrower), the Borrower shall not be required to deliver such certificate;

(b) concurrently with the delivery of the financial statements referred to in Sections 6.01(a) and (b) (commencing with the delivery of the financial statements for the fiscal quarter ended June 30, 2007) a duly completed Compliance Certificate signed by the chief executive officer, chief financial officer, treasurer or controller of Holdings and (ii) a copy of management’s discussion and analysis with respect to such financial statements;

(c) promptly after any request by the Administrative Agent or any Lender, copies of any detailed audit reports, management letters or recommendations submitted to the board of directors (or the audit committee of the board of directors) of any Loan Party by independent accountants in connection with the accounts or books of any Loan Party or any of its Subsidiaries, or any audit of any of them;

(d) promptly after the same are available, copies of each annual report, proxy or financial statement or other report or communication sent to the stockholders of the Borrower, and copies of all annual, regular, periodic and special reports and registration statements which the Borrower may file or be required to file with the SEC under Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, or with any national securities exchange, and in any case not otherwise required to be delivered to the Administrative Agent pursuant hereto;

(e) promptly after the furnishing thereof, copies of any statement or report furnished to any holder of debt securities of any Loan Party or of any of its Subsidiaries pursuant to the terms of any indenture, loan or credit or similar agreement and not otherwise required to be furnished to the Lenders pursuant to Section 6.01 or any other clause of this
Section 6.02;

(f) promptly, and in any event within five Business Days after receipt thereof by any Loan Party or any Subsidiary thereof, copies of each notice or other correspondence received from the SEC (or comparable agency in any applicable non-U.S. jurisdiction) concerning any investigation or possible investigation or other inquiry by such agency regarding financial or other operational results of any Loan Party or any Subsidiary thereof;

(g) promptly after the assertion or occurrence thereof, notice of any action or proceeding against or of any noncompliance by any Loan Party or any of its Subsidiaries with any Environmental Law or Environmental Permit that would reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect;

(h) as soon as available, but in any event within 30 days after the end of each fiscal year of Holdings, a report supplementing Schedule 5.17, setting forth (A) a list of registration numbers for all patents, trademarks, service marks, trade names and copyrights awarded to any Loan Party during such fiscal year and (B) a list of all patent applications, trademark applications, service xxxx applications, trade name applications and copyright applications submitted by any Loan Party or any Subsidiary thereof during such fiscal year and the status of each such application in a form reasonably satisfactory to the Administrative Agent; and

(i) promptly, such additional information regarding the business, financial, legal or corporate affairs of any Loan Party or any Subsidiary thereof, or compliance with the terms of the Loan Documents, as the Administrative Agent may from time to time reasonably request.

Documents required to be delivered pursuant to Section 6.01(a) or (b) or Section 6.02(d) (to the extent any such documents are included in materials otherwise filed with the SEC) may be delivered electronically and if so delivered, shall be deemed to have been delivered on the date (i) on which the Borrower posts such documents, or provides a link thereto. on the Borrower’s website on the Internet at the website address listed on Schedule 11.02; or (ii) on which such documents are posted on the Borrower’s behalf on an Internet or intranet website, if any, to which each Lender and the Administrative Agent have access (whether a commercial, third-party website or whether sponsored by the Administrative Agent); provided that: (i) the Borrower shall deliver paper copies of such documents to the Administrative Agent or any Lender that requests the Borrower to deliver such paper copies until a written request to cease delivering paper copies is given by the Administrative Agent or such Lender and (ii) the Borrower shall notify the Administrative Agent and each Lender (by telecopier or electronic mail) of the posting of any such documents and provide to the Administrative Agent by electronic mail electronic versions (i.e., soft copies) of such documents. Notwithstanding anything contained herein, in every instance the Borrower shall be required to provide paper copies of the Compliance Certificates required by Section 6.02(b) to the Administrative Agent. Except for such Compliance Certificates, the Administrative Agent shall have no obligation to request the delivery or to maintain copies of the documents referred to above, and in any event shall have no responsibility to monitor compliance by the Borrower with any such request for delivery, and each Lender shall be solely responsible for requesting delivery to it or maintaining its copies of such documents.

The Borrower hereby acknowledges that (a) the Administrative Agent and/or the Arrangers will make available to the Lenders materials and/or information provided by or on behalf of the Borrower hereunder (collectively, “Borrower Materials”) by posting the Borrower Materials on IntraLinks or another similar electronic system (the “Platform”) and (b) certain of the Lenders may be “public-side” Lenders (i.e., Lenders that do not wish to receive material nonpublic information with respect to the Borrower or its securities) (each, a “Public Lender”). The Borrower hereby agrees that so long as the Borrower is the issuer of any outstanding debt or equity securities that are registered or issued pursuant to a private offering or is actively contemplating issuing any such securities it will use commercially reasonable efforts to identify that portion of the Borrower Materials that may be distributed to the Public Lenders and that (w) all such Borrower Materials shall be clearly and conspicuously marked “PUBLIC” which, at a minimum, shall mean that the word “PUBLIC” shall appear prominently on the first page thereof; (x) by marking Borrower Materials “PUBLIC,” the Borrower shall be deemed to have authorized the Administrative Agent, the Arrangers and the Lenders to treat such Borrower Materials as not containing any material non-public information (although it may be sensitive and proprietary) with respect to the Borrower or its securities for purposes of United States Federal and state securities laws (provided, however, that to the extent such Borrower Materials constitute Information, they shall be treated as set forth in Section 11.07); (y) all Borrower Materials marked “PUBLIC” are permitted to be made available through a portion of the

Platform designated “Public Investor”; and (z) the Administrative Agent and the Arrangers shall be entitled to treat any Borrower Materials that are not marked “PUBLIC” as being suitable only for posting on a portion of the Platform not designated “Public Investor.” Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Borrower shall be under no obligation to xxxx any Borrower Materials “PUBLIC.”

6.03. Notices. Promptly notify the Administrative Agent and each Lender:

(a) of the occurrence of any Default;

(b) of any matter that has resulted or would reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect, including (i) breach or non-performance of, or any default under, a Contractual Obligation of any Loan Party or any Subsidiary thereof; (ii) any dispute, litigation, investigation, proceeding or suspension between any Loan Party or any Subsidiary thereof and any Governmental Authority; or (iii) the commencement of, or any material development in, any litigation or proceeding affecting any Loan Party or any Subsidiary thereof, including pursuant to any applicable Environmental Laws;

(c) of the occurrence of any ERISA Event that would reasonably be expected to result in liability in excess of the Threshold Amount;

(d) of any material change in accounting policies or financial reporting practices by any Loan Party or any Subsidiary thereof;

(e) of the (i) occurrence of any Disposition of property or assets for which the Borrower is required to make a mandatory prepayment pursuant to Section 2.05(b)(ii), (ii) incurrence or issuance of any Indebtedness for which the Borrower is required to make a mandatory prepayment pursuant to Section 2.05(b)(iii), and (iii) receipt of any Extraordinary Receipt for which the Borrower is required to make a mandatory prepayment pursuant to Section 2.05(b)(iv); and

Each notice pursuant to Section 6.03 shall be accompanied by a statement of a Responsible Officer of the Borrower setting forth details of the occurrence referred to therein and stating what action the Borrower has taken and proposes to take with respect thereto. Each notice pursuant to Section 6.03(a) shall describe with particularity any and all provisions of this Agreement and any other Loan Document that have been breached.

6.04. Payment of Obligations. Except as would not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect, pay and discharge as the same shall become due and payable, all its material obligations and liabilities, including (a). all tax liabilities, assessments and governmental charges or levies upon it or its properties or assets, unless the same are being contested in good faith by appropriate proceedings and adequate reserves in accordance with GAAP are being maintained by the Borrower or such Subsidiary; (b) all lawful claims which, if unpaid, would by law become a Lien upon its property (other than any Lien permitted under Section 7.01); and (c) all Indebtedness, as and when due and payable, but subject to any subordination provisions contained in any instrument or agreement evidencing such Indebtedness.

6.05. Preservation of Existence, Etc. (a) Preserve, renew and maintain in full force and effect its legal existence and good standing under the Laws of the jurisdiction of its organization except in a transaction permitted by Section 7.04 or 7.05; provided, however, that the Borrower and its Subsidiaries may consummate the Merger and any other merger or consolidation permitted under Section 7.04; (b) take all reasonable action to maintain all rights, privileges, permits, licenses and franchises necessary or desirable in the normal conduct of its business, except to the extent that failure to do so would not reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect; and (c) preserve or renew all of its registered patents, trademarks, trade names and service marks, the non-preservation of which would reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect.

6.06. Maintenance of Properties. (a) Maintain, preserve and protect all of its material properties and equipment necessary in the operation of its business in good working order and condition, ordinary wear and tear excepted; and (b) make all necessary repairs thereto and renewals and replacements thereof except where the failure to do so would not reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect.

6.07. Maintenance of Insurance. Maintain with financially sound and reputable insurance companies not Affiliates of the Borrower, insurance with respect to its properties and business against loss or damage of the kinds customarily insured against by Persons engaged in the same or similar business, of such types and in such amounts as are customarily carried under similar circumstances by such other Persons and providing for not less than 30 days’ prior notice to the Administrative Agent of termination, lapse or cancellation of such insurance.

6.08. Compliance with Laws. Comply in all material respects with the requirements of all Laws and all orders, writs, injunctions and decrees applicable to it or to its business or property, except in such instances in which (a) such requirement of Law or order, writ, injunction or decree is being contested in good faith by appropriate proceedings or (b) the failure to comply therewith would not reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect.

6.09. Books and Records. Maintain proper books of record and account, in which full, true and correct entries, in all material respects, in conformity with GAAP consistently applied shall be made of all financial transactions and matters involving the assets and business of the Borrower or such Subsidiary, as the case may be.

6.10. Inspection Rights. (a) Upon reasonable advance notice to the Borrower and at reasonable times during normal business hours, permit representatives and independent contractors of the Administrative Agent and each Lender to visit and inspect any of its properties, to examine its corporate, financial and operating records, and make copies thereof or abstracts therefrom, and to discuss its affairs, finances and accounts with its directors, officers, and independent public accountants, all at the expense of the Borrower; provided, however, that so long as no Event of Default shall have occurred and be continuing, (i) only the Administrative Agent on behalf of the Lenders may exercise rights of the Administrative Agent and the Lenders under this Section 6.10 and (ii) only one such visit shall be at the Borrower’s expense; provided further that when an Event of Default exists and is continuing, the Administrative Agent or any Lender (or any of their respective representatives or independent contractors) may do any of the foregoing at the expense of the Borrower at any time during normal business hours and upon

reasonable advance notice and (b) host a telephonic meeting annually with Lenders to discuss the Borrower’s affairs, finances and accounts with the Borrower’s directors, officers, and independent public accountants, all at the expense of the Borrower.

6.11. Use of Proceeds. Use the proceeds of the Loans made on the Closing Date to consummate the Transaction.

6.12. Covenant to Guarantee Obligations and Give Security.

(a) Upon the formation or acquisition of any new direct or indirect Subsidiary by any Loan Party, then the Borrower shall, at the Borrower’s expense:

(i) within 30 days after such formation or acquisition, cause such Subsidiary (other than an Excluded Subsidiary or a CFC); and cause each direct and indirect parent of such Subsidiary (other than an Excluded Subsidiary or a CFC) (if it has not already done so), to duly execute and deliver to the Administrative Agent a guaranty or guaranty supplement, in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to the Administrative Agent, guaranteeing the other Loan Parties’ obligations under the Loan Documents,

(ii) within 30 days after such formation or acquisition, furnish to the Administrative Agent a description of the real and personal properties (other than any Excluded Property) of such Subsidiary (other than an Excluded Subsidiary or a CFC),

(iii) within 45 days after such formation or acquisition, cause (A) such Subsidiary (other than an Excluded Subsidiary or a CFC) to duly execute and deliver to the Administrative Agent deeds of trust, trust deeds, deeds to secure debt, mortgages (but only with respect to owned real property with a fair market value in excess of $4,000,000), Joinder Agreements, intellectual property security agreement supplements and other security and pledge agreements, as specified by and in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to the Administrative Agent (including delivery of all Pledged Securities by such Subsidiary, and other instruments of the type specified in Section 4.01 (a)(iii)) and (B) each direct and indirect parent of such Subsidiary (other than an Excluded Subsidiary) to deliver all Pledged Securities of such Subsidiary (other than an Excluded Subsidiary) to the Administrative Agent, in each case, securing payment of all the Obligations of such Subsidiary or such parent, as the case may be, under the Loan Documents and constituting Liens on all such real and personal properties; provided that the direct or indirect parent of any CFC shall not be required to deliver Equity Interests of such CFC which represent more than 65% of the total voting power of all Equity Interests of such CFC,

(iv) within 60 days after such formation or acquisition, deliver to the Administrative Agent, upon the request of the Administrative Agent in its sole discretion, a signed copy of a favorable opinion, addressed to the Administrative Agent and the other Secured Parties, of counsel for the Loan Parties acceptable to the Administrative Agent as to the matters contained in clauses (i) and (iii) above, and as to such other matters as the Administrative Agent may reasonably request, and

(b) Upon the acquisition of any real property with a fair market value in excess of $4,000,000 (but excluding any leasehold estate) by any Loan Party, if such real property, in the judgment of the Administrative Agent, shall not already be subject to a perfected second priority security interest in favor of the Administrative Agent for the benefit of the Secured Parties, then the Borrower shall, at the Borrower’s expense:

(i) within 30 days after such acquisition, furnish to the Administrative Agent a description of the real property so acquired in detail satisfactory to the Administrative Agent,

(ii) within 30 days after such acquisition, cause the applicable Loan Party to duly execute and deliver to the Administrative Agent deeds of trust, trust deeds, deeds to secure debt, and mortgages, as specified by and in form and substance (but only with respect to real properties with a fair market value in excess of $4,000,000) satisfactory to the Administrative Agent, securing payment of all the Obligations of the applicable Loan Party under the Loan Documents and constituting Liens on all such properties,

(iii) within (4)(5) days after such acquisition, cause the applicable Loan Party to take whatever action (including the recording of mortgages, the filing of Uniform Commercial Code financing statements, the giving of notices and the endorsement of notices on title documents) may be necessary in the reasonable opinion of the Administrative Agent to vest in the Administrative Agent (or in any representative of the Administrative Agent designated by it) valid and subsisting Liens on such property enforceable against all third parties, and

(iv) within 60 days after such acquisition, deliver to the Administrative Agent, upon the request of the Administrative Agent in its sole discretion, a signed copy of a favorable opinion, addressed to the Administrative Agent and the other Secured Parties, of counsel for the Loan Parties reasonably acceptable to the Administrative Agent as to the matters contained in clauses (ii) and (iii) above, and as to such other matters as the Administrative Agent may reasonably request.

(c) At any time upon the reasonable request of the Administrative Agent, promptly execute and deliver any and all further instruments and documents and take all such other action as the Administrative Agent may deem reasonably necessary in obtaining the full benefits of, or (as applicable) in perfecting and preserving the Liens of, such guaranties, deeds of trust, trust deeds, deeds to secure debt, mortgages, Joinder Agreements, intellectual property security agreement supplements and other security and pledge agreements; provided that notwithstanding the foregoing, the preceding requirements of this Section 6.12 shall not apply to any Excluded Property.

6.13. Compliance with Environmental Laws. Comply, and take commercially reasonable steps to cause all lessees and other Persons operating or occupying its properties to comply, in all material respects, with all applicable Environmental Laws and Environmental Permits; obtain and renew all Environmental Permits necessary for its operations and properties; and conduct any investigation, study, sampling and testing, and undertake any cleanup, removal, remedial or other action necessary to remove and clean up all Hazardous Materials from any of

its properties where required to do so pursuant to applicable Environmental Laws; provided, however, that neither the Borrower nor any of its Subsidiaries shall be required to undertake any such cleanup, removal, remedial or other action to the extent that its obligation to do so is being contested in good faith and by proper proceedings and appropriate reserves are being maintained with respect to such circumstances in accordance with GAAP.

6.14. Further Assurances. Promptly upon the reasonable request by the Administrative Agent, or any Lender through the Administrative Agent, (a) correct any material defect or error that may be discovered in any Loan Document or in the execution, acknowledgment, filing or recordation there of, and (b) to execute, acknowledge, deliver, record, re-record, file, re-file, register and re-register any and all such further acts, deeds, certificates, assurances and other instruments as the Administrative Agent may reasonably require from time to time in order to (i) carry out more effectively the purposes of the Loan Documents, (ii) to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, subject any Loan Party’s or any of its Subsidiaries’ properties, assets, rights or interests to the Liens now or hereafter intended to be covered by any of the Collateral Documents, (iii) perfect and maintain the validity, effectiveness and priority of any of the Collateral Documents and any of the Liens intended to be created thereunder and (iv) assure, convey, grant, assign, transfer, preserve, protect and confirm more effectively unto the Secured Parties the rights granted or now or hereafter intended to be granted to the Secured Parties under any Loan Document or under any other instrument executed in connection with any Loan Document to which any Loan Party or any of its Subsidiaries is or is to be a party, and cause each of its Subsidiaries to do so.

6.15. [Reserved]

6.16. Material Contracts. Perform and observe all the terms and provisions of each Material Contract to be performed or observed by it, maintain each such Material Contract in full force and effect, and enforce each such Material Contract in accordance with its terms and cause each of its Subsidiaries to do so, except, in any case, where the failure to do so, either individually or in the aggregate, would not reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect.

6.17. Designation of Unrestricted Subsidiaries. Holdings’ board of directors may, at any time, designate any Subsidiary that is acquired or created after the Closing Date as an Unrestricted Subsidiary by prior written notice to the Administrative Agent; provided that Holdings shall only be permitted to so designate a new Unrestricted Subsidiary after the Closing Date and so long as (a) no Default or Event of Default exists or would result therefrom, (b) such Subsidiary does not own any capital stock or Indebtedness of, or own or hold a Lien on any property of, Holdings or any other Subsidiary that is not a subsidiary of the Subsidiary to be so designated, (c) such Unrestricted Subsidiary shall be capitalized (to the extent capitalized by Holdings or any of its Subsidiaries) through Investments permitted by, and in compliance with, Sections 7.03(i) or (k) with any assets owned by such Unrestricted Subsidiary at the time of the initial designation thereof to be treated as Investments pursuant to Section 7.03(i) or (k) and (d) Holdings shall have been able to make a Restricted Payment in accordance with Section 7.06(g) in an amount equal to the greater of (i) the aggregate of all investments made in such Subsidiary and (ii) the fair market value of such Subsidiary, provided that at the time of the initial

Investment by Holdings or any of its Subsidiaries in such Subsidiary, the Borrower shall designate such entity as an Unrestricted Subsidiary in a written notice to the Administrative Agent. Holdings may designate any Unrestricted Subsidiary to be a Subsidiary for purposes of this Agreement (each, a “Subsidiary Redesignation”); provided further that (i) such Unrestricted Subsidiary, both before and after giving effect to such designation, shall be a wholly owned Subsidiary of Holdings, (ii) no Default or Event of Default then exists or would occur as a consequence of any such Subsidiary Redesignation, (iii) based on good faith projections prepared by Holdings for the period from the date of the respective Subsidiary Redesignation to the date that is one year thereafter, the Consolidated Leverage Ratio shall be better than or equal to such level as would be required to provide that no Default or Event of Default would exist under Section 7.11 through the date that is one year from the date of the respective Subsidiary Redesignation, (iv) all representations and warranties contained herein and in the other Loan Documents shall be true and correct in all material respects with the same effect as though such representations and warranties had been made on and as of the date of such Subsidiary Redesignation (both before and after giving effect thereto), unless stated to relate to a specific earlier date, in which case such representations and warranties shall be true and correct in all material respects as of such earlier date, (v) Holdings’ shall have delivered to the Administrative Agent an officer’s certificate executed by a Responsible Officer, certifying to the best of such officer’s knowledge, compliance with the requirements of preceding clauses (i) through (iv), inclusive, and containing the calculations required by the preceding clause (iii), and (vi) any Unrestricted Subsidiary subject to a Subsidiary Redesignation may not thereafter be designated as an Unrestricted Subsidiary.

6.18. Post-Closing Covenant. To the extent not delivered on the Closing Date, the Borrower shall, and shall cause each relevant Loan Party to meet the following requirements within the time frames specified below; provided that in each case, the Administrative Agent may waive any requirement of this Section 6.18 in whole or in part, or extend the number of days for compliance, subject to such terms and conditions as the Administrative Agent may determine in its sole discretion:

(a) The Borrower shall as expeditiously as possible, but in no event later than 30 days after the Closing Date, deliver to the Administrative Agent certificates or instruments representing or evidencing the Pledged Securities with respect to the Equity Interests of RiskMetrics (U.K.) Limited, RiskMetrics (Singapore) Pte Ltd., RiskMetrics Group KK, 1 Corporate Governance Pty Ltd. and Institutional Shareholders Services Pty Ltd., in each case, accompanied by instruments of transfer and stock powers undated and endorsed in blank; and

(b) The Borrower shall as expeditiously as possible, but in no event later than 3 Business Days after the Closing Date, deliver to the Administrative Agent certificates or instruments representing or evidencing the Pledged Securities with respect to the Equity Interests of ISS Corporate Services, Inc., accompanied by instrument of transfer and stock powers undated and endorsed in blank.

ARTICLE VII
NEGATIVE COVENANTS

So long as any Loan or other Obligation (other than any contingent indemnification obligations) hereunder shall remain unpaid or unsatisfied, Holdings shall not, nor shall it permit any Subsidiary to, directly or indirectly, and solely in the case of Section 7.17, Holdings shall not:

7.01. Liens. Create, incur, assume or suffer to exist any Lien upon any of its property, assets or revenues, whether now owned or hereafter acquired, or sign or file or suffer to exist under the Uniform Commercial Code of any jurisdiction a financing statement that names the Borrower or any of its Subsidiaries as debtor, or assign any accounts or other right to receive income, other than the following:

(a) Liens pursuant to any Loan Document or any First Lien Loan Document;

(b) Liens existing on the date hereof and listed on Schedule 7.01(b) and any renewals or extensions thereof, provided that (i) the property covered thereby is not changed, (ii) the amount secured or benefited thereby is not increased except as contemplated by Section 7.02(e), (iii) the director any contingent obligor with respect thereto is not changed, and (iv) any renewal or extension of the obligations secured or benefited thereby is permitted by Section 7.02(e);

(c) Liens for taxes not yet due or which are being contested in good faith and by appropriate proceedings, if adequate reserves with respect thereto are maintained on the books of the applicable Person in accordance with GAAP;

(d) carriers’, warehousemen’s, mechanics’, materialmen’s, repairmen’s or other like Liens arising in the ordinary course of business which are not overdue for a period of more than 45 days or which are being contested in good faith and by appropriate proceedings, if adequate reserves with respect thereto are maintained on the books of the applicable Person;

(e) pledges or deposits in the ordinary course of business in connection with workers’ compensation, unemployment insurance and other social security legislation, other than any Lien imposed by ERISA;

(f) deposits to secure the performance of bids, trade contracts and leases (other than Indebtedness), statutory obligations, surety and appeal bonds, performance bonds and other obligations of a like nature incurred in the ordinary course of business;

(g) easements, rights-of-way, restrictions and other similar encumbrances affecting real property which, in the aggregate, are not substantial in amount, and which do not in any case materially detract from the value of the property subject thereto or materially interfere with the ordinary conduct of the business of the applicable Person;

(h) Liens securing judgments for the payment of money not constituting an Event of Default under Section 8.01(h);

(i) Liens securing Indebtedness permitted under Section 7.02(g); provided that such Liens do not at any time encumber any property other than the property financed by such Indebtedness;

(j) (i) Liens on property of a Person existing at the time such Person is merged into or consolidated with the Borrower or any Subsidiary of the Borrower or becomes a Subsidiary of the Borrower; provided that such Liens were not created in contemplation of such merger, consolidation or investment and do not extend to any assets other than those of the Person merged into or consolidated with the Borrower or such Subsidiary or acquired by the Borrower or such Subsidiary; and (ii) Liens on property of a Person existing at the time such property is purchased by the Borrower or any Subsidiary of the Borrower in a transaction constituting a Permitted Acquisition; provided that such Liens were not created in contemplation of such acquisition;;

(k) leases, licenses, subleases or sublicenses granted to others in the ordinary course of business that do not (i) interfere in any material respect with the business of Holdings or any of its Subsidiaries or (ii) secure any Indebtedness;

(1) Liens arising out of conditional sale, title retention, consignment or similar arrangements for sale of goods entered into by Holdings or any of its Subsidiaries in the ordinary course of business permitted by this Agreement;

(m) the replacement, extension or renewal of any Lien permitted by clauses (i) and (j) above upon or in the same property theretofore subject thereto or the replacement, extension or renewal (without increase in the amount or change in any direct or contingent obligor) of the Indebtedness secured thereby;

(n) zoning, entitlement and other similar land use restrictions or regulations by any Governmental Authority;

(o) any interest or title of a lessor or sublessor under any lease not prohibited under the terms of the Loan Documents;

(p) Liens on xxxx xxxxxxx money deposits made by Holdings or any of its Subsidiaries in connection with any letter of intent or purchase agreement;

(q) Liens evidenced by the filing of precautionary UCC financing statements relating solely to operating leases of personal property entered into the ordinary course of business;

(r) Liens in favor of customs and revenue authorities arising as a matter of law to secure payment of customs duties in connection with the importation of goods;

(s) licenses of patents, trademarks and other intellectual property rights granted by the Borrower or any of its Subsidiaries in the ordinary course of business and not interfering in any respect with the ordinary conduct of the business of the Borrower or such Subsidiary;

(t) Liens arising by virtue of any statutory or common law provision relating to bankers’ liens, rights of set-off or similar rights;

(u) escrow deposits of source codes in the ordinary course of business in connection with licensing of intellectual property by Borrower or any of its Subsidiaries to its customers; and

(v) other Liens securing Indebtedness outstanding in an aggregate principal amount not to exceed $12,000,000, provided that no such Lien shall extend to or cover any Collateral.

7.02. Indebtedness. Create, incur, assume or suffer to exist any Indebtedness, except:

(a) obligations (contingent or otherwise) existing or arising under any Swap Contract, provided that (i) such obligations are (or were) entered into by such Person in the ordinary course of business for the purpose of directly mitigating risks associated with fluctuations in interest rates or foreign exchange rates and (ii) such Swap Contract does not contain any provision exonerating the non-defaulting party from its obligation to make payments on outstanding transactions to the defaulting party;

(b) Indebtedness under the First Lien Credit Agreement in an aggregate principal amount not to exceed $425,000,000;

(c) Indebtedness of a Subsidiary of Holdings owed to Holdings or a wholly owned Subsidiary of Holdings, which Indebtedness shall (i) in the case of Indebtedness owed to a Loan Party, constitute “Pledged Debt” under the Security Agreement, and (ii) be otherwise permitted under the provisions of Section 7.03;

(d) Indebtedness under the Loan Documents;

(e) Indebtedness outstanding on the date hereof and listed on Schedule 7.02 and any Permitted Refinancing thereof;

(f) Guarantees of Holdings or any Subsidiary in respect of Indebtedness otherwise permitted hereunder of the Borrower or any wholly owned Subsidiary;

(g) Indebtedness in respect of Capitalized Leases, Synthetic Lease Obligations and purchase money obligations for fixed or capital assets within the limitations set forth in Section 7.01 (i); provided, however, that the aggregate amount of all such Indebtedness at any one time outstanding shall not exceed $24,000,000;

(h) Indebtedness of any Person that becomes a Subsidiary of the Borrower after the date hereof in accordance with the terms of Section 7.03(h), which Indebtedness is existing at the time such Person becomes a Subsidiary of the Borrower (other than Indebtedness incurred solely in contemplation of such Person’s becoming a Subsidiary of the Borrower) and any Permitted Refinancing thereof;

(i) Indebtedness of Holdings and its Subsidiaries (i) assumed in connection with any Permitted Acquisition, provided that such Indebtedness is not incurred in contemplation of such Permitted Acquisition, or (ii) owed to the seller of any property acquired in a Permitted Acquisition on an unsecured subordinated (relative to the Loan Documents) basis and any Permitted Refinancing thereof;

(j) Indebtedness representing deferred compensation to employees of Holdings and its Subsidiaries incurred in the ordinary course of business;

(k) Indebtedness incurred by Holdings or its Subsidiaries in a Permitted Acquisition or Disposition under agreements providing for indemnification;

(1) Indebtedness in respect of netting services, overdraft protections and similar arrangements in each case in connection with deposit accounts;

(m) Indebtedness incurred by Holdings or any of its Subsidiaries constituting reimbursement obligations with respect to letters of credit, bank guarantees or similar instruments issued in respect of workers compensation claims, health, disability or other employee benefits or property, casualty or liability insurance or self-insurance or other Indebtedness with respect to similar reimbursement type obligations; provided that upon the drawing of such letters of credit or the incurrence of such Indebtedness, such obligations are reimbursed within 30 days following such drawing or incurrence;

(n) Indebtedness of CFCs owed to Holdings or any Subsidiary of Holdings incurred in the ordinary course of business and substantially consistent with past practice;

(o) unsecured Indebtedness in an aggregate principal amount not to exceed $30,000,000 at any time outstanding; and

(p) to the extent constituting Indebtedness, contingent obligations under or in respect of performance bonds, bid bonds, appeal bonds, surety bonds, financial assurances, completion guarantees, indemnification obligations, obligations to pay insurance premiums, take or pay obligations and similar obligations in each case incurred in the ordinary course of business and not in connection with debt for borrowed money.

It is understood and agreed that any Indebtedness borrowed in a foreign currency shall continue to be permitted under this Section 7.02, notwithstanding any fluctuation in the Dollar amount of such Indebtedness, as long as the outstanding principal balance of such Indebtedness (denominated in its original currency) does not exceed the maximum amount of such Indebtedness (denominated in such currency) permitted to be outstanding on the date such Indebtedness was incurred.

7.03. Investments. Make or hold any Investments, except:

(a) Investments held by the Borrower and its Subsidiaries in the form of Cash Equivalents;

(b) (i) loans and advances to officers, directors and employees of Holdings and its Subsidiaries in an aggregate amount not to exceed $2,000,000 at any time outstanding, for travel, entertainment, relocation and analogous ordinary business purposes and (ii) loans and advances to directors, employees and officers of Holdings and its Subsidiaries in connection with the purchase of Equity Interests of Holdings by such directors, employees or officers not to exceed $2,000,000 at any time outstanding;

(c) (i) Investments by Holdings and its Subsidiaries in their respective Subsidiaries outstanding on the date hereof, (ii) additional Investments by Holdings and its Subsidiaries in Loan Parties (other than Holdings), (iii) additional Investments by Subsidiaries of Holdings that are not Loan Parties in other Subsidiaries that are not Loan Parties and (iv) additional Investments by Loan Parties and Subsidiaries that are not Loan Parties in CFCs in the ordinary course of business and substantially consistent with past practice;

(d) (i) Investments consisting of extensions of credit in the nature of accounts receivable or notes receivable arising from the grant of trade credit in the ordinary course of business, and Investments received in satisfaction or partial satisfaction thereof from financially troubled account debtors to the extent reasonably necessary in order to prevent or limit loss and (ii) Investments received in satisfaction of judgments or pursuant to any plan of reorganization or similar arrangement upon the bankruptcy or insolvency of trade creditors or account debtors;

(e) Guarantees and Indebtedness permitted by Section 7.02;

(f) Investments existing on the date hereof and set forth on Schedule 7.03(f);

(g) Investments by the Borrower in Swap Contracts permitted under Section 7.02(a);

(h) the purchase or other acquisition of all of the Equity Interests in, or all or substantially all of the property of, any Person or of assets constituting a business unit, line of business or division of such Person that, upon the consummation thereof, will be wholly-owned directly by the Borrower or one or more of its wholly owned Subsidiaries (including as a result of a merger or consolidation);.provided that, with respect to each purchase or other acquisition made pursuant to this Section 7.03(h) (each, a “Permitted Acquisition”):

(i) any such newly-created or acquired Subsidiary shall comply with the requirements of Section 6.12;

(ii) (A) immediately before and immediately after giving pro forma effect to any such purchase or other acquisition, no Default shall have occurred and be continuing and (B) immediately after giving effect to such purchase or other acquisition, Holdings and its Subsidiaries shall be in pro forma compliance with all of the covenants set forth in Section 7.11, such compliance to be determined on the basis of the financial information most recently delivered to the Administrative Agent and the Lenders pursuant to Section 6.01(a) or (b) as though such purchase or other acquisition had been consummated as of the first day of the fiscal period covered thereby;

(iii) immediately after giving pro forma effect to any such purchase or other acquisition, the Borrower shall have availability under the Revolving Credit Facility (as defined in the First Lien Credit Agreement) together with unrestricted cash on hand in an aggregate amount of at least $10,000,000; and

(iv) the Borrower shall have delivered to the Administrative Agent and each Lender, at least five Business Days prior to the date on which any such purchase or other acquisition is to be consummated, a certificate of a Responsible Officer, in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to the Administrative Agent, certifying that all of the requirements set forth in this clause (h) have been satisfied or will be satisfied on or prior to the consummation of such purchase or other acquisition;

(i) Investments by the Borrower and its Subsidiaries in Joint Ventures; provided that, immediately before and after giving effect to such investment, no Default or Event of Default shall have occurred and be continuing, and the aggregate amount of all Investments pursuant to this clause (i) shall not exceed $1,250,000 in the aggregate outstanding at any time;

(j) Investments made or received as consideration received in connection with a Disposition permitted by Section 7.05(j) not exceed $1,250,000 in the aggregate outstanding at any time; and

(k) Investments by Holdings and its Subsidiaries not otherwise permitted under this Section 7.03 in an aggregate amount not to exceed $12,000,000.

7.04. Fundamental Changes. Merge, dissolve, liquidate, consolidate with or into another Person, or Dispose of (whether in one transaction or in a series of transactions) all or substantially all of its assets (whether now owned or hereafter acquired) to or in favor of any Person, except that, so long as no Default exists or would result therefrom:

(a) any Subsidiary may merge with (i) the Borrower, provided that the Borrower shall be the continuing or surviving Person, or (ii) any one or more other Subsidiaries, provided that when any wholly owned Subsidiary is merging with another Subsidiary, such wholly owned Subsidiary shall be the continuing or surviving Person;

(b) any Loan Party may Dispose of all or substantially all of its assets (upon voluntary liquidation or otherwise) to the Borrower or to another Loan Party (other than Holdings);

(c) any Subsidiary that is not a Loan Party may dispose of all or substantially all its assets (including any Disposition that is in the nature of a liquidation) to (i) another Subsidiary that is not a Loan Party or (ii) to a Loan Party;

(d) the Borrower and its Subsidiaries may consummate the Merger;

(e) in connection with any Permitted Acquisition, any Subsidiary of the Borrower may merge into or consolidate with any other Person or permit any other Person to merge into or consolidate with it; provided that (i) the Person surviving such merger shall be a

wholly owned Subsidiary of the Borrower and (ii) in the case of any such merger to which any Loan Party (other than the Borrower) is a party, such Loan Party is the surviving Person; and

(f) so long as no Default has occurred and is continuing or would result therefrom, any Subsidiary of the Borrower may merge into or consolidate with any other Person or permit any other Person to merge into or consolidate with it; provided, however, that in each case, immediately after giving effect thereto (i) in the case of any such merger to which the Borrower is a party, the Borrower is the surviving corporation and (ii) in the case of any such merger to which any Loan Party (other than the Borrower) is a party, such Loan Party is the surviving corporation.

7.05. Dispositions. Make any Disposition or enter into any agreement to make any Disposition, except:

(a) Dispositions of damaged, obsolete or worn out property or property that is no longer useful or useable in its business, whether now owned or hereafter acquired, in the ordinary course of business;

(b) Dispositions of inventory, product, accounts receivable or other assets or services in the ordinary course of business and the granting of any option or other right to purchase, lease or otherwise acquire inventory, products, equipment, accounts receivables or other assets or services in the ordinary course of business;

(c) Dispositions of equipment or real property to the extent that (i) such property is exchanged for credit against the purchase price of similar replacement property or (ii) the proceeds of such Disposition are reasonably promptly applied to the purchase price of such replacement property;

(d) Dispositions of property by any Subsidiary to the Borrower or to a wholly owned Subsidiary; provided that if the transferor of such property is a Guarantor, the transferee thereof must either be the Borrower or a Guarantor;

(e) Dispositions permitted by Section 7.04;

(f) non-exclusive licenses of Owned Intellectual Property in the ordinary course of business and substantially consistent with past practice;

(g) the sale or other disposition of Cash Equivalents;

(h) Dispositions of accounts receivable in connection with the compromise, settlement or collection thereof in the ordinary course of business or in bankruptcy or similar proceedings;

(i) any issuance or, or disposition in connection with, directors’ qualifying shares or investments by foreign nationals mandated by foreign law; and

(j) other Dispositions by Holdings and its Subsidiaries for at least 90% cash (provided that the following shall constitute cash for purposes of this clause: (i) any liabilities (as shown on Holdings or its Subsidiaries’ most recent balance sheet) of Holdings and its Subsidiaries (other than contingent liabilities and subordinated Indebtedness) that are assumed by the transferee in connection with such Disposition whereby Holdings or such Subsidiary is released from further liability therefor and (ii) any securities, notes or other obligations received by Holdings or any Subsidiary from such transferee that are converted, sold or exchanged within 180 days of their receipt by Holdings or such Subsidiary into cash (to the extent of the cash received in that conversion)) and for fair value in an aggregate amount not to exceed $18,000,000 in any fiscal year.

7.06. Restricted Payments. Declare or make, directly or indirectly, any Restricted Payment, except that:

(a) each Subsidiary may make Restricted Payments to the Borrower, any Subsidiaries of the Borrower that are Guarantors and any other Person that owns a direct Equity Interest in such Subsidiary, ratably according to their respective holdings of the type of Equity Interest in respect of which such Restricted Payment is being made;

(b) each Subsidiary of Holdings may declare and make dividend payments or other distributions payable solely in the common stock or other common Equity Interests of such Person;

(c) so long as no Default shall have occurred and be continuing or would result therefrom, the Borrower and each Subsidiary may purchase, redeem or otherwise acquire its common Equity Interests with the proceeds received from the substantially concurrent issue of new common Equity Interests;

(d) the Borrower may declare and pay cash dividends to Holdings not to exceed an amount necessary to permit Holdings to pay (i) reasonable and customary corporate and operating expenses (including reasonable out-of-pocket expenses for legal, administrative and accounting services provided by third parties, and compensation, benefits and other amounts payable to officers and employees in connection with their employment in the ordinary course of business and to board of director observers), (ii) franchise fees or similar taxes and fees required to maintain Holdings’ corporate existence, (iii) Holdings’ proportionate share of the tax liability of the affiliated group of corporations that file consolidated Federal income tax returns (or that file state and local income tax returns on a consolidated basis) and (iv) so long as no Default shall have occurred and be continuing below or would result therefrom, customary investment banking fees and other amounts in connection with any Public Offering;

(e) so long as no Event of Default shall have occurred and be continuing or would result therefrom, Holdings and the Borrower may make Restricted Payments for the purpose of enabling Holdings to purchase Equity Interests (i) from present or former officers or employees of Holdings or any of its Subsidiaries and (ii) from any Person that received shares of Holdings’ Equity Interests as all or a portion of the consideration in a Permitted Acquisition; provided that the aggregate amount of payments under this clause (e) after the date hereof (net of any proceeds received by Holdings and contributed to Borrower after the date hereof in

connection with resales of any Equity Interests so purchased) (A) shall not exceed (1) $8,400,000 for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2007 and (2) $6,000,000 for each fiscal year thereafter; provided, further that any unused amount in any fiscal year may be used in the next succeeding fiscal year and (B) shall not exceed $30,000,000 in the aggregate since the Closing Date; plus, in each case, any amount received by Holdings from the sale of Equity Interests (other than Disqualified Capital Stock) of Holdings from officers and employees which amount is contributed to the Borrower);

(f) in addition to clause (e) above, so long as no Event of Default shall have occurred and be continuing or would result therefrom, Holdings and the Borrower may make Restricted Payments not to exceed $3,600,000 in any fiscal year of Holdings for the purpose of enabling Holdings to purchase Equity Interests (i) from present or former officers or employees of Holdings or any of its Subsidiaries and (ii) from any Person that received shares of Holdings’ Equity Interests as all or a portion of the consideration in a Permitted Acquisition; provided that after giving effect to such Restricted Payment on a pro forma basis, Holdings’ Consolidated Leverage Ratio is not greater than 4.75:1.00;

(g) so long as no Default shall have occurred and be continuing or would result therefrom, Holdings, the Borrower and each Subsidiary may (A) declare and make dividend payments or other distributions and (B) make Restricted Payments for the purpose of enabling Holdings to purchase Equity Interests (i) from present or former officers or employees of Holdings or any of its Subsidiaries and (ii) from any Person that received shares of Holdings’ Equity Interests as all or a portion of the consideration in a Permitted Acquisition, in a collective amount not to exceed 50% of Excess Cash Flow (less the amount of any expenditures excluded from the definition of “Capital Expenditures” pursuant to clause (a) of the proviso in such definition) in the aggregate and for the period beginning with the fiscal quarter in which Holdings’ Consolidated Leverage Ratio is less than 6.25:1.00; provided that, in the case of clause (A), after giving effect to such dividend or distribution on a pro forma basis, Holdings’ Consolidated Leverage Ratio is not greater than 3.75:1.00, and in the case of clause (B), after giving effect to such purchase of Equity Interests on a pro forma basis, Holdings’ Consolidated Leverage Ratio is not greater than 4.75:1.00; and

(h) in addition to clause (g) above but without duplication of clause (c) above, so long as no Event of Default shall have occurred and be continuing or would result therefrom, Holdings, the Borrower and each Subsidiary may declare and make dividend payments or other distributions in an amount not to exceed 50% of the net cash proceeds received by the Borrower from Holdings’ initial Public Offering; provided that, in each case, after giving effect to such dividend or distribution on a pro forma basis, Holdings’ Consolidated Leverage Ratio is not greater than 3.75:1.00.

7.07. Change in Nature of Business. Engage in any material line of business substantially different from those lines of business conducted by the Borrower and its Subsidiaries on the date hereof or any business substantially related or incidental thereto.

7.08. Transactions with Affiliates. Enter into any transaction of any kind with any Affiliate of the Borrower, whether or not in the ordinary course of business, other than on fair and reasonable terms substantially as favorable to the Borrower or such Subsidiary as would

be obtainable by the Borrower or such Subsidiary at the time in a comparable arm’s length transaction with a Person other than an Affiliate; provided that the foregoing restriction shall not apply to:

(a) transactions between or among the Loan Parties (other than Holdings) or any Person that will become a Loan Party as a result of such transaction;

(b) the payment of fees and expenses in connection with the consummation of the Merger and the other Transactions;

(c) contracts or agreements and transactions with customers, clients, suppliers or purchasers and sellers of goods or services, in each case, in the ordinary course of business and otherwise not prohibited by the terms of this Agreement, which are fair to Holdings or its Subsidiaries or are on terms, taken as a whole, at least as favorable as might reasonably have been obtained at that time from a Person who is not an Affiliate of the Borrower;

(d) employment and severance arrangements between Holdings and its Subsidiaries and their respective officers and employees in the ordinary course of business or in connection with the Merger;

(e) the payment of customary fees and reasonable out-of-pocket costs to, and indemnities provided on behalf of, directors, officers, employees and consultants of Holdings and its Subsidiaries in the ordinary course of business, as determined in good faith by the board of directors of the Borrower or senior management thereof;

(f) customary shareholder and registration rights agreements among Holdings and its shareholders; and

(g) Restricted Payments permitted under Section 7.06.

7.09. Burdensome Agreements. Enter into or permit to exist any Contractual Obligation (other than this Agreement or any other Loan Document) that limits the ability of any Subsidiary to make Restricted Payments to the Borrower or any Guarantor or to otherwise transfer property to or invest in the Borrower or any Guarantor, provided that the foregoing shall not be violated by reason of: (A) the Loan Documents, (B) any agreement or instrument evidencing any Indebtedness permitted to be incurred under Sections 7.02(b), 7.02(e), 7.02(g), 7.02(h) or 7.02(i) or any Indebtedness issued, assumed or incurred to refinance any of the foregoing, (C) any agreement in effect as of the date hereof, (D) any agreement in effect at the time a Person first became a Subsidiary of the Borrower so long as such agreement has not been entered into solely in contemplation of such Person becoming a Subsidiary, (E) applicable law, rule, regulation or order including of any regulatory body, (F) customary restrictions on subletting, assignment or transfer of any property or asset contained in a lease, license, conveyance or contract or similar property or asset, (G) any Lien permitted under the terms of Section 7.01, (H) customary restrictions in Contractual Obligations entered into in the ordinary course of business; provided that any such limitations contained therein relate only to such agreements and that any such limitations, individually or in the aggregate, shall not materially affect any Loan Party’s ability to pay its Obligations under the Loan Documents, (I) restrictions

(1) arising or agreed to in the ordinary course of business, not relating to any Indebtedness, and that do not, individually or in the aggregate detract from the value of property or assets of Holdings or any Subsidiary thereof, (2) existing under, by reason of, or with respect to, any agreement for the sale or other disposition of all or substantially all of the Equity Interests in, or property and assets of, a Subsidiary that restricts distributions by the Subsidiary pending such sale or other disposition, (3) that are or were created by virtue of any transfer of, agreement to transfer or option or right with respect to any property, assets or Equity Interests not otherwise prohibited under this Agreement or (4) existing under restrictions on cash or other deposits or net worth tests imposed by customers or required by insurance, surety or bonding companies, (J) encumbrances on the assets or Equity Interests of CFCs pursuant to Indebtedness of CFCs permitted to be incurred under this Agreement; provided that (1) such encumbrances are ordinary and customary with respect to the type of Indebtedness being incurred and (2) such encumbrances will not affect the Borrower’s ability to make payments of principal or interest on the Loans, as determined in good faith by the board of directors of the Borrower and (K) provisions in joint venture agreements, partnership agreements, limited liability organizational documents and other similar agreements and documents that restrict (1) the transfer of ownership interests in such entity that was not entered into solely in contemplation of such Person becoming a Subsidiary of the Borrower or (2) the ability of the Borrower or any Subsidiary to create, incur, assume or suffer to exist Liens on property of such Person.

7.10. Use of Proceeds. Use the proceeds of the Loans, whether directly or indirectly, and whether immediately, incidentally or ultimately, to purchase or carry margin stock (within the meaning of Regulation U of the FRB) or to extend credit to others for the purpose of purchasing or carrying margin stock or to refund indebtedness originally incurred for such purpose.

7.11. Consolidated Leverage Ratio. Permit the Consolidated Leverage Ratio at any time during any period of four fiscal quarters of Holdings set forth below to be greater than the ratio set forth below opposite such period:

		Maximum
		Consolidated
Four Fiscal Quarters Ending		Leverage Ratio
June 30, 2007		8.50:1.00
September 30, 2007		8.00:1.00
December 31, 2007		7.25:1.00
March 31, 2008		7.00:1.00
June 30, 2008		6.50:1.00
September 30, 2008		6.00:1.00
December 31, 2008		5.50:1.00
March 3l, 2009		5.50:1.00
June 30, 2009		5.00:1.00
September 30, 2009		4.75:1.00
December 31, 2009		4.50:1.00
March 31, 2010		4.25:1.00
June 30, 2010		4.00:1.00

September 30, 2010		3.75:1.00
December 31, 2010 and thereafter		3.50:1.00

7.12. Capital Expenditures. Make or become legally obligated to make any Capital Expenditure, except for Capital Expenditures in the ordinary course of business not exceeding, in the aggregate for Holdings and its Subsidiaries during each fiscal year set forth below, the amount set forth opposite such fiscal year:

Fiscal Year	Amount
2007	$	14,000,000
2008	$	14,000,000
2009	$	15,000,000
2010	$	16,500,000
2011	$	18,500,000
2012	$	18,500,000
2013	$	20,000,000

; provided, however, that so long as no Default has occurred and is continuing or would result from such expenditure, any portion of any amount set forth above, if not expended in the fiscal year for which it is permitted above, may be carried over for expenditure in the next following fiscal year; and provided, further, if any such amount is so carried over, it will be deemed used in the applicable subsequent fiscal year before the amount set forth opposite such fiscal year above.

7.13. Amendments of Organization Documents. Amend any of its Organization Documents other than any changes which are not materially adverse to the Administrative Agent and the Lenders.

7.14. Accounting Changes. Make any change in (a) accounting policies or reporting practices, except as required or permitted by GAAP or the Financial Accounting Standards Board and as otherwise not materially adverse to the Lenders, or (b) fiscal year.

7.15. Prepayments, Etc. of Indebtedness. Prepay, redeem, purchase, defease or otherwise satisfy prior to the scheduled maturity thereof in any manner, or make any payment in violation of any subordination terms of, any Indebtedness, except (a) the prepayment of the Loans in accordance with the terms of this Agreement and (b) regularly scheduled or required repayments or redemptions of Indebtedness set forth in Schedule 7.02 and refinancings and refundings of such Indebtedness in compliance with Sections7.02(e) and (c) any prepayment of Indebtedness under the First Lien Credit Agreement.

7.16. Amendment, Etc. of Indebtedness. (a) amend, modify or change in any manner any term or condition of any Indebtedness set forth in Schedule 7.02, except for any refinancing, refunding, renewal or extension thereof permitted by Section 7.02(e) or (b) amend, modify or change in any manner any term or condition of the First Lien Loan Documents if the effect thereof is to (i) increase the aggregate principal amount of Indebtedness under the First Lien Credit Agreement above the amount specified in Section 7.02(b), (ii) increase the interest rate provided in the First Lien Loan Documents by more than two hundred (200) basis points

except in connection with (A) the imposition of a default rate of interest in accordance with the terms of the Senior Loan Documents or (B) the imposition of market interest rates in respect of any refinancing, or (iii) add restrictions on the ability of the Borrower to repay the Loans (including any extension of the maturity) in addition to those set forth in the First Lien Loan Documents in effect on the date hereof (provided that any modification of any existing covenants or defaults, which has the effect of making them more restrictive, shall not be deemed, in and of itself, to be an additional restriction on the payment of the Loans).

7.17. Holding Company. In the case of Holdings, engage in any business or activity other than (a) the ownership of all outstanding Equity Interests in the Borrower, (b) maintaining its corporate existence, (c) participating in tax, accounting and other administrative activities as the parent of the consolidated group of companies, including the Loan Parties, (d) the execution and delivery of the Loan Documents to which it is a party and the performance of its obligations thereunder, (e) any public offering of its common stock or any other issuance or registration of its Equity Interests or stock appreciation rights, (f) any transaction that Holdings is permitted to enter into or consummate under this Article VII, (g) incurring fees, costs and expenses relating to overhead and general operating including professional fees for legal, tax and accounting issues, (h) providing indemnification to officers and directors, (i) activities contemplated by Section 7.06 and (j) activities incidental to the businesses or activities described in clauses (a) through (h) of this Section 7.17.

7.18. General Partner. No Loan Party shall become a general partner, either directly or indirectly in any partnership (other than through a separate Subsidiary of Holdings in compliance with Sections 7.02 and 7.03).

ARTICLE VIII
EVENTS OF DEFAULT AND REMEDIES

8.01. Events of Default. Any of the following shall constitute an Event of Default:

(a) Non-Payment. The Borrower or any other Loan Party fails to (i) pay when and as required to be paid herein, any amount of principal of any Loan, or (ii) pay within three days after the same becomes due, any interest on any Loan or any fee due hereunder, or (iii) pay within five days after the same becomes due, any other amount payable hereunder or under any other Loan Document; or

(b) Specific Covenants. The Borrower fails to perform or observe any term, covenant or agreement contained in any of Sections 6.01, 6.02(a), 6.02(b), 6.03(a), 6.03(b), 6.10, 6.11, 6.12, 6.14, 6.17 or Article VII; or

(c) Other Defaults. Any Loan Party fails to perform or observe any other covenant or agreement (not specified in Section 8.01(a) or (b) above) contained in any Loan Document on its part to be performed or observed and such failure continues for 60 days after the earlier of the date on which (i) any Responsible Officer of a Loan Party becomes aware of such failure or (ii) written notice thereof shall have been given to the Borrower by the Administrative Agent or the Required Lenders; or

(d) Representations and Warranties. Any representation, warranty, certification or statement of fact made or deemed made by or on behalf of the Borrower or any other Loan Party herein, in any other Loan Document, or in any document delivered in connection herewith or therewith shall be incorrect or misleading, in the case of any representation, warranty, certification or statement qualified by materially or a Material Adverse Effect, when made or deemed made and otherwise in any material respect when made or deemed made; provided that (i) if such Loan Party was not aware that such representation or warranty was false or incorrect at the time such representation or warranty was made, (ii) the fact, event or circumstance resulting in such false or incorrect representation or warranty is capable of being cured, corrected or otherwise remedied without any adverse consequence to the Lenders, and (iii) such fact, event or circumstance resulting in such false or incorrect representation or warranty shall have been cured, corrected or otherwise remedied without any adverse consequence to the Lenders within 30 days from the date a Responsible Officer of the Borrower or any Loan Party obtains actual knowledge thereof such that such representation or warranty (as cured, corrected or remedied) would not reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect, then such false or incorrect representation or warranty shall not constitute a Default or an Event of Default for purposes of the Loan Documents; or

(e) Cross-Default. (i) Any Loan Party or any Significant Subsidiary or one or more Subsidiaries that in the aggregate would constitute a Significant Subsidiary thereof (A) fails to make any payment when due (whether by scheduled maturity, required prepayment, acceleration, demand, or otherwise) in respect of any Indebtedness or Guarantee (other than (x) Indebtedness hereunder, (y) Indebtedness under the First Lien Loan Documents and (z) Indebtedness under Swap Contracts) having an aggregate principal amount(including undrawn committed or available amounts and including amounts owing to all creditors under any combined or syndicated credit arrangement) of more than the Threshold Amount and such failure shall continue after the applicable grace period, if any, specified in the agreement or instrument relating to such Indebtedness, or (B) fails to observe or perform any other agreement or condition relating to any such Indebtedness or Guarantee or contained in any instrument or agreement evidencing, securing or relating thereto, or any other event occurs, the effect of which default or other event is to cause, or to permit the holder or holders of such Indebtedness or the beneficiary or beneficiaries of such Guarantee (or a trustee or agent on behalf of such holder or holders or beneficiary or beneficiaries) to cause, with the giving of notice if required, such Indebtedness to be demanded or to become due or to be repurchased, prepaid, defeased or redeemed (automatically or otherwise), or an offer to repurchase, prepay, defease or redeem such Indebtedness to be made, prior to its stated maturity, or such Guarantee to become payable or cash collateral in respect thereof to be demanded; or (ii) there occurs under any Swap Contract an Early Termination Date (as defined in such Swap Contract) resulting from (A) any event of default under such Swap Contract as to which a Loan Party or any Subsidiary thereof is the Defaulting Party (as defined in such Swap Contract) or (B) any Termination Event (as so defined) under such Swap Contract as to which a Loan Party or any Subsidiary thereof is an Affected Party (as so defined) and, in either event, the Swap Termination Value owed and not paid on the due date by such Loan Party or such Subsidiary as a result thereof is greater than the Threshold Amount; or (iii) any Loan Party or any Significant Subsidiary fails to make payment when due (whether by scheduled maturity, required prepayment, acceleration, demand or otherwise) after lapse of all applicable grace periods of any principal of or interest on any

Indebtedness outstanding, or fees or other amounts owing, under the First Lien Loan Documents, and in each case such failure shall continue for a period of forty-five (45) consecutive days;

(f) Insolvency Proceedings. Etc. Any Loan Party or any Significant Subsidiary or one or more Subsidiaries that in the aggregate would constitute a Significant Subsidiary thereof institutes or consents to the institution of any proceeding under any Debtor Relief Law, or makes an assignment for the benefit of creditors; or applies for or consents to the appointment of any receiver, trustee, custodian, conservator, liquidator, rehabilitator or similar officer for it or for all or any material part of its property; or any receiver, trustee, custodian, conservator, liquidator, rehabilitator or similar officer is appointed without the application or consent of such Person and the appointment continues undischarged or unstayed for 60 calendar days; or any proceeding under any Debtor Relief Law relating to any such Person or to all or any material part of its property is instituted without the consent of such Person and continues undismissed or unstayed for 60 calendar days, or an order for relief is entered in any such proceeding; or

(g) Inability to Pay Debts; Attachment. (i) Any Loan Party or any Significant Subsidiary or one or more Subsidiaries that in the aggregate would constitute a Significant Subsidiary thereof becomes unable or admits in writing its inability or fails generally to pay its debts as they become due, or (ii) any writ or warrant of attachment or execution or similar process is issued or levied against all or any material part of the property of any such Person and is not released, vacated or fully bonded within 30 days after its issue or levy; or

(h) Judgments. There is entered against any Loan Party or any Significant Subsidiary or one or more Subsidiaries that in the aggregate would constitute a Significant Subsidiary thereof (i) one or more final judgments or orders for the payment of money in an aggregate amount (as to all such judgments and orders) exceeding the Threshold Amount (to the extent not covered by independent third-party insurance as to which the insurer is rated at least “A” by A.M. Best Company, has been notified of the potential claim and does not dispute coverage), or (ii) any one or more non-monetary final judgments that have, or would reasonably be expected to have, individually or in the aggregate, a Material Adverse Effect and, in either case, (A) enforcement proceedings are commenced by any creditor upon such judgment or order, or (B) there is a period of 10 consecutive days during which a stay of enforcement of such judgment, by reason of a pending appeal or otherwise, is not in effect; or

(i) ERISA. (i) An ERISA Event occurs with respect to a Pension Plan or Multiemployer Plan which has resulted or would reasonably be expected to result in liability of the Borrower under Title IV of ERISA to the Pension Plan, Multiemployer Plan or the PBGC in an aggregate, amount that would reasonably be expected to result in an Material Adverse Effect or the imposition of a Lien or security interest on any assets of any Loan Party, or (ii) the Borrower or any ERISA Affiliate fails to pay when due, after the expiration of any applicable grace period, any installment payment with respect to its withdrawal liability under Section 4201 of ERISA under a Multiemployer Plan in an aggregate amount that would reasonably be expected to result in an Material Adverse Effect or the imposition of a Lien or security interest on any assets of any Loan Party; or

(j) Invalidity of Loan Documents. Any provision of any Loan Document, at any time after its execution and delivery and for any reason other than as expressly permitted hereunder or thereunder or satisfaction in full of all the Obligations, ceases to be in full force and effect (except as the result of any act or omission of the Administrative Agent or any Secured Party); or any Loan Party contests in any manner the validity or enforceability of any provision of any Loan Document; or any Loan Party denies that it has any or further liability or obligation under any provision of any Loan Document, or purports to revoke, terminate or rescind any provision of any Loan Document; or

(k) Change of Control. There occurs any Change of Control; or

(1) Collateral Documents. Any Collateral Document after delivery thereof pursuant to Section 4.01 or 6.12 shall for any reason (other than pursuant to the terms thereof or as a result of any act or omission of the Administrative Agent or Secured Party) cease to create a valid and perfected second priority Lien (subject to Liens permitted by Section 7.01) on the Collateral purported to be covered thereby; or

Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in this Section 8.01, in the event that Holdings fails to comply with the requirements of the covenant contained in Section 7.11, until the 10th day subsequent to delivery of the related Compliance Certificate, Sponsor shall have the right, but in any event no more than two (2) times in any four consecutive fiscal -quarter period, to make cash contributions to the capital of the Borrower in an amount equal to the amount necessary to cure the relevant failure to comply with the covenant contained in Section 7.11 and to contribute any such cash to the common equity capital of the Borrower (collectively, the “Cure Right”), and upon the receipt by the Borrower of such cash (the “Cure Amount”) pursuant to the exercise by Sponsor of such Cure Right such covenant shall be recalculated giving effect to the following pro forma adjustments:

(A) Consolidated Adjusted EBITDA shall be increased, in accordance with the definition thereof, solely for the purpose of measuring the relevant covenant and not for any other purpose under this Agreement, by an amount equal to the Cure Amount;

(B) if, after giving effect to the foregoing recalculations, Holdings shall then be in compliance with the requirements of the covenant contained in Section 7.11, Holdings shall be deemed to have satisfied the requirements of the covenants contained in Section 7.11 as of the relevant date of determination with the same effect as though there had been no failure to comply therewith at such date, and the applicable breach or default of the covenant contained in Section 7.11 which had occurred shall be deemed cured for all purposes of this Agreement and the other Loan Documents; and

to the extent that the Cure Amount proceeds are used to repay Indebtedness, such Indebtedness shall not be deemed to have been repaid for purposes of calculating the Consolidated Leverage Ratio for the period with respect to which such Compliance Certificate applies.

8.02. Remedies upon Event of Default. If any Event of Default occurs and is continuing, the Administrative Agent shall, at the request of, or may, with the consent of, the Required Lenders, take any or all of the following actions:

(a) declare the commitment of each Lender to make Loans to be terminated, whereupon such commitments and obligation shall be terminated; and

(b) declare the unpaid principal amount of all outstanding Loans, all interest accrued and unpaid thereon, and all other amounts owing or payable hereunder or under any other Loan Document to be immediately due and payable, without presentment, demand, protest or other notice of any kind, all of which are hereby expressly waived by the Borrower;

provided, however, that upon the occurrence of an actual or deemed entry of an order for relief with respect to the Borrower under the Bankruptcy Code of the United States, the obligation of each Lender to make Loans shall automatically terminate, the unpaid principal amount of all outstanding Loans and all interest and other amounts as aforesaid shall automatically become due and payable, in each case without further act of the Administrative Agent or any Lender.

8.03. Application of Funds. After the exercise of remedies provided for in Section 8.02 (or after the Loans have automatically become immediately due and payable), any amounts received on account of the Obligations shall be applied by the Administrative Agent in the following order:

First, to payment of that portion of the Obligations constituting fees, indemnities, expenses and other amounts (including fees, charges and disbursements of counsel to the Administrative Agent and amounts payable under Article III) payable to the Administrative Agent in its capacity as such;

Second, to payment of that portion of the Obligations constituting fees, indemnities and other amounts (other than principal and interest) payable to the Lenders (including fees, charges and disbursements of counsel to the respective Lenders and including fees and time charges for attorneys who may be employees of any Lender) and amounts payable under Article III, ratably among them in proportion to the respective amounts described in this clause Second payable to them;

Third, to payment of that portion of the Obligations constituting accrued and unpaid interest on the Loans, unpaid principal of the Loans ratably among the Lenders in proportion to the respective amounts described in this clause Third payable to them; and

Last, the balance, if any, after all of the Obligations have been indefeasibly paid in full, to the Borrower or as otherwise required by Law.

ARTICLE IX
ADMINISTRATIVE AGENT

9.01. Appointment and Authority.

(a) Each of the Lenders hereby irrevocably appoints Bank of America to act on its behalf as the Administrative Agent hereunder and under the other Loan Documents and authorizes the Administrative Agent to take such actions on its behalf and to exercise such powers as are delegated to the Administrative Agent by the terms hereof or thereof, together with such actions and powers as are reasonably incidental thereto. The provisions of this Article are solely for the benefit of the Administrative Agent and the Lenders, and neither the Borrower nor any other Loan Party shall have rights as a third party beneficiary of any of such provisions.

(b) The Administrative Agent shall also act as the “collateral agent” under the Loan Documents, and each of the Lenders hereby irrevocably appoints and authorizes the Administrative Agent to act as the agent of such Lender for purposes of acquiring, holding and enforcing any and all Liens on Collateral granted by any of the Loan Parties to secure any of the Obligations, together with such powers and discretion as are reasonably incidental thereto. In this connection, the Administrative Agent, as “collateral agent” and any co-agents, sub-agents and attorneys-in-fact appointed by the Administrative Agent pursuant to Section 9.05 for purposes of holding or enforcing any Lien on the Collateral (or any portion thereof) granted under the Collateral Documents, or for exercising any rights and remedies thereunder at the direction of the Administrative Agent), shall be entitled to the benefits of all provisions of this Article IX and Article XI (including Section 11 .04(c), as though such co-agents, sub-agents and attorneys-in-fact were the “collateral agent” under the Loan Documents) as if set forth in full herein with respect thereto.

9.02. Rights as a Lender. The Person serving as the Administrative Agent hereunder shall have the same rights and powers in its capacity as a Lender as any other Lender and may exercise the same as though it were not the Administrative Agent and the term “Lender” or “Lenders” shall, unless otherwise expressly indicated or unless the context otherwise requires, include the Person serving as the Administrative Agent hereunder in its individual capacity. Such Person and its Affiliates may accept deposits from, lend money to, act as the financial advisor or in any other advisory capacity for and generally engage in any kind of business with the Borrower or any Subsidiary or other Affiliate thereof as if such Person were not the Administrative Agent hereunder and without any duty to account therefor to the Lenders.

9.03 Exculpatory Provisions. The Administrative Agent shall not have any duties or obligations except those expressly set forth herein and in the other Loan Documents. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, the Administrative Agent:

(a) shall not be subject to any fiduciary or other implied duties, regardless of whether a Default has occurred and is continuing;

(b) shall not have any duty to take any discretionary action or exercise any discretionary powers, except discretionary rights and powers expressly contemplated hereby or by the other Loan Documents that the Administrative Agent is required to exercise as directed in writing by the Required Lenders (or such other number or percentage of the Lenders as shall be expressly provided for herein or in the other Loan Documents), provided that the Administrative Agent shall not be required to take any action that, in its opinion or the opinion of its counsel, may expose the Administrative Agent to liability or that is contrary to any Loan Document or applicable law; and

(c) shall not, except as expressly set forth herein and in the other Loan Documents, have any duty to disclose, and shall not be liable for the failure to disclose, any information relating to the Borrower or any of its Affiliates that is communicated to or obtained by the Person serving as the Administrative Agent or any of its Affiliates in any capacity.

The Administrative Agent shall not be liable for any action taken or not taken by it (i) with the consent or at the request of the Required Lenders (or such other number or percentage of the Lenders as shall be necessary, or as the Administrative Agent shall believe in good faith shall be necessary, under the circumstances as provided in Sections 11.01 and 8.02) or (ii) in the absence of its own bad faith, gross negligence or willful misconduct. The Administrative Agent shall be deemed not to have knowledge of any Default unless and until notice describing such Default is given to the Administrative Agent by the Borrower or a Lender.

The Administrative Agent shall not be responsible for or have any duty to ascertain or inquire into (i) any statement, warranty or representation made in or in connection with this Agreement or any other Loan Document, (ii) the contents of any certificate, report or other document delivered hereunder or thereunder or in connection herewith or therewith, (iii) the performance or observance of any of the covenants, agreements or other terms or conditions set forth herein or therein or the occurrence of any Default, (iv) the validity, enforceability, effectiveness or genuineness of this Agreement, any other Loan Document or any other agreement, instrument or document, or the creation, perfection or priority of any Lien purported to be created by the Collateral Documents, (v) the value or the sufficiency of any Collateral, or (v) the satisfaction of any condition set forth in Article IV or elsewhere herein, other than to confirm receipt of items expressly required to be delivered to the Administrative Agent.

9.04. Reliance by Administrative Agent. The Administrative Agent shall be entitled to rely upon, and shall not incur any liability for relying upon, any notice, request, certificate, consent, statement, instrument, document or other writing (including any electronic message, Internet or intranet website posting or other distribution) believed by it to be genuine and to have been signed, sent or otherwise authenticated by the proper Person. The Administrative Agent also may rely upon any statement made to it orally or by telephone and believed by it to have been made by the proper Person, and shall not incur any liability for relying thereon. In determining compliance with any condition hereunder to the making of a Loan that by its terms must be fulfilled to the satisfaction of a Lender, the Administrative Agent may presume that such condition is satisfactory to such Lender unless the Administrative Agent shall have received notice to the contrary from such Lender or prior to the making of such Loan. The Administrative Agent may consult with legal counsel (who may be counsel for the Borrower), independent accountants and other experts selected by it, and shall not be liable for any action taken or not taken by it in accordance with the advice of any such counsel, accountants or experts.

9.05. Delegation of Duties. The Administrative Agent may perform any and all of its duties and exercise its rights and powers hereunder or under any other Loan Document by or through any one or more sub-agents appointed by the Administrative Agent. The Administrative Agent and any such sub-agent may perform any and all of its duties and exercise

its rights and powers by or through their respective Related Parties. The exculpatory provisions of this Article shall apply to any such sub-agent and to the Related Parties of the Administrative Agent and any such sub-agent, and shall apply to their respective activities in connection with the syndication of the credit facilities provided for herein as well as activities as Administrative Agent.

9.06. Resignation of Administrative Agent. The Administrative Agent may at any time give notice of its resignation to the Lenders and the Borrower. Upon receipt of any such notice of resignation, the Required Lenders shall have the right, with the consent of Borrower (not to be unreasonably withheld), to appoint a successor, which shall be a bank with an office in the United States, or an Affiliate of any such bank with an office in the United States. If no such successor shall have been so appointed by the Required Lenders and shall have accepted such appointment within 30 days after the retiring Administrative Agent gives notice of its resignation, then the retiring Administrative Agent may on behalf of the Lenders, with the consent of Borrower (not to be unreasonably withheld) appoint a successor Administrative Agent meeting the qualifications set forth above; provided that if the Administrative Agent shall notify the Borrower and the Lenders that no qualifying Person has accepted such appointment, then such resignation shall nonetheless become effective in accordance with such notice and (a) the retiring Administrative Agent shall be discharged from its duties and obligations hereunder and under the other Loan Documents (except that in the case of any collateral security held by the Administrative Agent on behalf of the Lenders under any of the Loan Documents, the retiring Administrative Agent shall continue to hold such collateral security until such time as a successor Administrative Agent is appointed) and (b) all payments, communications and determinations provided to be made by, to or through the Administrative Agent shall instead be made by or to each Lender directly, until such time as the Required Lenders appoint a successor Administrative Agent as provided for above in this Section. Upon the acceptance of a successor’s appointment as Administrative Agent hereunder, such successor shall succeed to and become vested with all of the rights, powers, privileges and duties of the retiring (or retired) Administrative Agent, and the retiring Administrative Agent shall be discharged from all of its duties and obligations hereunder or under the other Loan Documents (if not already discharged therefrom as provided above in this Section). The fees payable by the Borrower to a successor Administrative Agent shall be the same as those payable to its predecessor unless otherwise agreed between the Borrower and such successor. After the retiring Administrative Agent’s resignation hereunder and under the other Loan Documents, the provisions of this Article and Section 11.04 shall continue in effect for the benefit of such retiring Administrative Agent, its sub-agents and their respective Related Parties in respect of any actions taken or omitted to be taken by any of them while the retiring Administrative Agent was acting as Administrative Agent.

9.07. Non-Reliance on Administrative Agent and Other Lenders. Each Lender acknowledges that it has, independently and without reliance upon the Administrative Agent or any other Lender or any of their Related Parties and based on such documents and information as it has deemed appropriate, made its own credit analysis and decision to enter into this Agreement. Each Lender also acknowledges that it will, independently and without reliance upon the Administrative Agent or any other Lender or any of their Related Parties and based on such documents and information as it shall from time to time deem appropriate, continue to make

its own decisions in taking or not taking action under or based upon this Agreement, any other Loan Document or any related agreement or any document furnished hereunder or thereunder.

9.08. No Other Duties, Etc. Anything herein to the contrary notwithstanding, none of the Bookrunners or Arrangers listed on the cover page hereof shall have any powers, duties or responsibilities under this Agreement or any of the other Loan Documents, except in its capacity, as applicable, as the Administrative Agent or a Lender hereunder.

9.09. Administrative Agent May File Proofs of Claim. In case of the pendency of any proceeding under any Debtor Relief Law or any other judicial proceeding relative to any Loan Party, the Administrative Agent (irrespective of whether the principal of any Loan shall then be due and payable as herein expressed or by declaration or otherwise and irrespective of whether the Administrative Agent shall have made any demand on the Borrower) shall be entitled and empowered, by intervention in such proceeding or otherwise

(a) to file and prove a claim for the whole amount of the principal and interest owing and unpaid in respect of the Loans and all other Obligations that are owing and unpaid and to file such other documents as may be necessary or advisable in order to have the claims of the Lenders and the Administrative Agent (including any claim for the reasonable compensation, expenses, disbursements and advances of the Lenders and the Administrative Agent and their respective agents and counsel and all other amounts due the Lenders and the Administrative Agent under Sections 2.09 and 11.04) allowed in such judicial proceeding; and

(b) to collect and receive any monies or other property payable or deliverable on any such claims and to distribute the same;

and any custodian, receiver, assignee, trustee, liquidator, sequestrator or other similar official in any such judicial proceeding is hereby authorized by each Lender to make such payments to the Administrative Agent and, if the Administrative Agent shall consent to the making of such payments directly to the Lenders, to pay to the Administrative Agent any amount due for the reasonable compensation, expenses, disbursements and advances of the Administrative Agent and its agents and counsel, and any other amounts due the Administrative Agent under Sections 2.09 and 11.04.

Nothing contained herein shall be deemed to authorize the Administrative Agent to authorize or consent to or accept or adopt on behalf of any Lender any plan of reorganization, arrangement, adjustment or composition affecting the Obligations or the rights of any Lender to authorize the Administrative Agent to vote in respect of the claim of any Lender or in any such proceeding.

9.10. Collateral and Guaranty Matters. The Lenders irrevocably, authorize the Administrative Agent, at its option and in its discretion,

(a) to release any Lien on any property granted to or held by the Administrative Agent under any Loan Document (i) upon payment in full of all Obligations (other than contingent indemnification obligations), (ii) that is sold or to be sold as part of or in

connection with any sale permitted hereunder or under any other Loan Document, or (iii) if approved, authorized or ratified in writing in accordance with Section 11.01;

(b) to release any Guarantor from its obligations under the Guaranty if such Person ceases to be a Subsidiary or is designated an Unrestricted Subsidiary as a result of a transaction permitted hereunder; and

(c) to subordinate any Lien on any property granted to or held by the Administrative Agent under any Loan Document to the holder of any Lien on such property that is permitted by Section 7.01(i).

Upon request by the Administrative Agent at any time, the Required Lenders will confirm in writing the Administrative Agent’s authority to release or subordinate its interest in particular types or items of property, or to release any Guarantor from its obligations under the Guaranty pursuant to this Section 9.10. In each case as specified in this Section 9.10, the Administrative Agent will, at the Borrower’s expense, execute and deliver to the applicable Loan Party such documents as such Loan Party may reasonably request to evidence the release of such item of Collateral from the assignment and security interest granted under the Collateral Documents or to subordinate its interest in such item, or to release such Guarantor from its obligations under the Guaranty, in each case in accordance with the terms of the Loan Documents and this Section 9.10.

ARTICLE X
CONTINUING GUARANTY

10.01. Guaranty. Holdings hereby absolutely and unconditionally guarantees, as a guaranty of payment and performance and not merely as a guaranty of collection, prompt payment when due, whether at stated maturity, by required prepayment, upon acceleration, demand or otherwise, and at all times thereafter, of any and all of the Obligations, whether for principal, interest, premiums, fees, indemnities, damages, costs, expenses or otherwise, of the Borrower to the Secured Parties, arising hereunder and under the other Loan Documents (including all renewals, extensions, amendments, refinancings and other modifications thereof and all costs, attorneys’ fees and expenses incurred by the Secured Parties in connection with the collection or enforcement thereof). The Administrative Agent’s books and records showing the amount of the Obligations shall be admissible in evidence in any action or proceeding, and shall be binding upon Holdings, and conclusive for the purpose of establishing the amount of the Obligations. This Guaranty shall not be affected by the genuineness, validity, regularity or enforceability of the Obligations or any instrument or agreement evidencing any Obligations, or by the existence, validity, enforceability, perfection, non-perfection or extent of any collateral therefor, or by any fact or circumstance relating to the Obligations which might otherwise constitute a defense to the obligations of Holdings under this Guaranty, and Holdings hereby irrevocably waives any defenses it may now have or hereafter acquire in any way relating to any or all of the foregoing.

10.02. Rights of Lenders. Holdings consents and agrees that the Secured Parties may, at any time and from time to time, without notice or demand, and without affecting the enforceability or continuing effectiveness hereof: (a) amend, extend, renew, compromise,

discharge, accelerate or otherwise change the time for payment or the terms of the Obligations or any part thereof; (b) take, hold, exchange, enforce, waive, release, fail to perfect, sell, or otherwise dispose of any security for the payment of this Guaranty or any Obligations; (c) apply such security and direct the order or manner of sale thereof as the Administrative Agent and the Lenders in their sole discretion may determine; and (d) release or substitute one or more of any endorsers or other guarantors of any of the Obligations. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, Holdings consents to the taking of, or failure to take, any action which might in any manner or to any extent vary the risks of Holdings under this Guaranty or which, but for this provision, might operate as a discharge of Holdings.

10.03. Certain Waivers. Holdings waives (a) any defense arising by reason of any disability or other defense of the Borrower or any other guarantor, or the cessation from any cause whatsoever (including any act or omission of any Secured Party) of the liability of the Borrower; (b) any defense based on any claim that Holdings’ obligations exceed or are more burdensome than those of the Borrower; (c) the benefit of any statute of limitations affecting Holdings’ liability hereunder; (d) any right to proceed against the Borrower, proceed against or exhaust any security for the Obligations, or pursue any other remedy in the power of any Secured Party whatsoever; (e) any benefit of and any right to participate in any security now or hereafter held by any Secured Party; and (f) to the fullest extent permitted by law, any and all other defenses or benefits that may be derived from or afforded by applicable law limiting the liability of or exonerating guarantors or sureties. Holdings expressly waives all setoffs and counterclaims and all presentments, demands for payment or performance, notices of nonpayment or nonperformance, protests, notices of protest, notices of dishonor and all other notices or demands of any kind or nature whatsoever with respect to the Obligations, and all notices of acceptance of this Guaranty or of the existence, creation or incurrence of new or additional Obligations.

10.04. Obligations Independent. The obligations of Holdings hereunder are those of primary obligor, and not merely as surety, and are independent of the Obligations and the obligations of any other guarantor, and a separate action may be brought against Holdings to enforce this Guaranty whether or not the Borrower or any other person or entity is joined as a party.

10.05. Subrogation. Holdings shall not exercise any right of subrogation, contribution, indemnity, reimbursement or similar rights with respect to any payments it makes under this Guaranty until all of the Obligations and any amounts payable under this Guaranty have been indefeasibly paid and performed in full and the Commitments and the Facilities are terminated. If any amounts are paid to Holdings in violation of the foregoing limitation, then such amounts shall be held in trust for the benefit of the Secured Parties and shall forthwith be paid to the Secured Parties to reduce the amount of the Obligations, whether matured or unmatured.

10.06. Termination Reinstatement. This Guaranty is a continuing and irrevocable guaranty of all Obligations now or hereafter existing and shall remain in full force and effect until all Obligations and any other amounts payable under this Guaranty are indefeasibly paid in full in cash. Notwithstanding the foregoing, this Guaranty shall continue in full force and effect or be revived, as the case may be, if any payment by or on behalf of the

Borrower or Holdings is made, or any of the Secured Parties exercises its right of setoff, in respect of the Obligations and such payment or the proceeds of such setoff or any part thereof is subsequently invalidated, declared to be fraudulent or preferential, set aside or required (including pursuant to any settlement entered into by any of the Secured Parties in their discretion) to be repaid to a trustee, receiver or any other party, in connection with any proceeding under any Debtor Relief Laws or otherwise, all as if such payment had not been made or such setoff had not occurred and whether or not the Secured Parties are in possession of or have released this Guaranty and regardless of any prior revocation, rescission, termination or reduction. The obligations of Holdings under this paragraph shall survive termination of this Guaranty.

10.07. Subordination. Holdings hereby subordinates the payment of all obligations and indebtedness of the Borrower owing to Holdings, whether now existing or hereafter arising, including but not limited to any obligation of the Borrower to Holdings as subrogee of the Secured Parties or resulting from Holdings’ performance under this Guaranty, to the indefeasible payment in full in cash of all Obligations. If the Secured Parties so request, any such obligation or indebtedness of the Borrower to Holdings shall be enforced and performance received by Holdings as trustee for the Secured Parties and the proceeds thereof shall be paid over to the Secured Parties on account of the Obligations, but without reducing or affecting in any manner the liability of Holdings under this Guaranty.

10.08. Stay of Acceleration. If acceleration of the time for payment of any of the Obligations is stayed, in connection with any case commenced by or against Holdings or the Borrower under any Debtor Relief Laws, or otherwise, all such amounts shall nonetheless be payable by Holdings immediately upon demand by the Secured Parties.

10.09. Condition of Borrower. Holdings acknowledges and agrees that it has the sole responsibility for, and has adequate means of, obtaining from the Borrower and any other guarantor such information concerning the financial condition, business and operations of the Borrower and any such other guarantor as Holdings requires, and that none of the Secured Parties has any duty, and Holdings is not relying on the Secured Parties at any time, to disclose to Holdings any information relating to the business, operations or financial condition of the Borrower or any other guarantor (Holdings waiving any duty on the part of the Secured Parties to disclose such information and any defense relating to the failure to provide the same).

ARTICLE XI
MISCELLANEOUS

11.01. Amendments, Etc. No amendment or waiver of any provision of this Agreement or any other Loan Document, and no consent to any departure by the Borrower or any other Loan Party therefrom, shall be effective unless in writing signed by the Required Lenders and the Borrower or the applicable Loan Party, as the case may be, and acknowledged by the Administrative Agent, and each such waiver or consent shall be effective only in the specific instance and for the specific purpose for which given; provided, however, that no such amendment, waiver or consent shall:

(a) waive any condition set forth in Section 4.01 (other than Section 4.01 (b)(i) or (c)) without the written consent of each Lender;

(b) extend or increase the Commitment of any Lender (or reinstate any Commitment terminated pursuant to Section 8.02) without the written consent of such Lender;

(c) postpone any date fixed by this Agreement or any other Loan Document for any payment (excluding mandatory prepayments) of principal, interest, fees or other amounts due to the Lenders (or any of them) hereunder or under such other Loan Document without the written consent of each Lender entitled to such payment;

(d) reduce the principal of, or the rate of interest specified herein on, any Loan, or any fees or other amounts payable hereunder or under any other Loan Document without the written consent of each Lender entitled to such amount; provided, however, that only the consent of the Required Lenders shall be necessary (i) to amend the definition of “Default Rate” or to waive any obligation of the Borrower to pay interest at the Default Rate or (ii) to amend any financial covenant hereunder (or any defined term used therein) even if the effect of such amendment would be to reduce the rate of interest on any Loan or to reduce any fee payable hereunder;

(e) change (i) Section 2.13 or Section 8.03 in a manner that would alter the pro rata sharing of payments required thereby without the written consent of each Lender or (ii) the order of application of any reduction in the Commitments or any prepayment of Loans from the application thereof set forth in the applicable provisions of Section 2.05(b) or 2.06(b), respectively, in any manner that materially and adversely affects the Lenders without the written consent of the Required Lenders;

(f) change (i) any provision of this Section 11.01 or the definition of “Required Lenders” or any other provision hereof specifying the number or percentage of Lenders required to amend, waive or otherwise modify any rights hereunder or make any determination or grant any consent hereunder without the written consent of each Lender;

(g) release all or substantially all of the Collateral in any transaction or series of related transactions, without the written consent of each Lender;

(h) release all or substantially all of the value of the Guaranty, without the written consent of each Lender; or

(i) impose any greater restriction on the ability of any Lender to assign any of its rights or obligations hereunder without the written consent of each Lender;

and provided, further, that (i) no amendment, waiver or consent shall, unless in writing and signed by the Administrative Agent in addition to the Lenders required above, affect the rights or duties of the Administrative Agent under this Agreement or any other Loan Document; and (ii) the Fee Letter may be amended, or rights or privileges thereunder waived, in a writing executed only by the parties thereto. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary herein, no Defaulting Lender shall have any right to approve or disapprove any amendment, waiver or consent

hereunder, except that the Commitment of such Lender may not be increased or extended without the consent of such Lender.

If, in connection with any proposed amendment, waiver, or consent, the consent of all of the Lenders, or all of the Lenders directly affected thereby, is required pursuant to this Section 11.01, and any such Lender refuses to consent to such amendment, waiver or consent as to which the Required Lenders have consented (any such Lender whose consent is not obtained as described in this Section 11.01 being referred to as a “Non-Consenting Lender”), then, so long as the Administrative Agent is not a Non-Consenting Lender, at the Borrower’s request and at the sole cost and expense of the Borrower, the Administrative Agent or an Eligible Assignee shall be entitled (but shall have no obligation) to purchase from such Non-Consenting Lender, and such Non-Consenting Lender (by its acceptance of the benefits of the applicable Loan Documents) agrees that it shall, upon the Administrative Agent’s request, sell and assign to the Administrative Agent or such Eligible Assignee, all of the Loans and Commitments of such Non-Consenting Lender or Non-Consenting Lenders for an amount equal to the principal balance of all Loans held by the Non-Consenting Lender and all accrued interest and fees with respect thereto through the date of sale; provided that such Eligible Assignee consents to the proposed amendment, waiver or consent and provided, further, that such amendment, waiver or consent can be effected as a result of such purchase (together with all other purchases to be made pursuant to this paragraph). Each Lender (by its acceptance of the benefits of the Loan Documents) agrees that, if it becomes a Non-Consenting Lender, it shall execute and deliver to the Administrative Agent an Assignment and Assumption to evidence such sale and purchase and shall deliver to the Administrative Agent any Note (if the assigning Lender’s Loans are evidenced by Notes) subject to such Assignment and Assumption; provided, however, that the failure of any Non-Consenting Lender to execute an Assignment and Assumption shall not render such sale and purchase (and the corresponding assignment) ineffective.

11.02. Notices; Effectiveness; Electronic Communications.

(a) Notices Generally. Except in the case of notices and other communications expressly permitted to be given by telephone (and except as provided in subsection (b) below), all notices and other communications provided for herein shall be in writing and shall be delivered by hand or overnight courier service, mailed by certified or registered mail or sent by telecopier as follows, and all notices and other communications expressly permitted hereunder to be given by telephone shall be made to the applicable telephone number, as follows:

(i) if to Holdings, the Borrower or the Administrative Agent, to the address, telecopier number, electronic mail address or telephone number specified for such Person on Schedule 11.02; and

(ii) if to any other Lender, to the address, telecopier number, electronic mail address or telephone number specified in its Administrative Questionnaire.

Notices sent by hand or overnight courier service, or mailed by certified or registered mail, shall be deemed to have been given when received; notices sent by telecopier shall be deemed to have been given when sent (except that, if not given during normal business hours for the recipient,

shall be deemed to have been given at the opening of business on the next business day for the recipient). Notices delivered through electronic communications to the extent provided in subsection (b) below shall be effective as provided in such subsection (b).

(b) Electronic Communications. Notices and other communications to the Lenders hereunder may be delivered or furnished by electronic communication (including e-mail and Internet or intranet websites) pursuant to procedures approved by the Administrative Agent, provided that the foregoing shall not apply to notices to any Lender pursuant to Article II if such Lender has notified the Administrative Agent that it is incapable of receiving notices under such Article by electronic communication. The Administrative Agent or the Borrower may, in its discretion, agree to accept notices and other communications to it hereunder by electronic communications pursuant to procedures approved by it, provided that approval of such procedures may be limited to particular notices or communications.

Unless the Administrative Agent otherwise prescribes, (i) notices and other communications sent to an e-mail address shall be deemed received upon the sender’s receipt of an acknowledgement from the intended recipient (such as by the “return receipt requested” function, as available, return e-mail or other written acknowledgement), provided that if such notice or other communication is not sent during the normal business hours of the recipient, such notice or communication shall be deemed to have been sent at the opening of business on the next business day for the recipient, and (ii) notices or communications posted to an Internet or intranet website shall be deemed received upon the deemed receipt by the intended recipient at its e-mail address as described in the foregoing clause (i) of notification that such notice or communication is available and identifying the website address therefor.

(e) The Platform. THE PLATFORM IS PROVIDED “AS IS” AND “AS AVAILABLE.” THE AGENT PARTIES (AS DEFINED BELOW) DO NOT WARRANT THE ACCURACY OR COMPLETENESS OF THE BORROWER MATERIALS OR THE ADEQUACY OF THE PLATFORM, AND EXPRESSLY DISCLAIM LIABILITY FOR ERRORS IN OR OMISSIONS FROM THE BORROWER MATERIALS. NO WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS, IMPLIED OR STATUTORY, INCLUDING ANY WARRANTY OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, NON-INFRINGEMENT OF THIRD PARTY RIGHTS OR FREEDOM FROM VIRUSES OR OTHER CODE DEFECTS, IS MADE BY ANY AGENT PARTY IN CONNECTION WITH THE BORROWER MATERIALS OR THE PLATFORM. In no event shall the Administrative Agent or any of its Related Parties (collectively, the “Agent Parties”) have any liability to Holdings, the Borrower, any Lender or any other Person for losses, claims, damages, liabilities or expenses of any kind (whether in tort, contract or otherwise) arising out of the Borrower’s or the Administrative Agent’s transmission of Borrower Materials through the Internet, except to the extent that such losses, claims, damages, liabilities or expenses are determined by a court of competent jurisdiction by a final and nonappealable judgment to have resulted from the, bad faith, gross negligence or willful misconduct of such Agent Party; provided, however, that in no event shall any Agent Party have any liability to Holdings, the Borrower, any Lender or any other Person for indirect, special, incidental, consequential or punitive damages (as opposed to direct or actual damages).

(d) Change of Address, Etc. Each of Holdings, the Borrower and the Administrative Agent may change its address, telecopier or telephone number for notices and other communications hereunder by notice to the other parties hereto. Each other Lender may change its address, telecopier or telephone number for notices and other communications hereunder by notice to the Borrower and the Administrative Agent. In addition, each Lender agrees to notify the Administrative Agent from time to time to ensure that the Administrative Agent has on record (i) an effective address, contact name, telephone number, telecopier number and electronic mail address to which notices and other communications may be sent and (ii) accurate wire instructions for such Lender.

(e) Reliance by Administrative Agent and Lenders. The Administrative Agent and the Lenders shall be entitled to rely and act upon any notices (including telephonic Committed Loan Notices) purportedly given by or on behalf of the Borrower even if (i) such notices were not made in a manner specified herein, were incomplete or were not preceded or followed by any other form of notice specified herein, or (ii) the terms thereof, as understood by the recipient, varied from any confirmation thereof. The Borrower shall indemnify the Administrative Agent, each Lender and the Related Parties of each of them from all losses, costs, expenses and liabilities resulting from the reliance by such Person on each notice purportedly given by or on behalf of the Borrower. All telephonic notices to and other telephonic communications with the Administrative Agent may be recorded by the Administrative Agent, and each of the parties hereto hereby consents to such recording.

11.03. No Waiver: Cumulative Remedies. No failure by any Lender or the Administrative Agent to exercise, and no delay by any such Person in exercising, any right, remedy, power or privilege hereunder or under any other Loan Document shall operate as a waiver thereof; nor shall any single or partial exercise of any right, remedy, power or privilege hereunder preclude any other or further exercise thereof or the exercise of any other right, remedy, power or privilege. The rights, remedies, powers and privileges herein provided, and provided under each other Loan Document, are cumulative and not exclusive of any rights, remedies, powers and privileges provided by law.

11.04. Expenses: Indemnity: Damage Waiver.

(a) Costs and Expenses. The Borrower shall pay (i) all reasonable out-of-pocket expenses incurred by the Administrative Agent and its Affiliates (including the reasonable fees, charges and disbursements of counsel for the Administrative Agent), in connection with the syndication of the credit facilities provided for herein, the preparation, negotiation, execution, delivery and administration of this Agreement and the other Loan Documents or any amendments, modifications or waivers of the provisions hereof or thereof (whether or not the transactions contemplated hereby or thereby shall be consummated) and (ii) all out-of-pocket expenses incurred by the Administrative Agent or any Lender (including the fees, charges and disbursements of any counsel for the Administrative Agent or any Lender), in connection with the enforcement or protection of its rights (A) in connection with this Agreement and the other Loan Documents, including its rights under this Section, or (B) in connection with Loans made hereunder, including all such out-of-pocket expenses incurred during any workout, restructuring or negotiations in respect of such Loans; provided that the

Borrower shall not be liable for the fees and expenses of more than one separate firm of attorneys at any time for all Lenders, except to the extent that any additional counsel are in the reasonable judgment of such Lender necessary as a result of an actual or potential conflict of interest among Lenders.

(b) Indemnification by the Borrower. The Borrower shall indemnify the Administrative Agent (and any sub-agent thereof) and each Lender, and each Related Party of any of the foregoing Persons (each such Person being called an “Indemnitee”) against, and hold each Indemnitee harmless from, any and all losses, claims, damages, liabilities and related expenses (including the fees, charges and disbursements of any counsel for any Indemnitee), incurred by any Indemnitee or asserted against any Indemnitee by any third party or by the Borrower or any other Loan Party arising out of, in connection with, or as a result of (i) the execution or delivery of this Agreement, any other Loan Document or any agreement or instrument contemplated hereby or thereby, the performance by the parties hereto of their respective obligations hereunder or thereunder or the consummation of the transactions contemplated hereby or thereby, or, in the case of the Administrative Agent (and any sub-agent thereof) and its Related Parties only, the administration of this Agreement and the other Loan Documents, (ii) any Loan or the use or proposed use of the proceeds therefrom, (iii) any actual or alleged presence or release of Hazardous Materials on or from any property owned or operated by the Borrower or any of its Subsidiaries, or any Environmental Liability related in any way to the Borrower or any of its Subsidiaries, or (iv) any actual or prospective claim, litigation, investigation or proceeding relating to any of the foregoing, whether based on contract, tort or any other theory, whether brought by a third party or by the Borrower or any other Loan Party and regardless of whether any Indemnitee is a party thereto; provided that such indemnity shall not, as to any Indemnitee, be available to the extent that such losses, claims, damages, liabilities or related expenses (w) are determined by a court of competent jurisdiction by final and nonappealable judgment to have resulted from the bad faith, gross negligence or willful misconduct of such Indemnitee or (x) result from a claim brought by the Borrower or any other Loan Party against an Indemnitee for breach of such Indemnitee’s obligations hereunder or under any other Loan Document, (y) does not involve, directly or indirectly, an act or omission of any Loan Party or any of their respective affiliates, stockholders, partners or other equity holders or (z) is brought by an Indemnitee against another Indemnitee (other than against Bank of America in its capacity of Administrative Agent or Banc of America Securities LLC or Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC in their capacities as Arrangers), provided, further that the Borrower shall not, in connection with any one such action or proceeding or separate but substantially similar actions or proceedings arising out of the same general allegations, be liable for the fees and expenses or more than one separate firm of attorneys at any time for all Indemnitees, except to the extent that (x) local or special counsel, in addition to its regular counsel, is required in the reasonable judgment of such Indemnitee in order to effectively defend against such action or proceeding or (y) any additional counsel are in the reasonable judgment of such Indemnitee necessary as a result of an actual or potential conflict of interest among Indemnitees.

(c) Reimbursement by Lenders. To the extent that the Borrower for any reason fails to indefeasibly pay any amount required under subsection (a) or (b) of this Section to be paid by it to the Administrative Agent (or any sub-agent thereof) or any Related Party of any of the foregoing, each Lender severally agrees to pay to the Administrative Agent (or any such

sub-agent) or such Related Party, as the case may be, such Lender’s Applicable Percentage (determined as of the time that the applicable unreimbursed expense or indemnity payment is sought) of such unpaid amount, provided that the unreimbursed expense or indemnified loss, claim, damage, liability or related expense, as the case may be, was incurred by or asserted against the Administrative Agent (or any such sub-agent) in its capacity as such, or against any Related Party of any of the foregoing acting for the Administrative Agent (or any such sub-agent) in connection with such capacity. The obligations of the Lenders under this subsection (c) are subject to the provisions of Section 2.12(d).

(d) Waiver of Consequential Damages, Etc. To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, the Borrower shall not assert, and hereby waives, any claim against any Indemnitee, on any theory of liability, for special, indirect, consequential or punitive damages (as opposed to direct or actual damages) arising out of, in connection with, or as a result of, this Agreement, any other Loan Document or any agreement or instrument contemplated hereby, the transactions contemplated hereby or thereby, any Loan or the use of the proceeds thereof. No Indemnitee referred to in subsection (b) above shall be liable for any damages arising from the use by unintended recipients of any information or other materials distributed to such unintended recipients by such Indemnitee through telecommunications, electronic or other information transmission systems in connection with this Agreement or the other Loan Documents or the transactions contemplated hereby or thereby other than for direct or actual damages resulting from the bad faith, gross negligence or willful misconduct of such Indemnitee as determined by a final and nonappealable judgment of a court of competent jurisdiction.

(e) Payments. All amounts due under this Section shall be payable not later than ten Business Days after demand therefor.

(f) Survival. The agreements in this Section shall survive the resignation of the Administrative Agent, the replacement of any Lender, the termination of the Aggregate Commitments and the repayment, satisfaction or discharge of all the other Obligations.

11.05. Payments Set Aside. To the extent that any payment by or on behalf of the Borrower is made to the Administrative Agent or any Lender, or the Administrative Agent or any Lender exercises its right of setoff, and such payment or the proceeds of such setoff or any part thereof is subsequently invalidated, declared to be fraudulent or preferential, set aside or required (including pursuant to any settlement entered into by the Administrative Agent or such Lender in its discretion) to be repaid to a trustee, receiver or any other party, in connection with any proceeding under any Debtor Relief Law or otherwise, then (a) to the extent of such recovery, the obligation or part thereof originally intended to be satisfied shall be revived and continued in full force and effect as if such payment had not been made or such setoff had not occurred, and (b) each Lender severally agrees to pay to the Administrative Agent upon demand its applicable share (without duplication) of any amount so recovered from or repaid by the Administrative Agent, plus interest thereon from the date of such demand to the date such payment is made at a rate per annum equal to the Federal Funds Rate from time to time in effect. The obligations of the Lenders under clause (b) of the preceding sentence shall survive the payment in full of the Obligations and the termination of this Agreement.

11.06. Successors and Assigns.

(a) Successors and Assigns Generally. The provisions of this Agreement shall be binding upon and inure to the benefit of the parties hereto and their respective successors and assigns permitted hereby, except that neither the Borrower nor any other Loan Party may assign or otherwise transfer any of its rights or obligations hereunder without the prior written consent of the Administrative Agent and each Lender and no Lender may assign or otherwise transfer any of its rights or obligations hereunder except (i) to an assignee in accordance with the provisions of Section 11.06(b), (ii) by way of participation in accordance with the provisions of Section 11.06(d), or (iii) by way of pledge or assignment of a security interest subject to the restrictions of Section 11.06(f), (and any other attempted assignment or transfer by any party hereto shall be null and void). Nothing in this Agreement, expressed or implied, shall be construed to confer upon any Person (other than the parties hereto, their respective successors and assigns permitted hereby, Participants to the extent provided in subsection (d) of this Section and, to the extent expressly contemplated hereby, the Related Parties of each of the Administrative Agent and the Lenders) any legal or equitable right, remedy or claim under or by reason of this Agreement..

(b) Assignments by Lenders. Any Lender may at any time assign to one or more assignees all or a portion of its rights and obligations under this Agreement (including all or a portion of its Commitment(s) and the Loans at the time owing to it); provided that any such assignment shall be subject to the following conditions:

(i) Minimum Amounts. (A) in the case of an assignment of the entire remaining amount of the assigning Lender’s Commitment and the Loans at the time owing to it or in the case of an assignment to a Lender, an Affiliate of a Lender or an Approved Fund, no minimum amount need be assigned; and

(B) in any case not described in subsection (b)(i)(A) of this Section, the aggregate amount of the Commitment (which for this purpose includes Loans outstanding thereunder) or, if the Commitment is not then in effect, the principal outstanding balance of the Loans of the assigning Lender subject to each such assignment, determined as of the date the Assignment and Assumption with respect to such assignment is delivered to the Administrative Agent or, if “Trade Date” is specified in the Assignment and Assumption, as of the Trade Date, shall not be less than $1,000,000, unless each of the Administrative Agent and, so long as no Event of Default under Section 8.01 (a), (f) or (g) has occurred and is continuing or any other Event of Default has occurred and is continuing for ten or more Business Days at the time of such assignment, the Borrower otherwise consents (each such consent not to be unreasonably withheld or delayed); provided, however, that concurrent assignments to members of an Assignee Group and concurrent assignments from members of an Assignee Group to a single Eligible Assignee (or to an Eligible Assignee and members of its Assignee Group) will be treated as a single assignment for purposes of determining whether such minimum amount has been met;

(ii) Proportionate Amounts. Each partial assignment shall be made as an assignment of a proportionate part of all the assigning Lender’s rights and obligations under this Agreement with respect to the Loans or the Commitment assigned;

(iii) Required Consents. No consent shall be required for any assignment except to the extent required by subsection (b)(i)(B) of this Section and, in addition:

(A) the consent of the Borrower (such consent not to be unreasonably withheld or delayed) shall be required unless (1) an Event of Default under Section 8.01(a), (f) or (g) has occurred and is continuing or any other Event of Default has occurred and is continuing for ten or more Business Days at the time of such assignment or (2) such assignment is to a Lender, an Affiliate of a Lender or an Approved Fund; and

(B) the consent of the Administrative Agent (such consent not to be unreasonably withheld or delayed) shall be required for assignments in respect of (i) any Commitment if such assignment is to a Person that is not a Lender with a Commitment, an Affiliate of such Lender or an Approved Fund with respect to such Lender or (ii) any Loan to a Person that is not a Lender, an Affiliate of a Lender or an Approved Fund;

(iv) Assignment and Assumption. The parties to each assignment shall execute and deliver to the Administrative Agent an Assignment and Assumption, together with a processing and recordation fee in the amount of $3,500; provided, however, that the Administrative Agent may, in its sole discretion, elect to waive such processing and recordation fee in the case of any assignment. The assignee, if it shall not be a Lender, shall deliver to the Administrative Agent an Administrative Questionnaire.

(v) No Assignment to Borrower. No such assignment shall be made to the Borrower or any of the Borrower’s Affiliates or Subsidiaries.

(vi) No Assignment to Natural Persons. No such assignment shall be made to a natural person.

Subject to acceptance and recording thereof by the Administrative Agent pursuant to subsection (c) of this Section, from and after the effective date specified in each Assignment and Assumption, the assignee thereunder shall be a party to this Agreement and, to the extent of the interest assigned by such Assignment and Assumption, have the rights and obligations of a Lender under this Agreement, and the assigning Lender thereunder shall, to the extent of the interest assigned by such Assignment and Assumption, be released from its obligations under this Agreement (and, in the case of an Assignment and Assumption covering all of the assigning Lender’s rights and obligations under this Agreement, such Lender shall cease to be a party hereto but shall continue to be entitled to the benefits of Sections 3.01, 3.04, 3.05 and 11.04 with respect to facts and circumstances occurring prior to the effective date of such assignment). Upon request, the Borrower (at their expense) shall execute and deliver a Note to the assignee Lender. Any assignment or transfer by a Lender of rights or obligations under this Agreement that does not comply with this subsection shall be treated for purposes of this Agreement as a sale by such Lender of a participation in such rights and obligations in accordance with Section 11 .06(d).

(c) Register. The Administrative Agent, acting solely for this purpose as an agent of the Borrower, shall maintain at the Administrative Agent’s Office a copy of each Assignment and Assumption delivered to it and a register for the recordation of the names and addresses of the Lenders, and the Commitments of, and principal amounts of the Loans owing to, each Lender pursuant to the terms hereof from time to time (the “Register”). The entries in the Register shall be conclusive, and the Borrower, the Administrative Agent and the Lenders shall treat each Person whose name is recorded in the Register pursuant to the terms hereof as a Lender hereunder for all purposes of this Agreement, notwithstanding notice to the contrary. The Register shall be available for inspection by the Borrower and any Lender, at any reasonable time and from time to time upon reasonable prior notice.

(d) Participations. Any Lender may at any time, without the consent of, or notice to, the Borrower or the Administrative Agent, sell participations to any Person (other than a natural person or the Borrower or any of the Borrower’s Affiliates or Subsidiaries) (each, a “Participant”) in all or a portion of such Lender’s rights and/or obligations under this Agreement (including all or a portion of its Commitment and/or the Loans owing to it); provided that (i) such Lender’s obligations under this Agreement shall remain unchanged, (ii) such Lender shall remain solely responsible to the other parties hereto for the performance of such obligations and (iii) the Borrower, the Administrative Agent and the Lenders shall continue to deal solely and directly with such Lender in connection with such Lender’s rights and obligations under this Agreement. Any agreement or instrument pursuant to which a Lender sells such a participation shall provide that such Lender shall retain the sole right to enforce this Agreement and to approve any amendment, modification or waiver of any provision of this Agreement; provided that such agreement or instrument may provide that such Lender will not, without the consent of the Participant, agrees to any amendment, waiver or other modification described in the first proviso to Section 11.01 that affects such Participant. Subject to subsection (e) of this Section, the Borrower agrees that each Participant shall be entitled to the benefits of Sections 3.01, 3.04 and 3.05 to the same extent as if it were a Lender and had acquired its interest by assignment pursuant to Section 11.06(b). To the extent permitted by law, each Participant also shall be entitled to the benefits of Section 11.08 as though it were a Lender, provided such Participant agrees to be subject to Section 2.13 as though it were a Lender.

(e) Limitations upon Participant Rights. A Participant shall not be entitled to receive any greater payment under Section 3.01 or 3.04 than the applicable Lender would have been entitled to receive with respect to the participation sold to such Participant, unless the right to a greater payment results from a Change in Law after the Participant becomes a Participant with respect to such Participation. A Participant that would be a Foreign Lender if it were a Lender shall not be entitled to the benefits of Section 3.01 unless the Borrower is notified of the participation sold to such Participant and such Participant agrees, for the benefit of the Borrower, to comply with Section 3.01(e) as though it were a Lender.

(f) Certain Pledges. Any Lender may at any time pledge or assign a security interest in all or any portion of its rights under this Agreement (including under its Note, if any) to secure obligations of such Lender, including any pledge or assignment to secure obligations to a Federal Reserve Bank; provided that no such pledge or assignment shall release such Lender

from any of its obligations hereunder or substitute any such pledgee or assignee for such Lender as a party hereto.

(g) Electronic Execution of Assignments. The words “execution,” “signed,” “signature,” and words of like import in any Assignment and Assumption shall be deemed to include electronic signatures or the keeping of records in electronic form, each of which shall be of the same legal effect, validity or enforceability as a manually executed signature or the use of a paper-based recordkeeping system, as the case may be, to the extent and as provided for in any applicable law, including the Federal Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act, the New York State Electronic Signatures and Records Act, or any other similar state laws based on the Uniform Electronic Transactions Act.

11.07. Treatment of Certain Information; Confidentiality. Each of the Administrative Agent and the Lenders agrees to maintain the confidentiality of the Information (as defined below), except that Information may be disclosed (a) to its Affiliates and to its and its Affiliates’ respective partners, directors, officers, employees, agents, advisors and representatives (it being understood that the Persons to whom such disclosure is made will be informed of the confidential nature of such Information and instructed to keep such Information confidential), (b) to the extent requested by any regulatory authority purporting to have jurisdiction over it (including any self-regulatory authority, such as the National Association of Insurance Commissioners), (c) to the extent required by applicable laws or regulations or by any subpoena or similar legal process, (d) to any other party hereto, (e) in connection with the exercise of any remedies hereunder or under any other Loan Document or any action or proceeding relating to this Agreement or any other Loan Document or the enforcement of rights hereunder or thereunder, (f) subject to an agreement containing provisions substantially the same as those of this Section, to (i) any assignee of or Participant in, or any prospective assignee of or Participant in, any of its rights or obligations under this Agreement, (ii) any actual or prospective counterparty (or its advisors) to any swap or derivative transaction relating to the Borrower and its obligations or (iii) any pledgee referred to in Section 11.06(f), (g) with the consent of the Borrower or (h) to the extent such Information (i) becomes publicly available other than as a result of a breach of this Section or (ii) becomes available to the Administrative Agent, any Lender or any of their respective Affiliates on a nonconfidential basis from a source other than the Borrower.

For purposes of this Section, “Information” means all information received from any Loan Party or any Subsidiary thereof relating to any Loan Party or any Subsidiary thereof or their respective businesses, other than any such information that is available to the Administrative Agent or any Lender on a nonconfidential basis prior to disclosure by any Loan Party or any Subsidiary thereof, provided that, in the case of information received from a Loan Party or any such Subsidiary after the date hereof, such information is clearly identified at the time of delivery as confidential. Any Person required to maintain the confidentiality of Information as provided in this Section shall be considered to have complied with its obligation to do so if such Person has exercised the same degree of care to maintain the confidentiality of such Information as such Person would accord to its own confidential information.

Each of the Administrative Agent and the Lenders acknowledges that (a) the Information may include material non-public information concerning the Borrower or a Subsidiary, as the case may be, (b) it has developed compliance procedures regarding the use of material non-public information and (c) it will handle such material non-public information in accordance with applicable Law, including Federal and state securities Laws.

11.08. Right of Setoff. If an Event of Default shall have occurred and be continuing, each Lender and each of its Affiliates is hereby authorized at any time and from time to time, to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, to set off and apply any and all deposits (general or special, time or demand, provisional or final, in whatever currency) at any time held and other obligations (in whatever currency) at any time owing by such Lender or any such Affiliate to or for the credit or the account of the Borrower or any other Loan Party against any and all of the obligations of the Borrower or such Loan Party now or hereafter existing under this Agreement or any other Loan Document to such Lender, irrespective of whether or not such Lender shall have made any demand under this Agreement or any other Loan Document and although such obligations of the Borrower or such Loan Party may be contingent or unmatured or are owed to a branch or office of such Lender different from the branch or office holding such deposit or obligated on such indebtedness. The rights of each Lender and its Affiliates under this Section are in addition to other rights and remedies (including other rights of setoff) that such Lender or its Affiliates may have. Each Lender agrees to notify the Borrower and the Administrative Agent promptly after any such setoff and application, provided that the failure to give such notice shall not affect the validity of such setoff and application.

11.09. Interest Rate Limitation. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in any Loan Document, the interest paid or agreed to be paid under the Loan Documents shall not exceed the maximum rate of non-usurious interest permitted by applicable Law (the “Maximum Rate”). If the Administrative Agent or any Lender shall receive interest in an amount that exceeds the Maximum Rate, the excess interest shall be applied to the principal of the Loans or, if it exceeds such unpaid principal, refunded to the Borrower. In determining whether the interest contracted for, charged, or received by the Administrative Agent or a Lender exceeds the Maximum Rate, such Person may, to the extent permitted by applicable Law, (a). characterize any payment that is not principal as an expense, fee, or premium rather than interest, (b) exclude voluntary prepayments and the effects thereof, and (c) amortize, prorate, allocate, and spread in equal or unequal parts the total amount of interest throughout the contemplated term of the Obligations hereunder.

11.10. Counterparts Integration Effectiveness. This Agreement may be executed in counterparts (and by different parties hereto in different counterparts), each of which shall constitute an original, but all of which when taken together shall constitute a single contract. This Agreement and the other Loan Documents constitute the entire contract among the parties relating to the subject matter hereof and supersede any and all previous agreements and understandings, oral or written, relating to the subject matter hereof. Except as provided in Section 4.01, this Agreement shall become effective when it shall have been executed by the Administrative Agent and when the Administrative Agent shall have received counterparts hereof that, when taken together, bear the signatures of each of the other parties hereto. Delivery

of an executed counterpart of a signature page of this Agreement by telecopy shall be effective as delivery of a manually executed counterpart of this Agreement.

11.11. Survival of Representations and Warranties. All representations and warranties made hereunder and in any other Loan Document or other document delivered pursuant hereto or thereto or in connection herewith or therewith shall survive the execution and delivery hereof and thereof as of the date such representation and warranties were last made or reaffirmed. Such representations and warranties have been or will be relied upon by the Administrative Agent and each Lender, regardless of any investigation made by the Administrative Agent or any Lender or on their behalf and notwithstanding that the Administrative Agent or any Lender may have had notice or knowledge of any Default at the time of the Borrowing, and shall continue in full force and effect as of the date such representation and warranties were last made or reaffirmed as long as any Loan or any other Obligation hereunder shall remain unpaid or unsatisfied.

11.12. Severability. If any provision of this Agreement or the other Loan Documents is held to be illegal, invalid or unenforceable, (a) the legality, validity and enforceability of the remaining provisions of this Agreement and the other Loan Documents shall not be affected or impaired thereby and (b) the parties shall endeavor in good faith negotiations to replace the illegal, invalid or unenforceable provisions with valid provisions the economic effect of which comes as close as possible to that of the illegal, invalid or unenforceable provisions. The invalidity of a provision in a particular jurisdiction shall not invalidate or render unenforceable such provision in any other jurisdiction.

11.13. Replacement of Lenders. If any Lender requests compensation under Section 3.04, or if the Borrower is required to pay any additional amount to any Lender or any Governmental Authority for the account of any Lender pursuant to Section 3.01, or if any Lender is a Defaulting Lender, then the Borrower may, at its sole expense and effort, upon notice to such Lender and the Administrative Agent, require such Lender to assign and delegate, without recourse (in accordance with and subject to the restrictions contained in, and consents required by, Section 11.06), all of its interests, rights and obligations under this Agreement and the related Loan Documents to an assignee that shall assume such obligations (which assignee may be another Lender, if a Lender accepts such assignment), provided that:

(a) the Borrower shall have paid to the Administrative Agent the assignment fee specified in Section 11.06(b);

(b) such Lender shall have received payment of an amount equal to the outstanding principal of its Loans, accrued interest thereon, accrued fees and all other amounts payable to it hereunder and under the other Loan Documents (including any amounts under Section 3.05) from the assignee (to the extent of such outstanding principal and accrued interest and fees) or the Borrower (in the case of all other amounts);

(c) in the case of any such assignment resulting from a claim for compensation under Section 3.04 or payments required to be made pursuant to Section 3.01, such assignment will result in a reduction in such compensation or payments thereafter; and

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(d) such assignment does not conflict with applicable Laws..

A Lender shall not be required to make any such assignment or delegation if, prior thereto, as a result of a waiver by such Lender or otherwise, the circumstances entitling the Borrower to require such assignment and delegation cease to apply.

11.14. Governing Law: Jurisdiction. Etc.

(a) GOVERNING LAW. THIS AGREEMENT SHALL BE GOVERNED BY, AND CONSTRUED IN ACCORDANCE WITH, THE LAW OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK.

(b) SUBMISSION TO JURISDICTION. THE BORROWER AND EACH OTHER LOAN PARTY IRREVOCABLY AND UNCONDITIONALLY SUBMITS, FOR ITSELF AND ITS PROPERTY, TO THE NONEXCLUSIVE JURISDICTION OF THE COURTS OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK SITTING IN NEW YORK COUNTY AND OF THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT OF THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK, AND ANY APPELLATE COURT FROM ANY THEREOF, IN ANY ACTION OR PROCEEDING ARISING OUT OF OR RELATING TO THIS AGREEMENT OR ANY OTHER LOAN DOCUMENT, OR FOR RECOGNITION OR ENFORCEMENT OF ANY JUDGMENT, AND EACH OF THE PARTIES HERETO IRREVOCABLY AND UNCONDITIONALLY AGREES THAT ALL CLAIMS IN RESPECT OF ANY SUCH ACTION OR PROCEEDING MAY BE HEARD AND DETERMINED IN SUCH NEW YORK STATE COURT OR, TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, IN SUCH FEDERAL COURT. EACH OF THE PARTIES HERETO AGREES THAT A FINAL JUDGMENT IN ANY SUCH ACTION OR PROCEEDING SHALL BE CONCLUSIVE AND MAY BE ENFORCED IN OTHER JURISDICTIONS BY SUIT ON THE JUDGMENT OR IN ANY OTHER MANNER PROVIDED BY LAW. NOTHING IN THIS AGREEMENT OR IN ANY OTHER LOAN DOCUMENT SHALL AFFECT ANY RIGHT THAT THE ADMINISTRATIVE AGENT OR ANY LENDER MAY OTHERWISE HAVE TO BRING ANY ACTION OR PROCEEDING RELATING TO THIS AGREEMENT OR ANY OTHER LOAN DOCUMENT AGAINST THE BORROWER OR ANY OTHER LOAN PARTY OR ITS PROPERTIES IN THE COURTS OF ANY JURISDICTION.

(c) WAIVER OF VENUE. THE BORROWER AND EACH OTHER LOAN PARTY IRREVOCABLY AND UNCONDITIONALLY WAIVES, TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, ANY OBJECTION THAT IT MAY NOW OR HEREAFTER HAVE TO THE LAYING OF VENUE OF ANY ACTION OR PROCEEDING ARISING OUT OF OR RELATING TO THIS AGREEMENT OR ANY OTHER LOAN DOCUMENT IN ANY COURT REFERRED TO IN PARAGRAPH (B) OF THIS SECTION. EACH OF THE PARTIES HERETO HEREBY IRREVOCABLY WANES, TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, THE DEFENSE OF AN INCONVENIENT FORUM TO THE MAINTENANCE OF SUCH ACTION OR PROCEEDING IN ANY SUCH COURT.

(d) SERVICE OF PROCESS. EACH PARTY HERETO IRREVOCABLY CONSENTS TO SERVICE OF PROCESS IN THE MANNER PROVIDED FOR NOTICES IN

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SECTION 11.02. NOTHING IN THIS AGREEMENT WILL AFFECT. THE RIGHT OF ANY PARTY HERETO TO SERVE PROCESS IN ANY OTHER MANNER PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW

11.15. Waiver of Jury Trial. EACH PARTY HERETO HEREBY IRREVOCABLY WAIVES, TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, ANY RIGHT IT MAY HAVE TO A TRIAL BY JURY IN ANY LEGAL PROCEEDING DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY ARISING OUT OF OR RELATING TO THIS AGREEMENT OR ANY OTHER LOAN DOCUMENT OR THE TRANSACTIONS CONTEMPLATED HEREBY OR THEREBY (WHETHER BASED ON CONTRACT, TORT OR ANY OTHER THEORY). EACH PARTY HERETO (A) CERTIFIES THAT NO REPRESENTATIVE, AGENT OR ATTORNEY OF ANY OTHER PERSON HAS REPRESENTED, EXPRESSLY OR OTHERWISE, THAT SUCH OTHER PERSON WOULD NOT, IN THE EVENT OF LITIGATION, SEEK TO ENFORCE THE FOREGOING WAIVER AND (B) ACKNOWLEDGES THAT IT AND THE OTHER PARTIES HERETO HAVE BEEN INDUCED TO ENTER INTO THIS AGREEMENT AND THE OTHER LOAN DOCUMENTS BY, AMONG OTHER THINGS, THE MUTUAL WAIVERS AND CERTIFICATIONS IN THIS SECTION.

11.16. No Advisory or Fiduciary Responsibility. In connection with all aspects of each transaction contemplated hereby, the Borrower and Holdings each acknowledge and agree, and acknowledge their respective Affiliates’ understanding, that: (i) the credit facility provided for hereunder and any related arranging or other services in connection therewith (including in connection with any amendment, waiver or other modification hereof or of any other Loan Document) are an arm’s-length commercial transaction between the Borrower, Holdings and their respective Affiliates, on the one hand, and the Administrative Agent and the Arrangers, on the other hand, and each of the Borrower and Holdings is capable of evaluating and understanding and understands and accepts the terms, risks and conditions of the transactions contemplated hereby and by the other Loan Documents (including any amendment, waiver or other modification hereof or thereof); (ii) in connection with the process leading to such transaction, the Administrative Agent and, each Arranger each is and has been acting solely as a principal and is not the financial advisor, agent or fiduciary, for the Borrower, Holdings or any of their respective Affiliates, stockholders, creditors or employees or any other Person; (iii) neither the Administrative Agent nor, any Arranger has assumed or will assume an advisory, agency or fiduciary responsibility in favor of the Borrower or Holdings with respect to any of the transactions contemplated hereby or the process leading thereto, including with respect to any amendment, waiver or other modification hereof or of any other Loan Document (irrespective of whether the Administrative Agent or any Arranger has advised or is currently advising the Borrower, Holdings or any of their respective Affiliates on other matters) and neither the Administrative Agent nor any Arranger has any obligation to the Borrower, Holdings or any of their respective Affiliates with respect to the transactions contemplated hereby except those obligations expressly set forth herein and in the other Loan Documents; (iv) the Administrative Agent and the Arrangers and their respective Affiliates may be engaged in a broad range of transactions that involve interests that differ from those of the Borrower, Holdings and their respective Affiliates, and neither the Administrative Agent nor any Arranger has any obligation to disclose any of such interests by virtue of any advisory, agency or fiduciary relationship; and

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(v) the Administrative Agent and the Arrangers have not provided and will not provide any legal, accounting, regulatory or tax advice with respect to any of the transactions contemplated hereby (including any amendment, waiver or other modification hereof or of any other Loan Document) and each of the Borrower and Holdings has consulted its own legal, accounting, regulatory and tax advisors to the extent it has deemed appropriate. Each of the Borrower and Holdings hereby waives and release, to the fullest extent permitted by law, any claims that it may have against the Administrative Agent and the Arrangers with respect to any breach or alleged breach of agency or fiduciary duty.

11.17. USA PATRIOT Act Notice. Each Lender that is subject to the Act (as hereinafter defined) and the Administrative Agent (for itself and not on behalf of any Lender) hereby notifies the Borrower that pursuant to the requirements of the USA PATRIOT Act (Title III of Pub. L. 107-56 (signed into law October 26, 2001)) (the “Act”), it is required to obtain, verify and record information that identifies each Loan Party, which information includes the name and address of each Loan Party and other information that will allow such Lender or the Administrative Agent, as applicable, to identify each Loan Party in accordance with the Act.

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IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have caused this Agreement to be duly executed as of the date first above written.

RISKMETRICS GROUP, INC.

By:	/s/ M. Xxxxx Xxxxxx
Name:		M. Xxxxx Xxxxxx
Title:		Chief Executive Officer

RISKMETRICS GROUP HOLDINGS, LLC

By:	/s/ M. Xxxxx Xxxxxx
Name:		M. Xxxxx Xxxxxx
Title:		President

[Second Lien Credit Agreement]

S-1

BANK OF AMERICA, N.A., as
Administrative Agent


By:	/s/ Xxxxxx Xxxxxxxxx
Name:		Xxxxxx Xxxxxxxxx
Title:		Senior Vice President

[Second Lien Credit Agreement]

S-2

BANK OF AMERICA, N.A., as a Lender


By:	/s/ Xxxxxx Xxxxxxxxx
Name:		Xxxxxx Xxxxxxxxx
Title:		Senior Vice President

[Second Lien Credit Agreement]

S-3

	CREDIT SUISSE, CAYMAN ISLANDS
	BRANCH, as a Lender


	By:
	Name:
	Title:

S-4

[OTHER LENDERS]

S-5

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SECOND LIEN CREDIT AGREEMENT Dated as of January 11, 2007 among RISKMETRICS GROUP HOLDINGS, LLC,

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