ARTICLE 9.

THE ADMINISTRATIVE AGENT

Each Credit Party hereby irrevocably appoints the Administrative Agent as its agent 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, together with such actions and powers as are reasonably incidental thereto.

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 such Person and its Affiliates may accept deposits from, lend money to and generally engage in any kind of business with any Borrower or any Subsidiary or other Affiliate thereof as if it were not the Administrative Agent hereunder.

The Administrative Agent shall not have any duties or obligations except those expressly set forth herein. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, (i) the Administrative Agent shall not be subject to any fiduciary or other implied duties, regardless of whether a Default has occurred and is continuing, (ii) the Administrative Agent shall not have any duty to take any discretionary action or exercise any discretionary powers, except discretionary rights and powers expressly contemplated by the Loan Documents that the Administrative Agent is required to exercise in writing by the Required Lenders (or such other number or percentage of the Credit Parties as shall be necessary under the circumstances as provided in Section 10.2), and (iii) except as expressly set forth herein, the Administrative Agent shall not have any duty to disclose, and shall not be liable for the failure to disclose, any information relating to any Borrower or any of the Subsidiaries that is communicated to or obtained by the Person serving as 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 with the consent or at the request of the Required Lenders (or such other number or percentage of the Credit Parties as shall be necessary under the circumstances as provided in Section 10.2) or in the absence of its own gross negligence or willful misconduct. The Administrative Agent shall be deemed not to have knowledge of any Default unless and until written notice thereof is given to the Administrative Agent by a Borrower or a Credit Party, and 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

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this Credit Agreement, (ii) the contents of any certificate, report or other document delivered hereunder or in connection herewith, (iii) the performance or observance of any of the covenants, agreements or other terms or conditions set forth herein, (iv) the validity, enforceability, effectiveness or genuineness of this Credit Agreement or any other agreement, instrument or document, or (v) the satisfaction of any condition set forth in Article 5 or elsewhere herein, other than to confirm receipt of items expressly required to be delivered to the 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 reasonably believed by it to be genuine and to have been signed or sent 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 be made by the proper Person, and shall not incur any liability for relying thereon. The Administrative Agent may consult with legal counsel (who may be counsel for the Borrowers), 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.

The Administrative Agent may perform any and all its duties and exercise its rights and powers by or through any Affiliate or, upon prior notice to the Company (provided that such notice shall not be required during the continuance of an Event of Default), any one or more sub agents appointed by the Administrative Agent, provided that no such delegation shall serve as a release of the Administrative Agent or waiver by any Borrower of any rights hereunder. The Administrative Agent and any such sub agent may perform any and all its duties and exercise its rights and powers through their respective Related Parties. The exculpatory provisions of the preceding paragraphs 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.

Subject to the appointment and acceptance of a successor Administrative Agent as provided in this paragraph, the Administrative Agent may resign at any time by notifying the Credit Parties and the Company. Upon any such resignation, the Required Lenders shall have the right, in consultation with the Company, to appoint a successor. If no 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 Credit Parties, appoint a successor Administrative Agent which shall be a bank with an office in New York, New York, or an Affiliate of any such bank. Upon the acceptance of its appointment as Administrative Agent hereunder by a successor, such successor shall succeed to and become vested with all the rights, powers, privileges and duties of the retiring Administrative Agent, and the retiring Administrative Agent shall be discharged from its duties and obligations hereunder. The fees payable by the Company or any Borrower to a successor Administrative Agent shall be the same as those payable to its predecessor unless otherwise agreed between the Company or such Borrower and such successor. After the Administrative Agent’s resignation hereunder, the provisions of this Article and Section 10.3 shall continue in effect for the benefit of such retiring Administrative Agent, its sub agents and their respective Related Parties in respect of any actions taken or omitted to be taken by any of them while it was acting as Administrative Agent.

Each Credit Party acknowledges that it has, independently and without reliance upon the Administrative Agent or any other Credit Party and based on such documents and information as it has deemed appropriate, made its own credit analysis and decision to enter into this Credit Agreement. Each Credit Party also acknowledges that it will, independently and without reliance upon the

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Administrative Agent or any other Credit Party 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 any Loan Document, any related agreement or any document furnished thereunder.

Anything herein to the contrary notwithstanding, none of the Bookrunners, Arrangers or Agents listed on the cover page hereof shall have any powers, duties or responsibilities under this Credit Agreement or any of the other Loan Documents, except in its capacity, as applicable, as the Administrative Agent or a Lender hereunder.