Document:

exv10w15

 

Exhibit 10.16

CONSULTING AGREEMENT

     This Consulting Agreement (the “Agreement”) is made and entered into this 15th day
of January, 2008 by and between Mercantile Bancorp, Inc., a Delaware corporation, (“Company”) and
Dan S. Dugan (“Consultant”). WITNESSETH:

RECITALS

     A. Consultant possesses certain knowledge and expertise in the businesses of bank holding
companies and banks which Company wishes to utilize on a consulting basis and for representation on
Company’s board and boards of certain banks and bank holding companies in which Company owns all or
a significant percentage of the issued and outstanding stock; and

     B. Company desires Consultant to act as a consultant to the Company upon the terms and
conditions hereinafter set forth.

     C. Consultant is willing to act as a consultant for Company upon the terms and conditions
hereinafter set forth.

     In consideration of the matters described above, and of the mutual benefits, covenants and
obligations set forth in this Agreement, Company and Consultant agree as follows:

     1. Consulting Services. Company agrees to retain Consultant and Consultant agrees to
serve as an advisor and consultant to Company. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing,
the consulting services provided by Consultant shall be in the area of management, operations and
customer relations of bank holding companies and banks. In addition, Consultant shall serve on
Company’s board, if elected by the stockholders of Company, and as Company’s representative on the
boards of up to six (6) banks or bank holding companies in which Company owns all or a significant
percentage of the issued and outstanding stock. The board of directors of Company shall designate
such banks or bank holding companies from time to time but the number at any one time shall not
exceed six (6).

     2. Term. This Agreement shall commence on March 1, 2008 and shall continue until
February 28, 2009 or Consultant’s earlier death or disability rendering him unable to provide the
consulting services, or until earlier terminated by Company for cause.

     3. Consideration for Consulting Services. As consideration for the services to be
performed by Consultant pursuant to paragraph 1, Consultant shall be entitled to a fee of
Seventy-five Thousand and 00/100 Dollars ($75,000.00) which shall be payable in twelve (12) monthly
installments on the fifteenth day of each month during the term of this Agreement. Consultant
shall not be paid a director fee for serving as a director on Company’s board and those banks or
bank holding companies upon which Consultant will be the Company’s representative. In addition, to
assist Consultant with customer relations, the Company shall pay for or reimburse to Consultant the
dues for a social membership at the Quincy Country Club, Quincy, Illinois.

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     4. Time Devoted to Work. The services and hours Consultant is to work on any given
day in rendering consulting and advisory services hereunder will be determined by Consultant after
consultation with the Company and by the dates and times of the board meetings for those boards on
which Consultant will be a director. Company will rely upon Consultant to work such hours as are
reasonably necessary to fulfill the spirit and purpose of this Agreement.

     5. Confidentiality; Services for Others. During the term of this Agreement and at all
times thereafter, Consultant shall not divulge or appropriate for his own use or for the use of
others any trade secret or confidential information of Company or any of its subsidiaries, relating
to the products, customers, prospective customers or related data of Company or its subsidiaries
obtained by Consultant during his engagement by Company.

     6. Independent Contractor Status. It is specifically understood and agreed upon by
the parties that Consultant is not an employee of Company but rather an independent contractor for
all purposes in that he is engaged in the performance of services hereunder not as an employee of
Company but as an independent contractor. Notwithstanding any determination by a court,
administrative agency or other party, such independent contractor status shall apply for purposes
of worker’s compensation, unemployment compensation, Federal Insurance Contribution Act (FICA),
income tax withholding and all other purposes. Consultant agrees to pay all such taxes and
contributions. Consultant shall not be entitled to participate in any employee benefit programs or
plans established by Company. Consultant agrees to indemnify and hold harmless Company and its
employees and officers from and against any loss, expense or cost resulting from a determination
that Consultant is other than an independent contractor or from any claim Consultant may make as a
purported employee.

     7. Expenses. Company shall provide to Consultant a cell phone and shall pay for the
expense thereof. Company shall reimburse Consultant for all reasonable expenses incurred in
carrying out his duties and responsibilities pursuant to this Agreement, including travel and
lodging expenses. Consultant shall submit to Company, periodically, requests for expense
reimbursement with an itemization of the expenses incurred. All reimbursement for reasonable and
customary travel and out-of-pocket expenses will be based upon their actual cost. Any
entertainment expenses Consultant intends to incur must be pre-approved by Company, at Consultant’s
request.

     8. Consultation Concerning Acquisitions. If Company requests that Consultant advise
the Company with regard to specific targeted acquisitions of the Company, Company and Consultant
shall in advance agree to the scope of such services and a reasonable fee to be paid to Consultant
for the rendering of such consulting services regarding acquisitions.

     9. Assignment. This Agreement shall be binding upon and inure to the benefit of the
Company, its successors and assigns. This Agreement is a personal services contract as to
Consultant and shall not be assignable by Consultant, but all obligations and agreements of
Consultant hereunder shall be binding upon and enforceable against Consultant and his personal
representatives and heirs.

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     10. Entire Agreement. This Agreement constitutes the entire agreement between the
parties and any amendments hereto must be in writing and be duly executed by each of the parties
hereto.

     11. Construction. Titles and headings to various subdivisions of this Agreement are
for convenience of reference only and are not intended to be a part of or to affect the meaning or
interpretation of this Agreement.

     12. Severability. If any provision of this Agreement is determined to be invalid or
unenforceable under any court or governmental agency or competent jurisdiction, or under any
statute, the remaining provisions shall not thereby be invalidated but shall remain in full force
and effect, unless to do so would clearly violate the present legal and valid intention of the
parties hereto.

     13. Notices. All notices given hereunder shall be in writing and shall be deemed
delivered when served personally or when deposited in the United States mail, postage prepaid,
addressed at the address following the parties’ signatures, or at such other address as may be
designated by written notice given in accordance with the provisions of this paragraph.

     14. Applicable Law. This Agreement shall be governed by and construed in accordance
with the laws of the State of Illinois.

     IN WITNESS WHEREOF, Company and Consultant have executed this Agreement on the day and year
first above written.

	 	 	 	 	 
	 

	 	COMPANY:	 	 
	 	 	Mercantile Bancorp, Inc.
	 
	 	 	 	 
	 

	 	By
	 	/s/ Ted T. Awerkamp
	 

	 	 	 	 
	 

	 	 	 	Ted T. Awerkamp, its President
	 
	 	 	 	 
	 

	 	Address:
	 	200 North 33rd Street
	 

	 	 	 	P.O. Box 3455
	 

	 	 	 	Quincy, IL 62305-3455
	 
	 	 	 	 
	 	 	/s/ Dan S. Dugan
	 	 	 
	 	 	Dan S. Dugan
	 
	 	 	 	 
	 

	 	Address:
	 	1025 Evangeline Road East

Quincy, IL 62301

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Exhibit 10.23

AMENDMENT NO. 1 TO THE

CREDIT AGREEMENT

          AMENDMENT NO. 1, dated as of February 28, 2008 (this “Amendment”), to the Credit
Agreement referred to below among TLC VISION (USA) CORPORATION, a Delaware corporation (the
“Borrower”), the banks, financial institutions and other institutional lenders party to the
Credit Agreement referred to below (collectively, the “Lenders”) and CIT HEALTHCARE LLC, as
collateral and administrative agent (the “Administrative Agent”) for the Lenders.

PRELIMINARY STATEMENTS:

          WHEREAS, the Borrower, TLC Vision Corporation, a New Brunswick corporation (“Parent”),
certain subsidiaries of the Borrower, the Lenders, CIT Capital Securities LLC and the
Administrative Agent entered into an Amended and Restated Credit Agreement dated as of June 21,
2007 (the “Credit Agreement”). Capitalized terms not otherwise defined in this Amendment
have the same meanings as specified in the Credit Agreement.

          WHEREAS, the Borrower and the Required Lenders have agreed to waive and amend the Credit
Agreement, in each case as hereinafter set forth.

          SECTION 1. Amendments To Credit Agreement. The Credit Agreement is, effective as of
the date hereof and subject to the satisfaction of the conditions precedent set forth in Section 2,
hereby amended as follows:

     (a) The following definitions in Section 1.01 are amended and restated in their
entirety as follows:

     “‘Applicable Margin’ means in respect of the Term Facility and the Revolving Credit
Facility, 4.00% per annum for Base Rate Advances and 5.00% per annum for Eurodollar Rate
Advances.”

     “‘Fixed Charge Coverage Ratio’ means, for any Measurement Period, the ratio of (a)
Consolidated EBITDA minus Capital Expenditures permitted hereunder (to the extent not
financed with Funded Debt or reinvestments of Net Cash Proceeds of asset dispositions or
condemnation or casualty) to (b) the sum of (i) interest payable on all Debt for Borrowed
Money plus (ii) all regularly scheduled principal payments of all Debt for Borrowed Money
payable, in each case, of or by Parent and its Subsidiaries for or during such Measurement
Period (for the avoidance of doubt, regularly scheduled principal payments hereunder do not
include mandatory prepayments pursuant to Section 2.06(b)); provided, however, that
for purposes of calculating this Ratio for the Measurement Period (A) ending March 31, 2008,
each component of this Ratio for such Measurement Period shall equal the amount of each such
component for the quarter ending March 31, 2008 multiplied by four; (B) ending June 30,
2008, each such

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component for such Measurement Period shall equal each such component for the six-month
period ending June 30, 2008 multiplied by two; and (C) ending September 30, 2008, each such
component for such Measurement Period shall equal each such component for the nine-month
period ending September 30, 2008 multiplied by 4/3.”

     “‘Total Leverage Ratio” means, at any date of determination, the ratio of Consolidated
Debt for Borrowed Money of Parent and its Subsidiaries at such date to Consolidated EBITDA
of Parent and its Subsidiaries for the most recently completed Measurement Period; provided,
however, that for purposes of calculating Consolidated EBITDA of Parent and its Subsidiaries
for this Ratio for the Measurement Period (A) ending March 31, 2008, the amount of
Consolidated EBITDA for such Measurement Period shall be increased by $1,345,000; (B) ending
June 30, 2008, the amount of Consolidated EBITDA for such Measurement Period shall be
increased by $1,345,000; and (C) ending September 30, 2008, the amount of Consolidated
EBITDA for such Measurement Period shall be increased by $1,345,000.”

     (b) The definition of “EBITDA” in Section 1.01 is amended by (1) deleting the word
“and” after clause (g) thereof and inserting a comma and (2) inserting the following after
clause (h) thereof: “(i) to the extent not already included in calculating EBITDA for such
period, any out-of-pocket expenses incurred during the Fiscal Year ended December 31, 2007
in connection with this Agreement not to exceed $[1,800,000] and (j) any out-of-pocket
expenses incurred during such period in connection with Amendment No. 1 to this Agreement”.

     (c) The definition of “Term Commitment” in Section 1.01 is amended by deleting the
reference to “Section 2.05” in the last line thereof and replacing it with
“Section 2.06”.

     (d) Section 2.01(b) is amended by deleting the amount “$500,000” in the seventh line
thereof and replacing it with “$200,000”.

     (e) Section 2.02(a) is amended by (1) deleting the reference to “11:00 a.m.” in the
second line thereof and replacing it with “12:00 p.m.” and (2) deleting the words “the first
Business Day prior to” in the fourth and fifth lines thereof and replacing them with “on”.

     (f) Section 5.03(b)(y) is amended by inserting the following at the end thereof:
“(commencing with Fiscal Year 2008) and”.

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     (g) Section 5.04(a) is amended by deleting the chart contained therein and replacing it
in its entirety with the following:

	 	 	 	 	 
	Measurement Period Ending	 	Ratio
	September 30, 2007
	 	 	4.00 to 1.00	 
	March 31, 2008 through June 30, 2008
	 	 	5.10 to 1.00	 
	September 30, 2008
	 	 	4.75 to 1.00	 
	December 31, 2008
	 	 	4.00 to 1.00	 
	March 31, 2009
	 	 	3.75 to 1.00	 
	June 30, 2009
	 	 	3.50 to 1.00	 
	September 30, 2009 through December 31, 2009
	 	 	3.25 to 1.00	 
	March 31, 2010 and each Measurement Period thereafter
	 	 	3.00 to 1.00	 

     (h) Section 5.04(b) is amended by deleting the chart contained therein and replacing it
in its entirety with the following:

	 	 	 	 	 
	Measurement Period Ending	 	Ratio
	September 30, 2007
	 	 	0.95 to 1.00	 
	March 31, 2008
	 	 	1.90 to 1.00	 
	June 30, 2008
	 	 	1.75 to 1.00	 
	September 30, 2008
	 	 	1.40 to 1.00	 
	December 31, 2008
	 	 	1.20 to 1.00	 
	March 31, 2009 through December 31, 2009
	 	 	1.10 to 1.00	 
	March 31, 2010 and each Measurement Period thereafter
	 	 	1.40 to 1.00	 

     (i) Section 7.01(d) is amended by deleting the reference to “Section 9.11”
contained in the fifth line thereof and replacing it with “Section 9.12”.

     (j) Section 9.12 is amended and restated in its entirety to read as follows:

          “SECTION 9.12 Release or Subordination of Collateral/Release of Guarantor.
Upon the sale, lease, transfer or other disposition of any item of Collateral or the
incurrence of Liens permitted under Sections 5.02(a)(iv) or 5.02(a)(v) (or
the sale of a Loan Party that is a Subsidiary of the Borrower) in accordance with the terms
of the Loan

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Documents, the Collateral Agent will release its Lien on and security interest in such
Collateral, or release or subordinate its Lien in case of Liens permitted under Sections
5.02(a)(iv) or 5.02(a)(v), and, at the Borrower’s expense, execute and deliver
to such 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 subordinate the Lien of the Collateral Agent on such item of
Collateral to such Permitted Lien in accordance with the terms of the Loan Documents.”

          SECTION 2. Conditions of Effectiveness. This Amendment shall become effective as of
the date first above written (the “Effective Date”) if (a) on or before February 27, 2008,
the Administrative Agent shall have received counterparts of this Amendment executed by the
Borrower and the Required Lenders (or, as to any of the Lenders, advice satisfactory to the
Administrative Agent that such Lender has executed this Amendment) and the consent attached hereto
executed by each Guarantor; provided, however, each Lender that has delivered an
executed copy of this Amendment to the Administrative Agent no later than 5:00 P.M. (New York City
time) on February 27, 2008 shall be entitled to receive from the Borrower a fee equal to 0.50% of
the aggregate amount of the Revolving Credit Commitment of such Lender, in the case of each
Revolving Credit Lender and 0.50% of the outstanding principal amount of the Term Advances held by
such Lender, in the case of each Term Lender, which fee shall be paid to the Administrative Agent
on or before the date hereof and will be distributed to the respective Lender as soon as
practicable thereafter and (b) all fees and expenses due and payable under the Credit Agreement
shall have been paid.

          SECTION 3. Representations and Warranties of the Borrower. The Borrower represents
and warrants as follows:

     (a) The Borrower has all requisite power and authority (corporate and otherwise) and
legal right to execute and deliver this Amendment and to perform its obligations hereunder.
The execution and delivery by the Borrower of this Amendment and the performance of its
obligations hereunder have been duly authorized by proper corporate proceedings. This
Amendment, and the Credit Agreement as amended by this Amendment, constitute legal, valid
and binding obligations of the Borrower enforceable against the Borrower in accordance with
their terms, except as enforceability may be limited by bankruptcy, insolvency or similar
laws affecting the enforcement of creditors’ rights generally.

     (b) No order, consent, approval, qualification, license, authorization or validation
of, or filing, recording or registration with, or exemption by, or other action in respect
of, any court, governmental or public body or authority, or any subdivision thereof, any
securities exchange or other Person is or at the relevant time was required to authorize, or
is or at the relevant time was required in connection with the execution, delivery,
consummation or performance of, or the legality, validity, binding effect or enforceability
of, this Amendment.

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          SECTION 4. Reference to and Effect on the Credit Agreement and the Loan Documents.

     (a) On and after the effectiveness of this Amendment, each reference in the Credit
Agreement to “this Agreement”, “hereunder”, “hereof” or words of like import referring to
the Credit Agreement, and each reference in the Loan Documents to “the Credit Agreement”,
“thereunder”, “thereof” or words of like import referring to the Credit Agreement, shall
mean and be a reference to the Credit Agreement, as amended by this Amendment.

     (b) The Credit Agreement, as specifically amended by this Amendment, is and shall
continue to be in full force and effect and is hereby in all respects ratified and
confirmed.

     (c) The execution, delivery and effectiveness of this Amendment shall not, except as
expressly provided herein, operate as a waiver of any right, power or remedy of any Lender
or the Administrative Agent under the Credit Agreement, nor constitute a waiver of any
provision of the Credit Agreement.

          SECTION 5. Costs and Expenses. The Borrower agrees to pay on demand all costs and
expenses of the Administrative Agent in connection with the preparation, execution, delivery and
administration, modification and amendment of this Amendment and the other instruments and
documents to be delivered hereunder (including, without limitation, the reasonable fees and
expenses of counsel for the Administrative Agent) in accordance with the terms of Section 9.04 of
the Credit Agreement.

          SECTION 6. Execution in Counterparts. This Amendment may be executed in any number of
counterparts and by different parties hereto in separate counterparts, each of which when so
executed shall be deemed to be an original and all of which taken together shall constitute but one
and the same agreement. Delivery of an executed counterpart of a signature page to this Amendment
by facsimile or electronic mail shall be effective as delivery of a manually executed counterpart
of this Amendment.

          SECTION 7. Governing Law. This Amendment shall be governed by, and construed in
accordance with, the laws of the State of New York.

[SIGNATURE PAGE FOLLOWS]

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          IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have caused this Amendment to be executed by their
respective officers thereunto duly authorized, as of the date first written above.

	 	 	 	 	 
	 	TLC VISION (USA) CORPORATION

 	 
	 	By:  	     /s/ Brian L. Andrew
 	 
	 	 	Name:  	Brian L. Andrew 	 
	 	 	Title:  	Secretary 	 
	 
	 	CIT HEALTHCARE LLC,

as Administrative Agent and Lender

 	 
	 	By:  	     /s/ John Cappellari
 	 
	 	 	Name:  	John Cappellari 	 
	 	 	Title:  	Vice President 	 
	 

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	 	[Name of Institution to be completed by
relevant Lender], as Lender	 	 
	 
	 	 	 	 	 	 
	 

	 	By:	 	 	 	 
	 

	 	 	 	 	 	 
	 

	 	 	 	Name:	 	 
	 

	 	 	 	Title:	 	 

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CONSENT

Dated as of February 28, 2008

          We, the undersigned, as Guarantors under the Guaranty and Grantors under the Security
Agreements and the Intellectual Property Security Agreement (each as defined in the Credit
Agreement) in favor of the Administrative Agent and, for its benefit and the benefit of the Lenders
party to the Credit Agreement referred to in the foregoing Amendment No. 1 to the Credit Agreement
(the “Amendment”), hereby consent to such Amendment and hereby confirm and agree that
notwithstanding the effectiveness of such Amendment, each of the Guaranty, the Security Agreements
and the Intellectual Property Security Agreement is, and shall continue to be, in full force and
effect and is hereby ratified and confirmed in all respects, except that, on and after the
effectiveness of such Amendment, each reference in the Guaranty , the Security Agreements and the
Intellectual Property Security Agreement to the “Credit Agreement”, “thereunder”, “thereof” or
words of like import shall mean and be a reference to the Credit Agreement, as amended by such
Amendment.

	 	 	 	 	 
	 	GUARANTORS:

TLC VISION CORPORATION

 	 
	 	By:  	/s/ Brian L. Andrew
 	 
	 	 	Name:  	Brian L. Andrew 	 
	 	 	Title:  	Secretary 	 
	 

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AMERICAN EYE INSTRUMENTS, INC.

DELAWARE VALLEY VISION ASSOCIATE GROUP PRACTICE, LLC

LASER EYE SURGERY, INC.

LASER VISION CENTERS, INC.

LVCI CALIFORNIA, LLC

          By: Laser Vision Centers, Inc., its Member

MSS, INC.

OR PARTNERS, INC.

O.R. PROVIDERS, INC.

PHILADELPHIA VISION ASSOCIATES GROUP PRACTICE, LLC

          By: DelVal ASC, LLC, its Sole Member

SOUTHEAST MEDICAL, INC.

SOUTHERN OPHTHALMICS, INC.

TLC CAPITAL CORPORATION

TLC FLORIDA EYE LASER CENTER, LLC

          By: TLC The Laser Center (Institute) Inc., its Member

TLC LASER EYE CENTERS (ATAC), LLC

TLC LASER EYE CENTERS (REFRACTIVE I) INC.

TLC MANAGEMENT SERVICES, INC.

TLC MIDWEST EYE LASER CENTER, INC.

TLC THE LASER CENTER (ANNAPOLIS) INC.

TLC THE LASER CENTER (BALTIMORE MANAGEMENT) LLC

TLC THE LASER CENTER (BALTIMORE) INC.

TLC THE LASER CENTER (BOCA RATON) LIMITED PARTNERSHIP

          By (Northeast) Inc., its General Partner

TLC THE LASER CENTER (CAROLINA) INC.

TLC THE LASER CENTER (CONNECTICUT) L.L.C.

          By: TLC The Laser Center (Northeast) Inc., its Sole Member

TLC THE LASER CENTER (INSTITUTE) INC.

TLC THE LASER CENTER (NORTHEAST) INC.

TLC VC, LLC

TLC VISION SOURCE, INC.

TLC WHITTEN LASER EYE ASSOCIATES, LLC

          By: TLC The Laser Center (Northeast) Inc., its Member

TRUVISION, INC.

TRUVISION CONTACTS, INC.

TRUVISION PROVIDER ONLINE SERVICES, INC.

TRUHEARING, INC.

VALLEY LASER EYE CENTER, LLC

          By: Laser Vision Centers, Inc., its Sole Member

	 	 	 	 	 
	By:

	 	/s/ Brian L. Andrew
 

Name: Brian L. Andrew
	 	 
	 

	 	Title: Secretary	 	 

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	TLC THE LASER CENTER (MONCTON) INC.	 	 
	TLC THE LONDON LASER CENTER INC.	 	 
	RHEO CLINIC INC.	 	 
	VISION CORPORATION	 	 
	 
	 	 	 	 
	By:

	 	/s/ Brian L. Andrew
 

Name: Brian L. Andrew
	 	 
	 

	 	Title: Secretary	 	 

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