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Exhibit 10.4    
    

         

  

        August 24,
2005 

Linn
Energy, LLC

1700 North Highland Road, Suite 100

Pittsburgh, PA 15241 

	Re:
	Credit
Agreement dated as of April 13, 2005, among: Linn Energy, LLC (formerly known as Linn Energy Holdings, LLC), a Delaware limited liability company (the
"Borrower"); each of the Lenders from time to time party hereto; and BNP Paribas as administrative agent (in such capacity, together with its successors
in such capacity, the "Administrative Agent") (such agreement, as amended by the First Amendment, dated May 3, 2005 and the Second Amendment,
dated August 12, 2005, referred to as the "Credit Agreement"). 

To
Whom It May Concern: 

        This
letter relates to the Credit Agreement. Each capitalized term not defined herein shall have the meaning assigned such term in the Credit Agreement. All references to sections in
this letter shall be to sections of the Credit Agreement unless otherwise indicated. 

        The
Borrower has informed the Administrative Agent and the Lenders that it has entered into two puts on August 18th, 2005 (the
"Puts"). The Borrower has further informed the Administrative Agent and the Lenders that this agreement violates Section 9.18. Accordingly, the
Borrower hereby requests, and the Majority Lenders hereby agree, to waive Section 9.18 and exclude the Puts from the calculation of Swap Agreements in Section 9.18 for the period from
the date of this letter to the earlier of (i) the date the Borrower demonstrates to the Lenders in writing compliance with Section 9.18 including the Puts in said calculation and
(ii) January 1, 2006. Except as expressly waived herein, all covenants, obligations and agreements of the Borrower contained in the Credit Agreement and the other Loan Documents shall
remain in full force and effect in accordance with their terms. 

        The
Borrower and each Guarantor hereby expressly (a) acknowledges the terms of this letter, (b) ratifies and affirms its obligations under, and acknowledges, renews and
extends its continued liability under, each Loan Document to which it is a party and agrees that each Loan Document to which it is a party remains in full force and effect, except as expressly
modified hereby, notwithstanding the waiver and other agreements contained herein, (c) represents and warrants to the Lenders that as of the date hereof, after giving effect to the terms of
this letter, that (i) all of the representations and warranties contained in each Loan Document to which it is a party are true and correct in all material respects, except as expressly waived
herein and except to the extent any such representations and warranties are expressly limited to an earlier date, in which case, such representations and warranties shall continue to be true and
correct in all material respects as of such specified earlier date and (ii) except as otherwise expressly set forth herein, no Default has occurred and is continuing. 

        Neither
the execution by the Administrative Agent or the Lenders of this letter, nor any other act or omission by the Administrative Agent or the Lenders or their officers in connection
herewith, shall be deemed a waiver by the Administrative Agent or the Lenders of any other defaults which may exist, which may have occurred prior to the violation of Section 9.18, or which may
occur in the future under the Credit Agreement and/or the other Loan Documents, or any future defaults of the same provision waived hereunder (collectively "Other Violations"). Similarly, nothing
contained in this letter shall directly or indirectly in any way whatsoever either: (i) impair, prejudice or otherwise adversely affect the Administrative Agent's or the Lenders' right at any
time to exercise any right, privilege or remedy in connection with the Loan Documents with respect to any Other Violations, (ii) amend or alter any 

Linn
Energy

August 24, 2005

Page 2 

provision
of the Credit Agreement, the other Loan Documents, or any other contract or instrument, or (iii) constitute any course of dealing or other basis for altering any obligation of the
Borrower or any right, privilege or remedy of the Administrative Agent or the Lenders under the Credit Agreement, the
other Loan Documents, or any other contract or instrument. Nothing in this letter shall be construed to be a consent by the Administrative Agent or the Lenders to any Other Violations. 

        This
letter (including, but not limited to, the validity and enforceability hereof) shall be governed by, and construed in accordance with, the laws of the State of Texas. 

        This
letter may be executed by one or more of the parties hereto in any number of separate counterparts, and all of such counterparts taken together shall be deemed to constitute one and
the same instrument. Delivery of this letter by facsimile transmission shall be effective as delivery of a manually executed counterpart hereof. 

        The
waiver contained in this letter shall not become effective until the Administrative Agent receives counterparts of this letter executed by the Borrower and the Lenders. 

        This
letter, the Credit Agreement and the other Loan Documents executed in connection herewith and therewith represent the final agreement between the parties and may not be contradicted
by evidence of prior, contemporaneous, or unwritten oral agreements of the parties. There are no subsequent oral agreements among the parties. 

        If
the foregoing correctly states your understanding with respect to the matters stated in this letter, please acknowledge by signing in the space provided below. 

	 	 	Very truly yours,
	

 	
 	
BNP PARIBAS,

as Administrative Agent
	

 	
 	

By:	

/s/  DOUGLAS R. LIFTMAN      
	 	 	 	

	 	 	Name:	Douglas R. Liftman
	 	 	Title:	Managing Director
	

 	
 	

By:	

/s/  BETSY JOCHER      
	 	 	 	

	 	 	Name:	Betsy Jocher
	 	 	Title:	Vice President

	

Accepted and Agreed to as of

the date first written above by:	
 	

 
	
LINN ENERGY, LLC
	

By:	

/s/  KOLJA ROCKOV      	
 	

 
	 	
	 	 
	 	Kolja Rockov	 	 
	 	Executive Vice President & Chief Financial Officer	 	 

	

LENDERS:	
 	

BNP PARIBAS
	

 	
 	

By:	

/s/  DOUGLAS R. LIFTMAN      
	 	 	 	

	 	 	Name:	Douglas R. Liftman
	 	 	Title:	Managing Director
	

 	
 	

By:	

/s/  BETSY JOCHER      
	 	 	 	

	 	 	Name:	Betsy Jocher
	 	 	Title:	Vice President
	

 	
 	

ROYAL BANK OF CANADA
	

 	
 	

By:	

/s/  JASON YORK      
	 	 	 	

	 	 	Name:	Jason York
	 	 	Title:	Attorney-in-Fact
	

 	
 	

COMERICA BANK
	

 	
 	

By:	

/s/  HUMA VADGAMA      
	 	 	 	

	 	 	Name:	Huma Vadgama
	 	 	Title:	Vice President
	

 	
 	

SOCIETE GENERALE
	

 	
 	

By:	

/s/  GRAEME R. BULLEN      
	 	 	 	

	 	 	Name:	Graeme R. Bullen
	 	 	Title:	Director

QuickLinks

Exhibit 10.4Exhibit
10.4

 

Dated 13th
September 2005

 

 

LINCOLN
FINANCE CORP.

as Seller

 

 

-and-

 

 

GRAND
PRIX CORP.

as Buyer

 

 

 

AMENDED
AND RESTATED

PURCHASE
AND SALE AGREEMENT

 

 

 

PURCHASE AND SALE
AGREEMENT

 

THIS AMENDED AND RESTATED
PURCHASE AND SALE AGREEMENT (the “Agreement”) is
made and entered into this 13th day of September, 2005, by and among
LINCOLN FINANCE CORP. (the “Seller”), a corporation organized under the laws of the
Republic of the Marshall Islands, and GRAND PRIX CORP.
(the “Buyer”), a corporation organized under
the laws of the Republic of the Marshall Islands.

 

RECITALS

 

WHEREAS,
Buyer and Seller entered into a Purchase and Sale Agreement (the “Purchase and Sale Agreement”) dated 27 June 2005
pursuant to which Seller agreed to sell to Buyer, and Buyer agreed to purchase
from Seller, all of the issued capital stock (the “Shares”)
of each of the vessel owning companies (each a “Company”
and together the “Companies”) set
forth in Schedule A hereto.

 

WHEREAS Seller and Buyer
wish to amend and restate the terms and conditions of the Purchase and Sale
Agreement.

 

NOW,
THEREFORE, in consideration of the foregoing recitals and the agreements,
representations, warranties and covenants herein set forth, the parties hereto
agree as follows:

 

ARTICLE I

 

Purchase and Sale
of Shares

 

1.01         Closing.  The closing of the transactions contemplated
by this Agreement (the “Closing”) shall
take place at 11 Poseidonos Avenue, Athens, Greece or at some other

 

 

mutually agreed place, at
a time to be designated by the parties hereto (the “Closing Date”),
which shall in any event be a time and date falling no later than 14 calendar
days after completion by Golden Energy Marine Corp. (“Golden
Energy”) of the Marshall Islands, the sole shareholder of Buyer, of
its initial public offering of common shares (the “IPO”)
pursuant to a registration statement (the “Registration Statement”)
filed on Form F-1 under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended.

 

1.02         Sale and Purchase of Shares.  At the Closing, subject to the terms and conditions
set forth herein, Seller shall sell, transfer, convey, assign and deliver to
Buyer, and Buyer shall purchase, acquire and accept from Seller, the Shares
with effect from the Closing Date.  At
the Closing, Seller and Buyer shall comply with their respective obligations
under Section 1.03 and Schedule B.  
Buyer and Seller acknowledge and agree that the Purchase Price for the
Shares is an aggregate price that consists of the adjusted net asset values of
each of the 9 Companies as reflected in the combined financial summary of the
Companies contained in Schedule D.

 

1.03         Purchase Price for Shares.  At the Closing, Buyer shall pay to Seller (to
such account as Seller shall nominate) the purchase price (the “Purchase Price”) for the Shares in the amount of United
States dollars Two hundred ninety million eighty seven thousand
(US$290,087,000), being the total adjusted net asset value of the Companies as
of 31 August 2005, as reflected in the combined financial summary of the
Companies contained in Schedule D.

 

1.04         Adjustment of the Purchase Price.  The Purchase Price shall be subject to
adjustment by an amount (the “Adjustment Amount”)
equal to the total net operating profit or

 

 

losses of the Companies
for the period from 31 August 2005 up to and including the Closing Date,
calculated in accordance with Schedule E.

 

1.05         Payment of Shortfall.  If the Adjustment Amount is a positive
figure, then Buyer shall pay the Adjustment Amount to Seller (to such account
as Seller shall nominate) on or before the date (the “Adjustment
Date”) falling five (5) calendar days after the date of
acceptance or determination of the Adjustment Amount in accordance with Section 2
of Schedule E, together with interest on the Adjustment Amount accruing at
the rate of three point five per cent (3.5%) per annum from the Closing Date to
the date of payment.

 

1.06         Refund of Excess.  If the Adjustment Amount is a negative
figure, then Seller shall pay the Adjustment Amount to Buyer (to such account
as Buyer shall nominate) on or before the Adjustment Date, together with
interest on the Adjustment Amount accruing at the rate of three point five per
cent (3.5%) per annum from the Closing Date to the date of payment.

 

1.07         Condition.  The respective obligations of the parties
under this Agreement are subject to fulfillment of the condition that Golden
Energy completes the IPO by no later than 28 October 2005, failing which
this Agreement shall be null and void ab initio.

 

ARTICLE II

 

Representations
and Warranties of Buyer

 

Buyer represents and
warrants to Seller that as of the date of this Agreement and as of the Closing
Date:

 

2.01  Organization and Corporate Authority.  Buyer is duly incorporated, validly existing
and in good standing under the laws of the Republic of the Marshall Islands,
and has all requisite corporate power and authority to enter into this
Agreement and to consummate the

 

 

transactions contemplated
hereby. This Agreement has been duly executed and delivered by Buyer, has been
effectively authorized by all necessary action, corporate or otherwise, and
constitutes legal, valid and binding obligations of Buyer. No meeting has been
convened or resolution proposed or petition presented and no order has been
made to wind up Buyer.

 

2.02  Agreement Not in Breach of Other Instruments.  The execution and delivery of this Agreement,
the consummation of the transactions contemplated hereby and the fulfillment of
the terms hereof will not result in a breach of any of the terms or provisions
of, or constitute a default under, or conflict with, any agreement or other
instrument to which Buyer is a party or by which it is bound, the Articles of
Incorporation and Bylaws of Buyer, any judgment, decree, order or award of any
court, governmental body or arbitrator by which Buyer is bound, or any law, rule or
regulation applicable to Buyer which would have a material effect on the
transactions contemplated hereby.

 

2.03  No Legal Bar.  Buyer is not prohibited by any order, writ,
injunction or decree of any body of competent jurisdiction from consummating
the transactions contemplated by this Agreement and no such action or
proceeding is pending or, to the best of its knowledge and belief, threatened
against Buyer which questions the validity of this Agreement, any of the
transactions contemplated hereby or any action which has been taken by any of
the parties in connection herewith or in connection with any of the
transactions contemplated hereby.

 

ARTICLE III

 

Representations
and Warranties of Seller

 

Seller represents and
warrants to Buyer that as of the date of this Agreement and as of the Closing
Date:

 

 

3.01  Organization and Corporate Authority.  Seller is duly incorporated, validly existing
and in good standing under the laws of the Republic of the Marshall Islands,
and has all requisite corporate power and authority to enter into this
Agreement and to consummate the transactions contemplated hereby.  This Agreement has been duly executed and
delivered by Seller, has been effectively authorized by all necessary action,
corporate or otherwise, and constitutes legal, valid and binding obligations of
Seller. No meeting has been convened or resolution proposed or petition
presented and no order has been made to wind up Seller.

 

3.02  Agreement Not in Breach of Other
Instruments.  The execution and
delivery of this Agreement, the consummation of the transactions contemplated
hereby and the fulfillment of the terms hereof will not result in a breach of
any of the terms or provisions of, or constitute a default under, or conflict
with, any agreement or other instrument to which Seller is a party or by which
it is bound, the Articles of Incorporation and Bylaws of Seller, any judgment,
decree, order or award of any court, governmental body or arbitrator by which
Seller is bound, or any law, rule or regulation applicable to Seller.

 

3.03  No Legal Bar.  Seller is not prohibited by any order, writ,
injunction or decree of any body of competent jurisdiction from consummating
the transactions contemplated by this Agreement and no such action or proceeding
is pending or, to the best of its knowledge and belief, threatened against
Seller which questions the validity of this Agreement, any of the transactions
contemplated hereby or any action which has been taken by any of the parties in
connection herewith or in connection with any of the transactions contemplated
hereby.

 

3.04  Good and Marketable Title to Shares.  Seller is the registered owner of all of the
Shares and now has, and at the closing will convey to Buyer, good and
marketable title to the

 

 

Shares free and clear of
any and all covenants, conditions, restrictions, voting trust arrangements,
liens, charges, encumbrances, options and adverse claims or rights whatsoever.

 

3.05  Right to Enter Agreement.  Seller has the full right, power and authority
to enter into this Agreement and to transfer, convey and sell to Buyer at the
Closing the Shares and upon consummation of the purchase contemplated hereby,
Buyer will acquire from Seller good and marketable title to the Shares, free
and clear of all covenants, conditions, restrictions, voting trust
arrangements, liens, charges, encumbrances, options and adverse claims or
rights whatsoever.

 

ARTICLE IV

 

Representations
and Warranties of

Seller Regarding
the Companies

 

Seller
represents and warrants to Buyer that as of the date of this Agreement and as
of the Closing Date:

 

4.01  Organization Good Standing and Authority.  Each of the Companies is a corporation duly
incorporated, validly existing and in good standing under the laws of its
jurisdiction of incorporation.  Each of
the Companies has full corporate power and authority to carry on its business
as it is now, and has since its incorporation been, conducted, and is entitled
to own, lease or operate the properties and assets it now owns, leases or operates
and to enter into legal and binding contracts. 
Each of the Companies is qualified to do business, is in good standing
and has all required and appropriate licenses and authorizations in each
jurisdiction in which its failure to obtain or maintain such qualification,
good standing, licensing or authorization would have a material adverse effect
on the condition (financial or otherwise),

 

 

assets, properties,
business or prospects of such Company taken as a whole. No meeting has been
convened or resolution proposed or petition presented and no order has been
made to wind up any of the Companies.

 

4.02  Capitalization. The Shares consist of
the shares listed next to each of the Companies listed in Schedule A.  The Shares have been validly authorized and
issued and are validly outstanding, fully paid and non-assessable, and
constitute the total issued and outstanding capital stock of each of the
Companies.  There are not, and on the
Closing Date there will not be, outstanding (i) any options, warrants or
other rights to purchase from any Company any capital stock of such Company, (ii) any
securities convertible into or exchangeable for shares of such capital stock or
(iii) any other commitments of any kind for the issuance of additional
shares of capital stock or options, warrants or other securities of the
Companies.

 

4.03  Charter Documents.  Seller has supplied to Buyer true and correct
copies of the charter documents of each of the Companies, in each case as in
effect on the date hereof (the “Charter Documents”)
and no amendments will be made to the Charter Documents prior to the Closing
Date without the prior written consent of Buyer (such consent not to be
unreasonably withheld).

 

4.04  Agreement Not in Breach of Other
Instruments.  Neither the execution
and delivery of this Agreement nor the consummation of the transactions
contemplated hereby will violate, or result in a breach of, any of the terms
and provisions of, or constitute a default under, or conflict with, or give any
other party thereto a right to terminate any agreement or other instrument to
which any of the Companies is a party or by which any of them is bound
including, without limitation, any of the Charter Documents or any judgment,
decree, order or award of any court, governmental body or arbitrator applicable
to any of the Companies.

 

 

4.05  Litigation.  Other than as disclosed by Seller to Buyer on
the date of this Agreement or on the Closing Date:

 

(a)           there is no action, suit or
proceeding to which any of the Companies is a party (either as a plaintiff or
defendant) pending before any court or governmental agency, authority or body
or arbitrator; there is no action, suit or proceeding threatened against any of
the Companies; and, to the best knowledge of Seller, there is no basis for any
such action, suit or proceeding;

 

(b)           none of the Companies has been
permanently or temporarily enjoined by any order, judgement or decree of any
court or any governmental agency, authority or body from engaging in or
continuing any conduct or practice in connection with the business, assets, or
properties of any of the Companies; and

 

(c)           there is not in existence any order,
judgment or decree of any court or other tribunal or other agency enjoining or
requiring any of the Companies to take any action of any kind with respect to
its business, assets or properties.

 

4.06  Indebtedness to and from Officers, etc.  On the Closing Date, none of the Companies
will be indebted, directly or indirectly, to any person who is an officer,
director, stockholder or employee of any of the foregoing or any spouse, child,
or other relative or any affiliate of any such person, other than for salaries
for services rendered or reimbursable business expenses, nor shall any such
officer, director, stockholder, employee, relative or affiliate be indebted to
any of the Companies.

 

4.07  Personnel.  The Companies have no employees other than
the crew serving on board their respective Vessels.

 

 

4.08  Contracts and Agreements.  All material contracts and agreements, written
or oral, to which a Company is a party or by which any of its assets are bound
(the “Contracts”) have been disclosed to
Buyer. No other contracts will be entered into by any of the Companies prior to
the Closing Date without the prior consent of Buyer (such consent not to be
unreasonably withheld).

 

(a)           Each of the Contracts is a valid and
binding agreement of each respective contracting Company, and to the best
knowledge of Seller, of all other parties thereto;

 

(b)           Each of the Companies has fulfilled all
material obligations required pursuant to its respective Contracts to have been
performed by it prior to the date hereof; and

 

(c)           There has not occurred any material
default under any of the Contracts, or to the best knowledge of Seller, on the
part of any other party thereto nor has any event occurred which with the
giving of notice or the lapse of time, or both, would constitute any material
default on the part of any of the Companies under any of the Contracts nor, to
the best knowledge of Seller, has any event occurred which with the giving of
notice or the lapse of time, or both, would constitute any material default on
the part of any other party to any of the Contracts.

 

4.09  Compliance with Law.  The conduct of business by each of the
Companies on the date hereof does not violate any laws, statutes, ordinances,
rules, regulations, decrees, orders, permits or other similar items in force on
the date hereof (including, but not limited to, any of the foregoing relating
to employment discrimination, environmental protection or conservation) of any
country, province, state or other governing body, the enforcement of which

 

 

would materially and
adversely affect the business, assets, condition (financial or otherwise) or
prospects of each Company taken as a whole, nor has any of the Companies
received any notice of any such violation.

 

4.10  No Undisclosed Liabilities.  Other than minor debt incurred in the
ordinary course of business, no Company (or Vessel owned by it) has any other
liabilities or obligations of any nature, whether absolute, accrued, contingent
or otherwise, and whether due or to become due (including, without limitation,
any liability for taxes and interest, penalties and other charges payable with
respect to any such liability or obligation).

 

4.11  Disclosure of Information.  Seller has disclosed to Buyer all material
information on, and about, the Companies and each of the Vessels and all such
information is true, accurate and not misleading in any material respect.
Nothing has been withheld from the material provided to Buyer which would
render such information untrue or misleading.

 

ARTICLE V

 

Representations
and Warranties of

Seller regarding
the Vessels

 

Seller represents and
warrants to Buyer that:

 

5.01  Title to Vessels.  As of the date of this Agreement and at the
Closing Date, each of the Companies is and shall be the registered owner of the
Vessel listed next to its name in Schedule A.

 

 

5.02  No encumbrances.  At the Closing Date, each of the Companies
and Vessels will be free of all encumbrances whatsoever other than those
encumbrances relating to minor debt incurred in the ordinary course of
business.

 

5.03  Condition.  At the Closing Date, each of the Vessels will
be in class, with her classification certificates without overdue
recommendation.

 

ARTICLE VI

 

Miscellaneous

 

6.01  Governing Law.  This Agreement shall be governed by and
construed in accordance with New York law. 
The courts of the State of New York shall have exclusive jurisdiction to
settle any dispute which may arise out of or in connection with this Agreement.

 

6.02  Counterparts.  This Agreement may be executed simultaneously
in one or more counterparts, each of which shall be deemed an original, but all
of which shall constitute but one and the same instrument.

 

6.03  Complete Agreement.  This Agreement and Schedules hereto contain
the entire agreement between the parties hereto with respect to the
transactions contemplated herein and, except as provided herein, supersede all
previous oral and written and all contemporaneous oral negotiations,
commitments, writings and understandings (including without limitation the
Purchase and Sale Agreement).

 

6.04  Interpretation.  The headings contained in this Agreement are
for reference purposes only and shall not affect in any way the meaning or
interpretation of this Agreement.

 

6.05  Severability.  Any provision of this Agreement which is held
to be invalid, illegal or unenforceable in any jurisdiction shall, as to that
jurisdiction, be ineffective to the

 

 

extent of such
invalidity, illegality or unenforceability, without affecting in any way the
remaining provisions hereof in such jurisdiction or rendering that or any other
provision of this Agreement invalid, illegal or unenforceable in any other
jurisdiction.

 

6.07  Third party rights.   A person who is not a party to this
Agreement has no right to enforce or to enjoy the benefit of any term of this
Agreement.

 

6.08  Notices.  Any notice, claim or demand in connection
with this Agreement shall be delievered to the parties at the following
addresses (or at such other address or facsimile number for a party as may be
designated by notice by such party to the other party):

 

(a) 
if to Lincoln Finance Corp., as follows:

 

11
Poseidonos Avenue, Elliniko 16777, Athens, Greece

 

Attention:         Alex
Kapellaris

 

Facsimile:          ++
30 210 894 8403

 

(b)  if to Grand
Prix Corp., as follows:

 

2 Gamma Street, Elliniko
16777, Athens, Greece

 

Attention:         Alex Papageorgiou

 

Facsimile:          ++
30 210 898 1601

 

and any such notice shall
be deemed to have been received (i) on the next working day in the place
to which it is sent, if sent by facsimile or (ii) forty eight (48) hours
from the time of dispatch, if sent by courier.

 

 

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, each
of the parties hereto has caused this Agreement to be signed as of the date
first above written.

 

	
   

  	
  LINCOLN FINANCE CORP.

  
	
   

  	
   

  
	
   

  	
   

  
	
   

  	
  By:

  	
  /s/Alex Kapellaris

  	
   

  
	
   

  	
  Name: Alex Kapellaris

  
	
   

  	
  Title: Attorney-in-Fact

  
	
   

  	
  In the presence of:

  
	
   

  	
   

  
	
   

  	
  GRAND PRIX CORP.

  
	
   

  	
   

  
	
   

  	
   

  
	
   

  	
  By:

  	
  /s/ Dale Ploughman

  	
   

  
	
   

  	
  Name: Dale Ploughman

  
	
   

  	
  Title: President

  
	
   

  	
  In the presence of:

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