Document:

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                                                                    Exhibit 10.4

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                              HEWITT ASSOCIATES LLC

                                   $50,000,000

                       7.45% Senior Notes due May 30, 2008

                                 ______________

                             NOTE PURCHASE AGREEMENT

                                 ______________

                                Dated May 1, 1996

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                               TABLE OF CONTENTS

<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
Section                                                                                      Page
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<S>                                                                                          <C>
1.     AUTHORIZATION OF NOTES.........................................................        1

2.     SALE AND PURCHASE OF NOTES.....................................................        1

3.     CLOSING........................................................................        1

4.     CONDITIONS TO CLOSING..........................................................        2
       4.1.    Representations and Warranties.........................................        2
       4.2.    Performance; No Default................................................        2
       4.3.    Compliance Certificates................................................        2
       4.4.    Opinions of Counsel....................................................        3
       4.5.    Purchase Permitted By Applicable Law, etc..............................        3
       4.6.    Sale of Other Notes....................................................        3
       4.7.    Payment of Special Counsel Fees........................................        3
       4.8.    Private Placement Number...............................................        3
       4.9.    Changes in Organizational Structure....................................        3
       4.10.   Bank Agreements........................................................        4
       4.11.   Proceedings and Documents..............................................        4

5.     REPRESENTATIONS AND WARRANTIES OF THE COMPANY..................................        4
       5.1.    Organization; Power and Authority......................................        4
       5.2.    Authorization, etc.....................................................        4
       5.3.    Disclosure.............................................................        5
       5.4.    Organization and Ownership of Shares of Subsidiaries; Affiliates.......        5
       5.5.    Financial Statements...................................................        6
       5.6.    Compliance with Laws, Other Instruments, etc...........................        6
       5.7.    Governmental Authorizations, etc.......................................        6
       5.8.    Litigation; Observance of Agreements, Statutes and Orders..............        7
       5.9.    Taxes..................................................................        7
       5.10.   Title to Property; Leases..............................................        7
       5.11.   Licenses, Permits, etc.................................................        7
       5.12.   Compliance with ERISA..................................................        8
       5.13.   Private Offering by the Company........................................        9
       5.14.   Use of Proceeds; Margin Regulations....................................        9
       5.15.   Existing Indebtedness; Future Liens....................................       10
       5.16.   Foreign Assets Control Regulations, etc................................       10
       5.17.   Status under Certain Statutes..........................................       10
       5.18.   Environmental Matters..................................................       10

6.     REPRESENTATIONS OF THE PURCHASER...............................................       11
       6.1.    Purchase for Investment................................................       11
       6.2.    Source of Funds........................................................       11
</TABLE>

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                               TABLE OF CONTENTS
                                   (continued

<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
Section                                                                                     Page
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7.    INFORMATION AS TO COMPANY.......................................................       13
      7.1.     Financial and Business Information.....................................       13
      7.2.     Officer's Certificate..................................................       16
      7.3.     Inspection.............................................................       16

8.    PREPAYMENT OF THE NOTES.........................................................       17
      8.1.     Required Prepayments...................................................       17
      8.2.     Optional Prepayments with Make-Whole Amount............................       17
      8.3.     Allocation of Partial Prepayments......................................       17
      8.4.     Maturity; Surrender, etc...............................................       18
      8.5.     Purchase of Notes......................................................       18
      8.6.     Make-Whole Amount......................................................       18

9.    AFFIRMATIVE COVENANTS...........................................................       19
      9.1.     Compliance with Law....................................................       20
      9.2.     Insurance..............................................................       20
      9.3.     Maintenance of Properties..............................................       20
      9.4.     Payment of Taxes and Claims............................................       20
      9.5.     Existence, etc.........................................................       21

10.   NEGATIVE COVENANTS..............................................................       21
      10.1.    Transactions with Affiliates...........................................       21
      10.2.    Merger, Consolidation, etc.............................................       21
      10.3.    Consolidated Net Capital...............................................       22
      10.4.    Funded Indebtedness....................................................       22
      10.5.    Current Indebtedness...................................................       23
      10.6.    Indebtedness of Restricted Subsidiaries................................       23
      10.7.    Liens..................................................................       23
      10.8.    Sale of Assets.........................................................       24
      10.9.    Restricted Subsidiary Stock............................................       25
      10.10.   Distributions..........................................................       26
      10.11.   Amendments to Articles of Organization and Operating Agreement.........       26
      10.12.   Change in Business.....................................................       26

11.   EVENTS OF DEFAULT...............................................................       26

12.   REMEDIES ON DEFAULT, ETC........................................................       28
      12.1.    Acceleration...........................................................       28
      12.2.    Other Remedies.........................................................       29
      12.3.    Rescission.............................................................       29
      12.4.    No Waivers or Election of Remedies, Expenses, etc......................       30
</TABLE>

                                      -ii-

<PAGE>

                               TABLE OF CONTENTS
                                   (continued

<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
Section                                                                                     Page
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<S>                                                                                         <C>
13.   REGISTRATION; EXCHANGE; SUBSTITUTION OF NOTES..................................        30
      13.1.    Registration of Notes.................................................        30
      13.2.    Transfer and Exchange of Notes........................................        30
      13.3.    Replacement of Notes..................................................        31

14.   PAYMENTS ON NOTES..............................................................        31
      14.1.    Place of Payment......................................................        31
      14.2.    Home Office Payment...................................................        31

15.   EXPENSES, ETC..................................................................        32
      15.1.    Transaction Expenses..................................................        32
      15.2.    Survival..............................................................        32

16.   SURVIVAL OF REPRESENTATIONS AND WARRANTIES; ENTIRE AGREEMENT...................        32

17.   AMENDMENT AND WAIVER...........................................................        33
      17.1.    Requirements..........................................................        33
      17.2.    Solicitation of Holders of Notes......................................        33
      17.3.    Binding Effect, etc...................................................        34
      17.4.    Notes held by Company, etc............................................        34

18.   NOTICES........................................................................        34

19.   REPRODUCTION OF DOCUMENTS......................................................        34

20.   CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION.......................................................        35

21.   SUBSTITUTION OF PURCHASER......................................................        36

22.   MISCELLANEOUS..................................................................        36
      22.1.    Successors and Assigns................................................        36
      22.2.    Payments Due on Non-Business Days.....................................        36
      22.3.    Severability..........................................................        37
      22.4.    Construction..........................................................        37
      22.5.    Counterparts..........................................................        37
      22.6.    Governing Law.........................................................        37
</TABLE>

SCHEDULE A          --       INFORMATION RELATING TO PURCHASERS

SCHEDULE B          --       DEFINED TERMS

SCHEDULE C          --       EXISTING INVESTMENTS

SCHEDULE 4.9        --       Changes in Corporate Structure

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                                TABLE OF CONTENTS
                                   (continued

<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
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SCHEDULE 5.3        --     Disclosure Materials

SCHEDULE 5.4        --     Subsidiaries of the Company and Ownership of Subsidiary Stock

SCHEDULE 5.5        --     Financial Statements

SCHEDULE 5.8        --     Certain Litigation

SCHEDULE 5.11       --     Patents, etc.

SCHEDULE 5.14       --     Use of Proceeds

SCHEDULE 5.15       --     Existing Indebtedness

SCHEDULE 10.7       --     Liens

EXHIBIT 1           --     Form of 7.45% Senior Note due May 30, 2008

EXHIBIT 4.4         --     Form of Legal Opinions
</TABLE>

                                      -iv-

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                              HEWITT ASSOCIATES LLC
                                100 Half Day Road
                          Lincolnshire, Illinois 60069

                       7.45% Senior Note due May 30, 2008

                                                                     May 1, 1996

TO EACH OF THE PURCHASERS LISTED IN
        THE ATTACHED SCHEDULE A:

Ladies and Gentlemen:

             HEWITT ASSOCIATES LLC, a limited liability company organized under
the laws of Illinois (the "Company"), agrees with you as follows:

1.      AUTHORIZATION OF NOTES.

             The Company will authorize the issue and sale of $50,000,000
aggregate principal amount of its 7.45% Senior Notes due May 30, 2008 (the
"Notes", such term to include any such notes issued in substitution therefor
pursuant to Section 13 of this Agreement). The Notes shall be substantially in
the form set out in Exhibit 1, with such changes therefrom, if any, as may be
approved by you and the Company. Certain capitalized terms used in this
Agreement are defined in Schedule B; references to a "Schedule" or an "Exhibit"
are, unless otherwise specified, to a Schedule or an Exhibit attached to this
Agreement.

2.      SALE AND PURCHASE OF NOTES.

             Subject to the terms and conditions of this Agreement, the Company
will issue and sell to you and you will purchase from the Company, at the
Closing provided for in Section 3, Notes in the principal amount specified
opposite your name in Schedule A at the purchase price of 100% of the principal
amount thereof. You are referred to herein as a "Purchaser" and, together with
the other purchasers named in Schedule A hereto, as the "Purchasers." Your
obligation hereunder and the obligations of the other Purchasers are several and
not joint obligations and you shall have no obligation hereunder and no
liability to any Person for the performance or non-performance by any other
Purchaser thereunder.

3.      CLOSING.

             The sale and purchase of the Notes to be purchased by you and the
other Purchasers shall occur at the offices of Gardner, Carton & Douglas, 321
North Clark Street, Chicago, Illinois 60610, at 10:00 a.m., Central Standard
time, at a closing (the "Closing") on May 30, 1996 or on such other Business Day
thereafter on or prior to June 10, 1996 as may be agreed upon by the Company and
you and the other Purchasers. At the Closing, the Company will deliver to you
the Notes to be purchased by you in the

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form of a single Note (or such greater number of Notes in denominations of at
least $100,000 as you may request) dated the date of the Closing and registered
in your name (or in the name of your nominee), against delivery by you to the
Company or its order of immediately available funds in the amount of the
purchase price therefor by wire transfer of immediately available funds for the
account of the Company to account number 287 360 2 at Harris Trust and Savings
Bank, 111 W. Monroe Street, P.O. Box 755, Chicago, IL 60690-0755, ABA
#071000288. If at the Closing the Company shall fail to tender such Notes to you
as provided above in this Section 3, or any of the conditions specified in
Section 4 shall not have been fulfilled to your satisfaction, you shall, at your
election, be relieved of all further obligations under this Agreement, without
thereby waiving any rights you may have by reason of such failure or such
nonfulfillment.

4.      CONDITIONS TO CLOSING.

             Your obligation to purchase and pay for the Notes to be sold to you
at the Closing is subject to the fulfillment to your satisfaction, prior to or
at the Closing, of the following conditions:

4.1.    Representations and Warranties.

             The representations and warranties of the Company in this Agreement
shall be correct when made and at the time of the Closing.

4.2.    Performance; No Default.

             The Company shall have performed and complied with all agreements
and conditions contained in this Agreement required to be performed or complied
with by it prior to ,or at the Closing and after giving effect to the issue and
sale of the Notes (and the application of the proceeds thereof as contemplated
by Schedule 5.14) no Default or Event of Default shall have occurred and be
continuing. Neither the Company nor any Subsidiary shall have entered into any
transaction since the date of the Memorandum that would have been prohibited by
Sections 10.1 through 10.10 hereof had the Sections 10.1 through 10. 10 applied
since such date.

4.3.    Compliance Certificates.

        (a)  Officer's Certificate. The Company shall have delivered to you an
             ---------------------
Officer's Certificate, dated the date of the Closing, certifying that the
conditions specified in Sections 4.1, 4.2 and 4.9 have been fulfilled.

        (b)  Secretary's Certificate. The Company shall have delivered to you a
             -----------------------
certificate certifying as to the resolutions attached thereto and other
organizational proceedings relating to the authorization, execution and delivery
of the Notes and the Agreements.

                                       -2-

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4.4.    Opinions of Counsel.

             You shall have received opinions in form and substance satisfactory
to you, dated the date of the Closing (a) from C. Lawrence Connolly III, Esq.,
counsel for the Company, covering the matters set forth in Exhibit 4.4(a) and
covering such other matters incident to the transactions contemplated hereby as
you or your counsel may reasonably request (and the Company hereby instructs its
counsel to deliver such opinion to you) and (12) from Gardner, Carton & Douglas,
your special counsel in connection with such transactions, substantially in the
form set forth in Exhibit 4.4(b) and covering such other matters incident to
such transactions as you may reasonably request.

4.5.    Purchase Permitted By Applicable Law, etc.

             On the date of the Closing your purchase of Notes shall (i) be
permitted by the laws and regulations of each jurisdiction to which you are
subject, without recourse to provisions permitting limited investments by
insurance companies without restriction as to the character of the particular
investment, not violate any applicable law or regulation (including, without
limitation, Regulation G, T or X of the Board of Governors of the Federal
Reserve System) and (ii) not subject you to any tax, penalty or liability under
or pursuant to any applicable law or regulation, which law or regulation was not
in effect on the date hereof. If requested by you, you shall have received an
Officer's Certificate certifying as to such matters of fact as you may
reasonably specify to enable you to determine whether such purchase is so
permitted.

4.6.    Sale of Other Notes.

             Contemporaneously with the Closing the Company shall sell to the
other Purchasers and the other Purchasers shall purchase the Notes to be
purchased by them at the Closing as specified in Schedule A.

4.7.    Payment of Special Counsel Fees.

             Without limiting the provisions of Section 15.1, the Company shall
have paid on or before the Closing the fees, charges and disbursements of your
special counsel referred to in Section 4.4 to the extent reflected in a
statement of such counsel rendered to the Company at least one Business Day
prior to the Closing.

4.8.    Private Placement Number.

             A Private Placement number issued by Standard & Poor's CUSIP
Service Bureau (in cooperation with the Securities Valuation Office of the
National Association of Insurance Commissioners) shall have been obtained for
the Notes.

4.9.    Changes in Organizational Structure.

             Except as specified in Schedule 4.9, the Company shall not have
changed its jurisdiction of formation or been a party to any merger or
consolidation and shall not have succeeded to all or any substantial part of the
liabilities of any other entity, at any

                                       -3-

<PAGE>

time following the date of the most recent financial statements referred to in
Schedule 5.5.

4.10.   Bank Agreements.

             On or prior to the Closing Date, the Company shall have entered
into a $100,000,000 Revolving and Term Credit Agreement with its bank lenders in
substantially the form provided by the Company to the Purchasers.

4.11.   Proceedings and Documents.

             All authorization and other proceedings in connection with the
transactions contemplated by this Agreement and all documents and instruments
incident to -such transactions shall be satisfactory to you and your special
counsel, and you and your special counsel shall have received all such
counterpart originals or certified or other copies of such documents as you or
they may reasonably request.

5.      REPRESENTATIONS AND WARRANTIES OF THE COMPANY.

             The Company represents and warrants to you that:

5.1.    Organization; Power and Authority.

             The Company is a limited liability company duly organized, validly
existing and in good standing under the laws of its jurisdiction of formation,
and is duly qualified as a foreign limited liability company and is in good
standing in each jurisdiction in which such qualification is required by law,
other than those jurisdictions as to which the failure to be so qualified or in
good standing could not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be
expected to have a Material Adverse Effect. The Company has the requisite power
and authority to own or hold under lease the properties it purports to own or
hold under lease, to transact the business it transacts and proposes to
transact, to execute and deliver this Agreement and the Notes and to perform the
provisions hereof and thereof.

5.2.    Authorization, etc.

             This Agreement and the Notes have been duly authorized by all
necessary action on the part of the Company as required by the Operating
Agreement and the Company's articles of organization, and this Agreement
constitutes, and upon execution and delivery thereof each Note will constitute,
a legal, valid and binding obligation of the Company enforceable against the
Company in accordance with its terms, except as such enforceability may be
limited by (i) applicable bankruptcy, insolvency, reorganization, moratorium or
other similar laws affecting the enforcement of creditors' rights generally and
(ii) general principles of equity (regardless of whether such enforceability is
considered in a proceeding in equity or at law).

                                       -4-

<PAGE>

5.3.     Disclosure.

              The Company, through its agent, BA Securities Inc., has delivered
to you and each other Purchaser a copy of a Private Placement Memorandum, dated
April, 1996 (the "Memorandum"), relating to the transactions contemplated
hereby. The Memorandum fairly describes, in all material respects, the general
nature of the business and principal properties of the Company and its
Subsidiaries. Except as disclosed in Schedule 5.3, this Agreement, the
Memorandum, the documents, certificates or other writings delivered to you by or
on behalf of the Company in connection with the transactions contemplated hereby
and the financial statements listed in Schedule 5.5, taken as a whole, do not
contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state any material
fact necessary to make the statements therein not misleading in light of the
circumstances under which they were made. Except as disclosed in the Memorandum
or as expressly described in Schedule 5.3, or in one of the documents,
certificates or other writings identified therein, or in the financial
statements listed in Schedule 5.5, since September 30, 1995, there has been no
change in the financial condition, operations, business, properties or
prospects- of the Company or any Subsidiary except changes that individually or
in the aggregate could not reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse
Effect. There is no fact known to the Company that could reasonably be expected
to have a Material Adverse Effect that has not been set forth herein or in the
Memorandum or in the other documents, certificates and other writings delivered
to you by or on behalf of the Company specifically for use in connection with
the transactions contemplated hereby.

5.4.     Organization and Ownership of Shares of Subsidiaries; Affiliates.

         (a)  Schedule 5.4 contains (except as noted therein) complete
and correct lists (i) of the Company's Subsidiaries, showing, as to each
Subsidiary, the correct name thereof, the jurisdiction of its organization, and
the percentage of shares of each class of its capital stock or similar equity
interests outstanding owned by the Company and each other Subsidiary, (ii) of
the Company's Affiliates, other than Subsidiaries, and (iii) of the Company's
Managers and senior officers.

         (b)  All of the outstanding shares of capital stock or similar equity
interests of each Subsidiary shown in Schedule 5.4 as being owned by the Company
and its Subsidiaries have been validly issued, are fully paid and nonassessable
and are owned by the Company or another Subsidiary free and clear of any Lien
(except as otherwise disclosed in Schedule 5.4).

         (c)  Each Subsidiary identified in Schedule 5.4 is a corporation,
limited liability company or other legal entity duly organized, validly existing
and in good standing under the laws of its jurisdiction of organization, and is
duly qualified as a foreign corporation or other legal entity and is in good
standing in each jurisdiction in which such qualification is required by law,
other than those jurisdictions as to which the failure to be so qualified or in
good standing could not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be
expected to have a Material Adverse Effect. Each such Subsidiary has the
corporate or other power and authority to own or hold under lease the properties
it

                                       -5-

<PAGE>

purports to own or hold under lease and to transact the business it transacts
and proposes to transact.

     (d)     No Subsidiary is a party to, or otherwise subject to any legal
restriction or any agreement (other than this Agreement, the agreements listed
on Schedule 5.4 and customary limitations imposed by corporate law statutes)
restricting the ability of such Subsidiary to pay dividends out of profits or
make any other similar distributions of profits to the Company or any of its
Subsidiaries that owns outstanding shares of capital stock or similar equity
interests of such Subsidiary.

5.5. Financial Statements.

             The Company has delivered to each Purchaser copies of the
consolidated financial statements of the Company and its Subsidiaries listed on
Schedule 5.5. All of said financial statements (including in each case the
related schedules and notes) fairly present in all material respects the
consolidated financial position of the Company and its Subsidiaries as of the
respective dates specified in such Schedule and the consolidated results of
their operations and cash flows for the respective periods so specified and have
been prepared in accordance with GAAP consistently applied throughout the
periods involved except as set forth in any notes thereto (subject, in the case
of any interim financial statements, to normal year-end adjustments).

5.6. Compliance with Laws, Other Instruments, etc.

             The execution, delivery and performance by the Company of this
Agreement and the Notes will not (i) contravene, result in any breach of, or
constitute a default under, or result in the creation of any Lien in respect of
any property of the Company or any Subsidiary under, any indenture, mortgage,
deed of trust, loan, purchase or credit agreement, lease, operating agreement,
articles of organization, corporate charter or by-laws, or any other agreement
or instrument to which the Company or any Subsidiary is bound or by which the
Company or any Subsidiary or any of their respective properties may be bound or
affected, (ii) conflict with or result in a breach of any of the terms,
conditions or provisions of any order, judgment, decree, or ruling of any court,
arbitrator or Governmental Authority applicable to the Company or any Subsidiary
or (iii) violate any provision of any statute or other rule or regulation of any
Governmental Authority applicable to the Company or any Subsidiary. The Company
is not in default or in violation of any Material term or provision of its
Operating Agreement.

5.7. Governmental Authorizations, etc.

             No consent, approval or authorization of, or registration, filing
or declaration with, any Governmental Authority is required in connection with
the execution, delivery or performance by the Company of this Agreement or the
Notes.

                                       -6-

<PAGE>

5.8.   Litigation; Observance of Agreements, Statutes and Orders.

       (a)   Except as disclosed in Schedule 5.8, there are no actions, suits or
proceedings pending or, to the knowledge of the Company, threatened against or
affecting the Company or any Subsidiary or any property of the Company or any
Subsidiary in any court or before any arbitrator of any kind or before or by any
Governmental Authority that, individually or in the aggregate, could reasonably
be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect.

       (b)   Neither the Company nor any Subsidiary is in default under any term
of any agreement or instrument to which it is a party or by which it is bound,
or any order, judgment, decree or ruling of any court, arbitrator or
Governmental Authority or is in violation of any applicable law, ordinance, rule
or regulation (including without limitation Environmental Laws) of any
Governmental Authority, which default or violation, individually or in the
aggregate, could reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect.

5.9.   Taxes.

             The Company and its Subsidiaries have filed all Tax Returns that
are required to have been filed in any jurisdiction and sent all Tax Returns to
any party as required under applicable law or regulation, and have paid all
Taxes shown to be due and payable on such returns and all other Taxes to the
extent such Taxes have become due and payable and before they have become
delinquent, except for any Taxes (i) the amount of which is not individually or
in the aggregate Material or (ii) the amount, applicability or validity of which
is currently being contested in good faith by appropriate proceedings and with
respect to which the Company or a Subsidiary, as the case may be, has
established adequate reserves in accordance with GAAP. The Company knows of no
basis for any Tax that could reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse
Effect. The charges, accruals and reserves on the books of the Company and its
Subsidiaries in respect of Taxes for all fiscal periods are adequate. The
Company is properly treated as a partnership for, and is not taxable as, a
corporation for Federal income tax purposes.

5.10.  Title to Property; Leases.

             The Company and its Subsidiaries have good and sufficient
title to their respective properties that individually or in the aggregate are
Material, including all such properties reflected in the most recent audited
balance sheet referred to in Section 5.5 or purported to have been acquired by
the Company or any Subsidiary after said date (except as sold or otherwise
disposed of in the ordinary course of business), in each case free and clear of
Liens prohibited by this Agreement. All leases that individually or in the
aggregate are Material are valid and subsisting and are in full force and effect
in all material respects.

5.11.  Licenses, Permits, etc.

             Except as disclosed in Schedule 5.11,

                                       -7-

<PAGE>

          (a) the Company and its Subsidiaries own or possess all licenses,
      permits, franchises, authorizations, patents, copyrights, service marks,
      trademarks and trade names, or rights thereto, that individually or in the
      aggregate are Material, without known conflict with the rights of others;

          (b) to the best knowledge of the Company, no product of the Company
      infringes in any material respect any license, permit, franchise,
      authorization, patent, copyright, service mark, trademark, trade name or
      other right owned by any other Person; and

          (c) to the best knowledge of the Company, there is no Material
      violation by any Person of any right of the Company or any of its
      Subsidiaries with respect to any patent, copyright, service mark,
      trademark, trade name or other right owned or used by the Company or any
      of its Subsidiaries.

5.12. Compliance with ERISA.

      (a) The Company and each ERISA Affiliate have operated and administered
each Plan in compliance with all applicable laws except for such instances of
noncompliance as have not resulted in and could not reasonably be expected to
result in a Material Adverse Effect. Neither the Company nor any ERISA Affiliate
has incurred any liability pursuant to Title I or IV of ERISA or the penalty or
excise tax provisions of the Code relating to employee benefit plans (as defined
in Section 3 of ERISA), and no event, transaction or condition has occurred or
exists that could reasonably be expected to result in the incurrence of any such
liability by the Company or any ERISA Affiliate, or in the imposition of any
Lien on any of the rights, properties or assets of the Company or any ERISA
Affiliate, in either case pursuant to Title I or IV of ERISA or to such penalty
or excise tax provisions or to Section 401(a)(29) or 412 of the Code, other than
such liabilities or Liens as would not be individually or in the aggregate
Material.

      (b) The present value of the aggregate benefit liabilities under each of
the Plans (other than Multiemployer Plans), determined as of the end of such
Plan's most recently ended plan year on the basis of the actuarial assumptions
specified for funding purposes in such Plan's most recent actuarial valuation
report, did not exceed the aggregate current value of the assets of such Plan
allocable to such benefit liabilities by more than $500,000 in the case of any
single Plan and by more than $500,000 in the aggregate for all Plans. The term
"benefit liabilities" has the meaning specified in section 4001 of ERISA and the
terms "current value" and "present value" have the meaning specified in section
3 of ERISA.

      (c) The Company and its ERISA Affiliates have not incurred withdrawal
liabilities (and are not subject to contingent withdrawal liabilities) under
section 4201 or 4204 of ERISA in respect of Multiemployer Plans that
individually or in the aggregate are Material.

      (d) The expected postretirement benefit obligation (determined as of the
last day of the Company's most recently ended fiscal year in accordance with
Financial

                                       -8-

<PAGE>

Accounting Standards Board Statement No. 106, without regard to liabilities
attributable to continuation coverage mandated by section 4980B of the Code) of
the Company and its Subsidiaries does not exceed $1,600,000.

      (e) The execution and delivery of this Agreement and the issuance and sale
of the Notes hereunder will not involve any transaction that is subject to the
prohibitions of section 406 of ERISA or in connection with which a tax could be
imposed pursuant to section 4975(c)(1)(A)-(D) of the Code. The representation by
the Company in the first sentence of this Section 5.12(e) is made in reliance
upon and subject to the accuracy of your representation in Section 6.2 as to the
sources of the funds used to pay the purchase price of the Notes to be purchased
by you.

      (f) All Foreign Pension Plans have been established, operated,
administered and maintained in compliance with all laws, regulations and orders
applicable thereto except for such failures to comply that, in the aggregate for
all such failures, could not reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse
Effect. All premiums, contributions and any other amounts required by applicable
Foreign Pension Plan documents or applicable laws have been paid or accrued as
required, except for premiums, contributions and amounts that, in the aggregate
for all such obligations, could not reasonably be expected to have a Material
Adverse Effect.

5.13. Private Offering by the Company.

          Neither the Company nor anyone acting on its behalf has offered the
Notes or any similar securities for sale to, or solicited any offer to buy any
of the same from, or otherwise approached or negotiated in respect thereof with
more than 30 Institutional Investors (including the Purchasers), each of which
has been offered the Notes at a private sale for investment. Neither the Company
nor anyone acting on its behalf has taken, or will take, any action that would
subject the issuance or sale of the Notes to the registration requirements of
Section 5 of the Securities Act.

5.14. Use of Proceeds; Margin Regulations.

          The Company will apply the proceeds of the sale of the Notes as set
forth in Schedule 5.14. No part of the proceeds from the sale of the Notes
hereunder will be used, directly or indirectly, for the purpose of buying or
carrying any margin stock within the meaning of Regulation G of the Board of
Governors of the Federal Reserve System (12 CFR 207), or for the purpose of
buying or carrying or trading in any securities under such circumstances as to
involve the Company in a violation of Regulation X of said Board (12 CFR 224) or
to involve any broker or dealer in a violation of Regulation T of said Board (12
CFR 220). The Company, as of the date of Closing, owns no margin stock and the
Company does not have any present intention that margin stock will constitute
more than 5% of the value of the consolidated assets of the Company and its
Subsidiaries. As used in this Section, the terms "margin stock" and "purpose of
buying or carrying" shall have the meanings assigned to them in said Regulation
G.

                                       -9-

<PAGE>

5.15. Existing Indebtedness; Future Liens.

      (a) Except as described therein, Schedule 5.15 sets forth a complete and
correct list of all outstanding Indebtedness of the Company and its Subsidiaries
as of the date of Closing. Neither the Company nor any Subsidiary is in default
and no waiver of default is currently in effect, in the payment of any principal
or interest on any Indebtedness of the Company or such Subsidiary and no event
or condition exists with respect to any Indebtedness of the Company or any
Subsidiary that would permit (or that with notice or the lapse of time, or both,
would permit) one or more Persons to cause such Indebtedness to become due and
payable before its stated maturity or before its regularly scheduled dates of
payment.

      (b) Except as disclosed in Schedule 5.15, neither the Company nor any
Subsidiary has agreed or consented to cause or permit in the future (upon the
happening of a contingency or otherwise) any of its property, whether now owned
or hereafter acquired, to be subject to a Lien not permitted by Section 10.7.

5.16. Foreign Assets Control Regulations, etc.

          Neither the sale of the Notes by the Company hereunder nor its use of
the proceeds thereof will violate the Trading with the Enemy Act, as amended, or
any of the foreign assets control regulations of the United States Treasury
Department (31 CFR, Subtitle B, Chapter V, as amended) or any enabling
legislation or executive order relating thereto.

5.17. Status under Certain Statutes.

          Neither the Company nor any Subsidiary is subject to regulation under
the Investment Company Act of 1940 (except with respect to certain investment
advisory services performed by the Company), as amended, the Public Utility
Holding Company Act of 1935, as amended, the Interstate Commerce Act, as
amended, or the Federal Power Act, as amended.

5.18. Environmental Matters.

          Neither the Company nor any Subsidiary has knowledge of any claim or
has received any notice of any claim, and no proceeding has been instituted
raising any claim against the Company or any of its Subsidiaries or any of their
respective real properties now or formerly owned, leased or operated by any of
them or other assets, alleging any damage to the environment or violation of any
Environmental Laws, except, in each case, such as could not reasonably be
expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect. Except as otherwise disclosed
to you in writing,

          (a) neither the Company nor any Subsidiary has knowledge of any facts
      which would give rise to any claim, public or private, of violation of
      Environmental Laws or damage to the environment emanating from, occurring
      on or in any way related to real properties now or formerly owned, leased
      or operated

                                      -10-

<PAGE>

         by any of them or to other assets or their use, except, in each case,
         such as could not reasonably be expected to result in a Material
         Adverse Effect;

              (b) neither the Company nor any of its Subsidiaries has stored any
         Hazardous Materials on real properties now or formerly owned, leased or
         operated by any of them and has not disposed of any Hazardous Materials
         in a manner contrary to any Environmental Laws in each case in any
         manner that could reasonably be expected to result in a Material
         Adverse Effect; and

              (c) all buildings on all real properties now owned, leased or
         operated by the Company or any of its Subsidiaries are in compliance
         with applicable Environmental Laws, except where failure to comply
         could not reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse
         Effect.

6.       REPRESENTATIONS OF THE PURCHASER.

6.1.     Purchase for Investment.

              You represent that you are purchasing the Notes for your own
account or for one or more separate accounts maintained by you or for the
account of one or more pension or trust funds and not with a view to the
distribution thereof, provided that the disposition of your or their property
                      --------
shall at all times be within your or their control. You understand that the
Notes have not been registered under the Securities Act and may be resold only
if registered pursuant to the provisions of the Securities Act or if an
exemption from registration is available, except under circumstances where
neither such registration nor such an exemption is required by law, and that the
Company is not required to register the Notes.

6.2.     Source of Funds.

              You represent that at least one of the following statements is
an accurate representation as to each source of funds (a "Source") to be used by
you to pay the purchase price of the Notes to be purchased by you hereunder:

              (a) if you are an insurance company, the Source does not include
         assets allocated to any separate account maintained by you in which any
         employee benefit plan (or its related trust) has any interest, other
         than a separate account that is maintained solely in connection with
         your fixed contractual obligations under which the amounts payable, or
         credited, to such plan and to any participant or beneficiary of such
         plan (including any annuitant) are not affected in any manner by the
         investment performance of the separate account; or

              (b) the Source is either (i) an insurance company pooled separate
         account, within the meaning of Prohibited Transaction Exemption ("PTE")
         90-1 (issued January 29, 1990), or (ii) a bank collective investment
         fund, within the meaning of the PTE 91-38 (issued July 12, 1991) and,
         except as you have disclosed to the Company in writing pursuant to this
         paragraph (b), no employee benefit plan or group of plans maintained by
         the same employer or employee

                                      -11-

<PAGE>

organization beneficially owns more than 10% of all assets allocated to such
pooled separate account or collective investment fund; or

     (c)   the Source constitutes assets of an "investment fund" (within the
meaning of Part V of the QPAM Exemption) managed by a "qualified professional
asset manager" or "QPAM" (within the meaning of Part V of the QPAM Exemption),
no employee benefit plan! s assets that are included in such investment fund,
when combined with the assets of all other employee benefit plans established or
maintained by the same employer or by an affiliate (within the meaning of
Section V(c)(1) of the QPAM Exemption) of such employer or by the same employee
organization and managed by such QPAM, exceed 20% of the total client assets
managed by such QPAM, the conditions of Part I(c) and (g) of the QPAM Exemption
are satisfied, neither the QPAM nor a person controlling or controlled by the
QPAM (applying the definition of "control" in Section V(e) of the QPAM
Exemption) owns a 5% or more interest in the Company and (j) the identity of
such QPAM and (1j) the names of all employee benefit plans whose assets are
included in such investment fund have been disclosed to the Company in writing
pursuant to this paragraph (c); or

     (d)   the Source is a governmental plan;

     (e)   or the Source is one or more employee benefit plans, or a separate
account or trust fund comprised of one or more employee benefit plans, each of
which has been identified to the Company in writing pursuant to this paragraph
(e); or

     (f)   the Source does not include assets of any employee benefit plan,
other than a plan exempt from the coverage of ERISA;

     (g)   if you are an insurance company and the Source includes assets of
your general account, the acquisition of the Notes by the Purchaser is exempt
under PTE 95-60 (issued July 12, 1995); or

     (h)   if you are an insurance company, the source of funds from which your
investment is to be made is a general account of an insurance company, and the
amount of the reserves and liabilities for the general account contract(s) held
by or on behalf of any Benefit Plan (as defined by the annual statement for life
insurance companies approved by the National Association of Insurance approved
by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (the "NAIC annual
Statement")) together with the amount of the reserves and liabilities for the
general account contract(s) held by or on behalf of any other Benefit Plans
maintained by the same employer (or affiliate thereof as defined in Department
of Labor Prohibited Transaction Exemption ("PTE") 95-60) or by the same employee
organization (as defined by the NAIC annual Statement) in the general account do
not exceed 10% of the total reserves and liabilities of the general account
(exclusive of separate account liabilities) plus surplus as set forth in the
NAIC Annual Statement filed with the state of domicile of the insurance company

                                      -12-

<PAGE>

       (for purposes of the percentage limitation in this clause (h), the amount
       of reserves and liabilities for the general account contract(s) held by
       or on behalf of a plan shall be determined before reduction for credits
       on account of any reinsurance ceded on a coinsurance basis).

As used in this Section 6.2, the terms "employee benefit plan", "governmental
plan", "party in interest" and "separate account" shall have the respective
meanings assigned to such terms in Section 3 of ERISA.

7.     INFORMATION AS TO COMPANY.

7.1.   Financial and Business Information.

               The Company shall deliver to each holder of Notes that is an
Institutional Investor:

               (a)  Quarterly Statements -- within 60 days after the end of each
                    --------------------
       quarterly fiscal period in each fiscal year of the Company (other than
       the last quarterly fiscal period of each such fiscal year), duplicate
       copies of,

                    (i)  a consolidated balance sheet of the Company and its
               Subsidiaries as at the end of such quarter, and

                    (ii) consolidated statements of income, expenses, cash flows
               and, if prepared by the Company in connection with its quarterly
               financial statements, statements of changes in capital of the
               Company and its Subsidiaries, for such quarter and (in the case
               of the second and third quarters) for the portion of the fiscal
               year ending with such quarter,

       setting forth in each case in comparative form the figures for the
       corresponding periods in the previous fiscal year, all in reasonable
       detail, prepared in accordance with GAAP applicable to quarterly
       financial statements generally, and certified by a Senior Financial
       Officer as fairly presenting, in all material respects, the financial
       position of the companies being reported on and their results of
       operations and cash flows, subject to changes resulting from year-end
       adjustments;

               (b)  Annual Statements of the Company -- within 90 days after
                    --------------------------------
       the end of each fiscal year of the Company, duplicate copies of,

                    (i)  a consolidated balance sheet of the Company and its
               Subsidiaries, as at the end of such year, and

                    (ii) consolidated statements of income, expenses, cash flows
               and, if prepared by the Company in connection with its annual
               audited financial statements, statements of changes in capital of
               the Company and its Subsidiaries, for such year,

                                      -13-

<PAGE>

               setting forth in each case in comparative form the figures for
               the previous fiscal year, all in reasonable detail, prepared in
               accordance with GAAP, and accompanied

                         (A) by an opinion thereon of independent certified
                    public accountants of recognized national standing, which
                    opinion shall state that such financial statements present
                    fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of
                    the companies being reported upon and their results of
                    operations and cash flows and have been prepared in
                    conformity with GAAP, and that the examination of such
                    accountants in connection with such financial statements has
                    been made in accordance with generally accepted auditing
                    standards, and that such audit provides a reasonable basis
                    for such opinion in the circumstances, and

                         (B) a certificate of such accountants stating that they
                    have reviewed this Agreement and stating further whether, in
                    making their audit, they have become aware of any condition
                    or event that then constitutes a Default or an Event of
                    Default, and, if they are aware that any such condition or
                    event then exists, specifying the nature and period of the
                    existence thereof (it being understood that such accountants
                    shall not be liable, directly or indirectly, for any failure
                    to obtain knowledge of any Default or Event of Default
                    unless such accountants should have obtained knowledge
                    thereof in making an audit in accordance with generally
                    accepted auditing standards or did not make such an audit),

                    (c)  SEC and Other Reports -- if applicable, promptly upon
                         ---------------------
               their becoming available, one copy of any of the following which
               are publicly available: (j) each financial statement, report,
               notice or proxy statement sent by the Company or any Subsidiary
               to public securities holders generally, and (ji) each regular or
               periodic report (other than reports arising from the Company's
               investment advisory and transfer agency services), each
               registration statement (without exhibits except as expressly
               requested by such holder), and each prospectus and all amendments
               thereto filed by the Company or any Subsidiary with the
               Securities and Exchange Commission and of all press releases and
               other statements made available generally by the Company or any
               Subsidiary to the public concerning developments that are
               Material;

                    (d)  Notice of Default or Event of Default - 7 promptly,
                         -------------------------------------
               and in any event within five days after a Responsible Officer
               becoming aware of the existence of any Default or Event of
               Default or that any Person has given any notice or taken any
               action with respect to a claimed default hereunder or that any
               Person has given any notice or taken any action with respect to a
               claimed default of the type referred to in Section 11(f), a
               written notice specifying the nature and period of existence
               thereof and what action the Company is taking or proposes to take
               with respect thereto;

                                      -14-

<PAGE>

                    (e)  ERISA Matters -- promptly, and in any event within five
               days after a Responsible Officer becoming aware of any of the
               following, a written notice setting forth the nature thereof and
               the action, if any, that the Company or an ERISA Affiliate
               proposes to take with respect thereto:

                         (i)   with respect to any Plan, any reportable event,
                    as defined in section 4043(b) of ERISA and the regulations
                    thereunder, for which notice thereof has not been waived
                    pursuant to such regulations as in effect on the date
                    hereof; or

                         (ii)  the taking by the PBGC of steps to institute, or
                    the threatening by the PBGC of the institution of,
                    proceedings under section 4042 of ERISA for the termination
                    of, or the appointment of a trustee to administer, any Plan,
                    or the receipt by the Company or any ERISA Affiliate of a
                    notice from a Multiemployer Plan that such action has been
                    taken by the PBGC with respect to such Multiemployer Plan;
                    or

                         (iii) any event, transaction or condition that could
                    result in the incurrence of any liability by the Company or
                    any ERISA Affiliate pursuant to Title I or IV of ERISA or
                    the penalty or excise tax provisions of the Code relating to
                    Plans, or in the imposition of any Lien on any of the
                    rights, properties or assets of the Company or any ERISA
                    Affiliate pursuant to Title I or IV of ERISA or such penalty
                    or excise tax provisions, if such liability or Lien, taken
                    together with any other such liabilities or Liens then
                    existing, could reasonably be expected to have a Material
                    Adverse Effect;

                    (f)  Notices from Governmental Authority -- promptly, and in
                         -----------------------------------
               any event within 30 days of receipt thereof, copies of any notice
               to the Company or any Subsidiary from any Federal or state
               Governmental Authority relating to any order, ruling, statute or
               other law or regulation that could reasonably be expected to have
               a Material Adverse Effect;

                    (g)  Restricted Subsidiary Status -- promptly, and in any
                         ----------------------------
               event within ten days of the occurrence thereof, the designation
               of an Unrestricted Subsidiary as a Restricted Subsidiary; and

                    (h)  Requested Information-- with reasonable promptness,
                         ---------------------
               such other data and information relating to the business,
               operations, affairs, financial condition, assets or properties of
               the Company or any of its Subsidiaries or relating to the ability
               of the Company to perform its obligations hereunder and under the
               Notes as from time to time may be reasonably requested by any
               such holder of Notes.

                                      -15-

<PAGE>

7.2.   Officer's Certificate.

             Each set of financial statements delivered to a holder of Notes
pursuant to Section (a) or Section (b) hereof shall be accompanied by a
certificate of a Senior Financial Officer setting forth:

             (a) Covenant Compliance -- the information (including detailed
                 -------------------
       calculations) required in order to establish whether the Company was in
       compliance with the requirements of Section 10.2 through Section 10.10
       hereof, inclusive, during the quarterly or annual period covered by the
       statements then being furnished (including with respect to each such
       Section, where applicable, the calculations of the maximum or minimum
       amount, ratio or percentage, as the case may be, permissible under the
       terms of such Sections, and the calculation of the amount, ratio or
       percentage then in existence); and

             (b) Event of Default -- a statement that such officer has reviewed
                 ----------------
       the relevant terms hereof and has made, or caused to be made, under his
       or her supervision, a review of the transactions and conditions of the
       Company and its Subsidiaries from the beginning of the quarterly or
       annual period covered by the statements then being furnished to the date
       of the certificate and that such review shall not have disclosed the
       existence during such period of any condition or event that constitutes a
       Default or an Event of Default or, if any such condition or event existed
       or exists (including, without limitation, any such event or condition
       resulting from the failure of the Company or any Subsidiary to comply
       with any Environmental Law), specifying the nature and period of
       existence thereof and what action the Company shall have taken or
       proposes to take with respect thereto.

7.3.   Inspection.

             The Company shall permit the representatives of each holder of
Notes that is an Institutional Investor:

             (a) No Default -- if no Default or Event of Default then exists, at
                 ----------
       the expense of such holder and upon reasonable prior notice to the
       Company, to visit the principal executive office of the Company, to
       discuss the affairs, finances and accounts of the Company and its
       Subsidiaries with the Company's officers, and (with the consent of the
       Company, which consent will not be unreasonably withheld) its independent
       public accountants, and (with the consent of the Company, which consent
       will not be unreasonably withheld) to visit the other offices and
       properties of the Company and each Subsidiary, all at such reasonable
       times and as often as may be reasonably requested in writing; and

             (b) Default -- if a Default or Event of Default then exists, at the
                 -------
       expense of the Company to visit and inspect any of the offices or
       properties of the Company or any Subsidiary, to examine all their
       respective books of account, records, reports and other papers, to make
       copies and extracts therefrom, and to

                                      -16-

<PAGE>

     discuss their respective affairs, finances and accounts with their
     respective officers and independent public accountants (and by this
     provision the Company authorizes said accountants to discuss the affairs,
     finances and accounts of the Company and its Subsidiaries), all at such
     times and as often as may be requested.

8.   PREPAYMENT OF THE NOTES

8.1. Required Prepayments.

                  On May 30, 2004 and on each May 30 thereafter to and including
May 30, 2007, the Company will prepay $ 10,000,000 principal amount (or such
lesser principal amount as shall then be outstanding) of the Notes at par and
without payment of the Make-Whole Amount or any premium, provided that upon any
partial prepayment of the Notes pursuant to Section 8.2 or purchase of the Notes
permitted by Section 8.5 the principal amount of each required prepayment of the
Notes becoming due under this Section 8.1 on and after the date of such
prepayment or purchase shall be reduced in the same proportion as the aggregate
unpaid principal amount of the Notes is reduced as a result of such prepayment
or purchase.

8.2. Optional Prepayments with Make-Whole Amount.

                  The Company may, at its option, upon notice as provided below,
prepay at any time all, or from time to time any part of, the Notes, in an
amount not less than $5,000,000 or integral multiples of $100,000 in excess
thereof (or such lesser amount as shall then be outstanding) in the case of a
partial prepayment, at 100% of the principal amount so prepaid, plus interest on
such principal amount accrued to the prepayment date and the Make-Whole Amount
determined for the prepayment date with respect to such principal amount. The
Company will give each holder of Notes written notice of each optional
prepayment under this Section 8.2 not less than 30 days and not more than 60
days prior to the date fixed for such prepayment. Each such notice shall specify
such date, the aggregate principal amount of the Notes to be prepaid on such
date, the principal amount of each Note held by such holder to be prepaid
(determined in accordance with Section 8.3), and the interest to be paid on the
prepayment date with respect to such principal amount being prepaid, and shall
be accompanied by a certificate of a Senior Financial Officer as to the
estimated Make-Whole Amount due in connection with such prepayment (calculated
as if the date of such notice were the date of the prepayment), setting forth
the details of such computation. Two Business Days prior to such prepayment, the
Company shall deliver to each holder of Notes a certificate of a Senior
Financial Officer specifying the calculation of such Make-Whole Amount as of the
specified prepayment date.

8.3. Allocation of Partial Prepayments.

                  In the case of each partial prepayment of the Notes, the
principal amount of the Notes to be prepaid shall be allocated among all of the
Notes at the time outstanding in proportion, as nearly as practicable, to the
respective unpaid principal amounts thereof not theretofore called for
prepayment.

                                      -17-

<PAGE>

8.4.     Maturity; Surrender, etc.

                  In the case of each prepayment of Notes pursuant to this
Section 8, the principal amount of each Note to be prepaid shall mature and
become due and payable on the date fixed for such prepayment, together with
interest on such principal amount accrued to such date and the applicable
Make-Whole Amount, if any. From and after such date, unless the Company shall
fail to pay such principal amount when so due and payable, together with the
interest and Make Whole Amount, if any, as aforesaid, interest on such principal
amount shall cease to accrue. Any Note paid or prepaid in full shall be
surrendered to the Company and cancelled and shall not be reissued, and no Note
shall be issued in lieu of any prepaid principal amount of any Note.

8.5.     Purchase of Notes.

                  The Company will not and will not permit any Affiliate to
purchase, redeem, prepay or otherwise acquire, directly or indirectly, any of
the outstanding Notes except upon the payment or prepayment of the Notes in
accordance with the terms of this Agreement and the Notes. The Company will
promptly cancel all Notes acquired by it or any Affiliate pursuant to any
payment, prepayment or purchase of Notes pursuant to any provision of this
Agreement and no Notes may be issued in substitution or exchange for any such
Notes.

8.6.     Make-Whole Amount.

                  The term "Make-Whole Amount" means, with respect to any Note,
an amount equal to the excess, if any, of the Discounted Value of the Remaining
Scheduled Payments with respect to the Called Principal of such Note over the
amount of such Called Principal, provided that the Make-Whole Amount may in no
event be less than zero. For the purposes of determining the Make-Whole Amount,
the following terms have the following meanings:

                  "Called Principal" means, with respect to any Note, the
         principal of such Note that is to be prepaid pursuant to Section 8.2 or
         has become or is declared to be immediately due and payable pursuant to
         Section 12. 1, as the context requires.

                  "Discounted Value" means, with respect to the Called Principal
         of any Note, the amount obtained by discounting all Remaining Scheduled
         Payments with respect to such Called Principal from their respective
         scheduled due dates to the Settlement Date with respect to such Called
         Principal, in accordance with accepted financial practice and at a
         discount factor (applied on the same periodic basis as that on which
         interest on the Notes is payable) equal to the Reinvestment Yield with
         respect to such Called Principal.

                  "Reinvestment Yield" means, with respect to the Called
         Principal of any Note, 0.50% over the yield to maturity implied by (j)
         the yields reported, as of 10:00 A.M. (New York City time) on the
         second Business Day preceding the Settlement Date with respect to such
         Called Principal, on the display designated

                                      -18-

<PAGE>

         as Page "USD" of the Bloomberg Financial Markets Service (or such other
         display as may replace Page "USD" of the Bloomberg Financial Markets
         Service) for actively traded U.S. Treasury securities having a maturity
         equal to the Remaining Average Life of such Called Principal as of such
         Settlement Date, or (ii) if such yields are not reported as of such
         time or the yields reported as of such time are not ascertainable, the
         Treasury Constant Maturity Series Yields reported, for the latest day
         for which such yields have been so reported as of the second Business
         Day preceding the Settlement Date with respect to such Called
         Principal, in Federal Reserve Statistical Release H.15 (519) (or any
         comparable successor publication) for actively traded U.S. Treasury
         securities having a constant maturity equal to the Remaining Average
         Life of such Called Principal as of such Settlement Date. Such implied
         yield will be determined, if necessary, by (.a) converting U.S.
         Treasury bill quotations to bond-equivalent yields in accordance with
         accepted financial practice and interpolating linearly between (1) the
         actively traded U.S. Treasury security with the duration closest to and
         greater than the Remaining Average Life and (2) the actively traded
         U.S. Treasury security with the duration closest to and less than the
         Remaining Average Life.

                  "Remaining Average Life" means, with respect to any Called
         Principal, the number of years (calculated to the nearest one-twelfth
         year) obtained by dividing (i) such Called Principal into (ii) the sum
         of the products obtained by multiplying (.a) the principal component of
         each Remaining Scheduled Payment with respect to such Called Principal
         by (h) the number of years (calculated to the nearest one-twelfth year)
         that will elapse between the Settlement Date with respect to such
         Called Principal and the scheduled due date of such Remaining Scheduled
         Payment.

                  "Remaining Scheduled Payments" means, with respect to the
         Called Principal of any Note, all payments of such Called Principal and
         interest thereon that would be due after the Settlement Date with
         respect to such Called Principal if no payment of such Called Principal
         were made prior to its scheduled due date, provided that if such
         Settlement Date is not a date on which interest payments are due to be
         made under the terms of the Notes, then the amount of the next
         succeeding scheduled interest payment will be reduced by the amount of
         interest accrued to such Settlement Date and required to be paid on
         such Settlement Date pursuant to Section 8.2 or 12. 1.

                  "Settlement Date" means, with respect to the Called Principal
         of any Note, the date on which such Called Principal is to be prepaid
         pursuant to Section 8.2 or has become or is declared to be immediately
         due and payable pursuant to Section 12. 1, as the context requires.

9.       AFFIRMATIVE COVENANTS.

                  The Company covenants that so long as any of the Notes are
outstanding:

                                      -19-

<PAGE>

9.1.     Compliance with Law.

                  The Company will and will cause each of its Subsidiaries to
comply with all laws, ordinances or governmental rules or regulations to which
each of them is subject, including, without limitation, Environmental Laws, and
will obtain and maintain in effect all licenses, certificates, permits,
franchises and other governmental authorizations necessary to the ownership of
their respective properties or to the conduct of their respective businesses, in
each case to the extent necessary to ensure that non-compliance with such laws,
ordinances or governmental rules or regulations or failures to obtain or
maintain in effect such licenses, certificates, permits, franchises and other
governmental authorizations could not, individually or in the aggregate,
reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect.

9.2.     Insurance.

                  The Company will and will cause each of its Subsidiaries to
maintain, with financially sound and reputable insurers, insurance with respect
to their respective properties and businesses against such casualties and
contingencies, of such types, on such terms and in such amounts (including
deductibles, co-insurance and self-insurance, if adequate reserves are
maintained with respect thereto) as is customary in the case of entities of
established reputations engaged in the same or a similar business and similarly
situated.

9.3.     Maintenance of Properties.

                  The Company will and will cause each of its Subsidiaries to
maintain and keep, or cause to be maintained and kept, their respective
properties in good repair, working order and condition (other than ordinary wear
and tear), so that the business carried on in connection therewith may be
properly conducted at all times, provide that this Section shall not prevent the
Company or any Subsidiary from discontinuing the operation and the maintenance
of any of its properties if such discontinuance is desirable in the conduct of
its business and the Company has concluded that such discontinuance could not,
individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a Material
Adverse Effect.

9.4.     Payment of Taxes and Claims.

                  The Company will and will cause each of its Subsidiaries to
file all tax returns required to be filed in any jurisdiction and to pay and
discharge all taxes shown to be due and payable on such returns and all other
taxes, assessments, governmental charges, or levies imposed on them or any of
their properties, assets, income or franchises, to the extent such taxes and
assessments have become due and payable and before they have become delinquent
and all claims for which sums have become due and payable that have or might
become a Lien on properties or assets of the Company or any Subsidiary, provided
                                                                        --------
that neither the Company nor any Subsidiary need pay any such tax or assessment
or claims if (i) the amount, applicability or validity thereof is contested by
the Company or such Subsidiary on a timely basis in good faith and in
appropriate

                                       -20-

<PAGE>

proceedings, and the Company or a Subsidiary has established adequate reserves
therefor in accordance with GAAP on the books of the Company or such Subsidiary
or (ii) the nonpayment of all such taxes and assessments in the aggregate could
not reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect.

9.5.   Existence, etc.

             The Company will at all times preserve and keep in full force and
effect its existence as a limited liability company. Subject to Section 10.2,
the Company will at all times preserve and keep in full force and effect the
corporate, limited liability company or partnership existence of each of its
Subsidiaries (unless merged into the Company or a Subsidiary) and all rights and
franchises of the Company and its Subsidiaries unless, in the good faith
judgment of the Company, the termination of or failure to preserve and keep in
full force and effect such existence, right or franchise could not, individually
or in the aggregate, have a Material Adverse Effect.

10.    NEGATIVE COVENANTS.

             The Company covenants that so long as any of the Notes are
outstanding:

10.1.  Transactions with Affiliates.

             The Company will not and will not permit any Restricted Subsidiary
to enter into directly or indirectly any transaction or Material group of
related transactions (including without limitation the purchase, lease, sale or
exchange of properties of any kind or the rendering of any service) with any
Affiliate (other than the Company or a Wholly-Owned Restricted Subsidiary),
except in the ordinary course and pursuant to the reasonable requirements of the
Company's or such Restricted Subsidiary's business and upon fair and reasonable
terms no less favorable to the Company or such Restricted Subsidiary than would
be obtainable in a comparable arm's-length transaction with a Person not an
Affiliate.

10.2.  Merger, Consolidation, etc.

             The Company shall not, and shall not permit any Restricted
Subsidiary to, consolidate with or merge with any other Person or convey,
transfer or lease substantially all of its assets in a single transaction or
series of transactions to any other Person, except that:

             (a) The Company may consolidate with or merge with or into any
       Person, or convey, transfer or lease substantially all of the assets of
       the Company as an entirety to any Person provided that immediately after
       giving effect thereto,

                 (i) the Company is the successor Person or, if the Company is
             not the successor Person, the successor Person is a Person
             organized under the laws of a state of the United States of America
             or the District of Columbia and shall expressly assume in writing
             the Company's obligations under the Notes and this Agreement
             (pursuant to such

                                      -21-

<PAGE>

             agreements and instruments reasonably satisfactory to the Required
             Holders), and the successor Person shall furnish to the holders of
             the Notes an opinion of nationally recognized independent counsel
             in form and substance satisfactory to the Required Holders to the
             effect that the instrument of assumption has been duly authorized,
             executed and delivered and constitutes the legal, valid and binding
             contract and agreement of the successor Person enforceable in
             accordance with its terms, except as enforcement of such terms may
             be limited by bankruptcy, insolvency, reorganization, moratorium or
             similar laws affecting the enforcement of creditors' rights
             generally and by general equitable principles;

                 (ii)  immediately after giving effect to such transaction,
             there shall exist no Event of Default or Default; and

                 (iii) immediately after giving effect to such transaction, the
             Company or such successor Person could incur at least $1.00 of
             additional Funded Indebtedness pursuant to Section 10.4(c).

             (b) any Restricted Subsidiary may (i) consolidate with or merge
       into the Company or any Wholly-Owned Restricted Subsidiary or (ii)
       convey, transfer or lease substantially all of its assets to the Company
       or to any Wholly-Owned Restricted Subsidiary, provided in each such
       instance there shall exist no Event of Default or Default.

10.3.  Consolidated Net Capital.

             The Company will not at any time permit its Consolidated Net
Capital to be less than the sum of (a) $85,000,000 plus (b) the cumulative sum
of 10% (without deduction for any loss) of its Consolidated Net Income for the
six-month period ending September 30, 1996 and for each fiscal year thereafter.

10.4.  Funded Indebtedness.

             The Company will not, nor shall it permit any Restricted Subsidiary
to, at any time create, assume, incur, guarantee or otherwise become liable,
directly or indirectly, for any Funded Indebtedness other than:

             (a) The Notes and all existing Funded Indebtedness described in
       Schedule 5.15;

             (b) Funded Indebtedness of a Restricted Subsidiary owed to the
       Company or to any Wholly-Owned Restricted Subsidiary;

             (c) Funded Indebtedness if, after giving effect to the incurrence
       of such Funded Indebtedness and to the application of proceeds thereof,
       Consolidated Funded Indebtedness would not exceed (i) 60% of Total
       Capitalization as of the end of the most recent fiscal quarter ending
       within the

                                      -22-

<PAGE>

       period commencing with the date of Closing and ending September 29, 1998
       and (ii) 55% of Total Capitalization as of the end of the most recent
       fiscal quarter ending after September 29, 1998.

10.5.  Current Indebtedness.

             The Company will not, and will not permit any Restricted Subsidiary
to, have, at any time, any Current Indebtedness outstanding unless, during the
twelve month period immediately preceding, there shall have been a period of 30
consecutive days during which the sum of (a) outstanding Current Indebtedness
(if Current Indebtedness were categorized as Funded Indebtedness) plus (b)
outstanding Funded Indebtedness could have been incurred as Consolidated Funded
Indebtedness pursuant to Section 10.4(c).

10.6.  Indebtedness of Restricted Subsidiaries.

             The Company shall not permit any Restricted Subsidiary at any time
to create, assume, incur, guarantee or otherwise become liable, directly or
indirectly, for any Indebtedness, except:

             (a) Indebtedness owed to the Company or to any Wholly-Owned
       Restricted Subsidiary; and

             (b) Subject to compliance with Section 10.4(c), Indebtedness which,
       when added to aggregate outstanding Indebtedness incurred pursuant to
       Section 10.7(i), shall not at any time exceed 25% of Consolidated Net
       Capital determined as of the end of the Company's most recently ended
       fiscal quarter.

10.7.  Liens.

             The Company will not, and will not pen-nit any Restricted
Subsidiary to, create, assume or incur, or suffer to be incurred or assumed or
to exist, any Lien on its or their property or assets, whether now owned or
hereafter acquired, or upon any income or profits therefrom, or transfer any
property for the purpose of subjecting the same to the payment of obligations in
priority to the payment of its or their general creditors, or acquire or agree
to acquire, or permit any Restricted Subsidiary to acquire, any property or
assets upon conditional sales agreements or other title retention devices,
except:

             (a) Liens existing on property or assets of the Company or any
       Restricted Subsidiary as of the date of this Agreement that are described
       in Schedule 10.7 to this Agreement;

             (b) Liens for taxes, assessments or governmental charges the
       payment of which is not required under Section 9.4;

             (c) Liens created by or resulting from any litigation or legal
       proceedings which are being contested in good faith by appropriate legal
       proceedings and adequate reserves are maintained with respect thereto in

                                      -23-

<PAGE>

       accordance with GAAP, unless the judgment that such Liens secure shall
       not have been stayed, bonded or discharged within 60 days;

             (d) Construction or materialmen's or mechanic's Liens securing
       obligations not overdue or, if overdue, are being contested in good faith
       and by proper proceedings and with respect to which adequate reserves are
       maintained in accordance with GAAP;

             (e) Liens in connection with worker's compensation, social security
       taxes or similar charges arising in the ordinary course of business and
       not incurred in connection with the borrowing of money;

             (f) Liens securing Indebtedness owed by any Restricted Subsidiary
       to the Company or by the Company to any Wholly-Owned Restricted
       Subsidiary or by any Restricted Subsidiary to any Wholly-Owned Restricted
       Subsidiary;

             (g) Liens consisting of encumbrances in the nature of zoning
       restrictions, easements, rights and restrictions on the use of real
       property on the date of the acquisition thereof and statutory Liens of
       landlords, which in any case do not materially detract from the value of
       such property or impair the Company's use thereof;

             (h) (A) any Lien on fixed assets to secure any rights granted with
       respect to such property in connection with the provision of all or a
       part of the purchase price created contemporaneously with, or within 90
       days after, such acquisition, provided that, (i) any Liens incurred
                                     --------
       pursuant to this clause (h) shall not (A) exceed 100% of the lesser of
       cost or fair market value (as determined by the Managers of the Company)
       of the related property at the time of the occurrence of the transactions
       described above in this clause (h) or (B) extend to any other property of
       the Company or any Restricted Subsidiary other than the fixed assets
       acquired pursuant to this clause (h) and (ii) such Indebtedness could be
       incurred pursuant to Section 10.4(c); and

             (i) Liens which secure Indebtedness and which are not permitted by
       (a) through (h) above; provided that, after giving effect to the
                              --------
       incurrence of such Indebtedness and the application of proceeds thereof,
       (A) the requirements of Section 10.4(c) shall have been met and (B)
       Indebtedness incurred under this Section 10.7(i), when added to
       outstanding Indebtedness of Restricted Subsidiaries permitted by Section
       10.6(b) will not exceed 25% of Consolidated Net Capital determined as of
       the end of the Company's most recently ended fiscal quarter.

10.8.  Sale of Assets.

             Except as permitted by Section 10.2, the Company will not, and will
not permit any Restricted Subsidiary to, sell, lease, transfer or otherwise
dispose of any assets, including the disposition of the stock of any Restricted
Subsidiary (except as permitted by Section 10.9(a) and Section 10.9(b)(i) and
(ii)) and including any Sale and

                                      -24-

<PAGE>

Lease-Back Transaction (collectively, a "Disposition"), in one or a series of
transactions, other than in the ordinary course of business, to any Person,
other than the Company or a Wholly-Owned Restricted Subsidiary if immediately
preceding such Disposition and after giving effect to such Disposition during
any fiscal year of the Company the aggregate book value of all such Dispositions
during such fiscal year, would exceed 15% of Consolidated Total Assets as of the
end of the immediately preceding fiscal year; provided, however, that the
Company may, and may permit any Restricted Subsidiary to, sell, lease, transfer
or otherwise dispose of assets in excess of the percentage specified above:

        (a) if the cash proceeds therefrom are (i) utilized within 180 days
after such Disposition to purchase productive assets of at least equivalent
value or (ii) used to prepay Consolidated Funded Indebtedness (except
Subordinated Indebtedness), including the Notes, on a pro rata basis, subject to
the prepayment requirements and at the price set forth in Section 8.2 (provided,
however, that any holder of the Notes may, at its sole discretion, decline to
have its Notes so prepaid); or

        (b) if the Disposition is a Sale and Leaseback Transaction in which the
Company or any Restricted Subsidiary sells property and leases the same property
within 180 days of such sale; provided that, (i) the cash proceeds therefrom are
utilized within 180 days after such Disposition to purchase productive assets of
equivalent value and (ii) after giving effect to such Sale and Leaseback
Transaction, no Default or Event of Default shall have occurred.

10.9. Restricted Subsidiary Stock.

        (a) The Company will not permit any Restricted Subsidiary to issue
shares of its capital stock to any Person other than (i) the Company, (ii) any
Wholly-Owned Restricted Subsidiary, (iii) management or employees of the Company
or any Wholly-Owned Restricted Subsidiary or any Foreign Restricted Subsidiary
or (iv) in connection with the issuance of director's qualifying shares with
respect to Foreign Restricted Subsidiaries; provided, however, that (A) after
                                            --------
giving effect to such stock issuance pursuant to the foregoing clause (iii), no
Default or Event of Default shall have occurred and (B) the Managers of the
Company shall have determined that such stock issuance is in the best interest
of the Company.

        (b) The Company will not sell, transfer or otherwise dispose of any
capital stock or other equity or partnership interest (the "Interests") in any
Restricted Subsidiary to any Person other than to (i) any Wholly-Owned
Restricted Subsidiary, (ii) management or employees of the Company or any
Wholly-Owned Restricted Subsidiary or any Foreign Restricted Subsidiary or (iii)
in connection with the issuance of director's qualifying shares with respect to
Foreign Restricted Subsidiaries; provided, however, that (A) after giving effect
                                 --------
to such disposition pursuant to the foregoing clause (ii), no Default or Event
of Default shall have occurred and (B) the Managers of the Company shall have
determined that such disposition is in the best interest of the Company, and
provided, further, that the Company may sell, transfer or otherwise dispose of
--------  -------
Interests other than as provided in clauses (i) and (ii) of this paragraph (b)
if (A) the Interests are valued at

                                      -25-

<PAGE>

book value determined as the date of such disposition, and such disposition is
permitted by Section 10.8; (B) all Interests held by the Company in any
Restricted Subsidiary shall be transferred in connection with such disposition;
(C) following such disposition, neither the Company nor any Restricted
Subsidiary shall own any Interests in such former Restricted Subsidiary or be
owed any Indebtedness by such former Restricted Subsidiary; and (D) immediately
after giving effect to such disposition (y) the Company could incur $ 1. 00 of
additional Funded Indebtedness pursuant to Section 10.4(c) and (z) no Default or
Event of Default shall have occurred.

10.10. Distributions.

           The Company will not, and will not permit any Restricted Subsidiary
to, during any fiscal year, declare or pay any distributions to any of its
owners if at the time of any such distribution a Default or Event of Default
shall have occurred and be continuing hereunder or would occur as a result
thereof.

10.11. Amendments to Articles of Organization and Operating Agreement.

           The Company shall not amend or modify its Articles of Organization or
Operating Agreement in any manner which might materially and adversely affect
the rights of any holders of the Notes (it being agreed that amendments for the
purpose of admitting additional members, or reflecting deaths, retirements,
resignations, withdrawals or removals of members will not be deemed to have such
an adverse effect and amendments permitting members to incorporate and such
corporations to become members of the Company shall not be deemed to have such
an adverse effect).

10.12. Change in Business.

           Neither the Company nor any Restricted Subsidiary will engage in any
business as a result of which the general nature of the business, taken as a
whole, which would then be engaged in by the Company and its Restricted
Subsidiaries would be substantially changed from the general nature of such
business on the date hereof.

11.    EVENTS OF DEFAULT.

           An "Event of Default" shall exist if any of the following conditions
or events shall occur and be continuing:

           (a)   the Company defaults in the payment of any principal or
       Make-Whole Amount, if any, on any Note when the same becomes due and
       payable, whether at maturity or at a date fixed for prepayment or by
       declaration or otherwise; or

           (b)   the Company defaults in the payment of any interest on any Note
       for more than five Business Days after the same becomes due and payable;
       or

           (c)   the Company defaults in the performance of or compliance with
       any term contained in Sections 10. 1 through 10. 12; or

                                      -26-

<PAGE>

            (d) the Company defaults in the performance of or compliance with
      any term contained herein (other than those referred to in paragraphs (a),
      (b) and (c) of this Section 11) and such default is not remedied within 30
      days after the earlier of (j) a Responsible Officer obtaining actual
      knowledge of such default and (ji) the Company receiving written notice of
      such default from any holder of a Note (any such written notice to be
      identified as a "notice of default" and to refer specifically to this
      paragraph (d) of Section 11); or

            (e) any representation or warranty made in writing by or on behalf
      of the Company or by any officer of the Company in this Agreement or in
      any writing furnished in connection with the transactions contemplated
      hereby proves to have been false or incorrect in any material respect on
      the date as of which made; or

            (f) (i) the Company or any Subsidiary is in default (as principal or
      as guarantor or other surety) in the payment of any principal of or
      premium or make-whole amount or interest on any Indebtedness that is
      outstanding in an aggregate principal amount of at least $10,000,000
      beyond any period of grace provided with respect thereto, or (ii) the
      Company or any Subsidiary is in default in the performance of or
      compliance with any term of any evidence of any Indebtedness in an
      aggregate outstanding principal amount of at least $ 10,000,000 or of any
      mortgage, indenture or other agreement relating thereto beyond any period
      of grace provided with respect to such default, or (1) as a consequence of
      the occurrence or continuation of any event or condition (other than the
      passage of time or the right of the holder of Indebtedness to convert such
      Indebtedness into equity interests), (2j) the Company or any Subsidiary
      has become obligated to purchase or repay Indebtedness before its regular
      maturity or before its regularly scheduled dates of payment in an
      aggregate outstanding principal amount of at least $10,000,000, or (y) one
      or more Persons have the right to require the Company or any Subsidiary so
      to purchase or repay such Indebtedness; or

            (g) the Company or any Subsidiary (i) is generally not paying, or
      admits in writing its inability to pay, its debts as they become due, (ii)
      files, or consents by answer or otherwise to the filing against it of, a
      petition for relief or reorganization or arrangement or any other petition
      in bankruptcy, for liquidation or to take advantage of any bankruptcy,
      insolvency, reorganization, moratorium or other similar law of any
      jurisdiction, (iii) makes an assignment for the benefit of its creditors,
      (iv) consents to the appointment of a custodian, receiver, trustee or
      other officer with similar powers with respect to it or with respect to
      any substantial part of its property, (v) is adjudicated as insolvent or
      to be liquidated, or (vi) takes corporate action for the purpose of any of
      the foregoing; or

            (h) a court or governmental authority of competent jurisdiction
      enters an order appointing, without consent by the Company or any of its
      Subsidiaries, a custodian, receiver, trustee or other officer with similar
      powers with respect to it or with respect to any substantial part of its
      property, or constituting an order for relief or approving a petition for
      relief or reorganization or any other petition in

                                      -27-

<PAGE>

      bankruptcy or for liquidation or to take advantage of any bankruptcy or
      insolvency law of any jurisdiction, or ordering the dissolution,
      winding-up or liquidation of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries, or
      any such petition shall be filed against the Company or any of its
      Subsidiaries and such petition shall not be dismissed within 60 days; or

            (i) a final judgment or judgments for the payment of money
      aggregating in excess of $5,000,000 are rendered against one or more of
      the Company and its Subsidiaries and which judgments are not, within 30
      days after entry thereof, bonded, discharged or stayed pending appeal, or
      are not discharged within 30 days after the expiration of such stay; or

            (j) if (i) any Plan shall fail to satisfy the minimum funding
      standards of ERISA or the Code for any plan year or part thereof or a
      waiver of such standards or extension of any amortization period is sought
      or granted under section 412 of the Code, (ii) a notice of intent to
      terminate any Plan shall have been or is reasonably expected to be filed
      with the PBGC or the PBGC shall have instituted proceedings under ERISA
      section 4042 to terminate or appoint a trustee to administer any Plan or
      the PBGC shall have notified the Company or any ERISA Affiliate that a
      Plan may become a subject of any such proceedings, (iii) the aggregate
      "amount of unfunded benefit liabilities" (within the meaning of section
      4001(a)(18) of ERISA) under all Plans, determined in accordance with Title
      IV of ERISA, shall exceed $500,000, (iv) the Company or any ERISA
      Affiliate shall have incurred or is reasonably expected to incur any
      liability pursuant to Title I or IV of ERISA or the penalty or excise tax
      provisions of the Code relating to employee benefit plans, (v) the Company
      or any ERISA Affiliate withdraws from any Multiemployer Plan, or (vi) the
      Company or any Subsidiary establishes or amends any employee welfare
      benefit plan that provides post-employment welfare benefits in a manner
      that would increase the liability of the Company or any Subsidiary
      thereunder; and any such event or events described in clauses (i) through
      (vi) above, either individually or together with any other such event or
      events, could reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect.

As used in Section 110), the terms "employee benefit plan" and "employee welfare
benefit plan" shall have the respective meanings assigned to such terms in
Section 3 of ERISA.

12.   REMEDIES ON DEFAULT, ETC.

12.1. Acceleration.

            (a) If an Event of Default with respect to the Company described in
paragraph (g) or (h) of Section 11 (other than an Event of Default described in
clause (i) of paragraph (g) or described in clause (vi) of paragraph (g) by
virtue of the fact that such clause encompasses clause (i) of paragraph (g)) has
occurred, all the Notes then outstanding shall automatically become immediately
due and payable.

                                      -28-

<PAGE>

             (b) If any other Event of Default has occurred and is continuing,
any holder or holders of more than 33% in principal amount of the Notes at the
time outstanding may at any time at its or their option, by notice or notices to
the Company, declare all the Notes then outstanding to be immediately due and
payable.

             (c) If any Event of Default described in paragraph (a) or (b) of
Section 11 has occurred and is continuing, any holder or holders of Notes at the
time outstanding affected by such Event of Default may at any time, at its or
their option, by notice or notices to the Company, declare all the Notes held by
it or them to be immediately due and payable.

             Upon any Notes becoming due and payable under this Section 12.1,
whether automatically or by declaration, such Notes will forthwith mature and
the entire unpaid principal amount of such Notes, plus (x) all accrued and
unpaid interest thereon and (y) the Make-Whole Amount determined in respect of
such principal amount (to the full extent permitted by applicable law), shall
all be immediately due and payable, in each and every case without presentment,
demand, protest or further notice, all of which are hereby waived. The Company
acknowledges, and the parties hereto agree, that each holder of a Note has the
right to maintain its investment in the Notes free from repayment by the Company
(except as herein specifically provided for) and that the provision for payment
of a Make-Whole Amount by the Company in the event that the Notes are prepaid or
are accelerated as a result of an Event of Default, is intended to provide
compensation for the deprivation of such right under such circumstances.

12.2.  Other Remedies.

             If any Default or Event of Default has occurred and is continuing,
and irrespective of whether any Notes have become or have been declared
immediately due and payable under Section 12.1, the holder of any Note at the
time outstanding may proceed to protect and enforce the rights of such holder by
an action at law, suit in equity or other appropriate proceeding, whether for
the specific performance of any agreement contained herein or in any Note, or
for an injunction against a violation of any of the terms hereof or thereof, or
in aid of the exercise of any power granted hereby or thereby or by law or
otherwise.

12.3.  Rescission.

             At any time after any Notes have been declared due and payable
pursuant to clause (b) or (c) of Section 12.1, the holders of not less than
66-2/3% in principal amount of the Notes then outstanding, by written notice to
the Company, may rescind and annul any such declaration and its consequences if
(a) the Company has paid all overdue interest on the Notes, all principal of and
Make-Whole Amount, if any, on any Notes that are due and payable and are unpaid
other than by reason of such declaration, and all interest on such overdue
principal and Make-Whole Amount, if any, and (to the extent permitted by
applicable law) any overdue interest in respect of the Notes, at the Default
Rate, (b) all Events of Default and Defaults, other than non-payment of amounts
that have become due solely by reason of such declaration, have been cured or
have been

                                      -29-

<PAGE>

waived pursuant to Section 17, and (c) no judgment or decree has been entered
                                    -
for the payment of any monies due pursuant hereto or to the Notes. No rescission
and annulment under this Section 12.3 will extend to or affect any subsequent
Event of Default or Default or impair any right consequent thereon.

12.4.  No Waivers or Election of Remedies, Expenses, etc.

             No course of dealing and no delay on the part of any holder of any
Note in exercising any right, power or remedy shall operate as a waiver thereof
or otherwise prejudice such holder's rights, powers or remedies. No right, power
or remedy conferred by this Agreement or by any Note upon any holder thereof
shall be exclusive of any other right, power or remedy referred to herein or
therein or now or hereafter available at law, in equity, by statute or
otherwise. Without limiting the obligations of the Company under Section 15, the
Company will pay to the holder of each Note on demand such further amount as
shall be sufficient to cover all costs and expenses of such holder incurred in
any enforcement or collection under this Section 12, including, without
limitation, reasonable attorneys' fees, expenses and disbursements.

13.    REGISTRATION; EXCHANGE; SUBSTITUTION OF NOTES.

13.1.  Registration of Notes.

             The Company shall keep at its principal executive office a register
for the registration and registration of transfers of Notes. The name and
address of each holder of one or more Notes, each transfer thereof and the name
and address of each transferee of one or more Notes shall be registered in such
register. Prior to due presentment for registration of transfer, the Person in
whose name any Note shall be registered shall be deemed and treated as the owner
and holder thereof for all purposes hereof, and the Company shall not be
affected by any notice or knowledge to the contrary. The Company shall give to
any holder of a Note that is an Institutional Investor promptly upon request
therefor, a complete and correct copy of the names and addresses of all
registered holders of Notes.

13.2.  Transfer and Exchange of Notes.

             Upon surrender of any Note at the principal executive office of the
Company for registration of transfer or exchange (and in the case of a surrender
for registration of transfer, duly endorsed or accompanied by a written
instrument of transfer duly executed by the registered holder of such Note or
his attorney duly authorized in writing and accompanied by the address for
notices of each transferee of such Note or part thereof), the Company shall
execute and deliver, at the Company's expense (except as provided below), one or
more new Notes (as requested by the holder thereto in exchange therefor, in an
aggregate principal amount equal to the unpaid principal amount of the
surrendered Note. Each such new Note shall be payable to such Person as such
holder may request and shall be substantially in the form of Exhibit 1. Each
such new Note shall be dated and bear interest from the date to which interest
shall have been paid on the surrendered Note or dated the date of the
surrendered Note if no interest shall have

                                      -30-

<PAGE>

been paid thereon. The Company may require payment of a sum sufficient to cover
any stamp tax or governmental charge imposed in respect of any such transfer of
Notes. Notes shall not be transferred in denominations of less than $100,000,
provided that if necessary to enable the registration of transfer by a holder of
--------
its entire holding of Notes, one Note may be in a denomination of less than $
100,000. Any transferee, by its acceptance of a Note registered in its name (or
the name of its nominee), shall be deemed to have made the representation set
forth in Section 6. 1.

13.3.  Replacement of Notes.

             Upon receipt by the Company of evidence reasonably satisfactory to
it of the ownership of and the loss, theft, destruction or mutilation of any
Note (which evidence shall be, in the case of an Institutional Investor, notice
from such Institutional Investor of such ownership and such loss, theft,
destruction or mutilation), and

             (a) in the case of loss, theft or destruction, of indemnity
       reasonably satisfactory to it (provided that if the holder of such Note
                                      --------
       is, or is a nominee for, an original Purchaser or another Institutional
       Holder, such Person's own unsecured agreement of indemnity shall be
       deemed to be satisfactory), or

             (b) in the case of mutilation, upon surrender and cancellation
       thereof, the Company at its own expense shall execute and deliver, in
       lieu thereof, a new Note, dated and bearing interest from the date to
       which interest shall have been paid on such lost, stolen, destroyed or
       mutilated Note or dated the date of such lost, stolen, destroyed or
       mutilated Note if no interest shall have been paid thereon.

14.    PAYMENTS ON NOTES.

14.1.  Place of Payment.

             Subject to Section 14.2, payments of principal, Make-Whole Amount,
if any, and interest becoming due and payable on the Notes shall be made at the
addresses of the Purchasers set forth in Schedule A hereto. The Company may at
any time, by notice to each holder of a Note, change the place of payment of the
Notes so long as such place of payment shall be either the principal office of
the Company in such jurisdiction or the principal office of a bank or trust
company in such jurisdiction.

14.2.  Home Office Payment.

             So long as you or your nominee shall be the holder of any Note, and
notwithstanding anything contained in Section 14.1 or in such Note to the
contrary, the Company will pay all sums becoming due on such Note for principal,
Make-Whole Amount, if any, and interest by the method and at the address
specified for such purpose below your name in Schedule A, or by such other
method or at such other address as you shall have from time to time specified to
the Company in writing for such purpose, without the presentation or surrender
of such Note or the making of any notation thereon, except that upon written
request of the Company made concurrently with or reasonably

                                      -31-

<PAGE>

promptly after payment or prepayment in full of any Note, you shall surrender
such Note for cancellation, reasonably promptly after any such request, to the
Company at its principal executive office or at the place of payment most
recently designated by the Company pursuant to Section 14.1. Prior to any sale
or other disposition of any Note held by you or your nominee you will, at your
election, either endorse thereon the amount of principal paid thereon and the
last date to which interest has been paid thereon or surrender such Note to the
Company in exchange for a new Note or Notes pursuant to Section 13.2. The
Company will afford the benefits of this Section 14.2 to any Institutional
Investor that is the direct or indirect transferee of any Note purchased by you
under this Agreement and that has made the same agreement relating to such Note
as you have made in this Section 14.2.

15.    EXPENSES, ETC.

15.1.  Transaction Expenses.

             Whether or not the transactions contemplated hereby are
consummated, the Company will pay all costs and expenses (including reasonable
attorneys' fees of a special counsel and, if reasonably required, local or other
counsel) incurred by you and each Other Purchaser or holder of a Note in
connection with such transactions and in connection with any amendments, waivers
or consents under or in respect of this Agreement or the Notes (whether or not
such amendment, waiver or consent becomes effective), including, without
limitation: (a) the costs and expenses incurred in enforcing or defending (or
             -
determining whether or how to enforce or defend) any rights under this Agreement
or the Notes or in responding to any subpoena or other legal process or informal
investigative demand issued in connection with this Agreement or the Notes, or
by reason of being a holder of any Note, and (b) the costs and expenses,
                                              -
including financial advisors' fees, incurred in connection with the insolvency
or bankruptcy of the Company or any Subsidiary or in connection with any
work-out or restructuring of the transactions contemplated hereby and by the
Notes. The Company will pay, and will save you and each other holder of a Note
harmless from, all claims in respect of any fees, costs or expenses if any, of
brokers and finders (other than those retained by you).

15.2.  Survival.

             The obligations of the Company under this Section 15 will survive
the payment or transfer of any Note, the enforcement, amendment or waiver of any
provision of this Agreement or the Notes, and the termination of this Agreement.

16.    SURVIVAL OF REPRESENTATIONS AND WARRANTIES; ENTIRE AGREEMENT.

             All representations and warranties contained herein shall survive
the execution and delivery of this Agreement and the Notes, the purchase or
transfer by you of any Note or portion thereof or interest therein and the
payment of any Note, and may be relied upon by any subsequent holder of a Note,
regardless of any investigation made at any time by or on behalf of you or any
other holder of a Note. All statements

                                      -32-

<PAGE>

contained in any certificate or other instrument delivered by or on behalf of
the Company pursuant to this Agreement shall be deemed representations and
warranties of the Company under this Agreement. Subject to the preceding
sentence, this Agreement and the Notes embody the entire agreement and
understanding between you and the Company and supersede all prior agreements and
understandings relating to the subject matter hereof.

17.    AMENDMENT AND WAIVER.

17.1.  Requirements.

            This Agreement and the Notes may be amended, and the observance of
any term hereof or of the Notes may be waived (either retroactively or
prospectively), with (and only with) the written consent of the Company and the
Required Holders, except that (a) no amendment or waiver of any of the
                               -
provisions of Section 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 or 21 hereof, or any defined term (as it
is used therein), will be effective as to you unless consented to by you in
writing, and (b) no such amendment or waiver may, without the written consent of
              -
the holder of each Note at the time outstanding affected thereby, (i) subject to
                                                                   -
the provisions of Section 12 relating to acceleration or rescission, change the
amount or time of any prepayment or payment of principal of, or change the rate
or change the time of payment or method of computation of interest or of the
Make-Whole Amount on, the Notes, (ii) change the percentage of the principal
                                  --
amount of the Notes the holders of which are required to consent to any such
amendment or waiver, or (iii) amend any of Sections 8, 11(a), 11(b), 12, 17 or
                         ---
20.

17.2.  Solicitation of Holders of Notes.

            (a) Solicitation. The Company will provide each holder of the Notes
                ------------
(irrespective of the amount of Notes then owned by it) with sufficient
information, sufficiently far in advance of the date a decision is required, to
enable such holder to make an informed and considered decision with respect to
any proposed amendment, waiver or consent in respect of any of the provisions
hereof or of the Notes. The Company will deliver executed or true and correct
copies of each amendment, waiver or consent effected pursuant to the provisions
of this Section 17 to each holder of outstanding Notes promptly following the
date on which it is executed and delivered by, or receives the consent or
approval of, the requisite holders of Notes.

            (b) Payment. The Company will not directly or indirectly pay or
                -------
cause to be paid any remuneration, whether by way of supplemental or additional
interest, fee or otherwise, or grant any security, to any holder of Notes as
consideration for or as an inducement to the entering into by any holder of
Notes or any waiver or amendment of any of the terms and provisions hereof
unless such remuneration is concurrently paid, or security is concurrently
granted, on the same terms, ratably to each holder of Notes then outstanding
even if such holder did not consent to such waiver or amendment.

                                      -33-

<PAGE>

17.3. Binding Effect, etc.

            Any amendment or waiver consented to as provided in this Section 17
applies equally to all holders of Notes and is binding upon them and upon each
future holder of any Note and upon the Company without regard to whether such
Note has been marked to indicate such amendment or waiver. No such amendment or
waiver will extend to or affect any obligation, covenant, agreement, Default or
Event of Default not expressly amended or waived or impair any right consequent
thereon. No course of dealing between the Company and the holder of any Note nor
any delay in exercising any rights hereunder or under any Note shall operate as
a waiver of any rights of any holder of such Note. As used herein, the term
"this Agreement" and references thereto shall mean this Agreement as it may from
time to time be amended or supplemented.

17.4. Notes held by Company, etc.

            Solely for the purpose of determining whether the holders of the
requisite percentage of the aggregate principal amount of Notes then outstanding
approved or consented to any amendment, waiver or consent to be given under this
Agreement or the Notes, or have directed the taking of any action provided
herein or in the Notes to be taken upon the direction of the holders of a
specified percentage of the aggregate principal amount of Notes then
outstanding, Notes directly or indirectly owned by the Company or any of its
Affiliates shall be deemed not to be outstanding.

18.   NOTICES.

            All notices and communications provided for hereunder shall be in
writing and sent (a) by telecopy if the sender on the same day sends a
                  -
confirming copy of such notice by a recognized overnight delivery service
(charges prepaid), or (b) by registered or certified mail with return receipt
                       -
requested (postage prepaid), or (c) by a recognized overnight delivery service
                                 -
(with charges prepaid). Any such notice must be sent:

            (i)   if to you or your nominee, to you or it at the address
      specified for such communications in Schedule A, or at such other address
      as you or it shall have specified to the Company in writing,

            (ii)  if to any other holder of any Note, to such holder at such
      address as such other holder shall have specified to the Company in
      writing, or

            (iii) if to the Company, to the Company at its address set forth at
      the beginning hereof to the attention of the General Counsel, or at such
      other address as the Company shall have specified to the holder of each
      Note in writing.

Notices under this Section 18 will be deemed given only when actually received.

19.   REPRODUCTION OF DOCUMENTS.

            This Agreement and all documents relating thereto, including,
without limitation, (a) consents, waivers and modifications that may hereafter
                     -
be executed,

                                      -34-

<PAGE>

(b) documents received by you at the Closing (except the Notes themselves), and
 -
(c) financial statements, certificates and other information previously or
 -
hereafter furnished to you, may be reproduced by you by any photographic,
photostatic, microfilm, microcard, miniature photographic or other similar
process and you may destroy any original document so reproduced. The Company
agrees and stipulates that, to the extent permitted by applicable law, any such
reproduction shall be admissible in evidence as the original itself in any
judicial or administrative proceeding (whether or not the original is in
existence and whether or not such reproduction was made by you in the regular
course of business) and any enlargement, facsimile or further reproduction of
such reproduction shall likewise be admissible in evidence. This Section 19
shall not prohibit the Company or any other holder of Notes from contesting any
such reproduction to the same extent that it could contest the original, or from
introducing evidence to demonstrate the inaccuracy of any such reproduction.

20.   CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION.

            For the purposes of this Section 20, "Confidential Information"
means information delivered to you by or on behalf of the Company or any
Subsidiary in connection with the transactions contemplated by or otherwise
pursuant to this Agreement that is proprietary in nature and that was clearly
marked or labeled or otherwise adequately identified when received by you as
being confidential information of the Company or such Subsidiary, provided that
                                                                  --------
such term does not include information that (a) was publicly known or otherwise
                                             -
known to you prior to the time of such disclosure, (b) subsequently becomes
                                                    -
publicly known through no act or omission by you or any person acting on your
behalf, (c) otherwise becomes known to you other than through disclosure by the
         -
Company or any Subsidiary or (d) constitutes financial statements delivered to
                              -
you under Section 7.1 that are otherwise publicly available. For purposes of
this Section 20, "Confidential Information" shall include the Placement
Memorandum and all financial statements delivered by the Company pursuant to
Section 7.1(a) and (b) of this Agreement. You will maintain the confidentiality
of such Confidential Information in accordance with procedures adopted by you in
good faith to protect confidential information of third parties delivered to
you, provided that you may deliver or disclose Confidential Information to (i)
     --------                                                               -
your directors, officers, employees, agents, attorneys and affiliates (to the
extent such disclosure reasonably relates to the administration of the
investment represented by your Notes), (ii) your financial advisors and other
professional advisors who agree to hold confidential the Confidential
Information substantially in accordance with the terms of this Section 20, (iii)
                                                                            ---
any other holder of any Note, (iv) any Institutional Investor to which you sell
                               --
or offer to sell such Note or any part thereof or any participation therein (if
such Person has agreed in writing prior to its receipt of such Confidential
Information to be bound by the provisions of this Section 20), (v) any Person
                                                                -
from which you offer to purchase any security of the Company (if such Person has
agreed in writing prior to its receipt of such Confidential Information to be
bound by the provisions of this Section 20), (vi) any federal or state
                                              --
regulatory authority having jurisdiction over you, (vii) the National
                                                    ---
Association of Insurance Commissioners or any similar organization, or any
nationally recognized rating agency that requires access to information about
your investment portfolio or (viii) any other Person to which such delivery or
                              ----
disclosure may be necessary or appropriate (w) to
                                            -

                                      -35-

<PAGE>

effect compliance with any law, rule, regulation or order applicable to you, (x)
                                                                              -
in response to any subpoena or other legal process, (y) in connection with any
                                                     -
litigation to which you are a party or (z) if an Event of Default has occurred
                                        -
and is continuing, to the extent you may reasonably determine such delivery and
disclosure to be necessary or appropriate in the enforcement or for the
protection of the rights and remedies under your Notes and this Agreement. Each
holder of a Note, by its acceptance of a Note, will be deemed to have agreed to
be bound by and to be entitled to the benefits of this Section 20 as though it
were a party to this Agreement. On reasonable request by the Company in
connection with the delivery to any holder of a Note of information required to
be delivered to such holder under this Agreement or requested by such holder
(other than a holder that is a party to this Agreement or its nominee), such
holder will enter into an agreement with the Company embodying the provisions of
this Section 20.

21.   SUBSTITUTION OF PURCHASER.

            You shall have the right to substitute any one of your Affiliates as
the purchaser of the Notes that you have agreed to purchase hereunder, by
written notice to the Company, which notice shall be signed by both you and such
Affiliate, shall contain such Affiliate's agreement to be bound by this
Agreement and shall contain a confirmation by such Affiliate of the accuracy
with respect to it of the representations set forth in Section 6. Upon receipt
of such notice, wherever the word "you" is used in this Agreement (other than in
this Section 21), such word shall be deemed to refer to such Affiliate in lieu
of you. In the event that such Affiliate is so substituted as a purchaser
hereunder and such Affiliate thereafter transfers to you all of the Notes then
held by such Affiliate, upon receipt by the Company of notice of such transfer,
wherever the word "you" is used in this Agreement (other than in this Section
21), such word shall no longer be deemed to refer to such Affiliate, but shall
refer to you, and you shall have all the rights of an original holder of the
Notes under this Agreement.

22.   MISCELLANEOUS.

22.1. Successors and Assigns.

            All covenants and other agreements contained in this Agreement by or
on behalf of any of the parties hereto bind and inure to the benefit of their
respective successors and assigns (including, without limitation, any subsequent
holder of a Note) whether so expressed or not.

22.2. Payments Due on Non-Business Days.

            Anything in this Agreement or the Notes to the contrary
notwithstanding, any payment of principal of or Make-Whole Amount or interest on
any Note that is due on a date other than a Business Day shall be made on the
next succeeding Business Day without including the additional days elapsed in
the computation of the interest payable on such next succeeding Business Day.

                                      -36-

<PAGE>

22.3.  Severability.

             Any provision of this Agreement that is prohibited or unenforceable
in any jurisdiction shall, as to such jurisdiction, be ineffective to the extent
of such prohibition or unenforceability without invalidating the remaining
provisions hereof, and any such prohibition or unenforceability in any
jurisdiction shall (to the full extent permitted by law) not invalidate or
render unenforceable such provision in any other jurisdiction.

22.4.  Construction.

             Each covenant contained herein shall be construed (absent express
provision to the contrary) as being independent of each other covenant contained
herein, so that compliance with any one covenant shall not (absent such an
express contrary provision) be deemed to excuse compliance with any other
covenant. Where any provision herein refers to action to be taken by any Person,
or which such Person is prohibited from taking, such provision shall be
applicable whether such action is taken directly or indirectly by such Person.

22.5.  Counterparts.

             This Agreement may be executed in any number of counterparts, each
of which shall be an original but all of which together shall constitute one
instrument. Each counterpart may consist of a number of copies hereof, each
signed by less than all, but together signed by all, of the parties hereto.

22.6.  Governing Law.

             This Agreement shall be construed and enforced in accordance with,
and the rights of the parties shall be governed by, the law of the State of
Illinois excluding choice-of-law principles of the law of such State that would
require the application of the laws of a jurisdiction other than such State.

                                    * * * * *

                                      -37-

<PAGE>

             If you are in agreement with the foregoing, please sign the form of
agreement on the accompanying counterpart of this Agreement and return it to the
Company, whereupon the foregoing shall become a binding agreement between you
and the Company.

                                            Very truly yours,

                                            HEWITT ASSOCIATES LLC

                                            By /s/ John M. Ryan
                                               ---------------------------------
                                            Title: Chief Administrative Officer

The foregoing is hereby agreed to
as of the date thereof.

ALLSTATE LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY

By:_______________________________

By: /s/ Steven M. Laude
    ------------------------------
        Authorized Signatories

                                      -38-

<PAGE>

THE LINCOLN NATIONAL LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY
By:     Lincoln Investment Management, Inc.,
        Its Attorney-In-Fact

By: /s/ David C. Patrick
    -----------------------------------------------

AMERICAN STATES LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY
By:     Lincoln Investment Management, Inc.,
        Its Attorney-In-Fact

By: /s/ David C. Patrick
    -----------------------------------------------

FIRST PENN-PACIFIC LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY
By:     Lincoln Investment Management, Inc.,
        Its Attorney-In-Fact

By: /s/ David C. Patrick
    -----------------------------------------------

ALLIED LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY
By:     Lincoln Investment Management, Inc.,
        Its Attorney-In-Fact

By: /s/ David C. Patrick
    -----------------------------------------------

SONS OF NORWAY
By:     Lincoln Investment Management, Inc.,
        Its Attorney-In-Fact

By: /s/ David C. Patrick
    -----------------------------------------------

                                      -39-

<PAGE>

LINCOLN-SECURITY LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY
By:     Lincoln Investment Management, Inc.,
        Its Attorney-In-Fact

By: /s/ David C. Patrick
    -----------------------------------------------

SECURITY-CONNECTICUT LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY
By:     Lincoln Investment Management, Inc.,
        Its Attorney-In-Fact

By: /s/ David C. Patrick
    -----------------------------------------------

LONDON LIFE INTERNATIONAL REINSURANCE CORPORATION
By:     Lincoln Investment Management, Inc.,
        Its Attorney-In-Fact

By: /s/ David C. Patrick
    -----------------------------------------------

TRANSAMERICA OCCIDENTAL LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY
By:     Lincoln Investment Management, Inc.,

        Its Attorney-In-Fact

By: /s/ David C. Patrick
    -----------------------------------------------

                                      -40-

<PAGE>

THE MINNESOTA MUTUAL LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY
By:     MIMLIC Asset Management Company

By: /s/ Loren Haugland, Vice President
    ---------------------------------------------

MUTUAL TRUST LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY
By:     MIMLIC Asset Management Company

By: /s/ Loren Haugland, Vice President
    ---------------------------------------------

PROTECTED HOME MUTUAL LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY
By:     MIMLIC Asset Management Company

By: /s/ Loren Haugland, Vice President
    ---------------------------------------------

GUARANTEE RESERVE LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY
By:     MIMLIC Asset Management Company

By: /s/ Loren Haugland, Vice President
    ---------------------------------------------

                                      -41-<PAGE>

                                                                    Exhibit 10.5

================================================================================

                              HEWITT ASSOCIATES LLC

                                   $15,000,000
                     7.94% Senior Notes, Series A, Tranche 1
                               due March 30, 2007

                                   $35,000,000
                     8.08% Senior Notes, Series A, Tranche 2
                               due March 30, 2012

                             _______________________

                             NOTE PURCHASE AGREEMENT

                             ________________________

                           Dated as of March 15, 2000

================================================================================
                                                      Tranche 1 PPN: 42823# AB 9
                                                      Tranche 2 PPN: 42823# AC 7

<PAGE>

                               TABLE OF CONTENTS

<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
                                                                                                               Page

<S>                                                                                                              <C>
1.       AUTHORIZATION OF NOTES. ............................................................................    1

         1.1      Series A Notes. ...........................................................................    1

         1.2      Subsequent Series. ........................................................................    1

2.       SALE AND PURCHASE OF NOTES. ........................................................................    2

         2.1      Initial Sale. .............................................................................    2

         2.2      Subsequent Sales. .........................................................................    2

3.       CLOSING. ...........................................................................................    2

4.       CONDITIONS TO CLOSING. .............................................................................    3

         4.1      Representations and Warranties. ...........................................................    3

         4.2      Performance; No Default. ..................................................................    3

         4.3      Compliance Certificates. ..................................................................    3

         4.4      Opinions of Counsel. ......................................................................    3

         4.5      Purchase Permitted By Applicable Law, etc. ................................................    4

         4.6      Sale of Other Notes. ......................................................................    4

         4.7      Payment of Special Counsel Fees. ..........................................................    4

         4.8      Private Placement Number. .................................................................    4

         4.9      Changes in Organizational Structure. ......................................................    4

         4.10     Acceptance of Note Purchase Agreement. ....................................................    5

         4.11     Proceedings and Documents. ................................................................    5

5.       REPRESENTATIONS AND WARRANTIES OF THE COMPANY. .....................................................    5

         5.1      Organization; Power and Authority. ........................................................    5

         5.2      Authorization, etc. .......................................................................    5

         5.3      Disclosure. ...............................................................................    6

         5.4      Organization and Ownership of Shares of Subsidiaries; Affiliates. .........................    6

         5.5      Financial Statements. .....................................................................    7

         5.6      Compliance with Laws, Other Instruments, etc. .............................................    7

         5.7      5.7. Governmental Authorizations, etc. ....................................................    8

         5.8      Litigation; Observance of Agreements, Statutes and Orders. ................................    8

         5.9      Taxes. ....................................................................................    8

         5.10     Title to Property; Leases. ................................................................    8
</TABLE>

                                      -i-

<PAGE>

                               TABLE OF CONTENTS
                                  (Continued)
<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
                                                                                                               Page

<S>                                                                                                             <C>
         5.11     Licenses, Permits, etc. ...................................................................    9

         5.12     Compliance with ERISA. ....................................................................    9

         5.13     Private Offering by the Company. ..........................................................   10

         5.14     Use of Proceeds; Margin Regulations. ......................................................   10

         5.15     Existing Indebtedness; Future Liens. ......................................................   11

         5.16     Foreign Assets Control Regulations, etc. ..................................................   11

         5.17     Status under Certain Statutes. ............................................................   11

         5.18     Environmental Matters. ....................................................................   11

6.       REPRESENTATIONS OF THE PURCHASER. ..................................................................   12

         6.1      Purchase for Investment. ..................................................................   12

         6.2      Source of Funds. ..........................................................................   12

7.       INFORMATION AS TO COMPANY. .........................................................................   14

         7.1      Financial and Business Information ........................................................   14

         7.2      Officer's Certificate. ....................................................................   16

         7.3      Inspection. ...............................................................................   17

8.       PREPAYMENT OF THE NOTES ............................................................................   17

         8.1      Required Prepayments. .....................................................................   17

         8.2      Optional Prepayments with Make-Whole Amount. ..............................................   17

         8.3      Allocation of Partial Prepayments. ........................................................   18

         8.4      Maturity; Surrender, etc. .................................................................   18

         8.5      Purchase of Notes. ........................................................................   18

         8.6      Make-Whole Amount. ........................................................................   19

9.       AFFIRMATIVE COVENANTS. .............................................................................   20

         9.1      Compliance with Law. ......................................................................   20

         9.2      Insurance. ................................................................................   20

         9.3      Maintenance of Properties. ................................................................   20

         9.4      Payment of Taxes and Claims. ..............................................................   21

         9.5      Existence, etc. ...........................................................................   21

10.      NEGATIVE COVENANTS. ................................................................................   21

         10.1     Transactions with Affiliates. .............................................................   21
</TABLE>

                                      -ii-

<PAGE>

                               TABLE OF CONTENTS
                                  (Continued)
<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
                                                                                                               Page

<S>                                                                                                             <C>

         10.2     Merger, Consolidation, etc. ...............................................................   22

         10.3     Consolidated Net Capital. .................................................................   22

         10.4     Funded Indebtedness. ......................................................................   23

         10.5     Current Indebtedness. .....................................................................   23

         10.6     Indebtedness of Restricted Subsidiaries. ..................................................   23

         10.7     Liens. ....................................................................................   23

         10.8     Sale of Assets. ...........................................................................   25

         10.9     Restricted Subsidiary Stock. ..............................................................   25

         10.10    Distributions. ............................................................................   26

         10.11    Amendments to Articles of Organization and Operating Agreement. ...........................   26

         10.12    Designation of Unrestricted and Restricted Subsidiaries. ..................................   26

         10.13    Change in Business. .......................................................................   27

11.      EVENTS OF DEFAULT. .................................................................................   27

12.      REMEDIES ON DEFAULT, ETC. ..........................................................................   29

         12.1     Acceleration. .............................................................................   29

         12.2     Other Remedies. ...........................................................................   29

         12.3     Rescission. ...............................................................................   30

         12.4     No Waivers or Election of Remedies, Expenses, etc. ........................................   30

13.      REGISTRATION; EXCHANGE; SUBSTITUTION OF NOTES. .....................................................   30

         13.1     Registration of Notes. ....................................................................   30

         13.2     Transfer and Exchange of Notes. ...........................................................   31

         13.3     Replacement of Notes. .....................................................................   31

14.      PAYMENTS ON NOTES. .................................................................................   31

         14.1     Place of Payment. .........................................................................   31

         14.2     Home Office Payment. ......................................................................   32

15.      EXPENSES, ETC. .....................................................................................   32

         15.1     Transaction Expenses. .....................................................................   32

         15.2     Survival. .................................................................................   33

16.      SURVIVAL OF REPRESENTATIONS AND WARRANTIES; ENTIRE AGREEMENT. ......................................   33
</TABLE>

                                      -iii-

<PAGE>

                               TABLE OF CONTENTS
                                  (Continued)
<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
                                                                                                               Page

<S>                                                                                                             <C>

17.      AMENDMENT AND WAIVER. ..............................................................................   33

         17.1     Requirements. .............................................................................   33

         17.2     Solicitation of Holders of Notes. .........................................................   33

         17.3     Binding Effect, etc. ......................................................................   34

         17.4     Notes held by Company, etc. ...............................................................   34

18.      NOTICES. ...........................................................................................   34

19.      REPRODUCTION OF DOCUMENTS. .........................................................................   35

20.      CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION. ..........................................................................   35

21.      SUBSTITUTION OF PURCHASER. .........................................................................   36

22.      MISCELLANEOUS. .....................................................................................   36

         22.1     Successors and Assigns. ...................................................................   36

         22.2     Payments Due on Non-Business Days. ........................................................   37

         22.3     Severability. .............................................................................   37

         22.4     Construction. .............................................................................   37

         22.5     Counterparts. .............................................................................   37

         22.6     Governing Law. ............................................................................   37
</TABLE>

                                      -iv-

<PAGE>

                               TABLE OF CONTENTS
                                  (Continued)
<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
                                                                                                               Page

<S>                            <C>                                                                             <C>

SCHEDULE A              --     Information Relating to Purchasers

SCHEDULE B              --     Defined Terms

SCHEDULE C              --     Existing Investments

SCHEDULE 4.9            --     Changes in Organizational Structure

SCHEDULE 5.3            --     Disclosure Materials

SCHEDULE 5.4            --     Subsidiaries of the Company and Ownership of Subsidiary Stock:
                               Affiliates; Management

SCHEDULE 5.5            --     Financial Statements

SCHEDULE 5.8            --     Certain Litigation

SCHEDULE 5.11           --     Licenses, Permits, etc.

SCHEDULE 5.14           --     Use of Proceeds

SCHEDULE 5.15           --     Existing Indebtedness

SCHEDULE 10.7           --     Liens

EXHIBIT 1(a)            --     Form of Series A Tranche 1 Note

EXHIBIT 1(b)            --     Form of Series A Tranche 2 Note

EXHIBIT 2               --     Form of Subsequent Note

EXHIBIT 3               --     Form of Supplemental Note Purchase Agreement

EXHIBIT 4.4(a)          --     Form of Opinion of Counsel for the Company

EXHIBIT 4.4(b)                 Form of Opinion of Special Counsel to the Purchasers
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                                      -v-

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                              HEWITT ASSOCIATES LLC
                                100 Half Day Road
                          Lincolnshire, Illinois 60069
                                 (847) 295-5000
                                 (847) 913-9327

                                   $15,000,000
                     7.94% Senior Notes, Series A, Tranche 1
                               due March 30, 2007

                                   $35,000,000
                     8.08% Senior Notes, Series A, Tranche 2
                               due March 30, 2012

                                                      Dated as of March 15, 2000

TO EACH OF THE PURCHASERS LISTED IN
         THE ATTACHED SCHEDULE A:

Ladies and Gentlemen:

                  HEWITT ASSOCIATES LLC, a limited liability company organized
under the laws of Illinois (the "Company"), agrees with you as follows:

1.       AUTHORIZATION OF NOTES.

1.1      Series A Notes.

                  The Company has authorized the issue and sale of $15,000,000
aggregate principal amount of its 7.94% Senior Notes, Series A, Tranche 1, due
March 30, 2007 (the "Series A Tranche 1 Notes") and $35,000,000 aggregate
principal amount of its 8.08% Senior Notes, Series A, Tranche 2, due March 30,
2012 (the "Series A Tranche 2 Notes" and together with the Series A Tranche 1
Notes, the "Series A Notes", such term to include any such notes issued in
substitution therefor pursuant to Section 13 of this Agreement). The Series A
Notes shall be substantially in the form set out in Exhibit 1(a) or Exhibit
1(b), as appropriate, with such changes therefrom, if any, as may be approved by
you and the Company. Certain capitalized terms used in this Agreement are
defined in Schedule B; references to a "Schedule" or an "Exhibit" are, unless
otherwise specified, to a Schedule or an Exhibit attached to this Agreement.

1.2      Subsequent Series.

                  Subsequent series of notes ("Subsequent Notes") may be issued
pursuant to Supplemental Note Purchase Agreements as provided in Section 2.2 in
an aggregate principal amount not to exceed $50,000,000, shall be sequentially
identified as "Series B Notes," etc. and shall be in the aggregate principal
amount, be dated, bear interest, be subject to required and optional prepayments
and shall mature as provided in the Supplemental Note Purchase Agreement
pursuant to which they are issued, and shall be substantially in the form set
out in

<PAGE>

Exhibit 2; provided that no Subsequent Notes shall have a maturity earlier or a
weighted average life to maturity shorter than the maturity date and the
weighted average life to maturity of any then outstanding Notes. The Series A
Notes and the Subsequent Notes are collectively referred to as the "Notes," such
term to include any such notes issued in substitution therefor pursuant to
Section 13 of this Agreement.

2.       SALE AND PURCHASE OF NOTES.

2.1      Initial Sale.

                  Subject to the terms and conditions of this Agreement, the
Company will issue and sell to you and each of the Other Purchasers named in
Schedule A (the "Other Purchasers"), and you and the Other Purchasers agree to
purchase from the Company, at the Closing provided for in Section 3, Series A
Notes in the principal amount specified opposite your names in Schedule A at the
purchase price of 100% of the principal amount thereof. You and the Other
Purchasers are sometimes referred to as the "Initial Purchasers." Your
obligation hereunder and the obligations of the Other Purchasers are several and
not joint obligations and you shall have no liability to any Person for the
performance or non-performance by any Other Purchaser hereunder.

2.2      Subsequent Sales.

                  At any time and from time to time during the 12 calendar
months following the Initial Closing, the Company and one or more Eligible
Purchasers may enter into a Supplemental Note Purchase Agreement substantially
in the form of Exhibit 3 providing for the issuance and sale by the Company to
such Eligible Purchasers (the "Supplemental Purchasers") of the series of
Supplemental Notes specified in such Supplemental Note Purchase Agreement, in
the aggregate principal amount (not less than $5,000,000) and on the terms and
conditions set forth in such Supplemental Note Purchase Agreement. The sale of
such Supplemental Notes will take place at the location, date and time set forth
in the Supplemental Note Purchase Agreement at a closing (the "Supplemental
Closing"). At such Supplemental Closing, the Company will deliver to each
Supplemental Purchaser the Supplemental Notes of the series to be purchased in
the form of a single Note (or such greater number of Notes in denominations of
at least $500,000 as such Supplemental Purchaser may request) dated the date of
the Closing and registered in the name of such Supplemental Purchaser (or in the
name of its nominee), against delivery to the Company or its order of
immediately available funds in the amount of the purchase price therefor by wire
transfer of immediately available funds for the account of the Company.

3.       CLOSING.

                  The sale and purchase of the Notes to be purchased by you and
the Other Purchasers shall occur at the offices of Gardner, Carton & Douglas,
321 North Clark Street, Chicago, Illinois 60610, at 10:00 a.m., Central Standard
time, at a closing (the "Initial Closing") on March 28, 2000 or on such other
Business Day thereafter on or prior to March 31, 2000 as may be agreed upon by
the Company and you and the Other Purchasers. At the Closing, the Company will
deliver to you the Notes to be purchased by you in the form of a single Note (or
such greater number of Notes in denominations of at least $500,000 as you may
request) dated

                                       -2-

<PAGE>

the date of the Closing and registered in your name (or in the name of your
nominee), against delivery by you to the Company or its order of immediately
available funds in the amount of the purchase price therefor by wire transfer of
immediately available funds for the account of the Company to account number 287
360 2 at Harris Trust and Savings Bank, 111 W. Monroe Street, P.O. Box 755,
Chicago, IL 60690-0755, ABA #071000288. If at the Initial Closing the Company
shall fail to tender such Notes to you as provided above in this Section 3, or
any of the conditions specified in Section 4 shall not have been fulfilled to
your satisfaction, you shall, at your election, be relieved of all further
obligations under this Agreement, without thereby waiving any rights you may
have by reason of such failure or such nonfulfillment. The Initial Closing and
each Supplemental Closing are hereinafter referred to as a "Closing."

4.       CONDITIONS TO CLOSING.

                  The obligation of each Initial Purchaser and each Supplemental
Purchaser to purchase and pay for the Notes to be sold to it at a Closing is
subject to the fulfillment to such Purchaser's satisfaction, prior to or at such
Closing, of the following conditions:

4.1      Representations and Warranties.

                  The representations and warranties of the Company in this
Agreement shall be correct when made and at the time of such Closing.

4.2      Performance; No Default.

                  The Company shall have performed and complied with all
agreements and conditions contained in this Agreement (including the applicable
Supplemental Note Purchase Agreement) required to be performed or complied with
by it prior to or at such Closing and after giving effect to the issue and sale
of the Notes (and the application of the proceeds thereof as contemplated by
Schedule 5.14) no Default or Event of Default shall have occurred and be
continuing. Neither the Company nor any Subsidiary shall have entered into any
transaction since the date of the Memorandum that would have been prohibited by
Section 10, had it applied since such date.

4.3      Compliance Certificates.

                  (a)      Officer's Certificate.  The Company shall have
                           ---------------------
         delivered to you an Officer's Certificate, dated the date of the
         Closing, certifying that the conditions specified in Sections 4.1, 4.2
         and 4.9 have been fulfilled.

                  (b)      Secretary's Certificate. The Company shall have
                           -----------------------
         delivered to you a certificate certifying as to the resolutions
         attached thereto and other organizational proceedings relating to the
         authorization, execution and delivery of the Notes and the Agreement.

4.4      Opinions of Counsel.

                  You shall have received opinions in form and substance
satisfactory to you, dated the date of the Closing (a) from C. Lawrence Connolly
III, Esq., counsel for the Company,

                                       -3-

<PAGE>

covering the matters set forth in Exhibit 4.4(a) and covering such other matters
incident to the transactions contemplated hereby as you or your counsel may
reasonably request (and the Company hereby instructs its counsel to deliver such
opinion to you) and (b) from Gardner, Carton & Douglas, your special counsel in
connection with such transactions, substantially in the form set forth in
Exhibit 4.4(b) and covering such other matters incident to such transactions as
you may reasonably request.

4.5      Purchase Permitted By Applicable Law, etc.

                  On the date of such Closing such Purchaser's purchase of Notes
shall (i) be permitted by the laws and regulations of each jurisdiction to which
it is subject, without recourse to provisions permitting limited investments by
insurance companies without restriction as to the character of the particular
investment, (ii) not violate any applicable law or regulation (including,
without limitation, Regulation U, T or X of the Board of Governors of the
Federal Reserve System) and (iii) not subject it to any tax, penalty or
liability under or pursuant to any applicable law or regulation, which law or
regulation was not in effect on the date hereof. If requested by such Purchaser,
such Purchaser shall have received an Officer's Certificate certifying as to
such matters of fact as you may reasonably specify to enable you to determine
whether such purchase is so permitted.

4.6      Sale of Other Notes.

                  Contemporaneously with such Closing the Company shall sell to
the Other Purchasers that are to purchase Notes at such Closing and such Other
Purchasers shall purchase the Notes to be purchased by them at the Closing.

4.7      Payment of Special Counsel Fees.

                  Without limiting the provisions of Section 15.1, the Company
shall have paid on or before such Closing the fees, charges and disbursements of
your special counsel referred to in Section 4.4 to the extent reflected in a
statement of such counsel rendered to the Company at least one Business Day
prior to the Closing.

4.8      Private Placement Number.

                  A Private Placement number issued by Standard & Poor's CUSIP
Service Bureau (in cooperation with the Securities Valuation Office of the
National Association of Insurance Commissioners) shall have been obtained by
Gardner, Carton & Douglas for the Notes being issued at such Closing.

4.9      Changes in Organizational Structure.

                  Except as specified in Schedule 4.9, the Company shall not
have changed its jurisdiction of formation or been a party to any merger or
consolidation and shall not have succeeded to all or any substantial part of the
liabilities of any other entity, at any time following the date of the most
recent financial statements referred to in Schedule 5.5.

                                       -4-

<PAGE>

4.10     Acceptance of Note Purchase Agreement.

                  The Initial Purchasers and the Company shall have received
written confirmation from each Eligible Purchaser that the form and content of
this Agreement is acceptable to each Eligible Purchaser.

4.11     Proceedings and Documents.

                  All authorization and other proceedings in connection with the
transactions contemplated by this Agreement and all documents and instruments
incident to such transactions shall be satisfactory to you and your special
counsel, and you and your special counsel shall have received all such
counterpart originals or certified or other copies of such documents as you or
they may reasonably request.

5.       REPRESENTATIONS AND WARRANTIES OF THE COMPANY.

                  The Company represents and warrants to you that:

5.1      Organization; Power and Authority.

                  The Company is a limited liability company duly organized,
validly existing and in good standing under the laws of its jurisdiction of
formation, and is duly qualified as a foreign limited liability company and is
in good standing in each jurisdiction in which such qualification is required by
law, other than those jurisdictions as to which the failure to be so qualified
or in good standing could not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be
expected to have a Material Adverse Effect. The Company has the requisite power
and authority to own or hold under lease the properties it purports to own or
hold under lease, to transact the business it transacts and proposes to
transact, to execute and deliver this Agreement and the Notes and to perform the
provisions hereof and thereof.

5.2      Authorization, etc.

                  This Agreement and the Notes have been duly authorized by all
necessary action on the part of the Company as required by the Operating
Agreement and the Company's articles of organization, and this Agreement
constitutes, and upon execution and delivery thereof each Note will constitute,
a legal, valid and binding obligation of the Company enforceable against the
Company in accordance with its terms, except as such enforceability may be
limited by (i) applicable bankruptcy, insolvency, reorganization, moratorium or
other similar laws affecting the enforcement of creditors' rights generally and
(ii) general principles of equity (regardless of whether such enforceability is
considered in a proceeding in equity or at law).

                  At each Supplemental Closing, the applicable Supplemental Note
Purchase Agreement and series of Subsequent Notes being issued will have been
duly authorized by all necessary action on the part of the Company as required
by the Operating Agreement and the Company's articles of organization, and such
Supplemental Note Purchase Agreement and Subsequent Notes will constitute legal,
valid and binding obligations of the Company enforceable against the Company in
accordance with their terms, except as such enforceability may be limited by (i)
applicable bankruptcy, insolvency, reorganization, moratorium or other

                                       -5-

<PAGE>

similar laws affecting the enforcement of creditors' rights generally and (ii)
general principles of equity (regardless of whether such enforceability is
considered in a proceeding in equity or at law).

5.3      Disclosure.

                  The Company, through its agent, Nesbitt Burns Securities Inc.,
has delivered to you and each Other Purchaser a copy of the Confidential Private
Placement Memorandum, dated February 2000 (the "Memorandum"), relating to the
transactions contemplated hereby. The Memorandum fairly describes, in all
material respects, the general nature of the business and principal properties
of the Company and its Subsidiaries. Except as disclosed in Schedule 5.3, this
Agreement, the Memorandum, the Supplemental Note Purchase Agreement, if
applicable, the documents, certificates or other writings delivered to you by or
on behalf of the Company in connection with the transactions contemplated hereby
and the financial statements listed in Schedule 5.5, taken as a whole, do not
contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state any material
fact necessary to make the statements therein not misleading in light of the
circumstances under which they were made. Except as disclosed in the Memorandum
or as expressly described in Schedule 5.3, or in one of the documents,
certificates or other writings identified therein, or in the financial
statements listed in Schedule 5.5, since September 30, 1999, there has been no
change in the financial condition, operations, business or properties of the
Company or any Subsidiary except changes that individually or in the aggregate
could not reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect. There is no
fact known to the Company that could reasonably be expected to have a Material
Adverse Effect that has not been set forth herein or in the Memorandum or in the
other documents, certificates and other writings delivered to you by or on
behalf of the Company specifically for use in connection with the transactions
contemplated hereby.

5.4      Organization and Ownership of Shares of Subsidiaries; Affiliates.

                  (a) Schedule 5.4 contains (except as noted therein) complete
         and correct lists (i) of the Company's Subsidiaries, showing, as to
         each Subsidiary, the correct name thereof, the jurisdiction of its
         organization, and the percentage of shares of each class of its capital
         stock or similar equity interests outstanding owned by the Company and
         each other Subsidiary, (ii) of the Company's Affiliates, other than
         Subsidiaries, and (iii) of the Company's Managers and senior officers.

                  (b) All of the outstanding shares of capital stock or similar
         equity interests of each Subsidiary shown in Schedule 5.4 as being
         owned by the Company and its Subsidiaries have been validly issued, are
         fully paid and nonassessable and are owned by the Company or another
         Subsidiary free and clear of any Lien (except as otherwise disclosed in
         Schedule 5.4).

                  (c) Each Domestic Subsidiary and, to the best knowledge of the
         Company, each Foreign Subsidiary identified in Schedule 5.4 is a
         corporation, limited liability company or other legal entity duly
         organized, validly existing and in good standing under the laws of its
         jurisdiction of organization, and each Domestic Subsidiary and, to the
         best knowledge of the Company, each Foreign Subsidiary is duly
         qualified as a foreign

                                       -6-

<PAGE>

         corporation or other legal entity and is in good standing in each
         jurisdiction in which such qualification is required by law, other than
         those jurisdictions as to which the failure to be so qualified or in
         good standing could not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably
         be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect. Each such Domestic
         Subsidiary and, to the best knowledge of the Company, each Foreign
         Subsidiary has the corporate or other power and authority to own or
         hold under lease the properties it purports to own or hold under lease
         and to transact the business it transacts and proposes to transact.

                  (d) No Domestic Subsidiary or, to the best knowledge of the
         Company, no Foreign Subsidiary, is a party to, or otherwise subject to
         any legal restriction or any agreement (other than this Agreement, the
         agreements listed on Schedule 5.4 and customary limitations imposed by
         corporate law statutes) restricting the ability of such Subsidiary to
         pay dividends out of profits or make any other similar distributions of
         profits to the Company or any of its Subsidiaries that owns outstanding
         shares of capital stock or similar equity interests of such Subsidiary.

5.5      Financial Statements.

                  The Company has delivered to each Purchaser copies of the
consolidated financial statements of the Company and its Subsidiaries listed on
Schedule 5.5. All of said financial statements (including in each case the
related schedules and notes) fairly present in all material respects the
consolidated financial position of the Company and its Subsidiaries as of the
respective dates specified in such Schedule and the consolidated results of
their operations and cash flows for the respective periods so specified and have
been prepared in accordance with GAAP consistently applied throughout the
periods involved except as set forth in any notes thereto (subject, in the case
of any interim financial statements, to normal year-end adjustments).

5.6      Compliance with Laws, Other Instruments, etc.

                  The execution, delivery and performance by the Company of this
Agreement and the Notes will not (i) contravene, result in any breach of, or
constitute a default under, or result in the creation of any Lien in respect of
any property of the Company or any Domestic Subsidiary or, to the best knowledge
of the Company, any Foreign Subsidiary under, any indenture, mortgage, deed of
trust, loan, purchase or credit agreement, lease, operating agreement, articles
of organization, corporate charter or by-laws, or any other agreement or
instrument to which the Company or any Subsidiary is bound or by which the
Company or any Subsidiary or any of their respective properties may be bound or
affected, (ii) conflict with or result in a breach of any of the terms,
conditions or provisions of any order, judgment, decree, or ruling of any court,
arbitrator or Governmental Authority applicable to the Company or any Domestic
Subsidiary or, to the best knowledge of the Company, any Foreign Subsidiary or
(iii) violate any provision of any statute or other rule or regulation of any
Governmental Authority applicable to the Company or any Domestic Subsidiary or,
to the best knowledge of the Company, any Foreign Subsidiary. The Company is not
in default or in violation of any Material term or provision of its Operating
Agreement.

                                       -7-

<PAGE>

5.7      5.7. Governmental Authorizations, etc.

                  No consent, approval or authorization of, or registration,
filing or declaration with, any Governmental Authority is required in connection
with the execution, delivery or performance by the Company of this Agreement or
the Notes.

5.8      Litigation; Observance of Agreements, Statutes and Orders.

                  (a) Except as disclosed in Schedule 5.8, there are no actions,
         suits or proceedings pending or, to the knowledge of the Company,
         threatened against or affecting the Company or any Subsidiary or any
         property of the Company or any Subsidiary in any court or before any
         arbitrator of any kind or before or by any Governmental Authority that,
         individually or in the aggregate, could reasonably be expected to have
         a Material Adverse Effect.

                  (b) Neither the Company nor any Subsidiary is in default under
         any term of any agreement or instrument to which it is a party or by
         which it is bound, or any order, judgment, decree or ruling of any
         court, arbitrator or Governmental Authority or is in violation of any
         applicable law, ordinance, rule or regulation (including without
         limitation Environmental Laws) of any Governmental Authority, which
         default or violation, individually or in the aggregate, could
         reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect.

5.9      Taxes.

                  The Company and its Subsidiaries have filed all Tax Returns
that are required to have been filed in any jurisdiction and sent all Tax
Returns to any party as required under applicable law or regulation, and have
paid all Taxes shown to be due and payable on such returns and all other Taxes
to the extent such Taxes have become due and payable and before they have become
delinquent, except for any Taxes (i) the amount of which is not individually or
in the aggregate Material or (ii) the amount, applicability or validity of which
is currently being contested in good faith by appropriate proceedings and with
respect to which the Company or a Subsidiary, as the case may be, has
established adequate reserves in accordance with GAAP. The Company knows of no
basis for any Tax that could reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse
Effect. The charges, accruals and reserves on the books of the Company and its
Subsidiaries in respect of Taxes for all fiscal periods are adequate. The
Company is properly treated as a partnership for, and is not taxable as, a
corporation for Federal income tax purposes.

5.10     Title to Property; Leases.

                  The Company and its Subsidiaries have good and sufficient
title to their respective properties that individually or in the aggregate are
Material, including all such properties reflected in the most recent audited
balance sheet referred to in Section 5.5 or purported to have been acquired by
the Company or any Subsidiary after said date (except as sold or otherwise
disposed of in the ordinary course of business), in each case free and clear of
Liens prohibited by this Agreement. All leases that individually or in the
aggregate are Material are valid and subsisting and are in full force and effect
in all material respects.

                                       -8-

<PAGE>

5.11     Licenses, Permits, etc.

                  Except as disclosed in Schedule 5.11,

                  (a) the Company and its Subsidiaries own or possess all
         licenses, permits, franchises, authorizations, patents, copyrights,
         service marks, trademarks and trade names, or rights thereto, that
         individually or in the aggregate are Material, without known conflict
         with the rights of others;

                  (b) to the best knowledge of the Company, no product of the
         Company infringes in any material respect any license, permit,
         franchise, authorization, patent, copyright, service mark, trademark,
         trade name or other right owned by any other Person; and

                  (c) to the best knowledge of the Company, there is no Material
         violation by any Person of any right of the Company or any of its
         Subsidiaries with respect to any patent, copyright, service mark,
         trademark, trade name or other right owned or used by the Company or
         any of its Subsidiaries.

5.12     Compliance with ERISA.

                  (a) The Company and each ERISA Affiliate have operated and
         administered each Plan in compliance with all applicable laws except
         for such instances of noncompliance as have not resulted in and could
         not reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect.
         Neither the Company nor any ERISA Affiliate has incurred any liability
         pursuant to Title I or IV of ERISA or the penalty or excise tax
         provisions of the Code relating to employee benefit plans (as defined
         in Section 3 of ERISA), and no event, transaction or condition has
         occurred or exists that could reasonably be expected to result in the
         incurrence of any such liability by the Company or any ERISA Affiliate,
         or in the imposition of any Lien on any of the rights, properties or
         assets of the Company or any ERISA Affiliate, in either case pursuant
         to Title I or IV of ERISA or to such penalty or excise tax provisions
         or to Section 401(a)(29) or 412 of the Code, other than such
         liabilities or Liens as would not be individually or in the aggregate
         Material.

                  (b) The present value of the aggregate benefit liabilities
         under each of the Plans (other than Multiemployer Plans), determined as
         of the end of such Plan's most recently ended plan year on the basis of
         the actuarial assumptions specified for funding purposes in such Plan's
         most recent actuarial valuation report, did not exceed the aggregate
         current value of the assets of such Plan allocable to such benefit
         liabilities by more than $500,000 in the case of any single Plan and by
         more than $500,000 in the aggregate for all Plans. The term "benefit
         liabilities" has the meaning specified in section 4001 of ERISA and the
         terms "current value" and "present value" have the meaning specified in
         section 3 of ERISA.

                  (c) The Company and its ERISA Affiliates have not incurred
         withdrawal liabilities (and are not subject to contingent withdrawal
         liabilities) under section 4201 or 4204 of ERISA in respect of
         Multiemployer Plans that individually or in the aggregate are Material.

                                       -9-

<PAGE>

                  (d) The expected postretirement benefit obligation (determined
         as of the last day of the Company's most recently ended fiscal year in
         accordance with Financial Accounting Standards Board Statement No. 106,
         without regard to liabilities attributable to continuation coverage
         mandated by section 4980B of the Code) of the Company and its
         Subsidiaries does not exceed $3,000,000.

                  (e) The execution and delivery of this Agreement and the
         issuance and sale of the Notes hereunder will not involve any
         transaction that is subject to the prohibitions of section 406 of ERISA
         or in connection with which a tax could be imposed pursuant to section
         4975(c)(1)(A)-(D) of the Code. The representation by the Company in the
         first sentence of this Section 5.12(e) is made in reliance upon and
         subject to the accuracy of your representation in Section 6.2 as to the
         sources of the funds used to pay the purchase price of the Notes to be
         purchased by you.

                  (f) All Foreign Pension Plans have been established, operated,
         administered and maintained in compliance with all laws, regulations
         and orders applicable thereto except for such failures to comply that,
         in the aggregate for all such failures, could not reasonably be
         expected to have a Material Adverse Effect. All premiums, contributions
         and any other amounts required by applicable Foreign Pension Plan
         documents or applicable laws have been paid or accrued as required,
         except for premiums, contributions and amounts that, in the aggregate
         for all such obligations, could not reasonably be expected to have a
         Material Adverse Effect.

5.13     Private Offering by the Company.

                  Neither the Company nor anyone acting on its behalf has
offered the Notes or any similar securities for sale to, or solicited any offer
to buy any of the same from, or otherwise approached or negotiated in respect
thereof with more than 40 Institutional Investors (including you and the Other
Purchasers), each of which has been offered the Notes at a private sale for
investment. Neither the Company nor anyone acting on its behalf has taken, or
will take, any action that would subject the issuance or sale of the Notes to
the registration requirements of Section 5 of the Securities Act.

5.14     Use of Proceeds; Margin Regulations.

                  The Company will apply the proceeds of the sale of the Notes
as set forth in Schedule 5.14. No part of the proceeds from the sale of the
Notes hereunder will be used, directly or indirectly, for the purpose of buying
or carrying any margin stock within the meaning of Regulation U of the Board of
Governors of the Federal Reserve System (12 CFR 221), or for the purpose of
buying or carrying or trading in any securities under such circumstances as to
involve the Company in a violation of Regulation X of said Board (12 CFR 224) or
to involve any broker or dealer in a violation of Regulation T of said Board (12
CFR 220). - Margin stock does not constitute more than 1.0% of the value of the
consolidated assets of the Company and its Subsidiaries and the Company does not
have any present intention that margin stock will constitute more than 1.0% of
the value of such assets. As used in this Section, the terms "margin stock" and
"purpose of buying or carrying" shall have the meanings assigned to them in said
Regulation U.

                                       -10-

<PAGE>

5.15     Existing Indebtedness; Future Liens.

                  (a) Except as described therein, Schedule 5.15 sets forth a
         complete and correct list of all outstanding Indebtedness of the
         Company and its Subsidiaries as of February 29, 2000, since which date
         there has been no Material change in the amounts, interest rates,
         sinking funds, installment payments or maturities of the Indebtedness
         of the Company or its Subsidiaries. Neither the Company nor any
         Subsidiary is in default and no waiver of default is currently in
         effect, in the payment of any principal or interest on any Indebtedness
         of the Company or such Subsidiary and no event or condition exists with
         respect to any Indebtedness of the Company or any Subsidiary that would
         permit (or that with notice or the lapse of time, or both, would
         permit) one or more Persons to cause such Indebtedness to become due
         and payable before its stated maturity or before its regularly
         scheduled dates of payment.

                  (b) Except as disclosed in Schedule 5.15, neither the Company
         nor any Subsidiary has agreed or consented to cause or permit in the
         future (upon the happening of a contingency or otherwise) any of its
         property, whether now owned or hereafter acquired, to be subject to a
         Lien not permitted by Section 10.7.

5.16     Foreign Assets Control Regulations, etc.

                  Neither the sale of the Notes by the Company hereunder nor its
use of the proceeds thereof will violate the Trading with the Enemy Act, as
amended, or any of the foreign assets control regulations of the United States
Treasury Department (31 CFR, Subtitle B, Chapter V, as amended) or any enabling
legislation or executive order relating thereto.

5.17     Status under Certain Statutes.

                  Except as hereinafter described, neither the Company nor any
Subsidiary is subject to regulation under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as
amended, the Public Utility Holding Company Act of 1935, as amended, the
Interstate Commerce Act, as amended, or the Federal Power Act, as amended. The
Company is an affiliate of AHA Investment Funds, Inc., a registered open-end
investment company, for whom it acts as an investment consultant and the
Company, which acts as its administrator and shareholder servicing agent, and
Hewitt Services LLC, an affiliate of the Company that acts as its distributor,
are affiliates of Hewitt Series Trust, a registered open-end investment company.

5.18     Environmental Matters.

                  Neither the Company nor any Subsidiary has knowledge of any
claim or has received any notice of any claim, and no proceeding has been
instituted raising any claim against the Company or any of its Subsidiaries or
any of their respective real properties now or formerly owned, leased or
operated by any of them or other assets, alleging any damage to the environment
or violation of any Environmental Laws, except, in each case, such as could not
reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect. Except as
otherwise disclosed to you in writing,

                                       -11-

<PAGE>

                  (a) neither the Company nor any Subsidiary has knowledge of
         any facts which would give rise to any claim, public or private, of
         violation of Environmental Laws or damage to the environment emanating
         from, occurring on or in any way related to real properties now or
         formerly owned, leased or operated by any of them or to other assets or
         their use, except, in each case, such as could not reasonably be
         expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect;

                  (b) neither the Company nor any of its Subsidiaries has stored
         any Hazardous Materials on real properties now or formerly owned,
         leased or operated by any of them and has not disposed of any Hazardous
         Materials in a manner contrary to any Environmental Laws in each case
         in any manner that could reasonably be expected to result in a Material
         Adverse Effect; and

                  (c) all buildings on all real properties now owned, leased or
         operated by the Company or any of its Subsidiaries are in compliance
         with applicable Environmental Laws, except where failure to comply
         could not reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse
         Effect.

6.       REPRESENTATIONS OF THE PURCHASER.

6.1      Purchase for Investment.

                  You represent that you are purchasing the Notes for your own
account or for one or more separate accounts maintained by you or for the
account of one or more pension or trust funds and not with a view to the
distribution thereof, provided that the disposition of your or their property
shall at all times be within your or their control. You understand that the
Notes have not been registered under the Securities Act and may be resold only
if registered pursuant to the provisions of the Securities Act or if an
exemption from registration is available, except under circumstances where
neither such registration nor such an exemption is required by law, and that the
Company is not required to register the Notes.

6.2      Source of Funds.

                  You represent that at least one of the following statements is
an accurate representation as to each source of funds (a "Source") to be used by
you to pay the purchase price of the Notes to be purchased by you hereunder:

                  (a) the Source is an "insurance company general account" as
         such term is defined in the Department of Labor Prohibited Transaction
         Exemption ("PTE") 95-60 (issued July 12, 1995) ("PTE 95-60") and as of
         the date of this Agreement there is no "employee benefit plan" with
         respect to which the aggregate amount of such general account's
         reserves and liabilities for the contracts held by or on behalf of such
         employee benefit plan and all other employee benefit plans maintained
         by the same employer (and affiliates thereof as defined in Section
         V(a)(1) of PTE 95-60) or by the same employee organization (in each
         case determined in accordance with the provisions of PTE 95-60) exceeds
         10% of the total reserves and liabilities of such general account (as
         determined under PTE 95-60) (exclusive of separate account liabilities)
         plus surplus as set forth in

                                       -12-

<PAGE>

         the National Association of Insurance Commissioners Annual Statement
         filed with your state of domicile; or

                  (b) the Source is either (i) an insurance company pooled
         separate account, within the meaning of PTE 90-1 (issued January 29,
         1990), or (ii) a bank collective investment fund, within the meaning of
         PTE 91-38 (issued July 12, 1991) and, except as you have disclosed to
         the Company in writing pursuant to this paragraph (b), no employee
         benefit plan or group of plans maintained by the same employer or
         employee organization beneficially owns more than 10% of all assets
         allocated to such pooled separate account or collective investment
         fund; or

                  (c) the Source constitutes assets of an "investment fund"
         (within the meaning of Part V of the QPAM Exemption) managed by a
         "qualified professional asset manager" or "QPAM" (within the meaning of
         Part V of the QPAM Exemption), no employee benefit plan's assets that
         are included in such investment fund, when combined with the assets of
         all other employee benefit plans established or maintained by the same
         employer or by an affiliate (within the meaning of Section V(c)(1) of
         the QPAM Exemption) of such employer or by the same employee
         organization and managed by such QPAM, exceed 20% of the total client
         assets managed by such QPAM, the conditions of Part I(c) and (g) of the
         QPAM Exemption are satisfied, neither the QPAM nor a person controlling
         or controlled by the QPAM (applying the definition of "control" in
         Section V(e) of the QPAM Exemption) owns a 5% or more interest in the
         Company and (i) the identity of such QPAM and (ii) the names of all
         employee benefit plans whose assets are included in such investment
         fund have been disclosed to the Company in writing pursuant to this
         paragraph (c); or

                  (d) the Source is a governmental plan; or

                  (e) the Source is one or more employee benefit plans, or a
         separate account or trust fund comprised of one or more employee
         benefit plans, each of which has been identified to the Company in
         writing pursuant to this paragraph (e); or

                  (f) the Source is the assets of one or more employee benefit
         plans that are managed by an "in-house asset manager," as that term is
         defined in PTE 96-23 and such purchase and holding of the Notes is
         exempt under PTE 96-23; or

                  (g) the Source does not include assets of any employee benefit
         plan, other than a plan exempt from the coverage of ERISA

As used in this Section 6.2, the terms "employee benefit plan", "governmental
plan", "party in interest" and "separate account" shall have the respective
meanings assigned to such terms in Section 3 of ERISA.

                                       -13-

<PAGE>

7.       INFORMATION AS TO COMPANY.

7.1      Financial and Business Information

                  The Company shall deliver to each holder of Notes that is an
Institutional Investor:

                  (a)      Quarterly Statements - within 60 days after the end
                           --------------------
         of each quarterly fiscal period in each fiscal year of the Company
         (other than the last quarterly fiscal period of each such fiscal year),
         duplicate copies of,

                           (i)  a consolidated balance sheet of the Company and
                  its Subsidiaries as at the end of such quarter, and

                           (ii) consolidated statements of income, expenses,
                  cash flows and, if prepared by the Company in connection with
                  its quarterly financial statements, statements of changes in
                  capital of the Company and its Subsidiaries, for such quarter
                  and (in the case of the second and third quarters) for the
                  portion of the fiscal year ending with such quarter,

setting forth in each case in comparative form the figures for the corresponding
periods in the previous fiscal year, all in reasonable detail, prepared in
accordance with GAAP applicable to quarterly financial statements generally, and
certified by a Senior Financial Officer as fairly presenting, in all material
respects, the financial position of the companies being reported on and their
results of operations and cash flows, subject to changes resulting from year-end
adjustments;

                  (b)      Annual Statements of the Company - within 90 days
                           --------------------------------
         after the end of each fiscal year of the Company, duplicate copies of,

                           (i)  a consolidated balance sheet of the Company and
                  its Subsidiaries, as at the end of such year, and

                           (ii) consolidated statements of income, expenses,
                  cash flows and, if prepared by the Company in connection with
                  its annual audited financial statements, statements of changes
                  in capital of the Company and its Subsidiaries, for such year,

setting forth in each case in comparative form the figures for the previous
fiscal year, all in reasonable detail, prepared in accordance with GAAP, and
accompanied

                           (A)  by an opinion thereon of independent certified
                  public accountants of recognized national standing, which
                  opinion shall state that such financial statements present
                  fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of
                  the companies being reported upon and their results of
                  operations and cash flows and have been prepared in conformity
                  with GAAP, and that the examination of such accountants in
                  connection with such financial statements has been made in

                                       -14-

<PAGE>

                  accordance with generally accepted auditing standards, and
                  that such audit provides a reasonable basis for such opinion
                  in the circumstances, and

                           (B) a certificate of such accountants stating that
                  they have reviewed this Agreement and stating further whether,
                  in making their audit, they have become aware of any condition
                  or event that then constitutes a Default or an Event of
                  Default, and, if they are aware that any such condition or
                  event then exists, specifying the nature and period of the
                  existence thereof (it being understood that such accountants
                  shall not be liable, directly or indirectly, for any failure
                  to obtain knowledge of any Default or Event of Default unless
                  such accountants should have obtained knowledge thereof in
                  making an audit in accordance with generally accepted auditing
                  standards or did not make such an audit),

                  (c)      SEC and Other Reports - if applicable, promptly upon
                           ---------------------
         their becoming available, one copy of any of the following which are
         publicly available: (i) each financial statement, report, notice or
         proxy statement sent by the Company or any Subsidiary to public
         securities holders generally, and (ii) each regular or periodic report
         (other than reports arising from the Company's investment advisory and
         transfer agency services), each registration statement (without
         exhibits except as expressly requested by such holder), and each
         prospectus and all amendments thereto filed by the Company or any
         Subsidiary with the Securities and Exchange Commission and of all press
         releases and other statements made available generally by the Company
         or any Subsidiary to the public concerning developments that are
         Material;

                  (d)      Notice of Default or Event of Default - promptly, and
                           -------------------------------------
         in any event within five days after a Responsible Officer becoming
         aware of the existence of any Default or Event of Default or that any
         Person has given any notice or taken any action with respect to a
         claimed default hereunder or that any Person has given any notice or
         taken any action with respect to a claimed default of the type referred
         to in Section 11(f), a written notice specifying the nature and period
         of existence thereof and what action the Company is taking or proposes
         to take with respect thereto;

                  (e)      ERISA Matters - promptly, and in any event within
                           -------------
         five days after a Responsible Officer becoming aware of any of the
         following, a written notice setting forth the nature thereof and the
         action, if any, that the Company or an ERISA Affiliate proposes to take
         with respect thereto:

                           (i)  with respect to any Plan, any reportable event,
                  as defined in section 4043(b) of ERISA and the regulations
                  thereunder, for which notice thereof has not been waived
                  pursuant to such regulations as in effect on the date hereof;
                  or

                           (ii) the taking by the PBGC of steps to institute, or
                  the threatening by the PBGC of the institution of, proceedings
                  under section 4042 of ERISA for the termination of, or the
                  appointment of a trustee to administer, any Plan, or the
                  receipt by the Company or any ERISA Affiliate of a notice from
                  a Multiemployer

                                       -15-

<PAGE>

                  Plan that such action has been taken by the PBGC with respect
                  to such Multiemployer Plan; or

                           (iii) any event, transaction or condition that could
                  result in the incurrence of any liability by the Company or
                  any ERISA Affiliate pursuant to Title I or IV of ERISA or the
                  penalty or excise tax provisions of the Code relating to
                  Plans, or in the imposition of any Lien on any of the rights,
                  properties or assets of the Company or any ERISA Affiliate
                  pursuant to Title I or IV of ERISA or such penalty or excise
                  tax provisions, if such liability or Lien, taken together with
                  any other such liabilities or Liens then existing, could
                  reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect;

                  (f)      Notices from Governmental Authority - promptly, and
                           -----------------------------------
         in any event within 30 days of receipt thereof, copies of any notice to
         the Company or any Subsidiary from any Federal or state Governmental
         Authority relating to any order, ruling, statute or other law or
         regulation that could reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse
         Effect;

                  (g)      Restricted Subsidiary Status - promptly, and in any
                           ----------------------------
         event within ten days of the occurrence thereof, the designation of an
         Unrestricted Subsidiary -as a Restricted Subsidiary; and

                  (h)      Requested Information - with reasonable promptness,
                           ---------------------
         such other data and information relating to the business, operations,
         affairs, financial condition, assets or properties of the Company or
         any of its Subsidiaries or relating to the ability of the Company to
         perform its obligations hereunder and under the Notes as from time to
         time may be reasonably requested by any such holder of Notes.

7.2      Officer's Certificate.

                  Each set of financial statements delivered to a holder of
Notes pursuant to Section 7.1 (a) or Section 7.1 (b) shall be accompanied by a
certificate of a Senior Financial Officer setting forth:

                  (a)      Covenant Compliance - the information (including
                           -------------------
         detailed calculations) required in order to establish whether the
         Company was in compliance with the requirements of Section 10.2 through
         Section 10.10 hereof, inclusive, during the quarterly or annual period
         covered by the statements then being furnished (including with respect
         to each such Section, where applicable, the calculations of the maximum
         or minimum amount, ratio or percentage, as the case may be, permissible
         under the terms of such Sections, and the calculation of the amount,
         ratio or percentage then in existence); and

                  (b)      Event of Default - a statement that such officer has
                           ----------------
         reviewed the relevant terms hereof and has made, or caused to be made,
         under his or her supervision, a review of the transactions and
         conditions of the Company and its Subsidiaries from the beginning of
         the quarterly or annual period covered by the statements then being
         furnished to the date of the certificate and that such review shall not
         have disclosed the existence during such period of any condition or
         event that constitutes a Default or an

                                       -16-

<PAGE>

         Event of Default or, if any such condition or event existed or exists
         (including, without limitation, any such event or condition resulting
         from the failure of the Company or any Subsidiary to comply with any
         Environmental Law), specifying the nature and period of existence
         thereof and what action the Company shall have taken or proposes to
         take with respect thereto.

7.3      Inspection.

                  The Company shall permit the representatives of each holder of
Notes that is an Institutional Investor:

                  (a) No Default - if no Default or Event of Default then
                      ----------
         exists, at the expense of such holder and upon reasonable prior notice
         to the Company, to visit the principal executive office of the Company,
         to discuss the affairs, finances and accounts of the Company and its
         Subsidiaries with the Company's officers, and (with the consent of the
         Company, which consent will not be unreasonably withheld) its
         independent public accountants, and (with the consent of the Company,
         which consent will not be unreasonably withheld) to visit the other
         offices and properties of the Company and each Subsidiary, all at such
         reasonable times and as often as may be reasonably requested in
         writing; and

                  (b) Default - if a Default or Event of Default then exists, at
                      -------
         the expense of the Company to visit and inspect any of the offices or
         properties of the Company or any Subsidiary, to examine all their
         respective books of account, records, reports and other papers, to make
         copies and extracts therefrom, and to discuss their respective affairs,
         finances and accounts with their respective officers and independent
         public accountants (and by this provision the Company authorizes said
         accountants to discuss the affairs, finances and accounts of the
         Company and its Subsidiaries), all at such times and as often as may be
         requested.

8.       PREPAYMENT OF THE NOTES

8.1      Required Prepayments.

                  The Series A Tranche 1 Notes are subject to required
prepayment on March 30, 2003 and on each March 30 thereafter to and including
March 30, 2006, on which dates the Company will prepay $3,000,000 principal
amount (or such lesser principal amount as shall then be outstanding) of the
Series A Tranche 1 Notes, at par, without payment of the Make-Whole Amount or
any premium. The Series A Tranche 2 Notes are subject to required prepayment on
March 30, 2008 and on each March 30 thereafter to and including March 30, 2011,
on which dates the Company will prepay $7,000,000 principal amount (or such
lesser principal amount as shall then be outstanding) of the Series A Tranche 2
Notes, at par, without payment of the Make-Whole Amount or any premium.

8.2      Optional Prepayments with Make-Whole Amount.

                  The Company may, at its option, upon notice as provided below,
prepay at any time all, or from time to time any part of, the Notes of any
series, including the Series A Notes,

                                       -17-

<PAGE>

in an amount not less than $5,000,000 or integral multiples of $100,000 in
excess thereof (or such lesser amount as shall then be outstanding) in the case
of a partial prepayment, at 100% of the principal amount so prepaid, plus
interest on such principal amount accrued to the prepayment date and the
Make-Whole Amount determined for the prepayment date with respect to such
principal amount. The Company will give each holder of Notes of the series to be
prepaid written notice of each optional prepayment under this Section 8.2 not
less than 30 days and not more than 60 days prior to the date fixed for such
prepayment. Each such notice shall specify such date, the aggregate principal
amount of the Notes to be prepaid on such date, the principal amount of each
Note held by such holder to be prepaid (determined in accordance with Section
8.3), and the interest to be paid on the prepayment date with respect to such
principal amount being prepaid, and shall be accompanied by a certificate of a
Senior Financial Officer as to the estimated Make-Whole Amount due in connection
with such prepayment (calculated as if the date of such notice were the date of
the prepayment), setting forth the details of such computation. Two Business
Days prior to such prepayment, the Company shall deliver to each holder of Notes
of the series to be prepaid a certificate of a Senior Financial Officer
specifying the calculation of such Make-Whole Amount as of the specified
prepayment date.

8.3      Allocation of Partial Prepayments.

                  In the case of each partial prepayment of the Notes of a
series, the principal amount of the Notes of such series to be prepaid shall be
allocated among all of the Notes of such series at the time outstanding in
proportion, as nearly as practicable, to the respective unpaid principal amounts
thereof not theretofore called for prepayment

8.4      Maturity; Surrender, etc.

                  In the case of each prepayment of Notes pursuant to this
Section 8, the principal amount of each Note to be prepaid shall mature and
become due and payable on the date fixed for such prepayment, together with
interest on such principal amount accrued to such date and the applicable
Make-Whole Amount, if any. From and after such date, unless the Company shall
fail to pay such principal amount when so due and payable, together with the
interest and MakeWhole Amount, if any, as aforesaid, interest on such principal
amount shall cease to accrue. Any Note paid or prepaid in full shall be
surrendered to the Company and cancelled and shall not be reissued, and no Note
shall be issued in lieu of any prepaid principal amount of any Note.

8.5      Purchase of Notes.

                  The Company will not and will not permit any Affiliate to
purchase, redeem, prepay or otherwise acquire, directly or indirectly, any of
the outstanding Notes except upon the payment or prepayment of the Notes in
accordance with the terms of this Agreement and the Notes. The Company will
promptly cancel all Notes acquired by it or any Affiliate pursuant to any
payment, prepayment or purchase of Notes pursuant to any provision of this
Agreement and no Notes may be issued in substitution or exchange for any such
Notes.

                                       -18-

<PAGE>

8.6      Make-Whole Amount.

                  The term "Make-Whole Amount" means, with respect to any Note,
an amount equal to the excess, if any, of the Discounted Value of the Remaining
Scheduled Payments with respect to the Called Principal of such Note over the
amount of such Called Principal, provided that the Make-Whole Amount may in no
event be less than zero. For the purposes of determining the Make-Whole Amount,
the following terms have the following meanings:

                           "Called Principal" means, with respect to any Note,
                  the principal of such Note that is to be prepaid pursuant to
                  Section 8.2 or has become or is declared to be immediately due
                  and payable pursuant to Section 12.1, as the context requires.

                           "Discounted Value" means, with respect to the Called
                  Principal of any Note, the amount obtained by discounting all
                  Remaining Scheduled Payments with respect to such Called
                  Principal from their respective scheduled due dates to the
                  Settlement Date with respect to such Called Principal, in
                  accordance with accepted financial practice and at a discount
                  factor (applied on the same periodic basis as that on which
                  interest on the Notes is payable) equal to the Reinvestment
                  Yield with respect to such Called Principal.

                           "Reinvestment Yield" means, with respect to the
                  Called Principal of any Note, 0.50% over the yield to maturity
                  implied by (i) the yields reported, as of 10:00 A. M. (New
                  York City time) on the second Business Day preceding the
                  Settlement Date with respect to such Called Principal, on the
                  display designated as Page "USD" of the Bloomberg Financial
                  Markets Service (or such other display as may replace Page
                  "USD" of the Bloomberg Financial Markets Service) for actively
                  traded U.S. Treasury securities having a maturity equal to the
                  Remaining Average Life of such Called Principal as of such
                  Settlement Date, or (ii) if such yields are not reported as of
                  such time or the yields reported as of such time are not
                  ascertainable, the Treasury Constant Maturity Series Yields
                  reported, for the latest day for which such yields have been
                  so reported as of the second Business Day preceding the
                  Settlement Date with respect to such Called Principal, in
                  Federal Reserve Statistical Release H.15 (519) (or any
                  comparable successor publication) for actively traded U.S.
                  Treasury securities having a constant maturity equal to the
                  Remaining Average Life of such Called Principal as of such
                  Settlement Date. Such implied yield will be determined, if
                  necessary, by (a) converting U.S. Treasury bill quotations to
                  bond-equivalent yields in accordance with accepted financial
                  practice and (b) interpolating linearly between (1) the
                  actively traded U.S. Treasury security with the maturity
                  closest to and greater than the Remaining Average Life and (2)
                  the actively traded U.S. Treasury security with the maturity
                  closest to and less than the Remaining Average Life.

                           "Remaining Average Life" means, with respect to any
                  Called Principal, the number of years (calculated to the
                  nearest one-twelfth year) obtained by dividing (i) such Called
                  Principal into (ii) the sum of the products obtained by
                  multiplying (a) the principal component of each Remaining
                  Scheduled Payment with respect to such Called Principal by (b)
                  the number of years (calculated to the

                                       -19-

<PAGE>

                  nearest one-twelfth year) that will elapse between the
                  Settlement Date with respect to such Called Principal and the
                  scheduled due date of such Remaining Scheduled Payment.

                           "Remaining Scheduled Payments" means, with respect to
                  the Called Principal of any Note, all payments of such Called
                  Principal and interest thereon that would be due after the
                  Settlement Date with respect to such Called Principal if no
                  payment of such Called Principal were made prior to its
                  scheduled due date, provided that if such Settlement Date is
                  not a date on which interest payments are due to be made under
                  the terms of the Notes, then the amount of the next succeeding
                  scheduled interest payment will be reduced by the amount of
                  interest accrued to such Settlement Date and required to be
                  paid on such Settlement Date pursuant to Section 8.2 or 12.1.

                           "Settlement Date" means, with respect to the Called
                  Principal of any Note, the date on which such Called Principal
                  is to be prepaid pursuant to Section 8.2 or has become or is
                  declared to be immediately due and payable pursuant to Section
                  12.1, as the context requires.

9.       AFFIRMATIVE COVENANTS.

                  The Company covenants that so long as any of the Notes are
outstanding:

9.1      Compliance with Law.

                  The Company will and will cause each of its Subsidiaries to
comply with all laws, ordinances or governmental rules or regulations to which
each of them is subject, including, without limitation, Environmental Laws, and
will obtain and maintain in effect all licenses, certificates, permits,
franchises and other governmental authorizations necessary to the ownership of
their respective properties or to the conduct of their respective businesses, in
each case to the extent necessary to ensure that non-compliance with such laws,
ordinances or governmental rules or regulations or failures to obtain or
maintain in effect such licenses, certificates, permits, franchises and other
governmental authorizations could not, individually or in the aggregate,
reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect.

9.2      Insurance.

                  The Company will and will cause each of its Subsidiaries to
maintain, with financially sound and reputable insurers, insurance with respect
to their respective properties and businesses against such casualties and
contingencies, of such types, on such terms and in such amounts (including
deductibles, coinsurance and self-insurance, if adequate reserves are maintained
with respect thereto) as is customary in the case of entities of established
reputations engaged in the same or a similar business and similarly situated.

9.3      Maintenance of Properties.

                  The Company will and will cause each of its Subsidiaries to
maintain and keep, or cause to be maintained and kept, their respective
properties in good repair, working order and

                                       -20-

<PAGE>

condition (other than ordinary wear and tear), so that the business carried on
in connection therewith may be properly conducted at all times, provided that
this Section shall not prevent the Company or any Subsidiary from discontinuing
the operation and the maintenance of any of its properties if such
discontinuance is desirable in the conduct of its business and the Company has
concluded that such discontinuance could not, individually or in the aggregate,
reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect.

9.4      Payment of Taxes and Claims.

                  The Company will and will cause each of its Subsidiaries to
file all tax returns required to be filed in any jurisdiction and to pay and
discharge all taxes shown to be due and payable on such returns and all other
taxes, assessments, governmental charges, or levies imposed on them or any of
their properties, assets, income or franchises, to the extent such taxes and
assessments have become due and payable and before they have become delinquent
and all claims for which sums have become due and payable that have or might
become a Lien on properties or assets of the Company or any Subsidiary, provided
that neither the Company nor any Subsidiary need pay any such tax or assessment
or claims if (i) the amount, applicability or validity thereof is contested by
the Company or such Subsidiary on a timely basis in good faith and in
appropriate proceedings, and the Company or a Subsidiary has established
adequate reserves therefor in accordance with GAAP on the books of the Company
or such Subsidiary or (ii) the nonpayment of all such taxes and assessments in
the aggregate could not reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse
Effect.

9.5      Existence, etc.

                  Subject to Section 10.2, Company will at all times preserve
and keep in full force and effect its existence as a limited liability company.
Subject to Section 10.2, the Company will at all times preserve and keep in full
force and effect the corporate, limited liability company or partnership
existence of each of its Subsidiaries (unless merged into the Company or a
Subsidiary) and all rights and franchises of the Company and its Subsidiaries
unless, in the good faith judgment of the Company, the termination of or failure
to preserve and keep in full force and effect such existence, right or franchise
could not, individually or in the aggregate, have a Material Adverse Effect.

10.      NEGATIVE COVENANTS.

                  The Company covenants that so long as any of the Notes are
outstanding:

10.1     Transactions with Affiliates.

                  The Company will not and will not permit any Restricted
Subsidiary to enter into directly or indirectly any transaction or Material
group of related transactions (including the purchase, lease, sale or exchange
of properties of any kind or the rendering of any service) with any Affiliate
(other than the Company or a Wholly-Owned Restricted Subsidiary), except in the
ordinary course and pursuant to the reasonable requirements of the Company's or
such Restricted Subsidiary's business and upon fair and reasonable terms no less
favorable to the Company or such Restricted Subsidiary than would be obtainable
in a comparable arm's-length transaction with a Person not an Affiliate.

                                       -21-

<PAGE>

10.2     Merger, Consolidation, etc.

                  The Company will not, and will not permit any Restricted
Subsidiary to, consolidate with or merge with any other Person or convey,
transfer or lease substantially all of its assets in a single transaction or
series of transactions to any other Person, except that:

                  (a)      The Company may consolidate with or merge with or
         into any Person, or convey, transfer or lease substantially all of the
         assets of the Company as an entirety to any Person provided that
         immediately after giving effect thereto,

                           (i)   the Company is the successor Person or, if the
                  Company is not the successor Person, the successor Person is a
                  Person organized under the laws of a state of the United
                  States of America or the District of Columbia and shall
                  expressly assume in writing the Company's obligations under
                  the Notes and this Agreement (pursuant to such agreements and
                  instruments reasonably satisfactory to the Required Holders),
                  and the successor Person shall furnish to the holders of the
                  Notes an opinion of nationally recognized independent counsel
                  in form and substance satisfactory to the Required Holders to
                  the effect that the instrument of assumption has been duly
                  authorized, executed and delivered and constitutes the legal,
                  valid and binding contract and agreement of the successor
                  Person enforceable in accordance with its terns, except as
                  enforcement of such tenns may be limited by bankruptcy,
                  insolvency, reorganization, moratorium or similar laws
                  affecting the enforcement of creditors' rights generally and
                  by general equitable principles;

                           (ii)  immediately after giving effect to such
                  transaction, there shall exist no Event of Default or Default;
                  and

                           (iii) immediately after giving effect to such
                  transaction, the Company or such successor Person could incur
                  at least $1.00 of additional Funded Indebtedness pursuant to
                  Section 10.4(c).

                  (b)      any Restricted Subsidiary may (i) consolidate with or
         merge into the Company or any Wholly-Owned Restricted Subsidiary or
         (ii) convey, transfer or lease substantially all of its assets to the
         Company or to any Wholly-Owned Restricted Subsidiary, provided in each
         such instance there shall exist no Event of Default or Default.

10.3     Consolidated Net Capital.

                  The Company will not at any time permit its Consolidated Net
Capital to be less than the sum of (a) $160,000,000 plus (b) the cumulative sum
of 10% (without deduction for any loss) of its Consolidated Net Income for each
fiscal year ending after September 30, 1999.

                                       -22-

<PAGE>

10.4     Funded Indebtedness.

                  The Company will not, nor will it permit any Restricted
Subsidiary to, at any time create, assume, incur, guarantee or otherwise become
liable, directly or indirectly, for any Funded Indebtedness other than:

                  (a) The Notes and all existing Funded Indebtedness described
         in Schedule 5.15;

                  (b) Funded Indebtedness of a Restricted Subsidiary owed to the
         Company or to any Wholly-Owned Restricted Subsidiary; and

                  (c) additional Funded Indebtedness if, after giving effect to
         the incurrence of such Funded Indebtedness and to the application of
         proceeds thereof, Consolidated Funded Indebtedness would not exceed 55%
         of Total Capitalization.

10.5     Current Indebtedness.

                  The Company will not, and will not permit any Restricted
Subsidiary to, have, at any time, any Current Indebtedness outstanding unless,
during the immediately preceding twelve month period, there shall have been a
period of 30 consecutive days during which the sum of (a) outstanding Current
Indebtedness (if Current Indebtedness were categorized as Funded Indebtedness)
plus (b) outstanding Funded Indebtedness could have been incurred as
Consolidated Funded Indebtedness pursuant to Section 10.4(c).

10.6     Indebtedness of Restricted Subsidiaries.

                  The Company shall not permit any Restricted Subsidiary at any
time to create, assume, incur, guarantee or otherwise become liable, directly or
indirectly, for any Indebtedness, except:

                  (a) Indebtedness owed to the Company or to any Wholly-Owned
         Restricted Subsidiary; and

                  (b) Subject to compliance with Section 10.4(c), Indebtedness
         that, when added to aggregate outstanding Indebtedness incurred
         pursuant to Section 10.7(i), shall not at any time exceed 25% of
         Consolidated Net Capital determined as of the end of the Company's most
         recently ended fiscal quarter.

10.7     Liens.

                  The Company will not, and will not permit any Restricted
Subsidiary to, create, assume or incur, or suffer to be incurred or assumed or
to exist, any Lien on its or their property or assets, whether now owned or
hereafter acquired, or upon any income or profits therefrom, or transfer any
property for the purpose of subjecting the same to the payment of obligations in
priority to the payment of its or their general creditors, or acquire or agree
to acquire, or permit any Restricted Subsidiary to acquire, any property or
assets upon conditional sales agreements or other title retention devices,
except:

                                       -23-

<PAGE>

                  (a) Liens existing on property or assets of the Company or any
         Restricted Subsidiary as of the date of this Agreement that are
         described in Schedule 10.7 to this Agreement;

                  (b) Liens for taxes, assessments or governmental charges the
         payment of which is not required under Section 9.4;

                  (c) Liens created by or resulting from any litigation or legal
         proceedings which are being contested in good faith by appropriate
         legal proceedings and adequate reserves are maintained with respect
         thereto in accordance with GAAP, unless the judgment that such Liens
         secure shall not have been stayed, bonded or discharged within 60 days;

                  (d) Construction or materialmen's or mechanic's Liens securing
         obligations not overdue or, if overdue, are being contested in good
         faith and by proper proceedings and with respect to which adequate
         reserves are maintained in accordance with GAAP;

                  (e) Liens in connection with worker's compensation, social
         security taxes or similar charges arising in the ordinary course of
         business and not incurred in connection with the borrowing of money;

                  (f) Liens securing Indebtedness owed by any Restricted
         Subsidiary to the Company or by the Company to any Wholly-Owned
         Restricted Subsidiary or by any Restricted Subsidiary to any
         Wholly-Owned Restricted Subsidiary;

                  (g) Liens consisting of encumbrances in the nature of zoning
         restrictions, easements, rights and restrictions on the use of real
         property on the date of the acquisition thereof and statutory Liens of
         landlords, which in any case do not materially detract from the value
         of such property or impair the Company's use thereof;

                  (h) any Lien on fixed assets to secure any rights granted with
         respect to such property, in connection with the provision of all or a
         part of the purchase price, created contemporaneously with, or within
         90 days after, such acquisition, provided that, (i) any Liens incurred
         pursuant to this clause (h) shall not (A) exceed 100% of the lesser of
         cost or fair market value (as determined by the Managers of the
         Company) of the related property at the time of the occurrence of the
         transactions described above in this clause (h) or (B) extend to any
         other property of the Company or any Restricted Subsidiary other than
         the fixed assets acquired pursuant to this clause (h) and (ii) such
         Indebtedness could be incurred pursuant to Section 10.4(c); and

                  (i) Liens that secure Indebtedness and that are not permitted
         by (a) through (h) above; provided that, after giving effect to the
         incurrence of such Indebtedness and the application of proceeds
         thereof, (i) the requirements of Section 10.4(c) shall have been met
         and (ii) Indebtedness incurred under this Section 10.7(i), when added
         to outstanding Indebtedness of Restricted Subsidiaries permitted by
         Section 10.6(b) will not exceed 25% of Consolidated Net Capital
         determined as of the end of the Company's most recently ended fiscal
         quarter.

                                       -24-

<PAGE>

10.8     Sale of Assets.

                  Except as permitted by Section 10.2, the Company will not, and
will not permit any Restricted Subsidiary to, sell, lease, transfer or otherwise
dispose of any assets, including the disposition of the stock of any Restricted
Subsidiary (except as permitted by Section 10.9(a) and Section 10.9(b)(i) and
(ii)) and including any Sale and Lease-Back Transaction (collectively, a
"Disposition"), in one or a series of transactions, other than in the ordinary
course of business, to any Person, other than the Company or a Wholly-Owned
Restricted Subsidiary if immediately preceding such Disposition and after giving
effect to such Disposition during any fiscal year of the Company the aggregate
book value of all such Dispositions during such fiscal year, would exceed 15% of
Consolidated Total Assets as of the end of the immediately preceding fiscal
year; provided, however, that the Company may, and may permit any Restricted
Subsidiary to, sell, lease, transfer or otherwise dispose of assets in excess of
the percentage specified above if:

                  (a) the cash proceeds therefrom are (i) utilized within 180
         days after such Disposition to purchase productive assets of a similar
         nature and of at least equivalent value or (ii) used to prepay
         Consolidated Funded Indebtedness (except Subordinated Indebtedness),
         including the Notes, on a pro rata basis, subject to the prepayment
         requirements and at the price set forth in Section 8.2 (provided,
         however, that any holder of the Notes may, at its sole discretion,
         decline to have its Notes so prepaid); or

                  (b) the Disposition is a Sale and Leaseback Transaction in
         which the Company or any Restricted Subsidiary sells property and
         leases the same property within 180 days of such sale; provided that,
         (i) the cash proceeds therefrom are utilized within 180 days after such
         Disposition to purchase productive assets of equivalent value and (ii)
         after giving effect to such Sale and Leaseback Transaction, no Default
         or Event of Default shall have occurred.

10.9     Restricted Subsidiary Stock.

                  (a) The Company will not permit any Restricted Subsidiary to
         issue shares of its capital stock to any Person other than (i) the
         Company, (ii) any Wholly-Owned Restricted Subsidiary, (iii) management
         or employees of the Company, any Wholly-Owned Restricted Subsidiary or
         any Foreign Restricted Subsidiary or (iv) in connection with the
         issuance of director's qualifying shares with respect to Foreign
         Restricted Subsidiaries; provided, however, that (A) after giving
         effect to such stock issuance pursuant to the foregoing clause (iii),
         no Default or Event of Default shall have occurred and (B) the Managers
         of the Company shall have determined that such stock issuance is in the
         best interest of the Company.

                  (b) The Company will not sell, transfer or otherwise dispose
         of any capital stock or other equity or partnership interest (the
         "Interests") in any Restricted Subsidiary to any Person other than to
         (i) any Wholly-Owned Restricted Subsidiary, (ii) management or
         employees of the Company, any Wholly-Owned Restricted Subsidiary or any
         Foreign Restricted Subsidiary or (iii) in connection with the issuance
         of director's qualifying shares with respect to Foreign Restricted
         Subsidiaries; provided, however, that (A) after giving effect to such
         disposition pursuant to the foregoing clause (ii), no Default

                                       -25-

<PAGE>

         or Event of Default shall have occurred and (B) the Managers of the
         Company shall have determined that such disposition is in the best
         interest of the Company, and provided, further, that the Company may
         sell, transfer or otherwise dispose of Interests other than as provided
         in clauses (i) and (ii) of this paragraph (b) if (A) the Interests are
         valued at not less than book value determined as the date of such
         disposition and such disposition is permitted by Section 10.8; (B)
         immediately after giving effect to such disposition (y) the Company
         could incur $1.00 of additional Funded Indebtedness pursuant to Section
         10.4(c) and (z) no Default or Event of Default shall have occurred and
         (C), if all Interests held by the Company and its Restricted
         Subsidiaries in any Restricted Subsidiary are transferred in connection
         with such disposition, following such disposition, neither the Company
         nor any Restricted Subsidiary shall be owed any Indebtedness by, or owe
         any Indebtedness to, such former Restricted Subsidiary.

10.10    Distributions.

                  The Company will not, and will not permit any Restricted
Subsidiary to, during any fiscal year, declare or pay any distributions to any
of its owners if at the time of any such distribution a Default or Event of
Default shall have occurred and be continuing hereunder or would occur as a
result thereof.

10.11    Amendments to Articles of Organization and Operating Agreement.

                  The Company will not amend or modify its Articles of
Organization or Operating Agreement in any manner that would reasonably be
expected to materially and adversely affect the rights of any holders of the
Notes (it being agreed that amendments for the purpose of admitting additional
members, or reflecting deaths, retirements, resignations, withdrawals or
removals of members will not be deemed to have such an adverse effect and
amendments permitting members to incorporate and such corporations to become
members of the Company shall not be deemed to have such an adverse effect).

10.12    Designation of Unrestricted and Restricted Subsidiaries.

                  The Company may designate any Restricted Subsidiary as an
Unrestricted Subsidiary and any Unrestricted Subsidiary as a Restricted
Subsidiary; provided that, (a) if such Subsidiary initially is designated a
Restricted Subsidiary, then such Restricted Subsidiary may be subsequently
designated as an Unrestricted Subsidiary and such Unrestricted Subsidiary may be
subsequently designated as a Restricted Subsidiary, but no further changes in
designation may be made, (b) if such Subsidiary initially is designated an
Unrestricted Subsidiary, then such Unrestricted Subsidiary may be subsequently
designated as a Restricted Subsidiary and such Restricted Subsidiary may be
subsequently designated as an Unrestricted Subsidiary, but no further changes in
designation may be made and (c) immediately before and after designation of a
Restricted Subsidiary as an Unrestricted Subsidiary there exists no Default or
Event of Default. If a Restricted Subsidiary at any time ceases to be such as a
result of a redesignation, any Liens on property of the Company or any other
Restricted Subsidiary securing Indebtedness owed to such Restricted Subsidiary
that is not contemporaneously repaid, together with such Indebtedness, shall be
deemed to have been incurred by the Company or such other Restricted

                                      -26-

<PAGE>

Subsidiary, as the case may be, at the time such Restricted Subsidiary ceases to
be a Restricted Subsidiary.

10.13    Change in Business.

                  Neither the Company nor any Restricted Subsidiary will engage
in any business as a result of which the general nature of the business, taken
as a whole, which would then be engaged in by the Company and its Restricted
Subsidiaries would be substantially changed from the general nature of such
business on the date hereof.

11.      EVENTS OF DEFAULT.

                  An "Event of Default" shall exist if any of the following
conditions or events shall occur and be continuing:

                  (a) the Company defaults in the payment of any principal or
         Make-Whole Amount, if any, on any Note when the same becomes due and
         payable, whether at maturity or at a date fixed for prepayment or by
         declaration or otherwise; or

                  (b) the Company defaults in the payment of any interest on any
         Note for more than five Business Days after the same becomes due and
         payable; or

                  (c) the Company defaults in the performance of or compliance
         with any term contained in Sections 10.1 through 10.13; or

                  (d) the Company defaults in the performance of or compliance
         with any term contained herein (other than those referred to in
         paragraphs (a), (b) and (c) of this Section 11) and such default is not
         remedied within 30 days after the earlier of (i) a Responsible Officer
         obtaining actual knowledge of such default and (ii) the Company
         receiving written notice of such default from any holder of a Note (any
         such written notice to be identified as a "notice of default" and to
         refer specifically to this Section 11(d); or

                  (e) any representation or warranty made in writing by or on
         behalf of the Company or by any officer of the Company in this
         Agreement or in any writing furnished in connection with the
         transactions contemplated hereby proves to have been false or incorrect
         in any material respect on the date as of which made; or

                  (f) (i) the Company or any Subsidiary is in default (as
         principal or as guarantor or other surety) in the payment of any
         principal of or premium or make-whole amount or interest on any
         Indebtedness that is outstanding in an aggregate principal amount of at
         least $20,000,000 beyond any period of grace provided with respect
         thereto, or (ii) the Company or any Subsidiary is in default in the
         performance of or compliance with any term of any evidence of any
         Indebtedness in an aggregate outstanding principal amount of at least
         $20,000,000 or of any mortgage, indenture or other agreement relating
         thereto beyond any period of grace provided with respect to such
         default, or (iii) as a consequence of the occurrence or continuation of
         any event or condition (other than the passage of time or the right of
         the holder of Indebtedness to convert such Indebtedness into equity
         interests), (x) the Company or any Subsidiary has become obligated to

                                       -27-

<PAGE>

         purchase or repay Indebtedness before its regular maturity or before
         its regularly scheduled dates of payment in an aggregate outstanding
         principal amount of at least $20,000,000, or (y) one or more Persons
         have the right to require the Company or any Subsidiary so to purchase
         or repay such Indebtedness; or

                  (g) the Company or any Subsidiary (i) is generally not paying,
         or admits in writing its inability to pay, its debts as they become
         due, (ii) files, or consents by answer or otherwise to the filing
         against it of, a petition for relief or reorganization or arrangement
         or any other petition in bankruptcy, for liquidation or to take
         advantage of any bankruptcy, insolvency, reorganization, moratorium or
         other similar law of any jurisdiction, (iii) makes an assignment for
         the benefit of its creditors, (iv) consents to the appointment of a
         custodian, receiver, trustee or other officer with similar powers with
         respect to it or with respect to any substantial part of its property,
         (v) is adjudicated as insolvent or to be liquidated, or (vi) takes
         corporate action for the purpose of any of the foregoing; or

                  (h) a court or governmental authority of competent
         jurisdiction enters an order appointing, without consent by the Company
         or any of its Subsidiaries, a custodian, receiver, trustee or other
         officer with similar powers with respect to it or with respect to any
         substantial part of its property, or constituting an order for relief
         or approving a petition for relief or reorganization or any other
         petition in bankruptcy or for liquidation or to take advantage of any
         bankruptcy or insolvency law of any jurisdiction, or ordering the
         dissolution, winding-up or liquidation of the Company or any of its
         Subsidiaries, or any such petition shall be filed against the Company
         or any of its Subsidiaries and such petition shall not be dismissed
         within 60 days; or

                  (i) a final judgment or judgments for the payment of money
         aggregating in excess of $20,000,000 are rendered against one or more
         of the Company and its Subsidiaries and which judgments are not, within
         30 days after entry thereof, bonded, discharged or stayed pending
         appeal, or are not discharged within 30 days after the expiration of
         such stay; or

                  (j) if (i) any Plan shall fail to satisfy the minimum funding
         standards of ERISA or the Code for any plan year or part thereof or a
         waiver of such standards or extension of any amortization period is
         sought or granted under section 412 of the Code, (ii) a notice of
         intent to terminate any Plan shall have been or is reasonably expected
         to be filed with the PBGC or the PBGC shall have instituted proceedings
         under ERISA section 4042 to terminate or appoint a trustee to
         administer any Plan or the PBGC shall have notified the Company or any
         ERISA Affiliate that a Plan may become a subject of any such
         proceedings, (iii) the aggregate "amount of unfunded benefit
         liabilities" (within the meaning of section 4001(a)(18) of ERISA) under
         all Plans, determined in accordance with Title IV of ERISA, shall
         exceed $500,000, (iv) the Company or any ERISA Affiliate shall have
         incurred or is reasonably expected to incur any liability pursuant to
         Title I or IV of ERISA or the penalty or excise tax provisions of the
         Code relating to employee benefit plans, (v) the Company or any ERISA
         Affiliate withdraws from any Multiemployer Plan, or (vi) the Company or
         any Subsidiary establishes or amends any employee welfare benefit plan
         that provides post-employment welfare benefits in a

                                       -28-

<PAGE>

         manner that would increase the liability of the Company or any
         Subsidiary thereunder; and any such event or events described in
         clauses (i) through (vi) above, either individually or together with
         any other such event or events, could reasonably be expected to have a
         Material Adverse Effect.

As used in Section 110), the terms "employee benefit plan" and "employee welfare
benefit plan" shall have the respective meanings assigned to such terms in
Section 3 of ERISA.

12.      REMEDIES ON DEFAULT, ETC.

12.1     Acceleration.

                  (a) If an Event of Default with respect to the Company
         described in paragraph (g) or (h) of Section 11 (other than an Event of
         Default described in clause (i) of paragraph (g) or described in clause
         (vi) of paragraph (g) by virtue of the fact that such clause
         encompasses clause (i) of paragraph (g)) has occurred, all the Notes
         then outstanding shall automatically become immediately due and
         payable.

                  (b) If any other Event of Default has occurred and is
         continuing, any holder or holders of more than 33% in principal amount
         of the Notes of a given series at the time outstanding may at any time
         at its or their option, by notice or notices to the Company, declare
         all the Notes of such series then outstanding to be immediately due and
         payable.

                  (c) If any Event of Default described in paragraph (a) or (b)
         of Section 11 has occurred and is continuing, any holder or holders of
         Notes at the time outstanding affected by such Event of Default may at
         any time, at its or their option, by notice or notices to the Company,
         declare all the Notes held by it or them to be immediately due and
         payable.

                  Upon any Notes becoming due and payable under this Section
12.1, whether automatically or by declaration, such Notes will forthwith mature
and the entire unpaid principal amount of such Notes, plus (x) all accrued and
unpaid interest thereon and (y) the Make-Whole Amount determined in respect of
such principal amount (to the full extent permitted by applicable law), shall
all be immediately due and payable, in each and every case without presentment,
demand, protest or further notice, all of which are hereby waived. The Company
acknowledges, and the parties hereto agree, that each holder of a Note has the
right to maintain its investment in the Notes free from repayment by the Company
(except as herein specifically provided for) and that the provision for payment
of a Make-Whole Amount by the Company in the event that the Notes are prepaid or
are accelerated as a result of an Event of Default, is intended to provide
compensation for the deprivation of such right under such circumstances.

12.2     Other Remedies.

                  If any Default or Event of Default has occurred and is
continuing, and irrespective of whether any Notes have become or have been
declared immediately due and payable under Section 12.1, the holder of any Note
at the time outstanding may proceed to protect and enforce the rights of such
holder by an action at law, suit in equity or other appropriate proceeding,
whether for the specific performance of any agreement contained herein or in any
Note, or for an

                                       -29-

<PAGE>

injunction against a violation of any of the terms hereof or thereof, or in aid
of the exercise of any power granted hereby or thereby or by law or otherwise.

12.3     Rescission.

                  At any time after any Notes of a given series have been
declared due and payable pursuant to clause (b) or (c) of Section 12.1, the
holders of not less than 66-2/3% in principal amount of the Notes of such series
then outstanding, by written notice to the Company, may rescind and annul any
such declaration and its consequences if (a) the Company has paid all overdue
interest on such Notes, all principal of and Make-Whole Amount, if any, on any
such Notes that are due and payable and are unpaid other than by reason of such
declaration, and all interest on such overdue principal and Make-Whole Amount,
if any, and (to the extent permitted by applicable law) any overdue interest in
respect of such Notes, at the Default Rate, (b) all Events of Default and
Defaults, other than non-payment of amounts that have become due solely by
reason of such declaration, have been cured or have been waived pursuant to
Section 17, and (c) no judgment or decree has been entered for the payment of
any monies due pursuant hereto or to such Notes. No rescission and annulment
under this Section 12.3 will extend to or affect any subsequent Event of Default
or Default or impair any right consequent thereon.

12.4     No Waivers or Election of Remedies, Expenses, etc.

                  No course of dealing and no delay on the part of any holder of
any Note in exercising any right, power or remedy shall operate as a waiver
thereof or otherwise prejudice such holder's rights, powers or remedies. No
right, power or remedy conferred by this Agreement or by any Note upon any
holder thereof shall be exclusive of any other right, power or remedy referred
to herein or therein or now or hereafter available at law, in equity, by statute
or otherwise. Without limiting the obligations of the Company under Section 15,
the Company will pay to the holder of each Note on demand such further amount as
shall be sufficient to cover all costs and expenses of such holder incurred in
any enforcement or collection under this Section 12, including, without
limitation, reasonable attorneys' fees, expenses and disbursements.

13.      REGISTRATION; EXCHANGE; SUBSTITUTION OF NOTES.

13.1     Registration of Notes.

                  The Company shall keep at its principal executive office a
register for the registration and registration of transfers of Notes. The name
and address of each holder of one or more Notes, each transfer thereof and the
name and address of each transferee of one or more Notes shall be registered in
such register. Prior to due presentment for registration of transfer, the Person
in whose name any Note is registered shall be deemed and treated as the owner
and holder thereof for all purposes hereof, and the Company shall not be
affected by any notice or knowledge to the contrary. The Company shall give to
any holder of a Note that is an Institutional Investor promptly upon request
therefor, a complete and correct copy of the names and addresses of all
registered holders of Notes.

                                       -30-

<PAGE>

13.2     Transfer and Exchange of Notes.

                  Upon surrender of any Note at the principal executive office
of the Company for registration of transfer or exchange (and in the case of a
surrender for registration of transfer, duly endorsed or accompanied by a
written instrument of transfer duly executed by the registered holder of such
Note or his attorney duly authorized in writing and accompanied by the address
for notices of each transferee of such Note or part thereof), the Company shall
execute and deliver, at the Company's expense (except as provided below), one or
more new Notes (as requested by the holder thereof) in exchange therefor, in an
aggregate principal amount equal to the unpaid principal amount of the
surrendered Note. Each such new Note shall be payable to such Person as such
holder may request and shall be substantially in the form of Exhibit 1 or
Exhibit 2, as the case may be. Each such new Note shall be dated and bear
interest from the date to which interest shall have been paid on the surrendered
Note or dated the date of the surrendered Note if no interest shall have been
paid thereon. The Company may require payment of a sum sufficient to cover any
stamp tax or governmental charge imposed in respect of any such transfer of
Notes. Notes shall not be transferred in denominations of less than $500,000,
provided that if necessary to enable the registration of transfer by a holder of
its entire holding of Notes, one Note may be in a denomination of less than
$500,000. Any transferee, by its acceptance of a Note registered in its name (or
the name of its nominee), shall be deemed to have made the representation set
forth in Section 6.1.

13.3     Replacement of Notes.

                  Upon receipt by the Company of evidence reasonably
satisfactory to it of the ownership of and the loss, theft, destruction or
mutilation of any Note (which evidence shall be, in the case of an Institutional
Investor, notice from such Institutional Investor of such ownership and such
loss, theft, destruction or mutilation), and

                  (a) in the case of loss, theft or destruction, of indemnity
         reasonably satisfactory to it (provided that if the holder of such Note
         is, or is a nominee for, an original Purchaser or another Institutional
         Holder, such Person's own unsecured agreement of indemnity shall be
         deemed to be satisfactory), or

                  (b) in the case of mutilation, upon surrender and cancellation
         thereof,

the Company at its own expense shall execute and deliver, in lieu thereof, a new
Note, dated and bearing interest from the date to which interest shall have been
paid on such lost, stolen, destroyed or mutilated Note or dated the date of such
lost, stolen, destroyed or mutilated Note if no interest shall have been paid
thereon.

14.      PAYMENTS ON NOTES.

14.1     Place of Payment.

                  Subject to Section 14.2, payments of principal, Make-Whole
Amount, if any, and interest becoming due and payable on the Notes shall be made
in Chicago, Illinois, at Harris Trust & Savings Bank. The Company may at any
time, by notice to each holder of a Note, change the place of payment of the
Notes so long as such place of payment shall be either the

                                       -31-

<PAGE>

principal office of the Company in such jurisdiction or the principal office of
a bank or trust company in such jurisdiction.

14.2     Home Office Payment.

                  So long as you or your nominee are the holder of any Note, and
notwithstanding anything contained in Section 14.1 or in such Note to the
contrary, the Company will pay all sums becoming due on such Note for principal,
Make-Whole Amount, if any, and interest by the method and at the address
specified for such purpose below your name in Schedule A, or by such other
method or at such other address as you shall have from time to time specified to
the Company in writing for such purpose, without the presentation or surrender
of such Note or the making of any notation thereon, except that upon written
request of the Company made concurrently with or reasonably promptly after
payment or prepayment in full of any Note, you shall surrender such Note for
cancellation, reasonably promptly after any such request, to the Company at its
principal executive office or at the place of payment most recently designated
by the Company pursuant to Section 14.1. Prior to any sale or other disposition
of any Note held by you or your nominee you will, at your election, either
endorse thereon the amount of principal paid thereon and the last date to which
interest has been paid thereon or surrender such Note to the Company in exchange
for a new Note or Notes pursuant to Section 13.2. The Company will afford the
benefits of this Section 14.2 to any Institutional Investor that is the direct
or indirect transferee of any Note purchased by you under this Agreement and
that has made the same agreement relating to such Note as you have made in this
Section 14.2.

15.      EXPENSES, ETC.

15.1     Transaction Expenses.

                  Whether or not the transactions contemplated hereby are
consummated, the Company will pay all costs and expenses (including reasonable
attorneys' fees of a special counsel and, if reasonably required, local or other
counsel) incurred by you and each Other Purchaser or holder of a Note in
connection with such transactions and in connection with any amendments, waivers
or consents under or in respect of this Agreement or the Notes (whether or not
such amendment, waiver or consent becomes effective), including, without
limitation: (a) the costs and expenses incurred in enforcing or defending (or
determining whether or how to enforce or defend) any rights under this Agreement
or the Notes or in responding to any subpoena or other legal process or informal
investigative demand issued in connection with this Agreement or the Notes, or
by reason of being a holder of any Note, and (b) the costs and expenses,
including financial advisors' fees, incurred in connection with the insolvency
or bankruptcy of the Company or any Subsidiary or in connection with any
work-out or restructuring of the transactions contemplated hereby and by the
Notes. The Company will pay, and will save you and each other holder of a Note
harmless from, all claims in respect of any fees, costs or expenses if any, of
brokers and finders (other than those retained by you).

                                       -32-

<PAGE>

15.2     Survival.

                  The obligations of the Company under this Section 15 will
survive the payment or transfer of any Note; the enforcement, amendment or
waiver of any provision of this Agreement or the Notes, and the termination of
this Agreement.

16.      SURVIVAL OF REPRESENTATIONS AND WARRANTIES; ENTIRE AGREEMENT.

                  All representations and warranties contained herein shall
survive the execution and delivery of this Agreement and the Notes, the purchase
or transfer by you of any Note or portion thereof or interest therein and the
payment of any Note, and may be relied upon by any subsequent holder of a Note,
regardless of any investigation made at any time by or on behalf of you or any
other holder of a Note. All statements contained in any certificate or other
instrument delivered by or on behalf of the Company pursuant to this Agreement
shall be deemed representations and warranties of the Company under this
Agreement. Subject to the preceding sentence, this Agreement and the Notes
embody the entire agreement and understanding between you and the Company and
supersede all prior agreements and understandings relating to the subject matter
hereof.

17.      AMENDMENT AND WAIVER.

17.1     Requirements.

                  This Agreement (and/or any Supplemental Note Purchase
Agreement) and the Notes of a given series may be amended (but only as this
Agreement and such Supplemental Note Purchase Agreement apply to such series),
and the observance of any term hereof or of such Notes may be waived (either
retroactively or prospectively), with (and only with) the written consent of the
Company and the Required Holders, except that (a) no amendment or waiver of any
of the provisions of Section 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 or 21 hereof, or any defined term
(as it is used therein), will be effective as to you unless consented to by you
in writing, and (b) no such amendment or waiver may, without the written consent
of the holder of each Note of such series at the time outstanding affected
thereby, (i) subject to the provisions of Section 12 relating to acceleration or
rescission, change the amount or time of any prepayment or payment of principal
of, or change the rate or change the time of payment or method of computation of
interest or of the Make-Whole Amount on, the Notes of such series, (ii) change
the percentage of the principal amount of the Notes of such series the holders
of which are required to consent to any such amendment or waiver, or (iii) amend
any of Sections 8, 11(a), 11(b), 12, 17 or 20.

17.2     Solicitation of Holders of Notes.

                  (a) Solicitation. The Company will provide each holder of the
                      ------------
         Notes (irrespective of the amount of Notes then owned by it) with
         sufficient information, sufficiently far in advance of the date a
         decision is required, to enable such holder to make an informed and
         considered decision with respect to any proposed amendment, waiver or
         consent in respect of any of the provisions hereof or of the Notes. The
         Company will deliver executed or true and correct copies of each
         amendment, waiver or consent effected pursuant to the provisions of
         this Section 17 to each holder of

                                       -33-

<PAGE>

outstanding Notes promptly following the date on which it is executed and
delivered by, or receives the consent or approval of, the requisite holders of
Notes.

                  (b) Payment. The Company will not directly or indirectly pay
                      -------
         or cause to be paid any remuneration, whether by way of supplemental or
         additional interest, fee or otherwise, or grant any security, to any
         holder of Notes as consideration for or as an inducement to the
         entering into by any holder of Notes or any waiver or amendment of any
         of the terms and provisions hereof unless such remuneration is
         concurrently paid, or security is concurrently granted, on the same
         terms, ratably to each holder of Notes then outstanding even if such
         holder did not consent to such waiver or amendment.

17.3     Binding Effect, etc.

                  Any amendment or waiver consented to as provided in this
Section 17 applies equally to all holders of Notes of a given series and is
binding upon them and upon each future holder of any Note of such series and
upon the Company without regard to whether such Note has been marked to indicate
such amendment or waiver. No such amendment or waiver will extend to or affect
any obligation, covenant, agreement, Default or Event of Default not expressly
amended or waived or impair any right consequent thereon. No course of dealing
between the Company and the holder of any Note nor any delay in exercising any
rights hereunder or under any Note shall operate as a waiver of any rights of
any holder of such Note. As used herein, the term "this Agreement" and
references thereto means this Agreement as it may from time to time be amended
or supplemented and shall include all Supplemental Note Purchase Agreements.

17.4     Notes held by Company, etc.

                  Solely for the purpose of determining whether the holders of
the requisite percentage of the aggregate principal amount of Notes then
outstanding approved or consented to any amendment, waiver or consent to be
given under this Agreement or the Notes, or have directed the taking of any
action provided herein or in the Notes to be taken upon the direction of the
holders of a specified percentage of the aggregate principal amount of Notes
then outstanding, Notes directly or indirectly owned by the Company or any of
its Affiliates shall be deemed not to be outstanding.

18.      NOTICES.

                  All notices and communications provided for hereunder shall be
in writing and sent (a) by telecopy if the sender on the same day sends a
confirming copy of such notice by a recognized overnight delivery service
(charges prepaid), or (b) by registered or certified mail with return receipt
requested (postage prepaid), or (c) by a recognized overnight delivery service
(with charges prepaid). Any such notice must be sent:

                  (i) if to you or your nominee, to you or it at the address
         specified for such communications in Schedule A, or at such other
         address as you or it shall have specified to the Company in writing,

                                       -34-

<PAGE>

                  (ii)  if to any other holder of any Note, to such holder at
         such address as such other holder shall have specified to the Company
         in writing, or

                  (iii) if to the Company, to the Company at its address set
         forth at the beginning hereof to the attention of the General Counsel,
         or at such other address as the Company shall have specified to the
         holder of each Note in writing.

Notices under this Section 18 will be deemed given only when actually received.

19.      REPRODUCTION OF DOCUMENTS.

                  This Agreement and all documents relating thereto, including,
without limitation, (a) consents, waivers and modifications that may hereafter
be executed, (b) documents received by you at the Closing (except the Notes
themselves), and (c) financial statements, certificates and other information
previously or hereafter furnished to you, may be reproduced by you by any
photographic, photostatic, microfilm, microcard, miniature photographic or other
similar process and you may destroy any original document so reproduced. The
Company agrees and stipulates that, to the extent permitted by applicable law,
any such reproduction shall be admissible in evidence as the original itself in
any judicial or administrative proceeding (whether or not the original is in
existence and whether or not such reproduction was made by you in the regular
course of business) and any enlargement, facsimile or further reproduction of
such reproduction shall likewise be admissible in evidence. This Section 19
shall not prohibit the Company or any other holder of Notes from contesting any
such reproduction to the same extent that it could contest the original, or from
introducing evidence to demonstrate the inaccuracy of any such reproduction.
This Section 19 does not affect your or any other holder of a Note's obligation
under Section 20 to maintain the confidentiality of Confidential Information.

20.      CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION.

                  For the purposes of this Section 20, "Confidential
Information" means information delivered to you by or on behalf of the Company
or any Subsidiary in connection with the transactions contemplated by or
otherwise pursuant to this Agreement that is proprietary in nature and that was
clearly marked or labeled or otherwise adequately identified when received by
you as being confidential information of the Company or such Subsidiary,
provided that such term does not include information that (a) was publicly known
or otherwise known to you prior to the time of such disclosure, (b) subsequently
becomes publicly known through no act or omission by you or any person acting on
your behalf, (c) otherwise becomes known to you other than through disclosure by
the Company or any Subsidiary or (d) constitutes financial statements delivered
to you under Section 7.1 that are otherwise publicly available. For purposes of
this Section 20, "Confidential Information" shall include the Memorandum and all
financial statements delivered by the Company pursuant to Section 7.1 (a) and
(b) of this Agreement. You will maintain the confidentiality of such
Confidential Information in accordance with procedures adopted by you in good
faith to protect confidential information of third parties delivered to you,
provided that you may deliver or disclose Confidential Information to (i) your
directors, trustees, officers, employees, agents, attorneys and affiliates (to
the extent such disclosure reasonably relates to the administration of the
investment represented by your Notes), (ii) your financial advisors and other
professional advisors who agree to hold confidential the Confidential

                                       -35-

<PAGE>

Information substantially in accordance with the terms of this Section 20, (iii)
any other holder of any Note, (iv) any Institutional Investor to which you sell
or offer to sell such Note or any part thereof or any participation therein (if
such Person has agreed in writing prior to its receipt of such Confidential
Information to be bound by the provisions of this Section 20), (v) any Person
from which you offer to purchase any security of the Company (if such Person has
agreed in writing prior to its receipt of such Confidential Information to be
bound by the provisions of this Section 20), (vi) any federal or state
regulatory authority having jurisdiction over you, (vii) the National
Association of Insurance Commissioners or any similar organization, or any
nationally recognized rating agency that requires access to information about
your investment portfolio or (viii) any other Person to which such delivery or
disclosure may be necessary or appropriate (w) to effect compliance with any
law, rule, regulation or order applicable to you, (x) in response to any
subpoena or other legal process, (y) in connection with any litigation to which
you are a party or (z) if an Event of Default has occurred and is continuing, to
the extent you may reasonably determine such delivery and disclosure to be
necessary or appropriate in the enforcement or for the protection of the rights
and remedies under your Notes and this Agreement. Each holder of a Note, by its
acceptance of a Note, will be deemed to have agreed to be bound by and to be
entitled to the benefits of this Section 20 as though it were a party to this
Agreement. On reasonable request by the Company in connection with the delivery
to any holder of a Note of information required to be delivered to such holder
under this Agreement or requested by such holder (other than a holder that is a
party to this Agreement or its nominee), such holder will enter into an
agreement with the Company embodying the provisions of this Section 20.

21.      SUBSTITUTION OF PURCHASER.

                  You shall have the right to substitute any one of your
Affiliates as the purchaser of the Notes that you have agreed to purchase
hereunder, by written notice to the Company, which notice shall be signed by
both you and such Affiliate, shall contain such Affiliate's agreement to be
bound by this Agreement and shall contain a confirmation by such Affiliate of
the accuracy with respect to it of the representations set forth in Section 6.
Upon receipt of such notice, wherever the word "you" is used in this Agreement
(other than in this Section 21), such word shall be deemed to refer to such
Affiliate in lieu of you. In the event that such Affiliate is so substituted as
a purchaser hereunder and such Affiliate thereafter transfers to you all of the
Notes then held by such Affiliate, upon receipt by the Company of notice of such
transfer, wherever the word "you" is used in this Agreement (other than in this
Section 21), such word shall no longer be deemed to refer to such Affiliate, but
shall refer to you, and you shall have all the rights of an original holder of
the Notes under this Agreement.

22.      MISCELLANEOUS.

22.1     Successors and Assigns.

                  All covenants and other agreements contained in this Agreement
by or on behalf of any of the parties hereto bind and inure to the benefit of
their respective successors and assigns (including, without limitation, any
subsequent holder of a Note) whether so expressed or not.

                                       -36-

<PAGE>

22.2     Payments Due on Non-Business Days.

                  Anything in this Agreement or the Notes to the contrary
notwithstanding, any payment of principal of or Make-Whole Amount or interest on
any Note that is due on a date other than a Business Day shall be made on the
next succeeding Business Day without including the additional days elapsed in
the computation of the interest payable on such next succeeding Business Day.

22.3     Severability.

                  Any provision of this Agreement that is prohibited or
unenforceable in any jurisdiction shall, as to such jurisdiction, be ineffective
to the extent of such prohibition or unenforceability without invalidating the
remaining provisions hereof, and any such prohibition or unenforceability in any
jurisdiction shall (to the full extent permitted by law) not invalidate or
render unenforceable such provision in any other jurisdiction.

22.4     Construction.

                  Each covenant contained herein shall be construed (absent
express provision to the contrary) as being independent of each other covenant
contained herein, so that compliance with any one covenant shall not (absent
such an express contrary provision) be deemed to excuse compliance with any
other covenant. Where any provision herein refers to action to be taken by any
Person, or which such Person is prohibited from taking, such provision shall be
applicable whether such action is taken directly or indirectly by such Person.

22.5     Counterparts.

                  This Agreement may be executed in any number of counterparts,
each of which shall be an original but all of which together shall constitute
one instrument. Each counterpart may consist of a number of copies hereof, each
signed by less than all, but together signed by all, of the parties hereto.

22.6     Governing Law.

                  This Agreement shall be construed and enforced in accordance
with; and the rights of the parties shall be governed by, the law of the State
of Illinois excluding choice-of-law principles of the law of such State that
would require the application of the laws of a jurisdiction other than such
State.

                                    * * * * *

                                      -37-

<PAGE>

                  If you are in agreement with the foregoing, please sign the
form of agreement on the accompanying counterpart of this Agreement and return
it to the Company, whereupon the foregoing shall become a binding agreement
between you and the Company.

                                      Very truly yours,

                                      HEWITT ASSOCIATES LLC

                                      By:    /s/ C. L. Connolly III
                                         -------------------------------------
                                      Title: Authorized Representative

                                      S-1

<PAGE>

The foregoing is agreed
to as of the date thereof.

ALLSTATE LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY

By:    /s/ Charles D. Mires
     -----------------------------------------------
Name:       Charles D. Mires
       ---------------------------------------------

By:    /s/ Daniel C. Leimbach
     ------------------------------------------------
Name:       Daniel C. Leimbach
       ----------------------------------------------

                  Authorized Signatories

ALLSTATE LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY
OF NEW YORK

By:    /s/ Charles D. Mires
     ------------------------------------------------
Name:       Charles D. Mires
       ----------------------------------------------

By:    /s/ Daniel C. Leimbach
     ------------------------------------------------
Name:       Daniel C. Leimbach
     ------------------------------------------------

                  Authorized Signatories

                                      S-2

<PAGE>

MASSACHUSETTS MUTUAL LIFE
INSURANCE COMPANY
By David L. Babson and Company Incorporated,
Investment Advisor

By:     /s/ Mark A. Ahmed
     ------------------------------------------------
Name:        Mark A. Ahmed
       ----------------------------------------------
Title:       Managing Director
        ---------------------------------------------

C.M. LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY
by David L. Babson and Company Incorporated, as
Investment Sub-Adviser

By:     /s/ Mark A. Ahmed
     ------------------------------------------------
Name:        Mark A. Ahmed
       ----------------------------------------------
Title:       Managing Director
        ---------------------------------------------

                                      S-3

<PAGE>

PACIFIC LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY

By:    /s/ Ronn C. Cornelius
   ------------------------------------------------
Name:       Ronn C. Cornelius
     ----------------------------------------------
Title:      Assistant Vice President
      ---------------------------------------------

By:    /s/ Audrey L. Miffs
   ------------------------------------------------
Name:       Audrey L. Miffs
     ----------------------------------------------
Title:      Corporate Secretary
      ---------------------------------------------

PHOENIX HOME LIFE MUTUAL INSURANCE COMPANY

By:    /s/ John H. Beers
   ------------------------------------------------
Name:       John H. Beers
     ----------------------------------------------
Title:      Vice President
      -------------------------------------------

                                      S-4

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