LINCOLN EDUCATIONAL SERVICES CORP - 10-K filing on 2016-03-10

[1]	On July 31, 2015, the Company entered into a credit agreement with three lenders, Alostar Bank of Commerce ("Alostar"), HPF Holdco, LLC and Rushing Creek 4, LLC, led by HPF Service, LLC, as administrative agent and collateral agent (the "Agent"), for an aggregate principal amount of $45 million (the "Term Loan"). The July 31, 2015 credit agreement, along with subsequent amendments to the Credit Agreement dated December 31, 2015 and February 29, 2016, are collectively referred to as the "Credit Agreement." As of December 31, 2015 and prior to the effectiveness of a second amendment to the Credit Agreement on February 29, 2016 (the "Second Amendment"), the Term Loan consisted of a $30 million term loan (the "Term Loan A") from HPF Holdco, LLC, Rushing Creek 4, LLC and Tiger Capital Group, LLC, secured by a first priority lien in favor of the Agent on substantially all of the real and personal property owned by the Company, and a $15 million term loan (the "Term Loan B") from Alostar secured by a $15.3 million cash collateral account. Pursuant to the Second Amendment, the Company received an additional $5 million term loan from Alostar with which the Company repaid $5 million of the principal amount of the Term Loan A. Accordingly, upon the effectiveness of the Second Amendment, the aggregate term loans outstanding under the Credit Agreement remains at approximately $45 million, consisting of an approximate $25 million Term Loan A and a $20 million Term Loan B. In addition, pursuant to the Second Amendment, the amount of cash collateral securing the Term Loan B was increased to $20.3 million. At the Company's request, a percentage of the cash collateral may be released to the Company at the Agent's sole discretion and with the consent of Alostar upon the satisfaction of certain criteria as outlined in the Credit Agreement. The Term Loan, which matures on July 31, 2019, replaces a previously existing $20 million revolving credit facility with Bank of America, N.A. and other lenders, which was due to expire on April 5, 2016. The previously existing revolving credit facility was terminated concurrently with the effective date of the Credit Agreement on July 31, 2015 (the "Closing Date"). A portion of the proceeds of the Term Loan were used by the Company to (i) repay approximately $6.3 million in outstanding principal, accrued interest and fees due under the previously existing revolving credit facility, (ii) fund the $20.3 million cash collateral account securing the portion of the Term Loan provided by Alostar, (iii) fund approximately $7.4 million in a cash collateral account securing the letters of credit issued under the previously existing revolving credit facility that remain outstanding after the termination of that facility and (iv) pay transaction expenses in connection with the Term Loan and the termination of the previously existing revolving credit facility. The remaining proceeds of the Term Loan of approximately $13.3 million may be used by the Company to finance capital expenditures and for general corporate purposes consistent with the terms of the Credit Agreement. Interest will accrue on the Term Loan at a per annum rate equal to the greater of (i) 11% or (ii) 90-day LIBOR plus 9% determined monthly by the Agent and will be payable monthly in arrears. The principal balance of the Term Loan will be repaid in equal monthly installments, commencing on August 1, 2017, determined as the quotient of (i) 10% of the outstanding principal balance of the Term Loan as of July 2, 2017 divided by (ii) 12. A final installment of principal and all accrued and unpaid interest will be due on the maturity date of the Term Loan. The Term Loan may be prepaid in whole or in part at any time, subject to the payment of a prepayment premium equal to (i) 5% of the principal amount prepaid at any time up to but not including the second anniversary of the Closing Date and (ii) 3% of the principal amount prepaid at any time commencing on the second anniversary of the Closing Date up to but not including the third anniversary of the Closing Date. In the event of any sale or other disposition of a school or real property by the Company permitted under the Term Loan, the net proceeds of such sale or disposition must be used to prepay the Loan in an amount determined pursuant to the Credit Agreement, subject to the applicable prepayment premium; provided, however, that no prepayment premium will be due with respect to up to $15 million of aggregate repayments of the Term Loan made during the first year that the Term Loan is outstanding. A portion of the net cash proceeds of any disposition of a school in an amount determined pursuant to the terms of the Term Loan, must be deposited and held as cash collateral in a deposit account controlled by the Agent until the conditions for release set forth in the Term Loan are satisfied. In connection with the assets which are currently classified as held for sale and are expected to be sold within one year, the Company is required to classify $10.0 million as short term debt due to the Term Loan prepayment minimum required with respect to any such disposition. The Term Loan contains customary representations, warranties and covenants such as minimum financial responsibility composite score, cohort default rate, and other financial covenants, including minimum liquidity, maximum capital expenditures, maximum 90/10 ratio and minimum EBITDA (as defined in the Term Loan), as well as affirmative and negative covenants and events of default customary for facilities of this type. The Company was in compliance with all covenants as of December 31, 2015. Subsequent to the fiscal year end, pursuant to the Second Amendment, the financial covenants were adjusted and, at the Company's election, will be adjusted for fiscal year 2017 and for each subsequent fiscal year until the maturity of the Term Loan at either the levels applicable to fiscal year 2016 (and each fiscal quarter thereof) contained in the Credit Agreement as of the Closing Date or the levels applicable to fiscal year 2016 (and each fiscal quarter thereof) contained in the Second Amendment. In the event that the Company elects to re-set the financial covenants at the 2016 covenant levels contained in the Second Amendment, the Company will be required to prepay on or before January 15, 2017, without prepayment penalty, amounts outstanding under the Term Loan up to $4 million. The Credit Agreement contains events of default, the occurrence and continuation of which provide the Company's lenders with the right to exercise remedies against the Company and the collateral securing the Term Loan, including the Company's cash. These events of default include, among other things, the Company's failure to pay any amounts due under the Term Loan, a breach of covenants under the Credit Agreement, the Company's insolvency and the insolvency of its subsidiaries, the occurrence of a material adverse effect, the occurrence of any default under certain other indebtedness, and a final judgment against the Company in an amount greater than $1,000,000. Also, in connection with the Term Loan, the Company paid to the Agent a commitment fee of $1.0 million on the Closing Date and is required to pay to the Agent other customary fees for facilities of this type. Total fees for the Term Loan were $2.8 million during fiscal year 2015, which are included in deferred finance charges on the consolidated balance sheet. Subsequent to the fiscal year end, in connection with the effectiveness of the Second Amendment, the Company paid to the Agent a loan modification fee of $.5 million. For the year ended December 31, 2015, $0.4 million of the Term Loan was repaid in connection with the Company's sale of real property located in Springdale, Ohio. The Company had $44.7 million outstanding under the Term Loan as of December 31, 2015. The Company had $30.0 million outstanding under its previously existing revolving credit facility as of December 31, 2014, which was repaid on January 3, 2015. The interest rate on this borrowing was 7.25%.
[2]	The Company completed a sale and a leaseback of several facilities on December 28, 2001. The Company retained a continuing involvement in the lease and as a result it is prohibited from utilizing sale-leaseback accounting. Accordingly, the Company has treated this transaction as a finance lease. Annual rent payments under this obligation for each of the three years in the period ended December 31, 2015 were $1.6 million, respectively. These payments have been reflected in the accompanying consolidated statements of operations as interest expense for all periods presented since the effective interest rate on the obligation is greater than the scheduled payments. The lease expiration date is December 31, 2016. Beginning in January 2016 the lease was amended to cure issues related to continuing involvement and achieved sales treatment. In 2016, the lease will be converted to an operating lease and rent payments will be included in educational, services and facilities expense in the consolidate statement of operations. In addition, the finance obligation, net of land and buildings, will be amortized straight-line through December 31, 2016.
[3]	In 2009, the Company assumed real estate capital leases in Fern Park, Florida and Hartford, Connecticut. These leases bear interest at 8%.