SUIZA FOODS CORP
10-Q, EX-10.1, 2000-11-13
ICE CREAM & FROZEN DESSERTS
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<PAGE>   1
                                                                    EXHIBIT 10.1

                       AMENDMENT NO. 1 TO CREDIT AGREEMENT

         This AMENDMENT NO. 1 TO CREDIT AGREEMENT (this "Amendment") is executed
as of June 30, 2000, to be effective for all purposes as of the Effective Date
(as hereinafter defined). Reference is made to the Credit Agreement, dated as of
January 4, 2000 (as amended, modified, supplemented and in effect on the date
hereof, the "Credit Agreement"), among Suiza Foods Corporation, a Delaware
corporation (the "Borrower"), certain Subsidiaries of Borrower, the lenders
party thereto (collectively, the "Lenders"), First Union National Bank, as
administrative agent for the Lenders (in such capacity, the "Administrative
Agent"), Bank One, NA, as syndication agent for the Lenders, and Bank of
America, N.A., and Fleet National Bank, as co-documentation agents for the
Lenders.

         WHEREAS, the Borrower, the Lenders and the Administrative Agent desire
to amend certain provisions of the Credit Agreement;

         NOW, THEREFORE, the parties hereto hereby agree as follows:

         Section 1. Definitions. Except as otherwise defined in this Amendment,
terms defined in the Credit Agreement are used herein as defined therein.

         Section 2. Amendments to Credit Agreement and Schedules Thereto.
Subject to the satisfaction of the conditions precedent set forth in Section 5
hereof, the Lenders hereby agree that the Credit Agreement shall be amended as
follows:

                  A. From and after the Effective Date, the definitions set
forth in Section 1.1 are amended by (i) amending and restating the definitions
of the terms "Leverage Ratio", "Permitted Acquisition" and "SFDG" in their
entirety to read as set forth below and (ii) adding the following other defined
terms thereto in the appropriate alphabetical order:

                  "Leverage Ratio" shall mean, with respect to the Borrower and
         its Restricted Subsidiaries on a consolidated basis for the twelve
         month period ending on the last day of any fiscal quarter, the ratio of
         (a) Funded Debt of the Borrower and its Restricted Subsidiaries on a
         consolidated basis on the last day of such period minus cash held on a
         consolidated basis on such day to (b) Consolidated EBITDA for such
         period.

                  "Permitted Acquisition" shall mean an acquisition by the
         Borrower or any of its Subsidiaries which (i) is an acquisition of a
         Person or assets of a Person in a line of business permitted by Section
         6.3 hereof, (ii) is in an amount not greater than $100,000,000 in total
         cash consideration (after deducting cash on the balance sheet of the
         Person acquired or included in the assets being acquired) for any
         single acquisition; provided, however, the total cash consideration
         (after deducting cash on the balance sheet of the Person acquired or
         included in the assets being acquired) for any single acquisition may
         exceed $100,000,000 with the consent of the Required Lenders or if the
         funds for such acquisition are provided by SFDG by a loan and the
         assets of the entity acquired or the assets acquired are transferred to
         SFDG to extinguish such loan or in exchange for a preferred ownership
         interest with terms matching such loan's terms, (iii) is approved by
         the Board of Directors or the requisite shareholders of the Person
         being acquired or Person transferring the assets being acquired,


<PAGE>   2


         (iv) if an acquisition of Capital Stock of a Person, at least 51% of
         all issued and outstanding Capital Stock of such Person is acquired,
         and (v) after giving effect to such acquisition on a Pro Forma Basis,
         the Borrower and its Restricted Subsidiaries are in compliance with
         each of the financial covenants set forth in Section 5.9.

                  "SFDG" shall mean Suiza Dairy Group, L.P., a Delaware limited
         partnership and Subsidiary of Borrower.

                  B. From and after the Effective Date, paragraphs (c) and (l)
         in the definition of "Permitted Investment" are hereby amended and
         restated to read in their entirety as follows and a new paragraph (o)
         is hereby added to the definition of "Permitted Investment" to read as
         follows:

                  "(c) investments of any Subsidiary of the Borrower in the
         Borrower, investments of any Restricted Subsidiary of the Borrower in
         any other Restricted Subsidiary of the Borrower or investments by the
         Borrower in any of its Restricted Subsidiaries, or investments of the
         Borrower and/or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries in any of its
         Unrestricted Subsidiaries in connection with a Permitted Acquisition;

                  (l) additional investments up to but not exceeding $50,000,000
         in the aggregate during each fiscal year, including investments in
         Unrestricted Subsidiaries; provided, however, that notwithstanding the
         foregoing, the Borrower shall be permitted to make additional
         investments in Unrestricted Subsidiaries during any fiscal year in an
         amount equal to the aggregate amount of dividends and other
         distributions received by the Borrower or its Restricted Subsidiaries
         from such Unrestricted Subsidiaries and payments of Indebtedness by an
         Unrestricted Subsidiary to the Borrower or its Restricted Subsidiaries
         during such fiscal year;

                  (o) to the extent no Default or Event of Default exists at
         such time or would result therefrom, loans by the Borrower or its
         Subsidiaries to SFDG or its Subsidiaries up to but not exceeding
         $100,000,000 in the aggregate principal amount at any one time
         outstanding."

                  C. From and after the Effective Date, paragraph (c) of Section
2.2 of the Credit Agreement is hereby amended and restated to read in its
entirety as follows:

                  "(c) Interest on Swingline Loans. Subject to the provisions of
         Section 2.8(b), Swingline Loans shall bear interest at a per annum rate
         equal to the lesser of (i) Alternate Base Rate plus the Applicable
         Percentage for Revolving Loans that are Alternate Base Rate Loans, or
         (ii) the rate agreed upon by the Borrower and the Swingline Lender with
         respect to the portion of the Swingline Loans held by the Swingline
         Lender. Interest on Swingline Loans shall be payable in arrears on each
         Interest Payment Date."

                  D. From and after the Effective Date, a new paragraph (i) is
added to Section 6.1 of the Credit Agreement to read as follows:


<PAGE>   3


                  "(i) to the extent no Default or Event of Default exists at
         such time or would result therefrom, additional Indebtedness of the
         Borrower and its Restricted Subsidiaries to SFDG or its Subsidiaries up
         to but not exceeding $100,000,000 in the aggregate principal amount at
         any one time outstanding."

                  E. From and after the Effective Date, paragraph (c) of Section
6.4 of the Credit Agreement is hereby amended and restated to read in its
entirety as follows:

                  (c) convey, sell, lease, transfer or otherwise dispose of, in
         one transaction or a series of transactions, any part of its business
         or assets, whether now owned or hereafter acquired (including, without
         limitation, receivables and leasehold interests), but excluding:

                           (i) any Excluded Disposition;

                           (ii) obsolete or worn-out Property, tools or
                  equipment no longer used or useful in its business (other than
                  any Excluded Disposition) or real Property no longer used or
                  useful in its business;

                           (iii) any sale, lease or transfer of assets from a
                  Credit Party to another Credit Party;

                           (iv) any sale of Transferred Assets by such Person to
                  a Receivables Financier in connection with a Permitted
                  Receivables Financing;

                           (v) other assets so long as the aggregate amount
                  thereof sold or otherwise disposed of in any single fiscal
                  year by the Borrower and its Restricted Subsidiaries shall not
                  have a book value in excess of ten percent of the book value
                  of the total assets of the Borrower and its Restricted
                  Subsidiaries owned on the first day of such fiscal year; and

                           (vi) any sale or lease of assets (A) to SFDG or its
                  Subsidiaries in connection with a business realignment to the
                  extent permitted under Section 6.3 in an aggregate amount, so
                  long as the Borrower and its Restricted Subsidiaries remain in
                  compliance with the provisions of Section 5.9, not to exceed
                  (1) $100,000,000 from the date hereof through June 30, 2001,
                  (2) $75,000,000 for the period beginning July 1, 2001 through
                  June 30, 2002 and (3) $50,000,000 on an annual basis for the
                  period beginning July 1, 2002 through the Maturity Date or (B)
                  in connection with a Permitted Receivables Financing;

         provided, that in each case with respect to subsection (v) above at
         least 85% of the consideration received therefor by the Borrower or any
         such Restricted Subsidiary is in the form of cash or Cash Equivalents;
         and"

                  F. Schedules 3.6, 3.12, 3.16 and 3.19 to the Credit Agreement
are hereby replaced by Revised Schedules 3.6, 3.12, 3.16 and 3.19 attached to
this Amendment, as of the Effective Date hereof.

<PAGE>   4

                  G. References in the Credit Agreement (including references to
such Credit Agreement as amended hereby) to "this Agreement" (and indirect
references such as "hereunder", "hereby", "herein", and "hereof") shall be
deemed to be references to the Credit Agreement as amended hereby.

         Section 3. Representations and Warranties. The Credit Parties hereby
represent and warrant to the Administrative Agent and the Lenders that (i) the
representations and warranties in Article 3 of the Credit Agreement are true and
correct on the date hereof as if made on and as of the date hereof as if each
reference (whether direct or indirect) therein to "this Agreement" included
reference to this Amendment and the Credit Agreement as amended hereby and (ii)
no Default has occurred and is continuing as of the date hereof.

         Section 4. Guarantors. Each of the Guarantors (i) acknowledges and
consents to all of the terms and conditions of this Amendment, (ii) affirms all
of its obligations under the Credit Documents and (iii) agrees that this
Amendment and all documents executed in connection herewith do not operate to
reduce or discharge such Guarantor's obligations under the Credit Agreement or
the other Credit Documents.

         Section 5. Conditions Precedent. The amendments to the Credit Agreement
set forth in Section 2 shall become effective as of June 30, 2000 on the date
(the "Effective Date") that this Amendment shall have been executed by the
Borrower, the Guarantors and the Required Lenders.

         Section 6. Miscellaneous. Except as expressly provided herein, the
Credit Agreement shall remain unmodified and in full force and effect. This
Amendment may be executed in any number of counterparts, all of which taken
together shall constitute one and the same instrument and any of the parties
hereto may execute this Amendment by signing any such counterpart. This
Amendment shall be governed by, and construed in accordance with, the law of the
State of North Carolina.



<PAGE>   5
                  IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have caused this
Amendment to be duly executed and delivered as of the day and year first above
written.

BORROWER:

                                        SUIZA FOODS CORPORATION

                                        By:
                                            -----------------------------------
                                        Name:
                                              ---------------------------------
                                        Title:
                                               --------------------------------


GUARANTORS:                             MORNINGSTAR FOODS INC.

                                        MORNINGSTAR SERVICES INC.

                                        NEPTUNE DELAWARE CORPORATION

                                        NEVA PLASTICS MANUFACTURING CORP.

                                        SUIZA DAIRY CORPORATION

                                        SUIZA FRUIT CORPORATION

                                        SUIZA MANAGEMENT CORPORATION


                                        By:
                                            -----------------------------------
                                        Name:
                                              ---------------------------------
                                        Title:
                                               --------------------------------



<PAGE>   6

AGREED AND ACCEPTED:

                                        FIRST UNION NATIONAL BANK, in its
                                        capacity as Administrative Agent and
                                        individually in its capacity as a Lender


                                        By:
                                            -----------------------------------
                                        Name:
                                              ---------------------------------
                                        Title:
                                               --------------------------------


                                        BANK ONE, NA, in its capacity as
                                        Syndication Agent and individually in
                                        its capacity as a Lender


                                        By:
                                            -----------------------------------
                                        Name:
                                              ---------------------------------
                                        Title:
                                               --------------------------------


                                        BANK OF AMERICA, N.A., in its capacity
                                        as Documentation Agent and individually
                                        in its capacity as a Lender


                                        By:
                                            -----------------------------------
                                        Name:
                                              ---------------------------------
                                        Title:
                                               --------------------------------


                                        FLEET NATIONAL BANK, in its capacity as
                                        Documentation Agent and individually in
                                        its capacity as a Lender


                                        By:
                                            -----------------------------------
                                        Name:
                                              ---------------------------------
                                        Title:
                                               --------------------------------

<PAGE>   7

                                        COBANK, ACB, in its capacity as Managing
                                        Agent and individually in its capacity
                                        as a Lender


                                        By:
                                            -----------------------------------
                                        Name:
                                              ---------------------------------
                                        Title:
                                               --------------------------------


                                        CREDIT AGRICOLE INDOSUEZ, in its
                                        capacity as Managing Agent and
                                        individually in its capacity as a Lender

                                        By:
                                            -----------------------------------
                                        Name:
                                              ---------------------------------
                                        Title:
                                               --------------------------------


                                        THE INDUSTRIAL BANK OF JAPAN, LIMITED,
                                        in its capacity as Managing Agent and
                                        individually in its capacity as a Lender


                                        By:
                                            -----------------------------------
                                        Name:
                                              ---------------------------------
                                        Title:
                                               --------------------------------


                                        WELLS FARGO BANK (TEXAS), N.A., in its
                                        capacity as Managing Agent and
                                        individually in its capacity as a Lender


                                        By:
                                            -----------------------------------
                                        Name:
                                              ---------------------------------
                                        Title:
                                               --------------------------------

<PAGE>   8

                                        BANCO POPULAR DE PUERTO RICO, in its
                                        capacity as Co-Agent and individually in
                                        its capacity as a Lender


                                        By:
                                            -----------------------------------
                                        Name:
                                              ---------------------------------
                                        Title:
                                               --------------------------------


                                        By:
                                            -----------------------------------
                                        Name:
                                              ---------------------------------
                                        Title:
                                               --------------------------------

                                        THE BANK OF TOKYO-MITSUBISHI, LTD., in
                                        its capacity as Co-Agent and
                                        individually in its capacity as a Lender


                                        By:
                                            -----------------------------------
                                        Name:
                                              ---------------------------------
                                        Title:
                                               --------------------------------


                                        THE BANK OF NOVA SCOTIA, in its capacity
                                        as Co-Agent and individually in its
                                        capacity as a Lender


                                        By:
                                            -----------------------------------
                                        Name:
                                              ---------------------------------
                                        Title:
                                               --------------------------------


                                        SUNTRUST BANK, ATLANTA, in its capacity
                                        as Co-Agent and individually in its
                                        capacity as a Lender


                                        By:
                                            -----------------------------------
                                        Name:
                                              ---------------------------------
                                        Title:
                                               --------------------------------


<PAGE>   9


                                        CITIBANK, N.A.

                                        By:
                                            -----------------------------------
                                        Name:
                                              ---------------------------------
                                        Title:
                                               --------------------------------



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