EX-10.2 4 v186527_ex10-2.htm
WORLDGATE COMMUNICATIONS, INC. 2010 STOCK INCENTIVE PLAN
 
Table Of Contents
 
1.
Purpose
2
2.
Definitions
2
3.
Term of the Plan
5
4.
Stock Subject to the Plan
5
5.
Administration
5
6.
Authorization of Grants
6
7.
Specific Terms of Awards
6
8.
Adjustment Provisions
9
9.
Change of Control
11
10.
Settlement of Awards
11
11.
Reservation of Stock
12
12.
Limitation of Rights in Stock; No Special Service Rights
12
13.
Unfunded Status of Plan
13
14.
Nonexclusivity of the Plan
13
15.
Termination and Amendment of the Plan
13
16.
Notices and Other Communications
13
17.
Governing Law
14

 
 

 
 
WORLDGATE COMMUNCIATIONS, INC.

2010 STOCK INCENTIVE PLAN

1.           Purpose

This Plan is intended to encourage ownership of Stock by employees, consultants and directors of the Company and its Affiliates and to provide additional incentive for them to promote the success of the Company’s business through the grant of Awards of or pertaining to shares of the Company’s Stock.  The Plan is intended to be an incentive stock option plan within the meaning of Section 422 of the Code, but not all Awards are required to be Incentive Options.  If approved by the Company’s stockholders, the Plan shall succeed the Company’s 2003 Equity Incentive Plan, as amended.  Following the date of approval by the Company’s stockholders of the Plan, no additional stock awards shall be granted under the Company’s 2003 Equity Incentive Plan, as amended.

2.           Definitions

As used in this Plan, the following terms shall have the following meanings:

2.1.           Accelerate, Accelerated, and Acceleration, means: (a) when used with respect to an Option, that as of the time of reference the Option will become exercisable solely as a consequence of the vesting requirements for such Option with respect to some or all of the shares of Stock for which it was not then otherwise exercisable by its terms; and (b) when used with respect to Restricted Stock, that the Risk of Forfeiture otherwise applicable to the Stock shall expire or be released with respect to some or all of the shares of Restricted Stock then still otherwise subject to the Risk of Forfeiture.

2.2.           Affiliate means any corporation, partnership, limited liability company, business trust, or other entity controlling or controlled by the Company.

2.3.           Assumed means that pursuant to a Transaction either (i) the Award is expressly affirmed by the Company or (ii) the contractual obligations represented by the Award are expressly assumed (and not simply by operation of law) by the successor entity or its parent in connection with the Transaction with appropriate adjustments to the number and type of securities of the successor entity or its parent subject to the Award and the exercise or purchase price thereof which at a minimum preserves the compensation element of the Award existing at the time of the Transaction (as determined in accordance with the instruments evidencing the agreement to assume the Award).

2.4.           Award means any grant or sale pursuant to the Plan of Options or Restricted Stock.

2.5.           Award Agreement means an agreement between the Company and the recipient of an Award, setting forth the terms and conditions of the Award.

2.6.           Board means the Company’s Board of Directors.

2.7.           Cause means, with respect to the termination by the Company or an Affiliate of the Participant's Service, that such termination is for “Cause” as such term (or word of like import) is expressly defined in a then-effective written agreement between the Participant and the Company or such Affiliate, or in the absence of such then-effective written agreement and definition, is based on, in the determination of the Committee, the Participant's:  (i) performance of any act or failure to perform any act in bad faith and to the detriment of the Company or an Affiliate; (ii) dishonesty, intentional misconduct or material breach of any agreement with the Company or an Affiliate; or (iii) commission of a crime involving dishonesty, breach of trust, or physical or emotional harm to any person.

 
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2.8.           Change of Control means the occurrence of any of the following after the date of the approval of the Plan by the Board:

(a)           a Transaction (as defined in Section 8.4), unless securities possessing more than 50% of the total combined voting power of the survivor’s or acquiror’s outstanding securities (or the securities of any parent thereof) are held by a person or persons who held securities possessing more than 50% of the total combined voting power of the Company’s outstanding securities immediately prior to that transaction, or

(b)           any person or group of persons (within the meaning of Section 13(d)(3) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended and in effect from time to time) directly or indirectly acquires during a twelve-month period, including but not limited to by means of a merger or consolidation, beneficial ownership (determined pursuant to Securities and Exchange Commission Rule 13d-3 promulgated under the said Exchange Act) of securities possessing more than 30% of the total combined voting power of the Company's outstanding securities pursuant to a tender or exchange offer made directly to the Company's stockholders that the Board does not recommend such stockholders accept, other than (i) the Company or an Affiliate, (ii) an employee benefit plan of the Company or any of its Affiliates, (iii) a trustee or other fiduciary holding securities under an employee benefit plan of the Company or any of its Affiliates, or (iv) an underwriter temporarily holding securities pursuant to an offering of such securities, or

(c)           over a period of 12 consecutive months or less, there is a change in the composition of the Board such that a majority of the Board members (rounded up to the next whole number, if a fraction) ceases, by reason of one or more proxy contests for the election of Board members, to be composed of individuals who either (i) have been Board members continuously since the beginning of that period, or (ii) have been elected or nominated for election as Board members during such period by at least a majority of the Board members described in the preceding clause (i) who were still in office at the time that election or nomination was approved by the Board.

2.9.           Code means the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended from time to time, or any successor statute thereto, and any regulations issued from time to time thereunder.

2.10.           Committee means the Compensation and Nominating Committee of the Board, which, except as otherwise directed by the Board of Directors, is responsible for the administration of the Plan, as provided in Section 5 of this Plan.  For any period during which no such committee is in existence, “Committee” shall mean the Board and all authority and responsibility assigned to the Committee under the Plan shall be exercised, if at all, by the Board.

2.11.           Company means WorldGate Communications, Inc., a corporation organized under the laws of the State of Delaware.

2.12.           Covered Employee means an employee who is a “covered employee” within the meaning of Section 162(m) of the Code.

2.13.           Disability has the meaning defined under the long-term disability policy of the Company or the Affiliate to which the Participant provides services regardless of whether the Participant is covered by such policy.  If the Company or the Affiliate to which the Participant provides service does not have a long-term disability plan in place, “Disability” means that a Participant is unable to carry out the responsibilities and functions of the position held by the Participant by reason of any medically determinable physical or mental impairment for a period of not less than ninety (90) consecutive days.  A Participant will not be considered to have incurred a Disability unless he or she furnishes proof of such impairment sufficient to satisfy the Committee in its discretion.

2.14.           Exchange Program means a program under which (i) outstanding Awards are surrendered or cancelled in exchange for Awards of the same type (which may have lower exercise prices, different terms, and a different amount of Stock subject to the new Award), Awards of a different type, and/or cash, and/or (ii) the exercise price of an outstanding Award is reduced (including through an amendment of an outstanding Award); provided, however, that in no event shall the strike price for any Award be less than the Market Value of the stock on the date on which the Award is issued). The terms and conditions of any Exchange Program will be determined by the Committee in its sole discretion.

 
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2.15.           Grant Date means the date as of which an Option is granted, as determined under Section 7.1(a).

2.16.           Incentive Option means an Option which by its terms is to be treated as an “incentive stock option” within the meaning of Section 422 of the Code.

2.17.           Market Value as of any date, unless otherwise determined by the Committee, means the closing price for the Stock as reported on the NASDAQ Stock Market (or on any other national securities exchange or quotation system on which the Stock is then listed or quoted, including the OTC Bulletin Board) for that date or, if no closing price is reported for that date, the closing price on the next preceding date for which a closing price was reported.  In the absence of an established market for the Stock of the type described above, the Market Value thereof shall be the fair market value thereof as determined by the Committee in good faith and in a manner consistent with applicable laws.

2.18.           Nonstatutory Option means any Option that is not an Incentive Option.

2.19.           Option means an option to purchase shares of Stock.

2.20.           Optionee means a Participant to whom an Option shall have been granted under the Plan.

2.21.           Participant means any holder of an outstanding Award under the Plan.

2.22.           Plan means this 2010 Stock Incentive Plan of the Company, as amended from time to time, and including any attachments or addenda hereto.

2.23.           Restricted Stock means a grant or sale of shares of Stock to a Participant subject to a Risk of Forfeiture.

2.24.           Restriction Period means the period of time, established by the Committee in connection with an Award of Restricted Stock, during which the shares of Restricted Stock are subject to a Risk of Forfeiture described in the applicable Award Agreement.

2.25.           Risk of Forfeiture means a limitation on the right of the Participant to retain Restricted Stock, including a right of the Company to reacquire shares of Restricted Stock at less than their then Market Value, arising because of the occurrence or non-occurrence of specified events or conditions.

2.26.           Service means that the provision of services to the Company or an Affiliate in any capacity of employee, director or consultant is not interrupted or terminated.  In jurisdictions requiring notice in advance of an effective termination as an employee, director or consultant, Service shall be deemed terminated upon the actual cessation of providing services to the Company or an Affiliate notwithstanding any required notice period that must be fulfilled before a termination as an employee, director or consultant can be effective under applicable laws.  A Participant’s Service shall be deemed to have terminated either upon an actual termination of Service or upon the entity for which the Participant provides services ceasing to be an Affiliate.  Service shall not be considered interrupted in the case of (i) any approved leave of absence, (ii) transfers among the Company, any Affiliate, or any successor, in any capacity of employee, director or consultant, or (iii) any change in status as long as the individual remains in the service of the Company or an Affiliate in any capacity of employee, director or consultant (except as otherwise provided in the Award Agreement).  An approved leave of absence shall include sick leave, military leave, or any other authorized personal leave.  For purposes of each Incentive Option granted under the Plan, if such leave exceeds three (3) months, and reemployment upon expiration of such leave is not guaranteed by statute or contract, then the Incentive Option shall be treated as a Nonstatutory Option on the day three (3) months and one (1) day following the expiration of such three (3) month period.

2.29.            Specified Employee means any person defined as a “specified person” for purposes of Section 409A of the Code.

 
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2.28.           Stock means common stock, par value $0.001 per share, of the Company, and such other securities as may be substituted for Stock pursuant to Section 8.

2.29.           Ten Percent Owner means a person who owns, or is deemed within the meaning of Section 422(b)(6) of the Code to own, stock possessing more than 10% of the total combined voting power of all classes of stock of the Company (or any parent or subsidiary corporations of the Company, as defined in Sections 424(e) and (f), respectively, of the Code).  Whether a person is a Ten Percent Owner shall be determined with respect to an Option based on the facts existing immediately prior to the Grant Date of the Option.

3.           Term of the Plan

Unless the Plan shall have been earlier terminated by the Board, Awards may be granted under this Plan at any time in the period commencing on the date of approval of the Plan by the Board and ending immediately prior to the tenth anniversary of the earlier of the adoption of the Plan by the Board and approval of the Plan by the Company’s stockholders.  Awards granted pursuant to the Plan within that period shall not expire solely by reason of the termination of the Plan.  Awards of Incentive Options granted prior to stockholder approval of the Plan are expressly conditioned upon such approval, but in the event of the failure of the stockholders to approve the Plan shall thereafter and for all purposes be deemed to constitute Nonstatutory Options.

4.           Stock Subject to the Plan

At no time shall the number of shares of Stock issued pursuant to or subject to outstanding Awards granted under the Plan (including pursuant to Incentive Options), nor the number of shares of Stock issued pursuant to Incentive Options, exceed 12,000,000 shares of Stock, subject, however, to the provisions of Section 8 of the Plan.  For purposes of applying the foregoing limitation, (a) if any Option expires, terminates, or is cancelled for any reason without having been exercised in full, or if any other Award is forfeited by the recipient or repurchased at less than its Market Value, the shares not purchased by the Optionee or which are forfeited by the recipient or repurchased shall again be available for Awards to be granted under the Plan and (b) if any Option is exercised by delivering previously owned shares in payment of the exercise price therefor, only the net number of shares, that is, the number of shares issued minus the number received by the Company in payment of the exercise price, shall be considered to have been issued pursuant to an Award granted under the Plan.  In addition, settlement of any Award shall not count against the foregoing limitations except to the extent settled in the form of Stock.  Shares of Stock issued pursuant to the Plan may be either authorized but unissued shares or shares held by the Company in its treasury.

5.           Administration

The Plan shall be administered by the Committee; provided, however, that at any time and on any one or more occasions the Board may itself exercise any of the powers and responsibilities assigned the Committee under the Plan and when so acting shall have the benefit of all of the provisions of the Plan pertaining to the Committee’s exercise of its authorities hereunder. Subject to the provisions of the Plan, the Committee shall have complete authority, in its discretion, to make or to select the manner of making all determinations with respect to each Award to be granted by the Company under the Plan including the employee, consultant or director to receive the Award and the form of Award.  In making such determinations, the Committee may take into account the nature of the services rendered by the respective employees, consultants, and directors, their present and potential contributions to the success of the Company and its Affiliates, and such other factors as the Committee in its discretion shall deem relevant.  Subject to the provisions of the Plan, the Committee shall also have complete authority to interpret the Plan, to prescribe, amend and rescind rules and regulations relating to it, to determine the terms and provisions of the respective Award Agreements (which need not be identical), and to make all other determinations necessary or advisable for the administration of the Plan.  The Committee’s determinations made in good faith on matters referred to in the Plan shall be final, binding and conclusive on all persons having or claiming any interest under the Plan or an Award made pursuant hereto.  Subject to the provisions of the Plan, each of the Board and the Committee shall have the power and authority to approve, adopt and institute an Exchange Program.

 
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6.           Authorization of Grants

6.1.           Eligibility.  The Committee may grant from time to time and at any time prior to the termination of the Plan one or more Awards, either alone or in combination with any other Awards, to any employee of or consultant to one or more of the Company and its Affiliates or to any non-employee member of the Board or of any board of directors (or similar governing authority) of any Affiliate. However, only employees of the Company, and of any parent or subsidiary corporations of the Company, as defined in Sections 424(e) and (f), respectively, of the Code, shall be eligible for the grant of an Incentive Option.  Further, in no event shall the number of shares of Stock covered by Options or other Awards granted to any one person in any one calendar year exceed 1,000,000 shares of Stock (subject to the provisions of Section 8 of the Plan, but only to the extent consistent with Section 162(m) of the Code).

6.2.           General Terms of Awards.  Each grant of an Award shall be subject to all applicable terms and conditions of the Plan (including but not limited to any specific terms and conditions applicable to that type of Award set out in the following Section), and such other terms and conditions, not inconsistent with the terms of the Plan, as the Committee may prescribe.  No prospective Participant shall have any rights with respect to an Award, unless and until such Participant shall have complied with the applicable terms and conditions of such Award (including if applicable delivering a fully executed copy of any agreement evidencing an Award to the Company).

6.3.           Effect of Termination of Service, Etc. Unless the Committee shall provide otherwise with respect to any Award, if the Participant’s Service ends for any reason, including because of the Participant’s employer ceasing to be an Affiliate, (a) any outstanding Option of the Participant shall cease to be exercisable in any respect not later than 90 days following that event and, for the period it remains exercisable following that event, shall be exercisable only to the extent exercisable at the date of that event, and (b) any other outstanding Award of the Participant shall be forfeited or otherwise subject to return to or repurchase by the Company on the terms specified in the applicable Award Agreement.  The Participant's Award Agreement may provide that upon the termination of the Participant's Service for Cause, the Participant's right to exercise the Award shall terminate concurrently with any such termination.  Any payment to a Specified Employee that would constitute “deferred compensation” within the meaning of Section 409A of the Code shall be paid in a manner and at a time that shall comply with Treas. Reg. Section 409A-3(i)(2).

6.4.           Non-Transferability of Awards.  Except as otherwise provided in this Section 6.4, Awards shall not be transferable, and no Award or interest therein may be sold, transferred, pledged, assigned, or otherwise alienated or hypothecated, other than by will or by the laws of descent and distribution.  All of a Participant’s rights in any Award may be exercised during the life of the Participant only by the Participant or the Participant’s legal representative.  However, the Committee may, at or after the grant of an Award of a Nonstatutory Option, or shares of Restricted Stock, provide that such Award may be transferred by the recipient to a family member; provided, however, that any such transfer is without payment of any consideration whatsoever and that no transfer shall be valid unless first approved by the Committee, acting in its sole discretion.  For this purpose, “family member” means any child, stepchild, grandchild, parent, stepparent, spouse, former spouse, sibling, niece, nephew, mother-in-law, father-in-law, son-in-law, daughter-in-law, brother-in-law, or sister-in-law, including adoptive relationships, any person sharing the employee’s household (other than a tenant or employee), a trust in which the foregoing persons have more than fifty (50) percent of the beneficial interests, a foundation in which the foregoing persons (or the Participant) control the management of assets, and any other entity in which these persons (or the Participant) own more than fifty (50) percent of the voting interests.

7.           Specific Terms of Awards

7.1.          Options.

(a)           Date of Grant.  The granting of an Option shall take place at the time specified in the Award Agreement.  Only if expressly so provided in the applicable Award Agreement shall the Grant Date be the date on which the Award Agreement shall have been duly executed and delivered by the Company and the Optionee.

(b)           Exercise Price.  The price at which shares of Stock may be acquired under each Incentive Option shall be not less than 100% of the Market Value of Stock on the Grant Date, or not less than 110% of the Market Value of Stock on the Grant Date if the Optionee is a Ten Percent Owner.  The price at which shares may be acquired under each Nonstatutory Option shall be not less than 100% of the Market Value of Stock on the Grant Date.

 
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(c)           Option Period.  No Incentive Option may be exercised on or after the tenth anniversary of the Grant Date, or on or after the fifth anniversary of the Grant Date if the Optionee is a Ten Percent Owner.  The term of each Nonstatutory Option shall be the term stated in the Award Agreement, provided, however, that the term shall be no more than ten (10) years from the Grant Date.

(d)           Exercisability.  An Option may be immediately exercisable or become exercisable in such installments, cumulative or non-cumulative, as the Committee may determine.  In the case of an Option not otherwise immediately exercisable in full, the Committee may Accelerate the vesting of such Option in whole or in part at any time; provided, however, that in the case of an Incentive Option, any such Acceleration of the vesting of the Option would not cause the Option to fail to comply with the provisions of Section 422 of the Code or the Optionee consents to the Acceleration.

(e)           Method of Exercise.  An Option may be exercised by the Optionee giving written notice, in the manner provided in Section 16, specifying the number of shares with respect to which the Option is then being exercised.  The notice shall be accompanied by payment in the form of cash or check payable to the order of the Company in an amount equal to the exercise price of the shares to be purchased or, subject in each instance to the Committee’s approval, acting in its sole discretion, and to such conditions, if any, as the Committee may deem necessary to avoid adverse accounting effects to the Company,

(i) by delivery to the Company of shares of Stock having a Market Value equal to the exercise price of the shares to be purchased, or

(ii) by surrender of the Option as to all or part of the shares of Stock for which the Option is then exercisable in exchange for shares of Stock having an aggregate Market Value equal to the difference between (1) the aggregate Market Value of the surrendered portion of the Option, and (2) the aggregate exercise price under the Option for the surrendered portion of the Option, or

(iii) unless prohibited by applicable law, by delivery to the Company of the Optionee’s executed promissory note in the principal amount equal to the exercise price of the shares to be purchased and otherwise in such form as the Committee shall have approved.

If the Stock is traded on an established market or quoted on a recognized automated quotation system, payment of any exercise price may also be made through and under the terms and conditions of any formal cashless exercise program authorized by the Company entailing the sale of the Stock subject to an Option in a brokered transaction (other than to the Company).  Receipt by the Company of such notice and payment in any authorized or combination of authorized means shall constitute the exercise of the Option.  Within thirty (30) days thereafter but subject to the remaining provisions of the Plan, the Company shall deliver or cause to be delivered to the Optionee or his agent a certificate or certificates for the number of shares then being purchased.  Such shares shall be fully paid and nonassessable.

(f)           Limit on Incentive Option Characterization.  An Incentive Option shall be considered to be an Incentive Option only to the extent that the number of shares of Stock for which the Option first becomes exercisable in a calendar year does not have an aggregate Market Value (as of the date of the grant of the Option) in excess of the “current limit”.  The current limit for any Optionee for any calendar year shall be $100,000 minus the aggregate Market Value at the date of grant of the number of shares of Stock available for purchase for the first time in the same year under each other Incentive Option previously granted to the Optionee under the Plan, and under each other incentive stock option previously granted to the Optionee under any other incentive stock option plan of the Company and its Affiliates.  Any shares of Stock which would cause the foregoing limit to be violated shall be deemed to have been granted under a separate Nonstatutory Option, otherwise identical in its terms to those of the Incentive Option.

 
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(g)           Notification of Disposition.  Each person exercising any Incentive Option granted under the Plan shall be deemed to have covenanted with the Company to report to the Company any disposition of such shares prior to the expiration of the holding periods specified by Section 422(a)(1) of the Code and, if and to the extent that the realization of income in such a disposition imposes upon the Company federal, state, local or other withholding tax requirements, or any such withholding is required to secure for the Company an otherwise available tax deduction, to remit to the Company an amount in cash sufficient to satisfy those requirements.

7.2.          Restricted Stock.

(a)           Purchase Price.  Shares of Restricted Stock shall be issued under the Plan for such consideration, in cash, other property or services, or any combination thereof, as is determined by the Committee.

(b)           Issuance of Certificates.  Each Participant receiving a Restricted Stock Award, subject to subsection (c) below, shall be issued a stock certificate in respect of such shares of Restricted Stock.  Such certificate shall be registered in the name of such Participant, and, if applicable, shall bear an appropriate legend referring to the terms, conditions, and restrictions applicable to such Award substantially in the following form:

“The transferability of this certificate and the shares represented by this certificate are subject to the terms and conditions of the WorldGate Communications, Inc. 2010 Stock Incentive Plan and an Award Agreement entered into by the registered owner and WorldGate Communications, Inc.  Copies of such Plan and Agreement are on file in the offices of WorldGate Communications, Inc.”

(c)           Escrow of Shares.  The Committee may require that the stock certificates evidencing shares of Restricted Stock be held in custody by a designated escrow agent (which may but need not be the Company) until the restrictions thereon shall have lapsed, and that the Participant deliver a stock power, endorsed in blank, relating to the Stock covered by such Award.

(d)           Restrictions and Restriction Period.  During the Restriction Period applicable to shares of Restricted Stock, such shares shall be subject to limitations on transferability and a Risk of Forfeiture arising on the basis of such conditions related to the performance of services, Company or Affiliate performance or otherwise as the Committee may determine and provide for in the applicable Award Agreement.  Any such Risk of Forfeiture may be waived or terminated, or the Restriction Period shortened, at any time by the Committee on such basis as it deems appropriate.

(e)           Rights Pending Lapse of Risk of Forfeiture or Forfeiture of Award.  Except as otherwise provided in the Plan or the applicable Award Agreement, at all times prior to lapse of any Risk of Forfeiture applicable to, or forfeiture of, an Award of Restricted Stock, the Participant shall have all of the rights of a stockholder of the Company, including the right to vote, and the right to receive any dividends with respect to, the shares of Restricted Stock.  The Committee, as determined at the time of Award, may permit or require the payment of cash dividends to be deferred and, if the Committee so determines, reinvested in additional Restricted Stock to the extent shares are available under Section 4.

(f)           Lapse of Restrictions.  If and when the Restriction Period expires without a prior forfeiture of the Restricted Stock, the certificates for such shares shall be delivered to the Participant promptly if not theretofore so delivered.

7.3.          Awards to Participants Outside the United States.  The Committee may modify the terms of any Award under the Plan granted to a Participant who is, at the time of grant or during the term of the Award, resident or primarily employed outside of the United States in any manner deemed by the Committee to be necessary or appropriate in order that the Award shall conform to laws, regulations, and customs of the country in which the Participant is then resident or primarily employed, or so that the value and other benefits of the Award to the Participant, as affected by foreign tax laws and other restrictions applicable as a result of the Participant’s residence or employment abroad, shall be comparable to the value of such an Award to a Participant who is resident or primarily employed in the United States.  The Committee may establish supplements to, or amendments, restatements, or alternative versions of the Plan for the purpose of granting and administrating any such modified Award.  No such modification, supplement, amendment, restatement or alternative version may increase the limit in the number of shares set forth in Section 4.

 
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8.           Adjustment Provisions

8.1.           Adjustment for Corporate Actions. All of the share numbers set forth in the Plan reflect the capital structure of the Company as of the effective date of this Plan.  If subsequent to that date the outstanding shares of Stock (or any other securities covered by the Plan by reason of the prior application of this Section) are increased, decreased, or exchanged for a different number or kind of shares or other securities, or if additional shares or new or different shares or other securities are distributed with respect to shares of Stock, as a result of a reorganization, recapitalization, reclassification, stock dividend, stock split, reverse stock split, or other similar distribution with respect to such shares of Stock, an appropriate and proportionate adjustment will be made in (i) the maximum numbers and kinds of shares provided in Section 4, (ii) the numbers and kinds of shares or other securities subject to the then-outstanding Awards, (iii) the exercise price for each share or other unit of any other securities subject to then-outstanding Options (without change in the aggregate purchase price as to which such Options remain exercisable), and (iv) the repurchase price of each share of Restricted Stock then subject to a Risk of Forfeiture in the form of a Company repurchase right.

8.2.           Adjustment of Awards Upon the Occurrence of Certain Unusual or Nonrecurring Events. In the event of any corporate action not specifically covered by the preceding Section, including but not limited to an extraordinary cash distribution on Stock, a corporate separation (such as, but not limited to, a corporate spin-off) or other reorganization or liquidation, the Committee shall make such adjustment of outstanding Awards and their terms, if any, as it, in its sole discretion, may deem equitable and appropriate in the circumstances.  The Committee shall make adjustments in the terms and conditions of, and the criteria included in, Awards in recognition of unusual or nonrecurring events (including, without limitation, the events described in this Section) affecting the Company or the financial statements of the Company or of changes in applicable laws, regulations, or accounting principles, whenever the Committee determines that such adjustments are appropriate in order to prevent dilution or enlargement of the benefits or potential benefits intended to be made available under the Plan.

8.3.           Related Matters.  Any adjustment in Awards made pursuant to Section 8.1 or 8.2 shall be determined and made, if at all, by the Committee, acting in its sole discretion, and shall include any correlative modification of terms, including of Option exercise prices, rates of vesting or exercisability, Risks of Forfeiture, applicable repurchase prices for Restricted Stock, and other objectives or criteria which the Committee may deem necessary or appropriate so as to ensure the rights of the Participants in their respective Awards are not substantially diminished nor enlarged as a result of the adjustment and corporate action other than as expressly contemplated in this Section 8.  No fraction of a share shall be purchasable or deliverable upon exercise, but in the event any adjustment hereunder of the number of shares covered by an Award shall cause such number to include a fraction of a share, such number of shares shall be adjusted to the nearest smaller whole number of shares.  No adjustment of an Option exercise price per share pursuant to this Section 8 shall result in an exercise price which is less than the par value of the Stock.

8.4.         Transactions.

(a)           Definition of Transaction. In this Section 8.4, “Transaction” means (1) any merger or consolidation of the Company with or into another entity as a result of which the Stock of the Company is converted into or exchanged for the right to receive cash, securities or other property or is cancelled and which would constitute a Change of Control, (2) any sale or exchange of all of the Stock of the Company for cash, securities or other property which would constitute a Change of Control, (3) any sale, transfer, or other disposition of all or substantially all of the Company’s assets to one or more other persons in a single transaction or series of related transactions or (4) any liquidation or dissolution of the Company to the extent that the liquidation or dissolution is described as an acceptable event for acceleration of payments under Treas. Reg. Section 1.409A-3(j)(4)(ix).

(b)           Treatment of Awards Generally.  Effective upon the consummation of a Transaction, unless otherwise provided in the Award Agreement or unless the Committee determines otherwise as set forth in this Section 8.4 or Section 8.5, all outstanding Awards under the Plan (including any portion of a Restricted Stock Award that remains subject to a Risk of Forfeiture) shall terminate.  However, all such Awards shall not terminate to the extent they are Assumed in connection with such Transaction.
 
 
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(c)           Treatment of Options. In a Transaction, the Committee may take any one or more of the following actions as to all or any (or any portion of) outstanding Options.

(1)           Provide that such Options shall be Assumed, or substantially equivalent rights shall be provided in substitution therefor, by the acquiring or succeeding entity (or an affiliate thereof).

(2)           Upon written notice to the holders, provide that the holders’ unexercised Options will terminate immediately prior to the consummation of such Transaction unless exercised within a specified period following the date of such notice.

(3)           Provide that outstanding Options shall become exercisable in whole or in part prior to or upon the Transaction.

(4)           Provide for cash payments, net of applicable tax withholdings, to be made to holders equal to the excess, if any, of (A) the acquisition price times the number of shares of Stock subject to an Option (to the extent the exercise price does not exceed the acquisition price) over (B) the aggregate exercise price for all such shares of Stock subject to the Option, in exchange for the termination of such Option.  For this purpose, “acquisition price” means the amount of cash, and market value of any other consideration, received in payment for a share of Stock surrendered in a Transaction.

(5)           Provide that, in connection with a liquidation or dissolution of the Company, Options shall convert into the right to receive liquidation proceeds net of the exercise price thereof and any applicable tax withholdings.

(6)           Any combination of the foregoing.

For purposes of paragraph (1) above, an Option shall be considered Assumed, or a substantially equivalent right shall be considered to have been provided in substitution therefore, if following consummation of the Transaction the Option confers the right to purchase or receive the value of, for each share of Stock subject to the Option immediately prior to the consummation of the Transaction, the consideration (whether cash, securities or other property) received as a result of the Transaction by holders of Stock for each share of Stock held immediately prior to the consummation of the Transaction (and if holders were offered a choice of consideration, the type of consideration chosen by the holders of a majority of the outstanding shares of Stock); provided, however, that if the consideration received as a result of the Transaction is not solely common stock (or its equivalent) of the acquiring or succeeding entity (or an affiliate thereof), the Committee may provide for the consideration to be received upon the exercise of the Option to consist of or be based on solely common stock (or its equivalent) of the acquiring or succeeding entity (or an affiliate thereof) equivalent in value to the per share consideration received by holders of outstanding shares of Stock as a result of the Transaction.

(d)           Treatment of Restricted Stock. As to outstanding Restricted Stock Awards, upon the occurrence of a Transaction other than a liquidation or dissolution of the Company which is not part of another form of Transaction, the Committee may provide that the repurchase and other rights of the Company under each such Award shall inure to the benefit of the Company’s successor and shall apply to the cash, securities or other property which the Stock was converted into or exchanged for pursuant to such Transaction in the same manner and to the same extent as they applied to the Award. Upon the occurrence of a Transaction involving a liquidation or dissolution of the Company which is not part of another form of Transaction, the Committee may provide that all Risks of Forfeiture, where otherwise applicable to any such Awards, shall automatically be deemed terminated or satisfied, as applicable.  With respect to any Restricted Stock Awards subject to a Risk of Forfeiture, the Committee may provide for the full or partial Acceleration of such Restricted Stock Awards prior to or upon the consummation of the Transaction.

(e)           Related Matters. In taking any of the actions permitted under this Section 8.4, the Committee shall not be obligated to treat all Awards, all Awards held by a Participant, or all Awards of the same type, identically. Any determinations required to carry out the foregoing provisions of this Section 8.4, including but not limited to the market value of other consideration received by holders of Stock in a Transaction and whether substantially equivalent Awards have been substituted, shall be made by the Committee acting in its sole discretion.

 
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9.           Change of Control

The Committee shall have the authority, exercisable either in advance of any actual or anticipated Change of Control or at the time of an actual Change of Control and exercisable at the time of the grant of an Award under the Plan or any time while an Award remains outstanding, to provide for the full or partial Acceleration of vesting of one or more outstanding unvested Awards under the Plan in connection with a Change of Control, on such terms and conditions as the Committee may specify.  The Committee also shall have the authority to condition any such Acceleration of vesting upon the subsequent termination of the Participant's Service to the Company or an Affiliate or successor entity within a specified period following the effective date of the Change of Control.  The Committee may provide that any Awards so Accelerated in connection with a Change of Control, shall remain fully exercisable until the expiration or sooner termination of the Award.

10.          Settlement of Awards

10.1.           In General.  Options and Restricted Stock may be settled in cash, Stock, or other Awards, or a combination thereof, as determined by the Committee at or after grant and subject to any contrary Award Agreement.  The Committee may not require settlement of any Award in Stock pursuant to the immediately preceding sentence to the extent issuance of such Stock would be prohibited or unreasonably delayed by reason of any other provision of the Plan.

10.2.           Violation of Law.  Notwithstanding any other provision of the Plan or the relevant Award Agreement, if, at any time, in the reasonable opinion of the Company, the issuance of shares of Stock covered by an Award may constitute a violation of law, then the Company may delay such issuance and the delivery of a certificate for such shares until (i) approval shall have been obtained from such governmental agencies, other than the Securities and Exchange Commission, as may be required under any applicable law, rule, or regulation and (ii) in the case where such issuance would constitute a violation of a law administered by or a regulation of the Securities and Exchange Commission, one of the following conditions shall have been satisfied:

(a)           the shares are at the time of the issue of such shares effectively registered under the Securities Act of 1933; or

(b)           the Company shall have determined, on such basis as it deems appropriate (including an opinion of counsel in form and substance satisfactory to the Company) that the sale, transfer, assignment, pledge, encumbrance or other disposition of such shares or such beneficial interest, as the case may be, does not require registration under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended or any applicable State securities laws.

The Company shall make all reasonable efforts to bring about the occurrence of said events.

10.3.           Corporate Restrictions on Rights in Stock. Any Stock to be issued pursuant to Awards granted under the Plan shall be subject to all restrictions upon the transfer thereof which may be now or hereafter imposed by the Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation and Amended and Restated By-laws of the Company.

10.4.           Investment Representations.  The Company shall be under no obligation to issue any shares covered by any Award unless the shares to be issued pursuant to Awards granted under the Plan have been effectively registered under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the Participant shall have made such written representations to the Company (upon which the Company believes it may reasonably rely) as the Company may deem necessary or appropriate for purposes of confirming that the issuance of such shares will be exempt from the registration requirements of that Act and any applicable state securities laws and otherwise in compliance with all applicable laws, rules and regulations, including but not limited to that the Participant is acquiring the shares for his or her own account for the purpose of investment and not with a view to, or for sale in connection with, the distribution of any such shares.
 
 
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10.5.           Registration.  If the Company shall deem it necessary or desirable to register under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended or other applicable statutes any shares of Stock issued or to be issued pursuant to Awards granted under the Plan, or to qualify any such shares of Stock for exemption from the Securities Act of 1933, as amended or other applicable statutes, then the Company shall take such action at its own expense.  The Company may require from each recipient of an Award, or each holder of shares of Stock acquired pursuant to the Plan, such information in writing for use in any registration statement, prospectus, preliminary prospectus or offering circular as is reasonably necessary for that purpose and may require reasonable indemnity to the Company and its officers and directors from that holder against all losses, claims, damage and liabilities arising from use of the information so furnished and caused by any untrue statement of any material fact therein or caused by the omission to state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading in the light of the circumstances under which they were made.

10.6.           Placement of Legends; Stop Orders; etc.  Each share of Stock to be issued pursuant to Awards granted under the Plan may bear a reference to the investment representation made in accordance with Section 10.4 in addition to any other applicable restriction under the Plan, the terms of the Award and, if applicable, to the fact that no registration statement has been filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission in respect to such shares of Stock.  All certificates for shares of Stock or other securities delivered under the Plan shall be subject to such stock transfer orders and other restrictions as the Committee may deem advisable under the rules, regulations, and other requirements of any stock exchange upon which the Stock is then listed, and any applicable federal or state securities law, and the Committee may cause a legend or legends to be put on any such certificates to make appropriate reference to such restrictions.

10.7.           Tax Withholding. Whenever shares of Stock are issued or to be issued pursuant to Awards granted under the Plan, the Company shall have the right to require the recipient to remit to the Company an amount sufficient to satisfy federal, state, local or other withholding tax requirements if, when, and to the extent required by law (whether so required to secure for the Company an otherwise available tax deduction or otherwise) prior to the delivery of any certificate or certificates for such shares.  The obligations of the Company under the Plan shall be conditional on satisfaction of all such withholding obligations and the Company shall, to the extent permitted by law, have the right to deduct any such taxes from any payment of any kind otherwise due to the recipient of an Award.  However, in such cases Participants may elect, subject to the approval of the Committee, acting in its sole discretion, to satisfy an applicable withholding requirement, in whole or in part, by having the Company withhold shares to satisfy their tax obligations.  Participants may only elect to have Shares withheld having a Market Value on the date the tax is to be determined equal to the minimum statutory total tax which could be imposed on the transaction.  All elections shall be irrevocable, made in writing, signed by the Participant, and shall be subject to any restrictions or limitations that the Committee deems appropriate.

11.          Reservation of Stock

The Company shall at all times during the term of the Plan and any outstanding Awards granted hereunder reserve or otherwise keep available such number of shares of Stock as will be sufficient to satisfy the requirements of the Plan (if then in effect) and the Awards and shall pay all fees and expenses necessarily incurred by the Company in connection therewith.

12.          Limitation of Rights in Stock; No Special Service Rights

A Participant shall not be deemed for any purpose to be a stockholder of the Company with respect to any of the shares of Stock subject to an Award, unless and until a certificate shall have been issued therefor and delivered to the Participant or his agent.  Any Stock to be issued pursuant to Awards granted under the Plan shall be subject to all restrictions upon the transfer thereof which may be now or hereafter imposed by the Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation and the Amended and Restated By-laws of the Company.  Nothing contained in the Plan or in any Award Agreement shall confer upon any recipient of an Award any right with respect to the continuation of his or her employment or other association with the Company (or any Affiliate), or interfere in any way with the right of the Company (or any Affiliate), subject to the terms of any separate employment or consulting agreement or provision of law or corporate articles or by-laws to the contrary, at any time to terminate such employment or consulting agreement or to increase or decrease, or otherwise adjust, the other terms and conditions of the recipient’s employment or other association with the Company and its Affiliates.

 
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13.          Unfunded Status of Plan

The Plan is intended to constitute an “unfunded” plan for incentive compensation, and the Plan is not intended to constitute a plan subject to the provisions of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended.  With respect to any payments not yet made to a Participant by the Company, nothing contained herein shall give any such Participant any rights that are greater than those of a general creditor of the Company.  In its sole discretion, the Committee may authorize the creation of trusts or other arrangements to meet the obligations created under the Plan to deliver Stock or payments with respect to Options and other Awards hereunder, provided, however, that the existence of such trusts or other arrangements is consistent with the unfunded status of the Plan.

14.         Nonexclusivity of the Plan

Neither the adoption of the Plan by the Board nor the submission of the Plan to the stockholders of the Company shall be construed as creating any limitations on the power of the Board to adopt such other incentive arrangements as it may deem desirable, including without limitation, the granting of stock options and restricted stock other than under the Plan, and such arrangements may be either applicable generally or only in specific cases.

15.         Termination and Amendment of the Plan

15.1.           Termination or Amendment of the Plan. The Board may at any time terminate the Plan or make such modifications of the Plan as it shall deem advisable.  Unless the Board otherwise expressly provides, no amendment of the Plan shall affect the terms of any Award outstanding on the date of such amendment.

15.2.           Termination or Amendment of Outstanding Awards. The Committee may amend the terms of any Award theretofore granted, prospectively or retroactively, provided that the Award as amended is consistent with the terms of the Plan.  Also within the limitations of the Plan, the Committee may modify, extend or assume outstanding Awards or may accept the cancellation of outstanding Awards or of outstanding stock options or other equity-based compensation awards granted by another issuer in return for the grant of new Awards for the same or a different number of shares and on the same or different terms and conditions (including but not limited to the exercise price of any Option).  Furthermore, the Committee may, at any time an Award is otherwise eligible for exercise, waive any condition to payment and (a) offer to purchase for a payment in cash or cash equivalents an Award previously granted or (b) authorize the recipient of an Award to elect to cash out an Award previously granted, in either case at such time and based upon such terms and conditions as the Committee shall establish.  Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this Section 15.2, any terminations or amendments affecting any outstanding Awards shall be permissible only to the extent that such termination or amendment does not cause any Award under this Plan to constitute “deferred compensation” for purposes of Section 409A of the Code.

15.3.           Limitations on Amendments, Etc. No amendment or modification of the Plan by the Board, or of an outstanding Award by the Committee, shall impair the rights of the recipient of any Award outstanding on the date of such amendment or modification or such Award, as the case may be, without the Participant’s consent; provided, however, that no such consent shall be required if (i) the Board or Committee, as the case may be, determines in its sole discretion and prior to the date of any Change of Control that such amendment or alteration either is required or advisable in order for the Company, the Plan or the Award to satisfy any law or regulation, including without limitation the provisions of Section 409A of the Code, or to meet the requirements of or avoid adverse financial accounting consequences under any accounting standard, or (ii) the Board or Committee, as the case may be, determines in its sole discretion and prior to the date of any Change of Control that such amendment or alteration is not reasonably likely to significantly diminish the benefits provided under the Award, or that any such diminution has been adequately compensated.

16.         Notices and Other Communications

Any notice, demand, request or other communication hereunder to any party shall be deemed to be sufficient if contained in a written instrument delivered in person or duly sent by first class registered, certified or overnight mail, postage prepaid, or faxed with a confirmation copy by regular, certified or overnight mail, addressed or faxed, as the case may be, (i) if to the recipient of an Award, at his or her residence address last filed with the Company and (ii) if to the Company, at its principal place of business, addressed to the attention of its Treasurer, or to such other address or fax number, as the case may be, as the addressee may have designated by notice to the addressor.  All such notices, requests, demands and other communications shall be deemed to have been received: (i) in the case of personal delivery, on the date of such delivery; (ii) in the case of mailing, when received by the addressee; and (iii) in the case of facsimile transmission, when confirmed by facsimile machine report.

 
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17.         Governing Law

The Plan and all Award Agreements and actions taken thereunder shall be governed, interpreted and enforced in accordance with the laws of the State of Delaware, without regard to the conflict of laws principles thereof.
 
 
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