DEF 14A 1 ddef14a.htm DEFINITIVE PROXY STATEMENT Definitive Proxy Statement

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

 

SCHEDULE 14A

Proxy Statement Pursuant to Section 14(a)

of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934

 

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¨ Preliminary Proxy Statement

 

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x Definitive Proxy Statement

 

¨ Definitive Additional Materials

 

¨ Soliciting Material Pursuant to Section 240.14a-12

 

 

EXACTECH, INC.

 

(Name of Registrant as Specified in Its Charter)

 

 

  

 

(Name of Person(s) Filing Proxy Statement if other than the Registrant)

 

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EXACTECH, INC.

2320 N.W. 66th Court

Gainesville, Florida 32653

 

 

NOTICE OF ANNUAL MEETING OF SHAREHOLDERS

To be held on May 7, 2009

 

 

To the Shareholders of

EXACTECH, INC.:

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the 2009 Annual Meeting of Shareholders (the “Annual Meeting”) of Exactech, Inc., a Florida corporation (the “Company”), will be held at the Company’s headquarters, 2320 N.W. 66th Court, Gainesville, Florida, 32653, on Thursday, May 7, 2009, at 9:00 a.m., local time, for the following purposes:

(1) To elect two members to the Company’s Board of Directors to hold office for a term of three years, or until their successors are duly elected and qualified;

(2) To approve and adopt the Exactech, Inc. 2009 Executive Incentive Compensation Plan;

(3) To approve and adopt the Exactech, Inc. 2009 Employee Stock Purchase Plan; and

(4) To transact such other business as may properly come before the Annual Meeting and any adjournments or postponements thereof.

All shareholders are cordially invited to attend; however, only shareholders of record at the close of business on March 20, 2009 are entitled to vote at the Annual Meeting or any adjournments thereof.

 

By Order of the Board of Directors

LOGO

BETTY PETTY
Secretary

Gainesville, Florida

March 27, 2009

WHETHER OR NOT YOU PLAN TO ATTEND THE ANNUAL MEETING IN PERSON, PLEASE COMPLETE, SIGN AND DATE THE ENCLOSED PROXY AND RETURN IT PROMPTLY IN THE ENCLOSED RETURN ENVELOPE. NO POSTAGE IS REQUIRED IF MAILED IN THE UNITED STATES. SHAREHOLDERS WHO EXECUTE A PROXY CARD MAY NEVERTHELESS ATTEND THE ANNUAL MEETING, REVOKE THEIR PROXY AND VOTE THEIR SHARES IN PERSON.


2009 ANNUAL MEETING OF SHAREHOLDERS

OF

EXACTECH, INC.

 

 

PROXY STATEMENT

 

 

This proxy statement is furnished in connection with the solicitation by the Board of Directors of Exactech, Inc., of proxies from the holders of our common stock, for use at our 2009 Annual Meeting of Shareholders to be held at our headquarters, 2320 N.W. 66th Court, Gainesville, Florida, 32653, on Thursday, May 7, 2009, at 9:00 a.m., local time, or at any adjournment(s) or postponement(s). You should review the accompanying Notice of Annual Meeting of Shareholders for information about the Annual Meeting.

The approximate date that this proxy statement and the enclosed form of proxy are first being sent to shareholders is March 27, 2009. Shareholders should review the information provided in this proxy statement together with our 2008 Annual Report on Form 10-K, which accompanies this proxy statement. Our principal executive offices are located at 2320 N.W. 66th Court, Gainesville, Florida 32653, and our telephone number is (352) 377-1140.

INFORMATION CONCERNING PROXY

The enclosed proxy is solicited on behalf of our Board of Directors. The giving of a proxy does not preclude the right to vote in person should any shareholder giving the proxy so desire. Shareholders have an unconditional right to revoke their proxy at any time prior to the exercise of their proxy, either in person at the Annual Meeting or by filing with our Secretary at our headquarters a written revocation or duly executed proxy bearing a later date; however, this revocation will not be effective until we receive written notice of the revocation at or prior to the Annual Meeting.

The cost of preparing, assembling and mailing this proxy statement, the Notice of Annual Meeting of Shareholders and the enclosed proxy is our responsibility. In addition to the use of mail, our employees may solicit proxies personally and by telephone. Our employees will receive no compensation for soliciting proxies other than their regular salaries. We may request banks, brokers and other custodians, nominees and fiduciaries to forward copies of the proxy material to their principals and to request authority for the execution of proxies. We may reimburse such persons for their expenses in so doing.

Important Notice Regarding the Internet Availability of Proxy Materials

In accordance with rules and regulations adopted by the Securities and Exchange Commission, we are now furnishing our proxy materials on the Internet. Our proxy materials are available on the Internet to shareholders who have received the required control numbers at http://www.amstock.com/proxyservices/viewmaterials.asp and to the general public at www.exac.com.

If you received a notice of Internet availability of proxy materials by mail (the “notice”), you will not receive a printed copy of the proxy materials unless you request one, as described in the notice. Instead, the notice will instruct you how to access and review all of the important information contained in the proxy materials, and will connect you to various means to vote. On approximately March 27, 2009, we will send either the notice or our proxy materials to all shareholders of record and beneficial owners as of the close of business on March 20, 2009.

 

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PURPOSES OF THE ANNUAL MEETING

At the Annual Meeting, our shareholders will consider and vote upon the following matters:

 

  (1) The election of two members to the Company’s Board of Directors to serve for a term of three years, or until their successors are duly elected and qualified;

 

  (2) To approve and adopt the Exactech, Inc. 2009 Executive Incentive Compensation Plan;

 

  (3) To approve and adopt the Exactech, Inc. 2009 Employee Stock Purchase Plan; and

 

  (4) Such other business as may properly come before the Annual Meeting, including any adjournments or postponements thereof.

QUORUM AND VOTING REQUIREMENTS

The Board of Directors set the close of business on March 20, 2009 as the record date for determining our shareholders entitled to notice of and to vote at the Annual Meeting. As of the record date, there were 12,721,552 shares of common stock issued and outstanding, all of which are entitled to be voted at the Annual Meeting. Each share of common stock is entitled to one vote on each matter submitted to shareholders for approval at the Annual Meeting. Shareholders do not have the right to cumulate their votes for directors. The attendance, in person or by proxy, of the holders of a majority of the outstanding shares of common stock entitled to vote at the Annual Meeting is necessary to constitute a quorum.

If less than a majority of outstanding shares entitled to vote are represented at the Annual Meeting, a majority of the shares represented may adjourn the Annual Meeting to another date, time or place. We do not need to give notice of the new date, time or place if the new date, time or place is announced at the meeting before an adjournment is taken.

Unless contrary instructions are indicated on the enclosed proxy, all shares represented by valid proxies received pursuant to this solicitation (and which have not been revoked in accordance with the procedures set forth above) will be voted “FOR” the election of the nominees for directors named below, “FOR” approval and adoption of the Exactech, Inc. 2009 Executive Incentive Compensation Plan, and “FOR” approval and adoption of the Exactech, Inc. 2009 Employee stock Purchase Plan. In the event a shareholder specifies a different choice by means of the enclosed proxy, his or her shares will be voted in accordance with the specification so made. The Board of Directors does not know of any other matters that may be brought before the Annual Meeting nor does it foresee or have reason to believe that proxy holders will have to vote for substitute or alternate nominees. In the event that any other matter should come before the Annual Meeting or any nominee is not available for election, the persons named in the enclosed Proxy will have discretionary authority to vote all proxies not marked to the contrary with respect to such matters in accordance with their best judgment.

A plurality of the votes cast at the Annual Meeting is required for the election of directors. A properly executed proxy marked “WITHHOLD AUTHORITY” with respect to the election of one or more directors will not be voted with respect to the director or directors indicated although it will be counted for purposes of determining whether there is a quorum. Shareholders do not have the right to cumulate their votes for directors.

The affirmative vote of a majority of the outstanding shares of our common stock is required for approval of the Exactech, Inc. 2009 Executive Incentive Compensation Plan and the Exactech, Inc. 2009 Employee Stock Purchase Plan. Accordingly, abstentions and broker non-votes will have the effect of a vote against these proposals because they will not be counted as votes cast for purposes of determining whether these proposals have received sufficient votes for approval.

Any other proposal that is properly brought before the Annual Meeting requires approval by the affirmative vote of a majority of votes cast at the Annual Meeting unless otherwise required by law. Neither abstentions nor broker non-votes will be counted as votes cast for purposes of determining whether these proposals have received sufficient votes for approval.

 

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Prior to the Annual Meeting, we will select one or more inspectors of election for the meeting. Such inspector(s) shall determine the number of shares of common stock represented at the meeting, the existence of a quorum and the validity and effect of proxies, and shall receive, count and tabulate ballots and votes and determine the results thereof.

Pursuant to Florida law, abstentions and broker non-votes are counted as present for purposes of determining the presence of a quorum. However, abstentions are treated as present and entitled to vote, but are not counted as votes cast “for” or “against” any matter. A broker non-vote on a matter is considered not entitled to vote on that matter and thus is not counted in determining whether a matter requiring approval of a majority of the shares present and entitled to vote has been approved or a plurality of the shares present and entitled to vote has been voted. Thus, abstentions and broker non-votes have the same effect as votes cast against proposals requiring a majority or greater percentage of the outstanding shares entitled to vote but do not have any effect on proposals requiring a majority or plurality of the shares present and entitled to vote.

A list of shareholders entitled to vote at the Annual Meeting will be available at our executive offices, 2320 N.W. 66th Court, Gainesville, Florida 32653, for a period of ten days prior to the Annual Meeting and at the Annual Meeting itself for examination by any shareholder.

 

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SECURITY OWNERSHIP

We have set forth in the following table, as of the Record Date, the number of shares of our common stock which were owned beneficially by (i) each person who is known by us to own beneficially more than 5% of our common stock, (ii) each director, (iii) each of the named executive officers (as defined in “Executive Compensation”) and (iv) all directors and executive officers as a group:

 

Name and Address of Beneficial Owner(1)

   Number of
Outstanding
Shares
Owned(2)
(A)
    Shares
Acquirable
Within 60
Days
Pursuant to
Options(2)(3)
(B)
    Shares Not
Owned of
Record But
Owned
Beneficially(2)

(C)
    Total Number
of Shares
Beneficially
Owned
((Columns
(A) + (B) + (C))
    Percentage of
Outstanding
Shares Owned (2)
 

William and Betty Petty, M.D.

   65,800  (4)   254,000  (4)   3,607,498  (4)   3,927,298  (4)   30.3 %

David W. Petty

   41,418     86,000  (5)   448  (5)   127,866  (5)   1.0 %

Joel C. Phillips, CPA

   48,394     111,000  (6)   3,000  (6)   162,394  (6)   1.3 %

Gary J. Miller, Ph.D.

   92,306  (7)   47,000  (7)   416,212  (7)   555,518  (7)   4.4 %

Bruce Thompson

   11,652     37,000  (8)   —       48,652  (8)   *  

Albert H. Burstein, Ph.D.

   —       9,992  (9)   —       9,992  (9)   *  

R. Wynn Kearney, Jr., M.D.

   273,283     4,500  (10)   22,866  (10)   300,649  (10)   2.4 %

Paul Metts, CPA

   30,876     4,500  (11)   —       35,376  (11)   *  

William B. Locander, Ph.D.

   4,476     9,500  (12)   —       13,976  (12)   *  

James G. Binch

   2,801     1,667  (13)   —       4,468  (13)   *  

All directors and executive officers as a group (10 persons)

         5,186,189  (14)   39.0 %

Director and Officer Partnerships

          

Prima Investments, Limited Partnership

   3,607,498  (4)   —       —       3,607,498  (4)   28.4 %

Millerworks, Limited Partnership

   416,212  (7)   —       —       416,212  (7)   3.3 %

 

* Less than 1%.

(1)

Unless otherwise indicated, the address of each beneficial owner is Exactech, Inc., 2320 N.W. 66th Court, Gainesville, Florida 32653.

(2)

Unless otherwise noted, we believe that all persons named in the table have sole voting and investment power with respect to all shares of common stock beneficially owned by them.

(3)

A person is deemed to be the beneficial owner of securities that can be acquired by such person within 60 days from the date hereof upon exercise of options, warrants and convertible securities. Each beneficial owner’s percentage ownership is determined by assuming that options, warrants and convertible securities that are held by such person (but not those held by any other person) and that are exercisable within 60 days from the date hereof have been exercised.

(4)

Includes 3,607,498 shares of common stock held by Prima Investments, Limited Partnership, a Florida limited partnership (“Prima Partnership”). Prima Investments, Inc., a Florida corporation wholly-owned by Dr. and Mrs. Petty, is the general partner of Prima Partnership. Dr. and Mrs. Petty along with their children hold all limited partnership interests in Prima Partnership. Also includes (i) 32,400 shares of common stock held by William Petty, (ii) 33,400 shares of common stock held by Betty Petty, (iii) 147,000 shares of common stock issuable upon the exercise of options granted to William Petty which are currently exercisable, and (iv) 107,000 shares of common stock issuable upon the exercise of options granted to Betty Petty which are currently exercisable.

(5)

Includes (i) 86,000 shares of common stock issuable upon the exercise of options granted to Mr. Petty which are currently exercisable and (ii) 448 shares of common stock held by Mr. Petty’s spouse.

 

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(6)

Includes (i) 111,000 shares of common stock issuable upon the exercise of options granted to Mr. Phillips which are currently exercisable and (ii) 3,000 shares of common stock held by Mr. Phillips’ minor children.

(7)

Includes 416,212 shares of common stock held by Millerworks, Limited Partnership, a Nevada limited partnership (“Millerworks Partnership”). Millerworks, Inc., a Nevada corporation wholly-owned by Dr. Miller, is the general partner of Millerworks Partnership. Dr. Miller, his wife and children hold all partnership interests in Millerworks Partnership. Also includes (i) 92,306 shares of common stock held by Dr. Miller and (ii) 47,000 shares of common stock issuable upon the exercise of options granted to Dr. Miller which are currently exercisable.

(8)

Includes 37,000 shares of common stock issuable upon the exercise of options granted to Mr. Thompson which are currently exercisable.

(9)

Includes 9,992 shares of common stock issuable upon the exercise of options granted to Dr. Burstein which are currently exercisable.

(10)

Includes (i) 4,500 shares of common stock issuable upon the exercise of options granted to Dr. Kearney which are currently exercisable and (ii) 22,866 shares of common stock held by the estate of Dr. Kearney’s spouse.

(11)

Includes 4,500 shares of common stock issuable upon the exercise of options granted to Mr. Metts which are currently exercisable.

(12)

Includes 9,500 shares of common stock issuable upon the exercise of options granted to Dr. Locander which are currently exercisable.

(13)

Includes 1,667 shares of common stock issuable upon the exercise of options granted to Mr. Binch which are currently exercisable.

(14)

See notes (4)-(13). Includes 565,159 shares of common stock issuable upon the exercise of options which are currently exercisable.

 

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ELECTION OF DIRECTORS

Under the terms of our Articles of Incorporation, as amended to date, our Board of Directors is currently comprised of seven members divided into three classes of directors. Class I and Class III have two directors each and Class II has three directors. Each year, one class of directors is elected to serve a three-year term. The current term of the Class III directors terminates on the date of the Annual Meeting.

The Board of Directors nominated William Petty, M.D. and Albert Burstein, Ph.D. for election as Class III directors at the Annual Meeting to serve for a term of three years. Dr. Petty and Dr. Burstein now serve as Class III directors of the Company. Our Board of Directors has no reason to believe that Messrs. Petty and Burstein will refuse or be unable to accept election; however, in the event that they are unable to accept election or if any other unforeseen contingencies should arise, each proxy that does not direct otherwise will be voted for such other persons as may be designated by the Board of Directors. Unless instructed otherwise, the persons named on the accompanying proxy card will vote for the election of the nominees for election to the Board of Directors, to serve for their respective terms or until their successors are duly elected and qualified.

The term of each class of directors and the names of the directors/nominees in each class appear in the below table:

 

Class

 

Term

  

Names of Nominees/Directors

Class I   Term Expires at the 2010 Annual Meeting   

R. Wynn Kearney, Jr., M.D.

Paul Metts, CPA

Class II   Term Expires at the 2011 Annual Meeting   

William B. Locander, Ph.D.

James G. Binch

David Petty

Class III   Term Expires at the 2009 Annual Meeting   

William Petty, M.D.

Albert Burstein, Ph.D.

 

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MANAGEMENT

Executive Officers and Directors

Our executive officers and directors are as follows:

 

Name

   Age   

Position

William Petty, M.D.    66    Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board
Gary J. Miller, Ph.D.    61    Executive Vice President, Research and Development
David W. Petty    42    President and Director
Joel C. Phillips    41    Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer
Bruce Thompson    51    Senior Vice President, General Manager – Biologics and Spine Division
Betty Petty    66    Vice President, Administration and Human Resources and Corporate Secretary
Albert Burstein, Ph.D.    71    Director
R. Wynn Kearney, Jr., M.D.    65    Director
Paul E. Metts, CPA    66    Director
William B. Locander, Ph.D.    65    Director
James G. Binch    61    Director

William Petty, M.D. is a founder of Exactech. He has been Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of the Company since its inception and was President from January 2002 until December 2007. Dr. Petty was a Professor at the University of Florida College of Medicine from July 1975 to September 1998. Dr. Petty also served as Chairman of the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery at the University of Florida College of Medicine from July 1981 to January 1996. Dr. Petty has served as a member of the Hospital Board of Shands Hospital, Gainesville, Florida, as an examiner for the American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery, as a member of the Orthopaedic Residency Review Committee of the American Medical Association, on the Editorial Board of the Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery, on the Executive Board of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, and as President of the Corporate Advisory Council of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons. He holds the Kappa Delta Award for Outstanding Research from the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons. His book, Total Joint Replacement, was published in 1991. Dr. Petty received his B.S., M.S., and M.D. degrees from the University of Arkansas. He completed his residency in Orthopaedic Surgery at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. Dr. Petty is the husband of Betty Petty, and the father of David W. Petty.

Gary J. Miller, Ph.D. is a founder and has been Executive Vice President, Research and Development of Exactech since February 2000. He was Vice President, Research and Development from 1986 until 2000 and was a Director from March 1989 through May 2003. Dr. Miller was Associate Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery and Director of Research and Biomechanics at the University of Florida College of Medicine from July 1986 until August 1996. Dr. Miller received his B.S. from the University of Florida, his M.S. (Biomechanics) from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and his Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering (Biomechanics) from the University of Florida. He has held an Adjunct Associate Professorship in the College of Veterinary Medicine’s Small Animal Surgical Sciences Division since 1982 and was appointed as an Adjunct Associate Professor in the Department of Aerospace, Mechanics and Engineering Sciences in 1995. He was a consultant to the FDA from 1989 to 1992 and has served as a consultant to such companies as Johnson & Johnson Orthopaedics, Dow-Corning Wright and Orthogenesis.

David W. Petty was promoted to the position of President on November 29, 2007. Mr. Petty has served the Company in various capacities in the areas of operations and sales and marketing since joining the Company in 1988. From February 2000 to November 2007, Mr. Petty served as Executive Vice President of Sales and Marketing. From 1993 to 2000, he served as Vice President of Marketing, and from April 1991 until April 1993, he served as Vice President of Operations. Mr. Petty received his B.A. from the University of Virginia in 1988 and completed The Executive Program of the Darden School of Business in 1999. He is the son of Dr. and Ms. Petty.

Joel C. Phillips, CPA has been Chief Financial Officer of Exactech since July 1998 and Treasurer since March 1996. Mr. Phillips was Manager, Accounting and Management Information Systems at the Company from April 1993 to June 1998. From January 1991 to April 1993, Mr. Phillips was employed by Arthur Andersen. Mr. Phillips

 

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received a B.S. and a Masters in Accounting from the University of Florida and is a Certified Public Accountant. During 2008, Mr. Phillips completed the Advanced Executive Program at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.

Bruce Thompson has been Senior Vice President, General Manager – Biologics Division since joining the Company in July 2004. In 2008 he assumed the role of general manager of both the biologics and spine divisions of Exactech. Prior to joining Exactech, Mr. Thompson spent 22 years with Smith & Nephew in their Orthopaedic Division. During that time, he held various positions within Smith & Nephew, including Vice President – International Sales, Vice President – Product Planning and Launch, Vice President, General Manager – Spine Division, Group Director of Trauma Manufacturing, Director of Materials Management, and held various product and sales management positions. Mr. Thompson earned a B.S. in Accountancy at Miami University, Oxford, Ohio, and completed the Executive MBA program at the University of Memphis in 1989.

Betty Petty is a founder and has been Vice President, Human Resources and Administration since February 2000. She has also been Corporate Secretary of Exactech since its inception and served as Treasurer and a Director until March 1996. Ms. Petty served in the dual capacities of Human Resources Coordinator and Director of Marketing Communications from the founding of the Company until 2001. She received her B.A. from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock and her M.A. in English from Vanderbilt University. Ms. Petty is the wife of Dr. Petty and the mother of David W. Petty.

Albert Burstein, Ph.D. has been a director since March 1996. From 1976 to 1996, Dr. Burstein was Senior Scientist, Department of Research and Associate Attending Orthopaedic Surgeon (Biomechanical Engineering) at the Hospital for Special Surgery, New York, New York and Adjunct Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering at the Sibley School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York. In addition, he was Professor of Applied Biomechanics (in surgery) at Cornell University Medical College, New York, New York from 1978 through 1996. From 1976 until 1992, he served as Director, Department of Biomechanics, Research Division, at the Hospital for Special Surgery. He served as Deputy Editor for Research for The Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery from 1980 to 2003. Dr. Burstein is an author of six textbooks on Orthopaedic Biomechanics. He holds the Shands Award of the Orthopaedic Research Society for outstanding career contributions to orthopaedic research, the Kappa Delta Award of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons for research, and the Lifetime Achievement Award from the International Society for Technology in Arthroplasty (ISTA). He is a Past President of the American Society of Biomechanics. Dr. Burstein holds twenty-five patents for orthopaedic devices.

R. Wynn Kearney, Jr., M.D. has been a director since September 1989. Since 1972, he has practiced with the Orthopaedic and Fracture Clinic, P.A., a medical group with locations in southern Minnesota, and is its Senior Partner. He received his B.S. and M.D. degrees through the Honors Program of Northwestern University Medical School in Chicago. He completed an orthopaedic surgery post-graduate residency at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota and was a member of the team that implanted the first total knee replacement in the United States in 1970. He is an Associate Professor of the University of Minnesota Medical School. Dr. Kearney has served as President of the Minnesota Orthopaedic Society, the Southern Minnesota Medical Association and the Orthopaedic Practice Society. He is a member of the Foundation Board of Minnesota State University, Mankato. Dr. Kearney has served as Chairman of the Board of HickoryTech Corporation (NASDAQ: HTCO) and is a minority owner of the Minnesota Timberwolves NBA basketball team.

Paul Metts, CPA has been a director since April 1998. Mr. Metts recently retired as the Deputy Secretary of Health for the State of Florida. The Department of Health has an annual budget approximating $3 Billion and encompasses approximately 20,000 full time employees and part time positions providing health care services in every county within the State of Florida. Prior to this position, Mr. Metts was a health care industry consultant serving hospitals of various sizes throughout Florida. He was the Chief Executive Officer of Shands HealthCare at the University of Florida from 1987 to 1997, where he retired after twenty years. Shands HealthCare System is a 2000-bed, nine-hospital system with approximately 12,000 employees. Mr. Metts has served as a board member of many local civic and business organizations including Barnett Bank, the University of Florida Foundation and University Medical Center in Jacksonville. Mr. Metts has also chaired or served as a member on state and national industry organizations such as the Florida Institute of Certified Public Accountants Healthcare Industry Committee, the Florida Hospital Association Board, the Association of Voluntary Hospitals of Florida Board, the University

 

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Health System Consortium Board, and several committees for the Association of American Medical Colleges. Mr. Metts, a Certified Public Accountant, received his undergraduate degree in Accounting from the University of South Florida and his Masters Degree in Health Care Administration from the University of Minnesota.

William B. Locander, Ph.D. has been a Director since May 2003. During 2008, Dr. Locander accepted the Deanship at the Joseph A. Butt, S.J. College of Business at Loyola University in New Orleans, LA. He was the Director of the Davis Leadership Center and held the Davis Chair of Leadership at Jacksonville University in Jacksonville, Florida. Dr. Locander was the Chairman of Marketing, Professor of Marketing and Quality at the University of South Florida in Tampa, Florida from 1992 to 2004. He was also the Director of the USF Leadership Center. He was previously Professor of Marketing at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville from 1983 until 1992. From 1973 through 1983 he was a faculty member at the University of Houston, serving as Associate Professor, Chairman of the Department of Marketing, and Associate Dean for Research and Administration at that institution. Dr. Locander has authored numerous articles in reference publications and has served on the editorial board of the Journal of Marketing and the Journal of Marketing Research. He was president of the National American Marketing Association in 1988 and 1989. He was an examiner for the Malcolm Baldridge National Quality Award in 1991 and 1992. Dr. Locander has spoken and consulted in the areas of marketing, total quality, organizational change, strategic planning, and customer satisfaction, with companies such as IBM, General Electric, 3M, Proctor and Gamble, and Chevron. In 2004, Dr. Locander received an award from the American Marketing Association for strategic facilitation to the Academic Division. He received his B.S., M.S. and Ph.D. degrees from the University of Illinois in Champaign-Urbana.

James G. Binch has been a Director since May 2007. Mr. Binch has been Managing Director, Lincolnshire Management since February 2007, where his principal duties are oversight, assistance and guidance to the operating companies within the Lincolnshire Management portfolio of investments. Prior to joining Lincolnshire, Mr. Binch was Chief Executive Officer of Memry Corporation, an AMEX-listed company, from 1992 until 2006. During his tenure, Memry acquired a division of Raychem Corporation and Putnam Plastics and was named among the fifty fastest-growing technology firms in Connecticut for eight consecutive years. In 1988 Mr. Binch founded Trinity Capital Corporation, a merchant bank in Stamford, Connecticut, where he served as President and Chief Executive Officer until 1991. From 1980 to 1987, he held senior roles with Combustion Engineering of Stamford, including three years as President and Chief Operating Officer of the engineering sector of Combustion Engineering and its principal subsidiary, Lummus-Crest, Inc., with more than 3,000 employees, offices in eight countries and annual contract volumes in excess of two billion dollars. He was vice president of planning and business development at Champion International’s building products division from 1978 to 1980. Mr. Binch began his career in 1972 as a principal with the general management international consulting firm of Cresap, McCormick and Paget in New York, serving there until 1978. Mr. Binch is a Trustee of Trinity College School, in Ontario, Canada, and is a Director of 169855 Canada Inc, and Visual Technologies Ltd. He is a graduate engineer from Princeton University, and holds an MBA from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.

Election of Executive Officers and Directors

Our officers are elected annually by the Board of Directors and serve at the discretion of the Board of Directors. Our directors hold office until the expiration of their term or until their successors have been duly elected and qualified.

Committees and Meetings of the Board of Directors

During the fiscal year ended December 31, 2008, our Board of Directors held five meetings and took action by written consent six times. Each director attended 100% of the aggregate of (i) the number of the meetings of the Board held during the period that person served on the Board and (ii) the number of meetings of committees held during the period that person served on such committee.

We have two committees: the Audit Committee and the Compensation Committee. We do not have a nominating or corporate governance committee, or any other committee of the Board of Directors. All nominations and recommendations for nominations to the Board of Directors shall be addressed to the Chairman of the Audit Committee. See “Director Nomination Policy” on page 14. Both of our committees are governed by a charter. A

 

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copy of the Audit Committee Charter and the Compensation Committee Charter as well as our Corporate Governance Principles is available on our website at www.exac.com.

The Audit Committee is currently composed of R. Wynn Kearney, Jr. M.D., William B. Locander, Ph.D. and Paul Metts, CPA. Paul Metts serves as Chairman of the Committee. The Audit Committee’s functions include overseeing the integrity of our financial statements, our compliance with legal and regulatory requirements, the selection and qualifications of our independent registered public accounting firm, the performance of our internal audit function and controls regarding financial reporting and disclosure, accounting, legal compliance and ethics that management and the Board of Directors have established. In this oversight capacity, the Audit Committee reviews the scope, timing and fees for the annual integrated audit of our financial statements and internal control over financial reporting and disclosure and the results of audit examinations performed by the internal auditors and independent registered public accounting firm, including their recommendations to improve the system of accounting and internal controls. The Audit Committee met eight times during the year ended December 31, 2008.

The Audit Committee is comprised of three non-employee members of the Board of Directors. After reviewing the qualifications of the current members of the Audit Committee, and any relationships they may have with us that might affect their independence from us, the Board of Directors has determined that (1) all current committee members are “independent” as that concept is defined in Section 10A of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, (2) all current committee members are “independent” as that concept is defined in the applicable rules of the Nasdaq Global Market (“Nasdaq”), (3) all current committee members are financially literate, and (4) Paul Metts qualifies as an “audit committee financial expert” under the applicable rules promulgated under to the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. In making the determination as to Mr. Metts’ status as an audit committee financial expert, the Board determined he has accounting and related financial management expertise within the meaning of the aforementioned rules as well as the listing standards of the Nasdaq.

Please refer to the Audit Committee Report on page 27, for a further description of the Audit Committee’s responsibilities and its recommendation with respect to our audited consolidated financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2008.

The Compensation Committee is currently comprised of Paul Metts, CPA, William B. Locander, Ph.D., and James G. Binch. Dr. Locander serves as Chairman of the Committee. The Compensation Committee’s functions consist of administering our 2003 Executive Incentive Compensation Plan, recommending and approving grants of stock-based compensation awards under the 2003 Executive Incentive Compensation Plan, and recommending, reviewing and approving our salary and fringe benefits policies, including compensation of our executive officers. If our shareholders approve the Exactech, Inc. 2009 Executive Incentive Compensation Plan and the Exactech, Inc. 2009 Employee Stock Purchase Plan, then the Compensation Committee would be responsible for administering these new plans also. The Compensation Committee met seven times during the year ended December 31, 2008.

Please refer to the Compensation Committee Report, on page 27, and the Compensation Discussion and Analysis on page 15 for further description of the Compensation Committee’s responsibilities and its compensation philosophy and a description of considerations underlying each component of compensation paid to our executive officers for 2008.

Director Compensation

We reimburse all directors for their expenses in connection with their activities as our directors.

 

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Director Compensation Table

The following director compensation table lists the cash and other compensation paid or accrued for our outside directors, for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2008.

 

Name

   Fees Earned or
Paid in Cash

($)
   Stock
Awards

($) (1)
   Option
Awards
($) (1)
   All Other
Compensation

($)(2)
   Total
($)
(a)    (b)    (c)    (d)    (g)    (h)

Albert Burstein, Ph.D.

   36,996    —      —      180,000    216,996

R. Wynn Kearney, Jr., M.D

   51,296    —      —      —      51,296

William B. Locander, Ph.D.

   61,496    —      —      —      61,496

Paul Metts, CPA

   63,492    —      —      —      63,492

James G. Binch

   44,696    —      —      —      44,696

 

(1)

No stock awards or stock options were granted during 2008. Equity awards for 2008 were granted and accrued in December 2007.

(2)

Dr. Burstein received consulting fees pursuant to a consulting arrangement we maintain with Dr. Burstein. See “Certain Transactions” later in this proxy statement for additional information regarding this consulting arrangement.

Non-employee directors are eligible to receive stock-based incentive awards under the 2003 Executive Incentive Compensation Plan. If our shareholders approve the Exactech, Inc. 2009 Executive Incentive Compensation Plan, our non-employee directors would be eligible to receive stock-based incentive awards under the new plan. For 2008, we compensated non-employee Directors (a) annual compensation of $25,000 for each director; (b) an annual fee for the Chairman of the Audit Committee of $10,000; (c) an annual fee for the Chairman of the Compensation Committee of $6,000; (d) attendance fees of $2,000 per board meeting attended in person, plus reimbursement of travel expenses, or $1,000 per board meeting attended telephonically; (e) attendance fees of $1,100 per committee meeting attended; and (f) an equity award to each director with a market value equal to $40,000.

On February 18, 2009, our Board of Directors approved a revision to the compensation for our outside directors to take effect beginning January 1, 2009. For 2009, we will compensate non-employee Directors (a) annual compensation of $25,000 for each director; (b) an annual fee for the Chairman of the Audit Committee of $10,000; (c) an annual fee for the Chairman of the Compensation Committee of $6,000; (d) attendance fees of $2,000 per board meeting attended in person, plus reimbursement of travel expenses, or $1,000 per board meeting attended telephonically; (e) attendance fees of $1,100 per committee meeting attended; and (f) an equity award to each director with a market value equal to $47,500.

Under the 2003 Executive Incentive Compensation Plan, we may grant stock options and restricted stock awards to eligible employees, directors, and independent agents and consultants. At the time of the award, the Compensation Committee determines any restrictions on transferability, risk of forfeiture and other restrictions. During 2008, no stock awards were awarded to the independent, outside directors. During May 2007, an option to purchase 5,000 shares of common stock at an exercise price of $15.97 per share was awarded to an independent, outside director upon his election to the Board. The option vests equally over a three year period, beginning on the first anniversary from the date of grant, and expires four years after the date of grant. During December 2007, the Compensation Committee approved equity compensation grants to be made to the five outside members of the Board of Directors for their service on the Board of Directors. The award for each director was for either the grant of stock options for the purchase of 5,820 shares of common stock, or a stock award of 1,940 shares of common stock, the choice being at the discretion of each individual director. Pursuant to the approved grant, four of our outside directors chose to receive the restricted stock awards. These stock awards were considered fully vested at the grant date, and contained no restrictions from trading. The stock option had a grant date of December 27, 2007, and is subject to a vesting schedule with 40% of the options vesting on the date of grant and the remaining options vesting at a rate of 20% annually over a three year period beginning on the date of grant. The exercise price of $20.62 was the market price of a share of our common stock on the date of grant. The restricted stock awards had a grant date of December 27, 2007, and were considered fully vested at the grant date. The fair value at the date of grant of $160,000 was

 

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recognized as an operating expense in the consolidated statements of income. The weighted average grant date fair value per share for the grant in the year ended December 31, 2007 was $20.62.

During February 2009, the Compensation Committee approved equity compensation grants to be made to the five outside members of the Board of Directors for their service on the Board of Directors. The award for each director was for either a restricted stock award of common stock granted in four equal quarterly installments valued at $11,875 quarterly based on the market price of the common stock at the pre-determined dates, or the grant of stock options for the purchase of common stock equal to three times the number of shares issuable under the stock award, the choice being at the discretion of each individual director. Pursuant to the approved grant, three of our outside directors chose to receive the restricted stock awards. These stock awards are granted and considered fully vested quarterly on the last business day of February, May, August, and November, and contain no restrictions from trading. The stock options had a grant date of February 18, 2009, and are subject to vesting in equal installments over a three-year period, commencing one year from the date of grant, and expires after six years. The exercise price is the market price of a share of our common stock on the date of grant.

Corporate Governance

We operate within a comprehensive plan of corporate governance for the purpose of defining responsibilities, setting high standards of professional and personal conduct and assuring compliance with such responsibilities and standards. We regularly monitor developments in the area of corporate governance to insure our continued compliance with changing standards and regulations. A summary of our corporate governance measures follows:

Independent Directors

 

   

A majority of the members of our Board of Directors are independent from management. When making determinations regarding independence, the Board of Directors references the listing standards adopted by Nasdaq as well as the independence standards set forth in the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 and the rules and regulations promulgated by the Securities and Exchange Commission under that Act. In particular, our Audit Committee periodically evaluates and reports to the Board on the independence of each member of the Board. The committee analyzes whether a director is independent by evaluating, among other factors, the following:

 

  1. Whether the member of the Board of Directors has any material relationship with us, either directly, or as a partner, shareholder or officer of an organization that has a relationship with us;

 

  2. Whether the member of the Board of Directors is our current employee or was one of our employees within three years preceding the date of determination;

 

  3. Whether the member of the Board of Directors is, or in the three years preceding the date of determination has been, affiliated with or employed by (i) a present internal or external auditor of ours or any affiliate of such auditor, or (ii) any former internal or external auditor of ours or any affiliate of such auditor, which performed services for us within three years preceding the date of determination;

 

  4. Whether the member of the Board of Directors is, or in the three years preceding the date of determination has been, part of an interlocking directorate, in which one of our executive officers serves on the compensation committee of another company that concurrently employs the member as an executive officer;

 

  5. Whether the member of the Board of Directors receives any compensation from us, other than fees or compensation for service as a member of the Board of Directors and any committee of the Board of Directors and reimbursement for reasonable expenses incurred in connection with such service and for reasonable educational expenses associated with Board of Directors or committee membership matters;

 

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  6. Whether an immediate family member of the member of the Board of Directors is one of our current executive officers or was an executive officer within three years preceding the date of determination;

 

  7. Whether an immediate family member of the member of the Board of Directors is, or in the three years preceding the date of determination has been, affiliated with or employed in a professional capacity by (i) a present internal or external auditor of ours or any of our affiliates, or (ii) any of our former internal or external auditors or any affiliate of ours which performed services for us within three years preceding the date of determination; and

 

  8. Whether an immediate family member of the member of the Board of Directors is, or in the three years preceding the date of determination has been, part of an interlocking directorate, in which one of our executive officers serves on the compensation committee of another company that concurrently employs the immediate family member of the member of the Board of Directors as an executive officer.

The above list is not exhaustive and the Audit Committee considers all other factors which could assist it in its determination that a director has no material relationship with us that could compromise that director’s independence.

As a result of this review, the Board of Directors affirmatively determined that R. Wynn Kearney, Jr., M.D., Paul E. Metts, CPA, William B. Locander, Ph.D. and James G. Binch are independent of our Company and our management under the standards set forth above. William Petty, M.D. and David Petty are considered inside directors because of their employment as senior executives. Albert Burstein, Ph.D. is considered a non-independent outside director because of certain consulting arrangements Dr. Burstein maintains with us as well as certain transactions between us and an affiliate of Dr. Burstein. Additional information regarding these consulting arrangements and transactions between Dr. Burstein and us can be found under “Certain Transactions” below.

 

   

Our non-management directors hold formal meetings, separate from management, in conjunction with each Board of Directors meeting at least four times per year.

 

   

We have no formal policy regarding attendance by our directors at annual shareholders meetings, although we encourage such attendance and most of our directors have historically attended those meetings. Each of our directors attended the 2008 Annual Meeting of Shareholders.

Audit Committee

 

   

All Audit Committee members possess the required level of financial literacy and at least one member of the Committee meets the current standard of requisite financial management expertise as required by Nasdaq and applicable SEC rules and regulations.

 

   

The Audit Committee operates under a formal charter that governs its duties and conduct.

 

   

All members of the Audit Committee are independent from our executive officers and management.

 

   

Our independent registered public accounting firm, reports directly to the Audit Committee.

 

   

The Audit Committee meets with management and representatives of the registered public accounting firm prior to the filing of officers’ certifications with the SEC to receive information concerning, among other things, effectiveness of the design or operation of our internal controls over financial reporting, as required by section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.

 

   

The Audit Committee has adopted a Policy for Reporting Improper Activity to enable confidential and anonymous reporting of improper activities to the Audit Committee.

 

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Compensation Committee

 

   

The Compensation Committee operates under a formal charter that governs its duties and conduct.

 

   

Members of the Compensation Committee are independent from our executive officers and management.

Code of Business Conduct and Ethics

 

   

Our management has adopted a Code of Business Conduct and Ethics that includes provisions ranging from restrictions on gifts to conflicts of interest. All employees and directors are bound by this Code of Business Conduct and Ethics. Violations of our Code of Business Conduct and Ethics may be reported to the Audit Committee.

 

   

The Code of Business Conduct and Ethics includes provisions applicable to all of our employees, including senior financial officers and members of our Board of Directors. This Code of Business Conduct and Ethics is available in the “Investors” section of our website (http://www.exac.com/Investors/default.asp). We intend to post amendments to or waivers from our Code of Business Conduct and Ethics.

Personal Loans to Executive Officers and Directors

 

   

We prohibit extensions of credit in the form of a personal loan to or for our Directors and executive officers.

Director Nomination Policy

 

   

We believe that, as a result of the role of the independent directors in the nominations process, it is not necessary at this time for us to have a separate nominating committee. In connection with this, our Board of Directors has adopted certain nomination procedures. Pursuant to these procedures:

 

   

All nominations and recommendations for nominations to the Board of Directors shall be addressed to the Chairman of the Audit Committee of the Board of Directors who shall submit such nominations to all members of the Board of Directors who satisfy the criteria for independence promulgated by Nasdaq for review and discussion;

 

   

Such reviewing members of the Board of Directors shall refer such nominee or recommended individual to the full Board of Directors for nomination for election by our shareholders if such members determine election of such nominee or recommended individual is in our best interest based upon such Board member’s knowledge of our operations, financial position, prospects and strategic goals as well as historical criteria for membership on the Board of Directors; and

 

   

All issues concerning the timing of receipt of nominations or recommendations for election of members to our Board of Directors shall be governed by applicable provisions of our Articles of Incorporation and Bylaws as well as applicable rules and regulations promulgated by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission such as those described on page 42 of this proxy statement.

 

   

Anyone who has a concern about our conduct, including accounting, internal accounting controls or audit matters, may communicate directly with our Chairman of the Board of Directors, our non-management directors or the Audit Committee. These communications may be confidential or anonymous, and may be e-mailed, submitted in writing or reported by phone. All of these concerns will be forwarded to the appropriate directors for their review, and the directors will address such concerns with management. Our Code of Business Conduct and Ethics prohibits any employee from retaliating or taking any adverse action against anyone for raising or helping to resolve an integrity concern.

 

14


Compliance with Section 16(a) Beneficial Ownership Reporting Compliance

Section 16(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 requires our directors and executive officers, and persons who own more than ten percent of our outstanding common stock, to file with the SEC initial reports of ownership and reports of changes in ownership of common stock. Such persons are required by SEC regulation to furnish us with copies of all such reports they file.

To our knowledge, based solely on a review of the copies of such reports furnished to us and written representations that no other reports are required, during the fiscal year ended December 31, 2008, all Section 16(a) filing requirements applicable to its officers, directors and greater than ten percent beneficial owners have been timely filed.

EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION AND OTHER INFORMATION

Compensation Discussion and Analysis

The following discussion and analysis is intended to provide an understanding of the actual compensation earned by each of our named executive officers, and describes our compensation objectives and policies as applied to these named executive officers, which include:

 

Executive Officer

  

Title

William Petty    Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer
David Petty    President and Director
Joel C. Phillips    Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer
Gary Miller    Executive Vice President, Research and Development
Bruce Thompson    Senior Vice President, General Manager – Biologics and Spine Division

Compensation Philosophy

 

   

Our compensation philosophy is to attract, motivate and retain key leadership that will work to achieve our desired business direction, strategy and performance. The primary goals of our compensation program for our named executive officers are the following: (1) to attract, motivate and retain executives with the competencies and talent required for us to meet our objectives; (2) to be compatible with our mission and culture; (3) to be competitive, fair and equitable; (4) to be cost effective; and (5) to comply with local, state, and federal laws and regulations.

 

   

In addition, the variable compensation component of our program is designed to link incentive goals with the interests of our shareholders and reward superior individual performance that is tied to our Company’s performance, but at the same time is cost-effective.

To achieve the above goals, the Compensation Committee of our Board of Directors has approved a compensation program that is reviewed annually. It includes all of the following elements:

 

   

Base salary;

 

   

Annual cash incentive bonus and profit sharing;

 

   

Share-based compensation; and

 

   

Retirement, health and other benefits.

Factors Considered in Determining Compensation

The Compensation Committee reviews executive compensation levels on an annual basis to ensure that they remain competitive within the medical device industry. Data for this review is provided to the Compensation Committee from the Chief Executive Officer and the Vice President of Administration and Human Resources. This data details relevant market rates for executive salaries based on independent salary surveys that have been selected for benchmarks and verified by the surveying body through payroll records. The sources for this data include:

 

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Organization Resource Counselors Executive Compensation Survey, Radford Global Life Sciences Survey, and, Economic Research Institute Executive Compensation Assessor, and the Florida Comp Data Survey. Criteria used to select the surveys used for benchmarking remain consistent from year-to-year. The Radford survey was added this year to replace the Top Five Survey which ceased publication. The other surveys have remained constant for five years; however, the companies participating in the surveys may vary depending upon changes in subscribing companies. We believe that the survey criteria are effective in yielding a comprehensive survey group of companies comparable to Exactech. Written performance evaluations for the named executive officers are prepared by the Chief Executive Officer. With respect to the Chief Executive Officer, the Compensation Committee conducts an oral examination of him concerning his performance. Utilizing the compiled information, including the performance evaluation, the Compensation Committee reviews the various components of executive compensation to determine the base salary and annual and long-term awards and incentive targets for the named executive officers as a group and individually.

During the first quarter of 2008, the compensation committee engaged in a comprehensive review of the compensation of our five named executive officers, particularly the compensation of our Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Petty, whose employment agreement was under extension due to its initial termination date of December 31, 2007. As part of this review, the compensation committee reviewed the above-described metrics and comparables. In addition, to ensure the compensation committee was using the most up to date data and was operating in accordance with current good corporate governance and compensation principles, the compensation committee engaged a leading independent consultant to provide a competitive compensation analysis, to assist, and complement our own internal processes, in determining the compensation benchmarks for our five named executive officers as well as negotiate the terms of Dr. Petty’s new employment agreement. In completing the analysis, the independent consultant examined competitive data from a peer group comprised of 16 companies of similar size and related businesses (Alphatec Holdings, American Medical Systems, Angio Dynamics, CryoLife, Cyberonics, Datascope, Integra Lifesciences Hldgs, Kensey Nash, Lifecore Biomedical, Osteotech, Regeneration Tech, Sonic Innovations, Synovis Life Tech, Theragenics, Thoratec, and Wright Medical Group). The independent consultant also used data from a biotechnology survey of companies with between 150 and 500 employees and a national general industry survey for similar sized companies. The report indicated that our revenues tended towards the median of this peer group but that our EBITDA and net income tended towards the 75th percentile. Accordingly, the compensation committee sought to set compensation between the median and 75th percentile metrics, a position consistent with our past compensation practices.

Of particular interest to the compensation committee was Dr. Petty’s equity incentive compensation which, per the compensation committee’s findings, were below those of the peer group. The compensation committee endeavored to balance a more comparable equity compensation level while taking into account Dr. Petty’s significant holdings in Exactech as a founder. In addition, the compensation committee believed Dr. Petty’s status as the primary founder of the Company and the successes of the Company under his stewardship merited certain extraordinary succession planning measures to ensure the continuity of his service and minimize any disruption which would occur should he ever depart from its operations.

To address these various concerns, Dr. Petty’s new employment agreement was revised to include the following provisions:

 

   

requirement that Dr. Petty be entitled to receive annual bonuses and/or equity awards comparable to the industry group surveyed;

 

   

extension of Dr. Petty’s employment agreement for an additional three year term until December 31, 2013, potentially in another capacity as designated by Dr. Petty’s successor to the office of Chief Executive Officer to the extent Dr. Petty no longer serves in such capacity at that time so long as Dr. Petty’s total annual base and incentive compensation during this alternative tenure does not fall below 70% of the average compensation paid to him for the last two years he served as our Chief Executive Officer;

 

   

a “single trigger” severance payment to occur upon a change of control (i.e., Dr. Petty is entitled the severance payments upon the occurrence of the change of control, whether or not his employment is terminated); and

 

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continuation of the royalty payments required under Dr. Petty’s consulting agreement with us with the proviso that such royalty payments will terminate on such date Dr. Petty is no longer actively supporting the Optetrak® knee product line on which these royalties are based.

In addition, the compensation committee incorporated within the new employment agreement certain good corporate governance provisions including:

 

   

to ensure a smooth transition after the closing of any change of control, a requirement that Dr. Petty continue his employment with Exactech for a period of 30 days after such change of control to be eligible to receive the severance payments provided in connection therewith;

 

   

a more precise tying of Dr. Petty’s noncompete and nonsolicit obligations to the severance periods provided for in his employment agreement; and

 

   

customary restrictions to ensure compliance with Section 409A of the Internal Revenue Code.

See “Employment Agreements” below for a more complete description of Dr. Petty’s new employment agreement.

During 2003, our shareholders approved the 2003 Executive Incentive Compensation Plan to provide for grants of stock options, stock appreciation rights, restricted stock, deferred stock, other stock-related awards and performance or annual incentive awards that may be settled in cash, stock or other property. The amount and form of compensation under the 2003 Executive Incentive Compensation Plan for each of the named executive officers is based on the above-referenced performance reviews against individual, team and company targets that are determined early each year and compared at the end of the fiscal year to the achieved financial performance and individual objectives. The Chief Executive Officer makes recommendations to the Compensation Committee with respect to stock option grant awards for the other named executive officers. Any such awards are granted only upon the written approval of the Compensation Committee. The Chief Executive Officer neither recommends nor participates in any decisions regarding his own compensation, including any incentives. Included in this proxy statement, described on page 31 as Proposal 2, is a new Exactech, Inc. 2009 Executive Incentive Compensation Plan, which we have submitted to our shareholders for approval and adoption at this 2009 annual meeting of shareholders. The new plan is substantially similar to the 2003 plan. Under the new 2009 plan we have increased the shares available in order to offer additional stock compensation to our broad pool of participants, and align them more with our investors.

Decisions regarding executive compensation also take into account Section 162(m) of the Internal Revenue Code. Section 162(m) generally provides that a publicly held corporation will not be entitled to deduct for federal income tax purposes compensation in excess of $1 million paid to either its chief executive officer or any of its four other most highly compensated executive officers in any year if that compensation is not performance related. The 2003 Executive Incentive Compensation Plan was designed and implemented in such a manner so that most awards granted thereunder will be tax deductible because they qualify as performance-based compensation under Section 162(m) of the Internal Revenue Code. Additionally, outstanding stock option grants under the 2003 Executive Incentive Compensation Plan are performance-based for purposes of Section 162(m), as would be the stock option grants under the new 2009 Executive Incentive Compensation Plan. We believe all compensation paid to the named executive officers for 2008, including profit sharing, is deductible under the Internal Revenue Code.

Behaviors Designed to Reward

We believe that our purpose, values and culture are the foundation of our existence. We find it essential to maintain a compensation structure that rewards executives and other employees for the practice and preservation of these elements. We provide performance-based compensation measured by the achievement of goals set forth annually in each executive officer’s individual accountability plan. The accountability plans are reviewed and updated quarterly with the Chief Executive Officer. These accountability plan goals are based on the corporate strategy formulated annually by our Leadership Team and communicated to our Board of Directors. The compensation program also rewards the achievement of certain company revenue, profitability, and cash flow targets.

 

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Elements of Executive Compensation

Base Salary – We establish and maintain competitive salary levels within relevant markets using available resources, which include the surveys discussed above. To maintain our objective of attracting, motivating and retaining executives with the competencies and talent required for us to meet our objectives, our target rate for salaries reflects the relevant market rate based on these independent salary surveys that have been selected for benchmarks. Though it has been our goal to compensate base pay at the midpoint of ranges developed from the industry-specific data, elements of the plan are contingent upon our company’s performing to established business objectives, and therefore we have not compensated at our target rate in certain years, including 2008, as necessary to meet those business objectives. Each Executive Officer’s base salary relative to the benchmark varies based on scope of responsibility and time in the position. In addition, we strive for internal equity consistent with job content, requirements and performance.

Incentive Bonus and Profit Sharing – We provide incentive compensation pursuant to our 2003 Executive Incentive Compensation Plan based on company, team, and individual performance. Approval of all annual incentive compensation is determined by the Compensation Committee, upon recommendation of the Chief Executive Officer for all named executive officers except for himself. All named executive officers participate in the 2003 Executive Incentive Compensation Plan. The incentive payments are paid in cash and are based on annual preset performance measures for the individual and their respective teams that determine the level of award within the categories of participation. The target levels are determined at the beginning of the fiscal year and are not adjusted during the year. The target levels are based on desired sales growth with an initial threshold dependent on a target before tax operating profit. The incentive compensation plan aligns itself with the objectives of the business goals and rewards performance that participates in the achievement of those goals.

We have a profit sharing plan that distributes a portion of earnings after certain predetermined quarterly financial targets are achieved. Our predetermined targets are based on our quarterly diluted earnings per share goal. All employees, including the named executive officers, are eligible for participation in the profit sharing plan. During 2008, we achieved targets for three of the four quarters and thus all employees, including the named executive officers, received profit sharing for three quarters of 2008. In addition, we received profit sharing for all four quarters in 2007, due to the achievement of our pre-determined financial targets for each of the quarters in 2007.

Share Based Compensation – A portion of the 2003 Executive Incentive Compensation Plan includes a provision for stock awards, which has previously been provided through the issuance of stock options. Stock options are an important element of our long-term incentives program. The primary purpose of stock options is to provide named executive officers and other employees with a personal and financial interest in our success through stock ownership, thereby aligning the interests of such persons with those of our shareholders. This broad-based program is a vital element of our goal to empower and motivate outstanding long-term contributions. The Compensation Committee believes that the value of stock options will reflect our financial performance over the long-term. Because our employee stock option program provides for a vesting period before options may be exercised and an exercise price at fair market value as of the date of grant, employees benefit from stock options only when the market value of the common shares increases over time. With respect to these stock options, we recognize compensation expense based on the Statement of Financial Accounting Standard 123R, “Share-Based Payments” (“SFAS 123R”). The standard requires public companies to measure the cost of employee services received in exchange for an award of equity instruments based on the grant date fair value of the award. We use the Black-Scholes option-pricing model to determine the grant date fair value. The Compensation Committee approves each stock option grant to named executive officers. Individual Executive Officer stock option awards are based on company performance, level of responsibility and individual contribution. Stock option awards are considered by the Compensation Committee on an annual basis. Awards can be granted in the form of incentive stock options or non-qualified stock options. We ensure that stock option awards approved by the Compensation Committee will be granted subsequent to any planned release of material non-public information. We do not engage in the backdating, cancellation or re-pricing of stock options and have not engaged in such practices in the past.

 

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We also have a stock purchase plan that provides the opportunity for employees to purchase stock at a discount and achieve growth of their investment if our stock price appreciates. The stock purchase plan is available to all employees, with the exception of certain limited exclusions by law. Messrs. William Petty, David Petty and Gary Miller are not eligible to participate due to the number of shares they hold through beneficial ownership interests. Included in this proxy statement, described on page 39 as Proposal 3, is a new Exactech, Inc. 2009 Employee Stock Purchase Plan, which we have submitted to our shareholders for approval and adoption at this 2009 annual meeting of shareholders. The new plan is substantially similar to the 2003 plan.

Retirement, health and other benefits – We provide retirement, health and other benefits as an additional incentive to retain employees. Exactech maintains a defined contribution 401(k) pension plan that allows employees to make plan contributions on a pre-tax basis, and for the year ended December 31, 2008, matched employee contributions at the rate of $1.00 for each dollar of employee contributions up to 5% of the employee’s compensation. We are not required to match employee contributions in the future. Although named executive officers are eligible to participate in the 401(k) plan, they are prevented from participating at the same level as non-executives due to the rules under the Internal Revenue Code, which dictate certain limits on contributions.

We currently make available to our named executive officers and all employees a comprehensive health, dental, life and disability insurance program. We participate in the employee’s health care coverage, as well as a portion of the employee’s dependent health care coverage. The health care insurance offers a variety of coverage options, at the employee’s discretion. Presently, we provide long-term disability insurance coverage to all employees and make available short-term disability coverage at the employee’s expense and discretion. The current offering for dental insurance coverage is at the employee’s expense and discretion. We currently provide a basic term life insurance policy to all employees and make additional coverage available at the employee’s expense and discretion. While we currently provide a broad array of insurance coverage options and a degree of participation in the cost, there can be no guarantees that we can continue to obtain and participate in these types of benefit and insurance plans.

We do not provide any additional perquisites to the named executive officers.

Employment Agreements

We do not typically enter into employment agreements with our named executive officers. However, we do have employment agreements with our Chief Executive Officer, William Petty, our Executive Vice President of Research and Development, Gary Miller, our President, David Petty, and our Vice President of Administration and Human Resources and Corporate Secretary, Betty Petty.

On March 31, 2008, we entered into a new employment agreement with Dr. Petty through December 31, 2010. Dr. Petty’s employment agreement provides for an initial annual base salary of $498,000. Refer to page 16 for further discussion on the determination of base salary for Dr. Petty. In addition, Dr. Petty is entitled to receive annual bonuses and/or equity awards including a cash bonus of no less than 50% of his annual base salary and an equity award of no less than 100% of his annual base salary. The agreement with Dr. Petty provides that his employment agreement be extended for an additional three year term until December 31, 2013, or for an earlier period as determined by Dr. Petty, in another capacity as designated by Dr. Petty’s successor to the office of Chief Executive Officer. While performing in this other capacity, Dr. Petty’s total annual base and incentive compensation may not be less than 70% of the average compensation paid to him for the last two years he served as our Chief Executive Officer. These terms of the continued employment through 2013 were considered vital due to Dr. Petty’s expertise and history with our Company. Dr. Petty’s employment agreement provides for the continuation of the royalty payments required under his consulting agreement with us, which royalty payments will terminate on such date on which he is no longer actively supporting the Optetrak knee product line on which such royalties are based. The provision for royalty payments was included in Dr. Petty’s employment agreement and consists of 0.5% of all domestic sales and 0.25% of all international sales of the Optetrak knee product on a quarterly basis, not to exceed $150,000 annually.

If Dr. Petty’s employment is terminated without cause, if Dr. Petty resigns in connection with a material breach of the employment agreement by the Company that remains uncured or if a change of control in Exactech occurs, Dr. Petty shall be entitled to receive all earned and unpaid compensation plus a severance equal to all compensation contemplated to be paid to him through the longer of the December 31, 2013 term contemplated above and one year

 

19


from the date of such event; provided that Dr. Petty must adhere to certain non-compete and non-solicit covenants that shall govern for this entire period.

On January 1, 2003, we extended the existing employment agreement with Dr. Miller and entered into an employment agreement with Mr. David Petty effective through the end of December 2007. The agreements with each of Mr. Petty and Dr. Miller extend automatically by one year on each anniversary date (each December 31st) of the agreement unless the Board specifically provides notice to the executive that the agreement is not being extended on the anniversary date. As of December 31, 2008, the employment agreements with Mr. Petty and Dr. Miller were automatically extended through the end of December 2009. Dr. Miller’s employment agreement provides for the continuation of the royalty payments required under his consulting agreement with us, which consulting agreement expired. The provision for royalty payments was included in Dr. Miller’s employment agreement and consists of 0.5% of all domestic sales and 0.25% of all international sales of the Optetrak knee product on a quarterly basis, not to exceed $150,000 annually.

If any of these executives is terminated for cause, as defined in his employment agreement, the executive is not entitled to receive severance pay. If the executive is terminated without cause, he is entitled to receive his then current salary for the remaining term of the employment agreement. We believe that providing this type of severance for a termination without cause shows good faith and provides compensation for a reasonable transition period. All of the employment agreements contain a provision that the executive will not compete or engage in a business competitive with our current business for the term of the agreement and for one year thereafter if the executive is terminated for cause or the executive terminates his or her employment. In addition, pursuant to the employment agreements, each executive agreed not to disclose confidential information of our Company during the term of his employment or thereafter and agreed that all work, research and results thereof, including inventions, processes or formulas conceived or developed by the executive during the term of employment which are related to the business, research and development work, or our field of operation is the property of our Company.

Change in Control Arrangements

In February 2007, the Board of Directors adopted a change of control plan that is effective for the Company as a whole. The Board of Directors adopted the Change of Control Plan in recognition that as a publicly held company, there exists a potential for a change in control of ownership of the Company, and that the threat or occurrence of a change in control can result in the loss or significant disruption of the performance of key employees as a result of the uncertainty surrounding such threat or occurrence. As such, the Board of Directors has determined that it is in our best interest and in the best interest of our shareholders to retain the commitment of its key employees and ensure their continued commitment to the Company in the event of a threat or occurrence of a change in control. The Change of Control Plan provides for severance pay to all of our employees, including the named executive officers, upon termination of employment as a result of a change in control, and within one year after the occurrence of a change in control. Certain circumstances of termination are excluded from severance pay under the Change of Control Plan, including termination for cause and the Executive Officer voluntarily initiating the termination. Terms of the plan provide for the payment of salary, benefits and any bonus earned for a period of up to one year from the date of termination from our Company or from the successor company. The time period of severance is dependent upon the employee’s responsibility level at our Company. Severance pay under this plan is reduced by the amount of severance pay provided for in any individual employment agreements.

 

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Summary Compensation Table

The following compensation table sets forth, for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2008 the cash and certain other compensation paid or accrued by us to our Chief Executive Officer, Chief Financial Officer and each of our other three most highly compensated executive officers whose total 2008 salary and bonus exceeded $100,000.

 

Name and Principal Position

   Year    Salary
($)
   Bonus
($)(1)
   Option
Awards
($)(3)
   Non-Equity
Incentive Plan
Compensation

($)(4)
   All Other
Compensation
($)(5)
    Total
($)
(a)    (b)    (c)    (d)    (f)    (g)    (i)     (j)

William Petty, M.D.
Chairman of the Board, Chief Executive Officer

   2008
2007
2006
   494,005
441,755
364,816
   8,355
11,251
7,296
   34,625
45,049
516
   —  
225,030
64,207
   164,067
172,088

156,491

 
 (2)

 (2)

  701,052
895,173
593,326

David W. Petty
President and Director

   2008
2007
2006
   304,011
276,387
251,318
   5,152
6,967
5,028
   71,749
89,150
516
   —  
104,496
33,174
   11,990
13,819
6,600
 
 
 
  392,902
490,819
296,636

Joel C. Phillips, CPA
Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer

   2008
2007
2006
   277,787
258,133
235,435
   4,746
6,505
4,709
   71,749
99,394
20,993
   —  
97,570
31,077
   12,988
12,907
6,600
 
 
 
  367,270
474,509
298,814

Gary J. Miller, Ph.D.
Executive Vice President, Research and Development

   2008
2007
2006
   253,727
239,973
219,517
   4,362
6,046
4,390
   34,625
45,049
516
   —  
90,684
28,977
   165,500
161,999

156,585

 
 (2)

 (2)

  458,214
543,751
409,985

Bruce Thompson
Senior Vice President, General Manager – Biologics and Spine Division

   2008
2007
2006
   343,693
322,471
293,805
   5,891
8,125
5,893
   71,749
89,150
516
   —  
121,871
38,892
   11,267
16,124
6,512
 
 
 
  432,600
557,741
345,618

 

(1)

Includes profit-sharing plan payments, which are determined and distributed based on a portion of earnings after certain predetermined quarterly financial targets are achieved.

(2)

Amounts include royalties of $150,000, paid pursuant to employment agreements between us and each of Drs. Petty and Miller. See “Certain Transactions.”

(3)

Amounts in this column reflect the expense recognized for the indicated fiscal year, in accordance with SFAS 123R, with respect to stock option awards issued for the purchase of our common stock, which may include awards granted during the indicated year or earlier. The estimate of forfeitures related to service-based vesting conditions is disregarded for purposes of this valuation. For details of individual grants during 2008, please see the Grants of Plan-Based Awards table below. There were no forfeitures of awards by any of the named executive officers during the fiscal year. The assumptions on which this valuation is based are set forth in Note 11 of the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements included in our annual report on Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on March 13, 2009.

(4)

Amounts are comprised of cash incentive earned under the 2003 Plan and royalty payments where noted above in footnote 2.

(5)

Represents matching contributions made by us under our 401(k) plan. The aggregate amount of perquisites and other personal benefits provided to each Executive Officer is less than $10,000 for each officer.

 

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Grants of Plan-Based Awards Table

The following Grants of Plan-Based Awards Table sets forth by individual grant, the equity and non-equity awards granted to the named executive officers for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2008.

 

      Grant
Date
   Estimated Future Payouts Under
Non-Equity Incentive Plan
Awards(1)
   Estimated
Future
Payouts Under
Equity
Incentive Plan
Awards
   Exercise or
Base Price of
Option
Awards(2)

($/Sh)
   Grant Date
Fair Value of
Stock and
Option
Awards(2)

Name

      Threshold
($)
   Target
($)
   Maximum
($)
   Target(2)
(#)
     
(a)    (b)    (c)    (d)    (e)    (g)    (k)    (l)

William Petty, M.D

   12/31/08    62,250    249,000    373,500    —      —      —  

David W. Petty

   12/31/08    30,629    122,514    183,771    —      —      —  

Joel C. Phillips, CPA

   12/31/08    24,450    97,799    146,699    —      —      —  

Gary J. Miller, Ph.D

   12/31/08    19,111    76,443    114,665    —      —      —  

Bruce Thompson

   12/31/08    30,222    120,887    181,331    —      —      —  

 

(1)

This represents the ranges of cash incentive potential for 2008 that is available to the named executive officers under the 2003 Executive Incentive Compensation Plan. The ranges are based on annual preset performance measures for the individual and their respective teams that determine the level of award within the categories of participation. No cash incentive was paid for 2008, during 2009.

On February 18, 2009, the Board of Directors granted to each of the named executive officers stock options to purchase 5,000 shares of our common stock under the 2003 Executive Incentive Compensation Plan. The exercise price of $12.68 is the closing market price of our common stock as listed on Nasdaq. The stock options are for a six year term, and vest  1/3 annually over a three year period beginning with the first anniversary of the date of grant.

Executive Incentive Plan

Stock Options

In February 2003, our Board of Directors adopted the 2003 Executive Incentive Compensation Plan, which was approved by our shareholders in May 2003. This comprehensive plan superseded and replaced all of our pre-existing stock option plans. Under the 2003 Executive Incentive Compensation Plan, our Compensation Committee has the authority to grant stock-based incentive awards to key employees, directors, consultants and independent sales agents, including stock options, stock appreciation rights, restricted stock, deferred stock, other stock-related awards and performance or annual incentive awards that may be settled in cash, stock or other property (collectively, the “Awards”). The effective date of the 2003 Executive Incentive Compensation Plan was

February 19, 2003. As of March 20, 2009, options to purchase an aggregate of 1,251,948 shares of our common stock were outstanding under the plan.

Shares Available for Awards; Annual Per-Person Limitations. Under the 2003 Executive Incentive Compensation Plan, the total number of shares of common stock that may be subject to the granting of Awards under the 2003 Executive Incentive Compensation Plan at any time during the term of the 2003 Executive Incentive Compensation Plan is equal to 1,000,000 shares, plus (i) the number of shares with respect to which Awards previously granted under the preexisting plans terminate without being exercised, (ii) the number of shares that remain available for future issuance under the Pre-existing Plans, and (iii) the number of shares that are surrendered in payment of any Awards or any tax withholding requirements. The 2003 Executive Incentive Compensation Plan limits the number of shares which may be issued pursuant to incentive stock options to 1,000,000 shares.

 

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In addition, the 2003 Executive Incentive Compensation Plan imposes individual limitations on the amount of some Awards in part to comply with Code Section 162(m). Under these limitations, during any fiscal year the number of options, stock appreciation rights, restricted shares of common stock, deferred shares of common stock, shares as a bonus or in lieu of other Company obligations, and other stock-based Awards granted to any one participant may not exceed 250,000 for all types of these Awards, subject to adjustment in specified circumstances. The maximum amount that may be paid out as an annual incentive Award or other cash Award in any fiscal year to any one participant is $1,000,000, and the maximum amount that may be earned as a performance Award or other cash Award in respect of a performance period by any one participant is $5,000,000.

Our Compensation Committee is authorized to adjust the above-described limitations and is authorized to adjust outstanding Awards (including adjustments to exercise prices of options and other affected terms of Awards) in the event that a dividend or other distribution (whether in cash, shares of common stock or other property), recapitalization, forward or reverse split, reorganization, merger, consolidation, spin-off, combination, repurchase, share exchange or other similar corporate transaction or event affects the common stock so that an adjustment is appropriate in order to prevent dilution or enlargement of the rights of participants. The Compensation Committee is also authorized to adjust performance conditions and other terms of Awards in response to these kinds of events or in response to changes in applicable laws, regulations or accounting principles.

Eligibility. The persons eligible to receive Awards under the 2003 Executive Incentive Compensation Plan are our officers, directors, employees, independent contractors and employees of our subsidiaries. An employee on leave of absence may be considered as still in our employ or in employ of a subsidiary for purposes of eligibility for participation in the 2003 Executive Incentive Compensation Plan. As of March 20, 2009, approximately four hundred twenty-five persons were eligible to participate in the 2003 Executive Incentive Compensation Plan.

401(k) Plan

Effective January 1, 1996, we implemented a 401(k) plan. For the year ended December 31, 2008, we matched employee contributions at the rate of $1.00 for each dollar of employee contributions up to 5% of the employee’s compensation. We are not required to match employee contributions in the future. The plan is administered by and offers the funds of a national mutual fund company.

 

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Outstanding Equity Awards at Fiscal Year-End

The following table provides information for the named executive officers as of December 31, 2008, concerning outstanding awards representing potential amounts that may be received in the future, including the amount of securities underlying exercisable and non-exercisable options. No stock appreciation rights are outstanding.

 

     Option Awards
     Number of Securities Underlying
Unexercised Options (#)
    Option
Exercise
Price ($)
   Option
Expiration
Date

Name

   Exercisable     Unexercisable       
(a)    (b)     (c)     (e)    (f)

William Petty, M.D

   14,000  (1)   —       6.41    02/04/2010
   90,000  (1)   —       9.41    12/08/2010
   14,000  (1)   —       8.63    04/19/2011
   25,000  (1)   —       14.46    05/02/2013
   45,000  (1)   —       18.60    05/17/2014
   30,000  (1)   —       14.12    05/09/2015
   20,000     —       13.40    05/31/2015
   4,000     6,000  (1)(2)   14.27    12/18/2016
   12,000     8,000  (1)(3)   19.93    11/29/2012

David W. Petty

   17,160     —       5.31    04/22/2009
   7,000     —       6.41    02/04/2010
   7,000     —       8.63    04/19/2011
   10,000     —       14.46    05/02/2013
   20,000     —       18.60    05/17/2014
   25,000     —       14.12    05/09/2015
   2,000     3,000  (2)   14.27    12/18/2016
   15,000     10,000  (3)   19.93    11/29/2012

Joel C. Phillips, CPA

   10,328     —       5.31    04/22/2009
   7,000     —       6.41    02/04/2010
   7,000     —       8.63    04/19/2011
   60,000     —       7.58    07/17/2012
   10,000     —       18.60    05/17/2014
   10,000     —       14.12    05/09/2015
   2,000     3,000  (2)   14.27    12/18/2016
   15,000     10,000  (3)   19.93    11/29/2012

Gary J. Miller, Ph.D

   17,160     —       5.31    04/22/2009
   7,000     —       6.41    02/04/2010
   7,000     —       8.63    04/19/2011
   7,500     —       14.46    05/02/2013
   7,500     —       18.60    05/17/2014
   10,000     —       14.12    05/09/2015
   2,000     3,000  (2)   14.27    12/18/2016
   6,000     4,000  (3)   19.93    11/29/2012

Bruce Thompson

   10,000     —       21.09    07/01/2014
   10,000     —       14.12    05/09/2015
   2,000     3,000  (2)   14.27    12/18/2016
   15,000     10,000  (3)   19.93    11/29/2012

 

 

24


(1)

Includes stock options that were granted to, and are held by Betty Petty, who is an executive officer of our Company, and is the spouse of William Petty.

 

Number of Securities
Underlying Unexercised
Options(#)
   Option
Exercise
Price ($)
   Option Expiration
Date
Exercisable    Unexercisable      
7,000    —      6.41    02/04/2010
30,000    —      9.41    12/08/2010
7,000    —      8.63    04/19/2011
10,000    —      14.46    05/02/2013
15,000    —      18.60    05/17/2014
30,000    —      14.12    05/09/2015
2,000    3,000    14.27    12/18/2016
6,000    4,000    19.93    11/29/2012

 

(2)

Stock options granted on December 18, 2006, and vest 20% annually, beginning on the first anniversary date of the date of grant.

(3)

Stock options granted on November 29, 2007, and vest annually, 40% at the date of grant, and the remaining 60% in annual increments of 20%, beginning on the first anniversary date of the date of grant.

Option Exercises and Stock Vested

The following table sets forth certain information concerning the exercise of stock options by the named executive officers during the fiscal year ended December 31, 2008. No stock appreciation rights were granted or are outstanding.

 

     Option Awards

Name

   Number of Shares
Acquired on
Exercise (#)
   Value Realized on
Exercise ($)
(a)    (b)    (c)

William Petty, M.D

   50,000    882,883

David W. Petty

   —      —  

Joel C. Phillips, CPA

   10,000    141,200

Gary J. Miller, Ph.D

   —      —  

Bruce Thompson

   —      —  
 
 

(1)

Includes 10,000 shares acquired upon exercise of stock options that were granted to Betty Petty, who is an executive officer of our Company, and is the spouse of William Petty.

Retirement Plan and Post-Employment

Other than the 401(k) plan we do not maintain any other pension plan or non-qualified deferred compensation plan for our Executive Officers.

There have been no terminations of named executive officers during the year ended December 31, 2008.

 

25


Securities Authorized for Issuance Under Equity Compensation Plans

The following table provides information as of December 31, 2008 with respect to compensation plans (including individual compensation arrangements) under which our equity securities are authorized for issuance.

Equity Compensation Plan Information (2)

 

Plan Category    Number of securities
to

be issued upon
exercise of
outstanding options,
warrants and rights
(in thousands)
   Weighted-average
exercise price of
outstanding options,
warrants and rights
   Number of securities
remaining available
for future issuance
under

equity compensation
plans (excluding
securities reflected in
column (a)

(in thousands)
     (a)    (b)    (c)

Equity compensation plans approved by security holders

   1,152    $ 14.33    351

Equity compensation plans not approved by security holders(1)

   —        —      —  
                

Total

   1,152    $ 14.33    351
                

 

(1)

The 2003 Executive Incentive Compensation Plan approved by our shareholders at the annual meeting on May 2, 2003, superseded and consolidated all of our existing incentive stock plans.

(2)

For further details regarding our equity compensation plans see “Stock Options” on page 22 of this proxy statement.

Compensation Committee Interlocks and Insider Participation

No member or nominee for election as a member of the Board or any committees of the Board has an interlocking relationship with the board (or member of such board) or any committee (or member of such committee) of a board of any other company.

The following Report of the Compensation Committee and the Report of the Audit Committee do not constitute soliciting material and should not be deemed filed or incorporated by reference into any of our other filings under the Securities Act of 1933 or the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, except to the extent we specifically incorporate the reports or the performance graph by reference in that filing.

 

26


COMPENSATION COMMITTEE REPORT

The Compensation Committee is responsible for establishing, reviewing and approving our compensation philosophy and policies, reviewing and making recommendations to the Board regarding forms of compensation provided to our directors and officers, reviewing and determining bonuses and equity awards for our officers and other employees, and administering our equity incentive plans.

In this context, the Compensation Committee has reviewed and discussed with management the Compensation Discussion and Analysis included in this proxy statement. In reliance on the reviews and discussions referred to above, the Compensation Committee recommended to the Board of Directors, and the Board of Directors has approved, that the Compensation Discussion and Analysis be included in this proxy statement for filing with the SEC.

Submitted by the Compensation Committee of the Board of Directors.

Members of The Compensation Committee

William B. Locander

Paul E. Metts

James G. Binch

AUDIT COMMITTEE REPORT

The role of the Audit Committee is to assist the Board of Directors in its oversight of the integrity of the Company’s financial reporting process and compliance with legal and regulatory requirements. The Board of Directors, in its business judgment, has determined that each current member of the Committee is “independent”, as required by applicable listing standards of the Nasdaq Global Market and the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 and applicable SEC rules. Management of the Company is responsible for the preparation, presentation and integrity of the Company’s financial statements. Management is also responsible for the Company’s accounting and financial reporting principles and internal controls and procedures designed to assure compliance with accounting standards and applicable laws and regulations. The independent registered public accounting firm is responsible for auditing the Company’s financial statements and expressing an opinion as to their conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America, as well as assessing the effectiveness of the Company’s internal controls over financial reporting and management’s assessment of those same controls, and expressing an opinion on management’s assessment and an opinion on the effectiveness of the Company’s internal control over financial reporting based on their integrated audit. The Audit Committee acts in accordance with a written charter adopted by the Board of Directors. The Committee reviews this charter annually. A copy of the charter is available on the company’s website at www.exac.com.

In the performance of its oversight function, the Audit Committee has considered and discussed the audited financial statements and unaudited quarterly financial statements with management and the independent registered public accounting firm, including a discussion of the quality, not just the acceptability, of accounting principles, the reasonableness of significant judgments, the clarity of disclosures in the financial statements and the effectiveness of internal control over financial reporting, as required by section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. The Audit Committee has also discussed with the independent registered public accounting firm the matters required to be discussed by Statement on Auditing Standards No. 61, Communication with Audit Committees, as amended, as adopted by the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board in Rule 3200T, and Statement on Auditing Standards No. 90, Audit Committee Communications. Finally, the Committee has received the written disclosures and the letter from the independent registered public accounting firm required by applicable requirements of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board regarding the independent accountant’s communications with the audit committee concerning independence, and has discussed with the auditors the auditors’ independence from the Company and its management, and reviewed and approved the compatibility of non-audit services provided by McGladrey & Pullen, LLP and approved the fees paid to them for the 2008 fiscal year.

The Audit Committee meets with the representatives of the independent registered public accounting firm, with and without management present, to discuss the results of their examinations, their evaluations of the Company’s

 

27


systems of internal control, and the overall quality of the Company’s financial reporting. The Audit Committee reviewed the Company’s internal control over financial reporting with the Company’s independent auditors and, consistent with Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 and the rules adopted thereunder, met with management and the auditors prior to the filing of officers’ certifications required by that statute to receive any information concerning (a) significant deficiencies in the design or operation of internal controls which could adversely affect the Company’s ability to record, process, summarize and report financial data and (b) any fraud, whether or not material, that involves management or other employees who have a significant role in the Company’s internal control over financial reporting.

On an informal basis the chairman communicates with the members outside of meetings with regard to significant issues that need to be brought to their immediate attention. Otherwise, communication between the members is mostly during meetings.

It is not the Audit Committee's duty or responsibility to conduct auditing or accounting reviews or procedures. Audit Committee members are not employees of the Company and may not be, and may not represent themselves to be, or to serve as, accountants or auditors by profession. Members of the Audit Committee rely, without independent verification, on the information provided to them and on the representations made by management and the independent accountants.

Based upon the reports and discussions described in this report, and subject to the limitations on the role and responsibilities of the Audit Committee referred to above, the Audit Committee recommended to the Board that the audited financial statements be included in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2008 filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Submitted by the Audit Committee of the Board of Directors.

Members of The Audit Committee

Paul E. Metts

R. Wynn Kearney, Jr.

William B. Locander

 

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CERTAIN TRANSACTIONS

Review and Approval of Related Person Transactions

The Audit Committee conducts an appropriate review of and oversees all related party transactions on a continuing basis and reviews potential conflict of interest situations where appropriate. The Audit Committee has not adopted formal standards to apply when it reviews, approves or ratifies any related party transaction. However, traditionally, as reflected in the minutes of its meetings, the Audit Committee has followed the following standards: (i) all related party transactions must be fair and reasonable to the Company and on terms comparable to those reasonably expected to be agreed to with independent third parties for the same goods and/or services at the time they are authorized by the Audit Committee and (ii) all related party transactions must be authorized, approved or ratified by the affirmative vote of a majority of the members of the Audit Committee who have no interest, either directly or indirectly, in any such related party transaction.

Purchase Arrangement with Brighton Partners

Exactech has a long-standing supply relationship with Brighton Partners, Inc. to purchase raw materials, equipment and licenses used in the ongoing production of its products. Some of the Company’s officers and directors own an interest in Brighton Partners, Inc. Purchases associated with this relationship totaled $2,155,000, $1,559,000 and $1,074,000 in 2008, 2007 and 2006, respectively, and accounts payable balance as of December 31, 2008 and 2007, was $133,000 and $81,000, respectively. Brighton Partners is deemed to be 24% beneficially owned by Albert H. Burstein, Ph.D., a director of the Company. Additionally, William Petty, Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of the Company, and Betty Petty, Secretary of the Company, jointly own 4.6% of Brighton Partners. Gary J. Miller, Executive Vice President of the Company, beneficially owns 2.8% of Brighton Partners. Other executive officers of the Company own less than 3% of Brighton Partners, Inc.

Consulting Agreement with Albert Burstein, Ph.D.

We have also entered into a verbal consulting agreement with Albert Burstein, Ph.D, a director of our Company. The agreement provides for the rendering of Dr. Burstein's services with respect to many facets of the orthopaedic industry, including product design rationale, manufacturing and development techniques and product sales and marketing. During the year ended December 31, 2008, we paid Dr. Burstein $180,000 as compensation under the consulting agreement.

Consulting Agreements with William Petty, M.D. and Gary Miller, Ph.D.

We have entered into consulting agreements with certain of our executive officers, directors and principal shareholders in connection with product design which entitles them to royalty payments aggregating 1% of our net sales of such products in the United States and less than 1% of our net sales of such products outside the United States, not to exceed an aggregate of $300,000 annually. During the year ended December 31, 2008, we paid royalties to each of Drs. Petty and Miller for an aggregate of $300,000, pursuant to these consulting agreements, with limitations contained in their respective employment agreements.

PRINCIPAL ACCOUNTANT FEES AND SERVICES

Aggregate fees and costs billed to us by McGladrey & Pullen, LLP, our principal accountant, for the fiscal years ended December 31, 2008 and 2007, were as follows for the referenced services:

Audit Fees

The aggregate fees billed by McGladrey & Pullen, LLP for professional services rendered for the integrated audit of our annual financial statements and internal controls over financial reporting for the fiscal years ended December 31, 2008 and 2007 and for the review of the financial statements in our quarterly reports on Form 10-Q for that fiscal year were $630,000 and $393,000, respectively.

 

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Audit Related Fees

The aggregate fees billed by McGladrey & Pullen, LLP for professional services rendered for audit related professional services for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2008 were $91,000. There were no fees billed by McGladrey & Pullen, LLP for audit related professional services for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2007.

Tax Fees

McGladrey & Pullen, LLP did not provide professional tax services for the fiscal years ended December 31, 2008 or 2007.

All Other Fees

McGladrey & Pullen, LLP did not provide any other services for the fiscal years ended December 31, 2008 or 2007.

During the fiscal years ended December 31, 2008 and 2007, we had fees billed by Deloitte & Touche LLP, $112,000 and $24,000 for review work related to the audited financial statements for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2006.

Representatives of McGladrey & Pullen are expected to be present at the Annual Meeting to respond to appropriate questions and will be afforded the opportunity to make a statement if they so desire.

All audit related services, tax services and other services were pre-approved by the Audit Committee, which concluded that the provision of such services was compatible with the maintenance of the firms’ independence in the conduct of their auditing functions. The Audit Committee's charter provides the Audit Committee the authority to pre-approve all audit and allowable non-audit services to be provided to the Company by its outside auditors.

In its performance of these responsibilities, prior approval of some non-audit services is not required if:

 

  (i) these services involve no more than 5% of the revenues paid by the Company to the auditors during the fiscal year;

 

  (ii) these services were not recognized by the Company to be non-audit services at the time of the audit engagement, and

 

  (iii) these services are promptly brought to the attention of the Audit Committee and are approved by the Audit Committee prior to completion of the audit for that fiscal year.

The Audit Committee is permitted to delegate the responsibility to pre-approve audit and non-audit services to one or more members of the Audit Committee so long as any decision made by that member or members is presented to the full Audit Committee at its next regularly scheduled meeting.

The Audit Committee has considered the compatibility of the provision of services covered by the preceding paragraphs with the maintenance of the principal accountant’s independence from us and has determined that the provision of these services is not incompatible with the maintenance of the requisite independence.

The Audit Committee annually reviews the performance of the independent auditors and the fees charged for their services.

 

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PROPOSAL 2: APPROVAL AND ADOPTION OF THE EXACTECH, INC. 2009 EXECUTIVE

INCENTIVE COMPENSATION PLAN.

Background and Purpose.

On February 18, 2009, our board of directors adopted the Exactech, Inc. 2009 Executive Incentive Compensation Plan, which we refer to as the 2009 Plan, and recommended that it be submitted to our shareholders for their approval at the next annual meeting.

The purpose of the 2009 Plan is to assist our company and its subsidiaries and other designated affiliates, which we refer to as “related entities”, in attracting, motivating, retaining and rewarding high-quality executives and other employees, officers, directors, consultants and other persons who provide services to our company or its related entities, by enabling such persons to acquire or increase a proprietary interest in our company in order to strengthen the mutuality of interests between such persons and our stockholders, and providing such persons with annual and long term performance incentives to expend their maximum efforts in the creation of shareholder value.

The effective date of the 2009 Plan is February 18, 2009. As of the date of this proxy statement, no awards have been granted under the 2009 Plan.

Shareholder approval of the 2009 Plan is required (i) to comply with certain exclusions from the limitations of Section 162(m) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, which we refer to as the Code, as described below, (ii) for the 2009 Plan to be eligible under the “plan lender” exemption from the margin requirements of Regulation G promulgated under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, which we refer to as the Exchange Act, (iii) to comply with the incentive stock options rules under Section 422 of the Code, and (iv) for purposes of complying with the shareholder approval requirements for the listing of shares on the NASDAQ.

The following is a summary of certain principal features of the 2009 Plan. This summary is qualified in its entirety by reference to the complete text of the 2009 Plan. Shareholders are urged to read the actual text of the 2009 Plan in its entirety which is set forth as Exhibit A to this proxy statement.

Shares Available for awards; Annual Per-Person Limitations.

Under the 2009 Plan, the total number of shares of common stock of our company reserved and available for delivery under the 2009 Plan (the “awards”) at any time during the term of the 2009 Plan shall be equal to 500,000 shares. The foregoing limit shall be increased by the number of shares of common stock with respect to which awards previously granted under the 2009 Plan that are forfeited, expire or otherwise terminate without issuance of shares, or that are settled for cash or otherwise do not result in the issuance of shares, and the number of shares that are tendered (either actually or by attestation) or withheld upon exercise of an award to pay the exercise price or any tax withholding requirements. Awards issued in substitution for awards previously granted by a company acquired by our company or a related entity, or with which our company or any related entity combines, do not reduce the limit on grants of awards under the 2009 Plan.

The 2009 Plan imposes individual limitations on the amount of certain awards in part to comply with Code Section 162(m). Under these limitations, during any 12-month period, no participant may be granted (i) stock options or stock appreciation rights with respect to more than 250,000 shares of common stock, or (ii) shares of restricted stock, shares of deferred stock, performance shares and other stock based-awards with respect to more than 250,000 shares of common stock, in each case, subject to adjustment in certain circumstances. The maximum amount that may be paid out as performance units with respect to any 12-month performance period is $1,000,000 (pro-rated for any 12-month performance period that is less than 12 months), and is $5,000,000 with respect to any performance period that is more than 12 months.

The compensation committee of our board of directors, which we will refer to as the “committee,” is authorized to adjust the limitations described in the two preceding paragraphs and is authorized to adjust outstanding awards (including adjustments to exercise prices of options and other affected terms of awards) in the event that a dividend or other distribution (whether in cash, shares of common stock or other property), recapitalization, forward or reverse split, reorganization, merger, consolidation, spin-off, combination, repurchase, share exchange or other

 

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similar corporate transaction or event affects the common stock so that an adjustment is appropriate. The committee is also authorized to adjust performance conditions and other terms of awards in response to these kinds of events or in response to changes in applicable laws, regulations or accounting principles.

Eligibility.

The persons eligible to receive awards under the 2009 Plan are the officers, directors, employees, consultants and other persons who provide services to our company or any related entity. An employee on leave of absence may be considered as still in the employ of our company or a related entity for purposes of eligibility for participation in the 2009 Plan.

Administration.

The 2009 Plan is to be administered by the committee, provided, however, that except as otherwise expressly provided in the 2009 Plan, our board of directors may exercise any power or authority granted to the committee under the 2009 Plan. Subject to the terms of the 2009 Plan, the committee is authorized to select eligible persons to receive awards, determine the type, number and other terms and conditions of, and all other matters relating to, awards, prescribe award agreements (which need not be identical for each participant), and the rules and regulations for the administration of the 2009 Plan, construe and interpret the 2009 Plan and award agreements, correct defects, supply omissions or reconcile inconsistencies therein, and make all other decisions and determinations as the committee may deem necessary or advisable for the administration of the 2009 Plan.

Stock Options and Stock Appreciation Rights.

The committee is authorized to grant stock options, including both incentive stock options (“ISOs”), which can result in potentially favorable tax treatment to the participant, and non-qualified stock options, and stock appreciation rights entitling the participant to receive the amount by which the fair market value of a share of common stock on the date of exercise exceeds the grant price of the stock appreciation right. The exercise price per share subject to an option and the grant price of a stock appreciation right are determined by the committee, but must not be less than the fair market value of a share of common stock on the date of grant. For purposes of the 2009 Plan, the term “fair market value” means the fair market value of common stock, awards or other property as determined by the committee or under procedures established by the committee. Unless otherwise determined by the committee, the fair market value of common stock as of any given date shall be the closing sales price per share of common stock as reported on the principal stock exchange or market on which common stock is traded on the date as of which such value is being determined or, if there is no sale on that date, then on the last previous day on which a sale was reported. The maximum term of each option or stock appreciation right, the times at which each option or stock appreciation right will be exercisable, and provisions requiring forfeiture of unexercised options or stock appreciation rights at or following termination of employment generally are fixed by the committee, except that no option or stock appreciation right may have a term exceeding ten years. Methods of exercise and settlement and other terms of the stock appreciation right are determined by the committee. The committee, thus, may permit the exercise price of options awarded under the Plan to be paid in cash, shares, other awards or other property (including loans to participants). Options may be exercised by payment of the exercise price in cash, shares of common stock, outstanding awards or other property having a fair market value equal to the exercise price, as the committee may determine from time to time.

Restricted and Deferred Stock.

The committee is authorized to grant restricted stock and deferred stock. Restricted stock is a grant of shares of common stock which may not be sold or disposed of, and which shall be subject to such risks of forfeiture and other restrictions as the committee may impose. A participant granted restricted stock generally has all of the rights of a stockholder of our company, unless otherwise determined by the committee. An award of deferred stock confers upon a participant the right to receive shares of common stock at the end of a specified deferral period, subject to such risks of forfeiture and other restrictions as the committee may impose. Prior to settlement, an award of deferred stock carries no voting or dividend rights or other rights associated with share ownership, although dividend equivalents may be granted, as discussed below.

 

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Dividend Equivalents.

The committee is authorized to grant dividend equivalents conferring on participants the right to receive, currently or on a deferred basis, cash, shares of common stock, other awards or other property equal in value to dividends paid on a specific number of shares of common stock or other periodic payments. Dividend equivalents may be granted alone or in connection with another award, may be paid currently or on a deferred basis and, if deferred, may be deemed to have been reinvested in additional shares of common stock, awards or otherwise as specified by the committee.

Bonus Stock and awards in Lieu of Cash Obligations.

The committee is authorized to grant shares of common stock as a bonus free of restrictions, or to grant shares of common stock or other awards in lieu of company obligations to pay cash under the 2009 Plan or other plans or compensatory arrangements, subject to such terms as the committee may specify.

Other Stock-Based awards.

The committee or our board of directors is authorized to grant awards that are denominated or payable in, valued by reference to, or otherwise based on or related to shares of common stock. The committee determines the terms and conditions of such awards.

Performance awards.

The committee is authorized to grant performance awards to participants on terms and conditions established by the committee. The performance criteria to be achieved during any performance period and the length of the performance period is determined by the committee upon the grant of the performance award; provided however, that a performance period cannot be shorter than 12 months or longer than 5 years. Performance awards may be valued by reference to a designated number of shares (in which case they are referred to as performance shares) or by reference to a designated amount of property including cash (in which case they are referred to as performance units). Performance awards may be settled by delivery of cash, shares or other property, or any combination thereof, as determined by the committee. Performance awards granted to persons whom the committee expects will, for the year in which a deduction arises, be “covered employees” (as defined below) will, if and to the extent intended by the committee, be subject to provisions that should qualify such awards as “performance-based compensation” not subject to the limitation on tax deductibility by our company under Code Section 162(m). For purposes of Section 162(m), the term “covered employee” means our company’s chief executive officer and each other person whose compensation is required to be disclosed in our company’s filings with the SEC by reason of that person being among the five highest compensated officers of our company as of the end of a taxable year. If and to the extent required under Section 162(m) of the Code, any power or authority relating to a performance award intended to qualify under Section 162(m) of the Code is to be exercised by the committee and not our board of directors.

If and to the extent that the committee determines that these provisions of the 2009 Plan are to be applicable to any award, one or more of the following business criteria for our company, on a consolidated basis, and/or for related entities, or for business or geographical units of our company and/or a related entity (except with respect to the total shareholder return and earnings per share criteria), shall be used by the committee in establishing performance goals for awards under the 2009 Plan: (1) earnings per share; (2) revenues or margins; (3) cash flow; (4) operating margin; (5) return on assets, net assets, investment, capital, operating revenue or equity; (6) economic value added; (7) direct contribution; (8) income; net income; pretax earnings; earnings before interest and taxes; earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization; earnings after interest expense and before extraordinary or special items; operating income; net operating income; income before interest income or expense, unusual items and income taxes, local, state or federal and excluding budgeted and actual bonuses which might be paid under any ongoing bonus plans of our company; (9) working capital or working capital management, including inventory turnover and days sales outstanding; (10) management of fixed costs or variable costs; (11) identification or consummation of investment opportunities or completion of specified projects in accordance with corporate business plans, including strategic mergers, acquisitions or divestitures; (12) total shareholder return; (13) debt reduction; (14) market share; (15) entry into new markets, either geographically or by business unit; (16) customer

 

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retention and satisfaction; (17) strategic plan development and implementation, including turnaround plans; and (18) stock price. Any of the above goals may be determined on an absolute or relative basis (e.g. growth in earnings per share) or as compared to the performance of a published or special index deemed applicable by the committee including, but not limited to, the Standard & Poor’s 500 Stock Index or a group of companies that are comparable to our company. The committee may exclude the impact of an event or occurrence which the committee determines should appropriately be excluded, including without limitation (i) restructurings, discontinued operations, extraordinary items, and other unusual or non-recurring charges, (ii) an event either not directly related to the operations of our company or not within the reasonable control of our company’s management, or (iii) a change in accounting standards required by generally accepted accounting principles.

The committee may, in its discretion, determine that the amount payable as a performance award will be reduced from the amount of any potential award.

Other Terms of awards.

Awards may be settled in the form of cash, shares of common stock, other awards or other property, in the discretion of the committee. The committee may require or permit participants to defer the settlement of all or part of an award in accordance with such terms and conditions as the committee may establish, including payment or crediting of interest or dividend equivalents on deferred amounts, and the crediting of earnings, gains and losses based on deemed investment of deferred amounts in specified investment vehicles. The committee is authorized to place cash, shares of common stock or other property in trusts or make other arrangements to provide for payment of our company’s obligations under the 2009 Plan. The committee may condition any payment relating to an award on the withholding of taxes and may provide that a portion of any shares of common stock or other property to be distributed will be withheld (or previously acquired shares of common stock or other property be surrendered by the participant) to satisfy withholding and other tax obligations. awards granted under the 2009 Plan generally may not be pledged or otherwise encumbered and are not transferable except by will or by the laws of descent and distribution, or to a designated beneficiary upon the participant’s death, except that the committee may, in its discretion, permit transfers for estate planning or other purposes subject to any applicable restrictions under Rule 16b-3.

Awards under the 2009 Plan are generally granted without a requirement that the participant pay consideration in the form of cash or property for the grant (as distinguished from the exercise), except to the extent required by law. The committee may, however, grant awards in exchange for other awards under the 2009 Plan, awards under other company plans, or other rights to payment from our company, and may grant awards in addition to and in tandem with such other awards, rights or other awards.

Acceleration of Vesting; Change in Control.

The committee may, in its discretion, accelerate the exercisability, the lapsing of restrictions or the expiration of deferral or vesting periods of any award, and such accelerated exercisability, lapse, expiration and if so provided in the award agreement or otherwise determined by the committee, vesting shall occur automatically in the case of a “change in control” of our company (including the cash settlement of stock appreciation rights which may be exercisable in the event of a change in control). In addition, the committee may provide in an award agreement that the performance goals relating to any performance award will be deemed to have been met upon the occurrence of any “change in control.” For purposes of the 2009 Plan, unless otherwise specified in an award agreement, a change in control means the occurrence of any of the following:

(i) The acquisition by any person (as that term is used in the Securities Exchange Act of 1934) of Beneficial Ownership (within the meaning of Rule 13d-3 promulgated under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934) of more than 50% of either (A) the then outstanding shares of common stock of our company (the “Outstanding Company Common Stock”) or (B) the combined voting power of the then outstanding voting securities of the Company entitled to vote generally in the election of directors (the “Outstanding Company Voting Securities) (the foregoing Beneficial Ownership hereinafter being referred to as a "Controlling Interest"); provided, however, that the following acquisitions shall not constitute or result in a Change of Control: (i) any acquisition directly from our company; (ii) any acquisition by our company; (iii) any acquisition by any person that as of the effective date owns Beneficial Ownership of a Controlling Interest; (y) any acquisition by any employee

 

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benefit plan (or related trust) sponsored or maintained by our company or any subsidiary; or (z) any acquisition by any corporation pursuant to a transaction which complies with clauses (A), (B) and (C) of subsection (iii) below; or

(ii) During any period of two (2) consecutive years (not including any period prior to the Effective Date) individuals who constitute our board on the effective date (the “Incumbent Board”) cease for any reason to constitute at least a majority of our board; provided, however, that any individual becoming a director subsequent to the effective date whose election, or nomination for election by our shareholders, was approved by a vote of at least a majority of the directors then comprising the Incumbent Board shall be considered as though such individual were a member of the Incumbent Board, but excluding, for this purpose, any such individual whose initial assumption of office occurs as a result of an actual or threatened election contest with respect to the election or removal of directors or other actual or threatened solicitation of proxies or consents by or on behalf of a person other than our board; or

(iii) Consummation of a reorganization, merger, statutory share exchange or consolidation or similar corporate transaction involving our company or any of its subsidiaries, a sale or other disposition of all or substantially all of the assets of our company, or the acquisition of assets or stock of another entity by our company or any of its subsidiaries (each a “Business Combination”), in each case, unless, following such Business Combination, (A) all or substantially all of the individuals and entities who were the Beneficial Owners, respectively, of the Outstanding Company Common Stock and Outstanding Company Voting Securities immediately prior to such Business Combination beneficially own, directly or indirectly, more than 50% of the then outstanding shares of common stock and the combined voting power of the then outstanding voting securities entitled to vote generally in the election of directors, as the case may be, of the corporation resulting from such Business Combination (including, without limitation, a corporation which as a result of such transaction owns our company or all or substantially all of our company’s assets either directly or through one or more subsidiaries) in substantially the same proportions as their ownership, immediately prior to such Business Combination of the Outstanding Company common stock and Outstanding Company Voting Securities, as the case may be, (B) no person (excluding any employee benefit plan (or related trust) of our company or such corporation resulting from such Business Combination or any person that as of the effective date owns Beneficial Ownership of a Controlling Interest) beneficially owns, directly or indirectly, 50% or more of the then outstanding shares of common stock of the corporation resulting from such Business Combination or the combined voting power of the then outstanding voting securities of such corporation except to the extent that such ownership existed prior to the Business Combination and (C) at least a majority of the members of the board of directors of the corporation resulting from such Business Combination were members of the Incumbent Board at the time of the execution of the initial agreement, or of the action of the Board, providing for such Business Combination; or

(iv) Approval by our shareholders of a complete liquidation or dissolution of our company.

Amendment and Termination.

Our board of directors may amend, alter, suspend, discontinue or terminate the 2009 Plan or the committee’s authority to grant awards without further stockholder approval, except that stockholder approval must be obtained for any amendment or alteration if such approval is required by law or regulation or under the rules of any stock exchange or quotation system on which shares of common stock are then listed or quoted. Thus, stockholder approval may not necessarily be required for every amendment to the 2009 Plan which might increase the cost of the 2009 Plan or alter the eligibility of persons to receive awards. Stockholder approval will not be deemed to be required under laws or regulations, such as those relating to ISOs, that condition favorable treatment of participants on such approval, although our board may, in its discretion, seek stockholder approval in any circumstance in which it deems such approval advisable. Unless earlier terminated by our board, the 2009 Plan will terminate at the earliest of (a) such time as no shares of common stock remain available for issuance under the 2009 Plan, (b) termination of the 2009 Plan by our board, or (c) the tenth anniversary of the effective date of the Plan. Awards outstanding upon expiration of the 2009 Plan shall remain in effect until they have been exercised or terminated, or have expired.

Federal Income Tax Consequences of awards.

The 2009 Plan is not qualified under the provisions of section 401(a) of the Code and is not subject to any of the provisions of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974.

 

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Nonqualified Stock Options.

On exercise of a nonqualified stock option granted under the 2009 Plan an optionee will recognize ordinary income equal to the excess, if any, of the fair market value on the date of exercise of the shares of stock acquired on exercise of the option over the exercise price. If the optionee is an employee of our company or a related entity, that income will be subject to the withholding of Federal income tax. The optionee’s tax basis in those shares will be equal to their fair market value on the date of exercise of the option, and his holding period for those shares will begin on that date.

If an optionee pays for shares of stock on exercise of an option by delivering shares of our company’s stock, the optionee will not recognize gain or loss on the shares delivered, even if their fair market value at the time of exercise differs from the optionee’s tax basis in them. The optionee, however, otherwise will be taxed on the exercise of the option in the manner described above as if he had paid the exercise price in cash. If a separate identifiable stock certificate is issued for that number of shares equal to the number of shares delivered on exercise of the option, the optionee’s tax basis in the shares represented by that certificate will be equal to his tax basis in the shares delivered, and his holding period for those shares will include his holding period for the shares delivered. The optionee’s tax basis and holding period for the additional shares received on exercise of the option will be the same as if the optionee had exercised the option solely in exchange for cash.

Our company will be entitled to a deduction for Federal income tax purposes equal to the amount of ordinary income taxable to the optionee, provided that amount constitutes an ordinary and necessary business expense for our company and is reasonable in amount, and either the employee includes that amount in income or our company timely satisfies its reporting requirements with respect to that amount.

Incentive Stock Options.

The 2009 Plan provides for the grant of stock options that qualify as “incentive stock options” as defined in section 422 of the Code, which we refer to as ISOs. Under the Code, an optionee generally is not subject to tax upon the grant or exercise of an ISO. In addition, if the optionee holds a share received on exercise of an ISO for at least two years from the date the option was granted and at least one year from the date the option was exercised, which we refer to as the Required Holding Period, the difference, if any, between the amount realized on a sale or other taxable disposition of that share and the holder’s tax basis in that share will be long-term capital gain or loss.

If, however, an optionee disposes of a share acquired on exercise of an ISO before the end of the Required Holding Period, which we refer to as a Disqualifying Disposition, the optionee generally will recognize ordinary income in the year of the Disqualifying Disposition equal to the excess, if any, of the fair market value of the share on the date the ISO was exercised over the exercise price. If, however, the Disqualifying Disposition is a sale or exchange on which a loss, if realized, would be recognized for Federal income tax purposes, and if the sales proceeds are less than the fair market value of the share on the date of exercise of the option, the amount of ordinary income recognized by the optionee will not exceed the gain, if any, realized on the sale. If the amount realized on a Disqualifying Disposition exceeds the fair market value of the share on the date of exercise of the option, that excess will be short-term or long-term capital gain, depending on whether the holding period for the share exceeds one year.

An optionee who exercises an ISO by delivering shares of stock acquired previously pursuant to the exercise of an ISO before the expiration of the Required Holding Period for those shares is treated as making a Disqualifying Disposition of those shares. This rule prevents “pyramiding” or the exercise of an ISO (that is, exercising an ISO for one share and using that share, and others so acquired, to exercise successive ISOs) without the imposition of current income tax.

For purposes of the alternative minimum tax, the amount by which the fair market value of a share of stock acquired on exercise of an ISO exceeds the exercise price of that option generally will be an adjustment included in the optionee’s alternative minimum taxable income for the year in which the option is exercised. If, however, there is a Disqualifying Disposition of the share in the year in which the option is exercised, there will be no adjustment with respect to that share. If there is a Disqualifying Disposition in a later year, no income with respect to the Disqualifying Disposition is included in the optionee’s alternative minimum taxable income for that year. In

 

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computing alternative minimum taxable income, the tax basis of a share acquired on exercise of an ISO is increased by the amount of the adjustment taken into account with respect to that share for alternative minimum tax purposes in the year the option is exercised.

Our company is not allowed an income tax deduction with respect to the grant or exercise of an incentive stock option or the disposition of a share acquired on exercise of an incentive stock option after the Required Holding Period. However, if there is a Disqualifying Disposition of a share, our company is allowed a deduction in an amount equal to the ordinary income includible in income by the optionee, provided that amount constitutes an ordinary and necessary business expense for our company and is reasonable in amount, and either the employee includes that amount in income or our company timely satisfies its reporting requirements with respect to that amount.

Stock awards.

Generally, the recipient of a stock award will recognize ordinary compensation income at the time the stock is received equal to the excess, if any, of the fair market value of the stock received over any amount paid by the recipient in exchange for the stock. If, however, the stock is non-vested when it is received under the 2009 Plan (for example, if the employee is required to work for a period of time in order to have the right to sell the stock), the recipient generally will not recognize income until the stock becomes vested, at which time the recipient will recognize ordinary compensation income equal to the excess, if any, of the fair market value of the stock on the date it becomes vested over any amount paid by the recipient in exchange for the stock. A recipient may, however, file an election with the Internal Revenue Service, within 30 days of his or her receipt of the stock award, to recognize ordinary compensation income, as of the date the recipient receives the award, equal to the excess, if any, of the fair market value of the stock on the date the award is granted over any amount paid by the recipient in exchange for the stock.

The recipient’s basis for the determination of gain or loss upon the subsequent disposition of shares acquired as stock awards will be the amount paid for such shares plus any ordinary income recognized either when the stock is received or when the stock becomes vested. Upon the disposition of any stock received as a stock award under the 2009 Plan the difference between the sale price and the recipient’s basis in the shares will be treated as a capital gain or loss and generally will be characterized as long-term capital gain or loss if the shares have been held for more the one year from the date as of which he or she would be required to recognize any compensation income.

Stock Appreciation Rights.

Our company may grant SARs separate from any other award, which we refer to as Stand-Alone SARs, or in tandem with options, which we refer to as Tandem SARs, under the 2009 Plan. Generally, the recipient of a Stand-Alone SAR will not recognize any taxable income at the time the Stand-Alone SAR is granted.

With respect to Stand-Alone SARs, if the recipient receives the appreciation inherent in the SARs in cash, the cash will be taxable as ordinary compensation income to the recipient at the time that the cash is received. If the recipient receives the appreciation inherent in the SARs in shares of stock, the recipient will recognize ordinary compensation income equal to the excess of the fair market value of the stock on the day it is received over any amounts paid by the recipient for the stock.

With respect to Tandem SARs, if the recipient elects to surrender the underlying option in exchange for cash or shares of stock equal to the appreciation inherent in the underlying option, the tax consequences to the recipient will be the same as discussed above relating to the Stand-Alone SARs. If the recipient elects to exercise the underlying option, the holder will be taxed at the time of exercise as if he or she had exercised a nonqualified stock option (discussed above), i.e., the recipient will recognize ordinary income for federal tax purposes measured by the excess of the then fair market value of the shares of stock over the exercise price.

In general, there will be no federal income tax deduction allowed to our company upon the grant or termination of Stand-Alone SARs or Tandem SARs. Upon the exercise of either a Stand-Alone SAR or a Tandem SAR, however, our company will be entitled to a deduction for federal income tax purposes equal to the amount of ordinary income

 

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that the employee is required to recognize as a result of the exercise, provided that the deduction is not otherwise disallowed under the Code.

Dividend Equivalents.

Generally, the recipient of a dividend equivalent award will recognize ordinary compensation income at the time the dividend equivalent award is received equal to the fair market value dividend equivalent award received. Our company generally will be entitled to a deduction for federal income tax purposes equal to the amount of ordinary income that the employee is required to recognize as a result of the dividend equivalent award, provided that the deduction is not otherwise disallowed under the Code.

Section 162 Limitations.

Section 162(m) to the Code, generally disallows a public company’s tax deduction for compensation to covered employees in excess of $1 million in any tax year beginning on or after January 1, 1994. Compensation that qualifies as “performance-based compensation” is excluded from the $1 million deductibility cap, and therefore remains fully deductible by the company that pays it. We intend that awards granted to employees under the 2009 Plan whom the committee expects to be covered employees at the time a deduction arises in connection with such options, may, if and to the extent so intended by the committee, be granted in a manner that will qualify as such “performance-based compensation,” so that such awards would not be subject to the Section 162(m) deductibility cap of $1 million. Future changes in Section 162(m) or the regulations thereunder may adversely affect our ability to ensure that awards under the 2006 Plan will qualify as “performance-based compensation” that are fully deductible by us under Section 162(m).

Section 409A

Section 409A of the Code, enacted as part of the American Jobs Creation Act of 2004, imposes certain new requirements applicable to “nonqualified deferred compensation plans,” including new rules relating to the timing of deferral elections and elections with regard to the form and timing of benefit distributions, prohibitions against the acceleration of the timing of distributions, and the times when distributions may be made, as well as rules that generally prohibit the funding of nonqualified deferred compensation plans in offshore trusts or upon the occurrence of a change in the employer’s financial health. These new rules generally apply with respect to deferred compensation that becomes earned and vested on or after January 1, 2005. If a nonqualified deferred compensation plan subject to Section 409A fails to meet, or is not operated in accordance with, these new requirements, then all compensation deferred under the plan is or becomes immediately taxable to the extent that it is not subject to a substantial risk of forfeiture and was not previously taxable. The tax imposed as a result of these new rules would be increased by interest at a rate equal to the rate imposed upon tax underpayments plus one percentage point, and an additional tax equal to 20% of the compensation required to be included in income. Some of the awards to be granted under this 2009 Plan may constitute deferred compensation subject to the Section 409A requirements, including, without limitation, discounted stock options, deferred stock and SARs that are not payable in shares of our company stock. It is our company’s intention that any award agreement that will govern awards subject to Section 409A will comply with these new rules.

Importance of Consulting Tax Adviser.

The information set forth above is a summary only and does not purport to be complete. In addition, the information is based upon current Federal income tax rules and therefore is subject to change when those rules change. Moreover, because the tax consequences to any recipient may depend on his particular situation, each recipient should consult his tax adviser as to the Federal, state, local and other tax consequences of the grant or exercise of an award or the disposition of stock acquired as a result of an award.

Our board of directors recommends a vote “For” the Exactech, Inc. 2009 Executive Incentive Compensation Plan.

 

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PROPOSAL 3: APPROVAL AND ADOPTION OF THE EXACTECH, INC. 2009 EMPLOYEE STOCK

PURCHASE PLAN.

Background and Purpose.

On February 18, 2009, our board of directors adopted the Exactech, Inc. 2009 Employee Stock Purchase Plan, which we refer to as the 2009 ESPP, and recommended that it be submitted to our shareholders for their approval at the next annual meeting.

The purpose of the 2009 ESPP is to provide incentive for present and future employees of our company and any designated subsidiary to acquire a proprietary interest in our company through the purchase of shares of our common stock.

The plan is designed to qualify as an employee stock purchase plan under Section 423 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended. Shareholder approval for the plan is required in order to comply with the requirements of Section 423 of the Internal Revenue Code.

The following is a summary of certain principal features of the 2009 ESPP. This summary is qualified in its entirety by reference to the complete text of the 2009 ESPP. Shareholders are urged to read the actual text of the 2009 ESPP in its entirety which is set forth as Exhibit B to this proxy statement.

Administration

The compensation committee of our board of directors, which we refer to as the “committee”, will administer the plan. The 2009 ESPP vests the committee with the authority to interpret the 2009 ESPP, to prescribe, amend and rescind rules and regulations relating to the 2009 ESPP, and to make all other determinations necessary or advisable for the administration of the 2009 ESPP. However, our board of directors may exercise that authority in lieu of the committee. The 2009 ESPP is required to be administered in a manner consistent with Rule 16b-3 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended.

Participation

Employees of our company and any designated subsidiary on July 1, 2009 are eligible to participate in the 2009 ESPP as of that date if they are scheduled to work at least twenty hours per week and more than five months per calendar year. Individuals who become employees of our company and any designated subsidiary after July 1, 2009, and are scheduled to work at least twenty hours per week and more than five months per calendar year, become eligible to participate in the 2009 ESPP on the first trading date in the offering period following his or her commencement of employment. These eligible employees may become participants in the 2009 ESPP by completing an enrollment agreement and filing it with us.

Offerings

The 2009 ESPP generally is implemented through a series of 12-month-long offering periods, beginning on January 1 and ending on December 31, except that the first offering period begins on July 1, 2009 and ends December 31, 2009. Shares of our stock are available for purchase under the 2009 ESPP on periodic exercise dates within each offering period. Exercise dates are the last business day on or before March 31, June 30, September 30 and December 31 during each offering period. On the first business day of each offering period, participants are granted the option to purchase shares of our common stock on the exercise dates within that offering period.

No participant is eligible for the grant of any option under the 2009 ESPP if, immediately after the grant, the participant would own, directly or indirectly, stock possessing 5% or more of the total combined voting power or value of all classes of our stock or of any of our subsidiaries. Additionally, no participant may be granted any option that would permit the participant to buy more than $25,000 worth of our common stock, determined at the time the option is granted, in any calendar year. Finally, no participant may purchase more than 1,500 shares of our common stock on any one exercise date.

 

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Payroll Deductions

The enrollment agreements that each participant must submit authorize after-tax payroll deductions from the participants’ compensation during each payroll period. Participants must elect a payroll deduction amount of at least 1%, and up to 25%, of their compensation. A participant may terminate his or her payroll deductions at any time during an offering period, and may change the amount of their deduction only once each exercise period, but may only begin payroll deductions on specified dates. All payroll deductions made for a participant are credited to his or her account under the plan and deposited with our general funds.

Exercise Price

The exercise price per share at which shares are sold in an offering under the 2009 ESPP is 85% of the closing price of our common stock on the first day of the offering period or, if lower, 85% of the closing price on the exercise date. Participants pay the exercise price through accumulated payroll deductions over the offering period.

Withdrawal from the Plan

A participant may withdraw from participation in the 2009 ESPP at any time by completing a withdrawal form and delivering it to us. If a participant’s employment terminates for any reason, he or she is treated as having withdrawn from the 2009 ESPP.

A participant’s withdrawal is effective as soon as administratively practicable after we receive the notice of withdrawal. All options granted to the participant under the 2009 ESPP, but not yet exercised, automatically terminate, and no further purchases of common stock are made for the participant’s account following the effectiveness of the participant’s withdrawal. We cease making payroll deductions for a participant’s account beginning with the first payroll period that starts after the effectiveness of the participant’s withdrawal, and we refund any accumulated payroll deductions which are not used to purchase stock under the 2009 ESPP.

In order to rejoin the 2009 ESPP, former participants must submit a new enrollment agreement in the subsequent offering period.

Restrictions on Transfer; No Shareholder Rights

No plan contributions or options granted under the 2009 ESPP are assignable or transferable, other than by will or by the laws of descent and distribution or as provided under the 2009 ESPP. During the lifetime of a participant, an option is exercisable only by the participant. A participant does not have any interest or voting rights in shares covered by his or her option until the option has been exercised.

Duration, Termination, and Amendment of the Plan

The 2009 ESPP will terminate following the last exercise date before the 10th anniversary of effective date, or if sooner, on the date on which all shares reserved for issuance under the 2009 ESPP have been sold. Additionally, our board of directors may terminate the 2009 ESPP earlier. The board or the committee may amend the 2009 ESPP at any time. However, no amendment may change any option in a way that adversely affects the rights of the holder of the option, no amendment may in any way cause rights issued under the 2009 ESPP to fail to meet the requirements for employee stock purchase plans under Section 423 of the Internal Revenue Code, and no amendment may cause the 2009 ESPP to fail to comply with Rule 16b-3 of the Exchange Act.

Shares Reserved under the Plan

150,000 shares of our common stock are reserved for issuance over the term of the 2009 ESPP. If any option granted under the 2009 ESPP expires or terminates for any reason without having been exercised in full, the unpurchased shares subject to that option will again be available for issuance under the 2009 ESPP.

Effect of Certain Corporate Events

The 2009 ESPP provides for adjustment of the number of shares for which options may be granted, the number of shares subject to outstanding options and the exercise price of outstanding options in the event of any increase or

 

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decrease in the number of issued and outstanding shares of our common stock as a result of one or more reorganizations, restructurings, recapitalizations, reclassifications, stock splits, reverse stock splits, or stock dividends.

Under circumstances of our dissolution or liquidation, the offering period in progress will terminate immediately prior to the consummation of such proposed action, unless the committee determines otherwise. In the event of a merger or a sale of all or substantially all of our assets, each option under the plan will be assumed or an equivalent option will be substituted by the successor corporation, unless the committee accelerates the date on which the options may be exercised.

New Plan Benefits

We are not able to determine the dollar value and number of any additional plan benefits which will be received by or allocated to any of our executive officers, our current executive officers, as a group, or employees who are not executive officers, as a group, because participation in the plan and the rate of withholding is voluntary and determined by each eligible person in his or her sole discretion. The adoption of the 2009 ESPP will not result in any new benefits to the current directors who are not executive officers, as a group, including nominees for election as a director, because those persons are not eligible to participate in the 2009 ESPP.

Federal Income Tax Effects

Options granted under the plan are intended to qualify for favorable federal income tax treatment to our employees under Sections 421 and 423 of the Internal Revenue Code. Employee contributions are made on an after-tax basis. A participant would not realize a capital gain or capital loss on common stock purchased under the plan until the participant sells his or her shares of common stock. If a participant disposes of shares two years or more after the date of the beginning of the offering period when the shares were acquired, and more than one year after the shares were purchased, the participant would recognize as ordinary income the lesser of (i) the excess of the fair market value of the shares on the date of sale over the price paid, or (ii) the discount of the fair market value of the shares at the beginning of the offering period. Additionally, the participant would recognize a long-term capital gain or loss, within the meaning of the Internal Revenue Code, equal to the difference between the amount realized from the sale of the shares and the participant’s basis. The participant’s basis would be the purchase price plus any amount taxed as ordinary compensation income.

If a participant disposes of shares within two years of the date of the beginning of the offering period during which the shares were purchased, or within one year after the shares were purchased, the participant would recognize ordinary compensation income equal to the excess of the fair market value of the shares on the purchase date over the price paid for the shares. Additionally, the participant would recognize a capital gain or loss, within the meaning of the Internal Revenue Code, equal to the difference between the amount realized from the sale of the shares and the participant’s basis. The participant’s basis would be the purchase price plus the amount taxed as ordinary compensation income. If the participant held the shares for more than one year, the capital gain or loss would be a long-term gain or loss.

Our company does not receive an income tax deduction upon either the grant of the option or a participant’s exercise of the option, but generally does receive a deduction equal to the ordinary compensation income that the participant is required to recognize as a result of the disposition of the shares if the participant disposes of the shares within two years of the date of the beginning of the offering period when the shares were acquired, or within one year after the shares are purchased.

On March 20, 2009, the last trading day prior to the printing and mailing of this proxy statement, the last reported sale price per share of our common stock on the NASDAQ was $11.31.

Approval of the proposed 2009 ESPP requires the affirmative vote of the holders of a majority of all shares present, either in person or by proxy, at the annual meeting.

Our board of directors recommends shareholders vote “FOR” the Exactech, Inc. 2009 Employee Stock Purchase Plan.

 

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SHAREHOLDER PROPOSALS

Shareholder proposals intended to be presented at our 2010 Annual Meeting of Shareholders pursuant to the provisions of Rule 14a-8 of the Securities and Exchange Commission promulgated under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, must be received by us at our executive offices by November 27, 2009 for inclusion in our proxy statement and form of proxy relating to such meeting. Any Shareholder wishing to propose a nominee for membership on our Board of Directors should submit a recommendation in writing in accordance with the foregoing, for consideration by the Audit Committee, indicating the nominee’s qualifications and other biographical information and providing confirmation of the nominee’s consent to serve as a director.

A shareholder of ours may wish to have a proposal presented at the 2010 Annual Meeting of Shareholders, but not to have such proposal included in our proxy statement and form of proxy relating to that meeting. Rule 14a-4 of the Securities and Exchange Commission promulgated under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, allows a company to use discretionary voting authority to vote on matters coming before an annual meeting of shareholders, if the company does not have notice of the matter at least 45 days before the date corresponding to the date on which the company first mailed its proxy materials for the prior year's annual meeting of shareholders or the date specified by an overriding advance notice provision in the company's bylaws or charter. Our Articles of Incorporation contain such an advance notice provision. This provision provides that nominations to our Board of Directors or other proposals presented at the 2010 Annual Meeting by shareholders must be made in writing to the Secretary of the Company and must be delivered to or mailed and received at our principal executive offices (at the address appearing on the first page of this proxy statement) not less than 90 days nor more than 120 days prior to the anniversary of the date of our last annual meeting of shareholders. Accordingly, for our 2010 Annual Meeting of Shareholders, shareholders must submit such written notice to the Corporate Secretary on or before February 9, 2010 and on or after January 10, 2010.

 

By Order of The Board of Directors

LOGO

BETTY PETTY
Secretary

Gainesville, Florida

March 27, 2009

 

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EXHIBIT A

EXACTECH, INC.

2009 EXECUTIVE INCENTIVE COMPENSATION PLAN

(effective as of May 7, 2009)


EXACTECH, INC.

2009 EXECUTIVE INCENTIVE COMPENSATION PLAN

(effective as of May 7, 2009)

1. Purpose. The purpose of this EXACTECH, INC. 2009 EXECUTIVE INCENTIVE COMPENSATION PLAN (the “Plan”) is to assist Exactech, Inc., a Florida corporation (the “Company”), and its Related Entities in attracting, motivating, retaining and rewarding high-quality executives and other Employees, officers, Directors, and Consultants by enabling such persons to acquire or increase a proprietary interest in the Company in order to strengthen the mutuality of interests between such persons and the Company’s stockholders, and providing such persons with annual and long term performance incentives to expend their maximum efforts in the creation of shareholder value.

2. Definitions. For purposes of the Plan, the following terms shall be defined as set forth below, in addition to such terms defined in Section 1 hereof and elsewhere herein.

(a) “Award” means any Option, Stock Appreciation Right, Restricted Stock, Deferred Stock Award, Stock granted as a bonus or in lieu of another Award, Dividend Equivalent, Other Stock-Based Award or Performance Award, together with any other right or interest, granted to a Participant under the Plan.

(b) “Award Agreement” means any written agreement, contract or other instrument or document evidencing any Award granted by the Committee hereunder.

(c) “Beneficiary” means the person, persons, trust or trusts which have been designated by a Participant in his or her most recent written beneficiary designation filed with the Committee to receive the benefits specified under the Plan upon such Participant’s death or to which Awards or other rights are transferred if and to the extent permitted under Section 10(b) hereof. If, upon a Participant’s death, there is no designated Beneficiary or surviving designated Beneficiary, then the term Beneficiary means the person, persons, trust or trusts entitled by will or the laws of descent and distribution to receive such benefits.

(d) “Beneficial Owner”, “Beneficially Owning” and “Beneficial Ownership” shall have the meanings ascribed to such terms in Rule 13d-3 under the Exchange Act and any successor to such Rule.

(e) “Board” means the Company’s Board of Directors.

(f) “Cause” shall, with respect to any Participant, have the equivalent meaning (or the same meaning as “cause” or “for cause”) set forth in any employment, consulting, or other agreement for the performance of services between the Participant and the Company or a Related Entity or, in the absence of any such agreement, such term shall mean (i) the failure by the Participant to perform his or her duties as assigned by the Company (or a Related Entity) in a reasonable manner, (ii) any violation or breach by the Participant of his or her employment agreement with the Company (or a Related Entity), if any, (iii) any violation or breach by the Participant of his or her non-competition and/or non-disclosure agreement with the


Company (or a Related Entity), if any, (iv) any act by the Participant of dishonesty or bad faith with respect to the Company (or a Related Entity), (v) chronic addiction to alcohol, drugs or other similar substances affecting the Participant’s work performance, or (vi) the commission by the Participant of any act, misdemeanor, or crime reflecting unfavorably upon the Participant or the Company. The good faith determination by the Committee of whether the Participant’s Continuous Service was terminated by the Company for “Cause” shall be final and binding for all purposes hereunder.

(g) “Change in Control” means a Change in Control as defined with related terms in Section 9 hereof.

(h) “Change in Control Price” means the amount calculated in accordance with Section 9(c) hereof.

(i) “Code” means the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended from time to time, including regulations thereunder and successor provisions and regulations thereto.

(j) “Committee” means a committee designated by the Board to administer the Plan; provided, however, that if the Board fails to designate a committee or if there are no longer any members on the committee so designated by the Board, or for any other reason determined by the Board, then the Board shall serve as the Committee. While it is intended that the Committee shall consist of at least two directors, each of whom shall be (i) a “non-employee director” within the meaning of Rule 16b-3 (or any successor rule) under the Exchange Act, unless administration of the Plan by “non-employee directors” is not then required in order for exemptions under Rule 16b-3 to apply to transactions under the Plan, (ii) an “outside director” within the meaning of Section 162(m) of the Code, and (iii) “Independent”, the failure of the Committee to be so comprised shall not invalidate any Award that otherwise satisfies the terms of the Plan.

(k) “Consultant” means any Person (other than an Employee or a Director, solely with respect to rendering services in such person’s capacity as a director) who is engaged by the Company or any Related Entity to render consulting or advisory services to the Company or such Related Entity.

(l) “Continuous Service” means uninterrupted provision of services to the Company in any capacity of Employee, Director, Consultant or other service provider. Continuous Service shall not be considered to be interrupted in the case of (i) any approved leave of absence, (ii) transfers among the Company, any Related Entities, or any successor entities, 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 a Related Entity 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.

(m) “Covered Employee means the Person who, as of the end of the taxable year, either is the principal executive officer of the Company or is serving as the acting principal

 

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executive officer of the Company, and each other Person whose compensation is required to be disclosed in the Company’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission by reason of that person being among the five highest compensated officers of the Company as of the end of a taxable year, or such other person as shall be considered a “covered employee” for purposes of Section 162(m) of the Code.

(n) “Deferred Stock” means a right to receive Stock, including Restricted Stock, cash measured based upon the value of Stock or a combination thereof, at the end of a specified deferral period.

(o) “Deferred Stock Award” means an Award of Deferred Stock granted to a Participant under Section 6(e) hereof.

(p) “Director” means a member of the Board or the board of directors of any Related Entity.

(q) “Disability” means a permanent and total disability (within the meaning of Section 22(e) of the Code), as determined by a medical doctor satisfactory to the Committee.

(r) “Dividend Equivalent” means a right, granted to a Participant under Section 6(g) hereof, to receive cash, Stock, other Awards or other property equal in value to dividends paid with respect to a specified number of shares of Stock, or other periodic payments.

(s) “Effective Date” means the initial effective date of the Plan, which shall be May 7, 2009.

(t) “Eligible Person” means each officer, Director, Employee, Consultant and other person who provides services to the Company or any Related Entity. The foregoing notwithstanding, only Employees of the Company, or any parent corporation or subsidiary corporation of the Company (as those terms are defined in Sections 424(e) and (f) of the Code, respectively), shall be Eligible Persons for purposes of receiving any Incentive Stock Options. An Employee on leave of absence may, in the discretion of the Committee, be considered as still in the employ of the Company or a Related Entity for purposes of eligibility for participation in the Plan.

(u) “Employee” means any Person, including an officer or Director, who is an employee of the Company or any Related Entity. The Payment of a director’s fee by the Company or a Related Entity shall not be sufficient to constitute “employment” by the Company.

(v) “Exchange Act” means the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended from time to time, including rules thereunder and successor provisions and rules thereto.

(w) “Fair Market Value” means the fair market value of Stock, Awards or other property as determined by the Committee, or under procedures established by the Committee. Unless otherwise determined by the Committee, the Fair Market Value of a share of Stock as of any given date shall be the closing sale price per share of Stock reported on a consolidated basis for stock listed on the principal stock exchange or market on which the Stock

 

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is traded on the date as of which such value is being determined (or as of such later measurement date as determined by the Committee on the date the Award is authorized by the Committee), or, if there is no sale on that date, then on the last previous day on which a sale was reported.

(x) “Good Reason” shall, with respect to any Participant, have the equivalent meaning or the same meaning as “good reason” or “for good reason” set forth in any employment, consulting or other agreement for the performance of services between the Participant and the Company or a Related Entity or, in the absence of any such agreement or any such definition in such agreement, such term shall mean (i) the assignment to the Participant of any duties inconsistent in any material respect with the Participant’s duties or responsibilities as assigned by the Company or a Related Entity, or any other action by the Company or a Related Entity which results in a material diminution in such duties or responsibilities, excluding for this purpose an action]which is remedied by the Company or a Related Entity promptly after receipt of notice thereof given by the Participant; (ii) any material failure by the Company or a Related Entity to comply with its obligations to the Participant as agreed upon, other than a failure which is remedied by the Company or a Related Entity promptly after receipt of notice thereof given by the Participant; or (iii) the Company’s or Related Entity’s requiring the Participant to be based at any office or location outside of fifty miles from the location of employment or service as of the date of Award, except for travel reasonably required in the performance of the Participant’s responsibilities.

(y) “Incentive Stock Option” means any Option intended to be designated as an incentive stock option within the meaning of Section 422 of the Code or any successor provision thereto.

(z) “Incumbent Board” means the Incumbent Board as defined in Section 9(b)(ii) of the Plan.

(aa) “Independent”, when referring to either the Board or members of the Committee, shall have the same meaning as used in the rules of the Listing Market.

(bb) “Listing Market” means the NASDAQ Stock Market or any other national securities exchange on which any securities of the Company are listed for trading, and if not listed for trading, by the rules of the NASDAQ Stock Market.

(cc) “Option” means a right granted to a Participant under Section 6(b) hereof, to purchase Stock or other Awards at a specified price during specified time periods.

(dd) “Optionee” means a person to whom an Option is granted under this Plan or any person who succeeds to the rights of such person under this Plan.

(ee) “Other Stock-Based Awards” means Awards granted to a Participant under Section 6(i) hereof.

(ff) “Participant” means a person who has been granted an Award under the Plan which remains outstanding, including a person who is no longer an Eligible Person.

 

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(gg) “Performance Award” means any Award of Performance Shares or Performance Units granted pursuant to Section 6(h) hereof.

(hh) “Performance Period” means that period established by the Committee at the time any Performance Award is granted or at any time thereafter during which any performance goals specified by the Committee with respect to such Award are to be measured.

(ii) “Performance Share” means any grant pursuant to Section 6(h) hereof of a unit valued by reference to a designated number of shares of Stock, which value may be paid to the Participant by delivery of such property as the Committee shall determine, including cash, Stock, other property, or any combination thereof, upon achievement of such performance goals during the Performance Period as the Committee shall establish at the time of such grant or thereafter.

(jj) “Performance Unit” means any grant pursuant to Section 6(h) hereof of a unit valued by reference to a designated amount of property (including cash) other than Stock, which value may be paid to the Participant by delivery of such property as the Committee shall determine, including cash, Stock, other property, or any combination thereof, upon achievement of such performance goals during the Performance Period as the Committee shall establish at the time of such grant or thereafter.

(kk) “Person” shall have the meaning ascribed to such term in Section 3(a)(9) of the Exchange Act and used in Sections 13(d) and 14(d) thereof, and shall include a “group” as defined in Section 13(d) thereof.

(ll) “Preexisting Plan” shall mean collectively the Exactech, Inc. Employee Stock Option and Incentive Plan, the Exactech, Inc. Director’s Stock Option Plan and the Exactech, Inc. Amended and Restated 2003 Executive Incentive Compensation Plan.

(mm) “Related Entity” means any Subsidiary, and any business, corporation, partnership, limited liability company or other entity designated by the Board, in which the Company or a Subsidiary holds a substantial ownership interest, directly or indirectly.

(nn) “Restriction Period” means the period of time specified by the Committee that Restricted Stock Awards shall be subject to such restrictions on transferability, risk of forfeiture and other restrictions, if any, as the Committee may impose.

(oo) “Restricted Stock” means any Stock issued with the restriction that the holder may not sell, transfer, pledge or assign such Stock and with such risks of forfeiture and other restrictions as the Committee, in its sole discretion, may impose (including any restriction on the right to vote such Stock and the right to receive any dividends), which restrictions may lapse separately or in combination at such time or times, in installments or otherwise, as the Committee may deem appropriate.

(pp) “Restricted Stock Award” means an Award granted to a Participant under Section 6(d) hereof.

 

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(qq) “Rule 16b-3” and “Rule 16a-1(c)(3)” means Rule 16b-3 and Rule 16a-1(c)(3), as from time to time in effect and applicable to the Plan and Participants, promulgated by the Securities and Exchange Commission under Section 16 of the Exchange Act.

(rr) “Stock” means the Company’s Common Stock, and such other securities as may be substituted (or resubstituted) for Stock pursuant to Section 10(c) hereof.

(ss) “Stock Appreciation Right” means a right granted to a Participant under Section 6(c) hereof.

(tt) “Subsidiary” means any corporation or other entity in which the Company has a direct or indirect ownership interest of 50% or more of the total combined voting power of the then outstanding securities or interests of such corporation or other entity entitled to vote generally in the election of directors or in which the Company has the right to receive 50% or more of the distribution of profits or 50% or more of the assets on liquidation or dissolution.

(uu) “Substitute Awards” means Awards granted or Stock issued by the Company in assumption of, or in substitution or exchange for, Awards previously granted, or the right or obligation to make future Awards, by a company (i) acquired by the Company or any Related Entity, (ii) which becomes a Related Entity after the date hereof, or (iii) with which the Company or any Related Entity combines.

3. Administration.

(a) Authority of the Committee. The Plan shall be administered by the Committee; provided, however, that except as otherwise expressly provided in this Plan or, during the period that the Company is a Publicly Held Corporation, in order to comply with Code Section 162(m) or Rule 16b-3 under the Exchange Act, the Board may exercise any power or authority granted to the Committee under this Plan. The Committee or the Board shall have full and final authority, in each case subject to and consistent with the provisions of the Plan, to select Eligible Persons to become Participants, grant Awards, determine the type, number and other terms and conditions of, and all other matters relating to, Awards, prescribe Award Agreements (which need not be identical for each Participant) and rules and regulations for the administration of the Plan, construe and interpret the Plan and Award Agreements and correct defects, supply omissions or reconcile inconsistencies therein, and to make all other decisions and determinations as the Committee or the Board may deem necessary or advisable for the administration of the Plan. In exercising any discretion granted to the Committee or the Board under the Plan or pursuant to any Award, the Committee or the Board shall not be required to follow past practices, act in a manner consistent with past practices, or treat any Eligible Person in a manner consistent with the treatment of other Eligible Persons.

(b) Manner of Exercise of Committee Authority. The Committee, and not the Board, shall exercise sole and exclusive discretion on any matter relating to a Participant then subject to Section 16 of the Exchange Act with respect to the Company to the extent necessary in order that transactions by such Participant shall be exempt under Rule 16b-3 under the Exchange Act. Any action of the Committee or the Board shall be final, conclusive and binding on all

 

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persons, including the Company, its Related Entities, Participants, Beneficiaries, transferees under Section 10(b) hereof or other persons claiming rights from or through a Participant, and stockholders. The express grant of any specific power to the Committee or the Board, and the taking of any action by the Committee or the Board, shall not be construed as limiting any power or authority of the Committee or the Board. The Committee or the Board may delegate to officers or managers of the Company or any Related Entity, or committees thereof, the authority, subject to such terms as the Committee or the Board shall determine, (i) to perform administrative functions, (ii) with respect to Participants not subject to Section 16 of the Exchange Act, to perform such other functions as the Committee or the Board may determine, and (iii) with respect to Participants subject to Section 16, to perform such other functions of the Committee or the Board as the Committee or the Board may determine to the extent performance of such functions will not result in the loss of an exemption under Rule 16b-3 otherwise available for transactions by such persons, in each case to the extent permitted under applicable law and subject to the requirements set forth in Section 8(d). The Committee or the Board may appoint agents to assist it in administering the Plan.

(c) Limitation on Awards to Non-Employee Directors. Notwithstanding any other provision of the Plan, except as provided in Section 6(b)(v), a non-Employee Director may be granted Awards only upon the approval of the Board, with the non-Employee Director abstaining.

(d) Limitation of Liability. The Committee and the Board, and each member thereof, shall be entitled to, in good faith, rely or act upon any report or other information furnished to him or her by any Executive Officer, other officer or Employee, the Company’s independent auditors, Consultants or any other agents assisting in the administration of the Plan. Members of the Committee and the Board, and any officer or Employee acting at the direction or on behalf of the Committee or the Board, shall not be personally liable for any action or determination taken or made in good faith with respect to the Plan, and shall, to the extent permitted by law, be fully indemnified and protected by the Company with respect to any such action or determination.

4. Stock Subject to Plan.

(a) Limitation on Overall Number of Shares Available for Delivery Under the Plan. Subject to adjustment as provided in Section 10(c) hereof, the total number of shares of Stock reserved and available for delivery in connection with Awards under the Plan shall be the sum of (i) 500,000, plus (ii) the number of shares with respect to Awards previously granted under the Preexisting Plan that terminate without being exercised, expire, are forfeited or canceled, plus (iii) the number of shares that remain available for future issuance under the Preexisting Plan, plus (iv) the number of shares that are surrendered in payment of any Awards or any tax withholding with regard thereto. If any Award granted under the Plan shall terminate, expire or be canceled or surrendered as to any shares of Stock, new Awards may thereafter be granted covering such shares. Any shares of Stock delivered under the Plan may consist, in whole or in part, of authorized and unissued shares or treasury shares.

 

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(b) Application of Limitations. The limitation contained in Section 4(a) shall apply not only to Awards that are settleable by the delivery of shares of Stock but also to Awards relating to shares of Stock but settleable only in cash (such as cash-only Stock Appreciation Rights). The Committee or the Board may adopt reasonable counting procedures to ensure appropriate counting, avoid double counting (as, for example, in the case of tandem or substitute awards) and make adjustments if the number of shares of Stock actually delivered differs from the number of shares previously counted in connection with an Award.

(c) Availability of Shares Not Delivered under Awards and Adjustments to Limits.

(i) If any Awards are forfeited, expire or otherwise terminate without issuance of such Shares, or any Award is settled for cash or otherwise does not result in the issuance of all or a portion of the Stock subject to such Award, the Stock to which those Awards were subject, shall, to the extent of such forfeiture, expiration, termination, cash settlement or non-issuance, again be available for delivery with respect to Awards under the Plan, subject to Section 4(c)(iv) below.

(ii) In the event that any Option or other Award granted hereunder is exercised through the tendering of Stock (either actually or by attestation) or by the withholding of Stock by the Company, or withholding tax liabilities arising from such option or other award are satisfied by the tendering of Stock (either actually or by attestation) or by the withholding of Stock by the Company, then only the number of shares of Stock issued net of the shares tendered or withheld shall be counted for purposes of determining the maximum number of shares of Stock available for grant under the Plan.

(iii) Substitute Awards shall not reduce the Stock authorized for delivery under the Plan or authorized for delivery to a Participant in any period. Additionally, in the event that a company acquired by the Company or any Related Entity or with which the Company or any Related Entity combines has shares available under a pre-existing plan approved by its shareholders, the shares available for delivery pursuant to the terms of such pre-existing plan (as adjusted, to the extent appropriate, using the exchange ratio or other adjustment or valuation ratio or formula used in such acquisition or combination to determine the consideration payable to the holders of common stock of the entities party to such acquisition or combination) may be used for Awards under the Plan and shall not reduce the Stock authorized for delivery under the Plan; if and to the extent that the use of such Stock would not require approval of the Company’s shareholders under the rules of the Listing Market.

(iv) Any share of Stock that again becomes available for delivery pursuant to this Section 4(c) shall be added back as one (1) share.

(v) Notwithstanding anything in this Section 4(c) to the contrary but subject to adjustment as provided in Section 10(c) hereof, the maximum aggregate number of shares of Stock that may be delivered under the Plan as a result of the exercise of the Incentive Stock Options shall be 500,000.

 

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(d) No Further Awards Under Prior Plan. In light of the adoption of this Plan, no further awards shall be made under the Prior Plan after the Effective Date.

5. Eligibility; Per-Person Award Limitations. Awards may be granted under the Plan only to Eligible Persons. Subject to adjustment as provided in Section 10(c), in any fiscal year of the Company during any part of which the Plan is in effect, no Participant may be granted (i) Options or Stock Appreciation Rights with respect to more than 250,000 shares of Stock or (ii) Restricted Stock, Deferred Stock, Performance Shares and/or Other Stock-Based Awards with respect to more than 250,000 shares of Stock. In addition, the maximum dollar value payable to any one Participant with respect to Performance Units is (x) $1,000,000 with respect to any 12 month Performance Period (pro-rated for any Performance Period that is less than 12 months based upon the ratio of the number of days in the Performance Period as compared to 365), and (y) with respect to any Performance Period that is more than 12 months, $5,000,000.

6. Specific Terms of Awards.

(a) General. Awards may be granted on the terms and conditions set forth in this Section 6. In addition, the Committee or the Board may impose on any Award or the exercise thereof, at the date of grant or thereafter (subject to Section 10(e)), such additional terms and conditions, not inconsistent with the provisions of the Plan, as the Committee or the Board shall determine, including terms requiring forfeiture of Awards in the event of termination of Continuous Service by the Participant and terms permitting a Participant to make elections relating to his or her Award. The Committee or the Board shall retain full power and discretion to accelerate, waive or modify, at any time, any term or condition of an Award that is not mandatory under the Plan. Except in cases in which the Committee or the Board is authorized to require other forms of consideration under the Plan, or to the extent other forms of consideration must be paid to satisfy the requirements of Florida law, no consideration other than services may be required for the grant (but not the exercise) of any Award.

(b) Options. The Committee and the Board each is authorized to grant Options to Participants on the following terms and conditions:

(i) Exercise Price. Other than in connection with Substitute Awards, the exercise price per share of Stock purchasable under an Option shall be determined by the Committee or the Board, provided that such exercise price shall not, in the case of Incentive Stock Options, be less than 100% of the Fair Market Value of the Stock on the date of grant of the Option and shall not, in any event, be less than the par value of a share of Stock on the date of grant of such Option. If an employee owns or is deemed to own (by reason of the attribution rules applicable under Section 424(d) of the Code) more than 10% of the combined voting power of all classes of stock of the Company or any Parent Corporation or Subsidiary and an Incentive Stock Option is granted to such employee, the option price of such Incentive Stock Option (to the extent required by the Code at the time of grant) shall be no less than 110% of the Fair Market Value of the Stock on the date such Incentive Stock Option is granted.

 

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(ii) Time and Method of Exercise. The Committee or the Board shall determine the time or times at which or the circumstances under which an Option may be exercised in whole or in part (including based on achievement of performance goals and/or future service requirements), the time or times at which Options shall cease to be or become exercisable following termination of Continuous Service or upon other conditions, the methods by which such exercise price may be paid or deemed to be paid (including in the discretion of the Committee or the Board a cashless exercise procedure), the form of such payment, including, without limitation, cash, Stock, other Awards or awards granted under other plans of the Company or a Related Entity, or other property (including notes or other contractual obligations of Participants to make payment on a deferred basis provided that such deferred payments are not in violation of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, or any rule or regulation adopted thereunder or any other applicable law), and the methods by or forms in which Stock will be delivered or deemed to be delivered to Participants.

(iii) Incentive Stock Options. The terms of any Incentive Stock Option granted under the Plan shall comply in all respects with the provisions of Section 422 of the Code. Anything in the Plan to the contrary notwithstanding, no term of the Plan relating to Incentive Stock Options (including any Stock Appreciation Right in tandem therewith) shall be interpreted, amended or altered, nor shall any discretion or authority granted under the Plan be exercised, so as to disqualify either the Plan or any Incentive Stock Option under Section 422 of the Code, unless the Participant has first requested the change that will result in such disqualification. Thus, if and to the extent required to comply with Section 422 of the Code, Options granted as Incentive Stock Options shall be subject to the following special terms and conditions:

(A) the Option shall not be exercisable more than ten years after the date such Incentive Stock Option is granted; provided, however, that if a Participant owns or is deemed to own (by reason of the attribution rules of Section 424(d) of the Code) more than 10% of the combined voting power of all classes of stock of the Company or any Parent Corporation and the Incentive Stock Option is granted to such Participant, the term of the Incentive Stock Option shall be (to the extent required by the Code at the time of the grant) for no more than five years from the date of grant; and

(B) The aggregate Fair Market Value (determined as of the date the Incentive Stock Option is granted) of the shares of stock with respect to which Incentive Stock Options granted under the Plan and all other option plans of the Company or its Parent Corporation during any calendar year exercisable for the first time by the Participant during any calendar year shall not (to the extent required by the Code at the time of the grant) exceed $100,000.

(iv) Repurchase Rights. The Committee and the Board shall have the discretion to grant Options which are exercisable for unvested shares of Common

 

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Stock. Should the Optionee’s Continuous Service cease while holding such unvested shares, the Company shall have the right to repurchase, at the exercise price paid per share, any or all of those unvested shares. The terms upon which such repurchase right shall be exercisable (including the period and procedure for exercise and the appropriate vesting schedule for the purchased shares) shall be established by the Committee or the Board and set forth in the document evidencing such repurchase right.

(c) Stock Appreciation Rights. The Committee and the Board each is authorized to grant Stock Appreciation Rights to Participants on the following terms and conditions:

(i) Right to Payment. A Stock Appreciation Right shall confer on the Participant to whom it is granted a right to receive, upon exercise thereof, the excess of (A) the Fair Market Value of one share of stock on the date of exercise (or, in the case of a “Limited Stock Appreciation Right” that may be exercised only in the event of a Change in Control, the Fair Market Value determined by reference to the Change in Control Price, as defined under Section 9(c) hereof), over (B) the grant price of the Stock Appreciation Right as determined by the Committee or the Board. The grant price of a Stock Appreciation Right shall not be less than the Fair Market Value of a share of Stock on the date of grant except as provided under Section 7(a) hereof.

(ii) Other Terms. The Committee or the Board shall determine at the date of grant or thereafter, the time or times at which and the circumstances under which a Stock Appreciation Right may be exercised in whole or in part (including based on achievement of performance goals and/or future service requirements), the time or times at which Stock Appreciation Rights shall cease to be or become exercisable following termination of Continuous Service or upon other conditions, the method of exercise, method of settlement, form of consideration payable in settlement, method by or forms in which Stock will be delivered or deemed to be delivered to Participants, whether or not a Stock Appreciation Right shall be in tandem or in combination with any other Award, and any other terms and conditions of any Stock Appreciation Right. Limited Stock Appreciation Rights that may only be exercised in connection with a Change in Control or other event as specified by the Committee or the Board, may be granted on such terms, not inconsistent with this Section 6(c), as the Committee or the Board may determine. Stock Appreciation Rights and Limited Stock Appreciation Rights may be either freestanding or in tandem with other Awards.

(d) Restricted Stock. The Committee and the Board each is authorized to grant Restricted Stock to Participants on the following terms and conditions:

(i) Grant and Restrictions. Restricted Stock Awards shall be subject to such restrictions on transferability, risk of forfeiture and other restrictions, if any, as the Committee may impose, or as otherwise provided in this Plan during

 

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the Restriction Period. The terms of any Restricted Stock Award granted under the Plan shall be set forth in a written Award Agreement which shall contain provisions determined by the Committee and not inconsistent with the Plan. The restrictions may lapse separately or in combination at such times, under such circumstances (including based on achievement of performance goals and/or future service requirements), in such installments or otherwise, as the Committee may determine at the date of grant or thereafter. Except to the extent restricted under the terms of the Plan and any Award Agreement relating to a Restricted Stock Award, a Participant granted Restricted Stock shall have all of the rights of a shareholder, including the right to vote the Restricted Stock and the right to receive dividends thereon (subject to any mandatory reinvestment or other requirement imposed by the Committee). During the period that the Restricted Stock Award is subject to a risk of forfeiture, subject to Section 10(b) below and except as otherwise provided in the Award Agreement, the Restricted Stock may not be sold, transferred, pledged, hypothecated, margined or otherwise encumbered by the Participant.

(ii) Forfeiture. Except as otherwise determined by the Committee or the Board, upon termination of a Participant’s Continuous Service during the applicable Restriction Period, the Participant’s Restricted Stock that is at that time subject to restrictions shall be forfeited and reacquired by the Company; provided that the Committee or the Board may provide, by rule or regulation or in any Award Agreement, or may determine in any individual case, that restrictions or forfeiture conditions relating to Restricted Stock shall be waived in whole or in part in the event of terminations resulting from specified causes, and the Committee or the Board may in other cases waive in whole or in part the forfeiture of Restricted Stock.

(iii) Certificates for Stock. Restricted Stock granted under the Plan may be evidenced in such manner as the Committee or the Board shall determine. If certificates representing Restricted Stock are registered in the name of the Participant, the Committee or the Board may require that such certificates bear an appropriate legend referring to the terms, conditions and restrictions applicable to such Restricted Stock, that the Company retain physical possession of the certificates, and that the Participant deliver a stock power to the Company, endorsed in blank, relating to the Restricted Stock.

(iv) Dividends and Splits. As a condition to the grant of an Award of Restricted Stock, the Committee or the Board may require that any cash dividends paid on a share of Restricted Stock be automatically reinvested in additional shares of Restricted Stock or applied to the purchase of additional Awards under the Plan. Unless otherwise determined by the Committee or the Board, Stock distributed in connection with a Stock split or Stock dividend, and other property distributed as a dividend, shall be subject to restrictions and a risk of forfeiture to the same extent as the Restricted Stock with respect to which such Stock or other property has been distributed.

 

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(e) Deferred Stock. The Committee and the Board each is authorized to grant Deferred Stock to Participants, which are rights to receive Stock, cash, or a combination thereof at the end of a specified deferral period, subject to the following terms and conditions:

(i) Award and Restrictions. Satisfaction of an Award of Deferred Stock shall occur upon expiration of the deferral period specified for such Deferred Stock by the Committee or the Board (or, if permitted by the Committee or the Board, as elected by the Participant). In addition, Deferred Stock shall be subject to such restrictions (which may include a risk of forfeiture) as the Committee or the Board may impose, if any, which restrictions may lapse at the expiration of the deferral period or at earlier specified times (including based on achievement of performance goals and/or future service requirements), separately or in combination, in installments or otherwise, as the Committee or the Board may determine. Deferred Stock may be satisfied by delivery of Stock, cash equal to the Fair Market Value of the specified number of shares of Stock covered by the Deferred Stock, or a combination thereof, as determined by the Committee or the Board at the date of grant or thereafter. Prior to satisfaction of an Award of Deferred Stock, an Award of Deferred Stock carries no voting or dividend or other rights associated with share ownership.

(ii) Forfeiture. Except as otherwise determined by the Committee or the Board, upon termination of a Participant’s Continuous Service during the applicable deferral period thereof to which forfeiture conditions apply (as provided in the Award Agreement evidencing the Deferred Stock), the Participant’s Deferred Stock that is at that time subject to deferral (other than a deferral at the election of the Participant) shall be forfeited; provided that the Committee or the Board may provide, by rule or regulation or in any Award Agreement, or may determine in any individual case, that restrictions or forfeiture conditions relating to Deferred Stock shall be waived in whole or in part in the event of terminations resulting from specified causes, and the Committee or the Board may in other cases waive in whole or in part the forfeiture of Deferred Stock.

(iii) Dividend Equivalents. Unless otherwise determined by the Committee or the Board at date of grant, any Dividend Equivalents that are granted with respect to any Award of Deferred Stock shall be either (A) paid with respect to such Deferred Stock at the dividend payment date in cash or in shares of unrestricted Stock having a Fair Market Value equal to the amount of such dividends, or (B) deferred with respect to such Deferred Stock and the amount or value thereof automatically deemed reinvested in additional Deferred Stock, other Awards or other investment vehicles, as the Committee or the Board shall determine or permit the Participant to elect.

(f) Bonus Stock and Awards in Lieu of Obligations. The Committee and the Board each is authorized to grant Stock as a bonus, or to grant Stock or other Awards in lieu of Company obligations to pay cash or deliver other property under the Plan or under other plans or

 

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compensatory arrangements, provided that, in the case of Participants subject to Section 16 of the Exchange Act, the amount of such grants remains within the discretion of the Committee to the extent necessary to ensure that acquisitions of Stock or other Awards are exempt from liability under Section 16(b) of the Exchange Act. Stock or Awards granted hereunder shall be subject to such other terms as shall be determined by the Committee or the Board.

(g) Dividend Equivalents. The Committee and the Board each is authorized to grant Dividend Equivalents to a Participant entitling the Participant to receive cash, Stock, other Awards, or other property equal in value to dividends paid with respect to a specified number of shares of Stock, or other periodic payments. Dividend Equivalents may be awarded on a free-standing basis or in connection with another Award. The Committee or the Board may provide that Dividend Equivalents shall be paid or distributed when accrued or shall be deemed to have been reinvested in additional Stock, Awards, or other investment vehicles, and subject to such restrictions on transferability and risks of forfeiture, as the Committee or the Board may specify.

(h) Performance Awards. The Committee is authorized to grant Performance Awards to any Participant payable in cash, Stock, or other Awards, on terms and conditions established by the Committee, subject to the provisions of Section 8 if and to the extent that the Committee shall, in its sole discretion, determine that an Award shall be subject to those provisions. The performance criteria to be achieved during any Performance Period and the length of the Performance Period shall be determined by the Committee upon the grant of each Performance Award. Except as provided in Section 9 or as may be provided in an Award Agreement, Performance Awards will be distributed only after the end of the relevant Performance Period. The performance goals to be achieved for each Performance Period shall be conclusively determined by the Committee and may be based upon the criteria set forth in Section 8(b), or in the case of an Award that the Committee determines shall not be subject to Section 8 hereof, any other criteria that the Committee, in its sole discretion, shall determine should be used for that purpose. The amount of the Award to be distributed shall be conclusively determined by the Committee. Performance Awards may be paid in a lump sum or in installments following the close of the Performance Period or, in accordance with procedures established by the Committee, on a deferred basis

(i) Other Stock-Based Awards. The Committee and the Board each is authorized, subject to limitations under applicable law, to grant to Participants such other Awards that may be denominated or payable in, valued in whole or in part by reference to, or otherwise based on, or related to, Stock, as deemed by the Committee or the Board to be consistent with the purposes of the Plan, including, without limitation, convertible or exchangeable debt securities, other rights convertible or exchangeable into Stock, purchase rights for Stock, Awards with value and payment contingent upon performance of the Company or any other factors designated by the Committee or the Board, and Awards valued by reference to the book value of Stock or the value of securities of or the performance of specified Related Entities or business units. The Committee or the Board shall determine the terms and conditions of such Awards. Stock delivered pursuant to an Award in the nature of a purchase right granted under this Section 6(i) shall be purchased for such consideration (including without limitation loans from the Company or a Related Entity provided that such loans are not in violation of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, or any rule or regulation adopted thereunder or any other

 

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applicable law), paid for at such times, by such methods, and in such forms, including, without limitation, cash, Stock, other Awards or other property, as the Committee or the Board shall determine. The Committee and the Board shall have the discretion to grant such other Awards which are exercisable for unvested shares of Common Stock. Should the Optionee’s Continuous Service cease while holding such unvested shares, the Company shall have the right to repurchase, at the exercise price paid per share, any or all of those unvested shares. The terms upon which such repurchase right shall be exercisable (including the period and procedure for exercise and the appropriate vesting schedule for the purchased shares) shall be established by the Committee or the Board and set forth in the document evidencing such repurchase right. Cash awards, as an element of or supplement to any other Award under the Plan, may also be granted pursuant to this Section 6(i).

7. Certain Provisions Applicable to Awards.

(a) Stand-Alone, Additional, Tandem, and Substitute Awards. Awards granted under the Plan may, in the discretion of the Committee or the Board, be granted either alone or in addition to, in tandem with, or in substitution or exchange for, any other Award or any award granted under another plan of the Company, any Related Entity, or any business entity to be acquired by the Company or a Related Entity, or any other right of a Participant to receive payment from the Company or any Related Entity. Such additional, tandem, and substitute or exchange Awards may be granted at any time. If an Award is granted in substitution or exchange for another Award or award, the Committee or the Board shall require the surrender of such other Award or award in consideration for the grant of the new Award. In addition, Awards may be granted in lieu of cash compensation, including in lieu of cash amounts payable under other plans of the Company or any Related Entity, in which the value of Stock subject to the Award is equivalent in value to the cash compensation (for example, Deferred Stock or Restricted Stock), or in which the exercise price, grant price or purchase price of the Award in the nature of a right that may be exercised is equal to the Fair Market Value of the underlying Stock minus the value of the cash compensation surrendered (for example, Options granted with an exercise price “discounted” by the amount of the cash compensation surrendered).

(b) Term of Awards. The term of each Award shall be for such period as may be determined by the Committee or the Board; provided that in no event shall the term of any Option or Stock Appreciation Right exceed a period of ten years (or such shorter term as may be required in respect of an Incentive Stock Option under Section 422 of the Code).

(c) Form and Timing of Payment Under Awards; Deferrals. Subject to the terms of the Plan and any applicable Award Agreement, payments to be made by the Company or a Related Entity upon the exercise of an Option or other Award or settlement of an Award may be made in such forms as the Committee shall determine, including, without limitation, cash, Stock, other Awards or other property, and may be made in a single payment or transfer, in installments, or on a deferred basis, provided that any determination to pay in installments or on a deferred basis shall be made by the Committee at the date of grant. Any installment or deferral provided for in the preceding sentence shall, however, be subject to the Company’s compliance with applicable law and all applicable rules of the Listing Market, and in a manner intended to be exempt from or otherwise satisfy the requirements of Section 409A of the Code. Any such

 

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settlement shall be at a value determined by the Committee in its sole discretion, which, without limitation, may in the case of an Option or Stock Appreciation Right be limited to the amount if any by which the Fair Market Value of a share of Stock on the settlement date exceeds the exercise or grant price. Installment or deferred payments may be required by the Committee (subject to Section 7(e) of the Plan, including the consent provisions thereof in the case of any deferral of an outstanding Award not provided for in the original Award Agreement) or permitted at the election of the Participant on terms and conditions established by the Committee. The Committee may, without limitation, make provision for the payment or crediting of a reasonable interest rate on installment or deferred payments or the grant or crediting of Dividend Equivalents or other amounts in respect of installment or deferred payments denominated in shares of Stock.

(d) Exemptions from Section 16(b) Liability. It is the intent of the Company that the grant of any Awards to or other transaction by a Participant who is subject to Section 16 of the Exchange Act shall be exempt from Section 16 pursuant to an applicable exemption (except for transactions acknowledged in writing to be non-exempt by such Participant). Accordingly, if any provision of this Plan or any Award Agreement does not comply with the requirements of Rule 16b-3 then applicable to any such transaction, such provision shall be construed or deemed amended to the extent necessary to conform to the applicable requirements of Rule 16b-3 so that such Participant shall avoid liability under Section 16(b).

(e) Code Section 409A.

(i) The Award Agreement for any Award that the Committee or the Board reasonably determines to constitute a Section 409A Plan, and the provisions of the Plan applicable to that Award, shall be construed in a manner consistent with the applicable requirements of Section 409A, and the Committee or the Board, in its sole discretion and without the consent of any Participant, may amend any Award Agreement (and the provisions of the Plan applicable thereto) if and to the extent that the Committee or the Board determines that such amendment is necessary or appropriate to comply with the requirements of Section 409A of the Code.

(ii) If any Award constitutes a “nonqualified deferred compensation plan” under Section 409A of the Code (a “Section 409A Plan”), then the Award shall be subject to the following additional requirements, if and to the extent required to comply with Section 409A of the Code:

(A) Payments under the Section 409A Plan may not be made earlier than the first to occur of (u) the Participant’s “separation from service”, (v) the date the Participant becomes “disabled”, (w) the Participant’s death, (x) a “specified time (or pursuant to a fixed schedule)” specified in the Award Agreement at the date of the deferral of such compensation, (y) a “change in the ownership or effective control of the corporation, or in the ownership of a substantial portion of the assets” of the Company, or (z) the occurrence of an “unforeseeble emergency”;

 

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(B) The time or schedule for any payment of the deferred compensation may not be accelerated, except to the extent provided in applicable Treasury Regulations or other applicable guidance issued by the Internal Revenue Service;

(C) Any elections with respect to the deferral of such compensation or the time and form of distribution of such deferred compensation shall comply with the requirements of Section 409A(a)(4) of the Code; and

(D) In the case of any Participant who is “specified employee”, a distribution on account of a “separation from service” may not be made before the date which is six months after the date of the Participant’s “separation from service” (or, if earlier, the date of the Participant’s death).

For purposes of the foregoing, the terms in quotations shall have the same meanings as those terms have for purposes of Section 409A of the Code, and the limitations set forth herein shall be applied in such manner (and only to the extent) as shall be necessary to comply with any requirements of Section 409A of the Code that are applicable to the Award. The Company does not make any representation to the Participant that any Awards awarded under this Plan will be exempt from, or satisfy, the requirements of Section 409A, and the Company shall have no liability or other obligation to indemnify or hold harmless any Participant or Beneficiary for any tax, additional tax, interest or penalties that any Participant or Beneficiary may incur in the event that any provision of this Plan, any Award Agreement, or any amendment or modification thereof, or any other action taken with respect thereto, is deemed to violate any of the requirements of Section 409A.

(iii) Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Company does not make any representation to any Participant or Beneficiary that any Awards made pursuant to this Plan are exempt from, or satisfy, the requirements of Section 409A, and the Company shall have no liability or other obligation to indemnify or hold harmless the Participant or any Beneficiary for any tax, additional tax, interest or penalties that the Participant or any Beneficiary may incur in the event that any provision of this Plan, or any Award Agreement, or any amendment or modification thereof, or any other action taken with respect thereto, is deemed to violate any of the requirements of Section 409A.

8. Code Section 162(m) Provisions.

(a) Covered Employees. Unless otherwise specified by the Committee, the provisions of this Section 8 shall be applicable to any Performance Award granted to an Eligible Person who is, or is likely to be, as of the end of the tax year in which the Company would claim a tax deduction in connection with such Award, a Covered Employee.

(b) Performance Criteria. If a Performance Award is subject to this Section 8, then the payment or distribution thereof or the lapsing of restrictions thereon and the distribution of cash, Stock or other property pursuant thereto, as applicable, shall be contingent upon achievement of one or more objective performance goals. Performance goals shall be objective and shall otherwise meet the requirements of Section 162(m) of the Code and

 

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regulations thereunder including the requirement that the level or levels of performance targeted by the Committee result in the achievement of performance goals being “substantially uncertain.” One or more of the following business criteria for the Company, on a consolidated basis, and/or for Related Entities, or for business or geographical units of the Company and/or a Related Entity (except with respect to the total shareholder return and earnings per share criteria), shall be used by the Committee in establishing performance goals for such Awards: (1) earnings per share; (2) revenues or margins; (3) cash flow; (4) operating margin; (5) return on net assets, investment, capital, or equity; (6) economic value added; (7) direct contribution; (8) net income; pretax earnings; earnings before interest and taxes; earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization; earnings after interest expense and before extraordinary or special items; operating income or income from operations; income before interest income or expense, unusual items and income taxes, local, state or federal and excluding budgeted and actual bonuses which might be paid under any ongoing bonus plans of the Company; (9) working capital; (10) management of fixed costs or variable costs; (11) identification or consummation of investment opportunities or completion of specified projects in accordance with corporate business plans, including strategic mergers, acquisitions or divestitures; (12) total shareholder return; (13) debt reduction; (14) market share; (15) entry into new markets, either geographically or by business unit; (16) customer retention and satisfaction; (17) strategic plan development and implementation, including turnaround plans; and/or (18) the Fair Market Value of a share of Stock. Any of the above goals may be determined on an absolute or relative basis or as compared to the performance of a published or special index deemed applicable by the Committee including, but not limited to, the Standard & Poor’s 500 Stock Index or a group of companies that are comparable to the Company. In determining the achievement of the performance goals, the Committee shall exclude the impact of any (i) restructurings, discontinued operations, extraordinary items, and other unusual or non-recurring charges, (ii) event either not directly related to the operations of the Company or not within the reasonable control of the Company’s management, or (iii) change in accounting standards required by generally accepted accounting principles.

(c) Performance Period; Timing For Establishing Performance Goals. Achievement of performance goals in respect of Performance Awards shall be measured over a Performance Period no shorter than 12 months and no longer than 5 years, as specified by the Committee. Performance goals shall be established not later than 90 days after the beginning of any Performance Period applicable to such Performance Awards, or at such other date as may be required or permitted for “performance-based compensation” under Section 162(m) of the Code.

(d) Adjustments. The Committee may, in its discretion, reduce the amount of a settlement otherwise to be made in connection with Awards subject to this Section 8, but may not exercise discretion to increase any such amount payable to a Covered Employee in respect of an Award subject to this Section 8. The Committee shall specify the circumstances in which such Awards shall be paid or forfeited in the event of termination of Continuous Service by the Participant prior to the end of a Performance Period or settlement of Awards.

(e) Committee Certification. No Participant shall receive any payment under the Plan that is subject to this Section 8 unless the Committee has certified, by resolution or other appropriate action in writing, that the performance criteria and any other material terms

 

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previously established by the Committee or set forth in the Plan, have been satisfied to the extent necessary to qualify as “performance based compensation” under Section 162(m) of the Code.

9. Change in Control.

(a) Effect of “Change in Control.” If and to the extent provided in the Award Agreement, in the event of a “Change in Control,” as defined in Section 9(b):

(i) The Committee may, within its discretion, accelerate the vesting and exercisability of any Award carrying a right to exercise that was not previously vested and exercisable as of the time of the Change in Control, subject to applicable restrictions set forth in Section 10(a) hereof;

(ii) The Committee may, within its discretion, accelerate the exercisability of any limited Stock Appreciation Rights (and other Stock Appreciation Rights if so provided by their terms) and provide for the settlement of such Stock Appreciation Rights for amounts, in cash, determined by reference to the Change in Control Price;

(iii) The Committee may, within its discretion, lapse the restrictions, deferral of settlement, and forfeiture conditions applicable to any other Award granted under the Plan and such Awards may be deemed fully vested as of the time of the Change in Control, except to the extent of any waiver by the Participant and subject to applicable restrictions set forth in Section 10(a) hereof; and

(iv) With respect to any such outstanding Award subject to achievement of performance goals and conditions under the Plan, the Committee may, within its discretion, deem such performance goals and other conditions as having been met as of the date of the Change in Control.

(b) Definition of “Change in Control. A “Change in Control” shall be deemed to have occurred upon:

(i) Approval by the shareholders of the Company of a reorganization, merger, consolidation or other form of corporate transaction or series of transactions, in each case, with respect to which persons who were the shareholders of the Company immediately prior to such reorganization, merger or consolidation or other transaction do not, immediately thereafter, own more than 50% of the combined voting power entitled to vote generally in the election of directors of the reorganized, merged or consolidated company’s then outstanding voting securities, or a liquidation or dissolution of the Company or the sale of all or substantially all of the assets of the Company (unless such reorganization, merger, consolidation or other corporate transaction, liquidation, dissolution or sale (any such event being referred to as a “Corporate Transaction”) is subsequently abandoned);

(ii) Individuals who, as of the date on which the Award is granted, constitute the Board (the “Incumbent Board”) cease for any reason to constitute at least a

 

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majority of the Board, provided that any person becoming a director subsequent to the date on which the Award was granted whose election, or nomination for election by the Company’s shareholders, was approved by a vote of at least a majority of the directors then comprising the Incumbent Board (other than an election or nomination of an individual whose initial assumption of office is in connection with an actual or threatened election contest relating to the election of the Directors of the Company) shall be, for purposes of this Agreement, considered as though such person were a member of the Incumbent Board; or

(iii) the acquisition (other than from the Company) by any person, entity or “group”, within the meaning of Section 13(d)(3) or 14(d)(2) of the Securities Exchange Act, of more than 50% of either the then outstanding shares of the Company’s Common Stock or the combined voting power of the Company’s then outstanding voting securities entitled to vote generally in the election of directors (hereinafter referred to as the ownership of a “Controlling Interest”) excluding, for this purpose, any acquisitions by (1) the Company or a Related Entity, (2) any person, entity or “group” that as of the date on which the Award is granted owns beneficial ownership (within the meaning of Rule 13d-3 promulgated under the Securities Exchange Act) of a Controlling Interest or (3) any employee benefit plan of the Company a Related Entity.

(c) Definition of “Change in Control Price.” The “Change in Control Price” means an amount in cash equal to the higher of (i) the amount of cash and fair market value of property that is the highest price per share paid (including extraordinary dividends) in any Corporate Transaction triggering the Change in Control under Section 9(b)(i) hereof or any liquidation of shares following a sale of substantially all of the assets of the Company, or (ii) the highest Fair Market Value per share at any time during the 60-day period preceding and the 60-day period following the Change in Control.

10. General Provisions.

(a) Compliance With Legal and Other Requirements. The Company may, to the extent deemed necessary or advisable by the Committee or the Board, postpone the issuance or delivery of Stock or payment of other benefits under any Award until completion of such registration or qualification of such Stock or other required action under any federal or state law, rule or regulation, listing or other required action with respect to any stock exchange or automated quotation system upon which the Stock or other Company securities are listed or quoted, or compliance with any other obligation of the Company, as the Committee or the Board, may consider appropriate, and may require any Participant to make such representations, furnish such information and comply with or be subject to such other conditions as it may consider appropriate in connection with the issuance or delivery of Stock or payment of other benefits in compliance with applicable laws, rules, and regulations, listing requirements, or other obligations. The foregoing notwithstanding, in connection with a Change in Control, the Company shall take or cause to be taken no action, and shall undertake or permit to arise no legal or contractual obligation, that results or would result in any postponement of the issuance or delivery of Stock or payment of benefits under any Award or the imposition of any other conditions on such issuance, delivery or payment, to the extent that such postponement or other

 

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condition would represent a greater burden on a Participant than existed on the 90th day preceding the Change in Control.

(b) Limits on Transferability; Beneficiaries. No Award or other right or interest of a Participant under the Plan, including any Award or right which constitutes a derivative security as generally defined in Rule 16a-1(c) under the Exchange Act, shall be pledged, hypothecated or otherwise encumbered or subject to any lien, obligation or liability of such Participant to any party (other than the Company or a Subsidiary), or assigned or transferred by such Participant otherwise than by will or the laws of descent and distribution or to a Beneficiary upon the death of a Participant, and such Awards or rights that may be exercisable shall be exercised during the lifetime of the Participant only by the Participant or his or her guardian or legal representative, except that Awards and other rights (other than Incentive Stock Options and Stock Appreciation Rights in tandem therewith) may be transferred to one or more Beneficiaries or other transferees during the lifetime of the Participant, and may be exercised by such transferees in accordance with the terms of such Award, but only if and to the extent such transfers and exercises are permitted by the Committee or the Board (subject to any terms and conditions which the Committee or the Board may impose thereon, and further subject to any prohibitions or restrictions on such transfers pursuant to Rule 16b-3). A Beneficiary, transferee, or other person claiming any rights under the Plan from or through any Participant shall be subject to all terms and conditions of the Plan and any Award Agreement applicable to such Participant, except as otherwise determined by the Committee or the Board, and to any additional terms and conditions deemed necessary or appropriate by the Committee or the Board.

(c) Adjustments.

(i) Adjustments to Awards. In the event that any dividend or other distribution (whether in the form of cash, Stock, or other property), recapitalization, forward or reverse split, reorganization, merger, consolidation, spin-off, combination, repurchase, share exchange, liquidation, dissolution or other similar corporate transaction or event affects the Stock and/or such other securities of the Company or any other issuer such that a substitution, exchange, or adjustment is determined by the Committee or the Board to be appropriate, then the Committee or the Board shall, in such manner as it may deem equitable, substitute, exchange or adjust any or all of (A) the number and kind of shares of Stock which may be delivered in connection with Awards granted thereafter, (B) the number and kind of shares of Stock by which annual per-person Award limitations are measured under Section 5 hereof, (C) the number and kind of shares of Stock subject to or deliverable in respect of outstanding Awards, (D) the exercise price, grant price or purchase price relating to any Award and/or make provision for payment of cash or other property in respect of any outstanding Award, and (E) any other aspect of any Award that the Committee or Board determines to be appropriate.

(ii) Adjustments in Case of Certain Corporate Transactions. In the event of any merger, consolidation or other reorganization in which the Company does not survive, or in the event of any Change in Control, any outstanding Awards may be dealt with in accordance with any of the following approaches, without the requirement of obtaining any consent or agreement of a Participant as such, as determined by the agreement effectuating the transaction or, if and to the extent not so determined, as determined by the Committee: (a) the

 

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continuation of the outstanding Awards by the Company, if the Company is a surviving entity, (b) the assumption or substitution for, as those terms are defined in Section 9(a)(iv) hereof, the outstanding Awards by the surviving entity or its parent or subsidiary, (c) full exercisability or vesting and accelerated expiration of the outstanding Awards, or (d) settlement of the value of the outstanding Awards in cash or cash equivalents or other property followed by cancellation of such Awards (which value, in the case of Options or Stock Appreciation Rights, shall be measured by the amount, if any, by which the Fair Market Value of a Share exceeds the exercise or grant price of the Option or Stock Appreciation Right as of the effective date of the transaction). The Committee shall give written notice of any proposed transaction referred to in this Section 10(c)(ii) at a reasonable period of time prior to the closing date for such transaction (which notice may be given either before or after the approval of such transaction), in order that Participants may have a reasonable period of time prior to the closing date of such transaction within which to exercise any Awards that are then exercisable (including any Awards that may become exercisable upon the closing date of such transaction). A Participant may condition his exercise of any Awards upon the consummation of the transaction.

(iii) Other Adjustments. The Committee (and the Board if and only to the extent such authority is not required to be exercised by the Committee to comply with Section 162(m) of the Code) is authorized to make adjustments in the terms and conditions of, and the criteria included in, Awards (including Performance Awards, or performance goals and conditions relating thereto) in recognition of unusual or nonrecurring events (including, without limitation, acquisitions and dispositions of businesses and assets) affecting the Company, any Related Entity or any business unit, or the financial statements of the Company or any Related Entity, or in response to changes in applicable laws, regulations, accounting principles, tax rates and regulations or business conditions or in view of the Committee’s assessment of the business strategy of the Company, any Related Entity or business unit thereof, performance of comparable organizations, economic and business conditions, personal performance of a Participant, and any other circumstances deemed relevant; provided that no such adjustment shall be authorized or made if and to the extent that such authority or the making of such adjustment would cause Options, Stock Appreciation Rights, Performance Awards granted pursuant to Section 8(b) hereof to Participants designated by the Committee as Covered Employees and intended to qualify as “performance-based compensation” under Code Section 162(m) and the regulations thereunder to otherwise fail to qualify as “performance-based compensation” under Code Section 162(m) and regulations thereunder. Adjustments permitted hereby may include, without limitation, increasing the exercise price of Options and Stock Appreciation Rights, increasing performance goals, or other adjustments that may be adverse to the Participant.

(d) Taxes. The Company and any Related Entity are authorized to withhold from any Award granted, any payment relating to an Award under the Plan, including from a distribution of Stock, or any payroll or other payment to a Participant, amounts of withholding and other taxes due or potentially payable in connection with any transaction involving an Award, and to take such other action as the Committee or the Board may deem advisable to enable the Company and Participants to satisfy obligations for the payment of withholding taxes and other tax obligations relating to any Award. This authority shall include authority to withhold or receive Stock or other property and to make cash payments in respect thereof in

 

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satisfaction of a Participant’s tax obligations, either on a mandatory or elective basis in the discretion of the Committee.

(e) Changes to the Plan and Awards. The Board may amend, alter, suspend, discontinue or terminate the Plan, or the Committee’s authority to grant Awards under the Plan, without the consent of stockholders or Participants, except that any amendment or alteration to the Plan shall be subject to the approval of the Company’s stockholders not later than the annual meeting next following such Board action if such stockholder approval is required by any federal or state law or regulation (including, without limitation, Rule 16b-3 or Code Section 162(m)) or the rules of any stock exchange or automated quotation system on which the Stock may then be listed or quoted, and the Board may otherwise, in its discretion, determine to submit other such changes to the Plan to stockholders for approval; provided that, without the consent of an affected Participant, no such Board action may materially and adversely affect the rights of such Participant under any previously granted and outstanding Award. The Committee or the Board may waive any conditions or rights under, or amend, alter, suspend, discontinue or terminate any Award theretofore granted and any Award Agreement relating thereto, except as otherwise provided in the Plan; provided that, without the consent of an affected Participant, no such Committee or the Board action may materially and adversely affect the rights of such Participant under such Award.

(f) Limitation on Rights Conferred Under Plan. Neither the Plan nor any action taken hereunder or under any Award shall be construed as (i) giving any Eligible Person or Participant the right to continue as an Eligible Person or Participant or in the employ or service of the Company or a Related Entity; (ii) interfering in any way with the right of the Company or a Related Entity to terminate any Eligible Person’s or Participant’s Continuous Service at any time, (iii) giving an Eligible Person or Participant any claim to be granted any Award under the Plan or to be treated uniformly with other Participants and Employees, or (iv) conferring on a Participant any of the rights of a shareholder of the Company including, without limitation, any right to receive dividends or distributions, any right to vote or act by written consent, any right to attend meetings of shareholders or any right to receive any information concerning the Company’s business, financial condition, results of operation or prospects, unless and until such time as the Participant is duly issued Shares on the stock books of the Company in accordance with the terms of an Award. None of the Company, its officers or its directors shall have any fiduciary obligation to the Participant with respect to any Awards unless and until the Participant is duly issued Shares pursuant to the Award on the stock books of the Company in accordance with the terms of an Award. Neither the Company nor any of the Company’s officers, directors, representatives or agents is granting any rights under the Plan to the Participant whatsoever, oral or written, express or implied, other than those rights expressly set forth in this Plan or the Award Agreement.

(g) Unfunded Status of Awards; Creation of Trusts. The Plan is intended to constitute an “unfunded” plan for incentive and deferred compensation. With respect to any payments not yet made to a Participant or obligation to deliver Stock pursuant to an Award, nothing contained in the Plan or any Award shall give any such Participant any rights that are greater than those of a general creditor of the Company; provided that the Committee may authorize the creation of trusts and deposit therein cash, Stock, other Awards or other property,

 

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or make other arrangements to meet the Company’s obligations under the Plan. Such trusts or other arrangements shall be consistent with the “unfunded” status of the Plan unless the Committee otherwise determines with the consent of each affected Participant. The trustee of such trusts may be authorized to dispose of trust assets and reinvest the proceeds in alternative investments, subject to such terms and conditions as the Committee or the Board may specify and in accordance with applicable law.

(h) Nonexclusivity of the Plan. Neither the adoption of the Plan by the Board nor its submission to the stockholders of the Company for approval shall be construed as creating any limitations on the power of the Board or a committee thereof to adopt such other incentive arrangements as it may deem desirable including incentive arrangements and awards which do not qualify under Code Section 162(m).

(i) Payments in the Event of Forfeitures; Fractional Shares. Unless otherwise determined by the Committee or the Board, in the event of a forfeiture of an Award with respect to which a Participant paid cash or other consideration, the Participant shall be repaid the amount of such cash or other consideration. No fractional shares of Stock shall be issued or delivered pursuant to the Plan or any Award. The Committee or the Board shall determine whether cash, other Awards or other property shall be issued or paid in lieu of such fractional shares or whether such fractional shares or any rights thereto shall be forfeited or otherwise eliminated.

(j) Governing Law. The validity, construction and effect of the Plan, any rules and regulations under the Plan, and any Award Agreement shall be determined in accordance with the laws of the State of Florida without giving effect to principles of conflicts of laws, and applicable federal law.

(k) Non-U.S. Laws. The Committee or the Board shall have the authority to adopt such modifications, procedures, and subplans as may be necessary or desirable to comply with provisions of the laws of foreign countries in which the Company or its Related Entities may operate to assure the viability of the benefits from Awards granted to Participants performing services in such countries and to meet the objectives of the Plan.

(l) Plan Effective Date and Stockholder Approval; Termination of Plan. The Plan shall become effective on the Effective Date, subject to subsequent approval, within 12 months of its adoption by the Board, by shareholders of the Company eligible to vote in the election of directors, by a vote sufficient to meet the requirements of Code Sections 162(m) (if applicable) and 422, Rule 16b-3 under the Exchange Act (if applicable), applicable requirements under the rules of any stock exchange or automated quotation system on which the Shares may be listed or quoted, and other laws, regulations, and obligations of the Company applicable to the Plan. Awards may be granted subject to shareholder approval, but may not be exercised or otherwise settled in the event the shareholder approval is not obtained. The Plan shall terminate at the earliest of (a) such time as no Shares remain available for issuance under the Plan, (b) termination of this Plan by the Board, or (c) the tenth anniversary of the Effective Date. Awards outstanding upon expiration of the Plan shall remain in effect until they have been exercised or terminated, or have expired.

 

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EXHIBIT B

EXACTECH, INC.

2009 EMPLOYEE STOCK PURCHASE PLAN


EXACTECH, INC.

2009 EMPLOYEE STOCK PURCHASE PLAN

 

1.

   Purpose    1

2.

   Definitions    1

3.

   Eligibility    3

4.

   Offering Periods    3

5.

   Election to Participate    4

6.

   Participant Contributions    5

7.

   Grant of Option    5

8.

   Exercise of Options    6

9.

   Issuance of Shares    6

10.

   Withdrawal; Termination of Employment    7

11.

   Common Stock Available Under the Plan    7

12.

   Administration    7

13.

   Designation of Beneficiary    8

14.

   Transferability    8

15.

   Participant Accounts    8

16.

   Adjustments Upon Changes in Capitalization; Corporate Transactions    8

17.

   Amendment of the Plan    9

18.

   Termination of the Plan    9

19.

   Notices    10

20.

   Effective Date    10

21.

   Expenses of the Plan    10

22.

   No Employment Rights    10

23.

   Applicable Law    10

24.

   Additional Restrictions of Rule 16b-3    10


EXACTECH, INC.

2009 EMPLOYEE STOCK PURCHASE PLAN

1. Purpose. The purpose of the Plan is to provide incentive for present and future employees of the Company and any Designated Subsidiary to acquire a proprietary interest (or increase an existing proprietary interest) in the Company through the purchase of Common Stock. It is the Company’s intention that the Plan qualify as an “employee stock purchase plan” under Section 423 of the Code. Accordingly, the provisions of the Plan shall be administered, interpreted and construed in a manner consistent with the requirements of that section of the Code.

2. Definitions.

(a) “Applicable Percentage” means, with respect to each Offering Period, eighty-five percent (85%), unless and until such Applicable Percentage is increased by the Committee, in its sole discretion, provided that any such increase in the Applicable Percentage with respect to a given Offering Period must be established not less than fifteen (15) days prior to the Offering Date thereof.

(b) “Board” means the Board of Directors of the Company.

(c) “Code” means the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, and any successor thereto.

(d) “Committee” means the committee appointed by the Board to administer the Plan as described in Section 12 hereof or, if no such committee is appointed, the Board.

(e) “Common Stock” means the Company’s common stock, par value $.01 per share.

(f) “Company” means Exactech, Inc., a Florida corporation, and its successors or assigns.

(g) “Compensation” means, with respect to each Participant for each pay period, the full base salary, overtime, bonuses and commissions paid to such Participant by the Company or a Designated Subsidiary. Except as otherwise determined by the Committee, “Compensation” does not include: (i) any amounts contributed by the Company or a Designated Subsidiary to any pension plan; (ii) any automobile or relocation allowances (or reimbursement for any such expenses); (iii) any amounts paid as a starting bonus or finder’s fee; (iv) any amounts realized from the exercise of any stock options or incentive awards; (v) any amounts paid by the Company or a Designated Subsidiary for other fringe benefits, such as health and welfare, hospitalization and group life insurance benefits, or perquisites, or paid in lieu of such benefits, or; (vi) other similar forms of extraordinary compensation.

(h) “Continuous Status as an Employee” means the absence of any interruption or termination of service as an Employee. Continuous Status as an Employee shall not be considered interrupted in the case of a leave of absence agreed to in writing by the Company or the Designated Subsidiary that employs the Employee, provided that such leave is for a period of not more than 90 days or reemployment upon the expiration of such leave is guaranteed by contract or statute.

 

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(i) “Designated Subsidiaries” means the Subsidiaries that have been designated by the Board from time to time in its sole discretion as eligible to participate in the Plan.

(j) “Employee” means any person, including an Officer, whose customary employment with the Company or one of its Designated Subsidiaries is at least twenty (20) hours per week and more than five (5) months in any calendar year.

(k) “Entry Date” means the first day of each Exercise Period.

(l) “Exchange Act” means the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended.

(m) “Exercise Date” means the last Trading Day ending on or before each March 31, June 30, September 30 and December 31.

(n) “Exercise Period” means, for any Offering Period, each period commencing on the Offering Date and on the day after each Exercise Date, and terminating on the immediately following Exercise Date.

(o) “Exercise Price” means the price per share of Common Stock offered in a given Offering Period determined as provided in Section 7(b).

(p) “Fair Market Value” means, with respect to a share of Common Stock, the fair market value of a share on a given date as determined by the Committee in its discretion; provided, that if there is a public market for the Common Stock, the Fair Market Value per share shall be either (i) the closing price of the Common Stock on such date (or, in the event that the Common Stock is not traded on such date, on the immediately preceding trading date), as reported by the National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotation (NASDAQ) National Market System, (ii) if such price is not reported, the average of the bid and asked prices for the Common Stock on such date (or, in the event that the Common Stock is not traded on such date, on the immediately preceding trading date), as reported by NASDAQ, (iii) in the event the Common Stock is listed on a stock exchange, the closing price of the Common Stock on such exchange on such date (or, in the event that the Common Stock is not traded on such date, on the immediately preceding trading date), as reported in The Wall Street Journal, or (iv) if no such quotations are available for a date within a reasonable time prior to the valuation date, the value of the Common Stock as determined by the Committee using any reasonable means.

(q) “First Offering Date” means July 1, 2009.

(r) “Offering Date” means the first Trading Day of each Offering Period; provided, that in the case of an individual who becomes eligible to become a Participant under Section 3 after the first Trading Day of an Offering Period, the term “Offering Date” shall mean the first Trading Day of the Exercise Period coinciding with or next succeeding the day on which that individual becomes eligible to become a Participant. Options granted after the first day of an Offering Period will be subject to the same terms as the options granted on the first Trading Day of such Offering Period except that they will have a different grant date (thus, potentially, a different exercise price) and, because they expire at the same time as the options granted on the first Trading Day of such Offering Period, a shorter term.

(s) “Offering Period” means (i) with respect to the first Offering Period, the period beginning on the First Offering Date and ending on December 31, 2009, and (ii) with respect

 

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to each Offering Period thereafter, and subject to adjustment as provided in Section 4, the period beginning on the first Trading Day of the month of January in the immediately succeeding calendar year and ending on the last Trading Day of that calendar year.

(t) “Officer” means a person who is an officer of the Company within the meaning of Section 16 under the Exchange Act and the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder.

(u) “Participant” means an Employee who has elected to participate in the Plan by filing an enrollment agreement with the Company as provided in Section 5 of the Plan.

(v) “Plan” shall mean this Exactech, Inc. 2009 Employee Stock Purchase Plan, as may be amended from time to time.

(w) “Plan Contributions” means, with respect to each Participant, the after-tax payroll deductions withheld from the Compensation of the Participant and contributed to the Plan for the Participant as provided in Section 6 of the Plan and any other amounts contributed to the Plan for the Participant in accordance with the terms of the Plan.

(x) “Subsidiary” shall mean any corporation, domestic or foreign, of which the Company owns, directly or indirectly, 50% or more of the total combined voting power of all classes of stock, and that otherwise qualifies as a “subsidiary corporation” within the meaning of Section 424(f) of the Code.

(y) “Trading Day” shall mean a day on which the national stock exchanges and the NASDAQ system are open for trading.

3. Eligibility.

(a) Any Employee who is an Employee as of the Offering Date of a given Offering Period shall be eligible to become a Participant as of any Entry Date within that Offering Period under the Plan, subject to the requirements of Section 5(a) and the limitations imposed by Section 423(b) of the Code.

(b) Notwithstanding any provision of the Plan to the contrary, no Participant shall be granted an option under the Plan (i) to the extent that if, immediately after the grant, such Employee (or any other person whose stock would be attributed to such Employee pursuant to Section 424(d) of the Code) would own stock and/or hold outstanding options to purchase stock possessing 5% or more of the total combined voting power or value of all classes of stock of the Company or of any Subsidiary of the Company, or (ii) to the extent that his or her rights to purchase stock under all employee stock purchase plans of the Company and its Subsidiaries intended to qualify under Section 423 of the Code to accrue at a rate which exceeds $25,000 of the Fair Market Value of stock (determined at the time such option is granted) for each calendar year in which such option is outstanding at any time.

4. Offering Periods.

(a) In General. The Plan shall be implemented by a series of consecutive Offering Periods. The first Offering Period shall commence on the First Offering Date, and

 

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succeeding Offering Periods shall commence on the first Trading Day in each succeeding calendar year (or at such other time or times as may be determined by the Committee).

(b) Changes by Committee.

(i) The Committee shall have the power to make changes to the duration and/or the frequency of Offering Periods with respect to future offerings if such change is announced at least five days prior to the scheduled beginning of the first Offering Period to be affected.

(ii) The Committee may shorten the duration of any Offering Period then in progress by requiring that it end immediately following the close of trading on any Exercise Date within that Offering Period (after the purchase of Common Stock on that Exercise Date), if such change is announced at least five days prior to the Exercise Date on which the Committee proposes that the Offering Period terminate.

(iii) If the Company’s accountants advise the Company that the accounting treatment of purchases under the Plan will change or has changed in a manner that the Company determines is detrimental to its best interests, then the Committee may, in its discretion, take any or all of the following actions: (I) terminate any Offering Period that is then ongoing as of the next Exercise Date (after the purchase of Common Stock on such Exercise Date); (II) set a new Exercise Date for any ongoing Offering Period and terminate such Offering Period after the purchase of stock on such Exercise Date; (III) amend the Plan so that each offering under the Plan will reduce the effect of the accounting treatment that is detrimental to the Company’s best interests; and (IV) terminate any ongoing Offering Period at any time and refund any contributions back to the Participants.

5. Election to Participate.

(a) An eligible Employee may elect to participate in the Plan commencing on any Entry Date by completing an enrollment agreement on the form provided by the Company and filing the enrollment agreement with the Company on or prior to such Entry Date, unless a later time for filing the enrollment agreement is set by the Committee for all eligible Employees with respect to a given offering. The enrollment agreement shall set forth the percentage of the Participant’s Compensation that is to be withheld by payroll deduction pursuant to the Plan.

(b) Except as otherwise determined by the Committee under rules applicable to all Participants, payroll deductions for a Participant shall commence on the first payroll following the Entry Date on which the Participant elects to participate in accordance with Section 5(a) and shall end on the last payroll in the Offering Period, unless sooner terminated by the Participant as provided in Section 10.

(c) Unless a Participant elects otherwise prior to the last Exercise Date of an Offering Period, such Participant shall be deemed (i) to have elected to participate in the immediately succeeding Offering Period (and, for purposes of such Offering Period such Participant’s “Entry Date” shall be deemed to be the first day of such Offering Period) and (ii) to have authorized the same payroll deduction for such immediately succeeding Offering Period as was in effect for such Participant immediately prior to the commencement of such succeeding Offering Period.

 

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6. Participant Contributions.

(a) Except as otherwise authorized by the Committee pursuant to Section 6(c) below, all Participant contributions to the Plan shall be made only by payroll deductions. At the time a Participant files the enrollment agreement with respect to an Offering Period, the Participant may authorize payroll deductions to be made on each payroll date during the portion of the Offering Period that he or she is a Participant in an amount not less than 1% and not more than 25% of the Participant’s Compensation on each payroll date during the portion of the Offering Period that he or she is a Participant (or subsequent Offering Periods as provided in Section 5(c)). The amount of payroll deductions shall be a whole percentage (i.e., 1%, 2%, 3%, etc.) of the Participant’s Compensation. A Participant may decrease or increase the rate or amount of his or her payroll deductions during an Offering Period (within the limitations above) by completing and filing with the Committee a new enrollment agreement authorizing a change in the rate or amount of payroll deductions; provided, that a Participant may not change the rate or amount of his or her payroll deductions more than once in any Exercise Period. Except as otherwise determined by the Committee under rules applicable to all Participants, the change in rate or amount shall be effective as of the earliest administratively practicable payroll period that begins on or after the date the Committee receives the new enrollment agreement. Additionally, a Participant may discontinue his or her participation in the Plan as provided in Section 10 hereof.

(b) Notwithstanding the foregoing, to the extent necessary to comply with Section 423(b)(8) of the Code and Section 3(b) hereof, a Participant’s payroll deductions may be decreased to 0% at such time during any Exercise Period which is scheduled to end during the current calendar year that the aggregate of all payroll deductions accumulated with respect to such Exercise Period and any other Exercise Period ending within the same calendar year are equal to the product of $25,000 multiplied by the Applicable Percentage for the calendar year. Payroll deductions shall recommence at the rate provided in the Participant’s enrollment agreement at the beginning of the following Exercise Period which is scheduled to end in the following calendar year, unless terminated by the Participant as provided in Section 10.

(c) Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in the foregoing, the Committee may permit Participants to make after-tax contributions to the Plan at such times and subject to such terms and conditions as the Committee may in its discretion determine. All such additional contributions shall be made in a manner consistent with the provisions of Section 423 of the Code or any successor thereto, and shall be held in Participants’ accounts and applied to the purchase of shares of Common Stock pursuant to options granted under this Plan in the same manner as payroll deductions contributed to the Plan as provided above.

(d) All Plan Contributions made for a Participant shall be deposited in the Company’s general corporate account and shall be credited to the Participant’s account under the Plan. No interest shall accrue or be credited with respect to a Participant’s Plan Contributions. All Plan Contributions received or held by the Company may be used by the Company for any corporate purpose, and the Company shall not be obligated to segregate or otherwise set apart such Plan Contributions from any other corporate funds.

7. Grant of Option.

(a) On a Participant’s Entry Date, subject to the limitations set forth in Sections 3(b) and 11, the Participant shall be granted an option to purchase on each subsequent Exercise Date during the Offering Period in which such Entry Date occurs (at the Exercise Price determined as

 

B-5


provided in Section 7(b) below) up to a number of shares of Common Stock determined by dividing such Participant’s Plan Contributions accumulated prior to such Exercise Date and retained in the Participant’s account as of such Exercise Date by the Exercise Price; provided, that the maximum number of shares a Participant may purchase during any Exercise Period shall be 1,500 shares.

(b) The Exercise Price per share of Common Stock offered to each Participant in a given Offering Period shall be the lower of: (i) the Applicable Percentage of the greater of (A) the Fair Market Value of a share of Common Stock on the Offering Date or (B) the Fair Market Value of a share of Common Stock on the Entry Date on which the Employee elects to become a Participant within the Offering Period or (ii) the Applicable Percentage of the Fair Market Value of a share of Common Stock on the Exercise Date.

(c) A Participant will have no interest or voting right in shares covered by his option until such option has been exercised.

8. Exercise of Options.

(a) Unless the Participant withdraws from the Plan as provided in Section 10, the Participant’s option for the purchase of shares will be exercised automatically on each Exercise Date, and the maximum number of full shares subject to such option shall be purchased for the Participant at the applicable Exercise Price with the accumulated Plan Contributions then credited the Participant’s account under the Plan. During a Participant’s lifetime, a Participant’s option to purchase shares hereunder is exercisable only by the Participant.

(b) Any amount remaining to the credit of a Participant’s account after the purchase of shares by such Participant on an Exercise Date, or which is insufficient to purchase a full share of Common Stock, shall be carried over to the next Exercise Period if the Participant continues to participate in the Plan or, if the Participant does not continue to participate in the Plan in accordance with Section 10 hereof, shall be returned to the Participant.

9. Issuance of Shares

(a) As promptly as practicable after each Exercise Date, the Company shall arrange for the delivery to each Participant (or the Participant’s beneficiary), as appropriate, or to a custodial account for the benefit of each Participant (or the Participant’s beneficiary) as appropriate, of a certificate representing the shares purchased upon exercise of the Participant’s option.

(b) The Plan, the grant and exercise of options to purchase shares under the Plan, and the Company’s obligation to sell and deliver shares upon the exercise of options to purchase shares shall be subject to compliance with all applicable federal, state and foreign laws, rules and regulations and the requirements of any stock exchange on which the shares may then be listed.

(c) The Company may make such provisions as it deems appropriate for withholding by the Company pursuant to federal or state tax laws of such amounts as the Company determines it is required to withhold in connection with the purchase or sale by a Participant of any Common Stock acquired pursuant to the Plan. The Company may require a Participant to satisfy any relevant tax requirements before authorizing any issuance of Common Stock to such Participant.

 

B-6


(d) A Participant may not, during his lifetime, transfer or otherwise dispose of any shares of Common Stock purchased pursuant to the Plan for a period of 6 months following the Exercise Date in which such shares were purchased.

10. Withdrawal; Termination of Employment.

(a) A Participant may withdraw from the Plan at any time by giving written notice to the Company. All of the Plan Contributions credited to the Participant’s account and not yet invested in Common Stock will be paid to the Participant as soon as administratively practicable after receipt of the Participant’s notice of withdrawal, the Participant’s option to purchase shares pursuant to the Plan automatically will be terminated, and no further payroll deductions for the purchase of shares will be made for the Participant’s account. Payroll deductions will not resume on behalf of a Participant who has withdrawn from the Plan (a “Former Participant”) unless the Former Participant enrolls in a subsequent Offering Period in accordance with Section 5(a).

(b) Upon termination of the Participant’s Continuous Status as an Employee prior to any Exercise Date for any reason, including retirement or death, the Plan Contributions credited to the Participant’s account and not yet invested in Common Stock will be returned to the Participant or, in the case of death, to the Participant’s beneficiary as determined pursuant to Section 13, and the Participant’s option to purchase shares under the Plan will automatically terminate.

(c) A Participant’s withdrawal from an Offering Period will not have any effect upon the Participant’s eligibility to participate in succeeding Offering Periods or in any similar plan which may hereafter be adopted by the Company.

11. Common Stock Available Under the Plan. The maximum number of shares of the Company’s Common Stock that shall be made available for sale under the Plan shall be One Hundred Fifty Thousand (150,000) shares, subject to adjustment as provided in Section 16. Shares of Common Stock subject to the Plan may be newly issued shares or shares reacquired in private transactions or open market purchases. If and to the extent that any right to purchase reserved shares shall not be exercised by any Participant for any reason or if such right to purchase shall terminate as provided herein, shares that have not been so purchased hereunder shall again become available for the purpose of the Plan unless the Plan shall have been terminated, but all shares sold under the Plan, regardless of source, shall be counted against the limitation set forth above.

12. Administration.

(a) The Plan shall be administered by the Committee. The Committee shall have the authority to interpret the Plan, to prescribe, amend and rescind rules and regulations relating to the Plan, and to make all other determinations necessary or advisable for the administration of the Plan. The administration, interpretation, or application of the Plan by the Committee shall be final, conclusive and binding upon all persons.

(b) Notwithstanding the provisions of Subsection (a) of this Section 12, in the event that Rule 16b-3 promulgated under the Exchange Act or any successor provision thereto (“Rule 16b-3”) provides specific requirements for the administrators of plans of this type, the Plan shall only be administered by such body and in such a manner as shall comply with the applicable requirements of Rule 16b-3. Unless permitted by Rule 16b-3, no discretion concerning decisions regarding the Plan shall be afforded to any person that is not “disinterested” as that term is used in Rule 16b-3.

 

B-7


13. Designation of Beneficiary.

(a) A Participant may file a written designation of a beneficiary who is to receive any shares and cash, if any, from the Participant’s account under the Plan in the event of the Participant’s death subsequent to an Exercise Date on which the Participant’s option hereunder is exercised but prior to delivery to the Participant of such shares and cash. In addition, a Participant may file a written designation of a beneficiary who is to receive any cash from the Participant’s account under the Plan in the event of the Participant’s death prior to the exercise of the option.

(b) A Participant’s beneficiary designation may be changed by the Participant at any time by written notice. In the event of the death of a Participant and in the absence of a beneficiary validly designated under the Plan who is living at the time of such Participant’s death, the Company shall deliver such shares and/or cash to the executor or administrator of the estate of the Participant, or if no such executor or administrator has been appointed (to the knowledge of the Company), the Company, in its discretion, may deliver such shares and/or cash to the spouse or to any one or more dependents or relatives of the Participant, or if no spouse, dependent or relative is known to the Company, then to such other person as the Company may designate.

14. Transferability. Neither Plan Contributions credited to a Participant’s account nor any rights to exercise any option or receive shares of Common Stock under the Plan may be assigned, transferred, pledged or otherwise disposed of in any way (other than by will or the laws of descent and distribution, or as provided in Section 13). Any attempted assignment, transfer, pledge or other distribution shall be without effect, except that the Company may treat such act as an election to withdraw in accordance with Section 10(a).

15. Participant Accounts.

(a) Individual bookkeeping accounts will be maintained for each Participant in the Plan to account for the balance of his Plan Contributions, options issued, and shares purchased under the Plan. However, all Plan Contributions made for a Participant shall be deposited in the Company’s general corporate accounts, and no interest shall accrue or be credited with respect to a Participant’s Plan Contributions. All Plan Contributions received or held by the Company may be used by the Company for any corporate purpose, and the Company shall not be obligated to segregate or otherwise set apart such Plan Contributions from any other corporate funds.

(b) Statements of account will be given to Participants quarterly in due course following each Exercise Date, which statements will set forth the amounts of payroll deductions, the per share purchase price, the number of shares purchased and the remaining cash balance, if any.

(c) A Participant may elect at any time within the first thirty (30) days following any Exercise Period, or at such other time as the Committee may from time to time prescribe, to receive in cash any amounts carried-over in accordance with Section 8(b). An election under this Section 15(c) shall not be treated as a withdrawal from participation in the Plan under Section 10(a).

16. Adjustments Upon Changes in Capitalization; Corporate Transactions.

(a) If the outstanding shares of Common Stock are increased or decreased, or are changed into or are exchanged for a different number or kind of shares, as a result of one or more reorganizations, restructurings, recapitalizations, reclassifications, stock splits, reverse stock splits, stock dividends or the like, upon authorization of the Committee, appropriate adjustments shall be

 

B-8


made in the number and/or kind of shares, and the per-share option price thereof, which may be issued in the aggregate and to any Participant upon exercise of options granted under the Plan.

(b) In the event of the proposed dissolution or liquidation of the Company, the Offering Period will terminate immediately prior to the consummation of such proposed action, unless otherwise provided by the Committee.

(c) In the event of a proposed sale of all or substantially all of the Company’s assets, or the merger of the Company with or into another corporation (each, a “Sale Transaction”), each option under the Plan shall be assumed or an equivalent option shall be substituted by such successor corporation or a parent or subsidiary of such successor corporation, unless the Committee determines, in the exercise of its sole discretion and in lieu of such assumption or substitution, to shorten the Exercise Period then in progress by setting a new Exercise Date (the “New Exercise Date”). If the Committee shortens the Exercise Period then in progress in lieu of assumption or substitution in the event of a Sale Transaction, the Committee shall notify each Participant in writing, at least ten (10) days prior to the New Exercise Date, that the exercise date for such Participant’s option has been changed to the New Exercise Date and that such Participant’s option will be exercised automatically on the New Exercise Date, unless prior to such date the Participant has withdrawn from the Plan as provided in Section 10. For purposes of this Section 16(c), an option granted under the Plan shall be deemed to have been assumed if, following the Sale Transaction, the option confers the right to purchase, for each share of option stock subject to the option immediately prior to the Sale Transaction, the consideration (whether stock, cash or other securities or property) received in the Sale Transaction by holders of Common Stock for each share of Common Stock held on the effective date of the Sale Transaction (and if such holders were offered a choice of consideration, the type of consideration chosen by the holders of a majority of the outstanding shares of Common Stock); provided, that if the consideration received in the Sale Transaction was not solely common stock of the successor corporation or its parent (as defined in Section 424(e) of the Code), the Committee may, with the consent of the successor corporation and the Participant, provide for the consideration to be received upon exercise of the option to be solely common stock of the successor corporation or its parent equal in fair market value to the per share consideration received by the holders of Common Stock in the Sale Transaction.

(d) In all cases, the Committee shall have sole discretion to exercise any of the powers and authority provided under this Section 16, and the Committee’s actions hereunder shall be final and binding on all Participants. No fractional shares of stock shall be issued under the Plan pursuant to any adjustment authorized under the provisions of this Section 16.

17. Amendment of the Plan. The Board or the Committee may at any time, or from time to time, amend the Plan in any respect; provided, that (i) no such amendment may make any change in any option theretofore granted which adversely affects the rights of any Participant and (ii) the Plan may not be amended in any way that will cause rights issued under the Plan to fail to meet the requirements for employee stock purchase plans as defined in Section 423 of the Code or any successor thereto. To the extent necessary to comply with Rule 16b-3 under the Exchange Act, Section 423 of the Code, or any other applicable law or regulation), the Company shall obtain shareholder approval of any such amendment.

18. Termination of the Plan.

The Plan and all rights of Employees hereunder shall terminate on the earliest of:

 

B-9


(a) the Exercise Date that Participants become entitled to purchase a number of shares greater than the number of reserved shares remaining available for purchase under the Plan;

(b) such date as is determined by the Board in its discretion; or

(c) the last Exercise Date immediately preceding the tenth (10th) anniversary of the Plan’s effective date.

In the event that the Plan terminates under circumstances described in Section 18(a) above, reserved shares remaining as of the termination date shall be sold to Participants on a pro rata basis, based on the relative value of their cash account balances in the Plan as of the termination date.

19. Notices. All notices or other communications by a Participant to the Company under or in connection with the Plan shall be deemed to have been duly given when received in the form specified by the Company at the location, or by the person, designated by the Company for the receipt thereof.

20. Effective Date. Subject to adoption of the Plan by the Board, the Plan shall become effective on the First Offering Date. The Board shall submit the Plan to the shareholders of the Company for approval within twelve months after the date the Plan is adopted by the Board.

21. Expenses of the Plan. All costs and expenses incurred in administering the Plan shall be paid by the Company, except that any stamp duties or transfer taxes applicable to participation in the Plan may be charged to the account of such Participant by the Company.

22. No Employment Rights. The Plan does not, directly or indirectly, create any right for the benefit of any employee or class of employees to purchase any shares under the Plan, or create in any employee or class of employees any right with respect to continuation of employment by the Company or any Subsidiary, and it shall not be deemed to interfere in any way with the Company’s or any Subsidiary’s right to terminate, or otherwise modify, an employee’s employment at any time.

23. Applicable Law. The laws of the State of Florida shall govern all matter relating to this Plan except to the extent (if any) superseded by the laws of the United States.

24. Additional Restrictions of Rule 16b-3. The terms and conditions of options granted hereunder to, and the purchase of shares by, persons subject to Section 16 of the Exchange Act shall comply with the applicable provisions of Rule 16b-3. This Plan shall be deemed to contain, and such options shall contain, and the shares issued upon exercise thereof shall be subject to, such additional conditions and restrictions as may be required by Rule 16b-3 to qualify for the maximum exemption from Section 16 of the Exchange Act with respect to Plan transactions.

 

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        ¨   ¢

EXACTECH, INC.

2320 N.W. 66TH COURT

GAINESVILLE, FLORIDA 32653

Solicited on Behalf of the Board of Directors

As an alternative to completing this form, you may enter your vote instruction by telephone at 1-800-PROXIES, or via the Internet at WWW.VOTEPROXY.COM and follow the simple instructions. Use the Company Number and Account Number shown on your proxy card.

The undersigned hereby appoints R. William Petty, M.D. as proxy for the undersigned with full power of substitution, for and in the name of the undersigned to act for the undersigned and to vote, as designated below, all of the shares of Common Stock, $.01 par value per share, of Exactech, Inc., a Florida corporation (the “Company”), that the undersigned is entitled to vote at the 2009 Annual Meeting of Shareholders of the Company, to be held on Thursday, May 7, 2009, at 9:00 a.m., local time, at the Company’s headquarters, 2320 N.W. 66th Court, Gainesville, Florida, and at any adjournment(s) or postponement(s) thereof.

(Continued and to be signed on the reverse side.)

 

¢   14475     ¢


ANNUAL MEETING OF SHAREHOLDERS OF

EXACTECH, INC.

May 7, 2009

 

 

 

PROXY VOTING INSTRUCTIONS

 

  

 

INTERNET - Access “www.voteproxy.com” and follow the on-screen instructions. Have your proxy card available when you access the web page, and use the Company Number and Account Number shown on your proxy card.      

 

TELEPHONE - Call toll-free 1-800-PROXIES (1-800-776-9437) in the United States or 1-718- 921-8500 from foreign countries and follow the instructions. Have your proxy card available when you call and use the Company Number and Account Number shown on your proxy card.

 

Vote online/phone until 11:59 PM EST the day before the meeting.

 

MAIL - Sign, date and mail your proxy card in the envelope provided as soon as possible.

 

IN PERSON - You may vote your shares in person by attending the Annual Meeting.

 

   

 

COMPANY NUMBER

 

   
   

 

ACCOUNT NUMBER

 

   
       
         
     

NOTICE OF INTERNET AVAILABILITY OF PROXY MATERIAL:

The Notice of meeting, proxy statement and proxy card are available at

http://www.amstock.com/proxyservices/viewmaterial.asp?CoNumber=08210

i Please detach along perforated line and mail in the envelope provided IF you are not voting by telephone or the Internet. i

 

¢    20233000000000000000 7

 

  

050709

 

 

THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS RECOMMENDS A VOTE "FOR" THE ELECTION OF DIRECTORS AND "FOR" PROPOSALS 2 AND 3.

PLEASE SIGN, DATE AND RETURN PROMPTLY IN THE ENCLOSED ENVELOPE. PLEASE MARK YOUR VOTE IN BLUE OR BLACK INK AS SHOWN HERE  x

 

 
                        FOR   AGAINST   ABSTAIN
 
  1. Election of Class III directors of the Company    

2. 

  Approve and adopt the Exactech, Inc. 2009 Executive Incentive Compensation Plan   ¨   ¨   ¨
  ¨   FOR ALL NOMINESS  

            NOMINEES:

            ¡  William Petty

            ¡   Albert Burstein

       

 

3. 

 

 

Approve and adopt the Exactech, Inc. 2009 Employee Stock Purchase Plan

 

 

¨

 

 

¨

 

 

¨

  ¨  

WITHHOLD AUTHORITY

FOR ALL NOMINESS

            In their discretion, the proxies are authorized to vote upon such other business as may properly come before the Annual Meeting, and any adjournments or postponements thereof.
 

 

¨

 

 

FOR ALL EXCEPT

(See instructions below)

   

 

THIS PROXY, WHEN PROPERLY EXECUTED, WILL BE VOTED IN THE MANNER DIRECTED HEREIN BY THE UNDERSIGNED SHAREHOLDER. IF NO DIRECTION IS MADE, THIS PROXY WILL BE VOTED "FOR" EACH OF THE PROPOSALS.

 

INSTRUCTIONS:

  To withhold authority to vote for any individual nominee(s), mark “FOR ALL EXCEPT” and fill in the circle next to each nominee you wish to withhold, as shown here:  l    

 

The undersigned hereby revokes any proxy or proxies heretofore given, and ratifies and confirms all that the proxies appointed hereby, or any of them, or their substitute or substitutes, may lawfully do or cause to be done by virtue thereof. The undersigned hereby acknowledges receipt of a copy of the Notice of Annual Meeting of Shareholders and Proxy Statement, both dated March 27, 2009, and the Company's Annual Report for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2008.

                   
                   
             
                           
 
                           
 
                                       
To change the address on your account, please check the box at right and indicate your new address in the address space above. Please note that changes to the registered name(s) on the account may not be submitted via this method.   ¨              
                 
                 
Signature of Shareholder           Date:             Signature of Shareholder           Date:        
¢  

Note:

  Please sign exactly as your name or names appear on this Proxy. When shares are held jointly, each holder should sign. When signing as executor, administrator, attorney, trustee or guardian, please give full title as such. If the signer is a corporation, please sign full corporate name by duly authorized officer, giving full title as such. If signer is a partnership, please sign in partnership name by authorized person.    ¢