Exhibit 4.2

 

SPLUNK INC.

 

INDUCEMENT RESTRICTED STOCK UNIT AWARD AGREEMENT

 

This award constitutes a non-plan “inducement award” as contemplated by The Nasdaq Stock Market Listing Rule 5635(c)(4) and is therefore not made under the Splunk Inc. 2012 Equity Incentive Plan (the “Plan”). Nonetheless, this award is subject to the terms and conditions of the Plan as if it were granted under the Plan. Unless otherwise defined herein, the terms defined in the Plan will have the same defined meanings in this Restricted Stock Unit Award Agreement (the “Award Agreement”).

 

I.            NOTICE OF RESTRICTED STOCK UNIT GRANT

 

Participant Name:		Gary Steele
Participant ID:		[●]
Address:		[●]

Participant has been granted the right to receive an Award of Restricted Stock Units, subject to the terms and conditions of the Plan and this Award Agreement, as follows:

Date of Grant:	April 11, 2022
Number of Restricted Stock Units:	[●]

 

Vesting Schedule:

 

Subject to any acceleration provisions contained in the Plan or in the Award Agreement, the Restricted Stock Units will vest in accordance with the following schedule: 25% of the Restricted Stock Units will vest on March 10, 2023 and 1/16th of the Restricted Stock Units will vest on each quarterly anniversary thereof. Any fractional Shares that result from vesting will be accumulated and vested on the date that an accumulated full Share is vested.

 

In accordance with Section 5 of the Award Agreement, in the event Participant ceases to be a Service Provider for any or no reason before Participant vests in any Restricted Stock Units, such Restricted Stock Units and Participant’s right to acquire any Shares hereunder will immediately terminate. Notwithstanding the foregoing, Participant may still be considered to be providing services and will continue to vest in the Restricted Stock Units while on an approved leave of absence.

 

 

 

 

By Participant’s signature and the signature of the representative of Splunk Inc. (the “Company”) below, Participant and the Company agree that this Award of Restricted Stock Units is not granted under but governed by the terms and conditions of the Plan and this Award Agreement, including the Terms and Conditions of Restricted Stock Unit Grant, attached hereto as Exhibit A, all of which are made a part of this document. Participant has reviewed the Plan and this Award Agreement in their entirety, has had an opportunity to obtain the advice of counsel prior to executing this Award Agreement and fully understands all provisions of the Plan and Award Agreement. Participant hereby agrees to accept as binding, conclusive and final all decisions or interpretations of the Administrator upon any questions relating to the Plan and Award Agreement. Participant further agrees to notify the Company upon any change in the residence address indicated above.

 

SPLUNK Inc.

 

[●]

 

By: Jason Child

Title: Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

 

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EXHIBIT A

 

TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF RESTRICTED STOCK UNIT GRANT

 

1.            Grant. The Company hereby grants to the individual named in the Notice of Grant attached as Part I of this Award Agreement (the “Participant”) an Award of Restricted Stock Units, subject to all of the terms and conditions in this Award Agreement and the Plan, which are incorporated herein by reference. Subject to Section 17, in the event of a conflict between the terms and conditions of the Plan and the terms and conditions of this Award Agreement, the terms and conditions of the Plan will prevail.

 

2.            Company’s Obligation to Pay. Each Restricted Stock Unit represents the right to receive a Share on the date it vests. Unless and until the Restricted Stock Units will have vested in the manner set forth in Section 3, Participant will have no right to payment of any such Restricted Stock Units. Prior to actual payment of any vested Restricted Stock Units, such Restricted Stock Unit will represent an unsecured obligation of the Company, payable (if at all) only from the general assets of the Company. Any Restricted Stock Units that vest in accordance with Sections 3 or 4 will be paid to Participant (or in the event of Participant’s death, to his or her estate) in whole Shares, subject to Participant satisfying any applicable Tax-Related Items as set forth in Section 7. Subject to the provisions of Section 4, such vested Restricted Stock Units will be paid in Shares as soon as practicable after vesting, but in each such case within the period ending no later than the date that is two and one-half (2½) months from the end of the Company’s tax year that includes the vesting date.

 

3.            Vesting Schedule. Except as provided in Section 4, and subject to Section 5, the Restricted Stock Units awarded by this Award Agreement will vest in accordance with the vesting provisions set forth in the Notice of Grant. Restricted Stock Units scheduled to vest on a certain date or upon the occurrence of a certain condition will not vest in Participant in accordance with any of the provisions of this Award Agreement, unless Participant will have been continuously a Service Provider from the Date of Grant until the date such vesting occurs.

 

4.            Administrator Discretion. The Administrator, in its discretion, may accelerate the vesting of the balance, or some lesser portion of the balance, of the unvested Restricted Stock Units at any time, subject to the terms of the Plan. If so accelerated, such Restricted Stock Units will be considered as having vested as of the date specified by the Administrator.

 

Notwithstanding anything in the Plan or this Award Agreement to the contrary, if the vesting of the balance, or some lesser portion of the balance, of the Restricted Stock Units is accelerated in connection with Participant’s termination as a Service Provider (provided that such termination is a “separation from service” within the meaning of Section 409A, as determined by the Company), other than due to death, and if (x) Participant is a “specified employee” within the meaning of Section 409A at the time of such termination as a Service Provider and (y) the payment of such accelerated Restricted Stock Units will result in the imposition of additional tax under Section 409A if paid to Participant on or within the six (6) month period following Participant’s termination as a Service Provider, then the payment of such accelerated Restricted Stock Units will not be made until the date six (6) months and one (1) day following the date of Participant’s termination as a Service Provider, unless the Participant dies following his or her termination as a Service Provider, in which case, the Restricted Stock Units will be paid in Shares to the Participant’s estate as soon as practicable following his or her death. It is the intent of this Award Agreement to comply with the requirements of Section 409A so that none of the Restricted Stock Units provided under this Award Agreement or Shares issuable thereunder will be subject to the additional tax imposed under Section 409A, and any ambiguities herein will be interpreted to so comply. For purposes of this Award Agreement, “Section 409A” means Section 409A of the Code, and any proposed, temporary or final Treasury Regulations and Internal Revenue Service guidance thereunder, as each may be amended from time to time.

 

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5.            Forfeiture upon Termination of Status as a Service Provider. Notwithstanding any contrary provision of this Award Agreement, but subject to any acceleration provisions in this Award Agreement or in any written agreement between the Participant and the Company, the balance of the Restricted Stock Units that have not vested as of the time of Participant’s termination as a Service Provider for any or no reason and Participant’s right to acquire any Shares hereunder will immediately terminate. The date on which Participant ceases to be a Service Provider shall be the date the individual ceases to provide services and shall not be extended by any notice of termination period or non-working garden leave established under the employment law in the jurisdiction in which Participant resides or under the terms of Participant’s employment agreement, if any. The Administrator shall have the exclusive discretion to determine when Participant is no longer a Service Provider (including whether Participant may still be considered to be providing services while on an approved leave of absence).

 

6.            Death of Participant. Any distribution or delivery to be made to Participant under this Award Agreement will, if Participant is then deceased, be made to Participant’s designated beneficiary, or if no beneficiary survives Participant, the administrator or executor of Participant’s estate (or legal representative for Participant outside the United States). Any such transferee must furnish the Company with (a) written notice of his or her status as transferee, and (b) evidence satisfactory to the Company to establish the validity of the transfer and compliance with any laws or regulations pertaining to said transfer.

 

7.            Withholding of Taxes. Participant acknowledges that, regardless of any action taken by the Company, or, if different, Participant’s employer (the “Employer”), the ultimate liability for all income tax, social insurance, payroll tax, fringe benefits tax, payment on account or other tax-related items related to the Restricted Stock Units and legally applicable to the Participant (“Tax-Related Items”) is and remains Participant’s responsibility and may exceed the amount actually withheld by the company or the Employer. Participant further acknowledges that the Company and/or the Employer (i) make no representations or undertakings regarding the treatment of any Tax-Related Items in connection with any aspect of the Restricted Stock Units, including, but not limited to, the grant, vesting or settlement of the Restricted Stock Units, the subsequent sale of Shares acquired pursuant to such settlement and the receipt of any dividends; and (ii) do not commit to and are under no obligation to structure the terms of the grant or any aspect of the Restricted Stock Units to reduce or eliminate Participant’s ability for Tax-Related Items or achieve any particular tax result. Further, if Participant is subject to Tax-Related Items in more than one jurisdiction between the date of grant and the date of any relevant taxable or tax withholding event, as applicable, Participant acknowledges that the Company and/or the Employer (or former employer, as applicable) may be required to withhold or account for Tax-Related Items in more than one jurisdiction.

 

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Prior to any relevant taxable or tax withholding event, as applicable, Participant agrees to make adequate arrangements satisfactory to the Company and/or the Employer to satisfy all Tax-Related Items. In this regard, Participant authorizes the Company and/or the Employer, or their respective agents, at their discretion, to satisfy the obligations with regard to all Tax-Related Items by one or a combination of the following:

 

(a)            withholding from Participant’s wages or other cash compensation paid to Participant by the Company and/or the Employer; or

 

(b)            withholding from proceeds of the sale of Shares acquired upon settlement of the Restricted Stock Units either through a voluntary sale or through a mandatory sale arranged by the Company (on Participant’s behalf pursuant to this authorization without further consent); or

 

(c)            withholding in Shares to be issued upon settlement of the Restricted Stock Units, provided, however, if Participant is a Section 16 officer of the Company under the Exchange Act, then the Administrator shall establish the method of withholding from alternatives (a)-(c) herein and, if the Administrator does not exercise discretion prior to the Tax-Related Items withholding event, then Participant shall be entitled to elect the method of withholding from the alternatives above.

 

Depending on the withholding method, the Company may withhold or account for Tax-Related Items by considering applicable minimum statutory withholding rates or other applicable withholding rates, including maximum applicable rates, in which case Participant will receive a refund of any over-withheld amount in cash and will have no entitlement to the Common Stock equivalent. If the obligation for Tax-Related Items is satisfied by withholding in Shares, for tax purposes, Participant is deemed to have been issued the full number of Shares subject to the vested Restricted Stock Units, notwithstanding that a number of Shares are held back solely for the purpose of paying the Tax-Related Items.

 

Finally, Participant agrees to pay to the Company or the Employer any amount of Tax-Related Items that the Company or the Employer may be required to withhold or account for as a result of the Restricted Stock Units that cannot be satisfied by the means previously described. The Company may refuse to issue or deliver the Shares or the proceeds of the sale of Shares, if Participant fails to comply with his or her obligations in connection with the Tax-Related Items.

 

8.            Nature of Grant. In accepting the Award of Restricted Stock Units, Participant acknowledges, understands and agrees that:

 

(a)            the Award is not granted under, but subject to the terms and conditions of, the Plan and, in any event, the Plan is established voluntarily by the Company, it is discretionary in nature and it may be modified, amended, suspended or terminated by the Company at any time, to the extent permitted by the Plan;

 

(b)            the Award of the Restricted Stock Units is voluntary and occasional and does not create any contractual or other right to receive future grants of Restricted Stock Units, or benefits in lieu of Restricted Stock Units, even if Restricted Stock Units have been granted in the past;

 

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(c)            all decisions with respect to future Restricted Stock Units or other grants, if any, will be at the sole discretion of the Company;

 

(d)            the Award of Restricted Stock Units shall not create a right to employment or be interpreted as forming an employment or service contract with the Company, the Employer, the Parent or any Subsidiary of the Company;

 

(e)            Participant is voluntarily receiving the Restricted Stock Units;

 

(f)            the Restricted Stock Units and the Shares subject to the Restricted Stock Units are not intended to replace any pension rights or compensation;

 

(g)            the Restricted Stock units and the Shares subject to the Restricted Stock Units, and the income and value of same, are not part of normal or expected compensation for purposes of calculating any severance, resignation, termination, redundancy, dismissal, end-of-service payments, bonuses, long-service awards, pension or retirement or welfare benefits or similar payments;

 

(h)            the future value of the underlying Shares is unknown, indeterminable and cannot be predicted with certainty; and

 

(i)             unless otherwise provided in the Plan or by the Company in its discretion, the Restricted Stock Units and the benefits evidenced by this Award Agreement do not create any entitlement to have the Restricted Stock Unit or any such benefits transferred to, or assumed by, another company nor to be exchanged, cashed out or substituted for, in connection with any corporate transaction affecting the Shares of the Company.

 

9.            No Advice Regarding Grant. The Company is not providing any tax, legal or financial advice, nor is the Company making any recommendations regarding Participant’s receipt of the Restricted Stock Units, or Participant’s acquisition or sale of the underlying Shares. Participant is hereby advised to consult with his or her own personal tax, legal and financial advisors regarding his or her Restricted Stock Units before taking any action related to the Restricted Stock Units.

 

10.           Rights as Stockholder. Neither Participant nor any person claiming under or through Participant will have any of the rights or privileges of a stockholder of the Company in respect of any Shares deliverable hereunder unless and until certificates representing such Shares will have been issued, recorded on the records of the Company or its transfer agents or registrars, and delivered to Participant. After such issuance, recordation and delivery, Participant will have all the rights of a stockholder of the Company with respect to voting such Shares and receipt of dividends and distributions on such Shares.

 

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11.           No Guarantee of Continued Service. PARTICIPANT ACKNOWLEDGES AND AGREES THAT THE VESTING OF THE RESTRICTED STOCK UNITS PURSUANT TO THE VESTING SCHEDULE HEREOF IS EARNED ONLY BY CONTINUING AS A SERVICE PROVIDER AT THE WILL OF THE COMPANY (OR EMPLOYER) AND NOT THROUGH THE ACT OF BEING HIRED, BEING GRANTED THIS AWARD OF RESTRICTED STOCK UNITS OR ACQUIRING SHARES HEREUNDER. PARTICIPANT FURTHER ACKNOWLEDGES AND AGREES THAT THIS AWARD AGREEMENT, THE TRANSACTIONS CONTEMPLATED HEREUNDER AND THE VESTING SCHEDULE SET FORTH HEREIN DO NOT CONSTITUTE AN EXPRESS OR IMPLIED PROMISE OF CONTINUED ENGAGEMENT AS A SERVICE PROVIDER FOR THE VESTING PERIOD, FOR ANY PERIOD, OR AT ALL, AND WILL NOT INTERFERE IN ANY WAY WITH PARTICIPANT’S RIGHT OR THE RIGHT OF THE COMPANY OR EMPLOYER TO TERMINATE PARTICIPANT’S RELATIONSHIP AS A SERVICE PROVIDER AT ANY TIME, WITH OR WITHOUT CAUSE.

 

12.           Address for Notices. Any notice to be given to the Company under the terms of this Award Agreement will be addressed to the Company, in care of Stock Administration at Splunk Inc., at 270 Brannan Street, San Francisco, California, United States 94107, or at such other address as the Company may hereafter designate in writing.

 

13.           Grant is Not Transferable. Except to the limited extent provided in Section 6, this grant and the rights and privileges conferred hereby will not be transferred, assigned, pledged or hypothecated in any way (whether by operation of law or otherwise) and will not be subject to sale under execution, attachment or similar process. Upon any attempt to transfer, assign, pledge, hypothecate or otherwise dispose of this grant, or any right or privilege conferred hereby, or upon any attempted sale under any execution, attachment or similar process, this grant and the rights and privileges conferred hereby immediately will become null and void.

 

14.           Binding Agreement. Subject to the limitation on the transferability of this grant contained herein, this Award Agreement will be binding upon and inure to the benefit of the heirs, legatees, legal representatives, successors and assigns of the parties hereto.

 

15.           Additional Conditions to Issuance of Stock.

 

(a)            If at any time the Company will determine, in its discretion, that the listing, registration or qualification of the Shares upon any securities exchange or under any state or federal law, or the consent or approval of any governmental regulatory authority is necessary or desirable as a condition to the issuance of Shares to Participant (or his or her estate), such issuance will not occur unless and until such listing, registration, qualification, consent or approval will have been effected or obtained free of any conditions not acceptable to the Company. Where the Company determines that the delivery of the payment of any Shares will violate federal securities laws or other applicable laws, the Company will defer delivery until the earliest date at which the Company reasonably anticipates that the delivery of Shares will no longer cause such violation. The Company will make all reasonable efforts to meet the requirements of any such state or federal law or securities exchange and to obtain any such consent or approval of any such governmental authority.

 

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(b)            Participant’s sale of Shares may be subject to any market blackout period that may be imposed by the Company and must comply with the Company’s insider trading policies and any other applicable securities laws. The Company’s insider trading policy applies to all Service Providers.  The Company’s insider trading policy prohibits a Participant and others from buying or selling Shares when such Participant has “inside information.”  ”Inside information” is material information about the Company that is not yet public but that a reasonable investor would consider important in deciding whether to buy or sell Shares.  Trading while in possession of material non-public information is not only a violation of the Company’s policy but also of securities laws.  Penalties for such violations can be severe.  Please review the Company’s insider trading policy before making any trades.  A copy of the Company’s insider trading policy is available on the Company’s intranet site, under Legal and Polices, or Participant may request a copy from the Legal Department (legal@splunk.com) or our Stock Administrator (stockadmin@splunk.com).

 

16.            Plan Governs. This Award Agreement is subject to all terms and provisions of the Plan. In the event of a conflict between one or more provisions of this Award Agreement and one or more provisions of the Plan, the provisions of the Plan will govern. Capitalized terms used and not defined in this Award Agreement will have the meaning set forth in the Plan.

 

17.            Administrator Authority. The Administrator will have the power to interpret the Plan and this Award Agreement and to adopt such rules for the administration, interpretation and application of the Plan as are consistent therewith and to interpret or revoke any such rules (including, but not limited to, the determination of whether or not any Restricted Stock Units have vested). All actions taken and all interpretations and determinations made by the Administrator in good faith will be final and binding upon Participant, the Company and all other interested persons. No member of the Administrator will be personally liable for any action, determination or interpretation made in good faith with respect to the Plan or this Award Agreement.

 

18.            Language. If Participant received this Award Agreement or any other document related to the Plan translated into a language other than English and if the meaning of the translated version is different than the English version, the English version will control.

 

19.            Electronic Delivery. The Company may, in its sole discretion, decide to deliver any documents related to Restricted Stock Units or future Restricted Stock Units by electronic means or request Participant’s consent to receive the Restricted Stock Units or future Restricted Stock Units by electronic means. Participant hereby consents to receive such documents by electronic delivery and agrees to participate in the grant of the Restricted Stock Units through any on-line or electronic system established and maintained by the Company or another third party designated by the Company.

 

20.            Captions. Captions provided herein are for convenience only and are not to serve as a basis for interpretation or construction of this Award Agreement.

 

21.            Agreement Severable. In the event that any provision in this Award Agreement will be held invalid or unenforceable, such provision will be severable from, and such invalidity or unenforceability will not be construed to have any effect on, the remaining provisions of this Award Agreement.

 

22.            Modifications to the Agreement. This Award Agreement constitutes the entire understanding of the parties on the subjects covered. Participant expressly warrants that he or she is not accepting this Award Agreement in reliance on any promises, representations, or inducements other than those contained herein. Modifications to this Award Agreement or the Plan can be made only in an express written contract executed by a duly authorized officer of the Company. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in the Plan or this Award Agreement, the Company reserves the right to revise this Award Agreement as it deems necessary or advisable, in its sole discretion and without the consent of Participant, to comply with Section 409A or to otherwise avoid imposition of any additional tax or income recognition under Section 409A in connection to this Award of Restricted Stock Units.

 

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23.            Amendment, Suspension or Termination of the Plan. By accepting this Award, Participant expressly warrants that he or she has received an Award of Restricted Stock Units subject to the terms and conditions of the Plan, and has received, read and understood a description of the Plan. Participant understands that the Plan is discretionary in nature and may be amended, suspended or terminated by the Company at any time.

 

24.            Governing Law. This Award Agreement will be governed by the laws of the State of California, without giving effect to the conflict of law principles thereof. For purposes of litigating any dispute that arises under this Award of Restricted Stock Units or this Award Agreement, the parties hereby submit to and consent to the jurisdiction of the State of California, and agree that such litigation will be conducted in the courts of San Francisco County, California, or the federal courts for the United States for the Northern District of California, and no other courts, where this Award of Restricted Stock Units is made and/or to be performed.

 

25.            Addendum. Notwithstanding any provisions in this Award Agreement, the Award of Restricted Stock Units shall be subject to any special terms and conditions set forth in any Addendum to this Award Agreement for Participant’s country. Moreover, if Participant relocates to one of the countries included in the Addendum, the special terms and conditions for such country will apply to Participant, to the extent the Company determines that the application of such terms and conditions is necessary or advisable for legal or administrative reasons. The Addendum constitutes part of this Award Agreement.

 

26.            Imposition of Other Requirements. The Company reserves the right to impose other requirements on the Restricted Stock Units and on any Shares acquired thereunder, to the extent the Company determines it is necessary or advisable for legal or administrative reasons, and to require Participant to sign any additional agreements or undertakings that may be necessary to accomplish the foregoing.

 

27.            Waiver. Participant acknowledges that a waiver by the Company of breach of any provision of this Award Agreement shall not operate or be construed as a waiver of any other provision of this Award Agreement, or of any subsequent breach by Participant or any other Participant.

 

28.            Insider Trading/Market Abuse Laws. Participant should be aware that his or her country of residence may have insider trading and/or market abuse laws which may affect Participant’s ability to acquire or sell Shares acquired under the Restricted Stock Units during such times that Participant is considered to have “inside information” (as defined in the laws in Participant’s country). These laws may be the same or different from any the Company’s insider trading policy. Participant acknowledges that it is his or her responsibility to be informed of and compliant with such regulations, and Participant is advised to speak to his or her personal advisor on this matter.

 

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