Company: TVRD
Filing Date: 2025-02-14
Form Type: S-4/A
Source: 0001104659-25-013053
Chunk: 380

Company: Tvardi Therapeutics, Inc.
Filing Date: 2025-02-14
Form: S-4/A
Chunk 380
---
 of the 2014 Plan and the relevant award agreements.

#### General Information
The purpose of the 2025 Plan is to provide a means whereby the combined company can secure and retain the services of employees, directors and consultants, to provide incentives for such persons to exert maximum efforts for the success of the combined company and its affiliates and to provide a means by which such persons may be given an opportunity to benefit from increases in value of the combined company’s common stock through the granting of awards under the 2025 Plan.

Approval of the 2025 Plan by Cara stockholders is required, among other things, in order to comply with stock exchange rules requiring stockholder approval of equity compensation plans and allow the grant of incentive stock options (ISOs), restricted stock unit (RSU) awards and other awards under the 2025 Plan. If the Equity Plan Proposal is approved by Cara stockholders, the 2025 Plan will become effective as of the date of the consummation of the Merger. In the event that our stockholders do not approve the Equity Plan Proposal, the 2025 Plan will not become effective.

The combined company’s equity compensation program, as implemented under the 2025 Plan, will allow the combined company to be competitive with comparable companies in its industry by giving it the resources to attract and retain talented individuals to achieve its business objectives and build shareholder value. It is critical to the combined company’s long-term success that the interests of employees and other service providers are tied to its success as “owners” of the business. Approval of the 2025 Plan will allow the combined company to grant stock options and other equity awards at levels it determines to be appropriate in order to attract new employees and other service providers, retain existing employees and service providers and to provide incentives for such persons to exert maximum efforts for the combined company’s success and ultimately increase shareholder value. The 2025 Plan allows the combined company to utilize a broad array of equity incentives with flexibility in designing equity incentives, including traditional stock option grants, stock appreciation rights, restricted stock awards, RSU awards, other stock awards and performance awards to offer competitive equity compensation packages in order to retain and motivate the talent necessary for the combined company.

If the request to approve the 2025 Plan is approved by our stockholders, a number of shares of combined company common stock will be available for grant under the 2025 Plan equal to the product of (i) ten percent (10%), multiplied by (ii) the total number of shares of Common Stock (