Exhibit 10.4

 

GSI COMMERCE, INC.

DEFERRED STOCK GRANT NOTICE

(1996 Equity Incentive Plan)

 

GSI Commerce, Inc. (the “Company”), pursuant to Section 5.4 of its GSI Commerce,
Inc. 1996 Equity Incentive Plan (the “Plan”), hereby awards to Employee a
Deferred Stock covering the number of shares (the “Shares”) set forth below (the
“Award”). This Award will be evidenced by a Deferred Stock Award Agreement (the
“Award Agreement”). This Award is subject to all of the terms and conditions as
set forth herein and in the applicable Award Agreement, the Employee’s Deferred
Stock Election Agreement (the “Election Agreement”), both of which are attached
hereto and incorporated herein in their entirety, and in the Plan, which is
available from the Company’s Human Resources Department and is also incorporated
herein in its entirety.

 

Employee:

 

__________________________________________

Date of Grant:

 

__________________________________________

Number of Shares subject to Award:

 

__________________________________________

Purchase Price per Share:

 

__________________________________________

Total Purchase Price:

 

__________________________________________

 

Vesting Schedule:     % of the total number of shares subject to the Award will
vest on                                         , and an additional     % of the
total number of shares subject to the Award will vest on
                                        , provided that the undersigned does not
suffer a Status Change prior to that date.

 

Notwithstanding anything in the Plan to the contrary, the Board of Directors of
the Company (the “Board”) has determined that this paragraph will exclusively
apply in the event of a Change of Control (as defined in the Plan) of the
Company. The Award will automatically vest immediately prior to a Status Change
referred to in (ii) below for an additional number of shares subject to the
Award equal to                      if (i) a Change of Control occurs,
notwithstanding any determination by the Board under the Plan after the date
hereof that a Change of Control has not occurred, and (ii) you suffer a Status
Change (as defined in the Plan) due to the Company’s termination of your
employment for any reason other than for Cause (as defined in any written
employment agreement between the Company and you or if there is no such
agreement in the Plan) within the twelve (12) month period after such Change of
Control.

 

Additional Terms/Acknowledgements: The undersigned acknowledges receipt of, and
understands and agrees to, this Grant Notice, the Award Agreement and the Plan.
Employee further acknowledges that as of the Date of Grant, this Grant Notice,
the Award Agreement, the Election Agreement and the Plan set forth the entire
understanding between Employee and the Company regarding the acquisition of
Shares and supersede all prior oral and written agreements on that subject with
the exception of (i) Awards previously granted and delivered to Employee under
the Plan, and (ii) the following agreements only:

 

OTHER AGREEMENTS:    ____________________________________________________     
____________________________________________________

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GSI COMMERCE, INC.       EMPLOYEE: By:  

 

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    Signature           Signature           Title:  

 

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      Date:  

 

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Date:  

 

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ATTACHMENTS: Award Agreement and Election Agreement

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ATTACHMENT I

AWARD AGREEMENT

 

GSI COMMERCE, INC.

1996 EQUITY INCENTIVE PLAN

DEFERRED STOCK AWARD AGREEMENT

 

Pursuant to the Deferred Stock Grant Notice (“Grant Notice”) and this Deferred
Stock Award Agreement (“Agreement”), GSI Commerce, Inc. (the “Company”) has
awarded you a Deferred Stock pursuant to Section 5.4 of the GSI Commerce, Inc.
1996 Equity Incentive Plan (the “Plan”) for the number of Shares as indicated in
the Grant Notice (collectively, the “Award”). Defined terms not explicitly
defined in this Agreement but defined in the Plan or Grant Notice will have the
same definitions as in the Plan.

 

The details of your Award are as follows.

 

1. PURCHASE PRICE. The purchase price for each Share will be $0.01.

 

2. VESTING. Subject to the limitations contained herein, your Award will vest as
provided in the Grant Notice.

 

3. DIVIDENDS. You will be entitled to receive payments equal to any cash
dividends and other distributions paid with respect to a corresponding number of
Shares covered by your Award, provided that if any such dividends or
distributions are paid in Shares, the Fair Market Value of such Shares will be
converted into additional Shares covered by the Award, and further provided that
such additional Shares will be subject to the same forfeiture restrictions and
restrictions on transferability as apply to the Awards with respect to which
they relate.

 

4. DISTRIBUTION OF SHARES OF COMMON STOCK. The Company will deliver to you a
number of Shares of the Company’s Common Stock (“Stock”) equal to the number of
vested Shares subject to your Award, including any additional Shares received
pursuant to Section 3 above, on the date or dates that you elect (the
“Settlement Date”). If such deferral election is made, the Board (or appropriate
committee thereof) will, in its sole discretion, establish the rules and
procedures for such deferrals.

 

5. CERTAIN ADJUSTMENTS. In the event of any change in the capitalization of the
Company, such as by stock dividend, stock split, combination of shares, exchange
of securities, recapitalization or other event which the Board deems, in its
sole discretion, to be similar circumstances, the Board (or appropriate
committee thereof) may make such adjustments to the number and/or kind of shares
of stock or securities subject to this Award and any other provision of this
Award affected by such change, as the Board may determine in its sole
discretion.

 

6. CONDITIONS TO DELIVERY OF SHARES. Notwithstanding any other provision of this
Agreement or the Plan, the Company will not be obligated to deliver any Shares
of pursuant to this Agreement (i) until all conditions to the Award have been
satisfied or removed, (ii) until, in the opinion of counsel to the Company, all
applicable Federal and state laws and

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regulations have been complied with, (iii) if the outstanding Common Stock is at
the time listed on any stock exchange or included for quotation on an
inter-dealer system, until the shares to be delivered have been listed or
included or authorized to be listed or included on such exchange or system upon
official notice of notice of issuance, (iv) if it might cause the Company to
issue or sell more shares of Common Stock that the Company is then legally
entitled to issue or sell, and (e) until all other legal matters in connection
with the issuance and delivery of such shares have been approved by counsel to
the Company.

 

7. TRANSFERABILITY. Your Award is not transferable, except by will or by the
laws of descent and distribution. Notwithstanding the foregoing, by delivering
written notice to the Company, in a form satisfactory to the Company, you may
designate a third party who, in the event of your death, will thereafter be
entitled to receive any distribution of Shares pursuant to Section 4 of this
Agreement.

 

8. AWARD NOT A SERVICE CONTRACT. Your Award is not an employment or service
contract, and nothing in your Award will be deemed to create in any way
whatsoever any obligation on your part to continue in the service of the Company
or a subsidiary, or on the part of the Company or a subsidiary to continue such
service. In addition, nothing in your Award will obligate the Company or a
subsidiary, their respective stockholders, boards of directors or Employees to
continue any relationship that you might have as an Employee of the Company or a
subsidiary.

 

9. UNSECURED OBLIGATION. Your Award is unfunded, and as a holder of a vested
Award, you will be considered an unsecured creditor of the Company with respect
to the Company’s obligation, if any, to issue Shares pursuant to this Agreement.
You will not have voting or any other rights as a stockholder of the Company
with respect to the Shares purchased pursuant to this Agreement until such
Shares are issued to you pursuant to Section 4 of this Agreement. Upon such
issuance, you will obtain full voting and other rights as a stockholder of the
Company. Nothing contained in this Agreement, and no action taken pursuant to
its provisions, will create or be construed to create a trust of any kind or a
fiduciary relationship between you and the Company or any other person.

 

10. WITHHOLDING OBLIGATIONS.

 

(a) On or before the time you receive a distribution of Shares pursuant to your
Award, or at any time thereafter as requested by the Company, you hereby
authorize any required withholding from, at the Company’s election, the Shares,
payroll and any other amounts payable to you and otherwise agree to make
adequate provision for any sums required to satisfy the federal, state, local
and foreign tax withholding obligations of the Company or a subsidiary, if any,
which arise in connection with your Award.

 

(b) Unless the tax withholding obligations of the Company and/or any subsidiary
are satisfied, the Company will have no obligation to issue a certificate for
such Shares.

 

12. NOTICES. All notices with respect to the Plan shall be in writing and shall
be hand delivered or sent by first class mail or reputable overnight delivery
service, expenses prepaid. Notice may also be given by electronic mail or
facsimile and shall be effective on the

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date transmitted if confirmed within 24 hours thereafter by a signed original
sent in a manner provided in the preceding sentence. Notices to the Company or
the Board shall be delivered or sent to GSI’s headquarters to the attention of
its Chief Financial Officer and its General Counsel. Notices to any Participant
or holder of shares of Common Stock issued pursuant to an Award shall be
sufficient if delivered or sent to such person’s address as it appears in the
regular records of the Company or its transfer agent.

 

13. HEADINGS. The headings of the Sections in this Agreement are inserted for
convenience only and will not be deemed to constitute a part of this Agreement
or to affect the meaning of this Agreement.

 

14. AMENDMENT. This Agreement may be amended only by a writing executed by the
Company and you which specifically states that it is amending this Agreement.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, this Agreement may be amended solely by the Board
(or appropriate committee thereof) by a writing which specifically states that
it is amending this Agreement, so long as a copy of such amendment is delivered
to you, and provided that no such amendment adversely affecting your rights
hereunder may be made without your written consent. Without limiting the
foregoing, the Board (or appropriate committee thereof) reserves the right to
change, by written notice to you, the provisions of this Agreement in any way it
may deem necessary or advisable to carry out the purpose of the grant as a
result of any change in applicable laws or regulations or any future law,
regulation, ruling, or judicial decision, provided that any such change will be
applicable only to rights relating to that portion of the Award which is then
subject to restrictions as provided herein.

 

15. MISCELLANEOUS.

 

(a) The rights and obligations of the Company under your Award will be
transferable by the Company to any one or more persons or entities, and all
covenants and agreements hereunder will inure to the benefit of, and be
enforceable by the Company’s successors and assigns.

 

(b) You agree upon request to execute any further documents or instruments
necessary or desirable in the sole determination of the Company to carry out the
purposes or intent of your Award.

 

(c) You acknowledge and agree that you have reviewed your Award in its entirety,
have had an opportunity to obtain the advice of counsel prior to executing and
accepting your Award and fully understand all provisions of your Award.

 

(d) This Agreement will be subject to all applicable laws, rules, and
regulations, and to such approvals by any governmental agencies or national
securities exchanges as may be required.

 

(e) All obligations of the Company under the Plan and this Agreement will be
binding on any successor to the Company, whether the existence of such successor
is the result of a direct or indirect purchase, merger, consolidation, or
otherwise, of all or substantially all of the business and/or assets of the
Company.

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16. GOVERNING PLAN DOCUMENT. Your Award is subject to all the provisions of the
Plan, the provisions of which are hereby made a part of your Award, and is
further subject to all interpretations, amendments, rules and regulations which
may from time to time be promulgated and adopted pursuant to the Plan. In the
event of any conflict between the provisions of your Award and those of the
Plan, the provisions of the Plan will control; provided, however, that Section 4
of this Agreement will govern the timing of any distribution of Shares under
your Award. The Board (or appropriate committee thereof) will have the power to
interpret the Plan and this 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. All actions taken and all
interpretations and determinations made by the Board (or appropriate committee
thereof) will be final and binding upon you, the Company, and all other
interested persons. No member of the Board (or appropriate committee thereof)
will be personally liable for any action, determination, or interpretation made
in good faith with respect to the Plan or this Agreement.

 

17. EFFECT ON OTHER EMPLOYEE BENEFIT PLANS. The value of the Award subject to
this Agreement will not be included as compensation, earnings, salaries, or
other similar terms used when calculating the Employee’s benefits under any
employee benefit plan sponsored by the Company or any subsidiary except as such
plan otherwise expressly provides. The Company expressly reserves its rights to
amend, modify, or terminate any of the Company’s or any subsidiary’s employee
benefit plans.

 

18. CHOICE OF LAW. The interpretation, performance and enforcement of this
Agreement will be governed by the law of the state of Delaware without regard to
such state’s conflicts of laws rules.

 

19. SEVERABILITY. If all or any part of this Agreement or the Plan is declared
by any court or governmental authority to be unlawful or invalid, such
unlawfulness or invalidity will not invalidate any portion of this Agreement or
the Plan not declared to be unlawful or invalid. Any Section of this Agreement
(or part of such a Section) so declared to be unlawful or invalid will, if
possible, be construed in a manner which will give effect to the terms of such
Section or part of a Section to the fullest extent possible while remaining
lawful and valid.

 

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties have executed and delivered this Agreement
effective as of the day and year set forth below.

 

EMPLOYEE       GSI COMMERCE, INC.

 

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      By:  

 

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            Name:  

 

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            Title:  

 

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Date:  

 

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      Date:  

 

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ATTACHMENT II

ELECTION AGREEMENT

 

GSI COMMERCE, INC.

DEFERRED STOCK ELECTION AGREEMENT

 

Please complete this Election Agreement and return a signed copy to the Human
Resources Department of GSI Commerce, Inc. (the “Company”) by             ,
2005.

 

NOTE: THIS ELECTION AGREEMENT MUST BE COMPLETED AND RETURNED WITHIN 30 DAYS OF
THE DATE OF GRANT AS INDICATED ON THE GRANT NOTICE. IF THE INTERNAL REVENUE
SERVICE DETERMINES THAT THIS ELECTION FORM MUST BE COMPLETED PRIOR TO THE GRANT
DATE, THEN THIS ELECTION SHALL BE VOID AND THE STOCK WILL BE ISSUED ON THE
VESTING DATE.

 

Defined terms not explicitly defined in this Election Agreement but defined in
the Plan or your Deferred Stock Award Agreement shall have the same definitions
as in such documents.

 

Name:   SS #:

 

INSTRUCTIONS

 

In making this election, the following rules apply:

 

•   You may elect a Settlement Date that occurs after the date of vesting. The
“Settlement Date” is the date as of which you will receive the Shares associated
with the Deferred Stock that you elected to defer below. Unless you timely elect
otherwise on this Election Agreement, the Shares will be issued to you on the
vesting date as indicated on your Grant Notice.

 

•   You may elect up to four different Settlement Dates related to the Deferred
Stock, in increments of 25%. For example, if you have 10,000 Shares covered by
your Deferred Stock, you may elect up to four different Settlement Dates — one
Settlement Date related to each increment of 2,500 Shares.

 

•   The vested Shares will be transferred to you on February 1 (or, if not a
business day, the first business day thereafter) of the year in which you select
to defer receipt of the Shares, unless you specifically select a different
Settlement Date in that year.

 

•   This Election Agreement is irrevocable.

 

•   If no Settlement Date is elected, then the issuance of vested Shares will
occur upon the vesting date(s) indicated on your Grant Notice.

 

•   Notwithstanding any provision in this Election Form or your Grant Notice,
Award Agreement or the Plan to the contrary, the issuance of the vested shares
shall be made in a manner that complies with the requirements of Code Section
409A, which may include, without limitation, deferring the payment of such
benefit for six (6) months after your Status Change, provided, however, that
nothing in this paragraph shall require the payment of benefits to you earlier
than they would otherwise be payable under the Award.

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DEFERRAL ELECTION

 

I hereby irrevocably elect to defer receipt of the Shares associated with the
above-referenced Deferred Stock until the following date(s) and in the following
increment(s). I acknowledge that only vested Shares will be issued to me and
that the Settlement Date may occur after vesting. (CHOOSE ONE ALTERNATIVE BELOW)

 

ALTERNATIVE #1 (ON VESTING DATE):

 

¨ I elect to have my vested Shares issued to me on the vesting date(s) indicated
on my Grant Notice.

 

ALTERNATIVE #2: (SPECIFIED DATE(S) — CHECK BOXES THAT APPLY)

 

A.

 

¨

   _______________    _________________________               Number    Month   
Day    Year         

B.

 

¨

   _______________    _________________________               Number    Month   
Day    Year         

C.

 

¨

   _______________    _________________________               Number    Month   
Day    Year         

D.

 

¨

   _______________    _________________________               Number    Month   
Day    Year     

E.

 

¨

   Notwithstanding the election that I made in A-D above, I elect to have my
vested Shares issued to me on the
following date, in the event such date occurs prior to the date(s) selected
above (check boxes that apply):          ¨         days following my Status
Change          ¨    Immediately upon a Change in Control          ¨    Upon the
earlier of a Change in Control or      days following my Status Change
ALTERNATIVE #3 (SPECIFIED EVENT – CHECK ONE BOX): I elect to have my vested
Shares issued to me on the following event (check boxes that apply):         
¨          days following my Status Change          ¨     Upon the earlier of a
Change in Control or      days following my Status Change

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Manner of Transfer

 

All of the Shares you are entitled to receive on the Settlement Date specified
in this Election Agreement will be transferred to you on or as soon as
practicable after such Settlement Date.

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Terms and Conditions

 

By signing this form, you hereby acknowledge your understanding and acceptance
of the following:

 

l. Company Right to Early Transfer. Notwithstanding any election made herein,
the Company or any Subsidiary reserves the right to transfer to you all of the
vested and then unissued Shares associated with the Deferred Stocks subject to
this Election Agreement at any time following the termination of your employment
with the Company or any Subsidiary.

 

2. Withholding. The Company shall have the right to deduct from all deferrals or
payments hereunder, any federal, state, or local tax required by law to be
withheld.

 

3. Nonassignable. Your rights and interests under this Election Agreement may
not be assigned, pledged, or transferred other than as provided in the GSI
Commerce, Inc. 1996 Equity Incentive Plan.

 

4. Termination of This Agreement. The Company reserves the right to terminate
this Agreement at any time. In such case, Shares that you purchased pursuant to
your Agreement may be issued to you immediately.

 

5. Bookkeeping Account. The Company will establish a bookkeeping account to
reflect the number of Shares that you acquired pursuant to your Deferred Stock
and the Fair Market Value such Shares that are subject to this Election
Agreement.

 

6. Stock Certificates. Share certificates (each, a “Certificate”) evidencing the
issuance of the Shares pursuant to your Deferred Stock shall be issued to you as
of the applicable Settlement Dates (or such earlier date payment is to be made
pursuant to this Election Agreement) and shall be registered in your name.
Subject to the withholding requirements outlined above, Certificates
representing the unrestricted Shares will be delivered to you as soon as
practicable after the Settlement Date.

 

7. Change in Control. As used in this Election Agreement, “Change in Control”
shall have the meaning contained in the Plan or the Deferred Stock Award
Agreement; provided however, that a distribution upon a Change in Control shall
only occur if such distribution complies with the distribution requirements of
Code Section 409A and the regulations promulgated thereunder.

 

8. Governing Law. This Agreement shall be construed and administered according
to the laws of the State of Delaware.

 

By executing this Election Agreement, I hereby acknowledge my understanding of
and agreement with all the terms and provisions set forth in this Election
Agreement.

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EMPLOYEE       GSI COMMERCE, INC.

 

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      By:  

 

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            Name:  

 

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            Title:  

 

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Date:  

 

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      Date:  

 

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