Exhibit 4.4

 

TETRA TECH, INC.
 2015 EQUITY INCENTIVE PLAN

 

1.                                                              Purpose.  The purpose of the Tetra Tech, Inc. 2015 Equity Incentive Plan is to promote the interests of the Company and its stockholders by enabling the Company to offer Participants an opportunity to acquire an equity interest in the Company so as to better attract, retain, and reward its service providers and, accordingly, to strengthen the mutuality of interests between Participants and the Company’s stockholders by providing Participants with a proprietary interest in pursuing the Company’s long-term growth and financial success.

 

2.                                                              Definitions.  The following definitions shall be applicable throughout the Plan:

 

(a)                                 “Affiliate” means any entity that directly or indirectly through one or more intermediaries controls, is controlled by or is under common control with the Company as determined by the Board in its discretion.  The term “control,” as used in this Plan, means the power to direct or cause the direction of the management and policies of such Person, directly or indirectly, whether through the ownership of voting securities, by contract or otherwise.  “Controlled” and “controlling” have meanings correlative to the foregoing.

 

(b)                                 “Award” means, individually or collectively, any Incentive Stock Option, Nonqualified Stock Option, Stock Appreciation Right, Restricted Stock, Restricted Stock Unit, Stock Bonus Award, Dividend Equivalent, and Performance Compensation Award granted under the Plan.

 

(c)                                  “Award Agreement” means any agreement or other instrument (whether in paper or electronic medium (including email or the posting on a web site maintained by the Company or a third party under contract with the Company)) setting forth the terms of an Award that has been duly authorized and approved by the Committee.

 

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

 

(e)                                  “Change in Control” means the first of the following:

 

(i)                                     the purchase or other acquisition by any Person (as defined below), directly or indirectly, of beneficial ownership (within the meaning of Rule 13d-3 promulgated under the Exchange Act) of the Company’s securities, not including the securities beneficially owned by such Person or any securities acquired directly from the Company or its Affiliates, representing 50 percent or more on a single date or during any 12 month period of the combined voting power of the Company’s then outstanding voting securities entitled to vote generally in the election of the Board; provided, however, that if any Person has satisfied this requirement, the acquisition of additional Company securities by the same Person shall be construed as not triggering a Change of Control; and provided further, however, that an increase in the percentage of voting securities owned by any Person as a result of a transaction in which the Company acquires its voting securities in exchange for property shall not be treated as an acquisition of the Company’s voting securities for purposes of this Section 2(d)(i);

 

(ii)                                  the consummation of a reorganization, merger, or consolidation of the Company, if the Company’s stockholders, in combination with any trustee or other fiduciary acquiring voting securities under an employee benefit plan of the Company or an Affiliate as part of such transaction, do not, immediately thereafter, own more than 50 percent of the combined voting power of the reorganized, merged or consolidated Company’s then outstanding securities that is entitled to vote generally in the election of the directors; provided, however, that a merger or consolidation effected to implement a recapitalization of the Company (or similar transaction) in which no Person acquires more than 50 percent of the combined voting power of the Company’s then outstanding securities shall not be a Change of Control under this Section 2(d)(ii); or

 

(iii)                               the consummation of the sale or disposition by the Company of all or substantially all of the Company’s assets in a single transaction or a series of related transactions, other than a sale or disposition by the Company of all or substantially all of the Company’s assets to an entity where the outstanding securities generally entitled to vote in the election of directors of the Company immediately prior to the transaction

 

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continue to represent (either by remaining outstanding or by being converted into such securities of the surviving entity or any parent thereof) 50 percent or more of the combined voting power of the outstanding voting securities of such entity generally entitled to vote in such entity’s election of directors immediately after such sale.

 

Notwithstanding the foregoing, in no event may there be more than one transaction or occurrence treated as a “Change in Control” for purposes of the Plan.  In addition, if a Change in Control constitutes a payment event with respect to any Award which provides for the deferral of compensation and is subject to Section 409A of the Code, the transaction or event described in subsection (i)-(iv) with respect to such Award must also constitute a “change in control event,” as defined in Treasury Regulation § 1.409A-3(i)(5) to the extent required by Section 409A of the Code.  The Committee shall have full and final authority, which shall be exercised in its sole discretion, to determine conclusively whether a Change in Control has occurred pursuant to the above definition, and the date of the occurrence of such Change in Control and any incidental matters relating thereto.

 

(f)                                   “Clawback Requirements” shall have the meaning set forth in Section 15(v) of the Plan.

 

(g)                                  “Code” means the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, and any successor thereto.  Reference in the Plan to any section of the Code shall be deemed to include any regulations or other interpretative guidance under such section, and any amendments or successor provisions to such section, regulations or guidance.

 

(h)                                 “Committee” means the Compensation Committee of the Board or subcommittee thereof as may be appointed by the Board under Section 4(a) of the Plan, or such other committee of the Board consisting of at least two people as the Board may appoint to administer the Plan, or, if no such committee has been appointed by the Board, the Board.

 

(i)                                     “Company” means Tetra Tech, Inc., a Delaware corporation, and any successor thereto.

 

(j)                                    “Date of Grant” means the date on which the granting of an Award is authorized, or such other date as may be specified in such authorization.

 

(k)                                 “Disability” means total and permanent disability as defined in Section 22(e)(3) of the Code.

 

(l)                                     “Dividend Equivalent” shall mean a right to receive the equivalent value (in cash or Shares) of dividends paid on Shares, awarded under Section 10(b) of the Plan.

 

(m)                             “Effective Date” means the date on which the Plan is first approved by the stockholders of the Company.

 

(n)                                 “Eligible Director” means a person who is (i) a “non-employee director” within the meaning of Rule 16b-3 under the Exchange Act, and (ii) an “outside director” within the meaning of Section 162(m) of the Code.

 

(o)                                 “Eligible Person” means any (i) individual employed by the Company or any of its Affiliates; (ii) director of the Company or any of its Affiliates; (iii) consultant or advisor to the Company or any of its Affiliates who may be offered securities registrable on Form S-8 under the Securities Act, or any other available exemption, as applicable; or (iv) prospective employees, directors, officers, consultants or advisors who have accepted offers of employment or consultancy from the Company or its Affiliates (and would satisfy the provisions of clauses (i) through (iii) above once such person begins employment with or providing services to the Company or its Affiliates).

 

(p)                                 “Exchange Act” means the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and any successor thereto.  Any reference in the Plan to any section of (or rule promulgated under) the Exchange Act shall be deemed to include any rules, regulations or other interpretative guidance under such section or rule, and any amendments or successor provisions to such section, rules, regulations or guidance.

 

(q)                                 “Exercise Price” has the meaning given such term in Section 7(b) of the Plan.

 

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(r)                                    “Fair Market Value” means, as of any date, the value of a Share as determined by the Committee, in its discretion, subject to the following:

 

(i)                                     If, on such date, Shares are listed on one or more established U.S. national or regional securities exchanges, the Fair Market Value of a Share shall be the closing price of a Share as quoted on such exchange constituting the primary market for the Shares, as reported in The Wall Street Journal or such other source as the Company deems reliable (or, if no such closing price is reported, the closing bid).

 

(ii)                                  Notwithstanding clause (i) above, the Committee may, in its discretion, determine the Fair Market Value of a Share on the basis of the opening, closing, or average of the high and low sale prices of a Share on such date or the preceding trading day, the actual sale price of a Share, any other reasonable basis using actual transactions involving Shares as reported on an established U.S. national or regional securities exchange, or on any other basis consistent with the requirements of Section 409A of the Code.

 

(iii)                               The Committee may vary its method of determining Fair Market Value as provided in this Section for purposes of different provisions under the Plan.  The Committee may delegate its authority to establish Fair Market Value for purposes of determining whether sufficient consideration has been paid to exercise Options or SARs or for purposes of any other transactions involving outstanding Awards.

 

(s)                                   “Immediate Family Members” shall have the meaning set forth in Section 15(b) of the Plan.

 

(t)                                    “Incentive Stock Option” means an Option that is designated by the Committee as an incentive stock option as described in Section 422 of the Code and otherwise meets the requirements set forth in the Plan.

 

(u)                                 “Indemnifiable Person” shall have the meaning set forth in Section 4(e) of the Plan.

 

(v)                                 “Nonqualified Stock Option” means an Option that is not designated by the Committee as an Incentive Stock Option.

 

(w)                               “Option” means an Award granted under Section 7 of the Plan.

 

(x)                                 “Option Period” has the meaning given such term in Section 7(c) of the Plan.

 

(y)                                 “Participant” means an Eligible Person who has been selected by the Committee to participate in the Plan and to receive an Award pursuant to Section 6 of the Plan.

 

(z)                                  “Performance Compensation Award” shall mean any Award designated by the Committee as a Performance Compensation Award pursuant to Section 11 of the Plan.

 

(aa)                          “Performance Criteria” shall mean the criterion or criteria under Section 11(c) that the Committee shall select for purposes of establishing the Performance Goal(s) for a Performance Period with respect to any Performance Compensation Award under the Plan.

 

(bb)                          “Performance Formula” shall mean, for a Performance Period, the one or more objective formulae applied against the relevant Performance Goal to determine, with regard to the Performance Compensation Award of a particular Participant, whether all, some portion but less than all, or none of the Performance Compensation Award has been earned for the Performance Period.

 

(cc)                            “Performance Goals” shall mean, for a Performance Period, the one or more goals established by the Committee for the Performance Period based upon the Performance Criteria.

 

(dd)                          “Performance Period” shall mean the one or more periods of time, as the Committee may select, over which the attainment of one or more Performance Goals will be measured for the purpose of determining a Participant’s right to, and the payment of, a Performance Compensation Award.

 

(ee)                            “Permitted Transferee” shall have the meaning set forth in Section 15(b) of the Plan.

 

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(ff)                              “Person” means a “person” as such term is used for purposes of 13(d) or 14(d) of the Exchange Act, or any successor section thereto; provided, however, that Person shall exclude (i) the Company or any of its Affiliates, (ii) any trustee or other fiduciary holding securities under an employee benefit plan of the Company or any of its Affiliates, (iii) an underwriter temporarily holding securities pursuant to an offering of such securities, and (iv) any corporation owned directly or indirectly by the stockholders of the Company in substantially the same proportion as their ownership of stock of the Company.

 

(gg)                            “Plan” means the Tetra Tech, Inc. 2015 Equity Incentive Plan.

 

(hh)                          “Restricted Period” means the period of time determined by the Committee during which an Award is subject to restrictions or, as applicable, the period of time within which performance is measured for purposes of determining whether an Award has been earned.

 

(ii)                                  “Restricted Stock” means Shares, subject to certain specified restrictions (including, without limitation, a requirement that the Participant remain continuously employed or provide continuous services for a specified period of time), granted under Section 9 of the Plan.

 

(jj)                                “Restricted Stock Unit” means an unfunded and unsecured promise to deliver Shares, cash, other securities or other property, subject to certain restrictions (including, without limitation, a requirement that the Participant remain continuously employed or provide continuous services for a specified period of time), granted under Section 9 of the Plan.

 

(kk)                          “SAR Period” has the meaning given such term in Section 8(b) of the Plan.

 

(ll)                                  “Securities Act” means the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and any successor thereto.  Reference in the Plan to any section of the Securities Act shall be deemed to include any rules, regulations or other interpretative guidance under such section, and any amendments or successor provisions to such section, rules, regulations or guidance.

 

(mm)                  “Share” means a share of the Company’s common stock, par value $0.01 per share.

 

(nn)                          “SEC” means the Securities and Exchange Commission.

 

(oo)                          “Stock Appreciation Right” or “SAR” means an Award granted under Section 8 of the Plan.

 

(pp)                          “Stock Bonus Award” means an Award granted under Section 10(a) of the Plan.

 

(qq)                          “Strike Price” means, except as otherwise provided by the Committee in the case of Substitute Awards, (i) in the case of a SAR granted in tandem with an Option, the Exercise Price of the related Option, or (ii) in the case of a SAR granted independent of an Option, the Fair Market Value on the Date of Grant.

 

(rr)                                “Substitute Award” has the meaning given such term in Section 5(e).

 

3.                                      Effective Date; Duration.  The Plan shall be effective as of the Effective Date.  The expiration date of the Plan, on and after which date no Awards may be granted hereunder, shall be the tenth anniversary of the Effective Date; provided, however, that such expiration shall not affect Awards then outstanding, and the terms and conditions of the Plan shall continue to apply to such Awards.

 

4.                                      Administration.

 

(a)                                 The Committee shall administer the Plan.  To the extent required to comply with the provisions of Rule 16b-3 promulgated under the Exchange Act (if the Board is not acting as the Committee under the Plan) or necessary to obtain the exception for performance-based compensation under Section 162(m) of the Code, as applicable, it is intended that each member of the Committee shall, at the time he takes any action with respect to an Award under the Plan, be an Eligible Director.  However, the fact that a Committee member shall fail to qualify as an Eligible Director shall not invalidate any Award granted by the Committee that is otherwise validly granted under the Plan.  Unless otherwise provided in the Company’s bylaws or the Committee’s charter, (i) a

 

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majority of the members of the Committee shall constitute a quorum, and (ii) a vote of a majority of the members (assuming the presence of a quorum) or the unanimous written consent of the Committee members shall constitute action by the Committee.

 

(b)                                 Subject to the provisions of the Plan and applicable law, the Committee shall have the sole and plenary authority, in addition to other express powers and authorizations conferred on the Committee by the Plan, to: (i) designate Participants; (ii) determine the type or types of Awards to be granted to a Participant; (iii) determine the number of Shares to be covered by, or with respect to which payments, rights, or other matters are to be calculated in connection with, Awards; (iv) determine the Fair Market Value; (v) determine the terms and conditions of any Award and any amendments thereto; (vi) determine whether, to what extent, and under what circumstances Awards may vest, be settled or exercised in cash, Shares, other securities, other Awards or other property, or canceled, forfeited, or suspended and the method or methods by which Awards may be settled, exercised, canceled, forfeited, or suspended; (vii) determine whether, to what extent, and under what circumstances the delivery of cash, Shares, other securities, other Awards or other property and other amounts payable with respect to an Award shall be deferred either automatically or at the election of the Participant or of the Committee; (viii) interpret, administer, reconcile any inconsistency in, correct any defect in and/or supply any omission in the Plan and any instrument or agreement relating to, or Award granted under, the Plan; (ix) establish, amend, suspend, or waive any rules and regulations and appoint such agents as the Committee shall deem appropriate for the proper administration of the Plan; (x) accelerate the vesting or exercisability of, payment for or lapse of restrictions on, Awards; (xi) make Awards to foreign employees and others in consideration of foreign laws as contemplated by Section 15(z); and (xii) make any other determination and take any other action that the Committee deems necessary or desirable for the administration of the Plan.  All powers of the Committee shall be executed in its sole discretion and need not be uniform as to similarly situated individuals.

 

(c)                                  Except to the extent prohibited by applicable law or the applicable rules and regulations of any securities exchange or inter-dealer quotation system on which the securities of the Company are listed or traded, the Committee may allocate all or any portion of its responsibilities and powers to any one or more of its members and may delegate all or any part of its responsibilities and powers to any person or persons selected by it.  Any such allocation or delegation may be revoked by the Committee at any time.  Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, the Committee may delegate to one or more officers of the Company or any of its Affiliates the authority to act on behalf of the Committee with respect to any matter, right, obligation, or election that is the responsibility of or that is allocated to the Committee herein, and that may be so delegated as a matter of law, except (i) the ability to accelerate the vesting of any Award and (ii) for grants of Awards to persons (A) who are non-employee members of the Board or otherwise are subject to Section 16 of the Exchange Act or (B) who are, or who are reasonably expected to be, “covered employees” for purposes of Section 162(m) of the Code.

 

(d)                                 Unless otherwise expressly provided in the Plan, all designations, determinations, interpretations, and other decisions under or with respect to the Plan or any Award or any documents evidencing Awards granted pursuant to the Plan shall be within the sole discretion of the Committee, may be made at any time and shall be final, conclusive and binding upon all persons or entities, including, without limitation, the Company, any of its Affiliates, any Participant, any holder or beneficiary of any Award, and any stockholder of the Company.

 

(e)                                  No member of the Board, the Committee, delegate of the Committee or any officer, employee or agent of the Company (each such person, an “Indemnifiable Person”) shall be liable for any action taken or omitted to be taken or any determination made in good faith with respect to the Plan or any Award hereunder.  Each Indemnifiable Person shall be indemnified and held harmless by the Company against and from any loss, cost, liability, or expense (including attorneys’ fees) that may be imposed upon or incurred by such Indemnifiable Person in connection with or resulting from any action, suit or proceeding to which such Indemnifiable Person may be a party or in which such Indemnifiable Person may be involved by reason of any action taken or omitted to be taken under the Plan or any Award Agreement and against and from any and all amounts paid by such Indemnifiable Person with the Company’s approval, in settlement thereof, or paid by such Indemnifiable Person in satisfaction of any judgment in any such action, suit or proceeding against such Indemnifiable Person, provided, that the Company shall have the right, at its own expense, to assume and defend any such action, suit or proceeding and once the Company gives notice of its intent to assume the defense, the Company shall have sole control over such defense with counsel of the Company’s choice.  The foregoing right of indemnification shall not be available to an Indemnifiable Person to the extent that a final judgment or other final

 

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adjudication (in either case not subject to further appeal) binding upon such Indemnifiable Person determines that the acts or omissions of such Indemnifiable Person giving rise to the indemnification claim resulted from such Indemnifiable Person’s fraud, gross negligence or willful criminal act or omission or that such right of indemnification is otherwise prohibited by law or by the Company’s Certificate of Incorporation or Bylaws.  The foregoing right of indemnification shall not be exclusive of any other rights of indemnification to which such Indemnifiable Persons may be entitled under the Company’s Certificate of Incorporation or Bylaws or as a matter of law or otherwise, or any other power that the Company may have to indemnify such Indemnifiable Persons or hold them harmless.

 

(f)                                   Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in the Plan, the Board may, in its sole discretion, at any time and from time to time, grant Awards and administer the Plan with respect to such Awards.  In any such case, the Board shall have all the authority granted to the Committee under the Plan.

 

5.                                      Grant of Awards; Shares Subject to the Plan; Limitations.

 

(a)                                 The Committee may, from time to time, grant Options, Stock Appreciation Rights, Restricted Stock, Restricted Stock Units, Stock Bonus Awards, Dividend Equivalents and/or Performance Compensation Awards to one or more Eligible Persons.

 

(b)                                 Subject to Section 12, the maximum number of Shares that may be issued or transferred pursuant to Awards under the Plan will be 5,000,000 Shares.  Each Share subject to an Option or SAR shall count against the maximum number of Shares under this Section 5(b) as one Share, and each Share subject to any other type of Award shall count against the maximum number of Shares under this Section 5(b) as 3.0 Shares.  The Company may satisfy its obligations under any award granted under the Plan by issuing new shares or treasury shares.  The following rules apply for counting Shares against the maximum number of Shares under this Section 5(b):

 

(i)                                     Any Shares related to Awards that terminate by expiration, forfeiture, cancellation, or otherwise without the issuance of such Shares, are settled in cash in lieu of Shares, or are exchanged with the Committee’s permission, prior to the issuance of Shares, for Awards not involving Shares, shall be available again for grant under the Plan.  In addition, Restricted Stock that is forfeited shall again be available for grant under the Plan.

 

(ii)                                  The full number of Options and Stock Appreciation Rights granted that are to be settled by the issuance of Shares shall be counted against the number of Shares available for award under the Plan, regardless of the number of Shares actually issued upon settlement of any such Award.

 

(iii)                               Any Shares withheld to satisfy tax withholding obligations on an Award issued under the Plan other than with respect to Options or SARs, Shares tendered to pay the exercise price of an Option, and Shares repurchased on the open market with the proceeds of an Option exercise will not be eligible to be again available for grant under the Plan.

 

(c)                                  Awards granted under the Plan shall be subject to the following limitations, which shall be subject to Section 12 of the Plan: (i) no more than 500,000 Shares may be granted as Incentive Stock Options, to any single Participant during a single calendar year; (ii) no more than 1,000,000 Shares may be subject to Options and SARs granted pursuant to Section 7 and Section 8 of the Plan to any single Participant during a single calendar year; and (iii) no more than 500,000 Shares may be subject to Performance Compensation Awards granted pursuant to Section 11 of the Plan (excluding Options and SARs) to any single Participant during a single calendar year or, in the event such Performance Compensation Award is paid in cash, other securities, other Awards or other property, no more than the Fair Market Value of 500,000 Shares on the last day of the Performance Period to which such Award relates; provided, however, that the amount of the unused annual limit with respect to the previous calendar year under the Plan beginning on or after January 1, 2016 for an Award denominated in Shares shall be added to the maximum applicable annual per-Participant Share limit.

 

(d)                                 At all times the Company will reserve and keep available a sufficient number of Shares to satisfy the requirements of all outstanding Awards made under the Plan and all other outstanding but unvested Awards made under the Plan that are to be settled in Shares.  Shares delivered by the Company in settlement of

 

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Awards may be authorized and unissued Shares, Shares held in the treasury of the Company, Shares purchased on the open market or by private purchase, or a combination of the foregoing.

 

(e)                                  Awards may, in the sole discretion of the Committee, be granted under the Plan in assumption of, or in substitution for, outstanding awards previously granted by an entity acquired by the Company or its Affiliates or with which the Company or its Affiliates combines (“Substitute Awards”) in a manner intended to satisfy the provisions of Section 424(a) and Section 409A of the Code.  The number of Shares underlying any Substitute Awards shall not be counted against the aggregate number of Shares available for Awards under the Plan.

 

(f)                                   Except with respect to a maximum of (5%) of the Shares authorized under Section 5(b), as of March 5, 2015, as may be adjusted under Section 12, any Award granted under the Plan that vests on the basis of the Participant’s continued employment with or provision of service to the Company shall not provide for vesting which is any more rapid than annual pro rata vesting over a three (3) year period and any Award that vests upon the attainment of Performance Goals shall provide for a Performance Period of at least twelve (12) months, provided that vesting may be shortened in the case of death, disability, retirement or Change in Control as set forth in an Award Agreement or determined by the Committee.  Notwithstanding the foregoing, this limit shall not be applicable to any Awards to newly-hired employees, Substitute Awards and non-employee members of the Board.

 

6.                                      Eligibility.  Participation shall be limited to Eligible Persons who have entered into an Award Agreement or who have received written notification from the Committee, or from a person designated by the Committee, that they have been selected to participate in the Plan.  Eligible Persons may be selected individually or by groups or categories, as determined by the Committee in its sole discretion, to participate in the Plan.  An Eligible Person shall not have a right to receive an Award due to previously receiving one or more Awards under the Plan or any prior equity incentive plan maintained by the Company.

 

7.                                      Options.

 

(a)                                 Generally.  Each Option granted under the Plan shall be evidenced by an Award Agreement.  Each Option so granted shall be subject to the conditions set forth in this Section 7, and to such other conditions not inconsistent with the Plan as may be reflected in the applicable Award Agreement.  All Options granted under the Plan shall be Nonqualified Stock Options unless the applicable Award Agreement expressly states that the Option is intended to be an Incentive Stock Option.  Incentive Stock Options shall be granted only to Eligible Persons who are employees of the Company or any “parent corporation” or “subsidiary corporation” thereof within the meaning of Section 424(e) and 424(f), respectively, of the Code, and no Incentive Stock Option shall be granted to any Eligible Person who is ineligible to receive an Incentive Stock Option under the Code.  No Option shall be treated as an Incentive Stock Option unless the Plan has been approved by the stockholders of the Company in a manner intended to comply with the stockholder approval requirements of Section 422(b)(1) of the Code, provided, that any Option intended to be an Incentive Stock Option shall not fail to be effective solely on account of a failure to obtain such approval, but rather such Option shall be treated as a Nonqualified Stock Option unless and until such approval is obtained.  In the case of an Incentive Stock Option, the terms and conditions of such grant shall be subject to and comply with such rules as may be prescribed by Section 422 of the Code.  If for any reason an Option intended to be an Incentive Stock Option (or any portion thereof) shall not qualify as an Incentive Stock Option, then, to the extent of such non-qualification, such Option or portion thereof shall be regarded as a Nonqualified Stock Option appropriately granted under the Plan.

 

(b)                                 Exercise Price.  Except as otherwise provided by the Committee in the case of Substitute Awards, the exercise price (“Exercise Price”) per Share for each Option shall not be less than 100% of the Fair Market Value of such Share (determined as of the Date of Grant); provided, however, that in the case of an Incentive Stock Option granted to an employee who, at the time of the grant of such Option, owns stock representing more than 10% of the voting power of all classes of stock of the Company or any “parent corporation” or “subsidiary corporation” thereof within the meaning of Section 424(e) and 424(f), respectively, of the Code, the Exercise Price per Share shall not be less than 110% of the Fair Market Value per Share on the Date of Grant; and provided, further, that a Nonqualified Stock Option may be granted with an Exercise Price lower than that set forth herein if such Option is granted pursuant to an assumption or substitution for another option in a manner satisfying the provisions of Section 424(a) and Section 409A of the Code.

 

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(c)                                  Vesting and Expiration.  Options shall vest and become exercisable in such manner and on such date or dates determined by the Committee and shall expire after such period, not to exceed ten years, as may be determined by the Committee (the “Option Period”); provided, that if the Option Period (other than in the case of an Incentive Stock Option) would expire at a time when trading in the Shares is prohibited by the Company’s insider trading policy (or Company-imposed “blackout period”) or would otherwise violate an applicable federal, state, local or foreign law, the Option Period shall be automatically extended until the 30th day following the expiration of such prohibition or violation; provided, however, that the Option Period shall not exceed five years from the Date of Grant in the case of an Incentive Stock Option granted to a Participant who on the Date of Grant owns stock representing more than 10% of the voting power of all classes of stock of the Company or any of its Affiliates; provided, further, that notwithstanding any vesting dates set by the Committee, the Committee may, in its sole discretion, accelerate the exercisability of any Option.

 

(d)                                 Method of Exercise and Form of Payment.  No Shares shall be delivered pursuant to any exercise of an Option until payment in full of the Exercise Price therefor is received by the Company and the Participant has paid to the Company an amount equal to any federal, state, local and non-U.S. income and employment taxes required to be withheld.  Options that have become exercisable may be exercised by delivery of written or electronic notice of exercise to the Company in accordance with the terms of the Option accompanied by payment of the Exercise Price.  The Exercise Price shall be payable (i) in cash, check, cash equivalent and/or Shares valued at the Fair Market Value at the time the Option is exercised (including, pursuant to procedures approved by the Committee, by means of attestation of ownership of a sufficient number of Shares in lieu of actual delivery of such Shares to the Company); or (ii) by such other method as the Committee may permit in its sole discretion, including without limitation: (A) in other property having a fair market value on the date of exercise equal to the Exercise Price, (B) if there is a public market for the Shares at such time, by means of a broker-assisted “cashless exercise” pursuant to which the Company is delivered a copy of irrevocable instructions to a stockbroker to sell the Shares otherwise deliverable upon the exercise of the Option and to deliver promptly to the Company an amount equal to the Exercise Price, or (C) by a “net exercise” method whereby the Company withholds from the delivery of the Shares for which the Option was exercised that number of Shares having a Fair Market Value equal to the aggregate Exercise Price for the Shares for which the Option was exercised.  Any fractional Shares shall be settled in cash.

 

(e)                                  Notification upon Disqualifying Disposition of an Incentive Stock Option.  Each Participant awarded an Incentive Stock Option under the Plan shall notify the Company in writing immediately after the date he makes a disqualifying disposition of any Share acquired pursuant to the exercise of such Incentive Stock Option.  A disqualifying disposition is any disposition (including, without limitation, any sale) of such Share before the later of (i) two years after the Date of Grant of the Incentive Stock Option or (ii) one year after the date of exercise of the Incentive Stock Option.

 

(f)                                   Compliance With Laws, etc.  Notwithstanding the foregoing, in no event shall a Participant be permitted to exercise an Option in a manner that the Committee determines would violate the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, or any other applicable law or the applicable rules and regulations of the SEC or the applicable rules and regulations of any securities exchange or inter-dealer quotation system on which the securities of the Company are listed or traded.

 

(g)                                  Net Exercise of In-the-Money Options on the Expiration Date.  Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Committee may provide in its sole direction and in such manner as it determines appropriate for in-the-money Options to be exercised on their expiration date (as defined below) by using a net exercise and for the Company to withhold Shares from such Award to satisfy applicable minimum tax withholding requirements.  For purposes of this Section 7(g), (i) the “expiration date” shall be the last day on which an Option may be exercised under the terms of the applicable Award Agreement and (ii) an “in-the-money Option” means an Option in which the Fair Market Value of a Share is greater than the Exercise Price per Share on the expiration date.

 

8.                                      Stock Appreciation Rights.

 

(a)                                 Generally.  Each SAR granted under the Plan shall be evidenced by an Award Agreement.  Each SAR so granted shall be subject to the conditions set forth in this Section 8, and to such other conditions not inconsistent with the Plan as may be reflected in the applicable Award Agreement.  Any Option

 

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granted under the Plan may include tandem SARs.  The Committee also may award SARs to Eligible Persons independent of any Option.

 

(b)                                 Vesting and Expiration.  A SAR granted in connection with an Option shall become exercisable and shall expire according to the same vesting schedule and expiration provisions as the corresponding Option.  A SAR granted independent of an Option shall vest and become exercisable and shall expire in such manner and on such date or dates determined by the Committee and shall expire after such period, not to exceed ten years, as may be determined by the Committee (the “SAR Period”); provided, however, that notwithstanding any vesting dates set by the Committee, the Committee may, in its sole discretion, accelerate the exercisability of any SAR.

 

(c)                                  Method of Exercise.  SARs that have become exercisable may be exercised by delivery of written or electronic notice of exercise to the Company in accordance with the terms of the Award, specifying the number of SARs to be exercised and the date on which such SARs were awarded.  Notwithstanding the foregoing, rules similar to those in Section 7(g) (regarding a Net Exercise of In-the Money Options on the Expiration Date) may be applied by the Committee in its sole discretion to SARs when the Fair Market Value of a Share is greater than the Strike Price per Share on the last day on which a SAR may be exercised under the terms of the applicable Award Agreement.

 

(d)                                 Payment.  Upon the exercise of a SAR, the Company shall pay to the Participant an amount equal to the number of Shares subject to the SAR that are being exercised multiplied by the excess, if any, of the Fair Market Value of one Share on the exercise date over the Strike Price, less an amount equal to any federal, state, local and non-U.S. income and employment taxes required to be withheld.  The Company shall pay such amount in cash, in Shares valued at Fair Market Value, or any combination thereof, as determined by the Committee at the Date of Grant.  Any fractional Shares shall be settled in cash.

 

9.                                      Restricted Stock and Restricted Stock Units.

 

(a)                                 Generally.  Each grant of Restricted Stock and Restricted Stock Units shall be evidenced by an Award Agreement.  Each such grant shall be subject to the conditions set forth in this Section 9, and to such other conditions not inconsistent with the Plan as may be reflected in the applicable Award Agreement.

 

(b)                                 Book Entry and Stock Certificates; Escrow or Similar Arrangement.  Upon the grant of Restricted Stock, the Committee shall cause a stock certificate registered in the name of the Participant to be issued, or shall cause Shares to be registered in the name of the Participant and held in book-entry form subject to the Company’s directions, and, if the Committee determines that the Restricted Stock shall be held by the Company or in escrow rather than delivered to the Participant pending the release of the applicable restrictions, the Committee may require the Participant to additionally execute and deliver to the Company (i) an escrow agreement satisfactory to the Committee, if applicable, and (ii) the appropriate stock power (endorsed in blank) with respect to the Restricted Stock covered by such agreement.  If a Participant shall fail to execute an agreement evidencing an Award of Restricted Stock and, if applicable, an escrow agreement and blank stock power within the amount of time specified by the Committee, the Award shall be null and void.  Subject to the restrictions set forth in this Section 9 and the applicable Award Agreement, the Participant generally shall have the rights and privileges of a stockholder as to such Restricted Stock, including without limitation the right to vote such Restricted Stock.  To the extent shares of Restricted Stock are forfeited, any stock certificates issued to the Participant evidencing such Shares shall be returned to the Company, and all rights of the Participant to such Shares and as a stockholder with respect thereto shall terminate without further obligation on the part of the Company.

 

(c)                                  Vesting. The Restricted Period shall lapse in such manner and on such date or dates determined by the Committee; provided, however, that notwithstanding any vesting dates set by the Committee, the Committee may, in its sole discretion, accelerate the vesting of any Restricted Stock or Restricted Stock Units.

 

(d)                                 Delivery of Restricted Stock and Settlement of Restricted Stock Units.

 

(i)                                     Upon the expiration of the Restricted Period with respect to any shares of Restricted Stock, the restrictions set forth in the applicable Award Agreement shall be of no further force or effect with respect to such Shares, except as set forth in the applicable Award Agreement.  If an escrow arrangement is

 

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used, upon such expiration, the Company shall deliver to the Participant, or his beneficiary, without charge, the stock certificate evidencing the shares of Restricted Stock that have not then been forfeited and with respect to which the Restricted Period has expired (rounded down to the nearest full Share).  Participants holding shares of Restricted Stock shall be entitled to receive dividends and other distributions paid with respect to such Shares as follows unless otherwise provided in the Award Agreement:

 

(A)                               If any such dividends or distributions are paid in Shares, the Shares will be subject to the same restrictions (and shall therefore be forfeitable to the same extent) as the Restricted Stock with respect to which they were paid.

 

(B)                               If any such dividends or distributions are paid in cash, the Award Agreement shall specify that the cash payments shall be subject to the same restrictions as the related Restricted Stock, in which case they shall be accumulated during the Restricted Period and paid or forfeited when the related Restricted Stock vests or is forfeited.

 

(ii)                                  Unless otherwise provided by the Committee in an Award Agreement, upon the expiration of the Restricted Period with respect to any outstanding Restricted Stock Units, the Company shall deliver to the Participant, or his beneficiary, without charge, one Share for each such outstanding Restricted Stock Unit; provided, however, that the Committee may, in its sole discretion, allow Participants to elect to defer the delivery of Shares beyond the expiration of the Restricted Period in compliance with Section 409A of the Code.

 

(e)                                  Legends on Restricted Stock.  Each certificate representing Restricted Stock awarded under the Plan shall bear a legend substantially in the form of the following in addition to any other information the Company deems appropriate until the lapse of all restrictions with respect to such Shares:

 

TRANSFER OF THIS CERTIFICATE AND THE SHARES REPRESENTED HEREBY IS RESTRICTED PURSUANT TO THE TERMS OF THE TETRA TECH, INC. 2015 EQUITY INCENTIVE PLAN AND A RESTRICTED STOCK AWARD AGREEMENT, BETWEEN TETRA TECH, INC. AND PARTICIPANT.  A COPY OF SUCH PLAN AND AWARD AGREEMENT IS ON FILE AT THE PRINCIPAL EXECUTIVE OFFICES OF TETRA TECH, INC.

 

10.                               Stock Bonus Awards; Dividend Equivalents.

 

(a)                                 Stock Bonus Awards.  The Committee may issue unrestricted Shares, or other Awards denominated in Shares, under the Plan to Eligible Persons, either alone or in tandem with other awards, in such amounts as the Committee shall from time to time in its sole discretion determine.  Each Stock Bonus Award granted under the Plan shall be evidenced by an Award Agreement.  Each Stock Bonus Award so granted shall be subject to such conditions not inconsistent with the Plan as may be reflected in the applicable Award Agreement.

 

(b)                                 Dividend Equivalents.  Dividend Equivalents may be granted by the Committee based on dividends declared on the Shares, to be credited as of dividend payment dates during the period between the date an Award is granted to a Participant and the date such Award vests, is exercised, is distributed or expires, as determined by the Committee.  Such Dividend Equivalents shall be converted to cash or additional Shares by such formula and at such time and subject to such limitations as may be determined by the Committee.  In addition, Dividend Equivalents with respect to an Award with performance-based vesting that are based on dividends paid prior to the vesting of such Award shall only be paid out to the Participant to the extent that the performance-based vesting conditions are subsequently satisfied and the Award vests.  No Dividend Equivalent shall be payable with respect to any Award unless specified by the Committee in the Award Agreement.

 

11.                               Performance Compensation Awards.

 

(a)                                 Generally.  The Committee shall have the authority, at the time of grant of any Award described in Sections 7 through 10 of the Plan, to designate such Award as a Performance Compensation Award intended to qualify as “performance-based compensation” under Section 162(m) of the Code.  Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in the Plan, the Committee shall have no obligation to grant any Award in the form of “performance-based compensation” under Section 162(m) of the Code.

 

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(b)                                 Discretion of Committee with Respect to Performance Compensation Awards.  With regard to a particular Performance Period, the Committee shall have sole discretion to select the length of such Performance Period, the type(s) of Performance Compensation Awards to be issued, the Performance Criteria that will be used to establish the Performance Goal(s), the kind(s) and/or level(s) of the Performance Goals(s) that is (are) to apply and the Performance Formula.  Within the first ninety (90) days of a Performance Period (or, if longer or shorter, within the maximum period allowed under Section 162(m) of the Code), the Committee shall, with regard to the Performance Compensation Awards to be issued for such Performance Period, exercise its discretion with respect to each of the matters enumerated in the immediately preceding sentence and record the same in writing.

 

(c)                                  Performance Criteria.  The Performance Criteria that will be used to establish the Performance Goal(s) shall be based on the attainment of specific levels of performance of the Company (and/or one or more of its Affiliates, divisions or operational and/or business units, product lines, brands, business segments, administrative departments or any combination of the foregoing) and may include any of the following: (i) net earnings or net income (before or after taxes); (ii) net income from operations; (iii) basic or diluted earnings per Share (before or after taxes); (iv) net revenue or net revenue growth (in each case, whether or not net of subcontractor costs); (v) gross revenue or gross revenue growth (in each case, whether or not net of subcontractor costs); (vi) gross profit or gross profit growth; (vii) net interest margin; (viii) operating profit (before or after taxes); (ix) return measures (including, but not limited to, return on investment, assets, capital, employed capital, invested capital, equity or sales); (x) cash flow measures (including, but not limited to, operating cash flow, free cash flow or cash flow return on capital), which may but are not required to be measured on a per-Share basis; (xi) earnings before or after taxes, interest, depreciation and/or amortization (including EBIT and EBITDA); (xii) Share price (including, but not limited to, growth measures or total stockholder return); (xiii) expense targets, cost reduction goals or general and administrative expense savings; (xiv) achieving specified improvements in collection of outstanding account receivable or specified reductions in write-offs; (xv) achieving a target days sales outstanding (DSO) level; (xvi) gross or net operating margins; (xvii) productivity ratios; (xviii) operating efficiency; (xix) measures of economic value added or other “value creation” metrics; (xx) enterprise value; (xxi) stockholder return; (xxii) client retention; (xxiii) employee retention; (xxiv) competitive market metrics; (xxv) objective measures of personal targets, goals or completion of projects (including, but not limited to, succession and hiring projects, completion of specific acquisitions, reorganizations or other corporate transactions or capital-raising transactions, expansions of specific business operations or meeting business unit or project budgets); (xxvi) objective measures of customer satisfaction; (xxvii) working capital targets; (xxviii) asset growth; (xxix) dividend yield and dividend growth; (xxx) cost of capital, debt leverage, year-end cash position or book value; (xxxi) strategic objectives, including revenue and margin targets; or (xxxii) any combination of the foregoing.  Any one or more of the Performance Criteria may be stated as a percentage of another Performance Criteria, or a percentage of a prior period’s Performance Criteria, or used on an absolute, relative or adjusted basis to measure the performance of the Company and/or one or more of its Affiliates as a whole or any divisions or operational and/or business units, business segments, administrative departments of the Company and/or one or more of its Affiliates or any combination thereof, as the Committee may deem appropriate, or any of the above Performance Criteria may be compared to the performance of a selected group of comparison companies, or a published or special index that the Committee, in its sole discretion, deems appropriate, or as compared to various stock market indices.  The Committee also has the authority to provide for accelerated vesting of any Award based on the achievement of Performance Goals pursuant to the Performance Criteria specified in this paragraph.  To the extent required under Section 162(m) of the Code, the Committee shall, within the first ninety (90) days of a Performance Period (or, if longer or shorter, within the maximum period allowed under Section 162(m) of the Code), define in an objective fashion the manner of calculating the Performance Criteria it selects to use for such Performance Period and thereafter promptly communicate such Performance Criteria to the Participant.

 

(d)                                 Modification of Performance Goal(s).  In the event that applicable tax and/or securities laws change to permit Committee discretion to alter the governing Performance Criteria without obtaining stockholder approval of such alterations, the Committee shall have sole discretion to make such alterations without obtaining stockholder approval.  The Committee is authorized at any time during the first ninety (90) days of a Performance Period (or, if longer or shorter, within the maximum period allowed under Section 162(m) of the Code), or at any time thereafter to the extent the exercise of such authority at such time would not cause the Performance Compensation Awards granted to any Participant for such Performance Period to fail to qualify as “performance-based compensation” under Section 162(m) of the Code, in its sole discretion, to adjust or modify the calculation of a Performance Goal for such Performance Period, based on and in order to appropriately reflect the

 

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following events: (i) asset write-downs; (ii) litigation or claim judgments or settlements; (iii) the effect of changes in tax laws, accounting principles, or other laws or regulatory rules affecting reported results; (iv) any reorganization and restructuring programs; (v) extraordinary nonrecurring items as described in Accounting Standards Codification Topic 225-20 (or any successor pronouncement thereto) and/or in management’s discussion and analysis of financial condition and results of operations appearing in the Company’s annual report to stockholders for the applicable year; (vi) acquisitions or divestitures; (vii) any other specific unusual or nonrecurring events, or objectively determinable category thereof; (viii) foreign exchange gains and losses; (ix) discontinued operations and nonrecurring charges; and (x) a change in the Company’s fiscal year.

 

(e)                                  Payment of Performance Compensation Awards.

 

(i)                                     Condition to Receipt of Payment.  Unless otherwise provided in the applicable Award Agreement, a Participant must be employed by the Company or its Affiliates on the last day of a Performance Period to be eligible for payment in respect of a Performance Compensation Award for such Performance Period.

 

(ii)                                  Limitation.  A Participant shall be eligible to receive payment in respect of a Performance Compensation Award only to the extent that: (A) the Performance Goals for such period are achieved; and (B) all or some of the portion of such Participant’s Performance Compensation Award has been earned for the Performance Period based on the application of the Performance Formula to such achieved Performance Goals.

 

(iii)                               Certification.  Following the completion of a Performance Period, the Committee shall review and certify in writing whether, and to what extent, the Performance Goals for the Performance Period have been achieved and, if so, calculate and certify in writing that amount of the Performance Compensation Awards earned for the period based upon the Performance Formula.  The Committee shall then determine the amount of each Participant’s Performance Compensation Award actually payable for the Performance Period.

 

(f)                                   Timing of Award Payments.  Performance Compensation Awards granted for a Performance Period shall be paid to Participants as soon as administratively practicable following completion of the certifications required by this Section 11, but in no event later than two-and-one-half months following the end of the fiscal year during which the Performance Period is completed.

 

12.                               Changes in Capital Structure and Similar Events.  In the event of (a) any stock dividend, extraordinary cash dividend or other distribution (whether in the form of securities or other property), recapitalization, stock split, reverse stock split, reorganization, merger, consolidation, split-up, split-off, combination, reclassification, repurchase or exchange of Shares or other securities of the Company, issuance of warrants or other rights to acquire Shares or other securities of the Company, or other similar corporate transaction or event (including, without limitation, a Change in Control) that affects the Shares, or (b) unusual or nonrecurring events (including, without limitation, a Change in Control) affecting the Company, any of its Affiliates, or the financial statements of the Company or any of its Affiliates, or changes in applicable rules, rulings, regulations or other requirements of any governmental body or securities exchange or inter-dealer quotation system, accounting principles or law, such that in either case an adjustment is determined by the Committee in its sole discretion to be necessary or appropriate, then the Committee shall make any such adjustments in such manner as it may deem equitable, including without limitation any or all of the following:

 

(i)                                     adjusting any or all of (A) the number of Shares or other securities of the Company (or number and kind of other securities or other property) that may be delivered in respect of Awards or with respect to which Awards may be granted under the Plan (including, without limitation, adjusting any or all of the limitations under Section 5 of the Plan) and (B) the terms of any outstanding Award, including, without limitation, (1) the number of Shares or other securities of the Company (or number and kind of other securities or other property) subject to outstanding Awards or to which outstanding Awards relate, (2) the Exercise Price or Strike Price with respect to any Award or (3) any applicable performance measures (including, without limitation, Performance Criteria and Performance Goals);

 

(ii)                                  subject to any limitations or reductions as may be necessary to comply with Section 409A of the Code and the regulations thereunder, providing for a substitution or assumption of Awards,

 

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accelerating the exercisability of, lapse of restrictions on, or termination of, Awards or providing for a period of time for exercise prior to the occurrence of such event; and

 

(iii)                               subject to any limitations or reductions as may be necessary to comply with Section 409A of the Code and the regulations thereunder, cancelling any one or more outstanding Awards and causing to be paid to the holders thereof, in cash, Shares, other securities or other property, or any combination thereof, the value of such Awards, if any, as determined by the Committee (which if applicable may be based upon the price per Share received or to be received by other stockholders of the Company in such event), including without limitation, in the case of any outstanding Option or SAR, a cash payment in an amount equal to the excess, if any, of the Fair Market Value (as of a date specified by the Committee) of the Shares subject to such Option or SAR over the aggregate Exercise Price or Strike Price of such Option or SAR, respectively (it being understood that, in such event, any Option or SAR having a per Share Exercise Price or Strike Price equal to, or in excess of, the Fair Market Value of a Share subject thereto may be canceled and terminated without any payment or consideration therefor), or, in the case of any outstanding Restricted Stock, Restricted Stock Unit, Stock Bonus Award, or other Award denominated in Shares, a cash payment or equity subject to deferred vesting and delivery consistent with the vesting restrictions applicable to such Award or the underlying Shares subject thereto.

 

For the avoidance of doubt, in the case of any “equity restructuring” (within the meaning of the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) Statement of Financial Accounting Standards Codification Topic 718, Stock Compensation), the Committee shall make an equitable or proportionate adjustment to outstanding Awards to reflect such equity restructuring.  Any adjustment in Incentive Stock Options under this Section 12 (other than any cancellation of Incentive Stock Options) shall be made only to the extent not constituting a “modification” within the meaning of Section 424(h)(3) of the Code, and any adjustments under this Section 12 shall be made in a manner that does not adversely affect the exemption provided pursuant to Rule 16b-3 under the Exchange Act, to the extent applicable.  The Company shall give each Participant notice of an adjustment hereunder and, upon notice, such adjustment shall be conclusive and binding for all purposes.

 

13.                               Effect of Change in Control.  Except to the extent otherwise provided in an Award Agreement, in the event of a Change in Control, notwithstanding any provision of the Plan to the contrary, the Committee may provide that, with respect to all or any portion of a particular outstanding Award or Awards:

 

(a)                                 the then outstanding Options and SARs shall become immediately exercisable as of a time immediately prior to the Change in Control;

 

(b)                                 the Restricted Period shall expire as of a time immediately prior to the Change in Control (including without limitation a waiver of any applicable Performance Goals);

 

(c)                                  Performance Periods in effect on the date the Change in Control occurs shall end on such date, and (i) determine the extent to which Performance Goals with respect to each such Performance Period have been met based upon such audited or unaudited financial information or other information then available as it deems relevant and (ii) cause the Participant to receive partial or full payment of Awards for each such Performance Period based upon the Committee’s determination of the degree of attainment of the Performance Goals, or by assuming that the applicable “target” levels of performance have been attained or on such other basis determined by the Committee; and

 

(d)                                 cause Awards previously deferred to be settled in full as soon as practicable.

 

To the extent practicable, any actions taken by the Committee under the immediately preceding clauses (a) through (d) shall occur in a manner and at a time which allows affected Participants the ability to participate in the Change in Control transactions with respect to the Shares subject to their Awards.

 

14.                               Amendments and Termination.

 

(a)                                 Amendment and Termination of the Plan.  The Board may amend, alter, suspend, discontinue, or terminate the Plan or any portion thereof at any time; provided, that (i) no amendment to Section 4(e) shall apply with respect to any action or omitted to be taken by an Indemnifiable Person under the Plan or any Award Agreement prior to such amendment; (ii) no amendment to Section 11(c) or Section 14(b) (to the extent

 

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required by the proviso in such Section 14(b)) shall be made without stockholder approval and (iii) no such amendment, alteration, suspension, discontinuation or termination shall be made without stockholder approval if such approval is necessary to comply with any tax or regulatory requirement applicable to the Plan (including, without limitation, as necessary to comply with any rules or requirements of any securities exchange or inter-dealer quotation system on which the Shares may be listed or quoted or to prevent the Company from being denied a tax deduction under Section 162(m) of the Code); provided, further, that any such amendment, alteration, suspension, discontinuance or termination that would materially and adversely affect the rights of any Participant or any holder or beneficiary of any Award theretofore granted shall not to that extent be effective without the written consent of the affected Participant, holder or beneficiary.

 

(b)                                 Amendment of Award Agreements.  The Committee may, to the extent consistent with the terms of any applicable Award Agreement, waive any conditions or rights under, amend any terms of, or alter, suspend, discontinue, cancel or terminate, any Award theretofore granted or the associated Award Agreement, prospectively or retroactively; provided, that any such waiver, amendment, alteration, suspension, discontinuance, cancellation or termination that would materially and adversely affect the rights of any Participant with respect to any Award theretofore granted shall not to that extent be effective without the written consent of the affected Participant; provided, further, that without stockholder approval, except as otherwise permitted under Section 12 of the Plan, (i) no amendment or modification may reduce the Exercise Price of any Option or the Strike Price of any SAR, and (ii) the Committee may not cancel any outstanding Option or SAR in order to replace it with a new Option, SAR or other Award, and the Committee may not take any other action that is considered a “repricing” for purposes of the stockholder approval rules of the applicable securities exchange or inter-dealer quotation system on which the Shares are listed or quoted or that would result in cancellation of any Option or SAR with an Exercise Price or Strike Price, as the case may be, above the current Fair Market Value of a Share in exchange for cash or other property.

 

(c)                                  Extension of Termination Date.  If the exercise of the Option following the termination of the Participant’s employment or service (other than upon the Participant’s death or Disability) would be prohibited at any time solely because the issuance of Shares would violate the registration requirements under the Securities Act, or any other requirements of applicable law, then the Option shall terminate on the earlier of (i) the expiration of the term of the Option set forth in Section 7(c) and (ii) the expiration of a period of thirty (30) days after the termination of the Participant’s employment or service during which the exercise of the Option would not be in violation of such registration requirements or other applicable requirements.

 

(d)                                 Restriction on Grant of Awards.  No Awards may be granted during any period of suspension or after termination of the Plan, and in no event may any Award be granted under the Plan after the tenth anniversary of the Effective Date.

 

15.                               General.

 

(a)                                 Award Agreements.  Each Award under the Plan shall be evidenced by an Award Agreement, which shall be delivered to the Participant (whether in paper or electronic medium (including email or the posting on a web site maintained by the Company or a third party under contract with the Company)) and shall specify the terms and conditions of the Award and any rules applicable thereto, including without limitation, the effect on such Award of the death, Disability or termination of employment or service of a Participant, or of such other events as may be determined by the Committee.  The terms of any Award issued hereunder shall be binding upon the executors, administrators, beneficiaries, successors and assigns of the Participant.

 

(b)                                 Nontransferability.

 

(i)                                     Each Award shall be exercisable only by a Participant during the Participant’s lifetime, or, if permissible under applicable law, by the Participant’s legal guardian or representative.  No Award may be assigned, alienated, pledged, attached, sold or otherwise transferred or encumbered by a Participant other than by will or by the laws of descent and distribution and any such purported assignment, alienation, pledge, attachment, sale, transfer or encumbrance shall be void and unenforceable against the Company or any of its Affiliates; provided, that the designation of a beneficiary shall not constitute an assignment, alienation, pledge, attachment, sale, transfer or encumbrance.

 

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(ii)                                  Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Committee may, in its sole discretion, permit Awards (other than Incentive Stock Options) to be transferred by a Participant, without consideration, subject to such rules as the Committee may adopt consistent with any applicable Award Agreement to preserve the purposes of the Plan, to: (A) any person who is a “family member” of the Participant, as such term is used in the instructions to Form S-8 under the Securities Act (collectively, the “Immediate Family Members”); (B) a trust solely for the benefit of the Participant and his or her Immediate Family Members; or (C) a partnership or limited liability company whose only partners or stockholders are the Participant and his or her Immediate Family Members; or (D) any other transferee as may be approved either (1) by the Board or the Committee in its sole discretion, or (2) as provided in the applicable Award Agreement (each transferee described in clauses (A), (B), (C) and (D) above is hereinafter referred to as a “Permitted Transferee”); provided, that the Participant gives the Committee advance written notice describing the terms and conditions of the proposed transfer and the Committee notifies the Participant in writing that such a transfer would comply with the requirements of the Plan.

 

(iii)                               The terms of any Award transferred in accordance with the immediately preceding sentence shall apply to the Permitted Transferee and any reference in the Plan, or in any applicable Award Agreement, to a Participant shall be deemed to refer to the Permitted Transferee, except that (A) Permitted Transferees shall not be entitled to transfer any Award, other than by will or the laws of descent and distribution; (B) Permitted Transferees shall not be entitled to exercise any transferred Option unless there shall be in effect a registration statement on an appropriate form covering the Shares to be acquired pursuant to the exercise of such Option if the Committee determines, consistent with any applicable Award Agreement, that such a registration statement is necessary or appropriate; (C) the Committee or the Company shall not be required to provide any notice to a Permitted Transferee, whether or not such notice is or would otherwise have been required to be given to the Participant under the Plan or otherwise; and (D) the satisfaction of any applicable vesting conditions and consequences of the termination of the Participant’s employment by, or services to, the Company or one of its Affiliates under the terms of the Plan and the applicable Award Agreement shall continue to be applied with respect to the Participant, including, without limitation, that an Option or SAR shall be exercisable by the Permitted Transferee only if such Option or SAR has vested due to the Participant’s satisfaction of the applicable vesting criteria and only to the extent, and for the periods, specified in the Plan and the applicable Award Agreement.

 

(c)                                  Tax Withholding.

 

(i)                                     A Participant shall be required to pay to the Company or any of its Affiliates, and the Company or any of its Affiliates shall have the right and is hereby authorized to withhold, from any cash, Shares, other securities or other property deliverable under any Award or from any compensation or other amounts owing to a Participant, the amount (in cash, Shares, other securities or other property) of any required withholding taxes in respect of an Award, its exercise, or any payment or transfer under an Award or under the Plan and to take such other action as may be necessary in the opinion of the Committee or the Company to satisfy all obligations for the payment of such withholding and taxes.

 

(ii)                                  Without limiting the generality of clause (i) above, the Committee may, in its sole discretion, permit a Participant to satisfy, in whole or in part, the foregoing withholding liability by (A) the delivery of Shares owned by the Participant having a Fair Market Value equal to such withholding liability or (B) having the Company withhold from the number of Shares otherwise issuable or deliverable pursuant to the exercise or settlement of the Award a number of Shares with a Fair Market Value equal to such withholding liability (but no more than the minimum required statutory withholding liability).

 

(d)                                 No Claim to Awards; No Rights to Continued Employment; Waiver.  No employee of the Company or any of its Affiliates, or other person, shall have any claim or right to be granted an Award under the Plan or, having been selected for the grant of an Award, to be selected for a grant of any other Award.  There is no obligation for uniformity of treatment of Participants or holders or beneficiaries of Awards.  The terms and conditions of Awards and the Committee’s determinations and interpretations with respect thereto need not be the same with respect to each Participant and may be made selectively among Participants, whether or not such Participants are similarly situated.  Neither the Plan nor any action taken hereunder shall be construed as giving any Participant any right to be retained in the employ or service of the Company or any of its Affiliates, nor shall it be construed as giving any Participant any rights to continued service on the Board.  The Company or any of its Affiliates may at any time dismiss a Participant from employment or discontinue any consulting relationship, free from any liability or any claim under the Plan, unless otherwise expressly provided in the Plan or any Award

 

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Agreement.  By accepting an Award under the Plan, a Participant shall thereby be deemed to have waived any claim to continued exercise or vesting of an Award or to damages or severance entitlement related to non-continuation of the Award beyond the period provided under the Plan or any Award Agreement, notwithstanding any provision to the contrary in any written employment contract or other agreement between the Company and its Affiliates and the Participant, whether any such agreement is executed before, on or after the Date of Grant.

 

(e)                                  International Participants.  With respect to Participants who reside or work outside of the United States of America and who are not (and who are not expected to be) “covered employees” within the meaning of Section 162(m) of the Code, the Committee may in its sole discretion amend the terms of the Plan or outstanding Awards with respect to such Participants in order to conform such terms with the requirements of local law or to obtain more favorable tax or other treatment for a Participant, the Company or its Affiliates.

 

(f)                                   Designation and Change of Beneficiary.  Each Participant may file with the Committee a written designation of one or more persons as the beneficiary(ies) who shall be entitled to receive the amounts payable with respect to an Award, if any, due under the Plan upon his death.  A Participant may, from time to time, revoke or change his beneficiary designation without the consent of any prior beneficiary by filing a new designation with the Committee.  The last such designation received by the Committee shall be controlling; provided, however, that no designation, or change or revocation thereof, shall be effective unless received by the Committee prior to the Participant’s death, and in no event shall it be effective as of a date prior to such receipt.  If no beneficiary designation is filed by a Participant, the beneficiary shall be deemed to be his or her spouse or, if the Participant is unmarried at the time of death, his or her estate.

 

(g)                                  Termination of Employment/Service.  Unless determined otherwise by the Committee: (i) neither a temporary absence from employment or service due to illness, vacation or leave of absence nor a transfer from employment or service with the Company to employment or service with any of its Affiliates (or vice-versa) shall be considered a termination of employment or service with the Company or such Affiliate; and (ii) if a Participant’s employment with the Company and its Affiliates terminates, but such Participant continues to provide services to the Company and its Affiliates in a non-employee capacity (or vice-versa), such change in status shall not be considered a termination of employment with the Company and its Affiliates.

 

(h)                                 No Rights as a Stockholder.  Except as otherwise specifically provided in the Plan or any Award Agreement, no person shall be entitled to the privileges of ownership in respect of Shares that are subject to Awards hereunder until such Shares have been issued or delivered to that person or registered in the name of that person in book-entry form.

 

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(i)                                     Government and Other Regulations.

 

(i)                                     The obligation of the Company to settle Awards in Shares or other consideration shall be subject to all applicable laws, rules, and regulations, and to such approvals by governmental agencies as may be required.  Notwithstanding any terms or conditions of any Award to the contrary, the Company shall be under no obligation to offer to sell or to sell, and shall be prohibited from offering to sell or selling, any Shares pursuant to an Award unless such Shares have been properly registered for sale pursuant to the Securities Act with the SEC or unless the Company has received an opinion of counsel, satisfactory to the Company, that such Shares may be offered or sold without such registration pursuant to an available exemption therefrom and the terms and conditions of such exemption have been fully complied with.  The Company shall be under no obligation to register for sale under the Securities Act any of the Shares to be offered or sold under the Plan.  The Committee shall have the authority to provide that all certificates for Shares or other securities of the Company or any of its Affiliates delivered under the Plan shall be subject to such stop transfer orders and other restrictions as the Committee may deem advisable under the Plan, the applicable Award Agreement, the federal securities laws, or the rules, regulations and other requirements of the SEC, any securities exchange or inter-dealer quotation system upon which such Shares or other securities are then listed or quoted and any other applicable federal, state, local or non-U.S. laws, and, without limiting the generality of Section 9 of the Plan, the Committee may cause a legend or legends to be put on any such certificates to make appropriate reference to such restrictions.  Notwithstanding any provision in the Plan to the contrary, the Committee reserves the right to add any additional terms or provisions to any Award granted under the Plan that it in its sole discretion deems necessary or advisable in order that such Award complies with the legal requirements of any governmental entity to whose jurisdiction the Award is subject.

 

(ii)                                  The Committee may cancel an Award or any portion thereof if it determines, in its sole discretion, that legal or contractual restrictions and/or blockage and/or other market considerations would make the Company’s acquisition of Shares from the public markets, the Company’s issuance of Shares to the Participant, the Participant’s acquisition of Shares from the Company and/or the Participant’s sale of Shares to the public markets, illegal or impractical after the Company has used commercially reasonable efforts to comply with applicable law.  If the Committee determines to cancel all or any portion of an Award in accordance with the foregoing, the Company shall pay to the Participant an amount equal to the excess of (A) the aggregate Fair Market Value of the Shares subject to such Award or portion thereof canceled (determined as of the applicable exercise date, or the date that the Shares would have been vested or delivered, as applicable), over (B) the aggregate Exercise Price or Strike Price (in the case of an Option or SAR, respectively) or any amount payable as a condition of delivery of Shares (in the case of any other Award).  Such amount shall be delivered to the Participant as soon as practicable following the cancellation of such Award or portion thereof.

 

(j)                                    Payments to Persons Other Than Participants.  If the Committee shall find that any person to whom any amount is payable under the Plan is unable to care for his affairs because of illness or accident, or is a minor, or has died, then any payment due to such person or his estate (unless a prior claim therefor has been made by a duly appointed legal representative) may, if the Committee so directs the Company, be paid to his spouse, child, relative, an institution maintaining or having custody of such person, or any other person deemed by the Committee to be a proper recipient on behalf of such person otherwise entitled to payment.  Any such payment shall be a complete discharge of the liability of the Committee and the Company therefor.

 

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

 

(l)                                     No Trust or Fund Created.  Neither the Plan nor any Award shall create or be construed to create a trust or separate fund of any kind or a fiduciary relationship between the Company or any of its Affiliates, on the one hand, and a Participant or other person or entity, on the other hand.  No provision of the Plan or any Award shall require the Company, for the purpose of satisfying any obligations under the Plan, to purchase assets or place any assets in a trust or other entity to which contributions are made or otherwise to segregate any assets, nor shall the Company maintain separate bank accounts, books, records or other evidence of the existence of a segregated or separately maintained or administered fund for such purposes.  Participants shall have no rights under the Plan other than as unsecured general creditors of the Company, except that insofar as they may have become

 

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entitled to payment of additional compensation by performance of services, they shall have the same rights as other employees under general law.

 

(m)                             Reliance on Reports.  Each member of the Committee and each member of the Board shall be fully justified in acting or failing to act, as the case may be, and shall not be liable for having so acted or failed to act in good faith, in reliance upon any report made by the independent public accountant of the Company and its Affiliates and/or any other information furnished in connection with the Plan by any agent of the Company or the Committee or the Board, other than himself.

 

(n)                                 Relationship to Other Benefits.  No payment under the Plan shall be taken into account in determining any benefits under any pension, retirement, profit sharing, group insurance or other benefit plan of the Company except as otherwise specifically provided in such other plan.

 

(o)                                 Governing Law.   Except to the extent that provisions of the Plan are governed by applicable provisions of the Code, the Exchange Act or other substantive provisions of federal law, the Plan shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the internal laws of the State of Delaware applicable to contracts made and performed wholly within the State of Delaware, without giving effect to the conflict of laws provisions thereof.

 

(p)                                 Severability.  If any provision of the Plan or any Award or Award Agreement is or becomes or is deemed to be invalid, illegal, or unenforceable in any jurisdiction or as to any person or entity or Award, or would disqualify the Plan or any Award under any law deemed applicable by the Committee, such provision shall be construed or deemed amended to conform to the applicable laws, or if it cannot be construed or deemed amended without, in the determination of the Committee, materially altering the intent of the Plan or the Award, such provision shall be construed or deemed stricken as to such jurisdiction, person or entity or Award and the remainder of the Plan and any such Award shall remain in full force and effect.

 

(q)                                 Obligations Binding on Successors.  The obligations of the Company under the Plan shall be binding upon any successor corporation or organization resulting from the merger, consolidation or other reorganization of the Company, or upon any successor corporation or organization succeeding to substantially all of the assets and business of the Company.

 

(r)                                    Code Section 162(m) Approval.  If so determined by the Committee, the provisions of the Plan regarding Performance Compensation Awards shall be disclosed and reapproved by stockholders no later than the first stockholder meeting that occurs in the fifth year following the year in which stockholders previously approved such provisions in order for certain Awards granted after such time to be exempt from the deduction limitations of Section 162(m) of the Code.  Nothing in this clause, however, shall affect the validity of Awards granted after such time if such stockholder approval has not been obtained.

 

(s)                                   Other Agreements.  Notwithstanding the above, the Committee may require, as a condition to the grant of and/or the receipt of Shares under an Award, that the Participant execute lock-up, stockholder or other agreements, as it may determine in its sole and absolute discretion.

 

(t)                                    Payments.  Participants shall be required to pay, to the extent required by applicable law, any amounts required to receive Shares under any Award made under the Plan.

 

(u)                                 Non-Qualified Deferred Compensation.

 

(i)                                     It is intended that this Plan and Awards hereunder shall be administered, operated and interpreted in a manner so that Awards are either exempt from or comply with Section 409A of the Code.  Notwithstanding any provision of the Plan to the contrary, in the event that the Committee determines that any amounts payable hereunder will be taxable to a Participant under Section 409A of the Code prior to the payment and/or delivery to such Participant of such amount, the Company may (A) adopt such amendments to the Plan and related Award Agreement, and appropriate policies and procedures, including amendments and policies with retroactive effect, that the Committee determines necessary or appropriate to preserve the intended tax treatment of the benefits provided by the Plan and Awards hereunder and/or (B) take such other actions as the Committee determines necessary or appropriate to comply with the requirements of Section 409A of the Code.  It is intended

 

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that actions taken under this Plan shall not result in an Award failing to comply with Section 409A of the Code, to the extent Section 409A is applicable to such Award.  However, in no event shall any member of the Board, the Company or any of its Affiliates (including their respective employees, officers, directors or agents) have any liability to any Participant (or any other person) with respect to this Section 15(u).

 

(ii)                                  With respect to any Award that is considered “deferred compensation” subject to Section 409A of the Code, references in the Plan to “termination of employment” (and substantially similar phrases) shall mean “separation from service” within the meaning of Section 409A of the Code.  For purposes of Section 409A of the Code, each of the payments that may be made in respect of any Award granted under the Plan are designated as separate payments.

 

(iii)                               Notwithstanding anything in the Plan to the contrary, if a Participant is a “specified employee” within the meaning of Section 409A(a)(2)(B)(i) of the Code, no payments in respect of any Awards that are “deferred compensation” subject to Section 409A of the Code and which would otherwise be payable upon the Participant’s “separation from service” (as defined in Section 409A of the Code) shall be made to such Participant prior to the date that is six months after the date of such Participant’s “separation from service” or, if earlier, the Participant’s date of death.  Following any applicable six month delay, all such delayed payments will be paid in a single lump sum, without interest, on the earliest date permitted under Section 409A of the Code that is also a business day.

 

(v)                                 Claw-back Requirements.  Notwithstanding any other provision of the Plan to the contrary, in order to comply with Section 10D of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and any regulations promulgated, or national securities exchange listing conditions adopted, with respect thereto (collectively, the “Clawback Requirements”), if the Company is required to prepare an accounting restatement due to its material noncompliance with any financial reporting requirements under the securities laws, then the Participant shall return to the Company, or forfeit if not yet paid, the amount of any payment received with respect to an Award under the Plan during the three-year period preceding the date on which the Company is required to prepare the accounting restatement, based on the erroneous data, in excess of what would have been paid to the Participant under the accounting restatement as determined by the Committee in accordance with the Clawback Requirements and any policy adopted by the Committee pursuant to the Clawback Requirements.

 

(w)                               No Liability with Respect to Any Corporate Action.  Subject to Section 15(u), nothing contained in the Plan or in any Award Agreement will be construed to prevent the Company or any of its Affiliates from taking any corporate action which is deemed by the Company or any of its Affiliates to be appropriate or in its best interest, and no Participant or beneficiary of a Participant will have any claim against the Company or any of its Affiliates as a result of any such corporate action.

 

(x)                                 Affiliate Employees.  In the case of a grant of an Award to an employee or consultant of any Affiliate of the Company, the Company may, if the Committee so directs, issue or transfer the Shares, if any, covered by the Award to such Affiliate, for such lawful consideration as the Committee may specify, upon the condition or understanding that the Affiliate will transfer the Shares to the employee or consultant in accordance with the terms of the Award specified by the Committee pursuant to the provisions of the Plan.  All Shares underlying Awards that are forfeited or canceled shall revert to the Company.

 

(y)                                 Foreign Employees and Foreign Law Considerations.  The Committee may grant Awards to individuals who are eligible to participate in the plan who are foreign nationals, who are located outside the United States or who are not compensated from a payroll maintained in the United States, or who are otherwise subject to (or could cause the Company to be subject to) legal or regulatory provisions of countries or jurisdictions outside the United States, on such terms and conditions different from those specified in the Plan as may, in the judgment of the Committee, be necessary or desirable to foster and promote achievement of the purposes of the Plan, and, in furtherance of such purposes, the Committee may make such modifications, amendments, procedures, or subplans as may be necessary or advisable to comply with such legal or regulatory provisions.

 

(z)                                  Expenses; Gender; Titles and Headings.  The expenses of administering the Plan shall be borne by the Company and its Affiliates.  Masculine pronouns and other words of masculine gender shall refer to both men and women.  The titles and headings of the sections in the Plan are for convenience of reference only, and in the event of any conflict, the text of the Plan, rather than such titles or headings shall control.

 

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