EX-10.2



 





EXHIBIT 10.2




2000 DUN & BRADSTREET CORPORATION

NON-EMPLOYEE DIRECTORS’ STOCK INCENTIVE PLAN

(as amended May 3, 2005)




1. Purpose of the Plan




     The purpose of the Plan is to aid the Company in attracting, retaining and compensating
non-employee directors and to enable them to increase their ownership of Shares. The Plan will be
beneficial to the Company and its stockholders since it will allow non-employee directors of the
Board to have a greater personal financial stake in the Company through the ownership of Shares, in
addition to underscoring their common interest with stockholders in increasing the value of the
Shares on a long-term basis.



2. Definitions




     The following capitalized terms used in the Plan have the respective meanings set forth in
this Section:




	 	(a)  	Act: The Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or any
successor thereto.
	 
	 	(b)  	Award: An Option or Other Stock-Based Award granted pursuant to the
Plan.
	 
	 	(c)  	Beneficial Owner: As such term is defined in Rule 13d-3 under the
Act (or any successor rule thereto).
	 
	 	(d)  	Board: The Board of Directors of the Company.
	 
	 	(e)  	Change in Control: The occurrence of any of the following events:






     (i) any “Person,” as such term is used in Sections 13(d) and 14(d) of the Securities
Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), (other than the Company, any
trustee or other fiduciary holding securities under an employee benefit plan of the
Company, or any corporation owned, directly or indirectly, by the shareholders of the
Company in substantially the same proportions as their ownership of stock of the Company),
is or becomes the



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“Beneficial Owner” (as defined in Rule 13d-3 under the Exchange Act), directly or
indirectly, of securities of the Company representing 20% or more of the combined voting
power of the Company’s then outstanding securities.




     (ii) during any period of twenty-four months (not including any period prior to the
execution of this Agreement), individuals who at the beginning of such period constitute
the Board, and any new Director (other than a Director designated by a person who has
entered into an agreement with the Company to effect a transaction described in clause
(a), (c) or (d) of this Section, a Director designated by any Person (including the
Company) who publicly announces an intention to take or to consider taking actions
(including, but not limited to, an actual or threatened proxy contest) which if
consummated would constitute a Change in Control or a Director designated by any Person
who is the Beneficial Owner, directly or indirectly, of securities of the Company
representing 10% or more of the combined voting power of the Company’s securities) whose
election by the Board or nomination for election by the Company’s shareholders was
approved by a vote of at least two-thirds (2/3) of the Directors then still in office who
either were Directors at the beginning of the period or whose election or nomination for
election was previously so approved cease for any reason to constitute at least a majority
thereof.




     (iii) the shareholders of the Company approve a merger or consolidation of the
Company with any other corporation, other than a merger or consolidation which would
result in the voting securities of the Company outstanding immediately prior thereto
continuing to represent (either by remaining outstanding or by being converted into voting
securities of the surviving entity) more than 50% of the combined voting power of the
voting securities of the Company or such surviving entity outstanding immediately after
such merger or consolidation and after which no Person holds 20% or more of the combined
voting power of the then outstanding securities of the Company or such surviving entity;
or




     (iv) the shareholders of the Company approve a plan of complete liquidation of the
Company or an agreement for the sale or disposition by the Company of all or substantially
all of the Company’s assets.




	 	(f)  	Code: The Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, or any successor
thereto.
	 
	 	(g)  	Company: The Dun & Bradstreet Corporation.




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	 	(h)  	D&B: The Dun & Bradstreet Corporation, a Delaware corporation.
	 
	 	(i)  	Disability: Inability to continue to serve as a non-employee director
of the Board due to a medically determinable physical or mental impairment which
constitutes a permanent and total disability, as determined by the Board (excluding
any member thereof whose own Disability is at issue in a given case) based upon such
evidence as it deems necessary and appropriate. A Participant shall not be considered
disabled unless he or she furnishes such medical or other evidence of the existence of
the Disability as the Board, in its sole discretion, may require.
	 
	 	(j)  	Effective Date: The date on which the Plan takes effect, as defined
pursuant to Section 14 of the Plan.
	 
	 	(k)  	Fair Market Value: On a given date, the arithmetic mean of the high
and low prices of the Shares as reported on such date on the Composite Tape of the
principal national securities exchange on which such Shares are listed or admitted to
trading, or, if no Composite Tape exists for such national securities exchange on such
date, then on the principal national securities exchange on which such Shares are
listed or admitted to trading, or, if the Shares are not listed or admitted on a
national securities exchange, the arithmetic mean of the per Share closing bid price
and per Share closing asked price on such date as quoted on the National Association
of Securities Dealers Automated Quotation System (or such market in which such prices
are regularly quoted), or, if there is no market on which the Shares are regularly
quoted, the Fair Market Value shall be the value established by the Board in good
faith. If no sale of Shares shall have been reported on such Composite Tape or such
national securities exchange on such date or quoted on the National Association of
Securities Dealers Automated Quotation System on such date, then the immediately
preceding date on which sales of the Shares have been so reported or quoted shall be
used.
	 
	 	(l)  	Option: A stock option granted pursuant to Section 6 of the Plan.
	 
	 	(m)  	Option Price: The purchase price per Share of an Option, as
determined pursuant to Section 6(b) of the Plan.
	 
	 	(n)  	Other Stock-Based Awards: Awards granted pursuant to Section 7 of the
Plan.




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	 	(o)  	Participant: Any director of the Company who is not an employee of
the Company or any Subsidiary of the Company as of the date that an Award is granted.
	 
	 	(p)  	Person: As such term is used for purposes of Section 13(d) or 14(d)
of the Act (or any successor section thereto).
	 
	 	(q)  	Plan: The 2000 Dun & Bradstreet Corporation Non-Employee Directors’
Stock Incentive Plan.
	 
	 	(r)  	Retirement: Except as otherwise provided in an Award agreement,
termination of service with the Company or an Affiliate after such Participant has
attained age 70, regardless of the length of such Participant’s service; or, with the
prior written consent of the Board (excluding any member thereof whose own Retirement
is at issue in a given case), termination of service at an earlier age after the
Participant has completed six or more years of service with the Company.
	 
	 	(s)  	Shares: Shares of common stock, par value $0.01 per share, of the
Company.
	 
	 	(t)  	Subsidiary: A subsidiary corporation, as defined in section 424(f)
of the Code (or any successor section thereto).





3. Shares Subject to the Plan




     The total number of Shares which may be issued under the Plan is 300,000. Against the shares
remaining in the Plan, awards granted under the Plan (excluding other stock-based awards granted
pursuant to Section 7 of the Plan) count as 1 issued share; whereas, other stock-based awards
granted pursuant to Section 7 of the amended Plan (approved as of the 2005 Annual Meeting) count as
2.6 issued shares. The Shares may consist, in whole or in part, of unissued Shares or treasury
Shares. The issuance of Awards shall reduce the total number of Shares available under the Plan.
Shares which are subject to Awards which terminate or lapse may be granted again under the Plan.



4. Administration




     The Plan shall be administered by the Board, which may delegate its duties and powers in whole
or in part to any subcommittee thereof. The Board is authorized to interpret the Plan, to
establish, amend and rescind any rules and regulations relating to the Plan, and to make any other
determinations that it deems necessary or desirable for the



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administration of the Plan. The Board may correct any defect or omission or reconcile any
inconsistency in the Plan in the manner and to the extent the Board deems necessary or desirable.
Any decision of the Board in the interpretation and administration of the Plan, as described
herein, shall lie within its sole and absolute discretion and shall be final, conclusive and
binding on all parties concerned (including, but not limited to, Participants and their
beneficiaries or successors).




5. Eligibility




     All Participants shall be eligible to participate under this Plan.



6. Terms and Conditions of Options




     Options granted under the Plan shall be non-qualified stock options for federal income tax
purposes, as evidenced by the related Option agreements, and shall be subject to the foregoing and
the following terms and conditions and to such other terms and conditions, not inconsistent
therewith, as the Board shall determine:



     (a) Option Price. The Option Price per Share shall be determined by the Board, but
shall not be less than 100% of the Fair Market Value of the Shares on the date an Option is
granted.



     (b) Exercisability. Options granted under the Plan shall be exercisable at such time
and upon such terms and conditions as may be determined by the Board, but in no event shall an
Option be exercisable more than ten years after the date it is granted.



     (c) Attestation. Wherever in this Plan or any agreement evidencing an Award a
Participant is permitted to pay the exercise price of an Option or taxes relating to the exercise
of an Option by delivering Shares, the Participant may, subject to procedures satisfactory to the
Board, satisfy such delivery requirement by presenting proof of beneficial ownership of such
Shares, in which case the Company shall treat the Option as exercised without further payment and
shall withhold such number of Shares from the Shares acquired by the exercise of the Option.



     (d) Exercise of Options. Except as otherwise provided in the Plan or in a related
Option agreement, an Option may be exercised for all, or from time to time any part, of the Shares
for which it is then exercisable. For purposes of Section 6 of the Plan, the exercise date of an
Option shall be the later of the date a notice of exercise is received by the Company and, if
applicable, the date payment is received by the Company pursuant to clauses (i), (ii) or (iii) in
the following sentence. The purchase price for the Shares as to which an Option is exercised shall
be paid to the Company in full at the time of exercise at the election of the Participant in cash,
in Shares having a Fair Market Value equal to the aggregate Option Price for the Shares being
purchased and satisfying such other requirements as may be imposed by the Board, partly in cash and
partly in such Shares or through the delivery of irrevocable instructions to a broker to deliver
promptly to the Company an amount equal to the aggregate Option Price for the Shares being



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purchased. No Participant shall have any rights to dividends or other rights of a stockholder
with respect to Shares subject to an Option until the occurrence of the exercise date (determined
as set forth above) and, if applicable, the satisfaction of any other conditions imposed by the
Board pursuant to the Plan. Unless the vesting of an Option is otherwise accelerated pursuant to
Section 7(e), 7(f) or 7(g), the unvested portion of the Option will terminate upon the
Participant’s termination of employment for any reason.




     (e) Exercisability Upon Termination of Service by Death. If a Participant’s service
with the Company and its Subsidiaries terminates by reason of death after the first anniversary of
the date on which an Option is granted, the unexercised portion of such Option shall immediately
vest in full and may thereafter be exercised during the shorter of the remaining term of the Option
or five years after the date of death.



     (f) Exercisability Upon Termination of Service by Disability or Retirement. If a
Participant’s service with the Company and its Subsidiaries terminates by reason of Disability or
Retirement after the first anniversary of the date on which an Option is granted, the unexercised
vested portion of such Option may thereafter be exercised during the shorter of the remaining term
of the Option or five years after the date of such termination of service; provided, however, that
if a Participant dies within a period of five years after such termination of service, the
unexercised portion of the Option shall immediately vest in full and may thereafter be exercised,
during the shorter of the remaining term of the Option or the period that is the longer of five
years after the Date of such termination of service or one year after the date of death.



     (g) Effect of Other Termination of Service. If a Participant’s service with the
Company and its Subsidiaries terminates by reason of Disability or Retirement prior to the first
anniversary of the date on which an Option is granted (as described above), then, a pro rata
portion of such Option shall immediately vest in full and may be exercised thereafter, during the
shorter of (A) the remaining term of such Option or (B) five years after the date of such
termination of service, for a prorated number of Shares (rounded down to the nearest whole number
of Shares), equal to the number of Shares subject to such Option multiplied by a fraction the
numerator of which is the number of days the Participant served on the Board subsequent to the date
on which such Option was granted and the denominator of which is 365. The portion of such Option
which is not so exercisable shall terminate as of the date of Disability or Retirement. If a
Participant’s service with the Company and its Subsidiaries terminates for any reason other than
death, Disability or Retirement, the unexercised vested portion of such Option shall terminate
thirty days following such termination of service.



     (h) Nontransferability of Stock Options. Except as otherwise provided in this Section
6(h), an Option shall not be transferable by the Participant otherwise than by will or by the laws
of descent and distribution and during the lifetime of a Participant an



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Option shall be exercisable only by the Participant. An Option exercisable after the death of
a Participant or a transferee pursuant to the following sentence may be exercised by the legatees,
personal representatives or distributees of the Participant or such transferee. The Board may, in
its discretion, authorize all or a portion of the Options previously granted or to be granted to a
Participant to be on terms which permit irrevocable transfer for no consideration by such
Participant to any child, stepchild, grandchild, parent, stepparent, grandparent, spouse, sibling,
mother-in-law, father-in-law, son-in-law, daughter-in-law, brother-in-law, or sister-in-law,
including adoptive relationships, of the Participant, trusts for the exclusive benefit of these
persons, and any other entity owned solely by these persons (“Eligible Transferees”), provided that
(x) the Option agreement pursuant to which such Options are granted must be approved by the Board,
and must expressly provide for transferability in a manner consistent with this Section and (y)
subsequent transfers of transferred Options shall be prohibited except those in accordance with the
first sentence of this Section 6(h). The Board may, in its discretion, amend the definition of
Eligible Transferees to conform to the coverage rules of Form S-8 under the Securities Act of 1933
or any comparable Form from time to time in effect. Following transfer, any such Options shall
continue to be subject to the same terms and conditions as were applicable immediately prior to
transfer. The events of termination of service of Sections 6(e), 6(f) and 6(g) hereof shall
continue to be applied with respect to the original Participant, following which the Options shall
be exercisable by the transferee only to the extent, and for the periods specified, in Sections
6(e), 6(f) and 6(g). The Board may delegate to a committee consisting of employees of the Company
the authority to authorize transfers, establish terms and conditions upon which transfers may be
made and establish classes of Options eligible to transfer options, as well as to make other
determinations with respect to option transfers.




7. Other Stock-Based Awards




     The Board, in its sole discretion, may grant Awards of Shares, Awards of restricted Shares and
Awards that are valued in whole or in part by reference to, or are otherwise based on the Fair
Market Value of, Shares (“Other Stock-Based Awards”). Such Other Stock-Based Awards shall be in
such form, and dependent on such conditions, as the Board shall determine, including, without
limitation, the right to receive one or more Shares (or the equivalent cash value of such Shares)
upon the completion of a specified period of service, the occurrence of an event and/or the
attainment of performance objectives. Other Stock-Based Awards may be granted alone or in addition
to any other Awards granted under the Plan. Subject to the provisions of the Plan, the Board shall
determine to whom and when Other Stock-Based Awards will be made; the number of Shares to be
awarded under (or otherwise related to) such Other Stock-Based Awards; whether such Other
Stock-Based Awards shall be settled in cash, Shares or a combination of cash and Shares; and all
other terms and conditions of such Awards (including, without limitation, the vesting provisions
thereof).



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8. Adjustments Upon Certain Events




     Notwithstanding any other provisions in the Plan to the contrary, the following provisions
shall apply to all Awards granted under the Plan:



     (a) Generally. In the event of any change in the outstanding Shares after the
Effective Date by reason of any Share dividend or split, reorganization, recapitalization, merger,
consolidation, spin-off, combination or exchange of Shares or other corporate exchange, or any
distribution to stockholders of Shares other than regular cash dividends or any transaction similar
to the foregoing, the Board in its sole discretion and without liability to any person may make
such substitution or adjustment, if any, as it deems to be equitable, as to the number or kind of
Shares or other securities issued or reserved for issuance pursuant to the Plan or pursuant to
outstanding Awards, the Option Price and/or any other affected terms of such Awards.



     (b) Change in Control. Upon the occurrence of a Change in Control, (A) all
restrictions on Shares of restricted stock shall lapse and all Options shall vest and become
exercisable and (B) the Board may, but shall not be obligated to, make provision for a cash payment
to the holder of an outstanding Award in consideration for the cancellation of such Award which, in
the case of Options, shall equal the excess, if any, of the Fair Market Value of the Shares subject
to such Options over the aggregate Option Price of such Options.



9. No Right to Awards.




     No Participant or other Person shall have any claim to be granted any Award, and there is no
obligation for uniformity of treatment of Participants, or holders or beneficiaries of Awards. The
terms and conditions of Awards and the Board’s determinations and interpretations with respect
thereto need not be the same with respect to each Participant (whether or not such Participants are
similarly situated).



10. Successors and Assigns




     The Plan shall be binding on all successors and assigns of the Company and a Participant,
including without limitation, the estate of such Participant and the executor, administrator or
trustee of such estate, or any receiver or trustee in bankruptcy or representative of the
Participant’s creditors.



11. Amendments or Termination




     The Board may amend, alter or discontinue the Plan, but no amendment, alteration or
discontinuation shall be made which, without the approval of the stockholders of the Company, would
(except as is provided in Section 8 of the Plan), increase the total number of Shares reserved for
the purposes of the Plan, result in any Option being repriced either by lowering the Option Price
of any outstanding Option or by canceling an outstanding Option and granting a replacement Option
with a lower



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Option Price, or (b) without the consent of a Participant, would impair any of the rights or
obligations under any Award theretofore granted to such Participant under the Plan; provided,
however, that the Board may amend the Plan in such manner as it deems necessary to permit the
granting of Awards meeting the requirements of the Code or other applicable laws.




12. Nontransferability of Awards




     Except as provided in Section 6(h) of the Plan, an Award shall not be transferable or
assignable by the Participant otherwise than by will or by the laws of descent and distribution.
During the lifetime of a Participant, an Award shall be exercisable only by such Participant. An
Award exercisable after the death of a Participant may be exercised by the legatees, personal
representatives or distributees of the Participant. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary
herein, the Board, in its sole discretion, shall have the authority to waive this Section 12 (or
any part thereof) to the extent that this Section 12 (or any part thereof) is not required under
the rules promulgated under any law, rule or regulation applicable to the Company.



13. Choice of Law




     The Plan shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of New
York applicable to contracts made and to be performed in the State of New York.



14. Effectiveness of the Plan




     If the amended Plan is approved by shareholders at the 2005 Annual Meeting, it will be
effective with respect to all awards granted thereafter. If the amended Plan is not so approved by
shareholders, all awards granted under the Plan will be made in compliance with the original Plan,
without amendment.




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