Unassociated Document


    Exhibit
10.3

     

    
      AMENDED
AND RESTATED

      CENTURYTEL
2001 EMPLOYEE STOCK PURCHASE PLAN

       

       

      
        1.           Purpose.  The
purpose of the CenturyTel 2001 Employee Stock Purchase Plan is to provide
employees of the Company and its Designated Subsidiaries with an opportunity to
purchase Common Stock of the Company on favorable terms.  The Company
intends to have the Plan qualify as an "Employee Stock Purchase Plan" under
Section 423 of the Code.  Accordingly, the provisions of the Plan
shall be construed to extend and limit participation in a manner consistent with
the requirements of Section 423 of the Code.

         

                       
2.           Definitions.

         

        
          (a)           "Board"
means the Board of Directors of the Company.

           

          (b)           "Code"
means the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended.

           

          (c)           "Common
Stock" means the common stock of the Company.

           

          (d)           "Company"
means CenturyTel, Inc., a Louisiana corporation.

           

          (e)           "Compensation"
means base salary or wages received by an Employee from the Company or a
Designated Subsidiary, including compensation for vacation, sick leave,
holidays, floating holidays, personal days, and "paid time off" as defined in
the Employee Information Notebook applicable to certain employees, but excluding
(i) any overtime, bonuses, commissions, or cash incentive compensation, (ii) any
relocation, expense, tuition or other reimbursements and (iii) any income or
other benefits realized as a result of participation in any stock option, stock
incentive, stock purchase, or similar plan of the Company or any Designated
Subsidiary.

           

          (f)           "Continuous
Status as an Employee" means continuous service of an individual as an
Employee of the Company or a Designated Subsidiary without any interruption or
termination of service as an Employee. Continuous Status as an Employee shall
not be considered interrupted in the case of (i) sick leave or military leave
authorized under the Company’s policies; (ii) Family and Medical Leave Act
leave; (iii) any other leave of absence approved by the Company’s Human
Resources Department, provided that such leave is for a period of not more than
90 days, unless reemployment upon the expiration of any such longer leave is
guaranteed by contract, statute, or any Company policy adopted from time to
time; or (iv) transfers between locations of the Company or between the Company
and its Designated Subsidiaries.

           

          (g)           "Contributions"
means all amounts credited to the account of a participant pursuant to the
Plan.

           

          (h)           "Corporate
Transaction" means a (i) sale of all or substantially all of the
Company’s assets, (ii) merger, consolidation, share exchange or other business
combination of the Company with or into another corporation in which the holders
of Shares shall be entitled to receive stock, securities, cash or other property
with respect to or in exchange for their Common Stock, or (iii) dissolution or
liquidation of the Company.

           

          (i)           "Designated
Administrator" means the stock brokerage, transfer agent or
other  financial services firm designated by the Company to hold
Shares for participants and to directly or indirectly handle sales of Shares for
participants.

           

          (j)           "Designated
Subsidiaries" means all domestic Subsidiaries that are corporations (or
are treated as corporations or divisions for tax purposes), the employees of
which shall be eligible to participate in the Plan, unless otherwise determined
by the Board.

           

          (k)           "Employee"
means any person, including an officer of the Company or a Designated
Subsidiary, who is an employee of the Company or a Designated Subsidiary for tax
purposes.

           

          (l)           "Exchange
Act" means the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended.

           

          (m)           "Offering
Date" means the first business day of each Offering Period during which
the Trading Market is open for business.

           

          (n)           "Offering
Period" means a period of six months commencing on January 1 and July 1
of each year, unless otherwise provided by Section 19(b) hereof or otherwise
determined by the Board as provided herein.

           

          (o)           "Plan"
means this 2001 Employee Stock Purchase Plan.

           

          (p)           "Purchase
Date" means the last day of each Offering Period during which the Trading
Market is open for business.

           

          (q)           "Purchase
Price " means, with respect to any particular Offering Period, an amount
equal to 85% of the Fair Market Value (as defined in Section 7(b) below) of a
Share of Common Stock on the Offering Date or on the Purchase Date, whichever is
lower; provided, however, that in the event (i) of any shareholder-approved
increase in the number of Shares available for issuance under the Plan, (ii) all
or a portion of such additional Shares are to be issued with respect to the
Offering Period that is underway at the time of such increase ("Additional
Shares"), and (iii) the Fair Market Value of a Share of Common Stock on the date
of such increase (the "Approval Date Fair Market Value") is higher than the Fair
Market Value on the Offering Date for any such Offering Period, then in such
instance the Purchase Price with respect to Additional Shares shall be 85% of
the Approval Date Fair Market Value or the Fair Market Value of a Share of
Common Stock on the Purchase Date, whichever is lower.

           

          (r)           "Share"
means a share of Common Stock, as adjusted in accordance with Section 19 of the
Plan.

           

          (s)           "Subsidiary"
means a corporation or other entity, domestic or foreign, of which 50% or more
of the voting shares or other equity interests are held by the Company or a
Subsidiary, whether or not such entity now exists or is hereafter organized or
acquired by the Company or a Subsidiary.

           

          (t)           "Trading
Market" means, as of any particular date, the New York Stock Exchange,
or, if the Common Stock is not listed on the New York Stock Exchange as of such
date, the principal trading market for such stock on such date.

           

          
            3.         Eligibility.

             

            (a)        Subject to the requirements
of Section 5(a) and the limitations imposed by Section 423(b) of the
Code,

             

            (i)         for the Offering
Period beginning July 1, 2009, any person who is an Employee as of July 1, 2009
shall be eligible to participate in the Plan for such Offering Period; and


             

            (ii)       
for any other Offering Period, any person who is an Employee as of the date that
is 20 days prior to the first day of any particular Offering Period shall be
eligible to participate in the Plan for such Offering Period.

             

            (b)        Any
provisions of the Plan to the contrary notwithstanding, no Employee shall be
granted an option under the Plan (i) if, immediately after the grant, such
Employee would own (as determined pursuant to the rules under §424(d) of the
Code) capital stock of the Company and/or hold outstanding options to purchase
stock possessing 5% or more of the total combined voting power or value of all
classes of stock of the Company or of any Subsidiary, or (ii) if such option,
together with all similar rights to purchase stock under any other employee
stock purchase plans (described in Section 423 of the Code) of the Company and
its Subsidiaries outstanding at any time during a calendar year, would entitle
the Employee to purchase stock that exceeds $25,000 in Fair Market Value (as
defined in Section 7(b) below), determined at the time such option would
otherwise be granted.

             

            4.         Offering
Periods.  An Employee’s rights hereunder shall accrue on the
terms and subject to the conditions of this Plan during successive Offering
Periods, with new Offering Periods commencing on January 1 and July 1 of each
year (or at such other time or times as may be determined by the Board). 
Unless otherwise established by the Vice President ‐ Human Resources, the first
Offering Period shall commence on July 1, 2001 and continue until December 31,
2001.  The Plan shall continue until terminated in accordance with Section
19(b)(i) or 20 hereof.  The Board shall have the power to change the
duration or frequency of Offering Periods with respect to future offerings
without shareholder approval if such change is announced at least five days
prior to the scheduled beginning of the first Offering Period to be
affected.

             

            5.         Participation.

             

            (a)        An
eligible Employee may become a participant in the Plan (commencing as of the
start of the next succeeding Offering Period) by completing a subscription
agreement and any other required documents ("Enrollment Documents") provided by
the Company and submitting them to the Company’s Human Resources Department or
the Designated Administrator at least five days prior to the start of such
Offering Period, unless a later time for submission of the Enrollment Documents
is set by the Vice President ‐ Human Resources.  The Enrollment Documents
and their submission may be electronic, as directed by the Company. The
Enrollment Documents shall set forth the dollar amount or percentage of
Compensation (subject to Section 6(a) below) to be paid as Contributions
pursuant to the Plan.  The dollar amount or percentage of Contributions
selected by a participant may be changed as of the beginning of an Offering
Period by submitting the required documentation at least ten business days prior
to the start of such Offering Period; provided, however, that Contributions may
be discontinued during an Offering Period as provided in Section
10(b).

             

            (b)       
With respect to each Offering Period, payroll deductions shall commence with the
first payroll period following the Offering Date and shall end with the last
payroll period ending on or prior to the Purchase Date of the Offering Period,
unless sooner terminated by the participant as provided in Section
10.

             

            (c)       
Execution and submission of Enrollment Documents by a participant to the Company
shall be deemed to constitute the agreement of the participant to be subject to
all of the terms and conditions of the Plan.

             

            6.         Method of
Payment of Contributions.

             

            (a)        A
participant’s payroll deductions made on each payday during any particular
Offering Period must equal at least 1% and not exceed 20% (or such greater
percentage as the Board may establish from time to time before an Offering Date)
of such participant’ s Compensation on each payday during the Offering Period.
All payroll deductions made by a participant shall be credited, without
interest, to his or her account under the Plan. A participant may not make any
additional payments into such account.

             

            (b)        A
participant may discontinue his or her participation in or Contributions to the
Plan as provided in Section 10.

             

            (c)       
Notwithstanding the foregoing, to the extent necessary to comply with the annual
limitations set forth in Section 423(b)(8) of the Code and Section 3(b)(ii)
herein, a participant’s payroll deductions may be decreased during any Offering
Period scheduled to end during any particular calendar year to 0%. Payroll
deductions shall re‐commence at the rate provided in such participant’s
Enrollment Documents at the beginning of the first Offering Period that is
scheduled to end in the following calendar year, unless terminated by the
participant as provided in Section 10.

             

            7.         Grant of
Option.

             

            (a)        On
the Offering Date of each Offering Period, each eligible Employee participating
in the Plan for such Offering Period shall be granted an option to purchase on
the Purchase Date for that Offering Period a number of Shares of Common Stock
determined by dividing such Employee’ s Contributions accumulated during the
Offering Period and retained in the participant’s account as of the Purchase
Date by the applicable Purchase Price (subject to any adjustment pursuant to
Section 19 below); provided, however, that such purchase shall be subject to the
terms and conditions of this Plan, including without limitation the limitations
set forth in Sections 3(b) and 12.

             

            (b)        The
fair market value of the Common Stock on a given date (the "Fair Market Value")
shall be the closing sale price of a Share of Common Stock for such date on the
Trading Market (or, in the event that the Common Stock is not traded on such
date, on the immediately preceding trading date), as reported in The Wall Street
Journal.

             

            8.         Exercise of Option.
  Unless a participant timely withdraws from the Plan as
provided in Section 10, his or her option for the purchase of Shares will,
without the delivery of any further documentation, be deemed to be exercised
automatically on the Purchase Date of an Offering Period, and the maximum number
of Shares subject to the option, rounded to the nearest one‐one hundredth of a
Share, will be purchased at the applicable Purchase Price with the accumulated
Contributions in his or her account as of such date.   During his or
her lifetime, a participant’s option to purchase Shares hereunder is exercisable
only by him or her.

             

            9.         Delivery
and Holding of Shares.   As promptly as
practicable after each Purchase Date, the number of Shares purchased by each
participant upon exercise of his or her option shall be deposited into an
account established in the participant’s name with the Designated
Administrator.  A participant may request that certificates representing
Shares purchased be issued in the participant’s name and delivered to the
participant or the participant’s agent.  No certificates for fractional
shares shall be issued.  In lieu of any such fractional share, the
participant will receive a cash payment based on the Fair Market Value of a
Share.

             

            10.       Voluntary Withdrawal;
Termination of Contributions; Termination of
Employment.

             

            (a)        A
participant may withdraw all but not less than all of the Contributions credited
to his or her account under the Plan by submitting fully completed withdrawal
documentation in the manner prescribed by the Company’s Human Resources
Department at least 21 days prior to the Purchase Date or such shorter period as
the Company’s Human Resources Department shall permit.  Upon receipt by the
Company of withdrawal documentation properly completed to the Company’s
satisfaction, (i) all of the participant’s Contributions credited to his or her
account will be paid to him or her, (ii) his or her option for the current
Offering Period will be automatically terminated, and (iii) no further
Contributions for the purchase of Shares by such participant will be accepted
during the Offering Period.

             

            (b)        A
participant may terminate Contributions during an Offering Period by submitting
fully completed termination documentation in the manner prescribed by the
Company’s Human Resources Department at least 21 days prior to the Purchase Date
or such shorter period as the Company’s Human Resources Department shall
permit.  Upon any such termination, a participant may choose to have all
Contributions credited to his or her account returned to him or her in
accordance with paragraph (a) or the participant may choose to have his or her
prior Contributions remain in his or her account and used to purchase Shares on
the Purchase Date.  A participant who terminates Contributions may not
resume Contributions until the next Offering Period.

             

            (c)       
Upon termination of the participant’s Continuous Status as an Employee prior to
the Purchase Date of an Offering Period for any reason, whether voluntary or
involuntary, including retirement or death, the Contributions credited to his or
her account will be returned to him or her or, in the case of his or her death,
to the person or persons entitled thereto under Section 15, and his or her
option will be automatically terminated.

             

            (d)        A
participant’s withdrawal from an offering during any particular Offering Period
will not have any effect upon his or her eligibility to participate in a
succeeding offering or in any similar plan that may hereafter be adopted by the
Company; provided, however, that the Employee shall be required to resubmit
Enrollment Documents in order to resume Contributions.

             

            11.          
Interest.
  No interest shall accrue on the Contributions of a participant in
the Plan.

             

            12           
Stock.

             

            (a)           
Subject to adjustment as provided in Section 19, no more than 5,000,000 Shares
shall be made available for purchase under the Plan, either with participants’
Contributions or in connection with the reinvestment of participants’ cash
dividends pursuant to Section 13 hereof.  If the Board determines that, on
a given Purchase Date, the number of Shares with respect to which options are to
be exercised may exceed the number of Shares available for sale under the Plan
on such Purchase Date, the Board may in its sole discretion authorize the
Company to allocate the Shares of Common Stock available for purchase on such
Purchase Date in a manner determined to be equitable by the Board in its sole
discretion.

             

            (b)          
The participant shall have no ownership, economic, voting or other rights or
interests with respect to Shares subject to purchase under his or her option
until such option has been exercised and the Shares have been
issued.

             

            (c)           
Shares to be sold to a participant under the Plan may be Shares acquired by the
Company in the open market, treasury shares or newly issued shares.  Shares
to be delivered to a participant under the Plan will be registered in the name
of the participant or, if directed by the participant,  in the name of the
participant and his or her spouse.

             

            13.          
Dividend Reinvestment; Other
Distributions; Voting.

             

            (a)           
Cash dividends on any Shares acquired through the Plan and credited to a
participant’s Plan account with the Designated Administrator will be
automatically reinvested in additional Shares; such amounts will not be
available in the form of cash to participants.  All cash dividends paid on
Shares credited to participants’ accounts and held by the Designated
Administrator will be paid by the Company to the Designated Administrator, which
shall be directed to reinvest such dividends on the same terms (including
purchase price per share) as cash dividends are reinvested under the Company’s
Automatic Dividend Reinvestment and Stock Purchase Service as then in effect, or
any successor dividend reinvestment plan of the Company (the "Dividend
Reinvestment Plan").

             

            (b)          
In the event of a stock dividend, distribution, stock split or reclassification
with respect to the Common Stock, any Shares or other securities of the Company
issued with respect to Shares held in a participant’s Plan account will be
credited to the participant’s Plan account.  In the event of any other
non‐cash dividend or distribution with respect to Shares credited to a
participant’s account, the Designated Administrator may, if reasonably practical
and at the direction of the Board, sell any property received in connection with
such dividend or distribution as promptly as practicable and use the proceeds to
purchase additional Shares in the same manner as cash paid to the Designated
Administrator for purposes of dividend reinvestment.

             

            (c)           
Shares acquired through the Plan and credited to a participant’s Plan account
may be voted by the participant in the same manner as Shares are voted under the
Dividend Reinvestment Plan or pursuant to any other rules adopted under Section
14 hereof.

             

            14.          
Administration.  
The Board, or a committee thereof, shall have general authority to administer
the Plan and shall have all of the powers specified herein as being held by the
Board. The Board may in its discretion delegate, to personnel of the Company’s
Human Resources Department or to the Designated Administrator, the Board’s
general authority to adopt, amend and rescind any rules deemed desirable and
appropriate for the administration of the Plan and not inconsistent with the
Plan, to construe and interpret the Plan, and to make all other determinations
(including determinations as to the amounts of participants’ Compensation)
necessary or advisable for the day‐to‐day operation of the Plan.

             

            15.          
Designation of
Beneficiary.

             

            (a)           
A participant may designate a beneficiary who is to receive any cash from the
participant’s account under the Plan in the event of such participant’s
death.  A participant may also designate a beneficiary to receive any
Shares to which the participant is entitled if an Offering Period terminates
prior to death, but death occurs prior to delivery to him or her of such
Shares.  Beneficiary designations under this Section 15(a) shall be made as
directed by the Human Resources Department of the Company, which may require
electronic submission of the required documentation with the Designated
Administrator.

             

            (b)          
Any designation of a beneficiary hereunder may be changed by the participant at
any time by submission of the required notice in the manner prescribed by the
Company’s Human Resources Department.  In the event of the death of a
participant and in the absence of a beneficiary validly designated under the
Plan who is living at the time of such participant’s death, the Company shall
deliver any such cash or Shares (as specified in paragraph (a)) to the executor
or administrator of the estate of the participant, or if no such executor or
administrator has been appointed (to the knowledge of the Company), the Company,
in its discretion, may deliver any such cash or Shares to the participant’s
relatives or representatives.

             

            16.          
Transferability.    Neither
Contributions credited to a participant’s account nor any rights with regard to
the exercise of an option or to receive Shares under the Plan may be assigned,
transferred, pledged or otherwise disposed of in any way (other than by will,
the laws of descent and distribution, or as provided in Section 15) by the
participant. Any such attempt at assignment, transfer, pledge or other
disposition shall be without effect, except that the Company may treat such act
as an election to withdraw funds in accordance with Section 10(a).

             

            17.          
Use of
Funds.   All Contributions received or held directly or
indirectly by the Company under the Plan may be used by the Company for any
corporate purpose, and the Company shall not be obligated to segregate or
safeguard such Contributions.

             

            18.           Reports.  
Individual accounts will be maintained for each participant in the Plan.
Statements of account will be provided to participating Employees by the Company
or the Designated Administrator at least semi‐annually.

             

            19.          
Adjustments Upon Changes in
Capitalization; Corporate Transactions.

             

            (a)          
Adjustment.  Subject to any required action by the shareholders of the
Company, the number of Shares that have been authorized for issuance under the
Plan, whether under currently outstanding options or available for future
options (collectively, the "Reserves"), and the price per Share of Common Stock
covered by each option under the Plan that has not yet been exercised, shall be
proportionately and equitably adjusted for any increase or decrease in the
number of issued and outstanding Shares resulting from a stock split, reverse
stock split, stock dividend, combination or reclassification of the Common
Stock, or any other increase or decrease in the number of Shares effected
without receipt of consideration by the Company or the holders of such Shares;
provided, however, that conversion of any convertible securities of the Company
shall not be deemed to have been "effected without receipt of
consideration."  Except as expressly provided herein, no issue by the
Company of shares of stock of any class, or securities convertible into shares
of stock of any class, shall affect, and no adjustment by reason thereof shall
be made with respect to, the number or price of Shares subject to an
option.

             

            (b)          
Corporate Transactions. In the event of a Corporate Transaction, the Board may,
in its sole discretion (and without the consent of participants), elect to (i)
unilaterally terminate the Plan prior to the consummation of such transaction
and return all Contributions to participants; (ii) unilaterally set a new
Purchase Date on or before the date of consummation of the Corporate Transaction
(provided that the Company notifies the participants of such new date), as of
which new Purchase Date the Offering Period then in progress will terminate and
all options outstanding hereunder shall be deemed to be exercised automatically,
unless prior to such date a participant has withdrawn from the Offering Period
as provided in Section 10; or (iii) provide for an alternative treatment of the
participants’ options that is acceptable to the person or entity that will
succeed to the Company’s assets, business or operations pursuant to such
transaction.  Any action taken by the Board under this paragraph shall be
binding on all participants.

             

            20.          
Amendment or
Termination.    The Board may at any time, in its sole
discretion (and without the consent of participants), terminate or amend the
Plan, except that without the approval of the shareholders of the Company no
amendment shall be made (i) to increase the number of Shares approved for sale
through the Plan (other than under Section 19 hereof) or (ii) to decrease the
Purchase Price per Share.  Upon termination of the Plan other than at the
end of an Offering Period, all Contributions then held by the Company shall be
returned to participants.

             

            21.           Notices.   All notices or
other communications by a participant to the Company under or in connection with
the Plan shall be deemed to have been duly given when received in the form
specified by the Company at the location, or by the person, designated by the
Company for the receipt thereof.

             

            22.          
Conditions Upon Issuance of
Shares.  
 (a)     Shares shall not be issued or sold
hereunder unless the issuance or sale shall comply with all applicable
provisions of law, domestic or foreign, including, without limitation, the
Securities Act of 1933, as amended, the Exchange Act, the rules and regulations
promulgated thereunder, applicable state securities laws and the requirements of
any Trading Market upon which the Shares may then be listed, and shall be
further subject to the approval of counsel for the Company with respect to such
compliance.

             

            (b)          
As a condition to the exercise of an option, the Company may require the person
exercising such option (i) to represent and warrant at the time of any such
exercise that the Shares are being purchased only for investment and without any
present intention to sell or distribute such Shares and (ii) to make such other
representations as may be required, in the opinion of counsel for the Company,
to effect compliance with all applicable securities or other laws.

             

            23.          
Term of Plan; Effective
Date.   The Plan shall become effective upon approval by
the Company’s shareholders. It shall continue in effect until terminated under
Section 19 (b)(i) or 20 hereof.  

             

            24.          
Compliance with Certain Laws
and Regulations.    The Plan is intended to comply with
Section 423 of the Code and the acquisition of Shares through the Plan is
intended to meet the requirements of Rule 16b‐3 promulgated under the Exchange
Act.  The Plan shall be deemed to contain, and such options shall contain,
and the Shares issued upon exercise thereof shall be subject to, any additional
conditions and restrictions as may be required to qualify fully under Section
423 and Rule 16b‐3.

             

                                                                                                                                                                         
 *    *    *   
*    *    *    *

             

             

            IN WITNESS WHEREOF,
the undersigned secretary of the Company hereby certifies that the foregoing
Plan was approved by the Board at a meeting duly held on February 28, 2001,
approved by the affirmative vote of the holders of a majority of the voting
power present at the 2001 Annual Meeting of Shareholders of the Company held on
May 10, 2001, and amended by the Board by written unanimous consent dated June
30, 2009.

             

             

            
            

             

            
              	
                       

                    	
                      CenturyTel,
      Inc.

                    
	
                       

                       

                    	
                       

                       

                    
	
                       

                    	
                      By:      /s/ Stacey W. Goff     

                    
	
                      Date:  June 30,
2009

                    	
                      Stacey W.
      Goff,

                    
	
                       

                    	
                      Senior
      Vice-President,

                    
	
                       

                    	
                      General
      Counsel and Secretary