Document:

Exhibit 10.14

	
 
    	
 
    	
 
    
	
 
    
	
HENDERSON GROUP PLC
    
	
RESTRICTED SHARE PLAN
    
	
 
    	
 
    	
 
    

 

Plan adopted in principle by resolution of the Board of Directors of

Henderson Group plc on 27 August 2008

 

Approved by the shareholders of the Company in general meeting (as amended) on

4 May 2011

 

Amended by the Board with shareholder approval on 1 May 2013

 

Re-approved by the shareholders of the Company in general meeting (as amended)

on 1 May 2014

 

Amended by the Board on 23 February 2015

 

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CONTENTS

 

	
Clause
    	
 
    	
Page
    
	
 
    	
 
    	
 
    	
 
    
	
1.
    	
DEFINITIONS
    	
 
    	
1
    
	
 
    	
 
    	
 
    	
 
    
	
2.
    	
GRANT OF AWARDS
    	
 
    	
3
    
	
 
    	
 
    	
 
    	
 
    
	
3.
    	
PLAN LIMITS
    	
 
    	
5
    
	
 
    	
 
    	
 
    	
 
    
	
4.
    	
RELEASE OF AWARDS
    	
 
    	
6
    
	
 
    	
 
    	
 
    	
 
    
	
5.
    	
LAPSE OF AWARDS AND CESSATION   OF EMPLOYMENT
    	
 
    	
7
    
	
 
    	
 
    	
 
    	
 
    
	
6.
    	
GENERAL OFFER FOR THE   COMPANY ETC.
    	
 
    	
9
    
	
 
    	
Scheme of Arrangement
    	
 
    	
9
    
	
 
    	
Demerger
    	
 
    	
9
    
	
 
    	
Voluntary Winding-up
    	
 
    	
10
    
	
 
    	
 
    	
 
    	
 
    
	
7.
    	
ADJUSTMENTS OF AWARDS
    	
 
    	
10
    
	
 
    	
 
    	
 
    	
 
    
	
8.
    	
INCOME TAX AND SOCIAL   SECURITY CONTRIBUTIONS
    	
 
    	
10
    
	
 
    	
 
    	
 
    	
 
    
	
9.
    	
AMENDMENT AND   ADMINISTRATION
    	
 
    	
11
    
	
 
    	
 
    	
 
    	
 
    
	
10.
    	
GENERAL
    	
 
    	
12
    
	
 
    	
 
    	
 
    	
 
    
	
11.
    	
FORFEITURE
    	
 
    	
13
    
	
 
    	
 
    	
 
    	
 
    
	
12.
    	
CLAW-BACK OF   OVERPAYMENT OF AWARD
    	
 
    	
14
    
	
 
    	
 
    	
 
    	
 
    
	
APPENDIX   1
    	
17
    

 

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1.                                      DEFINITIONS

 

1.1                               In this Plan, unless the context otherwise requires, the following words and expressions have the following meanings, namely:

 

ASX means ASX Limited (ABN 98 008 624 691) or any successor body to it;

 

ASX Listing Rules means the Listing Rules of the ASX, as in force from time to time, as they apply to the Company;

 

Award means an award granted in the form referred to in rule 2.1 and Awarded shall be construed accordingly;

 

Award Notification means the notification to a Participant by the Company setting out the specific conditions of an Award, in such form, including electronic, as the Board may determine from time to time;

 

Basic Salary means an Eligible Employee’s annual basic salary in respect of his employment with the Group;

 

Board means the board of directors of the Company or where appropriate a duly authorised committee thereof or, following a change of Control, the Board or duly authorised committee as constituted immediately prior to the change of Control;

 

Capital Reorganisation means any variation in the share capital or reserves of the Company (including, without limitation by way of capitalisation issue, rights issue, sub-division, consolidation or reduction);

 

Company means Henderson Group plc incorporated in Jersey with registered number 101484 by whatever name from time to time;

 

Control has the meaning given by section 995 of the Income Tax Act 2007;

 

Date of Grant means the date on which the Board grants an Award;

 

Discretionary Employees’ Share Scheme means any Employees’ Share Scheme adopted by the Company in which participation is at the discretion of the Board, other than (i) the Henderson Group PLC Company Share Option Plan and (ii) any other discretionary Employees’ Share Scheme adopted by the Company which is approved by the shareholders of the Company on the basis that such Employees’ Share Scheme is to be so excluded;

 

Eligible Employee means any bona fide employee of any member of the Group (including Executive Directors);

 

Employees’ Share Scheme has the meaning given by section 1166 of the Companies Act 2006;

 

Executive Director means an executive director of the Company;

 

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Fund means a fund, mandate or similar vehicle (including without limitation a unit trust, an investment trust company, an OEIC or a société d’investissement à capital variable, or a sub-fund of any such entity) the assets of which are managed by Henderson Global Investors (Holding) plc, Henderson Fund Management plc or any Subsidiary of such companies or any other Subsidiary of the Company;

 

Grant Period means the period of 42 days commencing on any of the following:

 

(a)                                 the day immediately following the day on which the Company makes an announcement of its results for the last preceding year, half year or other period; and

 

(b)                                 any day on which the Board resolves that exceptional circumstances exist that justify the grant of Awards;

 

Group means the Company and its Subsidiaries and member of the Group shall be construed accordingly;

 

the London Stock Exchange means London Stock Exchange plc or any successor body to it;

 

Market Value means in relation to a Share on any day:

 

(a)                                 if and so long as the Shares are listed on the London Stock Exchange, the closing middle market quotation for such a Share on the Date of Grant (as derived from the Daily Official List of the London Stock Exchange); or

 

(b)                                 subject to (a) above, its market value determined in accordance with Part VIII of the Taxation of Chargeable Gains Act 1992;

 

Official List means the Official List of the UK Listing Authority;

 

Old Henderson means Henderson Group Plc registered in England and Wales with registered number 02072534 by whatever name from time to time;

 

Old Henderson Shares means fully paid and irredeemable ordinary shares in the capital of Old Henderson;

 

Participant means any individual to whom an Award has been granted under the Plan (including where the context permits, the legal personal representatives of a deceased Participant);

 

Participating Company means the Company or any Subsidiary;

 

Performance Conditions means any performance conditions applicable to an Award imposed by the Board under rule 2.6;

 

the Plan means this Henderson Group plc Restricted Share Plan as amended from time to time;

 

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Registered Holder means any person or persons nominated by the Board to hold Shares on behalf of a Participant;

 

Release means the transfer to a Participant of the Shares to which he is entitled under these rules, and Release Date shall be construed accordingly;

 

Relevant Company means the company (being any member of the Group) that incurs a Tax Liability as set out in rule 8;

 

Restricted Period means unless foreshortened pursuant to rules 5 and 6 of this Plan, a period specified by the Board on the Date of Grant and commencing on the Date of Grant;

 

Shares means fully paid and irredeemable ordinary shares in the capital of the Company or shares representing those shares following any Capital Reorganisation;

 

Subsidiary has the meaning given by section 1159 of the Companies Act 2006;

 

Tax Liability means a liability to account for any tax, national insurance, social security or other levy in respect of the Award (whether arising by reason of grant or Release of the Award or otherwise);

 

the Trustees means the trustee or trustees for the time being of any employee trust established by the Company from time to time for the benefit of (inter alia) employees of the Group;

 

UK Listing Authority means the Financial Services Authority acting in its capacity as the competent authority for the purposes of Part VI of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000; and

 

Vesting means the unconditional entitlement of a Participant to receive some or all of the Shares comprised in the Award pursuant to these rules, and Vest, Vested and Vesting Date shall be construed accordingly.

 

1.2                               Where the context permits the singular shall include the plural and vice versa and the masculine shall include the feminine. Headings shall be ignored in construing the Plan.

 

1.3                               References to any legislation, regulation, enactment or similar shall include any statutory modification, amendment or re-enactment thereof.

 

2.                                      GRANT OF AWARDS

 

2.1                               The Board may, during a Grant Period, in its discretion, grant Awards in the form of a conditional allocation of shares or an allocation of shares subject to restrictions on dealings in or forfeiture of those shares, to any Eligible Employees selected by the Board.

 

2.2                               Subject to rule 3.4, the number of Shares that may be comprised in an Award granted to an Employee shall be determined by the Board in its absolute discretion.

 

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2.3                               The Board shall determine prior to the Date of Grant and shall specify in the Award Notification issued to a Participant whether the Participant shall have any beneficial interest in the Shares the subject of an Award and whether he shall have any rights to dividends in respect of the Shares and such other rights commonly enjoyed by a beneficial owner of Shares or whether he shall have only a conditional right to acquire or receive such Shares in which case he shall have no beneficial interest in the Shares until the Release of such Award. If the Board determines that a Participant shall have a beneficial interest in the Shares, it shall nominate a Registered Holder.

 

2.4                               If a Participant is to have beneficial ownership of the Shares the subject of an Award, the Shares shall be registered in the name of the nominated Registered Holder and:

 

(a)                                 the Participant shall not be entitled to delivery of the share certificate until the Restricted Period has expired;

 

(b)                                 the Registered Holder shall retain custody of such Shares during the Restricted Period; and

 

(c)                                  the Participant may not sell, transfer, assign, pledge, exchange, hypothecate (or attempt to do so) or otherwise dispose of such Shares during the Restricted Period.

 

If the Board so determines (but not otherwise), the Registered Holder shall account to the Participant for any dividends paid in respect of the Shares during the Restricted Period and shall seek directions from the Participant as to how the Registered Holder should vote on a poll in respect of such Shares.

 

2.5                               No Awards shall be granted after 1 May 2024.

 

2.6                               The Board may in its absolute discretion specify Performance Conditions which must, unless otherwise stated in the Rules, be satisfied prior to the Release of an Award. Such conditions:

 

(a)                                 shall be determined by the Board prior to the Date of Grant and shall be specified in the Award Notification issued to the Participant; and

 

(b)                                 may be amended or waived after the Date of Grant if:

 

(i)                     those circumstances which prevailed at the Date of Grant and which were relevant to the Performance Conditions that were originally imposed regarding the Release of an Award have subsequently changed; and

 

(ii)                     the Board is satisfied that any such amended Performance Conditions would be a fairer measure of the performance of the Participant and the Board reasonably requires that such amended Performance Conditions are no more difficult to satisfy than the original Performance Conditions.

 

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2.7                               There shall be no monetary consideration for the grant of any Award under the Plan.

 

2.8                               Each Award shall be made by an Award Notification issued by the Company and shall be subject to such terms and conditions consistent with the Plan as the Board may determine in its sole discretion. The Award Notification shall state:

 

(a)                                 the number of Shares comprised in the Award;

 

(b)                                 any Performance Conditions applicable to the Award imposed under rule 2.6 and whether the Release of the Award pursuant to rule 5.2 or rule 6 is subject to the achievement of Performance Conditions; and

 

(c)                                  the Restricted Period applying to the Award.

 

2.9                               Absent express provisions, nothing in these rules or in an Eligible Employee’s contract of employment shall be construed as giving to any Eligible Employee a right to receive, or be considered for, an Award.

 

2.10                        The grant of any Award under the Plan shall be subject to the provisions of the Model Code published by the UK Listing Authority and to obtaining any approval or consent required under the provisions of the Listing Rules published by the UK Listing Authority or the City Code on Takeovers and Mergers or of any regulation or enactment applicable to such grant.

 

3.                                      PLAN LIMITS

 

3.1                               The maximum number of Shares which may be allocated under the Plan on any day shall not, when added to the aggregate of the number of Shares and Old Henderson Shares which have been allocated in the previous 10 years under the Plan and under any other Discretionary Share Scheme adopted by the Company or Old Henderson, exceed such number as represents 5 per cent of the ordinary share capital of the Company in issue immediately prior to that day.

 

3.2                               The maximum number of Shares which may be allocated under the Plan on any day shall not, when added to the aggregate of the number of Shares and Old Henderson Shares which have been allocated in the previous 10 years under the Plan and under any other Employees’ Share Scheme adopted by the Company or Old Henderson, exceed such number as represents 10 per cent of the ordinary share capital of the Company in issue immediately prior to that day.

 

3.3                               References in this Rule 3 to the “allocation” of Shares shall mean:

 

(a)                                 in the case of any option, conditional share award or other similar award pursuant to which Shares may be acquired:

 

(i)                     the grant of the option, conditional share award or other similar award to acquire Shares, pursuant to which Shares may be issued; and

 

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(ii)                     in so far as not previously taken into account under (i) above from the date of grant, any subscription for Shares which are issued for the purpose of satisfying any option, conditional share award or other similar award to acquire Shares; and

 

(b)                                 in relation to other types of Employees’ Share Scheme, the issue and allotment of Shares,

 

and references to “allocated” in this Rule 3 shall be construed accordingly.

 

3.4                               In determining the above limits no account shall be taken of

 

(a)                                 any allocation (or part thereof) where the option, conditional share award or other similar award to acquire Shares was released, lapsed or otherwise became incapable of vesting;

 

(b)                                 any allocation (or part thereof) in respect of which the Board has determined shall be satisfied otherwise than by the issue of Shares; and

 

(c)                                  such number of additional Shares as would otherwise have been issued on the exercise of an option for monetary consideration (the exercise price) but in respect of which the exercise price is not paid, in substitution for the issue of such lesser number of shares as have a market value equal only to the gain which the optionholder would have made on exercise (equity-settled SAR alternative).

 

3.5                               References to the issue and allotment of Shares shall include the transfer of treasury shares, but only until such time as the guidelines issued by institutional investor bodies cease to provide that they need to be so included.

 

3.6                               An Award shall not be granted to an Eligible Employee who is a director of the Company if such grant would cause the total Market Value of the maximum number of Shares that may be acquired on Release of the Award (as measured at the Date of Grant of the Award) when aggregated with the total Market Value of the maximum number of Shares that may be acquired pursuant to any other Award granted to the Eligible Employee in the previous 12 months under the Plan or any similar plan established by Old Henderson, to exceed 150% of the Eligible Employee’s Basic Salary as at the Date of Grant. This limit shall not apply to Eligible Employees who are not directors of the Company at the Date of Grant.

 

4.                                      RELEASE OF AWARDS

 

4.1                               Save as otherwise permitted in these Rules and subject to rule 4.2, an Award shall not Vest and be capable of Release until the expiry of the specified Restricted Period.

 

4.2                               Save as otherwise permitted in these Rules an Award shall not Vest and be capable of Release unless:

 

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(a)                                 the Participant remains an employee of any member of the Group until the end of the specified Restricted Period; and

 

(b)                                 any Performance Condition to which the Award is subject has been satisfied.

 

4.3                               If the Award is subject to a Performance Condition, as soon as reasonably practicable after the end of the Restricted Period the Board shall determine the extent to which the Performance Condition has been satisfied and an Award has become Vested and capable of Release.

 

4.4                               Subject to any necessary consents and to compliance by the Participant with the terms of the Plan, the Company shall procure not later than 30 days after the date on which an Award has Vested and become capable of Release the delivery to the Participant (or to his nominee) of the Shares to which he is entitled (whether by issue or transfer of such Shares which may include treasury shares) free from any liens, charges or encumbrances. The Company shall (unless the Shares are to be issued in uncertified form) as soon as practicable deliver or procure the delivery to the Participant (or his nominee) of a definitive share certificate or other evidence of title in respect of such Shares. The Board may, in its discretion, require that particular Awards be satisfied by the transfer of existing Shares purchased in the market. he Company may, at its discretion, determine that an Award will be settled by procuring the payment of a cash sum to a Participant equal to the closing middle market quotation for each Vested Share on the Vesting Date (as derived from the Daily Official List of the London Stock Exchange) subject to applicable deductions for tax and employee’s social security contributions.

 

4.5                               Where the Release of an Award or the issue or transfer of Shares under the Plan would be prohibited by law or the Model Code published by the UK Listing Authority, the Award shall not be treated as having Vested and the period during which the Award may be Released and during which Shares may be issued or transferred shall not be treated as commencing until such period of prohibition no longer applies.

 

4.6                               An Award shall be personal to the Participant and the Participant shall not sell, transfer, pledge, assign, hypothecate (or attempt to do so) or otherwise dispose of all or any Shares which are the subject of the Award or any interest therein until the Release Date. Any attempt by the Participant to sell, transfer, pledge, assign or otherwise dispose of such Shares or any interest in them shall result in the immediate lapse of the Award.

 

5.                                      LAPSE OF AWARDS AND CESSATION OF EMPLOYMENT

 

5.1                               Save as otherwise provided in these rules, a Participant’s Award shall lapse automatically and any Shares which are the subject of an Award of which the Participant has beneficial ownership shall be forfeited automatically on the earliest of:

 

(a)                                 the Participant being declared bankrupt or entering into any general composition with or for the benefit of his creditors, including a voluntary arrangement under the Insolvency Act 1986;

 

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(b)                                 the Participant ceasing to be an employee of a member of the Group at any time before the expiry of the specified Restricted Period (whether lawfully or unlawfully);

 

(c)                                  any transfer, assignment, pledge, exchange, hypothecation (or attempt to do so) or other disposal of the Shares which are the subject of the Award;

 

(d)                                 the expiry of the period in rule 5.2;

 

(e)                                  in the expiry of any applicable period under rule 6.

 

5.2                               Where a Participant ceases to be an employee of a member of the Group before the expiry of the Performance Period applicable to an Award by reason of:

 

(a)                                 death;

 

(b)                                 injury, disability or ill-health;

 

(c)                                  his employing company ceasing to be a member of the Group;

 

(d)                                 the business (or part of a business) in which he is employed being transferred to a transferee which is not a member of the Group; or

 

(e)                                  any other reason the Board so decides in its absolute discretion (and for the avoidance of doubt, this discretion need not be exercised until the end of the Restricted Period),

 

subject to any different terms specified in the Award Notification (including in relation to the achievement of Performance Conditions), his Award shall continue and be capable of Release at the end of the Restricted Period SAVE THAT:

 

(i)                     the Board may at its discretion upon the cessation of a Participant’s employment due to death or terminal illness determine that Awards may be Released immediately;

 

(ii)                  the Board may determine that the Award shall be Released only in respect of the number of Shares comprised in an Award multiplied by the fraction A/B (where A is the number of months between the Date of Grant and the date on which the Participant’s employment ceases and B is 36 or such other number determined by the Board) and the remainder of the Award shall lapse; and

 

(iii)                 an Award shall be Released immediately if (following determination of the number of Shares in respect of which the Award will be Released in accordance with rule 5.2(ii)) it relates to less than 2,000 Shares.

 

5.3                               For the purpose of rule 5, a female Participant shall not be treated as ceasing to be an employee of a member of the Group if absent from work wholly or partly because of pregnancy or confinement, until she ceases to be entitled to exercise any statutory or contractual entitlement right to return to work.

 

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6.                                      GENERAL OFFER FOR THE COMPANY ETC.

 

6.1                               If any person (either alone or together with any person acting in concert with him) makes a general offer to acquire the whole of the share capital of the Company (other than those shares which are already owned by him and/or any person acting in concert with him), the Company shall, as soon as reasonably practicable thereafter, give notice to each Participant of such general or other offer and prior to the date on which the offer becomes or is declared unconditional in all respects. Subject to any different terms specified in the Award Notification (including in relation to the achievement of Performance Conditions), the Shares comprised in the Participant’s Award shall be Released on the date on which the offer becomes or is declared unconditional and the Board shall procure the delivery of the Shares to the Participant within 30 days of the date on which the Change of Control occurs SAVE THAT the Board may prior to such date determine that the Award shall be Released only in respect of the number of Shares comprised in an Award multiplied by the fraction A/B (where A is the number of months between the Date of Grant and the date on which the offer becomes or is declared unconditional in all respects and B is 36 or such other number determined by the Board) and the remainder of the Award shall lapse.

 

Scheme of Arrangement

 

6.2(A)              If a court sanctions a compromise or scheme of arrangement under Article 125 of the Companies (Jersey) Law 1991 for the purposes of considering a scheme of arrangement involving the reconstruction of the Company, subject to any different terms specified in the Award Notification (including in relation to the achievement of Performance Conditions), the Shares comprised in the Participant’s Award shall be Released on the date of court approval or sanction and the Board shall procure the delivery of the Shares to the Participant within 30 days of such date SAVE THAT prior to such date the Board may determine that the Award shall be Released only in respect of the number of Shares comprised in an Award multiplied by the fraction A/B (where A is the number of months between the Date of Grant and the date on which the compromise or scheme is sanctioned or approved by the court and B is 36 or such other number determined by the Board) and the remainder of the Award shall lapse.

 

6.2(B)              Awards shall not be Released without the consent of the Board under Rule 6.2(A) if the purpose or effect of the compromise or scheme of arrangement is to create a new holding company for the Company, such company having substantially the same shareholders and proportionate shareholdings as those of the Company immediately prior to the compromise or scheme of arrangement.

 

Demerger

 

6.3                               If the Board becomes aware that the Company is or is expected to be affected by any demerger, dividend in specie, super-dividend or other transaction which, in the opinion of the Board, would affect the current or future value of any Awards, subject to any different terms specified in the Award Notification (including in relation to the achievement of Performance Conditions), the Board may determine that all or some

 

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of the Shares comprised in the Participant’s Award shall be Released on a date determined by the Board and the Board shall procure the delivery of such Shares to the Participant within 30 days of the shares becoming capable of Release of the Shares pursuant to the Award. If the Board determines that Shares may be Released under this rule 6.3, it shall also determine whether the remaining Shares comprised in an Award shall lapse.

 

Voluntary Winding-up

 

6.4                               If notice is duly given of a resolution for a voluntary winding-up of the Company then subject to any different terms specified in the Award Notification (including in relation to the achievement of Performance Conditions), the Board may determine that all or some of the Shares comprised in the Participant’s Award shall be Released on a date determined by the Board and the Board shall procure the delivery of such Shares to the Participant within 30 days of the Shares becoming capable of Release SAVE THAT the Board may determine that the Award shall Vest and be capable of Release only in respect of the number of Shares comprised in an Award multiplied by the fraction A/B (where A is the number of months between the Date of Grant and the date on which the resolution is passed and B is 36 or such other number determined by the Board) and the remainder of the Award shall lapse. If the Board determines that Shares may be Released under this rule 6.4, it shall also determine whether the remaining Shares comprised in an Award shall lapse.

 

7.                                      ADJUSTMENTS OF AWARDS

 

7.1                               In the event of any Capital Reorganisation or the implementation by the Company of a demerger or the payment by the Company of a dividend in specie or a special dividend (which in the case of a demerger or payment of a dividend would materially affect the value of an Award), to the definition of Shares and the number of Shares comprised in an Award may be adjusted in such manner as the Board may determine PROVIDED THAT in respect of an Award under which Shares are to be transferred, prior notification shall be given to the person holding the Shares to which the Award relates.

 

7.2                               If any adjustment is made under rule 7.1 at a time when the Company is included in the official list of the ASX, such adjustment must comply with the ASX Listing Rules in force at the time of the Capital Reorganisation.

 

8.                                      INCOME TAX AND SOCIAL SECURITY CONTRIBUTIONS

 

8.1                               Any liability of a Participant to taxation arising in respect of any Award shall be for the account of the Participant. The grant of any Award shall be conditional on the Employee agreeing to comply with any arrangements specified by the Company for the payment of taxation and any social security contributions in respect of the Award (including without limitation the right of the Company to arrange the sale on his behalf of sufficient Shares to satisfy any taxation or social security liability on his part which the Company or any member of the Group may be liable to withhold).

 

8.2                               To the extent legally possible, the Board may determine that the Release of an Award is conditional on the Participant entering into:

 

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(a)                                 an agreement to reimburse any member of the Group that employs the Participant in whole or in part for any secondary Class 1 national insurance contributions (or the equivalent in any other jurisdiction) arising in connection with such Award; or

 

(b)                                 an election with any member of the Group that employs the Participant to assume the liability for any Secondary Class 1 national insurance contributions (or the equivalent in any other jurisdiction), payable in connection with such an Award including an agreement or election under paragraph 3A or 3B of Schedule 1 to the Social Security Contributions and Benefits Act 1992 (or the equivalent in any other jurisdiction).

 

9.                                      AMENDMENT AND ADMINISTRATION

 

9.1                               The decision of the Board shall be final and binding in all matters relating to the Plan and it may at any time discontinue the grant of further Awards.

 

9.2                               The Board may amend any of the provisions of the Plan in any way it thinks fit, provided that:

 

(a)                                 the Board shall not make any amendment that would materially prejudice the interests of existing Participants except with the prior consent or sanction of Participants who, if their Awards vested in full, would thereby become entitled to not less than three-quarters of all the Shares which would fall to be allotted or transferred upon exercise in full of all outstanding Awards; and

 

(b)                                 no amendment to the advantage of Eligible Employees or Participants may be made to:

 

(i)                       the definition of Eligible Employee in rule 1.1;

 

(ii)                      the limitations on the numbers of Shares subject to the Plan;

 

(iii)                       the maximum entitlement of an Eligible Employee under the Plan;

 

(iv)                      the basis for determining an Eligible Employee’s entitlement to Shares under the Plan;

 

(v)                        the terms of Shares to be provided under the Plan;

 

(vi)                      the adjustment provisions of rule 7 of the Plan,

 

without the prior approval of the Company in general meeting except in the case of minor amendments to benefit the administration of the Plan, to take account of a change in legislation or to obtain or maintain favourable tax, exchange control or regulatory treatment for Eligible Employees and Participants or any member of the Group; and

 

(c)                                  without prejudice to any provision of the Plan which provides for the lapse of an Award, the Board may not cancel an Award unless the Participant agrees in writing to such cancellation.

 

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9.3                               At any time while the Company is included in the official list of the ASX, no amendment may be made to these rules and no other change may be made to Awards except in accordance with the ASX Listing Rules.

 

9.4                               Notwithstanding any other provision of the Plan, the Board may establish appendices to the Plan for the purpose of granting Awards to Eligible Employees who are or may become primarily liable to tax outside the United Kingdom on their remuneration, subject to such modifications as may be necessary or desirable to take account of overseas tax, exchange control or securities laws provided that any Shares made available under such appendices shall count towards the limit set out in rule 3.

 

10.                               GENERAL

 

10.1                        Any member of the Group may provide money to the Trustees or any other person to enable them or him to acquire Shares to be held for the purposes of the Plan, or enter into any guarantee or indemnity for the purposes.

 

10.2                        The Plan shall terminate on 1 May 2024 or at any earlier time by the passing of a resolution by the Board or an ordinary resolution of the Company in general meeting. Termination of the Plan shall be without prejudice to the subsisting rights of Participants.

 

10.3                        The rights and obligations of any individual under the terms of his office or employment with the Group shall not be affected by his participation in the Plan or any right he may have to participate in the Plan. An individual who participates in the Plan waives all and any rights to compensation or damages in consequence of the termination of his office or employment with any company for any reason whatsoever(whether lawfully or unlawfully), insofar as those rights arise or may arise from his ceasing to have rights under the Plan as a result of such termination, or from the loss or diminution in value of such rights or entitlements. In the event of any conflict between the terms of this rule 10.3 the Participant’s terms of employment, this rule will take precedence.

 

10.4                        The existence of any Award shall not affect in any way the right or power of the Company or its shareholders to make or authorise any or all adjustments, recapitalisations, reorganisations or other changes in the Company’s capital structure, or any merger or consolidation of the Company, or any issue of Company shares, bonds, debentures, preferred or prior preference stocks ahead of, or convertible into, or otherwise affecting the Shares or the rights thereof, or the dissolution or liquidation of the Company or any sale or transfer of all or any part of its assets or business, or any other corporate act or proceeding, whether of a similar character or otherwise.

 

10.5                        Any notice or other document required to be given under or in connection with the Plan may be delivered to a Participant or sent by post to him at his home address according to the records of his employing company or such other address as may appear to the Company to be appropriate including any electronic address. Notices sent by post shall be deemed to have been given on the day following the date of posting and notices sent by electronic means shall be deemed to have been given twelve hours after the time of despatch or at such earlier time as receipt is acknowledged. Any notice or other document required to be given to the Company

 

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under or in connection with the Plan may be delivered or sent by post to it at its registered office (or such other place or places as the Company may from time to time determine and notify to Participant).

 

10.6                        Benefits under the Plan shall not be pensionable.

 

10.7                        The Company, or where the Board so directs any Participating Company, shall pay the appropriate stamp duty on behalf of Participants in respect of any transfer of Shares on the Release of Awards.

 

10.8                        These Rules shall be governed by and construed in accordance with English law. All disputes arising out of or in connection with the rules shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of England and Wales.

 

11.                               FORFEITURE

 

11.1                        In respect of Awards made on or after 4 May 2011, at any time prior to the Vesting Date, an Award shall be forfeit to the extent determined by the Board (and for the avoidance of doubt the Board may determine that an Award may be forfeited in whole or in part):

 

(a)                                 where the Board determines that there has been a material misrepresentation in relation to the performance of the Company [or a member of the Group, business unit or Fund](1) and/or the Participant on the basis of which the Board made its determination as to the extent to which any Award was granted, including (but not limited to): (i) a misstatement of the financial results and/or health of the Company [or a member of the Group, business unit or Fund](1) during a relevant Financial Year; (ii) an erroneous calculation in relation to the results of the Company [or a member of the Group, business unit or Fund](1) or other performance benchmark; (iii) errors in the financial statements of the Company [or a member of the Group, business unit or Fund](1); or (iv) discrepancies in the financial accounts for a relevant Financial Year, whether or not arising from fraud or reckless behaviour on the part of any director or employee of the Company or any member of the Group [and, for the avoidance of doubt, whether or not the Participant was responsible for such misrepresentation](2);

 

(b)                                 immediately upon the Participant ceasing to be an employee of any member of the Group by reason of dismissal for misconduct (for the avoidance of doubt, including but not limited to gross misconduct);

 

(c)                                  where the Board determines that there is reasonable evidence of misbehaviour by the Participant;

 

(d)                                 where the Board determines that there has been a material failure of risk management [in respect of: (i) the Company; (ii) any member of the Group or business unit for which the Participant performs a role or has responsibility;

 

(1)                                 Words in square brackets inserted to apply to Awards granted on or after 23 February 2015.

 

(2)                                 Words in square brackets inserted on 23 February 2015.

 

13

 

and/or (iii) any Fund to which the Participant’s role relates or for which the Participant has responsibility, whether or not the Participant is responsible for such failure](2); or

 

(e)                                  in respect of an Award granted on or after 23 February 2015, where the Board determines that:

 

(i)                    the vesting of an Award is not sustainable according to the financial situation of the Company; and/or

 

(ii)                  the vesting of an Award to the extent to which it would otherwise vest is not justified according to, and/or that there has been a material downturn in, the performance of: (i) the Company; (ii) any member of the Group or business unit for which the Participant performs a role or has responsibility; (iii) any Fund to which the Participant’s role relates or for which the Participant has responsibility; and/or (iv) the Participant.

 

11.2                        The effect of the forfeiture of an Award (to the extent determined by the Board under Rule 11.1 above) shall be:

 

(a)                                 in the case of an Award granted in the form of a conditional allocation of Shares, the Participant shall no longer be entitled to the issue or transfer of Shares pursuant to the Award;

 

(b)                                 in the case of an Award granted in the form of an allocation of Shares subject to restrictions on dealings in those Shares or an allocation of Shares subject to forfeiture, the Shares shall be forfeit and shall be transferred to the Company, or as the Company may direct, for nil consideration.

 

12.                               CLAW-BACK OF OVERPAYMENT OF AWARD

 

12.1                        In respect of Awards made on or after 4 May 2011, a claw-back may be imposed by the Board (“Claw-Back”), at any time following the applicable Vesting Date until the [third](3) anniversary of the applicable Vesting Date:

 

(a)                                 where the Board determines that there has been a material misrepresentation [...](4) in relation to the performance of the Company [or a member of the Group, business unit or Fund](5) and/or the Participant on the basis of which the Board made its determination as to the extent to which any Award Vested, including (but not limited to): (i) a misstatement of the financial results and/or health of the Company [or a member of the Group, business unit or Fund](5) during a relevant Financial Year; (ii) an erroneous calculation in relation to the results of the Company [or a member of the Group, business unit or Fund](5) or other performance benchmark; (iii) errors in the financial statements of the

 

(3)                                 For Awards made on or after 4 May 2011 but prior to 23 February 2015, Claw-Back may only be operated until the second anniversary of the applicable Vesting Date (see previous version of the rules).

 

(4)                                 For Awards made on or after 4 May 2011 but prior to 23 February 2015, words “by a Participant” are included (see previous version of the rules).

 

(5)                                 Words in square brackets inserted to apply to Awards granted on or after 23 February 2015.

 

14

 

Company [or a member of the Group, business unit or Fund](5); or (iv) discrepancies in the financial accounts for a relevant Financial Year, whether or not arising from fraud or reckless behaviour on the part of any director or employee of the Company or any member of the Group;

 

(b)                                 where the Participant ceases to be an employee of any member of the Group by reason of dismissal for misconduct (for the avoidance of doubt, including but not limited to gross misconduct); or

 

(c)                                  in respect of an Award granted on or after 23 February 2015, where the Board determines that there has been a material failure of risk management for which the Participant has direct or indirect responsibility in respect of: (i) the Company; (ii) any member of the Group or business unit for which the Participant performs a role or has responsibility; and/or (iii) any Fund to which the Participant’s role relates or for which the Participant has responsibility.

 

12.2                        The manner in which the Claw-Back shall be made by the Remuneration Committee is as follows:-

 

(a)                                 the Company shall serve a notice in writing on each Participant concerned setting out:-

 

(i)                        the date of the Award;

 

(ii)                        the total number of Shares comprised in the Award which vested on the applicable Vesting Date;

 

(iii)                       the number of Shares in that Award which are subject to the Claw-Back calculated, if the Board so decides, after taking account of the tax and social security contributions paid by the Participant (“Claw-Back Shares”);

 

(iv)                      the Market Value of the Claw-Back Shares, as at the date the Claw-Back Shares were issued or transferred in satisfaction of the Award (“Cash Equivalent”);

 

(b)                                 so far as the Board shall consider practicable, any Claw-Back shall be implemented by:

 

(i)                     a reduction in the number of Shares under the Plan or any other Discretionary Share Plan operated by the Company which would otherwise vest for [or be released to](6) the Participant on any future date; or

 

(ii)                  a withholding of any cash amount otherwise due to the Participant under any bonus scheme[, phantom share scheme or other cash based

 

(6)                                 Words in square brackets inserted on 23 February 2015.

 

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incentive scheme](7) of the Company or any member of the Group (on a pre- or post-tax basis, as determined by the Board); or

 

(iii)                       a deduction from any other sum owed to the Participant (which may include unpaid salary and/or pension contributions) on a pre- or post-tax basis, as determined by the Board,

 

up to the number of Claw-Back Shares or their Cash Equivalent; and

 

(c)                                  if the Participant ceases at any time to be a Participant in the Plan and/or any other Discretionary Share Plan operated by the Company, or the number of Shares which may be transferred on or following any future date under the Plan and/or any other Discretionary Share Plan operated by the Company is less than the number of Claw-Back Shares, or the Participant ceases at any time to be a director or an employee of the Company or any member of the Group, then the Company may recover from the Participant the Cash Equivalent of the balance of the Shares remaining to be Clawed-Back and for these purposes the Cash Equivalent is a debt which is immediately due and payable by the Participant to the Company.

 

(7)                                 Words in square brackets inserted on 23 February 2015.

 

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APPENDIX 1

 

GRANT OF PHANTOM AWARDS TO ELIGIBLE EMPLOYEES

OUTSIDE THE UNITED KINGDOM

 

1.                                      This Appendix 1 sets out the terms on which the Board may grant Phantom Awards (as defined in this Appendix 1) to any Eligible Employees selected by the Board who are or may become primarily liable to tax outside the United Kingdom on their remuneration.

 

Application of rules of the Plan and definitions

 

2.                                      The rules of the Plan apply to Phantom Awards subject to such modifications as are set out in this Appendix 1 which the Board considers are necessary or desirable to take account of overseas tax, exchange control or other laws. Words and expressions defined in Rule 1.1 of the Plan shall have the same meanings in this Appendix 1 with appropriate changes, except as follows:

 

Eligible Employee means any bona fide employee of any member of the Group who is or who the Board considers may become primarily liable to tax outside the United Kingdom on their remuneration, excluding executive directors of the Company;

 

Release Value means for each Phantom Share in respect of which a Phantom Award has Vested:

 

(a)                                 for so long as Shares are listed on the London Stock Exchange, the closing middle market quotation for a Share on the Release Date of the Phantom Award; or

 

(b)                                 subject to (a) above, the market value of a Share on the effective date of exercise of the Phantom Award determined in accordance with Part VIII of the Taxation of Chargeable Gains Act 1992;

 

Phantom Award means an award granted in the form referred to in paragraph 4 of this Appendix 1;

 

Phantom Share means a notional share equal in value to a Share, but having no legal rights attributable to a Share;

 

Release means the payment of a cash amount representing Vested Phantom Shares (whether automatically or pursuant to a notice of release) in accordance with Rule 4.4 (as amended by this Appendix 1), and Release Date shall be construed accordingly; and

 

Vested Phantom Shares means Phantom Shares subject to Phantom Awards which have become capable of Release and Vest, Vesting and Vesting Date shall be construed accordingly.

 

3.                                      References to an Award in the rules of the Plan shall be construed for the purpose of this Appendix 1 as references to a Phantom Award.

 

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Grant of Phantom Awards

 

4.                                      Rule 2.1 shall be deleted and replaced as follows:

 

The Board may, during a Grant Period, in its discretion, grant Phantom Awards in the form of a right to receive contingent on the exercise of the Phantom Award a cash payment equal to the Release Value of a maximum number of Phantom Shares determined by the Board at the Date of Grant, to any Eligible Employees selected by the Board.

 

5.                                      Reference in Rule 2.8 to the “number of shares comprised in an Award” shall be replaced with “the number of Phantom Shares comprised in a Phantom Award”.

 

Individual limits

 

6.                                      Rule 3.4 shall be deleted.

 

Release of Phantom Awards

 

7.                                      Rule 4.4 shall be deleted and replaced as follows:

 

Release of a Phantom Award shall be made no later than six months after the expiry of the relevant Restricted Period. A Participant must request the Release of the Phantom Award by giving notice in writing to the Company in the prescribed form.

 

4.4(a)                Subject to Rules 4.4(b), 4.4(c) and 4.4(d), the Board shall procure the payment to a Participant not later than 30 days after receipt of a valid notice of Release of a Phantom Award by a Participant or after any date on which a Phantom Award has Vested and become capable of Release, of a sterling cash amount equal to the Release Value, less any applicable tax and social security withholding not later than 30 days following the Vesting Date of the Phantom Award.

 

4.4(b)                The Board may in its discretion determine that the payment to be made to a Participant pursuant to Rule 4.4(a) should be made in a Participant’s local currency by reference to the exchange rate on the Release Date.

 

4.4(c)                 The amount payable to a Participant pursuant to Rule 4.4(a) or Rule 4.4(b) on exercise of a Phantom Award may, at the discretion of the Board be satisfied in whole or in part by the transfer of Shares to a Participant. The number of Shares which are to be transferred to a Participant in satisfaction of any payment due under Rule 4.4(a) or Rule 4.4(b) will be the number of Shares (rounded down to the nearest whole Share) which have a market value equal to the Release Value less any applicable tax and social security withholding. Any transfer of Shares will satisfy in full any amount to which the Participant becomes entitled in accordance with Rule 4.4(a) or Rule 4.4(b). Such Shares will be transferred within 30 days of the effective date of

 

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exercise of the Phantom Award free of all liens, charges and encumbrances and together with all rights attaching to the Shares, except that they will not rank for any rights attaching to Shares by reference to a record date preceding the date of exercise.

 

4.4(d)     The payment of the cash amount to a Participant or delivery of Shares under this Rule 4.4 is conditional on the Participant complying with all overseas tax, exchange control or other laws applicable to the payment or transfer.

 

8.             References in Rule 6 to “the Shares comprised in a Participant’s Award” shall be construed as references to the Phantom Shares comprised in a Participant’s Phantom Award.

 

9.             The amount of any cash payment to be made to a Participant following the exercise of a Phantom Award in accordance with Rules 5.2 and 6 (as amended by this Appendix 1) shall be determined in accordance with Rule 4.4 (as amended by this Appendix 1) except that where Phantom Shares are Released before the expiry of the applicable Restricted Period in accordance with Rules 5.2(e)(i) and 6 (as amended by this Appendix 1), the number of Phantom Shares which are Released will be pro rated in accordance with the provisions of Rules 5.2(e)(ii) and 6 as though references to the number of Shares were construed as references to the number of Phantom Shares.

 

10.          The Board may adjust the number of Phantom Shares in respect of which a Phantom Award has been granted in accordance with Rule 7 as if references in Rule 7 to Shares were references to Phantom Shares.

 

Forfeiture

 

11.          In respect of Phantom Awards made on or after 4 May 2011, at any time prior to the Vesting Date, a Phantom Award shall be forfeit to the extent determined by the Board (and for the avoidance of doubt the Board may determine that a Phantom Award may be forfeited in whole or in part):

 

(a)           where the Board determines that there has been a material misrepresentation in relation to the performance of the Company [or a member of the Group, business unit or Fund](8) and/or the Participant on the basis of which the Board made its determination as to the extent to which any Phantom Award was granted, including (but not limited to): (i) a misstatement of the financial results and/or health of the Company [or a member of the Group, business unit or Fund](8) during a relevant Financial Year; (ii) an erroneous calculation in relation to the results of the Company [or a member of the Group, business unit or Fund](8) or other performance benchmark; (iii) errors in the Company’s financial statements of the Company [or a member of the Group, business unit or Fund](8); or (iv) discrepancies in the financial accounts for a relevant Financial Year, whether or not arising from fraud or reckless behaviour on the part of any director or employee of the Company or any member of the Group

 

(8)           Words in square brackets inserted on 23 February 2015.

 

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[and, for the avoidance of doubt, whether or not the Participant was responsible for such misrepresentation](8);

 

(b)           immediately upon the Participant ceasing to be an employee of any member of the Group by reason of dismissal for misconduct (for the avoidance of doubt, including but not limited to gross misconduct);

 

(c)           where the Board determines that there is reasonable evidence of misbehaviour by the Participant; or

 

(d)           to the extent that the Board determines that there has been a material failure of risk management [in respect of: (i) the Company; (ii) any member of the Group or business unit for which the Participant performs a role or has responsibility; and/or (iii) any Fund to which the Participant’s role relates or for which the Participant has responsibility, whether or not the Participant is responsible for such failure](9); or

 

(e)           in respect of a Phantom Award granted on or after 23 February 2015, where the Board determines that:

 

(i)        the vesting of a Phantom Award is not sustainable according to the financial situation of the Company; and/or

 

(ii)       the vesting of a Phantom Award to the extent to which it would otherwise vest is not justified according to, and/or that there has been a material downturn in, the performance of: (i) the Company; (ii) any member of the Group or business unit for which the Participant performs a role or has responsibility; (iii) any Fund to which the Participant’s role relates or for which the Participant has responsibility; and/or (iv) the Participant.

 

The effect of the forfeiture of a Phantom Award (to the extent determined by the Board under this Appendix 1) shall be that the Participant shall no longer be entitled to payment of cash or the transfer of Shares pursuant to the Phantom Award.

 

Claw-Back of Overpayment of Award

 

12.          In respect of Phantom Awards made on or after 4 May 2011, a claw-back may be imposed by the Board (“Claw-Back”) at any time following the applicable Vesting Date until the [third](9) anniversary of the applicable Vesting Date:

 

(i)        where the Board determines that there has been a material misrepresentation [...] in relation to the performance of the Company [or a member of the Group, business unit or Fund](10) and/or the Participant on the basis of which the Board made its determination as to the extent to which any Phantom Award Vested, including (but not limited to): (i) a misstatement of the financial results and/or health of

 

(9) For Awards made on or after 4 May 2011 but prior to 23 February 2015, Claw-Back may only be operated until the second anniversary of the applicable Vesting Date (see previous version of the rules).

 

20

 

the Company [or a member of the Group, business unit or Fund](10) during a relevant Financial Year; (ii) an erroneous calculation in relation to the results of the Company [or a member of the Group, business unit or Fund](10) or other performance benchmark; (iii) errors in the financial statements of the Company [or a member of the Group, business unit or Fund](10); or (iv) discrepancies in the financial accounts for a relevant Financial Year, whether or not arising from fraud or reckless behaviour on the part of any director or employee of the Company or any member of the Group;

 

(ii)       where the Participant ceases to be an employee of any member of the Group by reason of dismissal for misconduct (for the avoidance of doubt, including but not limited to gross misconduct); or

 

(iii)      in respect of a Phantom Award granted on or after [·] 2015, where the Board determines that there has been a material failure of risk management for which the Participant has direct or indirect responsibility in respect of; (i) the Company; (ii) any member of the Group or business unit for which the Participant performs a role or has responsibility; and/or (iii) any Fund to which the Participant’s role relates or for which the Participant has responsibility.

 

(b)           The manner in which the Claw-Back shall be made by the Remuneration Committee is as follows:-

 

(i)        the Company shall serve a notice in writing on each Participant concerned setting out:-

 

(A)          the date of the Phantom Award;

 

(B)          the total amount of cash comprised in the Phantom Award which vested on the applicable Vesting Date;

 

(C)          the total amount of cash in that Phantom Award which is subject to the Claw-Back calculated, if the Board so decides, after taking account of the tax and social security contributions paid by the Participant (“Claw-Back Cash”) [(and the equivalent number of Shares calculated at the Market Value of a Share as at the date the cash payment was made to the Participant under the Phantom Share Award (the “Equivalent Shares”))](10);

 

(ii)       so far as the Board shall consider practicable, any Claw-Back shall be implemented by:

 

(A)          a reduction in the [number of Shares](10) under the Plan or any other Discretionary Share Plan operated by the Company which

 

(10)         Words in square brackets inserted on 23 February 2015.

 

21

 

would otherwise vest for [or be released to](11) the Participant on any future date; or

 

(B)          a withholding of any cash amount otherwise due to the Participant under any bonus scheme[, phantom share scheme or other cash based incentive scheme](11) of the Company or any member of the Group (on a pre- or post-tax basis as determined by the Board); or

 

(C)          a deduction from any other sum owed to the Participant (which may include unpaid salary and/or pension contributions) on a pre- or post-tax basis as determined by the Board,

 

up to the amount of the Claw-Back Cash [or the Equivalent Shares](11); or

 

(iii)      if the Participant ceases at any time to be a Participant in the Plan and/or any other phantom Discretionary Share Plan operated by the Company, or the amount of cash which may be paid on or following any future date under the Plan and/or any other phantom Discretionary Share Plan operated by the Company is less that the amount of the Claw-Back Cash, or the Participant ceases at any time to be a director or an employee of the Company or any member of the Group, then the Company may recover from the Participant the balance of the cash remaining to be clawed-back and for these purposes such amount is a debt which is immediately due and payable by the Participant to the Company.

 

(c)           Where Shares have been transferred to a Participant under this Appendix 1, Rule 12 of the Plan will apply.

 

(11)         Words in square brackets inserted on 23 February 2015.

 

22Exhibit 10.15

 

HENDERSON GROUP PLC

 

RULES OF THE HENDERSON GROUP PLC

 

US ESPP (AS AMENDED)

 

(ALSO KNOWN AS THE SHARESAVE PLAN USA)

 

Shareholder approval: 27 August 2008

 

Amended with shareholder approval: 11 May 2010

 

Re-approved by Shareholders (as amended): 4 May 2011

 

 

Henderson Group plc

US ESPP (as amended)

 

1              Purpose

 

The Henderson Group plc US ESPP (the “Plan”) is intended to encourage the employees of Participating Companies (as defined below) to acquire a proprietary interest, or to increase their existing proprietary interest, in the Company. The Board of Directors of the Company (the “Board”) believes that employee ownership of the Company’s stock will incentivize employees to perform diligently their duties as employees and exert maximum efforts for the success of the Company. The Plan is intended to qualify as an “employee stock purchase plan” within the meaning of Section 423 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”). Notwithstanding, the Board may establish one or more sub-plans under the Plan which do not qualify under Code Section 423 for Employees of Participating Companies outside of the United States in order to achieve tax, employment, securities law and/or other purposes and objectives, and to conform the terms of the Plan with the laws and requirements of such countries in order to allow such Employees to purchase Shares in a manner similar to the Plan.

 

2              Definitions

 

(a)           “Approved Leave of Absence” means an Employee’s leave of absence (e.g., military leave, maternity leave, sick leave or another bona fide leave of absence) with the prior approval of an authorized person of the Company or a Participating Company during which period the Employee’s employment relationship with the Company or a Participating Company is treated as continuing intact for purposes of the Plan; provided, however, that if the period of leave exceeds ninety (90) days and the individual’s right to re-employment with the Company or a Participating Company is not guaranteed either by statute or by contract, the employment relationship shall be deemed to terminate on the first day immediately following such 90-day period.

 

(b)           “ASX” means ASX Limited (ABN 98 008 624 691) or any successor body to it.

 

(c)           “ASX Listing Rules” means the listing rules of the ASX, as in force from time to time, as they apply to the Company.

 

(d)           “Board” means the Board of Directors of the Company or where appropriate a duly authorized committee thereof or, following a change of Control, the Board or duly authorised committee as constituted immediately prior to the change of Control.

 

(e)           “Capital Reorganization” means any variation in the Share capital or reserves of the Company (including, without limitation, by way of capitalization issue, rights issue, sub-division, consolidation or reduction).

 

(f)            “Company” means (Henderson Group plc), a company registered in Jersey No. (101484) by whatever name time to time.

 

(g)           “Control” has the meaning given to that word by Section 719 of the Income Tax (Earnings and Pensions) Act 2003.

 

1

 

(h)           “Dealing Day” means any day on which the London Stock Exchange is open for the transaction of business.

 

(i)            “Eligible Employee” means an Employee who meets the requirements set forth in the Offering for eligibility to participate in the Offering, provided that such Employee also meets the requirements for eligibility to participate set forth in Section 6 of the Plan.

 

(j)            “Employee” means any person who is treated as an employee of a Participating Company for purposes of Code Section 423 or, for Participating Companies in countries outside of the United States, any person treated as an employee as determined under local laws, rules and regulations.

 

(k)           “Exercise Date” means one or more dates during an Offering established by the Board on which Options granted under the Plan shall be exercised and as of which acquisitions of Shares shall be carried out in accordance with such Offering.

 

(l)            “Exercise Price” means the price per Share payable on the exercise of an Option as determined by the Board (subject to adjustment under Section 13), but which shall not be less than (in the case of any Offering which is not designated by the Board to be an Offering in connection with the International Plan) eighty- five percent (85%) of the Fair Market Value of a Share on the Grant Date and (where the Board designates an Offering to be made in connection with the International Plan), the Exercise Price shall be not less than eighty- five percent (85%) of the Fair Market Value of a Share on the Exercise Date.

 

(m)          “Fair Market Value” means the closing middle market quotation for a Share as derived from the Daily Official List of the London Stock Exchange, provided that if no quotation is reported for a particular date, “Fair Market Value” will be the closing middle market quotation for a Share on the closest preceding Dealing Day for which such quotation is provided unless otherwise determined by the Board. If the Share is no longer listed on the London Stock Exchange, “Fair Market Value” of a Share shall be determined by the Board.

 

(n)           “Grant Date” means a date selected by the Board for an Offering to commence.

 

(o)           “Grant Period” means the period of 42 days commencing on any of the following:

 

(i)            the day immediately following the day on which the Company makes an announcement of its results for the last preceding financial year, half year or other period,

 

(ii)           any day on which the Board resolves that exceptional circumstances exist which justify the grant of Options; or

 

(iii)          any day on which any change to the legislation affecting savings-related share option schemes approved by the Inland Revenue under the Act is proposed or made or share plans that qualify under Code Section 423.

 

(p)           “International Plan” means the Henderson Group plc International Buy As You Earn Plan;

 

2

 

(q)           “Offering” means the grant of Options to acquire Shares under the Plan to Eligible Employees.

 

(r)           “Option” means an option to acquire Shares granted pursuant to the Plan.

 

(s)            “Option Holder” means an Eligible Employee who has elected to participate in the Plan and who holds an outstanding Option granted pursuant to the Plan.

 

(t)            “Participating Company” means Henderson Global Investors (North America) Inc. and any parent corporation or subsidiary corporation (as defined in Sections 424(e) and (f) of the Code, respectively) of the Company designated from time to time by the Board for participation in the Plan.

 

(u)           “Purchase Period” means a period of time specified within an Offering beginning on the Grant Date (or on the next day following an Exercise Date within an Offering) and ending on an Exercise Date, at the end of which Options granted under the Plan shall be exercised and Shares acquired on behalf of Option Holders. An Offering may consist of one or more Purchase Periods.

 

(v)           “Representative” means the person entitled to acquire, or direct the acquisition of, the Options under the Option Holder’s will or the laws of intestate succession.

 

(w)          “Securities Act” means the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.

 

(x)           “Share Option Plan” means any employee share option plan established by the Company.

 

(y)           “Shares” means fully paid and irredeemable ordinary shares in the capital of the Company, or shares representing those shares following any Capital Reorganization.

 

(z)           “Qualifying Event” means an Option Holder’s cessation of employment with the Company and each Participating Company by reason of (i) retirement at age 62, (ii) redundancy, (iii) injury, (iv) disability, (iv) death, (v) his or her employing company ceasing to be a Participating Company or (vi) the business (or part of a business) in which he or she is employed being transferred to a person who is not a Participating Company.

 

3              Administration

 

(a)           The Board shall administer the Plan. Subject to the provisions of the Plan, the Board shall have the power:

 

(i)            To determine when and how Options to acquire Shares shall be granted and the provisions of each Offering of such Options (which need not be identical).

 

(ii)           To convert, when necessary, any value denominated in UK Sterling and pence to equivalent US Dollars and cents (and vice versa) based on a currency exchange rate that it selects for such purpose.

 

(iii)          To designate from time to time which Participating Companies shall be eligible to participate in the Plan.

 

3

 

(iv)          To construe and interpret the Plan and Options granted under the Plan, and to establish, amend and revoke rules and regulations for the administration of the Plan. The Board, in the exercise of this power, may correct any defect, omission or inconsistency in the Plan.

 

(v)           To amend the Plan as provided in Section 14.

 

(vi)          Generally, to exercise such powers and to perform such acts as it deems necessary or expedient to promote the best interests of the Company and its Participating Companies and to carry out the intent that the Plan be treated as an “employee stock purchase plan” within the meaning of Code Section 423.

 

(b)           All determinations of the Board shall be final and binding on Employees, Option Holders and any other party claiming a right or a benefit under the Plan or in connection with any Offering.

 

4              Shares Subject to the Plan

 

(a)           Subject to the provisions of Section 13 relating to adjustments upon Capital Reorganizations, the Shares that may be sold pursuant to Options granted under the Plan shall not exceed in the aggregate five million (5,000,000) Shares. If any Option granted under the Plan shall for any reason terminate without having been exercised, the Shares not acquired under such Option shall again become available for issuance under the Plan.

 

(b)           The Shares subject to the Plan may be authorized but unissued Shares, Shares that have been bought on the open market or Shares of treasury stock (or any combination thereof).

 

(c)           No Options to subscribe for Shares shall be granted to the extent that the result of that grant would be that the aggregate number of Shares that could be issued on the exercise of that Option and any other Options granted at the same time, when added to the number of Shares that:

 

(i)            could be issued on the exercise of any other subsisting share options granted during the preceding ten years under the Plan or any other Share Option Plan; and

 

(ii)           have been issued on the exercise of any share options granted during the preceding ten years under the Plan or any other Share Option Plan; and

 

(iii)          have been issued during the preceding ten years under any profit sharing or other employee share incentive plan (not being a Share Option Plan),

 

would exceed 10 per cent of the ordinary share capital of the Company for the time being in issue.

 

(d)           Reference in this Section 4 to the issue of Shares shall, for the avoidance of doubt, mean the issue and allotment (but not transfer) of Shares and shall include the transfer of Shares from treasury (but only until such time as the guidelines issued by institutional investor bodies cease to provide that they need to be so included). Where Shares are or will be allotted or issued to a trustee of an employee benefit trust for the purpose of

 

4

 

satisfying Options by way of a transfer of Shares by the trustee, such Shares should be treated as issued or capable of being issued for the purpose of this Section 4.

 

5              Grant of Options; Offering

 

(a)           The Board may from time to time grant or provide for the grant of Options to acquire Shares under the Plan to Eligible Employees in an Offering (consisting of one or more Purchase Periods) on the Grant Date or Grant Dates selected by the Board, provided that any invitation to Eligible Employees to participate in an Offering shall be made within the Grant Period. Subject to the Plan, each Offering shall be in such form and shall contain such terms and conditions as the Board shall deem appropriate and shall comply with the requirement of Code Section 423(b)(5) that all Eligible Employees granted Options to acquire Shares under the Plan shall have the same rights and privileges. The terms and conditions of an Offering shall be incorporated by reference into the Plan and treated as part of the Plan. The provisions of separate Offerings need not be identical, but each Offering shall include (through incorporation of the provisions of this Plan by reference in the document comprising the Offering or otherwise) the period during which the Offering shall be effective, which period shall not exceed twenty-seven (27) months beginning with the Grant Date, and the substance of the provisions contained in Sections 6 through 9, inclusive.

 

(b)           If an Option Holder has more than one Option outstanding under the Plan, unless he or she otherwise indicates in agreements or notices delivered hereunder: (i) each agreement or notice delivered by that Option Holder shall be deemed to apply to all of his or her Options under the Plan, and (ii) an Option with a lower Exercise Price (or an earlier-granted Option, if different Options have identical Exercise Prices) shall be exercised to the fullest possible extent before an Option with a higher Exercise Price (or a later-granted Option, if different Options have identical Exercise Prices) shall be exercised.

 

6              Eligibility

 

(a)           Options may be granted only to Employees of a Participating Company. Except as provided in Section 6(b), an Employee shall not be eligible to be granted Options under the Plan unless, on the Grant Date, such Employee has been in the employ of the Participating Company for such continuous period preceding such Offering Date as the Board may require, but in no event shall the required period of continuous employment be greater than two (2) years. In addition, the Board may provide that no Employee shall be eligible to be granted Options under the Plan unless, on the Grant Date, such Employee’s customary employment with the Participating Company is more than twenty (20) hours per week and more than five (5) months per calendar year.

 

(b)           The Board may provide that each person who, during the course of an Offering, first becomes an Eligible Employee shall, on a date or dates specified in the Offering which coincides with the day on which such person becomes an Eligible Employee or which occurs thereafter, receive an Option under that Offering, which Option shall thereafter be deemed to be a part of that Offering. Such Option shall have the same characteristics as any Options originally granted under that Offering, as described herein, except that:

 

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(i)            the date on which such Option is granted shall be the “Offering Date” of such Option for all purposes, including determination of the Exercise Price of such Option;

 

(ii)           the period of the Offering with respect to such Option shall begin on its Offering Date and end coincident with the end of such Offering; and

 

(iii)          the Board may provide that if such person first becomes an Eligible Employee within a specified period of time before the end of the Offering, he or she shall not receive any Option under that Offering.

 

(c)           No Employee shall be eligible for the grant of any Options under the Plan if, immediately after any such Options are granted, such Employee owns stock possessing five percent (5%) or more of the total combined voting power or value of all classes of stock of the Company or of any Participating Company. For purposes of this Section 6(c), the rules of Code Section 424(d) shall apply in determining the stock ownership of any Employee, and stock which such Employee may acquire under all outstanding Options and options shall be treated as stock owned by such Employee.

 

(d)           As specified by Code Section 423(b)(8), an Eligible Employee may be granted Options under the Plan only if such Options, together with any other rights granted under all employee stock purchase plans of the Company and any Participating Companies, do not permit such Eligible Employee’s rights to acquire stock of the Company or any Participating Company to accrue at a rate which exceeds twenty five thousand dollars ($25,000) of the Fair Market Value of such stock (determined at the time such rights are granted and which, with respect to the Plan, shall be determined as of their respective Grant Dates) for each calendar year in which such rights are outstanding at any time.

 

(e)           Officers of any designated Participating Company, if they are otherwise Eligible Employees, shall be eligible to participate in Offerings under the Plan. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Board may provide in an Offering that Employees who are highly compensated Employees within the meaning of Code Section 423(b)(4)(D) shall not be eligible to participate.

 

7              Options; Exercise Price

 

(a)           On each Offering Date, each Eligible Employee, pursuant to an Offering made under the Plan, shall be granted an Option to acquire up to that number of Shares purchasable with a minimum and maximum dollar amount designated by the Board, but in no event may the maximum dollar amount exceed twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000).

 

(b)           The Board shall establish one (1) or more Exercise Dates during an Offering as of which Options granted under the Plan and pursuant to that Offering shall be exercised and acquisitions of Shares shall be carried out in accordance with such Offering.

 

(c)           The Board may designate any Offering to be an Offering to be made in connection with the International Plan. Where the Board designates an Offering to be made in connection with the International Plan, the Exercise Price shall be not less than eighty-five percent (85%) of the Fair Market Value of a Share on the Exercise Date. In the case

 

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of all other Offerings, the Exercise Price shall be not less than eighty- five percent (85%) of the Fair Market Value of a Share on the Grant Date.

 

(d)           In connection with each Offering made under the Plan, any individual Option Holder may acquire no more than 5,000 Shares during such Offering. In connection with each Offering made under the Plan, the Board may specify a maximum aggregate number of Shares that may be acquired by all Option Holders pursuant to such Offering. In addition, in connection with each Offering that contains more than one Exercise Date, the Board may specify a maximum aggregate number of Shares that may be acquired by all Option Holders on any given Exercise Date under the Offering. If the aggregate number of Shares issuable upon exercise of Options granted under the Offering would exceed any such maximum aggregate number, then, in the absence of any Board action otherwise, a pro rata allocation of the Shares available shall be made in as nearly a uniform manner as shall be practicable and equitable.

 

(e)           If at any time the number of Shares available for acquisition under the Plan is insufficient to grant to each Option Holder the right to acquire the full number of Shares to which he or she would otherwise be entitled, then each Option Holder will have the right to acquire that number of available Shares that is equal to the total number of available Shares multiplied by a fraction, the numerator of which is the accumulated amount of payroll deductions credited to the Option Holder’s account for the applicable Purchase Period and the denominator of which is the total amount accumulated amount of payroll deductions credited to all Option Holders’ account for the applicable Purchase Period.

 

8              Participation; Withdrawal; Termination

 

(a)           An Eligible Employee may become an Option Holder in the Plan pursuant to an Offering by delivering a participation agreement to the Company within the time specified in the Offering, in such form as the Company may provide. Each such agreement shall authorize after-tax payroll deductions in equal installments of an amount equal to at least the minimum required amount specified by the Board and of up to the maximum amount specified by the Board for the Offering. The payroll deductions made for each Option Holder shall be credited to a bookkeeping account for such Option Holder under the Plan and shall be deposited with the general funds of the Company or in an account with a custodian designated by the Board. If the money is deposited in an interest bearing account, distributions of accrued interest on such payroll deductions, if any, shall be made to the Option Holder at the end of each calendar year during the Offering, unless sooner distributed as provided under the Plan. Unless otherwise provided in the Offering, an Option Holder may not reduce (including to zero) or increase such payroll deductions once the Offering has commenced. To the extent provided in the Offering, an Option Holder may begin such payroll deductions after the beginning of the Offering. An Option Holder may make additional payments into his or her account only if specifically provided for in the Offering and only if the Option Holder has not already had the maximum permitted amount credited to his or her account during the Offering.

 

(b)           At any time during an Offering, an Option Holder may terminate his or her payroll deductions under the Plan and withdraw from the Offering by delivering to the Company a notice of withdrawal in such form as the Company may require. Such withdrawal may

 

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be elected at any time prior to five (5) business days before the first Exercise Date in the Offering. Upon such withdrawal from the Offering by an Option Holder, the Company shall distribute to such Option Holder all of his or her accumulated payroll deductions (reduced to the extent, if any, such deductions have been used to acquire Shares for the Option Holder) under the Offering, with any accrued but unpaid interest, and such Option Holder’s Options and interest in that Offering shall immediately and automatically terminate. An Option Holder’s withdrawal from an Offering shall have no effect upon such Option Holder’s eligibility to participate in any other Offerings under the Plan, but such Option Holder shall be required to deliver a new participation agreement in order to participate in subsequent Offerings under the Plan.

 

(c)           Payroll deductions with respect to any Option Holder will automatically terminate upon the Option Holder’s cessation of employment with each Participating Company. If the cessation of employment is by reason of a Qualifying Event, the Company shall not issue shares in exercise of such Option Holder’s Options unless the Option Holder makes an election in accordance with Section 8(d) hereof. If the cessation of employment is for any other reason (i.e., not a Qualifying Event), the Option Holder’s Options and interest in that Offering shall immediately and automatically terminate, and the Company shall, as soon as reasonably practicable, refund the payroll deductions previously accumulated during the Offering and not theretofore applied to the acquisition of Shares, with any accrued but unpaid interest.

 

(d)           During the period commencing with a Qualifying Event and ending sixty (60) days thereafter, the Option Holder (or the Option Holder’s Representative) will be entitled, at his or her election, to (i) withdraw the payroll deductions accumulated during such Offering not theretofore applied to the acquisition of Shares thereby terminating his or her Option(s), or (ii) to have such funds applied to the acquisition of Shares. If no election is made prior to the expiration of sixty (60) days following a Qualifying Event, the Company shall, as soon as reasonably practicable, refund the payroll deductions previously accumulated during such Offering and not theretofore applied to the acquisition of Shares, with any accrued but unpaid interest and the Option shall immediately and automatically terminate. In the event the Option Holder (or the Option Holder’s Representative) elects to purchase all or any of the Shares to which he or she is entitled, then the Company and such Option Holder (or the Option Holder’s Representative) shall proceed in accordance with Section 9 hereof, except that for the purposes of this Section 8(d), Exercise Date shall mean the earlier of (i) thirty (30) days or (ii) the next Exercise Date, in either case, following the day the Company is notified of the Option Holder’s election.

 

(e)           During an Approved Leave of Absence, an Option Holder may continue to participate in the Plan but may (i) elect to suspend payroll deductions during such leave period by delivering a suspension notice to the Company, in such form as the Company may require and (ii) elect to make-up any missed payroll deductions by delivering the applicable amount in cash to the Company, in accordance with such procedures as the Company may establish.

 

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(f)            Options granted under the Plan shall not be transferable by an Option Holder otherwise than by will or the laws of descent and distribution and during an Option Holder’s lifetime shall be exercisable only by such Option Holder.

 

(g)           The provisions of this Section 8 shall not apply to Option Holders in countries outside of the United States where payroll deductions are prohibited under local law. Such individuals shall be permitted to make payment under this Section 8 through such other form(s) of contribution with may be permitted under local law and approved by the Board, and which are specified in an applicable sub-plan of the Plan pursuant to Section 14(e).

 

9              Exercise; Delivery of Shares

 

(a)           On each Exercise Date during an Offering, if the Fair Market Value of a Share is greater than or equal to the Exercise Price of the Option (i.e., the Option is “at or in-the-money”), each Option Holder’s accumulated payroll deductions and other additional payments specifically provided for in the Offering shall be applied to the acquisition of Shares up to the maximum number of Shares permitted pursuant to the terms of the Plan and the applicable Offering, at the Exercise Price specified in the Offering and the Option will terminate with respect to any balance. No fractional shares shall be issued upon the exercise of Options granted under the Plan unless specifically provided for in the Offering.

 

(b)           On each Exercise Date during an Offering, if the Fair Market Value of a Share is less than the Exercise Price of the Option (i.e., the Option is “out-of-the-money”), each Option Holder’s accumulated payroll deductions and other additional payments specifically provided for in the Offering shall, as soon as reasonably practicable, be refunded to the Option Holder and the applicable Option shall immediately and automatically terminate.

 

(c)           If any amount of accumulated payroll deductions remains in an Option Holder’s account after the acquisition of Shares and such remaining amount is less than the amount required to acquire one Share on the final Exercise Date of an Offering, then such remaining amount shall be held in each such Option Holder’s account for the acquisition of Shares under the next Offering under the Plan, unless such Option Holder withdraws from such next Offering, as provided in Section 7(b), or is not eligible to participate in such Offering, as provided in Section 6, in which case such amount shall be distributed to the Option Holder after said final Exercise Date, with any accrued but unpaid interest. If any amount of accumulated payroll deductions remains in an Option Holder’s account after the acquisition of Shares and such remaining amount is equal to the amount required to acquire one (1) or more whole Shares on the final Exercise Date of the Offering, then such remaining amount shall be distributed in full to the Option Holder at the end of the Offering with any accrued but unpaid interest.

 

(d)           No Options granted under the Plan may be exercised to any extent unless the Shares to be issued upon such exercise under the Plan are covered by an effective registration statement pursuant to the Securities Act or is eligible for an exemption from the registration requirements thereof, and the Plan is in material compliance with all applicable federal, state, foreign and other securities and other laws applicable to the

 

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Plan. If on an Exercise Date during any Offering hereunder the Shares are not so registered or exempted or the Plan is not in such compliance, no Options granted under the Plan or any Offering shall be exercised on such Exercise Date, and the Exercise Date shall be delayed until the Shares are subject to such an effective registration statement or eligible under such an exemption, and the Plan is in such compliance, except that the Exercise Date shall in no event be more than twenty-seven (27) months from the Grant Date. If, on the Exercise Date under any Offering hereunder, as delayed to the maximum extent permissible, the Shares are not registered or exempt and the Plan is not in such compliance, no Options granted under the Plan or any Offering shall be exercised and all payroll deductions accumulated during the Offering (reduced to the extent, if any, such deductions have been used to acquire Shares) shall be distributed to the Option Holders, with any accrued but unpaid interest.

 

(e)           As promptly as reasonably practicable after each Exercise Date on which an acquisition of Shares occurs, the Company shall arrange for the issue or transfer to each Option Holder of the Shares acquired upon exercise of his or her Options. Alternatively, the Company may transfer the Shares to a custodian selected by the Company and such custodian shall hold the Shares in a separate account (or sub-account) in the name, and for the benefit, of the Option Holder. The Board may, in its discretion, require that particular Options be satisfied by the transfer of existing Shares purchased in the market.

 

10           Rights as a Shareholder

 

(a)           All Shares allotted or transferred upon the exercise of an Option shall rank pari passu in all respects with the Shares in issue at the Exercise Date save as regards any rights attaching to such Shares by reference to a record date prior to the date of exercise.

 

(b)           Any Shares acquired on the exercise of Options shall be subject to the articles of association of the Company from time to time in force.

 

(c)           An Option Holder shall not be deemed to be the holder of, or to have any of the rights of a holder with respect to, Shares subject to Options granted under the Plan unless and until the Option Holder’s Shares acquired upon exercise of Options granted under the Plan are recorded in the books of the Company (or its transfer agent).

 

(d)           Options do not confer any rights upon an Option Holder to participate in new issues of Shares prior to the exercise of Options.

 

11           General Offer; Compulsory Acquisition; Scheme of Arrangement; Voluntary Winding-up

 

(a)           If any person (either alone or together with any person acting in concert with him) makes a general offer to acquire the whole of the share capital of the Company (other than those shares which are already owned by him and/or any person acting in concert with him), the Company shall, as soon as reasonably practicable thereafter, give notice to each Option Holder of such general offer and, prior to the date on which the offer becomes or is declared unconditional in all respects, each Option Holder may exercise his Options within the period of six months following the date on which the offer becomes or is declared unconditional in all respects; provided that in no event may an Option be exercised later than twenty-seven (27) months after the Grant Date.

 

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Failing any permitted exercise, the Options shall, without prejudice to the operation of Section 12, lapse automatically upon the expiry of the six month period; provided that if an event as described in Section 11(b) occurs during the six month period, the period during which the Options may be exercised shall be the shorter of the periods specified under this Section 11(a) and Section 11(b).

 

(b)           If any person becomes bound or entitled to give a notice under Part 18 of the Companies (Jersey) Law 1991 to acquire Shares, and the circumstances mentioned in Section 11(a) apply, each Option Holder may exercise his Options at any time during the period of thirty (30) days from the date on which such a notice is first issued (whether or not the Option Period has commenced; provided that in no event may an Option be exercised later than twenty-seven (27) months after the Grant Date.

 

Failing any permitted exercise the Options shall, without prejudice to the operation of Section 12, lapse automatically upon the expiry of the thirty (30) day period.

 

(c)           If under Article 125 of the Companies (Jersey) Law 1991 the court sanctions a compromise or arrangement proposed for the purposes of, or in connection with, a scheme for the reconstruction of the Company or its amalgamation with any other company or companies, any outstanding Options may be exercised within six months of the court sanctioning the compromise or arrangement, failing which exercise the Options shall, without prejudice to the operation of Section 12, lapse automatically; provided that in no event may an Option be exercised later than twenty-seven (27) months after the Grant Date.

 

Without prejudice to the operation of Section 12, Options shall not be exercisable without the consent of the Board under the provisions of this Section 11(c) if the purpose and effect of the scheme of arrangement is to create a new holding company for the Company, such company having substantially the same shareholders and proportionate shareholdings as those of the Company immediately prior to the scheme of arrangement.

 

(d)           If notice is duly given of a resolution for a voluntary winding up of the Company, then an Option Holder may exercise his Options within the period of two months from the date of the resolution, but no later than twenty-seven (27) months after the Grant Date, failing which exercise the Options shall lapse automatically.

 

12           Option Rollover

 

(a)           If any company (the acquiring company):

 

(i)            obtains Control of the Company as a result of making:

 

(A)          a general offer to acquire the whole of the issued ordinary share capital of the Company which is made on a condition such that if it is satisfied the acquiring company will have Control of the Company; or

 

(B)          a general offer to acquire all the Shares; or

 

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(ii)           obtains Control of the Company in pursuance of a compromise or arrangement sanctioned by the court under Article 125 of the Companies (Jersey) Law 1991; or

 

(iii)          becomes bound or entitled to acquire shares in the Company under Part 18 of the Companies (Jersey) Law 1991,

 

each Option Holder may at any time within six (6) months after:

 

(a)           the date on which the acquiring company obtains control of the Company; or

 

(b)           the date the Court sanctions the compromise or arrangement,

 

by agreement with the acquiring company release any Option which has not lapsed (the “old option”) in consideration of the grant to him of an option (the “new option”) which is equivalent to the old option but relates to shares in a different company (the “new grantor”).

 

(b)           The new option shall not be regarded for the purposes of Section 12(a) as equivalent to the old option unless the conditions set out in paragraph 39(4) of Schedule 3 of the Income Tax (Earnings and Pensions) Act 2003 are satisfied and, in relation to the new option, the provisions of the Plan shall be construed as if:

 

(i)            the new option were an option granted under the Plan at the same time as the old option;

 

(ii)           references to the Company in Sections 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14 and 16 were references to the new grantor provided that references to Participating Company shall continue to be construed as if references to the Company within this definition were to Henderson Group plc;

 

(iii)          references to the Board in Sections 13 and 16 were references to the board of directors of the new grantor;

 

(iv)          references to Shares were references to shares in the new grantor;

 

(v)           the participation agreement delivered in connection with the old option had been made in connection with the new option; and

 

(vi)          the Exercise Date in relation to the new option was the same as that in relation to the old option.

 

(c)           Any option rollover contemplated by this Section 12 must also be compliant with the applicable requirements of Sections 423 and 424 of the Code.

 

13           Adjustments upon Capital Reorganization

 

In the event of any Capital Reorganization, the definition of Shares, the Exercise Price and/or the number of Shares comprised in an Option may be adjusted in such manner as the Board may determine; provided that:

 

(a)           if any adjustment is made under Section 13 at a time when the Company is included in the official list of the ASX, such adjustment shall comply with the ASX Listing Rules in force at the time of the Capital Reorganization;

 

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(b)           no adjustment shall be made pursuant to this Section which would increase the aggregate Exercise Price of any Option;

 

(c)           except as provided in this subparagraph (d) no adjustment may have the effect of reducing the Exercise Price to less than the nominal value of a Share. Where an Option subsists over both issued or unissued Shares any such adjustment may only be made if the reduction of the Exercise Price of Options over both issued and unissued Shares can be made to the same extent. Any adjustment to the Exercise Price of Options over unissued Shares shall only be made if and to the extent that the Board shall be authorized to capitalize from the reserves of the Company a sum equal to the amount by which the nominal value of the Shares in respect of which the Option is exercisable exceeds the adjusted Exercise Price. The Board may apply such sum in paying up such amount on such Shares and so that on exercise of any Option in respect of which such reduction shall have been made the Board shall capitalize such sum (if any) and apply the same in paying up such amount as aforesaid; and

 

(d)           in respect of an Option under which Shares are to be transferred, prior notification shall be given to the person holding the Shares to which the Option relates.

 

The Board’s determinations hereunder shall be final, binding and conclusive.

 

14           Amendment of the Plan

 

The decision of the Board shall be final and binding in all matters relating to the Plan and the Board may at any time suspend or terminate the Plan, discontinue the grant of further Options or amend any of the provisions of the Plan in any way it thinks fit; provided that:

 

(a)           except as herein provided, the Board shall not make any amendment (not being an amendment that is necessary or desirable in order to maintain the tax qualified status of the Plan under Code Section 423) that would materially prejudice the interests of existing Option Holders except with the prior consent or sanction of Option Holders who, if they exercised their Options in full, would thereby become entitled to not less than three-quarters of all the Shares which would fall to be allotted or transferred upon exercise in full of all outstanding Options;

 

(b)           no amendment to the advantage of Eligible Employees or Option Holders may be made:

 

(i)            to the definition of Eligible Employee in Section 2 and the rules governing eligibility for participation in the Plan;

 

(ii)           to the definition of Participating Company;

 

(iii)          to the limitations on the number of Shares subject to the Plan;

 

(iv)          to the maximum entitlement for any Eligible Employee under the Plan;

 

(v)           the basis for determining an Eligible Employee’s entitlement to Shares under the Plan;

 

(vi)          to the terms of Shares to be provided under the Plan; and

 

(vii)         to the adjustments to Options, under Section 13, in the event of a Capital Reorganization,

 

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without the prior approval of the Company in general meeting except in the case of minor amendments to benefit the administration of the Plan, to take account of a change in legislation or to obtain or maintain favorable tax, exchange control or regulatory treatment for Eligible Employees and Option Holders or the Company or any Participating Company;

 

(c)           without prejudice to any provision of the Plan which provides for the termination of an Option, the Board may not cancel an Option unless the Option Holder agrees in writing to such cancellation; and

 

(d)           at any time while the Company is included in the official list of the ASX, no amendment may be made to these rules and no other changes may be made to Options except in accordance with the ASX Listing Rules.

 

(e)           Notwithstanding anything in the Plan to the contrary, the Board may, in its sole discretion, establish one or more sub-plans of the Plan which do not satisfy the requirements under Code Section 423 for purposes of effectuating the participation of Employees located in countries outside of the United States. For purposes of the foregoing, the Board may establish one or more sub-plans to: (a) amend or vary the terms of the Plan in order to conform such terms with the laws, rules and regulations of each country outside of the United States where a Participating Company is located; (b) amend or vary the terms of the Plan in each country where a Participating Company is located as it considers necessary or desirable to take into account or to mitigate or reduce the burden of taxation and social insurance contributions for Option Holders and/or the Participating Company; or (c) amend or vary the terms of the Plan in each country outside of the United States where a Participating Company is located as it considers necessary or desirable to meet the goals and objectives of the Plan. Any non- Code Section 423 sub-plan shall be reflected in a written Appendix to the Plan for each Participating Company in such country, and shall be treated as being separate and independent from the Plan; provided, the total number of Shares authorized to be issued under the Plan shall include any Shares issued under such non-Code Section 423 sub-plan. To the extent permitted under applicable law, the Board may delegate its authority and responsibilities under this Section 14(e) to an appropriate sub-committee consisting of one or more officers of the Company.

 

15           Effective Date; Term of Plan

 

The Plan shall become effective on the date it is adopted by the Board and continue in effect until 4 May 2021 unless sooner terminated under Section 15 hereof. For the avoidance of doubt, any Options made under the Plan prior to its termination shall remain in effect until such Options have been satisfied or terminated in accordance with the terms and provisions of the Plan and the applicable Offering. Notwithstanding the foregoing, no Options granted under the Plan shall be exercised to any extent unless and until the Plan has been approved by the shareholders of the Company within twelve (12) months before or after the date the Plan is adopted by the Board, and if such approval is not obtained during the requisite twelve (12) month period, all payroll deductions accumulated during the Offering shall be distributed to the Option Holders, with any accrued but unpaid interest.

 

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16           General

 

(a)           The rights and obligations of an Option Holder under the terms and conditions of his office or employment shall not be affected by his participation in the Plan or any right he may have to participate in the Plan. An individual who participates in the Plan waives all and any rights to compensation or damages in consequence of the termination of his office or employment with any company for any reason whatsoever insofar as those rights arise, or may arise, from his ceasing to have rights under or be entitled to exercise any Option under the Plan as a result of such termination or from the loss or diminution in value of such rights or entitlements. If necessary, the Option Holder’s terms of employment shall be varied accordingly.

 

(b)           The existence of any Option shall not affect in any way the right or power of the Company or its shareholders to make or authorize any or all adjustments, recapitalizations, reorganizations or other changes in the Company’s capital structure, or any merger or consolidation of the Company, or any issue of shares, bonds, debentures, preferred or prior preference stocks ahead of or convertible into, or otherwise affecting the Shares or the rights thereof, or the dissolution or liquidation of the Company or any sale or transfer of all or any part of its assets or business, or any other corporate act or proceeding, whether of a similar character or otherwise.

 

(c)           Any notice or other document required to be given under or in connection with the Plan may be delivered to an Option Holder or sent by post to him at his home address according to the records of his employing company or such other address as may appear to the Plan to be appropriate. Notices sent by post shall be deemed to have been given on the day following the date of posting. Any notice or other document required to be given to the Plan under or in connection with the Plan may be delivered or sent by post to it at its registered office (or such other place or places as the Board may from time to time determine and notify to Option Holders).

 

(d)           Benefits under this Plan shall not be pensionable and shall not be taken into account for the purpose of determining any benefits under any benefit plan of the Company or any Participating Company (or any agreement with the Company or any Participating Company) unless such plan (or agreement) specifically provides otherwise.

 

(e)           The Company, or where the Board so directs any subsidiary, shall pay the appropriate stamp duty on behalf of the Option Holders in respect of any transfer of Shares on the exercise of the Options.

 

(f)            The invalidity or non-enforceability of any provision of the Plan shall not affect the validity or enforceability of the remaining provisions of the Plan which shall continue in full force and effect.

 

(g)           The Plan and each Offering shall be governed by, and construed in accordance with, the laws of England. All disputes arising out of or in connection with the Plan or any Offering shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of England and Wales.

 

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