Document:

Exhibit 10.8

 

Employee Stock Option Agreement

 

This Employee Stock Option Agreement, dated as of
[              ],
2004, between CDRV Investors, Inc., a Delaware corporation, and the Employee
whose name appears on the signature page hereof, is being entered into pursuant
to the CDRV Investors, Inc. Stock Incentive Plan.  The meaning of capitalized terms may be found
in Section 8.

 

The Company and the Employee hereby agree as follows:

 

Section 1.                                           Grant of
Options

 

(a)                      Confirmation of Grant.  The Company hereby evidences and confirms,
effective as of the date hereof, its grant to the Employee of Options to
purchase the number of Shares specified on the signature page hereof.  The Options are not intended to be incentive stock
options under the Code.  This Agreement
is entered into pursuant to, and the terms of the Options are subject to, the
terms of the Plan.  If there is any
inconsistency between this Agreement and the terms of the Plan, the terms of
the Plan shall govern.

 

(b)                     Option Price.  Each share covered by an Option shall have an
Option Price of $100.00.

 

Section 2.                                           Vesting
and Exercisability

 

(a)                      Except as otherwise provided in
Section 7(a) of this Agreement, the Options shall become vested in five
equal annual installments on each of the first through fifth anniversaries of
the Grant Date, subject to the continuous employment of the Employee with the
Company until the applicable vesting date; provided that if the
Employee’s employment with the Company is terminated in a Special Termination
(i.e., by reason of the Employee’s death or Disability), any Options held by
the Employee shall immediately vest as of the effective date of such Special
Termination.

 

(b)                     Discretionary Acceleration.  The Board, in its sole discretion, may
accelerate the vesting or exercisability of all or a portion of the Options, at
any time and from time to time.

 

(c)                      Exercise.  Once vested in accordance with the provisions
of this Agreement, the Options may be exercised at any time and from time to
time prior to the date such Options terminate pursuant to Section 3.  Options may only be exercised with respect to
full shares of Common Stock and must be exercised in accordance with
Section 4.

 

 

Section 3.                                           Termination
of Options

 

(a)                      Normal Termination Date.  Unless earlier terminated pursuant to
Section 3(b) or Section 7, the Options shall terminate on the tenth
anniversary of the Grant Date (the “Normal Termination Date”), if not
exercised prior to such date.

 

(b)                     Early Termination.  If the Employee’s employment with the Company
terminates for any reason, any Options held by the Employee that have not
vested before the effective date of such termination of employment or that do
not become vested on such date in accordance with Section 2 shall
terminate immediately upon such termination of employment and, if the
Employee’s employment is terminated for Cause, all Options (whether or not then
vested or exercisable) shall automatically terminate immediately upon such
termination.  All vested Options held by
the Employee following the effective date of a termination of employment (the “Covered
Options”) shall remain exercisable until the first to occur of (i)
the 60th day following the effective date of the Employee’s
termination of employment (the 180th day in the case of a Special Termination
and a retirement from active service on or after the Employee reaches normal
retirement age), (ii) the Normal Termination Date or (iii) the
cancellation of the Options pursuant to Section 7(a), and if not exercised
within such period the Options shall automatically terminate upon the
expiration of such period.

 

Section 4.                                           Manner of
Exercise.

 

(a)                      General.  Subject to such reasonable administrative
regulations as the Board may adopt from time to time, the Employee may exercise
vested Options by giving at least 15 business days prior written notice to the
Secretary of the Company specifying the proposed date on which the Employee
desires to exercise a vested Option (the “Exercise Date”), number of
whole shares with respect to which the Options are being exercised (the “Exercise
Shares”) and the aggregate Option Price for such Exercise Shares (the “Exercise
Price”); provided that following a Public Offering notice may be
given within such lesser period as the Board may permit.  On or before any Exercise Date that occurs
prior to a Public Offering, the Company and the Employee shall enter into an
Employee Stock Subscription Agreement. 
Unless otherwise determined by the Board, and subject to such other
terms, representations and warranties as may be provided for in the Employee
Stock Subscription Agreement, (i) on or before the Exercise Date the
Employee shall deliver to the Company full payment for the Exercise Shares in
United States dollars in cash, or cash

 

2

 

equivalents
satisfactory to the Company, in an amount equal to the Exercise Price plus
any required withholding taxes or other similar taxes, charges or fees and (ii)
the Company shall register the issuance of the Exercise Shares on its records
(or direct such issuance to be registered by the Company’s transfer
agent).  The Company may require the
Employee to furnish or execute such other documents as the Company shall
reasonably deem necessary (i) to evidence such exercise, (ii) to
determine whether registration is then required under the Securities Act or
other applicable law or (iii) to comply with or satisfy the
requirements of the Securities Act, applicable state or non-U.S. securities
laws or any other law.  The right of the
Company and the Investor to purchase Covered Options following a termination of
employment pursuant to Section 5 shall supercede any attempted exercise
following a termination of employment.

 

(b)                     Restrictions on Exercise.  Notwithstanding any other provision of this
Agreement, the Options may not be exercised in whole or in part, and no
certificates representing Exercise Shares shall be delivered, (i) (A)
unless all requisite approvals and consents of any governmental authority of
any kind shall have been secured, (B) unless the purchase of the
Exercise Shares shall be exempt from registration under applicable U.S. federal
and state securities laws, and applicable non-U.S. securities laws, or the
Exercise Shares shall have been registered under such laws, and (C) unless
all applicable U.S. federal, state and local and non-U.S. tax withholding
requirements shall have been satisfied or (ii) if such exercise
would result in a violation of the terms or provisions of or a default or an
event of default under, any of the Financing Agreements.  The Company shall on its commercially
reasonable efforts to obtain any consents or approvals referred to in clause
(i) (A) of the preceding sentence, but shall otherwise have no obligations to
take any steps to prevent or remove impediment to exercise described in such
sentence.

 

Section 5.                                           Repurchase
of Options on Termination of Employment.

 

(a)                      Rights of the Company and the
Investor.  If the Employee’s
employment with the Company terminates for any reason prior to a Public
Offering, the Company may elect to purchase all or portion of the Covered
Options by written notice to the Employee delivered at any time on or before
the 40th day after the Determination Date (the “First Purchase
Period”).  The Investor may elect to
purchase all or any portion of the Covered Options that the Company has not
elected to purchase by written notice to the Employee delivered at any time on
or before the 60th day after the Determination Date.

 

3

 

(b)                     Purchase Price.  The purchase price pursuant to this
Section 5 shall equal the excess, if any, of  (i) the
aggregate Fair Market Value as of the Determination Date of the Shares subject
to Covered Options being purchased over (ii) the aggregate Option
Price for such Covered Options (the “Purchase Price”).

 

(c)                      Closing of Purchase; Payment
of Purchase Price.  Subject to
Section 5(f), the closing of a purchase pursuant to this Section 5
shall take place at the principal office of the Company no later than the 90th
day following the Determination Date.  At
the closing, (i) the Company or the Investor, as the case may be, shall,
subject to Section 5(d), pay the Purchase Price to the Employee and (ii)
the Employee shall deliver to the Company such instruments effectuating such purchase
as the Company or the Investor, as the case may be, shall reasonably
request.  Notwithstanding the foregoing,
if the Determination Date occurs during the first or last fiscal quarter of any
fiscal year, the Company or the Investor, as the case may be, may elect to pay
the Purchase Price in two installments, as follows:  (i) at the closing the Company or the
Investor, as the case may be, shall pay to the Employee an amount (the “First
Installment Amount”) equal to at least 80% of the excess of (A) the
aggregate Fair Market Value of the shares covered by the Covered Options being
purchased, determined on the basis of the most recent available annual
valuation of the shares over (B) the aggregate Option Price for such
Covered Option, and (ii) no later than the fifteenth business day
following the Board’s next determination of the Fair Market Value, the Company
or the Investor, as the case may be, shall pay the excess, if any, of the (A)
Purchase Price for the Covered Options calculated using such subsequent
determination of Fair Market Value over the First Installment Amount or, if the
First Installment Amount exceeds the Purchase Price, the Company shall so
notify the Employee, who shall promptly repay any such excess to the Company or
the Investor, as the case may be.

 

(d)                     Application of the Purchase
Price to Certain Loans or Other Obligations.  The Company and the Investor shall be
entitled to apply any amounts otherwise payable pursuant to this Section 5
to discharge any indebtedness of the Employee to the Company or any of its
Subsidiaries or indebtedness that is guaranteed by the Company or any of its
Subsidiaries or to offset any such amounts against any other obligations of the
Employee to the Company or any of its Subsidiaries.

 

(e)                      Notice of Termination.  Prior to a Public Offering the Company shall
give prompt written notice to the Investor of any termination of the

 

4

 

Employee’s
employment with the Company and of the Company’s decision whether or not to
purchase Covered Options pursuant to Section 5(a).

 

(f)                        Certain Restrictions on
Repurchases Financing Agreements, etc. 
Notwithstanding any other provision of this Agreement, if the Company
elects to purchase Covered Options and (i) the payment of such purchase
price (or the payment of a dividend by a Subsidiary to the Company to fund such
repurchase) would result in a violation of the terms or provisions of, or
result in a default or an event of default under, any guarantee, financing or
security agreement or document entered into by the Company or any Subsidiary
from time to time, (ii) the payment of such purchase price would
violate any of the terms or provisions of the Certificate of Incorporation of
the Company or (iii) the Company has no funds legally available
therefor under the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware, the
payment of such purchase price will be postponed and will take place at the
first opportunity thereafter when the Company has funds legally available
therefor and when the payment of such purchase price will not result in any
default, event of default or violation under any of the Financing Agreements or
in a violation of any term or provision of the Certificate of Incorporation of
the Company; provided that the Purchase Price shall be increased by an
amount equal to interest on such Purchase Price for the period during which
payment is delayed at a rate equal to 7% per annum.

 

(g)                     Right to Exercise Covered
Options.  The Employee may exercise
any Covered Options that neither the Company nor the Investor has elected to
purchase pursuant to this Section 5; provided that the Employee
must exercise such Covered Options prior to the date such Options terminate
pursuant to Section 3(b) (which, in light of the 15 business day notice
period of Section 4(a) may require the Employee to give notice of exercise
prior to the expiration of the periods during which the Company and the
Investor may elect to purchase Covered Options pursuant to Section 5(a)).

 

(h)                     Public Offering.  The provisions of this Section 5 shall
terminate upon a Public Offering, except with respect to any payment that has
been postponed pursuant to Section 5(f).

 

Section 6.                                           Employee’s
Representations; Investment Intention. 
The Employee represents and warrants that the Options have been, and any
Exercise Shares will be, acquired by the Employee solely for the Employee’s own
account for investment and not with a view to or for sale in connection with
any distribution thereof.  The Employee
represents and warrants that the Employee understands that, prior to a Public
Offering, none of the Exercise Shares may be transferred, sold, pledged,
hypothecated or otherwise disposed of unless the

 

5

 

provisions of the relatedEmployee Stock Subscription Agreement
shall have been complied with or have expired.

 

Section 7.                                           Change in
Control.

 

(a)                      Vesting and Cancellation.  Except as otherwise provided in this  Section 7(a), in the event of a Change
in Control, all then-outstanding Options (whether vested or unvested) shall be
canceled in exchange for a payment having a value equal to the excess, if any,
of (i) the product of the Change in Control Price multiplied by the
aggregate number of shares covered by all such Options immediately prior to the
Change in Control over (ii) the aggregate Option Price for all such
shares, to be paid as soon as reasonably practicable, but in no event later
than 30 days following the Change in Control.

 

(b)                     Alternative Award.  Notwithstanding Section 7(a), no
cancellation, termination, or settlement or other payment shall occur with
respect to any Option if the Board reasonably determines prior to the Change in
Control that the Employee shall receive an Alternative Award meeting the
requirements of the Plan.

 

(c)                      Limitation of Benefits.  If, whether as a result of accelerated
vesting, the grant of an Alternative Award or otherwise, the Employee would
receive any payment, deemed payment or other benefit as a result of the
operation of Section 7(a) or Section 7(b) that, together with any
other payment, deemed payment or other benefit the Employee may receive under
any other plan, program, policy or arrangement, would constitute an “excess
parachute payment” under section 280G of the Code, then, notwithstanding
anything in this Section 7 to the contrary, the payments, deemed payments
or other benefits such Employee would otherwise receive under Section 7(a)
or Section 7(b) shall be reduced to the extent necessary to eliminate any
such excess parachute payment and such Employee shall have no further rights or
claims with respect thereto.  If the
preceding sentence would result in a reduction of the payments, deemed payments
or other benefits the Employee would otherwise receive on an after-tax basis by
more than 5%, the Company will use its commercially reasonable best efforts to
seek the approval of the Company’s shareholders in the manner provided for in
section 280G(b)(5) of the Code and the regulations thereunder with respect
to such reduced payments or other benefits (if the Company is eligible to do
so), so that such payments would not be treated as “parachute payments” for
these purposes (and therefore would cease to be subject to reduction pursuant
to this Section 7(c)).

 

6

 

Section 8.                                           Certain
Definitions.  As used in this
Agreement, capitalized terms that are not defined herein have the respective
meaning given in the Plan, and the following additional terms shall have the
following meanings:

 

“Affiliate” has the meaning given in
the Plan.

 

“Alternative Award” has the meaning
given in the Plan.

 

“Company” means CDRV Investors, Inc., provided
that for purposes of determining the status of Employee’s employment with the
“Company,” such term shall include the Company and its Subsidiaries.

 

“Code” means the United States
Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, and any successor thereto.

 

“Common Stock” has the meaning given
in the Plan.

 

“Covered Options” has the meaning
given in Section 3(a).

 

“Determination Date” means the
effective date of the Employee’s termination of employment.

 

“Disability” has the meaning given in
the Plan.

 

“Employee” means the grantee of the
Options, whose name is set forth on the signature page of this Agreement; provided
that for purposes of Section 4, Section 5 and Section 9,
following such person’s death “Employee” shall be deemed to include such
person’s beneficiary or estate and follow such Person’s Disability, “Employee
shall be deemed to include such person’s legal representative.

 

“Employee Stock Subscription Agreement”
means a “Stock Subscription Agreement” as defined in the Plan.

 

“Exercise Date” has the meaning given
in Section 4(a).

 

“Exercise Price” the meaning given in
Section 4(a).

 

“Exercise Shares” has the meaning
given in Section 4(a).

 

“Financing Agreements” has the meaning
set forth in Section 5(f) hereof.

 

“First Installment Amount” has the
meaning given in Section 5(c).

 

7

 

“First Purchase Period” has the
meaning set forth in Section 5(a) hereof.

 

“Grant Date” means the date hereof,
which is the date on which the Options are granted to the Employee.

 

“Normal Termination Date” has the
meaning given in Section 3(a).

 

“Option” means the right granted to
the Employee hereunder to purchase one share of Common Stock for a purchase
price equal to the Option Price subject to the terms of this Agreement and the
Plan.

 

“Option Price” means, with respect to
each Share covered by an Option, the purchase price specified in
Section 1(b) for which the Employee may purchase such Share upon exercise
of an Option.

 

“Plan” means the CDRV Investors, Inc.
Stock Incentive Plan.

 

“Purchase Price” has the meaning set
forth in Section 5(b).

 

“Securities Act” means the United
States Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or any successor statue, and the
rules and regulations thereunder that are in effect at the time, and any
reference to a particular section thereof shall include a reference to the
corresponding section, if any, of such successor statute, and the rules and
regulations.

 

“Special Termination” means a
termination of the Employee’s employment as a result of his or her death or
Disability.

 

“Subsidiary” has the meaning given in
the Plan.

 

Section 9.                                           Miscellaneous.

 

(a)                      Withholding.  The Company or one of its Subsidiaries may
require the Employee to remit to the Company an amount in cash sufficient to
satisfy any applicable U.S. federal, state and local and non-U.S. tax
withholding or other similar charges or fees that may arise in connection with
the grant, vesting, exercise or purchase of the Options.

 

(b)                     Authorization to Share Personal
Data.  The Employee authorizes any
Affiliate of the Company that employs the Employee or that otherwise has or
lawfully obtains personal data relating to the Employee to divulge such
personal data to the Company if and to the extent appropriate in

 

8

 

connection
with this Agreement or the administration of the Stock Incentive Plan.

 

(c)                      No Rights as Stockholder.  The Employee shall have no voting or other
rights as a stockholder of the Company with respect to any Shares covered by
the Options until the exercise of the Options and delivery of the Shares.  No adjustment shall be made for dividends or
other rights for which the record date is prior to the delivery of the Shares.

 

(d)                     No Right to Continued
Employment. Nothing in this Agreement shall be deemed to confer on the
Employee any right to continue in the employ of the Company or any Subsidiary,
or to interfere with or limit in any way the right of the Company or any
Subsidiary to terminate such employment at any time.

 

(e)                      Non-Transferability of Options.  The Options may be exercised only by the
Employee.  The Options are not assignable
or transferable, in whole or in part, and it may not, directly or indirectly,
be offered, transferred, sold, pledged, assigned, alienated, hypothecated or
otherwise disposed of or encumbered (including, but not limited to, by gift,
operation of law or otherwise) other than by will or by the laws of descent and
distribution to the estate of the Employee upon the Employee’s death or
pursuant to Section 5.

 

(f)                        Notices.  All notices and other communications required
or permitted to be given under this Agreement shall be in writing and shall be
deemed to have been given if delivered personally or sent by certified or
express mail, return receipt requested, postage prepaid, or by any recognized
international equivalent of such delivery, to the Company, the Investor or the
Employee, as the case may be, at the following addresses or to such other
address as the Company, the Investor or the Employee, as the case may be, shall
specify by notice to the others:

 

(g)                     Binding Effect; Benefits.  This Agreement shall be binding upon and
inure to the benefit of the parties to this Agreement and their respective
successors and assigns.  Except as
provided in Section 5 with respect to the Investor, nothing in this
Agreement, express or implied, is intended or shall be construed to give any
person other than the parties to this Agreement or their respective successors
or assigns any legal or equitable right, remedy or claim under or in respect of
any agreement or any provision contained herein.

 

9

 

(h)                     Waiver; Amendment.

 

(i)             Waiver.  Any party
hereto or beneficiary hereof may by written notice to the other parties (A) extend
the time for the performance of any of the obligations or other actions of the
other parties under this Agreement, (B) waive compliance with any
of the conditions or covenants of the other parties contained in this Agreement
and (C) waive or modify performance of any of the obligations of
the other parties under this Agreement, provided that any waiver of the
provisions of Section 5 or this Section 9(g) must be consented to in
writing by the Investor.  Except as
provided in the preceding sentence, no action taken pursuant to this Agreement,
including, without limitation, any investigation by or on behalf of any party
or beneficiary, shall be deemed to constitute a waiver by the party or
beneficiary taking such action of compliance with any representations,
warranties, covenants or agreements contained herein.  The waiver by any party hereto or beneficiary
hereof of a breach of any provision of this Agreement shall not operate or be
construed as a waiver of any preceding or succeeding breach and no failure by a
party or beneficiary to exercise any right or privilege hereunder shall be
deemed a waiver of such party’s or beneficiary’s rights or privileges hereunder
or shall be deemed a waiver of such party’s or beneficiary’s rights to exercise
the same at any subsequent time or times hereunder.

 

(ii)          Amendment.  This
Agreement may not be amended, modified or supplemented orally, but only by a
written instrument executed by the Employee and the Company, provided
that any amendment, modification or supplement that adversely affects the
rights of the Investor hereunder must be consented to by the Investor.

 

(i)                         Assignability.  Neither this Agreement nor any right, remedy,
obligation or liability arising hereunder or by reason hereof shall be
assignable by the Company or the Employee without the prior written consent of
the other parties and the Investor; provided that the Investor may
assign from time to time all or any portion of its rights under Section 5
to one or more persons or other entities designated by it.

 

(j)                         Applicable Law.  This Agreement shall be governed in all
respects, including, but not limited to, as to validity, interpretation and
effect, by the internal laws of the State of New York, without reference to

 

10

 

principles of
conflict of law that would require application of the law of another
jurisdiction.

 

(k)                      Section and Other Headings,
etc.  The section and other
headings contained in this Agreement are for reference purposes only and shall
not affect the meaning or interpretation of this Agreement.

 

(l)                         Section and Other
Headings, etc.  The section and
other headings contained in this Agreement are for reference purposes only and
shall not affect the meaning or interpretation of this Agreement.

 

(m)                   Counterparts.  This Agreement may be executed in any number
of counterparts, each of which shall be deemed to be an original and all of
which together shall constitute one and the same instrument.

 

11

 

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the Company and the Employee have executed this
Agreement as of the date first above written.

 

	
   

  	
  CDRV INVESTORS, INC.

  
	
   

  	
   

  
	
   

  	
  By:

  	
   

  	
   

  
	
   

  	
   

  	
  Name:

  	
   

  
	
   

  	
   

  	
  Title:

  	
   

  
	
   

  	
   

  
	
   

  	
   

  
	
   

  	
  THE EMPLOYEE:

  
	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  
	
   

  	
  «Name»

  
	
   

  	
   

  
	
   

  	
   

  
	
   

  	
  By:

  	
   

  	
   

  
	
   

  	
   

  	
  as Attorney-in-Fact

  	
   

  
	
   

  	
   

  
	
   

  	
   

  
	
   

  	
   

  	
  Name:

  	
   

  
	
   

  	
   

  
	
   

  	
   

  
	
   

  	
  Address of the Employee:

  
	
   

  	
   

  
	
   

  	
  «Address»

  
	
   

  	
   

  
	
   

  	
   

  
	
  Total Number of Shares

  for the Purchase of

  Which

  Options have been

  Granted

  	
  «Options» Shares

  

 

12Exhibit
10.9

Translation of a
letter dated April 8, 2004 and written by Prof. Dr. Bernhard Scheuble,

Chairman of the Executive
Board, Merck KGaA

To Walter W. Zywottek, 1180 Winderly Lane, Newtown Square, PA 19073, USA

Dear Mr. Zywottek,

Following the successful
closing of the VWR transaction, I would like to use the opportunity to
summarize and conclude our discussion held during the month of February and
March regarding contractual definitions of the pension commitments.  I’m referring also to your letter dated
January 23, 2004 and will address the content as follows.

There is agreement that
the return guarantee, as defined in our letter February 27, 2001 will be
eliminated, effective closing of the sale of VWR, recognizing that the sale of
VWR eliminates the base for the potential utilization of this guarantee.  Just for clarification, we would like to
express the fact that there are no further (employment) contractual obligations
between you and us.

At the same time we would
like to express our sincere appreciation for your extraordinary achievements
during your tenure with Merck.  In
recognition of your efforts and in appreciation for the successfully concluded
VWR transaction we will pay you a special bonus.  The amount will be communicated in a separate letter.

Regarding your retirement
conditions we offer, again in recognition of your achievements and in order to
have clarity of the terms of our Pension Agreement entered into April l, 1992
that we will

a)              Not consider, when calculating the company pension,
the usual deduction of the employer contribution related to the pension
resulting from the contributions to the “Pensionskasse der Chemischen
Industrie”

b)             Also not consider the EMD Chemicals 401-k plan when
calculating your pension,

c)              Forfeit any consideration of severance payments you
might receive from VWR International and/or third parties.

If you would decide to
retire before reaching the regular retirement age, we specifically express that
we will be waiving all deductions (versicherungsmathematischen Abschlaege)
normally effective when retiring before 63 years of age.

Dear Mr. Zywottek, these
are very special circumstances to say farewell to a manager.  In your 37 years of successful work in many
different functions in the Merck group you contributed in an extraordinary
manner and earned the highest degree of respect.  Let me assure you, that our recognition of your efforts and
achievements will remain also under

 

 

the new ownership
structure of VWR.  We anticipate that
with your help and under your leadership the future cooperation between VWR and
Merck will be a long-term successful and profitable partnership.

The Executive Board of
Merck KGaA is again expressing their appreciation for your successful
cooperation over a long period of time and wishes you in your new professional
environment a good start and a lot of success.

With best regards,

Signed Bernhard Scheuble

 

2

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