Document:

Exhibit 10.1

MDC
PARTNERS INC.

STOCK
APPRECIATION RIGHTS PLAN

1.                                             PURPOSE

The Plan is intended to promote the interests of
MDC Partners Inc. (the “Company”) by providing an incentive to selected
employees, officers, directors and service providers of the Company to remain
in the service of the Company and to increase their interest in the success of
the Company by providing them with opportunities to increase their proprietary
interest in the Company and to receive compensation based upon the Company’s
success.

The Plan was initially adopted and approved by
the Compensation Committee of the Board (as defined below) and became effective
as of January 1, 2003. The Plan was amended and restated on April 22,
2004, and again on April 28, 2006.

2.                                           DEFINITIONS

(a)                                    “Award” means an award of a SAR granted under the
Plan.

(b)                                   “Base Price” means the grant price of the SAR as
determined by the Compensation Committee, which shall not be less than
the closing price of the Class A Shares on the Toronto Stock Exchange on
the trading day immediately preceding the date of grant.

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

(d)                                   “Class A Shares” means the Class A
Subordinate Voting Shares of the Company, or such other class or kind of share
or other securities as may be applicable under Section 9.

(e)                                    “Class A Share Price” means the Fair Market
Value of the Class A Shares on the date of exercise of a SAR.

(f)                                      “Compensation Committee” shall mean the
Compensation Committee of the Board, or such other committee or subcommittee
duly established by the Board and vested with authority with respect to the
Plan, or, in the absence of such a Compensation Committee, the Board.

(g)                                   “Company” means MDC Partners Inc., a Canadian
corporation, or any successor to substantially all its business.

(h)                                 “Disability” means the inability of a Participant who is an
individual (or in the case of a Participant which is an entity other than an
individual, the principal Person providing services on behalf of such entity to
the Company), in the opinion of a qualified physician acceptable to the
Company, to perform the major duties of the Participant’s position or retainer
with the Company because of the

 

sickness or injury
of the Participant.

(i)                                       “Effective Date” shall mean January 1, 2003.

(j)                                       “Fair Market Value” of a Class A Share shall mean the weighted average trading price of Class A
Shares on the Toronto Stock Exchange for the five trading days immediately
preceding the date on which the fair market
value is to be determined. In the event that the Class A Shares are not
quoted on such system or traded in a similar market, Fair Market Value shall be
determined by the Compensation Committee in good faith.

(k)                                  “Outstanding Issue” means the number of Class A
Shares and Class B Shares of the Company that are outstanding immediately
prior to the date in question and shall include any other class of
participating shares of the Company outstanding on such date;

(l)                                       “Participant” means an employee, officer,
director or service provider of the Company who has been granted an Award under
the Plan.

(m)                                 “Person” means without limitation, an individual,
sole proprietorship, partnership, unincorporated association, unincorporated
syndicate, unincorporated organization, trust, body corporate and a trustee
executor, administrator, or other legal representative.

(n)                                   “Plan” means the Stock Appreciation Rights Plan
set forth herein, as amended from time to time.

(o)                                   “SAR” means a stock appreciation right granted
under the Plan.

(p)                                   “SAR Agreement” means an agreement between the
Company and a Participant setting forth the terms and conditions of an Award.

(q)                                   “Share Compensation Arrangement” means a stock
option, stock option plan, employee stock purchase plan or any other
compensation or incentive mechanism involving the issuance or potential
issuance of shares to one or more potential Participants including a share
purchase from treasury which is financially assisted by the Company by way of a
loan, guarantee or otherwise;

(r)                                      “Vesting Date” shall mean the date established by
the Compensation Committee on which a SAR may vest.

3.                                           ADMINISTRATION

(a)                                    The Compensation Committee shall be responsible
for administering the Plan.

(b)                                   The Compensation Committee shall have the
authority to adopt such rules as it may deem appropriate to carry out the
purposes of the Plan, and shall have authority to interpret and construe the
provisions of the Plan and any agreements under the Plan and to make
determinations pursuant to any Plan provision or 

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SAR Agreement. Each interpretation, determination or other action made or
taken by the Compensation Committee pursuant to the Plan shall be final and
binding on all persons. No member of the Compensation Committee shall be liable
for any action or determination made in good faith, and the members of the
Compensation Committee shall be entitled to indemnification and reimbursement
in the manner provided in the Company’s articles and by-laws, as the same may
be amended from time to time.

(c)                                    The Compensation Committee may designate persons
other than its members to carry out its responsibilities under such conditions
or limitations as it may set, except that the Compensation Committee may not
delegate its authority pursuant to Section 7 to amend the Plan.

4.                                           ELIGIBILITY

Awards may be granted to employees, officers,
directors or service providers of the Company. The Compensation Committee shall
have the authority to select the Participants to whom Awards may be granted and
to determine the number and form of Awards to be granted to each Participant.
The grant of an Award hereunder in any year to any Participant shall not
entitle such Participant to a grant of an Award in any future year nor shall
the failure to grant any employee, officer, director or service provider an
Award preclude a grant in the future.

5.                                             AWARDS UNDER THE PLAN

(a)                                     General. A SAR will entitle the holder, upon exercise of the SAR, to receive
payment of an amount (the “SAR Amount”) determined by multiplying:

(i)                                       the difference obtained by subtracting the Base
Price from the Fair Market Value of a Class A Share on the date of
exercise of such SAR, by

(ii)                                   the number of shares as to which such SAR will
have been exercised.

Each
grant of a SAR shall be evidenced by a SAR Agreement setting forth the relevant
terms and conditions of such Award and which shall by its terms incorporate the
Plan. By accepting an Award, a Participant
thereby agrees that the award shall be subject to all of the terms and
provisions of the Plan and the applicable SAR Agreement.

(b)                                    Option to Settle the SAR Amount in Class A
Shares. The Compensation
Committee, in its sole discretion, may elect to satisfy the payment of a SAR
Amount through the issuance of Class A Shares in lieu of the cash
otherwise payable to satisfy such SAR Amount. The number of Class A Shares
to be issued in satisfaction of any SAR Amount shall be determined by dividing
the SAR Amount by the Class A Share Price, with any fractional amount
being rounded up to the nearest whole share.

(c)                                     Limitation on Amount Payable. Notwithstanding subsection (a) above, the
Compensation Committee may place a limitation on the amount payable upon
exercise of a SAR. Any such limitation must be determined as of the date of

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grant
and noted in the SAR Agreement.

(d)                                   Shares Subject to SAR. The number of Class A Shares to be subject
to any SAR granted under the Plan shall be set forth in the SAR Agreement.

(e)                                    Term. SARs granted under the Plan will be exercisable for a period determined
by the Compensation Committee at the time of grant; provided, however, that no
SAR shall be exercisable after the expiration of ten years from the date such
SAR is granted.

(f)                                      Exercisability and Vesting. The applicable Vesting Period and any
applicable vesting terms governing the exercisability of SARs granted under the
Plan shall be as determined by the Compensation Committee at the time of grant,
unless earlier terminated in accordance with the terms and conditions of the
Participant’s SAR Agreement.

 (g)                                Acceleration of Vesting. The Compensation Committee shall have the
authority to accelerate at any time the vesting and exercisability of any SAR
granted under the Plan. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, each
SAR shall immediately become fully vested
and exercisable upon the first to occur of the following events:

(i)                                       the Participant’s employment, service or office
with the Company is terminated either by the Company without “cause” or by the
Participant for “good reason” (such terms as defined in Participant’s
employment agreement with the Company); or

(ii)                                  the Participant’s employment or service with the
Company is terminated by reason of such Participant’s death, Disability or
retirement (or in the case of a Participant which is an entity other
than an individual, the death or Disability of the principal individual providing
services on behalf of such entity to the Company).

(h)                                   Termination of Employment.

(i)                                       Unvested SARs. Upon termination of a Participant’s employment, office or service with
the Company for any reason, any outstanding SAR then held by such Participant
which is not vested and exercisable as of the effective date of such
termination of employment or service shall be immediately cancelled and
forfeited without regard to any statutory or common law notice or severance to
which a Participant may be entitled.

(ii)                                 Vested SARs. Subject to the provisions of the immediately following sentence, upon
termination of a Participant’s employment, office or service with the Company
for any reason, any outstanding SAR then held by such Participant which is
vested and exercisable as of the effective date of such termination of
employment, office or service shall be deemed to have been exercised by the
Participant on the effective date of such termination of employment, office or
service and payment with

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respect to such SAR shall be made by the Company in accordance with
subparagraph (i) below. Notwithstanding the foregoing, if the Participant’s
termination of employment or service has occurred under circumstances resulting
in the acceleration of the vesting and exercisability of such Participant’s
SARs, any SARs held by such Participant shall remain exercisable for a period
of three months following the effective date of termination of such employment,
office or service; provided, however, that no SAR may be exercised beyond the
expiration date set forth in the SAR Agreement evidencing such SAR.

(i)                                        Method, Timing of Exercise. A Participant may exercise the vested and
exercisable portion of a SAR at any time where such exercise is not prohibited
by applicable securities laws, until the expiration of such SAR. All or any
portion of such SAR may be exercised by delivering notice to the Company’s
principal office, to the attention of its Secretary. Such notice shall be
accompanied by the applicable SAR Agreement, shall specify the number of Class A
Shares with respect to which the SAR is being exercised and the effective date
of the proposed exercise and shall be signed by the Participant or other person
then having the right to exercise the SAR. No SAR may be exercised for less
than 100 shares unless the total number of shares subject to such SAR is less
than 100. Payment with respect to the exercise of a SAR (whether in cash or
through the issuance of Class A Shares) shall be made by the Company
within 30 business days following the exercise of the SAR.

(j)                                       Transferability and Assignability. The rights or interests of a Participant under
the Plan shall not be assignable or transferable, otherwise than by will or the
laws governing the devolution of property in the event of death and such rights
or interests shall not be encumbered.

(k)                                    No Right as a Shareholder. A Participant shall have no rights as a
stockholder with respect to Class A Shares to which an Award relates.

(l)                                       Maximum Number of Shares Reserved. The number of Class A Shares reserved for
issuance to any one person pursuant to either the grant of SARs under the Plan
or the grant of options may not, in the aggregate, exceed 5% of the Outstanding
Issue.

6.                                           TAX WITHHOLDING

The Board may adopt and apply rules that in
its opinion will ensure that the Company will be able to comply with applicable
provisions of any federal, provincial, state or local law relating to the
withholding of tax, including on the amount, if any, included in income of a
Participant. The Company may withhold from any amount payable to a Participant,
either under this Plan, or otherwise, such amount as may be necessary so as to
ensure that the Company will be able
to comply with applicable provisions of any federal, provincial, state or local
law relating to withholding of tax or other required deductions, including on
the amount, if any, which must be included in the income of a Participant. The
Company shall, in this connection, have the right in its discretion to satisfy
any such withholding tax liability by retaining or acquiring (or selling on the
Participant’s behalf) any Class A Shares which are or would otherwise be
issued or

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provided to a Participant hereunder, or withholding any portion of any
cash amount payable to a Participant hereunder or pursuant to any such sale on
the Participant’s behalf. The Company shall also have the right to withhold the
delivery of any Class A Shares and any cash payment payable to a
Participant hereunder unless and until such Participant pays to the Company a
sum sufficient to indemnify the Company for any
liability to withhold tax in respect of the amounts included in the income of
such Participant as a result of the settlement of SARs under this Plan, to the
extent that such tax is not otherwise being withheld from payments to such
Participant by the Company.

7.                                           PLAN AMENDMENT AND/OR TERMINATION

The Compensation Committee may at any time and
from time to time alter, amend, suspend or terminate the Plan in whole or in
part, subject to receipt of all necessary approvals. Notwithstanding the
foregoing, a majority vote of the Compensation Committee shall be required to
terminate or amend the Plan in a manner that may adversely affect the rights of
Participants under this Plan.

8.                                           ADJUSTMENT OF AND CHANGES IN SHARES

In the event that the
Compensation Committee shall determine that any amalgamation, arrangement,
merger, consolidation, recapitalization, reclassification, stock dividend,
distribution of property, special cash dividend, or other change in corporate
structure has affected the Class A Shares such that an adjustment is
appropriate in order to prevent dilution or enlargement of the Participants’
rights under the Plan, the Compensation Committee shall make such adjustments,
if any, as it deems appropriate in the number and class of shares subject to,
and the Base Price of, outstanding Awards granted under the Plan, and in the
value of, or number or class of shares subject to, other Awards granted or
available to be granted under the Plan. The foregoing adjustments shall be
determined by the Compensation Committee in its sole discretion.

9.                                           NO RIGHT TO EMPLOYMENT, SERVICE OR OFFICE

No person shall have any claim or right to
receive grants or Awards under the Plan. Neither the Plan, the grant of Awards
under the Plan, nor any action taken or omitted to be taken under the Plan
shall be deemed to create or confer on any employee, officer, director or
service provider any right to be retained in the employ or service of the
Company or any subsidiary or other affiliate thereof, or to interfere with or
to limit in any way the right of the Company or any subsidiary or other
affiliate thereof to terminate the employment, office or service of such
employee, officer, director or service provider at any time. Unless the Board
determines otherwise, no notice of termination or payment in lieu thereof shall
extend the period of employment, office or service of a Participant under this
Plan.

10.                                      GOVERNING LAW

The Plan and all agreements
entered into under the Plan shall be construed in accordance with and governed
by the laws of the Province of Ontario and the federal laws of Canada
applicable therein.

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11.                                      EXPENSES AND RECEIPTS

The expenses of the Plan shall
be paid by the Company.

12.                                       TERM OF THE PLAN

Unless earlier terminated pursuant
to Section 7, the Plan shall terminate on the tenth (10) anniversary
of the Effective Date. Awards outstanding at Plan termination shall remain in
effect according to their terms and the provisions of the Plan.

13.                                       UNFUNDED STATUS OF AWARDS

The Plan is intended to constitute an “unfunded”
plan for incentive and deferred compensation. With respect to any payments not
yet made to a Participant pursuant to an Award, nothing contained in the Plan
or any SAR Agreement shall give any such Participant any rights that are
greater than those of a general creditor of the Company in respect of cash
payments owing to such Participant.

14.                                       CLASS A SHARES SUBJECT TO THE PLAN

The maximum number of Shares issuable from
treasury under the Plan is 1,500,000 Shares.

15.                                       SEVERABILITY

If any provision of the Plan is
held to be invalid or unenforceable, the other provisions of the Plan shall not
be affected but shall be applied as if the invalid or unenforceable provision
had not been included in the Plan.

 7Exhibit 10.2

MDC
PARTNERS INC.

FORM OF STOCK
APPRECIATION RIGHTS AGREEMENT

STOCK APPRECIATION RIGHTS AGREEMENT
(the “Agreement”) by and between MDC Partners Inc. (the “Company”) and                    
(the “Participant”), dated as of                 ,
2006 (the “Date of Grant”).

1.                                       Definitions.
Capitalized terms which are not defined herein shall have the meaning set forth
in the MDC Partners Inc. Stock Appreciation Rights Plan (as amended as of April 28,
2006, the “Plan”).

2.                                       Number
of Shares and Exercise Price. The Company hereby grants to the Participant
an Award (the “Award”), subject to the terms and conditions set forth herein
and in the Plan, of a SAR representing          
Class A subordinate voting shares (the “Shares”) of the Company.   The “Base Price” for the Award shall mean US$         .

3.                                       Term;
Vesting Status.

(a)                                  Term
of Award. Unless the Award is earlier terminated pursuant to the Plan or
this Agreement, the term of the Award shall commence on the Date of Grant and
terminate no later than                  .

(b)                                 Vesting.
Subject to the terms and conditions of the Plan, the applicable “Vesting Period”
for the Award shall be as follows:                    .

4.                                       Rights
and Obligations Upon Termination of Employment or Service.

(a)                                  The
rights and obligations of the Participant upon termination of employment are
governed by Sections 5(g) and (h) of the Plan, which provisions
expressly provide for acceleration of vesting of the Award in the event that
the Participant’s employment is terminated without “cause.”  In addition, the Award shall become fully
vested and exercisable upon the occurrence of a “change in control”, as such
term is defined in the Company’s 2005 Stock Incentive Plan.

(b)                                 Notwithstanding
anything to the contrary in this Agreement, the Award shall terminate no later
than the last date of the applicable term of the Award, as specified in Section 3.

5.                                       Nontransferability
of Award. The Award shall not be assignable or transferable otherwise than
by a duly executed and attested will or by the laws of descent and distribution
and the Award may be exercised, during the lifetime of the Participant, only by
the Participant or the Participant’s legal representative. Any

 

purported transfer in violation of this Section 5
shall be void ab initio and of no
force or effect.

6.                                       Exercise
of Award. The Award shall be exercised by a written notice delivered to the
Secretary of the Company at the
Company’s principal executive offices in accordance with Section 7,
specifying the portion of the Award to be exercised.

7.                                       Notices.
All notices and other communications under this Agreement shall be in writing
and shall be given by hand delivery to the other party, by confirmed facsimile
transmission or by registered or certified mail, return receipt requested, postage
prepaid, addressed as follows:

If to the Participant:

 

______________________

 

If to the Company:

 

MDC Partners Inc.

950 Third Avenue

New York, NY

Attn: Mitchell Gendel, General Counsel

 

Either party may furnish to the other in writing a
substitute address and phone and fax numbers for delivery of notice in
accordance with this section. Notices and communications shall be effective
when actually received by the addressee.

8.                                       Incorporation
of Plan; Acknowledgment. The Plan is hereby incorporated herein by
reference and made a part hereof, and the Award and this Agreement are subject
to all terms and conditions of the Plan. In the event of any inconsistency
between the Plan and this Agreement, the provisions of the Plan shall govern. By
signing this Agreement, the Participant acknowledges (i) having received
and read a copy of the Plan and (ii) that the grant of this Award
satisfies in full any obligation of the Company to grant to the Participant any
Award.

9.                                       Adjustment
of Award. If,  prior to the
Participant’s exercise in full of the Award or the termination of the Award in
accordance with its terms, there shall occur a change in corporate structure
affecting the Common Shares, the terms and conditions of the Award may be adjusted
in accordance with the provisions of the Plan.

10.                                 Governing
Law. This Agreement shall be governed by and construed according to the
laws of the Province of Ontario, without regard to the conflicts of law rules thereof.

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11.                                 Amendment
and Termination. Rights and obligations under this Agreement shall not be
adversely altered or impaired by termination or amendment of the Plan, except
with the consent of the Participant.

12.                                 Counterparts.
This Agreement may be executed in several counterparts, each of which shall be
deemed an original, and said counterparts shall constitute but one and the same
instrument.

IN
WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have executed this
Agreement as of the date and year set forth first above.

	
   

  	
  MDC PARTNERS INC.

  
	
   

  	
   

  
	
   

  	
   

  
	
   

  	
  By:

  
	
   

  	
  Title:

  
	
   

  	
   

  
	
   

  	
   

  
	
   

  	
   

  
	
   

  	
  [Participant]

  

 

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