Document:

____________ ___, 2008

China Evergreen Acquisition Corp.

B-2102 CaiZhi Tower

Zhongguancun Rd. E. 

Haidian, Beijing 100083

P.R. China

Ladenburg Thalmann & Co. Inc.

153 East 53rd Street, 49th Floor

New York, New York 10022

	
                         
 	
                        Re:
 	
                        Initial Public Offering
 

Gentlemen:

The undersigned special advisor of China Evergreen Acquisition Corp. (“Company”), in consideration of Ladenburg Thalmann & Co. Inc. (“Ladenburg”) entering into a letter of intent (“Letter of Intent”) to underwrite an initial public offering of the securities of the Company (“IPO”) and embarking on the IPO process, hereby agrees as follows (certain capitalized terms used herein are defined in paragraph 13 hereof):

1. If the Company solicits approval of its shareholders of a Business Combination, the undersigned will vote all Insider Shares beneficially owned by him in accordance with the majority of the votes cast by the holders of the IPO Shares. 

2. The undersigned hereby waives any and all right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to any distribution of the Trust Account and any remaining net assets of the Company as a result of such liquidation with respect to his Insider Shares (“Claim”) and hereby waives any Claim the undersigned may have in the future as a result of, or arising out of, any contracts or agreements with the Company and will not seek recourse against the Trust Account for any reason whatsoever.

3. The undersigned acknowledges and agrees that the Company will not: (i) acquire an entity with which the Company’s officers or directors, through their other business activities, had acquisition or investment discussions in the past; (ii) consummate Business Combination with an entity which is, or has been within the past 

 

 

China Evergreen Acquisition Corp.

Ladenburg Thalmann & Co. Inc.

____________ ___, 2008

Page 2

five years, affiliated with any of the Insiders or their affiliates, including an entity that is either a portfolio company of, or has otherwise received a material financial investment from, any private equity fund or investment company (or an affiliate thereof) that is affiliated with such individuals; or (iii) enter into a Business Combination where the Company acquires less than 100% of a target business and any of the Insiders or their affiliates acquire the remaining portion of such target business, unless, in any of such cases, the Company obtains an opinion from an independent investment banking firm reasonably acceptable to Ladenburg that the Business Combination is fair to the Company’s unaffiliated stockholders from a financial point of view.

4. None of the undersigned, any member of the family of the undersigned, nor any affiliate (“Affiliate”) of the undersigned will be entitled to receive and will not accept any compensation for services rendered to the Company prior to or in connection with the consummation of the Business Combination; provided that the undersigned shall be entitled to reimbursement from the Company for his out-of-pocket expenses incurred in connection with seeking and consummating a Business Combination.

5. Neither the undersigned, any member of the family of the undersigned, nor any Affiliate of the undersigned will be entitled to receive or accept a finder’s fee or any other compensation in the event the undersigned, any member of the family of the undersigned or any Affiliate of the undersigned originates a Business Combination. 

6. On the Effective Date, the undersigned will escrow the Insider Shares and Insider Warrants beneficially held by him, subject to the terms of a Stock Escrow Agreement and Warrant Escrow Agreement, respectively, which the Company will enter into with the undersigned and an escrow agent acceptable to the Company.

7. The undersigned’s biographical information furnished to the Company and Ladenburg and attached hereto as Exhibit A is true and accurate in all respects, does not omit any material information with respect to the undersigned’s background and contains all of the information required to be disclosed pursuant to Item 401 of Regulation S-K, promulgated under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended. The undersigned’s Questionnaire furnished to the Company and Ladenburg and annexed as Exhibit B hereto is true and accurate in all respects. The undersigned represents and warrants that:

 

 

China Evergreen Acquisition Corp.

Ladenburg Thalmann & Co. Inc.

____________ ___, 2008

Page 3

(a) he is not subject to, or a respondent in, any legal action for, any injunction, cease-and-desist order or order or stipulation to desist or refrain from any act or practice relating to the offering of securities in any jurisdiction;

(b) he has never been convicted of or pleaded guilty to any crime (i) involving any fraud or (ii) relating to any financial transaction or handling of funds of another person, or (iii) pertaining to any dealings in any securities and he is not currently a defendant in any such criminal proceeding; and

(c) he has never been suspended or expelled from membership in any securities or commodities exchange or association or had a securities or commodities license or registration denied, suspended or revoked.

8. The undersigned has full right and power, without violating any agreement by which he is bound, to enter into this letter agreement.

9. The undersigned hereby waives his right to exercise conversion rights or appraisal rights with respect to any Insider Shares of the Company owned or to be owned by the undersigned, directly or indirectly, and agrees that he will not seek conversion or appraisal with respect to such shares in connection with any vote to approve a Business Combination.

10. The undersigned hereby agrees to not propose, or vote in favor of, an amendment to the Company’s Memorandum and Articles of Association to extend the period of time in which the Company must consummate a Business Combination prior to its liquidation. Should such a proposal be put before shareholders other than through actions by the undersigned, the undersigned hereby agrees to vote against such proposal. This paragraph may not be modified or amended under any circumstances.

11. The undersigned authorizes any employer, financial institution, or consumer credit reporting agency to release to Ladenburg and its legal representatives or agents (including any investigative search firm retained by Ladenburg) any information they may have about the undersigned’s background and finances (“Information”). Neither Ladenburg nor its agents shall be violating the undersigned’s right of privacy in any manner in requesting and obtaining the Information and the undersigned hereby releases them from liability for any damage whatsoever in that connection.

12. This letter agreement shall be governed by and construed and enforced in accordance with the laws of the State of New York, without giving effect to 

 

 

China Evergreen Acquisition Corp.

Ladenburg Thalmann & Co. Inc.

____________ ___, 2008

Page 4

conflicts of law principles that would result in the application of the substantive laws of another jurisdiction. The undersigned hereby (i) agrees that any action, proceeding or claim against his arising out of or relating in any way to this letter agreement (a “Proceeding”) shall be brought and enforced in the courts of the State of New York of the United States of America for the Southern District of New York, and irrevocably submits to such jurisdiction, which jurisdiction shall be exclusive, (ii) waives any objection to such exclusive jurisdiction and that such courts represent an inconvenient forum and (iii) irrevocably agrees to appoint Graubard Miller as agent for the service of process in the State of New York to receive, for the undersigned and on his behalf, service of process in any Proceeding. If for any reason such agent is unable to act as such, the undersigned will
promptly notify the Company and Ladenburg and appoint a substitute agent acceptable to each of the Company and Ladenburg within 30 days and nothing in this letter will affect the right of either party to serve process in any other manner permitted by law. 

13. As used herein, (i) a “Business Combination” shall mean a merger, capital stock exchange, asset acquisition, stock purchase or other similar business combination with an operating business; (ii) “Insiders” shall mean all officers, directors and shareholders of the Company immediately prior to the IPO; (iii) “Insider Shares” shall mean all of the Ordinary Shares of the Company acquired by an Insider prior to the IPO; (iv) “Insider Warrants” means the warrants being sold privately by the Company to certain of the Insiders simultaneously with the consummation of the IPO; and (v) “IPO Shares” shall mean the Ordinary Shares issued in the Company’s IPO.

 

	
                          
 	
                         
 	
                         
 	
                        
 Bernard Asher
 
	
                         
 	
                         
 	
                         
 	
                        Print Name of Insider
 

 

	
                          
 	
                         
 	
                         
 	
                          
 
	
                         
 	
                         
 	
                         
 	
                        Signature
 

 

 

Exhibit Aexv10w1

 

EXHIBIT 10.1

WINTRUST FINANCIAL CORPORATION

CASH INCENTIVE AND RETENTION PLAN

(Effective April 9, 2008)

	1.	 	Purpose. The purpose of the Wintrust Financial Corporation Cash Incentive and
Retention Plan is to benefit the Corporation and its Subsidiaries by enabling the Corporation
to offer certain present and future officers and employees of the Corporation and its
Subsidiaries cash-based incentive and retention awards, thereby providing them a stake in the
growth of the Corporation and encouraging them to continue in the service of the Corporation
and its Subsidiaries.
	 
	2.	 	Definitions.

	 	(a)	 	“Award” means, cash-based incentive and/or retention award as described
in Section 5.
	 
	 	(b)	 	“Award Agreement” means a writing provided by the Corporation to each
Participant setting forth the terms and conditions of each Award made under this Plan
and any amendment or modification thereto.
	 
	 	(c)	 	“Board” means the Board of Directors of the Corporation.
	 
	 	(d)	 	“Change of Control” shall be deemed to have occurred upon the happening
of any of the following events:

     (i) The acquisition, other than from the Corporation, by any individual, entity
or group (within the meaning of Section 13(d)(3) or 14(d)(2) of the Exchange Act) of
beneficial ownership (within the meaning of Rule 13d-3 promulgated under the
Exchange Act) of 50% or more of either the then outstanding shares of common stock
of the Corporation or the combined voting power of the then outstanding voting
securities of the Corporation entitled to vote generally in the election of
directors, but excluding, for this purpose, any such acquisition by the Corporation
or any of its Subsidiaries, or any employee benefit plan (or related trust) of the
Corporation or its Subsidiaries, or any corporation with respect to which, fallowing
such acquisition, more than 50% of, respectively, the then outstanding shares of
common stock of such corporation and the combined voting power of the then
outstanding voting securities of such corporation entitled to vote generally in the
election of all or substantially all directors is then beneficially owned, directly
or indirectly, by the individuals and entities who were the beneficial owners,
respectively, of the Common Stock and voting securities of the Corporation
immediately prior to such acquisition in substantially the same proportion as their
ownership, immediately prior to such acquisition, of the then outstanding shares of
Common Stock of the Corporation or the combined voting power of the then outstanding
voting securities of the Corporation entitled to vote generally in the election of
directors, as the case may be; or

 

 

     (ii) Individuals who, as of the date hereof, constitute the Board (as of the
date hereof the “Incumbent Board”) cease for any reason to constitute at least a
majority of the Board, provided that any individual becoming a director subsequent
to the date hereof whose election, or nomination for election by the Corporation’s
shareholders, was approved by a vote of at least a majority of the directors then
comprising the Incumbent Board shall be considered as though such individua1 were a
member of the Incumbent Board, but excluding, for this purpose, any such individual
whose initial assumption of office is in connection with an actual or threatened
election contest relating to the election of the directors of the Corporation (as
such terms are used in Rule I4a- 11 of Regulation 14A promulgated under the Exchange
Act); or

     (iii) The consummation of a reorganization, merger or consolidation of the
Corporation, in each case, with respect to which all or substantially all of the
individuals and entities who were the respective beneficial owners of the common
stock and voting securities of the Corporation immediately prior to such
reorganization, merger or consolidation do not, following such reorganization,
merger or consolidation, beneficially own, directly or indirectly, mote than 50% of,
respectively, the then outstanding shares of common stock and the combined voting
power of the then outstanding voting securities entitled to vote generally in the
election of directors, as the case may be, of the corporation resulting from such
reorganization, merger or consolidation, or a complete liquidation or dissolution of
the Corporation or of the sale or other disposition of all or substantially all of
the assets of the Corporation.

	 	(e)	 	“Code” means the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended from time to
time.
	 
	 	(f)	 	“Committee” means the Compensation Committee of the Board or such other
committee of the Board as may be designated by the Board from time to time to
administer this Plan.
	 
	 	(g)	 	“Corporation” means Wintrust Financial Corporation, an Illinois
corporation.
	 
	 	(h)	 	“Employee” means an employee of the Corporation or a Subsidiary.
	 
	 	(i)	 	“Exchange Act” means the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended.
	 
	 	(j)	 	“Participant” means an Employee who has been granted an Award under the
Plan.
	 
	 	(k)	 	“Plan” means this Wintrust Financial Corporation Cash Incentive and
Retention Plan.
	 
	 	(l)	 	“Plan Year” means a twelve-month period beginning with January 1 of
each year.
	 
	 	(m)	 	“Subsidiary” means any corporation or other entity, whether domestic or
foreign, in which the Corporation has or obtains, directly or indirectly, a proprietary
interest of at least 50% (or 20% if providing an Award to an Employee of such
Subsidiary is based on legitimate business criteria as defined in Code Section

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	 	 	 	409A and regulations promulgated thereunder) by reason of stock ownership or
otherwise.

	3.	 	Eligibility. Any Employee selected by the Committee is eligible to receive an Award.
	 
	4.	 	Plan Administration.

	 	(a)	 	Except as otherwise determined by the Board, the Plan shall be administered by
the Committee. The Committee shall make determinations with respect to the
participation of Employees in the Plan and, except as otherwise required by law or this
Plan, the terms of Awards and Award Agreements, including, but not limited to, vesting
schedules, length of relevant performance periods, post-retirement and termination
rights, payment dates and such other terms and conditions as the Committee deems
appropriate.
	 
	 	(b)	 	The Committee, by majority action thereof (whether taken during a meeting or by
written consent), shall have authority to interpret and construe the provisions of the
Plan and the Award Agreements, to decide all questions of fact arising in its
application and to make all other determinations pursuant to any Plan provision or
Award Agreement which shall be final and binding on all persons. To the extent deemed
necessary or advisable for purposes of Section 16 of the Exchange Act or Section 162(m)
of the Code, a member or members of the Committee may recuse himself or themselves from
any action, in which case action taken by the majority of the remaining members shall
constitute action by the Committee. No member of the Committee shall be liable for any
action or determination made in good faith, and the members of the Committee shall be
entitled to indemnification and reimbursement in the manner provided in the
Corporation’s Articles of Incorporation, By-Laws, by agreement or otherwise as may be
amended from time to time.
	 
	 	(c)	 	The Committee may designate persons other than its members to carry out its
responsibilities under such conditions or limitations as it may set, other than its
authority with regard to Awards granted to Participants who are officers of the
Corporation for purposes of Section 16 of the Exchange Act or Section 162(m) of the
Code. To the extent deemed necessary or advisable, including for purposes of Section
16 of the Exchange Act, the independent members of the Board may act as the Committee
hereunder.

	5.	 	Awards under this Plan. All Awards under this plan shall be cash-based Awards that
may be earned pursuant to the achievement of performance criteria set forth in Section 6
and/or continued employment during a performance period or cycle equal to one or more Plan
Years or such other period of time as determined by the Committee.
	 
	6.	 	Performance Criteria. The Committee may from time to time, establish performance
criteria with respect to an Award. The performance criteria or standards for an Award shall
be determined by the Committee in writing, shall be measured for achievement or satisfaction
during the period in which the Committee permitted such Participant to satisfy or achieve such
performance criteria and may be absolute in their terms or

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	 	 	measured against or in relationship to other companies comparably, similarly or otherwise
situated and may be based on or adjusted for any other objective goals, events, or
occurrences established by the Committee, provided that such criteria or standards relate to
one or more of the following: earnings, earnings growth, revenues, expenses, stock price,
market share, charge-offs, loan loss reserves, reductions in non-performing assets, return
on assets, return on equity or assets, investment, regulatory compliance, satisfactory
internal or external audits, improvement of financial ratings, achievement of balance sheet
or income statement objectives, extraordinary charges, losses from discontinued operations,
restatements and accounting changes and other unplanned special charges such as
restructuring expenses, acquisition expense including goodwill, unplanned stock offerings
and strategic loan loss provisions. Such performance standards may be particular to a line
of business, Subsidiary or other unit or may be based on the performance of the Corporation
generally.
	 
	7.	 	Award Agreements. Each Award under the Plan shall be evidenced by an Award
Agreement. Delivery of an Award Agreement to each Participant shall constitute an agreement,
subject to Section 8 hereof, between the Corporation and the Participant as to the terms and
conditions of the Award. An Award Agreement, and any required signatures thereon or
authorization or acceptance thereof, may be in electronic format.
	 
	8.	 	Other Terms and Conditions.

	 	(a)	 	Beneficiary Designation. Each Participant under the Plan may name,
from time to time, any beneficiary or beneficiaries (who may be named contingently or
successively) to whom any benefit under the Plan is to be paid in case of his death
before he receives any or all of such benefit. Each designation will revoke all prior
designations by the same Participant, shall be in a form prescribed by the Committee,
and shall be effective only when filed by the Participant in writing with the Committee
during his lifetime. In the absence of any such designation, benefits remaining unpaid
at the Participant’s death shall be paid to the Participant’s estate.
	 
	 	(b)	 	Effect of Termination of Employment and Change in Control. The
disposition of each Award in the event of the retirement, disability, death or other
termination of a Participant’s employment, or in the event of a Change in Control,
shall be as determined by the Committee and set forth in the Award Agreement.
	 
	 	(c)	 	Withholding. The deduction of withholding and any other taxes required
by law shall be made from all amounts paid in cash.
	 
	 	(d)	 	Deferral. To the extent provided by the Committee in the Award
Agreement or otherwise, the receipt of payment of cash that would otherwise be due
under any Award may be deferred pursuant to an applicable deferral plan established by
the Corporation or a Subsidiary. The Committee shall establish rules and procedures
relating to any such deferrals and the payment of any tax withholding with respect
thereto.

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	 	(e)	 	Other Restrictions, Limitations and Clawback. The Committee may
specify in an Award Agreement that the Participant’s rights, payments, and benefits
with respect to an Award shall be subject to reduction, cancellation, forfeiture, or
recoupment upon the occurrence of certain specified events, in addition to any
otherwise applicable vesting or performance conditions of an Award. Such events may
include, but shall not be limited to, (a) termination of employment for cause, (b)
fraudulent, illegal or misconduct, (c) violation of any Corporation and/or Subsidiary
code of ethics, conflict of interest, insider trading or similar policy or code of
conduct applicable to Participant, (d) breach of any noncompetition, nonsolicitation,
confidentiality, or other restrictive covenant that may apply to the Participant, or
(e) other conduct by the Participant that is detrimental to the business or reputation
of the Corporation and/or its Subsidiaries. If the Corporation is required to prepare
an accounting restatement due to the material noncompliance of the Corporation, as a
result of misconduct, with any financial reporting requirement under the securities
laws, if the Participant knowingly or grossly negligently engaged in the misconduct, or
knowingly or grossly negligently failed to prevent the misconduct, or if the
Participant is one of the individuals subject to automatic forfeiture under Section 304
of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (and not otherwise exempted), the Participant shall
reimburse the Corporation the amount of any payment in settlement of an Award earned or
accrued during the twelve- (12-) month period following the first public issuance or
filing with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (whichever just
occurred) of the financial document embodying such financial reporting requirement.
	 
	 	(f)	 	Code Section 409A. Anything under the Plan to the contrary
notwithstanding, to the extent applicable, it is intended that the Plan shall comply
with the provisions of Section 409A of the Code and the Plan and all applicable Awards
be construed and applied in a manner consistent with this intent. In furtherance
thereof, any amount constituting a “deferral of compensation” under Treasury Regulation
Section 1.409A-1(b) that is payable to a Participant upon a separation from service of
the Participant (within the meaning of Treasury Regulation Section 1.409A-1(h)) (other
than due to the Participant’s death), occurring while the Participant shall be a
“specified employee” (within the meaning of Treasury Regulation Section 1.409A-1(i)) of
the Corporation or applicable Subsidiary, shall not be paid until the earlier of (x)
the date that is six months following such separation from service or (y) the date of
the Participant’s death following such separation from service.

	9.	 	Amendments, Modification and Termination. The Board may at any time and from time to
time, alter, amend, suspend or terminate the Plan in whole or in part. No termination,
amendment, or modification of the Plan shall adversely affect in any material way any Award
previously granted under the Plan, without the written consent of the Participant holding such
Award.
	 
	10.	 	Rights as Employees. No person shall have any claim or right to be granted an Award,
and the grant of an Award shall not be construed as giving a Participant the right to be
retained in the employ of the Corporation or a Subsidiary. Further, the Corporation and

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	 	 	each Subsidiary expressly reserve the right at any time to dismiss a Participant free from
any liability, or any claim under the Plan, except as provided herein or in any Award
Agreement issued hereunder.
	 
	11.	 	Governing Law. To the extent that federal laws do not otherwise control, the Plan
and all Award Agreements hereunder shall be construed in accordance with and governed by the
law of the State of Illinois, provided, however, that in the event the Corporation’s state of
incorporation shall be changed, then the law of the new state of incorporation shall govern.
	 
	12.	 	Effective Date. The effective date of the Plan is April 9, 2008 (the “Effective
Date”), the date the Plan was adopted.

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