Document:

EX-10.14

 Exhibit 10.14 

 
 

 
 VALNEVA SE 

Terms and Conditions of the Employee Stock Option Plan 2016 

 

 1. Preamble 
  

	1.1	 The goal of the 2016 Employee Stock Option Plan, governed by these Terms and Conditions (hereinafter
“ESOP 2016”), is to promote the interests of VALNEVA SE (hereinafter “VALNEVA” or “Company”) by offering an incentive to the Beneficiary Employees (as defined below) to acquire shares in VALNEVA.
Consequently, this should motivate the employees and at the same time allow them to benefit from increases in the value of VALNEVA. “Beneficiary Employees” shall mean all employees of VALNEVA and its subsidiaries “Valneva
Austria GmbH”, “Valneva Canada Inc.”, “Valneva Scotland Ltd”, “Valneva Sweden AB” and “Valneva UK Ltd.” (hereinafter collectively referred as to the “Group”), excepting the
Executive Committee members. 

  

	1.2	 Stock options are being voluntarily granted by way of a single plan and do not give rise to a legal right to
participate in a subsequent or similar plan. For the avoidance of doubt, this ESOP 2016 shall not replace any employee stock option plan currently in effect. 

2. Description of the options 
  

	2.1	 All Beneficiary Employees who have been granted stock options by the Management Board shall be entitled to
convert each option into one ordinary share of VALNEVA stock, subject to the payment of the strike price and the Terms and Conditions set forth herein. The right to exercise options is limited by the terms set forth below and may only be used during
designated Time Frames (as defined hereinafter). 

  

	2.2	 To convert options, new ordinary shares may be issued by the Company by increasing its share capital pursuant
to French law. 

 3. Granting of options and strike price 

 

	3.1	 Options shall be granted solely by the Management Board, and a grant letter will be issued individually to each
Beneficiary Employee. 

  

	3.2	 Each individual option shall give its beneficiary the right to convert it into one common VALNEVA share. The
number of options granted to each Beneficiary Employee is determined by the Management Board. 

  

	3.3	 The strike price is specified by the Management Board in the grant letter at the time of granting the options.
The strike price shall be the amount that the Beneficiary Employee is required to pay to exercise the options, in accordance with Section 6.1. 

  

	3.4	 The granting of options to the Beneficiary Employees shall be free of charge, subject to all applicable taxes
and duties, if any. 

  

	3.5	 The strike price of options under Valneva’s ESOP 2016 shall be equal to 100% of the average closing price
of VALNEVA shares on Euronext Paris over the period of twenty trading days immediately preceding the date the options are granted. In exceptional cases, French law may require the Management Board to adjust the strike price. 

4. Time for the exercise of options 
  

	4.1	 Options may only be exercised within a time period specified for this purpose. The time for the exercise of
options (hereinafter the “Time Frame”) shall be a period of up to two

	 	
weeks announced by the Management Board of VALNEVA. There will be up to two exercise Time Frames per calendar year, one of which will begin on the day after the annual ordinary meeting of
shareholders, unless a Lock-Up Period, as defined in Section 7.1 below, necessitates a later start of such Time Frame. 

 

	4.2	 50 percent of the options granted to the Beneficiary Employees may be first exercised 24 months from the
date the options were granted by the Management Board of VALNEVA (the “Grant Date”). The remaining 50 percent may be first exercised 48 months from the Grant Date. Options may only be exercised within a Time Frame pursuant to
Section 4.1. 

  

	4.3	 The Company reserves the right to terminate or suspend a Time Frame in accordance with applicable laws and
regulations. 

  

	4.4	 Subject to Section 8 below, options which have become exercisable in a Time Frame but are not exercised
during that Time Frame can be exercised during any of the following Time Frames. No option can be exercised after the tenth anniversary of the Grant Date. 

  

	4.5	 In the event that the exercise of options is declared at a time when there is no right to exercise the option,
this declaration will be void, and the exercise of the option must be declared again during a subsequent Time Frame if the exercise is desired at that point in time. 

 

	4.6	 In case of a change of control by way of taking over more than 50 percent of the outstanding voting rights
of the Company (be it through an acquisition, merger or transfer of essentially all of the assets of the Company) by a single party or two or more parties acting in concert, all outstanding options will become exercisable when the take over is
effective, and an exercise Time Frame shall begin immediately thereafter. However, the Company shall have the right to a cash settlement, provided that the same value per share paid in the take over transaction is applied for calculating the cash
compensation amount. 

 5. Declaration of exercise of options 

 

	5.1	 The exercise of options shall be declared with a duly completed and signed form addressed to the external
services provider managing the plan on behalf of the Company (“the Plan Manager”). This form may be sent as an original or electronically. 

The exercise of options shall be considered to be in time if the above-mentioned form is received by the Plan Manager at the earliest on the
first day of the Time Frame, and at the latest at 6 p.m., Paris time, on the last day of the Time Frame.. 
  

	5.2	 Options may only be exercised by Beneficiary Employees employed by a VALNEVA Group entity on the first day of
the Time Frame. This limitation shall not apply to options which were were exercisable during a previous Time Frame but were not exercised at that time, provided that such options are exercised during the Time Frame immediately following the
termination of employment. 

 6. Payment and receipt of shares 

 

	6.1	 The strike price must be received in full by the Company (via the Plan Manager) by the last day of the relevant
Time Frame. 

 

			
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	6.2	 By paying the full strike price, the Beneficiary Employee shall become the beneficial owner of the resulting
shares from the last day of the relevant Time Frame, even though the shares are held for the Beneficiary Employee by a custodian. 

  

	6.3	 Provided that all applicable taxes and duties have been paid, the Beneficiary Employee shall receive the shares
in the Company within twenty stock exchange trading days following the end of the relevant Time Frame. 

  

	6.4	 Notwithstanding Sections 6.1 and 6.2 above, and subject to Section 7.1, the Company may, in its sole
discretion, allow the Beneficiary Employee to exercise the options and sell the resulting shares immediately, without making an initial payment for the strike price, provided that (i) the Plan Manager shall deduct the strike price and any
applicable costs, fees and withholding taxes from the selling price, and (ii) if the selling price falls short of the strike price and such costs, fees and taxes, the Beneficiary Employee shall pay for the difference. 

7. Disposal of shares, income tax 
  

	7.1	 The Beneficiary Employee may freely dispose of the shares received upon exercise of the options. This shall not
apply during a period of trading restriction announced by the Company (hereinafter “Lock-up Period”), which may be announced unilaterally by the Company as a result of the rules of the then
current Company policy for handling of insider information and stock trading by employees and directors (hereinafter the “Compliance Code”). During the Lock-up Period, neither shall the shares
be sellable nor may the Beneficiary Employee dispose of the shares in any other way, and in particular not by means of collateralization or derivative transactions (e.g. options, futures). 

 

	7.2	 All taxes and fees relating to the exercise of options or the sale of shares, in particular (but not only)
income tax and social security contributions, shall be borne by the Beneficiary Employee. In the event that the Company is required to withhold and pay the taxes and duties owed by the Beneficiary Employee to the tax authorities, the Beneficiary
Employee must, pursuant to Section 6.3, transfer the money to the Company before the shares are transferred to a securities account designated by the Beneficiary Employee and held by a credit institution. 

8. Period of option; lapse 
  

	8.1	 Options may be exercised until the tenth anniversary of the Grant Date. Options not exercised by that time will
lapse without compensation. 

  

	8.2	 In the event that insolvency proceedings are initiated with respect to the Company or the Company becomes
insolvent, the options shall lapse without compensation. 

  

	8.3	 Upon termination of employment with the Group the options of the leaving Beneficiary Employee shall lapse
without compensation. This limitation shall not apply to options which were exercisable during a previous Time Frame but were not exercised at that time, provided that such options are exercised during the Time Frame immediately following the
termination of employment. 

  

	8.4	 In case of a Beneficiary Employee’s death, all granted options not exercisable prior to the date of death
shall lapse without compensation. Exercisable options may be exercised pursuant to Section 9.2. 

  

	8.5	 In the event of lapse or expiration of options, it shall not be necessary for the Company to inform the
Beneficiary Employee or to take any other action. The Beneficiary Employee shall have no right to any compensation in the event of lapse or expiration of options.

 9. Unassignability of options 

 

	9.1	 The options granted under the ESOP 2016 to Beneficiary Employees shall not be transferable, negotiable, or
eligible as collateral except through transfer by death (i.e. disposition by will or law). 

  

	9.2	 Options may only be exercised personally by the Beneficiary Employee during his or her lifetime or by his or
her legal representative. During the six-month period immediately following the date of death of a Beneficiary Employee, only his or her heir or the legal representative of the heir, in each case as identified
by corresponding documentation submitted to the Company, may declare the exercise of all options not yet exercised, and the options shall be exercised during the Time Frame concurrent with the declaration or, if there is no Time Frame at the time
the exercise is declared, during the Time Frame directly subsequent to the declaration. Only after exercising the option, the shares so received may be assigned, subject to the Terms and Conditions of the ESOP 2016 and to applicable statutory and
regulatory provisions. 

 10. Shareholder’s rights 

 

	10.1	 Until the day on which the Company awards the shares, the Beneficiary Employee shall not have any shareholder
rights, and in particular no right to receive dividends. Following the award of the shares pursuant to the Terms and Conditions, the shareholder rights and the rights to receive dividends shall be subject to applicable laws. 

 

	10.2	 If the Company proceeds with any of the financial transactions listed in article L. 228-99 of the French commercial code, the rights of the Beneficiary Employees shall be protected in accordance with that article and may result in a change in the conversion ratio or the strike price.

  

	10.3	 The Company shall not have the right to cancel an option, other than through (i) acceleration, according
to Section 4.6. or (ii) substitution of economically equivalent options, or (iii) implementation of Section 8 above. This shall also apply if the Company changes its legal form or is acquired by or merges with another company or
if essentially all of the Company’s assets are transferred to another company. For the avoidance of doubt, any exercisable options whose strike price is higher than the share price at the time of any such transaction will lapse without
compensation. For further avoidance of doubt, any acquisition, merger or transfer of essentially all of the assets of the Company which does not lead to a holding of more than 50 percent of the outstanding voting rights of the Company or its
successor by a single party or two or more parties acting in concert, shall not trigger an acceleration according to Section 4.6, but may give rise to substitution of the options by options in a successor company. 

11. Expenses 
  

	11.1	 All expenses resulting from the implementation of the ESOP 2016, and in particular the expenses of the increase
of the nominal share capital and the expenses of the administration of the ESOP 2016, shall be borne by the Company. By way of exception, the fees and costs specifically charged by the Plan Manager in connection with the cash settlement option set
out in Section 6.4 shall be borne by the relevant Beneficiary Employee. 

  

	11.2	 All expenses resulting from the exercise of options, such as the potential cost of a broker account and any
taxes and fees triggered by the exercise of the options, shall be borne by the

 

  

			
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Beneficial Employees, in accordance with Section 6.3. Expenses for properadvice, particularly with regard to legal or tax advice, will be borne by each Beneficial Employee.

 12. Final Terms 
  

	12.1	 In the event that a clause of these Terms and Conditions and/or a requirement arising out of these Terms and
Conditions is ineffective or infeasible, the effectiveness of the other terms shall not be affected. The ineffective or infeasible term shall be substituted by a term that reflects the underlying intentions of the ineffective or infeasible term.
This rule shall analogously apply in case of omissions. 

  

	12.2	 These terms and conditions are drawn up in French and in English. In the event of a conflict between the French
and the English version, the English version shall prevail. 

  

	12.3	 All rights and obligations based on the ESOP 2016 shall be governed by French law without regard to its choice
of law principles. 

  

	12.4	 The legal venue shall be the commercial court of Paris with subject matter jurisdiction. 

 

	12.5	 The Company shall have the right to terminate or amend the ESOP 2016 at any time, subject to applicable laws
and regulations. 

 VALNEVA SE

     

 

  

			
	Page | 3EX-10.15

 Exhibit 10.15 

 
 

 
  

 VALNEVA SE 

Terms and conditions of the Employee Stock Option Plan 2017 

 

 1. Preliminary statement 

 

	1.1	 The Employee Stock Option Plan 2017 governed by these Terms and Conditions (the “ESOP 2017”)
is aiming at promoting the interests of the company Valneva SE (“Valneva” or “the Company”) by offering an incentive to the Beneficiary Employees (as defined below) to acquire shares in Valneva. The objective is to
motivate the employees, while allowing them to benefit from increases in the value of the Company. 

“Beneficiary Employee(s)” shall mean all individuals who, on the working day immediately preceding the Grant Date of the
Options (as such terms are defined in Sections 2.1 and 3.2 below), (i) have an active employment agreement with Valneva or one of its subsidiaries “Valneva Austria GmbH”, “Valneva Canada Inc.”, “Valneva Scotland
Ltd.”, “Valneva Sweden AB” or “Valneva UK Ltd.” (Valneva and its subsidiaries being collectively referred to as the “Group” and “active employment” meaning that work is being done and
remuneration is being paid), or (ii) have an employment agreement with one of the companies of the Group and are on maternity or paternity leave. “Beneficiary Employee(s)” shall not include any individual who, on the
working day immediately preceding the Grant Date of the Options, (i) is an Executive Committee member or benefits from any other kind of long-term incentive program of the Company, or (ii) is on termination notice with
respect to his/her employment with the Group, whether on the grounds of resignation, dismissal or mutual termination agreement. 
  

	1.2	 The Company voluntary grants stock options by way of a single plan. Such grant does not give rise to a legal
right for the Beneficiary Employees to participate in a subsequent or similar plan. The ESOP 2017 shall not replace any employee stock option plan currently in effect. 

2. Granting of Options 
  

	2.1	 The Management Board shall have sole competence over the grant of stock options under the ESOP 2017 (the
“Options”). The Management Board shall further determine the number of Options granted to each Beneficiary Employee and the Strike Price applicable to the subscription of each Share (as such terms are defined in Sections 3.1 and 3.9
below); this information will be provided on an individual basis, by means of a grant letter delivered to each Beneficiary Employee at the time of issuing the Options. 

 

	2.2	 The grant of Options to the Beneficiary Employees shall be free of charge. However, the exercise of Options is
subject to all applicable fees, taxes and duties (cf. Section 8 below). 

 3. Exercise of Options 

Conversion ratio 
  

	3.1	 Subject to all Terms and Conditions set forth herein (including payment of the Strike Price), each Beneficiary
Employee shall be entitled to convert one (1) Option into one (1) Valneva ordinary share (as referenced under ISIN FR0004056851, the “Share(s)”). All Shares resulting from such conversion may be created by the Company
through share capital increases, in accordance with French law. 

 Vesting of Options 

 

	3.2	 Subject to the exercise periods set forth below, fifty percent (50%) of the Options allocated to the
Beneficiary Employees shall become exercisable after a period of twenty-four (24) months from the date such Options were granted by the Management Board of Valneva (the “Grant Date”), and the remaining fifty percent (50%) shall
become exercisable after a period of forty-eight (48) months from the Grant Date. 

 Exercise periods 

 

	3.3	 The Beneficiary Employees may exercise their Options only within specific time periods provided for that
purpose (the “Time Frame(s)”).

	 	
Each Time Frame will be announced by the Management Board of Valneva. There will be up to two (2) Time Frames per calendar year, each of them lasting no longer than two (2) weeks. One
Time Frame shall begin on the day following the annual Ordinary General Meeting of Valneva’s shareholders, unless a Lock-Up Period (as defined in Section 7.1 below) requires delaying such Time Frame.

  

	3.4	 The Company reserves the right to postpone, suspend or early terminate any Time Frame, in accordance with
applicable laws and regulations. 

  

	3.5	 Subject to the provisions of Section 4 below, any Option which has become exercisable in a Time Frame (in
accordance with Section 3.2 above), but is not exercised during that Time Frame, can be exercised by the relevant Beneficiary Employee during any of the following Time Frames. 

 

	3.6	 In the event of a Change of Control (as defined below), all outstanding Options shall become exercisable, and a
Time Frame shall immediately begin, at the time the Change of Control is effective (this process being herein referred to as the “Acceleration”). However, the Company shall retain the right to a cash settlement (in accordance with
Section 4.5 below), provided that the same value per share paid in the take-over transaction is applied for calculating the cash compensation amount. 

For the purpose of this Section 3.6, “Change of Control” means a transaction by which a single party, or two or more
parties acting in concert, take over more than fifty percent (50 %) of the outstanding voting rights of the Company (be it through an acquisition, merger or transfer of essentially all of the assets of the Company). 

Declaration of exercise 
  

	3.7	 The Beneficiary Employees shall exercise their Options by sending a duly completed and signed form to the
external services provider managing the plan on behalf of the Company (“the Plan Manager”). This form may be sent as an original or electronically. 

 

	3.8	 The exercise of Options shall be deemed in time insofar as the form referred to in Section 3.7 above is
received by the Plan Manager at the earliest on the first day of the relevant Time Frame, and no later than 6 p.m., Paris time, on the last day of such Time Frame. Any form received by the Plan Manager outside this period will be void. In such a
case, the relevant Beneficiary Employee may exercise of his/her Options during a subsequent Time Frame, if he/she so wishes (subject to the provisions of Section 4 below). 

Payment of Shares - Strike Price 
  

	3.9	 The “Strike Price” shall be the amount that each Beneficiary Employee is required to pay at
the time of exercising his/her Options, in order to receive Shares. 

 The Strike Price under the ESOP 2017 shall be
equal to a hundred percent (100%) of the average closing price of the Valneva shares on Euronext Paris over the period of twenty (20) trading days immediately preceding the Grant Date. In exceptional cases, French law may require the Management
Board to adjust the Strike Price. 
  

	3.10	 The Strike Price must be received in full by the Company (via the Plan Manager) no later than the last day of
the relevant Time Frame. 

  

	3.11	 By paying the full Strike Price, the Beneficiary Employee shall become the beneficial owner of the resulting
Shares from the last day of the relevant Time Frame, even though the Shares are held by a custodian on behalf of such Beneficiary Employee. 

  

	3.12	 Notwithstanding Sections 3.10 and 3.11 above and subject to the provisions of Section 7.1 below, the
Company may, in its sole discretion and so long as the ESOP 2017 is managed by a Plan Manager, allow the Beneficiary Employee to exercise his/her Options and immediately sell the resulting Shares, without making any initial payment for the Strike
Price. In such a case, it is understood that (i) the Plan Manager shall deduct the Strike Price and any applicable costs, fees and withholding taxes from the selling price, and (ii) if the selling price falls short of the Strike Price and
such costs, fees and taxes, the Beneficiary Employee shall pay for the difference. 

 

  

			
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 Delivery of Shares 

 

	3.13	 Provided that all applicable fees, taxes and duties have been paid, the Beneficiary Employee shall receive
his/her Shares within (20) twenty trading days following the end of the relevant Time Frame. 

 4. Validity period
of Options - Lapse 
  

	4.1	 The Options may be exercised within a period ending on the tenth (10th) anniversary of the Grant Date. All Options not exercised by that time shall lapse without compensation. 

  

	4.2	 Upon termination of employment with the Group, the Options of the leaving Beneficiary Employee shall lapse
without compensation. Notwithstanding the foregoing, a leaving Beneficiary Employee shall retain the right to exercise those Options which were exercisable prior to termination of employment, but only during the first Time Frame which will
immediately follow termination of employment, and on condition that the Company had already opened a Time Frame under the ESOP 2017 prior to such termination of employment. 

 

	4.3	 In the event of a Beneficiary Employee’s death, all granted Options not exercisable prior to the date of
death shall lapse without compensation. However, any exercisable Options may be exercised pursuant to Section 5.2 below. 

  

	4.4	 In the event that insolvency proceedings are initiated with respect to the Company or the Company becomes
insolvent, all Options shall lapse without compensation. 

  

	4.5	 The Company may also cancel an Option (i) pursuant to the provisions of Section 3.6 above or
(ii) through substitution of economically equivalent options, or (iii) if the legal form of the Company changes. If, and at the time when, a transaction referred to in Section 3.6 or a change in the legal form of the Company pursuant
to (iii) above occurs, any exercisable Option with a Strike Price higher than the then- current Valneva’s share price (or, in the event of Change of Control, than the value per share paid in the take-over transaction) shall lapse without
compensation. In addition, any acquisition, merger or transfer of essentially all of the assets of the Company which does not lead to a Change of Control shall not trigger Acceleration, but may give rise to replacement of the Options by options in
the successor company. 

  

	4.6	 In the event of expiration or lapse of Options, the Company shall not be required to inform the relevant
Beneficiary Employees nor to take any other action, and the Beneficiary Employees shall have no right to any compensation. 

5. Unassignability of options 
  

	5.1	 The Options granted to the Beneficiary Employees under the ESOP 2017 shall not be transferable, negotiable or
eligible as collateral, except through transfer by death (i.e. disposition by will or law). 

  

	5.2	 The Options may only be exercised personally by the Beneficiary Employee during his/her lifetime or by his/her
legal representative. During the six (6)-month period immediately following the date of death of a Beneficiary Employee, only his/her heir or the legal representative of the heir, in each case as identified by corresponding documentation submitted
to the Company, may declare the exercise of all remaining exercisable Options. The Options shall be deemed immediately exercised if a Time Frame is opened at the time of the declaration. If there is no Time Frame opened at the time the exercise is
declared, the Options shall be deemed exercised during the first day of the Time Frame directly subsequent to the declaration. The Shares so received may be further assigned, subject to the Terms and Conditions herein and to any applicable statutory
and regulatory provisions. 

 6. Shareholder’s rights 

 

	6.1	 Before the Company actually awards the Shares, the Beneficiary Employee shall not have any shareholder rights,
and in particular no right to receive dividends. Following the award of the Shares pursuant to these Terms and Conditions, the shareholder rights, including the right to receive dividends, shall be subject to applicable laws and regulations.

	6.2	 If the Company proceeds with any of the financial transactions listed in article L. 228-99 of the French Commercial code, the rights of the Beneficiary Employees shall be protected in accordance with that article, which may result in a change in the conversion ratio and/or the Strike Price.

 7. Disposal of Shares 
  

	7.1	 The Beneficiary Employees may freely dispose of the Shares received following exercise of the Options. This
shall not apply during a period of trading restriction (the “Lock-up Period”), which may be set forth at the Company’s discretion as a result of the then-current Company policies dealing
with insider information and stock trading by employees and directors. 

 During a
Lock-up Period, the Beneficiary Employee shall not sell nor dispose of its Shares in any way whatsoever, including by means of collateralization or derivative transactions (e.g. options, futures). 

8. Fees, taxes and duties 
  

	8.1	 The Company shall bear all expenses resulting from the implementation of the ESOP 2017. By way of exception,
the relevant Beneficiary Employees shall bear all fees and costs specifically charged by the Plan Manager in connection with the cash settlement option set out in Section 3.12 above. 

 

	8.2	 The Beneficiary Employees shall bear all fees, taxes and duties in connection with the exercise of Options or
the sale of Shares (including, without limitation, broker fees, income tax and social security contributions...). If the Company is required to withhold and pay the taxes and duties owed by a Beneficiary Employee to the tax authorities, such
Beneficiary Employee shall, pursuant to Section 3.13 above, pay the corresponding amount to the Company before the Shares are transferred to a securities account designated to this end and held by a credit institution. 

 

	 	 The Beneficiary Employees shall further bear all expenses for personal advice, in particular with respect to
legal or tax matters. 

 9. Miscellaneous 
  

	9.1	 These terms and conditions have been drawn up in French and English. In the event of a conflict between the
French and the English version, the English version shall prevail. 

  

	9.2	 All rights and obligations under the ESOP 2017 shall be governed by the French law, without regard to its
choice of law principles. 

  

	9.3	 All disputes shall be submitted to the Paris Commercial Court (France). 

 

	9.4	 The Company shall have the right to terminate or amend the ESOP 2017 at any time, subject to all applicable
laws and regulations. 

 VALNEVA SE

 

  

			
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