Vesting of Award Subject to Section 2(b) below and the other terms and conditions of this Agreement, this Award shall become vested in three equal annual installments on the first, second and third anniversaries of the date hereof. Unless otherwise provided by the Company, all dividends and other amounts receivable in connection with any adjustments to the Shares under Section 4(c) of the Plan shall be subject to the vesting schedule in this Section 2(a).
Vesting of PSUs The PSUs granted pursuant to this Award shall vest, if at all, as follows:
(a) The Committee, in its sole discretion, has established, or within 90 days following the Date of Grant will establish, Performance Goals based on factors consistent with Section 3.1(e)(ii) of the Executive Employment Agreement by and between NIL, NII and the Grantee effective as of January 2, 2020, as amended from time to time (the “Employment Agreement”), which will be measured over a one-year performance period commencing on _____________ and ending on _____________ (such period, the “Performance Period”).
(b) Up to 200% of the Target PSUs subject to this Award are eligible to become earned based upon achievement of the applicable Performance Goals. The Committee shall have sole discretion to determine the level of achievement of the applicable Performance Goals and the percentage of the Target PSUs subject to this Award that shall become earned based on such performance (the “Earned PSUs”). The Committee’s determinations pursuant to the exercise of discretion with respect to all matters described in this paragraph shall be final and binding on the Grantee. The Committee shall make this determination within 60 days following the end of the Performance Period or as soon as administratively practicable thereafter (the “Performance Determination Date”).
(c) If, on the Performance Determination Date or any other applicable date as set forth in this Section 3, the Committee determines that any of the PSUs subject to this Award shall not become Earned PSUs, then any such PSUs that did not become Earned PSUs (and all rights arising from such PSUs and from being a holder thereof) will terminate automatically without any further action by the Company and will be forfeited without further notice and at no cost to the Company.
(d) One-third of the Earned PSUs shall become vested on each of the first three anniversaries of the Date of Grant if the Grantee remains continuously employed by NIL and/or NII from the Date of Grant through the applicable vesting date; provided that any Earned PSUs scheduled to vest prior to the Performance Determination Date shall instead vest upon the Performance Determination Date; provided further, that if the preceding calculation results in any fractional shares, such fractional shares shall be rounded down to the next whole number of shares, with the remainder of shares due to be paid in the third annual instalment.
(e) In the event of a Change in Control of NIL (as defined in the Employment Agreement), notwithstanding anything to the contrary in the Employment Agreement, all of the Earned PSUs subject to this Award that remain unvested shall become vested as of the date of such Change in Control if the Grantee remains continuously employed by NIL and/or NII from the Date of Grant through the date of such Change in Control; provided that, if such Change in Control of NIL occurs prior to the Performance Determination Date, the Earned PSUs shall be deemed to equal 100% of the Target PSUs.
(f) In the event of the Grantee’s Termination due to the Grantee’s death or Disability (as defined in the Employment Agreement), all of the Earned PSUs subject to this Award that remain unvested shall become vested as of the date of such Termination; provided that, if the date of such Termination occurs prior to the conclusion of the Performance Period, then the Grantee shall forfeit all PSUs subject to this Award, and if the date of such Termination occurs after the conclusion of the Performance Period but prior to the Performance Determination Date, then the number of Earned PSUs shall be determined based on actual performance.
(g) In the event of the Grantee’s Termination either due to the Grantee’s Constructive Termination Without Cause or by the Company Without Cause (each as defined in the Employment Agreement), all of the Earned PSUs subject to this Award that remain unvested shall become vested as of the date of such Termination; provided that, if the date of such Termination occurs prior to the conclusion of the Performance Period, then the Grantee shall forfeit all PSUs subject to this Award, and if the date of such Termination occurs after the conclusion of the Performance Period but prior to the Performance Determination Date, then the number of Earned PSUs shall be determined based on actual performance.
(h) Anything herein notwithstanding, in the event of the Grantee’s Termination by the Company for Cause or by the written voluntary resignation of the Grantee (each as defined or contemplated, as applicable, in the Employment Agreement), the Grantee shall forfeit any PSUs subject to this Award that remain unvested as of the date of such Termination.
Acceleration of Vesting (a) In the event your employment with Deluxe is terminated by reason of death, Disability (as defined in the Addendum), or Approved Retirement (as defined in the Addendum) any time during the Restricted Period, all of the yet unvested Units will vest and the Units shall become non-forfeitable as of the date of such termination.
(b) Subject to Section 4(c), in the event your employment is terminated during the Restricted Period after the first anniversary of the Award Date by reason of involuntary termination without Cause, a pro rata portion of the next segment of Units scheduled to vest after the termination date (based on the number of completed days between the termination date and the scheduled vesting date immediately prior to the termination date (or the Award Date if there was no such scheduled vesting date) divided by 365) shall vest and become non-forfeitable as of the date of such termination.
(c) Notwithstanding any provision contained in this Agreement that would result in Units vesting in full or in part at a later date, if, in connection with any Change of Control, the acquiring Person, surviving or acquiring corporation or entity, or an Affiliate of such corporation or entity, elects to assume the obligations of Deluxe under this Agreement and to replace the Shares issuable upon settlement of the Units with other equity securities that are listed on a national securities exchange (including by use of American Depository Receipts or any similar method) and are freely transferable under all applicable federal and state securities laws and regulations (“Replacement Equity Securities”), the Units then subject to restriction shall continue to vest as set forth in Section 2, provided, however, the Units shall vest in full and become non-forfeitable if, within twelve months of the date of the Change of Control:
(i) Your employment with the Company is terminated by the Company without Cause,
(ii) Your employment with the Company is terminated by you for Good Reason, or
(iii) Vesting would otherwise occur on any earlier date as provided under this Agreement. In the event of any such Change of Control, the number of Replacement Equity Securities issuable under this Agreement shall be determined by the Committee in accordance with Section 4(c) of the Plan. In the event of any such Change of Control, all references herein to the Shares shall thereafter be deemed to refer to the Replacement Equity Securities, references to Deluxe or the Company shall thereafter be deemed to refer to the issuer of such Replacement Equity Securities, and all other terms of this Agreement shall continue in effect except as and to the extent modified by this subparagraph.
(d) If the Change of Control does not meet the continuation or replacement criteria specified in Section 4(c) above, all Units then subject to restriction shall vest in full immediately and become non-forfeitable upon the Change of Control.
(e) The provisions of this Section 4 shall be subject to Sections 5(b) and 8.
Vesting of RSUs (a) The following vesting provisions shall apply to the RSUs:
(i) Subject to the Grantee’s continued Employment through the Service Vesting Date or Service Vesting Dates, as applicable, as specified in the RSU Grant Certificate attached hereto, the RSUs shall become vested on such date or dates, as applicable, as to the percentage(s) set forth in such RSU Grant Certificate.
(ii) If, prior to the date the RSUs are vested as provided in Section 2.1(a)(i) above or otherwise terminate and are forfeited pursuant to Section 2.1(b) and (c) below: (A) the Grantee’s Employment terminates due to the Grantee’s Retirement, if applicable, then all Retirement RSUs shall, in the discretion of the Administrator, be fully vested as a result thereof; (B) the Grantee dies or experiences a Disability, then all unvested RSUs shall be vested as a result thereof, provided that if the Grantee is not an employee of the KKR Group, then any vesting of unvested RSUs described in this clause (B) shall be in the discretion of the Administrator; or (C) there occurs a Change in Control prior to any termination of the Grantee’s Employment, then all or any portion of any unvested RSUs may, in the discretion of the Administrator, be vested as a result thereof. Notwithstanding the foregoing, if the Corporation receives an opinion of counsel that there has been a legal judgment and/or legal development in the Grantee’s jurisdiction that would likely result in the favorable treatment applicable to the Retirement RSUs pursuant to this Section 2.1(a)(ii) being deemed unlawful and/or discriminatory, then the Corporation will not apply the favorable treatment at the time the Grantee’s Employment terminates due to the Grantee’s Retirement under clause (A) above, and the RSUs will be treated as set forth in Section 2.1(a)(i), 2.1(b), 2.1(c) or the other provisions of this Section 2.1(a)(ii), as applicable.
(iii) All RSUs that become vested under this Section 2.1(a) are eligible to be Settled pursuant to Section 2.2 of this Agreement.
(b) If the Grantee’s Employment terminates for any reason other than due to the Grantee’s death, Disability or Retirement, each as provided for in Section 2.1(a) above, all then unvested RSUs (including any RSUs that are not Retirement RSUs) shall immediately terminate and be forfeited without consideration, and no Class A Common Stock shall be delivered hereunder.
(c) The Grantee’s right to vest in the RSUs under the Plan, if any, will terminate effective as of the date that the Grantee is no longer actively providing services (even if still considered employed or engaged under local Law) and will not be extended by any notice period mandated under local Law (e.g., active Employment would not include a period of “garden leave” or similar period pursuant to local Law) except as may be otherwise agreed in writing by the Corporation or the Designated Service Recipient with the Grantee; the Administrator shall have the exclusive discretion to determine when the Grantee is no longer actively employed or engaged for purposes of the RSUs.
Vesting of Restricted Stock Units The restrictions and conditions of Section 1 of this Agreement shall lapse on the Vesting Date or Dates specified in the following schedule so long as the Grantee remains in a Business Relationship (as defined in Section 3 below) on such Dates. If a series of Vesting Dates is specified, then the restrictions and conditions in Section 1 shall lapse only with respect to the number of Restricted Stock Units specified as vested on such date. Incremental Number of Restricted Stock Units Vested Vesting Date The Administrator may at any time accelerate the vesting schedule specified in this Section 2.
Vesting of Options The Option shall vest (become exercisable) in accordance with the vesting schedule shown on page 1 of this Award Agreement. Notwithstanding the vesting schedule on page 1, the Option will also vest and become exercisable:
(a) Upon your death or Disability during your Continuous Status as a Participant; or
(b) Upon a Change in Control.
Vesting of Restricted Stock The restrictions and conditions in Paragraph 2 of this Agreement shall lapse on the Vesting Date or Dates specified in the following schedule. If a series of Vesting Dates is specified, then the restrictions and conditions in Paragraph 2 shall lapse only with respect to the number of shares of Restricted Stock specified as vested on such date.
Vesting of Stock Options All unvested stock options held by Executive, if any, shall vest immediately upon a Change of Control Termination as defined in Section 6.1.
Accelerated Vesting of Equity Awards One hundred percent (100%) of Executive’s then-outstanding and unvested Equity Awards will become vested in full. If, however, an outstanding Equity Award is to vest and/or the amount of the award to vest is to be determined based on the achievement of performance criteria, then the Equity Award will vest as to one hundred percent (100%) of the amount of the Equity Award assuming the performance criteria had been achieved at target levels for the relevant performance period(s).
Vesting of Restricted Shares The Restricted Shares are subject to forfeiture to the Company until they become vested and non-forfeitable in accordance with this Section 2. While subject to forfeiture, the Restricted Shares may not be sold, pledged, assigned, otherwise encumbered or transferred in any manner, whether voluntarily or involuntarily by the operation of law, except to (i) an immediate family member or (ii) a trust or other estate-planning vehicle (collectively, the “Permitted Transferees”), so long as any such Permitted Transferee, as a condition to such transfer, agrees in writing to be bound by the terms of this Agreement with respect to the Restricted Shares.
(a) 100% of the Restricted Shares subject hereto shall become vested and non-forfeitable on the third anniversary of the Effective Date, provided the Grantee remains in continuous service with the Company through such date.
(b) Upon cessation of the Service Relationship (hereinafter defined), any Restricted Shares which then remain forfeitable (determined after application of Section 2(c), below) will immediately and automatically, without any action on the part of the Company, be forfeited, and the Grantee will have no further rights with respect to those shares.
(c) If the Service Relationship (as defined below) terminates due to the Grantee’s death, or if a Change in Control (as defined below) occurs during the Service Relationship, any otherwise unvested Restricted Shares will then become vested and non-forfeitable. Similarly, if the Service Relationship ceases due to a termination by the Company without “Cause”, due to the Grantee’s “Disability” or due to a resignation by the Grantee with “Good Reason” (each as defined in that certain Employment Agreement between the Grantee and the Company dated on or about the closing date of the Transaction (the “Employment Agreement”)), and the Grantee executes a release of claims in the form and manner described in Section 7(c)(iii) of the Employment Agreement within the timeframe established in the Employment Agreement, any otherwise unvested Restricted Shares will become vested and non-forfeitable when such release becomes irrevocable.
(d) For purposes of this Agreement, “Service Relationship” means the Grantee’s employment or service with the Company or its parent or any subsidiary or Affiliate, whether in the capacity of an employee, director or a consultant. Unless otherwise determined by the Board, the Grantee’s Service Relationship shall not be deemed to have terminated merely because of a change in the capacity in which the Grantee renders service to the Company or a transfer between locations of the Company, its parent or any subsidiary or Affiliate or a transfer between the Company, its parent, or any subsidiary or Affiliate, provided that there is no interruption or other termination of the Service Relationship. Subject to the foregoing and the following sentence, the Company, in its discretion, shall determine whether the Grantee’s Service Relationship has terminated and the effective date of such termination. The following events shall not be deemed a termination of the Service Relationship:
