Vesting; Settlement The RSUs shall become vested in accordance with the schedule set forth on the Award Notice. The Company shall deliver to the Participant one share of Common Stock for each RSU (as adjusted under the Plan) which becomes vested in a given calendar year, pursuant to Section 12, below, and such vested RSU shall be cancelled upon such delivery.
No Advice Regarding Award The Company is not providing any tax, legal or financial advice, nor is the Company making any recommendations regarding your participation in the Plan, or your acquisition or sale of the underlying Shares. You are hereby advised to consult with your own personal tax, legal and financial advisors regarding your participation in the Plan before taking any action related to the Plan.
Dividend Equivalents Subject to this Paragraph 6, with respect to dividends for which a record date occurs during the Restriction Period, Participant shall be credited with a Dividend Equivalent with respect to each outstanding Restricted Stock Unit, and with respect to any related Dividend Equivalent Unit (defined below) resulting from prior reinvestments of Dividend Equivalents as provided in this Paragraph. All Dividend Equivalents so credited will be deemed to be reinvested in Restricted Stock Units on the date that the applicable dividend or distribution is made to the Company’s shareholders, based on the Target Award Units and any Dividend Equivalent Units resulting from prior reinvestments of Dividend Equivalents, in the number of Units determined by dividing the aggregate value of the Dividend Equivalents by the Fair Market Value of the Stock on such date (rounded to the nearest thousandth of a whole Unit or as otherwise reasonably determined by the Company); provided, however, that if Dividend Equivalents cannot be reinvested in Units due to the operation of Section 3(a) of the Plan, such Dividend Equivalents will be credited to Participant as a cash value based on the Target Award Units and any Dividend Equivalent Units resulting from prior reinvestments of Dividend Equivalents, which cash value shall be held by the Company (without interest) subject to this Agreement. Any Units resulting from the deemed reinvestment of dividends in accordance with this Paragraph 6 are referred to herein as “Dividend Equivalent Units.” Dividend Equivalents shall be subject to the same terms and conditions, and shall vest or be forfeited (as applicable) at the same time, upon the same conditions, and in the same proportion, as the Target Award Units set forth in this Award; provided, however, that if the Award vests after the record date for, but before the payment date of, a dividend, then the Dividend Equivalents related to such dividend and to Units vesting on the vesting date will be paid in cash or in Stock, in the sole discretion of the Company, as soon as practicable following the payment date for such dividend.
Dividend Equivalent Payments Until your RSUs convert to Shares, if MSCI pays a dividend on Shares, you will be entitled to a dividend equivalent payment in the same amount as the dividend you would have received if you held Shares for your vested and unvested RSUs immediately prior to the record date. No dividend equivalents will be paid to you with respect to any canceled or forfeited RSUs. MSCI will decide on the form of payment and may pay dividend equivalents in Shares, in cash or in a combination thereof, unless otherwise provided in Exhibit C. MSCI will pay the dividend equivalent when it pays the corresponding dividend on its common stock or on the next regularly scheduled payroll date. The gross amount of any dividend equivalents paid to you with respect to RSUs that do not vest and convert to Shares shall be subject to potential recoupment or payback (such recoupment or payback of dividend equivalents, the “Clawback”) following the cancellation or forfeiture of the underlying RSUs. You consent to the Company’s implementation and enforcement of the Clawback and expressly agree that MSCI may take such actions as are necessary to effectuate the Clawback consistent with applicable law. If, within a reasonable period, you do not tender repayment of the dividend equivalents in response to demand for repayment, MSCI may seek a court order against you or take any other actions as are necessary to effectuate the Clawback.
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.
No Dividend Equivalents No dividend equivalents shall be paid to the Employee with regard to the Stock Units.
Dividend Equivalent Units On the date that the Company pays a cash dividend to holders of Stock generally, the Participant shall be credited with a number of additional whole Dividend Equivalent Units determined by dividing (a) the product of (i) the dollar amount of the cash dividend paid per share of Stock on such date and (ii) the total number of Restricted Stock Units and Dividend Equivalent Units previously credited to the Participant pursuant to the Award and which have not been settled or forfeited pursuant to the Company Reacquisition Right (as defined below) as of such date, by (b) the Fair Market Value per share of Stock on such date. Any resulting fractional Dividend Equivalent Unit shall be rounded to the nearest whole number. Such additional Dividend Equivalent Units shall be subject to the same terms and conditions and shall be settled or forfeited in the same manner and at the same time as the Restricted Stock Units originally subject to the Award with respect to which they have been credited.
Dividend Equivalent Rights In the event that the Company declares and pays a dividend in respect of its outstanding shares of Stock and, on the record date for such dividend, you hold Restricted Stock Units granted pursuant to this Agreement that have not been settled, the Company shall create a bookkeeping account that will track, (a) to the extent the dividend paid to stockholders generally was a cash dividend, the cash value you would have been entitled to receive as if you had been the holder of record of the number of shares of Stock related to the Restricted Stock Units that have not been settled as of the record date, or (b) to the extent the dividend paid to stockholders generally was paid in the form of property, the property you would have been entitled to receive as if you had been the holder of record of the number of shares of Stock related to the Restricted Stock Units that have not been settled as of the record date. All DER amounts credited to your bookkeeping account pursuant to this Section 3, if any, shall be deemed converted into shares of Stock on the date that the Restricted Stock Units vest (based on the Fair Market Value (as such term is defined in the Management Stockholder’s Agreement) of Stock on such date and rounded down to the nearest whole share of Stock) and paid to you in the form of additional shares of Stock on the date that the underlying Restricted Stock Units associated with such DER amounts are settled pursuant to Section 5 below. In the event that the Restricted Stock Units are forfeited to the Company without settlement to you, you will also forfeit any associated DER amounts. No interest will be payable with respect to DER amounts credited to your bookkeeping account, if any, that represent cash dividends. Property, if any, deemed credited to DER bookkeeping accounts representing dividends paid in property will be deemed invested in such property until the DER amounts are deemed converted to shares of Stock pursuant to this Section 3. The bookkeeping accounts, if any, created to track DER amounts are phantom accounts and the Company is under no obligation to set aside cash or property with respect to any DER amounts. Valuations made pursuant to this Section 3 (including any valuation of property deemed credited to a bookkeeping account) will be made by the Committee, or its designee, in its sole discretion and such valuation will be final and binding.
Suspension of Exercisability To the extent that the Company determines in good faith that some action will or need be taken pursuant to Section 3.1 or to comply with federal or state securities laws, the Company may suspend the exercisability of the Rights for a reasonable period in order to take such action or comply with such laws. In the event of any such suspension, the Company shall issue as promptly as practicable a public announcement stating that the exercisability or exchangeability of the Rights has been temporarily suspended. Notice thereof pursuant to Section 5.9 shall not be required. Failure to give a notice pursuant to the provisions of this Agreement shall not affect the validity of any action taken hereunder.
Rights as Shareholder; Dividend Equivalents 6.1 The Participant shall not have any rights of a shareholder with respect to the Common Shares underlying the Restricted Stock Units unless and until the Restricted Stock Units vest and are settled by the issuance of such Common Shares. Upon and following the settlement of the Restricted Stock Units, the Participant shall be the record owner of the Common Shares underlying the Restricted Stock Units unless and until such shares are sold or otherwise disposed of, and as record owner shall be entitled to all rights of a shareholder of the Company (including voting rights).
6.2 In the event that the Company pays any cash dividends on its Common Shares between the Grant Date and the date when the Restricted Stock Units are settled in accordance with Section 7 hereof or are forfeited, the Participant’s Account shall be credited on the date such dividend is paid to shareholders with an amount equal to all cash dividends that would have been paid to the Participant if one Common Share had been issued on the Grant Date for each Restricted Stock Unit granted to the Participant (“Dividend Equivalents”). Dividend Equivalents shall be credited to the Participant’s Account and interest may be credited on the amount of cash Dividend Equivalents credited to the Participant’s Account at a rate and subject to such terms as determined by the Committee. Dividend Equivalents credited to the Participant’s Account shall be subject to the same vesting and other restrictions as the Restricted Stock Units to which they are attributable and shall be paid on the same date that the Restricted Stock Units to which they are attributable are settled in accordance with Section 7 hereof. Dividend Equivalents credited to the Participant’s Account shall be distributed in cash or, at the discretion of the Committee, in Common Shares having a Fair Market Value equal to the amount of the Dividend Equivalents and interest, if any. Any accumulated and unpaid Dividend Equivalents attributable to Restricted Stock Units that are cancelled will not be paid and will be immediately forfeited upon cancellation of the Restricted Stock Units.
