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.
Option Vesting Options shall vest as follows: --------------
(a) 100% of the Options shall vest on the 1st anniversary of the Grant Date;
(b) In the event of any change in control, merger or consolidation between the Company and any other entity (other than one in which the stockholders of the Company prior to such transaction receive, in exchange for their Company shares, stock of the surviving corporation and such stock constitutes more than 50% of the outstanding stock of the surviving corporation following such transaction), or any sale by the Company of all or substantially all of its assets, all Options then held by the Director that have not theretofore vested shall vest five days prior to the earlier of (i) the record date, if any, for such transaction and (ii) the closing date of such transaction, both subject to Section 4(a).
Accelerated Vesting (a) Immediately prior to the effective date of the Change in Control, the Unvested Shares subject to this option shall automatically become Vested Shares, and this option shall become exercisable for all of the Option Shares. However, the Unvested Shares shall not vest on such an accelerated basis if and to the extent: (i) this option will be assumed by the successor corporation (or parent thereof) or otherwise continued in effect pursuant to the terms of the Change in Control transaction or (ii) this option is to be replaced with a cash incentive program of the successor corporation which preserves the spread existing on the Unvested Shares at the time of the Change in Control (the excess of the Fair Market Value of those Unvested Shares over the Exercise Price payable for such shares) and provides for subsequent payout of that spread no later than the time Optionee would otherwise vest in the Option Shares as set forth in the Grant Notice.
(b) Immediately following the Change in Control, this option shall terminate and cease to be outstanding, except to the extent assumed by the successor corporation (or parent thereof) or otherwise continued in effect pursuant to the terms of the Change in Control transaction.
(c) If this option is assumed in connection with a Change in Control or otherwise continued in effect, then this option shall be appropriately adjusted, upon such Change in Control, to apply to the number and class of securities which would have been issuable to Optionee in consummation of such Change in Control had the option been exercised immediately prior to such Change in Control, and appropriate adjustments shall also be made to the Exercise Price, provided the aggregate Exercise Price shall remain the same. To the extent that the holders of Common Stock receive cash consideration for their Common Stock in consummation of the Change in Control, the successor corporation (or its parent) may, in connection with the assumption of this option, substitute one or more shares of its own common stock with a fair market value equivalent to the cash consideration paid per share of Common Stock in such Change in Control.
(d) This Agreement shall not in any way affect the right of the Corporation to adjust, reclassify, reorganize or otherwise change its capital or business structure or to merge, consolidate, dissolve, liquidate or sell or transfer all or any part of its business or assets.
Settlement of RSUs Delivery of Shares or other amounts under this Award Agreement and the Plan shall be subject to the following:
Stock Vesting Unless otherwise approved by the Board of Directors, all stock options and other stock equivalents issued after the date of this Agreement to employees, directors, consultants and other service providers shall be subject to vesting as follows: (a) twenty-five percent (25%) of such stock shall vest at the end of the first year following the earlier of the date of issuance or such person’s services commencement date with the Company, and (b) seventy-five percent (75%) of such stock shall vest over the remaining three (3) years.
Equity Vesting All of the then-unvested shares subject to each of the Executive’s then-outstanding equity awards will immediately vest and, in the case of options and stock appreciation rights, will become exercisable (for avoidance of doubt, no more than 100% of the shares subject to the then-outstanding portion of an equity award may vest and become exercisable under this provision). In the case of equity awards with performance-based vesting, all performance goals and other vesting criteria will be deemed achieved at the greater of actual performance or 100% of target levels. Unless otherwise required under the next following two sentences or, with respect to awards subject to Section 409A of the Code, under Section 5(b) below, any restricted stock units, performance shares, performance units, and/or similar full value awards that vest under this paragraph will be settled on the 61st day following the CIC Qualified Termination. For the avoidance of doubt, if the Executive’s Qualified Termination occurs prior to a Change in Control, then any unvested portion of the Executive’s then-outstanding equity awards will remain outstanding for 3 months or the occurrence of a Change in Control (whichever is earlier) so that any additional benefits due on a CIC Qualified Termination can be provided if a Change in Control occurs within 3 months following the Qualified Termination (provided that in no event will the Executive’s stock options or similar equity awards remain outstanding beyond the equity award’s maximum term to expiration). In such case, if no Change in Control occurs within 3 months following a Qualified Termination, any unvested portion of the Executive’s equity awards automatically will be forfeited permanently on the 3-month anniversary of the Qualified Termination without having vested.
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 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.
Payment after Vesting Any Performance Shares that vest in accordance with paragraphs 3 through 4 will be paid to the Employee (or in the event of the Employee’s death, to his or her estate) in Shares as soon as practicable following the date of vesting, subject to paragraph 9, but in no event later than the applicable two and one-half (2 1/2) month period of the “short-term deferral” rule set forth in the Section 1.409A-1(b)(4) of the Treasury Regulations issued under Section 409A. Notwithstanding the foregoing, if the Performance Shares are “deferred compensation” within the meaning of Section 409A, the vested Performance Shares will be released to the Employee (or in the event of the Employee’s death, to his or her estate) in Shares as soon as practicable following the date of vesting, subject to paragraph 9, but in no event later than the end of the calendar year that includes the date of vesting or, if later, the fifteen (15th) day of the third (3rd) calendar month following the date of vesting (provided that the Employee will not be permitted, directly or indirectly, to designate the taxable year of the payment). Further, if some or all of the Performance Shares that are “deferred compensation” within the meaning of Section 409A vest on account of the Employee’s Termination of Service (other than due to death) in accordance with paragraphs 3 through 4, the Performance Shares that vest on account of the Employee’s Termination of Service will not be considered due or payable until the Employee has a “separation from service” within the meaning of Section 409A. In addition, if the Employee is a “specified employee” within the meaning of Section 409A at the time of the Employee’s separation from service (other than due to death), then any accelerated Performance Shares will be paid to the Employee no earlier than six (6) months and one (1) day following the date of the Employee’s separation from service unless the Employee dies following his or her separation from service, in which case, the Performance Shares will be paid to the Employee’s estate as soon as practicable following his or her death, subject to paragraph 9. Any Performance Shares that vest in accordance with paragraph 5 will be paid to the Employee (or in the event of the Employee’s death, to his or her estate) in Shares in accordance with the provisions of such paragraph, subject to paragraph 9. For each Performance Share that vests, the Employee will receive one Share.
Forfeiture upon Termination of Status as a Service Provider Notwithstanding any contrary provision of this Award Agreement, the balance of the Restricted Stock Units that have not vested as of the time of Participant’s termination as a Service Provider for any or no reason and Participant’s right to acquire any Shares hereunder will immediately terminate.
