Exhibit 18
AMENDMENT NO. 3 TO SEVERANCE AGREEMENT
AMENDMENT NO. 3, entered into as of March 8, 1999 ("Amendment"), to
Severance Agreement, dated as of February 23, 1998 (the "Agreement"), as amended
on September 18, 1998, and October 27, 1998, by and between Global Industrial
Technologies, Inc., a Delaware corporation (the "Company"), and Xxxxx X. Xxxxxxx
("Executive").
Company and Executive hereby agree, pursuant to Section 17 of the Agreement
and for and in consideration of the premises and the mutual covenants and
agreements contained herein, to amend the Agreement in the following respects:
1. Paragraph 5 of the Agreement is hereby amended to read in its entirety as
follows:
"5. Certain Additional Payments by the Company.
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(a) Anything in this Agreement to the contrary notwithstanding, in
the event it shall be determined that any payment, award, benefit or
distribution (or any acceleration of any payment, award, benefit or
distribution) by the Company (or any of its affiliated entities) or any entity
which effectuates a Change in Control (or any of its affiliated entities) to or
for the benefit of Executive (whether pursuant to the terms of this Agreement or
otherwise, but determined without regard to any additional payments required
under this Section 5) (the "Payments") would be subject to the excise tax
imposed by Section 4999 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the
"Code"), or any interest or penalties are incurred by Executive with respect to
such excise tax (such excise tax, together with any such interest and penalties,
are hereinafter collectively referred to as the "Excise Tax"), then the Company
shall pay to Executive an additional payment (a "Gross-Up Payment") in an amount
such that after payment by Executive of all taxes (including any Excise Tax)
imposed upon the Gross-Up Payment, Executive retains an amount of the Gross-Up
Payment equal to the sum of (x) the Excise Tax imposed upon the Payments and (y)
the product of any deductions disallowed because of the inclusion of the Gross-
up Payment in Executive's adjusted gross income and the highest applicable
marginal rate of federal income taxation for the calendar year in which the
Gross-up Payment is to be made. For purposes of determining the amount of the
Gross-up Payment, the Executive shall be deemed to (i) pay federal income taxes
at the highest marginal rates of federal income taxation for the calendar year
in which the Gross-up Payment is to be made, (ii) pay applicable state and local
income taxes at the highest marginal rate of taxation for the calendar year in
which the Gross-up Payment is to be made, net of the maximum reduction in
federal income taxes which could be obtained from deduction of such state and
local taxes and (iii) have otherwise allowable deductions for federal income tax
purposes at least equal to those which could be disallowed because of the
inclusion of the Gross-up Payment in the Executive's adjusted gross income.
Notwithstanding the foregoing provisions of this Section 5(a), if it
shall be determined that Executive is entitled to a Gross-Up Payment, but that
the Payments would not be subject to the Excise Tax if the Payments were reduced
by an amount that is less than 10% of the portion of the Payments that would be
treated as "parachute payments" under Section 280G of the Code, then the amounts
payable to Executive under this Agreement shall be reduced (but not below zero)
to the maximum amount that could be paid to Executive without giving rise to the
Excise Tax (the "Safe Harbor Cap"), and no Gross-Up Payment shall be made to
Executive. The reduction of the amounts payable hereunder, if applicable, shall
be made by reducing first the payments under Section 4(a)(ii), unless an
alternative method of reduction is elected by Executive. For purposes of
reducing the Payments to the Safe Harbor Cap, only amounts payable under this
Agreement (and no other Payments) shall be reduced. If the reduction of the
amounts payable hereunder would not result in a reduction of the Payments to the
Safe Harbor Cap, no amounts
payable under this Agreement shall be reduced pursuant to this provision.
(b) Subject to the provisions of Section 5(a), all determinations
required to be made under Sections 4 and 5, including whether and when a Gross-
Up Payment is required, the amount of such Gross-Up Payment, the reduction of
the Payments to the Safe Harbor Cap and the assumptions to be utilized in
arriving at such determinations, shall be made by a nationally recognized public
accounting firm that is retained by the Company (the "Accounting Firm"). In the
event that the Accounting Firm is serving as accountant or auditor for the
individual, entity or group effecting the Change in Control, Executive may
appoint another nationally recognized public accounting firm to make the
determinations required hereunder (which accounting firm shall then be referred
to as the Accounting Firm hereunder). The Accounting Firm shall provide detailed
supporting calculations both to the Company and Executive within fifteen (15)
business days of the receipt of notice from the Company or the Executive that
there has been a Payment, or such earlier time as is requested by the Company
(collectively, the "Determination"). All fees and expenses of the Accounting
Firm shall be borne solely by the Company and the Company shall enter into any
agreement requested by the Accounting Firm in connection with the performance of
the services hereunder. The Gross-up Payment under this Section 5 with respect
to any Payments shall be made no later than thirty (30) days following such
Payment. If the Accounting Firm determines that no Excise Tax is payable by
Executive, it shall furnish Executive with a written opinion to such effect, and
to the effect that failure to report the Excise Tax, if any, on Executive's
applicable federal income tax return will not result in the imposition of a
negligence or similar penalty. In the event the Accounting Firm determines that
the Payments shall be reduced to the Safe Harbor Cap, it shall furnish Executive
with a written opinion to such effect. The Determination by the Accounting Firm
shall be binding upon the Company and Executive. As a result of the uncertainty
in the application of Section 4999 of the Code at the time of the Determination,
it is possible that Gross-Up Payments which will not have been made by the
Company should have been made ("Underpayment") or Gross-up Payments are made by
the Company which should not have been made ("Overpayment"), consistent with the
calculations required to be made hereunder. In the event that the Executive
thereafter is required to make payment of any Excise Tax or additional Excise
Tax, the Accounting Firm shall determine the amount of the Underpayment that has
occurred and any such Underpayment (together with interest at the rate provided
in Section 1274(b)(2)(B) of the Code) shall be promptly paid by the Company to
or for the benefit of Executive. In the event the amount of the Gross-up Payment
exceeds the amount necessary to reimburse the Executive for his Excise Tax, the
Accounting Firm shall determine the amount of the Overpayment that has been made
and any such Overpayment (together with interest at the rate provided in Section
1274(b)(2) of the Code) shall be promptly paid by Executive (to the extent he
has received a refund if the applicable Excise Tax has been paid to the Internal
Revenue Service) to or for the benefit of the Company. Executive shall
cooperate, to the extent his expenses are reimbursed by the Company, with any
reasonable requests by the Company in connection with any contests or disputes
with the Internal Revenue Service in connection with the Excise Tax."
2. Defined terms used in this Amendment shall have the meanings assigned to
them in the Agreement.
3. The Agreement is only amended as expressly set forth herein.
EXECUTED as of the day and year first above written by the undersigned duly
authorized officer of the Company and the Executive.
Global Industrial Technologies, Inc.
By: By:
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Xxxxxx Xxxxxxx Xxxxx X. Xxxxxxx
Chairman Vice President, Human Resources
