THE NASDAQ OMX Group, INC. THREE-YEAR PERFORMANCE SHARE UNIT AGREEMENT
THE NASDAQ OMX Group, INC.
THREE-YEAR PERFORMANCE SHARE UNIT AGREEMENT
This PERFORMANCE SHARE UNIT AGREEMENT (this “Agreement”) between The NASDAQ OMX Group, Inc., a Delaware corporation (the “Company”), and [EMPLOYEE NAME] (the “Grantee”) memorializes the grant by the Management Compensation Committee of the Board of Directors of the Company (the “Committee”) on [GRANT DATE] (the “Grant Date”) of performance share units to the Grantee on the terms and conditions set out below.
RECITALS:
The Company has adopted The NASDAQ OMX Group, Inc. Equity Incentive Plan (the “Plan”), which Plan is incorporated herein by reference and made a part of this Agreement. Capitalized terms not otherwise defined herein shall have the meaning ascribed to them in the Plan. The Plan in relevant part provides for the issuance of stock-based awards that are subject to the attainment of performance goals as established by the Committee.
The Committee has determined that it is in the best interests of the Company and its shareholders to grant the performance share units provided for herein to the Grantee pursuant to the Plan and under the terms set forth herein as an increased incentive for the Grantee to contribute to the Company’s future success and prosperity.
Capitalized terms not otherwise defined herein shall have the meaning ascribed to them in the Plan.
NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the mutual covenants hereinafter set forth, the parties hereto agree as follows:
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1. Grant of Performance-Based Award. The Company hereby grants to the Grantee [TARGET NUMBER OF SHARES] performance share units (the “Performance Share Units”), which Performance Share Units shall entitle the Grantee to receive up to [200% OF TARGET NUMBER OF SHARES] Shares (or a lesser number of Shares, or no Shares whatsoever), subject to the terms and conditions set forth in this Agreement and the Plan. (A complete copy of the Plan, as in effect on the date of grant, is available to the Grantee upon request.). Shares corresponding to the Performance Share Units granted herein are in all events to be delivered to the Grantee only after the Grantee has become vested in the Performance Share Units pursuant to Section 4, below. |
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2. Performance Period. For purposes of this Agreement, the term “Performance Period” shall be the period commencing on January 1, 2013 and ending on December 31, 2015. |
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3. Performance Goal. |
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(a) Subject to the following sentence, the Performance Goal is set out in Appendix A hereto, which Appendix A is incorporated by reference herein and made a part hereof. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the provisions of Section 13 or any other provision of
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this Agreement to the contrary, the Committee reserves the right to unilaterally change or otherwise modify the Performance Goal in any manner whatsoever (including substituting a new Performance Goal), but only to the extent that the Committee has first determined that the exercise of such discretion would not cause the Performance Share Units to fail to qualify as “performance-based compensation” under Section 162(m) of the Code. If the Committee exercises such discretionary authority to any extent, the Committee shall provide the Grantee with a new Appendix A in substitution for the Appendix A attached hereto, and such new Appendix A and the Performance Goal set out therein (rather than the Appendix A attached hereto and the Performance Goal set out therein) shall in all events apply for all purposes of this Agreement. |
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4. Vesting of Performance Share Units. |
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(a) The Performance Share Units are subject to forfeiture to the Company until they become non-forfeitable in accordance with this Section 4. Except as provided in the following sentence, the risk of forfeiture will lapse on the Performance Share Units, and such Performance Share Units shall thereupon become vested, only if the Grantee remains employed by the Company through and on December 31, 2015 (the “Vest Date”). Notwithstanding the foregoing, if the Grantee’s employment with the Company terminates by reason of death prior to December 31, 2015, the risk of forfeiture shall lapse on all Performance Share Units, and all unvested Performance Share Units shall thereupon become vested on the date of death (or, if later, on the date, following the end of the Performance Period on which the Committee determines whether, and to what extent the Performance Share Units are earned in accordance with Section 3(b) of this Agreement). |
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(b) In the event that (i) the Company terminates the Grantee’s employment with the Company for any reason prior to the Vest Date or (ii) the Grantee terminates employment with the Company for any reason (other than death) prior to such date, all unvested Performance Share Units shall be cancelled and forfeited, effective as of the Grantee’s separation from service. |
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5. Delivery of Shares. As soon as practicable following the Vest Date, and compliance with all applicable tax withholding as described in Section 11 hereof, but in no event later than two and one-half months after the end of the calendar year in which the Vest Date occurs, the Company shall instruct the registrar for the Company to make an entry on its books and records evidencing that the Shares underlying such vested Performance Share Units have been duly issued as of that date; provided, however, that the Grantee may, in the alternative, elect in writing prior thereto to receive a stock certificate representing the full number of Shares acquired, which certificate may bear a restrictive legend prohibiting the transfer of such Shares for such period as may be prescribed by the Company. The Company shall not be liable to the Grantee for damages relating to any delays in issuing the certificates. The underlying Shares may be registered in the name of the Grantee’s legal representative or estate in the event of the death of the Grantee. In the event of the acceleration of the lapse of forfeiture restrictions upon the death of the Grantee as contemplated by Section 4(a) of this Agreement, this process shall occur as soon as possible following such vesting date, but in no event later than two and one-half months after the end of the calendar year in which such vesting date occurs. |
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6. Tax Consequences. The Grantee acknowledges that the Company has not advised the Grantee regarding the Grantee’s alternatives under Section 83(b) of the Code in connection with the award, earning or vesting of the Performance Share Units and the delivery of Shares in connection therewith. |
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7. Transferability. |
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(a) Except as provided below, or except to the minimal extent required by law, the Performance Share Units are nontransferable and may not be assigned, alienated, pledged, attached, sold or otherwise transferred or encumbered by the Grantee, except by will or the laws of descent and distribution, and upon any such transfer, by will or the laws of descent and distribution (or upon such transfer required by law), the transferee shall hold such Performance Share Units subject to all the terms and conditions that were applicable to the Grantee immediately prior to such transfer. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Grantee may transfer any vested Performance Share Units to members of his immediate family (defined as his spouse, children or grandchildren) or to one or more trusts for the exclusive benefit of such immediate family members or partnerships in which such immediate family members are the only partners if the transfer is approved by the Committee and the Grantee does not receive any consideration for the transfer. Any such transferred portion of the Performance Share Units shall continue to be subject to the same terms and conditions that were applicable to such portion of the Performance Share Units immediately prior to transfer (except that such transferred Performance Share Units shall not be further transferable by the transferee). No transfer of a portion of the Performance Share Units shall be effective to bind the Company unless the Company shall have been furnished with written notice thereof and a copy of such evidence as the Committee may deem necessary to establish the validity of the transfer and the acceptance by the transferee of the terms and conditions hereof. |
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(b) Upon any transfer by will or the laws of descent and distribution (or upon any such transfer required by law), such transferee shall take the Performance Share Units and the Shares delivered in connection therewith (the “Transferee Shares”) subject to all
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the terms and conditions that were (or would have been) applicable to the Performance Share Units and the Transferee Shares immediately prior to such transfer. |
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8. Rights of Grantee. Prior to the delivery, if any, of Shares to the Grantee pursuant to the provisions of Section 5, the Grantee shall not have any rights of a shareholder of the Company, including, but not limited to, the right to receive dividend payments, on account of the Performance Share Units. |
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9. Unfunded Nature of Performance Share Units. The Company will not segregate any funds representing the potential liability arising under this Agreement. The Grantee’s rights in respect of this Agreement are those of an unsecured general creditor of the Company. The liability for any payment under this Agreement will be a liability of the Company and not a liability of any of its officers, directors or Affiliates. |
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10. Securities Laws. The Company may condition delivery of Shares for any vested Performance Share Units upon the prior receipt from the Grantee of any undertakings which it may determine are required to assure that the Shares are being issued in compliance with federal and state securities laws |
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11. Withholding. The Grantee shall pay to the Company promptly upon request, and in any event, no later than at the time the Company determines that the Grantee will recognize taxable income in respect of the Performance Share Units, an amount equal to the federal, state, local or foreign taxes the Company determines it is required to withhold with respect to the Performance Share Units. Such payment shall be made in the form of (i) cash, (ii) delivery of Shares already owned for at least six months, (iii) net settling with the Company that portion of the Shares otherwise to be delivered to the Grantee with respect to the Performance Share Units sufficient to satisfy the minimum withholding required with respect thereto or (iv) in a combination of such methods as irrevocably elected by the Grantee prior to the applicable tax due date with respect to the Performance Share Units. The net settlement of the Shares underlying the vesting Performance Share Units and the delivery of Shares previously owned are hereby specifically authorized alternatives for the satisfaction of the foregoing withholding obligation. |
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12. Governing Law. This Agreement shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of Delaware, without giving effect to any principle of law that could result in the application of the law of any other jurisdiction. |
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13. Amendments. This Agreement may be amended or modified at any time by an instrument in writing signed by the parties hereto, except as otherwise provided in Section 3(a) or Sections 15 or 16 of this Agreement regarding permitted unilateral action by the Committee or in Section 12(a) of the Plan related to amendments or alterations that do not adversely affect the rights of the Grantee in this Award. |
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14. Administration. This Agreement shall at all times be subject to the terms and conditions of the Plan. The Committee shall have sole and complete discretion with respect to all matters reserved to it by the Plan and decisions of the Committee with respect thereto and this Agreement shall be final and binding upon the Grantee and the Company. In the event of
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any conflict between the terms and conditions of this Agreement and the Plan, the provisions of this Agreement shall control. The Committee has the authority and discretion to determine any questions which arise in connection with the award of the Performance Share Units hereunder. |
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15. Compliance with Code Section 409A. It is the intention of the Company and Grantee that this Agreement not result in an unfavorable tax consequences to Grantee under Code Section 409A. Accordingly, Grantee consents to any amendment of this Agreement as the Company may reasonably make in furtherance of such intention, and the Company shall promptly provide, or make available to, Grantee a copy of such amendment. Any such amendments shall be made in a manner that preserves to the maximum extent possible the intended benefits to Grantee. This paragraph does not create an obligation on the part of Company to modify this Agreement and does not guarantee that the amounts or benefits owed under the Agreement will not be subject to interest and penalties under Code Section 409A. |
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16. Imposition of Other Requirements. The Company reserves the right to impose other requirements on the Grantee’s participation in the Plan, on the Performance Share Units and on any Shares acquired under the Plan, to the extent the Company determines it is necessary or advisable in order to comply with local law or facilitate the administration of the Plan, and to require the Grantee to sign any additional agreements or undertakings that may be necessary to accomplish the foregoing. The Grantee agrees, upon demand of the Company or the Committee, to do all acts and execute, deliver and perform all additional documents, instruments and agreements which may be reasonably required by the Company or the Committee, as the case may be, to implement the provisions and purposes of the Plan and this Agreement. |
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17. No Right to Continued Employment. This Agreement shall not confer on the Grantee any right to be retained, in any position, as an employee, consultant or director of the Company. |
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18. Notices. Any notice, request, instruction or other document given under this Agreement shall be in writing and may be delivered by such method as may be permitted by the Company, and shall be addressed and delivered, in the case of the Company, to the Secretary of the Company at the principal office of the Company and, in the case of the Grantee, to the Grantee’s address as shown in the records of the Company or to such other address as may be designated in writing (or by such other method approved by the Company) by either party. |
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19. Conflict. In the event of conflict between any term or provision contained herein and a term or provision of the Plan, the applicable terms and provisions of this Agreement will govern and prevail. |
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20. Severability. The invalidity or unenforceability of any provision of this Agreement shall not affect the validity or enforceability of any other provision of this Agreement and each other provision of this Agreement shall be severable and enforceable to the extent permitted by law. |
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21. Execution. This Agreement may be executed, including execution by facsimile signature, in one or more counterparts, each of which will be deemed an original, and all of which together shall be deemed to be one and the same instrument. |
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IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have executed this Performance Share Unit Agreement on the ___ day of _____, 2013. By execution of this Performance Share Unit Agreement the Grantee acknowledges receipt of a copy of the Plan, and agrees to the terms and conditions of the Plan and this Agreement.
By:
Title:
[EMPLOYEE NAME]
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Appendix A
Performance Goals for Performance Share Unit Grant
2013 - 2015 Performance Period
This Appendix A to the Performance Share Unit Agreement sets forth the Performance Goals to be achieved and, depending upon the extent (if any) to which the Performance Goals are achieved, the number of whole and/or partial Shares, if any, which the Grantee shall have the right to receive with respect to each Performance Share Unit. Capitalized terms not otherwise defined herein shall have the meaning ascribed to them in the Agreement and the Plan.
Certain Definitions
“Closing Price” means the 60-trading day average closing price of a share of a company’s stock ending on the last trading day of the Performance Period.
“Opening Price” means the 60-trading day average closing price of a share of a company’s stock ending on the trading day preceding the first day of the Performance Period. The Opening Price shall be adjusted for stock splits and reverse stock splits that occur during the Performance Period.
“Payout Governor” means that regardless of percentile ranking for either Performance Goal, if the Company’s TSR is negative, the Grantee shall be entitled to receive no more than 100% of the Performance Share Units.
“Peer Group” means a group of peer companies consisting of the following global exchanges: ASX Ltd, BGC Partners Inc, Bolsa Mexicana de Valores, Bolsas Y Mercados Espanoles, CBOE Holdings Inc, CME Group Inc, Deutsche Boerse AG, ICAP plc, Interactive Brokers Group, Intercontinental Exchange, London Stock Exchange Group plc, NYSE Euronext and TMX Group Inc.
“Price Cap” means that regardless of the actual stock price growth over the Performance Period, the final stock price will be limited to 250% of the grant date price for purposes of calculating the final award of Performance Share Units to the Grantee.
“S&P 500” means the companies constituting the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index as of the beginning of the Performance Period. Any component company of the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index that is acquired, taken private, delisted, liquidated or no longer publicly traded due to filing for bankruptcy protection at any time during the Performance Period will be eliminated from the S&P 500 for the entire Performance Period. There will be no adjustments to the S&P 500 to account for any other changes to the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index during the Performance Period.
“TSR” means the total shareholder return during the Performance Period, which will be calculated as the (i) Closing Price minus Opening Price plus cumulative dividends, divided by (ii) Opening Price. No adjustments to TSR shall be made for stock issuances or stock
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buybacks during the Performance Period. Each company’s TSR shall be calculated in the local currency to eliminate foreign exchange fluctuations.
Goal 1: TSR Performance Relative to the S&P 500
The Performance Goal for 50% of the Performance Share Units shall be the Company’s three-year TSR percentile rank versus the S&P 500.
For this portion of the award, each Performance Share Unit shall, subject to the vesting provisions set forth in the Agreement and the Payout Governor, entitle the Grantee to receive Shares based on the levels of achievement in the following table.
Table 1: Levels of Achievement
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Percentile Rank of the Company’s Three-Year TSR Versus the S&P 500 |
Resulting Shares Earned (% of Half of Target) |
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≥85th Percentile |
200% |
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67.5th Percentile |
150% |
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50th Percentile |
100% |
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25th Percentile |
50% |
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15th Percentile |
30% |
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0 Percentile |
0% |
For levels of achievement between points, the resulting Shares earned will be calculated based on straight-line interpolation.
The resulting shares earned will be subject to the 250% Price Cap. If the NASDAQ OMX stock price grows greater than 250% over the Performance Period, the resulting number of shares will be fewer than 200% of target shares. For example: (formulaic resulting shares earned X 250% Price Cap) / (stock price at time of delivery of shares) = resulting actual shares earned.
Goal 2: TSR Performance Relative to a Peer Group
The Performance Goal for 50% of the Performance Share Units shall be the Company’s three-year TSR percentile rank versus the Peer Group. For this portion of the award, each Performance Share Unit shall, subject to the vesting provisions set forth in the Agreement and the Payout Governor, entitle the Grantee to receive Shares based on the levels of achievement in the following table.
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Table 2: Levels of Achievement
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Percentile Rank of the Company’s Three-Year TSR Versus the Peer Group |
Resulting Shares Earned (% of Half of Target) |
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≥85th Percentile |
200% |
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67.5th Percentile |
150% |
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50th Percentile |
100% |
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25th Percentile |
50% |
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15th Percentile |
30% |
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0 Percentile |
0% |
For levels of achievement between points, the resulting Shares earned will be calculated based on straight-line interpolation.
The resulting shares earned will be subject to the 250% Price Cap. If the NASDAQ OMX stock price grows greater than 250% over the Performance Period, the resulting number of shares will be fewer than 200% of target shares. For example: (formulaic resulting shares earned X 250% Price Cap) / (stock price at time of delivery of shares) = resulting actual shares earned.
Other Terms and Conditions
To the extent consistent with the Code and the Plan, the Committee reserves the right to modify any calculation described in this Appendix A to adjust for unanticipated circumstances or situations, as it deems necessary. All actions taken by the Committee pursuant to this Appendix A shall be final, conclusive and binding upon the Grantee, and all other persons, to the maximum extent permitted by law.
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