Exhibit 6(v) STOCK OPTION AGREEMENT
AGREEMENT made this 19th day of March, 1999, by and between NovaMed, Inc., a
Nevada corporation ("NovaMed"), and Xxxxxxxx Xxxxxxxx, whose address is 000
Xxxxxxxx Xxxxxxx, Xxxxxx, XX 00000 ("Option Holder").
WITNESSETH:
WHEREAS, NovaMed has adopted a Stock Option Plan (the "Plan") whereunder NovaMed
intends to grant to Option Holder an option to purchase shares of NovaMed's
common stock ("Stock"); and WHEREAS, Option Holder is a key employee of NovaMed
and NovaMed desires him/her to remain in such capacity by providing him/her with
an added incentive to work effectively for and in NovaMed's interest and with
the means to acquire or to increase his/her proprietary interest in NovaMed and
to share in its Success. NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the mutual
covenants and conditions hereinafter set forth, NovaMed and Option Holder agree
as follows:
1. Grant of Option. Subject to the terms and conditions of the
Plan, a copy of which is attached hereto as Exhibit "A" and by reference made a
part hereof, NovaMed hereby irrevocably grants to Option Holder, as a matter of
separate agreement and not in lieu of salary or any other compensation or
services, the right and option (the "Option") to purchase all or any part of an
aggregate number of Fifty Five Thousand (55,000) shares of authorized but
unissued common stock of NovaMed ("Optioned Shares") on the terms and conditions
hereof.
2. Price. The purchase price of the Optioned Shares shall be
the sum of One US Dollar and Thirty Cents (US$1.30) per share. The parties
acknowledge that the price is not less than One Hundred Percent (100'lo) of the
fair market value, as determined by the Board of Directors of NovaMed, of a
share of stock of NovaMed on the date of the grant of the Option.
3. Date of Exercise. Subject to the provisions of paragraph 7,
the Option may be exercised at any time from and after either of the following
times, whichever shall be the earlier:
a. Option Holder may exercise the Option at any time
and from time to time before two (2) years from the date of grant of the Option.
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b. The agreement of NovaMed to sell all or substany-
ially all of its assets or business.
4. Method of Exercise. The Option shall be exercised by written
notice, delivered or mailed by post paid or certified mad, addressed to NovaMed
at it principal offices, specifying the number of Optioned Shares being
purchased. Such notice shall be accompanied by payment, in cash or its
equivalent, of the full price of the Optioned Shares being purchased. In the
event the Option is being exercised pursuant to paragraph 6 below by any person
or persons other than Option Holder, the notice shall be accompanied by
appropriate proof of the right of such person to exercise the Option.
5. Issuance of Shares. The certificate or certificates
representing the shares purchased hereunder shall be issued and delivered by
NovaMed as soon as practical after receipt of the notice of exercise and
required payment. Such certificate or certificates shall be registered in the
name of the person exercising the Option and shall be delivered to or on the
written order of such person.
6. Transfer of Option. The Option shall not be transferable by
Option Holder except by his/her Last Will or the laws of the Holder's domicile
at the time of his/her death relating to intestacy. During his/her lifetime,
Option Holder is the only person who may exercise the Option. More specifically,
without limiting the generality of the foregoing, the Option may not be
assigned, transferred (except as permitted herein) pledged or hypothecated in
any way, whether by operation of law or otherwise, and shall not be subject to
execution, attachment or similar process. Any attempted assignment, transfer,
pledge, hypothecation or other disposition of the Option contrary to the
provisions hereof, and the levy of any attachment or similar process on the
Option shall be null and void and without effect.
7. Termination of Option.
(a) Termination of Employment. The right to
exercise the option shall end: (1) In the
event of voluntary termination by Option
Holder, on the date of notice of such
termination. (2) In the event of involuntary
termination by NovaMed, with cause, on the
date of notice of such termination.
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(3) In the event of involuntary termination
by NovaMed, without cause, thirty (30) days
from the date of notice of such termination.
(b) Death. If the Option Holder shall die within the
above mentioned thirty (30) day period, or if he
shall die while in the employ of NovaMed, the Option
will terminate unless the person or persons to whom
the Option shall have been transferred by his/her
Last Will or the laws of intestacy shall have, within
six (6) months from the date of Option Holder's
death, exercised the Option. (c) Proof of Succession.
No transfer of the Option by Option Holder by his/her
just Will or under the laws of intestacy shall be
effective to bind NovaMed unless NovaMed shall have
been furnished with written notice thereof and a copy
of Option Holder's Last Will and /or such other
evidence as the Board of Directors of NovaMed may
deem necessary to establish the validity of the
transfer and the acceptance by the transferee or
transferees of the terms and conditions of the
Option. (d) Notwithstanding any provision of this
Agreement to the contrary, the right to exercise the
Option will terminate on March 19, 2001.
8. Effect of Merger or Consolidation.
(a) Substitution of Shares. After any merger of one
or more corporations into NovaMed, or after any
consolidation of NovaMed and one or more corporation
in which NovaMed shall be the surviving corporation,
Option Holder shall, at not additional cost, be
entitled, upon the exercise of the Option, to
receive, subject to any required action by the
shareholders of NovaMed and in lieu of the number of
shares as to which the Option shall then be so
exercised, the number and class of shares of stock or
securities to which Option Holder would have been
entitled pursuant to the terms of the Agreement of
Merger or Consolidation if at the time of such merger
or consolidation Option Holder had been a holder of
record of
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a number of shares of common stock of NovaMed equal
to the number of shares as to which the Option shall
then be so exercised. (b) Future Merger or
Consolidation. Comparable rights shall accrue to
Option Holder in the event of any successive merger
or consolidation of the character above. (c)
Dissolution of NovaMed. Notwithstanding anything
herein to the contrary, upon the dissolution or
liquidation of NovaMed, or upon any merger or
consolidation in which NovaMed is not the surviving
corporation, the Option shall terminate, but Option
Holder shall have the right, immediately prior to
dissolution, liquidation, merger or consolidation to
exercise the Option in full.
9. Shareholder Status. Option Holder, or any transferee of the
Option, shall have no right as a shareholder with respect to any Optioned Share
until he shall have become a shareholder of record of such share. No adjustment
shall be made for dividends or cash distributions, ordinary or extraordinary,
whether in cash, securities or other property, or distributions or other rights
in respect of such share for which the record date is prior to the date on which
Option Holder shall become the holder of record thereof.
10. Reservation of Right to Terminate Employment.
Nothing contained in this Agreement shall restrict the right of NovaMed to
terminate the employment of Option Holder at any time, with or without cause.
ii. Purchase for Investment Only. Option Holder
represents to NovaMed that it is his/her intention to
exercise the Option, and to acquire any stock covered
thereby, for investment and not with a view to the
distribution or resale thereof, and any person who
shall exercise the Option shall be required to so
represent in writing at the time of exercise. Option
Holder further acknowledges that he will not sell or
otherwise dispose of shares covered by the Option
except pursuant to an effective registration
statement under the Securities Act of 1933, as
amended, or except in a transaction which, in the
opinion of counsel for NovaMed, is exempt from
registration under that Act.
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12. Registration of Shares. If, at any time, the Board of
Directors of NovaMed shall determine, in its discretion, that the registration
or qualification of any shares covered by the Option is necessary or desirable
under any state or federal law, as a condition of or in connection with the
delivery of such shares on the exercise of the Option, the delivery of such
shares shall be deferred until such registration or qualification shall have
been effected. In the event the Board of Directors of NovaMed determines that
registration or qualification of shares covered by the Option is necessary or
desirable, NovaMed shall, at its expense, take such action as may be required to
effect such registration or qualification.
13. Restriction on Transfer.
(a) Death or Termination of Employment.
(1) Option of NovaMed to Repurchase.
Option Holder hereby grants to NovaMed an
irrevocable right to repurchase, at any time
within one hundred eighty (180) days from
and after his/her death or any termination
of employment, any or all of the shares
acquired hereunder. NovaMed shall exercise
this option by delivering written notice
thereof to the record owner of such shares
together with payment in the sum provided
below. Concurrently with the exercise by
NovaMed of this option, the record owner of
such shares shall deliver to NovaMed all
certificates representing the said shares.
which certificates shall be properly
endorsed in blank. (2) Option to Sell to
NovaMed. Following the full and complete
exercise of the Option and the purchase of
all Optioned Shares described herein,
NovaMed grants to Option Holder an
irrevocable right to sell, at any time
within One Hundred Eighty (180) days from
and after Option Holder's death or any
termination of employment, all of Option
Holder's right, title and interest in and to
the Optioned Shares so purchased. This
option may be exercised only with respect to
all of the shares of NovaMed owned by Option
Holder and cannot be exercised with respect
to any
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smaller portion thereof, an is not
assignable to any other person other than
Option Holder's legal representatives in the
event of his/her death. (3) Purchase Price.
The purchase price to be paid by NovaMed in
the event of a sale to or purchase by
NovaMed under either of the foregoing shall
be an amount mutually determined by NovaMed
and Option Holder or his/her legal
representatives. If the parties cannot
mutually agree on an acceptable price, a
qualified appraiser shall be selected by the
parties and the determination of the
appraiser shall be final and binding. If the
parties cannot agree on the identity of an
acceptable appraiser, either of the parties
may petition a court of appropriate
jurisdiction for an order which shall
determine the manner in which the price
shall be ascertained. All costs of any
appraisal and all costs of any legal action,
including any reasonable attorney's fees
incurred by NovaMed in connection therewith,
shall be the exclusive responsibility of
Option Holder and shall be deducted from any
price to be paid by NovaMed hereunder.
Notwithstanding anything herein to the
contrary, the purchase price shall be not
less than the sum of One Dollar ($ 1.00) per
share.
(b) Proposed Disposition of Shares.
(1) Except as set forth in subparagraph 4
below, neither Option Holder nor any vendee,
transferee, successor, assignee, donee or
pledgee of any of the shares acquired
hereunder nor any person or firm that
acquires any interest in any of the said
shares by contract or otherwise shall sell,
encumber, pledge, hypothecate, give or
otherwise transfer any or all of said shares
or any interest therein, voluntarily, by
operation of law or otherwise, without
obtaining a prior written consent of NovaMed
unless Option Holder or such transferee
shall give notice to NovaMed of an intention
to do so. The said notice shall specify the
name of the proposed transferee, the
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number of such shares to be transferred, the
price offered per share, payment terms, and
any other material terms or conditions of
the proposed transfer.
(2) At any time within sixty (60) days after receipt
of the above described notice by NovaMed, NovaMed
shall have the right to purchase all or any of the
subject shares for the same price as shall be paid by
the transferee. If the proposed transfer does not
involve or include a price per share, NovaMed shall
pay the fair market value of said shares as the same
shall be determined by the independent certified
public accountant of NovaMed. NovaMed shall pay the
purchase price, by check or in cash, to the owner of
the subject shares and the owner shall deliver to
NovaMed all certificates representing the subject
shares properly endorsed in blank. (3) After the
expiration of the above stated sixty (60) day period,
but prior to the expiration of ninety (90) days after
receipt of the said notice by NovaMed, any of the
subject shares with respect to which NovaMed has not
exercised the right described herein may be
transferred as specified in the said notice. Any
transferee of the subject shares shall hold them
subject to all of the terms and conditions of this
Agreement, including restrictions upon any subsequent
transfer. (4) Notwithstanding the foregoing, any
owner of the shares acquired in compliance with the
terms of this Agreement may make a gift, inter vivos
or testamentary, of such shares to such person's
spouse or issue, or to a trust or other fiduciary
account for the benefit of any of them so long as
such fiduciary account is not also for the benefit of
any other person. Any such donee shall hold such
shares subject to all of the provisions of this
Agreement and shall not sell, encumber, pledge,
hypothecate, give or otherwise transfer any or all of
said shares or any right or interest therein except
in accordance with all the terms and conditions of
this Agreement.
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14. Statement on Certificate. The certificate representing any
shares acquired hereunder will bear a legend on the face thereof in
substantially the following form:
These securities have not been registered under the Securities
Act of 1933, and may not be offered, offered for sale, or sold
in the absence of an effective registration statement under
the Act or an opinion of counsel satisfactory to the
corporation that registration is not required. Additionally,
sale, encumbrance, hypothecation, gift or other transfer of
such shares or any interest therein is restricted by and
subject to a Stock Option Agreement dated March 19,1999, a
copy of which may be inspected at the principal offices of the
corporation and all of the provisions of which are
incorporated herein by reference.
15. Life Insurance. NovaMed may procure insurance on the life
of Option Holder, naming itself as beneficiary, in such face amounts as NovaMed
shall determine. The principal purpose of such life insurance shall be to assist
NovaMed in making payment of any obligation due by NovaMed hereunder.
16. Succession. This Agreement shall be binding upon the
parties and their heirs, distributees, legal representatives, successors and
assigns.
17. Amendment. This Agreement may not be altered or amended
except by a written instrument setting forth such changes signed by NovaMed and
Option Holder.
18. Interpretation. Whenever the context so requires, the
singular shall include the plural, the plural shall include the singular, the
whole include and part thereof, and any gender shall include all other genders.
19. Notices. All notices required to be given under this
Agreement shall be in writing, and shall be sufficiently given if personally
delivered, or if mailed, postage prepaid, registered mail, return receipt
requested, as follows:
Name Address
NovaMed, Inc. 000 Xxxxxx Xxxxxx X.X.
Xxxxxxxxxxx, XX 00000 XXX
Xxxxxxxx Xxxxxxxx 000 Xxxxxxxx Xxxxxxx
Xxxxxx, Xxxxx 00000
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20. Attorney's Fees. If any party hereto should default in the
performance of any obligation hereunder, any other party shall be entitled to a
reasonable attorney's fee and all costs incurred in connection with the
enforcement of any of the terms and conditions hereof.
21. Governing Law. This Agreement shall be construed in
accordance with the laws of the State of Nevada, United States of America and in
the English language. IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties have executed this
Agreement as of the date and year first above written.
NovaMed, Inc.
By________________________________
Xx. Xxxxxx Xxxxxx, Director
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Xxxxxxxx Xxxxxxxx
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